Class J^l_S.(h^ 
 
CALIFORNIA 
 HISTORICAL COLLECTION 
 
 Reminiscences and Memoirs 
 
 of 
 
 « 
 
 GEN. VALLEJO 
 
 GEN. BIDWELL 
 
 GEN. FREMONT 
 
 and Other Earlv Pioneers of the 
 Western Overland 
 
.C :^3 
 
 M. 
 
 
V 
 
 x^^ 
 
 ADAPTED FROM A SKCTCM tr A. P. HILL. 
 
 *A PIONKKK PALACK CAR. 
 
 ACROSS THK PLAINS IX rUK DONNER PARTY (iS46> 
 
 A PERSONAL NARRAllVE OF lllK OVERLAND TRIP 
 
 TO CALIFORNL\. 
 
 WAS a child when we started to 
 Cahfornia, yet I remember the 
 journey well and I have cause 
 to remember it, as our little band 
 of emigrants who drove out of 
 Springfield, Illinois, that s[)ring morning of 1846 
 have since been known in history as the " Ill- 
 fated Donner party" of " Martyr Pioneers. " 
 My father, James F. Reed, was the originator 
 of the party, and the Donner brothers, George 
 and Jacob, who lived just a little way out of 
 Springfield, decided to join him. 
 
 All the previous winter we were preparing for 
 the journey — and right here let me say that 
 we suffered vastly more from fear of the Indians 
 before starting than we did on the plains ; at 
 least this was my case. In the long winter 
 evenings Grandma Keyes used totell me Indian 
 stories. She had an aunt who had been taken 
 prisoner by the savages in the early settlement 
 of Virginia and Kentucky and had remained 
 a captive in their hands five years before she 
 made her escape. I was fond of these stories 
 and evening after evening would go into grand- 
 ma's room, sitting with my back close against 
 the wall so that no warrior could slip behind 
 me with a tomahawk. I would coax her to tell 
 me more about her aunt, and would sit listen- 
 ing to the recital of the fearful deeds of the 
 savages, until it seemed to me that everything 
 in the room, from the high old-fa.shioned bed- 
 posts down even to the shovel and tongs in 
 the chimney comer, was transformed into the 
 dusky tribe in paint and feathers, all ready for 
 the war dance. So when I was told that we 
 were going to California and would have to 
 pass through a region peopleil by Indians. \<ni 
 can imagine how I felt. 
 
 Our wagons, or the " Reed wagons," as they 
 Vol. X LI I.— 53. 
 
 were tailed, were all made to order and I can 
 say without fear of contradiction that nothing 
 like our family wagon ever started across the 
 plains. It was what might be called a two-story 
 wagon or " Pioneer palace car," attached to a 
 regular immigrant train. My mother, though 
 a young woman, was not strong and had been 
 in delicate health for many years, yet when sor- 
 rows and dangers came upon her she was the 
 bravest of the brave. Grandma Keyes, who was 
 seventy-five years of age, was an invalid, con- 
 fined to her bed. Her sons in Springfield, 
 Gersham and James W. Keyes, tried to dissuade 
 her from the long and fatiguing journey, but in 
 vain; she would not be parted from my mother, 
 who was her only daughter. So the ( arin which 
 she was to ride was planned to give comfort. 
 The entrance was on the side, like that of an 
 old-fashioned stagecoach, and one stepjjedinto 
 a small room, as it were, in the centre of the 
 wagon. At the right and left were spring seats 
 with comfortable liigh backs, where one could 
 sit and ride with as much ease as on the seats 
 of a Concord coach. In this little room was 
 l)laced a tiny sheet-iron stove, whose pipe, run- 
 ning through the top of the wagon, was pre- 
 vented by a circle of tin from setting fire to the 
 canvas cover. A board about a foot wide ex- 
 tended over the wheels on either side the full 
 length of the wagon, thus forming the founda- 
 tion for a large and roomy second story in 
 which were placed ovir beds. I'nder the spring 
 seats were compartments in whi( h were .stored 
 many articles useful for the journey, such as a 
 well filled work basket and a full a.s.sortment of 
 medicines, with lint and bandages for dressing 
 wounds. Our clothing was j)acked — not in 
 Saratoga trunks — but in strong canvas bags 
 plainly marked. Some of mama's young friends 
 
 AOt 
 
4IO ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DONNER PARTY {1S46). 
 
 added a looking-glass, hung directly opposite 
 the door, in order, as they said, that my mother 
 might not forget to keep her good looks, and 
 strange to say, when we had to leave this 
 wagon, standing like a monument on the Salt 
 Lake desert, the glass was still unbroken. I 
 have often thought how pleased the Indians 
 must have been when they found this mirror 
 which gave them back the picture of their own 
 dusky faces. 
 
 ever started across the plains with more pro- 
 visions or a better outfit for the journey ; and 
 yet we reached California almost destitute and 
 nearly out of clothing. 
 
 The family wagon was drawn by four yoke 
 of oxen, large Durham steers at the wheel. 
 The other wagons were drawn by three yoke 
 each. We had saddle horses and cows, and last 
 but not least my pony. He was a beauty and 
 his name was Billy. I can scarcely remember 
 
 /l^tjW^f^l''"-'^!-' 
 
 THIRSTY OXEN STAMPEDING KOK WATER. 
 
 We had two wagons loaded with provisions. 
 Everything in that line was bought that could 
 be thought of. My father started with supplies 
 enough to last us through the first winter in 
 CaHfornia, had we made the journey in the 
 usual time of six months. Knowing that books 
 were always scarce in a new country, we also 
 took a good library of standard works. We 
 even took a cooking stove which never had had 
 a fire in it, and was destined never to have, as 
 we cached it in the desert. Certainly no family 
 
 when I was taught to sit a horse. I only 
 know that when a child of seven I was the 
 proud owner of a pony and used to go riding 
 with papa. That \\as the chief pleasure to 
 which I looked forward in crossing the plains, 
 to ride my pony every day. But a day came 
 when I had no pony to ride, the poor little fel- 
 low gave out. He could not endure the hard- 
 ships of ceaseless travel. When I was forced 
 to part with him I cried until I was ill, and 
 sat in the back of the wagon watching him be- 
 
ACROSS rfrr. plains av tiik donnkr party {1S46). 
 
 411 
 
 LKUiblNl, WAIKK 1 IJ ESCAPE A II \li;i l.;l 
 
 come smaller and smaller as we drove on, until 
 I could see him no more. 
 
 Never can I forgot the morning wiicn we 
 bade farewell to kindred and friends. The 
 Donners were there, having driven in the even- 
 ing before with their families, so that we might 
 get an early start. (Irandma Keyes was car- 
 ried out of the house and placed in the wagon 
 on a large feather bed, j)ro]ipod up with |)il- 
 lows. Her sons implored her to remain and 
 end her days with them, but she could not be 
 separated from her only daughter. We were 
 surrounded by loved ones, and there stood all 
 my little schoolmates who hail come to kiss 
 me good-by. My father with tears in his eyes 
 tried to smile asone friend after another grasped 
 his hand in a last fiirewell. Mama was over- 
 come with grief. At last. we were all in the 
 wagons, the drivers cracked their whi|)s. the 
 oxen moved slowly forward and the long jour- 
 ney had begun. 
 
 Could we have looked into the future and 
 have seen the misery before us. these lines 
 would never have been written. liul we were 
 full of hope and did not dream of sorrow. 1 
 can now see our little caravan of ten or twelve 
 wagons as we drove out of olil Springfield, my 
 little black-eyed .sister Patty sitting upon the 
 bed, holding up the wagon cover so that ( irand- 
 ma might have a last look at her old home. 
 
 ihat was the 14th <lay of .\pril, 1846. Our 
 party numbered thirty-one,and consisted chiefly 
 of three families, the other members being 
 young men, some of whom came as drivers. 
 
 The Donner family were George and Tamsen 
 Donnernnd their five children, and Jacob antl 
 Klizabeth Donner and their seven children. 
 Our family numbered nine, not counting three 
 drivers — my father and mother. James Fra- 
 /ier and Margaret W. Reed. (Irandma Kcves, 
 my little sister Patty (now Mrs. Frank I.ewi.s, 
 of Capitola), and two little brothers, James F. 
 Reed. Jr., and Thomas K. Reed. Kli/a Wil- 
 liams and her brother Baylis. and lastly myself. 
 Kliza had been a domestic in our family for 
 many years, and was anxious to see California. 
 
 Many friends camped with us the first night 
 out and my uncles traveled on for several days 
 before bidding us a final farewell. It seemed 
 strange to be riding in ox-teams, and we chil- 
 ilren were afraid of the oxen, thinking they 
 could go wherever they plea.sed as they had no 
 l)ridles. Milt Elliott, a knight of the whip, drove 
 (nir family wagon. He had worked fi)r years 
 in my father's large saw-mill on the Sangamon 
 River. The first bridge we came to, Milt had 
 to slop the wagon and let us out. I remember 
 that I calleil to him to be sure to make the 
 oxen hit the bridge, and not to forget that 
 grandma was in the wagon. How he laughed 
 at the idea of the oxen missing the bridge ! 
 I soon found that Milt, with his •' whoa." 
 " haw," and *' gee," could make the oxen do 
 just as he jileased. 
 
 Nothing of much interest happened until we 
 reached what is now Kansas, i'he first Indians 
 we met were the Caws, who kept the ferry. an<l 
 had to take us over the Caw River. I wnt( hed 
 
scott's bluffs (from nature, 1890). 
 
 412 ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DONNER PARTY {1846). 
 
 them closely, hard- 
 ly daring to draw 
 my breath, and 
 feeling sure they 
 would sink the 
 boat in the middle 
 of the stream, and 
 was very thankful 
 when I found they 
 were not like grand- 
 ma's Indians. Every 
 morning, when the 
 wagons were ready 
 to start, papa and 
 I would jump on 
 our horses, and go 
 ahead to pick out 
 a camping-ground. 
 In our party were 
 many who rode 
 on horseback, but 
 mama seldom did ; 
 
 she preferred the wagon, and did not like to leave 
 grandma, although Patty took upon herself this 
 charge, and could hardly be persuaded to leave 
 grandma's side. Our little home was so com- 
 fortable, that mama could sit reading and 
 chatting with the little ones, and almost forget 
 that she was really crossing the plains. 
 
 Grandma Keyes improved in health and 
 spirits every day until we came to the Big Blue stroy her grave, but her death here, before our 
 River, which was so swollen that we could troubles began, was providential, and nowhere 
 not cross, but had to lie by and make rafts on on the whole road could we have found so beau- 
 which to take the wagons over. As soon as we tiful a resting place. By this time many emi- 
 stopped traveling, grandma began to fail, and grants had joined our company, and all turned 
 on the 29th day ofMay she died. It seemed hard out to assist at the funeral. A coffin Avas hewn 
 to bury her in the wilderness, and travel on, out of a cottonwood tree, and John Denton, 
 and we were afraid that the Indians would de- a young man from Springfield, found a large 
 
 gray stone on Avhich he carved with deep let- 
 ters the name of " Sarah Keyes ; born in Vir- 
 ginia," giving age and date of birth. She was 
 buried under the shade of an oak, the slab be- 
 ing placed at the foot of the grave, on which 
 were planted wild flowers growing in the sod. 
 A minister in our party, the Rev. J. A. Corn- 
 wall, tried to give words of comfort as we stood 
 about this lonely grave. Strange to say, that 
 grave has never been disturbed ; the wilderness 
 blossomed into the city of Manhattan, Kan- 
 sas, and we have been told that the city ceme- 
 tery surrounds the grave of Sarah Keyes. 
 
 As the river remained high and there was 
 no prospect of fording it, the men went to 
 work cutting down trees, hollowing out logs 
 and making rafts on which to take the wagons 
 over. These logs, about twenty-five feet in 
 length, were united by cross timbers, forming 
 rafts, which were firmly lashed to stakes driven 
 into the bank. Ropes were attaclied to both 
 ends, by which the rafts were pulled back and 
 CHIMNEY ROCK, ON THE NORTH PLATTE (1890). forth across tlic rivcr. The banks of this stream 
 
ACROSS 77/ F Pr.AIXS AV TFfE DOXAKK PAR IV (1S46). 
 
 4 '3 
 
 being steep, our heavily laden wagons had to Travehng up the smooth valley of the Platte, 
 be let down carefully with n)|)es, so that the we passed Court House Rock, Chimney Rock 
 wheels might run into the hollowed logs. This and Scott's liluffs, and made from fifteen to 
 was no easy task when you take into consid- twenty miles a day, shortening or lengthening 
 eration that in these wagons were women and the distance in order to secure a good (amp- 
 children, who could cro.ss the rapid river in ingground. At night when wedrove intocamp, 
 no other way. Kinally the dangerous w(jrk was our wagons were placed so as to form a circle 
 accomplished and wc resumed our journey. or corral, into which our cattle were driven. 
 The road at first was rough and led through after grazing, to prevent the Indians from steal- 
 a timbered country, but after striking the great ing them, the (amp-fires and tents lieing on 
 valley of the Platte the road was good and the outside. There were many expert riflemen 
 the country beautiful. Stretching out before us in the party and we never lacked for game, 
 as far as the eye could reach was a valley as The i)lains were alive with buffalo, and herds 
 green as emerald, dotted here and there with could be seen every day coming to the Platte 
 
 >i9i?m 
 
 ^ 
 
 i-A.. 
 
 "^^ 
 
 flowers of every imaginable color, and through 
 this valley flowed the grand old Platte, a wide, 
 rapid, shallow stream. Our company now 
 numbered about forty wagons, and, t'or a time, 
 we were commanded by Col. \\illiam H. Rus- 
 sell, then by George Donner. Exercise in the 
 open air under bright skies, And freedom from 
 peril combined to make this jiari of our jour- 
 ney an ideal pleasure trip. How 1 enjoyed 
 riding my pony, galloping over the i)lain, gath- 
 ering wild flowers! .At night the young folks 
 would gather about the camp fire chatting 
 merrily, and often a song would be heard, or 
 some clever dancer would give us a barn-door 
 jig on the hind gate of a wagon. 
 
 to drink. The meat of the young buffalo is ex- 
 ( client and so is that of the antelope, but the 
 antelope are so fleet of foot it is diflicult to 
 get a shot at one. I witnessed many a butlalo 
 hunt and more than once was in the chase 
 close beside my father. A buH'alo will not at- 
 tack one unless wounded. When he sees the 
 hunter he raises his shaggy head, ga/es at him 
 for a moment, then turns and runs; but when 
 he is wounded he will face his pursuer. The 
 only danger lay in a stampede, for nothing 
 could withstand the onward rush of these ma.s- 
 sive creatures, whose tread seemed to shake 
 the prairie. 
 
 Antelope and buflalo steaks were the main 
 
414 ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DONNER PARTY [1846). 
 
 
 ^7 ^^«-^ . 
 
 
 OLD TRAIL CROSSING HORSESHOE CREEK, A TRIBUTARY OF THE PLATTE. 
 
 article on our bill-of-fare for weeks, and no 
 tonic was needed to give zest for the food ; 
 our appetites were a marvel. Eliza soon dis- 
 covered that cooking over a camp fire was far 
 different from cooking on a stove or range, but 
 all hands assisted her. I remember that she 
 had the cream all ready for the churn as we 
 drove into the South Fork of the Platte, and 
 while we were fording the grand old stream 
 she went on with her work, and made several 
 pounds of butter. We found no trouble in 
 crossing the Platte, the only danger being in 
 quicksand. The stream being wide, we had to 
 stop the wagon now and then to give the oxen a 
 few moments' rest. At Fort Laramie, two hun- 
 dred miles farther on, we celebrated the fourth 
 of July in fine style. Camp was pitched earlier 
 than usual and we prepared a grand dinner. 
 Some of my father's friends in Springfield had 
 given him a bottle of good old brandy, which 
 he agreed to drink at a certain hour of this day 
 looking to the east, while his friends in Illi- 
 nois were to drink a toast to his success from a 
 companion bottle with their faces turned west, 
 the difference in time being carefully estimated ; 
 and at the hour agreed upon, the health of our 
 friends in Springfield was drunk with great en- 
 thusiasm. At Fort Laramie was a party of 
 Sioux, who were on the war path going to fight 
 the Crows or Blackfeet. The Sioux are fine- 
 looking Indians and I was not in the least afraid 
 of them. They fell in love with my pony and 
 set about bargaining to buy him. They brought 
 buffalo robes and beautifully tanned buckskin, 
 pretty beaded moccasins, and ropes made of 
 grass, and placing these articles in a heap 
 alongside several of their ponies, they made 
 my father understand by signs that they would 
 give them all for Billy and his rider. Papa 
 smiled and shook his head; then the number of 
 ponies was increased and, as a last tempting 
 inducement, they brought an old coat, that 
 had been worn by some poor soldier, think- 
 ing my father could not withstand the brass 
 buttons ! 
 
 On the sixth of July we were again on the 
 march. The Sioux were several days in pass- 
 ing our caravan, not on account of the length 
 of our train, but because there were so many 
 Sioux. Owing to the fact that our wagons 
 were strung so far apart, they could have mas- 
 sacred our whole party without much loss to 
 themselves. Some of our company became 
 alarmed, and the rifles were cleaned out and 
 loaded, to let the warriors see that we were pre- 
 pared to fight ; but the Sioux never showed 
 any inclination to disturb us. Their curiosity 
 was annoying, however, and our wagon with 
 its conspicuous stove-pipe and looking-glass 
 attracted their attention. They were contin- 
 ually swarming about trying to get a look at 
 themselves in the mirror, and their desire to 
 possess my pony was so strong that at last I 
 had to ride in the wagon and let one of the 
 drivers take charge of Billy. This I did not 
 like, and in order to see how far back the 
 line of warriors extended, I picked up a large 
 field-glass which hung on a rack, and as I 
 pulled it out with a click, the warriors jumped 
 back, wheeled their ponies and scattered. This 
 pleased me greatly, and I told my mother I 
 could fight the whole Sioux tribe with a sp)- 
 glass, and as revenge for forcing me to ride in 
 the wagon, whenever they came near trying to 
 get a peep at their war-paint and feathers, I 
 would raise the glass and laugh to see them 
 dart away in terror. 
 
 A new route had just been opened by Lans- 
 ford W. Hastings, called the " Hastings Cut- 
 off',"i which passed along the southern shore 
 of the Great Salt Lake rejoining the old "Fort 
 Hall Emigrant " Voad on the Humboldt. It 
 was said to shorten the distance three hundred 
 miles. Much time was lost in debating which 
 course to pursue ; Bridger and Vasques, who 
 were in charge of the fort, sounded the praises 
 of the new road. My father was so eager to 
 reach California that he was quick to take ad- 
 
 1 For an account of Hastings, see The Century for 
 December 1890, p. 176. — Ed. 
 
ACROSS THE PLAINS IX 11 !E DONNE R PARTY {1846). 415 
 
 vantage of any means to shorten the distance, to cross towards the lake. Only those who 
 
 and we were assured by Hastings and his party have passed through this country on horsehac k 
 
 that the only bad i)art was the forty-mile drive can appreciate the situation. There was ab- 
 
 through the desert by the shore of the lake, solutely no road, not even a trail. The canon 
 
 None of our party knew then, as we learned 
 
 afterwards, that these men had an interest in 
 
 the road, being employed by Hastings. But 
 
 for the advice of these i)arties we should 
 
 have continued on the old Fort Hall road. 
 
 Our company had increased in numbers all 
 
 along the line, and was now composed of .some 
 
 of tiie ver)' best j^eople and some of the worst. 
 
 The greater portion of our comi)anv went bv 
 
 the old road and reached California in safety. 
 
 Eighty-seven persons took the " Hastings Cut- 
 
 wound around among the hills. Heavy under- 
 brush had to be cut away and used for making 
 a road bed. While cutting our way step by 
 step through the " Hastings Cut-off," we were 
 overtaken and joined by the Craves family, 
 consisting of \V. F. Graves, his wife and eight 
 children, his son-in-law Jay Fosdick, and a 
 young man by the name of John Snyder. 
 Finally we reached the end of tiie canon where 
 it looked as though our wagons would have 
 to be abandoned. It seemed impossible for 
 off," including the Uonners, Breens, Reeds, the oxen to pull them up the steep hill and the 
 Murphys (not the Murphys of Santa Clara bluffs beyond, but we doubled teams and the 
 County), C. T. Stanton, John Denton, Wm. work was, at last, accomplished, almost every 
 McClutchen, W'm. Eddy, I>ouis Kcseburg,and yoke in the train being re(|uired to pull u]» each 
 many others too numerous to mention in a short wagon. While in this canon Stanton and Pike 
 article like this. And these are the unfortunates came into camp ; they had suffered greatly on 
 who have since been known as the " Donner account of the exhaustion of their horses and 
 Party." had come near perishing. Worn with travel and 
 
 On the morning of July 31 we parted with greatly discour- 
 our traveling companions, some of whom had aged we reached 
 become ver\' dear friends, and, without a sus- 
 picion of impending disaster, set off in high 
 spirits on the " Hastings Cut-off" ; but a few 
 days showed us that the road was not as it had 
 been represented. We were seven days in 
 reaching Weber Canon, and Ha.stings, who and 
 was guiding a party in advance of our train, were 
 
 the shore of the 
 Great Salt Lake. 
 It had taken an 
 entire month, in- 
 stead of a week, 
 our cattle 
 not fit to 
 
 left a note by the wayside warning us that the cross the desert 
 road through Weber Canon was impassable We were now 
 and advising us to select a road over the moun- encamped 
 tains, the outline of which he attempted to give in a val- 
 on paper. These directions were so vague that ley called '^ 
 C. T. Stanton, William Pike, and my father "Twenty 
 rode on in advance 
 
 and overtook Hast- - ^ 
 
 ings and tried to in- 
 duce him to return 
 and guide our party. 
 1 1 e refused, but came 
 back over a portion 
 of the road, and from 
 a high mountain en- 
 deavored to point 
 out the general 
 course. Over this 
 road my father trav- 
 eled alone, taking 
 notes, and blazing 
 trees, to assist him in 
 retracing his course, 
 and reaching camp 
 after an absence of 
 four days. Learning 
 of the hardships of 
 
 the advance train, _ 
 
 the party decided . nati-ral bridge on la v^txjt rivek. 
 
4i6 ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DONNER PARTY {1846). 
 
 
 THE EMIGRANT TRAIL THROUGH THE BAD LANDS, WYOMING. 
 
 Wells." The water in these wells was pure 
 and cold, welcome enough after the alka- 
 line pools from which we had been forced to 
 drink. We prepared for the long drive across 
 the desert and laid in, as we supposed, an 
 ample supply of water and grass. This desert 
 had been represented to us as only forty miles 
 wide but we found it nearer eighty. It was a 
 dreary, desolate, alkali waste; not a living thing 
 could be seen; it seemed as though the hand of 
 death had been laid upon the country. We 
 started in the evening, traveled all that night, 
 and the following day and night — two nights 
 and one day of suffering from thirst and heat 
 by day and piercing cold by night. When the 
 third night fell and we saw the barren waste 
 stretching away apparently as boundless as 
 
 when we started, my father determined to go 
 ahead in search of water. Before starting he 
 instructed the drivers, if the cattle showed signs 
 of giving out to take them from the wagons and 
 follow him. He had not been gone long before 
 the oxen began to fall to the ground from thirst 
 and exhaustion. They were unhitched at once 
 and driven ahead. My father coming back met 
 the drivers with the cattle within ten miles of 
 water and instructed them to return as soon 
 as the animals had satisfied their thirst. He 
 reached us about daylight. \^ waited all that 
 day in the desert looking for the return of our 
 drivers, the other wagons going on out of 
 sight. Towards night the situation became 
 desperate and we had only a itw drops of water 
 left ; another night there meant death. We 
 
 ^jw- 
 
 GREAT DESERT TO THE WEST OF SALT LAKE. 
 
ACROSS TIfE PLAINS IX TlfE DONNER PARTY {1846). 
 
 •M7 
 
 must set out on foot and try to reach some of oxen before reacliing Hridger's Fort fromdrink- 
 
 the wagons. Can I ever forget that night in the ing poisoned water found standing in j)ools,and 
 
 desert, when we walked mile after mile in the had bought at the fort two yoke of young steers, 
 
 darkness, every step seeming to be the very last but now all were gone, and my father and his 
 
 we couhi take! Suddenly all fatigue was ban- family were left in the desert, eight hundred 
 
 ished by fear : through the night came a swift miles from California, seemingly heli)less. \Vc 
 
 rushing sound ofoneof the voung steers crazed realized that our wagons must be abandoned. 
 
 hboiaibK HucK, IDAHO, A LANL/MAKK ui- M k.sl bKN t.MloKA 1 t<j:< 
 
 by thirst and apparently bent upon our destruc- 
 tion. My father, holding his youngest child in his 
 arms and keeping us all close behind him, drew 
 hispistol,buttinally the maddened beast turned 
 and dashed off into the darkness. Dragging 
 ourselves along about ten miles, we reached 
 the wagon of Jacob Donner. The family were 
 all asleep, so we children lay down on the 
 ground. A bitter wind swept over the desert, 
 chilling us through and through. W'e crept 
 closer together, and, when we complained 
 of the cold, papa ])laced all five of our dogs 
 around us, and only for the warmth of these 
 faithful creatures we should doubtless have 
 perished. 
 
 .\t daylight papa was off to learn the fate of 
 his cattle, and was told that all were lost, ex- 
 cept one cow and an ox. The stock, scenting 
 the water, had rushed on ahead of the men, anil 
 had jjrobably been stolen by the Indians, and 
 driven into the mountains, where all traces of 
 them were lost. .\ week was spent here on the 
 edge of the <lesert in a fruitK?ss search. Almost 
 every man in the (omjjany turned out, hunting 
 in all directions, but our eighteen head of cattle 
 were never found. We had lost our best yoke of 
 Vol. XMI.— 54. 
 
 The company kindly let us have two yoke of 
 oxen, so with our ox and cow yoked together 
 we could bring one wagf)n, but, alas! not the 
 one which seemed so much like a home to us, 
 and in which grandma had died. Some of the 
 company went back with pa])a and assisted him 
 incacheingeverything thatcoulilnot be packet 1 
 in one wagon. A cache was made by digging 
 a hole in the ground, in which a box or the bed 
 of a wagon was placed. Articles to be buried 
 were packed into this box, covered with boards, 
 and the earth thrown in upon them, and thus 
 they were hidden from sight. Our ])ro\isions 
 weredivided among the company. Hefore leav- 
 ing the desert camp, an inventory of provisions 
 on haml was taken, and it was found that the 
 su|)ply was not sufficient to la.st us through to 
 California, and as if to render the situation 
 more terrible, a storm came on during the night 
 and the hill-tops became white with .snow. 
 Some one must go on to Sutter's Fort after 
 provisions. .\ call was made for volunteers. 
 C. T. Stanton and \Vm. McClutchen bravely 
 otTereil their services and started on bearing 
 letters from the company to Captain Sutter 
 a.sking for relief. We resumed our journey 
 
4i8 ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE BONNER PARTY {1846). 
 
 and soon reached Gravelly Ford on the Hum- 
 boldt. 
 
 I now come to that part of my narrative 
 which delicacy of feeling for both the dead 
 and the living would induce me to pass over 
 in silence, but which a correct and lucid chron- 
 icle of subsequent events of historical impor- 
 tance will not suffer to be omitted. On the 5th 
 day of October, 1846, at Gravelly Ford, a trag- 
 edy was enacted Avhich affected the subsequent 
 
 father a violent blow over the head with his 
 heavy whip-stock. One blow followed another. 
 Father was stunned for a moment and blinded 
 by the blood streaming from the gashes in his 
 head. Another blow was descending when my 
 mother ran in between the men. Father saw 
 the uplifted whip, but had only time to cr\ : 
 "John, John," when down came the stroke 
 upon mother. Quick as a thought my father's 
 hunting knife was out and Snyder fell, fa- 
 
 ^t^J*.*^ 
 
 *6^^^:>. 111.?... '..-^^^^ '-^ 
 
 
 
 It 
 
 OLD CALIFORNIA TRAIL TO THE NOKTH OF SALT LAKE. 
 
 lives and fortunes of more than one member 
 of our company. At this point in our journey 
 we were compelled to double our teams in or- 
 der to ascend a steep, sandy hill. Milton El- 
 liott, who was driving our wagon, and John 
 Snyder, who was driving one of Mr. Graves's, 
 became involved in a quarrel over the man- 
 agement of their oxen. Snyder was beating his 
 cattle over the head with the butt end of his 
 whip, when my father, returning on horse-back 
 from a hunting trip, arrived and, appreciating 
 the great importance of saving the remainder 
 of the oxen, remonstrated with Snyder, telling 
 him that they were our main dependence, and 
 at the same time offering the assistance of our 
 team. Snyder having taken offense at some- 
 thing Elliott had said declared that his team 
 could pull up alone, and kept on using abusive 
 language. Father tried to quiet the enraged 
 man. Hard words followed. Then my father 
 said : " We can settle this, John, when we get 
 up the hill." " No," replied Snyder with an 
 oath, " we will settle it now," and springing 
 upon the tongue of a wagon, he struck my 
 
 tally wounded. He was caught in the arms of 
 W. C. Graves, carried up the hill-side, and laid 
 on the ground. My father regretted the act, and 
 dashing the blood from his eyes went quickly 
 to the assistance of the dying man. I can see 
 him now, as he knelt over Snyder, trying to 
 stanch the wound, while the blood from the 
 gashes in his own head, trickling down his face, 
 mingled with that of the dying man. In a few 
 moments Snyder expired. Camp was pitched 
 immediately, our wagon being some distance 
 from the others. My father, anxious to do what 
 he could for the dead, offered the boards of our 
 wagon, from which to make a coffin. Then, 
 coming to me, he said : " Daughter, do you 
 think you can dress these wounds in my head ? 
 Your mother is not able, and they must be at- 
 tended to." I answered by saying : " Yes, if 
 you will tell me what to do." I brought a ba- 
 sin of water and sponge, and we went into the 
 wagon, so that we might not be disturbed. 
 When my work was at last finished, I burst out 
 crying. Papa clasped me in his arms, saying : 
 " I should not have asked so much of you," and 
 
.ICA'OSS 7V//' /V..I/.VS /.V 77//. ru.\M:K /./A/i {1^40). 
 
 419 
 
 talked to me until I rontrollcd my feci ings,so that 
 \vc could fjo to the tent where mama was lyin^. 
 
 We then learned that tr()ui)le was brewing 
 in the camp w here Snyder's body lay. At the 
 funeral my flither stood sorrowfully by until 
 the last clod was placed ui)on the grave. He 
 and John Snyder had been good friends, and 
 no one could have regretted the taking of that 
 young life more than my father. 
 
 Tlie members of the Donner party then held 
 a council to decide upon the fate of my father, 
 while we anxiously awaited the verdict. They 
 refused to accept the plea of self-det'ense and 
 decided that my father should be banished 
 from the company and sent into the wilder- 
 ness alone. It was a cruel sentence. And all 
 this animosity towards my father was caused 
 by Louis Keseburg, a German who had joined 
 our company away back on the ])lains. Kese- 
 burg was mqirried to a young and pretty Ger- 
 man girl, and used to abuse her, and was in 
 the habit of beating her till she was black and 
 blue. This aroused all the manhood in my 
 father and he took Keseburg to task — telling 
 him it must be stopped or measures would be 
 
 tell. I have thought the subject over for hours 
 but failed to arrive at a conclusion. The feel- 
 ing against my fatlier at one lime was so strong 
 that lynching was proposed. He was no cow- 
 ard and he bared his neck, saying, " Come on, 
 gentlemen," but no one moved. It was thought 
 more humane, perhaps, to send him into the 
 wilderness to die of slow starvation or be mur- 
 dered by the Indians; but my father did not 
 die. (iod took care of him and his family, and 
 at Donner Lake we seemed e.specially favore<l 
 by the Almighty as not one of our family per- 
 ished, and we were the only family no one 
 member of which was forced to eat of human 
 llesh to keep body and soul together. When 
 the sentence of banishment was communicated 
 to my father, he refused to go, feeling that he 
 was justified before God and man, as he had 
 only acted in self-defense. 
 
 'I'hen came a sacrifice on the j)art of my 
 mother. Knowing only too well what her life 
 w ould be without him, yet fearful that if he 
 remained he would meet with violence at the 
 hands of his enemies, she implored him to go, 
 but all to no avail until she urged him to re- 
 
 SALT LAKK, U>OKING SUl'TH KRuM PKOXIONTUKV. 
 
 taken to that effect. Keseburg did not dare to 
 strike his wife again, but he hated my father 
 and nursed his wrath until j)apa was so unfor- 
 tunate as to have to take the life of a fellow- 
 creature in self-defense. Then Keseburg's hour 
 for revenge had come, liut how a man like 
 Keseburg, brutal and overbearing by nature, 
 although highly educated, could have such in- 
 fluence over the company is more than I can 
 
 member the destitution of the company, say- 
 ing that if he remained and escaped violence 
 at their hands, he might nevertheless see his 
 children starving an<l be helpless to aid them, 
 while if he went on he could retuni and meet 
 them with food. It was a fearful struggle; at 
 last he con.sented, but not before he had se- 
 cured a promise from the company to care for 
 his wife and little ones. 
 
420 ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DONNER PARTY [1846). 
 
 My father was sent out into an unknown 
 country without provisions or arms — even his 
 horse was at first denied him. When we learned 
 of this decision, I followed him through the 
 darkness, taking Elliott with me, and carried 
 him his rifle, pistols, ammunition and some 
 food. I had determined to stay with him, and 
 begged him to let me stay, but he would Hsten 
 
 My mother's despair was pitiful. Patty and 
 I thought we would be bereft of her also. But 
 life and energy were again aroused by the dan- 
 ger that her children would starve. It was ap- 
 parent that the whole company would soon be 
 put on a short allowance of food, and the snow- 
 capped mountains gave an ominous hint of the 
 fate that really befell us in the Sierra. Our wagon 
 
 A DESPERATE SITUATION. (DRAWN BV CHARLES NAHL.) 
 
 to no argument, saying that it was impossible. 
 Finally, unclasping my arms from around him, 
 he placed me in charge of Elliott, who started 
 back to camp with me — and papa was left alone. 
 I had cried until I had hardly strength to walk, 
 but when we reached camp and I saw the dis- 
 tress of my mother, with the little ones cling- 
 ing around her and no arm to lean upon, it 
 seemed suddenly to make a woman of me. I 
 realized that I must be strong and help mama 
 bear her sorrows. 
 
 We traveled on, but all life seemed to have 
 left the party, and the hours dragged slowly 
 along. Every day we would search for some 
 sign of papa, who would leave a letter by the 
 way-side in the top of a bush or in a split stick, 
 and when he succeeded in killing geese or birds 
 would scatter the feathers about so that we 
 might know that he was not suffering for food. 
 When possible, our fire would always be kindled 
 on the spot where his had been. But a time 
 came when we found no letter, and no trace 
 of him. Had he starved by the way-side, or 
 been murdered by the Indians ? 
 
 was found to be too heavy, and was abandoned 
 with everything we could spare, and the re- 
 maining things were packed in part of another 
 wagon. We had two horses left from the wreck, 
 which could hardly drag themselves along, but 
 they managed to carry my two little brothers. 
 The rest of us had to walk, one going beside 
 the horse to hold on my youngest brother who 
 was only two and a half years of age. The 
 Donners were not with us when my father was 
 banished, but were several days in advance of 
 our train. Walter Herron, one of our drivers, 
 who was traveling with the Donners, left the 
 wagons and joined my falher. 
 
 On the 1 9th of October, while traveling along 
 the Truckee, our hearts were gladdened by the 
 return of Stanton, with seven mules loaded with 
 provisions. Mr. McClutchen was ill and could 
 not travel, but Captain Sutter had sent two of 
 his Indian vaqueros, Luis and Salvador with 
 Stanton. Hungry as we were, Stanton brought 
 us something better than food — news that my 
 father was alive. Stanton had met him not far 
 from Sutter's Fort ; he had been three days with- 
 
,1 CROSS rrrr. pf.ains jx tue ponner party {1846). 421 
 
 out food, and his horse was not able to carry liim. 
 Stanton had given him a liorsc and some provis- 
 ions and lie had gone on. We now j)a( ked what 
 httle we had left on one mule and started with 
 Stanton. My mother rode on a mule, carrving 
 Tommy in her laj) ; Patty and Jim rode behind 
 tlie two Indians, and I behind Mr. Stanton, 
 and in this way we journeyed on through the 
 rain, looking u]) with fear towards the moun- 
 tains, where snow was already falling althougli 
 it wa.s only the last week in October. Winter 
 had set in a month earlier than usual. All trails 
 and roads were coNered; and our only guide 
 was the summit which it seemed we would 
 never reach. Despair drove many nearly fran- 
 tic. Each family tried to cross the mountains 
 but found it impossible. When it was seen that 
 the wagons could not be dragged through the 
 snow, their goods and ])rovisions were ])acked 
 on oxen and another start was matle, men and 
 
 might bring yielded to the many, and we 
 < amped within three miles of the summit. 
 
 That night ( ame the dreaded snow. .Around 
 the (amp-fires under the trees great feathery 
 flakes came whirling down. The air was so 
 lull of them that (jne could see objects only a 
 few feet away. The Indians knew we were 
 ♦loomed, and one of them wrapped his blanket 
 about him and stood all night under a tree. 
 We children slejjt soundly on our cold bed of 
 snow with a soft white mantle falling over us 
 so thi( kly that every few moments ms mother 
 w(nild have to shake the shawl — our only < ov- 
 ering — to keep us from being buried alive. In 
 the morning the snow lay deep on mountain 
 and valley. With heavy hearts we turned back 
 to a cabin that had been built by the Murphy- 
 Schallenberger party two years before. We 
 built mf)re cabins and prepared as best we 
 could for the winter. That camp, which proved 
 
 w^m 
 
 
 .jm^:^ 
 
 'Y 
 
 ... *' i «;■. 
 
 
 
 ■if 
 
 TRUCKBB CAfJoV. 
 
 women walking in the snow up to their waists, 
 carrying theirchihlren in their arms andtrying to 
 drive their i attle. The Indians said they could 
 tind no road, so a halt was called, and Stanton 
 went ahead with the guides, and came back 
 and reported that we could get across if we 
 kept right on, but that it would be impossible 
 if snow fell. He was in favor of a forced march 
 until the other side of the summit should be 
 reached, but some of our party were so tired 
 and exhausted with the day's labor that they 
 declared they could not take another step; so 
 the i^:w who kneu ilu- danger that the night 
 
 the camjjof death to many in our company, was 
 made on the shore of a lake, sine e known as 
 " Donner Lake." The Donners were camped 
 in .Mder Creek Valley below the lake, and were, 
 if ])Ossible, in a worse condition than ourselves. 
 The snow came on so suddenly that they had 
 no time to buiUl cabins, but ha.stily put up brush 
 she<ls, covering them with pine l)oughs. 
 
 Three double cabins were built at Donner 
 Lake, which were known as the " Hreen Cabin," 
 the " Murphy Cabin." and the " Reed-Ciraves 
 Cabin." The cattle were all killed, and the 
 meat was placed in snow for preservation. My 
 
422 ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DONNER PARTY {1846). 
 
 mother had no cattle to kill, but she made ar- 
 rangements for some, promising to give two for 
 one in California. Stanton and the Indians 
 made their home in my mother's cabin. 
 
 Many attempts were made to cross the moun- 
 tains, but all who tried were driven back by the 
 
 pies, some beans, a bit of tripe, and a small 
 piece of bacon. When this hoarded store was 
 brought out, the delight of the little ones knew 
 no bounds. The cooking was watched care- 
 fully, and when we sat down to our Christmas 
 dinner mother said, " Children, eat slowly, for 
 
 
 
 W '^ ' 
 
 
 ^.rSf^'J^^Wh^^' 
 
 ■i 
 
 "( '■■ 
 
 ~'V:>^> 
 
 DONNER LAKt, KKOM THE OLU SACRAMENIU TKAIL. 
 
 pitiless storms. Finally a party was organized, 
 since known as the " Forlorn Hope." They 
 made snow-shoes, and fifteen started, ten men 
 and five women, but only seven lived to reach 
 Cahfornia; eight men perished. They were 
 over a month on the way, and the horrors en- 
 dured by that Forlorn Hope no pen can de- 
 scribe nor imagination conceive. The noble 
 Stanton was one of the party, and perished the 
 sixth day out, thus sacrificing his life for stran- 
 gers. I can find no words in which to express 
 a fitting tribute to the memory of Stanton. 
 
 The misery endured during those four 
 months at Donner Lake in our little dark cab- 
 ins under the snow would fill pages and make 
 the coldest heart ache. Christmas was near, 
 but to the starving its memory gave no com- 
 fort. It came and passed without observance, 
 but my mother had determined weeks before 
 that her children should have a treat on this 
 one day. She had laid away a few dried ap- 
 
 this one day you can have all you wish." So 
 bitter was the misery relieved by that one bright 
 day, that I have never since sat down to a 
 Christmas dinner without my thoughts going 
 back to Donner Lake. 
 
 The storms would often last ten days at 
 a time, and we would have to cut chips from 
 the logs inside which formed our cabins, in or- 
 der to start a fire. We could scarcely walk, and 
 the men had hardly strength to procure wood. 
 We would drag ourselves through the snow from 
 one cabin to another, and some mornings snow 
 would have to be shoveled out of the fireplace 
 before a fire could be made. Poor little children 
 were crying with hunger, and mothers were cry- 
 ing because they had so little to give their chil- 
 dren. We seldom thought of bread, we had been 
 without it so long. Four months ofsuch suftering 
 would fill the bravest hearts with despair. 
 
 During the closing days of December, 1846, 
 gold was found in my mother's cabin at Don- 
 
ACJWSS THE ri.AlXS I.\ Til/-: nOiWKR I'ARTV {^1846). 
 
 A^% 
 
 ncr Lake by John Dfiiton. I remember the 
 night well. The storm fiends were shriekin;; 
 in their wild mirth, we were sitting about the 
 fire in our little tlark home, busy with our 
 thoughts. Denton with his cane kept knock- 
 ing pieces ort' the large rocks used as rire-irf)ns 
 on which to place the wood. Something bright 
 attracted his attention, and picking up pieces 
 of the ro( k he examined them closely ; then 
 turning to my mother he said. "Mrs. Reed, 
 this is gold." My mothcrreplied that she wished 
 it were bread. Denton knocked more chi])S 
 trom the rocks, and he hunted in the ashes 
 for the shining particles until he had gathered 
 about a teaspoonful. This he tied in a small 
 piece of buckskin and ])laced in his pocket, say- 
 ing, "If we ever get away from here I am com- 
 ing back for more." Denton started out with 
 the first relief party but perished on the way, 
 anil no one thought of the gold in his pocket. 
 I )enton was about thirty years of age ; he was 
 bom in Sheffield, England, and was a gun- 
 smith and gold-l)eater by trade. (Jold has never 
 been found on the shore of the lake, but a few 
 miles from there in the mountain canons, from 
 which this rock pos.sibly came, rich mines have 
 been discovered. 
 
 Time dragged slowly along till we were no 
 longeron short allowance but were simply starv- 
 ing. My mother determined to make an eflbrt 
 to cross the mountains. She could not see her 
 children die without tr)ing to get them food. 1 1 
 was hard to leave them but she felt that it must 
 be done. She told them she would bring them 
 bread, so they were willing to stay, and with no 
 guide but a compass we started — my mother, 
 Eliza, Milt Elliott and myself Milt wore snow 
 shoes and we followed in his tracks. We were 
 five days in the mountains ; Eli/a gave out the 
 first day and had to return, but we kept on 
 and climbed one high mountain after another 
 only to see others higher still ahead. Often I 
 would have to crawl up the mountains, being too 
 tired to walk. The nights were made hideous 
 by the screams of wild beasts heard in the dis- 
 tance. Again, we would be lulleil to sleep by 
 the moan of the ])ine trees, whic h seemed to 
 sympathize with our loneliness. One morning 
 we awoke to find ourselves in a well of snow. 
 During the night, while m the deep sleep of ex- 
 haustion, the heat of the fire had melted the snow 
 and our little (amp had gradually sunk manv 
 feet below the surface until we were literally 
 buried in a well of snow. The danger was that 
 an\ attem|)t to get out might bring an avalani he 
 ujjon us, but finally steps were carefully made 
 and we reached the surface. My foot was 
 badly frozen, so we were compelled to return, 
 and just in time, for that night a storm came on. 
 the most fearful of the winter, and we should 
 have perished had we not been in the cabins. 
 
 Wenow had nothing to eat but raw hidesand 
 they were on the roof of the cabin to keep out 
 the snow ; when prepared for cooking and boiled 
 they were simply a pot of glue. When the hides 
 were taken oft" our cabin and we were left with- 
 out shelter .Mr. I'.reen gave us a home with 
 his family, and Mrs. Hreen prolonged my life 
 by slijjping me little bits of meat now and then 
 when she disi overecl that I < f)uld not eat the 
 hide. Death had already claimed many in our 
 l)arty and it seemed as though relief never 
 would reach us. liaylis Williams, who had 
 been in delicate health before we left Spring- 
 field, was the first to die ; he passed away be- 
 fore starvation had really set in. 
 
 I am a Catholic although my parents wore 
 not. I often went to the Catholic < hun h before 
 leaving home, but it was at Donner Lake that 
 I made the vow to be a Catholic. The Hreens 
 were the only Catholic family in the Donner 
 party and prayers were said aloud regularly 
 in that cabin night and morning. Our only light 
 was from little ])ine sticks split up like kin- 
 tiling wood and kept constantly on the hearth. 
 1 was very fond of kneeling by the side of Mr. 
 Breen and holding these little torches so that 
 he might see to rea<l. One night we had all 
 gone to bed — I was with my mother and the 
 little ones, all huddled together to keep from 
 freezing — but I could not sleep. It was a 
 fearful night and I felt that the hour was not 
 far distant when we would go to sleep — never 
 to wake again in this world. All at once I found 
 myself on my knees with my hands clasped, 
 looking up through the darkness, making a vow 
 that if God would send us relief and let me see 
 my father again I would be a Catholic. That 
 prayer was answered. 
 
 On his arrival at Sutter's Fort, my father 
 made known the situation of the emigrants, 
 and Captain Suiter otTeretl at once to do ever)'- 
 thing pos.sible for their relief. He furnished 
 horses and ])rovisions and my father and .Mr. 
 McClutchen .started for the mountains, com- 
 ing as far as possible with horses ami then 
 with packs on their backs proceeding on 
 foot; but they were finally <ompelled to re- 
 turn. C"aptain Sutter was not sur|)rised at 
 their defeat. He stated that there were no able- 
 bodied men in that vicinity, all having gone 
 down the country with Eremont to fight the 
 Mexicans. He advised my father to go to 
 \'erba Buena, now San Erancisco, and make 
 his case known to the naval ofticerin command. 
 My father was in fa( t ( t>n<lucting parties there 
 — when the seven members of the Forlorn 
 Ho|)e arrived from across the mountains. Their 
 famished facestohl the story. Cattle were killed 
 and men were up all night drying beef and mak- 
 ing flour by hand mills, nearly 200 [)Ounds be- 
 ing made in one night, and a party of seven, 
 
424 ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DONNER PARTY {1846). 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 ON THE WAY TO THE SUMMIT. 
 
 
 
 commanded by Captain Reasen P. Tucker, 
 were sent to our relief by Captain Sutter and 
 the alcalde, Mr. Sinclair. On the evening of 
 February 19th, 1847, they reached our cabins, 
 where all were starving. They shouted to at- 
 tract attention. Mr. Breen, clambered up the 
 icy steps from our cabin, and soon we heard 
 the blessed words, " Relief, thank God, re- 
 lief! " There was joy at Donner Lake that 
 night, for we did not know the fate of the 
 
 Forlorn Hope and we were told that relief par- 
 ties would come and go until all were across 
 the mountains. But with the joy sorrow was 
 strangely blended. There were tears in other 
 eyes than those of children ; strong men sat 
 down and wept. For the dead were lying 
 about on the snow, some even unburied, since 
 the living had not had strength to bury their 
 dead. When Milt Elliott died, — our faithful 
 friend, who seemed so hke a brother, — my 
 
ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE DONNE R TARTY {/S46). 
 
 425 
 
 mother and I dragged liiin up «>ul of tlic cal)iii 
 and covered liim with sncjw. Commencing at 
 liis feet, 1 patted the pure white snow «lown 
 softly until 1 reached his face. Poor Milt! it 
 wa> hard to cover that face from sight forever, 
 for with his death our best friend was gone. 
 
 On the 2 2d of February the first relief 
 started with a party of twenty-three — men, 
 women and children. My mother and her fam- 
 ily were among the number. It was a bright 
 sunny morning anil we felt happy, but we had 
 not gone far wiien Patty and I'ommy gave out. 
 They were not able to stand the fatigue and 
 it was not thought safe to allow them to pro- 
 ceed, so Mr. Glover informed mama that they 
 would have to be sent back to the cabins to 
 await the next expedition. What language can 
 express our feelings ? My mother said that she 
 would tro back with her children — that we 
 would all go back together. Ihis the relief 
 party would not permit, and Mr. Glover ])rom- 
 ised mama that as soon as they reached Bear 
 Valley he himself would return for her chil- 
 dren. Finally my mother, turning to Mr. Glover 
 said, " Are you a Mason ? " He replied that 
 he was. " Will you promise mc on the word 
 of a Mason that if we do not meet their father 
 you will return and save my children ? " He 
 l)ledged himself that he would. My father was 
 a member of the Mystic Tie and mama had 
 great faith in the word of a Mason. It was 
 a sad parting — a fearful struggle. The men 
 turned aside, not being able to hide their tears. 
 Patty said, '• 1 want to see i)apa, but I will take 
 good care of Tommy and I do not want you 
 to c(jme back." Mr. Glover returned with the 
 children and, providing them with food, left 
 them in the care of Mr. Breen. 
 
 With sorrowful hearts we traveled on, walk- 
 ing through the snow in single file. The men 
 wearing snow-shoes broke the way and we lol- 
 lowed in their tracks. .\t night we lay down 
 on the snow to sleep, to awake to find our 
 clothingall frozen, even to our shoe-strings. \i 
 itreak of day we were again on the road, owing 
 to the fact that we could make better time 
 over the frozen snow. The sunshine, which it 
 would seem would have been welcome, only 
 added to our misery. The dazzling reflection 
 of the snow was very trying to the eyes, while 
 its heat melted our frozen clothing, making 
 them cling to our bodies. My brother was too 
 small to step in the tracks made by the men, and 
 in order to travel he had to place his knee on the 
 little hill of snow after each step and climb over. 
 Mother coaxed him along, telling him that 
 everv step he took he was getting nearer pajja 
 and nearer something to eat. He was the 
 youngest child that walked over the Sierra 
 Nevada. On our second day's journey John 
 Denton gave out and declared it wouKl be im- 
 Vbu XI. II. — 55. 
 
 possible for him to travel, but he begged his 
 companions to < ontinue their journey. A fire 
 was l)uilt and he was left lying on a l)ed of 
 freshly cut pine boughs, peacefully smoking. 
 He looked so comfortable that my little brother 
 wante<l to stay with him ; but when the second 
 relief party reached him poor Denton was past 
 waking. His lastthoughtsseemed tohave gone 
 back to his childhood's home, as a little poem 
 wa.s found by his side, the pencil apparently 
 just drojjped from his hand. 
 
 Captain Tucker's party on their way to the 
 cabins had lightened their i)acks of a sufiicient 
 quantity of provisions to supply the sufl'erers 
 on their way out. But when we reached the 
 place where the cache had been made by 
 hanging the food on a tree, we were horrified 
 to find that wild animals had destroyed it, and 
 again starvation stared us in the face. But my 
 father was hurrying over the mountains, and 
 met us in our hour of need with his hands full 
 of bread. He had expected to ineet us on this 
 tlay,and had stayed up a'l night baking Ijread 
 to give us. He brought with him fourteen 
 men. Some of his jjarty were ahead, and when 
 they saw us coming they called out, "Is Mrs. 
 Reed with you ? If she is, tell her .Mr. Reed 
 is here," We heard the call ; mother knelt on 
 the snow, while I tried to run to meet papa. 
 
 When my father learned that two of his 
 children were still at the cabins, he hurried 
 on, so fearful was he that they might perish be- 
 fore he reached them. He seemed to fly over 
 the snow, and made in two days the distance 
 we had been five in traveling, and was over- 
 joyed to find Patty and Tommy alive. He 
 reached Donner Lake on the first of March, 
 and what a sight met his gaze! The fam- 
 ished little children and the death-like look 
 of all made his heart ache. He fillet! Patty's 
 apron with biscuits, which she carried around, 
 giving one to each person. He had soup made 
 for the infirm, and rendered ever>- assistance 
 possible to the sufi'erers. Leaving them with 
 about seven days' provisions, he started out 
 with a party of seventeen, all that were able to 
 travel. Three of his men were left at the cab- 
 ins to procure wood and assist the helpless. 
 My father's party (the second relief) had not 
 traveled many miles when a storm broke 
 upon them. With the snow came a perfect 
 hurricane. The crying of half-frozen chihlren. 
 the lamenting of the mothers, and the surter- 
 ing of the whole party was heart-rending ; 
 and above all couUl be heard the shrieking of 
 the storm King. One w ho has never witnessecl 
 a bliz-rard in the Sierra can form no idea of 
 the situation. .All night my father and his men 
 worked unceasingly through the raging storm. 
 tr)-ing to erect shelter fi>r the dying women 
 and children. .\t times the hurricane would 
 
426 ACROSS THE PLAINS IN THE BONNER PARTY {1846). 
 
 burst forth with such violence that he felt 
 alarmed on account of the tall timber surround- 
 ing the camp. The party were destitute of food, 
 all suppUes that could be spared having been 
 left with those at the cabins. The relief party 
 had cached provisions on their way over to 
 the cabins, and my father had sent three of the 
 men forward for food before the storm set 
 in ; but they could not return. Thus, again, 
 death stared all in the face. At one time the fire 
 was nearly gone; had it been lost, all would 
 have perished. Three days and nights they 
 were exposed to the fury of the elements. Fi- 
 nally my father became snow-blind and could 
 do no more, and he would have died but for 
 the exertions of William McClutchen and Hi- 
 ram Miller, who worked over him all night. 
 From this time forward, the toil and respon- 
 sibility rested upon McClutchen and Miller. 
 
 The storm at last ceased, and these two 
 determined to set out over the snow and send 
 back relief to those not able to travel. Hiram 
 Miller picked up Tommy and started. Patty 
 thought she could walk, but gradually every- 
 thing faded from her sight, and she too 
 seemed to be dying. All other sufferings were 
 now forgotten, and everything was done to 
 revive the child. My father found some 
 crumbs in the thumb of his woolen mitten ; 
 warming and moistening them between his 
 own lips, he gave them to her and thus saved 
 her Hfe, and afterward she was carried along 
 by different ones in the company. Patty was 
 not alone in her travels. Hidden away in her 
 bosom was a tiny doll, which she had carried 
 day and night through all of our trials. Sit- 
 ting before a nice, bright fire at Woodworth's 
 Camp, she took dolly out to have a talk, and 
 told her of all her new happiness. 
 
 There was untold suffering at that " Starved 
 Camp," as the place has since been called. 
 When my father reached Woodworth's Camp, 
 a third relief started in at once and rescued 
 the hving. A fourth rehef went on to Donner 
 Lake, as many were still there — and many re- 
 main there still, including George Donner and 
 wife, Jacob Donner and wife and four of their 
 children. George Donner had met with an ac- 
 cident which rendered him unable to travel ; 
 and his wife would not leave him to die alone. 
 It would take pages to tell of the heroic acts 
 and noble deeds of those who lie sleeping 
 about Donner Lake. 
 
 San Jose, Cal. 
 
 Most of the survivors, when brought in from 
 the mountains, were taken by the different relief 
 pardes to Sutter's Fort, and the generous 
 hearted captain did everything possible for 
 the sufferers. Out of the eighty-three persons 
 who were snowed in at Donner Lake, forty- 
 two perished, and of the thirty-one emigrants 
 who left Springfield, IlHnois, that spring morn- 
 ing, only eighteen lived to reach California. 
 Alcalde Sinclair took my mother and her family 
 to his own home, and we were surrounded with 
 every comfort. Mrs. Sinclair was the dearest 
 of women. Never can I forget their kindness. 
 But our anxiety was not over, for we knew 
 that my father's party had been caught in the 
 storm. I can see my mother now, as she 
 stood leaning against the door for hours at a 
 time, looking towards the mountains. At last 
 my father arrived at Mr. Sinclair's with the 
 little ones, and our family were again united. 
 That day's happiness repaid us for much 
 that we had suffered; and it was spring in 
 California, 
 
 Words cannot tell how beautiful the spring 
 appeared to us coming out of the mountains 
 from that long winter at Donner Lake in our 
 little dark cabins under the snow. Before us 
 now lay, in all its beauty, the broad valley of 
 the Sacramento. I remember one day, when 
 traveling down Napa Valley, we stopped 
 at noon to have lunch under the shade of an 
 oak ; but I was not hungry ; I was too full 
 of the beautiful around me to think of eat- 
 ing. So I wandered off by myself to a lovely 
 Httle knoll and stood there in a bed of wild 
 flowers, looking up and down the green valley, 
 all dotted with trees. The birds were singing 
 with very joy in the branches over my head, 
 and the blessed sun was smiHng down upon 
 all as though in benediction. I drank it in for 
 a moment, and then began kissing my hand 
 and wafting kisses to Heaven in thanksgiving 
 to the Almighty for creating a world so beau- 
 tiful. I felt so near God at that moment that 
 it seemed to me 1 could feel His breath warm 
 on my cheek. By and by I heard papa call- 
 ing, " Daughter, where are you ? Come, child, 
 we are ready to start, and you have had 
 no lunch," I ran and caught him by the hand, 
 saying, " Buy this place, please, and let us 
 make our home here." He stood looking 
 around for a moment, and said, "It is a 
 lovely spot," and then we passed on. 
 
 Virginia Reed Murphy. 
 
ox Tfrr. .ixnr.Rso.wrr r.r. crRcrir. 
 
 '05 
 
 Sailors in natty uniforms leaned over the 
 rail, and looking down U|ion the derk of our 
 rusty old coc kle-shcll they j;ave us a welcome 
 cheer. Officers on board, and others passing 
 to and fro in small boats over the (•ho|)|)y sea. 
 waved us a salute. This was the sixth time we 
 liad left prison or stockade for exchange, and 
 it now seemed that our guards hatl for once 
 told us the truth. W'e had often said, during 
 the weary months from Libby to Florence, 
 that when we should again see the old flag 
 we would shout until we woke the echoes for 
 miles around. But it was a feeble cheer that 
 went u]) from the wrecks of men scpiatting on 
 the open deck. Here and there some of the 
 stronger ones formed knots of five or six and 
 broke into such a wild dance or walk around, 
 cheering, yelling, and singing the while, that 
 they might have been regarded as maniacs 
 loosed from their cells. Some knelt in silent 
 prayer, and tear-drops cut faint furrows down 
 grimy cheeks where they had long been 
 strangers. Others swore and cursed. They 
 cursed everybody related to the Confederacy 
 and the things that had contributed to the 
 hardships of their prison experiem e ; and 
 as if there were not material enough to 
 curse on that side, they crossed the lines and 
 cursed Lincoln and Grant because of the 
 broken cartel. I hugged to my side the 
 little bag of grits I had accumulated. The 
 bag was made of remnants of clothing and 
 held about a quart. I could not cat the grits, 
 but dared not let them go until l knew we 
 were surely free. I had starved so long that 
 these broken kernels of corn were very pre- 
 cious. I was constantly hoping to barter them 
 for something that I could eat, or possibly for 
 a dose of (juinine or .some peppers. But now 
 a gang |)lank was run out from an opening in 
 the side of the transport. It was lined on 
 each side with sailors, who pushed us rapidly 
 along and aboard the big vessel. In the hold 
 before us was a great stack of blue uniforms 
 and clean underclothing comjjlete from cap to 
 shoes. Kind attendants too were there to as- 
 sist us, and they said, " Strij) now, quick: take 
 everything off" ; and then, " Throw your rags 
 overboard," and out they went through a 
 port-hole just overhead. They were very filthy ; 
 for they were the remnants of what we had 
 wom a year and a half before in the Chatta- 
 nooga campaign, remnants of what we had 
 gained in traffic with our guards, remnants of 
 what we had taken from the bodies of our 
 <kail. They had been held together by threads 
 raveled from the stronger parts and sewed with 
 
 1 We cilk-fl re.ll coflfoc " United St.Ttcs coffee " to <lis- 
 tinguisl) it from burnt corn, burnt corn bread or meal, 
 
 needles made from sjdinters of Georgia pine. 
 We thought Charleston harbor a fit burying- 
 ground for them all. .\s fast as dressed we 
 were marched in two ranks to an upper deck, 
 where we ])assed a small window from which 
 was handed a loaf of bread to each of us — 
 a pound loaf of wheat bread. At another 
 window each received a great piece of raw fat 
 pork — a half-pound, and the sweetest morsel I 
 ever tasted. At still another window each g(Jt 
 a pint cuj) full of .steaming United States 
 coffee.* It was then, when our digestive or- 
 gans had .something on which to work, when 
 we were decently clothed and were at last free 
 from the torture of vermin, that lost manhood 
 began to retum. P^ach did not now look upon 
 his fellow as something to be watched and 
 feared. We did not watch that night lest our 
 bread should be stolen. In fact it was reported 
 that we would receive rations again in the 
 morning, which was hard to believe. Some 
 after being rationed ont c fell into line the 
 second and even a third time and hoarded their 
 bread and meat. When their actions were 
 noted they were told to take all they wanted. 
 Rounding Cape Hatterasmuch of this bread 
 and meat was brought to light again, and for 
 forty-eight hours the ship presented anything 
 but the neat and trim appearance we noticed 
 when we first went aboard. The ship's sur- 
 geon, the officers and their wives, vied with the 
 sailors in attentions to their passengers. Five 
 only of our number died on the trip to An- 
 napolis, and here, after we had been again 
 stripped, and washed, and our hair clij)ped 
 close, we were put to bed between white sheets. 
 Women came to my cot with oysters t'resh 
 from the bay, with bread and butter, jellies 
 and pickles, with shining glass and snow-white 
 nai)kins. and when I had eaten they saitl, 
 •• .Now vou just rest and sleep, and dream of 
 home." When I was able to read the caril at 
 the hea<l of my cot. I found, " Phthisis |nil- 
 
 monalis, fever, general debility ; diet. ; 
 
 treatment, ." I cannot remember the <liet 
 
 nor the treatment, but I remember well the 
 ministrations of these women ; how they 
 hovered round my cot, touching up my pillow, 
 and how their ( ool hantls rested on my hot 
 forehead. I do not know whether they were 
 army nurses, residents of .Annapolis, or mem- 
 bers of Christian an<l sanitary commissions: 
 I never knew; but the soldiers have not for- 
 gotten their ministrations, and give to woman's 
 loyalty and patriotism a " roval three times 
 
 three." 
 
 J. T. Kiiij^. 
 
 I»urnt sw 
 stitutes.ni 
 
 etc., wlii 
 •Con fed 
 
 fd as sub- 
 
 VoL. XI. I.— 15. 
 
r'-.5'"/r „■', 
 
 u I, 
 
 
 A PERIL OF THE PLAINS. 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 BY JOHN BIDWELL (PIONEER OF '41). 
 
 'N the spring of 1839, 
 — living at the time 
 in the western part 
 of Ohio, — being then 
 in my twentieth year, 
 I conceived a desire 
 to see the great 
 prairies of the West, 
 especially those most frequently spoken of, in 
 Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Emigration from 
 the East was tending westward, and settlers had 
 already begun to invade those rich fields. 
 
 Starting on foot to Cincinnati, ninety miles 
 distant, I fortunately got a chance to ride most 
 of the way on a wagon loaded with farm pro- 
 duce. My outfit consisted of about $75, the 
 clothes I wore, and a few others in a knapsack 
 which I carried in the usual way strapped 
 upon my shoulders, for in those days travelers 
 did not have valises or trunks. Though trav- 
 eling was considered dangerous, I had no 
 weapon more formidable than a pocket-knife. 
 From Cincinnati I went down the Ohio River 
 by steamboat to the Mississippi, up the Mis- 
 sissippi to St. Louis, and thence to I3urlington, 
 
 io5 
 
 in what was then the Territory of Iowa. Those 
 were bustling days on the western rivers, which 
 were then the chief highways of travel. The 
 scenes at the wood landings I recall as particu- 
 larly lively and picturesque. Many passengers 
 would save a little by helping to " wood the 
 boat," /. <"., by carrying wood down the bank 
 and throwing it on the boat, a special ticket 
 being issued on that condition. It was very 
 interesting to see the long lines of passengers 
 coming up the gang-plank, each with two or 
 three sticks of wood on his shoulders. An anec- 
 dote is told of an Irishman who boarded a 
 western steamer and wanted to know the fare 
 to St. Louis, and, being told, asked, " What do 
 you charge for 1 50 pounds of freight ? " Upon 
 learning the price, a small amount, he an- 
 nounced that he would go as freight. " All 
 right," said the captain ; " put him down in 
 the hold and lay some flour barrels on him 
 to keep him down." 
 
 In 1839 Burlington had perhaps not over 
 two hundred inhabitants, though it was the 
 capital of Iowa Territory. After consultation 
 with the governor, Robert Lucas of Ohio, I 
 
Tif/-: FIRST K.\n(;i<A.\r iraix ro caljiorma. 
 
 107 
 
 concluded to go into the interior and sclc( t 
 a tract of land on the Iowa River. In those 
 days one was permitted to take up 160 acres, 
 and where practicable it was usual to take |)art 
 timber and part prairie, .\fter working awhile 
 at putting up a log house — until all the peo 
 |)le in the neighborhood became ill with fever 
 and ague — I conclude<l to move on and strike 
 out to the south and southwest into Missouri. 
 I traveleil acro.ss country, sometimes by the 
 sun, without roatl or trail. There were houses 
 antl settlements, but they wx-re scattered ; some- 
 times one would have to go twenty miles to 
 fmd a place to stay at night. 'I'he jjrincipal 
 game seen was the prairie hen ( Tctraonidce 
 cupUo); the prairie wolf {Canis 
 liitrans) also abounded. Continu- 
 ing southwest and passing through 
 Huntsville I struck the Missouri 
 Kivernear Keytesville in Chariton 
 County. 'I'hence I continued up the 
 north side of the river till the west- 
 ernmost settlement in Missouri was 
 reached ; this was in Platte County. 
 The Platte Purchase,asit wascalled, 
 had been recently bought from the 
 Indians, and was newly but thickly 
 settled, on account of its proximity 
 to navigation, its fine timber, good 
 water, and unsurpassed fertility. 
 
 ( )n the route I traveled I cannot 
 recall seeing an emigrant wagon in 
 Missouri. The western movement, 
 which subseijuently filled Missouri 
 and other Western States and over- 
 flowed into the ailjoining Territo- 
 ries, had then hardly begun, ex- 
 cept as to Platte County. The 
 contest in Congress over the Platte 
 Purcha.se, which by increasing the 
 area of Missouri gave more terri- 
 tory to slavery, called w ide attention 
 to that charming region. The anti- 
 slavery sentiment even at that date 
 ran cpiite high. This wa.s, I believe, 
 the first addition to slave territory 
 after the Mi.ssouri Compromise. Put 
 slavery won. The rush that fol- 
 lowed in the space of one or two 
 years filled the most desirable |)art 
 of the purchase to (nerflowing. I'he 
 imagination couUl not conceive a 
 finer country — lovely, rolling, fertile, won- 
 ilerfully productive, beautifully arranged for 
 settlement, part jirairie and part timber. The 
 land was unsurveyed. Kvery settler had aimed 
 to locate a half-mile from his neighbor, anil 
 there was as yet no conflict. Peace anil con- 
 tentment reigned. Nearly every place seemed to 
 havea beautiful springof clear cold water. The 
 hills and prairies and the level places were alike 
 
 covered with ablac kandferlilesoil. I cannot re- 
 call seeing an acre of poor land in Platte C'ounty. 
 Of course there was intense longing on the part 
 of the peopleof Missouri tohave the Indians re- 
 m(ned, and a corresponding desire, as soon as 
 the pur( hase was consummated, to get posses- 
 .<;ion of the beautiful land. 1 1 was in .some sense 
 ])erhaps a kind of Oklahoma movement. .\n- 
 other feature was the abundance of wild honey- 
 bees. Every tree that had a hollow in it seemed 
 to be a bee- tree, and every hollow was full of ri( h 
 goUlen honey. A singular fat t which I learned 
 from old hunters was that the honey-bee was 
 never found more than seventy or eighty miles 
 in advance of the white settlements on the 
 
 (F 
 
 JOHN UIDWRU- 
 KOM A DAGL'BKRBOTVPK T\KKN PV HRAOV IN 1850) 
 
 frontier. On this aurai tne laml 1 .set my al- 
 feclions. intending to make it my home. 
 
 On my arrival, my money being all spent, 
 I was obliged to accept the first thing that 
 ofl'ered. anil began teaching school in the 
 country about five miles from the tow n of 
 Weston, which was located on the north side 
 of the Missouri River and about four miles 
 above I'ort Leavenw orth in Kansas Territor)'. 
 
io8 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 THE MISSOURI RIVER AT WESTOK, FROM THE KANSAS SIDE. 
 
 Possibly some may suppose it did not take 
 much education to teach a country school at 
 that period in Missouri. The rapid settlement 
 of that new region had brought together people 
 of all classes and conditions, and had thrown into 
 juxtaposition almost every phase of intelligence 
 as well as of illiteracy. But there was no lack 
 of self-reliance or native shrewdness in any 
 class, and I must say that I learned to have 
 a high esteem for the people, among whom I 
 found warm and lifelong friends. 
 
 But even in Missouri there were drawbacks. 
 Rattlesnakes and copperheads were abundant. 
 One man, it was said, found a place to suit 
 him, but on alighting from his horse heard 
 so many snakes that he concluded to go 
 farther. At his second attempt, finding more 
 snakes instead of fewer, he left the country 
 altogether. I taught school there in all about 
 a year. My arrival was in June, 1839, and in 
 the fall of that year the surveyors came on 
 to lay out the country : the lines ran every 
 way, sometimes through a man's house, some- 
 times through his barn, so that there was much 
 confusion and trouble about boundaries, etc. 
 By the favor of certain men, and by paying a 
 small amount for a little piece of fence here 
 and a small clearing there, I got a claim, and 
 purposed to make it my home, and to have 
 my father remove there from Ohio. 
 
 In the following summer, 1840, the weather 
 was very hot, so that during the vacation I 
 could do but little work on my place, and 
 needing some supjilies, — books, clothes, etc., — 
 I concluded to take a trip to St. Louis, which 
 
 SITE OF THE OLD STOCKADE, FORT LEAVENWORTH. 
 
 I did by way of the Missouri River. The dis- 
 tance was six hundred miles by water; the 
 down trip occupied two days, and was one of 
 the most delightful experiences of my life. 
 But returning, the river being low and full of 
 snags, and the steamboat heavily laden, — the 
 boats were generally light going down, — we 
 were continually getting on sand bars, and 
 were delayed nearly a month. This trip 
 proved to be the tuniing-point in my life, for 
 while I was gone a man had jumped my land. 
 Generally in such cases public sentiment was 
 against the jumper, and it was decidedly so 
 in my case. But the scoundrel held on. He 
 was a bully — had killed a man in Callaway 
 County — and everybody seemed afraid of 
 him. Influential friends of mine tried to per- 
 suade him to let me have eighty acres, half of 
 the claim. But he was stubborn, and said that 
 all he wanted was just what the law allowed 
 him. Unfortunately for me, he had the legal ad- 
 vantage. I had worked some now and then 
 on the place, but had not actually lived on it. 
 The law required a certain residence, and that 
 the preemptor should be twenty-one years of 
 age or a man of family. I was neither, and 
 could do nothing. Nearly all I had earned 
 had been spent upon the land, and when that 
 
nil / IKST KMU.KAXT '/h.t/X JO CAIJIOKXJA. 
 
 109 
 
 was taken I lost alxnit cv(.rything I had. 'I'licrc 
 beinj^' no possiliiliiy of gettinj^ anotlicr ilaim 
 to suit mc, I resolved to go elsewhere when 
 spring should open. 
 
 In Xovember or December of 1S40, while 
 still teaching school in Platte County, I came 
 across a Frenchman named Roubideaux, who 
 said he had been to California. He had been 
 a trader in New Mexico, and had followeil 
 the road traveled by traders from the frontier 
 
 we < ouid ask him was answered favorably. 
 Cenerally the first (|uestion which a Missourian 
 asked about a country was whether there was 
 any fever and ague, I remember his answer 
 distinctly. He said there was but one man in 
 California that had ever had a chill there, and 
 it was a matter of so much wonderment to the 
 pco]ile of M(jntercy that they went eighteen 
 miles intcj the country to see him shake. .Noth- 
 ing could have been more satisfactory on the 
 
 LOW WATP.R ON THK MISSOl'RI. 
 
 of Missouri to Santa Fc. He had probably 
 gone through what is now New Mexico and 
 Arizona into California by the (lila River trail 
 used by the Mexicans. His description of Cal- 
 ifornia was in the superlative degree favorable, 
 >.o much so that I resolved if possible to see 
 that wonderful lantl, and with others helped 
 to get uj) a meeting at Weston and invited 
 him to make a statement before it in regard 
 to the country. At that time when a man 
 moved out West, as soon as he was fairly settled 
 he wanted to move again, and naturally every 
 {|uestion imaginable was asked in regard to 
 this wonderful country. Roubideaux described 
 it as one of perennial spring and bfjumlless 
 fertility, and laid stress on the countless thou- 
 sands of wild horses and cattle. He told abcfiit 
 oranges, and hence must have been at I-os 
 •Xngeles, or the mission of San (iabriel, a few 
 miles from it. Every conceivable cjuestion that 
 
 score of health. He said that the Spanish au- 
 thorities were most frienilly, and that the people 
 were the most hospitable on the globe ; that 
 you could travel all over California and it 
 would cost you nothing for horses or food. 
 Even the Indians were friendly. His de- 
 scription of the country made it seem like a 
 Paradise. 
 
 The result was that we appointed a corrc- 
 sjjonding .secretary, and a committee to rejjort 
 a i)lan of organization. .\ pledge was drawn 
 up in which every signer agreed to purchase 
 a suitable outfit, and to rendezvous at Sapling 
 Clrove in what is now the State of Kan.sas, on 
 the 9th of the following May, armed and 
 e(|uii)petl to cross the Ro< ky Mountains to 
 California. We called ourselves the Western 
 Immigration Society, and as soon as the pledge 
 was drawn up every one who agreed to come 
 signed his name to it, and it took like wildfire. 
 
77//: FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CAUFORXIA. 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 In a short time. I think within a month, wc In 1840 there hved in ("alifomia an old 
 had aI)Out five hundred names; we also had Rocky Mountaineer l>y the name of Isaac (;ra- 
 correspondence on the subject with people all ham. He was injudicious in his talk, and hv 
 over Mis.souri, ami even as far ea.st as Illinois boasting that the United States or Texas would 
 and Kentucky, and as far south as .Arkansas, some day take California, he excited the hos- 
 As soon as the movement was announced in tility and jealousy of the i)eoj)Ie. In those days 
 the papers we had many letters of inipiiry, and .Vmericans were iield in disfavor by the native 
 we expected people in considerable numbers Californians on account of the war made by 
 to join us. .About that time we heard of a man Americans in Texas to wrest Texas from Mex- 
 living in Jackson County, Missouri, who had ico. The number of .Americans in California 
 received a letter from a person in California at this time was very small. When I went to 
 named Dr. .Marsh, s])eaking favorably of the California in 1841 all the foreigners — and all 
 country, and a copy of this letter was published, were foreigners except Indians and Mexicans 
 
 ()ur ignorance of the route was comi)lete. — <Iid not, I think, exceed one hundred; nor was 
 We knew that California lay we.st, and that the character of all ofthem the most prepos.sess- 
 was the extent of our knowledge. Some of the ing. Some had been trappers in the Rocky 
 maps consulted, supposed of course to be cor- Mountains who had not seen civilization for a 
 rect, .showed a lake in the vicinity of where (piarterofa century ; others were men who had 
 Salt Lake now is ; it was represented as a long found their way into California, as Roubideaux 
 lake, three or four hundred miles in extent, had done, by way of .Mexico ; others still had 
 narrow and with two outlets, both running into gone down the Columbia River to Oregon and 
 the Pacific Ocean, either apparently larger than joined trapping parties in the .service of the 
 the Mississippi River. .An intelligent man with Hudson Hay Company going from Oregon to 
 whom I boardeil — Klam IJrown, who till re- California — men who' would let their beards 
 cently lived in California, dying when over grow down to their knees, and wear buckskin 
 ninety years of age — possessed a map that garments made and fringed like those of the 
 showed these rivers to be large, and he advi.sed Indians, and who considered it a conii)liment 
 me to take tools along to make canoes, .so to be told ' I took ye for an Injin." .Another 
 that if we found the country so rough that class of men from the Rocky Mountains were 
 we ( ould not get along with our wagons we in the habit of making their wav by the .Mohave 
 could descend one of those rivers to the Pa- Desert .south of the Sierra Nevada into Cali- 
 cific. ?]ven Fremont knew nothing about Salt fomia to steal horses, sometimes driving off 
 Lake until 1S43, when for the first time he ex- four or five hundred at a time. The other 
 plored it and ma])i)ed it correctly, his report .Americans, most numerous jierhajjs, were sail- 
 being first printed, 1 think, in 1845. ors who had run away from vessels and re 
 
 This being the first movement to cross the mained in the country. With few exceptions 
 Rocky Mountains to California, it is not sur- this was the character of the .American popu- 
 |in>ing that it suffered reverses before we were lation when I came to California, anil they were 
 fairly started. One of these was the publica- not generally a cla.ss calculated to gain much 
 tion of a letter in a New York newspaper giv- fiivorwith the people. Farnham happened to 
 ing a depressing view (jf the country for which come into the Ixay of Monterev when this fel- 
 we were all so confidently longing. It seems low (iraham and hisconfederates.andall others 
 that in 1837 or 1838 a man by the name of whom the Californians suspected, were under 
 I'arnham, a lawyer, went from New York City arrest in irons on board a vessel, ready for 
 into the Rocky .Mountains for his health. He tran.sportation to San IJIas in Mexico, whither 
 was an invalid, hopelessly gone with consumj)- indeed they were taken, and where some of 
 lion it was thought, and as a last resort he went them died in irons. I am not sure that at this 
 into the mountains, traveled with the trap- time the Fnglish had a consul in California ; 
 pers, lived in the open air as the trappers but the United States had none, and there was 
 lived, eating only meat as they did, and in no one there to take the i)art of the .Americans, 
 two or three years he entirely regained his Farnham, being a lawyer, doubtless knew that 
 health ; but nistead of returning east by wav the proceetling was illegal. He went ashore 
 of St. Louis, as he had gone, he went down and protested against it, l)ut without effect, as 
 the Columbia River and took a vessel to he was only a private individual. Probably he 
 .Monterey and thence to San Bias, making his was there on a burning hot day, and .saw onlv 
 way through Mexico to New York. Upon his the dreary sandhills to the east of the old 
 return — in February or March. 1 84 1 — he pub- town of Monterey. On arriving in New York he 
 lished the letter mentioned. His bad opinion |)ublished the letter referred to, describing how 
 of California was ba.sed wholly on his unfortu- .Ameri< ans were oppressed by the nati\e Cali- 
 nate experience in Monterey, which I will fomians, and how dangerous it was for Amer- 
 re<-ount. icans to go there. The merchants of Platte 
 
112 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 '-S'e'^'- 
 
 
 "l TOOK YE FOR AN INJIN." 
 
 County had all along protested against our go- 
 ing, and had tried from the beginning to dis- 
 courage and break up the movement, saying it 
 was the most unheard-of, foohsh, wild-goose 
 chase that ever entered into the brain of man for 
 five hundred people to pull up stakes, leave that 
 beautiful country, and go away out to a region 
 that we knew nothing of. But they made lit- 
 tle headway until this letter of Farnham's ap- 
 peared. They republished it in a paper in 
 the town of Liberty in Clay County, — there be- 
 ing no paper pubHshed in Platte County, — and 
 sent it broadcast all over the surrounding re- 
 gion. The result was that as the people began 
 to think more seriously about the scheme the 
 membership of the society began dropping off, 
 and so it happened at last that of all the five 
 hundred that signed the pledge I was the only 
 one that got ready ; and even I had hard work 
 
 to do so, for I had barely means to buy a 
 wagon, a gun, and provisions. Indeed, the man 
 who was going with me, and who was to furnish 
 the horses, backed out, and there I was with 
 my wagon ! 
 
 During the winter, to keep the project alive, 
 I had made two or three trips into Jackson 
 County, Missouri, crossing the Missouri River, 
 always dangerous in winter when ice was run- 
 ning, by the ferry at Westport Landing, now 
 Kansas City. Sometimes I had to go ten miles 
 farther down — sixty miles from Weston — to a 
 safer ferry at Independence Landing in order 
 to get into Jackson County, to see men who 
 were talking of going to California, and to get 
 information. 
 
 At the last moment before the time to start 
 for the rendezvous at Sapling Grove — it 
 seemed almost providential — along came a 
 
THE i-fRST r.Mrr.RAxr iraix /o cai.ii-okxia. 
 
 ".^ 
 
 man nnmcd Cii-Dr^e Hi'tishaw. an iiivalifljroin 
 Illinois. 1 think. lie was pretty well dresseil, 
 was riding a tine black horse, and had ten 
 or fifteen dollars. I persuaded him to let me 
 take his horse an<l trade him for a yoke of 
 steers to imll the wagon and a sorry-look- 
 ing, one-eyed mule for him to ride. We went 
 7'ui Weston to lav in some supplies. ( )ne 
 wagon and tour or five persons here joined us. 
 On leaving Weston, where there had been so 
 much f)pp()sition, we were six or seven in num- 
 ber, and nearly half the town followeil us for 
 a mile, and some for five or six miles, to l)i(l 
 us good-by, showing the deep interest felt in 
 our journey. .Ml expressed good wishes and 
 <lesired to hear tVom us. When we reached 
 Sapling Grove, the place of rendezvous, in 
 Mav, 1S41. there was but one wagon ahead 
 of u.s. Kor the next few days one or two 
 wagons would come each day, and among the 
 recruits were three fiimilies from .\rkansas. • 
 We organized by electing as captain of the 
 company a man named Bartleson from Jack- 
 son County, Missouri. He was not the best 
 man for the position, but we were given to 
 understand that if he was not elected captain 
 he would not go; and as he had seven or eight 
 men with him, and we tlid not want the party 
 diminished, he was chosen, l-'.very one fur- 
 nished his own supplies. The i)arty consisted of 
 sixty-nine, including men, women, and children. 
 ( )ur teams were of oxen, mules, and horses. We 
 had no cows, as the later emigrants usually 
 had, and the lack of milk was a great dei)ri\a- 
 tion to the children. It was understood that 
 every one should have not less than a barrel 
 of Hour with sugar anil so forth to suit ; but I 
 laid in one hundred i)0unds of Hour more than 
 
 till- u^ual quantity, besides odier things. This 
 I did because we were told that when we got 
 into the mountains we probably wouM get out 
 of bread and have to live on meat alone, which 1 
 thought would kill me even if it did not others. 
 .My gun was an old flint-lock rille. but a good 
 one. Old hunters told me to have nothing to 
 do with ca|) or percussion locks, that they were 
 unreliable, and that if I got my caps or percus- 
 sion wet I could not shoot, while if I lost my 
 tlint I could pick up another on the j>lains. 
 I doubt whether there was one hundred dollars 
 in money in the whole jiarty, but all were en- 
 thusiastic and anxious to go. 
 
 In five days after my arrival we were ready 
 to start, but no one knew where to go, ntjt 
 even the captain. Finally a man came up, one 
 of the last to arrive, and announced that a 
 company of Catholic missionaries were on their 
 way from St. Louis to the Flathead nation 
 of Indians with an old Rocky Mountaineer 
 for a guide, and that if we would wait another 
 day they would be up with us. .At first we were 
 independent, anil thought we could not afford 
 to wait for a slow missionary party. Mut when 
 we found that no one knew which way to go, 
 we sobered ilow n and waited for them to come 
 up ; and it was well we did, for otherwise prob- 
 ably not one of us would ever have reached 
 California, because of our inexperience. .\f'- 
 terwards when we came in contact with Indi- 
 ans our people were so easily excited that if 
 we had not had with us an old mountaineer 
 the result would certainly have been di.sastrous. 
 The name of the guide was Captain Fitz- 
 patrick ; he had been at the head of traj)ping 
 parties in the Rocky Mountains tor many 
 years. He and the mis.sionary party went with 
 
 
 U 
 
 >r*^ 
 
 WeSTI^RT LANDING, KANSAS CITV. (KKO" r ii/lsT .iF THR PCRIOD.) 
 
 Vol.. XL!.— 16. 
 
114 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 ^_ _ ness and great affability under all 
 
 circumstances; nothing seemed to 
 disturb his temper. The Cana- 
 dians had mules and Red River 
 carts, instead of wagons and 
 horses, — two mules to each cart, 
 five or six of them, — and in case of 
 steep hills they would hitch three 
 or four of the animals to one cart, 
 always working them tandem. 
 Sometimes a cart would go over, 
 breaking everything in it to pieces ; 
 and at such times Father De Smet 
 would be just the same — beam- 
 ing with good humor. 
 
 In general our route lay from 
 near Westport, where Kansas City 
 now is, northwesterly over the 
 prairie, crossing several streams, 
 till we struck the Platte River. 
 Then we followed along the south 
 side of the Platte to and a day's 
 journey or so along the South 
 Fork. Here the features of the 
 country became more bold and 
 interesting. Then crossing the 
 South Fork of the Platte, and fol- 
 lowing up the north side for a 
 day or so, we went over to the North Fork and 
 camped at Ash Hollow; thence up the north 
 side of that fork, passing those noted land- 
 marks known as the Court House Rocks, Chim- 
 ney Rock, Scott's Bluffs, etc., till we came 
 to Fort Laramie, a trading post of the Ameri- 
 can Fur Company, near which was Lupton's 
 Fort, belonging, as I understood, to some 
 rival company. Thence after several days 
 we came to another noted landmark called 
 
 FATHER DE SMET. 
 
 us as far as Soda Springs, now in Idaho Ter- 
 ritory, whence they turned north to the Flat- 
 head nation. The party consisted of three Ro- 
 man Catholic priests — Father De Smet, Father 
 Pont, Father Mengarini — and ten or eleven 
 French Canadians, and accompanying them 
 were an old mountaineer named John Gray and 
 a young Englishman named Romaine,and also 
 a man named Baker. They seemed glad to 
 have us with them, and we certainly were glad 
 to have their com- 
 pany. Father De 
 Smet had been to 
 the Flathead nation 
 before. He had 
 gone out with a 
 trapping party, and 
 on his return had 
 traveled with only 
 a guide by another 
 route, farther to the 
 north and through 
 hostile tribes. He 
 was genial, of fine 
 presence, and one 
 of the saintliest men 
 I have ever known, 
 and I cannot won- 
 der that the Indians 
 were made to be- 
 lieve him divinely 
 protected. He was 
 a man of great kind- 
 
 /^ 
 
 ^ J'^ 
 
 l^CDfi\i!;l^tMiNi;Tct/ 
 
 A BIT OF ROUGH ROAD. 
 
THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIEORNIA. 
 
 I'S 
 
 '4^*-.a^'..^,j-. 
 
 J3■|jlPt'('C^[«l^'/iX0^-- 
 
 
 ON TIIK WAV TO THE PLATTE. 
 
 Indcpcnrlcncc Rock, on a branch of the North 
 I'laltccallcd tlic Sweetwater, which we followcil 
 up to tlie head, soon after striking the Little 
 Sandy, and then tlie Dig Sandy, whicli emp- 
 ties into tireen River. Next we crossed (ireen 
 River to Black Fork, which we followed up till 
 we came to Ham's Fork, at the head of which 
 we crossed the divide Iietween (ircen and 
 liear rivers. Then we followed Bear River 
 liown to Soda Springs. The waters of Bear 
 Lake discharged through that river, which we 
 
 continued to follow down on the west side till 
 we came to Salt Lake. Then we went around 
 the north end of the lake and struck out to the 
 west and southwest. 
 
 For a lime, until we reached the Platte 
 River, one day was much like another. We set 
 forth every morning and cami)ed every night, 
 detailing men to stand guarcl. Captain Fitz- 
 patrick and the missionary party wouKl gen- 
 erally take the lead and we would follow. Fitz- 
 patrick knew all about the Indian tribes, and 
 
lit 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 when there was any danger we kept in a 
 more compact body, to protect one another. At 
 other times we would be scattered along, some- 
 times for half a mile or more. We were generally 
 together, because there was often work to be 
 done to avoid delay. We had to make the 
 road, frequendy digging down steep banks, 
 filling gulches, removing stones, etc. In such 
 cases everybody would take a spade or do 
 something to help make the road passable. 
 When we camped at night we usually drew 
 the wagons and carts together in a hollow 
 square and picketed our animals inside in the 
 corral. The wagons were common ones and 
 of no special pattern, and some of them were 
 
 effect, to control and pacify them. Every man 
 started his team into a run, till the oxen,, 
 like the mules and horses, were in a full gal- 
 lop. Captain Intzpatrick went ahead and di- 
 rected them to follow, and as fast as they came 
 to the bank of the river he put the wagons in 
 the form of a hollow square and had all the 
 animals securely picketed within. After a while 
 the Indians came in sight. There were only 
 forty of them, but they were well mounted on 
 horses, and were evidently a war party, for 
 they had no women except one, a medicine 
 woman. They came up and camped within a 
 hundred yards of us on the river below. Fitz- 
 patrick told us that they would not have come 
 
 *',rf,* . . ', ''»fe'viiViW,,,»M«km «l^MJMllliiyjli| liln.,hllihft.-^llJ^^^^ 4. 
 
 A POWWOW WITH CHEYENNES. 
 
 covered. The tongue of one would be fast- 
 ened to the back of another. To lessen the 
 danger from Indians, we usually had no fires 
 at night and did our cooking in the day- 
 time. 
 
 The first incident was a scare that we had 
 from a party of Cheyenne Indians just before 
 we reached the Platte River, about two weeks 
 after we set out. One of our men who chanced 
 to be out hunting, some distance from the com- 
 pany and behind us, suddenly appeared with- 
 out mule, gun, or pistol, and lacking most 
 of his clothes, and in great excitement reported 
 that he had been surrounded by thousands of 
 Indians. The company, too, became excited, 
 and Captain Fitzpatrick tried, but with little 
 
 in that way if they were hostile. Our hunter in 
 his excitement said that there were thousands 
 of them, and that they had robbed him of his 
 gun, mule, and pistol. When the Indians had 
 put up their lodges Fitzpatrick and John 
 Gray, the old hunter mentioned, went out to 
 them and by signs were made to understand 
 that the Indians did not intend to hurt the 
 man or to take his mule or gun, but that he 
 was so excited when he saw them that they 
 had to disarm him to keep him from shooting 
 them ; they did not know what liad become 
 of his pistol or of his clothes, which he said 
 they had torn oft". They surrendered the mule 
 and the gun, thus showing that they were 
 friendly. They proved to be Cheyenne Indians. . 
 
THE FIRST EAf/GRAXT TR.HX TO CA LI FOR XI A. 
 
 117 
 
 I hi: iii.kd. 
 
 Ever afterwards that man went l>v the name 
 of Cheyenne Dawson. 
 
 As soon as we struck the buffalo countr)- we 
 found a new source of interest. Before reach- 
 ing the riatte we had .seen an abundanc e of 
 antelope and elk, i^rairie wolves and villages 
 of prairie dogs, but only an occasional buffalo. 
 We now began to kill buffaloes for food, and at 
 the suggestion of John (iray,an(l following the 
 practice of Rocky Mountain white hunters, our 
 people began to kill them just to get the tongues 
 and the marrow bones, leaving all the rest of the 
 meat on the plains for the wolves to eat. But 
 the Cheyennes, who traveled ahead of us for 
 two or three days, set us a better example. .\t 
 their camps we noticed that when they killed 
 buffaloes they took all the meat, everything but 
 the bones. Indians were never wasteful of the 
 
 buffalo e\re])t in winter for the sake of the 
 robes, and tlien only in ortler to get the whisky 
 which traders offered them in exchange. 'Ihere 
 is no better beef in the world than that of 
 the buffalo ; it is also very good jerked, /. f., 
 cut into strings and thoroughly dried. It was 
 an ea.sy matter to kill buffaloes after we got to 
 where thev were numerous, by keejiing out of 
 sigiu and to the leeward of them. 1 think I 
 can truly say that I saw in that region in one- 
 day more buffaloes than I have seen of cattle in 
 all my life. I have seen the plain black with 
 them for several days' journey as far as the eye- 
 could reach. They seemed to be coming north- 
 ward continually from the distant plains to the 
 I'lalte to get water, and would plunge in and 
 swim across by thousands — so numerous were 
 they that they changed not only the color of the 
 
[8 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 A RECRUIT FROM CIVILIZATION. 
 
 Avater, but its taste, until it was unfit to drink ; 
 but we had to use it. One nigiit when we 
 were encamped on the South Fork of the 
 Platte they came in such droves that we had 
 to sit up and fire guns and make what fires we 
 could to keep them fi-om running over us and 
 trampling us into the dust. We were obliged 
 to go out some distance firom camp to turn 
 them : Captain Fitzpatrick told us that if we 
 did not do this the buffaloes in front could not 
 turn aside for the pressure of those behind. 
 We could hear them thundering all night 
 long; the ground fairly trembled with vast 
 approaching bands ; and if they had not been 
 diverted, wagons, animals, and emigrants would 
 have been trodden under their feet. One can- 
 not nowadays describe the rush and wildness 
 of the thing. A strange feature was that when 
 old oxen, tired and foot-sore, got among a 
 buffalo herd, as they sometimes would in the 
 night, they would soon become as wild as the 
 wildest buffalo ; and if ever recovered it was 
 because they could not run so fast as the buf- 
 faloes or one's horse. The ground over which 
 the herds trampled was left rather barren, but 
 buffalo-grass being short and curling, in travel- 
 ing over it they did not cut it up as much as 
 they would other kinds. 
 
 On the Platte River, on the afternoon of one 
 of the hottest days we experienced on the 
 
 plains, we had a taste of a cyclone : first came a 
 terrific shower, followed by a fall of hail to the 
 depth of four inches, some of the stones being 
 as large as turkeys' eggs ; and the next day a 
 waterspout — an angry, huge, whirling cloud 
 column, which seemed to draw its water from 
 the Platte River — passed within a quarter 
 of a mile behind us. We stopped and braced 
 ourselves against our wagons to keep them 
 from being overturned. Had it struck us it 
 doubtless would have demolished us. 
 
 Above the junction of the forks of the Platte 
 we continued to pass notable natural forma- 
 tions — first O'Fallon's Bluffs, then Court 
 House Rocks, a group of fantastic shapes to 
 which some ofour party started to go. Afterthey 
 had gone what seemed fifteen or twenty miles 
 the huge pile looked just as far off as when they 
 started, and so they turned and came back — 
 so deceptive are distances in the clear atmos- 
 phere of the Rocky Mountains. A noted land- 
 mark on the North Fork, \\ hich we sighted fifty 
 miles away, w as Chimney Rock. It was then 
 nearly square, and I think it must have been 
 fifty feet higher than now, though after we 
 passed it a portion of it fell off". Scott's Bluffs 
 are known to emigrants for their picturesque- 
 ness. These formations, like those first men- 
 tioned, are composed of indurated yellow clay 
 or soft sand rock; they are washed and broken 
 
 
 ■'"'^\fi 
 
 .'■/: 
 
 -•>^'^ 
 
 --■^JSsk^A 
 
 o'fALLOn's 13LUKFS FKOM NEAR THE JUNCTION OF THE FORK'S OF THE PLAITE. 
 
TirF FIRST E.]f/G/iANT TRAIX TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 119 
 
 into all sorts of fantastic forms by the rains and 
 storms of acjes, and Iin\e the apj^earance of an 
 immense city of towers and castles. They are 
 quite difficLilt to explore, as I learned by ex- 
 perience in an effort to jiursue and kill mountain 
 sheep or bighorn. These were seen in great 
 numbers, but we failed to kill any, as they in- 
 
 Mountains to whom they might sell it. This 
 was a surprise to many of us, as there had been 
 no drinking on the way. John (iray was sent 
 ahead to see if he could find a trapping party, 
 and he was instructed, if successtul, to have 
 them come to a certain place on drecn River. 
 He struck a trail, and overtook a party on 
 
 N 
 
 ! V "" .^;» vV.- 
 
 
 
 lORT LARAMIi: IN lb4y. 
 
 habit places almcst inaccessible and are ex- 
 ceedingly wild. 
 
 As we ascended the Platte buftaloes became 
 scarcer, and on the Sweetwater none were to 
 be seen. Now appeared in the distance to the 
 north of west, gleaming under its mantle of 
 perpetual snow, that lofty range known as the 
 Wind River Mountains. It was the first time 
 I had seen snow in summer; some of the 
 peaks were very precipitous, and the view 
 was altogether most impressive. Guided 
 by Fitzpatrick, we crossed the Rockies at 
 or near the South Pass, where the mountains 
 were ai)parently low. Some years before a 
 man named William Subletts, an Indian fur 
 trader, went to the Rocky Mountains with 
 goods in wagons, and tho.se were the onl\- 
 wagons that had ever been there before us ; 
 sometimes we came across the tracks, but 
 generally they were obliterated, and thus were 
 of no service. Approaching Green River 
 in the Rocky Mountains, it was found that 
 some of the wagons, including Captain Par- 
 tleson's, had alcohol on board, and that the 
 owners wanted to find trappers in the Rocky 
 
 their way to the buftalo region to lay in i)ro- 
 visions, /. c, bulialo meat, and they returned, 
 and came and camped on Green River verv 
 soon after our arrival, buying the greater part, 
 if not all, of the alcohol, it first having been 
 diluted so as to make what they called whisky — 
 three or four gallons of water to a gallon of alco- 
 hol. Years afterwards we heard of the fate of 
 that party : they were attacked by Indians the 
 very first night after they left us and several of 
 them killed, including the captain of the trap- 
 I)ing part}', whose name was Frapp. The 
 whisky was probably the cause. 
 
 Several years ago when I was going down 
 Weber Cafion, approaching Salt Lake, swiftly 
 borne along on an observation car amid cliffs 
 and over rushing streams, something .said that 
 night at the camp-fire on Green River was 
 forcibly recalled to mind. We had in our 
 party an illiterate fellow named Pill Overton, 
 who in the evening at one of the camp-fires 
 loudly declared that nothing in his life had 
 ever surprised him. Of course that raised a 
 dispute, " Never suqirised in your life ? " 
 " No, I never was surprised." And, moreover, 
 
I20 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 he swore that nothing ever could surprise him. 
 " I should not be surprised," said he, " if I 
 were to see a steamboat come plowing over 
 these mountains this minute." In rattling down 
 the canon of Weber River it occurred to me 
 that the reality was almost equal to Bill Over- 
 ton's extravaganza, and I could but wonder 
 what he would have said had he suddenly 
 come upon this modern scene. 
 
 As I have said, at Soda Springs — at the 
 northernmost bend of Bear River — our party 
 separated. It was a bright and lovely place. 
 The abundance of soda water, including the in- 
 termittent gushing so-called Steamboat Spring; 
 the beautiful fir and cedar covered hills ; the 
 huge piles of red or brown sinter, the result of 
 fountains once active but then dry — all these, 
 together with the river, lent a charm to its wild 
 beauty and made the spot a notable one. Here 
 the missionary party were to turn north and go 
 into the Flathead nation. Fort Hall, about 
 forty miles distant on Snake River, lay on their 
 route. There was no road ; but something like 
 a trail, doubtless used by the trappers, led in 
 that direction. From Fort Hall there was also 
 a trail down Snake River, by which trapping 
 parties reached the Columbia River and Fort 
 Vancouver, the headquarters of the Hudson 
 Bay Company. 
 
 Our party, originally sixty-nine, including 
 women and children, had become lessened to 
 sixty-four in number. One had accidentally 
 shot and killed himself at the forks of the 
 Platte. Another of our party, named Simp- 
 son, had left us at Fort Laramie. Three had 
 turned back from Green River, intending 
 to make their way to Fort Bridger and await 
 an opportunity to return home. Their names 
 were Peyton, Rodgers, and Amos E. Frye. 
 Thirty-two of ourparty, becoming discouraged, 
 decided not to venture without path or guide 
 into the unknown and trackless region towards 
 California, but concluded to go with the mis- 
 sionary party to Fort Hall and thence find their 
 way down Snake and Columbia rivers into 
 Oregon,! The rest of us — also thirty-two in 
 number, including Benjamin Kelsey, his wife 
 and little daughter — remained firm, refusing 
 to be diverted from our original purpose of 
 going direct to Cahfornia. After getting all the 
 information we could from Captain Fitzpatrick, 
 we regretfully bade good-by to our fellow emi- 
 grants and to Father De Smet and his party. 
 
 We were now thrown entirely upon our own 
 resources. All the country beyond was to us 
 
 a veritable terra incognita, and we only knew 
 that California lay to the west. Captain Fitz- 
 patrick was not much better informed, but he 
 had heard that parties had penetrated the 
 country to the southwest and west of Salt Lake 
 to trap for beaver ; and by his advice four of 
 our men went with the parties to Fort Hall to 
 consult Captain Grant, who was in charge there, 
 and to gain information. Meanwhile our de- 
 pleted party slowly made its way down the west 
 side of Bear River. 
 
 Our separation at Soda Springs recalls an 
 incident. The days were usually very hot, 
 the nights almost freezing. The first day our 
 little company went only about ten miles and 
 camped on Bear River. In company with 
 a man named James John — always called 
 " Jimmy John " — I wandered a mile or 
 two down the river fishing. Seeing snow on 
 a high mountain to the west we longed to 
 reach it, for the heat where we were was in- 
 tense. So, without losing time to get our guns 
 or coats or to give notice at the camp, we 
 started direct for the snow, with the impres- 
 sion that we could go and return by sun- 
 down. But there intervened a range of lower 
 mountains, a certain peak of which seemed al- 
 most to touch the snow. Both of us were fleet 
 of foot and made haste, but we only gained the 
 summit of the peak about sundown. The dis- 
 tance must have been twelve or fifteen miles. A 
 valley intervened, and the snow lay on a higher 
 mountain beyond. I proposed to camp. But 
 Jimmy gave me a disdainful look, as much 
 as to say, " You are afraid to go," and 
 (juickened his gait into a run down the moun- 
 tain towards the snow. I called to him to stop, 
 but he would not even look back. A firm 
 resolve seized me — to overtake him, but not 
 again to ask him to return. We crossed the 
 valley in the night, saw many Indian camp- 
 fires, and gained a sharp ridge leading up to 
 the snow. This was first brushy and then rough 
 and rocky. The brush had no paths except 
 those made by wild animals ; the rocks were 
 sharp, and soon cut through our moccasins and 
 made our feet bleed. But up and up we went 
 until long after midnight, and until a cloud cov- 
 ered the mountain. We were above the tim- 
 ber line, excepting a few stunted fir trees, under 
 one of which we crawled to wait for day, for 
 it was too dark to see. Day soon dawned, but 
 we were almost frozen. Our fir-tree nest had 
 been the lair of grizzly bears that had wallowed 
 there and shed quantities of shaggy hair. The 
 
 1 Of tlie party leaving us at Soda Springs to go 
 into Oregon 1 can now, after the lapse of forty-nine 
 years, recall by their names- only the following: Mr. 
 Williams and wife ; Samuel Kelsey, his wife and five 
 children; Josiah Kelsey and wife ; C. W. Plugge; Mr. 
 Carroll ; Mr. Fowler ; a Methodist Episcopal preacher, 
 
 whose name I think was also Williams ; " Cheyenne 
 Dawson " ; and another called " Bear Dawson." Sub- 
 sequently we heard that the party safely arrived in 
 Oregon, and some of them we saw in California. One 
 (C. W. Flugge) was in time to join a party and come 
 from Oregon to California the same year (1841). 
 
THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 12 r 
 
 THE 
 
 snow was still beyond, and we had lost both 
 sight and direction. But in an hour or two we 
 reached it. It was nearly as hard as ice. Filling a 
 large handkerchief, without taking time to admire 
 the scenery we started towards the camp by 
 a new route, for our feet were too sore to go 
 by way of the rocky ridge by which we had 
 come. But the new way led into trouble. 
 There were thickets so dense as to exclude 
 the sun, and roaring httle streams in deep, 
 dark chasms; we had to crawl through 
 paths which looked untrodden except by 
 grizzlies ; in one place a large bear had passed 
 evidently only a few minutes before, cross- 
 ing the deep gorge, plunging through 
 the wild, dashing water, and wetting 
 the steep bank as he went up. We 
 carried our drawn butcher knives in 
 our hands, for they were our only 
 weapons. At last we emerged into 
 the valley. Apparently numerous 
 Indians had left that very morning, 
 as shown by the tracks of lodge- 
 poles drawn on the ground. Making 
 haste, we soon gained the hills, and 
 at about 2 p. m. sighted our wagons, 
 already two or three miles on the 
 march. When our friends saw us they 
 stopped, and all who could ran to 
 welcome us. They had given us up 
 for lost, supposing that we had been 
 killed by tlie hostile Blackfeet, who, 
 as Captain Fitzpatrick had 
 warned us, sometimes roamed 
 through that region. The com- 
 pany had barricaded the camp 
 at night as best they could, and 
 ever}- man had spent a sleepless ■• 
 night on guard. Next morning 
 they passed several hours in 
 scouring the country. Their first 
 questions were : '• Where have 
 you been?" "Where have you 
 been?" I was able to answer 
 triumphantly, "//? have Ixrn up 
 to the siicni' ! " and to demon- 
 strate the fact by showing all the 
 Vol. XLI.— 17. 
 
 
 ■^ 
 
 ^yft 
 
 ••w-:^ Jk 
 
 
 
 ■'*•*.* r" "'-- 
 
 fls: 
 
 I. THH I'LATTE CASON. S. BRIDGEK S FllKO. ■». TIIK UAD LANDS OF 
 
 THE 01. 1) TRAIL NEAR DOUGLAS (NO VKGETATION). 4. ON 
 
 THE OLD CALIFORNIA TRAIL OVER THE LA i'K^LE 
 
 (BRANCH OF THE PLATTE). 
 
122 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 THE GRIZZLY (URSUS HORRIBILIS). (FROM AN ORIGINAL PAINTING BV THE LATE CHARLES NAHL. ) 
 
 snow I had left, which was now reduced to a ball 
 about the size of my fist. 
 
 In about ten days our four men returned 
 from Fort Hall, during which time we had 
 advanced something over one hundred miles 
 towards Salt Lake. They brought the informa- 
 tion that we must strike out west of Salt Lake, 
 — as it was even then called by the trappers, — 
 being careful not to go too far south, lest we 
 should get into a waterless country without 
 grass. They also said we must be careful not 
 to go too far north, lest we should get into a 
 broken country and steep caiions, and wander 
 about, as trapping parties had been known to 
 do, and become bewildered and perish. 
 
 September had come before we reached Salt 
 Lake, which we struck at its northern extrem- 
 ity. Part of the time we had purposely trav- 
 eled slowly to enable the men from Fort Hall 
 the sooner to overtake us. But unavoidable 
 delays were frequent : daily, often hourly, the 
 road had to be made passable for our wagons 
 by digging down steep banks, filling gulches, 
 etc. Indian fires obscured mountains and val- 
 leys in a dense, smoky atmosphere, so that we 
 could not see any considerable distance in order 
 to avoid obstacles. The principal growth, on 
 plain and hill alike, was the interminable sage- 
 brush [Ariei/iisia), and often it was difficult, for 
 
 miles at a time, to break a road through it, 
 and sometimes a lightly laden Avagon would 
 be overturned. Its monotonous dull color and 
 scraggy appearance gave a most dreary aspect 
 to the landscape. But it was not wholly use- 
 less: where large enough it made excellent 
 fuel, and it was the home and shelter of the 
 hare — generally known as the "jack rabbit " 
 — and of the sage-hen. Trees were almost a 
 sure sign of water in that region. But the mi- 
 rage was most deceptive, magnifying stunted 
 sage-brush on diminutive hillocks into trees and 
 groves. Thus misled, we traveled all day with- 
 out water, and at midnight found ourselves in 
 a plain, level as a floor, incrusted with salt, and 
 as white as snow. Crusts of salt broken up by 
 our wagons, and driven by the chilly night 
 wind like ice on the surface of a frozen pond, 
 was to me a most striking counterfeit of a win- 
 ter scene. This plain became softer and softer 
 until our poor, almost famished, animals could 
 not pull our wagons. In fact, we were going 
 direct to Salt Lake and did not know it. So, 
 in search of water, we turned from a southerly 
 to an easterly course, and went about ten miles, 
 and soon after daylight arrived at Bear River. 
 So near to Salt Lake were we that the water 
 in the river was too salt for us or our animals 
 to use, but we had to use it; it would not 
 
THE FIRST /':.\r/GA\t\T TRAIN TO CAIJI-ORXIA. 
 
 23 
 
 (jucnch thirst, but it did save lifr. 'I'he grass 
 looked most luxuriant, and sparkled as if cov- 
 ered with frost. Hut it was salt ; our hungry, 
 jaded animals refuseil to eat it, and we had 
 to lie by a whole tlay to rest them before we 
 could travel. 
 
 Leaving this camp and bearing northwest we 
 crossed our tracks on the salt plain, having tiuis 
 drscribed a triangle of several miles in dimen- 
 sions. One of the most serious of our troubles 
 was to fmd water where \vc could camj) at 
 night. So soon came another hot day, and 
 hanl travel all day and all night without water 1 
 From a westerly course we turned directly 
 north, and, guided by antelope trails, came 
 in a few miles to an abundance of grass and 
 good water. The condition of our animals 
 compelled us to rest here nearly a week. Mean- 
 while twoofthemen who had been to Fort Hall 
 went ahead to explore. Provisions were becom- 
 ing scarce, and we saw that we must avoid 
 unnecessary delay. The two men were gone 
 about five days. Under their lead we set forth, 
 bearing west, then southwest, around Salt Lake, 
 then again west. After two or tliree f:ttiguing 
 days, — one day and a night without water, — 
 the first notice we had of a])])roach to any con- 
 siderable mountain was the sight of crags, dimly 
 seen through the smoke, manv hundred feet 
 above our heads. Here was plenty of good 
 grass and water. Nearly all now said, " Let us 
 
 saddles used by the trapping party, and had 
 leametl a little about how to make them. Pack- 
 ing is an art, and something that only an ex- 
 perienced mountaineer can do well so as to 
 save his animal and keep his |)a( k from falling 
 olV. We were unaccustomed to it, and the difli- 
 ( ulties we hadatfirst were simply indescribable. 
 It is much more difficult to fasten a jiack on 
 an ox than on a mule or a horse. The trouble 
 began the very fir>t day. Hut we started — 
 most of us on foot, for nearly all the animals, 
 includingseveral of the oxen, had to carry packs. 
 It was but a few minutes before the packs be- 
 gan to turn ; horses became scareil, mules 
 kicked, oxen jumped and bellowed, and arti- 
 cles were scattered in all directions. We took 
 more ])ains, fixed things, made a new start, and 
 di<l better, tiiough packs continued occasion- 
 ally to fall off and delay us. 
 
 Those that had l)etter j)ack-saddles and had 
 tieil their loads securely were ahead, while the 
 others were obliged to lag behind, because they 
 had to repack, and sometimes things would be 
 strewn all along the route. The first night I hap- 
 pened to be among those that kept pretty well 
 back, because the horses out-traveled the oxen, 
 'i'he foremost came to a place and stopped where 
 there was no water or grass, and built a fire .so 
 that we could see it and come up to them. We 
 got there about midnight, but some of our oxen 
 that had i>acks on had not come up, and among 
 
 "^ mm 
 
 '4v;^j^j>ri 
 
 .-ISferi- 
 
 ''*^ 
 
 MONt'MBNT l^}INT, SALT LAKK. 
 
 leave our wagons, othenvise the snows will over- 
 take us before we get to California." So we 
 stopped one day and tlirew away everything 
 we could not carry, made pack-saddles and 
 packed theoxen, mules, and horses, and .started. 
 On Green River we had seen the style of pack- 
 
 them were my two. So I had to return the 
 next morning and find them, Cheyenne Daw- 
 son alone volunteering to go with me. One 
 man iiad brought along about a (|uart of water, 
 which was carefully doled out before we started, 
 each receiving a little canister-cover full — less 
 
124 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 than half a gill ; but as Dawson and I liad to 
 go for the oxen, we were given a double por- 
 tion. This was all the water I had until the next 
 day. It was a burning hot day. '\\'e could 
 not find the trail of the oxen for a long time, 
 and Dawson refused to go any farther, saying 
 that there were plenty of cattle in California ; 
 but I had to do it, for the oxen were carrying 
 our provisions and other things. Afterwards I 
 struck the trail, and found that the oxen instead 
 of going west had gone north, and I followed 
 them until nearly sundown. They had got into 
 a grassy country, which showed that they were 
 nearing water. Seeing Indian tracks on their 
 trail following them, I felt there was imminent 
 danger, and at once examined my gun and 
 pistols to see that they were primed and ready. 
 But soon I found my oxen lying down in tall 
 
 grassbythesideofthetrail. Seeingno Indians, I 
 hastened to fasten the packs and make my way 
 to overtake the company. They had promised 
 to stop when they came to water and wait for 
 me. I traveled all night, and at early dawn 
 came to where there was plenty of water and 
 where the company had taken their dinner the 
 day before, but they had failed to stop forme ac- 
 cording to promise. I was much perplexed, be- 
 cause I had seen many fires in the night, which 
 I took to be Indian fires, so I fastened my 
 oxen to a scraggy willow and began to make 
 circles around to see which way the company 
 had gone. The ground was so hard that the 
 animals had made no impression, which be- 
 wildered me. Finally, while making a circle 
 of about three miles away off to the south, I 
 saw two men coming on horseback. In the 
 
THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA. 125 
 
 glare of the mirage, which distorted every'thing, hunting party, as there were no l>utitaloes within 
 I could not tell whether they were Indians or three or four hundred miles. At this time I had 
 white men, but I sui)i)C)se<l them to be Indians, spoken my mind pretty frt-cly concerning Cap- 
 feeling sure our parly would go west and not tain i^artleson's lack of judgment, as one could 
 south. In a mirage a man on horseback looks scarcely help doing under the circumstances, 
 as tall as a tree, and I could only tell by the We now got into a country where there was 
 motion that they were mounted. 1 made a bee- no grass nor water, and then we began to cat- 
 line to my oxen, to make breastworks of them, echize the men who had gone tc; Fort Hall. 
 In doing this I came to a small stream resem- They repeated, "If you go too far south you 
 bling running water, into which I urged my will get into a desert country and your animals 
 horse, whereupon he went down into a tjuag- will perish ; there will be no water nor grass." 
 mire, over head and ears, out of sight. My gun We were evidently too far south. We could 
 also went under the mire. I got hold of some- not go west, and the formation of the coun- 
 thing on the bank, threw out my gun, which try was such that we had t(j turn and go north 
 was full of mud and water, and holding to the across a range of mountains. Having struck 
 ropeattached to my horse, by dintofhardiHill- a small stream we camped upon it all night, 
 ing I succeeded in getting him out — a sorry and next day continued down its banks, cross- 
 sight, his ears and eyes full of mud, and his ing from side to side, most of the time follow- 
 body covered with it. At last, just in time, I ing Indian paths or paths made by antelope 
 was able to move and get behind the oxen. My and deer. In the afternoon we entered a canon 
 gun was in no condition to shoot. However, the walls of which were precijjitous and sev- 
 putting dry jjowder in the pan I determined to eral hundred feet high. Finally the pleasant 
 do my best in case the supposed Indians should bermy banks gave out entirely, and we could 
 come up ; but lo ! they were two of our party travel only in the dry bed of what in the wet 
 coming to meet me, bringing water and pro- season was a raging river. It became a solid 
 visions. It was a great relief. I felt indignant mass of stones and huge boulders, and the ani- 
 that the party had not stopped for me — not mals became tender-footed and sore so that 
 the less so when I learned that Captain Bar- they could hardly stand uj), and as we con- 
 tleson had said, when they started back to find tinued the way became worse and worse. There 
 me, that they " would be in better business to was no place for us to lie down and sleep, nor 
 go ahead and look for a road." He had not could ouranimals lie down; the water had given 
 forgotten certain comments of mine on his out, and the prospect was indeed gloomy — 
 (}ualities as a student of Indian character. An the canon had been leading us directly north, 
 instance of this I will relate. All agreed that the animals were too jaded and 
 One morning, just as we were packing up, worn to go back. Then we called the men : 
 a party of about ninety Indians, on horse- " What did they tell you at Fort Hall about 
 back, a regular war party, were descried com- the northern region ? " They repeated, " You 
 ing up. Some of us begged the captain to send must not go too fiir north ; if you do you will 
 men out to prevent them from coming to us get into difficult canons that leatl towards the 
 while we were in the confusion of packing. Columbia River, where you may become be- 
 But he said. " Boys, you must not show any wildered and wander about and perish." This 
 sign of hostility ; if you go out there with guns canon was going nearly north ; in tact it seemed 
 the Indians will think us hostile, and may get a little east of north. We sent some men to 
 mad and hurt us." However, five or six of us see if they could reach the top of the moun- 
 took our guns and went out, and by signs tain by scaling the i)recipice somewhere and 
 made them halt. They did not prove to be get a view, and they came back about ten or 
 hostile, but they had carbines, and if we had eleven o'clock, saying the country looked bet- 
 been careless and had let them come near ter three or four miles farther ahead. So we 
 theymight, and jjrobably would. have killed us. were encouraged. Fven the animals seemed 
 At last we got packed up and started, and the to take courage, and we got along much bet- 
 Indians traveled along three or four hundred ter than had been thought possible, anil by one 
 yards one side or the other of us or behind o'clock that day came out on what is now known 
 us all day. They ajipeared anxious to trade, and as the Humboldt River. It was not until four 
 offered a buckskin, well dressed, worth two or years later (1845) that (leneral Fremont first 
 threedollars,for three or fourchargesof powder saw this river and name<l it Humboldt, 
 and three or four balls. This showeil that they Uurcourse wasfirsl westwartland thensouth- 
 were in want of ammunition. The carbines ward, following this river for many days, till we 
 indicated that they had had communication came to its Sink, near which we saw a solitar)' 
 with some trading-post belonging to the Hud- horse, an indication that trajtpers had some- 
 son's Bay Comjjany. They hail buflalo-robes time been in that vicinity. \Ve tried to catch 
 also, which showed that they were a roving him but failed; he had been there long enough 
 
126 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 to become very wild. We saw many Indians 
 on the Humboldt, especially towards the Sink. 
 There were many tule marshes. The tule is a 
 rush, large, but here not very tall. It was gen- 
 erally completely covered with honeydew, and 
 this in turn was wholly covered with a pedicu- 
 lous-looking insect which fed upon it. The 
 Indians gathered quantities of the honey and 
 pressed it into balls about the size of one's 
 fist, having the appearance of wet bran. At 
 first we greatly relished this Indian food, but 
 
 when we saw what it was made of — that the 
 insects pressed into the mass were the main in- 
 gredient — we lost our appetites and bought 
 no more of it. 
 
 From the time we left our wagons many 
 had to walk, and more and more as we ad- 
 vanced. Going down the Humboldt at least 
 half were on foot. Provisions had given out ; 
 except a little coarse green grass among the 
 willows along the river the country was dry, 
 bare, and desolate; we saw no game except 
 antelope, and they were scarce and hard to 
 kill ; and walking was very fatiguing. Tobacco 
 lovers would surrender their animals for anyone 
 to ride who would furnish them with an ounce 
 or two to chew during the day. One day one 
 of these devotees lost his tobacco and went 
 back for it, but failed to find it. An Indian in a 
 friendly manner overtook us, bringing the piece 
 of tobacco, which he had found on our trail 
 or at our latest camp, and surrendered it. The 
 owner, instead of being thankful, accused the 
 Indian of having stolen it — an impossibility, 
 as we had seen no Indians or Indian signs for 
 some days. Perhaps the Indian did not know 
 what it was, else he might have kept it for 
 smoking. But I think otherwise, for, patting 
 his breast, he said, " Shoshone, Shoshone," 
 which Avas the Indian way of showing he 
 was friendly. The Shoshones were known 
 as always friendly to the whites, and it is not 
 difficult to see how other and distant tribes 
 might claim to be Shoshones as a passport 
 to favor. 
 
 On the Humboldt we had a further division 
 of our ranks. In going down the river we 
 went sometimes on one side and sometimes 
 on the other, but mostly on the north side, till 
 we were nearing what are now known as the 
 Humboldt Mountains. We were getting tired, 
 and some were in favor of leaving the oxen, 
 of which we then had only about seven or 
 eight, and rushing on into California. They 
 said there was plenty of beef in California. 
 But some of us said : " No ; our oxen are now 
 our only supply of food. We are doing well. 
 
 THE HUMBOLDT PALISADES. — THE HUMBOLDT SINK. 
 
THE FIRST EM/GRANT TRAfN TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 127 
 
 
 TROCKEE MEADOWS. 
 
 making eighteen or twenty miles a day." One 
 morning when it was mv turn at driving the 
 oxen, the captain traveled so fast that I could 
 not keep up, and was left far behind. When 
 night came I had to leave the trail and go over 
 a rocky declivity for a mile and a half into 
 a gloomy, damp bottom, and unpack the oxen 
 and turn them out to eat, sleeping myself with- 
 out blankets. I got u]i the next morning, hunted 
 the oxen out of tlie willow thicket, and repacked 
 them. Not having had supper or breakfast, 
 and having to travel nine miles before I over- 
 took the party, j^erhaps I was not in the best 
 humor. They were waiting, and for the very 
 good reason that they could have nothing to eat 
 till I came up with the oxen and one could be 
 killed. I felt badly treated, and let the captain 
 know it plainly ; but, much to my surprise, he 
 made no reply, and none of his men said a 
 word. We killed an ox, ate our breakfast, and 
 got ready to start about one or two o'clock in 
 the afternoon. When nearly ready to go, the 
 captain and one or two of his mess came to 
 us and said : " Boys, our animals are better 
 than yours, and we always get out of meat be- 
 fore any of the rest of you. Let us have the 
 most of the meat this time, and we will pay 
 you back the next ox we kill." We gladly let 
 them have all they wished. But as soon as 
 they had taken it, and were mounted ready to 
 start, the captain in a loud voice exclaimed: 
 " Now we have been found fault with long 
 enough, and we are going to California. If 
 you can keep up with us, all right ; if you can- 
 not, you may go to "; and away they 
 
 started, the captain and eight men. One of 
 the men wouhl not go with the cai)tain ; he 
 said, "The captain is wrong, and I will stay 
 with you, boys." 
 
 In a short time they were out of .sight. We 
 followed their trail for two or three days, but 
 after they had crossed over to the south side 
 of the Humboldt and turned south we came 
 into a sandy waste where the wind had en- 
 tirely obliteraleil their tracks. We were then 
 thrown entirely upon our own resources. It 
 was our desire to make as great speed as 
 
 possible westward, deviating only when ob- 
 stacles interposed, and in .such case bearing 
 south in.stead of north, so as to be found in a 
 lower latitude in the event that winter .should 
 overtake us in the mountains. But, diverted by 
 following our fugitive cajitain and parly across 
 the Humboldt, we thereby missed the luxuri- 
 ant Truckee meadows lying but a short distance 
 to the west, a resting-place well and favorably 
 known to later emigrants. So, perforce, we 
 followed down to the Sink of the Humboldt 
 and were obliged to drink its water, which in 
 the fall of the year becomes stagnant and of 
 the color of lye, and not fit to drink or use unless 
 boiled. Here we camped. Leaving the Sink of 
 the Humboldt, we crossed a considerable stream 
 which must have been Carson River.and came 
 to another stream which must have been Walker 
 River, and followed it up to where it came 
 out of the mountains, which proved to be the 
 Sierra Nevada. A\'e did not know the name of 
 the mountains. Neither had these rivers then 
 been named ; nor had they been seen by Kit 
 Car.son or Joe Walker, for whom they were 
 named, nor were they seen until 1845 by Fre- 
 mont, who named them. 
 
 We were now camped on Walker River, at 
 the very eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, 
 and had only two oxen left. We sent men 
 ahead to see if it would be possible to scale 
 the mountains, while we killed the better of 
 the two oxen anil ilried the meat in prepara- 
 tion for the ascent. The men returned to- 
 wards evening and reported that they thought 
 it would be possible to ascend the mountains, 
 though very difficult. We had eaten our supper, 
 and were ready for the climb in the morning. 
 Looking back on the plains we saw something 
 coming, which we decided to be Indians. 
 They traveletl very slowly, and it was difficult 
 to understand their movements. To make a 
 long story short, it was the eight men that had 
 left us nine days before, 'i'hey had gone farther 
 south than we and had come to a lake, probably 
 Carson Lake, and there had found Indians who 
 supplied them plentifully with fish and pine 
 nuts. Fish caught in such water are not fit to 
 
128 
 
 THE FIRST EMIGRANT TRAIN TO CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 eat at any time, much less in the fall of the 
 year. The men had all eaten heartily of fish 
 and pine nuts, and had got something akin 
 to cholera morbus. We were glad to see 
 them although they had deserted us. We ran 
 out to meet them and shook hands, and put 
 
 sible to get through down the smaller canon. 
 I was one of them, Jimmy John the other. Ben- 
 jamin Kelsey, who had shown himself expert 
 in finding the way, was now, without any elec- 
 tion, still recognized as leader, as he had been 
 during the absence of Bartleson. A party 
 
 "7^/ 
 ,'*•> 
 ^■^ 
 
 
 
 
 ABANDONED. 
 
 our frying-pans on and gave them the best 
 supper we could. Captain Bartleson, who 
 when we started from Missouri was a portly 
 man, was reduced to half his former girth. 
 He said : " Boys, if ever I get back to Mis- 
 souri I will never leave that country. I 
 would gladly eat out of the troughs with my 
 dogs." He seemed to be heartily sick of his 
 late experience, but that did not prevent him 
 from leaving us twice after that. 
 
 We were now in what is at present Nevada, 
 and probably within forty miles of the present 
 boundary of California. We ascended the 
 mountains on the north side of Walker River 
 to the summit, and then struck a stream running 
 west which proved to be the extreme source 
 of the Stanislaus River. We followed it down 
 for several days and finally came to where a 
 branch ran into it, each forming a canon. The 
 main river flowed in a precipitous gorge in places 
 apparently a mile deep, and the gorge that 
 came into it was but little less formidable. At 
 night we found ourselves on the extreme point 
 of the promontory between the two, very tired, 
 and with neither grass nor water. We had to 
 stay there that night. Early the next morning 
 two men went down to see if it would be pos- 
 
 also went back to see how far we should have 
 to go around before we could pass over the 
 tributary canon. The understanding was, that 
 when we went down the canon if it was practi- 
 cable to get through we were to fire a gun 
 so that all could follow ; but if not, we were 
 not to fire, even if we saw game. When Jimmy 
 and I got down about three-quarters of a mile 
 I came to the conclusion that it was impossi- 
 ble to get through, and said to him, "Jimmy, we 
 might as well go back; we can't go here." 
 " Yes, we can," said he ; and insisting that we 
 could, he pulled out a pistol and fired. It was 
 an old dragoon pistol, and reverberated like a 
 cannon. I hurried back to tell the company not 
 to come down, but before I reached them the 
 captain and his party had started. I explained, 
 and warned them that they could not get down ; 
 but they went on as far as they could go, and then 
 were obliged to stay all day and night to rest the 
 animals, and had to go about among the rocks 
 and pick a little grass for them, and go down to 
 the stream through a terrible place in the canon 
 to bring water up in cups and camp-kettles, 
 and some of the men in their boots, to pour 
 down the animals' throats in order to keep 
 them from perishing. Finally, four of them 
 
THE FIRST EM/GRANT TRAIN TO CALIFORNIA. 
 
 129 
 
 ])ullingand four of them pushing a mule, they 
 managed to get them up one hy one, and then 
 carrieil all the things uj) again on their backs — 
 not an easy job for exhausted men. 
 
 In some way, nobody knows how, Jimmy 
 got through that canon and into the Sacra- 
 mento Valley. He had a horse with him — 
 an Indian horse that was bought in the Rocky 
 Mountains, and which could come as near 
 climbing a tree as any horse I ever knew, 
 jmimy was a character. Of all men 1 have 
 ever known I think he was the most fearless; 
 he had the bravery of a bulldog. He was not 
 seen for two months — until he was found at 
 Sutter's, afterwards known as Sutter's Fort, 
 now Sacramento City. 
 
 We went on, traveling west as near as 
 we could. When we killed our last ox we 
 shot and ate crows or anything we could kill, 
 and one man shot a wild-cat. We could eat 
 anything. One day in the morning I went 
 ahead, on foot of course, to see if I could kill 
 something, it being understood that the com- 
 pany would keep on as near west as possible 
 and find a practicable road. I followed an In- 
 dian trail down into the canon, meeting many 
 Indians on the way up. They did not molest 
 me, but I did not quite like their looks. 
 1 went about ten miles down the canon, and 
 then began to think it time to strike north 
 to intersect the trail of the company going 
 west. A most difficult time I had scaling 
 the i)recij)ice. Once I threw my gun up ahead 
 of me, being unable to hold it and climb, and 
 then was in despair lest I could not get up 
 where it was, but finally I did barely manage to 
 do so, and made my way north. As the dark- 
 ness came on 1 was obliged to look down and 
 feel with my feet lest I should pass over the 
 trail of the party without seeing it. Just at 
 dark I came to an enormous fallen tree and 
 tried to go around the top, but the place was 
 too brushy, so I went around the butt, which 
 seemed to me to be about twenty or twenty- 
 five feet above my head. This I suppose to 
 have been one of the fallen trees in the Cala- 
 veras (irove of Sc(]uoia i^ii^antta or mammoth 
 trees, as I have since been there, and to my own 
 satisfaction identified the lay of the land and 
 the tree. Hence I concluded that I must have 
 been the first white man who ever saw the .SV- 
 quoia i^ii^anlai, of which 1 told Kremont when 
 he came to California in 1844. Of course sleep 
 was impossible, for I had neither blanket nor 
 coat, and burned or froze alternately as I turned 
 from one side to the other before the small fire 
 which I had built, until morning, when I started 
 eastward to intersect the trail, thinking the 
 company had turned north. But I traveled until 
 noon and found no trail ; then striking south, I 
 came to the camp which I had left the previous 
 Vou .\LI.— iS. 
 
 morning. The party had gone, but not where 
 they had said they would go; for they had 
 taken the same trail I had followed, into the 
 canon, and had gone up the south side, which 
 they had found so steep that many of the poor 
 animals could not climb it and had to be left. 
 When I arrived the Indians were there cut- 
 ting the horses to pieces and carrying ort' the 
 meat. My situation, alone among strange 
 Indians killing our pf)or horses, was by no 
 means comfortable. Afterward we found that 
 these Indians were always at war with the 
 Californians. They were known as the Horse 
 Thief Indians, and lived chiefly on h(;rse tlesh ; 
 they had been in the habit of raiding the 
 ranches even to the very coast, driving away 
 horses by the hundreds into the mountains to 
 eat. That night after dark I overtook the party 
 in camp. 
 
 A day or two later we came to a place where 
 there was a great ciuantity of horse bones, and 
 we did not know what it meant; we thought 
 that an army must have perished there. They 
 were of course horses that the Indians had 
 driven in there and slaughtered. A few nights 
 later, fearing depredations, we concluded to 
 stand guard — all but one man, who would not. 
 So we let his two horses roam where they 
 pleased. In the morning they could not be 
 found. A few miles away we came to a vil- 
 lage; the Indians had lied, but we found the 
 horses killed and some of the meat roasting 
 on a fire. 
 
 \Ve were now on the edge of the San Joa- 
 quin Valley, but we did not even know that 
 we were in California. We could see a range 
 of mountains lying to the west, — the Coast 
 Range, — but we could see no valley. The 
 evening of the day we started down into the 
 valley we were very tired, and when night came 
 our party was strung along for three or four 
 miles, and every man slept right where dark- 
 ness overtook him. He would take oft" his 
 saddle for a pillow anil turn his horse or mule 
 loose, if he had one. His animal would be loo 
 poor to walk away, and in the morning he 
 would find him, usually within fifty feet. The 
 jadeil horses nearly perished with hunger ami 
 fatigue. When we overtook the foremost of the 
 [jarty the next morning we found they had come 
 to a pond of water, and one of them had killeii 
 a fat coyote ; when I came uj) it was all eaten 
 e.xcept the lights and the windi)ipe, on which 
 1 matle my breakfast. From that camp we saw 
 timber to the north of us, evidently bordering 
 a stream running west. It turned out to be the 
 stream that we had followed down in the moun- 
 tains — the Stanislaus River. As soon as we 
 came in sight of the bottom land of the stream 
 we saw an abundance of antelopes and sandhill 
 cranes. We killed two of each the first evening. 
 
I30 
 
 CA LIFORNTANA. 
 
 Wild grapes also abounded. The next day we 
 killed thirteen deer and antelopes, jerked the 
 meat and got ready to go on, all except the 
 captain's mess of seven or eight, who decided to 
 stay there and lay in meat enough to last them 
 into California! We were really almost down to 
 tidewater, but did not know it. Some thought 
 it was five hundred miles yet to California. 
 But all thought we had to cross at least that 
 range of mountains in sight to the west before 
 entering the promised land, and how many 
 more beyond no one could tell. Nearly all 
 thought it best to press on lest the snows might 
 overtake us in the mountains before us, as they 
 had already nearly done on the mountains be- 
 hind us (the Sierra Nevada). It was now about 
 the first of November. Our party set forth 
 bearing northwest, aiming for a seeming gap 
 north of a high mountain in the chain to the 
 west of us. That mountain we found to be 
 Mount Diablo. At night the Indians attacked 
 the captain's camp and stole all their animals, 
 which were the best in the company, and the 
 next day the men had to overtake us with just 
 Avliat they could carry in their hands. 
 
 The next day, judging by the timber we saw, 
 we concluded there was a river to the west. 
 So two men went ahead to see if they could 
 
 find a trail or a crossing. The timber seen proved 
 to be along what is now known as the San Joa- 
 quin River. We sent two men on ahead to spy 
 out the country. At night one of them returned, 
 saying they had come across an Indian on 
 horseback without a saddle who wore a cloth 
 jacket but no other clothing. From what they 
 could understand the Indian knew Dr. Marsh 
 and had offered to guide them to his place. 
 He plainly said " Marsh," and of course we 
 supposed it was the Dr. Marsh before referred 
 to who had written the letter to a friend in 
 Jackson County, Missouri, and so it proved. 
 One man went with the Indian to Marsh's 
 ranch and the other came back to tell us what 
 he had done, with the suggestion that we 
 should go on and cross the river (San Joaquin) 
 at the place to which the trail was leading. 
 In that way we found ourselves two days later 
 at Dr. Marsh's ranch, and there we learned that 
 we were really in California and our journey 
 at an end. After six months we had now ar- 
 rived at the first setdement in California, No- 
 vember 4, 1 84 1. 
 
 The account of our reception, and of my 
 own experiences in California in the pastoral 
 period before the gold discovery, I must re- 
 serve for another paper. 
 
 John Bidwell. 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 Grizzly and Pioneer. 
 
 A GREAT many persons have told stories about griz- 
 zlies and about pioneers. But there is an aspect 
 in which the grizzly and the pioneer may be said to rep- 
 resent the beginnings of a chapter of national folk- 
 lore, or the first halting steps towards the development 
 of a noble myth. 
 
 I remember that an old silver-freighter who walked 
 all day long for many successive weeks across the Ne- 
 vada desert, beside his high ore wagon, once said to 
 me : " I had a curious notion lately. I thought that, 
 perhaps, when the American frontiersman had been 
 dead a hundred thousand years, the stories that would 
 be written and believed about him would be like those 
 of the demigods." My old silver-freighter was well 
 educated, and knew his mythology better than I did. 
 He had full faith, too, in the permanence of the myth- 
 making spirit. " Some fellow, I don't know who," he 
 said, "has got to stand right out to represent all this 
 pioneering that hundreds of us have been doing for 
 generations. It may be a fellow with buckskins and a 
 Kentucky rifle, or it maybe a fellow with a slouch hat 
 and a mule-whip. We can't any of us tell yet awhile." 
 Ten years later the railroad reached the camp; he 
 bought a small California farm and settled down, as 
 miners, prospectors, stage-drivers, and frontiersmen 
 of every class are doing all the time. 
 
 I have often meditated upon the idea which the old 
 teamster of the desert had evolved, in his crude way, 
 
 feeling, far better than he could express it, the influence 
 of the fast-passing epoch. As I consider the subject, 
 two things, the grizzly and the California pioneer, 
 seem on the way to take such form as to outlast 
 railroads and cities. In a lesser sense they already 
 belong together in literature, but perhaps they are 
 slowly and surely assuming places side by side, or at 
 least in the same group, in a new myth of the Ameri- 
 can continent. In the course of time — in five cen- 
 turies, or twenty centuries — it may be that two giant 
 shadows of the past, the Argonaut and his grizzly, will 
 loom up over the Sierras, as Hercules and his Nemean 
 lion in the legends of the Greeks. 
 
 No man is ever able to say of those things which lie 
 within the present reality : " This is to perish ; that is 
 to broaden and grow, striking roots into universal na- 
 ture until all men bear witness to its immortality." 
 Nevertheless, when the last grizzly has perished, when 
 the old race of miners is as far lost in traditions as the first 
 Cornishman who picked up stream-tin, or the first iron- 
 smelters of the Andreaswald who fought the Saxon 
 invaders, when the great Californian valleys and all the 
 shining slopes of the long, parallel mountain ranges 
 beside the Pacific are clothed with continuous gardens 
 and orchards, and mighty and populous cities grow from 
 the villages of to-day, there ought to be a background 
 of sublime fable to inspire poet, artist, and sculptor. 
 
 It is the first step towards a myth that always proves 
 the most difficult. Already, the world over, men have 
 come to know the old canon-keeper and forest-dweller 
 
CAUFORNIANA. 131 
 
 as "the grizzly," not the griz/ly bear. He has become South assumes much tlic same place. But the grizzly 
 (iilTcrentialcd, and is on the way to still further scpa- stands apart, so different in his very nature, and so 
 ration from other bears, and other creatures of the high impressive in every aspect, that another long step to- 
 order that furnish noble subjects for art. Sometime, wards the creation of a noble and satisfactory myth 
 I am sure, an .\merican Thorwaldsen will know how appears to have been taken by the pioneers, the true 
 to hew a Sierra grizzly out of some gray cliff of Rock- myth-builders and makers of literature in their log- 
 lin granite, and there it will remain while the world cabins, by their winter fires. How long a step has thus 
 endures, supreme as the Lion of Lucerne. Some day been gained we shall know better when the grizzly is 
 an American liarye will create in bronze a massive gone from the Sierras. Perhaps the folk-lore of the 
 grizzly, lord of the land of pines and sequoias, calm American Indians will help the development of the 
 and terrible as a Numidian lion. Perhaps in the day myth, but it seems to me that it will be on .Aryan lines, 
 of battle, a thousand years hence, in some wild Sierra What figure may fitly stand beside the grizzly, as 
 pass, the free men of the mountains, changing the the grizzly will look to men a thousand years hence, 
 course of history, and broadening the California myth when mighty bulks of rough-hewn stone set forth his 
 to a world myth, will make the .\merican Grizzly for majestic strength in every .American city, and we leave 
 all time such a name as the Lion of England, or the dragons, gryphons, and phenixes to the countries 
 ancient Winged Bull of Assyria. where they belong? The grizzly is American to the 
 
 The Pacific Coast, a land larger in extent, more backbone, and his qualities are appreciated wherever 
 
 varied in soil, climate, and resources, than tlial western he is known. Mis comjianion is to be found, if any- 
 
 third of Europe from Gibraltar to the Arctic Circle, where, in the first American pioneer of the Rockies 
 
 has already adopted the grizzly in its common speech, and Sierras, the Gold .Seeker, brave, rugged, and honest 
 
 Where the oriental sage said of the wise man that he as the grizzly himself. .My old silver-freighter had a 
 
 walked forth " alone, like the rhinoceros," the similar glimpse of the truth. " Some fellow has got to stand 
 
 comparison known to the man of the land between up and represent the whole crowd." The fact of the 
 
 Arizona and -Alaska has been a comparison with the growing grizzly legend helps one's imagination to 
 
 grizzly. A man is said to be " as strong as a grizzly," seize upon the more complex fact of the growing 
 
 or as dreadful when aroused, or as much of a boss, or pioneer legend, which, like the other, needs only time 
 
 "a regular grizzly of a fellow." It is not a light for its fulfilment. 
 
 phrase ; it goes deep down to the roots of the matter ; The Argonaut — let us call him that because he 
 
 it is the last word said. seems to like it best — has even fewer years remaining 
 
 By a thousand camp-fires since the first trappers than the grizzly. Name him as you will, — prospector, 
 
 met grizzlies in the Rockies men have told stories of placer-miner, frontiersman of the Pacific Coast, son 
 
 the mighty creature, and when the last grizzly is gone of four generations of pioneers ; call him Californian 
 
 from the canons the body of literature that will con- or .Arizonian, whichever you choose, — there he stands 
 
 tinue to grow up about him may some day be like the at the end of the road ; and though he spreads out his 
 
 marvelous dragon literature that has sprung from the grasp to Alaska and Mexico, the continent is crossed, 
 
 bones of the pterodactyl. The grizzly in his best es- and he is disappearing, as priest and vaqticro disap- 
 
 tate has not only no equal for strength and dignity in peared before him. 
 
 the " three .Americas," but he rivals the lion and tiger. Strange indeed is the law of the growth of the myth- 
 Civilization is claiming his haunts so rapidly that two s]iirit, which works continually among men, but only 
 or three generations will see him as extinct as the at long intervals to full achievement. The goddess of 
 saber-toothed tiger or the great cave-bear of Europe, myths either seizes upon the first of a type to lift it to 
 This early perishing may give the grizzly another ad- the stars, or else she waits until the last of the race 
 vantage in his progre>s towards a pL'rmanent place in of heroes goes forth, Sigurd-like, to his death, before 
 art and literature. she pours her cup of immortality on his name and 
 
 .Again, the grizzly stories that frontiersmen tell have line. Men hear of Volsung because of his son's son 
 
 all the unc«nscious dignity of their subject ; they rise who rode the Glittering Heath. The goddess may not 
 
 at times to the height of an epic of the Sierras, and choose among the founders of the .Atlantic colonies 
 
 they possess a singular vitality. One must gather with their heroic histories. Perhaps she will not even 
 
 them up from explorers like Lewis and Clarke, Kit take the buckskin-clad Boones and Crocketts, though 
 
 Carson and St. V'rain, from placer-miners' stories of over them her spirit still hangs uncertain. If it may 
 
 '49, from Spanish-Californian missions and stock- not be trappernor hunter, voyageur, guide, nor pioneer 
 
 ranches, and from the lonely .American preirmptors' of the .Atlantic slope, or the Mississippi \alley, what 
 
 cabins in the Siskiyous. One must cast aside the mere is more likely than that the imagination of the mce 
 
 " newspaper yarns " invented by men who never saw will sometime, when the last pioneer is dead, crystallize 
 
 a grizzly. Then one discovers this fundamental fact — the story of the whole westward march into some Si- 
 
 that the grizzly has somehow impressed himself irrev- erra Titan leaning upon his mighty pick, as Thor upon 
 
 (icably upon the imagination of the man of the Pacific his Mjolnir? The hills will be empty of gold; the 
 
 Coast, and this in a way that the black and brown bears waters will have reclaimed the deserts ; new conditions 
 
 h.ive never yet done to any people. In the delightful of life may have come to pass over all the lands from 
 
 German tales Bruin is a good-natured, stupid fellow, Maine to California. But every child will hear the 
 
 whom one cannot but like even while smiling over his stories of old-world dragons and new-world grizzlies; 
 
 adventures. The bear in the negro folk-lore of the of old-world giants and new-world pioneers. 
 
 CluxrUs HiTU'jrJ S/iitnt. 
 
HOW LONDON IS GOVERNED. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF " GLASGOW : A MUNICIPAL STUDY." 
 
 rETROPOLITAN London, the 
 greatest and most enlight- 
 ened city this world has ever 
 seen, has never had a legal ex- 
 istence, a fixed boundary line, 
 or a municipal government. 
 For limited purposes the metropolis became 
 last year an administrative county and ac- 
 quired a representative council ; but previous 
 to the new local government act, which gives 
 all the counties of England elective councils, 
 the metropolis had no distinct organization 
 or corporate form. London, the ancient City, 
 had maintained its old-time bounds and its 
 venerable charters ; but its area was only one 
 square mile audits resident population was only 
 fifty thousand, while " Greater London " had 
 attained a population fully a hundred times 
 as large, spread over an area of at least five 
 hundred square miles. Greater London lay 
 in the three counties of Middlesex, Kent, and 
 Surrey, with huge suburbs in Essex and en- 
 croaching outposts in Hertfordshire. It was 
 governed in the most anomalous manner by 
 Parliament directly as an interposing provi- 
 dence, by the ministers of the Crown, by the 
 magistrates of the several counties, by special 
 boards and commissions, and by many scores 
 of parish vestries and other minor local author- 
 ities. The acts of Parliament that affected one 
 feature or another of the administration in 
 whole or in part of the metropolitan area were 
 legion, and were scattered through the statute- 
 books of centuries. Truly this great aggrega- 
 tion of people and interests had a perplexingly 
 intricate organization. But still it was some- 
 how governed. Its vast expanding life as one 
 social, commercial, and industrial entity found 
 its organs. 
 
 How London has been governed in the 
 past, how it is governed at present, how it 
 is meeting the various social and economic 
 problems of modem metropolitan life — these 
 are questions eminently worthy of considera- 
 tion by all who would study municipal mat- 
 ters. For London is the capital not only of 
 the British Empire, but in some sense also of 
 the whole world. Its experiences are of uni- 
 versal interest and importance. In it the new 
 forces of urban life are at work in most sig- 
 nificant ways. It is slowly but surely evolving 
 central municipal institutions that shall meet 
 its peculiar needs. Its population is waking 
 132 
 
 up with a sense of unity and with an appre- 
 ciation of great things to be done through 
 united municipal action for the common wel- 
 fare. It is only lately that the people of 
 advanced industrial nations have learned to 
 accept the fact that life in cities under artifi- 
 cial conditions must be the permanent lot of 
 the great majority, and that it is the business 
 of society to adapt the urban environment to 
 the needs of the population. Life in the mod- 
 ern city should not be an evil or a misfortune 
 for any class. There should be such sanitary 
 arrangements and administration as to make 
 the death rate of the great city smaller than 
 that of the nation as a whole. There should 
 be such educational facilities as to insure to 
 all the young people of a city the most suit- 
 able physical, intellectual, and industrial train- 
 ing. The masses of people in London are 
 rising to some faint perception of these truths, 
 and they are beginning to clamor for social 
 and governmental reforms. The immediate 
 future of London is fraught with magnificent 
 possibilities. From the extreme of chaos, dis- 
 organization, and uncontrolled freedom of in- 
 dividual action, it is not impossible that the 
 great metropolis may a generation hence lead 
 all the large cities of the world in the close- 
 ness and unity of its organization and in the 
 range of its municipal activities. Municipal 
 sociahsm has a better outlook in London than 
 in Paris or Berlin, although as yet London has 
 given fewer tangible evidences of this trend 
 than has any other center of civiHzation. How- 
 ever that may be, the London questions have 
 assumed an extraordinary importance in Eng- 
 land, and to understand them reasonably well 
 it is necessary to review and analyze with some 
 care the government of London. 
 
 BRITISH MUNICIPAL REFORM. 
 
 The ever-memorable reform act of 1832, 
 which gave representation in Parliament a 
 modern and rational basis, was soon followed, 
 as a part of the reform program of the day, 
 by a general municipal government act which 
 abolished the ancient and exclusive privileges 
 of the merchants and trades gilds and en- 
 larged the municipal corporations to the inclu- 
 sion of the whole body of citizens paying a 
 certain minimum amount of rates. This act of 
 1835 ^s the most signally important piece of 
 
PIONEER MINING IN CALIIORMA. 
 
 The Earth at the en 1 
 (Kepnnted (roiii 
 
 • Punch.") 
 
 ;URKKA! We have 
 > found it ! The coast 
 had many hours been 
 anxiously watched 
 through glasses to 
 discover the 
 Golden Gate, 
 and there it 
 was. Ourlong 
 voyage of 
 ninety -seven 
 days from 
 Panama was about over. The old brigantine, 
 leaking at every seam, was headed for the 
 opening between the rocky headlands, and in 
 the bright moonlight, August 4, 1849, she 
 slowly made her way, all sails set, into the 
 magnificent bay of San Francisco. She rounded 
 Clark's Point, and before dawn swung with the 
 tide up to the spot occupied by the rear end 
 of Montgomery block, between Montgomery 
 and Sansome streets, now a half-mile inland 
 from the water-front of San P>ancisco, 
 
 It was an exciting hour. We had received 
 no news from home since our departure from 
 New York on the ist of March, and every- 
 body was eager to get ashore for letters and 
 papers. Not far away was a little shell of a 
 i)uilding, probably sixteen feet square, erected 
 on four j)Osts, each resting on a hogshead filled 
 with stones and thus stayed in the mud. From 
 this a plank ran to terra firma. The sun had not 
 risen when we landed from our iron cockle-shell 
 and wandered in squads through a straggling 
 village, chiefly of tents ; only a few wooden 
 houses had yet been built, while three or four 
 adobe structures told of Mexican occujjation. 
 Sand-dunes were plenty, and when the winds 
 came in from the Pacific the dust made lively 
 work, and gave us our first lessons in Califomian 
 climatology. 
 
 With the morning light the tents gave forth 
 their sleepers, and such a motley tenantry! 
 And such a stir ! Americans in great variety of 
 dress, natives of the islands, with a picturesque 
 mingling of Mexicans in wide trousersand short 
 jackets with a profusion of small globular but- 
 tons, their shock heads thrust through slits in 
 their scrapes and topped off with brown, sugar- 
 loaf-crowned, broad-brimmed, heavy felt som- 
 breros. 
 
 Ship-fare had given us a longing for a fancy 
 breakfast. A restaurant-sign attracted me, and 
 I went in. The table was a bare plank against 
 one of the walls of the tent ; the plates and 
 
 cups were of tin, and the meal consisted of 
 fried beef, bread, and black coflee. The bill 
 was three dollars. 
 
 Some of the largest tents were devoted to 
 gambling on a large scale, though the vice had 
 not reached the magnitudeof su( ceeding years, 
 when the Kl Dorado gambling-tent jiaid a ren- 
 tal of $40,000 a year, and $20,000 were staked 
 on the turn of a card. In those early days these 
 gambling-tents were the most attractive places 
 in the larger towns. They were commodious, 
 and were about the only places warmed by 
 fires ; they had well-furnished and somewhat 
 tasteful bars, where liquors were dispensed at a 
 dollar a gla.ss. Tables were distributed along 
 the sides, and in rows through the middle, at 
 which monte, faro, vingt-et-un, roulette, lans- 
 quenet, and I do not know how many other 
 games were played. When the whole was ablaze 
 with lights of an evening, an occasional woman 
 seen assisting at the games, and a band of mu- 
 sic or singers giving forth a concourse of sweet 
 sounds,crowds surged before the barand around 
 the tables, some attracted by the novelty, some 
 to get warm, but more to try their luck. 
 
 Our stay in San Francisco was but for a day 
 or two. We had come to mine for gold, and 
 though the inducements for business in the in- 
 cipient city were flattering, even wages com- 
 manding eight to ten dollars a day, or a <loIlar 
 an hour, we determined to push on to the mines. 
 Glowing accounts induced us to try the south- 
 em mines, and a passage to Stockton was se- 
 cured on an old tub of a schooner at the rate 
 of three ounces of gold, or thirty-six dollars, 
 per head. The deck was crowded with men 
 of ever)' nationality. The rolling hills, tawny, 
 and flecked with green trees, bounding the 
 bays of San Francisco, Suisun, and San Pablo, 
 were novel and interesting. The very color of 
 the earth, covered with wild oats or dried gra.ss, 
 suggested a land of gold. The sight was in- 
 spiriting. Put when we reached the mouth of the 
 San Joatjuin our miseries began. This river has 
 an extraordinarily tortuous course almost en- 
 tirely through tule, or marshlands, that in 1849 
 produced bushels of voracious moscjuitoes to 
 the acre. 1 had never known the like before. 
 It seemed as if there was a stratum of swarm- 
 ing insect life ten feet thick over the surface 
 of the earth. I corded my trousers tight to 
 my boot-legs to keep them from pulling up, 
 ilonned a thick coat, though the heat was intol- 
 erable, shiekled my neck and face with hand- 
 kerchiefs, and put on buckskin gloves, and in 
 
 127 
 
128 
 
 PIOXEER MINING IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 that condition parboiled and smothered. In 
 spite of all precautions our faces were much 
 swollen with the poison of numberless bites. 
 To escape the hot sun we took refuge below 
 deck, and to drive away the pests a smudge was 
 made on some sand in the bottom of the boat, 
 which filled the hold almost to sufibcation. The 
 mosquitoes were too ravenous to be wholly 
 foiled by smoke. I think I never endured such 
 vexation and sufiering. Sleep was impossible. 
 The boat had to be worked by hand around 
 the numerous bends, and half the time the 
 sails were useless for want of wind. It was a 
 burning calm in the midst of a swamp. But 
 even in our distress there was a humorous side, 
 provoking grim smiles at least. 
 
 ^^'e finally arrived at Stockton, then also a 
 \dllage of tents. The newest style of architec- 
 ture called for light frames on which canvas 
 was tacked for sides and roof. There was no 
 need of windows except for air currents, light 
 enough coming through the cloth. We were 
 impatient to go on to our destination, the Big 
 Bar of the Mokelumne River, and soon were 
 on the way with pack-mules and horses hired 
 for the purpose. Camping on the bank of the 
 Calaveras the first night, we were treated to our 
 first serenade by coyotes. A peculiarity of this 
 small wolf is that he can pipe in any key, fool- 
 ing you with the belief that he has twenty com- 
 panions, though one little wretch is making 
 all the noise. We passed the plain of the San 
 Joaquin Valley, with its dark, spreading live- 
 oaks, like an old orchard miles in extent, and 
 began the ascent of the foothills. Brown and 
 red soil made its appearance hot and dusty; 
 nut-pines were mingled with oaks and man- 
 zanitas, ceanothus, buckeye, and poison oak. 
 Wild oats and burr clover still remained in 
 patches unfound by the cattle of the plain. 
 The air was dr}', but grew more bracing. The 
 trail wound among trees, around hills, through 
 ravines, and sometimes up steep ascents, but 
 at last, on the third day from Stockton, after 
 a journey of more than seven thousand miles 
 by land and sea, we reached the mines. 
 
 jSIy first impressions were not pleasant. The 
 first miner I saw at his work was a rough, 
 dirty-looking man in a dry ravine. The banks 
 were about as high as his shoulders. A double- 
 barreled shot-gun lay on the edge of the bank 
 within easy reach. He was picking up dry clay 
 and gravel from the bottom of his claim, pul- 
 verizing it in his wooden pan with a stone, and 
 then shaking it about till the lighter particles 
 came to the top and were brushed over the 
 rim. The pulverizing and shaking continued 
 until a small quantity of dust and gold was 
 left in the bottom. The dust was blown out 
 with the breath. This process was called " dry 
 washing." 
 
 The Big Bar of the Mokelumne lay in the 
 gorge six or eight hundred feet below. The 
 sight was not at all inspiring, ^^'hat in mining 
 parlance are called '"bars" are deposits of sand, 
 gravel, clay, and boulders made by rivers, usu- 
 ally opposite the angle of a bend. Sometimes 
 these are small, and sometimes several acres in 
 extent, and vary from a few inches to ten feet 
 or more in depth to the bed-rock. Our bar, as 
 its name denotes, was a large one, of perhaps 
 five or six acres, covered with boulders from 
 a few pounds' weight to several tons. A few 
 tall pines were scattered over it, and here 
 and there were a number of tents. Though 
 perhaps a hundred miners were at work, the 
 river went merrily on unstained to the sea. 
 Down the steep banks of the gorge we went, 
 stirring up the red dust and covering ourselves 
 with it from head to foot. The animals did 
 not like so steep a trail, and would have their 
 own way among the timber, loosening the 
 packs ; but we made the descent with average 
 success. On the bar we found friends that we 
 had made in Panama, who had preceded us a 
 few davs, long enough to speak the vernacular 
 of mining and to pride themselves on being 
 " old miners," assuming as such to know just 
 where the gold would be found in the largest 
 quantities, and where to expect the least. 
 
 And now my mining life began. It was as 
 free from restraint as the air that came through 
 the soughing pines. Only Mexican law could 
 be said to exist, and in all the mining region 
 there were no officers to enforce its feeble de- 
 mands. Every man was a law unto himself, 
 and it is little to say in behalf of the pioneers 
 of California that they carried the laws of 
 justice and humanity in their hearts to such a 
 degree that no more orderly society was ever 
 knoA\-n on the face of the earth than in those 
 early days. 
 
 Pioneer mining life — what was it? The 
 miner must have an outfit of a pick, pan, shovel, 
 rocker, dipper and bucket of wood, or of raw- 
 hide. A tent was good to have, but he could 
 make shift during the dry season with a sub- 
 stitute of boughs, for there was no fear of rain 
 from May to October. A blanket of rubber 
 spread on a stratum of leaves, on which his 
 woolen blankets were laid, sufficed for a bed. 
 His culinary utensils were confined to a fr)ang- 
 pan, a small iron pot, tin cups and plates, 
 knife, fork, and spoon. His wardrobe consisted 
 generally of a pair of serviceable shirts, a change 
 of trousers, strongboots, and a slouch-hat. With 
 these, and a supply of bacon, fiour, salt, salera- 
 tus, beans, a few candles, and occasionally 
 fresh beef, the miner was ready for work. His 
 luxuries were tea and raw sugar, with occasion- 
 ally the addition of dried peaches from Chili. 
 His bread was made by mixing flour, water, 
 
J70XEEA' .W/\/\G JX CArif'ORNIA. 
 
 129 
 
 l^ 
 
 and saleratus in the tin or iron pan which did 
 double duty in the kitchen and in t,'athering 
 gold, and baking it about two inches thick, hke 
 a shortcake. But skipjacks, the legitimate suc- 
 cessors of the Mexican tortillas, were also a 
 standard article of diet. Tin teapots were 
 sometimes aftected, but the small iron pot with 
 a hollow handle did duty for both tea and 
 beans or frijoles. The latter were of a brown 
 variety grown in Chili, and were prepared after 
 the Mexican style with a piece of bacon or 
 fresh beef and plenty of chili Colorado, or red 
 ])epper. They were allowed to cook a long 
 time, often standing in the hot embers over 
 night to be ready for breakfast in the morning. 
 The bill-of-fare did not vary much for break- 
 fa>t, dinner, and su[)per. 
 
 The most expensive instrument of the early 
 miner was the rocker, which, though sim])le 
 in construction, cost in the mines from fifty 
 to a hunilred tlollars. In general appearance 
 it was not unlike a baby's cradle as used by 
 our grandmothers and as still seen on the fron- 
 tier. It consisted of a Hat bottom with two sides 
 that flared outward, and aft end board at the 
 head, while the foot wa.sopen save a riffle about 
 an inch and a half high at the bottom to catch 
 the gold that might pass another riffle across 
 Vol. XLII.— 17. 
 
 A TI'LE MARSH 
 
 ON THE 
 
 SAN JOAQUIN. 
 
 (DRAWN nv 
 HARKV KENN.) 
 
 the bottom near 
 the middle, .\tthe 
 head of the cradle 
 was a hopperabout 
 eighteen inches 
 sijuare, with a per- 
 forated sheet-iron 
 bottom or wire 
 screen. Under this 
 was an apron, or 
 board, sloping 
 do wnward towards 
 the head. 'iwo 
 
 substantial rockers under the whole com- 
 pleted the simple machine which gave to the 
 world millions of dollars. The modus o/><rijin/i 
 maybe described as follows: 'l"wo sticks of 
 wood hewn on the U|)per side were imbedded 
 at the river's brink, one four inches lower than 
 the other, on which the rockers were to rest, 
 thus se( uringa grade in the machine to facili- 
 tate the outwarii flow of the water and sand. 
 Two miners usually worked together as part- 
 ners. ( )ne shoveled the earth into the rocker, 
 while the other, seated on a boulder or block 
 of wood. dipi)ed the water from the river, and 
 poured it u|>on the earth in the hoj)per with 
 one hand, all the time rocking with the other. 
 
130 
 
 PIONEER MINING IN CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 THE OLD SACRAMENTO TRAIL NORTH OF DONNER LAKE. 
 
 When the earth was thoroughly washed, he 
 rose, Ufted the hopper from its place, threw 
 out the stones and gravel, replaced it, and 
 thus the work went on. As the ground about 
 the rocker became exhausted to the bed-rock, 
 recourse was had to the bucket, and the earth 
 was carried sometimes a i^w rods, making 
 laborious work for the miner. To keep the 
 rocker going another hand would be employed 
 to carry earth, and each would carry two 
 buckets at a time. Hard work of this kind sug- 
 gested improvements in mining. At noon the 
 gold and black sand collected above the rififles 
 were taken up on a scraper and thrown into 
 the pan, which was carried to the river and 
 carefully washed to remove as far as possible 
 all but the gold. The yield of the forenoon was 
 carried to the camp, dried over a blaze, the 
 dry sand blown out, and the gold weighed in 
 scales or guessed at, and poured into the part- 
 nership purse and deposited under the bed or 
 anywhere else out of sight. Few miners thought 
 of weighing themselves down with gold, and few 
 taxed their resources much to find places of 
 concealment. I was in many camps down to 
 1854, and in none did I ever know of a theft 
 of gold, and I heard of but one, and that was 
 punished by a cat-o'-nine-tails, which was after- 
 ward nailed to the center-post of a trader's 
 tent, as a warning to evil-doers. 
 
 The gold taken from the river bars was 
 mostly in the form of scales resembling cu- 
 cumber seeds, and of varying size. It was 
 most plentiful on the bed-rock and in a few 
 inches of soil above it, though sometimes three 
 or four feet of earth would pay to wash. 
 Where the bed-rock was hard the miner cleaned 
 it, for a shovelful of dirt might contain a few 
 dollars in small particles. Where the bed-rock 
 was soft shale or slate on edge the miner picked 
 away an inch or so and washed it, as frequently 
 
 the scales were found to be driven (juite thickly 
 into the crevices. When the ground was very 
 rich the rocker was cleaned of gold every hour 
 or two. When work was over, around the sup- 
 per fire the events of the day were discussed, 
 earnings compared, reports made of grizzly 
 bears or deer being seen or killed, of better 
 diggings of " coarse gold " discovered. This 
 was the hour for speculations as to the origin of 
 the gold in the rivers, and a strong opinion was 
 entertained by many who were not well-read 
 that immense masses of the precious metal 
 would some day be brought to light in the snow- 
 capped peaks towering to the east. " Coarse 
 gold " was a charm to the ear of the ordinary 
 miner. His claim might be paying him an 
 ounce a day in fine gold, but he was always 
 interested in some reported diggings far away 
 where the product was in lumps, and not infre- 
 quently he left a good mine to seek some richer 
 El Dorado. The characteristic and besetting 
 fault of the early miner was unrest. He was 
 forever seeking better fortune. Yet it was this 
 passion for2:)rospecting that resulted in the dis- 
 covery of gold in an incredibly short time from 
 the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley to the 
 northern limit of the State. To " prospect " was 
 to find a spot that looked favorable and make 
 an examination of it. The miner would take a 
 pan of earth, shake and gyrate it under water, 
 raising and tipping it frequently to run the dirt 
 and water off, then plunge it again, and so con- 
 tinue until a small residuum of black sand and 
 gold remained. A speck of gold was the " color," 
 several specks were " several colors," and the 
 number and size determined the judgment of 
 the miner whether he should go to work or 
 move on. I have seen ounces taken in this 
 way in a single pan, but in the earlier days 
 
 WORKING A CLAIM. 
 
PIONEER MLWLXG IN CAIJEORNIA. 
 
 131 
 
 ^r^ 
 
 ^;C' ''*^- 
 
 "NOT EVEN THE COLOR. 
 (composed from an old FRINT.) 
 
 we counted a " bit " to the pan, twelve and a 
 half cents, a fair j)rospcct. 
 
 'I'lie average gain of the miner in those days 
 
 pants of a locahty, inspired, it may be, by the 
 fact that the swarms of new immigrants would 
 soon compel a division, allowed a mining stat- 
 ute limiting claims to a certain size. This varied 
 in the different camps, and flepended somewhat 
 on the richness of the earth, (lenerally each 
 miner was restricted to about fifteen feet front 
 on the river, the claim extending across the 
 bar to the hill, but where the bar was a wide 
 one the length was shortened. In some cases 
 a claim was from fifteen to eighteen feet square. 
 Back from the river and near the foot of the 
 mountain the bed-rock was sometimes ten or 
 twelve feet below the surface, and great labor 
 was required to throw off the top earth to reach 
 the auriferous stratum, and often such deep 
 claims were very wet, calling for constant bail- 
 ing. Of course such claims must be rich to pay, 
 
 can never be known. Though he was extra- and some of them were, but it was not always 
 
 ordinarily frank and confiding in the oft"hand so. I have known days and sometimes weeks 
 
 conversations about the camp-fire, yet there is of hard work to be spent in one of these pits, 
 
 reason to believe that his largest receipts were to find a smooth bed-rock at last with ver)' lit- 
 
 sometimes not reported. My 
 observation was that the indus- 
 trious worker rarely brought to ~^ 
 his sujjper less than ten dol- ^ 
 lars, often an ounce (reckoned 
 at sixteen dollars), and sometimes 
 six ounces, or even more. I myself 
 took from the earth nearly one hundred v 
 
 and fifty ounces in seventeen successive 
 working days. My largest clean-up was $224. 
 ( )ne day, in less than half an hour, I took 
 with my knife from a crevice in the rocks six 
 and a half ounces of gold. When the river 
 went down after it had been swollen by the 
 first rains and had swept over the bed-rock of 
 bars supposed to be worked out, hundreds of 
 glittering scales were left exposed, aftbrding 
 pleasant picking for a day or two. 
 
 The nights in the mines were glorious for 
 sleep. However hot the days, — and I have 
 known a thermometer hung on the north side 
 of a pine-tree to show 1 28*' at two o'clock, — the 
 nights were cool, reiiuiring at least one good 
 pair of blankets for comfort. Stretched on the 
 ground under a tent or canopy of boughs, or 
 with nothing but the i)urest air between him 
 and the stars, the miner was lulled to rest by 
 the murmur of the river or by a coyote, running 
 his remarkable gamut. The great heat did not 
 interfere with wf)rk, and there was not a case 
 of sunstroke, nor was the atmosphere sultry or 
 very oppres.sive. Eighty-eight degrees in the 
 moist climate of Panama made life vastly more 
 uncomfortable. 
 
 .\t first, and until the blue-shirted population 
 became numerous, not much regard was had 
 to the size of claims, the miner occu])ying about 
 all the grounil he doired. Hut a change soon 
 came. The sense of justice of the first occu- 
 
 SIRFACR SLUICING 
 
 grip 
 
 others live 
 
 tie gold on it. Now and 
 then, after long and tedi- 
 ous toil and discourage- 
 ments, the miner " struck 
 his jjile," but as often he 
 found nothing but barren 
 rock or gravel. 
 
 Mining is one of the 
 most fascinating and ex- 
 citing of employments. 
 15ut in the earlier days, 
 when we knew less about 
 genuine indications, min- 
 ing was, more than now, 
 a species of gambling. I'he 
 effects are yet to be seen 
 in hundreds of men still 
 living near their old 
 haunts, who, in common 
 jjhrase, have " lost their 
 in our memories who. 
 
 after repeated disappointment, sleep on the 
 mountain sides in nameless graves. Vet these 
 same unfortunates did their part in giving to 
 the world thousands of millions of dollars. 
 
 LONG TOM. 
 
 (COMflSFD FROM A I 
 KKV, riULISIIEU A I 
 
 BV IIRITTON b. 
 
132 
 
 PIONEER MINING IN CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 thus stimulating progress probably more than 
 was ever known in any other epoch of similar 
 length in the history of mankind. 
 
 The early miner soon observed in working 
 by the river's shore that the pay dirt sometimes 
 extended down under the water, and he was 
 not slow in going after the yellow metal wher- 
 ever it was to be found. Large prospects sug- 
 gested turning the stream from its bed to work 
 the bottom, and this was usually done by dig- 
 ging a canal across the bar, or by carrying the 
 water in a wooden flume over the channel or 
 across the bends, I have seen companies of 
 men, filled with enthusiasm and confidence, 
 at work for weeks until the river-bed was laid 
 bare, to find only a narrow strip of pay ground 
 along the edge. But in some cases the reward 
 was enormous. 
 
 One Sunday in September, 1849, putting on 
 my " store clothes " and " biled shirt," brought 
 along from the old home in utter ignorance of 
 the real life I was to lead in the mines, I went 
 on a pedestrian trip of observation down the 
 river. The air of the morning was like cham- 
 pagne. The shaking of rockers or rattle of 
 stones thrown from hoppers was little heard. 
 Miners were washing their clothes by the side 
 of the river. Camp-fires smoked everywhere, 
 and many resting or sleeping men were 
 stretched on buffalo-robes or blankets under 
 trees and brush awnings. The trail was across 
 rocky bars, stony points, and along the steep 
 sides of the hills. I had sauntered for three 
 or four miles when, on rounding a point, a 
 busy and novel scene burst on my view\ Files 
 of Mexicans were coming and going, bearing 
 earth in wooden bateas on their heads to make 
 a dam in order to turn the stream. The work 
 was being superintended by a stalwart Ameri- 
 can, the projector of the enterprise, in broad 
 sombrero, and reclining on a serape spread 
 on the bank, reminding one of a planter with 
 his slaves. It proved to be Colonel James, 
 
 who was afterwards a distinguished criminal 
 lawyer of San Francisco. I learned from him 
 that the dam, after weeks of labor, was nearly 
 completed ; an hour more and the river would 
 be flowing in an old channel. My curiosity 
 was excited, and I remained to see the result 
 of his venture. When the water was drawn 
 off, the bed of the river presented the appear- 
 ance of successive strata of hard slate, on edge, 
 from three or four inches to a foot or more 
 apart, the softer slate or shale between having 
 been worn out and the depressions partly filled 
 with sand and gravel. These strata on edge 
 extended diagonally across the channel, form- 
 ing an abundance of natural riffles to catch 
 and retain the gold. My recollection is that 
 the bed of the river had been laid bare to an 
 extent of 200 yards in length by 60 feet in 
 width. The great moment of expectation had 
 come. By invitation I followed the colonel, 
 who carried a pick, a pan, a shovel, and a 
 small tin cup. It was plain there would be 
 little gravel to wash, as the claim was on the 
 slope of a " rapid," the grade being so great 
 that most of the light material borne by the 
 waters had been carried over. The shovel at 
 once showed the wealth of one of the crevices, 
 and I distinctly saw the colonel take his tin 
 cup by the handle and scrape up from the 
 bottom of the crevice a few handfuls that 
 seemed to me to be half gold. I did not stay 
 to see the gold washed, but I can safely say 
 that I saw at least a thousand dollars go into 
 the pan in half an hour. 
 
 I had seen enough to make a rosy report, 
 and soon was a member of a company to turn 
 the river near our camp on the bar. We 
 dammed the river, the bed-rock of which was 
 smooth and barren. It was no child's play, 
 working in the water in the hot sun, sometimes 
 up to our necks, laying boulders into a wall 
 across the stream, and filling in above with the 
 red clay of the mountain side. Miners would 
 
 \ 
 
 J) . 
 
 "Ri.'s^^ -j^ 
 
 
 
 "Ms»' 
 
 >t«- 
 
 
 ^ w 
 
 <'^^.>:' 
 
 t.' 
 
 
 ."T-f.. hLLECRilW^ St .y^ - 
 
 MARYSVILLE BLTTES, A LANDMARK OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY 
 
riOXEUR MIMXa IX r ////^>/,' \ / / 
 
 M.^ 
 
 I 
 
 t^ ^f^Jlffi 
 
 ^£>«« 
 
 .Tl.4 
 
 A RUSH FOR NKW UIGGINGS. 
 
 pass and repass, envy us our claim, and chances 
 were numerous to sell out interests at goott fig- 
 ures ; but we had come to California to make 
 a fortune and return as soon as possible, and 
 had no thought of selling a " sure thing " for 
 a few thousand dollars. Alas, for great ex- 
 pectations! the river ilaim i)roved a failure. 
 The earnings from washing the bar were nearly 
 all gone, newcomers occupied all the ground 
 not exhausted, and so we prepared to wander, 
 ri( tures of camp-life < rowd upon one. Who 
 can forget the trains of loaded mules descend- 
 ing the mountain to the bar, with their attend- 
 ing Mexicans, raising a cloud of reil dust and 
 filling the air with their cries of "Iloopal" 
 '• Mula!" and other exj)letives? Ortheherdsof 
 wild cattle galloping «lown at breakneck speed, 
 followed by swarthy and dust-begrimed viJijuc- 
 r<'.f."in sugar-loaf hats and legs of leather," anil 
 their headlong riding over the boulder-coveretl 
 bar, swinging their riatas and lassoing the fright- 
 ened bullocks for the but( hers.^ .Almost every 
 store-tent had one or more rude tables where 
 cartl-playing was indulged in " for the drinks," 
 or where monte. the favorite gambling game, 
 was played for «lust,and at night these jtlace^ 
 were alive with miners purchasing supplies or 
 trying their luck at the tables. As illustrative 
 of the confidence of traders in the miners, I 
 
 may here mention that in 1849 ^'^'^ ''^"' ^ year 
 or two thereafter I never knew of a miner be- 
 ing refused credit for anything he wanted. A 
 trader, a total stranger to me, who had heard 
 a rumor of better iliggings, once offeretl me 
 his tent and contents at cost — about $2200. 
 not a dollar to be paid until all the goods were 
 sold. 'Ihe miners on the bar were always reaily 
 to help others with purse or counsel, to share 
 the last flapjack or frijole, or to espouse the 
 cause of the injured. On Sunday or when the 
 work < )f the day was over visits were exchange! 1 
 without formality, and there was a general cor- 
 dial mingling of men from all parts of the 
 country antl from every ([uarter of the globe. .\ 
 considerable number of the first gold-seekers 
 had brought books to the mines which pas.sed 
 from hand to hand, and there could lie found 
 a v;iriety of volumes, Reading and argument 
 were common sources of amusement, and in 
 some of the tents one might hear the picking of 
 improvised banjos. 
 
 The autumn of 1849 came on. The leaves 
 had begun to fall ; the winds in the towering 
 ]>ines and the murmur of the waters had more 
 melanclmly tones, the cricket.s sang more plain- 
 tively, the few birds were restless, and what 
 with the want of claims to work and the com- 
 ing of the rainv sea.s<jn it was needful that we 
 
134 
 
 PIONEER MINING IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 A ROUGH ROAD TO THE MINES. 
 
 seek another locality and prepare for the win- 
 ter. I had already prospected the Rich Cnilch 
 of the Calaveras five or six miles away, had 
 worked one day on a claim and had left a pick 
 and shovel there as an evidence of owner- 
 ship. The custom of the miners was to recog- 
 nize mining tools in a claim as equivalent to 
 possession, and in the absence of the claimant 
 these tools were sufficient to hold the claim ten 
 days. But my partner had fallen sick, and I 
 was not able to leave him, and when we moved 
 to the gulch eleven days after I had left it, we 
 found the tools on the bank and two "jumpers " 
 at work. We were too late, but we took the 
 loss philosophically, as there was plenty of 
 ground not taken. I understood afterward that 
 the jumpers realized out of the claim about 
 $7000 in six weeks, which was more than I 
 pocketed from the gulch during the entire 
 winter. 
 
 The Rich Gulch was a good type of what 
 were called "dry diggings" — a long arroyo, 
 dry in summer with a good stream running 
 
 A WOMAN IN THE MINES. 
 
 down it after a rain. Claims extended from 
 bank to bank, and for sixteen feet in length. 
 The brown and red soil from the hills had 
 run down in the course of time and changed 
 the channel of the stream in many places, 
 and here the miners had to expend a good 
 deal of labor on what they called " dead work," 
 removing this hill soil, sometimes twenty feet 
 in depth, to get to the old gold-bearing bed. 
 As cooperation in the way of drainage had at 
 this time been little thought of, each claim 
 had to get rid of its own water in any way 
 without much consideration for neighbors be- 
 low. The amount of bottom dirt washed was 
 slight compared with the whole removed, but 
 in most claims it was exceedingly rich. Many 
 a man had reason to remember with pleasure 
 those winter diggings for the fortune they gave 
 him. The gold was coarser and rougher than 
 that of the rivers, not having been so much 
 ground among the sand and gravel. 
 
 During the winter of 1849-50, the cost of 
 living was extreme. As the season w^as a very 
 wet one. the roads and trails were full of mud- 
 holes, in which supply wagons were stuck and 
 mules and oxen mired. Wagons and animals 
 were unloaded several times a day to extricate 
 them from the mud, and in one instance at 
 least fourteen days were spent on the road from 
 Stockton, fifty miles away. Flour reached a 
 dollar a pound, rice the same, pork and ba- 
 con a dollar and sixty cents a pound, sale- 
 ratus sixteen dollars a pound, and spermaceti 
 candles a dollar each. An ounce of gold was 
 the price of a pick or shovel, and almost any- 
 thing needed, except fresh beef, commanded 
 
PIONEER MIXIXG IX C.l f./EOA'X/.i. 
 
 '35 
 
 a proportionate price. That all miners did not 
 get rich is accounted for in the statement 
 that il look a fairc laim to pay expenses. The 
 ^hort duration of a placer < laim, the loss of 
 lime in finding anotlier, anrl the too general 
 restlessness, tell the story of many failures to 
 realize a fortune by even those who were the 
 most lucky. Too often it was due to extrava- 
 gance, gambling, or the guz/ling of brandy or 
 
 the little cr)mnninity. Some of his decisions in 
 ca.ses of double ownershi|) of claims <lid not 
 square with our notions of justi( e. It was more 
 than suspected that he had been " greaseti," 
 /. <\ bribed, to make them. A meeting of miners 
 was called, and a committee was appointed to 
 draf"t laws for the guh h. The alcalde, a stal- 
 wart and swarthy Creole, gathered his boon 
 companions around him and tried to interrujtt 
 
 1 ii' ^i iiL 1 ••••■, I'. '- M II > i -.; \ r. 1 -^1, 
 
 whisky at eight dollars a bottle. But, drunk 
 or sober, one was obliged to ])ay two oun< es 
 for a pair of pantaloons, a hundred dollars for 
 a pair of long-legged boots, and four dollars 
 expressage for a letter. 
 
 There were not more than four or five log- 
 huts in the gulch, nine-tenths of all the miners 
 living in common soldier tents, about eight feet 
 .s(|uare, the entire winter. r)iirs had a huge flre- 
 |)la( e in front, that sent through our thin, cotton 
 dwelling a warm glow from a fire of manzanita 
 wood, whi( h is nearly equal to hickory for fuel, 
 'i'he weather was at no time very cold, anil we 
 suft'ered no di.scomfort. February was like May 
 in New York. 
 
 It was during this numth that an alcalde, 
 a.ssuming to have derived his authority from 
 an alcalde at Stockton, began to give law to 
 
 the reading of the propo.sed laws, loudly de- 
 claring that he was ah aide and was going to 
 govern the caniji at any hazard. Hut the odds 
 against him soon cooled his courage, and though 
 l)istols were exhibited and violence was threat- 
 ened, no blows were struck. The next mt)rn- 
 ing the blusteringalcalde retired from the gulch 
 forever. The neK laws constituted the first code 
 (so far as I know) adopted in the mines, and 
 sufficed for the settkiiKiit of disputes for a lr)nir 
 time. 
 
 I negle( letl tt> stale in the proper place that 
 in the early part of October bu.siness took me 
 to Sacramento, and I only go back to relate an 
 incident whi( h will help tf) illustrate mining life 
 as it was in California. The trip was made in 
 a large mule-wagon dignifieil with the name of 
 stage, and con.sumed nearly three days. Late 
 
< 
 
 03 
 
 UJ 
 
 Z 
 
PIONEER MINfNG IN CALIEORNIA. 
 
 »37 
 
 in the afternoon of the first day, the driver 
 said it was about time to camp, but he re- 
 marked that at a house four miles farther on 
 there was a woman. Now a woman in the 
 mines was a rarity; wc had ha<l a glimpse of 
 one on the bar during the summer, and that 
 was all. It was at once put to vote to determine 
 whether we shoukl camj) or go on. Of course 
 there can be no doubt of the result. In the 
 evening we halted in front of a log house 
 with a very steep roof made of tules, and ap- 
 plied forsui)per. The hostess, a tall, raw-boned 
 .Missourian, on presenting our bill in the morn- 
 ing, to weigh the dust put a cube of lead in the 
 scales that approximated the size of a hymn- 
 book, but the generosity and chivalry of the 
 early miner and the rarity of women com- 
 bined to make us ignore it. 
 
 In the spring of 1S50 I returned to San 
 Francisco, and in May, with one companion 
 and four animals, went around the bay to So- 
 noma and from thence began the exploration 
 of that unknown region from Sonoma to Ore- 
 gon. Wandering miners we knew had already 
 gone over the mountains and found gold on the 
 Trinity. Were there not other streams flowing 
 into the Pacific north of San Francisco, and 
 might not all be auriferous as well ? It was a 
 tedious, eventful, but fruitless journey of for- 
 ty-seven days, almost wholly over mountains 
 trodden by Digger Indians and, what was 
 more perilous, by ferocious grizzlies, of which 
 we saw five at one time. No gold was found 
 in any stream till we reached the Trinity, thirty- 
 six days from San Francisco, and there the dig- 
 gings were not remarkably rich. The hardest 
 toilers reported but from eight to ten dol- 
 lars a day. The style of mining did not differ 
 from that which I have described, except 
 that the pay dirt was carried a considerable 
 distance in buckets from high and dry bars 
 down to the river to be washed. Something 
 better must be found, and a prospecting party 
 was sent on an exploring expedition farther 
 north. 
 
 There were some queer distinctions in those 
 ilays. One Sunday, going to thebutcher's booth, 
 1 found a customer ahead of me, who inquired 
 if he could not have a jnece of a liver which 
 was hanging on a tree in plain sight. 
 
 " Don't know if you can or not," said the 
 butcher. 
 
 " I W like to kncnv why ? I 'vc been trading 
 with you all along, and never asked for liver 
 before; but I want some variety now." 
 
 " Stand around and let me look at you. No, 
 you can't have anv liver." 
 
 " Well, why ? " 
 
 "There ain't enough to go round. I have 
 to have some rule about givin' it out, and I 
 have decided that no miner can have a scrap 
 Vol.. XI.II.— jS. 
 
 of liver from me unless he wears a canvas 
 patch on the seat of his pants." 
 
 The canvas patch was a badge of prece- 
 dence as well recognized in our camp on the 
 Trinity as the star of the Order of the Ciartcr 
 is in Oreat liritain. 
 
 ( )n the 3d of July two of our prospecting 
 j)arty relumed and whisjjcred the news that 
 rich bars had been found on a stream full of 
 salmon farther north, and the next morning we 
 were off. The night f)f the fourth and fifth gave 
 us the variety of a snow-storm, from which we 
 took shelter under a roof of spruce boughs in- 
 closed on three sides with the same material. 
 After eleven days of exhausting climbing and 
 descending steej) and lofty mountains, tearing 
 our clothes in the tangled chaparral, camping 
 at night in the chilly air where the water from 
 melting snows made green jtastures for our 
 mules, we reached the virgin diggings on 
 Salmon River. There was no evidence that 
 any white man had preceded us. The bars 
 by the river were untouched ; an interminable 
 forest stretched all over the mountain sides antl 
 up and down the winding river, unmarked by 
 the woodman's ax — not dense, but relieved 
 by glades and openings, and but for the steep- 
 ness of the mountains easily traveled. 
 
 Here was a newer scene and a more novel 
 life. There were but eleven Americans of us 
 all told, and a wide and rugged region lay be- 
 tween us and others of our race. I ndians came 
 in S([uads, shyly viewed us, made their com- 
 ments, and passed on. They were superior to 
 the Diggers of the California valleys, and were 
 of the blood of the Modocs, who committed 
 such atrocities in the lava-beds twenty years 
 after. 
 
 My partner in the new diggings was a printer 
 from the establishment of Harper cV brothers, 
 who had come around the Horn as-one of Ste- 
 venson's regiment in 1S47. Displeased with our 
 allotment of claims, which were too wet, we re- 
 solved to take chances alone with the Indians. 
 So one fine morning we quietly packed the 
 mules, forded the river at a shallow place, and 
 proceeded to go we knew not whither. .\ tramj) 
 of eight or nine miles on elk and Indian paths, 
 along a ridge that rose two hundred feet above 
 the river, brought us to a point at the junction 
 of streams. Crossing the north fork we made 
 our camp on a high bar covered with young 
 pines and oaks and already occupied by an 
 Indian family, with whom we hastened to make 
 friends by gifts of beads, bracelets, and other 
 trinkets cajjtivating to the savage. We had no 
 tent, and maile our camp by inclosing a small 
 space with ropes tied to saplings for comer 
 posts, to keep the mules, turnetl loose ujjon 
 the bar, away from our bed and provi.sions. 
 
 Here, again, was a still fresher and wilder 
 
138 
 
 PIONEER MINING IN CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 san francisco 
 (fkom an old lithograph by justh and quirot, in 
 
 life. Cut loose from our kind we trusted to 
 uncorrupted natives, and did not trust in vain. 
 A little prospecting gave glowing promise. 
 Fifty cents to the pan was not infrequent. The 
 rocker was speedily screwed together and real 
 work begun. The river was high from melting 
 snows on the mountains, and the portions of the 
 bars out of water were small, but our first day's 
 work yielded about fourteen ounces. Thus we 
 
 CARICATURES. 
 
 THE COLLECTION OF COMMANDER JOHN K. BARTLF.TT.) 
 
 passed two weeks, mining in patches and with 
 varying success, when miners on the Klamath, 
 hearing from the Indians that white men were 
 working on one of the branches above, pushed 
 up the country to see if somebody had not 
 something better than they. Among the new- 
 comers were a few Texans who laid claim to a 
 very wet bar down the river, and were soon 
 doing well. Somehow a rumor came to our 
 
PIONEER MINING IN CALIEORNIA. ,39 
 
 isolated camp that big lump diggings had been was encamping. Meeting two muleteers gath- 
 
 found to the northeast on Scott River, and the ering faggots for the fire, I incjuired what they 
 
 Texans were on the wing. My ])artner took had to sell. " lVin);una cosa " (" Not a thing") 
 
 the big lunij) fever and went along. 1 asso- was the answer, (ioing on to the ramp-fire I 
 
 ciated myself with three others, entire strangers, incjuired if they would sell me something to eat. 
 
 and we took possession of Texas l>ar, threw a The reply in Sjjanish was that they only sold by 
 
 slight breakwater of clay along the river's edge the cargo. Then 1 observed, sitting by the fire 
 
 to stop the water from si)reading over the bar, and smoking a cigarette, a Mexican whom I 
 
 and then cutting a drain to the bed-rock from recognized. Ste])ping up to him I asked in 
 
 the lower end, we had c omparatively dry Sj^anish if he did not know me. He said no. 
 
 ground and went to washing. We worked early " But, Don Fernando, do you not remember 
 
 and late, sometimes not ceasing till starlight, the man who bought an iron-gray mule of you 
 
 for all our provisions except flour were ex- on the Calaveras last year ? " 
 
 hausted, and our only reliance was on the In- "■' Ah, si, sc/'/or," and he grasped my hand. 
 
 (Hans, who supplied us with salmon in exchange I explained the situation in as few worils as 
 
 for trinkets. This kind of living could not last, possible. Instantly, snapping his thumb and 
 
 and we strained every nerve to get as much finger, he called out to two men : 
 
 gold from the claim as possible. The average '■'■Mini, hoinbrcs ! I'cn aca / Dos quititalcs 
 
 spoil of a day was rather more than a hundred de harina, came scca, panoche, y todas cosas 
 
 dollars to the man. About the middle of Se])- porlos Amcriiaiios ; <?//</i7.'" (" .\ttention,men ! 
 
 tember a conference of the few miners left on Come here I Two quintals of flour, tlried beef, 
 
 the river was held at the Fork^, and as the raw sugar, and everything for the .-Vmericans ; 
 
 diggings were too good to abandon it was travel ! ") 
 
 agreed to desi)atch six men and twenty mules " How much for it all?" I incjuired. 
 to Trinidad on the coast for supplies to last the " A'lNi^itno cciiiavo ; gracias a Dios, Schor " 
 winter. The train was made up and took the ("Not a cent; thanks to God, sir"), he replied 
 trail at once. Haste was necessary, as even with emphasis, and the hoinbrcs carried an 
 flour, the last link to civilization, was nearly abundant su])ply of substantials to our camp, 
 gone. That tall and swarthy Don in brown sugar- 
 Meanwhile the mining went on. Few in loaf hat, his head thrust through a hole in the 
 numbers, and without provisions, our position middle of a blanket that served for a cloak, 
 could easily become critical. Our relief party standing in his spurs, the rowels of which were 
 came back suddenly ; it could not go through, four inches in diameter, is not a figure to be 
 The Indians on the Klamath were hostile, readily forgotten. 
 
 Oregon men had shot some Indian dogs down There was an incredible amount of cooking 
 
 the river, and the young bucks had retaliated that night. Slapjacks and sugar, ropes of tlried 
 
 by killing a horse. Thus began the so-called beef broiled on the coals, coft'ee made of an 
 
 Klamath war, that cost the State, and ulti- extract — everything was welcome. It was a 
 
 niately the nation, a large sum of money, merry night. I ne\ er knew before the inioxi- 
 
 1 he miners were without delay in council, cation of eating. We cooked, ate, lay back 
 
 My party of four had scant rations for four upon the blankets, told stories, retumetl to the 
 
 days. At four o'clock we abandoned claims, cooking again, and so alternated until sleep 
 
 l)icks, and shovels and commenced a forced overtook us in the warm glow of the fire, 
 
 march for the Trinity. I shall not detail the WJien, in the afternoon, we made our entry 
 
 experiences of that hurried tramp on foot into AN'eaverville, a scattered village of about 
 
 over the roughest of mountains. It is enough four luimlreil miners' cabins, Don Fernando 
 
 to .say that one day four of us subsisted on a found himself in trouble. He could find but one 
 
 ground squirrel and a woodpecker, and the trader with money in the whole town — and he 
 
 last day on copious draughts of water when was a type of the monopolists who have since 
 
 fortunate enough to find it. .Ami when at last become the curse of California. He ottered the 
 
 we struck the Trinity it was only to be dis- Mexican about half-price for his cargo, and there 
 
 ai)i)ointed. The river was deserted ; the miners was no other place to which to tarry the goods, 
 
 had gone to winter (|uarters in the '"dry dig- It was now our turn. It was suggested that 
 
 gings" at Weaverville. Wet, weary, and dis- we help Don Fernando out. lie had been 
 
 gusted, with a dreary prospect for supper, we ofl'ered $1200. We told him that we did not 
 
 crawled up tiic bank and dropped down at want his goods, as we did not know what we 
 
 a fallen tree to make a fire for the night. The were going to do, but we would make the 
 
 mules were relieved of their packs and left to trader pay more for them, 
 
 graze. They were too nearly dead to stray. "Tell him we ofier you $1500. " In a short 
 
 A smoke was seen a few hundred yards away, time we learned thai $1600 had been bid. 
 
 1 went to reconnoiter. A Mexican pack-train " Tell him we will give $1800." 
 
140 
 
 PIONEER MINING IN CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 Again came a bid of $1900. We ofifered 
 $2000, and soon were confronted by an angry 
 Missourian, who " was n't goin' to have any 
 durned Yankee git in 'tween him and a greaser 
 in a trade." So he jumped our bid $200. Don 
 Fernando in a whisper said it was bastante 
 (enough), and the Missourian was the buyer. 
 We had paid off some of our obhgations to 
 Don Fernando and had made a Httle stir in the 
 new diggings. 
 
 The autumn of 1850 was unhke that of 1849. 
 The miners in the dry ravines had thrown up 
 on the banks large quantities of pay-dirt from 
 the beds, and were continuing their work hop- 
 ing to be able to wash. But little rain fell till 
 the following March. The miners scattered 
 again along the Trinity to pay expenses, and 
 I with others departed for Sacramento. 
 
 The early summer of 185 1 found me in the 
 mines at Nevada City, in the richest gold-pro- 
 ducing section of California, or perhaps of the 
 world. The two mining towns of Nevada and 
 Grass Valley are but four miles apart, and that 
 either of these is more populous than any other 
 town in the Sierra Nevada is evidence of the 
 great wealth of the region. The miners of 
 Nevada County originated or adopted most of 
 the improved methods for facilitating washing 
 and saving gold. The long tom came into use 
 early as the successor of the rocker. It was a 
 trough of boards ten or twelve feet long, two 
 feet wide on the bottom, with sides eight or ten 
 inches high, and was furnished with a perforated 
 sheet-iron plate three feet long, which had the 
 end part curved upward to stop the stones and 
 gravel, while the water, sand, and small gravel 
 dropped through into a riffle-box below, set on 
 an incline to allow the lighter matter to pass 
 off with the water. The long tom was put on 
 an easy grade and supplied with a constant 
 stream of flowing water, enough to drive and 
 wash all the earth thrown into it down upon 
 the perforated screen. Two or more men shov- 
 eled the earth into the tom, and one threw out 
 the stones from the screen with a fork or square- 
 pointed shovel, when they were sufficiently 
 washed. As the claim was worked back, the 
 long tom was extended by means of sluice 
 boxes until a dozen or more miners were shov- 
 eling dirt into them on both sides. Afterward 
 it was found that by putting rifiles into the 
 sluice boxes the long tom could be dispensed 
 with, and miles of sluices of all sizes were seen, 
 some suppHed with a few inches of running 
 water, miners' measure, while others bore tor- 
 rents of the muddy fluid. The sluice requiring 
 a rapid flow of water was set on a grade of 
 say four inches to twelve feet in length. It is 
 plain that in a short distance the pay dirt would 
 have to be lifted higher than the miner's head. 
 A descending bed-rock added to the difficulty, 
 
 and sometimes the earth was thrown by one 
 set of miners up on a platform to be shoveled 
 by another set into the sluice. Numerous small 
 boulders were kept in the sluice, around and 
 over which the water boiled and leaped, dis- 
 solving the clay. When the gold was fine and 
 difficult to save, quicksilver was poured into 
 the sluices to catch it, the riffles arresting the 
 amalgam as it moved down. 
 
 More and more, as experience was gained, 
 water was made to do the labor of men. In- 
 stead of carrying the dirt in buckets to the 
 river to be washed, the river was carried to the 
 dirt. Ditches were dug at great expense and 
 water from them was sold at a dollar an inch 
 for ten hours' use, and often it was resold in 
 its muddy state one, two, and three times at 
 decreasing rates. The water belonged to the 
 ditch owner as long as it could be used. The 
 fact may here be noted that one of the first 
 ditches constructed was that from Rock Creek 
 to the hill diggings about Nevada City. It was 
 nine miles long, and cost about ten thousand 
 dollars, and so rich were the diggings and so 
 active the demand for water that the enter- 
 prise paid for itself in six weeks. 
 
 It was early discovered that the river gorges 
 in which the first mining was done — those 
 deep channels from the high Sierra — cut 
 across ancient river-beds filled with auriferous 
 gravel, the bottoms of which w^ere hundreds 
 of feet above the beds of the modern streams. 
 From these deposits of far-back ages much of 
 the gold found on the later river bars had 
 come, and these ancient storehouses, exposed 
 by the wear and tear of centuries, led to an- 
 other kind of mining. Great canals from high 
 up the rivers were carried with fine engineer- 
 ing skill and large outlays of labor and money, 
 without the aid of foreign capital but by the 
 pluck, purses, and brawny arms of miners along 
 frightful precipices, across cafions in lofty 
 flumes and through tunnels to the ancient filled 
 river channels. Here the water was carried 
 down the banks in strong iron tubes or hose, 
 and large quantities were compressed through 
 nozzles and thrown with terrific force against the 
 banks of auriferous gravel. Ditches dug in the 
 earth on a moderate grade, or sluices of lum- 
 ber, caught the muddy debris and separated the 
 gold, leaving it on the bottom. A steady throw 
 of this water against a bank, directed with a 
 miner's judgment, was kept up for days and 
 even months without cessation night or day. 
 This was called hydraulic mining, and it was 
 introduced into California in 1S52. To facih- 
 tate the work of the monitor or water-cannon 
 that shot the compressed stream, tunnels were 
 run into the banks where they were hard and 
 tons of powder were exploded in them at a 
 single blast, pulverizing the deposit to the ex- 
 
PrOXRER .\fIXrXG IX CAIJFOKXIA. 
 
 141 
 
 tent of acres and often to a depth of more tlian 
 a hundred feet. 
 
 In the great mining region of California, 
 which has given to the world more gold than 
 any other area of like extent on the glo])e, all 
 this is now over. The fiat of courts has gone 
 forth that no debris of any kind ran he allowed 
 to bo dumped into any stream or its affluent 
 to the danger of property below or to the im- 
 peding of navigable waters. Thus hxs been 
 destroyed the market value of hunflreds of 
 miles of canals, great artificial lakes to store 
 the waters of winter, and vast deposits of au- 
 riferous gravel — in a word, a hundred million 
 dollars in mining* jtroperty. Thousantls of mi- 
 ners who have exhau.sted their energies and the 
 best part of their lives in the mines have, with 
 their families, been reduced to poverty and 
 distress. 
 
 The old miner, full of cherished memories 
 of that wonderful jtast, on revisiting the scenes 
 of his early labors sees no winding line of mi- 
 ners by the river marge, w ith their rattling rock- 
 ers or long toms ; no smoke from camp-fire or 
 chimney arises from the depths of gorges ; cab- 
 ins are gone ; no laughter nor cheery voice 
 comes up from the canons; no ounce a day 
 is dried by the supper fire. Gone are most of 
 the oaks and pines from the mountain-sides; 
 the beds of the rivers are covered deep with the 
 accumulated debris of years, over which the 
 water, once clear and cold from the melting 
 snows of the Sierra, goes sluggishly, laden with 
 mud, in .serpentine windings from bank to bank. 
 On the tableland above, in the chasms made 
 by hydraulic power in the pleiocene drift, the 
 hollow columns of iron that once compressed 
 the water stand rusting away ; the monitors 
 lie dismantled like artillery in a captured for- 
 tress. All is silence and desolation where once 
 was the roar of water and the noise of busy life. 
 
 The same red and brown .sail is beneath your 
 feet, the same alternation of ridges and gorges 
 is here, the same skies unflecked by clouds 
 from May to November are overhead ; the 
 same pure air is left to breathe in spite of courts 
 and monopolies ; a considerable portion of the 
 soil is cultivated ; .scattered here and there ovrr 
 the mountain slopes are homes surroundeil 
 with flowers and fruits — but the early miner 
 sees it all with the sad belief that the glory is 
 gone. 
 
 The early miner has never been truly painted. 
 I protest against the flippant style and eccen- 
 tric rhetoric of those writers who have made 
 him a terror, or who, seizing upon a sporatlic 
 ca.se of extreme oddity, some drunken, brawl- 
 ing wretch, have given a caricature to the 
 world as the tyjjical miner. The so-called lit- 
 erature that treats of the golden era is too ex- 
 travagant in this direction. In all my personal 
 experience in mining-camps from 1849 to 1854 
 there was not a case of bloodshed, robbery, 
 theft, or actual violence. I doubt if a more or- 
 derly society was ever known. How could it 
 be otherwise ? The pioneers were young, ar- 
 dent, uncorrupted, most of them well educated 
 and from the best families in the East. The 
 early miner was ambitious, energetic, and en- 
 terprising. No undertaking was too great to 
 daunt him. The pluck and resources exhibited 
 by him in attempting mighty projects with 
 nothing but his courage and his brawny arms 
 to carry them out was j)henomenal. His gen- 
 erosity was profuse and his .symj>athy active, 
 knowing no distinction of race. His sentiment 
 that justice is sacred was never dulled. H is .ser- 
 vices were at command to .settle dift'erences 
 peaceably, or with i)istol in hand to right a 
 grievous wrong to a stranger. His capacity for 
 self-government never has been surpassed. Of 
 a glorious epoch, he was of a glorious race. 
 
 E. G. Watte. 
 
 A "C'lMIc" or RICHARD IKJVUt'S rWOM "fUWCM." 
 
IN BEAVER COVE. 
 
 g* n ^Sr?rr ^f y-rtfrrat? '. 
 
 ^HEY were having a dance 
 over in Beaver Cove, at 
 the Woods'. All the young 
 people of the settlement 
 were there, and many from 
 adjoining settlements. The 
 main room of the cabin had 
 -«v<»j» .-'-*^=^ been almost cleared of its 
 ^f^;*^ meager furniture, and the pine-plank 
 Mw\ floor creaked under the tread of shuf- 
 Uf^ fling feet, while dust and lamp-smoke 
 \5 made the atmosphere thick and close. 
 
 But little did the dancers care for that. Bill 
 Eldridge sat by the hearth playing his fiddle 
 with tireless energy, while a boy added the 
 thumping of two straws to the much-tried 
 fiddle-strings. A party of shy girls huddled 
 in a corner of the room, and the bashful boys 
 hung about the door, and talked loudly. 
 
 " Hey, there ; git yer partners," Bill cried to 
 them tauntingly from time to time. 
 
 A'rmindy Hudgins and Elisha Cole were 
 preeminently the leaders in the party. They 
 danced together again and again ; they sat on 
 the bench in the dooryard; they walked to the 
 spring for a fresh draught of water. Armindy 
 was the coquette of the settlement. In beauty, 
 in spirit, and in daring, no other girl in Bea- 
 ver Cove could compare with her. She could 
 plow all day and dance half the night without 
 losing her peachy bloom, and it was generally 
 admitted that she could take her choice of the 
 marriageable young men of the settlement. 
 But she laughed at all of them by turns, until 
 her lovers dwindled down to two, Elisha Cole 
 and Ephraim Hurd. They were both desper- 
 ately in earnest, and their rivalry had almost 
 broken their lifelong friendship. She fiivored 
 first one and then the other, but to-night she 
 showed such decided preference for Cole that 
 Hurd felt hatred filhng his heart. He did not 
 dance at all, but hung about the door, or 
 walked moodily up and down the yard, savage 
 with jealousy. Armindy cast many mocking 
 glances at him, but seemed to feel no pity for 
 his suffering. 
 
 In the middle of the evening, while they 
 were yet fresh, she and Elisha danced the 
 "hoe-down." All the others crowded back 
 against the walls, leaving the middle of the 
 room clear, and she and her partner took their 
 places They were the best dancers in the set- 
 tlement, and Beaver Cove could boast of some 
 as good as any in all north Georgia. The music 
 142 
 
 struck up, and the two young people began 
 slowly to shuffle their feet, advancing towards 
 each other, then retreating. They moved at 
 first without enthusiasm, gravely and coolly. 
 The music quickened, and their steps with it. 
 Now together, now separate, up and down the 
 room, face to face, advancing^ receding, always 
 in that sHding, shuffling step. The girl's face 
 flushed; her lithe figure, clothed in the most 
 primitively fashioned blue print gown, swayed 
 and curved in a thousand graceful movements; 
 her feet, shod in clumsy brogans, moved so 
 swiftly one could scarcely follow them ; her 
 yellow hair slipped from its fastenings and 
 fell about her neck and shoulders ; her bosom 
 heaved and palpitated. Panting and breath- 
 less, Elisha dropped into a seat, his defeat 
 greeted with jeering laughter by the crowd, 
 while Armindy kept the floor. It was a wild, 
 half-savage dance, and my pen refuses to 
 describe it. Nowhere except in the mountains 
 of north Georgia have I ever witnessed such 
 a strange performance. 
 
 Armindy would not stop until half-blind and 
 reeling with exhaustion she darted towards the 
 door amid the applause of the crowd. Elisha 
 Cole started up to follow her, but Ephraim 
 Hurd reached her side first, and went out into 
 the yard with her. 
 
 " You 've nearly killed yourself," he said, 
 half-roughly, half-tenderly. 
 
 " No such a thing," she retorted. 
 
 " You 're out o' breath now." 
 
 " I want some water." 
 
 " Better sit down on this bench and rest a 
 minute first," he said, attempting to lead her 
 to a seat placed under an apple tree ; but she 
 broke away from him, running swiftly towards 
 the spring bubbling up from a thicket of laurel 
 just beyond the dooryard fence. 
 
 " I ain't no baby, Eph'um Hurd," she cried, 
 gathering up her hair and winding it about 
 her head again, the breeze fanning her flushed 
 cheeks. 
 
 The moon was clear and full over Bran- 
 dreth's Peak, and Ephraim looked up at it, 
 then down on the girl, softened, etherealized by 
 its magic beams. 
 
 " What makes you act so, Armindy? " 
 
 She broke a spray of laurel bloom and thrust 
 it through the coil of her hair. 
 
 " I don't know what you 're talkin' about, 
 Eph'um ; but I do know I 'm waitin' for you 
 to give me that gourd o' water." 
 
H(^\V C.\IJ]-(M^NIA CAMK INTO THIC UXION. 
 
 rORTY years ago in this month 
 of September, California was 
 a«lmitted into the I'nion. 
 The rounding out offour dec- 
 ades of State Hfe will be the 
 occasion of a great celebra- 
 tion at San Francisco on the 
 gth of this month, in which an effort will be 
 made to restore and to make real to the gen- 
 eration of to-day the hardy pioneers and gold 
 hunters who founded in this for western land 
 as genuine an American commonwealth as 
 Massachusetts or New York. It will help the 
 young Califomian of to-day to appreciate the 
 services of the men who, desj)ite many errors, 
 laid firmly and well the foundations of the chief 
 State on the Pacific coast. 
 
 'i'he philosophic historian, with a perspec- 
 tive of forty years, is apt to look back with 
 a certain polite condescension upon the lead- 
 ing events of early Califomian history, and es- 
 ])ecially upon the Bear Flag movement.' He 
 condemns it out of hand as unnecessary, impoli- 
 tic, and the work of men who had sinister or 
 selfish motives. But the historian is unable to 
 put himself in the place of the men who were 
 the chief actors in that e])isode as in the other 
 '-tirring events in California that crowded the 
 )rdinary normal development of a century 
 into a decade of strenuous life. To get the 
 full measure of this early Califomian life one 
 must have shared in the experiences of the 
 pioneers, or have heard the stor}' of their perils 
 and privations from the lips of survivors. Their 
 stories furnish the best answer to the historian's 
 strictures that the policy of the American set- 
 tlers in California, just before the cession of the 
 territory to the United States by Mexico, was 
 uncalled for and unjustifiable. 
 
 It is impassible to get a correct idea of the 
 period without a clear knowledge of the envi- 
 
 ronment and without some sympathy with the 
 actors. The Califomia pioneers were made 
 heroic by the fleeds which they perfomicd. 
 In part, they had greatness thrust ujjon ihcm, 
 for the very stress of circumstances developed 
 those qualities which enabled them to bring 
 order out of chaos and to solve (juestions in 
 government and social order that had never 
 been solved before in this country. Yet they 
 were only plain Americans, many of them as 
 rude and uncouth as Lincoln in his rail-split- 
 ting days, but all had that fund of sound 
 common sense which is bom of hard expe- 
 rience and that ready adaptability to a new 
 land and new customs that makes the western 
 pioneer the ideal colonist. They brought with 
 them across the plains in their huge wagons, 
 that have been so aptly termed " ships of the 
 desert," that passionate love of freedom and of 
 individual rights that colored all their life in 
 this far westem land. They found a pastoral 
 people living a life as gracious as their climate. 
 The two elements refused to mingle, and the 
 stronger at once asserted itself. That the con- 
 quest was made with so small a loss of life and 
 so little personal suffering is greatly to the credit 
 of the more aggressive race. With Fnglishmen 
 in the place of the .\merican pioneers the first 
 sign of restiveness on the part of the weaker 
 race would have been the signal for hostilities 
 that would not have ended in a well-nigh 
 bloodless revolution. What the conquest of 
 California proved above all other things was 
 the rare self-control of the men who were gath- 
 ered from all parts of the country. Down-east 
 Yankee lawyers and Missourian backwoods- 
 men fraternized and made common cause in 
 the effort to plant .\merican institutions in this 
 new land. Tliis work was marred by occasional 
 outbursts of race prejudice and by undue haste 
 in executing punishment, but these exceptions 
 
 1 The revolution against Mexican authority in Cal- 
 ifornia, known as the Hear Flag movement, will be 
 fully treated of in future papers of the series on the 
 (told Hunters of Californi.a, to which the present 
 paper is preliminary, being here printed out of place 
 chronologically by reason of its appositcness to the 
 anniversary of the admission. It is enough for the 
 purjwses of the present paper to say thai the move- 
 ment w.is the result of friction l>etween certain Amer- 
 ican settlers in California and the Mexican authorities, 
 and that it was more or les?. intimately connected with 
 the misunderstandings between Cieneral Castro, com- 
 mander-in-chief of the Mexican forces, and Captain 
 
 Fr(5mont on the occasion of his >-isit to California with 
 an exploring exr>cdition in 1S46. As a symbol of revolt 
 the fl.ig. of whicn the cut on page 7S4 is a representation, 
 was hoisted at .Sonoma on the 14th of June. The 
 capture of Sonoma was ciTected, without resistance, by 
 thirty-two of llie settlers under command of Eickiel 
 Merritt; and deneral M. G. V.illejo, Colonel Victor 
 Prudon, Captain .Salvador Vallejo, and Jacob V. I.eese, 
 brother-in-law of tli 
 refu>ed to join the i 
 
 as pri>oncr>. .Men ill w.is >uc<.ct'inl 111 the i.>>iiiiiiand 
 of the insuri:ents by William U, Ide. — Ki>li<>R. 
 
 775 
 
776 HOW CALIFORNIA CAME INTO THE UNION. 
 
 only prove the essential justice and fairness of ment to intervene and establish a protectorate 
 
 the work of the pioneers. over the territory, which in English hands 
 
 It is not in the province of this article to could so easily be transformed into actual pos- 
 
 discuss the Bear Flag episode. Only a brief session. 
 
 summary of the salient events that led up to About the time that the Bear Flag party 
 
 the cession is necessary to comprehend the cu- were getting ready for action in Sonoma the 
 
 rious tangle of political interests in California American naval commander in charge of the 
 
 that was destined never to be unraveled but Pacific squadron was at Mazatlan. Commo- 
 
 to be cut by the hand of war. The conquest dore Sloat had received the most specific or- 
 
 of California would probably have been pushed ders to occupy California at the first outbreak 
 
 resolutely by the setders had not the Mexican of hostilities with Mexico. In the harbor of 
 
 war broken out, since the raising of the Bear San Bias was the English admiral Sir George 
 
 Flag and the declaration of the independence Seymour on board the British frigate Colliiig- 
 
 of California made it impossible for the actors ^uood. Sloat feared that Seymour might receive 
 
 in this revolution to recede from their position, the first news of the Mexican war and thus an- 
 
 Four years before. Commodore Jones had ticipate him in seizing Monterey ; so as soon as 
 
 taken possession of Monterey and hoisted the he obtained positive proof of the capture of 
 
 American flag on the report that Mexico had Matamoras by General Taylor he sailed for 
 
 begun hostilities. He made a formal apology California. Our navy was then a fair match 
 
 when he discovered his mistake, but it is very for the British, especially in speed, and the 
 
 unlikely that Fremont would have apologized Savannah could easily outsail the Collin givood ; 
 
 for his part in the Bear Flag revolt, or that but Sloat took no risks, crowded on all sail, and 
 
 Mexico would have accepted any explanation, reached Monterey on July 2. He had the 
 
 All the actors in this period with whom I sloops Cyane and levant at Monterey and the 
 have talked declare positively that the settlers Fortsniouth at Yerba Buena (San Francisco) 
 were convinced that the occupation of Upper and no British sail had yet appeared.^ Sloat 
 California by the Americans would be a question was a man who dreaded responsibility. He ex- 
 of only a few months. They all felt assured pected to find Cahfornia peaceful; he even 
 that the United States was prepared to seize the hoped to meet small opposition in raising the 
 country on the first sign of hostilities on the American flag. But what was his astonishment 
 part of Mexico. And their position was ren- to learn that the native Californians were bit- 
 dered the more difificult by the constant fear terlyopposedtoanychange, and that they were 
 of English annexation. The historians who in a red heat of resentment over Fremont's ac- 
 have made the most careful study of this pe- tion. He found the British vice-consul, Forbes, 
 riod look upon this fear of England as a bogy, supporting General Castro and Governor Pio 
 but survivors of those days declare it was real Pico in their diatribes against the American 
 and had no small part in influencing the acts adventurers, while the Spanish vice-consul, 
 of the settlers. Whether England had any in- Lataillade, surpassed all the others in his con- 
 tention of appropriating the territory is a point demnation of the Sonoma revolution. Sloat ac- 
 which will probably never be satisfactorily de- cordingly hesitated five days before taking 
 termined. Although there was nothing stronger possession of Monterey, 
 at the time than rumors of English designs on On July 7, 1846, Commodore Sloat took 
 California, it is only natural that men who had formal possession of California in the name 
 a vivid recollection of the war of 181 2 should of the United States. After making a formal 
 suspect the motives of England. She pos- demand for surrender upon the Mexican 
 sessed British Columbia; she claimed all commandant, which that officer evaded by dis- 
 territory north of the Columbia ; she had not claiming authority to act for Castro, the com- 
 even relaxed her grip on Oregon. Here was modore prepared for action. He issued orders 
 a magnificent stretch of territory, with the fin- warning the men against plundering or mal- 
 est harbor on the Pacific, that could be gained treating any of the natives. Under Captain 
 should the United States be found napping, Mervine a force of two hundred and fifty sea- 
 It would have been against human nature for men and marines was landed and marched 
 the settlers at the time of the conquest not to up in front of the old custom-house, which 
 suspect England of lusting after this fair do- usually bore the Mexican colors. There is a 
 main. It was known to a few also that the conflict of authority as to whether the flag was 
 British vice-consul in Cahfornia for several flying on this day. The people crowded about, 
 years had been trying to induce his govern- eager to see the spectacle, but there was no 
 
 hostile demonstration. The commodore's proc- 
 
 1 We give place to this widely received version of lamation to the people of California was read. 
 
 Lommodore Sloat s action ; but see the article in " Call- t^ j 1 j ^1 i. 1. i .. 1 ■ ^ ^1 
 
 forniana" in the present number by Professor Josiah ^^ declared that he proposed tohoiStthe 
 
 Royce of Harvard University.— Editor. American flag at Monterey and to carry it 
 
J/OW CALrPORNIA CAME IX TO THE UNION. 
 
 m 
 
 throughout California. It was (Ircck to most American flag was raised there was unlioundcd 
 
 ofthespeetators, who understood Spanisli only, enthusiasm on the part of the settlers. The 
 
 and was received in silence. Then the Stars native Californians looked on in apathetic si- 
 
 and Stripes were run U]), three roaring cheers lence. It may he that they counted on British 
 
 were given, a salute of twenty-one guns was interference; but when Admiral Seymour ar- 
 
 JOHN L. hKkMu.NI. (iKoM A tiALUbKHKU 1 VPK TAKKN ABOIT IO50; LEN 1 UV liKNKKAU FK^MONT.; 
 
 fired, and California thus passed into the hands 
 of the Americans, On the following ilay the 
 l)roclamation was read on the plaza at Verba 
 Buena, and the Mexican colors were su|)- 
 planted by the American flag. At the old 
 presidio, near the Golden Gate, was the dilap- 
 idated Mexican fort with its rusty and useless 
 guns ; but over these also the Stars and Stripes 
 were raised — an earnest that this main gate- 
 way of the Pacific would now be helil against 
 all comers. In the other towns where the 
 Vou XL. — 102. 
 
 rived in Monterey Bay he courteously accepted 
 the announcement of American possession, as 
 did also the captain of the British war ship 
 Juno, which visited San Francisco Bay two 
 days after the flag was raised. 
 
 This bloodless transfer of authority could 
 probably have been the beginning and the 
 end of the conquest of California but for the 
 enmity aroused by the Bear Flag uprising and 
 the feud between P>emont and Castro. As it 
 was, the subsequent events of the conquest 
 
778 
 
 HOW CALIFORNIA CAME INTO THE UNION. 
 
 CU.MMUUuKE Sl.oAi, I. -. ;.. (1 l.i i.Al A I'OKIKAIT JN uIL I'AINTED AT PANAMA IN 184O. 
 PHOTOGRAPH LENT BV HIS GRANDSON, J. B. WHITTEMORE.) 
 
 may be put in a paragraph. Sloat declined 
 Fremont's offer of his Bear Flag battahon ; but 
 the chagrin which this caused was speedily 
 forgotten, for Sloat, ill in body and weary of 
 responsibility, turned over his command to 
 Commodore Stockton and departed for the 
 East. Stockton was the exact antithesis of 
 Sloat. Responsibility did not worry him ; in 
 fact, he enjoyed it. He promptly accepted 
 Fremont's troops and issued orders for their 
 prompt organization into a regiment. He 
 pushed the campaign vigorously against the 
 native Califomians, who were massed at Los 
 Angeles; but when he reached that city he 
 found everything quiet, took possession, and 
 declared the war at an end. He had only 
 just reached Monterey on his return when he 
 was informed that all the south was again in 
 arms. It required six months to subdue this 
 revolt ; but the power of the insurgents was 
 broken by General Kearney, who arrived over- 
 
 land from New Mexico, after one of the se- 
 verest marches on record. He cooperated with 
 Stockton's marines, and finally the Califomi- 
 ans gave up the fight; and the treaty of Cahu- 
 enga on January 13, 1847, ended the last stand 
 made by the natives for control of the terri- 
 tory. The Californians surrendered to Fremont 
 probably because they counted on getting bet- 
 ter terms than from Stockton ; and this expec- 
 tation was fulfilled, as unconditional pardon 
 was granted to all who had borne arms, with 
 freedom to leave the country, and full rights 
 of citizenship to those who chose to remain. 
 
 There was a strong element of opi'ra boiiffe 
 about the conquest. Seldom did the opposing 
 forces number over five hundred men, and 
 even the engagements at San Pasqual and 
 San Gabriel were little more than skirmishes. 
 But it is undeniable that much hard work was 
 done by Stockton, Fremont, and Kearney. 
 
 The ensuing five months before the cession 
 
JlOir CALIPORXIA CAME INTO 77//': UN/ON. 
 
 IV) 
 
 were filled with controversies between Stock- 
 ton and Kearney, and then between Kearney 
 and Fremont. They resulted in the departure 
 of all three to the East and the succession of 
 Colonel Richard B. Mason to the position of 
 governor of the territory and ronimander ofthe 
 I'niled Slates forces. The country was dis- 
 ([uieted by rumorsof an expedition from Mexico 
 to reconciuer the territory, and by reports of 
 strong disaft'ection among the native Califor- 
 nians in the southern counties, where few 
 Americans hail .settled. 
 
 .Ml doubts and fears were ended, however, 
 on .\ugust 6, 1848, when news ofthe ratitica- 
 tion ofthe treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was 
 received. Tiie territory ceded by Mexico in- 
 cluded not only California but .Vrizona, New 
 Mexico, and Texas. One year's time was given 
 to all residents of this territory to decide whether 
 they would remain as United States citizens or 
 depart for Mexico. Property rights and Mexi- 
 can grants and titles were to be fully respected. 
 Ciovernor Mason issued a wise proclamation, in 
 which he assured all the old inhabitants that 
 they would be protected in the free enjoyment 
 of their liberty and property. But hard-headed 
 American pioneers demanded a better system of 
 government than the Mexican law gave them. 
 
 decisions; and though this system might suit a 
 primitive pastoral community, it was as obso- 
 lete for .Americans as the laws of feudal I'.ng- 
 land.i 
 
 The urgent nece.ssity for a stable government 
 led the California settlers to believe that Con- 
 gress would not adjourn without providing 
 l^roper officers for the new territory, which was 
 now .Vmerican in name as well as in fact. Presi- 
 dent Polk, in a special message to Congress on 
 July 6, 1848, called attention io the ]jeculiar sit- 
 uation in California and urged Congress to es- 
 tablish a territorial government. At this time 
 it began to be foreseen by the frientls of Cali- 
 fornia that a hard struggle was before them, 
 but it is doubtful whether any one suspected 
 that the fight over California between the two 
 sections would become .so bitter as to threaten 
 secession and civil war. Ivxtension of slavery 
 and maintenance of the slave-holding power 
 in Congress were the great issues. The admis- 
 sion of Iowa and ^\'isconsin had neutralized 
 the South's advantage in securing Texas. Thus 
 the lines were evcnlv drawn in the Senate, — 
 fifteen States on each side, — anil the Southern 
 leaders saw clearly that unless they obtained 
 control of the new territory ceded by Mexico 
 all the fruits of the Mexican war would be 
 
 •I" 
 
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 III ••■■ 
 
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 ■'^■j-^^ 
 
 k 
 
 CULTU.S HAUL, .MONTliKliV — :>cli.Nli Ul lllli CO.SSU 1 L. 1 lO.N.VL CO.WENTION. 
 
 Under this system the alcalde, or district judge, lost to them. For three years the power of the 
 was given more power than the Supreme Court free States had been growmg at a rate which 
 enjoys to-day. There was no appeal from hi?, threatened speedily to place the slave States 
 
 1 Governor M.ison had received no instructions, but 
 as military governor he wisely determined to make no 
 change until Congress provicledatcrritorialf;overnnicnt. 
 riie situation was anomalous. The treaty of piace 
 with Mexico left California with nb other than a </<" 
 />u-/o government. Mason frankly admitted that he had 
 no authority to collect duties should merchants refuse 
 to pay them, and he expressed the fear that the ra|)id 
 desertion of troops would leave him without any mili- 
 
 tary l).acking; yet he declared he would excrci.-.c cu 
 irol over the alcaldes apjxjintcd and maintain order 
 if possible. He held that no one h.id any right to 
 move in providing a Ijeltcr government until Congress 
 should act in the matter. Directly op]X)seil to his as- 
 sumption of jiower were the m.ijority of the .\merican 
 settlers, w ho held that they had a perfect right to estab- 
 lish a government so long as Congress failed to make 
 California a territory and provide a suitable government. 
 
ENGRAVE.0 BY T. JOHNSON. 
 
 COMMODORE ROBERT FIELD STOCKTON. 
 
 (FROM A PAINTING ON IVORY OWNED BY HIS SON, HON. JOHN P. STOCKTON.) 
 
rrO]]' CAf.IFORXIA CAME IXTO 77 /F UNION. 7S1 
 
 in a feeble minority. The struggle over the of tlie Sacramento. In the mean time the news 
 
 W'ilmot ])roviso — which prohibited the intro- had spread to the Kast, to .\ustraha, and to 
 
 (iuction of slavery into the territory to be ac- South America. Krom all quarters came young 
 
 (|uired by the Mexican war — was an earnest men as eager for adventure as for gold. Not 
 
 of the savage ])olitical warfare that was to HjI- one in a thousand had any ])ractical knowledge 
 
 low. The pioneer eftbrt for compromise on of mining or any plan of remaining in the 
 
 California was made just after the treaty with country after a fortune had been made, l-.ighty 
 
 Mexico. 'I'his was the reference of the subject thousand is a conservative estimate of the num- 
 
 to a committee of eight from tlie Senate, which ber of gold hunters who flocked to California in 
 
 decided to admit Oregon, California, and New the first twelve months that followed .Marshall's 
 
 Mexico as Territories, but to refer the slavery discovery. Thegreatmajority of thegold seek- 
 
 (|uestion to the Suj^reme Court. This satisfied ers were crowded into the .Sacramento X'alley, 
 
 the Senate, but the House promptly refused to where the richest placers had been found on the 
 
 adopt it. Sacramento, Yuba, American, and Feather riv- 
 
 While California thus served as a bone of ers. Sacramento City had been founded on the 
 
 contention in Congress, an event occurred that river hard by Sutter's historic fort, and was the 
 
 gave an enormous impetus to the movement chief town in the valley. The American pas- 
 
 in favor of State government. This was the sion for comer lots developed early among the 
 
 discoveryofgoldby James W.Marshall in Cap- miners, and to record transfers some legal of- 
 
 tain Sutter's mill race at Coloma on January fleers were recjuired. In January, 1849, the 
 
 19,1848.1 Most significant of all dates in Cali- ])eople of Sacramento accordingly elected a 
 
 fomia history is this, for the gold discovery first magistrate and recorder for the district. 
 
 has colored every phase of social and political In .San Francisco and San Jose the same trouble 
 
 development in the chief State of the Pacific was experienced and the same desire was felt 
 
 coast. Yet, to the men who preceded the gold for a suitable government. Meetings were held 
 
 hunters we must look for the impulse towards in the three cities, and it was decided to elect 
 
 a sound government. The Forty-niners aided delegates to a convention for forming a pro- 
 
 the movement by sheer force of numbers, but visional government. San Francisco was in the 
 
 the yeoman's work was done by the many able most grievous plight because of conflict of au- 
 
 men who had helped to conquer California or thority between the ])rovisional officers. In 
 
 who came in from the adjoining Territory of August, 1847, Governor Mason had sanctioned 
 
 Oregon. the election of a town council, but this went 
 
 One of the anomalies of the gold discovery out of existence in December, 1848. An elec- 
 
 was its slowness in reaching Americans in Cali- tion for a new council was declared invalid 
 
 *» 
 
 fomia. It was midsummer before the news through fraud. San Francisco diftered from 
 
 was generally credited in California and Ore- nearly every other large town in California in 
 
 gon. Then, when people became convinced that it had no basis of native inhabitants. It 
 
 that the reports were true and that fortunes was almost purely American, and the national 
 
 could be made in a few months in the Sacra- desire for self-government led to the election 
 
 mento Valley, there was a rush such as was of a legislative assembly and three justices of 
 
 never before known in history. Of course the the ])eace. The old office of alcalde was to be 
 
 California settlers had the great advantage of abolished. This i)rogramme was carrie«l out, 
 
 ])roximity to the new El Dorado. Next, per- but the alcalde refused to give up his office. 
 
 Iiaps, came those in Honolulu. The Oregoni- Finally the officesof sheriff, register, an<l treas- 
 
 ans obtained their news by way of the Sand- urer were added, and the alcalde was legally 
 
 wich Islands and Fort Vancouver. These ejected. Yet none of the acts of this impro- 
 
 hardy pioneers had just emerged from a long vised body was ever legally sanctioned. Cien- 
 
 struggle with hunger, the wilderness, and the eral Persifer F. Smith hacl succeeded Mason 
 
 Indians. They were poor, and they .saw in the as military commander, and (ieneral Bennett 
 
 future only a vista of weary work with small Riley had been appointed militar>- gov- 
 
 ])rofits, as they had no market for their prod- ernor. Smith's duties were to defend Cali- 
 
 u( e. Suddenly the scattered settlements were fomia and Oregon from attack and to preserve 
 
 electrified by the news of the gold discovery, peace. To Riley was intrusted the difficult 
 
 Those who took part in the rush declare that task of administering the civil affairs of a land 
 
 not less than two-thirds of all those capable which was neither an acknowledged Territors 
 
 of bearing arms swarmed over the Siskiyou nor a State. Two months before Riley's ar- 
 
 Mountains and came down to the gold fields rival the delegates elected to the convention de- 
 cided to postpone this meeting until August. If 
 
 1 This is the commonly accepted date, but Mr. John ,,^. ,^3^ ^i^^^ Congress had taken no action, the 
 
 S. Hittell has demonstrated m the "Overland ,- , '^ xt . i j f» 
 
 Monthly" th.it the actual date was January 24. - «lelegates were to meet at .Monterey and draft 
 
 hi.iToR. a constitution to be submitted to the people. 
 
782 
 
 HOW CALIFORNIA CAME INTO THE UNION. 
 
 I'ETEK H. BURNETT, HKbT GOVERNOR UV CALIEOKMA. (KKOM A DAGUEKKEOTYPE.) 
 
 Old Bennett Riley was perhaps the best man 
 who could have been selected for governor, 
 as he was the embodiment of all that was just 
 and impartial in the military system. He had 
 strong convictions; but, unlike most of the mil- 
 itary men who came into prominence in Cal- 
 ifornia, he was not prejudiced or vacillating. 
 He made a thorough study of the situation, 
 and when he had once become convinced of 
 the soundness of his position, neither coaxing 
 nor bullying could move him one jot. His 
 arrival in May brought to a head the whole 
 question of the government of the new terri- 
 tory. There was absolutely no precedent for 
 the cession of the territory, and the neglect 
 of Congress to provide territorial officers left 
 California in the unique position of a land with- 
 out a government. Two opposing theories of 
 the status of the country were held, one by 
 
 the settlers and the other by the military gov- 
 ernor; yet, though the settlers prevailed, the 
 legal question was never referred to a compe- 
 tent court, and remains undecided to this day. 
 Many of the settlers who were most active 
 in demanding that the people should elect 
 their own officers came from Oregon. They 
 were gold hunters, but they had had valuable 
 pioneer training in redeeming Oregon from the 
 wilderness and in working out unaided the 
 problem of self-government. At their head 
 was Peter H. Burnett, a Tennesseean who mi- 
 grated to Missouri and started for Oregon in 
 the summer of 1843. He was a lawyer, and 
 did good work in the legislative committee 
 of Oregon which drafted a good constitution 
 and established an efficient government. Bur- 
 nett, who was desdned to play an important 
 part in the movement for statehood in Call- 
 
/row CM.I FORMA C./ I/A" IXTO Tfll-: i'X/OjV. 
 
 783 
 
 fiirnia, is a fine s|)c< iincn of the Western pio- 
 neer; for he is still alive, in full |)ossession of his 
 facuhies, at eighty-two years. He had done 
 his part in Oregon, anil now he saw the same 
 necessity arising in California that he liatl aided 
 to meet and satisfy in tlic neighboring State, 
 lie presided at the first meeting held in Sac- 
 ramento to devise [jlans for a i)ro visional govern- 
 ment, and in June, 1849, he became a member 
 of the legislative assembly of San Francisco, 
 and at once took an active part in the move- 
 ment that resulted in the calling of a constitu- 
 tional convention. 
 
 Karly in June, Riley issued two proclama- 
 tions. One, addressed to the people of Cali- 
 fornia, gave a clear summary of the situation 
 and announced a special election for delegates 
 to a convention which he called to meet at Mon- 
 terey in Se])tember for the ])urpose of forming 
 a territorial or State organization. It also in- 
 cluded a list of officials, adapted from the 
 Mexican system, to be elected. The second 
 proclamatiim, issued a day later, was a formal 
 declaration that the legislative assembly of 
 San Francisco had usurped the powers 
 Nested only in Congress. It fell to 
 llumett to head the settlers' j)arty in 
 its opjiosition to the claims of General 
 Riley. The situation was unique in 
 American politics. Riley's position 
 may be briefly stated as follows : The 
 laws of California, he held, must con- 
 tinue in force until changed by com- 
 petent authority. The power to replace 
 these laws by others is vested in Con- 
 gress. The situation differed from that 
 in Oregon, for Oregon was witlK)ut 
 laws, while California had a comjjletc 
 system, which, though defective, must 
 continue in force until repealed by 
 valid legislative power. California, in 
 fme, resembled Louisiana after the 
 purchase; and the decision of the 
 Supreme Court recognizing the valid- 
 ity of the laws of Louisiana under 
 French rule fonned a safe guide in the 
 present case. Thus, according to Ri- 
 ley's logic, the San Francisco legisla- 
 tive assembly had usurped i)Owers 
 belonging to Congress, and had abso- 
 lutely no right to call a convention. 
 
 The j)Osition of the settlers may be 
 summed up in a few words. The moment the 
 treaty took effect, according to their view, the 
 United States Constitution and .American laws 
 superseded in California the Mexican civil 
 law ; while Congress refused to legislate for 
 California, the people had the right, untler the 
 Constitution, to exercise that power; a subor- 
 dinate military officer could not fill the office 
 of governor ; it was not common sense to ex- 
 
 pect .Ameru ans, unfamiliar witli Spanish, to 
 administer the Mexi( an law. which they flid 
 not understand, and which had no bearing on 
 practical life. Finally, a temporary exercise of 
 legislative |)ower by the ])cople was not in vio- 
 lation of the Constitution, but only the practi- 
 cal application of the rights of .American 
 citizens.' 
 
 Political excitement ran high when (leneral 
 Riley's two proclamations reached San Fran- 
 cisco on June 9. It had been an eventful 
 week. On the 4th the long-expected steamer 
 arrived from Panama. As she came into the 
 harbor the wharf was crowded with men, eager 
 to learn the news of the action of Congress. 
 The majority were confident the new terri- 
 torial officers were on boarti, empowereil to 
 provide for some representation of California 
 in Congress. Deep was the disgust when it was 
 found that Congress had not only failed to 
 make any provision for the government of 
 California, but had actually voted to extend 
 the revenue laws to the new territory and had 
 sent a collector to levy the duties. The re- 
 
 st. GWIN. (FNOM A I'HOTOORAPII BV BRADLSV « BfLOFSON.) 
 
 sources of Califomians in picturesque profanity 
 were s;idly taxed on tliat day. The Plaza, the 
 streets, the siiloons, the gambling palaces, 
 echoed to the indignant protests of men who 
 felt the injustice of taxation without rejjresenta- 
 tion as keenly as their forefathers smarted under 
 the measures of Lord North. The excitement 
 
 1 See article by Francis Lippitt in " Califomiana " in 
 the present numlicr. — KniTOR. 
 
784 
 
 HOJV CALIFORNIA CAME INTO THE UNION 
 
 J. ROSS BROWNE. 
 
 (FROM A PHOTOGRAPH IN THE ROOMS OF THE SOCIETY OF 
 
 CALIFORNIA PIONEERS.) 
 
 found vent in a great mass meeting on the 
 Plaza, or Portsmouth Square — the scene of 
 most of the stirring events in early San Fran- 
 cisco history. Resolutions, written by Burnett, 
 expressed in no uncertain language the feel- 
 ings of the people. They declared that both 
 parties in Congress evidently expected Cali- 
 fornia to settle the question of her admission, 
 which hinged solely on slavery, and that the 
 quicker this was done the better. They recom- 
 mended the immediate election of delegates 
 to the constitutional convention. 
 
 The scenes in Congress during this second 
 struggle over California were intensely exciting. 
 When the second session of the Thirtieth Con- 
 gress met on December 5, 1848, President Polk 
 again presented the claims of California, fortified 
 by Governor Mason's report, and by letters of 
 Thomas O. Larkin, United States consul at 
 Monterey, detailing the importance of the gold 
 discovery and the certainty of an enormous im- 
 migration into the new territory. Stephen A. 
 Douglas, who was eager to prevent an open 
 rupture between the two sections, drafted a bill 
 for the admission of all the new territory as the 
 State of California, with the proviso that Con- 
 gress divide it, after admission, into other States. 
 The judiciary committee pronounced this un- 
 constitutional, and recommended the making of 
 two new Territories out of the ceded domain. 
 The Congress that discussed this question in- 
 cluded some of the ablest of American states- 
 men, yet not one appeared to foresee the 
 importance of California or the significance of 
 the gold discovery. Several of the schemes pro- 
 
 posed were puerile and senseless. A motion 
 was even adopted by the committee of the whole 
 to cede back to Mexico all of California ex- 
 cept the port of San Francisco, which would 
 then have been for this country what Hong 
 Kong is for England on the coast of China. 
 The quarrel over California grew more and more 
 envenomed as the session proceeded, until 
 finally a deadlock resulted. Amendments pro- 
 viding for revenue laws in California had been 
 added to the civil and diplomatic appropriation 
 bill. The followers of Calhoun denounced this 
 as an invidious scheme on the part of the 
 Northern faction to force the issue over Cali- 
 fornia, and they threatened to defeat the ap- 
 propriation bill and thus leave the Government 
 without funds unless the California section was 
 withdrawn. Congress expired by limitation on 
 Saturday, March 3, at midnight, but the new 
 President, General Taylor, was not to be in- 
 augurated until Monday. The Southern sena- 
 tors filibustered in the hope of killing the bill, 
 and with it any recognition of California. The 
 Senate Chamber has witnessed many exciting 
 scenes, but none perhaps ever equaled the 
 storm that raged on this night as the hands of 
 the great clock neared the midnight hour. The 
 Southerners insisted that the session ended at 
 midnight ; but the logic of Webster, who held 
 that the legislative day ended only with the 
 sitting, at last prevailed. All through the night 
 the fight went on, but just before daybreak the 
 Southern forces weakened and the bill was 
 passed. 
 
 The steamer which bore this news of con- 
 gressional inaction brought to California two 
 men, one destined to prominence in the ^first 
 ten years of California's stormy poHtical life, 
 the other to brief notoriety, due as much to his 
 eccentricity as to his official position. The 
 first, who showed from the outset his dominating 
 mind, was Dr. William M. Gwin of Mississippi, 
 who had served in Congress, and who came to 
 California with the purpose of becoming the first 
 United States senator from the new State. He 
 
 *" t 
 
 ITiiL.X-,- 
 
 THE BEAR FLAG HOISTED AT SONOMA JUNE 14, 1846; 
 
 FINALLV LOWERED AT SAME PLACE JULY II, 1846. 
 
 (FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PIONEERS, SAN FRANCISCO.) 
 
J/OIV CAI IFORNIA CAME INTO TIIF. UXION. 785 
 
 was an ardent (liscii)le of Calhoun, and was in the nineties. 'I'he spectacle of a modem 
 
 counted Uj)on to do all in his power to throw " dude " among the red-shirted miners of 
 
 California into the slave-holding ranks. The Leadville ten years ago, when the silver fever 
 
 other was Thomas Butler King, a Georgia first broke out, was not more irresistibly comic 
 
 congressman, sent out by the Taylor admin- than this |)icture of the old-time Southern ex- 
 
 istration to advocate the atlmission of California (piisite arrayed like a bridegroom for a long, 
 
 as a State. Both spoke at the mass meeting hot, dusty ride through the plains of the San 
 
 in San Francisco three days after their arrival. Joatpiin. Ceneral Smith ])rotested, but to no 
 
 in several other towns meetings were held ap- avail ; yet he had the satisfaction of seeing his 
 
 proving the San Francisco resolutions, and one prophecies fulfilled when King, on his return, 
 
 assemblage on Mormon Island, in the Sacra- was stricken with fever that came near ending 
 
 mento River, i>ledged itself to discountenance his eccentricities. 
 
 any effort t(jwards secession from the Union. The Whig administration that sent out 
 
 ihe report of this meeting, with vague rumors Butler King to smooth the way for state- 
 
 of the growing discontent, ajipeared to confirm hood in California blundered in this as in 
 
 the suspicions of Ceneral Riley that there was most of its other acts. It was vitally impor- 
 
 a real plan to form an independent govern- tant that the man selected for this work should 
 
 ment. He thereupon issued a thiril proclama- be cpiick to see the spirit of the people ; but 
 
 tion, denouncing the scheme, and asserting King tried to mold this Western life, which 
 
 that recent orders from Washington confirmed he never comi)rehended, to fit his orders, and 
 
 his previous views that the plan of establishing the result was that he j)layed directly into 
 
 an independent government could not be sane- the hands of the men who came so near to 
 
 tioned. Burnett at once replied, showing the securing the greater |)art of the new territory 
 
 absurtlity of the suspicion that the settlers to the slave-holding States. Gwin used King 
 
 wanted independence, and making a strong as he used others, to carry out his scheme, 
 
 plea for the wisdom and justice of the course which was only thwarted by the shrewiiness 
 
 the people had been forced to adopt. That of a few antislavery men in the convention, 
 
 there was no intention wantonly to antagonize During the two months before the conven- 
 
 Cieneral Riley was proved by the action of the tion met Gwin had strongly im])ressed his 
 
 delegates in agreeing to hold the convention personality upon California public affairs, 
 
 at Monterey on the day fixed by the governor, and secured election as a delegate to the 
 
 Having decided the important question of convention. Although when the convention 
 
 the calling of a convention, the California set- opened he had been in California only four 
 
 tiers returned with renewed zest to the business months, he hatl managed by his skill and ad- 
 
 of gold-hunting and money-getting. In this dress to become possessed of all the political 
 
 interregnum of two months about the only inci- influences at work and to gauge accurately 
 
 dentworthyof note is furnished by Butler King, their strength and importance. The result of 
 
 President Taylor's ambassador to the new ter- the election of delegates was to give the pro- 
 
 ritory. In July he made an official tour of the slavery men the predominance, although later, 
 
 mines. He traveled in state, being escorted by when additional delegates were admitted to 
 
 General Smith, Commoilore Jones, and a body form a quorum, the Northern men numbered 
 
 of cavalry under Lieutenant Stoneman, after- 22, against 15 from the slave-holding States, 7 
 
 wards ])rominent in the war and lately governor native Californians, and 4 of foreign birth, 
 
 of the State. It was the height of the dry sea- The convention met on September 1, but 
 
 son, when the wide plains of the Sacramento was not organized until two days later, for lack 
 
 and the San Joacpiin glowed under the fierce of a quorum. The meeting-place was Colton 
 
 heatof a semi-tropical sun. Only men in search Hall, in Monterey, which had the distinction 
 
 of gold could be induced to work under this of being the only plastered house in the new 
 
 sun during the middle of the day, because of territory. Consitlering the haphazard way in 
 
 the danger of fever from overheating. Kven which the delegates were selected, the conven- 
 
 hardy frontiersmen, when passing through the tion was an able body. The curious mingling 
 
 great California valleys in summer, rose early, of races in California, as well as the youth of 
 
 and adopted the native custom of a long siesta the pioneers, was seen in its composition. Of 
 
 at midday. King, however, rose superior to the 48 members 36 were Americans; New\'ork 
 
 the climate as well as the customs of the far furnished 11, New England 6, and Maryland 
 
 West. He kept i)rccisely the same hours as 5. Of native Californians there were 7, while 
 
 when in Washington — rose at eight, dressed 5 delegates were of foreign birth. Only two of 
 
 himself with extreme care, had his boots pol- the native Californians spoke English with any 
 
 ished, took a leisurely breakfast, and then set tluency or understood it easily ; hence it was 
 
 out on the day's journey, when the sun wxs necessar)- to employ an interpreter, and the 
 
 high in the heavens, and the mercury far up proceedings were recordeil in English and 
 Vol- XL.— 103. 
 
786 
 
 HOW CALIFORNIA CAME INTO THE UNION 
 
 Spanish. It was probably the most youthful 
 legislative body that ever met ; 9 men being 
 under thirty, 23 over thirty but under forty, 12 
 between forty and fifty, and only 4 over fifty 
 years of age. Four members had been in Cali- 
 fornia only four months ; nine had been there 
 one year or less. 
 
 There is pretty good evidence that Gwin 
 went to the convention with the purpose of 
 becoming its president and thus guiding its de- 
 liberations, but the native Cahfornians and sev- 
 eral of the pronounced antislavery men had 
 strong prejudice against him, and Robert Sem- 
 ple, a typical Western backwoodsman, who 
 was equally ready with the rifle and the prin- 
 ter's stick, was chosen to preside. Captain 
 Marcy,who had arrived with Stevenson's New 
 York regiment, was elected secretary, and J. 
 Ross Browne, who in later years gained fame 
 on the coast as humorist and traveler, was ap- 
 pointed ofiTicial reporter. Of all the members 
 Gwin easily occupies the foremost place. He 
 did not speak so often as many others, but, 
 like Halleck, what he said had great weight, and 
 in nearly every controversy he either carried 
 his point or effected a compromise well-nigh 
 as advantageous as a victory, A master of the 
 arts of the parliamentarian, Gwin was con- 
 stantly called upon to exercise his skill, and it 
 is no exaggeration to say that his readiness, 
 courtesy, suggestiveness, and persuasive powers 
 have rarely been surpassed in a deliberative 
 body. A careful reading of the debates in this 
 convention, aided by the suggestions of sur- 
 vivors, proves conclusively that Gwin had the 
 settled purpose to secure so large a territory 
 for California that Congress would feel bound 
 to divide it. He was too shrewd a poHtician 
 to hope to commit the new territory to slav- 
 ery. The spirit shown at public meetings of 
 settlers and miners which he had attended 
 proved that slavery would not be tolerated. 
 Hence instead of pressing the slavery issue, 
 he devoted his energies to securing the best 
 ultimate advantages foj the slave-holding 
 States. California had a coast line of over five 
 hundred miles, and her territory was popularly 
 supposed to extend to the Rocky Mountains. 
 What was more .simple and logical than to 
 secure the admission of this immense domain 
 as free territory and then persuade Congress 
 to divide it, giving the southern half — the 
 lion's share — to slavery? Division on no 
 other than lateral lines seemed feasible at that 
 time, as the great central region was regarded 
 as a desert. A new State must possess a coast 
 line, and the most natural division was on 
 the historic parallel of 36° 30' — that color 
 line . that was drawn with such monotonous 
 regularity by Calhoun and his followers. In 
 this work Gwin betrayed masterly political 
 
 manipulation. He made an easy conquest of 
 Butler King and Halleck, and these allies 
 he used to win over the suspicious native Cal- 
 ifornians. It was not difficult to prove to 
 them that they would be benefited by the erec- 
 tion of Southern California into a new terri- 
 tory, distinct from the North. Then, as now, 
 it was a plausible argument that the southern 
 half of the country diftered so materially from 
 the northern part as to demand a separate gov- 
 ernment. The Californians were quick to see 
 that in the North their pohtical supremacy was 
 clear gone — swept away by the thousands of 
 gold hunters. Gwin shrewdly intimated that 
 the policy backed by the representative of the 
 Administration must be the winning one, and 
 that the men who aided King and himself in 
 getting the admission of the whole Western 
 territory could depend upon recompense in 
 legislation that would lighten the burden of 
 taxation and secure them in possession of their 
 royal grants of land, measured not by miles, 
 but by leagues. The Cahfornians had every- 
 thing to gain by this alliance, while on the 
 other hand the settlers who opposed the ad- 
 mission of so vast a territory had nothing to 
 offer them. It was to the strongest sentiments 
 of human nature that Gwin appealed, and his 
 success seemed a foregone conclusion. That 
 he failed to carry his point in the convention 
 was due mainly to the superb fight made by 
 Charles T. Botts, a Virginian, aided by the 
 firm backing of the old settlers, Semple, Hast- 
 ings, Shannon, McDougall, Snyder, and others. 
 Twice Gwin obtained a majority for his plan. 
 On the second occasion, when the measure 
 passed the house, having been previously 
 adopted in committee of the whole, the most 
 exciting scene of the convention ensued. Mc- 
 Carver, an old Oregon pioneer, moved for im- 
 mediate and final adjournment, crying out pas- 
 sionately, " We have done enough mischief." 
 Snyder shouted, " Your constitution is gone ! 
 Your constitution is gone ! " For a few mo- 
 ments it looked as though the convention had 
 hopelessly split upon this rock, but finally an 
 adjournment was secured to the following day, 
 when, after long debate, the boundary was fixed 
 as it stands to-day, with the Sierra Nevada and 
 the Colorado as the eastern line, with the great 
 central desert, to be formed later into Nevada, 
 Utah, and Arizona.^ 
 
 The constitution adopted by the convention 
 was one that did good service for thirty years, 
 until the Kearney agitation swept it away in 
 a great outburst of popular feeling against 
 railway and land monopolies, which, gather- 
 ing force for years, was brought to a head by 
 the cynical defiance of a few powerful corpo- 
 
 1 For an account of how this was done see " Cali- 
 forniana " in this number of The Century. — Editor. 
 
IfOir C.l/./FD A\\7A CAMh I .\ I O 77//: I'N/OX. ygj 
 
 rations and a small (li(iue of millionaires who I'io I'iro, the last Mexican povemor of Cali- 
 
 fancied they owned the State. The constitu- fornia, was the ablest. He made the best 
 
 tion was largely drawn from that of New York, speeihes, and seemed to have the clearest ap- 
 
 with some provisions by the then recently prehension of the great change that had come 
 
 adopted constitution of Iowa. What will strike over the country and of the new measures 
 
 any reader of the debates is tiie strong desire that were needed. Morepopular than any of his 
 
 of the members to secure the rights of settlers Californian as.sociates was (ieneral M. Ci. Val- 
 
 and the eipially strong wish to make educa- Icjo, the lord of an enormous estate in the So- 
 
 tion as free and as thorough as possible. 'I'wo noma Valley, stretching from San I'ablo Hay for 
 
 sections in each townshii) were .set apart as forty miles up the beautiful valley. His sister had 
 
 .school lands, seventy-two sections for a univer- married Jacob P, Leese, an early pioneer, and 
 
 sity, as well as five per cent, of the proceeds \'aIIejo always ])rofessed the warmest admira- 
 
 of the sale of all public lands. .Scmj)le and tion for the Americans. Kven the ruile treat- 
 
 .McCarver, both self-made men, who came up ment he received from the Hear Klag ])arty 
 
 from the people, and who therefore placed a did not sour his temper. Like Sutter, he had 
 
 high value on free education, made elo(iucnt a magnificent opportunity to take a foremost 
 
 pleas for a liberal school fund. Semple argued place in the aftairs of the new territory ; but he 
 
 that California could have a university eijual was formed for the life he had led for forty 
 
 to any ai)road, as she had the gold-dust to years, — the pleasant lifeof a landed gran<lee. — 
 
 pay for " talent," and he naively added, "We and he had neither the energy nor tlie mental 
 
 can bring the president of Oxford University suppleness to adapt himself to the new regime, 
 
 here by offering a sufficient salary." To Vallejo, however, belongs the great credit 
 
 Another amusing feature was furnished by of using his large inthience to persuade his fel- 
 
 the discu.ssion over the seal of the new State. low-Califomians to accept the new govem- 
 
 Kvery interest wished to be rej^resented, but ment cheerfully, and to do all in their power to 
 
 the old settlers were determined to have the strengthen the hands of the conservative men 
 
 griz/ly bear in the foreground. This naturally who he .saw clearly formed the only hope of 
 
 excited Vallejo, who had suffered at the hands safety from wholesale spoliation of land and 
 
 of the liear Flag party, and he grimly sug- herds. 
 
 geste<l that Ursus of the Sierra have a lasso Long before the convention was over candi- 
 about his neck. The debate ended in the dates for office had announced themselves, and 
 adoption of the well-known design — Minerva, the first political campaign in California had be- 
 type of the entrance of California full grown gun. From all accounts it was as unique as the 
 into the Union, with the grizzly at her feet; other features of State-making. Teter H. Hur- 
 wheat-sheaf and vine, the miner and his tools, nett, who was then Chief-justice of the Su- 
 represented the leading industries; while the ]>reme Court appointed by (ieneral Riley, was 
 background was the bay of San Francisco the most prominent candidate lor governor, 
 framed in by the Sierra Nevada, and over all his opponents being W. S. Sherwood, a New 
 the magic word, " Eureka." York lawyer ; Captain Sutter; Geary, the pop- 
 One of the men who worked hard in the ular last alcalde of San Francisco; and WW- 
 convention, but who has received little credit liam M. Stewart, who had l)een prominent in 
 for his labor from the historians, was Captain the work of securing a State convention. (Iwin 
 Halleck, the governor's secretary and his rep- and Fremont were the leading candidates for 
 resentative in the debates, (iovernor Riley the United States Senate. All started <nit on 
 made no attempt to influence the convention, electioneering tours that extended into many of 
 but Halleck was tacitly understood to s|)eak the new mining camps. The Argonauts of 1849 
 for him. Halleck had great legal ability, and in the remote camps had cavalier methods of 
 he drafted the excellent public j)apers that settling the claims of candidates, A man who 
 Riley issued. He also prei)ared an excellent " put on style " was sure to be defeated. .\ 
 digest of the Mexican laws for the use of "boiled" shirt could be tolerated, but not a 
 Americans. He spoke fre(|uently in the con- silk hat, and there were grave doubts about 
 vention and always to the point, and no sur- the honesty of a candidate who ditl not chew 
 vivor of that body fails to declare that his tobacco or take his li(|uor like a man. Hur- 
 judgment was sound and that his services were nett's great claim to popularity lay in his cham- 
 mvaluable because of his intimate knowledge pi()nshi|)of the settlers' rights,his rigid honesty, 
 of the country. Some recognition of his merit and his knowledge of the law. He had some 
 has been made by the erection of a statue to anui>ing adventures on his tour of the mines 
 his memory in Golden Gate Park, San I'ran- that would have discouraged any one except 
 CISCO. a pioneer. At Mud Springs, in the heart of a 
 Of the native Californiansin the convention, rich placer-mining country, the ])roprietor of 
 Carrillo, who haii been a valued adviser of the canvas hotel honored his guest with the best 
 
?88 
 
 HOW CALIFORNIA CAME INTO THE UNION. 
 
 bed in his big lodging-tent, and the weary can- 
 didate hoped for sweet and refreshing sleep, 
 but during the night rain fell in torrents, the 
 wind arose, tore away the fastenings of the 
 tent, and the structure collapsed. The guests 
 were forced to hug the main pole with the 
 loose canvas flapping about them and the rain 
 beating without. Of this unhappy town the 
 writer has a vivid recollection in 1857, when 
 very heavy rain swelled the creek that formed 
 the center of the main street, and the floors 
 of all the shops and houses were two feet un- 
 der water. Many of the miners regarded the 
 election as a huge joke. A typical instance of 
 the way miners voted was recorded at the 
 lower bar of the Mokelumne River. One fel- 
 low, who had voted a straight ticket, gave his 
 reasons over the bar in the saloon in this orig- 
 inal fashion : " When I left home I was bound 
 to ' go it blind.' I did go it bhnd in crossing 
 to Cahfornia, and I 'm not going to stop now. 
 I voted for the constitution, and I 've never 
 seen the constitution. I voted for all the can- 
 didates, and I don't know a d d one of 'em. 
 
 I 'm going it blind all through — I am ! " 
 
 The first election resulted in a small vote. 
 Three-quarters of the American miners did 
 not leave their tents to go to the polls. The 
 Mexicans and native Californians took con- 
 siderable pride in casting their first ballot, 
 though in later years they have not betrayed 
 any keen interest in politics, and they have 
 never held the balance of power which early 
 observers feared because of their numerical 
 majority. Burnett was elected governor, re- 
 ceiving 67 16 votes; his next competitor, Sher- 
 wood, getting 3188, and Sutter 2301. On the 
 15th of December, 1849, the first legislature 
 met at San Jose, that city having secured the 
 honor of the State capitol by guaranteeing to 
 furnish suitable buildings. The conditions were 
 found even more primitive than at Monterey. 
 The Capitol buildmg was a rude, unfurnished 
 wooden structure. The Assembly, composed 
 of thirty-six members, succeeded in using the 
 large upper chamber, but for several weeks the 
 sixteen senators were forced to meet at a pri- 
 vate residence. Five days after the first meet- 
 ing Governor Burnett was installed. General 
 Riley having on the same day resigned his 
 powers as governor. Despite the discomforts 
 and the lack of all the usual facilities, this first 
 California legislature went to work manfully. 
 Again was seen the triumph of the pioneer 
 over ciixumstances that would have paralyzed 
 an older community. The first business was 
 the election of United States senators, for it 
 was wisely urged that the presence of these 
 men at Washington would hasten admission of 
 the State. Among the candidates were Butler 
 King, the eccentric Administration agent ; Fre- 
 
 mont, about whom was the glamour of border 
 adventure and who was generally regarded as 
 the Bear Flag hero ; Gwin, whose ability had 
 been proved in the convention ; Geary, the 
 San Francisco alcalde ; Halleck, whose friends 
 claimed this reward for his services; and Sem- 
 ple, whose aspirations were as "lofty as his 
 stature. Fremont was the most popular, partly 
 because of his prominent part in the conquest, 
 and partly because he was known to have be- 
 hind him Senator Benton, a political power 
 who could do much for California. Fremont 
 was elected on the first ballot and Gwin on the 
 second. George W. Wright and Edward Gil- 
 bert had been elected representatives. 
 
 It has been common for Californians to re- 
 gard this first legislative body as a roistering 
 crowd that drank and swore like the troops in 
 Flanders. But it must be said that these pioneer 
 legislators proved far more industrious than 
 any of their successors. They framed in a few 
 weeks an excellent body of laws. Although 
 they included a few rampant proslavery men, 
 they were mainly the old settlers who had 
 worked for a State government. One man by 
 his horse-play gave to the body the unsavory 
 but picturesque title of " The legislature of a 
 thousand drinks." This was Thomas Jefferson 
 Green, a professional politician who was at- 
 tracted to California, like Gwin, Butler King, 
 Geary, Broderick, and others, by the hope of 
 a good office and political influence. Green 
 seemed to look upon the session of the legisla- 
 ture as a picnic. He had a room near the 
 State House liberally supplied with all kinds 
 of drinks, and after every adjournment his 
 sonorous voice was heard crying, " Come, 
 let 's take a thousand drinks ! " Survivors of 
 this legislature declared that Green was a sea- 
 soned vessel, and seldom appeared the worse 
 for potations that would have put Squire 
 Western under the table before midday. Even 
 with the inducement of free liquor always on 
 tap the drinking was not general. The little 
 coterie that Green gathered about him had no 
 influence upon the working members. Well 
 would it have been for California had every 
 succeeding legislature been as honest and as 
 efficient as this pioneer body. To these men 
 lobbying and the huckstering of votes were 
 unknown. They felt deeply their responsi- 
 bility to constituents, and they would have re- 
 garded the methods of legislative politicians 
 of the present time as an insult to common 
 decency. 
 
 While the first California legislature was 
 wrestlmg with a code of laws for the new 
 State the fight over California was renewed in 
 Congress with greater bitterness than before. 
 President Polk in his message made a strong 
 plea for the admission of California. He set 
 
HOir CATJFORNfA CAME IXTO THE rxiON. 
 
 789 
 
 forth briefly the causes that led the people to 
 decide to form a constitution, declared there 
 was reason to believe they would soon apply 
 for admission as a State, and warned Congress 
 against introducing sectional issues that were 
 dangerous to the L'nion. Towards the close 
 of January, 1850, Henry Clay introduced his 
 compromise bill for the admission of California, 
 which, though greatly modified, formed the 
 ground on which an agreement was finally 
 reached after six months of debate. The main 
 feature of Clay's plan was that California be 
 admitted with suitable boundaries and with- 
 out slavery. A sop to the South was a reso- 
 lution that the remainder of the land ceded 
 by Mexico should be erected into territorial 
 governments unhampered by any restrictions 
 on slavery. He also introduced clauses for- 
 bidding the interference of Congress with the 
 slave-trade between tiie States, and calling 
 for more eftective enforcement of the fugitive- 
 slave law. Clay's compromise, though artfully 
 devised, did not accomplish the desired object 
 of placating the Southern leaders. Debate 
 began immediately upon their introduction. 
 Conspicuous among the proslavery men were 
 Jefferson Davis and Foote, who argued that the 
 Missouri Compromise line should be recog- 
 nized throughout the new territory and that 
 slavery should be valid below that line. Clay 
 vehemently opposed this, holding that the peo- 
 ple of the Far West should decide for them- 
 selves whether they wished to establish slavery ; 
 if they chose to introduce it, then he would favor 
 the admission of California and New Mexico 
 with such slavery provisions in their consti- 
 tutions. 
 
 It was at this critical period that (iwin and 
 Fremont and the CaHfomia representatives ar- 
 rived in Washington. They brought the new 
 constitution of California, which President 
 Taylor transmitted to Congress with the noti- 
 fication that the State would soon apply for 
 admission to the Union. A motion was made 
 to refer the message to the committee on Ter- 
 ritories, but this procedure was more than Cal- 
 houn could endure. He was greatly incensed 
 over the action of the Californians in prohibit- 
 ing slavery, and though merely the shadow of 
 his old self, with strength so sjient that he 
 could not speak in the Senate, he prepared a 
 sjjeech against the admission of California. It 
 was read by Mason of Virginia. The gist of 
 this address, which proved to be the dying 
 utterance of the great proslavery leader, was a 
 vigorous attack on the admission of California, 
 because its people in assuming to meet in con- 
 vention and adopt a constitution had been 
 guilty of a revolutionary act. He helil that there 
 was no excuse for such open defiance of Con- 
 gress, and hence he suggested that California 
 
 be remandcfl to the condition of a Territory, 
 To admit her as a State, with this constitution 
 just adopted, would be to Ijar out the South 
 from the territory acquired from Mexico and 
 im])eril the political equilibrium of the sec- 
 tions. 
 
 Webster followed in his great speech of 
 March 7, second only in its impassioned pas- 
 sages to the reply to Hayne. Any j)araphrase 
 of its majestic language is flat and common- 
 place. It was an eloquent appeal for the free- 
 dom of the new territory which the South had 
 vainly struggled for in the interests of slavery. 
 He clo.sed with the passage against " peace- 
 able secession " which has become a classic in 
 American literature. 
 
 The California senators, of course, were ap- 
 pealed to by the rival leaders, Fremont was 
 in favor of anything which Benton championed, 
 and Benton was determined to seethe new State 
 admitted, even if it led to the civil war that 
 Calhoun and Jefferson Davis predicted. Cwin 
 was placed in a very embarrassing position, as 
 to carry out the desires of his constituents he 
 must oppose Calhoun and his party. He had 
 a stormv interview with President I'aylor, who 
 declared that whether California was admitted 
 or not he intended to drive the Texan authori- 
 ties out of New Me.xico. Gwin refused to co- 
 o])erate with Taylor, which aroused the wrath 
 of the old soldier, and the conference ended in 
 
 anger. 
 
 (iwin also had a conference with Calhoun, 
 his old master in political arts, who roused his 
 dying energies to try to convince his friend 
 that the admission of California as a State 
 would result in the suj^remacy of the North 
 and the rupture of the Union. Gwin was 
 greatly impressed with the earnestness of the 
 dying statesman and the gloomy jirophecies 
 that he maile, but he refuseil to adopt the 
 jiolicy decided upon by his jiarty in Congress. 
 To escape from his embarrassing position he 
 went to New York, but after a short stay he 
 was sent for by Henry Clay. In some unpub- 
 lished memoranda Gwin has left an interest- 
 ing account of this conference. It throws so 
 much light on the causes that led to Clay's 
 compromise bill that I give a portion of it en- 
 tire. He says : 
 
 When the California delegation reached Wash- 
 ington and asked for the admisNion of the State into 
 the Union, I was in favor of its being acted on as 
 a separate and independent measure, and with the 
 least practicable delay. I found Mr. Cl.iy, General 
 Cass, Mr. Webster, Judge Douglas, and others who 
 were the great leaders in Congress at that time, 
 in favor of this policy. But afterwards they changed 
 their views and ! was sent for by Mr. Clay, who 
 gave me the reason. He said he had been called 
 upon by members of the House of RepresenLitives 
 
79° 
 
 HOW CALIFORNIA CAME INTO THE UNION. 
 
 and informed that a sufficient number of tiie mem- 
 bers of tiiat body from tiie Soutiiern States to con- 
 trol its action liad entered into a solemn compact, 
 r which they would execute at the risk of their lives, 
 never to permit a bill to pass the House admitting 
 California until the right of the South to carry 
 their property to the Territories of the United States 
 was first guaranteed by law. Mr. Clay was incredu- 
 lous ; he thought it impossible for SL:ch a body of 
 men to come to so desperate a resolve — which was 
 revolution itself. He called for facts, which were 
 furnished him ; names also were given, and, if 
 necessary to remove all doubts from his mind, it 
 was proposed to bring each member who had en- 
 tered into this league to his room to make the dec- 
 laration to him in person. Mr. Clay said that then, 
 for the first time in his life, he thought the Union 
 in immediate peril, and that the short remnant of 
 days left to him would see it destroyed. He at once 
 determined upon the course he would pursue, and 
 the first person he consulted was Colonel Benton 
 — with whom he had been up to that time acting in 
 full concert for the immediate admission of Califor- 
 nia into the Union — and my colleague. Colonel Fre- 
 mont. The interview lasted for an hour, and he 
 exerted all the powers he possessed to induce Colo- 
 nel Benton to join him in postponing the admission 
 of the State until the question of the territorial gov- 
 ernment was settled, but in vain. Colonel Benton 
 sternly refused, and Mr. Clay confessed to me that 
 he did what he had never done before in his life — 
 he implored a fellow-man to do his duty, but all to 
 no effect. That was their last interview and inter- 
 course in life. Mr. Clay then sought the interview 
 with me; and, after stating the case fully, I had no 
 doubt of the facts, and told him that 1 never wished 
 to see California /b/r^rf into the Union in a revolu- 
 tionary way which would destroy its existence, and 
 that 1 was willing that the admission of the State 
 should be considered in connection with all the 
 questions that were then agitating the country. 
 
 In the great debate on Clay's compromise, 
 Seward, then coming to the front as a leader, 
 made one of the most vigorous speeches. He 
 declared that the settlers had shown the proper 
 spirit, and that if not granted admission to the 
 Union speedily California would be perfecdy 
 justified in founding with the other Pacific 
 coast States an independent nation. Four days 
 after Webster's speech the California delega- 
 tion, in response to a demand, presented a 
 memorial which reviewed in detail the work 
 done in the new State, its great resources, and 
 its urgent need of admission to the Union. This 
 memorial ignored the slavery issue, but it sim- 
 ply added fuel to the partisan flame. To Clay's 
 compromise measures were added others by 
 Bell of Tennessee, and both sets were referred 
 to a special committee. The result was the 
 omnibus bill of which, aside from the compro- 
 mise features, the admission of California was 
 the chief proposition. Again the partisan de- 
 bate broke out with increased rancor. Four 
 months of wrangling ensued, ending finally in 
 the passage of the bill for the admission of Cal- 
 
 ifornia, separated from the compromise reso- 
 lutions. On August 1 3, by a vote of thirty-four 
 to eighteen, the Senate passed it. Jefferson 
 Davis, Mason, and others could not see it 
 adopted without a last word, so they i.ssued a 
 protest which summed up all the Southern 
 hatred of national sanction of the free consti- 
 tution of the California settlers. This protest 
 had no effect on the lower house, which on 
 September 7 also passed the bill, by one hun- 
 dred and fifty to lifty-six. On September 9, 
 1850, the act was formally approved by Presi- 
 dent Fillmore, and within the next two days 
 the California delegation was sworn in — not, 
 however, without objections from Jefferson 
 Davis and his small party of irreconcilables. 
 The South had been worsted at every point ; 
 but it was a costly victory for the country, for 
 a decade later burst out the pent-up tires of 
 partisan hatred, whose lurid gleams were seen 
 during this long struggle over California. 
 
 The CaHfornia legislature adjourned in April, 
 but it was the i8th of October before news 
 came of the admission of the State, These six 
 months of waiting tired the souls of impatient 
 Californians more than all the previous period 
 of doubt and uncertainty. Complaints came 
 from several of the southern counties of bur- 
 densome taxes that would fall upon them should 
 Congress admit the whole of California as a 
 State. Among Americans, however, the desire 
 for statehood was so strong that many openly 
 advocated separation from the Union. In no 
 other period of their history, perhaps, was the 
 self-control of the Americans in California 
 more thoroughly proved than in these dreary 
 months. Chmate and life, then as now, con- 
 spired to rob the settler of patience. He 
 yearned to gain fortune or to compass any pur- 
 pose at a bound. With a people of less moral 
 stamina disunion influences would have pre- 
 vailed and the world would have seen the 
 fiasco of an independent state on the Pacific 
 coast. But that rare judgment and foresight 
 which comes with the Anglo-Saxon strain in 
 American blood again prevailed. Some of the 
 old Bear Flag party emerged again and gave 
 vent to their anger in violent language ; but 
 these manifestations were merely the froth on 
 the surface. Loyalty to the Union before they 
 formed an actual part of it was as strong as it 
 was eleven years later when Sumter was fired 
 on. 
 
 Five weeks after California became a State 
 the news reached San Francisco. The Panama 
 mail steamer Oregon was sighted one October 
 morning by the lookout on Telegraph Hill. 
 He rubbed his glasses to make out what had 
 transformed her familiar lines. Surely she was 
 dressed in all her bunting, and now as she en- 
 tered the harbor the rapid discharge of her 
 
HO IV CALUORXIA CAME I XTO 71 H: C'X/OX. 
 
 79 » 
 
 gun conveyed the lonp-expectc«l news. C)l(l 
 pioneers cannot speak with iinmoistened eyes 
 of the scene that followed. Nerves had l)een 
 strung to so high a tension that the rebound 
 demanded violent exercise. The whole city 
 swarmed to the water front and the hills around 
 it. Merchants rushed to close their stores as 
 they did on that other day, sad and long to 
 he remembered, when the news came over 
 the wires that Lincoln was assassinated. By a 
 common impulse every one ran to the old 
 I'laza. There were cheers, shouts, ringing of 
 bells, blowing of whistles, and booming of guns. 
 Provident passengers who brought copies of 
 New York newspapers sold them readily for 
 live dollars a co|)y. At night the young city 
 was ablaze with bonfires, illuminations, and 
 rockets. 
 
 Hy steamer, stage, and j)()ny exi)ress the 
 news was carried to all parts of the State. 
 ( )n many roads there was keen opposition be- 
 tween rival stage lines, and this led to lively 
 races to see which should be the first bearer 
 of the welcome news. Crandall was one of 
 the pioneer stage drivers who with Foss and 
 " Hank " .Monk made a reputation for dare- 
 devil skill in handling six-horse teams on bad 
 mountain roads. He started for San Jose, the 
 morning after the news reached San Francisco, 
 with his coach decked with flags. Governor 
 iJumett was beside him on the box. Down 
 they dashed through the level Santa Clara 
 Valley, then one wide tawny plain, unbroken 
 by fence or farm-house. IJchind them came 
 the rival .stage, its driver urging his Mexican 
 mustangs to their utmost speed. As Crandall's 
 coach passed the houses on the road all on 
 board swung their hats and shouted " Califor- 
 nia is admitted to the I'nion ! " and the cheers 
 that rounded out this shout were taken up by 
 the delighted i)eoi)lc. Kx-Crovemor Ihirnett 
 is an old man now, l)ut he grows young again 
 when he descril)es this race, full of excitement 
 to the very end, when Crandall dashed up to 
 the main hotel in San Jose in a cloud of dust, 
 like one of the Homeric heroes, the victor in 
 one of the hardest stage races ever run in this 
 country. 
 
 The formal celebration of the admission was 
 held on September 29, and was the first of the 
 annual commemorations of the birthday of the 
 State that have become a feature of California 
 life. San Francisco was young, but it showed 
 then that jxassion for picturesque street specta- 
 cles which has made its j)arades unique and 
 noteworthy. The place of honor in the pro- 
 cession was given to the native Californians, 
 who had come so cordially under the new 
 regime. They were well represented by a band 
 of young men, superbly mounted and richly 
 tlressed, who carried a blue satin banner with 
 
 the inscription in gold letters, " California : 
 K riuribus L-num." Ihen came the pioneers ; 
 not oUI and bent as to-day, but in the full 
 strength of young manhood. They bore a 
 banner with the State seal and the inscription, 
 " Far West, Fureka, 1846. California I'io- 
 neers, organized Augu.st, 1850." The banner 
 also bore a device of historical significance — 
 a typical Yankee stepping ashore and meeting 
 a native Califomian, with serape thrown over 
 his shoulder and Ixsso in hand. After the 
 army and navy ofliccrs, the Mexican war vet- 
 erans, and the civil dignitaries came the unicpie 
 feature of the parade — a large company of 
 Chinese in gala costume of sky-blue, yellow, 
 red, anil brown silk blouses, with flowery skirts 
 such as are worn at their annual New Year 
 ceremonies, and carrying a blue silken banner 
 with the legend, " The China Hoys." Follow- 
 ing them came a large car in which were 
 seated thirty boys, each representing a State, 
 while in the center was a white-robed girl, like 
 a fairy in the Christmas jjantomime. upon 
 whose gleaming breastplate were the words. 
 "California: the Union, it must and shall be 
 preserved." The volunteer fire department, 
 that had already had one great battle with a 
 fire that well-nigh swept the city off the sand 
 dunes, turned out in great force on the Plaza. 
 There were the usual exercises — an oration and 
 a poem that fired the patriotic heart. 
 
 Forty years seems a brief period in pas- 
 toral California, where the hand of time moves 
 as slowly as in the lanil of the Aztecs : but in 
 California as a State it has seen marvelous 
 changes. The young Califomian has been ac- 
 cused of lack of reverence. The climate makes 
 him precocious, and he has a keen eye for the 
 material side of life ; yet withal he has a large 
 fund of sentiment. an«l no South Carolinian m 
 the days befi)re the war was ever prouder of the 
 Palmetto State than is theyouthful Califomian 
 of this commonwealth, whose birth marke<l a 
 period of national travail that ended only 
 with the freedom of four million slaves. A 
 touch of ])rovincialism there is in this State 
 pride, for to most of these younger men the 
 blue line of the Sierras is the eastem boundary 
 of the only world they know ; yet their perfect 
 confiflence in everything Califomian is. in its 
 wav, a source of strength. To Ceneral A. M. 
 Winn first came the idea of a union of the 
 young men bom in California, in order to per- 
 petuate the memor)- of the founders of the 
 State. The society, formed at his suggestion 
 in 1875, under the rather florid name of " Na- 
 tive Sons of the C.olden West." liegan with a 
 roll of twenty-unc members. Its purposes fi)und 
 favor ; tlie 9th of September — the annivcr- 
 san,- of the admission of Califomia to the 
 Union — was made a legal holid.iv through- 
 
792 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 out the State ; every year has seen it observed 
 by the Native Sons, who have increased in 
 fifteen years to 8000 members. 
 
 l"he New England Society of California 
 Pioneers visited San Francisco last May, and 
 the old men looked vainly for landmarks that 
 they could identify in a city which has sprawled 
 over miles of sand dunes and has neared the 
 Golden Gate. San Francisco's growth in these 
 forty years is typical of the enormous progress 
 of California. Changed is the old order of 
 mining life, gone forever the supremacy of the 
 pioneer gold hunter with pan and rocker; but 
 in his place is the scientific mining engineer, 
 using machinery that is the wonder of the 
 world ; the wheat-grower, whose steam plow 
 
 turns a mile long furrow and whose harvest 
 hands camp at night in the vast fields over 
 which they move ; the fruit-grower, who has 
 made the level valleys and even the steep foot- 
 hills smile with fruitage of orange, lemon, fig, 
 grape, and apricot ; and, best of all, the tiller of 
 small farm and orchard, who is proving that in 
 this Italy of the far West may be seen the ideal 
 country life, with work out-of-doors which re- 
 fined women may share in without risk of 
 coarsening their hands or their natures. Cali- 
 fornia to-day, with its thoroughly American 
 people, of tireless energy and equally great self- 
 control, is the best monument to the wisdom of 
 the pioneers who laid the foundations of its 
 statehood. 
 
 George Hamlin Fitch. 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 Light on the Seizure of California. 
 
 WITHIN the last few years much has been done by 
 localhistorians, notably by Mr. H. H. Bancroft's 
 collaborators, to clear up the mysteries that used to ob- 
 scure the story of the seizure of California by our naval 
 forces in 1846. The present note intends to offer one 
 additional scrap of information bearing upon the mat- 
 ter. By way of introduction I shall venture to summa- 
 rize, in unoriginal fashion, the now well-ascertained 
 facts concerning the naval capture of California, leaving 
 aside wholly any detailed discussion of evidence until 
 1 come to my one additional piece of evidence itself. 
 
 The Polk Cabinet, as is well known, planned the 
 Mexican war for some time before it broke out. They 
 devoted, of course, much attention to the best way of 
 obtaining possession of the Mexican " Department of 
 U])per California," a province \\hich was not only very 
 sparsely inhabited, but which also had a very loose 
 connection with the mother country, and a very imper- 
 fect sense of loyalty to the central government, so that 
 its seizure, whenever hostilities should break out, 
 seemed to be no very difficult matter. In the Sacra- 
 mento Valley were already a few hundred American 
 settlers. Our recently appointed consul at Monterey, 
 Thomas O. Larkin, a shrewd Yankee trader, who had 
 done business on the coast for a number of years, was 
 in intimate personal relations with several prominent 
 public men among the Californians. He wrote fre- 
 quently and voluminously to the State Department, 
 trying to convince his official chiefs that the Californians 
 were distracted by their own petty provincial political 
 quarrels, that they had little feeling for the central 
 Mexican government but jealousy or dread ; and that, 
 with some care, the land could be won away from Mex- 
 ico, on the breaking out of the war, by the consent of 
 the Californians themselves, and without bloodshed. 
 In consequence of these representations the Cabinet 
 instructed Commodore Sloat, in command of the Pacific 
 squadron, to hold himself in readiness for the first news 
 of hostilities, and then, without delay, to proceed to 
 California, to seize Monterey and San Francisco, and 
 to invite the Californians to change their allegiance. 
 
 Beyond the actual seizure of the defenseless ports, 
 which his overwhelming force might be expected to 
 accomplish without any collision of arms, he was in- 
 structed to show no violence, and to do everything in 
 his power to conciliate the inhabitants, and to "encour- 
 age them to adopt a course of neutrality." "It is ru- 
 mored," said Secretary Bancroft in one later communi- 
 cation, " that the province of California is well disposed 
 to accede to friendly relations. . . . You will take such 
 measures as will best promote the attachment of the 
 people of California to the United States." 
 
 Meanwhile, with the same purpose in mind, the 
 Government sent to Larkin, in October, 1845, a secret 
 despatch, which was committed to memory by a special 
 agent, Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie, and so carried 
 by him across Mexico for oral delivery. A written du- 
 plicate of this despatch was sent around the Horn on 
 one of the naval vessels bound for the Pacific. Both 
 Gillespie's oral version of his secret instructions, as 
 taken down from dictation at Monterey, and the dupli- 
 cate afterwards received by Larkin, are now extant, 
 and agree down to one or two very slight verbal dif- 
 ferences. The despatch instructed Larkin and Gillespie 
 to cooperate in an intrigue intended to win over the 
 Californians, who, even in case the outbreak of the 
 war should be delayed, were to be induced, if possible, 
 to declare their independence of Mexico, and were to 
 be assured of the support of our Government in any 
 such action. 
 
 It is perfectly sure that the instructions of the Gov- 
 ernment in no wise contemplated or authorized any re- 
 volt of the American settlers in the Sacramento Valley 
 against the Californians, or any employment of force 
 beyond the already mentioned seizure of the wholly 
 defenseless ports by Sloat upon the receipt of news of 
 actual war. As is well known, however. Captain Fre- 
 mont's exploring party was at the time of Gillespie's 
 arrival still within the territory of California. Fre- 
 mont had come during the winter, and had requested 
 permission of the authorities at Monterey to rest his 
 party " on the frontier of the department." A contro- 
 versy which had grown up out of this request, and 
 which had been in large measure provoked by mem- 
 
CALIFORMAXA. 
 
 793 
 
 bers of I'"ri-monl's parly, ha<l led ('a-.tro, a^ I'rcfcct 
 of Norllicrn California, to order Fremont out of the 
 (lepartiiicnt altogether. After considerable waiting 
 and defiance Fremont had begun to ol>ey the order, 
 going northward through the Sacramento Valley, (id- 
 lespie arrived at Monterey on .\|»ril 17, 1S46, and after 
 delivering his instructions to Larkin |)roceeded to fol- 
 
 vanccd, exce|)t the actui! presence of Seymour on the 
 coxst as describcil. NunibericNS arc the mutually in- 
 consistent and wholly worthies-, talcs that have iHren 
 lo|<l about incidents before, during, anri after the 
 "race." Many of these tales arc ordinary family le- 
 gends, narrated by relatives of this or that ofTiccr con- 
 cerned. \ decidedly careful exaniin.ition of several 
 
 low up Fremont, in order to .acquaint him with the of them has convinced me, as it would convince any 
 
 Government plans, and to deliver to him private letters 
 from the nentoii family. Gillespie actually overtook 
 Fremont in the Klamath region. This act of Gilles- 
 pie's was indeed part of his official mission, but there 
 can be no doubt that the only instructions which he 
 had to convey to F'remonl were the ones already made 
 known to Larkin, namely, to cooperate in a peaceful in- 
 trigue for the purpose of inducing the Caiifornians to 
 leave the Mexican allegiance, and be ready for our for- 
 mal seizure of the territory. 
 
 Fremont, however, who had his o\\ n personal inter- 
 ests to consider, and who had already fpiarreled with 
 Castro, now unfortunately decided ujion a course of 
 action directly contrary to the instructions, trusting 
 apparently to the nearness of the Mexican war itself to 
 shield him against all the consequences of his disobe- 
 dience. His trust was well placed ; for he has ever 
 since been popularly regarded as the chief servant of 
 his country in the winning of California. He even in- 
 duced Gillespie to cooperate with him. What they diil 
 was to return southward into the Sacramento Valley 
 and stir up the .\merican settlers to the well-known 
 " Hear P'lag " revolt, a movement which was brought 
 about through flagrant misrepresentations of the pur- 
 poses and hostile preparations of the Califurnian lead- 
 ers, and which was a wholly unprovoked assault upon 
 a peaceable people. That it led immediately to but 
 little bloodshed was due to the fortunate fact that, be- 
 fore it had gone far, Sloat appeared at .Monterey with 
 news of the outbreak of war and seized the ports. 
 .Meanwhile it is ceitain that the whole Bear Flag 
 aflfair was a distinct hindrance to the successful seizure 
 of California, and to the later pacification of the prov- 
 ince ; and that the chief mover in this affair, in all his 
 hostile acts up to July 7, when .Sloat raised the Ameri- 
 can flag, is to be credited only with having wrought 
 mischief, endangered .American interests, and diso- 
 beyed his instructions. 
 
 Sloat, meanwhile, who had been waiting at Mazatlan 
 for news of the outbreak of war on the Rio Grande, 
 went through a series of experiences which have since 
 led to numerous legends. Near him, on the Mexican 
 coast, W.TS the F.nglish flag-ship Col/itit;:..'<Vii, with Ail- 
 miral Seymour on Ixiard. .An understanding grew up 
 among the American officers, cither at that time or 
 later, that Seymour was wailing, like Sloat, for news 
 of hostilities on tht Rio Grande, and that he no doubt 
 had instructions " to take California under Fnglish pro- 
 tection," as the thing is usually stated, as soon as war 
 should breakout. When .Seymour appeared in Mon- 
 terey Hay, some two w eeks later than the dale of Sloal's 
 arrival, and when after one week's st.ay, and after the 
 interchange of the customary courtesies, the English 
 
 impartial person, of their insignificance. They are 
 usually in the most obvious conflict with known dates 
 ami with known events. 
 
 The facts themselves, so far as they arc known, are 
 as follows (compare the ■ written by one of 
 
 H. H. IJancrofi's ablest ■ a.>rs, Mr. Henry I,. 
 
 Oak, in Bancroft's " California," Vol. ,\VII. of the 
 "History of the Pacific States," p. 205 sfq.): Sloat 
 heard of hostilities on the Rio Grande as early as .May 
 17. But the commodore showed himself throughout this 
 whole affair a timid and irresolute man, so far as con- 
 cerned the fulfilment of his very explicit instructions ; 
 for he waited in entire inactivity until May 31, when he 
 heard further news, this time of (icner.Tl Taylor's bat- 
 tles of the 8th and 9th. He then decided that this must 
 mean that " outbreak of war " w hich his instructions 
 conlem|)latcd. I le .accordingly wrf>te to .Secretary Ban- 
 croft, " I have received such intelligence as I think 
 will justify my acting upon your order — and shall sail 
 immediately to see what can be done." Hereupon, 
 however, Sloat actually did nothing, and remainetl 
 where he was untd June 5, when the news came of 
 the capture of .Matamoras. Even such startling evi- 
 dence of the reality of the war only led Sloat to write 
 on June 6 to Bancroft, " I have upon mature reflec- 
 tion come to the conclusion that your instructions will 
 not justify my taking possession of California, or any 
 hostile measures against Mexico." .And, to cap the cli- 
 max of this irresolution, the log of Sloat's ship, the 
 Siivanna/i, contains as the entry of the next d.ay," June 
 7. — News received of the blockade of Vera Cruz by 
 the American squ.ndron ; at 2 v. M. got under way for 
 Monterey." 
 
 Nor was Sloat's luiiid much relieved when, on 
 July 2, he reached Monterey. Here, of course, he 
 learned how the Bear Flag had thrown everything 
 into confusion in the north. Both I^irkin, who w.as 
 perplexed by Fremont's disregard of known instruc- 
 tions, and Sloat, who was now looking to I^arkin's in- 
 structions for new light, were for some days in iloubt 
 as to what was to be done. .At length, July 7, .^loat 
 made his decision, landed his forces, and took posses- 
 sion of the port. The seizure of San Francisco Bay 
 and the occupation of sever.xl points in the interior 
 immediately followed. Commmlore Stockton, arrixing 
 July 15, relieved Sloat at the latter s request, and 
 after an interview with Fremont, who reached Monte- 
 rey w ith the " Bears " on July 19, the new naval com- 
 mander decided to seize the southern towns and 
 harlxirs as well, and to proceed, in as im|>crious and 
 hostile a spirit as possible, to the entire subjugation of 
 the country. The result of this new policy of official 
 hostility to the very inhabitants whom all the .Amcri- 
 
 flagship sailed away again, the tradition gained ground can oflficers had Ix'cn instructed to " conciliate " was 
 
 that there had lieen a "race," and that, in case Seymour the arousing of such bitterness that in the following 
 
 had come in first, theterritory of California would have winter a revolt occurred in the south, much unneces- 
 
 passed into Fnglish possession. Forthiswholetr.idition sary blo^nl was spilled, and the seeds of permanent 
 
 no reasonable and truthful evidence has ever been ad- hatred between the Calil'ornians and their conquerors 
 V<ji.. XI,. — 104. 
 
794 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 were sown. But of the events later than July this note 
 need not further treat. 
 
 We have now seen how speedily Sloat did his share 
 of the " racing " with Seymour. It remains to examine 
 Seymour's share in the same international contest. In 
 favor of the supposed English scheme for the seizure 
 of California in 1846 there is, as I have said above, no 
 known evidence whatever, except the actual presence 
 of Seymour on the coast. I say this after long and 
 diligent search for such evidence, and I venture to defy 
 any one to produce any other but legendary testimony 
 for this favorite element in all the legends of the con- 
 quest of California. Seymour was probably on the 
 Mexican coast to watcli our fleet with special reference 
 to the Oregon complications, whose settlement was 
 not made known in these remote regions until a time 
 later than this. The stories have placed the Colling- 
 wood, during the time of waiting for the " race," some- 
 times at San Bias, sometimes at Mazatlan, where she 
 lay " alongside " Sloat's Savannah. Anxious to get 
 what information I could about the Collingwood^ s 
 actual movements, I sometime since asked Mr. Clem- 
 ents R. Markham, the well-known traveler and histo- 
 rian, to give me further advice. He courteously took 
 considerable trouble to aid me. Why he could do so 
 with particular success will appear from the following 
 letter, which, with his inclosure, I now print as my 
 additional piece of evidence. It has before been re- 
 ferred to by me in an article in the " Nation," but has 
 not before been quoted in full. 
 
 21 EccLESTON Square, S. W. 
 LoNnoN, 20 May. 1887. 
 My Dear Mr. Royce : I have just finished reading 
 your " California." ... I was particularly interested in 
 the pages devoted to a discussion of Admiral Seymour's 
 proceedings at Monterey, because, as I tliink I told you, 
 I was then serving as a very young midshipman on board 
 the Colllngwood. I believed your conclusions to be cor- 
 rect ; but, to make certain, I referred the matter to' the 
 present Admiral Lord Alcester, who was then Lieutenant 
 Beauchamp Seymour, and flag-lieutenant to his uncle on 
 board the Collingwood . I inclose a copy of what he has 
 written to me on the subject, and whicli he says you are 
 at liberty to make any use of you see fit. 
 Ever yours, very truly, 
 
 Clements R. Markham. 
 
 [Inclosure.] 
 
 From Admiral Lord Alcester to Mr. Clem- 
 ents Markham. 
 
 19 May, 1887. 
 
 Mr. Royce .... is perfectly correct in his surmises. 
 There is not one word of truth in the statement to which 
 he alludes, for I know for certain that Sir George Seymour 
 never had orders to hoist the English flag in California, 
 or to assume the protectorate of that dependency of Mex- 
 ico in 1846, or at any other time. Neither was there a 
 race between him and Commodore Sloat as to who would 
 reach Monterey first. If we had wanted to precede the 
 Savannah there we should not have begun by going in 
 an opposite direction for several days. For I see by my 
 journal that we left Mazatlan (where the Savannah 
 was) on the 24th of May, 1846, arrived at San Bias, 
 which is to the southward, on the 27th, did not leave San 
 Bias until June 13, and arrived at Monterey on July 16. 
 Sir George Seymour treated me with confidence on pub- 
 lic matters, and I was completely au fait of all quesdons 
 with which he had to deal, and of the orders he received. 
 
 We went to California to protect English commerce 
 and interests, having heard of the proceedings of the 
 party which hoisted the so-called " Bear Flag." As to 
 what Sir George Seymour is suggested to have said to 
 American naval officers as a harmless jest after dinner, 
 it is simply impossible. Fancy him, of all men in the 
 world, a preux chevalier of the old school, and who was 
 
 sobriety itself, taking American officers into his confi- 
 dence and telling them what he never would have told 
 to his own captains even. 
 
 As for what the foregoing letter proves, it must be 
 remembered that when the Collingwood left Mazatlan 
 to sail south, on May 24, news of the first hostilities 
 had been in Sloat's hands for one week, and that 
 when Seymour left San Bias, June 13, Sloat was 
 already six days out of Mazatlan. It is impossible 
 that Seymour should not have been advised of the 
 hostilities on the Rio Grande before so late a date. 
 Lord Alcester uses terms in his, not in our sense, 
 when he calls the news that decided Seymour to go 
 north news of the " Bear Flag " party. This news 
 must have referred to the earlier quarrel of Fremont 
 and Castro, which, of course, an English observer 
 would not easily distinguish from the American set- 
 tlers' revolt that followed. 
 
 I need hardly say in closing how much I feel in- 
 debted to Mr. Markham for this piece of information, 
 which would have saved us many false reminiscences 
 if it had been known to our own histories thirty or 
 more years ago. 
 
 Cambridge, Mass. Josiah Royce. 
 
 The California Boundary Question in 1849. 
 
 Understanding me to have been personally con- 
 nected with the organization of the State government 
 of California, The Century has honored me by ask- 
 ing whether I could furnish any fresh matter " from 
 the inside " relating to that important event. 
 
 My connection with it was simply as a delegate from 
 San Francisco to the Constitutional Convention held 
 at Monterey in July, 1849, under a proclamation issued 
 by Brigadier-General Riley, U. S. A., the acting gov- 
 ernor of California. Most of the important debates 
 were in committee of the whole, in which I usually 
 presided as chairman, and, in that capacity, I had the 
 honor of putting the question on the clause prohibiting 
 " slavery or involuntary servitude " in the new State, 
 and of announcing a unanimous vote in its favor. 
 Some of the delegates were from Southern States ; but 
 Dr. WiUiam M. Gwin, from Mississippi, under whose 
 guidance they evidently acted, and who had openly pro- 
 claimed his intention of being elected a United States 
 senator from the new State, was too shrewd a politician 
 to risk, by a pro-slavery vote of himself or of his friends, 
 a defeat in his senatorial campaign. A decided majority 
 of the people on whose votes he depended had come 
 from Northern States, and would presumably oppose 
 the admission of slavery. 
 
 I regret to state that, owing to the constant pressure 
 of professional business in San Francisco from 1848 
 to 1853, I had no time or opportunity to inform myself 
 as to any of those " inside " facts and influences that 
 go to make up Vhistoire incdite of every important po- 
 liticalevent; but I recollectdistinctly one incident which, 
 though in some degree personal to myself, may be 
 thought to be not devoid of interest. 
 
 It was in the last days of the Convention. Every 
 clause of the constitution had been fully debated and 
 agreed to in committee of the whole and reported to 
 the Convention, where the entire constitution had been 
 read twice and finally adopted on the third reading. 
 
 But a terrible blunder had been committed. Cali- 
 fornia, as part of the territory of Mexico, extended to 
 
CAI.irORXlAXA. 
 
 795 
 
 tlic Rocky Mountain-., ami ihc last article ot ihc con- 
 stiliitinn hail made the Rocky Mountains, instca<l of 
 the Sierra Nevada, the eastern houndary of llie new 
 Slate. Tliis extravagant claim had not l)cen started 
 until a !>hort time In-fore tlie close of the debates, it 
 
 territory ns the Riicky Mountains iMiuTidary would 
 give us, in view of the tierce anil |)crsistent o|)posiiion 
 it would encounter from the Southern memln-rs in 
 Congress. I was aftcrwarrls warndy complimente<l for 
 nty speech ; l)ut I ha\e never taken any crc<lit to my- 
 
 l)eing apparently taken for granted that the State self for it, well knowing that whatever there may have 
 
 would claim oidy to the Sierra Nevada. IJeforc the 
 final vote on the Rocky Mountains l>oundary line, the 
 irticle had met with vigorous opposition on the part of 
 some of the wiser heads in the Convention, but it hail 
 passed, nevertheless, by a decideil majority. I was af- 
 terwards informed that this boundary line had been 
 ailoplerl at the instigation of the cli<iuc of members 
 from the Southern States, with the view to a subsequent 
 division of California by an east-and-west line into two 
 large Stales, each having its share of the Pacific coast ; 
 and further, to the future organization of the southern 
 of these two States as a slave State — an event that 
 would be quite certain, inasmuch as most of the set- 
 tlers in that part of California had come, and would 
 continue to come, from the South or Southwest. Thus 
 the new free State would be offset by a new slave State. 
 
 But the deed was done, and it was apparently ir- 
 revocable. The final vole on the boundary article had 
 been taken and it h.id become a part, of the constitu- 
 tion. No member that had voted with the majority 
 had movcil for a reconsideration, and no one of the 
 minority had thought of changing his vote in order to 
 enable him to move for such reconsideration. What 
 was to be done ? 
 
 For a considerable lime I had been subject to periodi- 
 cal attacks of nervous sick headache caused by malarial 
 exposure during the Mexican war. For three days I 
 had been ill in bed with one of these attacks, which 
 was of uncommon violence, when, to my surprise, I 
 was visiteil by two members of the Convention, with a 
 message that I must go there without a monrent's de- 
 lay, as another and decisive vote was about lobe taken 
 on the boundary question. I protested in vain my in- 
 ability to do any speaking, or even to rise from my 
 bed. They insisting, I swallowed a formidable dose 
 of lauilanum, anil in a few minutes its quitting effect 
 enabled me to rise and drcss and accontpany them to 
 the Convention. On the way I was informed that the 
 friends of the other boundary line had hit upon an in- 
 genious device by which the battle might still be won, 
 and which was this: the Rocky Mountains boundary 
 article, it was true, had had its final passage on the 
 thinl reading, hut the fole to em^ross it had yet to be 
 taken. In other words, substantially, the convention 
 had not yet voted to authenticate the article as a part 
 of the constitution, without which vote it would have 
 no practical o|>eration. It is true that when a bill has 
 l)een passe<l on a third reading the vole to engross 
 usually follows, of course, as a mere matter of form. 
 Hut the ground was taken that it is not necessarily so, 
 and in the present case there was some ho|>e that 
 were the motion to engross opposed, the sol)cr second 
 thought of some of the more intelligent members that 
 had voted for the article would impel them to come 
 to the rescue antl help to defeat it. The Convention 
 on our arrival was in the midst of a very excited de- 
 bate, but I was soon able to obtain the floor. .As to 
 what I said I have not the slightest recollection, except 
 that I dwelt earnestly on the improbability of the ad- 
 mission of a new free State covering such an imn»ense 
 
 been effective in it was due to the influence of the 
 narcotic I had taken. 
 
 To conclude : the motion to engross was defeated, 
 and .Article XII. as it now stamls, making the Sierra 
 Nevada substantially the eastern boundary of the State, 
 was afterwards introduced and adopted. 
 
 POSTSCRIPT. 
 
 I HAVE read carefully, and with great interest, the 
 article by Mr. G. H. Fitch entitled " How California 
 came into the Union," and can vouch for its general 
 accuracy. Of most of the facts state<l I had personal 
 knowledge. But in justice to the " Legislative Assem- 
 bly of San Francisco " {i/uoriini fnirs J'ui) let me add a 
 few words. 
 
 It is true, as stated, that General Riley issued a proc- 
 lamation declaring it to have " usurped powers vested 
 only in Congress." 
 
 Under -Mexican law, the pueblo of San Francisco 
 extended from San Francisco to San Jose, a distance 
 of fifty miles, more or less, and its governing body was 
 the "ayuntamiento." In the spring of 1S49 there were 
 two distinct ayuntamientos, each claiming to be the 
 rightful one. The result of this state of things was, of 
 course, virtual anarchy. Tiicre seemed to be no near 
 prospect of any action by Congress to give us a legiti- 
 mate government. Under these circumstances the peo- 
 ple of that district, not recognizing any <vr;7 authority 
 as residing in General Riley, deemed themselves en- 
 titled to frame some sort of a government for the pro- 
 tection in the mean time of their lives and property. 
 They accordingly established a provisional one, con- 
 sisting of a legislative assembly (in which I had the 
 honor to preside as spcaker\ three magistrates, a 
 treasurer, and a sheriff. The leading and most able 
 meml>er of the assembly was Judge (afterwards Gov- 
 ernor) Peter II. Burnett, one of the purest of men, as 
 well as a sound lawyer. The instant General Riley's 
 proclamation was received, calling for a convention for 
 the formation of a State constitution, the assembly is- 
 sued an address to the people of California recom- 
 mending them to obey it, and then, by its unanimous 
 vote, the jirovisional government was dissolved. 
 
 On these f.acts I leave it for your readers to decide 
 whether the Legislative .Assembly of San Francisco 
 " usurped powers vested only in Congress." 
 
 Washin'ctos, D. C. 
 
 Francis J. l.ippill. 
 
 The Date of the Discovery of the Yoaemite. 
 
 nv ONK op THE PARTV OP t>ISCOVI!IIV. 
 
 In an article written in Maripos.i, California, for 
 " Hutchings' California Magazine," at an early day, 
 when the events to which the pajjcr related were fresh 
 in memory, I stated that the Voscmite V.-illcy was dis- 
 covered in March, 1851. I did not fix the day of the 
 month, but rememl>ered that the discovery occurred 
 during a long-continued rain mi.l -now ^iwrm .it .ilout 
 
796 
 
 CALIFORNIANA . 
 
 the time of the vernal equinox. That statement was 
 verified in writing at the time by James M. Roan and 
 George H. Crenshaw, two comrades who with the 
 writer were the first white men to enter the valley, and 
 who were then members of the California legislature. 
 The few members of the Mariposa Battalion who were 
 on the first expedition to the mountains and the valley 
 were not likely to forget the snow-storms encountered, 
 nor the very deep snow through which they passed. 
 Major Savage, our commander, had waited at our camp 
 in the foothills, knowing that rain below indicated snow 
 in the mountains, and that by marching in and through 
 the storm we would be most likely to surprise and 
 capture the hostile Indians. We made a night march to 
 the south fork of the Merced River, and at the summit 
 of the Chow-chilla Mountain pass found the snow at 
 least four feet deep, but as we descended through the 
 dense forest to the stream the snow lessened to a few 
 inches in depth. At daylight the storm had ceased, 
 but it was renewed at intervals for several days in suc- 
 cession. Fortunately we had provided barley for our 
 animals, and they did not suffer for lack of forage. 
 
 We captured one Indian village on the left bank of 
 the south fork, and crossing over to the right bank 
 assembled on a river table now known as Bishop's 
 Camp, named for Sergeant Samuel A. Bishop, of San 
 Jose, California. This table has a southern exposure 
 that does not allow the snow to remain long, but at 
 that time, while in camp, the snow covered the ground 
 to a depth of three or four inches. 
 
 By advice of Pon-wat-chee, chief of the village cap- 
 tured, Indian runners were despatched to bring into 
 headquarters the Indians in hiding; but no response 
 was made by the Yosemites. Upon a special envoy be- 
 ing sent, Ten-ei-ya, their chief, came alone, and stood 
 in dignified silence before one of the guard until or- 
 dered into camp. Ten-ei-ya was immediately recog- 
 nized and was kindly cared for, and after he had been 
 well supplied with food Major Savage informed him 
 of the orders of the Indian Commission, under which 
 we were acting. The old sachem was very suspicious, 
 but finally agreed to conduct an expedition into his 
 beloved valley. 
 
 Only a few men were required for this service, 
 though all volunteered, notwithstanding it had been 
 represented that horses might not be able to pass along 
 the rocky trail. Finally a foot race was ordered to de- 
 termine the fleetness, and consequent fitness, of those 
 most anxious to go ; some, in their anxiety to win the 
 race, ran barefoot in the snow. 
 
 Led by Ten-ei-ya and Major Savage, the expedition 
 started next morning on a trail of lowest altitude, but 
 we were compelled to pass through snow from three to 
 five feet deep in places, and in a few instances, where the 
 snow had drifted, even of greater depth. Only small 
 detachments were finally taken by the commanders of 
 Companies B and C, Boling's and Dill's, as the trip 
 was looked upon as likely to be only an exploration of 
 some mysterious canon. The importance of recording 
 the date of the discovery of the Yosemite did not im- 
 press itself upon my mind at the time, for I became 
 completely absorbed in the sublimity of my surround- 
 ings. It seemed to me that I had entered God's ho- 
 liest temple, where were assembled all that was most 
 divine in material creation. For days afterward I could 
 only think of the magnificence, beauty, and grace of the 
 
 waterfalls, and of the mountain scenery ; and an almost 
 total lack of appreciation of the event on the part of 
 Major Savage caused me to think him utterly void of 
 sentiment. 
 
 Such experiences were not likely to have been soon 
 forgotten, and hence my surprise when I saw in print 
 the statement that the Yosemite Valley was first en- 
 tered by the Mariposa Battalion on May 5 or 6, 185 1, 
 when the rainy reason would have been past. This 
 statenient is said to have been officially made by our 
 adjutant, and, if so, must refer to the date of our second 
 entrance, as our adjutant was not with us on our first 
 entrance, or discovery. I have never seen the report 
 referred to, but will suggest that if made by our adju- 
 tant there should have been no doubt left as to whether 
 it was the 5th or 6th of May when he first saw the Yo- 
 semite, for an adjutant's report, like a ship's log, should 
 be accurate. I do not wish to call in question the mo- 
 tives of our officers, but our little squad who first 
 entered the valley should have the credit of the dis- 
 covery, let it be what it may. 
 
 The cliff now known as El Capitan had been seen by 
 the writer from Mount Bullion as early as 1849, but 
 nothing could be learned concerning it. After the dis- 
 covery we were most positively assured by Ten-ei-ya 
 and by other Yosemites that we were the very first 
 white men who had ever entered this valley, and that 
 it could not have been entered without their knowledge. 
 Subsequent observations of Indian methods of placing 
 sentinels and wafting signals by smoke confirmed the 
 old chiefs statements. Owing to a slight fall of snow 
 during the second night of our encampment in the val- 
 ley, we left in the morning, fearful of being cut off from 
 our base of supplies. 
 
 After a campaign against the Chow-chillas, on the 
 San Joaquin,of about six weeks duration, we returned 
 to the Yosemite under command of Captain John Bo- 
 ling, with a part of Captain William Dill's Company C 
 added to our own. Upon this occasion, about the 5th 
 of May, 1851, we made the valley our headquarters 
 until after the recapture of Ten-ei-ya's band at Lake 
 Ten-ei-ya on or about June 5, 185 1. After his sur- 
 render in March Ten-ei-ya had escaped. Upon our re- 
 turn to the Fresno I accompanied Captain Boling on 
 his way with despatches to Colonel Fremont and the 
 Indian Commission, who in the mean time had finished 
 their work in the San Joaquin Valley and had gone 
 to Los Angeles. Colonel McKee of the Commission 
 asked the writer concerning the heights of cliffs and 
 waterfalls, and when I gave the most moderate es- 
 timates my judgment would allow, his pitying look 
 for my lack of judgment warned me not to invite the 
 world's scorn. I had estimated the altitudes far below 
 the reality. 
 
 The lapse of time intervening before the public would 
 believe in the unique character of the Yosemite dis- 
 couraged effort to inform the literary world, and the 
 data preserved were for the most part withheld from 
 publication. 
 
 Angivine Reynolds, of the Mariposa "Gazette," 
 published in the county in which the Yosemite Valley 
 is situated, once wrote me, asking concerning its dis- 
 covery, saying, "Can you give me the date?" I of 
 course could not. Hoping to obtain something definite, 
 I wrote to S. M. Cunningham, then guardian of the Big 
 Tree Grove, who had in early days been a business asso- 
 
TOPICS OF THE TIME. 
 
 797 
 
 ciate of Major Savape, ami his ri'])ly only serves to show 
 the errors into which the old pioneers hail been led. 
 Mr. Cunninf^ham said, " Holing's and Kukcndall's 
 company's first trip to \'osemite Valley, according to 
 Mr. M. H. Lewis's adjutant's report, was early in Aprd, 
 1851." The fact is, Kukendall's company was never 
 in the \'oseniitc, but was on duty on King's River and 
 in the Kah-we-ah,or Four Creeks country. I had, pre- 
 vious to this correspondence, been induced to take up 
 the subject of the discovery by seeing numerous errors 
 concerning it, and had written to Adjutant-General 
 L. H. Foot of California for any records in his posses- 
 sion. The reply of CJeneral ]""oot was, "The records 
 of this office, both written and printed, are so incom- 
 plete that I am not aware, from consulting them, 
 that the organization to which you allude [the Mari- 
 posa Hattalion] had existence." This reply decided 
 me to record the events which led to the discovery of 
 the valley, and my hook, "The Discovery of the Vo- 
 semite," is the result. 
 
 In his valuable work, " In the Heart of the Sierras," 
 Mr. J. M. Hutchings, after giving me full credit in the 
 preface, says, " I have been able to supply the missing 
 links needed for the completion of the historical chain 
 of events so much desired and so unavailingly sought 
 after by Dr. Bunnell concerning some of the valley's 
 earlier history." Mr. Hutchings then introduces some 
 valuable documents obtained from the journals of the 
 California legislature, and quotes from Elliot's " History 
 of Fresno County," with the idea of being accurate in 
 his historical work. On page 56, referring to our first 
 entrance into the valley, he says, "This was on May 
 5 or 6, 1S51, although Dr. Bunnell incorrectly gives 
 the latter part of March as the date." 
 
 An old California pioneer, as Mr. Hutchings is, 
 should have remembered that the rainy season is over 
 by May 5 or 6, and that with the exception of moun- 
 tain storms no severe or long-continued ones occur so 
 late. Our waiting on account of the rain at our camp 
 in the foothills below Mariposa could scarcely have 
 occurred in May, or have been forgotten by any of the 
 expedition. Our major was talented, but unlettered, 
 
 and was dependent on his adjutant for all written com- 
 munications, an<l ihcsewcre frequently made long after 
 the events to which they related. At the date of the 
 discovery of the Vosemite our adjutant was not with 
 us. As we were broken into scouting squads, an ad- 
 jutant would have been no more useful in hunting 
 Indians than would have l)een a drum-major, and 
 consequently he was left at headquarters. Viewing 
 the valley under snow and through a clouded sky, di.s- 
 appointed in his search for Indians, the only one found 
 i)cing an old squaw, our major seemingly had no ap- 
 preciation of the Vosemite. Adjutant Lewis was a 
 most genial, kind-hearted gentleman, but I never kmw 
 of any duties he performed in the field. The character 
 of Major Savage's reports may be judged by his official 
 estimate of the number of Indians engaged in hosiili- 
 ties (23,000). 
 
 Mr. Hutchings says, "The Mariposa Battalion 
 was mustered out of service July i, 185 1." I have, 
 however, an official statement from the War Depart- 
 ment, Washington, D. C, that it was mustered out of 
 service on July 25, 185 1. 
 
 On page 272 the Mariposa In<lian war is represented 
 as the war of 1S51-52. The first att.ack ujwn James 
 D. Savage was made in May, 1850, his men were 
 killed at the Fresno, in December of that year, and 
 hostilities ceased with the capture of Ten-ei-ya and 
 his band in June, 1 851. Lieutenant Tread well .Moore, 
 U. S. A., caught and executed five Vosemite murder- 
 ers in 1852, but no war followed. 
 
 Comrade Starkey, of our old battalion, was murdered 
 in 1S53. His murderers were pursued by Under-sher- 
 iff James M. Roan, also a comrade, and when over- 
 taken three of them were killed, and the others put to 
 flight. Mr. Moore was compelled to notice the criti- 
 cisms of the press, and in doing so, in 1854, became 
 the first to draw attention to the wonderful character 
 of the Yosenute scenery. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Hutchings first visited it, and since that 
 date has done more to bring the vrdley into public 
 and appreciative notice than any other man. 
 Homer, Minnesota. Lafayette H. Bunnell. 
 
 TOPICS OF THE TIME. 
 
 Amateur Management of the Yosemite Scenery. 
 
 1"*1IE articles by Mr. John Muir in the present and 
 preceding numbers of Tmk Cf.nhry on the 
 Yosemite Valley and the proposed National Park will 
 have failed of their natural effect if, in addition to excit- 
 ing the wonder of the reader at the unique beauty of 
 waterfall and cliff effectively portrayed in .Mr. Muir's 
 picturesque descriptions, they do not also stimulate the 
 pride of Californians to an active interest in the l)ctter 
 discharge of the trust assumed by the State in its ac- 
 ceptance of the Yosemite grant. 
 
 Mr. Muir shows nbnndantlv how desirable it is to 
 reserve for public use, under national supervision, con- 
 tiguous lands, only less rich in natural wonders than 
 the Yosemite. The reservation is not only desirable 
 for its intrinsic value, but also l>ec.iuse incidentally it 
 will attract attention to the valley itself, and cs|>ecially 
 to the dangers to which it is exposed from the lack of 
 
 skill and knowledge in the commission which should 
 be its most intelligent guardian. On this point Mr. 
 Muir, who in California is recognized as the best 
 authority on matters relating to the Sierra, ailds his 
 testimony to that of many other unprejudiced observers 
 and lovers of the valley. He says : 
 
 Ax and plow, ho^ and horses, have long been and are 
 '•■" '■•■ ■ in Vosemitc's gardens and groves. .Ml (hat is 
 • and dcstniciihle is being r.ipitily «lcsir<>\f^ — 
 III' I. i.i|>i(l!y than in any other Vosemite in •' " rra, 
 thmigh this is the only one that is under the ro- 
 
 tcciion of the Government. .Anil bv far •' ir j>art 
 
 of this destruction of the fineness of wil. f n kind 
 
 tiiat can claim no right relationship wii.'i ui.it which 
 necessarily follows use.' 
 
 One might multiply tcstimonyasto the injury already 
 done to the floor of the valley were not the later boards' 
 
 ' See p. 667 of the prcucnt number of 1' 
 "itnictivc Tendencies in the Vt'sciiiitc V... 
 January, 1890. 
 
 c; al»o ■■ De- 
 Centi'by for 
 
79S 
 
 TOPICS OF THE TIME. 
 
 lack of respect for the plainest principles of the 
 treatment of landscape already notorious in California 
 through teslimony before an investigating committee 
 of the California legislature — testimony abundantly 
 supported by photographs of the injury done. 
 
 These later sins of commission might long ago have 
 been avoided were it not for the sins of omission of 
 earlier boards. Mr. Frederick Law Olmsted, the dis- 
 tinguished landscape forester, and a member of the 
 first Vosemite Commission, was once officially invited 
 to suggest a plan for making the valley available to 
 the public. Mr. Olmsted's suggestions contemplated 
 as little alteration to the natural growth as would be 
 consistent with a public use which would not impair 
 the sentiment of wildness and grandeur characteristic 
 of the valley. His suggestions, however, though 
 formally presented, were not only not adopted, but 
 were never even printed in full. Had these been fol- 
 lowed, visitors to the Vosemite in the past few years 
 would not annually have seen the spectacle of the most 
 phenomenal of the national pleasure grounds igno- 
 rantly hewed and hacked, sordidly plowed and fenced, 
 and otherwise treated on principles of forestry which 
 would disgrace a picnic ground. 
 
 Following Mr. Olmsted, another distinguished mem- 
 ber of the first board. Prof. J. D. Whitney of Har- 
 vard University-, for several years State Geologist of 
 California, made further efforts to place the valley 
 under systematic and proper supervision. Of his suc- 
 cess Professor \\'hitney has lately written : 
 
 As chairman of the executive committee of the Vo- 
 semite Commission for several years, thwarted in every 
 effort to carry out liberal, honest, and Christian ideas in 
 regard to the management of the valley, finding my path 
 blocked at all times by legislatures and courts, I have no 
 confidence that anything could orwould be gained bymak- 
 ing any further conveyance of United States property to 
 the State of California. If the Vosemite could be taken 
 from the State and made a national reservation I should 
 have some hope that some good might be accomplished. 
 I have no idea that the State will ever manage the matter 
 as it ought to be, and I should regret to see the limits of 
 the grant extended. 
 
 A member of the present commission made very 
 clear the issue between the friends and the enemies of 
 reform when he said that he would rather have the 
 advice of a Vosemite road-maker in the improvement 
 of the valley than that of Mr. Frederick Law Olm- 
 sted. Since the Vosemite is unique among pleasure 
 grounds, it is at one time assumed by this commis- 
 sioner that Mr. Olmsted would make the valley a mar- 
 vel of potted plants, and at another time that his love 
 of wildness would lead him to import decayed and 
 picturesque tree trunks ; the fact being that no mem- 
 ber of the commission has shown any conception of 
 the principles upon which the modern treatment of 
 nature in making it available to man is professionally 
 carried on. The protest of the friends of reform is 
 clear enough, and is not capable of being mistaken. It 
 is simply that the Vosemite Valley is too great a work 
 of nature to be marred by the intrusion of farming 
 operations or of artificial effects. 
 
 Judging from the published reports of the meeting 
 of the Vosemite Commission in the valley in June of 
 the present year, steps are now being taken to put into 
 operation a scheme to uproot and destroy the under- 
 growth, brush, and trees of the last forty years — a 
 
 policy which Mr. Olmsted has declared would result, 
 if carried out, in "a calamity to the civilized world." 
 It is difficult to believe the commission sincere in the 
 exaggerated fear of a conflagration in Vosemite, which 
 is given as the reason for this policy ; for, as the reader 
 will see by reference to the illustrations of Mr. Muir's 
 article in The Centlry for August, there has been 
 permitted a pernicious system of trimming up the young 
 conifers to so considerable a height as to destroy the 
 beauty of the trees, while the dry brush and the lopped 
 limbs have been left lying upon the ground, where the 
 writer of this article saw them in June, 1889. Assum- 
 ing the danger from fire to be an actual one, it would 
 seem to be better to spend one's energies in prevent- 
 ing the beginning of a conflagration than to destroy 
 the beauty of the valley by cutting out what at most 
 would be but a small part of the combustible material. 
 But even if it were necessary to make extensive alter- 
 ations by means of the ax, does this lessen to any de- 
 gree the necessity for expert knowledge in the opera- 
 tion ? Members of the commission have publicly 
 discussed the matter as though the question to be con- 
 sidered were the stoutness of the axman, and not the 
 effect of his work to the eye. After this, the quali- 
 fications of the "experienced foresters" whom they 
 expect to consult in their avowed policy of slaughtering 
 the young growth in the valley may easily be imagined ; 
 they are certainly not such as will commend themselves 
 to the respect and confidence of the public. 
 
 So far The Century has confined its protest 
 against Vosemite management in this matter solely to 
 the lack of expert supervision of the scenery. As to the 
 causes which lie behind, and have for years preceded, 
 the lamentable condition of affairs in the valley, Cali- 
 fornians have every reason to be intelligent. It is de- 
 voutly to be hoped for the good name of the State 
 that it will not be necessary to transfer to the halls of 
 Congress the scandals of California's capitol. If this 
 shall not he necessary, it will probably be due to the 
 fact that the next legislature of the State will be 
 awakened to a sense of its responsibility in the matter. 
 Meanwhile it is easy to see that the fire which endangers 
 the Vosemite is not so much the unextinguished embers 
 of the wandering camper as the all-consuming flame 
 of politics, which nowhere burns with a fiercer or more 
 withering heat than in the noble State of California. 
 
 Misgovernment of Cities. 
 
 Why are American cities so generally misgoverned, 
 and what is the remedy? These are questions which 
 have been discussed almost constantly for many years, 
 and the discussion has produced many plans for re- 
 form, some of which have been tried, but none of which 
 has resulted in the establishment of anything more 
 than a temporary and limited improvement. One set 
 of reformers has maintained that the only way by w hich 
 approximately good government could be secured was 
 by the concentration of power in the hands of one ex- 
 ecutive, or at most of an executive and a few heads of 
 departments. Another set has maintained that such 
 concentration would lead surely to an aggravation of 
 all our worst evils, and that the only road to reform 
 lay in division of responsibility and power among the 
 executive and legislative and administrative branches. 
 Others have maintained that local rule was bad under 
 
TO CAI.IlokXIA IX 1S49 'lllkol (.11 Mi:XK"(). 
 
 — . California with its 
 /^ miiiesof gold, and 
 how soonest to get 
 there was the rul- 
 ing excitement of 
 the hour, in the fall 
 of 1 848. The "gold 
 
 it V ^- r^i^H "> ^*^^^^" ^v^s at its 
 
 j^'mL^ s:'!) height. Many de- 
 
 ^"^ ^ sire{i to go gokl- 
 
 hunting that could 
 not for want of 
 i.L i^ • ^fc^^>>j money, an<l many 
 W^' ^B^^^^^S^^ tli'it li^^<^l ^h*-' where- 
 withal could not 
 abandon families, 
 homes, and busi- 
 ness with any de- 
 gree of self-ap- 
 proval. So in many in- 
 stances the matter wascom- 
 jiromised, and he who could 
 spare the cash (and sometimes 
 he that could not) entered into 
 agreement with the impecunious but enter- 
 l)rising adventurer who desired to go, to fur- 
 nish him the means, the jjroceeds to be shared 
 between them on his return. Had the gold- 
 hunters kept faith with their bankers and 
 shared all they obtained, it would have been 
 another case of fisherman and gate-keeper. 
 The fisherman, it will be remembered, was 
 denied admittance to the castle with a splen- 
 di<l fish, of which he knew the lord of the cas- 
 tle was fond, until he agreed to give half he 
 received to the obstinate gate-keeper. Once 
 admitted, he refused to dispose of it to the 
 master except for one hundred lashes. He 
 was compelled to explain, and received one- 
 half lightly laid on, while the gate-keeper re- 
 ceived the other half laid on with vigor. Could 
 the i)ioneer have given to his stay-at-home 
 partner one-half of the hardships, dangers, 
 diseases, shipwrecks, extreme hunger, and ilire 
 distresses he endured he would doubtless have 
 been willing to share the gold also. 
 
 Hut these arrangements enabled thousands 
 of energetic and fearless men to start on the 
 pilgrimage for gold in many ways. One of 
 these, which I am about to narrate, was the 
 formation of a company of two hundred ad- 
 venturous spirits fitted out in New-York. The 
 plan was to go by sea to Vera Cruz, Mexico, 
 thence overland to the Pacific coast at San 
 lilas or Mazatlan, and in the absence of ves- 
 
 666 
 
 sels at these ports to continue the journey of 
 two thousand miles by land through .Mexico, 
 Lower and L'pjier California to the mines. A 
 l)art of the company embarked from San HIas, 
 a ])art from Mazatlan, and a jjart made the 
 entire journey overland from Vera Cruz. 
 
 This company, mostly c()mi>osed of picked 
 young men, was organized under the compre- 
 hensive title of the " Manhattan-California 
 Overland Association," and numbered about 
 two hundred members. We were full of a san- 
 guine spirit of adventure and eager to dig our 
 fortunes from the mines in the shortest i)Ossil)le 
 time. We were fitted out with very wide- 
 brimmed soft hats, boots of rubber or leather 
 reaching above the knee, woolen and rubber 
 blankets, red flannel shirts, a liberal supply of 
 tin pans for washing out the gold, shovels, picks, 
 spades, crowbars, camp-kettles, frying-pans, tin 
 ])lates, tin cups, daguerreotyjies, locks of hair. 
 Spanish books, a few patent gold- washers, musi- 
 cal instruments, etc., the mo.st of which assort- 
 ment was early scattered along the Mexican 
 trails or in the chaparral, or jjcrhaps sold to the 
 natives for a few small coins. To these were 
 added rifles, carbines, shot-guns, revolvers, and 
 bowie-knives, to which we clung closely all 
 the way. We chartered the bark Mara, Cap- 
 tain Parks, in ballast, of some two hundred 
 tons, fitted her hold with a flooring and two 
 tiers of double bunks all around her sides, 
 jjlaced a cook-stove amidsliip in the hold with 
 the i)ipe projecting from the open hatchway, 
 provisioned her at our own expense with van- 
 
 '7-4 'i 
 
 / 1 
 
 V*.- '1 
 
 "OM, Sl'SANNAM, l>ON T VOU t NV l-OK MB. 
 
Vol. XUr.— 85. 
 
TO cAfjroRxiA /.v iSn; T/rA'Ofi;// Mf'.xrro. 
 
 667 
 
 oils sea -stores of the < omiiion sort, beans an<l ol the most cinpliatic oatlis, \vhi( It he freely 
 
 pork.sah l)eef, hams, Iliac kerel, sea-liread, <(»f liesloweil ti|)<in us. 
 
 tee, aiul a sujiply of water, and were ready for Amcjiig our number, gathered on the ves- 
 the voyage. scl's deck at the wharf, \va.s one young man 
 We provided no cook, as we were all earnest of striking [jhysicjuc, very tall, wearing a broad 
 on the score of economy and self-denial, and sombrero antl boots reaching to his hips and 
 our outlay thus far for the voyage to Vera C"ru/ already fitted with spurs for the .Mexican 
 was but twenty dollars each. We presented a mustang he expected to ride, and with buck- 
 remarkable appearance as we boarded the bark skin gauntlets reaching to his elbows, and two 
 
 / ■ 
 
 *n-i 
 
 '.--.fW?5l 
 
 11 'J^^rr. 
 
 I 4 
 
 
 7 
 
 THE CATHEUKAI. AND IIARIIOK OK VKRA CRl'Z. 
 
 at the foot of Burling Slip on the last day of 
 January, 1849, every man in full Califfjrnia 
 costume, his armament in his belt — boots and 
 buckskin gaunlleted gloves, a roll of blankets 
 strapped <i la militaire on his shoulders, a car- 
 bine or rifle slung ujion his back, and frying- 
 pans, coft'ee-pots, camp-kettles, anil assorted 
 tinware in his hanils. The bark had a poop- 
 deck on her quarter in which were a few small 
 rooms for which lots were drawn, and I was 
 lortunate in drawing one, which freed me from 
 the confinement of the packed and darkened 
 bunks of the vessel's hold, with its foul atmo- 
 sphere of bilge-water and heated humanity. 
 
 Captain Parks enlisted but a small crew, de- 
 pending on volunteers, but he was wisely i»ro- 
 vide«l with his own cook and caboose. His 
 cook had a remarkable personality: a light 
 copper-colored negro over six feet in height, 
 exceedingly slim, gaunt and gray, wrinkled and 
 crippled, with but one eye. three fingers on one 
 hand and none on the other, and with a vo- 
 cabulary in Knglish which consisted entirely 
 
 revolvers and a bowie-knife in his broad belt. 
 He was very conspicuous as he mounted the 
 vessel's shroutis, crejit through the '* lubber- 
 hole " and posed in the main-top, and then 
 clambered down again to the deck. " All 
 aboard ! " was cried, '* and all ashore that 's 
 going," was the usual paradoxical warning. 
 Many friends were on the wharf to .say good- 
 by and wish us pleasant things; kisses were 
 being exchanged, w hile a jovial group on the 
 ([uarler-deck was vociferously singing: 
 
 Oil, Susannali, don't you cry for me ; 
 I 'in bound for Californy with my tin pan on my 
 knee, 
 
 w hen a pretty, fair-haired girl, her rosy cheeks 
 wet with tears, put up her lips that our booted 
 hero might impart his farewell kiss. His heart 
 was tentier if his boots were large, and, just as 
 we were casting loose from the wharf, he 
 sprang upon the deck, threw his baggage 
 ashore, and followed it with agility, renouncing 
 for love all his goMen visions of California. 
 
TO CALnOR.\L\ l.\ 1S4.J ///A'Ol <;// M l:\ICO. 
 
 GC( 
 
 Down tlic liav \vc s|i(.'<l, with the tugboat 
 alongside and the 1 horns (jf " Susannah " ring- 
 ing over the waters, to which was ad<led the 
 retrain : 
 
 Rut the happy time is over ; 
 I 'vc only grief and pain, 
 Kur I sliall never, never sec 
 Susannah dear again, 
 
 which was concluded with three ringing cheers 
 and a hurrah for California as the tug left us 
 on the l)roa<l Atlantic. A gale speedily sprang 
 u|), and all night long our ligiilly ballasted 
 bark rolled hither and thither upon the heav- 
 ing seas, and many i)enitential landsmen, under 
 the influence of their first seasickness, wished 
 they had never left their homes, and were freely 
 urged by the more jolly ones to wade ashore. 
 
 Hy the next morning's light was revealed a 
 dejected an<l motley group of seasick humanity 
 taking its first sea lessons on old Neptune's 
 dominions. .\nd now came a culmination of 
 our miseries. W'e had jjork, beans, (oftee, and 
 hardtack, but where was the cook ? How were 
 two hundred men w ith stoma( hs now in a state 
 of entire vacuum to be ici\ with hot coffee and 
 cooked rations? In times of emergency the 
 N'ankee always calls a public meeting, and .so 
 a mass meeting was convened ; and, after 
 speeches had been made, it was decided to ac- 
 cept the proposal of two of our number, who 
 for a valuable consideration volunteered to 
 cook for the two hundred till we should reach 
 \'era Cruz. Thenceforth, after a period of fast- 
 ing, we had one lunch a day, when the sea was 
 n(jt too rough, till our voyage was ended, on 
 tile 24th day of February. 
 
 The writer must leave it to the imagina- 
 tion of the reader to divine what the 200, con- 
 fined on that small vessel for twenty-four days, 
 did in the way of mischief. Once only on 
 the voyage did the boisterous spirits on board 
 re(juire discipline. This the good, but sorely 
 tried. Captain Parks administered by ordering 
 the bark " laid to." This was effective, as 
 every one was in haste to reach California 
 before the gold should all be " dug out," and 
 dreaded delay. 
 
 We arrived off the coast of Mexico just as the 
 evening sun was descending amid the golden 
 clouds over the mountain peaks. Hanked b\ 
 dark and somber ma.sses, the snow-crowned 
 ( )ri/aba, or star mountain, set high in the blue 
 lieavens, flashing as with a coronal of dia 
 inonds. 'I'wo snow-white birds of flowing 
 l)lumage came oft" from the yet distant land, 
 and with an easy and grateful movement of 
 their wings circled around our mastheads, and 
 then flew straight landward again. They were 
 the mariners' pilot-birds of the tropics come 
 to guide us ashore. It was Sunday morning 
 
 when we dri)|)ped an< hor near St. Juan de 
 I'lloa, with its (juaint ancient tower, and the 
 ( ity of Vera ("ru/.'just before us. 
 
 'I"he uniformed customs officials speedily 
 boarded us from a small boat, and while the 
 ( langing of some scores of music al Spanish 
 bells from the cathedral towers filled the air. 
 the offic ers were entertained by an encounter 
 between two ai our pugnacious gold-hunters, 
 who struck vigorously from the shoulder. We 
 received a speedy permission to land, as the 
 officials did not a])pear to enjov our c om- 
 panionshij). Sunday was passed in lo(jking at 
 the sights in the old Sj)anish city, battered and 
 bombarded as it had been two years before by 
 the artillery of (ieneral .Scott. Walls and build- 
 ings constructed of coral rocks were shattered 
 as he had left them, fragments of bombs and 
 solid shot lay about the streets where his can- 
 non had fired them, and along the beach were 
 numerous dilapidated wrecks of surf-boats 
 where he had abandoned them. Numerous 
 army wagons, caissons, and artillery carriages 
 were scattered about, and thousands of Yan- 
 kee-made pack-saddles were offered us for our 
 journey. These and much other paraphernalia, 
 tlie production of army contractors, had only 
 served the purpose intended — that of enrich- 
 ing the contractors. The only pack-saddle 
 found useful was the Mexican one, consisting 
 of two great jjillows of leather connected and 
 hung astride the mule, and weighing without 
 the " cargo " some eighty pounds, on top of 
 which or susjjended from it would be a loail 
 of some two hundred pounds. 
 
 As Vera Cruz is in a section of sand, cactus, 
 and lizards, surrounded by a large tract of 
 chaparral, messengers were sent to the near- 
 est ranches and haciendas to announce that 
 an arrival of " Los Yankees" was in want of 
 horses, mules, and "burros." We were con- 
 strained to remain for the night in the yel- 
 low-fever-j)roducing city among its so-called 
 " greasers " (as our soldiers had termed them). 
 This we pa.s.sed in a caravansary, the first 
 floor of which was packed with two hundred 
 head of pac k-mules and "burros." We spread 
 our blankets on the boards of the second floor, 
 disturbing large colonies of fleas who held pre- 
 emption rights, and who resisted our encroac h- 
 ment by furious onslaughts on every i)art of 
 our bodies. There were openings in the wall 
 of our room but no windows, and from below, 
 the whole night through, there was one con- 
 tinual braying and u|)roar from tin- two hun- 
 dred hungry mules. Nothing could parallel 
 this first night iu Mexico but a page of 
 hante's " Inferno." 
 
 .As our war with .Mexico had just closed, 
 and the ignorant nia.s.ses yet held us in the 
 same enmity with which they had regarded 
 
670 TO CALIFORNIA IN 1849 THROUGH MEXICO. 
 
 their concjuerors, matters did not look favora- terprise, who had professed to be a veteran 
 ble for a peaceful passage over the whole ex- Mexican traveler and who was to act as gen- 
 tent of Mexico, especially a's we expected to eralissimo of the whole, had failed to report on 
 follow the route taken by Scott's army, and to board the Mara, so a mass meeting was con- 
 pass over battle-fields where, as we learned, vened at Santa Fe, and with very brief speech- 
 bleached skeletons lay still unburied. The makingthewriterwaschosen to take command 
 government, in fact, the whole country, was yet of the expedition. On calling the roll it was 
 in a state of demoralization, and guerrillas and found that one member had been left in Vera 
 robbers infested almost every mile of the way. Cruz, having been thrown skyward from his 
 Besides this, merchants of intelligence in Vera horse and somewhat injured. Wishing toaban- 
 Cruz warned us that we were almost sure to be don none, I called for a volunteer and started 
 robbed and murdered, that if we should escape back to the city (ten miles through deep sand 
 this fate we could not find provisions on our lined with a growth of chaparral) to escort 
 journey for men or beasts, and that we would our comrade out to camp. The volunteer 
 most surely break down our animals, and be was a Mr. Pierce, who had been a member of a 
 glad to resort to horse or mule meat to sustain company of cavalry at home and had brought 
 life. Impressed by these tales (which found with him his long cavalry sword, which he 
 fulfilment to some extent even as to mule meat, secured in a dangling position from the horn 
 with rattlesnakes added), about fifty of the most of his saddle. His steed was not used to such 
 pronounced and boastful among our company an appendage, and soon the rider was rolling 
 took a return passage on the vessel for New in the sand in one direction and the horse in 
 York. another. As the way was beset with guerrillas, 
 
 On Monday Mexican horse-traders pre- I gave my horse a free rein and spur ; and with 
 
 sented themselves, in comparison with whom a ready revolver in one hand rode into the city 
 
 the sharpest Yankee horse-jockey sunk into and safely brought my comrade out to the 
 
 utter insignificance. They drove in before them, camp. 
 
 with a " whoop la "and a Comanche yell, cara- At this first camp we divided into " messes," 
 vansof horses and mules that included not only bought and distributed a Mexican beef, and 
 the halt and the maimed, the lame and the cooked our first meals. We made our first start 
 blind, but also some of the most vicious and for a day's march on the morning of the 
 worthless brutes that were ever collected to- 28th day of February. The first camp-fires, 
 gether — galled and chafed, sore-backed, buck- the cooking, the saddling-up, the loading of 
 ers, jumpers, and balky. Yet with wonderful skill baggage and equipments on the vicious, kick- 
 the owners of these gothic animals covered up ing, biting mustangs and donkeys, and the 
 and disguised their defects and their vicious final mount and start were altogether beyond 
 tricks, so that in most cases the deception and description. Besides the rider, they had to 
 trickery were not discovered till the vendors carry two blankets, his mining tools, coffee-pot, 
 were well on their way to their ranches again, camp-kettle, and frying-pan laid on or hanging 
 From twenty-five to forty dollars, or pesos, each from his saddle, and his bag of tin cups, spoons, 
 was paid by anxious buyers for animals which and tin plates, and his gun, rifle, or carbine slung 
 the owners would have been glad to sell for on his back, and a variety of other articles sup- 
 one-quarter the money. We found that these posed to be essential. Don Quixote and Sancho 
 mustangs could with equal facility throw the Panza joined to Falstaff's regiment would not 
 rider over their heads, or kick him off to the have presented half so motley a group. The 
 rear,orshoot him upward, or lie down abruptly, rattle of tinware and the orders and the 
 or take out a liberal piece of his flesh, and yet shouting in an unknown tongue excited the 
 under the manipulation of the ranch owner wild and half-broken mustangs to madness, 
 they had been as docile and gentle as could I soon had to organize a rear-guard under 
 be desired. Captain Pierce to pick up stragglers, help re- 
 
 However, our passports having been vised load broken cargoes, and lift stubborn and 
 and each man mounted, and some several refractory mules to their feet. It was also 
 times dismounted, by Monday night we reached necessary constantly to halt the column, know- 
 as best we could a general rendezvous or ing well that a man who should be left out of 
 camping-place at Santa Fe, a group of huts sight in the rear would be speedily gobbled up 
 some ten miles from Vera Cruz, and passed by the watchful robbers trailing after us. Along 
 our first night on our blankets with the ground the day's route, as all the way across the whole 
 for a bed and the heavens for a shelter tent, of Mexico, we found wooden crosses, indicating 
 On the vessel we had organized into four that a murder had been committed there. This 
 divisions, each with a captain at its head, first day's ride of ten miles brought us to a 
 known as the New Jersey, Island City, Enter- stream known as Murderer's Den. Here, be- 
 prise, and Pacific. The originator of the en- fore starting from camp in the morning, a detail 
 
TO CAl.UVRMA IX /.s'./y rHKOrCII MI-XICO. 
 
 fi"]} 
 
 A MEXICAN HORSE-TRADER. 
 
 of organization was made, and by adopting a 
 rigid military disciplint.', and discarding worth- 
 less incumbrances in the way of mining tools, 
 gold-washers, etc., I was able to train my 
 \.xoo\) so that when the trail was not very rough 
 or mountainous over twenty Mexican leagues 
 a day was made between cam[)s. As we left 
 the low-lying, malarious sea-coast, our road and 
 climate both im])roved, and on the first Satur- 
 day we camped for rest over Sunday in the 
 suburbs of the beautiful city of Jalapa, a city 
 of fruits and flowers, of which the Mexican 
 proverb says: "See Jalapa and die." 
 
 Hefore starting again on .Monday morning 
 many exchanges for better animals took place, 
 and abetter outfit generally was provided, and 
 a more cheerful spirit prevailed. Here our 
 horses and riding mules were shod, a neces- 
 sary preliminary to crossing the mountain 
 ranges. I f the mule was not too refractory, this 
 was managed by tying one of his hind legs to 
 his tail, well up from the ground, but if he was 
 intractable he was left but two feet to staml 
 
 ujion, the opposite forefoot being tied close 
 under the l)ody. 
 
 On the jila/.a of Jalapa tlie lujstilc feeling 
 against the Yankees had its first outbreak. A 
 great crowd gathered about the red-shirted 
 horsemen as we rode into the jjlaza on Sunday, 
 and a rush was made by the mob to dismount 
 us and drive us from our saddles. lUit a vig- 
 orous charge prom|)(ly made against the mob 
 with threatening revolvers drove them back 
 and gave safe escajie to the hard-jiressed horse- 
 men. Through the villages of the country parts 
 we were received bv the si-fioras and sefwrUas 
 with kindness, but by the males with frowns 
 and threats, and with the significant gesture 
 of a finger drawn across the throat. In no 
 place were we safe from attack except in grou|is 
 which commanded safety and respect. 'I'o 
 them in their ignorance we were still Yankees 
 and ioltiados. One night, a little way be- 
 yond Jalapa, our entrance into one of their 
 walled towns caused great excitement ; a gen- 
 eral alami was rung on the cathedral bells, 
 
Gy: 
 
 TO CALIFORNIA IN 184^ THROUGH MEXICO. 
 
 A SAMPLE STEED. 
 
 messengers rode out in haste to alarm the sur- 
 rounding haciendas, and natives flocked into 
 the town, two or three mounted on the back 
 of each mule, armed with escopeites. But we 
 remained close inside the strong gates of our 
 hacienda, and, the excitement subsiding, we 
 were allowed to leave without an attack early 
 the next day. Camp was aroused usually 
 at three o'clock in the morning; fires were 
 kindled, pots of coffee were boiled, and, when 
 possible, eggs {wavos) also. Then came a 
 march in military order of about twenty miles, 
 when halt was ordered for dinner, provided 
 water and corn were to be had for the horses. 
 Supplies of whatever could be purchased were 
 foraged for along the route, bananas and sweet 
 potatoes being the staple ; occasionally pork 
 could be had, and in the larger places very 
 poor beef, cut into long strips and sold always 
 by the yard. This tough beef was eaten by the 
 Mexicans cut first in small pieces and then 
 stewed in a quantity of red peppers resembling 
 stewed tomatoes (called came de Chili). If 
 our halt was made at a hacienda, the universal 
 national dish of " tortillas " and " frijoles " was 
 to be obtained, served with coffee, at three 
 cents a meal. But our hungry and robust riders 
 could dispose of many meals at a sitting, and 
 
 when camping and with a sufficient supply of 
 yards of meat to satisfy their hungry stomachs, 
 the quantity they fed themselves from their 
 frying-pans was not only an astonishment but 
 almost a horror to the natives, who crowded 
 our camp to see the show. Upon one occasion, 
 after a hard day's ride of over forty miles along 
 a route where supplies were not to be had, we 
 camped by aclear stream, where but a few native 
 huts of poles and branches sheltered the popula- 
 tion. Two priests, with a large, mule-drawn 
 carriage, were just in advance of us, and in re- 
 ceiving the monthly tithes for the church had 
 carried away all the wealth of the place, and 
 there was but one answer, to our calls for food, 
 " Nada, Seflor, tiada. No hai tortillas. No hai 
 frijoles." Lieutenant Gray, a stray soldier, who 
 had been left adrift in Mexico, volunteered to 
 bring me some supper from among the vil- 
 lagers. In utter fatigue, I threw myself upon 
 tlie ground in one of the huts, and was soon 
 in a deep slumber. At about eleven o'clock 
 Gray returned and awakened me. The hut 
 was crowded full of men and women gazing 
 at me with great interest, but they were care- 
 ful to keep at a safe distance from me. Gray 
 explained his stratagem thus : He had told 
 them the capitan was a great warrior, anil had 
 
TO CALFFORNIA IN 1841; TffROUGIf MEXICO. 
 
 673 
 
 catciithc prisoners he took in l)attlc ; that I was and in platoons at doiihle (|uick (:liar},'c<l to- 
 
 \ cry hungry and would also eat corn and hay, wards the guerrillas, l\vidently a fight with 
 
 but liked eggs and onions better. He brought the hated Yankees in red shirts was not what 
 
 eggs, onions, antl salt, leaving outside a sujjply tiiey liesired, for as we came within short 
 
 of corn and hay for me to eat, an operation range,their leader gave the word *'r<7///r>j," and 
 
 which the ignorant but curious natives had away they galloped down the ravine helter- 
 
 come to witness. So far as the boiled eggs and skelter, and we saw them no more. We ( er- 
 
 (inions were concerned, being my first meal of tainly were not a handsome crowd at this time, 
 
 the day, I was glad to be able to gratify them. At National P.ridge we saw the wreckage 
 
 In cami)ing for the night, sentries were sta- 
 tioned, and pickets were posteil, and the ani- 
 mals were secured with lariats inside the 
 picket line, but sometimes, when guerrillas 
 
 and the unburie<l bones of thatbattle-field, and 
 looked with wonder upon the fortified height 
 that guarded the entrance of the almost per- 
 ])cndicular heights up which Colonel Harney's 
 
 abounded, in the center of the camp. Once dismounted dragoons workeii their way with 
 only did these ladroues make an open demon- the help of bushes and props, and to which they 
 
 A «\\SI|i 
 
 >lrati()n. \\ c were in a section of country 
 covered with low bushes, in which jack-rab- 
 bits, wild turkeys, and other game were pres- 
 ent. No towns were near, and. feeling secure, 
 a large part of the company was scattered in 
 l)ursuit of the game, hoping to secure enough 
 to fill our camp-kettles on our next halt, for 
 we had been some days on short rations. The 
 Mexican women were always friendly, and 
 presently some were met on the trail, calling 
 out to us: "■' f.aJn»u-s .' iiuhcnrs .' '' and i)oint- 
 ing forward on our i)ath. At this our strag- 
 glers were called in. The robbers were a large 
 band of well-mounted and well-armed men, 
 and had fileil across our road in the bed of 
 an tinvva or dr)- stream. To fight as a troop 
 of cavalry with camp ecjuipage and cooking- 
 utensils dangling from our sa<ldles, or to wait 
 a charge from them, would have been sure 
 defeat. So I tlismounted a part of my troop, 
 Vol. XI, 1 1. —86. 
 
 clung in the face of a sweei)ing fire from the 
 Mexican batteries on its summit, which they 
 captured with a rush, turning their own guns 
 upon the artillerists as they ran down the 
 opi)osite side of the hill. We feared having to 
 force our way over this bridge, but were not 
 molested. 
 
 Upon the heightsof C'erroCiordo we camped 
 for our noonday meal. Upon its central battle- 
 field, where Santa Anna made his most stub- 
 born fight, we kindled our camp-fires, and. 
 ilip|)ing water from its sunken pools co\ered 
 with slimy green vegetation, we drank our 
 coffee under the shade of the same trees where 
 the desperately wounded lay to die, glad of the 
 luxury of that stagnant i)Ool to (juench their 
 thirst. It was the best those heights afforded 
 amid that deathlv struggle. .Ml around us lav 
 scattered uncofiined bones, and ghastly skulls 
 looked down upon us where in mockery they 
 
TO CALIFORNIA IN 184^ THROUGH MEXICO. 
 
 674 
 
 had been secured among the branches of tlie 
 trees, and everywhere earth and trees and 
 broken armament gave silent witness of the 
 awful struggles of our little army. All the way 
 up the heights for miles the pine trees from the 
 roadside yet obstructed the national road as 
 they had been felled to hinder the onward 
 march of our soldiers, while from point to point 
 the Mexican troops and batteries were rallied 
 for another stand. We left the historic spot 
 with a triumphant three times three and with 
 
 very sides ; they seemed almost to cling to us 
 for safety. It was Saturday afternoon, and we 
 found welcome shelter in the hacienda Buena 
 Vista near the mountain summit, a spot made 
 historic afterward as a place of refuge for the 
 unfortunate Emperor Maximilian. 
 
 We found the whole mountain-summit in- 
 fested with guerrillas. We were on the highway 
 of travel and not far from the City of Mexico, 
 and in this section these lawless bands were ac- 
 customed to make the boldest and most sue- 
 
 I 
 
 SHOEING A iMl'LE. 
 
 uncovered heads in honor both of our dead 
 and our living heroes. 
 
 We were soon well up the Rio Frio moun- 
 tains, and were received near the summit by 
 a terrible war of the elements in the pine forest 
 — thunder, lightning, rain, hail, snow, intense 
 cold, and a howling hurricane. We were 
 drenched through and through, and shook as 
 with an ague, and our poor animals, used to 
 the warm plains below, chilled with cold and 
 in terror from fright, trembled in every limb 
 and crouched helplessly upon the ground, 
 dazed by the lightning and shocked by the 
 thunder which seemed to discharge at our 
 
 cessful raids either upon mounted travelers or 
 upon the diligencia, which was iieriodically 
 and helplessly plundered, often with the addi- 
 tion of wanton murder. I felt justified in tak- 
 ing possession of the hacienda; posted my own 
 sentries, and picketed it for some distance out- 
 side, obliging its own proprietor and employees 
 to come and go by my permission and only 
 with the password. By Sunday morning, for 
 the safety of my troop, I found it expedient to 
 leave this stronghold (as I learned we were 
 largely outnumbered) and make a hasty march 
 to Mexico City, which we safely accomplished. 
 Even under these circumstances it was a sub- 
 
77) C If.// l)/<\/.t /.V iS^,) 77//kUU'(;// \// \/iU. 
 
 ^■'75 
 
 lime cxpcricnrc In riili' down that moiiii- 
 taiii la'ij,'lu — Mounts I'opoc ata|»ctl aTi<l 
 I/.tacxiluiatl l)()lli looking down upon us, 
 tlie great valley and City of Mexico in full 
 \ icw l)clo\v us, and a thunder shower witli 
 its dark nimbus clouds and forked ligiil- 
 ning full in the sunshine under us. On the 
 way down the mountain we saw three 
 guerrillas hanging from a frame by tlu' 
 roadside by ropes passed under their arms. 
 \\'e stoj)|)etl for our lunch at noon, ami 
 were entertained by a company of Mexi- 
 can rangers or lancers, handsomely uni- 
 formed and armed with a long spear witli 
 a red ])ennant and the indispensable lasso 
 of raw-hide, and mounted on sui)erior. 
 hardy Mexican horses. 'I'hey hail captured, 
 and, without the form of judge or jury, had 
 riddled with bullets and afterward hanged 
 the three rt)bbers we hatl passed on theway- 
 siile. With their gay trappings of silver- 
 ornamented riding outfit, their swarthy 
 fai es, black hair, fierce mustaches, and fiery 
 eyes, the lancers were well calculated to 
 affright the souls of fearful adversaries. 
 Their favorite method of attack was to 
 throw the lasso over their victim, then with 
 their well-trained horses to jerk him from the 
 
 
 
 ' LADRONR. 
 
 prompt interference of others, lives would un- 
 doul)tedly have been lost and our travels would 
 
 saddle, drag him to death over the ground, or in have ended inside prist -n walls. This made 
 
 mercy lance mm. liy their invitation I stood 
 at a considerable distance from them to test 
 their skill w ith the lasso. By the utmost agility 
 I was utterly unable to escape its folds. 
 .Across the valley of Mexico, j)ictures(iue 
 
 our longer stay in the city l)oth uncomfortable 
 and hazardous, and once again we mounted 
 our now rested .steeds for the trip to the Pacific. 
 Dissatisfied with my purpose to halt on Sun- 
 davs for rest and to ret ruit the horses, .some 
 
 with parallel rows of the century plant, which thirtyof the company now detached themselves 
 
 furnishes the national «lrink oi pulque^ we en 
 tered through open gates the ancient city of 
 •Monte/uma. not long before coniiuered and 
 evacuated by the small army of the United 
 States. We fijund (luarters in a comfortable 
 hacienda, while the numerous fondas of the 
 city furnished refreshment and i)ul(iue. Puhjue 
 is the lager beer of Mexico. It is everywhere 
 transported on the backs of mules in skins of 
 hogs stripped from them in some mysterious 
 
 from my command. They were in haste to 
 reach California before the gold was all "dug 
 out," and consideretl sue h halting a waste of 
 time. So they bade us good-by and started at 
 a ra])id gait in atlvance. 
 
 On this i)art of the journey we had an illu.s- 
 tration of justice in an alcalde's court. Two 
 of our men, w ho dift'ered about the ownership 
 of a mule, agree<l to arbitrate before the al- 
 calde of the village where thev chan( ed to be. 
 
 way by which legs and all are utilized for a One claimant .slipped a ^2.^0 gold piece in 
 great bottle. 
 
 On the following day the antipathy to 
 Americans was shcnvn on the public pla/a 
 near the great cathedral, during the passage 
 of a religious procession of the Host preceded 
 by the ringing of a bell. Kvery one within 
 hearing indoors or on the street reverently 
 knelt where he was, removed his hat, and made 
 the sign of the cross. This was not regarded 
 by the gold-hunters, who stood erect, curiously 
 
 the alcalde's hand, and a si)eedy decision was 
 rendere<l in his favor, .\fter leaving the town 
 a short di>tancethe other claimant rode back, 
 put a $5 gold piece in the alcalde's hand, and 
 speedilv came back with a decision written 
 out in iiis tavor and reversing the other. 
 
 .\fter a long day's man h we reached Celaya, 
 a walled town oi" some six thousand inhabi- 
 tants. The i)eople were decidedly hostile, and 
 the alcalde sent me a summons to appear be- 
 
 gazing at the scene. At once they were set fore him, and commanded that I should make 
 
 upon i)y those nearest them, dragged to their no attempt to leave the town l>efore sunrise, 
 
 knees, and their hats knocked off their heads, and that I should at once send one-half my 
 
 .\ mob cjuic kly gathered. The men resisted number to another town, some ten miles be- 
 
 with desperation," and had it not been for the yond, a town of about the .same .size a-s Celaya, 
 
676 
 
 TO CALIFORNIA IN 1849 THROUGH MEXICO. 
 
 adding tliat he would also send a messenger 
 with us to insure our safety, as otherwise we 
 were sure to be attacked. I replied that I 
 would not do so, that we asked no protection, 
 but if attacked would take care of ourselves. 
 He then gave an order to the proprietor of the 
 hacienda to hold us prisoners inside the fort- 
 ress (for a hacienda is also a fortress) until sun- 
 rise the next morning. At three o'clock I 
 called up and mounted my men, and then awak- 
 ened the keeper, and with a revolver placed at 
 his head persuaded him to unlock the barri- 
 cade, and we rode triumphantly out. The al- 
 calde's plan was to divide the troop, and with 
 the aid of the other town, where were some 
 troops, to get satisfaction for incidents of the 
 war. 
 
 Our journeying led us, on Saturday night, 
 to a small walled town not far from the large 
 city of Guadalajara. It had abundant orange 
 as well as banana groves, and a clear stream 
 swept along part of the town. Three hundred 
 miles, in part of rough mountainous travel, 
 had been made during the week ; and men 
 and horses were alike worn and weary and 
 glad of so enticing a place of rest. While sip- 
 ping a cup of coffee in the fonda on Sun- 
 day morning I heard the report of a gun in our 
 quarters and a messenger entered hurriedly to 
 
 say that young W (from New Jersey) had 
 
 shot himself dead. Our quarters wer"e at once 
 crowded by the excited natives, who desired to 
 administer summary punishment on us for what 
 they considered a murder. We held them oft" 
 till nightfall. As best we could we extempo- 
 rized a coftin from some rude boards, prepared 
 his body for burial, and I read over him the 
 burial service, and waiting till the town was 
 silent, in midnight darkness, we silently stole 
 out of the town and buried him in a secluded 
 spot, placing at the head of his grave a rude 
 wooden cross to preserve it from desecration. 
 
 We then made our escape in the early morn- 
 ing, and with sadness entered the great city 
 of Guadalajara. We arrived at about eleven 
 o'clock in the morning. A regiment of soldiers 
 were there on the way to chastise some rebel- 
 lious Indians. The presence of the soldiers 
 joined to the entrance of my company of one 
 hundred and fifty red-shirted, travel-worn, 
 armed troopers brought the excitement at once 
 to a demonstration. We had just reached a 
 hacienda when the cry of " Revolution ! — revo- 
 lution!" was raised. Soldiers discharged their 
 muskets in the streets, women screamed, men 
 hurriedly closed their places of business for 
 fear of robbery and joined in the excitement. 
 We shut and barricaded our fortress doors, fear- 
 ing that this was to be the end of our California 
 journey, while we were yet more than an hun- 
 dred miles from the seashore. With the popu- 
 
 lation opposed to them, every one of that 
 brave group of young men stood up to the 
 issue; their faces paled a httle, but weapons 
 were coolly got ready for a fray out of which 
 none expected to come alive. How the at- 
 tack upon us was ever held in check I never 
 learned, but a little after midnight we succeeded 
 in getting away unmolested. 
 
 The remainder of our journey brought us to 
 the commercial town of Tepic, whose trade 
 was with the seaport of San Bias, and we found 
 no further obstruction or enmity, as the inter- 
 course and interests of commerce had made the 
 people friendly to the American people. We 
 arrived at San Bias in excellent health and con- 
 dition, having lost but one of our number. In 
 port we providentially found the brig Cayuga, 
 Captain Savage, of some two hundred tons, 
 belonging to the firm of Pacific traders. How- 
 land & Aspinwall. Captain Savage, an Aus- 
 trian, had sailed her down the coast in ballast, 
 on the chance that some party of gold-hunters 
 might cross Mexico and require a vessel to 
 transport them to San Francisco. A contract 
 was soon entered into similar to the one with 
 Captain Parks, of the Mara. The hold of the 
 Cayuga was floored, and double bunks were 
 again provided with about three feet of space 
 from floor to deck. In the absence of water- 
 casks, red-wood or dug-out canoes filled with 
 supplies of water were stowed below the floor. 
 As before, we furnished our own sea-stores. 
 They consisted of old whalers' sea-bread, con- 
 demned after one voyage of three years to the 
 Arctic seas, well-filled with vermin, which, how- 
 ever, were rendered innocuous by being baked 
 over in a well-heated oven ; a supply of well- 
 
 rlEOfVt Brwrrsin-, 
 
 vO- 
 
 A MEXICAN RANGER. 
 
TO CA/./FOA'X/A IN iS4i} rifROrcif .\fEXICO. 
 
 677 
 
 sailed Mcxiran jerked beef as sold by llic yard, this small brig we had about one hundred and 
 
 sun-dried till it would have answered as well fifty men including our gold-diggers, besides 
 
 for harne>sdealher as f(jr food, with coflee and the ( rew, the horse, and a dozen goats. We 
 
 sugar for luxuries. These prcnisions were hail no tables, but ate our hardtack and jerkeil 
 
 placed in .sacks and stowed under the flooring, beef and drank our tin mugs of cofTee wher- 
 
 where they were always accessible through an ever and whenever we found it convenient, 
 open hatch. Upon the outer deck, just back (Jn the eighty-fourth day from New York. 
 
 of the foremast, was laid a temporary flooring anchor was weighed and we set sail for San 
 
 of brick without covering or protection fn^m Francisco. Hy this time all hardships were ac- 
 
 the weather or the sun, and this constitutetl c epted as a matter of course, and each man 
 
 our cooks' galley, each mess having its own made himself especially jolly over every new 
 
 cook. We paid Captain Savage $80 each as danger or deprivation that was encountered. 
 
 passage money, while the sea-stores cost us 
 $30 each. About 120 of our company took 
 part in this arrangement, thus paying the sum 
 of $9600 for the storage part of the brig and 
 $3600 more for our supplies and rations. .\s 
 water was an important factor for so large a 
 number at sea, in addition to the supply in 
 canoes in the hold, a very large < anoe was se- 
 cured on the brig's deck and fiUeil with water, 
 but for economy of stowage a deck of rough 
 boards covered it. In addition to our party 
 ( "aptain Savage had taken on board a full com- 
 l)lement of cabin passengers in the little rooms 
 on the after part of the brig. As these few aris- 
 tocrats of the voyage had paid fabulous prices 
 the captain had contracted to supply them with 
 fresh provisions, and for this puqjose a number 
 of goats were taken on boanl, which were duly 
 served on the cabin table. Added to these 
 Captain Savage, as a penjuisite, had embarked 
 a Mexican saddle-horse on deck, so that on 
 
 Put the old whalers' bread h.id t()l)c well Miaked 
 before it could be eaten, and the writer as well 
 as others lost teeth in the effort to masticate 
 it. On account of the saltness an<l toughness 
 of the jerked beef, it was found necessary to 
 attach it to ropes and tow it in the sea for 
 forty-eight hours before any attempt could be 
 made either to cook it or eat it without » (K»k- 
 ing. Sea-bathing may accomplish much good, 
 but it never yet made teniler Mexican jerked 
 beef. Our supjily certainly never temi)tetl the 
 most hungry shark in our course. The roll of 
 the sea and the tacking of our ship so far 
 emptied our canoes of water that all hands, 
 except the horse ami the goats, were put on 
 short allowance. Our captain, who was an 
 experienced navigator of those latitudes, and 
 anxious to be ri<l «)f us as soon as possible, de- 
 cided to take an indirect southwest course to 
 fall in with the trade wind, and so sailing in a 
 semi-circle to come into the Bay of San Fran- 
 
678 
 
 TO CALIFORNIA IN i84g THROUGH MEXICO. 
 
 cisco from the northwest. So we were j^romptly 
 put on an allowance of something over a pint 
 of water a day each, with which to make our 
 coffee, dampen our whalers' bread, and gratify 
 our thirst. Water of a red color and impreg- 
 nated with the peculiar odor and taste of the 
 canoes was served daily in this proportion to 
 each mess. But there was no grumbling. Did 
 we not already see the enticing ghtter of the 
 yellow gold in the mines of California ? 
 
 The time of the journey of the main company 
 was : 
 
 Days. 
 From New York by bark Mara to Vera Cruz ... 24 
 From Vera Cruz to embarkation on brig Cayuga ■ 60 
 Voyage on the Pacific to San Francisco 30 
 
 Total 
 
 114 
 
 The thirty seceders who left us at Mexico 
 City arrived at San Bias two weeks after our 
 
 A ilLylE CAKKlliK. 
 
 On one occasion, however, the water after 
 having been served to a mess was pilfered from 
 the bottles. It was suggested by Doctor Brin- 
 kerhoff( afterward the physician and surgeon of 
 Walker's Nicaragua Expedition), that the mess 
 should endure another day of thirst while he 
 should place a prescription in their water-bot- 
 tles. This was done with success, and the en- 
 suing day, although it was very calm, several 
 men (not members of the association) were ter- 
 ribly afflicted with an awful seasickness. The 
 remedy proved effective, and great respect was 
 paid thereafter to bottles of canoe water. 
 
 After thirty days on the Cayitga, we entered 
 the Golden Gate on the 14th day of May, 
 1849, ^^d I claim that we were the first organ- 
 ized body to reach that port both by sea and 
 land, although at that date a hundred sail of 
 vessels were at anchor in the harl)or. 
 
 party, most of them too late to be included in 
 the benefits of the Cniiga charter. Both men 
 and horses had broken down on the seven- 
 days-a-week system. They straggled into San 
 Bias, and continued their journey by land to 
 Mazatlan, 200 miles north. A few of those who 
 arrived first secured places on our brig, while 
 some of the main body, not having sutficient 
 funds, joined those who journeyed overland to 
 Mazatlan. Here they chartered a small coast- 
 ing schooner, provisioning her mostly with rice 
 and water. After thirty days' coasting, with the 
 alternation of land and sea breezes, their rice 
 being almost entirely exhausted, they found 
 themselves but 200 miles farther north on a 
 journey of some 2000 miles. One of them, 
 who was a Sabbath observer, sickened and 
 died, and was buried on the shore. The small 
 party then divided, a few continuing along the 
 
El.nJlN \f.\NSrO\'S h'/:l 71.1/ 
 
 •79 
 
 coast oil foot, while till- rest rcinaiiiol on the 
 vessel an«l, after untold Mifferinj^ from want of 
 food and water, six inontlis afterward arrived 
 at San Diego, where the schooner was con- 
 <lemned as unseaworthy, and the company 
 St altered, making their way to San Francisco 
 as l)est they could, poor in pocket and broken 
 in health and ambition. 'I'hose who landed 
 prosed onward on foot, mostly through a 
 l)arren ami desert country, devoid of food, 
 water or game, with their faces resolutely set 
 towards the magnet of the gold inines. When 
 game was to be had, even were it hawk or 
 l)U/zard, it was killed and greedily eaten, kind, 
 ([uality, and cookery not being considered. 
 Toads, li/.ards and crows were alike welcome, 
 and any sunwarmed and stagnant pool <>f 
 
 water was considered most refreshing. The 
 horrors of the siege of Paris were ])aralleted 
 by the shifts to which the party were reduced, 
 and in one section of country venomous rattle- 
 snakes were killed and, after being skinned and 
 pre|)ared, were cut in sectif)ns for food and 
 boiled. In thisway they subsisted and survived, 
 and, with a determination sustained only by 
 the liopeof the fortunes that aw aite<l them in the 
 gold mines, tliey presseil forward through the 
 l)lazing heat. For montlis they endured this, 
 with no beds but their ragged blankets. The 
 w riter met the first one to arrive in San Kran- 
 ( isco in the month of November, ten months 
 after the departure of the buoyant party ^^x\ 
 the deck of the Afii>ii. 
 Halkknsaik", n. j. - /• C /'tiris. 
 
 ELDFR MAR.STON'.S RIA'IX \L. 
 
 l?'f^"^;5»^<^'<a< >1<SKS were tied to the 
 
 ^ ^''-''JX^' ^ "''"'^" "'^'^ trees that fringed 
 *4l {"^ ^^^ r^ three sides of the play- 
 
 "* ''yi-^K^^^ *•* •^''"^'"''•. Voung men stood 
 
 •1 p ^ "o* , ./>a f^ around in groups and can- 
 
 ! J [^ ^^^^ ^ vassed neighborhood af- 
 
 '•J ^H)« *5^ "^^v» fairs, not boisterously, but 
 
 L* - "•* -*• **^ in modulated tones ; for 
 
 this was not a spelling-school. They had gath- 
 ered to hear Elder Marston preach. 
 
 -A party ofyoungsters at the dtjor moved aside 
 res|)ecifully, giving way to Maxa Haven, the 
 schoolmistress. She greeted them jileasantly 
 and pas.sed within, taking her ])lace in the nar- 
 row seat, and w aiting reverently ; for what w as 
 school-room by day wassanctuary by night, and 
 ntnhing common or trivial should profane it. 
 
 The house was ra|)idly filling. .Men upon 
 the left hand, women on the right, cnjwiled 
 the benches. 'Ihey indulged a whisj)ered com- 
 ment on the i>re.sence of Charley Cook, a 
 farmer, noted for his wild delight in all things 
 sat rilegious. He had long been a terror to the 
 w eaker preachers, and his " gang " had caused 
 the premature sus|)ension of many a service. 
 He stt)otl in the neighborhood as an enemy 
 incarnate of religion ; yet he was honest in his 
 dealing with men, given to industry and good 
 rules t)f farming, antl ]>rou<l of his pro>perity 
 even when remindetl that frt)m of (jM his fel- 
 lows had flourished "like a green bay tree." 
 
 Cook had often expressed a desire to meet 
 I'.ltler .Marston. and all the love of order in 
 the community trembled now that the" reviv- 
 alist " stood face to face w ith this force of evil. 
 For the preacher was himself a notable char- 
 acter, lie had for years contluctetl revivals in 
 the larger school-houses and rural churches, 
 
 and hail tlrawn to his meetings great numbers 
 of ijeojjle who seltlt)m went to service else- 
 where. He was middle-aged, smooth-faced, 
 vigorous; with a knowledge of the Hible that 
 im|)ressed his hearers, antl with a fund of inci- 
 tlent, analogy, anathema, a faculty for painting 
 the graces and the horrors, the blessings and 
 the cursings of his gospel, which sttjotl hitn well 
 insteatl of iloctrine. 
 
 Filler Marston led in singing, and brought 
 with him from the fields of other successes a 
 score of .songs who.se swift motion and easy 
 melody (juite won his audience. He was his 
 own chori.ster, and would even pause in the 
 midst of a measure to correct this part or that, 
 drt)pping deftly from air to bass, or rising with 
 the clearer tenor till his finer ear was satisfied. 
 These interruptions were nt)t resenteil by the 
 homely throng that filled the house, anil each 
 acquired melody was a fresher bond of union 
 between them and him. 
 
 He had been warned of the ])resence of 
 Cook, the disturber, and seemed tti gather from 
 the threatened opposition a strength to make 
 his wt)rk the more effectiNe. He annoum ed 
 his text, then, turning from the Bible, stepped 
 ft)rw ard and began w ithout further preparation 
 one of the sw iftly moving songs which seemed 
 to form his i hief etpiipment. Beating time with 
 p.dm tt) p.dm, turning thisway ami that as he 
 direcietl the twining of graceful music around 
 thestanilanlst)fi)|il. familiar lines, FIder Mar- 
 ston laid down his gage of battle to all foes 
 w homsoever. Fnding this song, he instantly 
 started another in which his followers tjuickly 
 joined, urged them to swifter time, lighting the 
 fires of latent enthu.siasm ami fanning them 
 with his own vigor and interest. 
 
tr.(jl.A.LU Li H. JAVIOSON. 
 
 DRAWN BY ALFRtL- KAPHE5. 
 
 *'l GIVE up!" 
 
TARRY I \r, IX Xir.\R ACCA, 
 
 rLP:ASURES AND PKRILS OF THE CALIFORNIA TRIl' IN 1849. 
 
 'N the last (lays of 1848 a 
 number of young Vale 
 graduates, bound together 
 by almost brotherly fricnd- 
 ship and the intimate as- 
 sociation of long years of 
 school and college life, 
 were suddenly seized with 
 a longing to join the throng 
 that from all parts of our country was working 
 its way by every known and unknown route to 
 the ncwlv discovered gold-fields of California. 
 They did not go primarily to dig for gold. 
 With some of them that was but a remote con- 
 tmgencv. But their professional studies were 
 completed, their old companionship was broken 
 up, and they were feeling the sense of isolation 
 and discouragement inevitable to the early 
 months of professional life, when all business 
 worth having seems already captured by the 
 older and more experienced. In this transition 
 state, and with warnings for some that eyes 
 or health were giving way, they were prepared, 
 like tinder for the steel, to take fire at the en- 
 ticing stories, then filling our papers and flying 
 from mouth to mouth, of this new region of 
 fabulous wealth, with its fruitful ranches and 
 wonderful scenery, its free, adventurous life, its 
 genial climate, and its golden opportunities for 
 each in his own line, and to respond to its call 
 to come in and possess the land, and to help in 
 the founding of a great State. 
 
 There is no comer of the earth that seems 
 now so remote as ( !alif<irnia then seemed. To 
 go by the Rowland and Aspinwall steamers, 
 then sailing with tolerable regularity to Chagres 
 once a month, would involve long delay, for 
 they found that every passenger-ticket had been 
 sold for many months ahead. Moreover, there 
 was often great detention in crossing the Isth- 
 mus, and always fever there. But there were 
 plenty of other ways to choose from. The ilaily 
 papers were crowded with advertisements of 
 new and much-lauded routes, for which enter- 
 prising men were getting up companies to be 
 put through safely *' in sixty days," the'' rapid 
 transit " of the time. 15rigs and schooners from 
 the smallest to the largest were withdrawn from 
 other work and h.istily cleaned and fitted up 
 for "a limited number of pasfiengers " to go 
 round the Horn, or to some one of the many 
 ports on the .Atlantic from which a quick cut 
 
 across to the I'.u iIk . and to whatever vessel 
 chance might there bring them, was feasible. 
 
 At length the interesting character of the 
 region to be crossed, together with the pleasing 
 address and beguiling promises of the pro- 
 jector of the enterjjrise, led the Vale men to 
 decide on Gordon's Passenger Line via Nica- 
 ragua and Realcjo. 
 
 The story of this trij) is given in extracts 
 from letters written home at the time chiefly by 
 one who went to California only to finil an early 
 grave. We give below a copy of the receipt given 
 him with a statement of Gordon's plan. 
 
 GORDONS P.\SSE\GER LINE 
 
 TO 
 
 SAN FRANTIsCO, via LAKE .VICARAr.! A AND 
 REALEJO. 
 
 Ri^ceivcd of Ror.ER S. Baldwin, Jr., the sum 0/ 
 one hundred and thirty dollars being m fart for his 
 passage to San Francisco, in the aberve line. 
 
 On payment of Balance, One Hundred and Thirty 
 Dollar-, thi-> Receipt secure- to him pa--age in the 
 Miiry. Caj^tain Have-, from New York to .San Juan De 
 Nicaragua, from thence per Steam Boat Plutus to 
 CiKAN.\D.\, on I^ke Nicaragua; or. naN-igation per- 
 mitting, to Managua, Matiares or Nagarote on I^ke 
 Leon, a.s may In? most convenient for landing; and a 
 pa>-age from Realejo, on the Pacific, to San Francisco. 
 with llammock, Bed, and Bedding for the voyage, and 
 Camp accommotlations during <letention on land, en 
 route. 
 
 The following provisions will be pro\-ided. viz : 
 
 For Breakfast. — Coffee and White Sugar — Ham, 
 Fish, Sausages — White Biscuit — half a pound Pre- 
 sened Fniit to eaeh ten persons. 
 
 For Dinner. — One third of a quart of " ■ ' 
 from Kensett & Co.'s preserved Soup>- 
 or /\irk — I'l't.itoes, Hominy, /'eas, or Kue — Aue or 
 Flour Puddings. 
 
 For StPPER. — Tea and White .^ugar — Ham, Fish, 
 or Sausage — White Biseuit — half a pound of Fruit 
 .Marrihilade to eaeh ten persons. 
 
 The aliove is to he served up dur - ' . nnd 
 
 on tiie Lake and Land tran-u, en dt- 
 
 .s.doon Passengers will l>e expected to fonn into 
 .Messes, and the Clentlenun in rotation to lul 
 
 serve up their own meals from the Lo<''>~> .in- 
 
 ner pur-ued in the U. S. Ser\-icc). 1 rs who 
 
 • ' ^ic Rooms will have a Sfc ■ "• ...cd who 
 
 . t a fie of $;; from each | . The pro- 
 
 ■rs'^nn! Rajjga^ will hr 
 
 •. . ^ _^ J ■ - 
 
 alx)ve that weight taken at ij>0 per lod lb. i'a-scngers 
 
 911 
 
|I2 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 are expected to assist in packing, stowing and unload- 
 ing Baggage and provisions if necessary. 
 
 Any extra charges for passports, or transit Duties 
 to be borne by each passenger. The general Customs 
 Business will be transacted by an agent of the Line at 
 San Juan or San Carlos without charge. 
 
 Gentlemen Passengers, if required, will have to walk 
 from Granada or Lake Leon to Realejo (l>^ or 3 days' 
 march). 
 
 The Line provides an agent to charter vessels at 
 Panama, Acapulco, and other Pacific Ports, so as to 
 avoid detention at Realejo. 
 
 In the unexpected event of Vessels not being pro- 
 cured, $75 of the passage money and 60 days' provi- 
 sions will be refunded to each passenger at Realejo, 
 which will procure passage in the Mail Steamers which 
 touch there. 
 
 On the arrival of the passengers at San Francisco 
 each passenger will have handeil to him 
 I Barrel \\'hite Biscuit. 
 y^ Barrel Flour. 
 
 xYz lb. of Tea, in j^ lb. leaden packages. 
 6 lb. of Ground Coffee, in i lb. leaden packages. 
 15 lb. White Sugar. 
 
 I Cheese (boxed up) about twenty pounds. 
 Which will furnish one person with all necessary pro- 
 visions, except meat, for three months. 
 
 Every Gentleman passenger is required to provide 
 himself with a Rifle or Musket. All Powder must posi- 
 tively be placed in the hands of the Agent of the line. 
 
 Geo. Gordon. 
 
 They were to leave New York the first week 
 in February, and before the second week of 
 April to be in San Francisco, ready, among 
 the earliest, to seize the opportunity and to 
 take the tide of fortune at its flood. Day after 
 day they met the brig at an appointed hour, 
 but nearly three weeks dragged on before she 
 sailed. 
 
 San Juan de Nicaragua [Greytown], 
 
 March 20, 1849. 
 Dear M : 
 
 We left New York the morning of the 20th 
 of February in a fine little brig with one hun- 
 dred and thirty-six passengers, bound to Cali- 
 fornia by the untried route of Nicaragua, and 
 under contract to be put through in sixty days. 
 After pitching about in a gale which caught 
 us off Bermuda, one fine morning we awoke 
 and saw Hayti lying on our right, and all day 
 were sailing under its bold, beautiful shores. 
 
 Froin that time we scarcely moved a sail, 
 but came across the Caribbean Sea direct to 
 San Juan, with a wind always just aft, clear 
 skies by day, and bright moonlight nights. 
 More delicious weather I never experienced. 
 On the morning of March 12 we made the 
 land of the Mosquito Coast, and, running down 
 twenty or thirty miles, came to anchor in the 
 afternoon in a snug little harbor at the mouth 
 of the river San Juan. I never was more sur- 
 prised than at my first view of this place. I 
 had expected it would be like Chagres, a col- 
 lection of huts on some low, marshy point, and 
 utterly destitute of everything like beauty or 
 
 interest ; but I found it one of the prettiest and 
 most charming little places it was ever my 
 happiness to fall into. As we came in it looked 
 just like a picture. The little bay with its three 
 or four islands, skirted by a fine beach, on the 
 outside of which a heavy surf was rolling, while 
 within all was calm and still ; the steep, thatch- 
 roofed cane houses clustered together at its head 
 relieving the dense forest behind ; and the dimly 
 seen summits of the far-off mountains of Nic- 
 aragua, made to me one of the most beautiful 
 landscapes that I ever beheld. My heart fairly 
 bounded with delight, and in these forests I 
 had many a fine ramble. How strange it seems 
 to be walking under orange, and lemon, and 
 tamarind, and palm trees; to be picking guavas 
 and mangos; to be breakfasting on alligator 
 steaks and dining on wild boar ! You should 
 have seen me this morning, sitting under a 
 cocoanut tree, from which I had shot a nut of 
 just the right size, cutting the end with my 
 machete, and drinking the rich, pulpy milk, 
 watching with one eye a couple of suspicious- 
 looking lizards and with the other a troop of 
 some fifty monkeys who were performing all 
 kinds of antics for my sole amusement. I went 
 some four or five miles into the forest, and 
 everything about me was so strange, so differ- 
 ent from our New England woodlands through 
 which I have been accustomed to wander, that 
 I felt really inclined to doubt my own identity 
 On one hand would be a great cactus with leaves 
 fifteen or twenty feet long and full of bright 
 crimson flowers, on the other long trailers hang- 
 ing sixty feet from great tamarind and dye- 
 wood trees. Palms were about me the buds 
 of which were five or six feet long. In the lit- 
 tle swamps some beautiful varieties of calla 
 were in bloom, and in the branches of the trees 
 were some of the most briUiant birds you would 
 ever see — macaws and paroquets. Now and 
 then I would start a wild turkey, and about 
 noon had a double shot into an immense drove 
 of wild hogs, but both unsuccessful. I take 
 great delight in these rambles. Every day, 
 while some of our party are reclining in their 
 hammocks and complaining of the heat of the 
 sun, I am tramping through the woods with 
 my rifle or fowling-piece on my shoulder, or 
 paddling about the bay with fishing-rod, or 
 exploring among the islands or up the river, 
 getting as much enjoyment as I can out of our 
 detention here. We have hired a litde piragua 
 by the week, and a number of pleasant days I 
 have spent in it on the water. AH kinds of fish 
 abound here, both in the river and in the beau- 
 tiful lagoon back of the village, and if I tire of 
 catching them 1 can have a hunt after guavas 
 or a shot at a pelican, or into a flock of ducks 
 by way of variety. I doubt if I ever was in 
 better health in my life. The mercury rang- 
 
I'l ■ Tl"l > , '1 
 
 HmnM iumwjri. • zit 
 
 \\.i- XLII. 117. 
 
9H 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 I 
 
 NICARAG 
 
 SCALE OF M I 
 
 ing from seventy at night to eighty or eighty- 
 five at noon, and the sea and land breezes 
 blowing with refi-eshing regularity. Every 
 
 morning we are down from our hammocks by danger to us was the pleasantest part of our 
 sunrise and in for a bath, not regarding in the 
 least the sharks and alligators, which may be 
 
 so far from the end of our jour- 
 ney. But it is too true that al- 
 though " sixty days " and thirty 
 more have elapsed, I am no 
 further advanced than to this old 
 city. After a detention of three 
 weeks at San Juan, the boiler 
 and machinery of the steamboat 
 which was brought with us, and 
 had been put together, were con- 
 demned as worthless, and the 
 company left to proceed up the 
 river, half in bungos and canoes, 
 the other half on the remains of 
 
 the steamboat. B and I 
 
 had the sole occupancy of a 
 
 bungo. Our captain, or padron, 
 
 proved to be the kindest and best 
 
 on the river, our boat's crew the 
 
 most efficient, and we were considered the most 
 
 fortunate of the company. What to many of 
 
 our party was a voyage full of hardships and 
 
 journey. The San Juan is a fine, noble river, 
 abounding in fish, dotted with islands, and lined 
 
 floating within twenty feet of us. 
 
 City of Granada, Central America, 
 
 May 24, 1849. 
 You will be surprised to receive this letter 
 
 on each side for its whole extent with forests the 
 exceeding beauty of which no pencil could paint 
 or pen describe. The deep verdure of the fo- 
 liage, the many brilliant flowers, the long wav- 
 ing palm leaves, the graceful festoons of the 
 
 bearing this late date and written by me still vines and mosses intertwining themselves in a 
 
 .^^■^^fS^-^*..^'-. ■ .-.^ 
 
 
 '::"y:-(!fX':v>,y:'-^-:-..,. 
 
 '-^SM,' ^'- '''■''■ 
 
 UPPER CASTILLO, LOOKING DOWN THE SAN JUAN RIVER, CASTILLO KAPIDS IN THE CENTER. 
 
 (FKOM A I'HOTOGHAFH BY o'nEII..) 
 
/: / AVv' ) 7.\(; /.v xicA ra (Ua. 
 
 915 
 
 thousand dirt'erfnt ways, \vc were never weary 
 of ailniirinj;. At night our pirajiua woulil l)e 
 drawn up by some sandy beatli, and we would 
 spend an hour huntinj; turtle or iguana eggs 
 anil catt hing fish, which with coftee made us 
 excellent meals, an<l easily 
 (ooked. Kor two or three 1 — 
 hours we would walk up 
 and down in the moon- 
 light; then rolling our- 
 selves in our blankets and 
 lying down among the 
 Ixjatmen. we would sleep 
 as soundly amid the roar- 
 ing of alligators and cou- 
 gars, as ever I did in my 
 bed at home. At dawn 
 we would be wakened by 
 the matin song (jf the l)oat- 
 men, and iluring the day, 
 when we were n<Jt ga/ing at 
 ind conversing about the 
 strange sights and scenes 
 through which we were 
 passing, reading and study 
 made the hours glide ])leas- 
 antlv a wav. So passed eight days, when we came 
 to San Carhis, where the lake meets the river. 
 1 1 ere we changed piraguas, and after two days' 
 detention set sail for (Iranada. We were sorry 
 enough to part from our captain, .Mercedes, 
 who had really quite endeared himself to us; 
 and his crew were all a hne set of fellows. We 
 soon founfl we had not bettered ourselves, for 
 scarcely three hours out there had like to have 
 been a jntched battle between the bungo men 
 with their machetes and the ])assengers, now 
 iiu Teased in number to eight, and all well 
 rmed. .\ few well-directed blows, however, 
 titled the matter. 
 
 it was the 13th of April when we entered 
 ( iranada — but I will giveyouan orderly, book- 
 like description of the place where it has been 
 my unexi)e<ted lot to tarry the last five or six 
 weeks. The first object which indicates its vi- 
 ( inity to the traveler who may be navigating 
 the clear waters of the lonely mountain-girt 
 lake of \i<aragua is a high volcanic peak 
 whi( h rises five thousand (jr six thousand feet 
 boldly from the shore, with, when we saw it. 
 every rocky point shar|»Iy defined against the 
 western sky, but which, at this season, night 
 ind mornmg veils its head in clouds. On a 
 nearer approach he sees running northwardly 
 from its base a long, wide beach of very fine 
 -and with a ruined fortress standing midway 
 upon it. This beach seems to him to be of a 
 luriously variegated black and white color, and 
 he gazes at it with wonder; but as he draws still 
 nearer these appearances resolve themselves 
 intopilesofclothesandgroupsof tawny-skinned 
 
 women vigorously engaged in restoring the 
 < lothes to purity. Their process of «loing this is 
 somewhat peculiar. The w(jmen seat them- 
 selves in about knee-deep water, and, taking 
 the clothes as they are passed to them by little 
 
 MCAKAlll A. 
 
 naked children, rub them over with a sapo- 
 naceous herb, and then, after soaking, pound the 
 clothes on flat stones with all their strength — 
 and here they are by no means the weaker sex 
 — untilnolonlyevery vestige of impurity leaves 
 them, but, if any fine or delicate fabric comes 
 into their hands, until its substance often 
 vanishes in jiassing through the ordeal. It 
 needed ortly the loss of a few shirts and hand- 
 kerchiefs to convince me of this. These wash- 
 erwomen arc the first sign of the city, for as 
 yet no mark of habitation is visible. The pi- 
 ragua nears the shore, and an anchor is thrown 
 out. A bold bungo man leaps into the water, 
 the stranger places himself on his shoulders, 
 
 and, if not a long- 
 legged man, is borne 
 dry-shod totheland. 
 .\t this moment a 
 dozen men on fine 
 horses come rushing 
 by at full speed in 
 a torrent of dust 
 and exclamations. 
 The traveler issome- 
 what surprised, and, 
 seeing at a distance 
 twenty or thirty 
 others likewise bear- 
 ing down upon him, 
 begins to grow un- 
 easy; but being fold that they are passing only 
 for amusement, his fears are i|uieted,and he a<l- 
 mires the grace of the riders and the spirit of the 
 steeds. Then, leaving the lake tlirectly behind 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 U.\.MJ1Xl. at (..tA;».V_A. 
 
9i6 
 
 TARRYI.YG IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 WASHING ON THE SHORE OF THE LAKE. 
 
 him, he passes up some one of half a dozen 
 roads leading to the city, bordered on each 
 side by hedges of prickly cactus inclosing fields 
 of plantains and pines, and he smiles to think 
 how precious in our northern conservatories 
 would be the ver}- weeds he is treading under 
 his feet. As he ascends the gentle rise he meets 
 long files of women walking along with a firm, 
 erect step, balancing on their heads large 
 earthen jars of the capacity of from two to four 
 
 gallons, with which they wade into the lake, 
 and, filling them, return to the city, oftentimes 
 singing as they go, and forming in their singu- 
 lar costume a scene quite interesting. At the 
 distance of half a mile from the lake the 
 stranger enters the suburbs, and begins to see 
 before him the broken towers of the old time- 
 worn churches, from which, at any hour of the 
 day, a dozen clear-toned bells are chiming. In 
 the suburbs live the lower classes or laboring 
 
 
 A STREET IN GRANADA. 
 
TARRYING IX NICARAGUA. 
 
 917 
 
 ixjpulation, if they may be called so in a coun- 
 try where a man rarely works if he has a " ])e- 
 seta " in his pocket to buy him his dinner. The 
 houses are mere huts of cane thatched with 
 palm leaves, many of which a strong man mij^ht 
 carry awav on his shoulders. .Ml colors may 
 be seen, but most are of the Indian shade, and 
 (if children and dogs there appears to be an in- 
 finity. Most of the young ones have their hair 
 croppe<l to within a sixteenth of an inch of the 
 skin, w itli the exception of a few locks in front, 
 antl it makes them look like little fighting cocks. 
 
 but the siilewalks are only about two feet wide, 
 and are raised high up from the streets, whic h 
 are inundated in the rainyseason. Moreover.as 
 the windowsofall the houses project a footorso 
 from the side of the walk, an inexperienced pas- 
 senger in the night is ajit to nturn home with 
 several de|)ressions in his hat and ccjrrespond- 
 ing elevations on his head. These houses, in 
 consecjuence of their being built direc tly on the 
 street, with walls three or four feet thi( k, large 
 heavy gates, and iron-barred windows without 
 blinds or gla.s.s, give the streets a somber and 
 
 -^^. .*■ 
 
 THE SUDL'KBS OF GRANADA. 
 (AFTER A PHOTOORAfH BV O'NKIU) 
 
 They roll about naked in the du.st till they are 
 eight or ten years of age, w hen their mother puts 
 scanty garments u])on them and sends them 
 to school. Still farther on, ailobe houses begin 
 to be mixed with those of cane, but all are small 
 and unconnected until the city proper is en- 
 tered. Then the streets, which are regularly laid 
 out at right angles, are entirely built up with 
 blocks of heavy- looking one-story adobe and 
 stone houses, all stuccoed and painted white, 
 w ith tiled roofs projecting .six or eight feet over 
 the street, forming an agreeable shelter for the 
 person who is obliged to walk out under the rays 
 of an almost vertical sun. The streets are about 
 as w ide as Nassau street, New York, suffici- 
 ently so for carls easily to pass one another ; 
 
 pri.sonlike appearance, which the white stucco 
 with which all are covered vainly strives to re- 
 lieve. Hut within they are more comfortable 
 for this warm climate than I shouKl have sup- 
 ])osed. The dwelling-apartments, kitchens, anil 
 .stables form a hollow s(iuare inclo.sing a court, 
 generally well ])lantetlwith tlowering and fruit 
 trees. All the interior roofs project ten or twelve 
 feet, foniiing a shady corridor, where it is very 
 ( ool and delightful to lie swinging in one's 
 hammock. \'ery little furniture is used, a few 
 chairs and tables, beds and hammocks sufii( ing. 
 The city rejoices in two pianos, but, I believe, 
 contains no carpet. The floors are generally of 
 brick, kept clean and bright, and are much 
 cooler than ours, and rarely wear out. I have 
 
9i8 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 not seen a pane of glass in Central America, 
 which is indeed almost useless, for, owing to 
 the lowness of the long, projecting roofs, sun 
 and rain can never enter, while the cool breeze 
 is always invited. Our Venetian blinds, how- 
 ever, would be very agreeable. There are, 
 only heavy-barred shutters, which in early 
 evening, owing to the fear of revolutions, are 
 shut and locked, and the whole citv seems de- 
 serted. One of these houses, strongly built of 
 
 gether it is perhaps the best house for hotel pur- 
 poses in the city, and we live in it with a good 
 degree of comfort. It was here that we came 
 when we first landed in the city, and it imme- 
 diately went into operation with twenty board- 
 ers at a dollar a day each. We were satisfied 
 with our fare, but, thinking it too high a price, 
 they concluded after a few days to reduce it 
 one-half, keeping us for three dollars and a half 
 a week. So thus we live, sleeping in our ham- 
 
 stone and heavy wood, is at present our abid- mocks or on hide beds, as the fancy takes us, 
 ing place. It is a house larger than the ordi- in a large paved room, open to the roof, where 
 
 at any time a dozen bats may be seen hang- 
 ing. We have no windows, but have two 
 doors, which give us a good draft, being kept 
 open night and day, a measure which the citi- 
 zens consider as the extreme of hardihood, but 
 of which we have felt no inconvenience except 
 that of being obliged to turn out once or twice 
 
 each night to fire a volley of pistols at a bat- 
 talion of dogs, who take great delight in ca- 
 reering through. Twice a day we are called to 
 coffee in a long room which may have served for 
 a chapel in olden times, and twice more to our 
 meals — fine fish from the lake, flesh, and fowl, 
 with the invariable accompanimentsof tortillas, 
 fried plantains, and frijoles. The plantains were 
 a most excellent dish, but the frijoles were a 
 vile compound of beans and lard, and the tor- 
 tillas as tough and hard as sole leather. 
 
 But we have stayed long enough inside ; let 
 us go out into the plaza. This is the main cen- 
 ter of the city, a square about half the size of 
 the New Haven Green, but 
 without a tree or a blade of 
 grass. Looking towards the 
 east front, where our street 
 enters, we have just before us 
 the principal church, a fine- 
 looking edifice which appears 
 venerable more from decay 
 than from years. On one 
 side of it is a long, low town 
 hall or court-house; on the 
 left are dwelling-houses, and 
 on the right the arsenal and 
 quarters for the soldiery. The 
 remaining side is mostly given 
 up to stores and shops, but with one or two 
 dwelling-houses, and one just where we are 
 standing is where I have passed as pleasant 
 hours as any in the country. If it is morning, 
 and especially of a Sunday, the plaza is in the 
 did penance, some fifteen or more " Norte- full bustle of a market. The Indians come in 
 Americanos " eat, sleep, and make themselves from all the country round, some on donkeys, 
 as cool and comfortable as possible. A fine, some riding or driving mules, but more on foot, 
 
 CHURCH AND CONVENT DE I. AS MERCEDES 
 
 nary size, on a corner two squares from the 
 plaza, and was the old Convent de las Mer- 
 cedes, from which the inmates were driven in a 
 revolution some years ago. And now where 
 formerly the nuns chanted, told their beads, and 
 
 wide corridor runs about the house, both in- 
 side and outside, where a regiment might sit 
 at ease in the shade, and within is a lartre court 
 
 and these mostly women, walking many miles 
 with loads of fruit and vegetables which it would 
 seem must about break their backs, and return- 
 
 planted with mango trees, for the rich fruit of ing perfectly satisfied with a silver real {\2y. 
 which I have acquired a decided taste ; alto- cents) for tlieir load. Many seat themselves in 
 
T.'IA'A')7Xc; /X X/C.lh'.iaC/A. 919 
 
 rows at the sides of the s(iuare, while others go music an<l tlan( iiigevcry nij^ht in all the streets; 
 
 about froiu one plate to another with their but of late, owing to the dread whi(h the nu- 
 
 wares,<hatterinj; and bargaining, anti, as their merous revolutions have inspired, the s|>irits 
 
 costumes are often ((uite gay, it presents a very of the place have departed, anil after dark, 
 
 lively and animated scene. .At noon not a soul when we first arrived, every house was closed 
 
 is to be seen ; everything is taking its " siesta." and double-barred, and the whole city as silent 
 
 In the evening the scene is changed. .-\ few as a church-yard. The |)resence of so large a 
 
 market women who have their wares undis- numberof Americans in theplace seems to have 
 
 posed of still remain, and groups of men arc given the inhal)itants a greater sense of secur- 
 
 at the corners talking over tiie news, but it by ity. IJul we have decided to start to-morrow, 
 
 no means presents the animation of the mom- and, as I have my farewell calls to make, for the 
 
 ing. W'e cannot stay long, however, before frf)m |)resent good-by. 
 
 the belfries of the church chime out the bells, Li:nN, June i, 1849. 
 the tloors open, and forth issues some baptis- Hkrr we are nowliving as systematically as 
 mal or extreme unction procession, with music, the oldest inhabitant, in Leon, the metropolis 
 torches, bells, and soldiers, the priest in a kind and now the ca|)ital of the sovereign state of 
 of sedan chair, borne by some half-dozen stout Nicaragua, having reached the third station 
 men, and followed by a train of women and of our journey — (/itit'n sahe how many more 
 children, gesticulating and singing at the toji there may be before we pass the golden gates 
 of their voices. .At this, all in the plaza and up of San Francisco Bay ? Kight or ten of us are 
 all the .streets within sight go on their knees, occujjying a large and comfortable house two 
 " los Norte-Americanos " excepted, who take blocks from the plaza, and we live in i)eace 
 off their hats and moralize on the procession as and tpiietness, under the auspices of a fine old 
 it sweeps along. jjriest on one side, who sends us little gifts. 
 Hut the ])lace to go for amusement in the and always makes it a point to be at his win- 
 evening is the lake. I'here come down, when dow to greet us w ith " gun morning," and 
 the day grows cool, the young men of the city, of an equally fine old lady on the other, who 
 and dash about over the fine beach on their gets up our meals in the approved style of the 
 spirited horses, oftentimes having with them countryata real and medio (i83/( cents) a head, 
 tlieir young lady companions, seated before The main body of our company are in Chinan- 
 them on the sadille, while hundreds — and, if dega, a large town twelve leagues nearer Cal- 
 it be Sunday or a feast-day, often thousands — ifomia ; but they arc in much discontent, and 
 of others are bathing, walking about, or seated we prefer keeping quiet and cool by ourselves, 
 in grou]is under the trees, enjoying the breeze, We have a large < ourt, with four rooms on one 
 which is always blowing over the lake with the side of it, where from one wall to the other we 
 most refreshing coolness. Many very delight- sling our hammocks, which serve as seats, 
 t'ul hours have I passed there, often alone, lounges, and beds. Here we receive with proj>er 
 seated on the ruins of the old fortress, gazing dignity our numerous visitors,and here, I think, 
 out over this most lovely lake, with its clear wa- we shall stay till a vessel can be chartered, or 
 ters, its islands, and high mountain shores, and everything comes to a winding-up, which is 
 admin'ng the w(jnderfully jierfect and symmct- equally probable. But I must tell vou how we 
 rii al outlines of lofty Dmetepe and its sister got here. Imagine me on a delightful morning, 
 volcano, which rise up out of its very bosom ; the 21st of May, bidding farewell to my kind 
 sometimes with my (Jranadian friends prom- friends in (Iranada, getting my pockets full 
 enading the beach on foot or on horseback, of cigarritos and cakes for the journey made 
 or seated under the trees eating watermelons, by their fair hands, and walking roun«l to the 
 whi( h the country bungos bring in great abun- h(}tel. Directly arrived our muleteer, with six 
 dan( e, and chatting in broken Sjtanish, to their animals in a row, each one with his heati tie«i 
 no small amusement. If a violin happens to to the tail of the one before him. Then there 
 be near, it is a very easy matter to get up a was a rush for the choice. Destiny marked out 
 dance under the shade of some of the large, as mine a little black mule, sleek, well-trained, 
 wide-spreading trees which border the shore, and with (piite an intelligent, animated coun- 
 orifaguitarispresent,thegirlsarealwaysready tenance. On the .Mvarado 1 pla< eil myalforjas 
 to sing. The Nicaraguan ladies — at least those and hammock l>ehind, my spyglass, haversack, 
 of (Iranada — are very fine-looking, and they and ritle before, my blanket over all. and lastly 
 seem in( lined to do all in their i)Ower to make myself. It seemed loail enough to crush the 
 our stay agreeable. We are indeed a great nov- little fellow, but he bore up nobly. Imagine 
 elty to them, for this is a country through which the others jterforming the same operations, and 
 foreigners very rarely ])ass, and almost every finally, all being e<iuipped, amid the acclama- 
 house is open to us and at our service. (Iranada tionsof a street full of spectators, filing up the 
 used to be, they tell us, a ver)' gay place, with Castle Real, and singing at the top of our voices 
 
920 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 DANCINli ON THE SAND AT GRANADA. 
 
 to the tune of " Oh ! Susannah " a httle song 
 made on our departure — 
 
 Me voy a Cahfornia 
 
 A tierra muy lejana, etc. 
 
 It would have been a queer procession to 
 move down Broadway, some on horses and 
 some on mules, each with his pistols and knife 
 belted around him and his rifle or gun slung 
 to his saddle-bow, and the animals themselves 
 half buried under a weight of blankets, alforjas. 
 
 ponchos, water-calabashes, and the like. But 
 we went on bravely for a league, when adven- 
 ture the first greeted us. One of our party got 
 off his horse to pick up his pouch, which had 
 dropped, and, he being some time about it, the 
 animal began to walk oft'; the walk was soon 
 changed to a trot, and then to a gallop, and 
 the horse disappeared in the bushes, having 
 first relieved himself of the greater part of his 
 cargo by a kick and a shake. Two of us, being 
 behind and seeing the mishap, dashed into the 
 woods in pursuit, but soon lost the track in a 
 
T.4A'A')/A(; /A' AVa-iA'.'IGr.l. 921 
 
 ina/e of paths, and returned to the roa<l to \N'e ke|)t close toj;ether, singing and whistling 
 search out Andres, our guide. We went on to to indicate our whereabouts, for we could not 
 join the re>.t of the party, who had disrnounte<!, see a foot before us except during the flashes of 
 and were seated comfortably under the tlense lightning. Oni e we had a regular stampede. 
 shade of a cotton tree, regaling themselves on Oneofthepartyattemptingtoopenhisumbrella. 
 wild ])lums. In halfanhour .Andrescamebac k, every animal started with a jump. Mine lea|)ed 
 saying that tlie beast could not be found, and on a high bank and plunge<l headlong into a 
 that he hail j)robably gone l)ack to (Iranada, jungle, where I really thought he had stuck fast, 
 whitherhewouldgoin pursuit. W'ethen wentup .Altogether it was a hard ride, and as we were 
 to a little hacienda near, and, ordering dinner, obliged to go slowly it was nine o'clock be- 
 awaited his return, sending out also the men fore we reached Masaya. For once I listened 
 of the place under the inducement of a reward with satisfaction to the distant barking of the 
 of three dollars for the gun and fishing-rod, dogs, and soon we were riding through a long 
 w hich had been so securely fiistened that they street of Indian huts. At one of these our guide 
 had not been thrown off. Meanwiiile we lay stopped, and, after some conversati(jn with its 
 under the shade, some sleeping, some chatting, inmates, informed us there was wo posa da in 
 and some eatingdififerent unknown fruits, which the ]>lace, and that all the houses were shut up 
 the little naketl children delighted to bring us. through fear of a revolution ; nevertheless we 
 In an hour our repast was brought to us on a were obliged to stop there. He himself was 
 large tray — six gourds containing a curious in mortal fear, and kept telling us to talk 
 compound, mush, chopi)ed onions, eggs, and loudly in English, that we might not be mis- 
 a rather suspicious substance which from the taken for a party of revolutionists, and be shot 
 spotted appearance of the skin we at first in the dark. We heUl a consultation, and were 
 thought snake, but w hich the conformation more than half inclined to start again in search 
 of the bones proved to be li/card, and which of some place wiiich might jjromise better ac- 
 v.as very sweet and delicate. We were all commodations. But then we consiilered that 
 hungry, so the gourds soon went away empty, we were wet and weary, in a strange place. 
 Late in the afternoon the guide returned with- and understanding little of the language, and 
 out the horse, but w ith a note from a frientl any shelter seemed agreeable. A fresh shower 
 advising us to go back and take a fre.sh start coming down just then decided the question 
 in the morning. This, however, we were un- at once, and in a moment every one was oft" 
 w illing to do, not w ishing to lose a day ; and his saddle. A glance into the house showed 
 w ho likes to bid good-by twice ? We therefore us that little was to be hoped for there. It was 
 decided to take the guide's horse, while he, only a little cane hut about twelve feet square, 
 notwithstanding his earnest remonstrances, and already contained at least a dozen men, 
 was to go afoot. But, fortunately, just as we women, and children, with the usual comple- 
 were issuing into the road the hacienda man ment of an ill-looking dog apiece. One look 
 apjieared with the runaway, though minus the was sufficient, and we left for the kitchen. This 
 gun. The change was made to the satisfaction was a similar structure, but smaller, and, finding 
 of all, and onward was the word. Andres, how- it unoccupied, we took immediate possession, 
 ever, was in a very ill humor, and his temper There was room, by close squeezing, for four 
 was by no means improved bv the threatenmg of us to sling our hammocks from the jioles 
 appearance of the < louds, which had begun of the roof; the other three made their couches 
 to gather around the mountains of Clranada on bundles of reeils. I must say, however, that 
 in a very ominous manner. He obstinately re- the people of the house could not have treateil 
 fused to let his horse take a faster gait than a us more kindly. They did everything in their 
 walk, and we, being ine.\|)erienced on the road, power: look careof our beasts, anil would freely 
 kept the same pace. Inabout two hours — long have given up their own i)Oor beds; but sus- 
 enough to have brought us to our first stop- ])ecting fleas, we thanked them, which is here 
 ])ing-place, though we were not more than half equivalent to a polite refusal. They also got 
 way — on came the rain. It grew dark as .sud- us a much Ix-'tter supi>er than we could have 
 denly as shutting your eyes, and amid the expected, charging us only the prices of the 
 most vivid flashes of lightning and terrific articles ; and for half thenightacrowdof naked 
 crashes of thunder a deluge of water de- boys and girls were at our iloor, waiting to ai- 
 scended that seemed as though it would beat tend to anything we might require. Imagine 
 us oft' our saddles. By this time we had left us, four in a row. suspended over the three 
 the main road for a shorter mule-path, which others lx;neaih, hanging in nets of grass, mid- 
 led through a series of ravines in which our way between the ground and the roof of the 
 mules so pitched, slipi)ed, and jumped about little hut, half afraid to move for fear of bring- 
 that it appeared certain that in some of them ing the whole down on our heads, and with 
 we must all roll over together to the bottom, the smoke of the fire gracefully curling around 
 Vol. XI. II. — lis. 
 
922 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 us, which, though it offended our eyes, answered 
 the excellent purpose of keeping off the mos- 
 quitos. We slept well and soundly, and the 
 next morning rose early, and saddled our ani- 
 mals, and set out for the plaza. Our guide sud- 
 denly changed to be one of the best-tempered 
 men in the world, and for the rest of the jour- 
 ney he continued so. Nothing could put him 
 out of temper, and there was nothing bethought 
 would please us, or be of service to us. that he 
 would not do. But we did not thank him mucli 
 this morning when he led us to the door of a 
 fine posada fronting the plaza where we might 
 have stayed the night before. We ordered as 
 good a breakfast as they could give us, and 
 while it was being prepared went out for a lit- 
 tle walk about the town. Tvlasaya is a place 
 of more inhabitants than Granada, but of a very 
 ditt'erent appearance. Granada is more compact 
 than any city I have ever seen, while Masaya 
 is scattered about, all the houses disconnected 
 and standing among a profusion of palm, 
 cocoa, and fruit trees. We had hardly gone 
 four squares before we were obliged to re- 
 turn, being loaded down with presents of 
 fruit. The plaza of jSIasaya is very large, and 
 presented a very lively scene as we rode 
 through it. The market was in full operation, 
 and 1 should think at least a thousand men and 
 women, in costumes gayer than any I have 
 seen in any other place, were busily engaged 
 in exchanging their wares. . . . Two miles 
 [from Masaya] we came to a little village the 
 remembrance of which is like that of a beauti- 
 ful poem. Said B , " I could live here for- 
 ever," and we all felt saddened as a turn in the 
 road cut off our parting glances. 
 
 Alittle farther on a magnificent scene awaited 
 us. We came to where the road crossed a vast 
 stream of black lava, which had rolled down 
 from Masaya mountain overwhelming and 
 destroying everything in its course, and had 
 passed down as far as we could see towards 
 Lake Nicaragua, which, with its sister lake of 
 Managua and their connecting river, lay in the 
 distance, the high range of mountains which 
 separate them from the Atlantic bounding the 
 view. About two leagues on we came to an 
 open plain on which many cattle were feeding, 
 and stopped for half an hour to let our mules 
 and horses graze, while we ourselves dined 
 on pines and oranges which we had brought 
 with us. 
 
 From this point the road led through the 
 forest four leagues to Managua, and here we 
 were called upon to admire a new kind of 
 beauty — large trees of the size of our elms, 
 with not a leaf upon them, but covered in their 
 place with flowers, some of a bright 3-ellow 
 and others clear red and white. ^Vhen I say 
 covered, I mean all covered, like the stem of a 
 
 hyacinth, a hundred on a twig. Where they 
 overhung the road, our horses often would 
 be fetlock deep in the blossoms which had 
 dropped, and yet there was apparently no 
 diminution on the branches above. They were 
 not coarse and ugly, but delicate and fragrant, 
 the kind which the ladies of this country most 
 delight to entwine in their hair. One sight I 
 saw which I could only stand and gaze upon 
 with delight — one of the largest of these 
 trees, and one of the richest in this new kind 
 of foliage, with an immense vine covered with 
 blue and purple flowers winding up to its top- 
 most boughs, and hanging thence in long and 
 rich festoons, forming a most complete bower. 
 As if to make perfection more perfect, among 
 the branches were perched two macaws, the 
 most beautiful birds of the country, with the 
 richest red and blue plumage, and drooping 
 tails a yard long. About sundown we reached 
 Managua, a large town and the true ca]jital 
 of the State. It is situated on Lake Ma- 
 nagua, where we had a delightful bath, and 
 then returned to the posada, the best in the 
 State, and kept by a man who owns a planta- 
 tion some leagues square on the Pacific, from 
 the products of which he set us out a most ex- 
 cellent supper. We slept here between sheets, 
 and on pretty fringed pillows, which were so 
 soft we were loath to leave them in the morn- 
 ing. But in this country the time to travel is 
 the early morning or the cool of the evening, 
 the middle of the day being very hot. Our 
 forenoon's ride was to Matiares, six leagues. 
 The road crossed a mountain from which there 
 was a superb view of Managua Lake with its 
 numerous bays, promontories, and islands, with 
 Momotombo and Momotombito rising in full 
 view, the loftiest volcanoes in the country, 
 visible fifty leagues away on the Pacific. To- 
 day we met numerous travelers and long trains 
 of freight-mules. Troops of monkeys and apes 
 and flocks of parrots enlivened the way, and 
 now and then a deer would start up and bound 
 away through the bushes. We took our siesta 
 on the plaza of Matiares, the town itself, which 
 has been pretty much destroyed in a late revo- 
 lution, offering no accommodations for us. 
 In the afternoon we went four leagues farther 
 to Nagarote, a large place, where we passed a 
 comfortable night in the house of the school- 
 master. Much of our way was along the bor- 
 ders of the lake, heavy traveling for our ani- 
 mals, but from the change of scenery pleasing 
 to us. The next day twelve leagues brought 
 us to Leon. You see I am running on, for if 
 I should describe minutely all the incidents 
 of the way, both you and I would be well 
 tired. . . . 
 
 June 26. Twenty-five days later from 
 Central America : as many more, and we may 
 
\ i;*' * 
 
924 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 call ourselves old citizens, and, for aught I 
 know, be entitled to vote at the next election. 
 We are still living at Leon, nine of us, enough 
 to keep one another in countenance in this 
 strange city. A week since I rode over to 
 Chinandega to look after our baggage, and 
 spent a day there to see what was going on and 
 to watch the course of things ; and I returned 
 very well satisfied to remain where I was. 
 Though we have been detained in this coun- 
 try more than three and a half months, — it may 
 be a month longer before a vessel will arrive 
 at Realejo to take us up the Pacific, — still we 
 
 by priests and in fear of a vagabond soldiery. 
 But here reside the British and the American 
 consuls, the bishop, the general, the director, 
 and all the dignitaries of state. Two gentle- 
 men from New York are also here, engaged 
 about the canal treaty. We are on somewhat 
 intimate terms with a number of families resid- 
 ing here, going in and out when we please, as 
 the custom of the country is. The posada has 
 been a favorite place of resort for us. The 
 landlord and the landlady are a perfect study 
 for a seeker of" characters." But they are very 
 kind to us, and are exceedingly anxious to have 
 
 ili,^^ 
 
 
 J- ■»«? 
 
 
 "j- 
 
 A STREET IN Le6n. (FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BV o'nEIL.) 
 
 have passed through a land full of interest, at 
 least to a young traveler. The natural features 
 of the country mingle beauty and sublimity to 
 the highest degree, and the climate must be 
 one of the most delightfully salubrious and 
 healthful in the world. Much of my stay has 
 been made exceedingly pleasant by the hos- 
 pitality of the people, particularly in Granada, 
 where I became really quite attached to many 
 kind friends. 
 
 Leon is a city of much more pretension than 
 Granada, but of not half the stamina and re- 
 spectability. Granada is sound and whole; Leon 
 is decayed, prostrate, its people overridden 
 
 their daughters learn English. One of their sons, 
 a little fellow of fourteen, is an ensign in the 
 army, and a daughter is married to General 
 Muhoz ; so they are all very patriotic, and heart- 
 ily hate the " Colandrakes," as the opposition 
 party are called. We have called once or twice 
 on the General, and have been received very 
 courteously. He is a gentlemanly man, and 
 looks just like the lithographs of Santa Ana, 
 La Vega, or any other of the Mexican chief- 
 tains, mustachios and all. But whatever may 
 be his military qualifications, he must test them 
 now, for he is required to go down with his army 
 anti to face Samosa, an assassin and leader of 
 
TARRYIXG IX NICARAGUA. 
 
 925 
 
 tlic opposition, who has just taken and burned 
 the city of Nicaragua, committing there the 
 most terrible atrocities. We went u]) into the 
 plaza this afternoon to see them off, and, not- 
 withstanding the uniformless and ragged ap- 
 pearance of the troops, it was really a solemn 
 s|jectacle when the bishop with his retinue of 
 jjriests, after jjreaching them a sermon, gave 
 them his blessing, and bade them go and fight 
 for their country. Meanwhile Samosa was be- 
 ing excommunicated in the < atheilral, the bells 
 were clanging, cannon were firing, and all Leon 
 was in commotion. 
 
 After they had filed up the street the Gen- 
 eral anil his staff came out from his cpiarters 
 in the posada, and there wa.s another scene, 
 his wife and sisters in tears, bidding him good- 
 by, an<l lamenting that they should never 
 see him again. Soon all galloped off, and we 
 folhnved to the river, and in the distance it 
 
 sponse always is, " yl///v /'/>//," and we pass 
 where we plea.se. 
 
 .About a week ago a messenger c.ime u|> 
 from the Sovereign Director of tlie State, ask- 
 ing us to change houses with him, as he wished 
 to fortify ours. We answered," With pleasure." 
 and at evening a cart and an escort came for our 
 baggage. We loaded it and, taking our guns 
 and rides, marched down with it to the plaza, 
 singing as wc went, for it is a custom with us 
 when we find ourselves in queer situations, 
 which is often theca.se, to .sing certain songs at 
 the top of our voices. .As soon as wereached the 
 plaza up came a file of soldiers antl a full band 
 of music with torches and lanterns, and esc(^rte< I 
 us down in the most triumjihal way. .At the 
 door they gave us a serenade ending with the 
 " American March," the little boys cheered, 
 and we entered. The President set out a table 
 for us, and we were waited on as (luite a dis- 
 
 
 1i! ^ >t! 
 
 CiJfa 
 
 THE SEAPORT OP KKAI.KJO. 
 
 was (piite a striking sight t<j see the troops 
 marching uf) the long, broken hill, the horse- 
 men bringing up the rear with a blood-red 
 pennon streaming from the point of each 
 lance. Nothing will give you a better idea of the 
 political condition of this country than to tell 
 you that since we have been here there have 
 begun and ended in the dift'erent parts of the 
 country seven or eight revolutions. Each city 
 has one on its own responsibility, and the au- 
 thorities are in nightly fear that one will break 
 out here. These revolutions have kept us in 
 an interesting state of e.xcitement. The city is 
 under martial law, police orders are read daily 
 at the dirt'erent corners, sentries are doubled, 
 and it is half what a native's life is worth to 
 go wandering about after dark. Hut we Yan- 
 kees are privileged. We have dropped the 
 regular passwords, and answer to the chal- 
 lenges, " Americanos del Norte " ; and the re- 
 
 tinguished party. What to make of it all we 
 hardly knew, but the next day we were in- 
 formed that we were considered as a guard of 
 honor to defend the President's house in case 
 of a rising. We laughed heartily, l)ut congratu- 
 lated ourselveson theexchange,as we had. rent 
 free, a fine, spacious "house on the best street 
 in the city. Nine rooms, one for each of us, sur- 
 nnmd the j)rinripal court, and in tiie rear are two 
 others, where are the stables and the kitchens, 
 all well planted with lime, orange, mumbro. 
 and fig trees, and the main one jtossessing a 
 s|)lendid jasmine bush, fully twelve feet in di- 
 ameter, and geraniums and heliotro|)es all in 
 full flower. We have each selected a room and 
 hung our hammocks, and I feel (juite as if I 
 had a home. 
 
 July /J. Chinandega. There is really now- 
 some prospect of our getting otT. Two vessels 
 are lying in the harbor of Realejo, and when 
 
926 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 A NICARAGUAN EXELTTION. 
 
 you receive this you may think of me as far up 
 the Pacific, if not already within the promised 
 land. We have spent more than four months 
 in this strange country. So far as regards my- 
 self, I have enjoyed it highly; the constant nov- 
 elty, the singularity of our position, our manner 
 of life, and the continual succession of strange 
 scenes through which we have passed, have 
 prevented anything like stagnation. We are 
 now in Chinandega — but I must tell you of a 
 little trip we made before we came here. On 
 the day after my last page was written letters 
 came from our charge d' affaires, Mr. Squier, 
 who had arrived at Granada, informing us that, 
 on account of the turbulent state of the country 
 and the interruption of communication on the 
 highways, fears had been entertained, if not of 
 the personal safety of himself and suite, at least 
 of a long detention, and requesting us to form a 
 party and be in readiness to march peaceably 
 down and escort him from Granada to Leon. 
 Soon after came other letters to our consul 
 giving him the information that Masaya was 
 occupied by Samosa's troops. On this he 
 thought that, although he had sent to Chinan- 
 dega for others to come and join us, it would 
 be best, on the whole, for us who were in Leon 
 to go down at once. We therefore repacked 
 our movables and went up to the consul's 
 house, leaving the President's mansion with 
 the fig trees and lime trees as a guard of honor. 
 
 The next day we spent in procuring horses. 
 Four or five very fine ones were brought in from 
 a hacienda a few leagues out, and the comple- 
 ment was made up from the cuartcl, where we 
 had the liberty of choosing from a hundred or 
 more. Behold us then in the service of our 
 own Government, and going down to the wars 
 to escort our charge d' affaires. The next morn- 
 ing we started, ten of us, all capitally mounted, 
 and in an extemporized though better uniform 
 than had yet been seen in Nicaragua — red 
 shirts and white trousers, with pistols and knives 
 belted around us, and short carbines obtained 
 from the President's private armory at the pom- 
 mels of our saddles. As the government had 
 been trying m every way to procure our ser- 
 vices, it seemed the universal opinion, as we 
 dashed through the streets, that we were the ad- 
 vance guard of a party going down to assist the 
 General, and great was the sensation it excited. 
 Our consul intended to be of the party, but 
 the night before was taken down with fever. We 
 crossed the river, and entered upon the Camino 
 Real. This was a very different way from that 
 in which we traversed the country before. Then 
 we were going slowly from one town to another, 
 loaded down with baggage and obliged to as- 
 sume an easy traveling gait. Now we were free 
 and unencumbered, our spirits high, and our 
 horses fresh, and we could gallop and race 
 along as we liked. In three hours we made Pue- 
 
T.-i/^A'V/Xc; /X NICARAGUA. 
 
 927 
 
 Ilk) Xuevo, eight leagues away, but not with- 
 iiut an accident on the way. One of our party 
 liad a sunstroke. At I'ueblo we st()|)|)e<I two or 
 tlirechoursintheheatoftlietlay toihneantlgive 
 our horses "zacate." It was St. Peter's day, and 
 all the young men of thejiKue were on horses 
 ra« ing thnnigh the streets hke madmen. Two 
 I lays in the year tliey have this custom, whicli is 
 amusing to see. NN'e proceeded thence to Na- 
 garote, where one of our ]»arty who was taken 
 with tliecountry feveron tlie road liad toheleft. 
 We were detained till after dark, but tlecided 
 on pushing on to Matiares that night. It was 
 a lovely moonlight evening, and you may be- 
 lieve that our ride by the siile of the lake 
 shadowed by old Momotombo was enchanting 
 enough. It waslate when wereached .Matiares, 
 a miserably poor town, where the l»est house 
 could show us no better accommodation than 
 
 for them all through Central .\merica.) Kven- 
 ing brought us to Masaya, where, as wc ha<i 
 made fourteen leagues, anci it looke<l like 
 rain, we (<)n<lude<l to stop for the night. We 
 found here the (leneral and his troops, but 
 aside from them a more deserted-looking tf)wn 
 I never behehl. It was in Masaya that this 
 latest revolution was |)lottefl, and the richer 
 I)ortion of the inhabitants had in alarm retire<l 
 to their ha< iendas or hatl gone t(j CJranada, the 
 stronghold of the " Timbucos," who are the 
 aristocracy, while, on theapjiroach of Munoz. 
 the lower classes — the "C'olandrakes" — had 
 gone oft" to join Samosa, or had scattered them- 
 selves through the country. We had met num- 
 bers of them on the way. .All the- houses about 
 thei)Iaza wereclosed.theposada included. lUit 
 on applying to the (ieneral, he ([uartered us with- 
 out any ceremony in a hou.se near the cuartel, 
 
 THE JOIKNHV IN THE MAKKET-tART. 
 
 one hammo(k, one table, a bench, and the 
 floor. On the latter I laid myself, wrapped in mv 
 blanket, and, in spite of the opposition of a legion 
 of tieas anil biting ants, gained a few hours 
 of good sound sleej) after my ride of fifty- 
 one miles. .\t sunrise our horses were saddled, 
 anil after a bowl of coffee we went on to .Man- 
 agua to breakfast. I )uring the time we stopped 
 here I went with a (iranadian friend to visit 
 some of his relatives, as beautiful girls as one 
 would see in any country. ( Managua is famous 
 
 and gave orders in another direction to have 
 supper pre|)ared for us. The next dilViculty was 
 the impossibiliiv of buying todder tor our horses; 
 but on further application a file of soldiers were 
 sent who came with a supply, probably taken 
 from the nearest cornfield. Riding through 
 the pla/a the next morning at sunri.se, we saw 
 the troops drawn u|) in long ranks, and a few 
 people standing about in groujjs as if awaiting 
 some event. .Stopping our horses a few mo- 
 ments, there came out from the cuartel a mel- 
 
928 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 A I'OOK SUbblllLlb. I'OK bl'-t-h. (btK FAGE 93I-) 
 
 ancholy procession headed by a man dressed 
 in coarse white shirt and drawers, and with 
 ropes around his ankles and wrists. He was 
 carrying a large black crucifix, and was flanked 
 by two priests reading aloud out of large books; 
 behind came a file of soldiers with loaded mus- 
 kets. Just then the bells began to chime a 
 funeral dirge, and we knew that a military exe- 
 cution was about to take place. I will not de- 
 scribe it to you, for it was barbarously done; 
 but the prisoner met his death like abrave man. 
 
 He was one of the plotters of the revolution, 
 and a bad character generally. General Munoz 
 had caught him here, and gave him but a short 
 time to prepare for his fate. . . . 
 
 It was very delightful to walk once more 
 through the streets of the old city, for we all 
 felt a kind of affection for Granada, the place 
 where we had experienced so much kindness 
 and hospitality. And it was very pleasant also 
 to bathe once more in the bright waters of the 
 lake. Cool and refreshed, we returned in time 
 
TA Rl< ) IXC IX X/C A A'. I C UA. 
 
 929 
 
 to sec the grand entrance of MuMoz into the (ity, 
 which brought out all the people and set all the 
 hells to ringing. Me brought in five more pris- 
 oners, all of whom, I presume, have before this 
 shared the fate of the poor man at Masaya. 
 
 'I'he two days that we passed in Oranada 
 tlew away very agreeably. In the early morn- 
 ing of our departure the (ieneral held a review 
 of his troops, about a thousand in number, jire- 
 paratory to marching down towards Managua, 
 where we have since heard that he has beaten 
 .Samosa in one battle, and now has him penned 
 up in a little town by the lakeside. About ten 
 in the morning we collected at the house where 
 .\lr. S(]uier was stopping, and, our party being 
 increased to over twenty in number by the 
 addition of Mr. Scjuier and his suite, and some 
 others, we rode into the plaza. There an otti- 
 cer met us and invited us to the residence of 
 the General, who with his staff was anxious to 
 escort us out of the city. Meanwhile -merchants 
 antl other citizens were continually riding up, 
 and soon we were more than fifty in number. 
 We had a beautiful United States flag of silk, 
 and with that streaming ahead we made a gal- 
 lant show as we passed up the street leading 
 to the highroad. 
 
 Night brought us to Managua, and we gal- 
 loped through its princijial streets, four abreast 
 and Hag waving, to the posada. We had 
 scarcely disposed of our animals and seated 
 ourselves to a quiet supper when we heard 
 musket-shots and exploding rockets, and saw 
 many people running by with arms in their 
 hands. We hardly knew what to make of ir, 
 but soon a great company with soldiers and 
 music came to our door, and then we learned 
 that on our entrance, our numbers being mag- 
 nified by the darkness, we had been mistaken 
 for an army from (iranada come to attack the 
 place. The inhabitants had rushed together 
 in alarm, but on tmding out the true state of 
 the case they had come to invite us to march 
 about the town in procession. So out we went, 
 unfurling our banner, and with that and the 
 music in advance, Mr. S(iuier and his escort 
 following, and with a train of three or four 
 hundred .Managuansbehind,kej)tin good order 
 by the soldiers, we passed through all the prin- 
 ci])al streets. We were greetetl at every turn by 
 loud cheers of" Vivan los Norte-.\meri( anob! " 
 
 Vivan los Estados Unidos ! " "Vivan el 
 ministro de los Estados Unidos!" " Vivan las 
 Banderas I " etc., to which we responded in our 
 best Spanish, " Vivan the brave NIanaguans!" 
 • Viva the fine ladies of Managua I " and fifty 
 Dther vivas, always giving the real Vankee " hur- 
 rah," which greatly pleased them. Rockets were 
 going up, guns were firing along the whole line, 
 and all the senoritas of Managua seemed to 
 be out in the moonlight. The crowd would 
 Vol. XLII.— 119. 
 
 n(n release us till very late, and then not until 
 we should give them " a patriotic song," with 
 whi( h they seemed perfectly delighted. 
 
 I'he next day was the glorious Fourth of 
 July. We had intended to have some little 
 celebration of it among ourselves, but, circum- 
 .stances requiring the early presence of Mr. 
 Scjuier in I. eon, we j)assed the whole day upon 
 the road. ( )ften, however, a shout or a snatch 
 of" Hail Columbia " attested that we were not 
 unmindful of its presence. The night we spent 
 in Pueblo Nuevo, where we found the friend 
 we had left ill recovering, and so far upon his 
 return route. At eight the next morning we 
 continued, and in less than three hours were 
 at the"Uld Convent," a league from Le(')n. 
 where a large escort was awaiting us — all the 
 military and civil officers, the President and 
 his cabinet, the bishop and his retinue of 
 clergy, and a large number of the most re- 
 spectable citizens, more than a hundred in all. 
 Here we stopped a few moments, while Mr. 
 Squier changed his traveling dress for his 
 official uniform, and we washed and brushed 
 ourselves a little; then our banner was un- 
 furled, and the whole cavalcade started. We 
 went on at full gallop across the plain of Leon, 
 down the hill, across the little river, and up into 
 the city. My little horse, notwithstanding the 
 long journey, was fairly dancing with excite- 
 ment. Entering the city we found the streets 
 crowded with people, who all kneeled as the 
 bishop i)assed, and then rose and shouted 
 "Viva! Viva!" to the Minister. The bells of 
 all the churches that we passed rang their gay- 
 est peals, cannon thundered in the plaza, and 
 all the soldiers were drawn up to receive us 
 with presented anns. .Vnd thus we concluded 
 our second trij) across the country. 
 
 We stopped for a day at our consul's, and 
 then with two others I cameon to Chinandega. 
 For the sake of variety, and in order to be with 
 our baggage, we made the journey in a market- 
 cart, and it beat all kinds of traveling that I 
 ever saw yet, bungos not excepted. I will not 
 attempt to describe it, except to say that l)eside 
 us three the cart contamcd two women, two 
 babies, one man, and three boys; that we had 
 one upset in a thunder-shower down a steep 
 bank, and those who were not rolleil out into 
 the mud were nearly sufl'ocated in the cart ; 
 and that we were all night on the road, during 
 the whole of which the women amused them- 
 selves with singing the f|ueerest, strangest 
 songs that I ever yet listened to. 
 
 'I'he I*".nglish consul, who has always shown 
 us great civility, oftered to our immediate party 
 the use of his house in Chinandega, altogether 
 the finest in the place, and we have been here 
 a week or two very comfortably situated. The 
 consul's proper residence being at Leon, we 
 
93° 
 
 TARRYING IN NICARAGUA. 
 
 have the whole house, with two or three atten- 
 dants to wait upon us. 
 
 San Francisco, Alta California, 
 October 4, 1849. 
 
 The main part of our company finally left 
 Realejo in the brigantine laura Ann on the 
 20th of July. At different times several small 
 parties branched off from us, and more than 
 once I was strongly urged to try my fortunes 
 with them; but for reasons which satisfied me 
 I steadily declined, notwithstanding one long 
 and most vexatious and outrageous detention, 
 and the result showed that I was right in my 
 determination, as you shall sliortly learn. 
 
 First, however, for our voyage. For the first 
 month we met with the usual succession (in 
 those seas) of calms and heavy squalls, for days 
 together rocking in the long swell and not mak- 
 ing a mile, the surface of the ocean without a 
 ripple, and the sails flapping idly against the 
 masts. Then suddenly in the night would come 
 up a squall which would make the ocean seem 
 a sea of fire and, perhaps with the loss of a sail, 
 drive us many miles on our course, for all came 
 from the eastward. All of that time I slept 
 on deck, for you may believe that with 120 
 men on a vessel of only a little over 100 tons 
 burden, the accommodations below were very 
 limited. 
 
 We had not long left port before it was dis- 
 covered that much of our water had leaked 
 from the tank in which, in lieu of casks, it had 
 been placed, and, in addition, that a large share 
 of the provisions had actually spoiled, and the 
 best were hardly eatable. Indeed, so long as the 
 meat lasted, not a piece was put upon our table 
 the smell of which would not have sickened any 
 but a California immigrant. On this part of our 
 voyage a strange sickness appeared among us, 
 which in one night attacked nearly every per- 
 son on board, and afterward not a person es- 
 caped. It was akin to the influenza, but with 
 peculiar symptoms, and though, as it seemed, 
 not dangerous, yet an exceedingly troublesome 
 complaint. For some days not a sailor was fit 
 for duty, and the passengers worked the ship. 
 I had it somewhat severely, and for more than 
 ten days. It was determined to put in at Mazat- 
 lan or San Bias for water, after we had been 
 three weeks on an allowance, and had found 
 that it would not be possible to make San Fran- 
 cisco with the stock that we had ; but off Cape 
 Corrientes a southeaster came up which bore us 
 before it to Cape St. Lucas. ... As day after 
 day and week after week passed by, and we 
 were making almost no progress against the 
 constant northwester which blew down the 
 coast, pint after pint was knocked off our al- 
 lowance, and our provisions became exhausted, 
 one kind after another, until finally they had 
 
 become reduced to bread, rice, and beans, with 
 one quart of water a day for each man, for 
 cooking as well as for drinking. The bread was 
 full of worms and defiled with cockroaches ; the 
 rice was of a quality that would not bring one 
 cent a pound in the States, half hulls, and with 
 as many w^eevils as kernels ; the beans were of a 
 peculiar kind, and the more they were boiled 
 the harder they became. There was no water to 
 be wasted on them. So that my fare was half a 
 pint of water's worth of boiled rice morning and 
 evening. That left a pint for drinking during 
 the twenty-four hours, and little enough we 
 found it too. On this diet I lived for about two 
 weeks, and like the prodigal son would have 
 been thankful enough for the mush with which 
 grandfather's hogs are fed, and many nights 
 would have been glad to get my mouth into 
 the dirtiest puddle that Chapel street ever saw. 
 At length, finding it impossible to make San 
 Diego, the port we were aiming at, we ran into 
 shore at a venture one evening in September, 
 and, coming on soundings in a thick fog, an- 
 chored, having then but eighty gallons on 
 board. This time we were truly favored. The 
 second boat sent on shore quickly returned, 
 bringing the news that directly opposite was a 
 basin of pure fresh water not ten steps from 
 the beach, and that the surf was not so high 
 but the casks could be floated off. What rejoic- 
 ing there was ! If it had been broad dayhght, 
 and if the captain had known of this water, he 
 could not have placed the ship in a better situa- 
 tion than he did, running in to an unknown 
 shore in the night, with imperfect charts and in 
 a thick fog. 
 
 But now' read the most remarkable thing ! 
 We had not lain thirty- six hours in this out- 
 of-the-way spot when a vessel which was also 
 out of water, passing by, saw us, stood in, and 
 anchored alongside; and this vessel proved to 
 be a Peruvian brig loaded with provisions for 
 the California market, and with the owner of 
 the cargo on board, who, having become dis- 
 pirited by the length of his voyage, which had I 
 already exceeded four months, and having I 
 heard at the ports below that prices in California 
 had gone down, was disposed to sell us all we 
 wanted on very reasonable terms. So we bought 
 of him flour, cheese, sugar, and lard of most ex- 
 cellent quality — a providential supply indeed, 
 for, after getting our water, we should soon have 
 been put to great straits for food, having in fact 
 nothing eatable on board. The place where we 
 were, a bight in Lower California, abounded 
 also in fish, and several barrels of fine mackerel 
 were caught and salted down, a fine bed of rock 
 salt having been discovered on shore. Some 
 cattle were driven down from a farm twenty or 
 thirty miles back, three of which were bought 
 and killed, so that from a state of absolute want 
 
rARRVfNG IN NICARAGUA. 931 
 
 \vc suildcnly frHitvl ourselv.-s in the midst of broken-down mule that had been left by the 
 
 l)lcnty. . . . wayside. Othersofour company joined a party 
 
 At night we < oiilil camp on liie shore, the which cnme up from Panama in an iron boat, 
 
 wreck, of a whaleboat which was found near For months they suffered everything. At length 
 
 supplying the wood for our hres. While here speaking a steamer, one leapecl into the water, 
 
 the supercargo, both mates, and all the sailors crying that he was perishing. A rope wasthrown 
 
 but two ran off" and went up the country. The to him, and he was dragge<l on board the 
 
 supen argo was a knave; he took with him all steamer; the others have nc\(T \(t Ix < n h<;ird 
 
 the charter money, and probably never intends from. 
 
 to show his face in San Francisco. The first A bungo was also fitted out from Kcalcjo 
 mate was a villain, had been a pirate, a wrecker, many weeks before we left. The f;ite of that, 
 and a mur»lerer, anil hail made any amount of too, is unknown, and probably none live to re- 
 trouble on board. We were glad to get rid of veal it. 
 
 him. The others were good men, and were se- Here the most thrilling tales <.i huiicnngs 
 
 duccd by the mates and thesu|)ercargo. But the hourly meet the ear. Hut, .so far as we know 
 
 places of all were well supjjlied by members of with certainty, not a death nor even a danger- 
 
 our companv who hail been sailors before, and ous attack of illness has occurred in all our 
 
 with a new crew we again set sail. Still the company which left New York. Hardships, 
 
 northwest winds continued, and it was not un- however, and peril and hunger and thirst, all 
 
 til more than three weeks, and when we were have been common. 
 
 threatened with still another deficiency, that Octobt-r 7. I will not attempt to convey to 
 
 of fire-wood, that the hills which encompass you any idea of this most indescribable jilace. 
 
 the magnificent bay of San Francisco appearetl nor to give you my impressions of it — I have 
 
 in sight. not the time, being too busy in arranging and 
 
 We thought all this bad enough, but what landing my baggage. Y'ou already know more 
 
 was it compared to what the parties who left of it than 1 myself do. Such another city never 
 
 us have undergone ? The little sloop which I was and never will be. Sharpers, swindlers, 
 
 mentioned to you in a former letter as having speculators, gamblers, and rogues of every 
 
 left Realejo about the beginning of May, with nation, clime, color, language, and costume 
 
 nine of our company and some fifteen of the under the sun are here gathered together, and 
 
 shipwrecked party, arrived here l)Ut the day bo- no words can convey a true idea of the result, 
 
 fore yesterday, having been 144 days on the I <io not meet many of my friends on shore; 
 
 route, 32 days becalmed in one spot under an they are mostly in other parts of the country, 
 almost vertical sun. They had only a pint of 
 
 water apiece a day, much of the time almost S.xcramento City, October 22, 1849. 
 
 perishing for want of food. Once they ran on 1 ih.vnk you often from the depths of my 
 
 the coast at a venture, as we did, but found no soul for the many letters your kind hearts 
 
 water. They dug for it, and searched the in- prompted you to write. They were better than 
 
 lerior for thirty or forty miles, but in vain, and all the gold of the mines. IJy and by I will do 
 
 at length were obliged to put to sea with only my part, but if you knew the whirl my brain 
 
 a bottle of water apiece, their only chance be- has been in ever since I landed in this strange 
 
 ing to fall in with a vessel, or to make some country you would excuse me now. 1 am like 
 
 l)ort within five days, at the end of which time one who is looking o\\ an ever-shifting pan- 
 
 they ex|)ected to perish. But the lucky thought orama,an(l cannot find time to say even a word 
 
 of distillirjg entered their minds. A rude still to the one who sits beside him. Never ex|X'ct 
 
 was made out of a tin boiler and a gun-barrel, to see me come back rich. I shall not make 
 
 salt water was put in, and, to their great joy, much money here, except by a streak of good 
 
 it trickled down fresh. For twenty-two days luck. I am here so late, and every avenue is 
 
 they lived on what they could thus m;inufac- now filled up ; but I do hope to gel together 
 
 ture, averaging half a pint a day to each man, enough to carry me back richer in experience, 
 
 their only food three mussels a day. Some to be with you all again. \'ou can conceive 
 
 endeavored to walk up the coast, and found nothing of this country. No account that you 
 
 themselves in lonely ileserts, obliged for days have ever read can give you half an idea, 
 
 together to live on cactus, and were almost be- l)ouble everything, and believe that then you 
 
 side themselves for joy when they found a poor, know not the half. 
 
 Ro^er S. Baldwin^ Jr. 
 
LINCOLN'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 
 
 ARTLY as a blind inference 
 from his humble origin, but 
 more from the misrepresen- 
 tations made, sometimes in 
 jest, sometimes in malice, 
 during political campaigns, 
 there grew up in the minds 
 of many the strong impres- 
 sion that Mr. Lincoln was ugly, gawky, and 
 ill-mannered ; and even in recently written 
 reminiscences the point is sometimes insisted 
 on. In one of the little bits of autobiography 
 which he wrote in the campaign of i860 at the 
 request of a friend, he thus describes himself: 
 " If any personal description of me is thought 
 desirable, I am in height six feet four inches, 
 nearly ; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, 
 one hundred and eighty pounds ; dark com- 
 plexion, with coarse black hair and gray eyes." 
 To these points we may add the other well- 
 known peculiarities of Lincoln's form and fea- 
 tures : Large head, wnth high crown of skull ; 
 thick, bushy hair ; large and deep eye-caverns ; 
 heavy eyebrows; a large nose; large ears; 
 large mouth; thin upper and somewhat thick 
 under hp; very high and prominent cheek- 
 bones ; cheeks thin and sunken ; strongly de- 
 veloped jawbones; chin slightly upturned; a 
 thin but sinewy neck, rather long ; long arms ; 
 large hands; chest thin and narrow as com- 
 pared with his great height ; legs of more than 
 proportionate length, and large feet. 
 
 The reader's first impression will naturally 
 be that a man with such long limbs and large 
 and prominent features could not possibly be 
 handsome ; and this would be true of a man 
 of ordinary height. But it must be borne in 
 mind that Lincoln's height was extraordinary. 
 A six-footer is a tall man ; put four inches on 
 top of that and you have a figure by no means 
 common. Long limbs and large and strong 
 features were fitted to this unusual stature, and 
 harmonized perfectly with it ; there was no ef- 
 fect of disproportion or grotesqueness. The 
 beholder felt that here was a strong man, a 
 person of character and power. As an evi- 
 dence of this I cite two opinions concerning 
 his personal appearance, made by impressions 
 upon observers who noted not only the general 
 effect, but somewhat minute details. The first 
 is from a Philadelphian who visited him at 
 Springfield, soon after his election to the presi- 
 dency, and wrote this description, which was 
 printed in the Philadelphia " Evening Bul- 
 letin," under date of November 14, i860 : 
 
 932 
 
 He is about six feet four inches high, and 
 about fifty-one years old. Unfortunately for his 
 personal appearance his great height makes his 
 lankness appear to be excessive, and he has by 
 no means been studious of the graces ; his bear- 
 ing is not attractive, and he does not appear to 
 advantage when standing or walking. Seated, 
 and viewed from the chest up, he is fine looking. 
 His forehead is high and full, and swells out 
 grandly. His eyes are deeply set, and, when his 
 face is reposing, are not remarkable for bright- 
 ness, but kindle with his thoughts and beam with 
 great expression. His eyebrows are heavy, and 
 move almost incessantly as he becomes animated. 
 The lower part of his face is strongly marked by 
 long angular jaws ; but, unlike such a formation 
 generally, his chin is broad and massive. His 
 prominent cheek-bones, angularjaws, heavy chin, 
 and large, full, but closely compressed mouth, 
 with the deep lines about it, impress one with 
 vivid ideas of his sternness, determination, and 
 will. The hollowness of his cheeks gives him 
 a somewhat haggard look, but as he is now cul- 
 tivating whiskers and a beard, his appearance in 
 that respect will soon be improved. His hair is 
 very dark, almost black ; is luxuriant, and falls 
 carelessly but not ungracefully around his well- 
 formed head. No facial muscles show more mo- 
 bility than his, and consequently his face is an 
 ever-varying mirror in which various expressions 
 are continually flashing. Unlike most very tall 
 men, he is lithe and agile and quick in all his 
 movements and gestures. He talks fluently, uses 
 good strong Saxon, avoids all attempts at display 
 and affectations of any kind. His voice is strong 
 and clear, and his articulation is singularly per- 
 fect. 
 
 My second citation is from a personal de- 
 scription of him written by Thomas D. Jones, 
 the Cincinnati sculptor, who went to Spring- 
 field in December, i860, and made a bust of 
 Mr. Lincoln. This description was. printed in 
 the Cincinnati " Commercial " of October 18, 
 187 1. Doubtless the lapse of years had some- 
 what dimmed the writer's first impressions ; yet 
 as the sculptor's profession had trained him in 
 the art and habit of critical examination of 
 lines and proportions, we may trust his state- 
 ment both in whole and in detail as that of an 
 accomplished expert. 
 
 Soon after reaching Springfield I attended one 
 of Mr. Lincoln's evening receptions ; it was there 
 I really saw him for the first time to please me. 
 He was surrounded by his nearest and dearest 
 friends, his face illuminated, or, in common par- 
 lance, lighted up. He was physically an athlete 
 of the first order. He could lift with ease a thou- 
 sand pounds, five hundred in each hand. In 
 
SAN FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMIT'IKKS. 
 
 BY 
 
 TTIF. CHAIRMAN OF THF. COMMITTF.F.S OF 1S51. 1856, AM" 1S77. 
 
 X the 14th of August, 1S49. my 
 brother and I rode from the 
 Sierra foothills into the Sacra- 
 mento Valley, intending to 
 reach Sutter's I-ort that night. 
 Early in the forenoon we were 
 overtaken by a horseman, a 
 finely mounted, handsome fellow, who asked 
 if we were immigrants. We answered. Yes, He 
 welcomed us into the new country, and said 
 he had arrived some months earlier. I told him 
 that my brother, who was near by. and I were 
 just arriving overland ; that wc had come from 
 Salt Lake alone in about twenty days, for be- 
 ing well efiuij)ped we had made quick time; that 
 he was the first Californian we had met, and, 
 indeed, the first person we had seen in several 
 days. I asked him if gold in Cahfornia was a 
 reality or a romance. He said it was an as- 
 sured reality, and, as a ready proof, loosened 
 his waistcoat and revealed a large, long, leath- 
 ern bag strapped securely to his person, in 
 which he said was about three thousand dollars 
 in gold-dust, the result of his labor for a short 
 time. He stopped his horse, ojjened his purse, 
 and showed us the glittering metal. Enjoying 
 my suri)ri.se and interest, he gave me several 
 handsome specimens as a souvenir. I asked 
 him if it was not hazardous to make such a 
 display of his wealth. He answered. No, it was 
 |)erfectly safe ; that people were honest, or made 
 to be honest ; that there was no room in this 
 country for thieves, and there was no such 
 thing as highway robbery; there had been 
 troubles in the country, but the worst men had 
 i)een summarily punished, the others had 
 learned better, and there was plenty for all 
 who would work. He gave me many particu- 
 lars about the country-, the new population, the 
 gold prochict ; dcscribc<l the new towns, es- 
 pecially Sacramento, which hafl grown up on 
 the river near Sutter's Fort, and whither he was 
 then going ; gave me the distances, and ad- 
 vised me of the best camping-grounds, and, 
 his animal being fresher than ours, bade us 
 good-by, and galloped on. 
 
 .\ few miles farther on, turning the point of a 
 hill, a ])anorama of the grand, beautiful valley 
 of Sacramento, the land of promise, opened its 
 broad expanse before us, apparently limitless on 
 the south and west, albeit revealing fringes of 
 
 trees skirting the streams below. Very soon 
 we met wagons, horsemen, footmen in scores, 
 Americans, Mexicans, Chinese (the first I had 
 ever seen of these), all going to the mines, every 
 man pushing on eagerly. It was al' r a 
 
 stirring scene, shaqjly contrasting the ,... ...ile 
 
 of the one thousand miles of mountain, valley, 
 and desert we had just traversed. About 4 p. M. 
 we reached Sutter's Fort, and, as directed, 
 passed around it, forded the .American River, 
 which was low, and found excellent grass and a 
 good camping-place where several grf)U])S of 
 new-comers were already comfortably located. 
 Having selected our ground and picketed our 
 animals, our new neighbors came with the usual 
 greetings and inquiries, to which we responded 
 in kind, and I reverted to the horseman we had 
 met in the morning, and to what he had told 
 us of the condition of the country, abundance 
 of gold and provi.sions, and of the safety of life 
 and property. They said it was all true; that 
 no one thought at the present time of tak- 
 ing anything that did not belong to him be- 
 cause of the fear of prompt punishment by 
 the people. I said, " Then is life as safe as 
 proj^erty ? " They saifl property was perfectly 
 safe, and life as safe as in any countr\- where 
 people behave them.selves. Accustomed as I 
 was to frontier life and to the value of swift 
 and severe punishment, this ideal security for 
 life and ])Foperty suri)as.sed anything I had ever 
 seen, and made me fancy that Utopia had be- 
 come a realitv in this new western land, and I 
 said, " Here you have, then, a truly golden age 
 with halcyon days." 
 
 The second day, after having rested, I went 
 to the new city of Sacramento, and found it a 
 scene of activity and vitality. It was a town 
 of tents, with a few frame buildings, altogether 
 strongly resembling a hugecamp-' ' j.with 
 many people camping in the o; . The 
 
 streets were filled with men coming and going, 
 wagons and j^ack animals loading from the 
 well-filled stores ; many vessels were discharg- 
 ing on the river banks cargoes of mining sup- 
 plies and provisions of all kinds, and there was 
 evcrvwhere a full display of pro busi- 
 
 ness and earnest life. New imii - were 
 
 daily arriving overland and by sea ; surveyors 
 laving out building lots, au( tion sales of lands, 
 cattle, and merchandise loudly proclaimed 
 
 '33 
 
134 SAN FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 cheerful activity everywhere. Sales were for accused of corruption ; the prisons were small 
 
 cash, the currency of the country being placer and insecure, and it was boldly proclaimed 
 
 gold-dust at $1 6 per ounce if clean and pure, through the streets that with packed juries 
 
 and $15 or less for that which was not so and venal judges, false witnesses and dishon- 
 
 good, supplemented by Mexican dollars and est officials, our criminal courts had become a 
 
 Mexican gold doubloons at $16 each; there failure and a reproach. 
 
 was very little European or American coin. I On Wednesday night, February 19, 1851, 
 
 noticed large piles of goods outside the stores the city was thrown into intense excitement 
 
 and tents, unprotected, and I asked if they by the report that a bold attack had been 
 
 Avere left out at night and were safe. The made early in the evening upon the store of 
 
 answers were all affirmative. The doors of Jansen & Co., merchants, Mr. Jansen having 
 
 houses had no locks, or they were unused ; the been brutally assaulted and left on the floor 
 
 tents had no fastenings, yet there were no insensible, it was supposed dead, and the house 
 
 losses of property, as every trespasser knew having been robbed. Arrests were soon made, 
 
 that in theft he would hazard his life. and the person supposed to be guilty, one Bur- 
 
 This I afterward found was the condition due, was lodged in prison. A large crowd 
 
 all over the country. The miner without fear gathered around that building and made 
 
 or hesitation would leave his bag of gold-dust threats to destroy the premises and hang the 
 
 under his pillow and go to his camp for a day's offender. The officials made conciHatory ap- 
 
 work. He would leave his gold-diggings and peals and the crowd finally dispersed, though 
 
 rocker with hundreds ofdoUars exposed without dissatisfied, and it was soon reported that on 
 
 fearofloss: all, or chiefly, the result of very sum- Sunday morning, the 23d, the people would 
 
 mary punishment inflicted upon lawless men assemble en viasse. In the early forenoon, I 
 
 in San Francisco the year before, and of the walked quietly toward the premises, and was 
 
 trial and quick execution of a its^ through- surprised to find a great crowd of people already 
 
 out the country when found appropriating to on the spot, while others were pushing in from 
 
 their own use what did not belong to them, all directions, many bearing side-arms. The 
 
 This was the common law of the country. eyes of the people I met showed that they were 
 
 This condition of affairs continued through thoroughly aroused, and the clenched hands 
 
 the winter of 1849 and the spring and early and quick gestures of many gave evidences 
 
 summer of 1850, during which time a large ad- of irritation and rage. 
 
 ditional immigration came in, embracing num- The mayor and a few leading citizens were 
 bers of our best people, and including many vainly trying to calm the excitement by guar- 
 famihes of early pioneers, all bringing a sense anteeing to hold the prisoner securely, prom- 
 ofhome-lifeand sanguine anticipation of future ising a speedy and vigorous trial, and asking 
 comfort and happiness. But unfortunately this the people to disperse ; but there was no faith 
 tide was met by a flow of the worst element in in these promises. All seemed impatient oi 
 the world, chiefly from Sydney and other Pacific delay; no one would leave. On the con- 
 Ocean ports, and, as a little foul matter will taint trary, all moved forward in a solid, sullen 
 a large stream, so this matter seriously changed mass, surrounded the building, and pressed 
 and endangered current affairs in California, against every entrance. Though there seemed 
 Reports of robberies and assaults soon became to be no concerted plan of action, no leader- 
 common ; again the pubHc mind began to be ship, yet there was plainly a common thought 
 excited over the general lawlessness. Wealth and a common object. It was evident that 
 was increasing, business prospering, solid im- unless the people were quickly diverted, and 
 provements progressing throughout the city in some way satisfied, they would soon take 
 and State ; people were hopeful on the one possession of the building, seize the prisoner, 
 hand, and fearful on the other, for while our and execute him without a hearing or form 
 golden era was bright, we had many sad of trial. No available power could stop them, 
 proofs that our halcyon days had departed. I always had had a horror of a mob, and its 
 This was no longer Arcadia. wild and hasty excesses, and it occurred to me 
 
 The rapid and continued increase of crime that a middle course might be adopted, and a 
 
 in San Francisco impressed on every thinking fair and speedy trial be secured by a court of 
 
 man the conviction that some more vigorous the people, organized on the spot. So I pushed 
 
 action of the legal authorities was imperative, my way to the front balcony, which overlooked 
 
 and must be stimulated and insisted upon, or the people below, and catching the ear of the 
 
 self-preservation would make it necessary for mass, I proposed that those present should 
 
 the people to take the matter into their own immediately form themselves into a court 
 
 hands, and assert the law and establish order within the building; that the prisoner should 
 
 in their own way. The police were notoriously be brought before them, counsel on each side 
 
 inadequate and inefficient; the courts had been allowed, and testimony be taken, and that the 
 
1- -> 
 
 S.-iX FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COM MITTIUiS. 135 
 
 trial should proceed fairly, calmly, and resn- done our duty, our whole duly, honesdy, loy- 
 
 lutely, and, if the prisoner should be found ally. Many before us had thought their pris- 
 
 innocent, that he sliould be discharged and oner the guilty ])arty, and he had proved not 
 
 this intense excitement allayed; but if he to be; and as our action had been unusually 
 
 should be found guilty, that he should be prompt, our time for examination and comi)ari- 
 
 hange«l before the sun went down. son unusually short, it did not become us to 
 
 Never in my life had I heard a more instan- act except on the most unquestioned proof, 
 
 taneous and tumultuous shout of ap|)lause. It We could not aflbrd to make a mistake, and 
 
 waslight breaking through the dark over-hang- surely we could not aftord to have innocent 
 
 ing cloud. It solveil the problem and satisfied blood on our hands. With all my earnestness, 
 
 the longings of the people. This note had I preferred that this prisoner should go his way, 
 
 struck the chord and every nerve seemed to or that he be left to those who had promised 
 
 vibrate in harmony. All citizens who could a full, fair, and impartial trial. We knew the 
 
 tind room were invited to come into the build- man now too well for him ever to become 
 
 ing, while others formed a guard without. Mr. dangerous." 
 
 Spence, a prominent merchant, was selected as These views were adopted, and the court 
 
 Judge, and twelve well-known citizens formed and the remaining part of the assemblage ad- 
 
 thejury. Three prominent lawyers, McAllister, joumed, and the prisoner was left in charge 
 
 Benham, and Shattuck, volunteered to defend of the county officers. Thus ended the famous 
 
 the i)risoner. I asked for counsel for the pro.se- " Burdue trial." 
 
 cution, when the house insisted upon my taking The result of this trial was not as fortunate 
 
 that position. The trial consumed about six for the safety of life and property as were 
 
 hours. The hall was packed to repletion, and similar proceedings in 1849. Soon the an- 
 
 the streets surrounding the buikling were filled nouncement of outrages in different parts of 
 
 with a compact mass of people, about ten thou- the State became numerous. In San Fran- 
 
 .sand in all. There was great impatience and cisco the matter grew .serious, and there was 
 
 fear of a failure in the trial, and that the pris- much discussion as to the remedy. The best 
 
 oner would escape. Several times the people jieople were wholly absor])ed in their personal 
 
 became so clamorous that I was compelled to aftairs; the worst were following their criminal 
 
 leave the court-room and make a short speech instincts without fear and without obstruction, 
 
 to satisfy them that everything was going well. On the 3d of May, 1851, a great fire oc- 
 
 Happily, I always succeeded in restoring quiet, curred that destroyed almost the entire city and 
 
 Whatever I said and did was satisfactory. So in which a hundred lives were lost. There were 
 
 dense was the crowd that, on making my way good reasons for believing that the fire was the 
 
 to the front of the building, I was literally work of incendiaries who had sacrificed these 
 
 forced to walk over the heads and shoulders valuable lives and millions of dollars' worth of 
 
 of the thickly packed mass of people. property for the sake of plunder, and a ver)' 
 
 Witnesses were thoroughly examined ; the strong and bitter feeling grew up against the 
 factsofassaultandrobbery were clearly proved; newly arrived jiopulation of criminal classes, 
 the evidence was so |)lainly detailed as not to The conviction grew stronger every day that 
 admit of doubt. Counsel were heard on both something should be done by the ])eople them- 
 sides, the trial continuing until about dark, selves to rid the city of incendiaries and rob- 
 when the jury retired. bers. With the view of immediate protection. 
 
 .Vfter waiting patiendy several hours, toward a number of mechanics, merchants, anil other 
 
 the middle of the night I was amazed to hear respectable citizens agreed to form a private 
 
 that Judge Shattuck had secretly secured ad- jjatrol, each member of this volunteer police 
 
 mittance to the jury-room, had made an ex- to take his particular beat, and to be on duty 
 
 parte appeal, and secured a disagreement. a certain number of hours ever)' night. In 
 
 When it was found that the jury had dis- case of emergency, the entire force wa.s to 
 
 agreed, the consideration came as to what next rally at a jwint and be prepared for duty, 
 
 should be done. It was within our ])ower to The effect was good, but the result was not 
 
 have yet dealt with the accused as we chose, adequate : the criminal classes continued their 
 
 and there were earnest advocates for prompt outrages. 
 
 and summary action, who declared that justice A second great fire occurred on the 31I of 
 
 was being tricked and (heated, and it was our June following, and arrests were made of per- 
 
 duty to j)rove ourselves more than a match for sons believed to be the incendiaries. So violent 
 
 such villainy, and that it would be but right was the feeling of the people that attempts 
 
 to put the chief actor in this attempt along>ide were made to hang the prisoners, but the mayor 
 
 the criminal. But I said," No, a thousand times and officials promi.sed that they should be 
 
 no. Better by far that it should be so, than severely dealt with. The grand jury was 
 
 that we should make a fatal error. We had then in session, and found a true bill against 
 
136 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 some of the accused, but by technicalities 
 the indictments were quashed and the persons 
 disappeared. 
 
 THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE OF 1851. 
 
 The want of a strong organization among 
 those who wished to preserve peace and en- 
 force the laws was severely felt. Those who had 
 the largest interests at stake felt that unless there 
 could be united action and control, there might 
 be introduced a system of mob law, which 
 would ultimately be more dangerous than the 
 existing state of affairs. It was for this reason 
 that, on the loth of June, 1851, an organization 
 of prominent business men was effected, and 
 about two hundred names Avere enrolled under 
 what was styled " The Committee of Vigilance 
 of San Francisco." The objects of the com- 
 mittee were " to watch, pursue, and bring to 
 justice the outlaws infesting the city, through 
 the regularly constituted courts, if possible, 
 through more summary process, if necessary." 
 Each member pledged his word of honor, his 
 hfe, and his fortune for the protection of his 
 fellow-members, and for purging the city of its 
 bad characters. After arranging for a concert 
 of action, watchwords, and a signal to call the 
 members to the rendezvous, which was three 
 taps of a fire-bell, the committee adjourned for 
 the evening. 
 
 Scarcely half an hour had passed before the 
 bell was tapped. On reaching headquarters I 
 found a number of gentlemen, and soon after 
 there was brought in a very large, rough, vicious- 
 looking man called Jenkins, an ex-convict from 
 Sydney, who had been caught in the theft of a 
 safe from a store. He was well known as a 
 desperate character who had frequently evaded 
 j ustice. The committee was organized immedi- 
 ately into a court, and Jenkins was tried for the 
 offense within an hour. The evidence was 
 overwhelming; he was promptly convicted and 
 sentenced to be hanged that night. Jenkins's 
 bearing throughout the trial was defiant and 
 insulting, and he intimated that his rescue by 
 his friends might be expected at any moment. 
 We were notified by our ofticers that already 
 the roughest and worst characters throughout 
 the city were mustering in force to resist the 
 committee. At the same time scores of our 
 best citizens came forward and enrolled them- 
 selves as members, while others pledged their 
 support in anything we might do. 
 
 1 strenuously resisted the proposition to exe- 
 cute Jenkins that night, as I held it cowardly 
 to hang him in the dark in such hot haste. I 
 proposed he should be held till next morning 
 and then hanged in broad daylight as the sun 
 rose. Only a few agreed with me; there was 
 much nervousness; the very circumstances of 
 
 his crime having been committed at the mo- 
 ment of our organization and in defiance of 
 it, and the threatened attack on us by aban- 
 doned criminals, all tended to impress the 
 committee with the necessity of prompt ac- 
 tion. Seeing that he must be hanged, I moved 
 that the prisoner have the benefit of clergy. 
 This was granted, but when the minister was 
 left with him, the hardened criminal heaped 
 the vilest insults on his venerable head. This 
 hastened his doom, and his career was quickly 
 closed. 
 
 The next morning the work of the Vigilance 
 Committee was heralded throughout the State, 
 and hundreds of citizens came forward and ten- 
 dered their approval of our acts and asked to 
 be enrolled in our ranks. The unexpected ar- 
 rest and quick execution of Jenkins spread con- 
 sternation among all his class. The Governor 
 of the State, McDougal, issued a proclamation 
 and maintained a nominal opposition to the 
 committee, but took no active measures against 
 it. Many arrests were made of desperate charac- 
 ters, and where clear proof of murder within the 
 State was lacking, it was decided that banish- 
 ment or corporal punishment should be the 
 penalty. During the active operations of the 
 committee, four men were hanged, and about 
 thirty were banished. Nearly all were from 
 Sydney or other British colonies, and as far as 
 possible they were returned to the places from 
 which they had come. 
 
 After a session of about thirty days the 
 committee, finding that the country had been 
 purged of a goodly number of the worst peo- 
 ple, determined to adjourn quietly. It was 
 decided not to disband, but to preserve the 
 organization ready for any emergency. Hap- 
 pily there was no call for its services for some 
 time; in fact, it was four years before the neces- 
 sity of such a committee was again felt by the 
 people of California, and brought forth finally 
 the famous Vigilance Committee of 1856. 
 
 As contemporary testimony to the value 
 of the work of the first Vigilance Committee, 
 and its significance as an example of self-gov- 
 ernment, I quote the following editorial from 
 the New York " Daily Tribune" of July 19, 
 1851: 
 
 . . . The summary proceedings of the San 
 FranciscoCommittee of Vigilance, in the trial, con- 
 demnation, and execution of the thief Jenkins, are 
 not to be regarded in the light of an ordinary riot, 
 much less as an example of hostility to the estab- 
 lished laws, heralding disorganization and anarchy. 
 Seen from the proper point of view, it is a mani- 
 festation, violent, it is true, of that spirit of order 
 which created the State of California. . . . San 
 Francisco presents, therefore, the singular spec- 
 tacle of a community governed by two powers, 
 each of which is separate and distinct from the 
 
s.ix /'A'. IXC/SCO I ■/(;//.. I. vc/-: coMMrrrf.F.s. 
 
 .1/ 
 
 EXECUTION OF JOHN JENKINS. (AKTEK A LITHOGRAPH OF THE TIME, IIULISHED BV Jl STH gllKOT Is. C<>.» 
 
 Other. They cannot come in conflict, since there 
 is no agjjrcssive movement against the law on the 
 partof the committee, and no attempt on the part 
 ofthe regular authorities tointerfere with theaction 
 of the latter. Public opinion universally upholds 
 the course pursuedby the committee. This course, 
 under the circumstances, cannot be called mob 
 law or lynch law, in the common acceptation of 
 the term. It more nearly resembles the martial 
 law which prevails during a state of siege. 
 
 .•\t this distance we will not venture to judge 
 whether the circumstances demand so merciless 
 a code. But we are sutficiently familiar with the 
 characters of the men composing the Committee 
 of Vigilance, to acquit them of any other mo- 
 tive than that of maititaining public order and 
 indii'idual stciirity. We believe they will exer- 
 cise the power they have assumed no longer 
 than is absolutely necessary to subserve these 
 ends, and that their willing submission to the 
 authority ofthe law, when the law shall be com- 
 petent to protect them, will add another chapter 
 to the marvelous history of their State. In spite 
 of these violent exhibitions of popular sentiment, 
 the instinct of order, t/w cafiacity for st'lf-go^'crn- 
 tnrnt, is manif-sted morf stroiif^ly in California, at 
 this moment, than in any other part of the world. 
 
 rHK GRE.AT VIGIL.'VNCE CO.MMiriKK OF 1856. 
 
 Whkn I returned to San Francisco in Jan- 
 uary, 1856, after an absence in New York of 
 Vol. XLlll.— iS. 
 
 about two years, I found a great change and 
 much public excitement in social, political, and 
 financial affairs. Therehad been a severe finan- 
 cial crisis in 1S55, and affairs were still ver)- 
 unsettleil. The " liulletin " newspaper, edited 
 by James King of William,' had undertaken 
 local retVirm, and was boldly a.^^sailing all evil- 
 doers who had again become aggressive. \'ery 
 recently United States Marshal Richardson 
 had been killed by an Italian gambler named 
 Cora. 'I'he murderer had been imjirisoned and 
 tried, but all efforts to convict him had failed. 
 The excitement over the general lawlessness 
 and the impotence ofthe courts increased as 
 the months went by, but a crisis was reached 
 only by the a.s.sassination of Ktlitor King in the 
 streets, on the evening of the 1 4th of .May. He 
 was shot down by an ex-convict named Casey, 
 whose infamous New York record the etlitor 
 had exposed. The community was immediately 
 thrown intointen.se ex( itement.and the engine- 
 bell on the I'la/a was rung — the familiar signal 
 of the old Vigilance Committee. 
 
 .After a hasty dinner I went to the Plaza, 
 which I found crowded with excited citizens. 
 Members of the old committee sought me in 
 
 11 hi- liiMj^nation was chosen by Mr. King to dis- 
 tinguish hiniscir froii) many others of tlic .same name 
 in San Francisco. — Editor. 
 
138 
 
 SAJV FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 numbers and urged me to organize a new com- 
 mittee. I declined these importunities ; several 
 meetings were held in different places, and ur- 
 gent appeals made not to allow a repetition 
 of the failure of organization as was done a 
 few months previously when Cora killed Rich- 
 ardson. The result of all was that I finally 
 consented to take charge and organize the com- 
 mittee, provided I should have absolute con- 
 trol — authority supreme. We organized, and 
 within twenty-four hours we had fifteen hun- 
 dred members, all well-known leading men 
 of the city. They took a strong oath pledg- 
 ing their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor 
 to the cause, and promising to stand by one 
 another under all circumstances, and not to 
 divulge any transactions of the committee. 
 The organization was to be entirely imper- 
 sonal, and each man was to be known only 
 by his number. An organization in military 
 companies, well officered, was perfected the 
 first evening. Within two days after the first 
 meeting 2500 men were enrolled and equipped 
 with arms, while drilling was carried on con- 
 stantly day and night. Such was the zeal and 
 intelligence of all, that soldiers were formed of 
 men who but a few days before hardly knew 
 how to handle a gun. 
 
 While this work of organization and prepara- 
 tion was progressing we were informed of nu- 
 merous counter movements by the opponents 
 of the committee. Word was brought that the 
 roughs were organizing in large numbers, arm- 
 ing, and threatening with determined energy to 
 defend Casey, Cora, and their friends, at all 
 hazards, and to lay the city waste if need be 
 to accomplish that end. The next day it was 
 developed that a strong effort was being made 
 
 by the mayor and others to organize and bring 
 into action all the militia of the State that were 
 available. The larger and better part of the 
 militia in the city had, however, already joined 
 the committee. Renewed and specific threats 
 were made on the life and property of all who 
 were members of the committee, and a deter- 
 mination was announced to crush the new 
 movement at any cost of life, money, or 
 property. 
 
 It thus became too evident that the com- 
 mittee had to prepare for more serious work 
 than was anticipated, or by rights should have 
 been forced upon them. James King of Wil- 
 liam \\'as honest, brave, and terribly in earnest, 
 but often rash. Unhappily, he had arrayed 
 against him several classes of people. He had 
 severely, though in the main justly, castigated 
 that portion of the press that upheld or a])ol- 
 ogized for excesses or irregularities in political 
 affairs. He had aroused a Roman Catholic in- 
 fluence hostile to himself by ill-advised strictures 
 on one of their clergy. He had invited the bit- 
 ter animosity of a large portion of the Southern 
 element by the stinging severity of his criti- 
 cisms on them in their official capacity, and his 
 denunciation of them as the Chivalry, and the 
 unworthy Chivalry, who had captured and held, 
 or virtually controlled, for their own benefit the 
 offices of the city and State. All of these ele- 
 ments, separately and combined, were inimical 
 to King, who by his impetuous methods and 
 reckless personalities had unfortunately and 
 needlessly made himself many bitter personal 
 enemies. Thus, the committee was assailed as 
 his champion by all these parties, when in fact it 
 was not such, but was merely the champion of 
 justice and of right — the child of the necessi- 
 
 
 i-„5*H!S-' 
 
 
 
 THE HANGING OF STUART BV THE FIRST VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. 
 
SIX /-A' I yc/scn iicii wc^r rn\i\irirFrs. 
 
 >39 
 
 irrSf=lJ^KA*--^^^3.'-'^ ■■'-■■J-- • !■ 
 
 1 ) 
 
 CHO'ovco rr M. viv.Te<i. 
 
 PMOTOOHAf'MCO ftY TAblN. 
 
 JAMES KING, OF WII.I.IAM. (FROM A DAGUERREOTVrR IN POSSF.SSION OF HIS SON CIIARI.FS J. KINO.) 
 
 ticsof the hour. The committee scarcely thought 
 of or had in view King's personal relations 
 with his fomier antagonists. It merely looked 
 at the state of affairs in the city and country, 
 and the evils that threatened, and went for- 
 ward in the direction f)f the work attem])ted 
 a few monthshefore.whenCorakilled Richard- 
 son. Indeed. sucii waslhecondilion of the pub- 
 lic mind at this time that if, instead of King, any 
 other prominent man had been assassinated, 
 a similar demonstration would have ensued, 
 though it would not probalily have so clearly 
 divided the community or brought such bitter 
 oi)])osition. 
 
 \\'hile on previous occasions the city and 
 State authorities had been conservatively pas- 
 sive, they were now unexpectedly active and 
 aggressive, the moral of which we knew might 
 have weight with weak, doubtful, and negative 
 people, and even with many of the best, 'i'his 
 warned us to prepare for changes which caprice 
 
 of opinion, the turn of fortune, or the course 
 of time might bring forth against us. We felt 
 strong in our resources, numbers, cause, and 
 courage. We had about .seven-eighths of the 
 people with us. 
 
 With the opposition were some of the best 
 people of the country. Their party and friends 
 hail all the ( ity and .State offu es ; they had 
 with them the law and most of the lawyers, 
 and all the law-breakers. Their < hief hope 
 was in legal. State, and liovernment aid. We 
 aske«l nothing but to be untlerstood anil judged 
 rightly. 
 
 Our aims and poNJtion were soon made 
 jilain and satisfactory to the leading army 
 and navy officers on this coast and to the 
 ( 'lovernment at Washington. They soon umler- 
 stooil us and always left us to complete our 
 work in our own way. On May i6 I was 
 waited upon by some gentlemen who said that 
 (lovemor I. Neelv Johnson had just arrived, 
 
I40 SAJV FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 and was very anxious to see me. He was at retire from the position we had taken ; that we 
 the Continental Hotel, and would come to any did not want to be in opposition to the State ; 
 point that I might indicate ; he did not know that we were as law-abiding people as any in 
 where I was, or he would have waited upon the world, as long as there was any law ; that 
 me at once. I replied that I would do myself our real object was to see the laws carried out 
 the honor to call upon the Governor at his and executed, and if the officers of the law 
 hotel. I did so, and the question of the work would not carry them out and execute them, 
 of the committee was broached immediately, then it devolved on us to do it; we did not 
 He asked what we wanted. I answered that we want to quit our business, our vocations, and 
 wanted peace. We would like to have it with- our homes to do all this, but we were compelled 
 out a struggle, but if it must be at the cost of to do it, and if he could see his way clear to 
 war, then we must have war. He asked what maintain his status as Governor on the record, 
 we wanted to accomplish. I told him, very to do it by all means. We did not want a sin- 
 much what the Vigilance Committee of 185 1 gle court to adjourn, a single officer to vacate 
 accomplished — to see that the laws were ex- his position, nor to surrender his rights nor fail 
 ecuted upon a few prominent criminals whom in his duties. He said he appreciated the sit- 
 the officers of the law had allowed to go un- uation, that he knew me very well (we had al- 
 punished ; to drive away from the State some ways been close friends), and he knew those 
 notoriously bad characters ; to purify the at- associated with me ; he had been called down 
 mosphere morally and politically, and then to from the State capital ; he was now satisfied, and 
 disband. I told him the names of the people he would leave the field to us in confidence, 
 in this organization were a guarantee to him About two hours afterward, I was busily en- 
 that there were no personal aims, or ambitions, gaged at our headquarters when a messenger 
 nothing in view except the work of the public brought word that several gentlemen. Governor 
 good ; that as an officer of the law, and an Johnson, Mr. Garrison, and others, were in the 
 observer, he must be aware of the frightful anteroom and wanted to see me particularly, 
 condition of affairs throughout the State, es- Johnson's manner was much changed ; he had 
 pecially in San Francisco ; that it had been evidently come under the influence of the op- 
 apparent to all that this could not be much posing party. He asked what we were going 
 longer endured, and that the climax had now to do, and if this trouble could not be setded, 
 arrived in the striking down of King ; that the addressing me as if he had not asked the same 
 people had resolved that they would correct question a few hours before in our former inter- 
 the mischief if possible, and that they believed view. I answered, and naturally addressed the 
 they could do it ; that done, they would retire whole party through him, that the people of 
 from all participation in such matters, and leave the city and State were tired of having citizens 
 the regularly constituted authorities to do their shot down and other outrages committed as 
 work, if they would. " Now, Governor," said I, they had been, and were no longer inclined to 
 " you are called upon by the mayor and a class endure them. He agreed with me, and was of 
 of people here to bring out the militia and try my opinion as fully as any one could be, but he 
 to put down this movement. I assure you it thought the courts could remedy all that ; we 
 cannot be done, and ifyou attempt it, it will give had good judges and good men, and the peo- 
 you and us a great deal of trouble. It is not pie need not rise up in a mob and obstruct the 
 the way to treat the question. Do as McDougal execution of the laws. I told the Governor that 
 did ; see, as he did, that this is a mere local ours was not a mob, that it was a deliberative 
 reform, intended to correct local abuses. Al- body regularly organized, the officers and men 
 low us to take up the work and get through pledged to their duty, — it was a government 
 with it, as he did, without anything more than within a government, if he liked, — and that he 
 a formal opposition by the State. Do your must not regard it as a mob, because it was 
 duty in issuing your proclamation and mani- clean and clearly out of the sphere and atmo- 
 festos, and maintaining formally the dignity sphere of mobocracy; that we had not seen 
 of the law, but leave to us the work, and we any laws executed in San Francisco for a long 
 shall get through with it in a short time and while, and it was because of this failure that 
 quit, and quit gladly." He slapped me on the we felt called upon by the most imperative sense 
 shoulder, and said, " Go it, old boy ! but get of duty and of safety to undertake it ourselves; 
 through as quickly as you can. Don't prolong that if it were done by the officers of the law, 
 it, because there is a terrible opposition and a there was no portion of the citizenship of the 
 terrible pressure." State more prompt to aid and support them 
 I told him I had just realized the position than the \'igilance Committee would be. He 
 that King had stood in, and that all of King's then proposed that Ave should hold ourselves 
 opponents, or most of them, would become the together if we wished, but leave the trial of 
 opponents of the committee, but we could not Casey and Cora to the regular courts, and of- 
 
.V./.\' JKAXC/SCO I'JiiJL.WCJi COMM I IIEES. 
 
 141 
 
 fcrcd to ])lc(l^'c himself that tlu'v should have 
 a speedy and fair trial, and it' tlie eviilence ail- 
 duced was sufficient, that they would he exe- 
 cuted, I replied that the people no longer hail 
 contulence in theortuers. that too many of them 
 were unfortunately friends and intimate asso- 
 ciates of these very prisoners. I rejjcated my 
 suggestion that he allow the committee to do 
 
 This interview was the next day re|)orted in 
 ditferenl f(jrms, and brought lorlh from the 
 other ])arties many disingenuous statements. 
 Johnson's dorsal vertehrai proved too weak 
 to stand by his word, and he never recovered ; 
 yet the status remained uiu hanged until Sun- 
 day morning, the i8th of May, when the Ex- 
 ecutive Committee determined on further and 
 
 F CASEY ANll I okA In 1111 M I K I sF \ r A III KS lih IIIK VlLllASCK KiMMllIKI', M\V iS. 1856. 
 
 its work and then disband. Now they had no 
 patience to wait, they were thoroughly aroused 
 and were determined to go through with tlie 
 undertaking, and there was not power enough 
 in the .State to stop them. 
 
 I then asked three members of the execu- 
 tive to join me, and reviewed and repeated 
 wliat ha«l been said, all of which was clearly 
 understood. It was then asked of us if nothing 
 could be done. And the answer was. Yes. 
 We were solicitous about the safety of the i)ris- 
 oners, feared they would be spirited away, and 
 with a view to their safety we pniposed that 
 a small force of our men be placed in the prison 
 as an additional guard, and we pledged our- 
 selves not to take the prison or make any move- 
 ment against it without givmg the Clovemor 
 notice, all of which was agreed to and comjilied 
 with. 
 
 promj)! action, and sent the liovemor this 
 communication : 
 
 We beg to advise xou lli.Tt we have withdrawn 
 our guard from liu- County J.iil. 
 
 The guard was soon after withdrawn from 
 the building. This was a formal and necessary 
 step to conclude our truce with the (lovemor. 
 Soon thereafter the prisoners were demantled 
 at the hands of the sheriff, and supplementing 
 the demand the troops of the committee, 
 numbering about 3500. marching by different 
 routes, arrived at and surrounded the jail, de- 
 manded the prisoners, who were taken for their 
 trial, whi« h became an all-absorbing cpiestion 
 and topic, and paralyzeil the opjiosition. 
 
 The trial of Casey antl Cora was soon be- 
 gun and carried on with all the attention to 
 legal forms that marked the trials of the first 
 
142 
 
 SAJV FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 EXECUTION OF HETHERINGTON AND BRACE AT THE HEADQliARTERS OF THE COMMITTEE, CALLED "FORT VIC;iLANCE.' 
 
 [This building was also called ** Fort Gunnybags," from the 
 cannon and sentinels, and the 
 
 committee. No outside counsel were permitted, 
 but all witnesses desired by the prisoners were 
 summoned and gave their testimony in full. 
 Both were convicted of murder in the first de- 
 gree and sentenced to be hanged. The execu- 
 tion took place on the morning of Mr. King's 
 funeral. I'he committee's entire military force 
 occupied the streets near the headquarters. As 
 King's funeral train moved, all the bells in the 
 city chimed a solemn requiem. The military 
 force was brought to present arms, and then 
 poor Cora and Casey were swung into eternity 
 from the scaffold in front of the building. That 
 great and solemn act, due to self-defense and 
 the safety of the community, was fulfilled, and 
 these turbulent spirits who had defied the laws 
 of God and man paid the last and severest of 
 penalties. No one more than the chief actors in 
 this drama felt the gravity and solemnity of the 
 occasion. No one would more gladly have been 
 acquitted of these duties than they. But there 
 was not a scintilla of hesitation, doubt, or fear. 
 The work was done under solemn dictates of 
 duty, even with pure Christian spirit, and while 
 technically outside the law, with due and solemn 
 reverence for the law as it should be executed. 
 At a meeting of the committee on May 20, 
 three members were delegated to wait on the 
 Governor and on the mayor, and assure them 
 
 material of the breastworks in front of it. On the roof were 
 alarm-bell of the committee.] 
 
 that the committee had no desire or thought 
 of interfering with the regular discharge of 
 their duties, and only desired to take cognizance 
 of outrageous cases of crime and rowdyism 
 which the laws had been tardy in executing or 
 could not reach ; that we did not encroach on 
 the regular execution of law or the maintenance 
 of order, and would not, provided the laws were 
 enforced or carried out ; but we desired peace 
 and order, and it was that consummation we 
 were aiming at, and we would be pleased to 
 see all legally constituted authorities proceed 
 in civil and criminal cases as though this com- 
 mittee were not in existence. We had not de- 
 sired and did not desire to encroach on the civil 
 authorities whenever they were properly dis- 
 charging their duties. Such was the message. 
 The next important work was the action to 
 be taken with regard to notorious ballot-box 
 stuffers and other desperate characters. They 
 were a curse to the country. Every one ad- 
 mitted it, but no eftective action had been taken 
 against them. In many cases they held the 
 polls at election and attacked, maimed, and 
 terrified those voters who were opposed to their 
 friends. If arrested, such was the dread they 
 had inspired, and so great their influence \\ith 
 the courts, that conviction was almost impos- 
 sible. This immunity from punishment increased 
 
S.I.V /■/'!, iXC/SCO VIG/LAXCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 •43 
 
 their insolfncc and violcncf, am! it wasi-vidcnt 
 that no reform could be maile while they re- 
 mained in the State. W'liat was to be done with 
 tliem ? I'hey could not be hanged ; they would 
 be a source of cx|»ense and trouble; safe and 
 satisfactory imprisonment was |)lainly imprai - 
 ti( al lie. 1 1 was therefore suggested that if, after 
 fair trial, the charges against tliem were proved, 
 no course would l)e so satisfactory and safe as 
 banishment, with a warning never again to re- 
 turn under pain of death. This was adoptetl, 
 and a black-list was made of all these notorious 
 characters. I'".videncewascollected,and orders 
 were soon given for the arrest of these men wher- 
 ever they could be found in the State. They 
 were tried, convictetl, sentenced, and depoiteil, 
 many of them as first-class passengers, by sail- 
 ing ships and steamships, at the sole expense 
 of the committee, and in a style far above their 
 deserts ; this was not appreciated, but flattered 
 and exalted them to the l)elief that they were 
 important ])ersonages and had suft'ered great 
 damages, and they brought suits against the 
 committee. Singularly, or perhai)s naturally, 
 these suits were only brought by those who were 
 best treated. Those who were shipped in the 
 steerage never brought suits, and were never 
 afterward troublesome. 
 
 So ra])idly were the remnants of the work 
 before the committee cleared away, that on 
 June i8 a special committee decided that on 
 
 the 4th of July the (leneral Committee would 
 adjourn, the executive only continuing to meet 
 for needful business. We believed we were 
 far enough along to finish our work s|)(.cdily; 
 but we were disappointed, for on June 2 i there 
 was ])ret ipitated upon us the most unexpected 
 and the severest task of the year. Judge 'Jerry 
 of the Su])reme Hench of California, a violent, 
 hot-headed man. and an open denouncer of 
 the committee and its efforts, (juitted his bench 
 and neglected his duties at Sacramento to come 
 to San Francisco tf) join in the contest against 
 us. In a cjuarrel over the jjossession of arms, 
 Terry plunged his bowie-knife into the neck 
 of an officer of the committee named Hopkins, 
 indicting a wound which at the time was thought 
 to be mortal. This news came like the burst- 
 ing of a bomb-shell. We saw instantly the magni- 
 tudcof tlie new laborand the new responsibility 
 thnnvn u])on us. It was not only to vindicate 
 the committee law, but to punish the |)resi(ling 
 judge of the Sujireme Court for violence to 
 one of our own jjcople. Orders were at once 
 given and promjttly executed for his arrest, and 
 the arrest of all others who were with him. 
 
 Our police and militar)- systems were now 
 ecpial, if not sujjerior, to any on the continent. 
 \\'ithin an hour's time we could jjut in line 
 5700 men, well armed, ecjuipped.and officered, 
 ready for any service. .\nd let it be noted 
 that all were volunteers, without pay, direct or 
 
 •'■•■-•- -2,'.. V ' '-'Vh 
 
 AS'*, i 
 
 ii 
 
 
 
 
 m'Mr. 
 
 A MKHTI.Nlj or T)IK VIUILANCK LUMMITiKb UN >X>H i sMOl'TII St^UARK, l6j6. ('ii<.H A.s ui^ iiAuvknnoui 1 1-^) 
 
144 
 
 SAJV FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 ENGRAVED BY H. VELTEN. 
 
 PHOTOGRAPHED BY TA8ER. 
 
 WILLIAM T. C0LERL1N. 
 
 indirect, for their services, the committee pro- 
 viding only material — arms, munitions, trans- 
 portation, and commissary. In these ranks 
 were bankers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, me- 
 chanics, miners, ministers, sailors, soldiers, sala- 
 ried men, day laborers, and nearly all the men 
 of property. All cheerfully sacrificed every in- 
 terest for the cause. 
 
 Judge Terry was regarded and treated as a 
 high State prisoner. His trial was delayed by the 
 uncertainty of the recovery of Hopkins, and 
 by the efforts of Terry's friends to make a com- 
 promise. All these efforts failed, and on June 
 25 the trial began. It lasted nearly a month 
 — a long, wearisome, unsatisfactory piece of 
 work. Terry was convicted of resistance to 
 and assault upon the officers of the committee, 
 but as the wound inflicted did not prove fatal, 
 and the officer recovered, the usual punishment 
 in the committee's power to inflict not being 
 applicable, it was finally decided to discharge 
 him. And it was resolved that the interests of 
 the State imperatively demanded that he resign 
 his position as judge of the Supreme Court. 
 
 While Terry's trial was going on, the com- 
 mittee had handed over to the authorities a 
 number of men aiTested for crimes and misde- 
 meanors, and only two prisoners were held — 
 Philander Brace for the murder of Captain 
 
 West, and Joseph Hetherington for killing Dr. 
 Randall. Both were cold-blooded crimes com- 
 mitted in open daylight, within the city, and 
 demanded the full penalty. The men were tried 
 fairly, sentenced to death, and executed. Thus 
 ended the capital punishment of the Vigilance 
 Committee of 1856. 
 
 On August 8, 1 856, the Executive Committee 
 decided to close their labors, and on the iSth a 
 great parade of all the members was held, and 
 the active work of the General Committee 
 ended sine die, the Executive Committee, how- 
 ever, continuing in session to close up finan- 
 cial and other affairs. 
 
 The personnel of the committee were men 
 above the average. They were selected for 
 their worth, integrity, and good standing in the 
 community, and no man was admitted whose 
 record was not clear in these particulars, and if 
 he failed in them he was quietly retired. Poli- 
 tics, creed, nationality, or profession were not 
 considered, not thought of. The largest ele- 
 ment of the committee was of northern and 
 western men, chiefly representing the mercan- 
 tile, manufacturing, and vested interests, but 
 embracing every profession and pursuit. It is 
 estimated that about eighty-five per cent, of 
 the population of the city and State were of the 
 committee, or with it as friends, adherents, and 
 
SAJV FR.l.VC/SCO VIGILAXCE COMM/TTEKS. 
 
 M5 
 
 supporters, llie little minority, however, were 
 ever at tive, persistent, and plucky, and made 
 their numbers count as often as possible. The 
 church, as in all such commotions, advised 
 moderation and good order, and maintained a 
 (liirnified tonservatism, 
 
 A comparison shows the coincidences of the 
 work of the Vigilance Committee of 1851. 
 and that of the great committee of 1856. In 
 185 1 four men were hanged for high crimes, 
 all clearly and unmistakably proved. 'I*wo of 
 these were taken by suri)rise-parties from the 
 city prison on Sunilay morning during chiin h 
 hours, and immediately taken to the commit- 
 tee's headcpiartersand hange<l, their trials and 
 the proofs against them having been previously 
 completed. The other two were heUl at head- 
 quarters, and were more deliberately executed. 
 'Ihis committee also banished about thirty bad 
 characters, with notice never to return under 
 penalty of death. 
 
 The great committee of i.S^G also hanged 
 four men, all clearly guilty, and all convicted 
 of muriler in the first degree. Two of these, 
 Casey and Cora, were taken from the same 
 county jail which confined the two taken in 
 1851. \Ve also banished about thirty. 
 
 The chief difTerence between the work of 
 the two committees arose from the fact that 
 the expatriated of 18:; i were mainly ex-con- 
 victs from Sydney, while in 1856 more Ameri- 
 cans by birth and adoption were sent away, 
 and these were more tainted by political cor- 
 ruption than the others. Another marked dif- 
 ference was that Governor McDougal in 185 1 
 bowed to what he thought was the j)ublic will 
 and its demands, and kept faith in his prom- 
 ises not to interfere with the committee, ex- 
 cept in form, if he could possibly avoid it ; 
 while tiovernor Johnson in 1856, after making 
 the same promises, was swerveil from his ])ur- 
 pose and joined in opposing the committee, 
 which greatly increased their labors and their 
 influence, and jirolonged their existence. .An- 
 other point of diflference was that in the later 
 organization the reforms needed in the com- 
 munity were far more radical and comjjlete 
 than were those carried into efi'ect by the first 
 committee. 
 
 'I'he committee of iS^i completeil its work 
 and adjourned within thirty days, and never 
 again convened. The committee of 1856 re- 
 •piired three months' service for the entire 
 force, and the executive continued its sessions 
 for a long while thereafter. The committee of 
 1851 had about 800 members all told; that 
 of 1856 had about 8000 enrolled, with an cujual 
 number of active adherents, and earnest friends 
 and supporters. 
 
 1 F"or further n of the S.an Franci>co N'itjil- 
 
 ancc Coinniittcc . 1. H. It.uicroiVs " (hrLiiiLlcs 
 
 Vol- XLIII.— 19. 
 
 The conclusion of the Vigilance ('ommittee 
 of 1856 brought a comjilete revolution, jxiliti- 
 cally, and financially. .\t the general elet tion 
 occurring soon after, the old pfjlitical rC'gime 
 with its retainers was retireil ; the old " ha( ks " 
 were turned out and put to grass, and but few 
 of them ever .saw the " crib " again. 
 
 .\ new era followed; the "people's" party 
 swept everything before them and gave the 
 city the delightful novelty of an honest, non- 
 partizan,an(i economical administration, wlii< h 
 continued for about nine years. It lowered 
 taxation, yet introduced economies which in 
 time so radically reduced municipal indebted- 
 ness, that the total of the city's obligations 
 outstanding has since then rarely exceeded 
 the amount of a single year's tax levy. Neither 
 State nor city debts have since increased and 
 are in fact j)ractically nominal. The city's total 
 net debt on June 30, 1891, was $618,000, while 
 the tax valuation for the year is $41 1,000,000, 
 and the tax to be collected about $3,900,000. 
 No other city in the United States can make 
 such a showing as this. 
 
 While a ])crfectly honest and pure admin- 
 istration was not attained, yet so suj)erior was 
 it to the old, so relatively pure, as to make it 
 seem well-nigh perfect. T4ie reforms of 1856 
 took deep root, and in their vigor have remaineil 
 unimpaired to the j)resent day. 
 
 The judiciary from that period have done 
 their duty. The peo|)le of the country have 
 enjoyed general security of life and property. 
 The political parties are closely balancecl, and 
 in San Francisco and the cities generally, since 
 the committee of 1856, partizanship has been 
 largely disregarded. 
 
 The credit of the city, State, and people, 
 which before was all uncertain, soon after took 
 a foremost rank, which has since been firmly 
 held and maintaineil. 
 
 THE SAFETY COMMITTEE OF 1877. 
 
 For twenty-one years the good inf1uen< e of 
 the great Vigilance Committee endured. Then 
 came a movement in July, 1877, the impor- 
 tance of which has never been appreciate 1. 
 either in California or elsewhere.* It was the 
 direct outgrowth of the railway stri! • d 
 socialistic agitation in New York, i 
 Pittsburgh, and other large eastern cities. At 
 first it was thought no o' ' ' ' ' oc- 
 
 cur in San Franci.sco, even i.. ,.»,.. :... ' ...iiese 
 question was troublesome, but on July 23 
 .Mayor Hryant and Chief of Police Kllis, hav- 
 ing unmistakable evidences of very .serious 
 trouble, called on General McComb, Com- 
 mander of the State forces, and requested him 
 
 of the Ituilders of the Commonwealth," Vol. I, |»p. 
 33^379- 
 
146 
 
 SAA' FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 to hold his entire force in readiness to support 
 the peace officers. General McComb, fearing 
 that the militia would not be able to cope with 
 a large riotous element, called a pubHc meeting 
 of leading citizens, and asked their organized 
 aid in protecting the city. I was called to the 
 chair, and on motion of Mr. D. O. Mills and 
 by unanimous vote was given charge of the 
 entire movement, with absolute control. I at 
 once appointed Committees on Finance, Arms, 
 and Enrolment, and in a few hours the organi- 
 zation showed a strong force. The work in 
 many respects was a repetition of that of the 
 earlier Vigilance Committees, unhampered by 
 any opposition from within or without. It 
 was found that the larger part of the guns and 
 ammunition in the city had been bought up 
 during the previous Aveek by unknown persons. 
 Governor Irwin came promptly to the city, 
 approved my plans, and supported my move- 
 ments. Urgent despatches were sent to Presi- 
 dent Hayes and to the Secretary of War, 
 asking for arms and ammunition from the 
 Benicia Arsenal, and for the presence in San 
 Francisco harbor of the United States vessels at 
 Mare Island Navy Yard. Both requests were 
 promptly complied with, and within twenty- 
 four hours we Jhad 1-760 rifles and 500 carbines 
 with ample ammunition, and the next day three 
 war vessels were ready to furnish aid. 
 
 The object and intent of our assembly being 
 to reinforce the civil authorities, and in no way 
 to assume any other power than that of a citi- 
 zen posse under their formal control, it was my 
 duty to provide men at once, and fit them for 
 the service. Rolls of membership were pre- 
 pared and opened for signature, a pass-word 
 was given, badges marked " Committee of 
 Safety " were ordered to be distributed to the 
 men, and, under a general authority given by 
 the mayor and the chief of police, our members 
 sent on duty were sworn in as special police. 
 It was my specific aim, and I made it my duty, 
 to confine the powers of each member to aid- 
 ing the police ; and in the whole action of the 
 force and patrol I allowed no step to be taken 
 except by direction and request of the peace 
 officers, conveyed through me. 
 
 The membership increased rapidly. On the 
 morning of the 24th we established our general 
 headquarters at the large Horticultural Hall, 
 Stockton street, arranged complete telegraphic 
 communications, ordered all forces to rendez- 
 vous there, and began the work of military and 
 semi-military organization and discipline. Al- 
 though it had been my object first to provide 
 arms to cover every necessity, I at the same 
 time determined to dispense with their use as 
 far as possible. I appreciated the difficulties 
 often arising by having military forces in the 
 presence of mobs, and believed they should be 
 
 employed only as a last resort, when they are 
 needed for actual zndcff'ectwescrVicQ. This wasin 
 harmony, too, with the nature of our call and or- 
 ganization, to act in support of the police and not 
 of the military, I accordingly gave orders for the 
 purchase of six thousand hickory^ pick-handles, 
 to be shortened, and converted into large police 
 clubs, and to arm every man as a special police- 
 man with clubs and side-arms. I then ordered 
 the entire force into company organizations of 
 one hundred, to select their own officers, and re- 
 port to me for confirmation. As soon as these 
 were approved, all were ordered under drill, and 
 instructions and general discipline, and kept 
 busily at work within the hall when there was 
 sufficient room, and in the streets adjoining, if 
 room were needed. Before night we had a large 
 and effective force rationed by the Commissary 
 Committee, and we sent out details for active 
 duty, under orders of the chief of police. 
 
 An intense feeling existed throughout the city 
 on the night of the 25th, and as the criminal 
 and lawless elements were gathered in crowds 
 and squads in every part of the city, causing 
 much annoyance and fear, I consulted with the 
 chief of police as to the propriety of arresting 
 these people, and keeping them in confinement 
 during the course of the trouble, but we found 
 that the prisons and jails would accommodate 
 only a few, and that there was danger to those 
 already confined there for various offenses. I 
 consulted with the commanders of the vessels 
 of war lying off the city front, and they offered 
 to care for and confine on board their vessels 
 such as might be sent to them, to the number 
 of 1500, and if more, to place them on Goat 
 Island and patrol the island with their small 
 boats. The idle and lawless element, hearing 
 of this movement, and fearing to be gathered 
 in by the police and naval forces, left the city 
 in large numbers, and for days the authorities 
 were in receipt of telegrams calling their atten- 
 tion to the great number of strangers, evidently 
 rough and lawless men, that were reaching 
 the villages and suburbs near San Francisco. 
 Meantime I learned that if these arrests were 
 made, immediate legal action would be taken 
 in behalf of the arrested parties; the habeas cor- 
 pus and jury trials would be brought into play ; 
 complications would arise that would give us 
 greater trouble than to meet these forces face to 
 face and treat them effectually on the spot, which 
 would greatly simplify and shorten the work, 
 and render it much more effective than to have 
 this class thus pose as martyrs of deportation. 
 
 Hearing that there were more arms in the city 
 than had been reported to me, I caused a care- 
 ful and reliable survey to be made of the gun- 
 shops, so as to secure control of the arms and 
 munitions against capture by the roughs, and I 
 shipped load after load of material to the men- 
 
S.-LV FRAiYC/SCO I'lCILAXCI'. COM MITTEK. 
 
 '»7 
 
 of-warin the harbor, togctlu-r with the guns that 
 were lying in various foundries and i handler- 
 shoi)s along the city front. In theestahhshnient 
 of Little & Keadings I found such a large quan- 
 tity on storage that I deemed it best not to 
 attempt to move this su|)ply, and therefore, 
 with their consent and approval, I left a heavy 
 guard in and arounti the building, with care- 
 ful anti considerate officers in charge, with 
 imperative instructions, as a last resort to blow 
 up the building. 
 
 Tuesday night passed in these general labors 
 of organization and supply, and on Wednesday, 
 the news from the East still continuing alarm- 
 ing, it was decided to effect ward organizations, 
 to (.liviile tiie forces now enrolling into detach- 
 ments and scjuads, well officered, with orders 
 to patrol the city, and to furnish such assistance 
 as the chief of police might from time to time 
 re(|uire. Following a general jjlan of ward or- 
 ganization adopted at a meeting of the Ex- 
 ecutive Committee, the city was divided into 
 twelve ward districts, company organizations 
 were effected, halls and rendezvous were se- 
 lected and opened, clubs and arms were sup- 
 plied under j)roper refjuisitions.and telegraphic 
 communication was established and maintained 
 with the ward headquarters and the chief's 
 otlice; wagons, couriers, and rations were su]j- 
 plied, antl on Wednesday night, as shown by 
 our records and despatches, an average active 
 force of 1500 members was on duty in outside 
 patrol, or awaiting, as reserves, the call of the 
 chief of police at the headquarters, while under 
 this efit'ective organization a total available force 
 of 5438 members could have been rallied in an 
 hour by general alarm. 
 
 On Thursday. Friday, and Saturday nights a 
 feeling of fear was general in the city. Much 
 of the information was received through the 
 chief of i)olice, and as such reports of disorder 
 were communicated to me or my adjutant, we 
 either .sent telegraphic orders to ward com- 
 manders to act, or despatched strong bodies 
 of men from the main hall to the scene of 
 action. 
 
 The first danger feared was fire; and the 
 second, the gathering of excited crowds which 
 might be arrayed against the police at any mo- 
 ment. It was clear that general excitement per- 
 vaded all classo, and the most careful officials 
 ami ])rominent citizens made frequent reports 
 to me of alarming occurrences or suspicious 
 matters during these three days. From the fact 
 that the criminal classes were in motion, that 
 secret meetings were held, that political agi- 
 tation was attempted, anil that many alarms 
 of fire were sountled, together with the con- 
 tinual calls of the chief of police for detach- 
 ments — from all these I am assured that the 
 L'ood work of the committee checked the vio- 
 
 lent classes and showed them the potcncv of 
 a large force reaily to (juell any disorder. In 
 our prohibitive capacity the patrolsof the (om- 
 mittee prevented lawless gatherings, fire and 
 tumult, especially in the more lonely portions 
 of the town. 'KSm: cavalry forces cjf the com- 
 mittee, numbering nearly three hundred men, 
 patrolled on Thursday and Friday nights the 
 manufacturing portion of the city and the out- 
 skirts. The immense value of exposed ship- 
 ping and property along the city front naturally 
 suggested precautions against fire, especially as 
 many threats had been made to bum the Paci- 
 fic iNIail wharves; and Captain Stewart .Menzies 
 generously offered to cruise along the city front 
 with his steam yacht Elaine and two smaller 
 craft. Crews of special police and committee- 
 men on board these vessels rendered valuable 
 service. 
 
 On Friday night we supported the police in 
 the largest and severest engagement of the 
 cam|)aign. We were informed of the enemy's 
 movements, including a proposed attack on 
 our headquarters and barracks. The main 
 attack was designed against the Pacific Mail 
 Steamship Company's ])roperties, because of its 
 connection with the Chinese immigration. It 
 began by firing the large lumber-yards and sur- 
 rounding combustible material. 'I'he attacking 
 force was large. The firemen and fire brigade 
 were soon in action with all the available 
 police ; our forces numbering seven hundred 
 men, arrived soon after, on a double-(|uick in 
 good order. The engagement became general 
 and was stubbornly contested for about two 
 hours, at the end of which time the united 
 forces had routed the rioters in every (juarter. 
 Our men displayed coolness, dLscipline, and 
 courage throughout. Our success was com- 
 plete, and by midnight the city was (}uiet and 
 safe. The next day showed the general de- 
 moralization and discouragement of the lawless 
 element ; they were subdued, and the backbone 
 of their movement was broken. 
 
 On Saturday, the 28th, we withdrew all our 
 forces from active duty, and by mutual ar- 
 rangement General McComb took charge of 
 and policed the city with the National (luard. 
 Only slight disturbances occurred during the 
 day, anil the night passed <|uietly. Sunday 
 proved peaceful and restful, a great boon to 
 our citizens. The storm had passed and the 
 calm was reassuring. The chief of police ad- 
 vised me that he was satisfied he could then 
 take care of the city. 
 
 Within five days from the first call we had 
 
 organized, armed, gone through s Mil 
 
 action, completed our undertaking, e- d 
 
 peace, order, and security ; and, as the signs of 
 the dangers which had calleil us out were now 
 |)assid. we resolved that the returning quiet 
 
148 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO VIGILANCE COMMITTEES. 
 
 should see us relinquish our extraordinary 
 powers and public position. The committee 
 determined to adjourn, but not to disband. 
 The executive commander issued a general 
 order. 
 
 The retirement of this large force was ac- 
 complished as speedily and as quietly as its 
 organization. The headquarters only were re- 
 tained, and all members advised to be ready 
 to respond to call by messenger or tap of 
 bell. As to our membership the result proved 
 that the Executive Committee, their officers, 
 and the great mass of men enrolled were 
 moved by an unselfish devotion to public 
 duty, and faithfully and intelligendy wrought 
 out the problem we had to solve. Their ser- 
 vices were entirely voluntary, a generous offer- 
 ing, without a penny's pay or other moneyed 
 compensation. They deemed it their high priv- 
 ilege and their imperative duty as Americans 
 to give promptly their physical, moral, and 
 financial aid as tributes for the maintenance of 
 peace and good order ; and all this being as- 
 sured, they returned quietly to their famihes 
 and their business. 
 
 In the history of California since it became 
 American territory, the Vigilance Committees 
 of 185 1 and 1856 and the Safety Committee of 
 1877 are very important moral movements. 
 
 The Vigilance Committee was a new de- 
 parture in the jurisprudence of the world. It 
 may be called a compromise between the reg- 
 ular course of law, and the action of the people 
 without regard to officers of the law. It was 
 seizing Upon the forces of a mob, arresting them 
 in their mad course, harnessing them quietly, 
 and utilizing their powers in regular form, sys- 
 tematically, coolly, and deliberately. It was a 
 demonstration that had never before been made, 
 and it was left to Cahfornia to make it — while 
 the law was lying dormant on the one hand, 
 and trampled down and disgraced on the other, 
 the people — the power of all government in 
 our system — determined to execute in legal 
 form what their servants had neglected or ig- 
 nored. While they loved and revered the law, 
 respected, upheld, and applauded its faithful 
 servants, they contemned the faltering, and 
 scorned the false and faithless administrators. 
 In 1851 it cleared the country of Sydney ex-con- 
 victs and all the worst elements of the criminal 
 classes. In 1856 it saved San Francisco from 
 the rule of a mob of political outcasts, ballot- 
 box stuffers, and a recent immigration of other 
 criminals. In 1877, in the same place, the same 
 people under different conditions, and yet in 
 some regards similar, finding danger from much 
 the same elements, but on a more formidable 
 scale, determined to act under the law. The 
 State government was in better hands than in 
 1 85 1 and 1856; the city government was in 
 
 better hands ; the country generally was in bet- 
 ter condition. The influence of the Vigilance 
 Committee of 1856 had continued and pre- 
 vailed all the time. The ethics of the State 
 were of a higher order than at the earlier 
 date. The early experiences were valuable to 
 individuals as well as to the masses, and when 
 called up for self-government the people again 
 demonstrated a capacity that has few parallels. 
 
 The men acting in 1877 believed and still 
 beHeve, and acted with confidence on the prop- 
 osition, that of all people in the world Ameri- 
 cans are best fitted for self-government ; that 
 of all portions of the United States, Cahfor- 
 nia was the best fitted : first, because of the gen- 
 eral character of the people that constituted 
 the State from 1848 ; next, because of the 
 value of the experiences of those people, com- 
 ing from every State of the Union and from 
 every foreign country, and developing here in- 
 dependence of action and thought. Moved al- 
 ways, as much as people can be in ordinary 
 conditions of life, by a spirit of patriotism, un- 
 selfishness, and general intelligence, they har- 
 monized and formed a composition of character 
 and citizenship remarkable for breadth and 
 strength. Unhampered by old local influences 
 and free to act on their own judgment, they 
 had the courage to carry out whatever they 
 conceived to be right. This action has been 
 appreciated, not only in California, but in other 
 parts of the world where it has gradually 
 worked its way from doubt and dislike to 
 cheerful acceptance. 
 
 The agitation and disturbances of 1877, be- 
 ginning outside of the State and afterward 
 reaching San Francisco, begot the Safety Com- 
 mittee, the younger sister of the Vigilance 
 Committees, in whose name and under whose 
 banner the people of California sprang at once 
 to the support of the government in the main- 
 tenance of peace and the punishment of crime 
 with a promptness, decision, intelligence, and 
 cool determination rarely equaled and never ex- 
 celled. The citizens gladly accepted the oppor- 
 tunities to avoid independent action, such as had 
 been previously forced upon them, and enrolled 
 themselves as State troops and as city forces in 
 the regular way; that is, they would be vol- 
 unteers for a short campaign, sub-militia, or 
 special police, under the regular authorities. 
 
 The people of the world know little of this 
 movement, and even in California many have 
 not held this matter in the esteem to which it 
 is entitled. The late difficulties in New Orleans 
 exemplified and illustrated, however, the esti- 
 mation in which these works of the Vigilance 
 Committees and the Safety Committee are really 
 held by the country at large, because these or- 
 ganizadons held the power of peace in their 
 hands : the first without the continuous ap- 
 
SAN FRANCISCO J7G /LANCE CO.\r.\fnTEES. 149 
 
 proval and in opposition to the State and city cases to adopt the modes of tlie New Orleans 
 
 governments, the second entirely in harmony incident ; whereas the California fashion has 
 
 with them. All showed to the world that the the great advantage of giving time for rellec- 
 
 samc people have done much tiic same work ^ tion and examination. A man in the heat of 
 
 stepped forward an<l restore<l and maintained passion floes many things that in cooler mo- 
 
 onler, and then retired without claiming any- ments of the next day he would gladly change, 
 
 thing and without wanting anythmg, exce|)t None of the California executions, except that 
 
 peace and its good results. It was seen that of Jenkins, was made within four days after ar- 
 
 these etTorts left no political shock, no moral raignment. Every one who had a right to say 
 
 damage, and practically no legal ditTiculties ; anything was given an opjjortunity to do so ; 
 
 that they did not demoralize the communities ; time was given for close insj)ection of testimony 
 
 that so iar from rousing a spirit of mobocracy as to all j)Ieas of justification and all equiries. 
 
 they have in California obliterated mobocracy The New Orleans cjtisode was a demonstra- 
 
 and mobocratic feeling. I'hemobin San Fran- tion that could be made by any rude party, 
 
 Cisco has not been known in thirty years, ex- but the work of the California Vigilance Com- 
 
 cept the eft'ort in 1S77, which was stilled in the mittees could only have been done by men who 
 
 beginning. The people of California are ready could govern themselves as well as others — 
 
 and prepared to organize and form military men determined to do right and to admit of 
 
 forces, if necessarv, to meet a mob and crush nothing but the right. 
 
 it, and if the civil authorities are not sulhciently (iod forbid we should hereafter need vigi- 
 
 active, they will furnish the power to supply lance or safety committees. The people of 
 
 their j)lace. California do not want them. Those who or- 
 
 Keferring to the recent lynching at New Or- ganized and conducted these efforts heretofore 
 leans, there surely was ample cause for prompt as fully appreciate the undesirability of all such 
 and severe action, but the mode adojjted was proceedings as any one else can, and they would 
 frightfully at fiiult. Californians must forgive never apjjcal to them nor encourage an appeal 
 it, tacitly pass it by, but it is with regret ancl not to them except as a last resort in dire necessity, 
 with ai>j)roval. Under the same influences and If the delegated officers of law do their duty, 
 circumstances, the people in California would neither will I)e nce<lcd, and mobs w ill be known 
 have met as they did in New Orleans, under in history only. But so long as our system is, as 
 the impulse that moved them; but they would now, cursed with the harassing delays of law, 
 have organized in full force, and in military form new trials, endless technical appeals, shameless 
 if necessary ; they would have taken quarters, and unrcproved perjury, and daily defeats of 
 formed a court, appointed a judge, and se- justice, hope is liable to lapse into despair, and 
 lected a jury of good men ; called for evidence serious danger to follow. The extent of these 
 in the c:ise that had been before the recreant dangers no one can measure. The agencies 
 tribunals, analyzed it carefully, put on trial the employed, the people brought into action, the 
 people who had been discharged by the per- circumstances surrounding them, may produce 
 jured jury, given the accused good counsel, results far less satisfactory than those that fell 
 the benefit of all doubts that occurred ; and to the lot of the people of California, 
 finally, with deliberation and in regular form, The safety of person and property in Cali- 
 would have executetl those whom they found fomia, young as the State is, covering a large 
 guilty. Thoseentitled to the least doul)t would area of territon*-, and sparsely populated, fur- 
 have been discharged. Had it retjuired 5000 niches a record that is hardly to be found 
 men in this organization, or 20,000, they would elsewhere. The greatest satisfaction, however, 
 have been found ready for the work. For given to Californians was that they had thus 
 execution, Californian forms would have been disproved the assertion often made that the 
 carried out. The criminals would have been \'igilancc Committee was mobocratic and that 
 allowed time to arrange their worldly affairs, Californians necessarily acted in an extra-judi- 
 an«l the benefit of clergy. The executic^n woukl cial manner. The State authorities by their 
 have been carried out with gravity, deliberation, course in 1877 really adoj)ted and approved 
 and firmness, securing thereby a moral as well the work of 1856. They gladly embraced the 
 as a legal triumph, which is all lost by the wild, opportunity to bring the sanv ' • and the 
 stormy, heedless action of a mob. The rule of same influences to work un.. j laws ot 
 the leaders of the California Vigilance Com- the State. This shows to other countries that 
 mittees was that it was better for a thousand with proper regulation and proper er e- 
 guilty men to escajjc than that one innocent ment the citizens of .New Orleans or o;.. . . :n- 
 man should suffer. muniiies may be relied upon to maintain peace 
 
 It is to be feared that even the qualified ap- and good order, if the State authorities have the 
 
 proval of the New Orleans affair may encour- breatlth and gt^od judgment to in- - " te the 
 
 age hastypeople in other quarters and in other peopl<- n-. ai tivc aids in irreat cri ad of 
 
ISO 
 
 TOPICS OF THE TIME. 
 
 doubting them and trying to do without them, or his desk, ready to stop and turn his hand to 
 The grand result of such a poHcy is that every the service of the State, if only for a day, I re- 
 good citizen may consider himself a part of gard this as one of the great strongholds of self- 
 the practical workings of the machinery of government, a source of incalculable strength 
 the State ; he may be at his bench, his plow, to Americans. 
 
 WiUiain T Coleman. 
 
 [In an early number of The Century will appear a series of letters by General W. T. .Sherman, written 
 from San Francisco in 1856, and setting forth his relations to the committee of that year and his reasons for 
 opposing its work. — Editor.] 
 
 SEAL OF THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. 
 
 TOPICS OF THE TIME. 
 
 Lowell's Legacy to his Country. 
 
 It is Man who is sacred, it is his duties and opportunities; not 
 his rights, that nowadays need reinforcement. It is honor, jus- 
 tice, culture, that make liberty invaluable, else worse than worth- 
 less, if it mean only freedom to be base and brutal. 
 
 THESE golden words, taken from the letter of Lowell 
 now first printed in another column of The Cen- 
 tury, are as level to the needs and the duty of this very 
 hour as they were to those of the moment when they 
 left the poet's pen. This whole letter was written in pain 
 and indignation — the pain of the true patriot, the indig- 
 nation of the just and far-seeing citizen. It is written 
 with the same fire that inspired the " Biglow Papers " 
 on the one hand and the " Commemoration Ode " on 
 the other. Looking back through all the praise that 
 fills the air above the grave of the poet, it seems amazing 
 that he could have been once so misunderstood and 
 maligned for actions consistent with his entire career, — 
 actions which only proved anew the wise and unfailing 
 patriotism of the man, — a patriotism which is one of the 
 principal causes of his fame, as it is the chief reason for 
 the love in which he is held by his countrymen. 
 
 Lowell's legacy as a poet is great, but not greater 
 than his legacy as a patriot. The true patriot does not 
 love his country, labor and suffer for it, simply because 
 he happened to be born in it, — that would be the in- 
 fatuation of the egotist ; but because, being born in 
 it, his duty and pleasure are to help on all human 
 progress by helping on first the progress of the land 
 to which he belongs. This is Lowell's legacy as a 
 patriot, — not the sentiment " My country, right or 
 wrong," but " My country — it shall never be wrong 
 if I can help it ! " The true patriot is not the one who 
 says it is my country, and its institutions, that are sa- 
 cred ; but who says, with Lowell, "It is Man who is 
 sacred." The citizen who holds to this sacredness 
 of humanity will be the most useful in securing insti- 
 tutions and a country whose services to humanity will 
 make them also sacred in his own heart, and in the 
 hearts of all good men. 
 
 Michigan's " Wild-cat " Banks. 
 
 The history of Michigan's " wild-cat " banking ex- 
 perience, while not so applicable to present financial 
 discussion as other cheap-money experiments which 
 we have cited in previous numl^ers of The Century, 
 is nevertheless instructive for two reasons : first, be- 
 cause it was an attempt to make " hard times " easier 
 by unlimited issues of irredeemable paper money, and 
 second, because the money so issued was based largely 
 on land as security. For these reasons it has seemed 
 to us worth while to recall it at the present time. 
 
 Michigan became a State in January, 1837. Almost 
 the first act of her State legislature was the passage of 
 a general banking law under which any ten or more 
 freeholders of any county might organize themselves 
 into a corporation for the transaction of banking busi- 
 ness. Of the nominal capital of a bank only ten per 
 cent, in specie was required to be paid when subscrip- 
 tions to the stock were made, and twenty per cent, ad- 
 ditional in specie when the bank began business. For 
 the further security of the notes which were to be is- 
 sued as currency, the stockholders were to give first 
 mortgages upon real estate, to be estimated at its cash 
 value by at least three county officers, the mortgages 
 to be filed with the auditor-general of the State. A 
 bank commissioner was appointed to superintend the 
 organization of the banks, and to attest the legality of 
 their proceedings to the auditor-general, who, upon 
 receiving such attestation, w^as to deliver to the banks 
 circulating notes amounting to two and a half times 
 the capital certified to as having been paid in. 
 
 This law was passed in obedience to a popular cry 
 that the banking business had become an " odious 
 monopoly " that ought to be broken up. Its design 
 was to " introduce free competition into what was con- 
 sidered a profitable branch of business heretofore mo- 
 nopolized by a few favored corporations." Anybody 
 was to be given fair opportunities for entering the busi- 
 ness on equal terms with everybody else. The act 
 
Ri:sr.Mi-: oi- ikiimox I's 
 
 '■ I'XI'I-.DII K )XS. 
 
 FULL account of the 
 five exploring expedi- 
 tions of Jolin ('. Fre- 
 mont woultl form 
 almost a complete history 
 of the great West (hiring that 
 time — from June, 1842, to Feb- 
 ruary, 1S54. The three earher ex- 
 peditions were made at the expense and under 
 the direction of the ( Government. 'I'he two 
 later ones were pri\ate ventures — princi|)ally 
 at the expense of Fremont's father-in-law, 
 Thomas H. Benton, and himselfJ 
 
 The first expedition left Choteau's Landing, 
 near the site of Kansas City, on June 10, 1842. 
 'i'he party consisted of twenty-eight mem- 
 bers, with Fremont in command, Charles 
 I'reuss, topograj)hical engineer, Lucien Max- 
 well, hunter, and Kit Carson, guide. It was 
 a<c()mpanied by Menry Brant, a son of Colo- 
 nel J. H. lirant, of St. Louis, and Randolph 
 Tjentcm, Fremont's brother-in-law, a boy of 
 twelve. The remainder of the party, twenty-two 
 in number, were i)rinripally Creole or Canadian 
 'vu7i;(-//rs.- The party was well armed and 
 mounted, with the excejition of the eight cart- 
 drivers. For some distance the expedition fol- 
 lowed very nearly the route taken by the first 
 emigrant train, of whi(h (lencral Bidwell was 
 a member, and, like them, met va.st herds of 
 buffaloes and other game. 
 
 This route followed the general line of the 
 Kansas and Platte rivers, and for forty miles 
 beyond the junction of the North and South 
 forks of the Platte it kei)t close to the latter. 
 At this point the party sei)arated, Fremont 
 with five men continuing along the South Fork, 
 while the others struck across country to the 
 N<jrth Fork, and, resuming the emigrant route, 
 j)assed by Scott's Bluff, Chimney Rock, and 
 other landmarks. At Fort Laramie they were 
 reunited early in July. I'.very obstruction 
 was thrown in the way of their advance. The 
 trap])ers, under the well-known mountaineer, 
 Jim Hridger. warned them against the danger 
 of proceeding ; and the Indians at Fort Lara- 
 
 mie threatened them with destruction if they 
 insisted upon advancing. But warnings and 
 threats alike faile<l. In a cf)un( il held at Fort 
 Laramie Fremont announced his intention of 
 pressing on in pursuance of his original j)lans. 
 
 On the 28th f)f July it was decided that the 
 party should conceal its impfiiiinctifa and jjush 
 forward in light marching order. 
 
 The Rocky Mountains werecros.sed at South 
 Pass on the 8lh of August. an<l the party then 
 struck northward, now for the first time travel- 
 ing over untrodden ground. After many ad- 
 ventures and much hardship they reached the 
 \\ind River Mountains ; the highest peak, 
 named, after the first man to make the ascent, 
 FVemont's Peak, was .scaled, and the American 
 flag ])lanted upon its summit. This mountain, 
 perhajjs the loftiest in the Rocky Mcjuntain sys- 
 tem, is 13,570 feet in height. From this point the 
 party returned by way of the Nebraska River, 
 reaching .St. Louis on the 17th of October. 
 
 The second expedition started in the spring 
 of 1 843. Fremont received instructions to con- 
 
 l 11 \Kl KS 11 
 TOrOCRAPHER OF THK FIRST 
 
 K.xreuiTioNS. (from a 
 
 SO FREMONT 
 ,1.07 V»-«.) 
 
 M-"(>r map of routes see " The First Kniigr.int Train J. H. nume^, U.isil I-iicuncssc, Frans'ois Tcssicr, 
 
 ti> California," TilK Ck.NTI RV for NovcnilH:r, 1S90. licnjamin CadoUe, Josepli Climcnt, Daniel .Sintonds, 
 
 -These were: Clt-mcnt I.aml)crt, J. H. L'Kspe- Leonard Benoii, Michel Morly, Haptistc nernicr, 
 
 lance, J. B. I.cft-vre, Henjaniin I'otra, Mnise Chardon- Ili.nort- .\yot, Kr.in(,Mis I^tulipi^-, Francois B.ideau, 
 
 nais, .Vuguste Janisse, Raphael Proue, Ix>uis Gouin, I.ouis NIenard, JuMph kuelle. 
 
 759 
 
760 
 
 RESUME OF FREMONT'S EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 nect his explorations of 1842 with the surveys party were dehghted to meet Kit Carson, and 
 
 of Commander Wilkes on the Pacific coast. 
 There were thirty-nine men in the party. 
 Mr. Preuss was again topographical engineer; 
 Thomas Fitzpatrick was guide. Theodore Tal- 
 bot and Frederick D wight joined the party 
 for personal reasons. These with thirty-two 
 white men, a free colored man, Jacob Dod- 
 
 to secure his services as guide. Several parties 
 had been sent out to secure supplies. Failing 
 in this, they returned to Fort St. Vrain. At this 
 point Alexis Godey was engaged as hunter. 
 Fremont says, " In courage and professional 
 skill he was a formidable rival to Carson." 
 Going through the Medicine Butte Pass, follow- 
 
 A HERD OF BUFFALOES AT THE PLATTE. 
 
 son, and two Delaware Indians, completed the 
 number. 
 
 The preparations for departure being com- 
 pleted, on the 29th of May the party set out, 
 following the general direction taken by the 
 first expedition but farther to the south, cross- 
 ing the two forks of the Kansas and reaching 
 Fort St. Vrain on the Fourth of July. Instead 
 of turning directly north to Fort Laramie, as 
 he had done in 1842, Fremont took a westerly 
 course. On the 14th, at the point where the 
 Boiling Spring River enters the Arkansas, the 
 
 ing the Platte and the Sweetwater, they crossed 
 the South Pass and struck directly westward 
 to the Bear River, which, flowing in a south- 
 erly direction, empties into Great Salt Lake. 
 After some exploration of its northern end, 
 on the 1 8th of September the party were 
 again united at Fort Hall on the Shoshone, 
 and preparations were made to push on to the 
 Columbia. The cold and the scarcity of pro- 
 visions decided Fremont to send back a 
 number of the men who had so far accom- 
 panied him. Eleven men, among them Basil 
 
RESlWrP. OF FRfi.MOXT'S l.XrF.n/TIONS. 
 
 761 
 
 JIM l.kil.uKk, SCOUT A.M> iKAiriK (FROM A PHOTOGRAIH 1 . v: iiK.) 
 
 Lajcunessc, who was an extremely valuable 
 man, returned, for one reason or another, to 
 their liomes. The remnant of the party i)u.shed 
 on, following the course of the Snake River to 
 Walla Walla. On the 4th of November they 
 passed the Dalles of the Columbia, and a few 
 days later reached Fort Vancouver. A number 
 of excursions in the vicinity brought into view 
 the snow-covered peaks of Mount Rainier 
 (Mount Tacoma), Mount St. Helen's, and 
 Mount Hood. On the 25th of November the 
 jiarty began its homeward trip, wliich was 
 a( complished by a wide southerly sweep, and 
 through much ])rivation, danger, and surtering. 
 The path lay t"irst ilown through Oregon and 
 ( 'alifornia, over the snowy passes of the Sierra 
 Nevada, by the waters of the Sacramento to 
 Sutter's I''ort. The experiences of travel on the 
 snow-covered mountains, through which their 
 way had to be broken, were terrible. Worn out, 
 sometimes cra/ed by exposure and suftering, 
 one man after another would wander oft' and 
 get lost, and the strength of the rest, which was 
 
 weakness at best, would be taxed to hunt up 
 the wanderers. At last the stragglers were all 
 gathered in cxcejit Ha])tiste Derosier. who was 
 given up for lost, but who turned up two years 
 later in St Louis. 
 
 This expedition through the great valley 
 lying between the Rockies on the east anil the 
 Sierra Nevada on the west openetl up a coun- 
 try unknown except to Indians and trappers, 
 anil disproved the idea, which had hitherto 
 been accepted as fact, that a great water- 
 way led directly westward through the Sierra 
 to the Pacific coast. After an excursion to 
 San Francisco the route southward was re- 
 sumed, along the direction of the coast and 
 about one hunilred miles east of it, to a point 
 not far from Los .\ngelcs, then curving up 
 and proceeding due northea.sterly and then 
 northerly till (ireat Salt Lake was again 
 reached at its southern extremity. This great 
 reentrant curve of three thousand live hundred 
 miles was traveled over in eight months, during 
 the severities of a winter in the mountains and 
 
762 
 
 RESUME OF FREMONT'S EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 ^'t J 
 
 
 ^iij4J|>,*,_iitl.^.,. ■'*-*^ "■*'•* 
 
 ^-^-^ >i-A^- 
 
 ^-«- -*v- 
 
 _llllsiAMiN^ 
 
 VIEW OF THE DRY BED OF THE SOUTH FORK OF THE PLATTE (1890). 
 
 never once out of sight of snow. During these 
 eight months no word had come back to the 
 East from the party, and grave fears were en- 
 tertained for their safety. 
 
 The third and last Government expedition 
 set out in the autumn of 1845. The object in 
 view was to follow up the Arkansas River to 
 its source in the Rocky Mountains, to com- 
 plete the exploration of Great Salt Lake, and 
 to extend the survey westward and southwest- 
 ward to the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada, in 
 order to ascertain the best route by which to 
 reach the Pacific coast in this lower latitude. 
 Matters were in a very unsettled condition ; the 
 Mexican war was impending, and trouble was 
 broodingoveroursouthwesternpossessions. Be- 
 fore going on this expedition Fremont was bre- 
 vetted lieutenant and captain at the same time. 
 
 Bent's Fort was reached as expeditiously as 
 possible, since the real object of the explora- 
 tion lay beyond the Rockies, and the winter 
 was fast approaching. The personnel of the 
 party it is difficult to find. Edward Kern took 
 the place of Mr. Preuss as topographer; he 
 
 ALEXIS GODEY. 
 (FROM A DAGUERREOTYFE LENT BY H. B. EDWARDS.) 
 
 was also a valuable acquisition to the party 
 because of his artistic abihty. Lieutenants 
 Abert and Peck were under Fremont's com- 
 mand. Jacob Dodson, the colored man who 
 accompanied the second expedition, and a 
 Chinook Indian who had gone back to Wash- 
 ington with Fremont, and two gentlemen, 
 James McDowell and Theodore Talbot, ac- 
 companied the expedition. Fitzpatrick again 
 served as guide and Hatcher as hunter. Later 
 they were joined by Alexis Godey, Kit Carson, 
 and Richard Owens, three men who, under 
 Napoleon, says Fremont, would have been 
 made marshals because of their cool courage, 
 keenness, and resolution. When they set out 
 from Bent's Fort the party numbered sixty 
 members, many of them Fremont's old com- 
 panions. After a short and easy journey they 
 reached the southern end of Great Salt Lake, 
 and spent two weeks exploring it and fixing 
 certain points. Then they struck out in a 
 westerly direction, across the dreary, barren 
 desert west of Great Salt Lake to the foot of 
 the Sierra, by way of the Humboldt River. 
 When the party, after following two routes, met 
 again at Walker's Lake, Fremont found his men 
 too worn and exhausted and the stock of pro- 
 visions too low to think of trying to cross the 
 mountains together, so the party was again 
 divided. Fremont with fifteen picked men un- 
 dertook to cross the mountains, get relief at 
 Sutter's, and meet the other and weaker party. 
 These he ordered to go southward, skirting the 
 eastern base of the Sierra till a warmer climate 
 and more open passes were found, and to meet 
 him at an appointed place. In ten days Fre- 
 mont reached Sutter's Fort, laid in his supplies 
 of cattle, horses, and provisions, and proceeded 
 to the appointed place, but no signs of Talbot's 
 party were to be seen. Owing to a mistake 
 each party went to a different place. Both 
 halted, and turned about, hoping to effect a 
 junction, but to no purpose. Fremont suffered 
 severely from the attacks of hostile Inchans. 
 Finally each party found its way separately 
 to the California settlements. Then followed 
 a conflict concerning which there is much con- 
 troversy. Fremont was compelled by the Mex- 
 
764 
 
 RESUME OE EREMONT'S EXPEDITIONS. 
 
 ican governor to retire to Oregon. After serious 
 conflicts with the Klamath Indians he returned 
 to take part in the Bear Flag insurrection, 
 which was the occasion of the conquest of the 
 territory. [See this magazine for September, 
 1890, p. 792, and February, 1891, p. 518, for 
 details, and also " Californiana " in the present 
 number.] A difference as to precedence arose 
 between Commodore Stockton of the naval 
 and General Kearney of the land forces. Fre- 
 mont chose to serve under Stockton, as it was 
 from him in the first instance, before Kearney 
 arrived, that he had received his orders. He 
 was court-martialed for mutiny and disobedi- 
 
 Rocky Mountain system. They had for guide 
 a well-known mountaineer, Bill Williams, but 
 he proved a blind leader of the blind. In- 
 stead of finding a pass, he led the party over 
 the top of the highest mountains, where there 
 was no pasturage and where they were ex- 
 posed to intense suffering and toil and terrible 
 loss of life : every mule and horse, and one- 
 third of the men, perished from starvation or 
 freezing. A full account is given in this num- 
 ber of The Centurv from the diary of one of 
 the members of the party, the late William 
 McGehee of Mississippi. In one instance the 
 men in their extremity fed on the dead bodies 
 
 LARAMIE PEAK, FROM ONE OF THE OLD MOUNTAIN TRAILS. 
 
 ence to his superior officer, and was found 
 guilty, but was pardoned in consideration of 
 his distinguished services to his country. Feel- 
 ing that the verdict was unjust, he threw up 
 his commission, and so ended the last Govern- 
 ment expedition. 
 
 The fourth expedition was a private venture 
 made at Fremont's own risk and that of Sena- 
 tor Benton. The party followed for some dis- 
 tance the route along the Kansas, turning 
 southward at the junction of the two forks, 
 and striking across to the Arkansas, and so 
 on as far as Bent's Fort. On November 25, 
 1848, the party, thirty-two in number, left 
 the upper pueblo of the Arkansas with one 
 hundred good mules and ample provision for 
 crossing the St. John's Mountains, part of the 
 
 of their companions. The rescued remnant of 
 the party moved southward to Taos, and so 
 by a more southerly route to California. The 
 addition made to geographical knowledge by 
 this disastrous expedition was not great. Fre- 
 mont believed that if they had not been misled 
 by their guide he would have discovered the 
 best route to California. 
 
 In March, 1852, an appropriation was made 
 by the Government for further surveys of the 
 great western routes. A highway and railroad 
 were growing more and more necessary since 
 the acquisition of California. Fremont, on the 
 strength of this, determined to prove his belief 
 about the central route which he had so disas- 
 trously failed to find on his fourth expedition. 
 In August, 1853, he set out on his last expedi- 
 
RP.SlWrf^: OF FR P. MO NT'S FXPKDfriONS. 
 
 7^5 
 
 KUSKINS. (Ah 
 
 \ I'lCTlKE OWNED IIV CKNERAI. K. V. UKALK.) 
 
 tion. The names of this i)arty are not given in 
 full. The artist was S. N. Carvalho, the topog- 
 rapher Mr. Eglostein, and Oliver Fuller of 
 St. Louis accomi)anietl the party. From what 
 is said in the account of the expedition, it 
 seems there were also ten white men and 
 ten Delaware Indians. After two weeks' de- 
 tention in consetjuence of Fremont's illness, 
 the party was again set in motion. It crossed 
 the Rockies at Cochetopa Pass, not far above 
 the scene of the terrible suffering in the pre- 
 ( eding exploration. For a time it seemed as 
 though the experiences of the fourth expedi- 
 tion were going to be repeated. Provisions be- 
 came \cxy scarce, and at last failed entirely, and 
 then the explorers began to kill and devour their 
 horses. Colonel Fremont called his men to- 
 gether and made them take a solemn oath never 
 to resort to < nnnibalism, no matter what ex- 
 tremities they might reach. Times grew wtirse ; 
 they were reduced to living upon the hides, 
 entrails, and burned bones of their horses. 
 P.y these and by a < ertain variety of cactus 
 which they occasionally were able to get from 
 untler the snow, life was sustained. In this 
 way the |)arty of twenty-two lived for fifty ilays, 
 tramping through the snow with Fremont at 
 their head treading out a pathway for his men. 
 At last the entire party became barefoot. 
 (>n February i Mr. Fuller gave out. The 
 snow was very deep ; his feet were severely 
 tro/en, and he found it impossible to advance. 
 He was put u])on one of the remaining horses 
 ;in<l the men ilividetl their miserable pittances 
 Vol.. \\.\. — loi. 
 
 of rations to increase his. Almost in sight of 
 succor he died, — in Fremont's words, — ''like 
 a man, on horseback in his saddle, and we bur- 
 ied him like a soUlier on the spot where he fell." 
 I'>emr)nt, in the words of 1 Jenton. " went straight 
 to the spot where the guide had gone astray, 
 followed the course described by the mountain 
 men. and found safe and easy passes all the 
 way to California through a good country and 
 
 roMIlK. J. D. MONTr.OMFRV, I.ATFR RFAR-APMIRAI. 
 
 (rl.cal A 1-llllTOl.KAIII IIV AMIIOVVl ( SRK lAl.K tSo. 1 
 
766 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE FREMONT EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 upon the straight line of 38° and 39°." It prob- he in large measure through the country ex- 
 
 ably did not seem such a " safe and easy " thing plored by Fremont, sometimes in the very lines 
 
 to the starving and half- frozen men during those he followed; and this is equally true of the 
 
 fifty days of anguish. At last, after they had highways. 
 
 INDEPENDENCE ROCK, SWEETWATER RIVER. 
 
 been forty-eight hours without a morsel of Thewinter of this last exploration was excep- 
 food, relief came to the party. tionally severe ; and since the point Fremont 
 
 Something of the practical value of these wished to demonstrate was the practicability 
 explorations may be inferred from the fact that of this route in winter, the season was peculiarly 
 the great railroads connecting East and West favorable. 
 
 M. N. O. 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE FREMONT EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 ONG before the words carried their 
 meaning I was familiar with " Or- 
 egon occupation " and the " India 
 trade." They connected themselves 
 with big English law-books in my 
 father's library, whose Ho- 
 r^ r-iy garth-like pictures were a 
 delight to my childhood when there were 
 no picture-books made for children. Many a 
 pleased hour I puzzled over these in that sunny 
 library where I was free to come on condition 
 that I would be " as quiet as a mouse." One 
 of these illustrations, together with my father's 
 many and patient explanations tempered to 
 a child's mind, gave me some ideas which 
 have never faded, but, emerging from childish 
 imaginings and confusings, became strangely 
 interwoven into the very substance of my real 
 life. This favorite picture was that scene of 
 which Macaulay has made so vivid a word- 
 painting, the " Impeachment of Warren Hast- 
 ings." It became an endless theme between 
 my father and myself, and through it from him 
 
 came my earliest impressions of India and Ori- 
 ental life, and of England's power — her love 
 of justice as well as her love of gain; her dar- 
 ing conquests, and her crushing mastery of a 
 race that were to me then the people of the 
 Arabian Nights, only more warlike, and more 
 splendid. The peacock throne of gold and 
 gems seemed as real to me as the living pea- 
 cocks that at sunset spread their feathers and 
 screamed on the lawn at my grandfather's 
 house in Virginia. And on the long gallery of 
 our own home in St. Louis, where in the 
 pleasant way of the old French town much 
 life went on in the open air, again England 
 was a household theme. For the British Fur 
 Company, its enmity to the American Fur 
 Company, its harassing opposition to Ameri- 
 cans settling in Oregon, were matters of per- 
 sonal interest and necessary consideration to 
 those meeting there. 
 
 Chief of the unusual figures frequenting that 
 tree-shaded gallery was the stately and vener- 
 able G eneral \Villiam Clark, who was ending his 
 
TIIK ORIGIN OF Till: FRI^.MOXT EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 767 
 
 %n- 
 
 THOMAS II. IlKNTON. 
 
 (FROM A LITHOGRAPH HV I.KHMAN It DIVAI., AKTF.R A DRAWING BV C. FENDERICH, 
 
 OWNKI) IIV I.KMKAl. E. V. liKAI-K.) 
 
 honorable clays in St. Louis, where he held 
 superintentlency over all the Indians of the 
 West. He who luid first exploretl the Columbia 
 to the Pacific, and carried through Jeflerson'.s 
 once defeated ])lan, was, of right, chief of this 
 informal council. There met the heads of the 
 fur trade — the many Chouteaus, and Ramsay 
 Crooks, who brought Washington Irving when 
 he was collecting material for his " Astoria." 
 .\l limes came jjicturestjue Mexican merchants 
 in gold-embroidered velvet riding dress and 
 great ringing silver spurs; waiting under the 
 shade of our old trees were their horses glit- 
 tering with silver-mounted sad<lles and trap- 
 l)ings. Nobody walked. There waited also 
 horses with military saddles belonging to offi- 
 < ers up from JetTerM)n IJarracks, their riders, 
 in well-worn uniforms and with thinned, sun- 
 burned faces, freshly in from prairie chase and 
 sharj) skirmish with Black Hawk and his tur- 
 bulent Indians — these too kept in enmity by 
 the op|)osing British Fur Company. IJlack- 
 robcd Italian and Belgian dignitaries of the 
 Catholic C"hur«h, keeping to their traditions 
 as pioneer travelers, would bring some humble, 
 tlevoted missionarv priest who had his tale to 
 tell and his valuable addition to make to the 
 little known geography t)f plain and mountain. 
 
 Wiry French voya^eurs in their fringed buck- 
 skins, keen-witte(l and light of heart ; and 
 wealthy citizens, Spanish, French, and Ameri- 
 can, interested in the trade which, crossing 
 Mexico, stretched to the "Seaof Cortez," as the 
 (iulf of California was still called, met there in 
 council, all animated by a common purj)ose 
 to free our way westward. 
 
 Year after year this small but forceful coun- 
 cil met with my father in the vacations of 
 Congress, and he carrieil up to their friends 
 in Washington the knowledge gained among 
 them as an impelling force towards our more 
 energetic occupation of Oregon. In this inter- 
 est he had visited Mr. Jefferson in his mountain 
 home in Virginia, and gained deeper insight 
 and further purpose from the mind to which 
 we owe our expansion westward. 
 
 When in 1840 there came to Washington 
 M. Nicollet, a French savant and traveler, 
 anil Mr. Fremont, who had been with him 
 on the northwestern geographical suneys, it 
 was of keenest interest to my father to know 
 them, and to follow their travels on their maj)s 
 in course of construction. This resulted in 
 Mr. Fremont's becoming a part in his long- 
 cheri.shetl work for the ot cupation of Oregon. 
 Now, to his ow n accumulated knowledge and 
 
768 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE FREMONT EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 the increasing public interest and political 
 reasons, could be joined the experience and 
 love of adventurous travel, the youth and 
 proved endurance, such as Jefferson so long 
 before had secured for Oregon exploration in 
 the traveler Ledyard. And to this was soon 
 added personal and family identity in work 
 and aim, for I by my marriage had become 
 their connecting link. 
 
 It would have needed only a request from 
 my father to obtain for Mr. Fremont duty 
 which should keep him in Washington in place 
 of the long absences and dangers of these 
 expeditions; but self-renunciation lies at the 
 root of great work, and this was to be my part 
 in being of use to my father ; so that it was but 
 a few months after my marriage that the first 
 of the planned series of expeditions (that of 
 1842) was in the field. As that proved suc- 
 cessful and of sudden and large interest to the 
 country, the second (that of 1843-44) was 
 started off without delay. 
 
 The winter of 1842-43 had been used to 
 make out the maps and write the report. In this 
 I was secretary and amanuensis, and had full 
 knowledge of the large scope and national 
 importance of these journeys — a knowledge as 
 yet strictly confined to the {t\N carrying out 
 their aim. Even to the Secretary of War, and 
 to Mr. Fremont's immediate commander, the 
 colonel of the Topographical Engineers, they 
 were only geographical surveys to determine 
 lines of travel. This, the second, was to con- 
 nect with the survey of the bay of San Fran- 
 cisco made by Captain Wilkes, U. S. N. 
 
 President Harrison, being both a Western 
 man and a soldier, would have been friendly to 
 their larger aim, but his death reversed this. 
 Events justified the wisdom of silence until the 
 
 fast-coming hour. War with Mexico was near- 
 ing, and in that event the ownership of the bay 
 of San Francisco would be open to the chances 
 of war. 
 
 In the month of March, 1843, 1 accompanied 
 Mr. Fremont to St. Louis, where the second 
 expedition was fitted out; that through, he 
 left for the frontier, where the men and animals 
 were gathered. Following out my duty of 
 secretary, I was to open the mail and forward to 
 the camp at Kaw Landing, now Kansas City, 
 all that in my judgment required Mr. Fremont's 
 attention. One day there came for him an ofti- 
 cial letter from his colonel, the chief of the Topo- 
 graphical Bureau : it was an order recalling him 
 to Washington, whither he was directed to re- 
 turn and explain why he had armed his party 
 with a howitzer ; saying that it was a scientific, 
 not a military expedition, and should not have 
 been so armed. I saw at once that this would 
 make delays which would involve the over- 
 throw of great plans, and I felt there was a hid- 
 den hand at work. Fortunately my father was 
 absent from St. Louis, and I could act on my 
 instinct. Without telling any one of the order I 
 put it away and hurried off a messenger to Mr. 
 Fremont — one of his men, Basil Lajeunesse, 
 who was to join him with the last things. I feared 
 a duplicate letter might have been sent on to the 
 frontier ; but the river mail was very irregular 
 and slow, and I charged Basil to make all haste, 
 for much depended on that letter. I wrote Mr. 
 Fremont that he must not ask ivh}\ but must 
 start at once, ready or not ready. The animals 
 could rest and fatten at Bent's Fort. " Only 
 GO." There was a reason, but he could not 
 know it ; my father would take care of every- 
 thing. And as we acted together unquestion- 
 ingly, he did go immediately. 
 
 AMERICAN, MEXICAN, AND FKENCH PIONEER TYPES. 
 
TffF. O RIG IX or 77//': /'R/lUOX/' 7'.X7'I.OKA7/OXS. 
 
 769 
 
 JESSIE BENTON C'KS. FREMONT). (FROM THE MINIATURE ON IVORY BY UODGB.) 
 
 We were in that older time when there was 
 no telegraph to jiaralyze individuality. Klse 
 the grand plan with its gathered strength and 
 fullness, ripening and expanding from Jeffer- 
 son's time to now, almost its culminating hcnir, 
 would have fallen before petty otVuial routine. 
 I suspected some obscure intrigue, such as had 
 recalled the young traveler I.eilyard when he 
 ha<l already crossed Russia into Siberia incarry- 
 ing out the design of Mr. Jefferson, then nnnis- 
 ter to France, for opening up the Columbia 
 River — an intrigue that had thus balked and 
 overthrown the foresight of Jeflerson, the 
 friendly assistance of the I'.mpress Catherine, 
 and the energetic ambition of Ledyard. It 
 was now my happy privilege to be of use in 
 counteracting a like evil interferenc e. With 
 thedistance and the slow mails between the fron- 
 tier and Washington I couhi count on gaining 
 time enough for a good start for the party. 
 
 Not until after I received the good-by let- 
 
 ter did I write in answer to his colonel who 
 had .sent the order of recall. Then I wrote 
 him exactly what I hail tlone : that I had not 
 sent forward the order because it was given 
 on insufficient knowledge, and to obey it 
 woukl break up the expedition; that the jour- 
 neys to and from Washington, with indefinite 
 delays there, would lose to the animals the 
 best season for gra.ss and throw them, under- 
 fed, into the mountains in winter; that the 
 countr)- of the Hlackfeet and other fierce 
 tribes had to be cros.sed. and that Indians 
 knew nothing of the rights of science, but 
 fought all whiles; that these tribes were in 
 number and the i)arty not fifty men, there- 
 fore the howitzer was necessary; that as I 
 knew a military order must be obeyed, I had 
 not let it be known to any one, but had hur- 
 rie<l oft" the party. 
 
 When my father relumed he entirely ap- 
 proved of my wrong-«loing, and wrote to the 
 
770 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF THE FREMONT EXPLORATIONS. 
 
 GEOKGE BANCROFT. (I'RO.M A DAGUERREOTVPE.) 
 
 Secretary of War that he would be responsible 
 for my act, and that he would call for a court 
 martial on the point charged against Mr. Fre- 
 mont, liut there was never any further ques- 
 tion of the wisdom of his arming the party 
 sufficiently. In fact it had been but a pre- 
 text, for which the colonel, a quiet man, had 
 been used. I had so grown into my father's 
 purpose that now, when my husband could be 
 of such large aid to its accomplishment, I had 
 no hesitation in risking for him all conse- 
 quences. Upon this second expedition hinged 
 great results. It made California known in a 
 way which roused and enlisted our people 
 and led directly to its being acquired during 
 the third expedition (that of 1845-47), and 
 this time there were no " foes in the rear." 
 
 With the election of President Polk the 
 way was made free to western expansion, and 
 his having for Secretary of the Navy the his- 
 torian Bancroft was of determining ad\an- 
 tage. Then my father could say in that Senate 
 
 where so long ago his voice had plead to dull 
 ears for attention to our Pacific coast, " Now 
 we own the country from sea to sea, — from the 
 Atlantic to the Pacific, — and u|)on a breadth 
 equal to the length of the Mississippi and em- 
 bracing the whole temperate zone." From his 
 own hearth had gone the one who carried his 
 hopes to fullest execution and aided to make 
 true his prophetic words, afterward cut into 
 the pedestal of his statue in St. Louis, whose 
 bronze hand points west — 
 
 THERE IS THE EAST, 
 THERE IS THE ROAD TO INDIA. 
 
 And the venerable historian who had such 
 deciding part in acquiring California has seen 
 the fulfilment of his large views. His strong, 
 quiet words, the utterance of his eighty-sixth 
 year, are a resume of the whole and give to 
 this episode of our national history the force 
 of a benediction : 
 
ROUGH TIMI-.S IN ROUGH PLACES. 
 
 •71 
 
 Newport, K. I., 2ii July. 1886. 
 My dear pRihNns : I have just received the first of 
 your joint tribute to Bcntoii aiul the path to Oregon. 
 I renumber the ilays wlun tile eyes of the world 
 were turned tow.irds the hold adventurer who was to 
 demonstrate that Oregon can be reached by a mid- 
 winter journey as well as by a trip through the 
 wilderness in summer ; and when Benton predicted 
 in the Senate, in the lecture-room, in all companies, 
 the ease with which the East anil the Pacific shore 
 coidd meet together ; and the consequent changes 
 in the atfurs ol the world. 
 
 It had been my desire to acquire California by all 
 honorable means much before that time [iS.jo]. 
 
 I look upon the acquisition of California by our- 
 selves as the decisive point in the perl'ect establish- 
 ment of the Union on a foundation that cannot be 
 moveil. Up to th.it time the division w.is between 
 North and South. From that moment .Ul division, 
 
 if there was one, was between the North, Center, and 
 West against the South. Now that we have got 
 rid of slavery, it seems to me that all distinction 
 between North and South has v.mislud. But the 
 acquisition of California, making our country the 
 highway between Hiirope and Asia and establishing 
 domestic free tr.idc through our almost boundless 
 territory, promises to our institutions and our Union 
 perpetuity. 
 
 Best regards to Mrs. Fremont. Ever yours, 
 
 George Bancroft. 
 
 Rarely docs life offer suih opportunities; 
 more seldom still do men, each specially fitted 
 to his part, combine to carry out such noMe, 
 enduring work — work which time has proved 
 good. And the remembering people feel the 
 truth," Though the pathfinders die, the paths 
 remain open." 
 
 Jessie Benton Fremont. 
 
 ROrCII TIMES I\ ROUGH I'LACI-S. 
 
 A PERSONAL 
 
 .\ARRAri\K OF THK 'IKRRllil.K LXi'KRl KXCKS OF 
 FREMONT'S FOURTH KXPKDrnON. 
 
 [The earlier explorations of Fremont through 
 the Rocky Mountains and into Calitornia — those 
 of 1842, 184^, and 184s — were made under the 
 direction and at the expense of the United States 
 Government, and of tiiese we have full reports. 
 Far less is known of the fourth expedition, which 
 he made in 1 848-40, at private expense. 
 
 The following article is made up of the records 
 and diary of a member of the party, left at his death, 
 and never bet'ore published. It is sent to Thh 
 Century by his brother, Mr. C. G. McGehee, of 
 Woodville, Mississippi. 
 
 As far as Pueblo, on the Arkansas River, at the 
 entrance to the Rocky Mountains, this party fol- 
 lowed very nearly the same line taken by the ex- 
 pedition of 1S44, which in the main follows the 
 present route of railway travel on the Atchison, 
 Topeka, and Santa Fe line. The experiences of the 
 party in their slow progress over the plains — their 
 encounters with Indians, buffaloes, elk, antelopes, 
 and wild horses — are not unique, and will, there- 
 fore, be omitted. We take up the diary where the 
 old trail is left and the party plunges into the un- 
 known mazes of the Rockies under the guidance of 
 one of the trappers, named Bill Williams, — of a type 
 which has long passed out of existence, — and who 
 is thus descrilK'd : ] 
 
 C' 
 
 ILLUll.i.IA.M.S was the most 
 successful trapper in the moun- 
 
 7, P) |\ lins, and the best acquainted 
 / r^ W with the ways and habits of the 
 ■>" -^ — ,1/ wild tribes among and near 
 -< whom he spent his adventurous 
 life. He first came to the West as a .sort of mis- 
 sionary to the Osages. lUit "Old Pill" laid 
 aside his Christianity and look up iiis rille and 
 
 came to the mountains. He was full of oddi- 
 ties in appearance, manner, conversation, and 
 actions. He generally went out alone into the 
 mountains, and would remain there trapping 
 by himself for several mcinths together, his 
 lonely camps being often pitched in the vicinity 
 of hostile savages. Put he was as well versed 
 in stratagem as they, and though he bore the 
 marks of balls and arrows, he was a terror to 
 them in single fight. He had ingratiateil him- 
 .self into the favor of several tribes; he had 
 two or three squaws among the Utahs, and 
 spoke their language and also that of several 
 other tribes. 
 
 He was a dead shot with a rifle, though 
 he always shot with a "double wabble"; he 
 never could hold his gun still, yet his ball went 
 always to the spot on a single shot. Though 
 a most indefatigable walker, he never could 
 walk on a straight line, but went staggering 
 along, first on one side and then the other. 
 He was an expert horseman; scarce a horse 
 or mule could unseat him. He rode leaning 
 forward upon the pommel, with his rille before 
 him, his stirrups ridiculously short, and his 
 breei lies rulibed up to his knees, leaving his 
 legs bare even in freezing colli weather. He 
 wore a loose monkey-jacket or a buckskin hunt- 
 ing-shirt, and for his head-covering a blan- 
 ket-cap. the two top comers drawn up into 
 two wolfish, satyr-like ears, giving him some- 
 what the appearance of the representations 
 we generally meet with »)f his Satanic Majesty, 
 at the same time rendering his tout ensiinbk 
 
772 ROUGH TIMES IN ROUGH PLACES. 
 
 exceedingly ludicrous. He was a perfect speci- eluded to go, for he thought we could manage 
 
 men of his kind, an embodiment of the reck- to get through, though not without considerable 
 
 less and extravagant propensity of the moun- suffering.^ 
 
 taineers, and he pursued his lucrative but On the 26th of November [1848] we entered 
 
 perilous vocation from an innate love of its the Rocky Mountains, which had been for days 
 
 excitement and dangers. He had no other looming up before us, presenting to view one 
 
 care for the gains of his labors than as a means continuous sheet of snow. The snow already 
 
 of aftbrding him a " big spree," and enabling covered the mountains and was rapidly deep- 
 
 him to procure more powder and lead. It is ening. I have frequently since called to mind 
 
 told of him that he once came into Taos and the expression of one of the men as we rode 
 
 spent on one spree six thousand dollars, the along before entering Hard Scrabble. As we 
 
 result of a successful season of trapping, and looked upon the stormy mountain so porten- 
 
 then left the place in debt. One of his amuse- tous of the future, he said, " Friends, I don't 
 
 ments on this occasion was to buy whole bolts want my bones to bleach upon those moun- 
 
 of calico, then quite a costly article in Taos, tains." Poor fellow, little did he dream of 
 
 and, going into the street, to take hold of one what the future would be ! 
 
 end and throw out the other as far as he could, In the evening, from our first camp, eight 
 
 unrolling it on the ground, and then call out miles in the mountains, several of us climbed to 
 
 the Mexican women to scramble for it. In a high point to take a last look at the plains, 
 
 this way, and with drinking and gambling, three The sight was beautiful; the snow-covered 
 
 or four weeks would suffice to run through his plain far beneath us stretching eastward as far 
 
 money. Taking his traps and rifle, and some as the eye could reach, while on the opposite 
 
 provision on his mules, he would disappear side frowned the almost perpendicular wall of 
 
 among the mountains, and nothing would be high mountains. 
 
 heard of him for months, until he would come We entered the mountains on foot, packing 
 into the fort with a new supply of peltries, our saddle-mules with corn to sustain the ani- 
 He would sometimes gamble until he lost mals. We traveled on, laboring through the 
 all his money and animals; then borrowing as deep snow on the rugged mountain range, 
 many as he wanted of the best horses belong- passing successively through what are called 
 ing to his fellow-trappers, who never opposed White Mountain Valley and Wet Mountain 
 him, he would leave the fort, one or two thou- Valley into Grand River Valley. The cold 
 sand dollars in debt, and take to the mountains was intense, and storms frequently compelled 
 again, certain to return after a few months us to lie in camp, from the impossibility of 
 with another large supply. If he was much in forcing the mules against them. A number 
 need of a horse, or tired of his squaw, he would of the men .-ere frozen ; the animals became 
 sell her, or " swap " her oft" for one or two exhausted from the inclemency of the weather 
 horses. For twenty-one years he had lived in and want of food, what little grass there was 
 the mountains without returning to civilized being all buried in the snow. As we pro- 
 life until he was taken back under guard, a ceeded matters grew worse and worse. The 
 year or two previous, by Captain Cook, for the mules gave out one by one and dropped down 
 offense of manoeuvering and acting the Indian in the trail, and their packs were placed upon 
 in his buckskin suit on the plains, thereby de- the saddle-mules. The cold became more 
 ceiving the captain into the belief that he was and more intense, so many degrees below zero 
 an Indian, and giving his men a fruitless chase that the mercury sank entirely into the bulb, 
 of several miles over the prairies before they The breath would freeze upon the men's faces 
 could overtake him on his pony, much to his and their lips become so stifle from the ice that 
 diversion and the officer's chagrin. it was almost impossible to speak ; the long 
 Such was old Bill WiUiams — he who was beard and hair stood out white and stiff with 
 destined to be our guide at this time. But it the frost. The aspect of the mules was as bad 
 was not without some hesitation that he con- as that of the men ; their eyelashes and the 
 sented to go, for most of the old trappers at long beard about their mouths were frozen 
 the pueblo declared that it was impossible to stiff, and their breath settled upon their breasts 
 cross the mountains at that time ; that the cold and sides until they were perfectly white with 
 upon the mountains was unprecedented, and frost. The snow, too, would clog under their 
 the snow deeper than they had ever known it hoofs until it formed a ball six inches long, 
 so early in the year. However, Old Silicon- makingthemappear as though they were walk- 
 
 1 Fremont, in a letter to his wife dated Taos, Janu- pass. We occupied more than half a month in making 
 
 ary 27, 1849, says of Williams : " The error of our jour- the journey of a few days ; blundering a tortuous way 
 
 ney was in engaging this man. He proved never to through deep snow which already began to choke up the 
 
 have in the least known, or entirely to have forgotten, passes, for which we were obliged to waste time in 
 
 the whole region of country through which we were to searching." 
 
ROL'GII TIMES IN ROUGH PLACES. 773 
 
 ing on stilts. With the deep snow around us, ascent towards tlie Sierra Madre, presents her- 
 and the pendant frost upon the leafless trees, self with all her features jirominent and strongly 
 Nature and ourselves j)resented a very har- marked, her figures hold antl colossal. Our 
 monious picture. 'Iwo trappers, Old Bill in- progress became slow and laborious. Our track 
 formed us, had been frozen to death here the lay through deep mountain gorges, amid tow- 
 year previous. ering precipices and beetling crags, and along 
 
 .\fter coming through Robidcaux's Pass, steep de< livities where at any other season it 
 which was exceeilingly difficult, we ilescended would have been next to impossible to travel, 
 into (Irand River Valley. The snow lay deep, but where now the deep snow afforded a se- 
 as elsewliere, and there was no sign of vegeta- cure foothold. In making the ascent of some 
 tion. One broad, white, dreary-looking ])lain of these precipitous mountain sides, now and 
 lay before us, bounded by lofty white moun- then a mule would lose its footing and go tum- 
 tains. The Rio (irande lay fifty miles ahead, biing and rolling many feet down. My saddle 
 so we determined to get through the snow- mule took one of these tumbles. Losing her 
 covereil ])lain as tjuickly as possible. We foothold, she got her rope hitched upon a large 
 traveled late and camped in the middle of log which lay loosely balanced on the rocks, 
 it. without any shelter from the winds, and and, knocking me down and jerking the log 
 with no fuel but some wild sage, a small shrub clear over my head, they went tumbling down 
 which grew sparsely around. At night the together. But fortunately no one was hurt. \ 
 thermometer stood at seventeen degrees below great obstacle to our progress were the rapid, 
 zero. During the day I)ucatel,a young fellow rough-bottomed, but boggy streams which we 
 in the company, had come very near freezing had frecjuently to encounter in the tleep and 
 to death. By collecting a (luantity of the sage narrow ravines, where the mules would get 
 we made sufficient fire to cook, or rather half- balked, half a dozen at a time, with their packs 
 cook, our supper of deer meat, five deer hav- on. Then we had to wade in u]) to our mid- 
 ing been killed that evening by two of the die among the floating ice in the freezing water 
 men. Bolting down the half-cooked meat, we to helj) them out. 
 
 quickly turnetl into our blankets in order to The farther we went the more obstacles we 
 keep tolerably warm and to protect ourselves had to encounter; difficulties beset usso thickly 
 against the driving snow, for since leaving the on every hand as we advanced that they 
 States we had scarcely stretched our tents, threatened to thwart our expedition. The snow- 
 In the night, as ill luck would have it, our became deeper daily, and to advance was but 
 mules, poor creatures, w hich had stood shiver- adding dangers to difficulties. About one-third 
 ing in the cold with bowed backs and droop- of the men were already more or less frost-bit- 
 ing heads, suft'ering from their exposed situa- ten; every night .some of the mules would freeze 
 tion and half starved, being now reduced to to death, and every day as many more would 
 a pint of corn twice a day, and having no give out from exhaustion and be left on the 
 other resource for food, broke loose from their trail. It seemed like fighting fate to attem|)t 
 weak fastenings of .sage bushes and started oft" to proceed, but we were bent on our course, 
 fti masse on the back trail. As soon as it was and continued to advance. At one time men 
 ascertained that they were gone, in the middle were sent ahead to report the prospect, and 
 of the night, we had to rise from our beds, returned stating that grass appeareil in the 
 lifting half a foot of snow with our top blan- distance before them : they supposed that the 
 kels, and strike out in pursuit of them. We snow was abating, but on coming up what 
 overtook them several miles from camp, and, they saw proved to be the tops of bushes six 
 taking them back, made them .secure. But we feet high projecting above the snow ; nor did 
 rested little the remamder of the night. anything a|)pear upon which the animals could 
 
 The next tlay we reached the Rio (Irande sub.sist. The corn we had packed along for 
 
 del Xorte. This we found frozen over, and we them was already consumetl. Sometimes we' 
 
 camped on the river bottom, which is thickly wouUl attempt to move on, anil the severity of 
 
 timbered with cottonwood and willow. Here the weather would force us back into camp, 
 
 my feet and those of several others were frozen In one of these attempts, before we could beat 
 
 — the result in part of wearing boots, for which our way half a mile against the temjjest, our 
 
 I (juickly substituted moccasins, with blanket guide. Old Bill William.s, was nearly frozen; 
 
 wrajipcrs, which are much warmer than socks, he ilropi)ed down upon his mule in a stupor 
 
 and which, with leggings of the same material, and was nearly senseless when we got into 
 
 afford the best protection for the lower extremi- camp. A number of the men came in with 
 
 ties agaiast severe cold. their noses, ears, faces, fingers, and feet partly 
 
 Continuing up the river two or three days, fro/en, and one or two of the mules dropped 
 
 we again entered the mountains, which soon as- ilown and froze to death under their packs, 
 
 sumed a very rugged character. Nature, in the Poor mules, it was pitiable to see them ! They 
 Vol.. .\I.I. — 102. 
 
774 ROUGH TIMES IN ROUGH FIACES. 
 
 would roam about all night, generally, on dreary solitude ; not even the ravens uttered 
 
 account of their extreme weakness, following their hoarse cry, nor the wolves their hollow 
 
 back the path of the previous day, pawing in and dismal howl. Finally nearly the entire 
 
 the snow three or four feet deep for some sign band of our one hundred mules had frozen to 
 
 of vegetation to keep them alive. They would death. After remaining in this condition for 
 
 fall down every fifty yards under their packs, five days without being able to move camp, 
 
 and we would have to unpack them and hft the colonel [Fremont] determined to return 
 
 them up, and that with fingers frozen and lac- as quickly as possible by a different course to 
 
 erated by the cold. Finally they began eat- the Rio Grande. There we had left game upon 
 
 ing the ropes and rawhide lariats with which which we could subsist until a party, to be pre- 
 
 they were tied, until there were no more left viously despatched, should return with relief, 
 
 in camp to tie them with; then they ate the Soon the 2 2d of December we commenced our 
 
 blankets which we tied over them at night; move, crossing over the bleak mountain strewn 
 
 then they came into camp and ate the pads with the frozen mules, and packing our baggage 
 
 and rigging oft' the pack-saddles, and ate one with us. We were more than a week moving 
 
 another's manes and tails entirely bare, even our camp and equipage over the top of this 
 
 into the flesh, and would come to us while sleep- mountain, a distance of two miles from our 
 
 ing and begin to eat the blankets oft" us ; they first camp. The day we began to move (our 
 
 wouldeven tumble into our fires, over the cook- provisions having been all consumed, except 
 
 ing utensils. But, poor things, little rehef could a small portion of macaroni and sugar, re- 
 
 we afford them, for, although they suffered served against hard times) we commenced to 
 
 much, we were in no better condition. Our eat the carcasses of the frozen mules. It was 
 
 provisions were nearly exhausted, and we were hoped we might save the fev/ that yet lived, but 
 
 more or less frozen. this proving impossible, we began to kill and 
 
 Finally, on the 17th of December, after fre- eat the surviving ones. On Christmas Day the 
 quent ineffectual attempts, we found that we colonel despatched a party of four men. King, 
 could force our way no farther. By our ut- Croitzfeldt, Brackenridge, and Bill Williams, to 
 most endeavors with mauls and spades we proceed down the Rio del Norte with all pos- 
 could make but half a mile or a mile per day. sible speed to Albuquerque, where they were 
 The cold became more severe, and storms to procure provisions and mules to relieve us. 
 constant, so that nothing was visible at times He allowed them sixteen days to go and re- 
 through the thick driving snow. For days in turn. We made our Christmas and New 
 succession we would labor to beat a trail a few Year's dinner on mule meat, — not the fattest, 
 hundred yards in length, but the next day the as may be judged, — and continued to feed 
 storm would leave no trace of the previous upon it while it was within reach, 
 day's work. WewereontheSt. John Mountain, Our way to the river was very rough, pass- 
 a section of the Sierra Madre and the main ing over rugged and precipitous mountain 
 range of the Rocky Mountains proper. At an spurs difticult of passage, and across deep ra- 
 elevation of 1 1 ,000 feet the cold was so intense vines, with rapid streams frozen over, in which 
 and the atmosphere so rare that respiration the water was pitching and roaring beneath 
 became difficult ; the least exertion became us as we crossed. We would move camp three 
 laborious and fatiguing, and would sometimes or four miles at a time, then, packing all the 
 cause the blood to start from lips and nose, baggage down, we would move again in the 
 The mercury in the thermometer stood 20° same way; on an average, at our best, we 
 below zero, and the snow was here from four scarcely made a mile a day. On our way the 
 to thirty feet deep. When we built our camp- last provisions were issued, — a little macaroni 
 fires deep pits were formed by the melting of and sugar, — and we began eating the rawhide 
 the snow, completely concealing the difterent tug ropes and parfleches, cutting them into 
 rnesses from each other, Down in these holes strips and boiling to a sort of glue, or brown- 
 we slept, spreading our blankets upon the snow, ing on the coals until soft enough to bite, 
 every morning crawling out from under a deep Between the last camps, over a bleak and 
 coveringof snow which had fallen upon us dur- barren stretch of seven miles before reaching 
 ing the night. The strong pine smoke, — for the river, the cold was unusually severe, and 
 here there was no timber but pine, — together perfectly unbearable storms prevailed. In 
 with the reflection from the snow, so aftected crossing this stretch, one of the party, Proue, 
 our sight that at times we could scarcely see. froze to death beside the trail ; we passed 
 The snow drifted over us continually, driven and repassed his lifeless body, not daring to 
 about by the violence of the chill blasts which stop long enough in the intense cold to per- 
 swept over the mountains. form the useless rite of burial. One day I 
 
 Besides ourselves and our mules, no vestige started to cross this stretch, determined to go 
 
 of animal life appeared here in this lofty and on to the river that night or to freeze. Andrews 
 
ROCGIf T/MF.S IN ROUGH PLACES. 775 
 
 started \vith me, but before we could get half true, to push on himself to the nearest settle- 
 way across he became exhausted and lay down ment and send relief. He left an order, which 
 ui)on the snow, declaring that he could go we scarcely knew how to interpret, to the effect 
 no farther. I tried to urge him on, but he that we must finish packing the baggage to 
 couM not go on, and I could not leave him ; the river, anil hasten on down as speedily as 
 so, proceeding a short distance, I got him possible to the mouth of Rabbit River where 
 into a cave, which aflbrdcd a shelter against we would meet relief, ami that if we wished 
 the severity of the storm, and, climbing among to see him we must be in a hurry about it, as 
 the rocks, ascended to the top of the mountain, he was going on to California, 
 where the wind was blowing such a hurricane Two days after the colonel left we had all 
 that I had to lie down flat at times, to keep assembled on the river. The last of our provi- 
 from being swept ofl". Taking advantage of sions had been consumed, and we had been 
 the intervals between the gusts of wind. I rolled living for several days upon parfleche. Our 
 down some of the j)inon logs which lay upon condition was perilous in the extreme. Star- 
 themountainsitle, pitching them overthe crags vation stared us in the face; to remain there 
 below, and, descending to the cave, struck a longer was certain death. We held a consul- 
 fire. }^y this time two others. Captain Cathcart tation and determined to start down the river 
 and R. Kern, arrived to take shelter from the the next day and try to make our way to some 
 storm. They had nothing to eat, and we had settlement where we could get relief; in the 
 our last portion ; in the extremity of our situa- mean time keeping as much together as possi- 
 tion we had, the day before, divided out the ble, and hunting ahjng as we went as our only 
 last morsel wiiich remained, the share which chance of safety. The two Canadian French- 
 had fallen to each man being a cupful of boiled men, Tabeau, or Sorel, as we called him, and 
 macaroni and a cup of sugar. This we had Moran, did not delay as long as we, but, 
 with us and we offered to share it with the pinched by hunger, had started off the day 
 others, but Andrews, in trying to warm it, by before. So, with a handful of sugar to each 
 an unlucky move upset it into the fire, and man, we divided some candles, pieces of raw- 
 thus went the last mouthful that we had to eat hides, tug ropes and parfleches, and strapping 
 on earth, antl we half starved. The stomi con- on a blanket ajMcce and shouldering our rifles, 
 tinued to rage with such violence that we could we started upon our gloomy march down the 
 not leave, and here we were kept for two whole frozen river. Over its congealed surface a som- 
 days. In looking around I found a small roll ber shade was cast by the overhanging trees 
 of rawhide snow-shoe strings which had been covered with long white frost which lumg like 
 left by one of the men. These we cut into pieces a thick fringe from their barren boughs. Tot- 
 and boiled. I also found some dr\- bones in tering from weakness, and some with frozen 
 an old wolf den among the rocks. How many and bleeding feet, our progress was slow. We 
 years they had been lying there I will not un- kept upon the ice down the middle of the 
 dertake to say ; but these we pounded to pieces river, to get a level track, and to avoid as 
 between the rocks and boiled with the strings, much as possible the deep snow, 
 and upon this mess we four lived for two days. Now commenced a train of horrors which 
 A number of others, on their way, had been it is painful to force the mind to dwell upon, 
 forced like us to take shelter from the storm and which memon,- shrinks from, netbre we 
 here and there among the rocks. had proceeded far .Vlanuel, a California Indian 
 At last we reached the river, but we found of the Cosumne tribe, who had his feet badly 
 no game ; the deer anfl elk had been driven frozen, stopped and begged Mr. Vincent Haler 
 off l)y the deep snow. For days we had been to shoot him, and failing to meet death in this 
 anxiously looking for the return of King's way turned back to the lodge at the camp we 
 party with relief. The time allotted him had had left, there to await his fate. The same day 
 already expired; day after day passed, but with Wise lav down on the ice and dictl ; and the 
 no prospect of relief". We concluded that the Indian boys, Joaijuin and (iregorio, who came 
 party had been attacked by Indians, or that along afterward, having stopped back to get 
 they had lost their way and had perished, some wootl for Manuel, seeing his body, cov- 
 The colonel, who had moved down to the ered it over with brush and snow. That night 
 river before us, waited two days longer, and Carver, crazeil by hunger, raved terril)Iy all 
 then, taking just enough ])rovision before it was night, so that some in the camp with him be- 
 all exhausted to last them along the river, came alarmed for their safety. He told them, 
 himself started off with Mr. I'reuss, Godey, if any would follow him back, he had a j»lnn 
 Theodore (Godey's nephew), and Sanders, the by which they might live. The next day he 
 colonel's servant-man, intending to find out wandered off and we never saw him again, 
 what had become of the party and hasten them The next night .Sorel, his system wrought 
 back, or, if our fears concerning them proved upon by hunger, cold, ami exhaustion, took 
 
776 ROUGH TIMES IN ROUGH PLACES. 
 
 a violent fit which lasted for some time, and to leave any while they lived. So we com- 
 to which succeeded an entire prostration of menced hunting, all that had strength and sight 
 all his faculties. At the same time he was sufficient to do so, for the most of us were so 
 almost totally snow-blind. Speaking to E. completely snow-blind that we could not see 
 Kern of our situation, he said, " O Kern ! this to shoot. After long and frequent hunts, two 
 is a misse Dieii [a visitation from God], and prairie chickens or grouse were killed. These 
 we can't avoid it." Poor fellow, the next day we divided with scrupulous exactness among 
 he traveled as long as his strength would the nine of us, dividing the entrails and all that 
 allow, and then, telling us we would have to appertained to them, even to the pin-feathers, 
 leave him, that he could go no farther, blind Taplinfoundpartof a dead wolf upon the river 
 with snow he lay down on the river-bank to die. and brought it in. One side of it and the en- 
 Moran soon joined him, and they never came up trails had been eaten away, but we divided the 
 again. Late at night, arriving one by one, we all skin and roasted it, hair and all, for one meal ; 
 came into a camp together on the river-bank, for another we drank the meager broth, and 
 Gloom and despondency were depicted on then we ate the meat, and even devoured the 
 every face. Our condition had become perfectly bones. This was the last we got. Day after 
 desperate. We knew not what to do; the candles clay we staid here, but no game came near, 
 and parfleche had kept us alive thus far, but Occasionally we could hear the distant, dismal 
 these were gone. Our appearance was most howl of a wolf, as if weary of waiting for its 
 desolate as we sat in silence around the fires, prey, but none came near ; at distant intervals 
 in view of a fast approaching death by starva- a raven would go screaming by, beyond our 
 tion, while hunger gnawed upon our vitals, reach. We found a handful or two of rosebuds 
 Then Vincent Haler, to whom the colonel had along the river which we divided and ate, and 
 left the charge of the camp, and whom for that Dr. Kern found a few small bugs upon the 
 reason we had allowed to have the chief direc- water where the ice was broken, and ate them, 
 tion, spoke up and told us that he then and We had already devoured our moccasin soles, 
 there threw up all authority ; that he could do and a small sack made of smoked lodge skin, 
 nothing, and knew not what to advise ; that We dug in the ground beneath the snow with 
 he looked upon our condition as hopeless, but our knives for roots, but it proved a useless 
 he would suggest, as the best advice he could labor. We became weaker daily, and to walk 
 give, that we break up into small parties, and, thirty steps once a day to get some dry cotton- 
 hunting along, make the best of our way down wood sticks to keep up our fire fatigued us 
 separately, each party making use of all the greatly. Our strength was rapidly failing. An- 
 advantages that might fall in its way, so that drews, after lingering several days, died in the 
 if any should chance to get through to a settle- night as he lay by our side, and the next day 
 ment they could forward relief to the others. Rohrer was nearly gone ; he was talking wildly, 
 Accordingly the next morning he joined a fearful expression of despair resting upon his 
 himself with Scott, Martin, Hibbard, Bacon, countenance. The mention of his family at 
 Ducatel, Rohrer, and the two Indians, Joa- home had served to rouse him and keep him 
 quin and Gregorio. Ferguson and Beedle went going longer than his strength would otherwise 
 in company, and the rest of us, the three Kerns, have borne him up ; but now it was too late. 
 Captain Cathcart, Captain Taplin, Stepper- Taking from Andrews's pocket a small gilt- 
 feldt, Andrews, and myself, went together ; we embossed Bible, carefully preserved, which we 
 agreed not to leave one another while life intended, in case any of us lived to get through, 
 lasted. Again we resumed our unsteady course to hand over as a memento to his friends, we 
 down the river. We traveled hard all day, laid his body to one side, covered it with a 
 and late in the evening, weak and worn out, blanket, and sat down, waiting until Rohrer 
 staggered into a camp near the river-side, some should die, intending, as soon as the breath 
 coming in far behind the rest. Dr. Kern came left his body, to commence another move down 
 
 up so exhausted that he fell down almost sense- the river. As we sat waiting, came over 
 
 less and remained in this torpid state a whole to the fire where Taplin, Stepperfeldt, and I 
 
 day. After a while Andrews came up, and ar- were sitting, and in a sad tone said : " Men, 
 
 riving within several hundred yards of camp I have come to make a proposition. I don't 
 
 raised a faint call and fell down completely know how you will take it. It is a horrid one. 
 
 exhausted and senseless ; two or three of us had W^e are starving; in two or three days more^ 
 
 to go and pack him in. He never recovered unless something be done, we shall all be dead, 
 
 from this exhaustion. Soon Rohrer came up. As soon as we leave this body it will become 
 
 Vincent Haler's party, to which he belonged, the prey of wild beasts. Now I propose in- 
 
 was ahead of us, and being too weak to pro- stead that we make use of it to save hfe. It is 
 
 ceed farther he stopped with us. Here we re- horrible, I know, but I will undertake to do 
 
 mained, determined, as we had promised, not the butchery, as you may call it, and you need 
 
ROUGir 77.\r/:s i.v Roraif rr.ACES. 777 
 
 have nothing to do with that part ; you need and going on had overtaken King's party, who 
 not even see it done. Do you agree to my prop- had left the river and haci undertaken to strike 
 osition ? " All sat in silence; then several of across the country to Albutpieniue, hut beioin- 
 us objected. I spoke up and said that, for my ing involved in the deep snow, their provisions 
 part, I had no conscientious scruples against being exhausted, they hail eaten their knife 
 such a proceilure. I knew that early prejudice scabbards and had tried to eat their boots, 
 and conventional opinion founded on prejuilice Being compelled to lie out night after night 
 were at the bottom of our objections to it ; but without fire upon the barren plain, they were 
 these existed, and it was a horrible |)roposition more or less frozen from their hips down, 
 to entertain. I fully appreciated our situation. They had then returned to the river, where 
 but I thought that, by making up our minds to King died, and here the colonel's party found 
 it and remaining cpiiet, we could hold out three them in a weak and emaciated condition, nearly 
 days longer, by which time, after finiling that dead, and with intellects shaken and scarcely 
 we couKl not possibly bear up longer, it would a sense left. They were put upon the Indian 
 be soon enough to think of ailopting so horrible horses anil taken into the litUe outer settle- 
 an alternative, and then, if I did not aj)prove, ment of the Rio Colorado. Here, <|uickly (jb- 
 I would not censure it. '• Hut by that time," taining what provisions he could, and hiring 
 he .said, " we will be too weak and too far gone several Mexicans with mules, Godey set out as 
 ever to recover. You sec what they have come speedily as possible up the river. On his way 
 to, and you see what you will come to." " I he fell in with two other Mexicans, who, with 
 can't help it," I said : " I am determined to risk mules loaded with bread and flour and corn- 
 it at the jjeril of my life"; and so saying, I meal, were going out to trade with the I'tah In- 
 walkeil over to the other fire. They talked dians. These, with their burdens, he pressed 
 about it a few minutes, but were unwilling to into service, and hastening on, traveling late 
 follow such a course unless all united in it, and and early, he met Vincent Haler's party about 
 so we all waited together. twenty miles below us. Two of their number 
 
 We remained around the fire, stirring as lit- were missing. They had agreed among them- 
 
 tle as possible, and firing signal guns at fre- selves that when one became so exhausted that 
 
 quent intervals during the day. Rohrer died, he could not travel the rest should not wait 
 
 Two days passed by, and no relief came. Sev- for him. First Hibbard had been left, and soon 
 
 eral times we imagined we heard an answer to after Scott. Leaving most of the animals and 
 
 our signal and would raise ourselves up to lis- provisions at Vincent Haler's camp, Goiley 
 
 ten; but being as often disappointed, we ceased proceeded rajMdly up. He found Scott sitting 
 
 to notice. The morning of the third day ar- in a listless manner by afire he had just kindled, 
 
 rived and was far advanced towards midday ; his head resting upon his hand, and almost 
 
 we all sat in the deepest gloom. Suddenly totally snow-blind. Having strengthened him 
 
 "Hush I" said one. We all listened intently, withfood, Godey furnished him a horse and sent 
 
 A call was heard. " Relief, by heaven ! " e.\- a Mexican with him to the camp below, antl, 
 
 claimed one of the men, and we all started to proceeding, came to Hibbard, who had just 
 
 our feet ; and relief it was, sure enough, for died, his body being yet warm. Failing in his 
 
 soon we spied Ciodey riding towards us followed attempts to restore him, Godey kept on. Tak- 
 
 by a Mexican. We were all so snow-blind that ing across a short bend in the river, he passed 
 
 we took him to be the colonel until he came entirely by us without knowing it, and found 
 
 up, and even then some saluted him as the Ferguson a little distance above us. Beeille 
 
 colonel. Dismounting, he quickly distributed was dead, and his body was lying near by. 
 
 several loaves among us, with commendable Ferguson informed Godey that we were below 
 
 forethought giving us but a small piece at first, him, and coming down with him, he found us. 
 
 and making us wait until the Mexican could Leaving us, and taking with him several Mexi- 
 
 prepare some toU (boiled corn-meal), which cans with pack-mules, he followed up along 
 
 he ([uickly made, and we more (juickly de- our track, which was marked by the bodies of 
 
 voured. it required considerable persuasion the dead as they had perished day by day, 
 
 to prevent us from killing the Mexican's old and now were lying the prey of wolves and 
 
 horse in order to eat it ; but Godey informed ravens, the deep and gloomy silence of their 
 
 us that there were two colts in the camp below, solitude broken only by the snarls antl yells 
 
 which, if we would wait, we might have. This of j)acks of quarreling wolves. He found the 
 
 was the 25th of January. bodies of Sorel and Moran together. Frientls 
 
 After leaving the jjarty, Godey, with the in life, they had proved friends in death. .Sorel 
 
 colonel and the others that were with them, was lying prostrate on the snow, and Moran, 
 
 had traveled on as rapidly as possible down the apparently after having tried to strike a fire, had 
 
 river. They came ujion two Indians with several dropped his head upon the log against which 
 
 okl horses, and engaged them to pilot them in ; he was sitting, and had ex[)ired by Sorel's side. 
 Vol.. .\LI.— 103. 
 
778 ROUGH TIMES IN ROUGH PLACES. 
 
 Godey found the Indian, Manuel, in the lodge, Vincent Haler's party, having been first 
 still aHve, and brought him down. Manuel relieved, soon recruited sufficiently to leave, 
 afterward stated that Carver came up to the and all except Ducatel and the two Indian 
 lodge with a piece of meat which he said was boys, who remained with the rest of us, pro- 
 part of a deer he had killed, and that he under- ceeded to the Rio Colorado, distant three or 
 took to go to the previous camp, seven miles four days' journey. When Godey arrived we 
 back, for something, and had frozen to death, all left together. On our way we were overtaken 
 
 We sent for animals to take us down, for we by a violent snow-storm. Having no compass 
 were wholly unable to walk. They came the to guide us, and not being able to see the sun 
 next day. Our blankets were tied on for sad- or even the mountains through the thickly fall- 
 dies, and rope stirrups were rigged, and we ing snow which rendered everything invisible 
 were lifted (for we could not lift even our skele- a few rods distant, and without any object to 
 ton frames) upon these miserable animals, and show us our course across the barren, snow- 
 after a two days' journey reached the camp, clad plain, we kept traveling all day in a circle, 
 twenty miles below. We were now lank and once coming in sight of our starting-point, 
 thin-visaged, our eyes sunken, and our hair and Once we were on the point of stopping in the 
 beard long, tangled, and knotty, while our faces midst of the stormy plain to take our chances, 
 were black with pine smoke which had not been and before we could get to our intended camp 
 washed off for two months. Here we fell to we were almost frozen. 
 
 eating enormously, and it required the exercise Late in the afternoon of February 9, cold, 
 of all our self-restraint to prevent plenty now hungry, and weary, with no little joy we all 
 from being hurtful to us, as want had been at once hailed the sight of the little Pueblo of 
 before. The abundance of food where there the Colorado. We raised a yell as we came in 
 had just been such a lack made us all sick sight which made the Pueblanos stand out and 
 and kept us sick for some days, but that could gaze. In a few minutes, with their assistance, 
 not stop us. Our appetites were unbounded we dismounted from our horses and sought 
 and we were eating constantly, at all hours of the comfort which the place afforded. Here 
 the day, and throughout the night. We had we met Mr. Preuss and Croitzfeldt — one of the 
 such a craving for meat of some kind that we first relief party who had come very near perish- 
 killed two well-grown colts and ate them. We ing, and had not sufficiently recovered to pro- 
 were even more ravenous than the ravens ceed. Each had thought the other dead, and 
 themselves, which, now that we did not need it was like the joy after a long parting with 
 them, came crowding around, with hawks and which we then grasped their hands. The rest 
 wolves. Some of all these we killed and de- of our companions, they told us, had gone on 
 voured. to Taos, where the colonel had preceded them 
 
 It was curious to hear difterent men tell of to make arrangements, for such as were able to 
 
 the workings of the mind when they were proceed, to go on to California by the Gila route, 
 
 starving. Some were constantly dreaming or or what is called the Lower California or Lower 
 
 imagining that they saw before them a bounti- Spanish trail. 
 
 ful feast, and would make selections of differ- In sight of Taos, and several miles to the 
 
 ent dishes. Others engaged their minds with southeast, at the mouth of a deep gorge or 
 
 other thoughts. For my part, I kept my mind canon by which the Taos River debouches 
 
 amused by entering continually into all the from the mountains, is a walled town or pu- 
 
 minutiae of farming, or of some other syste- eblo, one of a great many of the same kind in 
 
 matic business which would keep up a train this country, inhabited by the Pueblos or civil- 
 
 of thought, or by working a mental solution ized Indians, a remnant of the race of Monte- 
 
 of mathematical problems, bringing in review zuma. They Hve in houses built of stone and 
 
 the rudiments of some science, or by laying earth, or of adobe, most of which at this place 
 
 out plans for the future, all having a connec- were three or four stories high, and some of 
 
 tion with home and after life. So in this way which even attained the height of eleven sto- 
 
 never allowing myself to think upon the hope- ries, each story receding a few feet back from 
 
 lessness of our condition, yet always keeping the front of the one below it, and each one 
 
 my eyes open to every chance, I kept hope reached by a ladder placed against the wall, 
 
 ahve and never once suffered myself to de- communicating with the door on top, and capa- 
 
 spond. And to this course I greatly attribute ble of being let down or drawn up at pleasure, 
 
 my support, for there were stronger men who, A high mud wall incloses the buildings, which 
 
 by worrying themselves, doubtless hastened front towards the center, and in the middle is a 
 
 their death. Ten out of our party of thirty- lofty church of the same material as the other 
 
 three that entered the mountains had perished, buildings, with walls six feet thick, 
 
 and a few days more would have finished the These Indians are the descendants of the 
 
 others. original Mexican people, or ancient race of 
 
ROUGH TIMES IX ROUGir PLACES, 
 
 779 
 
 Aztecs, and retain many of their customs, 
 thou^^h nominally Roman Catholic in their 
 religion. Marly after the Spanish conquest 
 they embraced the forms of religion and the 
 manners and customs of their conquerors. 
 Hut three hundred years of oppressicm and in- 
 justice have failed to extinguish in this race 
 the recollection that they were once the undis- 
 puted lords of the soil, and, cherishing a deep- 
 rooted animosity towards their concjuerors, 
 they only wait a favorable opportunity to re- 
 assert their liberty. I'hey are superior to their 
 neighbors in social position, in morals, circum- 
 stances, civil regulations, and all that pertains 
 to civilization. They are brave and upright in 
 their intercourse with others, and their women 
 are chaste and virtuous, presenting in this re- 
 spect a favorable contrast with their sex among 
 the Spanish population. They cultivate the soil 
 for a subsistence, and rear large herds of cattle, 
 sheep, and horses, and their women spin and 
 weave with considerable skill. Some of their 
 fabrics are of a very superior quality. 
 
 They still expect the return of Montezuma 
 to reinstate his peoj)le in their former domin- 
 ion and power. In this strange faith, according 
 to an alleged injunction from Montezuma, they 
 have kept a constant tire burning from his death 
 to the present time, a period of nearly three hun- 
 dreil years. At the pueblo near Taos a fire has 
 been kept up without intermission until within 
 ten years past. 
 
 On the Rio Pecos, sixty miles east of Santa 
 Fe, are the ruins of the ancient town of Pecos, 
 once a fortifietl town, and portions of the stone 
 wall that inclosed it are still standing. Here 
 burned, until within ten years, the eternal fires 
 of Montezuma, sustained by an ancient order 
 of i)riests ministering at a temple of unknown 
 age, the ruins of which are still to be seen, and 
 near by are the remains of the old Catholic 
 church, exhibiting in a prominent manner the 
 ingraftment of the Catholic upon the ancient 
 religion of the country, and both, in the char- 
 acteristic features and design of the architec- 
 ture, displaying the distinctive marks and 
 emblems of the two religions, which, though 
 so entirely tlitferent in theory, were here, as 
 throughout all Mexico, blended in harmonious 
 practice until about a century since, when the 
 town was sacked and plundered by a hostile 
 band of Indians. Notwithstanding this, the 
 faithful Indian managed to keep his fire burn- 
 ing in the estiifa, and it was continued until 
 a few years since, when the tribe, which rap- 
 idly diminished in numbers, became almo.st 
 extinct, and the few that remained abandoned 
 the place and joined a tribe of the original 
 race among the mountains to tlie .southward. 
 There, it is said, they keep up their fire to 
 this ilay. Time and the pecuHarities attend- 
 
 ing their devotion and the practice of their 
 faith are ra|)i(lly reducing this remnant of 
 the Montezuma race. 
 
 At Taos we first heard with certainty of 
 the abundance of gold in California, the first 
 acc(nint of which had reached the States 
 immediately before our departure, but u:i>. 
 scarcely believed. 
 
 On the 13th of February, having laid in a 
 supply of provisions from the (juartermaster's 
 department, being facilitated by the generous 
 kindness of the army officers, and having hired 
 muleteers and a train of mules to take us down 
 to Albuipierriue, we set out for Santa Fe, leav- 
 ing behind Captain Cathcart, who was not 
 able to prosecute the journey farther, the three 
 Kerns, Stepperfeldt, and Hill Williams, the 
 guiile,and taking Lindsay Carson and T, Hogg, 
 son of the ex-governor of Mexico, From here, 
 in the spring of the year. Hill Williams an<l 
 Dr. Kern, with a company of Mexicans, went 
 back into the mountains to recover some of 
 the most valuable of the property left by us, 
 and were attacked and killed, either by the 
 Indians or by the Mexicans who went out 
 with them, we never could ascertain which. 
 
 We learned that gold was most abundant in 
 the mines on the Sangre de Cristo. We were 
 told by a resident in Taos Valley that he with 
 one or two companions had on one occasion 
 visited this place and washed out as high as 
 nine dollars per day to the man for several 
 days in succession, but were compelled to 
 abandon it on account of the hostility of the 
 Utah Indians, for whom they had constantly 
 to keep on the lookout. I have heard of 
 pieces being found of the value of seven dol- 
 lars, and a Mexican is said to have taken out 
 a lump for which he was offered $2200. which 
 he refused, and afterward solil to a priest for 
 $150. This tends to show the influence which 
 the priests have over these people. There is 
 good reason to believe that gold is much more 
 extensively ditTused throughout the eastern 
 range of the Rocky Mountains and the coun- 
 try intervening between that and the Califor- 
 nia mountains, or Sierra Nevada, than is at 
 present generally known. Ciold has been found 
 as far north as the Chugwater. a large atHuent 
 of the Laramie J^'ork of the Platte, taking its 
 rise in the desolate region of the Hlack Hills, 
 and also ujjon Horse Creek, an afiluent of the 
 Platte, heading in the same barren vicinity. 
 Concerning this discovery, I have been told 
 by a trapj)er who was acquainted with the 
 circumstance that an old French trapjter. Du 
 Shay, in hunting buftalo in this region a few 
 years ago, on Horse Creek, discovered in the 
 bed of the stream, while drinking, a singular 
 looking rock, very heavy, and containing nu- 
 merous yellow specks. It excited his curiosity 
 
780 
 
 CALIFORNIA JVA. 
 
 and he deposited it in his bullet pouch ; but 
 subsequently finding it in his way in approach- 
 ing a band of buffaloes, he thoughtlessly threw 
 it away. The following year, when at Santa 
 Fe, he was emptying his pouch, and among its 
 contents several bright particles which had 
 become detached from the rock attracted the 
 attention of the Mexicans. These were care- 
 fully gathered up, and after examination proved 
 to be virgin gold. The old trapper on his re- 
 .turn sought for the source of the treasure, but 
 was unable to find it. 
 
 John Hawken, an adventurous and daring 
 trapper with whom I became intimately ac- 
 quainted, told me that seven years before he 
 was trapping with a companion upon Salt 
 River, about one hundred and twenty miles 
 above its mouth, which empties into the Gila 
 after its confluence with the San Francisco, 
 
 below the Pino village. While there they fell 
 in with a party of Apaches, Avith one of whom 
 they traded for a parcel of yellow metal which 
 he called oro, and which he told them he ob- 
 tained at a place half a day's travel from where 
 they were and where he said there was inucJio ; 
 but he did not specify further, for the other 
 Indians threatened to kill him if he revealed 
 the locality or made any further disclosures. 
 This being the first native gold Hawken had 
 seen, he was not sure of its identity ; but on 
 the opinion of his companion, who had seen 
 it before, they took it with them to Taos, and 
 it proved to be nine dollars in value of pure 
 gold. 
 
 We heard here very extravagant accounts 
 of the gold brought from Cahfomia by those 
 returning from there ; some, as they said, hav- 
 ing come back with mule loads of the dust. 
 
 Micajah McGehee. 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 Montgomery and Fremont : New Documents on the 
 Bear Flag Affair. 
 
 THERE have lately been put into my hands by the 
 editor of The Century certain original docu- 
 ments of decided importance for the history of the 
 seizure of California. I have been asked to examine 
 these and to summarize a portion of their contents, a 
 thing which I the more readily do because they serve 
 to set in a clearer light than heretofore the honorable 
 conduct of an officer whose part in the seizure of Cali- 
 fornia was a difficult and delicate one, and who himself 
 did his duty so well and so modestly that he has in the 
 past altogether escaped the celebrity that has fallen to the 
 lot of other persons surely not more deserving. This 
 ofificer, Commander (a/terward Rear-Admiral) John B. 
 Montgomery, was in 1846 in command of the United 
 States ship Portsmoiitli. His ship visited California 
 in 1845 ; returned in October to the southern Mexican 
 coast ; was at Alazatlan October 16, 1845, ^"'i ^^ Guay- 
 mas December 2 ; and returned again to California, 
 under Sloat's orders, in the spring of 1846. The pur- 
 pose of her coming was to inquire into the alarming 
 reports that had gone southward concerning the quar- 
 rel of March between Fremont and Castro. She 
 reached Monterey towards the end of April, later pass- 
 ing on to San Francisco ; and she lay in the harbor of 
 San Francisco until after the raising of the American 
 flag at that port on July 9, a date two days later than 
 the seizure of Monterey. Montgomery's stay at San 
 Francisco thus covered the entire time of the Bear 
 Flag episode. From him Captain Fremont obtained, 
 through Lieutenant Gillespie, supplies to enable him 
 " to continue his explorations " and to accomplish liis 
 other peaceful duties during that now famous affair. 
 To him, in fact, Captain Fremont also wrote, as he 
 himself declares in his letter to Senator Benton of 
 July 25, 1846 (see Fremont's " Memoirs," p. 546), " de- 
 scribing to him fully my position and intentions, in 
 order that he might not unwittingly commit himself in 
 
 affording me other than such assistance as his instruc- 
 tions would authorize him naturally to offer an officer 
 charged with an important public duty ; or, in fine, to 
 any citizen of the United States." To Montgomery 
 also General Valiejo appealed by messenger after the 
 Bear Flag men had made the general their prisoner. 
 From Montgomery Castro demanded an account of 
 what the Bear Flag meant, and of what part the United 
 States Government had therein; and meanwhile the 
 Bear Flag men themselves were begging him for coun- 
 sel and encouragement ; and every officer on board the 
 Portsmouth was longing for the coming of Sloat and for 
 the end of this tedious attitude of neutrality. In this 
 trying position Montgomery kept his head, and did his 
 duty with a firmness that the documents before me put 
 in a very clear light. These documents are, (i) ex- 
 tracts from Montgomery's private diary, (2) copies 
 of the official correspondence of 'the commander, with 
 letters to and from Larkin, Fremont, Castro, Gillespie, 
 and others. Of these letters some have previously 
 been known, through the papers of Consul Larkin, 
 and otherwise. Several are also printed in Fremont's 
 " Memoirs," although the aforesaid letter of Captain 
 Fremont to Montgomery, " describing to him fully my 
 position and intentions," has been, as I believe, here- 
 tofore unknown, and furnishes the most characteristic 
 and interesting addition to our previous knowledge 
 that is contained among these papers. 
 
 There is space here for only a very brief account of 
 the substance of the extracts from Montgomery's diary. 
 The earlier extracts concern the visit to California in 
 1845. At Monterey, Montgomery interviewed Consul 
 Larkin, and " learned from him that American inter- 
 ests were perfectly secure, and little probability of their 
 being interrupted in any way unless by a war with 
 Mexico." There was indeed some talk between the 
 two concerning the supposed English designs upon 
 California, and Larkin told Montgomery of a reported 
 subsidy that was to be paid by England to Mexico for 
 
CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 781 
 
 the support of the new troops that were to he sent to 
 California. These rumors, to be sure, have long been 
 known to students of this period of C!alifornia history. 
 It is interesting to find that both Larkin and Mont- 
 gomery at the moment believed them ; although there 
 is indeed little evidence for their trutii, and although 
 Montgomery learned of no very authorit.ative source 
 for them. In October, Montgomery, then at Acapulco, 
 notes the failure of the Mexican plan to send troops 
 to California, a failure which he attributes to " the 
 supineness of the Government and want of funds." 
 It is certain that whatever the Knglish intrigues of 
 those days may have been with regard to California, 
 one in vain looks for evitience of any decisive move- 
 ment of any sort resulting from them. On April 23, 
 1846, Montgomery, then just arrived, at Monterey, 
 received information from I^rkin " that the com- 
 mercial and other interests of the United States con- 
 tinued safe, having experienced no interruption or 
 annoyance since our \nsit in Octol^er last." As the 
 quarrel of March between F"rt-mont and Castro was 
 now a matter of very recent history, and as Mont- 
 gomery had come especially to find out about it, one 
 reads this statement with some surprise, but finds the 
 explanation in words which follow a little later, in the 
 same entry of the iliary, after a brief statement of the 
 nature of the March quarrel itself: " It is here well 
 understood that no real attack upon the camp of Cap- 
 tain Fremont was contemplated by General Castro 
 when he directed this movement, but that it was done 
 with the view only of furnishing materials for forming 
 a high-sounding, flaming despatch to the central gov- 
 ernment of Mexico." " Mr. Larkin informed me," 
 continues Montgomery, " that the unsettled condition 
 of California seems to point to a necessity, and natu- 
 rally produces in the public mind an expectation, of 
 a sj>eedy political change of some kind; and that the 
 feeling is rife that California is soon to be governed 
 by Kngland or the United States, predilections being 
 divided," The diary adds that, in Larkin's opinion, 
 the native and Mexican population of the country 
 would find a " change under either " England or the 
 United States "acceptable," and that if the war with 
 Mexico should come to pass there would be no great 
 trouble in securing the prize for our own flag. On 
 April 29 .Montgomery is "informed by the consul 
 that tieneral Castro is troubled with suspicions of 
 collusion between Captain Fremont and myself, and 
 supposes that I have sent for him to return to Mon- 
 terey." On May 4 Lieutenants Bartlett and Wilson, 
 having returned from an excursion into the interior, 
 tell Montgomery of their j>leasant reception, and say 
 that both American residents in the vicinity of San 
 Jos<^, and " many of the most intelligent Mexicans and 
 Californians," '• express openly their desire" for the 
 coming of our flag, and " fearlessly speak of it " as 
 an event " which is near at hand." .Montgomery him- 
 self adds the expression of his belief in the growing 
 chances of .in easy occupation of the land. His own 
 social relations with Castro continued good daring all 
 tiiis time. May 9 he attende<l a large picnic given by 
 Castro himself, and May 15 Castro was a guest at a 
 l>all given on shore by the wardroom officers of the 
 Portsmouth. Castro's military preparations, which still 
 continue<l, are correctly interpreted by Montgomery 
 as hanng in the main relation to the feud between 
 
 the Commandante General and Governor Pio I'ico. 
 kumors of p"r6mont's expected return continued. 
 
 We now come, however, to more exciting events. 
 June 7 finds Montgomery in San Francisco Hay. 
 (;illcs|iie has just arrived, on his return from the north, 
 bringing a requisition from Captain Frdmont for su|)- 
 plies. Frt-mont himself has come back to the Sacra- 
 mento Valley. His party is "nearly destitute," as 
 appears from the letter written by Gillespie, and copied 
 in the " Correspondence " which accompanies the diary. 
 Gillespie's mission to the bay, and his success in getting 
 supplies for Frdmont from Montgomery, have always- 
 been known matters of our history. It is also known, 
 from a letter summarized in my " California " (p. 106), 
 that Gillespie represented to non-official residents at 
 the bay that the purpose of Fr^*mont in asking for sup- 
 plies was solely to equip his party for setting out at 
 once on his return overland. It has, however, never 
 before been absolutely sure that Montgomery received 
 no hint from Gillespie of Fremont's real intentions in 
 asking for this aid. H. H. IJancroft, in Vol. V. of his 
 "California," p. 127, can only say: " I know of no rea- 
 son to suppose that Montgomery was informed by 
 Gillespie of the revolutionary project on foot." The 
 present papers, both diary and correspondence, put it 
 beyond doubt tliat Montgomery had no notion of the 
 coming outbreak. He honored in perfectly good faith 
 the topographical engineers' requisition for necessary 
 supplies for his scientific expedition, and on June 1 1 
 despatched the ship's launch with the desired stores. 
 On the way up the river, on the very first day of the 
 launch's journey, Gillespie heard of the capture of 
 Arce's horses by the settlers, an act with which, as is 
 known, the Bear Flag affair was begun. A hastily 
 penciled note from him (here copied) gave the first in- 
 formation to Montgomery of what was afoot ; but Gil- 
 lespie had no intention of revealing as yet Fr(?mont's 
 connection with the undertaking. In the postscript to 
 his note Gillespie writes: " I am of the opinion that 
 the settlers h.ive obtained decided proof of Castro's 
 intention to have their crops burned to warrant the 
 course they have pursued. The bearer hereof says he 
 heard a messenger to Captain Suiter state that they had 
 acted under advice from ("aptain Fremont. If such is 
 the fact, which I very much doubt, there is positive cause 
 for hostility on the part of the settlers," In his diary 
 Montgomery now gives, between the 15th and the iSth 
 of June, an interesting account of his earliest relations 
 with the Sonoma insurgents and with their opponents. 
 These four days were very full of news and excitement. 
 Montgomery fully believed the settlers to be .icting 
 upon their own responsibility. His private symfia- 
 Ihics were altogether with them. They were his coun- 
 trymen, newcomers in a distant land, exposed to 
 hardship, and now, as he thought, thre.itened with op- 
 pression. He believetl, naturally enough, the reports 
 which were freely circulated as to Castro's designs 
 against them, although he knew too much to regard 
 ("astro as a very formidable foe to anybotly. But 
 meanwhile he valued the honor of his flag, and he 
 knew the duties of a neutral. He could sympathize 
 with the insurgents ; but he could not give them aid. 
 With an intlignation which must seem to us quite 
 pathetic, he <icfcndc<l Fremont, as a fellow -officer un- 
 der the flag, from the fierce accusation> of Castro, who 
 wrote from Santa Clara on June 17 demanding from 
 
782 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 the commander an explanation of Fremont's conduct. 
 Castro pointed out tliat tlie captain of the surveying 
 expedition, " without the formalities establislied among 
 civilized nations," had invaded the country and seized 
 Sonoma. Montgomery replied (June 18), in a tone of 
 absolute assurance, that Fremont's expedition was 
 solely scientific in its aims, and that it was " in no man- 
 ner whatever, either by authority of the United States 
 Government or otlierwise, connected with the political 
 movement of residents of the country at Sonoma." 
 For Castro to assert that such a connection existed 
 was, so Montgomery retorted, " to impugn the integ- 
 rity of the United States Government." It was his 
 turn, he suggested, to demand explanations when his 
 flag was by implication thus dishonored. But alas for 
 Montgomery's sincere and genuine indignation on be- 
 half of his brother officer! Ten days later, June 28, 
 the diary mentions a second visit of Gillespie, bringing 
 the news that Fremont had openly joined the Bears, 
 and was in pursuit of Torre in the San Rafael region. 
 "This course of Captain Fremont," says Montgomery 
 in his private diary, " renders my position as a neutral 
 peculiarly delicate and difficult. Having avowed not 
 only my own but Captain Fremont's entire neutrality 
 and non-interference in the existing difficulties in the 
 country, it can scarcely be supposed, under the cir- 
 cumstances, that I shall be regarded as having spoken 
 in good faith and sincerity." In fact, as one sees, 
 Montgomery learned that under certain circumstances 
 one may expose his country's honor to only the more 
 reproach by chivalrously offering his own honor in 
 defense of his brethren in the service. 
 
 The mission of Lieutenant Misroon, whom Mont- 
 gomery despatched to Sonomaas neutral and mediator, 
 occupies considerable place in these records ; as do 
 also other well-known public incidents of those days. 
 But there remain still two important topics upon which 
 these documents give significant testimony. With the 
 mention of these I must close. 
 
 First : It has always been doubtful, I believe, when 
 the first news of the actual hostilities on the Rio 
 Grande reached Fremont. What we have known here- 
 tofore is tliat Sloat at Mazatlan was informed of the 
 beginning of active hostilities by a message that reached 
 him May 1 7, and that a letter, which he at once wrote 
 to Larkin, reached Monterey by the Cyane on June 
 19, nearly a week after the seizure of Sonoma. Up to 
 this time Fremont himself had avoided an open union 
 with the Bears. He had taken charge of Vallejo and 
 the other prisoners first taken. But he had remained 
 quiet. Yet, on the 2ist, hewas already making prepa- 
 rations to leave Sutter's Fort with his party, and on 
 the 25tli he reached Sonoma. It is, of course, interest- 
 ing to learn whether the openness of Fremont's hostile 
 proceedings from this time forth could have been due 
 to any fresh assurance that actual war was under way 
 on the Atlantic coast. Professor William Carey Jones, 
 in an article recently written in defense of Fremont's 
 conduct durmg the early part of the seizure of Califor- 
 nia,! has endeavored to make probable an earlier date 
 for Fremont's knowledge of the hostilities on the Rio 
 Grande than had generally been supposed likely. The 
 present documents do not bear out his view. It appears 
 
 ' See " Proceedings of the California Historical Association," 
 Vol. I., p. I. Professor Jones's somewhat original interpretation of 
 the relations between Montgomery and Fremont is almost entirely 
 set aside by these new documents. 
 
 that, on June 20, both Larkin liimself and Captain 
 Mervine, of the Cyane, wrote to Montgomery from 
 Monterey. Their two letters, written the day after the 
 Cyane' s arrival, together inform Montgomery that Sloat 
 is on his way northward, and, without directly men- 
 tioning the outbreak of hostilities, speak of " important 
 news," that "cannot be revealed," but of whose nature 
 Montgomery shall before long be "apprised." This 
 guarded tone was very tormenting to Montgomery, 
 whose neutral position was daily growing more intol- 
 erable. As late as June 26 he still believed Fremont 
 to be as neutral in conduct as himself, and so on the 
 latter day he wrote to Fremont, transmitting the con- 
 tents of Larkin's letter, as being the whole of his 
 news. This letter, with other despatches, was sent to 
 Fremont at Sutter's Fort under care of Lieutenant 
 Bartlett. When Bartlett reached the fort Fremont 
 was already with the Bears. The letter, therefore, 
 went on to Sonoma, and was acknowledged by Fre- 
 mont as late as July 5 as something new, and, as re- 
 gards the facts about Sloat, very interesting. When 
 one adds that Montgomery, writing on July 2 to 
 Mervine, and begging for more information, says 
 emphatically, " We have been completely cut off 
 from all information from below [/. e., from Mexico] 
 since the ist of April last " [/. e., since Montgomery's 
 own departure from the south], one sees the great 
 improbability that before July i any one north of 
 Monterey knew more than the little that Larkin 
 and Mervine chose to reveal to Montgomery, and 
 to one or two other of Larkin's confidants. And 
 this little did not include information of the actual 
 hostilities. 
 
 The second and final matter of which I spoke above 
 is contained in the text of Fremont's letter to Mont- 
 gomery, written upon the reception of the supplies 
 brought by the launch. The letter is dated " ^t\\ 
 Helvetia," June 16, and, taken in connection with 
 all the circumstances of the moment, it forms one of 
 the most interesting confessions that Fremont ever 
 chose to make of his position at the moment of his 
 entrance upon hostilities. It will be remembered 
 that, according to Fremont's own statement to Benton, 
 this letter was to " describe fully " his own " position 
 and intentions " ; that it was written especially for the 
 guidance of Montgomery, who had just shown the 
 greatest willingness to aid the leader of the scientific 
 exploration by every means in his power ; that it was 
 prepared after the settlers had begun, under Fremont's 
 advice, their movement for independence ; and finally, 
 that it was written but a very few days before Fremont 
 started to join the Bears at Sonoma. The moment was 
 a critical one. Fremont has since asserted that he 
 acted upon special instructions. In his " Memoirs " 
 (p. 520) he speaks of this very time as the one when 
 he decided "that it was," as he says, "for me rather 
 to govern events than to be governed by them." 
 Under these circumstances, to write to Montgomery 
 as follows is to furnish the best possible comment 
 upon one's own conduct. The sentence italicized in 
 the following copy of this letter has in Montgomery's 
 record but one word italicized, viz.: the word active 
 in the phrase " such active and precautionary meas- 
 ures." I print it thus here in order that it may be set 
 side by side in the curious reader's mind with other 
 and later accounts that General Fremont has given 
 
CALIFORNIA NA. 
 
 783 
 
 «>f his instructions. Otherwise the letter appears 
 unthanpcd. 
 
 New HF.t.VF.TiA. C"ai.ifornia. 
 June 16, 1846. 
 
 Sir : I had the (fratification lo receive on the 6th your 
 letter of the 3d Inst. ; and iho farther pratilicntion to re- 
 ceive yestcrdav by the hands of I ■ nt Muntrryiur 
 
 favor of the loth conveying to m<- «'s of your dis- 
 position to do anvttr ' ' ■• -v...).. ..) your instruc- 
 tions to facihtatc the : in which I am cnjjajjrd. 
 In acknowlcdKing th- !■ ■ - 1,1, "i iln- stores with which ynu 
 have supplird us, I Ivp you to receive the earnest thanks 
 of mvsen and party for the prompt and activo kindnoss, 
 which we are all in a condition fully to appreciate. My 
 time to-day has been so constantly engrossed that I could 
 make no opportunity to write, and as it is now nrar!v mid- 
 night you wdl permit me to referyou to Lieutenant llunfer 
 for an account of the condition of the country, which will 
 doubtless have much interest for you. The people here 
 have made some movements with the view of estanlishing 
 a settled and stable government, which may give security 
 to their persons and property. This evening I was inti-r- 
 rupted in a note to yourself fay the arrival of General \'al- 
 lejo and other officers, who had been taken prisoners and 
 insisted upon surrendering to me. The people and au- 
 thorities of the country persist in connecting with me 
 every movement of the foreigners, and 1 am hourly in 
 expectation of the approach of General Castro. My po- 
 sition has ronsequcntlv become a difficult one. The unex- 
 pected hostility which has been exercised towards us on the 
 part of the military authorities of California has entirely 
 deranged the plan of our survey and frustrated my inten- 
 tion of examining the Colorado of the Gulf of California, 
 which was one of the principal objects of this expedition. 
 The suffering towhich my party would be unavoidably ex- 
 posed at this advanced period of the year, by deprivation 
 of water during intervals of three and four days, renders 
 anv movement in that direction impracticable. 
 
 It is therefore my present intention to abandon the 
 farther prosecution of our exploration and proceed im- 
 mediately across the mountainous country to the eastward 
 in the direction of the heari-waiersof the Arkansaw River, 
 and thence to the frontier of Missouri, where I expect to 
 arrive early in September. In order to recruit my aniinals 
 and arrange my eauipage for a long journey, I shall nec- 
 essarily be compelled to remain here until about the ist 
 of July. In the mean time should anything be attempted 
 against me. I cannot, consistently with my own feelings 
 and respect for the nationalcharactcr of the duty in which 
 I am engaged, permit a repetition of the recent insults 
 we have receivea from General Castro. If, therefore, any 
 hostile movements are m.ide in this direction, I will most 
 assuredly meet or anticipate them ; and with such inten- 
 tions I am regulating my conduct to the people here. 
 The nature of my instructhw. andthefeaceful nature of 
 our operations do not ointemplate */»' arthe noftilitv on mv 
 part even in the event of uuir between the t,vo countries ; and 
 therefore, althout^h / am rf ^h'r.i /,• lake such attii'e atid pre- 
 cautionary measures as I sh necessarv for our sal'f; , 
 I am not authorized to ask / :nv other than surh 
 tante as. without incumr t unusual res f 
 you would feel at liberty t, ,■ . Such an ei 
 could not have been aniicip.Ked in anv insiruti 
 but, between Indians on the one hand and ah' 
 people on the other, I trust that our government will not 
 severely censure any efforts to which we may be driven 
 in defense of our lives and character. 
 
 In this condition of things I can only then urcrenfly re- 
 quest that you will remain with the . th in' the 
 May of San Francisco, where vnnr pi' il oi>eratc 
 strongly to check proceeding; s us; and I would 
 feel much more security in nr. 1 should you judge 
 it advisable to keep open a communication with ine by 
 means of your l>oats. In this way you would receive the 
 earliest information, and you might possibly spare us the 
 aid of one of your surgeons, in cxse of accident here. 
 Repeating my thanks Pir the assistance you h.ive ren- 
 dered us, and regretting my inaliility to visit you on Ijoard 
 the Portsmouth, \ am, sir. very respectfully. 
 Your obet. servant, 
 (Signed) J. C. Fremont. 
 
 Pt. dipt. Topi. Enpntert, U. S. A rmy. 
 Capt. Jno. B. Montgompkv, 
 
 U. S. Ship Portsmouth, 
 Hay of San Franosco, Cai-ifornia. 
 
 The italicized sentence excludes the possibility that 
 Fremont's instructions had the warlike nature which 
 he has since attributed lo them. In those days his 
 only intent was to pretend that he wa.s in danger from 
 Castro. 
 
 These papers also contain the record of Montgom- 
 ery's admirable conduct of the later blockade of Ma. 
 zatlan, an affair which yet further tried his skill and 
 his excellent discretif)n. The whole scries of <locu- 
 mcnts is a very instructive one, and I should be glad 
 to see them all in print. 
 
 Josiah Royce, 
 Cambriix-.r, Mass. 
 
784 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 evaded, and proceed with the necessary permit to bar- 
 ter the cargo for hides, skins, tallow, etc. Having dis- 
 posed of his goods, the captain would then sail for some 
 uninhabited island or obscure port, where he would 
 meet by previous appointment the vessel from Hono- 
 lulu with a fresh invoice of merchandise, exchange car- 
 goes with her, and resume his trading on the coast 
 with new goods under the original permit, the consort 
 returning meanwhile to her port to exchange her hides, 
 etc., for a fresh cargo of merchandise. This profitable 
 game would be kept up as long as the custom-house 
 authorities could be hoodwinked, or until the license 
 expired by limitation. 
 
 The commission house of C. Brewer <"v Tn <-.f ■,..v;-t- 
 
 manding H. B. M. frigate Carysfort, misled by false 
 representations of the acting British consul and his 
 clique, and dazzled by visions of fame and promotion 
 to be gained by adding another station for the " Brit- 
 ish drum-beat," took possession of the group in the 
 nameofher Majesty Victoria, pulled down the Hawaiian 
 flag, which in its design symbolized the protection of 
 the three great naval powers, and hoisted St. George's 
 Cross in its stead. His lordship at once placed an em- 
 bargo on the vessels in port, to prevent the harassed 
 sovereign Kamehameha IH. from sending an envoy 
 with his complaints to England ; seized the king's 
 favorite yacht, the Hooikaika (Swift-runner), renamed 
 her H. B. M. tender Albert, manned her with officers 
 and crew from the Carysfort, and despatched her to San 
 Bias with the late acting consul Simpson as bearer of 
 despatches to London. 
 
 Having accepted the king's appointment as envoy to 
 bear his protest to Queen Victoria, and his demand for 
 the restoration of his sovereignty, of which he Imd un- 
 justly been deprived, I succeeded, by a simple ruse, 
 in smuggling myself on board the Albert, and thus 
 reaching San Bias in company with Simpson, at Lord 
 George's expense, though without his knowledge. My 
 adventures on that mission have already been related 
 (see " Harper's Monthly," September, 1883). 
 
 Rapidly crossing Mexico,. I embarked at Vera Cruz 
 for New Orleans, en route for London via Washing- 
 ton, where I had despatches to deliver for Daniel 
 Webster, then Secretary of State, from the American 
 consul at Honolulu. 
 
 I arrived at New Orleans May 22, 1843, and went 
 to the St. Charles, that ancient and well-known hos- 
 telry, then admirably kept by thelate Charles R. Mudge, 
 since well known as one of Boston's merchant princes, 
 and the late Daniel C. Waterman, who afterward was 
 a respected merchant at Honolulu. Among the thoughts 
 that occupied my mind as I again set foot in my native 
 land after several years' absence, that of learning the 
 fate of the gold dust shipment in New Orleans did not 
 find place. But here I was to learn the solution of the 
 mystery. As I registered my name and address at the 
 St. Charles, Mr. Waterman inquired with much inter- 
 est whether I knew thf firm of Peirce & Brewer, and 
 on learning that I was connected with the firm, thus ex- 
 plained the delay in the delivery of the parcel sent by 
 the Braganza, whose captain was his cousin. Being in 
 New Bedford when the Bragafiza arrived from Hono- 
 lulu, and about to stop a day in Boston on his return 
 to New Orleans, he took the package with him, prom- 
 ising to deliver it to Mr. Peirce, the resident partner. 
 Arriving at the Tremont House after business hours, 
 he marked the parcel with his own name, " to be called 
 for," and handed it to the clerk, who placed it in the 
 safe. The next day Mr. Waterman, without a thought 
 of the commission he had promised to execute, attended 
 to his business in the city and left for New Orleans. 
 Having occasion to visit Boston some months later, he 
 was greatly chagrined to find the parcel which he had 
 forgotten still in the hotel safe, and lost no time in 
 delivering it, to the agreeable surprise of Mr. Peirce, 
 who, being unable to trace it, had given it up for lost, 
 at least until the Braganza should again return from 
 a three or four years' voyage. 
 
 This little invoice of gold dust was, so far as I know, 
 the first California gold sent to the United States for 
 
Talleyrand. 
 
 The paragraphs from the Nfemoirs which did not 
 reach ns in time to follow the passage (jiven in the 
 June Ckntiry simply threw out the idea that Mau- 
 breuil, who accused Talleyrand of the desire to bril>c 
 him to assassinate the fallen P.mperor, in 1814, prob- 
 ably obtained his jiassporls for a " secret mission " 
 merely as one of the numerous emissaries sent out by 
 the royalists to all points in France In proclaim the 
 "legitimate" government. Talleyrand again denies 
 the attempted accusation, and shows, moreover, how 
 absurd an<l useless it would have been, as well as 
 infamous. 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 477 
 
 An Incident of " General Milea'a Indian Campaigna." 
 
 Gknkrai. Nf.i„son a. Mii.es, after seeing the proofs 
 of M.ijor G. W. Baird's article in this number of TltE 
 Cknti;ry, wrote to the editor as follows : 
 
 RcfrrrinR to the desperate fiRht with the Nez Percys 
 in Scplembor, 1877 [sec pa-" -^ -"■ ' ''■•' '" " 1 ■■ '• Mnjor 
 G. \V . Uaird stales that a m<r to 
 
 Rivr certain orders to Capi.i.., , ; ..,.,; ufliccr 
 
 dead, Major Haird very modestly omits his own name, 
 wliich should !><• inserted, as he w.is adjutant at that time, 
 an<l m carrying the order he found Captain Hale and 
 Lieutenant LSiddle dead, and received twu desperate 
 wounds himself, one shaitering his left arm and the other 
 cutting the side of his head. 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 Arrival of Overland Trains in California in " "49." 
 
 Wiin the fall of '49 came to California the vanguard 
 of the immense immigration that braved the hardships 
 of weather, Indian perils, cholera, fevers and starvation, 
 in that long march across a continent in pursuit of gold. 
 Not only men, but delicate women and children shut 
 their eyes to every comfort and association of home, and 
 faithfully shared these dangers and perils, or were buried 
 in nameless graves on prairie, mountain, or desert. 
 
 In every subsequent year the State of California, with 
 liberal appropriation and abundant supplies, sent out 
 her citizens with open hand to welcome and aid the fee- 
 ble and exhausted with every necessary assistance at the 
 latter end of their long journey. But in 1849 there was 
 no organized effort for systematic succor. The emi- 
 grants of that ye.ir were numbered by thousands, and 
 circumstances made it impossible, except to a very limi- 
 ted extent, to meet and greet them even with words of 
 good cheer. It was only through individual effort that 
 aid could be extended them, ami almost every individ- 
 ual was in some respects as harfl pressed as they. 
 
 I can find only one instance U|X)n the official records 
 where Government jirotection was thrown around them, 
 and that is in (icneral kiley's report to the War Depart- 
 ment, under dale of August 30, 1849, in which he says, 
 in reference to his need of soldiers in place of those who 
 h.id <leserte<l : " The detachment of dragoons on their 
 march to the Department with the collector of this dis- 
 trict attii till- Arkansas emi^rattls, have not yet arrived." 
 
 .\mong those who contributed individual effort in go- 
 ing out to meet the trains I can name only a few — 
 first of all (Jeneral Sutter; Sam Brannan of Sacra- 
 mento, who was identified with the so-called '* Mormon 
 battalion"; Colonel Gillespie, formerly United .States 
 consul for Lower California, then a merchant in Sacra- 
 mento; Cieneral Morehouse, Dr. Semple, and, I may 
 safely say, the business men of Sacramento generally. 
 There were others, but at this late day it is impossible 
 to name them. Even the name of the comrade who ac- 
 companied the writer is forgotten. 
 
 .Among those who came to ,\uburn in May, 1849, 
 was Dr. Deal of Baltimore, a physician and a Metho<iiNt 
 pre.icher. He was very enthusiastic in stating his pur- 
 pose to become one of the " honest miners," and call- 
 ing a gathering together with a long tin dinner-horn, 
 
 he expressed his intention to dig with them, and to 
 institute divine worship the next Sunday, and he 
 closed by making the hills echo with a cheery hymn. 
 Monday morning's sunrise saw the doctor in the mines 
 with tin pan, pick, and shovel. Kleven o'clock saw him 
 with his shovel battered, his pick broken, his hands 
 bruised and blistered, and his clothes muddy, placing his 
 tools and tin horn in a wagon bound for Sutter's Fort. 
 It wa.s well he did, for together with another good Sa- 
 mciritan he leased a part of Sutter's Fort for a hospital, 
 and when the forlorn bands of immigrants reached 
 the Fort they found medical attention and care, which 
 in many cases saved life or eased the passage to the 
 grave. 
 
 The" Long Bar " mining claim on Bear Creek, where 
 I was located, lay in the route of arriving immigrants, 
 on the Sutter's Fort trail, a hundred miles from the fort. 
 I shall never forget the sight presented by the tired, 
 starved, sick, and discouraged travelers, with their 
 bony and foot-sore cattle and teams. Men, women, and 
 children, and animals were in every state of distress and 
 emaciation. Some had left everything along the way, 
 abandoning wagons and worn-out cattle to the wolves 
 — lea\nng even supplies of clotln'ng, flour, and food — 
 and in utter desperation and extreniity had packed 
 their own backs with^lour and bacon ; some had util- 
 ized the backs of surviving oxen for the same purpose ; 
 and a few of the inimii^rants had thus made the last 600 
 miles on foot, exhaustecl, foot-sore, and starving. 
 
 Such as wc could we relieved from our sim|>lecamp 
 stores of flour, bacon, and coffee. Our blankets were 
 spread on the ground for our nightly rest, always 
 after an evening bath in the cooling snow-waters of 
 Bear Creek, and our sleep was sweet and scmnd. But 
 there was no comfort or relief for those worn-out men, 
 women, .and children. The few of us in that lonely 
 river bed in the mountains did what we could, an<l then 
 urged them on to Sutter's Fort and Sacramento. 
 
 I remember well the arrival of a once stalwart man, 
 reduced almost to a skeleton. His comrades had \kt- 
 ished on the way with cholera, his cattle had given 
 out, and, selecting what he could carry that was most 
 essential, he had finished the journey on foot. Reach- 
 ing the place where wc were digging and washing out 
 the gold, he threw himself u|>on the ground, and 
 said : 
 
478 
 
 BRIC-A-BRAC. 
 
 " And now I 've reached at last where you dig out the 
 gold. For this I have sacrificed everything. I had a 
 comfortable home, but I got 'the fever.' Everything 
 is gone, my comrades are dead, and this is all there is 
 left of me. I thought I would be glad to get here, 
 but I am not. I don't feel the least desire to dig gold 
 now. All I ask for is rest — rest — rest. It seems to 
 me as if I never could get rested again. I want to find 
 home — home — and there is no home here." 
 
 He inquired how far it was to Sutter's Fort, and re- 
 fusing proffered food or a look at the gold, he staggered 
 feebly on again to look for " rest " and " home." 
 
 In September the swarm of immigrants became so 
 continuous and their condition was so wretched, that 
 I obtained one of their mules that seemed able to carry 
 me, and giving up my business of gold-digging for a 
 time started with a comrade up the Truckee River 
 route to advise and encourage the new-comers. Here 
 I witnessed many sorrowful scenes among sick and 
 hungry women and children just ready to die, and 
 dead and dying cattle. The cattle were usually reduced 
 to skeletons. There was no. grass, and they were fed 
 solely by cutting down trees for them to browse on. 
 But the cattle were too many for this supply of food 
 along the trail. I once counted as many as thirty yoke 
 hitched together fo pull an almost empty wagon up a 
 hillside, while to descend an incline it was necessary to 
 chain a large tree to the back of the wagon, with allits 
 limbs attached that they might impede the descent of 
 the wagon, for the cattle were entirely too weak to of- 
 fer the necessary resistance. One after another the 
 wagons would follow, and thus slowly work their way 
 up and down the mountain sides of the Sierra pass, 
 while the women and children weariljPplodded along 
 in the deep, dry, and exceedingly dusty trail. Some 
 fared better, but I apprehend few would ever care to 
 pass twice through the hardships of the overland jour- 
 ney of '49. 
 
 As an instance of courage and suffering : A 
 preacher, of the Methodist Church in Indiana, ac- 
 companied by his wife (a delicate little woman) and 
 three children, started overland with ox teams. On the 
 journey he was suddenly attacked with dysentery and 
 had to lie helpless in the bottom of his wagon, vibrat- 
 
 ing between life and death. His brave little wife took 
 his place, walked by the side of the team and guided 
 them; but she lost her way, and for two weeks, with 
 husband and children to care for, trudged along alone 
 until by good fortune or a good Providence she found 
 the trail again. I afterward made their acquaintance 
 in Columbia, where he was pastor of the Methodist 
 church. Wishing his church sealed inside, he took off 
 his clerical coat, chopped wood, broke up limestone 
 boulders, burned them into lime, and with his own 
 hands plastered the interior of the church in good 
 style. 
 
 At first we tried to give the new-comers employment 
 on our mining claims, but in every case but one their 
 strength was not equal to the labor of digging gold, and 
 on they swept, all eager to reach a " settlement." Some 
 in their enthusiasm had, at great sacrifice, dragged along 
 strange, heavy, and wonderful patent devices to work 
 out the gold. Often they had thrown away their flour 
 and bacon, thus reducing themselves to starvation, to 
 make room for their pet machine, which on trial was 
 found utterly worthless, and was left to rust or rot in 
 the mines. 
 
 Special relief parties were also sent up the trail with 
 supplies of food, medicine, and other necessaries, as 
 well as witli fresh animals, and many immigrants were 
 safely brought in,beforethe snowsfell in themountains, 
 who otherwise might have perished in the storms of 
 early fall. 
 
 A. C. Ferris. 
 
 A Fourth Survivor of the Gold Discovery Party. 
 
 Rev. James Gillila.n', of Nephi, Utah, informs us 
 that in addition to the three survivors of the party at 
 Sutter's Mill at the time of the discovery of gold in 
 California — namely, Messrs. Bigler, Smith, and Wim- 
 mer, as stated by Mr. Hittell in our February number 
 — there is a fourth survivor, Mr. Wilford Hudson (not 
 "Willis"' as printed on page 530 of that number). 
 Mr. Hudson is living at Grantsville, Tooele County, 
 Utah, and his description of the circumstances of the 
 gold discovery, says our informant, " substantially 
 accords with Mr. Hittell's account." 
 
 BRIC-A-BRAC. 
 
 A Ballad of Paper Fans. 
 
 I-ET others rave o'er Raphael, 
 And dim and ancient canvas scan ; 
 Ciive me in this so tropic spell 
 The simple art of paper fan : 
 The long-legged stork of far Japan, 
 A-flying through its straggling trees, 
 Does all for me that painting can — 
 I bless the gentle Japanese. 
 
 Give n-.e such dragons fierce and fell 
 As earth saw when its life began ; 
 Sweet views of frog and lily-bell. 
 Of moon-faced maid, and slant-eyed man; 
 Of flow'ry houghs athwart the wtm 
 I'ull-orbed moon ; of azure seas ; 
 
 And roseate landscapes on a plan 
 Peculiar to the Japanese. 
 
 Give me the hills that sink and swell, 
 Faint green and purple, pink and tan. 
 Joy would it ever be to dwell 
 Where streams that little bridges span. 
 Ignored, may flow 'twixt maid's sedan 
 And lover's whispered flatteries ; 
 For happy hearts are dearer than 
 Perspective to the Japanese. 
 
 V Envoi. 
 
 O Love, how lightly, sweetly ran 
 Life's sands iox us in climes like these! 
 Long leagues would lose their power to ban 
 Were you and I but Japanese ! 
 
 Annie Stesr^t' Winston. 
 
A MIXER'S SUNDAV /.V COLOAfA. 
 
 259 
 
 Charley, she thought, tV)r they were clean, in- her chair, but such an act would have seemed 
 
 nocent, and of graceful mien. After all, here foolish to one of her temperament, 
 
 was one vastly dearer to her than those for .She went to bed in doubt and got up in 
 
 whom she labored an«l prayed — one whose perplexity. She could not help looking for- 
 
 heart and happiness lay in her very palm, ward to .Mrs. Frankland's Hible-rcading th.u 
 
 Might she not soften her line of action some- afternoon with expectation that some message 
 
 \\ hat for his sake ? would be providentially sent for her guidan< e. 
 
 lUit conscience turned the glxs.s, and she re- The spirit perplexed iseversuperstili<nis. Since 
 
 membered Wilhclmina, and thought of thehap- so many important deci.sions in life must be 
 
 piness of little Hilda .Maginnis and her mother, made blindly. f)ne does not wonder that |>rim- 
 
 W'as it nothing that (iod hail enihjweil her with itive men .settletl dark questions by studying 
 
 this beneficent power? How could she shrink the stars, by interpreting the flight of birds, 
 
 from the blessedness of dispensing the divine the whimsical zigzags of the lightning bolt, or 
 
 mercy? Her imagination took flame at the the turning of the beak of a finvl this way or 
 
 vision of a life of usefulness and devotion to that in picking corn. The human mind bewil- 
 
 those who were suflering. dered is ever looking for crevices in the great 
 
 Then she raised her heail and there were the mystery that inwrajjs the visible universe, and 
 
 white flowers. She felt an impulse to kiss her ever hoping that some struggling beam from 
 
 hand in good night to them as she rose from beyond may point to the best path. 
 
 (To be continued.) 
 
 Edward EggUston. 
 
 A MINER'S SUNDAY IN CULU.M.X. 
 
 (FROM THK WRITER'S CALIFORNLV JOURNAL. 1849-50.) 
 
 j ' ' ^1 HE principal street of 
 
 ' j " )} Coloma was alive with 
 *■ ' crowds of moving men, 
 J' passing and repassing, 
 laughing, talking, and all 
 appearing in the best of 
 humor: Negroes from the 
 .Southern States swaggering 
 in the expansive feeling of run- 
 away freedom; mulattoes from 
 Jamaica trudging arm-in-arm 
 with Kanakas from Hawaii; 
 Peruvians and Chilians claiming 
 aftinity with the swarthier Mexi- 
 cans ; Frenchmen, (Germans, and 
 Italians fraternizing with one an- 
 other and with the cockney fresh 
 from the purlieus of St. (Jiles; an 
 Irishman, with the dewdrop still in 
 his eye, tracing relationship with the 
 ragged .\ustralian; Yankees from the 
 Penobscot chatting and bargaining with the 
 genial Oregonians ; a few Celestials scattered 
 here and there, their pigtails and conical hats 
 recalling the strange pictures that took my 
 boyish fancy while studying the geography of 
 the East; last of all, a few Indians, the only 
 indigenous creatures among all these exotics, 
 lost, swallowed up — out of place like 
 
 " rari nantcs in gurgite vasto." 
 
 It was a scene that no other countr)' couUl 
 ever imitate. Antipodes of color, race, religion. 
 
 language, government, condition, size, capa- 
 bility, strength and morals were there, within 
 that .small village in the mountains of Cali- 
 fornia, all impressed with but one purpose, — 
 imi)elled with but one desire. 
 
 A group of half a dozen Indians especially 
 attracted my attention. They were strutting 
 about in all the glory of newly acquired habili- 
 ments ; but with this distinction — that one 
 suit of clothes was suflicient to dress the whole 
 crowd. The largest and best-looking Indian 
 had appropriated the hat and boots, ami with- 
 out other apparel walked about as proudly as 
 any city clerk. Another was lost in an immense 
 pair of pantaloons. A thinl sported nothing 
 but a white shirt with ruftled bosom. .\ fourth 
 flaunted a blueswallow-tailed coat. bespangled 
 with immense brass buttons. A fifth was decked 
 with a fla.shy vest ; while the sixth had noth- 
 ing but a red bandana, which was carefully 
 wrapped around his neck. Thus what would 
 s( arcely serve one white man just as effectu- 
 ally accommodated si.x Indians. 
 
 Thestreet was onet ontinuous din. Thimble- 
 riggers, French monte dealers, or string-game 
 tricksters were shouting aloud at every comer: 
 " Six ounces, gentlemen, no one can tell where 
 the little joker is! " or " Het on the jack, the 
 jack 's the winning card 1 Three ounce's no man 
 can turn up the jack I " or " Here 's the place 
 to git your money back ! The veritable .string 
 game I Here it goes! Three, six, twelve ounces 
 no one can put his finger in the loop I " But 
 
26o A MINER'S SUNDAY IN COIOMA. 
 
 rising above all this ceaseless clamor Avas the " Brandy straight," " brandy punch," 
 shrill voice of a down-east auctioneer, who, " brandy sling," " gin cocktail," and thus they 
 perched on a large box in front of a very small went on, each one calling for a different drink, 
 canvas booth, was disposing of the various Then the bargaining began. Butcher-knives 
 articles in the shebang behind him," all at a bar- for crevicing, tin pans, shovels, picks, clothing 
 gain." What a ragged, dirty, unshaven, good- of all colors, shapes, and sizes ; hats and caps 
 natured assemblage ! — swallowing the stale of every style ; coffee, tea, sugar, bacon, flour, 
 jests of the " crier " with the greatest guffaws, liquors of all grades in stiff-necked bottles — in 
 and bidding with all the recklessness of half- a word, almost everything that could be enu- 
 tipsy brains and with all the confidence of merated — were disposed of at a furious rate ; 
 capacious, well-stuffed bags. Behind a smaller so that in an hour's time the contents of the little 
 box, to the left of the Yankee, was a Jew in grocery were distributed among the jolly crowd. 
 a red cap and scarlet flannel shirt, busy with Suddenly there was a great noise of shouting 
 his scales and leaden weights, to weigh out and hurrahing away up the street, and, the 
 the "dust "from the various purchasers. There crowd heaving and separating upon either 
 was no fear of the weights being heavier than side, on came a dozen half-wild, bearded mi- 
 the law allows, or that the tricky Jew by ners, fine, wiry, strapping fellows, on foaming 
 chance should place the half-ounce on the horses, lashing them to the utmost, and giving 
 scales when there was but a quarter due. That the piercing scalp-halloo of the Comanches ! 
 there should be a it\4 pennyweights too many They suddenly halted in front of Winter's 
 made no difference; it is only the hungry purse hotel, and while the greater number dis- 
 that higgles about weights or prices. A little mounted and tumultuously entered the bar- 
 bad brandy and a big purse made a miner room for. refreshment a few of the remainder 
 wonderfully important and magnanimous; and made themselves conspicuous by acts of daring 
 he regarded everything below an ounce as un- horsemanship — picking up knives from the 
 Avorthy of attention. ground while at full gallop, Indian-like whirling 
 
 This German Jew was also barkeeper. Be- on the sides of their steeds, then up and off like 
 
 side him were a few tin cups, and a whole army the wind and, while apparently dashing i^^to 
 
 of long and short necked, gaily labeled bottles, the surrounding crowd, suddenly reining in 
 
 from which he dealt out horrible compounds their horses upon their haunches, and whirlir^g 
 
 for fifty cents a drink. His eye brightened as them upon their hind legs, then without a stcP 
 
 he perceived coming up the street a crowd of dashing off as furiously in the opposite direc- 
 
 rollicking, thirsty, sunburned fellows, fresh from tion. These few proved to be Doniphan's wild 
 
 their " diggins " among the hills. But the quick riders, who even excelledthe Mexican caballeros 
 
 eye of the auctioneer also singled them out in their feats of horsemanship. At last, all to- 
 
 and read their wants. gether once more they came sweeping down the 
 
 " Here 's a splendid pair of brand-new boots ! street, apparently reckless of life and limb. As 
 
 cowhide, double-soled, triple-pegged, water- they passed, the scurrying footmen cheered 
 
 proof boots ! The very thing for you, sir, fit them on with great good nature. The crowd 
 
 your road-smashers exactly ; just intended, cut closed again and in a brief time everything was 
 
 out, made for your mud-splashers alone ; go- as restless as ever. 
 
 ing for only four ounces and a half — four and Passing up the street, I came to a large un- 
 
 ahalf! and gone — for four and a half ounces ; finished frame-house, the sashless windows 
 
 walk up here and weigh out your dust." and doorway crowded with a motley crew, 
 
 " Wet your boots, old boy ! " sang out the apparently intent upon something solemn hap- 
 
 companions of the purchaser. pening within. After a little crowding and 
 
 The barkeeper, with his weights already on pushing I looked over the numberless heads 
 
 the scales, exclaimed, " Shtand back, poys, and in front, and saw — could I beheve my eyes? — 
 
 let de shentlemens to de bar." a preacher, as ragged and as hairy as myself, 
 
 The newcomers approached, crowding tu- holding forth to an attentive audience. Though 
 
 multuously around their companion of the the careless and noisy crowd was surging im- 
 
 boots, who, drawing out a long and well-filled mediately without, all was quiet within. He 
 
 buckskin bag, tossed it to the expectant Jew with spoke Avell and to the purpose and warmed 
 
 as much carelessness as if it were only dust. every one with his fine and impassioned deliv- 
 
 " Thar 's the bag, old feller ! weigh out the ery. He closed with a benediction but pre- 
 boots and eight lickers. Come, boys, call for faced it by saying: "There wifl be divine service 
 what you like; it 's my treat — go it big, in this house next Sabbath — if, in the mean- 
 fellers ! all one price." time, I hear ofno new diggin's ! " 
 
 " Vat ye takes ? " asks the barkeeper, after The audience silently streamed out, the 
 weighing out the amount due and handing the greater part directing their steps to a large, two- 
 purse back to its owner. story frame-house across the street. This was 
 

 Vou XLII.— 34. 
 
>62 
 
 A MINER'S SUNDAY IN COLO MA. 
 
 the \\oi<i\ par cxcelloicc oi \\-\Q\.C)\Mn\ one could 
 easily perceive that by its long white colon- 
 nade in front, and its too numerous windows 
 in the upper story. 
 
 A large saloon occupied the whole front of 
 the building. FiUing up the far side of the 
 room was the gaudy and well-stocked bar, 
 where four spruce young fellows in shirt-sleeves 
 and flowing collars were busily engaged deal- 
 ing out horrible compounds to thirsty cus- 
 tomers strung along the whole length of the 
 counter. The other three sides of the saloon 
 were crowded with monte tables, each one of 
 which was surrounded with a crowd of old and 
 young so that it was almost impossible to ob- 
 tain a glimpse of the dealers or their glittering 
 banks. There was a perfect babel of noises ! 
 English, French, Spaniards, Portuguese, Ital- 
 ians, Kanakas, Chilians, all were talking in their 
 respective languages. Glasses were jingling, 
 money was rattling, and, crowning all, two fid- 
 dlers in a distant corner were scraping furiously 
 on their instruments, seemingly the presiding 
 divinities of this variegated pandemonium ! 
 
 Crowding, inch by inch, into one of these 
 motley groups, I found myself at last in front 
 of a large table, neatly covered with blue cloth, 
 upon which was a mass of Mexican silver dol- 
 lars piled up in ounce or sixteen-dollar stacks. 
 Immediately facing me was the banker ; a well- 
 dressed, middle-aged, quiet little man, with one 
 of the most demure countenances imaginable. 
 Beside him was the croupier, a very boy, whose 
 duty it was to rake in the winnings and pay 
 out the losses, which he did with wonderful 
 dexterity. 
 
 Fronting the dealer, and dividing the silver 
 into two equal portions, was a large Chinese 
 box of exquisite construction. Upon it were 
 ranged half a dozen packs of French and 
 Spanish cards, several large masses of native 
 gold, and a dozen or more buckskin bags of 
 all sizes and conditions containing dust. Dol- 
 lars and half-dollars were piled upon these 
 purses — some with a few, others with a greater 
 number thereon. One unacquainted with the 
 game might guess for a day and not be able to 
 hit upon the object of this arrangement, but a 
 close observer might read elation or depression 
 in the anxious eyes of the players, as the weight 
 upon these bags was either diminished or in- 
 creased. These purses were in pawn ; the dollars 
 and half-dollars were the counters wherewith 
 the banker numbered the ounces or half-ounces 
 that might be owing to the bank. 
 
 " There 's another millstone on the pile," 
 groaned a thin-faced, watery-eyed little fellow 
 in a hickory shirt and walnut pantaloons, as he 
 saw another dollar added to his dust-bag. 
 
 " Take off two o' them air buttons," laughed 
 a fat-faced man in red shirt and Chinese cap. 
 
 " I won two ounces on the deuce ; another bet 
 like that, and my bag 's not for your mill, old 
 feller ! " 
 
 The cards were all out, and the " old feller " 
 was shuffling them for a new deal ; during 
 which operation he cast a furtive glance about 
 the table to see if there were any new cus- 
 tomers to bite at his game, or, perhaps, to note 
 if any of those who had bitten seemed to be 
 cooling off — a weakness which he hastened to 
 counteract by singing out : " Barkeeper ! " and 
 inquiring " What will the gentlemen take to 
 drink ? " This invitation was given in such a 
 quiet and insinuating manner that one hesi- 
 tated to decline for fear of wounding the deli- 
 cate sensibilities of the banker. Each called 
 for what he wished, and all concluded to " fight 
 the tiger " a little while longer. The sprightly 
 barkeeper was back in a twinkling, with a large 
 waiter covered with glasses. These he dis- 
 tributed with wonderful dexterity, remember- 
 ing perfectly what each one had ordered ; so 
 that, much to the player's surprise, he found 
 his own glass chosen from among twenty and 
 placed before him. That barkeeper had a 
 niche in his brain for every man at the table. 
 
 The drinking over, the glasses were whisked 
 away, and all hands were again ready for the 
 
 game. 
 
 " It 's your cut," said the banker, reaching the 
 cards towards our watery-eyed acquaintance. 
 
 " Jack and deuce ! Make your bets, gen- 
 tlemen." 
 
 The jack appeared to be the favorite ; ounce 
 after ounce was staked upon it ; two more cards 
 were thrown out. 
 
 "Seven and ace. Come down, gents; come 
 down ! " The seven was the favorite by odds. 
 
 " All down, gents ? " inquired the dealer, as 
 he rapped his knuckles on the table. 
 
 " Hold on ! " exclaimed a shrill, puerile 
 voice, as if coming from under the table. 
 Every one looked down ; and there was ap- 
 parently a curly-headed boy, whose mouth was 
 little above the level of the bank. He cau- 
 tiously, coolly and methodically thrust forth a 
 small hand, and laid down two dimes upon the 
 ace. Every one laughed — all but the dealer, 
 who with the same placidity thrust back the 
 dimes and dampened the little fellow's ardor by 
 observing : 
 
 " We don't take dimes at this bank." 
 
 But no, the little fellow had spunk ; he was 
 not so easily dashed. Picking up his dimes, 
 his hand suddenly reappeared, this time hold- 
 ing a very weighty buckskin bag apparently 
 filled with the yellow dust. This he tossed upon 
 the ace, exclaiming : 
 
 " There ! I guess you '11 take that. Six 
 ounces on the ace ! " 
 
 Every one was astonished. All looked around 
 
264 A MINER'S SUNDAY IN COIOMA. 
 
 to see if he had any relatives or friends in the cautiously the cards were drawn, one by one 
 
 crowd. Reappeared to be entirely alone and — deuce, tray, king, queen, and seven appear 
 
 a stranger to every one ; but the play began — in succession — and then — the five ! The boy 
 
 and, strange to say, the ace won ! was again victorious : his fifty ounces were 
 
 "Good!" "Bully!" "Lucky boy!" were the now one hundred. The last round made a 
 
 exclamations on every side. The fortunate little huge chasm in the appearance of the bank, 
 
 gambler pocketed his bag and placed upon the and the table immediately in front of the little 
 
 deuce the six ounces he had just won. hero was absolutely covered with money. 
 
 " Bar the porte ! " shouted the boy as the The banker was as cool and methodical as 
 dealer was about to turn the cards. It was ever; taking a fresh pack he shuffled it care- 
 well for him that he cried out in time, for the fully and made another lay-out. The boy bet 
 jack was in the door. It was a narrow escape, his hundred ounces and was again victorious ! 
 but the little fellow was safe for this time. Two hundred ounces were now piled up be- 
 The cards were brushed aside and others took fore him. We advised him to desist, not to 
 their places. The betting went bravely on. tempt his luck too far; but he coolly replied: 
 The boy laid his money on the deuce and, " I '11 break that bank or it '11 break me ! " 
 wonderful to say, it won ! He was now the Did any one ever hear of such determina- 
 gainer by twelve ounces. He was the hero of tion, even in a man ? He increased in our 
 the table ; all eyes were upon him ; and it was estimation, and we liked him all the better for 
 seen that he was not as young as he seemed — his grit. More than half the bank was his al- 
 an old head upon a child's shoulders ! For the ready, a fortune in itself! but the little, round, 
 remainder of the deal old players regulated gray eyes of the boy were not upon his win- 
 their bets by his, and he carried them along nings, but were feeding eagerly upon the moiety 
 upon the wave. The bank looked a little sickly that was not yet his. 
 from this bleeding. " Queen and tray. Come down," said the 
 
 The deal being out, the banker, the same dealer, 
 
 cool imperturbable figure, chose another pack " How much have you in the bank ? " asked 
 
 of cards, and shuffled and cut and reshuffled the boy. 
 
 them until the patience of the crowd was al- "A hundred and fifty ounces." 
 
 most exhausted. It was the boy's cut, and a "I tap the bank upon the queen." 
 
 lay-out was made. This would decide the game. A stillness as 
 
 " Jack and queen. Come down with your of death was upon the crowd ; our breath was 
 
 dust. Gentlemen, make your bets." hushed ; our very hearts almost ceased to beat ; 
 
 The little fellow was very much puzzled ; it the suspense became painful ; even the banker 
 
 was a hard matter to choose between the jack paused, and wiped the cold drops from his brow, 
 
 and the queen. Another lay-out was made : The deck was faced at last, and calmly, 
 
 the deuce against the seven. steadily, and without hurry the cards were 
 
 " Twenty-five ounces on the deuce," said the drawn, one by one. One — two — three — four 
 
 little man, piling all his winnings around the — five — he had lost ! The queen had thrown 
 
 card. But few other bets were made; the him; and his entire winnings were ruthlessly 
 
 older hands were afraid this sudden luck would swept away by the sharp croupier beyond, 
 
 change, and they all held back. The plucky Dizzy and sick with the result, we turned 
 
 lad was pitted against the man of fifty — our eyes upon the loser; he bore himself 
 
 youth, enthusiasm and a dare-all luck arrayed bravely, and did not seem to feel the loss half 
 
 against the craft and cunning of an experienced as sensibly as ourselves. He looked about with 
 
 gambler ! How our sympathies were warmed a stern, defying air, as if to chide us for our 
 
 by the fearlessness of the boy ! The play be- sympathy. As yet he had lost nothing ; his 
 
 gan ; the deck was faced ; and, as I live, the large buckskin bag was still intact. Laying it 
 
 deuce was in the door ! The boy won the full upon the table, with the air of a Caesar, he 
 
 amount of his bet. put his all upon the throw, defying fate to do 
 
 The successful urchin was the least excited her worst ! Our pity was suddenly changed to 
 
 person in the room. He hauled in his winnings admiration. We felt that he was lost; but we 
 
 as carelessly as if those stacks of dollars were were sure he would die game, 
 
 only chips. Another shuffle, and another lay- The cards were again shuffled and cut. The 
 
 out was made. The field was now given up sevenand the king were laid out; the boy chose 
 
 entirely to the two antagonists. The ace and the king. The cards were drawn, slowly and 
 
 the five were the cards ; against all our hints steadily ; at last the seven appeared ; and the 
 
 the boy staked his fifty ounces on the five. We game was ended. He saw his well-filled purse 
 
 were breathless with fear ; the dealer himself stowed away along with many others within 
 
 paused a little before drawing the cards, — but that Chinese box and, whistling " O Cali- 
 
 at length the deck was faced, and slowly and forny," turned his back upon the scene. The 
 
A MIXr.K'S SI X DAY IX COI.OMA. 
 
 265 
 
 crowd partc(l symi)athctically to let him 
 tlirough; and he strutted out with all the im- 
 portance of a noted hero, the eyes of the as- 
 tonished and admiring assemblage following 
 him to the iloor. 
 
 I |)assed out silently after him and joined 
 him in the street. I could scarcely find words 
 to express mysympathy for hisloss. He looked 
 
 At tlie next corner I stopped for a few min- 
 utes to watch the man<euvers of a tall, slim 
 man, who was explaining the mysteries of thim- 
 ble-rigging to a crowd of lately arriveti gold 
 hunters. He was young, and had a long, high- 
 britlged nose, bhie eyes, a llorid complexion, 
 and thin flaxen hair, without even the .slight- 
 est appearance of a beard upon his chin. I-'rom 
 
 "^ 
 
 
 - -'♦ .•" -^ ~ --"'-'-1^^-..'5.--*-.;='^ 
 
 r^ tj 
 
 ^'■'•^-^■-.w,. 
 
 
 c^ 
 
 
 COLUMA I.N 1857. (PHUTOCRAPHED UV E. MMAS, FKOM AN BARLV PICTl'KB./ 
 
 [The site of the Marshall Monument is on the hill Ivick of the town on .t 
 
 down in 1856, is at the extreme hi^ht of 
 
 at me furtively with one eye, without ceasing 
 to whistle. I took his arm and, leading him 
 around thecomerof the house, begged to know 
 the amount of his loss, and if he had any 
 money on which to come and go. He did not 
 (ease his whistling, but j)lanted himself firmly 
 before me and looked up. I took out myj)Urse, 
 md oftered him a part ; the whistling instantly 
 ceased ; his face swelled out into a broad and 
 homely grin. Looking cautiously around for 
 fear of being overheard, he whispered : 
 
 " Mum 's the word ; I believe you 're a good 
 egg I Vou want to know how much was in 
 that l)ag ? Well, I '11 tell you ; just four jjounds 
 of duck-shot mixed, — and — nothing more; 
 what a swa'rin' and a cussin' when they open 
 it!" and the little imp laughed till the tears 
 were in his eyes. I, too, tried to laugh, but my 
 sympathies were shocked ; and I turned away 
 trom that premature scamp and strode off with 
 a heavy weight upon my spirits. l>ut I had not 
 gone far until the trick was even too much for 
 my feelings ; and I laughed long and heartily 
 at its audacitv. 
 
 line verticil with the l>rid|;e. The site of Sutter's mill, which was tore 
 ttie picture where the race is shown.] 
 
 his language I saw^ that he was Engli.sh — "a 
 Sydney chap," no doubt, fresh from the gal- 
 leys ; there were thousantls like him in the coun- 
 try. He was standing with his left foot upon 
 a low box, so as to make a table of his thigh, 
 on which were three small wooden thimbles 
 and a little jjellet of paj)er, with the move- 
 ments of which he completely my.stitied his au- 
 dience. With what dexterity he moved the 
 little joker from cup to cuj)l and yet so slowly 
 that ever)- one couKl see it in its pas.sage. Now 
 you would be willing to swear it was safely 
 ensconced under the farthest thimble, for you 
 saw it distinctly when the cup was rai.sed ; but 
 you might as w ell give up your money at once 
 a.s to stake it on the movements of the little 
 joker, who was the very genius of the thimble ; 
 even, like him of .Aladdin's lamji, becoming 
 visible or invisible as its owner w ille<l. In vain 
 did he invite a bet ; no one was bold enough 
 to risk six ounces. Then the thimble- rigger 
 changetl his tactics ; he saw there were many 
 willing and anxious to bet, were they but half 
 assured there was no hidden trickerv in this 
 
266 A MINER'S SUNDAY IN COIOMA. 
 
 manual dexterity. His movements, therefore, noise of the tortured fiddles. The saloon was 
 became slow and careless, as though he sup- filled with a mass of men, laughing, talking, 
 posed there was no one there disposed to risk gambling, drinking, and all apparently in the 
 his money on the game. He was so absent- best of humor. It was no use trying for admit- 
 minded as to turn his head away, as though tance, so I stepped down to the next house, 
 looking for some one beyond the crowd, but where there was another large assemblage fill- 
 still moving his thimbles and the joker so ing up half the street and intently watching 
 carelessly that the little pellet was at last left something that was happening in the midst 
 outside of one of the cups, when it should have of them. 
 
 been totally concealed within. The gambler's Edging my way with a good deal of difli- 
 mind was evidently not on his game, or he culty, I at last saw a long, slab-sided, sleepy- 
 never would have made this mistake, which looking Yankee, who Avas expatiating on the 
 might be taken advantage of by some of his wonders of a small brass padlock, which he 
 sharp-sighted auditors. A black-eyed little fel- held up to the admiration of the crowd, de- 
 low had been intently watching him for some daring it to be " the wonder of the world," 
 time past. He had the dress and appearance " the very essence of mechanical ingenuity," 
 of a miner, but his hands were soft and deli- and " a thing that puzzles the scientific, con- 
 cate — a fact you noted as, taking advantage siderable." And, as a voucher for the truth of 
 of the thimble-rigger's carelessness, he cau- his statement, he was willing and ready to 
 tiously reached forward, and very dexterously wager any amount from ten ounces to a hun- 
 swept the joker from the gambler's thigh, with- dred that no man in the crowd could open it 
 out the latter being aware of his conduct, within the space of two minutes. 
 This trick created a marked sensation among The crowd was agape with wonder; the lock 
 the bystanders ; so much so, that the English- was passed from hand to hand ; it was twisted, 
 man's attention was recalled to his game. turned, and tried in a hundred different ways. 
 
 There was now an evident willingness to but all to no purpose, — it withstood the most 
 
 bet on the part of three or four of the lookers- rigid scrutiny. Some were willing to give it up 
 
 on, but a swarthy miner, with his face covered in despair ; but there were others whom the 
 
 with an immense black beaid, got the start of very difficulty of the undertaking impelled to 
 
 all the rest and, trembling with excitement, still greater exertions. At last it fell into the 
 
 exclaimed : hands of a rough, hairy, raw-boned fellow with 
 
 " I '11 bet you ten ounces the 's no ball under the mouth and jaw of a bulldog, every fea- 
 
 thar at all." ture of whose countenance showed an inflexi- 
 
 " Put down your dust," replied the gambler, bility of purpose to overcome every obstacle. 
 
 The miner drew a well-filled buckskin bag whether for evil or for good. He twisted and 
 
 from his pocket, but, before he staked his turned the miniature lock into every conceiv- 
 
 money, had the foresight to declare that the able position, searching for the hidden spring, 
 
 gambler must not touch the thimbles, that he At last he found it. He was astounded at his 
 
 himself must have the privilege of lifting the own success. He gave a furtive look at the 
 
 cups. The Englishman assented to this. With- owner, to see if he had been observed ; but the 
 
 out the least hesitation the miner put down his Yankee was absorbed in conversation with a 
 
 dust. We all circled closer, laughing within neighbor, to whom he was narrating the his- 
 
 ourselves at the evident discomfiture of the tory of the wonderful lock, and did not even 
 
 careless gambler. The miner raised the near- appear to know that this bulldog fellow had 
 
 est thimble, the ball was not there ; he lifted it in his possession. The latter, now satisfied 
 
 the second, it was not there ; he laid his fingers with his success, gave his neighbor, a thick- 
 
 on the third and last and, with a triumphant headed German, a nudge with his elbow. The 
 
 laugh at his evident good luck, lifted it like- two withdrew somewhat from the crowd, and 
 
 wise. But his laugh was siiddenly changed to there, in a measure secure from observation, 
 
 a short, quick, smothered cry of astonishment, he showed his companion the hidden spring. 
 
 We all looked down ; and there, lying as and advised him to bet twenty ounces on the 
 
 cozy as an egg in its nest, was the wonderful result, and agreed to "go his halves." The 
 
 little joker ! German eagerly accepted the proposition ; and 
 
 The miner had been completely fooled, the two reentered the ring with the triumph 
 
 There had been two little paper pellets, and of discovery in their faces. The German laid 
 
 the dark-eyed man was a confederate. down his bag, and on the top of it the Yankee 
 
 Leaving the thimble-rigger, I passed along piled his twenty Spanish doubloons. The gam- 
 under the colonnade of the hotel, my ears al- bier drew out his watch to note the time ; and 
 most deafened by the rattling of money and handing the wizard lock to his opponent, told 
 the hubbub of various dialects ; and, piercing him to begin, 
 all, like the shrieking of termagants, came the The German took the lock, and with a smile 
 
./ .\//.\/:/rs SI X/KI)- /.V COI.O.\f.\. 
 
 h<-> 
 
 A SIINUAV AKTERNOO.S .-.i..i,i. 
 
 of derision put his finger on the spring ; and 
 lo ! the lock was still a loik. Perhaps he mis- 
 took the knob whereon to jjress ; but no I that 
 was the boss that but a moment since unhaspeil 
 tile lock. He pressed it again with a firmer 
 hand ; but it was of no use, the clasp was still 
 unclasped. The (ierman felt dimly that he had 
 been victimized ; the two minutes were ra])idly 
 I>assing away ; large <lropsof perspiration oo;^ed 
 from his forehead, — his hands trembled with 
 excitement. — every knob on the brazen puzzle 
 was convulsively pressed, — but all in vain. 
 The time was up — and his money lost! 
 With a pitiable countenance he turned to his 
 jjartner in misfortune, but he had gone! ni> 
 spirit sank within him. He must bear the lo.ss 
 himself! His missing j)artner was of course a 
 confederate of the Yankee's, and before the 
 money was staked had (piietly neutralized the 
 spring upon which the (lerman had so confi- 
 dently relied. 
 
 Hy this time myap])etite began to warn me 
 of the near approach of noon. There were any 
 number of eating-houses and booths, but which 
 to choose I could not tell. However, suftering 
 myself to be guided in a measure by the crowd 
 which was now streaming to the other side of 
 the river, I soon found myself in front of " Lit- 
 tle's Hotel," the largest frame building on the 
 right bank of the river, serving in the treble 
 capacity of post-office, store, and tavern. Here 
 I found all my a(<|uaintances, who, like me. 
 were on the search for a good dinner ; and who 
 
 had been induced to go there by the enc o- 
 miums of "okler hands," who every .Sunday had 
 made a custom of visiting Coloma for the ex- 
 press j)urpose C)f having one good dinner in the 
 week. The first sounding of the gong had 
 already bnnight a hungry crowd, apparently 
 large enough lo carry away the whole build- 
 ing. They were assembled in front of the closed 
 door of the long dining-room, anxiously await- 
 ing the second signal, when they were to be 
 admitted. 
 
 While awaiting the oi)ening of the door, my 
 attention was directed lo a diminutive, middle- 
 aged Irishman, who was busily engaged nar- 
 rating to a (i)mpanion the various wonders 
 and mysteries that " complalely botheretl him 
 in this womlthcr of a j)lace." After many fa- 
 mous adventures he had found himself on the 
 bank of the river, hunting for a '• (|uit ksilver 
 masheen," when the gong sounded for dinner; 
 and he thus ( t)ntinued his narrative : 
 
 " .\n'do ye see, Dinnis, I jist went down be 
 the wather to indivor to git a sight of a «|uick- 
 silver masheen ; for I niver seen the loike in 
 this ( ounthry yit ; an' I had a great inclination 
 to luck at one, ef it was oney to see the shape 
 ov it, but I dill n't .see ony thing like the (juick- 
 silver ma.sheen at all, at all ; but a man that 
 was there prosi)e« tin' tould me for to come up 
 to the tavern, an' there wos wun there siltin' 
 out ov doors jist fominst the house. Ji.st thin 
 I heerda clatherin'asovthat big mounthin wos 
 tumblen down on us. I didn't know themanen' 
 
!68 
 
 A MINER'S SUNDAY IN COLOMA. 
 
 ov it far a long time ; wliin it sthruck me right 
 strate — it wos nothin' but the quicksilver ma- 
 sheen. So I hurried up the bank, an' thin I 
 saw evry wan runnin' up this way, as ef it wos 
 a rale Irish foight they were goin' to see, an' 
 not the quicksilver masheen at all. Whin I 
 sees thim all runnin' like pigs afther pratee 
 skins — stir your stumps, Condy, says I, or 
 you '11 niver git near the baste. An' thin, I 
 run loike the rist ov thim ; an' whin I got to 
 where the noise come from, — what do you 
 think I seen, Dinnis ? Why, nothin' but a 
 big nagur batin' the tamboreen!" 
 
 We had scarcely time enough to laugh at 
 Condy's disappointment in search of the 
 
 ners. At home, one would associate such a 
 crowd with the deck of a Mississippi steam- 
 boat, or the platform of an Alleghany River 
 raft, with iron forks and spoons, and tin plates 
 spread on a rough pine board for a table ; but 
 here they lorded it over every luxury that 
 money could procure. There was not a single 
 coat in the whole crowd, and certainly not 
 over half a dozen vests, and neither neckties 
 nor collars. But then, to make amends for 
 these deficiencies, there were any number and 
 variety of fancy shirts, from the walnut-stained 
 homespun of the Missourian to the embroi- 
 dered blouse of the sallow Frenchman. Never 
 before was I so fully impressed with the truth 
 
 Kill t,H> IN TOWN. 
 
 K.. hKo.M A SKETCH BY IIUUIiKT UUKGliSb ol A:. lNi_lDl^.\ 1' I.\ I'HE MINES.) 
 
 " quicksilver masheen " when the " tamborine" 
 again sounded ; the door flew open, and in a 
 few minutes the long, narrow, dining-room was 
 crowded with at least three hundred miners, 
 seated at a well-furnished table and enjoying 
 the unusual luxury of a chair to sit on, with 
 silver-plated forks and spoons, and other little 
 knickknacks of civilized society. The dinner 
 was really excellent, and every one appeared 
 heartily to enjoy it. 
 
 When the edge of my appetite had in a 
 measure been ground away, I took occasion 
 to look up and down the table, and I could 
 but wonder how I happened among such a 
 collection of uncouth men. The contrast was 
 certainly startling between the snow-white 
 tablecloth, china dishes, silver forks and 
 spoons, and the unwashed, half-famished, 
 sunburnt crowd of hungry and bearded mi- 
 
 of the old adage that " dress makes the man," 
 for I doubt if the whole world could present 
 to a stranger's eye a crowd of rougher or ap- 
 parently lower characters than were then seated 
 around that hospitable table. And yet many 
 of these men were lawyers and physicians, and 
 the rest principally farmers and mechanics from 
 the " States " ; who now with their long beards 
 and fierce mustaches looked anything else 
 than the quiet citizens they were at home. Men 
 who formerly were effeminacy itself in dress 
 and manners were here changed into rough 
 and swaggering braves, with a carelessness of 
 appearance and language that a semi-civilized 
 condition of society alone could permit. 
 
 Men pocketed their pride in Califoi-nia in 
 those days. I met in the mines lawyers and 
 physicians, of good standing at home, who 
 were acting as barkeepers, waiters, hostlers, 
 
CAJ.IIORXIAXA. 
 
 269 
 
 and teamsters. An ex-judge of oyer and ter- the determinaticjn to make money; and if the 
 
 miner was drivinj^ an o\-teani from Coloma mines (hil not afford it, tlie next incjuiry was 
 
 to Sacramento. One man who had been a what pursuit or business would the sooner 
 
 State senator and secretary of state in one accomphsh the desiretl end. Thousands who 
 
 of our western commonwealths was doing had not the necessary stamina for the vicissi- 
 
 a protitahle business at manufacturing "era- tudes of a miner's hfe, nor yet the means of 
 
 dies," while an ex-governor of one of our going into any of the various channels of trade, 
 
 southwestern States played the fiddle in a were for a time compelled to serve in capacities 
 
 gambling saloon. I'iiese things were hardly far beneath their deserts, until time and means 
 
 remarked. Every one went to the Slope with should justify them in choosing for themselves. 
 
 V 
 
 \ ■■ 'r 
 
 ^"Qk 
 
 '^m^' 
 
 11 '¥ 
 
 Cluitles li. (iillespif. 
 
 ' BROKE. 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 ANECDOTES OF THE MINES. 
 
 BY lUBF.RT BURGESS. 
 One Way of Salting a Claim. 
 
 To " salt .1 claim " is to sprinkle yokl <lusl about it in 
 certain places in order to deceive those who may be 
 seeking investment. In this way in the early days of 
 California worthless claims were made to appear rich, 
 and WLMC often sold for large sums of money. In the 
 course of time this jiractice became so common that 
 purch.asers were always on their guard, and it was 
 necessary to exercise much insijcnuity in order to de- 
 ceive them. I know of one instance where solid earth 
 was removed to the depth of six feet and, after coarse 
 gold had been mixed with it, was replaced and covered 
 with rubbish in such a way as to look firm and natural. 
 Soon after, a party came along who wished to buy, 
 and judging from appearances they selected the very 
 place for prospecting which had Iwcn salted for them, 
 deenung it less likely to have l)een tampered with than 
 the rest of the claim. Of course they thought they 
 had " struck it rich," but they realized only the salt. 
 Sometimes claims were pronounced worthless before 
 sufficient work ha<l been di>ne on them. When these 
 were salted antl sold to persevering miners they fre- 
 quently netted large fortunes to those who had unwit- 
 tingly purchased them. 
 
 In 1851 a party of .\mcrican miners had been working 
 a claim near Columbia, Tuolumne County, California, 
 and not having even found the " color " they became 
 discourage<l ; the more so as a company of Chinamen 
 a short distance above them were <loing very well. 
 The .\mericans having expressetl a willingness to sell, 
 one day three Chinamen went to look at the claim. 
 They talked it over among thems(•lvl■^ am! tumllv aslrd 
 Vol. XI.II. — 35. 
 
 the owners at what price they would sell. Of course 
 the Americans made it out rich and put a high figure 
 on it, though in fact they were resolved to sell out at 
 any price, being sure that the ground was worthless. 
 It was decided that the Chinamen should bring their 
 picks and pans next day to prospect, and if they were 
 satisfied they would buy at the figure agreed ujwn. 
 
 The miners, tliinking it would probably l)e their last 
 ch.ancc to sell, determined to salt the claim. It was 
 a large piece nf ground and the trouble w.is where to 
 put the " salt." One of the men soon hit upon a very 
 ingenious plan. He took his gun and went, as he said, 
 to get a quail or two, but in reality to kill a snake. .As 
 there were a great many about the place, he soon killed 
 a large gopher-snake, which resembles the rattlesnake 
 in appearance but is perfectly harmless to man. Tut 
 ting his game into a bag, he returned to camp. 
 
 On being asked by his conipanions what he had 
 brought back for supper, he shook out the snake and 
 explained his idea thus : 
 
 " Now, boys, when the Chinamen come to-morrow, 
 they won't allow any of us to Ixr too near, because 
 tliey 're afraid of ' s,ilt.' Well, Jim, you walk along 
 on top of the bank and have that dead snake in 
 your pocket. Hill and me will stay talking to the 
 Johns, I Ml have my gun over my shoulder as if I was 
 going for a rabbit, only you see I 'II put ' salt' into the 
 gun instead of shot. Wc '11 fimi out where they 're go- 
 ing to pan out next, and you be looking on, innocent 
 like, with the snake ready to drop where I tell you. 
 When them fellers ^tart to w.ilk there, just slide him 
 down the bank, an<l when we all get there, I 'II holler 
 • Hold on, boys ! * and before they know what 's up, I Ml 
 fire the ' salt ' .all annind there and make believe I 
 ki11.-.l the snake. How Ml that do?" 
 
270 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 Next morning four Chinamen came prepared for 
 work. They tried a few places, but of course did not 
 get the "color." The Americans kept at a distance 
 so that there could be no complaint. 
 
 " Well, John, " said the schemer, " where you try next, 
 over in that corner ? " 
 
 The Chinamen were suspicious in a moment. They 
 were familiar with salted claims and were well on their 
 guard. " No likee dis corn'. The him nudder corn','' 
 pointing to the opposite one. 
 
 Jim, with his hands in his pockets, was above on the 
 bank, many feet away, watching ; when he saw them 
 point in that direction, his partner gave a nod and he 
 pitched the snake on the ground near the place. The 
 leader exclaimed, " Hold on boys ! " and fired before 
 they could tell which way to look. Going up to the 
 snake, he pushed the gun under it and carried it away 
 hanging over the barrel. Jim walked off and Bill sat 
 on a wheelbarrow on the opposite side from where they 
 were at work. The Chinamen had no suspicion. They 
 carried away several pans of dirt to wash in a stream near 
 by, and when they returned Bill felt pretty sure they 
 had struck some of the " salt," but the Chinamen said 
 nothing except, "Claim no good. Melikin man talkee 
 too muchee." 
 
 The Americans, knowing the game, refused to take 
 less than the specified price, which the Chinamen finally 
 paid and in two days the sellers were off to new dig- 
 gings- 
 
 The strangest part of the story is that the claim turned 
 out to be one of the richest in the district. The China- 
 men made a great deal of money, sold out and went 
 home. 
 
 " Hold on boys, till I make this shot." 
 
 In 185 1 Mokelumne Hill was one of the worst camps 
 in California. " Who was shot last week ? " was the 
 first question asked by the miners when they came in 
 from the river or surrounding diggings on Saturday 
 nights or Sundays to gamble or get supplies. It was 
 very seldom that the answer was " No one." 
 
 Men made desperate by drink or losses at the gam- 
 bling table, would race up and down the thoroughfares, 
 in single file, as boys play the game of "follow my 
 leader," each imitating the actions of the foremost. 
 Selecting some particular letter in a sign they would 
 fire in turn, regardless of everything but the accuracy 
 of the aim. Then they would quarrel over it as though 
 they were boys, playing a game of marbles, while 
 every shot was likely to kill or wound some unfor- 
 tunate person. 
 
 The gambling tents were large and contained not only 
 gaming tables but billiard tables. At one of these I was 
 
 once playing billiards with a man named H . A few 
 
 feet from us, raised upon a platform made for the pur- 
 pose, were seated three Mexican musicians, playing 
 guitars; for these places were always well supplied 
 with instrumental music. The evening seldom passed 
 without disputes, and pistols were quickly drawn to set- 
 tle quarrels. Upon any outbreak men would rush from 
 all parts of the room, struggling to get as near as pos- 
 sible to the scene of action, and often they paid the pen- 
 
 alty for their curiosity by being accidentally shot. While 
 
 H and I were engaged in our game, we could hear 
 
 the monotonous appeal of the dealers, " Make your 
 game, gentlemen, make your game. Red wins and black 
 loses." Suddenly ha7ig, bang, bang went the pistols in 
 a distant part of the tent. The usual rush followed. 
 Bang, bang, again, and this time the guitar dropped 
 from the hands of one of the unoffending musicians, who 
 fell forward to the ground with a bullet through his 
 neck. His friends promptly undertook to carry him 
 past us to the open air. Our table was so near the 
 side of the tent that only one person at a time could go 
 
 between it and the canvas. H was standing in 
 
 the way, just in the act of striking the ball with his 
 cue, when one of the persons carrying the wounded 
 mail touched him with the request that he move to one 
 side. He turned and saw the Mexican being supported 
 by the legs and arms, the blood flowing from his neck ; 
 then with the coolest indifference he said, " Hold on, 
 hold on, boys, till I make this shot," then, resuming 
 his former position, he deliberately finished his shot. 
 
 These events occurred so constantly that residents 
 of the place became callous, and although at the sound 
 of the pistol crowds rushed forward, it was with no 
 deeper feeling than curiosity. 
 
 Sometimes in the newer communities property as 
 \\ ell as life was in danger. I remember that one night 
 in West Point, Calaveras County, a party of roughs 
 "cleaned out" the leading saloon because the pro- 
 prietor would not furnish them free whisky. 
 
 A little later law and order began to assert their 
 claims in the community. Several families from the 
 East came in, and a protest was made against the sway 
 of the gamblers. The result was that the card business 
 did not pay so well ; miners grew more careful of their 
 money, and the professional " sports " left the place in 
 great numbers. One of them as he packed up his chips 
 remarked : " They 're getting too partickler. If a feller 
 pulls his pistol in self-defense and happens to blow the 
 top of a miner's head off, tliey haul him up before a 
 jury. The good old times are about over here, and the 
 country 's played out ! " 
 
 "The Date of the Discovery of the Yosemite." 
 
 Editor of the Century Magazine : My com- 
 munication in the December number of The Century 
 on " The Date of the Discovery of the Yosemite " has 
 brought to me several letters, including one from a 
 writer from California who quotes a statement made by 
 George Coulter, the founder of Coultersville, corrobo- 
 rating in detail the circumstances as narrated in my 
 communication, excej>i in the one essential particular. 
 He is quoted as saying that the party I met at his store 
 did not go so far into the mountains as the Yosemite, 
 but made their attack upon the Indians in a canon on 
 the north fork of the Merced belcnv the Yosemite. I 
 accept his statement, as reported, and am pleased to 
 withdraw all contention of the claim made by Doctor 
 Bunnell that he was the original discoverer. 
 
 MoNTCLAiR, March 27, 1891. 
 
 Julius H. Pratt. 
 
Ii ii: Ci:NTrKY Maga/ixi:. 
 
 \mi. xli. 
 
 DKCEMDKR, 1890. 
 
 Nf 
 
 ). 2. 
 
 LIFE IN 
 
 ^\ 
 
 t>' ^ 
 
 •inrtR'S BOOT. flM THt 
 
 PIONCCR SOCIETY'S ROOUS, SACRAUCnTO. 
 
 CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD 
 DISCOVERY. 
 
 I'.V JOHN P.IDWKLI, (PIONKKR OK '41). 
 
 "I'^f ''I^III'l party whose fortunes I day reading, and he had a memory that 
 
 I 1 have followed across the stereotyped all he read, and in those days in 
 
 plains 1 was not only the first California such a man could easily assume 
 
 that went direct to California the role of doctor and practise medicine. In 
 
 from the Enst; we were prob- fact, with the exception of Dr. Marsh there 
 
 ably the first white people, c\- was then no physician of any kind anywhere 
 
 cei)t Bonneville's par- in California, We were overjoyed to find an 
 
 -.. ^,. - ty of 1833, that ever American, and yet when we became acquainted 
 
 -1 crossed the Sierra with himwefound him oneofthemostselfishof 
 
 Nevada, Ur, Marsh's mortals. The night of our arrival he killed two 
 
 ranch, the first settle- pigs for us.-' We felt very grateful, for we had 
 
 ment reached by us by no means recovered from star\ing on poor 
 
 in California, was lo- mule meat, and when he .set his Indian cook 
 
 cated in the ea.stern foothills of the Coast Range to making tortillas (little cakes) for us, giving 
 
 Mountains,near the northwestern extremity of one to each, — there were thirty-two in our 
 
 thegreatSanJoa(|uin Valleyandaboutsixmiles party, — we felt even more grateful; and es- 
 
 east of Monte Diablo, which may be called pecially when we learned that he had had to 
 
 about the geographical center of Contra Costa use some of his .seed wheat, for he had no 
 
 County, I'here were no other settlements in the other. Hearing that there was no such thing 
 
 vallcv ; it was, apjiarently, still just as new as as money in the country, and that butcher- 
 
 whenColumbusdiscovered America. androam- knives, guns, ammunition, anil everything of 
 
 ing over it were countless thousands of wiM that kind were better than money, we expre.s-sed 
 
 horses, of elk, and of antelope. It had been one our gratitude the first night to the doctor by 
 
 of the driest yearsever known in California, The presents — one giving a can of powder, an- 
 
 countrywasbrownandpan hed;throughoutthe other a bar of lead or a butcher-knife, and 
 
 State wheat, beans, everything had failed, CatUe another a cheap but ser\iceable set of surgical 
 
 were almost starving for grass, and the peoi)le, instruments. The next morning I rose early, 
 
 except perhaps a few of the best fiimilies, were among the first, in order to learn from our 
 
 without bread, and were eating chiefly meat, host something about California, — what we 
 
 and that often of a very poor iiuality. coulddo,an(l wherewecouldgo, — and. strange 
 
 Dr. Marsh had come into California four or as it may seem, he would scarcely answer a 
 
 five years before by way of New Mexico. He question. He seemed to be in an ill humor, 
 
 was in some respects a remarkable man. In and among other things he .said, "The com- 
 
 command of the Kngli.'sh language I have pany has already been over a hundred dollars' 
 
 scarcely ever seen his etjual. He had never expen.se to me, anddod knows whether 1 will 
 
 studiefi medicine. I believe, but was a great ever get a rrr// of it or not," I was at a loss to 
 
 reader: sometimes he would lie in bed all account for this, and went out and told some of 
 
 1 Sec " The First Emigrant Train tu (.'aliforni.n,"' in - Men reiJuccd lo living on jxwr meat, and almost 
 
 i'HK Ck.ntcrv for November, 1890. starving, have an intense longing for anything fat. 
 Copyright, 1890, by TiiK Centirv Co. .Ml rights reservetl. 
 
 .63 
 
1 64 LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 the party, and found that others had been 
 snubbed in a similar manner. We held a con- 
 sultation and resolved to leave as soon as con- 
 venient. Half our party concluded to go back 
 to the San Joaquin River, where there was much 
 game, and spend the winter hunting, chiefly for 
 otter, the skins being worth three dollars apiece. 
 The rest — about fourteen — succeeded in gain- 
 ing information from Dr. Marsh by which they 
 
 exposed than any other to the ravages of the 
 Horse-thief Indians of the Sierra Nevada 
 (before mentioned). That valley was full of 
 wild cattle, — thousands of them, — and they 
 were more dangerous to one on foot, as I was, 
 than grizzly bears. By dodging into the gulches 
 and behind trees I made my way to a Mexi- 
 can ranch at the extreme west end of the 
 valley, where I staid all night. This was one 
 
 
 nu\i\'^;;-nii, Mil 
 
 SACRAMENTO VALLEY. 
 
 Started to find the town of San Jose, about 
 forty miles to the south, then known by the 
 name of Pueblo de San Jose, now the city 
 of San Jose. More or less of our effects had 
 to be left at Marsh's, and I decided to re- 
 main and look out for them, and meantime 
 to make short excursions about the country 
 on my own account. After the others had 
 left I started off traveling south, and came to 
 what is now called Livermore Valley, then 
 known as Livermore's Ranch, belonging to 
 Robert Livermore, a native of England. He 
 had left a vessel when a mere boy, and had 
 married and lived like the native Californians, 
 and, like them, was very expert with the lasso. 
 Livermore's was the frontier ranch, and more 
 
 1 The rancheros marked and branded their stock dif 
 ferently so as to distinguish them. But it was not pos- 
 sible to keep them separate. One would often steal 
 cattle from the other. Livermore in this way lost cat- 
 tle by his neighbor Amador. In fact it was almost a 
 daily occurrence — a race to see which could get and 
 
 of the noted ranches, and belonged to a Cali- 
 fornian called Don Jose Maria Amador — more 
 recently, to a man named Dougherty.i^ Next 
 day, seeing nothing to encourage me, I started 
 to return to Marsh's ranch. 
 
 On the way, as I came to where two roads, 
 or rather paths, converged, I fell in with one 
 of the fourteen men, M. C. Nye, who had 
 started for San Jose. He seemed considerably 
 agitated, and reported that at the Mission of 
 San Jose, some fifteen miles this side of the 
 town of San Jose, all the men had been arrested 
 and put in prison by General Vallejo, Mexican 
 commander-in-chief of the military under Gov- 
 ernor Alvarado, he alone having been sent 
 back to tell Marsh and to have him come forth- 
 
 kill the most of the other's cattle. Cattle in those 
 days were often killed for the hides alone. One day a 
 man saw Amador kill a fine steer belonging to Liver- 
 more. When he reached Livermore's — ten or fifteen 
 miles away — and told him what Amador had done, 
 he found Livermore skinning a steer of Amador's ! 
 
LfFE I.V CAIJ/'ORMA JiEFORI. 77//- (,()/./) 7)7SCO\E7< Y. 
 
 16: 
 
 with lo explain why this armed 
 force hafl invaded the country. We 
 reached Marsh's after dark. 'I'he 
 next day the doctor started down 
 to tlie .Mission of San Jose, nearly 
 thirty miles (Hstant, with a list of 
 tlie company, which I gave him. 
 He was gone about three days. 
 Meanwhile we sent word to the 
 men on the San |oa(|uin River to 
 let them know what had taken 
 |ilace, and they at once returned 
 10 the ranch to await results. 
 When Marsh came hack he said 
 ominously, '* Now, men, I want 
 you all to come into the house and 
 1 will tell you your fate." We all 
 \\ ent in, and he announced, " Vou 
 men that have five dollars can 
 have passports and remain in the 
 country and go where you please." 
 ihe fact was he had simply ob- 
 tained pas.sports for the asking; 
 they had cost him nothing. The 
 men who had been arrested at the 
 Mi.ssion had been liberated as 
 soon as their passports were is- 
 sued to them, and they had at once 
 proceeded on their way to San 
 |(.>e. r.ut five dollars! I don't 
 suppose anyone had five dollars; 
 nine-tenths of them jjrobabl)- had 
 not a cent of money. The names 
 were called and each man settled, giving motion to an Indian boy outsideand hebrought 
 the amount in something, and if unable to me a handful of beans and a handful of ///<///- 
 make it up in money or efiects he would give tcux^ which is used by Mexicans instead of lard, 
 his note for the rest. All the names were called It seemed as if they were going to starve me 
 excej)! mv own. There was no pass|)ort for to death. After having been there three days 
 me. Marsh had certainly not forgotten me. I saw through the door a man whom, from 
 for I had furnished him with the list of our his light hair, I took to be an American, al- 
 names myself. Possil)lyhis idea was — asothers though he was clad in the wild pictures(|ue 
 surmised and afterwards told me — that, lack- garb of a native Califomian, including sera|)e 
 ing a j)assport. I would stay at his ranch and and the huge spurs used by the va<iuero. I 
 make a useful hand to work. had the sentry at the door hail him. He proved 
 
 The next morning before day found me to be an American, a resident of the Pueblo 
 starting for the Mission of San Jose to get a of San Jose, named Thomas IJowen. and he 
 
 l.t.M.i.AL .M. w. VAl.l.tJO. 
 
 (FROM A PIlilTCHiRArH BV I1KADI.HV fi RILOFSON, LRMT 
 
 IIY LilYAlX FAKR.VCIT. ) 
 
 passport for myself. Mike Nye, the man who 
 liad brought the news of the arrest, went with 
 
 kindly went to Valkjo. who was right across 
 the wav in the big Nlission building, and pro- 
 
 me. .\ friend had lent me a poor old horse, cured for me the passport. I think I have that 
 
 ht only to carry my blankets. I arrived in a 
 heavy rain-storm, and was marched into the 
 calaboose and kept there three days with noth- 
 ing to eat, and the fleas were so numerovis as 
 to cover and darken anything of a light color. 
 There were four or five Indians in the prison. 
 Ihey were ironed, ami they kept tolling a bell, 
 as a punishment, I suppose, for they were .said 
 to have stolen horses; possibly they belonged 
 to the Hor^e-thief tribes east of the San Joa- 
 quin \alley. Sentries were stationed at the 
 tloor. i'hrough a grated window I ma«le a 
 
 passport now, signed Ijy Vallejo and written in 
 Sjjanish by \ictor I'rudon, secretary of Val- 
 lejo. I ".very one at the Mi.s.sion pronounced 
 Marsh's action an outrage; such a thing 
 was never known before. 
 
 We had already heard that a man by the 
 name of Sutter was starting a colony a hun- 
 dred miles away to the north in the Sacra- 
 mento \'alley. No other civili/ed settlements 
 had been attempted anywhere east of the 
 C'oast Range: before Sutter came the Indians 
 had reigned supreme. .\s the best thing to be 
 
1 66 
 
 LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 done I now determined to go to Sutter's, after- 
 ward called "Sutter's Fort," or New Helvetia. 
 Dr. Marsh said we could make the journey in 
 two days, but it took us eight. Winter had 
 come in earnest, and winter in California then, 
 as now, meant rain. I had three companions. 
 It was wet when we started, and much of the 
 time we traveled through a pouring rain. 
 Streams were out of their banks ; gulches were 
 swimming ; plains were inundated ; indeed, 
 most of the country was overflowed. There 
 were no roads, merely paths, trodden only by 
 Indians and wild game. We were compelled to 
 follow the paths, even when they were under 
 
 Moreover, our coming was not unexpected to 
 him. It will be remembered that in the Sierra 
 Nevada one of our men named Jimmy John 
 became separated from the main party. It 
 seems that he came on into California, and, di- 
 verging into the north, found his way down to 
 Sutter's settlement perhaps a little before we 
 reached Dr. Marsh's. Through this man Sut- 
 ter heard that our company of thirty men 
 were already somewhere in California. He 
 immediately loaded two mules with provisions 
 taken out of his private stores, and sent two 
 men with them in search of us. But they 
 did not find us, and returned, with the pro- 
 
 ,,4*,inJ^*i A-- 
 
 ^.-il" 5»' 
 
 ^^M^ .^ '^ 
 
 If J I 
 
 ff -ft"^ 
 
 iSt'j 
 
 )> 
 
 
 I 
 
 ^- 
 
 ^-'iT^''-. _ ,:^''^_ 
 
 J.'- .i^ -i^- -V , v'(»«H, ' "^^ 
 
 OLD RUSSIAN BUILDING. 
 
 I'ORT KOSS. 
 
 water, for the moment our animals stepped to 
 one side down they went into the mire. Most 
 of the way was through the region now lying 
 between Lathrop and Sacramento. We got 
 out of provisions and were about three days 
 without food. Game was plentiful, but hard 
 to shoot in the rain. Besides, it was impos- 
 sible to keep our old flint-lock guns dry, and 
 especially the powder dry in the pans. On 
 the eighth day we came to Sutter's settle- 
 ment; the fort had not then been begun. 
 Sutter received us with open arms and in a 
 princely fashion, for he was a man of the most 
 polite address and the most courteous man- 
 ners, a man who could shine in any society. 
 
 visions, to Sutter's. Later, after a long search, 
 the same two men, having been sent out again 
 by Sutter, struck our trail and followed it to 
 Marsh's. 
 
 John A. Sutter was born in Baden in 1803 of 
 Swiss parents, and was proud of his connection 
 with the only republic of consequence in Europe. 
 He was a warm admirer of the United States, 
 and some of his fnends had persuaded him to 
 come across the Atlantic. He first went to a 
 friend in Indiana with whom he staid awhile, 
 helping to clear land, but it was business that 
 he was not accustomed to. So he made his way 
 to St. Louis and invested what means he had 
 in merchandise, and went out as a New Mexi- 
 
IJFE IX CAl.II'ORXfA liEFORE Till: GOI.P DISCOIERV 
 
 C.KNHRAI. JOHN A. SITTER. 
 IFkOM A riKlTni.KAril IIV IIKM>II'\ a KI lOFSIlS't 
 
 can trader to Santa Fe. Havint; been unsuc- 
 cessful at Santa Kc, he returned to St. Louis, 
 joined a party of trappers, went to the Rocky 
 Mountains, and found his way down the Co- 
 hinil)ia River to Fort Vancouver. There he 
 formed plans for trying to get down to the 
 coast of California to establish a colony. He 
 took a vessel that went to the Sandwich Isl- 
 ands, and there communicated his jjlans to 
 j)eople who a.ssisted him. Hut as there was no 
 vessel going direct from the San<hvich Islands 
 to California, he had to take a Russian vessel 
 by way of Sitka. He got such credit and help 
 as he could in the Sandwich Islands and in- 
 duced five or six natives to accompany him 
 
 to start the contemplated colony. He expected 
 to send to luirope and the I'nited States for 
 his colonists. When he came to the coast of 
 California, in 1840, he had an interview with 
 the governor. .Mvarado. and obtained per- 
 mission to explore the country and find a place 
 for his colony. He came to the bay of San 
 Francisco, j^rocured a small boat and exjilored 
 the largest river he could find, and selected the 
 site w here the city of Sacramento now stands. 
 .V short time l)efore we arrived Sutter had 
 bought out the Russian-.Ainerican Fur Com- 
 iKiny at Fort Ri>ss and Bodega on the Pacific. 
 That comjiany had a charter from Spain to 
 take furs, but had no right to the land. The 
 
1 68 
 
 LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 Sutter's fort, (redrawn from a photograi'h of an old print.) 
 
 charter had about expired. Against the pro- 
 test of the Cahfornia authorities they had ex- 
 tended their settlement southward some twenty 
 miles farther than they had any right to, and had 
 occupied the country to, and even beyond, the, 
 bay of Bodega. The time came when the tak- 
 ing of furs was no longer profitable ; the Rus- 
 sians were ordered to vacate and return to 
 Sitka. They wished to sell out all their personal 
 property and whatever remaining right they 
 had to the land. So Sutter bought them out 
 — cattle and horses ; a Httle vessel of about 
 twenty-five tons burden, called a launch ; and 
 other property, including forty odd pieces of 
 old rusty cannon and one or two small brass 
 pieces, with a quantity of old French flint-lock 
 muskets pronounced by Sutter to be of those 
 lost by Bonaparte in 1812 in his disastrous re- 
 treat from Moscow. This ordnance Sutter con- 
 veyed uj) the Sacramento River on the launch 
 to his colony. As soon as the native Cali- 
 fornians heard that he had bought out the Rus- 
 sians and was beginning to fortify himself by 
 taking up the cannon they began to fear him. 
 They were doubtless jealous because Americans 
 and other foreigners had already commenced 
 to make the place their headquarters, and they 
 foresaw that Sutter's fort would be for them, 
 especially for Americans, what it naturally did 
 become in fact, a place of protection and gen- 
 eral rendezvous ; and so they threatened to 
 break it up. Sutter had not as yet actually re- 
 ceived his grant ; he had simply taken prelim- 
 
 inary steps and had obtained permission to 
 settle and proceed to colonize. These threats 
 were made before he had begun the fort, much 
 less built it, and Sutter felt insecure. He had 
 a good many Indians whom he had collected 
 about him, and a few white men (perhai)s fifteen 
 or twenty) and some Sandwich Islanders. 
 When he heard of the coming of our thirty men 
 he inferred at once that we would soon reach 
 him and be an additional protection. With this 
 feeling of security, even before the arrival of 
 our party Sutter was so indiscreet as to write a 
 letter to the governor or to some one in author- 
 ity, saying that he wanted to hear no more 
 threats of dispossession, for he was now able 
 not only to defend himself but to go and 
 chastise them. That letter having been de- 
 spatched to the city of Mexico, the authorities 
 there sent a new governor in 1842 with about 
 six hundred troops to subdue Sutter. But the 
 new governor, Manuel Miclieltorena, was an 
 intelligent man. He knew the history of Cal- 
 ifornia and was aware that nearly all of his 
 predecessors had been expelled by insur- 
 rections of the native Californians. Sutter 
 sent a courier to meet the governor before his 
 arrival at Los Angeles, with a letter in French, 
 conveying his greetings to the governor, ex- 
 pressing a most cordial welcome, and submit- 
 ting cheerfull}' and entirely to his authorit}-. 
 In this way the governor and Sutter became 
 fast friends, and through Sutter the Americans 
 had a friend in Governor Micheltorena. 
 
LIFE IN CA LI FOR XI A FFFORF TI/F GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 169 
 
 The first employment I had in Cahfornia it took a month to make a trip. The fare for 
 was in Sutter's service, about two months after each person was five dollars, including board, 
 our arrival at Marsh's. He engaged me to goto Sutter started many f)ther new enteqirises in 
 Hodega and l-'ort Ross and to stay there until order to find relief from his embarrassments; 
 he (ould finish removing the proj)erty which but, in spite of all he could do, these increased, 
 he had bought from the Russians. I remained Kvery year found him worse and worse off; 
 there fourteen months, until everything was but it was partly his own fault. Me employed 
 removed; then I came uj) into Sacramento men — not because he always needed an<l 
 \'alley and took charge for Sutter of his Hock could profitably employ them, but because in 
 farm (so named from a large Indian village on the kindness of his heart it simi)ly became a 
 the place), remaining there a little more than habit to employ everybody who wanted em- 
 a year — in 1843 and part of 1844. ployment. As long as he had anything he 
 
 .Nearly everybody who came to California trusted any one with everything he wanted — 
 made it a point to reach Sutter's Kort.' Sutter responsible or otherwise, accjuaintances and 
 was one of the most liberal and hospitable strangers alike. Most of the labor was done 
 of men. Kverybody was welcome — one man by Indians, chiefly wild ones, except a few 
 or a hundred, it was all the same. He had from the Missions who spoke Spanish. The 
 peculiar traits: his necessities compelled him wild ones learned Spanish so far as they learned 
 to take all he could buy, 
 
 and he i)aid all he could 1 
 
 pay ; but he fiiiled to keep 
 up with his payments. .\nd 
 so he soon found himself 
 immensely — almost hope- 
 lessly — invulveil in debt. 
 His (lebt to the Russians 
 amounted at first to some- 
 thing near one hundred 
 thousand dollars. Interest 
 increased apace. He had 
 agreed to pay in wheat, 
 but his crops failed. He 
 struggled in every way, 
 sowing large areas to wheat, 
 increasing his cattle and 
 horses, and trying to build 
 a flouring mill. He Vc\)i 
 his launch running to and 
 from the l)ay,carr}'ing down 
 hides, tallow, furs, wheat, 
 etc., returning with lumber 
 .sawed by hand in the redwood groves nearest anything, that being the language of the 
 the bay and other supplies. On an average country, and everybody had to learn some- 
 
 ( 
 
 if 
 
 'i3|B»aMKMB«^ 
 
 2 : •' 
 
 f-' 
 
 Y 
 
 ^•v 
 
 -V^:- 
 
 .Ji- 
 
 SITTEK S KORT AS IT IS NOW. 
 (KKDRAWN FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BV H. S 
 
 REAI S.) 
 
 1 Kvcry year after the arrival of our p.Trly, in 
 1S41, immigrant parties came across the plains to 
 California; except in 1842, wlien they went to Ore- 
 gon, most of tliem coming tlience to California in 
 1843. Ours of 1841 heinc the fir-it, let me add liiat a 
 later party arrived in California in 1841. It was com- 
 IKJsea of about twenty-five persons who arrived at 
 Wcstport, Mo., too late to come with us, and so went 
 with the annual caravan of St. Louis traders to Santa 
 Fe, .nnd thence t'/V/ the Gila River into Southern Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 .Viiion^ the more note<l arrivals on this coast I may 
 nicnlinn : 
 
 1S41. — Commo<lore Wilkes's Exploring Expedition, 
 a party of which came overland from Oregon to t'ali- 
 fornin, under Captain Ringi;old. I think. 
 
 1S42. — ( omnvKlore Thomas ap Catesby Jones, who 
 raised the .\merican flag in Monterey. 
 
 1843. — /'irst. I.. W. Hastings, via Oregon. He 
 was ambitious to make t alifornia a republic and to Ik: 
 its first president, and wrote an iriclescent book to 
 Vou XI. I. — 23. 
 
 induce immigration, — wiiich came in 1846, — but 
 found the .\merican flag flying when he returned with 
 tlic immigration he liad gone to meet. .Also among 
 the noted arrivals in 1S43 was Pierson 15. Reading, an 
 accomplishe<l gentltm.in, the projjrielor of Reading's 
 ranch in Shasta County, and Irom whom Fort Read- 
 ing took iis name. Samuel J. Hensley was also one 
 of the same party. Second. Dr. Sandcls, a very in- 
 telligent man. 
 
 1S44. — First. Frdmont's first arrival (in March); 
 Mr. Charles rreiis-,a scientific man, and Kit Carson 
 with him. .Sftond. The Stevens- lownsend- Murphy 
 |iarty, who brougiit the first wagons into California 
 across the plains. 
 
 1845. — First. James \V. Marshall, who, in 1848, dis- 
 covered the gold. Sffond. Fremont's second arrival, 
 also I last I ■ ' val. 
 
 1846.— ion party, the one Hastings 
 
 went to nicci. 1 iic I'oiiiicr party was among the la.st 
 of these immigrants. 
 
I70 LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 thing of it. The number of men employed by 
 Sutter may be stated at from loo to 500 — 
 the latter number at harvest time. Among them 
 were blacksmiths, carpenters, tanners, gun- 
 smiths, vaqueros, farmers, gardeners, weavers 
 (to weave coarse woolen blankets), hunters. 
 
 corral ; then three or four hundred wild horses 
 were turned in to thresh it, the Indians whoop- 
 ing to make them run faster. Suddenly they 
 would dash in before the band at full speed, 
 when the motion became reversed, with the 
 effect of plowing up the trampled straw to the 
 
 TKiiif i^li, J ^ m I ^ i^Tr /J 
 
 A CALIFORNIA CART. 
 
 sawyers (to saw lumber by hand, a custom 
 known in England), sheep-herders, trappers, 
 and, later, millwrights and a distiller. In a 
 word, Sutter started every business and enter- 
 prise possible. He tried to maintain a sort of 
 military discipline. Cannon were mounted, and 
 pointed in every direction through embrasures 
 in the walls and bastions. The soldiers were 
 Indians, and every evening after coming from 
 work they were drilled under a white officer, 
 generally a German, marching to the music 
 of fife and drum. A sentry was always at the 
 gate, and regular bells called men to and from 
 work. 
 
 Harvesting, with the rude implements, was 
 a scene. Imagine three or four hundred wild 
 Indians in a grain field, armed, some with 
 sickles, some with butcher-knives, some with 
 pieces of hoop iron roughly fashioned into 
 shapes like sickles, but many having only their 
 hands with which to gather by small handfuls 
 the dry and brittle grain ; and as their hands 
 would soon become sore, they resorted to dry 
 willow sticks, which were split to afford a 
 sharper edge with which to sever the straw. 
 But the wildest part was the threshing. The 
 harvest of weeks, sometimes of a month, was 
 piled up in the straw in the form of a huge 
 mound in the middle of a high, strong, round 
 
 very bottom. In an hour the grain would be 
 thoroughly threshed and the dry straw broken 
 almost into chaff. In this manner I have seen 
 two thousand bushels of wheat threshed in 
 a single hour. Next came the winnowing, 
 which would often take another month. It 
 could only be done when the wind was blow- 
 ing, by throwing high into the air shovelfuls 
 of grain, straw, and chaff, the lighter materials 
 being wafted to one side, while the grain, com- 
 paratively clean, would descend and form a 
 heap by itself In this manner all the grain 
 in California was cleaned. At that day no 
 such thing as a fanning mill had ever been 
 brought to this coast. 
 
 The kindness and hospitality of the native 
 Californians have not been overstated. Up to 
 the time the Mexican regime ceased in Cali- 
 fornia they had a custom of never charging 
 for anything ; that is to say, for entertainment 
 
 — food, use of horses, etc. You were sup- 
 posed, even if invited to visit a friend, to 
 bring your blankets with you, and one would 
 be very thoughtless if he traveled and did not 
 take a knife with him to cut his meat. When 
 you had eaten, the invariable custom was to 
 rise, deliver to the woman or hostess the plate 
 on which you had eaten the meat and beans 
 
 — for that was about all they had — and say, 
 
T 
 
 nr.roRF rrrr. corn discovrry. 
 
 '7' 
 
 rounlry, it prevailed in 
 the towns too. There 
 was not a hotel in San 
 Francisco, or Monte- 
 rey, or anywliere in 
 Cahfomia, till 1846, 
 when the Americans 
 took the country. The 
 priests at the Missions 
 were glad to enter- 
 tain strangers without 
 charge. 'I'hey would 
 give you a room in 
 which to sleei),and j>er- 
 haj)S a bedstead with a 
 hide stretched across it, 
 and over that you would 
 spread your blankets. 
 
 At this time there was 
 not in California any 
 vehic le except a rude 
 Calitbrnia cart ; the 
 wheels were without 
 tires, and were made by 
 felling an oak tree and 
 hewing it down till it 
 made a solid wheel 
 nearly a foot thick on 
 the rim and a little 
 larger where the axle 
 went through. The 
 hole for the axle would 
 be eight or nine inches 
 in diameter, but a few 
 years' use would in- 
 crease it to a foot. To 
 make the hole, an 
 auger, gouge, or chisel 
 was sometimes used, 
 but the principal tool 
 was an ax. A small tree 
 reijuircd but little hew- 
 ■ Muc/uis f^racias, Senora" ("Man) thanks, ing and shaping to answer for an axle. These 
 niadame"); and the hostess as invariably re- carts were always drawn by oxen, the yoke 
 {>lied. "■ Bucti prmu-cho" ("May it do you being lashed with rawhide to the horns. To 
 much good " ). The Missions in California in- lubricate the axles they used soap (that is one 
 variably had gartlens with grapes, olives, figs, thing the Mexicanscouldmake),carryingalong 
 pomegranates, pears, and apples, but the for the purpose a big pail of thick .soapsuds 
 
 ranches scarcely ever had any fruit.' When 
 you wanted a horse to ride, you would take it 
 to the next ranch — it might be twenty, thirty, 
 or fifty miles — and turn it out there, and some- 
 time or other in reclaiming his stock the 
 
 which was constantly put in the box or hole ; 
 but ) ou could generally tell when a California 
 cart was coming half a mile away by the 
 s(|ueaking. I have seen the families of the 
 wealthiest people go long distances at the 
 
 owner would get it back. In this way you rate of thirty miles or more a day, visiting in 
 
 might travel from one end of California to the one of the.se clumsy two-wheeled vehicles, 
 
 other. They had a little framework around it made 
 
 The ranch life was not confined to the of round sticks, and a bullock hide was put m 
 
 for a floor or bottom. Sometimes the better class 
 
 1 With the exception of the tuna, or prickly [Krar. y,^^^\,\ have a little calico for curtains and cover, 
 
 these were the only cultivated fruit.s I can recall to ,,,, i 1 • i 1 1 1 • 
 
 minti in California, except oranges. lemons, and limes, ' 'l^T^' ^^ '''^ "" ^"^ '^ ''""t' ^^ » spokecl wheel m 
 
 in a few places. use then. Somebody sent from Boston a wagon 
 
lu'iiiiiiiiif;-* 
 
LIFE IX CAUFORXIA nEFOKF. 77/E (iO/.P DISCOVERY. 
 
 '73 
 
 as a present to the priest in charge of the across the plains with the express purpose of 
 
 Mission of San Jose, but as soon as summer finding gold. When he got into the Rocky 
 
 ( ame tlie woodwork shrunk, the tires came Mountains, as I was told by his friend Dr. 
 
 off, and it all fell to pieces. There was no one 'I'ownsend, .Stevens said, "We are in a gold 
 
 in California to set tires. When (lovernor .Mi- country." One evening (when they camped for 
 
 cheltorena was sent from Mexico to California the night) he went into a gulch, took some 
 
 MUNll.Nb A KLMAWAV SAILuK. 
 
 he brought with him an ambulance, not much 
 better than a common spring wagon, such as 
 a marketman would now use with one horse. 
 It had shafts, but in California at that time 
 there was no horse broken to work in them, nor 
 was there such a thing known as a harness ; so 
 the governor had two mounted vaqueros to 
 ])ull it, their reatas being fastened to the shafts 
 and to the pf)mmcls of their saddles. The first 
 wagons brought into California came across 
 the plains in 1844 with the Townsend or Ste- 
 vens i)arty. They were left in the mountains 
 and lay buried under the snow till the fol- 
 lowing spring, when Moses Schallenberger. 
 I'lisha Stevens (who was the captain of the 
 party), and others went up and brought some 
 of the wagons down into the Sa< ramento Val- 
 ley. No other wagons had ever before reached 
 California across the plains.' 
 
 I'.lisha Stevens was from (ieorgia and had 
 there worked in the gold mines. He started 
 
 ' Mr. Sch.illenl>ergcr still lives at San Jose. lie re- 
 !iiainc<l ,1 con>ii(lcr.nt>Ic part of the winter alone with 
 the wagons, wiiich were buried under thesn<iw. Wlien 
 the last twi) men m.ide a desperate cflTorl t<i esca]>c 
 over the niountains into California, Schallenberger 
 tried to go with them, but was unable to bear the 
 
 gravel and washed it and got the color of gold, 
 thus unmistakably showing, as he afterwards 
 dill in Lower California, that he had consider- 
 able knowledge of gold mining. But the strange 
 thing is, that afterwards, w hen he passed up 
 and down several times over the country be- 
 tween Hear and Vuba rivers, as he did with the 
 party in the spring of 1845 to bring down their 
 wagons, he should have seen no signs of gold 
 where subsequently the whole country was 
 found to contain it. 
 
 The early foreign residents of (. alilomia 
 were largely runaway sailors. .Many if not 
 most would change their names. For instance, 
 Gilroy's ranch, w here the town of (iilroy is now- 
 located, was owned by an oltl resident under 
 the assumeil ajipellation of Gilroy. Of course 
 vessels touching upon this coast were liable, 
 as they were ever)-w here, to lose men by deser- 
 tion, especially if the men were maltreated. 
 Such things have been so common that it is 
 
 fatigue, and so returned about fifteen miles to the 
 
 cabin thev h.id left near Ponner I-ake i- after- 
 
 ward callc"l>, where he rem.nincd. i I with 
 
 starvation, till one of the |>arty returned from the Sac- 
 ranieiiii) WilUv am! rescued him. 
 
174 
 
 LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 had cause for so doing. To be known as a 
 runaway sailor was no stain upon a man's 
 character. It was no uncommon thing, after 
 
 -e^ 
 
 not difficult to believe that those who left their my arrival here, for sailors to be skulking and 
 vessels in early days on this then distant coast hiding about from ranch to ranch till the 
 
 vessel they had left should leave the coast. 
 At Amador's ranch, before mentioned, on my 
 first arrival here, I met a sailor boy, named 
 Harrison Pierce, of eighteen or twenty years, 
 who was concealing himself till his vessel 
 should go to sea. He managed to escape re- 
 capture and so remained in the country. He 
 was one of the men who went with me from 
 Marsh's ranch to Sutter's. Californians would 
 catch and return sailors to get the reward which, 
 I believe, captains of vessels invariably offered. 
 After the vessels had sailed and there was no 
 chance of the reward the native Californians 
 gave the fugitives no further trouble. 
 
 At that time the only trade, foreign or do- 
 mestic, was in hides, tallow, and furs ; but 
 mostly hides. With few exceptions the vessels 
 that visited the coast were from Boston, fitted 
 out by Hooper to go there and trade for hides. ^ 
 Occasionally vessels would put in for water or 
 in distress, San Francisco was the principal 
 harbor ; the next was Monterey. There was an 
 anchorage off San Luis Obispo ; the next was 
 Santa Barbara, the next San Buenaventura, 
 then San Pedro, and lastly San Diego. (See 
 map.) The hides were generally collected and 
 brought to San Diego and there salted, staked 
 out to dry, and folded so that they would 
 lie compactly in the ship, 
 and thence were shipped 
 to Boston. Goods were prin- 
 cipally sold on board the 
 vessels : there were very few 
 stores on land; that of 
 Thoinas O. Larkin at Mon- 
 terey was the principal one. 
 The entrance of a vessel 
 into harbor or roadstead 
 was a signal to all the 
 ranchers to come in their 
 little boats and launches 
 laden with hides to trade for 
 goods. Thus vessels went 
 from port to port, remain- 
 few or many days ac- 
 to the amount of 
 trade. When the people 
 stopped bringing hides, a 
 vessel would leave.^ 
 
 of the bay on which it is situated. With the ex- 
 ception of the Presidio and the Aduana (custom-house), 
 all the buildings could be counted on the fingers and 
 thumbs of one's hands. The most pretentious was a 
 frame building erected by Jacob P. Leese, but then 
 owned and occupied by the Hudson Bay Company, of 
 which a Mr. Ray was agent. The others belonged to 
 Captain Hinckley, Nathan Spear, Captain John J. 
 Vioget, a Mr. Fuller, "Davis the carpenter," and a 
 few others. 
 
 Monterey, when I first saw it (in 1844), had possi- 
 bly 200 people, besides the troops, who numbered 
 
 mg 
 cording 
 
 TWO PIKE COUNTY ARRIVALS. 
 
 1 See Dana's " Two Years before the Mast " for a 
 description of the California coast at this period. 
 
 2 My first visit to the bay of San Francisco was in 
 the first week of January, 1842. I had never before 
 seen salt water. The town was called Yerba Buena, 
 for the peppermint which was plentiful around some 
 springs, located probably a little south of the junction 
 of Pine and Sansome streets. Afterward — in 1847 
 — when through the immigration of 1846 across the 
 plains, and through arrivals around Cape Horn, the 
 place had become a village of some importance, the 
 citizens changed the name to San Francisco, the name 
 
LIFE IX C A LI FOR XI. I FFFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. . 
 
 / ,> 
 
 I have said that there was no regular jjIin - biniling it in a poultice of mud, and it grew 
 
 sician in California. Later, in 1843, in a com- on again. The new governor, Micheltorena, 
 
 pany that came from ( )regon, was one Joe employed him as surgeon. Meeks hafl a way 
 
 Meeks, a noted character in the Rocky Moun- of looking and acting very wise, ami of being 
 
 tains. On the way he .said, "Hoys, when I reticent when people talked about things which 
 
 «^ 
 
 <^^^^:**^^^^^'. "^ ' ■ ' 
 
 rirX 
 
 
 !^^.-r-r:- 
 
 
 ^s 
 
 THE FIRST CALIFOKN-IA JAIL, MONTBREV. 
 
 get down to California among the Grea.sers I 
 am going to palm myself oft" as a doctor " ; and 
 from that time they dubbed him Dr. Meeks. 
 He couUl neither read nor write. As soon as 
 the Califomians heard of his arrival at Mon- 
 terey they began to come to him with their 
 difterent ailments. His first profe.ssional .ser- 
 vice was to a boy who had a toe cut oft'. 
 Meeks, happening to be near, stuck the toe on. 
 
 he did not understand. One day he went into 
 a little shop kept by a man known as Dr. 
 Stokes, who had been a kind of hos])itaI stew- 
 ard on boartl shi]), and who had brought ashore 
 one of tho.se little medicine chests that were 
 usually taken to sea, with apothecar)* scales, 
 and a pamphlet giving a short synopsis of dis- 
 ea.ses and a table of weights and medicines, so 
 that almost anybody could administer relief to 
 
 about 500. The principal foreigners living there then 
 were : rhoni.n>^(1. 1.arkin, D.ivid Spcncc.W. K. I'. H.-irt- 
 nell, I.aincs \\atson, Cliarlc-> Walter, .\. G. Toonics, R. 
 II.Tliome>.T.nll.ot II.Grccn(raulGe(I(Ies).NV. Hickcy, 
 lames McKinky, Milton Liltle.and Dr. J.imes Stokes. 
 The jirincipal natives or Mexicans were Governor 
 Micheltorcn;!, Manuel Jimcno, Jose ("astro, fuan Mala- 
 rinc, Franciscii.\rcc, DonJosC'AbrcLjo. I^nrkin received 
 his commission as Anicrican consul for C"alifi>rnia, at 
 M.'i/atlan, in 1844. (In his return to Monterey the 
 wom.in who washed his clothes took the small-pox. 
 1 Jirkin's whole family had it ; it spread, and the nuin- 
 Ikt of deaths was fearful, amounting to over cightv. 
 
 When I first saw Santa Harhara, February 5, 1845, 
 the old Mission buildings were the principal ones. 
 The town — probably h.alf a mile to the cast — con- 
 tained jiossibly one hundred persons, among whom 1 
 recall Captain Wilson, Dr. Nicholas Den, Captain 
 .Scott, Mr. .'^parks, Nilnrver; and of natives, Pablo De 
 la Guerra, Carlos .Antonio, Carillo, and others. 
 
 Los .\ngeles I first saw in March, 1845. It then 
 had probably two hundred and fifty people, of whom I 
 recall Don Abel Stearns, John Temple, Captain .Alex- 
 ander Hell, William Widfskill, Lemuel Carpenlci, 
 David W. Alexander; aKo of .Mexicans, I'io Pico 
 (governor), Don Juan Handini, and others. On ranches 
 in the vicinity lived William Workman, H. D. Wilson, 
 and John Kolaml. At ."^an I'cdro, Captain Johnson. 
 At Kancho Chino, Is.iac Williams. .At San Juan 
 C.ij>istrai)o, Don Juan Foster. 
 
 1 went to San Diego, July, 1846, with Fremont's 
 battalion, on the sloop of war Cyitiir, Captain Du|x)nt 
 (afterwards .Admiral). The jiopulation w.as alniut one 
 hundre<l, amonj^ wliom I recall t'aptain Henry D. 
 Filih. I Ion Mi_'ii<l de I'edrorcna, Don S.iniiago .Ar- 
 ^■. I'amily, J. M. Kst 
 
 S.. ; the revolt of - .1 ; ■, 
 
 San Diego was the jKiint from which, in January, 
 1847, the final conquest of California was made. 
 
176 
 
 LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 sick sailors. Meeks went to him and said, " Doc- 
 tor, I want you to put me up some powders." So 
 Stokes went behind his table and got out his 
 scales and medicines, and asked, " What kind 
 of powders ? " " Just common powders — pa- 
 tient not very sick." " If you will tell me what 
 kind of powders, Dr. Meeks — " " Oh, just com- 
 mon powders." That is all he would say. Dr. 
 Stokes told about town that Meeks knew noth- 
 ing about medicine, but people thought that 
 perhaps Meeks had given the prescription in 
 Latin and that Dr. Stokes could not read it. 
 But Meeks's reign was to have an end. An 
 American man-of-war came into the harbor. 
 Thomas O. Larkin was then the United States 
 consul at Monterey, and the commander and 
 all his officers went up to Larkin's store, among 
 them the surgeon, who was introduced to Dr. 
 Meeks. The conversation turning vipon the 
 diseases incident to the country, Meeks became 
 reticent, saying merely that he was going out 
 of practice and intended to leave the country, 
 because he could not get medicines. The sur- 
 geon expressed much sympathy and said, 
 " Dr. Meeks, if you will make me out a list I 
 will very cheerfully divide with you such medi- 
 cines as I can spare." Meeks did not know 
 the names of three kinds of medicine, and tried 
 evasion, but the surgeon cornered him and 
 put the question so direct that he had to an- 
 swer. He asked him what medicine he needed 
 most. Finally Meeks said he wanted some 
 " draps," and that was all that could be got 
 out of him. When the story came out his ca- 
 reer as a doctor was at an end, and he soon 
 after left the country. 
 
 In 1 84 1 there was likewise no lawyer in 
 CaHfomia. In 1843 a lawyer named Hast- 
 ings arrived via Oregon. He was an ambi- 
 tious man, and desired to wrest the country from 
 Mexico and make it a repubhc. He disclosed 
 his plan to a man who revealed it to me. His 
 scheme was to go down to Mexico and make 
 friends of the Mexican authorities, if pos- 
 sible get a grant of land, and then go into 
 Texas, consult President Houston, and go East 
 and write a book, praising the country to the 
 skies, which he did, with little regard to accu- 
 racy. His object was to start a large immi- 
 gration, and in this he succeeded. The book 
 was published in 1845, and undoubtedly largely 
 induced what was called the " great immi- 
 gration " of 1846 across the plains, consisting 
 of about six hundred. Hastings returned to 
 California in the autumn of 1845, preparatory 
 to taking steps to declare the country inde- 
 pendent and to establish a republic and make 
 
 himself president. In 1846 he went back to 
 meet the immigration and to perfect his plans 
 so that the emigrants would know exactly where 
 to go and what to do. But in 1846 the Mex- 
 ican war intervened, and while Hastings was 
 gone to meet the immigration California was 
 taken possession of by the United States. 
 These doubtless were the first plans ever con- 
 ceived for the independence of California. 
 Hastings knew there were not enough Amer- 
 icans and foreigners yet in California to do 
 anything. He labored hard to get money to 
 publish his book, and went about lecturing 
 on temperance in Ohio, where he became 
 intimate with a fellow by the name of McDon- 
 ald, who was acting the Methodist preacher 
 and pretending, with considerable success, to 
 raise funds for missionary purposes. At last 
 they separated, McDonald preceding Hast- 
 ings to San Francisco, where he became bar- 
 tender for a man named Vioget, who owned 
 a saloon and a billiard table — the first, I think, 
 on the Pacific coast. Hastings returned later, 
 and, reaching San Francisco in a cold rain, 
 went up to Vioget's and called for brandy. 
 He poured out a glassful and was about to 
 drink it, when McDonald, recognizing him, 
 leaned over the bar, extended his hand, and 
 said, " My good temperance friend, how are 
 you ? " Hastings in great surprise looked him 
 in the eyes, recognized him, and said, "My 
 dear Methodist brother, how do you do ? " 
 
 It is not generally known that in 1841 — the 
 year I reached California — gold was discov- 
 ered in what is now a part of Los Angeles 
 County. The yield was not rich ; indeed, it was 
 so small that it made no stir. The discoverer 
 was an old Canadian Frenchman by the name 
 of Baptiste Ruelle, who had been a trapper 
 with the Hudson Bay Company, and, as was 
 not an infrequent case with those trappers, had 
 drifted down into New Mexico, where he had 
 worked in placer mines. The mines discovered 
 by Ruelle in California attracted a few New 
 Mexicans, by whom they were worked for sev- 
 eral years. But as they proved too poor, Ruelle 
 himself came up into the Sacramento Valley, 
 five hundred miles away, and engaged to work 
 for Sutter when I was in Sutter's service. ^ 
 Now it so happened that almost every year a 
 party of a dozen men or more would come 
 from or return to Oregon. Of such parties 
 some — perhaps most of them — would be 
 Canadian French, who had trapped all over 
 the country , and these were generally the guides. 
 In 1S43 it was known to every one that such 
 a party was getting ready to go to Oregon. 
 
 1 New Mexican miners invariably carried their gold four ounces, and, being translucent, they were grad- 
 
 (which was generally small, and small in quantity as uated so as to see at any time the quantity in them, 
 
 well) in a large quill — that of a vulture or turkey buz- The gold was kept in by a stopper. Ruelle had such 
 
 zard. Sometimes these quills would hold three or a quill, which appeared to have been carried for years. 
 
LIFE IN CALU'ORXIA BEI'ORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 
 .^' 
 
 
 -""> i?i^W^' 
 
 :'^:'ri 
 
 
 
 •^ 
 
 
 CASON of THF. AMERICAN RIVEK. 
 
 
 Baptiste Ruelle had been in Sutter's employ 
 several months, when one day he came to 
 Sutter, showed him a few small ])articles of 
 gold, and said he had found them on the Ameri- 
 can River, and he wanted to go far into the 
 mountains on that stream to prospect for gold. 
 For this jnirpose he desired two mules loaded 
 with provisions, and he selected two notedly 
 stupid Indian boys whom he wanted to go 
 into the mountains with him, saying he would 
 have no others. Of course he did not get the 
 outfit. Sutter and I talked about it and queried. 
 What does he want with so much provision 
 — the American River being only a mile and 
 the mountains only twenty miles distant ? And 
 why does he want those two stupid boys, since 
 he might be attacked by the Indians? Our 
 conclu.sion was that he really wanted the out- 
 fit so that he could join the i)arty and go to 
 Oregon and remain. Such I believe was Ruelle's 
 intention; though in 1848, after James W. 
 Marshall had discovered the gold at Coloma, 
 Kuellc, who was one of the first to go there 
 and mine, still protested that he had dis- 
 covered gokl on the American River in 1843, 
 The only thing that I can recall to lend the 
 least plausibility to Ruelle's pretensions would 
 be that, so far as I know, he never, after that 
 one time, manifested any desire to go to Oregon, 
 and remained in California till he died. Hut 
 1 should ad<l. neither did he ever show any 
 longing again to go into the mountains to look 
 for gold during the subsequent years he re- 
 mained with Sutter, even to the time of Mar- 
 shall's discovery. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1844, a Mexican 
 working under me at the Hock Farm for 
 Vol. XLl.— 24. 
 
 us THK Sl'MMIT OF THK l>tk.KKA. 
 
 Sutter came to me and told me there was goKl 
 in the Sierra Nevada. His name was I'ablo 
 Outierrez. The discovery by Marshall, it will 
 be rememl)ered, was in January, 1848. Pablo 
 told me this at a time when I was calling him 
 to account because he hatl absented himself 
 the day before without permission. I was giv- 
 ing him a lecture in Spanish, which I could 
 speak (juite well in those days. Like many 
 Mexicans, he had an Indian wife ; some time 
 before, he hail been in the mountains and 
 had bought a squaw. She had run away from 
 
178 
 
 LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 him, and he had gone to find and bring her 
 back. And it was while he was on this trip, he 
 said, that he had seen signs of gold. After my 
 lecture he said, " Senor, I have made an im- 
 portant discovery ; there surely is gold on Bear 
 River in the mountains." This was in March, 
 1844. A few days afterward I arranged to go 
 with him up on Bear River. We went five or six 
 miles into themountains, when he showed me the 
 signs and the place where he thought the gold 
 was. " Well," I said, " can you not find some ? " 
 No, he said, because he must have a ba/ea. 
 
 faithfully kept his promise. It would have 
 taken us a year or two to get money enough 
 to go. In those days there were every year 
 four or five arrivals, sometimes six, of vessels 
 laden with goods from Boston to trade for hides 
 in California. These vessels brought around 
 all classes of goods needed by the Mexican 
 people. It would have required about six 
 months each way, five months being a quick 
 passage. But, as will be seen, our plans were 
 interrupted. In the autumn of that year, 1844, 
 a revolt took place. The native chiefs of Cali- 
 
 
 THE ANCHORAGE OF MONTEREY FROM THE OLD BURIAL-GROUND. 
 
 He talked so much about the " batea " that I 
 concluded it must be a complicated machine. 
 " Can't Mr. Keiser, our saddle-tree maker, 
 make the batea ? " I asked. "Oh, no." I did 
 not then know that a batea is nothing more 
 nor less than a wooden bowl which the Mexi- 
 cans use for washing gold. I said, " Pablo, 
 where can you get it ? " He said, " Down in 
 Mexico." I said, " I will help pay your ex- 
 penses if you will go down and get one," which 
 he promised to do. I said, " Pablo, say nothing 
 to anybody else about this gold discovery, and 
 we willgetthebateaandfind the gold." Astime 
 passed I was afraid to let him go to Mexico, 
 lest when he got among his relatives he might 
 be induced to stay and not come back, so I 
 made a suggestion to him. I said, " Pablo, let 
 us save our earnings and get on a vessel and 
 go around to Boston, and there get the batea ; 
 I can interpret for you, and the Yankees are 
 very ingenious and can make anything." The 
 idea pleased him, and he promised to go as soon 
 as we could save enough to pay our expenses. 
 He was to keep it a secret, and I believe he 
 
 fornia, Jose Castro and ex-Governor Alvarado, 
 succeeded in raising an insurrection against 
 the Mexican governor, Micheltorena, to expel 
 him from the country. They accused him of 
 being friendly to Americans and of giving them 
 too much land. The truth was, he had simply 
 shown impartiality. When Americans had 
 been here long enough, had conducted them- 
 selves properly, and had complied with the 
 colonization laws of Mexico, he had given them 
 lands as readily as to native-born citizens. He 
 was a fair-minded man and an intelligent and 
 good governor, and wished to develop the 
 country. His friendship for Americans was a 
 mere pretext ; for his predecessor, Alvarado, and 
 his successor, Pio Pico, also granted lands freely 
 to foreigners, and among them to Americans. 
 The real cause of the insurrection against 
 Micheltorena, however, was that the native 
 chiefs had become hungry to get hold again 
 of the revenues. The feeling against Ameri- 
 cans was easily aroused and became their main 
 excuse. The English and French influence, 
 so far as felt, evidently leaned towards the side 
 
LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE HIE GOLD DISCOVERY. 179 
 
 of the Californians. It was not o|)cn but it was Sinaloa in Mexico, and sympathizcfl witli the 
 
 felt, and not a tew expressed the liope that Mexican governor and with us. Sutter sent 
 
 I'-ngland or France would some day seize and him with desfjatches to the governor, staling 
 
 hold falifornia. I believe the (iachu|)ines that we were organi/inj^ and preparing to join 
 
 — natives of Spain, of whom there were a few him. Pablo returned, and was sent again to 
 
 — did not participate in the feeling against tell the governor that we were on the march 
 the Americans, though few did much, if any- t(j join him at Monterey. This time he was 
 thing, to allay it. In October Sutter went from taken prisoner with our despatches and was 
 Sacramento to Monterey, the capital, to see hanged to a tree, somewhere near the present 
 the governor. I went with him. On our way town of (Jilroy. That of course put an end to 
 thither, at San Jose, we heard the first mutter- our gold «liscovery ; otherwise Pablo (iutierre/ 
 ings of the insurrection. We hastened to might have been llie discoverer iiv t( .id of 
 Monterey, and were the first to communicate Marshall. > 
 
 the fact to the governor. Sutter, alarmed, took Put I still had it in my mind to try to fmd 
 
 the first opportunity to get away by water, gold; so early in the spring of 1845 I made it 
 
 There were in those days no mail routes, no a point to visit the mines in the south dis- 
 
 public conveyances of any kind, no regular covered by Ruelle in 1841. They were in the 
 
 line of travel, no public highways. Hut a ves- mountains about twenty miles north or north- 
 
 sel happened to touch at Monterey, anil Sut- east of the Mission of San Fernando, or say 
 
 ter took passage to the bay of San Francisco, fifty miles from Los Angeles. I wanted to see 
 
 and thence by his own launch reached home, the Mexicans working there, and to gain what 
 
 In a few days the first blow was struck, the knowledge I could of gold digging. Dr. John 
 
 insurgents taking all the horses belonging to Town.send went with me. Pablo's confidence 
 
 the government at Monterey, setting the gov- that there was gold on Bear River was fresh 
 
 emor and all his troops on foot. He raised a in my mind ; and I hoped the same year 
 
 few horse as best he could and pursued them, to find time to return there and explore, 
 
 but could not overtake them on foot. However, and if pos.sible find gold in the Sierra Nevada. 
 
 I understood that a sort of j)arley took place But I had no time that busy year to carry 
 
 at or near San Jose}, but no battle, surrender, out my purpo.se. The Mcxican.s' slow and 
 
 or settlement. .Meanwhile, having started to inefficient manner of working the mine was 
 
 return by land to Sutter's Fort, two hundred most discouraging. When I returned to Sut- 
 
 miles di.stant, I met the governor returning to ter's Fort the same spring Sutter <lesired me 
 
 Monterey. He stopped his forces and talked to engage with him for a year as bookkeeper, 
 
 with me half an hour and confitled to me his which meant his general business man as 
 
 plans. He desired me to beg the Americans to well. His financial matters being in a bad 
 
 be loyal to Mexico ; to assure them that he was way, I consented. I had a great deal to 
 
 their friend, and in due time would give them do besides keeping the books. Among other 
 
 all the lands to which they were entitled. He undertakings we sent men southeast in the 
 
 sent particularly friendly word to Sutter. Then vSierra Nevada about forty miles from the fort 
 
 I went on to the Mission of San Jose and there to saw lumber with a whipsaw. Two men 
 
 fell in with the insurgents, who had made that would .saw of good timber about one hundred 
 
 place their head<|uarters ; I staid all night, or one hundred and twenty-five feet a day. 
 
 and the leaders, Castro and .\lvarado, treated Early in July I framed an excuse to go into 
 
 me like a prince. The two insurgents pro- the mountains to give the men some special 
 
 tested their friendship for the Americans, and directions about lumber needed at the fort, 
 
 sent a reiiuest to Sutter to support them. On The day was one of the hottest I had ever 
 
 my arrival at the fort the situation was fully experienced. No place looked fiivorable for 
 
 considered, and all, with a single exception, a gold di.scovery. I even attempted to descend 
 
 concluded to sup|)ort Micheltorena. He had into a deej) gorge through which meandered 
 
 been our friend ; he had granted us land ; he a small stream, but gave it up on account of 
 
 promised, and we felt that we could rely upon, the brush and the heat. My search was fruit- 
 
 his continued friendshij) ; and we felt, indeed less. The place where Marshall discovered 
 
 we knew, we could not repose the same con- gold in 1848 was about forty miles to the 
 
 fidence in the native Calif'ornians. This man north of the saw-pits at this place. The next 
 
 Pablo Ciutierrez, who had told me about the spring, 1849, I joined a party to go to the 
 
 gold in the Siena Nevada, was a native of mines on and south of the Cosumne and 
 
 • The insurrection cn<ictl in the cuipitul.ition — I commander-in-chief of the milit.nry. Tlicy rcij^ntnl 
 
 might call it cxnuUion — of Micheltorena. The causes hut one year, and then can>e the Mexican war. Castro 
 
 which led to this result were various, some of them in- was made governor of I^wer California, and died 
 
 famous. I'io Pico, being the oldest mcml)cr of the there. Pio I'ico was not a vindictive man; he was 
 
 Departmental .-Xsscnjbly, liccame governor, and Castro a mild governor, and still lives at Los .\ngc1es. 
 
LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 '--> -.i- - , r/"-^^^ '""i ^-^^ 
 
 THE OLD CUARTEL AT MONTEREY. 
 
 Mokelumne rivers. The first day we reached 
 a trading post — Digg's, I think, was the name. 
 Several traders had there pitched their tents to 
 sell goods. One of them was Tom Fallon, 
 whom I knew. This post was within a few 
 miles of where Sutter's men sawed the lumber 
 in 1845. I asked Fallon if he had ever seen 
 the old saw-pits where Sicard and Dupas had 
 worked in 1845. He said he had, and knew 
 the place well. Then I told him how I had 
 attempted that year to descend into the deep 
 gorge to the south of it to look for gold. 
 
 " My stars ! " he said. " Why, that gulch 
 down there was one of the richest placers that 
 have ever been found in this country " ; and 
 he told me of men who had taken out a pint 
 cupful of nuggets before breakfast. 
 
 Fremont's first visit to California was in the 
 month of March, 1844. He came via eastern 
 Oregon, traveling south and passing east of 
 the Sierra Nevada, and crossed the chain 
 about opposite the bay of San Francisco, 
 at the head of the American River, and de- 
 scended into the Sacramento Valley to Sut- 
 ter's Fort. It was there I first met him. He 
 staid but a short time, three or four weeks 
 perhaps, to refit with fresh mules and horses 
 and such provisions as he could obtain, and 
 then set out on his return to the United States. 
 Coloma, where Marshall afterward discovered 
 gold, was on one of the branches of the Amer- 
 ican River. Fremont probably came down that 
 very stream. How strange that he and his 
 scientific corps did not discover signs of gold, 
 as Commodore Wilkes's party had done when 
 coming overland from Oregon in 1841 ! One 
 morning at the breakfast table at Sutter's, Fre- 
 mont was urged to remain a while and go to 
 the coast, and among other things which it 
 
 would be of interest for him to see was men- 
 tioned a very large redwood tree {Sequoia 
 scmpervirens) near Santa Cruz, or rather a 
 cluster of trees, forming apparently a single 
 trunk, which was said to be seventy-two feet 
 in circumference. I then told Fremont of the 
 big tree I had seen in the Sierra Nevada 
 in October, 1841, which I afterwards verified 
 to be one of the fallen big trees of the Cala- 
 veras Grove. I therefore believe myself to have 
 been the first white man to see the mammoth 
 trees of California. The Sequoias are found no- 
 where except in California. The redwood that 
 I speak of is the Sequoia seiupervirejis^ and is 
 confined to the sea-coast and the west side of 
 the Coast Range Mountains. The Sequoia gi- 
 gantea, or mammoth tree, is found only on the 
 western slope of the Sierra Nevada — nowhere 
 farther north than latitude 38° 30'. 
 
 Sutter's Fort was an important point from 
 the very beginning of the colony. The building 
 of the fort and all subsequent immigrations 
 added to its importance, for that was the first 
 point of destination to those who came by 
 way of Oregon or direct across the plains. 
 The fort was begun in 1842 and finished in 
 1844. There was no town till after the gold 
 discovery in 1848, when it became the bus- 
 tling, buzzing center for merchants, traders, 
 miners, etc., and every available room was in 
 demand. In 1849 Sacramento City was laid 
 ofi" on the river two miles west of the fort, and 
 the town grew up there at once into a city. 
 The first town was laid oft" by Hastings and 
 myself in the month of January, 1846, about 
 three or four miles below the mouth of the 
 American River, and called Sutterville. But 
 first the Mexican war, then the lull which 
 always follows excitement, and then the rush 
 
IJFF. IX CALIFORXIA BEFORE THE GO/./) /)/SCOl'E/x'y. i8i 
 
 and roar of the t;okl discovery, prevented its 
 building up till it was too late. Attempts were 
 several times made to revive Sutterville. but 
 Sacramento City had become too strong to be 
 removed. Sutter always called his colony and 
 fort " New Helvetia," in spite of which the 
 name mostly used by others, before the Mexi- 
 can war, was Sutter's Fort, or Sacramento, 
 anil later Sacramento altogether. 
 
 Sutter's m:my enterprises continued to create 
 a growing demand for lumber. Kvery year, 
 and sometimes more than once, he sent parties 
 into the mountains to explore for an available 
 site to build a sawmill on the Sacramento 
 River or some of its tributaries, by which 
 the lumber could be rafted down to the fort. 
 There was no want of timber or of water power 
 in the mountains, but the canon features 
 of the streams rendered rafting impractica- 
 ble. The year after the war ^ 184.7) i^utter's 
 needs for lumber were even greater than ever, 
 although his embarrassments had increased 
 and his ability to undertake new enterprises 
 became less and less. Yet, never discouraged, 
 nothing daunted, another hunt must be made 
 for a sawmill site. This time Marshall hap- 
 j)encd to be the man chosen by Sutter to search 
 the mountains. He was gone about a month, 
 and returned with a most favorable 
 rei)ort. 
 
 James W . Marsiiall went across the 
 plains to Oregon in 1S44, and thence 
 came to California the next year. 
 He was a wheelwright by trade, but, 
 being very ingenious, he couUl turn 
 his hand to almost anything. So he 
 acted as carpenter for Sutter, and 
 did many other things, among which 
 I may mention making wheels for 
 spinning wool, and looms, reeds, and 
 shuttles for weaving yarn into coarse 
 blankets for the Indians, who did the 
 carding, s|)inning, weaving, and all 
 other labor. In 1846 Marshall 
 went through the war to its 
 close as a private. Besides 
 his ingenuity as a me- 
 chanic, he had most 
 singular traits. Al- 
 most every one pro- 
 nounced him half 
 crazy or hare- 
 brained. He was 
 I crtainlyecccntric, 
 and perliaps some- 
 what flighty. His 
 insanity, however, 
 if he had any. was 
 of a harmless kind ; 
 he was neither vi- 
 cious nor quarrel- 
 
 some. He had great, almost overweening, 
 confidence in his ability to do anything as 
 a mechanic, i wrote the contract between 
 .Sutter and him to build the mill. .Sutter was to 
 furnish the means; Marshall was to build and 
 run the mill, and have a share of the lumber for 
 his compensation. His idea was to haul the 
 lumber part way and raft it down the .American 
 River to Sacramento, and thence, his part of it. 
 down theSacramentoRiver,an(l through Sui>un 
 and San I'ablo bays t(j San Francisco for a 
 market. Marshall's mind, in .some respects at 
 least, must have been unbalancefl. It is hard 
 to conceive how any sane man could have 
 been so wide of the mark, or how any one 
 could have selected such a site for a saw- 
 mill under the circumstances. Surely no other 
 man than Marshall ever entertained so wild a 
 scheme as that of rafting sawed lumber down 
 the canons of the American River, and no 
 other man than Sutter would have been so 
 confiding and credulous as to patronize him. 
 It is proper to say that, under great difficulties, 
 enhanced by winter rains, Marshall succeeded 
 in building the mill — a very good one. too, 
 of the kind. It had improvements which I 
 had never seen in sawmills, and I had had 
 considerable experience in Ohio. But the 
 
 ■-^: 
 
 "--'^->^- 
 
 /^^»5^: 
 
 r 
 
 -^^:6y'\^ 
 
 A SrANISH-CAUPORNIAN TVfK. 
 
l82 
 
 LIFE IN CALIFORNIA BEFORE THE GOLD DISCOVERY. 
 
 mill would not run because the wheel was 
 placed too low. It was an old-fashioned 
 flutter wheel that propelled an upright saw. 
 The gravelly bar below the mill backed the 
 water up, and submerged and stopped the 
 wheel. The remedy was to dig a channel or 
 tail-race through the bar below to conduct 
 away the water. The wild Indians of the 
 mountains were employed to do the digging. 
 Once through the bar there would be plenty 
 of fall. The digging was hard and took some 
 weeks. As soon as the water began to run 
 through the tail-race the wheel was blocked, 
 the gate raised, and the water permitted to 
 gush through all night. It was Marshall's 
 custom to examine the race while the water 
 was running through in the morning, so as 
 to direct the Indians where to deepen it, and 
 then shut off the water for them to work 
 during the day. The water was clear as 
 crystal, and the current was swift enough to 
 sweep away the sand and lighter materials. 
 Marshall made these examinations early in 
 the morning while the Indians were getting 
 their breakfast. It was on one of these occa- 
 sions, in the clear shallow water, that he saw 
 something bright and yellow. He picked it up — 
 it was a piece of gold ! The world has seen and 
 felt the result. The mill sawed little or no lum- 
 
 BULL AND BEAR FIGHT. 
 
 ber ; as a lumber enterprise the project was a 
 failure, but as a gold discovery it was a grand 
 success. 
 
 There was no excitement at first, nor for three 
 or four months — because the mine was not 
 known to be rich, or to exist anywhere except 
 at the sawmill, or to be available to any one 
 except Sutter, to whom every one conceded 
 that it belonged. Time does not permit me 
 to relate how I carried the news of the dis- 
 
 covery to San Francisco ; how the same year 
 I discovered gold on Feather River and 
 worked it ; how I made the first weights and 
 scales to weigh the first gold for Sam Bran- 
 nan ; how the richness of the mines became 
 known by the Mormons who were employed 
 by Sutter to work at the sawmill, working 
 about on Sundays and finding it in the crev- 
 ices along the stream and taking it to Bran- 
 nan's store at the fort, and how Brannan kept 
 the gold a secret as long as he could till the 
 excitement burst out all at once like wildfire. 
 Among the notable arrivals at Sutter's Fort 
 should be mentioned that of Castro and Castil- 
 lero, in the fall of 1845. The latter had been 
 before in California, sent, as he had been this 
 time, as a peace commissioner from Mexico. 
 Castro was so jealous that it was almost im- 
 possible for Sutter to have anything like a pri- 
 vate interview with him. Sutter, however, was 
 given to understand that, as he had stood 
 friendly to Governor Micheltorena on the side 
 of Mexico in the late troubles, he might rely on 
 the friendship of Mexico, to which he was en- 
 joined to continue faithful in all emergencies. 
 Within a week Castillero was shown at San 
 Jose a singular heavy reddish rock, which 
 had long been known to the Indians, who 
 rubbed it on their hands and faces to paint 
 them. The Californians had often 
 tried to smelt this rock in a black- 
 smith's fire, thinking it to be silver 
 or some other precious metal. But 
 g;- Castillero, who was an intelligent 
 
 "^ man and a native of Spain, at once 
 
 •^ recognized it as quicksilver, and noted 
 
 its resemblance to the cinnabar in 
 the mines of Almaden. A company 
 was immediately formed to work it, 
 of which Castillero, Castro, Alex- 
 ander Forbes, and others were 
 members. The discovery of quick- 
 silver at this time seems providen- 
 tial in view of its absolute necessity 
 to supplement the imminent discov- 
 ery of gold, which stirred and waked 
 into new hfe the industries of the 
 world. 
 
 It is a question whether the United 
 States could have stood the shock of 
 the great rebellion of 1861 had the 
 California gold discovery not been made. 
 Bankers and business men of New York 
 in 1864 did not hesitate to admit that but 
 for the gold of California, which monthly 
 poured its five or six millions into that financial 
 center, the bottom would have dropped out of 
 everything. These timely arrivals so strength- 
 ened the nerves of trade and stimulated busi- 
 ness as to enable the Government to sell its 
 bonds at a time when its credit was its life- 
 
A'.l.VL// .l\D Af/SS/OX /hlYS /\ .1/7,1 CAIU-ORNIA. 
 
 I S3 
 
 blooil and the main reliance by which to fce<l, of gold is no less manifest in tlie time chosen 
 
 clothe.and maintain itsarmies. Onceourhonds for its accomplishment. 
 
 went down to thirty-eight cents on the df)llar. I must reserve for itself in a conclurling pa- 
 
 C'alifornia gold averted a total collapse, and per my personal recollections rif Fremont's 
 
 enabled a preserved Inion to come forth from secon<l visit to California in 1845-46, which I 
 
 the great conflict with only four billions of have purposely wholly omitted here. It was 
 
 debt instead of a luindre<l billions. The han<l most important, resulting as it did in the ac(|ui- 
 
 of Providence so plainly seen in the discovery sition of tiiat territory by the United States. 
 
 John IVnhoell. 
 
 RWCll WD MISSION' n.\\'S IX .ALTA CAM I ( )kXI.\. 
 
 «:i 
 
 
 11 seems to me that there 
 never was a more peaceful 
 ir hai)])y j)eoplo on the 
 ice of the earth than the 
 Spanish, Mexican, and In- 
 dian population of Alta 
 ( 'alifornia before the Amer- 
 ican conquest. We were 
 the pioneers of the Pacific 
 coast, building towns and Missions while Gen- 
 eral Washington was carrying on the war of 
 the Revolution, and we often talk together 
 of the days when a few hundred large Spanish 
 ranches and Mission tracts occupied the whole 
 country from the Pacific to the San Joaquin. 
 No class of American citizens is more loyal 
 than the Spanish Califomians, but we shall 
 always be especially proutl of the traditions 
 and memories of the long pastoral age before 
 1840. Indeed, our social life still ten<ls to keep 
 alive a spirit of love for the simple, homely, out- 
 door life of our Spanish ancestors on this coast, 
 and we tr)-, as best we may, to honor the 
 founders of our ancient families, and the saints 
 and heroes of our history since the days when 
 latherjunijiero jilanted the cross at Monterey. 
 The leading features of old Spanish life at 
 the Missions, and on the large ranches of the 
 last century, have been described in many books 
 of travel, and with many contradictions. I shall 
 confine myself to those details and illustrations 
 of the jiast that no modem writer can possibly 
 obtain except vaguely, from hearsay, since they 
 exist in no manuscript, but only in the mem- 
 ories of a generation that is f:ist passing away. 
 My mother has told me much, and I am still 
 more indebted to my illustrious uncle, (ieneral 
 \'allejo, of Sonoma, many of whose recollec- 
 tions are incorporated in this article. 
 
 When I was a child there were fewer than 
 hi'ty Spanish families in the region about the 
 bay of San Francisco, anil these were closely 
 connected by ties of blood or intermarriage. 
 My father and his brother, the late General 
 N'allejo, saw, and were a part of, the most im- 
 portant events in the history of Spanish Cali- 
 
 fornia, the revolution and the conquest. My 
 grandfather, Don Ygnacio Vallejo, was equally 
 prominent in his day, in the ex|)loration and 
 settlement of the province. The traditions and 
 recordsofthe family thuscovertheentire period 
 of theannalsof early California, from San Diego 
 to Sonoma. 
 
 What I wish to do is to tell, as plainly and 
 carefully as possible, how the Spanish settlers 
 lived, and what they diil in the old days. 'I'he 
 story will be partly about the Missions, and 
 partly about the great ranches. 
 
 The Jesuit Missions estal)lished in Lower 
 California, at Loreto and other places, were 
 followed by Franciscan Missions in Alta Cali- 
 fornia, with presidios for the soldiers, adjacent 
 pueblos, or towns, and the granting of large 
 tracts of land to settlers. By 17S2 there were 
 nine flourishing .Missions in Alta California — 
 San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Carlos, San 
 Antonio, San Luis Obispo, San Buenaventura. 
 San Cabriel, San Juan, and San Diego. Gov- 
 ernor Fajes added Santa Barbara and Puris- 
 sima, and by 1 790 there were more than 7000 
 Inilian converts in the various Missions, By 
 1800 about forty Franciscan fathers were at 
 work in .Mta California, six of whom had been 
 among the pioneers of twenty and twenty-five 
 years before, and they had established seven 
 new Missions — San Jose, San Miguel, Soleilad. 
 San Fernando, Santa Cruz, San Juan Bautista. 
 and San Luis Rey. The statistics of all the 
 Missions, so far as they have been preserved, 
 have been printed in various histories, and the 
 account of their growth, prosperity, and de- 
 cadence has often been tolil. All that I wi.sh 
 to ])oint out is that at the beginning of the 
 century the whole system was comj)letely es- 
 tablished in .Mta California. In 1773 Father 
 Palou had reported that all the Mis.sions, taken 
 together, owned two hundred and four head 
 of cattle and a few .sheep, goats, and mules. 
 In 1776 the regular five years' supplies sent 
 from Slexico to the Missions were as follows: 
 107 blankets. 480 yards strijied sackcloth, 389 
 yards blue baize, 10 pounds blue maguey cloth, 
 
1 84 
 
 RANCH AND MISSION DAYS IN ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 A SPANISH WINDOW. 
 
 4 reams paper, 5 bales red pepper, 10 ar- 
 robas of tasajo (dried beef), beads, chocolate, 
 lard, lentils, rice, flour, and four barrels of 
 Castilian wine. By 1800 all this was changed : 
 the flocks and herds of cattle of California con- 
 tained 187,000 animals, of which 153,000 were 
 in the Mission pastures, and large areas of land 
 had been brought under cultivation, so that 
 the Missions supplied the presidios and foreign 
 ships. 
 
 No one need suppose that the Spanish pio- 
 neers of California suffered many hardships or 
 privations, although it was a new country. 
 They came slowly, and were well prepared to 
 become settlers. All that was necessary for the 
 maintenance and enjoyment of life according 
 to the simple and healthful standards of those 
 days was brought with them. They had seeds, 
 trees, vines, cattle, household goods, and ser- 
 vants, and in a few years their orchards yielded 
 abundantly and their gardens were full of veg- 
 
 etables. Poultry was raised by the Indians, 
 and sold very cheaply ; a fat capon cost 
 only twelve and a half cents. Beef and 
 mutton were to be had for the killing, and 
 wild game was very abundant. At many 
 of the Missions there were large flocks of 
 tame pigeons. At the Mission San Jose the 
 fathers' doves consumed a cental of wheat 
 daily, besides what they gathered in the 
 village. The doves were of many colors, 
 and they made a beautiful appearance on 
 the red tiles of the church and the tops of 
 the dark garden walls. 
 
 The houses of the Spanish people were 
 built of adobe, and were roofed with red 
 tiles. They were very comfortable, cool in 
 summer and warm in winter. The clay 
 used to make the bricks was dark brown, 
 not white or yellow, as the adobes in the 
 Rio Grande region and in parts of Mexico. 
 Cut straw was mixed with the clay, and 
 trodden together by the Indians. When 
 the bricks were laid, they were set in clay 
 as in mortar, and sometimes small peb- 
 bles from the brooks were mixed with the 
 mortar to make bands across the house. 
 All the timber of the floors, the rafters and 
 crossbeams, the doorways, and the window 
 lintels were " built in " as the house was 
 carried up. After the house was roofed it 
 was usually plastered inside and out to pro- 
 tect it against the weather and make it 
 more comfortable. A great deal of trouble 
 was often taken to obtain stone for the 
 doorsteps, and curious rocks were some- 
 times brought many miles for this pur- 
 pose, or for gate-posts in front of the 
 dwelling. 
 
 The Indian houses were never more 
 than one story high, also of adobe, but 
 much smaller and with thinner walls. The in- 
 mates covered the earthen floors in part with 
 coarse mats woven of tules,on which they slept. 
 The Missions, as fast as possible, provided them 
 with blankets, which were woven under the 
 fathers' personal supervision, for home use and 
 for sale. They were also taught to weave a 
 coarse serge for clothing. 
 
 It was between 1792 and 1795, as I have 
 heard, that the governor brought a number of 
 artisans from Mexico, and every Mission wanted 
 them, but there were not enough to go around. 
 There were masons, mflhvrights, tanners, shoe- 
 makers, saddlers, potters, a ribbonmaker, and 
 several weavers. The blankets and the coarse 
 cloth I have spoken of were first woven in 
 the southern Missions, San Gabriel, San Juan 
 Capistrano, and others. About 1797 cotton 
 cloth was also made in a i^^v cases, and the 
 cotton plant was found to grow very well. 
 Hemp was woven at Monterey. Pottery was 
 
RANCH AXD MISSIOX DAYS JN ALTA CALIJOKXIA. 
 
 l8: 
 
 made at Mission Dolores. San Fran<:isco. Soap 
 was made in i 798, and aflerwanls at all the 
 Missions and on many large ranches. The 
 settlers themselves were obliged to learn trades 
 and teac h them to their servants, so that an 
 educated young gentleman was well skilleil in 
 many arts and handicrafts. He could ride, of 
 course, as well as the best cow-boy of the 
 Southwest, and with more grace ; antl he could 
 throw the lasso so expertly that I never heard 
 of any .\merican who was able to e(jual it. 
 He could also make soap, pottery, and bricks, 
 burn lime, tan hides, cut out and put together 
 a pair of shoes, make candles, roll cigars, and 
 do a great number of things that belong to 
 dilVerent trades. 
 
 The California Indians were full of rude 
 superstitions of every sort when the Francis- 
 can fathers tirst began to teach them. It is 
 hard to collect old Indian stories in these days, 
 because they have become mixed uj) with what 
 the fathers taught them. But the wild Indians 
 a hundred years ago told the priests what they 
 believed, and it was difficult to persuade them 
 to give it up. In fact, there was more or less 
 of what the fathers told them was " devil- 
 worship " going on all the time. Rude stone 
 altars were secretly built by the Mission In- 
 dians to " Cooksuy," their dreaded god. They 
 chose a lonely place in the hills, and made 
 piles of Hat stones, five or six feet high. After 
 that each Indian passing would throw some- 
 thing there, and this act of homage, called 
 ♦' pooish," continued until the mound was cov- 
 ered with a curious collection of beads, feath- 
 ers, shells from the coast, and even garments 
 and food, which no Indian dared to touch. 
 The fathers destroyed all such altars that they 
 could discover, and punished the Indians who 
 worshiped there. Sometimes the more ardent 
 followers of Cooksuy had meetings at night, 
 slipping away from the Indian village after 
 the retiring-bell had rung and the alcalde's 
 rounds had been made. They prepared for the 
 ceremony by fasting for several days; then 
 they went to the chosen place, built a large 
 tire, went through many dances, and called 
 the god by a series of very strange and wild 
 whistles, which always frightened any person 
 who heard them. The old Indians, after being 
 converted, told the priests that before they 
 had seen the Spaniards come Cooksuy made 
 his appearance from the midst of the fire in the 
 form of a large white serpent ; afterward the 
 story was changed, and they reported that he 
 sometimes took the form of a bull with fiery 
 eves. 
 
 Indian alcaldes were appointed in the Mis- 
 sion towns to maintain order. Their duty was 
 that of police officers; they were dressed bet- 
 ter than the others, antl wore shoes and stock- 
 Voi.. XLI.— 2;. 
 
 ings, which newly appointed officers dispensed 
 with as often as jxjssible, cho<jsing to go bare- 
 foot, or with stockings only. When a vacancy 
 in the office occurred the Indians themselves 
 were asked which one they preferred of sev- 
 eral suggested by the priest. The Mission San 
 Jose had about five thousand Indian converts 
 at the time of its : -^ • t pros])crity, and a 
 number of Indian a! were needed there. 
 
 The alcaldes of the Spanish people in the 
 pueblos were mcjre like local judges, and were 
 appointed by the governor. 
 
 The Indians who were personal attendants 
 of the fathers were chosen with much care, 
 for their obedience and quickness of percep- 
 tion. Some of them seemed to have reached 
 the very perfection of silent, careful, unselfish 
 service. They could be trusted with the most 
 important matters, and they were strictly hon- 
 est. Each father had his own private barber, 
 who enjoyed the honor of a seat at the table 
 with him, and generally accompanied him in 
 journeys to other Missions, When the Mis- 
 sions were secularized, this custom, like many 
 others, was abolished, and one Indian barber, 
 named Tele(iuis, felt the change in his posi- 
 tion so much that when he was ordered out 
 to the field with the others he committed sui- 
 cide by eating the root of a poisonous wild 
 plant, a species of celery. 
 
 The Indian vaqueros, who lived much of the 
 time on the more distant cattle ranges, were a 
 wild set of men. I remember one of them, 
 named Martin, who was stationed in Amador 
 Valley antl became a leader of the hill vatjue- 
 ros, who were very different from the vacjueros 
 of the large valley near the Missions. He and 
 his friends killed and ate three or four hundred 
 young heifers belonging to the Mission, but 
 when Easter approached he felt that he must 
 confess his sins, so he went to Father Narciso 
 and told all about it. The father forgave 
 him, but ordered him to come in from the 
 hills to the Mission and attend school until 
 he could read. The rules were very strict ; 
 whoever failed twice in a lesson was always 
 whippeil, Martin was utterly unable to learn 
 his letters, and he was whipped every day for 
 a month ; but he never c()mi)lained. He was 
 then dismissed, and went back to the hills, I 
 used to question Martin about the aflair, and 
 he would tell me with perfect gravity of man- 
 ner, which was very <lelightful, how many 
 calves he had consumeil and how wisely the 
 good father had punisheti him. He knew 
 now, he useil to say, how ver)' hard it was to 
 live in the town, and he would never steal 
 again lest he might have to go to school until 
 he had learned his letters. 
 
 It was the custom at all the .Missions, dur- 
 ing the rule of the Franciscan missionaries, to 
 
i86 RANCH AND MISSION DAYS IN ALTA CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 keep the young unmarried Indians separate. Indian village begged the father in charge to 
 The young girls and the young widows at the forgive the poor woman. 
 Mission San Jose occupied a large adobe The padres always had a school for the In- 
 building, with a yard behind it, inclosed by dian boys. My mother has a novcua, or " nine- 
 high adobe walls. In this yard some trees days' devotion book," copied for her by one of 
 were planted, and a zaiija, or water-ditch, sup- the Indian pupils of the school at the Mission 
 plied a large bathing-pond. The women were San Jose, early in the century. The handwrit- 
 kept busy at various occupations, in the build- ing is very neat and plain, and would be a 
 ing, under the trees, or on the wide porch ; they credit to any one. Many young Indians had 
 were taught spinning, knitting, the weaving good voices, and these were selected with 
 of Indian baskets from grasses, willow rods great care to be trained in singing for the 
 and roots, and more especially plain sewing, church choir. It was thought such an honor 
 The treatment and occupation of the unmar- to sing in church that the Indian families 
 ried women was similar at the other Missions, were all very anxious to be represented. Some 
 When heathen Indian women came in, or were taught to play on the violin and other 
 were brought by their friends, or by the sol- stringed instruments. When Father Narciso 
 diers, they were put in these houses, and under Duran, who was the president of the Francis- 
 the charge of older women, who taught them cans in California, was at the Mission San 
 what to do. Jose, he had a church choir of about thirty 
 
 The women, thus separated from the men, well-trained boys to sing the mass. He was 
 
 could only be courted from without through himself a cultivated musician, having studied 
 
 the upper windows facing on the narrow vil- under some of the best masters in Spain, and 
 
 lage street. These windows were about two so sensitive was his ear that if one string was 
 
 feet square, crossed by iron bars, and perhaps out of tune he could not continue his service, 
 
 three feet deep, as the adobe walls were very but would at once turn to the choir, call the 
 
 thick. The rules were not more strict, how- name of the player, and the string that was 
 
 ever, than still prevail in some of the Spanish- out of order, and wait until the matter was 
 
 American countries in much higher classes, corrected. As there were often more than a 
 
 socially, than these uneducated Indians be- dozen players on instruments, this showed 
 
 longed to ; in fact, the rules were adopted by high musical abihty. Every prominent Mis- 
 
 the fathers from Mexican models. After an sion had fathers who paid great attention to 
 
 Indian, in his hours of freedom from toil, had training the Indians in music, 
 
 declared his affection by a sufficiently long A Spanish lady of high social standing tells 
 
 attendance upon a certain window, it was the the following story, which will illustrate the 
 
 duty of the woman to tell the father mission- honor in which the Mission fathers were 
 
 ary and to declare her decision. If this was held : 
 
 favorable, the young man was asked if he Father Majin Catala, one of the missionaries 
 was willing to contract marriage with the early in the century, was held to possess pro- 
 young woman who had confessed her prefer- phetic gifts, and many of the Spanish settlers, 
 ence. Sometimes there were several rival the Castros, Peraltas, Estudillos, and others, 
 suitors, but it was never known that any have reason to remember his gift. When any 
 trouble occurred. After marriage the couple priest issued from the sacristy to celebrate 
 were conducted to their home, a hut built for mass all hearts were stirred, but with this holy 
 them among the other Indian houses in the father the feeling became one of absolute awe. 
 village near the Mission. On more than one occasion before his sermon 
 
 The Indian mothers were frequently told heasked the congregation to join him in prayers 
 about the proper care of children, and cleanh- for the soul of one about to die, naming the hour, 
 ness of the person Avas strongly inculcated. In every case this was fulfilled to the very let- 
 in fact, the Mission Indians, large and small, ter, and that in cases where the one who died 
 were wonderfully clean, their faces and hair could not have known of the father's words, 
 fairly shining with soap and water. In several This saint spent his days in labor among the 
 cases where an Indian woman was so slovenly people, and he was loved as well as feared, 
 and neglectful of her infant that it died she But on one occasion, in later life, when the 
 was punished by being compelled to carry in Mission rule was broken, he offended an Indian 
 her arms in church, and at all meals and pub- chief, and shortly after several Indians called 
 lie assemblies, a log of wood about the size of at his home in the night to ask him to go and 
 a nine-months'-old child. This was a very see a dying woman. The father rose and 
 effectual punishment, for the Indian women dressed, but his chamber door remained fast, 
 are naturally most affectionate creatures, and so that he could not open it, and he was on 
 in every case they soon began to suffer gready, the point of ordering them to break it open 
 and others with them, so that once a whole from without, when he felt a warning, to the 
 
KAXCH AND AflSSIOX DAYS JX ALIA CALJFOKXIA. 
 
 1S7 
 
 effect that they were ^oini^ to muriler him. 
 Then he said, " 'I'o-morrow 1 will visit your 
 sick : you are forgiven ; go in peace." Then 
 they fled in dismay, knowing that his person 
 was ])rotected by an especial provitlcnce, and 
 soon after confesseil their plans to the father. 
 
 Father Real was one of the most genial and 
 kindly men of the missionaries, and he sur- 
 priseil all those who had thought that every one 
 of the fathers was severe. He saw no harm in 
 walking out among tiie young peojile, and say- 
 ing friendly things to them all. He was often 
 known to go with young men on moonlight 
 rides, lassoing grizzly bears, or chasing deer on 
 the plain. His own horse, one of the best ever 
 .seen in the valley, was richly cajjarisoned, and 
 the father wore a scarlet silk sash around his 
 waist under the Franciscan habit. When older 
 and graver })riests reproached him, he used to 
 say with a smile that he was only a Mexican 
 Franciscan, and that he was brought up in a 
 saddle. He was certainly a superb rider. 
 
 It is said of Father Amoros of San Rafael 
 that his noon meal consisted of an ear of dry 
 com, roasted over the coals. This he carried 
 in his sleeve and partook of at his leisure 
 while overseeing the Indian laborers. Some 
 persons who were in the habit of reaching a 
 priest's house at noontime, so as to be asked 
 to dinner, once called on the father, and were 
 told that he had gone to the field with his com 
 in his inaii^iitllii, but they rotle away without 
 seeing him, which was considered a breach of 
 good manners, and much fun was made over 
 their haste. 
 
 The principal sources of revenue which the 
 .Missions enjoyed were the sales of hitles ami 
 tallow, fresh beef, fruits, wheat, and other things 
 to ships, and in occasional sales of horses to 
 trappers or traders. The Russians at Fort Ross, 
 north of San Francisco, on Bodega Bay, 
 bought a good deal from the Missions. Then 
 too the Inilians were sent out to trade with 
 other Indians, and so the Missions often se- 
 cured many valuable furs, such as otter anil 
 beaver, together with skins of bears and deer 
 killed by their own hunters. 
 
 The embarcadero^ or " landing," for the Mis- 
 sion San Jose was at the mouth of a salt- water 
 creek four or five miles away. When a ship 
 sailed into San Francisco Bay, and the captain 
 sent a large boat up this creek and arranged 
 to buy hides, they were usually hauled there 
 on an ox-cart with solid wooden wheels, called 
 a tarreta. But often in winter, there being no 
 roads across the valley, each separate hide was 
 doubled across the middle anil placed on the 
 head of an Indian. Long files of Indians, each 
 carrying a hide in this manner, could be seen 
 trotting over the unfenced level land through 
 the wild mustard to the c/til>arcadcro, anil in 
 
 a few weeks the whole cargo would thus be 
 delivered. For such work the Indians always 
 received additional gifts for themselves anil 
 families. 
 
 A very important feature was the wheat 
 harvest. Wheat was grown more or less at all 
 the Mi.ssions. If those Americans who came 
 to California in 1849 ami said that wheat 
 would not grow here had only visited the 
 Missions they would have .seen beautiful large 
 wheatfields. Of course at first many mistakes 
 were made by the fathers in their experiments, 
 not only in wheat anil corn, but also in wine- 
 making, in crushing olives for oil, in grafting 
 trees, and in creating fine flower and vegetable 
 gardens. At most of the Missions it took them 
 several years to find out how to grow good 
 grain. At first they planted it on too wet land. 
 At the Mission San Jose a tract about a mile 
 square came to be used for wheat. It was 
 fenced in with a ditch, dug by the Indians 
 with sharp sticks and with their hands in the 
 rainy season, and it was so deep and wide 
 that cattle and horses never crossed it. In 
 other places stone or adobe walls, or hedges 
 of the prickly pear cactus, were used about the 
 wheatfields. Timber was never considered 
 available for fences, because there were no saw- 
 mills and no roads to the forests, so that it 
 was only at great expense and with extreme 
 difliculty that we procured the logs that were 
 necessary in l)uilding, and chop|>ed them 
 slowly, with poor tools, to the size we wanted. 
 Sometimes low adobe walls were made high 
 and safe by a row of the skulls of Spanish 
 cattle, with the long curving horns attached. 
 These came from the mataiizas, or slaughter- 
 corrals, where there were thousantls of them 
 lying in piles, and they could be so used to 
 make one of the strongest and most etfective 
 of barriers against man or beast. Set close and 
 deep, at various angles, about the gateways 
 and corral walls, these cattle horns helped to 
 protect the inclosure from horse-thieves. 
 
 When wheat was sown it was merely 
 "scratched in " with a wooden plow, but the 
 ground was so new and rich that tlie yield was 
 great. The old Mission field is now occupied 
 by some of the best farms of the valley, show- 
 ing how excellent was the fathers' judgment 
 of good land. The old ditches which fenced 
 it have been i:)lowed in for more than forty 
 years by American farmers, but their course 
 can stili be distinctly traced. 
 
 A special ceremony was connected with the 
 close of the wheat harvest. The last four 
 sheaves taken from this large field were tied 
 to poles in the fomi of a cross, and were then 
 brought by the reapers in the " harvest pro- 
 cession " to the church, while the bells were 
 rung, and the father, dressed in his robes, 
 
i88 RANCH AND MISSION DAYS IN ALTA CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 carrying the cross and accompanied by boys titles put an end to most of these plans, and 
 with tapers and censers, chanting the Te Deum some of them were afterward carried out by 
 as they marched, went forth to meet the sheaves. Americans when the ranches were broken up. 
 This was a season of Indian festival also, and One of the greatest of the early irrigation 
 one-fifth of the whole number of the Indians projects was that of my grandfather, Don Yg- 
 were sometimes allowed to leave the Mission nacioVallejo, who spent much labor and money 
 for a certain number of days, to gather acorns, in supplying San Luis Obispo Mission with 
 dig roots, hunt, fish, and enjoy a change of oc- Avater. This was begun in 1776, and completed 
 cupation. It was a privilege that they seldom, the following year. He also planned to carry 
 or never, abused by failing to return, and the the water of the Carmel River to Monterey ; 
 fact shows how well they were treated in the this has since been done by the Southern Pa- 
 Missions, cific Railway Company. My father, Don J. 
 
 Governor Neve proposed sowing wheat, I J. Vallejo, about fifty years ago made a stone 
 have heard, in 1776, and none had been sown aqueduct and several irrigation and mill ditches 
 in California before that time. At the pueblo from the Alameda Creek, on which stream 
 of San Jose, which was established in 1777, he built an adobe flour-mill, whose millstones 
 they planted wheat for the use of the presi- were brought from Spain, 
 dios, and the first sowing was at the wrong I have often been asked about the old Mis- 
 season and failed, but the other half of their sion and ranch gardens. They were, I think, 
 seed did better. The fathers at San Diego more extensive, and contained a greater va- 
 Mission sowed grain on the bottom lands in riety of trees and plants, than most persons 
 the willows the first year, and it was washed imagine. The Jesuits had gardens in Baja 
 away; then they put it on the mesa above the California as early as 1699, and vineyards and 
 Mission, and it died ; the third year they found orchards a i&\\ years later. The Franciscans 
 a good piece of land, and it yielded one hun- in Alta California began to cultivate the soil 
 hundred and ninety-five fold. as soon as they landed. The first grapevines 
 
 As soon as the Missions had wheatfields were brought from Lower California in 1769, 
 they wanted flour, and mortars were made, and were soon planted at all the Missions ex- 
 Some of them were holes cut in the rock, with cept Dolores, where the climate was not suit- 
 a heavy pestle, lifted by a long pole. When able. Before the year 1800 the orchards at 
 La Perouse,the French navigator, visited Mon- the Missions contained apples, pears, peaches, 
 terey in 1786, he gave the fathers in San Carlos apricots, plums, cherries, figs, olives, oranges, 
 an iron hand-mifl, so that the neophyte women pomegranates. At San Diego and San Buena- 
 could more easily grind their wheat. He also ventura Missions there were also sugar canes, 
 gave the fathers seed-potatoes from Chili, the date palms, plantains, bananas, and citrons, 
 first that were known in California. La Pe- There were orchards and vineyards in Cali- 
 rouse and his officers were received with much fornia sufficient to supply all the wants of the 
 hospitality at San Carlos. The Indians were people. I remember that at the Mission San 
 told that the Frenchmen were true Catholics, Jose we had many varieties of seedling fruits 
 and Father Palou had them all assembled at which have now been lost to cultivation. Of 
 the reception. Mrs. Ord, a daughter of the pears we had four sorts, one ripening in early 
 De la Guerra family, had a drawing of this summer, one in late summer, and two in au- 
 occasion, made by an officer, but it was stolen tumn and winter. The Spanish names of these 
 about the time of the American conquest, like pears were the Presidenta, the Bergainota, the 
 so many of the precious relics of Spanish Cal- Pana, and the LecJiera. One of them was as 
 ifornia. La Perouse wrote : " It is with the large as a Bartlett, but there are no trees of it 
 sweetest satisfaction that I shall make known left now. The apples, grown from seed, rip- 
 the pious and wise conduct of these friars, who ened at different seasons, and there were seed- 
 fulfil so perfectly the object of their institu- ling peaches, both early and late. Aninteresting 
 tion. The greatest anchorites have never led and popular fruit was that of the Nopal, or 
 a more edifying life." prickly pear. This fruit, called tuna, grew on 
 
 Early in the century flour-mills by water the great hedges which protected part of the 
 
 were built at Santa Cruz, San Luis Obispo, Mission orchards and were twenty feet high 
 
 San Jose, and San Gabriel. The ruins of some and ten or twelve feet thick. Those who know 
 
 of these now remain ; the one at Santa Cruz how to eat a tuna, peeling it so as to escape 
 
 is very picturesque. Horse-power mills were the tiny thorns on the skin, find it delicious, 
 
 in use at many places. About the time that The Missions had avenues of fig, olive, and 
 
 the Americans began to arrive in numbers the other trees about the buildings, besides the 
 
 Spanish people were just commencing to pro- orchards. In later times American squatters 
 
 ject larger mill enterprises and irrigation ditches and campers often cut down these trees for fire- 
 
 for their own needs. The difficulties with land wood, or built fires against the trunks, which 
 
RANCH AND MISSION DAYS IN ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 189 
 
 killed them. Several hundred large and valu- 
 able olive trees at the San Diego Mission were 
 killed in this way. The old orchards were 
 pruned and cultivated with much care, and 
 the paths were swept by the Indians, but after 
 the sequestration of the Mission projjcrty they 
 were neglected and ran wild. 'j1ie olive-mills 
 and wine-presses were destroyed, and cattle 
 were pastured in the once fruitful groves. 
 
 The flower gardens were gay with roses, 
 chiefly a pink and very fragrant sort from 
 Mexico, called by us the Castilian rose, and 
 still seen in a few old gardens. Besides roses, 
 we had pinks, sweet-peas, hollyhocks, nastur- 
 tiums which had been brought from Mexico, 
 and white lilies. The vegetable gardens con- 
 tained pease, beans, beets, lentils, onions, car- 
 rots, red peppers, com, potatoes, squashes, 
 cucumbers, and melons. A fine quality of to- 
 bacco was cultivated and cured by the Indians. 
 Hemp and flax were grown to some extent. 
 A fine large cane, a native of Mexico, was 
 planted, and the joints found useful as spools 
 in the blanket factory, and for many domestic 
 purposes. The young shoots of this cane were 
 sometimes cooked for food. Other kinds of 
 plants were grown in the old gardens, but 
 these are all that I can remember. 
 
 In the old days every one seemed to live 
 out-doors. There was much gaiety and social 
 life, even though people were widely scattered. 
 We traveled as much as possible on horseback. 
 Only old people or invalids cared to use the 
 slow cart, or carrcta. Young men would ride 
 ft"om one ranch to anodier for parties, and 
 whoever found his horse tired would let him 
 go and catch another. In 1806 there were so 
 many horses in the valleys about San Jose 
 that seven or eight thousand were killed. 
 Nearly as many were driven into the sea at 
 Santa Barbara in 1807, and the same thing 
 was done at Monterey in 1810. Horses were 
 given to the runaway sailors, and to trappers 
 and hunters who came over the mountains, 
 for common horses were very plenty, but fast 
 and beautiful horses were never more prized 
 in any country than in California, and each 
 young man had his favorites. A kind of mus- 
 tang, that is now seldom or never seen on 
 the Pacific coast, was a peculiar light cream- 
 colored horse, with silver-white mane and tail. 
 Such an animal, of S|)ced and bottom, often 
 sold for more than a horse of any other color. 
 Other much admired colors were dapple-gray 
 and chestnut. The fathers of the Mission some- 
 times rode on horseback, but they generally 
 had a somewhat modem carriage called a vo- 
 lante. It was always drawn by mules, of which 
 there were hundreds in the Mis.sion pastures, 
 and white was the color often preferred. 
 
 Nothing was more attractive than the wed- 
 
 ding cavalcade on its way from the bride's 
 house to the Mission church. The horses 
 were more richly caparisoned than for any 
 other ceremony, and the bride's nearest rela- 
 tive or family representative carried her be- 
 fore him, she sitting on the saddle with her 
 white satin shoe in a loop of golden or silver 
 braid, while he sat on the bear-skin covered 
 anquera behind. The groom and his friends 
 mingled with the bride's party, all on the best 
 horses that could be obtained, and they rode 
 gaily from the ranch house to the Mission, 
 sometimes fifteen or twenty miles away. In 
 April and May, when the land was covered 
 with wild-flowers, the light-hearted troop rode 
 along the edge of the uplands, between hill 
 and valley, crossing the streams, and some of 
 the young horsemen, anxious to show their 
 skill, would perform all the feats for which the 
 Spanish-Californians were famous. After the 
 wedding, when they returned to lead in the 
 feasting, the bride was carried on the horse of 
 the groomsman. One of the customs which 
 was always observed at the wedding was to 
 wind a silken tasseled string or a silken sash, 
 fringed with gold, about the necks of the bride 
 and groom, binding them together as they 
 knelt before the altar for the blessing of the 
 priest. A charming custom among the middle 
 and lower classes was the making of the satin 
 shoes by the groom for the bride. A few weeks 
 before the wedding he asked his betrothed for 
 the measurement of her foot, and made the 
 shoes with his own hands; the groomsman 
 brought them to her on the wedding-day. 
 
 But few foreigners ever visited any of the Mis- 
 sions, and the)- naturally caused quite a stir. At 
 the Mission San Jose, about 1820, late one night 
 in the vintage season a man came to the village 
 for food and shelter, which were gladly given. 
 But the next day it was whispered that he was 
 a Jew, and the poor Indians, who had been 
 toid that the Jews had crucified Christ, ran to 
 their huts and hid. Even the Spanish chiklren, 
 and many of the gro\\Ti people, were fright- 
 ened. Only the missionary father had ever 
 before seen a Jew, and when he found that it 
 was im])Ossible to check the excitement he sent 
 two soldiers to ride with the man a portion of 
 the way to Santa Clara. 
 
 A number of trappers and hunters came into 
 Southern California and settled down in vari- 
 ous towns. There was a party of Kentuckians, 
 beaver-traj)pers, who went along the Gila and 
 Colorado rivers about 1827, and then south 
 into Baja California to the Mission of Santa 
 Catalina. Then they came to San Diego, where 
 the whole country was much excited over their 
 hunter clothes, their rifles, their traps, and the 
 strange stories they told of the deserts, and 
 fierce Indians, and things that no one in Cali- 
 
190 RANCH AND MISSION DAYS IN ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 fornia had ever seen. Captain Paty was the American had it entered as government land 
 oldest man of the party, and he was ill and in his own name, and kept all of it. In many 
 worn out. All the San Diego people were very similar cases American settlers in their deal- 
 kind to the Americans. It is said that the other ings with the rancheros took advantage of 
 Missions, such as San Gabriel, sent and desired laws which they understood, but which were 
 the privilege of caring for some of them. Cap- new to the Spaniards, and so robbed the latter 
 tain Paty grew worse, so he sent for one of the of their lands. Notes and bonds were consid- 
 fathers and said he wished to become a Cath- ered unnecessary by a Spanish gentleman in 
 olic, because, he added, it must be a good re- a business transaction, as his word was always 
 hgion, for it made everybody so good to him. sufficient security. 
 
 Don Pio Pico and Dona Victoria Dominguez Perhaps the most exasperating feature of 
 de Estudillo were his sponsors. After Captain the coming-in of the Americans was owing to 
 Paty's death the Americans went to Los An- the mines, which drew away most of the ser- 
 geles, where they all married Spanish ladies, vants, so that our cattle were stolen by thou- 
 were given lands, built houses, planted vine- sands. Men who are now prosperous farmers 
 yards, and became important people. Pryor and merchants were guilty of shooting and 
 repaired the church silver, and was called selling Spanish beef " without looking at the 
 " Miguel el Platero." Laughlin was always so brand," as the phrase went. My father had 
 merry that he was named " Ricardo el Buen about ten thousand head of cattle, and some 
 Mozo." They all had Spanish names given he was able to send back into the hills until 
 them besides their own. One of them was a there were better laws and officers, but he lost 
 blacksmith, and as iron was very scarce he the larger part. On one occasion I remember 
 made pruning shears for the vineyards out of some vigilantes caught two cattle-thieves and 
 the old beaver traps. sent for my father to appear against them, but 
 On Christmas night, 1828, a ship was he said that although he wanted them pun- 
 wrecked near Los Angeles, and twenty-eight ished he did not wish to have them hanged, 
 men escaped. Everybody wanted to care for and so he would not testify, and they were set 
 them, and they were given a great Christmas free. One of them afterward sent conscience 
 dinner, and offered money and lands. Some money to us from New York, where he is liv- 
 of them staid, and some went to other Missions ing in good circumstances. The Vallejos have 
 and towns. One of them who staid was a Ger- on several occasions received conscience 
 man, John Gronigen, and he was named "Juan money from different parts of the country. 
 Domingo," or, because he was lame, "Juan The latest case occurred last year (1889), when 
 Cojo." Another, named Prentice, came from a woman wrote that her husband, since dead, 
 Connecticut, and he was a famous fisherman had taken a steer worth twenty- five dollars, 
 and otter hunter. After 1828 a good many and she sent the money, 
 other Americans came in and settled down Every Mission and ranch in old times had 
 quietly to cultivate the soil, and some of them its calaveras, its " place of skulls," its slaughter- 
 became very rich. They had grants from the corral, where cattle and sheep were killed by 
 governor, just the same as the Spanish people, the Indian butchers. Every Saturday morning 
 It is necessary, for the truth of the account, the fattest animals were chosen and driven 
 to mention the evil behavior of many Ameri- there, and by night the hides were all stretched 
 cans before, as well as after, the conquest. At on the hillside to dry. At one time a hundred 
 the Mission San Jose there is a small creek, cattle and two hundred sheep were killed 
 and two very large sycamores once grew at weekly at the Mission San Jose, and the meat 
 the Spanish ford, so that it was called la aliso. was distributed to all, " without money and 
 A squatter named Fallon, who lived near the without price." The grizzly bears, which were 
 crossing, cut down these for firewood, though very abundant in the country, — for no one ever 
 there were many trees in the caiion. The Span- poisoned them, as the American stock raisers 
 ish people begged him to leave them, for the did after 1849, — used to come by night to the 
 shade and beauty, but he did not care for that, ravines near the slaughter-corral where the 
 This was a litde thing, but much that happened refuse was thrown by the butchers. The young 
 was after such pattern, or far worse. Spanish gentlemen often rode out on moon- 
 In those times one of the leading American light nights to lasso these bears, and then they 
 squatters came to my father, Don J. J. Val- would drag them through the village street, 
 lejo, and said : " There is a large piece of your and past the houses of their friends. Two men 
 land where the cattle run loose, and your with their strong rawhide reatas could hold any 
 vaqueros have gone to the gold mines. I will bear, and when they were tired of this sport 
 fence the field for you at my expense if you they could kill him. But somerimes the bears 
 will give me half." He liked the idea, and as- would walk through the village on their way 
 sented, but when the tract was inclosed the to or from the corral of the butchers, and so 
 
RANCH AXD MI SSI OX DAYS IX ALTA CALIFORXIA. 
 
 191 
 
 scatter the people. Several times a serenaile 
 party, sinj,'ing anil playing l>y moonlight, was 
 suddenly broken up by two or three grizzlies 
 tri )tting down the hill into the street, and the gay 
 calhillt-ros with their guitars would spring over 
 the adobe walls and run lor their horses, which 
 always stood saddled, with a reata coiled, ready 
 for use, at the saddle bow. It was the custom 
 in every family to keej) saddled horses in ca.sy 
 reach, day and night. 
 
 Innumerable stories about grizzlies are tra- 
 ditional in the old Sjxmish families, not only 
 in the Santa Clara Valley, but also through 
 the Coast Range from San Diego to Sonoma 
 and Santa Rosa, St)me of the bravest of the 
 young men would go out alone to kill griz- 
 zlies. When they had lassoeil one they would 
 drag him to a tree, and the well-trained horse 
 would hold the bear against it while the hunter 
 slipiK-'d out of the saddle, ran up, and killed 
 the grizzly with one stroke of his broad-bladed 
 machete-, or Mexican hunting knife. One Sj)an- 
 ish gentlemen riding after a large grizzly las- 
 soed it antl was dragged into a deep barranca. 
 Horse and man fell on the bear, and astonished 
 him so much that he .scrambled up the bank, 
 antl the hunter cut the reata and gladly enough 
 let him go. There were many cases of herds- 
 men and hunters being killed by grizzlies, 
 and one could fill a volume with stories of 
 feats of courage and of mastery of the reata. 
 The governor of California appointed expert 
 bear hunters in different j)arts of the country, 
 who spent their time in destroying them, by 
 pits, or shooting, or with the reata. Don Ra- 
 fael Soto, one of the most famous of these men, 
 used to conceal himself in a pit, covered with 
 heavy logs and leaves, with a quarter of freshly 
 killed beef above. When the grizzly bear 
 walked on the logs he was shot from beneath. 
 Before the feast-days the hunters sometimes 
 went to the foothills and brought several bears 
 to turn into the bull-fighting corral. 
 
 The i)rincipal bull-fights were held at Easter 
 and on the day of the patron saint of the 
 Mission, which at the Mission San Jose was 
 March 19. Young gentlemen who had trained 
 for the contest entered the ring on foot and 
 on horseback, after the Mexican manner. In 
 the bull and bear fights a hindfoot of the bear 
 was often tied to the forefoot of the bull, tcj 
 equalize the struggle, for a large grizzly was 
 more than a match for the fiercest bull in Cal- 
 ifornia, or indeed of any other country. Bull 
 and bear fights continued as late as 1855. The 
 Indians were the most ardent supporters of 
 this cruel sport. 
 
 The days of the rodeos, when cattle were 
 ; riven in from the surrounding pastures, and 
 the herds of the difTerent ranches were sep- 
 arated, were notable episodes. The ranch 
 
 owners elected three or five jurzrs del campo 
 to govern the proceedings and decide disputes. 
 After the rodeo there was a feast. The great 
 feast-days, however, were December 12 (the 
 day ofour Lady (iuadalui)e), Christmas, Faster, 
 and Si. Joseph's Day, or the dnv f)f tlic i< tron 
 saint of the Mission, 
 
 Family life among the old Spanish piuneers 
 was an atTair of dignity and ceremony, but it 
 dill not lack in affection. Children were 
 brought up with great respect for their elders. 
 It was the privilege of any elderly person to 
 correct young people by words, or even by 
 whipping them, and it was never told that any 
 one thus chastised made a complaint. Farh 
 one of the old families taught their children 
 the history of the family, and reverence to- 
 wards religion. A few books, some in manu- 
 script, were treasured in the household, but 
 children were not allowed to read novels until 
 they were grown. They saw little of other 
 children, except their near relatives, but they 
 had many enjoyments unknown to children 
 now, and they grew up with remarkable 
 strength and healthfulness. 
 
 In these days of trade, bustle, and confusion, 
 when many thousands of i)eople live in the 
 Californian valleys, which formerly were oc- 
 cupied by only a few Spanish families, the 
 quiet and happy domestic life of the ])ast seems 
 like a dream. We, who loved it, often .speak 
 of those days, and especially of the duties of 
 the large Spanish households, where so many 
 dependents were to be cared for, and every- 
 thing was done in a simple and primitive way. 
 
 There was a grouj) of warm springs a few 
 miles distant from the old adobe house in 
 which we lived. It made us children happy 
 to be waked before sunrise to prepare for the 
 "wa.sh-day expedition" to the Aii^ua Calientf. 
 The night before the Indians had soaped the 
 clumsy carreta's great Nvheels. Lunch was 
 ])lared in baskets, and the gentle oxen were 
 yoked to the pole. We climbeil in, under the 
 green cloth of an old Mexican flag w hich was 
 used as an awning, and the white-haired Indian 
 _i:^anan, who had driven the carreta since his 
 boyhood, plodded beside with his long,;'<7/rr»M(7, 
 or ox-goad. The great piles of soiled linen 
 were f > ' ' on the backs of horses, led by 
 other ^ >, while the girls and women 
 
 who were to do the washing trooped along 
 by the side of the carreta. All in all, it made 
 an imposing cavalcade, though our progress 
 was slow, and it was generally sunrise be- 
 fore we had fairly reached the spring. The 
 oxen pulled us up the slope of the ravine, 
 where it was so steep that we often cried, 
 " Mother, let us dismount and walk, so as to 
 make it easier." The steps of the carreta were 
 so low that we could climb in or out without 
 
192 CALIFORNIA NA. 
 
 stopping the oxen. The watchful mother guided one of the chief anxieties of every household, 
 
 the whole party, seeing that none strayed too Where there were no warm springs the ser- 
 
 far after flowers, or loitered too long talking vants of the family repaired to the nearest 
 
 with the others. Sometimes we heard the howl arroyo, or creek, and stood knee-deep in it, 
 
 of coyotes, and the noise of other wild animals dipping and rubbing the Hnen, and enjoying 
 
 in the dim dawn, and then none of the children the sport. In the rainy season the soiled linen 
 
 were allowed to leave the carreta. sometimes accumulated for several weeks be- 
 
 A great dark mountain rose behind the hot fore the weather permitted the house mistress 
 
 spring, and the broad, beautiful valley, un- to have a wash-day. Then, when at last it 
 
 fenced, and dotted with browsing herds, sloped came, it seemed as if half the village, with 
 
 down to the bay as we climbed the canon to dozens of babies and youngsters, wanted to 
 
 where columns of white steam rose among the go along too and make a spring picnic. 
 
 oaks, and the precious waters, which were The group of hot sulphur-springs, so useful 
 
 strong with sulphur, were seen flowing over on wash-days, was a famed resort for sick peo- 
 
 the crusted basin, and falling down a worn pie, who drank the water, and also buried 
 
 rock channel to the brook. Now on these themselves up to the neck in the soft mud of 
 
 mountain slopes for miles are the vineyards the dope below the spring, where the waste 
 
 of J osiah Stanford, the brother of Senator Le- waters ran. Their friends brought them in 
 
 land Stanford, and the valley below is filled litters and scooped out a hole for them, then 
 
 with towns and orchards put boughs overhead to shelter them from the 
 
 We watched the women unload the linen hot sun, and placed food and fresh water 
 
 and carry it to the upper spring of the group, within reach, leaving them sometimes thus 
 
 where the water was best. Then they loosened from sunrise to sunset. The Paso Robles and 
 
 the horses, and let them pasture on the wild oats, Gilroy Springs were among the most famous 
 
 while the women put home-made soap on the on the coast in those days, and after the an- 
 
 clothes, dipped them in the spring, and rubbed nual rodeos people often went there to camp 
 
 them on the smooth rocks until they were and to use the waters. But many writers have 
 
 white as snow. Then they were spread out told about the medicinal virtues of the various 
 
 to dry on the tops of the low bushes growing California springs, and I need not enlarge 
 
 on the warm, windless, southern slopes of the upon the subject. To me, at least, one of the 
 
 mountain. There was sometimes a great deal dearest of my childish memories is the family 
 
 of linen to be Avashed, for it was the pride of expedition from the great thick-walled adobe, 
 
 every Spanish family to own much linen, and under the olive and fig trees of the Mission, to 
 
 the mother and daughters almost always wore the Agua Caliente in early dawn, and the late 
 
 white. I have heard strangers speak of the return at twilight, when the younger children 
 
 wonderful way in which Spanish ladies of the were all asleep in the slow carreta, and the 
 
 upper classes in California always appeared in Indians were singing hymns as they drove the 
 
 snow-white dresses, and certainly to do so was linen-laden horses down the dusky ravines. 
 
 Guadalupe Vallejo. 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 I 
 
 Trading with the Americans. reis, we followed the common plan in those days. 
 
 We cast the tallow in round pits about the size of a 
 
 N the autumn of 1840 my father lived near what is cheese, dug in the black adobe and plastered smooth 
 
 now called Pinole Point, in Contra Costa County, with clay. Before the melted tallow was poured into 
 
 California. I was then about twelve years old, and I the pit an oaken staff was thrust down in the center, 
 
 remember the time because it was then that we saw the so that by the two ends of it the heavy cake could be 
 
 first American vessel that traded along the shores of carried more easily. By working very hard we had a 
 
 San Pablo Bay. One afternoon a horseman from the large number of hides and many pounds of tallow 
 
 Peraltas, where Oakland now stands, came to our ranch, ready on the beach when the ship appeared far out in 
 
 and told my father that a great ship, a ship " with two the bay and cast anchor near another point two or 
 
 sticks in the center," was about to sail from Yerba three miles away. The captain soon came to our land- 
 
 Buena into San Pablo and Suisun, to buy hides and ing with a small boat and two sailors, one of whom 
 
 tallow. was a Frenchman who knew Spanish very well, and 
 
 The next morning my father gave orders, and my who acted as interpreter. The captain looked over the 
 
 brothers, with the peons, went on horseback into the hides, and then asked my father to get into the boat 
 
 mountains and smaller valleys to round up all the best and go to the vessel. Mother was much afraid to let 
 
 cattle. They drove them to the beach, killed them him go, as we all thought the Americans were not to 
 
 there, and salted the hides. They tried out the tallow be trusted unless we knew them well. We feared 
 
 in some iron kettles that my father had bought from they would carry my father off and keep him a prisoner, 
 
 one of the Vallejos, but as we did not have any bar- Father said, however, that it was all right: he went 
 
Cyl L IFOR NIA NA . 
 
 '93 
 
 and put on his best clothes, gny with silver braid, and discoverer, l>ut a truthful regard for history makes it 
 
 we all cried, and kissctl him goo<l-by, while mother my duty to fix an earlier date. 
 
 clung alx)ut his neck and said we might never see During the month of January, 1851, I was making 
 
 him again. Then the captain told her : " If you are a tour of observation along the western slo|)e of the 
 
 afraid, I will have the sailors take him to the vessel, .Sierra of California in company with Trofessor p'or- 
 
 while I slay here until he comes back. He ought to rest Shcpard of New Haven, ("onn., and Professor 
 
 see all the goods I have, or he will not know what to Xooney, formerly of Western Reserve College, ()lii«i. 
 
 buy." After a little my mother let him go with the Between the I2lh and 15th of January we hailed ai 
 
 captain, and we sloo<l on the beach to see them off. the trading jiost established by Coulter, who was then 
 
 Mother then came back, and h.-id us all kneel down and there doing a prosperous business in selling sup- 
 
 and pray for father's safe return. Then we felt safe, plies to the gold miners in the vicinity. 'ITie locality. 
 
 He came back the next day, l)ringing four boat-loads I believe, is now known as Coullerville, and is about 
 
 of cloth, axes, shoes, fish-lines, and many new things, twenty-five miles west of the Yosemite CaAon. We 
 
 There were two grindstones and some cheap jewelry, stopped there overnight, and during our stay heanl 
 
 .My brother had traded some deerskins for a gun and from some of the men assembled in Coulter's store 
 
 four tooth-brushes, the first ones I had ever seen. I the following incidents, of which they said they had 
 
 remember that we children rubbecl them on our teeth been witnesses or participants. 
 
 till the blood came, and then concluded that after all There h.id been some friction and disturbance in the 
 
 we liked best the bits of pounded willow root that we relations of Indians and whites, but the open and gen- 
 
 hatl used for brushes before, .\fter the captain had eral hostility which gave occasion for the subsequent 
 
 carried all the hitles and tallow to his ship he came movements of the " .Mariposa Battalion " had not 
 
 back, very much pleased with his bargain, and gave commenced at the time of our visit. The first serious 
 
 my father, as a present, a little keg of what he called quarrel occurred a few days before, when six Indians 
 
 Boston rum. We put it away for sick jx;ople. came to a trading tent in the Coulter camp and a 
 
 After the ship sailed my mother and sisters began drunken ruffian from Texas, without any reasonable 
 
 to cut out new dresses, which the Indian women sewed, cause, stabbed to the heart the chief of their party. 
 
 On one of mine mother put some big brass buttons The other five Indians with their bows and arrows at 
 
 about an inch across, with eagles on them. How proud once shot the Texan, and having killed him retreated 
 
 I was! I used to rub them hard every day to make to the forest. Two nights later a pack of sixteen mules 
 
 them shine, using the tooth-brush and some of the were stolen from Coulter's corral and ilriven off into 
 
 pounded egg-shell that my sisters and all the .Spanish the mountains by Indians. 
 
 ladies kept in a box to put on their faces on great oc- Great excitement prevailed, and a company of about 
 
 casions. Then our neighbors, who were ten or fifteen one hundred men from the camp and vicinity armed 
 
 miles away, came to see all the things we had bought, themselves and started on the tr-iil. They followed 
 
 One of the Moragas heard that we had the grind- the tracks into the great canon and surprised the In- 
 
 stones, and sent antl bought them with two fine horses, dians, who had already converted the mules into jerked 
 
 Soon after this I went to school, in an adobe, near meat and had hung it up to dry. They had the satis- 
 
 where the town of San Pablo now stands. A Spanish faction of slaughtering a large number of the Indians, 
 
 gentleman was the teacher, and he told us many new with their squaws and jiapooscs. They noticed es- 
 
 things, for which we remember him with great respect, pecially the grandeur that surrounded the battlefield. 
 
 But when he said the earth was round we all laughed They had returned from the expedition just before our 
 
 out loud, and were much ashamed. That was the first arrival. In narrating their story they gave no name 
 
 day, and when he wrote down my name he told me to the canon, but gave us a description such as could 
 
 that I was certainly " I.n Cantinera, the daughter of apply to no place on earth other than the Yosemite. I 
 
 the regiment." .Vftcrward I found out it was because made no record of ti)e names of these discoverers, for 
 
 of my brass buttons. One girl offered me a beautiful what with the big trees, big lumps of gold, and other 
 
 black colt she owned for six of the buttons, but I con- wonders that were seen and heard of daily, a big rift 
 
 tinned for a long lime to think more of those buttons in the mountains would not be thought exceptional or 
 
 than of anything else I fMjssesscd. extraordinary. 
 
 MARTisEi. PruJencia Iligtufii. If Mr. Coulter or any of his associates are still liv- 
 ing they can probably give the names, l)esides adding 
 
 "The Date of the Discovery of the Yosemite." other valuable information. 
 
 I fix the dale of the fight at the Yosemite, .ind thus 
 
 Your correspK>ndent, Mr. Bunnell, in the Septem- of the discovery by the company of men who went front 
 
 ber Ckntury, writes an interesting account of his Coulter's January 10, 1851, as proximate, if not ex.ict, 
 
 discovery of the Yosemite, March 5, 185 1. I .am Ijoth from memory and from corrol>orative records, 
 
 sorry to despoil him of the honor of being they>>// Montclair, N. J. Julius //. /Vu//. 
 
 '/" 
 
 Vol. XLI.— 26. 
 
v) 
 
 N 
 
 SOME VIEWS ON ACTING.^ 
 
 BY TOMMASO SALVINI. 
 
 villa among the woods 
 of Vallombrosa some ech- 
 oes reached of the friend- 
 ly controversy which 
 seems to have been 
 waged in American 
 
 ,0 my quiet country should remain perfectly calm and collected 
 
 however stormy may be the passion he is 
 portraying ; that he should merely make be- 
 lieve, as it Avere, to feel the emotion he strives 
 to make the audience believe he really feels, 
 and that he should act entirely with his brain 
 and not with his heart, to typify by physio- 
 and English magazines logical organs two widely differentiated meth- 
 and newspapers regard- ods of artistic work. That M. Coquelin really 
 ing one of the underlying principles of the and truly believes this somewhat paradoxical 
 art to which I have devoted my life ; a con- theory and endeavors to put his theory into 
 troversy in which were ranged on opposite sides practice, I do not for one moment doubt. Ac- 
 two such eminent actors as Mr. Henry Irving complished and versatile artist as he is, I have 
 and M. Constant Coquelin. These echoes have been struck more than once, as I have enjoyed 
 remained ringing in my ears until, despite the the pleasure of his performances, with the 
 fact that I think an actor is as a rule better em- thought that something amid all the brilliancy 
 ployed in studying the words of others than of execution was lacking ; and this want, so 
 in committing phrases of his own to paper, apparent, was due, I apprehend, to the fact 
 I have ventured to shape, as briefly and sim- that one of the most skillful artists in the 
 ply as possible, my own views on the point in world was deliberately trying to belittle him- 
 dispute. This point, if I have rightly under- self and the art of which it was in his power 
 stood it, resolves itself mainly into the simple to raise the interpretation to such lofty heights, 
 question. Should an actor feel positively and The actor who does not feel the emotion he 
 be moved by the emotions he portrays, or portrays is but a skillful mechanician, setting 
 should he be entirely negative and keep his own in motion certain wheels and springs which 
 emotion at arm's length, as it were, and merely may give to his lay figure such an appearance 
 make his audience believe that he is moved ? of life that the observer is tempted to ex- 
 Let me, in the first place, frankly state my claim: " How marvelous! Were it only alive 
 own opinion, warning my readers first of all 't would make me laugh or weep," He who 
 that it is merely an opinion (for questions of feels, on the contrary, and can communicate 
 art can never be solved definitely, like a mathe- this feeling to the audience, hears the cry : 
 matical problem), and then I can at greater " That zV life ! That /jt reality ! See — I laugh ! 
 length strive to show why I hold such views. I weep ! " It is, in a word, the power of feel- 
 I believe, then, that every great actor ought to ing that marks the artist ; all else is but the 
 be, and is, moved by the emotion he portrays; mechanical side which is common to all the 
 that not only must he feel this emotion once arts. There are many born actors who have 
 or twice, or when he is studying the part, but never faced an audience, as there are many 
 that he must feel it in a greater or less degree — true poets who have never written a verse, 
 and to just that degree will he move the hearts and painters who have never taken a palette 
 of his audiences — whenever he plays the part, in hand. To some only is given the power of 
 be it once or a thousand times, and that he must expression as well as of feeling, and they be- 
 cultivate this susceptibility to emotion as care- come artists in the sight of the world as the 
 fully as he cultivates the development of his others are in the sight of our semi-divine mis- 
 vocal organs, or the habit of moving and walk- tress, the Art universal. 
 
 ing easily and gracefully. This is what I be- 
 lieve and always have believed, and I think it 
 must be acknowledged that my position as to 
 the point at issue is no doubtful one. 
 
 M. Coquelin, on the other hand, maintains, 
 if I rightly interpret his extremely well and for- 
 
 It is at this point that I approach more 
 closely to M. Coquelin. " The actor," he says 
 in eftect, " must carry self-restraint so far that 
 where the creature he simulates would burn, 
 he must be cold as ice. Like callous scientist, 
 he must dissect each quivering nerve and lay 
 
 cibly put expression of opinion, that an actor bare each throbbing artery, all the time keep- 
 1 Translated by Alexander Salvini and Horace ing himself impassive as one of the gods of 
 
 Townsend. 
 
 194 
 
 old Greece, lest a rush of hot heart's blood 
 
im()XI-:i:r sp.wisii i-amiiji:s ix calii-c)rxi.\. 
 
 Wm{ SPKCIAI. RK.FKRKN( K TO IHK VAI.I.KJOS. 
 
 % 
 
 e"- — 
 
 ^' 
 
 
 1 ■ 
 
 ""^ 
 ^ 
 
 •# 
 
 
 ■S- ARTL'RO BANDISI IS THE OLD SPANISH RIDING DRESS 
 OF HIS FATHER. 
 
 ''rilE m( 
 1 falifo 
 
 most attractive literary material left in 
 ornia is to be found in the recollec- 
 tions and traditions of descendants of the pio- 
 neer Spanish flimilies. But these men and 
 women must be met with sympathy for their 
 misfortunes, and with an unfeigned interest 
 in the old ranch and Mission days. As soon 
 as their confidence is fairly won they tell all 
 tliey know, with almost childlike eagerness to 
 
 help in the restoration of the jjast. Onj im- 
 mediately observes the great stress laid upon 
 family connexions, the pleasure taken in sto- 
 ries of former times, and the especial rever- 
 ence for the founders of the jjrovince, the gov- 
 ernors and other officials, and the heads of the 
 Missions. I'olitics, though of course on an ex- 
 tremely small scale, occupies a large part of 
 the recollections of the older men. an<l the 
 animosities of the jjetty revolutions of half a 
 century ago, of the years just before the Ameri- 
 < an confjuest, and of the concjuest itself, still 
 tlivide families from each other. A glance 
 at the subjoined list of the governors of Cali- 
 fornia will show the reader how closely united 
 were the social and politital features of the life 
 of the province. At first the governors had 
 much power ; the great families were hardly 
 established in their almost feudal relations to 
 the soil ; and the long terms of office, — four- 
 teen years in one case, — and the i)eaceful pro- 
 gress of events, show that it was the age of 
 setUement, .\s the Mexican revolution of 1 835 
 approached the Cal'fomians grew restive ami 
 gave their governors more and more trouble ; 
 at last ever)^ noted ranchero family hail a differ- 
 ent candidate for the governorship, and that 
 " year of revolutions," 1836, saw four succes- 
 sive occupants of the office. Picos, Castros, 
 Alvarados, and a dozen other families, with 
 
 -:i>^ 
 
 
 TMB CAML'LUS RANCH, — THK SCR.NP. OF H. H.'s " RAMONA," — AIIOIT TWRK1 
 
 FROM SAN Bl'KNAVKNTCHA. 
 
 v.. I. XI.I.— 50. 
 
 '77 
 
37^ 
 
 PIONEER SPANISH EAMIIfES 
 
 DON JUAN B. CASTRO. 
 
 their adherents and relatives, were strugghng 
 for social and political supremacy.^ 
 
 The great families of the Spanish pioneer 
 period have mostly representatives at the pres- 
 ent day ; some of them have retained wealth 
 and influence, especially in the southern coun- 
 ties. Don Romualdo Pacheco, whose mother 
 was Ramona Carrillo, became State senator, 
 lieutenant-governor, and one of the leaders 
 of the Republican party. The grandson of 
 Captain Antonio del Valle, who came from 
 Mexico to California in 1819, is now one of 
 the most prominent politicians in the State. 
 Don Juan B. Castro has held many offices of 
 trust and profit in Monterey County. Don 
 Ignacio Sepulveda, a thoroughly educated 
 lawyer, married an American wife, and was 
 long a superior judge in Los Angeles. A 
 number of similar cases might be mentioned in 
 which individuals of the conquered race have 
 found their opportunity in the material de- 
 velopment of the Pacific coast. Still, these 
 were but exceptions ; most of the old families 
 sank into obscurity, and it is now difficult to 
 trace their connections. Only about thirty 
 Spanish families of California have retained 
 any wealth or influence. 
 
 Among the families of the first rank as re- 
 gards wealth, influence, dignity, and pride of 
 birth were the Castros, Picos, Arguellos, Ban- 
 dinis, Carrillos, Alvarados, Vallejos, Avilas, 
 Ortegas, Noriegas, Peraltas, Sepulvedas, Pa- 
 checos, Yorbas, and their numerous connec- 
 
 tions. The Estradas, for instance, were rela- 
 tives of the Alvarados, and Don Jose Abrego, 
 of Monterey, treasurer of the province from 
 1839 to 1846, married an Estrada. This made 
 the Abregos allies of the Alvarados. Don Jose's 
 son married a daughter of Jacob P. Leese, the 
 American, son-in-law of General Vallejo ; his 
 daughter married Judge Webb of Salinas : 
 the Alvarado- Vallejo connection had drawn 
 the Abregos towards the Americans. The 
 founder of the Alvarado family was Juan B., a 
 settler of 1769, whose son Jose was sergeant at 
 Monterey, and whose grandson was the gov- 
 ernor. The mother of the governor was Maria 
 Josefa Vallejo ; his wife was Martina Castro. 
 The founder of the Arguello family was Don 
 Jose Dario, who arrived in 1781 ; his wife was 
 a daughter of the Moragas, and their children 
 intermarried with the best families of the prov- 
 ince. One daughter was the famous Maria de 
 la Concepcion Marcela, born in 1790, and re- 
 membered because of her romance, of which 
 Bret Harte has told the story. There is little 
 to add to the outlines of the poem, except that 
 the tale of the lady Concepcion Arguello is 
 familiar to all the Spanish families, and one 
 often hears it used to illustrate the " simple 
 faith of the ancient days." One of the ladies of 
 the Vallejo family retired to a convent. The 
 lady Apolinaria Lorenzana, of Santa Barbara 
 and San Diego, whose lover died, devoted her 
 
 »■ 
 
 DON MANUEL CASTRO. 
 
 life to teaching and to charity, and was known 
 for half a century as "Z(? Pt\i/a" to whom all 
 doors were open and all sorrows brought. She 
 
 1 The Spanish and Mexican governors of California Vicente de Sola, 1815 ; Luis Antonio Arguello, 1823 ; 
 
 and the dates of their accession were as follows : Caspar 
 dePortola, 1767; Felipe de Barri, 1 771 ; Felipe de Neve, 
 1 774 ; Pedro Fages, 1 782 ; Jose Antonio Romen, 1 790 ; 
 Jose J. de Arrillaga, 1 792 ; Diego de Borica, 1 794 ; Jose 
 J. de Arrillaga, 1800; Jose Dario Arguello, 1S14; Pablo 
 
 Jose Maria de Echeandia, 1825; Manuel Victoria, 
 1831 ; Pio Pico, 1832 ; Jose Figueroa, 1833 ; Jose Cas- 
 tro, 1S35 ; Nicolas Gutierrez, 1836; Mariano Chico, 
 1836; Nicolas Gutierrez, 1836; Juan B. Alvarado, 
 1836; Manuel Micheltorena, 1842; Pio Pico, 1845. 
 
IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 379 
 
 planted the famous grapevine of Montccito, 
 lon^' known as the largest in the worUi, ami 
 bearing six thousand clusters in a single season. 
 
 PIO PICO, COVKRNOR OF CALIKORNIA IN 1845. 
 (FROM A niOTOGRAPH BV BUTTERFIELU ft SL'MMBRS.) 
 
 I'hcre were other women as worthy of saint- 
 -hi]). of whom the elders still speak. 
 
 Tile well-known family of Pico was foun<led 
 in 1782, l»y Don Jose Maria, the lather of the 
 governor. The northern branch of this family 
 si)rang from Don Jose Dolores, who arrived 
 in 1790. The first of the Sotos was Don Ig- 
 nacio, a pioneer of 1776; and the Moraga 
 family date from the same year, their founder 
 being Comandante Jose Joaquin, of San Fran- 
 ( isco Presidio and .San Jose Pueblo. A large 
 and prominent Los Angeles family, that of 
 the Avilas, was founded by ("omelio Avila in 
 1783. Alcalde Avila was killed in the rev- 
 olution of 1836. .Several daughters married 
 Americans. The Lugos are often spoken of 
 in histories. They descend from a Mexican 
 soldier, Francisco Lugo, who arrived in 1769, 
 the date which ranks among Spanish Cali- 
 fomians as 1849 docs among .American pio- 
 neers. His four daughters married into the four 
 j)rominv;nt families of Ruiz, C'ota, \'aIlejo. and 
 ("arrillo. The town of Martinez, near Monte 
 Diablo, takes its name from the ^L^rtine/ 
 family, whose founder was an early alcalde of 
 San Francisco, and three of whose daughters 
 married .\mcri( ans. A far later arrival was 
 the Jimeno family, one of whom was Ciovernor 
 
 .Mvarado's Secretary of State, whose widow 
 became the wife of Dr. Ord, and whose two 
 sons were taken to the Atlantic States by Lieu- 
 tenant Sherman in 1850 to be educated. An 
 intimate friend of this fauKJUs secretary was 
 Don Jose NL Romero, the most widely known 
 teacher and author of the province, who wrote 
 and i)rinted the " Catecismo de Ortologia " at 
 Monterey in 1836, and establishe<lana<lvance(l 
 school, the best in California until the days of 
 l'',nri<iue Cambuston an<l Jose Maria Cam]»ina, 
 wh(nn (Governor Alvarado brought from 
 Mexico. 
 
 The Pandinis descended from an Andalu- 
 sian family of high rank, and were in California 
 by 1771. Old Captain Jose Pandini was the 
 first to raise the Mexican flag, which he did 
 on the ship Rciiui, at San Plas, in 182 1. His 
 son Juan married Dolores Fstudillo, and, after 
 her death, Refugio Arguello, and was very 
 pnjminent in the province from 1825 to 1845. 
 The extensive Carrillo family and also the 
 great Ortega family date their Californian 
 record from 1 769. The Ortegas founded Santa 
 P»arbara. The Carrillos in the second genera- 
 tion married into the Vallejos, Castros, Pache- 
 cos, and many other proud families. At the 
 time of the concjuest they had connections in 
 every part of the province. The late Judge 
 Covarrubias, of Santa Barbara, one of the most 
 prominent jurists of Southern California, was 
 connected by marriage with the Carrillos, 
 Captain Noriega, of Santa Barbara, also mar- 
 ried a Carrillo, and when he died, in 1858, he 
 left more than a hundretl descendants. There 
 were large families in those days of simple. 
 
 DNKkAI. AMUMRS PICO. 
 (FROM A PIIOTOORAPM IN rOSSESSION OF Plo PIlO ) 
 
38o 
 
 PIONEER SPANISH FAMILIES 
 
 he;iltliy outdoor life; one often reads in the 
 old documents of from twelve to twenty sons 
 and daughters of the same parents. Don Cris- 
 tobal Dominguez, who owned the Las Vir- 
 genes ranch, left fourteen living children, and 
 one hundred and ten living descendants. 
 The founders of the early families came from 
 
 IMARIA 111', JKSIS VALLEJO (SISTER MARIA TERESA). 
 
 thinir which " astonished all his friends." for it 
 was not seemly ; no other Californian did so. 
 The officer who founded Branciforte, Colonel 
 Pedro Albertia, was a Catalan. The first of the 
 Alvisos, the Valencias, and the Peraltas were 
 from Sonora. Jose Mariano Bonilla, from the 
 city of Mexico, was one of the first lawyers in 
 the province. The Vacas, de- 
 scendants of the famous coii- 
 quistadore Captain Vaca, who 
 was under Cortez, came from 
 New Mexico. Don Manuel 
 Requena of Los Angeles came 
 to California from Yucatan. 
 The Sunols, who owned one 
 of the most beautiful of valleys, 
 were from Spain, and the sons 
 were sent to Paris to be edu- 
 cated. Lieutenant Valdez, who 
 was in the Malaspina expe- 
 dition of 1 79 1, returned to 
 Europe and was killed at Traf- 
 algar. This noted expedition, 
 under Alejandro Malaspina, 
 consisted of two royal corvettes 
 of Spain, which left Cadiz in 
 1789, reached California in 
 1 791, and went around the 
 world. In ways like these, and 
 from a thousand channels of 
 commerce and adventure, every 
 province of Spain and Mexico 
 became represented among the 
 pioneer families of California. 
 
 The Vallejo family traces its 
 descent from soldiers and 
 nobles of the heroic days of 
 Spain, and is as well known in 
 the mother country as in Cali- 
 fornia. A copy of the genea- 
 logical record of the family, 
 which has been kej^t with great 
 precision, was filed in 1806 in 
 the Spanish archives of Alta 
 California. It states that Don 
 Alonzo Vallejo commanded 
 the Spanish troops on board 
 the vessel which brought the 
 
 all parts of the Spanish dominions. The Cas- royal commissioner Bobadilla to iVmerica with 
 
 tros were from Sinaloa, and so were the Lugos. orders to carry Columbus a prisoner to Spain. 
 
 Old Don Aguirre, a wealthy ship-owner and Another famous Vallejo was a captain under 
 
 merchant, who first came in his vessel the Cortez, followed that illustrious cutthroat to 
 
 Giiipiiscuana, was a Basque, and his family is the complete conquest of Mexico, and became 
 
 still represented in San Diego and Santa Bar- governor of the province of Panuco, lord of 
 
 bara. Another Basque pioneer was Don Jose great silver mines, and master of peons innu- 
 
 Amesti, a rough, honest fellow, alcalde of merable. 
 
 Monterey, and afterwards the governor's sec- Bilbao, the ancient capital of Burgos, Spain, 
 
 retary, who married Prudencia Vallejo. Gen- was the place from which the branch of the 
 
 eral Castro once told me that Don Jose "would Vallejos that is known in California started 
 
 even say ' carajo ' before his children," a for the New World. Of this branch came Don 
 
/.V ri/J/'VA'A/J. 
 
 381 
 
 TllK MOTHKK OK (iKS'KKAI. VALLKJO, bOKN 
 MAKIA ANTON I A LUGO. 
 
 Ignacio Vicente Vallejo, born in 1748, in the 
 city of (luadalaxara, Mexico, and designeil, 
 as were many of the family before him, for holy 
 ordersand the service of the Church. The young 
 man rebelled, volunteered under Ca[)tain Ri- 
 vera y Moncada in Padre Junipero Serra's fa- 
 mous expedition, landing at San Uiego in 1 769, 
 and thus became a j)ioneer among the Span- 
 ish ])ioneers themselves. He soon became 
 ])rominent in the colony, and was not only 
 made military commander of various towns, 
 but was Icmg the only civil engineer in the 
 province, laying out most of the greater irri- 
 
 gation works f)f the Missions and |)ueblos, and 
 l»e( oming the owner of extensive an«l valuable 
 estates. 
 
 Don Igna< io's engagement and marriage 
 are noted in most of the chronicles of the pe- 
 riod. The great Missions were being founded, 
 and, outside of priests and Indians, few people 
 were in the country ; California, as late as in 
 the "golden prime of '49," was a masculine 
 community, and women of the better sort were 
 hanl to fmd. When, therefore, the young sol- 
 dier of fortune saw, at San Luis Obispo, in 
 1776, on the day of her birth, an infant daugh- 
 ter of the Lugo family, then as now prominent 
 among the S|)anish families of Southern Cali- 
 fornia, he did not delay his wcjoing. Using all 
 the dignity and formality that the aristocratic 
 ;r/////.\ t/e- nizo/i of the period considered es- 
 sential in such matters, he obtained an inter- 
 view with the parents, and negotiated a solemn 
 contract of engagement with the day-olil Se- 
 norita Maria Antonia Lugo, subject to the 
 girl's future consent. She grew up to be an 
 exceedingly attractive and intelligent young 
 woman, and in due season they were married. 
 It proved an extremely hapjjy and fortunate 
 union, and the success of the founder of the 
 Vallejo family in California in speaking for 
 an infant in arms l^ecame almost a family 
 proverb from San Diego to Sonoma. Don Ig- 
 nacio's home was notable, even in that pioneer 
 age, for its i)atriarchal simjilicity, and he main- 
 tained to the day of his death, in 1831, anoble 
 and dignified leailership of the family. Sefiora 
 Vallejo survived her husband until 1851, and 
 a painting made a short time l)efore her death 
 shows the almost puritanical severity anil 
 strength of character of this old Spanish lady 
 of the Arcadian period of California. 
 
 None of the Spanish j)ioneer families have 
 more carefully preserved the traditions and 
 
 ^- 
 
 UK LA Ot-KKKA MAMSIUN. 
 
382 
 
 PIONEER SPANISH FAMILIES 
 
 relics of the past than have the Vallejos. With 
 them, as with others, the time of greatest pros- 
 perity was between 1820 and 1846. Among 
 the great families with which they were closely 
 connected by marriage or friendship were the 
 De la Guerras, whose founder, Don Jose de 
 la Guerra y Noriega, was born in Santander, 
 Spain, of a family which dates back to the 
 Moorish wars. Early in the century the family 
 owned no fewer than eight large ranches, and 
 as late as 1850 Don Jose sold nearly $100,- 
 000 worth of cattle annually, and was one of 
 the great men of the pastoral period, with hun- 
 dreds of herdsmen scattered over leagues of 
 territory. His wife, Maria Antonia Carrillo, 
 the daughter of Don Raymundo, one of the 
 first commanders at San Diego and Santa 
 
 of every visitor. The freedom from care, the 
 outdoor life and constant exercise, and the per- 
 fect climate of California had re-created the 
 Andalusian type of loveliness. In the Ortega 
 family, for instance, the women, who all had 
 brown hair and eyes and were of pure Cas- 
 tilian stock, were so renowned for their beauty 
 that their fame extended to the city of Mexico, 
 and General Ramirez came from there with 
 letters of introduction to win a daughter of 
 the Ortegas. Another of the famous beauties 
 of her day was the Sehora Maria Isabel Cota 
 de Pico, who was born in 1783 and died in 
 1869, leaving over three hundred living de- 
 scendants. Sehorita Guadalupe Ortega mar- 
 ried young Joseph Chapman, a New Eng- 
 lander who landed on the coast in 1818 from 
 
 \\>''- 
 
 %MiM-. 
 
 o^v 
 
 ■SI 
 
 ADOBE HOUSE, SONOMA, ERECTED BY GENERAL VALLEJO, 1S34. 
 
 Barbara, was called in common speech " that 
 most benevolent lady." The seventh of their 
 eleven children was several times mayor of 
 Santa Barbara. The eldest daughter married 
 W. P. Hartnell, of London. The youngest 
 daughter, Antonia, afterwards Mrs. Oreiia, was 
 called in her day the greatest beauty on the 
 Pacific coast. 
 
 It is remarkable how many of the daugh- 
 ters of the best families of the old Cali- 
 fornian towns married Americans and Eng- 
 lishmen of standing. In the Carrillo family 
 four daughters married foreigners ; the Orte- 
 gas, Noriegas, and many others showed a simi- 
 lar record. The grace, beauty, and modesty 
 of the women of the time were the admiration 
 
 the Buenos Ayrean privateer which Bouchard 
 commanded, and who was captured by Cor- 
 poral Lugo, whose sister married Don Ignacio 
 Vallejo. With true Spanish hospitality Lugo 
 made him a guest of the family, and in a year 
 or two secured his social recognition among 
 the leading families. Chapman became prom- 
 inent at the Mission San Gabriel, and at Los 
 Angeles and Santa Barbara, where he died in 
 1849. 
 
 A multitude of stories of the social life of 
 the Spanish period might be told here, but it 
 is sufficient to give the outline as told by the 
 descendants of those old families. Each town 
 on the coast was the center of the hide and 
 tallow trade for a hundred miles or more. The 
 
/X CAl.irORMA. 
 
 383 
 
 low a<K)bc stores there held 
 piles of costly and beaulifiil 
 goods in the days of which 
 r'arnhani and Dana wrote — 
 the days when the great cattle 
 princes came from their 
 ranches tf) hold festival. The 
 young cavaliers rode in on 
 fiery but well-trained and 
 gaily caparisoned horses, and 
 all the wonderful feats of 
 horsenianshij) of as fine a race 
 of riders as the world has ever 
 seen were performed daily on 
 mesa and sea-beach and plaza. 
 lUit the home life of these great 
 families was simplicity itself. 
 In many a Sjianish house there 
 was no firejjlace, windcjw, or 
 chimney. The fire for cook- 
 ing was built on a clay floor, ' j;' 
 partly roofed, outside of the 
 main building. The house- 
 hold utensils were few — a 
 copper or iron kettle, a slab of 
 rock on which to pound corn 
 or wheat, a soapstone griddle 
 for the tortillas. Dishes, table- 
 ware, and furniture came 
 slowly, and were of the most 
 simple description. For years 
 a raw hide stretched on the 
 lloor with a blanket spread 
 over it formed the usual bed 
 in early California. Every- 
 thing was kept ex(}uisitely 
 clean, and though the Spanish 
 families learned to spend more 
 on their houses and l)elong- 
 ings, they seemed to look 
 upon such things as only affording oppor- 
 tunities for a more generous hospitality. 
 
 In the old days there was not a hotel in 
 California, and it was coasidered a grievous 
 offense even for a stranger, much more for a 
 friend, to ])ass by a ranch without stopping. 
 l""resh horses were always furnished, and in many 
 cases on record when strangers appeared to 
 need financial help a jjile of uncounted silver 
 was left in the .sleeping apartment, and they 
 were given to understand that they were to 
 take all they needed. This money was covered 
 with a doth, and it was a point of honor not 
 to count it beforehand nor afterward.s. It 
 was " guest silver," and the custom con- 
 tinued until its abuse by travelers compelled 
 the native Califomians to abandon it. Among 
 themselves no one was ever allowed to suffer 
 or struggle for lack of help. The late Dr. 
 Nicholas Den, of Santa Barbara, who married 
 into the Ortega family, once needed money 
 
 DOfiA VALLEJO, WIDOW OF GENKRAI. VALLKJO, 
 BORN FRANCISCA PENICIA CARRILLO. 
 
 to carry through a speculation, and thought 
 of going to Los .Angeles to borrow it. ( )ld 
 Father Narciso, hearing of the matter, .sent 
 his Indian boy to him with a "cora," or 
 four-gallon tule ba.sket, full of gold, anil the 
 message that he ought to come to his priest 
 whenever he needed help. 
 
 The collections of " Documents relating to 
 the History of (^ilifoniia" made by (leneral 
 Vallejo and his brother Don J. J. Vallejo, 
 and now in the I5ancroft library, and the very 
 graphic and careful series of manuscript notes 
 and memoranda by C.eneral Vallejo, entitled 
 "llistoria de California," all cast light upon 
 the social and economic conditions in these 
 Arcadian days. \ very large number of the 
 old fiimilies, such as the Ca-stros, I'icos, .\rccs, 
 and I'eraltas, and many of the Americans 
 who had married native Califomians, furnished 
 manuscri|)ts. letters, and various documents of 
 permanent value In fact it may be tloubted if 
 
384 
 
 PIONEER SPANISH FAMIIIES 
 
 the pioneer period of any other American 
 State has had a more complete mass of origi- 
 nal authoritative data made ready for the his- 
 torian's use. Much still remains to be collected 
 from first hands, and many minor historical 
 questions will probably be solved by docu- 
 ments still held by the native Californian fami- 
 lies, who treasure every scrap of written paper. 
 The link between the old and the new, be- 
 tween the quiet and happy pastoral age of the 
 beginning of the century and the age of Ameri- 
 can growth and change that followed fast on 
 
 the ca]:)ital of the province, and died Jan- 
 uary 18, 1890, in Sonoma, once the northern 
 fortress of the province and guarded by 
 the young general's soldiers. At the age 
 of sixteen he was an officer in the army 
 and the private secretary of the governor 
 of California. In 1829, when only twenty- 
 one, he became lieutenant-commander of 
 the northern department, w^hich included all 
 the country north of Santa Cruz, and made 
 his headquarters at the presidio. Here he or- 
 ganized the first town government of Yerba 
 
 
 '->/ix^ 
 
 
 WASHING-DAY ON A RANCH. 
 
 the conquest, was that remarkable man, Gen- 
 eral Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo,i whose chil- 
 dren, as he once told me, " were born under 
 three administrations — Spanish, Mexican, and 
 Arfierican." One of his daughters said, " Two 
 of us, when we were small, were called by our 
 brothers and sisters ' the little Yankees.' " 
 General Vallejo, the eighth of the thirteen 
 children of Don Ignacio, was born in 1808, 
 in the old seaport town of Monterey, long 
 
 Buena, and for five years exercised 
 both civil and military functions 
 there. The Solis rebellion against 
 Governor Echeandia, who had re- 
 moved the seat of government from 
 Monterey to San Diego, began in 
 the fall of 1829, and Vallejo aided 
 in the defeat of the insurgents at 
 Santa Barbara. He was a member of the 
 territorial deputation in 1831, and brought 
 articles of impeachment against Governor Vic- 
 toria, who was defeated and driven from Cali- 
 fornia in the revolution which followed. The 
 next year General Vallejo married Sehorita 
 Francisca Benicia Carrillo, by whom he had 
 seventeen children, nine of whom are now liv- 
 ing.2 
 
 By 1840 the young lieutenant had reached 
 
 1 See portrait in The Century for December, 1890. Attila Haraszthy, Mrs. E. Emperan, Mrs. J. Henry 
 
 2 The eldest became the wife of General John B. Cutter, Dr. Platon Vallejo, Andronica Vallejo, Ulla 
 Frisbie ; the others are the wife of Dr. Frisbie, Mrs. Vallejo, and Napoleon Vallejo. 
 
/X C. t /.//•() A'. \ /.I. 
 
 3S5 
 
 I V 
 
 .i -Karr*-^. 
 
 THE FANDANGO. 
 
 the rank of lieutenant-general, and was the 
 one man in California to whom the entire prov- 
 ince turned with perfect confidence in every 
 emergency. When (nilierrez was deposed 
 Vallejo took control of aftairs, and he made 
 his nephew Alvarado ( ivil governor, retaining 
 military control himself. .Slicheltorena, who 
 succeeded him as governor, confirmed all his 
 acts, and appointed him military commaniler 
 of the whole territory north of Monterey. 
 \'allejo then founded the town of Sonoma, 
 making it his military head<iuarters, and spent 
 more than a (piarter of a million dollars 
 there. He sent to Mexico for a printing press 
 and type, set up with his own hands his orders 
 and proclamations, and printed and bound sev- 
 eral |)amphlets. This was in 1839. The famous 
 Zamoranij press of Monterey, which began 
 work in November, 1834, with carnival ball 
 invitations, ha<l printed the " Catecismo " an<l 
 many public documents, which are much jjri/.eil 
 by collectors. Paper was so .scarce that the 
 proof-sheets and defective ])rints were .saved 
 and usetl for fly-leaves of the curious little 
 arhmi'licas and other text-books that were 
 issued a few years later for the schools of the 
 province. 
 
 One has to go back to the days of the fa- 
 mous Spanish " marches," or frontier towns built 
 and <lefended in Spain's hen^ic age by her 
 proudest knights, to fmd a fit parallel in his- 
 tory to the positi«)n held by (ieneral Vallejo 
 during the closing years of the Mexican rule 
 in California. He had absolute sway for a 
 hundred miles or more, and h<- "k(],t ih.' 
 Vol. XI. I. — 51. 
 
 border." His men rode on horseback to Mon- 
 terey and to Captain Sutter's fort on the Sacra- 
 mento, bringing him news and carrying his 
 letters. Spanish families colonized the fertile 
 valleys under his protection, antl Indians came 
 and built in the shadows of the Sonoma Mis- 
 sion. He owned, as he Ijelieved by unassail- 
 able title, the largest and finest ranch in the 
 province, and he dispensed a hospitality so 
 generous and universal that it was admired 
 and extolled even among the old Spanish 
 families. J. Quinn Thornton, who visited the 
 coast in 1848 antl published his experiences, 
 says: '' (lovernor-Ceneral N'allejo owns 1000 
 horses that are broken to the saddle and bridle, 
 and gooo that are not broken. Hroken horses 
 readily bring one hundred dollars apiece, 
 but the unbroken ones can be purchased 
 for a trivial sum." More and more in the 
 closing years of the epoch and the days of 
 the contjuest Cieneral N'allejo became the rep- 
 resentative man of his people, and .so he has 
 received, among many of the old families, the 
 reproachful name of a traitor to California 
 and to his nation. 'I'he tpiiet intensity of this 
 bitterness, even to-day, is a startling thing. I 
 have seen men of pure blood, famous in pro- 
 vincial history, leave the room at the name of 
 Vallejo. 
 
 In 1844-45 the native Californians drove 
 out (iovernor .Micheltorena, and began to dis- 
 CU.SS the feasibility of establishing a separate 
 government. In 1846 the famous Santa Bar- 
 bara convention of leading ran< hers o(<urred, 
 ind. acconling to Ceneral \'allejo's memo- 
 
386 
 
 PIONEER SPANISH FAMIIIES 
 
 
 OLD SWISS HOUSE OF GENERAL VALLEJO AT SONOMA, IMPORTED IN PARTS FROM SWITZERLAND. 
 
 randa, English influences were very strong. 
 He exerted all his i)ersonal influence, and se- 
 cured an adjournment of the convention to 
 Monterey, where that fine old American, Con- 
 sul Thomas O. Larkin, helped him in his 
 struggle. Here Vallejo made a bold speech 
 against an English protectorate, against a sep- 
 arate republic, and in favor of annexation to 
 the United States and ultimate statehood. He 
 was thoroughly equipped for the task, the best 
 educated man among the native Californians, 
 and inspired by the American ideal. The con- 
 vention closed with its leaders, such as his 
 nephews Castro and Alvarado, ready to adopt 
 the views of Vallejo, and the way seemed pre- 
 pared for a hearty welcome to the Americans. 
 But the Bear Flag episode followed, Vallejo 
 was carried a prisoner to Sutter's Fort, and 
 the opportunity of peaceful conquest was 
 lost. Nevertheless, as soon as he was released 
 he threw himself heart and soul into the 
 work of organizing a government. He aided 
 in framing a temporary code of laws, and in 
 securing its support by the Spanish popula- 
 tion. He laid out the town sites of Beni- 
 cia and Vallejo on the strait of Carquinez, and 
 he was a leading member of the constitu- 
 tional convention. General Vallejo's whole 
 career showed that he was actuated by a large 
 and noble ambition to be recognized as the 
 foremost citizen of the State. Nothing marked 
 this element in his nature more clearly than 
 the magnificent plans for his proposed capital 
 
 at Vallejo. He offered to construct public 
 buildings and give large areas of land. The 
 long-forgotten scheme, which was laid before 
 the legislature of 1850, who accepted, and was 
 ratified by the people, was in every respect 
 worthy of his magnificent liberality. He began 
 to build his new city, but, contrary to the pledges 
 of the State, the capital was removed to Sacra- 
 mento at the next session of ihe legislature. 
 Squatters began to settle upon his great Sus- 
 col and Petaluma ranches, and ultimately the 
 Supreme Court of the United States rejected 
 the title to the larger part of his estates. He 
 spent the rest of his life on a comparatively 
 small homestead, " Lachryma Montis," near 
 the old town of Sonoma. 
 
 Lachryma Montis is one of the few histor- 
 ical mansions of the Pacific coast. The dwell- 
 ing house, built in 1850-5 1 , cost nearly $60,000 
 and came from all parts of the world — the 
 mantelpieces from Honolulu, the iron from 
 China, the bricks from South America. Car- 
 penters' wages were then seventeen dollars a 
 day, and the great redwoods that were hewn 
 in the Sonoma forests were " whip-sawed " by 
 hand for the plank required. The spring on the 
 mountain side that gave the mansion its name 
 was walled in, and a lake which supplied the 
 town with water and fed fountains in the orange, 
 lemon, and olive groves was thus formed. 
 More nopal hedges were planted, and the old 
 ones extended. A chalet imported in parts 
 from Switzerland was erected near the man- 
 
IX CAf.irORMA. 
 
 387 
 
 si'on. KartlitT away wltc tlie old ailohcs. A 
 |)avili()n of iron, glass, and hainlKK), imj)ortcil 
 from China, cost, as members of the family 
 tell mc, more than a hundred thousand <lol- 
 lars. When the estates were lost the beautiful 
 grounds began to fall into ruins, through lack 
 of means to kee|) them up, and in 1890 Gen- 
 eral Vallejo died a eom|)aratively jioor man. 
 
 Sonoma Valley is full of stories of his gen- 
 erosity. Father Lorenzo Waugh, an early 
 Methodist cireuit-rider of the region, saw the 
 s<|uatters taking up lanil in the valley while 
 waiting for a decision respecting Vallejo's title. 
 He went to the general, and was told to go 
 ahead and settle on a (juarter-section, and he 
 would do all in his power to secure him a title. 
 Father Waugh did so, and nine years later, 
 while Vallejo was away, the lines of this par- 
 ticular district were settled, and his lawyer, 
 against orders, soUl the tract on which Waugh 
 lived. As soon as Vallejo learned this he gave 
 him a title to three hundred acres of better land, 
 a part of the home estate. No one will ever 
 know how many hundreds of American pio- 
 neers owed their start in the world to General 
 Vallejo, even while he was struggling against 
 immense financial difficulties and losing his 
 lands, not by acres, but by square leagues. 
 
 in 1.H49, in .\lameda County. " Vou can keep 
 it ; I cannot." 
 
 After General Vallejo found his estate slip- 
 ping away he devotefl himself more and more 
 to hortic ulture and to the e<lucation of his chil- 
 dren. He occa.sionally appeared in public, and 
 the greatness of his services to the common- 
 wealth was recognized by every thoughtful 
 citi/en. The general's name is mentioned in 
 nearly every book of travels or magazine arti- 
 cle relating to early California. In his later 
 years he gathered up and put on record a sur- 
 prising wealth of material relating to the (j1<1 
 Sjjanish days of California. From him the his- 
 torians have drawn m(jst of their important 
 details. His manuscript, now in the Hancroft 
 collection, is written with such excjuisite care 
 and fidelity to truth that, like General Hidwell's 
 recollections of early days in the Sacramento 
 \'alley, it has become the primary authority 
 upon all within its range. 
 
 General \'allejo's readiness of apt anecdote 
 was always remarkable. Patti once ilined with 
 him, and asked the old soldier if he enjoyed 
 the first opera he ever heard. 
 
 '' Why, no," said Vallejo; "and yet I con- 
 fess I shall never forget it." 
 
 This reply aroused Patti's curiosity, and she 
 
 AN AOOBE IN SONOMA. 
 
 Many others of the old Californians made a 
 distinction between the " Gringo thieves " and 
 the plea.sant, manly j)ioneers who were good 
 neighbors. A volume could be written about 
 the unsolicited gifts of land — fifty acres here, a 
 hundred there — matle to young .Americans to 
 whom the great rancheros had taken a fancy, 
 or who had rendered them a service. "Take the 
 land," said Don AlviM) to a Connecticut man 
 
 demanded when and where the event took 
 I)lace. 
 
 " In 1828, on the site of the Palace Hotel, 
 San Francisco." 
 
 " I ndeed ! .\n<l w ho was the prima donna so 
 long ago as that .-' " 
 
 " Well, I can't say," was the smiling answ er ; 
 "but there were at least five hundred coyotes 
 in the chorus." 
 
388 
 
 PIONEER SPANISH FAMILIES IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 / 
 
 foothills. November 23, 17 74, Captain Rivera, 
 with sixteen soldiers and Father Palou, made 
 another expedition to the bay. They entered 
 the Santa Clara Valley and skirted the western 
 shore of the bay of San Francisco, following 
 the level plains past the sites of Palo Alto, 
 Belmont, and many other towns of to-day, and 
 crossing to the ocean beach 
 at Laguna de la Merced, 
 '^ they reached Point Lobos, 
 and climbed the cliff to look 
 down on the Golden Gate, 
 they planted the cross. The 
 in his commemoration ad- 
 dress, " That cross I saw myself in the 
 year 1829." The expedition returned to 
 Monterey " by way of San Pedro, Spanish- 
 town, Half Moon Bay, Point New Year, 
 Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Castroville, and 
 Salinas." In 1775 Captain Ayala sailed the 
 A volume of description could not give a San Carlos into the bay of San Francisco, and 
 more complete picture of the loneliness of the " remained forty days, exploring it in all direc- 
 peninsula at that time. tions." In the spring of 1776 Colonel Anza 
 
 In his younger days General Vallejo not and Lieutenant Moraga led another land expe- 
 
 December 4 
 general says 
 
 THE VALLEJO CHARIOT FOR POSTILION AND 
 FOOTMAN, BROUGHT FROM MEXICO EARLY IN THIS CENTURY. 
 
 dition to the region and returned to Monterey. 
 Then came the foundation of the Mission and 
 the Presidio. The military force, under Lieu- 
 tenant Moraga, consisted, says General Vallejo, 
 of one sergeant, two corporals, and ten soldiers, 
 with their wives and children. These conveyed 
 Fathers Palou and Cambon, with two Indian 
 servants and three neophyte Indians, who 
 cared for eighty-six head of Mission cattle, 
 partly their own, partly belonging to the king. 
 June 27, 1776, they camped at the lagoon or 
 lake of Dolores, near where the Mission was 
 soon afterwards built. The soldiers erected 
 
 only knew almost every one of the five 
 thousand Spanish Californians in the province, 
 the greater part of the Mission Inciiaus, and 
 the chiefs of the wild tribes, but he gathered up, 
 even in his youth, the traditions of the pioneers, 
 and tested their accuracy by every possible 
 documentary and other evidence. His jour- 
 nals are full of variety, and form a complete 
 picture of the entire Spanish period. One of 
 his memoranda speaks of the galleon San 
 Augnstin, which was wrecked in Tomales Bay 
 in 1595, and of which portions drifted into the 
 Golden Gate in 1830, where they were found 
 by Don Jose Antonio Sanches and identified barracks of tule, soon replaced by wood. The 
 by General Vallejo ! He has traced the track day of the foundation of the Mission w as fixed 
 of every exploring expedition from the earliest atOctober 4, thedayof St. Francis,and October 
 settlement, and determined most of their camps. 8 the actual building was begun. Among those 
 Hisstoryof the discovery of San Francisco Bay present were Don Ignacio Vallejo, Lieutenant 
 illustrates the slowness of the progress of set- Moraga, and members ofthe families of Briones, 
 tlement. It was late in 1769 that the Portala Gahndo, Castro, Pacheco, Bojorques, Bernal, 
 party and Captain Rivera, with whom was Don Peralta, Higuera, and others of prominence in 
 Ignacio Vallejo, worked northward from San Spanish California. 
 
 Diego, past Monterey, and down the San Mateo The historians of Spanish Cahfornian days 
 peninsula, till, on November 2, two hunters must draw on such traditions as these, ob- 
 of the expedition first looked upon the bay tained from General Vallejo's conversations, 
 of San Francisco, and November 4 the whole or written in his memoranda. A single maga- 
 
 party saw the great bay. In March, 1772, 
 Captain Fages and Father Crespi made that 
 notable exploration which extended from 
 Monterey across the Salinas Valley, through 
 the hills to the Santa Clara Valley, up the 
 east side of the bay past San Jose and Oak- 
 
 zine article can contain only a small part of 
 the wealth of tradition that has gathered about 
 the old Sonoma homestead of the Vallejos — 
 that homestead which is in the highest degree 
 typical of all Spanish homesteads of the first 
 rank on the Pacific coast. Everywhere, in the 
 
 land, and along the shores of San Pablo and most picturesque portions of Cahfornia, are the 
 
 Suisun to where Antioch now stands. The old adobes that once were social centers of 
 
 San Joaquin River was crossed at this point, the stately Hfe of nearly a century ago. Most 
 
 and recrossed by the expedition, which re- of them are merely ruins, but many are still 
 
 turned to Monterey through the Monte Diablo the homes of the descendants of the first fami- 
 
/•///•. i//.v.s-A).v.s- or Ai.r.i califoraia. 
 
 389 
 
 lies of tlu- province. Tlu >i.ii- ih.it brought 
 sut h change and wreck to the old days have 
 now carried them so far back into the mists 
 of tradition that they seem centuries away. 
 \'alleio's I'ortress on the frontier is now a town, 
 as dull and unromantic as Yonkers. About 
 the ancient pueblo of Los Angeles has sprung 
 up an intensely modern city. \ railroad ex- 
 tentlsihrough the very graveyard of San Miguel 
 Mission. Much needs to be done by Cali- 
 
 fornians to preserve the memorials of the past 
 that was so fair and sf) fruitful a beginning of 
 the story of the commonwealth. The agency 
 through which this is to be accomplished is 
 likely to be the association known as the Na- 
 tive Sons of the (lolden West, under whose 
 public-si)irited direction was conducted the 
 recent successful celebration of the "''n 
 of California. 
 
 Charles Iloxcurd Shinit. 
 
 m-v^ii ill 
 
 
 
 FROM AN lll.l) Uutl.MENT. 
 
 Till-: MISSIONS OI- ALTA CALIFORNIA.' 
 
 . ■*-> 
 
 
 ^. '■'* 
 
 
 
 CROSS AT MONTERKV MARKINT, TIIR LANDING PLACK 
 or UNII-KKU S8RKA. 
 
 AL ril( )L (ill the peninsula of Lower Cal- 
 ifornia was discovered as early as 1534, 
 and many attempts were made to colonize it, 
 it remained wholly unoccuj)ied by Spain down 
 
 1 See .nlso " P'ather JuniiKTO .iinl his Work : .\ 
 Sketch of tlic Koimd.ition, ProsjxTilv, .Tn'l Ruin of the 
 Franciscan Missions in Cilifornia,'* l>y " H. H.." in 
 this niagaziiic for May ami June, iS8j — Ediiuk. 
 
 to 1697. In February of that year two Jesuit 
 fathers, Juan .NLiria Salvatierra and Francisco 
 Eusebio Kino, asked permission to attempt the 
 spiritual conquest of the country, which was 
 granted on condition that the king should not 
 be called on for any part of the expense in- 
 volved, and that pos.session should be taken 
 distinctly in the name of the Spanish crown. 
 .\rmed with this authority and the sanction of 
 their superiors in the order, the two mission- 
 aries set about collecting funds for their under- 
 taking, and in a short time succeeded in obtain- 
 ing sufficient means to commence it. These 
 funds, subscribed by charitable individuals, 
 whose names and contributions the gratitude 
 of the fathers has preserved for us to this day, 
 increased, in progress of time, to an aggregate 
 of sufVicient importance to find frequent men- 
 tion in Mexican legislation and history, under 
 the name of the " I'ious Fund of the Califor- 
 nias." It constituted afterwanls the endow- 
 ment and support of the Missions on all the 
 west coast of the ( ontinent as far north as 
 claimed by Spain, the whole of which was 
 called by the general name of the Californias. 
 The thirteen Missions founded by the Jesuits 
 
39° 
 
 THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 in Lower California extended from Cape San 
 Lucas, at the extremity of the peninsula, north- 
 wards. Details regarding them are deemed out 
 of place here : they were in a flourishing con- 
 dition at the time of the expulsion of the order 
 in 1768, and the establishments remain to the 
 present day ; ruined indeed and deserted by the 
 population that once clustered round them, but 
 attesting still the pious zeal of their founders. 
 In 1767 the Spanish monarch, by a "prag- 
 matic sanction," directed that the Society of 
 
 abroad. A few moments only were allowed to 
 them to snatch their breviaries, beads, prayer- 
 books, and necessary clothing, and within an 
 hour after the first knock at the door of the 
 establishment the whole body of inmates was 
 in motion towards the coast, where they were 
 with equal suddenness and despatch shipped 
 off to Rome. During their journey to the 
 point of embarkation no intercourse was 
 allowed either with friends or with persons 
 casually met on the road. They vanished 
 
 
 ' •* ' '-4* ■^n;( ^ ijl^w'f'^ '■ 
 
 ^T'JrW.''/. ■^"- --^^ 
 
 THE FIRST MISSION IN CALIFORNIA (SAN DIEGO). 
 
 Jesus should be expelled from his dominions. 
 With a refinement of cruelty this decree was 
 directed to be put into force in every part of the 
 kingdom at the same instant. At a given hour 
 of the night, long after the inmates were in pro- 
 found sleep, a train of vehicles was drawn up 
 at the door of every Jesuit college, novitiate, 
 or other establishment of any kind, and the 
 porter was roused from sleep and directed, in 
 the name of the king, to summon all the mem- 
 bers of the community to instant assembly in 
 the chapel or refectory. Hastily putting on 
 their garments, the members obeyed the sum- 
 mons, bewildered to conjecture its cause. The 
 roll was called, the laggards, if there were any, 
 were brought in, and the assembled members 
 were then informed that his Majesty had been 
 pleased to banish them forever from his do- 
 minions. Carriages were awaiting them be- 
 low, and relays of animals were provided for 
 their transportation to the nearest seaport, 
 where vessels were prepared to convey them 
 
 from Spain, and from all the European posses- 
 sions of Spain, as silently and as rapidly as a 
 
 mornmg mist. 
 
 It was not possible to enforce this barbarous 
 decree with the same cruel precision in Cali- 
 fornia. The place was too remote, and its re- 
 sources inadequate. It was necessary to supply 
 the Missions with other missionaries, else the 
 Indians, who had been with so much trouble and 
 effort reduced to habits of civilization, would 
 infallibly have relapsed again into savagery 
 and paganism, and the whole work of con- 
 quest would have to be recommenced. Thus 
 the necessities of the situation somewhat mod- 
 ified the cruelty of the proceedings in Califor- 
 nia. The missionaries were assembled in La 
 Paz in February, 1768, and amid the tears and 
 lamentations of their Indian flocks, who, from 
 every Mission in the peninsula, sent delegations 
 to accompany their spiritual fathers, they fi- 
 nally embarked, and, after a toilsome pilgrim- 
 age across Mexico, finally took ship at Vera 
 
Till: MISSIONS OF AI.TA CA 1. 1 FOR MA. 
 
 39' 
 
 MISSION OF SAN ;Os£. (DRAWN AFTER A DAGl'ERREOTVl'E 
 TAKKN IN 1853, NOW OWNED BV J. L. BEARD.) 
 
 Cruz on the i3lh of April. From the magni- 
 tude of the Pious Fund the hungry poHticians, 
 who hoped to jjrofit by their expulsion, looked 
 for large amounts of money from the i)lunder 
 of the California Missions. The total of all 
 sums found at them proved less than a hun- 
 dred dollars. 
 
 Arrangements had been made by the vice- 
 roy by which Franciscan friars, drawn from the 
 ton vent of San Fernando de Zacatecas, to(;k 
 the place of the expelled Jesuits in the several 
 Missions; and adopting the rules and practices 
 f)f their predecessors they gradually slid into the 
 confidence of the simj/le-hearted natives, and 
 carried on the work as it had been commenceil. 
 
 At this time the Marquis de Croix was Vice- 
 roy of New Spain, and Jose de (ialvcz was 
 sent over from the mother country as Visita- 
 dor (Jeneral, armed with extraordinary powers. 
 Apprehensions of an attempt by the English to 
 enlarge their possessions in America and to ob- 
 tain a foothold on the I'ac ific made it appear 
 unsafe to permit the northwest coast to re- 
 main longer unoccupied, and Galvez deter- 
 mined to coloni/e it on a large scale. He was 
 a man of immense zeal and untiring industry, 
 well chosen for an occasion recjuiring energetic 
 action. Fortunately he met with an ec( lesiastic 
 to second his movements who possessed the 
 same (lualities in as high a degree, perhaps in 
 a higher, and who joined to them a humble 
 ])iety, a zealous devotion to duty, and a self- 
 abnegation even more remarkable. This was 
 Father Junipero Serra, jjresident of the Mis- 
 sions. 
 
 Father Michael Joseph Serra was l>()rn in the 
 island of Majorca, in the year 171.^. After pur- 
 suing his studies in the Fullian I'niversity there 
 he evinced a preference for a religious life, and 
 
 BBIXS AND FONT AT SAN JO&£ 
 
 was admitted to the order of St. Francis, tak- 
 ing insteatl of his baptismal names that of Ju- 
 nipero. by which only he is known in history. 
 The Franciscans and Dominicans were, about 
 that period, extending their Missions among the 
 Indians of .\merica in rivalry with the Jesuits, 
 and Father Serra with three of his fellow-mem- 
 
392 
 
 THE MISSIONS OF AITA CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 bers became inflamed with the desire to take 
 part in these pious enterprises. The other asso- 
 ciates were Fathers Rafael Verger, Francisco 
 Palou, and Juan Crespi. They obtained per- 
 mission to join a body of missionaries which in 
 1749 was assembled at Cadiz to embark for 
 the New World, and after a ninety-nine days' 
 voyage they landed in Vera Cruz. Palou has 
 left us a quaint history of their journey, which 
 in these days of rapid transit is rather amusing. 
 The voyage from Majorca to Malaga was made 
 in a small English coaster, 
 
 the captain of which [says he] was a stubborn, 
 cross-grained heretic, of a disposition so aggravating 
 that, during the fifteen days our passage to Malaga 
 lasted, he gave us not a minute's peace. We scarce 
 had time to read our office, from his everlasting and 
 
 missionaries overboard, and on one occasion 
 clapped a dagger at Father Serra's throat, 
 threatening his life. It is not surprising that 
 the missionaries rejoiced at again reaching /d'rris! 
 Jirma after fifteen days of tossing in a Mediter- 
 ranean vessel and enjoying from the officers 
 these social amenities. 
 
 After many years'successful missionary eftbrts 
 in the Sierra Gorda, Father Serra was selected 
 to take principal charge of the Missions of 
 California, now confided to the Franciscans, 
 and he arrived at the port of Loreto with fif- 
 teen associates on the 2d of April, 1768. After 
 having made the necessary dispositions for oc- 
 cupying the various establishments of the pe- 
 ninsula — a task which occupied many months, 
 as they extended over a territory seven hundred 
 
 -v^r 5^ 
 
 ■m^ms^- 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 •* r"-* -^^ru«u(.^M'«<'-*WM.^i»**««ifi^pai(t*ft^^ 
 
 ml •^* f- * ( H^M"^-^-^^- 
 
 ,i^ ■-«- - ' 
 
 '"lilllfe'iife ■ 
 
 
 MISSION OF SAN ANTONIO OF PADUA, ABOUT TWENTY WILES FROM MONTEREY. 
 
 persistent craving to dispute about religion and 
 wrangle over doctrinal points. He understood no 
 language save English and a mere smattering of 
 Portuguese, and in the latter he conducted his dis- 
 putations. With the English version of the Bible 
 in his hand he would read a text of the Holy Scrip- 
 ture and proceed to interpret it according to his own 
 ideas. But our Father junipero was so well versed 
 in dogmatic theology and so familiar with the Holy 
 Scriptures that he would at once point out the error 
 and misinterpretation, and frequently refer to an- 
 other text in confirmation. Thecaptain would there- 
 upon rummage his greasy old Bible, and when he 
 could find no other escape would declare that the 
 leaf was torn and he could n't find the verse he 
 wanted. 
 
 The captain, as Father Palou states, re- 
 mained " doggedly perverse " till the last, and 
 in fact the disputes waxed so hot at times that 
 he more than once threatened to throw the 
 
 mile, in length — he was ready to cooperate with 
 Galvez in the subjection of Upper California 
 to the practical dominion of the crown of Spain 
 and the Christian religion. Two expeditions 
 were organized for the purpose, one by sea 
 and the other by land. The latter was formed 
 into two detachments, which, after a toilsome 
 march from San Fernando de Vellicata, on the 
 Indian frontier of Lower California, were, on 
 the ist of July, 1769, reunited at the bay of 
 San Diego, where the schooners Sa/i Carlos and 
 San Antonio, which had come up the coast to 
 meet them, were also safely anchored. San 
 Diego was a place of which at that time noth- 
 ing more was known than that there was an 
 excellent harbor, which had been visited by 
 Sebastian Vizcayno in his voyage of 1601-2. 
 This journey to San Diego occupied ninety- 
 three days, during which Father Serra suffered 
 
THE Af/S.S/().\S or Af.TA C.I f. //•'() /^.\ /.I. 
 
 393 
 
 "I 
 
 • i ic — fBTpi-i -T -.^.- 
 
 
 
 
 MISSION OF SAN Bl'ENAM- N 1 ' <■ > 
 
 excruciatingly from an injury lo one ol his 
 legs, so that at times he coukl neither walk 
 nor ride. 
 
 The first Mission of Upper California was 
 founded at San Diego, and before the Ia|)se 
 of a fortnight a second expedition was organ- 
 ized, under Don Ciaspar de Portola, which was 
 directed to proceed up the coast as far as Mon- 
 terey and to found a Mission there. Monterey 
 was also a place made known to Spanish 
 geographers by Vizcayno's voyage of 1602, in 
 his report of which he had described it in glow- 
 ing terms as a magnificent harbor, fit to shelter 
 the navies of the world. Fathers Juan Crespi 
 and Francisco (lome/ were the chaplains of 
 this expedition, which was also tcj have the 
 ( ociperation of the two schooners, which were 
 directed to the .same destination. 
 
 How this land expedition toiled up the coast 
 from .San Diego, of its "moving accidents by 
 flood and field, of hairbreadth '.scapes, .... 
 of antres vast and deserts idle, rough (piarries, 
 rocks and hills," of how in its search for Mon- 
 terey it stumbled on the bay of San Francisco 
 anfl first made known to civilized man the 
 garden of the present State of California, I have 
 related elsewlieie and will not here repeat. 
 Suffice it to .say, that having penetrated as far 
 up the coast and over the Coast Range as to 
 look down from the i rest over what is now 
 Searsville on the broad expanse of the Santa 
 ( Mara Valley, and on the great estuary which its 
 historian des( ribed as a " Mediterranean sea," 
 the expedition, compelled by the approach of 
 winter, the scarcity of food, and the increa.sing 
 hostility ofthe aborigines, turned on the i ithof 
 November to retrace its steps \o San Diego. 
 
 On again reaching Point I'inos and the sup- 
 posed place of the bay of Monterey, nearly a 
 Vol.. Xl.l.— 52. 
 
 '♦rr 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 rt'LI-IT AND CONFKSSIONAL OF SA.N l<' 
 
 'V 
 
394 
 
 THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 fortnight was devoted to a vigorous exploration 
 of the rugged coast in search of the magnificent 
 port described by Vizcayno, but in vain. The 
 locahty did not correspond in any degree to 
 the traveler's glowing description of it. Failing 
 to discover the harbor they were looking for, the 
 leaders concluded it had been either destroyed 
 by some convulsion of nature, or filled with 
 silt, and so obliterated. They erected a large 
 wooden cross at the north and another at the 
 south side of Point Pinos as a memorial of their 
 visit, and for the purpose of attracting the at- 
 tention of the expedition by sea, which had 
 been despatched to cooperate with them. On 
 the cross erected at the south side was cut the 
 legend : " Dig at the foot of this and you will 
 find a writing"; and at its foot accordingly 
 
 Cisco on the iith of November, passed Point Ano 
 Nuevo on the 19th, and reached this point and har- 
 bor of Pinos on the 27th of the same month. From 
 that d-ite until the present, qth of December, we 
 have used every effort to find the bay of Monterey, 
 searching the coast thoroughly notwithstanding its 
 ruggedness, but in vain. At last undeceived, and 
 despairing of finding it after so many efforts, suffer- 
 ings, and labors, and having left of all our provisions 
 but fourteen small sacks of flour, we leave this 
 place to-day for San Diego. I beg of Almighty 
 God to guide it, and for you, traveler, who may read 
 this, that he may guide you to the harbor of eternal 
 salvation. 
 
 Done in this harbor of Pinos, the 9th of Decem- 
 ber, 1769. 
 
 Note. — That Don Michael Constanzo, the engi- 
 neer, observed the latitude of various places on the 
 coast, and the same are as follows. 
 
 
 
 ■y^.^,'f'K^^~'%: 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^^^^'m^f^.^k'"'' ^^^^0^ 
 
 
 "■*f^-^«'"^^^.V^,-.: 
 
 **^v 
 
 n-<- 
 
 ^O 
 
 
 •«■ r.v./!.V •".' 
 
 IT 
 
 2S jj jSi'Tiw^^'"^ "^ 
 
 MISSION OF SAN MIGUEL, SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY. 
 
 they buried a brief account of their journey. 
 Its text is set forth in the diary of Father Crespi 
 as follows : 
 
 The overland expedition which left Sin Diego on 
 the 14th of July, 1769, under the command of Don 
 Caspar de Portola, Governor of California, reached the 
 channel of Santa Barbara on the 9th of August and 
 passed Point Concepcion on the 27th of the same 
 month. It arrived at the Sierra de Santa Lucia on 
 the 13th of September, entered thiit range of moun- 
 tains on the 17th of the same month, and emerged 
 from it on the ist of October. On the same day 
 caught sight of Point Pinos and the harbors on its 
 north and south sides without discovering any in- 
 dications or landmarks of the bay of Monterey. 
 Determined to push on farther in search of it, and on 
 the 30th of October got sight of Point Reyes and 
 the Farallones at the bay of San Francisco,! which 
 are seven in number. The expedition strove to 
 reach Point Reyes, but was hindered by an immense 
 arm of the sea, which, extending to a great distance 
 inland, compelled it to make an enormous circuit 
 for that purpose. In consequence of this and other 
 difficulties, the greatest of all being the absolute 
 want of food, the expedition was compelled to turn 
 back, believing that it must have passed the harbor 
 ot Monterey without discovering it. 
 
 Started on return from the estuary of San Fran- 
 
 1 The bay of San Francisco of the old Spanish geog- 
 raphers and navigators was what we now call " Sir 
 Francis Drake's Bay." 
 
 Here follow the latitudes of various points, 
 after which the letter continues : 
 
 If the commanders of the schooners, either 
 the San Jose or the Principe, should reach this 
 place within a few days after this date, on learning 
 the contents of this writing, and the distressed con- 
 dition of this expedition, we beseech them to follow 
 the coast closely towards San Diego, so that, if we 
 should be happy enough to catch sight of them, we 
 may be able by signals of flags or firearms to apprise 
 them where succor and provisions may reach us. 
 
 " Glory be to God," says the pious chroni- 
 cler, " the cross was erected on a little hillock, 
 close to the beach of the small harbor on the 
 south side of Point Pinos, and at its foot we 
 buried the letter." 
 
 The cross erected at the north side of the 
 Point bore the simple inscription, cut on its 
 transverse arm with a razor : " The overland 
 expedition from San Diego returned from this 
 place on the 9th of December, 1769, starving." 
 
 Their prayer for succor was in vain ; it 
 never reached those to whom it was ad- 
 dressed. The schooners, after beating up the 
 coast as far as the latitude of Monterey, were 
 driven back by adverse winds, and, after 
 months of fruitless effort to make port there, 
 returned to San Diego, arriving just in time 
 
THE MISSIOXS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 395 
 
 to relieve the infant colony from starvation. The tion in California. There wcrcinterred there- 
 land party plodded its weary way down the mains of lathers J unipero Serra, Juan Crespi, 
 coast,encounteringsic:kness,surt'cring, privation, and Rafael Verger. 
 
 and occasionally death, until on the 21st of San Diego and Monterey served to mark 
 
 January, 1770,115 surviving members reached the extremes of the first Spani.sh occupancy; 
 
 if^ 
 
 '% 
 
 
 San Diego, whence it had set out 
 six months and iwclvedays before. 
 
 The eftbrt at missionary colo- 
 nization was not, however, aban- 
 doned. In 1770 another expe- 
 dition moved up the coast, fol- 
 lowing the track of the first 
 ex])lorers, whose diary was their 
 guide, and founded the Mission 
 of San Carlos on the bay of Ki 
 Monterey, close to which was ' 
 established the jiresiilio of the 
 same name. The place first se- 
 lected proved unsuitable for the 
 site of a Mission, and before the 
 close of 177 1 the estai)lishment 
 was removed a few miles to the 
 southward and j)lanted on the 
 banks of the Carmel River, over- 
 looking the charming little ])ay 
 of the same name. This new 
 foundation was called " Kl Car- 
 melo." The presidio retained its 
 site and subse<iuently became the 
 capital city of the dejjartment. 
 
 Monterey has become in our 
 day a famous watering-place fre- 
 (juented by visitors from the ends 
 of the earth, and the an<ient Mis- 
 sion, HI Carmelo, now little better 
 
 than a ruin, continues to attract the attention the interval was filleil up and the area of mis- 
 of travelers from its picturestjue site and from sionary c()n<iuest gradually extended by other 
 the fact that it contains the remains of the similar establishments. The names of these 
 venerable men whose pious efforts created the institutions, founded in rapid succession, are 
 Missions and laiil the foumlations of civiliza- as follows : 
 
 \ 
 
 
 MI&SION OF SANTA BARBAKA. 
 
39^ 
 
 THE MISSIONS OF AITA CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 \1"i\. — San Gabriel, San Fernando, San Antonio. 
 
 1772. — San Luis Obispo. 
 
 1776. — SanJuanCapistrano,SanFranciscodeAssisi. 
 
 1777. — Santa Clara. 
 
 1782. — San Buenaventura. 
 
 1786. — Santa Barbara. 
 
 1787. — La Purissima. 
 
 J791. — La Soledad, and Santa Cruz. 
 
 1797. — Sanjuan Bautista, San Jose, San Miguel. 
 
 1798. — San Luis Rey. 
 
 1802. — Santa Ynez. 
 
 After this missionary efforts seem to have 
 relaxed, but a revival at a later date led to 
 the foundation of San Rafael in 181 7, and 
 
 The Mission building is in the form of a hollow 
 square of about one hundred and fifty yards front, 
 along which a gallery extends. The church forms 
 one of the wings. The edifice, a single story in 
 height, is elevated a few feet above the ground. 
 In the interior is a court adorned with a fountain 
 and planted with trees, on the corridor extending 
 around which open the apartments of the friars and 
 the major-domo as well as those used for work- 
 shops, schoolrooms, and storehouses, and thecliam- 
 bers set apart for the accommodation of travelers 
 and guests. 
 
 The male and female infirmaries, as well as the 
 schoolrooms, are placed in tiie most quiet portions 
 of the premises. The young Indian girls occupy a 
 
 
 
 1 u, -^ 
 
 San Francisco Solano in 1823. 
 Sonoma, at which this last was 
 located, was as far north as the 
 missionaries penetrated. 
 
 These Missions were, of course, 
 designed for the instruction of the 
 rude aborigines in the truths of 
 Christianity and in the arts of civi- 
 lized life. The scheme of life and 
 discipline was devised by the J esuits, 
 who in the sixteenth and seven- 
 teenth centuries organized and car- 
 ried on the most extensive system 
 of missions in every quarter of the 
 heathen and pagan world. India, 
 China, Japan, both coasts of Africa, 
 a large part of Central Asia, and 
 both North and South America 
 were the scenes of their indefatiga- 
 ble labors. 
 
 The Franciscans, who succeeded the Jesuits 
 in California, followed their system. In order to 
 induce the Indians to abandon their nomadic 
 tribal life, and to exchange their reliance for 
 food on the fruits of the chase and the spon- 
 taneous products of the forest for the ways 
 of civilized men, they were at first supplied 
 by the missionaries with food and clothing 
 and afterwards taught to cultivate the earth 
 and support themselves. Timber was felled 
 wherever accessible and transported to a suit- 
 able site, where, with unburned brick and 
 tiles, the Mission church and buildings were 
 erected. The following description of San Luis 
 Rey, condensed from the account of an intel- 
 ligent traveler who saw it in its palmy days, 
 will con\'ey a fair idea of the establishments 
 of which it was a tyj)e. 
 
 ^<^[^.f/(^ 
 
 V-- 
 
 
 Vif 
 
 mg^ 
 
 MISSION AND BELLS OF SAN GABRIEL, NEAR LOS ANGELES. 
 
 set of apartments secluded from the rest and com- 
 monly called the "nunnery," and they themselves 
 are fimiliariy styled the " nuns." They are thus 
 entirely protected from intrusion, and, being placed 
 under the guardiansliip of staid and trustworthy 
 matrons of their own race, are taught to spin and 
 weave wool, flax, and cotton, and do not leave the 
 nunnery imtil marriageable. 
 
 The Indian children attend the same schools with 
 those of the white colonists, and are educated witii 
 them. Those who exhibitthe most talentare taiiglit 
 some music, as the plain ciiant of the church, as well 
 as the violin, flute, horn, violoncello, and other instru- 
 ments. Such as attain superior proficiency, either 
 as carpenters, smiths, or even agricultural laborers, 
 are made foremen, by the name of alcaldes, and 
 placed in charge of the other workmen. 
 
 Two ecclesiastics are stationed at each Mission ; 
 the elder is charged with tiie internal administra- 
 tion and the duty of religious instruction, the 
 
THE .\f/SS/0\S 01- ALT.t CALIFORXI.l. 
 
 397 
 
 ^sr^ . --». 
 
 MISSION OF SAN FERNANDO, UlS ANGELES. 
 
 younger, with the direction of the agricultural 
 .Mul niech;inii.":il labor. The Franciscans as- 
 •-iduoiisly cultivate the stuJy of tiie Indian dia- 
 lects, of which they have compiled dictionaries 
 and grammars, some of which are still extant. 
 Industry is inculcated and encouraged by 
 the constant example of the Fathers, who are 
 always the first to put their hands to the 
 work ; and considering the meagerness of their 
 resources, and the absence of European labor, 
 the works they haveexecuted with theaidof un- 
 killed savages, of low intelligence, aremarvels 
 of architecture and mechanical skill. These 
 comprise mills, machinery, bridges, roads, 
 and canals for irrigation, besides extensive 
 agricultural lalwrs. For the erection of nearly 
 all the Mission buildings large beams had to 
 be transported from the mountains eight and 
 ten leagues off, and the Indians taught to 
 burn lime, cut stone, make bricks, tiles, etc. 
 Opposite the Mission building is usually a 
 guard-house lorlodging theescort of the priests, 
 consisting of four cavalry soldiers, under com- 
 mand of a sergeant, who act as couriers, carry- 
 ingcorrespondeiice and orders from one Mission 
 to another, besides protecting the Mission from 
 the incursions of hostile Indians. 
 
 Hr«- 
 
 CLOISTERS AND BELL OF SAN FERNANDO. 
 
 'I'hc followinLj is a summary of the nnliiiary 
 ilay's work at a Mission. .\t sunrise the bell innocent amu.seinent. 'I'heir iliet consistcil of 
 mounded for the Angelas and the Indian.s as- fresh beef or mutton in abundance, with vege- 
 >eml)Ied in the diapel, where they attendeil tal)les and tortillas made of Hour or eom-meal. 
 :norning prayers and mass and recx'ivetl a They made drinks of the .same ingredients, 
 ^hort religious instruction. Then came break- whieh were caIle»l<?/r'/<rand////<V<' respectively, 
 last, after which, distributed in squads as oc- Their dress consisted of a shirt of linen, a pair 
 <asion required, ihev repaireil to their work. .\t of pantaloons, and a woolen smoik. The al- 
 ii A. M. they ate dinner, and after that restetl caldes and head workmen had also t loth 
 until 2 I'. M. Work was then resumed, and con- clothes like those of the Spanianls ; the women 
 tinned until an hour before sunset, when the received ever)" year two changes of under- 
 l>ell again tolled for the .\ngelus. .\fter |>rayers clothing, a smock, and a new gown, 
 and the rosary the Indians supped, and then The Indians of California were not the 
 were free to take part in a dance or some such sturdy warlike race of the ea.stern si<le of the 
 
398 
 
 THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CAIIFORNIA. 
 
 continent, nor did they possess the intelligence to ships visiting the coast. From the proceeds 
 or partial civilization of the natives of the the friars distributed to the Indians handker- 
 tableland of Mexico. They were originally of chiefs, clothing, tobacco, rosaries, trinkets, etc., 
 low intelligence and brutish habits. Besides and employed the surplus profits in the embel- 
 what they obtained from fishing and hunting — lishment of the churches, the purchase of mu- 
 in which they do not appear to have been spe- sical instruments, pictures, ornaments for the 
 cially dexterous — their food consisted largely altar, etc. Where lands were found suitable 
 of acorns, pine nuts, and the like, and their for the purpose the fathers established out- 
 clothing was practically ;///. Though neither lying farms as appurtenances of the pnrticu- 
 as subtle nor as fierce as the Iroquois, Algon- lar Mission on which they were made to 
 quins, and Hurons of Canada, with whom depend. At these were gathered considerable 
 Parkman's brilliant pages have made us fa- colonies of civilized Indians selected from the 
 miliar, they were not wanting in cunning, most reliable. 
 
 treachery, or ferocity, and on more than one Besides instructing the natives and inci- 
 occasion the missionaries sealed their faith dentally fulfilling the duties of parochial clergy, 
 with their blood — a sacrifice from which, to the Missions extended a bountiful hospitality 
 their honor be it said, the Franciscans never to all travelers and wayfiirers. Planted at in- 
 flinched, any more than the followers of Ig- tervals of about a day's journey, on the nat- 
 natius. ural route of travel along the coast, they 
 
 As conversions made progress among the became the usual resting-place for all travelers 
 natives, and the young people, instructed from in either direction. Horses were the only means 
 their childhood, came to maturity, they were of locomotion, and at the end of his hard day's 
 taught various industries, besides farming, ride the weary traveler stopped at the door of 
 Ordinary smith's and carpenter's work they the Mission building as naturally, and with as 
 learned to do fairly well ; their saddlery was little thought of intrusion, as one might now 
 of a superior sort, and is still sought for. As at a public hotel. Throwing his rein to an 
 weavers, tailors, and shoemakers they would Indian m-riero, he was received by the mis- 
 sionary priest, or in 
 his absence by the 
 sacristan, with the 
 patriarchal hospi- 
 tality that Abra- 
 ham extended to 
 Lot. A bath was 
 provided, followed 
 by a plentiful meal 
 and a comfortable 
 bed. He was at 
 liberty to stay as 
 long as his conven- 
 ience required, and 
 on leaving was pro- 
 vided with a fresh 
 horse and directions, 
 or, if needed, aguide, 
 for his further jour- 
 ney. Perhaps it is a 
 tradition from these 
 early days, but 
 travelers still speak 
 
 not perhaps have obtained recognition in Paris, kindly of the hospitality of Cahfornia. 
 London, or New York, but they made ser- o • , , , 
 
 viceable blankets, serapes, cloth, and shoes, and ^"'^'^ '" '^"^'^'"^ '''^'^^■ 
 
 I have seen creditable specimens of their work The Missions in this State were in all twenty- 
 in silver. Domestic animals were introduced one. Hiey may be said to have attained their 
 and they increased with astonishing rapidity, maximum of prosperity during the first quar- 
 and in the care and management of them the ter of the present century. The Indian tribes 
 Indians became very dexterous and serviceable of the coast, as far north as Sonoma, had by 
 -— in fact, some of the most skillful horsemen that time been reduced to pupilage at the va- 
 in the world. rious establishments described, and those of the 
 Hides, tallow, grain, wine, and oil were sold younger generations had been sufficiently in- 
 
 PHESENT CHAPEL OF SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO. 
 
THE MISSrOXS OF AI.'I'A LAJ.UORXIA. 
 
 399 
 
 structed in the sinij)lc arts of domestic life not 
 only to carry on the various industries men- 
 tioned, hut to make useful servants to the ran- 
 cheros and white settlers, whose numbers, 
 rec ruited from dis( harged and su|)erannuate<I 
 soltliers, a few voluntary — and some involun- 
 
 and sale. The cattle were valued mainly for 
 their hiiles and tallow, whi< h with soap and 
 (tther exportable jiroducts were sold to vessels 
 trading along the coast, and |)aid for in dry- 
 goods, (utlery,tof)ls,<U)thing, etc. The archives 
 contain a good deal of statistical information as 
 
 Cf.. 
 
 -»> 
 
 ^^ 
 
 tary — immigrants from Mexico, 
 occasional trappers, runaway sail- "^ ~""' 
 
 ors, or other adventurous foreigners, — 
 
 quos ratio dcdcrat aiit J'ors objecerai, hatl 
 by this time become sufticiently consider- 
 able to create a demantl for such services. 
 There were still wild tribes in the mountains, 
 to the north and east, but they gave little 
 trouble, and the friars seem to have lost the 
 spirit of missionary enteri)rise which char- 
 acteri/ed the companions and immediate 
 successors of Father Junipero, and settled 
 down to a quiet life among their neophytes 
 and white neighbors, producing from the 
 soil all the neces.saries and many of the sim- 
 ple luxuries of life, and accumulating, for the 
 Indian coinmunities they governed, pastoral 
 wealth, in the shape of countless herds of 
 cattle, horses, sheej), goats, an<! swine. 
 
 The grain raised on the Mission ranches was 
 threshed out, just as in Kgypt and Mesopo- 
 tamia twenty-five hundred or three thousand 
 years ago, by spreading it on the ground and 
 turning in a band of horses to trample it. A 
 rude mill, generally turned by hand or by horse- 
 power, furnished Hour, though at two or three 
 of the Mis-sions water-power was utilizetl for 
 this purpose. At each Mission gardens and 
 orchards were inclosed, wherein, besides or- 
 dinary vegetables, fruits of various sorts were 
 cultivated, including the fig, the orange, the 
 olive, and the vine. The last two gave the mis- 
 sionaries oil an<l wine in abundance, for use 
 
 ^ 
 
 '^'■-.j^^sn^ 
 
 *.- U- 
 
 X^ 
 
 ■A\ 
 
 tT 
 
 Jk 
 
 ,^ 
 
 4'*^ 
 
 MISSION OF SAN Jl'AN CAI'ISTRANO. 
 
 to Mission products, but I am not aware that 
 it has ever been tabulatetl. An idea of them 
 may be formed from the statement that in the 
 year 1820 the Mission cattle are cpioted at 
 140,000 head ; the horses at iS,ooo, the sheep 
 at 190,000, etc. The average annual jiroduct 
 of grain, from 181 1 to 1820, is given at over 
 1 13,000 bushels. 
 
 liut the increase of white settlers, bringing 
 with them the wants, ambitions, and freeilom 
 of modem lite, was incompatible with the con- 
 tinued success of institutions based, as the 
 Missions were, on j)atemal authority. The In- 
 dians were infants in all respects except age 
 and capacity for evil; and the settlers were 
 subject to no restraints except those of the 
 civil authority, which was of the weakest kind. 
 
4O0 
 
 THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Contact and intercourse with them corrupted 
 the Indians and relaxed the bonds of disci- 
 phne among them. Moreover the broad acres 
 and the vast herds of the Missions excited the 
 cupidity of the settlers, who did not regard 
 the property of the friars and Indians in the 
 same light as that of white people. Under 
 these influences the Mexican congress, in 
 1833, passed a law for secularizing the Mis- 
 sions, converting them into parishes, repla- 
 cing the missionary priests by curates, and 
 emancipating the Indians from their pupilage 
 to the Church. Administrators were to be ap- 
 
 malign, that the Government became alarmed 
 and suspended the operation of the law. But 
 it was too late ; the mischief had been accom- 
 plished and the establishments thenceforth vis- 
 ibly decayed. A traveler of 1840-41 says that 
 at the Mission of San Jose as late as 1837 
 Father Gonzales turned over to the adminis- 
 trators 17,000 head of cattle, of which as many 
 as 8000 remained unappropriated in 1840, as 
 well as 200 horses and 9000 sheep, while four 
 hundred Indians remained even at that late 
 day gathered about the Mission. He was also 
 much interested by a school, still in existence, 
 
 pointed for the temporalities of the Missions, 
 the proceeds of which, after a small allowance 
 for the maintenance of the priest and the 
 charges of public worship, were to be applied 
 to public purposes. 
 
 Under this law the greedy politicians of the 
 day were enabled to plunder the Missions pretty 
 nearly to their heart's content. Administrators 
 were appointed, who administered away the 
 tangible property in favor of themselves and 
 their friends with marvelous industry and ce- 
 lerity. People whose names were held in esteem 
 among the colonists, members of the " first 
 families," leaders in pubhc opinion and public 
 affairs, are recorded as having despoiled the 
 Missions of their lands and cattle l^y wholesale. 
 The desolation wrought was so rapid and com- 
 plete, and its effects on the Indian population so 
 
 where sixty Indian children surprised him by 
 their progress in elementary studies, especially 
 arithmetic. In 1834 (after the secularization) 
 San Luis Rey had an Indian population of 
 3500 and possessed over 24,000 cattle, 10,000 
 horses, and 100,000 sheep. It harvested 14,000 
 fanegas of grain and 200 barrels of wine. In the 
 same year San Jose had 2300 neophytes, 20,000 
 cattle, 11,000 horses, and 19,000 sheep, and 
 harvested 10,000 fanegas of grain and 60 bar- 
 rels of wine. 
 
 The ruin of the Missions was completed by 
 the American conquest. The few remaining 
 Indians were speedily driven or enticed away, 
 for the rough frontiersmen who came over the 
 plains knew nothing of missionary friars or civ- 
 ilized Indians ; they came here to squat on pub- 
 lic land and respected no possession beyond 160 
 
////:• .WSS/OXS OF A 1. 1. 1 C \l.IlORX/A. 
 
 401 
 
 y< 
 
 i 
 
 
 ' •"^- 
 
 V 
 
 
 lS,i" 
 
 ^1.-.^ 
 
 TIIK MISSION OP SAN l.CIS KHV, SAN DIROf) COl'NTY. 
 
 acres, ami that (ml\ in the liaiuls of one fa- 
 miliar with the Mnglisli language and modern 
 weapons. None of the estahlisliments retains 
 its original ( haracter. Where pt^jnilation has 
 grown up around the site, as at Santa Clara, 
 San Francisco, and San Rafael, they became 
 parish churches. At other places s(iuatters 
 took po.ssession of them, extruding priest and 
 mayor-domo impartially, and in more than one 
 case even the churches were sacrilegiously de- 
 graded to the use of stables and the like. In 
 others many parts of the buildings were de- 
 molished for the sake of the timber, tiles, and 
 other building material they afforded. 
 
 The most extensive of the old establishments 
 was that of San Luis Rey. I visited it with a 
 ( ompanion in the summer of 1862. We left 
 San Juan C'apistranij at an earl) hour, and 
 reached San Luis at about 2 i*. M., without 
 meantime meeting a 
 human being or seeing 
 a house or a fence. 
 Our way had taken us 
 along a faintly marked 
 wagon trail in the rug- 
 ged foothills of the 
 Sierra, through tangled 
 rhemisal and under- 
 brush, crossed by many 
 steep barrancas, which 
 out of California would 
 scarce be deemed prac- 
 ticable for wheels. Af- 
 ter many hours of this 
 monotonous travel we 
 suddenly emerged from 
 the chain of hills to the 
 j)rosi)ect of a charming 
 valley, through whicli 
 meanderetl a little 
 stream of crystal water, 
 Vou Xll— 53- 
 
 which after many windings found its way to 
 the sea, which then (Opened on our sight, bound- 
 ing the western hori/on. In the middle of the 
 valley, on a slight elevation, rose the towers of 
 the old church, the red-tiled roof of which, and 
 of the adjoining buildings of the ancient .Mis- 
 sion, shone bright and ruildy in the glare of 
 an almost tropical sun. 
 
 The landscajie was magnificent, anil we 
 paused a short time to enjoy it before hasten- 
 ing on to examine the spot. The walls of the 
 (juadrangle remained in fair condition, and 
 the graveled approach to the main entrance 
 apjjeared so neat that I was persuaded it had 
 lately been swept, and that I should find some 
 inhabitants within. I effecteil an entrance 
 witiioutmuch ditficully.and wandered through 
 the interior rooms and corridors seari hing fur 
 the aged sacristan my imagination had sug- 
 gested ; but I searched in vain. No shadow- 
 was cast there except my own ; I hearil no sound 
 but the echo of my own footsteps. The inte- 
 
 i—r 
 
 
 t-7 
 
 IMTmHIOil OF 
 
 OMsro. 
 
402 
 
 THE MISSIONS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 ii,wiiV.J^wi>.iii*inar«ii(lrtliHMSi^^ 
 
 Ppl^ll&li, 
 
 SANTA YNEZ, SANTA BARBARA COUNTY. 
 
 nor court, once a garden, bright with flowers 
 and the lustrous leaves of the orange and 
 lemon tree, was rank with weeds and sponta- 
 neous vegetation ; the fountain was dried up, 
 and the walls which confined its basin split 
 by the swelling roots of neglected and over- 
 grown trees. Great spider webs hung from 
 the columns of the corridor, and the stillness 
 was broken only by the drowsy hum of dragon- 
 flies and humming-birds. I entered the ven- 
 erable old church, and while endeavoring to 
 accustom my eyes to the dim, uncertain light 
 which shrouded its interior I was disturbed 
 by the startled cry and hasty flight of an enor- 
 mous owl, which left its perch over where the 
 high altar had stood and rustled over to a 
 window at the opposite end. I ascended one 
 of the towers to the belfry, where I provoked 
 another flight of unclean birds. The old chime 
 of bells still hung there inscribed with the 
 maker's name and " Boston, 1820," telling 
 plainly of the intercourse of the old mission- 
 aries with the whaling fleets and the hide 
 drogers which half a century ago wintered on 
 the coast. Probably the order for these bells 
 had been given in 1818, and they had been 
 received, in pursuance of it, in 1821 or 1822. 
 There was no express in those days between 
 Boston and California ; the journey was made 
 via Cape Horn, and a couple of years elapsed 
 between the departure and the return of a 
 vessel. The Mission gardens, particularly that 
 
 in front of the main building, retained many 
 traces of former beauty. But the hedgerows, 
 once carefully trimmed, now grown rank and 
 wild ; the old rustic seats crumbling to decay ; 
 the vines and fruit trees, which for want of 
 pruning had ceased to produce; and the garden 
 flowers growing neglectedly — all told of decay 
 and ruin. From the remains of the fountain 
 two clear streams of water still issued, and from 
 the little rivulet they formed, bordered with 
 cress as green as an emerald, a lazy fish looked 
 deliberately up at me without moving — so un- 
 accustomed to man as not to fear him. Just 
 before the American conquest this Mission 
 had harbored an industrious Indian popula- 
 tion of several thousand. It had been occu- 
 pied by our troops as a military post during 
 the Mexican war and for some time after its 
 close. When it ceased to be so used the 
 Government, as I have heard General Beale 
 say, caused an estimate to be made of the 
 expense of repairing and restoring it to its 
 former condition. The figures were two mil- 
 lions of dollars, and the project of repairing 
 was, of course, given over. 
 
 It stands there to-day, magnificent, even in 
 its ruins, a monument of the piety, devotion, 
 industry, and disinterestedness of the vener- 
 able monks who wear the habit and cord of 
 St. Francis, and who were the first colonists 
 of Alta California. 
 
 John T. Doyle. 
 
 
 A FAMILY CHAPEL (CAMULOS). 
 
CAI.IFOKNIANA. 
 
 467 
 
 "Yes, Jonathan Rngcp;," stammcrrd Mr. There was a silence, which I intemi|>te<l. 
 
 Meech, grasping his hand with an agitated " You can see the old folks," I announced, 
 
 heartiness ; " they expected you all along ; yes, jjlanting myself before him. " I saw them just 
 
 Jonathan." nf)w, in the front room. They 've lain down 
 
 I'he smart of an honest pity lent a curious and covered up their face.s to go bye-byes, but 
 
 awkwardness to Mr. Beech's attitude, as he Mrs. Beech says they 'vc gone to heaven," I 
 
 stood divided between hospitality and appre- ended, deljatingly. 
 
 hension. Mrs. Beech, with a smothered cry, hid her 
 
 The stranger shrank slightly from the cold face in her apron, and rocked her body back 
 
 wind, and shivered again, as if with a deeper and forth. The sailor started, and made an un- 
 
 • hill. 
 
 •• 1 want to see the old folks ; I want my 
 mother ! " he stammered bruskly, with an 
 eagerness that struggled pitifully with shame. 
 
 certain step. .Mr. Beet h caught him, and drew 
 him within, and .Sally and I followed him with 
 our eyes a.s the keeper oj>ened the do(jr of the 
 silent room for him and closed it after him. 
 
 Esther Bcnioit Carpenter. 
 
 CALIFORXIAXA. 
 
 A California Lion and a Pirate. 
 
 [The lady M.iria .\ntonia Pico, who afterwards he- 
 came the mother of Cleneral .Manuel Castro and Don 
 Juan \\. Castro, was liorn in .Monterey, in i8o2. She 
 told to her chililrcn and grandchildren the following 
 story of the arrival of the privateer Flouchard, who 
 frightened all the Sj»anish settlers in 181S. The story 
 is given here exactly as taken by me from the lips of 
 an old .Spanish woman in Castroville, who had often 
 heard it related by Mrs. Castro, the mother of the 
 general. — Ch.vri.es Howard Shi.v.v.] 
 
 It was about the middle of November, 1818, and I 
 was sixteen years of age. A vessel brought the report 
 to Monterey that a whole fleet of pirates were coming. 
 Every one, in great fright, commenced to move and 
 hide the most valuable things. Carts were used to 
 carry them to the ranches. My father was not at 
 home, but my mother and I packed many articles in 
 rawhide bags, to send them twelve miles inland to the 
 caiiiida pricta, or black ravine. My brother, sister, and 
 myselfwent with the carls; mother was locomc next day, 
 with a servant. Night came on before we fairly started, 
 and it began to rain, for it was late in the year, and the 
 first frosts were in the deeper canons. As wc went on 
 the rain grew worse ; the oxen wanted to turn almnt 
 because of the rain in their faces, but we three children 
 pushed on to carry out our mother's onlcrs. About 
 midnight we reache<l a large, broken oak tree where our 
 mother had told us to camp. We let the oxen loose 
 to graze, and crawled umlcr the carl, wet to the skin. 
 
 My little sister was afraid of bears in the chaparral. 
 I tried to comfort her, but she would not listen ; 
 she wa-s sure wc would be eaten up, and at l.iii her 
 jiersistence frightened my little brother till he cried 
 out. In an hour or so they went to sleep l>eside me, 
 but I l.-»y awake and wished that my father and the 
 men-servants had l>eei- at home. They were all in the 
 hills, gathering up the cattle. Though I had been over 
 the road many times, it h.-id never before sccmc<l at all 
 <lani;erous. While I was thinking of these things a 
 wild, strange noise was heard appro.iching, and oneof 
 our oxen, running through the thicket, fell over the 
 
 tongue of the cart, rose, ran a little way off, and again 
 fell, with a scream. I knew that something must have 
 attacked the animals ; I Ixflieved it was a big bear. 
 We heard the other ox rushing into a gulch, and wc 
 all three sat up and said our prayers to the saints, to 
 be delivered from El I'eroz, which was the name the 
 hunters had given to a very large and dangerous grizzly 
 that was known to roam about this canon of the broken 
 oak. I did not remcmljcr it until we had campcl 
 there, or indeed until the oxen made such an uproar, 
 but now I was very sure it was nothing but El Fi-tvt. 
 The morning was dawning when this happened, and 
 in a few minutes I could see a hundred feet down the 
 canon. An indistinct form began to be revealed here, 
 and I hushed the children to watch and listen. There, 
 as we soon saw, was a large California lion, or puma, 
 pulling the meat from one of our oxen. Then I ho|ic<i 
 that mother, and Josi-, the peon, might soon come along 
 the trail. Jos6, who carried a gun, and was a bra%"c man, 
 would kill the wild animal, but we could sec no one to 
 hi'lp us. I whisperc<l to the others to lie still, iK-cause 
 wc had no place to hide in, nor was it any use lo try 
 to climb a tree, for the California liOn will climb like 
 a cat. So we saw ihc lion finish his meal on our ox. 
 It grew very light, near sunrise, before he took any 
 notice of us, where we sat under the ox-cart. A 
 as he saw us he walked up very close, with a . 
 wondering expression on his face, and went all at>out 
 the cart, looking us over, and ' ' iid. 
 
 We sat close and had our ari; . i>ut 
 
 we did not say a word. He then came up so close that 
 I felt his brc-ith on me. and finally he put his nose 
 ag.ainst my ankle. I h.iil no stockings on, only home- 
 maile shoes, and his nose felt very strange, and made 
 me expect to l>e eaten up at once. Hut I thought it 
 liest to lie still, and not cry out. After what seemed a 
 long time, the lion went Ixick and lay down by the 
 dead ox, al)out a hundred feet distant, keeping his eyes 
 on us roost of the time. He sometimes walked around 
 the ox ; then he went off a little way to a spring ; then 
 he came Ivick and walked around the cart. .\l last he 
 lay down again by the ox, shut his eyes, and seemed 
 
468 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 asleep. The sun was now high, and we were very 
 hungry and thirsty, but when we moved a little to rest 
 our limbs the lion opened his eyes and looked very bad. 
 
 We lay there under tlie cart all the morning, and 
 until about the middle of the afternoon, and the lion 
 lay under the shade of a tree, watched us, ate some 
 more beef, and went to the spring as often as he chose. 
 Then about three o'clock mother and Jos6, the peon, 
 came down from the coast way, and when they were 
 on the ridge they could look into the canon and see 
 the whole situation at a glance — the lion, the dead ox, 
 the cart, and the three of us huddled together under it. 
 Jose ran forward and fired two shots, wounding the 
 lion, but he got away in the rocks. 
 
 Since one of our oxen was dead, and the other had 
 escaped, we hid our goods as best we could in the 
 bushes. Then mother told me, as we made a camp, 
 that she had forgotten a family book, with writing of 
 her father's in it. It was on a shelf in the house, and 
 she wanted to ride back to obtain it. I told her that I 
 was not afraid to go ; so, after we had our meal, 
 I mounted her horse, and galloped off for Monterey. 
 After a little time I heard a cannon shot, then another, 
 and then a great many. I thought that now the pirates 
 had come, and would perhaps land, and Imrn the town 
 and our house ; so I rode faster. At last I reached the 
 lomita near the Plaza de Dona Brigida, and there were 
 boats and men on the beach. Some of the houses were 
 on fire, and that seemed dreadful. I turned a little and 
 rode across the ridge, and down a canon to our own 
 house, which was about a mile from the beach, and I 
 ran in and found the old book where mother said, and 
 wrapped it in a piece of calfskin to tie behind the sad- 
 dle. But when I went out of the door I saw my horse 
 running off, frightened at tiie noise of the firing. 
 
 It was very hard to know v.liat to do. There was 
 no other horse at the house — all had been turned 
 loose. I ran over a little hill to the next ranch house, 
 but all the people had gone. Then the firing stopped, 
 and pretty soon I heard a band of music, and the next 
 minute a man dashed by on horseback and shouted 
 to me that Ignacio Vallejo was a prisoner and that all 
 the people had fled. I determined to catch a horse 
 somehow, but just as I was planning how it might be 
 done two men came out of the bushes and spoke to 
 me. They were armed strangers, and very wild, so I 
 fell on my knees and prayed them to do me no harm. 
 One of them asked me my name, and why I was there ; 
 so I told him and showed the book, but I did not 
 reveal the course to our other ranch. He laughed and 
 said I was a good girl, and he sent his man to catch 
 my horse. Then he dismounted while I still knelt 
 there by the doorway of the deserted adobe, hardly 
 believing my own eyes, and he came up to me and 
 kissed me on the forehead and called me Seiiorita, 
 which frightened me very much. Then the man came 
 up with my horse, and I looked at the leader of the 
 two, and asked .what he was going to do with me ? 
 
 He looked at me and swore a great oath. " My 
 girl," he said, " you are more brave than some of your 
 people were on the beach when we landed. You shall 
 go back." He put me on my horse, and kissed my 
 hand, and said, " Ride fast ; there are others of Bou- 
 chard's men who would not treat you so well." I 
 thanked him briefly, and he added as he let go the bridle 
 that his name was Pedro Condre, and that he already 
 
 had two wives on board his ship, or he would have taken 
 me there. This last saying made me ride in great ter- 
 ror and with frightful speed down the gulches and up 
 the hills. When I reached mother's camp I was cry- 
 ing, and so terribly excited that I could not say any- 
 thing but " Hasten, hasten ! " We left all our things 
 hidden in the bushes, and went on to the Salinas. V\'e 
 met many families of fugitives. For nearly two weeks 
 we lived in huts near the river, but early in December 
 the frightened people began to move back to Monterey. 
 The padres had the floors and walls of all the 
 houses sprinkled with holy water before any one 
 would live there again. At Christmas time the good 
 padre called me out before the congregation and gave 
 me a gold cross because of what he called my courage 
 with the lion and with the pirate. It does not seem to 
 me that I was very brave, for I only took things as 
 they happened, but I was very much pleased with the 
 cross and the words of praise. 
 
 [After the narrative of the late 
 
 Maj-ia Antonia Castro. '\ 
 
 A Carnival Ball at Monterey in 1829.1 
 
 The first carnival ball that I ever attended took place 
 near Monterey about 1829, when I was Seiiorita 
 Brigida Canes. I do not remember my age at the 
 time, but I think I was about eighteen. I was invited 
 by a friend in Monterey to visit her, as she had ar- 
 ranged to give a carnival ball, as was the custom of 
 the country. I left my home with the usual attendants 
 at about eleven o'clock the day before, for our ranch 
 was many miles distant. We met numbers of persons 
 going to the party, all on horseback, and full of gaiety 
 and youthfulness such as only a race that lives out- 
 doors in such a climate as California, and without cares 
 or troubles, can show. The pranks of the gentlemen 
 were so numerous and so amusing that it makes me 
 laugh now to think of them. Every one could ride per- 
 fectly, and could pick up a leaf or a flower from the 
 ground as he galloped past. Good riding was ex- 
 pected as a matter of course. On this occasion they 
 all had red, black, and green paint (for the most part 
 colored earths, powdered), and cascarones (egg-shells 
 filled with finely cut gold and silver paper), and vials 
 of different colored liquids, all harmless. It was the 
 great sport to ride against each other, each endeavor- 
 ing to stain his opponent's face while himself escap- 
 ing. As we neared Monterey the carnival spirit grew 
 wilder, and the ladies' dresses and faces suffered, but 
 we all took it in good part. 
 
 On our arrival at the ranch near Monterey where 
 the festivities took place we found every one already 
 dancing. The assembled guests, rushing to us, lifted 
 us from our horses and led us in, smearing our faces 
 with more paint and breaking cascarones on our heads 
 with much laughter, while we defended ourselves in 
 the same manner. It was my first experience of so 
 wild a scene, and the red, green, and black paint on my 
 face made me uglier than a Yuma Indian. But as long 
 as others were in as bad a case, I could not complain. 
 
 A few minutes later a Mexican colonel came in and 
 was immediately surrounded by ten or twelve ladies, 
 
 1 See " The Cascarone Ball," by Mary Hallock Foote, in The 
 Century for August, 1879 (Old Series). — Editor. 
 
CALrFORNIANA. 
 
 469 
 
 :\i)(l in a moment his face, cravat, and vest looked like 
 a rainbow. There was a severe struggle between his 
 I" !'t' II - - i;i'! his ilijjnity : hut he rcnicnihered the old 
 .1 i I. ■ , \\-'. ; .1 to the inevit.'ii>lc, allowed himself to he 
 tarried by the whimsical current, and played his part 
 ill the grotesque farce. I also had a little courage, and 
 I wcDt up and crackcil a cascarone on ihc young offi- 
 cer's head, but he was so busy rubbing the paint from 
 his face that my faint hearted attack passed unnoticed. 
 
 Next came the old alcalde of Monterey, a very stiff 
 ind dignified man. The first one to attempt to mcd- 
 ole with him was the governor's secretary, who was 
 -o awkward that he hurt the alcalde's face, and they 
 retired to the courtyard of the ranch-house. This 
 I'rightcned the hostess, who feared a quarrel, and she 
 went out at once. Of course their warm words slopped 
 inmcdiately and they came in together, but the old al- 
 calde kept his f.icc ami dignity unchangetl the rest of 
 the night and no one lifted a cascarone against him. 
 
 The next arrival was a beautiful lady, almost astran- 
 ger to us all, but known in Monicrcy as " La Es- 
 panola," Iwcause she had recently come from .Spain. 
 .She came to me, and in a very sweet voice asked me to 
 uncork a cologne bottle that she carried in her hands 
 which I in my simplicity did. Then every one laughed 
 as she sprinkled me frrim head to foot with the contents. 
 She came in an elegant ball dress, but in a moment 
 the roses and Idies of her beautiful face and neck were 
 hidden under red, black, and green paint laid on heav- 
 ily. She broke many cascaroncs, and she also had two 
 bottles, one of cologne for the ladies, and one of scented 
 ammonia for the gentlemen who were most consjMcu- 
 ous in the assault. At last she made her prayer, ^' porel 
 utiorde Dios," and every one ceased, with gracious bows 
 and smiles, leaving her to put on her dancing slippers. 
 
 All this was in tiie afternoon. Then we washed our 
 hands and faces and sat down to a banquet in the old 
 adol)e. .After that came more dancing. The annual 
 carnival ball was a great feature of the social life of the 
 mes, and often lasted all night. The wild revel of the 
 e.irlier part of the ball was succeeded by the most 
 courtly behavior. 
 
 Bri^ida Briotus. 
 
 A Spanish Girl's Journey from Monterey to Los 
 Angeles. 
 
 Kari.y in the winter of 1829 my father, who had long 
 ex|-)ected an appointment under the governor, received 
 I letter from Los .Angeles saying that his papers were 
 in the hands of the authorities there, and would only 
 be delivered in i)erson. He decided to take my mother 
 and myself with him and go overland, without waiting 
 for the yearly vessel from Verl>a Bueiia which would 
 
 i>on be due at Monterey, where we were staying. It 
 was nearly Christmas when we began the journey. 
 \Vord was sent aheail by a man on horseback to some 
 
 f the sm.iller ranches at which we meant to >top, so 
 that we were exjiected. .A young .American who h.nl 
 rcithed the coast with letters from the city of Mexico 
 heard of our plans, and came to my father to ask if 
 he- might travel with us to Los .Angeles, which was 
 iMsily arranged. He did not know a word of .Spanish, 
 ind I have often laughed at some of his exf>eriences 
 on the road, owing to his ignorance of our ways and 
 speech. At one house the senora gave him some fruit, 
 whereupon he handed her two reals, which she let 
 Voi„ XLL — 62. 
 
 fall on the floor in surprise, while the old don, her hus- 
 l)and, fell ujHjn hi* knees and said in Spanish, " Give us 
 no money, no money at all ; everything is free in a 
 gentleman's house I "' A young lady .who was present 
 exclaimed in great scorn, " /u>s Engltsts pagar par 
 todos!'^ ("The English pay for everything.") I after- 
 ward told the .American what they had said, and ex- 
 plained the matter as well as I could, but he thought 
 it a foolish thing that no one, not even servants, would 
 take money for services. We several times met grown 
 people, and heads of families, who had never heard any 
 language except .Spanish, and who did not know, in 
 fact, that any other language existed. They were really 
 afraid of our .American, and once I was asked if there 
 were any other people like him. 
 
 Our route took us up the Salinas Valley and over 
 the mountains to the coast valleys and the Missions. 
 .At San Miguel we found everything prepared for a 
 jubilee over the prosperous year. The men walked 
 about and fired off their carbines and home-made fire- 
 works, while the p.adres' servant swung a burning 
 oaken brand in the air, and lighted a few rockets. In- 
 side the church the Indian choir was singing. We saw 
 it all, until about ten o'clock that night ; then the al- 
 calde of the village came with fresh horses, and we 
 went on, as it was very pleasant traveling. 
 
 The young .American picked up some words in Span- 
 ish ; he could say " Grncios,'^ "Si, senor" and a few 
 other phrases. One day we passed a very ugly Indian 
 woman, and he asked me how to ask her how old she 
 was. Out of mischief I whispered, '* Yo te amor,'' which 
 he said at once, and she, poor creature, immediately 
 rose from her seal (Jii the ground and replied, " Grados, 
 Sa'ior, pero soy iudio " ('• but I am an Indian "), which 
 gave us sport till long after. The next day our com- 
 l^anion gave me a lesson in English by way of revenge. 
 It was the day before Christmas, and we had reached 
 .San Buenavcntur.i. It w.rs a holiday for every one. 
 -After mass all the men and boys assembled on horse- 
 back in front of the church, with the padre and the al- 
 calde at their head. They rode about in circles like a 
 circus, fired guns, beat drums, and shouted. I thought 
 it was very fine, and by signs I asked my American 
 friend how he liked it, .and he answered, " Dam-fools I " 
 with such energy that I supposed they were words of 
 praise. Indeed, I used the bad words as very projxrr 
 Engli.sh for a year or two, until I learned better, when 
 I was of course much mortified. 
 
 When near Los Angeles we had the nearest approach 
 to an adventure of our whole journey. We sjKrnt the 
 night at a ranch-house. .As I was the young lady of 
 the parly, the hostess gave up her own private room to 
 me. .At the end of it was an alcove with a window, an<l 
 in front of the wimlow stood a shrine, with wax figures 
 of the holy Virgin and the child Christ. Before them 
 were vases, and fresh wild-flowers from the hills — the 
 golden {Hippies, the first blue " l>aby eyes," and the 
 white "star-flowers," that bloom at Christmas time. 
 
 To judge from appearances the only shrine to which 
 our host w.-Ls devoted was the cockpit, for the court- 
 yard of the adolK- was fairly linctl with rows of the 
 "blooded birds " so popular at that time with many 
 wealthy rancheros, each one tied to a stake by his leg, 
 and iK'ing traiiuil for the battlefield. The young .Amer- 
 ican, who, like many other foreigners, took up with our 
 bad customs more easily than with our good ones, was 
 
470 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 greatly delighted when he saw the rows of fighting 
 cocks in the yard. He offered to buy one, but the 
 owner thought them too precious to sell. At last, by 
 signs, he wagered a dollar on the homeliest of the lot. 
 The host, accepting the wager, released his favorite. 
 Instead of fighting, the two birds went through the 
 window into the room I had occupied, and that with 
 sucli force that there was a crash, and a mixture of 
 feathers, wax saints, and flowers on the floor. Our host 
 turned pale, and rushed in to disentangle his pets, 
 while the American jumped up and down on a porch, 
 shouting, " Bitcno ! btieno! " The birds were now fight- 
 ing in earnest, but the host separated them, gave them 
 to a servant, mounted the saddled horse which always 
 stood ready, day or night, and, with a faint '^ Adios " to 
 me, disappeared. Heknewwhat hewas about, as events 
 proved, for the rage of his wife when she saw the bro- 
 ken shrine was something terrible. The moment she 
 came on the scene she cried out, " Where is he ? " and 
 going into the inner courtyard she began to release the 
 game-cocks, which hastened to hide in the nearest shel- 
 ter. The next morning, when we took our departure, 
 the master of the house had not yet returned, and the 
 mistress was endeavoring to restore the shrine. 
 
 Amalia Sibrian. 
 
 A Glimpse of Domestic Life in 1827. 
 
 The ladies of Monterey in 1827 were rarely seen in 
 the street, except very early in the morning on their 
 way to church. We used to go there attended by our 
 servants, who carried small mats for us to kneel upon, 
 as there were no seats. A tasteful Tittle rug was con- 
 sidered an indispensable part of our belongings, and 
 every young lady embroidered her own. The church 
 floors were cold, hard, and damp, and even the poorer 
 classes managed to use mats of some kind, usually of 
 tule woven by the Indians. 
 
 The dress worn in the mornings at church was not 
 very becoming; the rebozo and the petticoat being 
 black, always of cheap stuff, and made up in much the 
 same way. All classes wore the same ; the padres 
 told us that we must never forget that all ranks of men 
 and women were equal in the presence of the Creator, 
 and so at the morning service it was the custom to 
 wear no finery whatever. One mass was celebrated 
 before sunrise, for those whose duties compelled them 
 to be at work early ; later masses took place every hour 
 of the morning. Every woman in Monterey went daily 
 to church, but the men were content to go once a week. 
 
 For home wear and for company we had many ex- 
 pensive dresses, some of silk, or of velvet, others of 
 laces, often of our own making, which were much 
 liked. In some families were imported laces that were 
 very old and valuable. The rivalry between beauties 
 of high rank was as great as it could be in any coun- 
 try, and much of it turned upon attire, so that those 
 who had small means often underwent many privations 
 in order to equal the splendor of the rich. 
 
 Owing to the unsettled state of affairs for a genera- 
 tion in Mexico and in all the provinces, and the great 
 difficulty of obtaining teachers, most of the girls of the 
 time had scanty educations. Some of my playmates 
 could speak English well, and quite a number knew 
 
 something of French. One of the gallants of the time 
 said that " dancing, music, religion, and amiability " 
 were the orthodox occupations of the ladies of Alta 
 California. Visitors from other countries have said 
 many charming things about the manners, good health, 
 and comeliness of these ladies, but it is hardly right for 
 any of us to praise ourselves. The ladies of the prov- 
 ince were born and educated here; here they lived 
 and died, in complete ignorance of the world outside. 
 We were in many ways like grown-up children. 
 
 Our servants were faithful, agreeable, and easy to 
 manage. They often slept on mats on the earthen 
 floor, or, in the summer time, in the courtyards. When 
 they waited on us at meals we often let them hold con- 
 versations with us, and laugh without restraint. As 
 we used to say, a good servant knew when to be si- 
 lent and when to put in his cuchara (or spoon). 
 
 Bidgida Brioncs. 
 
 A Letter from General Sutter. 
 
 The following letter from General Sutter to Gov- 
 ernor Alvarado has been furnished us for publication 
 by the kindness of the family of the latter. It gives a 
 glimpse of the relation of the two men in 1841. The 
 "body of American farmers" referred to were evi- 
 dently the party whose experiences General Bidwell 
 has narrated in the November Century, the " young 
 man " being " Jimmy " John. 
 
 A su Excelencia Senor Don Juan Bauptistta Alvarado, 
 Gobernador Constitutional de las dos Californias, en 
 Monterey. 
 
 Excellent Sir ! Allow me to write you this time in 
 English, because I like not to make mistakes in an ex- 
 pression. 
 
 I have the honour to send you with this an Act, of a 
 comitted Crime on this place ; please give me your Orders 
 what I have to do with the Delinquent which is keept as 
 a Prisoner here. 
 
 Delinquent Henry Bee was put in Irons, but his friends 
 bound themselves for 1000 Dollars Security, when I would 
 take the irons from him, in which their Wishes I con- 
 sented. 
 
 John Wilson, Black Jack, is well known as at life he 
 was a bad Character, which may be something in Bee's 
 favour. 
 
 Waiting for your Orders, I shall keep the Delinquent 
 in Prison. 
 
 The Trapping party from the Columbia River will be 
 here in about 8 Days, under Command of Mr. Erma- 
 tinger, I am also waiting for one of my friends a German 
 Gentleman with the same party, I believe he travels for 
 his pleasure. 
 
 A strong body of American farmers are coming here ; 
 a young Man of the party got lost from the party since 
 10 Days, nearly starved to death and on foot, he don't 
 know which Direction the party took, I believe the will 
 come about the Direction of the Pueblo. 
 
 I was also informed that an other Company is coming 
 stronger than this under Mr. Fanuni [Farnum]. 
 
 Some very curious Rapports came to me, which made 
 me first a little afraid, but after two hours I get over the 
 fit. 
 
 I remain, Excellent Sir ! 
 Very Respectfully 
 Your 
 Most Obedient Servant, 
 
 J. A. Sutter. 
 
 NuEVA Helvetia, November 4 de 1841. 
 
 P. S. — In a short time I will have a Secretary who is 
 able to write Spanish. 
 
*//\JL Li^^cUn ^t^jwu^ "AmjU^ ^<^iJtJ^f(o 
 
 </t 
 
 TIIR BEAR FLAG PLATFORM, DRAFTBD IIV CBNKKAL niUWRLI- (FROM MIS MAST'SCRUn* OF THK PMF.SPNT ARTICLK.) 
 
 FREMONT 
 OF 
 
 L\ rUF COXOUFST 
 CALII'ORNLA.^'' 
 
 nv JOHN ItlDWELL (PIONEER OK '41). 
 
 N the autumn of 1S45 
 Fremont came on his 
 second exploring ex- 
 pedition to Cahfomia. 
 This time he divided 
 his ])arty east of the 
 Sierra Nevada and sent 
 the greater portion to come in through a gap 
 supposetl to exist farther to the south, while 
 he followed substantially what is now the 
 emigrant road, or Truckee route, and came 
 direct to Sutter's Fort with about eight or 
 nine men. At that time I was in charge of 
 Sutter's Fort and of Sutter's business, he being 
 absent at the bay of San Francisco. Fre- 
 mont camped on the American River about 
 three miles above the fort. The first notice 
 of his return to California was his sudden ap- 
 pearance, with Kit Carson, at the fort. He 
 at once made known to me his wants, namely, 
 sixteen mules, six pack-saddles, some flour and 
 other provisions, and the use of a blacksmith's 
 shop to shoe the mules, to enable him to go in 
 haste to meet the others of his party. I toKl 
 him precisely what could and could not be 
 furnished — that we had no mules, but could let 
 him have h(jrses, and could make the pack- 
 saddles ; that he might have the use of a black- 
 smith's shop, but we were entirely out of coal. 
 He became reticent, and, saying something in 
 a low lone to Kit C.irson, ro>e and left w ithout 
 saying good-day, antl returned to his camp. 
 As they mounted their horses to leave, Fre- 
 mont was heard to say that I was unwilling to 
 accommodate him, which greatly jjained me; 
 for, of course, we were always glad of the ar- 
 rival of Americans, and es[)ecially of one in au- 
 
 1 Sec the preceding i>ai)crs by the present writer : 
 "The First Kmigrant 'I ram to California " and " Life 
 in California Inrforc the Cold Uiscovery," in THE Cf.N- 
 ri'RV for November and December, 1890, respec- 
 tively. — KlUTOR. 
 
 '*' His men in the mountains had suffered consider- 
 al)ly. Fremont had jjiven imsitive orders for iheiii t<» 
 w.nit at a certain jjaj) or low divide till he should meet 
 them with supplies, but the place couhl not l>e found. 
 The men cot out of provisions and Ixmjjhl from the 
 Indians. The kind they most relishcti \>a-s a sort of 
 
 518 
 
 thority. IJesides, I knew that Captain Sutter 
 would do anything in his power (pr Fremont. 
 So I took with me Dr. Ciildea, a recent arrival 
 from St. Louis, across the plains, and hastened 
 to Fremont's camp and told him what had been 
 reported to me. He stated, in a very formal 
 manner, that he was the officer of one govern- 
 ment and Sutter the officer of another; that 
 difficulties existed between those governments; 
 and hence his inference that I, representing 
 Sutter, was not willing to accommodate him. 
 He reminded me that on his first arrival here, 
 in 1844, Sutter had sent out and in half an 
 hour had brought him all the mules he wanted. 
 1 jjrotested my willingness to do anything in 
 my power, but was obliged to plead inal)il- 
 ity to do more than stated, telling him that in 
 1844 Sutter was in far better circumstances; 
 that on that occa.sion a man ( Peter La.ssen) hail 
 just arrived with a hundred mules, of which 
 Sutter had bought what Fremont needed. But 
 he had not been able to pay for them, because 
 Fremont's drafts ha<l to go Fast before Sutter 
 could realize on them the money which had 
 been j)romised to Las.sen. In a few days 
 Sutter returned, but could not furnish any- 
 thing more than I had oflered. Then Fre- 
 mont concluiled to go down to the bay and 
 get supplies. He went with his little party of 
 eight or nine men, including Kit Carson, but 
 without succe.ss ; so he sent the men back to 
 Sutter's Fort to go, as best they could, to find 
 the main party. Meanwhile he himself had 
 made his way to Monterey to .see the Ameri- 
 can consul, Thomas (J. Larkin. After several 
 weeks Fremont and his entire party became 
 united in the San Joa«|uin Valley.-' While at 
 
 brown meal, which was rich and spicy, and came so 
 much into favor that they wantetl no other. .\!""' 
 a while the Indians Ixrcame careless in the prepai.r 
 of this wonderful meal, when it wa*^ ' ' ■ 
 
 full of the broken winijs and leps ^^{ 
 was simply drii 
 The men said ii 
 like gingerbread, and th.it they were i" 
 
 and fat. But .iftcr the tliscovery they lo!-i : , , 
 
 lites. How hard it is sometimes to overcome preju- 
 dice ! 
 
TO GEORGE B. BUTLER. 
 
 517 
 
 " Penelope ? " she said. 
 
 " We all have been mistaken, sister," was the 
 quick answer. " I was doing my best to please 
 you ; but — I 'm afraid — I feel reUeved." 
 
 One year after these events Gay's heart's 
 desire was realized. There came into the still 
 Belhaven streets such a stir and marshaling of 
 troops that the town was bom again to be the 
 war-post of the days of Washington. And 
 when presently the boys in gray who had been 
 rallied from Belhaven's homes marched out, 
 the boys in blue marched in. Needless to say 
 that, drawn from its rusty scabbard, the sword 
 he had carried in Mexico was offered by Major 
 Garnett to his Virginia. As colonel of a regi- 
 ment of infantry he served at the two battles of 
 Manassas, and for several campaigns was heard 
 of wherever there was lighting for his corps. 
 Then the eager, yearning friends shut up in 
 Belhaven, and meeting in secret to pray for the 
 armies of the South, learned that General Gar- 
 nett had lost both an arm and a foot in battle, 
 and was lying, not expected to survive, at a 
 hospital in Richmond. For the first time in 
 her life Gay saw a blue hght of fixed determina- 
 tion burn in the placid orbs of Aunt Penelope. 
 Overcoming all obstacles, and braving danger 
 and distress. Miss Penelope Berkeley pushed 
 through the lines and went to Richmond. 
 
 " Do you know me, David ? " she asked, at 
 the moment when it was believed his gallant 
 soul was passing to its reward. 
 
 " Know you, Pen ? " he answered. '■ Why, I 
 must be in heaven." 
 
 " There is n't much of me left, ma'am," he 
 remarked, in the course of a few weeks, to his 
 devoted nurse ; " but there 's a body to hold 
 my heart, and a hand to put the ring upon 
 your finger. Nothing should part us now, Pen. 
 Come, say you '11 be Mistress Garnett." 
 
 " O David ! As if I had n't loved you all 
 my life," sighed Miss Penelope. 
 
 Gay's own romance came to her after Gen- 
 eral and Mrs. Garnett had gone back to live 
 in the old house, whence Aunt Finetta had 
 been gathered to her fathers. But long before 
 this she had given to Major Daisy the en- 
 thusiastic homage of her heart. " Between 
 Pen and Gay," the dear old boy used to 
 say, " I 've more hands and feet and coddling 
 than any one man, much less half a man, de- 
 serves." 
 
 The Reverend Joshua espoused a widow with 
 six children, three farms, and a temper locally 
 renowned. Old Peggy died firmly believing 
 that her incantations, if not her diplomacy, 
 had secured two husbands to the ancient house 
 of Berkeley. 
 
 Constance Gary Harrison. 
 
 
 
 
 TO GEORGE B. BUTLER. 
 
 FULL many an artist, Butler, have I known 
 In golden days gone by, but none like thee ; 
 For thou dost paint what no one else can see, 
 What should be seen, but hath not yet been shown — 
 Secrets whose meaning has forever flown. 
 
 Things doubtful once which now authentic be, 
 - The selfhood which all children christen " me," 
 And which discovered is by thee alone. 
 Whence is this marvelous craft wherein we find. 
 Thou by the pencil, I, my poorer pen. 
 What slumbers in the cradle of the heart. 
 Or suddenly is awakened in the mind ? 
 
 Through Song at last have I deciphered men, 
 Man from the first thou hast discerned by Art. 
 
 R. If. Stoddard. 
 
FRflMONT IN TlfE COyQUKST OF CALIFORNIA. 519 
 
 Monterey lie hafl obtained permission from Jose processes of swimming one at a time, or of 
 
 Castro, the commandant-general, to winter in taking one or two, tied by all four feet, in a 
 
 the San Joaquin Valley, away from the settle- small Iwat or launch. Arce, with the horses and 
 
 ments, where the men would not be likely to seven or eight soldiers, arrived at Sutter's Fort, 
 
 annoy the people. He had in all in the ex- staid overnight as the guest of Sutter, and went 
 
 ploringparty about sixty well-armed men. He on his way to the Cosumne River (about six- 
 
 also had permission to extend his explorations teen or eighteen miles) and camped for the 
 
 in the spring as far south as the Colorado night. 
 
 River. Fremont's hasty departure for Oregon and 
 
 Accordingly early in the spring (1846) Fr<5- (Mllesj)ie's pursuit of him had been the occa- 
 mont started south with his party. When sion of many surmises. Fremont's sudden return 
 Castro gave him permission to explore towards excited increased curiosity. I'eople flocked to 
 the Colorado River he no doubt supposed he his camp: some were settlers, some hunters; 
 would go south or southeast from where he some were good men, and some about as rough 
 was camped in the San Joaquin Valley, and specimens of humanity as it would be possible 
 on through the Tejon Pass and the Mojave to find anywhere. Fremont, hearing that the 
 Desert ; but, instead, Fremont with his sixty horses were passing, sent a party of these pro- 
 armed men started to go west and southwest miscuous people and captured them. This of 
 through the most thickly settled parts of Cali- course was done before he had orders or any 
 fomia, namely, the Santa Clara, Pajaro, and positive news that war had been declared. 
 Salinas valleys. As he was approaching the When Gillespie left the I'nited States, as the 
 last valley Castro sent an official order by an bearer of a despatch to Larkin and Fremont 
 officer warning Fremont that he must leave, and of letters to the latter, war had not been 
 as his action was illegal. The order was de- declared. The letters included one from Scna- 
 livered March 5. Fremont took possession tor Benton, who had the confidence and knew 
 of an eminence called (iavilan Peak, and the purposes of the Administration. As Cil- 
 continued to fortify himself for several days, lespie had to make his way through Mexico, 
 perhaps a week or more, Castro meantime re- he committed the des])atch and his orders to 
 maining in sight and evidently increasing his memory, destroyed them, and rewrote them on 
 force day by day, F'remont, enraged against the vessel which took him, via the Sandwich 
 Castro, finally abandoned his {)Osition in the Islands, to the coast of California. There had 
 night of March 9, and, gaining the San Joa- been no later arrival, and therefore no later 
 (juin Valley, made his way rapidly northward despatches to F"remont were possible. Though 
 uj) the Sacramento Valley and into Oregon, Fremont was reticent, whatever he did was 
 leaving Sutter's about March 24. supposed to be done with the sanction of the 
 
 A little over four weeks after Fremont left I United States. Thus, without giving the least 
 
 happened to be fishing four or five miles notice even to Sutter, the great friend of Ameri- 
 
 down the river, having then left Sutter's scr- cans, or to Americans in general, scattered and 
 
 vice with the view of trying to put up two or exposed as they were nil <■^\rx California, he 
 
 three hundred barrels of salmon, thinking the precipitated the war. 
 
 venture would be jjrofitable. An officer of the Sutter was always outspoken in his wish 
 
 United States, Lieutenant A, H. Gillespie, that some day California should belong to the 
 
 of the marines, bearing messages to the ex- United States; but when he heard that the 
 
 plorer, came up the river in a small boat and horses had been taken from Arce (who made 
 
 at once incjuired about Fremont. I told him no resistance, but with his men and with in- 
 
 he had gone to Oregon. Said he : " I want to suiting messages was permitted to go on his way 
 
 overhaul him. How far is it to the fort ? " And to Castro at Santa Clara), he expressed surprise 
 
 receiving my reply, he pushed rai)idly on. He that Captain Fremont had committed such an 
 
 overtook Fremont near the Oregon line. Fre- act without his knowledge. What Sutter had 
 
 mont, still indignant against Castro, who had said was reported to Fri^mont, perhaps with 
 
 compelled him to abandon his explorations some exaggeration. 
 
 south, returned at once to Califf)min. It so ;\s soon as the horses arrived at Fremont's 
 
 happened that Castro had sent Lieutenant Arce camp, the same jtarty — about twenty-five in 
 
 to the north side of the bay of San F"rancisco number — were sent to Sonoma. By this party 
 
 to collect scattered Government horses. Arce General Vallcjo, the most jiromincnt Califor- 
 
 had secured about one hundred and fif"ty and nian north of the bay, his brother Salvador, 
 
 was taking them to the south side of the bay, his brother-in-law Jacob P. Leese, and Victor 
 
 via Sutter's Fort and the San Joaquin Valley. Prudon were surprised at night, taken prison- 
 
 This was the only way to transfer cattle or ers, and conveyed to F"remont's camp, over 
 
 horses from one side of the bay to the other, eighty miles distant by the traveled route on 
 
 except at the Straits of Carquine/. by the slow the Sacramento River. The prisoners were 
 
520 
 
 FREMONT IN THE CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 sent to Sutter's Fort, Fremont arriving at the 
 same time. Then Sutter and Fremont met, 
 face to face, for the first time since Fremont, 
 a month before, had passed on his way towards 
 Oregon. I do not know what words passed 
 between them ; I was near, but did not hear. 
 This, however, I know, that Sutter had become 
 elated, as all Americans were, with the idea that 
 what Fremont was doing meant California for 
 the United States. But in a few minutes Sutter 
 came to me greatly agitated, with tears in his 
 eyes, and said that Fremont had told him he 
 was a Mexican, and that if he did not like what 
 he (Fremont) was doing he would set him 
 across the San Joaquin River and he could go 
 and join the Mexicans. But, this flurry over, 
 Sutter was soon himself again, and resumed 
 his normal attitude of friendship towards Fre- 
 mont, because he thought him to be acting in 
 accordance with instructions from Washing- 
 ton. For want of a suitable prison, the pris- 
 oners were placed in Sutter's parlor, — a large 
 room in the southwest corner of the second 
 story of the two-story adobe house,^ — which 
 had but one door, and this was now guarded 
 by a sentinel. Fremont gave me special direc- 
 tions about the safety of the prisoners, and I 
 understood him to put them under my special 
 charge. Some of Fremont's men remained at 
 the fort. 
 
 Among the men who remained to hold So- 
 noma was William B. Ide, who assumed to be 
 in command. In some way (perhaps through 
 an unsatisfactory interview with Fremont which 
 he had before the move on Sonoma) Ide got 
 the notion that Fremont's hand in these events 
 was uncertain, and that Americans ought to 
 strike for an independent republic. To this 
 end nearly eveiy day he wrote something in 
 the form of a proclamation and posted it on 
 the old Mexican flagstaff. Another man left at 
 Sonoma was William L. Todd,^ who painted, 
 on a piece of brown cotton, a yard and a half 
 or so in length, with old red or brown paint that 
 he happened to find, what he intended to be 
 a representation of a grizzly bear. This was 
 raised to the top of the staff", some seventy feet 
 from the ground. Native Californians looking 
 up at it were heard to say '■'■Coc/ie,'" the com- 
 mon name among them for pig or shoat. 
 
 The party at Sonoma now received some ac- 
 cessions from Americans and other foreigners 
 living on the north side of the bay. Rumors 
 began to reach them of an uprising on the part 
 of the native Californians, which indeed began 
 
 1 This adobe house is still standing, within the lim- 
 its of the city of Sacramento, and is the only relic left 
 of Sutter's Fort. [See sketch on page i69,The Cen- 
 tury for December, 1890. ] It was built in 1841 — the 
 first then, the last now. 
 
 2 More than thirty years afterwards I chanced to 
 
 under Joaquin de la Torre. Henry L. Ford and 
 other Americans to the number of thirty met 
 De la Torre — whose force was said to number 
 from forty to eighty — near the Petaluma 
 Ranch, and four or five of the Californians 
 were said to have been killed or wounded. 
 The repulse of the Californians seems to have 
 been complete, though reports continued 
 alarming, and a man sent froin Sonoma to 
 Russian River for powder was killed. A mes- 
 senger was sent in haste to Sacramento for 
 Fremont, who hurried to Sonoma with nearly 
 all his exploring party and scoured the country 
 far and near, but found no enemy. 
 
 I tried to make the prisoners at Sacramento 
 as comfortable as possible, assisting to see 
 that their meals were regularly and properly 
 brought, and sometimes I would sit by while 
 they were eating. One day E. M. Kern, artist to 
 Fremont's exploring expedition, called me out 
 and said it was Fremont's orders that no one 
 was to go in or speak to the prisoners. I told 
 him they were in my charge, and that he had 
 nothing to say about them. He asserted that 
 they were in his charge, and finally convinced 
 me that he had been made an equal, if not 
 the principal, custodian. I then told him that, 
 as both of us were not needed, I would go over 
 and join Fremont at Sonoma. Just at this time 
 Lieutenant Washington A. Bartlett of the 
 United States Navy arrived from the bay, in- 
 quiring for Fremont. The taking of the horses 
 from Arce, the capture of the prisoners, and 
 the occupation of Sonoma, had been heard of, 
 and he was sent to learn what it meant. So 
 he went over to Sonoma with me. 
 
 On our arrival Fremont was still absent try- 
 ing to find the enemy, but that evening he re- 
 turned. The Bear Flag was still flying, and had 
 been for a week or more. The American flag 
 was nowhere displayed. There was much 
 doubt about the situation. Fremont gave us 
 to understand that we must organize. Lieu- 
 tenant Gillespie seemed to be his confidential 
 adviser and spokesman, and said that a meet- 
 ing would be held the next day at which Fre- 
 mont would make an address. He also said 
 that it would be necessary to have some plan 
 of organization ready to report to the meeting ; 
 and that P. B. Reading, W. B. Ide, and my- 
 self were requested to act as a committee to 
 report such a plan. We could learn nothing 
 from Fremont or Gillespie to the effect that 
 the United States had anything to do with 
 Fremont's present movements. 
 
 meet I'odd on the train coming up tlie Sacramento Val- 
 ley. He had not greatly changed, but appeared con- 
 siderably broken in health. He informed me that Mrs. 
 Lincoln was his own aunt, and that he had been brought 
 up in the family of Abraham Lincoln. 
 
( KKUM A nUM I " ,K All! 1 AK 1..^ .\1V' " i * >- "Ji IN IIJSSESSION Ol -- . • — ' 
 
 i«RTRAIT ANIJ AITOCRAPH OF KIT CARSON. 
 
 Vou XI 1. -C.9- 
 
 S-" 
 
522 
 
 FREMONT IN THE CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 In past years rumors of threats against 
 Americans in California had been rather fre- 
 quent, several times causing them and other 
 foreigners to hasten in the night from all places 
 within one or two hundred miles to Sutter's 
 Fort, sometimes remaining a week or two, drill- 
 ing and preparing to resist attack. The first 
 scare of this kind occurred in 1841, when Sut- 
 ter became somewhat alarmed; the last, in 
 1845. But in every case such rumors had 
 proved to be groundless, so that Americans 
 had ceased to have apprehensions, especially 
 in the presence of such an accessible refuge 
 as Sutter's Fort. And now, in 1846, after so 
 many accessions by immigration, we felt en- 
 tirely secure, even without the presence of a 
 United States officer and his exploring force 
 of sixtv men, until we found ourselves sud- 
 denly plunged into a war. But hostilities hav- 
 
 JACOB P. LEESE. 
 
 ing been begun, bringing danger where none 
 before existed, it now became imperative to or- 
 ganize. It was in every one's mouth (and I think 
 musthave come from Fremont) that the war was 
 begun in defense of American settlers ! This 
 was simply a pretense to justify the premature 
 beginning of the war, which henceforth was to 
 be carried on in the name of the United States.^ 
 Under these circumstances on the Fourth of 
 July our committee met. We soon found that we 
 could not agree. Ide wished to paste together 
 his long proclamations on the flagstaff, and 
 
 1 So much has been said and written about the " Bear 
 Flag" that some may conclude it was something of 
 importance. It was not so regarded at the time : it 
 was never adojited at any meeting or by any agree- 
 ment; it was, I think, never even noticed, perhaps 
 never seen, by Fremont when it was flying. The 
 naked old Mexican flagstaff at Sonoma suggested that 
 
 make them our report. Reading wrote some- 
 thing much shorter, which I thought still too 
 long. I proposed for our report simply this : 
 " The undersigned hereby agree to organize for 
 the purpose of gaining and maintaining the in- 
 dependence of Cahfornia." Unable to agree 
 upon a report, we decided to submit what we 
 had written to Lieutenant Gillespie, without our 
 names, and ask him to choose. He chose mine. 
 The meeting took place, but Fremont's remarks 
 gave us no light upon any phase of the situa- 
 tion. He neither averred nor denied that he 
 was acting under orders from the United States 
 Government. Some men had been guilty of 
 misconduct in an Indian village, and he repri- 
 manded them — said he wanted nothing to do 
 with the movement unless the men would con- 
 duct themselves properly. Gillespie made some 
 remarks, presented the report, and all present 
 signed it. 
 
 The organization took jilace forthwith, by 
 the formation of three companies. The cap- 
 tains elected were Henry L. Ford, Granville 
 P. Swift, and Samuel J. Hensley. Thus organ- 
 ized, we marched into the Sacramento Valley. 
 The men who had not been at Sonoma signed 
 the report at the camp above Sutter's Fort, 
 except a few who soon after signed it at the 
 Mokelumne River on our march to Monterey. 
 This was, so far as I know, the last seen or 
 heard of that document, for Commodore Sloat 
 had raised the American flag at Monterey be- 
 fore our arrival, and soon it waved in all 
 places in California where American influence 
 prevailed. 
 
 As yet Fremont had received advices from 
 Washington no later than those brought by 
 Gillespie. His object in going to Monterey 
 must have been to confer with Commodore 
 Sloat and get positive information about the 
 war with Mexico, which proved to be a reahty, 
 as we learned even before our arrival there. 
 There was now no longer uncertainty ; all were 
 glad. It was a glorious sight to see the Stars 
 and Stripes as we marched into Monterey. 
 Here we found Commodore Sloat. The same 
 evening, or the next, Commodore Stockton, a 
 chivalrous and dashing officer, arrived around 
 Cape Horn to supersede him. Plans were 
 immediately laid to conquer California. A 
 California Battalion was to be organized, and 
 Fremont was to be lieutenant-colonel in com- 
 mand. Stockton asked Fremont to nominate 
 his own officers. P. B. Reading was chosen 
 paymaster, Ezekiel Merritt quartermaster, and, 
 
 something should be put on it. Todd had painted 
 it, and others had helped to put it up, for mere pas- 
 time. It had no importance to begin with, none what- 
 ever when the Stars and Stripes went up, and never 
 would have l)een thought of again had not an officer 
 of the navy seen it in Sonoma and written a letter 
 about it. 
 
FRI^MONT IX THE COX QUEST OF CALIEORXIA. 
 
 523 
 
 COVEKNOK Jl'AN B. AI.VARAIX>. (1836-43.) GOVERNOR MANUEL MICHELTOHP.NA. (1842-45.) 
 
 TWO MEXICAN GOVERNORS OR CAUPORNIA. ' 
 
 I think, King commissary. The captains and 
 hcutenanls chosen at Sonoma were also com- 
 missioneil. Though I chd not aspire to office, I 
 received a commission as second lieutenant. 
 
 Merritt, the quartermaster, could neither read 
 nor write. He was an old mountaineer and 
 trapper, lived widi an Inilian S(iuaw, and went 
 clad in buckskin fringed after the style of 
 the Rocky Mountain Indians. He chewed to- 
 bacco to a tli.sgu.sting excess, and stammered 
 badly. He had a reputation for bravery be- 
 cause of his continual l)oa.sting of his prowess 
 in killing Indians. The handle of the tomahawk 
 he carried had nearly a hundred notches to re- 
 coril the numberof his Indian scal|)s. He drank 
 deei)ly whenever he could get liquor. Stockton 
 said to him: " .Major Merritt " (for he was now 
 major), "make out a recpiisition for some money, 
 say two thousand dollars. You will need about 
 that amount at the start. P.ring your re<piisili()n 
 on board, and I will appnncand ilirect thepur- 
 scr to honor it." Major Reading wrote there* po- 
 sition and Merritt got the money, two thousand 
 Mexican silver dollars. That afternoon I met 
 him in .Monterey, nearly as drunk as he could 
 be. He said, " Hidwell, I am riih ; I have 
 lots of money " ; and putting both hands into 
 the deej) pockets of his buckskin breeches he 
 brought out two handfuls of .Mexican dollars, 
 saying. " H ere, take this, and if you can fmd any- 
 thing to buy, buy it, and when you want more 
 money come to me, for I have got lots of it." 
 
 Merritt was never removed from his office 
 or rank, but simply fell into disuse, and was de- 
 tailed, like subordinate ofVicers or men, to per- 
 fonn other duties, generally at the hea<l of 
 
 1 For a portrait of Pio Pico, ihc successor of Michcl- 
 torcna and the last Mcxicat\ governor, sec TllK 
 Ckntcrv for January, p. 379. 
 
 small .scouting parties. Merritt's friends — for 
 he must have had friends t(J recommend him for 
 jjuarterma.ster — in some way managed to fix uj) 
 the accounts relating to the early administration 
 of his office. In fact, I tried to help them myself, 
 but I believe that all of us together were never 
 able to find, within a th<nisand dollars, what 
 Merritt had done with the money. How he 
 ever came to be recommendccl for <piarter- 
 master was to every one a myster)-. Perhaps 
 some of the current theories that sub.seipientlv 
 prevailed might have had in them just a shade 
 of truth, namely, that somebody entertaine<l 
 the idea that (luartermaster meant the ability 
 and duty to (|uarter the beef! 
 
 The first con(piest of California, in 1S46. by 
 the .Vinericans, with the exce[)tion of the skir- 
 mish at I'etaluma and another towards Mon- 
 terey, wasachieved without a battle. We sinipiv 
 marched all over ( 'alifomia from Sonoma to San 
 Diego and raised the American Hag without 
 opposition or protest. Wetried tofindancnemy, 
 but could not. So Kit Carson and Ned IJeale 
 were sent l-'-ast, bearing despatches from Com- 
 modore Stockton announc ing the entire con- 
 quest of Califi)rnia by the I'nited States. 
 I'reiiKint was made governor by Sto< klon at 
 I, OS .\ngeles, but could not enter upon the full 
 discharge of the duties of his office till he had 
 visitecl the upper part of California and re- 
 turned. He .sent me to take charge of the Mi.s- 
 sion of San Luis Rcy, with a commivsion as 
 magistrate over the larger portion of the coun- 
 try between Los A ' and San I)icgr». 
 Stockton and all h; > retired on l)oard 
 
 of their vessels. Fremont went north, leaving 
 part of his men at Los Angeles under Cilles- 
 ])ie, part at Santa llarbara under Lieutenant 
 Talbot, and some at other point.s. I'io Pico and 
 
524 
 
 FREMONT IN THE CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Jose Castro, respectively the last Mexican gov- 
 ernor and commander-in-chief, remained con- 
 cealed a v/hile and then withdrew into Mexico. 
 Suddenly, in about a month, Fremont being in 
 the north and his troops scattered, the whole 
 country south oF Monterey was in a state of 
 revolt.! Then for the first time there was 
 something like war. As there were rumors of 
 Mexican troops coming from Sonora, Merritt 
 was sent by Gillespie to reconnoiter towards 
 the Colorado River. Gillespie was surrounded 
 
 and reorganized the forces, composed of sailors, 
 marmes, men of Fremont's battalion under 
 Gillespie and Merritt, volunteers at San Diego, 
 including some native Californians and that 
 portion of the regular troops under General 
 S. W. Kearney that had escaped from the field 
 of San Pascual- — in all between 700 and 800 
 men. Of these forces I was commissioned and 
 served as quartermaster. This work of prepara- 
 tion took several months. Finally, on the 29th 
 of December, 1846, the army set out to retake 
 
 THROUGH THE GOLDEN GATE LOOKING TOWARDS THE BAY OF SAN FRANXISCO. 
 
 at Los Angeles, and made to capitulate. I fled 
 from San Luis Rey to San Diego. Merritt and 
 his party, hearing of the outbreak, also escaped 
 to San Diego. Meanwhile Fremont enlisted a 
 considerable force (about four hundred), princi- 
 pally from the large Hastings immigration at 
 Sacramento, and marched south. Commodore 
 Stockton had landed and marched to retake 
 Los Angeles, and failed. All the men-of-war, 
 and all the scattered forces, except Fremont's 
 new force, were then concentrated at San 
 Diego, where Commodore Stockton collected 
 
 Los Angeles. It fought the battles of San Gabriel 
 and the Mesa, which ended the insurrection. 
 The enemy fled, met Fremont at San Fernando, 
 and surrendered to him the next day. The 
 terms of surrender were so lenient that the 
 native Californians from that time forth be- 
 came the fast friends of Fremont. 
 
 Unfortunate differences regarding rank had 
 arisen between Stockton and Kearney. Fremont 
 was afterwards arrested in California by Kear- 
 ney for refusing to obey his orders, and was taken 
 to Washington and court-martialed. Stockton, 
 
 1 Royce, in his history of California, says that the '-^ Time does not permit nie to do more than allude 
 
 immediate cause of this revolt was the intolerant and to the arrival at San Diego of General Kearney with 
 
 exasperating administration of affairs by Gillespie at one hundred soldiers, and with Kit Carson and Beale, 
 
 Los Angeles. — Editor. from New Mexico; or to his repulse at San Pascual. 
 
THE DISCOVERY OE (JO/J) IN CALIEORXIA. 
 
 525 
 
 however, was largely to blame. He would not 
 submit to (leneral Kearney, his superior in 
 command on land, and that led Fremont to re- 
 fuse to obey Kearney, his superior otHcer. l'"re- 
 mont's disobedience was no doubt owing to the 
 advice of Stockton, who had apjKjinted him 
 governor of California.' 
 
 The war being over, nearly all the volunteers 
 were tlischarged from the service in February 
 
 and March, 1847, at I-os Angeles and San Di- 
 ego. Most of us made our way up the coast by 
 land to our homes. I had eleven horses, which 
 I swam, one at a time, across the Straits of Car- 
 ( piine/ at Heni(ia, which J.. M.Hudsjjeth, the sur- 
 veyor, was at the time laying out for I )r. Robert 
 Sem]ile,and which was then (ailed " I'rancisca," 
 after .Mrs. N'allejo, whose maiden name was Fran- 
 ci.sca Benicia Carrillo. 
 
 John BUwell. 
 
 THK RISII TO CALIFOKNIA: A CARItATfRE OK THE TIME KKOM " I'lNCII " DV RrcHAKD DOVLE. 
 
 Till' i)isc(nM:m' oi- gold ix cai.ii-orma. 
 
 N the summer of 1847 the 
 American resiilents of 
 ( 'alifomia, numbering i)cr- 
 ^ liaj)s two thousand, and 
 mostly established near 
 San Francisco Bay, looked 
 forward with hope and 
 confidence to the 
 future. Their govern- 
 ment held secure ])Os- 
 session of the whole 
 territory, and had an- 
 nounced its purposeto 
 hold it ])ermanently. 
 ihe Spanish Califomians. dissatisfied with the 
 manner in which Mexico had ruled them, and 
 convinced that she could not protect them, had 
 abandoned the idea of further resistance. Not- 
 withstanding the unsettled condition of politi- 
 cal affairs, the market prices of cows, horses, 
 and land, whic h at that time were the chief 
 articles of sale in the country, had atlvanced, 
 and this enhancement of values was generally 
 
 ' Mr. Charles H. Sliinn informs us that General 
 
 \ alU'io ill one of his letters telK of havinj; receivoi on 
 llie same ilav communications from Commodore Stotk- 
 
 TMC uo«T *»movf CAiiromiiA ouTrir 
 
 • mow " ^UMCM.*') 
 
 regarded as a certain proof of the increasec^ 
 ])rosperity that would bless the country undet 
 the Stars and Stripes when peace, which 
 seemed near at hand, should be finally made. 
 
 It so happeneil that at this time one of the 
 leading representatives of American interests 
 in California was John .\. Sutter, a Swiss by his 
 parentage; a(ierman by the place of his birth in 
 J5aden ; an American by residence and naturali- 
 zation in Missouri; and a Mexican bysubsetjuent 
 residence and naturalization in California. In 
 1 839 he had settled at the junction of the Sacra- 
 mento and American rivers, near the site of the 
 present city of Sacramento. 
 
 When he selected this site it was generally 
 considered very undesirable, but it had advan- 
 tages which soon became ai)j)arent. It was the 
 head of navigation on the Sacramento River 
 for sailing ve>^els, and steam had not yet made 
 its appearance in the waters of the Pacific. It 
 had a central position in the great interior val- 
 ley. Its distance of si.xty miles from the near- 
 est village, and its situation on one of the main 
 
 ton, General Kearney, and Colonel Fremont, each one 
 signing himself "Conimandcr-in-chicf of California." 
 — Kdiiur. 
 
526 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 VIEW OF SAN H(ANL1S'.(J (KlkMEKl.S \t.Kl!A bL^hNA) IN MARCH, 1847. (AFTER A LITHOGRAPH 
 DESIGNED AND PUBLISHED BY VV. F. SWAZEY.) 
 
 A, U. S. S. PortS}>ic-iith ; B, U. S. Transports Loo Choo, Susn;i DrfTo 
 and T/iojfias H. Perkins — which brought the Stevenson regiment ; C, Ship 
 Vandalia — merchantman consigned to Howard & MeUus ; D, Coasting 
 schooner ; E, Launch /,?^tv (belonging to James Lick) ; i. Custom-house ; 
 2, Calaboose: 3, School-house: 4, Alcalde's othce : 5, City hotel owned 
 by Wm. A. Leidesdorff : 6, Portsmouth hotel : 7, \Vm. H. Davis*s store : 8, 
 Howard & Mellus's store (the old Hudson Bay Co.'s building) : 9, Leides- 
 dorff 's warehouse : 10, Samuel Brannan : 11, Leidesdorff: 12, Kuss : 13. 
 
 John Sullivan: 14, Peter T. Sherback : 15, Juan C. Davis: 16, G. Reyn- 
 olds: 17. Hllis's boarding-house: 18, Fitch & McKurley: 19, Captain 
 \'ioget ; 20, John Fuller; 21, Jesus Noe : 22, Juan N. Pidilla : 23, A. A. 
 An<lrew; 24, Captain Antonio Ortega: 25, Francisco Cacerez ; 26, Cap- 
 tain Wni. Hinckley : 27, General M. (i. Vallejo's building : 28, C. L. Ross : 
 29, Mill; 30, Captain John Paty ; 31, Doctor E. P. Jones; 32, Robert 
 Ridley; 33, Los Pechos de la Chnco : 34, Lone Mountain; 35, Sill's 
 blacksmith-shop; ♦*— >• Trail to Presidio; -*-^*< Trail to Mission Dolores. 
 
 traveled routes of the territory, gave political 
 and military importance to its proprietor. The 
 Mexican governors sought his influence and 
 conferred power on him. But more important 
 than all these advantages was the fact that the 
 only wagon road from the Mississippi Valley 
 to California first reached the navigable waters 
 of the Pacific at Sutter's Fort. This road had 
 been open for several years and was of much 
 prospective importance. The immigration had 
 been interrupted by the war, but would cer- 
 tainly start again as soon as peace should be 
 restored. 
 
 The American residents of California, know- 
 ing the feehng prevalent among their relatives 
 east of the Rocky Mountains, expected that 
 at least a thousand immigrants, and perhaps 
 two or three times as many, would arrive over- 
 land every year ; and they supposed that such 
 additions to the population would soon add 
 much to the value of property, to the demand 
 for labor, and to the activity of general business. 
 
 The immigration would be especially beneficial 
 to Sutter. At his rancho they would reach the 
 first settlement of white men in the Sacramento 
 Valley. 'J'here, after their toilsome march across 
 the desert, they would stop and rest. There, 
 they would purchase supplies of food and cloth- 
 ing. There, they would sell their exhausted 
 horses and oxen, and buy fresh ones. There, 
 the penniless would seek employment. There, 
 those who were ready to continue their jour- 
 ney would separate for the valleys to the north- 
 ward, westward, and southward. There, parties 
 starting for Oregon or " the States " would ob- 
 tain their last stock of supplies. The advan- 
 tages of the site were numerous and evident. 
 
 But the advantages of Sutter's Fort imposed 
 certain obligations on its owner. He should be 
 prepared to furnish provisions to the immi- 
 grants. He should not expect the Ameri- 
 cans to be content with the Mexican system 
 of crushing grain by hand on the nietate, as 
 the flat under millstone of the Mexicans and 
 
TirE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IX CAIIIORNIA. 
 
 5^7 
 
 I Iclvclia and soliriicd cm|)l()yinL'nt. Thcv had 
 belonged to the Mormon ballahon, whicli, after 
 enhsting in Nebraska for one year, marching 
 to the Pacific by way of the (iila, and garri- 
 
 
 native Cahfornians is calletl. tlie iijjper mill- 
 stone being cylindrical and used like a rolling- 
 |.iii. He ought to build a tlour-mill in the 
 Sa( ramento Valley to grind the wheat which 
 he cultivated in considerable 
 c|uantity. There was no great 
 (lilViculty al)Out the construc- 
 tion of such a mill. He had 
 a site for it on his own rancho. 
 The necessary timber for it 
 (ould be found not far away. 
 .Vniong the Americans at the 
 fort there was skill to build 
 and to manage it. These ideas 
 pleased Sutler; he adojjted 
 them, and acted on them. He 
 selected a site and made his 
 plans for a Hour-mill, and, 
 l)arlly to get lumber for it, he 
 determined to build a saw-mill 
 also. 
 
 Since there was no good 
 limber in the valley, the saw- 
 mill must be in the mountains. 
 The site for it was selected 
 by James W. Marshall, a na- 
 tive of New Jersey, a skillful 
 wheelwright by occupation, 
 industrious, honest, generous, 
 but '"cranky," full of wild 
 fancies, and defective in some 
 kinds of business sense. By 
 accident he discovered the 
 gold of California, and his 
 name is inseparably con- 
 nected with her history, but 
 it is impossil)le to make a 
 great hero of him. The jilace 
 for his mill was in the small 
 valley of Coloma, 1500 feet 
 above the level of the sea, 
 and 45 miles from Sutter's 
 I'ort. from which it was ac- 
 ( essible by wagon without 
 expense for road-making. 
 (Miod vellow |)ine timber was 
 abundant in the surrounding 
 hills; the water-power was 
 more than sutVuient; there 
 were opportunities to make 
 a secure dam and rat e with small expense, soning San Diego, had been mustered out at 
 an<l there was little danger of loss by Los Angeles on the preceiling i6th of July. 
 Hood. Sutler left the plans and construction They were on their way to Salt Lake, but 
 of the mill, as well as the selection of the site, at the fort receivetl letters aiivising all who 
 to NLirshall, and on the 27th of August the could not bring provi.sions for the winter to 
 two .signeil an agreement of partnership un- remain in California until the following spring. 
 
 mOU • PHOTOO«<I>H (T lIM/kH. 
 
 Vta'L^fuiJ:^ 
 
 TUB DISCOVERPH OP COI.D AT Sl'TTBK S MILU 
 
 der which Sutter was to furnish money, men, 
 tools, and teams, and Marshall was to supply 
 the skill for building and managing. 
 
 While the project of the saw-mill was umler 
 consiileration some Moniions arrived at New 
 
 I'hev were .sober, onlerly. peaceful, industrious 
 men. an«l Sutler hired them to work at his 
 tlour-mill and saw-mill. He sent .six of them 
 to Coloma. Besides these, NLarshall had three 
 " Cientile " laborers, and about a tlo/xn Indians. 
 
528 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 All the white men were natives of the United 
 States. 
 
 For four months these men worked at Co- 
 loma, seeing no visitors, and rarely communi- 
 cating with the fort. The mill had been nearly 
 completed, the dam was made, the race had 
 been dug, the gates had been put in place, the 
 water had been turned into the race to carry 
 away some of the loose dirt and gravel, and 
 
 mill, where he showed them to the men as proof 
 of his discovery of a gold mine. The scantiness 
 in the provision supply gave Marshall an ex- 
 cuse for going to the fort, though he would 
 probably not have gone at this time if he had 
 not been anxious to know Sutter's opinion of 
 the metal. He rode away, and, according to 
 Sutter's diary, arrived at the fort on Friday the 
 28th. Sutter had an encyclopedia, sulphuric 
 
 Sutter's mill, the scene of the gold discovery, (from a painting by nahl, in possession of a. roman.) 
 
 then had been turned ofif again. On the after- 
 noon of Monday the 24th of January Mar- 
 shall was walking in the tail-race, when on its 
 rotten granite bed-rock he saw some yellow 
 particles and picked up several of them. The 
 largest were about the size of grains of wheat. 
 They were smooth, bright, and in color much 
 like brass. He thought they were gold, and 
 went to the mill, where he told the men that 
 he had found a gold mine. At the time little 
 importance was attached to his statement. It 
 was regarded as a proper subject for ridicule. 
 Marshall hammered his new metal, and found 
 it malleable ; he put it into the kitchen fire, and 
 observed that it did not readily melt or become 
 discolored ; he compared its color with gold 
 coin ; and the more he examined it, the more 
 he was convinced that it was gold. The next 
 morning he paid another visit to the tail-race, 
 where he picked up other specimens ; and put- 
 ting all he had collected, about a spoonful, 
 on the crown of his slouch hat, he went to the 
 
 acid, and scales, and with the help of these, after 
 weighing the specimens in and out of water, 
 he declared that they were undoubtedly gold. 
 The first record of the discovery, and the 
 only one made on the day of its occurrence, 
 was in the diary of Henry W. Bigler, one of 
 the Mormon laborers at the mill. He was an 
 American by birth, then a young man, and 
 now a respected citizen of St. George, Utah. 
 He was in the habit of keeping a regular record 
 of his notable observations and experiences, 
 selecting topics for remark with creditable 
 judgment. His journal kept during his ser- 
 vice in the Mormon battalion and his subse- 
 quent stay in California is one of the valuable 
 historical documents of the State. On the 24th 
 of January, in the evening, Bigler wrote in his 
 diary, " This day some kind of mettle was 
 found in the tail-race that looks like goald." For 
 the purpose of enabling the reader to see pre- 
 cisely how the original record looks, it is here 
 shown in facsimile. The size of the page is 
 
THE DJSCOM'.KY OF GOI.n /V C.ILU-OKMA. 
 
 (? 
 
 
 
 -^Otx^ ^^^^tn^-^'^u)'''^^-^^ /^'^^0&^^ A^qi 
 
 '>> 
 
 '2^, 
 
 ^'^iz^- 
 
 
 -'W -T^ej^,^, /^<j^ "--^ /t-^uririie/ ^^r~ 
 
 529 
 
 
 \a.x^ 
 
 FACSIMILE OF ENTKV IN DIGLER S DIARV. 
 
 retained. The words in darker ink were in- 
 terpolated by Mr. Bigler after he had made 
 his first entries. Carelessness in the spelling 
 ajjpears in " mettle " anil " metal," both writ- 
 ten within a week ; and the influence of his 
 exj)erience in the Mormon battalion may ac- 
 count for his method of writing the name of 
 Mr. " Martial." 
 
 The artless arrangement of ideas, and the 
 ungrammati( al ])hraseology, accompanied by 
 the regular mental habits that demanded a 
 diary, and the perception that enabled him to 
 catch with his pen the main facts of life as they 
 ])assed, add much to the interest as well as to 
 the authority of his diary. 
 
 Nothing was .said in public about the date 
 of the disc«)very until 1856, eight years after 
 the event, when Marshall jniblished a letter in 
 which he said that he found gold at Coloma 
 ''about the 19th" of January. 1848. Neither 
 then, nor at any subsequent time, did he claim 
 that his recollection of the day was aided by 
 a written memorandum. In 1857 he published 
 a statement that the discovery was made on 
 Vm. XI.I — 70. 
 
 the 1 8th, 19th, or 20th. His biography, i)re- 
 pared under his direction, and printed in 1S70, 
 fixed the 19th as the precise day. As years 
 elap.sed he became more exact, perhaps under 
 the influence of public opinion, which from 
 1856 to 1886 accejjted the 19th as the day. 
 On the 9th September, 1885, at the annual 
 celebration of the admi.s.sion of the State into 
 the Union, I delivered an address on the gold 
 discovery to the Pioneer Society of San Fran- 
 cisco, and sent a copy of it in print to .Mr. 
 Bigler, of whom I had heard as one of the 
 survivors of the Coloma j)arty, and recjuested 
 him to correct my errors, if he found any. 
 He replied that, according to his diary, the 
 gold was found on the 24th. At my solicita- 
 tion he copied the entries of his book from 
 that tlay to the middle f)f May; and then 1 
 began an investigation which made me familiar 
 witli the diaries of A/ariah Smith, a survivor 
 of the Mormon battalion and of the mill- 
 builders at Coloma, ami with the diary of 
 Sutter. These three diaries agreed substan- 
 tially with one another, and with Manshali's 
 
53° 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 AZAKIAH SMITH. 
 
 HENRY \V. BIGLER. 
 
 TWO SURVIVORS OF THE PARTY OF DISCOVERY AT SUTTEU S MILL. 
 
 Statement that four days after the discovery 
 he took specimens of the gold to Sutter's 
 Fort. Smith made his entries on Sunday as a 
 rule; and on the 30th January he wrote that 
 on the preceding week gold had been found 
 at the mill, and that Marshall had gone to 
 New Helvetia to have it tested. This was 
 probably written in the morning, for Bigler's 
 entry made on the same day mentions that 
 the test was successful, implying that Mar- 
 shall had returned. 
 
 Sutter's diary reports that on the 28th Janu- 
 ary Marshall arrived at the fort " on impor- 
 tant business," without mentioning the gold. 
 The agreement of the three diaries with Mar- 
 shall's statement that he went to New Helvetia 
 four days after the discovery, the superior value 
 of documentary evidence as compared with 
 vague recollections, dimmed by years of inter- 
 vening events, and the uncertainty of Marshall 
 in reference to the date, left no room for doubt 
 that the 24th was the true day, which I gave 
 to the public for the first time in January, 
 1886.1 
 
 It is worthy of note that although Marshall's 
 date was first discredited by Bigler, the latter 
 sought no publicity on this point. For more 
 than twenty years after Marshall's story had 
 been in print he kept silence, and finally did 
 not give his testimony utitil solicited to do so. 
 We may presume that his attention was not 
 called to the discrepancy of dates until 1885, 
 and then he did not seem to attach enough 
 
 importance to it to make any effort to inform 
 the public about the error. 
 
 For six weeks or more the work on the 
 mill continued without serious interruption. 
 Never having seen placer mining, and having 
 no distinct idea of the methods of finding and 
 washing gold, the laborers at Coloma did not 
 know how to gather the treasures in their vicin- 
 ity. The first one to find gold outside of the tail- 
 race was Bigler, who was the hunter of the 
 party, sent out by Marshall at least one day 
 in every week to get venison, which was a very 
 acceptable addition to unground wheat and 
 salt salmon, the main articles of food sent from 
 Sutter's Fort. Deer being numerous in the 
 neighboring hills, it was not necessary that 
 Bigler should go far for game ; and more than 
 once he managed, while hunting, to look at 
 the banks of the river and find some of the 
 precious metal. His report of his success stim- 
 ulated others, and they too found gold at 
 various places. 
 
 In regard to the beginning of gold washing 
 as a regular occupation there is a conflict of 
 testimony. Bigler says that the first men who, 
 within the range of his observation, devoted 
 themselves to placer mining were Willis Hud- 
 son and five others, all of Sam. Brannan's 
 Mormon colony, whom he visited at Mormon 
 Island, on the American River below Coloma, 
 on the 1 2 th of April. On that day, washing the 
 gravel with pans and pan-like Indian baskets, 
 they took out more than two ounces and a half 
 
 1 In February, 18S7, Mr. Hittell, under the title of Mr. Smith's in February, 18S8. The files of the same 
 
 " Reminiscences," printed a fuller article on the gold magazine contain many interesting and important 
 
 discovery in the " Overland Monthly," where Mr. contributions to the early history of California, — 
 
 Bigler's diary appeared in September, 1887, and Editor. 
 
rnr. discovery of gold ix calii-ornia. 
 
 (forty-one dollars) tor each man. On the other 
 hand, Isaac Humphrey, wlui had l)een a placer 
 miner in Georgia, and who was the first |)erson 
 touse a rocker in the Sierra Nevadaand to teach 
 others there to use it. said that he arrived in 
 Coloma on the 7th of March, anil within a 
 week commenced work with a rocker. We 
 may e\|ilain the discrepant y between these 
 two authorities by imagining that for some 
 weeks Humphrey purposely avoided observa- 
 tion, as placer miners often do; or that in the 
 interval of ten years between his first appear- 
 
 reived at New Helvetia. Ii\c \\< t k-. i.ucr tiie 
 "Star "announ( edthat its editor, l-'.C. Kemble, 
 was about to take a trip into the country, and on 
 his return would re|>ort his observations. He 
 went to ( "oloma and either saw nothing or under- 
 stood nothing of what he saw, for he preserveil 
 absolute silence in his paper about his trip.' 
 On the 20th of May, after a number of men 
 had left San I''rancisc(j for the mines, he < ame 
 out with the opinion that the mines were a 
 " sham," and that the people who had gf)ne to 
 them were "superlatively silly." The increasing 
 
 iRj/ 
 
 SAMl KL UKANNAN, IN THK Kbt.ALlA OK I'Kl-lSIDIiNT OK THE SOCIKTV OK 
 CALIKoRNIA IMOKBERS. (FRO»l A PAINTINIi I.S THK SOCIKTV KOOMS. ) 
 
 f Bntnn.iD «r.i» the rncrvrclic Ic.vlcr of .1 c»>lonr of Mominnt who rcichd S.in l-raiKbco In July. 
 
 1 .1 colony or 
 II.- * ... •[ ,■ (. 
 
 ' Star." .1 tpcci.it numlicr <^ whtcti 
 1848, for circuLilion at the E.ut. 
 
 ance at Coloma and the publicatitm of his rem- 
 iniscences his memory misled him in the date. 
 In the spring of 184S San Franci.sco, a vil- 
 lage of about seven huntlreil inhabitants, had 
 two new.spapers, the " Califomian " and the 
 "California Star," both weeklies. The first 
 printed mentitin of the goltl discovery was a 
 short paragraph in the former, uniler date of 
 the 15th of March, stating that a gt)ld mine had 
 been fountl at Sutter's Mill, antl that a j>ackage 
 of the metal worth thirtv tlollars had been re- 
 
 I)ro(iuction of the mines soon overwhelmetl the 
 doubters; and before the miildle of June the 
 whole territr)ryresountletl with the cry of ",i,v/f/.' 
 c.oi.dI ! (lOM) : : 1 " asit wasjjrinted in one of 
 the local newspapers. Nearly all the men hurried 
 off to the mines. Workshops, stores, dwellings, 
 wives, antl even fielils of ripe grain, were left 
 for a time to take care of themselves. 
 
 In 1848 the gold hunters of the Sierra Nc- 
 
 1 See article by Kcnibic in " Califurniana " in the 
 present number. 
 
532 
 
Tiir nrscovERY of gold av California. 533 
 
 vada (lid not need a sc irimric education. The 5000 fret. In all these streams miners washed 
 method of wasliing ^old was then so simple, gold in 1.S4S. This aurikroiis region is not only 
 and they were so skillful in many kinds of more extensive than any other in the State, but 
 industrial labor, that they learne<l it <|uickly. has |)roduced ten timesas much asall the others, 
 Ca|)ital. like scientific education and techni- and has had the richest bars, the richest ra- 
 cal experience, was unnecessary to the early vines, the most remarkable river claims, and 
 placer miner. With the savings of a week's the largest beds of deef) gravel, a.s well as the 
 work he could buy the pick, shovel, pan, and most productive quartz mines. It comprises 
 ro( ker whii h were his only necessary tools, the places wiiere the gold was discovered by 
 As compared with other auriferous deposits of Marshall, where the sluice and the hydraulic 
 which we have definite knowledge, those of processes were invented, and where the m(jst 
 the Sierra Nevada were unecjualed for the notable improvemenlsof modem times in gold- 
 facility of working. They were not deep un- (juari/ machinery were first devi.sed. 
 der ground, or scantily suiiplied with water, as The mines of the I'pjjer Sacramento are in 
 in Australia and South Africa; nor in a land Shasta County, and were known in 1848; those 
 of tropical heat, as in Brazil ; nor in a region of Klamath are in Siskiyou and Trinity coun- 
 of long and severe winters, as in Siberia. The ties, and were o|)ene(l in subsequent years, 
 depositswere on land belonging to the National Outside of these three main regions gold has 
 Government, which, without charge, without been found in paying (juantities, but in rela- 
 official supervision, ami without ])revious per- tively small aggregate amount in many isolated 
 mit or survey, allowed every citizen to take all districts, including places in the basins of the 
 the gold from any claim held in accordance San Joaquin, Fresno, and K.cm rivers, on the 
 with the loc al regulations adopted by the eastern slope of Mount San Ijcmardino, and 
 miners of his district. • in the mountains of San Diego. Gold has also 
 
 The first gold washing was done on the bars been found in the San Francis(]uito Canon, 
 
 of the rivers, where the gravel was shallow, about sixty miles northward from Los Angeles, 
 
 usually not more than two or three feet tleep, where there was a little placer-wa.shing at 
 
 and where prospecting was easy, and mining intervals through nine years before Marshall 
 
 was jjrompt in its returns and liberal in its made his great discovery, 
 rewards. The gravel was rich if it yicMcd Most of the camps which have yielded goUl 
 
 twenty-five cents to the pan; and in favorable abundantly are between 1500 and 3500 feet 
 
 situations a man could dig and wash out fifty above the sea ; a few are as high as 5000 feet, 
 
 to sixty pans in a day, while with a rocker and a few as low as 300. The river-beds may 
 
 he could do three times as much. But on the have as much gokl in the valleys as in the moun- 
 
 l)ars of the American, the Bear, and the Vuba tains, but it is only where there is a steep graile 
 
 rivers it was no uncommon event to obtain that the rich stratum on the bed-rock can be 
 
 from one ilollar to five dollars in a ])an, and conveniently prospectetl and wa,shed. With a 
 
 then the yield for a day's work was equal to a large area of good auriferous gravel on the sur- 
 
 princely revenue. face of the ground, open to everybody ; with a 
 
 When the rainy season began in the winter method of mining that reijuired neither cajj- 
 
 of 1848 the rivers rose and covered their bars, ital nor trained skill ; with a climate that per- 
 
 and the miners, compelled to hunt claims else- mitted work in the oi)en air throughout the 
 
 where, found them in ravines which were dry year; and with a population which before the 
 
 through nine months of the year. These were close of 1849 included at least 75,000 intelli- 
 
 in many cases almost as rich as the bars. It gent, enterprising, young, and strong men — 
 
 was not uncommon to hear, on good author- with all these it might have been exi)ccied 
 
 ity, that this or that man had taken out $1000 that California would, .as hhe did, suddenly 
 
 in a day, and occasionally $5000 or more rise to great importance in the commerce and 
 
 would reward the day's work. In 1849 the in<lustry of the world, 
 
 miners generally got J^i6 a day or more, and The successful miners demanded |)rovisions, 
 
 when a claim would not yield that much it tools, clothing, and many luxuries, tV)r which 
 
 had no value, they offered prices double, treble, and lenfoM 
 
 The important gold producing localities of greater than those i)aid elsewhere. Sailing 
 
 California may be divided into the regions of vessels went to Oregon, Mexico, South Amer- 
 
 the Sierra Nevada, the Upper Sacramento, and ica, Australia, and Polynesia with gold dust 
 
 the Klamath. The Sierra Nevada region com- to purcha.se supplies, and soon filled all the 
 
 prises a stri]) about 30 miles wide, and 200 miles seajiorts of the Pacific with the contagitm of 
 
 long from north to south, in the basins of the e\( itement. The re|iorts of the discovery, 
 
 leather. Yuba, Bear, .American, Cosumne. which began to reach the .Atlantic States in 
 
 Mokelumne. Stanislaus. Tuolumne, and Mer- .Sc-ptember, 1S48. commandeil little credence 
 
 ced rivers between the elevations of 1000 and there before Januar)'; but the news of the 
 
534 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 bined splendors at once to the astonished 
 globe. 
 
 The discovery of the mines was an Amer- 
 ican achievement. It was the result of the 
 American conquest, and of preparation for 
 American immigrants. It was made by an 
 American, one of a little 
 
 arrival of large amounts of gold at Mazatlan, 
 Valparaiso, Panama, and New York in the 
 latter part of the winter put an end to all 
 doubt, and in the spring there was such a 
 rush of peaceful migration as the world had 
 never seen. In 1849, 25,000 — according to 
 one authority, 50,000 — immigrants went by 
 
 land, and 23,000 by sea from the region east group of laborers in which 
 of the Rocky Mountains, and by sea perhaps all the white men weie 
 40,000 from other parts of the world, adding Americans, as were the fiist 
 twelve-fold to the population and fifty-fold 
 to the productive capacity of the ter- 
 ritory. The new-comers were nearly 
 all young, intelligent, and indus- 
 trious men. Fortunately the dig- '' ' 
 gings were rich enough and exten- 
 sive enough to give good reward 
 to all of them, and to much 
 larger numbers who came in later 
 years. The gold yield of 1848 
 was estimated at $5,000,000 ; 
 that of 1849 at $23,000,000; 
 that of 1850 at $50,000,000; 
 that of 1853 at $65,000,000; 
 and then came the decline 
 which has continued until 
 the present time, when the yield 
 is about $12,000,000. In the 
 last forty-one years the gold 
 yield of California has been 
 about $1,200,000,000. 
 
 Gold mining was neither novel 
 nor rare, but the unexampled 
 combination of wonderful richness, 
 highly favorable geographical con- ' _ '^ 
 ditions, high intelHgence in the 
 miners, and great freedom in the politi- 
 cal institutions of California led to such 
 sudden rush of people, and such an immense 
 production of gold, that the whole world was 
 shaken. The older placers of Brazil and Si- 
 beria, and the later ones of Australia and 
 South Africa, had a much smaller influence on 
 general commerce and manufactures 
 
 A PRIMITIVE OUTFIT. (AFTER A SKETCH FROM LIFE IN 
 1850, BY J. W. AUDUBON, IN THE POSSESSION OF 
 HIS DAUGHTER, MISS M. R. AUDUBON.) 
 
 men who devoted themselves to mining. They 
 also were Americans who subsequently in- 
 vented the sluice and the hydraulic process 
 The impression on the public mind was ren- of placer-washing, and who planned and con- 
 dered the more forcible by the fact that Cali- structed the great ditches, flumes, and dams 
 fornia had just been ceded by Mexico to the that gave a distinctive character to the placer- 
 
 United States. The gold Vv-as discovered be 
 fore the treaty of cession was signed, on the 
 2d of February, 1848 ; the wealth of the mines 
 was known throughout the territory before the 
 ratifications of the treaty were exchanged, on 
 the 30th of May ; and before the latter date the 
 
 mining of California. 
 
 Never in any other country has a change 
 in the political dominion been followed so 
 promptly by so marvelous an increase of 
 wealth and population, of productive industry 
 and general intelligence. Never did a province 
 
 Government of the United States had made a repay new masters more liberally for their 
 contract with the Pacific Mafl Steamship Com- trouble in its acquisition, nor did any other 
 pany for a line of monthly steamers to ply be- conquered territory ever receive greater bene- 
 tween New York and San Francisco by way fit from conquest. The most notable instances 
 of Panama. The first steamers were ready for in history of triumphant invasions rewarded 
 California before the people were ; and thus with great sums of precious metal were those 
 the new dominion, the gold, the steamship of Babylonia by Cyrus, of Persia by Alex- 
 line, and the great migration showed their com- ander, of Mexico by Cortez, and of Peru by 
 
THE DISCOVERY OE GOLD IN CALIEORXIA. 
 
 535 
 
 Pi/.arro — all populous empires with wealth ac- 
 cumulated through centuries of prosperity. Yet 
 not one of them yielded to its conquerors, 
 within a generation, so mvu h treasure as did 
 desolate California to the Americans. Hyron 
 lamented that he did not live in the day 
 *• when Hrutus made the dagger's edge surpass 
 the con(|ueror's sword in hearing fame away." 
 The pioneers of California can congratulate 
 themselves that they have seen the day when 
 the .American made the shovel's Made surpass 
 the conqueror's sworil in hearing goUl away. 
 
 Let us now consider the consecjuences of 
 the discovery. First, as to the men at Co- 
 loma in January, 1848, Marshall was not en- 
 rii hed. His lumber was soon in demand at 
 .f 500 a thousand feet of board measure, or 
 twcnty-foltl more than he had exi)ected when 
 he ct)mmenced his work ; but not many months 
 elajjsed before all the good timber trees near 
 Coloma had been cut down by the miners, and 
 then the mill had to stoj). He turnetl his atten- 
 tion to mining, but was not successful. When 
 he had money he did not know how to keep 
 it. When he had a good claim he ilid not 
 stick to it. When friends tried to help him he 
 frequently refused their ofJers with a snarl. He 
 imagined ofl'enses where none were intended. 
 He complained of plots against his life in a 
 community where nearly everybody acknowl- 
 edged obligation to him. He was irritated by 
 the superior popularity and prosperity of Sut- 
 ter, by the facts that to Sutter the main credit 
 of the gold discovery was given by many 
 new.spapers and influential citizens, and that, 
 partly under the influence of that idea, a j)en- 
 sion of $250 a month was given to Sutter 
 in 1S70, while the true discoverer received 
 nothing. After the publication of Marshall's 
 biography in 1870, the legislature jierceived 
 tl;e injustice of its exclusive favor to Sutter, 
 and in the course of si.x years it gave $9600 
 as jjcnsion to Marshall, but left him to 
 .s|)end the last eight years of his life in i)ov- 
 erty and i)rivation. In 1885, at the age of 
 seventy-three, he died while alone in a soli- 
 tary cabin which he occuj)ied in company with 
 another aged and indigent pioneer miner. He 
 was buried at Coloma in sight of the place 
 where he discovered the gold. His figure, in 
 colossal bron/e, stands over his grave. 
 
 Sutter fared better than Marshall, but to him, 
 too, the gold discovery proved disastrous. 
 Foreseeing the American con(|uest, he did all 
 he couUl to favor the .Americans and the 
 American Government. He was liberal in his 
 entertainment of the \\'ilkes and Fremont ex- 
 peditions. He gave generous aid to needy 
 .American immigrants when they reached his 
 fort from their exhausting journey across the 
 desert. Notwithstanding his oath of allegiance 
 
 to Mexico, he assisted the P>ear Flag insur- 
 gents as well as the .American for< es after the 
 Stars and Stripes had been raised. When the 
 gold hunters arrived at New Helvetia on their 
 way to the mines many of them obtained un- 
 deserved assistance and trust from him. So 
 long as he had anything he was open-handed. 
 He delighted in being a benefactor, and was 
 spoken of as a man of princely generosity. 
 
 He had two land grants from Mexico, one 
 of 48,000 and the other of 93,000 acres. The 
 first was finally confirmed to him in two tracts, 
 one of 8800 acres south of the American River, 
 including the site of Sacramento City, and the 
 other of about 39,000 acres north of the .Amer- 
 ican River. This estate was worth millions 
 above all the large sums that he was compelled 
 to spend in defending it against the law officers 
 of the United States and against squatters ; but 
 he managed it badly, and within twenty years 
 he had lost everything. The larger grant was 
 rejected, though it was entitled to confirmation 
 under the proclamation issued, in the name and 
 under the authority of the National Govern- 
 ment, by Commodore Sloat when he took pos- 
 session of California. The promise, made when 
 it was imjiortant to conciliate the Spanish Cali- 
 fomians, was broken when it became important 
 to conciliate land-thieving S(|uatters. 
 
 Sutter's popularity with the pioneers was so 
 great that when he had lost all his property 
 the legislature came to his aid with a i)ension 
 of $3,000 a year, which sum was i)aicl for .six 
 years; and it would perhaps have been con- 
 tinued till his death if he had not left the State 
 in order to demand justice from Congress for 
 the spoliation of his proj)erty. Hut he did not 
 possess the same popularity and influence in 
 the F.astem States as in California. He spent 
 winters of vain solicitation at Washington, antl 
 there he died on the 1 8th of June, i88o,attheage 
 of seventy-seven years. 
 His grave is at Fit- 
 iz, Lancaster County, 
 Fenn.sylvania, where 
 he had made his home. 
 
 Of the men at Co- 
 loma with Marshall 
 none l)ecame rich. Per- 
 haps the most success- 
 ful miner among them 
 was a carpenter named 
 Scott, and twenty years 
 after the discovery he 
 was working by the ^ 
 
 day. He (lug much 4i''"'""^ >^''S 
 
 golil, but could not 
 save it. He usetl to tell 
 that, with .some part- 
 ners, he had a claim in 
 which they were mak- 
 
 ^\ 
 
 MAKMIAU. MONUMMNT AT 
 
536 
 
 THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 MK. GOLIGHTLY BOUND KOK CALIFORNIA. (FROM A FKINT PUBLISHED BY A. DONNELLY, 1849.) 
 
 ing $300 each every day, when they were 
 told of another ravine where the claims 
 yielded $700. They went to the other dig- 
 gings, where they found that all the good 
 ground was occupied, so they returned to their 
 old claim only to find that occupied too. He 
 never found anything so good elsewhere. 
 Henry W. Bigler, Azariah Smith, and P. L. 
 Wimmer and wife, the only survivors of the 
 Coloma party, are not known as rich men. 
 Bigler resides in St. George, Utah ; Smith in 
 Manti, Utah; and Wimmer in San Diego, Cah- 
 fornia. 
 
 For California the main results of the dis- 
 covery have been the sudden changes from 
 a Spanish-speaking to an English-speaking 
 community ; from popular ignorance to high 
 intelhgence; from pasturage, first to mining, 
 and then to tillage, as the occupation of most 
 of the people ; from a population of less than 
 10,000 to more than 1,200,- 
 000 ; and from isolation to fre- 
 quent, cheap, and convenient 
 communication with all civi- 
 lized countries. The State has 
 become one of the most noted 
 gardens, pleasure grounds, 
 and sanitariums of the world ; 
 and San Francisco is one of 
 the most intellectual and bril- 
 liant, and in many respects 
 
 THE SONG OF 
 (FROM A DRAWING BY DOYLE 
 
 one of the most interesting, of cities. To the 
 United States the Californian gold discovery 
 gave a vast increase of the national wealth ; 
 great attractiveness for immigration from 
 Europe ; a strong stimulus to shipping ; the 
 development of the mineral wealth of Nevada, 
 Idaho, and Utah ; and the vast railroad system 
 west of the Mississippi. 
 
 But Marshall's find did not limit its great 
 influences to our continent. It aroused and 
 stimulated industrial activity in all the leading 
 nations. It profoundly agitated all the coun- 
 tries of South America, It shook Europe and 
 Asia. It caused the first large migration of the 
 Chinese across the Pacific. It opened Japan to 
 the traffic of Christendom. It threw a belt 
 of steam around the globe. It educated Har- 
 graves, and taught him where to find and 
 how to open up the gold deposits of Aus- 
 tralia. It built the Panama railroad. It 
 brought the Pacific Ocean 
 within the domain of active 
 commerce. Directly and indi- 
 rectly it added $3,500,000,000 
 to the stock of the precious 
 metals, and by giving the dis- 
 tribution of this vast sum to 
 the English-speaking nations 
 added much to their great 
 industrial and intellectual in- 
 fluence. 
 
 loJni S. HUtell. 
 
 PUNCH.'"* 
 
 THE SIRENS. 
 PUBLISHED IN 
 
CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 Marshall's Own Account of the Gold Discovery. 
 
 I WAS one of the " forty-niners," and workcfl for two 
 years in the mines near Coloma. There I became 
 well ac(|uainted with Marshall, the discoverer of gold, 
 about whom we Argonauts had so often convei^ed on 
 our long and weary journey across the plains. 
 
 Coloma, the site of " Sutler's Mill," was then but a 
 small mining village, whose straggling houses and 
 canvas tents were sCiitlered promiscuously along both 
 banks of the Rio de los Americanos. At that time it 
 was the center of numerous mining camps, and was 
 famous for its drinking saloons and gambling booths, 
 where miners from all the neighboring camps were ac- 
 customed to gather on Sunday to hear the news, lay in 
 supplies for the coming week, and try their luck at 
 monle. The canon through which the river flowe<l 
 here widened out on both sides, leaving a space of level 
 ground on which the town was built ; from this the as- 
 cent to the level land above was comparatively easy. 
 All the rivers of California that have their rise m the 
 Sierra Nevatla run through wild canons, from one to 
 three thousand feet in depth. The faces of these canons 
 are so abrupt and steep that in a few places only can 
 the sure-footed pack-mule zigzag its way up and down 
 their dizzy heights. Here, at Coloma, the sides of the 
 cafions lo>>e tlicir perpendicular and rugged character, 
 and slope gently upward. For this reason long trains 
 ofpack-animals, with an occasional " prairie schooner,' 
 were daily seen descending and fording the river at the 
 mill on their way from .Sacramento to the mines still 
 farther north. 
 
 One day, while I wa.s taking a pencil sketch of the 
 mill and its surroundings, Marshall came along and 
 seated him!»elf beside me ; and there, silting on the 
 high bank with our feet dangling over the race, he 
 pointed out the very spot where his eye had caught the 
 glimmer of that first bit of gold. He was very com- 
 municative, but somewhat soured, and spoke rather 
 freely of the heartlessness of the Ciovernnjent at Wash- 
 ington because it had not protected him in his rights 
 as a settler. He claimed the same amount of land, six 
 hundred and forty acres, that the first settlers hatl ob- 
 tained in Oregon, where he had lived before he drifteil 
 southward into California. He had made nothing from 
 his discovery, and now all this land surrounding his 
 mill, which was his by right of settlement, was gathered 
 u|) and taken from him little by little, " without leave 
 or license." He had nothing left but the fame, which, 
 as he naively remarked, was " neither victuals nor 
 • !'>thes to any one." 
 
 1 fully sympathized with him in his tribulations, and 
 finally obt.iined what I so much desired, a full state- 
 ment of the causes which impelled him to come so far 
 from Sutter's Fort, together with all the incidents per- 
 taining to his great discovery. This narrative, which 
 I penciled down at the time, I believe was the first 
 he ever gave to any one. And it is written just as it 
 fell from his lips, without correction or addition of any 
 kind. 
 
 Frbf.pokt. Pa. Charles B. Gillespie. 
 
 Vol.. XI.I.— 71. 
 
 [m \KsHA1 L's .\ AKKATIVK.] 
 
 " I.\ May, 1847, with my rifle, blanket, and a few 
 crackers to eat with the venison (for the deer then 
 were awful plenty), I ascended the American River, 
 according to Mr. .Sutler's wish, as he wanted to find 
 a good site for a saw-mill, where we could have plenty 
 of timber, and where wagons would be able to ascend 
 and descend ihe river hills. Many fellows had been 
 out i)cfore me, but they could not find any place to suit; 
 so when I left I told Mr. Sutter I would go along the 
 river to its very head and find the place, if such a place 
 existed anywhere upon the river or any of its forks. 
 I traveled along the river the whole way. Many places 
 would suit very well for liie erection of the mill, with 
 plenty of limber everywhere, but then nothing but a 
 mule could climb the hills ; and when I would find a 
 spot where tlie hills were not sleep, there was no timl>er 
 to Ije had ; and so it was until I had been out sev- 
 eral days and reached this place, which, after first sight, 
 looked like the exact spot we were hunting. 
 
 "I passed a couple of days examining the hills, and 
 found a place where wagons could ascend and descend 
 with all ease. On my return to the fort I went out 
 through the country examining the canons and gulches, 
 and picking out the easiest places for crossing them 
 with loaded wagons. 
 
 " You may be sure Mr. Suiter was pleased when I 
 reported my success. We entered into partnership; 
 I was to build the mill, and he was to find provisions, 
 te.ims, tools, and to pay a portion of ihe men's wages. 
 I believe I was at that time the only millwright in the 
 whole country. In .\ugust, everything being ready, 
 we freighted two wagons with tools and provisions, 
 and accompanied by six men I left the fort, and after 
 a good deal of difficulty reached this place one beau- 
 til'ul afternoon and formed our camp on yon little rise 
 of ground right above the town. 
 
 " Our first business was to put u|) log houses, as 
 we intended remaining here all winter. This was done 
 in less than no time, for my men were great with the 
 ax. We tlien cut tind)er, and fell to work hewing it 
 for the framework of the mill. The Inilians gathered 
 ai>out us in great numbers. I employed al>out forty 
 of them to assist us w ith the dam, which we put up in 
 a kind of way in about four weeks. In digging the 
 foundation of the mill we cut some distance into the 
 soft granite ; we opened the forebay an<l ihcn I left 
 for the fort, giving orders to Mr, Weimar to have a 
 ditch cut through the bar in the rear of the mill, and 
 after (|uitling work in the evening to raise the gate 
 and let the water run all night, xs it would assist us 
 very much in deejx-ning and widening the tail-race. 
 
 "I returned in a few days, and found everything 
 favorable, all the men being at work in the ditch. 
 When the channel wa> oj>ened it was my custom every 
 evening lo raise the gale and let the water wash out 
 as much sand and gravel through the night as |x>ssiblc ; 
 and in the morning, w hile the men were getting break- 
 fast, I would walk down, and, shutting oflT the water, 
 look along the race and »ce what was to be done, so 
 
 S37 
 
538 
 
 CALIFORNIANA. 
 
 that I might tell Mr. Weimar, who had charge of the 
 Indians, at what particular point to set them to work 
 for the day. As I was the only millwright present, all 
 of my time was employed upon the framework and 
 machinery. 
 
 "One morning in January, — it was a clear, cold 
 morning; I shall never forget that morning, — as I was 
 taking my usual walk along the race after shutting off 
 the water, my eye was caught with the glimpse of some- 
 thingr shining in the bottom of the ditch. There was 
 about a foot of water running then. I reached my hand 
 down and picked it up ; it made my heart thump, for I 
 was certain it was gold. The piece was about half the 
 size and of the shape of a pea. Then I saw another 
 piece in the water. After taking it out I sat down and 
 began to think right hard. I thought it was gold, and 
 yet it did not seem to be of the right color : all the gold 
 coin I had seen was of a reddish tinge ; this looked 
 more like brass. I recalled to mind all the metals I 
 had ever seen or heard of, but I could find none that 
 resembled this. Suddenly the idea flashed across my 
 mind that it might be iron pyrites. I trembled to think 
 of it ! This question could soon be determined. Put- 
 ting one of the pieces on a hard river stone, I took an- 
 other and commenced hammering it. It was soft, and 
 did n't break: it therefore must be gold, but largely 
 mixed with some other metal, very likely silver ; for 
 pure gold, I thought, would certainly have a brighter 
 color. 
 
 " When I returned to our cabin for breakfast I 
 showed the two pieces to my men. They were all a good 
 deal excited, and had they not thought that the gold 
 only existed in small quantities they would have aban- 
 doned everything and left me to finish my job alone. 
 However, to satisfy them, I told them that as soon as 
 we had the mill finished we would devote a week or 
 two to gold hunting and see what we could make out 
 of it. 
 
 " While we were working in the race after this dis- 
 covery we always kept a sharp lookout, and in the 
 course of three or four days we had picked up about 
 three ounces — our work still progressing as lively as 
 ever, for none of us imagined at that time that the whole 
 country was sowed with gold. 
 
 " In about a week's time after the discovery I had to 
 take another trip to the fort ; and, to gain what infor- 
 mation I could respecting the real value of the metal, 
 took all that we had collected with me and showed it to 
 Mr. Sutter, who at once declared it was gold, but 
 thought with me that it was greatly mixed with some 
 other metal. It puzzled us a good deal to hit upon 
 the means of telling the exact quantity of gold con- 
 tained in the alloy; however, we at last stumbled on 
 an old American cyclopedia, where we saw the spe- 
 cific gravity of all the metals, and rules given to find 
 the quantity of each in a given bulk. After hunting 
 over the whole fort and borrowing from some of the 
 men, we got three dollars and a half in silver, and 
 with a small pair of scales we soon ciphered it out 
 that there was no silver nor copper in the gold, but 
 that it was entirely pure. 
 
 " This fact being ascertained, we thought it our best 
 ]iolicy to keep it as quiet as possible till we should have 
 finished our mill. But there was a great number of 
 disbanded Mormon soldiers in and about the fort, and 
 when they came to hear of it, why it just spread like 
 
 wildfire, and soon the whole country was in a bustle. 
 I had scarcely arrived at the mill again till several per- 
 sons appeared with pans, shovels, and hoes, and those 
 that had not iron picks had wooden ones, all anxious 
 to fall to work and dig up our mill ; but this we would 
 not permit. As fast as one party disappeared another 
 would arrive, and sometimes I had tlie greatest kind 
 of trouble to get rid of them. I sent them all off 
 in different directions, telling them about such and such 
 places^ where I was certain there was plenty of gold if 
 they would only take the trouble of looking for it. At 
 that time I never imagined that the gold was so abun- 
 dant. I told them to go to such and such places, because 
 it appeared that they would dig nowhere but in such 
 places as I pointed out, and I believe such was their 
 confidence in me that they would have dug on the 
 very top of yon mountain if I had told them to 
 do so. 
 
 "The second place where gold was discovered was 
 in a gulch near the Mountaineer House, on the road 
 to Sacramento. The third place was on a bar on the 
 South Fork of the American River a little above the 
 junction of the Middle and South forks. The diggings 
 at Hangtown [now Placerville] were discovered next 
 by myself, for we all went out for a while as soon as 
 our job was finished. The Indians next discovered the 
 diggings at Kelsey's, and thus in a very short time we 
 discovered that the whole country was but one bed of 
 gold. So there, stranger, is the entire history of the 
 gold discovery in California — a discovery that hasn't 
 as yet been of much benefit to me." 
 
 Confirming the Gold Discovery. 
 
 Sometime in March, 1848, vague rumors of the 
 gold discovery at Sutter's Mill found their way to 
 Verba Buena, now San Francisco, at that time a town 
 of three or four hundred inhabitants. The writer of 
 this was editing and printing with his own hands a 
 small weekly paper in the town, the first that had 
 been started there, and when the reports of gold on 
 the Rio de los Americanos began to multiply he 
 deemed it to be in the line of his duty to go and in- 
 vestigate the wonder. 
 
 It was a seven days' journey by sloop or " launch," 
 as the Sacramento River carrier of that day was called, 
 from San Francisco to Sutter's Fort, and the party, con- 
 sisting of the editor and two friends, reached the " em- 
 barcadero " of Sutter's Fort, — that is to say, the river 
 landing, — where Sacramento now stands, in the early 
 part of April. One of Sutter's Indians apprized the 
 captain of our coming, and, as was his invariable cus- 
 tom on the arrival of strangers, he caused saddled 
 horses in charge of vaqueros to be sent to convey the 
 new-comers to the fort. Its proprietor met us at the 
 entrance, hat in hand, and gave us his usual whole- 
 hearted welcome. He was then a man of about forty- 
 six years of age, gray and venerable in appearance, 
 but erect, and of ruddy countenance, his mild, blue eye 
 lighted with benevolence, and his simple, guileless na- 
 ture manifesting itself in every act and expression. 
 After seeing us made comfortable, he set before us a 
 hearty meal of the beef and frijoles of the country, and 
 we announced that we had come to see the gold-mine 
 which it was reported he and Marshall had opened 
 on the American River. 
 
CALII'ORNJANA. 
 
 539 
 
 He not only readily a.sscnte(l, but offered lo provide proved to l>c literally trui-, hut it was very mi>leailin^ lo 
 
 horses, provisions, and attendants for our journey, and our unpractised |)arty at tlial lime, an<l wc searched thli- 
 
 also to po with us in person to the spot. It may have jjcnily until near sundown in most impraclicahlc pintes. 
 
 been that he hail not the faith of his jwrtner Marshall < »nly one of us was rewarded by the "color ": Major I', 
 
 in the extent and |KTmanency of the newly discovered IJ. Reading washed out a few grains with an Indian bas- 
 
 " *^''KK'"k''*'" ''"^ those who knew Sutter well will see ket and thoutjht himself very |)oorly i>aid for his labor, 
 in the incident the overflowing kindliness of heart and After sup|K-r we gathered ab<iut the camp-fire, and 
 
 the unselfish generosity that characterized his whole life, the Indians of the neighborhood, having heard of Cap- 
 
 .\t sunrise the next morning we t»Jok the road to the tain Sutter's arrival, came, as was their custom, to see 
 
 lumi>er cani|>, distant a gcxnl day's ride fioin the fort, him, ilropping in by twos and threes until we had 
 
 Captain Sutter's two Indian body-servants preceded nearly all the principal men of the Coloma bands be- 
 
 us with extra saddle-horses and a |)ack-animal carrying fore us. Then an old chief arose and began to ha- 
 
 provisions and camji e>iuipage. Our party, consisting raiigue the captain, warning him against looking for 
 
 of the captain, mounted on a favorite riding-mule, and the gold, which he declared was very " bad medicine." 
 
 my two friends and myself, on native horses, followed He sai<l his ancestors had known all about it ; that it 
 
 at a go«i gait, though at this period of his life Captain existeil all through the mountains, but that it JK-longed 
 
 Sutter was not an overbold rider, and in fording to a demon, who devoured all who searched for it. 
 
 streams and crossing marshy places was careful almost This demon inhabited a lake in the mountains the 
 
 to timidity. I remeinl)er well his appearance under shores of which were lined with gold. All our <lusky 
 
 his broad-brimmed hat, and carrying under his arm his friends agreed with the speaker that it was a very aw- 
 
 goldheaded cane. At one point on the road, where it ful thing to meddle with the gold. We afterward 
 
 ledthroughastony bog, his mule made a misstep, and I caine to the conclusion that the earlv Mission fathers 
 
 heard her rider expostulate in a low lone : " God bless had learned of the existence of gold, and, wishing to 
 
 me, Katy I Now den, child ! De oder foot. .So.'" keep the knowledge secret and prevent its value be- 
 
 \Ve reached the fork of the .\merican, on which coming known among their Indian catechumens, had 
 
 the saw-mill was being erected, early in the afternoon, invented this fable of the demon to work u{K)n their 
 
 During our ride we had not seen a human being, and superstitious fears. But the old chief was a true 
 
 had passed but one house. The camj) of the mill- prophet as to the disastrous effects of the newly dis- 
 
 wright and lumbermen was in a beautiful grove of covered gold on the fortunes of poor Sutter and of the 
 
 pines on the side of a long hill sloping lo the river, simple-minded and hospitable Sp.inish rancheros who 
 
 This " long hill of Coloma " became memorable not then dwelt at ease on the land. 
 
 many months afterward, when freight wagons and We returned to the fori the next day. On our way 
 
 stages came into use, for its wearisomencss, occasion- through the foothills we had another illustration of 
 
 ally relieved by a runaway among the half-trained Captain Sutter's unbounded generosity. Crossing the 
 
 bronco teams. The mill, now so famous in history, beautiful little valley through which Weber Creek 
 
 was at the foot of this hill, on the edge of the stony flowed, one of our party expressed his admiration of 
 
 bar that stretched out to the river. The race, in the spot in such warm terms that our host offered to 
 
 which the first gold was found, ran along the bank present a deed of the land to him. From the fort we 
 
 just above the level of the bar, but both bar and race returned to San Francisco, and in the columns of the 
 
 were flomled now from the sudden and unusual rise "California .Star" of the following .Saturday appeareil 
 
 in the river ; work w.is stopjK-d at the mill, and the the first veritable announcement of the discovery of 
 
 lumbermen were idle in the camp. gold, coupled with half a column of serious advice to 
 
 Riding up to the camp. Captain Sutter saluted the farmers, mechanics, and all who were plying their trade 
 
 men with his characteristic politeness and cordiality, successfully to slick to their calling and let the gold- 
 
 and introduced our party to .Marshall. " These gentle- mines severely alone. This was the first investigation 
 
 mans have come to see der gole-mines, .Mr. Marshall," of the gold-mines in California, and the first visit by 
 
 he said ; and then, seeing the vexed and disappointed Cajitain Sutter lo the scene of the discovery which 
 
 look that came into the latler's face, he added that we laid open the wonders of th.nt region to the world. 
 
 were his friends, and showed by his open manner that 
 so far as we were concerned, at least, there need l)e no 
 secrecy about the gold. But Marshall would not be pro- 
 pitiaied,and gave us only gruff and evasive replies to our 
 inquiries about the locality where it was to be found. 
 
 E. C. Kemble. 
 
 Erratum. 
 
 On page 791 of the September Ckntury, in Mr. 
 Fitch's article " How California came into the Union," 
 
 " You 11 find it anywhere you 're a mind to dig for an instance of heterophcmy occurs in the substitution 
 it down there," said he, half extending his arm in of Septeml>er 29 for October 29. the date of the first 
 the direction of the river. Some months later this f)rmal celebration of the admission of California. 
 
THE FAITH DOCTOR.^ 
 
 BY EDWARD EGGLESTON, 
 Author of" Roxy," " The Circuit Rider," "The Hoosier Schoolmaster," "The Graysons," etc. 
 
 THE ORIGIN OF A MAN OF FASHION. 
 
 T was the opinion of a good 
 many people that Charles 
 Millard was " something of 
 a dude." But such terms 
 are merely relative ; every 
 fairly dressed man is a dude 
 to somebody. There are 
 communities in this free 
 land of ours in which the wearing of a coat at 
 dinner is a most disreputable mark of dudism. 
 That Charles Millard was accounted a dude 
 was partly nature's fault. If not handsome, he 
 was at least fine-looking, and what connoisseurs 
 in human exteriors call stylish. Put him into a 
 shad-bellied drab and he would still have re- 
 tained traces of dudishness ; a Chatham street 
 outfit could hardly have unduded him. With 
 eyes so luminous and expressive in a face so 
 masculine, with shoulders so well carried, a 
 chest so deep, and legs so perfectly propor- 
 tioned and so free from any deviation from 
 the true line of support, Millard had tempta- 
 tions to cultivate natural gifts. 
 
 There was a notion prevalent among Mil- 
 lard's acquaintances that one so versed in the 
 lore and so deft in the arts of society must be- 
 long to a family of long standing ; the opinion 
 was held, indeed, by pretty much everybody ex- 
 cept Millard himself His acquaintance with 
 people of distinction, and his ready access to 
 whatever was deemed desirable in New York, 
 were thought to indicate some hereditary pat- 
 ent to social privilege. Millard had, indeed, 
 lines of ancestors as long as the longest, and, 
 so far as they could be traced, his forefathers 
 were honest and industrious people, mostly 
 farmers. Nor were they without distinction : 
 one of his grandfathers enjoyed for years the 
 fehcity of writing "J. P." after his name; an- 
 other is remembered as an elder in the little 
 Dutch Reformed Church at Hamburg Four 
 Corners. But Charley Millard did not boast 
 of these lights of his family, who would hardly 
 have availed him in New York. Nor did he 
 boast of anything, indeed; his taste was too 
 fastidious for self-assertion of the barefaced 
 sort. But if people persisted in fitting him out 
 with an imaginary pedigree, just to please their 
 
 1 Copyright, 1891, by EuWARU 
 540 
 
 own sense of congruity, why should he feel 
 obliged to object to an amusement so harm- 
 less ? 
 
 Charles Millard was the son of a farmer who 
 lived near the village of Cappadocia in the 
 State of New York. When Charley was but 
 twelve years old his father sold his farm and 
 then held what was called in the country a 
 " vendoo," at which he sold " by public out- 
 cry " his horses, cows, plows, and pigs. With 
 his capital thus released he bought a miscel- 
 laneous store in the village, in order that his 
 boys " might have a better chance in the 
 world." This change was brought about by 
 the discovery on the part of Charley's father 
 that his brother, a commission merchant in 
 New York, " made more in a week than a 
 farmer could make in a year." From this time 
 Charley, when not in school, busied himself 
 behind the counter, or in sweeping out the 
 store, with no other feeling than that sweeping 
 store, measuring calico, and drawing molasses 
 were employments more congenial to his tastes 
 and less hard on good clothes than hoeing po- 
 tatoes or picking hops. Two years after his 
 removal to the village the father of Charley 
 Mihard died, and the store, which had not been 
 very successful, was sold to another. Charley 
 left the counter to take a course in the high 
 school, doing odd jobs in the mean while. 
 
 When young Millard was eighteen years old 
 he came into what was a great fortune in vil- 
 lage eyes. His father's more fortunate brother, 
 who had amassed money as a dealer in coun- 
 try produce in Washington street. New York, 
 died, leaving the profits of all his years of toil 
 over eggs and butter, Bermuda potatoes and 
 baskets of early tomatoes, to his two nephews, 
 Charley Millard and Charley's elder brother, 
 Richard. After the lawyers, the surrogate, the 
 executor, and the others had taken each his 
 due allowance out of it, there may have been 
 fifty or seventy-five thousand dollars apiece 
 left for the two young men. Just how much 
 it was the village people never knew, for Char- 
 ley was not prone to talk of his own affairs, 
 and Dick spent his share before he fairly had 
 time to calculate what it amounted to. When 
 Richard had seen the last of his money, and 
 found himself troubled by small debts, he sim- 
 plified matters by executing a " mysterious dis- 
 Eggleston. All rijjhts reserved. 
 
riuNEKR M\\S I\ SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 'tSr-: 
 
 111.11 
 
 y* HiiMj k 4 .nm f HIND IS i:. 
 
 0Mi- 
 
 'ALTA CALIFORNIA. 
 
 HEN Captain Montgomery 
 first gave the American flag 
 Jl to the breeze on the Plaza 
 xC of Verba Buena on the 8th 
 ll o( July, 1846, let us hope 
 ^ that a certain person was 
 there to see — that native 
 woman who, in Los Angeles in 1842, sang in 
 the hearing of Dutlot de Mofras her song of 
 prophecy : '' When the Frenchmen come, the 
 women will surreniler ; wlien the Americans 
 tome, good-by to California ! " 
 
 On the day (jf that Hag-raising Verba Bucna 
 was an amiable as well as a picturescjue village, 
 and its tenscore of inhabitants, — native Califor- 
 nians, English, Scotch, and Irish, with a sprin- 
 kling of Swiss, Swedes, Danes, Kanakas, and 
 Indians, — unvexed by jjrophetic dreams of the 
 feverish days of gold, were content to hail that 
 gaudy bunting, and the promise of all that it 
 stood for; were content to wait till the com- 
 merce of all the seas should find its way to 
 the noblest anchorage the world could otTer it. 
 I'hc ever-expectant citizen of Verba Bucna 
 who, spy-glass in hand, on the last day of that 
 same July, mounted the hill above the cove 
 ("Telegrajth Hill" it was to be called) was 
 greeted with a ])ros])ect that justified his high- 
 est hopes, and inspired him with the raptures to 
 which Benjamin Morell had given e\ 
 fifteen years before — "a bay that mi^ . 
 the whole British navy without crowding ; a 
 circling grassy shore indented with convenient 
 coves ; a verdant, l)looniing country roun«l 
 about," Here were waving woodlands, and 
 
 pastures flecked with grazing herds; hill and 
 dale, mountain and valley, rolling rivers and 
 gurgling brooks. And, looking seaward to 
 where the Pacific pounded at the rocky head- 
 lan<ls of the (iolden (iate, he descried a ship 
 under all sail, hearling for the straits and the 
 bay ; a ship carrying the American ensign at 
 her peak, but not a man-of-war, for her (lerks, 
 and even her lower rigging, were black with pas- 
 sengers — men, women, and children! Again 
 antl again, with leveled gla.ss, he peered, con- 
 firming the witness f)f his eyes; then he turned 
 and ran down the hill antl around the curving 
 beach of the cove that rested sleepily between 
 the arms of Clark's Point and the Rincon : and 
 presently all the motley multitude of his fellow 
 citizens were swarming from their adobes and 
 their shanties, stirred with the news as the 
 leafy ridges of the Contra Costa were stirred 
 with the sea-breeze. 
 
 The ship that let go her anchor that day, 
 off the little island of the "good her!)," was 
 the Brooklyn from New York, bringing 
 "Bishop" Brannan (the redoubtable "Sam" 
 of a later day) and his colony of Latter-day 
 Saints; and these brought stout hearts, strong 
 arms, and cunning hands; money, tools, pluck, 
 keen wits, and a printing-press. And so, al- 
 though they quarreled with their ver)' mun- 
 dane bishop, and went to law with him, and 
 abandoned their scheme of Mormon coloni- 
 zation, and presently made game of Brigham 
 Voung in their tents among the sand-hills, 
 nevertheless they gave to San Francisco her 
 first prayer-meeting, her first jury trial, her first 
 local advertising, her first newspaper; for with 
 the same tyjies and press that hail once done 
 duty for " The Prophet " in New Vork, they 
 printed blank deeds, alcalde's' grants, and pro- 
 nunciamientos, and early in the following Jan- 
 uary i.ssued the first number of the " California 
 Star," pletlged " to eschew with the greatest 
 caution everything that tends to the .1- 
 
 tion t)f sectarian dogmas." A progre- k. 
 
 those Mormons of Verba Buena 1 
 
 Toward the close of Januar>', 1847, Verba 
 Buena underwent a change of name, and by 
 summary process and proclamation of the al- 
 calde became San Francisco ; for the chief 
 istrates of those days were a ver)' sum- 
 ; . y folk, doing a mildly autocratic business 
 each in his little bailiwick, and having small 
 reverence fi)r precetlents or principles, but just 
 setting up or casting down accordmgto certain 
 loose notions of their own regarding Mexican 
 
54- 
 
 PIONEER DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 judicature or Californian traditions. And so 
 the first alcalde of Verba Buena under the 
 American flag, being a naval lieutenant (Mr. 
 Washington A. Bartlett) appointed by Captain 
 Montgomery, and invested with ample powers, 
 military as well as civil, to administer the af- 
 fairs of the embryo metropolis according to 
 Mexican practice conformed to American 
 ideas, proceeded to the making of history in 
 a small way, building better than he knew. 
 He first changed the name of the place to San 
 Francisco, and then vouchsafed to explain that 
 Verba Buena was but a paltry cognomen taken 
 from a lot of vulgar mint overrunning an in- 
 significant island ; that it was a merely local 
 name, " unknown beyond the district," while 
 San Francisco had long had the freedom 
 of the maps ; and finally that it was an out- 
 landish name, which Americans would mangle 
 in pronouncing. " Therefore, to prevent con- 
 fusion and mistakes in public documents, and 
 that the town may have the advantage of the 
 name given on the public map, it is hereby 
 ordained," etc. 
 
 And the alcalde was right: for in 1836 Al- 
 exander Forbes had written " the port of San 
 Francisco is hardly surpassed by any in the 
 world"; and ten years later (eighteen months 
 in advance of the Bartlett coup) George Ban- 
 croft, then Secretary of the Navy, had instructed 
 Commodore Sloat in relation to the blockade 
 or occupation of "the port of San Francisco," 
 in the event of his (Sloat's) ascertaining with 
 certainty that Mexico had declared war against 
 the United States. 
 
 The 5th of March, 1847, brought the ship 
 Thomas H. Perkins, with a detachment of the 
 New Vork regiment commanded by Colonel 
 Stevenson. These men were pledged by the 
 terms of their enlistment to make permanent 
 settlement in California at the close of the war, 
 and they had been chosen for the most part 
 with an eye to their prospective usefulness as 
 skilled artisans or shrewd traders. Thus they 
 constituted an important accession to the popu- 
 lation, and, joined with their Mormon prede- 
 cessors, showed a bold front of energy and 
 confident resources. The air began to be stirred 
 with the bustle of business, and all the talk was 
 of town lots. General Kearney had ceded to 
 the town all the beach- and Avater-lots on the 
 east front, between Fort Montgomery and Rin- 
 con Point; and on the 20th of July two hundred 
 of these lots, lying between the limits of high- 
 and low-water marks, were sold at public auc- 
 tion for from $50 to $100 each. These lots 
 measured 45 x 137 feet, and were for the most 
 part uncovered at low tide. In December, 
 1853, the water-lots between Clay and Sacra- 
 
 1 J. S. Hittell, <' A History of the City of San 
 Francisco." 
 
 mento streets fetched from $8000 to $16,000 
 each, although they were but 25x60 feet, and 
 at all times under water. In 1847 ^ fifty-vara 
 lot north of Market street could be bought for 
 $16. A vara, the Spanish yard, is about 2)2>yi 
 inches, and six of these lots made a building 
 block bounded by four streets. Hittell 1 re- 
 cords that, in the seventeen months ending on 
 the istof August," 157 houses had been built in 
 a place which had only 30 houses before"; and 
 already it was a city of two newspapers, for in 
 May the " Cahfornian " had come from Monte- 
 rey and cast in its fortunes with the "smart little 
 settlement on the cove," which, having secured 
 two notable importations of unterrified hus- 
 tlers, had begun to set competition at defiance, 
 with a total population of nearly five hundred, 
 composed of all nationalities under the sun. 
 Of this number fully one half were citizens of 
 the United States ; and these, being stirred by 
 municipal aspirations, bethought them that it 
 was time to give the place a town council and 
 call it a city. So a public meeting was held 
 under a call from the governor, and six gentle- 
 men were elected to constitute an ayiinta- 
 micnto, or council. These were Messrs. Glover, 
 Jones, Howard, Parker, Leidesdorff, and 
 Clark, and their functions were the laying out 
 of streets, the award of building privileges, the 
 regulation of business, the granting of licenses, 
 the appointment of town officers and consta- 
 bles, etc. The enforcement of ordinances and 
 general execution of the laws devolved upon 
 the first alcalde, who was Mr. George Hyde. 
 He was assisted by Dr. T. M. Leavenworth as 
 second alcalde, and by Mr. Leidesdorff as trea- 
 surer. Messrs. Glover, Leidesdorff, and Clark 
 were appointed a committee to take measures 
 for the establishment of a public school for the 
 youth of both sexes ; but it was not until April 
 3, 1848, that the school was formally opened. 
 By that time the population had increased to 
 about 850, all told, and the buildings of all 
 kinds numbered two hundred, including two 
 considerable hotels, besides public houses and 
 saloons, stores, warehouses, and two wharves 
 in course of construction. Already the charac- 
 teristic enterprise of San Francisco had begun 
 to express itself in a brisk development of 
 its peculiar industry : gambling-houses were 
 springing up on every corner, and an ordinance 
 of the ayuntamiento provided for the seizure, 
 for the benefit of the* town, of all moneys found 
 on any table used for gambling with cards. 
 " Such an ordinance, if enforced a year later, 
 would have enriched the city in a single night ; 
 but the act was repealed at the next meeting." - 
 Early in the spring of 1848 there began to 
 be rumors of gold to be found in the foothills 
 
 2 Soule, Gihon, and Nisbet, " The Annals of San 
 Francisco" : New Vork, 1855. 
 
PIONEER DAYS IN SAN ERANCISCO. 
 
 543 
 
 oi the Sierra > evatla ; and presently actual 
 miners appcarei in town, showing small par- 
 cels of dust and tcllinp tales of wonder that 
 tunicd the heads of gaping groups met at the 
 landing on the cove and in every {)lace con- 
 venient for asi.eml)ling from Telegraph Hill to 
 Happy Valley. Then the cxy went uj), and 
 bedlam was let loose. Sailors deserted from 
 the shipping and soldiers from the barracks; 
 the laborer dropped his shovel and his pick, 
 only to return and take them up again — shov- 
 els and picks would be useful in the diggings ; 
 the meciianic turned his back upon his job ; 
 the builder left his house unroofed ; the black- 
 smith and the baker let their fires go out ; and 
 the merchant stripped his shelves, huddled his 
 goods into boxes and bales, and shouted at the 
 cove for a launch bound for the Sacramento 
 Valley. The cry of "Gold ! " was caught up 
 and reechoed on the docks and in the market- 
 ])laces of Atlantic seaports, until the world was 
 turned upside down. Every day added to the 
 number of tho.se who were hurrying to the 
 '• placers," and the bay was alive with freighted 
 launches crawling up the Sacramento. In May 
 and June the" Californian "and the" California 
 Star " stopped their presses with a farewell fly- 
 sheet. In the middle of July the "Califor- 
 nian " revived with news of aflairs in the mines. 
 For two months the ayuntamiento had not 
 met ; the city fathers and officials had all gone 
 to the diggings. The public school, which had 
 been closetl for two months, was reopened in 
 December, and on Sundays public worship 
 was helil there by a Protestant chaplain im- 
 ported from Honolulu, on a salary of $2500, 
 raised by sub.scrij)tion. 
 
 The first brick house in San Francisco was 
 built by Melius and Howard on the comer of 
 Clay and Montgomery streets, in September, 
 1848. In December flour was $20 a barrel, 
 butter ninety cents a pound, brandy ^8 a gal- 
 lon, and gold-dust dull at $10.50 an ounce. 
 Common laborers were getting $10 a day, and 
 onlinary mechanics $20. Gold-dust at $16 the 
 ounce soon became the circulating medium for 
 all purposes of trade. The bay was bustling 
 w ith small craft, and the sand-hills were thickly 
 flecked with canvas tents and such makeshifts 
 as could be rigged with a i)ole and two blan- 
 kets, while the Plaza, and Clay and Montgomer)' 
 streets, rioted in music an<l drink and gambling. 
 " Men," says Hittell, " who had liveil on five 
 dollars a month now si)ent hundreds ; men who 
 had been idlers formerly were now among the 
 most in(lustri(nis, and men who had never be- 
 fore wa>ted a day became loungers and gam- 
 blers." And, let us add, men who at home had 
 been blithe, cheer)', vital, became despondent, 
 moody, inert, stunned by the mad scramble 
 about them ; and men refined, sensitive, keenly 
 
 susceptible to impressions of coarseness and 
 depravity, became home-sick, heart-sick, des- 
 perate, ready to plunge into the unknown out 
 of the ghastly brutality of such a training as 
 this. 
 
 ( )n the la.st day of February came the steam- 
 ship G////j'r///<7, bringing General Persifer .Smith 
 to the command of the .Military Department, 
 comprising California and Oregon ; and on the 
 last day of March the Pacific mail-steamer 
 Orri^oti brought about three hundrerl and fifty 
 passengers, including Colonel John \V. (jeary, 
 who bore government despatches to the com- 
 manders of the military and naval forces on the 
 Pacific, and brought the first regular mail that 
 was opened in .San Francisco. Colonel (ieary 
 had been appointed postmaster of the new city, 
 with powers to create post-oflices, appoint |iost- 
 masters, antl estal)lish mail routes throughout 
 the territory. Within the next three months 
 more than three hundred sf|uare-rigged \essels 
 were lying in the harbor stranded and disabled 
 for want of sailors, the crews having deserted 
 in a body almost as soon as the anchors were 
 let go. Some of these vessels eventually rotted 
 where they were moored ; some were hauled up 
 on the beach and in the mud to serve as .store- 
 houses, lodging-houses, and saloons ; and, at a 
 later period, more than one of them, flanked 
 by buildings and wharves, and forming part of 
 a street, appeared as an original and startling 
 feature of that most surprising town. Thus, 
 the brig Etiphemia was purchase<l by the ayun- 
 tamiento and converted into the first jail, and 
 the store-shiji Apollo was used as a lodging- 
 house and drinking-saloon ; and as lots were 
 ])iled or filled in on the flat covered by the bay, 
 the Apollo saloon in course of time presented 
 the extraordinary spectacle of the hull of a large 
 ship looming up among the houses, i'he Ni- 
 atiiu, stripped of her masts and rigging, and 
 propped with piles on each side, lay at the 
 corner of Sansome and ( "lay streets and served 
 for the storing of merchandi.se, and when the 
 .May fire of 1851 consumed all but the deeper 
 parts of her hull and some of her ribs, a hotel 
 was built on the wreck and called the Niantic. 
 
 In the first six months of 1849 fifteen thou- 
 sand souls were added to the population of San 
 Francisco ; in the latter half of that year about 
 four thousand arrived every month bv sea alone. 
 At first the immigrants were from M ' hile, 
 
 Peru, and the South .\merican i)Oi l ^ ... rally ; 
 but soon our own Americans began to swarm 
 in, coming by way of Cape Horn and Panama, 
 or across the plains ; and the number of these 
 was swelled by the addition of thousands of 
 deserters from the shipping, and by a straggling 
 contingent from China. .Vustr.dia. an<l the Ha- 
 waiian I.slands. Probably two thirds <jf these 
 newcomers proceeded at once to the mines, 
 
544 
 
 PIONEER DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 but those that remained to try their fortunes 
 in the city were enough to give to San Fran- 
 cisco at the end of the year a population of 
 twenty-five thousand — mostly men, young or 
 of middle age, very few women, fewer chil- 
 dren, with here and there a bewildered matron 
 or maiden of good repute. Here were British 
 subjects. Frenchmen, GeiTnans, and Dutch, 
 Itahans, Spaniards, Norwegians, Swedes, and 
 Swiss, Jews, Turks, Chinese, Kanakas, New 
 Zealanders, Malays, and Negroes, Parthians, 
 Medes, and Elamites, Cretes and Arabians, 
 and the dwellers in Mesopotamia and Cappa- 
 docia, in Boston and New Orleans, Chicago 
 and Peoria, Hoboken and Hackensack. 
 
 And how did they all Hve ? In frame-houses 
 of one story, more commonly in board shanties 
 and canvas tents, pitched in the midst of sand 
 or mud and various rubbish and strange filth 
 and fleas ; and they slept on rude cots, or on 
 " soft planks " under horse-blankets, on tables, 
 counters, floors, on trucks in the open air, in 
 bunks braced against the weather-boarding, 
 forty of them in one loft; and so they tossed 
 and scratched, and swore and laughed, and 
 sang and skylarked — those who were not tired 
 or drunk enough to sleep. And in the working- 
 hours they bustled, and jostled, and tugged, 
 and sweated, and made money — always made 
 money. They labored and they lugged : they 
 worked on lighters, drove trucks, packed mules, 
 rang bells, carried messages, " waited " in res- 
 taurants, " marked " for billiard-tables, served 
 drinks in bar-rooms, " faked " on the Plaza, 
 " cried " at auctions, toted lumber for houses, 
 ran a game of faro or roulette in the El Dorado 
 or the Bella Union, or manipulated three-card 
 monte on the head of a barrel in front of the 
 Parker House ; they speculated in beach- and 
 water-lots, in lumber, pork, flour, potatoes ; in 
 picks, shovels, pans, long boots, slouch-hats, 
 knives, blankets, and Mexican saddles. There 
 were doctors, lawyers, politicians, preachers, 
 even gentlemen and scholars among them ; but 
 they all speculated, and as a rule they gambled. 
 Clerks in stores and oftices had munificent sal- 
 aries ; $5 a day was about the smallest stipend 
 even in the custom-house, and one Baptist 
 preacher was paid $10,000 a year. Laborers 
 received a dollar an hour; a pick or a shovel was 
 worth $10 ; a tin pan or a wooden bowl, $5 ; 
 and a butchers' knife, $30. At one time the car- 
 penters who were getting $ 1 2 a day struck for 
 $16. Lumber rose to $500 per thousand feet, 
 " and every brick in a house cost a dollar, one 
 way or another." ^ Wheat flour and salt pork 
 sold at $40 a barrel ; a small loaf of bread was 
 fifty cents, and a hard-boiled egg a dollar. You 
 paid $3 to get into the circus, and $55 for a 
 private box. Men talked dollars, and a copper 
 1 " Annals of San Francisco." 
 
 coin was an object of antiquarian interest. 
 Forty dollars was the price fo ordinary coarse 
 boots ; and a pair that came above the knees 
 and would carry you gallanly through the 
 quagmires brought a round hundred. When 
 a shirt became very dirty, the vearer threw it 
 away and bought a new one. Washing cost 
 $ 1 5 a dozen in 1 849. Rents were simply mon- 
 strous: $3000 a month in advance bra "store" 
 hurriedly built of rough boards, Wr' ght and Co. 
 paid $75,000 for the wretched littie place on 
 the corner of the Plaza that they called the 
 Miners' Bank, and $36,000 was askevi for the 
 use of the Old Adobe as a custom-house. The 
 Parker House paid $120,000 a year in rents, 
 nearly one half of that amount being collected 
 from the gamblers who held the second floor ; 
 and the canvas tent next door, used as a gam- 
 bling-saloon, and called the EI Dorado, was 
 good for $40,000 a year. From 10 to 15 per 
 cent, a month was paid in advance for the use 
 of money borrowed on substantial security. 
 The prices of real estate went up among the 
 stars : $8000 for a fifty-vara lot that had been 
 bought in 1848 for $20. Yet, for all that, every- 
 body made money, although a man might stare 
 aghast at the squalor of his lodging, and wish 
 that he might part with his appetite at any price 
 to some other man. It was some such man as 
 this who preserved the bill of fare of the Ward 
 House for the dinner there on the 27th of 
 October, 1849. 
 
 Oxtail soup $1.00 
 
 Baked trout, anchovy sauce 1.50 
 
 Roast beef i.oo 
 
 Roast lamb, stuffed i.oo 
 
 Roast mutton, stuffed i.oo 
 
 Roast pork, with apple sauce 1. 25 
 
 Baked mutton, caper sauce 1. 25 
 
 Corned beef and cabbage 1.25 
 
 Ham I.oo 
 
 Curried sausages I.oo 
 
 Lamb and green peas 1.25 
 
 Venison, wine sauce 1.50 
 
 Stewed kidney, champagne sauce .... 1. 25 
 
 Fresh eggs i-oo each 
 
 Sweet potatoes 5° 
 
 Irish potatoes 5° 
 
 Cabbage 5° 
 
 Squash 5° 
 
 Bread pudding . . 75 
 
 Mince pie 75 
 
 Brandy peaches 2.00 
 
 Rum omelette 2.00 
 
 Jelly omelette 2.00 
 
 Cheese 5° 
 
 Prunes 75 
 
 At the El Dorado Hotel at Hangtown (a 
 mining-camp) the dainty menu offered " beef 
 with one potato, fair size," $1.25; "beef, 
 up along," $1; "baked beans, greased," 
 $1 ; "new potatoes, peeled," 75 cents; "hash, 
 low grade," 75 cents; "hash, 18 karats," 
 $1; "roast grizzly," $1; "jackass rabbit, 
 
Vol. X I.I II -69 
 
546 
 
 PIONEER DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 OLD STORE-SHIP "APOLLO," USED AS A SALOON. 
 
 and barrels. Men 
 waded through the 
 slough, and thought 
 themselves lucky 
 when they sank no 
 deeper than their 
 waists. Lanterns 
 were in request at 
 night, and poles in 
 the daytime. In 
 view of the scarcity 
 and great cost of 
 proper materials and 
 labor, such make- 
 shifts were the only 
 means at hand. A 
 traveler who came 
 by sea in 1849 de- 
 scribes with graphic 
 interest " the pe- 
 culiar construction 
 of the sidewalk be- 
 tween the store of 
 Simmons, Hutchin- 
 son & Co. and the 
 ' Adams Express of- 
 fice." This place was 
 bridged with cook- 
 ing-stoves, sacks of 
 
 whole," $1.50; "rice with brandy peaches," Chile flour,bagsofcoffee, and boxes of tobacco; 
 $2; and "a square meal" for $3. "All pay- and one yawning pit was stopped with a piano, 
 able in advance. Gold-scales on the end of Nevertheless, there were clumsy or drunken 
 bar." But the small, cheap gold-scales cost pedestrians who would have sunk out of sight 
 $30, and the coarse knives and forks not less but for timely rescue. Hittell tells of two horses 
 than $25 the pair. that were left in the mud of Montgomery street 
 
 The aspect of the streets of San Francisco to die of starvation, and of three drunken men 
 at this time was such as one may imagine of who were suffocated between Washington and 
 an unsightly waste of sand and mud churned Jackson streets. And yet the rains that were 
 by the continual grinding of heavy wagons productive of conditions so desperate and 
 and trucks, and the tugging and floundering deadly in the city brought showers of gold to 
 of horses, mules, and oxen ; thoroughfares ir- the miners in the diggings, and the monthly 
 regular and uneven, ungraded, unpaved, un- yield of dust and nuggets was three times 
 planked, obstructed by lumber and goods; greater after November than it had been in 
 alternate humps and holes, the actual dump- the summer. 
 
 ing-places of the town, handy receptacles for Standing on the piazza of the Old Adobe 
 the general sweepings and rubbish and inde- custom-house, on the upper side of the Plaza, 
 scribable offal and filth, the refuse of an indis- or Portsmouth Square, and looicing eastward 
 criminate population " pigging " together in across the open space, you had before you the 
 shanties and tents. And these conditions ex- Parker House and Dennison's Exchange, cen- 
 tended beyond the actual settlement into the ter and focus of all interest and all news to the 
 chaparral and underbrush that covered the San Franciscan of '49; and adjoining the Par- 
 sand-hills on the north and west. ker House, on the corner of the Plaza formed 
 The flooding rains of winter transformed by the intersection of Kearney and Washing- 
 what should have been thoroughfares into ton streets, was the El Dorado, most reckless 
 treacherous quagmires set with holes and traps of gambling-resorts and phenix of many fires, 
 fit to smother horse and man. Loads of brush- Amidships, on the north side of the square, was 
 wood and branches of trees, cut from the hills, the original oflice of the " Alta California " 
 were thrown into these swamps; but they served newspaper, a journal which terminated its ex- 
 no more than a temporary purpose, and the istence only a few months ago; and adjoining 
 inmates of tents and houses made such bridges that, the Bella Union and Washington Hall — 
 and crossings as they could with boards, boxes, ahke infamous, the former as a den of gam- 
 
PIONEER n.WS f.V S.-1N F/i.LYC/SCO. 
 
 547 
 
 hling desperados and cutthroats, and tho hit- 
 ter as a stew of polyglot debauchery. 
 
 Southward, on the Clay street side "i uic 
 I'la/a, and on tlie corner of Kearney street, 
 was that historic adobe, the ohl City Hotel, 
 the tirst important hostelry of Verba IJuena ; 
 and when the i>lacers began to give out their 
 treasures it was the heachpiarters of gambling 
 miners, and overflowed with gold. " Scenes 
 such as never before were ami never again 
 will be witnessed," said the " Alta California," 
 '• were common in the old City Hotel in 184.S 
 anil "49." In the spring of '49 the building 
 was leased for $16,000 per annum, cut up into 
 small stores and offices, and sul)leascd at an 
 enormous advance; but the City Hotel was 
 "gobbled up" in the great fire of June, 1851. 
 Higher up, on the south side, was Sam Bran- 
 nan's office, where that redoubtable Mormon 
 arraigned the " Hounds " before a concourse 
 
 Leavenworth or a Geary; and midway be- 
 tween the Old Adobe and the I'arker House 
 stood the original Hag-staff, boldly I' ^ 
 
 Cn<le Sam's title-dee<l to the land ^ 1. 
 The Old A<lobe was a conspicuous landmark 
 in the San I'rancisco of those wild times, and 
 most dear to the memory of ever)" Forty niner. 
 In the early days of the American occupation 
 it had been used as a military barrack and 
 guard-house, and later it became the first cus- 
 tomdiouse of San Francisco. .\ sedate, drowsy- 
 looking structure, with sturdy brown walls, a 
 low-pitched roof, tiled in the true rancho fash- 
 ion, a hjng, rickety porch with planking all adrift, 
 and posts and railings elaborately whittled, the 
 Old Adobe from its coign of vantage on the 
 higher ground overlooked the I'la/.a and took 
 note of the various de\ ilment that marked its 
 reckless doings ; while, with that handy cross- 
 beam at the south end of the porch, it seemed 
 
 of exasjierated citi/ens, and demanded their 
 summary stamping out. .Vcross the way, on 
 the southwest corner of the Pla/a, was the lit- 
 tle frame school-house — the first .school-house, 
 which became, afterwani, a concert-hall for 
 Steve .Masselt's musical eccentricities, an<l then 
 a police-station for a most inefficient constab- 
 ulary. Between the school-house and thesouth 
 entl of the Old .Adobe was the alcalde's office, 
 where justice was informally disjiensed by a 
 
 to wait with cynical p.iiicui e until the ( 'imnig 
 vigilance committee should l>ring their first 
 victim their short shrift and their long rope. 
 The ever-open portal admitteil you to a wi<le 
 vestibule which divide*! the house into une«|ual 
 wings, and showe«l you on one si<le the desks 
 of the in.spectors and deputies, and on the other 
 thesanctumof the< <»lle< lor — . ' ' !e 
 
 an<ldapi)er little man whose >uj , '- 
 
 nimity w as the admiration of the time and place, 
 
.Illillliiiilliillli^^^^^^^^^^ 
 
PIONEER n.WS IN SAN ERANCISCO. 
 
 549 
 
 imparting an air of repose and hos|)itality to all ral, njoral, and linanrial forte. Abounding in 
 
 his surroundings, and making even his iron safe, ready resources of a mixed and mysterious 
 
 which should have heen the grim receptacle of kind, and uns( ru|»ulous in the a])plication of 
 
 the pubhi- treasure, seem but a pleasing an<l ihem ; themselves well stocked with the ad- 
 
 conhiling joke, seeing that he usually kejjt it as venturer's courage, and their courage impos- 
 
 open as his own countenance, and free to ilis- ingly backed up with six-shooters; numbering 
 
 plav its golilen lining to the day. in their society, whether as j)rofessionals or 
 
 On the 22(1 of June, 1.S51, the Old .Adobe amateurs, many of the '• first men " of the tity ; 
 
 disappeared from the map of San Krancisco, having the largest .show of " smartness," if not 
 
 swallowed up in that last great fire which de- of a finer intellectuality and higher wisdom; 
 
 voured the City Hotel and the C ity Hosi)ital, of .sophisticated observation, reikless specula- 
 
 ihe Jenny Lind Theater and the office of the tion, and, most imjjortant of all, cash ; paying 
 
 "Alta California." Other adobe houses char- 
 acteristic of the old California life were the 
 Mowry dwelling ami the residence of .Senora 
 iJriones, both on the northwestern skirt of the 
 town. 'I'hese were all of one story, and roofed 
 with tiles. The entrance was set fairly in the 
 midtlle of the front, and there was usually a 
 hall extending from the front to the back door 
 antl etiually tlividing the house, so as to give a 
 large sitting-room, which was also use<l for a 
 guest-room, on one side of the hall, and on the 
 other a bed-chamber in fnjnt an<l a kitchen at 
 the back. In several of these houses the guest- 
 room and the bed-chamber were Hooreil with 
 tiles of marble in alternate black and white, 
 antl the cornices showed some Hiir attempts at 
 carving ; these apartments were always hospi- 
 tably furnished, and on occasions of entertain- 
 ment made pretensions to luxury. 
 
 The j)ost-oflice of that time was a frame 
 buiUling of one story and an attic on the cor- 
 ner of Clay and Pike streets. There was but 
 small accommodation here for clerks and 
 " handlers," and still less for the imjjatient and 
 
 the highest rents, monopolizing the mo.st de- 
 sirable business sites ; prompt in applying 
 every new and admirable improvement, com- 
 mantling every comfort that invention or ex- 
 pensive labor could supjjly, every luxury that 
 fine raiment, and pictures, and shows, ami mu- 
 sic, and wine, and a motley " work! of ladies " 
 could stand for — no wonder that they swayed 
 the city, and (arried the day with a high hand. 
 For they paid twelve per cent, a month for 
 money, and were ready to take all they coultl 
 get at that i)rice, oftering securities in the good- 
 will and fixtures of one "saloon " or another, a 
 house, a lea.se, a water-lot, a bank. 
 
 Moreover, the gambler of '49 was no vul- 
 gar villain of the sordid stripe ; he had his as- 
 pirations; it was proud game he hunted, and 
 he put his own life into the cha.se. The law 
 being to play fiiir or die, and the finest dis- 
 tinctions of the mcuiii and //////// being defined 
 by the pistol, it is ea.sy to understand that 
 there were honest gamblers in San Francisco 
 in '49 ; in fact, I will go so fiir as to assert 
 that, as a class, no others were so strict and 
 
 l)eremptory crowd of home-hungry men who punctual in all their dealings. No investment 
 
 came daily, but most of all on mail-tlay, wliich was safer or more |)rofitable than a loan to a 
 
 was once a month, and took the small w in- gambler ; no rightful claim was more easv of 
 
 dows and loopholes by storm. To avoid confu- c<jllection. Nor v. ere the.se men, though most 
 
 sion and tlangerous conflict, long (jueues were dangerous on certain points of professional 
 
 formed, extemling from the windows along prerogative, by any means habitually (juarrel- 
 
 Clay street to the Plaza, and along Tike street some. On the contrary, they were often the 
 
 sometimes as far as Sacramento, and even to peacemakers of a fierce crowd whose ex|»lo- 
 
 the chaparral beyond. Here traders, miners, sive pa.ssions were .stirred, constituting them- 
 
 merchants, gamblers, and adventurers of every selvesanextemjxiraneous vigilance committee, 
 
 complexion waited in their places, (jften from in the name of the law and order they hail 
 
 the afternoon of one day, all night long, to the themselves set up for the occasion ; and then 
 
 morning of the next, in the mud and the soak- woe to the refractorv ! 
 
 ing rain, with weary limbs and anxious hearts. 
 Men whose strength was une<iual to the strain 
 were glad to employ others to hold their places 
 for them through the long hours; and there 
 were those who. while not seeking or expecting 
 letters for themselves, secured good standings 
 in the line before the coming of the crowd, 
 only to sell their right of place to richer men 
 w hose time was money. From ten to twenty 
 dollars was a common jirice for such service. 
 The gamblers of '49 constituted a con- 
 trolling claj>s with whom was all the jthysi- 
 
 As 1 have elsewhere .said, 
 
 not uncommonly the professional faro-bankcr of 
 '49 was a farmer-like .ind hnmts|)un man. with a 
 kindlycomposition of features ;incl expression, pa- 
 triarchal in his manners, a man to go to for ad- 
 vice, abounding in instructive experiences of WW-, 
 and full of benevolent leanings toward the world ; 
 a man to lounge about the f)orticos of hotels, read- 
 ing his '* .Aha," or the latest home papers, pro- 
 jecting city improvements and public charities, 
 discussing important enterprises, overhauling the 
 businessof the ayuntnmienlo. considcrin ' c 
 the slate of the country, defining the ■. 'f 
 
55° 
 
 PIONEER DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 OLD ADOBE, USED AS CUSTOM-HOUSE. 
 
 Congress toward California, portraying the future 
 of the State ; and then — starting out to make the 
 round of the tables, and deliberately to set about 
 " breakinsr the bank." I have known such a man 
 to take, in one day and night, five out of seven 
 monte banks, besides a faro bank or two, seat his 
 own dealers at them to keep the game going, 
 and then subside into his pipe and newspaper, 
 his political economy and projects of benevolence. 
 Of such was the fraternity that swayed the city 
 in those days, and the secret of their paramount 
 influence lay, partly, in their harmonious combi- 
 nation of the preeminently American traits — a fac- 
 ulty of taking accurately and at once the bearings 
 of new and strange situations, fixity of purpose, 
 persistence of endeavor, audacity of enterprise, 
 ready hazard of life, ever fresh elasticity of san- 
 guine temperament, but principally in the im- 
 posing figures of an omnipotent cash capital, 
 wherewith they knew how to feed the enormous 
 cravings of the people, and mitigate their priva- 
 tions and their pains. i 
 
 The people eagerly accepted the treacherous 
 comforts and solacements so seductively dis- 
 played on the green cloth; and gambling be- 
 came the recreation of the honest toiler or 
 trader, as well as the revel of the reckless buc- 
 aneer. While occupations were as various as 
 the needs and makeshifts of those who had re- 
 course to them, it may be said that in all that 
 din and bustle and hurly-burly there was but 
 one pursuit. Miners and boatmen, laborers, 
 mechanics, and builders, merchants and clerks 
 and peddlers, thimbleriggers and fakirs from 
 the streets, lawyers, physicians, judges, clergy- 
 men — all alike found a rapture in faro or bluff, 
 a distraction in roulette or rondo, an edifying 
 experience in monte or rouge-et-noir. The 
 bar and the green table went into partnership, 
 and, with a joint stock of cards and chips, de- 
 canters, fiddles, and pictures, and reckless wo- 
 1 J. W. Palmer, " The New and the Old." 
 
 men, did a madly merry business. There were 
 hundreds of such places where, in the evening 
 and all night long, keen fellows, horribly quiet, 
 shuffled the fateful cards with deadly delibera- 
 tion, or where bedeviled wornen, horribly beau- 
 tiful, greedy, and cruel, twirled roulette-wheels 
 to the mockery of music. 
 
 The great " saloons " were on the Plaza : all 
 of the east side and the greater part of the 
 north and south sides were given up to them. 
 In each of these from ten to a dozen tables 
 waited for players — for the man whose "blood 
 was up," or the man who was bored, or the 
 pleasant fellow who " might as well amuse him- 
 self." The man whose blood was up usually 
 began with a stake of a thousand dollars and 
 ended with fifty cents, and lost it; and the 
 pleasant fellow who would amuse himself usu- 
 ally began with fifty cents and ended with a 
 thousand dollars, and lost it; while the bored 
 man won and won, and " took no interest." 
 Piles of coin in gold and silver, bags of dust, 
 and gold in nuggets, lay in the middle of the 
 table ; and the game went on in sweet repose 
 and pensiveness, not even broken when the 
 stakes were at their highest, and the spectators, 
 standing three lines deep, waited for the luck 
 of " that long-haired stranger who came to 
 break the bank." 
 
 " Everybody gambled " — that was the excuse 
 for everybody else. The pheiiomenal exception 
 was the man who, having lost his all at three- 
 card monte on the head of a barrel in the 
 Plaza, was thereupon seized with acute com- 
 punctions on moral grounds, and a luminous 
 theory of the ratio of chances. " While profits 
 and wages were so high, while there were no 
 homes, no comfort or decency to be found in 
 lofts and bunks, men thought to take refuge in 
 riotous excess, seeking for rest and recreation 
 
PIONEER n.\ YS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 55' 
 
 in i^ambling-hclls, and bar-rooms, and dance that tlicy had sown tlic winil to reap the whirl- 
 houses."' To find the few virtuous and worthy wind. The C'liinese <|uarter in .San Irancisco 
 women of that time, you must have sought for l»ei ame, it was charged, a hotbed of depravity 
 tliem in tents and makeshift harbors, safely and crime. The o|)ium-habit spread among 
 withdrawn from the public gaze, or else in the the white y<nuh of both sexes, an<l fetid dens 
 struggling beginnings of churches that feebly were open day and night." - The oath of a 
 held their little forts against the banded forces Chinaman became a joke in the courts, and 
 of a multifarious godlessness. it was proved that in the Chinese cpiarter re- 
 From the upi)er corner on Washington street wards were covertly offered for the slaying of 
 to the lower corner on Clay street, the |)eople innocent witnesses. Thus anti-Chinese legis- 
 filcd across the IMa/.a, between the ( )ld .\dobe lation, for the suppression of the ( 'hinese high- 
 and the I'arker House, in an unending proces- binder, became a foregone conclusion, 
 sion, or broke into motley groups of many Hut there are Chinese and Chinese ; they are 
 colors and many tongues, and loitered by the not all coolies and highbinders. In " Little 
 tlag-stafT, among the trucks, and the oxen, and China," as the district which includes Uupont 
 
 tr^ ■«•«■* 
 
 'J v.- ""•»» 
 
 
 ^k'J _. 
 
 CORNEK OF rue. I-LAZA, KEUKl'AKY, 1850. 
 
 
 the mules, the .stalls of the small venders, 
 and the handy bo.xes and barrels of the fakirs 
 and thimbleriggers, and the dealers of three- 
 card monte ; while from time to time some 
 jingling ranchero, iticturescjue in scrape, som- 
 brero, and silver bell-buttons, and heeled with 
 formidable spurs, would come caracoling across 
 the scjuare, making a circus of himself for the 
 delectation of senora and madame. Always 
 conspicuous among these was the ubicjuitous 
 Chinaman, "child-like and bland," but slyly 
 twinkling with the ( onscious smartness of ways 
 that are as hard to find out as the thimble- 
 rigger's pea, which he so cunningly resembles. 
 There is record of two Chinese men and one 
 woman who came to California on the bark 
 .£'<7i'-/r from Hong-Kong in 1848. Hy February, 
 1850, these had been followed by 787 men and 
 two women, and still they came. Heginninginthe 
 mines, they spread into the farms and gardens, 
 and thence into workshops and factories, out- 
 bidding the Caucasian with longer hours of 
 work and smaller pay. "'I'hen the men who 
 had given them employment. disj)lacing the 
 .\merican and Kuro|)ean workmen, soon found 
 1 '• Annals of San l-ranci^co. " 
 
 Street and the upper part of Sacramento street 
 is called, were many respectable and wealthy 
 Chinese merchants, men who trafficked in the 
 goods and wares of their country, and were re- 
 gartled by tlieir Caucasian neighbors as shrewd, 
 polite, and well informed, having consideration 
 for their social caste, holding themselves aloof 
 from the washermen and the porters, and, so 
 far as the exigencies of their business permitted, 
 living retired. In common fliimess they were 
 not to be reckoned with the keepers of gam- 
 bling-dens, opium-joints, and brothels, but 
 rather to be accepted as an honorable protest 
 and appeal in the interest of that class of their 
 people who are intlustrious, decent in their lives 
 and manners, and of good report, who arc con- 
 tented, peaceable, and thrifty, and who hold it 
 a point of honor that the Chinaman who can- 
 not pay his debts must kill himself for the credit 
 of the survivors. 
 
 Fven in tln)se <lays a sentiment of Sunday- 
 ness might be fouml in the suburbs of S;in Fran- 
 cisco ; and in an eijuestrian scamper to the 
 Lagoon, the I'residio (theoM Spanish canton- 
 ment), or the Mi>sion San Dolores, one might 
 
 '-' S.iii I i.iiuiseii " ("lironiilf," Sfjitcmbcr "• lS90. 
 
55^ 
 
 PIONEER DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 
 
 MISSION SAN DOLORES — SUNDAY AFTERNOON. 
 
 give his heart an airing. The Mission, so in- 
 timately associated with the early history of 
 Yerba Buena and the later San Francisco, 
 though it had been projected ever since the 
 discovery of the bay in 1769, was not founded 
 till 1776. The site was a small, fertile plain, 
 embosomed among green hills, about two miles 
 from the center of the present city. Several 
 rivulets of clear, sweet water mixed their 
 streams to form the larger Mission Creek. Fur- 
 ther north were the bleak and sterile sand-hills 
 on which the site of the present city was pitched ; 
 but the Presidio was more happily placed, and 
 the small cove on the east, within the narrow 
 entrance to the bay, afforded shelter and good 
 anchorage. 
 
 The old Mission Church of 1850 was a spa- 
 cious building of adobe, very plain without and 
 partly whitewashed, except the front, which was 
 relieved by certain crude architectural decor- 
 ations, and showed several handsome bells. 
 The interior was somber, grim, and cold. On 
 the walls were rude paintings of saints and 
 sacred subjects, and tinsel ornaments decorated 
 the altar. But mass was still celebrated in the 
 gloomy pile for the spiritual comfort of a small 
 company of worshipers, mostly women of the 
 Spanish races. 
 
 But the Mission was the favorite resort of 
 holiday-makers from the city, especially of the 
 Sunday revelers. Here bull-lights were held, 
 and bear-baitings, and prize-fights of pugilists, 
 and horse-races, and duels, and all the other 
 mild diversions of the Forty-niner ; and bars 
 and gambling-tables supplied abundantly the 
 indispensable refreshment and risk. Over the 
 plank road, constructed in 1850, came an end- 
 less cavalcade of dashing equestrians of both 
 sexes, and the highways extending southward 
 to San Jose invited to pleasant excursions 
 among green fields and hills.' 
 
 But, after all, it was but a ghastly jollity, for 
 under and all around it were destitution and 
 disease, crime and despair and death. For the 
 sick, the friendless, and the utterly broken there 
 
 were, for many months, no infirmary, no hos- 
 pital fund, no city physician. 
 
 " Your honor, and gentlemen," said the ec- 
 centric Mr. Krafft, addressing an imaginary 
 ayuntamiento, " we are very sick, and hungry, 
 and helpless, and wretched. If somebody does 
 not do something for us we shall die ; and that 
 will be bad, considering how far we have come, 
 and how hard it was to get here, and how short 
 a time we have been here, and that we have 
 not had a fair chance. All we ask is a fair 
 chance ; and we say again, upon our honor, 
 gentlemen, if somebody does not do something 
 for us, we shall die, or we shall be setting fire 
 to the town first, and cutting all our throats." ^ 
 
 For these were the times when scurvied men 
 were landing from the ships, and men crippled 
 with rheumatism, and wasted with dysentery, 
 and delirious with pneumonia and typhoid 
 fever, were taking refuge in the city, to find 
 only the bare, wet earth for a bed, under a 
 leaky tent, or a foul bunk in the loft of a shanty, 
 where a man had never a chance to die like a 
 man, because of the cruel, carousing crew in 
 the den below ; no doctor, no nurse, no balm, 
 no wine or oil, no cup of cold water, no de- 
 cent deathbed. And so we found their poor, 
 cold, silent corpses in lonely tents apart, or in 
 the bush, or under the lee of a pile of lumber 
 in Sacramento or Montgomery street ; and we 
 dug a hole and buried them right there, and 
 the city of San Francisco is their gravestone, 
 and this story is their ei)itaph. 
 
 Here is a passage from the address of the 
 alcalde. Colonel John W. Geary, to the ayun- 
 tamiento in August, 1849: 
 
 At this time we are without a dollar in the 
 public treasury, and it is to be feared the city is 
 greatly in debt. You have neither an office for 
 your magistrate, nor any other public edifice. 
 You are without a single police officer or watch- 
 man, and you have not the means of confining a 
 prisoner for one hour ; neither have you a place 
 to shelter sick and unfortunate strangers who 
 
 1 J. W. Pahiier, " The New and llie Old." 
 
PIOXEI.K PAYS l\ SAX JRAXCISCO. 
 
 553 
 
 may be c.ibt ujum our shores, or to Ijury thcin 
 when dead. Public improvements arc unknown 
 in San Francisco. In short, you an- without a 
 sinjjie requisite for the promotion of |)rosperity, 
 for the protection of property, or for the mainte- 
 nance of order. 
 
 ( )rj;ani/ecl bands of nifVians. including 
 thieves, burglars, and roughs, ever ready with 
 knife and pistol. roame<lun(hallengcd. Depre- 
 dation and assault became familiar uuidents 
 
 them fast boun<l \\ i'l> his •• 'I'hus saith the Lord 
 your God ! " 
 
 Most dangerous, and lur a lime most numer- 
 ous, of the immigrant ( riminals who c ame to 
 re( ruit the gangs of " Sy<lney-lown " were the 
 old convicts and licket-of-leavc men from Van 
 Dieinen's I, and and New South Wales, who 
 feared n(jthing but the gallows anywhere, anil 
 even that not at all in this land of devil-may- 
 care, where prosecutors and witnesses were too 
 
 " HOIM' 
 
 in the life of the town. The (onHagrations 
 which sul)se(iuenlly laid waste the most valu- 
 able districts were traced or ascribed to the 
 handiwork of'* Sy<lney coves"and " Hounds," 
 who plundered untler cover of the general con- 
 fusion and dismay incident to a great fire. 
 And everywhere was the reckless apathy of 
 •• ever)* man for his own hand," every man a 
 law to himself, and the six-shooter his only 
 constable, (^nly on a Sunday afternoon, on 
 the i)ia/./a of the Old Adobe, was the voice of 
 the prophet heartl in righteous rebuke and 
 warning — the voice of brave old Fathtrr Tay- 
 lor, lifted up in stentorian psalm and prayer, 
 arresting the jiassini: miner and gambler, the 
 "Sydney cove" and the cjurte/an,and holding 
 'Vot-'.\I.III.-7o. 
 
 busy to con< ern themselves w ith < ourts ; where 
 judges were ignorant, careless, or corrupt; 
 where trials were too costly for a bankrupt 
 I itv ; and where a man miglit hi<le easily and 
 utterly under an alias or an alibi, a pea-jacket 
 or a serape, a smooth face or a ragged beard. 
 The (|uarter known as '* Sydney-town," the 
 " rive I'oints"an<l the *' .Seven Dials" of San 
 Francisco, lay around tlark's I'oint, in Broad- 
 way an<l Pacific street. Here a policeman 
 hardly dared to enter, night was made hideous 
 with ilebauihery and assaults, and for a few 
 ounces a fellow could be hired to kill a man or 
 fire a house, and no <|uestions asked. "Although 
 hundreds of munlers had been committed " 
 b\ the desj)erirte denizens of these and other 
 
554 
 
 PIONEER DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 THE FIRST HOTEL AT SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 quarters, " and many murderers had been ar- 
 rested, not one had been hanged, either legally 
 or at the hands of self-appomted execution- 
 ers ; and the very courts themselves had be- 
 come a by-word." ^ 
 
 But the very excesses and intolerable out- 
 rages of this state of things presently compelled 
 their own stamping out by methods that were 
 short and summary. On the 15th of July, 
 1849, a gang of young men who called them- 
 selves " Regulators, " but were commonly 
 known as " Hounds," and who were the " Mo- 
 hawks " and " thugs " and "plug-uglies" of 
 that time, proceeded to " take the town " af- 
 ter a fashion which they had made their own. 
 This gang, which had been first heard of to- 
 ward the close of 1848, began to make itself 
 felt and feared in the spring of the following 
 year. Under the pretense of mutual defense 
 against the encroachments of foreigners, espe- 
 cially Chileans, Peruvians, and Mexicans, they 
 had adopted a sort of military organization 
 with a regular headcjuarters, which they called 
 Tammany Hall, in a tent near the City Hotel. 
 They paraded the town in broad daylight, 
 with flag and fife and drum, armed with re- 
 volvers and bludgeons ; and at night, when 
 the streets were dark and unguarded, they 
 often raided saloons and taverns, eating and 
 drinking at the charge of the proprietors, and 
 afterward making a wreck of stock and furni- 
 ture in the very devilment of wantonness and 
 fun. 
 
 Returning from a marauding excursion to 
 the Contra Costa on the afternoon of Sunday, 
 the 15th of July, they made the rounds of the 
 town, equipped in fantastic toggery of ponchos 
 
 1 San Francisco " Chronicle," Sei)tember 7, 1890. 
 
 and Canton crape shawls, pillaged from Spanish- 
 American and Chinese shops; and in the even- 
 ing they marched upon the tents of the Chilenos, 
 cuffing and kicking the women and children, 
 and clubbing and shooting the men, tearing 
 down the tents, destroying their scanty furniture, 
 and plundering them of clothing and valuables. 
 The limit of that criminal apathy which had 
 so long passed for patience was reached at 
 last. On the i6th the community of " all good 
 citizens " met on the Plaza in response to a 
 proclamation of Alcalde Leavenworth, who 
 had been urged to vigorous action by a com- 
 mittee of merchants and others. The meeting 
 was organized with Mr. W. D. M. Howard as 
 chairman and Dr. Fourgeaud as secretary. 
 Sam Brannan addressed the multitude, and de- 
 nounced the " Hounds," and the whole foul 
 herd of criminals and miscreants, in unmeasured 
 terms. A subscription was opened for the re- 
 lief of those who had suffered by the outrages 
 of the 1 5 th ; a volunteer police force was organ- 
 ized, consisting of 250 special constables, armed 
 with muskets and revolvers, and commanded 
 by Captain W. E. Spofford ; and that same 
 afternoon twenty of the " Hounds," including 
 Sam Roberts, their leader, were captured and 
 lodged on board the United States ship IVar/cn. 
 On Tuesday a grand jury of twenty-four citizens 
 found a true bill against the prisoners, who were 
 brought to trial on Wednesday before a jury 
 specially impaneled. Sam Roberts and his mate, 
 Saunders, were sentenced to ten years' im- 
 prisonment with hard labor, and the others to 
 shorter terms with fines. But these penalties 
 were never enforced. Several of the leaders 
 were sent out of the country, the rest were set at 
 liberty; and although the ''Hounds" were muz- 
 
riONEER DAYS IX SAX IRA NCI SCO. 
 
 555 
 
 to be the only one in California ; the charge 
 for admission was $3, and $16 was the jtrice 
 paid for removing the piano from the custom- 
 house to the school- house, half-way across the 
 
 zled, other criminals and desperados, more House (afterward the City I lall), the St. l-ran- 
 daring and dangerous than they, were encour- cis, the Cnion (destroyed in the fire of May 4, 
 aged to show a bold front and strike deadlier 1851), the ( )riental, the Tehama, Wilson's Kx- 
 blows. 'J'he famous \igilance Committee of change, the Rasettc House, and others. 
 1851, with its swift and tragic executions, was 'Ihe public amusements of San Kranci.sco 
 the inevitable response to the general cry for may be said to have begun at the old .school- 
 retribution and protection.' house on the Pla/a on the evening of June 
 
 The hotelsof San I'rancisco may be regarded 22, 1849, when Mr. Stephen C. Massett a|>- 
 as the consummate product of that ijrimitive peared in a sort of musical monologue, with 
 system of coarse feeding-i)laces which began recitations and imitations. The small room 
 in 1848 in the makeshifts of a mining camp, was filled, " front seats " being " reserved " for 
 and wasileveloped in the growth of ".saloons " the four ladies who were present. The piano 
 and restaurantsofevery imaginable description: used on this occasion was loaned by Mr. Har- 
 dining-rooms, chop-houses, cabarets, and fon- rison, the collector of the port, and w as said 
 das. There were cooks for every people and 
 tribe under the sun — .American, English, CJer- 
 man, French, Italian, Chilean, Mexican, Chi- 
 nese, Kanaka, Negro. There were l)ecf and 
 mutton from the ranches, fish from the 
 bay and rivers, bear, elk, antelope, hare, 
 s(|uirrel. <iuail, duck, snipe, and plover 
 from the inland hills and valleys, vege- 
 tables from the Pacific islands, and fruits 
 from more distant ports. A hungry man 
 might make a tolerable meal on beef 
 at fifty cents, jjork or mutton at seventy- 
 five cents, a dozen canned oysters for a 
 dollar, and a baked ])otato for half a 
 dollar ; or if his api)etite was dainty anil 
 his pouch full, he might intlulge in roast 
 duck at five dollars, l)roiled quail at two 
 dollars, and " loj) otit"" with sardines and 
 pale lit- foic ;^ras regardless of expense. 
 
 Mr. Winn, the proprietor of the 
 Fountain Head and Pranch, arrived 
 in San Francisco in 1849 without a 
 dollar. He started business by making 
 candy with his own hands, and peddling 
 it about the streets on a tray slung from 
 his shoulders by a pair of old suspenders. 
 The San Francisco " Commercial Ad- 
 vertiser" of the 6th of April, 1854, notes that Plaza. In 1849 and 1 850 there were e(iuestrian 
 .\Ir. Winn " paid for ice and eggs last season anil acrobatic performances in tents, — Rowe's 
 
 TIIK FIRSr SCUUOL-MOUSB, SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 (five months), $28,000; for one month's ailver 
 tising, $1600 ; receipts at his two houses aver- 
 age $57,000 a month ; has ])aid $200 a month 
 for water; to one man in his employ, $1000 
 a month and his board ; has i)aid $3000 for 
 j)Otatoes, and $5000 for eggs, for the .same 
 time; and fed |)oor and hungry people at a 
 daily cost to him of $20." 
 
 The first of the San Francisco hostelries, in 
 point of time, was the old City Hotel, which 
 was built of adobes in 1S46 at the corner of 
 Clay and Kearney streets, and, until after the 
 
 discovery of gold, was the only notable pub- building known as the New Jenny Find, after- 
 lie hou.se. Then followed, in 1849 and the sue- ward the City Hall, was opened on the 4th of 
 ceeding years, the Parker House, the (Jraham October, 1851, and the .Xmerican Theater on 
 
 , ^ , . . , V- . . .^ L Sansome street on the 20lh.'- 
 • Sec this niaF.izine lor NovcmlxT anil iJccembtT, -,., • 1 1 „.. , .^ .i,„ in , , , . 
 jg^^i *' Hie school-house on the ria/a \\;is JpllIl'- 
 - " .\nnal> of San 1- ranci-co." priated as a place of |jublic worshij) in October, 
 
 and Foley's circuses, — and in January, 1850, 
 the first dramatic performance was given in 
 Washington Hall, " The ^\■ife " and " Charles 
 II." being indiherently jjlayed by a small com- 
 pany to a large audience. In April, 1850, a 
 French vaudeville company appeared in a 
 neat little house on Washingtcm street near 
 .Montgom*-y, and, in .September following, the 
 original Jenny Find Theater offered its attrac- 
 tions over the Parker House saloon on Kear- 
 ney street, ihis house was destroyed in the 
 fire of May, 1851. The large brick and stone 
 
556 
 
 PIONEER DAYS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 1848, the services being conducted by the Rev. 
 Dwight Hunt, a missionary from the Sandwich 
 Islands, who is remembered as the first Protes- 
 tant clergyman in California. The little house 
 was filled at every meeting, and on the first Sun- 
 day in January, 1849, the first Sacrament of 
 the Lord's Supper was administered to twelve 
 communicants of difterent denominations. 
 That congregation was composed of people 
 who were not hampered by sectarian preju- 
 dices, or concerned to cavil about creeds and 
 forms, llie steamship California, which ar- 
 rived in February, brought four missionaries 
 from New York — Messrs. Wheeler, Baptist, 
 and Woodbridge, Douglass, and Willey, Pres- 
 byterians. On the I St of April the steamer Ore- 
 gon brought the Rev. Albert Williams, who, 
 after preaching for a while in the school-house, 
 on the 20th of May organized the first Protestant 
 society ir. the new city, — the "First Presbyterian 
 Church," — which was started with six mem- 
 bers. In this small but notable group were Sarah 
 B. Gillespie of the Presbyterian Missionary 
 Church at Macao, China, and Mr. Frederick J. 
 Bilhngs, of the First Congregational Church 
 at Woodstock, Vermont. This gentleman, by 
 the early and earnest part he took in the moral 
 sanitation of the city, won for himself an hon- 
 orable name in her annals as a conspicuous 
 pioneer in all good works ; he was associated 
 with General Halleck in the practice of law. 
 The place of worship of this brave little con- 
 gregation was on Dupont street in a tent that 
 had been the marquee of a military company 
 in Boston. This temporary accommodation 
 was superseded in the fall of 1850 by a church 
 edifice, complete with pulpit, pews, lamps, and 
 bells, which was brought out from New York 
 and set up in Stockton street near Broadway; 
 but five months later it was burned, in the 
 great fire of June 2, 1851. Although this 
 represented the first religious society organ- 
 ized in San Francisco, it was preceded as a 
 church edifice by the " First Baptist Church," 
 on Washington street between Dupont and 
 Stockton streets, erected to accommodate the 
 congregation gathered by the Rev. O. C. 
 Wheeler, who had arrived in the Caiifoniia in 
 February, 1849. Then followed the " First 
 Congregational Church," organized in July, 
 1849; "Trinity Church" (Episcopftlian), and 
 Grace Chapel, under the rectorship of that de- 
 voted missionary. Dr. Vermehr, who, in Feb- 
 ruary, 1854, resigned the principal charge to 
 Bishop Kip. 
 
 The early Roman Catholic " Church of St. 
 Patrick," in Happy Valley, with its school and 
 orphan-asylum, and those at the Mission San 
 Dolores and in Vallejo street, were largely at- 
 tended, and services were held in English. 
 French, and Spanish. Jewish synagogues and 
 
 Buddhist temples have their place in the re- 
 ligious history of the city, which, beginning 
 with the Mormon elder, Sam Brannan, became 
 in time worthy of the ministrations of Bishops 
 Alemany and Kip ; and no man did more to 
 pilot her skittish flock to nobler heights than 
 that brave, pertinacious, and magnetic Meth- 
 odist, ^Villiam Taylor, whose church was the 
 open Plaza, and his pulpit the porch of the 
 Old Adobe. 
 
 On the 4th of January, 1849, ^^"^^ "Califor- 
 nian," which in November, 1848, had been con- 
 sohdated with the " Star," changed its name to 
 the " Alta California." At first it appeared as 
 a weekly, then three times a week, and finally 
 it became the first daily paper in California. 
 Then came in quick succession the "Journal 
 of Commerce," the " Pacific News," and the 
 " Daily Herald." On the ist of August ap- 
 peared the " Picayune," the fifth daily, but the 
 first evening paper. These were followed by 
 the " Courier," the " Chronicle," the " Bulle- 
 tin," and others, including German, French, 
 Italian, Spanish, and even Chinese newspapers, 
 all of them marked in a greater or less degree 
 by the ability, enterprise, pluck, and vim which 
 are the characteristics of the country. 
 
 In describing the familiar features which 
 should appear in a picture of the San Fran- 
 cisco of those golden years, the auction is not 
 to be forgotten — that last resort of the con- 
 signee or supercargo who could find no stor- 
 age for his shipment, no ready purchaser at 
 any price. There were neither wharves nor 
 warehouses to accommodate the overflowing 
 freights brought by incoming fleets of mer- 
 chantmen. Lighterage from ship to shore cost 
 four dollars a ton, and the monthly rate for 
 storage was ten dollars a ton. Perishable goods 
 were often a total loss ; cargoes were, in some 
 cases, reshipped to the Atlantic States with- 
 out breaking bulk. Excessive and indiscrim- 
 inate shipments could but result in wholesale 
 waste and recklessness, and the only relief was 
 to be found in auctions of a slap-dash kind, 
 conducted by any man who might see fit to 
 put up a sign near the water-front. 
 
 At first the principal landing-place was at 
 Clark's Point, where the water was deep at 
 the rocky shore; but by October, 1850, there 
 were wharves of considerable length at Mar- 
 ket, California, Sacramento, Clay, Washington, 
 Jackson, and Pacific streets. The aggregate 
 length of all the wharves exceeded six thou- 
 sand feet, and the cost to that date amounted 
 to a round million. 
 
 The famous clippers which had excited the 
 admiration of the world of men who " go down 
 to the sea in ships" by the beauty of their lines, 
 their buoyant grace, and their capacity to carry 
 great spreads of canvas, were racing against 
 
PIOXEER D.IVS J.\ SAX FRANCISCO. 
 
 557 
 
 lime arountl Cape Hum to lainloii the wharves 
 of San Francisco cargoes for which tliere might 
 be no market, but at rates of freight tliat nearly 
 paid the tost of the sliip in a single run. Those 
 were the days of the iiray /uix/i'and the Gray- 
 lioiuiil^ the Whiti Si/Uii//vLm\ the Flyiii;^ Cioiii/, 
 the 71///rv//and the 7'r<hie /////(/, and the St>7- 
 cn-i::,noJthc Stas — true couriers and wild riders 
 of tile main, that made the very storms their 
 servants. 
 
 On Telegrapii Hill — on the very spot where 
 in 1S47 our citi/en of W-rba lUiena IkhI stood 
 
 was made in not less than seven or eight days, 
 '* fares, $30 cabin, $20 deck, and $5 extra for 
 berths; meals on board, $2." In 1.S35 a good 
 boat ( ould make the distan« e in half a day. 
 
 It is usual to speak of the conllagrati(;ns 
 which from time to lime laid waste the most 
 l)opulous and bustling jiarts of San Francisco 
 as the "great fires," because any one of them 
 sufficed to fill the measure of a citizen's con- 
 ception of ruthless devastation and dismay. 
 There were six of them, beginning with that 
 of Christmns Kve. 1^4*). Then thin boards 
 
 I.nlX".ING-IIOlSK INTEUl 
 
 wat( hing the in( oniing of the Brooklyn with her 
 dispen.sation of Mormons — Messrs. Sweeny 
 and Baugh erected early in 1849 a lookout, or 
 observatory, whi« h commanded the a])])roach 
 and entran( e to the (iolden date, and by means 
 of a code of signals kept their patrons of the 
 city informed of the apj)roach of vessels of 
 every class, from coasting craft to man-of-war. 
 .\t a later day a station was established nearer 
 the ocean,which transmitted earlier intelligence 
 by signaling the inner telegraph-house. 
 
 Intil the fall of 1849 small .schooners and 
 launches had afllorded the only means of navi- 
 gation acro.ss the bay and up the Sacramento 
 and San Joa<iuin rivers; but in .September a 
 little iron steamer called the I^oncer began to 
 ply the waters of the Sacramento, and was 
 shortly followed bv the J/////, the steam-pro- 
 peller .l/tAV///.and ihe Sriiafor. At first the run 
 
 ami lath, ami tlimsy cotton cloth, and painted 
 canvas, were licked up like tinder by the lap- 
 ping tongues of flame. The fire began in Den- 
 nison's Exchange, on the I'la/a, in the early 
 morning. That notable landmark of the For- 
 ty-niner, the Parker House, and all the build- 
 ings on Kearney street between Clay antl 
 \N a.shington streets, were obliterateil from the 
 map «)f the city. It was the work of minutes, 
 ami the lo.ss was a million. On May 4, 1850. 
 the second great fire broke out on the site of 
 the first, and swept away in its amazing rush 
 and roar three entire blocks in the heart of the 
 « ity. This time the loss was four millions. In 
 the first conflagrati«»n it was the gamblers who 
 had chiefly sufi'ered; now it was the merchants. 
 Six weeks later, on the 14th of June, when the 
 wintl was high, the entire district l)ounded by 
 Clav and California streets, Kearney street and 
 
558 
 
 PIONEER DA YS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 II|ll»ll(;il{lli;i|ia!ll]llill'[l{lli!lillllllllllllllllfl!llllll'll;i!II(llilli1i<il]ll<1llllf]J1ll|l!llll!!(l,''l|lllliL^^ 
 
 FREDERICK J. BILUNGS. 
 
 the water's edge, was swept away, buildings and 
 goods being almost totally consumed. 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1851, the anniversary 
 of the second great fire, the city was desolated 
 by a conflagration which is remembered as the 
 great fire. It made a jest and mock of " fire- 
 proof" buildings, and iron frames and doors 
 and shutters curled up in the flames like card- 
 board. It began late on the night of the 3d, 
 in a store on the south side of the Plaza. The 
 wind rose with the flames, and whirled them 
 south and north ; the streets beneath tlie 
 planking became great flues ; the whole busi- 
 ness part of the city was a roaring furnace ; 
 and the reflection is said to have been visible 
 in the sky at Monterey, a hundred miles away. 
 Ten hours sufficed for the destruction of nearly 
 two thousand houses ; eighteen whole squares, 
 with portions of five others, in the most im- 
 ]:)ortant part of the city, were almost totally 
 obliterated, and the loss was estimated at $12,- 
 000,000. On what had been the streets, men 
 said, " Well, the bay is here, and the people 
 are here, and the placers are left ! " And they 
 went straightway to work antl built a new city, 
 richer, stronger, handsomer than before. Hit- 
 tell says of these fires that they exercised an 
 important influence upon the politics and trade 
 of the city. "The fire of May, 1851, was at- 
 tributed to incendiarism. The amount of proj)- 
 erty exposed in the streets was so great that the 
 
 citizens banded themselves into a committee of 
 vigilance, which soon extended its jurisdiction 
 antl hanged murderers as well as protected 
 property. Merchants put their goods into store- 
 ships, and the harbor was filled with old hulks 
 until 1854, when brick stores, really fire-proof, 
 began to furnish room and safety on shore. 
 Unable to make bricks or cut stone except at 
 terrific cost, orders were sent abroad for incom- 
 bustible building materials. Granite was brought 
 from China or from Quincy, lava from Hono- 
 lulu, and bricks from Sydney, London, and New 
 York." Out ofthe ruin and waste sprang new life, 
 new forces, higher hopes, and nobler endeavors. 
 
 By 1852 the characteristics of a Spanish 
 town had well-nigh disappeared from San Fran- 
 cisco. From Clark's Point to the Rincon, all 
 had become American. The jingHng ranchero, 
 ostentatiously sombrero'd and bespurred, had 
 been superseded by equipages familiar in 
 the Eastern cities ; omnibuses plied between 
 the Plaza and the Mission; the " steam paddy " 
 was busy in Happy Valley; and the sand-hills 
 at the back of the town were being dumped 
 into the water-lots in front. The city was mov- 
 ing bayward, and new streets were growing 
 upon piles. •' Where once floated ships of a 
 thousand tons, now were great tenements of 
 biick securely founded in the solid earth." 
 
 The sleepy little Verba Buena of 1847 had 
 become a metropolis of factories and great 
 
PIONEER DAYS AV SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 559 
 
 stores, of schools aiul thurchcs, of newspapers invested all his means in the sterile saml-lots 
 
 and theaters, of benevolent institutions and of Verba lUiena, and waited for the coming 
 
 public works, of stage-coaches and mails, ex- of the great city he foresaw, 
 
 presses and steamers ; a city of brilliant bustle The records of that parent society were dc- 
 
 and magnitu ent tlissipations. lUit a dollar was stroyed in the great fire of May, 185 i, with the 
 
 no longer paid for a pill, nor ten dollars for an exception of one book containing the consti- 
 
 ounce ofcarpet-ta( ks; for everybody was try- tution and (he signaturesof a few members. 'I he 
 
 ing to sell, antl everywhere was glut in sj^ite of officers, w ho had been chosen to serve atwelve- 
 
 tlie ravenous extravagance and waste. Auc- month,were compelled by thcexigcnciesof that 
 
 tioneers tossed off .shii)-loads of merchandise memorable period of disaster, danger, and tur- 
 
 fora song, and the enormous loss fell upon the moil to hold their res])e( tive places for three 
 
 foreign shippers; so '' happy go-lucky " was years; but in the imjjosing demonstration by 
 
 the temper of the hour, and a canter to the which the admission ofCalifornia into the Union 
 
 I'residio or the Mission, or a pii nic- excursion of States was celebrated on the 29th of October, 
 
 to the Contra Costa, was the usual diversion 1S50, the Society of Pioneers appeared in force, 
 
 in the intervals of business. and made a conspicuous impression by their 
 
 In August, 1850, the Society of California moral and intellectual prestige. On the 6th of 
 
 I'ioneers was called into being. mainly through July, 1853. the as.sociation, whi( h owing to the 
 
 the inthience and efforts of Messrs. Howard, local troubles had so long been unable to meet, 
 
 llrannan, Bryant, Wadsworth, Folsom, and was reorganized at the Oriental Hotel, when 
 
 others; and its first appearance as a civic or- Mr. I'rannan was elected {/resident; Messrs. 
 
 ganization, preceding all others in California, I,arkin,Snytler,and Lippincolt,vice-presi«lenLs; 
 
 was in the public obsecjuies a[)pointed to honor and William Tecumseh Sherman, treasurer. The 
 
 the memory of Presitlent Zachary Taylor, on society as at jiresent constituted is a .social and 
 
 the J9th of that month. The officers first benevolent, as well as a historical, scientific , and 
 
 <■• - ^«^- 
 
 
 drnnison's sxchanck and pxrkkr house, ukfokk tub fikk of ubcrmiikk, 1S49. 
 
 elected were Messrs. H oward, president ; Bran- 
 nan and Snyder, vice-presidents ; Bryant, Bar- 
 ker, Kolsom.and Wadsworth, secretaries; and 
 Talbot 11. (ireen, treasurer. .Among these a.s- 
 sociated pioneers Captain Folsotii was a con- 
 spicuous figure. He came to California as a 
 staft-ofiicer in the (juartermaster's department 
 of Stevenson's regiment, and was eventually 
 made chief of that department on the North 
 Pacific coast. With notable foroight, long be- 
 fore the apparition of the golden wizard, he 
 
 literary as.sociation ; and its objects arc to col- 
 lect and preserve information relating to the 
 early settlement and subsecjuent history of the 
 country, and "in all appropriate matters to ad- 
 vance the interests and perpetuate the memory 
 of those whose s;iga( ity ;.nd enterprise induced 
 them to settle in tlie wildernos anil become the 
 founders of a new State." 
 
 In the im|)ressive list of honorary members 
 and distinguished guests who in the i^ast have 
 imparted tli.>,tinction to the meetings of this 
 
560 
 
 PIONEER DA YS IN SAN FRANCISCO. 
 
 liJIiUliiilliil!!^! . i.i i i.. 
 
 PHOTOGRAPHED BY TABER. 
 
 CAPTAIN J. L. FOLSOM. 
 
 m 
 
 most interesting association are to be found the Originally it was a condition of member- 
 names of Generals Sherman, Rosecrans, Wool, ship that the applicant should have arrived in 
 Fremont, Halleck, Schofield, Sutter, and Val- California prior to the ist of January, 1850; 
 lejo, and the Revs. Henry VV. Bellows and but the constitution has since been amended 
 Thomas Starr King. so as to admit the sons of pioneers. 
 
 John Williamson Palmer. 
 
^, 
 
 TlIK CAI.II wKMAS MoVtMENT. (AFTER A UKAWINU IN " PINCH.") 
 
 THE UA'^ An 
 
 COUIO N'T WtIT rOR THC irCAllCII. 
 
 ''I^Ill'i late summer months of 1848 were 
 i- marked by exciting rumors of the discov- 
 ery of gohl in California. The first reports, 
 coming as they did through Mormon chan- 
 nels, were received with suspicion. There was 
 a general concurrence of opinion that the story 
 had been set afloat for the purjiose of Mormon 
 proselytism — in the hope that out of llie army 
 of westward-bound pilgrims which such ru- 
 mors would put in motion a legion of new re- 
 cruits to the Mormon faith might be induced 
 to halt by the way and cast in their temjioral 
 and spiritual fortunes with the.se " latter-day 
 saints" in the infant colony by the margin of 
 the (ireat Salt Lake. But in September, this 
 suspicion in the public mind was effectually 
 dispelled by the receijtt in Washington of 
 official iles|)at<hes from Thomas (). Larkin, — 
 who, under Mexican dominion, had been. \mer- 
 ican consul at Monterey, and who was still 
 a( ting as the ( onlidential agent of the govern- 
 ment, — Mr. Larkin's despatches confirming 
 the reports of the di.scovery of gold. 
 
 In the New England .States the "gold fe- 
 ver "soon became epidemic. .Among the young 
 men there was a burning desire to set out for 
 
 CAl'l'. IIORX AM) COOPI'kA'I I\'l' 
 MIXIXC. IX 49. 
 
 California, inspired i)erhai»s as much by an 
 intense yearning for adventure as by dreams 
 of wealth. To New Englanders, remote from 
 the new El Dorado and to a large extent a 
 maritime people, an ocean voyage pre>ented 
 itself as the most practicable route. 
 
 Naturally enough, the formation of coop- 
 erative associations suggested itself as the 
 mo.st practicable method of proceeding. The 
 first move in this direction was made by Mr. 
 Timothy Rix, a Boston nv rchant. .Although 
 then past middle life, Mr. Rix was full of 
 energy and ambition, and under his leadership 
 was organized " The Boston and California 
 Mining and Trading Joint Stock Company." 
 the fortunes of which this narrative is to chron- 
 icle. A prospectus was issued, ami applications 
 for membership were invited. The shares were 
 placed at three humlred dollars each, and the 
 whole number of members was limited to one 
 hundreil and fifty. The first public notice call- 
 ing attention to the organization brought hun- 
 dreils of applications for membership. The 
 roll was soon filled, and from the overflow 
 new organizations were started, and in due 
 course followed the example of the parent com- 
 I)any. Captain Henry Smith, who had sailed 
 for many years as commander of the vessels 
 of Frederick Tudor, the old Boston menhant 
 who originated the ice trade with the West 
 Indies and southern ports, was chosen to act 
 in the double capacity of president of the com- 
 jiany and commander of a ship, Mr. Rix tak- 
 ing the vice-presidency and the writer being 
 chosen as secretary.' The company was com- 
 posed of men representing every calling in 
 mechaniral and professional life. There were 
 
 1 The Hoard of Directors who wire to have tlic M.^ns. ; John i-.. 1 >ix, oi li..,t<m ; .\biel Carici, >ii 
 
 practical management of the afl^air^ of the company (.Oncoril, \. 11.; K«iwar«l V. .•\l)l)C, of Boston; I.u- 
 
 were Enoch Jaohs, of Chicopee. Mass. ; William A. cius I'lagg, of lioston ; I. C. Whipple, of Concord, 
 
 Kgery, of Uoston ; James L, Bates, of Wcyntouth, N. H. 
 
 579 
 
58o 
 
 CAPE HORN AND COOPERATIVE MINING IN '49. 
 
 graduates of New England universities, and 
 young men whose future was yet undefined 
 by any calling or profession. Of the whole 
 number of the 150 members who composed 
 the expedition, 120 had not passed their thir- 
 tieth year, 85 were twenty-five or under, 33 
 were twenty-one or under, while 12 were not 
 yet " out of their teens." 
 
 The ship finally selected and purchased for 
 
 FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY TA8ER. 
 
 the voyage was the Edivard Everett^ one of 
 the " Medford built " craft for which Boston 
 had long been celebrated. She was a full- 
 rigged ship of about 800 tons burden. She 
 had been built for the European trade, was 
 comparatively new, and ranked as one of the 
 finest ships hailing from Boston. She was 
 spacious between decks and otherwise well 
 adapted for the purpose. 
 
 The organization of this unique expedition, 
 and its approaching departure, was for the time 
 being the chief topic of the day. Mr. Everett, 
 with wise forethought and liberality, presented 
 to the company a well-selected library of his- 
 torical, biographical, and scientific works, ac- 
 companying the gift with a communication 
 expressing the great interest which he in com- 
 mon with the public at large felt in the success of 
 the company and in the part which those who 
 composed it would take in the social and polit- 
 ical organization of the new State which they 
 doubtless would help to found. The Sunday be- 
 fore the ship sailed the members of the company 
 
 attended the Ashburton Place church by special 
 invitation to listen to a sermon by the Rev. Dr. 
 Kirk, on the part that this first expedition from 
 New England was expected to perform in the 
 cause of civilization and religion on the Pa- 
 cific coast. In all circles the prospective de- 
 parture of the '■'■ Edwafd Eirrett Expedition," 
 as it had now come to be known, was an event 
 of rare interest and was the current topic of 
 discussion and speculation. The Edward 
 Everett swung loose from her moorings at 
 the wharf on the evening of January 11, 1849, 
 and dropped down the harbor to an anchorage 
 near Fort Independence, preparatory to put- 
 ting to sea on the morning tide. The harbor 
 was filled with floating ice, and the wind swept 
 across our decks with arctic severity. 
 
 At daybreak on the morning of the 12th the 
 ship was under way and standing out to sea 
 before a fresh and bitterly cold northwester. 
 I pass over the unpleasant first days of the 
 earlier part of the voyage, when the wild win- 
 try weather covered decks and rigging with 
 frozen spray, and two-thirds of the ship's com- 
 pany were prostrated from sea-sickness. The 
 balmier atmosphere of the Gulf Stream and a 
 smoother sea soon brought about a happier con- 
 dition of affairs. The company was organized 
 into messes, and order took the place of the 
 chaos that had unavoidably prevailed for the 
 first few days. Plans were devised for social 
 organization and recreation. The publication 
 of a weekly newspaper, under the title of 
 " The Barometer, or Gold Hunter's Log," was 
 begun and faithfully kept up throughout the 
 voyage. Press and types were wanting, but it 
 was read from manuscript every Saturday to 
 the assembled ship's company, and furnished 
 one of the most prolific sources of amusement 
 of the whole voyage. 
 
 The I St of February found us drifting through 
 the weed-matted surface of the " Sargasso Sea," 
 with hardly wind enough to keep the ship's 
 sails from slatting against her spars. The 
 run off the coast, across the Gulf Stream, and 
 through the Atlantic down to the latitude of 
 the Madeiras, had been a lively one. The wind 
 had been fresh and fair enough to satisfy even 
 the skipper himself From ■^■^P north latitude, 
 down to and through " the Sargasso Sea," it 
 was like a doldrum drift, and welcome was the 
 change when in about 21° north the ship be- 
 gan to feel the influence of the northeast trades. 
 Straight on her course, the wind on her port 
 quarter, with everything set to her main sky- 
 sail, she bowled along day after day until we 
 were within two degrees of the equator. " Run- 
 ning down the trades" was indeed the very 
 poetry of sea-going. It brought men and boys 
 alike on deck, put them fairly on their " sea 
 legs," and made sailors of them in good or bad 
 
582 
 
 CAPE HORN AND COOPERATIVE MINING IN '4Q. 
 
 weather for the remainder of the voyage. On 
 the 13th of February the Edward Everett lay, 
 
 As idle as a painted ship 
 Upon a painted ocean — 
 
 fairly upon the equator. Some three miles 
 away to the northwestward was another ship, 
 which by her rig was unmistakably an Ameri- 
 can craft. Yet so flat was the calm that her 
 signals hung idly against the halyards. A boat 
 was lowered, and a party of us started for an 
 
 '■^;iC?« 
 
 equatorial visit to the stranger. She proved to 
 be the Aurora from Nantucket, an old whaler, 
 worm-eaten and dilapidated in her upper works, 
 sorely afflicted with dry-rot, and looking as 
 though she would not last to reach Cape Horn, 
 much less to round that formidable point and 
 complete her voyage. Compared to the Ed- 
 ward Everett she was a crazy old tub indeed. 
 Months afterward, when our anchor was let go 
 in the harbor of San Francisco, we found our- 
 selves within hailing distance of this same old 
 " blubber-hunter," which had made the port 
 nearly two weeks in advance of us ! She was 
 the type of a class of vessels that were pressed 
 into service during the California excitement, 
 not one of which was regarded as any longer 
 seaworthy, but every one of Avhich eventually 
 made the voyage in safety, many entering port 
 with pumps going, and running directly upon 
 the mud flats of San Francisco harbor only to 
 be used as storeships or broken up by the old 
 junk men for firewood, or for the old iron and 
 the rigging that remained. 
 
 Less than five degrees south of the equator 
 we caught the southeast trades. If the run 
 through the northeast trades had been a pleas- 
 ant episode in the voyage, that upon 
 which we were now entering was a 
 summer idyl of prolonged delight. 
 From the 20th of February to the 12th 
 of March the ship lay on her course with a long 
 line of foam in her wake, stretching away astern 
 in sunny whiteness by day, and brilliant with 
 phosphorescence by night. Nor did we 
 start tack or sheet until latitude 43° south 
 
 SIGHTING AN OLD WHALER. 
 
CAJ'J: //OAX .I.V/> COOPKK.l I n J. MIXING IN 
 
 '49- 
 
 5«3 
 
 .3^ 
 
 X 
 
 m. 
 
 !^ 
 
 IN I I KV H-'H JC M , 
 
 was reached, ami the "trades" had spent their 
 force. The transition from the^e halcyon days to 
 the stormy period whic h followed was abrupt 
 and unexj)ected. On the 13th the wind sud- 
 denly shifted tf) the southwest, and in an hf)ur 
 tlie ship was close-hauled on the wind under a 
 reefed fore-topsail, fore-course and main-top- 
 sail, sjjanker, and jib. .\ rising gale was brewing. 
 " The glass " was tailing rapidly, but still, with 
 watchful eye to winilward and a .somewhat anx- 
 
 ious expression upon his weatherbeaten face, 
 our " skip|)er " held the shij) steady in her 
 course. Still the gale continued to freshen. 
 The ship was tearing through the water with 
 her lee rail half submerged, when suddenly the 
 wind came down upon us with the force of a 
 tornado, while the ship yet carried canvas 
 enough to insure her being knocked down 
 upon her beam-ends unless suddenly released 
 from the pressure under which she was strug- 
 
584 
 
 CAPE HORN AND COOPERATIVE MINING IN VP- 
 
 gling. And that sudden relief came with the 
 quickness of thought. Her foresail burst like 
 the explosion of a piece of heavy artillery and 
 went away to leeward in shreds. It was now 
 " let go " and " clew up " all along the line and, 
 with everything cast loose and threshing furi- 
 ously in the blast, the good ship righted and 
 came up into the wind preparatory to being 
 made ready for the battle with the elements 
 upon which she was entering. A moment later 
 the roof of the cook's galley was on fire ; the 
 flames and sparks from the wood-work around 
 the smoke-pipe threatened a conflagration, 
 
 (I i;( iM I 111-: 
 
 '\')-) 
 
 which was averted by the courage and cool- 
 ness on the partof a few who bestowed buckets 
 of salt water judiciously upon the flames above 
 — and into the soup below. 
 
 We were now in our first real gale. Soon the 
 ship was lying head to the sea under a close- 
 reefed main-topsail, with just enough of her 
 spanker hauled out from the brails to keep 
 her well balanced. The tempest was howling 
 weirdly through her rigging, while the fast- 
 rising sea, breaking against her weather bow, 
 beat time in thundering unison to the blasts that 
 were lashing its surface into a chaos of flying 
 foam. To look to windward meant to be half 
 blinded bythe driving scud that cut like needles 
 into the face. Fifty feet away from the ship's 
 rail to the leeward the atmosphere was impene- 
 trable. Fast gathering night was adding its 
 dismal quota of horrors to the scene. But not 
 only did the noble ship at once attest her sea- 
 going qualities by her superb behavior, but 
 captain, officers, and crew alike by their mas- 
 terly work won the confidence of the ship's 
 company. Three days later the ship was plow- 
 ing her way southward again with a fair wind 
 and a smooth sea. 
 
 Entering the stormy latitudes of the southern 
 seas, we were welcomed by the cape pigeon 
 and the strong-winged, mild-eyed albatross. 
 Their numbers steadily increased as the ship 
 worked her way to the southward. There is 
 nothing that so relieves the monotony of a 
 sea voyage through these waters as the at- 
 
 tendant presence of these beautiful birds. 
 From the upper Patagonian coast on the 
 Atlantic to the same latitude on the Pacific, 
 they are the sailor's inseparable companions 
 in sunshine and in storm. The eye of the alba- 
 tross has a gentle, human expression, and 
 he who has once sailed over these troubled 
 waters will not be at a loss to understand 
 the lesson of " The Rime of the Ancient 
 Mariner." 
 
 As we drew near the cape the ship was 
 stripped of her " top-hamper." Her upper 
 yards and spars were sent down, and with top- 
 gallant yards yet crossed she was made ready 
 for the rough-and-tumble work to be looked 
 for " off the Horn." On the 29th of March, 
 with the rugged and inhospitable coast of 
 " Tierra del Fuego " lying in full view to the 
 southwest, — the first "landfall" made since 
 leaving Boston harbor, — we entered the Straits 
 of Le Maire. Grim and forbidding the out- 
 line of Staten Land loomed out of the haze on 
 our port beam as the ship drove forward with 
 a free wind, fairly in mid-channel and pointing 
 directly on her course as night shut down 
 upon us. 
 
 At midday on the 30th, when in the latitude 
 of Cape Horn and some seventy-five miles 
 to the eastward of the dreaded locality, the 
 wind suddenly hauled to the southwest and 
 came out with hurricane fury. The long, heavy 
 swell from the Pacific swept down upon us 
 with irresistible force, and all hands were soon 
 brought to a stern realization that the battle 
 of " doubling Cape Horn " had fairly opened. 
 At noon next day the ship had been blown a 
 hundred miles to the eastward before the gale 
 and the heavy seas that accompanied it. Nor 
 did the next day's work show a gain of half a 
 dozen miles of the ground thus lost. It was a 
 contest between a good ship and good sea- 
 manship on the one side, and the terrific storms 
 and yet more terrific seas that beset this bleak 
 and inhospitable region. 
 
 Perhaps no merchant ship had ever left port 
 better officered and better manned than this. 
 Her commander was an old-time mariner, and 
 a navigator who could read his way along the 
 trackless deep with unerring accuracy. " Bow- 
 ditch's Navigator " was his Bible. He fairly 
 reveled in lunar observations and exulted over 
 the necessities of storm and cloudy stress by 
 day that forced him to exhibit hisskill at double 
 altitudes of the fixed stars by night. And when 
 for a succession of days and nights no gleam 
 from sun, moon, or stars had been visible to 
 light the way along our course, his " dead 
 reckoning " was never at fault, nor was the 
 position of the ship ever marked wrong uijon 
 the chart. One could lie down to sleep at night 
 in the serene confidence that wherever " the 
 
CAPE HORN AXD COOPER ATI VE Af/X/Xc; /X '49. 
 
 585 
 
 old man " had dotted the location of the ship 
 at each recurring midday there she must l)e. 
 
 The first officer of the ship was Mr. W'ilham 
 ^'. \\ lUs. He was a young man of rare phys- 
 ical perfection, a great-grandson of the rev- 
 olutionary patriot Samuel Adams, and was 
 worthy of his illustrious ancestry. His voyage 
 in the Edward Everett closed his maritime 
 career. Entering the profession of journalism 
 in San Francisco, he became in after years one 
 of the most popular writers for the daily press 
 in that city. He enriched the literature of the 
 present day by his '• Life and I'ublic Services 
 of Samuel Adams" antl his ''Adventures in 
 I londuras." ( ientle and refined by nature, he 
 was none the less a true sailor when in com- 
 mand on a ship's deck. Above the roar of 
 the sea and the blast of the tempest, in the 
 wildest night oft" t'ape Horn, his voice rang 
 <tut loud and clear without the aid of a trum- 
 l)et, giving his orders with precision and cool- 
 ness in a tone that was never misunderstood 
 or tiisobeyed. 
 
 The second and ihirtl officers of the ship, 
 Mr. Hriard and Mr. I'ike, were " old sea-dogs " 
 of the truest type. In the forecastle there were 
 few who had not long before been graduated in 
 their calling as "mates" and "second mates." 
 and were seeking this method of working their 
 passage to " the land of gol«l." 
 
 Not a day nor an hour |)assc«l for weeks when 
 the ship was not struggling under short and 
 Vol. \LII.— 7^. 
 
 clo.se-reefed canvas. Half the time her decks 
 were swept by tremenilous seas, and not a true 
 or reliable observation was to be liad from the. 
 day of her passage through the Straits of Le 
 Maire until the cape had been fairly roundeil 
 anil the ship's head pointed northward. 
 
 On the 2 ist of April, having battled our way 
 around the cape and up to 51° south latitude 
 on the I'ai illc side, the wind came out from the 
 southward antl we " sijuared away " for \'alpa- 
 raiso. The .ship had not lo.st an inch of canvas 
 or a sjtar nor parted a rope in her long strug- 
 gle. With everything .set alow and aloft, and 
 studding-sails boomed out to jwrt and star- 
 board, she sailed as she had never sailed before 
 on this voyage; nor was sail shortene<l until, 
 on the 29th of April, she ran into calm weather 
 oft" Valparaiso harbor. 
 
 But two .ships of the California fleet had ar- 
 rived at Valparaiso before us. 'I'hese were the 
 Haltimore-built clippers, — famous in their day 
 for speed. — the Gray Jia\;lf and the Gray- 
 houtid. The ship .Vfontrdil from Boston ar- 
 rived a few hours later with 93 pas.sengers. The 
 barks Victory, 90 days from New York with 30 
 pa.ssengers, and the Josrf</iinr, 108 days from 
 New York, arrived later in the (lay ; the ship Or- 
 />/inis,r)o days from New \'ork with 195 passen- 
 gers, and the brig David Hrnshau\ from New 
 ^'ork with 7 passengers. rea«hing |»orton thefol- 
 lowing day. With 500 .\mencans thus turned 
 loose upon the streets and hiilsofthisold Spanish 
 
586 
 
 CAPE HORN AND COOPERATIVE MINING IN '49. 
 
 city after more than three months at sea, there 
 was doubtless more bustle and animation in 
 Valparaiso than had ever been witnessed before. 
 It was a visit full of novelty and interest to this 
 small army of gold hunters. " Knowing that 
 we were going to a land where Spanish was 
 spoken," writes a member of the Edward Ev- 
 erett company, " we all studied ' Ollendorff's 
 New Method of Learning to Read, Write, and 
 Speak Spanish ' ; and for several days before 
 our arrival at Valparaiso no other language was 
 spoken on board the ship. We were much sur- 
 
 A J-ERIL OF THE PACIFIC. 
 
 prised on going ashore that the people did not 
 understand their own language." However, 
 means of communication were established, suf- 
 ficient to enable us to supply our wants and to 
 minister to our pleasure. 
 
 On the 4th of May all but two of the fleet 
 were again under way, if a drift seaward with 
 not air enough to prevent a ship's canvas from 
 hanging idly against her masts can be so called. 
 And drift, drift, drift it was, for days and days, 
 the coast of Chili lying along in full view to the 
 northward and eastward, and the ship rolling 
 helplessly from side to side in the long, heavy 
 swells of the glassy ocean. " They that go 
 down to the sea " in steamships, in these days 
 of ocean steam-navigation, do not realize the 
 luxury of a storm at sea as compared with the 
 helplessness of a sailing ship in a dead calm, 
 when every roll threatens to jerk the spars out 
 of her and leave her a helpless wreck. 
 
 Two days out from Valparaiso we had a 
 strange experience. I'he ships Motitrcal and 
 Edward Everett drifted into uncomfortable 
 proximity, each moment visibly lessening the 
 distance by which they were separated and 
 increasing the prospect that the vessels would 
 grind each other to splinters. A collision seemed 
 inevitable, and men stood facing each other 
 on the decks with pale faces and a common 
 expression of infant helplessness. And all 
 
 the while the sea 
 was glassy, the 
 sky placid, and 
 the atmosphere 
 beaming with se- 
 renity. As they 
 approached to 
 within half a 
 ship's length, 
 the Everett, as 
 though impelled 
 by a mysterious 
 power, seemed 
 to forge ahead 
 slowly, while the 
 bow of the Mo//- 
 ireal swung as 
 slowly to star- 
 board, until, with 
 her jib-boom 
 fairly over our 
 port quarter and 
 for a moment foul 
 with our spanker 
 gaff, she swung 
 clear and the 
 two ships drifted 
 apart and out of 
 danger to either. 
 It was a hair- 
 breadth escape. 
 
CAPE HORX A XI) COOrERATIll: M/N/XG fX 
 
 '49- 
 
 5«7 
 
 
 41*^ 
 
 m^' 
 
 V\u 
 
 Crossing iIr- c(|iiatf)r on the 
 5thof June, uc continued to drift 
 la/ily northward, until \vc took 
 the northeast trades about 14'^ 
 north latitude and were soon 
 hastening towartis the end of 
 tlie voyage. 
 
 I'reparations were now com- 
 menced for active work on our 
 arrival. The ship's cargo, in ad- 
 dition to the company's stores, 
 consisted mainly of lumber, 
 llour, and the engine and boiler 
 for a small steamer, which, with 
 wise forethought, had been 
 jijanned before leaving IJoston 
 to be built by the company and 
 run upon the Sacramento River, 
 Lumber was hoisted on deck, 
 the frame of the boat was got 
 out and fitted together, several 
 barges were l)uilt,and tents were 
 made. Kor the remainder of 
 tile run we had an animated 
 company. The engine and boiler 
 of the little steamer were hoisted 
 on deck, set up, and connected. 
 Steam was gotten up and the 
 engine run for some hours and 
 put in perfect order. While thi> 
 operation was going ontheclip- 
 ])er ship An/ii/cit was signaled, 
 liound to San Francisco, where 
 she arrived on the first of July 
 and reported that she had i)assed 
 \.\\k:. Edward Evftttt making her 
 way to port under steam I — a 
 report which was gravely i^ub- 
 lished in the next day's issue of 
 the ".Mta California," the only 
 newsjjaper then published in 
 California. 
 
 As we approached the coast 
 the fourth of July was at hand. 
 
 It was celeljrated with noisy displays of patriot- myriads of cormorants, gulls, and pelicans that 
 ism and ap|)roj)riate ceremonies. 'Ihe orator of nested and hatched their broods upon it. The 
 
 A FOIKTH OF JULY OKATIOS. 
 
 the day, .NIr. Louis R. Lull, delivered an ad 
 dress, and a poem written on the occasion by 
 Rev. Jcjseph .\. I'>enton was read by him. 
 
 It was afternoon of the 6th of July when we 
 entered the Golden Gate. The hills about the 
 bay were dressed in the arid garb of the dry 
 midsummer. Until relegra])h Hill was rounded 
 
 hills of Contra Costa and the plains at their feet 
 were rank with wild oats, and were the pasture 
 ground of herds of cattle. Here and there 
 across the broad and beautiful bay the white- 
 washed walls of an adobe ranch house were 
 visible. Roun<ling Telegraph Hill, however, 
 there was a change of scene. As the harbor 
 
 ni; habitation or sign of civilization was visible of San I-"rancisco opened up before us a whole 
 
 fleet of vessels of every class and description 
 were seen at anchor. Clearly some kind of 
 tali>man was drawing hither the commerce of 
 the world, although on shore, as viewed from 
 the shi|)'sdeck, one saw but a few adobe build- 
 ings, relics of Me.xican methods and habits, 
 some small wooden structures here and there, 
 
 save the dilapidated earthworks at Fort I'oint 
 and the few crumbling adobe buildings that 
 then constituted "the Presidio," or old Mex- 
 ican military post. Alcatraz Island, now cov- 
 ered with fortifications and barracks and 
 crowned with a lighthouse at its summit, was 
 then naked and white with the guano of the 
 
588 
 
 ^**r^»*f. "■■"■ J>..r'mil^-^' 
 
 CAPE HORN AND COOPERATIVE MINING IN Vp- 
 
 safely estimated that ninety-five per cent, of 
 the "Forty Niners" who had then arrived, 
 and were still arriving, in California were 
 animated by this sentiment. For at that time 
 the country, with its arid and uninviting as- 
 pect, presented few or no attractions for per- 
 manent residence. Much less did it then 
 exhibit any of the evidences of the resources 
 of soil and climate which the subsequent forty 
 years of American energy and enterprise have 
 developed. 
 
 If the gold fever had become epidemic 
 along the Atlantic border and throughout the 
 west, here it was raging with an all-consuming, 
 burning fury, attacking all ahke, and making 
 eventually hapless victims of many. Our own 
 ship's company were no exception to the rule. 
 The sailors left the ship an hour after her 
 anchors were down, and only the community 
 of interest which bound us together prevented 
 a stampede of everybody. Some days elapsed 
 before a plan of proceeding could be agreed 
 upon. Our spare lumber, of which we had 
 
 
 GLANu ISLANDS, !■ KOM THE STEAMER " COLUMULS." 
 
 and tents large and small dotting the hillsides 
 and beach. 
 
 Lanchng on the rocks at Clark's Point, a 
 spur of Telegraph Hill (for no wharf then ex- 
 isted), we skirted along the cove round into 
 the center of the town, then fairly embraced 
 within the space now covered by the few 
 blocks bordering upon the Plaza or Portsmouth 
 Square. A locality more replete with bustle 
 and excitement than this then was never ex- 
 isted. Gambling and gamblers were in full pos- 
 session of the field. Tents were crowded with 
 people surrounding the tables where the Mexi- 
 can game of " monte," and other so-called 
 banking games were in full blast. These were 
 the first and most conspicuous features of the 
 scene. The mercantile establishments were 
 thronged with men fitting out for " the dig- 
 gings." Activity prevailed everywhere, occa- 
 sioned mainly by the innumerable expeditions 
 and squads of men about to depart for the 
 mining region. For aside from the gambling 
 fraternity, and the comparatively few older and 
 wiser heads Avho saw a safer and more profit- 
 able field of operations in the opportunities 
 which existed for trade and speculation in San 
 Francisco, the heart of the multitude was set 
 upon gold-chgging, the "making of a pile," — 
 in the parlance of the day, — and a quick re- 
 turn to the old home again. Indeed, it may be 
 
 •;'*?!' ■■■ 
 
 
 
 ISLAND JUAN KERNANUtZ. 
 
 IHE NoKIH i-OI.NT UK ISLAND SA.\ i A ^L^Ke.AkriA. 
 
 brought a goodly quantity, was readily sold 
 for three hundred dollars per thousand feet, 
 and payment received in gold dust. A con- 
 siderable surplus of saleratus, which by chance 
 happened to be among the ship's stores, found 
 an immediate sale at eight dollars j^er pound. 
 Other commodities were disposed of at simi- 
 lar rates of profit, so that already, in addi- 
 tion to the ship and her remaining stores, 
 boats, barges, steamer, and camp equipments, 
 with rugged health and strength prevailing 
 among the members of the company, the 
 treasury was well stocked with ready funds, 
 and the company was prepared to commence 
 operations. 
 
 It was finally decided that the headquarters 
 of the company should be located at Benicia, 
 on the straits of Carquinez, some thirty-five 
 miles from San Francisco, and on the loth of 
 July the ship got under way for that point, in 
 charge of Captain Harrison, the bay pilot 
 
CAPE irORX A XI) COdPl'.KATnr. MIXIXG IX '4<;. 
 
 589 
 
 <tf tliat (lay. Hcforc niglufall she was safely 
 inooreil alongside the marsh, in front of the 
 point at which the city of IJenicia at that time 
 was rx/^r/c'i/ to rise and rival San Francisco in 
 wealth and importance. 
 
 Preparations were immediately made for the 
 transportation of the main body of the < om- 
 pany up the Suramentcn tn roiitr to the min- 
 ing region, while a sufficient number — and 
 among them the best mechanics of the com- 
 ])any — were to be left behind to set up and 
 launch the steamer. The next day the expt<li- 
 tion started up the river. It consi.sted of four 
 barges and two surf boats, all dee|)ly laden 
 with men and stores. The little tlotilla sailed 
 
 upon the right bank of the stream. 'I'he mem- 
 ory of that night will be vivid in the mind of 
 the last survivor of those who shared its mi.s- 
 eries, though he live to round out a century of 
 existence. The atmos|)here was <lense with 
 the mo.st v(»racious breed of moscpiitoes. It 
 was a night of purgatorial penance, and deej) 
 was the rejoicing when morning dawiieil and 
 we were again afloat. 
 
 The waters of the Sacramento were then 
 clear and uncontaminated by the mining de- 
 bris that subsecjuentiy made it a muddy and 
 shallow stream. Its banks were fringed with 
 trees, shrubs, and climbing plants fairly tropic al 
 in their luxuriance. Every bend in the silent 
 
 .Mull I UN I lit iAuK-V-iH-MU KlVliK. 
 
 away up the straits into Suisun Hay. The true 
 channel through this bay was at that time not 
 markcilbybuoysorbeaconsby whi< hit( ouldbe 
 followed. Mud banks existed in all directions, 
 and these we were soon successful in locating. 
 Half the time the boats were aground, and 
 half filled with water from the spray of the sea 
 that broke over them as they were lifted and 
 thumped upon the soft mud shoals. The pas 
 sage across this troublesome sheet of water was 
 at length safely effected, however, and the little 
 fleet entered a broad estuary that opened out 
 before it, only to find, an hour or two later, 
 that we were a.scending the San Joacjuin in- 
 stead of the Sacramento River. Heating our 
 way back we at last rea< hed the entrance to 
 the Sacramento, ami encamped for the night 
 
 river brought a new revelation of solitude — 
 beautiful elTects of foliage and placid waters, 
 witli the distant Sierras dimlv outlined in the 
 hazy atmosphere. I'here was no sign of hu- 
 man habitation until, as we rountled a bentl in 
 the river, the tents and shanties of Sacramento 
 came into view. 
 
 The city of Sacramento was at this time but 
 little more than a busy, thriving camp, along 
 the river and on the line of what is now I-'n^nt 
 .street, liack of this was a light growth of tim- 
 ber whi( h shut off the view of the country be- 
 yond. Heaps of merchandise were .scattered 
 along the river bank. Teams of ever)' descrip- 
 tion and pack trains were constantly loading and 
 departing for the mines. Places where business 
 was being carried on in tents and rough struc- 
 
59° 
 
 CAPE HORN AND COOPERATIVE MINING IN '4g. 
 
 tures alternated with gambling resorts open day 
 and night. Excitement prevailed everywhere 
 and was written in the expression of every face. 
 The people of these days — as indeed for years 
 afterward — lived at the rate of ten years in 
 one. Proper food was scarce. In a land now so 
 well known to be the most productive in fruits 
 and vegetables of any part of the world, not a 
 fruit tree existed or a garden patch was culti- 
 vated outside of the mission grounds scattered 
 widely apart over the country along the coast. 
 A wagon-load of potatoes and onions arriving 
 from the Mission of San Jose, while we were 
 yet encamped at Sacramento, was speedily dis- 
 posed of at a dollar a pound. Many months 
 elapsed before we again indulged in these 
 luxuries. 
 
 The next movement was to be towards the 
 mines. In what direction we should move, was 
 the momentous question. It was finally decided 
 that the Mokelumne River should be our point 
 of destination; and on the afternoon of the 1 7 th 
 of July, about one hundred and twenty in num- 
 ber, with three teams loaded with stores and 
 camp equipage and drawn by oxen, we took up 
 our line of march. Our road led out through 
 the thin line of timber in the direction of Sut- 
 
 IlIL bALKA.ML..lu KiVLR, ABOVE SACRAMENTO. 
 
 ter's Fort, some two miles back from the Sac- 
 ramento, near the left bank of the American 
 River. Here we camped for the night prepara- 
 tory to a long trip on the morrow. Up to this 
 time the weather had been insufferably hot, 
 though the nights were cold. We were not un- 
 aware, therefore, that a tiresome and oppressive 
 tramp was before us, when on the following 
 morning we broke camp and started on our 
 journey. Our route was in a southeasterly 
 direction straight out over a dry and arid plain, 
 beyond which, some twenty-five miles away, 
 was the Cosumnes River. We did not know 
 that not a drop of water was to be had until 
 the Cosumnes was reached, and, buoyant with 
 
 hope, we started on our march carrying no 
 water. Before ten o'clock every man in the 
 party began to experience the effects of the 
 heat and the pangs of thirst. The heat grew 
 more and more oppressive. We learned after- 
 ward that the mercury at Sacramento was at 
 iiqO in the shade. The sharp, hot gravel 
 crunched under our footsteps, the atmosphere 
 shimmered with heat in all directions. By 
 eleven o'clock the burning plain met the hori- 
 zon on all sides, with not a sign of life or vege- 
 tation, or an indication of water in any direction. 
 Men and animals were panting like dogs just 
 in from the chase. Still there was no time to 
 halt. Relief could only be had by pushing for- 
 ward. The pace was necessarily a slow one. 
 The oxen wearily dragged their heavy loads, 
 while the men kept within easy reach of the 
 wagons, not knowing who might be first to 
 fall from heat and exhaustion. Soon after noon, 
 the line of timber that skirts the Cosumnes ap- 
 peared on the northeastern horizon. Under- 
 neath it was an equally long line of open sky, 
 so that the trees seemed literally to be growing 
 in the air. It was the deceitful mirage that had 
 brought them thus prematurely into view, and 
 many weary miles yet remained to be traversed 
 before they were reached. But the 
 sight inspired new hope and effort 
 and we plodded on. Men now began 
 to give out, and these were lifted upon 
 the wagons. The older and stronger 
 men of the party were first to suc- 
 cumb; "the boys" still held out. 
 At length, late in the afternoon we 
 drew near the river. As the head 
 of the straggling column reached its 
 banks there was a rush for the stream ; 
 many threw themselves headlong into 
 the shallow waters, while all drank 
 their fill. The poor fellows on the 
 wagons were lifted tenderly down and 
 taken to the water. Two or three of 
 the number had fallen behind the 
 wagons and were not yet in. Volun- 
 teers carrying water started back and 
 found them prostrate a mile away, in a state 
 of complete collapse. Water revived them, and 
 by the aid of their stronger companions they 
 struggled into camp. But not until long after 
 night had fallen was the camp fire lighted and 
 our supper eaten. 
 
 We cooked our breakfast and broke camp at 
 daylight the next morning and started again on 
 our weary tramp. Some of the party had to 
 be carried on the wagons. But although there 
 were hills to climb and a long march to make 
 on this day's journey, yet there were shade-trees 
 in abundance, and springs here and there along 
 the route, making it comparatively a holiday 
 trip. By noon we were fairly within the "miu- 
 
CAPE HORX AND COOPEKATnE MfXINC; /X V(?. 
 
 SOI 
 
 '■ ■''•«■■ i#^VF9u»' 
 
 ^"^^^A- 
 
 ARRIVAL OF THE "EDWARD EVERETT " AT SACRAMENTO. 
 
 ing region." ( )iir route now lay along the line 
 of what has since come to be known as " the 
 mother lode" of California, and from which 
 millions havesinc eheen extracted in theiiuart/- 
 mining operations that have been and are still 
 being prosecuted upon it. In all California, 
 however, not a blow had yet been struck in 
 quartz-mining, for the "placer diggings" were 
 as yet virgin ground, and ( [uartz operations were 
 unthought of. Before leaving lioston, we had 
 taken into our ])arty a '• i)rofessional " geologist, 
 who passed with us over miles and miles of 
 the " mother lode " without ever suspecting 
 its existence, and was as helpless as the most 
 inexperienced youngster of the party in the 
 hunt for gold when " the diggings " were 
 reached. 
 
 Our party reached the summit of the ridge 
 that constitutes the northern tlescent to the 
 Mokelumne River late in the afternoon. No 
 teams had ever before gone <lown the trail to 
 the river itself, the few gold-seekers who pre- 
 ceded us having carried their stores on " pack 
 animals." \ unicjue method of descent was 
 adopted by us. The oxen were hitched to the 
 rear of the wagons, headed up the hill ; the 
 tongues of the wagons were steered by two 
 strong men ; ropes were rigged out an<l manned 
 on the upperside of the incline and also to assist 
 in "lowering away" when all was ready. Thus 
 with the cart literally before the oxen, and the 
 rudder rigged out forward instead of asteni, and 
 with the strong cattle backing slowly down the 
 
 hill, the descent was fmally accomi)lished, and 
 cam]) was made that night by the -side of the 
 brawling river. 
 
 'I'he next morning the iligging for gold com- 
 menced in earnest. The first dav's journev in 
 the burning heat of the Sacramento valley had 
 prostrated several of the company, however, antl 
 the hospital at once became a ne« essary ad- 
 junct to the as yet chaotic camp. The search 
 among our stores soon revealed the fact that 
 the medicine-chest had been left behind. Lu- 
 dicrous as the fa( t may seem, a box which was 
 supposed to contain the medicines proved to 
 be the outer covering of a carboy of acid which 
 hail been provided by our geologist to test the 
 loatls of gold which it was confidently expected 
 we shoultl soon accumulate. Something had 
 to be done to rectify the blunder immertiately, 
 for several of the men were now in the hospi- 
 tal lent. The writer was detailed to return alone 
 to Sacramento and hasten forward the medi- 
 cines — a trij) successfully accomplished with 
 the aid of a stout little mustang. 
 
 My presence as secretary of the company 
 having nf)w become necessar)- at the ship, still 
 lying at iJenic ia, I returned two days later to 
 Sacramento, and descending the river by a .small 
 boat, reai hed the Fi/u-tini Evrrrlt a day later. 
 Work on the small steamboat had progre.ssed 
 rapidly. The keel had been laid on the 13th 
 of July, and all hands were pushing forward 
 the construction. On the 12th of .August she 
 was successfully launchetl, and swung along- 
 
592 
 
 CAPE HORN AND COOPER A 77VE MINING IN Vp- 
 
 side the ship. Her boiler and machinery 
 were lowered into her, and soon put in place, 
 and on the 15th a trial trip was successfully 
 made, although it cannot be said that the speed 
 was satisfactory. She was loaded, and, com- 
 manded by our first officer, WiUiam V. Wells, 
 with Alfred N. Proctor as engineer and S. P. 
 Barker as assistant, she started on her first voy- 
 age up the river on the 17th of August, 1849. 
 The writer, in company with others, was a pas- 
 senger on board. We reached Sacramento on 
 
 California Mining and Trading Joint Stock 
 Company ceased to exist. 
 
 Out of this whole ship's company not more 
 than thirty remained in California. So far as 
 the writer has been able to ascertain, but fif- 
 teen are living there to-day. The others re- 
 turned again to their Eastern homes, where 
 their subsequent careers, with few exceptions, 
 are unknown. 
 
 Some of the delusions of the time are curi- 
 ous. One ship's company, for example, came 
 
 STEAM GOLD DREDGER ASCENDING THE SACRAMENTO, It 
 
 the early morning of the 19th. The steam 
 whistle was sounded on approaching, and the 
 whole camp was soon assembled upon the river 
 bank to receive us and witness the unique sight 
 of a steamboat on the Sacramento. Such a 
 greeting has seldom been witnessed. The blasts 
 of the whistle and the yelling of the multitude 
 ushered in a day of jollification, in which whisky 
 was the fuel that kept up steam on shore long 
 after the fires had gone out under the boilers 
 of the little Pioneer. 
 
 As a cooperative body, the rest of the story 
 of the Edward Everett company is soon told. 
 Two weeks on the Mokelumne resulted in the 
 unanimous decision that cooperative gold dig- 
 ging was impracticable, and a resolution to 
 disband was adopted. Mr. J. L. Bates, one of 
 the directors of the company, was authorized 
 to return to Benicia, sell the ship, and close 
 up the affairs of the company, while singly and 
 in squads the men scattered, some to hunt 
 for and dig gold on their individual account, 
 others returning to Sacramento and San Fran- 
 cisco soon after, satisfied that they had mis- 
 taken their calling. 
 
 The ship was sold for $30,000 ; the little 
 steamboat was purchased by Simmons, Hutch- 
 inson & Co. for $6000, and soon after was 
 snagged on the Feather River, where it sank. 
 A final dividend of $160 was paid to each 
 member of the company, and the Boston and 
 
 in the expectation of dredging gold from the 
 bottom of the Sacramento River or its branches. 
 They brought with them a large scow, to be 
 propelled by a stern wheel operated by an en- 
 gine in the usual manner. A house, or work- 
 shop, was built over the entire boat, within 
 which was the dredging apparatus, and quar- 
 ters for men who were to operate it, and where 
 they were to divide the proceeds of their labor 
 as the gold was dredged from the bottom of 
 the river. The unique craft steamed up the 
 river and made experiments, which so com- 
 pletely convinced her owners of the absurdity 
 of the scheme that they quietly dismantled and 
 disposed of her. 
 
 This was not more delusive, however, than 
 the attempt to dig gold upon the cooperative 
 principle. It was assumed that a hundred or 
 more men could be called together indiscrimi- 
 nately from every vocation in life, many of 
 whom had never performed a stroke of hard 
 labor, and that all could work in harmony to- 
 gether, some performing more daily labor than 
 others and producing more than others, and 
 all standing on a basis of perfect equality in 
 the division of the combined product. Such 
 was the underlying principle upon which the 
 organization of the Edivard Everetf s company 
 was based. Its brief existence when the min- 
 ing region was reached, and the system of co- 
 operative labor was attempted to be carried 
 
CAPE HORX AXD COOPERATIVE .\r/.\E\(; fX Vp- 593 
 
 into effect, attests its absurdity. It served its In 1850 the arrivals were as follows: 
 
 purpose, perhaps, in bringing alwut a combi- ... - , ,. ,,. „ , „ . „ 
 
 ' .' ff • ' , , £." V I la Ca^ Horn I la Panama hrom Paci/K Ports 
 
 nation of capita and cftort to secure an eco- ^,..^,,,^ ,, ^^^ ^,^,^.^^ ,^^^ j^,^,^.^ ' ^ 
 
 nomical method of reaching Cahfomia, but Females, 561 .. Females, 319 Females, 1522 
 
 l)eyond that it was a detriment to every man i . . 34,522 
 
 who really desired to "try his luck," so to I ; ,!. ,. 2402 
 
 speak, at cold digging. For instead of lea\ - , ><- 1 <- 1 1 1 •/• • 
 
 iig the whole field of the California gold re- j^^J.f. ^'^^' '^^"'"^'^•^ ^'^'-^ clas.s,fication was as fol- 
 gion open to every one of the company, it 
 
 concentrated into one chance the opportuni- From .-Vmcrican and European Ports \ -- 
 
 ties of all. It disgusted the large majority of and r.nnama \ 
 
 the companv with gold digging at the very out- p""'^'" •;^"sip''-'^ -"^'S 
 
 .sent them back to their ordinary voca- From Chili 117 
 
 lions at home or in California. Not one of the From South Sea Islands . 41 
 
 company ever grew rich by gold digging. From I'cru 16 
 
 There was really but little to'choose between '''"'" ^'^'"^ - '5" 
 
 the folly of attetnpting to dreilge gold in 1849 Total , 02 
 from the mud of the Sacramento, and that of 
 
 digging gold in the foothills of the Sierras by Xo reconl exists from whi( h the volume of 
 
 cooperative lal)or. overland travel to California during these years 
 
 Through the years 1849 and 1850, the Cape can be given. Its ratio can be best appro.\i- 
 
 Horn route from the .\tlantic States to Cali- mated ])erhai)s by reference to the records of 
 
 fomia maintained the supremacy overall others, membership of the Society of California Pio- 
 
 but towards thecloseof 1850 the Panama route neers. This organization is made up of those 
 
 gained the ascendancy. From that time on the who arrived in California ])rior to January i, 
 
 voyage "round the Horn" ceased to com- 1850, and their male descendants. From this 
 
 mand any considerable share of travel, and was source the following compilation is made : 
 
 tinallv given over to the famous fleet of Ameri- , , . , . ^ ., 
 
 can clippers so renowned in their dav as fast ^^^^^^ "^^^^ Z'Zt\ v!^ S^n^.*"'" \'^ 
 
 • ' . , . , -_ . . .Members who arrived via I anama . 213 
 
 freight carriers to the Pacihc coast. It is in- Members who arrived overland 208 
 
 teresting to note the relative share of travel by Members who arrived by other routes . 77 
 
 sea which these routes commanded in these ~ — 
 
 early ilays. The only record in existence from °^ 
 
 which information can be obtained is that It thus appears that more than half of these 
 
 which was kept by Mr. Edward S. King, har- as.sociated argonauts made the Cape Horn voy- 
 
 l)or master of San Francisco during that pe- age. The list of " forty-niners" from which this 
 
 riod, the custom house records having been tabulation is made embraces of course but a 
 
 destroyed by the great fire of May 4, 185 1. small portion of those who were eligible to 
 
 This valuable record is now the ])roj)erty of membership had they not long since been 
 
 tlie Society of ( 'alifornia Pioneers in San Fran- gathered to their fathers, or been scattered to 
 
 cisco, and from it the following compilation is other parts of the world, or failed to avail 
 
 made: thenvselves of their ])rivilege. 
 
 ^ ,-o„..^,.„ ,0 „,. .„ ... ,. .. ,.„...^.,^^ It is a remarkable circumstance that out of 
 
 PASSE.NGER ARR1V.\LS BY SEA IN SAN FRANCISCO r, r , i <- . • i 
 
 IN 1849. ^ "t;et of 760 vessels from Amencan ports that 
 
 ... ^ ^ „ ... „ ,- n ■£ n ... sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco in 
 
 k M Laft IfoTH I ;.i /anama. ir.^ui I'aciju Paris. • , , . , 
 
 ,5 597 6489 9217 •^^49-50> "ot one was wrecked or sustained 
 
 any serious disaster on the long and tempes- 
 
 From the ist of July to the 31st of Decem- tuous voyage. Yet this great fleet was largely 
 
 ber the record shows the arrival of male and composeil of old ves.sels that had long been 
 
 female passengers. From this it appears that regarded as unseaworthy. and in many in- 
 
 the number of female passengers during that stances had been condenmed. but whi( h had 
 
 period was as follows : been patched up and pressed into service again 
 
 to meet the exigencies of the occa.sion. Many 
 
 From .Mlantic and Kuropean Ports \ and many a ship entered the Golden Ciate 
 
 and via Panama ^ •> with ])umps which had been almost constantly 
 
 From chih.^^ '^ 72 manned to keep it afloat, and many and many 
 
 From Mexico 70 instead of ( to anch — • run directly 
 
 From South Sea Islands. 2^ UDon the i: ts of Ni IJav. where 
 
 h rom 1 cru IS thj.,. ended their sea-going days by being trans- 
 
 Ir.Mn t hma. . . 8 290 r '' 1 • . 1 u . 1 1 ^ r 
 
 __ formed into storehouses, hotels, or i>oan!ing- 
 
 Toial 599 houses, finally to be broken up by the " old 
 Vol. XLII.— 76-77. 
 
594 
 
 GJ^AV ROCKS AND GRAYER SEA. 
 
 junk " men. The Niatitic, a large, full-rigged 
 ship, that had seen service in every sea, was 
 floated up to what is now the very heart of San 
 Francisco, and there converted into a hotel. 
 Over the gaping wound in her stout oaken side, 
 where a doorway was cut for a public entrance, 
 was inscribed the hospitable legend, " Rest for 
 the weary and storage for trunks." The ship 
 ^/(■^i/Z^? was converted into a saloon and lodging- 
 house, while on the opposite side of the way 
 was the hulk of the brig Euphemia, which had 
 been purchased by the ayuntainieuto, or city 
 council, for a prison, and was the first place for 
 the confinement of criminals which the city of 
 San Francisco owned. Many a ship was de- 
 serted by owners, officers, and crew for the 
 more attractive " diggings." 
 
 The wonder becomes still greater that this 
 vast fleet of vessels — many of them worn 
 and unseaworthy — made the Cape Horn 
 voyage successfully, when it is remembered 
 that most of them made the passage in mid- 
 winter of that stormy region. The average 
 number of days occupied in making the voyage 
 by those which were off the cape in the sum- 
 mer months of that locahty was 153, as against 
 an average of 203 days for those which were 
 there in the winter months. In some instances 
 vessels " sighting " Staten Land, or even the 
 cape itself, would be blown off eastward by 
 the never-ceasing southwest gales, and after 
 six weeks' battling with the storm would again 
 find the same "landfall" to the windward, and 
 actual progress round the bleak headland not 
 yet begun. It was not an unusual experience 
 
 to lie close-hauled to the wind under a single 
 storm staysail for week after week, the ship's 
 rigging covered with icy sleet, her decks half 
 the time covered with hail or buried in water, 
 the sea breaking over her and washing every- 
 thing away not securely bolted or lashed to 
 her decks, the galley flooded with water so 
 that little or no cooking could be done, and 
 " old horse " and " hard tack " the only fare. 
 Add to this the gloom of the long, dark win- 
 ter nights, and the cheerlessness of the short 
 winter days, — the sun breaking through the 
 murky atmosphere low down in the north for 
 an hour or two, perhaps, now and then, — 
 hatches battened down, making life almost 
 unendurable below decks, and discomfort and 
 misery prevailing everywhere, the rolling and 
 pitching of the ship rendering sleep next to 
 impossible and actual rest unattainable, and 
 this condition of things continuing in many 
 instances for a period of two months before 
 the work of " doubling the cape " was accom- 
 plished. The constant sense of danger that no 
 man could fail to realize added misery to the 
 situation yet more unpleasantly appreciable. 
 
 It is an interesting circumstance that every 
 one of these vessels entered the harbor of San 
 Francisco and found an anchorage without 
 the aid of a pilot. It is none the less singu- 
 lar, perhaps, that not until after a pilot system 
 was estabUshed was there a single wreck to re- 
 cord of vessels entering or attempting to enter 
 the Golden Gate. Yet no more competent body 
 of men than these pilots have ever pursued the 
 calling in any part of the world. 
 
 Willard B. EarwelL 
 
 GRAY ROCKS AND GRAYER SEA. 
 
 GRAY rocks, and grayer sea. 
 And surf along the shore - 
 And in my heart a name 
 
 My lips shall speak no more. 
 
 The high and lonely hills 
 
 Endure the darkening year — 
 
 And in my heart endure 
 A memory and a tear. 
 
 Across the tide a sail 
 
 That tosses and is gone — 
 And in my heart the kiss 
 
 That longing dreams upon. 
 
 Gray rocks, and grayer sea, 
 And surf along the shore — 
 
 And in my heart the face 
 That I shall see no more. 
 
 Charles G. D. Roberts. 
 
FEATURi:S 
 
 OF Till-: PROPOSED 
 NATIONAL PARK. 
 
 VOSHMriP: 
 
 HK u|jpcr 'ruolumne Valley is 
 the widest, smoothest, most 
 serenely spacious, and in every 
 way the most (iclightful summer 
 pleasure park in all the high 
 Sierra. And since it is con- 
 nected with Yosemite by two good trails, and 
 with the levels of civilization by a broad, well- 
 graded carriage-road that passes between Yo- 
 semite and Mount Hoffman, it is also the most 
 accessible. It lies in the heart of the high Sierra 
 at a height of from 8500 to 9000 feet above 
 the level of the sea, at a distance of less than 
 ten miles from the northeastern boundary of 
 the Yosemite reservation. It is bounded on 
 the southwest by the gray, jagged, i)ictures(|ue 
 Cathedral range, which extends in a south- 
 easterly direction from Cathedral Peak to 
 Mount Lyell and Mount Ritter, the culmi- 
 nating peaks of the grand mass of icy moun- 
 tains that form the " crown of tiie Sierra " ; 
 on the northeast, by a similar range or spur, 
 the highest peak of which is Mount Conness ; 
 on the east, by the smooth, majestic masses of 
 Mount Dana, Mount Ciibbs, Mount Ord, and 
 others, nameless as yet, on the axis of the 
 main range ; and on the west by a heaving, 
 billowy mass of glacier-polished rocks, over 
 which the towering masses of Mount Hoff- 
 man are seen. Down through the open sunny 
 levels of the valley tlows the brigiu Tuolumne 
 River, fresh from many a glacial fountain in 
 the wild recesses of the peaks, the highest of 
 which are the glaciers that lie on the north 
 sides of Mount Lyell and Mount .McClure. 
 
 .\Iong the river are a series of beautiful 
 glacier meadows stretching, with but little 
 interrui)tion, from the lower end of the valley 
 to its head, a distance of about twelve miles. 
 These form charming sauntering grounds from 
 which the glorious mountains may be enjoyed 
 as they look down in divine serenity over the 
 majestic swaths of forest that clothe their bases. 
 Narrow strips of pine woods cross the meadow- 
 carpet from side to sitle, and it is somewhat 
 roughened here and there by groves, moraine 
 boulders, and dead trees brought ilown from 
 the heights by avalanches ; but for miles and 
 miles it is so smooth and level that a hundred 
 horsemen may ride abreast over it. 
 
 The main lower portion of the meadow is 
 about four miles long and fnnu a quarter to 
 C56 
 
 half a mile wide ; but the width of the valley 
 is, on an average, about eight miles. Tracing 
 the river we fmci that it forks a mile above the 
 Soda Springs, which are situated on the north 
 bank opposite the point where the Cathedral 
 trail comes in — the main fork turning south- 
 ward to Mount I. yell, the other eastward to 
 Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs. Along both 
 forks strips of meadow extend almost to their 
 heads. The most beautiful portions of the 
 meadows are spread over lake basins, which 
 have been filled up by deposits from the nver. 
 \ few of these river-lakes still exist, but they 
 are now shalKnv and are rajjidly apjjroaching 
 extinction. The sod in most places is exceed- 
 ingly fine and silky and free from rough weeds 
 and bushes; while charming flowers abound, 
 especially gentians, dwarf <laisies, ivesias, and 
 the pink bells of dwarf vaccinium. On the 
 banks of the river and its tributaries Ca.ssiope 
 antl iJryanthus may be found where the sod 
 curls over in bosses, and about piles of boul- 
 ders. The principal grass of these meadows is 
 a delicate Calamagrostis with very slender 
 leaves, and when it is in flower the ground 
 seems to be covered with a faint purple mist, 
 the stems of the spikelets being so fine that 
 they are almost invisible, and offer no appre- 
 ciable resistance in walking through them. 
 •Mong the edges of the meadows beneath the 
 pines and throughout the greater part of the 
 valley tall ribbon-leaved gra.s.ses grow in abun- 
 dance, chiefly Hromus, Triticum, and Agrostis. 
 In October the nights are frosty, antl then 
 the meadows at sunrise, when every leaf is 
 laden with crystals, are a fine sight, ihe days 
 are warm and calm, and bees and butterflies 
 continue to waver and hum about the late- 
 blooming flowers until the coming of the 
 snow, usually late in November. Storm then 
 follows storm in close succession, burying the 
 meadows to a depth of from ten to twenty I'eet, 
 while magnificent avalanches descend through 
 the forests from the laden heights, depositing 
 huge piles of snow mixed with uproote<l trees 
 and boulders. In the open sunshine the snow 
 lasts until I une, but the new seas<jn's vegetation 
 is not generally in bloom until late in July. 
 Perhaps the best time to visit this valley is in 
 •Vugust. The snow is then melted from the 
 woods, and the meadows are dry and warm, 
 while the weatlier is mostly sunshine, reviving 
 
THE WOMEN OF THE FRENCH SALONS. 
 
 65s 
 
 learning, the courtly accomplishments of 
 Grimm ; the gaiety and originality of D'Hol- 
 bach, who had " read everything and forgotten 
 nothing " ; the sparkling conversation of the 
 most finished and scholarly diplomats in Eu- 
 rope, many of whom we have already met at 
 the dinners of Mme. Geoffrin. They discuss 
 economic questions, politics, rehgion, art, lit- 
 erature, with equal freedom and ardor. They 
 are as much divided on the merits of Gliick's 
 " Armida " and Piccini's " Roland " as upon 
 taxes, grains, and the policy of the government. 
 The gay little Abbe Galiani brings perennial 
 sunshine with the inexhaustible wit and viva- 
 city that lights his clear and subtle intellect. 
 " Messieurs les philosophes, you go too fast," 
 he said. " 1 begin by saying that if I were pope 
 I would put you in the Inquisition, and if I 
 were king of France, into the Bastille." He saw 
 the drift of events; but if he reasoned like a phi- 
 losopher he laughed like a Neapolitan. What 
 matters to-morrow if we are happy to-day ! 
 
 The familiar notes and letters of these clever 
 people picture for us a little world with its 
 small interests, its piques, its loves, its friend- 
 ships, its quarrels, and its hatreds. Diderot, 
 who refused for a long time to meet Mme. 
 d'Epinay, but finally became an intimate and 
 lasting friend, touches often, in his letters to 
 Sophie, upon the pleasant informality of La 
 Chevrette, with its curious social episodes and 
 its emotional undercurrents. He does not for- 
 get even the pigeons, geese, ducks, and chick- 
 ens, which he calls his own. Pouf, the dog, has 
 his place here too, and flits often across the 
 scene, a tiny bit of reflected immortality. There 
 is something half pathetic in these faded mis- 
 sives, with their little freight of human joys and 
 sorrows. 
 
 Mme. d'Epinay aided Grimm in his " Corre- 
 spondance Litteraire " ; wrote a treatise on edu- 
 cation, which had the honor of being crowned 
 by the Academie Frangaise; and, among other 
 things of more or less value, a novel, which 
 was not pubhshed until long after her death. 
 With many gifts and attractions, she seems to 
 have been a woman of weak and undecided 
 character, without sufficient strength of moral 
 fiber to sustain herself with dignity under the 
 unfortunate circumstances which surrounded 
 her. She was essentially emotional, without 
 being spiritual. Her education had not given 
 her the worldly tact and address of Mme. 
 Geoffrin, and her salon never had a wide ce- 
 lebrity; but, in a quiet and intimate way, it 
 was one among the numberless forces which 
 were gathering and gaining momentum to cul- 
 minate in the great tragedy of the century. 
 
 Mme. d'Epinay did not live to s,ee the catas- 
 trophe. Worn out by a life of suffering and ill 
 health, she died in 1783. 
 
 But whatever her faults and weaknesses may 
 have been, the woman who could retain the de- 
 voted affection of so brilHant and versatile a 
 man as Grimm for twenty-seven years, who 
 was the Hfelong friend and correspondent of 
 Galiani and Voltaire, and the valued cojifidante 
 of Diderot, must have had some rare attrac- 
 tions of mind, heart, or character. 
 
 While the group of iconoclasts who formed 
 the nucleus of the philosophical salons was 
 airing its theories and enjoying its increasing 
 vogue there was another circle which played 
 with the new ideas more or less as a sort of intel- 
 lectual pastime, but was aristocratic au fond, 
 and carefully preserved all the traditions of the 
 old noblesse. Here too one met the philosophers 
 and men of letters, but they did not dominate; 
 they simply flavored these coteries of rank and 
 fashion. In this age of esprit no salon was 
 complete without its sprinkling of literary men. 
 We meet the shy and awkward Rousseau even 
 in the exclusive drawing-room of the clever 
 and witty but critical Marechale de Luxem- 
 bourg, who presides over a world in which the 
 graces rule — a world of fine tone, of elegant 
 manners, of etiquette, and of forms. He dines 
 daily with her princely guests at Montmorency, 
 reads to them " La Nouvelle Helo'ise " or 
 " Emile," and, in spite of his democratic the- 
 ories, feels greatly flattered by their friendly 
 courtesies, though never quite at ease. But he 
 is no more than a passing interest to this model 
 of the amenities, though by no means of the 
 virtues, who aids and patronizes him because 
 he amuses her and brings a certain charm of 
 freshness into her artificial life. 
 
 A rival of this brilliant salon, and one of the 
 most conspicuous of its day, was that of the 
 Princesse de Conti at the Temple. We have 
 a direct glimpse of this famous circle, in all its 
 charming informality, through an interesting 
 picture at Versailles, in which the oldest fami- 
 lies in France appear side by side with a few 
 scientists and men of letters. The figures are 
 supposed to be portraits. In the midst of the 
 group the little Mozart, whose precocious 
 genius was then delighting Europe, sits at the 
 harpsichord. The vivacious Comtesse de Bouf- 
 flers, the Idole of the Temple and the lifelong 
 friend of the Prince de Conti, is the animat- 
 ing spirit here. Among others are Mme. de 
 Luxembourg, Mme. de Mirepoix, Mme. de 
 Beauvau, the Comtesse d'Egmont, President 
 Henault, Mairan, and Pont de Veyle, all 
 noted names in P'arisian society. 
 
 Amelia Gere Mason. 
 
FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED YOSFAfnE NATIONAL PARK. 657 
 
 I Iw UULIMM. M1^A1JLIVV:> Willi Ml II N T UANA AM< 
 
 and exhilarating in quality ; and the few clouds 
 that risL- and the showers tliey yield are only 
 enough for freshness, fragrance, and beauty. 
 
 Tile groves about the Soda Springs are fa- 
 vorite cami)ing-grounds on account of the 
 pleasant-tasting, ice-cold water of the springs, 
 charged with carbonic acid, and because of the 
 fine views of the mountains acnws the meadow 
 — the Olacier Monument, Cathedral Peak, 
 ( atheilral Spires, Unicom Peak, and their many 
 nameless companions rising in grand beauty 
 above a noble swath of forest that is growing 
 on the left lateral nxjraine of the ancient 'Puol- 
 
 imine C'dacicr, which, broad and deep and far- 
 reaching, exerted vast inlhience on the scenery 
 of this portion of the Sierra. But there are fine 
 camping-grounds all along the meadows, and 
 one may move from grove to grove every day 
 all summer enjoying a fresh home and find- 
 ing enough to satisfy e\ery roving desire for 
 change. 
 
 There arc four capital excursions to be 
 made from here — to the summits of Mounts 
 Dana and T.yell ; to Mono Lake and the vol- 
 canoes, through liloody Canon ; and to the 
 great Tuolumne Canon as far as the foot of the 
 
 Vol. XL. — 87. 
 
658 FEATURES OF THE PROFOSED YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. 
 
 main cascades. All of these are glorious, and dom hidden by irregular foregrounds. As you 
 sure to be crowded with joyful and exciting gradually ascend, new mountains come mto 
 experiences; but perhaps none of them will be sight, enriching the landscape; peak rismg 
 remembered with keener delight than the days above peak with its individual architecture, 
 spent in sauntering in the broad velvet lawns and its masses of fountain snow m endless 
 
 variety of position and light 
 and shade. Now your atten- 
 tion is turned to the moraines, 
 sweeping in beautiful curves 
 from the hollows and caiions 
 of the mountains, regular in 
 form as railroad embank- 
 ments, or to the glossy waves 
 and pavements of granite 
 rising here and there from 
 the flowery sod, polished a 
 thousand years ago and still 
 shining. Towards the base 
 of the mountain you note 
 the dwarfing of the trees, 
 until at a height of about 
 11,000 feet you find patches 
 of the tough white-barked 
 pine pressed so flat by the ten 
 or twenty feet of snow piled 
 ui)on them every winter for 
 centuries that you may walk 
 over them as if walkinK on a 
 
 shaggy rug. And, if curious 
 about such things, you may 
 discover specimens of this 
 hardy mountaineer of a tree, 
 not more than four feet high 
 and about as many inches in 
 diameter at the ground, that 
 are from two hundred to four 
 hundred years old, and are 
 still holding on bravely to 
 life, making the most of their 
 short summers, shaking their 
 tasseled needles in the breeze 
 right cheerily, drinking the 
 thin sunshine, and maturing 
 their fine purple cones as if 
 they meant to live forever. 
 The general view from the 
 
 VIEW OF CATHEDRAL I'EAK FROM THE WEST, ABOVE LAKE TENAYA. 
 
 summit is one of the most ex- 
 tensive and sublime to be 
 found in all the range. To the 
 eastward you gaze far out over 
 
 by the river, sharing the pure air and light the hot desert plains and mountains of die 
 
 with the trees and mountains, and gaining " Great Basin," range beyond range extending 
 
 something of the peace of nature in the ma- withsoftoutlinesblueandpurpleinthedistance. 
 
 jestic solitude. More tlian six thousand feet below you lies 
 
 The excursion to the top of Mount Dana is a Lake Mono, overshadowed by the mountain on 
 
 very easy one ; for though the mountain is 13,- 
 000 feet high, the ascent from the west side is 
 so gentle and smooth that one may ride a mule 
 to the very summit. Across many a busy stream, 
 from meadow to meadow, lies your flowery 
 way, the views all sublime ; and they are sel- 
 
 which you stand. It is ten miles in diameter 
 from north to south and fourteen from east to 
 west, but appears nearly circular, lying bare in 
 the treeless desert like a disk of burnished 
 metal, though at times it is swept by storm- 
 winds from the mountains and streaked with 
 
F/'ATi'Nrs or 77/r. pRorosF.n yosriyr/ff-: .YArm.WAf iwrk. r.^,, 
 
 i.^bLL l^LA>.ll:.K, 1^ KU.M lllb. bl^Ot ul- MIK l^KLAl 1-IaM.Kb. 
 
 foam. To the south of the lake there is a range 
 of i)ale-gray volcanoes, now extinct, and though 
 the highest of them rise nearly two thousand 
 feet above the lake, you can look down into 
 their well-defined circular, cup-like craters, 
 from which, a comi)aratively short time ago, 
 ashes and cinders were showered over the 
 surrounding plains and glacier-laden moun- 
 tains. 
 
 To the westward the landscape is made up 
 of gray glaciated rocks and ridges, separated 
 liy a labyrinth of cafions anil darkened with 
 lines and broad fields of forest, while small 
 lakes anil meadowsdot the foreground. North- 
 ward and southwaril the jagged j)eaks and 
 towers that are marshaled along the axis of 
 the range are seen in all their glory, crowded 
 together in some places like trees in groves, 
 making land.scapes of wild, e.xtravagant, be- 
 wildering magnificence, yet calm and silent as 
 the Menery of the sky. 
 
 Some eight glaciers are in sight. One of 
 these is the Dana (ilacier on the northeast side 
 of the mountain, lying at the foot of a preci- 
 pice about a thousand feet high, with a lovely 
 pale-green lake in the general ba.sin a little be- 
 low the glai icr. This is one of the many 
 small shrunken remnants of the va.st glacial 
 system of the Sierra that one e filled all the 
 hollowsand valleys of the mountains and < ov- 
 ered all the lower ridges below the immediate 
 summit fountains, flowing to right and left 
 away from the axis of the range, lavishly fed 
 by the snows of the glacial period. 
 
 In the excursion to Mount I.vell the immedi- 
 
 ate ba.se of the mountain is ca.sily reached on 
 horseback by following the meadows along 
 the river. Turning to the southward above the 
 forks of the river you enter the Lyell branch 
 of the valley, which is narrow enough and 
 deep enough to be called a canon. It is about 
 eight miles long and from 2000 to 3000 feet 
 deep. The flat meadow bottom is from about 
 3C0 to 200 yards wide, with gently < urved 
 margins about 50 yards wide, from which rise 
 the simple massive walls of gray granite at an 
 angle of about thirty-three degrees, mostlv 
 timbered with a light growth of pine and 
 .streaked in many places with avalanche chan- 
 nels. Towards the upper end of the canon 
 the grand Sierra crown comes into sight, 
 forming a sublime and finely balanced pic- 
 ture, framed by the massive cafion walls. In 
 the foreground you have the purple meadow 
 fringed with willows; in the midille distam e, 
 huge swelling bos,ses of granite that form 
 the base of the general ma.ss of the moun- 
 tain, with fringing lines of dark woods mark- 
 ing the lower curves, but smoothly snow-clad 
 exce|U in the autvimn. 
 
 There is a good camping-ground on the 
 east side of the river about a mile above. .\ 
 fine cascade comes down over the canon 
 wall in telling style and makes fine c^m|) 
 music. ,'\t one place near the top careful 
 climbing is necc's.sary, but it is not so danger- 
 ous or dithcult as to deter any climber of 
 ordinary strength and skill, while the views 
 from the summit are glorious. To the north- 
 ward are Mammoth .Mountam, Mounts Gibbs, 
 
66o FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED YO SEMITE NATIONAL PARK. 
 
 ^mmmmam^^ss^imi^S^WS^^Bm^K^^^ssmam^aimmmmfsmmmi 
 
 i HE sot 1 11 blUli OF MOUNT LVELL. 
 
 Dana, Warren, Conness, and many others, 
 unnumbered and unnamed ; to the southeast 
 the indescribably wild and jagged range of 
 Mount Ritter and the Minarets; southwest- 
 ward stretches the dividing ridge between the 
 North Fork of the San Joaquin and the 
 Merced, uniting with the Obelisk or Merced 
 group of peaks that form the main fountains 
 
 of the lUilouette branch of the Merced River; 
 and to the northwestward extends the Cathe- 
 dral spur. All these spurs, Hke distinct ranges, 
 meet at your feet. Therefore you look over 
 them mostly in the direction of their extension, 
 and their peaks seem to be massed and crowded 
 together in bewildering combinations; while 
 immense amphitheaters, canons, and subordi- 
 
FEATURES OF TffE Ph'OrOSED YOSEM/TE NATIONAf. PARK. 66i 
 
 ^. 
 
 TroLUMNE RIVER NEAR THE HEAD OK Till': 
 GREAT CANUN. 
 
 naic masses, with their wealth of lakes, glaciers, 
 and snow-fickls, maze and duster between 
 ilicm. In making the ascent in June or ( )ctober 
 the glacier is easily crossed, for then its snow 
 mantle is smooth or mostly melted oft". But in 
 midsummerthe(liml)ingisex(eedingly tedious, 
 because the snow is then weathered intocurious 
 and beautiful blades, shaq) and slender, and set 
 I )n edge in a leaning position, 'i'hey lean towards 
 the head of the glacier, and extend across 
 from side to side in regular order in a direction 
 at right angles to the direction of greatest 
 declivity, the distance between the crests be- 
 ing about two or three feet, and the <lei)th of 
 the troughs between them about three feet. 
 No more interesting jiroblem is ever j)resented 
 to the mountaineer than a walk over a glacier 
 thus sculptured and adorned. 
 
 Tiie Lyell Cilacier is about a mile wide 
 and less than a mile long, but presents, 
 nevertheless, all the more characteristic 
 features of large, river-like glaciers — mo- 
 raines, earth-bands, blue-veins, creva.sses, 
 etc., while the streams that issue from it 
 are turbid with nxk-mud, showing its 
 grinding action on its bed. Ami it is all 
 the more interesting since it is the highest 
 and most enduring remnant of the great Tuol- 
 umne (ilacier, whose traces are still distinct 
 fifty miles away, and whose influence on the 
 landscape was so profound. The Mct'lure 
 Cilacier, once a tributary of the Lyell, is much 
 smaller, l-'.ighteen years ago 1 set a .series of 
 stakes in it to determine its rate of motion, 
 which towards the end of summer, in the 
 middle of the glacier, I found to be a little 
 over an inch in twenty-four hours. 
 
 The trip to Mono from the Soda Springs 
 can be made in a day, but Bloody Cafion will 
 be found rough for animals. The scenery of 
 the canon, however, is wild and rich, anil many 
 days may profitably be spent around the shores 
 of the lake and out on its islands anil about 
 tlie volcanoes. 
 
662 FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED YO SEMITE NATIONAL PARK. 
 
 '•'•^*'',.,. 
 
 --•4.^-- 
 
 ■■ »',i,«:i„. 
 
 ■f1, - 
 
 
 
 [tf^ 
 
 
 ENTKAiNCE '1 UEJ CH HETCHV VALLEY FKO.M SMITH TRAIL. 
 
 In making the trip down the Big Tuolumne 
 Caiion animals may be led as far as a small, 
 grassy, forested lake basin that lies below the 
 crossing of the Virginia Creek trail. And 
 from this point any one accustomed to w'alk on 
 earthquake boulders, carpeted with canon 
 chaparral, can easily go down the canon as far 
 as the big cascades and return to camp in one 
 day. Many, however, are not able to do this, 
 and it is far better to go leisurely, ]n-epared to 
 
 camp anywhere, and enjoy the marvelous 
 grandeur of the place. 
 
 The canon begins near the lower end of the 
 meadows and extends to the Hetch Hetchy 
 Valley, a distance of about eighteen miles, 
 tliough it will seem much longer to any one 
 who scrambles through it. It is from 1200 to 
 about 5000 feet deep, and is comparatively 
 narrow, but there are several fine, roomy, 
 park-like openings in it, and throughout its 
 
 LOOKING L10\V'N ON LAKE TENAVA. 
 
FEArr/<i:s or the pKorosf/y yosemiij: x.iiioxAf. iwkk. 663 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^y*:/^ 
 
 
 VIRW OF A I'ART OK THE C.RAND CASCADES, BIG TUOLCMNK CANON. 
 
 whole extent Yosemite features are displayed 
 on a <;rand scale — domes, Kl Capitan rocks, 
 gables. Sentinels, Royal Arches, glacier points, 
 (Cathedral Spires, etc. There is even a Half 
 ! )()me among its wealth of rock forms, though 
 lc>s suhlimc and beautiful than the ^'osenlite 
 Half I)ome. It also contains fdls and < as- 
 cades innumerable. The sheer falls, except 
 when the snow is melting in early s|)ring. 
 are <|uite small in volume as compared with 
 those of Yosemite and Het< h Hetchy ; but 
 many of them are \ery beautiful, and in any 
 other ( ountry would be regarded as great 
 wonders. lUit it is the < ascacles or sloping 
 falls on the main river that are the crowning 
 glory of the canon, and these in volume, ex- 
 tent, and \ariety suq)ass those of any other 
 cafion in the Sierra. The most showy and in- 
 teresting of the cascades are mostly in the up- 
 per part of the cafion. abuve the point where 
 Cathedral Creek and HotVman Creek enter. 
 
 For miles the ri ver is one wild, exulting, on-rush- 
 ing massof snowy purplebloom. spreading over 
 glacial waves of granite without any definite 
 channel, and through avalanche taluses, glid- 
 ing in silver ])lumes, da.shing and foaming 
 through huge boulder-dams, leaping high into 
 the air in glorious wheel-like whirls, tossing 
 from side to side, doubling, glinting, singing 
 in glorious exuberance of mountain energy. 
 I'.very one who is anything of a moun- 
 taineer .should go on through the entire length 
 of the canon, coming out by Hetch Hetchy. 
 There is not a dull step all the way. U'ith wide 
 variations it is n \'oscmite \'allev from end to 
 end. 
 
 IHK HETCH HKK HV V.M.I.KY. 
 
 Most people who visit Yosemite are apt to 
 regard it as an exceptional creation, the only 
 valley of its kind in the world. But nothing 
 in Nature btand> alone She i.-> not so poor as 
 
664 FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED YO SEMITE NATIONAL PARK. 
 
 KOLANA ROCK, HlilCH IIEICHY VALLEY. 
 
 to have only one of anything. The explorer 
 in the Sierra and elsewhere finds many Yosem- 
 ites, that differ not more than one tree differs 
 from another of the same species. They occupy 
 the same relative positions on the mountain 
 flanks, were formed by the same forces in the 
 same kind of granite, and have similar sculp- 
 ture, waterfalls, and vegetation. The Hetch 
 Hetchy Valley has long been known as the 
 Tuolumne Yosemite. It is said to have been 
 discovered by Joseph Screech, a hunter, in 
 1850, a year before the discovery of the great 
 Merced Yosemite. It lies in a northwesterly 
 direction from Yosemite, at a distance of about 
 twenty miles, and is easily accessible to mounted 
 travelers by a trail that leaves the Big Oak 
 Flat road at Bronson's Meadows, a few miles 
 below Crane Flat. But by far the best way to 
 it for those who have useful limbs is across the 
 
 divide direct from Yosemite. 
 Leaving the valley by Indian 
 Canon or Fall Canon, you cross 
 the dome-paved basin of Yo- 
 semite Creek, then bear to the 
 eft around the head fountains of the South 
 Fork of the Tuolumne to the summit of 
 the Big Tuolumne Canon, a few miles 
 above the head of Hetch Hetchy. Here 
 } ou will iind a glorious view. Immediately 
 beneath you, at a depth of more than 4000 
 feet, you see a beautiful ribbon of level 
 ground, with a silver thread in the middle 
 of it, and green or yellow according to the 
 time of year. That ribbon is a strip of 
 meadow, and the silver thread is the main 
 Tuolumne River. The opposite wall of the 
 canon rises in precipices, steep and angular, or 
 with rounded brows like thoseof Yosemite, and 
 from this wall as a base extends a fine wilderness 
 of mountains, rising dome above dome, ridge 
 above ridge, to a group of snowy peaks on the 
 summit of the range. Of all this sublime con- 
 gregation of mountains Castle Peak is king : 
 robed with snow and light, dipping unnum- 
 bered points and spires into the thin blue sky, 
 it maintains amid noble companions a perfect 
 and commanding individuality. 
 
 You will not encounter much difficulty in 
 getting down into the canon, for bear trails 
 may readily be found leading from the upper 
 feeding-grounds to the berry gardens and acorn 
 orchards of Hetch Hetchy, and when you 
 reach the river you have only to saunter by 
 its side a mile or two down the canon before 
 
FKATi'RKS OF 77//-: /'A'O/VS/J) YOShMilK NATIOXAL J'ARK. 66: 
 
 you find yourself in ihc open valley. Looking valley througli heautiful open groves you sec 
 
 about you, you cannot fail to discover that a bare granite wall 1800 feet high rising 
 
 you are ina Yosemite valley. As the Merced abruptly out of the green and yellow vegeta- 
 
 tlows through Vosemite, so does the Tuolumne tion and glowing with sunshine, and in front 
 
 through Hetch Hetchy. 'Ihe bottom of Vo- of it the fall, waving like a downy scarf, silver 
 
 Semite is about 4000 feet above sea level, the bright, buriung with white sun-tire in ever)' 
 
 bottom of Hetcii Hetchy is about 3800 feet, fiber. In coming forward to the edge of the 
 
 and in both the walls are of gray granite an(l tremendous precipice and taking flight a little 
 
 rise abruptly in precipices from a level bottom, hasty eagerness appears, but this is speedily 
 
 with but little tlebris along their ba.ses. Fur- hushed in divine rei)Ose. Now observe the 
 
 thermore it was a home and stronghold of the marvelous distinctness and delicacy of the 
 
 Tuolumne Indians, as Ahwahne was of the various kinds of sun-filled tissue into which 
 
 grizzlies, .Stantling boldly forward from the the waters are woven. They lly and tl(jat and 
 
 south wall near the lower end of the valley is drowse down the face of that grand gray rock 
 
 the rock Kolana, the outermost of a ])ictur- in so leisurely and unconfused a manner that 
 
 es«|ue group corresponding to the Cathedral 
 Rocks of Yosemite, and about the same height. 
 Facing Kolana on the north side of the valley 
 is a rock about 1800 feet in height, which ])re- 
 sentsa bare, sheer front like El Capitan, and o\ er 
 its massive brow flows a stream that makes the 
 most graceful fall I have ever seen. Its Indian 
 name is Tu ee-u-la-la, and no other, so far as 
 1 have heard, has yet been given it. From the 
 brow of the cliff it makes a free descent of a 
 thousand feet and then breaks up intoa ragged. 
 
 you may examine their texture and jjattems 
 as you would a piece of embroidery held in 
 the hand. It is a flood of singing air, water, 
 and sunlight woven into cloth that spirits 
 might wear. 
 
 The great Hetch Hetchy Fall, called Wa- 
 pama by the Tuolumnes, is on the same side 
 of the valley as the \'eil, and so near it that 
 both may be seen in one view. It is about 
 1800 feet in height, and seems to be nearly 
 vertical when one is standing in front of it, 
 
 foaming web of cascades among the boulders though it is considerably inclined. Its loca- 
 
 of an earthijuake talus. Towartls the end of tion is similar to that of the Yosemite Fall, 
 
 summer it vanishes, because its head streams but the volume of water is much greater. .\o 
 
 do not reach back to the lasting snows of the two falls coulil be more unlike than Wa-pama 
 
 summits of the range, but in May and June it 
 is indescribably lovely. The only fall that I 
 know with which it may fairly be comjnired is 
 the Bridal Veil, but it excels even that fall in 
 peaceful, floating, swaying gracefulness. For 
 when we attentively observe the Bridal Veil, 
 even towards the middle of summer when its 
 waters begin to fiiil, we may discover, when 
 
 and Tu-ee-u-la-la, the one thundering and beat- 
 ing in a shadowy gorge, the other chanting in 
 ileep, low tones, and with no other shadows 
 about it than those of its own waters, pale- 
 gray mostly, and violet and pink delicately 
 graded. One whispers, " He dwells in peace,"' 
 the other is the thunder of his chariot wheels 
 in power. This noble pair are the main falls 
 
 the winds blow aside the outer folds of spray, of the valley, though there are many small ones 
 
 dense comet-shajjcd masses shooting through 
 the air with terrible energy ; but from the toj) 
 of the cliff, whefe the Hetc h Hetchy veil first 
 floats free, all the way to the bottom it is in 
 perfect repose. Again, the Britlal Veil is in a 
 shadow-haunted nook inaccessible to the main 
 wind currents of the* valley, and has to depend 
 for many of its gestures on irregular, teaming 
 side currents and whirls, while Tu-ee-u-la-la, 
 being fully exposed on the open clift", is sun 
 
 essential to the perfet ti<>n (»f the- u'l^'ncral har- 
 mony. 
 
 The wall above \\"a-pania corresponds, both 
 in outlines and in details of sculpture, with the 
 same relative portion of the Vosemite wall. 
 Near the Vosemite Fall the clif)" has two con- 
 spicuous benches extending in a horizontal 
 direction 500 and 1500 feel above the valley. 
 Two benches similarly situateil, and limbered 
 in the same wav, occur on the same relative 
 
 dren( hed all day, anil is ever ready to yieKl position on the Hetch Hetchy wall, and on 
 graceful compliance to every wind that blows, no other jjortion. The upper end of Yosem- 
 
 Most people unaccjuainted with the behavior 
 of mountain streams fancy that when they es- 
 cape the bountls of their rocky channels anil 
 launch into the air they at once lose all self-con- 
 trol anil tumble in confusion. On the contrary, 
 on no |)art of their travels do they manifest 
 more calm self-possession. Imagine yourself in 
 
 ite is closed by the great Half Dome, and 
 the upper end of Hetch Hetchy is closed 
 in the same way by a mountain rock. Both 
 occu|>y angles formed by the confluence of 
 two large glacierN that have long sin( e van- 
 ished. In front of this head rock the river 
 forks like the Merced in Vosemite. The right 
 
 Hetch Hetchy. It is a sunny day in June, the fork as you ascend is the main Tuolumne, which 
 
 pines sway dreamily, and you are shoulder- takes its rise in a glacier on the north side 
 
 deep in grass and flowers. Looking across the of Mount Lyell and flows through ilie Big 
 Vol. XL.— SS. 
 
666 FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED YO SEMITE NATIONAL PARK. 
 
 ^'proposed BOUN DA Rr " or YOSEMI T £• N AtVo N A L PA R K j^jftl ll9"'\jVono . 
 
 „,l<^—. '(j^''^rJ%ir^:^^r^-y—.-^r£: If! _. _.±.:ilf._?:^ 1, 1 
 
 °V ' ,„ ~y ■/ ' 'yi PROPOSED BOUiVOARY OF ' .' .-'^ YOSEMITc' \ 'NATIONAL 
 
 ■^ ~ y. ■ ■ I ■ , ■ ■ / I , . . '* Q . . _ . I . ,3.3 . . , . . \JO, . 
 
 'na'tiona'l park' 
 
 MAP OF THE YOSEMITE REGION, SHOWING PRESENT RESERVATION, WATER-SHED OF THE VALLEY, 
 AND APPROXIMATE LIMITS OF THE PROPOSF.D NATIONAL PARK.l 
 
 Canon. I have not traced the left fork to its 
 highest source, but, judging from the general 
 trend of the ridges, it must be near Castle Peak. 
 Upon this left or North Fork there is a remark- 
 ably interesting series of cascades, five in num- 
 ber, ranged along a picturesque gorge, on the 
 edges of which we may saunter safely and 
 gain fine views of the dancing spray below. 
 The first is a wide-spreading fan of white, crys- 
 tal-covered water, half leaping half shding over 
 a steep polished pavement, at the foot of which 
 it rests and sets forth clear and shining on its 
 final flow to the main river. A short distance 
 above the head of this cascade you discover 
 the second, which is as impressively wild and 
 beautiful as the first, and makes you sing 
 with it as though you were a part of it. It is 
 framed in deep rock Avails that are colored yel- 
 low and red with lichens, and fringed on the 
 jagged edges by live-oaks and sabine pines, and 
 at the bottom in damp nooks you may see ferns, 
 lilies, and azaleas. 
 
 Three or four hundred yards higher you 
 come to the third of the choir, the largest of 
 the five. It is formed of three smaller ones 
 inseparably combined, which sing divinely, and 
 
 make spray of the best quality for rainbows. 
 A short distance beyond this the gorge comes 
 to an end, and the bare stream, without any 
 definite channel, spreads out in a thin, silvery 
 sheet about 150 feet wide. Its waters are, 
 throughout almost its whole extent, drawn out 
 in overlapping folds of lace, thick sown with 
 diamond jets and sparks that give an exceed- 
 ingly rich appearance. Still advancing, you hear 
 a deep mui!led booming, and you push eagerly 
 on through flowery thickets until the last of 
 the five appears through the foliage. The preci- 
 pice down which it thunders is fretted with 
 projecting knobs, forming polished keys upon 
 which the wild waters play. 
 
 The bottom of the valley is divided by a 
 low, glacier-polished bar of granite, the lower 
 portion being mostly meadow land, the upper 
 
 1 The above map represents the hmits of tlie park 
 as proposed by Mr. Muir and as advocated before 
 the Committee on Public Lands of the House of Rep- 
 resentatives. As we go to press, the Committee 
 seems disposed to extend the north and south limits 
 eastward to the Nevada line, thus adding an equal 
 amount to the area here indicated. The honor of in- 
 troducing the National Park bill belongs to General 
 William Vandever of California. — Editor. 
 
OUR XEW XAl'AI. GUNS. 
 
 667 
 
 dry an<l sandy, and planted with fine Kellogg 
 oaks, which fretjuently attain a (liametcr of six 
 or seven feet. On the talus sln|)es the i)incs give 
 jilace to the mountain live-oak, which forms the 
 shadiest groves in the valley and the greatest 
 in extent. Their gl(jssy foliage, warm yellow- 
 green and closely pressed, makes a kind of 
 ceiling, supported by bare gray trunks and 
 branches gnarled and picturesque. A few 
 specimens of the sugar pine and tamarack 
 pine are found in the valley, also the two 
 silver firs. The Douglas spruce and the li- 
 bocedrus attain noble tlimensions in certain 
 favorable spots, and a few specimens of the 
 interesting Torrrya CaliJoniUa may be found 
 on the south siile. 'Ihe brier-rose occurs in 
 large patches, with tall, spiky mints and arch- 
 ing grasses. On the meadows lilies, larkspurs, 
 and lupinesof several species are abun(lant,and 
 in some places reach above one's head. Rock- 
 ferns of rare beauty fringe and rosette the walls 
 from top to bottom — PtlLca iifnsii,P. viucro- 
 nata and /'. Urit/i^isii, Clwilanthes s^nKiI/i/na, 
 A/losonts, etc. Aiiiantum pedatum occurs in a 
 few mossy comers that get spray from the falls. 
 W'ooiiwariUii ratiicans and Asplcnitim J'clix- 
 firmitia are the tallest ferns of the valley — .six 
 feet high, some of them. The whole valley was 
 a charming garden when I last saw it, and 
 the huts of the Indians and a lune cabin were 
 the only imjirovements. 
 
 As will be seen by the map, I have thus 
 briefly touched upon a number of the chief fea- 
 tures of a region which it is ])roposed to re- 
 serve out of the public domain for the use and 
 
 re( reation of the people. A bill has already 
 been introduced in Congress by Mr. Vande- 
 ver creating a national park about the reser- 
 vation which the State now holds in trust for 
 the people. It is very desirable that the new 
 reservation should at least extend to the limits 
 indicated by the maj), and the bill cannot too 
 <]uickly become a law. Unless reserved or pro- 
 tected the whole region will soon ur late be 
 devastated by lumbermen and sheepmen, and 
 so of course be made unfit for use as a pleasure 
 ground. Already it is with great difficulty that 
 campers, even in the most remote parts of the 
 proposed reservation and in those ilifficult 
 of access, can find grass enough t(j kee]) their 
 animals from starving; the ground is already 
 being gnawed and trampled into a desert 
 condition, and when the region shall be 
 strippetl of its fijrests the ruin will be com- 
 plete. Even the Yoscmite will then sufl'er in 
 the disturbance effected on the water-shed, the 
 clear streams becoming muddy and much less 
 regular in their riow. It is also devoutly to be 
 hoped that the Hetch Hetchy will escape such 
 ravages of man as one sees in Vosemite. A.x and 
 plow, hogs anil horses, have long been and 
 are still busy in Yosemite's gardens and groves. 
 All that is accessible and destructible is being 
 rapidly destroyed — more rapidly than in any 
 other Yosemite in the Sierra, though this is the 
 only one that is under the special protection 
 of the Oovernment. And by far the greater 
 part of this destruction of the fineness of wild- 
 ness is of a kind that can claim no right rela- 
 tionship with that which necessarily follows use. 
 
 John Miiir. 
 
 OUR NEW NAVAL GUNS.' 
 
 .yUjl'-V 
 
 HI'- interest in military and 
 naval affairs due to the 
 general awakening of the 
 jjublic to the jjitiful condi- 
 tion of the national de- 
 fenses warrants a brief 
 notice of the modem gun- 
 building begun in .America 
 in icSM^ at the Washington Navy Yarti. 
 
 For years this country had been .standing still 
 in the matterofcannon, trusting to the creations 
 of Rodman and Dahlgren, those former mas- 
 ters of gun-construction, while other nations 
 were adopting weapons of greater and con- 
 stantly increasing power. The change from 
 
 1 Th.inks arc due to F.nsijjn I'liilip K. .Alfjcr, 
 U. S. \., for inv.-ilu.-il'Ie .nssist.incc, jwrticul.arly in 
 those parts of this article relating to recent develop- 
 ments. 
 
 the old to the new has at last set in on our side 
 of the Atlantic, and to-day the efforts of those 
 charged with the armament of our ships and 
 forts are bent towards restoring us to at least a 
 creditable position in the race wherein once 
 we led all competitors. 
 
 The gun has developed steadily along certain 
 well-defined lines. It will tend to brevity and 
 clearness to tlevote a few words to the reast)ns 
 why, following these lines, the cast-iron muz- 
 zle-loading smooth bore has given way to the 
 forged-steel breech-loading ritle. Through its 
 greater weight an elongated shot holds its ve- 
 locity better than a round shot of the same 
 caliber. If fired from a smooth bore, however, 
 the fomier is apt to turn end over enti and miss 
 its mark ; so the bores of guns designed to 
 throw such projectiles are ri/Jfii, which means 
 that they have spiral grooves that engage a 
 
668 
 
 OUR NEW NAVAL GUNS. 
 
 soft metal band on the shot and cause it to 
 spin about its longer axis. The gyroscopic prin- 
 ciple thus invoked keeps the point foremost. 
 As cannon grew stronger through the em- 
 
 TEN-INCH JACKET. WEIGHT 15,935 POUNDS. 
 
 ployment of better metal more powder could 
 safely be burned in them. This advantage 
 necessitated a larger space behind the shot to 
 hold the increased charge. Lengthening this 
 space entailed certain grave technical draw- 
 backs and needlessly extended the gun at its 
 heavy end. Better results followed from widen- 
 ing the space, and so the enlarged chamber 
 Avas adopted. As a full-width cartridge would 
 not enter the muzzle, loading at the breech 
 became imperative.' A modern gun is, there- 
 fore, a breech-loading rifle. 
 
 The value of a moving projectile depends 
 on its weight and its velocity. The faster a 
 shot travels the farther it can range before 
 coming to the ground, the harder will be the 
 blow it delivers, and the nearer its path will 
 approach a straight line. The extreme ranges 
 of guns to-day reach far beyond the limits of 
 the gunner's vision, and are only useful in 
 bombardments where the target is a large 
 
 travel in a straight line, in spite of the action 
 of gravity, to aim directly at the enemy would 
 be equivalent to striking him. The nearer we 
 can approach this impossible condition the 
 less essential is a knowledge of the 
 distance of the object and the greater 
 the likelihood of hitting it. Increased 
 velocity is therefore sought by the 
 artillerist mainly because yielding 
 more striking energy, a flatter tra- 
 jectory, and a longer danger space, 
 as they are called. To obtain high 
 velocities large quantities of pow- 
 der must be used. With ordinary 
 powder this means recourse to un- 
 safe pressures in the gun. At first 
 the difficulty was, in a measure, 
 remedied by compressing the powder into large 
 prisms, which burn more slowly and uniformly 
 than irregular grains. A limit was soon reached 
 in this direction, and changes were sought in 
 the composition itself. The Germans were 
 the earliest to make and use " cocoa powder," 
 the general but not universal standard at 
 present, the process of the manufacture of 
 which is a well-kept trade secret.- This pow- 
 der differs from the familiar black powder in 
 having somewhat more nitrate and charcoal 
 and much less sulphur, and in the charcoal, 
 Avhich is underburnt. Its chocolate color gives 
 the name by which the new substance is 
 known. Cocoa powder furnishes in the gun a 
 comparatively moderate pressure, which de- 
 creases gradually towards the muzzle. To 
 obtain the full value of such a powder the shot 
 must be kept under its influence for a longer 
 time than was needed with the older and 
 quicker black powder. The length of the bore, 
 
 TEN-INCH TUBE FINISHED. WEIGHT IB, 112 POUNDS. 
 
 area that cannot easily be missed. On the 
 other hand, a moment's reflection will show 
 that if a shot could be thrown fast enough to 
 
 1 Breech loading is an old device, found, for instance, 
 in one of Hernando Cortez's guns. The main reason 
 for its re-introduction, stated above, was but one of 
 many. It offers so many incidental advantages in con- 
 nection with security to the gunners in action and the 
 
 measured in calibers, has therefore grown 
 from twelve and less to thirty and more — a 
 striking proof that the design of the gun is 
 
 service of ammunition that it would be retained on their 
 account alone. 
 
 2 The Duponts of Wilmington have produced a simi- 
 lar article which gives distinctly better results than 
 its German forerunner.