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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:40 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:40 -0700 |
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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/12764-0.txt b/12764-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cb8b225 --- /dev/null +++ b/12764-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5435 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12764 *** + +THE FORTY-NINERS + +A CHRONICLE OF THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL AND EL DORADO + +BY STEWART EDWARD WHITE + +1918 + + + +CONTENTS + + I. SPANISH DAYS + II. THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION + III. LAW--MILITARY AND CIVIL + IV. GOLD + V. ACROSS THE PLAINS + VI. THE MORMONS + VII. THE WAY BY PANAMA + VIII. THE DIGGINGS + IX. THE URBAN FORTY-NINER + X. ORDEAL BY FIRE + XI. THE VIGILANTES OF '51 + XII. SAN FRANCISCO IN TRANSITION + XIII. THE STORM GATHERS + XIV. THE STORM BREAKS + XV. THE VIGILANTES OF '56 + XVI. THE TRIUMPH OF THE VIGILANTES + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + INDEX + + + + + + +THE FORTY-NINERS + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +SPANISH DAYS + + +The dominant people of California have been successively aborigines, +_conquistadores_, monks, the dreamy, romantic, unenergetic peoples of +Spain, the roaring mélange of Forty-nine, and finally the modern +citizens, who are so distinctive that they bid fair to become a +subspecies of their own. This modern society has, in its evolution, +something unique. To be sure, other countries also have passed through +these same phases. But while the processes have consumed a leisurely +five hundred years or so elsewhere, here they have been subjected to +forced growth. + +The tourist traveler is inclined to look upon the crumbling yet +beautiful remains of the old missions, those venerable relics in a +bustling modern land, as he looks upon the enduring remains of old +Rome. Yet there are today many unconsidered New England farmhouses older +than the oldest western mission, and there are men now living who +witnessed the passing of Spanish California. + +Though the existence of California had been known for centuries, and the +dates of her first visitors are many hundreds of years old, nevertheless +Spain attempted no actual occupation until she was forced to it by +political necessity. Until that time she had little use for the country. +After early investigations had exploded her dream of more treasure +cities similar to those looted by Cortés and Pizarro, her interest +promptly died. + +But in the latter part of the eighteenth century Spain began to awake to +the importance of action. Fortunately ready to her hand was a tried and +tempered weapon. Just as the modern statesmen turn to commercial +penetration, so Spain turned, as always, to religious occupation. She +made use of the missionary spirit and she sent forth her expeditions +ostensibly for the purpose of converting the heathen. The result was the +so-called Sacred Expedition under the leadership of Junipero Serra and +Portolá. In the face of incredible hardships and discouragements, these +devoted, if narrow and simple, men succeeded in establishing a string +of missions from San Diego to Sonoma. The energy, self-sacrifice, and +persistence of the members of this expedition furnish inspiring reading +today and show clearly of what the Spanish character at its best is +capable. + +For the next thirty years after the founding of the first mission in +1769, the grasp of Spain on California was assured. Men who could do, +suffer, and endure occupied the land. They made their mistakes in +judgment and in methods, but the strong fiber of the pioneer was there. +The original _padres_ were almost without exception zealous, devoted to +poverty, uplifted by a fanatic desire to further their cause. The +original Spanish temporal leaders were in general able, energetic, +courageous, and not afraid of work or fearful of disaster. + +At the end of that period, however, things began to suffer a change. The +time of pioneering came to an end, and the new age of material +prosperity began. Evils of various sorts crept in. The pioneer priests +were in some instances replaced by men who thought more of the flesh-pot +than of the altar, and whose treatment of the Indians left very much to +be desired. Squabbles arose between the civil and the religious powers. +Envy of the missions' immense holdings undoubtedly had its influence. +The final result of the struggle could not be avoided, and in the end +the complete secularization of the missions took place, and with this +inevitable change the real influence of these religious outposts came to +an end. + +Thus before the advent in California of the American as an American, and +not as a traveler or a naturalized citizen, the mission had disappeared +from the land, and the land was inhabited by a race calling itself the +_gente de razón_, in presumed contradistinction to human beasts with no +reasoning powers. Of this period the lay reader finds such conflicting +accounts that he either is bewildered or else boldly indulges his +prejudices. According to one school of writers--mainly those of modern +fiction--California before the advent of the _gringo_ was a sort of +Arcadian paradise, populated by a people who were polite, generous, +pleasure-loving, high-minded, chivalrous, aristocratic, and above all +things romantic. Only with the coming of the loosely sordid, commercial, +and despicable American did this Arcadia fade to the strains of dying +and pathetic music. According to another school of writers--mainly +authors of personal reminiscences at a time when growing antagonism was +accentuating the difference in ideals--the "greaser" was a dirty, idle, +shiftless, treacherous, tawdry vagabond, dwelling in a disgracefully +primitive house, and backward in every aspect of civilization. + +The truth, of course, lies somewhere between the two extremes, but its +exact location is difficult though not impossible to determine. The +influence of environment is sometimes strong, but human nature does not +differ much from age to age. Racial characteristics remain approximately +the same. The Californians were of several distinct classes. The upper +class, which consisted of a very few families, generally included those +who had held office, and whose pride led them to intermarry. Pure blood +was exceedingly rare. Of even the best the majority had Indian blood; +but the slightest mixture of Spanish was a sufficient claim to +gentility. Outside of these "first families," the bulk of the population +came from three sources: the original military adjuncts to the missions, +those brought in as settlers, and convicts imported to support one side +or another in the innumerable political squabbles. These diverse +elements shared one sentiment only--an aversion to work. The feeling +had grown up that in order to maintain the prestige of the soldier in +the eyes of the natives it was highly improper that he should ever do +any labor. The settlers, of whom there were few, had themselves been +induced to immigrate by rather extravagant promises of an easy life. The +convicts were only what was to be expected. + +If limitations of space and subject permitted, it would be pleasant to +portray the romantic life of those pastoral days. Arcadian conditions +were then more nearly attained than perhaps at any other time in the +world's history. The picturesque, easy, idle, pleasant, fiery, +aristocratic life has been elsewhere so well depicted that it has taken +on the quality of rosy legend. Nobody did any more work than it pleased +him to do; everybody was well-fed and happy; the women were beautiful +and chaste; the men were bold, fiery, spirited, gracefully idle; life +was a succession of picturesque merrymakings, lovemakings, intrigues, +visits, lavish hospitalities, harmless politics, and revolutions. To be +sure, there were but few signs of progressive spirit. People traveled on +horseback because roads did not exist. They wore silks and diamonds, +lace and satin, but their houses were crude, and conveniences were +simple or entirely lacking. Their very vehicles, with wooden axles and +wheels made of the cross-section of a tree, were such as an East African +savage would be ashamed of. But who cared? And since no one wished +improvements, why worry about them? + +Certainly, judged by the standards of a truly progressive race, the +Spanish occupation had many shortcomings. Agriculture was so little +known that at times the country nearly starved. Contemporary travelers +mention this fact with wonder. "There is," says Ryan, "very little land +under cultivation in the vicinity of Monterey. That which strikes the +foreigner most is the utter neglect in which the soil is left and the +indifference with which the most charming sites are regarded. In the +hands of the English and Americans, Monterey would be a beautiful town +adorned with gardens and orchards and surrounded with picturesque walks +and drives. The natives are, unfortunately, too ignorant to appreciate +and too indolent even to attempt such improvement." And Captain Charles +Wilkes asserts that "notwithstanding the immense number of domestic +animals in the country, the Californians were too lazy to make butter or +cheese, and even milk was rare. If there was a little good soap and +leather occasionally found, the people were too indolent to make them in +any quantity. The earth was simply scratched a few inches by a mean and +ill-contrived plow. When the ground had been turned up by repeated +scratching, it was hoed down and the clods broken by dragging over it +huge branches of trees. Threshing was performed by spreading the cut +grain on a spot of hard ground, treading it with cattle, and after +taking off the straw throwing the remainder up in the breeze, much was +lost and what was saved was foul." + +General shiftlessness and inertia extended also to those branches +wherein the Californian was supposed to excel. Even in the matter of +cattle and sheep, the stock was very inferior to that brought into the +country by the Americans, and such a thing as crossing stock or +improving the breed of either cattle or horses was never thought of. The +cattle were long-horned, rough-skinned animals, and the beef was tough +and coarse. The sheep, while of Spanish stock, were very far from being +Spanish merino. Their wool was of the poorest quality, entirely unfit +for exportation, and their meat was not a favorite food. + +There were practically no manufactures on the whole coast. The +inhabitants depended for all luxuries and necessities on foreign trade, +and in exchange gave hide and tallow from the semi-wild cattle that +roamed the hills. Even this trade was discouraged by heavy import duties +which amounted at times to one hundred per cent of the value. Such +conditions naturally led to extensive smuggling which was connived at by +most officials, high and low, and even by the monks of the missions +themselves. + +Although the chief reason for Spanish occupancy was to hold the country, +the provisions for defense were not only inadequate but careless. Thomes +says, in _Land and Sea_, that the fort at Monterey was "armed with four +long brass nine-pounders, the handsomest guns that I ever saw all +covered with scroll work and figures. They were mounted on ruined and +decayed carriages. Two of them were pointed toward the planet Venus, and +the other two were depressed so that had they been loaded or fired the +balls would have startled the people on the other side of the +hemisphere." This condition was typical of those throughout the +so-called armed forts of California. + +The picture thus presented is unjustly shaded, of course, for Spanish +California had its ideal, noble, and romantic side. In a final estimate +no one could say where the balance would be struck; but our purpose is +not to strike a final balance. We are here endeavoring to analyze the +reasons why the task of the American conquerors was so easy, and to +explain the facility with which the original population was thrust +aside. + +It is a sometimes rather annoying anomaly of human nature that the races +and individuals about whom are woven the most indestructible mantles of +romance are generally those who, from the standpoint of economic +stability or solid moral quality, are the most variable. We staid and +sober citizens are inclined to throw an aura of picturesqueness about +such creatures as the Stuarts, the dissipated Virginian cavaliers, the +happy-go-lucky barren artists of the Latin Quarter, the fiery touchiness +of that so-called chivalry which was one of the least important features +of Southern life, and so on. We staid and sober citizens generally +object strenuously to living in actual contact with the unpunctuality, +unreliability, unreasonableness, shiftlessness, and general +irresponsibility that are the invariable concomitants of this +picturesqueness. At a safe distance we prove less critical. We even go +so far as to regard this unfamiliar life as a mental anodyne or +antidote to the rigid responsibility of our own everyday existence. We +use these historical accounts for moral relaxation, much as some +financiers or statisticians are said to read cheap detective stories for +complete mental relaxation. + +But, the Californian's undoubtedly admirable qualities of generosity, +kindheartedness (whenever narrow prejudice or very lofty pride was not +touched), hospitality, and all the rest, proved, in the eyes of a +practical people confronted with a large and practical job, of little +value in view of his predominantly negative qualities. A man with all +the time in the world rarely gets on with a man who has no time at all. +The newcomer had his house to put in order; and it was a very big house. +The American wanted to get things done at once; the Californian could +see no especial reason for doing them at all. Even when his short-lived +enthusiasm happened to be aroused, it was for action tomorrow rather +than today. + +For all his amiable qualities, the mainspring of the Californian's +conduct was at bottom the impression he could make upon others. The +magnificence of his apparel and his accoutrement indicated no feeling +for luxury but rather a fondness for display. His pride and +quick-tempered honor were rooted in a desire to stand well in the eyes +of his equals, not in a desire to stand well with himself. In +consequence he had not the builder's fundamental instinct. He made no +effort to supply himself with anything that did not satisfy this amiable +desire. The contradictions of his conduct, therefore, become +comprehensible. We begin to see why he wore silks and satins and why he +neglected what to us are necessities. We see why he could display such +admirable carriage in rough-riding and lassoing grizzlies, and yet +seemed to possess such feeble military efficiency. We comprehend his +generous hospitality coupled with his often narrow and suspicious +cruelty. In fact, all the contrasts of his character and action begin to +be clear. His displacement was natural when confronted by a people who, +whatever their serious faults, had wants and desires that came from +within, who possessed the instinct to create and to hold the things that +would gratify those desires, and who, in the final analysis, began to +care for other men's opinions only after they had satisfied their own +needs and desires. + + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION + + +From the earliest period Spain had discouraged foreign immigration into +California. Her object was neither to attract settlers nor to develop +the country, but to retain political control of it, and to make of it a +possible asylum for her own people. Fifty years after the founding of +the first mission at San Diego, California had only thirteen inhabitants +of foreign birth. Most of these had become naturalized citizens, and so +were in name Spanish. Of these but three were American! + +Subsequent to 1822, however, the number of foreign residents rapidly +increased. These people were mainly of substantial character, possessing +a real interest in the country and an intention of permanent settlement. +Most of them became naturalized, married Spanish women, acquired +property, and became trusted citizens. In marked contrast to their +neighbors, they invariably displayed the greatest energy and +enterprise. They were generally liked by the natives, and such men as +Hartnell, Richardson, David Spence, Nicholas Den, and many others, lived +lives and left reputations to be envied. + +Between 1830 and 1840, however, Americans of a different type began to +present themselves. Southwest of the Missouri River the ancient town of +Santa Fé attracted trappers and traders of all nations and from all +parts of the great West. There they met to exchange their wares and to +organize new expeditions into the remote territories. Some of them +naturally found their way across the western mountains into California. +One of the most notable was James Pattie, whose personal narrative is +well worth reading. These men were bold, hardy, rough, energetic, with +little patience for the refinements of life--in fact, diametrically +opposed in character to the easy-going inhabitants of California. +Contempt on the one side and distrust on the other were inevitable. The +trappers and traders, together with the deserters from whalers and other +ships, banded together in small communities of the rough type familiar +to any observer of our frontier communities. They looked down upon and +despised the "greasers," who in turn did everything in their power to +harass them by political and other means. + +At first isolated parties, such as those of Jedediah Smith, the Patties, +and some others, had been imprisoned or banished eastward over the +Rockies. The pressure of increasing numbers, combined with the rather +idle carelessness into which all California-Spanish regulations seemed +at length to fall, later nullified this drastic policy. Notorious among +these men was one Isaac Graham, an American trapper, who had become +weary of wandering and had settled near Natividad. There he established +a small distillery, and in consequence drew about him all the rough and +idle characters of the country. Some were trappers, some sailors; a few +were Mexicans and renegade Indians. Over all of these Graham obtained an +absolute control. They were most of them of a belligerent nature and +expert shots, accustomed to taking care of themselves in the wilds. This +little band, though it consisted of only thirty-nine members, was +therefore considered formidable. + +A rumor that these people were plotting an uprising for the purpose of +overturning the government aroused Governor Alvarado to action. It is +probable that the rumors in question were merely the reports of +boastful drunken vaporings and would better have been ignored. However, +at this time Alvarado, recently arisen to power through the usual +revolutionary tactics, felt himself not entirely secure in his new +position. He needed some distraction, and he therefore seized upon the +rumor of Graham's uprising as a means of solidifying his influence--an +expedient not unknown to modern rulers. He therefore ordered the prefect +Castro to arrest the party. This was done by surprise. Graham and his +companions were taken from their beds, placed upon a ship at Monterey, +and exiled to San Blas, to be eventually delivered to the Mexican +authorities. There they were held in prison for some months, but being +at last released through the efforts of an American lawyer, most of them +returned to California rather better off than before their arrest. It is +typical of the vacillating Californian policy of the day that, on their +return, Graham and his riflemen were at once made use of by one of the +revolutionary parties as a reinforcement to their military power! + +By 1840 the foreign population had by these rather desultory methods +been increased to a few over four hundred souls. The majority could not +be described as welcome guests. They had rarely come into the country +with the deliberate intention of settling but rather as a traveler's +chance. In November, 1841, however, two parties of quite a different +character arrived. They were the first true immigrants into California, +and their advent is significant as marking the beginning of the end of +the old order. One of these parties entered by the Salt Lake Trail, and +was the forerunner of the many pioneers over that great central route. +The other came by Santa Fé, over the trail that had by now become so +well marked that they hardly suffered even inconvenience on their +journey. The first party arrived at Monte Diablo in the north, the other +at San Gabriel Mission in the south. Many brought their families with +them, and they came with the evident intention of settling in +California. + +The arrival of these two parties presented to the Mexican Government a +problem that required immediate solution. Already in anticipation of +such an event it had been provided that nobody who had not obtained a +legal passport should be permitted to remain in the country; and that +even old settlers, unless naturalized, should be required to depart +unless they procured official permission to remain. Naturally none of +the new arrivals had received notice of this law, and they were in +consequence unprovided with the proper passports. Legally they should +have been forced at once to turn about and return by the way they came. +Actually it would have been inhuman, if not impossible, to have forced +them at that season of the year to attempt the mountains. General +Vallejo, always broad-minded in his policies, used discretion in the +matter and provided those in his district with temporary permits to +remain. He required only a bond signed by other Americans who had been +longer in the country. + +Alvarado and Vallejo at once notified the Mexican Government of the +arrival of these strangers, and both expressed fear that other and +larger parties would follow. These fears were very soon realized. +Succeeding expeditions settled in the State with the evident intention +of remaining. No serious effort was made by the California authorities +to keep them out. From time to time, to be sure, formal objection was +raised and regulations were passed. However, as a matter of plain +practicability, it was manifestly impossible to prevent parties from +starting across the plains, or to inform the people living in the +Eastern States of the regulations adopted by California. It must be +remembered that communication at that time was extraordinarily slow and +broken. It would have been cruel and unwarranted to drive away those who +had already arrived. And even were such a course to be contemplated, a +garrison would have been necessary at every mountain pass on the East +and North, and at every crossing of the Colorado River, as well as at +every port along the coast. The government in California had not men +sufficient to handle its own few antique guns in its few coastwise +forts, let alone a surplus for the purpose just described. And to cap +all, provided the garrisons had been available and could have been +placed, it would have been physically impossible to have supplied them +with provisions for even a single month. + +Truth to tell, the newcomers of this last class were not personally +objectionable to the Californians. The Spanish considered them no +different from those of their own blood. Had it not been for an +uneasiness lest the enterprise of the American settlers should in time +overcome Californian interests, had it not been for repeated orders from +Mexico itself, and had it not been for reports that ten thousand Mormons +had recently left Illinois for California, it is doubtful if much +attention would have been paid to the first immigrants. + +Westward migration at this time was given an added impetus by the Oregon +question. The status of Oregon had long been in doubt. Both England and +the United States were inclined to claim priority of occupation. The +boundary between Canada and the United States had not yet been decided +upon between the two countries. Though they had agreed upon the +compromise of joint occupation of the disputed land, this arrangement +did not meet with public approval. The land-hungry took a particular +interest in the question and joined their voices with those of men +actuated by more patriotic motives. In public meetings which were held +throughout the country this joint occupation convention was explained +and discussed, and its abrogation was demanded. These meetings helped to +form the patriotic desire. Senator Tappan once said that thirty thousand +settlers with their thirty thousand rifles in the valley of the Columbia +would quickly settle all questions of title to the country. This saying +was adopted as the slogan for a campaign in the West. It had the same +inspiring effect as the later famous "54-40 or fight." People were +aroused as in the olden times they had been aroused to the crusades. It +became a form of mental contagion to talk of, and finally to accomplish, +the journey to the Northwest. Though no accurate records were kept, it +is estimated that in 1843 over 800 people crossed to Willamette Valley. +By 1845 this immigration had increased to fully 3000 within the year. + +Because of these conditions the Oregon Trail had become a national +highway. Starting at Independence, which is a suburb of the present +Kansas City, it set out over the rolling prairie. At that time the wide +plains were bright with wild flowers and teeming with game. Elk, +antelope, wild turkeys, buffalo, deer, and a great variety of smaller +creatures supplied sport and food in plenty. Wood and water were in +every ravine; the abundant grass was sufficient to maintain the swarming +hordes of wild animals and to give rich pasture to horses and oxen. The +journey across these prairies, while long and hard, could rarely have +been tedious. Tremendous thunderstorms succeeded the sultry heat of the +West, an occasional cyclone added excitement; the cattle were apt to +stampede senselessly; and, while the Indian had not yet developed the +hostility that later made a journey across the plains so dangerous, +nevertheless the possibilities of theft were always near enough at hand +to keep the traveler alert and interested. Then there was the sandy +country of the Platte River with its buffalo--buffalo by the hundreds of +thousands, as far as the eye could reach--a marvelous sight: and beyond +that again the Rockies, by way of Fort Laramie and South Pass. + +Beyond Fort Hall the Oregon Trail and the trail for California divided. +And at this point there began the terrible part of the journey--the +arid, alkaline, thirsty desert, short of game, horrible in its monotony, +deadly with its thirst. It is no wonder that, weakened by their +sufferings in this inferno, so many of the immigrants looked upon the +towering walls of the Sierras with a sinking of the heart. + +While at first most of the influx of settlers was by way of Oregon, +later the stories of the new country that made their way eastward +induced travelers to go direct to California itself. The immigration, +both from Oregon in the North and by the route over the Sierras, +increased so rapidly that in 1845 there were probably about 700 +Americans in the district. Those coming over the Sierras by the Carson +Sink and Salt Lake trails arrived first of all at the fort built by +Captain Sutter at the junction of the American and Sacramento rivers. + +Captain Sutter was a man of Swiss parentage who had arrived in San +Francisco in 1839 without much capital and with only the assets of +considerable ability and great driving force. From the Governor he +obtained grant of a large tract of land "somewhere in the interior" for +the purposes of colonization. His colonists consisted of one German, +four other white men, and eight Kanakas. The then Governor, Alvarado, +thought this rather a small beginning, but advised him to take out +naturalization papers and to select a location. Sutter set out on his +somewhat vague quest with a four-oared boat and two small schooners, +loaded with provisions, implements, ammunition, and three small cannon. +Besides his original party he took an Indian boy and a dog, the latter +proving by no means the least useful member of the company. He found at +the junction of the American and Sacramento rivers the location that +appealed to him, and there he established himself. His knack with the +Indians soon enlisted their services. He seems to have been able to keep +his agreements with them and at the same time to maintain rigid +discipline and control. + +Within an incredibly short time he had established a feudal barony at +his fort. He owned eleven square leagues of land, four thousand two +hundred cattle, two thousand horses, and about as many sheep. His trade +in beaver skins was most profitable. He maintained a force of trappers +who were always welcome at his fort, and whom he generously kept without +cost to themselves. He taught the Indians blanket-weaving, hat-making, +and other trades, and he even organized them into military companies. +The fort which he built was enclosed on four sides and of imposing +dimensions and convenience. It mounted twelve pieces of artillery, +supported a regular garrison of forty in uniform, and contained within +its walls a blacksmith shop, a distillery, a flour mill, a cannery, and +space for other necessary industries. Outside the walls of the fort +Captain Sutter raised wheat, oats, and barley in quantity, and even +established an excellent fruit and vegetable garden. + +Indeed, in every way Captain Sutter's environment and the results of his +enterprises were in significant contrast to the inactivity and +backwardness of his neighbors. He showed what an energetic man could +accomplish with exactly the same human powers and material tools as had +always been available to the Californians. Sutter himself was a rather +short, thick-set man, exquisitely neat, of military bearing, carrying +himself with what is called the true old-fashioned courtesy. He was a +man of great generosity and of high spirit. His defect was an excess of +ambition which in the end o'erleaped itself. There is no doubt that his +first expectation was to found an independent state within the borders +of California. His loyalty to the Americans was, however, never +questioned, and the fact that his lands were gradually taken from him, +and that he died finally in comparative poverty, is a striking comment +on human injustice. + +The important point for us at present is that Sutter's Fort happened to +be exactly on the line of the overland immigration. For the trail-weary +traveler it was the first stopping-place after crossing the high Sierras +to the promised land. Sutter's natural generosity of character induced +him always to treat these men with the greatest kindness. He made his +profits from such as wished to get rid of their oxen and wagons in +exchange for the commodities which he had to offer. But there is no +doubt that the worthy captain displayed the utmost liberality in +dealing with those whom poverty had overtaken. On several occasions he +sent out expeditions at his personal cost to rescue parties caught in +the mountains by early snows or other misfortunes along the road, +Especially did he go to great expense in the matter of the ill-fated +Donner party, who, it will be remembered, spent the winter near Truckee, +and were reduced to cannibalism to avoid starvation.[1] + +[1: See _The Passing of the Frontier_, in "The Chronicles of America."] + +Now Sutter had, of course, been naturalized in order to obtain +his grant of land. He had also been appointed an official of the +California-Mexican Government. Taking advantage of this fact, he was +accustomed to issue permits or passports to the immigrants, permitting +them to remain in the country. This gave the immigrants a certain +limited standing, but, as they were not Mexican citizens, they were +disqualified from holding land. Nevertheless Sutter used his good +offices in showing desirable locations to the would-be settlers.[2] + +[2: It is to be remarked that, prior to the gold rush, American +settlements did not take place in the Spanish South but in the +unoccupied North. In 1845 Castro and Castillero made a tour through the +Sacramento Valley and the northern regions to inquire about the new +arrivals. Castro displayed no personal uneasiness at their presence and +made no attempt or threat to deport them.] + +As far as the Californians were concerned, there was little rivalry or +interference between the immigrants and the natives. Their interests did +not as yet conflict. Nevertheless the central Mexican Government +continued its commands to prevent any and all immigration. It was rather +well justified by its experience in Texas, where settlement had ended by +final absorption. The local Californian authorities were thus thrust +between the devil and the deep blue sea. They were constrained by the +very positive and repeated orders from their home government to keep out +all immigration and to eject those already on the ground. On the other +hand, the means for doing so were entirely lacking, and the present +situation did not seem to them alarming. + +Thus matters drifted along until the Mexican War. For a considerable +time before actual hostilities broke out, it was well known throughout +the country that they were imminent. Every naval and military commander +was perfectly aware that, sooner or later, war was inevitable. Many had +received their instructions in case of that eventuality, and most of +the others had individual plans to be put into execution at the earliest +possible moment. Indeed, as early as 1842 Commodore Jones, being +misinformed of a state of war, raced with what he supposed to be English +war-vessels from South America, entered the port of Monterey hastily, +captured the fort, and raised the American flag. The next day he +discovered that not only was there no state of war, but that he had not +even raced British ships! The flag was thereupon hauled down, the +Mexican emblem substituted, appropriate apologies and salutes were +rendered, and the incident was considered closed. The easy-going +Californians accepted the apology promptly and cherished no rancor for +the mistake. + +In the meantime Thomas O. Larkin, a very substantial citizen of long +standing in the country, had been appointed consul, and in addition +received a sum of six dollars a day to act as secret agent. It was hoped +that his great influence would avail to inspire the Californians with a +desire for peaceful annexation to the United States. In case that policy +failed, he was to use all means to separate them from Mexico, and so +isolate them from their natural alliances. He was furthermore to +persuade them that England, France, and Russia had sinister designs on +their liberty. It was hoped that his good offices would slowly influence +public opinion, and that, on the declaration of open war with Mexico, +the United States flag could be hoisted in California not only without +opposition but with the consent and approval of the inhabitants. This +type of peaceful conquest had a very good chance of success. Larkin +possessed the confidence of the better class of Californians and he did +his duty faithfully. + +Just at this moment a picturesque, gallant, ambitious, dashing, and +rather unscrupulous character appeared inopportunely on the horizon. His +name was John C. Frémont. He was the son of a French father and a +Virginia mother. He was thirty-two years old, and was married to the +daughter of Thomas H. Benton, United States Senator from Missouri and a +man of great influence in the country. Possessed of an adventurous +spirit, considerable initiative, and great persistence, Frémont had +already performed the feat of crossing the Sierra Nevadas by way of +Carson River and Johnson Pass, and had also explored the Columbia River +and various parts of the Northwest. Frémont now entered California by +way of Walker Lake and the Truckee, and reached Sutter's Fort in 1845. +He then turned southward to meet a division of his party under Joseph +Walker. + +His expedition was friendly in character, with the object of surveying a +route westward to the Pacific, and then northward to Oregon. It +supposedly possessed no military importance whatever. But his turning +south to meet Walker instead of north, where ostensibly his duty called +him, immediately aroused the suspicions of the Californians. Though +ordered to leave the district, he refused compliance, and retired to a +place called Gavilán Peak, where he erected fortifications and raised +the United States flag. Probably Frémont's intentions were perfectly +friendly and peaceful. He made, however, a serious blunder in +withdrawing within fortifications. After various threats by the +Californians but no performance in the way of attack, he withdrew and +proceeded by slow marches to Sutter's Fort and thence towards the north. +Near Klamath Lake he was overtaken by Lieutenant Gillespie, who +delivered to him certain letters and papers. Frémont thereupon calmly +turned south with the pick of his men. + +In the meantime the Spanish sub-prefect, Guerrero, had sent word to +Larkin that "a multitude of foreigners, having come into California and +bought property, a right of naturalized foreigners only, he was under +necessity of notifying the authorities in each town to inform such +purchasers that the transactions were invalid, and that they themselves +were subject to be expelled." This action at once caused widespread +consternation among the settlers. They remembered the deportation of +Graham and his party some years before, and were both alarmed and +thoroughly convinced that defensive measures were necessary. Frémont's +return at precisely this moment seemed to them very significant. He was +a United States army officer at the head of a government expedition. +When on his way to the North he had been overtaken by Gillespie, an +officer of the United States Navy. Gillespie had delivered to him +certain papers, whereupon he had immediately returned. There seemed no +other interpretation of these facts than that the Government at +Washington was prepared to uphold by force the American settlers in +California. + +This reasoning, logical as it seems, proves mistaken in the perspective +of the years. Gillespie, it is true, delivered some letters to Frémont, +but it is extremely unlikely they contained instructions having to do +with interference in Californian affairs. Gillespie, at the same time +that he brought these dispatches to Frémont, brought also instructions +to Larkin creating the confidential agency above described, and these +instructions specifically forbade interference with Californian affairs. +It is unreasonable to suppose that contradictory dispatches were sent to +one or another of these two men. Many years later Frémont admitted that +the dispatch to Larkin was what had been communicated to him by +Gillespie. His words are: "This officer [Gillespie] informed me also +that he was directed by the Secretary of State to acquaint me with his +instructions to the consular agent, Mr. Larkin." Reading Frémont's +character, understanding his ambitions, interpreting his later lawless +actions that resulted in his court-martial, realizing the recklessness +of his spirit, and his instinct to take chances, one comes to the +conclusion that it is more than likely that his move was a gamble on +probabilities rather than a result of direct orders. + +Be this as it may, the mere fact of Frémont's turning south decided the +alarmed settlers, and led to the so-called "Bear Flag Revolution." A +number of settlers decided that it would be expedient to capture +Sonoma, where under Vallejo were nine cannon and some two hundred +muskets. It was, in fact, a sort of military station. The capture proved +to be a very simple matter. Thirty-two or thirty-three men appeared at +dawn, before Vallejo's house, under Merritt and Semple. They entered the +house suddenly, called upon Jacob Leese, Vallejo's son-in-law, to +interpret, and demanded immediate surrender. Richman says "Leese was +surprised at the 'rough looks' of the Americans. Semple he describes as +'six feet six inches tall, and about fifteen inches in diameter, dressed +in greasy buckskin from neck to foot, and with a fox-skin cap.'" The +prisoners were at once sent by these raiders to Frémont, who was at that +time on the American River. He immediately disclaimed any part in the +affair. However, instead of remaining entirely aloof, he gave further +orders that Leese, who was still in attendance as interpreter, should be +arrested, and also that the prisoners should be confined in Sutter's +Fort. He thus definitely and officially entered the movement. Soon +thereafter Frémont started south through Sonoma, collecting men as he +went. + +The following quotation from a contemporary writer is interesting and +illuminating. "A vast cloud of dust appeared at first, and thence in +long files emerged this wildest of wild parties. Frémont rode ahead, a +spare active looking man, with such an eye! He was dressed in a blouse +and leggings, and wore a felt hat. After him came five Delaware Indians +who were his bodyguard. They had charge of two baggage-horses. The rest, +many of them blacker than Indians, rode two and two, the rifle held by +one hand across the pummel of the saddle. The dress of these men was +principally a long loose coat of deerskin tied with thongs in front, +trousers of the same. The saddles were of various fashions, though these +and a large drove of horses and a brass field gun were things they had +picked up in California." + +Meantime, the Americans who had collected in Sonoma, under the lead of +William B. Ide, raised the flag of revolution--"a standard of somewhat +uncertain origin as regards the cotton cloth whereof it was made," +writes Royce. On this, they painted with berry juice "something that +they called a Bear." By this capture of Sonoma, and its subsequent +endorsement by Frémont, Larkin's instructions--that is, to secure +California by quiet diplomatic means--were absolutely nullified. A +second result was that Englishmen in California were much encouraged to +hope for English intervention and protection. The Vallejo circle had +always been strongly favorable to the United States. The effect of this +raid and capture by United States citizens, with a United States officer +endorsing the action, may well be guessed. + +Inquiries and protests were lodged by the California authorities with +Sloat and Lieutenant Montgomery of the United States naval forces. Just +what effect these protests would have had, and just the temperature of +the hot water in which the dashing Frémont would have found himself, is +a matter of surmise. He had gambled strongly--on his own responsibility +or at least at the unofficial suggestion of Benton--on an early +declaration of war with Mexico. Failing such a declaration, he would be +in a precarious diplomatic position, and must by mere force of automatic +discipline have been heavily punished. However the dice fell for him. +War with Mexico was almost immediately an actual fact. Frémont's +injection into the revolution had been timed at the happiest possible +moment for him. + +The Bear Flag Revolution took place on June 14, 1846. On July 7 the +American flag was hoisted over the post at Monterey by Commodore Sloat. +Though he had knowledge from June 5 of a state of war, this knowledge, +apparently, he had shared neither with his officers nor with the public, +and he exhibited a want of initiative and vigor which is in striking +contrast to Frémont's ambition and overzeal. + +Shortly after this incident Commodore Sloat was allowed to return "by +reason of ill health," as has been heretofore published in most +histories. His undoubted recall gave room to Commodore Robert Stockton, +to whom Sloat not only turned over the command of the naval forces, but +whom he also directed to "assume command of the forces and operations on +shore." + +Stockton at once invited Frémont to enlist under his command, and the +invitation was accepted. The entire forces moved south by sea and land +for the purpose of subduing southern California. This end was +temporarily accomplished with almost ridiculous ease. At this distance +of time, allowing all obvious explanations of lack of training, meager +equipment, and internal dissension, we find it a little difficult to +understand why the Californians did not make a better stand. Most of +the so-called battles were a sort of _opera bouffe_. Californians +entrenched with cannon were driven contemptuously forth, without +casualties, by a very few men. For example, a lieutenant and nine men +were sufficient to hold Santa Barbara in subjection. Indeed, the +conquest was too easy, for, lulled into false security, Stockton +departed, leaving as he supposed sufficient men to hold the country. The +Californians managed to get some coherence into their councils, attacked +the Americans, and drove them forth from their garrisons. + +Stockton and Frémont immediately started south. In the meantime an +overland party under General Kearny had been dispatched from the East. +His instructions were rather broad. He was to take in such small +sections of the country as New Mexico and Arizona, leaving sufficient +garrisons on his way to California. As a result, though his command at +first numbered 1657 men, he arrived in the latter state with only about +100. From Warner's Ranch in the mountains he sent word to Stockton that +he had arrived. Gillespie, whom the Commodore at once dispatched with +thirty-nine men to meet and conduct him to San Diego, joined Kearny near +San Luis Rey Mission. + +A force of Californians, however, under command of one Andrés Pico had +been hovering about the hills watching the Americans. It was decided to +attack this force. Twenty men were detailed under Captain Johnston for +the purpose. At dawn on the morning of the 6th of December the Americans +charged upon the Californian camp. The Californians promptly decamped +after having delivered a volley which resulted in killing Johnston. The +Americans at once pursued them hotly, became much scattered, and were +turned upon by the fleeing enemy. The Americans were poorly mounted +after their journey, their weapons were now empty, and they were unable +to give mutual aid. The Spanish were armed with lances, pistols, and the +deadly riata. Before the rearguard could come up, sixteen of the total +American force were killed and nineteen badly wounded. This battle of +San Pascual, as it was called, is interesting as being the only +engagement in which the Californians got the upper hand. Whether their +Parthian tactics were the result of a preconceived policy or were merely +an expedient of the moment, it is impossible to say. The battle is also +notable because the well-known scout, Kit Carson, took part in it. + +The forces of Stockton and Kearny joined a few days later, and very soon +a conflict of authority arose between the leaders. It was a childish +affair throughout, and probably at bottom arose from Frémont's usual +over-ambitious designs. To Kearny had undoubtedly been given, by the +properly constituted authorities, the command of all the land +operations. Stockton, however, claimed to hold supreme land command by +instructions from Commodore Sloat already quoted. Through the internal +evidence of Stockton's letters and proclamations, it seems he was a +trifle inclined to be bombastic and high-flown, to usurp authority, and +perhaps to consider himself and his operations of more importance than +they actually were. However, he was an officer disciplined and trained +to obedience, and his absurd contention is not in character. It may be +significant that he had promised to appoint Frémont Governor of +California, a promise that naturally could not be fulfilled if Kearny's +authority were fully recognized. + +Furthermore, at this moment Frémont was at the zenith of his career, and +his influence in such matters was considerable. As Hittell says, "At +this time and for some time afterwards, Frémont was represented as a +sort of young lion. The several trips he had made across the continent, +and the several able and interesting reports he had published over his +name attracted great public attention. He was hardly ever mentioned +except in a high-flown hyperbolical phrase. Benton was one of the most +influential men of his day, and it soon became well understood that the +surest way of reaching the father-in-law's favor was by furthering the +son-in-law's prospects; everybody that wished to court Benton praised +Frémont. Besides this political influence Benton exerted in Frémont's +behalf, there was an almost equally strong social influence." It might +be added that the nature of his public service had been such as to throw +him on his own responsibility, and that he had always gambled with +fortune, as in the Bear Flag Revolution already mentioned. His star had +ever been in the ascendant. He was a spoiled child of fortune at this +time, and bitterly and haughtily resented any check to his ambition. The +mixture of his blood gave him that fine sense of the dramatic which so +easily descends to posing. His actual accomplishment was without doubt +great; but his own appreciation of that accomplishment was also +undoubtedly great. He was one of those interesting characters whose +activities are so near the line between great deeds and charlatanism +that it is sometimes difficult to segregate the pose from the +performance. + +The end of this row for precedence did not come until after the +so-called battles at the San Gabriel River and on the Mesa on January 8 +and 9, 1847. The first of these conflicts is so typical that it is worth +a paragraph of description. + +The Californians were posted on the opposite bank of the river. They had +about five hundred men, and two pieces of artillery well placed. The +bank was elevated some forty feet above the stream and possibly four or +six hundred back from the water. The American forces, all told, +consisted of about five hundred men, but most of them were dismounted. +The tactics were exceedingly simple. The Americans merely forded the +river, dragged their guns across, put them in position, and calmly +commenced a vigorous bombardment. After about an hour and a half of +circling about and futile half-attacks, the Californians withdrew. The +total American loss in this and the succeeding "battle," called that of +the Mesa, was three killed and twelve wounded. + +After this latter battle, the Californians broke completely and hurtled +toward the North. Beyond Los Angeles, near San Fernando, they ran +head-on into Frémont and his California battalion marching overland from +the North. Frémont had just learned of Stockton's defeat of the +Californians and, as usual, he seized the happy chance the gods had +offered him. He made haste to assure the Californians through a +messenger that they would do well to negotiate with him rather than with +Stockton. To these suggestions the Californians yielded. Commissioners +appointed by both sides then met at Cahuenga on January 13, and +elaborated a treaty by which the Californians agreed to surrender their +arms and not to serve again during the war, whereupon the victors +allowed them to leave the country. Frémont at once proceeded to Los +Angeles, where he reported to Kearny and Stockton what had happened. + +In accordance with his foolish determination, Stockton still refused to +acknowledge Kearny's direct authority. He appointed Frémont Governor of +California, which was one mistake; and Frémont accepted, which was +another. Undoubtedly the latter thought that his pretensions would be +supported by personal influence in Washington. From former experience he +had every reason to believe so. In this case, however, he reckoned +beyond the resources of even his powerful father-in-law. Kearny, who +seems to have been a direct old war-dog, resolved at once to test his +authority. He ordered Frémont to muster the California battalion into +the regular service, under his (Kearny's) command; or, if the men did +not wish to do this, to discharge them. This order did not in the least +please Frémont. He attempted to open negotiations, but Kearny was in no +manner disposed to talk. He said curtly that he had given his orders, +and merely wished to know whether or not they would be obeyed. To this, +and from one army officer to another, there could be but one answer, and +that was in the affirmative. + +Colonel Mason opportunely arrived from Washington with instructions to +Frémont either to join his regiment or to resume the explorations on +which he had originally been sent to this country. Frémont was still +pretending to be Governor, but with nothing to govern. His game was +losing at Washington. He could not know this, however, and for some time +continued to persist in his absurd claims to governorship. Finally he +begged permission of Kearny to form an expedition against Mexico. But it +was rather late in the day for the spoiled child to ask for favors, and +the permission was refused. Upon his return to Washington under further +orders, Frémont was court-martialed, and was found guilty of mutiny, +disobedience, and misconduct. He was ordered dismissed from the service, +but was pardoned by President Polk in view of his past services. He +refused this pardon and resigned. + +Frémont was a picturesque figure with a great deal of personal magnetism +and dash. The halo of romance has been fitted to his head. There is no +doubt that he was a good wilderness traveler, a keen lover of adventure, +and a likable personality. He was, however, over-ambitious; he +advertised himself altogether too well; and he presumed on the +undoubtedly great personal influence he possessed. He has been nicknamed +the Pathfinder, but a better title would be the Pathfollower. He found +no paths that had not already been traversed by men before him. Unless +the silly sentiment that persistently glorifies such despicable +characters as the English Stuarts continues to surround this interesting +character with fallacious romance, Frémont will undoubtedly take his +place in history below men now more obscure but more solid than he was. +His services and his ability were both great. If he, his friends, and +historians had been content to rest his fame on actualities, his +position would be high and honorable. The presumption of so much more +than the man actually did or was has the unfortunate effect of +minimizing his real accomplishment. + + + + + +CHAPTER III + +LAW--MILITARY AND CIVIL + + +The military conquest of California was now an accomplished fact. As +long as hostilities should continue in Mexico, California must remain +under a military government, and such control was at once inaugurated. +The questions to be dealt with, as may well be imagined, were delicate +in the extreme. In general the military Governors handled such questions +with tact and efficiency. This ability was especially true in the case +of Colonel Mason, who succeeded General Kearny. The understanding +displayed by this man in holding back the over-eager Americans on one +side, and in mollifying the sensitive Californians on the other, is +worthy of all admiration. + +The Mexican laws were, in lack of any others, supposed to be enforced. +Under this system all trials, except of course those having to do with +military affairs, took place before officials called _alcades_, who +acknowledged no higher authority than the Governor himself, and enforced +the laws as autocrats. The new military Governors took over the old +system bodily and appointed new _alcaldes_ where it seemed necessary. +The new _alcaldes_ neither knew nor cared anything about the old Mexican +law and its provisions. This disregard cannot be wondered at, for even a +cursory examination of the legal forms convinces one that they were +meant more for the enormous leisure of the old times than for the +necessities of the new. In the place of Mexican law each _alcalde_ +attempted to substitute his own sense of justice and what recollection +of common-law principles he might be able to summon. These common-law +principles were not technical in the modern sense of the word, nor were +there any printed or written statutes containing them. In this case they +were simply what could be recalled by non-technical men of the way in +which business had been conducted and disputes had been arranged back in +their old homes. But their main reliance was on their individual sense +of justice. As Hittell points out, even well-read lawyers who happened +to be made _alcaldes_ soon came to pay little attention to +technicalities and to seek the merit of cases without regard to rules or +forms. All the administration of the law was in the hands of these +_alcaldes_. Mason, who once made the experiment of appointing a special +court at Sutter's Fort to try a man known as Growling Smith for the +murder of Indians, afterwards declared that he would not do it again +except in the most extraordinary emergency, as the precedent was bad. + +As may well be imagined, this uniquely individualistic view of the law +made interesting legal history. Many of the incumbents were of the rough +diamond type. Stories innumerable are related of them. They had little +regard for the external dignity of the court, but they strongly insisted +on its discipline. Many of them sat with their feet on the desk, chewing +tobacco, and whittling a stick. During a trial one of the counsel +referred to his opponent as an "oscillating Tarquin." The judge roared +out "A what?" + +"An oscillating Tarquin, your honor." + +The judge's chair came down with a thump. + +"If this honorable court knows herself, and she thinks she do, that +remark is an insult to this honorable court, and you are fined two +ounces." + +Expostulation was cut short. + +"Silence, sir! This honorable court won't tolerate cussings and she +never goes back on her decisions!" + +And she didn't! + +Nevertheless a sort of rough justice was generally accomplished. These +men felt a responsibility. In addition they possessed a grim commonsense +earned by actual experience. + +There is an instance of a priest from Santa Clara, sued before the +_alcalde_ of San José for a breach of contract. His plea was that as a +churchman he was not amenable to civil law. The American decided that, +while he could not tell what peculiar privileges a clergyman enjoyed as +a priest, it was quite evident that when he departed from his religious +calling and entered into a secular bargain with a citizen he placed +himself on the same footing as the citizen, and should be required like +anybody else to comply with his agreement. This principle, which was +good sense, has since become good law. + +The _alcalde_ refused to be bound by trivial concerns. A Mexican was +accused of stealing a pair of leggings. He was convicted and fined +three ounces for stealing, while the prosecuting witness was also fined +one ounce for bothering the court with such a complaint. On another +occasion the defendant, on being fined, was found to be totally +insolvent. The _alcalde_ thereupon ordered the plaintiff to pay the fine +and costs for the reason that the court could not be expected to sit +without remuneration. Though this naive system worked out well enough in +the new and primitive community, nevertheless thinking men realized that +it could be for a short time only. + +As long as the war with Mexico continued, naturally California was under +military Governors, but on the declaration of peace military government +automatically ceased. Unfortunately, owing to strong controversies as to +slavery or non-slavery, Congress passed no law organizing California as +a territory; and the status of the newly-acquired possession was far +from clear. The people held that, in the absence of congressional +action, they had the right to provide for their own government. On the +other hand, General Riley contended that the laws of California obtained +until supplanted by act of Congress. He was under instructions as +Governor to enforce this view, which was, indeed, sustained by judicial +precedents. But for precedents the inhabitants cared little. They +resolved to call a constitutional convention. After considerable +negotiation and thought, Governor Riley resolved to accede to the wishes +of the people. An election of delegates was called and the +constitutional convention met at Monterey, September 1, 1849. + +Parenthetically it is to be noticed that this event took place a +considerable time after the first discovery of gold. It can in no sense +be considered as a sequel to that fact. The numbers from the gold rush +came in later. The constitutional convention was composed mainly of men +who had previous interests in the country. They were representative of +the time and place. The oldest delegate was fifty-three years and the +youngest twenty-five years old. Fourteen were lawyers, fourteen were +farmers, nine were merchants, five were soldiers, two were printers, one +was a doctor, and one described himself as "a gentleman of elegant +leisure." + +The deliberations of this body are very interesting reading. Such a +subject is usually dry in the extreme; but here we have men assembled +from all over the world trying to piece together a form of government +from the experiences of the different communities from which they +originally came. Many Spanish Californians were represented on the +floor. The different points brought up and discussed, in addition to +those finally incorporated in the constitution, are both a valuable +measure of the degree of intelligence at that time, and an indication of +what men considered important in the problems of the day. The +constitution itself was one of the best of the thirty-one state +constitutions that then existed. Though almost every provision in it was +copied from some other instrument, the choice was good. A provision +prohibiting slavery was carried by a unanimous vote. When the convention +adjourned, the new commonwealth was equipped with all the necessary +machinery for regular government.[3] + +[3: The constitution was ratified by popular vote, November 13, 1849; +and the machinery of state government was at once set in motion, though +the State was not admitted into the Union until September 9, 1850.] + +It is customary to say that the discovery of gold made the State of +California. As a matter of fact, it introduced into the history of +California a new solvent, but it was in no sense a determining factor in +either the acquisition or the assuring of the American hold. It must not +be forgotten that a rising tide of American immigration had already set +in. By 1845 the white population had increased to about eight thousand. +At the close of hostilities it was estimated that the white population +had increased to somewhere between twelve and fifteen thousand. Moreover +this immigration, though established and constantly growing, was by no +means topheavy. There was plenty of room in the north for the Americans, +and they were settling there peaceably. Those who went south generally +bought their land in due form. They and the Californians were getting on +much better than is usual with conquering and conquered peoples. + +But the discovery of gold upset all this orderly development. It wiped +out the usual evolution. It not only swept aside at once the antiquated +Mexican laws, but it submerged for the time being the first stirrings of +the commonwealth toward due convention and legislation after the +American pattern. It produced an interim wherein the only law was that +evolved from men's consciences and the Anglo-Saxon instinct for order. +It brought to shores remote from their native lands a cosmopolitan crew +whose only thought was a fixed determination to undertake no new +responsibilities. Each man was living for himself. He intended to get +his own and to protect his own, and he cared very little for the +difficulties of his neighbors. In other words, the discovery of gold +offered California as the blank of a mint to receive the impress of a +brand new civilization. And furthermore it gave to these men and, +through them, to the world an impressive lesson that social +responsibility can be evaded for a time, to be sure, but only for a +time; and that at the last it must be taken up and the arrears must be +paid. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +GOLD + + +The discovery of gold--made, as everyone knows, by James Marshall, a +foreman of Sutter's, engaged in building a sawmill for the Captain--came +at a psychological time.[4]The Mexican War was just over and the +adventurous spirits, unwilling to settle down, were looking for new +excitement. Furthermore, the hard times of the Forties had blanketed the +East with mortgages. Many sober communities were ready, deliberately and +without excitement, to send their young men westward in the hope of +finding a way out of their financial difficulties. The Oregon question, +as has been already indicated, had aroused patriotism to such an extent +that westward migration had become a sort of mental contagion. + +[4: January 24, 1848, is the date usually given.] + +It took some time for the first discoveries to leak out, and to be +believed after they had gained currency. Even in California itself +interest was rather tepid at first. Gold had been found in small +quantities many years before, and only the actual sight of the metal in +considerable weight could rouse men's imaginations to the blazing point. + +Among the most enthusiastic protagonists was one Sam Brannan, who often +appeared afterwards in the pages of Californian history. Brannan was a +Mormon who had set out from New York with two hundred and fifty Mormons +to try out the land of California as a possible refuge for the +persecuted sect. That the westward migration of Mormons stopped at Salt +Lake may well be due to the fact that on entering San Francisco Bay, +Brannan found himself just too late. The American flag was already +floating over the Presidio. Eye-witnesses say that Brannan dashed his +hat to the deck, exclaiming, "There is that damned rag again." However, +he proved an adaptable creature, for he and his Mormons landed +nevertheless, and took up the industries of the country. + +Brannan collected the usual tithes from these men, with the ostensible +purpose of sending them on to the Church at Salt Lake. This, however, +he consistently failed to do. One of the Mormons, on asking Sutter how +long they should be expected to pay these tithes, received the answer, +"As long as you are fools enough to do so." But they did not remain +fools very much longer, and Brannan found himself deprived of this +source of revenue. On being dunned by Brigham Young for the tithes +already collected, Brannan blandly resigned from the Church, still +retaining the assets. With this auspicious beginning, aided by a burly, +engaging personality, a coarse, direct manner that appealed to men, and +an instinct for the limelight, he went far. Though there were a great +many admirable traits in his character, people were forced to like him +in spite of rather than because of them. His enthusiasm for any public +agitation was always on tap. + +In the present instance he rode down from Sutter's Fort, where he then +had a store, bringing with him gold-dust and nuggets from the new +placers. "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" shouted Brannan, as +he strode down the street, swinging his hat in one hand and holding +aloft the bottle of gold-dust in the other. This he displayed to the +crowd that immediately gathered. With such a start, this new interest +brought about a stampede that nearly depopulated the city. + +The fever spread. People scrambled to the mines from all parts of the +State. Practically every able-bodied man in the community, except the +Spanish Californians, who as usual did not join this new enterprise with +any unanimity, took at least a try at the diggings. Not only did they +desert almost every sort of industry, but soldiers left the ranks and +sailors the ships, so that often a ship was left in sole charge of its +captain. All of American and foreign California moved to the foothills. + +Then ensued the brief period so affectionately described in all +literalness as the Arcadian Age. Men drank and gambled and enjoyed +themselves in the rough manner of mining camps; but they were hardly +ever drunken and in no instance dishonest. In all literalness the miners +kept their gold-dust in tin cans and similar receptacles, on shelves, +unguarded in tents or open cabins. Even quarrels and disorder were +practically unknown. The communities were individualistic in the +extreme, and yet, with the Anglo-Saxon love of order, they adopted rules +and regulations and simple forms of government that proved entirely +adequate to their needs. When the "good old days" are mentioned with +the lingering regret associated with that phrase, the reference is to +this brief period that came between the actual discovery and +appreciation of gold and the influx from abroad that came in the +following years. + +This condition was principally due to the class of men concerned. The +earliest miners were a very different lot from the majority of those who +arrived in the next few years. They were mostly the original population, +who had come out either as pioneers or in the government service. They +included the discharged soldiers of Stevenson's regiment of New York +Volunteers, who had been detailed for the war but who had arrived a +little late, the so-called Mormon Battalion, Sam Brannan's immigrants, +and those who had come as settlers since 1842. They were a rough lot +with both the virtues and the defects of the pioneer. Nevertheless among +their most marked characteristics were their honesty and their kindness. +Hittell gives an incident that illustrates the latter trait very well. +"It was a little camp, the name of which is not given and perhaps is not +important. The day was a hot one when a youth of sixteen came limping +along, footsore, weary, hungry, and penniless. There were at least +thirty robust miners at work in the ravine and it may well be believed +they were cheerful, probably now and then joining in a chorus or +laughing at a joke. The lad as he saw and heard them sat down upon the +bank, his face telling the sad story of his misfortunes. Though he said +nothing he was not unobserved. At length one of the miners, a stalwart +fellow, pointing up to the poor fellow on the bank, exclaimed to his +companions, 'Boys, I'll work an hour for that chap if you will.' All +answered in the affirmative and picks and shovels were plied with even +more activity than before. At the end of an hour a hundred dollars' +worth of gold-dust was poured into his handkerchief. As this was done +the miners who had crowded around the grateful boy made out a list of +tools and said to him: 'You go now and buy these tools and come back. +We'll have a good claim staked out for you; then you've got to paddle +for yourself.'" + +Another reason for this distinguished honesty was the extent and +incredible richness of the diggings, combined with the firm belief that +this richness would last forever and possibly increase. The first gold +was often found actually at the roots of bushes, or could be picked out +from the veins in the rocks by the aid of an ordinary hunting-knife. +Such pockets were, to be sure, by no means numerous; but the miners did +not know that. To them it seemed extremely possible that gold in such +quantities was to be found almost anywhere for the mere seeking. +Authenticated instances are known of men getting ten, fifteen, twenty, +and thirty thousand dollars within a week or ten days, without +particularly hard work. Gold was so abundant it was much easier to dig +it than to steal it, considering the risks attendant on the latter +course. A story is told of a miner, while paying for something, dropping +a small lump of gold worth perhaps two or three dollars. A bystander +picked it up and offered it to him. The miner, without taking it, looked +at the man with amazement, exclaiming: "Well, stranger, you are a +curiosity. I guess you haven't been in the diggings long. You had better +keep that lump for a sample." + +These were the days of the red-shirted miner, of romance, of Arcadian +simplicity, of clean, honest working under blue skies and beneath the +warm California sun, of immense fortunes made quickly, of faithful +"pardners," and all the rest. This life was so complete in all its +elements that, as we look back upon it, we unconsciously give it a +longer period than it actually occupied. It seems to be an epoch, as +indeed it was; but it was an epoch of less than a single year, and it +ended when the immigration from the world at large began. + +The first news of the gold discovery filtered to the east in a +roundabout fashion through vessels from the Sandwich Islands. A +Baltimore paper published a short item. Everybody laughed at the rumor, +for people were already beginning to discount California stories. But +they remembered it. Romance, as ever, increases with the square of the +distance; and this was a remote land. But soon there came an official +letter written by Governor Mason to the War Department wherein he said +that in his opinion, "There is more gold in the country drained by the +Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers than would pay the cost of the late +war with Mexico a hundred times over." The public immediately was alert. +And then, strangely enough, to give direction to the restless spirit +seething beneath the surface of society, came a silly popular song. As +has happened many times before and since, a great movement was set to +the lilt of a commonplace melody. Minstrels started it; the public +caught it up. Soon in every quarter of the world were heard the strains +of _Oh, Susannah!_ or rather the modification of it made to fit this +case: + + "I'll scrape the mountains clean, old girl, + I'll drain the rivers dry. + I'm off for California, Susannah, don't you cry. + Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for me, + I'm off to California with my wash bowl on my + knee!" + +The public mind already prepared for excitement by the stirring events +of the past few years, but now falling into the doldrums of both +monotonous and hard times, responded eagerly. Every man with a drop of +red blood in his veins wanted to go to California. But the journey was a +long one, and it cost a great deal of money, and there were such things +as ties of family or business impossible to shake off. However, those +who saw no immediate prospect of going often joined the curious clubs +formed for the purpose of getting at least one or more of their members +to the El Dorado. These clubs met once in so often, talked over details, +worked upon each other's excitement even occasionally and officially +sent some one of their members to the point of running amuck. Then he +usually broke off all responsibilities and rushed headlong to the gold +coast. + +The most absurd ideas obtained currency. Stories did not lose in travel. +A work entitled _Three Weeks in the Gold Mines_, written by a mendacious +individual who signed himself H.I. Simpson, had a wide vogue. It is +doubtful if the author had ever been ten miles from New York; but he +wrote a marvelous and at the time convincing tale. According to his +account, Simpson had only three weeks for a tour of the gold-fields, and +considered ten days of the period was all he could spare the unimportant +job of picking up gold. In the ten days, however, with no other +implements than a pocket-knife, he accumulated fifty thousand dollars. +The rest of the time he really preferred to travel about viewing the +country! He condescended, however, to pick up incidental nuggets that +happened to lie under his very footstep. Said one man to his friend: "I +believe I'll go. I know most of this talk is wildly exaggerated, but I +am sensible enough to discount all that sort of thing and to disbelieve +absurd stories. I shan't go with the slightest notion of finding the +thing true, but will be satisfied if I do reasonably well. In fact, if I +don't pick up more than a hatful of gold a day I shall be perfectly +satisfied." + +Men's minds were full of strange positive knowledge, not only as to the +extent of the goldmines, but also as to theory and practice of the +actual mining. Contemporary writers tell us of the hundreds and hundreds +of different strange machines invented for washing out the gold and +actually carried around the Horn or over the Isthmus of Panama to San +Francisco. They were of all types, from little pocket-sized affairs up +to huge arrangements with windmill arms and wings. Their destination was +inevitably the beach below the San Francisco settlement, where, half +buried in the sand, torn by the trade winds, and looted for whatever of +value might inhere in the metal parts, they rusted and disintegrated, a +pathetic and grisly reminder of the futile greed of men. + +Nor was this excitement confined to the eastern United States. In France +itself lotteries were held, called, I believe, the Lotteries of the +Golden Ingot. The holders of the winning tickets were given a trip to +the gold-fields. A considerable number of French came over in that +manner, so that life in California was then, as now, considerably +leavened by Gallicism. Their ignorance of English together with their +national clannishness caused them to stick together in communities. +They soon became known as Keskydees. Very few people knew why. It was +merely the frontiersmen's understanding of the invariable French phrase +_"Qu'est-ce qu'il dit?"_ In Great Britain, Norway, to a certain extent +in Germany, South America, and even distant Australia, the adventurous +and impecunious were pricking up their ears and laying their plans. + +There were offered three distinct channels for this immigration. The +first of these was by sailing around Cape Horn. This was a slow but +fairly comfortable and reasonably safe route. It was never subject to +the extreme overcrowding of the Isthmus route, and it may be dismissed +in this paragraph. The second was by the overland route, of which there +were several trails. The third was by the Isthmus of Panama. Each of +these two is worth a chapter, and we shall take up the overland +migration first. + + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ACROSS THE PLAINS + + +The overland migration attracted the more hardy and experienced +pioneers, and also those whose assets lay in cattle and farm equipment +rather than in money. The majority came from the more western parts of +the then United States, and therefore comprised men who had already some +experience in pioneering. As far as the Mississippi or even Kansas these +parties generally traveled separately or in small groups from a single +locality. Before starting over the great plains, however, it became +necessary to combine into larger bands for mutual aid and protection. +Such recognized meeting-points were therefore generally in a state of +congestion. Thousands of people with their equipment and animals were +crowded together in some river-bottom awaiting the propitious moment for +setting forth. + +The journey ordinarily required about five months, provided nothing +untoward happened in the way of delay. A start in the spring therefore +allowed the traveler to surmount the Sierra Nevada mountains before the +first heavy snowfalls. One of the inevitable anxieties was whether or +not this crossing could be safely accomplished. At first the migration +was thoroughly orderly and successful. As the stories from California +became more glowing, and as the fever for gold mounted higher, the pace +accelerated. + +A book by a man named Harlan, written in the County Farm to which his +old age had brought him, gives a most interesting picture of the times. +His party consisted of fourteen persons, one of whom, Harlan's +grandmother, was then ninety years old and blind! There were also two +very small children. At Indian Creek in Kansas they caught up with the +main body of immigrants and soon made up their train. He says: "We +proceeded very happily until we reached the South Platte. Every night we +young folks had a dance on the green prairie." Game abounded, the party +was in good spirits and underwent no especial hardships, and the Indian +troubles furnished only sufficient excitement to keep the men +interested and alert. After leaving Salt Lake, however, the passage +across the desert suddenly loomed up as a terrifying thing. "We started +on our passage over this desert in the early morning, trailed all next +day and all night, and on the morning of the third day our guide told us +that water was still twenty-five miles away. William Harlan here lost +his seven yoke of oxen. The man who was in charge of them went to sleep, +and the cattle turned back and recrossed the desert or perhaps died +there.... Next day I started early and drove till dusk, as I wished to +tire the cattle so that they would lie down and give me a chance to +sleep. They would rest for two or three hours and then try to go back +home to their former range." The party won through, however, and +descended into the smiling valleys of California, ninety-year-old lady +and all. + +These parties which were hastily got together for the mere purpose of +progress soon found that they must have some sort of government to make +the trip successful. A leader was generally elected to whom implicit +obedience was supposed to be accorded. Among independent and hot-headed +men quarrels were not infrequent. A rough sort of justice was, however, +invoked by vote of the majority. Though a "split of blankets" was not +unknown, usually the party went through under one leadership. Fortunate +were those who possessed experienced men as leaders, or who in hiring +the services of one of the numerous plains guides obtained one of +genuine experience. Inexperience and graft were as fatal then as now. It +can well be imagined what disaster could descend upon a camping party in +a wilderness such as the Old West, amidst the enemies which that +wilderness supported. It is bad enough today when inexperienced people +go to camp by a lake near a farm-house. Moreover, at that time everybody +was in a hurry, and many suspected that the other man was trying to +obtain an advantage. + +Hittell tells of one ingenious citizen who, in trying to keep ahead of +his fellow immigrants as he hurried along, had the bright idea of +setting on fire and destroying the dry grass in order to retard the +progress of the parties behind. Grass was scarce enough in the best +circumstances, and the burning struck those following with starvation. +He did not get very far, however, before he was caught by a posse who +mounted their best horses for pursuit. They shot him from his saddle +and turned back. This attempt at monopoly was thus nipped in the bud. + +Probably there would have been more of this sort of thing had it not +been for the constant menace of the Indians. The Indian attack on the +immigrant train has become so familiar through Wild West shows and +so-called literature that it is useless to redescribe it here. Generally +the object was merely the theft of horses, but occasionally a genuine +attack, followed in case of success by massacre, took place. An +experience of this sort did a great deal of good in holding together not +only the parties attacked, but also those who afterwards heard of the +attempt. + +There was, however, another side to the shield, a very encouraging and +cheerful side. For example, some good-hearted philanthropist established +a kind of reading-room and post-office in the desert near the headwaters +of the Humboldt River. He placed it in a natural circular wall of rock +by the road, shaded by a lone tree. The original founder left a lot of +newspapers on a stone seat inside the wall with a written notice to +"Read and leave them for others." + +Many trains, well equipped, well formed, well led, went through without +trouble--indeed, with real pleasure. Nevertheless the overwhelming +testimony is on the other side. Probably this was due in large part to +the irritability that always seizes the mind of the tenderfoot when he +is confronted by wilderness conditions. A man who is a perfectly normal +and agreeable citizen in his own environment becomes a suspicious +half-lunatic when placed in circumstances uncomfortable and +unaccustomed. It often happened that people were obliged to throw things +away in order to lighten their loads. When this necessity occurred, they +generally seemed to take an extraordinary delight in destroying their +property rather than in leaving it for anybody else who might come +along. Hittell tells us that sugar was often ruined by having turpentine +poured over it, and flour was mixed with salt and dirt; wagons were +burned; clothes were torn into shreds and tatters. All of this +destruction was senseless and useless, and was probably only a blind and +instinctive reaction against hardships. + +Those hardships were considerable. It is estimated that during the +height of the overland migration in the spring of 1849 no less than +fifty thousand people started out. The wagon trains followed almost on +one another's heels, so hot was the pace. Not only did the travelers +wish to get to the Sierras before the snows blocked the passes, not only +were they eager to enter the gold mines, but they were pursued by the +specter of cholera in the concentration camps along the Mississippi +Valley. This scourge devastated these gatherings. It followed the men +across the plains like some deadly wild beast, and was shaken off only +when the high clear climate of desert altitude was eventually reached. + +But the terrible part of the journey began with the entrance into the +great deserts, like that of the Humboldt Sink. There the conditions were +almost beyond belief. Thousands were left behind, fighting starvation, +disease, and the loss of cattle. Women who had lost their husbands from +the deadly cholera went staggering on without food or water, leading +their children. The trail was literally lined with dead animals. Often +in the middle of the desert could be seen the camps of death, the wagons +drawn in a circle, the dead animals tainting the air, every living human +being crippled from scurvy and other diseases. There was no fodder for +the cattle, and very little water. The loads had to be lightened almost +every mile by the discarding of valuable goods. Many of the immigrants +who survived the struggle reached the goal in an impoverished condition. +The road was bordered with an almost unbroken barrier of abandoned +wagons, old mining implements, clothes, provisions, and the like. As the +cattle died, the problem of merely continuing the march became worse. +Often the rate of progress was not more than a mile every two or three +hours. Each mile had to be relayed back and forth several times. And +when this desert had sapped their strength, they came at last to the +Sink itself, with its long white fields of alkali with drifts of ashes +across them, so soft that the cattle sank half-way to their bellies. The +dust was fine and light and rose chokingly; the sun was strong and +fierce. All but the strongest groups of pioneers seemed to break here. +The retreats became routs. Each one put out for himself with what +strength he had left. The wagons were emptied of everything but the +barest necessities. At every stop some animal fell in the traces and had +to be cut out of the yoke. If a wagon came to a full stop, it was +abandoned. The animals were detached and driven forward. And when at +last they reached the Humboldt River itself, they found it almost +impossible to ford. The best feed lay on the other side. In the +distance the high and forbidding ramparts of the Sierra Nevadas reared +themselves. + +One of these Forty-niners, Delano, a man of some distinction in the +later history of the mining communities, says that five men drowned +themselves in the Humboldt River in one day out of sheer discouragement. +He says that he had to save the lives of his oxen by giving Indians +fifteen dollars to swim the river and float some grass across to him. +And with weakened cattle, discouraged hearts, no provisions, the +travelers had to tackle the high rough road that led across the +mountains. + +Of course, the picture just drawn is of the darkest aspect. Some trains +there were under competent pioneers who knew their job; who were +experienced in wilderness travel; who understood better than to chase +madly away after every cut-off reported by irresponsible trappers; who +comprehended the handling and management of cattle; who, in short, knew +wilderness travel. These came through with only the ordinary hardships. +But take it all in all, the overland trail was a trial by fire. One gets +a notion of its deadliness from the fact that over five thousand people +died of cholera alone. The trail was marked throughout its length by +the shallow graves of those who had succumbed. He who arrived in +California was a different person from the one who had started from the +East. Experience had even in so short a time fused his elements into +something new. This alteration must not be forgotten when we turn once +more to the internal affairs of the new commonwealth. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE MORMONS + + +In the westward overland migration the Salt Lake Valley Mormons played +an important part. These strange people had but recently taken up their +abode in the desert. That was a fortunate circumstance, as their +necessities forced them to render an aid to the migration that in better +days would probably have been refused. + +The founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, Jr., came from a +commonplace family. + +Apparently its members were ignorant and superstitious. They talked much +of hidden treasure and of supernatural means for its discovery. They +believed in omens, signs, and other superstitions. As a boy Joseph had +been shrewd enough and superstitious enough to play this trait up for +all it was worth. He had a magic peep-stone and a witch-hazel +divining-rod that he manipulated so skillfully as to cause other boys +and even older men to dig for him as he wished. He seemed to delight in +tricking his companions in various ways, by telling fortunes, reeling +off tall yarns, and posing as one possessed of occult knowledge. + +According to Joseph's autobiography, the discovery of the Mormon Bible +happened in this wise: on the night of September 21, 1823, a vision fell +upon him; the angel Moroni appeared and directed him to a cave on the +hillside; in this cave he found some gold plates, on which were +inscribed strange characters, written in what Smith described as +"reformed Egyptian"; they were undecipherable except by the aid of a +pair of magic peep-stones named Urim and Thummim, delivered him for the +purpose by the angel at Palmyra; looking through the hole in these +peep-stones, he was able to interpret the gold plates. This was the +skeleton of the story embellished by later ornamentation in the way of +golden breastplates, two stones bright and shining, golden plates united +at the back by rings, the sword of Laban, square stone boxes, cemented +clasps, invisible blows, suggestions of Satan, and similar mummery born +from the quickened imagination of a zealot. + +Smith succeeded in interesting one Harris to act as his amanuensis in +his interpretation of these books of Mormon. The future prophet sat +behind a screen with the supposed gold plates in his hat. He dictated +through the stones Urim and Thummim. With a keen imagination and natural +aptitude for the strikingly dramatic, he was able to present formally +his ritual, tabernacle, holy of holies, priesthood and tithings, +constitution and councils, blood atonement, anointment, twelve apostles, +miracles, his spiritual manifestations and revelations, all in +reminiscence of the religious tenets of many lands. + +Such religious movements rise and fall at periodic intervals. Sometimes +they are never heard of outside the small communities of their birth; at +other times they arise to temporary nation-wide importance, but they are +unlucky either in leadership or environment and so perish. The Mormon +Church, however, was fortunate in all respects. Smith was in no manner a +successful leader, but he made a good prophet. He was strong physically, +was a great wrestler, and had an abundance of good nature; he was +personally popular with the type of citizen with whom he was thrown. He +could impress the ignorant mind with the reality of his revelations and +the potency of his claims. He could impress the more intelligent, but +half unscrupulous, half fanatical minds of the leaders with the power of +his idea and the opportunities offered for leadership. + +Two men of the latter type were Parley P. Pratt and Sidney Rigdon. The +former was of the narrow, strong, fanatic type; the latter had the cool +constructive brain that gave point, direction, and consistency to the +Mormon system of theology. Had it not been for such leaders and others +like them, it is quite probable that the Smith movement would have been +lost like hundreds of others. That Smith himself lasted so long as the +head of the Church, with the powers and perquisites of that position, +can be explained by the fact that, either by accident or shrewd design, +his position before the unintelligent masses had been made impregnable. +If it was not true that Joseph Smith had received the golden plates from +an angel and had translated them--again with the assistance of an +angel--and had received from heaven the revelations vouchsafed from time +to time for the explicit guidance of the Church in moral, temporal, and +spiritual matters, then there was no Book of Mormon, no new revelation, +no Mormon Church. The dethronement of Smith meant that there could be +no successor to Smith, for there would be nothing to which to succeed. +The whole church structure must crumble with him. + +The time was psychologically right. Occasionally a contagion of +religious need seems to sweep the country. People demand manifestations +and signs, and will flock to any who can promise them. To this class the +Book of Mormon, with its definite sort of mysticism, appealed strongly. +The promises of a new Zion were concrete; the power was centralized, so +that people who had heretofore been floundering in doubt felt they could +lean on authority, and shake off the personal responsibility that had +weighed them down. The Mormon communities grew fast, and soon began to +send out proselyting missionaries. England was especially a fruitful +field for these missionaries. The great manufacturing towns were then at +their worst, containing people desperately ignorant, superstitious, and +so deeply poverty-stricken that the mere idea of owning land of their +own seemed to them the height of affluence. Three years after the +arrival of the missionaries the general conference reported 4019 +converts in England alone. These were good material in the hands of +strong, fanatical, or unscrupulous leaders. They were religious +enthusiasts, of course, who believed they were coming to a real city of +Zion. Most of them were in debt to the Church for the price of their +passage, and their expenses. They were dutiful in their acceptance of +miracles, signs, and revelations. The more intelligent among them +realized that, having come so far and invested in the enterprise their +all, it was essential that they accept wholly the discipline and +authority of the Church. + +Before their final migration to Utah, the Mormons made three ill-fated +attempts to found the city of Zion, first in Ohio, then in western +Missouri, and finally, upon their expulsion from Missouri, at Nauvoo in +Illinois. In every case they both inspired and encountered opposition +and sometimes persecution. As the Mormons increased in power, they +became more self-sufficient and arrogant. They at first presumed to +dictate politically, and then actually began to consider themselves a +separate political entity. One of their earliest pieces of legislation, +under the act incorporating the city of Nauvoo, was an ordinance to +protect the inhabitants of the Mormon communities from all outside legal +processes. No writ for the arrest of any Mormon inhabitants of any +Mormon city could be executed until it had received the mayor's +approval. By way of a mild and adequate penalty, anyone violating this +ordinance was to be imprisoned for life with no power of pardon in the +governor without the mayor's consent. + +Of course this was a welcome opportunity for the lawless and desperate +characters of the surrounding country. They became Mormon to a man. +Under the shield of Mormon protection they could steal and raid to their +heart's content. Land speculators also came into the Church, and bought +land in the expectation that New Zion property would largely rise. +Banking grew somewhat frantic. Complaints became so bitter that even the +higher church authorities were forced to take cognizance of the +practices. In 1840 Smith himself said: "We are no longer at war, and you +must stop stealing. When the right time comes, we will go in force and +take the whole State of Missouri. It belongs to us as our inheritance, +but I want no more petty stealing. A man that will steal petty articles +from his enemies will, when occasion offers, steal from his brethren +too. Now I command you that have stolen must steal no more." + +At Nauvoo, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi, they built a really +pretentious and beautiful city, and all but completed a temple that was, +from every account, creditable. However, their arrogant relations with +their neighbors and the extreme isolation in which they held themselves +soon earned them the dislike and distrust of those about them. The +practice of polygamy had begun, although even to the rank and file of +the Mormons themselves the revelation commanding it was as yet unknown. +Still, rumors had leaked forth. The community, already severely shocked +in its economic sense, was only too ready to be shocked in its moral +sense, as is the usual course of human nature. The rather wild vagaries +of the converts, too, aroused distrust and disgust in the sober minds of +the western pioneers. At religious meetings converts would often arise +to talk in gibberish--utterly nonsensical gibberish. This was called a +"speaking with tongues," and could be translated by the speaker or a +bystander in any way he saw fit, without responsibility for the saying. +This was an easy way of calling a man names without standing behind it, +so to speak. The congregation saw visions, read messages on stones +picked up in the field--messages which disappeared as soon as +interpreted. They had fits in meetings, they chased balls of fire +through the fields, they saw wonderful lights in the air, in short they +went through all the hysterical vagaries formerly seen also in the +Methodist revivals under John Wesley. + +Turbulence outside was accompanied by turbulence within. Schisms +occurred. Branches were broken off from the Church. The great temporal +power and wealth to which, owing to the obedience and docility of the +rank and file, the leaders had fallen practically sole heirs, had gone +to their heads. The Mormon Church gave every indication of breaking up +into disorganized smaller units, when fortunately for it the prophet +Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob. This martyrdom +consolidated the church body once more; and before disintegrating +influences could again exert themselves, the reins of power were seized +by the strong hand of a remarkable man, Brigham Young, who thrust aside +the logical successor, Joseph Smith's son. + +Young was an uneducated man, but with a deep insight into human nature. +A shrewd practical ability and a rugged intelligence, combined with +absolute cold-blooded unscrupulousness in attaining his ends, were +qualities amply sufficient to put Young in the front rank of the class +of people who composed the Mormon Church. He early established a +hierarchy of sufficient powers so that always he was able to keep the +strong men of the Church loyal to the idea he represented. He paid them +well, both in actual property and in power that was dearer to them than +property. Furthermore, whether or not he originated polygamy, he not +only saw at once its uses in increasing the population of the new state +and in taking care of the extra women such fanatical religions always +attract, but also, more astutely, he realized that the doctrine of +polygamy would set his people apart from all other people, and probably +call down upon them the direct opposition of the Federal Government. A +feeling of persecution, opposition, and possible punishment were all +potent to segregate the Mormon Church from the rest of humanity and to +assure its coherence. Further, he understood thoroughly the results that +can be obtained by coöperation of even mediocre people under able +leadership. He placed his people apart by thoroughly impressing upon +their minds the idea of their superiority to the rest of the world. They +were the chosen people, hitherto scattered, but now at last gathered +together. His followers had just the degree of intelligence necessary to +accept leadership gracefully and to rejoice in a supposed superiority +because of a sense of previous inferiority. + +This ductile material Brigham welded to his own forms. He was able to +assume consistently an appearance of uncouth ignorance in order to +retain his hold over his uncultivated flock. He delivered vituperative, +even obscene sermons, which may still be read in his collected works. +But he was able also on occasions, as when addressing agents of the +Federal Government or other outsiders whom he wished to impress, to +write direct and dignified English. He was resourceful in obtaining +control over the other strong men of his Church; but by his very success +he was blinded to due proportions. There can be little doubt that at one +time he thought he could defy the United States by force of arms. He +even maintained an organization called the Danites, sometimes called the +Destroying Angels, who carried out his decrees.[5] + +[5: The Mormon Church has always denied the existence of any such +organization; but the weight of evidence is against the Church. In one +of his discourses, Young seems inadvertently to have admitted the +existence of the Danites. The organization dates from the sojourn of the +Mormons in Missouri. See Linn, _The Story of the Mormons_, pp. 189-192.] + +Brigham could welcome graciously and leave a good impression upon +important visitors. He was not a good business man, however, and almost +every enterprise he directly undertook proved to be a complete or +partial failure. He did the most extraordinarily stupid things, as, for +instance, when he planned the so-called Cottonwood Canal, the mouth of +which was ten feet higher than its source! Nevertheless he had sense to +utilize the business ability of other men, and was a good accumulator of +properties. His estate at his death was valued at between two and three +million dollars. This was a pretty good saving for a pioneer who had +come into the wilderness without a cent of his own, who had always spent +lavishly, and who had supported a family of over twenty wives and fifty +children--all this without a salary as an officer. Tithes were brought +to him personally, and he rendered no accounting. He gave the strong men +of his hierarchy power and opportunity, played them against each other +to keep his own lead, and made holy any of their misdeeds which were not +directed against himself. + +The early months of 1846 witnessed a third Mormon exodus. Driven out of +Illinois, these Latter-day Saints crossed the Mississippi in organized +bands, with Council Bluffs as their first objective. Through the winter +and spring some fifteen thousand Mormons with three thousand wagons +found their way from camp to camp, through snow, ice, and mud, over the +weary stretch of four hundred miles to the banks of the Missouri. The +epic of this westward migration is almost biblical. Hardship brought out +the heroic in many characters. Like true American pioneers, they adapted +themselves to circumstances with fortitude and skill. Linn says: "When a +halt occurred, a shoemaker might be seen looking for a stone to serve as +a lap-stone in his repair work, or a gunsmith mending a rifle, or a +weaver at a wheel or loom. The women learned that the jolting wagons +would churn their milk, and when a halt occurred it took them but a +short time to heat an oven hollowed out of the hillside, in which to +bake the bread already raised." Colonel Kane says that he saw a piece of +cloth, the wool for which was sheared, dyed, spun, and woven, during the +march. + +After a winter of sickness and deprivation in camps along "Misery +Bottom," as they called the river flats, during which malaria carried +off hundreds, Brigham Young set out with a pioneer band of a hundred and +fifty to find a new Zion. Toward the end of July, this expedition by +design or chance entered Salt Lake Valley. At sight of the lake +glistening in the sun, "Each of us," wrote one of the party, "without +saying a word to the other, instinctively, as if by inspiration, raised +our hats from our heads, and then, swinging our hats, shouted, 'Hosannah +to God and the Lamb!'" + +Meantime the first emigration from winter quarters was under way, and in +the following spring Young conducted a train of eight hundred wagons +across the plains to the great valley where a city of adobe and log +houses was already building. The new city was laid off into numbered +lots. The Presidency had charge of the distribution of these lots. You +may be sure they did not reserve the worst for their use, nor did they +place about themselves undesirable neighbors. Immediately after the +assignments had been made, various people began at once to speculate in +buying and selling according to the location. The spiritual power +immediately anathematized this. No one was permitted to trade over +property. Any sales were made on a basis of the first cost plus the +value of the improvement. A community admirable in almost every way was +improvised as though by magic. Among themselves the Mormons were sober, +industrious, God-fearing, peaceful. Their difficulties with the nation +were yet to come. + +Throughout the year, 1848, the weather was propitious for ploughing and +sowing. Before the crops could be gathered, however, provisions ran so +low that the large community was in actual danger of starvation. Men +were reduced to eating skins of slaughtered animals, the raw hides from +the roofs of houses, and even a wild root dug by the miserable Ute +Indians. To cap the climax, when finally the crops ripened, they were +attacked by an army of crickets that threatened to destroy them utterly. +Prayers of desperation were miraculously answered by a flight of white +sea-gulls that destroyed the invader and saved the crop. Since then this +miracle has been many times repeated. + +It was in August, 1849, that the first gold rush began. Some of +Brannan's company from California had already arrived with samples of +gold-dust. Brigham Young was too shrewd not to discourage all mining +desires on the part of his people, and he managed to hold them. The +Mormons never did indulge in gold-mining. But the samples served to +inflame the ardor of the immigrants from the east. Their one desire at +once became to lighten their loads so that they could get to the +diggings in the shortest possible time. Then the Mormons began to reap +their harvest. Animals worth only twenty-five or thirty dollars would +bring two hundred dollars in exchange for goods brought in by the +travelers. For a light wagon the immigrants did not hesitate to offer +three or four heavy ones, and sometimes a yoke of oxen to boot. Such +very desirable things to a new community as sheeting, or spades and +shovels, since the miners were overstocked, could be had for almost +nothing. Indeed, everything, except coffee and sugar, was about half the +wholesale rate in the East. The profit to the Mormons from this +migration was even greater in 1850. The gold-seeker sometimes paid as +high as a dollar a pound for flour; and, conversely, as many of the +wayfarers started out with heavy loads of mining machinery and +miscellaneous goods, as is the habit of the tenderfoot camper even unto +this day, they had to sell at the buyers' prices. Some of the +enterprising miners had even brought large amounts of goods for sale at +a hoped-for profit in California. At Salt Lake City, however, the +information was industriously circulated that shiploads of similar, +merchandise were on their way round the Horn, and consequently the +would-be traders often sacrificed their own stock.[6] + +[6: Linn, _The Story of the Mormons_, 406.] + +This friendly condition could not, of course, long obtain. Brigham +Young's policy of segregation was absolutely opposed to permanent +friendly relations. The immigrants on the other hand were violently +prejudiced against the Mormon faith. The valley of the Salt Lake seemed +to be just the psychological point for the breaking up into fragments of +the larger companies that had crossed the plains. The division of +property on these separations sometimes involved a considerable amount +of difficulty. The disputants often applied to the Mormon courts for +decision. Somebody was sure to become dissatisfied and to accuse the +courts of undue influence. Rebellion against the decision brought upon +them the full force of civil power. For contempt of court they were most +severely fined. The fields of the Mormons were imperfectly fenced; the +cattle of the immigrants were very numerous. Trespass cases brought +heavy remuneration, the value being so much greater for damages than in +the States that it often looked to the stranger like an injustice. A +protest would be taken before a bishop who charged costs for his +decision. An unreasonable prejudice against the Mormons often arose +from these causes. On the other hand there is no doubt that the +immigrants often had right on their side. Not only were the Mormons +human beings, with the usual qualities of love of gain and desire +to take advantage of their situation; but, further, they belonged +to a sect that fostered the belief that they were superior to the +rest of mankind, and that it was actually meritorious to "spoil the +Philistines." + +Many gold-diggers who started out with a complete outfit finished their +journey almost on foot. Some five hundred of these people got together +later in California and compared notes. Finally they drew up a series of +affidavits to be sent back home. A petition was presented to Congress +charging that many immigrants had been murdered by the Mormons; that, +when members of the Mormon community became dissatisfied and tried to +leave, they were subdued and killed; that a two per cent tax on the +property was levied on those immigrants compelled to stay through the +winter; that justice was impossible to obtain in the Mormon courts; that +immigrants' mail was opened and destroyed; and that all Mormons were at +best treasonable in sentiment. Later the breach between the Mormons and +the Americans became more marked, until it culminated in the atrocious +Mountain Meadows massacre, which was probably only one of several +similar but lesser occurrences. These things, however, are outside of +our scope, as they occurred later in history. For the moment, it is only +necessary to note that it was extremely fortunate for the gold +immigrants, not only that the half-way station had been established by +the Mormons, but also that the necessities of the latter forced them to +adopt a friendly policy. By the time open enmity had come, the first of +the rush had passed and other routes had been well established. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE WAY BY PANAMA + + +Of the three roads to California that by Panama was the most obvious, +the shortest, and therefore the most crowded. It was likewise the most +expensive. To the casual eye this route was also the easiest. You got on +a ship in New York, you disembarked for a very short land journey, you +re-embarked on another ship, and landed at San Francisco. This route +therefore attracted the more unstable elements of society. The journey +by the plains took a certain grim determination and courage; that by +Cape Horn, a slow and persistent patience. + +The route by the Isthmus, on the other hand, allured the impatient, the +reckless, and those who were unaccustomed to and undesirous of +hardships. Most of the gamblers and speculators, for example, as well as +the cheaper politicians, went by Panama. + +In October, 1848, the first steamship of the Pacific Steamship Company +began her voyage from New York to Panama and San Francisco, and reached +her destination toward the end of February. On the Atlantic every old +tub that could be made to float so far was pressed into service. +Naturally there were many more vessels on the Atlantic side than on the +Pacific side, and the greatest congestion took place at Panama. Every +man was promised by the shipping agent a through passage, but the +shipping agent was careful to remain in New York. + +The overcrowded ships were picturesque though uncomfortable. They were +crowded to the guards with as miscellaneous a lot of passengers as were +ever got together. It must be remembered that they were mostly young men +in the full vigor of youth and thoroughly imbued with the adventurous +spirit. It must be remembered again, if the reader can think back so far +in his own experience, that youth of that age loves to deck itself out +both physically and mentally in the trappings of romance. Almost every +man wore a red shirt, a slouch hat, a repeating pistol, and a +bowie-knife; and most of them began at once to grow beards. They came +from all parts of the country. The lank Maine Yankee elbowed the tall, +sallow, black-haired Southerner. Social distinctions soon fell away and +were forgotten. No one could tell by speech, manners, or dress whether a +man's former status was lawyer, physician, or roustabout. The days were +spent in excited discussions of matters pertaining to the new country +and the theory and practice of gold-mining. Only two things were said to +be capable of breaking in on this interminable palaver. One was dolphins +and the other the meal-gong. When dolphins appeared, each passenger +promptly rushed to the side of the ship and discharged his revolver in a +fusillade that was usually harmless. Meal time always caught the +majority unawares. They tumbled and jostled down the companionway only +to find that the wise and forethoughtful had preëmpted every chair. +There was very little quarreling. A holiday spirit seemed to pervade the +crowd. Everybody was more or less elevated in mood and everybody was +imbued with the same spirit of comradeship in adventure. + +But with the sight of shore, the low beach, and the round high bluffs +with the castle atop that meant Chagres, this comradeship rather fell +apart. Soon a landing was to be made and transportation across the +Isthmus had to be obtained. Men at once became rivals for prompt +service. Here, for the first time, the owners of the weird +mining-machines already described found themselves at a disadvantage, +while those who carried merely the pick, shovel, and small personal +equipment were enabled to make a flying start. On the beach there was +invariably an immense wrangle over the hiring of boats to go up the +river. These were a sort of dug-out with small decks in the bow and in +the stern, and with low roofs of palmetto leaves amidships. The fare to +Cruces was about fifteen dollars a man. Nobody was in a hurry but the +Americans. + +Chagres was a collection of cane huts on level ground, with a swamp at +the back. Men and women clad in a single cotton garment lay about +smoking cigars. Naked and pot-bellied children played in the mud. On the +threshold of the doors, in the huts, fish, bullock heads, hides, and +carrion were strewn, all in a state of decomposition, while in the rear +was the jungle and a lake of stagnant water with a delicate bordering of +greasy blue mud. There was but one hotel, called the Crescent City, +which boasted of no floor and no food. The newcomers who were unsupplied +with provisions had to eat what they could pick up. Unlearned as yet in +tropical ways, they wasted a tremendous lot of nervous energy in trying +to get the natives started. The natives, calm in the consciousness that +there was plenty of demand, refused to be hurried. Many of the +travelers, thinking that they had closed a bargain, returned from +sightseeing only to find their boat had disappeared. The only safe way +was to sit in the canoe until it actually started. + +With luck they got off late in the afternoon, and made ten or twelve +miles to Gatun. The journey up the lazy tropical river was exciting and +interesting. The boatmen sang, the tropic forests came down to the banks +with their lilies, shrubs, mangoes, cocos, sycamores, palms; their +crimson, purple, and yellow blossoms; their bananas with torn leaves; +their butterflies and paroquets; their streamers and vines and scarlet +flowers. It was like a vision of fairyland. + +Gatun was a collection of bamboo huts, inhabited mainly by fleas. One +traveler tells of attempting to write in his journal, and finding the +page covered with fleas before he had inscribed a dozen words. The gold +seekers slept in hammocks, suspended at such a height that the native +dogs found them most convenient back-scratchers. The fleas were not +inactive. On all sides the natives drank, sang, and played monte. It +generally rained at night, and the flimsy huts did little to keep out +the wet. Such things went far to take away the first enthusiasm and to +leave the travelers in rather a sad and weary-eyed state. + +By the third day the river narrowed and became swifter. With luck the +voyagers reached Gorgona on a high bluff. This was usually the end of +the river journey. Most people bargained for Cruces six miles beyond, +but on arrival decided that the Gorgona trail would be less crowded, and +with unanimity went ashore there. Here the bargaining had to be started +all over again, this time for mules. Here also the demand far exceeded +the supply, with the usual result of arrogance, indifference, and high +prices. The difficult ride led at first through a dark deep wood in clay +soil that held water in every depression, seamed with steep eroded +ravines and diversified by low passes over projecting spurs of a chain +of mountains. There the monkeys and parrots furnished the tropical +atmosphere, assisted somewhat by innumerable dead mules along the trail. +Vultures sat in every tree waiting for more things to happen. The trail +was of the consistency of very thick mud. In this mud the first mule +had naturally left his tracks; the next mules trod carefully in the +first mule's footprints, and all subsequent mules did likewise. The +consequence was a succession of narrow deep holes in the clay into which +an animal sank half-way to the shoulder. No power was sufficient to make +these mules step anywhere else. Each hole was full of muddy water. When +the mule inserted his hoof, water spurted out violently as though from a +squirt-gun. Walking was simply impossible. + +All this was merely adventure for the young, strong, and healthy; but +the terrible part of the Panama Trail was the number of victims claimed +by cholera and fever. The climate and the unwonted labor brought to the +point of exhaustion men unaccustomed to such exertions. They lay flat by +the trail as though dead. Many actually did die either from the jungle +fever or the yellow-jack. The universal testimony of the times is that +this horseback journey seemed interminable; and many speak of being +immensely cheered when their Indian stopped, washed his feet in a +wayside mudhole, and put on his pantaloons. That indicated the +proximity, at last, of the city of Panama. + +It was a quaint old place. The two-story wooden houses with corridor +and verandah across the face of the second story, painted in bright +colors, leaned crazily out across the streets. Narrow and mysterious +alleys led between them. Ancient cathedrals and churches stood gray with +age before the grass-grown plazas. In the outskirts were massive masonry +ruins of great buildings, convents, and colleges, some of which had +never been finished. The immense blocks lay about the ground in +confusion, covered by thousands of little plants, or soared against the +sky in broken arches and corridors. But in the body of the town, the old +picturesque houses had taken on a new and temporary smartness which +consisted mostly of canvas signs. The main street was composed of +hotels, eating-houses, and assorted hells. At times over a thousand men +were there awaiting transportation. Some of them had been waiting a long +time, and had used up all their money. They were broke and desperate. A +number of American gambling-houses were doing business, and of course +the saloons were much in evidence. Foreigners kept two of the three +hotels; Americans ran the gambling joints; French and Germans kept the +restaurants. The natives were content to be interested but not entirely +idle spectators. There was a terrible amount of sickness aggravated by +American quack remedies. Men rejoiced or despaired according to their +dispositions. Every once in a while a train of gold bullion would start +back across the Isthmus with mule-loads of huge gold bars, so heavy that +they were safe, for no one could carry them off to the jungle. On the +other hand there were some returning Californians, drunken and wretched. +They delighted in telling with grim joy of the disappointments of the +diggings. But probably the only people thoroughly unhappy were the +steamship officials. These men had to bear the brunt of disappointment, +broken promises, and savage recrimination, if means for going north were +not very soon forthcoming. Every once in a while some ship, probably an +old tub, would come wallowing to anchor at the nearest point, some +eleven miles from the city. Then the raid for transportation took place +all over again. There was a limited number of small boats for carrying +purposes, and these were pounced on at once by ten times the number they +could accommodate. Ships went north scandalously overcrowded and +underprovisioned. Mutinies were not infrequent. It took a good captain +to satisfy everybody, and there were many bad ones. Some men got so +desperate that, with a touching ignorance of geography, they actually +started out in small boats to row to the north. Others attempted the +overland route. It may well be believed that the reaction from all this +disappointment and delay lifted the hearts of these argonauts when they +eventually sailed between the Golden Gates. + +This confusion, of course, was worse at the beginning. Later the journey +was to some extent systematized. The Panama route subsequently became +the usual and fashionable way to travel. The ship companies learned how +to handle and treat their patrons. In fact, it was said that every +jewelry shop in San Francisco carried a large stock of fancy silver +speaking-trumpets because of the almost invariable habit of presenting +one of these to the captain of the ship by his grateful passengers. One +captain swore that he possessed eighteen of them! + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE DIGGINGS + + +The two streams of immigrants, by sea and overland, thus differed, on +the average, in kind. They also landed in the country at different +points. The overlanders were generally absorbed before they reached San +Francisco. They arrived first at Fort Sutter, whence they distributed +themselves; or perhaps they even stopped at one or another of the +diggings on their way in. + +Of those coming by sea all landed at San Francisco. A certain proportion +of the younger and more enthusiastic set out for the mines, but only +after a few days had given them experience of the new city and had +impressed them with at least a subconscious idea of opportunity. Another +certain proportion, however, remained in San Francisco without +attempting the mines. These were either men who were discouraged by +pessimistic tales, men who had sickened of the fever, or more often men +who were attracted by the big opportunities for wealth which the city +then afforded. Thus at once we have two different types to consider, the +miner and the San Franciscan. + +The mines were worked mostly by young men. They journeyed up to the +present Sacramento either by river-boats or afoot. Thence they took +their outfits into the diggings. It must have seemed a good deal like a +picnic. The goal was near; rosy hope had expanded to fill the horizon; +breathless anticipation pervaded them--a good deal like a hunting-party +starting off in the freshness of the dawn. + +The diggings were generally found at the bottoms of the deep river-beds +and ravines. Since trails, in order to avoid freshets and too many +crossings of the water-courses, took the higher shoulder of the hill, +the newcomer ordinarily looked down upon his first glimpse of the mines. +The sight must have been busy and animated. The miners dressed in +bright-colored garments, and dug themselves in only to the waist or at +most to the shoulders before striking bed rock, so that they were +visible as spots of gaudy color. The camps were placed on the hillsides +or little open flats, and occasionally were set in the bed of a river. +They were composed of tents, and of rough log or bark structures. + +The newcomers did not spend much time in establishing themselves +comfortably or luxuriously. They were altogether too eager to get at the +actual digging. There was an immense excitement of the gamble in it all. +A man might dig for days without adequate results and then of a sudden +run into a rich pocket. Or he might pan out an immense sum within the +first ten minutes of striking his pick to earth. No one could tell. The +fact that the average of all the days and all the men amounted to very +little more than living wages was quite lost to sight. At first the +methods were very crude. One man held a coarse screen of willow branches +which he shook continuously above an ordinary cooking pot, while his +partner slowly shovelled earth over this impromptu sieve. When the pots +were filled with siftings, they were carried to the river, where they +were carefully submerged, and the contents were stirred about with +sticks. The light earth was thus flowed over the rims of the pots. The +residue was then dried, and the lighter sand was blown away. The result +was gold, though of course with a strong mixture of foreign substance. +The pan miners soon followed; and the cradle or rocker with its +riffle-board was not long delayed. The digging was free. At first it was +supposed that a new holding should not be started within fifteen feet of +one already in operation. Later, claims of a definite size were +established. A camp, however, made its own laws in regard to this and +other matters. + +Most of the would-be miners at first rather expected to find gold lying +on the surface of the earth, and were very much disappointed to learn +that they actually had to dig for it. Moreover, digging in the boulders +and gravel, under the terrific heat of the California sun in midsummer, +was none too easy; and no matter how rich the diggings averaged--short +of an actual bonanza--the miner was disappointed in his expectations. +One man is reported saying: "They tell me I can easily make there eleven +hundred dollars a day. You know I am not easily moved by such reports. I +shall be satisfied if I make three hundred dollars per day." Travelers +of the time comment on the contrast between the returning stream of +discouraged and disgruntled men and the cheerfulness of the lot actually +digging. Nobody had any scientific system to go on. Often a divining-rod +was employed to determine where to dig. Many stories were current of +accidental finds; as when one man, tiring of waiting for his dog to get +through digging out a ground squirrel, pulled the animal out by the +tail, and with it a large nugget. Another story is told of a sailor who +asked some miners resting at noon where he could dig and as a joke was +directed to a most improbable side hill. He obeyed the advice, and +uncovered a rich pocket. With such things actually happening, naturally +it followed that every report of a real or rumored strike set the miners +crazy. Even those who had good claims always suspected that they might +do better elsewhere. It is significant that the miners of that day, like +hunters, always had the notion that they had come out to California just +one trip too late for the best pickings. + +The physical life was very hard, and it is no wonder that the stragglers +back from the mines increased in numbers as time went on. It was a true +case of survival of the fittest. Those who remained and became +professional miners were the hardiest, most optimistic, and most +persistent of the population. The mere physical labor was very severe. +Any one not raised as a day laborer who has tried to do a hard day's +work in a new garden can understand what pick and shovel digging in the +bottoms of gravel and boulder streams can mean. Add to this the fact +that every man overworked himself under the pressure of excitement; that +he was up to his waist in the cold water from the Sierra snows, with his +head exposed at the same time to the tremendous heat of the California +sun; throw in for good measure that he generally cooked for himself, and +that his food was coarse and badly prepared; and that in his own mind he +had no time to attend to the ordinary comforts and decencies of life. It +can well be imagined that a man physically unfit must soon succumb. But +those who survived seemed to thrive on these hardships. + +California camps by their very quaint and whimsical names bear testimony +to the overflowing good humor and high spirits of the early miners. No +one took anything too seriously, not even his own success or failure. +The very hardness of the life cultivated an ability to snatch joy from +the smallest incident. Some of the joking was a little rough, as when +some merry jester poured alcohol over a bully's head, touched a match to +it, and chased him out of camp yelling, "Man on fire--put him out!" It +is evident that the time was not one for men of very refined or +sensitive nature, unless they possessed at bottom the strong iron of +character. The ill-balanced were swept away by the current of +excitement, and fell readily into dissipation. The pleasures were rude; +the life was hearty; vices unknown to their possessors came to the +surface. The most significant tendency, and one that had much to do with +later social and political life in California, was the leveling effect +of just this hard physical labor. The man with a strong back and the +most persistent spirit was the superior of the man with education but +with weaker muscles. Each man, finding every other man compelled to +labor, was on a social equality with the best. The usual superiority of +head-workers over hand-workers disappeared. The low-grade man thus felt +himself the equal, if not the superior, of any one else on earth, +especially as he was generally able to put his hand on what were to him +comparative riches. The pride of employment disappeared completely. It +was just as honorable to be a cook or a waiter in a restaurant as to +dispense the law,--where there was any. The period was brief, but while +it lasted, it produced a true social democracy. Nor was there any +pretense about it. The rudest miner was on a plane of perfect equality +with lawyers, merchants, or professional men. Some men dressed in the +very height of style, decking themselves out with all the minute care of +a dandy; others were not ashamed of, nor did they object to being seen +in, ragged garments. No man could be told by his dress. + +The great day of days in a mining-camp was Sunday. Some +over-enthusiastic fortune-seekers worked the diggings also on that day; +but by general consent--uninfluenced, it may be remarked, by religious +considerations--the miners repaired to their little town for amusement +and relaxation. These little towns were almost all alike. There were +usually two or three combined hotels, saloons, and gambling-houses, +built of logs, of slabs, of canvas, or of a combination of the three. +There was one store that dispensed whiskey as well as dryer goods, and +one or two large places of amusement. On Sunday everything went full +blast. The streets were crowded with men; the saloons were well +patronized; the gambling games ran all day and late into the night. +Wrestling-matches, jumping-matches, other athletic tests, horse-races, +lotteries, fortune-telling, singing, anything to get a pinch or two of +the dust out of the good-natured miners--all these were going strong. +The American, English, and other continentals mingled freely, with the +exception of the French, who kept to themselves. Successful Germans or +Hollanders of the more stupid class ran so true to type and were so +numerous that they earned the generic name of "Dutch Charley." They have +been described as moon-faced, bland, bullet-headed men, with walrus +moustaches, and fatuous, placid smiles. Value meant nothing to them. +They only knew the difference between having money and having no money. +They carried two or three gold watches at the end of long home-made +chains of gold nuggets fastened together with links of copper wire. The +chains were sometimes looped about their necks, their shoulders, and +waists, and even hung down in long festoons. When two or three such +Dutch Charleys inhabited one camp, they became deadly rivals in this +childlike display, parading slowly up and down the street, casting +malevolent glances at each other as they passed. Shoals of +phrenologists, fortune-tellers, and the like, generally drunken old +reprobates on their last legs, plied their trades. One artist, giving +out under the physical labor of mining, built up a remarkably profitable +trade in sketching portraits. Incidentally he had to pay two dollars +and a half for every piece of paper! John Kelly, a wandering minstrel +with a violin, became celebrated among the camps, and was greeted with +enthusiasm wherever he appeared. He probably made more with his fiddle +than he could have made with his shovel. The influence of the "forty-two +caliber whiskey" was dire, and towards the end of Sunday the sports +became pretty rough. + +This day was also considered the time for the trial of any cases that +had arisen during the week. The miners elected one of their number to +act as presiding judge in a "miners' meeting." Justice was dealt out by +this man, either on his own authority with the approval of the crowd, or +by popular vote. Disputes about property were adjudicated as well as +offenses against the criminal code. Thus a body of precedent was slowly +built up. A new case before the _alcalde_ of Hangtown was often decided +on the basis of the procedure at Grub Gulch. The decisions were +characterized by direct common sense. It would be most interesting to +give adequate examples here, but space forbids. Suffice it to say that a +Mexican horse-thief was convicted and severely flogged; and then a +collection was taken up for him on the ground that he was on the whole +unfortunate! A thief apprehended on a steamboat was punished by a heavy +fine for the benefit of a sick man on board. + +Sunday evening usually ended by a dance. As women were entirely lacking +at first, a proportion of the men was told off to represent the fair +sex. At one camp the invariable rule was to consider as ladies those who +possessed patches on the seats of their trousers. This was the +distinguishing mark. Take it all around, the day was one of noisy, +good-humored fun. There was very little sodden drunkenness, and the +miners went back to their work on Monday morning with freshened spirits. +Probably just this sort of irresponsible ebullition was necessary to +balance the hardness of the life. + +In each mining-town was at least one Yankee storekeeper. He made the +real profits of the mines. His buying ability was considerable; his +buying power was often limited by what he could get hold of at the coast +and what he could transport to the camps. Often his consignments were +quite arbitrary and not at all what he ordered. The story is told of one +man who received what, to judge by the smell, he thought was three +barrels of spoiled beef. Throwing them out in the back way, he was +interested a few days later to find he had acquired a rapidly increasing +flock of German scavengers. They seemed to be investigating the barrels +and carrying away the spoiled meat. When the barrels were about empty, +the storekeeper learned that the supposed meat was in reality +sauerkraut! + +The outstanding fact about these camps was that they possessed no +solidarity. Each man expected to exploit the diggings and then to depart +for more congenial climes. He wished to undertake just as little +responsibility as he possibly could. With so-called private affairs +other than his own he would have nothing to do. The term private affairs +was very elastic, stretching often to cover even cool-blooded murder. +When matters arose affecting the whole public welfare in which he +himself might possibly become interested, he was roused to the point of +administering justice. The punishments meted out were fines, flogging, +banishment, and, as a last resort, lynching. Theft was considered a +worse offense than killing. As the mines began to fill up with the more +desperate characters who arrived in 1850 and 1851, the necessity for +government increased. At this time, but after the leveling effect of +universal labor had had its full effect, the men of personality, of +force and influence, began to come to the front. A fresh aristocracy of +ability, of influence, of character was created. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE URBAN FORTY-NINER + + +In popular estimation the interest and romance of the Forty-niners +center in gold and mines. To the close student, however, the true +significance of their lives is to be found even more in the city of San +Francisco. + +At first practically everybody came to California under the excitement +of the gold rush and with the intention of having at least one try at +the mines. But though gold was to be found in unprecedented abundance, +the getting of it was at best extremely hard work. Men fell sick both in +body and spirit. They became discouraged. Extravagance of hope often +resulted, by reaction, in an equal exaggeration of despair. The prices +of everything were very high. The cost of medical attendance was almost +prohibitory. Men sometimes made large daily sums in the placers; but +necessary expenses reduced their net income to small wages. Ryan gives +this account of an interview with a returning miner: "He readily entered +into conversation and informed us that he had passed the summer at the +mines where the excessive heat during the day, and the dampness of the +ground where the gold washing is performed, together with privation and +fatigue, had brought on fever and ague which nearly proved fatal to him. +He had frequently given an ounce of gold for the visit of a medical man, +and on several occasions had paid two and even three ounces for a single +dose of medicine. He showed us a pair of shoes, nearly worn out, for +which he had paid twenty-four dollars." Later Ryan says: "Only such men +as can endure the hardship and privation incidental to life in the mines +are likely to make fortunes by digging for the ore. I am unequal to the +task ... I think I could within an hour assemble in this very place from +twenty to thirty individuals of my own acquaintance who had all told the +same story. They were thoroughly dissatisfied and disgusted with their +experiment in the gold country. The truth of the matter is that only +traders, speculators, and gamblers make large fortunes." Only rarely did +men of cool enough heads and far enough sight eschew from the very +beginning all notion of getting rich quickly in the placers, and +deliberately settle down to make their fortunes in other ways. + +This conclusion of Ryan's throws, of course, rather too dark a tone over +the picture. The "hardy miner" was a reality, and the life in the +placers was, to such as he, profitable and pleasant. However, this point +of view had its influence in turning back from the mines a very large +proportion of those who first went in. Many of them drifted into +mercantile pursuits. Harlan tells us: "During my sojourn in Stockton I +mixed freely with the returning and disgusted miners from whom I learned +that they were selling their mining implements at ruinously low prices. +An idea struck me one day which I immediately acted upon for fear that +another might strike in the same place and cause an explosion. The +heaven-born idea that had penetrated my cranium was this: start in the +mercantile line, purchase the kits and implements of the returning +miners at low figures and sell to the greenhorns en route to the mines +at California prices." In this manner innumerable occupations supplying +the obvious needs were taken up by many returned miners. A certain +proportion drifted to crime or shady devices, but the large majority +returned to San Francisco, whence they either went home completely +discouraged, or with renewed energy and better-applied ability took hold +of the destinies of the new city. Thus another sort of Forty-niner +became in his way as significant and strong, as effective and as +romantic as his brother, the red-shirted Forty-niner of the diggings. + +But in addition to the miners who had made their stakes, who had given +up the idea of mining, or who were merely waiting for the winter's rains +to be over to go back again to the diggings, an ever increasing +immigration was coming to San Francisco with the sole idea of settling +in that place. All classes of men were represented. Many of the big +mercantile establishments of the East were sending out their agents. +Independent merchants sought the rewards of speculation. Gamblers also +perceived opportunities for big killings. Professional politicians and +cheap lawyers, largely from the Southern States, unfortunately also saw +their chance to obtain standing in a new community, having lost all +standing in their own. The result of the mixing of these various +chemical elements of society was an extraordinary boiling and bubbling. + + +When Commander Montgomery hoisted the American flag in 1846, the town of +Yerba Buena, as San Francisco was called, had a population of about two +hundred. Before the discovery of gold it developed under the influence +of American enterprise normally and rationally into a prosperous little +town with two hotels, a few private dwellings, and two wharves in the +process of construction. Merchants had established themselves with +connections in the Eastern States, in Great Britain, and South America. +Just before the discovery of gold the population had increased to eight +hundred and twelve. + +The news of the placers practically emptied the town. It would be +curious to know exactly how many human souls and chickens remained after +Brannan's _California Star_ published the authentic news. The commonest +necessary activities were utterly neglected, shops were closed and +barricaded, merchandise was left rotting on the wharves and the beaches, +and the prices of necessities rose to tremendous altitudes. The place +looked as a deserted mining-camp does now. The few men left who would +work wanted ten or even twenty dollars a day for the commonest labor. + +However, the early pioneers were hard-headed citizens. Many of the +shopkeepers and merchants, after a short experience of the mines, +hurried back to make the inevitable fortune that must come to the +middleman in these extraordinary times. Within the first eight weeks of +the gold excitement two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in gold dust +reached San Francisco, and within: the following eight weeks six hundred +thousand dollars more came in. All of this was to purchase supplies at +any price for the miners. + +This was in the latter days of 1848. In the first part of 1849 the +immigrants began to arrive. They had to have places to sleep, things to +eat, transportation to the diggings, outfits of various sorts. In the +first six months of 1849 ten thousand people piled down upon the little +city built to accommodate eight hundred. And the last six months of the +year were still more extraordinary, as some thirty thousand more dumped +themselves on the chaos of the first immigration. The result can be +imagined. The city was mainly of canvas either in the form of tents or +of crude canvas and wooden houses. The few substantial buildings stood +like rocks in a tossing sea. No attempt, of course, had been made as +yet toward public improvements. The streets were ankle-deep in dust or +neck-deep in mud. A great smoke of dust hung perpetually over the city, +raised by the trade winds of the afternoon. Hundreds of ships lay at +anchor in the harbor. They had been deserted by their crews, and, before +they could be re-manned, the faster clipper ships, built to control the +fluctuating western trade, had displaced them, so that the majority were +fated never again to put to sea. + +Newcomers landed at first on a flat beach of deep black sand, where they +generally left their personal effects for lack of means of +transportation. They climbed to a ragged thoroughfare of open sheds and +ramshackle buildings, most of them in the course of construction. +Beneath crude shelters of all sorts and in great quantities were goods +brought in hastily by eager speculators on the high prices. The four +hundred deserted ships lying at anchor in the harbor had dumped down on +the new community the most ridiculous assortment of necessities and +luxuries, such as calico, silk, rich furniture, mirrors, knock-down +houses, cases and cases of tobacco, clothing, statuary, +mining-implements, provisions, and the like. + +The hotels and lodging houses immediately became very numerous. Though +they were in reality only overcrowded bunk-houses, the most enormous +prices were charged for beds in them. People lay ten or twenty in a +single room--in row after row of cots, in bunks, or on the floor. +Between the discomfort of hard beds, fleas, and overcrowding, the entire +populace spent most of its time on the street or in the saloons and +gambling-houses. As some one has pointed out, this custom added greatly +to the apparent population of the place. Gambling was the gaudiest, the +best-paying, and the most patronized industry. It occupied the largest +structures, and it probably imported and installed the first luxuries. +Of these resorts the El Dorado became the most famous. It occupied at +first a large tent but soon found itself forced to move to better +quarters. The rents paid for buildings were enormous. Three thousand +dollars a month in advance was charged for a single small store made of +rough boards. A two-story frame building on Kearny Street near the Plaza +paid its owners a hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year rent. The +tent containing the El Dorado gambling saloon was rented for forty +thousand dollars a year. The prices sky-rocketed still higher. Miners +paid as high as two hundred dollars for an ordinary gold rocker, fifteen +or twenty dollars for a pick, the same for a shovel, and so forth. A +copper coin was considered a curiosity, a half-dollar was the minimum +tip for any small service, twenty-five cents was the smallest coin in +circulation, and the least price for which anything could be sold. Bread +came to fifty cents a loaf. Good boots were a hundred dollars. + +Affairs moved very swiftly. A month was the unit of time. Nobody made +bargains for more than a month in advance. Interest was charged on money +by the month. Indeed, conditions changed so fast that no man pretended +to estimate them beyond thirty days ahead, and to do even that was +considered rather a gamble. Real estate joined the parade of advance. +Little holes in sand-hills sold for fabulous prices. The sick, +destitute, and discouraged were submerged beneath the mounting tide of +vigorous optimism that bore on its crest the strong and able members of +the community. Every one either was rich or expected soon to be so. +Opportunity awaited every man at every corner. Men who knew how to take +advantage of fortune's gifts were assured of immediate high returns. +Those with capital were, of course, enabled to take advantage of the +opportunities more quickly; but the ingenious mind saw its chances even +with nothing to start on. + +One man, who landed broke but who possessed two or three dozen old +newspapers used as packing, sold them at a dollar and two dollars apiece +and so made his start. Another immigrant with a few packages of ordinary +tin tacks exchanged them with a man engaged in putting up a canvas house +for their exact weight in gold dust. Harlan tells of walking along the +shore of Happy Valley and finding it lined with discarded pickle jars +and bottles. Remembering the high price of pickles in San Francisco, he +gathered up several hundred of them, bought a barrel of cider vinegar +from a newly-arrived vessel, collected a lot of cucumbers, and started a +bottling works. Before night, he said, he had cleared over three hundred +dollars. With this he made a corner in tobacco pipes by which he +realized one hundred and fifty dollars in twenty-four hours. + +Mail was distributed soon after the arrival of the mail-steamer. The +indigent would often sit up a day or so before the expected arrival of +the mail-steamer holding places in line at the post-office. They +expected no letters but could sell the advantageous positions for high +prices when the mail actually arrived. He was a poor-spirited man indeed +who by these and many other equally picturesque means could not raise +his gold slug in a reasonable time; and, possessed of fifty dollars, he +was an independent citizen. He could increase his capital by interest +compounded every day, provided he used his wits; or for a brief span of +glory he could live with the best of them. A story is told of a new-come +traveler offering a small boy fifty cents to carry his valise to the +hotel. The urchin looked with contempt at the coin, fished out two +fifty-cent pieces, handed them to the owner of the valise, saying +"Here's a dollar; carry it yourself." + +One John A. McGlynn arrived without assets. He appreciated the +opportunity for ordinary teaming, and hitching California mules to the +only and exceedingly decrepit wagon to be found he started in business. +Possessing a monopoly, he charged what he pleased, so that within a +short time he had driving for him a New York lawyer, whom he paid a +hundred and seventy-five dollars a month. His outfit was magnificent. +When somebody joked with him about his legal talent, he replied, "The +whole business of a lawyer is to know how to manage mules and asses so +as to make them pay." When within a month plenty of wagons were +imported, McGlynn had so well established himself and possessed so much +character that he became _ex officio_ the head of the industry. He was +evidently a man of great and solid sense and was looked up to as one of +the leading citizens. + +Every human necessity was crying out for its ordinary conveniences. +There were no streets, there were no hotels, there were no +lodging-houses, there were no warehouses, there were no stores, there +was no water, there was no fuel. Any one who could improvise anything, +even a bare substitute, to satisfy any of these needs, was sure of +immense returns. In addition, the populace was so busy--so +overwhelmingly busy--with its own affairs that it literally could not +spare a moment to govern itself. The professional and daring politicians +never had a clearer field. They went to extraordinary lengths in all +sorts of grafting, in the sale of public real estate, in every +"shenanigan" known to skillful low-grade politicians. Only occasionally +did they go too far, as when, in addition to voting themselves salaries +of six thousand dollars apiece as aldermen, they coolly voted +themselves also gold medals to the value of one hundred and fifty +dollars apiece "for public and extra services." Then the determined +citizens took an hour off for the council chambers. The medals were cast +into the melting-pot. + +All writers agree, in their memoirs, that the great impression left on +the mind by San Francisco was its extreme busyness. The streets were +always crammed full of people running and darting in all directions. It +was, indeed, a heterogeneous mixture. Not only did the Caucasian show +himself in every extreme of costume, from the most exquisite top-hatted +dandy to the red-shirted miner, but there were also to be found all the +picturesque and unknown races of the earth, the Chinese, the Chileño, +the Moor, the Turk, the Mexican, the Spanish, the Islander, not to speak +of ordinary foreigners from Russia, England, France, Belgium, Germany, +Italy, and the out-of-the-way corners of Europe. All these people had +tremendous affairs to finish in the least possible time. And every once +in a while some individual on horseback would sail down the street at +full speed, scattering the crowd left and right. If any one remarked +that the marauding individual should be shot, the excuse was always +offered, "Oh, well, don't mind him. He's only drunk," as if that +excused everything. Many of the activities of the day also were +picturesque. As there were no warehouses in which to store goods, and as +the few structures of the sort charged enormous rentals, it was cheaper +to auction off immediately all consignments. These auctions were then, +and remained for some years, one of the features of the place. The more +pretentious dealers kept brass bands to attract the crowd. The returning +miners were numerous enough to patronize both these men and the cheap +clothing stores, and having bought themselves new outfits, generally +cast the old ones into the middle of the street. Water was exceedingly +scarce and in general demand, so that laundry work was high. It was the +fashion of these gentry to wear their hair and beards long. They sported +red shirts, flashy Chinese scarves around their waists, black belts with +silver buckles, six-shooters and bowie-knives, and wide floppy hats. + +The business of the day over, the evening was open for relaxation. As +the hotels and lodging-houses were nothing but kennels, and very crowded +kennels, it followed that the entire population gravitated to the +saloons and gambling places. Some of these were established on a very +extensive scale. They had not yet attained the magnificence of the +Fifties, but it is extraordinary to realize that within so few months +and at such a great distance from civilization, the early and +enterprising managed to take on the trappings of luxury. Even thus +early, plate-glass mirrors, expensive furniture, the gaudy, tremendous +oil paintings peculiar to such dives, prism chandeliers, and the like, +had made their appearance. Later, as will be seen, these gambling dens +presented an aspect of barbaric magnificence, unique and peculiar to the +time and place. In 1849, however gorgeous the trappings might have +appeared to men long deprived of such things, they were of small +importance compared with the games themselves. At times the bets were +enormous. Soulé tells us that as high as twenty thousand dollars were +risked on the turn of one card. The ordinary stake, however, was not so +large, from fifty cents to five dollars being about the usual amount. +Even at this the gamblers were well able to pay the high rents. Quick +action was the word. The tables were always crowded and bystanders many +deep waited to lay their stakes. Within a year or so the gambling +resorts assumed rather the nature of club-rooms, frequented by every +class, many of whom had no intention of gambling. Men met to talk, read +the newspapers, write letters, or perhaps take a turn at the tables. But +in 1849 the fever of speculation held every man in its grip. + +Again it must be noted how wide an epoch can be spanned by a month or +two. The year 1849 was but three hundred and sixty-five days long, and +yet in that space the community of San Francisco passed through several +distinct phases. It grew visibly like the stalk of a century plant. + +Of public improvements there were almost none. The few that were +undertaken sprang from absolute necessity. The town got through the +summer season fairly well, but, as the winter that year proved to be an +unusually rainy time, it soon became evident that something must be +done. The streets became bottomless pits of mud. It is stated, as plain +and sober fact, that in some of the main thoroughfares teams of mules +and horses sank actually out of sight and were suffocated. Foot travel +was almost impossible unless across some sort of causeway. Lumber was so +expensive that it was impossible to use it for the purpose. Fabulous +quantities of goods sent in by speculators loaded the market and would +sell so low that it was actually cheaper to use bales of them than to +use planks. Thus one muddy stretch was paved with bags of Chilean flour, +another with tierces of tobacco, while over still another the wayfarers +proceeded on the tops of cook stoves. These sank gradually in the soft +soil until the tops were almost level with the mud. Of course one of the +first acts of the merry jester was to shy the stove lids off into space. +The footing especially after dark can be imagined. Crossing a street on +these things was a perilous traverse watched with great interest by +spectators on either side. Often the hardy adventurer, after teetering +for some time, would with a descriptive oath sink to his waist in the +slimy mud. If the wayfarer was drunk enough, he then proceeded to pelt +his tormentors with missiles of the sticky slime. The good humor of the +community saved it from absolute despair. Looked at with cold appraising +eye, the conditions were decidedly uncomfortable. In addition there was +a grimmer side to the picture. Cholera and intermittent fever came, +brought in by ships as well as by overland immigrants, and the +death-rate rose by leaps and bounds. + +The greater the hardships and obstacles, the higher the spirit of the +community rose to meet them. In that winter was born the spirit that has +animated San Francisco ever since, and that so nobly and cheerfully met +the final great trial of the earthquake and fire of 1906. + +About this time an undesirable lot of immigrants began to arrive, +especially from the penal colonies of New South Wales. The criminals of +the latter class soon became known to the populace as "Sydney Ducks." +They formed a nucleus for an adventurous, idle, pleasure-loving, +dissipated set of young sports, who organized themselves into a loose +band very much on the order of the East Side gangs in New York or the +"hoodlums" in later San Francisco, with the exception, however, that +these young men affected the most meticulous nicety in dress. They +perfected in the spring of 1849 an organization called the Regulators, +announcing that, as there was no regular police force, they would take +it upon themselves to protect the weak against the strong and the +newcomer against the bunco man. Every Sunday they paraded the streets +with bands and banners. Having no business in the world to occupy them, +and holding a position unique in the community, the Regulators soon +developed into practically a band of cut-throats and robbers, with the +object of relieving those too weak to bear alone the weight of wealth. +The Regulators, or Hounds, as they soon came to be called, had the great +wisdom to avoid the belligerent and resourceful pioneer. They issued +from their headquarters, a large tent near the Plaza, every night. Armed +with clubs and pistols, they descended upon the settlements of harmless +foreigners living near the outskirts, relieved them of what gold dust +they possessed, beat them up by way of warning, and returned to +headquarters with the consciousness of a duty well done. The victims +found it of little use to appeal to the _alcalde_, for with the best +disposition in the world the latter could do nothing without an adequate +police force. The ordinary citizen, much too interested in his own +affairs, merely took precautions to preserve his own skin, avoided dark +and unfrequented alleyways, barricaded his doors and windows, and took +the rest out in contemptuous cursing. + +Encouraged by this indifference, the Hounds naturally grew bolder and +bolder. They considered they had terrorized the rest of the community, +and they began to put on airs and swagger in the usual manner of bullies +everywhere. On Sunday afternoon of July 15, they made a raid on some +California ranchos across the bay, ostensibly as a picnic expedition, +returning triumphant and very drunk. For the rest of the afternoon with +streaming banners they paraded the streets, discharging firearms and +generally shooting up the town. At dark they descended upon the Chilean +quarters, tore down the tents, robbed the Chileans, beat many of the men +to insensibility, ousted the women, killed a number who had not already +fled, and returned to town only the following morning. + +This proved to be the last straw. The busy citizens dropped their own +affairs for a day and got together in a mass meeting at the Plaza. All +work was suspended and all business houses were closed. Probably all the +inhabitants in the city with the exception of the Hounds had gathered +together. Our old friend, Sam Brannan, possessing the gift of a fiery +spirit and an arousing tongue, addressed the meeting. A sum of money was +raised for the despoiled foreigners. An organization was effected, and +armed _posses_ were sent out to arrest the ringleaders. They had little +difficulty. Many left town for foreign parts or for the mines, where +they met an end easily predicted. Others were condemned to various +punishments. The Hounds were thoroughly broken up in an astonishingly +brief time. The real significance of their great career is that they +called to the attention of the better class of citizens the necessity +for at least a sketchy form of government and a framework of law. Such +matters as city revenue were brought up for practically the first time. +Gambling-houses were made to pay a license. Real estate, auction sales, +and other licenses were also taxed. One of the ships in the harbor was +drawn up on shore and was converted into a jail. A district-attorney was +elected, with an associate. The whole municipal structure was still +about as rudimentary as the streets into which had been thrown armfuls +of brush in a rather hopeless attempt to furnish an artificial bottom. +It was a beginning, however, and men had at last turned their eyes even +momentarily from their private affairs to consider the welfare of this +unique society which was in the making. + + + + + +CHAPTER X + +ORDEAL BY FIRE + + +San Francisco in the early years must be considered, aside from the +interest of its picturesqueness and aside from its astonishing growth, +as a crucible of character. Men had thrown off all moral responsibility. +Gambling, for example, was a respectable amusement. People in every +class of life frequented the gambling saloons openly and without thought +of apology. Men were leading a hard and vigorous life; the reactions +were quick; and diversions were eagerly seized. Decent women were +absolutely lacking, and the women of the streets had as usual followed +the army of invasion. It was not considered at all out of the ordinary +to frequent their company in public, and men walked with them by day to +the scandal of nobody. There was neither law nor restraint. Most men +were drunk with sudden wealth. The battle was, as ever, to the strong. + +There was every inducement to indulge the personal side of life. As a +consequence, many formed habits they could not break, spent all of their +money on women and drink and gambling, ruined themselves in pocket-book +and in health, returned home broken, remained sodden and hopeless +tramps, or joined the criminal class. Thousands died of cholera or +pneumonia; hundreds committed suicide; but those who came through formed +the basis of a race remarkable today for its strength, resourcefulness, +and optimism. Characters solid at bottom soon come to the inevitable +reaction. They were the forefathers of a race of people which is +certainly different from the inhabitants of any other portion of the +country. + +The first public test came with the earliest of the big fires that, +within the short space of eighteen months, six times burned San +Francisco to the ground. This fire occurred on December 4, 1849. It was +customary in the saloons to give negroes a free drink and tell them not +to come again. One did come again to Dennison's; he was flogged, and +knocked over a lamp. Thus there started a conflagration that consumed +over a million dollars' worth of property. The valuable part of the +property, it must be confessed, was in the form of goods, as the light +canvas and wooden shacks were of little worth. Possibly the fire +consumed enough germs and germ-breeding dirt to pay partially for +itself. Before the ashes had cooled, the enterprising real estate owners +were back reërecting the destroyed structures. + +This first fire was soon followed by others, each intrinsically severe. +The people were splendid in enterprise and spirit of recovery; but they +soon realized that not only must the buildings be made of more +substantial material, but also that fire-fighting apparatus must be +bought. In June, 1850, four hundred houses were destroyed; in May, 1851, +a thousand were burned at a loss of two million and a half; in June, +1851, the town was razed to the water's edge. In many places the wharves +were even disconnected from the shore. Everywhere deep holes were burned +in them, and some people fell through at night and were drowned. In this +fire a certain firm, Dewitt and Harrison, saved their warehouse by +knocking in barrels of vinegar and covering their building with blankets +soaked in that liquid. Water was unobtainable. It was reported that they +thus used eighty thousand gallons of vinegar, but saved their warehouse. + + +The loss now had amounted to something like twelve million dollars for +the large fires. It became more evident that something must be done. +From the exigencies of the situation were developed the volunteer +companies, which later became powerful political, as well as +fire-fighting, organizations. There were many of these. In the old +Volunteer Department there were fourteen engines, three hook-and-ladder +companies, and a number of hose companies. Each possessed its own house, +which was in the nature of a club-house, well supplied with reading and +drinking matter. The members of each company were strongly partisan. +They were ordinarily drawn from men of similar tastes and position in +life. Gradually they came to stand also for similar political interests, +and thus grew to be, like New York's Tammany Hall, instruments of the +politically ambitious. + +On an alarm of fire the members at any time of the day and night ceased +their occupation or leaped from their beds to run to the engine-house. +Thence the hand-engines were dragged through the streets at a terrific +rate of speed by hundreds of yelling men at the end of the ropes. The +first engine at a fire obtained the place of honor; therefore every +alarm was the signal for a breakneck race. Arrived at the scene of fire, +the water-box of one engine was connected by hose with the reservoir of +the next, and so water was relayed from engine to engine until it was +thrown on the flames. The motive power of the pump was supplied by the +crew of each engine. The men on either side manipulated the pump by +jerking the hand-rails up and down. Putting out the fire soon became a +secondary matter. The main object of each company was to "wash" its +rival; that is, to pump water into the water box of the engine ahead +faster than the latter could pump it out, thus overflowing and eternally +disgracing its crew. The foremen walked back and forth between the +rails, as if on quarter-decks, exhorting their men. Relays in uniform +stood ready on either side to take the place of those who were +exhausted. As the race became closer, the foremen would get more +excited, begging their crews to increase the speed of the stroke, +beating their speaking trumpets into shapeless and battered relics. + +In the meantime the hook-and-ladder companies were plying their glorious +and destructive trade. A couple of firemen would mount a ladder to the +eaves of the house to be attacked, taking with them a heavy hook at the +end of a long pole or rope. With their axes they cut a small hole in the +eaves, hooked on this apparatus, and descended. At once as many firemen +and volunteers as could get hold of the pole and the rope began to pull. +The timbers would crack, break; the whole side of the house would come +out with a grand satisfying smash. In this way the fire within was laid +open to the attack of the hose-men. This sort of work naturally did +little toward saving the building immediately affected, but it was +intended to confine or check the fire within the area already burning. +The occasion was a grand jubilation for every boy in the town--which +means every male of any age. The roar of the flames, the hissing of the +steam, the crash of the timber, the shrieks of the foremen, the yells of +applause or of sarcastic comment from the crowd, and the thud of the +numerous pumps made a glorious row. Everybody, except the owners of the +buildings, was hugely delighted, and when the fire was all over it was +customary for the unfortunate owner further to increase the amount of +his loss by dealing out liquid refreshments to everybody concerned. On +parade days each company turned out with its machine brought to a high +state of polish by varnish, and with the members resplendent in uniform, +carrying pole-axes and banners. If the rivalries at the fire could only +be ended in a general free fight, everybody was the better satisfied. + +Thus by the end of the first period of its growth three necessities had +compelled the careless new city to take thought of itself and of public +convenience. The mud had forced the cleaning and afterwards the planking +of the principal roads; the Hounds had compelled the adoption of at +least a semblance of government; and the repeated fires had made +necessary the semiofficial organization of the fire department. + +By the end of 1850 we find that a considerable amount of actual progress +has been made. This came not in the least from any sense of civic pride +but from the pressure of stern necessity. The new city now had eleven +wharves, for example, up to seventeen hundred feet in length. It had +done no little grading of its sand-hills. The quagmire of its streets +had been filled and in some places planked. Sewers had been installed. +Flimsy buildings were being replaced by substantial structures, for +which the stones in some instances were imported from China. + +Yet it must be repeated that at this time little or no progress sprang +from civic pride. Each man was for himself. But, unlike the native +Californian, he possessed wants and desires which had to be satisfied, +and to that end he was forced, at least in essentials, to accept +responsibility and to combine with his neighbors. + +The machinery of this early civic life was very crude. Even the fire +department, which was by far the most efficient, was, as has been +indicated, more occupied with politics, rivalry, and fun, than with its +proper function. The plank roads were good as long as they remained +unworn, but they soon showed many holes, large and small, jagged, +splintered, ugly holes going down into the depths of the mud. Many of +these had been mended by private philanthropists; many more had been +labeled with facetious signboards. There were rough sketches of +accidents taken from life, and various legends such as "Head of +Navigation," "No bottom," "Horse and dray lost here," "Take sounding," +"Storage room, inquire below," "Good fishing for teal," and the like. As +for the government, the less said about that the better. Responsibility +was still in embryo; but politics and the law, as an irritant, were +highly esteemed. The elections of the times were a farce and a holiday; +nobody knew whom he was voting for nor what he was shouting for, but he +voted as often and shouted as loud as he could. Every American citizen +was entitled to a vote, and every one, no matter from what part of the +world he came, claimed to be an American citizen and defied any one to +prove the contrary. Proof consisted of club, sling-shot, bowie, and +pistol. A grand free fight was a refreshment to the soul. After "a +pleasant time by all was had," the populace settled down and forgot all +about the officers whom it had elected. The latter went their own sweet +way, unless admonished by spasmodic mass-meetings that some particularly +unscrupulous raid on the treasury was noted and resented. Most of the +revenue was made by the sale of city lots. Scrip was issued in payment +of debt. This bore interest sometimes at the rate of six or eight per +cent a month. + +In the meantime, the rest of the crowd went about its own affairs. Then, +as now, the American citizen is willing to pay a very high price in +dishonesty to be left free for his own pressing affairs. That does not +mean that he is himself either dishonest or indifferent. When the price +suddenly becomes too high, either because of the increase in dishonesty +or the decrease in value of his own time, he suddenly refuses to pay. +This happened not infrequently in the early days of California. + + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE VIGILANTES OF '51 + + +In 1851 the price for one commodity became too high. That commodity was +lawlessness. + +In two years the population of the city had vastly increased, until it +now numbered over thirty thousand inhabitants. At an equal or greater +pace the criminal and lawless elements had also increased. The +confessedly criminal immigrants were paroled convicts from Sydney and +other criminal colonies. These practiced men were augmented by the weak +and desperate from other countries. Mexico, especially, was strongly +represented. At first few in numbers and poverty-stricken in resources, +these men acted merely as footpads, highwaymen, and cheap crooks. As +time went on, however, they gradually became more wealthy and powerful, +until they had established a sort of caste. They had not the social +importance of many of the "higher-ups" of 1856, but they were crude, +powerful, and in many cases wealthy. They were ably seconded by a class +of lawyers which then, and for some years later, infested the courts of +California. These men had made little success at law, or perhaps had +been driven forth from their native haunts because of evil practices. +They played the game of law exactly as the cheap criminal lawyer does +today, but with the added advantage that their activities were +controlled neither by a proper public sentiment nor by the usual +discipline of better colleagues. Unhappily we are not yet far enough +removed from just this perversion to need further explanation of the +method. Indictments were fought for the reason that the murderer's name +was spelled wrong in one letter; because, while the accusation stated +that the murderer killed his victim with a pistol, it did not say that +it was by the discharge of said pistol; and so on. But patience could +not endure forever. The decent element of the community was forced at +last to beat the rascals. Its apparent indifference had been only +preoccupation. + +The immediate cause was the cynical and open criminal activity of an +Englishman named James Stuart. This man was a degenerate criminal of +the worst type, who came into a temporary glory through what he +considered the happy circumstances of the time. Arrested for one of his +crimes, he seemed to anticipate the usual very good prospects of +escaping all penalties. There had been dozens of exactly similar +incidents, but this one proved to be the spark to ignite a long +gathering pile of kindling. One hundred and eighty-four of the +wealthiest and most prominent men of the city formed themselves into a +secret Committee of Vigilance. As is usual when anything of importance +is to be done, the busiest men of the community were summoned and put to +work. Strangely enough, the first trial under this Committee of +Vigilance resulted also in a divided jury. The mob of eight thousand or +more people who had gathered to see justice done by others than the +appointed court finally though grumblingly acquiesced. The prisoners +were turned over to the regular authorities, and were eventually +convicted and sentenced. + +So far from being warned by this popular demonstration, the criminal +offenders grew bolder than ever. The second great fire, in May, 1851, +was commonly believed to be the work of incendiaries. Patience ceased +to be a virtue. The time for resolute repression of crime had arrived. +In June the Vigilance Committee was formally organized. Our old and +picturesque friend Sam Brannan was deeply concerned. In matters of +initiative for the public good, especially where a limelight was +concealed in the wing, Brannan was an able and efficient citizen. +Headquarters were chosen and a formal organization was perfected. The +Monumental Fire Engine Company bell was to be tolled as a summons for +the Committee to meet. + +Even before the first meeting had adjourned, this signal was given. A +certain John Jenkins had robbed a safe and was caught after a long and +spectacular pursuit. Jenkins was an Australian convict and was known to +numerous people as an old offender in many ways. He was therefore +typical of the exact thing the Vigilance Committee had been formed to +prevent. By eleven o'clock the trial, which was conducted with due +decorum and formality, was over. Jenkins was adjudged guilty. There was +no disorder either before or after Jenkins's trial. Throughout the trial +and subsequent proceedings Jenkins's manner was unafraid and arrogant. +He fully expected not only that the nerve of the Committee would give +out, but that at any moment he would be rescued. It must be remembered +that the sixty or seventy men in charge were known as peaceful unwarlike +merchants, and that against them were arrayed all the belligerent +swashbucklers of the town. While the trial was going on, the Committee +was informed by its officers outside that already the roughest +characters throughout the city had been told of the organization, and +were gathering for rescue. The prisoner insulted his captors, still +unconvinced that they meant business; then he demanded a clergyman, who +prayed for three-quarters of an hour straight, until Mr. Ryckman, +hearing of the gathering for rescue, no longer contained himself. Said +he: "Mr. Minister, you have now prayed three-quarters of an hour. I want +you to bring this prayer business to a halt. I am going to hang this man +in fifteen minutes." + +The Committee itself was by no means sure at all times. Bancroft tells +us that "one time during the proceedings there appeared some faltering +on the part of the judges, or rather a hesitancy to take the lead in +assuming responsibility and braving what might be subsequent odium. It +was one thing for a half-drunken rabble to take the life of a fellow +man, but quite another thing for staid church-going men of business to +do it. Then it was that William A. Howard, after watching the +proceedings for a few moments, rose, and laying his revolver on the +table looked over the assembly. Then with a slow enunciation he said, +'Gentlemen, as I understand it, we are going to hang somebody.' There +was no more halting." + +While these things were going on, Sam Brannan was sent out to +communicate to the immense crowd the Committee's decision. He was +instructed by Ryckman, "Sam, you go out and harangue the crowd while we +make ready to move." Brannan was an ideal man for just such a purpose. +He was of an engaging personality, of coarse fiber, possessed of a keen +sense of humor, a complete knowledge of crowd psychology, and a command +of ribald invective that carried far. He spoke for some time, and at the +conclusion boldly asked the crowd whether or not the Committee's action +met with its approval. The response was naturally very much mixed, but +like a true politician Sam took the result he wanted. They found the +lovers of order had already procured for them two ropes, and had +gathered into some sort of coherence. The procession marched to the +Plaza where Jenkins was duly hanged. The lawless element gathered at the +street corners, and at least one abortive attempt at rescue was started. +But promptness of action combined with the uncertainty of the situation +carried the Committee successfully through. The coroner's jury next day +brought in a verdict that the deceased "came to his death on the part of +an association styling themselves a Committee on Vigilance, of whom the +following members are implicated." And then followed nine names. The +Committee immediately countered by publishing its roster of one hundred +and eighty names in full. + +The organization that was immediately perfected was complete and +interesting. This was an association that was banded together and +close-knit, and not merely a loose body of citizens. It had +headquarters, company organizations, police, equipment, laws of its own, +and a regular routine for handling the cases brought before it. Its +police force was large and active. Had the Vigilance movement in +California begun and ended with the Committee of 1851, it would be not +only necessary but most interesting to follow its activities in detail. +But, as it was only the forerunner and trail-blazer for the greater +activities of 1856, we must save our space and attention for the latter. +Suffice it to say that, with only nominal interference from the law, the +first Committee hanged four people and banished a great many more for +the good of their country. Fifty executions in the ordinary way would +have had little effect on the excited populace of the time; but in the +peculiar circumstances these four deaths accomplished a moral +regeneration. This revival of public conscience could not last long, to +be sure, but the worst criminals were, at least for the time being, +cowed. + +Spasmodic efforts toward coherence were made by the criminals, but these +attempts all proved abortive. Inflammatory circulars and newspaper +articles, small gatherings, hidden threats, were all freely indulged in. +At one time a rescue of two prisoners was accomplished, but the +Monumental bell called together a determined band of men who had no +great difficulty in reclaiming their own. The Governor of the State, +secretly in sympathy with the purposes of the Committee, was satisfied +to issue a formal proclamation. + +It must be repeated that, were it not for the later larger movement of +1856, this Vigilance Committee would merit more extended notice. It +gave a lead, however, and a framework on which the Vigilance Committee +of 1856 was built. It proved that the better citizens, if aroused, could +take matters into their own hands. But the opposing forces of 1851 were +very different from those of five years later. And the transition from +the criminal of 1851 to the criminal of 1856 is the history of San +Francisco between those two dates. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +SAN FRANCISCO IN TRANSITION + + +By the mid-fifties San Francisco had attained the dimensions of a city. +Among other changes of public interest within the brief space of two or +three years were a hospital, a library, a cemetery, several churches, +public markets, bathing establishments, public schools, two +race-courses, twelve wharves, five hundred and thirty-seven saloons, and +about eight thousand women of several classes. The population was now +about fifty thousand. The city was now of a fairly substantial +character, at least in the down-town districts. There were many +structures of brick and stone. In many directions the sand-hills had +been conveniently graded down by means of a power shovel called the +Steam Paddy in contradistinction to the hand Paddy, or Irishman with a +shovel. The streets were driven straight ahead regardless of contours. +It is related that often the inhabitants of houses perched on the sides +of the sand-hills would have to scramble to safety as their dwellings +rolled down the bank, undermined by some grading operation below. A +water system had been established, the nucleus of the present Spring +Valley Company. The streets had nearly all been planked, and private +enterprise had carried the plank toll-road even to the Mission district. +The fire department had been brought to a high state of perfection. The +shallow waters of the bay were being filled up by the rubbish from the +town and by the débris from the operations of the Steam Paddies. New +streets were formed on piles extended out into the bay. Houses were +erected, also on piles and on either side of these marine thoroughfares. +Gradually the rubbish filled the skeleton framework. Occasionally old +ships, caught by this seaward invasion, were built around, and so became +integral parts of the city itself. + +The same insistent demand that led to increasing the speed of the +vessels, together with the fact that it cost any ship from one hundred +to two hundred dollars a day to lie at any of the wharves, developed an +extreme efficiency in loading and unloading cargoes. Hittell says that +probably in no port of the world could a ship be emptied as quickly as +at San Francisco. For the first and last time in the history of the +world the profession of stevedore became a distinguished one. In +addition to the overseas trade, there were now many ships, driven by +sail or steam, plying the local routes. Some of the river steamboats had +actually been brought around the Horn. Their free-board had been raised +by planking-in the lower deck, and thus these frail vessels had sailed +their long and stormy voyage--truly a notable feat. + +It did not pay to hold goods very long. Eastern shippers seemed, by a +curious unanimity, to send out many consignments of the same scarcity. +The result was that the high prices of today would be utterly destroyed +by an oversupply of tomorrow. It was thus to the great advantage of +every merchant to meet his ship promptly, and to gain knowledge as soon +as possible of the cargo of the incoming vessels. For this purpose +signal stations were established, rowboat patrols were organized, and +many other ingenious schemes was applied to the secret service of the +mercantile business. Both in order to save storage and to avoid the +possibility of loss from new shipments coming in, the goods were +auctioned off as soon as they were landed. + +These auctions were most elaborate institutions involving brass bands, +comfortable chairs, eloquent "spielers," and all the rest. They were a +feature of the street life, which in turn had an interest all its own. +The planking threw back a hollow reverberating sound from the various +vehicles. There seemed to be no rules of the road. Omnibuses careered +along, every window rattling loudly; drays creaked and strained; +non-descript delivery wagons tried to outrattle the omnibuses; horsemen +picked their way amid the mêlée. The din was described as something +extraordinary--hoofs drumming, wheels rumbling, oaths and shouts, and +from the sidewalk the blare and bray of brass bands before the various +auction shops. Newsboys and bootblacks darted in all directions. Cigar +boys, a peculiar product of the time, added to the hubbub. Bootblacking +stands of the most elaborate description were kept by French and +Italians. The town was full of characters who delighted in their own +eccentricities, and who were always on public view. One individual +possessed a remarkably intelligent pony who every morning, without +guidance from his master, patronized one of the shoe-blacking stands to +get his front hoofs polished. He presented each one in turn to the +foot-rest, and stood like a statue until the job was done. + +Some of the numberless saloons already showed signs of real +magnificence. Mahogany bars with brass rails, huge mirrors in gilt +frames, pyramids of delicate crystal, rich hangings, oil paintings of +doubtful merit but indisputable interest, heavy chandeliers of glass +prisms, the most elaborate of free lunches, skillful barkeepers who +mixed drinks at arm's length, were common to all the better places. +These things would not be so remarkable in large cities at the present +time, but in the early Fifties, only three years after the tent stage, +and thousands of miles from the nearest civilization, the enterprise +that was displayed seemed remarkable. The question of expense did not +stop these early worthies. Of one saloonkeeper it is related that, +desiring a punch bowl and finding that the only vessel of the sort was a +soup-tureen belonging to a large and expensive dinner set, he bought the +whole set for the sake of the soup-tureen. Some of the more pretentious +places boasted of special attractions: thus one supported its ceiling on +crystal pillars; another had dashing young women to serve the drinks, +though the mixing was done by men as usual; a third possessed a large +musical-box capable of playing several very noisy tunes; a fourth had +imported a marvelous piece of mechanism run by clockwork which exhibited +the sea in motion, a ship tossing on the waves, on shore a windmill in +action, a train of cars passing over a bridge, a deer chased by hounds, +and the like. + +But these bar-rooms were a totally different institution from the +gambling resorts. Although gambling was not now considered the entirely +worthy occupation of a few years previous, and although some of the +better citizens, while frequenting the gambling halls, still preferred +to do their own playing in semi-private, the picturesqueness and glory +of these places had not yet been dimmed by any general popular +disapproval. The gambling halls were not only places to risk one's +fortune, but they were also a sort of evening club. They usually +supported a raised stage with footlights, a negro minstrel troop, or a +singer or so. On one side elaborate bars of rosewood or mahogany ran the +entire length, backed by big mirrors of French plate. The whole of the +very large main floor was heavily carpeted. Down the center generally +ran two rows of gambling tables offering various games such as faro, +keeno, roulette, poker, and the dice games. Beyond these tables, on the +opposite side of the room from the bar, were the lounging quarters, with +small tables, large easy-chairs, settees, and fireplaces. Decoration was +of the most ornate. The ceilings and walls were generally white with a +great deal of gilt. All classes of people frequented these places and +were welcomed there. Some were dressed in the height of fashion, and +some wore the roughest sort of miners' clothes--floppy old slouch hats, +flannel shirts, boots to which the dried mud was clinging or from which +it fell to the rich carpet. All were considered on an equal plane. The +professional gamblers came to represent a type of their own,--weary, +indifferent, pale, cool men, who had not only to keep track of the game +and the bets, but also to assure control over the crowd about them. +Often in these places immense sums were lost or won; often in these +places occurred crimes of shooting and stabbing; but also into these +places came many men who rarely drank or gambled at all. They assembled +to enjoy each other's company, the brightness, the music, and the +sociable warmth. + +On Sunday the populace generally did one of two things: either it +sallied out in small groups into the surrounding country on picnics or +celebrations at some of the numerous road-houses; or it swarmed out the +plank toll-road to the Mission. To the newcomer the latter must have +been much the more interesting. There he saw a congress of all the +nations of the earth: French, Germans, Italians, Russians, Dutchmen, +British, Turks, Arabs, Negroes, Chinese, Kanakas, Indians, the gorgeous +members of the Spanish races, and all sorts of queer people to whom no +habitat could be assigned. Most extraordinary perhaps were the men from +the gold mines of the Sierras. The miners had by now distinctly +segregated themselves from the rest of the population. They led a +hardier, more laborious life and were proud of the fact. They attempted +generally to differentiate themselves in appearance from all the rest of +the human race, and it must be confessed that they succeeded. The miners +were mostly young and wore their hair long, their beards rough; they +walked with a wide swagger; their clothes were exaggeratedly coarse, but +they ornamented themselves with bright silk handkerchiefs, feathers, +flowers, with squirrel or buck tails in their hats, with long heavy +chains of nuggets, with glittering and prominently displayed pistols, +revolvers, stilettos, knives, and dirks. Some even plaited their beards +in three tails, or tied their long hair under their chins; but no matter +how bizarre they made themselves, nobody on the streets of _blasé_ San +Francisco paid the slightest attention to them. The Mission, which they, +together with the crowd, frequented, was a primitive Coney Island. Bear +pits, cockfights, theatrical attractions, side-shows, innumerable hotels +and small restaurants, saloons, races, hammer-striking, throwing balls +at negroes' heads, and a hundred other attractions kept the crowds busy +and generally good-natured. If a fight arose, "it was," as the Irishman +says, "considered a private fight," and nobody else could get in it. +Such things were considered matters for the individuals themselves to +settle. + +The great feature of the time was its extravagance. It did not matter +whether a man was a public servant, a private and respected citizen, or +from one of the semi-public professions that cater to men's greed and +dissipation, he acted as though the ground beneath his feet were solid +gold. The most extravagant public works were undertaken without thought +and without plan. The respectable women vied in the magnificence and +ostentation of their costumes with the women of the lower world. +Theatrical attractions at high prices were patronized abundantly. Balls +of great magnificence were given almost every night. Private carriages +of really excellent appointment were numerous along the disreputable +planked roads or the sandy streets strewn with cans and garbage. + +The feverish life of the times reflected itself domestically. No live +red-blooded man could be expected to spend his evenings reading a book +quietly at home while all the magnificent, splendid, seething life of +down-town was roaring in his ears. All his friends would be out; all the +news of the day passed around; all the excitements of the evening +offered themselves. It was too much to expect of human nature. The +consequence was that a great many young wives were left alone, with the +ultimate result of numerous separations and divorces. The moral nucleus +of really respectable society--and there was a noticeable one even at +that time--was overshadowed and swamped for the moment. Such a social +life as this sounds decidedly immoral but it was really unmoral, with +the bright, eager, attractive unmorality of the vigorous child. In fact, +in that society, as some one has expressed it, everything was condoned +except meanness. + +It was the era of the grandiose. Even conversation reflected this +characteristic. The myriad bootblacks had grand outfits and stands. The +captain of a ship offered ten dollars to a negro to act as his cook. The +negro replied, "If you will walk up to my restaurant, I'll set you to +work at twenty-five dollars immediately." From men in such humble +stations up to the very highest and most respected citizens the spirit +of gambling, of taking chances, was also in the air. + +As has been pointed out, a large proportion of the city's wealth was +raised not from taxation but from the sale of its property. Under the +heedless extravagance of the first government the municipal debt rose to +over one million dollars. Since interest charged on this was thirty-six +per cent annually, it can be seen that the financial situation was +rather hopeless. As the city was even then often very short of funds, it +paid for its work and its improvements in certificates of indebtedness, +usually called "scrip." Naturally this scrip was held below par--a +condition that caused all contractors and supply merchants to charge two +or three hundred per cent over the normal prices for their work and +commodities in order to keep even. And this practice, completing the +vicious circle, increased the debt. An attempt was made to fund the city +debt by handing in the scrip in exchange for a ten per cent obligation. +This method gave promise of success; but a number of holders of scrip +refused to surrender it, and brought suit to enforce payment. One of +these, a physician named Peter Smith, was owed a considerable sum for +the care of indigent sick. He obtained a judgment against the city, +levied on some of its property, and proceeded to sell. The city +commissioners warned the public that titles under the Smith claim were +not legal, and proceeded to sell the property on their own account. The +speculators bought claims under Peter Smith amounting to over two +millions of dollars at merely nominal rates. For example, one parcel of +city lots sold at less than ten cents per lot. The prices were so absurd +that these sales were treated as a joke. The joke came in on the other +side, however, when the officials proceeded to ratify these sales. The +public then woke up to the fact that it had been fleeced. Enormous +prices were paid for unsuitable property, ostensibly for the uses of the +city. After the money had passed, these properties were often declared +unsuitable and resold at reduced prices to people already determined +upon by the ring. + +Nevertheless commercially things went well for a time. The needs of +hundreds of thousands of newcomers, in a country where the manufactures +were practically nothing, were enormous. It is related that at first +laundry was sent as far as the Hawaiian Islands. Every single commodity +of civilized life, such as we understand it, had to be imported. As +there was then no remote semblance of combination, either in restraint +of or in encouragement of trade, it followed that the market must +fluctuate wildly. The local agents of eastern firms were often +embarrassed and overwhelmed by the ill-timed consignments of goods. One +Boston firm was alleged to have sent out a whole shipload of women's +bonnets--to a community where a woman was one of the rarest sights to be +found! Not many shipments were as silly as this, but the fact remains +that a rumor of a shortage in any commodity would often be followed by +rush orders on clipper ships laden to the guards with that same article. +As a consequence the bottom fell out of the market completely, and the +unfortunate consignee found himself forced to auction off the goods much +below cost. + +During the year 1854, the tide of prosperity began to ebb. A dry season +caused a cessation of mining in many parts of the mountains. Of course +it can be well understood that the immense prosperity of the city, the +prosperity that allowed it to recover from severe financial disease, had +its spring in the placer mines. A constant stream of fresh gold was +needed to shore up the tottering commercial structure. With the miners +out of the diggings, matters changed. The red-shirted digger of gold had +little idea of the value of money. Many of them knew only the difference +between having money and having none. They had to have credit, which +they promptly wasted. Extending credit to the miners made it necessary +that credit should also be extended to the sellers, and so on back. +Meanwhile the eastern shippers continued to pour goods into the flooded +market. An auction brought such cheap prices that they proved a +temptation even to an overstocked public. The gold to pay for purchases +went east, draining the country of bullion. One or two of the supposedly +respectable and polished citizens such as Talbot Green and "honest Harry +Meiggs" fell by the wayside. The confidence of the new community began +to be shaken. In 1854 came the crisis. Three hundred out of about a +thousand business houses shut down. Seventy-seven filed petitions in +insolvency with liabilities for many millions of dollars. In 1855 one +hundred and ninety-seven additional firms and several banking houses +went under. + +There were two immediate results of this state of affairs. In the first +place, every citizen became more intensely interested and occupied with +his own personal business than ever before; he had less time to devote +to the real causes of trouble, that is the public instability; and he +grew rather more selfish and suspicious of his neighbor than ever +before. The second result was to attract the dregs of society. The +pickings incident to demoralized conditions looked rich to these men. +Professional politicians, shyster lawyers, political gangsters, flocked +to the spoil. In 1851 the lawlessness of mere physical violence had come +to a head. By 1855 and 1856 there was added to a recrudescence of this +disorder a lawlessness of graft, of corruption, both political and +financial, and the overbearing arrogance of a self-made aristocracy. +These conditions combined to bring about a second crisis in the +precarious life of this new society. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE STORM GATHERS + + +The foundation of trouble in California at this time was formal +legalism. Legality was made a fetish. The law was a game played by +lawyers and not an attempt to get justice done. The whole of public +prosecution was in the hands of one man, generally poorly paid, with +equally underpaid assistants, while the defense was conducted by the +ablest and most enthusiastic men procurable. It followed that +convictions were very few. To lose a criminal case was considered even +mildly disgraceful. It was a point of professional pride for the lawyer +to get his client free, without reference to the circumstances of the +time or the guilt of the accused. To fail was a mark of extreme +stupidity, for the game was considered an easy and fascinating one. The +whole battery of technical delays was at the command of the defendant. +If a man had neither the time nor the energy for the finesse that made +the interest of the game, he could always procure interminable delays +during which witnesses could be scattered or else wearied to the point +of non-appearance. Changes of venue to courts either prejudiced or known +to be favorable to the technical interpretation of the law were very +easily procured. Even of shadier expedients, such as packing juries, +there was no end. + +With these shadier expedients, however, your high-minded lawyer, moving +in the best society, well dressed, proud, looked up to, and today +possessing descendants who gaze back upon their pioneer ancestors with +pride, had little directly to do. He called in as counsel other lawyers, +not so high-minded, so honorable, so highly placed. These little +lawyers, shoulder-strikers, bribe-givers and takers, were held in +good-humored contempt by the legal lights who employed them. The actual +dishonesty was diluted through so many agents that it seemed an almost +pure stream of lofty integrity. Ordinary jury-packing was an easy art. +Of course the sheriff's office must connive at naming the talesmen; +therefore it was necessary to elect the sheriff; consequently all the +lawyers were in politics. Of course neither the lawyer nor the sheriff +himself ever knew of any individual transaction! A sum of money was +handed by the leading counsel to his next in command and charged off as +"expense." This fund emerged considerably diminished in the sheriff's +office as "perquisites." + +Such were the conditions in the realm of criminal law, the realm where +the processes became so standardized that between 1849 and 1856 over one +thousand murders had been committed and only one legal conviction had +been secured! Dueling was a recognized institution, and a skillful shot +could always "get" his enemy in this formal manner; but if time or skill +lacked, it was still perfectly safe to shoot him down in a street +brawl--provided one had money enough to employ talent for defense. + +But, once in politics, the law could not stop at the sheriff's office. +It rubbed shoulders with big contracts and big financial operations of +all sorts. The city was being built within a few years out of nothing by +a busy, careless, and shifting population. Money was still easy, people +could and did pay high taxes without a thought, for they would rather +pay well to be let alone than be bothered with public affairs. Like +hyenas to a kill, the public contractors gathered. Immense public works +were undertaken at enormous prices. To get their deals through legally +it was, of course, necessary that officials, councilmen, engineers, and +others should be sympathetic. So, naturally, the big operators as well +as the big lawyers had to go into politics. Legal efficiency coupled +with the inefficiency of the bench, legal corruption, and the arrogance +of personal favor, dissolved naturally into political corruption. + +The elections of those days would have been a joke had they been not so +tragically significant. They came to be a sheer farce. The polls were +guarded by bullies who did not hesitate at command to manhandle any +decent citizen indicated by the local leaders. Such men were openly +hired for the purposes of intimidation. Votes could be bought in the +open market. "Floaters" were shamelessly imported into districts that +might prove doubtful; and, if things looked close, the election +inspectors and the judges could be relied on to make things come out all +right in the final count. One of the exhibits later shown in the +Vigilante days of 1856 was an ingenious ballot box by which the goats +could be segregated from the sheep as the ballots were cast. You may be +sure that the sheep were the only ones counted. Election day was one of +continuous whiskey drinking and brawling so that decent citizens were +forced to remain within doors. The returns from the different wards were +announced as fast as the votes were counted. It was therefore the custom +to hold open certain wards until the votes of all the others were known. +Then whatever tickets were lacking to secure the proper election were +counted from the packed ballot box in the sure ward. In this manner five +hundred votes were once returned from Crystal Springs precinct where +there dwelt not over thirty voters. If some busybody made enough of a +row to get the merry tyrants into court, there were always plenty of +lawyers who could play the ultra-technical so well that the accused were +not only released but were returned as legally elected as well. + +With the proper officials in charge of the executive end of the +government and with a trained crew of lawyers making their own rules as +they went along, almost any crime of violence, corruption, theft, or the +higher grades of finance could be committed with absolute impunity. The +state of the public mind became for a while apathetic. After numberless +attempts to obtain justice, the public fell back with a shrug of the +shoulders. The men of better feeling found themselves helpless. As each +man's safety and ability to resent insult depended on his trigger +finger, the newspapers of that time made interesting but scurrilous and +scandalous reading. An appetite for personalities developed, and these +derogatory remarks ordinarily led to personal encounters. The streets +became battle-grounds of bowie-knives and revolvers, as rivals hunted +each other out. This picture may seem lurid and exaggerated, but the +cold statistics of the time supply all the details. + +The politicians of the day were essentially fighting men. The large +majority were low-grade Southerners who had left their section, urged by +unmistakable hints from their fellow-citizens. The political life of +early California was colored very largely by the pseudo-chivalry which +these people used as a cloak. They used the Southern code for their +purposes very thoroughly, and bullied their way through society in a +swashbuckling manner that could not but arouse admiration. There were +many excellent Southerners in California in those days, but from the +very start their influence was overshadowed by the more unworthy. +Unfortunately, later many of the better class of Southerners, yielding +to prejudice and sectional feeling, joined the so-called "Law and Order" +party. + +It must be remembered, however, that whereas the active merchants and +industrious citizens were too busy to attend to local politics, the +professional low-class Southern politician had come out to California +for no other purpose. To be successful, he had to be a fighting man. His +revolver and his bowie-knife were part of his essential equipment. He +used the word "honor" as a weapon of defense, and battered down +opposition in the most high-mannered fashion by the simple expedient of +claiming that he had been insulted. The fire-eater was numerous in those +days. He dressed well, had good manners and appearance, possessed +abundant leisure, and looked down scornfully on those citizens who were +busy building the city, "low Yankee shopkeepers" being his favorite +epithet. + +Examined at close range, in contemporary documents, this individual has +about him little of romance and nothing whatever admirable. It would be +a great pity, were mistaken sentimentality allowed to clothe him in the +same bright-hued garments as the cavaliers of England in the time of the +Stuarts. It would be an equal pity, were the casual reader to condemn +all who eventually aligned themselves against the Vigilance movement as +of the same stripe as the criminals who menaced society. There were many +worthy people whose education thoroughly inclined them towards formal +law, and who, therefore, when the actual break came, found themselves +supporting law instead of justice. + +As long as the country continued to enjoy the full flood of prosperity, +these things did not greatly matter. The time was individualistic, and +every man was supposed to take care of himself. But in the year 1855 +financial stringency overtook the new community. For lack of water many +of the miners had stopped work and had to ask for credit in buying their +daily necessities. The country stores had to have credit from the city +because the miners could not pay, and the wholesalers of the city again +had to ask extension from the East until their bills were met by the +retailers. The gold of the country went East to pay its bills. Further +to complicate the matter, all banking was at this time done by private +firms. These could take deposits and make loans and could issue +exchange, but they could not issue bank-notes. Therefore the currency +was absolutely inelastic. + +Even these conditions failed to shake the public optimism, until out of +a clear sky came announcement that Adams and Company had failed. Adams +and Company occupied in men's minds much the same position as the Bank +of England. If Adams and Company were vulnerable, then nobody was +secure. The assets of the bankrupt firm were turned over to one Alfred +Cohen as receiver, with whom Jones, a member of the firm of Palmer, +Cook, and Company, and a third individual were associated as assignees. +On petition of other creditors the judge of the district court removed +Cohen and appointed one Naglee in his place. This new man, Naglee, on +asking for the assets was told that they had been deposited with Palmer, +Cook, and Company. The latter firm refused to give them up, denying +Naglee's jurisdiction in the matter. Naglee then commenced suit against +the assignees and obtained a judgment against them for $269,000. On +their refusal to pay over this sum, Jones and Cohen were taken into +custody. But Palmer, Cook, and Company influenced the courts, as did +about every large mercantile or political firm. They soon secured the +release of the prisoners, and in the general scramble for the assets of +Adams and Company they secured the lion's share. + +It was the same old story. An immense amount of money had disappeared. +Nobody had been punished, and it was all strictly legal. Failures +resulted right and left. Even Wells, Fargo, and Company closed their +doors but reopened them within a few days. There was much excitement +which would probably have died as other excitement had died before, had +not the times produced a voice of compelling power. This voice spoke +through an individual known as James King of William. + +King was a man of keen mind and dauntless courage, who had tried his +luck briefly at the mines, realized that the physical work was too much +for him, and had therefore returned to mercantile and banking pursuits +in San Francisco. His peculiar name was said to be due to the fact that +at the age of sixteen, finding another James King in his immediate +circle, he had added his father's name as a distinguishing mark. He was +rarely mentioned except with the full designation--James King of +William. On his return he opened a private banking-house, brought out +his family, and entered the life of the town. For a time his banking +career prospered and he acquired a moderate fortune, but in 1854 unwise +investments forced him to close his office. In a high-minded fashion, +very unusual in those times and even now somewhat rare, he surrendered +to his creditors everything on earth he possessed. He then accepted a +salaried position with Adams and Company, which he held until that house +also failed. Since to the outside world his connection with the firm +looked dubious, he exonerated himself through a series of pamphlets and +short newspaper articles. The vigor and force of their style arrested +attention, so that when his dauntless crusading spirit, revolting +against the carnival of crime both subtle and obvious, desired to edit a +newspaper, he had no difficulty in raising the small sum of money +necessary. He had always expressed his opinions clearly and fearlessly, +and the public watched with the greatest interest the appearance of the +new sheet. + +The first number of the _Daily Evening Bulletin_ appeared on October 8, +1855. Like all papers of that day and like many of the English papers +now, its first page was completely covered with small advertisements. A +thin driblet of local items occupied a column on the third and fourth +pages, and a single column of editorials ran down the second. As a +newspaper it seemed beneath contempt, but the editorials made men sit up +and take notice. King started with an attack on Palmer, Cook, and +Company's methods. He said nothing whatever about the robberies. He +dealt exclusively with the excessive rentals for postal boxes charged +the public by Palmer, Cook, and Company. That seemed a comparatively +small and harmless matter, but King made it interesting by mentioning +exact names, recording specific instances, avoiding any generalities, +and stating plainly that this was merely a beginning in the exposure of +methods. Jones of Palmer, Cook, and Company--that same Jones who had +been arrested with Cohen--immediately visited King in his office with +the object of either intimidating or bribing him as the circumstances +seemed to advise. He bragged of horsewhips and duels, but returned +rather noncommittal. The next evening the _Bulletin_ reported Jones's +visit simply as an item of news, faithfully, sarcastically, and in a +pompous vein. There followed no comment whatever. The next number, now +eagerly purchased by every one, was more interesting because of its +hints of future disclosures rather than because of its actual +information. One of the alleged scoundrels was mentioned by name, and +then the subject was dropped. The attention of the City Marshal was +curtly called to disorderly houses and the statutes concerning them, and +it was added "for his information" that at a certain address, which was +given, a structure was then actually being built for improper purposes. +Then, without transition, followed a list of official bonds and sureties +for which Palmer, Cook, and Company were giving vouchers, amounting to +over two millions. There were no comments on this list, but the +inference was obvious that the firm had the whip-hand over many public +officials. + +The position of the new paper was soon formally established. It +possessed a large subscription list; it was eagerly bought on its +appearance in the street; and its advertising was increasing. King again +turned his attention to Palmer, Cook, and Company. Each day he explored +succinctly, clearly, without rhetoric, some single branch of their +business. By the time he had finished with them, he had not only exposed +all their iniquities, but he had, which was more important, educated the +public to the financial methods of the time. It followed naturally in +this type of exposure that King should criticize some of the legal +subterfuges, which in turn brought him to analysis of the firm's legal +advisers, who had previously enjoyed a good reputation. From such +subjects he drifted to dueling, venal newspapers, and soon down to the +ordinary criminals such as Billy Mulligan, Wooley Kearny, Casey, Cora, +Yankee Sullivan, Ned McGowan, Charles Duane, and many others. Never did +he hesitate to specify names and instances. He never dealt in +innuendoes. This was bringing him very close to personal danger, for +worthies of the class last mentioned were the sort who carried their +pistols and bowie-knives prominently displayed and handy for use. As yet +no actual violence had been attempted against him. Other methods of +reprisal that came to his notice King published without comment as items +of news. + +Mere threats had little effect in intimidating the editor. More serious +means were tried. A dozen men publicly announced that they intended to +kill him--and the records of the dozen were pretty good testimonials to +their sincerity. In the gambling resorts and on the streets bets were +made and pools formed on the probable duration of King's life. As was +his custom, he commented even upon this. Said the _Bulletin's_ editorial +columns: "Bets are now being offered, we have been told, that the editor +of the _Bulletin_ will not be in existence twenty days longer. And the +case of Dr. Hogan of the Vicksburg paper who was murdered by gamblers of +that place is cited as a warning. Pah!... War then is the cry, is it? +War between the prostitutes and gamblers on one side and the virtuous +and respectable on the other! Be it so, then! Gamblers of San Francisco, +you have made your election and we are ready on our side for the issue!" +A man named Selover sent a challenge to King. King took this occasion to +announce that he would consider no challenges and would fight no duels. +Selover then announced his intention of killing King on sight. Says the +_Bulletin_: "Mr. Selover, it is said, carries a knife. We carry a +pistol. We hope neither will be required, but if this rencontre cannot +be avoided, why will Mr. Selover persist in imperiling the lives of +others? We pass every afternoon about half-past four to five o'clock +along Market Street from Fourth to Fifth Streets. The road is wide and +not so much frequented as those streets farther in town. If we are to be +shot or cut to pieces, for heaven's sake let it be done there. Others +will not be injured, and in case we fall our house is but a few hundred +yards beyond and the cemetery not much farther." Boldness such as this +did not act exactly as a soporific. + +About this time was perpetrated a crime of violence no worse than many +hundreds which had preceded it, but occurring at a psychological time. +A gambler named Charles Cora shot and killed William Richardson, a +United States marshal. The shooting was cold-blooded and without danger +to the murderer, for at the time Richardson was unarmed. Cora was at +once hustled to jail, not so much for confinement as for safety against +a possible momentary public anger. Men had been shot on the street +before--many men, some of them as well known and as well liked as +Richardson--but not since public sentiment had been aroused and educated +as the _Bulletin_ had aroused and educated it. Crowds commenced at once +to gather. Some talk of lynching went about. Men made violent +street-corner speeches. The mobs finally surged to the jail, but were +firmly met by a strong armed guard and fell back. There was much +destructive and angry talk. + +But to swing a mob into action there must be determined men at its head, +and this mob had no leader. Sam Brannan started to say something, but +was promptly arrested for inciting riot. Though the situation was +ticklish, the police seem to have handled it well, making only a passive +opposition and leaving the crowd to fritter its energies in purposeless +cursing, surging to and fro, and harmless threatenings. Nevertheless +this crowd persisted longer than most of them. + +The next day the _Bulletin_ vigorously counseled dependence upon the +law, expressed confidence in the judges who were to try the case--Hager +and Norton--and voiced a personal belief that the day had passed when it +would ever be necessary to resort to arbitrary measures. It may hence be +seen how far from a contemplation of extra legal measures was King in +his public attitude. Nevertheless he added a paragraph of warning: "Hang +Billy Mulligan--that's the word. If Mr. Sheriff Scannell does not remove +Billy Mulligan from his present post as keeper of the County Jail and +Mulligan lets Cora escape, hang Billy Mulligan, and if necessary to get +rid of the sheriff, hang him--hang the sheriff!" + +Public excitement died. Conviction seemed absolutely certain. Richardson +had been a public official and a popular one. Cora's action had been +cold-blooded and apparently without provocation. Nevertheless he had +remained undisturbed. He had retained one of the most brilliant lawyers +of the time, James McDougall. McDougall added to his staff the most able +of the younger lawyers of the city. Immense sums of money were +available. The source is not exactly known, but a certain Belle Cora, a +prostitute afterwards married by Cora, was advancing large amounts. A +man named James Casey, bound by some mysterious obligation, was active +in taking up general collections. Cora lived in great luxury at the +jail. He had long been a close personal friend of the sheriff and his +deputy, Mulligan. When the case came to trial, Cora escaped conviction +through the disagreement of the jury. + +This fiasco, following King's editorials, had a profound effect on the +public mind. King took the outrage against justice as a fresh +starting-point for new attacks. He assailed bitterly and fearlessly the +countless abuses of the time, until at last he was recognized as a +dangerous opponent by the heretofore cynically amused higher criminals. +Many rumors of plots against King's life are to be found in the detailed +history of the day. Whether his final assassination was the result of +one of these plots, or simply the outcome of a burst of passion, matters +little. Ultimately it had its source in the ungoverned spirit of the +times. + +Four months after the farce of the Cora trial, on May 14, King published +an attack on the appointment of a certain man to a position in the +federal custom house. The candidate had happened to be involved with +James P. Casey in a disgraceful election. Casey was at that time one of +the supervisors. Incidental to his attack on the candidate, King wrote +as follows: "It does not matter how bad a man Casey had been, or how +much benefit it might be to the public to have him out of the way, we +cannot accord to any one citizen the right to kill him or even beat him, +without justifiable provocation. The fact that Casey has been an inmate +of Sing Sing prison in New York is no offense against the laws of this +State; nor is the fact of his having stuffed himself through the ballot +box, as elected to the Board of Supervisors from a district where it is +said he was not even a candidate, any justification for Mr. Bagley to +shoot Casey, however richly the latter may deserve to have his neck +stretched for such fraud on the people." + +Casey read this editorial in full knowledge that thousands of his +fellow-citizens would also read it. He was at that time, in addition to +his numerous political cares, editor of a small newspaper called _The +Sunday Times_. This had been floated for the express purpose of +supporting the extremists of the legalists' party, which, as we have +explained, now included the gambling and lawless element. How valuable +he was considered is shown by the fact that at a previous election Casey +had been returned as elected supervisor, although he had not been a +candidate, his name had not been on the ticket, and subsequent private +investigations could unearth no man who would acknowledge having voted +for him. Indeed, he was not even a resident of that district. However, a +slick politician named Yankee Sullivan, who ran the election, said +officially that the most votes had been counted for him; and so his +election was announced. Casey was a handy tool in many ways, rarely +appearing in person but adept in selecting suitable agents. He was +personally popular. In appearance he is described as a short, slight man +with a keen face, a good forehead, a thin but florid countenance, dark +curly hair, and blue eyes; a type of unscrupulous Irish adventurer, with +perhaps the dash of romantic idealism sometimes found in the worst +scoundrels. Like most of his confrères, he was particularly touchy on +the subject of his "honor." + +On reading the _Bulletin_ editorials, he proceeded at once to King's +office, announcing his intention of shooting the editor on sight. +Probably he would have done so except for the accidental circumstance +that King happened to be busy at a table with his back turned squarely +to the door. Even Casey could not shoot a man in the back without a +word of warning. He was stuttering and excited. The interview was +overheard by two men in an adjoining office. + +"What do you mean by that article?" cried Casey. + +"What article?" asked King. + +"That which says I was formerly an inmate of Sing Sing." + +"Is it not true?" asked King quietly. + +"That is not the question. I don't wish my past acts raked up. On that +point I am sensitive." + +A slight pause ensued. + +"Are you done?" asked King quietly. Then leaping from the chair he burst +suddenly into excitement. + +"There's the door, go! And never show your face here again." + +Casey had lost his advantage. At the door he gathered himself together +again. + +"I'll say in my paper what I please," he asserted with a show of +bravado. + +King was again in control of himself. + +"You have a perfect right to do so," he rejoined. "I shall never notice +your paper." + +Casey struck himself on the breast. + +"And if necessary I shall defend myself," he cried. + +King bounded again from his seat, livid with anger. + +"Go," he commanded sharply, and Casey went. + +Outside in the street Casey found a crowd waiting. The news of his visit +to the _Bulletin_ office had spread. His personal friends crowded around +asking eager questions. Casey answered with vague generalities: he +wasn't a man to be trifled with, and some people had to find out! +Blackmailing was not a healthy occupation when it aimed at a gentleman! +He left the general impression that King had apologized. Bragging in +this manner, Casey led the way to the Bank Exchange, the fashionable bar +not far distant. Here he remained drinking and boasting for some time. + +In the group that surrounded him was a certain Judge Edward McGowan, a +jolly, hard-drinking, noisy individual. He had been formerly a fugitive +from justice. However, through the attractions of a gay life, a +combination of bullying and intrigue, he had made himself a place in the +new city and had at last risen to the bench. He was apparently easy to +fathom, but the stream really ran deep. Some historians claim that he +had furnished King the document which proved Casey an ex-convict. It is +certain that now he had great influence with Casey, and that he drew him +aside from the bar and talked with him some time in a low voice. Some +people insist that he furnished the navy revolver with which a few +moments later Casey shot King. This may be so, but every man went armed +in those days, especially men of Casey's stamp. + +It is certain, however, that after his interview with McGowan, Casey +took his place across the street from the Bank Exchange. There, wrapped +in his cloak, he awaited King's usual promenade home. + +That for some time his intention was well known is proved by the group +that little by little gathered on the opposite side of the street. It is +a matter of record that a small boy passing by was commandeered and sent +with a message for Peter Wrightman, a deputy sheriff. Pete, out of +breath, soon joined the group. There he idled, also watching,--an +official charged with the maintenance of the law of the land! + +At just five o'clock King turned the corner, his head bent. He started +to cross the street diagonally and had almost reached the opposite +sidewalk when he was confronted by Casey who stepped forward from his +place of concealment behind a wagon. + +"Come on," he said, throwing back his cloak, and immediately fired. +King, who could not have known what Casey was saying, was shot through +the left breast, staggered, and fell. Casey then took several steps +toward his victim, looked at him closely as though to be sure he had +done a good job, let down the hammer of his pistol, picked up his cloak, +and started for the police-station. All he wanted now was a trial under +the law. + +The distance to the station-house was less than a block. Instantly at +the sound of the shot his friends rose about him and guarded him to the +shelter of the lock-up. But at last the public was aroused. Casey had +unwittingly cut down a symbol of the better element, as well as a +fearless and noble man. Someone rang the old Monumental Engine House +bell--the bell that had been used to call together the Vigilantes of +1851. The news spread about the city like wildfire. An immense mob +appeared to spring from nowhere. + +The police officials were no fools; they recognized the quality of the +approaching hurricane. The city jail was too weak a structure. It was +desirable to move the prisoner at once to the county jail for +safe-keeping. A carriage was brought to the entrance of an alley next +the city jail; the prisoner, closely surrounded by armed men, was rushed +to it; and the vehicle charged out through the crowd. The mob, as yet +unorganized, recoiled instinctively before the plunging horses and the +presented pistols. Before anybody could gather his wits, the equipage +had disappeared. + +The mob surged after the disappearing vehicle, and so ended up finally +in the wide open space before the county jail. The latter was a solidly +built one-story building situated on top of a low cliff. North, the +marshal, had drawn up his armed men. The mob, very excited, vociferated, +surging back and forth, though they did not rush, because as yet they +had no leaders. Attempts were made to harangue the gathering, but +everywhere the speeches were cut short. At a crucial moment the militia +appeared. The crowd thought at first that the volunteer troops were +coming to uphold their own side, but were soon undeceived. The troops +deployed in front of the jail and stood at guard. Just then the mayor +attempted to address the crowd. + +"You are here creating an excitement," he said, "which may lead to +occurrences this night which will require years to wipe out. You are now +laboring under great excitement and I advise you to quietly disperse. I +assure you the prisoner is safe. Let the law have its course and justice +will be done." + +He was listened to with respect, up to this point, but here arose such a +chorus of jeers that he retired hastily. + +"How about Richardson?" they demanded of him. "Where is the law in +Cora's case? To hell with such justice!" + +More and more soldiers came into the square, which was soon filled with +bayonets. The favorable moment had passed and this particular crisis +was, like all the other similar crises, quickly over. But the city was +aroused. Mass meetings were held in the Plaza and in other convenient +localities. Many meetings took place in rooms in different parts of the +city. Men armed by the thousands. Vehement orators held forth from +every balcony. Some of these people were, as a chronicler of the times +quaintly expressed it, "considerably tight." There was great diversity +of opinion. All night the city seethed with ill-directed activity. But +men felt helpless and hopeless for want of efficient organization. + +The so-called Southern chivalry called this affair a "fight." Indeed the +_Herald_ in its issue of the next morning, mistaking utterly the times, +held boldly along the way of its sympathies. It also spoke of the +assassination as an "affray," and stated emphatically its opinion that, +"now that justice is regularly administered," there was no excuse for +even the threat of public violence. This utter blindness to the meaning +of the new movement and the far-reaching effect of King's previous +campaign proved fatal to the paper. It declined immediately. In the +meantime, attended by his wife and a whole score of volunteer +physicians, King, lying in a room in the Montgomery block, was making a +fight for his life. + +Then people began to notice a small advertisement on the first page of +the morning papers, headed _The Vigilance Committee_. + +"The members of the Vigilance Committee in good standing will please +meet at number 105-1/2 Sacramento Street, this day, Thursday, fifteenth +instant, at nine o'clock A.M. By order of the COMMITTEE OF THIRTEEN." + +People stood still in the streets, when this notice met the eye. If this +was actually the old Committee of 1851, it meant business. There was but +one way to find out and that was to go and see. Number 105-1/2 +Sacramento Street was a three-story barn-like structure that had been +built by a short-lived political party called the "Know-Nothings." The +crowd poured into the hall to its full capacity, jammed the entrance +ways, and gathered for blocks in the street. There all waited patiently +to see what would happen. + +Meantime, in the small room back of the stage, about a score of men +gathered. Chief among all stood William T. Coleman. He had taken a +prominent part in the old Committee of '51. With him were Clancey +Dempster, small and mild of manner, blue-eyed, the last man in the room +one would have picked for great stamina and courage, yet playing one of +the leading rôles in this crisis; the merchant Truett, towering above +all the rest; Farwell, direct, uncompromising, inspired with tremendous +single-minded earnestness; James Dows, of the rough and ready, humorous, +blasphemous, horse-sense type; Hossefross, of the Committee of '51; Dr. +Beverly Cole, high-spirited, distinguished-looking, and courtly; Isaac +Bluxome, whose signature of "33 Secretary" was to become terrible, and +who also had served well in 1851. These and many more of their type were +considering the question dispassionately and earnestly. + +"It is a serious business," said Coleman, summing up. "It is no child's +play. It may prove very serious. We may get through quickly and safely, +or we may so involve ourselves as never to get through." + +"The issue is not one of choice but of expediency," replied +Dempster. "Shall we have vigilance with order or a mob with anarchy?" + +In this spirit Coleman addressed the crowd waiting in the large hall. + +"In view of the miscarriage of justice in the courts," he announced +briefly, "it has been thought expedient to revive the Vigilance +Committee. An Executive Council should be chosen, representative of the +whole body. I have been asked to take charge. I will do so, but must +stipulate that I am to be free to choose the first council myself. Is +that agreed?" + +He received a roar of assent. + +"Very well, gentlemen, I shall request you to vacate the hall. In a +short time the books will be open for enrollment." + +With almost disciplined docility the crowd arose and filed out, joining +the other crowd waiting patiently in the street. + +After a remarkably short period the doors were again thrown open. Inside +the passage stood twelve men later to be known as the Executive +Committee. These held back the rush, admitting but one man at a time. +The crowd immediately caught the idea and helped. There was absolutely +no excitement. Every man seemed grimly in earnest. Cries of "Order, +order, line up!" came all down the street. A rough queue was formed. +There were no jokes or laughing; there was even no talk. Each waited his +turn. At the entrance every applicant was closely scrutinized and +interrogated. Several men were turned back peremptorily in the first few +minutes, with the warning not to dare make another attempt. Passed by +this Committee, the candidate climbed the stairs. In the second story +behind a table sat Coleman, Dempster, and one other. These administered +to him an oath of secrecy and then passed him into another room where +sat Bluxome behind a ledger. Here his name was written and he was +assigned a number by which henceforth in the activities of the Committee +he was to be known. Members were instructed always to use numbers and +never names in referring to other members. + +Those who had been enrolled waited for some time, but finding that with +evening the applicants were still coming in a long procession, they +gradually dispersed. No man, however, departed far from the vicinity. +Short absences and hastily snatched meals were followed by hurried +returns, lest something be missed. From time to time rumors were put in +circulation as to the activities of the Executive Committee, which had +been in continuous session since its appointment. An Examining Committee +had been appointed to scrutinize the applicants. The number of the +Executive Committee had been raised to twenty-six; a Chief of Police had +been chosen, and he in turn appointed messengers and policemen, who set +out in search of individuals wanted as door-keepers, guards, and so +forth. Only registered members were allowed on the floor of the hall. +Even the newspaper reporters were gently but firmly ejected. There was +no excitement or impatience. + +At length, at eight o'clock, Coleman came out of one of the side-rooms +and, mounting a table, called for order. He explained that a military +organization had been decided upon, advised that numbers 1 to 100 +inclusive should assemble in one corner of the room, the second hundred +at the first window, and so on. An interesting order was his last. "Let +the French assemble in the middle of the hall," he said in their +language--an order significant of the great numbers of French who had +first answered the call of gold in '49, and who now with equal +enthusiasm answered the call for essential justice. Each company was +advised to elect its own officers, subject to ratification by the +Executive Committee. It was further stated that arrangements had been +made to hire muskets to the number of several thousands from one George +Law. These were only flintlocks, but efficient enough in their way, and +supplied with bayonets. They were discarded government weapons, brought +out some time ago by Law to arm some mysterious filibustering expedition +that had fallen through. In this manner, without confusion, an +organization of two thousand men was formed--sixteen military companies. + +By Saturday morning, May 17, the Committee rooms were overwhelmed by +crowds of citizens who desired to be enrolled. Larger quarters had +already been secured in a building on the south side of Sacramento +Street. Thither the Committee now removed _en masse_, without +interrupting their labors. These new headquarters soon became famous in +the history of this eventful year. + +In the meantime the representatives of the law had not been less alert. +The regular police force was largely increased. The sheriff issued +thousands of summonses calling upon citizens for service as deputies. +These summonses were made out in due form of law. To refuse them meant +to put oneself outside the law. The ordinary citizen was somewhat +puzzled by the situation. A great many responded to the appeal from +force of habit. Once they accepted the oath these new deputies were +confronted by the choice between perjury, and its consequences, or doing +service. On the other hand, the issue of the summonses forced many +otherwise neutral men into the ranks of the Vigilantes. If they refused +to act when directly summoned by law, that very fact placed them on the +wrong side of the law. Therefore they felt that joining a party pledged +to what practically amounted to civil war was only a short step further. +Against these the various military companies were mustered, reminded of +their oath, called upon to fulfill their sworn duty, and sent to various +strategic points about the jail and elsewhere. The Governor was +informally notified of a state of insurrection and was requested to send +in the state militia. By evening all the forces of organized society +were under arms, and the result was a formidable, apparently impregnable +force. + +Nor was the widespread indignation against the shooting of James King of +William entirely unalloyed by bitterness. King had been a hard hitter, +an honest man, a true crusader; but in the heat of battle he had not +always had time to make distinctions. Thus he had quite justly attacked +the _Times_ and other venal newspapers, but in so doing had, by too +general statements, drawn the fire of every other journal in town. He +had attacked with entire reason a certain Catholic priest, a man the +Church itself would probably soon have disciplined, but in so doing had +managed to enrage all Roman Catholics. In like manner his scorn of the +so-called "chivalry" was certainly well justified, but his manner of +expression offended even the best Southerners. Most of us see no farther +than the immediate logic of the situation. Those perfectly worthy +citizens were inclined to view the Vigilantes, not as a protest against +intolerable conditions, but rather as personal champions of King. + +In thus relying on the strength of their position the upholders of law +realized that there might be fighting, and even severe fighting, but it +must be remembered that the Law and Order party loved fighting. It was +part of their education and of their pleasure and code. No wonder that +they viewed with equanimity and perhaps with joy the beginning of the +Vigilance movement of 1856. + +The leaders of the Law and Order party chose as their military commander +William Tecumseh Sherman, whose professional ability and integrity in +later life are unquestioned, but whose military genius was equaled only +by his extreme inability to remember facts. When writing his _Memoirs_, +the General evidently forgot that original documents existed or that +statements concerning historical events can often be checked up. A mere +mob is irresponsible and anonymous. But it was not a mob with whom +Sherman was faced, for, as a final satisfaction to the legal-minded, the +men of the Vigilance Committee had put down their names on record as +responsible for this movement, and it is upon contemporary record that +the story of these eventful days must rely for its details. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE STORM BREAKS + + +The Governor of the State at this time was J. Neely Johnson, a +politician whose merits and demerits were both so slight that he would +long since have been forgotten were it not for the fact that he occupied +office during this excitement. His whole life heretofore had been one of +trimming. He had made his way by this method, and he gained the +Governor's chair by yielding to the opinion of others. He took his color +and his temporary belief from those with whom he happened to be. His +judgment often stuck at trifles, and his opinions were quickly heated +but as quickly cooled. The added fact that his private morals were not +above criticism gave men an added hold over him. + +On receipt of the request for the state militia by the law party, but +not by the proper authorities, Governor Johnson hurried down from +Sacramento to San Francisco. Immediately on arriving in the city he sent +word to Coleman requesting an interview. Coleman at once visited him at +his hotel. Johnson apparently made every effort to appear amiable and +conciliatory. In answer to all questions Coleman replied: + +"We want peace, and if possible without a struggle." + +"It is all very well," said Johnson, "to talk about peace with an army +of insurrection newly raised. But what is it you actually wish to +accomplish?" + +"The law is crippled," replied Coleman. "We want merely to accomplish +what the crippled law should do but cannot. This done, we will gladly +retire. Now you have been asked by the mayor and certain others to bring +out the militia and crush this movement. I assure you it cannot be done, +and, if you attempt it, it will cause you and us great trouble. Do as +Governor McDougal did in '51. See in this movement what he saw in +that--a local movement for a local reform in which the State is not +concerned. We are not a mob. We demand no overthrow of institutions. We +ask not a single court to adjourn. We ask not a single officer to +vacate his position. We demand only the enforcement of the law which we +have made." + +This expression of intention, with a little elaboration and argument, +fired Johnson to enthusiasm. He gave his full support, unofficially of +course, to the movement. + +"But," he concluded, "hasten the undertaking as much as you can. The +opposition is stronger than you suppose. The pressure on me is going to +be terrible. What about the prisoners in the jail?" + +Coleman evaded this last question by saying that the matter was in the +hands of the Committee, and he then left the Governor. + +Coleman at once returned to headquarters where the Executive Committee +was in session, getting rid of its routine business. After a dozen +matters were settled, it was moved "that the Committee as a body shall +visit the county jail at such time as the Executive Committee might +direct, and take thence James P. Casey and Charles Cora, give them a +fair trial, and administer such punishment as justice shall demand." + +This, of course, was the real business for which all this organization +had been planned. A moment's pause succeeded the proposal, but an +instantaneous and unanimous assent followed the demand for a vote. At +this precise instant a messenger opened the door and informed them that +Governor Johnson was in the building requesting speech with Coleman. + +Coleman found Johnson, accompanied by Sherman and a few others, lounging +in the anteroom. The Governor sprawled in a chair, his hat pulled over +his eyes, a cigar in the corner of his mouth. His companions arose and +bowed gravely as Coleman entered the room, but the Governor remained +seated and nodded curtly with an air of bravado. Without waiting for +even the ordinary courtesies he burst out. + +"We have come to ask what you intend to do," he demanded. + +Coleman, thoroughly surprised, with the full belief that the subject had +all been settled in the previous interview, replied curtly. + +"I agree with you as to the grievances," rejoined the Governor, "but the +courts are the proper remedy. The judges are good men, and there is no +necessity for the people to turn themselves into a mob." + +"Sir!" cried Coleman. "This is no mob!--You know this is no mob!" + +The Governor went on to explain that it might become necessary to bring +out all the force at his command. Coleman, though considerably taken +aback, recovered himself and listened without comment. He realized that +Sherman and the other men were present as witnesses. + +"I will report your remark to my associates," he contented himself with +saying. The question of witnesses, however, bothered Coleman. He darted +in to the committee room and shortly returned with witnesses of his own. + +"Let us now understand each other clearly," he resumed. "As I understand +your proposal, it is that, if we make no move, you guarantee no escape, +an immediate trial, and instant execution?" + +Johnson agreed to this. + +"We doubt your ability to do this," went on Coleman, "but we are ready +to meet you half-way. This is what we will promise: we will take no +steps without first giving you notice. But in return we insist that ten +men of our own selection shall be added to the sheriff's force within +the jail." + +Johnson, who was greatly relieved and delighted, at once agreed to this +proposal, and soon withdrew. But the blunder he had made was evident +enough. With Coleman, who was completely outside the law, he, as an +executive of the law, had no business treating or making agreements at +all. Furthermore, as executive of the State, he had no legal right to +interfere with city affairs unless he were formally summoned by the +authorities. Up to now he had merely been notified by private citizens. +And to cap the whole sheaf of blunders, he had now in this private +interview treated with rebels, and to their advantage. For, as Coleman +probably knew, the last agreement was all for the benefit of the +Committee. They gained the right to place a personal guard over the +prisoners. They gave in return practically only a promise to withdraw +that guard before attacking the jail--a procedure which was eminently +practical if they cared anything for the safety of the guard. + +Johnson was thoroughly pleased with himself until he reached the hotel +where the leaders of the opposition were awaiting him. Their keen legal +minds saw at once the position in which he had placed himself. After a +hasty discussion, it was decided to claim that the Committee had waived +all right of action, and that they had promised definitely to leave the +case to the courts. When this statement had been industriously +circulated and Coleman had heard of it, he is said to have exclaimed: + +"The time has come. After that, it is either ourselves or a mob." + +He proceeded at once to the Vigilance headquarters and summoned Olney, +the appointed guardian of the jail. Him he commanded to get together +sixty of the best men possible. A call was sent out for the companies to +assemble. They soon began to gather, coming some in rank as they had +gathered in their headquarters outside, others singly and in groups. +Doorkeepers prevented all exit: once a man was in, he was not permitted +to go out. Each leader received explicit directions as to what was to be +done. He was instructed as to precisely when he and his command were to +start; from what given point; along exactly what route to proceed; and +at just what time to arrive at a given point--not a moment sooner or +later. The plan for concerted action was very carefully and skillfully +worked out. Olney's sixty men were instructed to lay aside their muskets +and, armed only with pistols, to make their way by different routes to +the jail. + +Sunday morning dawned fair and calm. But as the day wore on, an air of +unrest pervaded the city. Rumors of impending action were already +abroad. The jail itself hummed like a hive. Men came and went, busily +running errands, and darting about through the open door. Armed men were +taking their places on the flat roof. Meantime the populace gathered +slowly. At first there were only a score or so idling around the square; +but little by little they increased in numbers. Black forms began to +appear on the rooftops all about; white faces showed at the windows; +soon the center of the square had filled; the converging streets became +black with closely packed people. The windows and doors and balconies, +the copings and railings, the slopes of the hills round about were all +occupied. In less than an hour twenty thousand people had gathered. They +took their positions quietly and waited patiently. It was evident that +they had assembled in the rôle of spectators only, and that action had +been left to more competent and better organized men. There was no +shouting, no demonstration, and so little talking that it amounted only +to a low murmur. Already the doors of the jail had been closed. The +armed forces on the roof had been increased. + +After a time the congested crowd down one of the side-streets was +agitated by the approach of a body of armed men. At the same instant a +similar group began to appear at the end of another and converging +street. The columns came steadily forward, as the people gave way. The +men wore no uniforms, and the glittering steel of their bayonets +furnished the only military touch. The two columns reached the +convergence of the street at the same time and as they entered the +square before the jail a third and a fourth column debouched from other +directions, while still others deployed into view on the hills behind. +They all took their places in rank around the square. + +Among the well-known characters of the times was a certain Colonel Gift. +Mr. Hubert H. Bancroft, the chronicler of these events, describes him as +"a tall, lank, empty-boweled, tobacco-spurting Southerner, with eyes +like burning black balls, who could talk a company of listeners into an +insane asylum quicker than any man in California, and whose blasphemy +could not be equaled, either in quantity or quality, by the most profane +of any age or nation." He remarked to a friend nearby, as he watched the +spectacle below: "When you see these damned psalm-singing Yankees turn +out of their churches, shoulder their guns, and march away of a Sunday, +you may know that hell is going to crack shortly." + +For some time the armed men stood rigid, four deep all around the +square. Behind them the masses of the people watched. Then at a command +the ranks fell apart and from the side-streets marched the sixty men +chosen by Olney, dragging a field gun at the end of a rope. This they +wheeled into position in the square and pointed it at the door of the +jail. Quite deliberately, the cannon was loaded with powder and balls. A +man lit a slow match, blew it to a glow, and took his position at the +breech. Nothing then happened for a full ten minutes. The six men stood +rigid by the gun in the middle of the square. The sunlight gleamed from +the ranks of bayonets. The vast multitude held its breath. The wall of +the jail remained blank and inscrutable. + +Then a man on horseback was seen to make his way through the crowd. This +was Charles Doane, Grand Marshal of the Vigilantes. He rode directly to +the jail door, on which he rapped with the handle of his riding-whip. +After a moment the wicket in the door opened. Without dismounting, the +rider handed a note within, and then, backing his horse the length of +the square, came to rest. + +Again the ranks parted and closed, this time to admit of three +carriages. As they came to a stop, the muskets all around the square +leaped to "present arms!" From the carriages descended Coleman, Truett, +and several others. In dead silence they walked to the jail door, +Olney's men close at their heels. For some moments they spoke through +the wicket; then the door swung open and the Committee entered. + +Up to this moment Casey had been fully content with the situation. He +was, of course, treated to the best the jail or the city could afford. +It was a bother to have been forced to shoot James King of William; but +the nuisance of incarceration for a time was a small price to pay. His +friends had rallied well to his defense. He had no doubt whatever, that, +according to the usual custom, he would soon work his way through the +courts and stand again a free man. His first intimation of trouble was +the hearing of the resonant tramp of feet outside. His second was when +Sheriff Scannell stood before him with the Vigilantes' note in his hand. +Casey took one glance at Scannell's face. + +"You aren't going to betray me?" he cried. "You aren't going to give me +up?" + +"James," replied Scannell solemnly, "there are three thousand armed men +coming for you and I have not thirty supporters around the jail." + +"Not thirty!" cried Casey astonished. For a moment he appeared crushed; +then he leaped to his feet flourishing a long knife. "I'll not be taken +from this place alive!" he cried. "Where are all you brave fellows who +were going to see me through this?" + +At this moment Coleman knocked at the door of the jail. The sheriff +hurried away to answer the summons. + +Casey took the opportunity to write a note for the Vigilantes which he +gave to the marshal. It read: + +"_To the Vigilante Committee_. GENTLEMEN:--I am willing to go before you +if you will let me speak but ten minutes. I do not wish to have the +blood of any man upon my head." + +On entering the jail door Coleman and his companions bowed formally to +the sheriff. + +"We have come for the prisoner Casey," said Coleman. "We ask that he be +peaceably delivered us handcuffed at the door immediately." + +"Under existing circumstances," replied Scannell, "I shall make no +resistance. The prison and its contents are yours." + +But Truett would have none of this. "We want only the man Casey at +present," he said. "For the safety of all the rest we hold you strictly +accountable." + +They proceeded at once to Casey's cell. The murderer heard them coming +and sprang back from the door holding his long knife poised. Coleman +walked directly to the door, where he stopped, looking Casey in the eye. +At the end of a full minute he exclaimed sharply: + +"Lay down that knife!" + +As though the unexpected tones had broken a spell, Casey flung the knife +from him and buried his face in his hands. Then, and not until then, +Coleman informed him curtly that his request would be granted. + +They took Casey out through the door of the jail. The crowd gathered its +breath for a frantic cheer. The relief from tension must have been +great, but Coleman, bareheaded, raised his hand and, in instant +obedience to the gesture, the cheer was stifled. The leaders then +entered the carriage, which immediately turned and drove away. + +Thus Casey was safely in custody. Charles Cora, who, it will be +remembered, had killed Marshal Richardson and who had gained from the +jury a disagreement, was taken on a second trip. + +The street outside headquarters soon filled with an orderly crowd +awaiting events. There was noticeable the same absence of excitement, +impatience, or tumult so characteristic of the popular gatherings of +that time, except perhaps when the meetings were conducted by the +partisans of Law and Order. After a long interval one of the Committee +members appeared at an upper window. + +"It is not the intention of the Committee to be hasty," he +announced. "Nothing will be done today." + +This statement was received in silence. At last someone asked: + +"Where are Casey and Cora?" + +"The Committee hold possession of the jail. All are safe," said the +Committee man. + +With this simple statement the crowd was completely satisfied, and +dispersed quietly and at once. + +Of the three thousand enrolled men, three hundred were retained under +arms at headquarters, a hundred surrounded the jail, and all the rest +were dismissed. Next day, Monday, headquarters still remained +inscrutable; but large patrols walked about the city, collecting arms. +The gunshops were picketed and their owners were warned under no +circumstances to sell weapons. Towards evening the weather grew colder +and rain came on. Even this did not discourage the crowd, which stood +about in its sodden clothes waiting. At midnight it reluctantly +dispersed, but by daylight the following morning the streets around +headquarters were blocked. Still it rained, and still apparently nothing +happened. All over the city business was at a standstill. Men had +dropped their affairs, even the most pressing, either to take part in +this movement or to lend the moral support of their presence and their +interest. The partisans of Law and Order, so called, were also abroad. +No man dared express himself in mixed company openly. The courts were +empty. Some actually closed down, with one excuse or another; but most +of them pretended to go through the forms of business. Many judges took +the occasion to leave town--on vacation, they announced. These +incidents occasioned lively comment. As our chronicler before quoted +tells us: "A good many who had things on their minds left for the +country." Still it rained steadily, and still the crowds waited. + +The prisoners, Casey and Cora, had expected, when taken from the jail, +to be lynched at once. But, since the execution had been thus long +postponed, they began to take heart. They understood that they were to +have a clear trial "according to law"--a phrase which was in those days +immensely cheering to malefactors. They were not entirely cut off from +outside communication. Casey was allowed to see several men on pressing +business, and permitted to talk to them freely, although before a +witness from the Committee. Cora received visits from Belle Cora, who in +the past had spent thousands on his legal defense. Now she came to see +him faithfully and reported every effort that was being made. + +On Tuesday, the 20th, Cora was brought before the Committee. He asked +for counsel, and Truett was appointed to act for him. A list of +witnesses demanded by Cora was at once summoned, and a sub-committee was +sent to bring them before the board of trial. All the ordinary forms of +law were closely followed, and all the essential facts were separately +brought out. It was the same old Cora trial over again with one +modification; namely, that all technicalities and technical delays were +eliminated. Not an attempt was made to confine the investigation to the +technical trial. By dusk the case for the prosecution was finished, and +that for the defense was supposed to begin. + +During all this long interim the Executive Committee had sat in +continuous session. They had agreed that no recess of more than thirty +minutes should be taken until a decision had been reached. But of all +the long list of witnesses submitted by Cora for the defense not one +could be found. They were in hiding and afraid. The former perjurers +would not appear. + +It was now falling dusk. The corners of the great room were in darkness. +Beneath the elevated desk, behind which sat Coleman, Bluxome, the +secretary, lighted a single oil lamp, the better to see his notes. In +the interest of the proceedings a general illumination had not been +ordered. Within the shadow, the door opened and Charles Doane, the Grand +Marshal of the Vigilantes, advanced three steps into the room. + +"Mr. President," he said clearly, "I am instructed to announce +that James King of William is dead." + +The conviction of both men took place that night, and the execution was +ordered, but in secret. + +Thursday noon had been set for the funeral of James King of William. +This ceremony was to take place in the Unitarian church. A great +multitude had gathered to attend. The church was filled to overflowing +early in the day. But thousands of people thronged the streets round +about, and stood patiently and seriously to do the man honor. Historians +of the time detail the names of many marching bodies from every guild +and society in the new city. Hundreds of horsemen, carriages, and foot +marchers got themselves quietly into the line. They also were excluded +from the funeral ceremonies by lack of room, but wished to do honor to +the cortège. This procession is said to have been over two miles in +length. Each man wore a band of crêpe around his left arm. All the city +seemed to be gathered there. And yet the time for the actual funeral +ceremony was still some hours distant. + +Nevertheless the few who, hurrying to the scene, had occasion to pass +near the Vigilante headquarters, found the silent square guarded on all +sides by a triple line of armed men. The side-streets also were filled +with them. They stood in the exact alignment their constant drill had +made possible, with bayonets fixed, staring straight ahead. Three +thousand were under arms. Like the vast crowd a few squares away, they, +too, stood silent and patiently waiting. + +At a quarter before one the upper windows of the headquarters building +were thrown open and small planked platforms were thrust from two of +them. Heavy beams were shoved out from the flat roof directly over the +platforms. From the ends of the beams dangled nooses of rope. After this +another wait ensued. Across the silence of the intervening buildings +could be heard faintly from the open windows of the church the sound of +an organ, and then the measured cadences of an oration. The funeral +services had begun. As though this were a signal, the blinds that had +closed the window openings were thrown back and Cora was conducted to +the end of one of the little platforms. His face was covered with a +white handkerchief and he was bound. A moment later Casey appeared. He +had asked not to be blindfolded. Cora stood bolt upright, motionless as +a stone, but Casey's courage broke. If he had any hope that the boastful +promises of his friends would be fulfilled by a rescue, that hope died +as he looked down on the set, grim faces, on the sinister ring of steel. +His nerve then deserted him completely and he began to babble. + +"Gentlemen," he cried at them, "I am not a murderer! I do not feel +afraid to meet my God on a charge of murder! I have done nothing but +what I thought was right! Whenever I was injured I have resented it! It +has been part of my education during twenty-nine years! Gentlemen, I +forgive you this persecution! O God! My poor Mother! O God!" + +It is to be noted that he said not one word of contrition nor of regret +for the man whose funeral services were then going on, nor for the +heartbroken wife who knelt at that coffin. His words found no echo +against that grim wall of steel. Again ensued a wait, apparently +inexplicable. Across the intervening housetops the sound of the oration +ceased. At the door of the church a slight commotion was visible. The +coffin was being carried out. It was placed in the hearse. Every head +was bared. There followed a slight pause; then from overhead the +church-bell boomed out once. Another bell in the next block answered; a +third, more distant, chimed in. From all parts of the city tolled the +requiem. + +At the first stroke of the bell the funeral cortège moved forward toward +Lone Mountain cemetery. At the first stroke the Vigilantes as one man +presented arms. The platforms dropped, and Casey and Cora fell into +eternity. + + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE VIGILANTES OF '56 + + +This execution naturally occasioned a great storm of indignation among +the erstwhile powerful adherents of the law. The ruling, aristocratic +class, the so-called chivalry, the best element of the city, had been +slapped deliberately in the face, and this by a lot of Yankee +shopkeepers. The Committee were stigmatized as stranglers. They ought to +be punished as murderers! They should be shot down as revolutionists! It +was realized, however, that the former customary street-shooting had +temporarily become unsafe. Otherwise there is no doubt that brawls would +have been more frequent than they were. + +An undercurrent of confidence was apparent, however. The Law and Order +men had been surprised and overpowered. They had yielded only to +overwhelming odds. With the execution of Cora and Casey accomplished, +the Committee might be expected to disband. And when the Committee +disbanded, the law would have its innings. Its forces would then be +better organized and consolidated, its power assured. It could then +safely apprehend and bring to justice the ringleaders of this +undertaking. Many of the hotheads were in favor of using armed force to +take Coleman and his fellow-conspirators into custody. But calmer +spirits advised moderation for the present, until the time was more +ripe. + +But to the surprise and indignation of these people, the Vigilantes +showed no intention of disbanding. Their activities extended and their +organization strengthened. The various military companies drilled daily +until they went through the manual with all the precision of regular +troops. The Committee's book remained opened, and by the end of the week +over seven thousand men had signed the roll. Loads of furniture and +various supplies stopped at the doors of headquarters and were carried +in by members of the organization. No non-member ever saw the inside of +the building while it was occupied by the Committee of Vigilance. So +cooking utensils, cot-beds, provisions, blankets, bulletin-boards, arms, +chairs and tables, field-guns, ammunition, and many other supplies +seemed to indicate a permanent occupation. Doorkeepers were always in +attendance, and sentinels patrolled in the streets and on the roof. + +Every day the Executive Committee was in session for all of the daylight +hours. A blacklist was in preparation. Orders were issued for the +Vigilante police to arrest certain men and to warn certain others to +leave town immediately. A choice haul was made of the lesser lights of +the ward-heelers and chief politicians. A very good sample was the +notorious Yankee Sullivan, an ex-prize-fighter, ward-heeler, ballot-box +stuffer, and shoulder-striker. He, it will be remembered, was the man +who returned Casey as supervisor in a district where, as far as is +known, Casey was not a candidate and no one could be found who had voted +for him. This individual went to pieces completely shortly after his +arrest. He not only confessed the details of many of his own crimes but, +what was more important, disclosed valuable information as to others. +His testimony was important, not necessarily as final proof against +those whom he accused, but as indication of the need of thorough +investigation. Then without warning he committed suicide in his cell. On +investigation it turned out that he had been accustomed to from sixty +to eighty drinks of whiskey each day, and the sudden and complete +deprivation had unhinged his mind. Warned by this unforeseen +circumstance, the Committee henceforth issued regular rations of whiskey +to all its prisoners, a fact which is a striking commentary on the +character of the latter. It is to be noted, furthermore, that liquor of +all sorts was debarred from the deliberations of the Vigilantes +themselves. + +Trials went briskly forward in due order, with counsel for defense and +ample opportunity to call witnesses. There were no more capital +punishments. It was made known that the Committee had set for itself a +rule that capital punishment would be inflicted by it only for crimes so +punishable by the regular law. But each outgoing ship took a crowd of +the banished. The majority of the first sweepings were low +thugs--"Sydney Ducks," hangers-on, and the worst class of criminals; but +a certain number were taken from what had been known as the city's best. +In the law courts these men would have been declared as white as the +driven snow; in fact, that had actually happened to some of them. But +they were plainly undesirable citizens. The Committee so decided and +bade them depart. Among the names of men who were prominent and +influential in the early history of the city, but who now were told to +leave, were Charles Duane, Woolley Kearny, William McLean, J.D. +Musgrave, Peter Wightman, James White, and Edward McGowan. Hundreds of +others left the city of their own accord. Terror spread among the +inhabitants of the underworld. Some of the minor offenders brought in by +the Vigilante police were turned over by the Executive Committee to the +regular law courts. It is significant that, whereas convictions had been +almost unknown up to this time, every one of these offenders was +promptly sentenced by those courts. + +But though the underworld was more or less terrified, the upper grades +were only the further aroused. Many sincerely believed that this +movement was successful only because it was organized, that the people +of the city were scattered and powerless, that they needed only to be +organized to combat the forces of disorder. In pursuance of the belief +that the public at large needed merely to be called together loyally to +defend its institutions, a meeting was set for June 2, in Portsmouth +Square. Elaborate secret preparations, including the distribution of +armed men, were made to prevent interference. Such preparations were +useless. Immediately after the appearance of the notice the Committee of +Vigilance issued orders that the meeting was to be in no manner +discouraged or molested. + +It was well attended. Enormous crowds gathered, not only in and around +the Square itself, but in balconies and windows and on housetops. It was +a very disrespectful crowd, evidently out for a good time. On the +platform within the Square stood or sat the owners of many of the city's +proud names. Among them were well-known speakers, men who had never +failed to hold and influence a crowd. But only a short distance away +little could be heard. It early became evident that, though there would +be no interference, the sentiment of the crowd was adverse. And what +must have been particularly maddening was that the sentiment was +good-humored. Colonel Edward Baker came forward to speak. The Colonel +was a man of great eloquence, so that in spite of his considerable lack +of scruples he had won his way to a picturesque popularity and fame. But +the crowd would have little of him this day, and an almost continuous +uproar drowned out his efforts. The usual catch phrases, such as +"liberty," "Constitution," "habeas corpus," "trial by jury," and +"freedom," occasionally became audible, but the people were not +interested. "See Cora's defender!" cried someone, voicing the general +suspicion that Baker had been one of the little gambler's hidden +counsel. "Cora!" "Ed. Baker!" "$10,000!" "Out of that, you old +reprobate!" He spoke ten minutes against the storm and then yielded, +red-faced and angry. Others tried but in vain. A Southerner, Benham, +inveighing passionately against the conditions of the city, in throwing +back his coat happened inadvertently to reveal the butt of a Colt +revolver. The bystanders immediately caught the point. "There's a pretty +Law and Order man!" they shouted. "Say, Benham, don't you know it's +against the law to go armed?" + +"I carry this weapon," he cried, shaking his fist, "not as an instrument +to overthrow the law, but to uphold it." + +Someone from a balcony nearby interrupted: "In other words, sir, you +break the law in order to uphold the law. What more are the Vigilantes +doing?" + +The crowd went wild over this response. The confusion became worse. +Upholders of Law and Order thrust forward Judge Campbell in the hope +that his age and authority on the bench would command respect. He was +unable, however, to utter even two consecutive sentences. + +"I once thought," he interrupted himself piteously, "that I was the free +citizen of a free country. But recent occurrences have convinced me that +I am a slave, more a slave than any on a Southern plantation, for they +know their masters, but I know not mine!" + +But his auditors refused to be affected by pathos. + +"Oh, yes you do," they informed him. "You know your masters as well as +anybody. Two of them were hanged the other day!" + +Though this attempt at home to gain coherence failed, the partisans at +Sacramento had better luck. They collected, it was said, five hundred +men hailing from all quarters of the globe, but chiefly from the +Southeast and Texas. All of them were fire-eaters, reckless, and sure to +make trouble. Two pieces of artillery were reported coming down the +Sacramento to aid all prisoners, but especially Billy Mulligan. The +numbers were not in themselves formidable as opposed to the enrollment +of the Vigilance Committee, but it must be remembered that the city was +full of scattered warriors and of cowed members of the underworld +waiting only leaders and a rallying point. Even were the Vigilantes to +win in the long run, the material for a very pretty civil war was ready +to hand. Two hundred men were hastily put to filling gunnybags with sand +and to fortifying not only headquarters but the streets round about. +Cannon were mounted, breastworks were piled, and embrasures were cut. By +morning Fort Gunnybags, as headquarters was henceforth called, had come +into existence. + +The fire-eaters arrived that night, but they were not five hundred +strong, as excited rumor had it. They disembarked, greeting the horde of +friends who had come to meet them, marched in a body to Fort Gunnybags, +looked it over, stuck their hands into their pockets, and walked +peacefully away to the nearest bar-rooms. This was the wisest move on +their part, for by now the disposition of the Vigilante men was so +complete that nothing short of regularly organized troops could +successfully have dislodged them. + +Behind headquarters was a long shed and stable In which were to be found +at all hours saddle horses and artillery horses, saddled and bridled, +ready for instant use. Twenty-six pieces of artillery, most of them sent +in by captains of vessels in the harbor, were here parked. Other cannon +were mounted for the defense of the fort itself. Muskets, rifles, and +sabers had been accumulated. A portable barricade had been constructed +in the event of possible street fighting--a sort of wheeled framework +that could be transformed into litters or scaling-ladders at will. Mess +offices and kitchens were there that could feed a small army. Flags and +painted signs carrying the open eye that had been adopted as emblematic +of vigilance decorated the main room. A huge alarm bell had been mounted +upon the roof. Mattresses, beds, cots, and other furniture necessary to +accommodate whole companies on the premises themselves, had been +provided. A completely equipped armorers' shop and a hospital with all +supplies occupied the third story. The forces were divided into four +companies of artillery, one squadron and two troops of cavalry, four +regiments and thirty-two companies of infantry, besides the small but +very efficient police organization. A tap on the bell gathered these men +in an incredibly short space of time. Bancroft says that, as a rule, +within fifteen minutes of the first stroke seven-tenths of the entire +forces would be on hand ready for combat. + +The Law and Order people recognized the strength of this organization +and realized that they must go at the matter in a more thorough manner. +They turned their attention to the politics of the structure, and here +they had every reason to hope for success. No matter how well organized +the Vigilantes might be or how thoroughly they might carry the +sympathies of the general public, there was no doubt that they were +acting in defiance of constituted law, and therefore were nothing less +than rebels. It was not only within the power, but it was also a duty, +of the Governor to declare the city in a condition of insurrection. When +he had done this, the state troops must put down the insurrection; and, +if they failed, then the Federal Government itself should be called on. +Looked at in this way, the small handful of disturbers, no matter how +well armed and disciplined, amounted to very little. + +Naturally the Governor had first to be won over. Accordingly all the +important men of San Francisco took the steamer _Senator_ for Sacramento +where they met Judge Terry, of the Supreme Court of California, Volney +Howard, and others of the same ilk. No governor of Johnson's nature +could long withstand such pressure. He promised to issue the required +proclamation of insurrection as soon as it could be "legally proved" +that the Vigilance Committee had acted outside the law. The small fact +that it had already hanged two and deported a great many others, to say +nothing of taking physical possession of the city, meant little to these +legal minds. + +In order that all things should be technically correct, then, Judge +Terry issued a writ of habeas corpus for William Mulligan and gave it +into the hands of Deputy Sheriff Harrison for service on the Committee. +It was expected that the Committee would deny the writ, which would +constitute legal defiance of the State. The Governor would then be +justified in issuing the proclamation. If the state troops proved +unwilling or inadequate, as might very well be, the plan was then to +call on the United States. The local representatives of the central +government were at that time General Wool commanding the military +department of California, and Captain David Farragut in command of the +navy-yard. Within their command was a force sufficient to subdue three +times the strength of the Vigilance Committee. William Tecumseh Sherman, +then in private life, had been appointed major-general of a division of +the state militia. As all this was strictly legal, the plan could not +possibly fail. + +Harrison took the writ of habeas corpus and proceeded to San Francisco. +He presented himself at headquarters and offered his writ. Instead of +denying it, the Committee welcomed him cordially and invited him to make +a thorough search of the premises. Of course Harrison found nothing--the +Committee had seen to that--and departed. The scheme had failed. The +Committee had in no way denied his authority or his writ. But Harrison +saw clearly what had been expected of him. To Judge Terry he +unblushingly returned the writ endorsed "prevented from service by armed +men." For the sake of his cause, Harrison had lied. However, the whole +affair was now regarded as legal. + +Johnson promptly issued his proclamation. The leaders, in high feather, +as promptly turned to the federal authorities for the assistance they +needed. As yet they did not ask for troops but only for weapons with +which to arm their own men. To their blank dismay General Wool refused +to furnish arms. He took the position that he had no right to do so +without orders from Washington. There is no doubt, however, that this +technical position cloaked the doughty warrior's real sympathies. +Colonel Baker and Volney Howard were instructed to wait on him. After a +somewhat lengthy conversation, they made the mistake of threatening him +with a report to Washington for refusing to uphold the law. + +"I think, gentlemen," flashed back the veteran indignantly, "I know my +duty and in its performance dread no responsibility!" He promptly bowed +them out. + +In the meantime the Executive Committee had been patiently working down +through its blacklist. It finally announced that after June 24 it would +consider no fresh cases, and a few days later it proclaimed an +adjournment parade on July 4. It considered its work completed and the +city safe. + +It may be readily imagined that this peaceful outcome did not in the +least suit the more aristocratic members of the Law and Order party. +They were a haughty, individualistic, bold, forceful, sometimes charming +band of fire-eaters. In their opinion they had been deeply insulted. +They wanted reprisal and punishment. + +When therefore the Committee set a definite day for disbanding, the +local authorities and upholders of law were distinctly disappointed. +They saw slipping away the last chance for a clash of arms that would +put these rebels in their places. There was some thought of arresting +the ringleaders, but the courts were by now so well terrorized that it +was by no means certain that justice as defined by the Law and Order +party could be accomplished. And even if conviction could be secured, +the representatives of the law found little satisfaction in ordinary +punishment. What they wanted was a fight. + +General Sherman had resigned his command of the military forces in +disgust. In his stead was chosen General Volney Howard, a man typical of +his class, blinded by his prejudices and his passions, filled with a +sense of the importance of his caste, and without grasp of the broader +aspects of the situation. In the Committee's present attitude he saw not +the signs of a job well done, but indications of weakening, and he +considered this a propitious moment to show his power. In this attitude +he received enthusiastic backing from Judge Terry and his narrow +coterie. Terry was then judge of the Supreme Court; and a man more +unfitted for the position it would be difficult to find. A tall, +attractive, fire-eating Texan with a charming wife, he stood high in the +social life of the city. His temper was undisciplined and completely +governed his judgment. Intensely partisan and, as usual with his class, +touchy on the point of honor, he did precisely the wrong thing on every +occasion where cool decision was demanded. + +It was so now. The Law and Order party persuaded Governor Johnson to +order a parade of state troops in the streets of San Francisco. The +argument used was that such a parade of legally organized forces would +overawe the citizens. The secret hope, however, which was well founded, +was that such a display would promote the desired conflict. This hope +they shared with Howard, after the Governor's orders had been obtained. +Howard's vanity jumped with his inclination. He consented to the plot. A +more ill-timed, idiotic maneuver, with the existing state of the public +mind, it would be impossible to imagine. Either we must consider Terry +and Howard weak-minded to the point of an inability to reason from cause +to effect, or we must ascribe to them more sinister motives. + +By now the Law and Order forces had become numerically more formidable. +The lower element flocked to the colors through sheer fright. A certain +proportion of the organized remained in the ranks, though a majority had +resigned. There was, as is usual in a new community, a very large +contingent of wild, reckless young men without a care in the world, with +no possible interest in the rights and wrongs of the case, or, indeed, +in themselves. They were eager only for adventure and offered themselves +just as soon as the prospects for a real fight seemed good. Then, too, +they could always count on the five hundred Texans who had been +imported. + +There were plenty of weapons with which to arm these partisans. Contrary +to all expectations, the Vigilance Committee had scrupulously refrained +from interfering with the state armories. All the muskets belonging to +the militia were in the armories and were available in different parts +of the city. In addition, the State, as a commonwealth, had a right to a +certain number of federal weapons stored in arsenals at Benicia. These +could be requisitioned in due form. + +But at this point, it has been said, the legal minds of the party +conceived a bright plan. The muskets at Benicia on being requisitioned +would have to cross the bay in a vessel of some sort. Until the muskets +were actually delivered they were federal property. Now if the Vigilance +Committee were to confiscate the arms while on the transporting vessel, +and while still federal property, the act would be piracy; the +interceptors, pirates. The Law and Order people could legally call on +the federal forces, which would be compelled to respond. If the +Committee of Vigilance did not fall into this trap, then the Law and +Order people would have the muskets anyway.[7] + +[7: Mr. H.H. Bancroft, in his _Popular Tribunals_, holds that no proof +of this plot exists.] + +To carry out this plot they called in a saturnine, lank, drunken +individual whose name was Rube Maloney. Maloney picked out two men of +his own type as assistants. He stipulated only that plenty of +"refreshments" should be supplied. According to instructions Maloney was +to operate boldly and flagrantly in full daylight. But the refreshment +idea had been rather liberally interpreted. By six o'clock Rube had just +sense enough left to anchor off Pueblo Point. There all gave serious +attention to the rest of the refreshments, and finally rolled over to +sleep off the effects. + +In the meantime news of the intended shipment had reached the +headquarters of the Vigilantes. The Executive Committee went into +immediate session. It was evident that the proposed disbanding would +have to be postponed. A discussion followed as to methods of procedure +to meet this new crisis. The Committee fell into the trap prepared for +it. Probably no one realized the legal status of the muskets, but +supposed them to belong already to the State. Marshal Doane was +instructed to capture them. He called to him the chief of the harbor +police. "Have you a small vessel ready for immediate service?" he asked +this man. + +"Yes, a sloop, at the foot of this street." + +"Be ready to sail in half an hour." + +Doane then called to his assistance a quick-witted man named John +Durkee. This man had been a member of the regular city police until the +shooting of James King of William. At that time he had resigned his +position and joined the Vigilance police. He was loyal by nature, steady +in execution, and essentially quick-witted, qualities that stood +everybody in very good stead as will be shortly seen. He picked out +twelve reliable men to assist him, and set sail in the sloop. + +For some hours he beat against the wind and the tide; but finally these +became so strong that he was forced to anchor in San Pablo Bay until +conditions had modified. Late in the afternoon he was again able to get +under way. Several of the tramps sailing about the bay were overhauled +and examined, but none proved to be the prize. About dark the breeze +died, leaving the little sloop barely under steerageway. A less +persistent man than Durkee would have anchored for the night, but Durkee +had received his instructions and intended to find the other sloop, and +it was he himself who first caught the loom of a shadow under Pueblo +Point. + +He bore down and perceived it to be the sloop whose discovery he +desired. The twelve men boarded with a rush, but found themselves in +possession of an empty deck. The fumes of alcohol and the sound of +snoring guided the boarding-party to the object of their search and the +scene of their easy victory. Durkee transferred the muskets and +prisoners to his own craft; and returned to the California Street wharf +shortly after daylight. A messenger was dispatched to headquarters. He +returned with instructions to deliver the muskets but to turn loose the +prisoners. Durkee was somewhat astonished at the latter order but +complied. + +"All right," he is reported to have said. "Now, you measly hounds, +you've got just about twenty-eight seconds to make yourselves as scarce +as your virtues." + +Maloney and his crew wasted few of the twenty-eight seconds in starting, +but once out of sight they regained much of their bravado. A few drinks +restored them to normal, and enabled them to put a good face on the +report they now made to their employers. Maloney and his friends then +visited in turn all the saloons. The drunker they grew, the louder they +talked, reviling the Committee collectively and singly, bragging that +they would shoot at sight Coleman, Truett, Durkee, and several others +whom they named. They flourished weapons publicly, and otherwise became +obstreperous. The Committee decided that their influence was bad and +instructed Sterling Hopkins, with four others, to arrest the lot and +bring them in. + +The news of this determination reached the offending parties. They +immediately fled to their masters like cur dogs. Their masters, who +included Terry, Bowie, and a few others, happened to be discussing the +situation in the office of Richard Ashe, a Texan. The crew burst into +this gathering very much scared, with a statement that a "thousand +stranglers" were at their heels. Hopkins, having left his small posse at +the foot of the stairs, knocked and entered the room. He was faced by +the muzzles of half a dozen pistols and told to get out of there. +Hopkins promptly obeyed. + +If Terry had possessed the slightest degree of leadership he would have +seen that this was the worst of all moments to precipitate a crisis. The +forces of his own party were neither armed nor ready. But here, as in +all other important crises of his career, he was governed by the haughty +and headstrong passion of the moment. + +Hopkins left his men on guard at the foot of the stairs, borrowed a +horse from a passer-by, and galloped to headquarters. There he was +instructed to return and stay on watch, and was told that reinforcements +would soon follow. He arrived before the building in which Ashe's office +was located in time to see Maloney, Terry, Ashe, McNabb, Bowie, and +Rowe, all armed with shot-guns, just turning a far corner. He dismounted +and called on his men, who followed. The little posse dogged the +judge's party for some distance. For a little time no attention was paid +to them, but as they pressed closer, Terry, Ashe, and Maloney turned and +presented their shot-guns. This was probably intended only as a threat, +but Hopkins, who was always overbold, lunged at Maloney. Terry thrust +his gun at a Vigilante who seized it by the barrel. At the same instant +Ashe pressed the muzzle of his weapon against the breast of a man named +Bovee, but hesitated to pull the trigger. It was not at that time as +safe to shoot men in the open street as it had been formerly. Barry +covered Rowe with a pistol. Rowe dropped his gun and ran towards the +armory. The accidental discharge of a pistol seemed to unnerve Terry. He +whipped out a long knife and plunged it into Hopkins's neck. Hopkins +relaxed his hold on Terry's shot-gun and staggered back. + +"I am stabbed! Take them, Vigilantes!" he said. + +He dropped to the sidewalk. Terry and his friends ran towards the +armory. Of the Vigilante posse only Bovee and Barry remained, but these +two pursued the fleeing Law and Order men to the very doors of the +armory itself. When the portals were slammed in their faces they took +up their stand outside; and alone these two men held imprisoned several +hundred men! During the next few minutes several men attempted entrance +to the armory, among them our old friend Volney Howard. All were turned +back and were given the impression that the armory was already in +charge of the Vigilantes. After a little, however, doubtless to the +great relief of the "outside garrison" of the armory, the great +Vigilante bell began to boom out its signals: _one, two, three_--rest; +_one, two, three_--rest; and so on. + +Instantly the streets were alive with men. Merchants left their +customers, clerks their books, mechanics their tools. Draymen stripped +their horses of harness, abandoned their wagons, and rode away to join +their cavalry. Within an incredibly brief space of time everybody was +off for the armory, the military companies marching like veterans, the +artillery rumbling over the pavement. The cavalry, jogging along at a +slow trot, covered the rear. A huge and roaring mob accompanied them, +followed them, raced up the side-streets to arrive at the armory at the +same time as the first files of the military force. They found the +square before the building entirely deserted except for the dauntless +Barry and Bovee, who still marched up and down singlehanded, holding the +garrison within. They were able to report that no one had either entered +or left the armory. + +Inside the building the spirit had become one of stubborn sullenness. +Terry was very sorry--as, indeed, he well might be--a Judge of the +Supreme Court, who had no business being in San Francisco at all. Sworn +to uphold the law, and ostensibly on the side of the Law and Order +party, he had stepped out from his jurisdiction to commit as lawless and +as idiotic a deed of passion and prejudice as could well have been +imagined. Whatever chances the Law and Order party might have had +heretofore were thereby dissipated. Their troops were scattered in small +units; their rank and file had disappeared no one knew where; their +enemies were fully organized and had been mustered by the alarm bell to +their usual alertness and capability; and Terry's was the hand that had +struck the bell! + +He was reported as much chagrined. + +"This is very unfortunate, very unfortunate," he said; "but you shall +not imperil your lives for me. It is I they want. I will surrender to +them." + +Instead of the prompt expostulations which he probably expected, a dead +silence greeted these words. + +"There is nothing else to do," agreed Ashe at last. + +An exchange of notes in military fashion followed. Ashe, as commander of +the armory and leader of the besieged party, offered to surrender to the +Executive Committee of the Vigilantes if protected from violence. The +Executive Committee demanded the surrender of Terry, Maloney, and +Philips, as well as of all arms and ammunition, promising that Terry and +Maloney should be protected against persons outside the organization. On +receiving this assurance, Ashe threw open the doors of the armory and +the Vigilantes marched in. + +"All present were disarmed," writes Bancroft. "Terry and Maloney were +taken charge of and the armory was quickly swept of its contents. Three +hundred muskets and other munitions of war were carried out and placed +on drays. Two carriages then drove up, in one of which was placed +Maloney and in the other Terry. Both were attended by a strong escort, +Olney forming round them with his Citizens' Guard, increased to a +battalion. Then in triumph the Committee men, with their prisoners and +plunder enclosed in a solid body of infantry and these again surrounded +by cavalry, marched back to their rooms." + +Nor was this all. Coleman, like a wise general, realizing that +compromise was no longer possible, sent out his men to take possession +of all the encampments of the Law and Order forces. The four big +armories were cleaned out while smaller squads of men combed the city +house by house for concealed arms. By midnight the job was done. The +Vigilantes were in control of the situation. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE TRIUMPH OF THE VIGILANTES + + +Judge Terry was still a thorny problem to handle. After all, he was a +Judge of the Supreme Court. At first his attitude was one of apparent +humility, but as time went on he regained his arrogant attitude and from +his cell issued defiances to his captors. He was aided and abetted by +his high-spirited wife, and in many ways caused the members of the +Committee a great deal of trouble. If Hopkins were to die, they could do +no less than hang Terry in common consistency and justice. But they +realized fully that in executing a Justice of the Supreme Court they +would be wading into pretty deep water. The state and federal +authorities were inclined to leave them alone and let them work out the +manifestly desirable reform, but it might be that such an act would +force official interference. As one member of the Committee expressed +it, "They had gone gunning for ferrets and had coralled a grizzly." +Nevertheless Terry was indicted before the Committee on the following +counts, a statement of which gives probably as good a bird's eye view of +Terry as numerous pages of personal description: + + +Resisting with violence the officers of the Vigilance Committee while in +the discharge of their duties. + +Committing an assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill Sterling +A. Hopkins on June 21, 1856. + +Various breaches of the peace and attacks upon citizens while in the +discharge of their duties, specified as follows: + +1. Resistance in 1853 to a writ of habeas corpus on account of which one +Roach escaped from the custody of the law, and the infant heirs of the +Sanchez family were defrauded of their rights. + +2. An attack in 1853 on a citizen of Stockton named Evans. + +3. An attack in 1853 on a citizen in San Francisco named Purdy. + +4. An attack at a charter election on a citizen of Stockton named King. + +5. An attack in the court house of Stockton on a citizen named +Broadhouse. + + +Before Terry's case came to trial it was known that Hopkins was not +fatally wounded. Terry's confidence immediately rose. Heretofore he had +been somewhat, but not much, humbled. Now his haughty spirit blazed +forth as strongly as ever. He was tried in due course, and was found +guilty on the first charge and on one of the minor charges. On the +accusation of assault with intent to kill, the Committee deliberated a +few days, and ended by declaring him guilty of simple assault. He was +discharged and told to leave the State. But, for some reason or other, +the order was not enforced. + +Undoubtedly he owed his discharge in this form to the evident fact that +the Committee did not know what to do with him. Terry at once took the +boat for Sacramento, where for some time he remained in comparative +retirement. Later he emerged in his old rôle, and ended his life by +being killed at the hands of an armed guard of Justice Stephen Field +whom Terry assaulted without giving Field a chance to defend himself. + +While these events were going forward, the Committee had convicted and +hanged two other men, Hetherington and Brace. In both instances the +charge was murder of the most dastardly kind. The trials were conducted +with due regard to the forms of law and justice, and the men were +executed in an orderly fashion. These executions would not be remarkable +in any way, were it not for the fact that they rounded out the complete +tale of executions by the Vigilance Committee. Four men only were hanged +in all the time the Committee held its sway. Nevertheless the manner of +the executions and the spirit that actuated all the officers of the +organization sufficed to bring about a complete reformation in the +administration of justice. + +About this time also the danger began to manifest itself that some of +the less conscientious and, indeed, less important members of the +Committee might attempt through political means to make capital of their +connections. A rule was passed that no member of the Committee of +Vigilance should be allowed to hold political office. Shortly after this +decision, William Rabe was suspended for "having attempted to introduce +politics into this body and for attempting to overawe the Executive +Committee." + +After the execution of the two men mentioned, the interesting trial of +Durkee for piracy, the settlement by purchase of certain private claims +against city land, and the deportation of a number of undesirable +citizens, the active work of the Committee was practically over. It +held complete power and had also gained the confidence of probably +nine-tenths of the population. Even some of the erstwhile members of the +Law and Order party, who had adhered to the forms of legality through +principle, had now either ceased opposition, or had come over openly to +the side of the Committee. Another date of adjournment was decided upon. +The gunnybag barricades were taken down on the fourteenth of August. On +the sixteenth, the rooms of the building were ordered thrown open to all +members of the Committee, their friends, their families, for a grand +reception on the following week. It was determined then not to +disorganize but to adjourn _sine die_. The organization was still to be +held, and the members were to keep themselves ready whenever the need +should arise. But preparatory to adjournment it was decided to hold a +grand military review on the eighteenth of August. This was to leave a +final impression upon the public mind of the numbers and powder of the +Committee. + +The parade fulfilled its function admirably. The Grand Marshal and his +staff led, followed by the President and the Military Commanding General +with his staff. Then marched four companies of artillery with fifteen +mounted cannon. In their rear was a float representing Fort Gunnybags +with imitation cannon. Next came the Executive Committee mounted, riding +three abreast; then cavalry companies and the medical staff, which +consisted of some fifty physicians of the town. Representatives of the +Vigilance Committee of 1851 followed in wagons with a banner; then four +regiments of infantry, more cavalry, citizen guards, pistol men, +Vigilante police. Over six thousand men were that day in line, all +disciplined, all devoted, all actuated by the highest motives, and +conscious of a job well done. + +The public reception at Fort Gunnybags was also well attended. Every one +was curious to see the interior arrangement. The principal entrance was +from Sacramento Street and there was also a private passage from another +street. The doorkeeper's box was prominently to the front where each one +entering had to give the pass-word. He then proceeded up the stairs to +the floor above. The first floor was the armory and drill-room. Around +the sides were displayed the artillery harness, the flags, +bulletin-boards, and all the smaller arms. On one side was a lunch stand +where coffee and other refreshments were dispensed to those on guard. +On the opposite side were offices for every conceivable activity. An +immense emblematic eye painted on the southeast corner of the room +glared down on each as he entered. The front of the second floor was +also a guard-room, armory, and drilling floor. Here also was painted the +eye of Vigilance, and here was exhibited the famous ballot-box whose +sides could separate the good ballots from the bad ballots. Here also +were the meeting-rooms for the Executive Committee and a number of cells +for the prisoners. The police-office displayed many handcuffs, tools of +captured criminals, relics, clothing with bullet holes, ropes used for +hanging, bowie-knives, burglar's tools, brass knuckles, and all the +other curiosities peculiar to criminal activities. The third story of +the building had become the armorer's shop, and the hospital. Eight or +ten workmen were employed in the former and six to twenty cots were +maintained in the latter. Above all, on the roof, supported by a strong +scaffolding, hung the Monumental bell whose tolling summoned the +Vigilantes when need arose. + +Altogether the visitors must have been greatly impressed, not only with +the strength of the organization, but also with the care used in +preparing it for every emergency, the perfection of its discipline, and +the completeness of its equipment. When the Committee of Vigilance of +1856 adjourned subject to further call, there must have been in most +men's minds the feeling that such a call could not again arise for years +to come. + +Yet it was not so much the punishment meted out to evil-doers that +measures the success of the Vigilante movement. Only four villains were +hanged; not more than thirty were banished. But the effect was the same +as though four hundred had been executed. It is significant that not +less than eight hundred went into voluntary exile. + +"What has become of your Vigilance Committee?" asked a stranger naïvely, +some years later. + +"Toll the bell, sir, and you'll see," was the reply[8]. + +[8: Bancroft, _Popular Tribunals_, 11, 695.] + + + + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + + +California has been fortunate in her historians. Every student of the +history of the Pacific coast is indebted to the monumental work of +Hubert H. Bancroft. Three titles concern the period of the Forty-niners: +_The History of California_, 7 vols. (1884-1890); _California Inter +Pocula, 1848-56_ (1888); _Popular Tribunals_, 2 vols. (1887). Second +only to these volumes in general scope and superior in some respects is +T.H. Hittell's _History of California_, 4 vols. (1885-1897). Two other +general histories of smaller compass and covering limited periods are +I.B. Richman's _California under Spain and Mexico, 1535-1847_ (1911), +and Josiah Royce's _California, 1846-1856_ (1886). The former is a +scholarly but rather arid book; the latter is an essay in interpretation +rather than a narrative of events. One of the chief sources of +information about San Francisco in the days of the gold fever is _The +Annals of San Francisco_ (1855) by Soulé and others. + +Contemporary accounts of California just before the American occupation +are of varying value. One of the most widely read books is R.H. Dana's +_Two Years before the Mast_ (1840). The author spent parts of 1835 and +1836 in California. _The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie_ (1831) +is an account of six years' travel amid almost incredible hardships from +St. Louis to the Pacific and back through Mexico. W.H. Thomes's _On Land +and Sea, or California in the Years 1843, '44, and '45_ (1892) gives +vivid pictures of old Mexican days. Two other books may be mentioned +which furnish information of some value: Alfred Robinson, _Life in +California_ (1846) and Walter Colton, _Three Years in California_ +(1850). + +Personal journals and narratives of the Forty-niners are numerous, but +they must be used with caution. Their accuracy is frequently open to +question. Among the more valuable may be mentioned Delano's _Life on the +Plains and among the Diggings_ (1854); W.G. Johnston's _Experience of a +Forty-niner_ (1849); T.T. Johnson's _Sights in the Gold Region and +Scenes by the Way_ (1849); J.T. Brooks's _Four Months among the +Gold-Finders_ (1849); E.G. Buffum's _Six Months in the Gold Mines_ +(1850)--the author was a member of the "Stevenson Regiment"; James +Delevan's _Notes on California and the Placers: How to get there and +what to do afterwards_ (1850); and W.R. Ryan's _Personal Adventures in +Upper and Lower California, in 1848-9_ (1850). + +Others who were not gold-seekers have left their impression of +California in transition, such as Bayard Taylor in his _Eldorado_, 2 +vols. (1850), and J.W. Harlan in his _California '46 to '88_ (1888). The +latter was a member of Frémont's battalion. The horrors of the overland +journey are told by Delano in the book already mentioned and by W.L. +Manly, _Death Valley in '49_ (1894). + +The evolution of law and government in primitive mining communities is +described in C.H. Shinn's _Mining Camps. A Study in American Frontier +Government_ (1885). The duties of the border police are set forth with +thrilling details by Horace Bell, _Reminiscences of a Ranger or Early +Times in Southern California_ (1881). An authoritative work on the +Mormons is W.A. Linn's _Story of the Mormons_ (1902). + +For further bibliographical references the reader is referred to the +articles on _California, San Francisco, The Mormons_, and _Frémont_, in +_The Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th Edition. + + + + + INDEX + + Alvarado, Governor of California, 15-16, 18, 23 + "Arcadian Age," 58-62 + Ashe, Richard, 251, 252 + + Baker, Edward, Colonel, 236, 244 + "Bear Flag Revolution," 32-36 + Benton, T.H., father-in-law to Frémont, 29; + exerts influence in Frémont's behalf, 40 + Bluxome, Isaac, 202, 204 + Bovee, 253 + Bowie, 251, 252 + Brannan, Sam, 56-57, 155, 189 + + Cahuenga, Treaty of (1847), 42 + California, inhabitants, 1 + occupation by Spain, 2 et seq + classes, 5-6 + life of early settlers, 6 et seq + advent of foreign residents, 13 et seq + population in 1840, 16-17 + arrival of two parties of settlers (1841), 17 + Frémont's expedition, 29 + military conquest by U.S., 30 et seq. + Mexican laws in, 46-50; + constitutional convention (1849), 50-52 + influence of discovery of gold, 52-54 + overland migration to, 67 et seq + journey by way of Panama to, 96 et seq + life in the gold fields, 107 et seq + city life in 1849, 119 et seq + law, 174-176; politics, 176-180 + financial stringency (1855), 181-183 + _California Star_, the, 123 + Carson, Kit, 38 + Casey, J.P., 191, 192 et seq, 220 et seq + Chagres in 1849, 99-100 + Cole, Beverly, 202 + Coleman, W.T., 201, 202, 204, 205, 211 et seq, 251 + Cora, Charles, trial of, 189-191 + re-trial by Vigilantes, 225-226 + + + _Daily Evening Bulletin_, 184-188, 190 + Delano, 75 + Dempster, Clancey, 201, 202, 204 + Den, Nicholas, 14 + Doane, Charles, 219 + Donner party, 26 + Dows, James, 202 + Duane, Charles, 235 + Durkee, John, 249-251 + + Farragut, David, 242 + Farwell, 201 + Frémont, J.C., expedition, 29 et seq + personal characteristics, 40-41, 44-45 + negotiates treaty with Californians, 42 + appointed Governor of California, 42 + asks permission to form expedition against Mexico, 43-44 + court-martialed and dismissed from service, 44 + Gatun in 1849, 100-01 + Gavilán Peak, U.S. flag raised at, 30 + Gift, Colonel, 218 + Gillespie, Lieutenant, 30, 31-32 + Gold, influence of discovery upon life in California, 52-54; + discovered by Marshall (1848), 55; + news brought to East, 62; + influence in Europe, 65-66; + the diggings, 106 et seq. + Graham, Isaac, 15-16 + Green, Talbot, 172 + + Harlan, William, account of overland journey, 68-69; + quoted, 121; + experience in San Francisco, 128; + Hartnell, 14 + _Herald_, 200 + Hittell, T.H., recounts incidents of overland journey, 70, 72 + Hopkins, Sterling, 251, 252 + Hossefross, 202 + "Hounds," The, 137-39 + Howard, Volney, 241, 244, 245, 246 + + Ide, W.B., 34 + Indian menace to immigrant trains, 71 + + Jenkins, John, trial of, 153-156 + Johnson, J.N., Governor of California, 210 et seq. + Johnston, Captain, 38 + + Kearny. General Stephen Watts, 37 et seq. + Kearny, Woolley, 235 + Kelly, John, 115 + King, James, of William, 183, 184 et seq., 207-08, 227 + + Larkin, T.O., 28-29 + "Law and Order" party, 179, 208; + clash with Vigilantes, 236 et seq. + Leese, Jacob, 33 + + McGlynn, J.A., 129-30 + McGowan, Edward, 195-96, 235 + McLean, William, 235 + McNabb, 252 + Maloney, Rube, 248, 251, 252 + Marshall, James, discovers gold, 55 + Mason, Colonel R.B., 46 + Meiggs, Harry, 172 + Merritt, 33 + Mesa, Battle of the, 41 + Mexican government in California, + attitude toward settlers, 17-19, 27 + Mexican War, influence upon affairs in California, 35 + Missions established by "Sacred Expedition," 3 + Montgomery, Lieutenant, 35 + Mormons, 19-20, 56-57, 77 et seq. + Mountain Meadows massacre, 95 + Musgrave, J.D., 235 + + Oregon question, effect upon Western migration, 20-21, 55 + Oregon Trail, 21-22 + + Panama as a route to California, 96 et seq. + Panama, city of, in 1849, 102-103 + Pattie, James, 14 + Pico, Andrés, 37 + Portolá, 2 + Pratt, P.P., 80 + + "Regulators," the, 136-37 + Richardson, William, 189 + Rigdon, Sidney, 80 + Rowe, 252 + Ryan, W.R., quoted, 7, 120-21 + + "Sacred Expedition," 2 + San Diego, first mission founded (1769), 13 + San Francisco, + before discovery of gold, 123; + effect of discovery of gold, 123-24; + in 1849, 124 et seq.; + fire of Dec. 4, 1849, 141; + later fires, 142; + Volunteer Fire Department, 143-46; + civic progress, 146-49; + population in 1851, 150-51; + in the mid-fifties, 159 et seq. + San Gabriel River, Battle of (1847), 41 + San Pascual, Battle of, 38 + Santa Fé, 14 + Semple, 33 + Serra, Father Junipero, 2 + Sherman, W.T., 208-09, 242-243, 245 + Sloat, Commodore J.D., 35, 36 + Smith, Growling, 48 + Smith, Jedediah, 15 + Smith, Joseph, Jr., + founder of the Mormon Church, 77-79; + as a leader, 79-80; + death, 85 + Smith, Peter, claims against city of San Francisco, 170 + Sonoma captured, 32-35 + Spain, + religious occupation of California, 2 et seq.; + discourages immigration into, 13 + Spence, David, 14 + Stockton, Robert, Commodore, 36 et seq.; + quarrels with Kearny, 38-39 + Stuart, James, 151-52 + _Sunday Times_, the, 192 + Sutler, Captain J.A., 23-26 + Sutter's Fort, 24, 25, 29, 30, 33, 106 + "Sydney Ducks," 136, 234 + + Terry, Judge, 241, 242, 243, 245-46, 251, 252 + Thomes, W.H., quoted, 9 + _Three Weeks in the Gold Mines_, Simpson, 64 + Truett, 201, 220, 251 + + Vallejo, General, 18 + Vigilantes, + of 1851, 150 et seq.; + of 1856, 231 et seq. + + Walker, Joseph, 29, 30 + White, James, 235 + Wightman, Peter, 235 + Wool, General, 242 + + Yerba Buena, _see_ San Francisco + Young, Brigham, 85-88, 89, 90, 91 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Forty-Niners, by Stewart Edward White + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12764 *** 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..c3554a6 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #12764 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12764) diff --git a/old/12764-8.txt b/old/12764-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b0e30c5 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12764-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,5820 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Forty-Niners, by Stewart Edward White + +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 Forty-Niners + A Chronicle of the California Trail and El Dorado + +Author: Stewart Edward White + +Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #12764] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORTY-NINERS *** + + + + +Produced by Suzanne Shell and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +THE FORTY-NINERS + +A CHRONICLE OF THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL AND EL DORADO + +BY STEWART EDWARD WHITE + +1918 + + + +CONTENTS + + I. SPANISH DAYS + II. THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION + III. LAW--MILITARY AND CIVIL + IV. GOLD + V. ACROSS THE PLAINS + VI. THE MORMONS + VII. THE WAY BY PANAMA + VIII. THE DIGGINGS + IX. THE URBAN FORTY-NINER + X. ORDEAL BY FIRE + XI. THE VIGILANTES OF '51 + XII. SAN FRANCISCO IN TRANSITION + XIII. THE STORM GATHERS + XIV. THE STORM BREAKS + XV. THE VIGILANTES OF '56 + XVI. THE TRIUMPH OF THE VIGILANTES + BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + INDEX + + + + + + +THE FORTY-NINERS + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +SPANISH DAYS + + +The dominant people of California have been successively aborigines, +_conquistadores_, monks, the dreamy, romantic, unenergetic peoples of +Spain, the roaring mélange of Forty-nine, and finally the modern +citizens, who are so distinctive that they bid fair to become a +subspecies of their own. This modern society has, in its evolution, +something unique. To be sure, other countries also have passed through +these same phases. But while the processes have consumed a leisurely +five hundred years or so elsewhere, here they have been subjected to +forced growth. + +The tourist traveler is inclined to look upon the crumbling yet +beautiful remains of the old missions, those venerable relics in a +bustling modern land, as he looks upon the enduring remains of old +Rome. Yet there are today many unconsidered New England farmhouses older +than the oldest western mission, and there are men now living who +witnessed the passing of Spanish California. + +Though the existence of California had been known for centuries, and the +dates of her first visitors are many hundreds of years old, nevertheless +Spain attempted no actual occupation until she was forced to it by +political necessity. Until that time she had little use for the country. +After early investigations had exploded her dream of more treasure +cities similar to those looted by Cortés and Pizarro, her interest +promptly died. + +But in the latter part of the eighteenth century Spain began to awake to +the importance of action. Fortunately ready to her hand was a tried and +tempered weapon. Just as the modern statesmen turn to commercial +penetration, so Spain turned, as always, to religious occupation. She +made use of the missionary spirit and she sent forth her expeditions +ostensibly for the purpose of converting the heathen. The result was the +so-called Sacred Expedition under the leadership of Junipero Serra and +Portolá. In the face of incredible hardships and discouragements, these +devoted, if narrow and simple, men succeeded in establishing a string +of missions from San Diego to Sonoma. The energy, self-sacrifice, and +persistence of the members of this expedition furnish inspiring reading +today and show clearly of what the Spanish character at its best is +capable. + +For the next thirty years after the founding of the first mission in +1769, the grasp of Spain on California was assured. Men who could do, +suffer, and endure occupied the land. They made their mistakes in +judgment and in methods, but the strong fiber of the pioneer was there. +The original _padres_ were almost without exception zealous, devoted to +poverty, uplifted by a fanatic desire to further their cause. The +original Spanish temporal leaders were in general able, energetic, +courageous, and not afraid of work or fearful of disaster. + +At the end of that period, however, things began to suffer a change. The +time of pioneering came to an end, and the new age of material +prosperity began. Evils of various sorts crept in. The pioneer priests +were in some instances replaced by men who thought more of the flesh-pot +than of the altar, and whose treatment of the Indians left very much to +be desired. Squabbles arose between the civil and the religious powers. +Envy of the missions' immense holdings undoubtedly had its influence. +The final result of the struggle could not be avoided, and in the end +the complete secularization of the missions took place, and with this +inevitable change the real influence of these religious outposts came to +an end. + +Thus before the advent in California of the American as an American, and +not as a traveler or a naturalized citizen, the mission had disappeared +from the land, and the land was inhabited by a race calling itself the +_gente de razón_, in presumed contradistinction to human beasts with no +reasoning powers. Of this period the lay reader finds such conflicting +accounts that he either is bewildered or else boldly indulges his +prejudices. According to one school of writers--mainly those of modern +fiction--California before the advent of the _gringo_ was a sort of +Arcadian paradise, populated by a people who were polite, generous, +pleasure-loving, high-minded, chivalrous, aristocratic, and above all +things romantic. Only with the coming of the loosely sordid, commercial, +and despicable American did this Arcadia fade to the strains of dying +and pathetic music. According to another school of writers--mainly +authors of personal reminiscences at a time when growing antagonism was +accentuating the difference in ideals--the "greaser" was a dirty, idle, +shiftless, treacherous, tawdry vagabond, dwelling in a disgracefully +primitive house, and backward in every aspect of civilization. + +The truth, of course, lies somewhere between the two extremes, but its +exact location is difficult though not impossible to determine. The +influence of environment is sometimes strong, but human nature does not +differ much from age to age. Racial characteristics remain approximately +the same. The Californians were of several distinct classes. The upper +class, which consisted of a very few families, generally included those +who had held office, and whose pride led them to intermarry. Pure blood +was exceedingly rare. Of even the best the majority had Indian blood; +but the slightest mixture of Spanish was a sufficient claim to +gentility. Outside of these "first families," the bulk of the population +came from three sources: the original military adjuncts to the missions, +those brought in as settlers, and convicts imported to support one side +or another in the innumerable political squabbles. These diverse +elements shared one sentiment only--an aversion to work. The feeling +had grown up that in order to maintain the prestige of the soldier in +the eyes of the natives it was highly improper that he should ever do +any labor. The settlers, of whom there were few, had themselves been +induced to immigrate by rather extravagant promises of an easy life. The +convicts were only what was to be expected. + +If limitations of space and subject permitted, it would be pleasant to +portray the romantic life of those pastoral days. Arcadian conditions +were then more nearly attained than perhaps at any other time in the +world's history. The picturesque, easy, idle, pleasant, fiery, +aristocratic life has been elsewhere so well depicted that it has taken +on the quality of rosy legend. Nobody did any more work than it pleased +him to do; everybody was well-fed and happy; the women were beautiful +and chaste; the men were bold, fiery, spirited, gracefully idle; life +was a succession of picturesque merrymakings, lovemakings, intrigues, +visits, lavish hospitalities, harmless politics, and revolutions. To be +sure, there were but few signs of progressive spirit. People traveled on +horseback because roads did not exist. They wore silks and diamonds, +lace and satin, but their houses were crude, and conveniences were +simple or entirely lacking. Their very vehicles, with wooden axles and +wheels made of the cross-section of a tree, were such as an East African +savage would be ashamed of. But who cared? And since no one wished +improvements, why worry about them? + +Certainly, judged by the standards of a truly progressive race, the +Spanish occupation had many shortcomings. Agriculture was so little +known that at times the country nearly starved. Contemporary travelers +mention this fact with wonder. "There is," says Ryan, "very little land +under cultivation in the vicinity of Monterey. That which strikes the +foreigner most is the utter neglect in which the soil is left and the +indifference with which the most charming sites are regarded. In the +hands of the English and Americans, Monterey would be a beautiful town +adorned with gardens and orchards and surrounded with picturesque walks +and drives. The natives are, unfortunately, too ignorant to appreciate +and too indolent even to attempt such improvement." And Captain Charles +Wilkes asserts that "notwithstanding the immense number of domestic +animals in the country, the Californians were too lazy to make butter or +cheese, and even milk was rare. If there was a little good soap and +leather occasionally found, the people were too indolent to make them in +any quantity. The earth was simply scratched a few inches by a mean and +ill-contrived plow. When the ground had been turned up by repeated +scratching, it was hoed down and the clods broken by dragging over it +huge branches of trees. Threshing was performed by spreading the cut +grain on a spot of hard ground, treading it with cattle, and after +taking off the straw throwing the remainder up in the breeze, much was +lost and what was saved was foul." + +General shiftlessness and inertia extended also to those branches +wherein the Californian was supposed to excel. Even in the matter of +cattle and sheep, the stock was very inferior to that brought into the +country by the Americans, and such a thing as crossing stock or +improving the breed of either cattle or horses was never thought of. The +cattle were long-horned, rough-skinned animals, and the beef was tough +and coarse. The sheep, while of Spanish stock, were very far from being +Spanish merino. Their wool was of the poorest quality, entirely unfit +for exportation, and their meat was not a favorite food. + +There were practically no manufactures on the whole coast. The +inhabitants depended for all luxuries and necessities on foreign trade, +and in exchange gave hide and tallow from the semi-wild cattle that +roamed the hills. Even this trade was discouraged by heavy import duties +which amounted at times to one hundred per cent of the value. Such +conditions naturally led to extensive smuggling which was connived at by +most officials, high and low, and even by the monks of the missions +themselves. + +Although the chief reason for Spanish occupancy was to hold the country, +the provisions for defense were not only inadequate but careless. Thomes +says, in _Land and Sea_, that the fort at Monterey was "armed with four +long brass nine-pounders, the handsomest guns that I ever saw all +covered with scroll work and figures. They were mounted on ruined and +decayed carriages. Two of them were pointed toward the planet Venus, and +the other two were depressed so that had they been loaded or fired the +balls would have startled the people on the other side of the +hemisphere." This condition was typical of those throughout the +so-called armed forts of California. + +The picture thus presented is unjustly shaded, of course, for Spanish +California had its ideal, noble, and romantic side. In a final estimate +no one could say where the balance would be struck; but our purpose is +not to strike a final balance. We are here endeavoring to analyze the +reasons why the task of the American conquerors was so easy, and to +explain the facility with which the original population was thrust +aside. + +It is a sometimes rather annoying anomaly of human nature that the races +and individuals about whom are woven the most indestructible mantles of +romance are generally those who, from the standpoint of economic +stability or solid moral quality, are the most variable. We staid and +sober citizens are inclined to throw an aura of picturesqueness about +such creatures as the Stuarts, the dissipated Virginian cavaliers, the +happy-go-lucky barren artists of the Latin Quarter, the fiery touchiness +of that so-called chivalry which was one of the least important features +of Southern life, and so on. We staid and sober citizens generally +object strenuously to living in actual contact with the unpunctuality, +unreliability, unreasonableness, shiftlessness, and general +irresponsibility that are the invariable concomitants of this +picturesqueness. At a safe distance we prove less critical. We even go +so far as to regard this unfamiliar life as a mental anodyne or +antidote to the rigid responsibility of our own everyday existence. We +use these historical accounts for moral relaxation, much as some +financiers or statisticians are said to read cheap detective stories for +complete mental relaxation. + +But, the Californian's undoubtedly admirable qualities of generosity, +kindheartedness (whenever narrow prejudice or very lofty pride was not +touched), hospitality, and all the rest, proved, in the eyes of a +practical people confronted with a large and practical job, of little +value in view of his predominantly negative qualities. A man with all +the time in the world rarely gets on with a man who has no time at all. +The newcomer had his house to put in order; and it was a very big house. +The American wanted to get things done at once; the Californian could +see no especial reason for doing them at all. Even when his short-lived +enthusiasm happened to be aroused, it was for action tomorrow rather +than today. + +For all his amiable qualities, the mainspring of the Californian's +conduct was at bottom the impression he could make upon others. The +magnificence of his apparel and his accoutrement indicated no feeling +for luxury but rather a fondness for display. His pride and +quick-tempered honor were rooted in a desire to stand well in the eyes +of his equals, not in a desire to stand well with himself. In +consequence he had not the builder's fundamental instinct. He made no +effort to supply himself with anything that did not satisfy this amiable +desire. The contradictions of his conduct, therefore, become +comprehensible. We begin to see why he wore silks and satins and why he +neglected what to us are necessities. We see why he could display such +admirable carriage in rough-riding and lassoing grizzlies, and yet +seemed to possess such feeble military efficiency. We comprehend his +generous hospitality coupled with his often narrow and suspicious +cruelty. In fact, all the contrasts of his character and action begin to +be clear. His displacement was natural when confronted by a people who, +whatever their serious faults, had wants and desires that came from +within, who possessed the instinct to create and to hold the things that +would gratify those desires, and who, in the final analysis, began to +care for other men's opinions only after they had satisfied their own +needs and desires. + + + + + +CHAPTER II + +THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION + + +From the earliest period Spain had discouraged foreign immigration into +California. Her object was neither to attract settlers nor to develop +the country, but to retain political control of it, and to make of it a +possible asylum for her own people. Fifty years after the founding of +the first mission at San Diego, California had only thirteen inhabitants +of foreign birth. Most of these had become naturalized citizens, and so +were in name Spanish. Of these but three were American! + +Subsequent to 1822, however, the number of foreign residents rapidly +increased. These people were mainly of substantial character, possessing +a real interest in the country and an intention of permanent settlement. +Most of them became naturalized, married Spanish women, acquired +property, and became trusted citizens. In marked contrast to their +neighbors, they invariably displayed the greatest energy and +enterprise. They were generally liked by the natives, and such men as +Hartnell, Richardson, David Spence, Nicholas Den, and many others, lived +lives and left reputations to be envied. + +Between 1830 and 1840, however, Americans of a different type began to +present themselves. Southwest of the Missouri River the ancient town of +Santa Fé attracted trappers and traders of all nations and from all +parts of the great West. There they met to exchange their wares and to +organize new expeditions into the remote territories. Some of them +naturally found their way across the western mountains into California. +One of the most notable was James Pattie, whose personal narrative is +well worth reading. These men were bold, hardy, rough, energetic, with +little patience for the refinements of life--in fact, diametrically +opposed in character to the easy-going inhabitants of California. +Contempt on the one side and distrust on the other were inevitable. The +trappers and traders, together with the deserters from whalers and other +ships, banded together in small communities of the rough type familiar +to any observer of our frontier communities. They looked down upon and +despised the "greasers," who in turn did everything in their power to +harass them by political and other means. + +At first isolated parties, such as those of Jedediah Smith, the Patties, +and some others, had been imprisoned or banished eastward over the +Rockies. The pressure of increasing numbers, combined with the rather +idle carelessness into which all California-Spanish regulations seemed +at length to fall, later nullified this drastic policy. Notorious among +these men was one Isaac Graham, an American trapper, who had become +weary of wandering and had settled near Natividad. There he established +a small distillery, and in consequence drew about him all the rough and +idle characters of the country. Some were trappers, some sailors; a few +were Mexicans and renegade Indians. Over all of these Graham obtained an +absolute control. They were most of them of a belligerent nature and +expert shots, accustomed to taking care of themselves in the wilds. This +little band, though it consisted of only thirty-nine members, was +therefore considered formidable. + +A rumor that these people were plotting an uprising for the purpose of +overturning the government aroused Governor Alvarado to action. It is +probable that the rumors in question were merely the reports of +boastful drunken vaporings and would better have been ignored. However, +at this time Alvarado, recently arisen to power through the usual +revolutionary tactics, felt himself not entirely secure in his new +position. He needed some distraction, and he therefore seized upon the +rumor of Graham's uprising as a means of solidifying his influence--an +expedient not unknown to modern rulers. He therefore ordered the prefect +Castro to arrest the party. This was done by surprise. Graham and his +companions were taken from their beds, placed upon a ship at Monterey, +and exiled to San Blas, to be eventually delivered to the Mexican +authorities. There they were held in prison for some months, but being +at last released through the efforts of an American lawyer, most of them +returned to California rather better off than before their arrest. It is +typical of the vacillating Californian policy of the day that, on their +return, Graham and his riflemen were at once made use of by one of the +revolutionary parties as a reinforcement to their military power! + +By 1840 the foreign population had by these rather desultory methods +been increased to a few over four hundred souls. The majority could not +be described as welcome guests. They had rarely come into the country +with the deliberate intention of settling but rather as a traveler's +chance. In November, 1841, however, two parties of quite a different +character arrived. They were the first true immigrants into California, +and their advent is significant as marking the beginning of the end of +the old order. One of these parties entered by the Salt Lake Trail, and +was the forerunner of the many pioneers over that great central route. +The other came by Santa Fé, over the trail that had by now become so +well marked that they hardly suffered even inconvenience on their +journey. The first party arrived at Monte Diablo in the north, the other +at San Gabriel Mission in the south. Many brought their families with +them, and they came with the evident intention of settling in +California. + +The arrival of these two parties presented to the Mexican Government a +problem that required immediate solution. Already in anticipation of +such an event it had been provided that nobody who had not obtained a +legal passport should be permitted to remain in the country; and that +even old settlers, unless naturalized, should be required to depart +unless they procured official permission to remain. Naturally none of +the new arrivals had received notice of this law, and they were in +consequence unprovided with the proper passports. Legally they should +have been forced at once to turn about and return by the way they came. +Actually it would have been inhuman, if not impossible, to have forced +them at that season of the year to attempt the mountains. General +Vallejo, always broad-minded in his policies, used discretion in the +matter and provided those in his district with temporary permits to +remain. He required only a bond signed by other Americans who had been +longer in the country. + +Alvarado and Vallejo at once notified the Mexican Government of the +arrival of these strangers, and both expressed fear that other and +larger parties would follow. These fears were very soon realized. +Succeeding expeditions settled in the State with the evident intention +of remaining. No serious effort was made by the California authorities +to keep them out. From time to time, to be sure, formal objection was +raised and regulations were passed. However, as a matter of plain +practicability, it was manifestly impossible to prevent parties from +starting across the plains, or to inform the people living in the +Eastern States of the regulations adopted by California. It must be +remembered that communication at that time was extraordinarily slow and +broken. It would have been cruel and unwarranted to drive away those who +had already arrived. And even were such a course to be contemplated, a +garrison would have been necessary at every mountain pass on the East +and North, and at every crossing of the Colorado River, as well as at +every port along the coast. The government in California had not men +sufficient to handle its own few antique guns in its few coastwise +forts, let alone a surplus for the purpose just described. And to cap +all, provided the garrisons had been available and could have been +placed, it would have been physically impossible to have supplied them +with provisions for even a single month. + +Truth to tell, the newcomers of this last class were not personally +objectionable to the Californians. The Spanish considered them no +different from those of their own blood. Had it not been for an +uneasiness lest the enterprise of the American settlers should in time +overcome Californian interests, had it not been for repeated orders from +Mexico itself, and had it not been for reports that ten thousand Mormons +had recently left Illinois for California, it is doubtful if much +attention would have been paid to the first immigrants. + +Westward migration at this time was given an added impetus by the Oregon +question. The status of Oregon had long been in doubt. Both England and +the United States were inclined to claim priority of occupation. The +boundary between Canada and the United States had not yet been decided +upon between the two countries. Though they had agreed upon the +compromise of joint occupation of the disputed land, this arrangement +did not meet with public approval. The land-hungry took a particular +interest in the question and joined their voices with those of men +actuated by more patriotic motives. In public meetings which were held +throughout the country this joint occupation convention was explained +and discussed, and its abrogation was demanded. These meetings helped to +form the patriotic desire. Senator Tappan once said that thirty thousand +settlers with their thirty thousand rifles in the valley of the Columbia +would quickly settle all questions of title to the country. This saying +was adopted as the slogan for a campaign in the West. It had the same +inspiring effect as the later famous "54-40 or fight." People were +aroused as in the olden times they had been aroused to the crusades. It +became a form of mental contagion to talk of, and finally to accomplish, +the journey to the Northwest. Though no accurate records were kept, it +is estimated that in 1843 over 800 people crossed to Willamette Valley. +By 1845 this immigration had increased to fully 3000 within the year. + +Because of these conditions the Oregon Trail had become a national +highway. Starting at Independence, which is a suburb of the present +Kansas City, it set out over the rolling prairie. At that time the wide +plains were bright with wild flowers and teeming with game. Elk, +antelope, wild turkeys, buffalo, deer, and a great variety of smaller +creatures supplied sport and food in plenty. Wood and water were in +every ravine; the abundant grass was sufficient to maintain the swarming +hordes of wild animals and to give rich pasture to horses and oxen. The +journey across these prairies, while long and hard, could rarely have +been tedious. Tremendous thunderstorms succeeded the sultry heat of the +West, an occasional cyclone added excitement; the cattle were apt to +stampede senselessly; and, while the Indian had not yet developed the +hostility that later made a journey across the plains so dangerous, +nevertheless the possibilities of theft were always near enough at hand +to keep the traveler alert and interested. Then there was the sandy +country of the Platte River with its buffalo--buffalo by the hundreds of +thousands, as far as the eye could reach--a marvelous sight: and beyond +that again the Rockies, by way of Fort Laramie and South Pass. + +Beyond Fort Hall the Oregon Trail and the trail for California divided. +And at this point there began the terrible part of the journey--the +arid, alkaline, thirsty desert, short of game, horrible in its monotony, +deadly with its thirst. It is no wonder that, weakened by their +sufferings in this inferno, so many of the immigrants looked upon the +towering walls of the Sierras with a sinking of the heart. + +While at first most of the influx of settlers was by way of Oregon, +later the stories of the new country that made their way eastward +induced travelers to go direct to California itself. The immigration, +both from Oregon in the North and by the route over the Sierras, +increased so rapidly that in 1845 there were probably about 700 +Americans in the district. Those coming over the Sierras by the Carson +Sink and Salt Lake trails arrived first of all at the fort built by +Captain Sutter at the junction of the American and Sacramento rivers. + +Captain Sutter was a man of Swiss parentage who had arrived in San +Francisco in 1839 without much capital and with only the assets of +considerable ability and great driving force. From the Governor he +obtained grant of a large tract of land "somewhere in the interior" for +the purposes of colonization. His colonists consisted of one German, +four other white men, and eight Kanakas. The then Governor, Alvarado, +thought this rather a small beginning, but advised him to take out +naturalization papers and to select a location. Sutter set out on his +somewhat vague quest with a four-oared boat and two small schooners, +loaded with provisions, implements, ammunition, and three small cannon. +Besides his original party he took an Indian boy and a dog, the latter +proving by no means the least useful member of the company. He found at +the junction of the American and Sacramento rivers the location that +appealed to him, and there he established himself. His knack with the +Indians soon enlisted their services. He seems to have been able to keep +his agreements with them and at the same time to maintain rigid +discipline and control. + +Within an incredibly short time he had established a feudal barony at +his fort. He owned eleven square leagues of land, four thousand two +hundred cattle, two thousand horses, and about as many sheep. His trade +in beaver skins was most profitable. He maintained a force of trappers +who were always welcome at his fort, and whom he generously kept without +cost to themselves. He taught the Indians blanket-weaving, hat-making, +and other trades, and he even organized them into military companies. +The fort which he built was enclosed on four sides and of imposing +dimensions and convenience. It mounted twelve pieces of artillery, +supported a regular garrison of forty in uniform, and contained within +its walls a blacksmith shop, a distillery, a flour mill, a cannery, and +space for other necessary industries. Outside the walls of the fort +Captain Sutter raised wheat, oats, and barley in quantity, and even +established an excellent fruit and vegetable garden. + +Indeed, in every way Captain Sutter's environment and the results of his +enterprises were in significant contrast to the inactivity and +backwardness of his neighbors. He showed what an energetic man could +accomplish with exactly the same human powers and material tools as had +always been available to the Californians. Sutter himself was a rather +short, thick-set man, exquisitely neat, of military bearing, carrying +himself with what is called the true old-fashioned courtesy. He was a +man of great generosity and of high spirit. His defect was an excess of +ambition which in the end o'erleaped itself. There is no doubt that his +first expectation was to found an independent state within the borders +of California. His loyalty to the Americans was, however, never +questioned, and the fact that his lands were gradually taken from him, +and that he died finally in comparative poverty, is a striking comment +on human injustice. + +The important point for us at present is that Sutter's Fort happened to +be exactly on the line of the overland immigration. For the trail-weary +traveler it was the first stopping-place after crossing the high Sierras +to the promised land. Sutter's natural generosity of character induced +him always to treat these men with the greatest kindness. He made his +profits from such as wished to get rid of their oxen and wagons in +exchange for the commodities which he had to offer. But there is no +doubt that the worthy captain displayed the utmost liberality in +dealing with those whom poverty had overtaken. On several occasions he +sent out expeditions at his personal cost to rescue parties caught in +the mountains by early snows or other misfortunes along the road, +Especially did he go to great expense in the matter of the ill-fated +Donner party, who, it will be remembered, spent the winter near Truckee, +and were reduced to cannibalism to avoid starvation.[1] + +[1: See _The Passing of the Frontier_, in "The Chronicles of America."] + +Now Sutter had, of course, been naturalized in order to obtain +his grant of land. He had also been appointed an official of the +California-Mexican Government. Taking advantage of this fact, he was +accustomed to issue permits or passports to the immigrants, permitting +them to remain in the country. This gave the immigrants a certain +limited standing, but, as they were not Mexican citizens, they were +disqualified from holding land. Nevertheless Sutter used his good +offices in showing desirable locations to the would-be settlers.[2] + +[2: It is to be remarked that, prior to the gold rush, American +settlements did not take place in the Spanish South but in the +unoccupied North. In 1845 Castro and Castillero made a tour through the +Sacramento Valley and the northern regions to inquire about the new +arrivals. Castro displayed no personal uneasiness at their presence and +made no attempt or threat to deport them.] + +As far as the Californians were concerned, there was little rivalry or +interference between the immigrants and the natives. Their interests did +not as yet conflict. Nevertheless the central Mexican Government +continued its commands to prevent any and all immigration. It was rather +well justified by its experience in Texas, where settlement had ended by +final absorption. The local Californian authorities were thus thrust +between the devil and the deep blue sea. They were constrained by the +very positive and repeated orders from their home government to keep out +all immigration and to eject those already on the ground. On the other +hand, the means for doing so were entirely lacking, and the present +situation did not seem to them alarming. + +Thus matters drifted along until the Mexican War. For a considerable +time before actual hostilities broke out, it was well known throughout +the country that they were imminent. Every naval and military commander +was perfectly aware that, sooner or later, war was inevitable. Many had +received their instructions in case of that eventuality, and most of +the others had individual plans to be put into execution at the earliest +possible moment. Indeed, as early as 1842 Commodore Jones, being +misinformed of a state of war, raced with what he supposed to be English +war-vessels from South America, entered the port of Monterey hastily, +captured the fort, and raised the American flag. The next day he +discovered that not only was there no state of war, but that he had not +even raced British ships! The flag was thereupon hauled down, the +Mexican emblem substituted, appropriate apologies and salutes were +rendered, and the incident was considered closed. The easy-going +Californians accepted the apology promptly and cherished no rancor for +the mistake. + +In the meantime Thomas O. Larkin, a very substantial citizen of long +standing in the country, had been appointed consul, and in addition +received a sum of six dollars a day to act as secret agent. It was hoped +that his great influence would avail to inspire the Californians with a +desire for peaceful annexation to the United States. In case that policy +failed, he was to use all means to separate them from Mexico, and so +isolate them from their natural alliances. He was furthermore to +persuade them that England, France, and Russia had sinister designs on +their liberty. It was hoped that his good offices would slowly influence +public opinion, and that, on the declaration of open war with Mexico, +the United States flag could be hoisted in California not only without +opposition but with the consent and approval of the inhabitants. This +type of peaceful conquest had a very good chance of success. Larkin +possessed the confidence of the better class of Californians and he did +his duty faithfully. + +Just at this moment a picturesque, gallant, ambitious, dashing, and +rather unscrupulous character appeared inopportunely on the horizon. His +name was John C. Frémont. He was the son of a French father and a +Virginia mother. He was thirty-two years old, and was married to the +daughter of Thomas H. Benton, United States Senator from Missouri and a +man of great influence in the country. Possessed of an adventurous +spirit, considerable initiative, and great persistence, Frémont had +already performed the feat of crossing the Sierra Nevadas by way of +Carson River and Johnson Pass, and had also explored the Columbia River +and various parts of the Northwest. Frémont now entered California by +way of Walker Lake and the Truckee, and reached Sutter's Fort in 1845. +He then turned southward to meet a division of his party under Joseph +Walker. + +His expedition was friendly in character, with the object of surveying a +route westward to the Pacific, and then northward to Oregon. It +supposedly possessed no military importance whatever. But his turning +south to meet Walker instead of north, where ostensibly his duty called +him, immediately aroused the suspicions of the Californians. Though +ordered to leave the district, he refused compliance, and retired to a +place called Gavilán Peak, where he erected fortifications and raised +the United States flag. Probably Frémont's intentions were perfectly +friendly and peaceful. He made, however, a serious blunder in +withdrawing within fortifications. After various threats by the +Californians but no performance in the way of attack, he withdrew and +proceeded by slow marches to Sutter's Fort and thence towards the north. +Near Klamath Lake he was overtaken by Lieutenant Gillespie, who +delivered to him certain letters and papers. Frémont thereupon calmly +turned south with the pick of his men. + +In the meantime the Spanish sub-prefect, Guerrero, had sent word to +Larkin that "a multitude of foreigners, having come into California and +bought property, a right of naturalized foreigners only, he was under +necessity of notifying the authorities in each town to inform such +purchasers that the transactions were invalid, and that they themselves +were subject to be expelled." This action at once caused widespread +consternation among the settlers. They remembered the deportation of +Graham and his party some years before, and were both alarmed and +thoroughly convinced that defensive measures were necessary. Frémont's +return at precisely this moment seemed to them very significant. He was +a United States army officer at the head of a government expedition. +When on his way to the North he had been overtaken by Gillespie, an +officer of the United States Navy. Gillespie had delivered to him +certain papers, whereupon he had immediately returned. There seemed no +other interpretation of these facts than that the Government at +Washington was prepared to uphold by force the American settlers in +California. + +This reasoning, logical as it seems, proves mistaken in the perspective +of the years. Gillespie, it is true, delivered some letters to Frémont, +but it is extremely unlikely they contained instructions having to do +with interference in Californian affairs. Gillespie, at the same time +that he brought these dispatches to Frémont, brought also instructions +to Larkin creating the confidential agency above described, and these +instructions specifically forbade interference with Californian affairs. +It is unreasonable to suppose that contradictory dispatches were sent to +one or another of these two men. Many years later Frémont admitted that +the dispatch to Larkin was what had been communicated to him by +Gillespie. His words are: "This officer [Gillespie] informed me also +that he was directed by the Secretary of State to acquaint me with his +instructions to the consular agent, Mr. Larkin." Reading Frémont's +character, understanding his ambitions, interpreting his later lawless +actions that resulted in his court-martial, realizing the recklessness +of his spirit, and his instinct to take chances, one comes to the +conclusion that it is more than likely that his move was a gamble on +probabilities rather than a result of direct orders. + +Be this as it may, the mere fact of Frémont's turning south decided the +alarmed settlers, and led to the so-called "Bear Flag Revolution." A +number of settlers decided that it would be expedient to capture +Sonoma, where under Vallejo were nine cannon and some two hundred +muskets. It was, in fact, a sort of military station. The capture proved +to be a very simple matter. Thirty-two or thirty-three men appeared at +dawn, before Vallejo's house, under Merritt and Semple. They entered the +house suddenly, called upon Jacob Leese, Vallejo's son-in-law, to +interpret, and demanded immediate surrender. Richman says "Leese was +surprised at the 'rough looks' of the Americans. Semple he describes as +'six feet six inches tall, and about fifteen inches in diameter, dressed +in greasy buckskin from neck to foot, and with a fox-skin cap.'" The +prisoners were at once sent by these raiders to Frémont, who was at that +time on the American River. He immediately disclaimed any part in the +affair. However, instead of remaining entirely aloof, he gave further +orders that Leese, who was still in attendance as interpreter, should be +arrested, and also that the prisoners should be confined in Sutter's +Fort. He thus definitely and officially entered the movement. Soon +thereafter Frémont started south through Sonoma, collecting men as he +went. + +The following quotation from a contemporary writer is interesting and +illuminating. "A vast cloud of dust appeared at first, and thence in +long files emerged this wildest of wild parties. Frémont rode ahead, a +spare active looking man, with such an eye! He was dressed in a blouse +and leggings, and wore a felt hat. After him came five Delaware Indians +who were his bodyguard. They had charge of two baggage-horses. The rest, +many of them blacker than Indians, rode two and two, the rifle held by +one hand across the pummel of the saddle. The dress of these men was +principally a long loose coat of deerskin tied with thongs in front, +trousers of the same. The saddles were of various fashions, though these +and a large drove of horses and a brass field gun were things they had +picked up in California." + +Meantime, the Americans who had collected in Sonoma, under the lead of +William B. Ide, raised the flag of revolution--"a standard of somewhat +uncertain origin as regards the cotton cloth whereof it was made," +writes Royce. On this, they painted with berry juice "something that +they called a Bear." By this capture of Sonoma, and its subsequent +endorsement by Frémont, Larkin's instructions--that is, to secure +California by quiet diplomatic means--were absolutely nullified. A +second result was that Englishmen in California were much encouraged to +hope for English intervention and protection. The Vallejo circle had +always been strongly favorable to the United States. The effect of this +raid and capture by United States citizens, with a United States officer +endorsing the action, may well be guessed. + +Inquiries and protests were lodged by the California authorities with +Sloat and Lieutenant Montgomery of the United States naval forces. Just +what effect these protests would have had, and just the temperature of +the hot water in which the dashing Frémont would have found himself, is +a matter of surmise. He had gambled strongly--on his own responsibility +or at least at the unofficial suggestion of Benton--on an early +declaration of war with Mexico. Failing such a declaration, he would be +in a precarious diplomatic position, and must by mere force of automatic +discipline have been heavily punished. However the dice fell for him. +War with Mexico was almost immediately an actual fact. Frémont's +injection into the revolution had been timed at the happiest possible +moment for him. + +The Bear Flag Revolution took place on June 14, 1846. On July 7 the +American flag was hoisted over the post at Monterey by Commodore Sloat. +Though he had knowledge from June 5 of a state of war, this knowledge, +apparently, he had shared neither with his officers nor with the public, +and he exhibited a want of initiative and vigor which is in striking +contrast to Frémont's ambition and overzeal. + +Shortly after this incident Commodore Sloat was allowed to return "by +reason of ill health," as has been heretofore published in most +histories. His undoubted recall gave room to Commodore Robert Stockton, +to whom Sloat not only turned over the command of the naval forces, but +whom he also directed to "assume command of the forces and operations on +shore." + +Stockton at once invited Frémont to enlist under his command, and the +invitation was accepted. The entire forces moved south by sea and land +for the purpose of subduing southern California. This end was +temporarily accomplished with almost ridiculous ease. At this distance +of time, allowing all obvious explanations of lack of training, meager +equipment, and internal dissension, we find it a little difficult to +understand why the Californians did not make a better stand. Most of +the so-called battles were a sort of _opera bouffe_. Californians +entrenched with cannon were driven contemptuously forth, without +casualties, by a very few men. For example, a lieutenant and nine men +were sufficient to hold Santa Barbara in subjection. Indeed, the +conquest was too easy, for, lulled into false security, Stockton +departed, leaving as he supposed sufficient men to hold the country. The +Californians managed to get some coherence into their councils, attacked +the Americans, and drove them forth from their garrisons. + +Stockton and Frémont immediately started south. In the meantime an +overland party under General Kearny had been dispatched from the East. +His instructions were rather broad. He was to take in such small +sections of the country as New Mexico and Arizona, leaving sufficient +garrisons on his way to California. As a result, though his command at +first numbered 1657 men, he arrived in the latter state with only about +100. From Warner's Ranch in the mountains he sent word to Stockton that +he had arrived. Gillespie, whom the Commodore at once dispatched with +thirty-nine men to meet and conduct him to San Diego, joined Kearny near +San Luis Rey Mission. + +A force of Californians, however, under command of one Andrés Pico had +been hovering about the hills watching the Americans. It was decided to +attack this force. Twenty men were detailed under Captain Johnston for +the purpose. At dawn on the morning of the 6th of December the Americans +charged upon the Californian camp. The Californians promptly decamped +after having delivered a volley which resulted in killing Johnston. The +Americans at once pursued them hotly, became much scattered, and were +turned upon by the fleeing enemy. The Americans were poorly mounted +after their journey, their weapons were now empty, and they were unable +to give mutual aid. The Spanish were armed with lances, pistols, and the +deadly riata. Before the rearguard could come up, sixteen of the total +American force were killed and nineteen badly wounded. This battle of +San Pascual, as it was called, is interesting as being the only +engagement in which the Californians got the upper hand. Whether their +Parthian tactics were the result of a preconceived policy or were merely +an expedient of the moment, it is impossible to say. The battle is also +notable because the well-known scout, Kit Carson, took part in it. + +The forces of Stockton and Kearny joined a few days later, and very soon +a conflict of authority arose between the leaders. It was a childish +affair throughout, and probably at bottom arose from Frémont's usual +over-ambitious designs. To Kearny had undoubtedly been given, by the +properly constituted authorities, the command of all the land +operations. Stockton, however, claimed to hold supreme land command by +instructions from Commodore Sloat already quoted. Through the internal +evidence of Stockton's letters and proclamations, it seems he was a +trifle inclined to be bombastic and high-flown, to usurp authority, and +perhaps to consider himself and his operations of more importance than +they actually were. However, he was an officer disciplined and trained +to obedience, and his absurd contention is not in character. It may be +significant that he had promised to appoint Frémont Governor of +California, a promise that naturally could not be fulfilled if Kearny's +authority were fully recognized. + +Furthermore, at this moment Frémont was at the zenith of his career, and +his influence in such matters was considerable. As Hittell says, "At +this time and for some time afterwards, Frémont was represented as a +sort of young lion. The several trips he had made across the continent, +and the several able and interesting reports he had published over his +name attracted great public attention. He was hardly ever mentioned +except in a high-flown hyperbolical phrase. Benton was one of the most +influential men of his day, and it soon became well understood that the +surest way of reaching the father-in-law's favor was by furthering the +son-in-law's prospects; everybody that wished to court Benton praised +Frémont. Besides this political influence Benton exerted in Frémont's +behalf, there was an almost equally strong social influence." It might +be added that the nature of his public service had been such as to throw +him on his own responsibility, and that he had always gambled with +fortune, as in the Bear Flag Revolution already mentioned. His star had +ever been in the ascendant. He was a spoiled child of fortune at this +time, and bitterly and haughtily resented any check to his ambition. The +mixture of his blood gave him that fine sense of the dramatic which so +easily descends to posing. His actual accomplishment was without doubt +great; but his own appreciation of that accomplishment was also +undoubtedly great. He was one of those interesting characters whose +activities are so near the line between great deeds and charlatanism +that it is sometimes difficult to segregate the pose from the +performance. + +The end of this row for precedence did not come until after the +so-called battles at the San Gabriel River and on the Mesa on January 8 +and 9, 1847. The first of these conflicts is so typical that it is worth +a paragraph of description. + +The Californians were posted on the opposite bank of the river. They had +about five hundred men, and two pieces of artillery well placed. The +bank was elevated some forty feet above the stream and possibly four or +six hundred back from the water. The American forces, all told, +consisted of about five hundred men, but most of them were dismounted. +The tactics were exceedingly simple. The Americans merely forded the +river, dragged their guns across, put them in position, and calmly +commenced a vigorous bombardment. After about an hour and a half of +circling about and futile half-attacks, the Californians withdrew. The +total American loss in this and the succeeding "battle," called that of +the Mesa, was three killed and twelve wounded. + +After this latter battle, the Californians broke completely and hurtled +toward the North. Beyond Los Angeles, near San Fernando, they ran +head-on into Frémont and his California battalion marching overland from +the North. Frémont had just learned of Stockton's defeat of the +Californians and, as usual, he seized the happy chance the gods had +offered him. He made haste to assure the Californians through a +messenger that they would do well to negotiate with him rather than with +Stockton. To these suggestions the Californians yielded. Commissioners +appointed by both sides then met at Cahuenga on January 13, and +elaborated a treaty by which the Californians agreed to surrender their +arms and not to serve again during the war, whereupon the victors +allowed them to leave the country. Frémont at once proceeded to Los +Angeles, where he reported to Kearny and Stockton what had happened. + +In accordance with his foolish determination, Stockton still refused to +acknowledge Kearny's direct authority. He appointed Frémont Governor of +California, which was one mistake; and Frémont accepted, which was +another. Undoubtedly the latter thought that his pretensions would be +supported by personal influence in Washington. From former experience he +had every reason to believe so. In this case, however, he reckoned +beyond the resources of even his powerful father-in-law. Kearny, who +seems to have been a direct old war-dog, resolved at once to test his +authority. He ordered Frémont to muster the California battalion into +the regular service, under his (Kearny's) command; or, if the men did +not wish to do this, to discharge them. This order did not in the least +please Frémont. He attempted to open negotiations, but Kearny was in no +manner disposed to talk. He said curtly that he had given his orders, +and merely wished to know whether or not they would be obeyed. To this, +and from one army officer to another, there could be but one answer, and +that was in the affirmative. + +Colonel Mason opportunely arrived from Washington with instructions to +Frémont either to join his regiment or to resume the explorations on +which he had originally been sent to this country. Frémont was still +pretending to be Governor, but with nothing to govern. His game was +losing at Washington. He could not know this, however, and for some time +continued to persist in his absurd claims to governorship. Finally he +begged permission of Kearny to form an expedition against Mexico. But it +was rather late in the day for the spoiled child to ask for favors, and +the permission was refused. Upon his return to Washington under further +orders, Frémont was court-martialed, and was found guilty of mutiny, +disobedience, and misconduct. He was ordered dismissed from the service, +but was pardoned by President Polk in view of his past services. He +refused this pardon and resigned. + +Frémont was a picturesque figure with a great deal of personal magnetism +and dash. The halo of romance has been fitted to his head. There is no +doubt that he was a good wilderness traveler, a keen lover of adventure, +and a likable personality. He was, however, over-ambitious; he +advertised himself altogether too well; and he presumed on the +undoubtedly great personal influence he possessed. He has been nicknamed +the Pathfinder, but a better title would be the Pathfollower. He found +no paths that had not already been traversed by men before him. Unless +the silly sentiment that persistently glorifies such despicable +characters as the English Stuarts continues to surround this interesting +character with fallacious romance, Frémont will undoubtedly take his +place in history below men now more obscure but more solid than he was. +His services and his ability were both great. If he, his friends, and +historians had been content to rest his fame on actualities, his +position would be high and honorable. The presumption of so much more +than the man actually did or was has the unfortunate effect of +minimizing his real accomplishment. + + + + + +CHAPTER III + +LAW--MILITARY AND CIVIL + + +The military conquest of California was now an accomplished fact. As +long as hostilities should continue in Mexico, California must remain +under a military government, and such control was at once inaugurated. +The questions to be dealt with, as may well be imagined, were delicate +in the extreme. In general the military Governors handled such questions +with tact and efficiency. This ability was especially true in the case +of Colonel Mason, who succeeded General Kearny. The understanding +displayed by this man in holding back the over-eager Americans on one +side, and in mollifying the sensitive Californians on the other, is +worthy of all admiration. + +The Mexican laws were, in lack of any others, supposed to be enforced. +Under this system all trials, except of course those having to do with +military affairs, took place before officials called _alcades_, who +acknowledged no higher authority than the Governor himself, and enforced +the laws as autocrats. The new military Governors took over the old +system bodily and appointed new _alcaldes_ where it seemed necessary. +The new _alcaldes_ neither knew nor cared anything about the old Mexican +law and its provisions. This disregard cannot be wondered at, for even a +cursory examination of the legal forms convinces one that they were +meant more for the enormous leisure of the old times than for the +necessities of the new. In the place of Mexican law each _alcalde_ +attempted to substitute his own sense of justice and what recollection +of common-law principles he might be able to summon. These common-law +principles were not technical in the modern sense of the word, nor were +there any printed or written statutes containing them. In this case they +were simply what could be recalled by non-technical men of the way in +which business had been conducted and disputes had been arranged back in +their old homes. But their main reliance was on their individual sense +of justice. As Hittell points out, even well-read lawyers who happened +to be made _alcaldes_ soon came to pay little attention to +technicalities and to seek the merit of cases without regard to rules or +forms. All the administration of the law was in the hands of these +_alcaldes_. Mason, who once made the experiment of appointing a special +court at Sutter's Fort to try a man known as Growling Smith for the +murder of Indians, afterwards declared that he would not do it again +except in the most extraordinary emergency, as the precedent was bad. + +As may well be imagined, this uniquely individualistic view of the law +made interesting legal history. Many of the incumbents were of the rough +diamond type. Stories innumerable are related of them. They had little +regard for the external dignity of the court, but they strongly insisted +on its discipline. Many of them sat with their feet on the desk, chewing +tobacco, and whittling a stick. During a trial one of the counsel +referred to his opponent as an "oscillating Tarquin." The judge roared +out "A what?" + +"An oscillating Tarquin, your honor." + +The judge's chair came down with a thump. + +"If this honorable court knows herself, and she thinks she do, that +remark is an insult to this honorable court, and you are fined two +ounces." + +Expostulation was cut short. + +"Silence, sir! This honorable court won't tolerate cussings and she +never goes back on her decisions!" + +And she didn't! + +Nevertheless a sort of rough justice was generally accomplished. These +men felt a responsibility. In addition they possessed a grim commonsense +earned by actual experience. + +There is an instance of a priest from Santa Clara, sued before the +_alcalde_ of San José for a breach of contract. His plea was that as a +churchman he was not amenable to civil law. The American decided that, +while he could not tell what peculiar privileges a clergyman enjoyed as +a priest, it was quite evident that when he departed from his religious +calling and entered into a secular bargain with a citizen he placed +himself on the same footing as the citizen, and should be required like +anybody else to comply with his agreement. This principle, which was +good sense, has since become good law. + +The _alcalde_ refused to be bound by trivial concerns. A Mexican was +accused of stealing a pair of leggings. He was convicted and fined +three ounces for stealing, while the prosecuting witness was also fined +one ounce for bothering the court with such a complaint. On another +occasion the defendant, on being fined, was found to be totally +insolvent. The _alcalde_ thereupon ordered the plaintiff to pay the fine +and costs for the reason that the court could not be expected to sit +without remuneration. Though this naive system worked out well enough in +the new and primitive community, nevertheless thinking men realized that +it could be for a short time only. + +As long as the war with Mexico continued, naturally California was under +military Governors, but on the declaration of peace military government +automatically ceased. Unfortunately, owing to strong controversies as to +slavery or non-slavery, Congress passed no law organizing California as +a territory; and the status of the newly-acquired possession was far +from clear. The people held that, in the absence of congressional +action, they had the right to provide for their own government. On the +other hand, General Riley contended that the laws of California obtained +until supplanted by act of Congress. He was under instructions as +Governor to enforce this view, which was, indeed, sustained by judicial +precedents. But for precedents the inhabitants cared little. They +resolved to call a constitutional convention. After considerable +negotiation and thought, Governor Riley resolved to accede to the wishes +of the people. An election of delegates was called and the +constitutional convention met at Monterey, September 1, 1849. + +Parenthetically it is to be noticed that this event took place a +considerable time after the first discovery of gold. It can in no sense +be considered as a sequel to that fact. The numbers from the gold rush +came in later. The constitutional convention was composed mainly of men +who had previous interests in the country. They were representative of +the time and place. The oldest delegate was fifty-three years and the +youngest twenty-five years old. Fourteen were lawyers, fourteen were +farmers, nine were merchants, five were soldiers, two were printers, one +was a doctor, and one described himself as "a gentleman of elegant +leisure." + +The deliberations of this body are very interesting reading. Such a +subject is usually dry in the extreme; but here we have men assembled +from all over the world trying to piece together a form of government +from the experiences of the different communities from which they +originally came. Many Spanish Californians were represented on the +floor. The different points brought up and discussed, in addition to +those finally incorporated in the constitution, are both a valuable +measure of the degree of intelligence at that time, and an indication of +what men considered important in the problems of the day. The +constitution itself was one of the best of the thirty-one state +constitutions that then existed. Though almost every provision in it was +copied from some other instrument, the choice was good. A provision +prohibiting slavery was carried by a unanimous vote. When the convention +adjourned, the new commonwealth was equipped with all the necessary +machinery for regular government.[3] + +[3: The constitution was ratified by popular vote, November 13, 1849; +and the machinery of state government was at once set in motion, though +the State was not admitted into the Union until September 9, 1850.] + +It is customary to say that the discovery of gold made the State of +California. As a matter of fact, it introduced into the history of +California a new solvent, but it was in no sense a determining factor in +either the acquisition or the assuring of the American hold. It must not +be forgotten that a rising tide of American immigration had already set +in. By 1845 the white population had increased to about eight thousand. +At the close of hostilities it was estimated that the white population +had increased to somewhere between twelve and fifteen thousand. Moreover +this immigration, though established and constantly growing, was by no +means topheavy. There was plenty of room in the north for the Americans, +and they were settling there peaceably. Those who went south generally +bought their land in due form. They and the Californians were getting on +much better than is usual with conquering and conquered peoples. + +But the discovery of gold upset all this orderly development. It wiped +out the usual evolution. It not only swept aside at once the antiquated +Mexican laws, but it submerged for the time being the first stirrings of +the commonwealth toward due convention and legislation after the +American pattern. It produced an interim wherein the only law was that +evolved from men's consciences and the Anglo-Saxon instinct for order. +It brought to shores remote from their native lands a cosmopolitan crew +whose only thought was a fixed determination to undertake no new +responsibilities. Each man was living for himself. He intended to get +his own and to protect his own, and he cared very little for the +difficulties of his neighbors. In other words, the discovery of gold +offered California as the blank of a mint to receive the impress of a +brand new civilization. And furthermore it gave to these men and, +through them, to the world an impressive lesson that social +responsibility can be evaded for a time, to be sure, but only for a +time; and that at the last it must be taken up and the arrears must be +paid. + + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +GOLD + + +The discovery of gold--made, as everyone knows, by James Marshall, a +foreman of Sutter's, engaged in building a sawmill for the Captain--came +at a psychological time.[4]The Mexican War was just over and the +adventurous spirits, unwilling to settle down, were looking for new +excitement. Furthermore, the hard times of the Forties had blanketed the +East with mortgages. Many sober communities were ready, deliberately and +without excitement, to send their young men westward in the hope of +finding a way out of their financial difficulties. The Oregon question, +as has been already indicated, had aroused patriotism to such an extent +that westward migration had become a sort of mental contagion. + +[4: January 24, 1848, is the date usually given.] + +It took some time for the first discoveries to leak out, and to be +believed after they had gained currency. Even in California itself +interest was rather tepid at first. Gold had been found in small +quantities many years before, and only the actual sight of the metal in +considerable weight could rouse men's imaginations to the blazing point. + +Among the most enthusiastic protagonists was one Sam Brannan, who often +appeared afterwards in the pages of Californian history. Brannan was a +Mormon who had set out from New York with two hundred and fifty Mormons +to try out the land of California as a possible refuge for the +persecuted sect. That the westward migration of Mormons stopped at Salt +Lake may well be due to the fact that on entering San Francisco Bay, +Brannan found himself just too late. The American flag was already +floating over the Presidio. Eye-witnesses say that Brannan dashed his +hat to the deck, exclaiming, "There is that damned rag again." However, +he proved an adaptable creature, for he and his Mormons landed +nevertheless, and took up the industries of the country. + +Brannan collected the usual tithes from these men, with the ostensible +purpose of sending them on to the Church at Salt Lake. This, however, +he consistently failed to do. One of the Mormons, on asking Sutter how +long they should be expected to pay these tithes, received the answer, +"As long as you are fools enough to do so." But they did not remain +fools very much longer, and Brannan found himself deprived of this +source of revenue. On being dunned by Brigham Young for the tithes +already collected, Brannan blandly resigned from the Church, still +retaining the assets. With this auspicious beginning, aided by a burly, +engaging personality, a coarse, direct manner that appealed to men, and +an instinct for the limelight, he went far. Though there were a great +many admirable traits in his character, people were forced to like him +in spite of rather than because of them. His enthusiasm for any public +agitation was always on tap. + +In the present instance he rode down from Sutter's Fort, where he then +had a store, bringing with him gold-dust and nuggets from the new +placers. "Gold! Gold! Gold from the American River!" shouted Brannan, as +he strode down the street, swinging his hat in one hand and holding +aloft the bottle of gold-dust in the other. This he displayed to the +crowd that immediately gathered. With such a start, this new interest +brought about a stampede that nearly depopulated the city. + +The fever spread. People scrambled to the mines from all parts of the +State. Practically every able-bodied man in the community, except the +Spanish Californians, who as usual did not join this new enterprise with +any unanimity, took at least a try at the diggings. Not only did they +desert almost every sort of industry, but soldiers left the ranks and +sailors the ships, so that often a ship was left in sole charge of its +captain. All of American and foreign California moved to the foothills. + +Then ensued the brief period so affectionately described in all +literalness as the Arcadian Age. Men drank and gambled and enjoyed +themselves in the rough manner of mining camps; but they were hardly +ever drunken and in no instance dishonest. In all literalness the miners +kept their gold-dust in tin cans and similar receptacles, on shelves, +unguarded in tents or open cabins. Even quarrels and disorder were +practically unknown. The communities were individualistic in the +extreme, and yet, with the Anglo-Saxon love of order, they adopted rules +and regulations and simple forms of government that proved entirely +adequate to their needs. When the "good old days" are mentioned with +the lingering regret associated with that phrase, the reference is to +this brief period that came between the actual discovery and +appreciation of gold and the influx from abroad that came in the +following years. + +This condition was principally due to the class of men concerned. The +earliest miners were a very different lot from the majority of those who +arrived in the next few years. They were mostly the original population, +who had come out either as pioneers or in the government service. They +included the discharged soldiers of Stevenson's regiment of New York +Volunteers, who had been detailed for the war but who had arrived a +little late, the so-called Mormon Battalion, Sam Brannan's immigrants, +and those who had come as settlers since 1842. They were a rough lot +with both the virtues and the defects of the pioneer. Nevertheless among +their most marked characteristics were their honesty and their kindness. +Hittell gives an incident that illustrates the latter trait very well. +"It was a little camp, the name of which is not given and perhaps is not +important. The day was a hot one when a youth of sixteen came limping +along, footsore, weary, hungry, and penniless. There were at least +thirty robust miners at work in the ravine and it may well be believed +they were cheerful, probably now and then joining in a chorus or +laughing at a joke. The lad as he saw and heard them sat down upon the +bank, his face telling the sad story of his misfortunes. Though he said +nothing he was not unobserved. At length one of the miners, a stalwart +fellow, pointing up to the poor fellow on the bank, exclaimed to his +companions, 'Boys, I'll work an hour for that chap if you will.' All +answered in the affirmative and picks and shovels were plied with even +more activity than before. At the end of an hour a hundred dollars' +worth of gold-dust was poured into his handkerchief. As this was done +the miners who had crowded around the grateful boy made out a list of +tools and said to him: 'You go now and buy these tools and come back. +We'll have a good claim staked out for you; then you've got to paddle +for yourself.'" + +Another reason for this distinguished honesty was the extent and +incredible richness of the diggings, combined with the firm belief that +this richness would last forever and possibly increase. The first gold +was often found actually at the roots of bushes, or could be picked out +from the veins in the rocks by the aid of an ordinary hunting-knife. +Such pockets were, to be sure, by no means numerous; but the miners did +not know that. To them it seemed extremely possible that gold in such +quantities was to be found almost anywhere for the mere seeking. +Authenticated instances are known of men getting ten, fifteen, twenty, +and thirty thousand dollars within a week or ten days, without +particularly hard work. Gold was so abundant it was much easier to dig +it than to steal it, considering the risks attendant on the latter +course. A story is told of a miner, while paying for something, dropping +a small lump of gold worth perhaps two or three dollars. A bystander +picked it up and offered it to him. The miner, without taking it, looked +at the man with amazement, exclaiming: "Well, stranger, you are a +curiosity. I guess you haven't been in the diggings long. You had better +keep that lump for a sample." + +These were the days of the red-shirted miner, of romance, of Arcadian +simplicity, of clean, honest working under blue skies and beneath the +warm California sun, of immense fortunes made quickly, of faithful +"pardners," and all the rest. This life was so complete in all its +elements that, as we look back upon it, we unconsciously give it a +longer period than it actually occupied. It seems to be an epoch, as +indeed it was; but it was an epoch of less than a single year, and it +ended when the immigration from the world at large began. + +The first news of the gold discovery filtered to the east in a +roundabout fashion through vessels from the Sandwich Islands. A +Baltimore paper published a short item. Everybody laughed at the rumor, +for people were already beginning to discount California stories. But +they remembered it. Romance, as ever, increases with the square of the +distance; and this was a remote land. But soon there came an official +letter written by Governor Mason to the War Department wherein he said +that in his opinion, "There is more gold in the country drained by the +Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers than would pay the cost of the late +war with Mexico a hundred times over." The public immediately was alert. +And then, strangely enough, to give direction to the restless spirit +seething beneath the surface of society, came a silly popular song. As +has happened many times before and since, a great movement was set to +the lilt of a commonplace melody. Minstrels started it; the public +caught it up. Soon in every quarter of the world were heard the strains +of _Oh, Susannah!_ or rather the modification of it made to fit this +case: + + "I'll scrape the mountains clean, old girl, + I'll drain the rivers dry. + I'm off for California, Susannah, don't you cry. + Oh, Susannah, don't you cry for me, + I'm off to California with my wash bowl on my + knee!" + +The public mind already prepared for excitement by the stirring events +of the past few years, but now falling into the doldrums of both +monotonous and hard times, responded eagerly. Every man with a drop of +red blood in his veins wanted to go to California. But the journey was a +long one, and it cost a great deal of money, and there were such things +as ties of family or business impossible to shake off. However, those +who saw no immediate prospect of going often joined the curious clubs +formed for the purpose of getting at least one or more of their members +to the El Dorado. These clubs met once in so often, talked over details, +worked upon each other's excitement even occasionally and officially +sent some one of their members to the point of running amuck. Then he +usually broke off all responsibilities and rushed headlong to the gold +coast. + +The most absurd ideas obtained currency. Stories did not lose in travel. +A work entitled _Three Weeks in the Gold Mines_, written by a mendacious +individual who signed himself H.I. Simpson, had a wide vogue. It is +doubtful if the author had ever been ten miles from New York; but he +wrote a marvelous and at the time convincing tale. According to his +account, Simpson had only three weeks for a tour of the gold-fields, and +considered ten days of the period was all he could spare the unimportant +job of picking up gold. In the ten days, however, with no other +implements than a pocket-knife, he accumulated fifty thousand dollars. +The rest of the time he really preferred to travel about viewing the +country! He condescended, however, to pick up incidental nuggets that +happened to lie under his very footstep. Said one man to his friend: "I +believe I'll go. I know most of this talk is wildly exaggerated, but I +am sensible enough to discount all that sort of thing and to disbelieve +absurd stories. I shan't go with the slightest notion of finding the +thing true, but will be satisfied if I do reasonably well. In fact, if I +don't pick up more than a hatful of gold a day I shall be perfectly +satisfied." + +Men's minds were full of strange positive knowledge, not only as to the +extent of the goldmines, but also as to theory and practice of the +actual mining. Contemporary writers tell us of the hundreds and hundreds +of different strange machines invented for washing out the gold and +actually carried around the Horn or over the Isthmus of Panama to San +Francisco. They were of all types, from little pocket-sized affairs up +to huge arrangements with windmill arms and wings. Their destination was +inevitably the beach below the San Francisco settlement, where, half +buried in the sand, torn by the trade winds, and looted for whatever of +value might inhere in the metal parts, they rusted and disintegrated, a +pathetic and grisly reminder of the futile greed of men. + +Nor was this excitement confined to the eastern United States. In France +itself lotteries were held, called, I believe, the Lotteries of the +Golden Ingot. The holders of the winning tickets were given a trip to +the gold-fields. A considerable number of French came over in that +manner, so that life in California was then, as now, considerably +leavened by Gallicism. Their ignorance of English together with their +national clannishness caused them to stick together in communities. +They soon became known as Keskydees. Very few people knew why. It was +merely the frontiersmen's understanding of the invariable French phrase +_"Qu'est-ce qu'il dit?"_ In Great Britain, Norway, to a certain extent +in Germany, South America, and even distant Australia, the adventurous +and impecunious were pricking up their ears and laying their plans. + +There were offered three distinct channels for this immigration. The +first of these was by sailing around Cape Horn. This was a slow but +fairly comfortable and reasonably safe route. It was never subject to +the extreme overcrowding of the Isthmus route, and it may be dismissed +in this paragraph. The second was by the overland route, of which there +were several trails. The third was by the Isthmus of Panama. Each of +these two is worth a chapter, and we shall take up the overland +migration first. + + + + + +CHAPTER V + +ACROSS THE PLAINS + + +The overland migration attracted the more hardy and experienced +pioneers, and also those whose assets lay in cattle and farm equipment +rather than in money. The majority came from the more western parts of +the then United States, and therefore comprised men who had already some +experience in pioneering. As far as the Mississippi or even Kansas these +parties generally traveled separately or in small groups from a single +locality. Before starting over the great plains, however, it became +necessary to combine into larger bands for mutual aid and protection. +Such recognized meeting-points were therefore generally in a state of +congestion. Thousands of people with their equipment and animals were +crowded together in some river-bottom awaiting the propitious moment for +setting forth. + +The journey ordinarily required about five months, provided nothing +untoward happened in the way of delay. A start in the spring therefore +allowed the traveler to surmount the Sierra Nevada mountains before the +first heavy snowfalls. One of the inevitable anxieties was whether or +not this crossing could be safely accomplished. At first the migration +was thoroughly orderly and successful. As the stories from California +became more glowing, and as the fever for gold mounted higher, the pace +accelerated. + +A book by a man named Harlan, written in the County Farm to which his +old age had brought him, gives a most interesting picture of the times. +His party consisted of fourteen persons, one of whom, Harlan's +grandmother, was then ninety years old and blind! There were also two +very small children. At Indian Creek in Kansas they caught up with the +main body of immigrants and soon made up their train. He says: "We +proceeded very happily until we reached the South Platte. Every night we +young folks had a dance on the green prairie." Game abounded, the party +was in good spirits and underwent no especial hardships, and the Indian +troubles furnished only sufficient excitement to keep the men +interested and alert. After leaving Salt Lake, however, the passage +across the desert suddenly loomed up as a terrifying thing. "We started +on our passage over this desert in the early morning, trailed all next +day and all night, and on the morning of the third day our guide told us +that water was still twenty-five miles away. William Harlan here lost +his seven yoke of oxen. The man who was in charge of them went to sleep, +and the cattle turned back and recrossed the desert or perhaps died +there.... Next day I started early and drove till dusk, as I wished to +tire the cattle so that they would lie down and give me a chance to +sleep. They would rest for two or three hours and then try to go back +home to their former range." The party won through, however, and +descended into the smiling valleys of California, ninety-year-old lady +and all. + +These parties which were hastily got together for the mere purpose of +progress soon found that they must have some sort of government to make +the trip successful. A leader was generally elected to whom implicit +obedience was supposed to be accorded. Among independent and hot-headed +men quarrels were not infrequent. A rough sort of justice was, however, +invoked by vote of the majority. Though a "split of blankets" was not +unknown, usually the party went through under one leadership. Fortunate +were those who possessed experienced men as leaders, or who in hiring +the services of one of the numerous plains guides obtained one of +genuine experience. Inexperience and graft were as fatal then as now. It +can well be imagined what disaster could descend upon a camping party in +a wilderness such as the Old West, amidst the enemies which that +wilderness supported. It is bad enough today when inexperienced people +go to camp by a lake near a farm-house. Moreover, at that time everybody +was in a hurry, and many suspected that the other man was trying to +obtain an advantage. + +Hittell tells of one ingenious citizen who, in trying to keep ahead of +his fellow immigrants as he hurried along, had the bright idea of +setting on fire and destroying the dry grass in order to retard the +progress of the parties behind. Grass was scarce enough in the best +circumstances, and the burning struck those following with starvation. +He did not get very far, however, before he was caught by a posse who +mounted their best horses for pursuit. They shot him from his saddle +and turned back. This attempt at monopoly was thus nipped in the bud. + +Probably there would have been more of this sort of thing had it not +been for the constant menace of the Indians. The Indian attack on the +immigrant train has become so familiar through Wild West shows and +so-called literature that it is useless to redescribe it here. Generally +the object was merely the theft of horses, but occasionally a genuine +attack, followed in case of success by massacre, took place. An +experience of this sort did a great deal of good in holding together not +only the parties attacked, but also those who afterwards heard of the +attempt. + +There was, however, another side to the shield, a very encouraging and +cheerful side. For example, some good-hearted philanthropist established +a kind of reading-room and post-office in the desert near the headwaters +of the Humboldt River. He placed it in a natural circular wall of rock +by the road, shaded by a lone tree. The original founder left a lot of +newspapers on a stone seat inside the wall with a written notice to +"Read and leave them for others." + +Many trains, well equipped, well formed, well led, went through without +trouble--indeed, with real pleasure. Nevertheless the overwhelming +testimony is on the other side. Probably this was due in large part to +the irritability that always seizes the mind of the tenderfoot when he +is confronted by wilderness conditions. A man who is a perfectly normal +and agreeable citizen in his own environment becomes a suspicious +half-lunatic when placed in circumstances uncomfortable and +unaccustomed. It often happened that people were obliged to throw things +away in order to lighten their loads. When this necessity occurred, they +generally seemed to take an extraordinary delight in destroying their +property rather than in leaving it for anybody else who might come +along. Hittell tells us that sugar was often ruined by having turpentine +poured over it, and flour was mixed with salt and dirt; wagons were +burned; clothes were torn into shreds and tatters. All of this +destruction was senseless and useless, and was probably only a blind and +instinctive reaction against hardships. + +Those hardships were considerable. It is estimated that during the +height of the overland migration in the spring of 1849 no less than +fifty thousand people started out. The wagon trains followed almost on +one another's heels, so hot was the pace. Not only did the travelers +wish to get to the Sierras before the snows blocked the passes, not only +were they eager to enter the gold mines, but they were pursued by the +specter of cholera in the concentration camps along the Mississippi +Valley. This scourge devastated these gatherings. It followed the men +across the plains like some deadly wild beast, and was shaken off only +when the high clear climate of desert altitude was eventually reached. + +But the terrible part of the journey began with the entrance into the +great deserts, like that of the Humboldt Sink. There the conditions were +almost beyond belief. Thousands were left behind, fighting starvation, +disease, and the loss of cattle. Women who had lost their husbands from +the deadly cholera went staggering on without food or water, leading +their children. The trail was literally lined with dead animals. Often +in the middle of the desert could be seen the camps of death, the wagons +drawn in a circle, the dead animals tainting the air, every living human +being crippled from scurvy and other diseases. There was no fodder for +the cattle, and very little water. The loads had to be lightened almost +every mile by the discarding of valuable goods. Many of the immigrants +who survived the struggle reached the goal in an impoverished condition. +The road was bordered with an almost unbroken barrier of abandoned +wagons, old mining implements, clothes, provisions, and the like. As the +cattle died, the problem of merely continuing the march became worse. +Often the rate of progress was not more than a mile every two or three +hours. Each mile had to be relayed back and forth several times. And +when this desert had sapped their strength, they came at last to the +Sink itself, with its long white fields of alkali with drifts of ashes +across them, so soft that the cattle sank half-way to their bellies. The +dust was fine and light and rose chokingly; the sun was strong and +fierce. All but the strongest groups of pioneers seemed to break here. +The retreats became routs. Each one put out for himself with what +strength he had left. The wagons were emptied of everything but the +barest necessities. At every stop some animal fell in the traces and had +to be cut out of the yoke. If a wagon came to a full stop, it was +abandoned. The animals were detached and driven forward. And when at +last they reached the Humboldt River itself, they found it almost +impossible to ford. The best feed lay on the other side. In the +distance the high and forbidding ramparts of the Sierra Nevadas reared +themselves. + +One of these Forty-niners, Delano, a man of some distinction in the +later history of the mining communities, says that five men drowned +themselves in the Humboldt River in one day out of sheer discouragement. +He says that he had to save the lives of his oxen by giving Indians +fifteen dollars to swim the river and float some grass across to him. +And with weakened cattle, discouraged hearts, no provisions, the +travelers had to tackle the high rough road that led across the +mountains. + +Of course, the picture just drawn is of the darkest aspect. Some trains +there were under competent pioneers who knew their job; who were +experienced in wilderness travel; who understood better than to chase +madly away after every cut-off reported by irresponsible trappers; who +comprehended the handling and management of cattle; who, in short, knew +wilderness travel. These came through with only the ordinary hardships. +But take it all in all, the overland trail was a trial by fire. One gets +a notion of its deadliness from the fact that over five thousand people +died of cholera alone. The trail was marked throughout its length by +the shallow graves of those who had succumbed. He who arrived in +California was a different person from the one who had started from the +East. Experience had even in so short a time fused his elements into +something new. This alteration must not be forgotten when we turn once +more to the internal affairs of the new commonwealth. + + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE MORMONS + + +In the westward overland migration the Salt Lake Valley Mormons played +an important part. These strange people had but recently taken up their +abode in the desert. That was a fortunate circumstance, as their +necessities forced them to render an aid to the migration that in better +days would probably have been refused. + +The founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, Jr., came from a +commonplace family. + +Apparently its members were ignorant and superstitious. They talked much +of hidden treasure and of supernatural means for its discovery. They +believed in omens, signs, and other superstitions. As a boy Joseph had +been shrewd enough and superstitious enough to play this trait up for +all it was worth. He had a magic peep-stone and a witch-hazel +divining-rod that he manipulated so skillfully as to cause other boys +and even older men to dig for him as he wished. He seemed to delight in +tricking his companions in various ways, by telling fortunes, reeling +off tall yarns, and posing as one possessed of occult knowledge. + +According to Joseph's autobiography, the discovery of the Mormon Bible +happened in this wise: on the night of September 21, 1823, a vision fell +upon him; the angel Moroni appeared and directed him to a cave on the +hillside; in this cave he found some gold plates, on which were +inscribed strange characters, written in what Smith described as +"reformed Egyptian"; they were undecipherable except by the aid of a +pair of magic peep-stones named Urim and Thummim, delivered him for the +purpose by the angel at Palmyra; looking through the hole in these +peep-stones, he was able to interpret the gold plates. This was the +skeleton of the story embellished by later ornamentation in the way of +golden breastplates, two stones bright and shining, golden plates united +at the back by rings, the sword of Laban, square stone boxes, cemented +clasps, invisible blows, suggestions of Satan, and similar mummery born +from the quickened imagination of a zealot. + +Smith succeeded in interesting one Harris to act as his amanuensis in +his interpretation of these books of Mormon. The future prophet sat +behind a screen with the supposed gold plates in his hat. He dictated +through the stones Urim and Thummim. With a keen imagination and natural +aptitude for the strikingly dramatic, he was able to present formally +his ritual, tabernacle, holy of holies, priesthood and tithings, +constitution and councils, blood atonement, anointment, twelve apostles, +miracles, his spiritual manifestations and revelations, all in +reminiscence of the religious tenets of many lands. + +Such religious movements rise and fall at periodic intervals. Sometimes +they are never heard of outside the small communities of their birth; at +other times they arise to temporary nation-wide importance, but they are +unlucky either in leadership or environment and so perish. The Mormon +Church, however, was fortunate in all respects. Smith was in no manner a +successful leader, but he made a good prophet. He was strong physically, +was a great wrestler, and had an abundance of good nature; he was +personally popular with the type of citizen with whom he was thrown. He +could impress the ignorant mind with the reality of his revelations and +the potency of his claims. He could impress the more intelligent, but +half unscrupulous, half fanatical minds of the leaders with the power of +his idea and the opportunities offered for leadership. + +Two men of the latter type were Parley P. Pratt and Sidney Rigdon. The +former was of the narrow, strong, fanatic type; the latter had the cool +constructive brain that gave point, direction, and consistency to the +Mormon system of theology. Had it not been for such leaders and others +like them, it is quite probable that the Smith movement would have been +lost like hundreds of others. That Smith himself lasted so long as the +head of the Church, with the powers and perquisites of that position, +can be explained by the fact that, either by accident or shrewd design, +his position before the unintelligent masses had been made impregnable. +If it was not true that Joseph Smith had received the golden plates from +an angel and had translated them--again with the assistance of an +angel--and had received from heaven the revelations vouchsafed from time +to time for the explicit guidance of the Church in moral, temporal, and +spiritual matters, then there was no Book of Mormon, no new revelation, +no Mormon Church. The dethronement of Smith meant that there could be +no successor to Smith, for there would be nothing to which to succeed. +The whole church structure must crumble with him. + +The time was psychologically right. Occasionally a contagion of +religious need seems to sweep the country. People demand manifestations +and signs, and will flock to any who can promise them. To this class the +Book of Mormon, with its definite sort of mysticism, appealed strongly. +The promises of a new Zion were concrete; the power was centralized, so +that people who had heretofore been floundering in doubt felt they could +lean on authority, and shake off the personal responsibility that had +weighed them down. The Mormon communities grew fast, and soon began to +send out proselyting missionaries. England was especially a fruitful +field for these missionaries. The great manufacturing towns were then at +their worst, containing people desperately ignorant, superstitious, and +so deeply poverty-stricken that the mere idea of owning land of their +own seemed to them the height of affluence. Three years after the +arrival of the missionaries the general conference reported 4019 +converts in England alone. These were good material in the hands of +strong, fanatical, or unscrupulous leaders. They were religious +enthusiasts, of course, who believed they were coming to a real city of +Zion. Most of them were in debt to the Church for the price of their +passage, and their expenses. They were dutiful in their acceptance of +miracles, signs, and revelations. The more intelligent among them +realized that, having come so far and invested in the enterprise their +all, it was essential that they accept wholly the discipline and +authority of the Church. + +Before their final migration to Utah, the Mormons made three ill-fated +attempts to found the city of Zion, first in Ohio, then in western +Missouri, and finally, upon their expulsion from Missouri, at Nauvoo in +Illinois. In every case they both inspired and encountered opposition +and sometimes persecution. As the Mormons increased in power, they +became more self-sufficient and arrogant. They at first presumed to +dictate politically, and then actually began to consider themselves a +separate political entity. One of their earliest pieces of legislation, +under the act incorporating the city of Nauvoo, was an ordinance to +protect the inhabitants of the Mormon communities from all outside legal +processes. No writ for the arrest of any Mormon inhabitants of any +Mormon city could be executed until it had received the mayor's +approval. By way of a mild and adequate penalty, anyone violating this +ordinance was to be imprisoned for life with no power of pardon in the +governor without the mayor's consent. + +Of course this was a welcome opportunity for the lawless and desperate +characters of the surrounding country. They became Mormon to a man. +Under the shield of Mormon protection they could steal and raid to their +heart's content. Land speculators also came into the Church, and bought +land in the expectation that New Zion property would largely rise. +Banking grew somewhat frantic. Complaints became so bitter that even the +higher church authorities were forced to take cognizance of the +practices. In 1840 Smith himself said: "We are no longer at war, and you +must stop stealing. When the right time comes, we will go in force and +take the whole State of Missouri. It belongs to us as our inheritance, +but I want no more petty stealing. A man that will steal petty articles +from his enemies will, when occasion offers, steal from his brethren +too. Now I command you that have stolen must steal no more." + +At Nauvoo, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi, they built a really +pretentious and beautiful city, and all but completed a temple that was, +from every account, creditable. However, their arrogant relations with +their neighbors and the extreme isolation in which they held themselves +soon earned them the dislike and distrust of those about them. The +practice of polygamy had begun, although even to the rank and file of +the Mormons themselves the revelation commanding it was as yet unknown. +Still, rumors had leaked forth. The community, already severely shocked +in its economic sense, was only too ready to be shocked in its moral +sense, as is the usual course of human nature. The rather wild vagaries +of the converts, too, aroused distrust and disgust in the sober minds of +the western pioneers. At religious meetings converts would often arise +to talk in gibberish--utterly nonsensical gibberish. This was called a +"speaking with tongues," and could be translated by the speaker or a +bystander in any way he saw fit, without responsibility for the saying. +This was an easy way of calling a man names without standing behind it, +so to speak. The congregation saw visions, read messages on stones +picked up in the field--messages which disappeared as soon as +interpreted. They had fits in meetings, they chased balls of fire +through the fields, they saw wonderful lights in the air, in short they +went through all the hysterical vagaries formerly seen also in the +Methodist revivals under John Wesley. + +Turbulence outside was accompanied by turbulence within. Schisms +occurred. Branches were broken off from the Church. The great temporal +power and wealth to which, owing to the obedience and docility of the +rank and file, the leaders had fallen practically sole heirs, had gone +to their heads. The Mormon Church gave every indication of breaking up +into disorganized smaller units, when fortunately for it the prophet +Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed by a mob. This martyrdom +consolidated the church body once more; and before disintegrating +influences could again exert themselves, the reins of power were seized +by the strong hand of a remarkable man, Brigham Young, who thrust aside +the logical successor, Joseph Smith's son. + +Young was an uneducated man, but with a deep insight into human nature. +A shrewd practical ability and a rugged intelligence, combined with +absolute cold-blooded unscrupulousness in attaining his ends, were +qualities amply sufficient to put Young in the front rank of the class +of people who composed the Mormon Church. He early established a +hierarchy of sufficient powers so that always he was able to keep the +strong men of the Church loyal to the idea he represented. He paid them +well, both in actual property and in power that was dearer to them than +property. Furthermore, whether or not he originated polygamy, he not +only saw at once its uses in increasing the population of the new state +and in taking care of the extra women such fanatical religions always +attract, but also, more astutely, he realized that the doctrine of +polygamy would set his people apart from all other people, and probably +call down upon them the direct opposition of the Federal Government. A +feeling of persecution, opposition, and possible punishment were all +potent to segregate the Mormon Church from the rest of humanity and to +assure its coherence. Further, he understood thoroughly the results that +can be obtained by coöperation of even mediocre people under able +leadership. He placed his people apart by thoroughly impressing upon +their minds the idea of their superiority to the rest of the world. They +were the chosen people, hitherto scattered, but now at last gathered +together. His followers had just the degree of intelligence necessary to +accept leadership gracefully and to rejoice in a supposed superiority +because of a sense of previous inferiority. + +This ductile material Brigham welded to his own forms. He was able to +assume consistently an appearance of uncouth ignorance in order to +retain his hold over his uncultivated flock. He delivered vituperative, +even obscene sermons, which may still be read in his collected works. +But he was able also on occasions, as when addressing agents of the +Federal Government or other outsiders whom he wished to impress, to +write direct and dignified English. He was resourceful in obtaining +control over the other strong men of his Church; but by his very success +he was blinded to due proportions. There can be little doubt that at one +time he thought he could defy the United States by force of arms. He +even maintained an organization called the Danites, sometimes called the +Destroying Angels, who carried out his decrees.[5] + +[5: The Mormon Church has always denied the existence of any such +organization; but the weight of evidence is against the Church. In one +of his discourses, Young seems inadvertently to have admitted the +existence of the Danites. The organization dates from the sojourn of the +Mormons in Missouri. See Linn, _The Story of the Mormons_, pp. 189-192.] + +Brigham could welcome graciously and leave a good impression upon +important visitors. He was not a good business man, however, and almost +every enterprise he directly undertook proved to be a complete or +partial failure. He did the most extraordinarily stupid things, as, for +instance, when he planned the so-called Cottonwood Canal, the mouth of +which was ten feet higher than its source! Nevertheless he had sense to +utilize the business ability of other men, and was a good accumulator of +properties. His estate at his death was valued at between two and three +million dollars. This was a pretty good saving for a pioneer who had +come into the wilderness without a cent of his own, who had always spent +lavishly, and who had supported a family of over twenty wives and fifty +children--all this without a salary as an officer. Tithes were brought +to him personally, and he rendered no accounting. He gave the strong men +of his hierarchy power and opportunity, played them against each other +to keep his own lead, and made holy any of their misdeeds which were not +directed against himself. + +The early months of 1846 witnessed a third Mormon exodus. Driven out of +Illinois, these Latter-day Saints crossed the Mississippi in organized +bands, with Council Bluffs as their first objective. Through the winter +and spring some fifteen thousand Mormons with three thousand wagons +found their way from camp to camp, through snow, ice, and mud, over the +weary stretch of four hundred miles to the banks of the Missouri. The +epic of this westward migration is almost biblical. Hardship brought out +the heroic in many characters. Like true American pioneers, they adapted +themselves to circumstances with fortitude and skill. Linn says: "When a +halt occurred, a shoemaker might be seen looking for a stone to serve as +a lap-stone in his repair work, or a gunsmith mending a rifle, or a +weaver at a wheel or loom. The women learned that the jolting wagons +would churn their milk, and when a halt occurred it took them but a +short time to heat an oven hollowed out of the hillside, in which to +bake the bread already raised." Colonel Kane says that he saw a piece of +cloth, the wool for which was sheared, dyed, spun, and woven, during the +march. + +After a winter of sickness and deprivation in camps along "Misery +Bottom," as they called the river flats, during which malaria carried +off hundreds, Brigham Young set out with a pioneer band of a hundred and +fifty to find a new Zion. Toward the end of July, this expedition by +design or chance entered Salt Lake Valley. At sight of the lake +glistening in the sun, "Each of us," wrote one of the party, "without +saying a word to the other, instinctively, as if by inspiration, raised +our hats from our heads, and then, swinging our hats, shouted, 'Hosannah +to God and the Lamb!'" + +Meantime the first emigration from winter quarters was under way, and in +the following spring Young conducted a train of eight hundred wagons +across the plains to the great valley where a city of adobe and log +houses was already building. The new city was laid off into numbered +lots. The Presidency had charge of the distribution of these lots. You +may be sure they did not reserve the worst for their use, nor did they +place about themselves undesirable neighbors. Immediately after the +assignments had been made, various people began at once to speculate in +buying and selling according to the location. The spiritual power +immediately anathematized this. No one was permitted to trade over +property. Any sales were made on a basis of the first cost plus the +value of the improvement. A community admirable in almost every way was +improvised as though by magic. Among themselves the Mormons were sober, +industrious, God-fearing, peaceful. Their difficulties with the nation +were yet to come. + +Throughout the year, 1848, the weather was propitious for ploughing and +sowing. Before the crops could be gathered, however, provisions ran so +low that the large community was in actual danger of starvation. Men +were reduced to eating skins of slaughtered animals, the raw hides from +the roofs of houses, and even a wild root dug by the miserable Ute +Indians. To cap the climax, when finally the crops ripened, they were +attacked by an army of crickets that threatened to destroy them utterly. +Prayers of desperation were miraculously answered by a flight of white +sea-gulls that destroyed the invader and saved the crop. Since then this +miracle has been many times repeated. + +It was in August, 1849, that the first gold rush began. Some of +Brannan's company from California had already arrived with samples of +gold-dust. Brigham Young was too shrewd not to discourage all mining +desires on the part of his people, and he managed to hold them. The +Mormons never did indulge in gold-mining. But the samples served to +inflame the ardor of the immigrants from the east. Their one desire at +once became to lighten their loads so that they could get to the +diggings in the shortest possible time. Then the Mormons began to reap +their harvest. Animals worth only twenty-five or thirty dollars would +bring two hundred dollars in exchange for goods brought in by the +travelers. For a light wagon the immigrants did not hesitate to offer +three or four heavy ones, and sometimes a yoke of oxen to boot. Such +very desirable things to a new community as sheeting, or spades and +shovels, since the miners were overstocked, could be had for almost +nothing. Indeed, everything, except coffee and sugar, was about half the +wholesale rate in the East. The profit to the Mormons from this +migration was even greater in 1850. The gold-seeker sometimes paid as +high as a dollar a pound for flour; and, conversely, as many of the +wayfarers started out with heavy loads of mining machinery and +miscellaneous goods, as is the habit of the tenderfoot camper even unto +this day, they had to sell at the buyers' prices. Some of the +enterprising miners had even brought large amounts of goods for sale at +a hoped-for profit in California. At Salt Lake City, however, the +information was industriously circulated that shiploads of similar, +merchandise were on their way round the Horn, and consequently the +would-be traders often sacrificed their own stock.[6] + +[6: Linn, _The Story of the Mormons_, 406.] + +This friendly condition could not, of course, long obtain. Brigham +Young's policy of segregation was absolutely opposed to permanent +friendly relations. The immigrants on the other hand were violently +prejudiced against the Mormon faith. The valley of the Salt Lake seemed +to be just the psychological point for the breaking up into fragments of +the larger companies that had crossed the plains. The division of +property on these separations sometimes involved a considerable amount +of difficulty. The disputants often applied to the Mormon courts for +decision. Somebody was sure to become dissatisfied and to accuse the +courts of undue influence. Rebellion against the decision brought upon +them the full force of civil power. For contempt of court they were most +severely fined. The fields of the Mormons were imperfectly fenced; the +cattle of the immigrants were very numerous. Trespass cases brought +heavy remuneration, the value being so much greater for damages than in +the States that it often looked to the stranger like an injustice. A +protest would be taken before a bishop who charged costs for his +decision. An unreasonable prejudice against the Mormons often arose +from these causes. On the other hand there is no doubt that the +immigrants often had right on their side. Not only were the Mormons +human beings, with the usual qualities of love of gain and desire +to take advantage of their situation; but, further, they belonged +to a sect that fostered the belief that they were superior to the +rest of mankind, and that it was actually meritorious to "spoil the +Philistines." + +Many gold-diggers who started out with a complete outfit finished their +journey almost on foot. Some five hundred of these people got together +later in California and compared notes. Finally they drew up a series of +affidavits to be sent back home. A petition was presented to Congress +charging that many immigrants had been murdered by the Mormons; that, +when members of the Mormon community became dissatisfied and tried to +leave, they were subdued and killed; that a two per cent tax on the +property was levied on those immigrants compelled to stay through the +winter; that justice was impossible to obtain in the Mormon courts; that +immigrants' mail was opened and destroyed; and that all Mormons were at +best treasonable in sentiment. Later the breach between the Mormons and +the Americans became more marked, until it culminated in the atrocious +Mountain Meadows massacre, which was probably only one of several +similar but lesser occurrences. These things, however, are outside of +our scope, as they occurred later in history. For the moment, it is only +necessary to note that it was extremely fortunate for the gold +immigrants, not only that the half-way station had been established by +the Mormons, but also that the necessities of the latter forced them to +adopt a friendly policy. By the time open enmity had come, the first of +the rush had passed and other routes had been well established. + + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE WAY BY PANAMA + + +Of the three roads to California that by Panama was the most obvious, +the shortest, and therefore the most crowded. It was likewise the most +expensive. To the casual eye this route was also the easiest. You got on +a ship in New York, you disembarked for a very short land journey, you +re-embarked on another ship, and landed at San Francisco. This route +therefore attracted the more unstable elements of society. The journey +by the plains took a certain grim determination and courage; that by +Cape Horn, a slow and persistent patience. + +The route by the Isthmus, on the other hand, allured the impatient, the +reckless, and those who were unaccustomed to and undesirous of +hardships. Most of the gamblers and speculators, for example, as well as +the cheaper politicians, went by Panama. + +In October, 1848, the first steamship of the Pacific Steamship Company +began her voyage from New York to Panama and San Francisco, and reached +her destination toward the end of February. On the Atlantic every old +tub that could be made to float so far was pressed into service. +Naturally there were many more vessels on the Atlantic side than on the +Pacific side, and the greatest congestion took place at Panama. Every +man was promised by the shipping agent a through passage, but the +shipping agent was careful to remain in New York. + +The overcrowded ships were picturesque though uncomfortable. They were +crowded to the guards with as miscellaneous a lot of passengers as were +ever got together. It must be remembered that they were mostly young men +in the full vigor of youth and thoroughly imbued with the adventurous +spirit. It must be remembered again, if the reader can think back so far +in his own experience, that youth of that age loves to deck itself out +both physically and mentally in the trappings of romance. Almost every +man wore a red shirt, a slouch hat, a repeating pistol, and a +bowie-knife; and most of them began at once to grow beards. They came +from all parts of the country. The lank Maine Yankee elbowed the tall, +sallow, black-haired Southerner. Social distinctions soon fell away and +were forgotten. No one could tell by speech, manners, or dress whether a +man's former status was lawyer, physician, or roustabout. The days were +spent in excited discussions of matters pertaining to the new country +and the theory and practice of gold-mining. Only two things were said to +be capable of breaking in on this interminable palaver. One was dolphins +and the other the meal-gong. When dolphins appeared, each passenger +promptly rushed to the side of the ship and discharged his revolver in a +fusillade that was usually harmless. Meal time always caught the +majority unawares. They tumbled and jostled down the companionway only +to find that the wise and forethoughtful had preëmpted every chair. +There was very little quarreling. A holiday spirit seemed to pervade the +crowd. Everybody was more or less elevated in mood and everybody was +imbued with the same spirit of comradeship in adventure. + +But with the sight of shore, the low beach, and the round high bluffs +with the castle atop that meant Chagres, this comradeship rather fell +apart. Soon a landing was to be made and transportation across the +Isthmus had to be obtained. Men at once became rivals for prompt +service. Here, for the first time, the owners of the weird +mining-machines already described found themselves at a disadvantage, +while those who carried merely the pick, shovel, and small personal +equipment were enabled to make a flying start. On the beach there was +invariably an immense wrangle over the hiring of boats to go up the +river. These were a sort of dug-out with small decks in the bow and in +the stern, and with low roofs of palmetto leaves amidships. The fare to +Cruces was about fifteen dollars a man. Nobody was in a hurry but the +Americans. + +Chagres was a collection of cane huts on level ground, with a swamp at +the back. Men and women clad in a single cotton garment lay about +smoking cigars. Naked and pot-bellied children played in the mud. On the +threshold of the doors, in the huts, fish, bullock heads, hides, and +carrion were strewn, all in a state of decomposition, while in the rear +was the jungle and a lake of stagnant water with a delicate bordering of +greasy blue mud. There was but one hotel, called the Crescent City, +which boasted of no floor and no food. The newcomers who were unsupplied +with provisions had to eat what they could pick up. Unlearned as yet in +tropical ways, they wasted a tremendous lot of nervous energy in trying +to get the natives started. The natives, calm in the consciousness that +there was plenty of demand, refused to be hurried. Many of the +travelers, thinking that they had closed a bargain, returned from +sightseeing only to find their boat had disappeared. The only safe way +was to sit in the canoe until it actually started. + +With luck they got off late in the afternoon, and made ten or twelve +miles to Gatun. The journey up the lazy tropical river was exciting and +interesting. The boatmen sang, the tropic forests came down to the banks +with their lilies, shrubs, mangoes, cocos, sycamores, palms; their +crimson, purple, and yellow blossoms; their bananas with torn leaves; +their butterflies and paroquets; their streamers and vines and scarlet +flowers. It was like a vision of fairyland. + +Gatun was a collection of bamboo huts, inhabited mainly by fleas. One +traveler tells of attempting to write in his journal, and finding the +page covered with fleas before he had inscribed a dozen words. The gold +seekers slept in hammocks, suspended at such a height that the native +dogs found them most convenient back-scratchers. The fleas were not +inactive. On all sides the natives drank, sang, and played monte. It +generally rained at night, and the flimsy huts did little to keep out +the wet. Such things went far to take away the first enthusiasm and to +leave the travelers in rather a sad and weary-eyed state. + +By the third day the river narrowed and became swifter. With luck the +voyagers reached Gorgona on a high bluff. This was usually the end of +the river journey. Most people bargained for Cruces six miles beyond, +but on arrival decided that the Gorgona trail would be less crowded, and +with unanimity went ashore there. Here the bargaining had to be started +all over again, this time for mules. Here also the demand far exceeded +the supply, with the usual result of arrogance, indifference, and high +prices. The difficult ride led at first through a dark deep wood in clay +soil that held water in every depression, seamed with steep eroded +ravines and diversified by low passes over projecting spurs of a chain +of mountains. There the monkeys and parrots furnished the tropical +atmosphere, assisted somewhat by innumerable dead mules along the trail. +Vultures sat in every tree waiting for more things to happen. The trail +was of the consistency of very thick mud. In this mud the first mule +had naturally left his tracks; the next mules trod carefully in the +first mule's footprints, and all subsequent mules did likewise. The +consequence was a succession of narrow deep holes in the clay into which +an animal sank half-way to the shoulder. No power was sufficient to make +these mules step anywhere else. Each hole was full of muddy water. When +the mule inserted his hoof, water spurted out violently as though from a +squirt-gun. Walking was simply impossible. + +All this was merely adventure for the young, strong, and healthy; but +the terrible part of the Panama Trail was the number of victims claimed +by cholera and fever. The climate and the unwonted labor brought to the +point of exhaustion men unaccustomed to such exertions. They lay flat by +the trail as though dead. Many actually did die either from the jungle +fever or the yellow-jack. The universal testimony of the times is that +this horseback journey seemed interminable; and many speak of being +immensely cheered when their Indian stopped, washed his feet in a +wayside mudhole, and put on his pantaloons. That indicated the +proximity, at last, of the city of Panama. + +It was a quaint old place. The two-story wooden houses with corridor +and verandah across the face of the second story, painted in bright +colors, leaned crazily out across the streets. Narrow and mysterious +alleys led between them. Ancient cathedrals and churches stood gray with +age before the grass-grown plazas. In the outskirts were massive masonry +ruins of great buildings, convents, and colleges, some of which had +never been finished. The immense blocks lay about the ground in +confusion, covered by thousands of little plants, or soared against the +sky in broken arches and corridors. But in the body of the town, the old +picturesque houses had taken on a new and temporary smartness which +consisted mostly of canvas signs. The main street was composed of +hotels, eating-houses, and assorted hells. At times over a thousand men +were there awaiting transportation. Some of them had been waiting a long +time, and had used up all their money. They were broke and desperate. A +number of American gambling-houses were doing business, and of course +the saloons were much in evidence. Foreigners kept two of the three +hotels; Americans ran the gambling joints; French and Germans kept the +restaurants. The natives were content to be interested but not entirely +idle spectators. There was a terrible amount of sickness aggravated by +American quack remedies. Men rejoiced or despaired according to their +dispositions. Every once in a while a train of gold bullion would start +back across the Isthmus with mule-loads of huge gold bars, so heavy that +they were safe, for no one could carry them off to the jungle. On the +other hand there were some returning Californians, drunken and wretched. +They delighted in telling with grim joy of the disappointments of the +diggings. But probably the only people thoroughly unhappy were the +steamship officials. These men had to bear the brunt of disappointment, +broken promises, and savage recrimination, if means for going north were +not very soon forthcoming. Every once in a while some ship, probably an +old tub, would come wallowing to anchor at the nearest point, some +eleven miles from the city. Then the raid for transportation took place +all over again. There was a limited number of small boats for carrying +purposes, and these were pounced on at once by ten times the number they +could accommodate. Ships went north scandalously overcrowded and +underprovisioned. Mutinies were not infrequent. It took a good captain +to satisfy everybody, and there were many bad ones. Some men got so +desperate that, with a touching ignorance of geography, they actually +started out in small boats to row to the north. Others attempted the +overland route. It may well be believed that the reaction from all this +disappointment and delay lifted the hearts of these argonauts when they +eventually sailed between the Golden Gates. + +This confusion, of course, was worse at the beginning. Later the journey +was to some extent systematized. The Panama route subsequently became +the usual and fashionable way to travel. The ship companies learned how +to handle and treat their patrons. In fact, it was said that every +jewelry shop in San Francisco carried a large stock of fancy silver +speaking-trumpets because of the almost invariable habit of presenting +one of these to the captain of the ship by his grateful passengers. One +captain swore that he possessed eighteen of them! + + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +THE DIGGINGS + + +The two streams of immigrants, by sea and overland, thus differed, on +the average, in kind. They also landed in the country at different +points. The overlanders were generally absorbed before they reached San +Francisco. They arrived first at Fort Sutter, whence they distributed +themselves; or perhaps they even stopped at one or another of the +diggings on their way in. + +Of those coming by sea all landed at San Francisco. A certain proportion +of the younger and more enthusiastic set out for the mines, but only +after a few days had given them experience of the new city and had +impressed them with at least a subconscious idea of opportunity. Another +certain proportion, however, remained in San Francisco without +attempting the mines. These were either men who were discouraged by +pessimistic tales, men who had sickened of the fever, or more often men +who were attracted by the big opportunities for wealth which the city +then afforded. Thus at once we have two different types to consider, the +miner and the San Franciscan. + +The mines were worked mostly by young men. They journeyed up to the +present Sacramento either by river-boats or afoot. Thence they took +their outfits into the diggings. It must have seemed a good deal like a +picnic. The goal was near; rosy hope had expanded to fill the horizon; +breathless anticipation pervaded them--a good deal like a hunting-party +starting off in the freshness of the dawn. + +The diggings were generally found at the bottoms of the deep river-beds +and ravines. Since trails, in order to avoid freshets and too many +crossings of the water-courses, took the higher shoulder of the hill, +the newcomer ordinarily looked down upon his first glimpse of the mines. +The sight must have been busy and animated. The miners dressed in +bright-colored garments, and dug themselves in only to the waist or at +most to the shoulders before striking bed rock, so that they were +visible as spots of gaudy color. The camps were placed on the hillsides +or little open flats, and occasionally were set in the bed of a river. +They were composed of tents, and of rough log or bark structures. + +The newcomers did not spend much time in establishing themselves +comfortably or luxuriously. They were altogether too eager to get at the +actual digging. There was an immense excitement of the gamble in it all. +A man might dig for days without adequate results and then of a sudden +run into a rich pocket. Or he might pan out an immense sum within the +first ten minutes of striking his pick to earth. No one could tell. The +fact that the average of all the days and all the men amounted to very +little more than living wages was quite lost to sight. At first the +methods were very crude. One man held a coarse screen of willow branches +which he shook continuously above an ordinary cooking pot, while his +partner slowly shovelled earth over this impromptu sieve. When the pots +were filled with siftings, they were carried to the river, where they +were carefully submerged, and the contents were stirred about with +sticks. The light earth was thus flowed over the rims of the pots. The +residue was then dried, and the lighter sand was blown away. The result +was gold, though of course with a strong mixture of foreign substance. +The pan miners soon followed; and the cradle or rocker with its +riffle-board was not long delayed. The digging was free. At first it was +supposed that a new holding should not be started within fifteen feet of +one already in operation. Later, claims of a definite size were +established. A camp, however, made its own laws in regard to this and +other matters. + +Most of the would-be miners at first rather expected to find gold lying +on the surface of the earth, and were very much disappointed to learn +that they actually had to dig for it. Moreover, digging in the boulders +and gravel, under the terrific heat of the California sun in midsummer, +was none too easy; and no matter how rich the diggings averaged--short +of an actual bonanza--the miner was disappointed in his expectations. +One man is reported saying: "They tell me I can easily make there eleven +hundred dollars a day. You know I am not easily moved by such reports. I +shall be satisfied if I make three hundred dollars per day." Travelers +of the time comment on the contrast between the returning stream of +discouraged and disgruntled men and the cheerfulness of the lot actually +digging. Nobody had any scientific system to go on. Often a divining-rod +was employed to determine where to dig. Many stories were current of +accidental finds; as when one man, tiring of waiting for his dog to get +through digging out a ground squirrel, pulled the animal out by the +tail, and with it a large nugget. Another story is told of a sailor who +asked some miners resting at noon where he could dig and as a joke was +directed to a most improbable side hill. He obeyed the advice, and +uncovered a rich pocket. With such things actually happening, naturally +it followed that every report of a real or rumored strike set the miners +crazy. Even those who had good claims always suspected that they might +do better elsewhere. It is significant that the miners of that day, like +hunters, always had the notion that they had come out to California just +one trip too late for the best pickings. + +The physical life was very hard, and it is no wonder that the stragglers +back from the mines increased in numbers as time went on. It was a true +case of survival of the fittest. Those who remained and became +professional miners were the hardiest, most optimistic, and most +persistent of the population. The mere physical labor was very severe. +Any one not raised as a day laborer who has tried to do a hard day's +work in a new garden can understand what pick and shovel digging in the +bottoms of gravel and boulder streams can mean. Add to this the fact +that every man overworked himself under the pressure of excitement; that +he was up to his waist in the cold water from the Sierra snows, with his +head exposed at the same time to the tremendous heat of the California +sun; throw in for good measure that he generally cooked for himself, and +that his food was coarse and badly prepared; and that in his own mind he +had no time to attend to the ordinary comforts and decencies of life. It +can well be imagined that a man physically unfit must soon succumb. But +those who survived seemed to thrive on these hardships. + +California camps by their very quaint and whimsical names bear testimony +to the overflowing good humor and high spirits of the early miners. No +one took anything too seriously, not even his own success or failure. +The very hardness of the life cultivated an ability to snatch joy from +the smallest incident. Some of the joking was a little rough, as when +some merry jester poured alcohol over a bully's head, touched a match to +it, and chased him out of camp yelling, "Man on fire--put him out!" It +is evident that the time was not one for men of very refined or +sensitive nature, unless they possessed at bottom the strong iron of +character. The ill-balanced were swept away by the current of +excitement, and fell readily into dissipation. The pleasures were rude; +the life was hearty; vices unknown to their possessors came to the +surface. The most significant tendency, and one that had much to do with +later social and political life in California, was the leveling effect +of just this hard physical labor. The man with a strong back and the +most persistent spirit was the superior of the man with education but +with weaker muscles. Each man, finding every other man compelled to +labor, was on a social equality with the best. The usual superiority of +head-workers over hand-workers disappeared. The low-grade man thus felt +himself the equal, if not the superior, of any one else on earth, +especially as he was generally able to put his hand on what were to him +comparative riches. The pride of employment disappeared completely. It +was just as honorable to be a cook or a waiter in a restaurant as to +dispense the law,--where there was any. The period was brief, but while +it lasted, it produced a true social democracy. Nor was there any +pretense about it. The rudest miner was on a plane of perfect equality +with lawyers, merchants, or professional men. Some men dressed in the +very height of style, decking themselves out with all the minute care of +a dandy; others were not ashamed of, nor did they object to being seen +in, ragged garments. No man could be told by his dress. + +The great day of days in a mining-camp was Sunday. Some +over-enthusiastic fortune-seekers worked the diggings also on that day; +but by general consent--uninfluenced, it may be remarked, by religious +considerations--the miners repaired to their little town for amusement +and relaxation. These little towns were almost all alike. There were +usually two or three combined hotels, saloons, and gambling-houses, +built of logs, of slabs, of canvas, or of a combination of the three. +There was one store that dispensed whiskey as well as dryer goods, and +one or two large places of amusement. On Sunday everything went full +blast. The streets were crowded with men; the saloons were well +patronized; the gambling games ran all day and late into the night. +Wrestling-matches, jumping-matches, other athletic tests, horse-races, +lotteries, fortune-telling, singing, anything to get a pinch or two of +the dust out of the good-natured miners--all these were going strong. +The American, English, and other continentals mingled freely, with the +exception of the French, who kept to themselves. Successful Germans or +Hollanders of the more stupid class ran so true to type and were so +numerous that they earned the generic name of "Dutch Charley." They have +been described as moon-faced, bland, bullet-headed men, with walrus +moustaches, and fatuous, placid smiles. Value meant nothing to them. +They only knew the difference between having money and having no money. +They carried two or three gold watches at the end of long home-made +chains of gold nuggets fastened together with links of copper wire. The +chains were sometimes looped about their necks, their shoulders, and +waists, and even hung down in long festoons. When two or three such +Dutch Charleys inhabited one camp, they became deadly rivals in this +childlike display, parading slowly up and down the street, casting +malevolent glances at each other as they passed. Shoals of +phrenologists, fortune-tellers, and the like, generally drunken old +reprobates on their last legs, plied their trades. One artist, giving +out under the physical labor of mining, built up a remarkably profitable +trade in sketching portraits. Incidentally he had to pay two dollars +and a half for every piece of paper! John Kelly, a wandering minstrel +with a violin, became celebrated among the camps, and was greeted with +enthusiasm wherever he appeared. He probably made more with his fiddle +than he could have made with his shovel. The influence of the "forty-two +caliber whiskey" was dire, and towards the end of Sunday the sports +became pretty rough. + +This day was also considered the time for the trial of any cases that +had arisen during the week. The miners elected one of their number to +act as presiding judge in a "miners' meeting." Justice was dealt out by +this man, either on his own authority with the approval of the crowd, or +by popular vote. Disputes about property were adjudicated as well as +offenses against the criminal code. Thus a body of precedent was slowly +built up. A new case before the _alcalde_ of Hangtown was often decided +on the basis of the procedure at Grub Gulch. The decisions were +characterized by direct common sense. It would be most interesting to +give adequate examples here, but space forbids. Suffice it to say that a +Mexican horse-thief was convicted and severely flogged; and then a +collection was taken up for him on the ground that he was on the whole +unfortunate! A thief apprehended on a steamboat was punished by a heavy +fine for the benefit of a sick man on board. + +Sunday evening usually ended by a dance. As women were entirely lacking +at first, a proportion of the men was told off to represent the fair +sex. At one camp the invariable rule was to consider as ladies those who +possessed patches on the seats of their trousers. This was the +distinguishing mark. Take it all around, the day was one of noisy, +good-humored fun. There was very little sodden drunkenness, and the +miners went back to their work on Monday morning with freshened spirits. +Probably just this sort of irresponsible ebullition was necessary to +balance the hardness of the life. + +In each mining-town was at least one Yankee storekeeper. He made the +real profits of the mines. His buying ability was considerable; his +buying power was often limited by what he could get hold of at the coast +and what he could transport to the camps. Often his consignments were +quite arbitrary and not at all what he ordered. The story is told of one +man who received what, to judge by the smell, he thought was three +barrels of spoiled beef. Throwing them out in the back way, he was +interested a few days later to find he had acquired a rapidly increasing +flock of German scavengers. They seemed to be investigating the barrels +and carrying away the spoiled meat. When the barrels were about empty, +the storekeeper learned that the supposed meat was in reality +sauerkraut! + +The outstanding fact about these camps was that they possessed no +solidarity. Each man expected to exploit the diggings and then to depart +for more congenial climes. He wished to undertake just as little +responsibility as he possibly could. With so-called private affairs +other than his own he would have nothing to do. The term private affairs +was very elastic, stretching often to cover even cool-blooded murder. +When matters arose affecting the whole public welfare in which he +himself might possibly become interested, he was roused to the point of +administering justice. The punishments meted out were fines, flogging, +banishment, and, as a last resort, lynching. Theft was considered a +worse offense than killing. As the mines began to fill up with the more +desperate characters who arrived in 1850 and 1851, the necessity for +government increased. At this time, but after the leveling effect of +universal labor had had its full effect, the men of personality, of +force and influence, began to come to the front. A fresh aristocracy of +ability, of influence, of character was created. + + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +THE URBAN FORTY-NINER + + +In popular estimation the interest and romance of the Forty-niners +center in gold and mines. To the close student, however, the true +significance of their lives is to be found even more in the city of San +Francisco. + +At first practically everybody came to California under the excitement +of the gold rush and with the intention of having at least one try at +the mines. But though gold was to be found in unprecedented abundance, +the getting of it was at best extremely hard work. Men fell sick both in +body and spirit. They became discouraged. Extravagance of hope often +resulted, by reaction, in an equal exaggeration of despair. The prices +of everything were very high. The cost of medical attendance was almost +prohibitory. Men sometimes made large daily sums in the placers; but +necessary expenses reduced their net income to small wages. Ryan gives +this account of an interview with a returning miner: "He readily entered +into conversation and informed us that he had passed the summer at the +mines where the excessive heat during the day, and the dampness of the +ground where the gold washing is performed, together with privation and +fatigue, had brought on fever and ague which nearly proved fatal to him. +He had frequently given an ounce of gold for the visit of a medical man, +and on several occasions had paid two and even three ounces for a single +dose of medicine. He showed us a pair of shoes, nearly worn out, for +which he had paid twenty-four dollars." Later Ryan says: "Only such men +as can endure the hardship and privation incidental to life in the mines +are likely to make fortunes by digging for the ore. I am unequal to the +task ... I think I could within an hour assemble in this very place from +twenty to thirty individuals of my own acquaintance who had all told the +same story. They were thoroughly dissatisfied and disgusted with their +experiment in the gold country. The truth of the matter is that only +traders, speculators, and gamblers make large fortunes." Only rarely did +men of cool enough heads and far enough sight eschew from the very +beginning all notion of getting rich quickly in the placers, and +deliberately settle down to make their fortunes in other ways. + +This conclusion of Ryan's throws, of course, rather too dark a tone over +the picture. The "hardy miner" was a reality, and the life in the +placers was, to such as he, profitable and pleasant. However, this point +of view had its influence in turning back from the mines a very large +proportion of those who first went in. Many of them drifted into +mercantile pursuits. Harlan tells us: "During my sojourn in Stockton I +mixed freely with the returning and disgusted miners from whom I learned +that they were selling their mining implements at ruinously low prices. +An idea struck me one day which I immediately acted upon for fear that +another might strike in the same place and cause an explosion. The +heaven-born idea that had penetrated my cranium was this: start in the +mercantile line, purchase the kits and implements of the returning +miners at low figures and sell to the greenhorns en route to the mines +at California prices." In this manner innumerable occupations supplying +the obvious needs were taken up by many returned miners. A certain +proportion drifted to crime or shady devices, but the large majority +returned to San Francisco, whence they either went home completely +discouraged, or with renewed energy and better-applied ability took hold +of the destinies of the new city. Thus another sort of Forty-niner +became in his way as significant and strong, as effective and as +romantic as his brother, the red-shirted Forty-niner of the diggings. + +But in addition to the miners who had made their stakes, who had given +up the idea of mining, or who were merely waiting for the winter's rains +to be over to go back again to the diggings, an ever increasing +immigration was coming to San Francisco with the sole idea of settling +in that place. All classes of men were represented. Many of the big +mercantile establishments of the East were sending out their agents. +Independent merchants sought the rewards of speculation. Gamblers also +perceived opportunities for big killings. Professional politicians and +cheap lawyers, largely from the Southern States, unfortunately also saw +their chance to obtain standing in a new community, having lost all +standing in their own. The result of the mixing of these various +chemical elements of society was an extraordinary boiling and bubbling. + + +When Commander Montgomery hoisted the American flag in 1846, the town of +Yerba Buena, as San Francisco was called, had a population of about two +hundred. Before the discovery of gold it developed under the influence +of American enterprise normally and rationally into a prosperous little +town with two hotels, a few private dwellings, and two wharves in the +process of construction. Merchants had established themselves with +connections in the Eastern States, in Great Britain, and South America. +Just before the discovery of gold the population had increased to eight +hundred and twelve. + +The news of the placers practically emptied the town. It would be +curious to know exactly how many human souls and chickens remained after +Brannan's _California Star_ published the authentic news. The commonest +necessary activities were utterly neglected, shops were closed and +barricaded, merchandise was left rotting on the wharves and the beaches, +and the prices of necessities rose to tremendous altitudes. The place +looked as a deserted mining-camp does now. The few men left who would +work wanted ten or even twenty dollars a day for the commonest labor. + +However, the early pioneers were hard-headed citizens. Many of the +shopkeepers and merchants, after a short experience of the mines, +hurried back to make the inevitable fortune that must come to the +middleman in these extraordinary times. Within the first eight weeks of +the gold excitement two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in gold dust +reached San Francisco, and within: the following eight weeks six hundred +thousand dollars more came in. All of this was to purchase supplies at +any price for the miners. + +This was in the latter days of 1848. In the first part of 1849 the +immigrants began to arrive. They had to have places to sleep, things to +eat, transportation to the diggings, outfits of various sorts. In the +first six months of 1849 ten thousand people piled down upon the little +city built to accommodate eight hundred. And the last six months of the +year were still more extraordinary, as some thirty thousand more dumped +themselves on the chaos of the first immigration. The result can be +imagined. The city was mainly of canvas either in the form of tents or +of crude canvas and wooden houses. The few substantial buildings stood +like rocks in a tossing sea. No attempt, of course, had been made as +yet toward public improvements. The streets were ankle-deep in dust or +neck-deep in mud. A great smoke of dust hung perpetually over the city, +raised by the trade winds of the afternoon. Hundreds of ships lay at +anchor in the harbor. They had been deserted by their crews, and, before +they could be re-manned, the faster clipper ships, built to control the +fluctuating western trade, had displaced them, so that the majority were +fated never again to put to sea. + +Newcomers landed at first on a flat beach of deep black sand, where they +generally left their personal effects for lack of means of +transportation. They climbed to a ragged thoroughfare of open sheds and +ramshackle buildings, most of them in the course of construction. +Beneath crude shelters of all sorts and in great quantities were goods +brought in hastily by eager speculators on the high prices. The four +hundred deserted ships lying at anchor in the harbor had dumped down on +the new community the most ridiculous assortment of necessities and +luxuries, such as calico, silk, rich furniture, mirrors, knock-down +houses, cases and cases of tobacco, clothing, statuary, +mining-implements, provisions, and the like. + +The hotels and lodging houses immediately became very numerous. Though +they were in reality only overcrowded bunk-houses, the most enormous +prices were charged for beds in them. People lay ten or twenty in a +single room--in row after row of cots, in bunks, or on the floor. +Between the discomfort of hard beds, fleas, and overcrowding, the entire +populace spent most of its time on the street or in the saloons and +gambling-houses. As some one has pointed out, this custom added greatly +to the apparent population of the place. Gambling was the gaudiest, the +best-paying, and the most patronized industry. It occupied the largest +structures, and it probably imported and installed the first luxuries. +Of these resorts the El Dorado became the most famous. It occupied at +first a large tent but soon found itself forced to move to better +quarters. The rents paid for buildings were enormous. Three thousand +dollars a month in advance was charged for a single small store made of +rough boards. A two-story frame building on Kearny Street near the Plaza +paid its owners a hundred and twenty thousand dollars a year rent. The +tent containing the El Dorado gambling saloon was rented for forty +thousand dollars a year. The prices sky-rocketed still higher. Miners +paid as high as two hundred dollars for an ordinary gold rocker, fifteen +or twenty dollars for a pick, the same for a shovel, and so forth. A +copper coin was considered a curiosity, a half-dollar was the minimum +tip for any small service, twenty-five cents was the smallest coin in +circulation, and the least price for which anything could be sold. Bread +came to fifty cents a loaf. Good boots were a hundred dollars. + +Affairs moved very swiftly. A month was the unit of time. Nobody made +bargains for more than a month in advance. Interest was charged on money +by the month. Indeed, conditions changed so fast that no man pretended +to estimate them beyond thirty days ahead, and to do even that was +considered rather a gamble. Real estate joined the parade of advance. +Little holes in sand-hills sold for fabulous prices. The sick, +destitute, and discouraged were submerged beneath the mounting tide of +vigorous optimism that bore on its crest the strong and able members of +the community. Every one either was rich or expected soon to be so. +Opportunity awaited every man at every corner. Men who knew how to take +advantage of fortune's gifts were assured of immediate high returns. +Those with capital were, of course, enabled to take advantage of the +opportunities more quickly; but the ingenious mind saw its chances even +with nothing to start on. + +One man, who landed broke but who possessed two or three dozen old +newspapers used as packing, sold them at a dollar and two dollars apiece +and so made his start. Another immigrant with a few packages of ordinary +tin tacks exchanged them with a man engaged in putting up a canvas house +for their exact weight in gold dust. Harlan tells of walking along the +shore of Happy Valley and finding it lined with discarded pickle jars +and bottles. Remembering the high price of pickles in San Francisco, he +gathered up several hundred of them, bought a barrel of cider vinegar +from a newly-arrived vessel, collected a lot of cucumbers, and started a +bottling works. Before night, he said, he had cleared over three hundred +dollars. With this he made a corner in tobacco pipes by which he +realized one hundred and fifty dollars in twenty-four hours. + +Mail was distributed soon after the arrival of the mail-steamer. The +indigent would often sit up a day or so before the expected arrival of +the mail-steamer holding places in line at the post-office. They +expected no letters but could sell the advantageous positions for high +prices when the mail actually arrived. He was a poor-spirited man indeed +who by these and many other equally picturesque means could not raise +his gold slug in a reasonable time; and, possessed of fifty dollars, he +was an independent citizen. He could increase his capital by interest +compounded every day, provided he used his wits; or for a brief span of +glory he could live with the best of them. A story is told of a new-come +traveler offering a small boy fifty cents to carry his valise to the +hotel. The urchin looked with contempt at the coin, fished out two +fifty-cent pieces, handed them to the owner of the valise, saying +"Here's a dollar; carry it yourself." + +One John A. McGlynn arrived without assets. He appreciated the +opportunity for ordinary teaming, and hitching California mules to the +only and exceedingly decrepit wagon to be found he started in business. +Possessing a monopoly, he charged what he pleased, so that within a +short time he had driving for him a New York lawyer, whom he paid a +hundred and seventy-five dollars a month. His outfit was magnificent. +When somebody joked with him about his legal talent, he replied, "The +whole business of a lawyer is to know how to manage mules and asses so +as to make them pay." When within a month plenty of wagons were +imported, McGlynn had so well established himself and possessed so much +character that he became _ex officio_ the head of the industry. He was +evidently a man of great and solid sense and was looked up to as one of +the leading citizens. + +Every human necessity was crying out for its ordinary conveniences. +There were no streets, there were no hotels, there were no +lodging-houses, there were no warehouses, there were no stores, there +was no water, there was no fuel. Any one who could improvise anything, +even a bare substitute, to satisfy any of these needs, was sure of +immense returns. In addition, the populace was so busy--so +overwhelmingly busy--with its own affairs that it literally could not +spare a moment to govern itself. The professional and daring politicians +never had a clearer field. They went to extraordinary lengths in all +sorts of grafting, in the sale of public real estate, in every +"shenanigan" known to skillful low-grade politicians. Only occasionally +did they go too far, as when, in addition to voting themselves salaries +of six thousand dollars apiece as aldermen, they coolly voted +themselves also gold medals to the value of one hundred and fifty +dollars apiece "for public and extra services." Then the determined +citizens took an hour off for the council chambers. The medals were cast +into the melting-pot. + +All writers agree, in their memoirs, that the great impression left on +the mind by San Francisco was its extreme busyness. The streets were +always crammed full of people running and darting in all directions. It +was, indeed, a heterogeneous mixture. Not only did the Caucasian show +himself in every extreme of costume, from the most exquisite top-hatted +dandy to the red-shirted miner, but there were also to be found all the +picturesque and unknown races of the earth, the Chinese, the Chileño, +the Moor, the Turk, the Mexican, the Spanish, the Islander, not to speak +of ordinary foreigners from Russia, England, France, Belgium, Germany, +Italy, and the out-of-the-way corners of Europe. All these people had +tremendous affairs to finish in the least possible time. And every once +in a while some individual on horseback would sail down the street at +full speed, scattering the crowd left and right. If any one remarked +that the marauding individual should be shot, the excuse was always +offered, "Oh, well, don't mind him. He's only drunk," as if that +excused everything. Many of the activities of the day also were +picturesque. As there were no warehouses in which to store goods, and as +the few structures of the sort charged enormous rentals, it was cheaper +to auction off immediately all consignments. These auctions were then, +and remained for some years, one of the features of the place. The more +pretentious dealers kept brass bands to attract the crowd. The returning +miners were numerous enough to patronize both these men and the cheap +clothing stores, and having bought themselves new outfits, generally +cast the old ones into the middle of the street. Water was exceedingly +scarce and in general demand, so that laundry work was high. It was the +fashion of these gentry to wear their hair and beards long. They sported +red shirts, flashy Chinese scarves around their waists, black belts with +silver buckles, six-shooters and bowie-knives, and wide floppy hats. + +The business of the day over, the evening was open for relaxation. As +the hotels and lodging-houses were nothing but kennels, and very crowded +kennels, it followed that the entire population gravitated to the +saloons and gambling places. Some of these were established on a very +extensive scale. They had not yet attained the magnificence of the +Fifties, but it is extraordinary to realize that within so few months +and at such a great distance from civilization, the early and +enterprising managed to take on the trappings of luxury. Even thus +early, plate-glass mirrors, expensive furniture, the gaudy, tremendous +oil paintings peculiar to such dives, prism chandeliers, and the like, +had made their appearance. Later, as will be seen, these gambling dens +presented an aspect of barbaric magnificence, unique and peculiar to the +time and place. In 1849, however gorgeous the trappings might have +appeared to men long deprived of such things, they were of small +importance compared with the games themselves. At times the bets were +enormous. Soulé tells us that as high as twenty thousand dollars were +risked on the turn of one card. The ordinary stake, however, was not so +large, from fifty cents to five dollars being about the usual amount. +Even at this the gamblers were well able to pay the high rents. Quick +action was the word. The tables were always crowded and bystanders many +deep waited to lay their stakes. Within a year or so the gambling +resorts assumed rather the nature of club-rooms, frequented by every +class, many of whom had no intention of gambling. Men met to talk, read +the newspapers, write letters, or perhaps take a turn at the tables. But +in 1849 the fever of speculation held every man in its grip. + +Again it must be noted how wide an epoch can be spanned by a month or +two. The year 1849 was but three hundred and sixty-five days long, and +yet in that space the community of San Francisco passed through several +distinct phases. It grew visibly like the stalk of a century plant. + +Of public improvements there were almost none. The few that were +undertaken sprang from absolute necessity. The town got through the +summer season fairly well, but, as the winter that year proved to be an +unusually rainy time, it soon became evident that something must be +done. The streets became bottomless pits of mud. It is stated, as plain +and sober fact, that in some of the main thoroughfares teams of mules +and horses sank actually out of sight and were suffocated. Foot travel +was almost impossible unless across some sort of causeway. Lumber was so +expensive that it was impossible to use it for the purpose. Fabulous +quantities of goods sent in by speculators loaded the market and would +sell so low that it was actually cheaper to use bales of them than to +use planks. Thus one muddy stretch was paved with bags of Chilean flour, +another with tierces of tobacco, while over still another the wayfarers +proceeded on the tops of cook stoves. These sank gradually in the soft +soil until the tops were almost level with the mud. Of course one of the +first acts of the merry jester was to shy the stove lids off into space. +The footing especially after dark can be imagined. Crossing a street on +these things was a perilous traverse watched with great interest by +spectators on either side. Often the hardy adventurer, after teetering +for some time, would with a descriptive oath sink to his waist in the +slimy mud. If the wayfarer was drunk enough, he then proceeded to pelt +his tormentors with missiles of the sticky slime. The good humor of the +community saved it from absolute despair. Looked at with cold appraising +eye, the conditions were decidedly uncomfortable. In addition there was +a grimmer side to the picture. Cholera and intermittent fever came, +brought in by ships as well as by overland immigrants, and the +death-rate rose by leaps and bounds. + +The greater the hardships and obstacles, the higher the spirit of the +community rose to meet them. In that winter was born the spirit that has +animated San Francisco ever since, and that so nobly and cheerfully met +the final great trial of the earthquake and fire of 1906. + +About this time an undesirable lot of immigrants began to arrive, +especially from the penal colonies of New South Wales. The criminals of +the latter class soon became known to the populace as "Sydney Ducks." +They formed a nucleus for an adventurous, idle, pleasure-loving, +dissipated set of young sports, who organized themselves into a loose +band very much on the order of the East Side gangs in New York or the +"hoodlums" in later San Francisco, with the exception, however, that +these young men affected the most meticulous nicety in dress. They +perfected in the spring of 1849 an organization called the Regulators, +announcing that, as there was no regular police force, they would take +it upon themselves to protect the weak against the strong and the +newcomer against the bunco man. Every Sunday they paraded the streets +with bands and banners. Having no business in the world to occupy them, +and holding a position unique in the community, the Regulators soon +developed into practically a band of cut-throats and robbers, with the +object of relieving those too weak to bear alone the weight of wealth. +The Regulators, or Hounds, as they soon came to be called, had the great +wisdom to avoid the belligerent and resourceful pioneer. They issued +from their headquarters, a large tent near the Plaza, every night. Armed +with clubs and pistols, they descended upon the settlements of harmless +foreigners living near the outskirts, relieved them of what gold dust +they possessed, beat them up by way of warning, and returned to +headquarters with the consciousness of a duty well done. The victims +found it of little use to appeal to the _alcalde_, for with the best +disposition in the world the latter could do nothing without an adequate +police force. The ordinary citizen, much too interested in his own +affairs, merely took precautions to preserve his own skin, avoided dark +and unfrequented alleyways, barricaded his doors and windows, and took +the rest out in contemptuous cursing. + +Encouraged by this indifference, the Hounds naturally grew bolder and +bolder. They considered they had terrorized the rest of the community, +and they began to put on airs and swagger in the usual manner of bullies +everywhere. On Sunday afternoon of July 15, they made a raid on some +California ranchos across the bay, ostensibly as a picnic expedition, +returning triumphant and very drunk. For the rest of the afternoon with +streaming banners they paraded the streets, discharging firearms and +generally shooting up the town. At dark they descended upon the Chilean +quarters, tore down the tents, robbed the Chileans, beat many of the men +to insensibility, ousted the women, killed a number who had not already +fled, and returned to town only the following morning. + +This proved to be the last straw. The busy citizens dropped their own +affairs for a day and got together in a mass meeting at the Plaza. All +work was suspended and all business houses were closed. Probably all the +inhabitants in the city with the exception of the Hounds had gathered +together. Our old friend, Sam Brannan, possessing the gift of a fiery +spirit and an arousing tongue, addressed the meeting. A sum of money was +raised for the despoiled foreigners. An organization was effected, and +armed _posses_ were sent out to arrest the ringleaders. They had little +difficulty. Many left town for foreign parts or for the mines, where +they met an end easily predicted. Others were condemned to various +punishments. The Hounds were thoroughly broken up in an astonishingly +brief time. The real significance of their great career is that they +called to the attention of the better class of citizens the necessity +for at least a sketchy form of government and a framework of law. Such +matters as city revenue were brought up for practically the first time. +Gambling-houses were made to pay a license. Real estate, auction sales, +and other licenses were also taxed. One of the ships in the harbor was +drawn up on shore and was converted into a jail. A district-attorney was +elected, with an associate. The whole municipal structure was still +about as rudimentary as the streets into which had been thrown armfuls +of brush in a rather hopeless attempt to furnish an artificial bottom. +It was a beginning, however, and men had at last turned their eyes even +momentarily from their private affairs to consider the welfare of this +unique society which was in the making. + + + + + +CHAPTER X + +ORDEAL BY FIRE + + +San Francisco in the early years must be considered, aside from the +interest of its picturesqueness and aside from its astonishing growth, +as a crucible of character. Men had thrown off all moral responsibility. +Gambling, for example, was a respectable amusement. People in every +class of life frequented the gambling saloons openly and without thought +of apology. Men were leading a hard and vigorous life; the reactions +were quick; and diversions were eagerly seized. Decent women were +absolutely lacking, and the women of the streets had as usual followed +the army of invasion. It was not considered at all out of the ordinary +to frequent their company in public, and men walked with them by day to +the scandal of nobody. There was neither law nor restraint. Most men +were drunk with sudden wealth. The battle was, as ever, to the strong. + +There was every inducement to indulge the personal side of life. As a +consequence, many formed habits they could not break, spent all of their +money on women and drink and gambling, ruined themselves in pocket-book +and in health, returned home broken, remained sodden and hopeless +tramps, or joined the criminal class. Thousands died of cholera or +pneumonia; hundreds committed suicide; but those who came through formed +the basis of a race remarkable today for its strength, resourcefulness, +and optimism. Characters solid at bottom soon come to the inevitable +reaction. They were the forefathers of a race of people which is +certainly different from the inhabitants of any other portion of the +country. + +The first public test came with the earliest of the big fires that, +within the short space of eighteen months, six times burned San +Francisco to the ground. This fire occurred on December 4, 1849. It was +customary in the saloons to give negroes a free drink and tell them not +to come again. One did come again to Dennison's; he was flogged, and +knocked over a lamp. Thus there started a conflagration that consumed +over a million dollars' worth of property. The valuable part of the +property, it must be confessed, was in the form of goods, as the light +canvas and wooden shacks were of little worth. Possibly the fire +consumed enough germs and germ-breeding dirt to pay partially for +itself. Before the ashes had cooled, the enterprising real estate owners +were back reërecting the destroyed structures. + +This first fire was soon followed by others, each intrinsically severe. +The people were splendid in enterprise and spirit of recovery; but they +soon realized that not only must the buildings be made of more +substantial material, but also that fire-fighting apparatus must be +bought. In June, 1850, four hundred houses were destroyed; in May, 1851, +a thousand were burned at a loss of two million and a half; in June, +1851, the town was razed to the water's edge. In many places the wharves +were even disconnected from the shore. Everywhere deep holes were burned +in them, and some people fell through at night and were drowned. In this +fire a certain firm, Dewitt and Harrison, saved their warehouse by +knocking in barrels of vinegar and covering their building with blankets +soaked in that liquid. Water was unobtainable. It was reported that they +thus used eighty thousand gallons of vinegar, but saved their warehouse. + + +The loss now had amounted to something like twelve million dollars for +the large fires. It became more evident that something must be done. +From the exigencies of the situation were developed the volunteer +companies, which later became powerful political, as well as +fire-fighting, organizations. There were many of these. In the old +Volunteer Department there were fourteen engines, three hook-and-ladder +companies, and a number of hose companies. Each possessed its own house, +which was in the nature of a club-house, well supplied with reading and +drinking matter. The members of each company were strongly partisan. +They were ordinarily drawn from men of similar tastes and position in +life. Gradually they came to stand also for similar political interests, +and thus grew to be, like New York's Tammany Hall, instruments of the +politically ambitious. + +On an alarm of fire the members at any time of the day and night ceased +their occupation or leaped from their beds to run to the engine-house. +Thence the hand-engines were dragged through the streets at a terrific +rate of speed by hundreds of yelling men at the end of the ropes. The +first engine at a fire obtained the place of honor; therefore every +alarm was the signal for a breakneck race. Arrived at the scene of fire, +the water-box of one engine was connected by hose with the reservoir of +the next, and so water was relayed from engine to engine until it was +thrown on the flames. The motive power of the pump was supplied by the +crew of each engine. The men on either side manipulated the pump by +jerking the hand-rails up and down. Putting out the fire soon became a +secondary matter. The main object of each company was to "wash" its +rival; that is, to pump water into the water box of the engine ahead +faster than the latter could pump it out, thus overflowing and eternally +disgracing its crew. The foremen walked back and forth between the +rails, as if on quarter-decks, exhorting their men. Relays in uniform +stood ready on either side to take the place of those who were +exhausted. As the race became closer, the foremen would get more +excited, begging their crews to increase the speed of the stroke, +beating their speaking trumpets into shapeless and battered relics. + +In the meantime the hook-and-ladder companies were plying their glorious +and destructive trade. A couple of firemen would mount a ladder to the +eaves of the house to be attacked, taking with them a heavy hook at the +end of a long pole or rope. With their axes they cut a small hole in the +eaves, hooked on this apparatus, and descended. At once as many firemen +and volunteers as could get hold of the pole and the rope began to pull. +The timbers would crack, break; the whole side of the house would come +out with a grand satisfying smash. In this way the fire within was laid +open to the attack of the hose-men. This sort of work naturally did +little toward saving the building immediately affected, but it was +intended to confine or check the fire within the area already burning. +The occasion was a grand jubilation for every boy in the town--which +means every male of any age. The roar of the flames, the hissing of the +steam, the crash of the timber, the shrieks of the foremen, the yells of +applause or of sarcastic comment from the crowd, and the thud of the +numerous pumps made a glorious row. Everybody, except the owners of the +buildings, was hugely delighted, and when the fire was all over it was +customary for the unfortunate owner further to increase the amount of +his loss by dealing out liquid refreshments to everybody concerned. On +parade days each company turned out with its machine brought to a high +state of polish by varnish, and with the members resplendent in uniform, +carrying pole-axes and banners. If the rivalries at the fire could only +be ended in a general free fight, everybody was the better satisfied. + +Thus by the end of the first period of its growth three necessities had +compelled the careless new city to take thought of itself and of public +convenience. The mud had forced the cleaning and afterwards the planking +of the principal roads; the Hounds had compelled the adoption of at +least a semblance of government; and the repeated fires had made +necessary the semiofficial organization of the fire department. + +By the end of 1850 we find that a considerable amount of actual progress +has been made. This came not in the least from any sense of civic pride +but from the pressure of stern necessity. The new city now had eleven +wharves, for example, up to seventeen hundred feet in length. It had +done no little grading of its sand-hills. The quagmire of its streets +had been filled and in some places planked. Sewers had been installed. +Flimsy buildings were being replaced by substantial structures, for +which the stones in some instances were imported from China. + +Yet it must be repeated that at this time little or no progress sprang +from civic pride. Each man was for himself. But, unlike the native +Californian, he possessed wants and desires which had to be satisfied, +and to that end he was forced, at least in essentials, to accept +responsibility and to combine with his neighbors. + +The machinery of this early civic life was very crude. Even the fire +department, which was by far the most efficient, was, as has been +indicated, more occupied with politics, rivalry, and fun, than with its +proper function. The plank roads were good as long as they remained +unworn, but they soon showed many holes, large and small, jagged, +splintered, ugly holes going down into the depths of the mud. Many of +these had been mended by private philanthropists; many more had been +labeled with facetious signboards. There were rough sketches of +accidents taken from life, and various legends such as "Head of +Navigation," "No bottom," "Horse and dray lost here," "Take sounding," +"Storage room, inquire below," "Good fishing for teal," and the like. As +for the government, the less said about that the better. Responsibility +was still in embryo; but politics and the law, as an irritant, were +highly esteemed. The elections of the times were a farce and a holiday; +nobody knew whom he was voting for nor what he was shouting for, but he +voted as often and shouted as loud as he could. Every American citizen +was entitled to a vote, and every one, no matter from what part of the +world he came, claimed to be an American citizen and defied any one to +prove the contrary. Proof consisted of club, sling-shot, bowie, and +pistol. A grand free fight was a refreshment to the soul. After "a +pleasant time by all was had," the populace settled down and forgot all +about the officers whom it had elected. The latter went their own sweet +way, unless admonished by spasmodic mass-meetings that some particularly +unscrupulous raid on the treasury was noted and resented. Most of the +revenue was made by the sale of city lots. Scrip was issued in payment +of debt. This bore interest sometimes at the rate of six or eight per +cent a month. + +In the meantime, the rest of the crowd went about its own affairs. Then, +as now, the American citizen is willing to pay a very high price in +dishonesty to be left free for his own pressing affairs. That does not +mean that he is himself either dishonest or indifferent. When the price +suddenly becomes too high, either because of the increase in dishonesty +or the decrease in value of his own time, he suddenly refuses to pay. +This happened not infrequently in the early days of California. + + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE VIGILANTES OF '51 + + +In 1851 the price for one commodity became too high. That commodity was +lawlessness. + +In two years the population of the city had vastly increased, until it +now numbered over thirty thousand inhabitants. At an equal or greater +pace the criminal and lawless elements had also increased. The +confessedly criminal immigrants were paroled convicts from Sydney and +other criminal colonies. These practiced men were augmented by the weak +and desperate from other countries. Mexico, especially, was strongly +represented. At first few in numbers and poverty-stricken in resources, +these men acted merely as footpads, highwaymen, and cheap crooks. As +time went on, however, they gradually became more wealthy and powerful, +until they had established a sort of caste. They had not the social +importance of many of the "higher-ups" of 1856, but they were crude, +powerful, and in many cases wealthy. They were ably seconded by a class +of lawyers which then, and for some years later, infested the courts of +California. These men had made little success at law, or perhaps had +been driven forth from their native haunts because of evil practices. +They played the game of law exactly as the cheap criminal lawyer does +today, but with the added advantage that their activities were +controlled neither by a proper public sentiment nor by the usual +discipline of better colleagues. Unhappily we are not yet far enough +removed from just this perversion to need further explanation of the +method. Indictments were fought for the reason that the murderer's name +was spelled wrong in one letter; because, while the accusation stated +that the murderer killed his victim with a pistol, it did not say that +it was by the discharge of said pistol; and so on. But patience could +not endure forever. The decent element of the community was forced at +last to beat the rascals. Its apparent indifference had been only +preoccupation. + +The immediate cause was the cynical and open criminal activity of an +Englishman named James Stuart. This man was a degenerate criminal of +the worst type, who came into a temporary glory through what he +considered the happy circumstances of the time. Arrested for one of his +crimes, he seemed to anticipate the usual very good prospects of +escaping all penalties. There had been dozens of exactly similar +incidents, but this one proved to be the spark to ignite a long +gathering pile of kindling. One hundred and eighty-four of the +wealthiest and most prominent men of the city formed themselves into a +secret Committee of Vigilance. As is usual when anything of importance +is to be done, the busiest men of the community were summoned and put to +work. Strangely enough, the first trial under this Committee of +Vigilance resulted also in a divided jury. The mob of eight thousand or +more people who had gathered to see justice done by others than the +appointed court finally though grumblingly acquiesced. The prisoners +were turned over to the regular authorities, and were eventually +convicted and sentenced. + +So far from being warned by this popular demonstration, the criminal +offenders grew bolder than ever. The second great fire, in May, 1851, +was commonly believed to be the work of incendiaries. Patience ceased +to be a virtue. The time for resolute repression of crime had arrived. +In June the Vigilance Committee was formally organized. Our old and +picturesque friend Sam Brannan was deeply concerned. In matters of +initiative for the public good, especially where a limelight was +concealed in the wing, Brannan was an able and efficient citizen. +Headquarters were chosen and a formal organization was perfected. The +Monumental Fire Engine Company bell was to be tolled as a summons for +the Committee to meet. + +Even before the first meeting had adjourned, this signal was given. A +certain John Jenkins had robbed a safe and was caught after a long and +spectacular pursuit. Jenkins was an Australian convict and was known to +numerous people as an old offender in many ways. He was therefore +typical of the exact thing the Vigilance Committee had been formed to +prevent. By eleven o'clock the trial, which was conducted with due +decorum and formality, was over. Jenkins was adjudged guilty. There was +no disorder either before or after Jenkins's trial. Throughout the trial +and subsequent proceedings Jenkins's manner was unafraid and arrogant. +He fully expected not only that the nerve of the Committee would give +out, but that at any moment he would be rescued. It must be remembered +that the sixty or seventy men in charge were known as peaceful unwarlike +merchants, and that against them were arrayed all the belligerent +swashbucklers of the town. While the trial was going on, the Committee +was informed by its officers outside that already the roughest +characters throughout the city had been told of the organization, and +were gathering for rescue. The prisoner insulted his captors, still +unconvinced that they meant business; then he demanded a clergyman, who +prayed for three-quarters of an hour straight, until Mr. Ryckman, +hearing of the gathering for rescue, no longer contained himself. Said +he: "Mr. Minister, you have now prayed three-quarters of an hour. I want +you to bring this prayer business to a halt. I am going to hang this man +in fifteen minutes." + +The Committee itself was by no means sure at all times. Bancroft tells +us that "one time during the proceedings there appeared some faltering +on the part of the judges, or rather a hesitancy to take the lead in +assuming responsibility and braving what might be subsequent odium. It +was one thing for a half-drunken rabble to take the life of a fellow +man, but quite another thing for staid church-going men of business to +do it. Then it was that William A. Howard, after watching the +proceedings for a few moments, rose, and laying his revolver on the +table looked over the assembly. Then with a slow enunciation he said, +'Gentlemen, as I understand it, we are going to hang somebody.' There +was no more halting." + +While these things were going on, Sam Brannan was sent out to +communicate to the immense crowd the Committee's decision. He was +instructed by Ryckman, "Sam, you go out and harangue the crowd while we +make ready to move." Brannan was an ideal man for just such a purpose. +He was of an engaging personality, of coarse fiber, possessed of a keen +sense of humor, a complete knowledge of crowd psychology, and a command +of ribald invective that carried far. He spoke for some time, and at the +conclusion boldly asked the crowd whether or not the Committee's action +met with its approval. The response was naturally very much mixed, but +like a true politician Sam took the result he wanted. They found the +lovers of order had already procured for them two ropes, and had +gathered into some sort of coherence. The procession marched to the +Plaza where Jenkins was duly hanged. The lawless element gathered at the +street corners, and at least one abortive attempt at rescue was started. +But promptness of action combined with the uncertainty of the situation +carried the Committee successfully through. The coroner's jury next day +brought in a verdict that the deceased "came to his death on the part of +an association styling themselves a Committee on Vigilance, of whom the +following members are implicated." And then followed nine names. The +Committee immediately countered by publishing its roster of one hundred +and eighty names in full. + +The organization that was immediately perfected was complete and +interesting. This was an association that was banded together and +close-knit, and not merely a loose body of citizens. It had +headquarters, company organizations, police, equipment, laws of its own, +and a regular routine for handling the cases brought before it. Its +police force was large and active. Had the Vigilance movement in +California begun and ended with the Committee of 1851, it would be not +only necessary but most interesting to follow its activities in detail. +But, as it was only the forerunner and trail-blazer for the greater +activities of 1856, we must save our space and attention for the latter. +Suffice it to say that, with only nominal interference from the law, the +first Committee hanged four people and banished a great many more for +the good of their country. Fifty executions in the ordinary way would +have had little effect on the excited populace of the time; but in the +peculiar circumstances these four deaths accomplished a moral +regeneration. This revival of public conscience could not last long, to +be sure, but the worst criminals were, at least for the time being, +cowed. + +Spasmodic efforts toward coherence were made by the criminals, but these +attempts all proved abortive. Inflammatory circulars and newspaper +articles, small gatherings, hidden threats, were all freely indulged in. +At one time a rescue of two prisoners was accomplished, but the +Monumental bell called together a determined band of men who had no +great difficulty in reclaiming their own. The Governor of the State, +secretly in sympathy with the purposes of the Committee, was satisfied +to issue a formal proclamation. + +It must be repeated that, were it not for the later larger movement of +1856, this Vigilance Committee would merit more extended notice. It +gave a lead, however, and a framework on which the Vigilance Committee +of 1856 was built. It proved that the better citizens, if aroused, could +take matters into their own hands. But the opposing forces of 1851 were +very different from those of five years later. And the transition from +the criminal of 1851 to the criminal of 1856 is the history of San +Francisco between those two dates. + + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +SAN FRANCISCO IN TRANSITION + + +By the mid-fifties San Francisco had attained the dimensions of a city. +Among other changes of public interest within the brief space of two or +three years were a hospital, a library, a cemetery, several churches, +public markets, bathing establishments, public schools, two +race-courses, twelve wharves, five hundred and thirty-seven saloons, and +about eight thousand women of several classes. The population was now +about fifty thousand. The city was now of a fairly substantial +character, at least in the down-town districts. There were many +structures of brick and stone. In many directions the sand-hills had +been conveniently graded down by means of a power shovel called the +Steam Paddy in contradistinction to the hand Paddy, or Irishman with a +shovel. The streets were driven straight ahead regardless of contours. +It is related that often the inhabitants of houses perched on the sides +of the sand-hills would have to scramble to safety as their dwellings +rolled down the bank, undermined by some grading operation below. A +water system had been established, the nucleus of the present Spring +Valley Company. The streets had nearly all been planked, and private +enterprise had carried the plank toll-road even to the Mission district. +The fire department had been brought to a high state of perfection. The +shallow waters of the bay were being filled up by the rubbish from the +town and by the débris from the operations of the Steam Paddies. New +streets were formed on piles extended out into the bay. Houses were +erected, also on piles and on either side of these marine thoroughfares. +Gradually the rubbish filled the skeleton framework. Occasionally old +ships, caught by this seaward invasion, were built around, and so became +integral parts of the city itself. + +The same insistent demand that led to increasing the speed of the +vessels, together with the fact that it cost any ship from one hundred +to two hundred dollars a day to lie at any of the wharves, developed an +extreme efficiency in loading and unloading cargoes. Hittell says that +probably in no port of the world could a ship be emptied as quickly as +at San Francisco. For the first and last time in the history of the +world the profession of stevedore became a distinguished one. In +addition to the overseas trade, there were now many ships, driven by +sail or steam, plying the local routes. Some of the river steamboats had +actually been brought around the Horn. Their free-board had been raised +by planking-in the lower deck, and thus these frail vessels had sailed +their long and stormy voyage--truly a notable feat. + +It did not pay to hold goods very long. Eastern shippers seemed, by a +curious unanimity, to send out many consignments of the same scarcity. +The result was that the high prices of today would be utterly destroyed +by an oversupply of tomorrow. It was thus to the great advantage of +every merchant to meet his ship promptly, and to gain knowledge as soon +as possible of the cargo of the incoming vessels. For this purpose +signal stations were established, rowboat patrols were organized, and +many other ingenious schemes was applied to the secret service of the +mercantile business. Both in order to save storage and to avoid the +possibility of loss from new shipments coming in, the goods were +auctioned off as soon as they were landed. + +These auctions were most elaborate institutions involving brass bands, +comfortable chairs, eloquent "spielers," and all the rest. They were a +feature of the street life, which in turn had an interest all its own. +The planking threw back a hollow reverberating sound from the various +vehicles. There seemed to be no rules of the road. Omnibuses careered +along, every window rattling loudly; drays creaked and strained; +non-descript delivery wagons tried to outrattle the omnibuses; horsemen +picked their way amid the mêlée. The din was described as something +extraordinary--hoofs drumming, wheels rumbling, oaths and shouts, and +from the sidewalk the blare and bray of brass bands before the various +auction shops. Newsboys and bootblacks darted in all directions. Cigar +boys, a peculiar product of the time, added to the hubbub. Bootblacking +stands of the most elaborate description were kept by French and +Italians. The town was full of characters who delighted in their own +eccentricities, and who were always on public view. One individual +possessed a remarkably intelligent pony who every morning, without +guidance from his master, patronized one of the shoe-blacking stands to +get his front hoofs polished. He presented each one in turn to the +foot-rest, and stood like a statue until the job was done. + +Some of the numberless saloons already showed signs of real +magnificence. Mahogany bars with brass rails, huge mirrors in gilt +frames, pyramids of delicate crystal, rich hangings, oil paintings of +doubtful merit but indisputable interest, heavy chandeliers of glass +prisms, the most elaborate of free lunches, skillful barkeepers who +mixed drinks at arm's length, were common to all the better places. +These things would not be so remarkable in large cities at the present +time, but in the early Fifties, only three years after the tent stage, +and thousands of miles from the nearest civilization, the enterprise +that was displayed seemed remarkable. The question of expense did not +stop these early worthies. Of one saloonkeeper it is related that, +desiring a punch bowl and finding that the only vessel of the sort was a +soup-tureen belonging to a large and expensive dinner set, he bought the +whole set for the sake of the soup-tureen. Some of the more pretentious +places boasted of special attractions: thus one supported its ceiling on +crystal pillars; another had dashing young women to serve the drinks, +though the mixing was done by men as usual; a third possessed a large +musical-box capable of playing several very noisy tunes; a fourth had +imported a marvelous piece of mechanism run by clockwork which exhibited +the sea in motion, a ship tossing on the waves, on shore a windmill in +action, a train of cars passing over a bridge, a deer chased by hounds, +and the like. + +But these bar-rooms were a totally different institution from the +gambling resorts. Although gambling was not now considered the entirely +worthy occupation of a few years previous, and although some of the +better citizens, while frequenting the gambling halls, still preferred +to do their own playing in semi-private, the picturesqueness and glory +of these places had not yet been dimmed by any general popular +disapproval. The gambling halls were not only places to risk one's +fortune, but they were also a sort of evening club. They usually +supported a raised stage with footlights, a negro minstrel troop, or a +singer or so. On one side elaborate bars of rosewood or mahogany ran the +entire length, backed by big mirrors of French plate. The whole of the +very large main floor was heavily carpeted. Down the center generally +ran two rows of gambling tables offering various games such as faro, +keeno, roulette, poker, and the dice games. Beyond these tables, on the +opposite side of the room from the bar, were the lounging quarters, with +small tables, large easy-chairs, settees, and fireplaces. Decoration was +of the most ornate. The ceilings and walls were generally white with a +great deal of gilt. All classes of people frequented these places and +were welcomed there. Some were dressed in the height of fashion, and +some wore the roughest sort of miners' clothes--floppy old slouch hats, +flannel shirts, boots to which the dried mud was clinging or from which +it fell to the rich carpet. All were considered on an equal plane. The +professional gamblers came to represent a type of their own,--weary, +indifferent, pale, cool men, who had not only to keep track of the game +and the bets, but also to assure control over the crowd about them. +Often in these places immense sums were lost or won; often in these +places occurred crimes of shooting and stabbing; but also into these +places came many men who rarely drank or gambled at all. They assembled +to enjoy each other's company, the brightness, the music, and the +sociable warmth. + +On Sunday the populace generally did one of two things: either it +sallied out in small groups into the surrounding country on picnics or +celebrations at some of the numerous road-houses; or it swarmed out the +plank toll-road to the Mission. To the newcomer the latter must have +been much the more interesting. There he saw a congress of all the +nations of the earth: French, Germans, Italians, Russians, Dutchmen, +British, Turks, Arabs, Negroes, Chinese, Kanakas, Indians, the gorgeous +members of the Spanish races, and all sorts of queer people to whom no +habitat could be assigned. Most extraordinary perhaps were the men from +the gold mines of the Sierras. The miners had by now distinctly +segregated themselves from the rest of the population. They led a +hardier, more laborious life and were proud of the fact. They attempted +generally to differentiate themselves in appearance from all the rest of +the human race, and it must be confessed that they succeeded. The miners +were mostly young and wore their hair long, their beards rough; they +walked with a wide swagger; their clothes were exaggeratedly coarse, but +they ornamented themselves with bright silk handkerchiefs, feathers, +flowers, with squirrel or buck tails in their hats, with long heavy +chains of nuggets, with glittering and prominently displayed pistols, +revolvers, stilettos, knives, and dirks. Some even plaited their beards +in three tails, or tied their long hair under their chins; but no matter +how bizarre they made themselves, nobody on the streets of _blasé_ San +Francisco paid the slightest attention to them. The Mission, which they, +together with the crowd, frequented, was a primitive Coney Island. Bear +pits, cockfights, theatrical attractions, side-shows, innumerable hotels +and small restaurants, saloons, races, hammer-striking, throwing balls +at negroes' heads, and a hundred other attractions kept the crowds busy +and generally good-natured. If a fight arose, "it was," as the Irishman +says, "considered a private fight," and nobody else could get in it. +Such things were considered matters for the individuals themselves to +settle. + +The great feature of the time was its extravagance. It did not matter +whether a man was a public servant, a private and respected citizen, or +from one of the semi-public professions that cater to men's greed and +dissipation, he acted as though the ground beneath his feet were solid +gold. The most extravagant public works were undertaken without thought +and without plan. The respectable women vied in the magnificence and +ostentation of their costumes with the women of the lower world. +Theatrical attractions at high prices were patronized abundantly. Balls +of great magnificence were given almost every night. Private carriages +of really excellent appointment were numerous along the disreputable +planked roads or the sandy streets strewn with cans and garbage. + +The feverish life of the times reflected itself domestically. No live +red-blooded man could be expected to spend his evenings reading a book +quietly at home while all the magnificent, splendid, seething life of +down-town was roaring in his ears. All his friends would be out; all the +news of the day passed around; all the excitements of the evening +offered themselves. It was too much to expect of human nature. The +consequence was that a great many young wives were left alone, with the +ultimate result of numerous separations and divorces. The moral nucleus +of really respectable society--and there was a noticeable one even at +that time--was overshadowed and swamped for the moment. Such a social +life as this sounds decidedly immoral but it was really unmoral, with +the bright, eager, attractive unmorality of the vigorous child. In fact, +in that society, as some one has expressed it, everything was condoned +except meanness. + +It was the era of the grandiose. Even conversation reflected this +characteristic. The myriad bootblacks had grand outfits and stands. The +captain of a ship offered ten dollars to a negro to act as his cook. The +negro replied, "If you will walk up to my restaurant, I'll set you to +work at twenty-five dollars immediately." From men in such humble +stations up to the very highest and most respected citizens the spirit +of gambling, of taking chances, was also in the air. + +As has been pointed out, a large proportion of the city's wealth was +raised not from taxation but from the sale of its property. Under the +heedless extravagance of the first government the municipal debt rose to +over one million dollars. Since interest charged on this was thirty-six +per cent annually, it can be seen that the financial situation was +rather hopeless. As the city was even then often very short of funds, it +paid for its work and its improvements in certificates of indebtedness, +usually called "scrip." Naturally this scrip was held below par--a +condition that caused all contractors and supply merchants to charge two +or three hundred per cent over the normal prices for their work and +commodities in order to keep even. And this practice, completing the +vicious circle, increased the debt. An attempt was made to fund the city +debt by handing in the scrip in exchange for a ten per cent obligation. +This method gave promise of success; but a number of holders of scrip +refused to surrender it, and brought suit to enforce payment. One of +these, a physician named Peter Smith, was owed a considerable sum for +the care of indigent sick. He obtained a judgment against the city, +levied on some of its property, and proceeded to sell. The city +commissioners warned the public that titles under the Smith claim were +not legal, and proceeded to sell the property on their own account. The +speculators bought claims under Peter Smith amounting to over two +millions of dollars at merely nominal rates. For example, one parcel of +city lots sold at less than ten cents per lot. The prices were so absurd +that these sales were treated as a joke. The joke came in on the other +side, however, when the officials proceeded to ratify these sales. The +public then woke up to the fact that it had been fleeced. Enormous +prices were paid for unsuitable property, ostensibly for the uses of the +city. After the money had passed, these properties were often declared +unsuitable and resold at reduced prices to people already determined +upon by the ring. + +Nevertheless commercially things went well for a time. The needs of +hundreds of thousands of newcomers, in a country where the manufactures +were practically nothing, were enormous. It is related that at first +laundry was sent as far as the Hawaiian Islands. Every single commodity +of civilized life, such as we understand it, had to be imported. As +there was then no remote semblance of combination, either in restraint +of or in encouragement of trade, it followed that the market must +fluctuate wildly. The local agents of eastern firms were often +embarrassed and overwhelmed by the ill-timed consignments of goods. One +Boston firm was alleged to have sent out a whole shipload of women's +bonnets--to a community where a woman was one of the rarest sights to be +found! Not many shipments were as silly as this, but the fact remains +that a rumor of a shortage in any commodity would often be followed by +rush orders on clipper ships laden to the guards with that same article. +As a consequence the bottom fell out of the market completely, and the +unfortunate consignee found himself forced to auction off the goods much +below cost. + +During the year 1854, the tide of prosperity began to ebb. A dry season +caused a cessation of mining in many parts of the mountains. Of course +it can be well understood that the immense prosperity of the city, the +prosperity that allowed it to recover from severe financial disease, had +its spring in the placer mines. A constant stream of fresh gold was +needed to shore up the tottering commercial structure. With the miners +out of the diggings, matters changed. The red-shirted digger of gold had +little idea of the value of money. Many of them knew only the difference +between having money and having none. They had to have credit, which +they promptly wasted. Extending credit to the miners made it necessary +that credit should also be extended to the sellers, and so on back. +Meanwhile the eastern shippers continued to pour goods into the flooded +market. An auction brought such cheap prices that they proved a +temptation even to an overstocked public. The gold to pay for purchases +went east, draining the country of bullion. One or two of the supposedly +respectable and polished citizens such as Talbot Green and "honest Harry +Meiggs" fell by the wayside. The confidence of the new community began +to be shaken. In 1854 came the crisis. Three hundred out of about a +thousand business houses shut down. Seventy-seven filed petitions in +insolvency with liabilities for many millions of dollars. In 1855 one +hundred and ninety-seven additional firms and several banking houses +went under. + +There were two immediate results of this state of affairs. In the first +place, every citizen became more intensely interested and occupied with +his own personal business than ever before; he had less time to devote +to the real causes of trouble, that is the public instability; and he +grew rather more selfish and suspicious of his neighbor than ever +before. The second result was to attract the dregs of society. The +pickings incident to demoralized conditions looked rich to these men. +Professional politicians, shyster lawyers, political gangsters, flocked +to the spoil. In 1851 the lawlessness of mere physical violence had come +to a head. By 1855 and 1856 there was added to a recrudescence of this +disorder a lawlessness of graft, of corruption, both political and +financial, and the overbearing arrogance of a self-made aristocracy. +These conditions combined to bring about a second crisis in the +precarious life of this new society. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE STORM GATHERS + + +The foundation of trouble in California at this time was formal +legalism. Legality was made a fetish. The law was a game played by +lawyers and not an attempt to get justice done. The whole of public +prosecution was in the hands of one man, generally poorly paid, with +equally underpaid assistants, while the defense was conducted by the +ablest and most enthusiastic men procurable. It followed that +convictions were very few. To lose a criminal case was considered even +mildly disgraceful. It was a point of professional pride for the lawyer +to get his client free, without reference to the circumstances of the +time or the guilt of the accused. To fail was a mark of extreme +stupidity, for the game was considered an easy and fascinating one. The +whole battery of technical delays was at the command of the defendant. +If a man had neither the time nor the energy for the finesse that made +the interest of the game, he could always procure interminable delays +during which witnesses could be scattered or else wearied to the point +of non-appearance. Changes of venue to courts either prejudiced or known +to be favorable to the technical interpretation of the law were very +easily procured. Even of shadier expedients, such as packing juries, +there was no end. + +With these shadier expedients, however, your high-minded lawyer, moving +in the best society, well dressed, proud, looked up to, and today +possessing descendants who gaze back upon their pioneer ancestors with +pride, had little directly to do. He called in as counsel other lawyers, +not so high-minded, so honorable, so highly placed. These little +lawyers, shoulder-strikers, bribe-givers and takers, were held in +good-humored contempt by the legal lights who employed them. The actual +dishonesty was diluted through so many agents that it seemed an almost +pure stream of lofty integrity. Ordinary jury-packing was an easy art. +Of course the sheriff's office must connive at naming the talesmen; +therefore it was necessary to elect the sheriff; consequently all the +lawyers were in politics. Of course neither the lawyer nor the sheriff +himself ever knew of any individual transaction! A sum of money was +handed by the leading counsel to his next in command and charged off as +"expense." This fund emerged considerably diminished in the sheriff's +office as "perquisites." + +Such were the conditions in the realm of criminal law, the realm where +the processes became so standardized that between 1849 and 1856 over one +thousand murders had been committed and only one legal conviction had +been secured! Dueling was a recognized institution, and a skillful shot +could always "get" his enemy in this formal manner; but if time or skill +lacked, it was still perfectly safe to shoot him down in a street +brawl--provided one had money enough to employ talent for defense. + +But, once in politics, the law could not stop at the sheriff's office. +It rubbed shoulders with big contracts and big financial operations of +all sorts. The city was being built within a few years out of nothing by +a busy, careless, and shifting population. Money was still easy, people +could and did pay high taxes without a thought, for they would rather +pay well to be let alone than be bothered with public affairs. Like +hyenas to a kill, the public contractors gathered. Immense public works +were undertaken at enormous prices. To get their deals through legally +it was, of course, necessary that officials, councilmen, engineers, and +others should be sympathetic. So, naturally, the big operators as well +as the big lawyers had to go into politics. Legal efficiency coupled +with the inefficiency of the bench, legal corruption, and the arrogance +of personal favor, dissolved naturally into political corruption. + +The elections of those days would have been a joke had they been not so +tragically significant. They came to be a sheer farce. The polls were +guarded by bullies who did not hesitate at command to manhandle any +decent citizen indicated by the local leaders. Such men were openly +hired for the purposes of intimidation. Votes could be bought in the +open market. "Floaters" were shamelessly imported into districts that +might prove doubtful; and, if things looked close, the election +inspectors and the judges could be relied on to make things come out all +right in the final count. One of the exhibits later shown in the +Vigilante days of 1856 was an ingenious ballot box by which the goats +could be segregated from the sheep as the ballots were cast. You may be +sure that the sheep were the only ones counted. Election day was one of +continuous whiskey drinking and brawling so that decent citizens were +forced to remain within doors. The returns from the different wards were +announced as fast as the votes were counted. It was therefore the custom +to hold open certain wards until the votes of all the others were known. +Then whatever tickets were lacking to secure the proper election were +counted from the packed ballot box in the sure ward. In this manner five +hundred votes were once returned from Crystal Springs precinct where +there dwelt not over thirty voters. If some busybody made enough of a +row to get the merry tyrants into court, there were always plenty of +lawyers who could play the ultra-technical so well that the accused were +not only released but were returned as legally elected as well. + +With the proper officials in charge of the executive end of the +government and with a trained crew of lawyers making their own rules as +they went along, almost any crime of violence, corruption, theft, or the +higher grades of finance could be committed with absolute impunity. The +state of the public mind became for a while apathetic. After numberless +attempts to obtain justice, the public fell back with a shrug of the +shoulders. The men of better feeling found themselves helpless. As each +man's safety and ability to resent insult depended on his trigger +finger, the newspapers of that time made interesting but scurrilous and +scandalous reading. An appetite for personalities developed, and these +derogatory remarks ordinarily led to personal encounters. The streets +became battle-grounds of bowie-knives and revolvers, as rivals hunted +each other out. This picture may seem lurid and exaggerated, but the +cold statistics of the time supply all the details. + +The politicians of the day were essentially fighting men. The large +majority were low-grade Southerners who had left their section, urged by +unmistakable hints from their fellow-citizens. The political life of +early California was colored very largely by the pseudo-chivalry which +these people used as a cloak. They used the Southern code for their +purposes very thoroughly, and bullied their way through society in a +swashbuckling manner that could not but arouse admiration. There were +many excellent Southerners in California in those days, but from the +very start their influence was overshadowed by the more unworthy. +Unfortunately, later many of the better class of Southerners, yielding +to prejudice and sectional feeling, joined the so-called "Law and Order" +party. + +It must be remembered, however, that whereas the active merchants and +industrious citizens were too busy to attend to local politics, the +professional low-class Southern politician had come out to California +for no other purpose. To be successful, he had to be a fighting man. His +revolver and his bowie-knife were part of his essential equipment. He +used the word "honor" as a weapon of defense, and battered down +opposition in the most high-mannered fashion by the simple expedient of +claiming that he had been insulted. The fire-eater was numerous in those +days. He dressed well, had good manners and appearance, possessed +abundant leisure, and looked down scornfully on those citizens who were +busy building the city, "low Yankee shopkeepers" being his favorite +epithet. + +Examined at close range, in contemporary documents, this individual has +about him little of romance and nothing whatever admirable. It would be +a great pity, were mistaken sentimentality allowed to clothe him in the +same bright-hued garments as the cavaliers of England in the time of the +Stuarts. It would be an equal pity, were the casual reader to condemn +all who eventually aligned themselves against the Vigilance movement as +of the same stripe as the criminals who menaced society. There were many +worthy people whose education thoroughly inclined them towards formal +law, and who, therefore, when the actual break came, found themselves +supporting law instead of justice. + +As long as the country continued to enjoy the full flood of prosperity, +these things did not greatly matter. The time was individualistic, and +every man was supposed to take care of himself. But in the year 1855 +financial stringency overtook the new community. For lack of water many +of the miners had stopped work and had to ask for credit in buying their +daily necessities. The country stores had to have credit from the city +because the miners could not pay, and the wholesalers of the city again +had to ask extension from the East until their bills were met by the +retailers. The gold of the country went East to pay its bills. Further +to complicate the matter, all banking was at this time done by private +firms. These could take deposits and make loans and could issue +exchange, but they could not issue bank-notes. Therefore the currency +was absolutely inelastic. + +Even these conditions failed to shake the public optimism, until out of +a clear sky came announcement that Adams and Company had failed. Adams +and Company occupied in men's minds much the same position as the Bank +of England. If Adams and Company were vulnerable, then nobody was +secure. The assets of the bankrupt firm were turned over to one Alfred +Cohen as receiver, with whom Jones, a member of the firm of Palmer, +Cook, and Company, and a third individual were associated as assignees. +On petition of other creditors the judge of the district court removed +Cohen and appointed one Naglee in his place. This new man, Naglee, on +asking for the assets was told that they had been deposited with Palmer, +Cook, and Company. The latter firm refused to give them up, denying +Naglee's jurisdiction in the matter. Naglee then commenced suit against +the assignees and obtained a judgment against them for $269,000. On +their refusal to pay over this sum, Jones and Cohen were taken into +custody. But Palmer, Cook, and Company influenced the courts, as did +about every large mercantile or political firm. They soon secured the +release of the prisoners, and in the general scramble for the assets of +Adams and Company they secured the lion's share. + +It was the same old story. An immense amount of money had disappeared. +Nobody had been punished, and it was all strictly legal. Failures +resulted right and left. Even Wells, Fargo, and Company closed their +doors but reopened them within a few days. There was much excitement +which would probably have died as other excitement had died before, had +not the times produced a voice of compelling power. This voice spoke +through an individual known as James King of William. + +King was a man of keen mind and dauntless courage, who had tried his +luck briefly at the mines, realized that the physical work was too much +for him, and had therefore returned to mercantile and banking pursuits +in San Francisco. His peculiar name was said to be due to the fact that +at the age of sixteen, finding another James King in his immediate +circle, he had added his father's name as a distinguishing mark. He was +rarely mentioned except with the full designation--James King of +William. On his return he opened a private banking-house, brought out +his family, and entered the life of the town. For a time his banking +career prospered and he acquired a moderate fortune, but in 1854 unwise +investments forced him to close his office. In a high-minded fashion, +very unusual in those times and even now somewhat rare, he surrendered +to his creditors everything on earth he possessed. He then accepted a +salaried position with Adams and Company, which he held until that house +also failed. Since to the outside world his connection with the firm +looked dubious, he exonerated himself through a series of pamphlets and +short newspaper articles. The vigor and force of their style arrested +attention, so that when his dauntless crusading spirit, revolting +against the carnival of crime both subtle and obvious, desired to edit a +newspaper, he had no difficulty in raising the small sum of money +necessary. He had always expressed his opinions clearly and fearlessly, +and the public watched with the greatest interest the appearance of the +new sheet. + +The first number of the _Daily Evening Bulletin_ appeared on October 8, +1855. Like all papers of that day and like many of the English papers +now, its first page was completely covered with small advertisements. A +thin driblet of local items occupied a column on the third and fourth +pages, and a single column of editorials ran down the second. As a +newspaper it seemed beneath contempt, but the editorials made men sit up +and take notice. King started with an attack on Palmer, Cook, and +Company's methods. He said nothing whatever about the robberies. He +dealt exclusively with the excessive rentals for postal boxes charged +the public by Palmer, Cook, and Company. That seemed a comparatively +small and harmless matter, but King made it interesting by mentioning +exact names, recording specific instances, avoiding any generalities, +and stating plainly that this was merely a beginning in the exposure of +methods. Jones of Palmer, Cook, and Company--that same Jones who had +been arrested with Cohen--immediately visited King in his office with +the object of either intimidating or bribing him as the circumstances +seemed to advise. He bragged of horsewhips and duels, but returned +rather noncommittal. The next evening the _Bulletin_ reported Jones's +visit simply as an item of news, faithfully, sarcastically, and in a +pompous vein. There followed no comment whatever. The next number, now +eagerly purchased by every one, was more interesting because of its +hints of future disclosures rather than because of its actual +information. One of the alleged scoundrels was mentioned by name, and +then the subject was dropped. The attention of the City Marshal was +curtly called to disorderly houses and the statutes concerning them, and +it was added "for his information" that at a certain address, which was +given, a structure was then actually being built for improper purposes. +Then, without transition, followed a list of official bonds and sureties +for which Palmer, Cook, and Company were giving vouchers, amounting to +over two millions. There were no comments on this list, but the +inference was obvious that the firm had the whip-hand over many public +officials. + +The position of the new paper was soon formally established. It +possessed a large subscription list; it was eagerly bought on its +appearance in the street; and its advertising was increasing. King again +turned his attention to Palmer, Cook, and Company. Each day he explored +succinctly, clearly, without rhetoric, some single branch of their +business. By the time he had finished with them, he had not only exposed +all their iniquities, but he had, which was more important, educated the +public to the financial methods of the time. It followed naturally in +this type of exposure that King should criticize some of the legal +subterfuges, which in turn brought him to analysis of the firm's legal +advisers, who had previously enjoyed a good reputation. From such +subjects he drifted to dueling, venal newspapers, and soon down to the +ordinary criminals such as Billy Mulligan, Wooley Kearny, Casey, Cora, +Yankee Sullivan, Ned McGowan, Charles Duane, and many others. Never did +he hesitate to specify names and instances. He never dealt in +innuendoes. This was bringing him very close to personal danger, for +worthies of the class last mentioned were the sort who carried their +pistols and bowie-knives prominently displayed and handy for use. As yet +no actual violence had been attempted against him. Other methods of +reprisal that came to his notice King published without comment as items +of news. + +Mere threats had little effect in intimidating the editor. More serious +means were tried. A dozen men publicly announced that they intended to +kill him--and the records of the dozen were pretty good testimonials to +their sincerity. In the gambling resorts and on the streets bets were +made and pools formed on the probable duration of King's life. As was +his custom, he commented even upon this. Said the _Bulletin's_ editorial +columns: "Bets are now being offered, we have been told, that the editor +of the _Bulletin_ will not be in existence twenty days longer. And the +case of Dr. Hogan of the Vicksburg paper who was murdered by gamblers of +that place is cited as a warning. Pah!... War then is the cry, is it? +War between the prostitutes and gamblers on one side and the virtuous +and respectable on the other! Be it so, then! Gamblers of San Francisco, +you have made your election and we are ready on our side for the issue!" +A man named Selover sent a challenge to King. King took this occasion to +announce that he would consider no challenges and would fight no duels. +Selover then announced his intention of killing King on sight. Says the +_Bulletin_: "Mr. Selover, it is said, carries a knife. We carry a +pistol. We hope neither will be required, but if this rencontre cannot +be avoided, why will Mr. Selover persist in imperiling the lives of +others? We pass every afternoon about half-past four to five o'clock +along Market Street from Fourth to Fifth Streets. The road is wide and +not so much frequented as those streets farther in town. If we are to be +shot or cut to pieces, for heaven's sake let it be done there. Others +will not be injured, and in case we fall our house is but a few hundred +yards beyond and the cemetery not much farther." Boldness such as this +did not act exactly as a soporific. + +About this time was perpetrated a crime of violence no worse than many +hundreds which had preceded it, but occurring at a psychological time. +A gambler named Charles Cora shot and killed William Richardson, a +United States marshal. The shooting was cold-blooded and without danger +to the murderer, for at the time Richardson was unarmed. Cora was at +once hustled to jail, not so much for confinement as for safety against +a possible momentary public anger. Men had been shot on the street +before--many men, some of them as well known and as well liked as +Richardson--but not since public sentiment had been aroused and educated +as the _Bulletin_ had aroused and educated it. Crowds commenced at once +to gather. Some talk of lynching went about. Men made violent +street-corner speeches. The mobs finally surged to the jail, but were +firmly met by a strong armed guard and fell back. There was much +destructive and angry talk. + +But to swing a mob into action there must be determined men at its head, +and this mob had no leader. Sam Brannan started to say something, but +was promptly arrested for inciting riot. Though the situation was +ticklish, the police seem to have handled it well, making only a passive +opposition and leaving the crowd to fritter its energies in purposeless +cursing, surging to and fro, and harmless threatenings. Nevertheless +this crowd persisted longer than most of them. + +The next day the _Bulletin_ vigorously counseled dependence upon the +law, expressed confidence in the judges who were to try the case--Hager +and Norton--and voiced a personal belief that the day had passed when it +would ever be necessary to resort to arbitrary measures. It may hence be +seen how far from a contemplation of extra legal measures was King in +his public attitude. Nevertheless he added a paragraph of warning: "Hang +Billy Mulligan--that's the word. If Mr. Sheriff Scannell does not remove +Billy Mulligan from his present post as keeper of the County Jail and +Mulligan lets Cora escape, hang Billy Mulligan, and if necessary to get +rid of the sheriff, hang him--hang the sheriff!" + +Public excitement died. Conviction seemed absolutely certain. Richardson +had been a public official and a popular one. Cora's action had been +cold-blooded and apparently without provocation. Nevertheless he had +remained undisturbed. He had retained one of the most brilliant lawyers +of the time, James McDougall. McDougall added to his staff the most able +of the younger lawyers of the city. Immense sums of money were +available. The source is not exactly known, but a certain Belle Cora, a +prostitute afterwards married by Cora, was advancing large amounts. A +man named James Casey, bound by some mysterious obligation, was active +in taking up general collections. Cora lived in great luxury at the +jail. He had long been a close personal friend of the sheriff and his +deputy, Mulligan. When the case came to trial, Cora escaped conviction +through the disagreement of the jury. + +This fiasco, following King's editorials, had a profound effect on the +public mind. King took the outrage against justice as a fresh +starting-point for new attacks. He assailed bitterly and fearlessly the +countless abuses of the time, until at last he was recognized as a +dangerous opponent by the heretofore cynically amused higher criminals. +Many rumors of plots against King's life are to be found in the detailed +history of the day. Whether his final assassination was the result of +one of these plots, or simply the outcome of a burst of passion, matters +little. Ultimately it had its source in the ungoverned spirit of the +times. + +Four months after the farce of the Cora trial, on May 14, King published +an attack on the appointment of a certain man to a position in the +federal custom house. The candidate had happened to be involved with +James P. Casey in a disgraceful election. Casey was at that time one of +the supervisors. Incidental to his attack on the candidate, King wrote +as follows: "It does not matter how bad a man Casey had been, or how +much benefit it might be to the public to have him out of the way, we +cannot accord to any one citizen the right to kill him or even beat him, +without justifiable provocation. The fact that Casey has been an inmate +of Sing Sing prison in New York is no offense against the laws of this +State; nor is the fact of his having stuffed himself through the ballot +box, as elected to the Board of Supervisors from a district where it is +said he was not even a candidate, any justification for Mr. Bagley to +shoot Casey, however richly the latter may deserve to have his neck +stretched for such fraud on the people." + +Casey read this editorial in full knowledge that thousands of his +fellow-citizens would also read it. He was at that time, in addition to +his numerous political cares, editor of a small newspaper called _The +Sunday Times_. This had been floated for the express purpose of +supporting the extremists of the legalists' party, which, as we have +explained, now included the gambling and lawless element. How valuable +he was considered is shown by the fact that at a previous election Casey +had been returned as elected supervisor, although he had not been a +candidate, his name had not been on the ticket, and subsequent private +investigations could unearth no man who would acknowledge having voted +for him. Indeed, he was not even a resident of that district. However, a +slick politician named Yankee Sullivan, who ran the election, said +officially that the most votes had been counted for him; and so his +election was announced. Casey was a handy tool in many ways, rarely +appearing in person but adept in selecting suitable agents. He was +personally popular. In appearance he is described as a short, slight man +with a keen face, a good forehead, a thin but florid countenance, dark +curly hair, and blue eyes; a type of unscrupulous Irish adventurer, with +perhaps the dash of romantic idealism sometimes found in the worst +scoundrels. Like most of his confrères, he was particularly touchy on +the subject of his "honor." + +On reading the _Bulletin_ editorials, he proceeded at once to King's +office, announcing his intention of shooting the editor on sight. +Probably he would have done so except for the accidental circumstance +that King happened to be busy at a table with his back turned squarely +to the door. Even Casey could not shoot a man in the back without a +word of warning. He was stuttering and excited. The interview was +overheard by two men in an adjoining office. + +"What do you mean by that article?" cried Casey. + +"What article?" asked King. + +"That which says I was formerly an inmate of Sing Sing." + +"Is it not true?" asked King quietly. + +"That is not the question. I don't wish my past acts raked up. On that +point I am sensitive." + +A slight pause ensued. + +"Are you done?" asked King quietly. Then leaping from the chair he burst +suddenly into excitement. + +"There's the door, go! And never show your face here again." + +Casey had lost his advantage. At the door he gathered himself together +again. + +"I'll say in my paper what I please," he asserted with a show of +bravado. + +King was again in control of himself. + +"You have a perfect right to do so," he rejoined. "I shall never notice +your paper." + +Casey struck himself on the breast. + +"And if necessary I shall defend myself," he cried. + +King bounded again from his seat, livid with anger. + +"Go," he commanded sharply, and Casey went. + +Outside in the street Casey found a crowd waiting. The news of his visit +to the _Bulletin_ office had spread. His personal friends crowded around +asking eager questions. Casey answered with vague generalities: he +wasn't a man to be trifled with, and some people had to find out! +Blackmailing was not a healthy occupation when it aimed at a gentleman! +He left the general impression that King had apologized. Bragging in +this manner, Casey led the way to the Bank Exchange, the fashionable bar +not far distant. Here he remained drinking and boasting for some time. + +In the group that surrounded him was a certain Judge Edward McGowan, a +jolly, hard-drinking, noisy individual. He had been formerly a fugitive +from justice. However, through the attractions of a gay life, a +combination of bullying and intrigue, he had made himself a place in the +new city and had at last risen to the bench. He was apparently easy to +fathom, but the stream really ran deep. Some historians claim that he +had furnished King the document which proved Casey an ex-convict. It is +certain that now he had great influence with Casey, and that he drew him +aside from the bar and talked with him some time in a low voice. Some +people insist that he furnished the navy revolver with which a few +moments later Casey shot King. This may be so, but every man went armed +in those days, especially men of Casey's stamp. + +It is certain, however, that after his interview with McGowan, Casey +took his place across the street from the Bank Exchange. There, wrapped +in his cloak, he awaited King's usual promenade home. + +That for some time his intention was well known is proved by the group +that little by little gathered on the opposite side of the street. It is +a matter of record that a small boy passing by was commandeered and sent +with a message for Peter Wrightman, a deputy sheriff. Pete, out of +breath, soon joined the group. There he idled, also watching,--an +official charged with the maintenance of the law of the land! + +At just five o'clock King turned the corner, his head bent. He started +to cross the street diagonally and had almost reached the opposite +sidewalk when he was confronted by Casey who stepped forward from his +place of concealment behind a wagon. + +"Come on," he said, throwing back his cloak, and immediately fired. +King, who could not have known what Casey was saying, was shot through +the left breast, staggered, and fell. Casey then took several steps +toward his victim, looked at him closely as though to be sure he had +done a good job, let down the hammer of his pistol, picked up his cloak, +and started for the police-station. All he wanted now was a trial under +the law. + +The distance to the station-house was less than a block. Instantly at +the sound of the shot his friends rose about him and guarded him to the +shelter of the lock-up. But at last the public was aroused. Casey had +unwittingly cut down a symbol of the better element, as well as a +fearless and noble man. Someone rang the old Monumental Engine House +bell--the bell that had been used to call together the Vigilantes of +1851. The news spread about the city like wildfire. An immense mob +appeared to spring from nowhere. + +The police officials were no fools; they recognized the quality of the +approaching hurricane. The city jail was too weak a structure. It was +desirable to move the prisoner at once to the county jail for +safe-keeping. A carriage was brought to the entrance of an alley next +the city jail; the prisoner, closely surrounded by armed men, was rushed +to it; and the vehicle charged out through the crowd. The mob, as yet +unorganized, recoiled instinctively before the plunging horses and the +presented pistols. Before anybody could gather his wits, the equipage +had disappeared. + +The mob surged after the disappearing vehicle, and so ended up finally +in the wide open space before the county jail. The latter was a solidly +built one-story building situated on top of a low cliff. North, the +marshal, had drawn up his armed men. The mob, very excited, vociferated, +surging back and forth, though they did not rush, because as yet they +had no leaders. Attempts were made to harangue the gathering, but +everywhere the speeches were cut short. At a crucial moment the militia +appeared. The crowd thought at first that the volunteer troops were +coming to uphold their own side, but were soon undeceived. The troops +deployed in front of the jail and stood at guard. Just then the mayor +attempted to address the crowd. + +"You are here creating an excitement," he said, "which may lead to +occurrences this night which will require years to wipe out. You are now +laboring under great excitement and I advise you to quietly disperse. I +assure you the prisoner is safe. Let the law have its course and justice +will be done." + +He was listened to with respect, up to this point, but here arose such a +chorus of jeers that he retired hastily. + +"How about Richardson?" they demanded of him. "Where is the law in +Cora's case? To hell with such justice!" + +More and more soldiers came into the square, which was soon filled with +bayonets. The favorable moment had passed and this particular crisis +was, like all the other similar crises, quickly over. But the city was +aroused. Mass meetings were held in the Plaza and in other convenient +localities. Many meetings took place in rooms in different parts of the +city. Men armed by the thousands. Vehement orators held forth from +every balcony. Some of these people were, as a chronicler of the times +quaintly expressed it, "considerably tight." There was great diversity +of opinion. All night the city seethed with ill-directed activity. But +men felt helpless and hopeless for want of efficient organization. + +The so-called Southern chivalry called this affair a "fight." Indeed the +_Herald_ in its issue of the next morning, mistaking utterly the times, +held boldly along the way of its sympathies. It also spoke of the +assassination as an "affray," and stated emphatically its opinion that, +"now that justice is regularly administered," there was no excuse for +even the threat of public violence. This utter blindness to the meaning +of the new movement and the far-reaching effect of King's previous +campaign proved fatal to the paper. It declined immediately. In the +meantime, attended by his wife and a whole score of volunteer +physicians, King, lying in a room in the Montgomery block, was making a +fight for his life. + +Then people began to notice a small advertisement on the first page of +the morning papers, headed _The Vigilance Committee_. + +"The members of the Vigilance Committee in good standing will please +meet at number 105-1/2 Sacramento Street, this day, Thursday, fifteenth +instant, at nine o'clock A.M. By order of the COMMITTEE OF THIRTEEN." + +People stood still in the streets, when this notice met the eye. If this +was actually the old Committee of 1851, it meant business. There was but +one way to find out and that was to go and see. Number 105-1/2 +Sacramento Street was a three-story barn-like structure that had been +built by a short-lived political party called the "Know-Nothings." The +crowd poured into the hall to its full capacity, jammed the entrance +ways, and gathered for blocks in the street. There all waited patiently +to see what would happen. + +Meantime, in the small room back of the stage, about a score of men +gathered. Chief among all stood William T. Coleman. He had taken a +prominent part in the old Committee of '51. With him were Clancey +Dempster, small and mild of manner, blue-eyed, the last man in the room +one would have picked for great stamina and courage, yet playing one of +the leading rôles in this crisis; the merchant Truett, towering above +all the rest; Farwell, direct, uncompromising, inspired with tremendous +single-minded earnestness; James Dows, of the rough and ready, humorous, +blasphemous, horse-sense type; Hossefross, of the Committee of '51; Dr. +Beverly Cole, high-spirited, distinguished-looking, and courtly; Isaac +Bluxome, whose signature of "33 Secretary" was to become terrible, and +who also had served well in 1851. These and many more of their type were +considering the question dispassionately and earnestly. + +"It is a serious business," said Coleman, summing up. "It is no child's +play. It may prove very serious. We may get through quickly and safely, +or we may so involve ourselves as never to get through." + +"The issue is not one of choice but of expediency," replied +Dempster. "Shall we have vigilance with order or a mob with anarchy?" + +In this spirit Coleman addressed the crowd waiting in the large hall. + +"In view of the miscarriage of justice in the courts," he announced +briefly, "it has been thought expedient to revive the Vigilance +Committee. An Executive Council should be chosen, representative of the +whole body. I have been asked to take charge. I will do so, but must +stipulate that I am to be free to choose the first council myself. Is +that agreed?" + +He received a roar of assent. + +"Very well, gentlemen, I shall request you to vacate the hall. In a +short time the books will be open for enrollment." + +With almost disciplined docility the crowd arose and filed out, joining +the other crowd waiting patiently in the street. + +After a remarkably short period the doors were again thrown open. Inside +the passage stood twelve men later to be known as the Executive +Committee. These held back the rush, admitting but one man at a time. +The crowd immediately caught the idea and helped. There was absolutely +no excitement. Every man seemed grimly in earnest. Cries of "Order, +order, line up!" came all down the street. A rough queue was formed. +There were no jokes or laughing; there was even no talk. Each waited his +turn. At the entrance every applicant was closely scrutinized and +interrogated. Several men were turned back peremptorily in the first few +minutes, with the warning not to dare make another attempt. Passed by +this Committee, the candidate climbed the stairs. In the second story +behind a table sat Coleman, Dempster, and one other. These administered +to him an oath of secrecy and then passed him into another room where +sat Bluxome behind a ledger. Here his name was written and he was +assigned a number by which henceforth in the activities of the Committee +he was to be known. Members were instructed always to use numbers and +never names in referring to other members. + +Those who had been enrolled waited for some time, but finding that with +evening the applicants were still coming in a long procession, they +gradually dispersed. No man, however, departed far from the vicinity. +Short absences and hastily snatched meals were followed by hurried +returns, lest something be missed. From time to time rumors were put in +circulation as to the activities of the Executive Committee, which had +been in continuous session since its appointment. An Examining Committee +had been appointed to scrutinize the applicants. The number of the +Executive Committee had been raised to twenty-six; a Chief of Police had +been chosen, and he in turn appointed messengers and policemen, who set +out in search of individuals wanted as door-keepers, guards, and so +forth. Only registered members were allowed on the floor of the hall. +Even the newspaper reporters were gently but firmly ejected. There was +no excitement or impatience. + +At length, at eight o'clock, Coleman came out of one of the side-rooms +and, mounting a table, called for order. He explained that a military +organization had been decided upon, advised that numbers 1 to 100 +inclusive should assemble in one corner of the room, the second hundred +at the first window, and so on. An interesting order was his last. "Let +the French assemble in the middle of the hall," he said in their +language--an order significant of the great numbers of French who had +first answered the call of gold in '49, and who now with equal +enthusiasm answered the call for essential justice. Each company was +advised to elect its own officers, subject to ratification by the +Executive Committee. It was further stated that arrangements had been +made to hire muskets to the number of several thousands from one George +Law. These were only flintlocks, but efficient enough in their way, and +supplied with bayonets. They were discarded government weapons, brought +out some time ago by Law to arm some mysterious filibustering expedition +that had fallen through. In this manner, without confusion, an +organization of two thousand men was formed--sixteen military companies. + +By Saturday morning, May 17, the Committee rooms were overwhelmed by +crowds of citizens who desired to be enrolled. Larger quarters had +already been secured in a building on the south side of Sacramento +Street. Thither the Committee now removed _en masse_, without +interrupting their labors. These new headquarters soon became famous in +the history of this eventful year. + +In the meantime the representatives of the law had not been less alert. +The regular police force was largely increased. The sheriff issued +thousands of summonses calling upon citizens for service as deputies. +These summonses were made out in due form of law. To refuse them meant +to put oneself outside the law. The ordinary citizen was somewhat +puzzled by the situation. A great many responded to the appeal from +force of habit. Once they accepted the oath these new deputies were +confronted by the choice between perjury, and its consequences, or doing +service. On the other hand, the issue of the summonses forced many +otherwise neutral men into the ranks of the Vigilantes. If they refused +to act when directly summoned by law, that very fact placed them on the +wrong side of the law. Therefore they felt that joining a party pledged +to what practically amounted to civil war was only a short step further. +Against these the various military companies were mustered, reminded of +their oath, called upon to fulfill their sworn duty, and sent to various +strategic points about the jail and elsewhere. The Governor was +informally notified of a state of insurrection and was requested to send +in the state militia. By evening all the forces of organized society +were under arms, and the result was a formidable, apparently impregnable +force. + +Nor was the widespread indignation against the shooting of James King of +William entirely unalloyed by bitterness. King had been a hard hitter, +an honest man, a true crusader; but in the heat of battle he had not +always had time to make distinctions. Thus he had quite justly attacked +the _Times_ and other venal newspapers, but in so doing had, by too +general statements, drawn the fire of every other journal in town. He +had attacked with entire reason a certain Catholic priest, a man the +Church itself would probably soon have disciplined, but in so doing had +managed to enrage all Roman Catholics. In like manner his scorn of the +so-called "chivalry" was certainly well justified, but his manner of +expression offended even the best Southerners. Most of us see no farther +than the immediate logic of the situation. Those perfectly worthy +citizens were inclined to view the Vigilantes, not as a protest against +intolerable conditions, but rather as personal champions of King. + +In thus relying on the strength of their position the upholders of law +realized that there might be fighting, and even severe fighting, but it +must be remembered that the Law and Order party loved fighting. It was +part of their education and of their pleasure and code. No wonder that +they viewed with equanimity and perhaps with joy the beginning of the +Vigilance movement of 1856. + +The leaders of the Law and Order party chose as their military commander +William Tecumseh Sherman, whose professional ability and integrity in +later life are unquestioned, but whose military genius was equaled only +by his extreme inability to remember facts. When writing his _Memoirs_, +the General evidently forgot that original documents existed or that +statements concerning historical events can often be checked up. A mere +mob is irresponsible and anonymous. But it was not a mob with whom +Sherman was faced, for, as a final satisfaction to the legal-minded, the +men of the Vigilance Committee had put down their names on record as +responsible for this movement, and it is upon contemporary record that +the story of these eventful days must rely for its details. + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +THE STORM BREAKS + + +The Governor of the State at this time was J. Neely Johnson, a +politician whose merits and demerits were both so slight that he would +long since have been forgotten were it not for the fact that he occupied +office during this excitement. His whole life heretofore had been one of +trimming. He had made his way by this method, and he gained the +Governor's chair by yielding to the opinion of others. He took his color +and his temporary belief from those with whom he happened to be. His +judgment often stuck at trifles, and his opinions were quickly heated +but as quickly cooled. The added fact that his private morals were not +above criticism gave men an added hold over him. + +On receipt of the request for the state militia by the law party, but +not by the proper authorities, Governor Johnson hurried down from +Sacramento to San Francisco. Immediately on arriving in the city he sent +word to Coleman requesting an interview. Coleman at once visited him at +his hotel. Johnson apparently made every effort to appear amiable and +conciliatory. In answer to all questions Coleman replied: + +"We want peace, and if possible without a struggle." + +"It is all very well," said Johnson, "to talk about peace with an army +of insurrection newly raised. But what is it you actually wish to +accomplish?" + +"The law is crippled," replied Coleman. "We want merely to accomplish +what the crippled law should do but cannot. This done, we will gladly +retire. Now you have been asked by the mayor and certain others to bring +out the militia and crush this movement. I assure you it cannot be done, +and, if you attempt it, it will cause you and us great trouble. Do as +Governor McDougal did in '51. See in this movement what he saw in +that--a local movement for a local reform in which the State is not +concerned. We are not a mob. We demand no overthrow of institutions. We +ask not a single court to adjourn. We ask not a single officer to +vacate his position. We demand only the enforcement of the law which we +have made." + +This expression of intention, with a little elaboration and argument, +fired Johnson to enthusiasm. He gave his full support, unofficially of +course, to the movement. + +"But," he concluded, "hasten the undertaking as much as you can. The +opposition is stronger than you suppose. The pressure on me is going to +be terrible. What about the prisoners in the jail?" + +Coleman evaded this last question by saying that the matter was in the +hands of the Committee, and he then left the Governor. + +Coleman at once returned to headquarters where the Executive Committee +was in session, getting rid of its routine business. After a dozen +matters were settled, it was moved "that the Committee as a body shall +visit the county jail at such time as the Executive Committee might +direct, and take thence James P. Casey and Charles Cora, give them a +fair trial, and administer such punishment as justice shall demand." + +This, of course, was the real business for which all this organization +had been planned. A moment's pause succeeded the proposal, but an +instantaneous and unanimous assent followed the demand for a vote. At +this precise instant a messenger opened the door and informed them that +Governor Johnson was in the building requesting speech with Coleman. + +Coleman found Johnson, accompanied by Sherman and a few others, lounging +in the anteroom. The Governor sprawled in a chair, his hat pulled over +his eyes, a cigar in the corner of his mouth. His companions arose and +bowed gravely as Coleman entered the room, but the Governor remained +seated and nodded curtly with an air of bravado. Without waiting for +even the ordinary courtesies he burst out. + +"We have come to ask what you intend to do," he demanded. + +Coleman, thoroughly surprised, with the full belief that the subject had +all been settled in the previous interview, replied curtly. + +"I agree with you as to the grievances," rejoined the Governor, "but the +courts are the proper remedy. The judges are good men, and there is no +necessity for the people to turn themselves into a mob." + +"Sir!" cried Coleman. "This is no mob!--You know this is no mob!" + +The Governor went on to explain that it might become necessary to bring +out all the force at his command. Coleman, though considerably taken +aback, recovered himself and listened without comment. He realized that +Sherman and the other men were present as witnesses. + +"I will report your remark to my associates," he contented himself with +saying. The question of witnesses, however, bothered Coleman. He darted +in to the committee room and shortly returned with witnesses of his own. + +"Let us now understand each other clearly," he resumed. "As I understand +your proposal, it is that, if we make no move, you guarantee no escape, +an immediate trial, and instant execution?" + +Johnson agreed to this. + +"We doubt your ability to do this," went on Coleman, "but we are ready +to meet you half-way. This is what we will promise: we will take no +steps without first giving you notice. But in return we insist that ten +men of our own selection shall be added to the sheriff's force within +the jail." + +Johnson, who was greatly relieved and delighted, at once agreed to this +proposal, and soon withdrew. But the blunder he had made was evident +enough. With Coleman, who was completely outside the law, he, as an +executive of the law, had no business treating or making agreements at +all. Furthermore, as executive of the State, he had no legal right to +interfere with city affairs unless he were formally summoned by the +authorities. Up to now he had merely been notified by private citizens. +And to cap the whole sheaf of blunders, he had now in this private +interview treated with rebels, and to their advantage. For, as Coleman +probably knew, the last agreement was all for the benefit of the +Committee. They gained the right to place a personal guard over the +prisoners. They gave in return practically only a promise to withdraw +that guard before attacking the jail--a procedure which was eminently +practical if they cared anything for the safety of the guard. + +Johnson was thoroughly pleased with himself until he reached the hotel +where the leaders of the opposition were awaiting him. Their keen legal +minds saw at once the position in which he had placed himself. After a +hasty discussion, it was decided to claim that the Committee had waived +all right of action, and that they had promised definitely to leave the +case to the courts. When this statement had been industriously +circulated and Coleman had heard of it, he is said to have exclaimed: + +"The time has come. After that, it is either ourselves or a mob." + +He proceeded at once to the Vigilance headquarters and summoned Olney, +the appointed guardian of the jail. Him he commanded to get together +sixty of the best men possible. A call was sent out for the companies to +assemble. They soon began to gather, coming some in rank as they had +gathered in their headquarters outside, others singly and in groups. +Doorkeepers prevented all exit: once a man was in, he was not permitted +to go out. Each leader received explicit directions as to what was to be +done. He was instructed as to precisely when he and his command were to +start; from what given point; along exactly what route to proceed; and +at just what time to arrive at a given point--not a moment sooner or +later. The plan for concerted action was very carefully and skillfully +worked out. Olney's sixty men were instructed to lay aside their muskets +and, armed only with pistols, to make their way by different routes to +the jail. + +Sunday morning dawned fair and calm. But as the day wore on, an air of +unrest pervaded the city. Rumors of impending action were already +abroad. The jail itself hummed like a hive. Men came and went, busily +running errands, and darting about through the open door. Armed men were +taking their places on the flat roof. Meantime the populace gathered +slowly. At first there were only a score or so idling around the square; +but little by little they increased in numbers. Black forms began to +appear on the rooftops all about; white faces showed at the windows; +soon the center of the square had filled; the converging streets became +black with closely packed people. The windows and doors and balconies, +the copings and railings, the slopes of the hills round about were all +occupied. In less than an hour twenty thousand people had gathered. They +took their positions quietly and waited patiently. It was evident that +they had assembled in the rôle of spectators only, and that action had +been left to more competent and better organized men. There was no +shouting, no demonstration, and so little talking that it amounted only +to a low murmur. Already the doors of the jail had been closed. The +armed forces on the roof had been increased. + +After a time the congested crowd down one of the side-streets was +agitated by the approach of a body of armed men. At the same instant a +similar group began to appear at the end of another and converging +street. The columns came steadily forward, as the people gave way. The +men wore no uniforms, and the glittering steel of their bayonets +furnished the only military touch. The two columns reached the +convergence of the street at the same time and as they entered the +square before the jail a third and a fourth column debouched from other +directions, while still others deployed into view on the hills behind. +They all took their places in rank around the square. + +Among the well-known characters of the times was a certain Colonel Gift. +Mr. Hubert H. Bancroft, the chronicler of these events, describes him as +"a tall, lank, empty-boweled, tobacco-spurting Southerner, with eyes +like burning black balls, who could talk a company of listeners into an +insane asylum quicker than any man in California, and whose blasphemy +could not be equaled, either in quantity or quality, by the most profane +of any age or nation." He remarked to a friend nearby, as he watched the +spectacle below: "When you see these damned psalm-singing Yankees turn +out of their churches, shoulder their guns, and march away of a Sunday, +you may know that hell is going to crack shortly." + +For some time the armed men stood rigid, four deep all around the +square. Behind them the masses of the people watched. Then at a command +the ranks fell apart and from the side-streets marched the sixty men +chosen by Olney, dragging a field gun at the end of a rope. This they +wheeled into position in the square and pointed it at the door of the +jail. Quite deliberately, the cannon was loaded with powder and balls. A +man lit a slow match, blew it to a glow, and took his position at the +breech. Nothing then happened for a full ten minutes. The six men stood +rigid by the gun in the middle of the square. The sunlight gleamed from +the ranks of bayonets. The vast multitude held its breath. The wall of +the jail remained blank and inscrutable. + +Then a man on horseback was seen to make his way through the crowd. This +was Charles Doane, Grand Marshal of the Vigilantes. He rode directly to +the jail door, on which he rapped with the handle of his riding-whip. +After a moment the wicket in the door opened. Without dismounting, the +rider handed a note within, and then, backing his horse the length of +the square, came to rest. + +Again the ranks parted and closed, this time to admit of three +carriages. As they came to a stop, the muskets all around the square +leaped to "present arms!" From the carriages descended Coleman, Truett, +and several others. In dead silence they walked to the jail door, +Olney's men close at their heels. For some moments they spoke through +the wicket; then the door swung open and the Committee entered. + +Up to this moment Casey had been fully content with the situation. He +was, of course, treated to the best the jail or the city could afford. +It was a bother to have been forced to shoot James King of William; but +the nuisance of incarceration for a time was a small price to pay. His +friends had rallied well to his defense. He had no doubt whatever, that, +according to the usual custom, he would soon work his way through the +courts and stand again a free man. His first intimation of trouble was +the hearing of the resonant tramp of feet outside. His second was when +Sheriff Scannell stood before him with the Vigilantes' note in his hand. +Casey took one glance at Scannell's face. + +"You aren't going to betray me?" he cried. "You aren't going to give me +up?" + +"James," replied Scannell solemnly, "there are three thousand armed men +coming for you and I have not thirty supporters around the jail." + +"Not thirty!" cried Casey astonished. For a moment he appeared crushed; +then he leaped to his feet flourishing a long knife. "I'll not be taken +from this place alive!" he cried. "Where are all you brave fellows who +were going to see me through this?" + +At this moment Coleman knocked at the door of the jail. The sheriff +hurried away to answer the summons. + +Casey took the opportunity to write a note for the Vigilantes which he +gave to the marshal. It read: + +"_To the Vigilante Committee_. GENTLEMEN:--I am willing to go before you +if you will let me speak but ten minutes. I do not wish to have the +blood of any man upon my head." + +On entering the jail door Coleman and his companions bowed formally to +the sheriff. + +"We have come for the prisoner Casey," said Coleman. "We ask that he be +peaceably delivered us handcuffed at the door immediately." + +"Under existing circumstances," replied Scannell, "I shall make no +resistance. The prison and its contents are yours." + +But Truett would have none of this. "We want only the man Casey at +present," he said. "For the safety of all the rest we hold you strictly +accountable." + +They proceeded at once to Casey's cell. The murderer heard them coming +and sprang back from the door holding his long knife poised. Coleman +walked directly to the door, where he stopped, looking Casey in the eye. +At the end of a full minute he exclaimed sharply: + +"Lay down that knife!" + +As though the unexpected tones had broken a spell, Casey flung the knife +from him and buried his face in his hands. Then, and not until then, +Coleman informed him curtly that his request would be granted. + +They took Casey out through the door of the jail. The crowd gathered its +breath for a frantic cheer. The relief from tension must have been +great, but Coleman, bareheaded, raised his hand and, in instant +obedience to the gesture, the cheer was stifled. The leaders then +entered the carriage, which immediately turned and drove away. + +Thus Casey was safely in custody. Charles Cora, who, it will be +remembered, had killed Marshal Richardson and who had gained from the +jury a disagreement, was taken on a second trip. + +The street outside headquarters soon filled with an orderly crowd +awaiting events. There was noticeable the same absence of excitement, +impatience, or tumult so characteristic of the popular gatherings of +that time, except perhaps when the meetings were conducted by the +partisans of Law and Order. After a long interval one of the Committee +members appeared at an upper window. + +"It is not the intention of the Committee to be hasty," he +announced. "Nothing will be done today." + +This statement was received in silence. At last someone asked: + +"Where are Casey and Cora?" + +"The Committee hold possession of the jail. All are safe," said the +Committee man. + +With this simple statement the crowd was completely satisfied, and +dispersed quietly and at once. + +Of the three thousand enrolled men, three hundred were retained under +arms at headquarters, a hundred surrounded the jail, and all the rest +were dismissed. Next day, Monday, headquarters still remained +inscrutable; but large patrols walked about the city, collecting arms. +The gunshops were picketed and their owners were warned under no +circumstances to sell weapons. Towards evening the weather grew colder +and rain came on. Even this did not discourage the crowd, which stood +about in its sodden clothes waiting. At midnight it reluctantly +dispersed, but by daylight the following morning the streets around +headquarters were blocked. Still it rained, and still apparently nothing +happened. All over the city business was at a standstill. Men had +dropped their affairs, even the most pressing, either to take part in +this movement or to lend the moral support of their presence and their +interest. The partisans of Law and Order, so called, were also abroad. +No man dared express himself in mixed company openly. The courts were +empty. Some actually closed down, with one excuse or another; but most +of them pretended to go through the forms of business. Many judges took +the occasion to leave town--on vacation, they announced. These +incidents occasioned lively comment. As our chronicler before quoted +tells us: "A good many who had things on their minds left for the +country." Still it rained steadily, and still the crowds waited. + +The prisoners, Casey and Cora, had expected, when taken from the jail, +to be lynched at once. But, since the execution had been thus long +postponed, they began to take heart. They understood that they were to +have a clear trial "according to law"--a phrase which was in those days +immensely cheering to malefactors. They were not entirely cut off from +outside communication. Casey was allowed to see several men on pressing +business, and permitted to talk to them freely, although before a +witness from the Committee. Cora received visits from Belle Cora, who in +the past had spent thousands on his legal defense. Now she came to see +him faithfully and reported every effort that was being made. + +On Tuesday, the 20th, Cora was brought before the Committee. He asked +for counsel, and Truett was appointed to act for him. A list of +witnesses demanded by Cora was at once summoned, and a sub-committee was +sent to bring them before the board of trial. All the ordinary forms of +law were closely followed, and all the essential facts were separately +brought out. It was the same old Cora trial over again with one +modification; namely, that all technicalities and technical delays were +eliminated. Not an attempt was made to confine the investigation to the +technical trial. By dusk the case for the prosecution was finished, and +that for the defense was supposed to begin. + +During all this long interim the Executive Committee had sat in +continuous session. They had agreed that no recess of more than thirty +minutes should be taken until a decision had been reached. But of all +the long list of witnesses submitted by Cora for the defense not one +could be found. They were in hiding and afraid. The former perjurers +would not appear. + +It was now falling dusk. The corners of the great room were in darkness. +Beneath the elevated desk, behind which sat Coleman, Bluxome, the +secretary, lighted a single oil lamp, the better to see his notes. In +the interest of the proceedings a general illumination had not been +ordered. Within the shadow, the door opened and Charles Doane, the Grand +Marshal of the Vigilantes, advanced three steps into the room. + +"Mr. President," he said clearly, "I am instructed to announce +that James King of William is dead." + +The conviction of both men took place that night, and the execution was +ordered, but in secret. + +Thursday noon had been set for the funeral of James King of William. +This ceremony was to take place in the Unitarian church. A great +multitude had gathered to attend. The church was filled to overflowing +early in the day. But thousands of people thronged the streets round +about, and stood patiently and seriously to do the man honor. Historians +of the time detail the names of many marching bodies from every guild +and society in the new city. Hundreds of horsemen, carriages, and foot +marchers got themselves quietly into the line. They also were excluded +from the funeral ceremonies by lack of room, but wished to do honor to +the cortège. This procession is said to have been over two miles in +length. Each man wore a band of crêpe around his left arm. All the city +seemed to be gathered there. And yet the time for the actual funeral +ceremony was still some hours distant. + +Nevertheless the few who, hurrying to the scene, had occasion to pass +near the Vigilante headquarters, found the silent square guarded on all +sides by a triple line of armed men. The side-streets also were filled +with them. They stood in the exact alignment their constant drill had +made possible, with bayonets fixed, staring straight ahead. Three +thousand were under arms. Like the vast crowd a few squares away, they, +too, stood silent and patiently waiting. + +At a quarter before one the upper windows of the headquarters building +were thrown open and small planked platforms were thrust from two of +them. Heavy beams were shoved out from the flat roof directly over the +platforms. From the ends of the beams dangled nooses of rope. After this +another wait ensued. Across the silence of the intervening buildings +could be heard faintly from the open windows of the church the sound of +an organ, and then the measured cadences of an oration. The funeral +services had begun. As though this were a signal, the blinds that had +closed the window openings were thrown back and Cora was conducted to +the end of one of the little platforms. His face was covered with a +white handkerchief and he was bound. A moment later Casey appeared. He +had asked not to be blindfolded. Cora stood bolt upright, motionless as +a stone, but Casey's courage broke. If he had any hope that the boastful +promises of his friends would be fulfilled by a rescue, that hope died +as he looked down on the set, grim faces, on the sinister ring of steel. +His nerve then deserted him completely and he began to babble. + +"Gentlemen," he cried at them, "I am not a murderer! I do not feel +afraid to meet my God on a charge of murder! I have done nothing but +what I thought was right! Whenever I was injured I have resented it! It +has been part of my education during twenty-nine years! Gentlemen, I +forgive you this persecution! O God! My poor Mother! O God!" + +It is to be noted that he said not one word of contrition nor of regret +for the man whose funeral services were then going on, nor for the +heartbroken wife who knelt at that coffin. His words found no echo +against that grim wall of steel. Again ensued a wait, apparently +inexplicable. Across the intervening housetops the sound of the oration +ceased. At the door of the church a slight commotion was visible. The +coffin was being carried out. It was placed in the hearse. Every head +was bared. There followed a slight pause; then from overhead the +church-bell boomed out once. Another bell in the next block answered; a +third, more distant, chimed in. From all parts of the city tolled the +requiem. + +At the first stroke of the bell the funeral cortège moved forward toward +Lone Mountain cemetery. At the first stroke the Vigilantes as one man +presented arms. The platforms dropped, and Casey and Cora fell into +eternity. + + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +THE VIGILANTES OF '56 + + +This execution naturally occasioned a great storm of indignation among +the erstwhile powerful adherents of the law. The ruling, aristocratic +class, the so-called chivalry, the best element of the city, had been +slapped deliberately in the face, and this by a lot of Yankee +shopkeepers. The Committee were stigmatized as stranglers. They ought to +be punished as murderers! They should be shot down as revolutionists! It +was realized, however, that the former customary street-shooting had +temporarily become unsafe. Otherwise there is no doubt that brawls would +have been more frequent than they were. + +An undercurrent of confidence was apparent, however. The Law and Order +men had been surprised and overpowered. They had yielded only to +overwhelming odds. With the execution of Cora and Casey accomplished, +the Committee might be expected to disband. And when the Committee +disbanded, the law would have its innings. Its forces would then be +better organized and consolidated, its power assured. It could then +safely apprehend and bring to justice the ringleaders of this +undertaking. Many of the hotheads were in favor of using armed force to +take Coleman and his fellow-conspirators into custody. But calmer +spirits advised moderation for the present, until the time was more +ripe. + +But to the surprise and indignation of these people, the Vigilantes +showed no intention of disbanding. Their activities extended and their +organization strengthened. The various military companies drilled daily +until they went through the manual with all the precision of regular +troops. The Committee's book remained opened, and by the end of the week +over seven thousand men had signed the roll. Loads of furniture and +various supplies stopped at the doors of headquarters and were carried +in by members of the organization. No non-member ever saw the inside of +the building while it was occupied by the Committee of Vigilance. So +cooking utensils, cot-beds, provisions, blankets, bulletin-boards, arms, +chairs and tables, field-guns, ammunition, and many other supplies +seemed to indicate a permanent occupation. Doorkeepers were always in +attendance, and sentinels patrolled in the streets and on the roof. + +Every day the Executive Committee was in session for all of the daylight +hours. A blacklist was in preparation. Orders were issued for the +Vigilante police to arrest certain men and to warn certain others to +leave town immediately. A choice haul was made of the lesser lights of +the ward-heelers and chief politicians. A very good sample was the +notorious Yankee Sullivan, an ex-prize-fighter, ward-heeler, ballot-box +stuffer, and shoulder-striker. He, it will be remembered, was the man +who returned Casey as supervisor in a district where, as far as is +known, Casey was not a candidate and no one could be found who had voted +for him. This individual went to pieces completely shortly after his +arrest. He not only confessed the details of many of his own crimes but, +what was more important, disclosed valuable information as to others. +His testimony was important, not necessarily as final proof against +those whom he accused, but as indication of the need of thorough +investigation. Then without warning he committed suicide in his cell. On +investigation it turned out that he had been accustomed to from sixty +to eighty drinks of whiskey each day, and the sudden and complete +deprivation had unhinged his mind. Warned by this unforeseen +circumstance, the Committee henceforth issued regular rations of whiskey +to all its prisoners, a fact which is a striking commentary on the +character of the latter. It is to be noted, furthermore, that liquor of +all sorts was debarred from the deliberations of the Vigilantes +themselves. + +Trials went briskly forward in due order, with counsel for defense and +ample opportunity to call witnesses. There were no more capital +punishments. It was made known that the Committee had set for itself a +rule that capital punishment would be inflicted by it only for crimes so +punishable by the regular law. But each outgoing ship took a crowd of +the banished. The majority of the first sweepings were low +thugs--"Sydney Ducks," hangers-on, and the worst class of criminals; but +a certain number were taken from what had been known as the city's best. +In the law courts these men would have been declared as white as the +driven snow; in fact, that had actually happened to some of them. But +they were plainly undesirable citizens. The Committee so decided and +bade them depart. Among the names of men who were prominent and +influential in the early history of the city, but who now were told to +leave, were Charles Duane, Woolley Kearny, William McLean, J.D. +Musgrave, Peter Wightman, James White, and Edward McGowan. Hundreds of +others left the city of their own accord. Terror spread among the +inhabitants of the underworld. Some of the minor offenders brought in by +the Vigilante police were turned over by the Executive Committee to the +regular law courts. It is significant that, whereas convictions had been +almost unknown up to this time, every one of these offenders was +promptly sentenced by those courts. + +But though the underworld was more or less terrified, the upper grades +were only the further aroused. Many sincerely believed that this +movement was successful only because it was organized, that the people +of the city were scattered and powerless, that they needed only to be +organized to combat the forces of disorder. In pursuance of the belief +that the public at large needed merely to be called together loyally to +defend its institutions, a meeting was set for June 2, in Portsmouth +Square. Elaborate secret preparations, including the distribution of +armed men, were made to prevent interference. Such preparations were +useless. Immediately after the appearance of the notice the Committee of +Vigilance issued orders that the meeting was to be in no manner +discouraged or molested. + +It was well attended. Enormous crowds gathered, not only in and around +the Square itself, but in balconies and windows and on housetops. It was +a very disrespectful crowd, evidently out for a good time. On the +platform within the Square stood or sat the owners of many of the city's +proud names. Among them were well-known speakers, men who had never +failed to hold and influence a crowd. But only a short distance away +little could be heard. It early became evident that, though there would +be no interference, the sentiment of the crowd was adverse. And what +must have been particularly maddening was that the sentiment was +good-humored. Colonel Edward Baker came forward to speak. The Colonel +was a man of great eloquence, so that in spite of his considerable lack +of scruples he had won his way to a picturesque popularity and fame. But +the crowd would have little of him this day, and an almost continuous +uproar drowned out his efforts. The usual catch phrases, such as +"liberty," "Constitution," "habeas corpus," "trial by jury," and +"freedom," occasionally became audible, but the people were not +interested. "See Cora's defender!" cried someone, voicing the general +suspicion that Baker had been one of the little gambler's hidden +counsel. "Cora!" "Ed. Baker!" "$10,000!" "Out of that, you old +reprobate!" He spoke ten minutes against the storm and then yielded, +red-faced and angry. Others tried but in vain. A Southerner, Benham, +inveighing passionately against the conditions of the city, in throwing +back his coat happened inadvertently to reveal the butt of a Colt +revolver. The bystanders immediately caught the point. "There's a pretty +Law and Order man!" they shouted. "Say, Benham, don't you know it's +against the law to go armed?" + +"I carry this weapon," he cried, shaking his fist, "not as an instrument +to overthrow the law, but to uphold it." + +Someone from a balcony nearby interrupted: "In other words, sir, you +break the law in order to uphold the law. What more are the Vigilantes +doing?" + +The crowd went wild over this response. The confusion became worse. +Upholders of Law and Order thrust forward Judge Campbell in the hope +that his age and authority on the bench would command respect. He was +unable, however, to utter even two consecutive sentences. + +"I once thought," he interrupted himself piteously, "that I was the free +citizen of a free country. But recent occurrences have convinced me that +I am a slave, more a slave than any on a Southern plantation, for they +know their masters, but I know not mine!" + +But his auditors refused to be affected by pathos. + +"Oh, yes you do," they informed him. "You know your masters as well as +anybody. Two of them were hanged the other day!" + +Though this attempt at home to gain coherence failed, the partisans at +Sacramento had better luck. They collected, it was said, five hundred +men hailing from all quarters of the globe, but chiefly from the +Southeast and Texas. All of them were fire-eaters, reckless, and sure to +make trouble. Two pieces of artillery were reported coming down the +Sacramento to aid all prisoners, but especially Billy Mulligan. The +numbers were not in themselves formidable as opposed to the enrollment +of the Vigilance Committee, but it must be remembered that the city was +full of scattered warriors and of cowed members of the underworld +waiting only leaders and a rallying point. Even were the Vigilantes to +win in the long run, the material for a very pretty civil war was ready +to hand. Two hundred men were hastily put to filling gunnybags with sand +and to fortifying not only headquarters but the streets round about. +Cannon were mounted, breastworks were piled, and embrasures were cut. By +morning Fort Gunnybags, as headquarters was henceforth called, had come +into existence. + +The fire-eaters arrived that night, but they were not five hundred +strong, as excited rumor had it. They disembarked, greeting the horde of +friends who had come to meet them, marched in a body to Fort Gunnybags, +looked it over, stuck their hands into their pockets, and walked +peacefully away to the nearest bar-rooms. This was the wisest move on +their part, for by now the disposition of the Vigilante men was so +complete that nothing short of regularly organized troops could +successfully have dislodged them. + +Behind headquarters was a long shed and stable In which were to be found +at all hours saddle horses and artillery horses, saddled and bridled, +ready for instant use. Twenty-six pieces of artillery, most of them sent +in by captains of vessels in the harbor, were here parked. Other cannon +were mounted for the defense of the fort itself. Muskets, rifles, and +sabers had been accumulated. A portable barricade had been constructed +in the event of possible street fighting--a sort of wheeled framework +that could be transformed into litters or scaling-ladders at will. Mess +offices and kitchens were there that could feed a small army. Flags and +painted signs carrying the open eye that had been adopted as emblematic +of vigilance decorated the main room. A huge alarm bell had been mounted +upon the roof. Mattresses, beds, cots, and other furniture necessary to +accommodate whole companies on the premises themselves, had been +provided. A completely equipped armorers' shop and a hospital with all +supplies occupied the third story. The forces were divided into four +companies of artillery, one squadron and two troops of cavalry, four +regiments and thirty-two companies of infantry, besides the small but +very efficient police organization. A tap on the bell gathered these men +in an incredibly short space of time. Bancroft says that, as a rule, +within fifteen minutes of the first stroke seven-tenths of the entire +forces would be on hand ready for combat. + +The Law and Order people recognized the strength of this organization +and realized that they must go at the matter in a more thorough manner. +They turned their attention to the politics of the structure, and here +they had every reason to hope for success. No matter how well organized +the Vigilantes might be or how thoroughly they might carry the +sympathies of the general public, there was no doubt that they were +acting in defiance of constituted law, and therefore were nothing less +than rebels. It was not only within the power, but it was also a duty, +of the Governor to declare the city in a condition of insurrection. When +he had done this, the state troops must put down the insurrection; and, +if they failed, then the Federal Government itself should be called on. +Looked at in this way, the small handful of disturbers, no matter how +well armed and disciplined, amounted to very little. + +Naturally the Governor had first to be won over. Accordingly all the +important men of San Francisco took the steamer _Senator_ for Sacramento +where they met Judge Terry, of the Supreme Court of California, Volney +Howard, and others of the same ilk. No governor of Johnson's nature +could long withstand such pressure. He promised to issue the required +proclamation of insurrection as soon as it could be "legally proved" +that the Vigilance Committee had acted outside the law. The small fact +that it had already hanged two and deported a great many others, to say +nothing of taking physical possession of the city, meant little to these +legal minds. + +In order that all things should be technically correct, then, Judge +Terry issued a writ of habeas corpus for William Mulligan and gave it +into the hands of Deputy Sheriff Harrison for service on the Committee. +It was expected that the Committee would deny the writ, which would +constitute legal defiance of the State. The Governor would then be +justified in issuing the proclamation. If the state troops proved +unwilling or inadequate, as might very well be, the plan was then to +call on the United States. The local representatives of the central +government were at that time General Wool commanding the military +department of California, and Captain David Farragut in command of the +navy-yard. Within their command was a force sufficient to subdue three +times the strength of the Vigilance Committee. William Tecumseh Sherman, +then in private life, had been appointed major-general of a division of +the state militia. As all this was strictly legal, the plan could not +possibly fail. + +Harrison took the writ of habeas corpus and proceeded to San Francisco. +He presented himself at headquarters and offered his writ. Instead of +denying it, the Committee welcomed him cordially and invited him to make +a thorough search of the premises. Of course Harrison found nothing--the +Committee had seen to that--and departed. The scheme had failed. The +Committee had in no way denied his authority or his writ. But Harrison +saw clearly what had been expected of him. To Judge Terry he +unblushingly returned the writ endorsed "prevented from service by armed +men." For the sake of his cause, Harrison had lied. However, the whole +affair was now regarded as legal. + +Johnson promptly issued his proclamation. The leaders, in high feather, +as promptly turned to the federal authorities for the assistance they +needed. As yet they did not ask for troops but only for weapons with +which to arm their own men. To their blank dismay General Wool refused +to furnish arms. He took the position that he had no right to do so +without orders from Washington. There is no doubt, however, that this +technical position cloaked the doughty warrior's real sympathies. +Colonel Baker and Volney Howard were instructed to wait on him. After a +somewhat lengthy conversation, they made the mistake of threatening him +with a report to Washington for refusing to uphold the law. + +"I think, gentlemen," flashed back the veteran indignantly, "I know my +duty and in its performance dread no responsibility!" He promptly bowed +them out. + +In the meantime the Executive Committee had been patiently working down +through its blacklist. It finally announced that after June 24 it would +consider no fresh cases, and a few days later it proclaimed an +adjournment parade on July 4. It considered its work completed and the +city safe. + +It may be readily imagined that this peaceful outcome did not in the +least suit the more aristocratic members of the Law and Order party. +They were a haughty, individualistic, bold, forceful, sometimes charming +band of fire-eaters. In their opinion they had been deeply insulted. +They wanted reprisal and punishment. + +When therefore the Committee set a definite day for disbanding, the +local authorities and upholders of law were distinctly disappointed. +They saw slipping away the last chance for a clash of arms that would +put these rebels in their places. There was some thought of arresting +the ringleaders, but the courts were by now so well terrorized that it +was by no means certain that justice as defined by the Law and Order +party could be accomplished. And even if conviction could be secured, +the representatives of the law found little satisfaction in ordinary +punishment. What they wanted was a fight. + +General Sherman had resigned his command of the military forces in +disgust. In his stead was chosen General Volney Howard, a man typical of +his class, blinded by his prejudices and his passions, filled with a +sense of the importance of his caste, and without grasp of the broader +aspects of the situation. In the Committee's present attitude he saw not +the signs of a job well done, but indications of weakening, and he +considered this a propitious moment to show his power. In this attitude +he received enthusiastic backing from Judge Terry and his narrow +coterie. Terry was then judge of the Supreme Court; and a man more +unfitted for the position it would be difficult to find. A tall, +attractive, fire-eating Texan with a charming wife, he stood high in the +social life of the city. His temper was undisciplined and completely +governed his judgment. Intensely partisan and, as usual with his class, +touchy on the point of honor, he did precisely the wrong thing on every +occasion where cool decision was demanded. + +It was so now. The Law and Order party persuaded Governor Johnson to +order a parade of state troops in the streets of San Francisco. The +argument used was that such a parade of legally organized forces would +overawe the citizens. The secret hope, however, which was well founded, +was that such a display would promote the desired conflict. This hope +they shared with Howard, after the Governor's orders had been obtained. +Howard's vanity jumped with his inclination. He consented to the plot. A +more ill-timed, idiotic maneuver, with the existing state of the public +mind, it would be impossible to imagine. Either we must consider Terry +and Howard weak-minded to the point of an inability to reason from cause +to effect, or we must ascribe to them more sinister motives. + +By now the Law and Order forces had become numerically more formidable. +The lower element flocked to the colors through sheer fright. A certain +proportion of the organized remained in the ranks, though a majority had +resigned. There was, as is usual in a new community, a very large +contingent of wild, reckless young men without a care in the world, with +no possible interest in the rights and wrongs of the case, or, indeed, +in themselves. They were eager only for adventure and offered themselves +just as soon as the prospects for a real fight seemed good. Then, too, +they could always count on the five hundred Texans who had been +imported. + +There were plenty of weapons with which to arm these partisans. Contrary +to all expectations, the Vigilance Committee had scrupulously refrained +from interfering with the state armories. All the muskets belonging to +the militia were in the armories and were available in different parts +of the city. In addition, the State, as a commonwealth, had a right to a +certain number of federal weapons stored in arsenals at Benicia. These +could be requisitioned in due form. + +But at this point, it has been said, the legal minds of the party +conceived a bright plan. The muskets at Benicia on being requisitioned +would have to cross the bay in a vessel of some sort. Until the muskets +were actually delivered they were federal property. Now if the Vigilance +Committee were to confiscate the arms while on the transporting vessel, +and while still federal property, the act would be piracy; the +interceptors, pirates. The Law and Order people could legally call on +the federal forces, which would be compelled to respond. If the +Committee of Vigilance did not fall into this trap, then the Law and +Order people would have the muskets anyway.[7] + +[7: Mr. H.H. Bancroft, in his _Popular Tribunals_, holds that no proof +of this plot exists.] + +To carry out this plot they called in a saturnine, lank, drunken +individual whose name was Rube Maloney. Maloney picked out two men of +his own type as assistants. He stipulated only that plenty of +"refreshments" should be supplied. According to instructions Maloney was +to operate boldly and flagrantly in full daylight. But the refreshment +idea had been rather liberally interpreted. By six o'clock Rube had just +sense enough left to anchor off Pueblo Point. There all gave serious +attention to the rest of the refreshments, and finally rolled over to +sleep off the effects. + +In the meantime news of the intended shipment had reached the +headquarters of the Vigilantes. The Executive Committee went into +immediate session. It was evident that the proposed disbanding would +have to be postponed. A discussion followed as to methods of procedure +to meet this new crisis. The Committee fell into the trap prepared for +it. Probably no one realized the legal status of the muskets, but +supposed them to belong already to the State. Marshal Doane was +instructed to capture them. He called to him the chief of the harbor +police. "Have you a small vessel ready for immediate service?" he asked +this man. + +"Yes, a sloop, at the foot of this street." + +"Be ready to sail in half an hour." + +Doane then called to his assistance a quick-witted man named John +Durkee. This man had been a member of the regular city police until the +shooting of James King of William. At that time he had resigned his +position and joined the Vigilance police. He was loyal by nature, steady +in execution, and essentially quick-witted, qualities that stood +everybody in very good stead as will be shortly seen. He picked out +twelve reliable men to assist him, and set sail in the sloop. + +For some hours he beat against the wind and the tide; but finally these +became so strong that he was forced to anchor in San Pablo Bay until +conditions had modified. Late in the afternoon he was again able to get +under way. Several of the tramps sailing about the bay were overhauled +and examined, but none proved to be the prize. About dark the breeze +died, leaving the little sloop barely under steerageway. A less +persistent man than Durkee would have anchored for the night, but Durkee +had received his instructions and intended to find the other sloop, and +it was he himself who first caught the loom of a shadow under Pueblo +Point. + +He bore down and perceived it to be the sloop whose discovery he +desired. The twelve men boarded with a rush, but found themselves in +possession of an empty deck. The fumes of alcohol and the sound of +snoring guided the boarding-party to the object of their search and the +scene of their easy victory. Durkee transferred the muskets and +prisoners to his own craft; and returned to the California Street wharf +shortly after daylight. A messenger was dispatched to headquarters. He +returned with instructions to deliver the muskets but to turn loose the +prisoners. Durkee was somewhat astonished at the latter order but +complied. + +"All right," he is reported to have said. "Now, you measly hounds, +you've got just about twenty-eight seconds to make yourselves as scarce +as your virtues." + +Maloney and his crew wasted few of the twenty-eight seconds in starting, +but once out of sight they regained much of their bravado. A few drinks +restored them to normal, and enabled them to put a good face on the +report they now made to their employers. Maloney and his friends then +visited in turn all the saloons. The drunker they grew, the louder they +talked, reviling the Committee collectively and singly, bragging that +they would shoot at sight Coleman, Truett, Durkee, and several others +whom they named. They flourished weapons publicly, and otherwise became +obstreperous. The Committee decided that their influence was bad and +instructed Sterling Hopkins, with four others, to arrest the lot and +bring them in. + +The news of this determination reached the offending parties. They +immediately fled to their masters like cur dogs. Their masters, who +included Terry, Bowie, and a few others, happened to be discussing the +situation in the office of Richard Ashe, a Texan. The crew burst into +this gathering very much scared, with a statement that a "thousand +stranglers" were at their heels. Hopkins, having left his small posse at +the foot of the stairs, knocked and entered the room. He was faced by +the muzzles of half a dozen pistols and told to get out of there. +Hopkins promptly obeyed. + +If Terry had possessed the slightest degree of leadership he would have +seen that this was the worst of all moments to precipitate a crisis. The +forces of his own party were neither armed nor ready. But here, as in +all other important crises of his career, he was governed by the haughty +and headstrong passion of the moment. + +Hopkins left his men on guard at the foot of the stairs, borrowed a +horse from a passer-by, and galloped to headquarters. There he was +instructed to return and stay on watch, and was told that reinforcements +would soon follow. He arrived before the building in which Ashe's office +was located in time to see Maloney, Terry, Ashe, McNabb, Bowie, and +Rowe, all armed with shot-guns, just turning a far corner. He dismounted +and called on his men, who followed. The little posse dogged the +judge's party for some distance. For a little time no attention was paid +to them, but as they pressed closer, Terry, Ashe, and Maloney turned and +presented their shot-guns. This was probably intended only as a threat, +but Hopkins, who was always overbold, lunged at Maloney. Terry thrust +his gun at a Vigilante who seized it by the barrel. At the same instant +Ashe pressed the muzzle of his weapon against the breast of a man named +Bovee, but hesitated to pull the trigger. It was not at that time as +safe to shoot men in the open street as it had been formerly. Barry +covered Rowe with a pistol. Rowe dropped his gun and ran towards the +armory. The accidental discharge of a pistol seemed to unnerve Terry. He +whipped out a long knife and plunged it into Hopkins's neck. Hopkins +relaxed his hold on Terry's shot-gun and staggered back. + +"I am stabbed! Take them, Vigilantes!" he said. + +He dropped to the sidewalk. Terry and his friends ran towards the +armory. Of the Vigilante posse only Bovee and Barry remained, but these +two pursued the fleeing Law and Order men to the very doors of the +armory itself. When the portals were slammed in their faces they took +up their stand outside; and alone these two men held imprisoned several +hundred men! During the next few minutes several men attempted entrance +to the armory, among them our old friend Volney Howard. All were turned +back and were given the impression that the armory was already in +charge of the Vigilantes. After a little, however, doubtless to the +great relief of the "outside garrison" of the armory, the great +Vigilante bell began to boom out its signals: _one, two, three_--rest; +_one, two, three_--rest; and so on. + +Instantly the streets were alive with men. Merchants left their +customers, clerks their books, mechanics their tools. Draymen stripped +their horses of harness, abandoned their wagons, and rode away to join +their cavalry. Within an incredibly brief space of time everybody was +off for the armory, the military companies marching like veterans, the +artillery rumbling over the pavement. The cavalry, jogging along at a +slow trot, covered the rear. A huge and roaring mob accompanied them, +followed them, raced up the side-streets to arrive at the armory at the +same time as the first files of the military force. They found the +square before the building entirely deserted except for the dauntless +Barry and Bovee, who still marched up and down singlehanded, holding the +garrison within. They were able to report that no one had either entered +or left the armory. + +Inside the building the spirit had become one of stubborn sullenness. +Terry was very sorry--as, indeed, he well might be--a Judge of the +Supreme Court, who had no business being in San Francisco at all. Sworn +to uphold the law, and ostensibly on the side of the Law and Order +party, he had stepped out from his jurisdiction to commit as lawless and +as idiotic a deed of passion and prejudice as could well have been +imagined. Whatever chances the Law and Order party might have had +heretofore were thereby dissipated. Their troops were scattered in small +units; their rank and file had disappeared no one knew where; their +enemies were fully organized and had been mustered by the alarm bell to +their usual alertness and capability; and Terry's was the hand that had +struck the bell! + +He was reported as much chagrined. + +"This is very unfortunate, very unfortunate," he said; "but you shall +not imperil your lives for me. It is I they want. I will surrender to +them." + +Instead of the prompt expostulations which he probably expected, a dead +silence greeted these words. + +"There is nothing else to do," agreed Ashe at last. + +An exchange of notes in military fashion followed. Ashe, as commander of +the armory and leader of the besieged party, offered to surrender to the +Executive Committee of the Vigilantes if protected from violence. The +Executive Committee demanded the surrender of Terry, Maloney, and +Philips, as well as of all arms and ammunition, promising that Terry and +Maloney should be protected against persons outside the organization. On +receiving this assurance, Ashe threw open the doors of the armory and +the Vigilantes marched in. + +"All present were disarmed," writes Bancroft. "Terry and Maloney were +taken charge of and the armory was quickly swept of its contents. Three +hundred muskets and other munitions of war were carried out and placed +on drays. Two carriages then drove up, in one of which was placed +Maloney and in the other Terry. Both were attended by a strong escort, +Olney forming round them with his Citizens' Guard, increased to a +battalion. Then in triumph the Committee men, with their prisoners and +plunder enclosed in a solid body of infantry and these again surrounded +by cavalry, marched back to their rooms." + +Nor was this all. Coleman, like a wise general, realizing that +compromise was no longer possible, sent out his men to take possession +of all the encampments of the Law and Order forces. The four big +armories were cleaned out while smaller squads of men combed the city +house by house for concealed arms. By midnight the job was done. The +Vigilantes were in control of the situation. + + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +THE TRIUMPH OF THE VIGILANTES + + +Judge Terry was still a thorny problem to handle. After all, he was a +Judge of the Supreme Court. At first his attitude was one of apparent +humility, but as time went on he regained his arrogant attitude and from +his cell issued defiances to his captors. He was aided and abetted by +his high-spirited wife, and in many ways caused the members of the +Committee a great deal of trouble. If Hopkins were to die, they could do +no less than hang Terry in common consistency and justice. But they +realized fully that in executing a Justice of the Supreme Court they +would be wading into pretty deep water. The state and federal +authorities were inclined to leave them alone and let them work out the +manifestly desirable reform, but it might be that such an act would +force official interference. As one member of the Committee expressed +it, "They had gone gunning for ferrets and had coralled a grizzly." +Nevertheless Terry was indicted before the Committee on the following +counts, a statement of which gives probably as good a bird's eye view of +Terry as numerous pages of personal description: + + +Resisting with violence the officers of the Vigilance Committee while in +the discharge of their duties. + +Committing an assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill Sterling +A. Hopkins on June 21, 1856. + +Various breaches of the peace and attacks upon citizens while in the +discharge of their duties, specified as follows: + +1. Resistance in 1853 to a writ of habeas corpus on account of which one +Roach escaped from the custody of the law, and the infant heirs of the +Sanchez family were defrauded of their rights. + +2. An attack in 1853 on a citizen of Stockton named Evans. + +3. An attack in 1853 on a citizen in San Francisco named Purdy. + +4. An attack at a charter election on a citizen of Stockton named King. + +5. An attack in the court house of Stockton on a citizen named +Broadhouse. + + +Before Terry's case came to trial it was known that Hopkins was not +fatally wounded. Terry's confidence immediately rose. Heretofore he had +been somewhat, but not much, humbled. Now his haughty spirit blazed +forth as strongly as ever. He was tried in due course, and was found +guilty on the first charge and on one of the minor charges. On the +accusation of assault with intent to kill, the Committee deliberated a +few days, and ended by declaring him guilty of simple assault. He was +discharged and told to leave the State. But, for some reason or other, +the order was not enforced. + +Undoubtedly he owed his discharge in this form to the evident fact that +the Committee did not know what to do with him. Terry at once took the +boat for Sacramento, where for some time he remained in comparative +retirement. Later he emerged in his old rôle, and ended his life by +being killed at the hands of an armed guard of Justice Stephen Field +whom Terry assaulted without giving Field a chance to defend himself. + +While these events were going forward, the Committee had convicted and +hanged two other men, Hetherington and Brace. In both instances the +charge was murder of the most dastardly kind. The trials were conducted +with due regard to the forms of law and justice, and the men were +executed in an orderly fashion. These executions would not be remarkable +in any way, were it not for the fact that they rounded out the complete +tale of executions by the Vigilance Committee. Four men only were hanged +in all the time the Committee held its sway. Nevertheless the manner of +the executions and the spirit that actuated all the officers of the +organization sufficed to bring about a complete reformation in the +administration of justice. + +About this time also the danger began to manifest itself that some of +the less conscientious and, indeed, less important members of the +Committee might attempt through political means to make capital of their +connections. A rule was passed that no member of the Committee of +Vigilance should be allowed to hold political office. Shortly after this +decision, William Rabe was suspended for "having attempted to introduce +politics into this body and for attempting to overawe the Executive +Committee." + +After the execution of the two men mentioned, the interesting trial of +Durkee for piracy, the settlement by purchase of certain private claims +against city land, and the deportation of a number of undesirable +citizens, the active work of the Committee was practically over. It +held complete power and had also gained the confidence of probably +nine-tenths of the population. Even some of the erstwhile members of the +Law and Order party, who had adhered to the forms of legality through +principle, had now either ceased opposition, or had come over openly to +the side of the Committee. Another date of adjournment was decided upon. +The gunnybag barricades were taken down on the fourteenth of August. On +the sixteenth, the rooms of the building were ordered thrown open to all +members of the Committee, their friends, their families, for a grand +reception on the following week. It was determined then not to +disorganize but to adjourn _sine die_. The organization was still to be +held, and the members were to keep themselves ready whenever the need +should arise. But preparatory to adjournment it was decided to hold a +grand military review on the eighteenth of August. This was to leave a +final impression upon the public mind of the numbers and powder of the +Committee. + +The parade fulfilled its function admirably. The Grand Marshal and his +staff led, followed by the President and the Military Commanding General +with his staff. Then marched four companies of artillery with fifteen +mounted cannon. In their rear was a float representing Fort Gunnybags +with imitation cannon. Next came the Executive Committee mounted, riding +three abreast; then cavalry companies and the medical staff, which +consisted of some fifty physicians of the town. Representatives of the +Vigilance Committee of 1851 followed in wagons with a banner; then four +regiments of infantry, more cavalry, citizen guards, pistol men, +Vigilante police. Over six thousand men were that day in line, all +disciplined, all devoted, all actuated by the highest motives, and +conscious of a job well done. + +The public reception at Fort Gunnybags was also well attended. Every one +was curious to see the interior arrangement. The principal entrance was +from Sacramento Street and there was also a private passage from another +street. The doorkeeper's box was prominently to the front where each one +entering had to give the pass-word. He then proceeded up the stairs to +the floor above. The first floor was the armory and drill-room. Around +the sides were displayed the artillery harness, the flags, +bulletin-boards, and all the smaller arms. On one side was a lunch stand +where coffee and other refreshments were dispensed to those on guard. +On the opposite side were offices for every conceivable activity. An +immense emblematic eye painted on the southeast corner of the room +glared down on each as he entered. The front of the second floor was +also a guard-room, armory, and drilling floor. Here also was painted the +eye of Vigilance, and here was exhibited the famous ballot-box whose +sides could separate the good ballots from the bad ballots. Here also +were the meeting-rooms for the Executive Committee and a number of cells +for the prisoners. The police-office displayed many handcuffs, tools of +captured criminals, relics, clothing with bullet holes, ropes used for +hanging, bowie-knives, burglar's tools, brass knuckles, and all the +other curiosities peculiar to criminal activities. The third story of +the building had become the armorer's shop, and the hospital. Eight or +ten workmen were employed in the former and six to twenty cots were +maintained in the latter. Above all, on the roof, supported by a strong +scaffolding, hung the Monumental bell whose tolling summoned the +Vigilantes when need arose. + +Altogether the visitors must have been greatly impressed, not only with +the strength of the organization, but also with the care used in +preparing it for every emergency, the perfection of its discipline, and +the completeness of its equipment. When the Committee of Vigilance of +1856 adjourned subject to further call, there must have been in most +men's minds the feeling that such a call could not again arise for years +to come. + +Yet it was not so much the punishment meted out to evil-doers that +measures the success of the Vigilante movement. Only four villains were +hanged; not more than thirty were banished. But the effect was the same +as though four hundred had been executed. It is significant that not +less than eight hundred went into voluntary exile. + +"What has become of your Vigilance Committee?" asked a stranger naïvely, +some years later. + +"Toll the bell, sir, and you'll see," was the reply[8]. + +[8: Bancroft, _Popular Tribunals_, 11, 695.] + + + + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE + + +California has been fortunate in her historians. Every student of the +history of the Pacific coast is indebted to the monumental work of +Hubert H. Bancroft. Three titles concern the period of the Forty-niners: +_The History of California_, 7 vols. (1884-1890); _California Inter +Pocula, 1848-56_ (1888); _Popular Tribunals_, 2 vols. (1887). Second +only to these volumes in general scope and superior in some respects is +T.H. Hittell's _History of California_, 4 vols. (1885-1897). Two other +general histories of smaller compass and covering limited periods are +I.B. Richman's _California under Spain and Mexico, 1535-1847_ (1911), +and Josiah Royce's _California, 1846-1856_ (1886). The former is a +scholarly but rather arid book; the latter is an essay in interpretation +rather than a narrative of events. One of the chief sources of +information about San Francisco in the days of the gold fever is _The +Annals of San Francisco_ (1855) by Soulé and others. + +Contemporary accounts of California just before the American occupation +are of varying value. One of the most widely read books is R.H. Dana's +_Two Years before the Mast_ (1840). The author spent parts of 1835 and +1836 in California. _The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie_ (1831) +is an account of six years' travel amid almost incredible hardships from +St. Louis to the Pacific and back through Mexico. W.H. Thomes's _On Land +and Sea, or California in the Years 1843, '44, and '45_ (1892) gives +vivid pictures of old Mexican days. Two other books may be mentioned +which furnish information of some value: Alfred Robinson, _Life in +California_ (1846) and Walter Colton, _Three Years in California_ +(1850). + +Personal journals and narratives of the Forty-niners are numerous, but +they must be used with caution. Their accuracy is frequently open to +question. Among the more valuable may be mentioned Delano's _Life on the +Plains and among the Diggings_ (1854); W.G. Johnston's _Experience of a +Forty-niner_ (1849); T.T. Johnson's _Sights in the Gold Region and +Scenes by the Way_ (1849); J.T. Brooks's _Four Months among the +Gold-Finders_ (1849); E.G. Buffum's _Six Months in the Gold Mines_ +(1850)--the author was a member of the "Stevenson Regiment"; James +Delevan's _Notes on California and the Placers: How to get there and +what to do afterwards_ (1850); and W.R. Ryan's _Personal Adventures in +Upper and Lower California, in 1848-9_ (1850). + +Others who were not gold-seekers have left their impression of +California in transition, such as Bayard Taylor in his _Eldorado_, 2 +vols. (1850), and J.W. Harlan in his _California '46 to '88_ (1888). The +latter was a member of Frémont's battalion. The horrors of the overland +journey are told by Delano in the book already mentioned and by W.L. +Manly, _Death Valley in '49_ (1894). + +The evolution of law and government in primitive mining communities is +described in C.H. Shinn's _Mining Camps. A Study in American Frontier +Government_ (1885). The duties of the border police are set forth with +thrilling details by Horace Bell, _Reminiscences of a Ranger or Early +Times in Southern California_ (1881). An authoritative work on the +Mormons is W.A. Linn's _Story of the Mormons_ (1902). + +For further bibliographical references the reader is referred to the +articles on _California, San Francisco, The Mormons_, and _Frémont_, in +_The Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th Edition. + + + + + INDEX + + Alvarado, Governor of California, 15-16, 18, 23 + "Arcadian Age," 58-62 + Ashe, Richard, 251, 252 + + Baker, Edward, Colonel, 236, 244 + "Bear Flag Revolution," 32-36 + Benton, T.H., father-in-law to Frémont, 29; + exerts influence in Frémont's behalf, 40 + Bluxome, Isaac, 202, 204 + Bovee, 253 + Bowie, 251, 252 + Brannan, Sam, 56-57, 155, 189 + + Cahuenga, Treaty of (1847), 42 + California, inhabitants, 1 + occupation by Spain, 2 et seq + classes, 5-6 + life of early settlers, 6 et seq + advent of foreign residents, 13 et seq + population in 1840, 16-17 + arrival of two parties of settlers (1841), 17 + Frémont's expedition, 29 + military conquest by U.S., 30 et seq. + Mexican laws in, 46-50; + constitutional convention (1849), 50-52 + influence of discovery of gold, 52-54 + overland migration to, 67 et seq + journey by way of Panama to, 96 et seq + life in the gold fields, 107 et seq + city life in 1849, 119 et seq + law, 174-176; politics, 176-180 + financial stringency (1855), 181-183 + _California Star_, the, 123 + Carson, Kit, 38 + Casey, J.P., 191, 192 et seq, 220 et seq + Chagres in 1849, 99-100 + Cole, Beverly, 202 + Coleman, W.T., 201, 202, 204, 205, 211 et seq, 251 + Cora, Charles, trial of, 189-191 + re-trial by Vigilantes, 225-226 + + + _Daily Evening Bulletin_, 184-188, 190 + Delano, 75 + Dempster, Clancey, 201, 202, 204 + Den, Nicholas, 14 + Doane, Charles, 219 + Donner party, 26 + Dows, James, 202 + Duane, Charles, 235 + Durkee, John, 249-251 + + Farragut, David, 242 + Farwell, 201 + Frémont, J.C., expedition, 29 et seq + personal characteristics, 40-41, 44-45 + negotiates treaty with Californians, 42 + appointed Governor of California, 42 + asks permission to form expedition against Mexico, 43-44 + court-martialed and dismissed from service, 44 + Gatun in 1849, 100-01 + Gavilán Peak, U.S. flag raised at, 30 + Gift, Colonel, 218 + Gillespie, Lieutenant, 30, 31-32 + Gold, influence of discovery upon life in California, 52-54; + discovered by Marshall (1848), 55; + news brought to East, 62; + influence in Europe, 65-66; + the diggings, 106 et seq. + Graham, Isaac, 15-16 + Green, Talbot, 172 + + Harlan, William, account of overland journey, 68-69; + quoted, 121; + experience in San Francisco, 128; + Hartnell, 14 + _Herald_, 200 + Hittell, T.H., recounts incidents of overland journey, 70, 72 + Hopkins, Sterling, 251, 252 + Hossefross, 202 + "Hounds," The, 137-39 + Howard, Volney, 241, 244, 245, 246 + + Ide, W.B., 34 + Indian menace to immigrant trains, 71 + + Jenkins, John, trial of, 153-156 + Johnson, J.N., Governor of California, 210 et seq. + Johnston, Captain, 38 + + Kearny. General Stephen Watts, 37 et seq. + Kearny, Woolley, 235 + Kelly, John, 115 + King, James, of William, 183, 184 et seq., 207-08, 227 + + Larkin, T.O., 28-29 + "Law and Order" party, 179, 208; + clash with Vigilantes, 236 et seq. + Leese, Jacob, 33 + + McGlynn, J.A., 129-30 + McGowan, Edward, 195-96, 235 + McLean, William, 235 + McNabb, 252 + Maloney, Rube, 248, 251, 252 + Marshall, James, discovers gold, 55 + Mason, Colonel R.B., 46 + Meiggs, Harry, 172 + Merritt, 33 + Mesa, Battle of the, 41 + Mexican government in California, + attitude toward settlers, 17-19, 27 + Mexican War, influence upon affairs in California, 35 + Missions established by "Sacred Expedition," 3 + Montgomery, Lieutenant, 35 + Mormons, 19-20, 56-57, 77 et seq. + Mountain Meadows massacre, 95 + Musgrave, J.D., 235 + + Oregon question, effect upon Western migration, 20-21, 55 + Oregon Trail, 21-22 + + Panama as a route to California, 96 et seq. + Panama, city of, in 1849, 102-103 + Pattie, James, 14 + Pico, Andrés, 37 + Portolá, 2 + Pratt, P.P., 80 + + "Regulators," the, 136-37 + Richardson, William, 189 + Rigdon, Sidney, 80 + Rowe, 252 + Ryan, W.R., quoted, 7, 120-21 + + "Sacred Expedition," 2 + San Diego, first mission founded (1769), 13 + San Francisco, + before discovery of gold, 123; + effect of discovery of gold, 123-24; + in 1849, 124 et seq.; + fire of Dec. 4, 1849, 141; + later fires, 142; + Volunteer Fire Department, 143-46; + civic progress, 146-49; + population in 1851, 150-51; + in the mid-fifties, 159 et seq. + San Gabriel River, Battle of (1847), 41 + San Pascual, Battle of, 38 + Santa Fé, 14 + Semple, 33 + Serra, Father Junipero, 2 + Sherman, W.T., 208-09, 242-243, 245 + Sloat, Commodore J.D., 35, 36 + Smith, Growling, 48 + Smith, Jedediah, 15 + Smith, Joseph, Jr., + founder of the Mormon Church, 77-79; + as a leader, 79-80; + death, 85 + Smith, Peter, claims against city of San Francisco, 170 + Sonoma captured, 32-35 + Spain, + religious occupation of California, 2 et seq.; + discourages immigration into, 13 + Spence, David, 14 + Stockton, Robert, Commodore, 36 et seq.; + quarrels with Kearny, 38-39 + Stuart, James, 151-52 + _Sunday Times_, the, 192 + Sutler, Captain J.A., 23-26 + Sutter's Fort, 24, 25, 29, 30, 33, 106 + "Sydney Ducks," 136, 234 + + Terry, Judge, 241, 242, 243, 245-46, 251, 252 + Thomes, W.H., quoted, 9 + _Three Weeks in the Gold Mines_, Simpson, 64 + Truett, 201, 220, 251 + + Vallejo, General, 18 + Vigilantes, + of 1851, 150 et seq.; + of 1856, 231 et seq. + + Walker, Joseph, 29, 30 + White, James, 235 + Wightman, Peter, 235 + Wool, General, 242 + + Yerba Buena, _see_ San Francisco + Young, Brigham, 85-88, 89, 90, 91 + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Forty-Niners, by Stewart Edward White + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FORTY-NINERS *** + +***** This file should be named 12764-8.txt or 12764-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/7/6/12764/ + +Produced by Suzanne Shell and PG Distributed Proofreaders + +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. 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