lip m DDOnHflDflEB : -^ mmmmwMW THE LAND OF GOLD. REALITY VERSUS FICTION. BY niNTON R. HELPER. BALTIMORE: PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY HENRY TAYLOR, SUN IRON BUILDING. 1855. Entered according to Act of (.'ongress, in the year 1S55, by IIINTON 11. HELPER, In Iho Clerk's Oflice of the District Court of ILe United States, for tlie District of Maryland. f SuKUwooD & Co., Pkinteks, B A L T I 31 11 E . TO THE HON. JOHN M. MO RE HEAD, OF NORTH CAROLINA, %\m laps m xtsi^tttMlu §tVxtM, BY n IS SINCERE FRIEND AND ADMIRER, THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. Previous to my departure for California, near and dear friends extracted from me a promise to communicate by letter, upon every conve- nient occasion, such intelligence as would give them a distinct idea of the truthfulness or false- hood of the many glowing descriptions and re- puted vast wealth of California. In accordance with this promise, I collected, from the best and most reliable sources, all that I deemed worthy of record touching the past of the modern El Dorado, relying upon my own powers of observa- tion to depicture its present condition and its future prospects. This correspondence was never intended for the public eye, for the simple reason that the matter therein is set forth in a very plain man- ner, with more regard to truth than elegance of diction. Indeed, how could it be otherwise? I have only described those things which came immediately under my own observation, and, be- side this, I make no pretensions to extensive scholastic attainments, nor do I claim to be an adept in the art of book-making. VI PREFACE. A weary and rather uiiprotitable sojourn of three years in various parts of California, af- forded me ample time and opportunity to become too thoroughly conversant with its rottenness and its corruption, its squalor and its misery, its crime and its shame, its gold and its dross. Simply and truthfully I gave the history of my experience to friends at home, who, after my return, suggested that profit might be derived from giving these letters to the world in narra- tive form, and urged me so strenuously, that I at length acceded to their wishes, but not without much reluctance, being doubtful as to the recep- tion of a book from one so incapable as myself of producing any thing more than a plain " un- varnished tale." In order to present a more complete picture of California, I have added two chapters, that describing the route through Nicaragua, and the general restcme at the close of my volume. All that I solicit for this, my first off'ering, is a liberal and candid examination ; not of a part, but of the whole — not a cursory, but a consider- ate reading. H. R H Salisbury, North Carolina, 1855. CONTENTS. CHAPTEK I. CALIFORNIA UNVEILED. Introductory Remarks — 'Erroneous opinions respecting Cali- fornia — Sterility of the Soil — The Seasons — Destitution of Mechanical and Manufacturing Resources — Dependence upon Importations for the Conveniences and Necessaries of Life — No Inducement to become Permanent Residents of the country 13 CHAPTER II. THE BALANCE SHEET. California statistically considered — Cost of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo — Price of Passage and Services of Im- migrants — Total Yield of the Mines — Amount of Property destroyed by Fires, Freshets and Inundations— List of Sailing Vessels and Steamers Wrecked upon the coast - Public Debt of the State— Debts of San Francisco, Sacra- mento and Marysville — Loss of Life by violent measures — Extract from the Louisville Journal 23 CHAPTER III. SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. Extraordinary Depravity and Corruption — Reasons assigned for the laxity of Morals — Much of the Degeneracy and Dis- sipation attributable to the absence of female society — The Case of an English gentleman — His Story — General Re- marks concerning the different classes of Women 36 Vlll CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. SAN FRANCISCO. Importance of San Francisco — The Golden Gate — The Har- bor — Long Wharf— A Motley CroAvd — The Shipping — Names of Vessels — Vagrant Boys — Commercial Street — Wooden Tenements — The Jews — Fire-proof brick and stone structures — Montgomery street — Menial Employ- ments — Professional Men washing dishes, waiting upon the table, and peddling shrimps and tomcods — Lawyers and Land Titles — Grog Shops and Tippling Houses — Bill of Fare of a California Groggery 45 CHAPTER y. SAN FRANCISCO CONTINUED. Clay street — Gazing in Ladies' Faces — The Gambling Houses — Heterogeneous Assemblage of Blacklegs — The Plaza — The City Hall — A Case of Bribery and Corruption — French Restaurants — Flour and other Provisions — Frauds and Adulterations 69 CHAPTER VI. SAN FRANCISCO CONCLUDED. A Pistol Gallery — Doctor Natchez — Population of the City — Filling in the Bay — 'Lack of Vegetation — Yearning for the society of Trees 81 CHAPTER VII. THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. National habits and traits of Chinese Character — Their Dress — The number of Chinese in California — How they employ their time — Their arrogance and presumption — Manner of Eating — Singularity of their names — Is the Chinese Immigration desirable? 86 CONTENTS. IX OH AP^rER VI I i . IT R 8 O K Y VIEWS. The Pacific Side of the Continent much Inferior to the Atlan- tic Side — Poverty and Suffering in California — Rash and mistaken ideas of the country — A few very Fertile Valleys — Value of the Precious Metals to the country in which , Ihey are found — The Climate 9*7 I I ! CHAPTER IX. SUNDAY INCALIFORNIA. Manner of Spending the Sabbath — Mixture and Dissimilarity I of the Population — Dance Houses — Mexican Women — In- ' fluence of Female Society upon the Community — Churches in San Francisco 109 CHAPTER X. BEAR AND BULL FIGHT. Advertisement announcing the Sport — Mission Dolores — An old Catholic Church — Preparation for the Fight — The Audience — The Attack — Progress of the Conflict — 'The Finale 116 CHAPTER XI. SACRAMENTO. City and Valley of Sacramento — The Legislature — Shabby Hotels — Teamsters and Muleteers — Excess of Merchants — Continual Depression in Business — Perfidy and Dishonesty of Consignees — California Conflagrations — The Three Cent Philosopher 131 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER XII. YUBA THE miner's TENT. Trip to the Mines — Modus Operandi of Single-handed Min- ing — Names of Bars — Mining Laws — More Gentility and Nobleness of Soul among the Miners than any other Class of People in California — The case of a Highwayman — De- scription of a Miner's Tent — His Diet and Cooking Uten- sils — Toilsomeness of Mining — Proceeds of three months' labor 147 CHAPTER XIII. STOCKTON AND SONORA. Situation of Stockton — The San Joaquin Valley — Trip to Sonora^ — The best Hotel in the Place — A Lunatic — A Gam- bling Prodigy — Shooting Affair — A case of Lynch Law — Description of Sonora — Land Speculators — Ephemeral Cities — Excitability of the Californians — The Beard — A good old Man — His Story 161 CHAPTER XIY. VOYAGE TO CALIFORNIA VIA CAPE HORN. Embarkation from New York — A Terrible Storm — Loss of Masts and narrow escape from Shipwreck — ^Wreck of a Swedish Brig — An unfortunate Little Bird — Patagonia and Cape Horn — Stoppage at Valparaiso — Earthquakes — Appearance of the City — A Delectable Garden — Two Cath- olic Priests — Beauty of Ocean Scenery in the Pacific — The St. Felix Islands — Arrival in San Francisco 187 CHAPTER XV. VOYAGE FROM CALIFORNIA VIA NICARAGUA. Departure from San Francisco — Matters and Things aboard the Steamer — The Passengers — A Hoax — ArriA-al at San CONTENTS. XI Juan del Sur — Novel Mode of Debarkation — Ludicrous Scenes — Trip across the Country — The Weather — Virgin Bay — Lake Nicaragua — The San Juan River — Bad Man- agement and shabby Treatment on the Isthmus — Negro Slavery and Central America — San Juan del Norte, alias Greytown 209 CHAPTER XVI. MY LAST MINING ADVENTURE. Projected Voyage to Australia abandoned — Trip to the Mines in Tuolumne county — My quaint Friend and Companion, Mr. Shad Back — Operations in Columbia — The Result 225 CHAPTER XVII. THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE. Disordered State of Society — Atrocious and barefaced Crimes I — Organization of Vigilance Committees — Salutary effect of i their Proceedings — Defence of their Motives and Actions — A case of Lynch Law in Sacramento 237 \ CHAPTER XVIII. BODEGA. Trip to Bodega on a Mischievous and Refractory Mule — A Chinese Encampment — Description of the country in the vicinity of Bodega — The Village of Petaluma — Cruel Treat- ment of an Indian Boy — Serious Consequences result from the villainous Pranks of his Muleship — Ben. an eccentric old Negro 254 I CHAPTER XIX. I THE DIGGER INDIANS AND NEGROES. [ndolence and Insignificance of the Digger Indians — What they eat — !Means of obtaining the Necessaries of Life — Their Habits and Peculiarities — An Incident at a Slaughter- XI 1 CONTENTS. house — The Negroes in CaliforniiV — The case of a New Orleans Sea-captain and his Slave Joe — A North Car- olinian and his two Negroes 268 CHAPTER XX. ARE YOU GOING TO CALIFORNIA? Resume of the preceding chapters — Arguments in favor of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway — Advantages of the Southern Route — Abstract of the Report of the Secretary of War on the several Pacific Railroad Explorations — Ex- tracts from Letters — Conclusion 280 THE LAND OF GOLD CHAPTER I. CALIFORNIA UNVEILED. An intelligent and patriotic curiosity will find the history of few countries more interesting than that of California — which has at length re- alized those dreams of El Dorado that heguiled so many an early adventurer from the comforts and hliss of his fireside, to delude and destroy him. The marshes of the Orinoco, the Keys of Florida, and the hills of Mexico cover the hones of many of these original speculators in the minerals of the Western World. They sought wealth, and found graves. How many of the modern devotees of Mammon have done hetter in our newly opened land of gold ? To explain the causes of the frequent disap- pointment of these cherished hopes ; to determine the true value of this modern El Dorado ; to ex- hibit the prominent features of California and 2 14 CALIFORNIA UNVEILED. its principal cities, particularly San Francisco, and thus to enable those "wlio still encourage golden dreams to form a proper estimate of their chances of success, without submitting to the painful teachings of experience — these have been the motives which have actuated the author of the present work. The less to weary the reader, the book has been broken up into chapters, in which tlie au- thor proposes to discourse familiarly upon wliat he has seen and felt^ as he would in a friendly letter, rather than to write a formal essay or treatise upon California. In pursuing this plan^ it is his intention to confine himself exclusively to facts, and to describe those facts as clearly as possible, so as to leave no ground for a conjec- tural filling up of those outlines which his negli- gence mav have left va^rue and indistinct. In this country, where almost every event that occurs is as momentous and unaccountable as the wonderful exploits of Habib's and Alad- din's genii, to deal with any thing aside from actual matters of fact, is at once as silly and profitless a business as that of whistling against the winds. Yet, in nine-tenths of the descrip- tions of life and times in California, truth and facts have been set aside, and the writers, in- stead of confining themselves to a faithful de- lineation of that which actually exists, have made astonishing and unwarranted drafts upon their CALIFORNIA UNVEILED. 15 imaginations. Instead of detailing facts, they have written fictions; instead of making a true record, they have interwoven falsehoods with the very web of their story. They have chronicled dreams instead of realities, and have registered vagaries as actual events and undeniable cer- tainties. But they have themselves been de- ceived. They have been duped in listening to the delusive whispers of mischievous sirens, whose flattering suggestions and plausible stories have had such a magical influence upon their excited minds, that they have become accustomed to consider every thought of wealth that occurs to them a veritable mountain of gold ; — that is to say, they have, by some strange hallucination, been converted to the belief that whatever Cali- fornia ought to be for their own particular ends and interests, it really is. In the night-time they have arranged and matured prodigious plans of profit, and although many days have dawned upon them since, that time has yet to come which shall reveal to them the utter noth- ingness of their nocturnal reveries. But the day will come, and it is fast approaching, when the spell must be broken. The iron utensils, which have been transmuted into golden urns and pal- aces night after night, shall once and for ever resume their true quality at the approach of day. The spell-bound shall be freed I Tlie reverie shall be dissipated, the false wealth analyzed, l€ CALIFORNIA UNVEILED. and resolved into its component parts ; and when these things are done, California will be seen in its true light. Then the eyes of the people will he opened. The golden haze which has hung over this land of romantic hopes and deadly dis- appointments will then he rolled away, and the clear, naked sunlight of Truth will shine upon this ugly cheat, revealing it in all its naked de- formity to the eyes of the abused and misin- formed public. Then, and not till then, will the full extent of popular delusion on this topic be known, and this mighty genie collapse into its original caldron. The truth is, California has been much over- rated and much overdone. She has been pressed beyond her limits and capacities. Her mana- gers have been rash, prodigal and incompetent, and they have embarrassed her beyond hope of relief — though, it must be .acknowledged, her condition was never very hopeful, but, on the contrary, I may say with the poet, she was only " half made up." It is plain to be seen that she was never finished. She has never paid for her- self An overwhelming public debt now rests upon her shoulders, and she has nothing to show for it. She is bankrupt. Her resources are being rapidly exhausted, and there is but lank promise in the future. Her spacious harbors and geo- graphical position are her true wealth ; her gold fields and arid hills are her poverty. But com- CALIFORNIA UNVEILED. IT modious and safe as are lier harbors when once entered, they are not the easiest nor safest of access in the world, as I shall hereafter prove by statistics of vessels wrecked upon this coast Avithin the last six years. And, before I finish, I shall offer other statistical information of in- terest and importance relative to the State at large, in substantiation as well of what I have already said as of that which I have yet to say. I may remark here that, my curiosity having led me to collect and prepare these statistics with no little care and attention, and at no trifling sacrifice of time and means^ they may be relied upon as correct. A residence of nearly three years, during which time I have traveled over a wide extent of those parts of the State which are most highly esteemed for agriculture and minerals, lias, I claim, en- abled me to arrive at a pretty accurate estimate of her character and capacities ; and I have no hesitation in avowing it as my candid oi)inion (and 1 have not been a very inattentive observer) that, balancing resource against defect, and com- paring territory with territory, California is the poorest State in tlie Union. She has little to recommend her except lier fascinating metal, the acquisition of which, however, in its first or natural state, seems always to require a greater sacrifice of moral and physical wealth than a single exchange of it afterwards can possibly 2* 18 CALIFORNIA UX^'EILEP. restore. I kmnv It lias been ]niblisluHl to the world that this eouiitry possesstv^ extraonlinarv agrioultiirul abilities: but this is an assertion wholly gratuitous, and not snseeptible of demon- stration. Taken altogether, it is no sueh thing. Some of her valleys are, indeed, exeeedingly fer- tile ; but, when we eompare their snpertieies with the area of the State, wo tiiul they are but as oases in a desert. 1 seriously believe that a fair and thorough trial will show that she has more than three times as mueli sterile land, in propor- tion to her territory, than any oi' her sister States. On an average, a S(|nare rood of Carolina earth contains as much fertilizing nutriment as an acre of Calitbrnia soil. Comparatively speaking, she has neither season nor soil. No rain falls between the first of April and the middle of November, in consequence of which the earth heeomes so dry and hard that nothing will grow : and the small amount of grass, weeds, or other vegetation that may have shot up in the spring, is parched by the seorehing sun until it is rendered as easy of ignition as prepared fuel. The valleys abovo mentioned are the only spots exempt from this eurse. On the other hand, from the tirst of December to the last of March it rains, as a general thing, so copiously and incessantly, that all ont-iloor avocations must be suspended ; and as there is no mechanical or in-door labor, either of use or profit, to be performed, the people CALIFORNIA UNVEILKD. 19 aro siil)jocto(l to llio diflagreeahle and ox[)oriHivc taKk of'idlirif^ away tlioir time in liDtfjln and roH- taiirantH, at tlio rate of from two to tlircrMlollarH por day for hoard alono, otlier expenses Loing in tlio Ranio rjitio. More of t\\(i disad vantages of tliiH unfortunate inconsiHtency of the seasons, and of tlie paucity of resources of ernphiyrnent liere, will he noticed as we proceed. As for the valleys we have spoken of, they will afford a suf- ficient supply of hreadstuffs to support sparse scittlements, })ut the average or general surface of the country is inca[)ahle of sustaining a dense po[)ulation. If we infjuire after the manufacturing and me- chanical resources of the State, we will find that she has none whatever ; in this respect she is as destitute as the ahoriginal settlements of America. Nor can she estahlish, encourage or maintain these arts, for the reason that she would he under the necessity of importing, not only the ma- chinery and raw materials, hut also the fuel. She could not, therefore, compete with neighbor- ing States, whicli have at least some of these in- dispensable requisites. Nor has she any advan- tages or facilities for either water or steam power. How, then, can she obtain a re|)utation for man- ufactures and mechanism, having neither the material to work, nor the force or means to work with ? She has neither cotton nor flax, coal nor tim])er. She is rich in nothing, and poor in 20 CALIFORNIA UNVEILED. every thing. She has to import every thing she uses, hut has notliing to export, except lier gold, which, instead of being a blessing to her, is a curse. Even the ground she cultivates she has to inclose with imported fencing wire, not having timber suitable for railing or paling purposes. Tliat which is esteemed her chief treasure, de- pendence and commodity, gold, seems to be the least subservient to her advancement and pros- perity; for, comparatively speaking, she sends it all away, and retains none for home use or convenience; and thus it is that she has, in a measure, been a benefit to others, wdiile she has blindly and foolishly impoverished herself. In this she has acted upon the principle of the cobbler, whose shoes are ever tattered, and of the blacksmith, whose liorses always go unshod. But this profuse exportation of gold is signifi- cant of anotlier important fact, while at the same time it demonstrates what I have said above. It shows conclusively that there is no inducement to invest capital permanently in this country, either in the prosecution of business or in tlie establishment of homes or residences. Immigrants find neitlier beauty nor gain to hold them heie ; and I feel warranted in venturing the assertion that not more than ten per cent, of the population are satisfied to remain. Of the other ninety per cent., the bodies only subsist here — their hearts abide in better climes ; and CALIFORNIA UNVEILED. 21 tliey are anxiously waiting and wishing for the time when they shall have an opportunity of releasing themselves from the golden fetters which detain them, and escaping from a country which, with all its wealth, is to them a dr;eary prison. Only a small minority of the few who are lucky enough, by fair means or foul, to ac- cumulate fortune or competence, are induced to identify their lives and interests with the country. But the women are almost unanimous in their determination not to make California any thing more than a temporary residence ; and they have good reasons for this resolution. Besides the social depravity to which I shall presently allude, and which is sufficient to shock the sensibilities of any man of ordinary morality, there are hosts of minor annoyances, resulting from the climate and the geographical position of the country, that inflict peculiar pain upon female sensi- bilities. The mud, which is often knee-deep, keeps them imprisoned all the winter ; while, in summer, the dust, as fine as flour and as abun- dant as earth itself, stifles the inhabitants, fills the houses, penetrates into every nook and cor- ner, finds its way even into the inner drawers and chests, soils the wardrobe, spoils the furni- ture, and sullies every thing. Besides, Califor- nia is especially infested with vermin. Fleas, ants, and all sorts of creeping things are as 22 CALiFORNrA un\t:iled. uhiqiiitoiis as those tliat tornieuted Fliaraoli and liis ])eople, and quite as annoying. No house is free from tliem, no one can escape the perpetual martyrdom of tlieir stings, or tlie annoyance of theiv presence. As the ladies are the special sufferers from these abominable little nuisances, their unanimous dislike of the country is not at all to be wondered at. In proof of this una- nimity, I can only offer the fact tliat, in conver- sation witb quite a number of women who have resided in this State, I have yet to meet with one who is willing to make it her permanent abode. We have alluded to the winds, because they really are a peculiar feature in the meteorology of this State. In the summer time they blow with peculiar violence, and facilitate the spread of the great fires from which California has sullered so much. THE BALANCE-SHEET. 23 CHAPTER II. THE BALANCE-SHEET. Let us now take a glance at the pros and cons of California in statistical form. I have said that the State is bankrupt, that she has never returned an equivalent for the labor and money invested in her, and that she has been repre- sented to be a great deal more than she is in reality — all of which I now reiterate, and shall endeavor to demonstrate. To make out a per- fect and com])lete account-current, or balance- sheet, exhibiting the State's entire gains and losses of time, labor, life, money, etc., would require such a profound knowledge of financial affairs, and of political economy, that it would puzzle Adam Smith himself; we will not, there- fore, attempt accuracy or exactness, but, having sufficient data to sustain us in our position, we will ])roceed to make it known. Without charging California with any of the enormous expenses of the Mexican war, or the check given to the increase of population which that war occasioned, we will simply make her debtor for the amount of purchase-money that was paid for her, and for the various sums it has 24 THE BALANCE-SHEET. cost to control, manage and maintain lier since. And, to avoid that complication and multiplicity of entries that would inevitably result from an introduction of all the individuals, parties or countries that have had dealings with the State, and as a matter of convenience, we will assume that there shall he hut two parties recognized in the transaction, one of debit and one of credit — California and the United States. This will be treating the subject as a matter of dollars and cents, and will enable us to see how much has been made or lost, as the case may be, out of this Eureka venture or speculation. In the first place, then, California is debtor to the United States for her quota of the amount of purchase-money paid to Mexico for herself and for New Mexico, including contingent fund absorbed by Mexican claimants, as per agreement at the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, §10,OaO,000. In the next place, let us see how much she is in- debted to the United States for labor. At the present time,, her population is estimated at about two hundred and fifty thousand. It is but little greater now than it was in 1849. In '51 and '52 it was larger than it was or has been at any preceding or subsequent period. It would probably be fair to estimate the average popula- tion at two hundred and fifty thousand for the last six years ; of this number, it is supposed that from thirty to thirty-five thousand are THE BALANCE-SHEET. 25 women and children, who have become residents of the State within the last three or four years. Admitting, then, that there are thirty-five thou- sand women and children, and deducting this number from two hundred and fifty thousand, we have a balance of two hundred and fifteen thousand men, whose service for six years, at say $225 per annum for each man, amounts to $290,230,000. The outfits and passage of these men — to say nothing of the women and children — cost, at the lowest calculation, $200 per head ; so we find that the expense of transporting the ac- tual laborers alone has been at least $43,000,000. We may afford to let this latter amount rest as it is ; but when we take into consideration the fact that the steamers are continually crowded with persons returning from California, and that their places are filled by new emigrants, who have to purchase new passage-tickets and new outfits, it is quite obvious that the figures ex- press much less than the real amount. The above sums added together constitute the United States' charge against California. We will add them together, and then compare the total sum with the amount of gold that has been produced in California. Original cost of the country $10,000,000 Labor 290,230,000 Outfits and transportation 43,000,000 Grand total $343, 130,000 3 26 THE BALANCE-SHEET. Tims we see California is debtor to the United States three hundred and forty-three millions two hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Now let us examine the account which California brings as an offset to this amount. The entire yield of the mines up to the present time, Janu- ary, 1855, has been about two hundred and forty- five millions of dollars. And this is all. We cannot credit her with any thing else that would not be equipoised or balanced by the capital, whether owned or borrowed, brought hither from various parts of the Avorld, and invested in busi- ness and improvements, and about which no- thing has been said in the bill of charges. Here, then, is the sum and substance of the whole matter : The United States account against California. ..$343,230,000 California's account against the United States. . 245,000,000 Deficit $98, 230,000 And now let us see how much money has been lost in and about California by casualties, acci- dents and mismanagement. The reader shall judge whether any part of the amount should be charged to the State. As for us, we shall simply feel it our duty to furnish the statistics. In re- gard to the expenses of Fremont's Battalion, of the Army of Occupation in '47 and '48, and of the wars since waged against the Indians — amounting in all to several millions of dollars, we will say nothing. THE BALANCE-SHEET. 27 In the annexed table is an account of the va- rious fires that have occurred throughout the State. It will be perceived that the date of oc- currence and amount of property destroyed are both given. FIRES IN CALIFORNIA. Fire in San Francisco, December 24, 1849 $1,000,000 ''^ May 4, 1850 3,500,000 " June 14, 1850 3,000,000 '' September 17, 1850 450,000 '' December 14, 1850 1,000,000 " May 3, 1851 12,000,000 '' June 22, 1851 3,000,000 " November 9, 1852 125,000 " Sundry fires in 1853 265,000 Fire in Sacramento, November 2, 1852 10,000,000 Sonora, June 18, 1852 2,500,000 " October 14, 1853 300,000 " November 2, 1853 50,000 Stockton, May 6, 1851 3,000,000 Marysville, August 30, 1851 500,000 " September 10, 1851 80,000 '' November 7, 1852 150,000 Shasta, February 8, 1853 225,000 Nevada, March 10, 1851 200,000 Weaverville, March Y, 1853 125,000 Sundry fires in different parts of the State, dates unob- tainable 4,400,000 $45,870,000 Freshets and inundations, in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, have swept off or destroyed one million five hundred thousand dollars worth of property within the last six years $1,500,000 28 THE BALANCE-SHEET. $2,300,000 The following: sailini]: vessels and steamers have heeii wrecked upon the coast within tlie same period : SATUNCt vessels SOME WITH CARGOES. Ship Tonquia— December, 1849 1 " Crownpriucessen — February, 1850 " Utica— July, 1850 * ' Somerset — December, 1850 " Oxford— July, 1852 " Aberdeeu — July, 1853 ** Carrier Pigeon — June, 1853 *' Eclipse— October, 1853 *' Jenny Lind — December, 1853 " San Francisco — February, 1854... STEAMERS. Commodore Preble — May 3, 1850 Union — July 5, 1851 Chesapeake — October, 1851 Sea Gull— January 26, 1852 Gen. Warren — .Tanuary 31, 1852 North America — February 27, 1852 Pioneer — August IT. 1852 City of Pittsburg— October 24, 1852 Independence — February 10, 1853 Tennessee — March 6, 1853 S. S. Lewis— April 9, 1853 Washington — 1853 Commodore Stockton — 1852 Wintield Scott — December 2 Sundry steamers and sailer: been misplaced 8 50.000 150.000 50,000 50.000 50.000 150.000 250.000 250.000 70.000 300.000 150.000 40.000 00.000 290,000 . 850.000 S2,7GO.OOO The present public debt of the State — entailed upon the people by one of the most imbecile and dissolute legislatures that were ever assembled in an enlight- ened country — is three millions of dollars $3,000,000 1853 the names of which have THE BALANCE-SHEET. 29 The debts of the tlircc principal cities arc as follows : Tlie total amount of the indebtedness of vSan Fran- cisco is $3,342,000. The debt of the city of Sacra- mento amounts to $1,500,000. The entire debt of the city of Marysville amounts to over $70,000. . .$4,912,000 Total $00,342,000 UI<:CAPITULATION. Fires $45, 870,000 Freshets 1 , 500, 000 Shipi)inj^ 5,000,000 State debt 3,000,000 City debt 4,012,000 $00,342,000 These figures show the amount of property tliat has heen destroyed, or the amount of losses tliat liave heen sustained in California, hy acci- dents, misliaps and mismanagement, within tlie last six years. I will, moreover, give a list of lives lost hy violent measures during the same period : Murders 4, 200 Suicides 1, 400 Insanity, (produced by disapi)ointment and misfortune)... 1,700 Wrecked and perished on the way per sailing vessels and steamers 2, 200 Killed by Indians and died of starvation per overland route, 1,G00 Perished in the mines and mountains of the State for want of medical attention and food, and by the hands of the Indians 5,300 Total 16, 400 It may he urged that the State ought not to he held accountahle for any nuinher of these sixteen 3* 3B THE BALANCE-SHEET. thousand four hundred unfortunates, who, for the lack of law and order in a majority of the cases, lost tlieir lives by violent means. We leave the question entirely with the reader. It may also be urged that the State ought not to be charged with any part of the extraordinary losses by fire and shipwreck, notwithstanding foreign capital- ists were the principal sufferers in both cases. Til is question we also submit to the decision of the reader. But I deem it unnecessary to dwell on this part of my subject. In presenting the foregoing cal- culations, it has been my aim to show that Cali- fornia is a country of unparalleled casualties and catastrophes, and to direct attention to the im- mense losses which have been sustained in open- ing its mines of wealth. A large number of people, it seems, have got into the habit of esti- mating the gains without taking into considera- tion the cost or losses at all; and there are those, no doubt, who will attempt to find fault with the account whicli I have drawn up between Califor- nia and the United States. Though that account is in the main correct, I admit that slight errors may here and there exist; for, as I remarked at the outset, the debits and credits are so numerous, and of such an intricate nature, that it would be impossible to arrive at the exact amounts without the greatest research and elaboration. If I have succeeded in undeceiving those who have hereto- THE BALANCE-SHEET. SI fore regarded California as an unincumbered God-send, my object has been attained. I have endeavored to show that, though there has been a great deal of gold obtained in the country, it is not all clear gain, and that notwithstanding there are large deposits of pure metal, there are also huge masses of dross. Shallow enthusiasts have asserted that the United States would have be- come bankrupt two or three years ago, had it not been for the discovery of gold in California. A more preposterous opinion was never entertained. Equally as much wisdom might be found in the assertion that Great Britain would have been sold by the sheriff, if gold had not been discovered in Australia. As a further proof of the beggarly condition of the country, it may not be amiss to remark that, during the last session of Congress, the general government appropriated upwards of four millions of dollars for the relief and benefit of California ; and her senators and representa- tives are still clamoring for additional favors. For the benefit of the reader, and in confirma- tion of statements made in this chapter relative to the past and present of California, I give the following extract from the Louisville Journal, to which my attention has been called since the foregoing calculations and statistics were pre- pared. 32 THE BALANCE-SHEET. COST OF CALIFORNIA GOLD. " For the information of those persons who be- lieve that the United States thus far have been benefited by the discovery of gold in California, we propose to submit a few remarks and calcula- tions. ''After the close of the Mexican war and the cession by treaty to us of Upper California, the world was astonished by the announcement, to- ward the close of 1848 or the beginning of 1849, that immense deposits of gold had been discov- ered in that country. As soon as the truth of this report was established, vast numbers of per- sons, young and old, flocked to that country. There was a perfect stampede of people from every State in the Union. Property was sacri- ficed to raise money with which to reach this El- dorado, where fortunes for all were supposed to be awaiting the mere effort to gather them. The first injurious effect on the country was the sud- den withdrawal of so much labor from the chan- nels of production ; it was mainly, too, that de- scription most needed here — that is, agricultural labor. "We are not in possession of the statistics re- quisite to determine with exactness the number of persons who have been taken from the old States and have gone to California. The popu- lation of that State now exceeds two hundred thousand. But as there is a constant stream of THE BALANCE-SHEET. 33 people always in transitu, either going to or leaving that country, the number of people with- drawn from the business of productive labor largely exceeds the population of that State. It is not our purpose to over-estimate the amount of labor that has been withdrawn from the old States, but we feel satisfied that it will be under rather than over the mark to say that from 1849 to 1854, each year inclusive, there has been an average of 150,000 persons who have been during that time either in California or on their way going or returning. The time is six years for 150,000 persons, or one year for 900,000 persons. "Now, if we estimate the average value of this labor at |25 per month each, or |300 per year, we have ($270,000,000) two hundred and seventy millions of dollars as the value of the labor taken from the eastern side of the Kocky Mountains and placed on its western side. In addition to this, it cost on an average $200 per head as the expenses of the removal from one country to the other. This makes ($180,000,000) one hundred and eighty millions of dollars as the cost of re- moval. The sums together make the sum total of ($450,000,000) four hundred and fifty millions of dollars drained from the eastern side of the United States. To ascertain the amount of the gold obtained from that country, we propose to take the gold coinage of the mint. This coinage was in — 34 THE BALANCE-SHEET. 1849 $9,00Y,t61 1850 31,981,738 1851 62,614,492 1852 $56,846,18Y 1853 46,998,945 1854, estimated.... 42,000,000 Total coinage $249,349, 123 "As these figures make the sum total of all the gold coined at the mint, and a portion of it is known to have been obtained from other sources than California, the credit will rather be in ex- cess than too small ; but still we propose to add to this amount twenty millions more as an al- lowance for unminted gold sold to workers in jeweliy and plate and which has been consumed in the arts. The statement will then stand thus: California, Dr. To labor and outfits $450,000,000 Credit bj product of gold coin and nature 269,349,223 Dr. balance $180,650, 87 7 " This shows that there is a balance dice us in lost labor and capital of over one hundred and eighty millions of dollars, " So far as California is concerned, it is proba- ble that this deficiency is replaced there by the value of property, real and personal, which the labor taken from this region of country has pro- duced there. "The injurious effect of this vast emigration has been felt in the undue stimulus it has given to the prices of produce, induced by diminished production and increased demand. THE BALANCE-SHEET. S5 " Another bad effect of this gold crop has been the influence it has exerted in stimulating ex- cessive importations of foreign goods. In the last six years the imports will exceed the exports three hundred and three millions of dollars. Commencing in 1849 with an import trade of only seven millions of nominal balance against this country^ it rapidly increased, until, in each of the past two years, it has exceeded sixty mil- lions of dollars/' 36 SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. CHAPTER III. SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. Having looked into the financial condition of California, let us now briefly consider the moral and religious state of its society. We know that we are undertaking an ungrateful and painful task— that we shall awaken the animosity of those who have an interest in enticing settlers to this golden region — that we shall provoke contradiction, and probably excite controversy ; but we beseech Heaven to pardon us for speaking the truth, and challenge our antagonists to dis- prove our statements. "We cannot, indeed, pretend to disclose all the terrible iniquity of that society in the compass of a single chapter — the theme is too extensive, the facts too revolting. It requires space to un- fold the scroll which records such damning facts — it needs time for the mind to become suffi- ciently reconciled to the hideous details, to be able to listen to them without impatience or dis- gust. We can, at present, do no more than open the way for a fuller exposition of the subject in subsequent chapters. Suffice it to say that we know of no country in which there is so much SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. 3T corruption, villainy, outlawry, intemperance, licentiousness, and every variety of crime, folly and meanness. Words fail us to express the shameful depravity and unexampled turpitude of California society. How much of this is attributable to the metal which attracts the population, we leave others to determine. One thing, however, is certain ; mining districts do not generally enjoy a very enviable reputation in any part of the world. Gold, especially, is thought to be so easily acces- sible, and the return of the miner's labor is so immediately visible, that it has ever attracted the most unthrifty and dissolute. Men who could not be induced to work at any thing else, will spend days and weeks delving for the pre- cious bane, hoping against hope, and laboring with an eager energy which nothing else can excite, and almost any thing else would more surely reward. Hence, the immediate neighbor- hood of a gold-mine is too liable to be a sink for all the idleness and depravity of the surrounding country. How these evils are multiplied by the absence of individual proprietorship in the land, and by the remoteness of a mining district from the beneficial restraints of public opinion, any one who gives a moment's consideration to the subject will perceive. The exclusive devotion of labor to this one pursuit is another cause of increased laxity of 4 38 SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. morals. In the Atlantic States, gold-mining is only a branch of industry, and not a very im- portant one, compared with the other pursuits of the population ; but in California it is the chief and almost the only occupation of the in- habitants of the mining districts; so that while, in the former place, the general virtue of the people keeps in check the particular vices of the miner, in the latter, the good intentions of the few are overruled and stifled by the vices of the many. We must not, however, commit the mistake of supposing that all the depravity of California is attributable to the nature of its industrial pur- suits. This is but one of the elements which assist in producing the deplorable state of affairs under consideration. There are others which spring from the character of the people, and the circumstances which have brought them to- gether. It must be borne in mind that all the adven- turers to this country have come for the express purpose of making money, and that to this end every other consideration is sacrificed. They have come to '' put money in their purses," and as a large majority of them are of a class who are rarely troubled by any qualms of conscience, they are determined to do it at all hazards. Mammon is their god, and they will worship him. If it be deemed desirable to make further in- SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. 89 qiiiries into this state of things, it is only neces- sary to phihisophize a little upon tlie physical structure of society. A single glance at it will suffice to convince the most superficial obsei-ver that its ingredients cannot he compounded into a harmonious, perfect and complete whole. Will a panther from America, a bear from Europe, a tiger from A^ia, and a lion from Africa, organize in peace and good feeling around the body of a fresh slain deer ? If not, will the Americans, English, French, Grermans, Chinese, Indians, Negroes, and half-breeds, greet each other cor- dially over a gold mine ? These are problems which those who have leisure may solve as their reason dictates. In the present case, it is more my province to relate the condition of things, than to account for their existence; yet, in pre- j^aring statements upon a variety of intricate subjects, owing sometimes to the difficulty of making one's self understood, it is both consist- ent and proper that, now and then, a few re- marks in the way of explanation should be given. Another very important cause of this wild excitement, degeneracy, dissipation, and deplo- rable condition of affairs, may be found in the disproportion of tlie sexes — in the scarcity of wo- men. At present, tliere is onl}^ about one wonian to every ten or twelve men, and tlie result is what might be expected. The women are persecuted ^ SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. by the insulting attentions of the men, and too often fall victims to the arts of their seducers. Nowhere is the sanctity of the domestic hearth so ruthlessly violated as in California. For proof of this, we need look no further than the records of the courts of San Francisco, which show that, in the course of a single week, no less than ten divorces had been granted, while, during the same time, only two marriages had been solem- nized I Not long since, an English gentleman, of w^hom myself and others had purchased some real estate in this city, came to me, requesting that, inasmuch as his wife had left him the day before, we would not let her have any money on his account. After finishing his business in- structions, he gave us the following history. Listen to it. Said he : " Four years ago, myself and wife, and six other men with their wives, came together in one vessel to this country. Shortly after our arrival, family feuds and jeal- ousies became rife in the domestic circle of one of the parties. The man and his wife sepa- rated. Soon their example was followed by an- other couple, and another, and so on, until all the marriage ties of our company were broken, except those that happily existed between my- self and wife. Left alone thus, and having been true to each other so long, and through so many opposing circumstances, I cherished the hope SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. 41 that we might remain together, and be true to the end. But, alas! my fond thoughts and anti- cipations have proved a sickly dream. My hopes have been blasted, my happiness wrecked, and my children disgraced and deserted. My wife, whom I loved and held dearer than all else on earth, the partner of my life, has been basely seduced. The last link that bound the remnant of our seven families together has been severed, and the consequence is, we are a disbanded and disreputable people. Cursed be the day and the incentive that started me to this damnable coun- try!" These were his own words, almost ver- batim ; and he uttered them as if partly speaking to himself, and partly addressing me. The total disregard of the marriage tie by the majority of the men of California puts the hus- band, who is foolish enough to take his wife with him to that countr}^, in a painful and em- barrassing position. Should the wife be pretty, she is the more liable to the persecution of atten- tions which will shock her if she be virtuous, and flatter her into sin if she is not. She is sur- rounded at once by hosts of men, who spare neither money, time, nor art to win her affec- tions from her husband. What wonder if they often succeed ? Female virtue or chastity, in the conventional sense of the word, is known to every one, who is familiar with the internal history of society, to 4.* 42 SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. be a very complex idea. There are women who are chaste only for want of the opportunity to be otherwise. There are others who are kept chaste by the force of public apinion, the dread of ex- posure, and the general fear of consequences ; while a third class preserve their persons un- tainted by an innate purity of soul, which shrinks instinctively from all indelicacy, and feels con- taminated by an unclean thought, and degraded by a lustful look. It is not our business to in- quire into the relative proportion of women em- braced in these three classes. It is enough to know that they exist, to appreciate the effect which the society of California will exert u2:)on them. As for the first class, it is not necessary to speak of them. They fulfil their shameful des- tiny every where, and California only ripens their depravity a little earlier. It is the second class who suifer chiefly from the peculiar moral atmosphere of the land of gold. In the Atlantic States, hedged in by a herJthy public opinion, guarded by jealous laws, flattered into chastity by the respectful attentions which that virtue ever commands, they might retain to their dy- ing day that physical purity which satisfies the great majority of husbands. In California, how- ever, these restraints are all removed. Public opinion arrays itself on the side of vice ; the laws are powerless to punish the sins of impu- SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA. 43 rity ; and all the attentions the women receive are based upon the hope of their ultimate fall. How are such women to resist? Cut loose at once from all those restraints which kept them in the right way^ will they not dart off into the devious paths of error and of sin? It is impos- sible that it should be otherwise ; and the man who would keep faithful to liimself a wife of this type in California, must have wealth enough to gratify her most extravagant whims, time to devote exclusively to watching her, eyes keener than those of Argus, and cunning sharper than that of Vidocq. The third class — of whom, I regret to say, I have met with but few in the Eureka State — ■ have also peculiar trials to undergo. Society in that country is a reproduction, on a large scale, of the morals of the courts of Charles II of England and Louis XV of France. Vice only is esteemed and lauded, virtue is treated as an idle dream, an insulting pretence of superiority, or a stupid folly beneath the notice of men of sense. People do not believe in it — they scorn it, they insult it ; they consider it a mere avaricious at- tempt to dispose of venal charms above their market value, so that the chaste woman has not only to suflFer the persecution of insulting pro- posals, but the doubt of that virtue which repels her pursuers, and the sneers and scandal of a depraved and debased community. 44 SOCIETY IN CALIFOKNIA. Many women, of conceded respectability in California, seem to have come out there for the exclusive purpose of selling their charms to the highest bidder. Others, of more honest hearts, have fallen victims to the peculiar seductions of the place, but I must be allowed to pay a tribute to the sex, even in this its degenerate condition. Paradoxical as the statement may sound, it is rigorously true that these very women have im- proved the morals of the community. Any one who, like myself, has had the opportunity of seeing California before and after the advent of these Av^omen, must have been struck with the decided improvement in society since their arri- val. They have undoubtedly banished much barbarism, softened many hard hearts, and given a gentleness to the men which they did not pos- sess before. What, then, might we not expect from an influx of the chaste wives and tender mothers that bless our other seaboard ? SAN FRANCISCO. 45 CHAPTER lY. SAN FRANCISCO. We will now pay our respects to the occidental metropolis of the United States^, sometimes hon- ored with the title of the Queen City of the Pa- cific. It has not been more truthfully remarked that Paris is France, than that San Francisco is Cali- fornia. This is the grand mart in which all the travel, news, capital, business, and, in fact, every species of interest or employment that belongs to the State is concentrated — the nucleus around which every plan and project must first be de- veloped before it can receive life, vigor, system and order. It is the fountain-head of all the tributaries of trade and traffic that flow through the State — the great trestle-board or chart of operations to which all the journeymen repair for designs and instructions to pursue their la- bors. It is the supreme tribunal and regulator of affairs — the heart, the life, and the stay of the State. Contrary to the general rule, in this case the city supports the country, instead of the country nurturing and sustaining the city ; and this will continue to be the case so long as the 4H SAN FRANCISCO. country is under the necessity of importing what- ever she requires for use. Until she hecomes the producer of the bulk ^r major part of that which she consumes, San Francisco will retain this as- cendency. Every important movement, whether of a public, private, political or commercial char- acter, receives its impetus from this point ; and owing to its advantageous geographical position, and the facilities and accommodation offered for shipping, I tliink it may be safely said that San Francisco will be a great city, although Califor- nia can never become a great State. In order to particularize a little, and to furnish the reader with a more systematic idea of tlie city, we will imagine ourselves in a vessel, some distance at sea, approaching the coast of Califor- nia in about the lat. of 37° 45' N. and Ion. 122° 25^ W. This will bring us to the Grolden Gate, the entrance to the harbor. This entrance is a narrow outlet, through which at least seven- eighths of the entire waters of the State find their way into the Pacific ocean. It can be so thoroughly fortified that no maritime expedition could ever force its way through it. Passing through the Gate, we enter the bay, and find it to be one of the largest and finest in the world, dotted with several small islands, and abounding in excellent fish of every variety. Soon we arrive at Long Wharf; the steamer is run alongside, and we are in the Eldorado of SAN FRANCISCO. 4f modern times. Around ns we beliold an innu- merable crowd of eager lookers-on, who have come down from the city to meet their wives, lovers, fathers, mothers, sisters, or brothers, as the case may be. The crowd is probably one of the most motley and heterogeneous that ever occupied space. It is composed of specimens of humanity from almost every clime and nation upon the hab- itable globe. Citizens from every State in the Union, North and South, Americans, French, English, Irish, Scotch, Germans, Dutch, Danes, Swedes, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Rus- sians, Poles, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, Hindoos, Sandwich Islanders, New Zealanders, Indians, Africans, and hybrids — all stand before us. We see all grades and conditions, all ages and sexes, all colors and costumes, in short, a complete hu- man menag erie. By the sides of the wharves, and anchored in different parts of the commodious and noble bay, we see magnificent ships, barks and brigs from every nation of commercial note. But of all these majestic palaces of the deep, none are equal in beauty of design and finish, in grace, sym- metry and elegance, or in excellence of quality, to our own American clippers. Thinking that it might be of interest to some of my readers, as a specimen of American marine or naval nomen- clature, I have taken the pains to collect a ma- jority of the names of these oaken chariots of old 48 SAN FRANCISCO. Neptune that have from time to time entered the Golden Gate, freighted with merchandise from Atlantic ports. Some of the names are truly ap- propriate and poetic. Ten of them, as will be seen, have, as a prefix, the word ^^ Golden." I have arranged them in the subjoined list in al- phabetical order : Antelope, Archer, Atalanta, Aurora, Bald Eagle, Belle of Baltimore, Celestial, Challenge, Champion, Climax, Comet, Contest, Courser, Dancing Feather, Dashing Wave, Dauntless, Defiance, Don Quixotte, Eclipse, Empress of the Seas, Eureka, Fearless, Flying Arrow, Flying Childers, Flying Cloud, Flying Dragon, Flying Dutchman, Flying Eagle, Flying Fish, Game Cock, Gazelle, Gem of the Ocean, Golden Age, Golden City, Golden Eagle, Golden Fleece, Golden Gate, Golden Light, Golden Racer, Golden Rule, Golden State, Golden West, Gray Eagle, Gray Feather, Gray Hound, Herald of the Morning, Highflyer, Hornet, Honqua, Hurricane, Ino, Invincible, John Gilpin, King Fisher, SAN FRANCISCO. 49 Mystery, National Eagle, Neptune's Car, Northern Crown, Ocean Pearl, Ocean Spray, Olive Branch, Onward, Oriental, Orion, Pampero, Peerless, Phantom, Queen of Clippers, Queen of the Pacific, Queen of the Seas, Battler, Ptaven, Eed Rover, Reindeer, Ring Leader, Rip Van Winkle, Rover's Bride, Sea Serpent, Seaman's Bride, Shooting Star, Simoon, Light Foot, Living Age, Mandarin, Matchless, Messenger, Meteor, Monsoon, Morning Light, Mountain Wave, 5 Sirocco, Skylark, Snowsquall, Southern Cross, Spitfire, Stag Hound, Storm King, Sun Beam, Surprise, Sword Fish, Siren, Tam O'Shanter, Telegraph, Tinqua, Tornado, Trade Wind, Typhoon, Viking, Waterwitch, Western Star, Westward Ho ! West Wind, Whirlwind, White Squall, White Swallow, Wide Awake, Wild Duck, Wild Pigeon, Wild Ranger, Winged Racer, Wings of the Morning, Witch of the Wave, Witchcraft, Wizard, Zoe. 50 SAN FRANCISCO. Leaving the vicinity of the shipping, we wend our way towards the heart of the city. As we proceed, we ohserve many ohjects of interest that deserve more attention than we can bestow upon them at this time. Degradation, profligacy and vice confront us at every step. Men are passing to and fro with haggard visages and heads declined, muttering to themselves, and looking as hungry and fero- cious as the prowling beasts of an Asiatic jungle. Before us on either side, we see a group of boys, clad in slouched hats, dirty shirts, ragged pants, and shabby shoes, without socks, who have no regular business. Sometimes they sell newspa- pers in the morning, and in the middle of the day engage in various occupations, as, for in- stance, in peddling fruits, nuts and toys. At this time several of them seem to have met by chance, and they have stopped to discuss the times and the progress of events. If we were near enough, we should probably hear the right hand party criticising Madame Anna Thillon's last performance of the opera of La Somnambula, or of the Daughter of the Kegiment ; and those on the left giving their opinions upon the merits" of Madame Anna Bishop's last oratorio or ballad concert. After disposing of all the actors and actresses in music, opera, pantomime, tragedy and comedy, or, perhaps, after bragging of the successes of certain amours or other youthful de- SAN FRANCISCO. 51 pravitieSj they rally together, and entering the nearest groggery, one calls for a brandy smash, another for a whiskey punch, a third for a gin cocktail, and so on, until all are served. Then, bowing to each other, they drink to the pros- perity of Young America, to which school they all belong ; and dashing their glasses upon the counter with as hideous and vociferous anathe- mas as ever passed the lips of an East India pirate, they separate, segar in mouth, and return to their respective avocations. Not unfrequently these vicious youths repeat their potations so often that they become thoroughly inebriated, and may be seen quarreling, fighting, and lying about the streets like hardened and inveterate topers. The bales and stacks of hay and straw piled upon some of the wharves, deserve a passing glance, since they form the sleeping apartments of dozens of penniless vagabonds who are always wandering about the city in idleness and misery, and have no other place to rest, no bed to sleep upon, except these out-door packages of proven- der, into which they creep for shelter and slum- ber during the long hours of the night. Continuing our perambulations in a westerly direction, we find ourselves at the foot of Com- mercial street, which runs almost due east and west through the centre of the city. This street we will pass up, paying attention as we proceed 52 SAN FRANCISCO. to some of the irregularities and peculiarities which distin-guish San Francisco from other cities, and California from other countries. The first houses we see are from one to two stories in height, and are built of red wood, a very light combustible kind of timber that resembles the spruce or cedar. Oregon produces nearly all the building materials out of which these and most other houses and tenements in California are constructed ; and I have been credibly informed that the red wood and fir trees in that territory grow from two hundred and fifty to three hun- dred feet high, and proportionally thick. In some of the remote and comparatively inaccessi- ble parts of California these varieties of timber are also found, and are said to acquire the same gigantic bulk. Most of the buildings in this part of the street are tenanted by those mysterious and avaricious characters whose arrival in this, as well as in other places, is always as inexplicable as that of the flies in summer, and whose exit is equally as unceremonious as that of the swallows in winter — no one knowing whence they came or whither they go — the Jews, those nomades of civilization. These erratic and money-loving descendants of the ancient biblical patriarchs seem to follow in the wake of all adventurous Christians and gen- tiles who wear those convenient articles of appa- rel denominated ready-made clothes. Preferring SAN FRANCISCO. 53 to travel the way after it is once opened, they are seldom known as the pioneers of a new coun- try ; and claiming to be conservative in their principles and opposed to aggression, they pro- fess disinclination to encroach upon foreign ter- ritory ; but after the battles are fought with the forest, the wild beasts, or the biped enemy, and peace and security established, they are ever ready to come in and partake of whatever ad- vantages may have been attained. So it has been in California, so it is yet, and so it will always be here and every where else, with these home- less and migratory people. They do not employ any of their time or means in advancing the permanent and substantial in- terests of the country. None of them engage in any sort of manual labor, except, perhaps, that which is of the most trivial and unmanly nature, such, for instance, as the manufacturing of jew- elry and haberdashery. Mining, the cultivation of the soil, in a word, any occupation that re- quires exposure to the weather, is too fatiguing and intolerable for them. The law requiring man to get bread by the sweat of his brow, is an injunction with which they refuse to comply. It is a tax they are unwilling to pay — an enigma beyond their comprehension — they will not sweat. Dealing in ready-made clothing appears to be their peculiar forte; and this is about the only thing they follow in San Francisco — as I think 5* 54 SAN FRANCISCO. it may be said to be their principal pursuit wherever they go, when they have not the means to set themselves up as pawn-brokers or note- shavers. We observe that they have presumptuously usurped or occupied from four to six feet of the way on either side of the street, by building lit- tle wooden racks and projections in front of their stores, for the purpose of making a more con- spicuous display of their marketable vestments in dry weather. In any other place than Cali- fornia such unjust appropriations of the streets of a city would not be tolerated ; but here, where usurpation, illegality and confusion reign su- l^reme, no attention is paid to it. It has ever been the misfortune of the Jew to undergo the scorn and contumely of self-styled Christians, and indeed of all nations. Since the destruction of his ancient capital by the Romans, he has been an outcast in the world, the stand- ing butt of the Gentile's scoffs. California is no exception to this general rule. But little respect is shown him there ; and he is continually jeered by having applied to him such annoying epithets as Christ-killer, ham-hater and anti-pork-eater. But few of them have signs over their doors, as most men have who transact business upon their honor and reputation. Some of them buy and sell under assumed names ; but in general their business is anonymously conducted. Bidding SAN FRANCISCO. 55, adieu to the cosmopolitan issue of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and leaving them in the peace- able possession and enjoyment of their ^Hoo or tree towsand monnies/' we will take a glance at matters of more importance. Higher up the street we come to a better class of buildings than the miserable little shops we have just left, and we get a fair view of the per- manent and attractive architecture of San Fran- cisco — the brick and stone structures. Many of these buildings are beautifully designed and symmetrically proportioned, and have fire-proof walls varying from sixteen to twenty-four inches in thickness. They are usuall}^ from two to four stories in height. One hotel is five stories high, being the tallest house in the State. Probably no city in this country can boast of buildings so substantial and thoroughly fire- proof as those of San Francisco. Besides making the walls very thick, every care is taken to have the doors, window-shutters and roofs equally stout and incombustible ; nor is this precaution at all surprising, when it is remembered that this city alone has lost more than twenty-five millions of dollars by fire. Owing to the unusual dryness of the weather, the prevalence of winds in summer, and the in- adequate supply of water possessed by the city, all combustible matter is rendered so inflamma- ble that it is quite impossible to keep it from 56 SAN FRANCISCO. burning after fire is once communicated ; hence the necessity of using brick and stone instead of wood. The amount of money invested in this durable kind of improvement, as will be seen by reference to the following statistics which I bor- row from the Herald, is something over thirteen and a half millions of dollars — the number of buildings being six hundred and thirty-eight : No. of buildings. V^alue. Mason street 4 $ 35,000 Powell street 13 156,500 Stockton street 35 423, 500 Dupont street 37 450, 000 Kearny street. 23 535,000 Montgomery street 55 3,500,000 Sansome street 46 1, 036, 000 Battery street 63. . . . 1,106,000 Front street 39 612,000 Davis street 3 85,000 Gearystreet 2 16,000 Sutter street 3 30,000 Bush street 5 144,000 Pine street 9 144,500 California street 47 1, 230, 750 Sacramento street 52.... 778,000 Commercial street 21 462,000 Clay street 28 593,000 Merchant street 15.... 348,500 Washington street 37 608, 500 Jackson street 19 308,000 Pacific street 7 107,000 Broadway 10 145,000 Vallejo street 3 36,000 Green street 2.... 16,000 Union street 6 92,000 Greenwich street 3 35,000 SAN FRANCISCO. 57 Lombard street 2.... 12,000 Chestnut street. 2 20,000 Francisco street 1 . . . . 36, 000 Market street 2 40,000 First street 5 76,000 Brannan street 10 50, 000 Third street 4.... 44,500 Miscellaneous 55 30Y,000 Total 638 $13,618, *750 It is a remarkable fact, however, that less than half of these improvements have been made with California gold. Ask the proprietors where they got the money which they have expended in the erection of these buildings, and they will tell you it came from the Atlantic States and from Europe. Those who occupy them, the merchants and business men from New York, London, Paris, Hamburg, Bremen, and other places, will testify to this fact. California gold is to the world much what Southern cotton is to the North ; it is not retained at home to supply the wants of the peo- ple, to afford them employment, to eurich or em- bellish the country, but is passed into distant hands, and afterwards brought back at a pre- mium. Thus the producers are continually drained, and the commonwealth necessarily im- poverished by this unthrifty management. These buildings are erected upon the most eli- gible and convenient sites, and form what is- properly termed the business portion of the city — covering, probably, about one-sixth of its su- 58 SAN FRANCISCO. perficies. Almost all of the residences or private dwellings are built of wood, and are very frail and inelegant. It is the intention, however, of a large number of the citizens to take down the wood and substitute brick or stone, as soon as they get able, if that is ever to be the case. To acquaint ourselves with the character of the speculators and business men in San Francisco would be a curious and interesting task. They are certainly the shrewdest rascals in the world, and a straight-forward, honest man, who acts upon principle and adheres to a legitimate system of dealing, can no more cope with them than he can fly. But notwithstanding their shrewdness, and I might say, in some instances, their excellent business qualifications, they exhibit less method and system in their transactions than any class of traders I ever saw. Whatever they do is done in a helter-skelter, topsy-turvy sort of way, as if they had just fallen out of their element, and were scrambling to get back again. They never take time to do a thing well, but are always going and coming, or bustling about in such a manner, that one would suppose they were making pre- parations for some calamitous emergency, rather than attending to the every day routine of an established occupation. This restless disposition is characteristic of the inhabitants of every part of the State ; the mind seems all the time to be intently engaged upon SAN FRANCISCO. 5^ something in another place, and the body is always pushing forward to overtake it. Pursuing this digression a little further, it may be remarked of San Francisco that, al- though she is indebted to California for her ex- istence, she is no longer dependent upon the State for her support. San Francisco can now claim to be as much the city of the Pacific, or of the world, as of California. The commercial advan- tages she enjoys, her inviting harbor and central position, are far superior in importance to any benefit she is likely to receive from the interior. The profits she will gain from the whale-fishing fleet of the North Pacific, and from her trade with the islands of the South Pacific, with China, Oregon and Russian America, will place her in a more prominent and enviable position than it is possible for the State ever to attain. Returning to our subject, we find ourselves as far advanced on our way as Montgomery street. The course of this street lies north and south through the middle of the most beautiful and wealthy part of the city ; it is, therefore, both the Broadway and the Wall street of San Francisco. Every phase and trait of life and character is cognizable here. The dramatist who would study human nature here, would have an opportunity of striking out something new, instead of re- peating the old creations of his predecessors, for surely never was there so varied a page spread out before the eyes of man. GO SAN FRANCISCO. While in this vicinity, we may observe men, Avho in the Atlantic States bore unblemished rep- utations for probity and honor, sinking into the lowest depths of shame and degradation. Others, whose moral characters are unobjectionable, have been pecuniarily unfortunate, and are driven to the necessity of engaging in the most menial and humiliating employments. Among the lat- ter class, I might mention lawyers, who, to save themselves from the severe pangs of actual want, have been compelled to fish around the wharves for crabs, and to enlist themselves in the petty traffic of shrimps and tomcods. Ministers and physicians fare no better. In a certain hotel in this city, not long since, a lawyer was employed as a regular runner ; in another, adjacent to it, a physician was engaged to pare potatoes and wash dishes ; while in a neighboring restaurant, a preacher was hired to wait upon the customers and clean off the tables. Now, does not every reasonable man know that these professional men did not voluntarily follow these inferior pursuits? It was not a matter of choice with them. They could not help themselves ; they were out of mo- ney, out of employment, destitute of friends, and were compelled to take advantage of the first op- portunity that offered of earning their daily bread. Half the lowest and most servile situations or offices in this and other cities in the State are filled, often without any orther remuneration, SAN FRANCISCO, 61 than board and lodging, by these unlucky and depressed adventurers. New as the country is, the dand}', that exquis- ite flower of a fi.nished civilization, is not un- known. He may be seen at any time sunning his external splendor on the side-walk^ and scorning his more useful cotemporaries as loftily as though he were promenading Broadway or the Champs Elysees. Together with bankers, stock-jobbers, and other moneyed men, we observe that the stu- dents or disciples of Blackstone, Coke and Story have selected this street for their offices. Con- sidering the heterogeneous composition of society in this country, the loose and unsystematic trans- actions of every-day business, and the unsettled state of public affairs, it will be readily perceived that there is an incessant clashins; of feeline: and interest, and that the result is a great deal of strife and litigation. Disputes and difficulties relative to real property, and spurious or imagi- nary claims, keep the court dockets continually crowded ; and the lawyers have rich and abun- dant opportunities for the exercise of their foren- sic abilities. For the first two or three years after the set- tlement of California by the Americans, all attempts to organize or establish the civil law proved fruitless; and during this anarchical pe- riod no redress could be had, except by an appeal 6 62 SAN FRANCISCO. to lyucli-law, in which case death was sure to he the fate of the criminah Then the country had no practitioners of law, except those whose tal- ents ranked far helow mediocrity; hut now the San Francisco har can hoast of some of the most profound and eminent jurists in the Union. It is prohahle that they have heen more fortunate in accumulating wealth, than any other class of men. Much of their husiness has heen of such a nature that they could mould it almost exclu- sively to their own interest, provided they felt inclined to take such an advantage of their cli- ents ; and every body knows it would he a very unlawful thing in a lawyer to neglect himself. They are the largest owners of real estate in the city, and there is no species of property that yields so great a profit as this, if properly man- aged. Land titles are now as much contested as they ever were, there heing in some instances as many as half a dozen claimants to a single lot. The squatters cause most of these troubles. Gener- ally poor, and homeless, they settle upon any vacant or unoccupied piece of ground that suits them ; and as there is a numerous body linked together for mutual support and protection, it is an extremely difficult matter for the half-sus- tained civil authorities to remove them If the law were sufficiently forcible — if there were any such thing in California as sovereign law, these SAN FRANCISCO. 63 intruders would be brought to justice, and in- stead of the broils and butchery now so common all over the country, peace, safety and good order would exist. But as it is, no dependence can be placed upon the administration of justice ; and unless a man takes the law in his own hands, and defends his person and property vi et armis, he must tamely submit to whatever injury or in- dignity is offered him. Sometimes several squat- ters settle indiscriminately upon a single claim ; and in these cases, feuds, animosities and conten- tions are sure to follow; but the difficulties are soon arranged by a recourse to weapons, it being generally conceded that he is the rightful owner or claimant, who happens to possess the largest bowie-knife and the truest aim with rifle or re- volver. The grog-shops or tippling-houses constitute the last but not the least prominent feature of Montgomery street that we will notice at the present time. The devil has certainly met with more than usual success in establishing so many of these, his recruiting officers, in this region ; for we cannot visit any part of the state or city without finding them always at our elbow. San Francisco might allot one to every street corner in the city, or in other words, four to every in- tersection of the streets, and still her number would not be exhausted. It is astonishing what an amount of time, labor and money is misspent 64 SAN FRANCISCO. in tliis nefarious traffic. Out of the two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants in California, from twelve to fifteen thousand are exclusively en- gaged in this diabolical, but lucrative business ; and, what is worse than all, nearly one-fourth of the bars are attended by young females, of the most dissolute and abandoned character, who use every device to entice and mislead the youth- ful and unsuspecting. Women being somewhat of a novelty here, their saloons are always thronged with customers, many being induced to patronize them merely for the sake of looking at them. What a base prostitution of their des- tiny and mission ! Woman has come here, not only to pander to man's vitiated appetites, but also to create and foster in him unholier desires, and, if possible, to lead him further astray than lie would have gone without her. Lest we should fall in love with one of these sirens, we will not go near them, but will enter one of the saloons kept by a biped of our own sex. Across the street is a large and fashionable one, called the Blue Wing, *^ Where politicians most do congregate. To let their tongues tang argiinients of State." Adding ourselves to the number of its inmates, we find the governor of the State seated by a table, surrounded by judges of the supreme and superior courts, sipping sherry cobblers, smoking segars, and reveling in all the delights SAN FRANCISCO. 65 of an anticipated debaucli. Another group of less distinction in public affairs, but better known to the proprietor because of their more frequent and protracted visits, occupy a second table in the back part of the room, where they are play- ing cards and carousing over a general assort- ment of distilled, fermented and malt liquors. The proprietor himself is a red-nosed, jolly fel- low, of burgomaster proportions, generally in a good humor, who treats his victim-patrons with the utmost courtesy and politeness. He is every man's man, and always has a smile and a smart saying prepared for the entertainment of the by- standers. His two clerks, for he is unable to wait upon all his customers himself, are equally urbane in their deportment, and may be found at their posts from six o'clock in the morning till twelve o'clock at night, ready to flavor and tinc- ture mixed drinks, to prepare hot punches, and to deal out low anecdote to vulgar idlers. On the shelves and counters are dozens of labeled decanters and bottles, filled with the choicest liquors and artificial beverages that the world produces ; other articles of similar use and value are also kept for sale, and stored away in their appropriate places. As a minute survey of the bill of fare may not be uninteresting, I here- with present it : — 6* 66 SAN FRANCISCO. BILL OF FARE OF A CALIFORNIA GROGGI Bowie Knives and Pistols. Scotch Ale, Burgundy, English Porter, Haut Bers£e_y American Brandy, Champagne, Irish Whiskey, Maraschino, Holland Gin, Tafia, Jamaica Kum, Negus, French Claret, Tog, Spanish Sack, Shambro, German Hockamore, Fisca, Persian Sherbet, Virginia, Portuguese Port, Knickerbocker, Brazilian Arrack, Snifter, Swiss Absynthe, Exchange, East India Acids, Poker, Spirit Stews and Toddies, Agent, Lager Beer, Floater, New Cider, lOU, Soda Waters, Smasher, • Mineral Drinks, Curacoa, Ginger Pop, Ratafia, Usquebaugh, Tokay, Sangaree, Calcavalla, Perkin, Alcohol, Mead, Cordials, Metheglin, Syrups, Eggnog, Stingo, Capilliare, Hot Grog, Kirschwassen, Mint Juleps, Cognac, Gin Sling, Rhenish Wine, Brick Tops Sauteme, Sherry Cobblers, Malaga, Queen Charlottes, Muscatel, Mountaineers, SAN FRANCISCO. 67 Brandy Smashes, Whiskey Punch, Cherry Bounce,, Shamperone, Drizzles, Our Own, Eed Light, Hairs, Horns, Whistler, White Lion, Settler, Peach and Honey, Whiskey Skin, Old Sea Dog, Peg and Whistle, Eye Opener, Apple Dam, Flip Flap, One-eyed Joe, Cooler, Cocktails, Tom .and Jerry, Moral Suasion, Jewett's Fancy, Ne Plus Ultra, Citronella Jam, Silver Spout, Veto, Deacon, Ching Ching, Sergeant, Stone Wall, Booster Tail, Vox Populi, Tug and Try, Segars and Tobacco. The annual consumption of beer, wines and liquors in this State exceeds five millions of gal- lons, a vast deal of which is retailed at extraordi- narily remunerative rates. All of the first class establishments, I mean those that deal in good qualities, charge twenty-five cents for every drink or dram they sell ; but an adulterated article, of which there is always an abundant supply in market, can be procured at about one half that price. In some of the most popular and respect- able saloons, genuine articles are always kept on hand for the benefit and accommodation of those who are willing to pay for a delicious (?) draught. I may not be a competent judge, but this much 68 SAN FRANCISCO. I will say, that I have seen purer liquors, better segars, finer tobacco, truer guns and pistols, larger dirks and bowie knives, and prettier courtezans here, than in any other place I have ever visited ; and it is my unbiased opinion that California can and does furnish the best bad things that are obtainable in America. SAN FRANCISCO. 69 CHAPTEE V. SAN FRANCISCO — CONTINUED. We will , now look into Clay street, wliicli intersects Montgomery, and runs parallel with Commercial. Next to Montgomery, this is the most fashionahle street in the city ; the large establishments where retailers deal in ladies' and gentlemen's dress goods being situated upon it. The side-walks are narrow, and generally crowded to such an excess as to render it really difficult and tiresome to travel them. To the ladies, shopping on this street is especially an- noying and tedious ; for they are designedly balked or hindered in their course by a set of w^ell-dressed vagabonds, who promenade the trestoir from morning to night for the sole pur- pose of staring in their faces. The following little circumstance, which oc- curred here about a year ago, will show that, however culpable it may be in those who make a regular business of gazing intently in ladies' faces, the act is sometimes induced by a natural and inoffensive regard for the opposite sex. A very clever married lady, whose notions and ideas of things were somewhat akin to those of 7© SAN FRANCISCO. the Merry Wives of Windsor, espied a gentle- man gazing very earnestly in her lace, when she turned to him, notwithstanding they were hoth on the street, and asked, " Why do you stare at me so hard, sir ? Have I done you any injury ?" " Oh ! no, madam," replied he ; " I assure you you have not harmed me in the least. But par- don me ; I have been in the mines for the last two years, and it has been so long since I saw a lady, that I must own my admiration of you has compelled me to be somewhat rude in my scru- tiny of your charms.'* The lady was satisfied with the complimentary explanation, and since that time has been more resigned to her fate, and better contented to endure the steady stare of the public. The gambling-houses cannot be overlooked in a true sketch of life in San Francisco. One of the largest and most frequented of these, called the Diana, stands a few doors above us. The building extends, through the entire block, from Clay to Commercial street, and has a front pro- portionate to its depth. The doors, which lead into it from either street, are kept wide open from nine in the morning till twelve at night, durino; which time the hall or saloon is gener- ally filled to overflowing with lazy men, of lit- tle principle, whose chief employment consists in devising some sinister plans of procuring a livelihood without work. On one side is a bar, SAN FRANCISCO. 71 attended by a lady, assisted by three young white men and two negroes. This is largely patronized by the occupants of the saloon — one-fifth of them drinking because they have been lucky, and the other four-fifths drinking because they have been unlucky. Around the walls are suspended showy paintings and engravings, some of them of the size of life, representing nude women in every imaginable posture of obscenity and indecency. Seated around numerous tables, covered with cloth or velvet, and finished expressly for gam- bling purposes, are some rare specimens of greedy speculators in the folly of their fellow- men. The proprietor of the house rents his tables to professional gamblers at a stipulated sum per month, with the condition that he is to receive a certain per centage on the net proceeds of their swindling operations. Usually, two gamblers form a copartnership, hire one table, and station themselves opposite each other, so that each can understand every manceuvre and secret sign of the other ; and when a good oppor- tunity for cheating or defrauding presents itself to one of them, the other is always prepared to divert the attention of the audience or of the in- terested party from his partner's motions. Every possible variety of gaming that can be accom- plished by cards and dice is practiced here ; and every false and dishonest trick is resorted to (often with more than anticipated success) to 72 SAN FRANCISCO. fleece ignorant men of tlieir purses. Lying on the top of each table is a pile of gold and silver coin, denominated the bank, the size and amount of which, as a matter of course, depend alto- gether upon the wealth of the proprietors. I have said ^^the bank" is composed of gold and silver coin ; it must be one or other, or both of these metals in some shape — whether in dust, ingots, bullion, or coin ; for these constitute the sole recognized currency of the State, there being no paper money or bank-notes in circulation. At one of the tables we observe two proprie- tors, as before described. One of them is a lank, cadaverous fellow, with a repulsive expression of low cunning, full of hypocrisy and deceit, taci- turn in disposition, unengaging in manners, who was formerly a Baptist preacher in Connecticut. The other has a vinous, fat, and jolly counte- nance, is open-faced, enjoys a joke, is lively, laughs at his partner for being so melancholy, is affable and courteous to strangers, talks a great deal, as might be expected, since, before he came to California, he was considered one of the most promising young lawyers in Mississippi. The proprietors of another table are two old gentlemen of " three score years and ten," whose white hairs and wrinkled brows would seem to belong to a more honorable station in life than that assigned them by destiny. A third table is used by a couple of Spaniards, whose scowling SAN FRANCISCO. t3 brows and treacherous eyes indicate that they are better qualified for the transaction of in- famous and atrocious deeds, than for fair dealing or magnanimous behaviour. A Jew and Jewess have command of the fourth table ; the fifth is under the direction and management of a French gentleman and lady ; a young American girl and her paramour have charge of the sixth ; while the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and so on, are presided over by sundry sorts of wicked spirits, unworthy of being named. Octogenarians, youth- ful and middle-aged men, married and unmarried women, boys and girls, white and black, brown and copper-colored, the quarrelsome and the peaceable, all associate together ; and, at times, as might be expected, fight, maim, and kill each other with the same indifference with which people generally pursue their daily occupations. I neglected to mention before, that, in some conspicuous point of the principal houses of this character, there is generally erected a stage or platform, upon which a company of musicians perform at intervals of a quarter of an hour. This they are employed to do for the purpose of enticing unsuspecting strangers and passers-by. Like those engaged in the liquor traffic, these gamblers are a public nuisance, a burden upon society. They do no sort of profitable manual or mental labor ; yet the community grants them a license to abuse the public, and to debase them- •7 W SAN FRANCISCO. selves. Their occupation being a discreditable and dishonorable one, it robs them of that degree of happiness and respectability which naturally belongs to every industrious and upright man. Like a deadly contagion, they blast and destroy all with whom they come in contact. Thousands of these swindlers live by their ex- pertness in gambling and tricks of legerdemain. Dissipated, reckless, and restless, they rove from place to place, rarely acquiring decent habits or becoming permanent citizens. They are, never- theless, great lovers and admirers of women ; and most of them make it a special branch of their business to cultivate a due share of female acquaintance. But we will now bid adieu to the blacklegs, and return again to the street, merely stopping a minute or two, as we pass out, to listen to the enchanting strains of " Katy Dar- ling,'' or '' Lilly Dale," played by the brass band in attendance. What is here called the plaza, or park, which occupies one square between Washington, Clay, Kearney and Brenham streets, now lies before us ; but as it is nothing more nor less than a cow-pen, inclosed with unplaned plank, we will say but little about it. In the middle is planted a tall liberty-poll, near which is erected a rude rostrum for lynch-lawyers and noisy politicians. If there is a tree, or a bush, or a shrub, or a sprig of grass, or any thing else in or about it that is SAN FRANCISCO. T5 green, or that bears the slightest similitude to vegetation, nobody has ever yet seen it ; and, as a pleasure-ground, it is used only by the four- footed denizens of the city. On the east side of this delectable public square is the California Exchange, before the steps of which are stationed from fifteen to twenty French peasants, who pur- sue no business save that of blacking boots. Most of them have acquired or adopted this or- namental occupation since they left La Belle France. A few doors above the Exchange stands the City Hall, which was formerly the Jenny Lind Theatre — a very neat stone structure, but wholly unsuited for the purpose to which it is now ap- plied. The parties who built it for a theatre soon ascertained that it was a bad speculation, and became considerably involved in debt ; and, to save themselves, and make the best of a bad bargain, they bribed a majority of the aldermen to purchase it for a City Hall, at several thou- sand dollars above the original cost. In this way a monstrous swindle was perpe- trated upon the community, by fraudulently ap- propriating the public money to the use and benefit of private individuals. But the fraud could not be remedied ; the city officers had been elected as the representatives of the citizens, whose rights and powers had been vested in them, and if they were so base as to prove recre- 76 SAN FRANCISCO. ant to their trust, the penalty had to be paid by their constituents. They consummated their cor- rupt bargain for the theatre, the properties were removed, and, after the expenditure of much time, labor, and money, in making alterations and additions, the building was converted into what now stands before us — the City Hall of San Francisco. The j)rincipals in this iniquitous transaction enriched themselves and their accom- plices at the expense of the city treasury, suffer- ing nothing except the denunciations and execra- tions of an abused and outraged public. This is a fair sample of the disposition that is made of the public funds throughout the State. Sheriffs, treasurers, and tax-collectors, in the majority of cases, are expected to decamp with all the money in their hands, or to embezzle a part of it ; and it has passed into a proverb, that no honest man can be elected to a city, county, or state office in California. Were we to remain an hour or two in this vicinity, we should probably see a police officer rolling " a perpetual hymn to the Deity" on a wheelbarrow — for that, we believe, is Foe's eu- phemism for a woman. Intoxication is quite common among the ladies of this particular sec- tion of San Francisco, and the wheelbarrow, or some other vehicle, must be employed to convey them to the station-house, on account of the total failure of their natural organs of locomotion. On the north side of the Plaza are some of the SAN FKANCISCO. TT best French eating-houses in the State. One of them, the Cafe du Commerce^ which, translated into English, means Commercial Coffee-house, is quite famous for its choice gastronomy. A better dinner can be procured here than in an American house, because the French are better cooks, cleaner in their culinary arrangements and pre- parations, more polite and attentive to their guests, and less accustomed to adulterating their provisions. Dinner, without wine, costs two dollars for each person ; but with it, from three to five dollars, according to quality and quantity consumed. The stranger cannot promise himself any thing very sumptuous or delicious in the way of eatables, even in the first-class hotels. He can get good wines and liquors, prime cigars and tobacco, and other accessory articles of su- perior quality ; but the fare at best is very in- different. All the more substantial articles of food, such as flour, meal, beef, pork, and butter, are im- ported from Europe or brought from the Atlantic States. As these provisions are sent around by Cape Horn, they must pass twice through the tropics before they arrive in San Francisco ; con- sequently, most of them become more or less sour, musty, or rancid, which, as we all know, renders them not only repugnant to the palate, but also injurious to health. But, notwithstanding their transportation of from seventeen to twenty thou- 78 SAN FRANCISCO. sand miles upon the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, old or fresh, sound or unsound, they must be sold, served up, cooked, eaten. They cannot he wasted or thrown away, for that would he a losing business, and people did not come to Cali- fornia to lose money, but to make it ; nor does it matter to them whether they make it by the sale of sweet flour or by the vending of putrid meats. Sour flour is sold at reduced prices to the bakers, who mix it with a larger quantity — say twice as much — of that which is sweet ; then it is manufactured into bread, delivered to the res- taurants, and devoured by the populace. The flour put up by the Gallego and Haxall mills, of Eichmond, Virginia, receives less damage in its transit through the torrid zone than any other — at least, this is the reputation it enjoys in Cali- fornia, those brands being more highly prized and more eagerly sought after by bakers and consumers. Next to the Eichmond, the Freder- icksburg and Georgetown flour is most in de- mand. How it is that the flour manufactured in the localities just named, or in the vicinity of those localities, retains its pure and primitive qualities better and longer than that produced at the North, which, with few exceptions, spoils on the way, I am unable to say — unless, perhaps, the latitude or climate imparts to it a healthier condition or a preservative principle. SAN FRANCISCO. ^t Within the last one or two years, considerable quantities of the cerealia have been cultivated in the low lands and valleys of this State, and a few flouring mills have been erected, which are now in operation ; but the proprietors mix their grists so much with rye and barley, that the flour is less marketable than it would be if it was ground out of genuine wheat. To give character to their spurious compound, they practice a double imposition, by packing it in empty Gal- lego and Haxall barrels, which are clandestinely purchased and kept in readiness for the purpose. Thus they steal the reputation of the Virginia brands; and, by placing their falsely-labeled, inferior flour in the hands of their rascally agents, they succeed in efl'ecting large sales of it to those who are not particular in their exam- inations. Though the fraud is easily detected when the barrels are opened, there is no chance of obtaining redress ; for, in most cases, these deceptions are carried out in such an indirect or complicated way, through factors and agents, that it is too difficult a matter to trace them to their source. If, however, the guilty parties are discovered, it amounts to nothing ; because here, where the laws are so loosely and imperfectlj'' administered, where all strong persons do as they please, and weak ones must do as they can, it costs more to adjust a wrong than it does to endure it. 80 SAN FRANCISCO. This system of cheating and adulteration is carried out in all ramifications of business ; and if a man is not continually upon the alert, he is sure to suffer the penalty of his negligence, by having a worse thing than he bargained for thrust upon him, and that, too, without redress. To return from our digression : although the French are somewhat more philosophic and sci- entific in their preparation of viands, we perceive no material difference between their mode of liv- ing and our own. They eat more slowly, are more graceful in their deportment at table, and seem to enjoy their meals as a feast, rather than to devour them as a necessary repast. Wine is their principal drink, morning, noon and night ; and dinner to them, without it, would be as in- sipid and unpalatable as breakfast to our Amer- ican grand-mothers without coffee. After the main part of the meal is finished, it is customary with them to sip a small cup of strong coffee, as a sort of accompaniment to their dessert. This, however, they do not flavor with cream, as we do, but use Cognac, burnt with sugar, instead. It is an unusual thing for them to drink water at any time, except when mixed with wine. I have the pleasure of the acquaintance of a very worthy and estimable French gentleman, who assured me that he had taken but one drink of crude water in four years, *' and then," he added, ^' it make me sick." SAN FRANCISCO. 81 CHAPTER VI. SAN FRANCISCO — CONCLUDED. After a night's lodging in one of the human- stables of San Francisco, called here, for polite- ness' sake, hotels, we feel sufficiently refreshed to continue our reconnoissance of the city. It will probably be as well for us to retrace our steps to the south side of the Plaza, where we re-enter Clay street, and ascend the long, high hill that forms the western boundary of the city. Before proceeding far, we come to a pistol gal- lery, on the left, owned and conducted by one Dr. Natchez, a short, thick-set " son of thunder,'* who keeps on hand the best assortment of duel- ing apparatus that the world affords. The pro- prietor's real cognomen is, I think. Brown, Smith or Jones ; but every body calls him Natchez, be- cause he came from the town of that name in Mississippi. He knows all about guns, pistols, and ammunition ; is an excellent shot — can hit a bull's eye or a man's eye every time he pulls a trigger ; and never fails to vindicate his honor when it is assailed. In the opinion of the duel- ist, he is emphatically an honor-saving man ; and in matters of personal difficulty and dis- 82 SAN FRANCISCO. pute, there is no one so capable of giving suit- able advice, or so well prepared to supply the necessary instruments of polite slaughter, as Dr. Natchez. Among the fiery spirits of this Western Me- tropolis, the slightest affront, even though it may be purely accidental, is considered a wound to dignity curable only by an application of Colt's revolver to the breast of the transgressor ; and as Dr. Natchez enjoys the reputation of pre- paring the best remedies for wounded honor, all those afflicted with the disorder apply to him for relief. Laying before him their ailments and grievances, he will at once say the cause must he removed; the offending party is waited upon with a challenge, which is accepted ; and the Doctor, w^ith commendable impartiality, super- intends the preparation of the weapons for both parties. Passing on towards the summit of the hill before us, we soon arrive at an elevation from which we have a clear and uninterrupted view of the whole city, which contains, it is supposed, from forty-five to fifty thousand inhabitants — about one-fifth of the entire population of the State. The original water-boundary of the city, on the east, was in the form of a crescent ; but, the bay being shallow in this particular part, its shape has been changed, by filling it in with sand from the adjacent hills. Owing to the SAN FRANCISCO. 83 Bteep declivities of the original site of the city, this encroachment was demanded and effected by those engaged in commercial pursuits, wlio wanted level ground. The land thus made, being the most eligibly situated and convenient to the wharves, is far more valuable than that of natural formation. At first, however, heavy losses were sustained, in consequence of the in- secure foundations of most of the buildings, some of which gave way entirely, and had to be re- constructed. Now, however, they understand it better, and take special care to pile and plank the foundation thoroughly before the superstruc- ture is erected. Tlie process of filling up these water-lots was very irregular ; and, as the work advanced, several ponds of water, which afterwards became stagnant, were cut off by these means from the ocean. In other places, the tide receded from the shallow parts of the bay, and from the sur- face thus left bare, as well as from the ponds last mentioned, there arose large quantities of highly offensive and almost suffocating gas, which ob- literated all the painted signs in the immediate vicinity. Strange to say, the effluvium exhaled from these foul ponds and marshy places did not produce disease. The wind blew it off or coun- teracted its insalubrious effects. Viewing the city from our present elevated position, we look in vain for any verdure. In- 84 SAN FRANCISCO. deed, there is not a shade-tree in San Francisco. Nor, if we search the outskirts of the city, can we find either trees, coppice, vegetation, or any green thing whereon to feast the eyes. The earth all around us is as sterile and unproduc- tive as a public highway. We feel a void, as though a friend were absent. Nature wears a repulsive and haggard expression. Oh ! how few there are amongst us who duly appreciate trees, those noble earth-fingers that point to heaven and uplift the mind to God I According to my judgment, there is a greater combination of the beautiful and the useful in a forest oak or hickory, than in all the gay exotics which are so carefully reared by the florist. I entertain no doubt that a large, luxuriant elm would attract more attention in San Francisco than a men- agerie or circus ; and it is a wonder that some ingenious and speculative Yankee has not, ere this, manufactured one out of soft pine and dyed muslin for public exhibition. As an instance of the feeling that exists here on account of the lack of trees, I may cite the exclamation of a distin- guished gentleman with whom I once had the honor to dine. Said he, (his wife at the time being in North Carolina,) " I long for the society of trees almost as much as I do for that of my wife ; and if she and a big oak could now be placed side by side within my reach, I scarcely know which of the two I should embrace first!'' SAN FRANCISCO. 85 Many other natural and artificial deficiencies and peculiarities, for which San Francisco is famous, might, with propriety, he considered before we quit our high retreat ; hut we will now conclude our panoramic sketch, and de- scend into the more densely settled part of the city. 86 THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA, CHAPTER YII. THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA, The national habits and traits of Chinese char- acter, to which they cling with uncompromising tenacity in this country, are strikingly anoma- lous and distinct from those of all other nations. There is a marked identity about their features, person, manners and costume, so unmistakable that it betrays their nationality in a moment. So stereotyped are even the features and form of this singular people, that we cannot fail in their identity in the rudest cut that pretends to repre- sent them. Particular fashions and modes of dress give them no concern whatever. One com- mon rule seems to guide them in all their per- sonal decorations. All their garments look as if they were made after the same pattern, out of the same material, and from the same piece of cloth. In short, the similarity in their garb, features, physical proportions and deportment is so great that one Chinaman looks almost ex- actly like another, but very unlike anybody else. Let us now place ourselves in front of one of these xanthous children of the flowery land, and survey him somewhat minutely. Every one is THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. 8T acquainted with his method of dressing his head, which is closely shaven, except a small spot on the crown, about the size of the palm of the hand. Into this slender lock of hair thus per- mitted to grow upon the apex of his cranium, he interweaves long strands of sable silk, which form a cue that nearly reaches the ground. His hat^ which possesses a brim of enormous width, is manufactured out of ratan or bamboo splints, and has an indentation made in the top expressly for the accommodation of his cue. He very sel- dom, however, wears this appendage tucked up in his hat, but generally allows it to trail about his back and legs, as young girls sometimes do ribbons. This pig-tail he loves as he does his life ; and he would as willingly have his right arm amputated as part with it. Notwithstanding he carries it behind him, it is his character — the badge of his respectability ; and Boodh or Josh alone could prevail upon him to cut it off. His coat, which is fashioned very much like a pea- jacket, is made of crow-colored cotton cloth, of flimsy texture, and buttons loosely around him as low down as convenience will permit. His pantaloons, the legs of which are a trifle smaller than a medium-sized meal-bag, are composed of the same stuff as his coat, and terminate at about the middle of his sbins. His shoes or sandals — minus socks, for he never wears any — are hewn out of solid wood, and taper towards the toe 88 THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. nearly to a sharp point. As he moves along he- fore us in these uncouth hahiliments — his feet inclosed in rude wooden shoes^ his legs hare, his hreeches loosely flapping against his knees, his skirtless, long-sleeved, hig-hodied pea-jacket, hanging in large folds around his waist, his hroad-hrimmed chai3eau rocking carelessly on his head, and his cue suspended and gently sweeping ahout his hack — I can compare him to nothing so appropriately as to a tadpole walking upon stilts 1 Ludicrous and ahsurd as this com- parison may appear to some, no one who has seen him will say that it is incorrectly applied. Such, then, is something of the outline of the Chinaman ; and, with hut few exceptions, may he considered as illustrative of the entire race as seen in California. The few exceptions are the mandarins, who rohe themselves in long figured gowns, and some of the wealthier classes, who wear silk and satin goods, instead of cotton fahrics. But the description given ahove w^ili suit at least nine out of every ten. According to the most reliahle estimates^ there are at the present time ahout forty thousand Chinese in California ; and every vessel that arrives from the Celestial Empire hrings addi- tional immigrants. From a fourth to a fifth of these reside in San Francisco ; the halance are scattered ahout over various parts of the State — mostly in the mines. A few females — say one to THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. 89 every twelve or fifteen males — are among the number ; among these good morals are unknown, they have no regard whatever for chastity or virtue. Yon would be puzzled to distinguish the women from the men, so inconsiderable are the differences in dress and figure. The only apparent difference is, that they are of smaller stature and have smoother features. They are not generally neat in their outward habit ; but on certain occasions; particularly on holidays, the elite doff their every-day costume, equip themselves in clean attire, and braid their hair into a kind of crest, which, as it is worn upon the head, bears a strong resemblance to the tuft of feathers upon the noddle of a peacock. Those who are from the extreme northern parts of the Chinese empire, are the ugliest and most rugged featured human beings I ever saw. * What the majority of them do for a liveli- hood is more than I can tell, as they have but few visible occupations. The laundry business affords those who live in San Francisco, and other cities, the most steady and lucrative em- ployment; and in passing their premises, the eye is often attracted to such " Celestial'' signs as the following : " Kum Kee. Washer." " Ahi Fe. Launder." '^ Wong Cho. Washing and Ironing — 13 per Doz." Catching and drying fish is another business in which they engage, but do not carry it on extensively ; others are 8* 90 THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. engaged in mercantile pursuits ; and here and there you will find one in a puhlic house, filling the place of a cook or a waiter. But, though most of them are held as mere slaves hy their wealtliier countrymen, it goes desperately against the grain with them to take the situation of ser- vants among white people, as they are consti- tutionally haughty and conceited, and helieve themselves to be superior to us in all respects. So exalted an opinion have they of themselves that they think they are the most central, civil- ized and enlightened people on earth, and that they are the especial favorites of heaven — hence they are sometimes called " Celestials.'*' They look upon us and all other white-skinned nations as '^ outside barbarians," and think we are un- duly presumptuous if we do not pay them hom- age ! Out of tlie cities, more of them are engaged in mining than in any otlier occupation ; but, as I intimated before, the majority of them lead a very inactive and unproductive life. Much phys- ical exertion, however, is not required to secure them a maintenance; for their aliment, if pos- sible, costs them less than their dress, which is by no means expensive. Indeed, so sparing are they in their meals, that it is seldom they eat any thing but boiled rice ; and even this, which they bring with them from China, is very infe- rior to that raised in the Carol inas. It is an amusing spectacle to sec one of them feeding on THE CHINESE IX CALIFORXIA. 91 tills grain. Holding a bowl of the rice in such a manner that the nearer edge of it almost touches his chin, and grasping two chopsticks^ about the shape and size of penholders, between his fingers and thumb, he feeds himself with a lively and dexterous motion of the hand, not very unlike a musician playing upon a jewsharp, and continues the feat without intermission until he has finished. He seems to cram the food dowm his throat with these chopsticks, rather than let it undergo the usual process of mastication. The ardor and haste with which he executes the per- formance, remind one of a provident farmer when he pitches new-made sheaves of provender into ^ hay-mow, just previous to a thunder-storm. The Americans salute them all indiscrimi- nately by the easy and euphonious appellation of ^' John,'*' to which they reply as readily as if they were addressed by their true names ; and they return the compliment by applying the same term to us, er^ually indiscriminately. A great number of them think '^ John'' is the only name white people have ; and if they have occa- sion to speak to an American or European wo- man, they call her '' John," too I But their own vernacular cognomens, like their language and habits, sound certainly very odd to occidental ears. The following may be taken as fair speci- mens : Kak Chow, Chum Fi, Yah TVah, Si Ta, Hom Tong, Dack Mung. Gee Foo. They are de- 92 THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. plorably addicted to wasting time in games of chance ; and tliere are a dozen and a half gam- bling houses in San Francisco under their especial control and direction. But neither Americans nor Europeans participate in the sports or for- tunes of their tables ; they themselves are .the exclusive gamblers in these eighteen dens of ras- cality. Their money is chiefly composed of brass and copper coins, stamped with the characters of their alphabet. Hardened rice and stamped slices of pasteboard are also current among them as mediums of exchange. Is this Chinese immigration desirable ? I think not ; and, contrarj^ to the expressed opin- ions of many of the public prints throughout the country, contend that it ought not to be en- couraged. It is not desirable, because it is not useful ; or, if useful at all, it is so only to them- selves — not to us. No reciprocal or mutual bene- fits are conferred. In what capacity do they con- tribute to the advancement of American interests? Are they engaged in any thing that adds to the general wealth and importance of the country? Will they discard their clannish prejiossessions, assimilate with us, buy of us, and respect us? Are they not so full of duplicity, prevarica- tion and pagan prejudices, and so enervated and lazy, that it is impossible for them to make true or estimable citizens ? I wish their advo- cates would answer me these questions ; if they THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. 93 will do it satisfactorily, I will interrogate them no further. Under the existing laws of our gov- ernment, they, as well as all other foreigners, are permitted to work the mines in California as long as they please, and as much as they please, without paying any thing for the privilege, ex- cept a small tax to the 8tate. Even this has hut recently been imposed, and half the time is either evaded or neglected. The general government, though it has sacrificed so much hlood and trea- sure in acquiring California, is now so liberal that it refuses to enact a law imposing a tax upon foreign miners"; and, as a matter of course, it receives no revenue whatever from this source. But the Chinese are more objectionable than other foreigners, because they refuse to have dealing or intercourse with us ; consequently, there is no chance of making any thing of them, either in the way of trade or labor. They are ready to take all they can get from us, but are not willing to give any thing in return. They did not aid in the acquisition or settlement of California, and they do not intend to make it their future home. They will not become per- manent citizens, nor identify their lives and in- terests with the country. They neither build nor buy, nor invest capital in any way that con- duces to the advantage of any one but them- selves. They have thousands of good-for-nothing gewgaws and worthless articles of virtu for sale, 94 THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. and our people are foolish enough to buy them ; but their knowledge of the laws of reciprocity is so limited, that they never feel in any need of American commodities. Though they hold themselves aloof from us, contemn and disdain us, they have guaranteed to them the same privileges that we enjoy ; and are allowed to exhaust the mines that should be reserved for us and our posterity — that is, if they are worth reserving at all. Their places could and should be filled with worthier immi- grants — Europeans, who would take the oath of allegiance to the country, work both for them- selves and for the commonwealth, fraternize with us, and, finally^ become a part of us. All things considered, I cannot perceive what more right or business these semi-barbarians have in Califor- nia than flocks of blackbirds have in a wheat- field ; for, as the birds carry off the wheat with- out leaving any thing of value behind, so do the Confucians gather the gold, and take it away with them to China, without compensation to us wdio opened the w^ay to it. Still they are received with a flattering wel- come. They are taken by the hand with an ob- sequious grasp, as if their favor was earnestly desired ; and the impression is at once made upon their minds, that not only their own pre- sence, but also that of as many more of their kindred as can be persuaded to come, is coveted THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. 95 by us. Their mining implements and boots (the only articles of merchandise they purchase from us) are sold to them at even less rates than to our own countrymen^, more from curiosity than from any other cause. For some unaccountable reason, they are treated with a degree of defer- ence and civility which is really surprising. To humor their arrogance and presumption, I have frequently seen Americans, in crowded places, relinquish the side-walk to them, and betake themselves to the middle of a rough and muddy street. Moreover, they are petted as if they were really what they preposterously fancy themselves — the most elevated and exalted of the human race. But I am inclined to look upon them as an in- auspicious element of society — a seed of political dissensions. They have neither the strength of body nor the power of mind to cope with us in the common affairs of life ; and as it seems to be a universal law that the stronger shall rule the weaker, it will be required of them, ere long, to do one of two things, namely — either to succumb, to serve us, or to quit the country. Which will they do ? Our people will not always treat them with undue complaisance. Their real merits and demerits will be developed, and such stations as their natural endowments qualify them to fill will be assigned them. They must work for themselves, or we will make them work for us. 96 THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. No inferior race of men can exist in these United States without becoming subordinate to the will of the Anglo-Americans, or foregoing many of the necessaries and comforts of life. They must either be our equals or our dependents. It is so with the negroes in the South ; it is so with the Irish in the North ; it was so with the Indians in New England ; and it will be so with the Chinese in California. The Indians, it is true, would not submit to be enslaved ; but they had to suffer exile, hunger and death as a conse- quence of their intractability. Certain it is, that the greater the diversity of colors and qualities of men, the greater will be the strife and con- flict of feeling. One party will gain the as- cendency, and dominate over the other. Our population was already too heterogeneous be- fore the Chinese came ; but now another ad- ventitious ingredient has been added ; and I should not wonder at all, if the copper of the Pacific yet becomes as great a subject of dis- cord and dissension as the ebony of the Atlantic. However, the discussion and consideration of these matters more properly devolve upon our public functionaries, who, I presume, if loyal to their constituents and their country, will not lightly regard them. CURSORY VIEWS. 97 CHAPTER VIII. CURSORY VIEWS. California has features as distinct and pecu- liar as the Alps or the Andes. It cannot be mis- taken for any other country ; it is like no other region on the face of the earth. Being new, and in some respects untried, the most various con- jectures, and the most opposite opinions have been expressed as to its future fortunes and ulti- mate destiny. A few who have been successful in their schemes and undertakings, and whose interests and existence are now blended with it, flatter themselves that it is destined to become a great and flourishing state ; while, on the other hand, the great majority, who have been disap- pointed in all their expectations, and thwarted in every attempt, pronounce it an unmitigated cheat, and curse it bitterly as the cause of their ruin. My own opinions are, I imagine, by this time pretty well understood. I speak of the country as I have seen it, not as a mere passing traveler, but as an attentive observer. I emi- grated to it as much in search of adventure as of profit ; and, during the three years of my resi- dence within its borders, have had ample oppor- 9 98 CURSORY VIEWS. tunities to explore and scrutinize it as I desired. I am fully satisfied with my information upon this subject. I have seen all of it that is worth seeing, and a great deal besides. I crave no further knowledge of it than I now possess. While there is any unoccupied land between the British boundaries of Maine and the Mexi- can limits of Texas, between the Florida Keefs and the Falls of St. Anthony, I would not advise any person to emigrate to California for the i:)ur- pose of bettering his worldly condition. I have, indeed, no personal knowledge of the other divis- ions of land west of the Kocky Mountains ; yet an acquaintance with gentlemen of character and veracity w^ho have visited those sections, justifies the opinion that none of them abound in those elements of exuberant and permanent greatness so characteristic of the States east of the Kio Grande and the Mississippi. Oregon and Wash- ington territories, Utah and New Mexico are tol- erable countries, and, in some respects, supe- rior to California ; but owing to the general in- feriority of their natural advantages, the}^ can never become as powerful or important States as Louisiana or New York, Georgia or Illinois. The Pacific side of the continent is, as a general thing, far inferior to the Atlantic slope. In my judgment, the present condition and future prospects of California, so far from offer- ing inducements for additional immigration; ac- CURSORY VIEWS. 99 tually portend mucli poverty and suffering. The very fact that thousands of men, some of whom have been in the country from three to four yearSj are working for nothing hut their hoard, is of itself justifiable ground for this apprehen- sion. More than a dozen stout, sober, able-bodied men, who asked nothing in compensation for their services but food, have applied to me for employment in a single day. I have elsewhere remarked that many of the most menial and humiliating situations about hotels, stores and private residences are filled by these ill-fated men, who, if they had the means, would be glad to shake off the dust of California from their feet, and return to the homes of their youth, where peace, plenty and happiness are attainable by all. Misery and despair go to bed with them at night, rise with them in the morning and accom- pany them throughout the da^ ; they have been grossly deceived ; " hope told them a flattering tale,'' and broke her lying promise; their hearts are sick with unrelenting and consuming sor- rows. Strangers among strangers, they have no friend to soothe or assist them in the hour of misfortune; if they hunger, they must fast; if sickness overtake them, death is their remedy. Depressed in spirits, and driven to desperation by bitter and repeated calamities, they betake themselves to the bottle for solace, become insane from extreme anxiety or over-activity of the 100 CURSORY VIEWS. mind, or else, witli bullet, knife, or poison^ put a summary end to their wretched lives. Such is the history of many a man who has perished in that land of gold. They left their homes flushed with hope; those near and dear to them imprinted the last kiss upon their cheeks, and hade them adieu with heavy hearts and tearful eyes, but found consola- tion in the hope that they would soon return. Those who escaped the many dangers of the various routes and reached their destination, wrote back to their friends immediately upon their arrival that all was well. The news was received with ecstasy ; heaven was thanked for their deliverance from the perils of the trip ; the neighbors were informed of the health and safety of the adventurers ; and for a few weeks all things promised well. In a month or so another letter was anxiously looked for, but did not make its appearance ; then fears began to be enter- tained, and the unwelcome thought would occa- sionally flash through the mind that all was not well. Nor was it. Month after month slowly and gloomily passed away, without bringing any tidings of the poor deluded wanderers ; and it has now been so long since they were heard from, that it is easier to reckon the time by years than by months. Still their fate is wrapt in mystery which is no more likely to be unraveled than is the fate of the President and her crew. CUESORY VIEWS. 101 All that can be concluded is, that they lie some where within the confines of California, with no monument to reveal the place of their final slumber. The immigration to California has been too much like the rush of an excited and impatient audience into a theatre, when it is known that a favorite actor is about to perform. There has been too much scrambling, too much crowding and pushing. Every body has heard that gold is scattered over her hills and mountains ; thou- sands covet it, and are foolish enough to suppose that any body can get it. Without taking a calm and deliberate view of the subject — with- out balancing both sides, or counting the cost, they have suddenly abandoned their homes, and rushed in disorder to the land over which hovered their visions of wealth. They imagined that they had discovered the secret of fortune, and, in their enthusiasm, immediately set out to real- ize their dreams. They discovered, alas ! too late, that their emigration was ill-timed and unprofitable, that they had exchanged a good situation for a bad one, and that immense sacri- fices must be made before they could replace themselves in their former position. No country can ever become truly great, un- less it possesses abundant agricultural resources ; and as California is deficient in this as well as in other respects, it is absurd to suppose that she 102 CURSORY VIEWS. will attract attention longer than her mines pay for working. The banks of the rivers, and the localities in the San Jose, Sacramento, and San Joaquin Yalle3^s, form exceptions to this general sterility. There the ground is low and moist, or easily irrigated, the soil is extremely fertile, and produces vegetables, which, for size and powers of multiplication, have probably never been equaled. These spots, however, are little more, in comparison with the area of the State, than are the roads of a county to the county it- self; and they cannot, therefore, be depended upon to supply the wants and necessities of the whole country, should it ever be thickly settled throughout — an event which, for the very reason I have mentioned above, I do not believe will ever take place. These valleys and the banks of the rivers seem to have become the receptacle of nearly all the virtue of the surrounding surface of the country. As a few specimens of the vege- table monstrosities, the productions of these fer- tile spots, that have come under my notice, I may mention a beet that weighed forty-seven pounds ; a cabbage, thirty-two pounds ; a tur- nip, twenty-six pounds ; an Irish potato, seven pounds ; and a water-melon, sixty-four pounds. Onions, lettuce, radishes, and other horticul- tural productions, also grow to an enormous size. Irish potatoes, however, I beiicve, are the most prolific crop that can be planted. Indian CURSORY VIEWS. 103 corn is cultivated to but little if any advantage All of the arable parts of the State are now set- tled ; and farmers who go thither hereafter will either have to return, or abandon altogether the idea of cultivating the soil ; for it will be impos- sible for them to make a subsistence out of the sterile hills of the upland. That millions of dollars worth of gold have been taken from the mines, and that there is a vast amount still remaining, no one pretends to deny ; but then it does not exist in the quantity that is generally supposed. There is nothing more uncertain, as a business, than gold mining in California. It is, indeed, like a lottery — more blanks than prizes ; and as every man has to take his chances, he must not feel too much dis- appointed if his luck leaves him with the majority. A few make themselves independently rich, and go home with flying colors ; but where one does it, there are forty or fifty, at least, who, though equally sober, industrious and deserving, do not make more than their support, and very fre- quently not even that. Half the stories afloat concerning "wealthy returned Californians'' are exaggerated beyond the power of tongue to describe. A case or two in point : — A young man from the West, who had been mining between two and three years, and with whom I had become acquainted, started home on a certain occasion, with about one huu- 104 CURSORY VIEWS. dred and sixty dollars over and above liis ex- penses. In speaking of his friends, I asked him what he was going to tell them when he got home. " Oh V says he, ^' I shall not admit that I have made so little ; for, if I do, they'll accuse me of having been indolent, of gambling, of drinking, or some other disreputable thing that I have never been guilty of; so I'll give out that I have made twelve or fifteen thousand dollars ; and about the time I shall have got them all in a good humor, I'll take an excursion down to New Orleans, and thence to South America, where I am determined hereafter to seek my for- tune." Thus, although he was honorable, and not addicted to habits of dissipation, he had not the nerve to tell the real truth of his own success. This shows how easily these exaggerated rumors are set agoing, and public ignorance imposed upon. The further people live from California, the more credulous are they of golden legends ; and I am persuaded that the young man above alluded to had no difficulty in making his neigh- bors in the West believe he was worth whatever amount he cliose to tell them he had made. Extravagant as this story may sound, it is not without a parallel. A man, who had accumu- lated from three to four thousand dollars, re- turned on a visit to his friends in the East ; and, to test the credulity of the people, he put out the report that he had made five hundred thousand CURSORY VIEWS. 105 dollars. His story was received by the gaping neighbors without a doubt ; and all at once our adventurer found himself the invited guest of nabobs who never knew him before he went to California^ though they had seen him hundreds of times. I cannot close these remarks without oifering a word of advice to the marriageable ladies. If you seek a rich husband, do not form a matrimonial alliance with an El Dorado Cra3- sus ; for, in nine cases out of ten, a " wealthy Californian" is a poor man. Admitting all that is claimed for California in regard to her mineral wealth, it affords no reason why every body should rush thither ; nor is it any argument that it will ever become the land of promise which an enthusiastic imagina- tion may picture. It is already a pandemonium ; and it does not clearly appear how it can become an elysium. The benefit of mines of the precious metals to the country in which they are found, is still an open question. Tlie weight of authority is against them. The history of Mexico and Peru, in this hemisphere, as well as the new chapter which California is opening, cannot be quoted in their favor. It seems to be decreed that, the more ob- lique the route by which gold is reached, the greater is its value ; while the more directly it is acquired, the more mischievous is it to the morals and the material wealth of a nation. If, 10l> Cni50RT VIEWS, as Joseph Bonaparte so happily remarked, "gohi. iu its h\st analysis, is the sweat of the poor and the blood of the hrave." the more of these ingre- dients contribute to prodnee it. the rieher is the result. The concurrent testimony of all ages proves that those nations who obtain their wealth by the indirect methods of agriculture, manufac- tures and commerce, are more happy and more prosperous than those wlio dig their treasures directly from the earth. This result is partly brought about by the great diversity of occupa- tions which spring up iu such a state of society, and give employment to all classes of the com- munity : whereas, in a mining region, rich only iu the precious metals, the resources of labor are fewer, and its tasks less diversitied. The moral eliect of sudden riches must also be takeu into consideration. Few men can gaze undazzled at the splendor of a large fortune : and the more rapidly they acquire it, the more likely are they to grow dizzy in its contemplation. It seems to require time for a man to become habituated to the sight of wealth, iu order to enable him to enjoy it with ease or dignity. We cannot, therefore, conclude that the mere presence of gold is sufiicient to advance Calitbr- uia to a high position among her sister common- wealths. (She produces the circulating medium of the country, it is true : and the intrinsic value of that medium causes the world to overlook the CURSORY VIEWS. 10 Y cost of its acquisition. Wc liavc endeavored, however, to set people ri