diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 3 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-0.txt | 2972 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/12518-h.htm | 3075 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus004a.png | bin | 0 -> 28695 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus008a.png | bin | 0 -> 40867 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus074a.png | bin | 0 -> 28111 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus086a.png | bin | 0 -> 35025 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus090a.png | bin | 0 -> 24113 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus100a.png | bin | 0 -> 39826 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus102a.png | bin | 0 -> 35986 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus104a.png | bin | 0 -> 34645 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus116a.png | bin | 0 -> 34880 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus140a.png | bin | 0 -> 36334 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | 12518-h/images/illus192a.png | bin | 0 -> 32679 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-8.txt | 3398 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-8.zip | bin | 0 -> 77595 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h.zip | bin | 0 -> 453441 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/12518-h.htm | 3475 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus004a.png | bin | 0 -> 28695 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus008a.png | bin | 0 -> 40867 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus074a.png | bin | 0 -> 28111 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus086a.png | bin | 0 -> 35025 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus090a.png | bin | 0 -> 24113 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus100a.png | bin | 0 -> 39826 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus102a.png | bin | 0 -> 35986 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus104a.png | bin | 0 -> 34645 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus116a.png | bin | 0 -> 34880 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus140a.png | bin | 0 -> 36334 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518-h/images/illus192a.png | bin | 0 -> 32679 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518.txt | 3398 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/12518.zip | bin | 0 -> 77580 bytes |
33 files changed, 16334 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/12518-0.txt b/12518-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..63d127b --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2972 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12518 *** + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 12518-h.htm or 12518-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518/12518-h/12518-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518/12518-h.zip) + + + + + +THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER + +An Historic Description of California, with Events and Ideas +of San Francisco and Its People in Those Early Days + +By + +DANIEL KNOWER + +1894 + + + + + + +DEDICATED TO +Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, +Colonel John C. Freemont, and +Captain John A. Sutter, + +THE THREE PRE-EMINENT PIONEERS OF CALIFORNIA. + + + +[Illustration: DANIEL KNOWER.] + + + +PREFACE + +The discovery of gold in California, in 1848, with its other mineral +resources, including the Alamada quicksilver mine at San José, which is +an article of first necessity in working gold or silver ore; and the +great silver mines of Nevada, in 1860, the Comstock lode, in which, in +ten years, from five to eight hundred millions of gold and silver were +taken out, a larger amount than was ever taken from one locality before, +the Alamada quicksilver mine being the second most productive of any in +the world, the one in Spain being the largest, said to be owned by the +Rothschilds. Its effect upon the general prosperity and development of +our country has been immense, almost incalculable. Before these +discoveries the amount of gold in the United States was estimated at +about seventy millions, now it is conceded to be seven hundred millions. +The Northern Pacific coast was then almost unpopulated. California a +territory three times as large as New York and Oregon and the State of +Washington, all now being cultivated and containing large and populous +cities, and railroads connecting them with the East. Why that country +should have remained uninhabited for untold ages, where universal +stillness must have prevailed as far as human activity is concerned, is +one of the unfathomable mysteries of nature. It is only one hundred and +twenty-five years since the Bay of San Francisco was first discovered, +one of the grandest harbors in the world, being land-locked, extending +thirty miles, where all the vessels of the world could anchor in safety. +The early pioneers of those two years immediately after the gold was +discovered (of which I am writing) are passing away. As Ossian says, +"People are like the waves of the ocean, like the leafs of woody marvin +that pass away in the rustling blast, and other leaves lift up their +green heads." There is probably not five per cent of the population of +California to-day, of those days, scenes and events of which I have +tried to portray. Another generation have taken their places who can +know but little of those times except by tradition. I, being one of the +pioneers, felt it a duty, or an inspiration seemed to come over me as an +obligation I owed to myself and compatriots of those times, to do what I +could to perpetuate the memory of them to some extent in the history of +our country as far as I had the ability to do it. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + +THE CALIFORNIA PIONEER SOCIETY. + +The California Pioneer Society was organized in August, 1850. The +photograph of their building appears on the cover of this book, W.D.M. +Howard was their first president. Among their early presidents, and +prominent in the days of Forty-niners, were Samuel Branan, Thomas +Larkins, Wm. D. Farewell, and James Lick--who liberally endowed it. + +[Illustration: BUILDING OF THE SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERS.] + +It was organized for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of the +events of those days and for the benefit and mutual protection of its +members. No person was eligible for membership except he had arrived in +California before the 1st of January, 1850, and the descendants of +Forty-niners when arriving at the age of twenty-one are eligible. At the +opening of the World's Fair in San Francisco in January last, in the +ceremonies in the marching of the procession through the streets of the +city, they were received with the greatest enthusiasm and cheers, which +was a marked manifestation of the veneration in which they are held by +the people of California. + + + +THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER. + +The writer was practising his profession in the city of Albany, his +native place, in 1848, when reports came of the discovery of gold in +California. In a short time samples of scales of the metal of the river +diggings were on exhibition, sent to friends in the city in letters. +Many of Colonel Stevenson's regiment had been recruited in that city. +Soon these rumors were exaggerated. It was said that barrels of gold +were dug by individuals named. Soon the excitement extended all over the +country, and the only barrier to wealth, it seemed, was the difficulty +of getting to the Eldorado. Why the discovery of gold there should have +produced so much excitement cannot be fathomed. It seemed an era in +human affairs, like the Crusades and other events of great importance +that occur. Your correspondent became one of its votaries, and organized +a company to go to the gold rivers and secure a fortune for all +interested in it, and it seemed all that was required was to get there +and return in a short time and ride in your carriage and astonish your +friends with your riches. Suffice it to say, this company was fully +organized (with its by-laws and system of government drawn up by the +writer), and sailed from the port of New York on the ship _Tarrolinter_ +on the 13th of January, 1849, to go around Cape Horn, arriving in San +Francisco on the following July. From that time I became absorbed in all +the news from the gold regions, and losing confidence somewhat in the +certainty of a fortune from my interest in the company, and reading of +the high price of lumber, the scarcity of houses, and the extraordinary +high wages of mechanics there, conceived the project of shipping the +materials for some houses there, having all the work put on them here +that could be done, thus saving the difference in wages, and to have +them arrive there before the rainy season set in, and thus realize the +imaginary fortune that I had expected from my interest in the company. +In the following spring I had twelve houses constructed. The main point +upon which my speculation seemed to rest was to get them to San +Francisco before the rainy season commenced. I went to New York to +secure freight for them in the fastest vessel. Fortunately for me, as I +conceived at the time, I found the day before I arrived in New York, the +_Prince de Joinville,_ a Havre packet ship, had been put up to sail for +the port of San Francisco, and as yet had engaged no freight. I made a +bargain with them at once to take my houses at sixty cents per square +foot, and had the contract signed, half to be delivered at the side of +the ship by such a date and the other half at a subsequent date. I +delivered the first half of the houses on the time agreed, sending them +down the Hudson river by a barge on a tow. I sent the second half on a +barge to get there on the day they were due, apprehending no trouble, I +going down myself a few days in advance. They commenced complaining at +the ship that they would not have room for the balance of my houses on +board, although I had their written contract to take them at sixty cents +per foot. + +There was great California excitement about this time, and other parties +had come to the conclusion that the _Prince de Joinville_ was probably +the fastest ship taking freight for San Francisco. I saw them accept of +offers at $1.50 per foot, when their contract with me was for less than +half that price, which would make a difference of several thousand +dollars in their favor. So, if the balance of my houses did not arrive +within the time stated in the contract, they would not be taken on that +vessel, and my speculation ruined. The time was up the next day at +twelve o'clock. I was down on the Battery the next morning early +watching for the tow, with the barge with my houses. The ship was at the +dock in the East river. About ten o'clock, A.M., I had the good fortune +to see the barge rounding the Battery. I cried out to the captain to cut +loose from the tow, employ the first steam tug and I would pay the bill, +which he did, getting on the side of the vessel by eleven o'clock, thus +saving my contract by one hour. But they did not commence taking them on +board, so the captain of the barge put a demurrage of $20 per day for +detention. In the meantime, I had bought my ticket to sail by the +steamer _Georgia_ to the Isthmus to go on the 1st of July which was but +a few days off. They, seeing that I had them on my contract, came to me +and said that my houses should go on their ship according to contract, +if they had to throw other freight out, and that they would sign a +regular bill of lading for all the material deliverable to me upon the +arrival of the _Prince de Joinville_ at the port of San Francisco, and +take my carpenters' specifications for the description of them, which +seemed all right to me. + +The following is an article from the _Albany Evening Atlas_ of June 23, +1849: + + "CALIFORNIA HOUSES. + + "Our estimable fellow citizen Dr. Knower, who is to start + for California by the Crescent City _via_ Panama, is about + to ship to that place twelve houses, complete and ready to + put up on arrival at San Francisco. The venture is a costly + one, the freight on the material approaching the cost of as + many frame buildings in this quarter, and the projector, we + think, has managed the speculation with great foresight and + judgment. The best timber has been selected, and the best + work men employed, and a plan of architecture pursued, + which is supposed to offer the greatest advantages with the + most economical expenditures of material. Four of these + buildings are 18 feet front and 25 feet deep. A partition + running lengthways divides the buildings into two rooms, and + the stairs leads to a second platform, which is large enough + for bedrooms, or for storing materials and tools of miners. + Two others are 18 feet front and 18 feet deep, with a small + extension in the rear of 8 feet. Two are 16 feet in front + and 22 feet deep, with the entrance on the gable front; and + the four others are 18 feet front by 14 deep. The sides of + the building will be composed of a double framework of + boards planed, grooved and tongued, fitting air tight on + each side of the timber, the interval between them being + either filled with the moss of the country or left vacant, + the confined column of the air being found sufficient to + keep off the excess of cold or heat. The roofs of all the + buildings shed from the front, except two of which are of + gable shape. The roofs are to be made of solid, + close-fitting planks, covered with fine ticking and coated + with the patent indestructible fire-proof paint, and + applications which our citizens have just begun to use here, + and which they have, found entirely successful. + + "The houses can be easily transported to the placers or may + be put up on the sea-board. We should suppose that the + numerous land-owners who are speculating on the prospects of + future cities would be glad to give the land necessary for + the location of this village. + + "The houses go by the _Prince de Joinville_, a first-class + vessel, which leaves New York soon." + +I sailed on the steamer which left New York at 5 P.M., July 1, 1849. +Friends were there to see me off, but there were no persons on the boat +that I had ever seen before--I was wondering who would be my first +acquaintance. + +Being very tired, I retired soon to my berth, and woke up the next +morning on the broad ocean. Two days of sea sickness and I was all right +again. There were about one thousand passengers from all parts of our +country. I tried to fathom the motives and standing of different ones. +Colonel B. from Kentucky, an aristocratic-looking man, with his slave +for a body servant, who could not have been bought for less than $1,500 +in Kentucky, where slavery existed at that time. Why a man in his +circumstances should be going to California to seek gold I could not +fathom. One day a party of us were seated around the table talking +matters over. It was proposed that each should reveal to the others what +he expected to do and his motives for the expedition. We each related +our expectations and the motives that had inspired us. My aristocratic +friend was one of the party. My curiosity was at its height to know his +views. He said: "Well, gentlemen, you have all been candid in your +statements, and I shall be the same; I am going to California to deal +Faro, the great American gambling game, and I don't care who knows it." + +Later on in my narrative, I shall have occasion to refer to Colonel B. +again under other circumstances. The fourth day out being the fourth of +July, was duly celebrated on the steamer in true American style. Our +course was to the east of Cuba. We passed in sight of the green hills of +San Domingo to our left, and in sight of Jamaica to our right, crossing +the Caribbean sea, whose grand, gorgeous sunsets I shall never forget. I +could not buy a ticket in New York for the steamer from Panama to San +Francisco, but was informed at the office in New York that sixty tickets +were for sale in Panama by Zackery, Nelson & Co., the American Consul, +who were agents for the steamer on the Pacific side. I naturally +supposed that those who offered their money first for those tickets +could buy them. The price was $300 for the first cabin, and $150 for +the second, from Panama to San Francisco; but a fraction of the +passengers had a ticket for the Pacific side. + +The objective point was to get to Panama to secure a ticket, so I made +an arrangement with four others; three were to take charge of the +baggage of the five, and take it leisurely, and Lieutenant M., of South +Carolina, and myself were selected to run an express across the Isthmus +and get there ahead of the other passengers and secure tickets for the +five, and try and be the first to land at Chagres. We came to anchor in +the bay. The captain announced that no passengers would be permitted to +go ashore until the government officials had inspected the vessel. A +boat came from shore with the officials. After a short stay the +officials went down the side of the steamer to their boat to return to +the shore. There was a guard to keep all but the proper persons from +getting into the boat. I had a small carpet bag in my hand, passed the +guard, slipped a $5 gold piece in his hands, and took my seat in the +boat, and, of course, passed as one of the officials, and was the first +passenger to land from the steamer. The first point to be made was to +secure a boat for passage up the Chagres river. I was recommended to +Colonel P., who was the head man in that business there. He was a +colonel in the Granadian army. I found him a full-blooded African, but +an active business man in his way. I got his price for a boat and two of +his best men, and then offered double the price if they would row night +and day, and an extra present to the men if they made good time, for +every thing seemed to depend on securing those tickets on the Pacific +side. By the time I had all my arrangements made, Lieutenant M. made his +appearance. He said he was the second passenger that landed from the +steamer. Then behold us in what they called a dug-out, a boat somewhat +similar to a canoe, with a little canopy over the center that you could +crawl under to lay down with the two naked natives, with the exception +of a cloth around their loins, neither understanding each other's +language, to whom we could only communicate by signs. At 4 P.M., +starting for Gorgona, fifty-five miles up the river, where we were to +land and take mules for Panama. Eight miles was the first stopping +place. We felt elated that we had got so good a start of all the other +passengers. The denseness of the vegetation first attracted our +attention on the banks of the river. The trees, the vines, the +shrubbery, the vines clinging to the trees, hanging in all fantastic +shapes, it seemed to be impenetrable, an ocean of green, unlike any +thing we had ever seen before. + +Early in the evening we arrived at the first stopping place, eight miles +on our way up the river, where we both made ourselves at home, excited +at the strangeness of the scene, surrounded by the thatched huts of the +natives, who were having a dance on the square in the village. After we +had been there an hour, we thought our men had their rest, and it was +time to go on according to our contract, to be rowed night and day. + +In the meantime it seems the natives had taken some offense at +Lieutenant M.'s familiarity, and they appeared with handles of long +knives projecting back of their necks in a threatening manner. We +likewise learned that that was the home of one of our men, and that he +proposed to stay there all night in violation of the contract. So we had +a consultation to decide what to do to get away. It was pitch dark; we +laid our plan. Lieutenant M. beckoned one of the men away from the dance +as if he wanted to give him something, and drew his pistol on him and +marched him down to the boat, while I, with a pistol, kept him there +while he went for the other man. + +After a while he came with him and we got them both in the boat and +started. About this time there was a storm came up with the rain, and +thunder and lightning, as the elements can only perform in that way in +the tropics, surrounded by impenetrable darkness, and to us an unknown +river, with its serpents and alligators, with our two naked savages, +that we only got in the boat by force, and, of course, could not feel +very friendly toward us. Expecting to be fired on from the shore, if +they could see us through the darkness, we took our departure from our +first landing place on the Chagres river, surrounded by romance enough +to satisfy the most romantic imagination in that line. Our men kept +steadily to work. After a while the clouds broke away, the moon showed +itself, and we made good progress that night. We had no trouble with our +men after that. The colonel at Chagres had evidently given us his best +man. They found that we were masters of the situation and it was for +their interest to submit. We treated them kindly after that, and all +went well, for we passed every boat we came to. I shall never forget the +look of despair at two Frenchmen, evidently gentlemen, as we went by +them, and they informed us the length of time they had been coming up +the river, and that they could do nothing with their men. That afternoon +we came in sight of a thatched hut on the banks, evidently a ranch. We +thought it for our interest to rest. We saw a man whom we took for the +proprietor, entirely naked, rubbing his back against a post. On landing +and approaching him he excused himself for a short time, and returned +dressed, walking with the air of a lord of a manor, which dress +consisted of a coarse bagging shirt, coming down to his knees. We +arrived the next day at 11 A.M., at Gorgona, and took our dinner at the +hotel kept by the Alcalde of the place, and bargained with him for a +guide and three mules to continue our journey to Panama. As soon as our +guides and mules were ready, about 1 P.M., we started for Panama. We +soon got enough of our mules by being thrown a number of times over +their heads. They did not understand our language. "Get up and go +along," was Greek to them, but when the guide said "mula vamous" they +knew what it meant. On reaching the place where we were to stay all +night, we arose in the morning refreshed, but concluded to leave our +mules and make the rest of the way a-foot, as we considered them a +nuisance, and as we had no baggage but my little satchel previously +referred to, in which I had bills of lading of my houses, they being +consigned to me, the specifications of my carpenter's schedule, my +letters and a gold chronometer watch, worth $250, belonging to H., a +broker in New York, a friend, and a bottle of the best brandy, which he +presented to me to keep off the fever in crossing the Isthmus. This bag +I handed to the guide boy, about seventeen years of age, taking out the +brandy bottle. The watch I was to sell, for he had two nephews who had +gone to California, and if they were in need, to supply their wants. I +did not meet them; sold the watch for $500 to Mr. Haight, one of the +owners of the Miners' Bank in San Francisco, and remitted the money to +my friend, so I shall not refer to the watch again. + +We were walking on at a free pace, our guide boy following behind. +Looking back after awhile we could not see him. We stopped and waited +some time, but he did not come, so we thought we would go on and he +would follow. The result was we lost our way and craved for a sight of +the Pacific ocean with all the ardor that Gilboa could have done, the +first Spanish discoverer of it, and on the same route, after our +wanderings all day, almost without hope, until four in the afternoon, we +came to a stream of water; oppressed with the heat of the tropics and +fatigued I threw myself in the water. Lieutenant M. exclaimed: "Do not +give up in that way." "I am not giving up," I replied; "only refreshing +myself." In a short time he did the same thing. As we lay there we +thought we heard voices. In looking back who should we see but one of +our countrymen, the most gladdening sight to us. We felt saved at once. +We asked him if he had any provision. He said he thought not. Then he +said one of his companions might have a little piece of ham left and +some crackers. He said there were three of them, and they would soon be +there, and when they came one of them had some bacon and a few crackers, +which he gave to us. The eating of it soon refreshed us. As I had some +of the brandy left in the bottle, I extended it to them, which they were +very glad to receive. Explanations ensued. We, by chance, had struck the +Crusos road, and were but ten miles from Panama. They had come from +Philadelphia in a brig, and had started across from Crusos, the head of +boating on the Chagres river, and had been from two to three weeks +getting so far across the Isthmus, and were perfectly astonished at the +rapidity with which we had come. So we joined them and arrived in Panama +that evening. Lieutenant M. and myself were the first of the one +thousand passengers of the _Georgia_ to enter the city. The office of +the agents of the Pacific steamers was closed. I went, the first thing +in the morning, to purchase the five tickets for our party. Alas for +human expectation! I was informed it would be several weeks before the +steamer would sail. She had not yet returned from the first trip to San +Francisco. They said there were but sixty tickets for sale, and they +would not be offered until a few days before the departure of the +steamer. Of course, all we could do was to abide our chances of getting +them. The city was walled around and dyked like those of the Middle +Ages. Toward the bay the wall was one hundred feet high by twenty broad. +The city had been on the decline for most a hundred years. We could see +the ruins of what it once had been. At one time Spain owned all South +America, Mexico, California, Louisiana and Florida. Panama was the only +port of entry on the Pacific coast, and controlled its commerce. As you +enter the gates of the walled city there is a chapel just inside, where +the lights are always burning on its altars. The first thing on entering +all good Catholics enter, kneel and make their devotions, seeking the +protection of the patron saint of the city. The head alcalder of the +city was a Castilian Spaniard, a venerable-looking gentleman, white as +any Northern man, evidently of Scandinavian descent, who ages back +conquered Spain and divided the land up among themselves and became its +nobility, from whom the present rulers of Spain are descendants. It is +said that when conquered, the original inhabitants of Spain, to a great +extent, fled to their vessels, put to sea, and found the island of +Ireland, from which the present inhabitants are descendants. The second +alcalder was a negro as black as I have ever seen. + +In the city of Panama in its days of prosperity, when under Spain, the +higher classes must have lived in great luxuries, the negroes their +slaves. The natives the peons were in a condition similar to slavery, +they could not leave the land as long as they owed any thing. But the +despotism of old Spain became so great that when they struck for +freedom, all classes united. They gave freedom to the negroes and the +peons, and even the priests of the Catholic church had been so +tyrannized over by the mother church in Spain that they joined the +revolutionists and all classes are represented in the government. I +called at a watchmaker's to have a crystal put in my watch. Two brothers +had furnished rooms like a parlor. I could not speak Spanish, nor they +English. I could speak a little French. I found they could speak it +fluently. I asked them where they learned it. They said, "At the Jesuit +college at Granada." Then one, of them, when he learned that I was from +the United States, went to the piano and played Hail Columbia as a +compliment to my country, which would trouble most of us to do the same +for their country. + +There are now great trees growing up in the ruins of what was once its +great cathedral. The freebooter Morgan is said to have plundered one of +its altars of a million of gold and silver, and massacred many of its +inhabitants, perpetrating on them the atrocities that their ancestors +had upon the original natives. It is said that when Pizarro captured +Peru and took the Inca, their king, prisoner, he issued a decree that if +his subjects would fill a room with gold, he would release him, which +they did. Instead of doing it, he sentenced him to be burned at the +stake, and only commuted it to hanging on condition that he confessed +the Christian religion. Madam Roland, when she was about to be +guillotined in the French revolution, exclaimed, "O Liberty, what +crimes have been committed in thy name." O Christianity, what terrible +atrocities have been perpetrated in thy name! + +Panama is a healthy city to those acclimated, facing a beautiful bay, +unlike Chagres, on this side of the Isthmus of Darien, which is the most +unhealthy spot on this continent. Excuse this diversion, I must get back +to my subject, the days of the forty-niners. + +I stopped at the American Hotel. I was somewhat in a dilapidated +condition from the experiences of my trip from Chagres. The waiter in my +room at the hotel took the best of care of me. I soon found he was no +ordinary waiter. He had resigned a position in Washington of $2,000 a +year to go to the gold Eldorado. He had been in Panama several months, +and had been taken down with the fever twice, which had exhausted his +funds and was working at the hotel for his board, but never thought of +turning back. He was bound for California. He was quite enfeebled from +the effects of the fever. He got hold of my sympathies and secured my +friendship. (More of him anon.) I had been here four or five days +without seeing our guide, the boy with my satchel, containing my +valuables, particularly the bills of lading of my houses. I was in a +quandary and anxiety about it, not knowing what to do, when one day as I +was going to dinner, something pulled my coat from behind, and looking +around, what should I see to my great joy and satisfaction but the +native boy with my satchel, contents there all safe. It was an instance +of honesty that would do honor to any nation. I gave some honest +Catholic priest credit for it. The boy had evidently been instructed +what to do. + +The great objective point now was, how to get to San Francisco. There +was no hope for a sailing vessel from this place, for we saw one return +for water that had been chartered by a party that had been out three +weeks, and scarcely got out of sight of the city. There is very little +chance for a sailing vessel from there until they get west several +hundred miles, and strike the trade winds. The chances were better with +the sailing vessel to start from New York and go around Cape Horn. So +the only hope seemed to be the steamer with its sixty tickets and with +from one thousand to fifteen hundred passengers waiting to buy them, all +seeking to bring some influence to bear to secure one. I saw in the +office of the steamer agent a young man, the book-keeper, whom I took a +fancy to, and sought his acquaintance. I found he was from Hudson, N.Y., +and I, from Albany, both from the banks of the Hudson river. It ripened +into a warm friendship. I explained my situation to him, and my desire, +if it was possible, to get off on the steamer, but did not venture to +ask his influence to try and get me a ticket. At this time the cholera +and Panama fever was raging in full force. The acclimatednacclimated +Americans were dying in every direction. I was conversing at 8 A.M. with +a healthy looking man, one of our passengers, from New York. At 5 P.M., +the same day, I inquired for him and was informed that he was dead and +buried. He had been attacked with the cholera. It was a law of the city +that they must be buried within one hour after death from a contagious +disease. I was finally myself taken down with the Panama fever, lay +unconscious and unnoticed in my room at the hotel for a long time, and +then came to and found myself burning with the raging fever, had a +doctor sent for, and after a time recovered so I could venture out. In +the meantime, the steamer _Panama_ had arrived, and its day of sailing +for San Francisco announced. Zackary, Nelson & Co. had issued an order +that the sixty tickets would be put up to be drawn for. Those having the +winning numbers could have the privilege of purchasing them; that they +must register their names on such a day. Probably one thousand names +and but sixty tickets. The chances were small, but the only hope. On +that day, I went early to register, as I was still very weak from the +effects of the fever, and at my best in the morning. As I entered, there +was a great number there registering. When my turn came, and I was about +to put down my name, I looked behind the desk and saw my friend, the +book-keeper. He shook his head for me not to. I knew that meant +something favorable. I backed out. I returned at once to the hotel. In +the evening, about 8 o'clock, my friend came to my room with a second +cabin ticket. The joys of Paradise centered into my possession of that +ticket. I asked him how did he obtain it? He said he was about to resign +his position, and was going up on the same steamer to California. The +night before the drawing he asked Mr. Nelson if his services had been +satisfactory to him. He said they had. He then said if he should ask +him a favor on leaving him if he would grant it? He replied certainly. +He then said that he wanted one of those sixty tickets for a particular +friend. Mr. Nelson said, "If I had known what you was going to ask for, +I could not have granted it; but since I have pledged my word, I shall +give you the ticket." + +The next day passengers would be received on the steamer, which was +anchored out in the bay, some distance from shore. It was announced that +no sick persons could go on the steamer. As I was quite enfeebled from +my sickness, and was at my best in the morning, I thought I would make +an early start, so as to be sure and be aboard, as they were all to be +on board the vessel to sail early the next morning. I started out for a +boat to take me out to it with the highest elasticity of feelings, not +so much from the prospect of financial success as the idea that if I +could get North again my physical health would be restored, and the +steamer was going North. It seemed at times that I would have given +$1,000 for one good breath of Northern air. As I was going along, some +distance ahead of me, sitting at the doors of a doggery, with his head +almost between his knees, the picture of despair, was my Washington +friend, who waited on my room at the hotel when I first arrived, did me +many favors, and got hold of my sympathies. I said to myself, poor +fellow, I can do nothing for you. I must not let him see me, so I dodged +and passed him. When I got some distance by him my conscience smote me. +I will go back and speak to him; so I did. I had advised him a few days +previous to go and see some officers of the boat and offer to go up as +waiter without pay. I asked him if he had done so, and what luck? He +said there was no hope. They told him they had been offered $300 for the +privilege of going up as waiter. I then told him I had a ticket. I was +going then for a boat to go on board. That his case was desperate, and +that desperate cases required desperate remedies; that he had been down +twice with the fever, and the next time he would probably die; that he +had no friends there nor money; if he would do as I told him I would +stand by him and he must have nerve. He said to me: "How can a man have +nerve without a dollar in his pocket?" which exclamation has occurred to +me many times since. I asked him to hire a boat to get him out to the +vessel, and what it would cost. He said $2. I gave him the money and +told him to get his baggage. He said he had none. I told him to come +about 11 o'clock and go to work among the hands as if he was one of +them; that all were new hands and officers, and they would not know the +difference. He said that the captain had said if any person was caught +on board without a ticket they would be put on shore at the first +uninhabited island. I told him I would attend to that in his case. I +went on board and got my berth and baggage all in. About 11 o'clock I +saw my friend coming over the water making for the vessel. There was +considerable confusion on board at the time, passengers constantly +arriving, and he was not noticed, and he went to work among the hands as +if he had been regularly employed. In a short time the officers were +arranging the men in line to pass the baggage, and said to him: "You +stand here and help pass it," of course, taking him for one of the men +of the boat. In the evening he came and spoke to me. I said all right so +far. But in the morning, he said, they are going to examine every +person, then they will put me ashore. I said, keep a stiff upper lip. If +you get in trouble, come to me. + +The next morning the gun fired, the anchor was raised, and we sailed +down to Bogota, an island similar to Staten Island in the New York +Harbor. The health officers came out. Then my friend trembled and +thought the day of judgment had come to him, but the health officers +were on board but a short time. No examination of those on board took +place. The signal gun for departure was fired. We passed out of the +harbor. The bow of our vessel was pointed north, and we felt extremely +happy. I said to him, "This vessel is bound for San Francisco, and you +are aboard, and will get there as soon as I will." A few days after that +the mate was arranging the employment of the men, and when he came to my +friend's turn he said to him, "Who employed you? You are not an +able-bodied seaman." He made no reply. They could see he was a man of +intelligence, and his pale look showed he had been sick. It may have +moved the sympathies of the officer, who said to him, "This vessel is +crowded with people; it wont do for us to be short of water, and I will +put the water in your charge, and you must not let any passenger, or +even the steward, have any except according to the regulations, and if +you attend to that properly no other services will be required of you." +That took him off of the anxious seat and put him on the solid. In all +his adversities he never thought of turning back. That commanded my +esteem. His attentions to me, when sick, aroused my sympathies for him, +which good action on his part saved him. Of one thousand passengers +desirous of getting on that steamer, and there was room but for sixty on +the day of its departure; his chance looked the most hopeless, being +penniless, but he was one of the fortunate ones, while those who had +plenty of money were left. It illustrated the old maxim, "Where there is +a will there is a way." + +Nothing of interest occurred until we got to the port of Acupulco, the +largest place on the west coast of Mexico. We were about to enter the +harbor when a government boat with officials came out and ordered us to +stop. If we proceeded any further there would be "matter trouble" in +broken English. There were Americans on shore who had crossed over from +Vera Cruz for the purpose of taking this steamer. It would be a month +before there would be another one, and then there would be no certainty +of their getting aboard of that. The captain held a consultation of the +passengers, who all decided to have them come on board. They were our +countrymen and we would share our berths with them, although the vessel +was then crowded, and some of the passengers volunteered to row ashore +with the small boats to bring them aboard, which they did. When they +approached the shore there was a company of soldiers waded in the water +with pointed guns, forbidding them to approach any nearer. The Americans +who were on the bank informed them that the soldiers would fire, and +warning them not to approach any nearer, while bewailing their fate that +they had to be left, so they returned. Then the captain received notice +to leave in half an hour or the guns of the fort would open fire on us. +It was a bright moonlight night. The fort was on a high knoll just above +us, and could have blown us out of the water. So we thought discretion +was the better part of valor, and we had to leave. The laws of nations +were on their side. We were from an infected port, Panama, where cholera +prevailed. + +On board the steamer were some men of prominence. W.F. McCondery, from +Boston, a retired East India sea captain, a man of wealth, who had been +out of business for three years and craved for a more exciting life; who +started the largest commission-house in San Francisco, and had consigned +to him about all the shipments from Boston, and likewise the _Prince de +Joinville_ with my houses; Mr. G., from Liverpool, an Englishman, who +had about all the consignments from that city; Rothschild's nephew, who +had represented that house as a banker in Valparaiso, Chili, was going +to establish a branch of those great bankers' house in San Francisco; +Judge Terry, from Louisiana, who had the reputation at that time of +being a dead shot with a pistol, who afterward challenged United States +Senator Broderick to fight a duel, from political influences, and killed +him, and some years afterward was assassinated himself from a +disagreement with parties about a lawsuit. We came opposite Mazland at +the mouth of the Gulf of California, and took on board some passengers +and freight. + +The next incident in our voyage was when we came in sight of San Diego, +California, and saw the American flag floating from the flag staff. +There was an instantaneous shout went up from every American on board. +We were once more to be under its protection in our own country. + + Love of country, mystic fire from heaven, + To light our race up to stateliest heights 'tis given. + +We were entering the Golden Gate. It was but four miles to the harbor +where we cast anchor, opposite the city of San Francisco, which was the +goal of our hopes for so long a time, and which was about to be +realized; which was also the objective point from almost every part of +the world where adventurers are seeking to get. We had come three +thousand, five hundred miles since we left Panama. We engaged a row-boat +to take us ashore. My friend attended to getting my baggage out of the +boat, and went with me to the shore. He had signed no papers, and +entered into no bonds not to desert the vessel at San Francisco, as the +other sailors had. He was free to do as he pleased. + +I had the chills and fever all the way up, from the effects of the +Panama fever. My first idea was to get in good quarters, whatever +expense, to regain my health. I was informed that there was a good hotel +kept by a widow woman on Montgomery street, where we landed. Some of the +other passengers were going to stop there. I inquired the terms. They +said $5 per day. I thought I would try it for a while. My sleeping-room +was a mattress laid on the floor, with muslin partitions to separate us +from the next room. The table was very indifferent, no vegetables, which +I required, which we lacked on the ship coming up. Being in poor health, +I needed them. After being there a few days one of our passengers asked +me if I knew what the charges were. I said yes, $5 per day. He said it +was more; I had better ask again, which I did. I was informed it was $5 +for the room and extra for the meals. I paid my bill and looked out for +other quarters. I had brought in my baggage an Indian rubber mattress +and pillow which was folded up in a small space and could be blown up +with your breath and filled with air, made a soft bed, a pair of new +Mackinaw blankets and other things to provide for any contingency, and +took my meals at a restaurant, which were numerous, including the +Chinese which we often patronized, and found myself satisfactorily +quartered. It may not be inappropriate to make some general remarks +about the history of California. + +Although my subject is strictly on the days of forty-niners, which +consisted of about two years from the discovery of the gold, when it was +supposed that the future prosperity of the country depended exclusively +on the mining interest. How different it has turned out since has +nothing to do with my subject. I want to try to paint to the mind of the +reader the condition of California at that time, and the views of the +pioneers in those days. I am doing it in the form of a personal +narrative, as it enables me more distinctly to recall to my mind the +events of those days in which I was a participant. Such fluctuations of +fortune as then occurred, the world never saw before in the same space +of time, and probably never will again, where common labor was $16 per +day. There were some very interesting and truthful articles published in +the _Century_ magazine two years ago from the pen of the pioneers, but +there has been no book published as a standard work for the present and +future, and the participants in it are passing away, for it is +forty-five years since they occurred. California is three times larger +in territory than the State of New York. Its population before the +discovery of gold, including Indians and all, was but a few thousand. +Cattle could be bought for $1 per head, and all the land they ranged +upon thrown in the bargain for nothing. They were killed for their +hides, and the meat thrown away, as there was no one to eat it. + + +A FEW HISTORICAL ITEMS. + +San Francisco bay, first discovered the 25th of October, 1769. The first +ship that ever entered the harbor was the _San Carlos_, June, 1775. The +mission of Dolores founded by the Jesuit Fathers in 1769. Colonel +Jonathan Stevenson arrived at California with one thousand men on the +7th of March, 1847. The treaty of Hidalgo ceding California to the +United States by Mexico, officially proclaimed by the president, July 4, +1848. Gold first discovered by Marshall, January 9, 1848. January, 1848, +the whole white population of California was fourteen thousand, January, +1849, the population of San Francisco was two thousand. The three most +prominent publicmen at the time of my arrival in California were Colonel +Freemont, who had conducted an expedition overland; Colonel Stevenson, +who came by sea with one thousand men, appointed by William L. Marcy, +who was secretary of war during the conflict with Mexico, from whom I +had a letter of introduction as a family connection of Governor Marcy, +similar to the following letter to Brigadier Major-General P.F. Smith, +which was not delivered: + + ALBANY, _June_ 24, 1849. + + My Dear Sir--I desire to present to your favorable notice, + the bearer hereof, Dr. Daniel Knower. He is on the eve of + departing for California. He is a family connection of mine, + a gentleman of talents and respectability, and I commend him + to your favorable notice. + + Yours truly, + + WILLIAM L. MARCY. + + BRIG.-GEN. P.F. SMITH. + +I soon found the colonel one of the warmest of friends. Captain John A. +Sutter, who was a captain in the Swiss Guards of Charles the Tenth of +France, after the revolution of 1830 in that country, came to the United +States, who some years previous had wandered across the country to +Oregon, and the Russian Fur Company secured for him a large grant of +land from Mexico in California, on which the city of Sacramento now +stands, extending back from that city many miles to where the gold was +first discovered. He was having a raceway dug on the American river for +the purpose of erecting a saw-mill, as there was no lumber in the +country. He had constructed a fort some miles back from the Sacramento +river, where he made his home. The object of the Russian Fur Company was +to have a place where they could purchase grain, as there was none +raised there at that time, and they had a contract with him, and that +they were to send a vessel at such a time, and he was to settle up the +country and cultivate it. Sutter was the most social and generous of +men. The latch-string of his cabin was always on the outside, and all +callers were welcome, and the hospitalities of the fort extended to all +callers. + +At the time of my arrival, on August 18, 1849, there were several +hundreds of ships anchored in the bay deserted by their crews, who had +gone to the mines. They could make more in one day there than their +wages would amount to in a month on the vessel. + +In the city a large portion of its population were living in tents. +There were not buildings enough. Vessels were constantly arriving loaded +with people from all parts of the world. As my health permitted I +investigated matters there. I took a walk out. I met what looked like a +laboring man. I asked him how long he had been there? He said two +months. I said to him: "And not gone up to the mines yet?" He said to me +he was in no particular hurry. He said he had a row-boat and made $20 a +day rowing passengers to and from the vessels (there was then no dock). +He had his boy with him, who gathered mussels and sold them. Between the +two they averaged $30 per day, which explained why he was in no hurry to +go to the gold diggings. + +Lumber was bringing fabulous prices. It looked very favorable for my +house ventures. Mr. G., the Englishman, had been very anxious to buy +them. He had seen the specifications of the carpenter on the steamer +coming up. On Saturday P.M. I called at his office. He asked me if I had +made up my mind to sell him the houses. I said to him: "If I should put +a price on them you would not take me up." He said "try me." I named a +price. He said he would take them and go to my lawyer to draw up the +contract. I said I would just as soon go to his (which was a fatal +mistake). I knew his was a State senator from Florida, and had come up +on the steamer with us. We found the lawyer in his office, and he +commenced drawing up the contract. I made my statement that I sold the +houses from my carpenter's specifications (not from any representations +I made myself), and from the bills of lading and from my insurance +policy, which ranked the ship _Prince de Joinville_, formerly a Havre +packet, classed A, No. 1. He was to deposit bills of lading of the ship +_St. George_ from Liverpool, consigned to him, in value to the amount of +$50,000, with a third party, as collateral security, that on the +arrival of the _Prince de Joinville,_ and the delivery of the houses, he +was to pay me the sum agreed upon. + +The lawyer, after writing a little, complained of a headache, and asked +if it made any difference if he put it off until Monday morning. I said, +Mr. G. had been very anxious to buy the houses, and I had not cared +about selling them to arrive, preferring to take my chances when the +vessel got here, but since I had consented to sell them, I preferred to +have it on the solid. I said, I supposed the transaction was not of +great importance to Mr. G., but I had all that I was worth in the world +at stake on the venture, and would prefer to have it closed now. He +commenced writing, and again complained of the headache. I then +consented to put it off until Monday morning at 10 o'clock. We both +pledged our honor to meet there at that time and consummate it. I was +there on Monday morning at the time designated. Mr. G. came in at 11 +o'clock and said he had changed his mind and would not take the houses. +I said all right, but his word of pledge of honor would have no value +with me hereafter. + +I would have made $18,000 profit, but I was selling them for a good deal +less than they would have brought if they had been there. Lumber was +selling as high as from three to four hundred dollars per thousand feet +in San Francisco at that time. But I was making certain of a good profit +and running no risk of what might happen in the future. + +I had another offer of a number of lots on Stockton street, the next +street above the plaza in the heart of the city, for six of the smaller +ones, which, if I had consummated, would have made my fortune. "There is +a tide in the affairs of men, which, if taken at the flood tide, leads +on to fortune, or, if not seized, are forever lost." (Shakespeare.) + +The ideas of the people there at that time was, that a railroad across +the continent, connecting California with the East, was entirely +impracticable. That there were one thousand miles of desert to cross, +where there was no water, and the Sierra Nevada mountains presented an +impassable barrier, and they thought how could it ever be an +agricultural country, when there was no rain for more than seven months +in the year. The idea of irrigation was not thought of then. How +different every thing has turned out since, I have nothing to do with. I +must be true to my subject, the days of the Forty-niners. + +As it would be, at least, three months before the ship could come in +with my houses, and my health had improved, I was anxious to get up to +the mines. I was informed that there was a party from Albany at the +Dutch bar, on the south fork of the American river, about eight miles +from Coloma, where gold was first discovered, with whom I was +acquainted. I found a sloop about to sail for Sacramento (there were no +steamers then) the starting point to the northern mine. I took passage +on board with all the passengers the boat could accommodate. I noticed +on the passage up that the mosquitoes were very large, with penetrating +bills. It was as much as we could do to protect our faces. + +The only important event on the passage was that a Jew had potatoes that +he was taking up on speculation, and that he was going to treat his +fellow passengers to some, one day at dinner. We were a little +disappointed when we found they were sweet ones, but still they were a +treat. Vegetables were scarce, potatoes selling from forty to sixty +cents per pound. After a few days we arrived at Sacramento, it being +about one hundred miles from San Francisco by water. There were no hacks +at the landing, nobody that wanted a job to carry your baggage. Governor +Shannon, of Ohio, was among the passengers. He had been minister to +Mexico, yet he had to carry his own baggage, and make several trips to +do it. One of the passengers assisted him. He was president of a mining +company organized in Ohio. + +It was evening. We stopped at a hotel, and I slept in my Mackinaw +blanket that I carried with me, on the dining-room floor. The next +morning after breakfast, about 9 o'clock, I went out on the front +portico to take observations of the place. The landlord was there. There +was a loaferish-looking fellow going by on the opposite side of the +street. The landlord cries out to him: "Bill, what will you charge to +chop wood for me from now until night?" He cries back, "What will you +give?" He replies, "$10." Bill answers back, "Can't chop for less than +an ounce," which was $16, and walked right on. It was evident that +common labor was not suffering there for want of employment. I was there +some days, and could find no one to post me how to get to Coloma. All +was excitement and bustle. While there, Sam. Brannan--who had built a +new hotel there (just finished), called the City Hotel--gave a free +entertainment for one day to the public. He must have expended $1,000 +for refreshments. He had been a Mormon preacher, and was a captain in +Colonel Stevenson's regiment. He was very enterprising and generous, a +prominent figure with the "Forty-niners." + +I saw an article in the paper a few years ago from a California +correspondent, giving a biography of him; that he was, at one time, +worth several millions, and went into some big enterprise--which I +cannot now recall--and was unfortunate and lost all his wealth, and that +he was, at that time, in San Francisco at a twenty-five-cent +lodging-house, and that he told him that he passed two men that day who +had crossed the street to avoid him, to whom he had furnished the money +from which they had made their fortunes. Well, I finally found an +Oregon man with a yoke of oxen, who was freighting goods up to Coloma. +He said he had seven hundred and fifty acres of land in Oregon, but no +cattle on it. He thought he would come to California and get gold enough +to buy them, and his wife was keeping a cake and pie stand on the +streets of that city. I never saw him after that trip, but coming with +so modest expectations, I have no doubt he was successful. + +We started on our journey in the afternoon. The country through which we +traveled looked as if it had been an old-settled land, and deserted by +its inhabitants. It seemed that we must come to a farm-house, but there +was none. There were scattering trees in the country and occasionally a +woods, but no dense forest. We made eight miles, then camped for the +night on the edge of a woods. I had brought no provisions with me, so I +offered him $1 per meal to eat with him, which was accepted. He made +tea, cooked some Indian meal, and had a jug of molasses; so we made a +very good supper. I got my satchel out of the wagon for a pillow, and +with my blankets made my bed on the ground under the wagon. I thought it +would keep the dew off, but there was none. + +There is no danger of taking cold sleeping on the ground in the dry +season, when it does not rain for seven months. He had set fire to a +dead tree to keep the grizzly bears off, and about the time I got +comfortably laid down, there was a pack of coyote wolves came howling +around. Amid those surroundings, the burning of the fire to keep the +grizzlies off and howling of the wolves, I fell asleep and did not wake +until morning, refreshed from my slumbers. After a breakfast similar to +the meal the night before, we proceeded on our journey, but the ox team +travelled so slow that in walking I got away ahead of it, and then got +tired of waiting for it to come up to me, and so went on alone. Toward +night I came to Mormon Island, the first gold diggings. I inquired if +there was a place where I could get quarters for the night. They said I +might, at the hospital. It was a log cabin with bunks in it, and what +was my astonishment to find the proprietor, a doctor from Troy, N.Y., an +old acquaintance. I was more than welcome. We were both delighted to see +each other. I to find such comfortable quarters, and he to meet with a +friend in the wilderness, and to hear the latest news from the East. He +got for me the best supper that the surroundings would afford; as I had +eaten nothing since morning, it was very acceptable, and he provided for +me the most comfortable of his bunks for sleeping. He informed me that +it was twenty-five miles from Coloma, and there was but one place on the +way where I could get water to drink. I started after breakfast, +refreshed. After travelling some miles, I came to the smoke of the +camp-fire of Indians, just ahead of me. It was rumored that the Oregon +men were in the habit of shooting an Indian on sight when they had a +chance. The Indians killed white men in retaliation, as they could not +make peace until they had killed as many whites as they had lost, +according to their ideas of equity. As I did not care particularly about +being one to make up the number, I struck off in a ravine and passed +around so as to avoid their camping ground and came to the road beyond +them. What truth there was about the shooting of them I could not say, +but it was currently reported at the time. About 4 o'clock, P.M., I got +to a stopping place six miles from Coloma. There I met a man with a long +beard, slouched hat, a sash around his body, a flannel shirt, evidently +a miner. I had a long talk with him. He posted me about the gold +diggings and I him about the news from the States. As we were about to +part, he asked me to take a drink. He inquired of the proprietor if he +had champagne? He said, yes, at $10 a bottle. The man said, pass us +down a bottle, which we drank together. He, evidently, had struck good +diggings. We parted, as I was anxious to get to Coloma before dark, +which I did, just as the sun was setting, having made twenty-five miles +in one day on foot. I found a regular tavern here, kept by a man from +Mississippi, with his family. I sat down to a regular table for my +supper, which seemed quite a treat. He informed me that he had no +bed-room for me; that I could sleep on the dining-room floor, or in his +barn. He had just had some new hay put in. I chose the latter. It was a +kind of a shanty building, but the soft bed of new hay was a luxury +after my twenty-five miles walk. + +I awoke the next morning refreshed. After my breakfast I took in the +place and went to the raceway where the first piece of gold was +discovered. There were three or four stores in the place to supply the +miners of the surrounding region. I got my direction how to find the +Dutch Bar, eight miles from there. Proceeding on my way, after going +about five miles, I came to a person, his face covered with a long +beard, whom I recognized, by the expression of his eyes, as a person who +I knew in Albany, and who belonged to the party I was seeking. He +informed me that I was within three miles of them, and he gave me plain +directions how to find them. I soon came to their camp and there was a +genial meeting and exchange of news. There were five in the company. +They had a tent and owned a pair of mules. I joined them, as I had not +come to depend on mining, as I never had been accustomed to physical +labor. At first I thought it was awful hard work, and that it was lucky +for me that I had not come to California depending on it, but after a +short time I got used to it and liked it. They took turns in cooking, so +each one had one day in the week that he did the cooking. We lived on +fried pork and flapjacks made from wheat flour fried in the fat of the +pork, tin cups for our tea and coffee, and tin dishes. We each had stone +seats, and a big one in the center for our table. At night we slept +under our tent. The gold rivers were not navigable. They were sunk way +down deep in the earth. When the rainy season sets in during the winter +months, and sometimes rains every day in the month, causing the snow to +melt on the Sierra Nevada mountains, where these streams take their +rise, will cause the water to rise often from ten to twenty feet in a +night, and in the course of ages has worn their depth down into the +earth, and is supposed to have washed out of the earth the scales of +gold that are found on the banks of the rivers. The first mining was a +very simple process. A party of three could work together to the best +advantage. A virgin bar was where the river had once run over and now +receded from it. Three persons worked together, one to clear off the +sand on the ground to within six inches of the hardpan. The top earth +was not considered worth washing, the scales of gold, being heavier, had +settled through it, but could not penetrate that portion of the earth +called the hardpan, so the earth within six inches of it was impregnated +with more or less gold, and one to carry the bucket to the rocker, and +the other to run the rocker, which was located close to the water. The +rocker was a trough about three feet in length with three slats in it +and a sieve at the upper end, on which the bucket of earth was thrown. +The man worked the rocker with one hand and dipped the water out of the +river with a tin-handled dipper. As he worked the rocker the fine earth +and scales of gold passed through the holes of the sieve and settled +behind the slats in the trough, and the stones and large lumps in which +there was no gold were caught in the sieve and thrown away. After a +certain number of buckets of earth had been run through in that way, the +settlings behind the slats in the trough were put in a milk-pan and the +water was allowed to run in the pan and the fine earth and sand would +float on the top of the water. You would let that run off. + +After a few operations of that kind you would see the yellow scales of +gold on the edge of the sand. You would continue that process until +there was but a little of the sand left; then you would take it with you +when you went to the tank and warm it by a fire to dry the sand; then +with your breath you would blow away the sand and have the gold, which +you carried in a buckskin bag, which was the currency of the country, at +$16 per ounce, and at the mint in Philadelphia was worth $18.25. I have +carried three hundred buckets in a day, and at twenty-five cents worth +of gold in a bucket, it would amount to $75, $25 to each man for his +day's work, which was frequently the average. In those days all it cost +for a party of three for capital to start mining was about $15. Then you +had the chances of striking a pocket. That was a cavity in the rocks +where gold had settled. In the course of ages, and where the strong +currents of the streams, when the rivers were high, could not reach it +to wash it out, I have known a person to take out $800 of gold in less +than an hour. The first miners, when they found gold on the banks of the +river, thought if they could only dig in the deep holes of the bed they +would find chunks of it, and they went to a big expense, and those who +had money hired laborers to assist in constructing raceways at $16 per +day, to change the current of the river; but when they had effected +their object and dug there they found no gold, for there was nothing to +prevent the strong current from carrying it off; but I knew a party to +draw off the water and expose the bed of the river, where there were +rapids, and they were successful, and the gold had settled down between +the crevices of the rocks, and the currents could not disturb it. + +There were some other kinds of diggings discovered different from the +river mining, called cañons, one I know of, called the Oregon. It was +described like a tunnel, deep down in the earth, where a party of three +persons from near our locality went and returned in about three weeks +and had from three to five thousand dollars apiece, which they showed +me. It was not scale gold, but nuggets of all sizes. Of course, they had +unusual luck. + +On the river mining each person was entitled to so many feet, as long as +they left any implements of labor on it. No person would trespass upon +it; but if he took every thing away, then it was inferred he had given +it up, and anybody had a right to take it. All regulations were strictly +respected and every thing was safe, and a person told me that he would +not be afraid to leave his bag of gold in his tent. Every thing was +honorable and safe until the overland emigrants from western Missouri +arrived there. + +They were a different kind of people; more of the brute order. When +they saw a party of two or three that had a good claim, and they were +the strongest, they would dispossess them. (I suppose the same class +that raided Kansas in John Brown's time.) They became so obnoxious that +a respectable man would deny his State. + +And another corrupt element arrived by sea, the ex-convicts from Sidney. + +I went to Coloma one day to get supplies for the party. I rode one of +the mules, the other followed to be packed with the purchases. When I +bought what was wanted, I handed the storekeeper my bag of gold to pay +him. When he returned it to me, I found his statement made was between +three and four dollars less than I knew was in it. I informed him of the +discrepancy. He said he did not see how that could be; that he weighed +it right. He came in in a few minutes and apologized, saying that he had +weighed it in the scales that he used when he traded with the Indians. +It needs no comment to know that the Christian man is not always +superior to the Indian in integrity. There was an Indian who had struck +a pocket. He came to Coloma with $800 in gold dust that he got out in a +short time. He invested it all with the storekeepers in a few hours. He +had dressed himself in the height of fashion, including a gold watch. He +was dressed as no California Indian ever had been before. The gold he +could not eat nor drink. + +[Illustration: DRESSED AS NO CALIFORNIA INDIAN EVER WAS BEFORE.] + +How the gold came there is one of the mysteries of nature. One theory +is, that the Sierra Nevada mountains were once the banks of the Pacific +ocean, and all California had been thrown up from the bottom of the sea +from that depth where gold was a part of the formation of the earth, in +connection with quartz, and as all gold appears in a molten state, which +would go to corroborate this theory. A person informed me that he went +through a ravine where one side of the road was half of a large rock, +and on the other side, the other half. He could see where the two halves +would match each other exactly. Well, I lived that life for two months. +We had an addition to what I have described to eat--pork and beans on +Sunday, and Chili pudding. It had been baked and sweetened, and then +ground up like flour and put in bags. All you had to do was to moisten +it with water to eat it. All our flour came from that country, put up in +sacks of fifty and one hundred pounds each, but we had no vegetables. +One day we heard that they had dried-apple sauce at the hotel at Coloma +for dinner. The next day, Sunday, three of us walked eight miles to get +there to dinner to get a taste of it. We paid $2 apiece for our dinner, +and they had the sauce; it tasted so good that we did not begrudge the +price of the dinner and the walk back again. We were fully satisfied. + +The rainy season set in. It rained three days, and although it was +three or four weeks before it would be possible for my houses to arrive, +yet it was a new country and no bridges. The streams might get up so as +to be impassable, and the houses were consigned to me, and no one but +myself to receive them. I thought I had better get back to San Francisco +at once. What I was making in the mines was mere nothing to what I had +at stake in the houses. Although, to tell the truth, I never left a +place with more regret, as hard as the fare was. We were interested +every day in the work for gold, and did not know when we might make a +rich strike. My last day there it rained. Notwithstanding, a companion +and myself went out to dig for a couple of hours. When we returned, we +had $25 worth. That was the last of my mining. I started the next +morning for Sacramento afoot. I sold my pistol and blankets for an ounce +each, $16 apiece. On my route I met a man bound for the same place. We +joined teams and became very intimate. + +The only incident of importance was when we got within five miles of +Sacramento. We stopped at a log cabin and ordered dinner. A short time +after my companion came to me in some excitement and said he had looked +through the window and that they were cooking potatoes for dinner. I +could not believe the good news, and so went and looked for myself and +found it was true. I had not tasted one in two months. We took the +steamer _Senator_ that evening for San Francisco. It had been a Long +Island steamboat and had arrived since my departure for the mines. It +was the first steamer that had ever sailed the interior waters of +California, and had been put on to run from San Francisco to Sacramento. +I think it belonged to Grenell, Minton & Co., a prominent shipping firm +of New York city. Charley Minton had charge of it. Of course its profits +were great. But I could not sleep in my state-room berth; I had been so +long used to a hard bed I was restless, but we arrived safe the next +morning at San Francisco. The bulk of my book will be events that +occurred during my residence in that city. I scarcely know how to begin +to describe it. My efforts will be to portray them truthfully. To do so +I must continue in the form of a personal narrative. That is the only +way I can recall the events to my mind of so long ago. + +At this time more changes took place there in a month than in most any +other place in a year. Every thing was done by the month. Buildings were +rented by the month; money was loaned by the month; ten per cent per +month was the regular interest. There was but one bank, called the +Miners', on the corner of the plaza, owned by three parties. During my +absence a great boom had taken place--influenced by new arrivals and +most favorable news from the gold mining sections. This was the fall of +1849. The lots that I had thought of trading six of my houses for had +tripled in value, but lumber was still bringing fabulous prices and +every thing looked favorable for a big strike on my houses when they +arrived. Montgomery street was on the banks of the bay. There was one +pier at this time constructed from it in the bay, and a temporary pier +by Colonel Stevenson at the north beach. The city was growing up toward +Happy Valley. Portsmouth Square, the plaza, still had some of the adobe +buildings on it. The best hotel was the Parker House, on the west corner +of it. The plaza was sand, no vegetation on it. + +Rincon Point, on Telegraph Hill, was the spot where ships and steamers +were signalled. Steamers coming in but once a month, they brought the +last news from the East. The New York papers were peddled at $1 each. +Long lines of people were formed to get the mail, and you had to take +sometimes half a day before you could reach the office. Oakland, +opposite the bay, had no existence. Goat Island had plenty of wild +goats on it, and we could never imagine how the first goat ever got +there. There was no scarcity of meat--plenty of beef and grizzly bears +were hung out at the doors of the restaurants as a sign, and plenty of +venison. I can recall now to my mind, venison steaks that we would get +in the evening with their rich jellies on it. The luxuries of Asia were +coming in there. Many China restaurants with their signs from Canton or +Pekin. But there was a great scarcity of vegetables. Onions and potatoes +sold for forty cents per pound. + +A day or two after my arrival, my friend who came down with me from the +mines came to me and said that there were a lot of blankets to be sold +at auction; that he had no money, or he would buy them; that if I would +buy them he would take them up in the mines and peddle them out for me +for half of the profit. As I knew they were in great demand there--I had +sold, when I left there, mine for $16--I told him if he could buy them +for $4 per pair to bid them off and I would furnish the money to pay for +them. He came back in a short time and said he had bought them, and that +they came to $800. We had them taken to the steamer _Senator_ to ship to +Sacramento. We paid $10 a load to have them carted from the store where +they were bought to the steamer. (The result of this speculation later +on.) + +There were at this time several hundred vessels anchored in the bay, +deserted by their officers and crews. A ship could be bought for +probably one-third of what it was worth in New York, and I conceived the +project of buying a ship as soon as I sold my houses, which I expected +soon to arrive, being on so fast a ship as the _Prince de Joinville_, +and going myself to the Sandwich Islands and buying a load of onions and +potatoes, as I was informed that they could be bought as cheap there as +in the States, and ciphered out that one successful venture of that +kind would make my fortune. So I went among the idle ships to see what I +could do in that line, and to have one selected, ready to close the +bargain as soon as the houses arrived. I came across a brig that had +been running to Sacramento, but was condemned as a foreign bottom, when +Collier, the collector, arrived there, a short time before, and extended +the marine laws of the United States over California. The captain and +crew were aboard. The captain was an Englishman; the crew, +cosmopolitan--a Hindostan, a Mexican named Edwin Jesus, an English +sailor and an American. I inquired of the captain about the history of +the vessel. He said she had been built at Quavqiel, down the coast, and +had belonged to a Mexican general, and was built partially of an +American whaler that had been wrecked on the coast, so I got American +timbers in her. They wanted to sell the vessel. I told him I might buy +her. I would let them know in a day or two. So I went to Colonel +Stevenson and gave him a history of it, and asked him if he would see +Collier, the collector of the port, and see if I could not get her +papers as an American vessel, which he did, and informed me the next day +that it was all right. I went at once and bought the brig. As soon as I +got its American papers it was worth twice what I had to pay for it. I +kept the same captain, as he knew the navigation of the rivers, which +few did at that time. I gave him $250 per month and put a supercargo at +$150 per month, and kept the same crew. I had it put up for Stockton, +the head depot for the Southern lines. The first month it made two +trips. Its receipts were $3,100; its expenses, $1,100; so it earned me +$2,000 clear. + +There was a friend of mine named R., who owned a third interest in a +factory that belonged to a relative of mine who got the gold fever when +I did, and got me to negotiate the sale of his interest in it to him, +which I did for $8,000, so he could go to California with me. When he +arrived there he proposed to build a brewery. His father had been a +brewer in Scotland. He bought a lot, a part of the city called Happy +Valley, and started to build the first brewery on the Pacific coast. He +commenced to build one that would cost $30,000 with that capital, which +was his mistake. If he had commenced in a small way he would have made +his fortune. (In my personal narrative he had much to do with my +affairs.) + +At this point in writing my manuscript, I have just heard of the death +of Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, aged ninety-four, in California, to whom +I had a letter of introduction from Governor William L. Marcy. I found +him the warmest, the truest and most generous friend. He was a little +unpopular when I first met him, for what I conceived the most noble +action of his life. There were in his regiment roughs from the city of +New York, where it was organized, who, when the war was over with +Mexico, would go into saloons and places and help them selves to what +they wanted and refused to pay. They were termed "The Hounds." There was +a vigilance committee organized against them, which public sentiment, at +that time, fully indorsed. They had seized a number of them and were +about to hang them. Colonel Stevenson faced the excited crowd and asked +to have them give the men a trial and punish the guilty. He said that +when he returned to New York and their mothers asked him what had become +of their sons, how could he face them if they were put to death in that +way; but if he could say to them that they had a fair trial, were found +guilty of crime, and had been punished according to law, it would be +different. I think they were not executed, but banished; but it set up a +cry against the colonel that he had taken the part of "The Hounds," so +unjust is often, for a time, public sentiment. That was the first +vigilance committee; the great one came afterward, but I am confined to +the days of the "Forty-niners." + +It was rumored, at the time, that there was a jealousy between him and +Colonel Freemont. It was not on the part of Stevenson. I boarded at the +same hotel with Freemont. + +See illustration for bill which I received while at the hotel with +Colonel Freemont: + +[Illustration: HOTEL BILL.] + +The colonel asked me one day to speak to Freemont at dinner, and +request him, if convenient, to stop in his office as he came from +dinner, which I did. Stevenson's office was on the plaza, but Freemont +never called. + +There was great difficulty about the title to lots at that time. There +were contentions set up, and claims of property from different Mexican +grants, as it became valuable. It was guaranteed by the United States, +at the treaty of Hidalgo, when California was ceded to us, that all +titles that were good under the Mexican government should be recognized +by us. L., the chaplain of Stevenson's regiment, seems to have been the +butt of the boys before the gold was discovered. + +They, as a farce, elected him alcalde of San Francisco, which position +is a combination of mayor and judge, as we would understand it, and his +election was declared illegal. Then they elected him for spite. He +served one year. There was a Mexican law that in any village in that +country a person had a right to settle on one hundred veras of land so +many feet, about three hundred, and if he put up any kind of a building +on it, and held undisputed possession for one year, he could go to the +alcalde, and by paying $16, get a good and valid title. When the lots +became so valuable in San Francisco, after the gold was discovered, many +lots based on those kinds of grants became very valuable two or three +years after the discovery of gold. L. became quite wealthy, it was said, +by advances in real estate. There were rumors of bogus titles in the +names of dead soldiers and others who had left the country, but could be +traced to no authentic source. He was estimated to be worth several +hundred thousand dollars, made in the rise of real estate. I met him but +once and I sold him some lumber. + +My shipping merchant who negotiated freight for my brig got a legal +title of that kind. + + +HIS STORY. + +He said he was a book-keeper for a firm in Newport, Rhode Island, at a +small salary. He made up his mind that if they would not raise his pay +$100 per year on the 1st of January he would leave them. They refused, +so he lost his situation, and it was dull times, and he could not get +another one, so he shipped on a whaling vessel as a sailor. His health +was poor, and he found he could not stand the hardships of that life. +The vessel put in the harbor of San Francisco for water and fresh meat +on their way to the Arctic ocean, so he deserted the ship and secreted +himself until it left. Then he had to do something there for a living, +so he squatted on one hundred veras of land on the beach, and put up a +shanty and sold fruit and probably some liquor, etc., to make a living. +No one disturbed him for one year. He applied to the alcalde and paid +his $16 and got a good, valid title. After the gold was discovered it +became the most valuable property in the city. When I was doing +business with him he had a three-story brick store, which he owned. The +whaling ship had been gone to the Arctic ocean two or three years and +had heard nothing of the discovery of the gold, and wonderful changes in +San Francisco, and the captain thought he would put in that port on his +return and hunt up his runaway sailor, and behold, his absconding sailor +was rich enough when he found him to buy his ship and his whole cargo of +whale oil. I was introduced by him to his captain and shook hands with +him, and we had a good talk over it. Wherein does our stories of +fiction, of our boyhood, of Arabian Nights, surpass the actual events of +life, of the wonderful fluctuations of fortunes in California in the +days of the Forty-niners? + +[Illustration: THE CAPTAIN AND THE RUNAWAY SAILOR.] + +On the death of President Taylor, a meeting was called for the purpose +of having funeral obsequies there in his honor. A man was named for +president of the day. Then it was proposed to name a vice-president for +each State and Territory, which was done. There were persons in the +crowd from every one of them. A day was set apart for the ceremonies, +and all business was to be suspended. There was a long procession on +that day, and the masons and all societies and the people in general +turned out in full force, including the Chinese, who were smart enough +to think it would make a favorable impression in their favor. After the +parade was dismissed in the plaza, the Chinese were requested to remain, +and a missionary addressed them, and a Chinaman interpreted to them in +their own language. I noticed that their language was much more +condensed than ours. It took about a third of the time for him to +translate what the missionary said. When the missionary closed, he said +he hoped that we would all meet together in another and a better world. +It seemed to them so absurd that they looked at each other and smiled as +if it was a good joke. In those early days there were no particular +prejudices against them. Pagans, as we call them, practised the +Christian virtues toward their own countrymen. When the ship arrived +from China they were down to greet the newcomers, whom they had never +seen before, and invite them to their homes. The present laws of +restriction against them, I think, are all right. We cannot afford to +run the risk of having the institutions of our country injured by an +emigration that is uncongenial to it. We have gone too far in that line +already, not from selfishness, but to perpetuate the institutions +founded by our revolutionary ancestors, in their purity, for the +interests of mankind. + +I received a letter from my blanket friend. He informed me that he could +not sell the blankets, and had traded them off for flour, and would +start the next day for the Yuba, which was the most remote gold river. +That was all a lie. He did that so that I would not follow him up. He +had not a dollar invested in them. They were my property. I knew at once +I had been dealing with a rascal, but I was powerless to do any thing +about it, so I wrote him back that it was all right; that I had bought a +brig; and that I had it running to Stockton, and he could take ventures +up on that and make up what we had lost on the blankets, and much more. +(More of him later on.) + + +THE GAMBLING OF THAT DAY. + +It was public most everywhere. Faro tables, the great American gambling +game, Monte, the Mexican and Roulette. The Eldorado, on the corner of +the plaza, was the most celebrated gambling house of that time. There +had been a great deal of money expended in fitting it up. It had an +orchestra of fifteen persons. It was run all night and day, with two +sets of hands. It was gorgeously fitted up. What they used to stir up +the sugar in the drinks cost $300. It was solid gold. Numerous gambling +tables, piled up with gold and silver, to tempt the better, behind which +were hired dealers. The owners of the Eldorado were not known. Many a +miner has come with his few thousand dollars to San Francisco to sail +for home, and taking in the sights, visited the Eldorado, got interested +in the different games, and lost it all and went back to the gold +regions broken and penniless to try his luck over again. I heard of one +that lost his all three times in that way. I saw a man once put down a +bag of gold, which contained $5,000, bet $1,000 on one turn of the card +at Monte. He lost. While I was looking at him in the course of half an +hour, he lost it all. I thought what independence that amount would have +given some family in the East. + +In those early days there was often but a muslin partition between you +and the next room, and you could hear every word in the next apartment. +About 1 o'clock in the morning I was awaken by two men entering and +taking the next room to mine, whom I saw running a Roulette table on the +plaza. They seemed to be considerably excited. They said they would be +willing to lose some money to get rid of that tapper. Of course, I +could not understand, at first, what they meant by that expression, but +come to find out from their conversation, they had their Roulette table +arranged so that they could make the ball stop on the red or black, as +it happened to be for their interest to have it do. So, if there were +$20 bet upon the red, the tapper would bet $10 on the black, and they +could not make the red lose without making the black win. So the tapper +was getting half of their gains. I would advise all my friends to let +Roulette alone, unless they are sure they can place themselves in the +position of the tapper. + +One morning on the plaza I took a look into a gambling saloon. I saw a +Greaser that had been betting against Monte all night, and had had +wonderful luck. He announced that he would tap the bank for $1,800, +which was more money than he ever had before, or could ever expect to +have again, which meant that he would bet that amount for whatever sum +the dealer could show to meet it on the turn of one card. He lost, and +the dealer showed $1,800 in the bank and took all his money. Monte is +the great National gambling game of Mexico, and his idea of Paradise is +to be able to break a Monte bank. + +Mr. B. from Kentucky, whom I took for so rich a nabob, referred to among +the passengers when out of New York. I saw him take out his gold watch, +a valuable one, and bet it behind the queen, on the game of Faro, for +$100. He was evidently about broke. It won. Then he went the $200, and +it won again. Then he went it the third time, and it won. In about +twenty minutes he had his watch back and $700, then he left. Some one +asked me a few months after that if I knew that he was worth $80,000? He +had been very lucky, and that he was to run for sheriff of San Francisco +county on the Democratic ticket, and that the Whigs had nominated Jack +Hayes, the celebrated Texan ranger. Hayes had been in the Mexican war. +It was told of him that when the American and Mexican armies were +encamped opposite each other, that a Mexican officer, splendidly +equipped, came forward on horseback, and challenged any American to meet +him in single combat between the two forces. Jack Hayes volunteered to +go, and he killed him. He took his horse, gold watch and personal +effects. He afterward learned who he was, and that he left a widow. He +sent all his personal effects to her as a present. Of course, we were +interested warmly on his side, and he was elected. They say Colonel B. +spent all his $80,000 on his side and was defeated. No reputable citizen +of San Francisco or business man would allow himself to be seen betting +at any of the public gambling tables. He would feel that he was losing +character. I am trying to portray the scenes of those days exactly as +they occurred, and if I left the gambling scenes out it would not be a +true history. + +At first public offices went a begging; nobody wanted them. Fine +clothes were at a discount. He was looked upon as a tender-foot who knew +nothing about the gold regions. But a flannel-shirted, roughly-dressed +miner was the lion. He could tell something about the gold regions. The +governor appointed a loafer fellow, in the early days, Port Warden. +Nobody wanted it, and he was indorsed by one firm. As the city grew very +rapidly the office soon became valuable. Somebody told the governor what +kind of a man he had appointed Port Warden, and the governor wrote him a +letter requesting him to resign, stating to him what representations had +been made to him about his character, which, if he had known, he would +not have appointed him. He wrote back to the governor refusing to +resign, saying to him, he had better read the papers and look after his +own character. The governor was up for re-election and the opposition +papers were pitching into him. + + +THE GRIZZLY BEARS. + +One warm afternoon my friend Me and myself thought we would take a walk +over to Pesedeo; that was about three miles to the Pacific ocean. The +seal rocks is where the sea lions or seals can always be seen. It was +the entrance to the Golden Gates, where the roar of the Pacific ocean is +twice that of the Atlantic, it being six thousand miles broad, twice +that of the Atlantic. On our way we stopped into a tent to get a drink +of water. We found it occupied by three miners, one of whom was quite +lame. I inquired of him what was the matter. He said his hip had been +dislocated by the grizzlies. I asked him how it happened. He said they +went up to the Trinity river to dig for gold. I knew that was the most +remote gold river. He said they were lucky and found rich diggings, but +after awhile their provisions gave out and they could not procure any +unless they returned to the settlements. On their way, returning on +horseback, they came to three grizzly bears grazing in a field. It was +very dangerous to attack them, but they were very hungry. They thought +if they could kill one of them it would supply them with meat, so they +finally decided they would take their chances and fire on them, which +they did, and wounded one. The other two took after the man whose hip +was dislocated. He fled and came to a buckeye tree, the body of which +slants, and he got up in it, the bears came on under it. After awhile +they found they could not reach him. It being a low tree one of them +commenced climbing it after him. He thought his last hour had come; all +the events of his life seemed to rush on his mind, and a picture of the +old-fashioned spelling book, where the man plays dead on the bear, came +before him, which I distinctly recollected. He thought his only chance +was to drop from the tree and hold his breath, and play dead on the +bear, which he did, and fell on his face. One bear grabbed him by the +shoulders and the other by the ankle, and in pulling, dislocated his +hip. He had a thick overcoat on which they tore to pieces. He held his +breath. After awhile they went off and left him. After a little while he +raised his head to see if they were gone, and they came trotting back +and smelt him all over again, and went away again, he holding his +breath. Then he laid a long time, fearing to move, and his companions +came up + + "Each fainter trace that memory holds + So darkly of departed years, + In one broad glance, the soul beholds, + And all that was at once appears" + +In the cases of imminent danger such is said to be the case. It is +evident that is what saved this man's life. Truth is stranger than +fiction. + +[Illustration: PURSUED BY THE GRIZZLIES.] + +The State seal of California is Minerva, with a spear and shield and the +grizzly bear at her feet. Before the discovery of gold they were quite +numerous. They roamed in full possession, apparently, of the +country--no one to molest them or make them afraid. It was a very +formidable animal, weighing from seven to eight hundred pounds. When the +rainy season set in, late in the fall, and the winter months, during +which the grass commenced to grow, he fed on it in the valleys and +fields, and became fat and powerful. In the spring, when the dry season +set in and no rain for seven months, and fields dried up with a dusty +brown, he fled to the tops of the mountains to browse on the leaves of +the trees to support life until the next rainy season commenced. It is +said he is not a ferocious animal if unmolested, and will not attack you +if you let him alone, unless it is a she bear with cubs, or you shoot at +them and wound them. They are very hard to kill. To be hit by a bullet +has very little effect on them, unless hit in a vital spot. An +acquaintance of mine was walking on a road in the interior and saw a big +grizzly coming down the road in the opposite direction toward him. He +knew it would not do to undertake to run. He had been posted on their +natures, so he kept walking right on, as if he was undisturbed and had +no fear, the bear coming nearer to him all the time, with his gait +unchanged, or he his, until they passed each other, he looking the +grizzly in the eye and treating each other with due respect and +consideration as friends. As an illustration of their strength, an old +Californian informed me that he knew of an instance where a grizzly came +into a pack of live mules and took one off and carried it to his den and +ate it. In corroboration of that fact, another man informed me that he +saw a bear chasing a mule and fired on the bear and hit him, and the +bear turned toward him, and the mule escaped. + +[Illustration: THE MINER AND THE GRIZZLY.] + +There was a Mr. W., who opened a fashionable hotel on the east side of +the plaza. I was invited to be one of a party of twenty to give a +complimentary dinner to a friend, who was about to return East. The bill +was just $400, which was $20 apiece, the most I ever paid for a +California dinner. The landlord became quite popular and was thought to +be a very responsible person. A great many persons from the long voyages +around Cape Horn arrived, sick with the scurvy, owing to want of +vegetables at sea, most of whose systems underwent a change to become +acclimated to the country; some seriously and others more mildly. It was +thought it would be a good thing to do to erect a hospital for the +benefit of the public and those arriving sick. There was $30,000 raised +at the first meeting called, and Mr. W., the landlord, was elected +treasurer. + +[Illustration: THE MAN WHO ESCAPED FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.] + +One night he got betting against the game of Faro, lost, and I suppose +got over excited, and in trying to recover his losses, lost every thing, +including $30,000. Of course it was not known that he ever gambled or he +would not have been trusted with the money. As soon as it was known it +created great excitement and indignation, that so sacred a fund should +have been wasted in that way. He fled, and the Mayor offered $3,000 +reward for his apprehension. It seems he had escaped on a vessel to the +Sandwich Islands, and had no money, and got in debt there and could not +leave there as long as he owed any thing, according to their laws, and +he was in despair, until one day fortune smiled upon him. Accidentally +he came across a California paper in which was the $3,000 reward offered +by the Mayor of San Francisco for his arrest, and this was his +opportunity and he seized it at once. Then hope dawned upon him. He +found a vessel about to sail for San Francisco. He took the paper and +showed it to the captain and told him if he would advance the money so +he could pay his debts, he would return with him to San Francisco and he +could surrender him and they would divide the reward. The captain +accepted his offer and delivered him up upon his arrival at San +Francisco, and got the reward. Two or three months had elapsed since +his departure, and that was more time than so many years in any other +country, and all excitement about it had subsided, and I think it was +called a breach of trust, and I have no recollection that he was +punished in any other way. + + +MY BLANKET MAN. + +When he wrote me that he had traded the blankets for flour, and had gone +to the Yuba river with the flour, I knew that it was a lie, and that he +was a rascal, and I found that blankets had been in great demand, at a +high price, and likewise learned that he had been connected with a +forgery in New York city, but that his brother was a respectable +merchant there, so for the time I gave up my $800 as lost. What was my +surprise after six weeks at my hotel (which was an expensive one), to +see my man at the tea table. I greeted him most cordially and asked no +questions about the blankets, but talked to him about the brig I owned +and had running to Stockton; that I had been looking for him to come +back; there was such a splendid chance for us to make purchases in San +Francisco, and for him to take them up on my vessel and sell them out in +the Southern gold mines, near that place; that what we had lost on the +blankets we could more than make up on the first venture, and that there +would be big money in that kind of a speculation. We spent the evening +together most cordially. The next morning I detained him in conversation +until about the time for the Miners' Bank to open, then we went out +together. When we got opposite the bank I took out my watch and said to +him, that I did not think it was so late. I said I had a note of $800 +due there that morning; I asked him if he had the gold dust about him to +that amount. He said yes. I said let me have it and I will take up my +note. He said there was no place to weigh it. I said yes, here there was +a place where I was acquainted. It was weighed and handed to me. I told +him I would see him at dinner, which I did. I then opened on him, and +told him how despicably he had acted when I so generously trusted to his +honor. He made no reply; he virtually admitted the truth of my +statement. I never saw him afterward. That was the only time I ever +played the confidence game in my life, and my conscience has approved of +it ever since. + +My friend, Mr. R., had got his brewery well under way in Happy Valley, +as they called that part of the city, had used up his $8,000 and +commenced borrowing money on my indorsement, at ten per cent a month, +the regular interest at that time. He had a friend, Lieutenant S., who +resigned from the regular army, a graduate from West Point, who had been +up in the country, and came back with a flaming account of a place on +the Toulama river, which empties into the San Joaquin, which was the +head of navigation on that river, and was the place to start a town, +and if we would furnish him with $1,500 to do it with, we would each own +a third of it. I did not take to it, but Mr. R. was so earnest about it, +and had such confidence in his friend, that I finally let him have the +money. There was quite a spirit of speculation of that kind at that +time. Colonel Stevenson had laid out one on Suisan bay, at the mouth of +the San Joaquin river, named New York of the Pacific. Marysville, on the +Sacramento river, was laid out a short time previous, and proved a great +success, making the fortunes of the projectors. Of course, a few were +successful, and many failed. It seemed to have been a legitimate thing +to do to make a fortune in a new country. I became acquainted with +Broderick. It was Koyler & Broderick. They had an office in the same +building with Colonel Stevenson. Broderick, who was afterward United +States Senator from California, and I became very intimate. He was not +intellectually a very brilliant man, but a solid, able and strictly +honest man, and a thoroughly posted politician of his day. He had run as +a Democratic candidate for Congress from the city of New York, but was +not elected. In California he was first elected to the State Senate from +the city. It was he who conceived the project of laying out the water +lots on the bay, and got the bill through the Legislature. He advised me +to buy one or more. I looked at where he suggested to me to buy, and +found them six feet under water. Although they could be bought very +cheap then, their prospective value seemed so remote to me I thought +they were not worth the trouble of bothering with. It shows how easy it +is to be mistaken in apprehending the future. I understand they are now +the most valuable part of the city. + + +THE MAN IN HIS TENT. + +The man in his tent, who had squatted on Rincon Point, an elevated +locality, that commanded a grand view of the bay, informed me that when +he squatted there with his tent, that he could find no person who +claimed the land. He had been there but a few days, when some parties +came to him and offered to give him so much a month for the privilege of +putting up their tent near his. He said he had no objections. They paid +him. Then other parties who wanted to put up their tents were referred +to him. From these various persons he was getting a very liberal income. +He informed me that as long as it lasted, he was in no hurry to go to +the mines. + + +THE CLIPPER SHIPS. + +About this time was the first appearance of the celebrated clipper +ships. They anchored off of Happy Valley and attracted great attention; +they could make the trip around Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco +in three or four months; they run wet; their bows were very sharp, and, +in a rough sea, instead of mounting the waves, they cut them, and the +bows ran under water, and their progress was not impeded by the waves, +saving two or three months' time, which was of great consideration then. +There was no railroad across the Isthmus then, and there was no other +way of transporting freight between the cities of New York and San +Francisco except around Cape Horn. They had great fame then. England +conceded their superiority over all other sailing vessels for speed; but +they have passed away, the railroad reducing the time to from five to +eight days; of course, there is a great difference between that and +three or four months. The days of sailing vessels, however great their +speed, to a great extent, is gone. Besides, there are regular lines of +steamers to most every port of the world, and the ocean is covered with +tramp steamers. + +That winter a convention was called to organize a State government and +apply for admission to the Union. The Southern element there wanted to +make it a slave State. The Northerners, including both Whigs and +Democrats, wanted it free. They did not want to be brought in +competition with slave labor in the mines, and have their occupation +degraded in that way. Their pride, as well as interest, was at stake, +and there was great feeling on the subject. Meetings were called all +through the mines and addresses made and candidates nominated. The +average of intelligence there was away above any other part of the +country. For they were men of enterprise, or they would not have been +there in that early day. At Mormon Island, one of the miners got up and +made a speech. He so impressed them with his ability that they +unanimously nominated him as their candidate to the Constitutional +Convention. He was an old acquaintance of mine. In 1847 or 1848 he was a +Democratic member of the Legislature of the State of New York, from +Washington county, and was chosen by that body to deliver the oration +on Washington's birthday. His name was George Washington Sherwood. He +was elected to the Constitutional Convention of California, and wrote +its first Constitution, copied after that of his native State, New York. +The Northern element prevailed in that convention, and California came +in a free State by its unanimous vote. Broderick headed the Northern +sentiment; Gwin, who had been a United States Marshal in Mississippi, +the Southern. I met him often. He would come into a bar-room and say: "I +did not come here to dig gold, but to represent you in the United States +Senate." He would then say: "Come up all, and take a drink." I thought +that was a strange way to inspire the people with the idea that he was +the proper person to represent them in the United States Senate. He was +elected, with Colonel Freemont, the first two United States Senators +from California. At the next election for United States Senators, +Broderick got absolute control, and although Gwin had fought him +bitterly, they were the two senators to be elected again. Broderick had +the magnanimity to induce his friends to go for Gwin and had him elected +with him, and Gwin showed his ingratitude by going at once to Washington +and securing from Buchanan the control of all the appointments of the +government in the State of California. So when Broderick came there, +there were none to give his friends. Gwin was afterward very prominent +in the rebellion. He went out in a boat in Charleston harbor, crying out +from it his advice to Major Anderson, advising him to surrender at the +time of the attack on Fort Sumter. (This is a matter of history that +occurred after the time of which I am writing.) + + +A BULL FIGHT. + +There were bills posted about the city that three of the most celebrated +fighters of Mexico would have an exhibition in the evening, and combat +with animals. As my friend and myself never had seen one we thought we +would go. It was an amphitheatre, with circular seats about the pit, +with thick planks around it, the seats commencing about twenty feet from +the bottom of the pit. There was a door at the side of the pit, which +was raised by pulleys, which admitted the bull. They were wild ones. Our +seat was about the fifth row back. The house was crowded and brilliantly +illuminated. Then the bull-fighters were in the pit, one on horseback, +two on foot, gorgeously and brilliantly dressed, with swords, the blades +pointed like spears, with red flags in their hands to attract the bull. +The door was raised and the animal came rushing in; he was a terrible +one to look at. Blinded by the lights and the scene, he rushed and +roared around the arena; I trembled in my seat, although I was in no +possible danger. The first feat of the bull-fighters was to plant a +rosette on the shoulders of the animal with a barb implanted in his +flesh, which enraged him more, with colored ribbons, two or three feet +in length, attached to the rosette, which was flying in the air as he +went around, indicating to the audience the success of the feat. Then +the same feat was performed on the other shoulder. Then when the bull +attacked the man again, a rosette was implanted between his horns, and +the man escaped, which was the most difficult of all. They had red flags +in one hand to enrage and blind him, but this bull, he became so furious +and enraged that they could not master him. He rushed upon the man on +horseback, threw the horse and rider, and, with his horns, tore the +entrails out of the horse and killed it. The man was wounded, but +escaped. The rest of the fighters fled, and one climbed up the side of +the paling and came within two inches of being impaled alive against the +side by the bull's horns. As I write I can, in imagination, hear the +sound of the animal's horns as they struck the boards in missing the +man. The bull was master of the situation; he had cleared the ring. It +was a terrible sight as he roared around in his fury. Then the most +startling event of all occurred. It seems incredible, but it is the +truth of history, and I must write it. + +[Illustration: THE BULL FIGHT] + +A greaser, with no weapon, but simply his _seraper_, a shawl that he +wore around his shoulders, took that off and stretching it out in his +hands, jumped down into the pit of the ring alone, to the entire +astonishment of the audience, looked Mr. Bull in the eyes and dodged him +with his shawl as the animal attacked him. He had probably been brought +up among wild bulls. The audience all arose in excitement, expecting to +see him torn to pieces, and crying out for him to escape. The +professional bull-fighters got their red flags and drew the bull off, +and the greaser escaped, and seemed to be surprised at the excitement of +the audience. They succeeded in getting the bull out, and dragging out +the dead horse, and letting in a less ferocious one. The same +performance was gone through with him, as already described, except that +this one was conquered. At last, when the bull pitched at the man, he +holds his sword in such a way that the weight of the animal comes on it, +and passes between his foreshoulders and penetrates his heart. In an +instant the back wilts and the animal lies dead. It was the most sudden +change, from full vitality to death; it startled you. It's a shock to +your nervous system. My friend and myself said it was the first and last +bull-fight we would ever see. + +The price of lumber and vegetables kept up. I paid forty cents a pound +for potatoes in buying provisions for the hands on my brig. I furnished +them enough to last them on the up trip, but not for the return, so they +would hurry back. It was now time for the vessel with the houses to +arrive, and I expected to buy a ship with the money, and to go to the +Sandwich Islands and make, what I considered, a fortune for me, but +alas! no _Prince de Joinville_ came. It was hope deferred. Finally the +rainy season set in in full blast, and all consumption of lumber +stopped. The high price had stimulated shipments from everywhere. There +was a big reaction in the price. The first prominent failure in the city +took place, I think it was Ward & Co., commission merchants and private +bankers. It was said it was owing to his large orders of shipments of +lumber to that market. He shot himself with a pistol in the morning in +his bedroom and died, knowing that he could not meet his creditors if he +went to his place of business. About this time it was announced from +Telegraph Hill that my vessel, with the houses, was entering the port +two or three months after she was due, striking a glutted market. I had +four or five thousand dollars to raise to pay the freight on them to get +possession of them, or I would lose the capital invested. So instead of +making $18,000 profit, which I might have made if they had come on time, +I was running the risk of losing the capital invested in them. Colonel +Stevenson had selected six of them some time before, which he wanted for +his New York of the Pacific, which he said he would make me an offer on +as soon as they arrived. I saw it was my only chance to save myself to +close that sale. I was at his office in the morning as soon as there was +any probability of they being there. I said to him: "The houses have +arrived. I am ready to receive your offer for the six you selected." He +said he had no money now. I said I did not want any (which was a white +lie). I said I would take a draft on Prosper, Whetmore & Co., of New +York city, for $3,000, payable in ninety days, and his note for the +balance, on his own time. He looked over the plan of the houses again. +He said he would not give but so much. I said to him, that was not the +question, what will you give? He said I will give you that amount, +naming the sum. I said at once, they are sold, they are yours. He gave +me the draft on Whetmore & Co., for $3,000, payable in ninety days. Just +at this time, his partner, Dr. Parker, came in. The colonel informed him +he had bought six of my houses. He said, you have made a mistake. Lumber +is in a glutted market. It is falling rapidly. The colonel said, that +makes no difference now, I have bought them. The colonel was considered +rich. No one there questioned the soundness of his draft. I went with it +to all the brokers in the city, but could get no offer for it. I then +went to Charley Minton, the agent of the steamer _Senator_. I thought he +could send it to New York to the owners of the steamer for its face +value. He said, the best he could do with me was to give me $2,250 for +it. Money was ten per cent a month, and scarce at that. Three months +time, at the rate of interest there, would be $900. I said, I would +take it. He gave me a check on his broker for that amount. He paid me in +gold, $16 Spanish doubloon pieces. I tied them up in my handkerchief, +and went to McCondery & Co., and said to him, the vessel, with my +houses, I see, are consigned to you. I will pay you $2,000 now on the +freight, and before they are all taken off of the ship, I will pay you +the balance. He said, take them all off, and pay the balance at your +convenience (we were acquainted and had come up on the same steamer, and +played whist together). It cost me $800 to get them ashore. There were +no wharves then. They had to be taken ashore on lighters. I expected my +brig down from Stockton soon, with $2,000 freight money, so I was out of +the woods financially for the present. I then made arrangement with the +colonel to have them landed on the North Beach on land owned by him, +where I could retail out my other six houses, which I had to sell, when +I got a proper price for them. We formed a copartnership. I was to take +one of my smallest houses, and have it erected there, to be used for an +office, and to use the grounds as a lumber yard to sell on commission, +and as a place for storage, which was very scarce then. There were quite +a number who had taken the liberty of piling lumber and other articles +on it, using it as public ground. I took formal possession of it in the +name of Colonel Stevenson, and gave notice to the different parties that +if they did not remove their materials from the premises in ten days +they would be charged so much for storage. Some removed, and others did +not. I recollect the German house that did not remove it in thirty days +after the ten days of notice. It was a wealthy house, and I handed them +a bill of $250 for storage, at which they demurred very seriously, +questioning our title; but they paid it. When I went out to the ship to +see about taking my houses off, I met the first mate, whom I got +acquainted with in New York. I told him I thought the ship had been +lost; that all the old tugs of ships had got in ahead of them. He said +to me, I have had the worst time I ever had in my life. I have had to +carry that old man on my shoulders (referring to the captain) all the +way. Whenever we had a good breeze and sails were all full, he would +come on deck and order shorten sail to check our speed, or we might have +been here a month sooner. That told the whole story. I saw them take +freight, in my presence, when they were offered $1.50 per foot, when +they told me there was no room for the other half of my houses to go on +the ship, when I had a legal contract with them at sixty cents per foot. +My freight alone would have made a difference of two or three thousand +dollars by excluding it and taking the other in at the difference in the +price of it. There is no doubt they served many other shippers and put +their goods on other vessels, and kept theirs back until the other +ships would get to San Francisco ahead of them, so that they could +deliver the freight according to their bills of lading on the arrival of +the _Prince de Joinville_. That was why my speculation was ruined by +their dishonesty. Instead of being the fastest ship, it was a fraud, a +decoy, a dead trap on those who were unfortunate enough to ship by it. +When I saw the captain he was very humble. He had all kinds of apologies +to make, and invited me to go to China with him. I could have the best +state-room on his ship. It should not cost me a dollar. I could go +around the world with him. I saw that my speculation was ruined by their +dishonesty, and there was no remedy, and, like all human events, that +ended it, and I had to abandon my Sandwich Island expedition and throw +my anticipated fortune from it to the winds. Mr. Meighs, the one who +failed and ran away to Chili, and built the railroad in that country +from Valparaiso to its capital, and then organized a company and +constructed railroads in Peru, had a lumber yard side of me. I sold, +after a while, my other six houses, one at a time, retailing them out, +and, by careful management, just succeeded in saving my original +capital. + +I was satisfied with San Francisco, with my interest in the lumber +yards, and with my partnership with Colonel Stevenson on the North +Beach. My interest in my brig, when it came down, and my prospective +interest in what was to be the city of Toulom, and my associations with +Mr. R., who was building the first brewery on the Pacific, which I was +backing up with my indorsement, and I was to have one-third interest +when it was completed, if I wanted it, at first cost, looked like a very +favorable investment for me at that time. I was living an active and +enterprising life, with bright hopes of future fortune. One morning when +I went down to the North Beach I found there had been a house erected on +our land in the night. I, of course, informed the colonel at once. He +informed me it was a man by the name of Colton, who pretended to have a +title under what he called the "Colton Grant," and that it was bogus, +and that he had the building erected to try and force his title. The +colonel said he would see the judge of the court in the city, and get an +order for its removal. In about two hours he sent a messenger with an +order from the judge authorizing us to remove it. He instructed me to +employ all the men that were necessary, and have the material removed +from the premises and he would pay the bill, which I did, and our title +was not disputed after that. + +I had never been on a trip to Stockton, and I had chartered the freight +capacity of the brig to a man for $1,800. He was to put in it all the +freight he chose to. I thought it would not be for his interest to +overload it. If the vessel sunk there was no insurance--his cargo would +be a total loss. I had reserved the deck and the passenger room. The +conditions of the charter were that the freight was to be delivered in +Stockton by a certain date or I was to forfeit the $1,800. The freight +was aboard; he had loaded the vessel deeper than I had expected. I had a +number of passengers at $15 each. They were to furnish their own +provisions, but to have the privileges of the cooking stove on deck. The +vessel was anchored out in the bay, to sail at 2 P.M., when the tide was +most favorable. I had a new chain for the anchor, and the captain said +he wanted a kedge anchor for safety, so I ordered one from McCondery & +Co., for $35, on condition that, without fail, they would have it on +board before 2 P.M. We were all on board by 1 o'clock, waiting for the +favorable tide, to start. At 1:30 no anchor and the bay was very rough. +The captain said it would not come, they would not venture out in that +sea in a small boat. I said it would be there certain, I knew my man. +Sure enough, in a few moments we could just see a boat in the distance, +two men rowing and one guiding the rudder. They came alongside and we +had the anchor aboard in five minutes. In the stern was Mr. Watson, one +of the firm. He said he was afraid to trust his men in that sea for fear +they would fail to deliver it. The profit on it to them was only $3.50, +and it was a very wealthy firm, but they had pledged their word to me +that they would have it there at that time. (Would that there were more +of such honorable men.) We hoisted anchor, the tide in our favor and a +stiff breeze blowing. We passed out of the bay of San Francisco into the +bay of Los Angles, and crossed that into the Straits of Benica, which is +four miles long and connects with Suisan bay. The Straits of Benica was +a perfectly safe anchorage. It was approaching night, and blowing almost +a gale. I was in hopes and expected that the captain would come to +anchor in the straits and wait until morning before venturing out into +the Suisan bay, which was twenty miles across to the mouth of the San +Joaquin river, where we were bound. The bay was almost like the open +sea; you could get out of sight of land. I think he would have come to +anchor if I, the owner, had not been on board, and had not urged upon +him the importance of having the vessel in Stockton in time. As he was +the captain I felt sensitive about interfering with his business, and +had hoped and expected, all the way through the straits, that he would +come to anchor, and not undertake to cross the bay that night. Darkness +was setting in, but he did not come to anchor. The gale increased to a +hurricane; all sails were taken in, and we were scudding under bare +poles, and had a lantern hung up in the rigging. The captain came to me +and said, loaded as we were, we could not live in that gale; he would +have to seek a place to anchor on the side of the bay. I said to him, he +was the captain. The line was thrown out every few minutes. At last we +found sounding, and the anchor was cast. We had been there but a short +time before another vessel, more than twice as large as ours, came aside +of us, with a heavy deck-load of lumber, and got entangled in our anchor +chain, and kept drawing us nearer to them. If they had struck our vessel +we knew we were lost. They would have sunk us at once. Seven times they +came down on us and each time, by superhuman efforts, we warded the +blow, all hands and passengers doing their best, fully realizing the +danger they were in. It seems to me that I hear now the oaths of the +captain of the other vessel rising above the sounds of the terrific +hurricane as he was ordering his men, for they, too, were in danger if +they collided with us. Of course, he was on the bare poles. As he came +on us the eighth time they hoisted their jib sail. As the wind struck +it, it seemed to lift their vessel out of the water, and, thank God, we +were freed from it. It was forty-five years ago, and, as I write, it +all lives before me as visible as if it were yesterday. The captain of +the other vessel had seen our light, and, supposing we were in the right +channel, had followed us. We had escaped what seemed almost certain +death, but were not out of danger. Our new good chain was attached to +our bad chain, and the captain had let out all our chain to free us from +the other vessel, so we were actually hanging by our bad chain in the +open roadstead, not in the protection of a harbor, and liable to drag +our anchor or break our chain and be wrecked; but we could do nothing +more than submit to our fate. I thought I would get into my berth and +try and get to sleep, and, if I found myself alive in the morning, we +might be saved. I did sleep, and when I awoke it was daylight. The gale +was subsiding. We had dragged our anchor. The bow of our brig was very +sharp; the banks were soft mud, and we had struck it with such force +that we were wedged in. The tide was low and we were almost out of +water. We fortunately had struck the land with our bow, and that was +what saved us. If we had struck with the side of the vessel we would +have been wrecked. So, ever since we had been freed from the other +vessel, we had been in safety and did not know it. We waited for the +tide to rise and then got our kedge anchor out and pulled the vessel out +off the bank as the tide rose. The sea was very rough, but the gale had +subsided, and by 11 o'clock we were entering the mouth of the San +Joaquin river in safety. It was forty miles up the river to Stockton. +The river was in a valley of Tullieries. The land seemed to be in the +course of formation. There was but one tree between the mouth and +Stockton, a willow, called the Lone Tree. The only place on its banks +where the soil had formed solid enough to produce one, surrounded by +hills at that season of the year, covered with beautiful wild flowers. +The scenery was magnificent. As the river curved we could see the white +sails of other vessels. They looked as if they were in a field. You +could not see the water at a little distance, the river being narrow. We +could almost jump from our deck to the banks. We felt in perfect safety. +Contrasting that with the night before in that terrible hurricane and in +the death struggles for our lives, it produced a supreme feeling of +ethereal ideal happiness that this earth seemed almost a Paradise. The +captain informed me that there was one place on the river where we might +have to anchor. It was called the Devil's Elbow. There was a sharp turn +in the river and the current was rapid, and we might have to pull the +vessel around it; but sometimes, if it was favorable, he could sail +around it, and if done successfully, then the vessels that had come to +anchor could find no fault; otherwise you had to come to behind the +others and take your turn. When we were coming to it, he was at the helm +and I at his side, to see what was the best to do. As we approached, we +saw several vessels had come to for the purpose of pulling around. The +last was a large vessel that the captain said could never get around. If +we anchored behind it we might not be able to deliver our freight +according to the charter. We had put an English sailor in the hold to +let the anchor go, in case we did not succeed, if we gave him the signal +to do so. As we came to the place with all sails set, there was a breeze +sprung up, filling all the sails. I said to the captain, let her go. As +we passed the vessels that had come to anchor there was a howling and +yelling from them of derision and anger at us for going by them. Just as +we got two-thirds of the way around, the sailor in the hold let the +anchor go without orders. He got frightened. If he had not, we would +have made it successfully. As it was, we got ahead of all the other +vessels, and got to Stockton in ample time. The next morning there was a +drove of mules at the side of the brig, and the cargo was being +discharged and packed on their backs to be taken to the mining camps, as +there were no good roads there in those early days. About all the grain +and flour came from Valparaiso and Chili, put up very nicely in fifty +and one hundred pound sacks, so it was easy to handle. As soon as all +the mules were packed, the head mule, who had on a bell fastened around +his neck, which rang as he went, was started first, and all the rest, in +single file, followed him, and they were going for the different mining +camps in the interior. In two or three days we were unloaded, and we +were prepared to return. The freight money was paid to me in gold, at +$16 per ounce in full, all being satisfactory to the shipper. I had +delivered it within the time specified. One of the passengers who came +up with me, a tailor, from Salem, Mass., asked me if I would not give +him a free passage back on the vessel to San Francisco; that he wanted +to try to get home; he was discouraged. I said to him you have traveled +eighteen thousand miles to get to the gold mines, and now you are within +half a day of them and want to go home without trying your fortune. If +you do go, you will never forgive yourself, but go to the mines and try +your luck; then, if you are discouraged and want to go back, I will give +you a free passage, as we have no passengers on our return trip. + + +HOME SICKNESS. + +When a person was attacked with it, it seemed the worst kind of malady, +as it would take them months to return if they had the money to pay +their passage. Many were married men, separated a great distance from +their wives and children. Others, young men, who had their engaged ones +waiting for them to return, with their fortunes made in the gold mines, +to marry them. I can recall several instances where I have known them to +lie down and die from despair. I was talking with an old Californian of +those days. He said he had once given up and made up his mind to wander +off by himself on the mountains and die, which he did. As he lay there +in despair, after a while he thought he would look around him, and he +saw the hill was covered with every variety of beautiful wild flowers. +He said their beauty seemed to refresh and revive his mind, and give him +new resolution, and he decided to try his fortune again, and he became +successful and returned to the States with a competency. + +[Illustration: THE DESPONDENT MINER.] + +The early pioneers had some conflict with the Indians in the interior of +the country. Five Oregon men were massacred by them when engaged in +digging gold, but a terrible retribution was visited upon those Indians +concerned in it by the enraged Forty-niners. The Indians, at first, had +nothing but bows and arrows, and, of course, could not compete with +rifles. Several other small engagements were rumored, but they soon +gave up all contests with the whites, for they saw it was useless. There +was an acorn that was quite plenty in California, being longer than +ours, but not of a bitter taste. The squaws made flour of them. The +Digger Indians were the next tribe east of them; they were probably the +lowest grade. They would set fire to the prairie grass to burn the +grasshoppers, and pick them up and eat them. They deemed them a luxury. +The Oregon tribes were a higher grade, a warlike race, and superior in +every respect. The highest grade of them, in the United States now, are +the Choctaws and Chicksaws that formerly occupied the northern parts of +the State of Mississippi. When a young man, I spent three weeks in their +nation, travelling alone, and was treated with great hospitality by +them. They are quite intelligent, and they have laws and customs as +civilized nations. We generally look upon all of them as alike, but such +is not the case--there is as great a difference between different +tribes as much as between different white nations. The California +Indians were not naturally warlike, and when the early pioneers expected +any trouble from them, they would appoint a committee to go and see +them, and they generally settled their difficulty without any conflicts. + + +JESUIT MISSION STATIONS. + +There were about sixteen Jesuit missionary stations in the country +before the discovery of gold, and were there for the purpose of +converting the Indians to the Catholic church, and when converted, +generally made them work to sustain their missionary establishments. + +I had returned to my office on the North Beach after my only trip to +Stockton on my brig. My friend R. was progressing with his brewery. He +had received a favorable letter from Lieutenant S. about our Touwalma +city, and informing me that S. had a diamond ring that cost $800 in Rio +Janeiro, at a broker's office, as collateral security for $250 borrowed +on it at ten per cent per month, and the time was about up. If I would +redeem the ring I could keep it and wear it until he paid me. I went and +saw the ring. It was as represented, and I redeemed it and wore it for a +considerable time. One day R. came to me with a naming letter from S. +that he had laid out the city and been elected alcalde, and we would +make our fortune, and there was a friend of S. that was going up there, +and if I would send up the ring by him he would appreciate it so much, +and he would be responsible that I should not lose any thing by it. I +was foolish enough to be persuaded by him and handed him the ring, for +which act I have never forgiven myself. That was the last I ever saw of +the ring or any of the money invested in Touwalma city, for it turned +out a failure. It was never the head of navigation on the river, or any +thing else that was ever heard of. + +There were three unfortunate events that occurred in California in the +winter months of 1849 and the beginning of 1850. The rainy season had +destroyed all the dams constructed on the gold rivers and raceways, +which had been constructed at great expense for the purpose of working +the beds of the river for gold, the rivers often rising from ten to +eighteen feet in a night, and the current running with terrible force. +The second, the flooding of Sacramento, destroying large quantities of +merchandise and carrying away and undermining the houses there. The +third was the great fire in San Francisco, destroying one-third of the +main business portion of the city, upon which there was no insurance. +There were no companies organized or agents there to insure property +then, as it was too risky. There was one four-story fire-proof building +that was stored full of the most valuable goods, at a large price for +storage, for it was considered absolutely fire-proof, but when the fire +came the heat of the fire from the buildings around it caused the iron +sides of it to expand, which let the roof fall in and burned every thing +to the ground, so that nothing was saved. Instead of being a place of +safety, it was the most destructive of all. + +Some ships in the bay were burned. I succeeded in getting in the rear of +the fire to save my brig. I ordered the men to hoist anchor and put out +further in the bay, which saved it. These unfortunate events destroyed +and marred the fortune of many. On the day before I called on a private +banker, G., on the plaza, and presented my check for $800. He said to +me, if it made no difference, it being steamer day (once a month they +went East when the gold was shipped to the mint in Philadelphia by +them), and if I would call in the morning for it, it would be an +accommodation to him. I said I wanted to use it. He commenced weighing +it out. I then thought it would make no difference to me and it was +mean not to accommodate him, for I might want some favor of him. I said, +if I can have it in three days without fail it would answer my purpose. +He said, you can have it now, pouring the gold in the scales to weigh +it. I said never mind, I don't want it now. The fire came that night, +burnt his place up and all his property. He was a ruined man. I never +saw him afterward. + +Mr. G., to whom I had bargained to sell my houses to arrive, (and he +backed out) was an Englishman from Liverpool. He had about all the +consignments of shipments from that city (evidently being very popular +there), to sell on commission at ten per cent; when the goods came and +were sold, instead of remitting the capital to the owners and being +satisfied with his commission, he used it in buying property and in +erecting buildings in San Francisco. He had constructed a fire-proof +building which he rented to the government for a post-office, at a large +sum per month, likewise the first theatre in the city, and other +buildings. He informed me at one time how much his rents amounted to per +month; the sum was several thousand dollars. Money was worth but three +to five per cent in England per year to the owners of the merchandise; +while in California it was in demand at ten per cent per month. I +suppose he thought he would make a great fortune for himself and then +return to England (where he had a wife and children) and pay up all his +obligations with extra allowance, for the use of the money, and make all +satisfactory; but the great fire destroyed all his buildings, and he was +a ruined man, there being no insurance in the city then. I met a friend +in New York about two years after my return from California; I asked him +when he saw Mr. G. last. He said, "it was about 11 o'clock one day at a +hotel where he invited some friends to take a drink. Mr. G. was there, +he declined; but afterward called him to one side and asked him to loan +him $1, saying he had had no breakfast that morning." Such was an +example of some of the fluctuations of fortune in those days. + +Some parties came with various kinds of machinery that was to make a +certain fortune for them, and was taken up into the interior at great +expense. I never knew of one that was successful. About all the +companies that were formed in the States to go around Cape Horn for +mining purposes generally dissolved after arriving in California, but +what they brought with them for supplies, sold for so high a price that +it generally sold for more than the cost of their passage, and they had +money coming to them. Some companies bought the ships as they came in +and hired the captain. I recollect one, called the _Mechanics' Own_. +Every person joining their company in the States had to be voted in and +pay $1,000. They put on airs and talked quite aristocratic of their +captain as their boy. + +Three persons started the first bank in San Francisco, called the +Miners' Bank, on the northwestern corner of the plaza. Mr. Haight, who +was from Rochester, N.Y., and the sutler of Colonel Stevenson's +regiment, was one of them. It was said that at first they bought gold as +low as $8 per ounce, when it was worth more than $18 at the mint East. +The owners of the bank made $100,000 each in three or four years. + +Before the discovery of gold the then small places on the Pacific Coast +obtained their supplies from small trading vessels that sailed along the +coast and stopped at their towns occasionally. After the discovery of +gold, at first goods went up four or five times their previous value, +and when one of these vessels was seen entering the port, parties would +put out in small boats to get aboard of them before they came to anchor +(they on board knowing nothing about the discovery of the gold), would +bargain with them for some of their goods, and finally offer them so +much for all their cargo. It being beyond their expectations the offer +was generally accepted, and thus some big speculations were made. + +A lieutenant of Stevenson's regiment, who had been down in Monterey and +had not heard of the gold discovery, on his first day in San Francisco, +informed me that he did not know what to make of things. Most of his old +acquaintances wanted to know if he did not want to borrow some money; +they had some that he could have as well as not. + +The steamers came in once a month with letters and papers. Then long +lines were formed to the post-office. Sometimes it took half a day to +get there. The New York papers at first sold for $1 each. Then they got +down to fifty cents. I sold the _New York Herald_, that was more than a +month old, that contained the latest news there from the States in the +interior, for $5, and the man coaxed it out of me at that, for I wanted +to give it to a party of friends I was going to see in the mining +districts. I knew it would be a great treat to them. It is almost +impossible to recall all the exact scenes of those days, so as to have +them fully realized by the reader. + +The city of San Francisco was extending more rapidly in what they called +the Happy Valley district, which was toward the Mission of Dolores, +established by the Jesuits. I visited it when the building was intact. I +recollect a painting of an Indian warrior, with his bows and arrows, the +implements of war, represented as a saint ascending to heaven--I suppose +to create favorable impression on Indians and make converts of them. + +My friend was going on with his brewery, and borrowing money and getting +me deeper on his paper. He heard that I had $2,500 deposited with +McCondery & Co., and pleaded with me to let him have it as it would +carry him through. I had lost all confidence in him, and felt it would +be like throwing it in the sea. I informed him that I had shipped it +the day before, which I had not, but went right down and gave an order +for its shipment, for fear he might over-persuade me to let him have it, +and I thus saved it. When most completed, a barrel of alcohol that was +in the building bursted, and it ran down to the furnace and set it on +fire, and burnt it up. That was the fate of the first brewery started in +California. Since then there have been millions made in that business +there. + +The North Beach property, after I had sold all my houses out, I closed +my interest in. It proved a failure to use for a wharf or shipping +point. + +During the seven months of summer the north-west wind blew there so hard +every afternoon that it was not a safe place for vessels, and the +property would never have any value for that purpose, and I do not think +it has ever been used since for that. + +In the winter months, which is generally the rainy season, the wind +blows from the south for five months, and the other seven months it +blows from the north-west over six thousand miles of ocean, and, +consequently, is not impregnated with any decayed vegetable matter, and +is as pure as air can be. In San Francisco the sun would rise in a clear +sky every morning and there would be a perfect calm; by 11 A.M. there +would be a little breeze; by 2 or 3 o'clock, a gale. When the sun set +the wind would subside and there would be a perfect calm again. Every +day would be the same, month after month. What was almost a gale on the +coast would be a gentle breeze up in the mining district, in the +interior. The next day that air would be displaced by another gale from +over the thousand miles of ocean, for it is impossible to imagine any +other country with purer air. + +During that time there were various visionary reports of new discoveries +of gold regions, one of a lake that the sands of its banks were rich +with gold. All you had to do, to make your fortune, was to wash it out, +which produced quite a sensation, and parties were organized to go +there, but they never found it. The next year after the purchase of my +brig, there were small steamers constructed to run to Stockton, and they +had already some sailing vessels put on, built there, and the price of +freight had commenced falling, and I thought I had better sell my vessel +while I could get a good price for it. There was a man who came to me +and said he wanted to buy it; that he had been a captain of a boat on +Lake Erie. I stated to him my price for it. He said that was not out of +the way, but he would like to try it one trip before closing the +purchase, and referred me to a mercantile house there as his reference. +They said he had run vessels for them on Lake Erie when they were doing +business in Buffalo. I concluded that was entirely satisfactory; that +that had evidently been his regular business. He said he wanted to +employ all his own hands. I had the vessel, at the time, half loaded +with freight, which I turned over to him. I paid my men and discharged +them, and told them the vessel was about to change owners, and put him +in full possession of it. Of course I had nothing more to do with it +until he returned from the trip to Stockton; then I expected he would +close the purchase as he said that the price was satisfactory to him. +After a few weeks I commenced looking for the return of my brig, but it +did not come. Finally I heard a rumor that the captain had left the +vessel at Stockton, but did not believe it, but thought that some +accident might have happened. I had borrowed a spy-glass to investigate +the bay. I could have recognized my vessel by the red streak around it. +Finally, after it had been gone long enough to make several trips, I +discovered it at anchor in the bay. I went and supplied myself with +money, in case it should prove true that the captain had left the +vessel, to pay his men in full before they got ashore, because the +vessel was liable for their wages, whoever might have employed them; so +I hired a boat to row me out to it. I met a man on the deck that seemed +to be in command. I inquired of him where the captain was. He said he +had run away. I spoke to him in a sharp tone of voice and said, how do +you know that? He said, because I saw him on the back of a mule going +over the plain. Then he asked me, are you the owner? I said, yes. Then I +said, you have all got your pay before he went; I did not employ you. He +said, some of them have got some. + +As you seem to be in command, I suppose you have kept an account of how +it stands. He said, "Come down in the cabin and I will show it to you." +I said, "It was hard on me to be robbed of all my freight money, but it +was also hard for them to be cheated out of their hard earnings, and I +would see what I could do for them." He presented the statement of what +each man had received and what was due them. I was surprised at his +correctness. I said: It seems all right and I would pay them, which I +did, and took their receipt. I was afraid if they went ashore and found +the vessel was liable for their wages they might make any kind of +demands, so I got possession of my vessel again, very much damaged. +Before leaving the port he had let the steamer _Senator_ run into the +bows of the vessel, and it cost me $700 to have it repaired, ship +carpenters' wages being $20 per day, payable in gold. The events which I +had anticipated of the decline of that kind of property had come, and, +after it was repaired, I put it up at auction and sold it, so that +rascal cost me several thousand dollars. Such was life in California in +the days of the Forty-niners. + +Having some leisure I thought I would take a trip up the mining regions, +and make a visit to my old friends there. More than a year had passed, +and greater changes had taken place than would have occurred in any +other country in many years. The population of California increased one +hundred thousand the first year after the discovery of the gold, which +had accounted for the great changes which had taken place since my +previous trip. I went up on the steamer _Senator_ to Sacramento, which +had become quite a city, and the next morning started for Coloma in a +stage full of passengers, drawn by mules. I took a seat aside of the +driver. I got in conversation with the driver. I asked him what pay he +received? He said, only $450 per month and his board. I asked him if he +had driven stages before? He said, yes, out of Boston. I said, at what +wages? He said, $14 a month. I said that there was a big difference +between that and $450. He said, yes, but that this was his last trip. He +took a party of three up only a few weeks ago, and he brought them down +yesterday, and they had between $3,000 and $4,000 apiece, and he was not +going to waste his time driving for $450 a month. He was going to the +mines the next day. It was quite probable that the party referred to had +made an unusual lucky strike, for I had met parties that had done the +same thing. I had had in my hands at one time, in San Francisco, a piece +of solid gold metal, something in the shape of the cover of a sugar +loaf, that was worth $4,500, found by a couple of green Irishmen. They +inquired of some miners in the interior where was a good place to dig. +The miners said in fun, dig there in that sand bank behind you. The +Irishmen took them up in earnest and went to digging. In a short time +they found that chunk of gold, where no experienced miner would think of +digging. + +I have dug gold in the cellar of the brewery in San Francisco. I think +most all the soil of that part of California is impregnated with gold. +But the point is to find it in sufficient quantities to pay to dig it. +As an illustration, if you knew that in a certain piece of ground there +was $5,000 worth of gold, and it cost you $10,000 to wash all the ground +to get it, of course that land would have no gold value. I found at +Coloma that my friends had left the Dutch bar and gone to the middle +fork of the American river, some distance from there. I got directions +how to get there and started on foot. Toward night I met a young man who +had just came overland and had separated that day from his party to get +work in the mining camp. I told him where I was going, and that he had +better go with me, and that he could get from $10 to $16 per day to work +for other parties, or to join two others and work a claim for himself, +which he did. So as it was getting toward night, we camped under a tree +and slept until morning, and took a fresh start. That day we found the +middle fork of the American river and my friends. The river was sunk +way down in the earth. It seemed almost a mile down to the water where +they were to work. It was quite a large mining place. The excitement +there every day was when the "dummy" went into the river. It was a +diving armor that had been used in the gulf of Lower California to go +down in the deep waters to hunt for pearls, and had been bought by a +party of five, each putting in $800, making $4,000, expecting to make +their fortunes by getting into the deep water of the gold rivers. (As I +have shown before, the torrents and force of the currents had prevented +any gold from ever lodging there.) Every day at such an hour, it was +announced that the "dummy" was a going in the river. The other miners +quit their work to see it, and the proprietors of the "dummy" always +treated the crowd in the most lavish manner. Its credit was good for any +store bills. Its always treating the crowd had made it popular, and +nobody would trade with the storekeeper who would not trust it, so it +was death to the prosperity of the storekeeper, whether he trusted it or +not. They never got any gold while there through "dummy," and when he +left to go further down the river to try another place, the main +storekeeper there lost $800 by trusting it, which broke him. These +stores were tents, to supply immediate wants of the miners. I never +heard of "dummy" afterward. I have no doubt he operated on all the store +tents until he came to grief like all evil-doers. + +The productiveness of the gold rivers had not diminished any that I +could perceive. I talked to a man who had been off a little ways to +prospect in another place. I asked him what luck? He said, there was +nothing there. I said, was there no gold? He said; yes, there was some, +but of no value. He said a man could make $10 a day, and who was a going +to waste their time on that. My visit over, I returned to San Francisco. +My friend R.'s brewery was not completed. I was informed he had been +borrowing money from a Jew at twenty per cent a month. It was no use for +me to back him any more, however valuable it might be, if completed, and +I had no doubt there was a fortune in it, but neither he nor I had the +capital to do it. + +I had some other financial entangling matters, and I was afraid if I +kept on with them I might get broke, and the only way I saw of getting +out with them was to announce that I was going to leave, and going down +to Relago, Central America. + +There was an English steamer advertised to sail for that port and +Panama. I thought I would go for sixty days and then return and commence +again and manage my affairs in a more conservative way, and what I could +control. Well I closed my matters out the best I could and engaged my +passage on the steamer for Relago. There was considerable excitement at +this time about the Nicaragua route. The above place would be the +terminus on the Pacific coast, and, consequently, a place of importance. +As I had missed it in trading six of my houses for lots in San +Francisco, there might be a chance to get some there in advance of any +rise on them. Any way, I wanted to get out of my entangling alliances +and take a fresh start. The night before I sailed Mr. Brady (Colonel +Stevenson's son-in-law) came to me and said the colonel did not like to +have me go. I told him I had paid my passage, $200. He said the colonel +understood that. He put his hand in his vest pocket and pulled out a +roll of bills. He said, here is the $200, which he told me to give you, +so you will not lose any thing by not going. There was once a lady, the +wife of one of the officers of his regiment, who arrived there, +expecting to meet her husband, but he was up in the country. The colonel +asked me to go down to the steamer and meet her, and escort her to a +boarding-house to stay until her husband arrived, which I did. I told +him that she was short of funds, having expected to meet her husband. He +gave me $150 and told me to give it to her, as if I loaned it to her, +and when her husband paid me I could return it to him. I mention these +little incidents to show that whatever faults he may have had, he was +the most generous of friends. + +Colonels Stevenson, Freemont and Captain Sutter will stand pre-eminent +in the future history of the State as its most prominent founders. + +I sailed out of the port of San Francisco on the steamer _Ecuador_ for +Relago, Central America, expecting to return to California within sixty +days. In a few days, out at sea, we began to hear unfavorable rumors +about our vessel; that the engineer had left the day before our sailing; +that he did not consider it safe to go in it; that it could not carry +coal enough to take it to Acapulco, the next coaling place. And we were +informed that it was a steamer that had been running from Panama to +Valparaiso, and had been bought up by a speculator and sent up to San +Francisco as an experiment, to see if it would pay. The officers and men +had never been up the coast before, and knew nothing about the port. One +day we were startled in mid ocean by the stopping of the engine. We soon +found the cause. The captain was about to try his sails so as to save +coal (which verified the reports about being short of coal). We made +some headway with the sails, but lost it again when the wind subsided, +by the currents of the ocean; so that project was abandoned, and after +some days we put into the port of San Blas, in Mexico, for fuel. There +was no coal there, so we laid in all the wood we could to try and reach +Acapulco (here we could not buy any thing with our $5 gold pieces, but +they were ready to sell for silver). The cholera had been there, they +said, but had left. The priests had had a procession, and, with their +incense boxes, had marched through the streets and driven it out. We +took in all the wood we could get and started to make the port of +Acapulco, the regular coaling port for all the steamers on that coast. +It was Sunday P.M. We could raise fuel enough to make only four knots an +hour. It was an iron steamer. We were burning what there was of the +woodwork of the vessel, for if we could not make the port before dark we +were lost. The officers were not acquainted with the coast. We had not +fuel enough to keep steam up all night, and we would be on the broad +Pacific ocean, six thousand miles across, without the remotest +possibility of meeting any other vessel, without any control of our +steamer, subject to be driven in any direction. I heard the mate talking +to the captain about the propriety of wrecking the vessel and saving +what lives they could, although we were in sight of land. The captain +said the under-tow was so great that none could be saved in that way. +It is twice as great on the Pacific as the Atlantic. There were no +female passengers. One man said he had $10,000 in gold with him; if his +wife and children only had that he would be content to meet his fate, +under the circumstances, but it was hard to leave them without it. All +the passengers had more or less gold, or they would not have been +returning. + +You can imagine with what anxiety we watched every indication of the +coast to see if there was any chance of us nearing the port. Finally, +toward night, we saw a high projection of land on the coast, and that +was predicted that it was the entrance to the port. If we could reach +that point before dark, we might be saved. The passengers went to work +to break up any thing for the fires that would make steam. The captain +made no objections, but told them to burn all woodwork on the vessel to +save their lives. At dark we reached the point we had in view, and it +was fortunate for us that it was the entrance to the port. As the vessel +turned to enter, you could see, coming over the waters of the ocean, a +tropical storm, accompanied with wind, thunder and lightning. Twenty +minutes later it would have reached us, and we would have been lost. As +soon as we got safely in port (and it was very dark), I can hear now, in +imagination, the sound of the anchor as it was let down in the water, +which assured our entire safety. It thundered and lightninged, and +blowing a high gale, which was music in our ears, as we knew we were out +of danger, and feeling the supreme gratification of knowing what we had +escaped. Blessed to us was the high mountains which surrounded the port. +The entrance to it is narrow, but when you get inside it is one of the +safest harbors in the world, being perfectly land-locked. The next day +opened on a happy lot of passengers. I felt as if I was commencing life +anew. We went ashore expecting to be there several days, as they +proposed to take in a full supply of coal. This place had been once +quite a city, but many years ago had been partly destroyed by an +earthquake. It was said that the water went out of the bay most to the +tops of the mountains, and then reacted to its usual level in the +harbor; that there was a French ship carried up to the sides of the +mountains, and when the water reacted, carried back in safety in the +harbor. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, the ruins of which are now +visible where the city once extended. + +I was introduced to General Alvarado. He was the most prominent man in +Mexico, on the Pacific coast, at that time, and afterward became very +prominent in the public affairs of his country. On our return to the +vessel that evening there was quite an excitement on board. Among the +passengers was a party of three who had been quite successful in +Sacramento in the bottling of soda and summer beer, and peddling it out +through the city. They had picked up by chance an old acquaintance from +Waterford who belonged to an aristocratic family there, and by his +habits of dissipation was a mortification to them. So when the +California excitement broke out, they furnished him the money to go to +the gold regions. It would either reform him or they would get rid of +him. Of course, such men were no good in California, and he had spent +his money and wanted to return. These men came across him and told him +they were going to return East in sixty days, and if he would keep +straight, and drive one of their wagons for them, they would take him +home with them. When they went ashore the first day they left him in +charge of their baggage, and promised him that he could go ashore the +next. They had their private store of wines and brandy. He had found it +and tried it and got full, and treated all the sailors and everybody on +board that would drink with him, and was the most popular man on board +with the sailors. He repented the next day and begged their +forgiveness, and they took him home with them. Like a bad penny, he +returned as he was before. Distance did not reform him. + +Well, our next port was Relago my destination. Just after dark one day +we got opposite to what, according to the charts, was that port. It was +necessary for them to wait until morning before they could undertake to +enter it, as they had never been there before, and there were no pilots, +and they decided not to let the steam go down, and they concluded that +they would sail slowly around in a circle, so as to be opposite to the +port in the morning. When morning came it was foggy, and we could not +see the land. But they had such confidence in the correctness of their +chart that they determined to enter it. Instead of the port, we came to +the white caps, dashing against the rocks almost mountains high, and we +came within an ace of being dashed to pieces against them. If the +engineer had not reversed the movement of the engine the instant he +did, we would have been wrecked. The captain was now completely +befogged. In a short time he came to me with a paper to sign agreeing to +go to Panama. It should cost me nothing extra for my passage there; that +the few other passengers for that port had signed it. I thought I had +better sign to go anywhere than to take any more chances in that +steamer. Come to find out afterward, instead of being opposite the port +that morning, we were twenty miles from it, the currents of the ocean +having carried us that distance while we were sailing around in a +circle, which they had not ciphered on, and thus came so near wrecking +us. By chance we saw a sailing vessel. The captain gave orders for the +steamer to follow it, and, when we overtook it, we found it was bound +for Relago. There was a man on board of it who was acquainted with the +port. They got him to come on our steamer and had him pilot us to that +port, so I expected to go ashore, and got my baggage in readiness, and, +when the time came, had it brought up on deck. They did not enter the +port, but came to outside. There were two passengers, it seems, that +would not sign the paper to go to Panama, and it was to land them he had +come to, and when I went to have my baggage put in the small boat the +captain informed me I had signed to go to Panama, and some of the other +passengers said I was very foolish to risk my life in that sea in so +small a boat. Before I scarcely knew it the boat had pushed off without +me, and, consequently, the whole current and course of my life was +changed. Upon such little incidents often do the events of human life +depend. It may have been fortunate for me that I did not land there. + +There was in Nicaragua at the time a filibustering expedition under the +command of Captain Walker, who went from California to overthrow the +government there by taking sides with the revolutionary movement that +had been started, and to get an American control of the government, +which I did not approve of, for I considered it a dishonorable movement; +but still, if I had landed, they being my countrymen, I might have got +mixed up with them. They were conquered and all sentenced to death, and +shot. It is barely possible I might have shared their fate. I have often +thought since I made a good escape by not landing. + + +SCENES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN. + +The course of the steamer is frequently in sight of land. The storms I +have referred to were tropical storms, lasting but a short time. The +ocean is generally very mild all the distance, three thousand five +hundred miles from Panama to San Francisco. North of San Francisco the +storms are somewhat similar to the Atlantic ocean storms. The passengers +on the return trip were in the best of spirits; they were returning +home; all of them had been more or less successful in California, and I +can recall to my mind many pleasant times we had on board the steamship. +The porpoise are very numerous on the Pacific ocean; there were often, +for days, schools of them on the sides of the steamer, throwing +themselves out of the water, and then diving in again; great numbers, at +the same time, seeming like the motion of a revolving wheel. +Occasionally we would hear the cry, "There she blows;" a jet of water +being thrown up many feet high in the air--a sperm whale had come up to +breathe. We frequently saw flying fish. One day there was a school of +them landed on the steamer; they are similar to other fish, except +having wings, but not of a very large size. At another time a booby bird +came on the steamer. It got its name from its stupidity. We frequently +saw them on the water, floating on a piece of board or a stick of wood; +sailors say they have seen them five hundred miles out to sea in that +way. This one you could take up and handle; it made no resistance. On +the coast of Central America we saw two mountain peaks of great height, +standing out, individually, like the Pyramids, said to be extinct +volcanoes that were thrown up from the internal fires of the earth, and +which, at one time, belched forth melted lava and fire. + +We arrived safe in Panama. I was so near home that I thought I might as +well return and see my friends, and take a fresh start for California, +and try my fortune once more. They had commenced building the railroad +over the Isthmus, but it was not completed, so we crossed over to +Cruize, the head of navigation on the Chagres river, and went down that +to its mouth, and there took the steamer _Georgia_ for New York, +commanded by Captain Porter, of the United States navy--the man who had +control of the vessels in going down the Mississippi river and +successfully passing Vicksburg, which had so much to do with its +capture. He was a perfect gentleman, and commanded your admiration with +the skill of his management of the vessel. There were on the vessel +well-dressed pickpockets, who went from New York to the Isthmus, to +return by the steamers to the city, for the chances of robbing the +returning Californians of their gold dust, as all of them had more or +less of it on their persons. One unfortunate victim of their wiles +appealed strongly to my sympathies. He was an English sailor, and had +been two or three years up in the gold mines, and had $3,000 or $4,000 +in gold dust in a buckskin bag on his person. He showed it to me. I +advised him to deposit it with the purser for safety; that I had done so +with mine. He said they could not rob him. He was about the happiest man +I ever saw. He was richer, in feeling, than the Vanderbilts. He said he +had a wife and children in Liverpool, and would take the first steamer +from New York for that port. He said he had not seen his family for +several years, and now that he had the gold he could make them all +happy. He was in the steerage. A few days after I heard he was sick. He +had fainted. Some parties had helped him up; evidently pickpockets had +taken that opportunity to rob him; his gold was all gone. I explained +his case to Captain Porter, but nothing could be done. There was no way +to identify his gold dust from any other; it was all alike. When he +arrived in New York, he would have to go to the hospital until he got +well enough to ship on some other vessel for $14 per month, and not be +able to return to his wife and children with his gold, and make them +happy, while these black-hearted villainsillians were spending his +money, his hard earnings of years. I entered in a bond, with myself, +that if I were ever on a jury I would never show any mercy to a thief. + +As we were sailing along many ships and schooners came in sight. We were +evidently nearing the great port of New York. The land of Staten Island +soon came in sight covered with snow. It was late in the fall. It was +the first I had seen since my departure from the same port, except on +the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Here ends my personal +adventures of the days of the Forty-niners, to be continued by the +peroration on California. + + +PERORATION. + +On my return, in looking over my finances, I was no poorer than when I +left. It must be evident to the reader that I had acquired no wealth to +astonish my friends with my riches, which was the visionary expectation +of the early pioneers to the gold Eldorado. I have been writing from +personal recollections of events that occurred forty-five years ago. Of +course, there was nothing in my enterprises, or the little fluctuations +of fortune that would be of particular interest to any one; but in the +form of a personal narrative, it was the only way I could recall +vividly to my mind, the events of so long ago. There were a series of +articles published in the _Century_ magazine two years ago, which I read +with great interest, for they were truthful, but no book has ever been +published that took in fully those two years when common labor was $16 +per day, payable in gold. Such an event was never known to occur before, +and probably never will again. I have not drawn on my imagination in the +least in this narrative. I have simply attempted to portray from memory +events that actually occurred under my own observation. Any Forty-niner +will concede the truth of my narrative. I did not return to California +as I had expected. Cupid's arrow pierced my heart in the person of a +young lady, and sealed my fate. I had a cottage built in the quiet and +beautiful valley of Schoharie, where I have passed more than thirty +years of happy married life. While not possessing the wealth of the +successful pioneer, I have been content. + +"A MONUMENT TO JACOB A.L. FISHER, A UNION SOLDIER. + +"_Interview with Doctor Knower, who has Charge of It--Some Interesting +Reminiscences of Forty-niners._ + +"A monument to be erected in the Old Stone Fort Cemetery to Jacob A.L. +Fisher, a Union soldier, by Abraham Schell, his uncle, of California. + +"A draft of the above monument is before us. It is quite an affair, +about twenty-seven feet high, with a full length statue of a soldier on +top. It is now being constructed in Des Moines, Iowa, to be shipped by +the 1st of May, and unveiled on the 4th day of July, 1894, with +appropriate ceremonies. Dr. Knower, in 76, in laying the corner-stone to +the David Williams State monument, gave the grandest celebration that +ever occurred in this county. This one he expects to rely to a great +extent on the local army organizations of the county, as this honor paid +to one of their compatriots in arms is an honor to them. + +"We have before us a copy of the Stockton (Cal.) _Evening Mail_ of +November 9, 1893, containing a seven column article descriptive of +Abraham Schell's vineyard at Knight's Ferry, Cal. We quote from it: 'A +characteristic act of Abraham Schell was to give a deed to the entire +place and all of its appurtenances, last summer, to Herrick R. Schell, +his nephew, who had served him faithfully as assistant and business +associate for twenty-six years.' The property conveyed consisted of +three thousand acres, upon which Mr. Schell had expended at the time the +deed was given a quarter of a million of dollars. We see by the same +article that Abraham Schell's landed purchases in that locality, in the +early days, amounted to fifteen thousand five hundred and thirty-five +acres. + +"Mr. Schell joined a company formed by Dr. Knower (who made an +investment in it, and was then a resident of Albany), which sailed on +the ship _Tarolinton_ from the port of New York, on the 13th of +January, 1849. The doctor, the following spring, shipped from Albany, +twelve houses around Cape Horn, the freight on which was $5,000, he +going by the way of the Isthmus, arriving in San Francisco on the 25th +of September, 1849. On the steamer going up from Panama was Judge Terry, +of Louisiana, who killed United States Senator Broderick in a duel, and +who was years afterward assassinated. + +"In these early days there was a contest between Northern and Southern +pioneers whether California should come in the Union a free or a slave +State. Broderick, a Democrat from the city of New York, represented the +Northern sentiment, and was supported by the Whigs of the State. Common +labor at that time was $16 per day, payable in gold. It was more from +pride than from any thing to do with the moral question of slavery. They +did not want to come in competition with slave labor. The Northern +element predominated, and California came in a free State. Its first +constitution was written by George Washington Sherwood, who was a +Democratic member of the New York Legislature from Washington county, +and copied after the constitution of this State. + +"California may be said to be the child of the State of New York; her +citizens may be said to have been pre-eminent in its development and +present greatness. + +"Abraham Schell was born in Gallupville, and proposes to be buried in +the neighboring village of Middleburgh, his wife's native place, where +he has erected a monument. + +"They say that all Forty-niners who remained in California either became +millionaires or paupers. It seems that Mr. Schell was one of the former. +He was an unconditional Union man in the rebellion, visiting the +hospitals of the wounded soldiers, and assisting them by his means, and +the erection of this monument to his nephew for his services in that +war is but in accord with his acts of patriotism at that time." + +The above article inspired this undertaking at this time. I expected to +find my friend on at the dedication of the monument, and thought I would +have the manuscript ready on his arrival and submit it to him, and +propose to have him go in partnership with me in its publication, and +have him revise it with me. He was a man of high literary attainments, +and an experienced Forty-niner, who could have added many important +events to it that did not come under my observation. He was wealthy, and +had the means to bring it properly before the public. + + +DEATH OF A FORMER SCHOHARIAN. + +Intelligence reaches us of the death of Abraham Schell, at his home at +Knight's Ferry, California, in the early part of February. Mr. Schell +was seventy-six years old, and was a native of this county, having been +born in the town of Wright. At the time of the gold excitement in 1849 +he was in the mercantile business in Albany, but sold out and joining a +company of friends journeyed to California, where he invested his means +to good advantage and became highly successful, amassing a large +fortune. His vineyards and their product have long been celebrated. A +man of independent thought and fine literary attainments, he was one of +the sons of Schoharie county, whose enterprise and intellectual culture +we may take just pride in. + +His remains are deposited in a vault there, to be brought here in the +spring by his nephew, and interred in their final resting place in the +cemetery at Middleburgh, where he has a $2,000 monument erected. + +We learn from Dr. Knower that the proposed monument to his nephew at Old +Stone Fort will undoubtedly be erected, as it has been contracted for, +but the full details he will not be posted on until the arrival of the +nephew in the spring. + +The above will show that death, which plays an important hand in the +events of human life, intervened; so I have gone on alone and submit it +to the public, such as it is. I hope and trust it may meet the approval +of all Californians, more particularly of those of the days to which it +refers. If they will give their approval, it will add to the happiness +and gratification of one of their compatriots of those early days of the +pioneers and founders of the State of California. What California has +become since, we, at that time, had no realization of. Instead of +conceiving it an utter impossibility of ever building one railroad +across the continent, we now have five. Instead of conceiving the idea +that it would never be an agricultural country, it may be said to be the +vineyard and wine producing country of the world, and it has a greater +variety of productions than most any other land. + +The city of San Francisco, when I first entered it, had not as many good +buildings as a common eastern village. Now it has a population of +nearly four hundred thousand, and edifices that cost millions. It has +produced more millionaires, from persons that went there poor, than any +other country before in the history of the world, and more money has +been donated to science and education by those successful pioneers, who +were the creators of their own fortune in the same time, than all the +rest of the world in the past forty-five years, since the days of the +Forty-niners. + +Lick's institution for the science of astronomy, Leland Stanford's +twenty millions to the Alto University of Learning, open to all +students, are illustrations of the above statements. + +The foundation of the fortunes of many bankers and wealthy capitalists +of the East were made in California in the days of the Forty-niners. +Mill, the owner of the great building at the corner of Broadway and Wall +street, the ground on which it stands costing a million, who is many +times a millionaire, went from Sing Sing, in this State, a poor boy in +1849. Armour, the great millionaire cattle dealer of Chicago, made his +first money there in those days, which laid the foundation of his great +fortune, and many others I can recall to mind too numerous to mention. + +While all did not succeed, as they never do in any human enterprise, +some got discouraged, others fell by the way and laid down and died from +disappointment, yet others more than realized their most fabulous +conception of wealth. I was told when I was a boy if I went where the +sun set and dug for gold I would find it. When I became a man I went +three thousand miles in the direction of the sun setting and dug and +found gold. It is not a dream, for as I close this writing I see on my +little finger a gold ring made from the gold I there dug, which has been +there for forty-five years. It is so fine that it has been wearing away, +and it is not more than one-fourth the size it was when I first put it +on, and time is likewise wearing on me, and it will probably last as +long as I do, and we will disappear together, as Shakespeare says, +"besmeared with sluttish time." + +THE END. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +It was the brains and statesmanship of Wm. L. Marcy, when he was +secretary of war under President Polk, that inaugurated and generaled +the movements that resulted in our securing possession of California--by +his expeditions, sent by sea and by land, of regular forces, followed by +the volunteer regiment of one thousand men, under the command of Col. +Jonathan Stevenson, as the following able State paper indicates: + +[Confidential.] + +[Illustration: W.L. Marcy] + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, _June_ 3, 1846. + +SIR.--I herewith send you a copy of my letter to the governor of +Missouri for an additional force of one thousand mounted men. The object +of thus adding to the force under your command is not, as you will +perceive, fully set forth in that letter, for the reason that it is +deemed prudent that it should not, at this time, become a matter of +public notoriety; but to you it is proper and necessary that it should +be stated. + +It has been decided by the president to be of the greatest importance in +the pending war with Mexico to take the earliest possession of Upper +California. An expedition with that view is hereby ordered, and you are +designated to command it. To enable you to be in sufficient force to +conduct it successfully this additional force of a thousand mounted men +has been provided, to follow you in the direction of Santa Fe, to be +under your orders or the officer you may leave in command at Santa Fe. + +It cannot be determined how far this additional force will be behind +that designated for the Santa Fe expedition, but it will not probably be +more than a few weeks. When you arrive at Santa Fe with the force +already called, and shall have taken possession of it, you may find +yourself in a condition to garrison it with a small part of your +command (as the additional force will soon be at that place), and with +the remainder, press forward to California. In that case you will make +such arrangements as to being followed by the reinforcements before +mentioned, as in your judgment may be deemed safe and prudent. I need +not say to you that in case you conquer Santa Fe (and with it will be +included the department of the State of New Mexico), it will be +important to provide for retaining safe possession of it. Should you +deem it prudent to have still more troops for the accomplishment of the +object herein designated, you will lose no time in communicating that +opinion on that point, and all others connected with the enterprise, to +this department. Indeed you are hereby authorized to make a direct +requisition for it upon the governor of Missouri. + +It is known that a large body of Mormon emigrants are en route to +California for the purpose of settling in that country. You are desired +to use all proper means to have a good understanding with them, to the +end that the United States may have their co-operation in taking +possession of and holding that country. It has been suggested here that +many of these Mormons would willingly enter into the service of the +United States and aid us in our expedition against California. You are +hereby authorized to muster into service such as can be induced to +volunteer; not, however, to a number exceeding one-third of your entire +force. Should they enter the service they will be paid as other +volunteers, and you can allow them to designate, so far as it can be +properly done, the persons to act as officers thereof. It is understood +that a considerable number of American citizens are now settled on the +Sacramento river, near Sutter's establishment, called "Nueva Helvetia," +who are well disposed toward the United States. Should you, on your +arrival in the country, find this to be the true state of things there, +you are authorized to organize and receive into the service of the +United States such portion of these citizens as you may think useful to +aid you to hold the possession of the country. You will in that case +allow them, so far as you shall judge proper, to select their own +officers. A large discretionary power is invested in you in regard to +these matters, as well as to all others, in relation to the expedition +confided to your command. + +The choice of routes by which you will enter California will be left to +your better knowledge and ampler means of getting accurate information. +We are assured that a southern route (called the Caravan route, by which +the wild horses are brought from that country into New Mexico) is +practicable, and it is suggested as not improbable that it can be passed +over in the winter months, or at least late in autumn. It is hoped that +this information may prove to be correct. + +In regard to routes; the practicability of procuring needful supplies +for men and animals, and transporting baggage is a point to be well +considered. Should the president be disappointed in his cherished hope +that you will be able to reach the interior of Upper California before +winter, you are then desired to make the best arrangement you can for +sustaining your forces during the winter, and for an early movement in +the spring. Though it is very desirable that the expedition should reach +California this season (and the president does not doubt you will make +every possible effort to accomplish this object), yet if, in your +judgment, it cannot be undertaken with a reasonable assurance of +success, you will defer it, as above suggested, until spring. You are +left unembarrassed by any specific directions in the matter. + +It is expected that the naval forces of the United States which are now, +or will soon be in the Pacific, will be in possession of all the towns +on the seacoast, and will co-operate with you in the conquest of +California. Arms, ordnance, munitions of war, and provisions to be used +in that country, will be sent by sea to our squadron in the Pacific for +the use of the land forces. + +Should you conquer and take possession of New Mexico and Upper +California, or considerable places in either, you will establish +temporary civil government therein, abolishing all arbitrary +restrictions that may exist, so far as it may be done with safety. + +In performing this duty, it would be wise and prudent to continue in +their employment all such of the existing officers as are known to be +friendly to the United States, and will take the oath of allegiance to +them. The duties of the custom-house ought, at once, to be reduced to +such a rate as may be barely sufficient to maintain the necessary +officers without yielding any revenue to the government. You may assure +the people of these provinces that it is the wish and design of the +United States to provide for them a free government with the least +possible delay, similar to that which exists in our territories. They +will then be called on to exercise the rights of freemen in electing +their own representatives to the territorial legislature. It is foreseen +that what relates to the civil government will be a difficult and +unpleasant part of your duty, and much must necessarily be left to your +own discretion. In your whole conduct you will act in such a manner as +best to conciliate the inhabitants and render them friendly to the +United States. + +It is desirable that the usual trade between the citizens of the United +States and the Mexican provinces should be continued, as far as +practicable, under the changed condition of things between the two +countries. In consequence of extending your expedition into California +it may be proper that you should increase your supply for goods to be +distributed as presents to the Indians. The United States +superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis will aid you in procuring +these goods. You will be furnished with a proclamation in the Spanish +language, to be issued by you and circulated among the Mexican people on +your entering into or approaching their country. You will use your +utmost endeavors to have the pledges and promises therein contained +carried out to the utmost extent. + +I am directed by the president to say that the rank of brevet +brigadier-general will be conferred on you as soon as you commence your +movement toward California, and sent round to you by sea or over the +country, or to the care of the commandant of our squadron in the +Pacific. In that way cannon, arms, ammunition and supplies for the land +forces will be sent to you. + +Very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +W.L. MARCY, + +_Secretary of War_. + +COLONEL S. N. KEARNEY, _Fort Leavenworth, Missouri._ + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12518 *** diff --git a/12518-h/12518-h.htm b/12518-h/12518-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2779af3 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/12518-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3075 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Adventures of a Forty-niner, by Daniel Knower</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + HR { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .note {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} /* footnote */ + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 1em; font-size: smaller; float: right; clear: right;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem .caesura {vertical-align: -200%;} + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre {font-size: 9pt;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12518 ***</div> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Adventures of a Forty-niner, by Daniel +Knower</h1> +<br> +<br> +<center><b>E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</b></center> +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER.</h1> +<br> +<h3>AN HISTORIC DESCRIPTION OF CALIFORNIA, WITH EVENTS AND IDEAS OF +SAN FRANCISCO AND ITS PEOPLE IN THOSE EARLY DAYS.</h3> +<h2>By DANIEL KNOWER.</h2> +<h4>1894</h4> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<p>DEDICATED TO Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, Colonel John C. +Freemont, and Captain John A. Sutter,</p> +<br> +<p>THE THREE PRE-EMINENT PIONEERS OF CALIFORNIA.</p> +<br> +<center><img src="./images/illus004a.png" height="450" width="347" +alt=" DANIEL KNOWER."></center> +<br> +<h2>Table of Contents</h2> +<a href="#PREFACE"><b>PREFACE.</b></a><br> +<a href="#CALPIONEER"><b>THE CALIFORNIA PIONEER +SOCIETY.</b></a><br> +<a href="#ADVENTURES"><b>THE ADVENTURES OF A +FORTY-NINER.</b></a><br> +<a href="#HISTORICAL"><b>A FEW HISTORICAL ITEMS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#HIS_STORY"><b>HIS STORY.</b></a><br> +<a href="#GAMBLING"><b>THE GAMBLING OF THAT DAY.</b></a><br> +<a href="#GRIZZLY"><b>THE GRIZZLY BEARS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#BLANKET"><b>MY BLANKET MAN.</b></a><br> +<a href="#TENT"><b>THE MAN IN HIS TENT.</b></a><br> +<a href="#CLIPPER"><b>THE CLIPPER SHIPS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#BULL"><b>A BULL FIGHT.</b></a><br> +<a href="#HOME"><b>HOME SICKNESS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#JESUIT"><b>JESUIT MISSION STATIONS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#PACIFIC"><b>SCENES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN.</b></a><br> +<a href="#PERORATION"><b>PERORATION.</b></a><br> +<a href="#DEATH"><b>DEATH OF A FORMER SCHOHARIAN.</b></a><br> +<a href="#APPENDIX"><b>APPENDIX.</b></a><br> +<hr> +<a name="PREFACE"></a> +<h2>PREFACE.</h2> +<p>The discovery of gold in California, in 1848, with its other +mineral resources, including the Alamada quicksilver mine at San +José, which is an article of first necessity in working gold +or silver ore; and the great silver mines of Nevada, in 1860, the +Comstock lode, in which, in ten years, from five to eight hundred +millions of gold and silver were taken out, a larger amount than +was ever taken from one locality before, the Alamada quicksilver +mine being the second most productive of any in the world, the one +in Spain being the largest, said to be owned by the Rothschilds. +Its effect upon the general prosperity and development of our +country has been immense, almost incalculable. Before these +discoveries the amount of gold in the United States was estimated +at about seventy millions, now it is conceded to be seven hundred +millions. The Northern Pacific coast was then almost unpopulated. +California a territory three times as large as New York and Oregon +and the State of Washington, all now being cultivated and +containing large and populous cities, and railroads connecting them +with the East. Why that country should have remained uninhabited +for untold ages, where universal stillness must have prevailed as +far as human activity is concerned, is one of the unfathomable +mysteries of nature. It is only one hundred and twenty-five years +since the Bay of San Francisco was first discovered, one of the +grandest harbors in the world, being land-locked, extending thirty +miles, where all the vessels of the world could anchor in safety. +The early pioneers of those two years immediately after the gold +was discovered (of which I am writing) are passing away. As Ossian +says, "People are like the waves of the ocean, like the leafs of +woody marvin that pass away in the rustling blast, and other leaves +lift up their green heads." There is probably not five per cent of +the population of California to-day, of those days, scenes and +events of which I have tried to portray. Another generation have +taken their places who can know but little of those times except by +tradition. I, being one of the pioneers, felt it a duty, or an +inspiration seemed to come over me as an obligation I owed to +myself and compatriots of those times, to do what I could to +perpetuate the memory of them to some extent in the history of our +country as far as I had the ability to do it.</p> +<p>THE AUTHOR.</p> +<br> +<a name="CALPIONEER"></a> +<h2>THE CALIFORNIA PIONEER SOCIETY.</h2> +<p>The California Pioneer Society was organized in August, 1850. +The photograph of their building appears on the cover of this book, +W.D.M. Howard was their first president. Among their early +presidents, and prominent in the days of Forty-niners, were Samuel +Branan, Thomas Larkins, Wm. D. Farewell, and James Lick—who +liberally endowed it.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus008a.png" height="450" width="344" +alt=" BUILDING OF THE SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERS."></center> +<p>It was organized for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of +the events of those days and for the benefit and mutual protection +of its members. No person was eligible for membership except he had +arrived in California before the 1st of January, 1850, and the +descendants of Forty-niners when arriving at the age of twenty-one +are eligible. At the opening of the World's Fair in San Francisco +in January last, in the ceremonies in the marching of the +procession through the streets of the city, they were received with +the greatest enthusiasm and cheers, which was a marked +manifestation of the veneration in which they are held by the +people of California.</p> +<br> +<a name="ADVENTURES"></a> +<h2>THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER.</h2> +<p>The writer was practising his profession in the city of Albany, +his native place, in 1848, when reports came of the discovery of +gold in California. In a short time samples of scales of the metal +of the river diggings were on exhibition, sent to friends in the +city in letters. Many of Colonel Stevenson's regiment had been +recruited in that city. Soon these rumors were exaggerated. It was +said that barrels of gold were dug by individuals named. Soon the +excitement extended all over the country, and the only barrier to +wealth, it seemed, was the difficulty of getting to the Eldorado. +Why the discovery of gold there should have produced so much +excitement cannot be fathomed. It seemed an era in human affairs, +like the Crusades and other events of great importance that occur. +Your correspondent became one of its votaries, and organized a +company to go to the gold rivers and secure a fortune for all +interested in it, and it seemed all that was required was to get +there and return in a short time and ride in your carriage and +astonish your friends with your riches. Suffice it to say, this +company was fully organized (with its by-laws and system of +government drawn up by the writer), and sailed from the port of New +York on the ship <i>Tarrolinter</i> on the 13th of January, 1849, +to go around Cape Horn, arriving in San Francisco on the following +July. From that time I became absorbed in all the news from the +gold regions, and losing confidence somewhat in the certainty of a +fortune from my interest in the company, and reading of the high +price of lumber, the scarcity of houses, and the extraordinary high +wages of mechanics there, conceived the project of shipping the +materials for some houses there, having all the work put on them +here that could be done, thus saving the difference in wages, and +to have them arrive there before the rainy season set in, and thus +realize the imaginary fortune that I had expected from my interest +in the company. In the following spring I had twelve houses +constructed. The main point upon which my speculation seemed to +rest was to get them to San Francisco before the rainy season +commenced. I went to New York to secure freight for them in the +fastest vessel. Fortunately for me, as I conceived at the time, I +found the day before I arrived in New York, the <i>Prince de +Joinville,</i> a Havre packet ship, had been put up to sail for the +port of San Francisco, and as yet had engaged no freight. I made a +bargain with them at once to take my houses at sixty cents per +square foot, and had the contract signed, half to be delivered at +the side of the ship by such a date and the other half at a +subsequent date. I delivered the first half of the houses on the +time agreed, sending them down the Hudson river by a barge on a +tow. I sent the second half on a barge to get there on the day they +were due, apprehending no trouble, I going down myself a few days +in advance. They commenced complaining at the ship that they would +not have room for the balance of my houses on board, although I had +their written contract to take them at sixty cents per foot.</p> +<p>There was great California excitement about this time, and other +parties had come to the conclusion that the <i>Prince de +Joinville</i> was probably the fastest ship taking freight for San +Francisco. I saw them accept of offers at $1.50 per foot, when +their contract with me was for less than half that price, which +would make a difference of several thousand dollars in their favor. +So, if the balance of my houses did not arrive within the time +stated in the contract, they would not be taken on that vessel, and +my speculation ruined. The time was up the next day at twelve +o'clock. I was down on the Battery the next morning early watching +for the tow, with the barge with my houses. The ship was at the +dock in the East river. About ten o'clock, A.M., I had the good +fortune to see the barge rounding the Battery. I cried out to the +captain to cut loose from the tow, employ the first steam tug and I +would pay the bill, which he did, getting on the side of the vessel +by eleven o'clock, thus saving my contract by one hour. But they +did not commence taking them on board, so the captain of the barge +put a demurrage of $20 per day for detention. In the meantime, I +had bought my ticket to sail by the steamer <i>Georgia</i> to the +Isthmus to go on the 1st of July which was but a few days off. +They, seeing that I had them on my contract, came to me and said +that my houses should go on their ship according to contract, if +they had to throw other freight out, and that they would sign a +regular bill of lading for all the material deliverable to me upon +the arrival of the <i>Prince de Joinville</i> at the port of San +Francisco, and take my carpenters' specifications for the +description of them, which seemed all right to me.</p> +<p>The following is an article from the <i>Albany Evening Atlas</i> +of June 23, 1849:</p> +<div class="blkquot"> +<p>"CALIFORNIA HOUSES.</p> +<p>"Our estimable fellow citizen Dr. Knower, who is to start for +California by the Crescent City <i>via</i> Panama, is about to ship +to that place twelve houses, complete and ready to put up on +arrival at San Francisco. The venture is a costly one, the freight +on the material approaching the cost of as many frame buildings in +this quarter, and the projector, we think, has managed the +speculation with great foresight and judgment. The best timber has +been selected, and the best work men employed, and a plan of +architecture pursued, which is supposed to offer the greatest +advantages with the most economical expenditures of material. Four +of these buildings are 18 feet front and 25 feet deep. A partition +running lengthways divides the buildings into two rooms, and the +stairs leads to a second platform, which is large enough for +bedrooms, or for storing materials and tools of miners. Two others +are 18 feet front and 18 feet deep, with a small extension in the +rear of 8 feet. Two are 16 feet in front and 22 feet deep, with the +entrance on the gable front; and the four others are 18 feet front +by 14 deep. The sides of the building will be composed of a double +framework of boards planed, grooved and tongued, fitting air tight +on each side of the timber, the interval between them being either +filled with the moss of the country or left vacant, the confined +column of the air being found sufficient to keep off the excess of +cold or heat. The roofs of all the buildings shed from the front, +except two of which are of gable shape. The roofs are to be made of +solid, close-fitting planks, covered with fine ticking and coated +with the patent indestructible fire-proof paint, and applications +which our citizens have just begun to use here, and which they +have, found entirely successful.</p> +<p>"The houses can be easily transported to the placers or may be +put up on the sea-board. We should suppose that the numerous +land-owners who are speculating on the prospects of future cities +would be glad to give the land necessary for the location of this +village.</p> +<p>"The houses go by the <i>Prince de Joinville</i>, a first-class +vessel, which leaves New York soon."</p> +</div> +<p>I sailed on the steamer which left New York at 5 P.M., July 1, +1849. Friends were there to see me off, but there were no persons +on the boat that I had ever seen before—I was wondering who +would be my first acquaintance.</p> +<p>Being very tired, I retired soon to my berth, and woke up the +next morning on the broad ocean. Two days of sea sickness and I was +all right again. There were about one thousand passengers from all +parts of our country. I tried to fathom the motives and standing of +different ones. Colonel B. from Kentucky, an aristocratic-looking +man, with his slave for a body servant, who could not have been +bought for less than $1,500 in Kentucky, where slavery existed at +that time. Why a man in his circumstances should be going to +California to seek gold I could not fathom. One day a party of us +were seated around the table talking matters over. It was proposed +that each should reveal to the others what he expected to do and +his motives for the expedition. We each related our expectations +and the motives that had inspired us. My aristocratic friend was +one of the party. My curiosity was at its height to know his views. +He said: "Well, gentlemen, you have all been candid in your +statements, and I shall be the same; I am going to California to +deal Faro, the great American gambling game, and I don't care who +knows it."</p> +<p>Later on in my narrative, I shall have occasion to refer to +Colonel B. again under other circumstances. The fourth day out +being the fourth of July, was duly celebrated on the steamer in +true American style. Our course was to the east of Cuba. We passed +in sight of the green hills of San Domingo to our left, and in +sight of Jamaica to our right, crossing the Caribbean sea, whose +grand, gorgeous sunsets I shall never forget. I could not buy a +ticket in New York for the steamer from Panama to San Francisco, +but was informed at the office in New York that sixty tickets were +for sale in Panama by Zackery, Nelson & Co., the American +Consul, who were agents for the steamer on the Pacific side. I +naturally supposed that those who offered their money first for +those tickets could buy them. The price was $300 for the first +cabin, and $150 for the second, from Panama to San Francisco; but a +fraction of the passengers had a ticket for the Pacific side.</p> +<p>The objective point was to get to Panama to secure a ticket, so +I made an arrangement with four others; three were to take charge +of the baggage of the five, and take it leisurely, and Lieutenant +M., of South Carolina, and myself were selected to run an express +across the Isthmus and get there ahead of the other passengers and +secure tickets for the five, and try and be the first to land at +Chagres. We came to anchor in the bay. The captain announced that +no passengers would be permitted to go ashore until the government +officials had inspected the vessel. A boat came from shore with the +officials. After a short stay the officials went down the side of +the steamer to their boat to return to the shore. There was a guard +to keep all but the proper persons from getting into the boat. I +had a small carpet bag in my hand, passed the guard, slipped a $5 +gold piece in his hands, and took my seat in the boat, and, of +course, passed as one of the officials, and was the first passenger +to land from the steamer. The first point to be made was to secure +a boat for passage up the Chagres river. I was recommended to +Colonel P., who was the head man in that business there. He was a +colonel in the Granadian army. I found him a full-blooded African, +but an active business man in his way. I got his price for a boat +and two of his best men, and then offered double the price if they +would row night and day, and an extra present to the men if they +made good time, for every thing seemed to depend on securing those +tickets on the Pacific side. By the time I had all my arrangements +made, Lieutenant M. made his appearance. He said he was the second +passenger that landed from the steamer. Then behold us in what they +called a dug-out, a boat somewhat similar to a canoe, with a little +canopy over the center that you could crawl under to lay down with +the two naked natives, with the exception of a cloth around their +loins, neither understanding each other's language, to whom we +could only communicate by signs. At 4 P.M., starting for Gorgona, +fifty-five miles up the river, where we were to land and take mules +for Panama. Eight miles was the first stopping place. We felt +elated that we had got so good a start of all the other passengers. +The denseness of the vegetation first attracted our attention on +the banks of the river. The trees, the vines, the shrubbery, the +vines clinging to the trees, hanging in all fantastic shapes, it +seemed to be impenetrable, an ocean of green, unlike any thing we +had ever seen before.</p> +<p>Early in the evening we arrived at the first stopping place, +eight miles on our way up the river, where we both made ourselves +at home, excited at the strangeness of the scene, surrounded by the +thatched huts of the natives, who were having a dance on the square +in the village. After we had been there an hour, we thought our men +had their rest, and it was time to go on according to our contract, +to be rowed night and day.</p> +<p>In the meantime it seems the natives had taken some offense at +Lieutenant M.'s familiarity, and they appeared with handles of long +knives projecting back of their necks in a threatening manner. We +likewise learned that that was the home of one of our men, and that +he proposed to stay there all night in violation of the contract. +So we had a consultation to decide what to do to get away. It was +pitch dark; we laid our plan. Lieutenant M. beckoned one of the men +away from the dance as if he wanted to give him something, and drew +his pistol on him and marched him down to the boat, while I, with a +pistol, kept him there while he went for the other man.</p> +<p>After a while he came with him and we got them both in the boat +and started. About this time there was a storm came up with the +rain, and thunder and lightning, as the elements can only perform +in that way in the tropics, surrounded by impenetrable darkness, +and to us an unknown river, with its serpents and alligators, with +our two naked savages, that we only got in the boat by force, and, +of course, could not feel very friendly toward us. Expecting to be +fired on from the shore, if they could see us through the darkness, +we took our departure from our first landing place on the Chagres +river, surrounded by romance enough to satisfy the most romantic +imagination in that line. Our men kept steadily to work. After a +while the clouds broke away, the moon showed itself, and we made +good progress that night. We had no trouble with our men after +that. The colonel at Chagres had evidently given us his best man. +They found that we were masters of the situation and it was for +their interest to submit. We treated them kindly after that, and +all went well, for we passed every boat we came to. I shall never +forget the look of despair at two Frenchmen, evidently gentlemen, +as we went by them, and they informed us the length of time they +had been coming up the river, and that they could do nothing with +their men. That afternoon we came in sight of a thatched hut on the +banks, evidently a ranch. We thought it for our interest to rest. +We saw a man whom we took for the proprietor, entirely naked, +rubbing his back against a post. On landing and approaching him he +excused himself for a short time, and returned dressed, walking +with the air of a lord of a manor, which dress consisted of a +coarse bagging shirt, coming down to his knees. We arrived the next +day at 11 A.M., at Gorgona, and took our dinner at the hotel kept +by the Alcalde of the place, and bargained with him for a guide and +three mules to continue our journey to Panama. As soon as our +guides and mules were ready, about 1 P.M., we started for Panama. +We soon got enough of our mules by being thrown a number of times +over their heads. They did not understand our language. "Get up and +go along," was Greek to them, but when the guide said "mula vamous" +they knew what it meant. On reaching the place where we were to +stay all night, we arose in the morning refreshed, but concluded to +leave our mules and make the rest of the way a-foot, as we +considered them a nuisance, and as we had no baggage but my little +satchel previously referred to, in which I had bills of lading of +my houses, they being consigned to me, the specifications of my +carpenter's schedule, my letters and a gold chronometer watch, +worth $250, belonging to H., a broker in New York, a friend, and a +bottle of the best brandy, which he presented to me to keep off the +fever in crossing the Isthmus. This bag I handed to the guide boy, +about seventeen years of age, taking out the brandy bottle. The +watch I was to sell, for he had two nephews who had gone to +California, and if they were in need, to supply their wants. I did +not meet them; sold the watch for $500 to Mr. Haight, one of the +owners of the Miners' Bank in San Francisco, and remitted the money +to my friend, so I shall not refer to the watch again.</p> +<p>We were walking on at a free pace, our guide boy following +behind. Looking back after awhile we could not see him. We stopped +and waited some time, but he did not come, so we thought we would +go on and he would follow. The result was we lost our way and +craved for a sight of the Pacific ocean with all the ardor that +Gilboa could have done, the first Spanish discoverer of it, and on +the same route, after our wanderings all day, almost without hope, +until four in the afternoon, we came to a stream of water; +oppressed with the heat of the tropics and fatigued I threw myself +in the water. Lieutenant M. exclaimed: "Do not give up in that +way." "I am not giving up," I replied; "only refreshing myself." In +a short time he did the same thing. As we lay there we thought we +heard voices. In looking back who should we see but one of our +countrymen, the most gladdening sight to us. We felt saved at once. +We asked him if he had any provision. He said he thought not. Then +he said one of his companions might have a little piece of ham left +and some crackers. He said there were three of them, and they would +soon be there, and when they came one of them had some bacon and a +few crackers, which he gave to us. The eating of it soon refreshed +us. As I had some of the brandy left in the bottle, I extended it +to them, which they were very glad to receive. Explanations ensued. +We, by chance, had struck the Crusos road, and were but ten miles +from Panama. They had come from Philadelphia in a brig, and had +started across from Crusos, the head of boating on the Chagres +river, and had been from two to three weeks getting so far across +the Isthmus, and were perfectly astonished at the rapidity with +which we had come. So we joined them and arrived in Panama that +evening. Lieutenant M. and myself were the first of the one +thousand passengers of the <i>Georgia</i> to enter the city. The +office of the agents of the Pacific steamers was closed. I went, +the first thing in the morning, to purchase the five tickets for +our party. Alas for human expectation! I was informed it would be +several weeks before the steamer would sail. She had not yet +returned from the first trip to San Francisco. They said there were +but sixty tickets for sale, and they would not be offered until a +few days before the departure of the steamer. Of course, all we +could do was to abide our chances of getting them. The city was +walled around and dyked like those of the Middle Ages. Toward the +bay the wall was one hundred feet high by twenty broad. The city +had been on the decline for most a hundred years. We could see the +ruins of what it once had been. At one time Spain owned all South +America, Mexico, California, Louisiana and Florida. Panama was the +only port of entry on the Pacific coast, and controlled its +commerce. As you enter the gates of the walled city there is a +chapel just inside, where the lights are always burning on its +altars. The first thing on entering all good Catholics enter, kneel +and make their devotions, seeking the protection of the patron +saint of the city. The head alcalder of the city was a Castilian +Spaniard, a venerable-looking gentleman, white as any Northern man, +evidently of Scandinavian descent, who ages back conquered Spain +and divided the land up among themselves and became its nobility, +from whom the present rulers of Spain are descendants. It is said +that when conquered, the original inhabitants of Spain, to a great +extent, fled to their vessels, put to sea, and found the island of +Ireland, from which the present inhabitants are descendants. The +second alcalder was a negro as black as I have ever seen.</p> +<p>In the city of Panama in its days of prosperity, when under +Spain, the higher classes must have lived in great luxuries, the +negroes their slaves. The natives the peons were in a condition +similar to slavery, they could not leave the land as long as they +owed any thing. But the despotism of old Spain became so great that +when they struck for freedom, all classes united. They gave freedom +to the negroes and the peons, and even the priests of the Catholic +church had been so tyrannized over by the mother church in Spain +that they joined the revolutionists and all classes are represented +in the government. I called at a watchmaker's to have a crystal put +in my watch. Two brothers had furnished rooms like a parlor. I +could not speak Spanish, nor they English. I could speak a little +French. I found they could speak it fluently. I asked them where +they learned it. They said, "At the Jesuit college at Granada." +Then one, of them, when he learned that I was from the United +States, went to the piano and played Hail Columbia as a compliment +to my country, which would trouble most of us to do the same for +their country.</p> +<p>There are now great trees growing up in the ruins of what was +once its great cathedral. The freebooter Morgan is said to have +plundered one of its altars of a million of gold and silver, and +massacred many of its inhabitants, perpetrating on them the +atrocities that their ancestors had upon the original natives. It +is said that when Pizarro captured Peru and took the Inca, their +king, prisoner, he issued a decree that if his subjects would fill +a room with gold, he would release him, which they did. Instead of +doing it, he sentenced him to be burned at the stake, and only +commuted it to hanging on condition that he confessed the Christian +religion. Madam Roland, when she was about to be guillotined in the +French revolution, exclaimed, "O Liberty, what crimes have been +committed in thy name." O Christianity, what terrible atrocities +have been perpetrated in thy name!</p> +<p>Panama is a healthy city to those acclimated, facing a beautiful +bay, unlike Chagres, on this side of the Isthmus of Darien, which +is the most unhealthy spot on this continent. Excuse this +diversion, I must get back to my subject, the days of the +forty-niners.</p> +<p>I stopped at the American Hotel. I was somewhat in a dilapidated +condition from the experiences of my trip from Chagres. The waiter +in my room at the hotel took the best of care of me. I soon found +he was no ordinary waiter. He had resigned a position in Washington +of $2,000 a year to go to the gold Eldorado. He had been in Panama +several months, and had been taken down with the fever twice, which +had exhausted his funds and was working at the hotel for his board, +but never thought of turning back. He was bound for California. He +was quite enfeebled from the effects of the fever. He got hold of +my sympathies and secured my friendship. (More of him anon.) I had +been here four or five days without seeing our guide, the boy with +my satchel, containing my valuables, particularly the bills of +lading of my houses. I was in a quandary and anxiety about it, not +knowing what to do, when one day as I was going to dinner, +something pulled my coat from behind, and looking around, what +should I see to my great joy and satisfaction but the native boy +with my satchel, contents there all safe. It was an instance of +honesty that would do honor to any nation. I gave some honest +Catholic priest credit for it. The boy had evidently been +instructed what to do.</p> +<p>The great objective point now was, how to get to San Francisco. +There was no hope for a sailing vessel from this place, for we saw +one return for water that had been chartered by a party that had +been out three weeks, and scarcely got out of sight of the city. +There is very little chance for a sailing vessel from there until +they get west several hundred miles, and strike the trade winds. +The chances were better with the sailing vessel to start from New +York and go around Cape Horn. So the only hope seemed to be the +steamer with its sixty tickets and with from one thousand to +fifteen hundred passengers waiting to buy them, all seeking to +bring some influence to bear to secure one. I saw in the office of +the steamer agent a young man, the book-keeper, whom I took a fancy +to, and sought his acquaintance. I found he was from Hudson, N.Y., +and I, from Albany, both from the banks of the Hudson river. It +ripened into a warm friendship. I explained my situation to him, +and my desire, if it was possible, to get off on the steamer, but +did not venture to ask his influence to try and get me a ticket. At +this time the cholera and Panama fever was raging in full force. +The acclimatednacclimated Americans were dying in every direction. +I was conversing at 8 A.M. with a healthy looking man, one of our +passengers, from New York. At 5 P.M., the same day, I inquired for +him and was informed that he was dead and buried. He had been +attacked with the cholera. It was a law of the city that they must +be buried within one hour after death from a contagious disease. I +was finally myself taken down with the Panama fever, lay +unconscious and unnoticed in my room at the hotel for a long time, +and then came to and found myself burning with the raging fever, +had a doctor sent for, and after a time recovered so I could +venture out. In the meantime, the steamer <i>Panama</i> had +arrived, and its day of sailing for San Francisco announced. +Zackary, Nelson & Co. had issued an order that the sixty +tickets would be put up to be drawn for. Those having the winning +numbers could have the privilege of purchasing them; that they must +register their names on such a day. Probably one thousand names and +but sixty tickets. The chances were small, but the only hope. On +that day, I went early to register, as I was still very weak from +the effects of the fever, and at my best in the morning. As I +entered, there was a great number there registering. When my turn +came, and I was about to put down my name, I looked behind the desk +and saw my friend, the book-keeper. He shook his head for me not +to. I knew that meant something favorable. I backed out. I returned +at once to the hotel. In the evening, about 8 o'clock, my friend +came to my room with a second cabin ticket. The joys of Paradise +centered into my possession of that ticket. I asked him how did he +obtain it? He said he was about to resign his position, and was +going up on the same steamer to California. The night before the +drawing he asked Mr. Nelson if his services had been satisfactory +to him. He said they had. He then said if he should ask him a favor +on leaving him if he would grant it? He replied certainly. He then +said that he wanted one of those sixty tickets for a particular +friend. Mr. Nelson said, "If I had known what you was going to ask +for, I could not have granted it; but since I have pledged my word, +I shall give you the ticket."</p> +<p>The next day passengers would be received on the steamer, which +was anchored out in the bay, some distance from shore. It was +announced that no sick persons could go on the steamer. As I was +quite enfeebled from my sickness, and was at my best in the +morning, I thought I would make an early start, so as to be sure +and be aboard, as they were all to be on board the vessel to sail +early the next morning. I started out for a boat to take me out to +it with the highest elasticity of feelings, not so much from the +prospect of financial success as the idea that if I could get North +again my physical health would be restored, and the steamer was +going North. It seemed at times that I would have given $1,000 for +one good breath of Northern air. As I was going along, some +distance ahead of me, sitting at the doors of a doggery, with his +head almost between his knees, the picture of despair, was my +Washington friend, who waited on my room at the hotel when I first +arrived, did me many favors, and got hold of my sympathies. I said +to myself, poor fellow, I can do nothing for you. I must not let +him see me, so I dodged and passed him. When I got some distance by +him my conscience smote me. I will go back and speak to him; so I +did. I had advised him a few days previous to go and see some +officers of the boat and offer to go up as waiter without pay. I +asked him if he had done so, and what luck? He said there was no +hope. They told him they had been offered $300 for the privilege of +going up as waiter. I then told him I had a ticket. I was going +then for a boat to go on board. That his case was desperate, and +that desperate cases required desperate remedies; that he had been +down twice with the fever, and the next time he would probably die; +that he had no friends there nor money; if he would do as I told +him I would stand by him and he must have nerve. He said to me: +"How can a man have nerve without a dollar in his pocket?" which +exclamation has occurred to me many times since. I asked him to +hire a boat to get him out to the vessel, and what it would cost. +He said $2. I gave him the money and told him to get his baggage. +He said he had none. I told him to come about 11 o'clock and go to +work among the hands as if he was one of them; that all were new +hands and officers, and they would not know the difference. He said +that the captain had said if any person was caught on board without +a ticket they would be put on shore at the first uninhabited +island. I told him I would attend to that in his case. I went on +board and got my berth and baggage all in. About 11 o'clock I saw +my friend coming over the water making for the vessel. There was +considerable confusion on board at the time, passengers constantly +arriving, and he was not noticed, and he went to work among the +hands as if he had been regularly employed. In a short time the +officers were arranging the men in line to pass the baggage, and +said to him: "You stand here and help pass it," of course, taking +him for one of the men of the boat. In the evening he came and +spoke to me. I said all right so far. But in the morning, he said, +they are going to examine every person, then they will put me +ashore. I said, keep a stiff upper lip. If you get in trouble, come +to me.</p> +<p>The next morning the gun fired, the anchor was raised, and we +sailed down to Bogota, an island similar to Staten Island in the +New York Harbor. The health officers came out. Then my friend +trembled and thought the day of judgment had come to him, but the +health officers were on board but a short time. No examination of +those on board took place. The signal gun for departure was fired. +We passed out of the harbor. The bow of our vessel was pointed +north, and we felt extremely happy. I said to him, "This vessel is +bound for San Francisco, and you are aboard, and will get there as +soon as I will." A few days after that the mate was arranging the +employment of the men, and when he came to my friend's turn he said +to him, "Who employed you? You are not an able-bodied seaman." He +made no reply. They could see he was a man of intelligence, and his +pale look showed he had been sick. It may have moved the sympathies +of the officer, who said to him, "This vessel is crowded with +people; it wont do for us to be short of water, and I will put the +water in your charge, and you must not let any passenger, or even +the steward, have any except according to the regulations, and if +you attend to that properly no other services will be required of +you." That took him off of the anxious seat and put him on the +solid. In all his adversities he never thought of turning back. +That commanded my esteem. His attentions to me, when sick, aroused +my sympathies for him, which good action on his part saved him. Of +one thousand passengers desirous of getting on that steamer, and +there was room but for sixty on the day of its departure; his +chance looked the most hopeless, being penniless, but he was one of +the fortunate ones, while those who had plenty of money were left. +It illustrated the old maxim, "Where there is a will there is a +way."</p> +<p>Nothing of interest occurred until we got to the port of +Acupulco, the largest place on the west coast of Mexico. We were +about to enter the harbor when a government boat with officials +came out and ordered us to stop. If we proceeded any further there +would be "matter trouble" in broken English. There were Americans +on shore who had crossed over from Vera Cruz for the purpose of +taking this steamer. It would be a month before there would be +another one, and then there would be no certainty of their getting +aboard of that. The captain held a consultation of the passengers, +who all decided to have them come on board. They were our +countrymen and we would share our berths with them, although the +vessel was then crowded, and some of the passengers volunteered to +row ashore with the small boats to bring them aboard, which they +did. When they approached the shore there was a company of soldiers +waded in the water with pointed guns, forbidding them to approach +any nearer. The Americans who were on the bank informed them that +the soldiers would fire, and warning them not to approach any +nearer, while bewailing their fate that they had to be left, so +they returned. Then the captain received notice to leave in half an +hour or the guns of the fort would open fire on us. It was a bright +moonlight night. The fort was on a high knoll just above us, and +could have blown us out of the water. So we thought discretion was +the better part of valor, and we had to leave. The laws of nations +were on their side. We were from an infected port, Panama, where +cholera prevailed.</p> +<p>On board the steamer were some men of prominence. W.F. +McCondery, from Boston, a retired East India sea captain, a man of +wealth, who had been out of business for three years and craved for +a more exciting life; who started the largest commission-house in +San Francisco, and had consigned to him about all the shipments +from Boston, and likewise the <i>Prince de Joinville</i> with my +houses; Mr. G., from Liverpool, an Englishman, who had about all +the consignments from that city; Rothschild's nephew, who had +represented that house as a banker in Valparaiso, Chili, was going +to establish a branch of those great bankers' house in San +Francisco; Judge Terry, from Louisiana, who had the reputation at +that time of being a dead shot with a pistol, who afterward +challenged United States Senator Broderick to fight a duel, from +political influences, and killed him, and some years afterward was +assassinated himself from a disagreement with parties about a +lawsuit. We came opposite Mazland at the mouth of the Gulf of +California, and took on board some passengers and freight.</p> +<p>The next incident in our voyage was when we came in sight of San +Diego, California, and saw the American flag floating from the flag +staff. There was an instantaneous shout went up from every American +on board. We were once more to be under its protection in our own +country.</p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Love of country, mystic fire from +heaven,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To light our race up to stateliest +heights 'tis given.</span><br> +<p>We were entering the Golden Gate. It was but four miles to the +harbor where we cast anchor, opposite the city of San Francisco, +which was the goal of our hopes for so long a time, and which was +about to be realized; which was also the objective point from +almost every part of the world where adventurers are seeking to +get. We had come three thousand, five hundred miles since we left +Panama. We engaged a row-boat to take us ashore. My friend attended +to getting my baggage out of the boat, and went with me to the +shore. He had signed no papers, and entered into no bonds not to +desert the vessel at San Francisco, as the other sailors had. He +was free to do as he pleased.</p> +<p>I had the chills and fever all the way up, from the effects of +the Panama fever. My first idea was to get in good quarters, +whatever expense, to regain my health. I was informed that there +was a good hotel kept by a widow woman on Montgomery street, where +we landed. Some of the other passengers were going to stop there. I +inquired the terms. They said $5 per day. I thought I would try it +for a while. My sleeping-room was a mattress laid on the floor, +with muslin partitions to separate us from the next room. The table +was very indifferent, no vegetables, which I required, which we +lacked on the ship coming up. Being in poor health, I needed them. +After being there a few days one of our passengers asked me if I +knew what the charges were. I said yes, $5 per day. He said it was +more; I had better ask again, which I did. I was informed it was $5 +for the room and extra for the meals. I paid my bill and looked out +for other quarters. I had brought in my baggage an Indian rubber +mattress and pillow which was folded up in a small space and could +be blown up with your breath and filled with air, made a soft bed, +a pair of new Mackinaw blankets and other things to provide for any +contingency, and took my meals at a restaurant, which were +numerous, including the Chinese which we often patronized, and +found myself satisfactorily quartered. It may not be inappropriate +to make some general remarks about the history of California.</p> +<p>Although my subject is strictly on the days of forty-niners, +which consisted of about two years from the discovery of the gold, +when it was supposed that the future prosperity of the country +depended exclusively on the mining interest. How different it has +turned out since has nothing to do with my subject. I want to try +to paint to the mind of the reader the condition of California at +that time, and the views of the pioneers in those days. I am doing +it in the form of a personal narrative, as it enables me more +distinctly to recall to my mind the events of those days in which I +was a participant. Such fluctuations of fortune as then occurred, +the world never saw before in the same space of time, and probably +never will again, where common labor was $16 per day. There were +some very interesting and truthful articles published in the +<i>Century</i> magazine two years ago from the pen of the pioneers, +but there has been no book published as a standard work for the +present and future, and the participants in it are passing away, +for it is forty-five years since they occurred. California is three +times larger in territory than the State of New York. Its +population before the discovery of gold, including Indians and all, +was but a few thousand. Cattle could be bought for $1 per head, and +all the land they ranged upon thrown in the bargain for nothing. +They were killed for their hides, and the meat thrown away, as +there was no one to eat it.</p> +<br> +<a name="HISTORICAL"></a> +<h2>A FEW HISTORICAL ITEMS.</h2> +<p>San Francisco bay, first discovered the 25th of October, 1769. +The first ship that ever entered the harbor was the <i>San +Carlos</i>, June, 1775. The mission of Dolores founded by the +Jesuit Fathers in 1769. Colonel Jonathan Stevenson arrived at +California with one thousand men on the 7th of March, 1847. The +treaty of Hidalgo ceding California to the United States by Mexico, +officially proclaimed by the president, July 4, 1848. Gold first +discovered by Marshall, January 9, 1848. January, 1848, the whole +white population of California was fourteen thousand, January, +1849, the population of San Francisco was two thousand. The three +most prominent publicmen at the time of my arrival in California +were Colonel Freemont, who had conducted an expedition overland; +Colonel Stevenson, who came by sea with one thousand men, appointed +by William L. Marcy, who was secretary of war during the conflict +with Mexico, from whom I had a letter of introduction as a family +connection of Governor Marcy, similar to the following letter to +Brigadier Major-General P.F. Smith, which was not delivered:</p> +<div class="blkquot"> +<p>ALBANY, <i>June</i> 24, 1849.</p> +<p>My Dear Sir—I desire to present to your favorable notice, +the bearer hereof, Dr. Daniel Knower. He is on the eve of departing +for California. He is a family connection of mine, a gentleman of +talents and respectability, and I commend him to your favorable +notice.</p> +<p>Yours truly,</p> +<p>WILLIAM L. MARCY.</p> +<p>BRIG.-GEN. P.F. SMITH.</p> +</div> +<p>I soon found the colonel one of the warmest of friends. Captain +John A. Sutter, who was a captain in the Swiss Guards of Charles +the Tenth of France, after the revolution of 1830 in that country, +came to the United States, who some years previous had wandered +across the country to Oregon, and the Russian Fur Company secured +for him a large grant of land from Mexico in California, on which +the city of Sacramento now stands, extending back from that city +many miles to where the gold was first discovered. He was having a +raceway dug on the American river for the purpose of erecting a +saw-mill, as there was no lumber in the country. He had constructed +a fort some miles back from the Sacramento river, where he made his +home. The object of the Russian Fur Company was to have a place +where they could purchase grain, as there was none raised there at +that time, and they had a contract with him, and that they were to +send a vessel at such a time, and he was to settle up the country +and cultivate it. Sutter was the most social and generous of men. +The latch-string of his cabin was always on the outside, and all +callers were welcome, and the hospitalities of the fort extended to +all callers.</p> +<p>At the time of my arrival, on August 18, 1849, there were +several hundreds of ships anchored in the bay deserted by their +crews, who had gone to the mines. They could make more in one day +there than their wages would amount to in a month on the +vessel.</p> +<p>In the city a large portion of its population were living in +tents. There were not buildings enough. Vessels were constantly +arriving loaded with people from all parts of the world. As my +health permitted I investigated matters there. I took a walk out. I +met what looked like a laboring man. I asked him how long he had +been there? He said two months. I said to him: "And not gone up to +the mines yet?" He said to me he was in no particular hurry. He +said he had a row-boat and made $20 a day rowing passengers to and +from the vessels (there was then no dock). He had his boy with him, +who gathered mussels and sold them. Between the two they averaged +$30 per day, which explained why he was in no hurry to go to the +gold diggings.</p> +<p>Lumber was bringing fabulous prices. It looked very favorable +for my house ventures. Mr. G., the Englishman, had been very +anxious to buy them. He had seen the specifications of the +carpenter on the steamer coming up. On Saturday P.M. I called at +his office. He asked me if I had made up my mind to sell him the +houses. I said to him: "If I should put a price on them you would +not take me up." He said "try me." I named a price. He said he +would take them and go to my lawyer to draw up the contract. I said +I would just as soon go to his (which was a fatal mistake). I knew +his was a State senator from Florida, and had come up on the +steamer with us. We found the lawyer in his office, and he +commenced drawing up the contract. I made my statement that I sold +the houses from my carpenter's specifications (not from any +representations I made myself), and from the bills of lading and +from my insurance policy, which ranked the ship <i>Prince de +Joinville</i>, formerly a Havre packet, classed A, No. 1. He was to +deposit bills of lading of the ship <i>St. George</i> from +Liverpool, consigned to him, in value to the amount of $50,000, +with a third party, as collateral security, that on the arrival of +the <i>Prince de Joinville,</i> and the delivery of the houses, he +was to pay me the sum agreed upon.</p> +<p>The lawyer, after writing a little, complained of a headache, +and asked if it made any difference if he put it off until Monday +morning. I said, Mr. G. had been very anxious to buy the houses, +and I had not cared about selling them to arrive, preferring to +take my chances when the vessel got here, but since I had consented +to sell them, I preferred to have it on the solid. I said, I +supposed the transaction was not of great importance to Mr. G., but +I had all that I was worth in the world at stake on the venture, +and would prefer to have it closed now. He commenced writing, and +again complained of the headache. I then consented to put it off +until Monday morning at 10 o'clock. We both pledged our honor to +meet there at that time and consummate it. I was there on Monday +morning at the time designated. Mr. G. came in at 11 o'clock and +said he had changed his mind and would not take the houses. I said +all right, but his word of pledge of honor would have no value with +me hereafter.</p> +<p>I would have made $18,000 profit, but I was selling them for a +good deal less than they would have brought if they had been there. +Lumber was selling as high as from three to four hundred dollars +per thousand feet in San Francisco at that time. But I was making +certain of a good profit and running no risk of what might happen +in the future.</p> +<p>I had another offer of a number of lots on Stockton street, the +next street above the plaza in the heart of the city, for six of +the smaller ones, which, if I had consummated, would have made my +fortune. "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, if taken at +the flood tide, leads on to fortune, or, if not seized, are forever +lost." (Shakespeare.)</p> +<p>The ideas of the people there at that time was, that a railroad +across the continent, connecting California with the East, was +entirely impracticable. That there were one thousand miles of +desert to cross, where there was no water, and the Sierra Nevada +mountains presented an impassable barrier, and they thought how +could it ever be an agricultural country, when there was no rain +for more than seven months in the year. The idea of irrigation was +not thought of then. How different every thing has turned out +since, I have nothing to do with. I must be true to my subject, the +days of the Forty-niners.</p> +<p>As it would be, at least, three months before the ship could +come in with my houses, and my health had improved, I was anxious +to get up to the mines. I was informed that there was a party from +Albany at the Dutch bar, on the south fork of the American river, +about eight miles from Coloma, where gold was first discovered, +with whom I was acquainted. I found a sloop about to sail for +Sacramento (there were no steamers then) the starting point to the +northern mine. I took passage on board with all the passengers the +boat could accommodate. I noticed on the passage up that the +mosquitoes were very large, with penetrating bills. It was as much +as we could do to protect our faces.</p> +<p>The only important event on the passage was that a Jew had +potatoes that he was taking up on speculation, and that he was +going to treat his fellow passengers to some, one day at dinner. We +were a little disappointed when we found they were sweet ones, but +still they were a treat. Vegetables were scarce, potatoes selling +from forty to sixty cents per pound. After a few days we arrived at +Sacramento, it being about one hundred miles from San Francisco by +water. There were no hacks at the landing, nobody that wanted a job +to carry your baggage. Governor Shannon, of Ohio, was among the +passengers. He had been minister to Mexico, yet he had to carry his +own baggage, and make several trips to do it. One of the passengers +assisted him. He was president of a mining company organized in +Ohio.</p> +<p>It was evening. We stopped at a hotel, and I slept in my +Mackinaw blanket that I carried with me, on the dining-room floor. +The next morning after breakfast, about 9 o'clock, I went out on +the front portico to take observations of the place. The landlord +was there. There was a loaferish-looking fellow going by on the +opposite side of the street. The landlord cries out to him: "Bill, +what will you charge to chop wood for me from now until night?" He +cries back, "What will you give?" He replies, "$10." Bill answers +back, "Can't chop for less than an ounce," which was $16, and +walked right on. It was evident that common labor was not suffering +there for want of employment. I was there some days, and could find +no one to post me how to get to Coloma. All was excitement and +bustle. While there, Sam. Brannan—who had built a new hotel +there (just finished), called the City Hotel—gave a free +entertainment for one day to the public. He must have expended +$1,000 for refreshments. He had been a Mormon preacher, and was a +captain in Colonel Stevenson's regiment. He was very enterprising +and generous, a prominent figure with the "Forty-niners."</p> +<p>I saw an article in the paper a few years ago from a California +correspondent, giving a biography of him; that he was, at one time, +worth several millions, and went into some big +enterprise—which I cannot now recall—and was +unfortunate and lost all his wealth, and that he was, at that time, +in San Francisco at a twenty-five-cent lodging-house, and that he +told him that he passed two men that day who had crossed the street +to avoid him, to whom he had furnished the money from which they +had made their fortunes. Well, I finally found an Oregon man with a +yoke of oxen, who was freighting goods up to Coloma. He said he had +seven hundred and fifty acres of land in Oregon, but no cattle on +it. He thought he would come to California and get gold enough to +buy them, and his wife was keeping a cake and pie stand on the +streets of that city. I never saw him after that trip, but coming +with so modest expectations, I have no doubt he was successful.</p> +<p>We started on our journey in the afternoon. The country through +which we traveled looked as if it had been an old-settled land, and +deserted by its inhabitants. It seemed that we must come to a +farm-house, but there was none. There were scattering trees in the +country and occasionally a woods, but no dense forest. We made +eight miles, then camped for the night on the edge of a woods. I +had brought no provisions with me, so I offered him $1 per meal to +eat with him, which was accepted. He made tea, cooked some Indian +meal, and had a jug of molasses; so we made a very good supper. I +got my satchel out of the wagon for a pillow, and with my blankets +made my bed on the ground under the wagon. I thought it would keep +the dew off, but there was none.</p> +<p>There is no danger of taking cold sleeping on the ground in the +dry season, when it does not rain for seven months. He had set fire +to a dead tree to keep the grizzly bears off, and about the time I +got comfortably laid down, there was a pack of coyote wolves came +howling around. Amid those surroundings, the burning of the fire to +keep the grizzlies off and howling of the wolves, I fell asleep and +did not wake until morning, refreshed from my slumbers. After a +breakfast similar to the meal the night before, we proceeded on our +journey, but the ox team travelled so slow that in walking I got +away ahead of it, and then got tired of waiting for it to come up +to me, and so went on alone. Toward night I came to Mormon Island, +the first gold diggings. I inquired if there was a place where I +could get quarters for the night. They said I might, at the +hospital. It was a log cabin with bunks in it, and what was my +astonishment to find the proprietor, a doctor from Troy, N.Y., an +old acquaintance. I was more than welcome. We were both delighted +to see each other. I to find such comfortable quarters, and he to +meet with a friend in the wilderness, and to hear the latest news +from the East. He got for me the best supper that the surroundings +would afford; as I had eaten nothing since morning, it was very +acceptable, and he provided for me the most comfortable of his +bunks for sleeping. He informed me that it was twenty-five miles +from Coloma, and there was but one place on the way where I could +get water to drink. I started after breakfast, refreshed. After +travelling some miles, I came to the smoke of the camp-fire of +Indians, just ahead of me. It was rumored that the Oregon men were +in the habit of shooting an Indian on sight when they had a chance. +The Indians killed white men in retaliation, as they could not make +peace until they had killed as many whites as they had lost, +according to their ideas of equity. As I did not care particularly +about being one to make up the number, I struck off in a ravine and +passed around so as to avoid their camping ground and came to the +road beyond them. What truth there was about the shooting of them I +could not say, but it was currently reported at the time. About 4 +o'clock, P.M., I got to a stopping place six miles from Coloma. +There I met a man with a long beard, slouched hat, a sash around +his body, a flannel shirt, evidently a miner. I had a long talk +with him. He posted me about the gold diggings and I him about the +news from the States. As we were about to part, he asked me to take +a drink. He inquired of the proprietor if he had champagne? He +said, yes, at $10 a bottle. The man said, pass us down a bottle, +which we drank together. He, evidently, had struck good diggings. +We parted, as I was anxious to get to Coloma before dark, which I +did, just as the sun was setting, having made twenty-five miles in +one day on foot. I found a regular tavern here, kept by a man from +Mississippi, with his family. I sat down to a regular table for my +supper, which seemed quite a treat. He informed me that he had no +bed-room for me; that I could sleep on the dining-room floor, or in +his barn. He had just had some new hay put in. I chose the latter. +It was a kind of a shanty building, but the soft bed of new hay was +a luxury after my twenty-five miles walk.</p> +<p>I awoke the next morning refreshed. After my breakfast I took in +the place and went to the raceway where the first piece of gold was +discovered. There were three or four stores in the place to supply +the miners of the surrounding region. I got my direction how to +find the Dutch Bar, eight miles from there. Proceeding on my way, +after going about five miles, I came to a person, his face covered +with a long beard, whom I recognized, by the expression of his +eyes, as a person who I knew in Albany, and who belonged to the +party I was seeking. He informed me that I was within three miles +of them, and he gave me plain directions how to find them. I soon +came to their camp and there was a genial meeting and exchange of +news. There were five in the company. They had a tent and owned a +pair of mules. I joined them, as I had not come to depend on +mining, as I never had been accustomed to physical labor. At first +I thought it was awful hard work, and that it was lucky for me that +I had not come to California depending on it, but after a short +time I got used to it and liked it. They took turns in cooking, so +each one had one day in the week that he did the cooking. We lived +on fried pork and flapjacks made from wheat flour fried in the fat +of the pork, tin cups for our tea and coffee, and tin dishes. We +each had stone seats, and a big one in the center for our table. At +night we slept under our tent. The gold rivers were not navigable. +They were sunk way down deep in the earth. When the rainy season +sets in during the winter months, and sometimes rains every day in +the month, causing the snow to melt on the Sierra Nevada mountains, +where these streams take their rise, will cause the water to rise +often from ten to twenty feet in a night, and in the course of ages +has worn their depth down into the earth, and is supposed to have +washed out of the earth the scales of gold that are found on the +banks of the rivers. The first mining was a very simple process. A +party of three could work together to the best advantage. A virgin +bar was where the river had once run over and now receded from it. +Three persons worked together, one to clear off the sand on the +ground to within six inches of the hardpan. The top earth was not +considered worth washing, the scales of gold, being heavier, had +settled through it, but could not penetrate that portion of the +earth called the hardpan, so the earth within six inches of it was +impregnated with more or less gold, and one to carry the bucket to +the rocker, and the other to run the rocker, which was located +close to the water. The rocker was a trough about three feet in +length with three slats in it and a sieve at the upper end, on +which the bucket of earth was thrown. The man worked the rocker +with one hand and dipped the water out of the river with a +tin-handled dipper. As he worked the rocker the fine earth and +scales of gold passed through the holes of the sieve and settled +behind the slats in the trough, and the stones and large lumps in +which there was no gold were caught in the sieve and thrown away. +After a certain number of buckets of earth had been run through in +that way, the settlings behind the slats in the trough were put in +a milk-pan and the water was allowed to run in the pan and the fine +earth and sand would float on the top of the water. You would let +that run off.</p> +<p>After a few operations of that kind you would see the yellow +scales of gold on the edge of the sand. You would continue that +process until there was but a little of the sand left; then you +would take it with you when you went to the tank and warm it by a +fire to dry the sand; then with your breath you would blow away the +sand and have the gold, which you carried in a buckskin bag, which +was the currency of the country, at $16 per ounce, and at the mint +in Philadelphia was worth $18.25. I have carried three hundred +buckets in a day, and at twenty-five cents worth of gold in a +bucket, it would amount to $75, $25 to each man for his day's work, +which was frequently the average. In those days all it cost for a +party of three for capital to start mining was about $15. Then you +had the chances of striking a pocket. That was a cavity in the +rocks where gold had settled. In the course of ages, and where the +strong currents of the streams, when the rivers were high, could +not reach it to wash it out, I have known a person to take out $800 +of gold in less than an hour. The first miners, when they found +gold on the banks of the river, thought if they could only dig in +the deep holes of the bed they would find chunks of it, and they +went to a big expense, and those who had money hired laborers to +assist in constructing raceways at $16 per day, to change the +current of the river; but when they had effected their object and +dug there they found no gold, for there was nothing to prevent the +strong current from carrying it off; but I knew a party to draw off +the water and expose the bed of the river, where there were rapids, +and they were successful, and the gold had settled down between the +crevices of the rocks, and the currents could not disturb it.</p> +<p>There were some other kinds of diggings discovered different +from the river mining, called cañons, one I know of, called +the Oregon. It was described like a tunnel, deep down in the earth, +where a party of three persons from near our locality went and +returned in about three weeks and had from three to five thousand +dollars apiece, which they showed me. It was not scale gold, but +nuggets of all sizes. Of course, they had unusual luck.</p> +<p>On the river mining each person was entitled to so many feet, as +long as they left any implements of labor on it. No person would +trespass upon it; but if he took every thing away, then it was +inferred he had given it up, and anybody had a right to take it. +All regulations were strictly respected and every thing was safe, +and a person told me that he would not be afraid to leave his bag +of gold in his tent. Every thing was honorable and safe until the +overland emigrants from western Missouri arrived there.</p> +<p>They were a different kind of people; more of the brute order. +When they saw a party of two or three that had a good claim, and +they were the strongest, they would dispossess them. (I suppose the +same class that raided Kansas in John Brown's time.) They became so +obnoxious that a respectable man would deny his State.</p> +<p>And another corrupt element arrived by sea, the ex-convicts from +Sidney.</p> +<p>I went to Coloma one day to get supplies for the party. I rode +one of the mules, the other followed to be packed with the +purchases. When I bought what was wanted, I handed the storekeeper +my bag of gold to pay him. When he returned it to me, I found his +statement made was between three and four dollars less than I knew +was in it. I informed him of the discrepancy. He said he did not +see how that could be; that he weighed it right. He came in in a +few minutes and apologized, saying that he had weighed it in the +scales that he used when he traded with the Indians. It needs no +comment to know that the Christian man is not always superior to +the Indian in integrity. There was an Indian who had struck a +pocket. He came to Coloma with $800 in gold dust that he got out in +a short time. He invested it all with the storekeepers in a few +hours. He had dressed himself in the height of fashion, including a +gold watch. He was dressed as no California Indian ever had been +before. The gold he could not eat nor drink.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus074a.png" height="450" width="264" +alt=" DRESSED AS NO CALIFORNIA INDIAN EVER WAS BEFORE."></center> +<p>How the gold came there is one of the mysteries of nature. One +theory is, that the Sierra Nevada mountains were once the banks of +the Pacific ocean, and all California had been thrown up from the +bottom of the sea from that depth where gold was a part of the +formation of the earth, in connection with quartz, and as all gold +appears in a molten state, which would go to corroborate this +theory. A person informed me that he went through a ravine where +one side of the road was half of a large rock, and on the other +side, the other half. He could see where the two halves would match +each other exactly. Well, I lived that life for two months. We had +an addition to what I have described to eat—pork and beans on +Sunday, and Chili pudding. It had been baked and sweetened, and +then ground up like flour and put in bags. All you had to do was to +moisten it with water to eat it. All our flour came from that +country, put up in sacks of fifty and one hundred pounds each, but +we had no vegetables. One day we heard that they had dried-apple +sauce at the hotel at Coloma for dinner. The next day, Sunday, +three of us walked eight miles to get there to dinner to get a +taste of it. We paid $2 apiece for our dinner, and they had the +sauce; it tasted so good that we did not begrudge the price of the +dinner and the walk back again. We were fully satisfied.</p> +<p>The rainy season set in. It rained three days, and although it +was three or four weeks before it would be possible for my houses +to arrive, yet it was a new country and no bridges. The streams +might get up so as to be impassable, and the houses were consigned +to me, and no one but myself to receive them. I thought I had +better get back to San Francisco at once. What I was making in the +mines was mere nothing to what I had at stake in the houses. +Although, to tell the truth, I never left a place with more regret, +as hard as the fare was. We were interested every day in the work +for gold, and did not know when we might make a rich strike. My +last day there it rained. Notwithstanding, a companion and myself +went out to dig for a couple of hours. When we returned, we had $25 +worth. That was the last of my mining. I started the next morning +for Sacramento afoot. I sold my pistol and blankets for an ounce +each, $16 apiece. On my route I met a man bound for the same place. +We joined teams and became very intimate.</p> +<p>The only incident of importance was when we got within five +miles of Sacramento. We stopped at a log cabin and ordered dinner. +A short time after my companion came to me in some excitement and +said he had looked through the window and that they were cooking +potatoes for dinner. I could not believe the good news, and so went +and looked for myself and found it was true. I had not tasted one +in two months. We took the steamer <i>Senator</i> that evening for +San Francisco. It had been a Long Island steamboat and had arrived +since my departure for the mines. It was the first steamer that had +ever sailed the interior waters of California, and had been put on +to run from San Francisco to Sacramento. I think it belonged to +Grenell, Minton & Co., a prominent shipping firm of New York +city. Charley Minton had charge of it. Of course its profits were +great. But I could not sleep in my state-room berth; I had been so +long used to a hard bed I was restless, but we arrived safe the +next morning at San Francisco. The bulk of my book will be events +that occurred during my residence in that city. I scarcely know how +to begin to describe it. My efforts will be to portray them +truthfully. To do so I must continue in the form of a personal +narrative. That is the only way I can recall the events to my mind +of so long ago.</p> +<p>At this time more changes took place there in a month than in +most any other place in a year. Every thing was done by the month. +Buildings were rented by the month; money was loaned by the month; +ten per cent per month was the regular interest. There was but one +bank, called the Miners', on the corner of the plaza, owned by +three parties. During my absence a great boom had taken +place—influenced by new arrivals and most favorable news from +the gold mining sections. This was the fall of 1849. The lots that +I had thought of trading six of my houses for had tripled in value, +but lumber was still bringing fabulous prices and every thing +looked favorable for a big strike on my houses when they arrived. +Montgomery street was on the banks of the bay. There was one pier +at this time constructed from it in the bay, and a temporary pier +by Colonel Stevenson at the north beach. The city was growing up +toward Happy Valley. Portsmouth Square, the plaza, still had some +of the adobe buildings on it. The best hotel was the Parker House, +on the west corner of it. The plaza was sand, no vegetation on +it.</p> +<p>Rincon Point, on Telegraph Hill, was the spot where ships and +steamers were signalled. Steamers coming in but once a month, they +brought the last news from the East. The New York papers were +peddled at $1 each. Long lines of people were formed to get the +mail, and you had to take sometimes half a day before you could +reach the office. Oakland, opposite the bay, had no existence. Goat +Island had plenty of wild goats on it, and we could never imagine +how the first goat ever got there. There was no scarcity of +meat—plenty of beef and grizzly bears were hung out at the +doors of the restaurants as a sign, and plenty of venison. I can +recall now to my mind, venison steaks that we would get in the +evening with their rich jellies on it. The luxuries of Asia were +coming in there. Many China restaurants with their signs from +Canton or Pekin. But there was a great scarcity of vegetables. +Onions and potatoes sold for forty cents per pound.</p> +<p>A day or two after my arrival, my friend who came down with me +from the mines came to me and said that there were a lot of +blankets to be sold at auction; that he had no money, or he would +buy them; that if I would buy them he would take them up in the +mines and peddle them out for me for half of the profit. As I knew +they were in great demand there—I had sold, when I left +there, mine for $16—I told him if he could buy them for $4 +per pair to bid them off and I would furnish the money to pay for +them. He came back in a short time and said he had bought them, and +that they came to $800. We had them taken to the steamer +<i>Senator</i> to ship to Sacramento. We paid $10 a load to have +them carted from the store where they were bought to the steamer. +(The result of this speculation later on.)</p> +<p>There were at this time several hundred vessels anchored in the +bay, deserted by their officers and crews. A ship could be bought +for probably one-third of what it was worth in New York, and I +conceived the project of buying a ship as soon as I sold my houses, +which I expected soon to arrive, being on so fast a ship as the +<i>Prince de Joinville</i>, and going myself to the Sandwich +Islands and buying a load of onions and potatoes, as I was informed +that they could be bought as cheap there as in the States, and +ciphered out that one successful venture of that kind would make my +fortune. So I went among the idle ships to see what I could do in +that line, and to have one selected, ready to close the bargain as +soon as the houses arrived. I came across a brig that had been +running to Sacramento, but was condemned as a foreign bottom, when +Collier, the collector, arrived there, a short time before, and +extended the marine laws of the United States over California. The +captain and crew were aboard. The captain was an Englishman; the +crew, cosmopolitan—a Hindostan, a Mexican named Edwin Jesus, +an English sailor and an American. I inquired of the captain about +the history of the vessel. He said she had been built at Quavqiel, +down the coast, and had belonged to a Mexican general, and was +built partially of an American whaler that had been wrecked on the +coast, so I got American timbers in her. They wanted to sell the +vessel. I told him I might buy her. I would let them know in a day +or two. So I went to Colonel Stevenson and gave him a history of +it, and asked him if he would see Collier, the collector of the +port, and see if I could not get her papers as an American vessel, +which he did, and informed me the next day that it was all right. I +went at once and bought the brig. As soon as I got its American +papers it was worth twice what I had to pay for it. I kept the same +captain, as he knew the navigation of the rivers, which few did at +that time. I gave him $250 per month and put a supercargo at $150 +per month, and kept the same crew. I had it put up for Stockton, +the head depot for the Southern lines. The first month it made two +trips. Its receipts were $3,100; its expenses, $1,100; so it earned +me $2,000 clear.</p> +<p>There was a friend of mine named R., who owned a third interest +in a factory that belonged to a relative of mine who got the gold +fever when I did, and got me to negotiate the sale of his interest +in it to him, which I did for $8,000, so he could go to California +with me. When he arrived there he proposed to build a brewery. His +father had been a brewer in Scotland. He bought a lot, a part of +the city called Happy Valley, and started to build the first +brewery on the Pacific coast. He commenced to build one that would +cost $30,000 with that capital, which was his mistake. If he had +commenced in a small way he would have made his fortune. (In my +personal narrative he had much to do with my affairs.)</p> +<p>At this point in writing my manuscript, I have just heard of the +death of Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, aged ninety-four, in +California, to whom I had a letter of introduction from Governor +William L. Marcy. I found him the warmest, the truest and most +generous friend. He was a little unpopular when I first met him, +for what I conceived the most noble action of his life. There were +in his regiment roughs from the city of New York, where it was +organized, who, when the war was over with Mexico, would go into +saloons and places and help them selves to what they wanted and +refused to pay. They were termed "The Hounds." There was a +vigilance committee organized against them, which public sentiment, +at that time, fully indorsed. They had seized a number of them and +were about to hang them. Colonel Stevenson faced the excited crowd +and asked to have them give the men a trial and punish the guilty. +He said that when he returned to New York and their mothers asked +him what had become of their sons, how could he face them if they +were put to death in that way; but if he could say to them that +they had a fair trial, were found guilty of crime, and had been +punished according to law, it would be different. I think they were +not executed, but banished; but it set up a cry against the colonel +that he had taken the part of "The Hounds," so unjust is often, for +a time, public sentiment. That was the first vigilance committee; +the great one came afterward, but I am confined to the days of the +"Forty-niners."</p> +<p>It was rumored, at the time, that there was a jealousy between +him and Colonel Freemont. It was not on the part of Stevenson. I +boarded at the same hotel with Freemont.</p> +<p>See illustration for bill which I received while at the hotel +with Colonel Freemont:</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus086a.png" height="450" width="299" +alt=" HOTEL BILL."></center> +<p>The colonel asked me one day to speak to Freemont at dinner, and +request him, if convenient, to stop in his office as he came from +dinner, which I did. Stevenson's office was on the plaza, but +Freemont never called.</p> +<p>There was great difficulty about the title to lots at that time. +There were contentions set up, and claims of property from +different Mexican grants, as it became valuable. It was guaranteed +by the United States, at the treaty of Hidalgo, when California was +ceded to us, that all titles that were good under the Mexican +government should be recognized by us. L., the chaplain of +Stevenson's regiment, seems to have been the butt of the boys +before the gold was discovered.</p> +<p>They, as a farce, elected him alcalde of San Francisco, which +position is a combination of mayor and judge, as we would +understand it, and his election was declared illegal. Then they +elected him for spite. He served one year. There was a Mexican law +that in any village in that country a person had a right to settle +on one hundred veras of land so many feet, about three hundred, and +if he put up any kind of a building on it, and held undisputed +possession for one year, he could go to the alcalde, and by paying +$16, get a good and valid title. When the lots became so valuable +in San Francisco, after the gold was discovered, many lots based on +those kinds of grants became very valuable two or three years after +the discovery of gold. L. became quite wealthy, it was said, by +advances in real estate. There were rumors of bogus titles in the +names of dead soldiers and others who had left the country, but +could be traced to no authentic source. He was estimated to be +worth several hundred thousand dollars, made in the rise of real +estate. I met him but once and I sold him some lumber.</p> +<p>My shipping merchant who negotiated freight for my brig got a +legal title of that kind.</p> +<br> +<a name="HIS_STORY"></a> +<h2>HIS STORY.</h2> +<p>He said he was a book-keeper for a firm in Newport, Rhode +Island, at a small salary. He made up his mind that if they would +not raise his pay $100 per year on the 1st of January he would +leave them. They refused, so he lost his situation, and it was dull +times, and he could not get another one, so he shipped on a whaling +vessel as a sailor. His health was poor, and he found he could not +stand the hardships of that life. The vessel put in the harbor of +San Francisco for water and fresh meat on their way to the Arctic +ocean, so he deserted the ship and secreted himself until it left. +Then he had to do something there for a living, so he squatted on +one hundred veras of land on the beach, and put up a shanty and +sold fruit and probably some liquor, etc., to make a living. No one +disturbed him for one year. He applied to the alcalde and paid his +$16 and got a good, valid title. After the gold was discovered it +became the most valuable property in the city. When I was doing +business with him he had a three-story brick store, which he owned. +The whaling ship had been gone to the Arctic ocean two or three +years and had heard nothing of the discovery of the gold, and +wonderful changes in San Francisco, and the captain thought he +would put in that port on his return and hunt up his runaway +sailor, and behold, his absconding sailor was rich enough when he +found him to buy his ship and his whole cargo of whale oil. I was +introduced by him to his captain and shook hands with him, and we +had a good talk over it. Wherein does our stories of fiction, of +our boyhood, of Arabian Nights, surpass the actual events of life, +of the wonderful fluctuations of fortunes in California in the days +of the Forty-niners?</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus090a.png" height="450" width="350" +alt=" THE CAPTAIN AND THE RUNAWAY SAILOR."></center> +<p>On the death of President Taylor, a meeting was called for the +purpose of having funeral obsequies there in his honor. A man was +named for president of the day. Then it was proposed to name a +vice-president for each State and Territory, which was done. There +were persons in the crowd from every one of them. A day was set +apart for the ceremonies, and all business was to be suspended. +There was a long procession on that day, and the masons and all +societies and the people in general turned out in full force, +including the Chinese, who were smart enough to think it would make +a favorable impression in their favor. After the parade was +dismissed in the plaza, the Chinese were requested to remain, and a +missionary addressed them, and a Chinaman interpreted to them in +their own language. I noticed that their language was much more +condensed than ours. It took about a third of the time for him to +translate what the missionary said. When the missionary closed, he +said he hoped that we would all meet together in another and a +better world. It seemed to them so absurd that they looked at each +other and smiled as if it was a good joke. In those early days +there were no particular prejudices against them. Pagans, as we +call them, practised the Christian virtues toward their own +countrymen. When the ship arrived from China they were down to +greet the newcomers, whom they had never seen before, and invite +them to their homes. The present laws of restriction against them, +I think, are all right. We cannot afford to run the risk of having +the institutions of our country injured by an emigration that is +uncongenial to it. We have gone too far in that line already, not +from selfishness, but to perpetuate the institutions founded by our +revolutionary ancestors, in their purity, for the interests of +mankind.</p> +<p>I received a letter from my blanket friend. He informed me that +he could not sell the blankets, and had traded them off for flour, +and would start the next day for the Yuba, which was the most +remote gold river. That was all a lie. He did that so that I would +not follow him up. He had not a dollar invested in them. They were +my property. I knew at once I had been dealing with a rascal, but I +was powerless to do any thing about it, so I wrote him back that it +was all right; that I had bought a brig; and that I had it running +to Stockton, and he could take ventures up on that and make up what +we had lost on the blankets, and much more. (More of him later +on.)</p> +<br> +<a name="GAMBLING"></a> +<h2>THE GAMBLING OF THAT DAY.</h2> +<p>It was public most everywhere. Faro tables, the great American +gambling game, Monte, the Mexican and Roulette. The Eldorado, on +the corner of the plaza, was the most celebrated gambling house of +that time. There had been a great deal of money expended in fitting +it up. It had an orchestra of fifteen persons. It was run all night +and day, with two sets of hands. It was gorgeously fitted up. What +they used to stir up the sugar in the drinks cost $300. It was +solid gold. Numerous gambling tables, piled up with gold and +silver, to tempt the better, behind which were hired dealers. The +owners of the Eldorado were not known. Many a miner has come with +his few thousand dollars to San Francisco to sail for home, and +taking in the sights, visited the Eldorado, got interested in the +different games, and lost it all and went back to the gold regions +broken and penniless to try his luck over again. I heard of one +that lost his all three times in that way. I saw a man once put +down a bag of gold, which contained $5,000, bet $1,000 on one turn +of the card at Monte. He lost. While I was looking at him in the +course of half an hour, he lost it all. I thought what independence +that amount would have given some family in the East.</p> +<p>In those early days there was often but a muslin partition +between you and the next room, and you could hear every word in the +next apartment. About 1 o'clock in the morning I was awaken by two +men entering and taking the next room to mine, whom I saw running a +Roulette table on the plaza. They seemed to be considerably +excited. They said they would be willing to lose some money to get +rid of that tapper. Of course, I could not understand, at first, +what they meant by that expression, but come to find out from their +conversation, they had their Roulette table arranged so that they +could make the ball stop on the red or black, as it happened to be +for their interest to have it do. So, if there were $20 bet upon +the red, the tapper would bet $10 on the black, and they could not +make the red lose without making the black win. So the tapper was +getting half of their gains. I would advise all my friends to let +Roulette alone, unless they are sure they can place themselves in +the position of the tapper.</p> +<p>One morning on the plaza I took a look into a gambling saloon. I +saw a Greaser that had been betting against Monte all night, and +had had wonderful luck. He announced that he would tap the bank for +$1,800, which was more money than he ever had before, or could ever +expect to have again, which meant that he would bet that amount for +whatever sum the dealer could show to meet it on the turn of one +card. He lost, and the dealer showed $1,800 in the bank and took +all his money. Monte is the great National gambling game of Mexico, +and his idea of Paradise is to be able to break a Monte bank.</p> +<p>Mr. B. from Kentucky, whom I took for so rich a nabob, referred +to among the passengers when out of New York. I saw him take out +his gold watch, a valuable one, and bet it behind the queen, on the +game of Faro, for $100. He was evidently about broke. It won. Then +he went the $200, and it won again. Then he went it the third time, +and it won. In about twenty minutes he had his watch back and $700, +then he left. Some one asked me a few months after that if I knew +that he was worth $80,000? He had been very lucky, and that he was +to run for sheriff of San Francisco county on the Democratic +ticket, and that the Whigs had nominated Jack Hayes, the celebrated +Texan ranger. Hayes had been in the Mexican war. It was told of him +that when the American and Mexican armies were encamped opposite +each other, that a Mexican officer, splendidly equipped, came +forward on horseback, and challenged any American to meet him in +single combat between the two forces. Jack Hayes volunteered to go, +and he killed him. He took his horse, gold watch and personal +effects. He afterward learned who he was, and that he left a widow. +He sent all his personal effects to her as a present. Of course, we +were interested warmly on his side, and he was elected. They say +Colonel B. spent all his $80,000 on his side and was defeated. No +reputable citizen of San Francisco or business man would allow +himself to be seen betting at any of the public gambling tables. He +would feel that he was losing character. I am trying to portray the +scenes of those days exactly as they occurred, and if I left the +gambling scenes out it would not be a true history.</p> +<p>At first public offices went a begging; nobody wanted them. Fine +clothes were at a discount. He was looked upon as a tender-foot who +knew nothing about the gold regions. But a flannel-shirted, +roughly-dressed miner was the lion. He could tell something about +the gold regions. The governor appointed a loafer fellow, in the +early days, Port Warden. Nobody wanted it, and he was indorsed by +one firm. As the city grew very rapidly the office soon became +valuable. Somebody told the governor what kind of a man he had +appointed Port Warden, and the governor wrote him a letter +requesting him to resign, stating to him what representations had +been made to him about his character, which, if he had known, he +would not have appointed him. He wrote back to the governor +refusing to resign, saying to him, he had better read the papers +and look after his own character. The governor was up for +re-election and the opposition papers were pitching into him.</p> +<br> +<a name="GRIZZLY"></a> +<h2>THE GRIZZLY BEARS.</h2> +<p>One warm afternoon my friend Me and myself thought we would take +a walk over to Pesedeo; that was about three miles to the Pacific +ocean. The seal rocks is where the sea lions or seals can always be +seen. It was the entrance to the Golden Gates, where the roar of +the Pacific ocean is twice that of the Atlantic, it being six +thousand miles broad, twice that of the Atlantic. On our way we +stopped into a tent to get a drink of water. We found it occupied +by three miners, one of whom was quite lame. I inquired of him what +was the matter. He said his hip had been dislocated by the +grizzlies. I asked him how it happened. He said they went up to the +Trinity river to dig for gold. I knew that was the most remote gold +river. He said they were lucky and found rich diggings, but after +awhile their provisions gave out and they could not procure any +unless they returned to the settlements. On their way, returning on +horseback, they came to three grizzly bears grazing in a field. It +was very dangerous to attack them, but they were very hungry. They +thought if they could kill one of them it would supply them with +meat, so they finally decided they would take their chances and +fire on them, which they did, and wounded one. The other two took +after the man whose hip was dislocated. He fled and came to a +buckeye tree, the body of which slants, and he got up in it, the +bears came on under it. After awhile they found they could not +reach him. It being a low tree one of them commenced climbing it +after him. He thought his last hour had come; all the events of his +life seemed to rush on his mind, and a picture of the old-fashioned +spelling book, where the man plays dead on the bear, came before +him, which I distinctly recollected. He thought his only chance was +to drop from the tree and hold his breath, and play dead on the +bear, which he did, and fell on his face. One bear grabbed him by +the shoulders and the other by the ankle, and in pulling, +dislocated his hip. He had a thick overcoat on which they tore to +pieces. He held his breath. After awhile they went off and left +him. After a little while he raised his head to see if they were +gone, and they came trotting back and smelt him all over again, and +went away again, he holding his breath. Then he laid a long time, +fearing to move, and his companions came up</p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Each fainter trace that memory +holds</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">So darkly of departed +years,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In one broad glance, the soul +beholds,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And all that was at once +appears"</span><br> +<p>In the cases of imminent danger such is said to be the case. It +is evident that is what saved this man's life. Truth is stranger +than fiction.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus100a.png" height="290" width="450" +alt=" PURSUED BY THE GRIZZLIES."></center> +<p>The State seal of California is Minerva, with a spear and shield +and the grizzly bear at her feet. Before the discovery of gold they +were quite numerous. They roamed in full possession, apparently, of +the country—no one to molest them or make them afraid. It was +a very formidable animal, weighing from seven to eight hundred +pounds. When the rainy season set in, late in the fall, and the +winter months, during which the grass commenced to grow, he fed on +it in the valleys and fields, and became fat and powerful. In the +spring, when the dry season set in and no rain for seven months, +and fields dried up with a dusty brown, he fled to the tops of the +mountains to browse on the leaves of the trees to support life +until the next rainy season commenced. It is said he is not a +ferocious animal if unmolested, and will not attack you if you let +him alone, unless it is a she bear with cubs, or you shoot at them +and wound them. They are very hard to kill. To be hit by a bullet +has very little effect on them, unless hit in a vital spot. An +acquaintance of mine was walking on a road in the interior and saw +a big grizzly coming down the road in the opposite direction toward +him. He knew it would not do to undertake to run. He had been +posted on their natures, so he kept walking right on, as if he was +undisturbed and had no fear, the bear coming nearer to him all the +time, with his gait unchanged, or he his, until they passed each +other, he looking the grizzly in the eye and treating each other +with due respect and consideration as friends. As an illustration +of their strength, an old Californian informed me that he knew of +an instance where a grizzly came into a pack of live mules and took +one off and carried it to his den and ate it. In corroboration of +that fact, another man informed me that he saw a bear chasing a +mule and fired on the bear and hit him, and the bear turned toward +him, and the mule escaped.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus102a.png" height="450" width="262" +alt=" THE MINER AND THE GRIZZLY."></center> +<p>There was a Mr. W., who opened a fashionable hotel on the east +side of the plaza. I was invited to be one of a party of twenty to +give a complimentary dinner to a friend, who was about to return +East. The bill was just $400, which was $20 apiece, the most I ever +paid for a California dinner. The landlord became quite popular and +was thought to be a very responsible person. A great many persons +from the long voyages around Cape Horn arrived, sick with the +scurvy, owing to want of vegetables at sea, most of whose systems +underwent a change to become acclimated to the country; some +seriously and others more mildly. It was thought it would be a good +thing to do to erect a hospital for the benefit of the public and +those arriving sick. There was $30,000 raised at the first meeting +called, and Mr. W., the landlord, was elected treasurer.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus104a.png" height="450" width="253" +alt=" THE MAN WHO ESCAPED FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS."></center> +<p>One night he got betting against the game of Faro, lost, and I +suppose got over excited, and in trying to recover his losses, lost +every thing, including $30,000. Of course it was not known that he +ever gambled or he would not have been trusted with the money. As +soon as it was known it created great excitement and indignation, +that so sacred a fund should have been wasted in that way. He fled, +and the Mayor offered $3,000 reward for his apprehension. It seems +he had escaped on a vessel to the Sandwich Islands, and had no +money, and got in debt there and could not leave there as long as +he owed any thing, according to their laws, and he was in despair, +until one day fortune smiled upon him. Accidentally he came across +a California paper in which was the $3,000 reward offered by the +Mayor of San Francisco for his arrest, and this was his opportunity +and he seized it at once. Then hope dawned upon him. He found a +vessel about to sail for San Francisco. He took the paper and +showed it to the captain and told him if he would advance the money +so he could pay his debts, he would return with him to San +Francisco and he could surrender him and they would divide the +reward. The captain accepted his offer and delivered him up upon +his arrival at San Francisco, and got the reward. Two or three +months had elapsed since his departure, and that was more time than +so many years in any other country, and all excitement about it had +subsided, and I think it was called a breach of trust, and I have +no recollection that he was punished in any other way.</p> +<br> +<a name="BLANKET"></a> +<h2>MY BLANKET MAN.</h2> +<p>When he wrote me that he had traded the blankets for flour, and +had gone to the Yuba river with the flour, I knew that it was a +lie, and that he was a rascal, and I found that blankets had been +in great demand, at a high price, and likewise learned that he had +been connected with a forgery in New York city, but that his +brother was a respectable merchant there, so for the time I gave up +my $800 as lost. What was my surprise after six weeks at my hotel +(which was an expensive one), to see my man at the tea table. I +greeted him most cordially and asked no questions about the +blankets, but talked to him about the brig I owned and had running +to Stockton; that I had been looking for him to come back; there +was such a splendid chance for us to make purchases in San +Francisco, and for him to take them up on my vessel and sell them +out in the Southern gold mines, near that place; that what we had +lost on the blankets we could more than make up on the first +venture, and that there would be big money in that kind of a +speculation. We spent the evening together most cordially. The next +morning I detained him in conversation until about the time for the +Miners' Bank to open, then we went out together. When we got +opposite the bank I took out my watch and said to him, that I did +not think it was so late. I said I had a note of $800 due there +that morning; I asked him if he had the gold dust about him to that +amount. He said yes. I said let me have it and I will take up my +note. He said there was no place to weigh it. I said yes, here +there was a place where I was acquainted. It was weighed and handed +to me. I told him I would see him at dinner, which I did. I then +opened on him, and told him how despicably he had acted when I so +generously trusted to his honor. He made no reply; he virtually +admitted the truth of my statement. I never saw him afterward. That +was the only time I ever played the confidence game in my life, and +my conscience has approved of it ever since.</p> +<p>My friend, Mr. R., had got his brewery well under way in Happy +Valley, as they called that part of the city, had used up his +$8,000 and commenced borrowing money on my indorsement, at ten per +cent a month, the regular interest at that time. He had a friend, +Lieutenant S., who resigned from the regular army, a graduate from +West Point, who had been up in the country, and came back with a +flaming account of a place on the Toulama river, which empties into +the San Joaquin, which was the head of navigation on that river, +and was the place to start a town, and if we would furnish him with +$1,500 to do it with, we would each own a third of it. I did not +take to it, but Mr. R. was so earnest about it, and had such +confidence in his friend, that I finally let him have the money. +There was quite a spirit of speculation of that kind at that time. +Colonel Stevenson had laid out one on Suisan bay, at the mouth of +the San Joaquin river, named New York of the Pacific. Marysville, +on the Sacramento river, was laid out a short time previous, and +proved a great success, making the fortunes of the projectors. Of +course, a few were successful, and many failed. It seemed to have +been a legitimate thing to do to make a fortune in a new country. I +became acquainted with Broderick. It was Koyler & Broderick. +They had an office in the same building with Colonel Stevenson. +Broderick, who was afterward United States Senator from California, +and I became very intimate. He was not intellectually a very +brilliant man, but a solid, able and strictly honest man, and a +thoroughly posted politician of his day. He had run as a Democratic +candidate for Congress from the city of New York, but was not +elected. In California he was first elected to the State Senate +from the city. It was he who conceived the project of laying out +the water lots on the bay, and got the bill through the +Legislature. He advised me to buy one or more. I looked at where he +suggested to me to buy, and found them six feet under water. +Although they could be bought very cheap then, their prospective +value seemed so remote to me I thought they were not worth the +trouble of bothering with. It shows how easy it is to be mistaken +in apprehending the future. I understand they are now the most +valuable part of the city.</p> +<br> +<a name="TENT"></a> +<h2>THE MAN IN HIS TENT.</h2> +<p>The man in his tent, who had squatted on Rincon Point, an +elevated locality, that commanded a grand view of the bay, informed +me that when he squatted there with his tent, that he could find no +person who claimed the land. He had been there but a few days, when +some parties came to him and offered to give him so much a month +for the privilege of putting up their tent near his. He said he had +no objections. They paid him. Then other parties who wanted to put +up their tents were referred to him. From these various persons he +was getting a very liberal income. He informed me that as long as +it lasted, he was in no hurry to go to the mines.</p> +<br> +<a name="CLIPPER"></a> +<h2>THE CLIPPER SHIPS.</h2> +<p>About this time was the first appearance of the celebrated +clipper ships. They anchored off of Happy Valley and attracted +great attention; they could make the trip around Cape Horn from New +York to San Francisco in three or four months; they run wet; their +bows were very sharp, and, in a rough sea, instead of mounting the +waves, they cut them, and the bows ran under water, and their +progress was not impeded by the waves, saving two or three months' +time, which was of great consideration then. There was no railroad +across the Isthmus then, and there was no other way of transporting +freight between the cities of New York and San Francisco except +around Cape Horn. They had great fame then. England conceded their +superiority over all other sailing vessels for speed; but they have +passed away, the railroad reducing the time to from five to eight +days; of course, there is a great difference between that and three +or four months. The days of sailing vessels, however great their +speed, to a great extent, is gone. Besides, there are regular lines +of steamers to most every port of the world, and the ocean is +covered with tramp steamers.</p> +<p>That winter a convention was called to organize a State +government and apply for admission to the Union. The Southern +element there wanted to make it a slave State. The Northerners, +including both Whigs and Democrats, wanted it free. They did not +want to be brought in competition with slave labor in the mines, +and have their occupation degraded in that way. Their pride, as +well as interest, was at stake, and there was great feeling on the +subject. Meetings were called all through the mines and addresses +made and candidates nominated. The average of intelligence there +was away above any other part of the country. For they were men of +enterprise, or they would not have been there in that early day. At +Mormon Island, one of the miners got up and made a speech. He so +impressed them with his ability that they unanimously nominated him +as their candidate to the Constitutional Convention. He was an old +acquaintance of mine. In 1847 or 1848 he was a Democratic member of +the Legislature of the State of New York, from Washington county, +and was chosen by that body to deliver the oration on Washington's +birthday. His name was George Washington Sherwood. He was elected +to the Constitutional Convention of California, and wrote its first +Constitution, copied after that of his native State, New York. The +Northern element prevailed in that convention, and California came +in a free State by its unanimous vote. Broderick headed the +Northern sentiment; Gwin, who had been a United States Marshal in +Mississippi, the Southern. I met him often. He would come into a +bar-room and say: "I did not come here to dig gold, but to +represent you in the United States Senate." He would then say: +"Come up all, and take a drink." I thought that was a strange way +to inspire the people with the idea that he was the proper person +to represent them in the United States Senate. He was elected, with +Colonel Freemont, the first two United States Senators from +California. At the next election for United States Senators, +Broderick got absolute control, and although Gwin had fought him +bitterly, they were the two senators to be elected again. Broderick +had the magnanimity to induce his friends to go for Gwin and had +him elected with him, and Gwin showed his ingratitude by going at +once to Washington and securing from Buchanan the control of all +the appointments of the government in the State of California. So +when Broderick came there, there were none to give his friends. +Gwin was afterward very prominent in the rebellion. He went out in +a boat in Charleston harbor, crying out from it his advice to Major +Anderson, advising him to surrender at the time of the attack on +Fort Sumter. (This is a matter of history that occurred after the +time of which I am writing.)</p> +<br> +<a name="BULL"></a> +<h2>A BULL FIGHT.</h2> +<p>There were bills posted about the city that three of the most +celebrated fighters of Mexico would have an exhibition in the +evening, and combat with animals. As my friend and myself never had +seen one we thought we would go. It was an amphitheatre, with +circular seats about the pit, with thick planks around it, the +seats commencing about twenty feet from the bottom of the pit. +There was a door at the side of the pit, which was raised by +pulleys, which admitted the bull. They were wild ones. Our seat was +about the fifth row back. The house was crowded and brilliantly +illuminated. Then the bull-fighters were in the pit, one on +horseback, two on foot, gorgeously and brilliantly dressed, with +swords, the blades pointed like spears, with red flags in their +hands to attract the bull. The door was raised and the animal came +rushing in; he was a terrible one to look at. Blinded by the lights +and the scene, he rushed and roared around the arena; I trembled in +my seat, although I was in no possible danger. The first feat of +the bull-fighters was to plant a rosette on the shoulders of the +animal with a barb implanted in his flesh, which enraged him more, +with colored ribbons, two or three feet in length, attached to the +rosette, which was flying in the air as he went around, indicating +to the audience the success of the feat. Then the same feat was +performed on the other shoulder. Then when the bull attacked the +man again, a rosette was implanted between his horns, and the man +escaped, which was the most difficult of all. They had red flags in +one hand to enrage and blind him, but this bull, he became so +furious and enraged that they could not master him. He rushed upon +the man on horseback, threw the horse and rider, and, with his +horns, tore the entrails out of the horse and killed it. The man +was wounded, but escaped. The rest of the fighters fled, and one +climbed up the side of the paling and came within two inches of +being impaled alive against the side by the bull's horns. As I +write I can, in imagination, hear the sound of the animal's horns +as they struck the boards in missing the man. The bull was master +of the situation; he had cleared the ring. It was a terrible sight +as he roared around in his fury. Then the most startling event of +all occurred. It seems incredible, but it is the truth of history, +and I must write it.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus116a.png" height="291" width="450" +alt=" THE BULL FIGHT"></center> +<p>A greaser, with no weapon, but simply his <i>seraper</i>, a +shawl that he wore around his shoulders, took that off and +stretching it out in his hands, jumped down into the pit of the +ring alone, to the entire astonishment of the audience, looked Mr. +Bull in the eyes and dodged him with his shawl as the animal +attacked him. He had probably been brought up among wild bulls. The +audience all arose in excitement, expecting to see him torn to +pieces, and crying out for him to escape. The professional +bull-fighters got their red flags and drew the bull off, and the +greaser escaped, and seemed to be surprised at the excitement of +the audience. They succeeded in getting the bull out, and dragging +out the dead horse, and letting in a less ferocious one. The same +performance was gone through with him, as already described, except +that this one was conquered. At last, when the bull pitched at the +man, he holds his sword in such a way that the weight of the animal +comes on it, and passes between his foreshoulders and penetrates +his heart. In an instant the back wilts and the animal lies dead. +It was the most sudden change, from full vitality to death; it +startled you. It's a shock to your nervous system. My friend and +myself said it was the first and last bull-fight we would ever +see.</p> +<p>The price of lumber and vegetables kept up. I paid forty cents a +pound for potatoes in buying provisions for the hands on my brig. I +furnished them enough to last them on the up trip, but not for the +return, so they would hurry back. It was now time for the vessel +with the houses to arrive, and I expected to buy a ship with the +money, and to go to the Sandwich Islands and make, what I +considered, a fortune for me, but alas! no <i>Prince de +Joinville</i> came. It was hope deferred. Finally the rainy season +set in in full blast, and all consumption of lumber stopped. The +high price had stimulated shipments from everywhere. There was a +big reaction in the price. The first prominent failure in the city +took place, I think it was Ward & Co., commission merchants and +private bankers. It was said it was owing to his large orders of +shipments of lumber to that market. He shot himself with a pistol +in the morning in his bedroom and died, knowing that he could not +meet his creditors if he went to his place of business. About this +time it was announced from Telegraph Hill that my vessel, with the +houses, was entering the port two or three months after she was +due, striking a glutted market. I had four or five thousand dollars +to raise to pay the freight on them to get possession of them, or I +would lose the capital invested. So instead of making $18,000 +profit, which I might have made if they had come on time, I was +running the risk of losing the capital invested in them. Colonel +Stevenson had selected six of them some time before, which he +wanted for his New York of the Pacific, which he said he would make +me an offer on as soon as they arrived. I saw it was my only chance +to save myself to close that sale. I was at his office in the +morning as soon as there was any probability of they being there. I +said to him: "The houses have arrived. I am ready to receive your +offer for the six you selected." He said he had no money now. I +said I did not want any (which was a white lie). I said I would +take a draft on Prosper, Whetmore & Co., of New York city, for +$3,000, payable in ninety days, and his note for the balance, on +his own time. He looked over the plan of the houses again. He said +he would not give but so much. I said to him, that was not the +question, what will you give? He said I will give you that amount, +naming the sum. I said at once, they are sold, they are yours. He +gave me the draft on Whetmore & Co., for $3,000, payable in +ninety days. Just at this time, his partner, Dr. Parker, came in. +The colonel informed him he had bought six of my houses. He said, +you have made a mistake. Lumber is in a glutted market. It is +falling rapidly. The colonel said, that makes no difference now, I +have bought them. The colonel was considered rich. No one there +questioned the soundness of his draft. I went with it to all the +brokers in the city, but could get no offer for it. I then went to +Charley Minton, the agent of the steamer <i>Senator</i>. I thought +he could send it to New York to the owners of the steamer for its +face value. He said, the best he could do with me was to give me +$2,250 for it. Money was ten per cent a month, and scarce at that. +Three months time, at the rate of interest there, would be $900. I +said, I would take it. He gave me a check on his broker for that +amount. He paid me in gold, $16 Spanish doubloon pieces. I tied +them up in my handkerchief, and went to McCondery & Co., and +said to him, the vessel, with my houses, I see, are consigned to +you. I will pay you $2,000 now on the freight, and before they are +all taken off of the ship, I will pay you the balance. He said, +take them all off, and pay the balance at your convenience (we were +acquainted and had come up on the same steamer, and played whist +together). It cost me $800 to get them ashore. There were no +wharves then. They had to be taken ashore on lighters. I expected +my brig down from Stockton soon, with $2,000 freight money, so I +was out of the woods financially for the present. I then made +arrangement with the colonel to have them landed on the North Beach +on land owned by him, where I could retail out my other six houses, +which I had to sell, when I got a proper price for them. We formed +a copartnership. I was to take one of my smallest houses, and have +it erected there, to be used for an office, and to use the grounds +as a lumber yard to sell on commission, and as a place for storage, +which was very scarce then. There were quite a number who had taken +the liberty of piling lumber and other articles on it, using it as +public ground. I took formal possession of it in the name of +Colonel Stevenson, and gave notice to the different parties that if +they did not remove their materials from the premises in ten days +they would be charged so much for storage. Some removed, and others +did not. I recollect the German house that did not remove it in +thirty days after the ten days of notice. It was a wealthy house, +and I handed them a bill of $250 for storage, at which they +demurred very seriously, questioning our title; but they paid it. +When I went out to the ship to see about taking my houses off, I +met the first mate, whom I got acquainted with in New York. I told +him I thought the ship had been lost; that all the old tugs of +ships had got in ahead of them. He said to me, I have had the worst +time I ever had in my life. I have had to carry that old man on my +shoulders (referring to the captain) all the way. Whenever we had a +good breeze and sails were all full, he would come on deck and +order shorten sail to check our speed, or we might have been here a +month sooner. That told the whole story. I saw them take freight, +in my presence, when they were offered $1.50 per foot, when they +told me there was no room for the other half of my houses to go on +the ship, when I had a legal contract with them at sixty cents per +foot. My freight alone would have made a difference of two or three +thousand dollars by excluding it and taking the other in at the +difference in the price of it. There is no doubt they served many +other shippers and put their goods on other vessels, and kept +theirs back until the other ships would get to San Francisco ahead +of them, so that they could deliver the freight according to their +bills of lading on the arrival of the <i>Prince de Joinville</i>. +That was why my speculation was ruined by their dishonesty. Instead +of being the fastest ship, it was a fraud, a decoy, a dead trap on +those who were unfortunate enough to ship by it. When I saw the +captain he was very humble. He had all kinds of apologies to make, +and invited me to go to China with him. I could have the best +state-room on his ship. It should not cost me a dollar. I could go +around the world with him. I saw that my speculation was ruined by +their dishonesty, and there was no remedy, and, like all human +events, that ended it, and I had to abandon my Sandwich Island +expedition and throw my anticipated fortune from it to the winds. +Mr. Meighs, the one who failed and ran away to Chili, and built the +railroad in that country from Valparaiso to its capital, and then +organized a company and constructed railroads in Peru, had a lumber +yard side of me. I sold, after a while, my other six houses, one at +a time, retailing them out, and, by careful management, just +succeeded in saving my original capital.</p> +<p>I was satisfied with San Francisco, with my interest in the +lumber yards, and with my partnership with Colonel Stevenson on the +North Beach. My interest in my brig, when it came down, and my +prospective interest in what was to be the city of Toulom, and my +associations with Mr. R., who was building the first brewery on the +Pacific, which I was backing up with my indorsement, and I was to +have one-third interest when it was completed, if I wanted it, at +first cost, looked like a very favorable investment for me at that +time. I was living an active and enterprising life, with bright +hopes of future fortune. One morning when I went down to the North +Beach I found there had been a house erected on our land in the +night. I, of course, informed the colonel at once. He informed me +it was a man by the name of Colton, who pretended to have a title +under what he called the "Colton Grant," and that it was bogus, and +that he had the building erected to try and force his title. The +colonel said he would see the judge of the court in the city, and +get an order for its removal. In about two hours he sent a +messenger with an order from the judge authorizing us to remove it. +He instructed me to employ all the men that were necessary, and +have the material removed from the premises and he would pay the +bill, which I did, and our title was not disputed after that.</p> +<p>I had never been on a trip to Stockton, and I had chartered the +freight capacity of the brig to a man for $1,800. He was to put in +it all the freight he chose to. I thought it would not be for his +interest to overload it. If the vessel sunk there was no +insurance—his cargo would be a total loss. I had reserved the +deck and the passenger room. The conditions of the charter were +that the freight was to be delivered in Stockton by a certain date +or I was to forfeit the $1,800. The freight was aboard; he had +loaded the vessel deeper than I had expected. I had a number of +passengers at $15 each. They were to furnish their own provisions, +but to have the privileges of the cooking stove on deck. The vessel +was anchored out in the bay, to sail at 2 P.M., when the tide was +most favorable. I had a new chain for the anchor, and the captain +said he wanted a kedge anchor for safety, so I ordered one from +McCondery & Co., for $35, on condition that, without fail, they +would have it on board before 2 P.M. We were all on board by 1 +o'clock, waiting for the favorable tide, to start. At 1:30 no +anchor and the bay was very rough. The captain said it would not +come, they would not venture out in that sea in a small boat. I +said it would be there certain, I knew my man. Sure enough, in a +few moments we could just see a boat in the distance, two men +rowing and one guiding the rudder. They came alongside and we had +the anchor aboard in five minutes. In the stern was Mr. Watson, one +of the firm. He said he was afraid to trust his men in that sea for +fear they would fail to deliver it. The profit on it to them was +only $3.50, and it was a very wealthy firm, but they had pledged +their word to me that they would have it there at that time. (Would +that there were more of such honorable men.) We hoisted anchor, the +tide in our favor and a stiff breeze blowing. We passed out of the +bay of San Francisco into the bay of Los Angles, and crossed that +into the Straits of Benica, which is four miles long and connects +with Suisan bay. The Straits of Benica was a perfectly safe +anchorage. It was approaching night, and blowing almost a gale. I +was in hopes and expected that the captain would come to anchor in +the straits and wait until morning before venturing out into the +Suisan bay, which was twenty miles across to the mouth of the San +Joaquin river, where we were bound. The bay was almost like the +open sea; you could get out of sight of land. I think he would have +come to anchor if I, the owner, had not been on board, and had not +urged upon him the importance of having the vessel in Stockton in +time. As he was the captain I felt sensitive about interfering with +his business, and had hoped and expected, all the way through the +straits, that he would come to anchor, and not undertake to cross +the bay that night. Darkness was setting in, but he did not come to +anchor. The gale increased to a hurricane; all sails were taken in, +and we were scudding under bare poles, and had a lantern hung up in +the rigging. The captain came to me and said, loaded as we were, we +could not live in that gale; he would have to seek a place to +anchor on the side of the bay. I said to him, he was the captain. +The line was thrown out every few minutes. At last we found +sounding, and the anchor was cast. We had been there but a short +time before another vessel, more than twice as large as ours, came +aside of us, with a heavy deck-load of lumber, and got entangled in +our anchor chain, and kept drawing us nearer to them. If they had +struck our vessel we knew we were lost. They would have sunk us at +once. Seven times they came down on us and each time, by superhuman +efforts, we warded the blow, all hands and passengers doing their +best, fully realizing the danger they were in. It seems to me that +I hear now the oaths of the captain of the other vessel rising +above the sounds of the terrific hurricane as he was ordering his +men, for they, too, were in danger if they collided with us. Of +course, he was on the bare poles. As he came on us the eighth time +they hoisted their jib sail. As the wind struck it, it seemed to +lift their vessel out of the water, and, thank God, we were freed +from it. It was forty-five years ago, and, as I write, it all lives +before me as visible as if it were yesterday. The captain of the +other vessel had seen our light, and, supposing we were in the +right channel, had followed us. We had escaped what seemed almost +certain death, but were not out of danger. Our new good chain was +attached to our bad chain, and the captain had let out all our +chain to free us from the other vessel, so we were actually hanging +by our bad chain in the open roadstead, not in the protection of a +harbor, and liable to drag our anchor or break our chain and be +wrecked; but we could do nothing more than submit to our fate. I +thought I would get into my berth and try and get to sleep, and, if +I found myself alive in the morning, we might be saved. I did +sleep, and when I awoke it was daylight. The gale was subsiding. We +had dragged our anchor. The bow of our brig was very sharp; the +banks were soft mud, and we had struck it with such force that we +were wedged in. The tide was low and we were almost out of water. +We fortunately had struck the land with our bow, and that was what +saved us. If we had struck with the side of the vessel we would +have been wrecked. So, ever since we had been freed from the other +vessel, we had been in safety and did not know it. We waited for +the tide to rise and then got our kedge anchor out and pulled the +vessel out off the bank as the tide rose. The sea was very rough, +but the gale had subsided, and by 11 o'clock we were entering the +mouth of the San Joaquin river in safety. It was forty miles up the +river to Stockton. The river was in a valley of Tullieries. The +land seemed to be in the course of formation. There was but one +tree between the mouth and Stockton, a willow, called the Lone +Tree. The only place on its banks where the soil had formed solid +enough to produce one, surrounded by hills at that season of the +year, covered with beautiful wild flowers. The scenery was +magnificent. As the river curved we could see the white sails of +other vessels. They looked as if they were in a field. You could +not see the water at a little distance, the river being narrow. We +could almost jump from our deck to the banks. We felt in perfect +safety. Contrasting that with the night before in that terrible +hurricane and in the death struggles for our lives, it produced a +supreme feeling of ethereal ideal happiness that this earth seemed +almost a Paradise. The captain informed me that there was one place +on the river where we might have to anchor. It was called the +Devil's Elbow. There was a sharp turn in the river and the current +was rapid, and we might have to pull the vessel around it; but +sometimes, if it was favorable, he could sail around it, and if +done successfully, then the vessels that had come to anchor could +find no fault; otherwise you had to come to behind the others and +take your turn. When we were coming to it, he was at the helm and I +at his side, to see what was the best to do. As we approached, we +saw several vessels had come to for the purpose of pulling around. +The last was a large vessel that the captain said could never get +around. If we anchored behind it we might not be able to deliver +our freight according to the charter. We had put an English sailor +in the hold to let the anchor go, in case we did not succeed, if we +gave him the signal to do so. As we came to the place with all +sails set, there was a breeze sprung up, filling all the sails. I +said to the captain, let her go. As we passed the vessels that had +come to anchor there was a howling and yelling from them of +derision and anger at us for going by them. Just as we got +two-thirds of the way around, the sailor in the hold let the anchor +go without orders. He got frightened. If he had not, we would have +made it successfully. As it was, we got ahead of all the other +vessels, and got to Stockton in ample time. The next morning there +was a drove of mules at the side of the brig, and the cargo was +being discharged and packed on their backs to be taken to the +mining camps, as there were no good roads there in those early +days. About all the grain and flour came from Valparaiso and Chili, +put up very nicely in fifty and one hundred pound sacks, so it was +easy to handle. As soon as all the mules were packed, the head +mule, who had on a bell fastened around his neck, which rang as he +went, was started first, and all the rest, in single file, followed +him, and they were going for the different mining camps in the +interior. In two or three days we were unloaded, and we were +prepared to return. The freight money was paid to me in gold, at +$16 per ounce in full, all being satisfactory to the shipper. I had +delivered it within the time specified. One of the passengers who +came up with me, a tailor, from Salem, Mass., asked me if I would +not give him a free passage back on the vessel to San Francisco; +that he wanted to try to get home; he was discouraged. I said to +him you have traveled eighteen thousand miles to get to the gold +mines, and now you are within half a day of them and want to go +home without trying your fortune. If you do go, you will never +forgive yourself, but go to the mines and try your luck; then, if +you are discouraged and want to go back, I will give you a free +passage, as we have no passengers on our return trip.</p> +<br> +<a name="HOME"></a> +<h2>HOME SICKNESS.</h2> +<p>When a person was attacked with it, it seemed the worst kind of +malady, as it would take them months to return if they had the +money to pay their passage. Many were married men, separated a +great distance from their wives and children. Others, young men, +who had their engaged ones waiting for them to return, with their +fortunes made in the gold mines, to marry them. I can recall +several instances where I have known them to lie down and die from +despair. I was talking with an old Californian of those days. He +said he had once given up and made up his mind to wander off by +himself on the mountains and die, which he did. As he lay there in +despair, after a while he thought he would look around him, and he +saw the hill was covered with every variety of beautiful wild +flowers. He said their beauty seemed to refresh and revive his +mind, and give him new resolution, and he decided to try his +fortune again, and he became successful and returned to the States +with a competency.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus140a.png" height="309" width="450" +alt=" THE DESPONDENT MINER."></center> +<p>The early pioneers had some conflict with the Indians in the +interior of the country. Five Oregon men were massacred by them +when engaged in digging gold, but a terrible retribution was +visited upon those Indians concerned in it by the enraged +Forty-niners. The Indians, at first, had nothing but bows and +arrows, and, of course, could not compete with rifles. Several +other small engagements were rumored, but they soon gave up all +contests with the whites, for they saw it was useless. There was an +acorn that was quite plenty in California, being longer than ours, +but not of a bitter taste. The squaws made flour of them. The +Digger Indians were the next tribe east of them; they were probably +the lowest grade. They would set fire to the prairie grass to burn +the grasshoppers, and pick them up and eat them. They deemed them a +luxury. The Oregon tribes were a higher grade, a warlike race, and +superior in every respect. The highest grade of them, in the United +States now, are the Choctaws and Chicksaws that formerly occupied +the northern parts of the State of Mississippi. When a young man, I +spent three weeks in their nation, travelling alone, and was +treated with great hospitality by them. They are quite intelligent, +and they have laws and customs as civilized nations. We generally +look upon all of them as alike, but such is not the +case—there is as great a difference between different tribes +as much as between different white nations. The California Indians +were not naturally warlike, and when the early pioneers expected +any trouble from them, they would appoint a committee to go and see +them, and they generally settled their difficulty without any +conflicts.</p> +<br> +<a name="JESUIT"></a> +<h2>JESUIT MISSION STATIONS.</h2> +<p>There were about sixteen Jesuit missionary stations in the +country before the discovery of gold, and were there for the +purpose of converting the Indians to the Catholic church, and when +converted, generally made them work to sustain their missionary +establishments.</p> +<p>I had returned to my office on the North Beach after my only +trip to Stockton on my brig. My friend R. was progressing with his +brewery. He had received a favorable letter from Lieutenant S. +about our Touwalma city, and informing me that S. had a diamond +ring that cost $800 in Rio Janeiro, at a broker's office, as +collateral security for $250 borrowed on it at ten per cent per +month, and the time was about up. If I would redeem the ring I +could keep it and wear it until he paid me. I went and saw the +ring. It was as represented, and I redeemed it and wore it for a +considerable time. One day R. came to me with a naming letter from +S. that he had laid out the city and been elected alcalde, and we +would make our fortune, and there was a friend of S. that was going +up there, and if I would send up the ring by him he would +appreciate it so much, and he would be responsible that I should +not lose any thing by it. I was foolish enough to be persuaded by +him and handed him the ring, for which act I have never forgiven +myself. That was the last I ever saw of the ring or any of the +money invested in Touwalma city, for it turned out a failure. It +was never the head of navigation on the river, or any thing else +that was ever heard of.</p> +<p>There were three unfortunate events that occurred in California +in the winter months of 1849 and the beginning of 1850. The rainy +season had destroyed all the dams constructed on the gold rivers +and raceways, which had been constructed at great expense for the +purpose of working the beds of the river for gold, the rivers often +rising from ten to eighteen feet in a night, and the current +running with terrible force. The second, the flooding of +Sacramento, destroying large quantities of merchandise and carrying +away and undermining the houses there. The third was the great fire +in San Francisco, destroying one-third of the main business portion +of the city, upon which there was no insurance. There were no +companies organized or agents there to insure property then, as it +was too risky. There was one four-story fire-proof building that +was stored full of the most valuable goods, at a large price for +storage, for it was considered absolutely fire-proof, but when the +fire came the heat of the fire from the buildings around it caused +the iron sides of it to expand, which let the roof fall in and +burned every thing to the ground, so that nothing was saved. +Instead of being a place of safety, it was the most destructive of +all.</p> +<p>Some ships in the bay were burned. I succeeded in getting in the +rear of the fire to save my brig. I ordered the men to hoist anchor +and put out further in the bay, which saved it. These unfortunate +events destroyed and marred the fortune of many. On the day before +I called on a private banker, G., on the plaza, and presented my +check for $800. He said to me, if it made no difference, it being +steamer day (once a month they went East when the gold was shipped +to the mint in Philadelphia by them), and if I would call in the +morning for it, it would be an accommodation to him. I said I +wanted to use it. He commenced weighing it out. I then thought it +would make no difference to me and it was mean not to accommodate +him, for I might want some favor of him. I said, if I can have it +in three days without fail it would answer my purpose. He said, you +can have it now, pouring the gold in the scales to weigh it. I said +never mind, I don't want it now. The fire came that night, burnt +his place up and all his property. He was a ruined man. I never saw +him afterward.</p> +<p>Mr. G., to whom I had bargained to sell my houses to arrive, +(and he backed out) was an Englishman from Liverpool. He had about +all the consignments of shipments from that city (evidently being +very popular there), to sell on commission at ten per cent; when +the goods came and were sold, instead of remitting the capital to +the owners and being satisfied with his commission, he used it in +buying property and in erecting buildings in San Francisco. He had +constructed a fire-proof building which he rented to the government +for a post-office, at a large sum per month, likewise the first +theatre in the city, and other buildings. He informed me at one +time how much his rents amounted to per month; the sum was several +thousand dollars. Money was worth but three to five per cent in +England per year to the owners of the merchandise; while in +California it was in demand at ten per cent per month. I suppose he +thought he would make a great fortune for himself and then return +to England (where he had a wife and children) and pay up all his +obligations with extra allowance, for the use of the money, and +make all satisfactory; but the great fire destroyed all his +buildings, and he was a ruined man, there being no insurance in the +city then. I met a friend in New York about two years after my +return from California; I asked him when he saw Mr. G. last. He +said, "it was about 11 o'clock one day at a hotel where he invited +some friends to take a drink. Mr. G. was there, he declined; but +afterward called him to one side and asked him to loan him $1, +saying he had had no breakfast that morning." Such was an example +of some of the fluctuations of fortune in those days.</p> +<p>Some parties came with various kinds of machinery that was to +make a certain fortune for them, and was taken up into the interior +at great expense. I never knew of one that was successful. About +all the companies that were formed in the States to go around Cape +Horn for mining purposes generally dissolved after arriving in +California, but what they brought with them for supplies, sold for +so high a price that it generally sold for more than the cost of +their passage, and they had money coming to them. Some companies +bought the ships as they came in and hired the captain. I recollect +one, called the <i>Mechanics' Own</i>. Every person joining their +company in the States had to be voted in and pay $1,000. They put +on airs and talked quite aristocratic of their captain as their +boy.</p> +<p>Three persons started the first bank in San Francisco, called +the Miners' Bank, on the northwestern corner of the plaza. Mr. +Haight, who was from Rochester, N.Y., and the sutler of Colonel +Stevenson's regiment, was one of them. It was said that at first +they bought gold as low as $8 per ounce, when it was worth more +than $18 at the mint East. The owners of the bank made $100,000 +each in three or four years.</p> +<p>Before the discovery of gold the then small places on the +Pacific Coast obtained their supplies from small trading vessels +that sailed along the coast and stopped at their towns +occasionally. After the discovery of gold, at first goods went up +four or five times their previous value, and when one of these +vessels was seen entering the port, parties would put out in small +boats to get aboard of them before they came to anchor (they on +board knowing nothing about the discovery of the gold), would +bargain with them for some of their goods, and finally offer them +so much for all their cargo. It being beyond their expectations the +offer was generally accepted, and thus some big speculations were +made.</p> +<p>A lieutenant of Stevenson's regiment, who had been down in +Monterey and had not heard of the gold discovery, on his first day +in San Francisco, informed me that he did not know what to make of +things. Most of his old acquaintances wanted to know if he did not +want to borrow some money; they had some that he could have as well +as not.</p> +<p>The steamers came in once a month with letters and papers. Then +long lines were formed to the post-office. Sometimes it took half a +day to get there. The New York papers at first sold for $1 each. +Then they got down to fifty cents. I sold the <i>New York +Herald</i>, that was more than a month old, that contained the +latest news there from the States in the interior, for $5, and the +man coaxed it out of me at that, for I wanted to give it to a party +of friends I was going to see in the mining districts. I knew it +would be a great treat to them. It is almost impossible to recall +all the exact scenes of those days, so as to have them fully +realized by the reader.</p> +<p>The city of San Francisco was extending more rapidly in what +they called the Happy Valley district, which was toward the Mission +of Dolores, established by the Jesuits. I visited it when the +building was intact. I recollect a painting of an Indian warrior, +with his bows and arrows, the implements of war, represented as a +saint ascending to heaven—I suppose to create favorable +impression on Indians and make converts of them.</p> +<p>My friend was going on with his brewery, and borrowing money and +getting me deeper on his paper. He heard that I had $2,500 +deposited with McCondery & Co., and pleaded with me to let him +have it as it would carry him through. I had lost all confidence in +him, and felt it would be like throwing it in the sea. I informed +him that I had shipped it the day before, which I had not, but went +right down and gave an order for its shipment, for fear he might +over-persuade me to let him have it, and I thus saved it. When most +completed, a barrel of alcohol that was in the building bursted, +and it ran down to the furnace and set it on fire, and burnt it up. +That was the fate of the first brewery started in California. Since +then there have been millions made in that business there.</p> +<p>The North Beach property, after I had sold all my houses out, I +closed my interest in. It proved a failure to use for a wharf or +shipping point.</p> +<p>During the seven months of summer the north-west wind blew there +so hard every afternoon that it was not a safe place for vessels, +and the property would never have any value for that purpose, and I +do not think it has ever been used since for that.</p> +<p>In the winter months, which is generally the rainy season, the +wind blows from the south for five months, and the other seven +months it blows from the north-west over six thousand miles of +ocean, and, consequently, is not impregnated with any decayed +vegetable matter, and is as pure as air can be. In San Francisco +the sun would rise in a clear sky every morning and there would be +a perfect calm; by 11 A.M. there would be a little breeze; by 2 or +3 o'clock, a gale. When the sun set the wind would subside and +there would be a perfect calm again. Every day would be the same, +month after month. What was almost a gale on the coast would be a +gentle breeze up in the mining district, in the interior. The next +day that air would be displaced by another gale from over the +thousand miles of ocean, for it is impossible to imagine any other +country with purer air.</p> +<p>During that time there were various visionary reports of new +discoveries of gold regions, one of a lake that the sands of its +banks were rich with gold. All you had to do, to make your fortune, +was to wash it out, which produced quite a sensation, and parties +were organized to go there, but they never found it. The next year +after the purchase of my brig, there were small steamers +constructed to run to Stockton, and they had already some sailing +vessels put on, built there, and the price of freight had commenced +falling, and I thought I had better sell my vessel while I could +get a good price for it. There was a man who came to me and said he +wanted to buy it; that he had been a captain of a boat on Lake +Erie. I stated to him my price for it. He said that was not out of +the way, but he would like to try it one trip before closing the +purchase, and referred me to a mercantile house there as his +reference. They said he had run vessels for them on Lake Erie when +they were doing business in Buffalo. I concluded that was entirely +satisfactory; that that had evidently been his regular business. He +said he wanted to employ all his own hands. I had the vessel, at +the time, half loaded with freight, which I turned over to him. I +paid my men and discharged them, and told them the vessel was about +to change owners, and put him in full possession of it. Of course I +had nothing more to do with it until he returned from the trip to +Stockton; then I expected he would close the purchase as he said +that the price was satisfactory to him. After a few weeks I +commenced looking for the return of my brig, but it did not come. +Finally I heard a rumor that the captain had left the vessel at +Stockton, but did not believe it, but thought that some accident +might have happened. I had borrowed a spy-glass to investigate the +bay. I could have recognized my vessel by the red streak around it. +Finally, after it had been gone long enough to make several trips, +I discovered it at anchor in the bay. I went and supplied myself +with money, in case it should prove true that the captain had left +the vessel, to pay his men in full before they got ashore, because +the vessel was liable for their wages, whoever might have employed +them; so I hired a boat to row me out to it. I met a man on the +deck that seemed to be in command. I inquired of him where the +captain was. He said he had run away. I spoke to him in a sharp +tone of voice and said, how do you know that? He said, because I +saw him on the back of a mule going over the plain. Then he asked +me, are you the owner? I said, yes. Then I said, you have all got +your pay before he went; I did not employ you. He said, some of +them have got some.</p> +<p>As you seem to be in command, I suppose you have kept an account +of how it stands. He said, "Come down in the cabin and I will show +it to you." I said, "It was hard on me to be robbed of all my +freight money, but it was also hard for them to be cheated out of +their hard earnings, and I would see what I could do for them." He +presented the statement of what each man had received and what was +due them. I was surprised at his correctness. I said: It seems all +right and I would pay them, which I did, and took their receipt. I +was afraid if they went ashore and found the vessel was liable for +their wages they might make any kind of demands, so I got +possession of my vessel again, very much damaged. Before leaving +the port he had let the steamer <i>Senator</i> run into the bows of +the vessel, and it cost me $700 to have it repaired, ship +carpenters' wages being $20 per day, payable in gold. The events +which I had anticipated of the decline of that kind of property had +come, and, after it was repaired, I put it up at auction and sold +it, so that rascal cost me several thousand dollars. Such was life +in California in the days of the Forty-niners.</p> +<p>Having some leisure I thought I would take a trip up the mining +regions, and make a visit to my old friends there. More than a year +had passed, and greater changes had taken place than would have +occurred in any other country in many years. The population of +California increased one hundred thousand the first year after the +discovery of the gold, which had accounted for the great changes +which had taken place since my previous trip. I went up on the +steamer <i>Senator</i> to Sacramento, which had become quite a +city, and the next morning started for Coloma in a stage full of +passengers, drawn by mules. I took a seat aside of the driver. I +got in conversation with the driver. I asked him what pay he +received? He said, only $450 per month and his board. I asked him +if he had driven stages before? He said, yes, out of Boston. I +said, at what wages? He said, $14 a month. I said that there was a +big difference between that and $450. He said, yes, but that this +was his last trip. He took a party of three up only a few weeks +ago, and he brought them down yesterday, and they had between +$3,000 and $4,000 apiece, and he was not going to waste his time +driving for $450 a month. He was going to the mines the next day. +It was quite probable that the party referred to had made an +unusual lucky strike, for I had met parties that had done the same +thing. I had had in my hands at one time, in San Francisco, a piece +of solid gold metal, something in the shape of the cover of a sugar +loaf, that was worth $4,500, found by a couple of green Irishmen. +They inquired of some miners in the interior where was a good place +to dig. The miners said in fun, dig there in that sand bank behind +you. The Irishmen took them up in earnest and went to digging. In a +short time they found that chunk of gold, where no experienced +miner would think of digging.</p> +<p>I have dug gold in the cellar of the brewery in San Francisco. I +think most all the soil of that part of California is impregnated +with gold. But the point is to find it in sufficient quantities to +pay to dig it. As an illustration, if you knew that in a certain +piece of ground there was $5,000 worth of gold, and it cost you +$10,000 to wash all the ground to get it, of course that land would +have no gold value. I found at Coloma that my friends had left the +Dutch bar and gone to the middle fork of the American river, some +distance from there. I got directions how to get there and started +on foot. Toward night I met a young man who had just came overland +and had separated that day from his party to get work in the mining +camp. I told him where I was going, and that he had better go with +me, and that he could get from $10 to $16 per day to work for other +parties, or to join two others and work a claim for himself, which +he did. So as it was getting toward night, we camped under a tree +and slept until morning, and took a fresh start. That day we found +the middle fork of the American river and my friends. The river was +sunk way down in the earth. It seemed almost a mile down to the +water where they were to work. It was quite a large mining place. +The excitement there every day was when the "dummy" went into the +river. It was a diving armor that had been used in the gulf of +Lower California to go down in the deep waters to hunt for pearls, +and had been bought by a party of five, each putting in $800, +making $4,000, expecting to make their fortunes by getting into the +deep water of the gold rivers. (As I have shown before, the +torrents and force of the currents had prevented any gold from ever +lodging there.) Every day at such an hour, it was announced that +the "dummy" was a going in the river. The other miners quit their +work to see it, and the proprietors of the "dummy" always treated +the crowd in the most lavish manner. Its credit was good for any +store bills. Its always treating the crowd had made it popular, and +nobody would trade with the storekeeper who would not trust it, so +it was death to the prosperity of the storekeeper, whether he +trusted it or not. They never got any gold while there through +"dummy," and when he left to go further down the river to try +another place, the main storekeeper there lost $800 by trusting it, +which broke him. These stores were tents, to supply immediate wants +of the miners. I never heard of "dummy" afterward. I have no doubt +he operated on all the store tents until he came to grief like all +evil-doers.</p> +<p>The productiveness of the gold rivers had not diminished any +that I could perceive. I talked to a man who had been off a little +ways to prospect in another place. I asked him what luck? He said, +there was nothing there. I said, was there no gold? He said; yes, +there was some, but of no value. He said a man could make $10 a +day, and who was a going to waste their time on that. My visit +over, I returned to San Francisco. My friend R.'s brewery was not +completed. I was informed he had been borrowing money from a Jew at +twenty per cent a month. It was no use for me to back him any more, +however valuable it might be, if completed, and I had no doubt +there was a fortune in it, but neither he nor I had the capital to +do it.</p> +<p>I had some other financial entangling matters, and I was afraid +if I kept on with them I might get broke, and the only way I saw of +getting out with them was to announce that I was going to leave, +and going down to Relago, Central America.</p> +<p>There was an English steamer advertised to sail for that port +and Panama. I thought I would go for sixty days and then return and +commence again and manage my affairs in a more conservative way, +and what I could control. Well I closed my matters out the best I +could and engaged my passage on the steamer for Relago. There was +considerable excitement at this time about the Nicaragua route. The +above place would be the terminus on the Pacific coast, and, +consequently, a place of importance. As I had missed it in trading +six of my houses for lots in San Francisco, there might be a chance +to get some there in advance of any rise on them. Any way, I wanted +to get out of my entangling alliances and take a fresh start. The +night before I sailed Mr. Brady (Colonel Stevenson's son-in-law) +came to me and said the colonel did not like to have me go. I told +him I had paid my passage, $200. He said the colonel understood +that. He put his hand in his vest pocket and pulled out a roll of +bills. He said, here is the $200, which he told me to give you, so +you will not lose any thing by not going. There was once a lady, +the wife of one of the officers of his regiment, who arrived there, +expecting to meet her husband, but he was up in the country. The +colonel asked me to go down to the steamer and meet her, and escort +her to a boarding-house to stay until her husband arrived, which I +did. I told him that she was short of funds, having expected to +meet her husband. He gave me $150 and told me to give it to her, as +if I loaned it to her, and when her husband paid me I could return +it to him. I mention these little incidents to show that whatever +faults he may have had, he was the most generous of friends.</p> +<p>Colonels Stevenson, Freemont and Captain Sutter will stand +pre-eminent in the future history of the State as its most +prominent founders.</p> +<p>I sailed out of the port of San Francisco on the steamer +<i>Ecuador</i> for Relago, Central America, expecting to return to +California within sixty days. In a few days, out at sea, we began +to hear unfavorable rumors about our vessel; that the engineer had +left the day before our sailing; that he did not consider it safe +to go in it; that it could not carry coal enough to take it to +Acapulco, the next coaling place. And we were informed that it was +a steamer that had been running from Panama to Valparaiso, and had +been bought up by a speculator and sent up to San Francisco as an +experiment, to see if it would pay. The officers and men had never +been up the coast before, and knew nothing about the port. One day +we were startled in mid ocean by the stopping of the engine. We +soon found the cause. The captain was about to try his sails so as +to save coal (which verified the reports about being short of +coal). We made some headway with the sails, but lost it again when +the wind subsided, by the currents of the ocean; so that project +was abandoned, and after some days we put into the port of San +Blas, in Mexico, for fuel. There was no coal there, so we laid in +all the wood we could to try and reach Acapulco (here we could not +buy any thing with our $5 gold pieces, but they were ready to sell +for silver). The cholera had been there, they said, but had left. +The priests had had a procession, and, with their incense boxes, +had marched through the streets and driven it out. We took in all +the wood we could get and started to make the port of Acapulco, the +regular coaling port for all the steamers on that coast. It was +Sunday P.M. We could raise fuel enough to make only four knots an +hour. It was an iron steamer. We were burning what there was of the +woodwork of the vessel, for if we could not make the port before +dark we were lost. The officers were not acquainted with the coast. +We had not fuel enough to keep steam up all night, and we would be +on the broad Pacific ocean, six thousand miles across, without the +remotest possibility of meeting any other vessel, without any +control of our steamer, subject to be driven in any direction. I +heard the mate talking to the captain about the propriety of +wrecking the vessel and saving what lives they could, although we +were in sight of land. The captain said the under-tow was so great +that none could be saved in that way. It is twice as great on the +Pacific as the Atlantic. There were no female passengers. One man +said he had $10,000 in gold with him; if his wife and children only +had that he would be content to meet his fate, under the +circumstances, but it was hard to leave them without it. All the +passengers had more or less gold, or they would not have been +returning.</p> +<p>You can imagine with what anxiety we watched every indication of +the coast to see if there was any chance of us nearing the port. +Finally, toward night, we saw a high projection of land on the +coast, and that was predicted that it was the entrance to the port. +If we could reach that point before dark, we might be saved. The +passengers went to work to break up any thing for the fires that +would make steam. The captain made no objections, but told them to +burn all woodwork on the vessel to save their lives. At dark we +reached the point we had in view, and it was fortunate for us that +it was the entrance to the port. As the vessel turned to enter, you +could see, coming over the waters of the ocean, a tropical storm, +accompanied with wind, thunder and lightning. Twenty minutes later +it would have reached us, and we would have been lost. As soon as +we got safely in port (and it was very dark), I can hear now, in +imagination, the sound of the anchor as it was let down in the +water, which assured our entire safety. It thundered and +lightninged, and blowing a high gale, which was music in our ears, +as we knew we were out of danger, and feeling the supreme +gratification of knowing what we had escaped. Blessed to us was the +high mountains which surrounded the port. The entrance to it is +narrow, but when you get inside it is one of the safest harbors in +the world, being perfectly land-locked. The next day opened on a +happy lot of passengers. I felt as if I was commencing life anew. +We went ashore expecting to be there several days, as they proposed +to take in a full supply of coal. This place had been once quite a +city, but many years ago had been partly destroyed by an +earthquake. It was said that the water went out of the bay most to +the tops of the mountains, and then reacted to its usual level in +the harbor; that there was a French ship carried up to the sides of +the mountains, and when the water reacted, carried back in safety +in the harbor. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, the ruins of +which are now visible where the city once extended.</p> +<p>I was introduced to General Alvarado. He was the most prominent +man in Mexico, on the Pacific coast, at that time, and afterward +became very prominent in the public affairs of his country. On our +return to the vessel that evening there was quite an excitement on +board. Among the passengers was a party of three who had been quite +successful in Sacramento in the bottling of soda and summer beer, +and peddling it out through the city. They had picked up by chance +an old acquaintance from Waterford who belonged to an aristocratic +family there, and by his habits of dissipation was a mortification +to them. So when the California excitement broke out, they +furnished him the money to go to the gold regions. It would either +reform him or they would get rid of him. Of course, such men were +no good in California, and he had spent his money and wanted to +return. These men came across him and told him they were going to +return East in sixty days, and if he would keep straight, and drive +one of their wagons for them, they would take him home with them. +When they went ashore the first day they left him in charge of +their baggage, and promised him that he could go ashore the next. +They had their private store of wines and brandy. He had found it +and tried it and got full, and treated all the sailors and +everybody on board that would drink with him, and was the most +popular man on board with the sailors. He repented the next day and +begged their forgiveness, and they took him home with them. Like a +bad penny, he returned as he was before. Distance did not reform +him.</p> +<p>Well, our next port was Relago my destination. Just after dark +one day we got opposite to what, according to the charts, was that +port. It was necessary for them to wait until morning before they +could undertake to enter it, as they had never been there before, +and there were no pilots, and they decided not to let the steam go +down, and they concluded that they would sail slowly around in a +circle, so as to be opposite to the port in the morning. When +morning came it was foggy, and we could not see the land. But they +had such confidence in the correctness of their chart that they +determined to enter it. Instead of the port, we came to the white +caps, dashing against the rocks almost mountains high, and we came +within an ace of being dashed to pieces against them. If the +engineer had not reversed the movement of the engine the instant he +did, we would have been wrecked. The captain was now completely +befogged. In a short time he came to me with a paper to sign +agreeing to go to Panama. It should cost me nothing extra for my +passage there; that the few other passengers for that port had +signed it. I thought I had better sign to go anywhere than to take +any more chances in that steamer. Come to find out afterward, +instead of being opposite the port that morning, we were twenty +miles from it, the currents of the ocean having carried us that +distance while we were sailing around in a circle, which they had +not ciphered on, and thus came so near wrecking us. By chance we +saw a sailing vessel. The captain gave orders for the steamer to +follow it, and, when we overtook it, we found it was bound for +Relago. There was a man on board of it who was acquainted with the +port. They got him to come on our steamer and had him pilot us to +that port, so I expected to go ashore, and got my baggage in +readiness, and, when the time came, had it brought up on deck. They +did not enter the port, but came to outside. There were two +passengers, it seems, that would not sign the paper to go to +Panama, and it was to land them he had come to, and when I went to +have my baggage put in the small boat the captain informed me I had +signed to go to Panama, and some of the other passengers said I was +very foolish to risk my life in that sea in so small a boat. Before +I scarcely knew it the boat had pushed off without me, and, +consequently, the whole current and course of my life was changed. +Upon such little incidents often do the events of human life +depend. It may have been fortunate for me that I did not land +there.</p> +<p>There was in Nicaragua at the time a filibustering expedition +under the command of Captain Walker, who went from California to +overthrow the government there by taking sides with the +revolutionary movement that had been started, and to get an +American control of the government, which I did not approve of, for +I considered it a dishonorable movement; but still, if I had +landed, they being my countrymen, I might have got mixed up with +them. They were conquered and all sentenced to death, and shot. It +is barely possible I might have shared their fate. I have often +thought since I made a good escape by not landing.</p> +<br> +<a name="PACIFIC"></a> +<h2>SCENES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN.</h2> +<p>The course of the steamer is frequently in sight of land. The +storms I have referred to were tropical storms, lasting but a short +time. The ocean is generally very mild all the distance, three +thousand five hundred miles from Panama to San Francisco. North of +San Francisco the storms are somewhat similar to the Atlantic ocean +storms. The passengers on the return trip were in the best of +spirits; they were returning home; all of them had been more or +less successful in California, and I can recall to my mind many +pleasant times we had on board the steamship. The porpoise are very +numerous on the Pacific ocean; there were often, for days, schools +of them on the sides of the steamer, throwing themselves out of the +water, and then diving in again; great numbers, at the same time, +seeming like the motion of a revolving wheel. Occasionally we would +hear the cry, "There she blows;" a jet of water being thrown up +many feet high in the air—a sperm whale had come up to +breathe. We frequently saw flying fish. One day there was a school +of them landed on the steamer; they are similar to other fish, +except having wings, but not of a very large size. At another time +a booby bird came on the steamer. It got its name from its +stupidity. We frequently saw them on the water, floating on a piece +of board or a stick of wood; sailors say they have seen them five +hundred miles out to sea in that way. This one you could take up +and handle; it made no resistance. On the coast of Central America +we saw two mountain peaks of great height, standing out, +individually, like the Pyramids, said to be extinct volcanoes that +were thrown up from the internal fires of the earth, and which, at +one time, belched forth melted lava and fire.</p> +<p>We arrived safe in Panama. I was so near home that I thought I +might as well return and see my friends, and take a fresh start for +California, and try my fortune once more. They had commenced +building the railroad over the Isthmus, but it was not completed, +so we crossed over to Cruize, the head of navigation on the Chagres +river, and went down that to its mouth, and there took the steamer +<i>Georgia</i> for New York, commanded by Captain Porter, of the +United States navy—the man who had control of the vessels in +going down the Mississippi river and successfully passing +Vicksburg, which had so much to do with its capture. He was a +perfect gentleman, and commanded your admiration with the skill of +his management of the vessel. There were on the vessel well-dressed +pickpockets, who went from New York to the Isthmus, to return by +the steamers to the city, for the chances of robbing the returning +Californians of their gold dust, as all of them had more or less of +it on their persons. One unfortunate victim of their wiles appealed +strongly to my sympathies. He was an English sailor, and had been +two or three years up in the gold mines, and had $3,000 or $4,000 +in gold dust in a buckskin bag on his person. He showed it to me. I +advised him to deposit it with the purser for safety; that I had +done so with mine. He said they could not rob him. He was about the +happiest man I ever saw. He was richer, in feeling, than the +Vanderbilts. He said he had a wife and children in Liverpool, and +would take the first steamer from New York for that port. He said +he had not seen his family for several years, and now that he had +the gold he could make them all happy. He was in the steerage. A +few days after I heard he was sick. He had fainted. Some parties +had helped him up; evidently pickpockets had taken that opportunity +to rob him; his gold was all gone. I explained his case to Captain +Porter, but nothing could be done. There was no way to identify his +gold dust from any other; it was all alike. When he arrived in New +York, he would have to go to the hospital until he got well enough +to ship on some other vessel for $14 per month, and not be able to +return to his wife and children with his gold, and make them happy, +while these black-hearted villainsillians were spending his money, +his hard earnings of years. I entered in a bond, with myself, that +if I were ever on a jury I would never show any mercy to a +thief.</p> +<p>As we were sailing along many ships and schooners came in sight. +We were evidently nearing the great port of New York. The land of +Staten Island soon came in sight covered with snow. It was late in +the fall. It was the first I had seen since my departure from the +same port, except on the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada +mountains. Here ends my personal adventures of the days of the +Forty-niners, to be continued by the peroration on California.</p> +<br> +<a name="PERORATION"></a> +<h2>PERORATION.</h2> +<p>On my return, in looking over my finances, I was no poorer than +when I left. It must be evident to the reader that I had acquired +no wealth to astonish my friends with my riches, which was the +visionary expectation of the early pioneers to the gold Eldorado. I +have been writing from personal recollections of events that +occurred forty-five years ago. Of course, there was nothing in my +enterprises, or the little fluctuations of fortune that would be of +particular interest to any one; but in the form of a personal +narrative, it was the only way I could recall vividly to my mind, +the events of so long ago. There were a series of articles +published in the <i>Century</i> magazine two years ago, which I +read with great interest, for they were truthful, but no book has +ever been published that took in fully those two years when common +labor was $16 per day, payable in gold. Such an event was never +known to occur before, and probably never will again. I have not +drawn on my imagination in the least in this narrative. I have +simply attempted to portray from memory events that actually +occurred under my own observation. Any Forty-niner will concede the +truth of my narrative. I did not return to California as I had +expected. Cupid's arrow pierced my heart in the person of a young +lady, and sealed my fate. I had a cottage built in the quiet and +beautiful valley of Schoharie, where I have passed more than thirty +years of happy married life. While not possessing the wealth of the +successful pioneer, I have been content.</p> +<p>"A MONUMENT TO JACOB A.L. FISHER, A UNION SOLDIER.</p> +<p>"<i>Interview with Doctor Knower, who has Charge of +It—Some Interesting Reminiscences of Forty-niners.</i></p> +<p>"A monument to be erected in the Old Stone Fort Cemetery to +Jacob A.L. Fisher, a Union soldier, by Abraham Schell, his uncle, +of California.</p> +<p>"A draft of the above monument is before us. It is quite an +affair, about twenty-seven feet high, with a full length statue of +a soldier on top. It is now being constructed in Des Moines, Iowa, +to be shipped by the 1st of May, and unveiled on the 4th day of +July, 1894, with appropriate ceremonies. Dr. Knower, in 76, in +laying the corner-stone to the David Williams State monument, gave +the grandest celebration that ever occurred in this county. This +one he expects to rely to a great extent on the local army +organizations of the county, as this honor paid to one of their +compatriots in arms is an honor to them.</p> +<p>"We have before us a copy of the Stockton (Cal.) <i>Evening +Mail</i> of November 9, 1893, containing a seven column article +descriptive of Abraham Schell's vineyard at Knight's Ferry, Cal. We +quote from it: 'A characteristic act of Abraham Schell was to give +a deed to the entire place and all of its appurtenances, last +summer, to Herrick R. Schell, his nephew, who had served him +faithfully as assistant and business associate for twenty-six +years.' The property conveyed consisted of three thousand acres, +upon which Mr. Schell had expended at the time the deed was given a +quarter of a million of dollars. We see by the same article that +Abraham Schell's landed purchases in that locality, in the early +days, amounted to fifteen thousand five hundred and thirty-five +acres.</p> +<p>"Mr. Schell joined a company formed by Dr. Knower (who made an +investment in it, and was then a resident of Albany), which sailed +on the ship <i>Tarolinton</i> from the port of New York, on the +13th of January, 1849. The doctor, the following spring, shipped +from Albany, twelve houses around Cape Horn, the freight on which +was $5,000, he going by the way of the Isthmus, arriving in San +Francisco on the 25th of September, 1849. On the steamer going up +from Panama was Judge Terry, of Louisiana, who killed United States +Senator Broderick in a duel, and who was years afterward +assassinated.</p> +<p>"In these early days there was a contest between Northern and +Southern pioneers whether California should come in the Union a +free or a slave State. Broderick, a Democrat from the city of New +York, represented the Northern sentiment, and was supported by the +Whigs of the State. Common labor at that time was $16 per day, +payable in gold. It was more from pride than from any thing to do +with the moral question of slavery. They did not want to come in +competition with slave labor. The Northern element predominated, +and California came in a free State. Its first constitution was +written by George Washington Sherwood, who was a Democratic member +of the New York Legislature from Washington county, and copied +after the constitution of this State.</p> +<p>"California may be said to be the child of the State of New +York; her citizens may be said to have been pre-eminent in its +development and present greatness.</p> +<p>"Abraham Schell was born in Gallupville, and proposes to be +buried in the neighboring village of Middleburgh, his wife's native +place, where he has erected a monument.</p> +<p>"They say that all Forty-niners who remained in California +either became millionaires or paupers. It seems that Mr. Schell was +one of the former. He was an unconditional Union man in the +rebellion, visiting the hospitals of the wounded soldiers, and +assisting them by his means, and the erection of this monument to +his nephew for his services in that war is but in accord with his +acts of patriotism at that time."</p> +<p>The above article inspired this undertaking at this time. I +expected to find my friend on at the dedication of the monument, +and thought I would have the manuscript ready on his arrival and +submit it to him, and propose to have him go in partnership with me +in its publication, and have him revise it with me. He was a man of +high literary attainments, and an experienced Forty-niner, who +could have added many important events to it that did not come +under my observation. He was wealthy, and had the means to bring it +properly before the public.</p> +<br> +<a name="DEATH"></a> +<h2>DEATH OF A FORMER SCHOHARIAN.</h2> +<p>Intelligence reaches us of the death of Abraham Schell, at his +home at Knight's Ferry, California, in the early part of February. +Mr. Schell was seventy-six years old, and was a native of this +county, having been born in the town of Wright. At the time of the +gold excitement in 1849 he was in the mercantile business in +Albany, but sold out and joining a company of friends journeyed to +California, where he invested his means to good advantage and +became highly successful, amassing a large fortune. His vineyards +and their product have long been celebrated. A man of independent +thought and fine literary attainments, he was one of the sons of +Schoharie county, whose enterprise and intellectual culture we may +take just pride in.</p> +<p>His remains are deposited in a vault there, to be brought here +in the spring by his nephew, and interred in their final resting +place in the cemetery at Middleburgh, where he has a $2,000 +monument erected.</p> +<p>We learn from Dr. Knower that the proposed monument to his +nephew at Old Stone Fort will undoubtedly be erected, as it has +been contracted for, but the full details he will not be posted on +until the arrival of the nephew in the spring.</p> +<p>The above will show that death, which plays an important hand in +the events of human life, intervened; so I have gone on alone and +submit it to the public, such as it is. I hope and trust it may +meet the approval of all Californians, more particularly of those +of the days to which it refers. If they will give their approval, +it will add to the happiness and gratification of one of their +compatriots of those early days of the pioneers and founders of the +State of California. What California has become since, we, at that +time, had no realization of. Instead of conceiving it an utter +impossibility of ever building one railroad across the continent, +we now have five. Instead of conceiving the idea that it would +never be an agricultural country, it may be said to be the vineyard +and wine producing country of the world, and it has a greater +variety of productions than most any other land.</p> +<p>The city of San Francisco, when I first entered it, had not as +many good buildings as a common eastern village. Now it has a +population of nearly four hundred thousand, and edifices that cost +millions. It has produced more millionaires, from persons that went +there poor, than any other country before in the history of the +world, and more money has been donated to science and education by +those successful pioneers, who were the creators of their own +fortune in the same time, than all the rest of the world in the +past forty-five years, since the days of the Forty-niners.</p> +<p>Lick's institution for the science of astronomy, Leland +Stanford's twenty millions to the Alto University of Learning, open +to all students, are illustrations of the above statements.</p> +<p>The foundation of the fortunes of many bankers and wealthy +capitalists of the East were made in California in the days of the +Forty-niners. Mill, the owner of the great building at the corner +of Broadway and Wall street, the ground on which it stands costing +a million, who is many times a millionaire, went from Sing Sing, in +this State, a poor boy in 1849. Armour, the great millionaire +cattle dealer of Chicago, made his first money there in those days, +which laid the foundation of his great fortune, and many others I +can recall to mind too numerous to mention.</p> +<p>While all did not succeed, as they never do in any human +enterprise, some got discouraged, others fell by the way and laid +down and died from disappointment, yet others more than realized +their most fabulous conception of wealth. I was told when I was a +boy if I went where the sun set and dug for gold I would find it. +When I became a man I went three thousand miles in the direction of +the sun setting and dug and found gold. It is not a dream, for as I +close this writing I see on my little finger a gold ring made from +the gold I there dug, which has been there for forty-five years. It +is so fine that it has been wearing away, and it is not more than +one-fourth the size it was when I first put it on, and time is +likewise wearing on me, and it will probably last as long as I do, +and we will disappear together, as Shakespeare says, "besmeared +with sluttish time."</p> +<p>THE END.</p> +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="APPENDIX"></a> +<h2>APPENDIX.</h2> +<p>It was the brains and statesmanship of Wm. L. Marcy, when he was +secretary of war under President Polk, that inaugurated and +generaled the movements that resulted in our securing possession of +California—by his expeditions, sent by sea and by land, of +regular forces, followed by the volunteer regiment of one thousand +men, under the command of Col. Jonathan Stevenson, as the following +able State paper indicates:</p> +<p>[Confidential.]</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus192a.png" height="450" width="361" +alt=" W.L. MARCY."></center> +<p>WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, <i>June</i> 3, 1846.</p> +<p>SIR.—I herewith send you a copy of my letter to the +governor of Missouri for an additional force of one thousand +mounted men. The object of thus adding to the force under your +command is not, as you will perceive, fully set forth in that +letter, for the reason that it is deemed prudent that it should +not, at this time, become a matter of public notoriety; but to you +it is proper and necessary that it should be stated.</p> +<p>It has been decided by the president to be of the greatest +importance in the pending war with Mexico to take the earliest +possession of Upper California. An expedition with that view is +hereby ordered, and you are designated to command it. To enable you +to be in sufficient force to conduct it successfully this +additional force of a thousand mounted men has been provided, to +follow you in the direction of Santa Fe, to be under your orders or +the officer you may leave in command at Santa Fe.</p> +<p>It cannot be determined how far this additional force will be +behind that designated for the Santa Fe expedition, but it will not +probably be more than a few weeks. When you arrive at Santa Fe with +the force already called, and shall have taken possession of it, +you may find yourself in a condition to garrison it with a small +part of your command (as the additional force will soon be at that +place), and with the remainder, press forward to California. In +that case you will make such arrangements as to being followed by +the reinforcements before mentioned, as in your judgment may be +deemed safe and prudent. I need not say to you that in case you +conquer Santa Fe (and with it will be included the department of +the State of New Mexico), it will be important to provide for +retaining safe possession of it. Should you deem it prudent to have +still more troops for the accomplishment of the object herein +designated, you will lose no time in communicating that opinion on +that point, and all others connected with the enterprise, to this +department. Indeed you are hereby authorized to make a direct +requisition for it upon the governor of Missouri.</p> +<p>It is known that a large body of Mormon emigrants are en route +to California for the purpose of settling in that country. You are +desired to use all proper means to have a good understanding with +them, to the end that the United States may have their co-operation +in taking possession of and holding that country. It has been +suggested here that many of these Mormons would willingly enter +into the service of the United States and aid us in our expedition +against California. You are hereby authorized to muster into +service such as can be induced to volunteer; not, however, to a +number exceeding one-third of your entire force. Should they enter +the service they will be paid as other volunteers, and you can +allow them to designate, so far as it can be properly done, the +persons to act as officers thereof. It is understood that a +considerable number of American citizens are now settled on the +Sacramento river, near Sutter's establishment, called "Nueva +Helvetia," who are well disposed toward the United States. Should +you, on your arrival in the country, find this to be the true state +of things there, you are authorized to organize and receive into +the service of the United States such portion of these citizens as +you may think useful to aid you to hold the possession of the +country. You will in that case allow them, so far as you shall +judge proper, to select their own officers. A large discretionary +power is invested in you in regard to these matters, as well as to +all others, in relation to the expedition confided to your +command.</p> +<p>The choice of routes by which you will enter California will be +left to your better knowledge and ampler means of getting accurate +information. We are assured that a southern route (called the +Caravan route, by which the wild horses are brought from that +country into New Mexico) is practicable, and it is suggested as not +improbable that it can be passed over in the winter months, or at +least late in autumn. It is hoped that this information may prove +to be correct.</p> +<p>In regard to routes; the practicability of procuring needful +supplies for men and animals, and transporting baggage is a point +to be well considered. Should the president be disappointed in his +cherished hope that you will be able to reach the interior of Upper +California before winter, you are then desired to make the best +arrangement you can for sustaining your forces during the winter, +and for an early movement in the spring. Though it is very +desirable that the expedition should reach California this season +(and the president does not doubt you will make every possible +effort to accomplish this object), yet if, in your judgment, it +cannot be undertaken with a reasonable assurance of success, you +will defer it, as above suggested, until spring. You are left +unembarrassed by any specific directions in the matter.</p> +<p>It is expected that the naval forces of the United States which +are now, or will soon be in the Pacific, will be in possession of +all the towns on the seacoast, and will co-operate with you in the +conquest of California. Arms, ordnance, munitions of war, and +provisions to be used in that country, will be sent by sea to our +squadron in the Pacific for the use of the land forces.</p> +<p>Should you conquer and take possession of New Mexico and Upper +California, or considerable places in either, you will establish +temporary civil government therein, abolishing all arbitrary +restrictions that may exist, so far as it may be done with +safety.</p> +<p>In performing this duty, it would be wise and prudent to +continue in their employment all such of the existing officers as +are known to be friendly to the United States, and will take the +oath of allegiance to them. The duties of the custom-house ought, +at once, to be reduced to such a rate as may be barely sufficient +to maintain the necessary officers without yielding any revenue to +the government. You may assure the people of these provinces that +it is the wish and design of the United States to provide for them +a free government with the least possible delay, similar to that +which exists in our territories. They will then be called on to +exercise the rights of freemen in electing their own +representatives to the territorial legislature. It is foreseen that +what relates to the civil government will be a difficult and +unpleasant part of your duty, and much must necessarily be left to +your own discretion. In your whole conduct you will act in such a +manner as best to conciliate the inhabitants and render them +friendly to the United States.</p> +<p>It is desirable that the usual trade between the citizens of the +United States and the Mexican provinces should be continued, as far +as practicable, under the changed condition of things between the +two countries. In consequence of extending your expedition into +California it may be proper that you should increase your supply +for goods to be distributed as presents to the Indians. The United +States superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis will aid you +in procuring these goods. You will be furnished with a proclamation +in the Spanish language, to be issued by you and circulated among +the Mexican people on your entering into or approaching their +country. You will use your utmost endeavors to have the pledges and +promises therein contained carried out to the utmost extent.</p> +<p>I am directed by the president to say that the rank of brevet +brigadier-general will be conferred on you as soon as you commence +your movement toward California, and sent round to you by sea or +over the country, or to the care of the commandant of our squadron +in the Pacific. In that way cannon, arms, ammunition and supplies +for the land forces will be sent to you.</p> +<p>Very respectfully, your obedient servant,</p> +<p>W.L. MARCY,</p> +<p><i>Secretary of War</i>.</p> +<p>COLONEL S.N. KEARNEY, <i>Fort Leavenworth, Missouri.</i></p> +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12518 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus004a.png b/12518-h/images/illus004a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3036fbe --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus004a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus008a.png b/12518-h/images/illus008a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6360c65 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus008a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus074a.png b/12518-h/images/illus074a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0b74f03 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus074a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus086a.png b/12518-h/images/illus086a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3b3acf1 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus086a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus090a.png b/12518-h/images/illus090a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..80976b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus090a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus100a.png b/12518-h/images/illus100a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..657de7a --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus100a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus102a.png b/12518-h/images/illus102a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bea687e --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus102a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus104a.png b/12518-h/images/illus104a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3fef7d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus104a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus116a.png b/12518-h/images/illus116a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..07f6a58 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus116a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus140a.png b/12518-h/images/illus140a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9c78513 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus140a.png diff --git a/12518-h/images/illus192a.png b/12518-h/images/illus192a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5b11703 --- /dev/null +++ b/12518-h/images/illus192a.png diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7a5de7e --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #12518 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12518) diff --git a/old/12518-8.txt b/old/12518-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..139d989 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3398 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Adventures of a Forty-niner, by Daniel +Knower + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Adventures of a Forty-niner + +Author: Daniel Knower + +Release Date: June 4, 2004 [eBook #12518] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: iso-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER*** + + +E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading +Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 12518-h.htm or 12518-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518/12518-h/12518-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518/12518-h.zip) + + + + + +THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER + +An Historic Description of California, with Events and Ideas +of San Francisco and Its People in Those Early Days + +By + +DANIEL KNOWER + +1894 + + + + + + +DEDICATED TO +Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, +Colonel John C. Freemont, and +Captain John A. Sutter, + +THE THREE PRE-EMINENT PIONEERS OF CALIFORNIA. + + + +[Illustration: DANIEL KNOWER.] + + + +PREFACE + +The discovery of gold in California, in 1848, with its other mineral +resources, including the Alamada quicksilver mine at San José, which is +an article of first necessity in working gold or silver ore; and the +great silver mines of Nevada, in 1860, the Comstock lode, in which, in +ten years, from five to eight hundred millions of gold and silver were +taken out, a larger amount than was ever taken from one locality before, +the Alamada quicksilver mine being the second most productive of any in +the world, the one in Spain being the largest, said to be owned by the +Rothschilds. Its effect upon the general prosperity and development of +our country has been immense, almost incalculable. Before these +discoveries the amount of gold in the United States was estimated at +about seventy millions, now it is conceded to be seven hundred millions. +The Northern Pacific coast was then almost unpopulated. California a +territory three times as large as New York and Oregon and the State of +Washington, all now being cultivated and containing large and populous +cities, and railroads connecting them with the East. Why that country +should have remained uninhabited for untold ages, where universal +stillness must have prevailed as far as human activity is concerned, is +one of the unfathomable mysteries of nature. It is only one hundred and +twenty-five years since the Bay of San Francisco was first discovered, +one of the grandest harbors in the world, being land-locked, extending +thirty miles, where all the vessels of the world could anchor in safety. +The early pioneers of those two years immediately after the gold was +discovered (of which I am writing) are passing away. As Ossian says, +"People are like the waves of the ocean, like the leafs of woody marvin +that pass away in the rustling blast, and other leaves lift up their +green heads." There is probably not five per cent of the population of +California to-day, of those days, scenes and events of which I have +tried to portray. Another generation have taken their places who can +know but little of those times except by tradition. I, being one of the +pioneers, felt it a duty, or an inspiration seemed to come over me as an +obligation I owed to myself and compatriots of those times, to do what I +could to perpetuate the memory of them to some extent in the history of +our country as far as I had the ability to do it. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + +THE CALIFORNIA PIONEER SOCIETY. + +The California Pioneer Society was organized in August, 1850. The +photograph of their building appears on the cover of this book, W.D.M. +Howard was their first president. Among their early presidents, and +prominent in the days of Forty-niners, were Samuel Branan, Thomas +Larkins, Wm. D. Farewell, and James Lick--who liberally endowed it. + +[Illustration: BUILDING OF THE SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERS.] + +It was organized for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of the +events of those days and for the benefit and mutual protection of its +members. No person was eligible for membership except he had arrived in +California before the 1st of January, 1850, and the descendants of +Forty-niners when arriving at the age of twenty-one are eligible. At the +opening of the World's Fair in San Francisco in January last, in the +ceremonies in the marching of the procession through the streets of the +city, they were received with the greatest enthusiasm and cheers, which +was a marked manifestation of the veneration in which they are held by +the people of California. + + + +THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER. + +The writer was practising his profession in the city of Albany, his +native place, in 1848, when reports came of the discovery of gold in +California. In a short time samples of scales of the metal of the river +diggings were on exhibition, sent to friends in the city in letters. +Many of Colonel Stevenson's regiment had been recruited in that city. +Soon these rumors were exaggerated. It was said that barrels of gold +were dug by individuals named. Soon the excitement extended all over the +country, and the only barrier to wealth, it seemed, was the difficulty +of getting to the Eldorado. Why the discovery of gold there should have +produced so much excitement cannot be fathomed. It seemed an era in +human affairs, like the Crusades and other events of great importance +that occur. Your correspondent became one of its votaries, and organized +a company to go to the gold rivers and secure a fortune for all +interested in it, and it seemed all that was required was to get there +and return in a short time and ride in your carriage and astonish your +friends with your riches. Suffice it to say, this company was fully +organized (with its by-laws and system of government drawn up by the +writer), and sailed from the port of New York on the ship _Tarrolinter_ +on the 13th of January, 1849, to go around Cape Horn, arriving in San +Francisco on the following July. From that time I became absorbed in all +the news from the gold regions, and losing confidence somewhat in the +certainty of a fortune from my interest in the company, and reading of +the high price of lumber, the scarcity of houses, and the extraordinary +high wages of mechanics there, conceived the project of shipping the +materials for some houses there, having all the work put on them here +that could be done, thus saving the difference in wages, and to have +them arrive there before the rainy season set in, and thus realize the +imaginary fortune that I had expected from my interest in the company. +In the following spring I had twelve houses constructed. The main point +upon which my speculation seemed to rest was to get them to San +Francisco before the rainy season commenced. I went to New York to +secure freight for them in the fastest vessel. Fortunately for me, as I +conceived at the time, I found the day before I arrived in New York, the +_Prince de Joinville,_ a Havre packet ship, had been put up to sail for +the port of San Francisco, and as yet had engaged no freight. I made a +bargain with them at once to take my houses at sixty cents per square +foot, and had the contract signed, half to be delivered at the side of +the ship by such a date and the other half at a subsequent date. I +delivered the first half of the houses on the time agreed, sending them +down the Hudson river by a barge on a tow. I sent the second half on a +barge to get there on the day they were due, apprehending no trouble, I +going down myself a few days in advance. They commenced complaining at +the ship that they would not have room for the balance of my houses on +board, although I had their written contract to take them at sixty cents +per foot. + +There was great California excitement about this time, and other parties +had come to the conclusion that the _Prince de Joinville_ was probably +the fastest ship taking freight for San Francisco. I saw them accept of +offers at $1.50 per foot, when their contract with me was for less than +half that price, which would make a difference of several thousand +dollars in their favor. So, if the balance of my houses did not arrive +within the time stated in the contract, they would not be taken on that +vessel, and my speculation ruined. The time was up the next day at +twelve o'clock. I was down on the Battery the next morning early +watching for the tow, with the barge with my houses. The ship was at the +dock in the East river. About ten o'clock, A.M., I had the good fortune +to see the barge rounding the Battery. I cried out to the captain to cut +loose from the tow, employ the first steam tug and I would pay the bill, +which he did, getting on the side of the vessel by eleven o'clock, thus +saving my contract by one hour. But they did not commence taking them on +board, so the captain of the barge put a demurrage of $20 per day for +detention. In the meantime, I had bought my ticket to sail by the +steamer _Georgia_ to the Isthmus to go on the 1st of July which was but +a few days off. They, seeing that I had them on my contract, came to me +and said that my houses should go on their ship according to contract, +if they had to throw other freight out, and that they would sign a +regular bill of lading for all the material deliverable to me upon the +arrival of the _Prince de Joinville_ at the port of San Francisco, and +take my carpenters' specifications for the description of them, which +seemed all right to me. + +The following is an article from the _Albany Evening Atlas_ of June 23, +1849: + + "CALIFORNIA HOUSES. + + "Our estimable fellow citizen Dr. Knower, who is to start + for California by the Crescent City _via_ Panama, is about + to ship to that place twelve houses, complete and ready to + put up on arrival at San Francisco. The venture is a costly + one, the freight on the material approaching the cost of as + many frame buildings in this quarter, and the projector, we + think, has managed the speculation with great foresight and + judgment. The best timber has been selected, and the best + work men employed, and a plan of architecture pursued, + which is supposed to offer the greatest advantages with the + most economical expenditures of material. Four of these + buildings are 18 feet front and 25 feet deep. A partition + running lengthways divides the buildings into two rooms, and + the stairs leads to a second platform, which is large enough + for bedrooms, or for storing materials and tools of miners. + Two others are 18 feet front and 18 feet deep, with a small + extension in the rear of 8 feet. Two are 16 feet in front + and 22 feet deep, with the entrance on the gable front; and + the four others are 18 feet front by 14 deep. The sides of + the building will be composed of a double framework of + boards planed, grooved and tongued, fitting air tight on + each side of the timber, the interval between them being + either filled with the moss of the country or left vacant, + the confined column of the air being found sufficient to + keep off the excess of cold or heat. The roofs of all the + buildings shed from the front, except two of which are of + gable shape. The roofs are to be made of solid, + close-fitting planks, covered with fine ticking and coated + with the patent indestructible fire-proof paint, and + applications which our citizens have just begun to use here, + and which they have, found entirely successful. + + "The houses can be easily transported to the placers or may + be put up on the sea-board. We should suppose that the + numerous land-owners who are speculating on the prospects of + future cities would be glad to give the land necessary for + the location of this village. + + "The houses go by the _Prince de Joinville_, a first-class + vessel, which leaves New York soon." + +I sailed on the steamer which left New York at 5 P.M., July 1, 1849. +Friends were there to see me off, but there were no persons on the boat +that I had ever seen before--I was wondering who would be my first +acquaintance. + +Being very tired, I retired soon to my berth, and woke up the next +morning on the broad ocean. Two days of sea sickness and I was all right +again. There were about one thousand passengers from all parts of our +country. I tried to fathom the motives and standing of different ones. +Colonel B. from Kentucky, an aristocratic-looking man, with his slave +for a body servant, who could not have been bought for less than $1,500 +in Kentucky, where slavery existed at that time. Why a man in his +circumstances should be going to California to seek gold I could not +fathom. One day a party of us were seated around the table talking +matters over. It was proposed that each should reveal to the others what +he expected to do and his motives for the expedition. We each related +our expectations and the motives that had inspired us. My aristocratic +friend was one of the party. My curiosity was at its height to know his +views. He said: "Well, gentlemen, you have all been candid in your +statements, and I shall be the same; I am going to California to deal +Faro, the great American gambling game, and I don't care who knows it." + +Later on in my narrative, I shall have occasion to refer to Colonel B. +again under other circumstances. The fourth day out being the fourth of +July, was duly celebrated on the steamer in true American style. Our +course was to the east of Cuba. We passed in sight of the green hills of +San Domingo to our left, and in sight of Jamaica to our right, crossing +the Caribbean sea, whose grand, gorgeous sunsets I shall never forget. I +could not buy a ticket in New York for the steamer from Panama to San +Francisco, but was informed at the office in New York that sixty tickets +were for sale in Panama by Zackery, Nelson & Co., the American Consul, +who were agents for the steamer on the Pacific side. I naturally +supposed that those who offered their money first for those tickets +could buy them. The price was $300 for the first cabin, and $150 for +the second, from Panama to San Francisco; but a fraction of the +passengers had a ticket for the Pacific side. + +The objective point was to get to Panama to secure a ticket, so I made +an arrangement with four others; three were to take charge of the +baggage of the five, and take it leisurely, and Lieutenant M., of South +Carolina, and myself were selected to run an express across the Isthmus +and get there ahead of the other passengers and secure tickets for the +five, and try and be the first to land at Chagres. We came to anchor in +the bay. The captain announced that no passengers would be permitted to +go ashore until the government officials had inspected the vessel. A +boat came from shore with the officials. After a short stay the +officials went down the side of the steamer to their boat to return to +the shore. There was a guard to keep all but the proper persons from +getting into the boat. I had a small carpet bag in my hand, passed the +guard, slipped a $5 gold piece in his hands, and took my seat in the +boat, and, of course, passed as one of the officials, and was the first +passenger to land from the steamer. The first point to be made was to +secure a boat for passage up the Chagres river. I was recommended to +Colonel P., who was the head man in that business there. He was a +colonel in the Granadian army. I found him a full-blooded African, but +an active business man in his way. I got his price for a boat and two of +his best men, and then offered double the price if they would row night +and day, and an extra present to the men if they made good time, for +every thing seemed to depend on securing those tickets on the Pacific +side. By the time I had all my arrangements made, Lieutenant M. made his +appearance. He said he was the second passenger that landed from the +steamer. Then behold us in what they called a dug-out, a boat somewhat +similar to a canoe, with a little canopy over the center that you could +crawl under to lay down with the two naked natives, with the exception +of a cloth around their loins, neither understanding each other's +language, to whom we could only communicate by signs. At 4 P.M., +starting for Gorgona, fifty-five miles up the river, where we were to +land and take mules for Panama. Eight miles was the first stopping +place. We felt elated that we had got so good a start of all the other +passengers. The denseness of the vegetation first attracted our +attention on the banks of the river. The trees, the vines, the +shrubbery, the vines clinging to the trees, hanging in all fantastic +shapes, it seemed to be impenetrable, an ocean of green, unlike any +thing we had ever seen before. + +Early in the evening we arrived at the first stopping place, eight miles +on our way up the river, where we both made ourselves at home, excited +at the strangeness of the scene, surrounded by the thatched huts of the +natives, who were having a dance on the square in the village. After we +had been there an hour, we thought our men had their rest, and it was +time to go on according to our contract, to be rowed night and day. + +In the meantime it seems the natives had taken some offense at +Lieutenant M.'s familiarity, and they appeared with handles of long +knives projecting back of their necks in a threatening manner. We +likewise learned that that was the home of one of our men, and that he +proposed to stay there all night in violation of the contract. So we had +a consultation to decide what to do to get away. It was pitch dark; we +laid our plan. Lieutenant M. beckoned one of the men away from the dance +as if he wanted to give him something, and drew his pistol on him and +marched him down to the boat, while I, with a pistol, kept him there +while he went for the other man. + +After a while he came with him and we got them both in the boat and +started. About this time there was a storm came up with the rain, and +thunder and lightning, as the elements can only perform in that way in +the tropics, surrounded by impenetrable darkness, and to us an unknown +river, with its serpents and alligators, with our two naked savages, +that we only got in the boat by force, and, of course, could not feel +very friendly toward us. Expecting to be fired on from the shore, if +they could see us through the darkness, we took our departure from our +first landing place on the Chagres river, surrounded by romance enough +to satisfy the most romantic imagination in that line. Our men kept +steadily to work. After a while the clouds broke away, the moon showed +itself, and we made good progress that night. We had no trouble with our +men after that. The colonel at Chagres had evidently given us his best +man. They found that we were masters of the situation and it was for +their interest to submit. We treated them kindly after that, and all +went well, for we passed every boat we came to. I shall never forget the +look of despair at two Frenchmen, evidently gentlemen, as we went by +them, and they informed us the length of time they had been coming up +the river, and that they could do nothing with their men. That afternoon +we came in sight of a thatched hut on the banks, evidently a ranch. We +thought it for our interest to rest. We saw a man whom we took for the +proprietor, entirely naked, rubbing his back against a post. On landing +and approaching him he excused himself for a short time, and returned +dressed, walking with the air of a lord of a manor, which dress +consisted of a coarse bagging shirt, coming down to his knees. We +arrived the next day at 11 A.M., at Gorgona, and took our dinner at the +hotel kept by the Alcalde of the place, and bargained with him for a +guide and three mules to continue our journey to Panama. As soon as our +guides and mules were ready, about 1 P.M., we started for Panama. We +soon got enough of our mules by being thrown a number of times over +their heads. They did not understand our language. "Get up and go +along," was Greek to them, but when the guide said "mula vamous" they +knew what it meant. On reaching the place where we were to stay all +night, we arose in the morning refreshed, but concluded to leave our +mules and make the rest of the way a-foot, as we considered them a +nuisance, and as we had no baggage but my little satchel previously +referred to, in which I had bills of lading of my houses, they being +consigned to me, the specifications of my carpenter's schedule, my +letters and a gold chronometer watch, worth $250, belonging to H., a +broker in New York, a friend, and a bottle of the best brandy, which he +presented to me to keep off the fever in crossing the Isthmus. This bag +I handed to the guide boy, about seventeen years of age, taking out the +brandy bottle. The watch I was to sell, for he had two nephews who had +gone to California, and if they were in need, to supply their wants. I +did not meet them; sold the watch for $500 to Mr. Haight, one of the +owners of the Miners' Bank in San Francisco, and remitted the money to +my friend, so I shall not refer to the watch again. + +We were walking on at a free pace, our guide boy following behind. +Looking back after awhile we could not see him. We stopped and waited +some time, but he did not come, so we thought we would go on and he +would follow. The result was we lost our way and craved for a sight of +the Pacific ocean with all the ardor that Gilboa could have done, the +first Spanish discoverer of it, and on the same route, after our +wanderings all day, almost without hope, until four in the afternoon, we +came to a stream of water; oppressed with the heat of the tropics and +fatigued I threw myself in the water. Lieutenant M. exclaimed: "Do not +give up in that way." "I am not giving up," I replied; "only refreshing +myself." In a short time he did the same thing. As we lay there we +thought we heard voices. In looking back who should we see but one of +our countrymen, the most gladdening sight to us. We felt saved at once. +We asked him if he had any provision. He said he thought not. Then he +said one of his companions might have a little piece of ham left and +some crackers. He said there were three of them, and they would soon be +there, and when they came one of them had some bacon and a few crackers, +which he gave to us. The eating of it soon refreshed us. As I had some +of the brandy left in the bottle, I extended it to them, which they were +very glad to receive. Explanations ensued. We, by chance, had struck the +Crusos road, and were but ten miles from Panama. They had come from +Philadelphia in a brig, and had started across from Crusos, the head of +boating on the Chagres river, and had been from two to three weeks +getting so far across the Isthmus, and were perfectly astonished at the +rapidity with which we had come. So we joined them and arrived in Panama +that evening. Lieutenant M. and myself were the first of the one +thousand passengers of the _Georgia_ to enter the city. The office of +the agents of the Pacific steamers was closed. I went, the first thing +in the morning, to purchase the five tickets for our party. Alas for +human expectation! I was informed it would be several weeks before the +steamer would sail. She had not yet returned from the first trip to San +Francisco. They said there were but sixty tickets for sale, and they +would not be offered until a few days before the departure of the +steamer. Of course, all we could do was to abide our chances of getting +them. The city was walled around and dyked like those of the Middle +Ages. Toward the bay the wall was one hundred feet high by twenty broad. +The city had been on the decline for most a hundred years. We could see +the ruins of what it once had been. At one time Spain owned all South +America, Mexico, California, Louisiana and Florida. Panama was the only +port of entry on the Pacific coast, and controlled its commerce. As you +enter the gates of the walled city there is a chapel just inside, where +the lights are always burning on its altars. The first thing on entering +all good Catholics enter, kneel and make their devotions, seeking the +protection of the patron saint of the city. The head alcalder of the +city was a Castilian Spaniard, a venerable-looking gentleman, white as +any Northern man, evidently of Scandinavian descent, who ages back +conquered Spain and divided the land up among themselves and became its +nobility, from whom the present rulers of Spain are descendants. It is +said that when conquered, the original inhabitants of Spain, to a great +extent, fled to their vessels, put to sea, and found the island of +Ireland, from which the present inhabitants are descendants. The second +alcalder was a negro as black as I have ever seen. + +In the city of Panama in its days of prosperity, when under Spain, the +higher classes must have lived in great luxuries, the negroes their +slaves. The natives the peons were in a condition similar to slavery, +they could not leave the land as long as they owed any thing. But the +despotism of old Spain became so great that when they struck for +freedom, all classes united. They gave freedom to the negroes and the +peons, and even the priests of the Catholic church had been so +tyrannized over by the mother church in Spain that they joined the +revolutionists and all classes are represented in the government. I +called at a watchmaker's to have a crystal put in my watch. Two brothers +had furnished rooms like a parlor. I could not speak Spanish, nor they +English. I could speak a little French. I found they could speak it +fluently. I asked them where they learned it. They said, "At the Jesuit +college at Granada." Then one, of them, when he learned that I was from +the United States, went to the piano and played Hail Columbia as a +compliment to my country, which would trouble most of us to do the same +for their country. + +There are now great trees growing up in the ruins of what was once its +great cathedral. The freebooter Morgan is said to have plundered one of +its altars of a million of gold and silver, and massacred many of its +inhabitants, perpetrating on them the atrocities that their ancestors +had upon the original natives. It is said that when Pizarro captured +Peru and took the Inca, their king, prisoner, he issued a decree that if +his subjects would fill a room with gold, he would release him, which +they did. Instead of doing it, he sentenced him to be burned at the +stake, and only commuted it to hanging on condition that he confessed +the Christian religion. Madam Roland, when she was about to be +guillotined in the French revolution, exclaimed, "O Liberty, what +crimes have been committed in thy name." O Christianity, what terrible +atrocities have been perpetrated in thy name! + +Panama is a healthy city to those acclimated, facing a beautiful bay, +unlike Chagres, on this side of the Isthmus of Darien, which is the most +unhealthy spot on this continent. Excuse this diversion, I must get back +to my subject, the days of the forty-niners. + +I stopped at the American Hotel. I was somewhat in a dilapidated +condition from the experiences of my trip from Chagres. The waiter in my +room at the hotel took the best of care of me. I soon found he was no +ordinary waiter. He had resigned a position in Washington of $2,000 a +year to go to the gold Eldorado. He had been in Panama several months, +and had been taken down with the fever twice, which had exhausted his +funds and was working at the hotel for his board, but never thought of +turning back. He was bound for California. He was quite enfeebled from +the effects of the fever. He got hold of my sympathies and secured my +friendship. (More of him anon.) I had been here four or five days +without seeing our guide, the boy with my satchel, containing my +valuables, particularly the bills of lading of my houses. I was in a +quandary and anxiety about it, not knowing what to do, when one day as I +was going to dinner, something pulled my coat from behind, and looking +around, what should I see to my great joy and satisfaction but the +native boy with my satchel, contents there all safe. It was an instance +of honesty that would do honor to any nation. I gave some honest +Catholic priest credit for it. The boy had evidently been instructed +what to do. + +The great objective point now was, how to get to San Francisco. There +was no hope for a sailing vessel from this place, for we saw one return +for water that had been chartered by a party that had been out three +weeks, and scarcely got out of sight of the city. There is very little +chance for a sailing vessel from there until they get west several +hundred miles, and strike the trade winds. The chances were better with +the sailing vessel to start from New York and go around Cape Horn. So +the only hope seemed to be the steamer with its sixty tickets and with +from one thousand to fifteen hundred passengers waiting to buy them, all +seeking to bring some influence to bear to secure one. I saw in the +office of the steamer agent a young man, the book-keeper, whom I took a +fancy to, and sought his acquaintance. I found he was from Hudson, N.Y., +and I, from Albany, both from the banks of the Hudson river. It ripened +into a warm friendship. I explained my situation to him, and my desire, +if it was possible, to get off on the steamer, but did not venture to +ask his influence to try and get me a ticket. At this time the cholera +and Panama fever was raging in full force. The acclimatednacclimated +Americans were dying in every direction. I was conversing at 8 A.M. with +a healthy looking man, one of our passengers, from New York. At 5 P.M., +the same day, I inquired for him and was informed that he was dead and +buried. He had been attacked with the cholera. It was a law of the city +that they must be buried within one hour after death from a contagious +disease. I was finally myself taken down with the Panama fever, lay +unconscious and unnoticed in my room at the hotel for a long time, and +then came to and found myself burning with the raging fever, had a +doctor sent for, and after a time recovered so I could venture out. In +the meantime, the steamer _Panama_ had arrived, and its day of sailing +for San Francisco announced. Zackary, Nelson & Co. had issued an order +that the sixty tickets would be put up to be drawn for. Those having the +winning numbers could have the privilege of purchasing them; that they +must register their names on such a day. Probably one thousand names +and but sixty tickets. The chances were small, but the only hope. On +that day, I went early to register, as I was still very weak from the +effects of the fever, and at my best in the morning. As I entered, there +was a great number there registering. When my turn came, and I was about +to put down my name, I looked behind the desk and saw my friend, the +book-keeper. He shook his head for me not to. I knew that meant +something favorable. I backed out. I returned at once to the hotel. In +the evening, about 8 o'clock, my friend came to my room with a second +cabin ticket. The joys of Paradise centered into my possession of that +ticket. I asked him how did he obtain it? He said he was about to resign +his position, and was going up on the same steamer to California. The +night before the drawing he asked Mr. Nelson if his services had been +satisfactory to him. He said they had. He then said if he should ask +him a favor on leaving him if he would grant it? He replied certainly. +He then said that he wanted one of those sixty tickets for a particular +friend. Mr. Nelson said, "If I had known what you was going to ask for, +I could not have granted it; but since I have pledged my word, I shall +give you the ticket." + +The next day passengers would be received on the steamer, which was +anchored out in the bay, some distance from shore. It was announced that +no sick persons could go on the steamer. As I was quite enfeebled from +my sickness, and was at my best in the morning, I thought I would make +an early start, so as to be sure and be aboard, as they were all to be +on board the vessel to sail early the next morning. I started out for a +boat to take me out to it with the highest elasticity of feelings, not +so much from the prospect of financial success as the idea that if I +could get North again my physical health would be restored, and the +steamer was going North. It seemed at times that I would have given +$1,000 for one good breath of Northern air. As I was going along, some +distance ahead of me, sitting at the doors of a doggery, with his head +almost between his knees, the picture of despair, was my Washington +friend, who waited on my room at the hotel when I first arrived, did me +many favors, and got hold of my sympathies. I said to myself, poor +fellow, I can do nothing for you. I must not let him see me, so I dodged +and passed him. When I got some distance by him my conscience smote me. +I will go back and speak to him; so I did. I had advised him a few days +previous to go and see some officers of the boat and offer to go up as +waiter without pay. I asked him if he had done so, and what luck? He +said there was no hope. They told him they had been offered $300 for the +privilege of going up as waiter. I then told him I had a ticket. I was +going then for a boat to go on board. That his case was desperate, and +that desperate cases required desperate remedies; that he had been down +twice with the fever, and the next time he would probably die; that he +had no friends there nor money; if he would do as I told him I would +stand by him and he must have nerve. He said to me: "How can a man have +nerve without a dollar in his pocket?" which exclamation has occurred to +me many times since. I asked him to hire a boat to get him out to the +vessel, and what it would cost. He said $2. I gave him the money and +told him to get his baggage. He said he had none. I told him to come +about 11 o'clock and go to work among the hands as if he was one of +them; that all were new hands and officers, and they would not know the +difference. He said that the captain had said if any person was caught +on board without a ticket they would be put on shore at the first +uninhabited island. I told him I would attend to that in his case. I +went on board and got my berth and baggage all in. About 11 o'clock I +saw my friend coming over the water making for the vessel. There was +considerable confusion on board at the time, passengers constantly +arriving, and he was not noticed, and he went to work among the hands as +if he had been regularly employed. In a short time the officers were +arranging the men in line to pass the baggage, and said to him: "You +stand here and help pass it," of course, taking him for one of the men +of the boat. In the evening he came and spoke to me. I said all right so +far. But in the morning, he said, they are going to examine every +person, then they will put me ashore. I said, keep a stiff upper lip. If +you get in trouble, come to me. + +The next morning the gun fired, the anchor was raised, and we sailed +down to Bogota, an island similar to Staten Island in the New York +Harbor. The health officers came out. Then my friend trembled and +thought the day of judgment had come to him, but the health officers +were on board but a short time. No examination of those on board took +place. The signal gun for departure was fired. We passed out of the +harbor. The bow of our vessel was pointed north, and we felt extremely +happy. I said to him, "This vessel is bound for San Francisco, and you +are aboard, and will get there as soon as I will." A few days after that +the mate was arranging the employment of the men, and when he came to my +friend's turn he said to him, "Who employed you? You are not an +able-bodied seaman." He made no reply. They could see he was a man of +intelligence, and his pale look showed he had been sick. It may have +moved the sympathies of the officer, who said to him, "This vessel is +crowded with people; it wont do for us to be short of water, and I will +put the water in your charge, and you must not let any passenger, or +even the steward, have any except according to the regulations, and if +you attend to that properly no other services will be required of you." +That took him off of the anxious seat and put him on the solid. In all +his adversities he never thought of turning back. That commanded my +esteem. His attentions to me, when sick, aroused my sympathies for him, +which good action on his part saved him. Of one thousand passengers +desirous of getting on that steamer, and there was room but for sixty on +the day of its departure; his chance looked the most hopeless, being +penniless, but he was one of the fortunate ones, while those who had +plenty of money were left. It illustrated the old maxim, "Where there is +a will there is a way." + +Nothing of interest occurred until we got to the port of Acupulco, the +largest place on the west coast of Mexico. We were about to enter the +harbor when a government boat with officials came out and ordered us to +stop. If we proceeded any further there would be "matter trouble" in +broken English. There were Americans on shore who had crossed over from +Vera Cruz for the purpose of taking this steamer. It would be a month +before there would be another one, and then there would be no certainty +of their getting aboard of that. The captain held a consultation of the +passengers, who all decided to have them come on board. They were our +countrymen and we would share our berths with them, although the vessel +was then crowded, and some of the passengers volunteered to row ashore +with the small boats to bring them aboard, which they did. When they +approached the shore there was a company of soldiers waded in the water +with pointed guns, forbidding them to approach any nearer. The Americans +who were on the bank informed them that the soldiers would fire, and +warning them not to approach any nearer, while bewailing their fate that +they had to be left, so they returned. Then the captain received notice +to leave in half an hour or the guns of the fort would open fire on us. +It was a bright moonlight night. The fort was on a high knoll just above +us, and could have blown us out of the water. So we thought discretion +was the better part of valor, and we had to leave. The laws of nations +were on their side. We were from an infected port, Panama, where cholera +prevailed. + +On board the steamer were some men of prominence. W.F. McCondery, from +Boston, a retired East India sea captain, a man of wealth, who had been +out of business for three years and craved for a more exciting life; who +started the largest commission-house in San Francisco, and had consigned +to him about all the shipments from Boston, and likewise the _Prince de +Joinville_ with my houses; Mr. G., from Liverpool, an Englishman, who +had about all the consignments from that city; Rothschild's nephew, who +had represented that house as a banker in Valparaiso, Chili, was going +to establish a branch of those great bankers' house in San Francisco; +Judge Terry, from Louisiana, who had the reputation at that time of +being a dead shot with a pistol, who afterward challenged United States +Senator Broderick to fight a duel, from political influences, and killed +him, and some years afterward was assassinated himself from a +disagreement with parties about a lawsuit. We came opposite Mazland at +the mouth of the Gulf of California, and took on board some passengers +and freight. + +The next incident in our voyage was when we came in sight of San Diego, +California, and saw the American flag floating from the flag staff. +There was an instantaneous shout went up from every American on board. +We were once more to be under its protection in our own country. + + Love of country, mystic fire from heaven, + To light our race up to stateliest heights 'tis given. + +We were entering the Golden Gate. It was but four miles to the harbor +where we cast anchor, opposite the city of San Francisco, which was the +goal of our hopes for so long a time, and which was about to be +realized; which was also the objective point from almost every part of +the world where adventurers are seeking to get. We had come three +thousand, five hundred miles since we left Panama. We engaged a row-boat +to take us ashore. My friend attended to getting my baggage out of the +boat, and went with me to the shore. He had signed no papers, and +entered into no bonds not to desert the vessel at San Francisco, as the +other sailors had. He was free to do as he pleased. + +I had the chills and fever all the way up, from the effects of the +Panama fever. My first idea was to get in good quarters, whatever +expense, to regain my health. I was informed that there was a good hotel +kept by a widow woman on Montgomery street, where we landed. Some of the +other passengers were going to stop there. I inquired the terms. They +said $5 per day. I thought I would try it for a while. My sleeping-room +was a mattress laid on the floor, with muslin partitions to separate us +from the next room. The table was very indifferent, no vegetables, which +I required, which we lacked on the ship coming up. Being in poor health, +I needed them. After being there a few days one of our passengers asked +me if I knew what the charges were. I said yes, $5 per day. He said it +was more; I had better ask again, which I did. I was informed it was $5 +for the room and extra for the meals. I paid my bill and looked out for +other quarters. I had brought in my baggage an Indian rubber mattress +and pillow which was folded up in a small space and could be blown up +with your breath and filled with air, made a soft bed, a pair of new +Mackinaw blankets and other things to provide for any contingency, and +took my meals at a restaurant, which were numerous, including the +Chinese which we often patronized, and found myself satisfactorily +quartered. It may not be inappropriate to make some general remarks +about the history of California. + +Although my subject is strictly on the days of forty-niners, which +consisted of about two years from the discovery of the gold, when it was +supposed that the future prosperity of the country depended exclusively +on the mining interest. How different it has turned out since has +nothing to do with my subject. I want to try to paint to the mind of the +reader the condition of California at that time, and the views of the +pioneers in those days. I am doing it in the form of a personal +narrative, as it enables me more distinctly to recall to my mind the +events of those days in which I was a participant. Such fluctuations of +fortune as then occurred, the world never saw before in the same space +of time, and probably never will again, where common labor was $16 per +day. There were some very interesting and truthful articles published in +the _Century_ magazine two years ago from the pen of the pioneers, but +there has been no book published as a standard work for the present and +future, and the participants in it are passing away, for it is +forty-five years since they occurred. California is three times larger +in territory than the State of New York. Its population before the +discovery of gold, including Indians and all, was but a few thousand. +Cattle could be bought for $1 per head, and all the land they ranged +upon thrown in the bargain for nothing. They were killed for their +hides, and the meat thrown away, as there was no one to eat it. + + +A FEW HISTORICAL ITEMS. + +San Francisco bay, first discovered the 25th of October, 1769. The first +ship that ever entered the harbor was the _San Carlos_, June, 1775. The +mission of Dolores founded by the Jesuit Fathers in 1769. Colonel +Jonathan Stevenson arrived at California with one thousand men on the +7th of March, 1847. The treaty of Hidalgo ceding California to the +United States by Mexico, officially proclaimed by the president, July 4, +1848. Gold first discovered by Marshall, January 9, 1848. January, 1848, +the whole white population of California was fourteen thousand, January, +1849, the population of San Francisco was two thousand. The three most +prominent publicmen at the time of my arrival in California were Colonel +Freemont, who had conducted an expedition overland; Colonel Stevenson, +who came by sea with one thousand men, appointed by William L. Marcy, +who was secretary of war during the conflict with Mexico, from whom I +had a letter of introduction as a family connection of Governor Marcy, +similar to the following letter to Brigadier Major-General P.F. Smith, +which was not delivered: + + ALBANY, _June_ 24, 1849. + + My Dear Sir--I desire to present to your favorable notice, + the bearer hereof, Dr. Daniel Knower. He is on the eve of + departing for California. He is a family connection of mine, + a gentleman of talents and respectability, and I commend him + to your favorable notice. + + Yours truly, + + WILLIAM L. MARCY. + + BRIG.-GEN. P.F. SMITH. + +I soon found the colonel one of the warmest of friends. Captain John A. +Sutter, who was a captain in the Swiss Guards of Charles the Tenth of +France, after the revolution of 1830 in that country, came to the United +States, who some years previous had wandered across the country to +Oregon, and the Russian Fur Company secured for him a large grant of +land from Mexico in California, on which the city of Sacramento now +stands, extending back from that city many miles to where the gold was +first discovered. He was having a raceway dug on the American river for +the purpose of erecting a saw-mill, as there was no lumber in the +country. He had constructed a fort some miles back from the Sacramento +river, where he made his home. The object of the Russian Fur Company was +to have a place where they could purchase grain, as there was none +raised there at that time, and they had a contract with him, and that +they were to send a vessel at such a time, and he was to settle up the +country and cultivate it. Sutter was the most social and generous of +men. The latch-string of his cabin was always on the outside, and all +callers were welcome, and the hospitalities of the fort extended to all +callers. + +At the time of my arrival, on August 18, 1849, there were several +hundreds of ships anchored in the bay deserted by their crews, who had +gone to the mines. They could make more in one day there than their +wages would amount to in a month on the vessel. + +In the city a large portion of its population were living in tents. +There were not buildings enough. Vessels were constantly arriving loaded +with people from all parts of the world. As my health permitted I +investigated matters there. I took a walk out. I met what looked like a +laboring man. I asked him how long he had been there? He said two +months. I said to him: "And not gone up to the mines yet?" He said to me +he was in no particular hurry. He said he had a row-boat and made $20 a +day rowing passengers to and from the vessels (there was then no dock). +He had his boy with him, who gathered mussels and sold them. Between the +two they averaged $30 per day, which explained why he was in no hurry to +go to the gold diggings. + +Lumber was bringing fabulous prices. It looked very favorable for my +house ventures. Mr. G., the Englishman, had been very anxious to buy +them. He had seen the specifications of the carpenter on the steamer +coming up. On Saturday P.M. I called at his office. He asked me if I had +made up my mind to sell him the houses. I said to him: "If I should put +a price on them you would not take me up." He said "try me." I named a +price. He said he would take them and go to my lawyer to draw up the +contract. I said I would just as soon go to his (which was a fatal +mistake). I knew his was a State senator from Florida, and had come up +on the steamer with us. We found the lawyer in his office, and he +commenced drawing up the contract. I made my statement that I sold the +houses from my carpenter's specifications (not from any representations +I made myself), and from the bills of lading and from my insurance +policy, which ranked the ship _Prince de Joinville_, formerly a Havre +packet, classed A, No. 1. He was to deposit bills of lading of the ship +_St. George_ from Liverpool, consigned to him, in value to the amount of +$50,000, with a third party, as collateral security, that on the +arrival of the _Prince de Joinville,_ and the delivery of the houses, he +was to pay me the sum agreed upon. + +The lawyer, after writing a little, complained of a headache, and asked +if it made any difference if he put it off until Monday morning. I said, +Mr. G. had been very anxious to buy the houses, and I had not cared +about selling them to arrive, preferring to take my chances when the +vessel got here, but since I had consented to sell them, I preferred to +have it on the solid. I said, I supposed the transaction was not of +great importance to Mr. G., but I had all that I was worth in the world +at stake on the venture, and would prefer to have it closed now. He +commenced writing, and again complained of the headache. I then +consented to put it off until Monday morning at 10 o'clock. We both +pledged our honor to meet there at that time and consummate it. I was +there on Monday morning at the time designated. Mr. G. came in at 11 +o'clock and said he had changed his mind and would not take the houses. +I said all right, but his word of pledge of honor would have no value +with me hereafter. + +I would have made $18,000 profit, but I was selling them for a good deal +less than they would have brought if they had been there. Lumber was +selling as high as from three to four hundred dollars per thousand feet +in San Francisco at that time. But I was making certain of a good profit +and running no risk of what might happen in the future. + +I had another offer of a number of lots on Stockton street, the next +street above the plaza in the heart of the city, for six of the smaller +ones, which, if I had consummated, would have made my fortune. "There is +a tide in the affairs of men, which, if taken at the flood tide, leads +on to fortune, or, if not seized, are forever lost." (Shakespeare.) + +The ideas of the people there at that time was, that a railroad across +the continent, connecting California with the East, was entirely +impracticable. That there were one thousand miles of desert to cross, +where there was no water, and the Sierra Nevada mountains presented an +impassable barrier, and they thought how could it ever be an +agricultural country, when there was no rain for more than seven months +in the year. The idea of irrigation was not thought of then. How +different every thing has turned out since, I have nothing to do with. I +must be true to my subject, the days of the Forty-niners. + +As it would be, at least, three months before the ship could come in +with my houses, and my health had improved, I was anxious to get up to +the mines. I was informed that there was a party from Albany at the +Dutch bar, on the south fork of the American river, about eight miles +from Coloma, where gold was first discovered, with whom I was +acquainted. I found a sloop about to sail for Sacramento (there were no +steamers then) the starting point to the northern mine. I took passage +on board with all the passengers the boat could accommodate. I noticed +on the passage up that the mosquitoes were very large, with penetrating +bills. It was as much as we could do to protect our faces. + +The only important event on the passage was that a Jew had potatoes that +he was taking up on speculation, and that he was going to treat his +fellow passengers to some, one day at dinner. We were a little +disappointed when we found they were sweet ones, but still they were a +treat. Vegetables were scarce, potatoes selling from forty to sixty +cents per pound. After a few days we arrived at Sacramento, it being +about one hundred miles from San Francisco by water. There were no hacks +at the landing, nobody that wanted a job to carry your baggage. Governor +Shannon, of Ohio, was among the passengers. He had been minister to +Mexico, yet he had to carry his own baggage, and make several trips to +do it. One of the passengers assisted him. He was president of a mining +company organized in Ohio. + +It was evening. We stopped at a hotel, and I slept in my Mackinaw +blanket that I carried with me, on the dining-room floor. The next +morning after breakfast, about 9 o'clock, I went out on the front +portico to take observations of the place. The landlord was there. There +was a loaferish-looking fellow going by on the opposite side of the +street. The landlord cries out to him: "Bill, what will you charge to +chop wood for me from now until night?" He cries back, "What will you +give?" He replies, "$10." Bill answers back, "Can't chop for less than +an ounce," which was $16, and walked right on. It was evident that +common labor was not suffering there for want of employment. I was there +some days, and could find no one to post me how to get to Coloma. All +was excitement and bustle. While there, Sam. Brannan--who had built a +new hotel there (just finished), called the City Hotel--gave a free +entertainment for one day to the public. He must have expended $1,000 +for refreshments. He had been a Mormon preacher, and was a captain in +Colonel Stevenson's regiment. He was very enterprising and generous, a +prominent figure with the "Forty-niners." + +I saw an article in the paper a few years ago from a California +correspondent, giving a biography of him; that he was, at one time, +worth several millions, and went into some big enterprise--which I +cannot now recall--and was unfortunate and lost all his wealth, and that +he was, at that time, in San Francisco at a twenty-five-cent +lodging-house, and that he told him that he passed two men that day who +had crossed the street to avoid him, to whom he had furnished the money +from which they had made their fortunes. Well, I finally found an +Oregon man with a yoke of oxen, who was freighting goods up to Coloma. +He said he had seven hundred and fifty acres of land in Oregon, but no +cattle on it. He thought he would come to California and get gold enough +to buy them, and his wife was keeping a cake and pie stand on the +streets of that city. I never saw him after that trip, but coming with +so modest expectations, I have no doubt he was successful. + +We started on our journey in the afternoon. The country through which we +traveled looked as if it had been an old-settled land, and deserted by +its inhabitants. It seemed that we must come to a farm-house, but there +was none. There were scattering trees in the country and occasionally a +woods, but no dense forest. We made eight miles, then camped for the +night on the edge of a woods. I had brought no provisions with me, so I +offered him $1 per meal to eat with him, which was accepted. He made +tea, cooked some Indian meal, and had a jug of molasses; so we made a +very good supper. I got my satchel out of the wagon for a pillow, and +with my blankets made my bed on the ground under the wagon. I thought it +would keep the dew off, but there was none. + +There is no danger of taking cold sleeping on the ground in the dry +season, when it does not rain for seven months. He had set fire to a +dead tree to keep the grizzly bears off, and about the time I got +comfortably laid down, there was a pack of coyote wolves came howling +around. Amid those surroundings, the burning of the fire to keep the +grizzlies off and howling of the wolves, I fell asleep and did not wake +until morning, refreshed from my slumbers. After a breakfast similar to +the meal the night before, we proceeded on our journey, but the ox team +travelled so slow that in walking I got away ahead of it, and then got +tired of waiting for it to come up to me, and so went on alone. Toward +night I came to Mormon Island, the first gold diggings. I inquired if +there was a place where I could get quarters for the night. They said I +might, at the hospital. It was a log cabin with bunks in it, and what +was my astonishment to find the proprietor, a doctor from Troy, N.Y., an +old acquaintance. I was more than welcome. We were both delighted to see +each other. I to find such comfortable quarters, and he to meet with a +friend in the wilderness, and to hear the latest news from the East. He +got for me the best supper that the surroundings would afford; as I had +eaten nothing since morning, it was very acceptable, and he provided for +me the most comfortable of his bunks for sleeping. He informed me that +it was twenty-five miles from Coloma, and there was but one place on the +way where I could get water to drink. I started after breakfast, +refreshed. After travelling some miles, I came to the smoke of the +camp-fire of Indians, just ahead of me. It was rumored that the Oregon +men were in the habit of shooting an Indian on sight when they had a +chance. The Indians killed white men in retaliation, as they could not +make peace until they had killed as many whites as they had lost, +according to their ideas of equity. As I did not care particularly about +being one to make up the number, I struck off in a ravine and passed +around so as to avoid their camping ground and came to the road beyond +them. What truth there was about the shooting of them I could not say, +but it was currently reported at the time. About 4 o'clock, P.M., I got +to a stopping place six miles from Coloma. There I met a man with a long +beard, slouched hat, a sash around his body, a flannel shirt, evidently +a miner. I had a long talk with him. He posted me about the gold +diggings and I him about the news from the States. As we were about to +part, he asked me to take a drink. He inquired of the proprietor if he +had champagne? He said, yes, at $10 a bottle. The man said, pass us +down a bottle, which we drank together. He, evidently, had struck good +diggings. We parted, as I was anxious to get to Coloma before dark, +which I did, just as the sun was setting, having made twenty-five miles +in one day on foot. I found a regular tavern here, kept by a man from +Mississippi, with his family. I sat down to a regular table for my +supper, which seemed quite a treat. He informed me that he had no +bed-room for me; that I could sleep on the dining-room floor, or in his +barn. He had just had some new hay put in. I chose the latter. It was a +kind of a shanty building, but the soft bed of new hay was a luxury +after my twenty-five miles walk. + +I awoke the next morning refreshed. After my breakfast I took in the +place and went to the raceway where the first piece of gold was +discovered. There were three or four stores in the place to supply the +miners of the surrounding region. I got my direction how to find the +Dutch Bar, eight miles from there. Proceeding on my way, after going +about five miles, I came to a person, his face covered with a long +beard, whom I recognized, by the expression of his eyes, as a person who +I knew in Albany, and who belonged to the party I was seeking. He +informed me that I was within three miles of them, and he gave me plain +directions how to find them. I soon came to their camp and there was a +genial meeting and exchange of news. There were five in the company. +They had a tent and owned a pair of mules. I joined them, as I had not +come to depend on mining, as I never had been accustomed to physical +labor. At first I thought it was awful hard work, and that it was lucky +for me that I had not come to California depending on it, but after a +short time I got used to it and liked it. They took turns in cooking, so +each one had one day in the week that he did the cooking. We lived on +fried pork and flapjacks made from wheat flour fried in the fat of the +pork, tin cups for our tea and coffee, and tin dishes. We each had stone +seats, and a big one in the center for our table. At night we slept +under our tent. The gold rivers were not navigable. They were sunk way +down deep in the earth. When the rainy season sets in during the winter +months, and sometimes rains every day in the month, causing the snow to +melt on the Sierra Nevada mountains, where these streams take their +rise, will cause the water to rise often from ten to twenty feet in a +night, and in the course of ages has worn their depth down into the +earth, and is supposed to have washed out of the earth the scales of +gold that are found on the banks of the rivers. The first mining was a +very simple process. A party of three could work together to the best +advantage. A virgin bar was where the river had once run over and now +receded from it. Three persons worked together, one to clear off the +sand on the ground to within six inches of the hardpan. The top earth +was not considered worth washing, the scales of gold, being heavier, had +settled through it, but could not penetrate that portion of the earth +called the hardpan, so the earth within six inches of it was impregnated +with more or less gold, and one to carry the bucket to the rocker, and +the other to run the rocker, which was located close to the water. The +rocker was a trough about three feet in length with three slats in it +and a sieve at the upper end, on which the bucket of earth was thrown. +The man worked the rocker with one hand and dipped the water out of the +river with a tin-handled dipper. As he worked the rocker the fine earth +and scales of gold passed through the holes of the sieve and settled +behind the slats in the trough, and the stones and large lumps in which +there was no gold were caught in the sieve and thrown away. After a +certain number of buckets of earth had been run through in that way, the +settlings behind the slats in the trough were put in a milk-pan and the +water was allowed to run in the pan and the fine earth and sand would +float on the top of the water. You would let that run off. + +After a few operations of that kind you would see the yellow scales of +gold on the edge of the sand. You would continue that process until +there was but a little of the sand left; then you would take it with you +when you went to the tank and warm it by a fire to dry the sand; then +with your breath you would blow away the sand and have the gold, which +you carried in a buckskin bag, which was the currency of the country, at +$16 per ounce, and at the mint in Philadelphia was worth $18.25. I have +carried three hundred buckets in a day, and at twenty-five cents worth +of gold in a bucket, it would amount to $75, $25 to each man for his +day's work, which was frequently the average. In those days all it cost +for a party of three for capital to start mining was about $15. Then you +had the chances of striking a pocket. That was a cavity in the rocks +where gold had settled. In the course of ages, and where the strong +currents of the streams, when the rivers were high, could not reach it +to wash it out, I have known a person to take out $800 of gold in less +than an hour. The first miners, when they found gold on the banks of the +river, thought if they could only dig in the deep holes of the bed they +would find chunks of it, and they went to a big expense, and those who +had money hired laborers to assist in constructing raceways at $16 per +day, to change the current of the river; but when they had effected +their object and dug there they found no gold, for there was nothing to +prevent the strong current from carrying it off; but I knew a party to +draw off the water and expose the bed of the river, where there were +rapids, and they were successful, and the gold had settled down between +the crevices of the rocks, and the currents could not disturb it. + +There were some other kinds of diggings discovered different from the +river mining, called cañons, one I know of, called the Oregon. It was +described like a tunnel, deep down in the earth, where a party of three +persons from near our locality went and returned in about three weeks +and had from three to five thousand dollars apiece, which they showed +me. It was not scale gold, but nuggets of all sizes. Of course, they had +unusual luck. + +On the river mining each person was entitled to so many feet, as long as +they left any implements of labor on it. No person would trespass upon +it; but if he took every thing away, then it was inferred he had given +it up, and anybody had a right to take it. All regulations were strictly +respected and every thing was safe, and a person told me that he would +not be afraid to leave his bag of gold in his tent. Every thing was +honorable and safe until the overland emigrants from western Missouri +arrived there. + +They were a different kind of people; more of the brute order. When +they saw a party of two or three that had a good claim, and they were +the strongest, they would dispossess them. (I suppose the same class +that raided Kansas in John Brown's time.) They became so obnoxious that +a respectable man would deny his State. + +And another corrupt element arrived by sea, the ex-convicts from Sidney. + +I went to Coloma one day to get supplies for the party. I rode one of +the mules, the other followed to be packed with the purchases. When I +bought what was wanted, I handed the storekeeper my bag of gold to pay +him. When he returned it to me, I found his statement made was between +three and four dollars less than I knew was in it. I informed him of the +discrepancy. He said he did not see how that could be; that he weighed +it right. He came in in a few minutes and apologized, saying that he had +weighed it in the scales that he used when he traded with the Indians. +It needs no comment to know that the Christian man is not always +superior to the Indian in integrity. There was an Indian who had struck +a pocket. He came to Coloma with $800 in gold dust that he got out in a +short time. He invested it all with the storekeepers in a few hours. He +had dressed himself in the height of fashion, including a gold watch. He +was dressed as no California Indian ever had been before. The gold he +could not eat nor drink. + +[Illustration: DRESSED AS NO CALIFORNIA INDIAN EVER WAS BEFORE.] + +How the gold came there is one of the mysteries of nature. One theory +is, that the Sierra Nevada mountains were once the banks of the Pacific +ocean, and all California had been thrown up from the bottom of the sea +from that depth where gold was a part of the formation of the earth, in +connection with quartz, and as all gold appears in a molten state, which +would go to corroborate this theory. A person informed me that he went +through a ravine where one side of the road was half of a large rock, +and on the other side, the other half. He could see where the two halves +would match each other exactly. Well, I lived that life for two months. +We had an addition to what I have described to eat--pork and beans on +Sunday, and Chili pudding. It had been baked and sweetened, and then +ground up like flour and put in bags. All you had to do was to moisten +it with water to eat it. All our flour came from that country, put up in +sacks of fifty and one hundred pounds each, but we had no vegetables. +One day we heard that they had dried-apple sauce at the hotel at Coloma +for dinner. The next day, Sunday, three of us walked eight miles to get +there to dinner to get a taste of it. We paid $2 apiece for our dinner, +and they had the sauce; it tasted so good that we did not begrudge the +price of the dinner and the walk back again. We were fully satisfied. + +The rainy season set in. It rained three days, and although it was +three or four weeks before it would be possible for my houses to arrive, +yet it was a new country and no bridges. The streams might get up so as +to be impassable, and the houses were consigned to me, and no one but +myself to receive them. I thought I had better get back to San Francisco +at once. What I was making in the mines was mere nothing to what I had +at stake in the houses. Although, to tell the truth, I never left a +place with more regret, as hard as the fare was. We were interested +every day in the work for gold, and did not know when we might make a +rich strike. My last day there it rained. Notwithstanding, a companion +and myself went out to dig for a couple of hours. When we returned, we +had $25 worth. That was the last of my mining. I started the next +morning for Sacramento afoot. I sold my pistol and blankets for an ounce +each, $16 apiece. On my route I met a man bound for the same place. We +joined teams and became very intimate. + +The only incident of importance was when we got within five miles of +Sacramento. We stopped at a log cabin and ordered dinner. A short time +after my companion came to me in some excitement and said he had looked +through the window and that they were cooking potatoes for dinner. I +could not believe the good news, and so went and looked for myself and +found it was true. I had not tasted one in two months. We took the +steamer _Senator_ that evening for San Francisco. It had been a Long +Island steamboat and had arrived since my departure for the mines. It +was the first steamer that had ever sailed the interior waters of +California, and had been put on to run from San Francisco to Sacramento. +I think it belonged to Grenell, Minton & Co., a prominent shipping firm +of New York city. Charley Minton had charge of it. Of course its profits +were great. But I could not sleep in my state-room berth; I had been so +long used to a hard bed I was restless, but we arrived safe the next +morning at San Francisco. The bulk of my book will be events that +occurred during my residence in that city. I scarcely know how to begin +to describe it. My efforts will be to portray them truthfully. To do so +I must continue in the form of a personal narrative. That is the only +way I can recall the events to my mind of so long ago. + +At this time more changes took place there in a month than in most any +other place in a year. Every thing was done by the month. Buildings were +rented by the month; money was loaned by the month; ten per cent per +month was the regular interest. There was but one bank, called the +Miners', on the corner of the plaza, owned by three parties. During my +absence a great boom had taken place--influenced by new arrivals and +most favorable news from the gold mining sections. This was the fall of +1849. The lots that I had thought of trading six of my houses for had +tripled in value, but lumber was still bringing fabulous prices and +every thing looked favorable for a big strike on my houses when they +arrived. Montgomery street was on the banks of the bay. There was one +pier at this time constructed from it in the bay, and a temporary pier +by Colonel Stevenson at the north beach. The city was growing up toward +Happy Valley. Portsmouth Square, the plaza, still had some of the adobe +buildings on it. The best hotel was the Parker House, on the west corner +of it. The plaza was sand, no vegetation on it. + +Rincon Point, on Telegraph Hill, was the spot where ships and steamers +were signalled. Steamers coming in but once a month, they brought the +last news from the East. The New York papers were peddled at $1 each. +Long lines of people were formed to get the mail, and you had to take +sometimes half a day before you could reach the office. Oakland, +opposite the bay, had no existence. Goat Island had plenty of wild +goats on it, and we could never imagine how the first goat ever got +there. There was no scarcity of meat--plenty of beef and grizzly bears +were hung out at the doors of the restaurants as a sign, and plenty of +venison. I can recall now to my mind, venison steaks that we would get +in the evening with their rich jellies on it. The luxuries of Asia were +coming in there. Many China restaurants with their signs from Canton or +Pekin. But there was a great scarcity of vegetables. Onions and potatoes +sold for forty cents per pound. + +A day or two after my arrival, my friend who came down with me from the +mines came to me and said that there were a lot of blankets to be sold +at auction; that he had no money, or he would buy them; that if I would +buy them he would take them up in the mines and peddle them out for me +for half of the profit. As I knew they were in great demand there--I had +sold, when I left there, mine for $16--I told him if he could buy them +for $4 per pair to bid them off and I would furnish the money to pay for +them. He came back in a short time and said he had bought them, and that +they came to $800. We had them taken to the steamer _Senator_ to ship to +Sacramento. We paid $10 a load to have them carted from the store where +they were bought to the steamer. (The result of this speculation later +on.) + +There were at this time several hundred vessels anchored in the bay, +deserted by their officers and crews. A ship could be bought for +probably one-third of what it was worth in New York, and I conceived the +project of buying a ship as soon as I sold my houses, which I expected +soon to arrive, being on so fast a ship as the _Prince de Joinville_, +and going myself to the Sandwich Islands and buying a load of onions and +potatoes, as I was informed that they could be bought as cheap there as +in the States, and ciphered out that one successful venture of that +kind would make my fortune. So I went among the idle ships to see what I +could do in that line, and to have one selected, ready to close the +bargain as soon as the houses arrived. I came across a brig that had +been running to Sacramento, but was condemned as a foreign bottom, when +Collier, the collector, arrived there, a short time before, and extended +the marine laws of the United States over California. The captain and +crew were aboard. The captain was an Englishman; the crew, +cosmopolitan--a Hindostan, a Mexican named Edwin Jesus, an English +sailor and an American. I inquired of the captain about the history of +the vessel. He said she had been built at Quavqiel, down the coast, and +had belonged to a Mexican general, and was built partially of an +American whaler that had been wrecked on the coast, so I got American +timbers in her. They wanted to sell the vessel. I told him I might buy +her. I would let them know in a day or two. So I went to Colonel +Stevenson and gave him a history of it, and asked him if he would see +Collier, the collector of the port, and see if I could not get her +papers as an American vessel, which he did, and informed me the next day +that it was all right. I went at once and bought the brig. As soon as I +got its American papers it was worth twice what I had to pay for it. I +kept the same captain, as he knew the navigation of the rivers, which +few did at that time. I gave him $250 per month and put a supercargo at +$150 per month, and kept the same crew. I had it put up for Stockton, +the head depot for the Southern lines. The first month it made two +trips. Its receipts were $3,100; its expenses, $1,100; so it earned me +$2,000 clear. + +There was a friend of mine named R., who owned a third interest in a +factory that belonged to a relative of mine who got the gold fever when +I did, and got me to negotiate the sale of his interest in it to him, +which I did for $8,000, so he could go to California with me. When he +arrived there he proposed to build a brewery. His father had been a +brewer in Scotland. He bought a lot, a part of the city called Happy +Valley, and started to build the first brewery on the Pacific coast. He +commenced to build one that would cost $30,000 with that capital, which +was his mistake. If he had commenced in a small way he would have made +his fortune. (In my personal narrative he had much to do with my +affairs.) + +At this point in writing my manuscript, I have just heard of the death +of Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, aged ninety-four, in California, to whom +I had a letter of introduction from Governor William L. Marcy. I found +him the warmest, the truest and most generous friend. He was a little +unpopular when I first met him, for what I conceived the most noble +action of his life. There were in his regiment roughs from the city of +New York, where it was organized, who, when the war was over with +Mexico, would go into saloons and places and help them selves to what +they wanted and refused to pay. They were termed "The Hounds." There was +a vigilance committee organized against them, which public sentiment, at +that time, fully indorsed. They had seized a number of them and were +about to hang them. Colonel Stevenson faced the excited crowd and asked +to have them give the men a trial and punish the guilty. He said that +when he returned to New York and their mothers asked him what had become +of their sons, how could he face them if they were put to death in that +way; but if he could say to them that they had a fair trial, were found +guilty of crime, and had been punished according to law, it would be +different. I think they were not executed, but banished; but it set up a +cry against the colonel that he had taken the part of "The Hounds," so +unjust is often, for a time, public sentiment. That was the first +vigilance committee; the great one came afterward, but I am confined to +the days of the "Forty-niners." + +It was rumored, at the time, that there was a jealousy between him and +Colonel Freemont. It was not on the part of Stevenson. I boarded at the +same hotel with Freemont. + +See illustration for bill which I received while at the hotel with +Colonel Freemont: + +[Illustration: HOTEL BILL.] + +The colonel asked me one day to speak to Freemont at dinner, and +request him, if convenient, to stop in his office as he came from +dinner, which I did. Stevenson's office was on the plaza, but Freemont +never called. + +There was great difficulty about the title to lots at that time. There +were contentions set up, and claims of property from different Mexican +grants, as it became valuable. It was guaranteed by the United States, +at the treaty of Hidalgo, when California was ceded to us, that all +titles that were good under the Mexican government should be recognized +by us. L., the chaplain of Stevenson's regiment, seems to have been the +butt of the boys before the gold was discovered. + +They, as a farce, elected him alcalde of San Francisco, which position +is a combination of mayor and judge, as we would understand it, and his +election was declared illegal. Then they elected him for spite. He +served one year. There was a Mexican law that in any village in that +country a person had a right to settle on one hundred veras of land so +many feet, about three hundred, and if he put up any kind of a building +on it, and held undisputed possession for one year, he could go to the +alcalde, and by paying $16, get a good and valid title. When the lots +became so valuable in San Francisco, after the gold was discovered, many +lots based on those kinds of grants became very valuable two or three +years after the discovery of gold. L. became quite wealthy, it was said, +by advances in real estate. There were rumors of bogus titles in the +names of dead soldiers and others who had left the country, but could be +traced to no authentic source. He was estimated to be worth several +hundred thousand dollars, made in the rise of real estate. I met him but +once and I sold him some lumber. + +My shipping merchant who negotiated freight for my brig got a legal +title of that kind. + + +HIS STORY. + +He said he was a book-keeper for a firm in Newport, Rhode Island, at a +small salary. He made up his mind that if they would not raise his pay +$100 per year on the 1st of January he would leave them. They refused, +so he lost his situation, and it was dull times, and he could not get +another one, so he shipped on a whaling vessel as a sailor. His health +was poor, and he found he could not stand the hardships of that life. +The vessel put in the harbor of San Francisco for water and fresh meat +on their way to the Arctic ocean, so he deserted the ship and secreted +himself until it left. Then he had to do something there for a living, +so he squatted on one hundred veras of land on the beach, and put up a +shanty and sold fruit and probably some liquor, etc., to make a living. +No one disturbed him for one year. He applied to the alcalde and paid +his $16 and got a good, valid title. After the gold was discovered it +became the most valuable property in the city. When I was doing +business with him he had a three-story brick store, which he owned. The +whaling ship had been gone to the Arctic ocean two or three years and +had heard nothing of the discovery of the gold, and wonderful changes in +San Francisco, and the captain thought he would put in that port on his +return and hunt up his runaway sailor, and behold, his absconding sailor +was rich enough when he found him to buy his ship and his whole cargo of +whale oil. I was introduced by him to his captain and shook hands with +him, and we had a good talk over it. Wherein does our stories of +fiction, of our boyhood, of Arabian Nights, surpass the actual events of +life, of the wonderful fluctuations of fortunes in California in the +days of the Forty-niners? + +[Illustration: THE CAPTAIN AND THE RUNAWAY SAILOR.] + +On the death of President Taylor, a meeting was called for the purpose +of having funeral obsequies there in his honor. A man was named for +president of the day. Then it was proposed to name a vice-president for +each State and Territory, which was done. There were persons in the +crowd from every one of them. A day was set apart for the ceremonies, +and all business was to be suspended. There was a long procession on +that day, and the masons and all societies and the people in general +turned out in full force, including the Chinese, who were smart enough +to think it would make a favorable impression in their favor. After the +parade was dismissed in the plaza, the Chinese were requested to remain, +and a missionary addressed them, and a Chinaman interpreted to them in +their own language. I noticed that their language was much more +condensed than ours. It took about a third of the time for him to +translate what the missionary said. When the missionary closed, he said +he hoped that we would all meet together in another and a better world. +It seemed to them so absurd that they looked at each other and smiled as +if it was a good joke. In those early days there were no particular +prejudices against them. Pagans, as we call them, practised the +Christian virtues toward their own countrymen. When the ship arrived +from China they were down to greet the newcomers, whom they had never +seen before, and invite them to their homes. The present laws of +restriction against them, I think, are all right. We cannot afford to +run the risk of having the institutions of our country injured by an +emigration that is uncongenial to it. We have gone too far in that line +already, not from selfishness, but to perpetuate the institutions +founded by our revolutionary ancestors, in their purity, for the +interests of mankind. + +I received a letter from my blanket friend. He informed me that he could +not sell the blankets, and had traded them off for flour, and would +start the next day for the Yuba, which was the most remote gold river. +That was all a lie. He did that so that I would not follow him up. He +had not a dollar invested in them. They were my property. I knew at once +I had been dealing with a rascal, but I was powerless to do any thing +about it, so I wrote him back that it was all right; that I had bought a +brig; and that I had it running to Stockton, and he could take ventures +up on that and make up what we had lost on the blankets, and much more. +(More of him later on.) + + +THE GAMBLING OF THAT DAY. + +It was public most everywhere. Faro tables, the great American gambling +game, Monte, the Mexican and Roulette. The Eldorado, on the corner of +the plaza, was the most celebrated gambling house of that time. There +had been a great deal of money expended in fitting it up. It had an +orchestra of fifteen persons. It was run all night and day, with two +sets of hands. It was gorgeously fitted up. What they used to stir up +the sugar in the drinks cost $300. It was solid gold. Numerous gambling +tables, piled up with gold and silver, to tempt the better, behind which +were hired dealers. The owners of the Eldorado were not known. Many a +miner has come with his few thousand dollars to San Francisco to sail +for home, and taking in the sights, visited the Eldorado, got interested +in the different games, and lost it all and went back to the gold +regions broken and penniless to try his luck over again. I heard of one +that lost his all three times in that way. I saw a man once put down a +bag of gold, which contained $5,000, bet $1,000 on one turn of the card +at Monte. He lost. While I was looking at him in the course of half an +hour, he lost it all. I thought what independence that amount would have +given some family in the East. + +In those early days there was often but a muslin partition between you +and the next room, and you could hear every word in the next apartment. +About 1 o'clock in the morning I was awaken by two men entering and +taking the next room to mine, whom I saw running a Roulette table on the +plaza. They seemed to be considerably excited. They said they would be +willing to lose some money to get rid of that tapper. Of course, I +could not understand, at first, what they meant by that expression, but +come to find out from their conversation, they had their Roulette table +arranged so that they could make the ball stop on the red or black, as +it happened to be for their interest to have it do. So, if there were +$20 bet upon the red, the tapper would bet $10 on the black, and they +could not make the red lose without making the black win. So the tapper +was getting half of their gains. I would advise all my friends to let +Roulette alone, unless they are sure they can place themselves in the +position of the tapper. + +One morning on the plaza I took a look into a gambling saloon. I saw a +Greaser that had been betting against Monte all night, and had had +wonderful luck. He announced that he would tap the bank for $1,800, +which was more money than he ever had before, or could ever expect to +have again, which meant that he would bet that amount for whatever sum +the dealer could show to meet it on the turn of one card. He lost, and +the dealer showed $1,800 in the bank and took all his money. Monte is +the great National gambling game of Mexico, and his idea of Paradise is +to be able to break a Monte bank. + +Mr. B. from Kentucky, whom I took for so rich a nabob, referred to among +the passengers when out of New York. I saw him take out his gold watch, +a valuable one, and bet it behind the queen, on the game of Faro, for +$100. He was evidently about broke. It won. Then he went the $200, and +it won again. Then he went it the third time, and it won. In about +twenty minutes he had his watch back and $700, then he left. Some one +asked me a few months after that if I knew that he was worth $80,000? He +had been very lucky, and that he was to run for sheriff of San Francisco +county on the Democratic ticket, and that the Whigs had nominated Jack +Hayes, the celebrated Texan ranger. Hayes had been in the Mexican war. +It was told of him that when the American and Mexican armies were +encamped opposite each other, that a Mexican officer, splendidly +equipped, came forward on horseback, and challenged any American to meet +him in single combat between the two forces. Jack Hayes volunteered to +go, and he killed him. He took his horse, gold watch and personal +effects. He afterward learned who he was, and that he left a widow. He +sent all his personal effects to her as a present. Of course, we were +interested warmly on his side, and he was elected. They say Colonel B. +spent all his $80,000 on his side and was defeated. No reputable citizen +of San Francisco or business man would allow himself to be seen betting +at any of the public gambling tables. He would feel that he was losing +character. I am trying to portray the scenes of those days exactly as +they occurred, and if I left the gambling scenes out it would not be a +true history. + +At first public offices went a begging; nobody wanted them. Fine +clothes were at a discount. He was looked upon as a tender-foot who knew +nothing about the gold regions. But a flannel-shirted, roughly-dressed +miner was the lion. He could tell something about the gold regions. The +governor appointed a loafer fellow, in the early days, Port Warden. +Nobody wanted it, and he was indorsed by one firm. As the city grew very +rapidly the office soon became valuable. Somebody told the governor what +kind of a man he had appointed Port Warden, and the governor wrote him a +letter requesting him to resign, stating to him what representations had +been made to him about his character, which, if he had known, he would +not have appointed him. He wrote back to the governor refusing to +resign, saying to him, he had better read the papers and look after his +own character. The governor was up for re-election and the opposition +papers were pitching into him. + + +THE GRIZZLY BEARS. + +One warm afternoon my friend Me and myself thought we would take a walk +over to Pesedeo; that was about three miles to the Pacific ocean. The +seal rocks is where the sea lions or seals can always be seen. It was +the entrance to the Golden Gates, where the roar of the Pacific ocean is +twice that of the Atlantic, it being six thousand miles broad, twice +that of the Atlantic. On our way we stopped into a tent to get a drink +of water. We found it occupied by three miners, one of whom was quite +lame. I inquired of him what was the matter. He said his hip had been +dislocated by the grizzlies. I asked him how it happened. He said they +went up to the Trinity river to dig for gold. I knew that was the most +remote gold river. He said they were lucky and found rich diggings, but +after awhile their provisions gave out and they could not procure any +unless they returned to the settlements. On their way, returning on +horseback, they came to three grizzly bears grazing in a field. It was +very dangerous to attack them, but they were very hungry. They thought +if they could kill one of them it would supply them with meat, so they +finally decided they would take their chances and fire on them, which +they did, and wounded one. The other two took after the man whose hip +was dislocated. He fled and came to a buckeye tree, the body of which +slants, and he got up in it, the bears came on under it. After awhile +they found they could not reach him. It being a low tree one of them +commenced climbing it after him. He thought his last hour had come; all +the events of his life seemed to rush on his mind, and a picture of the +old-fashioned spelling book, where the man plays dead on the bear, came +before him, which I distinctly recollected. He thought his only chance +was to drop from the tree and hold his breath, and play dead on the +bear, which he did, and fell on his face. One bear grabbed him by the +shoulders and the other by the ankle, and in pulling, dislocated his +hip. He had a thick overcoat on which they tore to pieces. He held his +breath. After awhile they went off and left him. After a little while he +raised his head to see if they were gone, and they came trotting back +and smelt him all over again, and went away again, he holding his +breath. Then he laid a long time, fearing to move, and his companions +came up + + "Each fainter trace that memory holds + So darkly of departed years, + In one broad glance, the soul beholds, + And all that was at once appears" + +In the cases of imminent danger such is said to be the case. It is +evident that is what saved this man's life. Truth is stranger than +fiction. + +[Illustration: PURSUED BY THE GRIZZLIES.] + +The State seal of California is Minerva, with a spear and shield and the +grizzly bear at her feet. Before the discovery of gold they were quite +numerous. They roamed in full possession, apparently, of the +country--no one to molest them or make them afraid. It was a very +formidable animal, weighing from seven to eight hundred pounds. When the +rainy season set in, late in the fall, and the winter months, during +which the grass commenced to grow, he fed on it in the valleys and +fields, and became fat and powerful. In the spring, when the dry season +set in and no rain for seven months, and fields dried up with a dusty +brown, he fled to the tops of the mountains to browse on the leaves of +the trees to support life until the next rainy season commenced. It is +said he is not a ferocious animal if unmolested, and will not attack you +if you let him alone, unless it is a she bear with cubs, or you shoot at +them and wound them. They are very hard to kill. To be hit by a bullet +has very little effect on them, unless hit in a vital spot. An +acquaintance of mine was walking on a road in the interior and saw a big +grizzly coming down the road in the opposite direction toward him. He +knew it would not do to undertake to run. He had been posted on their +natures, so he kept walking right on, as if he was undisturbed and had +no fear, the bear coming nearer to him all the time, with his gait +unchanged, or he his, until they passed each other, he looking the +grizzly in the eye and treating each other with due respect and +consideration as friends. As an illustration of their strength, an old +Californian informed me that he knew of an instance where a grizzly came +into a pack of live mules and took one off and carried it to his den and +ate it. In corroboration of that fact, another man informed me that he +saw a bear chasing a mule and fired on the bear and hit him, and the +bear turned toward him, and the mule escaped. + +[Illustration: THE MINER AND THE GRIZZLY.] + +There was a Mr. W., who opened a fashionable hotel on the east side of +the plaza. I was invited to be one of a party of twenty to give a +complimentary dinner to a friend, who was about to return East. The bill +was just $400, which was $20 apiece, the most I ever paid for a +California dinner. The landlord became quite popular and was thought to +be a very responsible person. A great many persons from the long voyages +around Cape Horn arrived, sick with the scurvy, owing to want of +vegetables at sea, most of whose systems underwent a change to become +acclimated to the country; some seriously and others more mildly. It was +thought it would be a good thing to do to erect a hospital for the +benefit of the public and those arriving sick. There was $30,000 raised +at the first meeting called, and Mr. W., the landlord, was elected +treasurer. + +[Illustration: THE MAN WHO ESCAPED FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.] + +One night he got betting against the game of Faro, lost, and I suppose +got over excited, and in trying to recover his losses, lost every thing, +including $30,000. Of course it was not known that he ever gambled or he +would not have been trusted with the money. As soon as it was known it +created great excitement and indignation, that so sacred a fund should +have been wasted in that way. He fled, and the Mayor offered $3,000 +reward for his apprehension. It seems he had escaped on a vessel to the +Sandwich Islands, and had no money, and got in debt there and could not +leave there as long as he owed any thing, according to their laws, and +he was in despair, until one day fortune smiled upon him. Accidentally +he came across a California paper in which was the $3,000 reward offered +by the Mayor of San Francisco for his arrest, and this was his +opportunity and he seized it at once. Then hope dawned upon him. He +found a vessel about to sail for San Francisco. He took the paper and +showed it to the captain and told him if he would advance the money so +he could pay his debts, he would return with him to San Francisco and he +could surrender him and they would divide the reward. The captain +accepted his offer and delivered him up upon his arrival at San +Francisco, and got the reward. Two or three months had elapsed since +his departure, and that was more time than so many years in any other +country, and all excitement about it had subsided, and I think it was +called a breach of trust, and I have no recollection that he was +punished in any other way. + + +MY BLANKET MAN. + +When he wrote me that he had traded the blankets for flour, and had gone +to the Yuba river with the flour, I knew that it was a lie, and that he +was a rascal, and I found that blankets had been in great demand, at a +high price, and likewise learned that he had been connected with a +forgery in New York city, but that his brother was a respectable +merchant there, so for the time I gave up my $800 as lost. What was my +surprise after six weeks at my hotel (which was an expensive one), to +see my man at the tea table. I greeted him most cordially and asked no +questions about the blankets, but talked to him about the brig I owned +and had running to Stockton; that I had been looking for him to come +back; there was such a splendid chance for us to make purchases in San +Francisco, and for him to take them up on my vessel and sell them out in +the Southern gold mines, near that place; that what we had lost on the +blankets we could more than make up on the first venture, and that there +would be big money in that kind of a speculation. We spent the evening +together most cordially. The next morning I detained him in conversation +until about the time for the Miners' Bank to open, then we went out +together. When we got opposite the bank I took out my watch and said to +him, that I did not think it was so late. I said I had a note of $800 +due there that morning; I asked him if he had the gold dust about him to +that amount. He said yes. I said let me have it and I will take up my +note. He said there was no place to weigh it. I said yes, here there was +a place where I was acquainted. It was weighed and handed to me. I told +him I would see him at dinner, which I did. I then opened on him, and +told him how despicably he had acted when I so generously trusted to his +honor. He made no reply; he virtually admitted the truth of my +statement. I never saw him afterward. That was the only time I ever +played the confidence game in my life, and my conscience has approved of +it ever since. + +My friend, Mr. R., had got his brewery well under way in Happy Valley, +as they called that part of the city, had used up his $8,000 and +commenced borrowing money on my indorsement, at ten per cent a month, +the regular interest at that time. He had a friend, Lieutenant S., who +resigned from the regular army, a graduate from West Point, who had been +up in the country, and came back with a flaming account of a place on +the Toulama river, which empties into the San Joaquin, which was the +head of navigation on that river, and was the place to start a town, +and if we would furnish him with $1,500 to do it with, we would each own +a third of it. I did not take to it, but Mr. R. was so earnest about it, +and had such confidence in his friend, that I finally let him have the +money. There was quite a spirit of speculation of that kind at that +time. Colonel Stevenson had laid out one on Suisan bay, at the mouth of +the San Joaquin river, named New York of the Pacific. Marysville, on the +Sacramento river, was laid out a short time previous, and proved a great +success, making the fortunes of the projectors. Of course, a few were +successful, and many failed. It seemed to have been a legitimate thing +to do to make a fortune in a new country. I became acquainted with +Broderick. It was Koyler & Broderick. They had an office in the same +building with Colonel Stevenson. Broderick, who was afterward United +States Senator from California, and I became very intimate. He was not +intellectually a very brilliant man, but a solid, able and strictly +honest man, and a thoroughly posted politician of his day. He had run as +a Democratic candidate for Congress from the city of New York, but was +not elected. In California he was first elected to the State Senate from +the city. It was he who conceived the project of laying out the water +lots on the bay, and got the bill through the Legislature. He advised me +to buy one or more. I looked at where he suggested to me to buy, and +found them six feet under water. Although they could be bought very +cheap then, their prospective value seemed so remote to me I thought +they were not worth the trouble of bothering with. It shows how easy it +is to be mistaken in apprehending the future. I understand they are now +the most valuable part of the city. + + +THE MAN IN HIS TENT. + +The man in his tent, who had squatted on Rincon Point, an elevated +locality, that commanded a grand view of the bay, informed me that when +he squatted there with his tent, that he could find no person who +claimed the land. He had been there but a few days, when some parties +came to him and offered to give him so much a month for the privilege of +putting up their tent near his. He said he had no objections. They paid +him. Then other parties who wanted to put up their tents were referred +to him. From these various persons he was getting a very liberal income. +He informed me that as long as it lasted, he was in no hurry to go to +the mines. + + +THE CLIPPER SHIPS. + +About this time was the first appearance of the celebrated clipper +ships. They anchored off of Happy Valley and attracted great attention; +they could make the trip around Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco +in three or four months; they run wet; their bows were very sharp, and, +in a rough sea, instead of mounting the waves, they cut them, and the +bows ran under water, and their progress was not impeded by the waves, +saving two or three months' time, which was of great consideration then. +There was no railroad across the Isthmus then, and there was no other +way of transporting freight between the cities of New York and San +Francisco except around Cape Horn. They had great fame then. England +conceded their superiority over all other sailing vessels for speed; but +they have passed away, the railroad reducing the time to from five to +eight days; of course, there is a great difference between that and +three or four months. The days of sailing vessels, however great their +speed, to a great extent, is gone. Besides, there are regular lines of +steamers to most every port of the world, and the ocean is covered with +tramp steamers. + +That winter a convention was called to organize a State government and +apply for admission to the Union. The Southern element there wanted to +make it a slave State. The Northerners, including both Whigs and +Democrats, wanted it free. They did not want to be brought in +competition with slave labor in the mines, and have their occupation +degraded in that way. Their pride, as well as interest, was at stake, +and there was great feeling on the subject. Meetings were called all +through the mines and addresses made and candidates nominated. The +average of intelligence there was away above any other part of the +country. For they were men of enterprise, or they would not have been +there in that early day. At Mormon Island, one of the miners got up and +made a speech. He so impressed them with his ability that they +unanimously nominated him as their candidate to the Constitutional +Convention. He was an old acquaintance of mine. In 1847 or 1848 he was a +Democratic member of the Legislature of the State of New York, from +Washington county, and was chosen by that body to deliver the oration +on Washington's birthday. His name was George Washington Sherwood. He +was elected to the Constitutional Convention of California, and wrote +its first Constitution, copied after that of his native State, New York. +The Northern element prevailed in that convention, and California came +in a free State by its unanimous vote. Broderick headed the Northern +sentiment; Gwin, who had been a United States Marshal in Mississippi, +the Southern. I met him often. He would come into a bar-room and say: "I +did not come here to dig gold, but to represent you in the United States +Senate." He would then say: "Come up all, and take a drink." I thought +that was a strange way to inspire the people with the idea that he was +the proper person to represent them in the United States Senate. He was +elected, with Colonel Freemont, the first two United States Senators +from California. At the next election for United States Senators, +Broderick got absolute control, and although Gwin had fought him +bitterly, they were the two senators to be elected again. Broderick had +the magnanimity to induce his friends to go for Gwin and had him elected +with him, and Gwin showed his ingratitude by going at once to Washington +and securing from Buchanan the control of all the appointments of the +government in the State of California. So when Broderick came there, +there were none to give his friends. Gwin was afterward very prominent +in the rebellion. He went out in a boat in Charleston harbor, crying out +from it his advice to Major Anderson, advising him to surrender at the +time of the attack on Fort Sumter. (This is a matter of history that +occurred after the time of which I am writing.) + + +A BULL FIGHT. + +There were bills posted about the city that three of the most celebrated +fighters of Mexico would have an exhibition in the evening, and combat +with animals. As my friend and myself never had seen one we thought we +would go. It was an amphitheatre, with circular seats about the pit, +with thick planks around it, the seats commencing about twenty feet from +the bottom of the pit. There was a door at the side of the pit, which +was raised by pulleys, which admitted the bull. They were wild ones. Our +seat was about the fifth row back. The house was crowded and brilliantly +illuminated. Then the bull-fighters were in the pit, one on horseback, +two on foot, gorgeously and brilliantly dressed, with swords, the blades +pointed like spears, with red flags in their hands to attract the bull. +The door was raised and the animal came rushing in; he was a terrible +one to look at. Blinded by the lights and the scene, he rushed and +roared around the arena; I trembled in my seat, although I was in no +possible danger. The first feat of the bull-fighters was to plant a +rosette on the shoulders of the animal with a barb implanted in his +flesh, which enraged him more, with colored ribbons, two or three feet +in length, attached to the rosette, which was flying in the air as he +went around, indicating to the audience the success of the feat. Then +the same feat was performed on the other shoulder. Then when the bull +attacked the man again, a rosette was implanted between his horns, and +the man escaped, which was the most difficult of all. They had red flags +in one hand to enrage and blind him, but this bull, he became so furious +and enraged that they could not master him. He rushed upon the man on +horseback, threw the horse and rider, and, with his horns, tore the +entrails out of the horse and killed it. The man was wounded, but +escaped. The rest of the fighters fled, and one climbed up the side of +the paling and came within two inches of being impaled alive against the +side by the bull's horns. As I write I can, in imagination, hear the +sound of the animal's horns as they struck the boards in missing the +man. The bull was master of the situation; he had cleared the ring. It +was a terrible sight as he roared around in his fury. Then the most +startling event of all occurred. It seems incredible, but it is the +truth of history, and I must write it. + +[Illustration: THE BULL FIGHT] + +A greaser, with no weapon, but simply his _seraper_, a shawl that he +wore around his shoulders, took that off and stretching it out in his +hands, jumped down into the pit of the ring alone, to the entire +astonishment of the audience, looked Mr. Bull in the eyes and dodged him +with his shawl as the animal attacked him. He had probably been brought +up among wild bulls. The audience all arose in excitement, expecting to +see him torn to pieces, and crying out for him to escape. The +professional bull-fighters got their red flags and drew the bull off, +and the greaser escaped, and seemed to be surprised at the excitement of +the audience. They succeeded in getting the bull out, and dragging out +the dead horse, and letting in a less ferocious one. The same +performance was gone through with him, as already described, except that +this one was conquered. At last, when the bull pitched at the man, he +holds his sword in such a way that the weight of the animal comes on it, +and passes between his foreshoulders and penetrates his heart. In an +instant the back wilts and the animal lies dead. It was the most sudden +change, from full vitality to death; it startled you. It's a shock to +your nervous system. My friend and myself said it was the first and last +bull-fight we would ever see. + +The price of lumber and vegetables kept up. I paid forty cents a pound +for potatoes in buying provisions for the hands on my brig. I furnished +them enough to last them on the up trip, but not for the return, so they +would hurry back. It was now time for the vessel with the houses to +arrive, and I expected to buy a ship with the money, and to go to the +Sandwich Islands and make, what I considered, a fortune for me, but +alas! no _Prince de Joinville_ came. It was hope deferred. Finally the +rainy season set in in full blast, and all consumption of lumber +stopped. The high price had stimulated shipments from everywhere. There +was a big reaction in the price. The first prominent failure in the city +took place, I think it was Ward & Co., commission merchants and private +bankers. It was said it was owing to his large orders of shipments of +lumber to that market. He shot himself with a pistol in the morning in +his bedroom and died, knowing that he could not meet his creditors if he +went to his place of business. About this time it was announced from +Telegraph Hill that my vessel, with the houses, was entering the port +two or three months after she was due, striking a glutted market. I had +four or five thousand dollars to raise to pay the freight on them to get +possession of them, or I would lose the capital invested. So instead of +making $18,000 profit, which I might have made if they had come on time, +I was running the risk of losing the capital invested in them. Colonel +Stevenson had selected six of them some time before, which he wanted for +his New York of the Pacific, which he said he would make me an offer on +as soon as they arrived. I saw it was my only chance to save myself to +close that sale. I was at his office in the morning as soon as there was +any probability of they being there. I said to him: "The houses have +arrived. I am ready to receive your offer for the six you selected." He +said he had no money now. I said I did not want any (which was a white +lie). I said I would take a draft on Prosper, Whetmore & Co., of New +York city, for $3,000, payable in ninety days, and his note for the +balance, on his own time. He looked over the plan of the houses again. +He said he would not give but so much. I said to him, that was not the +question, what will you give? He said I will give you that amount, +naming the sum. I said at once, they are sold, they are yours. He gave +me the draft on Whetmore & Co., for $3,000, payable in ninety days. Just +at this time, his partner, Dr. Parker, came in. The colonel informed him +he had bought six of my houses. He said, you have made a mistake. Lumber +is in a glutted market. It is falling rapidly. The colonel said, that +makes no difference now, I have bought them. The colonel was considered +rich. No one there questioned the soundness of his draft. I went with it +to all the brokers in the city, but could get no offer for it. I then +went to Charley Minton, the agent of the steamer _Senator_. I thought he +could send it to New York to the owners of the steamer for its face +value. He said, the best he could do with me was to give me $2,250 for +it. Money was ten per cent a month, and scarce at that. Three months +time, at the rate of interest there, would be $900. I said, I would +take it. He gave me a check on his broker for that amount. He paid me in +gold, $16 Spanish doubloon pieces. I tied them up in my handkerchief, +and went to McCondery & Co., and said to him, the vessel, with my +houses, I see, are consigned to you. I will pay you $2,000 now on the +freight, and before they are all taken off of the ship, I will pay you +the balance. He said, take them all off, and pay the balance at your +convenience (we were acquainted and had come up on the same steamer, and +played whist together). It cost me $800 to get them ashore. There were +no wharves then. They had to be taken ashore on lighters. I expected my +brig down from Stockton soon, with $2,000 freight money, so I was out of +the woods financially for the present. I then made arrangement with the +colonel to have them landed on the North Beach on land owned by him, +where I could retail out my other six houses, which I had to sell, when +I got a proper price for them. We formed a copartnership. I was to take +one of my smallest houses, and have it erected there, to be used for an +office, and to use the grounds as a lumber yard to sell on commission, +and as a place for storage, which was very scarce then. There were quite +a number who had taken the liberty of piling lumber and other articles +on it, using it as public ground. I took formal possession of it in the +name of Colonel Stevenson, and gave notice to the different parties that +if they did not remove their materials from the premises in ten days +they would be charged so much for storage. Some removed, and others did +not. I recollect the German house that did not remove it in thirty days +after the ten days of notice. It was a wealthy house, and I handed them +a bill of $250 for storage, at which they demurred very seriously, +questioning our title; but they paid it. When I went out to the ship to +see about taking my houses off, I met the first mate, whom I got +acquainted with in New York. I told him I thought the ship had been +lost; that all the old tugs of ships had got in ahead of them. He said +to me, I have had the worst time I ever had in my life. I have had to +carry that old man on my shoulders (referring to the captain) all the +way. Whenever we had a good breeze and sails were all full, he would +come on deck and order shorten sail to check our speed, or we might have +been here a month sooner. That told the whole story. I saw them take +freight, in my presence, when they were offered $1.50 per foot, when +they told me there was no room for the other half of my houses to go on +the ship, when I had a legal contract with them at sixty cents per foot. +My freight alone would have made a difference of two or three thousand +dollars by excluding it and taking the other in at the difference in the +price of it. There is no doubt they served many other shippers and put +their goods on other vessels, and kept theirs back until the other +ships would get to San Francisco ahead of them, so that they could +deliver the freight according to their bills of lading on the arrival of +the _Prince de Joinville_. That was why my speculation was ruined by +their dishonesty. Instead of being the fastest ship, it was a fraud, a +decoy, a dead trap on those who were unfortunate enough to ship by it. +When I saw the captain he was very humble. He had all kinds of apologies +to make, and invited me to go to China with him. I could have the best +state-room on his ship. It should not cost me a dollar. I could go +around the world with him. I saw that my speculation was ruined by their +dishonesty, and there was no remedy, and, like all human events, that +ended it, and I had to abandon my Sandwich Island expedition and throw +my anticipated fortune from it to the winds. Mr. Meighs, the one who +failed and ran away to Chili, and built the railroad in that country +from Valparaiso to its capital, and then organized a company and +constructed railroads in Peru, had a lumber yard side of me. I sold, +after a while, my other six houses, one at a time, retailing them out, +and, by careful management, just succeeded in saving my original +capital. + +I was satisfied with San Francisco, with my interest in the lumber +yards, and with my partnership with Colonel Stevenson on the North +Beach. My interest in my brig, when it came down, and my prospective +interest in what was to be the city of Toulom, and my associations with +Mr. R., who was building the first brewery on the Pacific, which I was +backing up with my indorsement, and I was to have one-third interest +when it was completed, if I wanted it, at first cost, looked like a very +favorable investment for me at that time. I was living an active and +enterprising life, with bright hopes of future fortune. One morning when +I went down to the North Beach I found there had been a house erected on +our land in the night. I, of course, informed the colonel at once. He +informed me it was a man by the name of Colton, who pretended to have a +title under what he called the "Colton Grant," and that it was bogus, +and that he had the building erected to try and force his title. The +colonel said he would see the judge of the court in the city, and get an +order for its removal. In about two hours he sent a messenger with an +order from the judge authorizing us to remove it. He instructed me to +employ all the men that were necessary, and have the material removed +from the premises and he would pay the bill, which I did, and our title +was not disputed after that. + +I had never been on a trip to Stockton, and I had chartered the freight +capacity of the brig to a man for $1,800. He was to put in it all the +freight he chose to. I thought it would not be for his interest to +overload it. If the vessel sunk there was no insurance--his cargo would +be a total loss. I had reserved the deck and the passenger room. The +conditions of the charter were that the freight was to be delivered in +Stockton by a certain date or I was to forfeit the $1,800. The freight +was aboard; he had loaded the vessel deeper than I had expected. I had a +number of passengers at $15 each. They were to furnish their own +provisions, but to have the privileges of the cooking stove on deck. The +vessel was anchored out in the bay, to sail at 2 P.M., when the tide was +most favorable. I had a new chain for the anchor, and the captain said +he wanted a kedge anchor for safety, so I ordered one from McCondery & +Co., for $35, on condition that, without fail, they would have it on +board before 2 P.M. We were all on board by 1 o'clock, waiting for the +favorable tide, to start. At 1:30 no anchor and the bay was very rough. +The captain said it would not come, they would not venture out in that +sea in a small boat. I said it would be there certain, I knew my man. +Sure enough, in a few moments we could just see a boat in the distance, +two men rowing and one guiding the rudder. They came alongside and we +had the anchor aboard in five minutes. In the stern was Mr. Watson, one +of the firm. He said he was afraid to trust his men in that sea for fear +they would fail to deliver it. The profit on it to them was only $3.50, +and it was a very wealthy firm, but they had pledged their word to me +that they would have it there at that time. (Would that there were more +of such honorable men.) We hoisted anchor, the tide in our favor and a +stiff breeze blowing. We passed out of the bay of San Francisco into the +bay of Los Angles, and crossed that into the Straits of Benica, which is +four miles long and connects with Suisan bay. The Straits of Benica was +a perfectly safe anchorage. It was approaching night, and blowing almost +a gale. I was in hopes and expected that the captain would come to +anchor in the straits and wait until morning before venturing out into +the Suisan bay, which was twenty miles across to the mouth of the San +Joaquin river, where we were bound. The bay was almost like the open +sea; you could get out of sight of land. I think he would have come to +anchor if I, the owner, had not been on board, and had not urged upon +him the importance of having the vessel in Stockton in time. As he was +the captain I felt sensitive about interfering with his business, and +had hoped and expected, all the way through the straits, that he would +come to anchor, and not undertake to cross the bay that night. Darkness +was setting in, but he did not come to anchor. The gale increased to a +hurricane; all sails were taken in, and we were scudding under bare +poles, and had a lantern hung up in the rigging. The captain came to me +and said, loaded as we were, we could not live in that gale; he would +have to seek a place to anchor on the side of the bay. I said to him, he +was the captain. The line was thrown out every few minutes. At last we +found sounding, and the anchor was cast. We had been there but a short +time before another vessel, more than twice as large as ours, came aside +of us, with a heavy deck-load of lumber, and got entangled in our anchor +chain, and kept drawing us nearer to them. If they had struck our vessel +we knew we were lost. They would have sunk us at once. Seven times they +came down on us and each time, by superhuman efforts, we warded the +blow, all hands and passengers doing their best, fully realizing the +danger they were in. It seems to me that I hear now the oaths of the +captain of the other vessel rising above the sounds of the terrific +hurricane as he was ordering his men, for they, too, were in danger if +they collided with us. Of course, he was on the bare poles. As he came +on us the eighth time they hoisted their jib sail. As the wind struck +it, it seemed to lift their vessel out of the water, and, thank God, we +were freed from it. It was forty-five years ago, and, as I write, it +all lives before me as visible as if it were yesterday. The captain of +the other vessel had seen our light, and, supposing we were in the right +channel, had followed us. We had escaped what seemed almost certain +death, but were not out of danger. Our new good chain was attached to +our bad chain, and the captain had let out all our chain to free us from +the other vessel, so we were actually hanging by our bad chain in the +open roadstead, not in the protection of a harbor, and liable to drag +our anchor or break our chain and be wrecked; but we could do nothing +more than submit to our fate. I thought I would get into my berth and +try and get to sleep, and, if I found myself alive in the morning, we +might be saved. I did sleep, and when I awoke it was daylight. The gale +was subsiding. We had dragged our anchor. The bow of our brig was very +sharp; the banks were soft mud, and we had struck it with such force +that we were wedged in. The tide was low and we were almost out of +water. We fortunately had struck the land with our bow, and that was +what saved us. If we had struck with the side of the vessel we would +have been wrecked. So, ever since we had been freed from the other +vessel, we had been in safety and did not know it. We waited for the +tide to rise and then got our kedge anchor out and pulled the vessel out +off the bank as the tide rose. The sea was very rough, but the gale had +subsided, and by 11 o'clock we were entering the mouth of the San +Joaquin river in safety. It was forty miles up the river to Stockton. +The river was in a valley of Tullieries. The land seemed to be in the +course of formation. There was but one tree between the mouth and +Stockton, a willow, called the Lone Tree. The only place on its banks +where the soil had formed solid enough to produce one, surrounded by +hills at that season of the year, covered with beautiful wild flowers. +The scenery was magnificent. As the river curved we could see the white +sails of other vessels. They looked as if they were in a field. You +could not see the water at a little distance, the river being narrow. We +could almost jump from our deck to the banks. We felt in perfect safety. +Contrasting that with the night before in that terrible hurricane and in +the death struggles for our lives, it produced a supreme feeling of +ethereal ideal happiness that this earth seemed almost a Paradise. The +captain informed me that there was one place on the river where we might +have to anchor. It was called the Devil's Elbow. There was a sharp turn +in the river and the current was rapid, and we might have to pull the +vessel around it; but sometimes, if it was favorable, he could sail +around it, and if done successfully, then the vessels that had come to +anchor could find no fault; otherwise you had to come to behind the +others and take your turn. When we were coming to it, he was at the helm +and I at his side, to see what was the best to do. As we approached, we +saw several vessels had come to for the purpose of pulling around. The +last was a large vessel that the captain said could never get around. If +we anchored behind it we might not be able to deliver our freight +according to the charter. We had put an English sailor in the hold to +let the anchor go, in case we did not succeed, if we gave him the signal +to do so. As we came to the place with all sails set, there was a breeze +sprung up, filling all the sails. I said to the captain, let her go. As +we passed the vessels that had come to anchor there was a howling and +yelling from them of derision and anger at us for going by them. Just as +we got two-thirds of the way around, the sailor in the hold let the +anchor go without orders. He got frightened. If he had not, we would +have made it successfully. As it was, we got ahead of all the other +vessels, and got to Stockton in ample time. The next morning there was a +drove of mules at the side of the brig, and the cargo was being +discharged and packed on their backs to be taken to the mining camps, as +there were no good roads there in those early days. About all the grain +and flour came from Valparaiso and Chili, put up very nicely in fifty +and one hundred pound sacks, so it was easy to handle. As soon as all +the mules were packed, the head mule, who had on a bell fastened around +his neck, which rang as he went, was started first, and all the rest, in +single file, followed him, and they were going for the different mining +camps in the interior. In two or three days we were unloaded, and we +were prepared to return. The freight money was paid to me in gold, at +$16 per ounce in full, all being satisfactory to the shipper. I had +delivered it within the time specified. One of the passengers who came +up with me, a tailor, from Salem, Mass., asked me if I would not give +him a free passage back on the vessel to San Francisco; that he wanted +to try to get home; he was discouraged. I said to him you have traveled +eighteen thousand miles to get to the gold mines, and now you are within +half a day of them and want to go home without trying your fortune. If +you do go, you will never forgive yourself, but go to the mines and try +your luck; then, if you are discouraged and want to go back, I will give +you a free passage, as we have no passengers on our return trip. + + +HOME SICKNESS. + +When a person was attacked with it, it seemed the worst kind of malady, +as it would take them months to return if they had the money to pay +their passage. Many were married men, separated a great distance from +their wives and children. Others, young men, who had their engaged ones +waiting for them to return, with their fortunes made in the gold mines, +to marry them. I can recall several instances where I have known them to +lie down and die from despair. I was talking with an old Californian of +those days. He said he had once given up and made up his mind to wander +off by himself on the mountains and die, which he did. As he lay there +in despair, after a while he thought he would look around him, and he +saw the hill was covered with every variety of beautiful wild flowers. +He said their beauty seemed to refresh and revive his mind, and give him +new resolution, and he decided to try his fortune again, and he became +successful and returned to the States with a competency. + +[Illustration: THE DESPONDENT MINER.] + +The early pioneers had some conflict with the Indians in the interior of +the country. Five Oregon men were massacred by them when engaged in +digging gold, but a terrible retribution was visited upon those Indians +concerned in it by the enraged Forty-niners. The Indians, at first, had +nothing but bows and arrows, and, of course, could not compete with +rifles. Several other small engagements were rumored, but they soon +gave up all contests with the whites, for they saw it was useless. There +was an acorn that was quite plenty in California, being longer than +ours, but not of a bitter taste. The squaws made flour of them. The +Digger Indians were the next tribe east of them; they were probably the +lowest grade. They would set fire to the prairie grass to burn the +grasshoppers, and pick them up and eat them. They deemed them a luxury. +The Oregon tribes were a higher grade, a warlike race, and superior in +every respect. The highest grade of them, in the United States now, are +the Choctaws and Chicksaws that formerly occupied the northern parts of +the State of Mississippi. When a young man, I spent three weeks in their +nation, travelling alone, and was treated with great hospitality by +them. They are quite intelligent, and they have laws and customs as +civilized nations. We generally look upon all of them as alike, but such +is not the case--there is as great a difference between different +tribes as much as between different white nations. The California +Indians were not naturally warlike, and when the early pioneers expected +any trouble from them, they would appoint a committee to go and see +them, and they generally settled their difficulty without any conflicts. + + +JESUIT MISSION STATIONS. + +There were about sixteen Jesuit missionary stations in the country +before the discovery of gold, and were there for the purpose of +converting the Indians to the Catholic church, and when converted, +generally made them work to sustain their missionary establishments. + +I had returned to my office on the North Beach after my only trip to +Stockton on my brig. My friend R. was progressing with his brewery. He +had received a favorable letter from Lieutenant S. about our Touwalma +city, and informing me that S. had a diamond ring that cost $800 in Rio +Janeiro, at a broker's office, as collateral security for $250 borrowed +on it at ten per cent per month, and the time was about up. If I would +redeem the ring I could keep it and wear it until he paid me. I went and +saw the ring. It was as represented, and I redeemed it and wore it for a +considerable time. One day R. came to me with a naming letter from S. +that he had laid out the city and been elected alcalde, and we would +make our fortune, and there was a friend of S. that was going up there, +and if I would send up the ring by him he would appreciate it so much, +and he would be responsible that I should not lose any thing by it. I +was foolish enough to be persuaded by him and handed him the ring, for +which act I have never forgiven myself. That was the last I ever saw of +the ring or any of the money invested in Touwalma city, for it turned +out a failure. It was never the head of navigation on the river, or any +thing else that was ever heard of. + +There were three unfortunate events that occurred in California in the +winter months of 1849 and the beginning of 1850. The rainy season had +destroyed all the dams constructed on the gold rivers and raceways, +which had been constructed at great expense for the purpose of working +the beds of the river for gold, the rivers often rising from ten to +eighteen feet in a night, and the current running with terrible force. +The second, the flooding of Sacramento, destroying large quantities of +merchandise and carrying away and undermining the houses there. The +third was the great fire in San Francisco, destroying one-third of the +main business portion of the city, upon which there was no insurance. +There were no companies organized or agents there to insure property +then, as it was too risky. There was one four-story fire-proof building +that was stored full of the most valuable goods, at a large price for +storage, for it was considered absolutely fire-proof, but when the fire +came the heat of the fire from the buildings around it caused the iron +sides of it to expand, which let the roof fall in and burned every thing +to the ground, so that nothing was saved. Instead of being a place of +safety, it was the most destructive of all. + +Some ships in the bay were burned. I succeeded in getting in the rear of +the fire to save my brig. I ordered the men to hoist anchor and put out +further in the bay, which saved it. These unfortunate events destroyed +and marred the fortune of many. On the day before I called on a private +banker, G., on the plaza, and presented my check for $800. He said to +me, if it made no difference, it being steamer day (once a month they +went East when the gold was shipped to the mint in Philadelphia by +them), and if I would call in the morning for it, it would be an +accommodation to him. I said I wanted to use it. He commenced weighing +it out. I then thought it would make no difference to me and it was +mean not to accommodate him, for I might want some favor of him. I said, +if I can have it in three days without fail it would answer my purpose. +He said, you can have it now, pouring the gold in the scales to weigh +it. I said never mind, I don't want it now. The fire came that night, +burnt his place up and all his property. He was a ruined man. I never +saw him afterward. + +Mr. G., to whom I had bargained to sell my houses to arrive, (and he +backed out) was an Englishman from Liverpool. He had about all the +consignments of shipments from that city (evidently being very popular +there), to sell on commission at ten per cent; when the goods came and +were sold, instead of remitting the capital to the owners and being +satisfied with his commission, he used it in buying property and in +erecting buildings in San Francisco. He had constructed a fire-proof +building which he rented to the government for a post-office, at a large +sum per month, likewise the first theatre in the city, and other +buildings. He informed me at one time how much his rents amounted to per +month; the sum was several thousand dollars. Money was worth but three +to five per cent in England per year to the owners of the merchandise; +while in California it was in demand at ten per cent per month. I +suppose he thought he would make a great fortune for himself and then +return to England (where he had a wife and children) and pay up all his +obligations with extra allowance, for the use of the money, and make all +satisfactory; but the great fire destroyed all his buildings, and he was +a ruined man, there being no insurance in the city then. I met a friend +in New York about two years after my return from California; I asked him +when he saw Mr. G. last. He said, "it was about 11 o'clock one day at a +hotel where he invited some friends to take a drink. Mr. G. was there, +he declined; but afterward called him to one side and asked him to loan +him $1, saying he had had no breakfast that morning." Such was an +example of some of the fluctuations of fortune in those days. + +Some parties came with various kinds of machinery that was to make a +certain fortune for them, and was taken up into the interior at great +expense. I never knew of one that was successful. About all the +companies that were formed in the States to go around Cape Horn for +mining purposes generally dissolved after arriving in California, but +what they brought with them for supplies, sold for so high a price that +it generally sold for more than the cost of their passage, and they had +money coming to them. Some companies bought the ships as they came in +and hired the captain. I recollect one, called the _Mechanics' Own_. +Every person joining their company in the States had to be voted in and +pay $1,000. They put on airs and talked quite aristocratic of their +captain as their boy. + +Three persons started the first bank in San Francisco, called the +Miners' Bank, on the northwestern corner of the plaza. Mr. Haight, who +was from Rochester, N.Y., and the sutler of Colonel Stevenson's +regiment, was one of them. It was said that at first they bought gold as +low as $8 per ounce, when it was worth more than $18 at the mint East. +The owners of the bank made $100,000 each in three or four years. + +Before the discovery of gold the then small places on the Pacific Coast +obtained their supplies from small trading vessels that sailed along the +coast and stopped at their towns occasionally. After the discovery of +gold, at first goods went up four or five times their previous value, +and when one of these vessels was seen entering the port, parties would +put out in small boats to get aboard of them before they came to anchor +(they on board knowing nothing about the discovery of the gold), would +bargain with them for some of their goods, and finally offer them so +much for all their cargo. It being beyond their expectations the offer +was generally accepted, and thus some big speculations were made. + +A lieutenant of Stevenson's regiment, who had been down in Monterey and +had not heard of the gold discovery, on his first day in San Francisco, +informed me that he did not know what to make of things. Most of his old +acquaintances wanted to know if he did not want to borrow some money; +they had some that he could have as well as not. + +The steamers came in once a month with letters and papers. Then long +lines were formed to the post-office. Sometimes it took half a day to +get there. The New York papers at first sold for $1 each. Then they got +down to fifty cents. I sold the _New York Herald_, that was more than a +month old, that contained the latest news there from the States in the +interior, for $5, and the man coaxed it out of me at that, for I wanted +to give it to a party of friends I was going to see in the mining +districts. I knew it would be a great treat to them. It is almost +impossible to recall all the exact scenes of those days, so as to have +them fully realized by the reader. + +The city of San Francisco was extending more rapidly in what they called +the Happy Valley district, which was toward the Mission of Dolores, +established by the Jesuits. I visited it when the building was intact. I +recollect a painting of an Indian warrior, with his bows and arrows, the +implements of war, represented as a saint ascending to heaven--I suppose +to create favorable impression on Indians and make converts of them. + +My friend was going on with his brewery, and borrowing money and getting +me deeper on his paper. He heard that I had $2,500 deposited with +McCondery & Co., and pleaded with me to let him have it as it would +carry him through. I had lost all confidence in him, and felt it would +be like throwing it in the sea. I informed him that I had shipped it +the day before, which I had not, but went right down and gave an order +for its shipment, for fear he might over-persuade me to let him have it, +and I thus saved it. When most completed, a barrel of alcohol that was +in the building bursted, and it ran down to the furnace and set it on +fire, and burnt it up. That was the fate of the first brewery started in +California. Since then there have been millions made in that business +there. + +The North Beach property, after I had sold all my houses out, I closed +my interest in. It proved a failure to use for a wharf or shipping +point. + +During the seven months of summer the north-west wind blew there so hard +every afternoon that it was not a safe place for vessels, and the +property would never have any value for that purpose, and I do not think +it has ever been used since for that. + +In the winter months, which is generally the rainy season, the wind +blows from the south for five months, and the other seven months it +blows from the north-west over six thousand miles of ocean, and, +consequently, is not impregnated with any decayed vegetable matter, and +is as pure as air can be. In San Francisco the sun would rise in a clear +sky every morning and there would be a perfect calm; by 11 A.M. there +would be a little breeze; by 2 or 3 o'clock, a gale. When the sun set +the wind would subside and there would be a perfect calm again. Every +day would be the same, month after month. What was almost a gale on the +coast would be a gentle breeze up in the mining district, in the +interior. The next day that air would be displaced by another gale from +over the thousand miles of ocean, for it is impossible to imagine any +other country with purer air. + +During that time there were various visionary reports of new discoveries +of gold regions, one of a lake that the sands of its banks were rich +with gold. All you had to do, to make your fortune, was to wash it out, +which produced quite a sensation, and parties were organized to go +there, but they never found it. The next year after the purchase of my +brig, there were small steamers constructed to run to Stockton, and they +had already some sailing vessels put on, built there, and the price of +freight had commenced falling, and I thought I had better sell my vessel +while I could get a good price for it. There was a man who came to me +and said he wanted to buy it; that he had been a captain of a boat on +Lake Erie. I stated to him my price for it. He said that was not out of +the way, but he would like to try it one trip before closing the +purchase, and referred me to a mercantile house there as his reference. +They said he had run vessels for them on Lake Erie when they were doing +business in Buffalo. I concluded that was entirely satisfactory; that +that had evidently been his regular business. He said he wanted to +employ all his own hands. I had the vessel, at the time, half loaded +with freight, which I turned over to him. I paid my men and discharged +them, and told them the vessel was about to change owners, and put him +in full possession of it. Of course I had nothing more to do with it +until he returned from the trip to Stockton; then I expected he would +close the purchase as he said that the price was satisfactory to him. +After a few weeks I commenced looking for the return of my brig, but it +did not come. Finally I heard a rumor that the captain had left the +vessel at Stockton, but did not believe it, but thought that some +accident might have happened. I had borrowed a spy-glass to investigate +the bay. I could have recognized my vessel by the red streak around it. +Finally, after it had been gone long enough to make several trips, I +discovered it at anchor in the bay. I went and supplied myself with +money, in case it should prove true that the captain had left the +vessel, to pay his men in full before they got ashore, because the +vessel was liable for their wages, whoever might have employed them; so +I hired a boat to row me out to it. I met a man on the deck that seemed +to be in command. I inquired of him where the captain was. He said he +had run away. I spoke to him in a sharp tone of voice and said, how do +you know that? He said, because I saw him on the back of a mule going +over the plain. Then he asked me, are you the owner? I said, yes. Then I +said, you have all got your pay before he went; I did not employ you. He +said, some of them have got some. + +As you seem to be in command, I suppose you have kept an account of how +it stands. He said, "Come down in the cabin and I will show it to you." +I said, "It was hard on me to be robbed of all my freight money, but it +was also hard for them to be cheated out of their hard earnings, and I +would see what I could do for them." He presented the statement of what +each man had received and what was due them. I was surprised at his +correctness. I said: It seems all right and I would pay them, which I +did, and took their receipt. I was afraid if they went ashore and found +the vessel was liable for their wages they might make any kind of +demands, so I got possession of my vessel again, very much damaged. +Before leaving the port he had let the steamer _Senator_ run into the +bows of the vessel, and it cost me $700 to have it repaired, ship +carpenters' wages being $20 per day, payable in gold. The events which I +had anticipated of the decline of that kind of property had come, and, +after it was repaired, I put it up at auction and sold it, so that +rascal cost me several thousand dollars. Such was life in California in +the days of the Forty-niners. + +Having some leisure I thought I would take a trip up the mining regions, +and make a visit to my old friends there. More than a year had passed, +and greater changes had taken place than would have occurred in any +other country in many years. The population of California increased one +hundred thousand the first year after the discovery of the gold, which +had accounted for the great changes which had taken place since my +previous trip. I went up on the steamer _Senator_ to Sacramento, which +had become quite a city, and the next morning started for Coloma in a +stage full of passengers, drawn by mules. I took a seat aside of the +driver. I got in conversation with the driver. I asked him what pay he +received? He said, only $450 per month and his board. I asked him if he +had driven stages before? He said, yes, out of Boston. I said, at what +wages? He said, $14 a month. I said that there was a big difference +between that and $450. He said, yes, but that this was his last trip. He +took a party of three up only a few weeks ago, and he brought them down +yesterday, and they had between $3,000 and $4,000 apiece, and he was not +going to waste his time driving for $450 a month. He was going to the +mines the next day. It was quite probable that the party referred to had +made an unusual lucky strike, for I had met parties that had done the +same thing. I had had in my hands at one time, in San Francisco, a piece +of solid gold metal, something in the shape of the cover of a sugar +loaf, that was worth $4,500, found by a couple of green Irishmen. They +inquired of some miners in the interior where was a good place to dig. +The miners said in fun, dig there in that sand bank behind you. The +Irishmen took them up in earnest and went to digging. In a short time +they found that chunk of gold, where no experienced miner would think of +digging. + +I have dug gold in the cellar of the brewery in San Francisco. I think +most all the soil of that part of California is impregnated with gold. +But the point is to find it in sufficient quantities to pay to dig it. +As an illustration, if you knew that in a certain piece of ground there +was $5,000 worth of gold, and it cost you $10,000 to wash all the ground +to get it, of course that land would have no gold value. I found at +Coloma that my friends had left the Dutch bar and gone to the middle +fork of the American river, some distance from there. I got directions +how to get there and started on foot. Toward night I met a young man who +had just came overland and had separated that day from his party to get +work in the mining camp. I told him where I was going, and that he had +better go with me, and that he could get from $10 to $16 per day to work +for other parties, or to join two others and work a claim for himself, +which he did. So as it was getting toward night, we camped under a tree +and slept until morning, and took a fresh start. That day we found the +middle fork of the American river and my friends. The river was sunk +way down in the earth. It seemed almost a mile down to the water where +they were to work. It was quite a large mining place. The excitement +there every day was when the "dummy" went into the river. It was a +diving armor that had been used in the gulf of Lower California to go +down in the deep waters to hunt for pearls, and had been bought by a +party of five, each putting in $800, making $4,000, expecting to make +their fortunes by getting into the deep water of the gold rivers. (As I +have shown before, the torrents and force of the currents had prevented +any gold from ever lodging there.) Every day at such an hour, it was +announced that the "dummy" was a going in the river. The other miners +quit their work to see it, and the proprietors of the "dummy" always +treated the crowd in the most lavish manner. Its credit was good for any +store bills. Its always treating the crowd had made it popular, and +nobody would trade with the storekeeper who would not trust it, so it +was death to the prosperity of the storekeeper, whether he trusted it or +not. They never got any gold while there through "dummy," and when he +left to go further down the river to try another place, the main +storekeeper there lost $800 by trusting it, which broke him. These +stores were tents, to supply immediate wants of the miners. I never +heard of "dummy" afterward. I have no doubt he operated on all the store +tents until he came to grief like all evil-doers. + +The productiveness of the gold rivers had not diminished any that I +could perceive. I talked to a man who had been off a little ways to +prospect in another place. I asked him what luck? He said, there was +nothing there. I said, was there no gold? He said; yes, there was some, +but of no value. He said a man could make $10 a day, and who was a going +to waste their time on that. My visit over, I returned to San Francisco. +My friend R.'s brewery was not completed. I was informed he had been +borrowing money from a Jew at twenty per cent a month. It was no use for +me to back him any more, however valuable it might be, if completed, and +I had no doubt there was a fortune in it, but neither he nor I had the +capital to do it. + +I had some other financial entangling matters, and I was afraid if I +kept on with them I might get broke, and the only way I saw of getting +out with them was to announce that I was going to leave, and going down +to Relago, Central America. + +There was an English steamer advertised to sail for that port and +Panama. I thought I would go for sixty days and then return and commence +again and manage my affairs in a more conservative way, and what I could +control. Well I closed my matters out the best I could and engaged my +passage on the steamer for Relago. There was considerable excitement at +this time about the Nicaragua route. The above place would be the +terminus on the Pacific coast, and, consequently, a place of importance. +As I had missed it in trading six of my houses for lots in San +Francisco, there might be a chance to get some there in advance of any +rise on them. Any way, I wanted to get out of my entangling alliances +and take a fresh start. The night before I sailed Mr. Brady (Colonel +Stevenson's son-in-law) came to me and said the colonel did not like to +have me go. I told him I had paid my passage, $200. He said the colonel +understood that. He put his hand in his vest pocket and pulled out a +roll of bills. He said, here is the $200, which he told me to give you, +so you will not lose any thing by not going. There was once a lady, the +wife of one of the officers of his regiment, who arrived there, +expecting to meet her husband, but he was up in the country. The colonel +asked me to go down to the steamer and meet her, and escort her to a +boarding-house to stay until her husband arrived, which I did. I told +him that she was short of funds, having expected to meet her husband. He +gave me $150 and told me to give it to her, as if I loaned it to her, +and when her husband paid me I could return it to him. I mention these +little incidents to show that whatever faults he may have had, he was +the most generous of friends. + +Colonels Stevenson, Freemont and Captain Sutter will stand pre-eminent +in the future history of the State as its most prominent founders. + +I sailed out of the port of San Francisco on the steamer _Ecuador_ for +Relago, Central America, expecting to return to California within sixty +days. In a few days, out at sea, we began to hear unfavorable rumors +about our vessel; that the engineer had left the day before our sailing; +that he did not consider it safe to go in it; that it could not carry +coal enough to take it to Acapulco, the next coaling place. And we were +informed that it was a steamer that had been running from Panama to +Valparaiso, and had been bought up by a speculator and sent up to San +Francisco as an experiment, to see if it would pay. The officers and men +had never been up the coast before, and knew nothing about the port. One +day we were startled in mid ocean by the stopping of the engine. We soon +found the cause. The captain was about to try his sails so as to save +coal (which verified the reports about being short of coal). We made +some headway with the sails, but lost it again when the wind subsided, +by the currents of the ocean; so that project was abandoned, and after +some days we put into the port of San Blas, in Mexico, for fuel. There +was no coal there, so we laid in all the wood we could to try and reach +Acapulco (here we could not buy any thing with our $5 gold pieces, but +they were ready to sell for silver). The cholera had been there, they +said, but had left. The priests had had a procession, and, with their +incense boxes, had marched through the streets and driven it out. We +took in all the wood we could get and started to make the port of +Acapulco, the regular coaling port for all the steamers on that coast. +It was Sunday P.M. We could raise fuel enough to make only four knots an +hour. It was an iron steamer. We were burning what there was of the +woodwork of the vessel, for if we could not make the port before dark we +were lost. The officers were not acquainted with the coast. We had not +fuel enough to keep steam up all night, and we would be on the broad +Pacific ocean, six thousand miles across, without the remotest +possibility of meeting any other vessel, without any control of our +steamer, subject to be driven in any direction. I heard the mate talking +to the captain about the propriety of wrecking the vessel and saving +what lives they could, although we were in sight of land. The captain +said the under-tow was so great that none could be saved in that way. +It is twice as great on the Pacific as the Atlantic. There were no +female passengers. One man said he had $10,000 in gold with him; if his +wife and children only had that he would be content to meet his fate, +under the circumstances, but it was hard to leave them without it. All +the passengers had more or less gold, or they would not have been +returning. + +You can imagine with what anxiety we watched every indication of the +coast to see if there was any chance of us nearing the port. Finally, +toward night, we saw a high projection of land on the coast, and that +was predicted that it was the entrance to the port. If we could reach +that point before dark, we might be saved. The passengers went to work +to break up any thing for the fires that would make steam. The captain +made no objections, but told them to burn all woodwork on the vessel to +save their lives. At dark we reached the point we had in view, and it +was fortunate for us that it was the entrance to the port. As the vessel +turned to enter, you could see, coming over the waters of the ocean, a +tropical storm, accompanied with wind, thunder and lightning. Twenty +minutes later it would have reached us, and we would have been lost. As +soon as we got safely in port (and it was very dark), I can hear now, in +imagination, the sound of the anchor as it was let down in the water, +which assured our entire safety. It thundered and lightninged, and +blowing a high gale, which was music in our ears, as we knew we were out +of danger, and feeling the supreme gratification of knowing what we had +escaped. Blessed to us was the high mountains which surrounded the port. +The entrance to it is narrow, but when you get inside it is one of the +safest harbors in the world, being perfectly land-locked. The next day +opened on a happy lot of passengers. I felt as if I was commencing life +anew. We went ashore expecting to be there several days, as they +proposed to take in a full supply of coal. This place had been once +quite a city, but many years ago had been partly destroyed by an +earthquake. It was said that the water went out of the bay most to the +tops of the mountains, and then reacted to its usual level in the +harbor; that there was a French ship carried up to the sides of the +mountains, and when the water reacted, carried back in safety in the +harbor. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, the ruins of which are now +visible where the city once extended. + +I was introduced to General Alvarado. He was the most prominent man in +Mexico, on the Pacific coast, at that time, and afterward became very +prominent in the public affairs of his country. On our return to the +vessel that evening there was quite an excitement on board. Among the +passengers was a party of three who had been quite successful in +Sacramento in the bottling of soda and summer beer, and peddling it out +through the city. They had picked up by chance an old acquaintance from +Waterford who belonged to an aristocratic family there, and by his +habits of dissipation was a mortification to them. So when the +California excitement broke out, they furnished him the money to go to +the gold regions. It would either reform him or they would get rid of +him. Of course, such men were no good in California, and he had spent +his money and wanted to return. These men came across him and told him +they were going to return East in sixty days, and if he would keep +straight, and drive one of their wagons for them, they would take him +home with them. When they went ashore the first day they left him in +charge of their baggage, and promised him that he could go ashore the +next. They had their private store of wines and brandy. He had found it +and tried it and got full, and treated all the sailors and everybody on +board that would drink with him, and was the most popular man on board +with the sailors. He repented the next day and begged their +forgiveness, and they took him home with them. Like a bad penny, he +returned as he was before. Distance did not reform him. + +Well, our next port was Relago my destination. Just after dark one day +we got opposite to what, according to the charts, was that port. It was +necessary for them to wait until morning before they could undertake to +enter it, as they had never been there before, and there were no pilots, +and they decided not to let the steam go down, and they concluded that +they would sail slowly around in a circle, so as to be opposite to the +port in the morning. When morning came it was foggy, and we could not +see the land. But they had such confidence in the correctness of their +chart that they determined to enter it. Instead of the port, we came to +the white caps, dashing against the rocks almost mountains high, and we +came within an ace of being dashed to pieces against them. If the +engineer had not reversed the movement of the engine the instant he +did, we would have been wrecked. The captain was now completely +befogged. In a short time he came to me with a paper to sign agreeing to +go to Panama. It should cost me nothing extra for my passage there; that +the few other passengers for that port had signed it. I thought I had +better sign to go anywhere than to take any more chances in that +steamer. Come to find out afterward, instead of being opposite the port +that morning, we were twenty miles from it, the currents of the ocean +having carried us that distance while we were sailing around in a +circle, which they had not ciphered on, and thus came so near wrecking +us. By chance we saw a sailing vessel. The captain gave orders for the +steamer to follow it, and, when we overtook it, we found it was bound +for Relago. There was a man on board of it who was acquainted with the +port. They got him to come on our steamer and had him pilot us to that +port, so I expected to go ashore, and got my baggage in readiness, and, +when the time came, had it brought up on deck. They did not enter the +port, but came to outside. There were two passengers, it seems, that +would not sign the paper to go to Panama, and it was to land them he had +come to, and when I went to have my baggage put in the small boat the +captain informed me I had signed to go to Panama, and some of the other +passengers said I was very foolish to risk my life in that sea in so +small a boat. Before I scarcely knew it the boat had pushed off without +me, and, consequently, the whole current and course of my life was +changed. Upon such little incidents often do the events of human life +depend. It may have been fortunate for me that I did not land there. + +There was in Nicaragua at the time a filibustering expedition under the +command of Captain Walker, who went from California to overthrow the +government there by taking sides with the revolutionary movement that +had been started, and to get an American control of the government, +which I did not approve of, for I considered it a dishonorable movement; +but still, if I had landed, they being my countrymen, I might have got +mixed up with them. They were conquered and all sentenced to death, and +shot. It is barely possible I might have shared their fate. I have often +thought since I made a good escape by not landing. + + +SCENES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN. + +The course of the steamer is frequently in sight of land. The storms I +have referred to were tropical storms, lasting but a short time. The +ocean is generally very mild all the distance, three thousand five +hundred miles from Panama to San Francisco. North of San Francisco the +storms are somewhat similar to the Atlantic ocean storms. The passengers +on the return trip were in the best of spirits; they were returning +home; all of them had been more or less successful in California, and I +can recall to my mind many pleasant times we had on board the steamship. +The porpoise are very numerous on the Pacific ocean; there were often, +for days, schools of them on the sides of the steamer, throwing +themselves out of the water, and then diving in again; great numbers, at +the same time, seeming like the motion of a revolving wheel. +Occasionally we would hear the cry, "There she blows;" a jet of water +being thrown up many feet high in the air--a sperm whale had come up to +breathe. We frequently saw flying fish. One day there was a school of +them landed on the steamer; they are similar to other fish, except +having wings, but not of a very large size. At another time a booby bird +came on the steamer. It got its name from its stupidity. We frequently +saw them on the water, floating on a piece of board or a stick of wood; +sailors say they have seen them five hundred miles out to sea in that +way. This one you could take up and handle; it made no resistance. On +the coast of Central America we saw two mountain peaks of great height, +standing out, individually, like the Pyramids, said to be extinct +volcanoes that were thrown up from the internal fires of the earth, and +which, at one time, belched forth melted lava and fire. + +We arrived safe in Panama. I was so near home that I thought I might as +well return and see my friends, and take a fresh start for California, +and try my fortune once more. They had commenced building the railroad +over the Isthmus, but it was not completed, so we crossed over to +Cruize, the head of navigation on the Chagres river, and went down that +to its mouth, and there took the steamer _Georgia_ for New York, +commanded by Captain Porter, of the United States navy--the man who had +control of the vessels in going down the Mississippi river and +successfully passing Vicksburg, which had so much to do with its +capture. He was a perfect gentleman, and commanded your admiration with +the skill of his management of the vessel. There were on the vessel +well-dressed pickpockets, who went from New York to the Isthmus, to +return by the steamers to the city, for the chances of robbing the +returning Californians of their gold dust, as all of them had more or +less of it on their persons. One unfortunate victim of their wiles +appealed strongly to my sympathies. He was an English sailor, and had +been two or three years up in the gold mines, and had $3,000 or $4,000 +in gold dust in a buckskin bag on his person. He showed it to me. I +advised him to deposit it with the purser for safety; that I had done so +with mine. He said they could not rob him. He was about the happiest man +I ever saw. He was richer, in feeling, than the Vanderbilts. He said he +had a wife and children in Liverpool, and would take the first steamer +from New York for that port. He said he had not seen his family for +several years, and now that he had the gold he could make them all +happy. He was in the steerage. A few days after I heard he was sick. He +had fainted. Some parties had helped him up; evidently pickpockets had +taken that opportunity to rob him; his gold was all gone. I explained +his case to Captain Porter, but nothing could be done. There was no way +to identify his gold dust from any other; it was all alike. When he +arrived in New York, he would have to go to the hospital until he got +well enough to ship on some other vessel for $14 per month, and not be +able to return to his wife and children with his gold, and make them +happy, while these black-hearted villainsillians were spending his +money, his hard earnings of years. I entered in a bond, with myself, +that if I were ever on a jury I would never show any mercy to a thief. + +As we were sailing along many ships and schooners came in sight. We were +evidently nearing the great port of New York. The land of Staten Island +soon came in sight covered with snow. It was late in the fall. It was +the first I had seen since my departure from the same port, except on +the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Here ends my personal +adventures of the days of the Forty-niners, to be continued by the +peroration on California. + + +PERORATION. + +On my return, in looking over my finances, I was no poorer than when I +left. It must be evident to the reader that I had acquired no wealth to +astonish my friends with my riches, which was the visionary expectation +of the early pioneers to the gold Eldorado. I have been writing from +personal recollections of events that occurred forty-five years ago. Of +course, there was nothing in my enterprises, or the little fluctuations +of fortune that would be of particular interest to any one; but in the +form of a personal narrative, it was the only way I could recall +vividly to my mind, the events of so long ago. There were a series of +articles published in the _Century_ magazine two years ago, which I read +with great interest, for they were truthful, but no book has ever been +published that took in fully those two years when common labor was $16 +per day, payable in gold. Such an event was never known to occur before, +and probably never will again. I have not drawn on my imagination in the +least in this narrative. I have simply attempted to portray from memory +events that actually occurred under my own observation. Any Forty-niner +will concede the truth of my narrative. I did not return to California +as I had expected. Cupid's arrow pierced my heart in the person of a +young lady, and sealed my fate. I had a cottage built in the quiet and +beautiful valley of Schoharie, where I have passed more than thirty +years of happy married life. While not possessing the wealth of the +successful pioneer, I have been content. + +"A MONUMENT TO JACOB A.L. FISHER, A UNION SOLDIER. + +"_Interview with Doctor Knower, who has Charge of It--Some Interesting +Reminiscences of Forty-niners._ + +"A monument to be erected in the Old Stone Fort Cemetery to Jacob A.L. +Fisher, a Union soldier, by Abraham Schell, his uncle, of California. + +"A draft of the above monument is before us. It is quite an affair, +about twenty-seven feet high, with a full length statue of a soldier on +top. It is now being constructed in Des Moines, Iowa, to be shipped by +the 1st of May, and unveiled on the 4th day of July, 1894, with +appropriate ceremonies. Dr. Knower, in 76, in laying the corner-stone to +the David Williams State monument, gave the grandest celebration that +ever occurred in this county. This one he expects to rely to a great +extent on the local army organizations of the county, as this honor paid +to one of their compatriots in arms is an honor to them. + +"We have before us a copy of the Stockton (Cal.) _Evening Mail_ of +November 9, 1893, containing a seven column article descriptive of +Abraham Schell's vineyard at Knight's Ferry, Cal. We quote from it: 'A +characteristic act of Abraham Schell was to give a deed to the entire +place and all of its appurtenances, last summer, to Herrick R. Schell, +his nephew, who had served him faithfully as assistant and business +associate for twenty-six years.' The property conveyed consisted of +three thousand acres, upon which Mr. Schell had expended at the time the +deed was given a quarter of a million of dollars. We see by the same +article that Abraham Schell's landed purchases in that locality, in the +early days, amounted to fifteen thousand five hundred and thirty-five +acres. + +"Mr. Schell joined a company formed by Dr. Knower (who made an +investment in it, and was then a resident of Albany), which sailed on +the ship _Tarolinton_ from the port of New York, on the 13th of +January, 1849. The doctor, the following spring, shipped from Albany, +twelve houses around Cape Horn, the freight on which was $5,000, he +going by the way of the Isthmus, arriving in San Francisco on the 25th +of September, 1849. On the steamer going up from Panama was Judge Terry, +of Louisiana, who killed United States Senator Broderick in a duel, and +who was years afterward assassinated. + +"In these early days there was a contest between Northern and Southern +pioneers whether California should come in the Union a free or a slave +State. Broderick, a Democrat from the city of New York, represented the +Northern sentiment, and was supported by the Whigs of the State. Common +labor at that time was $16 per day, payable in gold. It was more from +pride than from any thing to do with the moral question of slavery. They +did not want to come in competition with slave labor. The Northern +element predominated, and California came in a free State. Its first +constitution was written by George Washington Sherwood, who was a +Democratic member of the New York Legislature from Washington county, +and copied after the constitution of this State. + +"California may be said to be the child of the State of New York; her +citizens may be said to have been pre-eminent in its development and +present greatness. + +"Abraham Schell was born in Gallupville, and proposes to be buried in +the neighboring village of Middleburgh, his wife's native place, where +he has erected a monument. + +"They say that all Forty-niners who remained in California either became +millionaires or paupers. It seems that Mr. Schell was one of the former. +He was an unconditional Union man in the rebellion, visiting the +hospitals of the wounded soldiers, and assisting them by his means, and +the erection of this monument to his nephew for his services in that +war is but in accord with his acts of patriotism at that time." + +The above article inspired this undertaking at this time. I expected to +find my friend on at the dedication of the monument, and thought I would +have the manuscript ready on his arrival and submit it to him, and +propose to have him go in partnership with me in its publication, and +have him revise it with me. He was a man of high literary attainments, +and an experienced Forty-niner, who could have added many important +events to it that did not come under my observation. He was wealthy, and +had the means to bring it properly before the public. + + +DEATH OF A FORMER SCHOHARIAN. + +Intelligence reaches us of the death of Abraham Schell, at his home at +Knight's Ferry, California, in the early part of February. Mr. Schell +was seventy-six years old, and was a native of this county, having been +born in the town of Wright. At the time of the gold excitement in 1849 +he was in the mercantile business in Albany, but sold out and joining a +company of friends journeyed to California, where he invested his means +to good advantage and became highly successful, amassing a large +fortune. His vineyards and their product have long been celebrated. A +man of independent thought and fine literary attainments, he was one of +the sons of Schoharie county, whose enterprise and intellectual culture +we may take just pride in. + +His remains are deposited in a vault there, to be brought here in the +spring by his nephew, and interred in their final resting place in the +cemetery at Middleburgh, where he has a $2,000 monument erected. + +We learn from Dr. Knower that the proposed monument to his nephew at Old +Stone Fort will undoubtedly be erected, as it has been contracted for, +but the full details he will not be posted on until the arrival of the +nephew in the spring. + +The above will show that death, which plays an important hand in the +events of human life, intervened; so I have gone on alone and submit it +to the public, such as it is. I hope and trust it may meet the approval +of all Californians, more particularly of those of the days to which it +refers. If they will give their approval, it will add to the happiness +and gratification of one of their compatriots of those early days of the +pioneers and founders of the State of California. What California has +become since, we, at that time, had no realization of. Instead of +conceiving it an utter impossibility of ever building one railroad +across the continent, we now have five. Instead of conceiving the idea +that it would never be an agricultural country, it may be said to be the +vineyard and wine producing country of the world, and it has a greater +variety of productions than most any other land. + +The city of San Francisco, when I first entered it, had not as many good +buildings as a common eastern village. Now it has a population of +nearly four hundred thousand, and edifices that cost millions. It has +produced more millionaires, from persons that went there poor, than any +other country before in the history of the world, and more money has +been donated to science and education by those successful pioneers, who +were the creators of their own fortune in the same time, than all the +rest of the world in the past forty-five years, since the days of the +Forty-niners. + +Lick's institution for the science of astronomy, Leland Stanford's +twenty millions to the Alto University of Learning, open to all +students, are illustrations of the above statements. + +The foundation of the fortunes of many bankers and wealthy capitalists +of the East were made in California in the days of the Forty-niners. +Mill, the owner of the great building at the corner of Broadway and Wall +street, the ground on which it stands costing a million, who is many +times a millionaire, went from Sing Sing, in this State, a poor boy in +1849. Armour, the great millionaire cattle dealer of Chicago, made his +first money there in those days, which laid the foundation of his great +fortune, and many others I can recall to mind too numerous to mention. + +While all did not succeed, as they never do in any human enterprise, +some got discouraged, others fell by the way and laid down and died from +disappointment, yet others more than realized their most fabulous +conception of wealth. I was told when I was a boy if I went where the +sun set and dug for gold I would find it. When I became a man I went +three thousand miles in the direction of the sun setting and dug and +found gold. It is not a dream, for as I close this writing I see on my +little finger a gold ring made from the gold I there dug, which has been +there for forty-five years. It is so fine that it has been wearing away, +and it is not more than one-fourth the size it was when I first put it +on, and time is likewise wearing on me, and it will probably last as +long as I do, and we will disappear together, as Shakespeare says, +"besmeared with sluttish time." + +THE END. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +It was the brains and statesmanship of Wm. L. Marcy, when he was +secretary of war under President Polk, that inaugurated and generaled +the movements that resulted in our securing possession of California--by +his expeditions, sent by sea and by land, of regular forces, followed by +the volunteer regiment of one thousand men, under the command of Col. +Jonathan Stevenson, as the following able State paper indicates: + +[Confidential.] + +[Illustration: W.L. Marcy] + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, _June_ 3, 1846. + +SIR.--I herewith send you a copy of my letter to the governor of +Missouri for an additional force of one thousand mounted men. The object +of thus adding to the force under your command is not, as you will +perceive, fully set forth in that letter, for the reason that it is +deemed prudent that it should not, at this time, become a matter of +public notoriety; but to you it is proper and necessary that it should +be stated. + +It has been decided by the president to be of the greatest importance in +the pending war with Mexico to take the earliest possession of Upper +California. An expedition with that view is hereby ordered, and you are +designated to command it. To enable you to be in sufficient force to +conduct it successfully this additional force of a thousand mounted men +has been provided, to follow you in the direction of Santa Fe, to be +under your orders or the officer you may leave in command at Santa Fe. + +It cannot be determined how far this additional force will be behind +that designated for the Santa Fe expedition, but it will not probably be +more than a few weeks. When you arrive at Santa Fe with the force +already called, and shall have taken possession of it, you may find +yourself in a condition to garrison it with a small part of your +command (as the additional force will soon be at that place), and with +the remainder, press forward to California. In that case you will make +such arrangements as to being followed by the reinforcements before +mentioned, as in your judgment may be deemed safe and prudent. I need +not say to you that in case you conquer Santa Fe (and with it will be +included the department of the State of New Mexico), it will be +important to provide for retaining safe possession of it. Should you +deem it prudent to have still more troops for the accomplishment of the +object herein designated, you will lose no time in communicating that +opinion on that point, and all others connected with the enterprise, to +this department. Indeed you are hereby authorized to make a direct +requisition for it upon the governor of Missouri. + +It is known that a large body of Mormon emigrants are en route to +California for the purpose of settling in that country. You are desired +to use all proper means to have a good understanding with them, to the +end that the United States may have their co-operation in taking +possession of and holding that country. It has been suggested here that +many of these Mormons would willingly enter into the service of the +United States and aid us in our expedition against California. You are +hereby authorized to muster into service such as can be induced to +volunteer; not, however, to a number exceeding one-third of your entire +force. Should they enter the service they will be paid as other +volunteers, and you can allow them to designate, so far as it can be +properly done, the persons to act as officers thereof. It is understood +that a considerable number of American citizens are now settled on the +Sacramento river, near Sutter's establishment, called "Nueva Helvetia," +who are well disposed toward the United States. Should you, on your +arrival in the country, find this to be the true state of things there, +you are authorized to organize and receive into the service of the +United States such portion of these citizens as you may think useful to +aid you to hold the possession of the country. You will in that case +allow them, so far as you shall judge proper, to select their own +officers. A large discretionary power is invested in you in regard to +these matters, as well as to all others, in relation to the expedition +confided to your command. + +The choice of routes by which you will enter California will be left to +your better knowledge and ampler means of getting accurate information. +We are assured that a southern route (called the Caravan route, by which +the wild horses are brought from that country into New Mexico) is +practicable, and it is suggested as not improbable that it can be passed +over in the winter months, or at least late in autumn. It is hoped that +this information may prove to be correct. + +In regard to routes; the practicability of procuring needful supplies +for men and animals, and transporting baggage is a point to be well +considered. Should the president be disappointed in his cherished hope +that you will be able to reach the interior of Upper California before +winter, you are then desired to make the best arrangement you can for +sustaining your forces during the winter, and for an early movement in +the spring. Though it is very desirable that the expedition should reach +California this season (and the president does not doubt you will make +every possible effort to accomplish this object), yet if, in your +judgment, it cannot be undertaken with a reasonable assurance of +success, you will defer it, as above suggested, until spring. You are +left unembarrassed by any specific directions in the matter. + +It is expected that the naval forces of the United States which are now, +or will soon be in the Pacific, will be in possession of all the towns +on the seacoast, and will co-operate with you in the conquest of +California. Arms, ordnance, munitions of war, and provisions to be used +in that country, will be sent by sea to our squadron in the Pacific for +the use of the land forces. + +Should you conquer and take possession of New Mexico and Upper +California, or considerable places in either, you will establish +temporary civil government therein, abolishing all arbitrary +restrictions that may exist, so far as it may be done with safety. + +In performing this duty, it would be wise and prudent to continue in +their employment all such of the existing officers as are known to be +friendly to the United States, and will take the oath of allegiance to +them. The duties of the custom-house ought, at once, to be reduced to +such a rate as may be barely sufficient to maintain the necessary +officers without yielding any revenue to the government. You may assure +the people of these provinces that it is the wish and design of the +United States to provide for them a free government with the least +possible delay, similar to that which exists in our territories. They +will then be called on to exercise the rights of freemen in electing +their own representatives to the territorial legislature. It is foreseen +that what relates to the civil government will be a difficult and +unpleasant part of your duty, and much must necessarily be left to your +own discretion. In your whole conduct you will act in such a manner as +best to conciliate the inhabitants and render them friendly to the +United States. + +It is desirable that the usual trade between the citizens of the United +States and the Mexican provinces should be continued, as far as +practicable, under the changed condition of things between the two +countries. In consequence of extending your expedition into California +it may be proper that you should increase your supply for goods to be +distributed as presents to the Indians. The United States +superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis will aid you in procuring +these goods. You will be furnished with a proclamation in the Spanish +language, to be issued by you and circulated among the Mexican people on +your entering into or approaching their country. You will use your +utmost endeavors to have the pledges and promises therein contained +carried out to the utmost extent. + +I am directed by the president to say that the rank of brevet +brigadier-general will be conferred on you as soon as you commence your +movement toward California, and sent round to you by sea or over the +country, or to the care of the commandant of our squadron in the +Pacific. In that way cannon, arms, ammunition and supplies for the land +forces will be sent to you. + +Very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +W.L. MARCY, + +_Secretary of War_. + +COLONEL S. N. KEARNEY, _Fort Leavenworth, Missouri._ + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER*** + + +******* This file should be named 12518-8.txt or 12518-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + +https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + +https://gutenberg.org/etext06 + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** diff --git a/old/12518-8.zip b/old/12518-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..998aed9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-8.zip diff --git a/old/12518-h.zip b/old/12518-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3791992 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h.zip diff --git a/old/12518-h/12518-h.htm b/old/12518-h/12518-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..33a7c26 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/12518-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,3475 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Adventures of a Forty-niner, by Daniel Knower</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + HR { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + hr.full { width: 100%; + height: 5px; } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .note {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} /* footnote */ + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + .pagenum {position: absolute; left: 92%; font-size: smaller;} /* page numbers */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 1em; font-size: smaller; float: right; clear: right;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem .caesura {vertical-align: -200%;} + a:link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + link {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:visited {color:blue; + text-decoration:none} + a:hover {color:red} + pre {font-size: 9pt;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ +</style> +</head> +<body> +<h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Adventures of a Forty-niner, by Daniel +Knower</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Adventures of a Forty-niner</p> +<p>Author: Daniel Knower</p> +<p>Release Date: June 4, 2004 [eBook #12518]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: iso-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER***</p> +<br> +<br> +<center><b>E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</b></center> +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<h1>THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER.</h1> +<br> +<h3>AN HISTORIC DESCRIPTION OF CALIFORNIA, WITH EVENTS AND IDEAS OF +SAN FRANCISCO AND ITS PEOPLE IN THOSE EARLY DAYS.</h3> +<h2>By DANIEL KNOWER.</h2> +<h4>1894</h4> +<br> +<br> +<br> +<p>DEDICATED TO Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, Colonel John C. +Freemont, and Captain John A. Sutter,</p> +<br> +<p>THE THREE PRE-EMINENT PIONEERS OF CALIFORNIA.</p> +<br> +<center><img src="./images/illus004a.png" height="450" width="347" +alt=" DANIEL KNOWER."></center> +<br> +<h2>Table of Contents</h2> +<a href="#PREFACE"><b>PREFACE.</b></a><br> +<a href="#CALPIONEER"><b>THE CALIFORNIA PIONEER +SOCIETY.</b></a><br> +<a href="#ADVENTURES"><b>THE ADVENTURES OF A +FORTY-NINER.</b></a><br> +<a href="#HISTORICAL"><b>A FEW HISTORICAL ITEMS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#HIS_STORY"><b>HIS STORY.</b></a><br> +<a href="#GAMBLING"><b>THE GAMBLING OF THAT DAY.</b></a><br> +<a href="#GRIZZLY"><b>THE GRIZZLY BEARS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#BLANKET"><b>MY BLANKET MAN.</b></a><br> +<a href="#TENT"><b>THE MAN IN HIS TENT.</b></a><br> +<a href="#CLIPPER"><b>THE CLIPPER SHIPS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#BULL"><b>A BULL FIGHT.</b></a><br> +<a href="#HOME"><b>HOME SICKNESS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#JESUIT"><b>JESUIT MISSION STATIONS.</b></a><br> +<a href="#PACIFIC"><b>SCENES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN.</b></a><br> +<a href="#PERORATION"><b>PERORATION.</b></a><br> +<a href="#DEATH"><b>DEATH OF A FORMER SCHOHARIAN.</b></a><br> +<a href="#APPENDIX"><b>APPENDIX.</b></a><br> +<hr> +<a name="PREFACE"></a> +<h2>PREFACE.</h2> +<p>The discovery of gold in California, in 1848, with its other +mineral resources, including the Alamada quicksilver mine at San +José, which is an article of first necessity in working gold +or silver ore; and the great silver mines of Nevada, in 1860, the +Comstock lode, in which, in ten years, from five to eight hundred +millions of gold and silver were taken out, a larger amount than +was ever taken from one locality before, the Alamada quicksilver +mine being the second most productive of any in the world, the one +in Spain being the largest, said to be owned by the Rothschilds. +Its effect upon the general prosperity and development of our +country has been immense, almost incalculable. Before these +discoveries the amount of gold in the United States was estimated +at about seventy millions, now it is conceded to be seven hundred +millions. The Northern Pacific coast was then almost unpopulated. +California a territory three times as large as New York and Oregon +and the State of Washington, all now being cultivated and +containing large and populous cities, and railroads connecting them +with the East. Why that country should have remained uninhabited +for untold ages, where universal stillness must have prevailed as +far as human activity is concerned, is one of the unfathomable +mysteries of nature. It is only one hundred and twenty-five years +since the Bay of San Francisco was first discovered, one of the +grandest harbors in the world, being land-locked, extending thirty +miles, where all the vessels of the world could anchor in safety. +The early pioneers of those two years immediately after the gold +was discovered (of which I am writing) are passing away. As Ossian +says, "People are like the waves of the ocean, like the leafs of +woody marvin that pass away in the rustling blast, and other leaves +lift up their green heads." There is probably not five per cent of +the population of California to-day, of those days, scenes and +events of which I have tried to portray. Another generation have +taken their places who can know but little of those times except by +tradition. I, being one of the pioneers, felt it a duty, or an +inspiration seemed to come over me as an obligation I owed to +myself and compatriots of those times, to do what I could to +perpetuate the memory of them to some extent in the history of our +country as far as I had the ability to do it.</p> +<p>THE AUTHOR.</p> +<br> +<a name="CALPIONEER"></a> +<h2>THE CALIFORNIA PIONEER SOCIETY.</h2> +<p>The California Pioneer Society was organized in August, 1850. +The photograph of their building appears on the cover of this book, +W.D.M. Howard was their first president. Among their early +presidents, and prominent in the days of Forty-niners, were Samuel +Branan, Thomas Larkins, Wm. D. Farewell, and James Lick—who +liberally endowed it.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus008a.png" height="450" width="344" +alt=" BUILDING OF THE SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERS."></center> +<p>It was organized for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of +the events of those days and for the benefit and mutual protection +of its members. No person was eligible for membership except he had +arrived in California before the 1st of January, 1850, and the +descendants of Forty-niners when arriving at the age of twenty-one +are eligible. At the opening of the World's Fair in San Francisco +in January last, in the ceremonies in the marching of the +procession through the streets of the city, they were received with +the greatest enthusiasm and cheers, which was a marked +manifestation of the veneration in which they are held by the +people of California.</p> +<br> +<a name="ADVENTURES"></a> +<h2>THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER.</h2> +<p>The writer was practising his profession in the city of Albany, +his native place, in 1848, when reports came of the discovery of +gold in California. In a short time samples of scales of the metal +of the river diggings were on exhibition, sent to friends in the +city in letters. Many of Colonel Stevenson's regiment had been +recruited in that city. Soon these rumors were exaggerated. It was +said that barrels of gold were dug by individuals named. Soon the +excitement extended all over the country, and the only barrier to +wealth, it seemed, was the difficulty of getting to the Eldorado. +Why the discovery of gold there should have produced so much +excitement cannot be fathomed. It seemed an era in human affairs, +like the Crusades and other events of great importance that occur. +Your correspondent became one of its votaries, and organized a +company to go to the gold rivers and secure a fortune for all +interested in it, and it seemed all that was required was to get +there and return in a short time and ride in your carriage and +astonish your friends with your riches. Suffice it to say, this +company was fully organized (with its by-laws and system of +government drawn up by the writer), and sailed from the port of New +York on the ship <i>Tarrolinter</i> on the 13th of January, 1849, +to go around Cape Horn, arriving in San Francisco on the following +July. From that time I became absorbed in all the news from the +gold regions, and losing confidence somewhat in the certainty of a +fortune from my interest in the company, and reading of the high +price of lumber, the scarcity of houses, and the extraordinary high +wages of mechanics there, conceived the project of shipping the +materials for some houses there, having all the work put on them +here that could be done, thus saving the difference in wages, and +to have them arrive there before the rainy season set in, and thus +realize the imaginary fortune that I had expected from my interest +in the company. In the following spring I had twelve houses +constructed. The main point upon which my speculation seemed to +rest was to get them to San Francisco before the rainy season +commenced. I went to New York to secure freight for them in the +fastest vessel. Fortunately for me, as I conceived at the time, I +found the day before I arrived in New York, the <i>Prince de +Joinville,</i> a Havre packet ship, had been put up to sail for the +port of San Francisco, and as yet had engaged no freight. I made a +bargain with them at once to take my houses at sixty cents per +square foot, and had the contract signed, half to be delivered at +the side of the ship by such a date and the other half at a +subsequent date. I delivered the first half of the houses on the +time agreed, sending them down the Hudson river by a barge on a +tow. I sent the second half on a barge to get there on the day they +were due, apprehending no trouble, I going down myself a few days +in advance. They commenced complaining at the ship that they would +not have room for the balance of my houses on board, although I had +their written contract to take them at sixty cents per foot.</p> +<p>There was great California excitement about this time, and other +parties had come to the conclusion that the <i>Prince de +Joinville</i> was probably the fastest ship taking freight for San +Francisco. I saw them accept of offers at $1.50 per foot, when +their contract with me was for less than half that price, which +would make a difference of several thousand dollars in their favor. +So, if the balance of my houses did not arrive within the time +stated in the contract, they would not be taken on that vessel, and +my speculation ruined. The time was up the next day at twelve +o'clock. I was down on the Battery the next morning early watching +for the tow, with the barge with my houses. The ship was at the +dock in the East river. About ten o'clock, A.M., I had the good +fortune to see the barge rounding the Battery. I cried out to the +captain to cut loose from the tow, employ the first steam tug and I +would pay the bill, which he did, getting on the side of the vessel +by eleven o'clock, thus saving my contract by one hour. But they +did not commence taking them on board, so the captain of the barge +put a demurrage of $20 per day for detention. In the meantime, I +had bought my ticket to sail by the steamer <i>Georgia</i> to the +Isthmus to go on the 1st of July which was but a few days off. +They, seeing that I had them on my contract, came to me and said +that my houses should go on their ship according to contract, if +they had to throw other freight out, and that they would sign a +regular bill of lading for all the material deliverable to me upon +the arrival of the <i>Prince de Joinville</i> at the port of San +Francisco, and take my carpenters' specifications for the +description of them, which seemed all right to me.</p> +<p>The following is an article from the <i>Albany Evening Atlas</i> +of June 23, 1849:</p> +<div class="blkquot"> +<p>"CALIFORNIA HOUSES.</p> +<p>"Our estimable fellow citizen Dr. Knower, who is to start for +California by the Crescent City <i>via</i> Panama, is about to ship +to that place twelve houses, complete and ready to put up on +arrival at San Francisco. The venture is a costly one, the freight +on the material approaching the cost of as many frame buildings in +this quarter, and the projector, we think, has managed the +speculation with great foresight and judgment. The best timber has +been selected, and the best work men employed, and a plan of +architecture pursued, which is supposed to offer the greatest +advantages with the most economical expenditures of material. Four +of these buildings are 18 feet front and 25 feet deep. A partition +running lengthways divides the buildings into two rooms, and the +stairs leads to a second platform, which is large enough for +bedrooms, or for storing materials and tools of miners. Two others +are 18 feet front and 18 feet deep, with a small extension in the +rear of 8 feet. Two are 16 feet in front and 22 feet deep, with the +entrance on the gable front; and the four others are 18 feet front +by 14 deep. The sides of the building will be composed of a double +framework of boards planed, grooved and tongued, fitting air tight +on each side of the timber, the interval between them being either +filled with the moss of the country or left vacant, the confined +column of the air being found sufficient to keep off the excess of +cold or heat. The roofs of all the buildings shed from the front, +except two of which are of gable shape. The roofs are to be made of +solid, close-fitting planks, covered with fine ticking and coated +with the patent indestructible fire-proof paint, and applications +which our citizens have just begun to use here, and which they +have, found entirely successful.</p> +<p>"The houses can be easily transported to the placers or may be +put up on the sea-board. We should suppose that the numerous +land-owners who are speculating on the prospects of future cities +would be glad to give the land necessary for the location of this +village.</p> +<p>"The houses go by the <i>Prince de Joinville</i>, a first-class +vessel, which leaves New York soon."</p> +</div> +<p>I sailed on the steamer which left New York at 5 P.M., July 1, +1849. Friends were there to see me off, but there were no persons +on the boat that I had ever seen before—I was wondering who +would be my first acquaintance.</p> +<p>Being very tired, I retired soon to my berth, and woke up the +next morning on the broad ocean. Two days of sea sickness and I was +all right again. There were about one thousand passengers from all +parts of our country. I tried to fathom the motives and standing of +different ones. Colonel B. from Kentucky, an aristocratic-looking +man, with his slave for a body servant, who could not have been +bought for less than $1,500 in Kentucky, where slavery existed at +that time. Why a man in his circumstances should be going to +California to seek gold I could not fathom. One day a party of us +were seated around the table talking matters over. It was proposed +that each should reveal to the others what he expected to do and +his motives for the expedition. We each related our expectations +and the motives that had inspired us. My aristocratic friend was +one of the party. My curiosity was at its height to know his views. +He said: "Well, gentlemen, you have all been candid in your +statements, and I shall be the same; I am going to California to +deal Faro, the great American gambling game, and I don't care who +knows it."</p> +<p>Later on in my narrative, I shall have occasion to refer to +Colonel B. again under other circumstances. The fourth day out +being the fourth of July, was duly celebrated on the steamer in +true American style. Our course was to the east of Cuba. We passed +in sight of the green hills of San Domingo to our left, and in +sight of Jamaica to our right, crossing the Caribbean sea, whose +grand, gorgeous sunsets I shall never forget. I could not buy a +ticket in New York for the steamer from Panama to San Francisco, +but was informed at the office in New York that sixty tickets were +for sale in Panama by Zackery, Nelson & Co., the American +Consul, who were agents for the steamer on the Pacific side. I +naturally supposed that those who offered their money first for +those tickets could buy them. The price was $300 for the first +cabin, and $150 for the second, from Panama to San Francisco; but a +fraction of the passengers had a ticket for the Pacific side.</p> +<p>The objective point was to get to Panama to secure a ticket, so +I made an arrangement with four others; three were to take charge +of the baggage of the five, and take it leisurely, and Lieutenant +M., of South Carolina, and myself were selected to run an express +across the Isthmus and get there ahead of the other passengers and +secure tickets for the five, and try and be the first to land at +Chagres. We came to anchor in the bay. The captain announced that +no passengers would be permitted to go ashore until the government +officials had inspected the vessel. A boat came from shore with the +officials. After a short stay the officials went down the side of +the steamer to their boat to return to the shore. There was a guard +to keep all but the proper persons from getting into the boat. I +had a small carpet bag in my hand, passed the guard, slipped a $5 +gold piece in his hands, and took my seat in the boat, and, of +course, passed as one of the officials, and was the first passenger +to land from the steamer. The first point to be made was to secure +a boat for passage up the Chagres river. I was recommended to +Colonel P., who was the head man in that business there. He was a +colonel in the Granadian army. I found him a full-blooded African, +but an active business man in his way. I got his price for a boat +and two of his best men, and then offered double the price if they +would row night and day, and an extra present to the men if they +made good time, for every thing seemed to depend on securing those +tickets on the Pacific side. By the time I had all my arrangements +made, Lieutenant M. made his appearance. He said he was the second +passenger that landed from the steamer. Then behold us in what they +called a dug-out, a boat somewhat similar to a canoe, with a little +canopy over the center that you could crawl under to lay down with +the two naked natives, with the exception of a cloth around their +loins, neither understanding each other's language, to whom we +could only communicate by signs. At 4 P.M., starting for Gorgona, +fifty-five miles up the river, where we were to land and take mules +for Panama. Eight miles was the first stopping place. We felt +elated that we had got so good a start of all the other passengers. +The denseness of the vegetation first attracted our attention on +the banks of the river. The trees, the vines, the shrubbery, the +vines clinging to the trees, hanging in all fantastic shapes, it +seemed to be impenetrable, an ocean of green, unlike any thing we +had ever seen before.</p> +<p>Early in the evening we arrived at the first stopping place, +eight miles on our way up the river, where we both made ourselves +at home, excited at the strangeness of the scene, surrounded by the +thatched huts of the natives, who were having a dance on the square +in the village. After we had been there an hour, we thought our men +had their rest, and it was time to go on according to our contract, +to be rowed night and day.</p> +<p>In the meantime it seems the natives had taken some offense at +Lieutenant M.'s familiarity, and they appeared with handles of long +knives projecting back of their necks in a threatening manner. We +likewise learned that that was the home of one of our men, and that +he proposed to stay there all night in violation of the contract. +So we had a consultation to decide what to do to get away. It was +pitch dark; we laid our plan. Lieutenant M. beckoned one of the men +away from the dance as if he wanted to give him something, and drew +his pistol on him and marched him down to the boat, while I, with a +pistol, kept him there while he went for the other man.</p> +<p>After a while he came with him and we got them both in the boat +and started. About this time there was a storm came up with the +rain, and thunder and lightning, as the elements can only perform +in that way in the tropics, surrounded by impenetrable darkness, +and to us an unknown river, with its serpents and alligators, with +our two naked savages, that we only got in the boat by force, and, +of course, could not feel very friendly toward us. Expecting to be +fired on from the shore, if they could see us through the darkness, +we took our departure from our first landing place on the Chagres +river, surrounded by romance enough to satisfy the most romantic +imagination in that line. Our men kept steadily to work. After a +while the clouds broke away, the moon showed itself, and we made +good progress that night. We had no trouble with our men after +that. The colonel at Chagres had evidently given us his best man. +They found that we were masters of the situation and it was for +their interest to submit. We treated them kindly after that, and +all went well, for we passed every boat we came to. I shall never +forget the look of despair at two Frenchmen, evidently gentlemen, +as we went by them, and they informed us the length of time they +had been coming up the river, and that they could do nothing with +their men. That afternoon we came in sight of a thatched hut on the +banks, evidently a ranch. We thought it for our interest to rest. +We saw a man whom we took for the proprietor, entirely naked, +rubbing his back against a post. On landing and approaching him he +excused himself for a short time, and returned dressed, walking +with the air of a lord of a manor, which dress consisted of a +coarse bagging shirt, coming down to his knees. We arrived the next +day at 11 A.M., at Gorgona, and took our dinner at the hotel kept +by the Alcalde of the place, and bargained with him for a guide and +three mules to continue our journey to Panama. As soon as our +guides and mules were ready, about 1 P.M., we started for Panama. +We soon got enough of our mules by being thrown a number of times +over their heads. They did not understand our language. "Get up and +go along," was Greek to them, but when the guide said "mula vamous" +they knew what it meant. On reaching the place where we were to +stay all night, we arose in the morning refreshed, but concluded to +leave our mules and make the rest of the way a-foot, as we +considered them a nuisance, and as we had no baggage but my little +satchel previously referred to, in which I had bills of lading of +my houses, they being consigned to me, the specifications of my +carpenter's schedule, my letters and a gold chronometer watch, +worth $250, belonging to H., a broker in New York, a friend, and a +bottle of the best brandy, which he presented to me to keep off the +fever in crossing the Isthmus. This bag I handed to the guide boy, +about seventeen years of age, taking out the brandy bottle. The +watch I was to sell, for he had two nephews who had gone to +California, and if they were in need, to supply their wants. I did +not meet them; sold the watch for $500 to Mr. Haight, one of the +owners of the Miners' Bank in San Francisco, and remitted the money +to my friend, so I shall not refer to the watch again.</p> +<p>We were walking on at a free pace, our guide boy following +behind. Looking back after awhile we could not see him. We stopped +and waited some time, but he did not come, so we thought we would +go on and he would follow. The result was we lost our way and +craved for a sight of the Pacific ocean with all the ardor that +Gilboa could have done, the first Spanish discoverer of it, and on +the same route, after our wanderings all day, almost without hope, +until four in the afternoon, we came to a stream of water; +oppressed with the heat of the tropics and fatigued I threw myself +in the water. Lieutenant M. exclaimed: "Do not give up in that +way." "I am not giving up," I replied; "only refreshing myself." In +a short time he did the same thing. As we lay there we thought we +heard voices. In looking back who should we see but one of our +countrymen, the most gladdening sight to us. We felt saved at once. +We asked him if he had any provision. He said he thought not. Then +he said one of his companions might have a little piece of ham left +and some crackers. He said there were three of them, and they would +soon be there, and when they came one of them had some bacon and a +few crackers, which he gave to us. The eating of it soon refreshed +us. As I had some of the brandy left in the bottle, I extended it +to them, which they were very glad to receive. Explanations ensued. +We, by chance, had struck the Crusos road, and were but ten miles +from Panama. They had come from Philadelphia in a brig, and had +started across from Crusos, the head of boating on the Chagres +river, and had been from two to three weeks getting so far across +the Isthmus, and were perfectly astonished at the rapidity with +which we had come. So we joined them and arrived in Panama that +evening. Lieutenant M. and myself were the first of the one +thousand passengers of the <i>Georgia</i> to enter the city. The +office of the agents of the Pacific steamers was closed. I went, +the first thing in the morning, to purchase the five tickets for +our party. Alas for human expectation! I was informed it would be +several weeks before the steamer would sail. She had not yet +returned from the first trip to San Francisco. They said there were +but sixty tickets for sale, and they would not be offered until a +few days before the departure of the steamer. Of course, all we +could do was to abide our chances of getting them. The city was +walled around and dyked like those of the Middle Ages. Toward the +bay the wall was one hundred feet high by twenty broad. The city +had been on the decline for most a hundred years. We could see the +ruins of what it once had been. At one time Spain owned all South +America, Mexico, California, Louisiana and Florida. Panama was the +only port of entry on the Pacific coast, and controlled its +commerce. As you enter the gates of the walled city there is a +chapel just inside, where the lights are always burning on its +altars. The first thing on entering all good Catholics enter, kneel +and make their devotions, seeking the protection of the patron +saint of the city. The head alcalder of the city was a Castilian +Spaniard, a venerable-looking gentleman, white as any Northern man, +evidently of Scandinavian descent, who ages back conquered Spain +and divided the land up among themselves and became its nobility, +from whom the present rulers of Spain are descendants. It is said +that when conquered, the original inhabitants of Spain, to a great +extent, fled to their vessels, put to sea, and found the island of +Ireland, from which the present inhabitants are descendants. The +second alcalder was a negro as black as I have ever seen.</p> +<p>In the city of Panama in its days of prosperity, when under +Spain, the higher classes must have lived in great luxuries, the +negroes their slaves. The natives the peons were in a condition +similar to slavery, they could not leave the land as long as they +owed any thing. But the despotism of old Spain became so great that +when they struck for freedom, all classes united. They gave freedom +to the negroes and the peons, and even the priests of the Catholic +church had been so tyrannized over by the mother church in Spain +that they joined the revolutionists and all classes are represented +in the government. I called at a watchmaker's to have a crystal put +in my watch. Two brothers had furnished rooms like a parlor. I +could not speak Spanish, nor they English. I could speak a little +French. I found they could speak it fluently. I asked them where +they learned it. They said, "At the Jesuit college at Granada." +Then one, of them, when he learned that I was from the United +States, went to the piano and played Hail Columbia as a compliment +to my country, which would trouble most of us to do the same for +their country.</p> +<p>There are now great trees growing up in the ruins of what was +once its great cathedral. The freebooter Morgan is said to have +plundered one of its altars of a million of gold and silver, and +massacred many of its inhabitants, perpetrating on them the +atrocities that their ancestors had upon the original natives. It +is said that when Pizarro captured Peru and took the Inca, their +king, prisoner, he issued a decree that if his subjects would fill +a room with gold, he would release him, which they did. Instead of +doing it, he sentenced him to be burned at the stake, and only +commuted it to hanging on condition that he confessed the Christian +religion. Madam Roland, when she was about to be guillotined in the +French revolution, exclaimed, "O Liberty, what crimes have been +committed in thy name." O Christianity, what terrible atrocities +have been perpetrated in thy name!</p> +<p>Panama is a healthy city to those acclimated, facing a beautiful +bay, unlike Chagres, on this side of the Isthmus of Darien, which +is the most unhealthy spot on this continent. Excuse this +diversion, I must get back to my subject, the days of the +forty-niners.</p> +<p>I stopped at the American Hotel. I was somewhat in a dilapidated +condition from the experiences of my trip from Chagres. The waiter +in my room at the hotel took the best of care of me. I soon found +he was no ordinary waiter. He had resigned a position in Washington +of $2,000 a year to go to the gold Eldorado. He had been in Panama +several months, and had been taken down with the fever twice, which +had exhausted his funds and was working at the hotel for his board, +but never thought of turning back. He was bound for California. He +was quite enfeebled from the effects of the fever. He got hold of +my sympathies and secured my friendship. (More of him anon.) I had +been here four or five days without seeing our guide, the boy with +my satchel, containing my valuables, particularly the bills of +lading of my houses. I was in a quandary and anxiety about it, not +knowing what to do, when one day as I was going to dinner, +something pulled my coat from behind, and looking around, what +should I see to my great joy and satisfaction but the native boy +with my satchel, contents there all safe. It was an instance of +honesty that would do honor to any nation. I gave some honest +Catholic priest credit for it. The boy had evidently been +instructed what to do.</p> +<p>The great objective point now was, how to get to San Francisco. +There was no hope for a sailing vessel from this place, for we saw +one return for water that had been chartered by a party that had +been out three weeks, and scarcely got out of sight of the city. +There is very little chance for a sailing vessel from there until +they get west several hundred miles, and strike the trade winds. +The chances were better with the sailing vessel to start from New +York and go around Cape Horn. So the only hope seemed to be the +steamer with its sixty tickets and with from one thousand to +fifteen hundred passengers waiting to buy them, all seeking to +bring some influence to bear to secure one. I saw in the office of +the steamer agent a young man, the book-keeper, whom I took a fancy +to, and sought his acquaintance. I found he was from Hudson, N.Y., +and I, from Albany, both from the banks of the Hudson river. It +ripened into a warm friendship. I explained my situation to him, +and my desire, if it was possible, to get off on the steamer, but +did not venture to ask his influence to try and get me a ticket. At +this time the cholera and Panama fever was raging in full force. +The acclimatednacclimated Americans were dying in every direction. +I was conversing at 8 A.M. with a healthy looking man, one of our +passengers, from New York. At 5 P.M., the same day, I inquired for +him and was informed that he was dead and buried. He had been +attacked with the cholera. It was a law of the city that they must +be buried within one hour after death from a contagious disease. I +was finally myself taken down with the Panama fever, lay +unconscious and unnoticed in my room at the hotel for a long time, +and then came to and found myself burning with the raging fever, +had a doctor sent for, and after a time recovered so I could +venture out. In the meantime, the steamer <i>Panama</i> had +arrived, and its day of sailing for San Francisco announced. +Zackary, Nelson & Co. had issued an order that the sixty +tickets would be put up to be drawn for. Those having the winning +numbers could have the privilege of purchasing them; that they must +register their names on such a day. Probably one thousand names and +but sixty tickets. The chances were small, but the only hope. On +that day, I went early to register, as I was still very weak from +the effects of the fever, and at my best in the morning. As I +entered, there was a great number there registering. When my turn +came, and I was about to put down my name, I looked behind the desk +and saw my friend, the book-keeper. He shook his head for me not +to. I knew that meant something favorable. I backed out. I returned +at once to the hotel. In the evening, about 8 o'clock, my friend +came to my room with a second cabin ticket. The joys of Paradise +centered into my possession of that ticket. I asked him how did he +obtain it? He said he was about to resign his position, and was +going up on the same steamer to California. The night before the +drawing he asked Mr. Nelson if his services had been satisfactory +to him. He said they had. He then said if he should ask him a favor +on leaving him if he would grant it? He replied certainly. He then +said that he wanted one of those sixty tickets for a particular +friend. Mr. Nelson said, "If I had known what you was going to ask +for, I could not have granted it; but since I have pledged my word, +I shall give you the ticket."</p> +<p>The next day passengers would be received on the steamer, which +was anchored out in the bay, some distance from shore. It was +announced that no sick persons could go on the steamer. As I was +quite enfeebled from my sickness, and was at my best in the +morning, I thought I would make an early start, so as to be sure +and be aboard, as they were all to be on board the vessel to sail +early the next morning. I started out for a boat to take me out to +it with the highest elasticity of feelings, not so much from the +prospect of financial success as the idea that if I could get North +again my physical health would be restored, and the steamer was +going North. It seemed at times that I would have given $1,000 for +one good breath of Northern air. As I was going along, some +distance ahead of me, sitting at the doors of a doggery, with his +head almost between his knees, the picture of despair, was my +Washington friend, who waited on my room at the hotel when I first +arrived, did me many favors, and got hold of my sympathies. I said +to myself, poor fellow, I can do nothing for you. I must not let +him see me, so I dodged and passed him. When I got some distance by +him my conscience smote me. I will go back and speak to him; so I +did. I had advised him a few days previous to go and see some +officers of the boat and offer to go up as waiter without pay. I +asked him if he had done so, and what luck? He said there was no +hope. They told him they had been offered $300 for the privilege of +going up as waiter. I then told him I had a ticket. I was going +then for a boat to go on board. That his case was desperate, and +that desperate cases required desperate remedies; that he had been +down twice with the fever, and the next time he would probably die; +that he had no friends there nor money; if he would do as I told +him I would stand by him and he must have nerve. He said to me: +"How can a man have nerve without a dollar in his pocket?" which +exclamation has occurred to me many times since. I asked him to +hire a boat to get him out to the vessel, and what it would cost. +He said $2. I gave him the money and told him to get his baggage. +He said he had none. I told him to come about 11 o'clock and go to +work among the hands as if he was one of them; that all were new +hands and officers, and they would not know the difference. He said +that the captain had said if any person was caught on board without +a ticket they would be put on shore at the first uninhabited +island. I told him I would attend to that in his case. I went on +board and got my berth and baggage all in. About 11 o'clock I saw +my friend coming over the water making for the vessel. There was +considerable confusion on board at the time, passengers constantly +arriving, and he was not noticed, and he went to work among the +hands as if he had been regularly employed. In a short time the +officers were arranging the men in line to pass the baggage, and +said to him: "You stand here and help pass it," of course, taking +him for one of the men of the boat. In the evening he came and +spoke to me. I said all right so far. But in the morning, he said, +they are going to examine every person, then they will put me +ashore. I said, keep a stiff upper lip. If you get in trouble, come +to me.</p> +<p>The next morning the gun fired, the anchor was raised, and we +sailed down to Bogota, an island similar to Staten Island in the +New York Harbor. The health officers came out. Then my friend +trembled and thought the day of judgment had come to him, but the +health officers were on board but a short time. No examination of +those on board took place. The signal gun for departure was fired. +We passed out of the harbor. The bow of our vessel was pointed +north, and we felt extremely happy. I said to him, "This vessel is +bound for San Francisco, and you are aboard, and will get there as +soon as I will." A few days after that the mate was arranging the +employment of the men, and when he came to my friend's turn he said +to him, "Who employed you? You are not an able-bodied seaman." He +made no reply. They could see he was a man of intelligence, and his +pale look showed he had been sick. It may have moved the sympathies +of the officer, who said to him, "This vessel is crowded with +people; it wont do for us to be short of water, and I will put the +water in your charge, and you must not let any passenger, or even +the steward, have any except according to the regulations, and if +you attend to that properly no other services will be required of +you." That took him off of the anxious seat and put him on the +solid. In all his adversities he never thought of turning back. +That commanded my esteem. His attentions to me, when sick, aroused +my sympathies for him, which good action on his part saved him. Of +one thousand passengers desirous of getting on that steamer, and +there was room but for sixty on the day of its departure; his +chance looked the most hopeless, being penniless, but he was one of +the fortunate ones, while those who had plenty of money were left. +It illustrated the old maxim, "Where there is a will there is a +way."</p> +<p>Nothing of interest occurred until we got to the port of +Acupulco, the largest place on the west coast of Mexico. We were +about to enter the harbor when a government boat with officials +came out and ordered us to stop. If we proceeded any further there +would be "matter trouble" in broken English. There were Americans +on shore who had crossed over from Vera Cruz for the purpose of +taking this steamer. It would be a month before there would be +another one, and then there would be no certainty of their getting +aboard of that. The captain held a consultation of the passengers, +who all decided to have them come on board. They were our +countrymen and we would share our berths with them, although the +vessel was then crowded, and some of the passengers volunteered to +row ashore with the small boats to bring them aboard, which they +did. When they approached the shore there was a company of soldiers +waded in the water with pointed guns, forbidding them to approach +any nearer. The Americans who were on the bank informed them that +the soldiers would fire, and warning them not to approach any +nearer, while bewailing their fate that they had to be left, so +they returned. Then the captain received notice to leave in half an +hour or the guns of the fort would open fire on us. It was a bright +moonlight night. The fort was on a high knoll just above us, and +could have blown us out of the water. So we thought discretion was +the better part of valor, and we had to leave. The laws of nations +were on their side. We were from an infected port, Panama, where +cholera prevailed.</p> +<p>On board the steamer were some men of prominence. W.F. +McCondery, from Boston, a retired East India sea captain, a man of +wealth, who had been out of business for three years and craved for +a more exciting life; who started the largest commission-house in +San Francisco, and had consigned to him about all the shipments +from Boston, and likewise the <i>Prince de Joinville</i> with my +houses; Mr. G., from Liverpool, an Englishman, who had about all +the consignments from that city; Rothschild's nephew, who had +represented that house as a banker in Valparaiso, Chili, was going +to establish a branch of those great bankers' house in San +Francisco; Judge Terry, from Louisiana, who had the reputation at +that time of being a dead shot with a pistol, who afterward +challenged United States Senator Broderick to fight a duel, from +political influences, and killed him, and some years afterward was +assassinated himself from a disagreement with parties about a +lawsuit. We came opposite Mazland at the mouth of the Gulf of +California, and took on board some passengers and freight.</p> +<p>The next incident in our voyage was when we came in sight of San +Diego, California, and saw the American flag floating from the flag +staff. There was an instantaneous shout went up from every American +on board. We were once more to be under its protection in our own +country.</p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Love of country, mystic fire from +heaven,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To light our race up to stateliest +heights 'tis given.</span><br> +<p>We were entering the Golden Gate. It was but four miles to the +harbor where we cast anchor, opposite the city of San Francisco, +which was the goal of our hopes for so long a time, and which was +about to be realized; which was also the objective point from +almost every part of the world where adventurers are seeking to +get. We had come three thousand, five hundred miles since we left +Panama. We engaged a row-boat to take us ashore. My friend attended +to getting my baggage out of the boat, and went with me to the +shore. He had signed no papers, and entered into no bonds not to +desert the vessel at San Francisco, as the other sailors had. He +was free to do as he pleased.</p> +<p>I had the chills and fever all the way up, from the effects of +the Panama fever. My first idea was to get in good quarters, +whatever expense, to regain my health. I was informed that there +was a good hotel kept by a widow woman on Montgomery street, where +we landed. Some of the other passengers were going to stop there. I +inquired the terms. They said $5 per day. I thought I would try it +for a while. My sleeping-room was a mattress laid on the floor, +with muslin partitions to separate us from the next room. The table +was very indifferent, no vegetables, which I required, which we +lacked on the ship coming up. Being in poor health, I needed them. +After being there a few days one of our passengers asked me if I +knew what the charges were. I said yes, $5 per day. He said it was +more; I had better ask again, which I did. I was informed it was $5 +for the room and extra for the meals. I paid my bill and looked out +for other quarters. I had brought in my baggage an Indian rubber +mattress and pillow which was folded up in a small space and could +be blown up with your breath and filled with air, made a soft bed, +a pair of new Mackinaw blankets and other things to provide for any +contingency, and took my meals at a restaurant, which were +numerous, including the Chinese which we often patronized, and +found myself satisfactorily quartered. It may not be inappropriate +to make some general remarks about the history of California.</p> +<p>Although my subject is strictly on the days of forty-niners, +which consisted of about two years from the discovery of the gold, +when it was supposed that the future prosperity of the country +depended exclusively on the mining interest. How different it has +turned out since has nothing to do with my subject. I want to try +to paint to the mind of the reader the condition of California at +that time, and the views of the pioneers in those days. I am doing +it in the form of a personal narrative, as it enables me more +distinctly to recall to my mind the events of those days in which I +was a participant. Such fluctuations of fortune as then occurred, +the world never saw before in the same space of time, and probably +never will again, where common labor was $16 per day. There were +some very interesting and truthful articles published in the +<i>Century</i> magazine two years ago from the pen of the pioneers, +but there has been no book published as a standard work for the +present and future, and the participants in it are passing away, +for it is forty-five years since they occurred. California is three +times larger in territory than the State of New York. Its +population before the discovery of gold, including Indians and all, +was but a few thousand. Cattle could be bought for $1 per head, and +all the land they ranged upon thrown in the bargain for nothing. +They were killed for their hides, and the meat thrown away, as +there was no one to eat it.</p> +<br> +<a name="HISTORICAL"></a> +<h2>A FEW HISTORICAL ITEMS.</h2> +<p>San Francisco bay, first discovered the 25th of October, 1769. +The first ship that ever entered the harbor was the <i>San +Carlos</i>, June, 1775. The mission of Dolores founded by the +Jesuit Fathers in 1769. Colonel Jonathan Stevenson arrived at +California with one thousand men on the 7th of March, 1847. The +treaty of Hidalgo ceding California to the United States by Mexico, +officially proclaimed by the president, July 4, 1848. Gold first +discovered by Marshall, January 9, 1848. January, 1848, the whole +white population of California was fourteen thousand, January, +1849, the population of San Francisco was two thousand. The three +most prominent publicmen at the time of my arrival in California +were Colonel Freemont, who had conducted an expedition overland; +Colonel Stevenson, who came by sea with one thousand men, appointed +by William L. Marcy, who was secretary of war during the conflict +with Mexico, from whom I had a letter of introduction as a family +connection of Governor Marcy, similar to the following letter to +Brigadier Major-General P.F. Smith, which was not delivered:</p> +<div class="blkquot"> +<p>ALBANY, <i>June</i> 24, 1849.</p> +<p>My Dear Sir—I desire to present to your favorable notice, +the bearer hereof, Dr. Daniel Knower. He is on the eve of departing +for California. He is a family connection of mine, a gentleman of +talents and respectability, and I commend him to your favorable +notice.</p> +<p>Yours truly,</p> +<p>WILLIAM L. MARCY.</p> +<p>BRIG.-GEN. P.F. SMITH.</p> +</div> +<p>I soon found the colonel one of the warmest of friends. Captain +John A. Sutter, who was a captain in the Swiss Guards of Charles +the Tenth of France, after the revolution of 1830 in that country, +came to the United States, who some years previous had wandered +across the country to Oregon, and the Russian Fur Company secured +for him a large grant of land from Mexico in California, on which +the city of Sacramento now stands, extending back from that city +many miles to where the gold was first discovered. He was having a +raceway dug on the American river for the purpose of erecting a +saw-mill, as there was no lumber in the country. He had constructed +a fort some miles back from the Sacramento river, where he made his +home. The object of the Russian Fur Company was to have a place +where they could purchase grain, as there was none raised there at +that time, and they had a contract with him, and that they were to +send a vessel at such a time, and he was to settle up the country +and cultivate it. Sutter was the most social and generous of men. +The latch-string of his cabin was always on the outside, and all +callers were welcome, and the hospitalities of the fort extended to +all callers.</p> +<p>At the time of my arrival, on August 18, 1849, there were +several hundreds of ships anchored in the bay deserted by their +crews, who had gone to the mines. They could make more in one day +there than their wages would amount to in a month on the +vessel.</p> +<p>In the city a large portion of its population were living in +tents. There were not buildings enough. Vessels were constantly +arriving loaded with people from all parts of the world. As my +health permitted I investigated matters there. I took a walk out. I +met what looked like a laboring man. I asked him how long he had +been there? He said two months. I said to him: "And not gone up to +the mines yet?" He said to me he was in no particular hurry. He +said he had a row-boat and made $20 a day rowing passengers to and +from the vessels (there was then no dock). He had his boy with him, +who gathered mussels and sold them. Between the two they averaged +$30 per day, which explained why he was in no hurry to go to the +gold diggings.</p> +<p>Lumber was bringing fabulous prices. It looked very favorable +for my house ventures. Mr. G., the Englishman, had been very +anxious to buy them. He had seen the specifications of the +carpenter on the steamer coming up. On Saturday P.M. I called at +his office. He asked me if I had made up my mind to sell him the +houses. I said to him: "If I should put a price on them you would +not take me up." He said "try me." I named a price. He said he +would take them and go to my lawyer to draw up the contract. I said +I would just as soon go to his (which was a fatal mistake). I knew +his was a State senator from Florida, and had come up on the +steamer with us. We found the lawyer in his office, and he +commenced drawing up the contract. I made my statement that I sold +the houses from my carpenter's specifications (not from any +representations I made myself), and from the bills of lading and +from my insurance policy, which ranked the ship <i>Prince de +Joinville</i>, formerly a Havre packet, classed A, No. 1. He was to +deposit bills of lading of the ship <i>St. George</i> from +Liverpool, consigned to him, in value to the amount of $50,000, +with a third party, as collateral security, that on the arrival of +the <i>Prince de Joinville,</i> and the delivery of the houses, he +was to pay me the sum agreed upon.</p> +<p>The lawyer, after writing a little, complained of a headache, +and asked if it made any difference if he put it off until Monday +morning. I said, Mr. G. had been very anxious to buy the houses, +and I had not cared about selling them to arrive, preferring to +take my chances when the vessel got here, but since I had consented +to sell them, I preferred to have it on the solid. I said, I +supposed the transaction was not of great importance to Mr. G., but +I had all that I was worth in the world at stake on the venture, +and would prefer to have it closed now. He commenced writing, and +again complained of the headache. I then consented to put it off +until Monday morning at 10 o'clock. We both pledged our honor to +meet there at that time and consummate it. I was there on Monday +morning at the time designated. Mr. G. came in at 11 o'clock and +said he had changed his mind and would not take the houses. I said +all right, but his word of pledge of honor would have no value with +me hereafter.</p> +<p>I would have made $18,000 profit, but I was selling them for a +good deal less than they would have brought if they had been there. +Lumber was selling as high as from three to four hundred dollars +per thousand feet in San Francisco at that time. But I was making +certain of a good profit and running no risk of what might happen +in the future.</p> +<p>I had another offer of a number of lots on Stockton street, the +next street above the plaza in the heart of the city, for six of +the smaller ones, which, if I had consummated, would have made my +fortune. "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, if taken at +the flood tide, leads on to fortune, or, if not seized, are forever +lost." (Shakespeare.)</p> +<p>The ideas of the people there at that time was, that a railroad +across the continent, connecting California with the East, was +entirely impracticable. That there were one thousand miles of +desert to cross, where there was no water, and the Sierra Nevada +mountains presented an impassable barrier, and they thought how +could it ever be an agricultural country, when there was no rain +for more than seven months in the year. The idea of irrigation was +not thought of then. How different every thing has turned out +since, I have nothing to do with. I must be true to my subject, the +days of the Forty-niners.</p> +<p>As it would be, at least, three months before the ship could +come in with my houses, and my health had improved, I was anxious +to get up to the mines. I was informed that there was a party from +Albany at the Dutch bar, on the south fork of the American river, +about eight miles from Coloma, where gold was first discovered, +with whom I was acquainted. I found a sloop about to sail for +Sacramento (there were no steamers then) the starting point to the +northern mine. I took passage on board with all the passengers the +boat could accommodate. I noticed on the passage up that the +mosquitoes were very large, with penetrating bills. It was as much +as we could do to protect our faces.</p> +<p>The only important event on the passage was that a Jew had +potatoes that he was taking up on speculation, and that he was +going to treat his fellow passengers to some, one day at dinner. We +were a little disappointed when we found they were sweet ones, but +still they were a treat. Vegetables were scarce, potatoes selling +from forty to sixty cents per pound. After a few days we arrived at +Sacramento, it being about one hundred miles from San Francisco by +water. There were no hacks at the landing, nobody that wanted a job +to carry your baggage. Governor Shannon, of Ohio, was among the +passengers. He had been minister to Mexico, yet he had to carry his +own baggage, and make several trips to do it. One of the passengers +assisted him. He was president of a mining company organized in +Ohio.</p> +<p>It was evening. We stopped at a hotel, and I slept in my +Mackinaw blanket that I carried with me, on the dining-room floor. +The next morning after breakfast, about 9 o'clock, I went out on +the front portico to take observations of the place. The landlord +was there. There was a loaferish-looking fellow going by on the +opposite side of the street. The landlord cries out to him: "Bill, +what will you charge to chop wood for me from now until night?" He +cries back, "What will you give?" He replies, "$10." Bill answers +back, "Can't chop for less than an ounce," which was $16, and +walked right on. It was evident that common labor was not suffering +there for want of employment. I was there some days, and could find +no one to post me how to get to Coloma. All was excitement and +bustle. While there, Sam. Brannan—who had built a new hotel +there (just finished), called the City Hotel—gave a free +entertainment for one day to the public. He must have expended +$1,000 for refreshments. He had been a Mormon preacher, and was a +captain in Colonel Stevenson's regiment. He was very enterprising +and generous, a prominent figure with the "Forty-niners."</p> +<p>I saw an article in the paper a few years ago from a California +correspondent, giving a biography of him; that he was, at one time, +worth several millions, and went into some big +enterprise—which I cannot now recall—and was +unfortunate and lost all his wealth, and that he was, at that time, +in San Francisco at a twenty-five-cent lodging-house, and that he +told him that he passed two men that day who had crossed the street +to avoid him, to whom he had furnished the money from which they +had made their fortunes. Well, I finally found an Oregon man with a +yoke of oxen, who was freighting goods up to Coloma. He said he had +seven hundred and fifty acres of land in Oregon, but no cattle on +it. He thought he would come to California and get gold enough to +buy them, and his wife was keeping a cake and pie stand on the +streets of that city. I never saw him after that trip, but coming +with so modest expectations, I have no doubt he was successful.</p> +<p>We started on our journey in the afternoon. The country through +which we traveled looked as if it had been an old-settled land, and +deserted by its inhabitants. It seemed that we must come to a +farm-house, but there was none. There were scattering trees in the +country and occasionally a woods, but no dense forest. We made +eight miles, then camped for the night on the edge of a woods. I +had brought no provisions with me, so I offered him $1 per meal to +eat with him, which was accepted. He made tea, cooked some Indian +meal, and had a jug of molasses; so we made a very good supper. I +got my satchel out of the wagon for a pillow, and with my blankets +made my bed on the ground under the wagon. I thought it would keep +the dew off, but there was none.</p> +<p>There is no danger of taking cold sleeping on the ground in the +dry season, when it does not rain for seven months. He had set fire +to a dead tree to keep the grizzly bears off, and about the time I +got comfortably laid down, there was a pack of coyote wolves came +howling around. Amid those surroundings, the burning of the fire to +keep the grizzlies off and howling of the wolves, I fell asleep and +did not wake until morning, refreshed from my slumbers. After a +breakfast similar to the meal the night before, we proceeded on our +journey, but the ox team travelled so slow that in walking I got +away ahead of it, and then got tired of waiting for it to come up +to me, and so went on alone. Toward night I came to Mormon Island, +the first gold diggings. I inquired if there was a place where I +could get quarters for the night. They said I might, at the +hospital. It was a log cabin with bunks in it, and what was my +astonishment to find the proprietor, a doctor from Troy, N.Y., an +old acquaintance. I was more than welcome. We were both delighted +to see each other. I to find such comfortable quarters, and he to +meet with a friend in the wilderness, and to hear the latest news +from the East. He got for me the best supper that the surroundings +would afford; as I had eaten nothing since morning, it was very +acceptable, and he provided for me the most comfortable of his +bunks for sleeping. He informed me that it was twenty-five miles +from Coloma, and there was but one place on the way where I could +get water to drink. I started after breakfast, refreshed. After +travelling some miles, I came to the smoke of the camp-fire of +Indians, just ahead of me. It was rumored that the Oregon men were +in the habit of shooting an Indian on sight when they had a chance. +The Indians killed white men in retaliation, as they could not make +peace until they had killed as many whites as they had lost, +according to their ideas of equity. As I did not care particularly +about being one to make up the number, I struck off in a ravine and +passed around so as to avoid their camping ground and came to the +road beyond them. What truth there was about the shooting of them I +could not say, but it was currently reported at the time. About 4 +o'clock, P.M., I got to a stopping place six miles from Coloma. +There I met a man with a long beard, slouched hat, a sash around +his body, a flannel shirt, evidently a miner. I had a long talk +with him. He posted me about the gold diggings and I him about the +news from the States. As we were about to part, he asked me to take +a drink. He inquired of the proprietor if he had champagne? He +said, yes, at $10 a bottle. The man said, pass us down a bottle, +which we drank together. He, evidently, had struck good diggings. +We parted, as I was anxious to get to Coloma before dark, which I +did, just as the sun was setting, having made twenty-five miles in +one day on foot. I found a regular tavern here, kept by a man from +Mississippi, with his family. I sat down to a regular table for my +supper, which seemed quite a treat. He informed me that he had no +bed-room for me; that I could sleep on the dining-room floor, or in +his barn. He had just had some new hay put in. I chose the latter. +It was a kind of a shanty building, but the soft bed of new hay was +a luxury after my twenty-five miles walk.</p> +<p>I awoke the next morning refreshed. After my breakfast I took in +the place and went to the raceway where the first piece of gold was +discovered. There were three or four stores in the place to supply +the miners of the surrounding region. I got my direction how to +find the Dutch Bar, eight miles from there. Proceeding on my way, +after going about five miles, I came to a person, his face covered +with a long beard, whom I recognized, by the expression of his +eyes, as a person who I knew in Albany, and who belonged to the +party I was seeking. He informed me that I was within three miles +of them, and he gave me plain directions how to find them. I soon +came to their camp and there was a genial meeting and exchange of +news. There were five in the company. They had a tent and owned a +pair of mules. I joined them, as I had not come to depend on +mining, as I never had been accustomed to physical labor. At first +I thought it was awful hard work, and that it was lucky for me that +I had not come to California depending on it, but after a short +time I got used to it and liked it. They took turns in cooking, so +each one had one day in the week that he did the cooking. We lived +on fried pork and flapjacks made from wheat flour fried in the fat +of the pork, tin cups for our tea and coffee, and tin dishes. We +each had stone seats, and a big one in the center for our table. At +night we slept under our tent. The gold rivers were not navigable. +They were sunk way down deep in the earth. When the rainy season +sets in during the winter months, and sometimes rains every day in +the month, causing the snow to melt on the Sierra Nevada mountains, +where these streams take their rise, will cause the water to rise +often from ten to twenty feet in a night, and in the course of ages +has worn their depth down into the earth, and is supposed to have +washed out of the earth the scales of gold that are found on the +banks of the rivers. The first mining was a very simple process. A +party of three could work together to the best advantage. A virgin +bar was where the river had once run over and now receded from it. +Three persons worked together, one to clear off the sand on the +ground to within six inches of the hardpan. The top earth was not +considered worth washing, the scales of gold, being heavier, had +settled through it, but could not penetrate that portion of the +earth called the hardpan, so the earth within six inches of it was +impregnated with more or less gold, and one to carry the bucket to +the rocker, and the other to run the rocker, which was located +close to the water. The rocker was a trough about three feet in +length with three slats in it and a sieve at the upper end, on +which the bucket of earth was thrown. The man worked the rocker +with one hand and dipped the water out of the river with a +tin-handled dipper. As he worked the rocker the fine earth and +scales of gold passed through the holes of the sieve and settled +behind the slats in the trough, and the stones and large lumps in +which there was no gold were caught in the sieve and thrown away. +After a certain number of buckets of earth had been run through in +that way, the settlings behind the slats in the trough were put in +a milk-pan and the water was allowed to run in the pan and the fine +earth and sand would float on the top of the water. You would let +that run off.</p> +<p>After a few operations of that kind you would see the yellow +scales of gold on the edge of the sand. You would continue that +process until there was but a little of the sand left; then you +would take it with you when you went to the tank and warm it by a +fire to dry the sand; then with your breath you would blow away the +sand and have the gold, which you carried in a buckskin bag, which +was the currency of the country, at $16 per ounce, and at the mint +in Philadelphia was worth $18.25. I have carried three hundred +buckets in a day, and at twenty-five cents worth of gold in a +bucket, it would amount to $75, $25 to each man for his day's work, +which was frequently the average. In those days all it cost for a +party of three for capital to start mining was about $15. Then you +had the chances of striking a pocket. That was a cavity in the +rocks where gold had settled. In the course of ages, and where the +strong currents of the streams, when the rivers were high, could +not reach it to wash it out, I have known a person to take out $800 +of gold in less than an hour. The first miners, when they found +gold on the banks of the river, thought if they could only dig in +the deep holes of the bed they would find chunks of it, and they +went to a big expense, and those who had money hired laborers to +assist in constructing raceways at $16 per day, to change the +current of the river; but when they had effected their object and +dug there they found no gold, for there was nothing to prevent the +strong current from carrying it off; but I knew a party to draw off +the water and expose the bed of the river, where there were rapids, +and they were successful, and the gold had settled down between the +crevices of the rocks, and the currents could not disturb it.</p> +<p>There were some other kinds of diggings discovered different +from the river mining, called cañons, one I know of, called +the Oregon. It was described like a tunnel, deep down in the earth, +where a party of three persons from near our locality went and +returned in about three weeks and had from three to five thousand +dollars apiece, which they showed me. It was not scale gold, but +nuggets of all sizes. Of course, they had unusual luck.</p> +<p>On the river mining each person was entitled to so many feet, as +long as they left any implements of labor on it. No person would +trespass upon it; but if he took every thing away, then it was +inferred he had given it up, and anybody had a right to take it. +All regulations were strictly respected and every thing was safe, +and a person told me that he would not be afraid to leave his bag +of gold in his tent. Every thing was honorable and safe until the +overland emigrants from western Missouri arrived there.</p> +<p>They were a different kind of people; more of the brute order. +When they saw a party of two or three that had a good claim, and +they were the strongest, they would dispossess them. (I suppose the +same class that raided Kansas in John Brown's time.) They became so +obnoxious that a respectable man would deny his State.</p> +<p>And another corrupt element arrived by sea, the ex-convicts from +Sidney.</p> +<p>I went to Coloma one day to get supplies for the party. I rode +one of the mules, the other followed to be packed with the +purchases. When I bought what was wanted, I handed the storekeeper +my bag of gold to pay him. When he returned it to me, I found his +statement made was between three and four dollars less than I knew +was in it. I informed him of the discrepancy. He said he did not +see how that could be; that he weighed it right. He came in in a +few minutes and apologized, saying that he had weighed it in the +scales that he used when he traded with the Indians. It needs no +comment to know that the Christian man is not always superior to +the Indian in integrity. There was an Indian who had struck a +pocket. He came to Coloma with $800 in gold dust that he got out in +a short time. He invested it all with the storekeepers in a few +hours. He had dressed himself in the height of fashion, including a +gold watch. He was dressed as no California Indian ever had been +before. The gold he could not eat nor drink.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus074a.png" height="450" width="264" +alt=" DRESSED AS NO CALIFORNIA INDIAN EVER WAS BEFORE."></center> +<p>How the gold came there is one of the mysteries of nature. One +theory is, that the Sierra Nevada mountains were once the banks of +the Pacific ocean, and all California had been thrown up from the +bottom of the sea from that depth where gold was a part of the +formation of the earth, in connection with quartz, and as all gold +appears in a molten state, which would go to corroborate this +theory. A person informed me that he went through a ravine where +one side of the road was half of a large rock, and on the other +side, the other half. He could see where the two halves would match +each other exactly. Well, I lived that life for two months. We had +an addition to what I have described to eat—pork and beans on +Sunday, and Chili pudding. It had been baked and sweetened, and +then ground up like flour and put in bags. All you had to do was to +moisten it with water to eat it. All our flour came from that +country, put up in sacks of fifty and one hundred pounds each, but +we had no vegetables. One day we heard that they had dried-apple +sauce at the hotel at Coloma for dinner. The next day, Sunday, +three of us walked eight miles to get there to dinner to get a +taste of it. We paid $2 apiece for our dinner, and they had the +sauce; it tasted so good that we did not begrudge the price of the +dinner and the walk back again. We were fully satisfied.</p> +<p>The rainy season set in. It rained three days, and although it +was three or four weeks before it would be possible for my houses +to arrive, yet it was a new country and no bridges. The streams +might get up so as to be impassable, and the houses were consigned +to me, and no one but myself to receive them. I thought I had +better get back to San Francisco at once. What I was making in the +mines was mere nothing to what I had at stake in the houses. +Although, to tell the truth, I never left a place with more regret, +as hard as the fare was. We were interested every day in the work +for gold, and did not know when we might make a rich strike. My +last day there it rained. Notwithstanding, a companion and myself +went out to dig for a couple of hours. When we returned, we had $25 +worth. That was the last of my mining. I started the next morning +for Sacramento afoot. I sold my pistol and blankets for an ounce +each, $16 apiece. On my route I met a man bound for the same place. +We joined teams and became very intimate.</p> +<p>The only incident of importance was when we got within five +miles of Sacramento. We stopped at a log cabin and ordered dinner. +A short time after my companion came to me in some excitement and +said he had looked through the window and that they were cooking +potatoes for dinner. I could not believe the good news, and so went +and looked for myself and found it was true. I had not tasted one +in two months. We took the steamer <i>Senator</i> that evening for +San Francisco. It had been a Long Island steamboat and had arrived +since my departure for the mines. It was the first steamer that had +ever sailed the interior waters of California, and had been put on +to run from San Francisco to Sacramento. I think it belonged to +Grenell, Minton & Co., a prominent shipping firm of New York +city. Charley Minton had charge of it. Of course its profits were +great. But I could not sleep in my state-room berth; I had been so +long used to a hard bed I was restless, but we arrived safe the +next morning at San Francisco. The bulk of my book will be events +that occurred during my residence in that city. I scarcely know how +to begin to describe it. My efforts will be to portray them +truthfully. To do so I must continue in the form of a personal +narrative. That is the only way I can recall the events to my mind +of so long ago.</p> +<p>At this time more changes took place there in a month than in +most any other place in a year. Every thing was done by the month. +Buildings were rented by the month; money was loaned by the month; +ten per cent per month was the regular interest. There was but one +bank, called the Miners', on the corner of the plaza, owned by +three parties. During my absence a great boom had taken +place—influenced by new arrivals and most favorable news from +the gold mining sections. This was the fall of 1849. The lots that +I had thought of trading six of my houses for had tripled in value, +but lumber was still bringing fabulous prices and every thing +looked favorable for a big strike on my houses when they arrived. +Montgomery street was on the banks of the bay. There was one pier +at this time constructed from it in the bay, and a temporary pier +by Colonel Stevenson at the north beach. The city was growing up +toward Happy Valley. Portsmouth Square, the plaza, still had some +of the adobe buildings on it. The best hotel was the Parker House, +on the west corner of it. The plaza was sand, no vegetation on +it.</p> +<p>Rincon Point, on Telegraph Hill, was the spot where ships and +steamers were signalled. Steamers coming in but once a month, they +brought the last news from the East. The New York papers were +peddled at $1 each. Long lines of people were formed to get the +mail, and you had to take sometimes half a day before you could +reach the office. Oakland, opposite the bay, had no existence. Goat +Island had plenty of wild goats on it, and we could never imagine +how the first goat ever got there. There was no scarcity of +meat—plenty of beef and grizzly bears were hung out at the +doors of the restaurants as a sign, and plenty of venison. I can +recall now to my mind, venison steaks that we would get in the +evening with their rich jellies on it. The luxuries of Asia were +coming in there. Many China restaurants with their signs from +Canton or Pekin. But there was a great scarcity of vegetables. +Onions and potatoes sold for forty cents per pound.</p> +<p>A day or two after my arrival, my friend who came down with me +from the mines came to me and said that there were a lot of +blankets to be sold at auction; that he had no money, or he would +buy them; that if I would buy them he would take them up in the +mines and peddle them out for me for half of the profit. As I knew +they were in great demand there—I had sold, when I left +there, mine for $16—I told him if he could buy them for $4 +per pair to bid them off and I would furnish the money to pay for +them. He came back in a short time and said he had bought them, and +that they came to $800. We had them taken to the steamer +<i>Senator</i> to ship to Sacramento. We paid $10 a load to have +them carted from the store where they were bought to the steamer. +(The result of this speculation later on.)</p> +<p>There were at this time several hundred vessels anchored in the +bay, deserted by their officers and crews. A ship could be bought +for probably one-third of what it was worth in New York, and I +conceived the project of buying a ship as soon as I sold my houses, +which I expected soon to arrive, being on so fast a ship as the +<i>Prince de Joinville</i>, and going myself to the Sandwich +Islands and buying a load of onions and potatoes, as I was informed +that they could be bought as cheap there as in the States, and +ciphered out that one successful venture of that kind would make my +fortune. So I went among the idle ships to see what I could do in +that line, and to have one selected, ready to close the bargain as +soon as the houses arrived. I came across a brig that had been +running to Sacramento, but was condemned as a foreign bottom, when +Collier, the collector, arrived there, a short time before, and +extended the marine laws of the United States over California. The +captain and crew were aboard. The captain was an Englishman; the +crew, cosmopolitan—a Hindostan, a Mexican named Edwin Jesus, +an English sailor and an American. I inquired of the captain about +the history of the vessel. He said she had been built at Quavqiel, +down the coast, and had belonged to a Mexican general, and was +built partially of an American whaler that had been wrecked on the +coast, so I got American timbers in her. They wanted to sell the +vessel. I told him I might buy her. I would let them know in a day +or two. So I went to Colonel Stevenson and gave him a history of +it, and asked him if he would see Collier, the collector of the +port, and see if I could not get her papers as an American vessel, +which he did, and informed me the next day that it was all right. I +went at once and bought the brig. As soon as I got its American +papers it was worth twice what I had to pay for it. I kept the same +captain, as he knew the navigation of the rivers, which few did at +that time. I gave him $250 per month and put a supercargo at $150 +per month, and kept the same crew. I had it put up for Stockton, +the head depot for the Southern lines. The first month it made two +trips. Its receipts were $3,100; its expenses, $1,100; so it earned +me $2,000 clear.</p> +<p>There was a friend of mine named R., who owned a third interest +in a factory that belonged to a relative of mine who got the gold +fever when I did, and got me to negotiate the sale of his interest +in it to him, which I did for $8,000, so he could go to California +with me. When he arrived there he proposed to build a brewery. His +father had been a brewer in Scotland. He bought a lot, a part of +the city called Happy Valley, and started to build the first +brewery on the Pacific coast. He commenced to build one that would +cost $30,000 with that capital, which was his mistake. If he had +commenced in a small way he would have made his fortune. (In my +personal narrative he had much to do with my affairs.)</p> +<p>At this point in writing my manuscript, I have just heard of the +death of Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, aged ninety-four, in +California, to whom I had a letter of introduction from Governor +William L. Marcy. I found him the warmest, the truest and most +generous friend. He was a little unpopular when I first met him, +for what I conceived the most noble action of his life. There were +in his regiment roughs from the city of New York, where it was +organized, who, when the war was over with Mexico, would go into +saloons and places and help them selves to what they wanted and +refused to pay. They were termed "The Hounds." There was a +vigilance committee organized against them, which public sentiment, +at that time, fully indorsed. They had seized a number of them and +were about to hang them. Colonel Stevenson faced the excited crowd +and asked to have them give the men a trial and punish the guilty. +He said that when he returned to New York and their mothers asked +him what had become of their sons, how could he face them if they +were put to death in that way; but if he could say to them that +they had a fair trial, were found guilty of crime, and had been +punished according to law, it would be different. I think they were +not executed, but banished; but it set up a cry against the colonel +that he had taken the part of "The Hounds," so unjust is often, for +a time, public sentiment. That was the first vigilance committee; +the great one came afterward, but I am confined to the days of the +"Forty-niners."</p> +<p>It was rumored, at the time, that there was a jealousy between +him and Colonel Freemont. It was not on the part of Stevenson. I +boarded at the same hotel with Freemont.</p> +<p>See illustration for bill which I received while at the hotel +with Colonel Freemont:</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus086a.png" height="450" width="299" +alt=" HOTEL BILL."></center> +<p>The colonel asked me one day to speak to Freemont at dinner, and +request him, if convenient, to stop in his office as he came from +dinner, which I did. Stevenson's office was on the plaza, but +Freemont never called.</p> +<p>There was great difficulty about the title to lots at that time. +There were contentions set up, and claims of property from +different Mexican grants, as it became valuable. It was guaranteed +by the United States, at the treaty of Hidalgo, when California was +ceded to us, that all titles that were good under the Mexican +government should be recognized by us. L., the chaplain of +Stevenson's regiment, seems to have been the butt of the boys +before the gold was discovered.</p> +<p>They, as a farce, elected him alcalde of San Francisco, which +position is a combination of mayor and judge, as we would +understand it, and his election was declared illegal. Then they +elected him for spite. He served one year. There was a Mexican law +that in any village in that country a person had a right to settle +on one hundred veras of land so many feet, about three hundred, and +if he put up any kind of a building on it, and held undisputed +possession for one year, he could go to the alcalde, and by paying +$16, get a good and valid title. When the lots became so valuable +in San Francisco, after the gold was discovered, many lots based on +those kinds of grants became very valuable two or three years after +the discovery of gold. L. became quite wealthy, it was said, by +advances in real estate. There were rumors of bogus titles in the +names of dead soldiers and others who had left the country, but +could be traced to no authentic source. He was estimated to be +worth several hundred thousand dollars, made in the rise of real +estate. I met him but once and I sold him some lumber.</p> +<p>My shipping merchant who negotiated freight for my brig got a +legal title of that kind.</p> +<br> +<a name="HIS_STORY"></a> +<h2>HIS STORY.</h2> +<p>He said he was a book-keeper for a firm in Newport, Rhode +Island, at a small salary. He made up his mind that if they would +not raise his pay $100 per year on the 1st of January he would +leave them. They refused, so he lost his situation, and it was dull +times, and he could not get another one, so he shipped on a whaling +vessel as a sailor. His health was poor, and he found he could not +stand the hardships of that life. The vessel put in the harbor of +San Francisco for water and fresh meat on their way to the Arctic +ocean, so he deserted the ship and secreted himself until it left. +Then he had to do something there for a living, so he squatted on +one hundred veras of land on the beach, and put up a shanty and +sold fruit and probably some liquor, etc., to make a living. No one +disturbed him for one year. He applied to the alcalde and paid his +$16 and got a good, valid title. After the gold was discovered it +became the most valuable property in the city. When I was doing +business with him he had a three-story brick store, which he owned. +The whaling ship had been gone to the Arctic ocean two or three +years and had heard nothing of the discovery of the gold, and +wonderful changes in San Francisco, and the captain thought he +would put in that port on his return and hunt up his runaway +sailor, and behold, his absconding sailor was rich enough when he +found him to buy his ship and his whole cargo of whale oil. I was +introduced by him to his captain and shook hands with him, and we +had a good talk over it. Wherein does our stories of fiction, of +our boyhood, of Arabian Nights, surpass the actual events of life, +of the wonderful fluctuations of fortunes in California in the days +of the Forty-niners?</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus090a.png" height="450" width="350" +alt=" THE CAPTAIN AND THE RUNAWAY SAILOR."></center> +<p>On the death of President Taylor, a meeting was called for the +purpose of having funeral obsequies there in his honor. A man was +named for president of the day. Then it was proposed to name a +vice-president for each State and Territory, which was done. There +were persons in the crowd from every one of them. A day was set +apart for the ceremonies, and all business was to be suspended. +There was a long procession on that day, and the masons and all +societies and the people in general turned out in full force, +including the Chinese, who were smart enough to think it would make +a favorable impression in their favor. After the parade was +dismissed in the plaza, the Chinese were requested to remain, and a +missionary addressed them, and a Chinaman interpreted to them in +their own language. I noticed that their language was much more +condensed than ours. It took about a third of the time for him to +translate what the missionary said. When the missionary closed, he +said he hoped that we would all meet together in another and a +better world. It seemed to them so absurd that they looked at each +other and smiled as if it was a good joke. In those early days +there were no particular prejudices against them. Pagans, as we +call them, practised the Christian virtues toward their own +countrymen. When the ship arrived from China they were down to +greet the newcomers, whom they had never seen before, and invite +them to their homes. The present laws of restriction against them, +I think, are all right. We cannot afford to run the risk of having +the institutions of our country injured by an emigration that is +uncongenial to it. We have gone too far in that line already, not +from selfishness, but to perpetuate the institutions founded by our +revolutionary ancestors, in their purity, for the interests of +mankind.</p> +<p>I received a letter from my blanket friend. He informed me that +he could not sell the blankets, and had traded them off for flour, +and would start the next day for the Yuba, which was the most +remote gold river. That was all a lie. He did that so that I would +not follow him up. He had not a dollar invested in them. They were +my property. I knew at once I had been dealing with a rascal, but I +was powerless to do any thing about it, so I wrote him back that it +was all right; that I had bought a brig; and that I had it running +to Stockton, and he could take ventures up on that and make up what +we had lost on the blankets, and much more. (More of him later +on.)</p> +<br> +<a name="GAMBLING"></a> +<h2>THE GAMBLING OF THAT DAY.</h2> +<p>It was public most everywhere. Faro tables, the great American +gambling game, Monte, the Mexican and Roulette. The Eldorado, on +the corner of the plaza, was the most celebrated gambling house of +that time. There had been a great deal of money expended in fitting +it up. It had an orchestra of fifteen persons. It was run all night +and day, with two sets of hands. It was gorgeously fitted up. What +they used to stir up the sugar in the drinks cost $300. It was +solid gold. Numerous gambling tables, piled up with gold and +silver, to tempt the better, behind which were hired dealers. The +owners of the Eldorado were not known. Many a miner has come with +his few thousand dollars to San Francisco to sail for home, and +taking in the sights, visited the Eldorado, got interested in the +different games, and lost it all and went back to the gold regions +broken and penniless to try his luck over again. I heard of one +that lost his all three times in that way. I saw a man once put +down a bag of gold, which contained $5,000, bet $1,000 on one turn +of the card at Monte. He lost. While I was looking at him in the +course of half an hour, he lost it all. I thought what independence +that amount would have given some family in the East.</p> +<p>In those early days there was often but a muslin partition +between you and the next room, and you could hear every word in the +next apartment. About 1 o'clock in the morning I was awaken by two +men entering and taking the next room to mine, whom I saw running a +Roulette table on the plaza. They seemed to be considerably +excited. They said they would be willing to lose some money to get +rid of that tapper. Of course, I could not understand, at first, +what they meant by that expression, but come to find out from their +conversation, they had their Roulette table arranged so that they +could make the ball stop on the red or black, as it happened to be +for their interest to have it do. So, if there were $20 bet upon +the red, the tapper would bet $10 on the black, and they could not +make the red lose without making the black win. So the tapper was +getting half of their gains. I would advise all my friends to let +Roulette alone, unless they are sure they can place themselves in +the position of the tapper.</p> +<p>One morning on the plaza I took a look into a gambling saloon. I +saw a Greaser that had been betting against Monte all night, and +had had wonderful luck. He announced that he would tap the bank for +$1,800, which was more money than he ever had before, or could ever +expect to have again, which meant that he would bet that amount for +whatever sum the dealer could show to meet it on the turn of one +card. He lost, and the dealer showed $1,800 in the bank and took +all his money. Monte is the great National gambling game of Mexico, +and his idea of Paradise is to be able to break a Monte bank.</p> +<p>Mr. B. from Kentucky, whom I took for so rich a nabob, referred +to among the passengers when out of New York. I saw him take out +his gold watch, a valuable one, and bet it behind the queen, on the +game of Faro, for $100. He was evidently about broke. It won. Then +he went the $200, and it won again. Then he went it the third time, +and it won. In about twenty minutes he had his watch back and $700, +then he left. Some one asked me a few months after that if I knew +that he was worth $80,000? He had been very lucky, and that he was +to run for sheriff of San Francisco county on the Democratic +ticket, and that the Whigs had nominated Jack Hayes, the celebrated +Texan ranger. Hayes had been in the Mexican war. It was told of him +that when the American and Mexican armies were encamped opposite +each other, that a Mexican officer, splendidly equipped, came +forward on horseback, and challenged any American to meet him in +single combat between the two forces. Jack Hayes volunteered to go, +and he killed him. He took his horse, gold watch and personal +effects. He afterward learned who he was, and that he left a widow. +He sent all his personal effects to her as a present. Of course, we +were interested warmly on his side, and he was elected. They say +Colonel B. spent all his $80,000 on his side and was defeated. No +reputable citizen of San Francisco or business man would allow +himself to be seen betting at any of the public gambling tables. He +would feel that he was losing character. I am trying to portray the +scenes of those days exactly as they occurred, and if I left the +gambling scenes out it would not be a true history.</p> +<p>At first public offices went a begging; nobody wanted them. Fine +clothes were at a discount. He was looked upon as a tender-foot who +knew nothing about the gold regions. But a flannel-shirted, +roughly-dressed miner was the lion. He could tell something about +the gold regions. The governor appointed a loafer fellow, in the +early days, Port Warden. Nobody wanted it, and he was indorsed by +one firm. As the city grew very rapidly the office soon became +valuable. Somebody told the governor what kind of a man he had +appointed Port Warden, and the governor wrote him a letter +requesting him to resign, stating to him what representations had +been made to him about his character, which, if he had known, he +would not have appointed him. He wrote back to the governor +refusing to resign, saying to him, he had better read the papers +and look after his own character. The governor was up for +re-election and the opposition papers were pitching into him.</p> +<br> +<a name="GRIZZLY"></a> +<h2>THE GRIZZLY BEARS.</h2> +<p>One warm afternoon my friend Me and myself thought we would take +a walk over to Pesedeo; that was about three miles to the Pacific +ocean. The seal rocks is where the sea lions or seals can always be +seen. It was the entrance to the Golden Gates, where the roar of +the Pacific ocean is twice that of the Atlantic, it being six +thousand miles broad, twice that of the Atlantic. On our way we +stopped into a tent to get a drink of water. We found it occupied +by three miners, one of whom was quite lame. I inquired of him what +was the matter. He said his hip had been dislocated by the +grizzlies. I asked him how it happened. He said they went up to the +Trinity river to dig for gold. I knew that was the most remote gold +river. He said they were lucky and found rich diggings, but after +awhile their provisions gave out and they could not procure any +unless they returned to the settlements. On their way, returning on +horseback, they came to three grizzly bears grazing in a field. It +was very dangerous to attack them, but they were very hungry. They +thought if they could kill one of them it would supply them with +meat, so they finally decided they would take their chances and +fire on them, which they did, and wounded one. The other two took +after the man whose hip was dislocated. He fled and came to a +buckeye tree, the body of which slants, and he got up in it, the +bears came on under it. After awhile they found they could not +reach him. It being a low tree one of them commenced climbing it +after him. He thought his last hour had come; all the events of his +life seemed to rush on his mind, and a picture of the old-fashioned +spelling book, where the man plays dead on the bear, came before +him, which I distinctly recollected. He thought his only chance was +to drop from the tree and hold his breath, and play dead on the +bear, which he did, and fell on his face. One bear grabbed him by +the shoulders and the other by the ankle, and in pulling, +dislocated his hip. He had a thick overcoat on which they tore to +pieces. He held his breath. After awhile they went off and left +him. After a little while he raised his head to see if they were +gone, and they came trotting back and smelt him all over again, and +went away again, he holding his breath. Then he laid a long time, +fearing to move, and his companions came up</p> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Each fainter trace that memory +holds</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">So darkly of departed +years,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In one broad glance, the soul +beholds,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And all that was at once +appears"</span><br> +<p>In the cases of imminent danger such is said to be the case. It +is evident that is what saved this man's life. Truth is stranger +than fiction.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus100a.png" height="290" width="450" +alt=" PURSUED BY THE GRIZZLIES."></center> +<p>The State seal of California is Minerva, with a spear and shield +and the grizzly bear at her feet. Before the discovery of gold they +were quite numerous. They roamed in full possession, apparently, of +the country—no one to molest them or make them afraid. It was +a very formidable animal, weighing from seven to eight hundred +pounds. When the rainy season set in, late in the fall, and the +winter months, during which the grass commenced to grow, he fed on +it in the valleys and fields, and became fat and powerful. In the +spring, when the dry season set in and no rain for seven months, +and fields dried up with a dusty brown, he fled to the tops of the +mountains to browse on the leaves of the trees to support life +until the next rainy season commenced. It is said he is not a +ferocious animal if unmolested, and will not attack you if you let +him alone, unless it is a she bear with cubs, or you shoot at them +and wound them. They are very hard to kill. To be hit by a bullet +has very little effect on them, unless hit in a vital spot. An +acquaintance of mine was walking on a road in the interior and saw +a big grizzly coming down the road in the opposite direction toward +him. He knew it would not do to undertake to run. He had been +posted on their natures, so he kept walking right on, as if he was +undisturbed and had no fear, the bear coming nearer to him all the +time, with his gait unchanged, or he his, until they passed each +other, he looking the grizzly in the eye and treating each other +with due respect and consideration as friends. As an illustration +of their strength, an old Californian informed me that he knew of +an instance where a grizzly came into a pack of live mules and took +one off and carried it to his den and ate it. In corroboration of +that fact, another man informed me that he saw a bear chasing a +mule and fired on the bear and hit him, and the bear turned toward +him, and the mule escaped.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus102a.png" height="450" width="262" +alt=" THE MINER AND THE GRIZZLY."></center> +<p>There was a Mr. W., who opened a fashionable hotel on the east +side of the plaza. I was invited to be one of a party of twenty to +give a complimentary dinner to a friend, who was about to return +East. The bill was just $400, which was $20 apiece, the most I ever +paid for a California dinner. The landlord became quite popular and +was thought to be a very responsible person. A great many persons +from the long voyages around Cape Horn arrived, sick with the +scurvy, owing to want of vegetables at sea, most of whose systems +underwent a change to become acclimated to the country; some +seriously and others more mildly. It was thought it would be a good +thing to do to erect a hospital for the benefit of the public and +those arriving sick. There was $30,000 raised at the first meeting +called, and Mr. W., the landlord, was elected treasurer.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus104a.png" height="450" width="253" +alt=" THE MAN WHO ESCAPED FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS."></center> +<p>One night he got betting against the game of Faro, lost, and I +suppose got over excited, and in trying to recover his losses, lost +every thing, including $30,000. Of course it was not known that he +ever gambled or he would not have been trusted with the money. As +soon as it was known it created great excitement and indignation, +that so sacred a fund should have been wasted in that way. He fled, +and the Mayor offered $3,000 reward for his apprehension. It seems +he had escaped on a vessel to the Sandwich Islands, and had no +money, and got in debt there and could not leave there as long as +he owed any thing, according to their laws, and he was in despair, +until one day fortune smiled upon him. Accidentally he came across +a California paper in which was the $3,000 reward offered by the +Mayor of San Francisco for his arrest, and this was his opportunity +and he seized it at once. Then hope dawned upon him. He found a +vessel about to sail for San Francisco. He took the paper and +showed it to the captain and told him if he would advance the money +so he could pay his debts, he would return with him to San +Francisco and he could surrender him and they would divide the +reward. The captain accepted his offer and delivered him up upon +his arrival at San Francisco, and got the reward. Two or three +months had elapsed since his departure, and that was more time than +so many years in any other country, and all excitement about it had +subsided, and I think it was called a breach of trust, and I have +no recollection that he was punished in any other way.</p> +<br> +<a name="BLANKET"></a> +<h2>MY BLANKET MAN.</h2> +<p>When he wrote me that he had traded the blankets for flour, and +had gone to the Yuba river with the flour, I knew that it was a +lie, and that he was a rascal, and I found that blankets had been +in great demand, at a high price, and likewise learned that he had +been connected with a forgery in New York city, but that his +brother was a respectable merchant there, so for the time I gave up +my $800 as lost. What was my surprise after six weeks at my hotel +(which was an expensive one), to see my man at the tea table. I +greeted him most cordially and asked no questions about the +blankets, but talked to him about the brig I owned and had running +to Stockton; that I had been looking for him to come back; there +was such a splendid chance for us to make purchases in San +Francisco, and for him to take them up on my vessel and sell them +out in the Southern gold mines, near that place; that what we had +lost on the blankets we could more than make up on the first +venture, and that there would be big money in that kind of a +speculation. We spent the evening together most cordially. The next +morning I detained him in conversation until about the time for the +Miners' Bank to open, then we went out together. When we got +opposite the bank I took out my watch and said to him, that I did +not think it was so late. I said I had a note of $800 due there +that morning; I asked him if he had the gold dust about him to that +amount. He said yes. I said let me have it and I will take up my +note. He said there was no place to weigh it. I said yes, here +there was a place where I was acquainted. It was weighed and handed +to me. I told him I would see him at dinner, which I did. I then +opened on him, and told him how despicably he had acted when I so +generously trusted to his honor. He made no reply; he virtually +admitted the truth of my statement. I never saw him afterward. That +was the only time I ever played the confidence game in my life, and +my conscience has approved of it ever since.</p> +<p>My friend, Mr. R., had got his brewery well under way in Happy +Valley, as they called that part of the city, had used up his +$8,000 and commenced borrowing money on my indorsement, at ten per +cent a month, the regular interest at that time. He had a friend, +Lieutenant S., who resigned from the regular army, a graduate from +West Point, who had been up in the country, and came back with a +flaming account of a place on the Toulama river, which empties into +the San Joaquin, which was the head of navigation on that river, +and was the place to start a town, and if we would furnish him with +$1,500 to do it with, we would each own a third of it. I did not +take to it, but Mr. R. was so earnest about it, and had such +confidence in his friend, that I finally let him have the money. +There was quite a spirit of speculation of that kind at that time. +Colonel Stevenson had laid out one on Suisan bay, at the mouth of +the San Joaquin river, named New York of the Pacific. Marysville, +on the Sacramento river, was laid out a short time previous, and +proved a great success, making the fortunes of the projectors. Of +course, a few were successful, and many failed. It seemed to have +been a legitimate thing to do to make a fortune in a new country. I +became acquainted with Broderick. It was Koyler & Broderick. +They had an office in the same building with Colonel Stevenson. +Broderick, who was afterward United States Senator from California, +and I became very intimate. He was not intellectually a very +brilliant man, but a solid, able and strictly honest man, and a +thoroughly posted politician of his day. He had run as a Democratic +candidate for Congress from the city of New York, but was not +elected. In California he was first elected to the State Senate +from the city. It was he who conceived the project of laying out +the water lots on the bay, and got the bill through the +Legislature. He advised me to buy one or more. I looked at where he +suggested to me to buy, and found them six feet under water. +Although they could be bought very cheap then, their prospective +value seemed so remote to me I thought they were not worth the +trouble of bothering with. It shows how easy it is to be mistaken +in apprehending the future. I understand they are now the most +valuable part of the city.</p> +<br> +<a name="TENT"></a> +<h2>THE MAN IN HIS TENT.</h2> +<p>The man in his tent, who had squatted on Rincon Point, an +elevated locality, that commanded a grand view of the bay, informed +me that when he squatted there with his tent, that he could find no +person who claimed the land. He had been there but a few days, when +some parties came to him and offered to give him so much a month +for the privilege of putting up their tent near his. He said he had +no objections. They paid him. Then other parties who wanted to put +up their tents were referred to him. From these various persons he +was getting a very liberal income. He informed me that as long as +it lasted, he was in no hurry to go to the mines.</p> +<br> +<a name="CLIPPER"></a> +<h2>THE CLIPPER SHIPS.</h2> +<p>About this time was the first appearance of the celebrated +clipper ships. They anchored off of Happy Valley and attracted +great attention; they could make the trip around Cape Horn from New +York to San Francisco in three or four months; they run wet; their +bows were very sharp, and, in a rough sea, instead of mounting the +waves, they cut them, and the bows ran under water, and their +progress was not impeded by the waves, saving two or three months' +time, which was of great consideration then. There was no railroad +across the Isthmus then, and there was no other way of transporting +freight between the cities of New York and San Francisco except +around Cape Horn. They had great fame then. England conceded their +superiority over all other sailing vessels for speed; but they have +passed away, the railroad reducing the time to from five to eight +days; of course, there is a great difference between that and three +or four months. The days of sailing vessels, however great their +speed, to a great extent, is gone. Besides, there are regular lines +of steamers to most every port of the world, and the ocean is +covered with tramp steamers.</p> +<p>That winter a convention was called to organize a State +government and apply for admission to the Union. The Southern +element there wanted to make it a slave State. The Northerners, +including both Whigs and Democrats, wanted it free. They did not +want to be brought in competition with slave labor in the mines, +and have their occupation degraded in that way. Their pride, as +well as interest, was at stake, and there was great feeling on the +subject. Meetings were called all through the mines and addresses +made and candidates nominated. The average of intelligence there +was away above any other part of the country. For they were men of +enterprise, or they would not have been there in that early day. At +Mormon Island, one of the miners got up and made a speech. He so +impressed them with his ability that they unanimously nominated him +as their candidate to the Constitutional Convention. He was an old +acquaintance of mine. In 1847 or 1848 he was a Democratic member of +the Legislature of the State of New York, from Washington county, +and was chosen by that body to deliver the oration on Washington's +birthday. His name was George Washington Sherwood. He was elected +to the Constitutional Convention of California, and wrote its first +Constitution, copied after that of his native State, New York. The +Northern element prevailed in that convention, and California came +in a free State by its unanimous vote. Broderick headed the +Northern sentiment; Gwin, who had been a United States Marshal in +Mississippi, the Southern. I met him often. He would come into a +bar-room and say: "I did not come here to dig gold, but to +represent you in the United States Senate." He would then say: +"Come up all, and take a drink." I thought that was a strange way +to inspire the people with the idea that he was the proper person +to represent them in the United States Senate. He was elected, with +Colonel Freemont, the first two United States Senators from +California. At the next election for United States Senators, +Broderick got absolute control, and although Gwin had fought him +bitterly, they were the two senators to be elected again. Broderick +had the magnanimity to induce his friends to go for Gwin and had +him elected with him, and Gwin showed his ingratitude by going at +once to Washington and securing from Buchanan the control of all +the appointments of the government in the State of California. So +when Broderick came there, there were none to give his friends. +Gwin was afterward very prominent in the rebellion. He went out in +a boat in Charleston harbor, crying out from it his advice to Major +Anderson, advising him to surrender at the time of the attack on +Fort Sumter. (This is a matter of history that occurred after the +time of which I am writing.)</p> +<br> +<a name="BULL"></a> +<h2>A BULL FIGHT.</h2> +<p>There were bills posted about the city that three of the most +celebrated fighters of Mexico would have an exhibition in the +evening, and combat with animals. As my friend and myself never had +seen one we thought we would go. It was an amphitheatre, with +circular seats about the pit, with thick planks around it, the +seats commencing about twenty feet from the bottom of the pit. +There was a door at the side of the pit, which was raised by +pulleys, which admitted the bull. They were wild ones. Our seat was +about the fifth row back. The house was crowded and brilliantly +illuminated. Then the bull-fighters were in the pit, one on +horseback, two on foot, gorgeously and brilliantly dressed, with +swords, the blades pointed like spears, with red flags in their +hands to attract the bull. The door was raised and the animal came +rushing in; he was a terrible one to look at. Blinded by the lights +and the scene, he rushed and roared around the arena; I trembled in +my seat, although I was in no possible danger. The first feat of +the bull-fighters was to plant a rosette on the shoulders of the +animal with a barb implanted in his flesh, which enraged him more, +with colored ribbons, two or three feet in length, attached to the +rosette, which was flying in the air as he went around, indicating +to the audience the success of the feat. Then the same feat was +performed on the other shoulder. Then when the bull attacked the +man again, a rosette was implanted between his horns, and the man +escaped, which was the most difficult of all. They had red flags in +one hand to enrage and blind him, but this bull, he became so +furious and enraged that they could not master him. He rushed upon +the man on horseback, threw the horse and rider, and, with his +horns, tore the entrails out of the horse and killed it. The man +was wounded, but escaped. The rest of the fighters fled, and one +climbed up the side of the paling and came within two inches of +being impaled alive against the side by the bull's horns. As I +write I can, in imagination, hear the sound of the animal's horns +as they struck the boards in missing the man. The bull was master +of the situation; he had cleared the ring. It was a terrible sight +as he roared around in his fury. Then the most startling event of +all occurred. It seems incredible, but it is the truth of history, +and I must write it.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus116a.png" height="291" width="450" +alt=" THE BULL FIGHT"></center> +<p>A greaser, with no weapon, but simply his <i>seraper</i>, a +shawl that he wore around his shoulders, took that off and +stretching it out in his hands, jumped down into the pit of the +ring alone, to the entire astonishment of the audience, looked Mr. +Bull in the eyes and dodged him with his shawl as the animal +attacked him. He had probably been brought up among wild bulls. The +audience all arose in excitement, expecting to see him torn to +pieces, and crying out for him to escape. The professional +bull-fighters got their red flags and drew the bull off, and the +greaser escaped, and seemed to be surprised at the excitement of +the audience. They succeeded in getting the bull out, and dragging +out the dead horse, and letting in a less ferocious one. The same +performance was gone through with him, as already described, except +that this one was conquered. At last, when the bull pitched at the +man, he holds his sword in such a way that the weight of the animal +comes on it, and passes between his foreshoulders and penetrates +his heart. In an instant the back wilts and the animal lies dead. +It was the most sudden change, from full vitality to death; it +startled you. It's a shock to your nervous system. My friend and +myself said it was the first and last bull-fight we would ever +see.</p> +<p>The price of lumber and vegetables kept up. I paid forty cents a +pound for potatoes in buying provisions for the hands on my brig. I +furnished them enough to last them on the up trip, but not for the +return, so they would hurry back. It was now time for the vessel +with the houses to arrive, and I expected to buy a ship with the +money, and to go to the Sandwich Islands and make, what I +considered, a fortune for me, but alas! no <i>Prince de +Joinville</i> came. It was hope deferred. Finally the rainy season +set in in full blast, and all consumption of lumber stopped. The +high price had stimulated shipments from everywhere. There was a +big reaction in the price. The first prominent failure in the city +took place, I think it was Ward & Co., commission merchants and +private bankers. It was said it was owing to his large orders of +shipments of lumber to that market. He shot himself with a pistol +in the morning in his bedroom and died, knowing that he could not +meet his creditors if he went to his place of business. About this +time it was announced from Telegraph Hill that my vessel, with the +houses, was entering the port two or three months after she was +due, striking a glutted market. I had four or five thousand dollars +to raise to pay the freight on them to get possession of them, or I +would lose the capital invested. So instead of making $18,000 +profit, which I might have made if they had come on time, I was +running the risk of losing the capital invested in them. Colonel +Stevenson had selected six of them some time before, which he +wanted for his New York of the Pacific, which he said he would make +me an offer on as soon as they arrived. I saw it was my only chance +to save myself to close that sale. I was at his office in the +morning as soon as there was any probability of they being there. I +said to him: "The houses have arrived. I am ready to receive your +offer for the six you selected." He said he had no money now. I +said I did not want any (which was a white lie). I said I would +take a draft on Prosper, Whetmore & Co., of New York city, for +$3,000, payable in ninety days, and his note for the balance, on +his own time. He looked over the plan of the houses again. He said +he would not give but so much. I said to him, that was not the +question, what will you give? He said I will give you that amount, +naming the sum. I said at once, they are sold, they are yours. He +gave me the draft on Whetmore & Co., for $3,000, payable in +ninety days. Just at this time, his partner, Dr. Parker, came in. +The colonel informed him he had bought six of my houses. He said, +you have made a mistake. Lumber is in a glutted market. It is +falling rapidly. The colonel said, that makes no difference now, I +have bought them. The colonel was considered rich. No one there +questioned the soundness of his draft. I went with it to all the +brokers in the city, but could get no offer for it. I then went to +Charley Minton, the agent of the steamer <i>Senator</i>. I thought +he could send it to New York to the owners of the steamer for its +face value. He said, the best he could do with me was to give me +$2,250 for it. Money was ten per cent a month, and scarce at that. +Three months time, at the rate of interest there, would be $900. I +said, I would take it. He gave me a check on his broker for that +amount. He paid me in gold, $16 Spanish doubloon pieces. I tied +them up in my handkerchief, and went to McCondery & Co., and +said to him, the vessel, with my houses, I see, are consigned to +you. I will pay you $2,000 now on the freight, and before they are +all taken off of the ship, I will pay you the balance. He said, +take them all off, and pay the balance at your convenience (we were +acquainted and had come up on the same steamer, and played whist +together). It cost me $800 to get them ashore. There were no +wharves then. They had to be taken ashore on lighters. I expected +my brig down from Stockton soon, with $2,000 freight money, so I +was out of the woods financially for the present. I then made +arrangement with the colonel to have them landed on the North Beach +on land owned by him, where I could retail out my other six houses, +which I had to sell, when I got a proper price for them. We formed +a copartnership. I was to take one of my smallest houses, and have +it erected there, to be used for an office, and to use the grounds +as a lumber yard to sell on commission, and as a place for storage, +which was very scarce then. There were quite a number who had taken +the liberty of piling lumber and other articles on it, using it as +public ground. I took formal possession of it in the name of +Colonel Stevenson, and gave notice to the different parties that if +they did not remove their materials from the premises in ten days +they would be charged so much for storage. Some removed, and others +did not. I recollect the German house that did not remove it in +thirty days after the ten days of notice. It was a wealthy house, +and I handed them a bill of $250 for storage, at which they +demurred very seriously, questioning our title; but they paid it. +When I went out to the ship to see about taking my houses off, I +met the first mate, whom I got acquainted with in New York. I told +him I thought the ship had been lost; that all the old tugs of +ships had got in ahead of them. He said to me, I have had the worst +time I ever had in my life. I have had to carry that old man on my +shoulders (referring to the captain) all the way. Whenever we had a +good breeze and sails were all full, he would come on deck and +order shorten sail to check our speed, or we might have been here a +month sooner. That told the whole story. I saw them take freight, +in my presence, when they were offered $1.50 per foot, when they +told me there was no room for the other half of my houses to go on +the ship, when I had a legal contract with them at sixty cents per +foot. My freight alone would have made a difference of two or three +thousand dollars by excluding it and taking the other in at the +difference in the price of it. There is no doubt they served many +other shippers and put their goods on other vessels, and kept +theirs back until the other ships would get to San Francisco ahead +of them, so that they could deliver the freight according to their +bills of lading on the arrival of the <i>Prince de Joinville</i>. +That was why my speculation was ruined by their dishonesty. Instead +of being the fastest ship, it was a fraud, a decoy, a dead trap on +those who were unfortunate enough to ship by it. When I saw the +captain he was very humble. He had all kinds of apologies to make, +and invited me to go to China with him. I could have the best +state-room on his ship. It should not cost me a dollar. I could go +around the world with him. I saw that my speculation was ruined by +their dishonesty, and there was no remedy, and, like all human +events, that ended it, and I had to abandon my Sandwich Island +expedition and throw my anticipated fortune from it to the winds. +Mr. Meighs, the one who failed and ran away to Chili, and built the +railroad in that country from Valparaiso to its capital, and then +organized a company and constructed railroads in Peru, had a lumber +yard side of me. I sold, after a while, my other six houses, one at +a time, retailing them out, and, by careful management, just +succeeded in saving my original capital.</p> +<p>I was satisfied with San Francisco, with my interest in the +lumber yards, and with my partnership with Colonel Stevenson on the +North Beach. My interest in my brig, when it came down, and my +prospective interest in what was to be the city of Toulom, and my +associations with Mr. R., who was building the first brewery on the +Pacific, which I was backing up with my indorsement, and I was to +have one-third interest when it was completed, if I wanted it, at +first cost, looked like a very favorable investment for me at that +time. I was living an active and enterprising life, with bright +hopes of future fortune. One morning when I went down to the North +Beach I found there had been a house erected on our land in the +night. I, of course, informed the colonel at once. He informed me +it was a man by the name of Colton, who pretended to have a title +under what he called the "Colton Grant," and that it was bogus, and +that he had the building erected to try and force his title. The +colonel said he would see the judge of the court in the city, and +get an order for its removal. In about two hours he sent a +messenger with an order from the judge authorizing us to remove it. +He instructed me to employ all the men that were necessary, and +have the material removed from the premises and he would pay the +bill, which I did, and our title was not disputed after that.</p> +<p>I had never been on a trip to Stockton, and I had chartered the +freight capacity of the brig to a man for $1,800. He was to put in +it all the freight he chose to. I thought it would not be for his +interest to overload it. If the vessel sunk there was no +insurance—his cargo would be a total loss. I had reserved the +deck and the passenger room. The conditions of the charter were +that the freight was to be delivered in Stockton by a certain date +or I was to forfeit the $1,800. The freight was aboard; he had +loaded the vessel deeper than I had expected. I had a number of +passengers at $15 each. They were to furnish their own provisions, +but to have the privileges of the cooking stove on deck. The vessel +was anchored out in the bay, to sail at 2 P.M., when the tide was +most favorable. I had a new chain for the anchor, and the captain +said he wanted a kedge anchor for safety, so I ordered one from +McCondery & Co., for $35, on condition that, without fail, they +would have it on board before 2 P.M. We were all on board by 1 +o'clock, waiting for the favorable tide, to start. At 1:30 no +anchor and the bay was very rough. The captain said it would not +come, they would not venture out in that sea in a small boat. I +said it would be there certain, I knew my man. Sure enough, in a +few moments we could just see a boat in the distance, two men +rowing and one guiding the rudder. They came alongside and we had +the anchor aboard in five minutes. In the stern was Mr. Watson, one +of the firm. He said he was afraid to trust his men in that sea for +fear they would fail to deliver it. The profit on it to them was +only $3.50, and it was a very wealthy firm, but they had pledged +their word to me that they would have it there at that time. (Would +that there were more of such honorable men.) We hoisted anchor, the +tide in our favor and a stiff breeze blowing. We passed out of the +bay of San Francisco into the bay of Los Angles, and crossed that +into the Straits of Benica, which is four miles long and connects +with Suisan bay. The Straits of Benica was a perfectly safe +anchorage. It was approaching night, and blowing almost a gale. I +was in hopes and expected that the captain would come to anchor in +the straits and wait until morning before venturing out into the +Suisan bay, which was twenty miles across to the mouth of the San +Joaquin river, where we were bound. The bay was almost like the +open sea; you could get out of sight of land. I think he would have +come to anchor if I, the owner, had not been on board, and had not +urged upon him the importance of having the vessel in Stockton in +time. As he was the captain I felt sensitive about interfering with +his business, and had hoped and expected, all the way through the +straits, that he would come to anchor, and not undertake to cross +the bay that night. Darkness was setting in, but he did not come to +anchor. The gale increased to a hurricane; all sails were taken in, +and we were scudding under bare poles, and had a lantern hung up in +the rigging. The captain came to me and said, loaded as we were, we +could not live in that gale; he would have to seek a place to +anchor on the side of the bay. I said to him, he was the captain. +The line was thrown out every few minutes. At last we found +sounding, and the anchor was cast. We had been there but a short +time before another vessel, more than twice as large as ours, came +aside of us, with a heavy deck-load of lumber, and got entangled in +our anchor chain, and kept drawing us nearer to them. If they had +struck our vessel we knew we were lost. They would have sunk us at +once. Seven times they came down on us and each time, by superhuman +efforts, we warded the blow, all hands and passengers doing their +best, fully realizing the danger they were in. It seems to me that +I hear now the oaths of the captain of the other vessel rising +above the sounds of the terrific hurricane as he was ordering his +men, for they, too, were in danger if they collided with us. Of +course, he was on the bare poles. As he came on us the eighth time +they hoisted their jib sail. As the wind struck it, it seemed to +lift their vessel out of the water, and, thank God, we were freed +from it. It was forty-five years ago, and, as I write, it all lives +before me as visible as if it were yesterday. The captain of the +other vessel had seen our light, and, supposing we were in the +right channel, had followed us. We had escaped what seemed almost +certain death, but were not out of danger. Our new good chain was +attached to our bad chain, and the captain had let out all our +chain to free us from the other vessel, so we were actually hanging +by our bad chain in the open roadstead, not in the protection of a +harbor, and liable to drag our anchor or break our chain and be +wrecked; but we could do nothing more than submit to our fate. I +thought I would get into my berth and try and get to sleep, and, if +I found myself alive in the morning, we might be saved. I did +sleep, and when I awoke it was daylight. The gale was subsiding. We +had dragged our anchor. The bow of our brig was very sharp; the +banks were soft mud, and we had struck it with such force that we +were wedged in. The tide was low and we were almost out of water. +We fortunately had struck the land with our bow, and that was what +saved us. If we had struck with the side of the vessel we would +have been wrecked. So, ever since we had been freed from the other +vessel, we had been in safety and did not know it. We waited for +the tide to rise and then got our kedge anchor out and pulled the +vessel out off the bank as the tide rose. The sea was very rough, +but the gale had subsided, and by 11 o'clock we were entering the +mouth of the San Joaquin river in safety. It was forty miles up the +river to Stockton. The river was in a valley of Tullieries. The +land seemed to be in the course of formation. There was but one +tree between the mouth and Stockton, a willow, called the Lone +Tree. The only place on its banks where the soil had formed solid +enough to produce one, surrounded by hills at that season of the +year, covered with beautiful wild flowers. The scenery was +magnificent. As the river curved we could see the white sails of +other vessels. They looked as if they were in a field. You could +not see the water at a little distance, the river being narrow. We +could almost jump from our deck to the banks. We felt in perfect +safety. Contrasting that with the night before in that terrible +hurricane and in the death struggles for our lives, it produced a +supreme feeling of ethereal ideal happiness that this earth seemed +almost a Paradise. The captain informed me that there was one place +on the river where we might have to anchor. It was called the +Devil's Elbow. There was a sharp turn in the river and the current +was rapid, and we might have to pull the vessel around it; but +sometimes, if it was favorable, he could sail around it, and if +done successfully, then the vessels that had come to anchor could +find no fault; otherwise you had to come to behind the others and +take your turn. When we were coming to it, he was at the helm and I +at his side, to see what was the best to do. As we approached, we +saw several vessels had come to for the purpose of pulling around. +The last was a large vessel that the captain said could never get +around. If we anchored behind it we might not be able to deliver +our freight according to the charter. We had put an English sailor +in the hold to let the anchor go, in case we did not succeed, if we +gave him the signal to do so. As we came to the place with all +sails set, there was a breeze sprung up, filling all the sails. I +said to the captain, let her go. As we passed the vessels that had +come to anchor there was a howling and yelling from them of +derision and anger at us for going by them. Just as we got +two-thirds of the way around, the sailor in the hold let the anchor +go without orders. He got frightened. If he had not, we would have +made it successfully. As it was, we got ahead of all the other +vessels, and got to Stockton in ample time. The next morning there +was a drove of mules at the side of the brig, and the cargo was +being discharged and packed on their backs to be taken to the +mining camps, as there were no good roads there in those early +days. About all the grain and flour came from Valparaiso and Chili, +put up very nicely in fifty and one hundred pound sacks, so it was +easy to handle. As soon as all the mules were packed, the head +mule, who had on a bell fastened around his neck, which rang as he +went, was started first, and all the rest, in single file, followed +him, and they were going for the different mining camps in the +interior. In two or three days we were unloaded, and we were +prepared to return. The freight money was paid to me in gold, at +$16 per ounce in full, all being satisfactory to the shipper. I had +delivered it within the time specified. One of the passengers who +came up with me, a tailor, from Salem, Mass., asked me if I would +not give him a free passage back on the vessel to San Francisco; +that he wanted to try to get home; he was discouraged. I said to +him you have traveled eighteen thousand miles to get to the gold +mines, and now you are within half a day of them and want to go +home without trying your fortune. If you do go, you will never +forgive yourself, but go to the mines and try your luck; then, if +you are discouraged and want to go back, I will give you a free +passage, as we have no passengers on our return trip.</p> +<br> +<a name="HOME"></a> +<h2>HOME SICKNESS.</h2> +<p>When a person was attacked with it, it seemed the worst kind of +malady, as it would take them months to return if they had the +money to pay their passage. Many were married men, separated a +great distance from their wives and children. Others, young men, +who had their engaged ones waiting for them to return, with their +fortunes made in the gold mines, to marry them. I can recall +several instances where I have known them to lie down and die from +despair. I was talking with an old Californian of those days. He +said he had once given up and made up his mind to wander off by +himself on the mountains and die, which he did. As he lay there in +despair, after a while he thought he would look around him, and he +saw the hill was covered with every variety of beautiful wild +flowers. He said their beauty seemed to refresh and revive his +mind, and give him new resolution, and he decided to try his +fortune again, and he became successful and returned to the States +with a competency.</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus140a.png" height="309" width="450" +alt=" THE DESPONDENT MINER."></center> +<p>The early pioneers had some conflict with the Indians in the +interior of the country. Five Oregon men were massacred by them +when engaged in digging gold, but a terrible retribution was +visited upon those Indians concerned in it by the enraged +Forty-niners. The Indians, at first, had nothing but bows and +arrows, and, of course, could not compete with rifles. Several +other small engagements were rumored, but they soon gave up all +contests with the whites, for they saw it was useless. There was an +acorn that was quite plenty in California, being longer than ours, +but not of a bitter taste. The squaws made flour of them. The +Digger Indians were the next tribe east of them; they were probably +the lowest grade. They would set fire to the prairie grass to burn +the grasshoppers, and pick them up and eat them. They deemed them a +luxury. The Oregon tribes were a higher grade, a warlike race, and +superior in every respect. The highest grade of them, in the United +States now, are the Choctaws and Chicksaws that formerly occupied +the northern parts of the State of Mississippi. When a young man, I +spent three weeks in their nation, travelling alone, and was +treated with great hospitality by them. They are quite intelligent, +and they have laws and customs as civilized nations. We generally +look upon all of them as alike, but such is not the +case—there is as great a difference between different tribes +as much as between different white nations. The California Indians +were not naturally warlike, and when the early pioneers expected +any trouble from them, they would appoint a committee to go and see +them, and they generally settled their difficulty without any +conflicts.</p> +<br> +<a name="JESUIT"></a> +<h2>JESUIT MISSION STATIONS.</h2> +<p>There were about sixteen Jesuit missionary stations in the +country before the discovery of gold, and were there for the +purpose of converting the Indians to the Catholic church, and when +converted, generally made them work to sustain their missionary +establishments.</p> +<p>I had returned to my office on the North Beach after my only +trip to Stockton on my brig. My friend R. was progressing with his +brewery. He had received a favorable letter from Lieutenant S. +about our Touwalma city, and informing me that S. had a diamond +ring that cost $800 in Rio Janeiro, at a broker's office, as +collateral security for $250 borrowed on it at ten per cent per +month, and the time was about up. If I would redeem the ring I +could keep it and wear it until he paid me. I went and saw the +ring. It was as represented, and I redeemed it and wore it for a +considerable time. One day R. came to me with a naming letter from +S. that he had laid out the city and been elected alcalde, and we +would make our fortune, and there was a friend of S. that was going +up there, and if I would send up the ring by him he would +appreciate it so much, and he would be responsible that I should +not lose any thing by it. I was foolish enough to be persuaded by +him and handed him the ring, for which act I have never forgiven +myself. That was the last I ever saw of the ring or any of the +money invested in Touwalma city, for it turned out a failure. It +was never the head of navigation on the river, or any thing else +that was ever heard of.</p> +<p>There were three unfortunate events that occurred in California +in the winter months of 1849 and the beginning of 1850. The rainy +season had destroyed all the dams constructed on the gold rivers +and raceways, which had been constructed at great expense for the +purpose of working the beds of the river for gold, the rivers often +rising from ten to eighteen feet in a night, and the current +running with terrible force. The second, the flooding of +Sacramento, destroying large quantities of merchandise and carrying +away and undermining the houses there. The third was the great fire +in San Francisco, destroying one-third of the main business portion +of the city, upon which there was no insurance. There were no +companies organized or agents there to insure property then, as it +was too risky. There was one four-story fire-proof building that +was stored full of the most valuable goods, at a large price for +storage, for it was considered absolutely fire-proof, but when the +fire came the heat of the fire from the buildings around it caused +the iron sides of it to expand, which let the roof fall in and +burned every thing to the ground, so that nothing was saved. +Instead of being a place of safety, it was the most destructive of +all.</p> +<p>Some ships in the bay were burned. I succeeded in getting in the +rear of the fire to save my brig. I ordered the men to hoist anchor +and put out further in the bay, which saved it. These unfortunate +events destroyed and marred the fortune of many. On the day before +I called on a private banker, G., on the plaza, and presented my +check for $800. He said to me, if it made no difference, it being +steamer day (once a month they went East when the gold was shipped +to the mint in Philadelphia by them), and if I would call in the +morning for it, it would be an accommodation to him. I said I +wanted to use it. He commenced weighing it out. I then thought it +would make no difference to me and it was mean not to accommodate +him, for I might want some favor of him. I said, if I can have it +in three days without fail it would answer my purpose. He said, you +can have it now, pouring the gold in the scales to weigh it. I said +never mind, I don't want it now. The fire came that night, burnt +his place up and all his property. He was a ruined man. I never saw +him afterward.</p> +<p>Mr. G., to whom I had bargained to sell my houses to arrive, +(and he backed out) was an Englishman from Liverpool. He had about +all the consignments of shipments from that city (evidently being +very popular there), to sell on commission at ten per cent; when +the goods came and were sold, instead of remitting the capital to +the owners and being satisfied with his commission, he used it in +buying property and in erecting buildings in San Francisco. He had +constructed a fire-proof building which he rented to the government +for a post-office, at a large sum per month, likewise the first +theatre in the city, and other buildings. He informed me at one +time how much his rents amounted to per month; the sum was several +thousand dollars. Money was worth but three to five per cent in +England per year to the owners of the merchandise; while in +California it was in demand at ten per cent per month. I suppose he +thought he would make a great fortune for himself and then return +to England (where he had a wife and children) and pay up all his +obligations with extra allowance, for the use of the money, and +make all satisfactory; but the great fire destroyed all his +buildings, and he was a ruined man, there being no insurance in the +city then. I met a friend in New York about two years after my +return from California; I asked him when he saw Mr. G. last. He +said, "it was about 11 o'clock one day at a hotel where he invited +some friends to take a drink. Mr. G. was there, he declined; but +afterward called him to one side and asked him to loan him $1, +saying he had had no breakfast that morning." Such was an example +of some of the fluctuations of fortune in those days.</p> +<p>Some parties came with various kinds of machinery that was to +make a certain fortune for them, and was taken up into the interior +at great expense. I never knew of one that was successful. About +all the companies that were formed in the States to go around Cape +Horn for mining purposes generally dissolved after arriving in +California, but what they brought with them for supplies, sold for +so high a price that it generally sold for more than the cost of +their passage, and they had money coming to them. Some companies +bought the ships as they came in and hired the captain. I recollect +one, called the <i>Mechanics' Own</i>. Every person joining their +company in the States had to be voted in and pay $1,000. They put +on airs and talked quite aristocratic of their captain as their +boy.</p> +<p>Three persons started the first bank in San Francisco, called +the Miners' Bank, on the northwestern corner of the plaza. Mr. +Haight, who was from Rochester, N.Y., and the sutler of Colonel +Stevenson's regiment, was one of them. It was said that at first +they bought gold as low as $8 per ounce, when it was worth more +than $18 at the mint East. The owners of the bank made $100,000 +each in three or four years.</p> +<p>Before the discovery of gold the then small places on the +Pacific Coast obtained their supplies from small trading vessels +that sailed along the coast and stopped at their towns +occasionally. After the discovery of gold, at first goods went up +four or five times their previous value, and when one of these +vessels was seen entering the port, parties would put out in small +boats to get aboard of them before they came to anchor (they on +board knowing nothing about the discovery of the gold), would +bargain with them for some of their goods, and finally offer them +so much for all their cargo. It being beyond their expectations the +offer was generally accepted, and thus some big speculations were +made.</p> +<p>A lieutenant of Stevenson's regiment, who had been down in +Monterey and had not heard of the gold discovery, on his first day +in San Francisco, informed me that he did not know what to make of +things. Most of his old acquaintances wanted to know if he did not +want to borrow some money; they had some that he could have as well +as not.</p> +<p>The steamers came in once a month with letters and papers. Then +long lines were formed to the post-office. Sometimes it took half a +day to get there. The New York papers at first sold for $1 each. +Then they got down to fifty cents. I sold the <i>New York +Herald</i>, that was more than a month old, that contained the +latest news there from the States in the interior, for $5, and the +man coaxed it out of me at that, for I wanted to give it to a party +of friends I was going to see in the mining districts. I knew it +would be a great treat to them. It is almost impossible to recall +all the exact scenes of those days, so as to have them fully +realized by the reader.</p> +<p>The city of San Francisco was extending more rapidly in what +they called the Happy Valley district, which was toward the Mission +of Dolores, established by the Jesuits. I visited it when the +building was intact. I recollect a painting of an Indian warrior, +with his bows and arrows, the implements of war, represented as a +saint ascending to heaven—I suppose to create favorable +impression on Indians and make converts of them.</p> +<p>My friend was going on with his brewery, and borrowing money and +getting me deeper on his paper. He heard that I had $2,500 +deposited with McCondery & Co., and pleaded with me to let him +have it as it would carry him through. I had lost all confidence in +him, and felt it would be like throwing it in the sea. I informed +him that I had shipped it the day before, which I had not, but went +right down and gave an order for its shipment, for fear he might +over-persuade me to let him have it, and I thus saved it. When most +completed, a barrel of alcohol that was in the building bursted, +and it ran down to the furnace and set it on fire, and burnt it up. +That was the fate of the first brewery started in California. Since +then there have been millions made in that business there.</p> +<p>The North Beach property, after I had sold all my houses out, I +closed my interest in. It proved a failure to use for a wharf or +shipping point.</p> +<p>During the seven months of summer the north-west wind blew there +so hard every afternoon that it was not a safe place for vessels, +and the property would never have any value for that purpose, and I +do not think it has ever been used since for that.</p> +<p>In the winter months, which is generally the rainy season, the +wind blows from the south for five months, and the other seven +months it blows from the north-west over six thousand miles of +ocean, and, consequently, is not impregnated with any decayed +vegetable matter, and is as pure as air can be. In San Francisco +the sun would rise in a clear sky every morning and there would be +a perfect calm; by 11 A.M. there would be a little breeze; by 2 or +3 o'clock, a gale. When the sun set the wind would subside and +there would be a perfect calm again. Every day would be the same, +month after month. What was almost a gale on the coast would be a +gentle breeze up in the mining district, in the interior. The next +day that air would be displaced by another gale from over the +thousand miles of ocean, for it is impossible to imagine any other +country with purer air.</p> +<p>During that time there were various visionary reports of new +discoveries of gold regions, one of a lake that the sands of its +banks were rich with gold. All you had to do, to make your fortune, +was to wash it out, which produced quite a sensation, and parties +were organized to go there, but they never found it. The next year +after the purchase of my brig, there were small steamers +constructed to run to Stockton, and they had already some sailing +vessels put on, built there, and the price of freight had commenced +falling, and I thought I had better sell my vessel while I could +get a good price for it. There was a man who came to me and said he +wanted to buy it; that he had been a captain of a boat on Lake +Erie. I stated to him my price for it. He said that was not out of +the way, but he would like to try it one trip before closing the +purchase, and referred me to a mercantile house there as his +reference. They said he had run vessels for them on Lake Erie when +they were doing business in Buffalo. I concluded that was entirely +satisfactory; that that had evidently been his regular business. He +said he wanted to employ all his own hands. I had the vessel, at +the time, half loaded with freight, which I turned over to him. I +paid my men and discharged them, and told them the vessel was about +to change owners, and put him in full possession of it. Of course I +had nothing more to do with it until he returned from the trip to +Stockton; then I expected he would close the purchase as he said +that the price was satisfactory to him. After a few weeks I +commenced looking for the return of my brig, but it did not come. +Finally I heard a rumor that the captain had left the vessel at +Stockton, but did not believe it, but thought that some accident +might have happened. I had borrowed a spy-glass to investigate the +bay. I could have recognized my vessel by the red streak around it. +Finally, after it had been gone long enough to make several trips, +I discovered it at anchor in the bay. I went and supplied myself +with money, in case it should prove true that the captain had left +the vessel, to pay his men in full before they got ashore, because +the vessel was liable for their wages, whoever might have employed +them; so I hired a boat to row me out to it. I met a man on the +deck that seemed to be in command. I inquired of him where the +captain was. He said he had run away. I spoke to him in a sharp +tone of voice and said, how do you know that? He said, because I +saw him on the back of a mule going over the plain. Then he asked +me, are you the owner? I said, yes. Then I said, you have all got +your pay before he went; I did not employ you. He said, some of +them have got some.</p> +<p>As you seem to be in command, I suppose you have kept an account +of how it stands. He said, "Come down in the cabin and I will show +it to you." I said, "It was hard on me to be robbed of all my +freight money, but it was also hard for them to be cheated out of +their hard earnings, and I would see what I could do for them." He +presented the statement of what each man had received and what was +due them. I was surprised at his correctness. I said: It seems all +right and I would pay them, which I did, and took their receipt. I +was afraid if they went ashore and found the vessel was liable for +their wages they might make any kind of demands, so I got +possession of my vessel again, very much damaged. Before leaving +the port he had let the steamer <i>Senator</i> run into the bows of +the vessel, and it cost me $700 to have it repaired, ship +carpenters' wages being $20 per day, payable in gold. The events +which I had anticipated of the decline of that kind of property had +come, and, after it was repaired, I put it up at auction and sold +it, so that rascal cost me several thousand dollars. Such was life +in California in the days of the Forty-niners.</p> +<p>Having some leisure I thought I would take a trip up the mining +regions, and make a visit to my old friends there. More than a year +had passed, and greater changes had taken place than would have +occurred in any other country in many years. The population of +California increased one hundred thousand the first year after the +discovery of the gold, which had accounted for the great changes +which had taken place since my previous trip. I went up on the +steamer <i>Senator</i> to Sacramento, which had become quite a +city, and the next morning started for Coloma in a stage full of +passengers, drawn by mules. I took a seat aside of the driver. I +got in conversation with the driver. I asked him what pay he +received? He said, only $450 per month and his board. I asked him +if he had driven stages before? He said, yes, out of Boston. I +said, at what wages? He said, $14 a month. I said that there was a +big difference between that and $450. He said, yes, but that this +was his last trip. He took a party of three up only a few weeks +ago, and he brought them down yesterday, and they had between +$3,000 and $4,000 apiece, and he was not going to waste his time +driving for $450 a month. He was going to the mines the next day. +It was quite probable that the party referred to had made an +unusual lucky strike, for I had met parties that had done the same +thing. I had had in my hands at one time, in San Francisco, a piece +of solid gold metal, something in the shape of the cover of a sugar +loaf, that was worth $4,500, found by a couple of green Irishmen. +They inquired of some miners in the interior where was a good place +to dig. The miners said in fun, dig there in that sand bank behind +you. The Irishmen took them up in earnest and went to digging. In a +short time they found that chunk of gold, where no experienced +miner would think of digging.</p> +<p>I have dug gold in the cellar of the brewery in San Francisco. I +think most all the soil of that part of California is impregnated +with gold. But the point is to find it in sufficient quantities to +pay to dig it. As an illustration, if you knew that in a certain +piece of ground there was $5,000 worth of gold, and it cost you +$10,000 to wash all the ground to get it, of course that land would +have no gold value. I found at Coloma that my friends had left the +Dutch bar and gone to the middle fork of the American river, some +distance from there. I got directions how to get there and started +on foot. Toward night I met a young man who had just came overland +and had separated that day from his party to get work in the mining +camp. I told him where I was going, and that he had better go with +me, and that he could get from $10 to $16 per day to work for other +parties, or to join two others and work a claim for himself, which +he did. So as it was getting toward night, we camped under a tree +and slept until morning, and took a fresh start. That day we found +the middle fork of the American river and my friends. The river was +sunk way down in the earth. It seemed almost a mile down to the +water where they were to work. It was quite a large mining place. +The excitement there every day was when the "dummy" went into the +river. It was a diving armor that had been used in the gulf of +Lower California to go down in the deep waters to hunt for pearls, +and had been bought by a party of five, each putting in $800, +making $4,000, expecting to make their fortunes by getting into the +deep water of the gold rivers. (As I have shown before, the +torrents and force of the currents had prevented any gold from ever +lodging there.) Every day at such an hour, it was announced that +the "dummy" was a going in the river. The other miners quit their +work to see it, and the proprietors of the "dummy" always treated +the crowd in the most lavish manner. Its credit was good for any +store bills. Its always treating the crowd had made it popular, and +nobody would trade with the storekeeper who would not trust it, so +it was death to the prosperity of the storekeeper, whether he +trusted it or not. They never got any gold while there through +"dummy," and when he left to go further down the river to try +another place, the main storekeeper there lost $800 by trusting it, +which broke him. These stores were tents, to supply immediate wants +of the miners. I never heard of "dummy" afterward. I have no doubt +he operated on all the store tents until he came to grief like all +evil-doers.</p> +<p>The productiveness of the gold rivers had not diminished any +that I could perceive. I talked to a man who had been off a little +ways to prospect in another place. I asked him what luck? He said, +there was nothing there. I said, was there no gold? He said; yes, +there was some, but of no value. He said a man could make $10 a +day, and who was a going to waste their time on that. My visit +over, I returned to San Francisco. My friend R.'s brewery was not +completed. I was informed he had been borrowing money from a Jew at +twenty per cent a month. It was no use for me to back him any more, +however valuable it might be, if completed, and I had no doubt +there was a fortune in it, but neither he nor I had the capital to +do it.</p> +<p>I had some other financial entangling matters, and I was afraid +if I kept on with them I might get broke, and the only way I saw of +getting out with them was to announce that I was going to leave, +and going down to Relago, Central America.</p> +<p>There was an English steamer advertised to sail for that port +and Panama. I thought I would go for sixty days and then return and +commence again and manage my affairs in a more conservative way, +and what I could control. Well I closed my matters out the best I +could and engaged my passage on the steamer for Relago. There was +considerable excitement at this time about the Nicaragua route. The +above place would be the terminus on the Pacific coast, and, +consequently, a place of importance. As I had missed it in trading +six of my houses for lots in San Francisco, there might be a chance +to get some there in advance of any rise on them. Any way, I wanted +to get out of my entangling alliances and take a fresh start. The +night before I sailed Mr. Brady (Colonel Stevenson's son-in-law) +came to me and said the colonel did not like to have me go. I told +him I had paid my passage, $200. He said the colonel understood +that. He put his hand in his vest pocket and pulled out a roll of +bills. He said, here is the $200, which he told me to give you, so +you will not lose any thing by not going. There was once a lady, +the wife of one of the officers of his regiment, who arrived there, +expecting to meet her husband, but he was up in the country. The +colonel asked me to go down to the steamer and meet her, and escort +her to a boarding-house to stay until her husband arrived, which I +did. I told him that she was short of funds, having expected to +meet her husband. He gave me $150 and told me to give it to her, as +if I loaned it to her, and when her husband paid me I could return +it to him. I mention these little incidents to show that whatever +faults he may have had, he was the most generous of friends.</p> +<p>Colonels Stevenson, Freemont and Captain Sutter will stand +pre-eminent in the future history of the State as its most +prominent founders.</p> +<p>I sailed out of the port of San Francisco on the steamer +<i>Ecuador</i> for Relago, Central America, expecting to return to +California within sixty days. In a few days, out at sea, we began +to hear unfavorable rumors about our vessel; that the engineer had +left the day before our sailing; that he did not consider it safe +to go in it; that it could not carry coal enough to take it to +Acapulco, the next coaling place. And we were informed that it was +a steamer that had been running from Panama to Valparaiso, and had +been bought up by a speculator and sent up to San Francisco as an +experiment, to see if it would pay. The officers and men had never +been up the coast before, and knew nothing about the port. One day +we were startled in mid ocean by the stopping of the engine. We +soon found the cause. The captain was about to try his sails so as +to save coal (which verified the reports about being short of +coal). We made some headway with the sails, but lost it again when +the wind subsided, by the currents of the ocean; so that project +was abandoned, and after some days we put into the port of San +Blas, in Mexico, for fuel. There was no coal there, so we laid in +all the wood we could to try and reach Acapulco (here we could not +buy any thing with our $5 gold pieces, but they were ready to sell +for silver). The cholera had been there, they said, but had left. +The priests had had a procession, and, with their incense boxes, +had marched through the streets and driven it out. We took in all +the wood we could get and started to make the port of Acapulco, the +regular coaling port for all the steamers on that coast. It was +Sunday P.M. We could raise fuel enough to make only four knots an +hour. It was an iron steamer. We were burning what there was of the +woodwork of the vessel, for if we could not make the port before +dark we were lost. The officers were not acquainted with the coast. +We had not fuel enough to keep steam up all night, and we would be +on the broad Pacific ocean, six thousand miles across, without the +remotest possibility of meeting any other vessel, without any +control of our steamer, subject to be driven in any direction. I +heard the mate talking to the captain about the propriety of +wrecking the vessel and saving what lives they could, although we +were in sight of land. The captain said the under-tow was so great +that none could be saved in that way. It is twice as great on the +Pacific as the Atlantic. There were no female passengers. One man +said he had $10,000 in gold with him; if his wife and children only +had that he would be content to meet his fate, under the +circumstances, but it was hard to leave them without it. All the +passengers had more or less gold, or they would not have been +returning.</p> +<p>You can imagine with what anxiety we watched every indication of +the coast to see if there was any chance of us nearing the port. +Finally, toward night, we saw a high projection of land on the +coast, and that was predicted that it was the entrance to the port. +If we could reach that point before dark, we might be saved. The +passengers went to work to break up any thing for the fires that +would make steam. The captain made no objections, but told them to +burn all woodwork on the vessel to save their lives. At dark we +reached the point we had in view, and it was fortunate for us that +it was the entrance to the port. As the vessel turned to enter, you +could see, coming over the waters of the ocean, a tropical storm, +accompanied with wind, thunder and lightning. Twenty minutes later +it would have reached us, and we would have been lost. As soon as +we got safely in port (and it was very dark), I can hear now, in +imagination, the sound of the anchor as it was let down in the +water, which assured our entire safety. It thundered and +lightninged, and blowing a high gale, which was music in our ears, +as we knew we were out of danger, and feeling the supreme +gratification of knowing what we had escaped. Blessed to us was the +high mountains which surrounded the port. The entrance to it is +narrow, but when you get inside it is one of the safest harbors in +the world, being perfectly land-locked. The next day opened on a +happy lot of passengers. I felt as if I was commencing life anew. +We went ashore expecting to be there several days, as they proposed +to take in a full supply of coal. This place had been once quite a +city, but many years ago had been partly destroyed by an +earthquake. It was said that the water went out of the bay most to +the tops of the mountains, and then reacted to its usual level in +the harbor; that there was a French ship carried up to the sides of +the mountains, and when the water reacted, carried back in safety +in the harbor. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, the ruins of +which are now visible where the city once extended.</p> +<p>I was introduced to General Alvarado. He was the most prominent +man in Mexico, on the Pacific coast, at that time, and afterward +became very prominent in the public affairs of his country. On our +return to the vessel that evening there was quite an excitement on +board. Among the passengers was a party of three who had been quite +successful in Sacramento in the bottling of soda and summer beer, +and peddling it out through the city. They had picked up by chance +an old acquaintance from Waterford who belonged to an aristocratic +family there, and by his habits of dissipation was a mortification +to them. So when the California excitement broke out, they +furnished him the money to go to the gold regions. It would either +reform him or they would get rid of him. Of course, such men were +no good in California, and he had spent his money and wanted to +return. These men came across him and told him they were going to +return East in sixty days, and if he would keep straight, and drive +one of their wagons for them, they would take him home with them. +When they went ashore the first day they left him in charge of +their baggage, and promised him that he could go ashore the next. +They had their private store of wines and brandy. He had found it +and tried it and got full, and treated all the sailors and +everybody on board that would drink with him, and was the most +popular man on board with the sailors. He repented the next day and +begged their forgiveness, and they took him home with them. Like a +bad penny, he returned as he was before. Distance did not reform +him.</p> +<p>Well, our next port was Relago my destination. Just after dark +one day we got opposite to what, according to the charts, was that +port. It was necessary for them to wait until morning before they +could undertake to enter it, as they had never been there before, +and there were no pilots, and they decided not to let the steam go +down, and they concluded that they would sail slowly around in a +circle, so as to be opposite to the port in the morning. When +morning came it was foggy, and we could not see the land. But they +had such confidence in the correctness of their chart that they +determined to enter it. Instead of the port, we came to the white +caps, dashing against the rocks almost mountains high, and we came +within an ace of being dashed to pieces against them. If the +engineer had not reversed the movement of the engine the instant he +did, we would have been wrecked. The captain was now completely +befogged. In a short time he came to me with a paper to sign +agreeing to go to Panama. It should cost me nothing extra for my +passage there; that the few other passengers for that port had +signed it. I thought I had better sign to go anywhere than to take +any more chances in that steamer. Come to find out afterward, +instead of being opposite the port that morning, we were twenty +miles from it, the currents of the ocean having carried us that +distance while we were sailing around in a circle, which they had +not ciphered on, and thus came so near wrecking us. By chance we +saw a sailing vessel. The captain gave orders for the steamer to +follow it, and, when we overtook it, we found it was bound for +Relago. There was a man on board of it who was acquainted with the +port. They got him to come on our steamer and had him pilot us to +that port, so I expected to go ashore, and got my baggage in +readiness, and, when the time came, had it brought up on deck. They +did not enter the port, but came to outside. There were two +passengers, it seems, that would not sign the paper to go to +Panama, and it was to land them he had come to, and when I went to +have my baggage put in the small boat the captain informed me I had +signed to go to Panama, and some of the other passengers said I was +very foolish to risk my life in that sea in so small a boat. Before +I scarcely knew it the boat had pushed off without me, and, +consequently, the whole current and course of my life was changed. +Upon such little incidents often do the events of human life +depend. It may have been fortunate for me that I did not land +there.</p> +<p>There was in Nicaragua at the time a filibustering expedition +under the command of Captain Walker, who went from California to +overthrow the government there by taking sides with the +revolutionary movement that had been started, and to get an +American control of the government, which I did not approve of, for +I considered it a dishonorable movement; but still, if I had +landed, they being my countrymen, I might have got mixed up with +them. They were conquered and all sentenced to death, and shot. It +is barely possible I might have shared their fate. I have often +thought since I made a good escape by not landing.</p> +<br> +<a name="PACIFIC"></a> +<h2>SCENES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN.</h2> +<p>The course of the steamer is frequently in sight of land. The +storms I have referred to were tropical storms, lasting but a short +time. The ocean is generally very mild all the distance, three +thousand five hundred miles from Panama to San Francisco. North of +San Francisco the storms are somewhat similar to the Atlantic ocean +storms. The passengers on the return trip were in the best of +spirits; they were returning home; all of them had been more or +less successful in California, and I can recall to my mind many +pleasant times we had on board the steamship. The porpoise are very +numerous on the Pacific ocean; there were often, for days, schools +of them on the sides of the steamer, throwing themselves out of the +water, and then diving in again; great numbers, at the same time, +seeming like the motion of a revolving wheel. Occasionally we would +hear the cry, "There she blows;" a jet of water being thrown up +many feet high in the air—a sperm whale had come up to +breathe. We frequently saw flying fish. One day there was a school +of them landed on the steamer; they are similar to other fish, +except having wings, but not of a very large size. At another time +a booby bird came on the steamer. It got its name from its +stupidity. We frequently saw them on the water, floating on a piece +of board or a stick of wood; sailors say they have seen them five +hundred miles out to sea in that way. This one you could take up +and handle; it made no resistance. On the coast of Central America +we saw two mountain peaks of great height, standing out, +individually, like the Pyramids, said to be extinct volcanoes that +were thrown up from the internal fires of the earth, and which, at +one time, belched forth melted lava and fire.</p> +<p>We arrived safe in Panama. I was so near home that I thought I +might as well return and see my friends, and take a fresh start for +California, and try my fortune once more. They had commenced +building the railroad over the Isthmus, but it was not completed, +so we crossed over to Cruize, the head of navigation on the Chagres +river, and went down that to its mouth, and there took the steamer +<i>Georgia</i> for New York, commanded by Captain Porter, of the +United States navy—the man who had control of the vessels in +going down the Mississippi river and successfully passing +Vicksburg, which had so much to do with its capture. He was a +perfect gentleman, and commanded your admiration with the skill of +his management of the vessel. There were on the vessel well-dressed +pickpockets, who went from New York to the Isthmus, to return by +the steamers to the city, for the chances of robbing the returning +Californians of their gold dust, as all of them had more or less of +it on their persons. One unfortunate victim of their wiles appealed +strongly to my sympathies. He was an English sailor, and had been +two or three years up in the gold mines, and had $3,000 or $4,000 +in gold dust in a buckskin bag on his person. He showed it to me. I +advised him to deposit it with the purser for safety; that I had +done so with mine. He said they could not rob him. He was about the +happiest man I ever saw. He was richer, in feeling, than the +Vanderbilts. He said he had a wife and children in Liverpool, and +would take the first steamer from New York for that port. He said +he had not seen his family for several years, and now that he had +the gold he could make them all happy. He was in the steerage. A +few days after I heard he was sick. He had fainted. Some parties +had helped him up; evidently pickpockets had taken that opportunity +to rob him; his gold was all gone. I explained his case to Captain +Porter, but nothing could be done. There was no way to identify his +gold dust from any other; it was all alike. When he arrived in New +York, he would have to go to the hospital until he got well enough +to ship on some other vessel for $14 per month, and not be able to +return to his wife and children with his gold, and make them happy, +while these black-hearted villainsillians were spending his money, +his hard earnings of years. I entered in a bond, with myself, that +if I were ever on a jury I would never show any mercy to a +thief.</p> +<p>As we were sailing along many ships and schooners came in sight. +We were evidently nearing the great port of New York. The land of +Staten Island soon came in sight covered with snow. It was late in +the fall. It was the first I had seen since my departure from the +same port, except on the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada +mountains. Here ends my personal adventures of the days of the +Forty-niners, to be continued by the peroration on California.</p> +<br> +<a name="PERORATION"></a> +<h2>PERORATION.</h2> +<p>On my return, in looking over my finances, I was no poorer than +when I left. It must be evident to the reader that I had acquired +no wealth to astonish my friends with my riches, which was the +visionary expectation of the early pioneers to the gold Eldorado. I +have been writing from personal recollections of events that +occurred forty-five years ago. Of course, there was nothing in my +enterprises, or the little fluctuations of fortune that would be of +particular interest to any one; but in the form of a personal +narrative, it was the only way I could recall vividly to my mind, +the events of so long ago. There were a series of articles +published in the <i>Century</i> magazine two years ago, which I +read with great interest, for they were truthful, but no book has +ever been published that took in fully those two years when common +labor was $16 per day, payable in gold. Such an event was never +known to occur before, and probably never will again. I have not +drawn on my imagination in the least in this narrative. I have +simply attempted to portray from memory events that actually +occurred under my own observation. Any Forty-niner will concede the +truth of my narrative. I did not return to California as I had +expected. Cupid's arrow pierced my heart in the person of a young +lady, and sealed my fate. I had a cottage built in the quiet and +beautiful valley of Schoharie, where I have passed more than thirty +years of happy married life. While not possessing the wealth of the +successful pioneer, I have been content.</p> +<p>"A MONUMENT TO JACOB A.L. FISHER, A UNION SOLDIER.</p> +<p>"<i>Interview with Doctor Knower, who has Charge of +It—Some Interesting Reminiscences of Forty-niners.</i></p> +<p>"A monument to be erected in the Old Stone Fort Cemetery to +Jacob A.L. Fisher, a Union soldier, by Abraham Schell, his uncle, +of California.</p> +<p>"A draft of the above monument is before us. It is quite an +affair, about twenty-seven feet high, with a full length statue of +a soldier on top. It is now being constructed in Des Moines, Iowa, +to be shipped by the 1st of May, and unveiled on the 4th day of +July, 1894, with appropriate ceremonies. Dr. Knower, in 76, in +laying the corner-stone to the David Williams State monument, gave +the grandest celebration that ever occurred in this county. This +one he expects to rely to a great extent on the local army +organizations of the county, as this honor paid to one of their +compatriots in arms is an honor to them.</p> +<p>"We have before us a copy of the Stockton (Cal.) <i>Evening +Mail</i> of November 9, 1893, containing a seven column article +descriptive of Abraham Schell's vineyard at Knight's Ferry, Cal. We +quote from it: 'A characteristic act of Abraham Schell was to give +a deed to the entire place and all of its appurtenances, last +summer, to Herrick R. Schell, his nephew, who had served him +faithfully as assistant and business associate for twenty-six +years.' The property conveyed consisted of three thousand acres, +upon which Mr. Schell had expended at the time the deed was given a +quarter of a million of dollars. We see by the same article that +Abraham Schell's landed purchases in that locality, in the early +days, amounted to fifteen thousand five hundred and thirty-five +acres.</p> +<p>"Mr. Schell joined a company formed by Dr. Knower (who made an +investment in it, and was then a resident of Albany), which sailed +on the ship <i>Tarolinton</i> from the port of New York, on the +13th of January, 1849. The doctor, the following spring, shipped +from Albany, twelve houses around Cape Horn, the freight on which +was $5,000, he going by the way of the Isthmus, arriving in San +Francisco on the 25th of September, 1849. On the steamer going up +from Panama was Judge Terry, of Louisiana, who killed United States +Senator Broderick in a duel, and who was years afterward +assassinated.</p> +<p>"In these early days there was a contest between Northern and +Southern pioneers whether California should come in the Union a +free or a slave State. Broderick, a Democrat from the city of New +York, represented the Northern sentiment, and was supported by the +Whigs of the State. Common labor at that time was $16 per day, +payable in gold. It was more from pride than from any thing to do +with the moral question of slavery. They did not want to come in +competition with slave labor. The Northern element predominated, +and California came in a free State. Its first constitution was +written by George Washington Sherwood, who was a Democratic member +of the New York Legislature from Washington county, and copied +after the constitution of this State.</p> +<p>"California may be said to be the child of the State of New +York; her citizens may be said to have been pre-eminent in its +development and present greatness.</p> +<p>"Abraham Schell was born in Gallupville, and proposes to be +buried in the neighboring village of Middleburgh, his wife's native +place, where he has erected a monument.</p> +<p>"They say that all Forty-niners who remained in California +either became millionaires or paupers. It seems that Mr. Schell was +one of the former. He was an unconditional Union man in the +rebellion, visiting the hospitals of the wounded soldiers, and +assisting them by his means, and the erection of this monument to +his nephew for his services in that war is but in accord with his +acts of patriotism at that time."</p> +<p>The above article inspired this undertaking at this time. I +expected to find my friend on at the dedication of the monument, +and thought I would have the manuscript ready on his arrival and +submit it to him, and propose to have him go in partnership with me +in its publication, and have him revise it with me. He was a man of +high literary attainments, and an experienced Forty-niner, who +could have added many important events to it that did not come +under my observation. He was wealthy, and had the means to bring it +properly before the public.</p> +<br> +<a name="DEATH"></a> +<h2>DEATH OF A FORMER SCHOHARIAN.</h2> +<p>Intelligence reaches us of the death of Abraham Schell, at his +home at Knight's Ferry, California, in the early part of February. +Mr. Schell was seventy-six years old, and was a native of this +county, having been born in the town of Wright. At the time of the +gold excitement in 1849 he was in the mercantile business in +Albany, but sold out and joining a company of friends journeyed to +California, where he invested his means to good advantage and +became highly successful, amassing a large fortune. His vineyards +and their product have long been celebrated. A man of independent +thought and fine literary attainments, he was one of the sons of +Schoharie county, whose enterprise and intellectual culture we may +take just pride in.</p> +<p>His remains are deposited in a vault there, to be brought here +in the spring by his nephew, and interred in their final resting +place in the cemetery at Middleburgh, where he has a $2,000 +monument erected.</p> +<p>We learn from Dr. Knower that the proposed monument to his +nephew at Old Stone Fort will undoubtedly be erected, as it has +been contracted for, but the full details he will not be posted on +until the arrival of the nephew in the spring.</p> +<p>The above will show that death, which plays an important hand in +the events of human life, intervened; so I have gone on alone and +submit it to the public, such as it is. I hope and trust it may +meet the approval of all Californians, more particularly of those +of the days to which it refers. If they will give their approval, +it will add to the happiness and gratification of one of their +compatriots of those early days of the pioneers and founders of the +State of California. What California has become since, we, at that +time, had no realization of. Instead of conceiving it an utter +impossibility of ever building one railroad across the continent, +we now have five. Instead of conceiving the idea that it would +never be an agricultural country, it may be said to be the vineyard +and wine producing country of the world, and it has a greater +variety of productions than most any other land.</p> +<p>The city of San Francisco, when I first entered it, had not as +many good buildings as a common eastern village. Now it has a +population of nearly four hundred thousand, and edifices that cost +millions. It has produced more millionaires, from persons that went +there poor, than any other country before in the history of the +world, and more money has been donated to science and education by +those successful pioneers, who were the creators of their own +fortune in the same time, than all the rest of the world in the +past forty-five years, since the days of the Forty-niners.</p> +<p>Lick's institution for the science of astronomy, Leland +Stanford's twenty millions to the Alto University of Learning, open +to all students, are illustrations of the above statements.</p> +<p>The foundation of the fortunes of many bankers and wealthy +capitalists of the East were made in California in the days of the +Forty-niners. Mill, the owner of the great building at the corner +of Broadway and Wall street, the ground on which it stands costing +a million, who is many times a millionaire, went from Sing Sing, in +this State, a poor boy in 1849. Armour, the great millionaire +cattle dealer of Chicago, made his first money there in those days, +which laid the foundation of his great fortune, and many others I +can recall to mind too numerous to mention.</p> +<p>While all did not succeed, as they never do in any human +enterprise, some got discouraged, others fell by the way and laid +down and died from disappointment, yet others more than realized +their most fabulous conception of wealth. I was told when I was a +boy if I went where the sun set and dug for gold I would find it. +When I became a man I went three thousand miles in the direction of +the sun setting and dug and found gold. It is not a dream, for as I +close this writing I see on my little finger a gold ring made from +the gold I there dug, which has been there for forty-five years. It +is so fine that it has been wearing away, and it is not more than +one-fourth the size it was when I first put it on, and time is +likewise wearing on me, and it will probably last as long as I do, +and we will disappear together, as Shakespeare says, "besmeared +with sluttish time."</p> +<p>THE END.</p> +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="APPENDIX"></a> +<h2>APPENDIX.</h2> +<p>It was the brains and statesmanship of Wm. L. Marcy, when he was +secretary of war under President Polk, that inaugurated and +generaled the movements that resulted in our securing possession of +California—by his expeditions, sent by sea and by land, of +regular forces, followed by the volunteer regiment of one thousand +men, under the command of Col. Jonathan Stevenson, as the following +able State paper indicates:</p> +<p>[Confidential.]</p> +<center><img src="./images/illus192a.png" height="450" width="361" +alt=" W.L. MARCY."></center> +<p>WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, <i>June</i> 3, 1846.</p> +<p>SIR.—I herewith send you a copy of my letter to the +governor of Missouri for an additional force of one thousand +mounted men. The object of thus adding to the force under your +command is not, as you will perceive, fully set forth in that +letter, for the reason that it is deemed prudent that it should +not, at this time, become a matter of public notoriety; but to you +it is proper and necessary that it should be stated.</p> +<p>It has been decided by the president to be of the greatest +importance in the pending war with Mexico to take the earliest +possession of Upper California. An expedition with that view is +hereby ordered, and you are designated to command it. To enable you +to be in sufficient force to conduct it successfully this +additional force of a thousand mounted men has been provided, to +follow you in the direction of Santa Fe, to be under your orders or +the officer you may leave in command at Santa Fe.</p> +<p>It cannot be determined how far this additional force will be +behind that designated for the Santa Fe expedition, but it will not +probably be more than a few weeks. When you arrive at Santa Fe with +the force already called, and shall have taken possession of it, +you may find yourself in a condition to garrison it with a small +part of your command (as the additional force will soon be at that +place), and with the remainder, press forward to California. In +that case you will make such arrangements as to being followed by +the reinforcements before mentioned, as in your judgment may be +deemed safe and prudent. I need not say to you that in case you +conquer Santa Fe (and with it will be included the department of +the State of New Mexico), it will be important to provide for +retaining safe possession of it. Should you deem it prudent to have +still more troops for the accomplishment of the object herein +designated, you will lose no time in communicating that opinion on +that point, and all others connected with the enterprise, to this +department. Indeed you are hereby authorized to make a direct +requisition for it upon the governor of Missouri.</p> +<p>It is known that a large body of Mormon emigrants are en route +to California for the purpose of settling in that country. You are +desired to use all proper means to have a good understanding with +them, to the end that the United States may have their co-operation +in taking possession of and holding that country. It has been +suggested here that many of these Mormons would willingly enter +into the service of the United States and aid us in our expedition +against California. You are hereby authorized to muster into +service such as can be induced to volunteer; not, however, to a +number exceeding one-third of your entire force. Should they enter +the service they will be paid as other volunteers, and you can +allow them to designate, so far as it can be properly done, the +persons to act as officers thereof. It is understood that a +considerable number of American citizens are now settled on the +Sacramento river, near Sutter's establishment, called "Nueva +Helvetia," who are well disposed toward the United States. Should +you, on your arrival in the country, find this to be the true state +of things there, you are authorized to organize and receive into +the service of the United States such portion of these citizens as +you may think useful to aid you to hold the possession of the +country. You will in that case allow them, so far as you shall +judge proper, to select their own officers. A large discretionary +power is invested in you in regard to these matters, as well as to +all others, in relation to the expedition confided to your +command.</p> +<p>The choice of routes by which you will enter California will be +left to your better knowledge and ampler means of getting accurate +information. We are assured that a southern route (called the +Caravan route, by which the wild horses are brought from that +country into New Mexico) is practicable, and it is suggested as not +improbable that it can be passed over in the winter months, or at +least late in autumn. It is hoped that this information may prove +to be correct.</p> +<p>In regard to routes; the practicability of procuring needful +supplies for men and animals, and transporting baggage is a point +to be well considered. Should the president be disappointed in his +cherished hope that you will be able to reach the interior of Upper +California before winter, you are then desired to make the best +arrangement you can for sustaining your forces during the winter, +and for an early movement in the spring. Though it is very +desirable that the expedition should reach California this season +(and the president does not doubt you will make every possible +effort to accomplish this object), yet if, in your judgment, it +cannot be undertaken with a reasonable assurance of success, you +will defer it, as above suggested, until spring. You are left +unembarrassed by any specific directions in the matter.</p> +<p>It is expected that the naval forces of the United States which +are now, or will soon be in the Pacific, will be in possession of +all the towns on the seacoast, and will co-operate with you in the +conquest of California. Arms, ordnance, munitions of war, and +provisions to be used in that country, will be sent by sea to our +squadron in the Pacific for the use of the land forces.</p> +<p>Should you conquer and take possession of New Mexico and Upper +California, or considerable places in either, you will establish +temporary civil government therein, abolishing all arbitrary +restrictions that may exist, so far as it may be done with +safety.</p> +<p>In performing this duty, it would be wise and prudent to +continue in their employment all such of the existing officers as +are known to be friendly to the United States, and will take the +oath of allegiance to them. The duties of the custom-house ought, +at once, to be reduced to such a rate as may be barely sufficient +to maintain the necessary officers without yielding any revenue to +the government. You may assure the people of these provinces that +it is the wish and design of the United States to provide for them +a free government with the least possible delay, similar to that +which exists in our territories. They will then be called on to +exercise the rights of freemen in electing their own +representatives to the territorial legislature. It is foreseen that +what relates to the civil government will be a difficult and +unpleasant part of your duty, and much must necessarily be left to +your own discretion. In your whole conduct you will act in such a +manner as best to conciliate the inhabitants and render them +friendly to the United States.</p> +<p>It is desirable that the usual trade between the citizens of the +United States and the Mexican provinces should be continued, as far +as practicable, under the changed condition of things between the +two countries. In consequence of extending your expedition into +California it may be proper that you should increase your supply +for goods to be distributed as presents to the Indians. The United +States superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis will aid you +in procuring these goods. You will be furnished with a proclamation +in the Spanish language, to be issued by you and circulated among +the Mexican people on your entering into or approaching their +country. You will use your utmost endeavors to have the pledges and +promises therein contained carried out to the utmost extent.</p> +<p>I am directed by the president to say that the rank of brevet +brigadier-general will be conferred on you as soon as you commence +your movement toward California, and sent round to you by sea or +over the country, or to the care of the commandant of our squadron +in the Pacific. In that way cannon, arms, ammunition and supplies +for the land forces will be sent to you.</p> +<p>Very respectfully, your obedient servant,</p> +<p>W.L. MARCY,</p> +<p><i>Secretary of War</i>.</p> +<p>COLONEL S.N. KEARNEY, <i>Fort Leavenworth, Missouri.</i></p> +<br> +<br> +<hr class="full" noshade> +<br> +<br> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 12518-h.txt or 12518-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution.</p> + + + +<pre> +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +<a href="https://gutenberg.org/license">https://gutenberg.org/license)</a>. + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">https://www.gutenberg.org</a> + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + +<a href="https://gutenberg.org/etext06/">https://gutenberg.org/etext06</a> + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL">https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL</a> + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** +</pre> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus004a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus004a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3036fbe --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus004a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus008a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus008a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6360c65 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus008a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus074a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus074a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..0b74f03 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus074a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus086a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus086a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3b3acf1 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus086a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus090a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus090a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..80976b1 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus090a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus100a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus100a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..657de7a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus100a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus102a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus102a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..bea687e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus102a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus104a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus104a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..3fef7d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus104a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus116a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus116a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..07f6a58 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus116a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus140a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus140a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..9c78513 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus140a.png diff --git a/old/12518-h/images/illus192a.png b/old/12518-h/images/illus192a.png Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5b11703 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518-h/images/illus192a.png diff --git a/old/12518.txt b/old/12518.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bb4be93 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3398 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Adventures of a Forty-niner, by Daniel +Knower + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: The Adventures of a Forty-niner + +Author: Daniel Knower + +Release Date: June 4, 2004 [eBook #12518] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: US-ASCII + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER*** + + +E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading +Team + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 12518-h.htm or 12518-h.zip: + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518/12518-h/12518-h.htm) + or + (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518/12518-h.zip) + + + + + +THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER + +An Historic Description of California, with Events and Ideas +of San Francisco and Its People in Those Early Days + +By + +DANIEL KNOWER + +1894 + + + + + + +DEDICATED TO +Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, +Colonel John C. Freemont, and +Captain John A. Sutter, + +THE THREE PRE-EMINENT PIONEERS OF CALIFORNIA. + + + +[Illustration: DANIEL KNOWER.] + + + +PREFACE + +The discovery of gold in California, in 1848, with its other mineral +resources, including the Alamada quicksilver mine at San Jose, which is +an article of first necessity in working gold or silver ore; and the +great silver mines of Nevada, in 1860, the Comstock lode, in which, in +ten years, from five to eight hundred millions of gold and silver were +taken out, a larger amount than was ever taken from one locality before, +the Alamada quicksilver mine being the second most productive of any in +the world, the one in Spain being the largest, said to be owned by the +Rothschilds. Its effect upon the general prosperity and development of +our country has been immense, almost incalculable. Before these +discoveries the amount of gold in the United States was estimated at +about seventy millions, now it is conceded to be seven hundred millions. +The Northern Pacific coast was then almost unpopulated. California a +territory three times as large as New York and Oregon and the State of +Washington, all now being cultivated and containing large and populous +cities, and railroads connecting them with the East. Why that country +should have remained uninhabited for untold ages, where universal +stillness must have prevailed as far as human activity is concerned, is +one of the unfathomable mysteries of nature. It is only one hundred and +twenty-five years since the Bay of San Francisco was first discovered, +one of the grandest harbors in the world, being land-locked, extending +thirty miles, where all the vessels of the world could anchor in safety. +The early pioneers of those two years immediately after the gold was +discovered (of which I am writing) are passing away. As Ossian says, +"People are like the waves of the ocean, like the leafs of woody marvin +that pass away in the rustling blast, and other leaves lift up their +green heads." There is probably not five per cent of the population of +California to-day, of those days, scenes and events of which I have +tried to portray. Another generation have taken their places who can +know but little of those times except by tradition. I, being one of the +pioneers, felt it a duty, or an inspiration seemed to come over me as an +obligation I owed to myself and compatriots of those times, to do what I +could to perpetuate the memory of them to some extent in the history of +our country as far as I had the ability to do it. + +THE AUTHOR. + + + +THE CALIFORNIA PIONEER SOCIETY. + +The California Pioneer Society was organized in August, 1850. The +photograph of their building appears on the cover of this book, W.D.M. +Howard was their first president. Among their early presidents, and +prominent in the days of Forty-niners, were Samuel Branan, Thomas +Larkins, Wm. D. Farewell, and James Lick--who liberally endowed it. + +[Illustration: BUILDING OF THE SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERS.] + +It was organized for the purpose of perpetuating the memory of the +events of those days and for the benefit and mutual protection of its +members. No person was eligible for membership except he had arrived in +California before the 1st of January, 1850, and the descendants of +Forty-niners when arriving at the age of twenty-one are eligible. At the +opening of the World's Fair in San Francisco in January last, in the +ceremonies in the marching of the procession through the streets of the +city, they were received with the greatest enthusiasm and cheers, which +was a marked manifestation of the veneration in which they are held by +the people of California. + + + +THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER. + +The writer was practising his profession in the city of Albany, his +native place, in 1848, when reports came of the discovery of gold in +California. In a short time samples of scales of the metal of the river +diggings were on exhibition, sent to friends in the city in letters. +Many of Colonel Stevenson's regiment had been recruited in that city. +Soon these rumors were exaggerated. It was said that barrels of gold +were dug by individuals named. Soon the excitement extended all over the +country, and the only barrier to wealth, it seemed, was the difficulty +of getting to the Eldorado. Why the discovery of gold there should have +produced so much excitement cannot be fathomed. It seemed an era in +human affairs, like the Crusades and other events of great importance +that occur. Your correspondent became one of its votaries, and organized +a company to go to the gold rivers and secure a fortune for all +interested in it, and it seemed all that was required was to get there +and return in a short time and ride in your carriage and astonish your +friends with your riches. Suffice it to say, this company was fully +organized (with its by-laws and system of government drawn up by the +writer), and sailed from the port of New York on the ship _Tarrolinter_ +on the 13th of January, 1849, to go around Cape Horn, arriving in San +Francisco on the following July. From that time I became absorbed in all +the news from the gold regions, and losing confidence somewhat in the +certainty of a fortune from my interest in the company, and reading of +the high price of lumber, the scarcity of houses, and the extraordinary +high wages of mechanics there, conceived the project of shipping the +materials for some houses there, having all the work put on them here +that could be done, thus saving the difference in wages, and to have +them arrive there before the rainy season set in, and thus realize the +imaginary fortune that I had expected from my interest in the company. +In the following spring I had twelve houses constructed. The main point +upon which my speculation seemed to rest was to get them to San +Francisco before the rainy season commenced. I went to New York to +secure freight for them in the fastest vessel. Fortunately for me, as I +conceived at the time, I found the day before I arrived in New York, the +_Prince de Joinville,_ a Havre packet ship, had been put up to sail for +the port of San Francisco, and as yet had engaged no freight. I made a +bargain with them at once to take my houses at sixty cents per square +foot, and had the contract signed, half to be delivered at the side of +the ship by such a date and the other half at a subsequent date. I +delivered the first half of the houses on the time agreed, sending them +down the Hudson river by a barge on a tow. I sent the second half on a +barge to get there on the day they were due, apprehending no trouble, I +going down myself a few days in advance. They commenced complaining at +the ship that they would not have room for the balance of my houses on +board, although I had their written contract to take them at sixty cents +per foot. + +There was great California excitement about this time, and other parties +had come to the conclusion that the _Prince de Joinville_ was probably +the fastest ship taking freight for San Francisco. I saw them accept of +offers at $1.50 per foot, when their contract with me was for less than +half that price, which would make a difference of several thousand +dollars in their favor. So, if the balance of my houses did not arrive +within the time stated in the contract, they would not be taken on that +vessel, and my speculation ruined. The time was up the next day at +twelve o'clock. I was down on the Battery the next morning early +watching for the tow, with the barge with my houses. The ship was at the +dock in the East river. About ten o'clock, A.M., I had the good fortune +to see the barge rounding the Battery. I cried out to the captain to cut +loose from the tow, employ the first steam tug and I would pay the bill, +which he did, getting on the side of the vessel by eleven o'clock, thus +saving my contract by one hour. But they did not commence taking them on +board, so the captain of the barge put a demurrage of $20 per day for +detention. In the meantime, I had bought my ticket to sail by the +steamer _Georgia_ to the Isthmus to go on the 1st of July which was but +a few days off. They, seeing that I had them on my contract, came to me +and said that my houses should go on their ship according to contract, +if they had to throw other freight out, and that they would sign a +regular bill of lading for all the material deliverable to me upon the +arrival of the _Prince de Joinville_ at the port of San Francisco, and +take my carpenters' specifications for the description of them, which +seemed all right to me. + +The following is an article from the _Albany Evening Atlas_ of June 23, +1849: + + "CALIFORNIA HOUSES. + + "Our estimable fellow citizen Dr. Knower, who is to start + for California by the Crescent City _via_ Panama, is about + to ship to that place twelve houses, complete and ready to + put up on arrival at San Francisco. The venture is a costly + one, the freight on the material approaching the cost of as + many frame buildings in this quarter, and the projector, we + think, has managed the speculation with great foresight and + judgment. The best timber has been selected, and the best + work men employed, and a plan of architecture pursued, + which is supposed to offer the greatest advantages with the + most economical expenditures of material. Four of these + buildings are 18 feet front and 25 feet deep. A partition + running lengthways divides the buildings into two rooms, and + the stairs leads to a second platform, which is large enough + for bedrooms, or for storing materials and tools of miners. + Two others are 18 feet front and 18 feet deep, with a small + extension in the rear of 8 feet. Two are 16 feet in front + and 22 feet deep, with the entrance on the gable front; and + the four others are 18 feet front by 14 deep. The sides of + the building will be composed of a double framework of + boards planed, grooved and tongued, fitting air tight on + each side of the timber, the interval between them being + either filled with the moss of the country or left vacant, + the confined column of the air being found sufficient to + keep off the excess of cold or heat. The roofs of all the + buildings shed from the front, except two of which are of + gable shape. The roofs are to be made of solid, + close-fitting planks, covered with fine ticking and coated + with the patent indestructible fire-proof paint, and + applications which our citizens have just begun to use here, + and which they have, found entirely successful. + + "The houses can be easily transported to the placers or may + be put up on the sea-board. We should suppose that the + numerous land-owners who are speculating on the prospects of + future cities would be glad to give the land necessary for + the location of this village. + + "The houses go by the _Prince de Joinville_, a first-class + vessel, which leaves New York soon." + +I sailed on the steamer which left New York at 5 P.M., July 1, 1849. +Friends were there to see me off, but there were no persons on the boat +that I had ever seen before--I was wondering who would be my first +acquaintance. + +Being very tired, I retired soon to my berth, and woke up the next +morning on the broad ocean. Two days of sea sickness and I was all right +again. There were about one thousand passengers from all parts of our +country. I tried to fathom the motives and standing of different ones. +Colonel B. from Kentucky, an aristocratic-looking man, with his slave +for a body servant, who could not have been bought for less than $1,500 +in Kentucky, where slavery existed at that time. Why a man in his +circumstances should be going to California to seek gold I could not +fathom. One day a party of us were seated around the table talking +matters over. It was proposed that each should reveal to the others what +he expected to do and his motives for the expedition. We each related +our expectations and the motives that had inspired us. My aristocratic +friend was one of the party. My curiosity was at its height to know his +views. He said: "Well, gentlemen, you have all been candid in your +statements, and I shall be the same; I am going to California to deal +Faro, the great American gambling game, and I don't care who knows it." + +Later on in my narrative, I shall have occasion to refer to Colonel B. +again under other circumstances. The fourth day out being the fourth of +July, was duly celebrated on the steamer in true American style. Our +course was to the east of Cuba. We passed in sight of the green hills of +San Domingo to our left, and in sight of Jamaica to our right, crossing +the Caribbean sea, whose grand, gorgeous sunsets I shall never forget. I +could not buy a ticket in New York for the steamer from Panama to San +Francisco, but was informed at the office in New York that sixty tickets +were for sale in Panama by Zackery, Nelson & Co., the American Consul, +who were agents for the steamer on the Pacific side. I naturally +supposed that those who offered their money first for those tickets +could buy them. The price was $300 for the first cabin, and $150 for +the second, from Panama to San Francisco; but a fraction of the +passengers had a ticket for the Pacific side. + +The objective point was to get to Panama to secure a ticket, so I made +an arrangement with four others; three were to take charge of the +baggage of the five, and take it leisurely, and Lieutenant M., of South +Carolina, and myself were selected to run an express across the Isthmus +and get there ahead of the other passengers and secure tickets for the +five, and try and be the first to land at Chagres. We came to anchor in +the bay. The captain announced that no passengers would be permitted to +go ashore until the government officials had inspected the vessel. A +boat came from shore with the officials. After a short stay the +officials went down the side of the steamer to their boat to return to +the shore. There was a guard to keep all but the proper persons from +getting into the boat. I had a small carpet bag in my hand, passed the +guard, slipped a $5 gold piece in his hands, and took my seat in the +boat, and, of course, passed as one of the officials, and was the first +passenger to land from the steamer. The first point to be made was to +secure a boat for passage up the Chagres river. I was recommended to +Colonel P., who was the head man in that business there. He was a +colonel in the Granadian army. I found him a full-blooded African, but +an active business man in his way. I got his price for a boat and two of +his best men, and then offered double the price if they would row night +and day, and an extra present to the men if they made good time, for +every thing seemed to depend on securing those tickets on the Pacific +side. By the time I had all my arrangements made, Lieutenant M. made his +appearance. He said he was the second passenger that landed from the +steamer. Then behold us in what they called a dug-out, a boat somewhat +similar to a canoe, with a little canopy over the center that you could +crawl under to lay down with the two naked natives, with the exception +of a cloth around their loins, neither understanding each other's +language, to whom we could only communicate by signs. At 4 P.M., +starting for Gorgona, fifty-five miles up the river, where we were to +land and take mules for Panama. Eight miles was the first stopping +place. We felt elated that we had got so good a start of all the other +passengers. The denseness of the vegetation first attracted our +attention on the banks of the river. The trees, the vines, the +shrubbery, the vines clinging to the trees, hanging in all fantastic +shapes, it seemed to be impenetrable, an ocean of green, unlike any +thing we had ever seen before. + +Early in the evening we arrived at the first stopping place, eight miles +on our way up the river, where we both made ourselves at home, excited +at the strangeness of the scene, surrounded by the thatched huts of the +natives, who were having a dance on the square in the village. After we +had been there an hour, we thought our men had their rest, and it was +time to go on according to our contract, to be rowed night and day. + +In the meantime it seems the natives had taken some offense at +Lieutenant M.'s familiarity, and they appeared with handles of long +knives projecting back of their necks in a threatening manner. We +likewise learned that that was the home of one of our men, and that he +proposed to stay there all night in violation of the contract. So we had +a consultation to decide what to do to get away. It was pitch dark; we +laid our plan. Lieutenant M. beckoned one of the men away from the dance +as if he wanted to give him something, and drew his pistol on him and +marched him down to the boat, while I, with a pistol, kept him there +while he went for the other man. + +After a while he came with him and we got them both in the boat and +started. About this time there was a storm came up with the rain, and +thunder and lightning, as the elements can only perform in that way in +the tropics, surrounded by impenetrable darkness, and to us an unknown +river, with its serpents and alligators, with our two naked savages, +that we only got in the boat by force, and, of course, could not feel +very friendly toward us. Expecting to be fired on from the shore, if +they could see us through the darkness, we took our departure from our +first landing place on the Chagres river, surrounded by romance enough +to satisfy the most romantic imagination in that line. Our men kept +steadily to work. After a while the clouds broke away, the moon showed +itself, and we made good progress that night. We had no trouble with our +men after that. The colonel at Chagres had evidently given us his best +man. They found that we were masters of the situation and it was for +their interest to submit. We treated them kindly after that, and all +went well, for we passed every boat we came to. I shall never forget the +look of despair at two Frenchmen, evidently gentlemen, as we went by +them, and they informed us the length of time they had been coming up +the river, and that they could do nothing with their men. That afternoon +we came in sight of a thatched hut on the banks, evidently a ranch. We +thought it for our interest to rest. We saw a man whom we took for the +proprietor, entirely naked, rubbing his back against a post. On landing +and approaching him he excused himself for a short time, and returned +dressed, walking with the air of a lord of a manor, which dress +consisted of a coarse bagging shirt, coming down to his knees. We +arrived the next day at 11 A.M., at Gorgona, and took our dinner at the +hotel kept by the Alcalde of the place, and bargained with him for a +guide and three mules to continue our journey to Panama. As soon as our +guides and mules were ready, about 1 P.M., we started for Panama. We +soon got enough of our mules by being thrown a number of times over +their heads. They did not understand our language. "Get up and go +along," was Greek to them, but when the guide said "mula vamous" they +knew what it meant. On reaching the place where we were to stay all +night, we arose in the morning refreshed, but concluded to leave our +mules and make the rest of the way a-foot, as we considered them a +nuisance, and as we had no baggage but my little satchel previously +referred to, in which I had bills of lading of my houses, they being +consigned to me, the specifications of my carpenter's schedule, my +letters and a gold chronometer watch, worth $250, belonging to H., a +broker in New York, a friend, and a bottle of the best brandy, which he +presented to me to keep off the fever in crossing the Isthmus. This bag +I handed to the guide boy, about seventeen years of age, taking out the +brandy bottle. The watch I was to sell, for he had two nephews who had +gone to California, and if they were in need, to supply their wants. I +did not meet them; sold the watch for $500 to Mr. Haight, one of the +owners of the Miners' Bank in San Francisco, and remitted the money to +my friend, so I shall not refer to the watch again. + +We were walking on at a free pace, our guide boy following behind. +Looking back after awhile we could not see him. We stopped and waited +some time, but he did not come, so we thought we would go on and he +would follow. The result was we lost our way and craved for a sight of +the Pacific ocean with all the ardor that Gilboa could have done, the +first Spanish discoverer of it, and on the same route, after our +wanderings all day, almost without hope, until four in the afternoon, we +came to a stream of water; oppressed with the heat of the tropics and +fatigued I threw myself in the water. Lieutenant M. exclaimed: "Do not +give up in that way." "I am not giving up," I replied; "only refreshing +myself." In a short time he did the same thing. As we lay there we +thought we heard voices. In looking back who should we see but one of +our countrymen, the most gladdening sight to us. We felt saved at once. +We asked him if he had any provision. He said he thought not. Then he +said one of his companions might have a little piece of ham left and +some crackers. He said there were three of them, and they would soon be +there, and when they came one of them had some bacon and a few crackers, +which he gave to us. The eating of it soon refreshed us. As I had some +of the brandy left in the bottle, I extended it to them, which they were +very glad to receive. Explanations ensued. We, by chance, had struck the +Crusos road, and were but ten miles from Panama. They had come from +Philadelphia in a brig, and had started across from Crusos, the head of +boating on the Chagres river, and had been from two to three weeks +getting so far across the Isthmus, and were perfectly astonished at the +rapidity with which we had come. So we joined them and arrived in Panama +that evening. Lieutenant M. and myself were the first of the one +thousand passengers of the _Georgia_ to enter the city. The office of +the agents of the Pacific steamers was closed. I went, the first thing +in the morning, to purchase the five tickets for our party. Alas for +human expectation! I was informed it would be several weeks before the +steamer would sail. She had not yet returned from the first trip to San +Francisco. They said there were but sixty tickets for sale, and they +would not be offered until a few days before the departure of the +steamer. Of course, all we could do was to abide our chances of getting +them. The city was walled around and dyked like those of the Middle +Ages. Toward the bay the wall was one hundred feet high by twenty broad. +The city had been on the decline for most a hundred years. We could see +the ruins of what it once had been. At one time Spain owned all South +America, Mexico, California, Louisiana and Florida. Panama was the only +port of entry on the Pacific coast, and controlled its commerce. As you +enter the gates of the walled city there is a chapel just inside, where +the lights are always burning on its altars. The first thing on entering +all good Catholics enter, kneel and make their devotions, seeking the +protection of the patron saint of the city. The head alcalder of the +city was a Castilian Spaniard, a venerable-looking gentleman, white as +any Northern man, evidently of Scandinavian descent, who ages back +conquered Spain and divided the land up among themselves and became its +nobility, from whom the present rulers of Spain are descendants. It is +said that when conquered, the original inhabitants of Spain, to a great +extent, fled to their vessels, put to sea, and found the island of +Ireland, from which the present inhabitants are descendants. The second +alcalder was a negro as black as I have ever seen. + +In the city of Panama in its days of prosperity, when under Spain, the +higher classes must have lived in great luxuries, the negroes their +slaves. The natives the peons were in a condition similar to slavery, +they could not leave the land as long as they owed any thing. But the +despotism of old Spain became so great that when they struck for +freedom, all classes united. They gave freedom to the negroes and the +peons, and even the priests of the Catholic church had been so +tyrannized over by the mother church in Spain that they joined the +revolutionists and all classes are represented in the government. I +called at a watchmaker's to have a crystal put in my watch. Two brothers +had furnished rooms like a parlor. I could not speak Spanish, nor they +English. I could speak a little French. I found they could speak it +fluently. I asked them where they learned it. They said, "At the Jesuit +college at Granada." Then one, of them, when he learned that I was from +the United States, went to the piano and played Hail Columbia as a +compliment to my country, which would trouble most of us to do the same +for their country. + +There are now great trees growing up in the ruins of what was once its +great cathedral. The freebooter Morgan is said to have plundered one of +its altars of a million of gold and silver, and massacred many of its +inhabitants, perpetrating on them the atrocities that their ancestors +had upon the original natives. It is said that when Pizarro captured +Peru and took the Inca, their king, prisoner, he issued a decree that if +his subjects would fill a room with gold, he would release him, which +they did. Instead of doing it, he sentenced him to be burned at the +stake, and only commuted it to hanging on condition that he confessed +the Christian religion. Madam Roland, when she was about to be +guillotined in the French revolution, exclaimed, "O Liberty, what +crimes have been committed in thy name." O Christianity, what terrible +atrocities have been perpetrated in thy name! + +Panama is a healthy city to those acclimated, facing a beautiful bay, +unlike Chagres, on this side of the Isthmus of Darien, which is the most +unhealthy spot on this continent. Excuse this diversion, I must get back +to my subject, the days of the forty-niners. + +I stopped at the American Hotel. I was somewhat in a dilapidated +condition from the experiences of my trip from Chagres. The waiter in my +room at the hotel took the best of care of me. I soon found he was no +ordinary waiter. He had resigned a position in Washington of $2,000 a +year to go to the gold Eldorado. He had been in Panama several months, +and had been taken down with the fever twice, which had exhausted his +funds and was working at the hotel for his board, but never thought of +turning back. He was bound for California. He was quite enfeebled from +the effects of the fever. He got hold of my sympathies and secured my +friendship. (More of him anon.) I had been here four or five days +without seeing our guide, the boy with my satchel, containing my +valuables, particularly the bills of lading of my houses. I was in a +quandary and anxiety about it, not knowing what to do, when one day as I +was going to dinner, something pulled my coat from behind, and looking +around, what should I see to my great joy and satisfaction but the +native boy with my satchel, contents there all safe. It was an instance +of honesty that would do honor to any nation. I gave some honest +Catholic priest credit for it. The boy had evidently been instructed +what to do. + +The great objective point now was, how to get to San Francisco. There +was no hope for a sailing vessel from this place, for we saw one return +for water that had been chartered by a party that had been out three +weeks, and scarcely got out of sight of the city. There is very little +chance for a sailing vessel from there until they get west several +hundred miles, and strike the trade winds. The chances were better with +the sailing vessel to start from New York and go around Cape Horn. So +the only hope seemed to be the steamer with its sixty tickets and with +from one thousand to fifteen hundred passengers waiting to buy them, all +seeking to bring some influence to bear to secure one. I saw in the +office of the steamer agent a young man, the book-keeper, whom I took a +fancy to, and sought his acquaintance. I found he was from Hudson, N.Y., +and I, from Albany, both from the banks of the Hudson river. It ripened +into a warm friendship. I explained my situation to him, and my desire, +if it was possible, to get off on the steamer, but did not venture to +ask his influence to try and get me a ticket. At this time the cholera +and Panama fever was raging in full force. The acclimatednacclimated +Americans were dying in every direction. I was conversing at 8 A.M. with +a healthy looking man, one of our passengers, from New York. At 5 P.M., +the same day, I inquired for him and was informed that he was dead and +buried. He had been attacked with the cholera. It was a law of the city +that they must be buried within one hour after death from a contagious +disease. I was finally myself taken down with the Panama fever, lay +unconscious and unnoticed in my room at the hotel for a long time, and +then came to and found myself burning with the raging fever, had a +doctor sent for, and after a time recovered so I could venture out. In +the meantime, the steamer _Panama_ had arrived, and its day of sailing +for San Francisco announced. Zackary, Nelson & Co. had issued an order +that the sixty tickets would be put up to be drawn for. Those having the +winning numbers could have the privilege of purchasing them; that they +must register their names on such a day. Probably one thousand names +and but sixty tickets. The chances were small, but the only hope. On +that day, I went early to register, as I was still very weak from the +effects of the fever, and at my best in the morning. As I entered, there +was a great number there registering. When my turn came, and I was about +to put down my name, I looked behind the desk and saw my friend, the +book-keeper. He shook his head for me not to. I knew that meant +something favorable. I backed out. I returned at once to the hotel. In +the evening, about 8 o'clock, my friend came to my room with a second +cabin ticket. The joys of Paradise centered into my possession of that +ticket. I asked him how did he obtain it? He said he was about to resign +his position, and was going up on the same steamer to California. The +night before the drawing he asked Mr. Nelson if his services had been +satisfactory to him. He said they had. He then said if he should ask +him a favor on leaving him if he would grant it? He replied certainly. +He then said that he wanted one of those sixty tickets for a particular +friend. Mr. Nelson said, "If I had known what you was going to ask for, +I could not have granted it; but since I have pledged my word, I shall +give you the ticket." + +The next day passengers would be received on the steamer, which was +anchored out in the bay, some distance from shore. It was announced that +no sick persons could go on the steamer. As I was quite enfeebled from +my sickness, and was at my best in the morning, I thought I would make +an early start, so as to be sure and be aboard, as they were all to be +on board the vessel to sail early the next morning. I started out for a +boat to take me out to it with the highest elasticity of feelings, not +so much from the prospect of financial success as the idea that if I +could get North again my physical health would be restored, and the +steamer was going North. It seemed at times that I would have given +$1,000 for one good breath of Northern air. As I was going along, some +distance ahead of me, sitting at the doors of a doggery, with his head +almost between his knees, the picture of despair, was my Washington +friend, who waited on my room at the hotel when I first arrived, did me +many favors, and got hold of my sympathies. I said to myself, poor +fellow, I can do nothing for you. I must not let him see me, so I dodged +and passed him. When I got some distance by him my conscience smote me. +I will go back and speak to him; so I did. I had advised him a few days +previous to go and see some officers of the boat and offer to go up as +waiter without pay. I asked him if he had done so, and what luck? He +said there was no hope. They told him they had been offered $300 for the +privilege of going up as waiter. I then told him I had a ticket. I was +going then for a boat to go on board. That his case was desperate, and +that desperate cases required desperate remedies; that he had been down +twice with the fever, and the next time he would probably die; that he +had no friends there nor money; if he would do as I told him I would +stand by him and he must have nerve. He said to me: "How can a man have +nerve without a dollar in his pocket?" which exclamation has occurred to +me many times since. I asked him to hire a boat to get him out to the +vessel, and what it would cost. He said $2. I gave him the money and +told him to get his baggage. He said he had none. I told him to come +about 11 o'clock and go to work among the hands as if he was one of +them; that all were new hands and officers, and they would not know the +difference. He said that the captain had said if any person was caught +on board without a ticket they would be put on shore at the first +uninhabited island. I told him I would attend to that in his case. I +went on board and got my berth and baggage all in. About 11 o'clock I +saw my friend coming over the water making for the vessel. There was +considerable confusion on board at the time, passengers constantly +arriving, and he was not noticed, and he went to work among the hands as +if he had been regularly employed. In a short time the officers were +arranging the men in line to pass the baggage, and said to him: "You +stand here and help pass it," of course, taking him for one of the men +of the boat. In the evening he came and spoke to me. I said all right so +far. But in the morning, he said, they are going to examine every +person, then they will put me ashore. I said, keep a stiff upper lip. If +you get in trouble, come to me. + +The next morning the gun fired, the anchor was raised, and we sailed +down to Bogota, an island similar to Staten Island in the New York +Harbor. The health officers came out. Then my friend trembled and +thought the day of judgment had come to him, but the health officers +were on board but a short time. No examination of those on board took +place. The signal gun for departure was fired. We passed out of the +harbor. The bow of our vessel was pointed north, and we felt extremely +happy. I said to him, "This vessel is bound for San Francisco, and you +are aboard, and will get there as soon as I will." A few days after that +the mate was arranging the employment of the men, and when he came to my +friend's turn he said to him, "Who employed you? You are not an +able-bodied seaman." He made no reply. They could see he was a man of +intelligence, and his pale look showed he had been sick. It may have +moved the sympathies of the officer, who said to him, "This vessel is +crowded with people; it wont do for us to be short of water, and I will +put the water in your charge, and you must not let any passenger, or +even the steward, have any except according to the regulations, and if +you attend to that properly no other services will be required of you." +That took him off of the anxious seat and put him on the solid. In all +his adversities he never thought of turning back. That commanded my +esteem. His attentions to me, when sick, aroused my sympathies for him, +which good action on his part saved him. Of one thousand passengers +desirous of getting on that steamer, and there was room but for sixty on +the day of its departure; his chance looked the most hopeless, being +penniless, but he was one of the fortunate ones, while those who had +plenty of money were left. It illustrated the old maxim, "Where there is +a will there is a way." + +Nothing of interest occurred until we got to the port of Acupulco, the +largest place on the west coast of Mexico. We were about to enter the +harbor when a government boat with officials came out and ordered us to +stop. If we proceeded any further there would be "matter trouble" in +broken English. There were Americans on shore who had crossed over from +Vera Cruz for the purpose of taking this steamer. It would be a month +before there would be another one, and then there would be no certainty +of their getting aboard of that. The captain held a consultation of the +passengers, who all decided to have them come on board. They were our +countrymen and we would share our berths with them, although the vessel +was then crowded, and some of the passengers volunteered to row ashore +with the small boats to bring them aboard, which they did. When they +approached the shore there was a company of soldiers waded in the water +with pointed guns, forbidding them to approach any nearer. The Americans +who were on the bank informed them that the soldiers would fire, and +warning them not to approach any nearer, while bewailing their fate that +they had to be left, so they returned. Then the captain received notice +to leave in half an hour or the guns of the fort would open fire on us. +It was a bright moonlight night. The fort was on a high knoll just above +us, and could have blown us out of the water. So we thought discretion +was the better part of valor, and we had to leave. The laws of nations +were on their side. We were from an infected port, Panama, where cholera +prevailed. + +On board the steamer were some men of prominence. W.F. McCondery, from +Boston, a retired East India sea captain, a man of wealth, who had been +out of business for three years and craved for a more exciting life; who +started the largest commission-house in San Francisco, and had consigned +to him about all the shipments from Boston, and likewise the _Prince de +Joinville_ with my houses; Mr. G., from Liverpool, an Englishman, who +had about all the consignments from that city; Rothschild's nephew, who +had represented that house as a banker in Valparaiso, Chili, was going +to establish a branch of those great bankers' house in San Francisco; +Judge Terry, from Louisiana, who had the reputation at that time of +being a dead shot with a pistol, who afterward challenged United States +Senator Broderick to fight a duel, from political influences, and killed +him, and some years afterward was assassinated himself from a +disagreement with parties about a lawsuit. We came opposite Mazland at +the mouth of the Gulf of California, and took on board some passengers +and freight. + +The next incident in our voyage was when we came in sight of San Diego, +California, and saw the American flag floating from the flag staff. +There was an instantaneous shout went up from every American on board. +We were once more to be under its protection in our own country. + + Love of country, mystic fire from heaven, + To light our race up to stateliest heights 'tis given. + +We were entering the Golden Gate. It was but four miles to the harbor +where we cast anchor, opposite the city of San Francisco, which was the +goal of our hopes for so long a time, and which was about to be +realized; which was also the objective point from almost every part of +the world where adventurers are seeking to get. We had come three +thousand, five hundred miles since we left Panama. We engaged a row-boat +to take us ashore. My friend attended to getting my baggage out of the +boat, and went with me to the shore. He had signed no papers, and +entered into no bonds not to desert the vessel at San Francisco, as the +other sailors had. He was free to do as he pleased. + +I had the chills and fever all the way up, from the effects of the +Panama fever. My first idea was to get in good quarters, whatever +expense, to regain my health. I was informed that there was a good hotel +kept by a widow woman on Montgomery street, where we landed. Some of the +other passengers were going to stop there. I inquired the terms. They +said $5 per day. I thought I would try it for a while. My sleeping-room +was a mattress laid on the floor, with muslin partitions to separate us +from the next room. The table was very indifferent, no vegetables, which +I required, which we lacked on the ship coming up. Being in poor health, +I needed them. After being there a few days one of our passengers asked +me if I knew what the charges were. I said yes, $5 per day. He said it +was more; I had better ask again, which I did. I was informed it was $5 +for the room and extra for the meals. I paid my bill and looked out for +other quarters. I had brought in my baggage an Indian rubber mattress +and pillow which was folded up in a small space and could be blown up +with your breath and filled with air, made a soft bed, a pair of new +Mackinaw blankets and other things to provide for any contingency, and +took my meals at a restaurant, which were numerous, including the +Chinese which we often patronized, and found myself satisfactorily +quartered. It may not be inappropriate to make some general remarks +about the history of California. + +Although my subject is strictly on the days of forty-niners, which +consisted of about two years from the discovery of the gold, when it was +supposed that the future prosperity of the country depended exclusively +on the mining interest. How different it has turned out since has +nothing to do with my subject. I want to try to paint to the mind of the +reader the condition of California at that time, and the views of the +pioneers in those days. I am doing it in the form of a personal +narrative, as it enables me more distinctly to recall to my mind the +events of those days in which I was a participant. Such fluctuations of +fortune as then occurred, the world never saw before in the same space +of time, and probably never will again, where common labor was $16 per +day. There were some very interesting and truthful articles published in +the _Century_ magazine two years ago from the pen of the pioneers, but +there has been no book published as a standard work for the present and +future, and the participants in it are passing away, for it is +forty-five years since they occurred. California is three times larger +in territory than the State of New York. Its population before the +discovery of gold, including Indians and all, was but a few thousand. +Cattle could be bought for $1 per head, and all the land they ranged +upon thrown in the bargain for nothing. They were killed for their +hides, and the meat thrown away, as there was no one to eat it. + + +A FEW HISTORICAL ITEMS. + +San Francisco bay, first discovered the 25th of October, 1769. The first +ship that ever entered the harbor was the _San Carlos_, June, 1775. The +mission of Dolores founded by the Jesuit Fathers in 1769. Colonel +Jonathan Stevenson arrived at California with one thousand men on the +7th of March, 1847. The treaty of Hidalgo ceding California to the +United States by Mexico, officially proclaimed by the president, July 4, +1848. Gold first discovered by Marshall, January 9, 1848. January, 1848, +the whole white population of California was fourteen thousand, January, +1849, the population of San Francisco was two thousand. The three most +prominent publicmen at the time of my arrival in California were Colonel +Freemont, who had conducted an expedition overland; Colonel Stevenson, +who came by sea with one thousand men, appointed by William L. Marcy, +who was secretary of war during the conflict with Mexico, from whom I +had a letter of introduction as a family connection of Governor Marcy, +similar to the following letter to Brigadier Major-General P.F. Smith, +which was not delivered: + + ALBANY, _June_ 24, 1849. + + My Dear Sir--I desire to present to your favorable notice, + the bearer hereof, Dr. Daniel Knower. He is on the eve of + departing for California. He is a family connection of mine, + a gentleman of talents and respectability, and I commend him + to your favorable notice. + + Yours truly, + + WILLIAM L. MARCY. + + BRIG.-GEN. P.F. SMITH. + +I soon found the colonel one of the warmest of friends. Captain John A. +Sutter, who was a captain in the Swiss Guards of Charles the Tenth of +France, after the revolution of 1830 in that country, came to the United +States, who some years previous had wandered across the country to +Oregon, and the Russian Fur Company secured for him a large grant of +land from Mexico in California, on which the city of Sacramento now +stands, extending back from that city many miles to where the gold was +first discovered. He was having a raceway dug on the American river for +the purpose of erecting a saw-mill, as there was no lumber in the +country. He had constructed a fort some miles back from the Sacramento +river, where he made his home. The object of the Russian Fur Company was +to have a place where they could purchase grain, as there was none +raised there at that time, and they had a contract with him, and that +they were to send a vessel at such a time, and he was to settle up the +country and cultivate it. Sutter was the most social and generous of +men. The latch-string of his cabin was always on the outside, and all +callers were welcome, and the hospitalities of the fort extended to all +callers. + +At the time of my arrival, on August 18, 1849, there were several +hundreds of ships anchored in the bay deserted by their crews, who had +gone to the mines. They could make more in one day there than their +wages would amount to in a month on the vessel. + +In the city a large portion of its population were living in tents. +There were not buildings enough. Vessels were constantly arriving loaded +with people from all parts of the world. As my health permitted I +investigated matters there. I took a walk out. I met what looked like a +laboring man. I asked him how long he had been there? He said two +months. I said to him: "And not gone up to the mines yet?" He said to me +he was in no particular hurry. He said he had a row-boat and made $20 a +day rowing passengers to and from the vessels (there was then no dock). +He had his boy with him, who gathered mussels and sold them. Between the +two they averaged $30 per day, which explained why he was in no hurry to +go to the gold diggings. + +Lumber was bringing fabulous prices. It looked very favorable for my +house ventures. Mr. G., the Englishman, had been very anxious to buy +them. He had seen the specifications of the carpenter on the steamer +coming up. On Saturday P.M. I called at his office. He asked me if I had +made up my mind to sell him the houses. I said to him: "If I should put +a price on them you would not take me up." He said "try me." I named a +price. He said he would take them and go to my lawyer to draw up the +contract. I said I would just as soon go to his (which was a fatal +mistake). I knew his was a State senator from Florida, and had come up +on the steamer with us. We found the lawyer in his office, and he +commenced drawing up the contract. I made my statement that I sold the +houses from my carpenter's specifications (not from any representations +I made myself), and from the bills of lading and from my insurance +policy, which ranked the ship _Prince de Joinville_, formerly a Havre +packet, classed A, No. 1. He was to deposit bills of lading of the ship +_St. George_ from Liverpool, consigned to him, in value to the amount of +$50,000, with a third party, as collateral security, that on the +arrival of the _Prince de Joinville,_ and the delivery of the houses, he +was to pay me the sum agreed upon. + +The lawyer, after writing a little, complained of a headache, and asked +if it made any difference if he put it off until Monday morning. I said, +Mr. G. had been very anxious to buy the houses, and I had not cared +about selling them to arrive, preferring to take my chances when the +vessel got here, but since I had consented to sell them, I preferred to +have it on the solid. I said, I supposed the transaction was not of +great importance to Mr. G., but I had all that I was worth in the world +at stake on the venture, and would prefer to have it closed now. He +commenced writing, and again complained of the headache. I then +consented to put it off until Monday morning at 10 o'clock. We both +pledged our honor to meet there at that time and consummate it. I was +there on Monday morning at the time designated. Mr. G. came in at 11 +o'clock and said he had changed his mind and would not take the houses. +I said all right, but his word of pledge of honor would have no value +with me hereafter. + +I would have made $18,000 profit, but I was selling them for a good deal +less than they would have brought if they had been there. Lumber was +selling as high as from three to four hundred dollars per thousand feet +in San Francisco at that time. But I was making certain of a good profit +and running no risk of what might happen in the future. + +I had another offer of a number of lots on Stockton street, the next +street above the plaza in the heart of the city, for six of the smaller +ones, which, if I had consummated, would have made my fortune. "There is +a tide in the affairs of men, which, if taken at the flood tide, leads +on to fortune, or, if not seized, are forever lost." (Shakespeare.) + +The ideas of the people there at that time was, that a railroad across +the continent, connecting California with the East, was entirely +impracticable. That there were one thousand miles of desert to cross, +where there was no water, and the Sierra Nevada mountains presented an +impassable barrier, and they thought how could it ever be an +agricultural country, when there was no rain for more than seven months +in the year. The idea of irrigation was not thought of then. How +different every thing has turned out since, I have nothing to do with. I +must be true to my subject, the days of the Forty-niners. + +As it would be, at least, three months before the ship could come in +with my houses, and my health had improved, I was anxious to get up to +the mines. I was informed that there was a party from Albany at the +Dutch bar, on the south fork of the American river, about eight miles +from Coloma, where gold was first discovered, with whom I was +acquainted. I found a sloop about to sail for Sacramento (there were no +steamers then) the starting point to the northern mine. I took passage +on board with all the passengers the boat could accommodate. I noticed +on the passage up that the mosquitoes were very large, with penetrating +bills. It was as much as we could do to protect our faces. + +The only important event on the passage was that a Jew had potatoes that +he was taking up on speculation, and that he was going to treat his +fellow passengers to some, one day at dinner. We were a little +disappointed when we found they were sweet ones, but still they were a +treat. Vegetables were scarce, potatoes selling from forty to sixty +cents per pound. After a few days we arrived at Sacramento, it being +about one hundred miles from San Francisco by water. There were no hacks +at the landing, nobody that wanted a job to carry your baggage. Governor +Shannon, of Ohio, was among the passengers. He had been minister to +Mexico, yet he had to carry his own baggage, and make several trips to +do it. One of the passengers assisted him. He was president of a mining +company organized in Ohio. + +It was evening. We stopped at a hotel, and I slept in my Mackinaw +blanket that I carried with me, on the dining-room floor. The next +morning after breakfast, about 9 o'clock, I went out on the front +portico to take observations of the place. The landlord was there. There +was a loaferish-looking fellow going by on the opposite side of the +street. The landlord cries out to him: "Bill, what will you charge to +chop wood for me from now until night?" He cries back, "What will you +give?" He replies, "$10." Bill answers back, "Can't chop for less than +an ounce," which was $16, and walked right on. It was evident that +common labor was not suffering there for want of employment. I was there +some days, and could find no one to post me how to get to Coloma. All +was excitement and bustle. While there, Sam. Brannan--who had built a +new hotel there (just finished), called the City Hotel--gave a free +entertainment for one day to the public. He must have expended $1,000 +for refreshments. He had been a Mormon preacher, and was a captain in +Colonel Stevenson's regiment. He was very enterprising and generous, a +prominent figure with the "Forty-niners." + +I saw an article in the paper a few years ago from a California +correspondent, giving a biography of him; that he was, at one time, +worth several millions, and went into some big enterprise--which I +cannot now recall--and was unfortunate and lost all his wealth, and that +he was, at that time, in San Francisco at a twenty-five-cent +lodging-house, and that he told him that he passed two men that day who +had crossed the street to avoid him, to whom he had furnished the money +from which they had made their fortunes. Well, I finally found an +Oregon man with a yoke of oxen, who was freighting goods up to Coloma. +He said he had seven hundred and fifty acres of land in Oregon, but no +cattle on it. He thought he would come to California and get gold enough +to buy them, and his wife was keeping a cake and pie stand on the +streets of that city. I never saw him after that trip, but coming with +so modest expectations, I have no doubt he was successful. + +We started on our journey in the afternoon. The country through which we +traveled looked as if it had been an old-settled land, and deserted by +its inhabitants. It seemed that we must come to a farm-house, but there +was none. There were scattering trees in the country and occasionally a +woods, but no dense forest. We made eight miles, then camped for the +night on the edge of a woods. I had brought no provisions with me, so I +offered him $1 per meal to eat with him, which was accepted. He made +tea, cooked some Indian meal, and had a jug of molasses; so we made a +very good supper. I got my satchel out of the wagon for a pillow, and +with my blankets made my bed on the ground under the wagon. I thought it +would keep the dew off, but there was none. + +There is no danger of taking cold sleeping on the ground in the dry +season, when it does not rain for seven months. He had set fire to a +dead tree to keep the grizzly bears off, and about the time I got +comfortably laid down, there was a pack of coyote wolves came howling +around. Amid those surroundings, the burning of the fire to keep the +grizzlies off and howling of the wolves, I fell asleep and did not wake +until morning, refreshed from my slumbers. After a breakfast similar to +the meal the night before, we proceeded on our journey, but the ox team +travelled so slow that in walking I got away ahead of it, and then got +tired of waiting for it to come up to me, and so went on alone. Toward +night I came to Mormon Island, the first gold diggings. I inquired if +there was a place where I could get quarters for the night. They said I +might, at the hospital. It was a log cabin with bunks in it, and what +was my astonishment to find the proprietor, a doctor from Troy, N.Y., an +old acquaintance. I was more than welcome. We were both delighted to see +each other. I to find such comfortable quarters, and he to meet with a +friend in the wilderness, and to hear the latest news from the East. He +got for me the best supper that the surroundings would afford; as I had +eaten nothing since morning, it was very acceptable, and he provided for +me the most comfortable of his bunks for sleeping. He informed me that +it was twenty-five miles from Coloma, and there was but one place on the +way where I could get water to drink. I started after breakfast, +refreshed. After travelling some miles, I came to the smoke of the +camp-fire of Indians, just ahead of me. It was rumored that the Oregon +men were in the habit of shooting an Indian on sight when they had a +chance. The Indians killed white men in retaliation, as they could not +make peace until they had killed as many whites as they had lost, +according to their ideas of equity. As I did not care particularly about +being one to make up the number, I struck off in a ravine and passed +around so as to avoid their camping ground and came to the road beyond +them. What truth there was about the shooting of them I could not say, +but it was currently reported at the time. About 4 o'clock, P.M., I got +to a stopping place six miles from Coloma. There I met a man with a long +beard, slouched hat, a sash around his body, a flannel shirt, evidently +a miner. I had a long talk with him. He posted me about the gold +diggings and I him about the news from the States. As we were about to +part, he asked me to take a drink. He inquired of the proprietor if he +had champagne? He said, yes, at $10 a bottle. The man said, pass us +down a bottle, which we drank together. He, evidently, had struck good +diggings. We parted, as I was anxious to get to Coloma before dark, +which I did, just as the sun was setting, having made twenty-five miles +in one day on foot. I found a regular tavern here, kept by a man from +Mississippi, with his family. I sat down to a regular table for my +supper, which seemed quite a treat. He informed me that he had no +bed-room for me; that I could sleep on the dining-room floor, or in his +barn. He had just had some new hay put in. I chose the latter. It was a +kind of a shanty building, but the soft bed of new hay was a luxury +after my twenty-five miles walk. + +I awoke the next morning refreshed. After my breakfast I took in the +place and went to the raceway where the first piece of gold was +discovered. There were three or four stores in the place to supply the +miners of the surrounding region. I got my direction how to find the +Dutch Bar, eight miles from there. Proceeding on my way, after going +about five miles, I came to a person, his face covered with a long +beard, whom I recognized, by the expression of his eyes, as a person who +I knew in Albany, and who belonged to the party I was seeking. He +informed me that I was within three miles of them, and he gave me plain +directions how to find them. I soon came to their camp and there was a +genial meeting and exchange of news. There were five in the company. +They had a tent and owned a pair of mules. I joined them, as I had not +come to depend on mining, as I never had been accustomed to physical +labor. At first I thought it was awful hard work, and that it was lucky +for me that I had not come to California depending on it, but after a +short time I got used to it and liked it. They took turns in cooking, so +each one had one day in the week that he did the cooking. We lived on +fried pork and flapjacks made from wheat flour fried in the fat of the +pork, tin cups for our tea and coffee, and tin dishes. We each had stone +seats, and a big one in the center for our table. At night we slept +under our tent. The gold rivers were not navigable. They were sunk way +down deep in the earth. When the rainy season sets in during the winter +months, and sometimes rains every day in the month, causing the snow to +melt on the Sierra Nevada mountains, where these streams take their +rise, will cause the water to rise often from ten to twenty feet in a +night, and in the course of ages has worn their depth down into the +earth, and is supposed to have washed out of the earth the scales of +gold that are found on the banks of the rivers. The first mining was a +very simple process. A party of three could work together to the best +advantage. A virgin bar was where the river had once run over and now +receded from it. Three persons worked together, one to clear off the +sand on the ground to within six inches of the hardpan. The top earth +was not considered worth washing, the scales of gold, being heavier, had +settled through it, but could not penetrate that portion of the earth +called the hardpan, so the earth within six inches of it was impregnated +with more or less gold, and one to carry the bucket to the rocker, and +the other to run the rocker, which was located close to the water. The +rocker was a trough about three feet in length with three slats in it +and a sieve at the upper end, on which the bucket of earth was thrown. +The man worked the rocker with one hand and dipped the water out of the +river with a tin-handled dipper. As he worked the rocker the fine earth +and scales of gold passed through the holes of the sieve and settled +behind the slats in the trough, and the stones and large lumps in which +there was no gold were caught in the sieve and thrown away. After a +certain number of buckets of earth had been run through in that way, the +settlings behind the slats in the trough were put in a milk-pan and the +water was allowed to run in the pan and the fine earth and sand would +float on the top of the water. You would let that run off. + +After a few operations of that kind you would see the yellow scales of +gold on the edge of the sand. You would continue that process until +there was but a little of the sand left; then you would take it with you +when you went to the tank and warm it by a fire to dry the sand; then +with your breath you would blow away the sand and have the gold, which +you carried in a buckskin bag, which was the currency of the country, at +$16 per ounce, and at the mint in Philadelphia was worth $18.25. I have +carried three hundred buckets in a day, and at twenty-five cents worth +of gold in a bucket, it would amount to $75, $25 to each man for his +day's work, which was frequently the average. In those days all it cost +for a party of three for capital to start mining was about $15. Then you +had the chances of striking a pocket. That was a cavity in the rocks +where gold had settled. In the course of ages, and where the strong +currents of the streams, when the rivers were high, could not reach it +to wash it out, I have known a person to take out $800 of gold in less +than an hour. The first miners, when they found gold on the banks of the +river, thought if they could only dig in the deep holes of the bed they +would find chunks of it, and they went to a big expense, and those who +had money hired laborers to assist in constructing raceways at $16 per +day, to change the current of the river; but when they had effected +their object and dug there they found no gold, for there was nothing to +prevent the strong current from carrying it off; but I knew a party to +draw off the water and expose the bed of the river, where there were +rapids, and they were successful, and the gold had settled down between +the crevices of the rocks, and the currents could not disturb it. + +There were some other kinds of diggings discovered different from the +river mining, called canons, one I know of, called the Oregon. It was +described like a tunnel, deep down in the earth, where a party of three +persons from near our locality went and returned in about three weeks +and had from three to five thousand dollars apiece, which they showed +me. It was not scale gold, but nuggets of all sizes. Of course, they had +unusual luck. + +On the river mining each person was entitled to so many feet, as long as +they left any implements of labor on it. No person would trespass upon +it; but if he took every thing away, then it was inferred he had given +it up, and anybody had a right to take it. All regulations were strictly +respected and every thing was safe, and a person told me that he would +not be afraid to leave his bag of gold in his tent. Every thing was +honorable and safe until the overland emigrants from western Missouri +arrived there. + +They were a different kind of people; more of the brute order. When +they saw a party of two or three that had a good claim, and they were +the strongest, they would dispossess them. (I suppose the same class +that raided Kansas in John Brown's time.) They became so obnoxious that +a respectable man would deny his State. + +And another corrupt element arrived by sea, the ex-convicts from Sidney. + +I went to Coloma one day to get supplies for the party. I rode one of +the mules, the other followed to be packed with the purchases. When I +bought what was wanted, I handed the storekeeper my bag of gold to pay +him. When he returned it to me, I found his statement made was between +three and four dollars less than I knew was in it. I informed him of the +discrepancy. He said he did not see how that could be; that he weighed +it right. He came in in a few minutes and apologized, saying that he had +weighed it in the scales that he used when he traded with the Indians. +It needs no comment to know that the Christian man is not always +superior to the Indian in integrity. There was an Indian who had struck +a pocket. He came to Coloma with $800 in gold dust that he got out in a +short time. He invested it all with the storekeepers in a few hours. He +had dressed himself in the height of fashion, including a gold watch. He +was dressed as no California Indian ever had been before. The gold he +could not eat nor drink. + +[Illustration: DRESSED AS NO CALIFORNIA INDIAN EVER WAS BEFORE.] + +How the gold came there is one of the mysteries of nature. One theory +is, that the Sierra Nevada mountains were once the banks of the Pacific +ocean, and all California had been thrown up from the bottom of the sea +from that depth where gold was a part of the formation of the earth, in +connection with quartz, and as all gold appears in a molten state, which +would go to corroborate this theory. A person informed me that he went +through a ravine where one side of the road was half of a large rock, +and on the other side, the other half. He could see where the two halves +would match each other exactly. Well, I lived that life for two months. +We had an addition to what I have described to eat--pork and beans on +Sunday, and Chili pudding. It had been baked and sweetened, and then +ground up like flour and put in bags. All you had to do was to moisten +it with water to eat it. All our flour came from that country, put up in +sacks of fifty and one hundred pounds each, but we had no vegetables. +One day we heard that they had dried-apple sauce at the hotel at Coloma +for dinner. The next day, Sunday, three of us walked eight miles to get +there to dinner to get a taste of it. We paid $2 apiece for our dinner, +and they had the sauce; it tasted so good that we did not begrudge the +price of the dinner and the walk back again. We were fully satisfied. + +The rainy season set in. It rained three days, and although it was +three or four weeks before it would be possible for my houses to arrive, +yet it was a new country and no bridges. The streams might get up so as +to be impassable, and the houses were consigned to me, and no one but +myself to receive them. I thought I had better get back to San Francisco +at once. What I was making in the mines was mere nothing to what I had +at stake in the houses. Although, to tell the truth, I never left a +place with more regret, as hard as the fare was. We were interested +every day in the work for gold, and did not know when we might make a +rich strike. My last day there it rained. Notwithstanding, a companion +and myself went out to dig for a couple of hours. When we returned, we +had $25 worth. That was the last of my mining. I started the next +morning for Sacramento afoot. I sold my pistol and blankets for an ounce +each, $16 apiece. On my route I met a man bound for the same place. We +joined teams and became very intimate. + +The only incident of importance was when we got within five miles of +Sacramento. We stopped at a log cabin and ordered dinner. A short time +after my companion came to me in some excitement and said he had looked +through the window and that they were cooking potatoes for dinner. I +could not believe the good news, and so went and looked for myself and +found it was true. I had not tasted one in two months. We took the +steamer _Senator_ that evening for San Francisco. It had been a Long +Island steamboat and had arrived since my departure for the mines. It +was the first steamer that had ever sailed the interior waters of +California, and had been put on to run from San Francisco to Sacramento. +I think it belonged to Grenell, Minton & Co., a prominent shipping firm +of New York city. Charley Minton had charge of it. Of course its profits +were great. But I could not sleep in my state-room berth; I had been so +long used to a hard bed I was restless, but we arrived safe the next +morning at San Francisco. The bulk of my book will be events that +occurred during my residence in that city. I scarcely know how to begin +to describe it. My efforts will be to portray them truthfully. To do so +I must continue in the form of a personal narrative. That is the only +way I can recall the events to my mind of so long ago. + +At this time more changes took place there in a month than in most any +other place in a year. Every thing was done by the month. Buildings were +rented by the month; money was loaned by the month; ten per cent per +month was the regular interest. There was but one bank, called the +Miners', on the corner of the plaza, owned by three parties. During my +absence a great boom had taken place--influenced by new arrivals and +most favorable news from the gold mining sections. This was the fall of +1849. The lots that I had thought of trading six of my houses for had +tripled in value, but lumber was still bringing fabulous prices and +every thing looked favorable for a big strike on my houses when they +arrived. Montgomery street was on the banks of the bay. There was one +pier at this time constructed from it in the bay, and a temporary pier +by Colonel Stevenson at the north beach. The city was growing up toward +Happy Valley. Portsmouth Square, the plaza, still had some of the adobe +buildings on it. The best hotel was the Parker House, on the west corner +of it. The plaza was sand, no vegetation on it. + +Rincon Point, on Telegraph Hill, was the spot where ships and steamers +were signalled. Steamers coming in but once a month, they brought the +last news from the East. The New York papers were peddled at $1 each. +Long lines of people were formed to get the mail, and you had to take +sometimes half a day before you could reach the office. Oakland, +opposite the bay, had no existence. Goat Island had plenty of wild +goats on it, and we could never imagine how the first goat ever got +there. There was no scarcity of meat--plenty of beef and grizzly bears +were hung out at the doors of the restaurants as a sign, and plenty of +venison. I can recall now to my mind, venison steaks that we would get +in the evening with their rich jellies on it. The luxuries of Asia were +coming in there. Many China restaurants with their signs from Canton or +Pekin. But there was a great scarcity of vegetables. Onions and potatoes +sold for forty cents per pound. + +A day or two after my arrival, my friend who came down with me from the +mines came to me and said that there were a lot of blankets to be sold +at auction; that he had no money, or he would buy them; that if I would +buy them he would take them up in the mines and peddle them out for me +for half of the profit. As I knew they were in great demand there--I had +sold, when I left there, mine for $16--I told him if he could buy them +for $4 per pair to bid them off and I would furnish the money to pay for +them. He came back in a short time and said he had bought them, and that +they came to $800. We had them taken to the steamer _Senator_ to ship to +Sacramento. We paid $10 a load to have them carted from the store where +they were bought to the steamer. (The result of this speculation later +on.) + +There were at this time several hundred vessels anchored in the bay, +deserted by their officers and crews. A ship could be bought for +probably one-third of what it was worth in New York, and I conceived the +project of buying a ship as soon as I sold my houses, which I expected +soon to arrive, being on so fast a ship as the _Prince de Joinville_, +and going myself to the Sandwich Islands and buying a load of onions and +potatoes, as I was informed that they could be bought as cheap there as +in the States, and ciphered out that one successful venture of that +kind would make my fortune. So I went among the idle ships to see what I +could do in that line, and to have one selected, ready to close the +bargain as soon as the houses arrived. I came across a brig that had +been running to Sacramento, but was condemned as a foreign bottom, when +Collier, the collector, arrived there, a short time before, and extended +the marine laws of the United States over California. The captain and +crew were aboard. The captain was an Englishman; the crew, +cosmopolitan--a Hindostan, a Mexican named Edwin Jesus, an English +sailor and an American. I inquired of the captain about the history of +the vessel. He said she had been built at Quavqiel, down the coast, and +had belonged to a Mexican general, and was built partially of an +American whaler that had been wrecked on the coast, so I got American +timbers in her. They wanted to sell the vessel. I told him I might buy +her. I would let them know in a day or two. So I went to Colonel +Stevenson and gave him a history of it, and asked him if he would see +Collier, the collector of the port, and see if I could not get her +papers as an American vessel, which he did, and informed me the next day +that it was all right. I went at once and bought the brig. As soon as I +got its American papers it was worth twice what I had to pay for it. I +kept the same captain, as he knew the navigation of the rivers, which +few did at that time. I gave him $250 per month and put a supercargo at +$150 per month, and kept the same crew. I had it put up for Stockton, +the head depot for the Southern lines. The first month it made two +trips. Its receipts were $3,100; its expenses, $1,100; so it earned me +$2,000 clear. + +There was a friend of mine named R., who owned a third interest in a +factory that belonged to a relative of mine who got the gold fever when +I did, and got me to negotiate the sale of his interest in it to him, +which I did for $8,000, so he could go to California with me. When he +arrived there he proposed to build a brewery. His father had been a +brewer in Scotland. He bought a lot, a part of the city called Happy +Valley, and started to build the first brewery on the Pacific coast. He +commenced to build one that would cost $30,000 with that capital, which +was his mistake. If he had commenced in a small way he would have made +his fortune. (In my personal narrative he had much to do with my +affairs.) + +At this point in writing my manuscript, I have just heard of the death +of Colonel Jonathan Stevenson, aged ninety-four, in California, to whom +I had a letter of introduction from Governor William L. Marcy. I found +him the warmest, the truest and most generous friend. He was a little +unpopular when I first met him, for what I conceived the most noble +action of his life. There were in his regiment roughs from the city of +New York, where it was organized, who, when the war was over with +Mexico, would go into saloons and places and help them selves to what +they wanted and refused to pay. They were termed "The Hounds." There was +a vigilance committee organized against them, which public sentiment, at +that time, fully indorsed. They had seized a number of them and were +about to hang them. Colonel Stevenson faced the excited crowd and asked +to have them give the men a trial and punish the guilty. He said that +when he returned to New York and their mothers asked him what had become +of their sons, how could he face them if they were put to death in that +way; but if he could say to them that they had a fair trial, were found +guilty of crime, and had been punished according to law, it would be +different. I think they were not executed, but banished; but it set up a +cry against the colonel that he had taken the part of "The Hounds," so +unjust is often, for a time, public sentiment. That was the first +vigilance committee; the great one came afterward, but I am confined to +the days of the "Forty-niners." + +It was rumored, at the time, that there was a jealousy between him and +Colonel Freemont. It was not on the part of Stevenson. I boarded at the +same hotel with Freemont. + +See illustration for bill which I received while at the hotel with +Colonel Freemont: + +[Illustration: HOTEL BILL.] + +The colonel asked me one day to speak to Freemont at dinner, and +request him, if convenient, to stop in his office as he came from +dinner, which I did. Stevenson's office was on the plaza, but Freemont +never called. + +There was great difficulty about the title to lots at that time. There +were contentions set up, and claims of property from different Mexican +grants, as it became valuable. It was guaranteed by the United States, +at the treaty of Hidalgo, when California was ceded to us, that all +titles that were good under the Mexican government should be recognized +by us. L., the chaplain of Stevenson's regiment, seems to have been the +butt of the boys before the gold was discovered. + +They, as a farce, elected him alcalde of San Francisco, which position +is a combination of mayor and judge, as we would understand it, and his +election was declared illegal. Then they elected him for spite. He +served one year. There was a Mexican law that in any village in that +country a person had a right to settle on one hundred veras of land so +many feet, about three hundred, and if he put up any kind of a building +on it, and held undisputed possession for one year, he could go to the +alcalde, and by paying $16, get a good and valid title. When the lots +became so valuable in San Francisco, after the gold was discovered, many +lots based on those kinds of grants became very valuable two or three +years after the discovery of gold. L. became quite wealthy, it was said, +by advances in real estate. There were rumors of bogus titles in the +names of dead soldiers and others who had left the country, but could be +traced to no authentic source. He was estimated to be worth several +hundred thousand dollars, made in the rise of real estate. I met him but +once and I sold him some lumber. + +My shipping merchant who negotiated freight for my brig got a legal +title of that kind. + + +HIS STORY. + +He said he was a book-keeper for a firm in Newport, Rhode Island, at a +small salary. He made up his mind that if they would not raise his pay +$100 per year on the 1st of January he would leave them. They refused, +so he lost his situation, and it was dull times, and he could not get +another one, so he shipped on a whaling vessel as a sailor. His health +was poor, and he found he could not stand the hardships of that life. +The vessel put in the harbor of San Francisco for water and fresh meat +on their way to the Arctic ocean, so he deserted the ship and secreted +himself until it left. Then he had to do something there for a living, +so he squatted on one hundred veras of land on the beach, and put up a +shanty and sold fruit and probably some liquor, etc., to make a living. +No one disturbed him for one year. He applied to the alcalde and paid +his $16 and got a good, valid title. After the gold was discovered it +became the most valuable property in the city. When I was doing +business with him he had a three-story brick store, which he owned. The +whaling ship had been gone to the Arctic ocean two or three years and +had heard nothing of the discovery of the gold, and wonderful changes in +San Francisco, and the captain thought he would put in that port on his +return and hunt up his runaway sailor, and behold, his absconding sailor +was rich enough when he found him to buy his ship and his whole cargo of +whale oil. I was introduced by him to his captain and shook hands with +him, and we had a good talk over it. Wherein does our stories of +fiction, of our boyhood, of Arabian Nights, surpass the actual events of +life, of the wonderful fluctuations of fortunes in California in the +days of the Forty-niners? + +[Illustration: THE CAPTAIN AND THE RUNAWAY SAILOR.] + +On the death of President Taylor, a meeting was called for the purpose +of having funeral obsequies there in his honor. A man was named for +president of the day. Then it was proposed to name a vice-president for +each State and Territory, which was done. There were persons in the +crowd from every one of them. A day was set apart for the ceremonies, +and all business was to be suspended. There was a long procession on +that day, and the masons and all societies and the people in general +turned out in full force, including the Chinese, who were smart enough +to think it would make a favorable impression in their favor. After the +parade was dismissed in the plaza, the Chinese were requested to remain, +and a missionary addressed them, and a Chinaman interpreted to them in +their own language. I noticed that their language was much more +condensed than ours. It took about a third of the time for him to +translate what the missionary said. When the missionary closed, he said +he hoped that we would all meet together in another and a better world. +It seemed to them so absurd that they looked at each other and smiled as +if it was a good joke. In those early days there were no particular +prejudices against them. Pagans, as we call them, practised the +Christian virtues toward their own countrymen. When the ship arrived +from China they were down to greet the newcomers, whom they had never +seen before, and invite them to their homes. The present laws of +restriction against them, I think, are all right. We cannot afford to +run the risk of having the institutions of our country injured by an +emigration that is uncongenial to it. We have gone too far in that line +already, not from selfishness, but to perpetuate the institutions +founded by our revolutionary ancestors, in their purity, for the +interests of mankind. + +I received a letter from my blanket friend. He informed me that he could +not sell the blankets, and had traded them off for flour, and would +start the next day for the Yuba, which was the most remote gold river. +That was all a lie. He did that so that I would not follow him up. He +had not a dollar invested in them. They were my property. I knew at once +I had been dealing with a rascal, but I was powerless to do any thing +about it, so I wrote him back that it was all right; that I had bought a +brig; and that I had it running to Stockton, and he could take ventures +up on that and make up what we had lost on the blankets, and much more. +(More of him later on.) + + +THE GAMBLING OF THAT DAY. + +It was public most everywhere. Faro tables, the great American gambling +game, Monte, the Mexican and Roulette. The Eldorado, on the corner of +the plaza, was the most celebrated gambling house of that time. There +had been a great deal of money expended in fitting it up. It had an +orchestra of fifteen persons. It was run all night and day, with two +sets of hands. It was gorgeously fitted up. What they used to stir up +the sugar in the drinks cost $300. It was solid gold. Numerous gambling +tables, piled up with gold and silver, to tempt the better, behind which +were hired dealers. The owners of the Eldorado were not known. Many a +miner has come with his few thousand dollars to San Francisco to sail +for home, and taking in the sights, visited the Eldorado, got interested +in the different games, and lost it all and went back to the gold +regions broken and penniless to try his luck over again. I heard of one +that lost his all three times in that way. I saw a man once put down a +bag of gold, which contained $5,000, bet $1,000 on one turn of the card +at Monte. He lost. While I was looking at him in the course of half an +hour, he lost it all. I thought what independence that amount would have +given some family in the East. + +In those early days there was often but a muslin partition between you +and the next room, and you could hear every word in the next apartment. +About 1 o'clock in the morning I was awaken by two men entering and +taking the next room to mine, whom I saw running a Roulette table on the +plaza. They seemed to be considerably excited. They said they would be +willing to lose some money to get rid of that tapper. Of course, I +could not understand, at first, what they meant by that expression, but +come to find out from their conversation, they had their Roulette table +arranged so that they could make the ball stop on the red or black, as +it happened to be for their interest to have it do. So, if there were +$20 bet upon the red, the tapper would bet $10 on the black, and they +could not make the red lose without making the black win. So the tapper +was getting half of their gains. I would advise all my friends to let +Roulette alone, unless they are sure they can place themselves in the +position of the tapper. + +One morning on the plaza I took a look into a gambling saloon. I saw a +Greaser that had been betting against Monte all night, and had had +wonderful luck. He announced that he would tap the bank for $1,800, +which was more money than he ever had before, or could ever expect to +have again, which meant that he would bet that amount for whatever sum +the dealer could show to meet it on the turn of one card. He lost, and +the dealer showed $1,800 in the bank and took all his money. Monte is +the great National gambling game of Mexico, and his idea of Paradise is +to be able to break a Monte bank. + +Mr. B. from Kentucky, whom I took for so rich a nabob, referred to among +the passengers when out of New York. I saw him take out his gold watch, +a valuable one, and bet it behind the queen, on the game of Faro, for +$100. He was evidently about broke. It won. Then he went the $200, and +it won again. Then he went it the third time, and it won. In about +twenty minutes he had his watch back and $700, then he left. Some one +asked me a few months after that if I knew that he was worth $80,000? He +had been very lucky, and that he was to run for sheriff of San Francisco +county on the Democratic ticket, and that the Whigs had nominated Jack +Hayes, the celebrated Texan ranger. Hayes had been in the Mexican war. +It was told of him that when the American and Mexican armies were +encamped opposite each other, that a Mexican officer, splendidly +equipped, came forward on horseback, and challenged any American to meet +him in single combat between the two forces. Jack Hayes volunteered to +go, and he killed him. He took his horse, gold watch and personal +effects. He afterward learned who he was, and that he left a widow. He +sent all his personal effects to her as a present. Of course, we were +interested warmly on his side, and he was elected. They say Colonel B. +spent all his $80,000 on his side and was defeated. No reputable citizen +of San Francisco or business man would allow himself to be seen betting +at any of the public gambling tables. He would feel that he was losing +character. I am trying to portray the scenes of those days exactly as +they occurred, and if I left the gambling scenes out it would not be a +true history. + +At first public offices went a begging; nobody wanted them. Fine +clothes were at a discount. He was looked upon as a tender-foot who knew +nothing about the gold regions. But a flannel-shirted, roughly-dressed +miner was the lion. He could tell something about the gold regions. The +governor appointed a loafer fellow, in the early days, Port Warden. +Nobody wanted it, and he was indorsed by one firm. As the city grew very +rapidly the office soon became valuable. Somebody told the governor what +kind of a man he had appointed Port Warden, and the governor wrote him a +letter requesting him to resign, stating to him what representations had +been made to him about his character, which, if he had known, he would +not have appointed him. He wrote back to the governor refusing to +resign, saying to him, he had better read the papers and look after his +own character. The governor was up for re-election and the opposition +papers were pitching into him. + + +THE GRIZZLY BEARS. + +One warm afternoon my friend Me and myself thought we would take a walk +over to Pesedeo; that was about three miles to the Pacific ocean. The +seal rocks is where the sea lions or seals can always be seen. It was +the entrance to the Golden Gates, where the roar of the Pacific ocean is +twice that of the Atlantic, it being six thousand miles broad, twice +that of the Atlantic. On our way we stopped into a tent to get a drink +of water. We found it occupied by three miners, one of whom was quite +lame. I inquired of him what was the matter. He said his hip had been +dislocated by the grizzlies. I asked him how it happened. He said they +went up to the Trinity river to dig for gold. I knew that was the most +remote gold river. He said they were lucky and found rich diggings, but +after awhile their provisions gave out and they could not procure any +unless they returned to the settlements. On their way, returning on +horseback, they came to three grizzly bears grazing in a field. It was +very dangerous to attack them, but they were very hungry. They thought +if they could kill one of them it would supply them with meat, so they +finally decided they would take their chances and fire on them, which +they did, and wounded one. The other two took after the man whose hip +was dislocated. He fled and came to a buckeye tree, the body of which +slants, and he got up in it, the bears came on under it. After awhile +they found they could not reach him. It being a low tree one of them +commenced climbing it after him. He thought his last hour had come; all +the events of his life seemed to rush on his mind, and a picture of the +old-fashioned spelling book, where the man plays dead on the bear, came +before him, which I distinctly recollected. He thought his only chance +was to drop from the tree and hold his breath, and play dead on the +bear, which he did, and fell on his face. One bear grabbed him by the +shoulders and the other by the ankle, and in pulling, dislocated his +hip. He had a thick overcoat on which they tore to pieces. He held his +breath. After awhile they went off and left him. After a little while he +raised his head to see if they were gone, and they came trotting back +and smelt him all over again, and went away again, he holding his +breath. Then he laid a long time, fearing to move, and his companions +came up + + "Each fainter trace that memory holds + So darkly of departed years, + In one broad glance, the soul beholds, + And all that was at once appears" + +In the cases of imminent danger such is said to be the case. It is +evident that is what saved this man's life. Truth is stranger than +fiction. + +[Illustration: PURSUED BY THE GRIZZLIES.] + +The State seal of California is Minerva, with a spear and shield and the +grizzly bear at her feet. Before the discovery of gold they were quite +numerous. They roamed in full possession, apparently, of the +country--no one to molest them or make them afraid. It was a very +formidable animal, weighing from seven to eight hundred pounds. When the +rainy season set in, late in the fall, and the winter months, during +which the grass commenced to grow, he fed on it in the valleys and +fields, and became fat and powerful. In the spring, when the dry season +set in and no rain for seven months, and fields dried up with a dusty +brown, he fled to the tops of the mountains to browse on the leaves of +the trees to support life until the next rainy season commenced. It is +said he is not a ferocious animal if unmolested, and will not attack you +if you let him alone, unless it is a she bear with cubs, or you shoot at +them and wound them. They are very hard to kill. To be hit by a bullet +has very little effect on them, unless hit in a vital spot. An +acquaintance of mine was walking on a road in the interior and saw a big +grizzly coming down the road in the opposite direction toward him. He +knew it would not do to undertake to run. He had been posted on their +natures, so he kept walking right on, as if he was undisturbed and had +no fear, the bear coming nearer to him all the time, with his gait +unchanged, or he his, until they passed each other, he looking the +grizzly in the eye and treating each other with due respect and +consideration as friends. As an illustration of their strength, an old +Californian informed me that he knew of an instance where a grizzly came +into a pack of live mules and took one off and carried it to his den and +ate it. In corroboration of that fact, another man informed me that he +saw a bear chasing a mule and fired on the bear and hit him, and the +bear turned toward him, and the mule escaped. + +[Illustration: THE MINER AND THE GRIZZLY.] + +There was a Mr. W., who opened a fashionable hotel on the east side of +the plaza. I was invited to be one of a party of twenty to give a +complimentary dinner to a friend, who was about to return East. The bill +was just $400, which was $20 apiece, the most I ever paid for a +California dinner. The landlord became quite popular and was thought to +be a very responsible person. A great many persons from the long voyages +around Cape Horn arrived, sick with the scurvy, owing to want of +vegetables at sea, most of whose systems underwent a change to become +acclimated to the country; some seriously and others more mildly. It was +thought it would be a good thing to do to erect a hospital for the +benefit of the public and those arriving sick. There was $30,000 raised +at the first meeting called, and Mr. W., the landlord, was elected +treasurer. + +[Illustration: THE MAN WHO ESCAPED FROM THE SANDWICH ISLANDS.] + +One night he got betting against the game of Faro, lost, and I suppose +got over excited, and in trying to recover his losses, lost every thing, +including $30,000. Of course it was not known that he ever gambled or he +would not have been trusted with the money. As soon as it was known it +created great excitement and indignation, that so sacred a fund should +have been wasted in that way. He fled, and the Mayor offered $3,000 +reward for his apprehension. It seems he had escaped on a vessel to the +Sandwich Islands, and had no money, and got in debt there and could not +leave there as long as he owed any thing, according to their laws, and +he was in despair, until one day fortune smiled upon him. Accidentally +he came across a California paper in which was the $3,000 reward offered +by the Mayor of San Francisco for his arrest, and this was his +opportunity and he seized it at once. Then hope dawned upon him. He +found a vessel about to sail for San Francisco. He took the paper and +showed it to the captain and told him if he would advance the money so +he could pay his debts, he would return with him to San Francisco and he +could surrender him and they would divide the reward. The captain +accepted his offer and delivered him up upon his arrival at San +Francisco, and got the reward. Two or three months had elapsed since +his departure, and that was more time than so many years in any other +country, and all excitement about it had subsided, and I think it was +called a breach of trust, and I have no recollection that he was +punished in any other way. + + +MY BLANKET MAN. + +When he wrote me that he had traded the blankets for flour, and had gone +to the Yuba river with the flour, I knew that it was a lie, and that he +was a rascal, and I found that blankets had been in great demand, at a +high price, and likewise learned that he had been connected with a +forgery in New York city, but that his brother was a respectable +merchant there, so for the time I gave up my $800 as lost. What was my +surprise after six weeks at my hotel (which was an expensive one), to +see my man at the tea table. I greeted him most cordially and asked no +questions about the blankets, but talked to him about the brig I owned +and had running to Stockton; that I had been looking for him to come +back; there was such a splendid chance for us to make purchases in San +Francisco, and for him to take them up on my vessel and sell them out in +the Southern gold mines, near that place; that what we had lost on the +blankets we could more than make up on the first venture, and that there +would be big money in that kind of a speculation. We spent the evening +together most cordially. The next morning I detained him in conversation +until about the time for the Miners' Bank to open, then we went out +together. When we got opposite the bank I took out my watch and said to +him, that I did not think it was so late. I said I had a note of $800 +due there that morning; I asked him if he had the gold dust about him to +that amount. He said yes. I said let me have it and I will take up my +note. He said there was no place to weigh it. I said yes, here there was +a place where I was acquainted. It was weighed and handed to me. I told +him I would see him at dinner, which I did. I then opened on him, and +told him how despicably he had acted when I so generously trusted to his +honor. He made no reply; he virtually admitted the truth of my +statement. I never saw him afterward. That was the only time I ever +played the confidence game in my life, and my conscience has approved of +it ever since. + +My friend, Mr. R., had got his brewery well under way in Happy Valley, +as they called that part of the city, had used up his $8,000 and +commenced borrowing money on my indorsement, at ten per cent a month, +the regular interest at that time. He had a friend, Lieutenant S., who +resigned from the regular army, a graduate from West Point, who had been +up in the country, and came back with a flaming account of a place on +the Toulama river, which empties into the San Joaquin, which was the +head of navigation on that river, and was the place to start a town, +and if we would furnish him with $1,500 to do it with, we would each own +a third of it. I did not take to it, but Mr. R. was so earnest about it, +and had such confidence in his friend, that I finally let him have the +money. There was quite a spirit of speculation of that kind at that +time. Colonel Stevenson had laid out one on Suisan bay, at the mouth of +the San Joaquin river, named New York of the Pacific. Marysville, on the +Sacramento river, was laid out a short time previous, and proved a great +success, making the fortunes of the projectors. Of course, a few were +successful, and many failed. It seemed to have been a legitimate thing +to do to make a fortune in a new country. I became acquainted with +Broderick. It was Koyler & Broderick. They had an office in the same +building with Colonel Stevenson. Broderick, who was afterward United +States Senator from California, and I became very intimate. He was not +intellectually a very brilliant man, but a solid, able and strictly +honest man, and a thoroughly posted politician of his day. He had run as +a Democratic candidate for Congress from the city of New York, but was +not elected. In California he was first elected to the State Senate from +the city. It was he who conceived the project of laying out the water +lots on the bay, and got the bill through the Legislature. He advised me +to buy one or more. I looked at where he suggested to me to buy, and +found them six feet under water. Although they could be bought very +cheap then, their prospective value seemed so remote to me I thought +they were not worth the trouble of bothering with. It shows how easy it +is to be mistaken in apprehending the future. I understand they are now +the most valuable part of the city. + + +THE MAN IN HIS TENT. + +The man in his tent, who had squatted on Rincon Point, an elevated +locality, that commanded a grand view of the bay, informed me that when +he squatted there with his tent, that he could find no person who +claimed the land. He had been there but a few days, when some parties +came to him and offered to give him so much a month for the privilege of +putting up their tent near his. He said he had no objections. They paid +him. Then other parties who wanted to put up their tents were referred +to him. From these various persons he was getting a very liberal income. +He informed me that as long as it lasted, he was in no hurry to go to +the mines. + + +THE CLIPPER SHIPS. + +About this time was the first appearance of the celebrated clipper +ships. They anchored off of Happy Valley and attracted great attention; +they could make the trip around Cape Horn from New York to San Francisco +in three or four months; they run wet; their bows were very sharp, and, +in a rough sea, instead of mounting the waves, they cut them, and the +bows ran under water, and their progress was not impeded by the waves, +saving two or three months' time, which was of great consideration then. +There was no railroad across the Isthmus then, and there was no other +way of transporting freight between the cities of New York and San +Francisco except around Cape Horn. They had great fame then. England +conceded their superiority over all other sailing vessels for speed; but +they have passed away, the railroad reducing the time to from five to +eight days; of course, there is a great difference between that and +three or four months. The days of sailing vessels, however great their +speed, to a great extent, is gone. Besides, there are regular lines of +steamers to most every port of the world, and the ocean is covered with +tramp steamers. + +That winter a convention was called to organize a State government and +apply for admission to the Union. The Southern element there wanted to +make it a slave State. The Northerners, including both Whigs and +Democrats, wanted it free. They did not want to be brought in +competition with slave labor in the mines, and have their occupation +degraded in that way. Their pride, as well as interest, was at stake, +and there was great feeling on the subject. Meetings were called all +through the mines and addresses made and candidates nominated. The +average of intelligence there was away above any other part of the +country. For they were men of enterprise, or they would not have been +there in that early day. At Mormon Island, one of the miners got up and +made a speech. He so impressed them with his ability that they +unanimously nominated him as their candidate to the Constitutional +Convention. He was an old acquaintance of mine. In 1847 or 1848 he was a +Democratic member of the Legislature of the State of New York, from +Washington county, and was chosen by that body to deliver the oration +on Washington's birthday. His name was George Washington Sherwood. He +was elected to the Constitutional Convention of California, and wrote +its first Constitution, copied after that of his native State, New York. +The Northern element prevailed in that convention, and California came +in a free State by its unanimous vote. Broderick headed the Northern +sentiment; Gwin, who had been a United States Marshal in Mississippi, +the Southern. I met him often. He would come into a bar-room and say: "I +did not come here to dig gold, but to represent you in the United States +Senate." He would then say: "Come up all, and take a drink." I thought +that was a strange way to inspire the people with the idea that he was +the proper person to represent them in the United States Senate. He was +elected, with Colonel Freemont, the first two United States Senators +from California. At the next election for United States Senators, +Broderick got absolute control, and although Gwin had fought him +bitterly, they were the two senators to be elected again. Broderick had +the magnanimity to induce his friends to go for Gwin and had him elected +with him, and Gwin showed his ingratitude by going at once to Washington +and securing from Buchanan the control of all the appointments of the +government in the State of California. So when Broderick came there, +there were none to give his friends. Gwin was afterward very prominent +in the rebellion. He went out in a boat in Charleston harbor, crying out +from it his advice to Major Anderson, advising him to surrender at the +time of the attack on Fort Sumter. (This is a matter of history that +occurred after the time of which I am writing.) + + +A BULL FIGHT. + +There were bills posted about the city that three of the most celebrated +fighters of Mexico would have an exhibition in the evening, and combat +with animals. As my friend and myself never had seen one we thought we +would go. It was an amphitheatre, with circular seats about the pit, +with thick planks around it, the seats commencing about twenty feet from +the bottom of the pit. There was a door at the side of the pit, which +was raised by pulleys, which admitted the bull. They were wild ones. Our +seat was about the fifth row back. The house was crowded and brilliantly +illuminated. Then the bull-fighters were in the pit, one on horseback, +two on foot, gorgeously and brilliantly dressed, with swords, the blades +pointed like spears, with red flags in their hands to attract the bull. +The door was raised and the animal came rushing in; he was a terrible +one to look at. Blinded by the lights and the scene, he rushed and +roared around the arena; I trembled in my seat, although I was in no +possible danger. The first feat of the bull-fighters was to plant a +rosette on the shoulders of the animal with a barb implanted in his +flesh, which enraged him more, with colored ribbons, two or three feet +in length, attached to the rosette, which was flying in the air as he +went around, indicating to the audience the success of the feat. Then +the same feat was performed on the other shoulder. Then when the bull +attacked the man again, a rosette was implanted between his horns, and +the man escaped, which was the most difficult of all. They had red flags +in one hand to enrage and blind him, but this bull, he became so furious +and enraged that they could not master him. He rushed upon the man on +horseback, threw the horse and rider, and, with his horns, tore the +entrails out of the horse and killed it. The man was wounded, but +escaped. The rest of the fighters fled, and one climbed up the side of +the paling and came within two inches of being impaled alive against the +side by the bull's horns. As I write I can, in imagination, hear the +sound of the animal's horns as they struck the boards in missing the +man. The bull was master of the situation; he had cleared the ring. It +was a terrible sight as he roared around in his fury. Then the most +startling event of all occurred. It seems incredible, but it is the +truth of history, and I must write it. + +[Illustration: THE BULL FIGHT] + +A greaser, with no weapon, but simply his _seraper_, a shawl that he +wore around his shoulders, took that off and stretching it out in his +hands, jumped down into the pit of the ring alone, to the entire +astonishment of the audience, looked Mr. Bull in the eyes and dodged him +with his shawl as the animal attacked him. He had probably been brought +up among wild bulls. The audience all arose in excitement, expecting to +see him torn to pieces, and crying out for him to escape. The +professional bull-fighters got their red flags and drew the bull off, +and the greaser escaped, and seemed to be surprised at the excitement of +the audience. They succeeded in getting the bull out, and dragging out +the dead horse, and letting in a less ferocious one. The same +performance was gone through with him, as already described, except that +this one was conquered. At last, when the bull pitched at the man, he +holds his sword in such a way that the weight of the animal comes on it, +and passes between his foreshoulders and penetrates his heart. In an +instant the back wilts and the animal lies dead. It was the most sudden +change, from full vitality to death; it startled you. It's a shock to +your nervous system. My friend and myself said it was the first and last +bull-fight we would ever see. + +The price of lumber and vegetables kept up. I paid forty cents a pound +for potatoes in buying provisions for the hands on my brig. I furnished +them enough to last them on the up trip, but not for the return, so they +would hurry back. It was now time for the vessel with the houses to +arrive, and I expected to buy a ship with the money, and to go to the +Sandwich Islands and make, what I considered, a fortune for me, but +alas! no _Prince de Joinville_ came. It was hope deferred. Finally the +rainy season set in in full blast, and all consumption of lumber +stopped. The high price had stimulated shipments from everywhere. There +was a big reaction in the price. The first prominent failure in the city +took place, I think it was Ward & Co., commission merchants and private +bankers. It was said it was owing to his large orders of shipments of +lumber to that market. He shot himself with a pistol in the morning in +his bedroom and died, knowing that he could not meet his creditors if he +went to his place of business. About this time it was announced from +Telegraph Hill that my vessel, with the houses, was entering the port +two or three months after she was due, striking a glutted market. I had +four or five thousand dollars to raise to pay the freight on them to get +possession of them, or I would lose the capital invested. So instead of +making $18,000 profit, which I might have made if they had come on time, +I was running the risk of losing the capital invested in them. Colonel +Stevenson had selected six of them some time before, which he wanted for +his New York of the Pacific, which he said he would make me an offer on +as soon as they arrived. I saw it was my only chance to save myself to +close that sale. I was at his office in the morning as soon as there was +any probability of they being there. I said to him: "The houses have +arrived. I am ready to receive your offer for the six you selected." He +said he had no money now. I said I did not want any (which was a white +lie). I said I would take a draft on Prosper, Whetmore & Co., of New +York city, for $3,000, payable in ninety days, and his note for the +balance, on his own time. He looked over the plan of the houses again. +He said he would not give but so much. I said to him, that was not the +question, what will you give? He said I will give you that amount, +naming the sum. I said at once, they are sold, they are yours. He gave +me the draft on Whetmore & Co., for $3,000, payable in ninety days. Just +at this time, his partner, Dr. Parker, came in. The colonel informed him +he had bought six of my houses. He said, you have made a mistake. Lumber +is in a glutted market. It is falling rapidly. The colonel said, that +makes no difference now, I have bought them. The colonel was considered +rich. No one there questioned the soundness of his draft. I went with it +to all the brokers in the city, but could get no offer for it. I then +went to Charley Minton, the agent of the steamer _Senator_. I thought he +could send it to New York to the owners of the steamer for its face +value. He said, the best he could do with me was to give me $2,250 for +it. Money was ten per cent a month, and scarce at that. Three months +time, at the rate of interest there, would be $900. I said, I would +take it. He gave me a check on his broker for that amount. He paid me in +gold, $16 Spanish doubloon pieces. I tied them up in my handkerchief, +and went to McCondery & Co., and said to him, the vessel, with my +houses, I see, are consigned to you. I will pay you $2,000 now on the +freight, and before they are all taken off of the ship, I will pay you +the balance. He said, take them all off, and pay the balance at your +convenience (we were acquainted and had come up on the same steamer, and +played whist together). It cost me $800 to get them ashore. There were +no wharves then. They had to be taken ashore on lighters. I expected my +brig down from Stockton soon, with $2,000 freight money, so I was out of +the woods financially for the present. I then made arrangement with the +colonel to have them landed on the North Beach on land owned by him, +where I could retail out my other six houses, which I had to sell, when +I got a proper price for them. We formed a copartnership. I was to take +one of my smallest houses, and have it erected there, to be used for an +office, and to use the grounds as a lumber yard to sell on commission, +and as a place for storage, which was very scarce then. There were quite +a number who had taken the liberty of piling lumber and other articles +on it, using it as public ground. I took formal possession of it in the +name of Colonel Stevenson, and gave notice to the different parties that +if they did not remove their materials from the premises in ten days +they would be charged so much for storage. Some removed, and others did +not. I recollect the German house that did not remove it in thirty days +after the ten days of notice. It was a wealthy house, and I handed them +a bill of $250 for storage, at which they demurred very seriously, +questioning our title; but they paid it. When I went out to the ship to +see about taking my houses off, I met the first mate, whom I got +acquainted with in New York. I told him I thought the ship had been +lost; that all the old tugs of ships had got in ahead of them. He said +to me, I have had the worst time I ever had in my life. I have had to +carry that old man on my shoulders (referring to the captain) all the +way. Whenever we had a good breeze and sails were all full, he would +come on deck and order shorten sail to check our speed, or we might have +been here a month sooner. That told the whole story. I saw them take +freight, in my presence, when they were offered $1.50 per foot, when +they told me there was no room for the other half of my houses to go on +the ship, when I had a legal contract with them at sixty cents per foot. +My freight alone would have made a difference of two or three thousand +dollars by excluding it and taking the other in at the difference in the +price of it. There is no doubt they served many other shippers and put +their goods on other vessels, and kept theirs back until the other +ships would get to San Francisco ahead of them, so that they could +deliver the freight according to their bills of lading on the arrival of +the _Prince de Joinville_. That was why my speculation was ruined by +their dishonesty. Instead of being the fastest ship, it was a fraud, a +decoy, a dead trap on those who were unfortunate enough to ship by it. +When I saw the captain he was very humble. He had all kinds of apologies +to make, and invited me to go to China with him. I could have the best +state-room on his ship. It should not cost me a dollar. I could go +around the world with him. I saw that my speculation was ruined by their +dishonesty, and there was no remedy, and, like all human events, that +ended it, and I had to abandon my Sandwich Island expedition and throw +my anticipated fortune from it to the winds. Mr. Meighs, the one who +failed and ran away to Chili, and built the railroad in that country +from Valparaiso to its capital, and then organized a company and +constructed railroads in Peru, had a lumber yard side of me. I sold, +after a while, my other six houses, one at a time, retailing them out, +and, by careful management, just succeeded in saving my original +capital. + +I was satisfied with San Francisco, with my interest in the lumber +yards, and with my partnership with Colonel Stevenson on the North +Beach. My interest in my brig, when it came down, and my prospective +interest in what was to be the city of Toulom, and my associations with +Mr. R., who was building the first brewery on the Pacific, which I was +backing up with my indorsement, and I was to have one-third interest +when it was completed, if I wanted it, at first cost, looked like a very +favorable investment for me at that time. I was living an active and +enterprising life, with bright hopes of future fortune. One morning when +I went down to the North Beach I found there had been a house erected on +our land in the night. I, of course, informed the colonel at once. He +informed me it was a man by the name of Colton, who pretended to have a +title under what he called the "Colton Grant," and that it was bogus, +and that he had the building erected to try and force his title. The +colonel said he would see the judge of the court in the city, and get an +order for its removal. In about two hours he sent a messenger with an +order from the judge authorizing us to remove it. He instructed me to +employ all the men that were necessary, and have the material removed +from the premises and he would pay the bill, which I did, and our title +was not disputed after that. + +I had never been on a trip to Stockton, and I had chartered the freight +capacity of the brig to a man for $1,800. He was to put in it all the +freight he chose to. I thought it would not be for his interest to +overload it. If the vessel sunk there was no insurance--his cargo would +be a total loss. I had reserved the deck and the passenger room. The +conditions of the charter were that the freight was to be delivered in +Stockton by a certain date or I was to forfeit the $1,800. The freight +was aboard; he had loaded the vessel deeper than I had expected. I had a +number of passengers at $15 each. They were to furnish their own +provisions, but to have the privileges of the cooking stove on deck. The +vessel was anchored out in the bay, to sail at 2 P.M., when the tide was +most favorable. I had a new chain for the anchor, and the captain said +he wanted a kedge anchor for safety, so I ordered one from McCondery & +Co., for $35, on condition that, without fail, they would have it on +board before 2 P.M. We were all on board by 1 o'clock, waiting for the +favorable tide, to start. At 1:30 no anchor and the bay was very rough. +The captain said it would not come, they would not venture out in that +sea in a small boat. I said it would be there certain, I knew my man. +Sure enough, in a few moments we could just see a boat in the distance, +two men rowing and one guiding the rudder. They came alongside and we +had the anchor aboard in five minutes. In the stern was Mr. Watson, one +of the firm. He said he was afraid to trust his men in that sea for fear +they would fail to deliver it. The profit on it to them was only $3.50, +and it was a very wealthy firm, but they had pledged their word to me +that they would have it there at that time. (Would that there were more +of such honorable men.) We hoisted anchor, the tide in our favor and a +stiff breeze blowing. We passed out of the bay of San Francisco into the +bay of Los Angles, and crossed that into the Straits of Benica, which is +four miles long and connects with Suisan bay. The Straits of Benica was +a perfectly safe anchorage. It was approaching night, and blowing almost +a gale. I was in hopes and expected that the captain would come to +anchor in the straits and wait until morning before venturing out into +the Suisan bay, which was twenty miles across to the mouth of the San +Joaquin river, where we were bound. The bay was almost like the open +sea; you could get out of sight of land. I think he would have come to +anchor if I, the owner, had not been on board, and had not urged upon +him the importance of having the vessel in Stockton in time. As he was +the captain I felt sensitive about interfering with his business, and +had hoped and expected, all the way through the straits, that he would +come to anchor, and not undertake to cross the bay that night. Darkness +was setting in, but he did not come to anchor. The gale increased to a +hurricane; all sails were taken in, and we were scudding under bare +poles, and had a lantern hung up in the rigging. The captain came to me +and said, loaded as we were, we could not live in that gale; he would +have to seek a place to anchor on the side of the bay. I said to him, he +was the captain. The line was thrown out every few minutes. At last we +found sounding, and the anchor was cast. We had been there but a short +time before another vessel, more than twice as large as ours, came aside +of us, with a heavy deck-load of lumber, and got entangled in our anchor +chain, and kept drawing us nearer to them. If they had struck our vessel +we knew we were lost. They would have sunk us at once. Seven times they +came down on us and each time, by superhuman efforts, we warded the +blow, all hands and passengers doing their best, fully realizing the +danger they were in. It seems to me that I hear now the oaths of the +captain of the other vessel rising above the sounds of the terrific +hurricane as he was ordering his men, for they, too, were in danger if +they collided with us. Of course, he was on the bare poles. As he came +on us the eighth time they hoisted their jib sail. As the wind struck +it, it seemed to lift their vessel out of the water, and, thank God, we +were freed from it. It was forty-five years ago, and, as I write, it +all lives before me as visible as if it were yesterday. The captain of +the other vessel had seen our light, and, supposing we were in the right +channel, had followed us. We had escaped what seemed almost certain +death, but were not out of danger. Our new good chain was attached to +our bad chain, and the captain had let out all our chain to free us from +the other vessel, so we were actually hanging by our bad chain in the +open roadstead, not in the protection of a harbor, and liable to drag +our anchor or break our chain and be wrecked; but we could do nothing +more than submit to our fate. I thought I would get into my berth and +try and get to sleep, and, if I found myself alive in the morning, we +might be saved. I did sleep, and when I awoke it was daylight. The gale +was subsiding. We had dragged our anchor. The bow of our brig was very +sharp; the banks were soft mud, and we had struck it with such force +that we were wedged in. The tide was low and we were almost out of +water. We fortunately had struck the land with our bow, and that was +what saved us. If we had struck with the side of the vessel we would +have been wrecked. So, ever since we had been freed from the other +vessel, we had been in safety and did not know it. We waited for the +tide to rise and then got our kedge anchor out and pulled the vessel out +off the bank as the tide rose. The sea was very rough, but the gale had +subsided, and by 11 o'clock we were entering the mouth of the San +Joaquin river in safety. It was forty miles up the river to Stockton. +The river was in a valley of Tullieries. The land seemed to be in the +course of formation. There was but one tree between the mouth and +Stockton, a willow, called the Lone Tree. The only place on its banks +where the soil had formed solid enough to produce one, surrounded by +hills at that season of the year, covered with beautiful wild flowers. +The scenery was magnificent. As the river curved we could see the white +sails of other vessels. They looked as if they were in a field. You +could not see the water at a little distance, the river being narrow. We +could almost jump from our deck to the banks. We felt in perfect safety. +Contrasting that with the night before in that terrible hurricane and in +the death struggles for our lives, it produced a supreme feeling of +ethereal ideal happiness that this earth seemed almost a Paradise. The +captain informed me that there was one place on the river where we might +have to anchor. It was called the Devil's Elbow. There was a sharp turn +in the river and the current was rapid, and we might have to pull the +vessel around it; but sometimes, if it was favorable, he could sail +around it, and if done successfully, then the vessels that had come to +anchor could find no fault; otherwise you had to come to behind the +others and take your turn. When we were coming to it, he was at the helm +and I at his side, to see what was the best to do. As we approached, we +saw several vessels had come to for the purpose of pulling around. The +last was a large vessel that the captain said could never get around. If +we anchored behind it we might not be able to deliver our freight +according to the charter. We had put an English sailor in the hold to +let the anchor go, in case we did not succeed, if we gave him the signal +to do so. As we came to the place with all sails set, there was a breeze +sprung up, filling all the sails. I said to the captain, let her go. As +we passed the vessels that had come to anchor there was a howling and +yelling from them of derision and anger at us for going by them. Just as +we got two-thirds of the way around, the sailor in the hold let the +anchor go without orders. He got frightened. If he had not, we would +have made it successfully. As it was, we got ahead of all the other +vessels, and got to Stockton in ample time. The next morning there was a +drove of mules at the side of the brig, and the cargo was being +discharged and packed on their backs to be taken to the mining camps, as +there were no good roads there in those early days. About all the grain +and flour came from Valparaiso and Chili, put up very nicely in fifty +and one hundred pound sacks, so it was easy to handle. As soon as all +the mules were packed, the head mule, who had on a bell fastened around +his neck, which rang as he went, was started first, and all the rest, in +single file, followed him, and they were going for the different mining +camps in the interior. In two or three days we were unloaded, and we +were prepared to return. The freight money was paid to me in gold, at +$16 per ounce in full, all being satisfactory to the shipper. I had +delivered it within the time specified. One of the passengers who came +up with me, a tailor, from Salem, Mass., asked me if I would not give +him a free passage back on the vessel to San Francisco; that he wanted +to try to get home; he was discouraged. I said to him you have traveled +eighteen thousand miles to get to the gold mines, and now you are within +half a day of them and want to go home without trying your fortune. If +you do go, you will never forgive yourself, but go to the mines and try +your luck; then, if you are discouraged and want to go back, I will give +you a free passage, as we have no passengers on our return trip. + + +HOME SICKNESS. + +When a person was attacked with it, it seemed the worst kind of malady, +as it would take them months to return if they had the money to pay +their passage. Many were married men, separated a great distance from +their wives and children. Others, young men, who had their engaged ones +waiting for them to return, with their fortunes made in the gold mines, +to marry them. I can recall several instances where I have known them to +lie down and die from despair. I was talking with an old Californian of +those days. He said he had once given up and made up his mind to wander +off by himself on the mountains and die, which he did. As he lay there +in despair, after a while he thought he would look around him, and he +saw the hill was covered with every variety of beautiful wild flowers. +He said their beauty seemed to refresh and revive his mind, and give him +new resolution, and he decided to try his fortune again, and he became +successful and returned to the States with a competency. + +[Illustration: THE DESPONDENT MINER.] + +The early pioneers had some conflict with the Indians in the interior of +the country. Five Oregon men were massacred by them when engaged in +digging gold, but a terrible retribution was visited upon those Indians +concerned in it by the enraged Forty-niners. The Indians, at first, had +nothing but bows and arrows, and, of course, could not compete with +rifles. Several other small engagements were rumored, but they soon +gave up all contests with the whites, for they saw it was useless. There +was an acorn that was quite plenty in California, being longer than +ours, but not of a bitter taste. The squaws made flour of them. The +Digger Indians were the next tribe east of them; they were probably the +lowest grade. They would set fire to the prairie grass to burn the +grasshoppers, and pick them up and eat them. They deemed them a luxury. +The Oregon tribes were a higher grade, a warlike race, and superior in +every respect. The highest grade of them, in the United States now, are +the Choctaws and Chicksaws that formerly occupied the northern parts of +the State of Mississippi. When a young man, I spent three weeks in their +nation, travelling alone, and was treated with great hospitality by +them. They are quite intelligent, and they have laws and customs as +civilized nations. We generally look upon all of them as alike, but such +is not the case--there is as great a difference between different +tribes as much as between different white nations. The California +Indians were not naturally warlike, and when the early pioneers expected +any trouble from them, they would appoint a committee to go and see +them, and they generally settled their difficulty without any conflicts. + + +JESUIT MISSION STATIONS. + +There were about sixteen Jesuit missionary stations in the country +before the discovery of gold, and were there for the purpose of +converting the Indians to the Catholic church, and when converted, +generally made them work to sustain their missionary establishments. + +I had returned to my office on the North Beach after my only trip to +Stockton on my brig. My friend R. was progressing with his brewery. He +had received a favorable letter from Lieutenant S. about our Touwalma +city, and informing me that S. had a diamond ring that cost $800 in Rio +Janeiro, at a broker's office, as collateral security for $250 borrowed +on it at ten per cent per month, and the time was about up. If I would +redeem the ring I could keep it and wear it until he paid me. I went and +saw the ring. It was as represented, and I redeemed it and wore it for a +considerable time. One day R. came to me with a naming letter from S. +that he had laid out the city and been elected alcalde, and we would +make our fortune, and there was a friend of S. that was going up there, +and if I would send up the ring by him he would appreciate it so much, +and he would be responsible that I should not lose any thing by it. I +was foolish enough to be persuaded by him and handed him the ring, for +which act I have never forgiven myself. That was the last I ever saw of +the ring or any of the money invested in Touwalma city, for it turned +out a failure. It was never the head of navigation on the river, or any +thing else that was ever heard of. + +There were three unfortunate events that occurred in California in the +winter months of 1849 and the beginning of 1850. The rainy season had +destroyed all the dams constructed on the gold rivers and raceways, +which had been constructed at great expense for the purpose of working +the beds of the river for gold, the rivers often rising from ten to +eighteen feet in a night, and the current running with terrible force. +The second, the flooding of Sacramento, destroying large quantities of +merchandise and carrying away and undermining the houses there. The +third was the great fire in San Francisco, destroying one-third of the +main business portion of the city, upon which there was no insurance. +There were no companies organized or agents there to insure property +then, as it was too risky. There was one four-story fire-proof building +that was stored full of the most valuable goods, at a large price for +storage, for it was considered absolutely fire-proof, but when the fire +came the heat of the fire from the buildings around it caused the iron +sides of it to expand, which let the roof fall in and burned every thing +to the ground, so that nothing was saved. Instead of being a place of +safety, it was the most destructive of all. + +Some ships in the bay were burned. I succeeded in getting in the rear of +the fire to save my brig. I ordered the men to hoist anchor and put out +further in the bay, which saved it. These unfortunate events destroyed +and marred the fortune of many. On the day before I called on a private +banker, G., on the plaza, and presented my check for $800. He said to +me, if it made no difference, it being steamer day (once a month they +went East when the gold was shipped to the mint in Philadelphia by +them), and if I would call in the morning for it, it would be an +accommodation to him. I said I wanted to use it. He commenced weighing +it out. I then thought it would make no difference to me and it was +mean not to accommodate him, for I might want some favor of him. I said, +if I can have it in three days without fail it would answer my purpose. +He said, you can have it now, pouring the gold in the scales to weigh +it. I said never mind, I don't want it now. The fire came that night, +burnt his place up and all his property. He was a ruined man. I never +saw him afterward. + +Mr. G., to whom I had bargained to sell my houses to arrive, (and he +backed out) was an Englishman from Liverpool. He had about all the +consignments of shipments from that city (evidently being very popular +there), to sell on commission at ten per cent; when the goods came and +were sold, instead of remitting the capital to the owners and being +satisfied with his commission, he used it in buying property and in +erecting buildings in San Francisco. He had constructed a fire-proof +building which he rented to the government for a post-office, at a large +sum per month, likewise the first theatre in the city, and other +buildings. He informed me at one time how much his rents amounted to per +month; the sum was several thousand dollars. Money was worth but three +to five per cent in England per year to the owners of the merchandise; +while in California it was in demand at ten per cent per month. I +suppose he thought he would make a great fortune for himself and then +return to England (where he had a wife and children) and pay up all his +obligations with extra allowance, for the use of the money, and make all +satisfactory; but the great fire destroyed all his buildings, and he was +a ruined man, there being no insurance in the city then. I met a friend +in New York about two years after my return from California; I asked him +when he saw Mr. G. last. He said, "it was about 11 o'clock one day at a +hotel where he invited some friends to take a drink. Mr. G. was there, +he declined; but afterward called him to one side and asked him to loan +him $1, saying he had had no breakfast that morning." Such was an +example of some of the fluctuations of fortune in those days. + +Some parties came with various kinds of machinery that was to make a +certain fortune for them, and was taken up into the interior at great +expense. I never knew of one that was successful. About all the +companies that were formed in the States to go around Cape Horn for +mining purposes generally dissolved after arriving in California, but +what they brought with them for supplies, sold for so high a price that +it generally sold for more than the cost of their passage, and they had +money coming to them. Some companies bought the ships as they came in +and hired the captain. I recollect one, called the _Mechanics' Own_. +Every person joining their company in the States had to be voted in and +pay $1,000. They put on airs and talked quite aristocratic of their +captain as their boy. + +Three persons started the first bank in San Francisco, called the +Miners' Bank, on the northwestern corner of the plaza. Mr. Haight, who +was from Rochester, N.Y., and the sutler of Colonel Stevenson's +regiment, was one of them. It was said that at first they bought gold as +low as $8 per ounce, when it was worth more than $18 at the mint East. +The owners of the bank made $100,000 each in three or four years. + +Before the discovery of gold the then small places on the Pacific Coast +obtained their supplies from small trading vessels that sailed along the +coast and stopped at their towns occasionally. After the discovery of +gold, at first goods went up four or five times their previous value, +and when one of these vessels was seen entering the port, parties would +put out in small boats to get aboard of them before they came to anchor +(they on board knowing nothing about the discovery of the gold), would +bargain with them for some of their goods, and finally offer them so +much for all their cargo. It being beyond their expectations the offer +was generally accepted, and thus some big speculations were made. + +A lieutenant of Stevenson's regiment, who had been down in Monterey and +had not heard of the gold discovery, on his first day in San Francisco, +informed me that he did not know what to make of things. Most of his old +acquaintances wanted to know if he did not want to borrow some money; +they had some that he could have as well as not. + +The steamers came in once a month with letters and papers. Then long +lines were formed to the post-office. Sometimes it took half a day to +get there. The New York papers at first sold for $1 each. Then they got +down to fifty cents. I sold the _New York Herald_, that was more than a +month old, that contained the latest news there from the States in the +interior, for $5, and the man coaxed it out of me at that, for I wanted +to give it to a party of friends I was going to see in the mining +districts. I knew it would be a great treat to them. It is almost +impossible to recall all the exact scenes of those days, so as to have +them fully realized by the reader. + +The city of San Francisco was extending more rapidly in what they called +the Happy Valley district, which was toward the Mission of Dolores, +established by the Jesuits. I visited it when the building was intact. I +recollect a painting of an Indian warrior, with his bows and arrows, the +implements of war, represented as a saint ascending to heaven--I suppose +to create favorable impression on Indians and make converts of them. + +My friend was going on with his brewery, and borrowing money and getting +me deeper on his paper. He heard that I had $2,500 deposited with +McCondery & Co., and pleaded with me to let him have it as it would +carry him through. I had lost all confidence in him, and felt it would +be like throwing it in the sea. I informed him that I had shipped it +the day before, which I had not, but went right down and gave an order +for its shipment, for fear he might over-persuade me to let him have it, +and I thus saved it. When most completed, a barrel of alcohol that was +in the building bursted, and it ran down to the furnace and set it on +fire, and burnt it up. That was the fate of the first brewery started in +California. Since then there have been millions made in that business +there. + +The North Beach property, after I had sold all my houses out, I closed +my interest in. It proved a failure to use for a wharf or shipping +point. + +During the seven months of summer the north-west wind blew there so hard +every afternoon that it was not a safe place for vessels, and the +property would never have any value for that purpose, and I do not think +it has ever been used since for that. + +In the winter months, which is generally the rainy season, the wind +blows from the south for five months, and the other seven months it +blows from the north-west over six thousand miles of ocean, and, +consequently, is not impregnated with any decayed vegetable matter, and +is as pure as air can be. In San Francisco the sun would rise in a clear +sky every morning and there would be a perfect calm; by 11 A.M. there +would be a little breeze; by 2 or 3 o'clock, a gale. When the sun set +the wind would subside and there would be a perfect calm again. Every +day would be the same, month after month. What was almost a gale on the +coast would be a gentle breeze up in the mining district, in the +interior. The next day that air would be displaced by another gale from +over the thousand miles of ocean, for it is impossible to imagine any +other country with purer air. + +During that time there were various visionary reports of new discoveries +of gold regions, one of a lake that the sands of its banks were rich +with gold. All you had to do, to make your fortune, was to wash it out, +which produced quite a sensation, and parties were organized to go +there, but they never found it. The next year after the purchase of my +brig, there were small steamers constructed to run to Stockton, and they +had already some sailing vessels put on, built there, and the price of +freight had commenced falling, and I thought I had better sell my vessel +while I could get a good price for it. There was a man who came to me +and said he wanted to buy it; that he had been a captain of a boat on +Lake Erie. I stated to him my price for it. He said that was not out of +the way, but he would like to try it one trip before closing the +purchase, and referred me to a mercantile house there as his reference. +They said he had run vessels for them on Lake Erie when they were doing +business in Buffalo. I concluded that was entirely satisfactory; that +that had evidently been his regular business. He said he wanted to +employ all his own hands. I had the vessel, at the time, half loaded +with freight, which I turned over to him. I paid my men and discharged +them, and told them the vessel was about to change owners, and put him +in full possession of it. Of course I had nothing more to do with it +until he returned from the trip to Stockton; then I expected he would +close the purchase as he said that the price was satisfactory to him. +After a few weeks I commenced looking for the return of my brig, but it +did not come. Finally I heard a rumor that the captain had left the +vessel at Stockton, but did not believe it, but thought that some +accident might have happened. I had borrowed a spy-glass to investigate +the bay. I could have recognized my vessel by the red streak around it. +Finally, after it had been gone long enough to make several trips, I +discovered it at anchor in the bay. I went and supplied myself with +money, in case it should prove true that the captain had left the +vessel, to pay his men in full before they got ashore, because the +vessel was liable for their wages, whoever might have employed them; so +I hired a boat to row me out to it. I met a man on the deck that seemed +to be in command. I inquired of him where the captain was. He said he +had run away. I spoke to him in a sharp tone of voice and said, how do +you know that? He said, because I saw him on the back of a mule going +over the plain. Then he asked me, are you the owner? I said, yes. Then I +said, you have all got your pay before he went; I did not employ you. He +said, some of them have got some. + +As you seem to be in command, I suppose you have kept an account of how +it stands. He said, "Come down in the cabin and I will show it to you." +I said, "It was hard on me to be robbed of all my freight money, but it +was also hard for them to be cheated out of their hard earnings, and I +would see what I could do for them." He presented the statement of what +each man had received and what was due them. I was surprised at his +correctness. I said: It seems all right and I would pay them, which I +did, and took their receipt. I was afraid if they went ashore and found +the vessel was liable for their wages they might make any kind of +demands, so I got possession of my vessel again, very much damaged. +Before leaving the port he had let the steamer _Senator_ run into the +bows of the vessel, and it cost me $700 to have it repaired, ship +carpenters' wages being $20 per day, payable in gold. The events which I +had anticipated of the decline of that kind of property had come, and, +after it was repaired, I put it up at auction and sold it, so that +rascal cost me several thousand dollars. Such was life in California in +the days of the Forty-niners. + +Having some leisure I thought I would take a trip up the mining regions, +and make a visit to my old friends there. More than a year had passed, +and greater changes had taken place than would have occurred in any +other country in many years. The population of California increased one +hundred thousand the first year after the discovery of the gold, which +had accounted for the great changes which had taken place since my +previous trip. I went up on the steamer _Senator_ to Sacramento, which +had become quite a city, and the next morning started for Coloma in a +stage full of passengers, drawn by mules. I took a seat aside of the +driver. I got in conversation with the driver. I asked him what pay he +received? He said, only $450 per month and his board. I asked him if he +had driven stages before? He said, yes, out of Boston. I said, at what +wages? He said, $14 a month. I said that there was a big difference +between that and $450. He said, yes, but that this was his last trip. He +took a party of three up only a few weeks ago, and he brought them down +yesterday, and they had between $3,000 and $4,000 apiece, and he was not +going to waste his time driving for $450 a month. He was going to the +mines the next day. It was quite probable that the party referred to had +made an unusual lucky strike, for I had met parties that had done the +same thing. I had had in my hands at one time, in San Francisco, a piece +of solid gold metal, something in the shape of the cover of a sugar +loaf, that was worth $4,500, found by a couple of green Irishmen. They +inquired of some miners in the interior where was a good place to dig. +The miners said in fun, dig there in that sand bank behind you. The +Irishmen took them up in earnest and went to digging. In a short time +they found that chunk of gold, where no experienced miner would think of +digging. + +I have dug gold in the cellar of the brewery in San Francisco. I think +most all the soil of that part of California is impregnated with gold. +But the point is to find it in sufficient quantities to pay to dig it. +As an illustration, if you knew that in a certain piece of ground there +was $5,000 worth of gold, and it cost you $10,000 to wash all the ground +to get it, of course that land would have no gold value. I found at +Coloma that my friends had left the Dutch bar and gone to the middle +fork of the American river, some distance from there. I got directions +how to get there and started on foot. Toward night I met a young man who +had just came overland and had separated that day from his party to get +work in the mining camp. I told him where I was going, and that he had +better go with me, and that he could get from $10 to $16 per day to work +for other parties, or to join two others and work a claim for himself, +which he did. So as it was getting toward night, we camped under a tree +and slept until morning, and took a fresh start. That day we found the +middle fork of the American river and my friends. The river was sunk +way down in the earth. It seemed almost a mile down to the water where +they were to work. It was quite a large mining place. The excitement +there every day was when the "dummy" went into the river. It was a +diving armor that had been used in the gulf of Lower California to go +down in the deep waters to hunt for pearls, and had been bought by a +party of five, each putting in $800, making $4,000, expecting to make +their fortunes by getting into the deep water of the gold rivers. (As I +have shown before, the torrents and force of the currents had prevented +any gold from ever lodging there.) Every day at such an hour, it was +announced that the "dummy" was a going in the river. The other miners +quit their work to see it, and the proprietors of the "dummy" always +treated the crowd in the most lavish manner. Its credit was good for any +store bills. Its always treating the crowd had made it popular, and +nobody would trade with the storekeeper who would not trust it, so it +was death to the prosperity of the storekeeper, whether he trusted it or +not. They never got any gold while there through "dummy," and when he +left to go further down the river to try another place, the main +storekeeper there lost $800 by trusting it, which broke him. These +stores were tents, to supply immediate wants of the miners. I never +heard of "dummy" afterward. I have no doubt he operated on all the store +tents until he came to grief like all evil-doers. + +The productiveness of the gold rivers had not diminished any that I +could perceive. I talked to a man who had been off a little ways to +prospect in another place. I asked him what luck? He said, there was +nothing there. I said, was there no gold? He said; yes, there was some, +but of no value. He said a man could make $10 a day, and who was a going +to waste their time on that. My visit over, I returned to San Francisco. +My friend R.'s brewery was not completed. I was informed he had been +borrowing money from a Jew at twenty per cent a month. It was no use for +me to back him any more, however valuable it might be, if completed, and +I had no doubt there was a fortune in it, but neither he nor I had the +capital to do it. + +I had some other financial entangling matters, and I was afraid if I +kept on with them I might get broke, and the only way I saw of getting +out with them was to announce that I was going to leave, and going down +to Relago, Central America. + +There was an English steamer advertised to sail for that port and +Panama. I thought I would go for sixty days and then return and commence +again and manage my affairs in a more conservative way, and what I could +control. Well I closed my matters out the best I could and engaged my +passage on the steamer for Relago. There was considerable excitement at +this time about the Nicaragua route. The above place would be the +terminus on the Pacific coast, and, consequently, a place of importance. +As I had missed it in trading six of my houses for lots in San +Francisco, there might be a chance to get some there in advance of any +rise on them. Any way, I wanted to get out of my entangling alliances +and take a fresh start. The night before I sailed Mr. Brady (Colonel +Stevenson's son-in-law) came to me and said the colonel did not like to +have me go. I told him I had paid my passage, $200. He said the colonel +understood that. He put his hand in his vest pocket and pulled out a +roll of bills. He said, here is the $200, which he told me to give you, +so you will not lose any thing by not going. There was once a lady, the +wife of one of the officers of his regiment, who arrived there, +expecting to meet her husband, but he was up in the country. The colonel +asked me to go down to the steamer and meet her, and escort her to a +boarding-house to stay until her husband arrived, which I did. I told +him that she was short of funds, having expected to meet her husband. He +gave me $150 and told me to give it to her, as if I loaned it to her, +and when her husband paid me I could return it to him. I mention these +little incidents to show that whatever faults he may have had, he was +the most generous of friends. + +Colonels Stevenson, Freemont and Captain Sutter will stand pre-eminent +in the future history of the State as its most prominent founders. + +I sailed out of the port of San Francisco on the steamer _Ecuador_ for +Relago, Central America, expecting to return to California within sixty +days. In a few days, out at sea, we began to hear unfavorable rumors +about our vessel; that the engineer had left the day before our sailing; +that he did not consider it safe to go in it; that it could not carry +coal enough to take it to Acapulco, the next coaling place. And we were +informed that it was a steamer that had been running from Panama to +Valparaiso, and had been bought up by a speculator and sent up to San +Francisco as an experiment, to see if it would pay. The officers and men +had never been up the coast before, and knew nothing about the port. One +day we were startled in mid ocean by the stopping of the engine. We soon +found the cause. The captain was about to try his sails so as to save +coal (which verified the reports about being short of coal). We made +some headway with the sails, but lost it again when the wind subsided, +by the currents of the ocean; so that project was abandoned, and after +some days we put into the port of San Blas, in Mexico, for fuel. There +was no coal there, so we laid in all the wood we could to try and reach +Acapulco (here we could not buy any thing with our $5 gold pieces, but +they were ready to sell for silver). The cholera had been there, they +said, but had left. The priests had had a procession, and, with their +incense boxes, had marched through the streets and driven it out. We +took in all the wood we could get and started to make the port of +Acapulco, the regular coaling port for all the steamers on that coast. +It was Sunday P.M. We could raise fuel enough to make only four knots an +hour. It was an iron steamer. We were burning what there was of the +woodwork of the vessel, for if we could not make the port before dark we +were lost. The officers were not acquainted with the coast. We had not +fuel enough to keep steam up all night, and we would be on the broad +Pacific ocean, six thousand miles across, without the remotest +possibility of meeting any other vessel, without any control of our +steamer, subject to be driven in any direction. I heard the mate talking +to the captain about the propriety of wrecking the vessel and saving +what lives they could, although we were in sight of land. The captain +said the under-tow was so great that none could be saved in that way. +It is twice as great on the Pacific as the Atlantic. There were no +female passengers. One man said he had $10,000 in gold with him; if his +wife and children only had that he would be content to meet his fate, +under the circumstances, but it was hard to leave them without it. All +the passengers had more or less gold, or they would not have been +returning. + +You can imagine with what anxiety we watched every indication of the +coast to see if there was any chance of us nearing the port. Finally, +toward night, we saw a high projection of land on the coast, and that +was predicted that it was the entrance to the port. If we could reach +that point before dark, we might be saved. The passengers went to work +to break up any thing for the fires that would make steam. The captain +made no objections, but told them to burn all woodwork on the vessel to +save their lives. At dark we reached the point we had in view, and it +was fortunate for us that it was the entrance to the port. As the vessel +turned to enter, you could see, coming over the waters of the ocean, a +tropical storm, accompanied with wind, thunder and lightning. Twenty +minutes later it would have reached us, and we would have been lost. As +soon as we got safely in port (and it was very dark), I can hear now, in +imagination, the sound of the anchor as it was let down in the water, +which assured our entire safety. It thundered and lightninged, and +blowing a high gale, which was music in our ears, as we knew we were out +of danger, and feeling the supreme gratification of knowing what we had +escaped. Blessed to us was the high mountains which surrounded the port. +The entrance to it is narrow, but when you get inside it is one of the +safest harbors in the world, being perfectly land-locked. The next day +opened on a happy lot of passengers. I felt as if I was commencing life +anew. We went ashore expecting to be there several days, as they +proposed to take in a full supply of coal. This place had been once +quite a city, but many years ago had been partly destroyed by an +earthquake. It was said that the water went out of the bay most to the +tops of the mountains, and then reacted to its usual level in the +harbor; that there was a French ship carried up to the sides of the +mountains, and when the water reacted, carried back in safety in the +harbor. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed, the ruins of which are now +visible where the city once extended. + +I was introduced to General Alvarado. He was the most prominent man in +Mexico, on the Pacific coast, at that time, and afterward became very +prominent in the public affairs of his country. On our return to the +vessel that evening there was quite an excitement on board. Among the +passengers was a party of three who had been quite successful in +Sacramento in the bottling of soda and summer beer, and peddling it out +through the city. They had picked up by chance an old acquaintance from +Waterford who belonged to an aristocratic family there, and by his +habits of dissipation was a mortification to them. So when the +California excitement broke out, they furnished him the money to go to +the gold regions. It would either reform him or they would get rid of +him. Of course, such men were no good in California, and he had spent +his money and wanted to return. These men came across him and told him +they were going to return East in sixty days, and if he would keep +straight, and drive one of their wagons for them, they would take him +home with them. When they went ashore the first day they left him in +charge of their baggage, and promised him that he could go ashore the +next. They had their private store of wines and brandy. He had found it +and tried it and got full, and treated all the sailors and everybody on +board that would drink with him, and was the most popular man on board +with the sailors. He repented the next day and begged their +forgiveness, and they took him home with them. Like a bad penny, he +returned as he was before. Distance did not reform him. + +Well, our next port was Relago my destination. Just after dark one day +we got opposite to what, according to the charts, was that port. It was +necessary for them to wait until morning before they could undertake to +enter it, as they had never been there before, and there were no pilots, +and they decided not to let the steam go down, and they concluded that +they would sail slowly around in a circle, so as to be opposite to the +port in the morning. When morning came it was foggy, and we could not +see the land. But they had such confidence in the correctness of their +chart that they determined to enter it. Instead of the port, we came to +the white caps, dashing against the rocks almost mountains high, and we +came within an ace of being dashed to pieces against them. If the +engineer had not reversed the movement of the engine the instant he +did, we would have been wrecked. The captain was now completely +befogged. In a short time he came to me with a paper to sign agreeing to +go to Panama. It should cost me nothing extra for my passage there; that +the few other passengers for that port had signed it. I thought I had +better sign to go anywhere than to take any more chances in that +steamer. Come to find out afterward, instead of being opposite the port +that morning, we were twenty miles from it, the currents of the ocean +having carried us that distance while we were sailing around in a +circle, which they had not ciphered on, and thus came so near wrecking +us. By chance we saw a sailing vessel. The captain gave orders for the +steamer to follow it, and, when we overtook it, we found it was bound +for Relago. There was a man on board of it who was acquainted with the +port. They got him to come on our steamer and had him pilot us to that +port, so I expected to go ashore, and got my baggage in readiness, and, +when the time came, had it brought up on deck. They did not enter the +port, but came to outside. There were two passengers, it seems, that +would not sign the paper to go to Panama, and it was to land them he had +come to, and when I went to have my baggage put in the small boat the +captain informed me I had signed to go to Panama, and some of the other +passengers said I was very foolish to risk my life in that sea in so +small a boat. Before I scarcely knew it the boat had pushed off without +me, and, consequently, the whole current and course of my life was +changed. Upon such little incidents often do the events of human life +depend. It may have been fortunate for me that I did not land there. + +There was in Nicaragua at the time a filibustering expedition under the +command of Captain Walker, who went from California to overthrow the +government there by taking sides with the revolutionary movement that +had been started, and to get an American control of the government, +which I did not approve of, for I considered it a dishonorable movement; +but still, if I had landed, they being my countrymen, I might have got +mixed up with them. They were conquered and all sentenced to death, and +shot. It is barely possible I might have shared their fate. I have often +thought since I made a good escape by not landing. + + +SCENES ON THE PACIFIC OCEAN. + +The course of the steamer is frequently in sight of land. The storms I +have referred to were tropical storms, lasting but a short time. The +ocean is generally very mild all the distance, three thousand five +hundred miles from Panama to San Francisco. North of San Francisco the +storms are somewhat similar to the Atlantic ocean storms. The passengers +on the return trip were in the best of spirits; they were returning +home; all of them had been more or less successful in California, and I +can recall to my mind many pleasant times we had on board the steamship. +The porpoise are very numerous on the Pacific ocean; there were often, +for days, schools of them on the sides of the steamer, throwing +themselves out of the water, and then diving in again; great numbers, at +the same time, seeming like the motion of a revolving wheel. +Occasionally we would hear the cry, "There she blows;" a jet of water +being thrown up many feet high in the air--a sperm whale had come up to +breathe. We frequently saw flying fish. One day there was a school of +them landed on the steamer; they are similar to other fish, except +having wings, but not of a very large size. At another time a booby bird +came on the steamer. It got its name from its stupidity. We frequently +saw them on the water, floating on a piece of board or a stick of wood; +sailors say they have seen them five hundred miles out to sea in that +way. This one you could take up and handle; it made no resistance. On +the coast of Central America we saw two mountain peaks of great height, +standing out, individually, like the Pyramids, said to be extinct +volcanoes that were thrown up from the internal fires of the earth, and +which, at one time, belched forth melted lava and fire. + +We arrived safe in Panama. I was so near home that I thought I might as +well return and see my friends, and take a fresh start for California, +and try my fortune once more. They had commenced building the railroad +over the Isthmus, but it was not completed, so we crossed over to +Cruize, the head of navigation on the Chagres river, and went down that +to its mouth, and there took the steamer _Georgia_ for New York, +commanded by Captain Porter, of the United States navy--the man who had +control of the vessels in going down the Mississippi river and +successfully passing Vicksburg, which had so much to do with its +capture. He was a perfect gentleman, and commanded your admiration with +the skill of his management of the vessel. There were on the vessel +well-dressed pickpockets, who went from New York to the Isthmus, to +return by the steamers to the city, for the chances of robbing the +returning Californians of their gold dust, as all of them had more or +less of it on their persons. One unfortunate victim of their wiles +appealed strongly to my sympathies. He was an English sailor, and had +been two or three years up in the gold mines, and had $3,000 or $4,000 +in gold dust in a buckskin bag on his person. He showed it to me. I +advised him to deposit it with the purser for safety; that I had done so +with mine. He said they could not rob him. He was about the happiest man +I ever saw. He was richer, in feeling, than the Vanderbilts. He said he +had a wife and children in Liverpool, and would take the first steamer +from New York for that port. He said he had not seen his family for +several years, and now that he had the gold he could make them all +happy. He was in the steerage. A few days after I heard he was sick. He +had fainted. Some parties had helped him up; evidently pickpockets had +taken that opportunity to rob him; his gold was all gone. I explained +his case to Captain Porter, but nothing could be done. There was no way +to identify his gold dust from any other; it was all alike. When he +arrived in New York, he would have to go to the hospital until he got +well enough to ship on some other vessel for $14 per month, and not be +able to return to his wife and children with his gold, and make them +happy, while these black-hearted villainsillians were spending his +money, his hard earnings of years. I entered in a bond, with myself, +that if I were ever on a jury I would never show any mercy to a thief. + +As we were sailing along many ships and schooners came in sight. We were +evidently nearing the great port of New York. The land of Staten Island +soon came in sight covered with snow. It was late in the fall. It was +the first I had seen since my departure from the same port, except on +the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Here ends my personal +adventures of the days of the Forty-niners, to be continued by the +peroration on California. + + +PERORATION. + +On my return, in looking over my finances, I was no poorer than when I +left. It must be evident to the reader that I had acquired no wealth to +astonish my friends with my riches, which was the visionary expectation +of the early pioneers to the gold Eldorado. I have been writing from +personal recollections of events that occurred forty-five years ago. Of +course, there was nothing in my enterprises, or the little fluctuations +of fortune that would be of particular interest to any one; but in the +form of a personal narrative, it was the only way I could recall +vividly to my mind, the events of so long ago. There were a series of +articles published in the _Century_ magazine two years ago, which I read +with great interest, for they were truthful, but no book has ever been +published that took in fully those two years when common labor was $16 +per day, payable in gold. Such an event was never known to occur before, +and probably never will again. I have not drawn on my imagination in the +least in this narrative. I have simply attempted to portray from memory +events that actually occurred under my own observation. Any Forty-niner +will concede the truth of my narrative. I did not return to California +as I had expected. Cupid's arrow pierced my heart in the person of a +young lady, and sealed my fate. I had a cottage built in the quiet and +beautiful valley of Schoharie, where I have passed more than thirty +years of happy married life. While not possessing the wealth of the +successful pioneer, I have been content. + +"A MONUMENT TO JACOB A.L. FISHER, A UNION SOLDIER. + +"_Interview with Doctor Knower, who has Charge of It--Some Interesting +Reminiscences of Forty-niners._ + +"A monument to be erected in the Old Stone Fort Cemetery to Jacob A.L. +Fisher, a Union soldier, by Abraham Schell, his uncle, of California. + +"A draft of the above monument is before us. It is quite an affair, +about twenty-seven feet high, with a full length statue of a soldier on +top. It is now being constructed in Des Moines, Iowa, to be shipped by +the 1st of May, and unveiled on the 4th day of July, 1894, with +appropriate ceremonies. Dr. Knower, in 76, in laying the corner-stone to +the David Williams State monument, gave the grandest celebration that +ever occurred in this county. This one he expects to rely to a great +extent on the local army organizations of the county, as this honor paid +to one of their compatriots in arms is an honor to them. + +"We have before us a copy of the Stockton (Cal.) _Evening Mail_ of +November 9, 1893, containing a seven column article descriptive of +Abraham Schell's vineyard at Knight's Ferry, Cal. We quote from it: 'A +characteristic act of Abraham Schell was to give a deed to the entire +place and all of its appurtenances, last summer, to Herrick R. Schell, +his nephew, who had served him faithfully as assistant and business +associate for twenty-six years.' The property conveyed consisted of +three thousand acres, upon which Mr. Schell had expended at the time the +deed was given a quarter of a million of dollars. We see by the same +article that Abraham Schell's landed purchases in that locality, in the +early days, amounted to fifteen thousand five hundred and thirty-five +acres. + +"Mr. Schell joined a company formed by Dr. Knower (who made an +investment in it, and was then a resident of Albany), which sailed on +the ship _Tarolinton_ from the port of New York, on the 13th of +January, 1849. The doctor, the following spring, shipped from Albany, +twelve houses around Cape Horn, the freight on which was $5,000, he +going by the way of the Isthmus, arriving in San Francisco on the 25th +of September, 1849. On the steamer going up from Panama was Judge Terry, +of Louisiana, who killed United States Senator Broderick in a duel, and +who was years afterward assassinated. + +"In these early days there was a contest between Northern and Southern +pioneers whether California should come in the Union a free or a slave +State. Broderick, a Democrat from the city of New York, represented the +Northern sentiment, and was supported by the Whigs of the State. Common +labor at that time was $16 per day, payable in gold. It was more from +pride than from any thing to do with the moral question of slavery. They +did not want to come in competition with slave labor. The Northern +element predominated, and California came in a free State. Its first +constitution was written by George Washington Sherwood, who was a +Democratic member of the New York Legislature from Washington county, +and copied after the constitution of this State. + +"California may be said to be the child of the State of New York; her +citizens may be said to have been pre-eminent in its development and +present greatness. + +"Abraham Schell was born in Gallupville, and proposes to be buried in +the neighboring village of Middleburgh, his wife's native place, where +he has erected a monument. + +"They say that all Forty-niners who remained in California either became +millionaires or paupers. It seems that Mr. Schell was one of the former. +He was an unconditional Union man in the rebellion, visiting the +hospitals of the wounded soldiers, and assisting them by his means, and +the erection of this monument to his nephew for his services in that +war is but in accord with his acts of patriotism at that time." + +The above article inspired this undertaking at this time. I expected to +find my friend on at the dedication of the monument, and thought I would +have the manuscript ready on his arrival and submit it to him, and +propose to have him go in partnership with me in its publication, and +have him revise it with me. He was a man of high literary attainments, +and an experienced Forty-niner, who could have added many important +events to it that did not come under my observation. He was wealthy, and +had the means to bring it properly before the public. + + +DEATH OF A FORMER SCHOHARIAN. + +Intelligence reaches us of the death of Abraham Schell, at his home at +Knight's Ferry, California, in the early part of February. Mr. Schell +was seventy-six years old, and was a native of this county, having been +born in the town of Wright. At the time of the gold excitement in 1849 +he was in the mercantile business in Albany, but sold out and joining a +company of friends journeyed to California, where he invested his means +to good advantage and became highly successful, amassing a large +fortune. His vineyards and their product have long been celebrated. A +man of independent thought and fine literary attainments, he was one of +the sons of Schoharie county, whose enterprise and intellectual culture +we may take just pride in. + +His remains are deposited in a vault there, to be brought here in the +spring by his nephew, and interred in their final resting place in the +cemetery at Middleburgh, where he has a $2,000 monument erected. + +We learn from Dr. Knower that the proposed monument to his nephew at Old +Stone Fort will undoubtedly be erected, as it has been contracted for, +but the full details he will not be posted on until the arrival of the +nephew in the spring. + +The above will show that death, which plays an important hand in the +events of human life, intervened; so I have gone on alone and submit it +to the public, such as it is. I hope and trust it may meet the approval +of all Californians, more particularly of those of the days to which it +refers. If they will give their approval, it will add to the happiness +and gratification of one of their compatriots of those early days of the +pioneers and founders of the State of California. What California has +become since, we, at that time, had no realization of. Instead of +conceiving it an utter impossibility of ever building one railroad +across the continent, we now have five. Instead of conceiving the idea +that it would never be an agricultural country, it may be said to be the +vineyard and wine producing country of the world, and it has a greater +variety of productions than most any other land. + +The city of San Francisco, when I first entered it, had not as many good +buildings as a common eastern village. Now it has a population of +nearly four hundred thousand, and edifices that cost millions. It has +produced more millionaires, from persons that went there poor, than any +other country before in the history of the world, and more money has +been donated to science and education by those successful pioneers, who +were the creators of their own fortune in the same time, than all the +rest of the world in the past forty-five years, since the days of the +Forty-niners. + +Lick's institution for the science of astronomy, Leland Stanford's +twenty millions to the Alto University of Learning, open to all +students, are illustrations of the above statements. + +The foundation of the fortunes of many bankers and wealthy capitalists +of the East were made in California in the days of the Forty-niners. +Mill, the owner of the great building at the corner of Broadway and Wall +street, the ground on which it stands costing a million, who is many +times a millionaire, went from Sing Sing, in this State, a poor boy in +1849. Armour, the great millionaire cattle dealer of Chicago, made his +first money there in those days, which laid the foundation of his great +fortune, and many others I can recall to mind too numerous to mention. + +While all did not succeed, as they never do in any human enterprise, +some got discouraged, others fell by the way and laid down and died from +disappointment, yet others more than realized their most fabulous +conception of wealth. I was told when I was a boy if I went where the +sun set and dug for gold I would find it. When I became a man I went +three thousand miles in the direction of the sun setting and dug and +found gold. It is not a dream, for as I close this writing I see on my +little finger a gold ring made from the gold I there dug, which has been +there for forty-five years. It is so fine that it has been wearing away, +and it is not more than one-fourth the size it was when I first put it +on, and time is likewise wearing on me, and it will probably last as +long as I do, and we will disappear together, as Shakespeare says, +"besmeared with sluttish time." + +THE END. + + + + +APPENDIX. + +It was the brains and statesmanship of Wm. L. Marcy, when he was +secretary of war under President Polk, that inaugurated and generaled +the movements that resulted in our securing possession of California--by +his expeditions, sent by sea and by land, of regular forces, followed by +the volunteer regiment of one thousand men, under the command of Col. +Jonathan Stevenson, as the following able State paper indicates: + +[Confidential.] + +[Illustration: W.L. Marcy] + +WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, _June_ 3, 1846. + +SIR.--I herewith send you a copy of my letter to the governor of +Missouri for an additional force of one thousand mounted men. The object +of thus adding to the force under your command is not, as you will +perceive, fully set forth in that letter, for the reason that it is +deemed prudent that it should not, at this time, become a matter of +public notoriety; but to you it is proper and necessary that it should +be stated. + +It has been decided by the president to be of the greatest importance in +the pending war with Mexico to take the earliest possession of Upper +California. An expedition with that view is hereby ordered, and you are +designated to command it. To enable you to be in sufficient force to +conduct it successfully this additional force of a thousand mounted men +has been provided, to follow you in the direction of Santa Fe, to be +under your orders or the officer you may leave in command at Santa Fe. + +It cannot be determined how far this additional force will be behind +that designated for the Santa Fe expedition, but it will not probably be +more than a few weeks. When you arrive at Santa Fe with the force +already called, and shall have taken possession of it, you may find +yourself in a condition to garrison it with a small part of your +command (as the additional force will soon be at that place), and with +the remainder, press forward to California. In that case you will make +such arrangements as to being followed by the reinforcements before +mentioned, as in your judgment may be deemed safe and prudent. I need +not say to you that in case you conquer Santa Fe (and with it will be +included the department of the State of New Mexico), it will be +important to provide for retaining safe possession of it. Should you +deem it prudent to have still more troops for the accomplishment of the +object herein designated, you will lose no time in communicating that +opinion on that point, and all others connected with the enterprise, to +this department. Indeed you are hereby authorized to make a direct +requisition for it upon the governor of Missouri. + +It is known that a large body of Mormon emigrants are en route to +California for the purpose of settling in that country. You are desired +to use all proper means to have a good understanding with them, to the +end that the United States may have their co-operation in taking +possession of and holding that country. It has been suggested here that +many of these Mormons would willingly enter into the service of the +United States and aid us in our expedition against California. You are +hereby authorized to muster into service such as can be induced to +volunteer; not, however, to a number exceeding one-third of your entire +force. Should they enter the service they will be paid as other +volunteers, and you can allow them to designate, so far as it can be +properly done, the persons to act as officers thereof. It is understood +that a considerable number of American citizens are now settled on the +Sacramento river, near Sutter's establishment, called "Nueva Helvetia," +who are well disposed toward the United States. Should you, on your +arrival in the country, find this to be the true state of things there, +you are authorized to organize and receive into the service of the +United States such portion of these citizens as you may think useful to +aid you to hold the possession of the country. You will in that case +allow them, so far as you shall judge proper, to select their own +officers. A large discretionary power is invested in you in regard to +these matters, as well as to all others, in relation to the expedition +confided to your command. + +The choice of routes by which you will enter California will be left to +your better knowledge and ampler means of getting accurate information. +We are assured that a southern route (called the Caravan route, by which +the wild horses are brought from that country into New Mexico) is +practicable, and it is suggested as not improbable that it can be passed +over in the winter months, or at least late in autumn. It is hoped that +this information may prove to be correct. + +In regard to routes; the practicability of procuring needful supplies +for men and animals, and transporting baggage is a point to be well +considered. Should the president be disappointed in his cherished hope +that you will be able to reach the interior of Upper California before +winter, you are then desired to make the best arrangement you can for +sustaining your forces during the winter, and for an early movement in +the spring. Though it is very desirable that the expedition should reach +California this season (and the president does not doubt you will make +every possible effort to accomplish this object), yet if, in your +judgment, it cannot be undertaken with a reasonable assurance of +success, you will defer it, as above suggested, until spring. You are +left unembarrassed by any specific directions in the matter. + +It is expected that the naval forces of the United States which are now, +or will soon be in the Pacific, will be in possession of all the towns +on the seacoast, and will co-operate with you in the conquest of +California. Arms, ordnance, munitions of war, and provisions to be used +in that country, will be sent by sea to our squadron in the Pacific for +the use of the land forces. + +Should you conquer and take possession of New Mexico and Upper +California, or considerable places in either, you will establish +temporary civil government therein, abolishing all arbitrary +restrictions that may exist, so far as it may be done with safety. + +In performing this duty, it would be wise and prudent to continue in +their employment all such of the existing officers as are known to be +friendly to the United States, and will take the oath of allegiance to +them. The duties of the custom-house ought, at once, to be reduced to +such a rate as may be barely sufficient to maintain the necessary +officers without yielding any revenue to the government. You may assure +the people of these provinces that it is the wish and design of the +United States to provide for them a free government with the least +possible delay, similar to that which exists in our territories. They +will then be called on to exercise the rights of freemen in electing +their own representatives to the territorial legislature. It is foreseen +that what relates to the civil government will be a difficult and +unpleasant part of your duty, and much must necessarily be left to your +own discretion. In your whole conduct you will act in such a manner as +best to conciliate the inhabitants and render them friendly to the +United States. + +It is desirable that the usual trade between the citizens of the United +States and the Mexican provinces should be continued, as far as +practicable, under the changed condition of things between the two +countries. In consequence of extending your expedition into California +it may be proper that you should increase your supply for goods to be +distributed as presents to the Indians. The United States +superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis will aid you in procuring +these goods. You will be furnished with a proclamation in the Spanish +language, to be issued by you and circulated among the Mexican people on +your entering into or approaching their country. You will use your +utmost endeavors to have the pledges and promises therein contained +carried out to the utmost extent. + +I am directed by the president to say that the rank of brevet +brigadier-general will be conferred on you as soon as you commence your +movement toward California, and sent round to you by sea or over the +country, or to the care of the commandant of our squadron in the +Pacific. In that way cannon, arms, ammunition and supplies for the land +forces will be sent to you. + +Very respectfully, your obedient servant, + +W.L. MARCY, + +_Secretary of War_. + +COLONEL S. N. KEARNEY, _Fort Leavenworth, Missouri._ + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ADVENTURES OF A FORTY-NINER*** + + +******* This file should be named 12518.txt or 12518.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/5/1/12518 + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +https://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at https://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +https://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at https://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit https://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including including checks, online payments and credit card +donations. To donate, please visit: https://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's +eBook number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, +compressed (zipped), HTML and others. + +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over +the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. +VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving +new filenames and etext numbers. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + +https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + +EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000, +are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to +download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular +search system you may utilize the following addresses and just +download by the etext year. + +https://gutenberg.org/etext06 + + (Or /etext 05, 04, 03, 02, 01, 00, 99, + 98, 97, 96, 95, 94, 93, 92, 92, 91 or 90) + +EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are +filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part +of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is +identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single +digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For +example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at: + +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/0/2/3/10234 + +or filename 24689 would be found at: +https://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/6/8/24689 + +An alternative method of locating eBooks: +https://www.gutenberg.org/GUTINDEX.ALL + +*** END: FULL LICENSE *** diff --git a/old/12518.zip b/old/12518.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..360ef5e --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12518.zip |
