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+Project Gutenberg’s History of California, by Helen Elliott Bandini
+
+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: History of California
+
+Author: Helen Elliott Bandini
+
+
+Release Date: March, 2005 [EBook #7778]
+This file was first posted on May 16, 2003
+Last Updated: October 31, 2016
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David A. Schwan
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
+
+
+By Helen Elliot Bandini
+
+
+
+Illustrated By Roy J. Warren
+
+B. Cal. W. P. 16
+
+
+
+
+Preface
+
+
+
+This book is an attempt to present the history of California in so
+simple and interesting a way that children may read it with pleasure.
+It does not confine itself to the history of one section or period, but
+tells the story of all the principal events from the Indian occupancy
+through the Spanish and Mission days, the excitement of the gold
+discovery, the birth of the state, down to the latest events of
+yesterday and to-day. Several chapters, also, are devoted to the
+development of California’s great industries. The work is designed not
+only for children, but also for older people interested in the story of
+California, including the tourists who visit the state by the thousand
+every year.
+
+For her information the writer has depended almost entirely upon source
+material, seldom making use of a secondary work. Her connection with the
+old Spanish families has opened to her unusual advantages for the study
+of old manuscripts and for the gathering of recollections of historical
+events which she has taken from the lips of aged Spanish residents,
+always verifying a statement before using it. She has, also, from long
+familiarity with the Spanish-speaking people, been able to interpret
+truly the life of the Spanish and Mission period.
+
+The illustrator of the history, Mr. Roy J. Warren, has made a careful
+study of the manuscript, chapter by chapter. He has also been a faithful
+student of California and her conditions; his illustrations are,
+therefore, in perfect touch with the text and are as true to facts as
+the history itself.
+
+The thanks of the author are due not only to a host of writers from whom
+she has gained valuable assistance, and some of whose names are among
+those in the references at the end of the book, but to others to whom
+further acknowledgment is due. First of these is Professor H. Morse
+Stephens, whose suggestions from the inception of the work until its
+completion have been of incalculable advantage, and whose generous
+offer to read the proof sheets crowns long months of friendly
+interest. Secondly, the author is indebted to the faithful and constant
+supervision of her sister, Miss Agnes Elliott of the Los Angeles State
+Normal School, without whose wide experience as a teacher of history
+and economics the work could never have reached its present plane. The
+author also offers her thanks to Mr. Charles F. Lummis, to whom not only
+she but all students of California history must ever be indebted; to
+Mrs. Mary M. Coman, Miss Isabel Frazee, to the officers of the various
+state departments, especially Mr. Lewis E. Aubrey, State Mineralogist,
+and Mr. Thomas J. Kirk and his assistant Mr. Job Wood of the educational
+department; to Miss Nellie Rust, Librarian of the Pasadena City Library,
+and her corps of accommodating and intelligent assistants, and to the
+librarians of the Los Angeles City Library and State Normal School.
+
+The passages from the Century Magazine quoted in Chapters V-IX are
+inserted by express permission of the publishers, the Century Company.
+Acknowledgment is due, also, to the publishers of the Overland Monthly
+for courtesy in permitting the use of copyright material; and to D.
+Appleton & Co. for permission to insert selections from Sherman’s
+Memoirs.
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+
+Chapter
+
+    I. The Land and the Name
+   II. The Story of the Indians
+  III. “The Secret of the Strait”
+    IV. The Cross of Santa Fe
+    V. Pastoral Days
+   VI. The Footsteps of the Stranger
+  VII. At the Touch of King Midas
+ VIII. The Great Stampede
+   IX. The Birth of the Golden Baby
+    X. The Signal Gun and the Steel Trail
+   XI. That Which Followed After
+  XII. “The Groves Were God’s First Temples”
+  XIII. To All that Sow the Time of Harvest Should be Given
+  XIV. The Golden Apples of the Hesperides
+   XV. California’s Other Contributions to the World’s Bill of Fare
+  XVI. The Hidden Treasures of Mother Earth
+ XVII. From La Escuela of Spanish California to the Schools of the
+       Twentieth Century
+XVIII. Statistics
+
+Bibliography Index
+
+
+
+History of California
+
+
+
+Chapter I.
+
+The Land and the Name
+
+
+
+Once upon a time, about four hundred years ago, there was published in
+old Spain a novel which soon became unusually popular. The successful
+story of those days was one which caught the fancy of the men, was read
+by them, discussed at their gatherings, and often carried with them when
+they went to the wars or in search of adventures. This particular story
+would not interest readers of to-day save for this passage: “Know that
+on the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California,
+very near the Terrestrial Paradise, and it is peopled by black women who
+live after the fashion of Amazons. This island is the strongest in the
+world, with its steep rocks and great cliffs, and there is no metal in
+the island but gold.”
+
+There is no doubt that some bold explorer, crossing over from Spain to
+Mexico and enlisting under the leadership of the gallant Cortez, sailed
+the unknown South Sea (the Pacific) and gave to the new land discovered
+by one of Cortez’s pilots the name of the golden island in this favorite
+story.
+
+This land, thought to be an island, is now known to us as the peninsula
+of Lower California. The name first appeared in 1542 on the map of
+Domingo Castillo, and was soon applied to all the land claimed by Spain
+from Cape San Lucas up the coast as far north as 44¼, which was probably
+a little higher than any Spanish explorer had ever sailed.
+
+“Sir Francis Drake,” says the old chronicle, “was the first Englishman
+to sail on the back side of America,” and from that time until now
+California has been considered the back door of the country. This was
+natural because the first settlements in the United States were along
+the Atlantic seacoast. The people who came from England kept their faces
+turned eastward, looking to the Mother Country for help, and watching
+Europe, and later England herself, as a quarter from which danger might
+come, as indeed it did in the war of the Revolution and that of 1812.
+
+During the last few years, however, various events have happened to
+change this attitude. Through its success in the late Spanish war the
+United States gained confidence in its own powers, while the people of
+the old world began to realize that the young republic of the western
+hemisphere, since it did not hesitate to make war in the interests of
+humanity, would not be apt to allow its own rights to be imposed upon.
+The coming of the Philippine and Hawaiian Islands under the protection
+of the United States, the Russo-Japanese war, which opened the eyes of
+the world to the strength of Japan and the wisdom of securing its trade,
+and the action of the United States in undertaking the building of
+the Panama Canal, are indications that the Pacific will in the future
+support a commerce the greatness of which we of to-day cannot estimate.
+With danger from European interference no longer pressing closely
+upon the nation, President Roosevelt in 1907 took a decided step in
+recognizing the importance of the Pacific when he sent to that coast
+so large a number of the most modern vessels of the navy. In fact, the
+nation may now be said to have faced about, California becoming the
+front door of our country.
+
+It is well, then, to ask ourselves what we know about the state which is
+to form part of the reception room of one of the leading nations of the
+world.
+
+It is a long strip of territory, bounded on one side by the ocean
+so well named Pacific, which gives freshness and moisture to the
+ever-blowing westerly winds.
+
+On the other side is a mountain range, one thousand miles long, with
+many of its peaks covered with perpetual snow, holding in its lofty arms
+hundreds of ice-cold lakes, its sides timbered with the most wonderful
+forests of the world.
+
+Few regions of the same size have so great a range of altitude as
+California, some portions of its desert lands being below sea level,
+while several of its mountains are over ten thousand feet in height. In
+its climate, too, there are wide differences as regards heat and
+cold, although its coast lands, whether north or south, are much more
+temperate than the corresponding latitudes on the Atlantic coast. The
+difference in the climate of the northern and southern portions of the
+state is more marked in the matter of moisture. Most of the storms of
+California have their beginning out in the North Pacific Ocean. They
+travel in a southeasterly direction, striking the coast far to the north
+in summer, but in winter extending hundreds of miles farther south.
+During November, December, January, and February they often reach as
+far south as the Mexican line. Then, only, does southern California
+have rain. The water necessary for use in the summer time is gained by
+irrigation from the mountain streams, which are supplied largely from
+the melting snows on the Sierras.
+
+The home lands of the state may be divided into two portions: the
+beautiful border country rising from the Pacific in alternate valleys
+and low rolling foothills to the edge of the Coast Range; and the great
+central valley or basin, which lies like a vast pocket almost entirely
+encircled by mountains the high Sierras on the east, on the west the low
+Coast Range. Two large rivers with their tributaries drain this valley:
+the San Joaquin, flowing from the south; and the Sacramento, flowing
+from the north. Joining near the center of the state, they cut their way
+through the narrow passage, the Strait of Carquinez, and casting their
+waters into the beautiful Bay of San Francisco, finally reach the ocean
+through the Golden Gate.
+
+Down from the Sierras, mighty glaciers carried the soil for this central
+valley, grinding and pulverizing it as it was rolled slowly along. Many
+years this process continued. The rain, washing the mountain sides,
+brought its tribute in the rich soil and decayed vegetation of the
+higher region, until a natural seed bed was formed, where there can
+be raised in abundance a wonderful variety of plants and trees. In the
+coast valleys the soil is alluvial, the fine washing of mountain rocks;
+this is mixed in some places with a warmer, firmer loam and in others
+with a gravelly soil, which is the best known for orange raising.
+
+The state owes much to her mountains, for not only have they contributed
+to her fertile soil, but they hold in their rocky slopes the gold and
+silver mines which have transformed the whole region from an unknown
+wilderness to a land renowned for its riches and beauty. They lift their
+lofty peaks high in the air like mighty strongholds, and, shutting
+out the desert winds, catch the clouds as they sail in from the ocean,
+making them pay heavy tribute in fertilizing rain to the favored land
+below.
+
+The climate, which of all the precious possessions of California is the
+most valuable, is best described by Bret Harte in the lines, “Half a
+year of clouds and flowers; half a year of dust and sky.” Either half is
+enjoyable, for in the summer, or dry season, fogs or delightful westerly
+winds soon moderate a heated spell, and in nearly all parts of the state
+the nights are cool; while the rainy, or winter season, changes to balmy
+springtime as soon as the storm is over.
+
+In a large portion of the state the climate is such that the inhabitants
+may spend much of their time out of doors. As a rule few duties are
+attended to in the house which can possibly be performed in the open
+air. It is growing to be more and more the custom to have, in connection
+with a Californian home, a tent bedroom where the year round one or more
+of the members of the family sleep, with only a wall of canvas between
+them and nature.
+
+The vacation time is spent largely in summer camps, at either mountain
+or seashore, or, quite often, a pleasant party of one or two families
+live together, very simply, under the greenwood tree beside some spring
+or stream, spending a few weeks in gypsy fashion. While the young folk
+grow sturdy and beautiful, the older members of the party become filled
+with strength and a joy of living which helps them through the cares
+and struggles of the rest of the year. This joy in outdoor life is not,
+however, a discovery of to-day. The old Spanish families spent as much
+time as possible in the courtyard, the house being deserted save at
+night. When upon journeys, men, women, and children slept in the
+open air. Even the clothes-washing period was turned into a kind
+of merrymaking. Whole families joined together to spend days in the
+vicinity of some stream, where they picnicked while the linen was being
+cleansed in the running water and dried on the bushes near by.
+
+Once before, when the world was younger, there was a land similar to
+this,--sea-kissed, mountain-guarded, with such gentle climate and
+soft skies. Its people, who also lived much out of doors at peace
+with nature, became almost perfect in health and figure, with mental
+qualities which enabled them to give to the world the best it has known
+in literature and art. What the ancient Greeks were, the people
+of California may become; but with an advancement in knowledge and
+loving-kindness of man toward man which heathen Athens never knew.
+
+What will be the result of this outdoor life cannot yet be told; climate
+has always had an active influence in shaping the character and type of
+a people. With a climate mild and healthful, yet bracing; with a soil so
+rich that the touch of irrigation makes even the sandiest places bloom
+with the highest beauty of plant, tree, and vine; with an ocean warm and
+gentle, and skies the kindliest in the world,--there is, if we judge by
+the lesson history teaches, a promise of a future for California greater
+and more noble than the world has yet known.
+
+
+
+Chapter II.
+
+The Story of the Indians
+
+
+
+“Run, Cleeta, run, the waves will catch you.” Cleeta scudded away, her
+naked little body shining like polished mahogany. She was fleet of foot,
+but the incoming breakers from the bosom of the great Pacific ran faster
+still; and the little Indian girl was caught in its foaming water,
+rolled over and over, and cast upon the sandy beach, half choked, yet
+laughing with the fun of it.
+
+“Foolish Cleeta, you might have been drowned; that was a big wave. What
+made you go out so far?” said Gesnip, the elder sister.
+
+“I found such a lot of mussels, great big ones, I wish I could go back
+and get them,” said the little one, looking anxiously at the water.
+
+“The waves are coming in higher and higher and it is growing late,” said
+Gesnip; “besides, I have more mussels already than you and I can well
+carry. The boys have gone toward the river mouth for clams. They will be
+sure to go home the other way.”
+
+Cleeta ran to the basket and looked in.
+
+“I should think there were too many for us to carry,” she said, as she
+tried with all her strength to lift it by the carry straps. “What will
+you do with them; throw some back into the water?”
+
+“No, I don’t like to do that,” answered her sister, frowning, “for it
+has been so long since we have had any. The wind and the waves have been
+too high for us to gather any. Look, Cleeta, look; what are those out on
+the water? I do believe they are boats.”
+
+“No,” said the little girl; “I see what you mean, but boats never go out
+so far as that.”
+
+“Not tule boats,” said Gesnip, “but big thick one made out of trees;
+that is the kind they have at Santa Catalina, the island where uncle
+lives. It has been a long time since he came to see us, not since you
+were four years old, but mother is always looking for him.”
+
+The children gazed earnestly seaward at a fleet of canoes which were
+making for the shore. “Do you think it is uncle?” asked Cleeta.
+
+“Yes,” replied her sister, uncertainly, “I think it may be.” Then, as
+the sunlight struck full on the boats “Yes, yes, I am sure of it, for
+one is red, and no on else has a boat of that color; all others are
+brown.”
+
+“Mother said he would bring abalone when he came,” cried Cleeta, dancing
+from one foot to the other; “and she said they are better than mussels
+or anything else for soup.”
+
+“He will bring fish,” said Gesnip, “big shining fish with yellow tails.”
+
+“Mother said he would bring big blue ones with hard little seams down
+their sides,” said Cleeta.
+
+Meantime the boats drew nearer. They were of logs hollowed out until
+they were fairly light, but still seeming too clumsy for safe seagoing
+craft. In each were several men. One sat in the stern and steered, the
+others knelt in pairs, each man helping propel the boat by means of
+a stick some four feet long, more like a pole than a paddle, which he
+worked with great energy over the gunwale.
+
+“I am afraid of them,” said Cleeta, drawing close to her sister. “They
+do not look like the people I have seen. Their faces are the color of
+the kah-hoom mother weaves in her baskets. There are only three like us,
+and they all have such strange clothes.”
+
+“Do not be afraid,” said Gesnip. “I see uncle; he is one of the dark
+ones like ourselves. The island people have yellow skins.”
+
+The time was the year 1540, and the people, the Californians of that
+day. The men in the boat were mostly from the island of Santa Catalina,
+and were fairer, with more regular features, than the inhabitants of the
+mainland, who in southern California were a short, thick-set race,
+with thick lips, dark brown skin, coarse black hair, and eyes small and
+shining like jet-black beads. They were poorly clothed in winter; in
+summer a loin cloth was often all that the men wore, while the children
+went naked a large part of the year.
+
+With wonderful skill the badly shaped boats were guided safely over the
+breakers until their bows touched the sand. Then the men leaped out and,
+half wading, half swimming, pulled them from the water and ran them up
+on the beach.
+
+The little girls drew near and stood quietly by, waiting to be spoken
+to. Presently the leading man, who was short, dark, and handsomely
+dressed in a suit of sealskin ornamented with abalone shell, turned to
+them.
+
+“Who are these little people?” he asked, in a kind voice.
+
+“We are the children of Cuchuma and Macana,” replied Gesnip, working her
+toes in and out of the soft sand, too shy to look her uncle in the face.
+
+“Children of my sister, Sholoc is glad to see you,” said the chief,
+laying his hand gently on Cleeta’s head. “Your mother, is she well?”
+
+“She is well and looking for you these many moons,” said Gesnip.
+
+The men at once began unloading the boats. The children watched the
+process with great interest, Abalone in their shells, a dainty prized
+then as well as now, fish, yellowtail and bonito, filled to the brim the
+large baskets which the men slung to their backs, carrying them by means
+of a strap over the forehead. On their heads they placed ollas, or water
+jars, of serpentine from quarries which may be seen in Santa Catalina
+to-day, the marks of the tools of workmen of, that time still in the
+rocks.
+
+There were also strings of bits of abalone shell which had been
+punctured and then polished, and these Sholoc hung around his neck.
+
+“Uncle,” exclaimed Gesnip, touching one of these strings, “how much
+money! You have grown rich at Santa Catalina. What will you buy?”
+
+“Buy me a wife, perhaps,” was the reply. “I will give two strings for a
+good wife. Do you know any worth so much?”
+
+“No,” said the girl, stoutly. “I don’t know any worth two whole strings
+of abalone. You can get a good wife for much less.”
+
+The men, who had succeeded in loading the contents of the boats on their
+heads and backs, now marched away, in single file, crossing the heavy
+sand dunes slowly, then mounting the range of foothills beyond. The
+children followed. Gesnip had her basket bound to her head by a strap
+round her forehead; but, though her uncle had taken out part of the
+contents, it was a heavy load for the child.
+
+As they neared the top of the hill, Sholoc, who was ahead, lifted his
+hand and motioned them to stop.
+
+“Hush,” he said softly, “elk.” Swiftly the men slipped off their loads
+and with bows in hand each one crept flat on his belly over the hill
+crest. Gesnip and Cleeta peeped through the high grass. Below them was
+a wide plain, dotted with clumps of bushes, and scattered over it they
+could see a great herd of elk, whose broad, shining antlers waved above
+the grass and bushes upon which they were feeding.
+
+“Are those elk too?” asked Cleeta, presently, pointing toward the
+foothills at their left.
+
+“No,” replied her sister, “I think those are antelope. I like to see
+them run. How funny their tails shake. But watch the men; they are going
+to shoot.”
+
+As she spoke, four of the hunters, who had crept well up toward
+the game, rose to their feet, holding their bows horizontally, not
+perpendicularly. These weapons, which were made of cedar wood, were
+about four feet in length, painted at the ends black or dark blue, the
+middle, which was almost two inches broad, being wrapped with elk sinew.
+The strings also were of sinew. The quiver which each man carried at his
+side was made from the skin of a wild cat or of a coyote. A great hunter
+like Sholoc might make his quiver from the tails of lions he had killed.
+Projecting from the quiver were the bright-feathered ends of the arrows,
+which were of reed and were two or three feet long, with points of bone,
+flint, or obsidian.
+
+The hunters, knowing how hard it was to kill large game, had chosen
+their arrows carefully, taking those that had obsidian points. Almost
+at the same moment they let fly their shafts. Three elk leaped into the
+air. One tumbled over in a somersault which broke one of its antlers,
+and then lay dead, shot through the heart by Sholoc. Another took a few
+leaps, but a second arrow brought it to its knees. Then it sank slowly
+over upon its side; but it struck so fiercely at the hunter who ran up
+to kill it with his horn knife that he drew back and shot it again.
+
+“Where is the third elk?” asked Cleeta, looking around.
+
+“Over there,” said Gesnip, pointing across the plain.
+
+“Then they have lost it,” said the child, with disappointment.
+
+“No, I think not. It is wounded. I saw the blood on its side,” said
+the sister. “See, one of the men is following it, and it is half a mile
+behind the herd. I am sure he will get it.”
+
+“This has been a lucky day,” said Gesnip. “So much food. Our stomachs
+will not ache with hunger for a long time.”
+
+“That is because mother wove a game basket to Chinigchinich so he would
+send food,” said Cleeta.
+
+By the time the party had traveled two miles, Gesnip, with her load, and
+Cleeta, whose bare brown legs were growing very tired, lagged behind.
+
+“O dear,” said the elder sister, “we shall surely be too late to go into
+camp with uncle.” Just then a whoop sounded behind them, and a boy of
+thirteen, dressed in a rabbit-skin shirt, carrying a bow in his hand,
+came panting up to them.
+
+“Payuchi,” said Gesnip, eagerly, “carry my basket for me and I will tell
+you some good news.”
+
+“No,” replied Payuchi, shaking his head, “it is a girl’s place to carry
+the basket.”
+
+“Just this little way, and it is such good news” urged Gesnip. “It will,
+make your heart glad.”
+
+“Very well, then, tell it quickly,” said the boy, changing the basket of
+mussels to his own broad back.
+
+“Sholoc has come from Santa Catalina with baskets of abalone and fish,
+and with ollas all speckled, and strings of money. He is near the top of
+the grade now. Upon hearing the good news the lad darted away at a great
+pace, his sisters following as fast as they could. Sholoc and his party
+had stopped to rearrange their loads, so the children overtook them at
+the head of the trail leading to their home.
+
+“Below them was a valley dotted with live oaks, and along the banks of
+the stream that ran through it was a thick growth of alders, sycamores,
+and willows. At the foot of the trail, near the water, was a cluster
+of what looked like low, round straw stacks. No straw stacks were they,
+however, but houses, the only kind of homes known in southern California
+at that time.
+
+“It was the Indian settlement where Gesnip, Cleeta, and Payuchi lived,
+and of which their father, Cuchuma, was chief. The jacals, or wigwams,
+were made of long willow boughs, driven into the ground closely in a
+circle, the ends bent over and tied together with deer sinews. They were
+covered with a thatching of grass that, when dry, made them look like
+straw stacks.
+
+“Sholoc stepped to the-edge of the bluff and gave a long, quavering cry
+which could be heard far in the still evening air. Instantly out of the
+group of jacals came a crowd of men and boys, who gave answering cries.”
+
+“I am glad they have a fire,” said Cleeta, as she saw the big blaze in
+the middle of the settlement, “I am so cold.”
+
+“Take my hand and let’s run,” said Gesnip, and partly running and partly
+sliding, they followed the men of the party, who, notwithstanding their
+heavy loads, were trotting down the steep trail.
+
+They were met at the foot of the grade by a crowd which surrounded them,
+all chattering at once. Sholoc told of the elk, and a number of men
+started off on the run to bring in the big game. As the visitors entered
+camp, Macana, a kind-faced woman, better dressed than most of her
+tribe, came forward. She placed her hand on Sholoc’s shoulder, her face
+lighting up with love and happiness.
+
+“You are welcome, brother,” she said.
+
+“The sight of you is good to my eyes, sister,” an answered Sholoc. That
+was all the greeting, although the two loved each other well. Macana
+took the basket from Payuchi’s back.
+
+“Come,” she called to Gesnip, “and help me wash the mussels.” Then,
+as she saw the younger girl shivering as she crouched over the fire,
+“Cleeta, you need not be cold any longer; your rabbit skin dress is
+done. Go into the jacal and put it on.” Cleeta obeyed with dancing eyes.
+
+Gesnip followed her mother to the stream.
+
+“Take this,” said Macana, handing her an openwork net or bag, “and hold
+it while I empty in some of the mussels. Now lift them up and down in
+the water to wash out the sand. That will do; put them into this basket,
+and I will give you some more.”
+
+Meantime some of the women had taken a dozen or more fish from Sholoc’s
+baskets, and removing their entrails with bone knives, wrapped them in
+many thicknesses of damp grass and laid them in the hot ashes and coals
+to bake.
+
+When the mussels were all cleaned, Macana emptied them into a large
+basket half filled with water, and threw in a little acorn meal and a
+handful of herbs. Then, using two green sticks for tongs, she drew out
+from among the coals some smooth gray stones which had become very hot.
+Brushing these off with a bunch of tules, she lifted them by means of
+a green stick having a loop in the end which fitted round the stones,
+flinging them one by one into the basket in which were the mussels and
+water. Immediately the water, heated by the stones, began to boil, and
+when the soup was ready, she set the basket down beside her own jacal
+and called her children to her. Payuchi, Gesnip, Cleeta, and their
+little four-year-old brother, Nakin, gathered about the basket, helping
+themselves with abalone shells, the small holes of which their mother
+had plugged with wood.
+
+“Isn’t father going to have some first?” asked Payuchi, before they
+began the meal.
+
+“Not this time; he will eat with Sholoc and the men when the fish are
+ready,” replied his mother.
+
+“This is good soup,” said Gesnip. “I am glad I worked hard before the
+water came up. But, Payuchi, didn’t you and Nopal get any clams?”
+
+“Yes,” said her brother, making a face; he had dipped down where the
+stones were hottest and the soup thickest, and had taken a mouthful that
+burned him. “Yes, we got some clams, more than I could carry; but Nopal
+was running races with the other boys and would not come, so I left him
+to bring them. He will lose his fish dinner if he doesn’t hurry.”
+
+“Mother,” said Cleeta, “may we stay up to the fish bake?”
+
+“No,” answered her mother. “You and Nakin must go to bed, but I will
+save some for your breakfast. You are tired, Cleeta.”
+
+“Yes, I am tired,” said the little girl, leaning her head against her
+mother’s shoulder, “but I am warm in my rabbit-skin dress. We all have
+warm dresses now. Please tell me a good-night story,” she begged. “We
+have been good and brought in much food.”
+
+“Yes, tell us how the hawk and coyote made the sun,” said Gesnip.
+
+“Very well,” said the mother, “only you must be quite still.”
+
+“It was in the beginning of all things, and a bowl of darkness, blacker
+than the pitch lining of our water basket, covered the earth. Man,
+when he would go abroad, fell against man, against trees, against wild
+animals, even against Lollah, the bear, who would, in turn, hug the
+unhappy one to death. Birds flying in the air came together and fell
+struggling to the earth. All was confusion.”
+
+“Once the hawk, by chance, flew in the face of the coyote. Instead of
+fighting about it as naughty children might, they, like people of good
+manners, apologized many times. Then they talked over the unhappy state
+of things and determined to remedy the evil. The coyote first gathered
+a great heap of dried tules, rolled them together into a ball, and gave
+them to the hawk, with some pieces of flint. The hawk, taking them in
+his talons, flew straight up into the sky, where he struck fire with his
+flints, lit the ball of reeds, and left it there whirling along with a
+bright yellow light, as it continues to whirl to-day; for it, children,
+is our sun, ruler of the day.”
+
+“The hawk next flew back for another ball to rule the night, but the
+coyote had no tule gathered, and the hawk hurried him so that some damp
+stems were mixed in. The hawk flew with this ball into the sky and set
+it afire but because of the green tules it burned with only a dim light;
+and this, children, is our moon, ruler of the night.”
+
+“That is a fine story,” said Payuchi. “I am glad I did not live when
+there was no light.”
+
+“Tell us how the coyote danced with the star,” said Gesnip.
+
+“No,” replied the mother, “another time we shall see. Now I shall sing
+to coax sleep to tired eyes, and the little ones will go to bed.” And
+this was what she sang: “Pah-high-nui-veve, veve, veve, shumeh, veve,
+veve, veve, shumeh, Pah-high-nui-veve,” and so on, repeating these words
+over and over until Cleeta and Nakin were sound asleep. Then she laid
+them on their tule mats, which were spread on the floor of the jacal,
+where baby Nahal, close wrapped in his cocoon-shaped cradle, had been a
+long time sleeping.
+
+“Mother,” said Gesnip, coming into the jacal, “they have brought in the
+elk. Don’t you want something from them?”
+
+“Yes,” replied Macana, “I will go and see about it. I want one of the
+skins to make your father a warm hunting dress.”
+
+The Indians who had gone after the elk had skinned and cut them up where
+they lay, as they were so large that the burden had to be distributed
+among a number of carriers. Macana found Sholoc busy portioning out
+parts of the elk. As he had a fine seal-skin suit himself, he gladly
+gave her the skin of the deer which he had shot.
+
+“Isn’t that a big one?” said Payuchi. “It will make father a fine
+hunting suit, it is so thick.” Gesnip was loaded down with some of the
+best cuts of the meat to take to her father’s jacal. Cuchuma himself
+began removing the tendons from the legs, to cure for bowstrings, and to
+wrap a new bow he was going to make.
+
+“Here, Nopal,” said Sholoc to his oldest nephew, a lad of fifteen, “I
+will give you a piece of the antler and you can grind it down and make
+yourself a hunting knife. It is time you ceased to play and became a
+hunter. I had killed much game when I was your age.”
+
+“Will you give me some of the brains that I may finish tanning a
+deerskin? I have been waiting to finish it until I could get some
+brains, but it has been a long time since any one has brought in big
+game,” said Macana.
+
+“Yes,” answered Sholoc, “you shall have them. Payuchi, hand me my
+elk-horn ax so that I can split open the head, and you can take the
+brains to the jacal.” Soon not a piece of meat, a bit of skin, tendon,
+or bone, was left. All was put to use by these people of the forest. And
+now the feast was ready. The women had roasted many pieces of elk’s meat
+over the coals. The fish had been taken from under the hot ashes, the
+half burned grass removed from around them, and the fish broken into
+pieces and put in flat baskets shaped like platters. There were also
+pieces of elk meat and cakes of acorn meal baked on hot stones.
+
+As was the custom with the Indians, the men were served first. Payuchi
+watched anxiously as his father and the other men took large helpings
+from the baskets.
+
+“Do you think there will be enough for us to have any?” he asked Gesnip.
+“I am so hungry and they are eating so much. If I were a man, I should
+remember about the women and children.”
+
+“No; you wouldn’t if you were a man; men never do,” answered Gesnip.
+“But you need not worry, there is plenty. Mother said there would be
+some left for breakfast.”
+
+“Wait for that till I get through,” said Payuchi, laughing. After all
+had eaten a hearty meal, more than for many weeks they had been able
+to have at any one time, the tired women each gathered her children
+together and took them to her own jacal, leaving the men sitting around
+the camp fire. Payuchi, who tumbled to sleep as soon as his head touched
+his sleeping mat, was wakened by some one pulling his rabbit-skin coat,
+which he wore nights as well as days.
+
+“Payuchi,” said a voice, “wake up.”
+
+“I have not been asleep,” answered the boy, stoutly, as he rubbed his
+eyes to get them open. “What do you want, Nopal?” for he saw his brother
+speaking to him.
+
+“Hush, do not waken mother,” said Nopal, speaking very softly. “I know
+that the men will make an offering to Chinigchinich. I am going to watch
+them. We are old enough, at least I am. Do you want to come?”
+
+A star shone in at the top of the jacal, and Payuchi gazed up at it,
+blinking, while he pulled his thoughts together.
+
+“They will punish us if they find us out,” said he at length.
+
+“But we won’t let them find us out, stupid one,” replied his brother,
+impatiently.
+
+“What if Chinigchinich should be angry with us? He does not like to have
+children in the ceremony of the offering,” said Payuchi.
+
+“I will give him my humming-bird skin, and you shall give him your
+mountain quail head; then he will be pleased with us,” answered Nopal.
+
+“All right,” said the boy; “I do not like very well to part with that
+quail head, but perhaps it is a good thing to do.”
+
+Creeping softly from the jacal, the boys crouched in the shade of a
+willow bush and watched the men by the camp fire.
+
+“They are standing up. They are just going,” said Payuchi, “and every
+one has something in his hand. Father has two bows; I wonder why.”
+
+“I think he is going to make an offering of the new bow to
+Chinigchinich,” answered Nopal. “I thought he was going to keep it and
+give me his old one,” he added, with some disappointment.
+
+“What are they offering for?” asked the young brother.
+
+“For rain,” said Nopal. “See, they are going now.” In single file the
+men walked swiftly away, stepping so softly that not a twig cracked.
+
+After a little the boys followed, slipping from bush to bush that they
+might not be discovered. They had walked about a mile, when they came
+to thicker woods with bigger trees and saw a light ahead of them. Nopal
+laid his hand on his brother to stop him. Peeping through a scrub-oak
+bush, they looked down into a little glade arched over with great live
+oaks. In the middle of the opening they saw, by the light of a low fire,
+a small cone-shaped hut. Beside it stood a gigantic figure painted and
+adorned with shells, feathers, rattlesnake skins, and necklaces of bone.
+
+“Come back,” whispered Payuchi, his teeth chattering with fear. “It is
+Chinigchinich himself; he will see us, and we shall die.”
+
+“No,” answered Nopal, “it is only Nihie, the medicine man. He looks so
+tall because of his headdress. It is made of framework of dried tules
+covered with feathers and fish bladders. I saw it one day in his
+jacal, and it is as tall as I am. That jacal beside him is the vanquech
+[temple], and I think there is something awful there. You see if there
+isn’t. Hush, now! Squat down. Here they come.”
+
+In a procession the men came into the opening, and, stalking solemnly
+by, each cast down at the door of the temple an offering of some object
+which he prized. Cuchuma gave a bone knife which he greatly valued, and
+a handsome new bow. Sholoc gave a speckled green stone olla from Santa
+Catalina and a small string of money; but these were chiefs’ offerings.
+The other gifts were simpler--shells, acorn meal, baskets, birds’ skins,
+but always something for which the owner cared.
+
+At last the medicine man, satisfied with the things offered which became
+his own when the ceremony was over, stooped and drew forth the sacred
+emblem from the temple. It was not even an idol, only a fetich composed
+of a sack made from the skin of a coyote, the head carefully preserved
+and stuffed, while the body was dressed smooth of hair and adorned
+with hanging shells and tufts of birds’ feathers. A bundle of arrows
+protruded from the open mouth, giving it a fierce appearance. While
+Nihie held it up, the men circled round once again, this time more
+rapidly, and as they passed the medicine man, each gave a spring into
+the air, shooting an arrow upward with all his force. When the last man
+had disappeared under the trees, Nihie replaced the skin in the temple,
+put out the fire, and, singing a kind of chant, he led the men back
+to their jacals. The boys stood up. Payuchi shivered and drew a long
+breath.
+
+“We must get away now; Nihie will be back soon to get the offerings,”
+ said Nopal.
+
+“But first we must offer our gifts, or Chinigchinich will be angry,”
+ said Payuchi.
+
+“Come on, then,” said the brother; so, stealing softly down the
+hillside, the boys cast their offerings on the pile in front of the hut
+and ran away, taking a roundabout path home, that they might not meet
+the medicine man returning.
+
+“We must hurry to get in the jacal before father,” said Nopal, suddenly.
+“I didn’t think of that. Run, Payuchi, run faster.” But they were in
+time after all, and were stretched out on their mats some minutes before
+their father and Sholoc came in.
+
+Macana’s first duty in the morning was to attend to the baby, whose
+wide-open black eyes gave the only sign that it was awake. She
+unfastened it from the basket and unwrapped it, rubbing the little body
+over with its morning bath of grease until the firm skin shone as if
+varnished. When it had nursed and was comfortable, she put the little
+one back in its cradle basket, which she leaned up against the side of
+the hut, where the little prisoner might see all that was going on.
+
+Instead of the usual breakfast of acorn meal mush, the children had a
+plentiful meal of fish which their mother had saved from the feast of
+the night before.
+
+“I didn’t think any one could catch so many fish as uncle brought last
+night,” said Cleeta, as she helped herself to a piece of yellowtail.
+
+“Yes, they do, though,” said Payuchi. “Last night, after supper, uncle
+told the men some fine stories. I think he has been in places which none
+of our people have ever seen.
+
+“He told us that once he journeyed many moons toward the land of snow
+and ice until he came to the country of the Klamath tribe, where he
+stayed a long time. He said that when they fish they drive posts made of
+young trees into the bottom of the river and then weave willow boughs
+in and out until there is a wall of posts and boughs clear across the
+stream. Then the big red fish come up from the great water into the
+river. They come, uncle said, so many no one can count them, and the
+ones behind push against those in front until they are all crowded
+against the wall, and then the Klamath men catch them with spears and
+nets until there is food enough for all, and many fish to dry.”
+
+“I should like to see that. What else did he tell you?” asked Gesnip.
+
+“He said he visited one place where the great salt water comes into
+the land and is so big it takes many days to journey round it. Here the
+people eat fish, clams, and mussels instead of acorns and roots. On the
+shore they have their feasting ground where they go to eat and dance and
+tell big stories, and; sometimes to make an offering. So many people go
+there, uncle said, that the shells they have left make a hill, a hill
+just of shells that is many steps high. From the top of it one may look
+over the water, which is so long no eye can see the end of it.”
+
+“What else did you hear?” asked Gesnip.
+
+“Nothing more, for mother called me,” replied her brother. “I should
+like to hear more of those stories, though.”
+
+“Mother,” asked Gesnip, as she finished her breakfast, “when am I to
+begin to braid mats for the new jacal?”
+
+“Soon,” replied Macana. “This morning you and Payuchi must gather
+the tule. Have a large pile when I come home.” So saying, the mother
+strapped the baby on her back and, accompanied by the younger children,
+went out with other women of the tribe to gather the white acorns from
+the oaks on the highlands pear the mountains.
+
+The December wind, from the snow-capped peaks, chilled and cut with
+its icy breath their scantily clothed bodies, but for hours they worked
+picking up the scattered nuts. The labors of an Indian mother ceased
+only while she slept.
+
+“Come, Payuchi,” said Gesnip, “let us go down to the river and get
+tules.”
+
+“All right,” replied the boy, readily. “Sholoc is going down too. He
+is going to show the men how to make log canoes like his instead of the
+tule canoes our people use. But I like the tule canoes, because I can
+use my feet for paddles.” When they reached the river, which was really
+a lagoon or arm of the sea, the children stopped to watch the men at
+work. A large log, washed down from the mountains by some flood, lay
+on the bank. It was good hard wood, and the children saw that it was
+smoking in three places.
+
+“This is going to make two canoes, but neither one will be so big, as
+uncle’s,” said Payuchi.
+
+“How can it make two canoes if they burn it up?” asked his sister.
+
+“You are stupid, Gesnip,” said her brother. “Don’t you see they are
+burning it to separate it into two parts? Then they will burn each log
+into the shape of a boat, finishing it up with axes of bone or horn.
+Uncle told me how they did it.”
+
+“Why have they put the green bark on the top of the log?”
+
+“I think it is to keep it from burning along the edge; don’t you see?
+And then there are wider pieces to protect it at the ends. See how they
+watch the fire and beat it out in one place and then in another.”
+
+“Why does it burn so fast?” asked Gesnip.
+
+“Because they have daubed it with pitch. Can’t you smell it?” said the
+boy, sniffing.
+
+“Yes, I can smell it,” replied his sister. “But come now and help me
+gather tules. Father is going to burn down our house and build a new one
+for winter, and I must make a tule rug for each one of you for beds in
+the new home. It will take a great many tule stems.”
+
+“It is cold to wade,” said Payuchi, stepping into the water at the edge
+of the river.
+
+“Yes,” answered Gesnip, “I don’t like to gather tules in winter.”
+
+The children pulled up the long rough stems one by one until they had a
+large pile.
+
+“I think we have enough,” said Payuchi, after they had been working
+about two hours.
+
+“Yes, I think so too,” said his sister. “My back aches, my hands are
+sore, and my feet are so cold.” Payuchi brought some wild grapevine with
+which he tied the tule into two bundles, fastening the larger upon his
+sister’s back; for with his people the women and girls were the burden
+bearers, and a grown Indian would not do any work that his wife could
+possibly do for him.
+
+After they had traveled a little way on the homeward path, Gesnip
+stopped.
+
+“Don’t go so fast, Payuchi,” she begged. “This bundle is so large it
+nearly tumbles me over.”
+
+“Just hurry a little until we get to the foot of the hill yonder where
+Nopal and the other big boys are playing, and you can rest while I watch
+the game,” answered her brother. Gesnip struggled on, bending under the
+weight and size of her awkward burden until, with a sigh of relief, she
+seated herself on a stone to rest while Payuchi, throwing his bundle on
+the ground, stood up to watch the boys.
+
+“See, Nopal is It,” he said. Nopal, coming forward, stooped low and
+rolled a hoop along the ground, which the boys had pounded smooth and
+hard for the game.
+
+As the hoop rolled another boy stepped forward and tried to throw a
+stick through it, but failed. Then all the players pointed their fingers
+at him and grunted in scorn. Again Nopal rolled the hoop, and this time
+the boy threw through the ring, and all the boys, and Payuchi too, gave
+whoops of delight.
+
+The children watched the game until Gesnip said that they must go on,
+for their mother would be home and want them. When they returned, Macana
+was warming herself by the fire where the men were sitting.
+
+“See our tule; is it not a great deal?” asked the children, showing
+their bundles.
+
+“Yes, but not enough,” replied their mother. “You will have to go out
+another day.”
+
+The women, who had been working all the morning gathering acorns, now
+squatted near the fire and began grinding up the nuts which had been
+already dried.
+
+“Gesnip,” called her mother, “bring me the grinding stones.” The girl
+went to the jacal and brought two stones, one a heavy bowlder with a
+hollow in its top, which had been made partly by stone axes, but more by
+use; the other stone fitted into this hollow.
+
+“Now bring me the basket of roasted grasshoppers,” said the mother.
+Taking a handful of grasshoppers, Macana put them into the hollow in the
+larger stone, and with the smaller stone rubbed them to a coarse powder.
+This powder she put into a small basket which Gesnip brought her.
+
+“I am glad we caught the grasshoppers. They taste better than acorn meal
+mush,” said Payuchi.
+
+“How many grasshoppers there are in the fall,” said Gesnip, “and so many
+rabbits, too.”
+
+“We had such a good time at the rabbit drive,” said Payuchi.
+
+“And such a big feast afterwards, nearly as good as last night,” said
+Gesnip.
+
+“Tell me about the rabbit drive,” said Cleeta, squatting down beside the
+children in front of the fire.
+
+“It was in the big wash up the river toward the mountains,” began
+Payuchi. “You have seen the rabbits running to hide in a bunch of grass
+and cactus when you go with mother to the mountains for acorns, haven’t
+you?”
+
+Cleeta nodded. “Not this winter, though. We saw only two to-day,” she
+said.
+
+“That is because of the drive,” said her brother. “It was in the
+afternoon, with the wind blowing from the ocean, and all the men who
+could shoot best with bow and arrow, or throw the spear well, stood on
+the other side of the wash.”
+
+“Father was there,” said Cleeta.
+
+“Yes, and many others,” said Payuchi. “Then some of the men and all of
+us boys got green branches of trees and came down on this side of the
+wash. Nopal started the fire. It burned along in the grass slowly at
+first, and when it came too near the jacals on one side or the woods
+on the other, we would beat it out with the branches, but soon it
+ran before the wind into the cactus and bunch grass. The rabbits were
+frightened out and ran from the fire as fast as they could, and in a
+few minutes they were right at the feet of father and the other hunters.
+They killed forty before the smoke made them run too.”
+
+“My dress was made of their skin,” said the little girl, smoothing her
+gown lovingly. “It keeps me so warm.”
+
+“Did the fire burn long?” asked Gesnip.
+
+“No, we beat it out, or it would have gone up the wash into the live
+oaks; then we boys should have been well punished for our carelessness.”
+
+Here their mother called to them.
+
+“Payuchi,” she said, “put away this basket of grasshopper meal. And,
+Gesnip, go to the jacal and find me the coils for basket weaving.”
+
+“What shall I bring?” asked Gesnip.
+
+“The large bundle of chippa that is soaking in a basket, and the big
+coil of yellow kah-hoom and the little one of black tsuwish which are
+hanging up, and bring me my needle and bone awl.”
+
+“Do you want the coil of millay?”
+
+“No, I shall need no red to-day.”
+
+Squatted on the ground, where she could feel the warmth of the fire on
+her back, but where the heat could not dry her basket materials, Macana
+began her work. Taking a dripping chippa, or willow bough, from the
+basket where it had been soaking, she dried it on leaves and wound
+it tightly in a close coil the size of her thumbnail, then spatted it
+together until it seemed no longer a cord, but a solid piece of wood.
+Thus she made the base of her basket; then, threading her needle,
+which was but a horny cactus stem set in a head of hardened pitch, she
+stitched in and out over the upper and under the lower layer, drawing
+her thread firmly each time. The thread was the creamy, satin-like
+kah-hoom. Round and round she coiled the chippa, the butt of one piece
+overlapping the tip of another, while with her needle she covered all
+with the smoothly drawn kah-hoom. After a time she laid the kah-hoom
+aside for a stitch or two of the black root of the tule, called tsuwish.
+
+The children had watched the starting of the basket, then had begun
+a game of match, with white and black pebbles. After a time Gesnip,
+looking up from her play, exclaimed, as she saw the black diamond
+pattern the weaver was making:--
+
+“Mother, why are you weaving a rattlesnake basket?”
+
+“I am making it to please Chinigchinich that he may smile upon me and
+guard you, children, and Cuchuma from the bite of the rattlesnake. There
+are so many of them here this year, and I fear for you.”
+
+“Thank you, mother,” said Gesnip. “If Titas’s mother had made a black
+diamond basket, maybe the snake would not have bitten her.”
+
+“I think Chinigchinich does smile upon you,” said Payuchi, “for when we
+were so hungry in the month of roots [October] you wove him the hunting
+basket with the pattern of deer’s antlers, trimmed with quail feathers,
+and see how much food we have had: first the rabbits, then the
+grasshoppers, and now the fish and elk.”
+
+“While you work tell us how the first baby basket was made,” begged
+Cleeta. The mother nodded; and as she wound and pressed closely the
+moist chippa, and the cactus needle flew in and out with the creamy
+kah-hoom or the black tsuwish, she told the story.
+
+“When the mother of all made the basket for the first man child, she
+used a rainbow for the wood of the back of the basket, with stars woven
+in each side, and straight lightning down the middle in front. Sunbeams
+shining on a far-away rain storm formed the fringe in front, where we
+use strips of buckskin, and the carry straps were brightest sunbeams.”
+
+“Mother, you left out that the baby was wrapped in a soft purple cloud
+from the mountains,” said Cleeta.
+
+“Yes, in a purple cloud of evening, wrapped so he could not move leg or
+arm, but would grow straight and beautiful,” said the mother.
+
+For a long while the children watched in silence the patient fingers at
+their work; then Gesnip asked, “Is it true, mother, that when you were
+a little child your father and mother and many of your tribe died of
+hunger?”
+
+“It is true,” replied Macana, sadly, “but who told you?”
+
+“Old Cotopacnic, but I thought it was one of his dreams. Why were you
+all so hungry?” asked the girl.
+
+“Because the rain failed for three seasons. After a time there was
+no grass, no acorns, the rabbits and deer died or wandered away, the
+streams dried up so there were no fish, the ground became so dry that
+there were no more grubs or worms of any kind, no grasshoppers. There
+was nothing to eat but roots. Nearly all our tribe died, and many other
+people, too.”
+
+“How did you live?” asked Payuchi.
+
+“My aunt had married a chief whose home was in a rich valley in the
+mountains where it is always green. She came down to see my mother, and
+when she found how hard it was to get food for us all, she took me by
+the hand and tumbled Sholoc who was smaller than little Nakin, into her
+great seed basket and took us off to the mountains until times should
+grow better; but the rains did not come until it was too late. I stayed
+with her until I married your father. Sholoc became a great hunter, then
+chief of the people of Santa Catalina, where he became a great fisherman
+also.”
+
+The children looked grave.
+
+“Do you think such bad seasons can ever come again?” asked Gesnip.
+
+“Who can tell?” replied the mother, with a sigh. “Last year was very
+bad and there is little rain yet this year. That is why the men offered
+gifts to Chinigchinich last night.”
+
+“Nobody must take me away from you to keep me from being hungry,” said
+gentle Cleeta, hiding her face in her mother’s lap.
+
+“If I were Chinigchinich,” said Payuchi, “I would not let so many people
+die, just because they needed a little more rain. I would not be that
+kind of a god.”
+
+“Hush, my child,” said the mother, sternly. “He will hear and punish
+you. If it is our fate, we must bend to it.”
+
+
+
+Chapter III
+
+“The Secret of the Strait”
+
+
+
+Cabrillo
+
+One afternoon in September, in the year 1542, two broad, clumsy ships,
+each with the flag of Spain flying above her many sails, were beating
+their way up the coast of southern California. All day the vessels had
+been wallowing in the choppy seas, driven about by contrary winds. At
+last the prow of the leading ship was turned toward shore, where there
+seemed to be an opening that might lead to a good harbor. At the bow
+of the ship stood the master of the expedition, the tanned, keen-faced
+captain, Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. He was earnestly watching the land
+before him, which was still some distance away.
+
+“Come hither, Juan,” he called to a sturdy lad, about sixteen, who,
+with an Indian boy, brought from Mexico as interpreter, was also eagerly
+looking landward. “Your eyes should be better than mine. Think you there
+is a harbor beyond that point?”
+
+“It surely seems so to me, sir,” answered the boy; “and Pepe, whose
+eyes, you know, are keener than ours, says that he can plainly see the
+entrance.”
+
+“I trust he is right; for this thickening weather promises a storm, and
+a safe harbor would be a gift of God to us weary ones this night,” said
+the captain, with a sigh.
+
+Since the fair June day when they had sailed out of the harbor on the
+west shore of Mexico, they had been following first up the coast line of
+the Peninsula, then of Upper California. No maps or charts of the region
+showing where lay good harbors or dangerous rocks, could be found in
+Cabrillo’s cabin. Instead, there were maps of this South Sea which
+pictured terrible dangers for mariners--great whirlpools which could
+suck down whole fleets of vessels, and immense waterfalls, where it was
+thought the whole ocean poured off the end of the land into space. A
+brave man was Captain Cabrillo, for, half believing these stories, he
+yet sailed steadily on, determined, no matter what happened to himself,
+to do his duty to the king under whose flag he sailed, and to the
+viceroy of Mexico, whose funds had furnished the expedition.
+
+California has ever been noted for its brave men, but none have been
+more courageous than this explorer, who was probably the first white
+man to set his foot upon its soil. As the ship approached land the crew
+became silent, every eye being turned anxiously to the opening of the
+passage which appeared before them. The vessel, driven by the stiff
+breeze, rushed on, almost touching the rock at one point. Then, caught
+by a favorable current, it swept into mid-channel, where it moved
+rapidly forward, until at length it rode safely in the harbor now known
+as San Diego Bay.
+
+“It is a good port and well inclosed,” said Juan Cabrillo, with great
+satisfaction, gazing out upon the broad sheet of quiet water. “We
+will name it for our good San Miguel, to whom our prayers for a safe
+anchorage were offered this morning.” Then, when the two ships were
+riding at anchor, the commander ordered out the boats.
+
+“We will see what kind of people these are, dodging behind the bushes
+yonder,” said he. As the Spaniards drew near shore they could see many
+fleeing figures.
+
+“What a pity they are so afraid,” said Cabrillo. “If we are to learn
+anything of the country, we must teach them that we mean them no harm.”
+
+“Master,” said Pepe, “there are three of them hiding behind those
+bushes.”
+
+“Is it so, lad? Then go you up to them. They will not fear you.” So the
+Indian boy walked slowly forward, holding out his hands with his palms
+upward, which not only let the natives see that he was unarmed, but in
+the sign language meant peace and friendship. As he drew near to them an
+old man and two younger ones, dressed in scanty shirts of rabbit-skins,
+came from their hiding places and began to talk to Pepe, but, though
+they also were Indians, they did not speak his language. Some of their
+words were evidently similar to his, and by these and the help of signs
+he partly understood what they said. Presently he returned to the group
+on shore.
+
+“They say there are Spaniards back in the country a few days’ journey
+from here.”
+
+“Spaniards? That is impossible,” returned Cabrillo.
+
+“They say that they are bearded, wear clothes like yours, and have white
+faces,” answered the boy, simply.
+
+“They must be mistaken, or perhaps you did not understand them fully,”
+ said the master. “At another time we will question them further. Now,
+give them this present of beads and hurry back, for it is late.”
+
+That night some of the men from the ships went on shore to fish. While
+they were drawing their nets, the Indians stole up softly and discharged
+their arrows, wounding three. The boy Juan had the most serious injury,
+an arrow being so deeply embedded in his shoulder that it could not be
+removed until they reached the ship. There the padre, who, like most
+priests of that day, knew something of surgery, drew it out, and bound
+up the shoulder in soothing balsams.
+
+On the second day of their stay in port the wind began to blow from the
+southwest; the waves grew rough, and Cabrillo ordered the ships to be
+made ready for the tempest, which soon became violent. Meantime, Juan
+lay suffering in his hammock, which swung backward and forward with the
+motion of the ship. Suddenly he heard a step beside him and felt a cool
+hand on his forehead.
+
+“How goes it, lad?” said Cabrillo, for it was the master himself. “You
+are suffering in a good cause. Have courage; you will soon be well.
+Remember, you have helped to discover a harbor, the like of which is
+seldom found. This storm is a severe one. I can hear the surf booming
+on the farther shore, yet our ship shows no strain on the anchor. Good
+harbor though it is, I am sorely disappointed, as I had hoped it was the
+entrance to the strait, the strait that seems a phantom flying before
+us as we go, drawing us onward to we know not what.” The sadness of the
+captain’s voice troubled Juan.
+
+“Master,” he asked earnestly, “what is the strait? I hear of it often,
+yet no one can tell me what it is, or where it lies.”
+
+“Because no one knows,” answered the captain, rising. “I am needed on
+deck, but I will send old Tomas to tell you its strange story.”
+
+“The secret of the strait,” said old Tomas, as he seated himself beside
+Juan, “has led many men to gallant deeds and also many a man to a
+gallant death. Always, since as a lad I first went to sea, the merchants
+of many lands have been seeking a safe and speedy way of reaching the
+Indies, where are found such foods, spices, and jewels as one sees
+nowhere else in the world.
+
+“My father and grandfather used to travel with caravans overland to and
+from India. There are several routes, each controlled by some one of the
+great Italian cities, but all have somewhere to cross the desert, where
+the trains are often robbed by wild tribes. Sometimes, as they come
+nearer home, they are held by the Turks for heavy tribute, with such
+loss that the merchants have been forced to turn to the sea in hopes
+that a better way might be found. It was while searching for this route
+that Columbus discovered the new world, and when the news of his success
+was brought back to Europe there was great rejoicing, because it was
+thought that he had reached some part of India. Magellan’s voyage,
+however, destroyed these hopes. He sailed for months down the eastern
+shore of the new land, and discovered, far away to the south, a strait
+through which he reached the great South Sea, but then he still sailed
+on for nearly a year before he came to the Spice Islands and Asia.
+
+“Now every one believes that somewhere through this land to the north
+of us there is a wide, deep sea passage from the North Sea [Atlantic] to
+the South Sea [Pacific], by which ships may speedily reach India. This
+passage is called the Strait of Anian.
+
+“The great captain, Hernando Cortez, the conqueror of New Spain [Mexico]
+spent many years and a large fortune seeking for this water way. Four
+different expeditions he sent out to explore this coast: most of them
+at his own cost. In the second one his pilot, Jiminez, led a mutiny,
+murdered his captain, and afterward discovered, accidentally, the
+southern point of this land we are now exploring. But it was not the
+good fortune of the noble Cortez to discover the strait. Our captain is
+the next to take up the search, and may God send him success.”
+
+After a stay of nearly a week in the bay of San Diego, Cabrillo
+continued his voyage up the coast, sailing by day, anchoring at night.
+He touched at an island which he named San Salvador, but which we know
+as Santa Catalina. Here, by his kind and generous treatment, he won
+the friendship of the natives. From this beautiful spot, he sailed, one
+Sunday morning, to the mainland. Entering the Bay of San Pedro, he found
+it enveloped in smoke.
+
+“It seems a fair port,” said the commander, “but go no farther inland.
+Drop anchor while we can see our way. We may well call this the Bay of
+Smokes.” The fires, they found, had been started by the Indians to drive
+the rabbits from shelter, so they could be the more easily killed.
+
+Sailing on, the ships anchored off a thickly settled valley, where the
+town of Ventura now lies. Here, on October 12, 1542, Cabrillo and his
+company went on shore and took solemn possession of the land in the
+name of the king of Spain and the viceroy of Mexico. Here, and along
+the channel, the people were better-looking, more comfortably lodged and
+clothed, than those farther south. They also had good canoes, which the
+natives of the lower coast did not possess. Pushing on, the explorer saw
+and noted the channel islands and rounded Point Conception. From here he
+was driven back by contrary winds, and toward nightfall of a stormy day
+found himself near the little island now named San Miguel.
+
+“We will call it La Posesion and take it for our own,” said Cabrillo,
+“for, if we can but make it, there seems to be a good harbor here.” The
+storm, however, grew more severe. The sea rose until occasionally
+the waves swept over the smaller ship, which was without a deck. Here
+occurred a most unhappy accident. Something about the ship, a spar
+probably, loosened by the storm, fell and struck the brave commander,
+breaking his arm. Although severely injured, he would not have the
+wounds dressed until, after a long period of anxiety, the two ships
+entered in safety the little harbor of San Miguel.
+
+Here, stormbound, they remained for a week. When they ventured forth,
+they again met with high winds and bad weather. Cabrillo, who in spite
+of discouragements never forgot his search for the strait, pushed close
+inshore and kept much of the time on deck looking for some signs of a
+river or passage. One morning at daybreak, after a rough night, they
+found themselves drifting in an open bay.
+
+“It is a fine roadstead,” said Cabrillo, coming on deck, as the sun rose
+over the pine-covered hills. “Were it smaller, it would be a welcome
+harbor. We will name it from those majestic trees La Bahia de Pinos, and
+yonder long projection we will call the Cabo de Pinos.” That bay is
+now called Monterey, but the cape still bears the name given it by this
+first explorer.
+
+Anchoring in forty-five fathoms of water, they tried to go on shore, in
+order to take possession of the land, but the sea was so rough that they
+could not launch their boats. The next day they discovered and named
+some mountains which they called Sierra Nevada, and, sailing on, went
+as far north as about 40¼. But this winter voyage was made at a great
+sacrifice. The exposure and hardships, following the wound he had
+received, were too much for even the hardy sailor Juan Rodriguez
+Cabrillo. After weeks of struggle with storms, the ships were forced
+back to their old shelter at San Miguel. Here Christmas week was spent,
+but a sad holiday it was to the explorers, for their brave leader lay
+dying. Nobly had he done his duty up to the last.
+
+“Juan,” he said, to his young attendant, on Christmas Eve, “how gladly
+the bells will be ringing in Lisbon to-night. I seem to hear them now.
+They drive out all other sounds. Call Ferrelo and let no one else come
+but the padre.” Very soon Juan returned with Cabrillo’s first assistant,
+the pilot, Ferrelo, a brave navigator and a just man.
+
+“Ferrelo,” said Cabrillo, faintly, “Death calls me, and the duty I lay
+down you must take up. I command you to push the expedition northward
+at all hazards, and to keep such records as are necessary in order that
+fitting account of our voyage shall be given to the world. Will you
+promise me to do this?”
+
+“I will, my master,” said Ferrelo, simply. “To the best of my ability
+will I take up your work.”
+
+“Always looking for the strait, Ferrelo?”
+
+“Always, senor.”
+
+On the 3d of January, 1543, the brave man died and was buried in the
+sands of Cuyler Harbor on San Miguel Island. His men called the island
+Juan Rodriguez. This name was afterwards dropped, but California should
+see to it that the island is rechristened in honor of the great sailor
+who sleeps there.
+
+Ferrelo later succeeded in sailing as far north as Cape Mendocino and
+perhaps as far as 42¡, but, though he kept as close to the shore as
+possible, he failed to discover the great bay whose waters, spreading
+like a sheet of silver over sixty miles of country, lay hidden just
+behind the Golden Gate. Near the Oregon line he was driven back by
+storms, and returned to Mexico, where he published a full account of the
+voyage.
+
+
+
+Drake
+
+In the town of Offenburg, Germany, there is a statue of a man standing
+on the deck of a ship, leaning against an anchor, his right hand
+grasping a map of America, his left, a cluster of bulbous roots. On
+the pedestal is the inscription, “Sir Francis Drake, the introducer of
+potatoes into Europe in the year of our Lord 1586.”
+
+While it is doubtful whether this honor really belongs to Drake, an
+Englishman, seeing the statue, would be inclined to say, “Is this all
+that Germany has to tell of the great captain who led our navy against
+the Spanish Armada; the first Englishman to sail around the world;
+the most daring explorer, clever naval commander, expert seaman, brave
+soldier, loyal friend, and gallant enemy of his time?” A Spaniard, on
+the contrary, might well exclaim, “Why did Germany erect a statue to
+this terrible man whom our poets call Dragontea [Dragon], this greatest
+of all pirates, this terror of the sea?” All this, and more, might be
+said of one man, who began life as a ship’s boy.
+
+At the time Drake first went to sea, England and Spain were by no means
+friendly. Henry the Eighth of England had ill-treated his wife, who was
+a Spanish princess. In addition he had drawn the English people away
+from the Church of Rome. These things were most displeasing to Spain,
+but there was still another reason for disagreement. The interests
+of the two countries were opposed commercially, and this was the most
+important cause of contention.
+
+Spain claimed by right of discovery, and gift of the Pope of Rome, all
+the land in the new world except Brazil (which belonged to Portugal),
+and held that no explorers or tradesmen, other than her own, had any
+rights on her waters or in her ports. English seamen denied much of this
+claim, and so frequent were the disputes arising upon the subject that
+the English sailors adopted as a maxim, “No peace beyond the line,”
+ meaning the line which was, by the Pope’s decree, the eastern boundary
+of the Spanish claim.
+
+The favorite prey of the British mariners was the treasure ships
+carrying to Spain the precious cargoes of gold and silver from the rich
+mines of the new world. With the far richer ships of the Philippine and
+Indian trade, sailing on unknown waters, they had not, up to Drake’s
+time, been able to interfere.
+
+Drake, when a very young man, had joined a trading expedition to Mexico.
+While there the English were attacked by the Spanish in what the former
+considered a most treacherous manner. Drake’s brother and many of
+his comrades were killed, and their goods taken. After the battle he
+solemnly vowed to be revenged, and so thoroughly did he carry out his
+resolution that he was for years the terror of the Spanish seamen,
+and, by many of the superstitious common sailors, believed to be Satan
+himself come to earth in human form.
+
+Shortly after this unfortunate expedition Drake engaged in a marauding
+voyage to Panama, where he captured rich stores of gold and silver and
+precious stones. He gained such renown for his bravery and seamanship
+that upon coming home he found himself famous.
+
+Queen Elizabeth knew that Spain was opposed to her and her religion, and
+was not in her heart displeased when her brave seamen got the better of
+their Spanish rivals. She received Drake privately, and help was offered
+him secretly from people who stood high in the government. With this
+encouragement he resolved to embark on a most hazardous and daring
+adventure. While in Panama he had seen, from a “high and goodlie tree”
+ on a mountain side, the great Pacific, and was immediately filled with
+a desire to sail on its waters and explore its shores. He therefore
+determined to cross the Atlantic, pass through the Strait of Magellan,
+up the Pacific, and to plunder the Spanish towns along the coast of
+South and Central America, until he should reach the region traversed by
+the richly laden Spanish ships coming from India and the Philippines. It
+is said that the queen herself put a thousand crowns into this venture.
+One thing is certain, that he received sufficient help to fit out five
+small vessels, with one hundred and sixty-four men. With these he sailed
+from Falmouth, England, in December of 1577. With the exception of
+perhaps one or two of the rich men who had helped him, no one, not even
+his men, knew of his plans.
+
+After a long and interesting voyage in which one vessel was lost and the
+others, though he did not know it, had deserted him, he found himself
+with but one ship beating his way up the coast of Lower California. This
+was his flagship Pelican, which he had rechristened the Golden Hind.
+It was then so laden with rich booty, that it was like a hawk which
+had stolen too heavy a chicken, driven this way and that by the winds,
+scarcely able to reach its nest.
+
+In addition to a good store of Chile wines and foods of various kinds,
+there were packed away in the hold of the Golden Hind, twenty-five
+thousand pesos of gold, eight thousand pounds of English money, and a
+great cross of gold with “emeralds near as large as a man’s finger.”
+ From one vessel Drake had taken one hundred-weight of silver; from a
+messenger of the mines, who was sleeping beside a spring on the Peruvian
+coast, thirteen bars of solid silver; off the backs of a train of little
+gray llamas, the camels of the Andes, eight hundred pounds of silver;
+and besides all these were large quantities of gold and silver that
+were not recorded in the ship’s list, and stores of pearls, diamonds,
+emeralds, silks, and porcelain.
+
+The last prize taken was the Spanish treasure ship Cacafuegos. Drake had
+transferred its cargo and crew to his own vessel and, for a time, manned
+it with some of his men. Its noble commander, St. John de Anton, who
+had been wounded in the attack, received every possible attention on
+the English vessel, and in the report which he afterwards made to
+the viceroy of Mexico, he told of the perfect order and discipline
+maintained on the Golden Hind, and of the luxury which surrounded its
+commander, who was treated with great reverence by his men.
+
+Before sailing on to the northward, Drake restored St. John and his crew
+to their vessel. Then, because he feared that they might fall into the
+hands of his fleet (having no suspicion that the other captains had
+returned home), he gave the Spaniards the following letter, which shows
+the great Englishman to have been more honorable than he is oftentimes
+represented:--
+
+“To Master Weinter and the Masters of the Other Ships of my Fleet:
+
+“If it pleaseth God that you should chance to meet with this ship of
+St. John de Anton, I pray you use him well according to my promise given
+him. If you want to use anything that is in the ship, I pray you pay him
+double value for it, which I will satisfy again. And command your men
+not to do any harm and what agreement we have made, at my return unto
+England, I will, by God’s help, perform, although I am in doubt that
+this letter will ever come to your hand, notwithstanding I am the man I
+have promised to be.
+
+“Beseeching God, the Saviour of the world, to have us all in his
+keeping, to whom I give all honor, praise, and glory,
+
+“Your sorrowful captain, whose heart is heavy for you,
+
+“Francis Drake.”
+
+
+How to get home was the problem which this daring man had now to solve.
+There was no possibility of returning by the way he had come. He well
+knew that the news of his departure had reached Spain, and that her war
+ships would be waiting for him, not only at the eastern entrance of the
+Strait of Magellan, but at the Isthmus and in the Caribbean Sea.
+
+If by sailing northward he could find the Strait of Anian, then his
+homeward journey would be safe and short; but if he could not find that
+illusive body of water, then there was left to him but the Pacific for
+a highway. However, this did not daunt him, as he felt that what the
+Portuguese Magellan had done, Drake the Englishman could do.
+
+Keeping well out from shore, the Golden Hind now sailed northward for
+nearly two months. Drake passed just west of the Farallon Islands, never
+dreaming of the great harbor which lay so short a distance on the other
+side. He traveled as far north as latitude 42¡ or possibly 43¡, and
+perhaps he even landed at one point, but he failed to find the strait.
+According to Fletcher, the priest of the Church of England who kept a
+journal of the expedition, they were finally forced by the extreme cold
+to turn southward. “Here,” says Fletcher, “it pleased God on this
+17th day of June, 1579, to send us, in latitude 38¡, a convenient fit
+harbor.” This is now supposed to be Drakes Bay, which lies thirty miles
+northwest of San Francisco, in Marin county.
+
+“In this bay we anchored, and the people of the country having their
+houses close to the waterside showed themselves unto us and sent
+presents to our general. He, in return, courteously treated them and
+liberally bestowed upon them things necessary to cover their nakedness.
+
+“Their houses are digged around about with earth and have for the brim
+of that circle, clefts of wood set upon the ground and joined closely
+together at the top like the spire of a steeple, which by reason of this
+closeness are very warm. The men go naked, but the women make themselves
+loose garments knit about the middle, while over their shoulders they
+wear the skin of a deer.”
+
+These people brought presents and seemed to want to offer sacrifices to
+the strangers as gods, but Drake, hastily calling his men together,
+held divine services, “To which, especially the prayers and music,” says
+Fletcher, “they were most attentive and seemed to be greatly affected.”
+ The Bible used by Drake in this service is still to be seen in Nut Hall
+House, Devonshire, England.
+
+Presently a messenger came, saying that the king wished to visit them
+if they would assure him of their peaceful intentions. Drake sent him
+presents, then marched his force into a kind of fort he had had made in
+which to place such parts of the cargo as it was necessary to remove in
+order to careen the ship for repairing. The coming of the chief is thus
+described:--
+
+“He came in princely majesty. In the fore-front was a man of goodly
+personage who bore the scepter whereon was hung two crowns with chains
+of marvelous length. The crowns were made of knit-work wrought with
+feathers of divers colors, the chains being made of bony substances.
+
+“Next came the king with his guard, all well clothed in connie skins,
+then the naked common people with faces painted, each bearing some
+presents. After ceremonies consisting of speeches and dances, they
+offered one of the crowns to Drake, who, accepting in the name of
+Elizabeth, allowed it to be placed on his head.”
+
+While the men were busy cleaning and repairing the ship, the commander
+and his officers made excursions into the interior, visiting many Indian
+towns and passing through wide plains where vast herds of deer, often
+one thousand or more, all large and fat, were feeding on the rich
+grasses. They also saw great numbers of what they called connies, which,
+from their description, must have been ground squirrels, or else some
+variety of animal now extinct. The country Drake named New Albion,
+partly from its white cliffs, which resembled those of his native land,
+and partly in belief that it would be easier to lay claim to the country
+if it bore one of the names applied to England.
+
+“When the time came for our departure,” continued Fletcher in his
+journal, “our general set up a monument of our being here, so also, of
+her majesty’s right and title to the land: namely a plate nailed upon
+a fair great post, whereon was engraved her majesty’s name, the day and
+year of our arrival, with the giving up of the province and people into
+her majesty’s hands, together with her highness’ picture and arms in a
+sixpence under the plate, whereunder was also written the name of our
+general.”
+
+Fletcher seemed not to know of Cabrillo’s voyage, for he claimed that no
+one had ever discovered land in this region, or for many degrees to the
+south; while in fact Ferrelo with Cabrillo’s ships had sailed as far
+north as latitude 42¡, although we have no reason to think that he
+landed in a higher latitude than that of Point Conception and San Miguel
+Island.
+
+Once again solemn religious services were held by the Englishmen on the
+hospitable soil that had been their home for over a month. Then they
+went on board the ship, accompanied to the shore by the grieving
+Indians, who would not be comforted when they saw their new friends
+forsaking them. It was near the last of July in 1579 that Captain Drake
+with his brave men began his wonderful homeward voyage.
+
+It was a triumphant return they made in September, a year later. Crowds
+flocked to see the famous ship and its gallant commander.
+
+Some of the queen’s statesmen strongly disapproved of Drake’s attack
+upon Spanish towns and vessels, and felt he should be arrested and tried
+for piracy; but the common people cheered him wherever he went, and as a
+crowning honor, in the luxurious cabin of his good ship Golden Hind, he
+was visited by the great Elizabeth herself. When the banquet was over,
+at the queen’s command, he bent his knee before her, and this sovereign,
+who, though a woman, dearly loved such courage and daring as he had
+displayed, tapped him on the shoulder and bade him arise “Sir Francis
+Drake.”
+
+
+Galli and Carmenon
+
+In 1584 Francisco Galli, commanding a Philippine ship, returning to
+Mexico by way of Japan, sighted the coast of California in latitude 37¡
+30’. He saw, as he reported, “a high and fair land with no snow and many
+trees, and in the sea, drifts of roots, reeds, and leaves.” Some of the
+latter he gathered and cooked with meat for his men, who were no doubt
+suffering from scurvy.
+
+Galli wrote of the point where he first saw the coast as Cape Mendocino,
+which would seem to imply that the point had been discovered and named
+at some previous time, of which, however, there is no record.
+
+In 1595 Sebastian Carmenon, commanding the ship San Agustin, coming from
+the Philippines, was given royal orders to make some explorations on
+the coast of California, probably to find a suitable harbor for Manila
+vessels. In doing so he was so unfortunate as to run his vessel ashore
+behind Point Reyes, and to lighten her was obliged to leave behind a
+portion of his cargo, consisting of wax and silks in boxes. There
+is only the briefest record of this voyage, and no report of any
+discoveries.
+
+
+Vizcaino
+
+Almost sixty years after the voyage of Cabrillo, came a royal order from
+the king of Spain to the viceroy of Mexico which, translated from the
+Spanish, ran something like this:--
+
+“Go, search the northern coast of the Californias, until you find a good
+and sufficient harbor wherein my Manila galleons may anchor safe and
+protected, and where may be founded a town that my scurvy-stricken
+sailors may find the fresh food necessary for their relief. Furthermore,
+spare no expense.”
+
+The destruction of Spanish shipping by Drake and other English seamen
+who followed his example, had caused great anxiety to the Spaniards and
+was partly the reason for this order.
+
+“Send for Don Sebastian,” said the viceroy. “He is a brave gentleman and
+good sailor. He shall carry out the order of the king.” But it took time
+to fit out such an expedition, and it was not until an afternoon in
+May, 1602, that Don Sebastian Vizcaino, on his flagship, the San Diego,
+sailed out of the harbor of Acapulco into the broad Pacific. Closely
+following him were his other ships, the San Thomas and Tres Reyes.
+
+There had been solemn services at the cathedral that afternoon. Officers
+and men had taken of the holy communion; and now their wives and
+children stood on the island at the entrance of the harbor, watching the
+white sails as they grew fainter and fainter and at last disappeared in
+the haze of the coming night.
+
+Then the watchers returned to their lonely homes with heavy hearts,
+for in those days few came back who sailed out on the great South Sea.
+Storms, battles with the natives, and scurvy made sad havoc among the
+sailors.
+
+Early in November Vizcaino entered “a famous port,” which he named San
+Diego, finding it, as Padre Ascension’s journal says, “beautiful and
+very grand, and all parts of it very convenient shelter from the winds.”
+ After leaving San Diego, the next anchoring place was the island named
+by Vizcaino for Santa Catalina, on whose feast day his ships entered the
+pretty little harbor of Avalon.
+
+The Spaniards were greatly pleased with the island and also with the
+people, whom they described as being a large-figured, light-complexioned
+race; all, men, women, and children, being well clothed in sealskins.
+They had large dwellings, many towns, and fine canoes. What struck Padre
+Ascension most strongly was their temple, of which he says: “There was
+in the temple a large level court, and about this a circle surrounded
+by feather work of different colors taken from various birds which I
+understand had been sacrificed to their idols. Within this circle was
+the figure of a demon painted in color after the manner of the Indians
+of New Spain. On its sides were figures of the sun and moon.
+
+“It so fell out that when our soldiers came up from the ships to view
+the temple, there were in the circle two immense ravens, far larger than
+ordinary. When the men arrived, they flew away to some rocks that were
+near by, and the soldiers seeing how large they were, raised their
+arquebuses and killed them both. Then did the Indians begin to weep and
+make great lamentation. I understand that the devil was accustomed
+to speak to them, through these birds, for which they showed great
+respect.”
+
+There were in the island quantities of edible roots of a variety of the
+yucca called gicamas, and many little bulbs which the Spanish called
+“papas pequenos” (little potatoes). These, the padre said, the Indians
+took in their canoes over to the mainland, thus making their living by
+barter. This certainly must have been the beginning of commerce on the
+coast.
+
+Vizcaino entered and named the Bay of San Pedro. To the channel islands
+he also gave the names which they now bear. Sailing on, he discovered
+a river which he named “Carmelo,” in honor of the Carmelite friars who
+accompanied him. The same day the fleet rounded the long cape called
+“Point Pinos” and came to anchor in the bay formed by its projection.
+From here the San Tomas was sent to Mexico to carry the sick, of whom
+there were many, and to bring back fresh supplies. The men who remained
+were at once set to work. Some supplied the two ships with wood and
+water; others built a chapel of brush near the beach, under a large oak
+at the roots of which flowed a spring of delicious water. In this chapel
+mass was said and the Te Deum chanted. For over one hundred and fifty
+years this oak was known, both in New Spain and at the court of the
+king, as the “Oak of Vizcaino, in the Bay of Monterey.” From here
+Vizcaino wrote to the king of Spain as follows:--
+
+“Among the ports of greater consideration which I have discovered is
+one in 30¡ north latitude which I called Monterey, as I wrote to your
+majesty in December. It is all that can be desired for commodiousness
+and as a station for ships making the voyage from the Philippines,
+sailing whence they make a landfall on this coast. It is sheltered from
+all winds and in the immediate vicinity are pines from which masts of
+any desired size could be obtained, as well as live oak, white oak, and
+other woods. There is a variety of game, great and small. The land has
+a genial climate and the waters are good. It is thickly settled by a
+people whom I find to be of gentle disposition, and whom I believe can
+be brought within the fold of the Holy Gospel and subjugation to your
+majesty.”
+
+This enthusiastic praise of the harbor of Monterey by a man who was
+familiar with the port of San Diego, caused much trouble later, as will
+be seen in the study of the founding of the missions.
+
+Not waiting for the return of the San Tomas, Vizcaino with his two ships
+soon sailed northward, and reached a point in about latitude 42¡, which
+was probably the northern limit reached by Cabrillo’s ships and only a
+little lower than the farthest explorations of Drake. Although Vizcaino
+was looking for harbors, he yet passed twice outside the Bay of San
+Francisco, the finest on the coast, without discovering it. After his
+return to Mexico, Vizcaino endeavored to raise an expedition to found
+a settlement at Monterey, even going to Spain to press the matter; but
+other schemes were demanding the king’s attention, and he would
+give neither thought nor money to affairs in the new world; and so,
+thoroughly disheartened Vizcaino returned to Mexico.
+
+From this time for over one hundred and fifty years there is no record
+of explorations along this coast, either by vessels from Mexico or by
+those coming from the Philippines. California seemed again forgotten.
+
+This is the story of the few voyages made to the coast of California
+previous to its settlement. The first, under Cabrillo, was sent out by
+the viceroy Mendoza, who hoped to gain fame and riches by the discovery
+of the Strait of Anian, and by finding wealthy countries and cities
+which were supposed to exist in the great northwest, about which much
+was imagined but nothing known.
+
+Drake planned his voyage largely in pursuit of his revenge upon Spain,
+partly for the plunder which he hoped to obtain from the Spanish towns
+and vessels along the Pacific coast of America, and partly because of
+his desire to explore the Pacific Ocean.
+
+Vizcaino also was expected to search for the strait, but he was
+especially sent out to find a good harbor and place for settlement
+on the California coast. This was intended in a great measure for the
+benefit of the Philippine trade, but also to aid in holding the country
+for Spain.
+
+
+
+Chapter IV
+
+The Cross of Santa Fe
+
+
+
+The kings highway which led up from Vera Cruz, the chief port of the
+eastern coast of Mexico, to the capital city of New Spain had in the
+eighteenth century more history connected with it than any other road in
+the new world. Over it had passed Montezuma with all the splendor of
+his pagan court. On it, too, had marched and counter marched his grim
+conqueror, the great Cortez. Through its white dust had traveled an
+almost endless procession of mules and slaves, carrying the treasures of
+the mines of Mexico and the rich imports of Manila and India on toward
+Spain.
+
+Over this road there was journeying, one winter day in the year 1749,
+a traveler of more importance to the history of the state of California
+than any one who had gone before. He was no great soldier or king, only
+a priest in the brownish gray cloak of the order of St. Francis. He was
+slight in figure, and limped painfully from a sore on his leg, caused,
+it is supposed, by the bite of some poisonous reptile. The chance
+companions who traveled with him begged him to stop and rest beside a
+stream, but he would not. Then, as he grew more weary, they entreated
+him to seek shelter in a ranch house near by and give up his journey.
+
+“Speak not to me thus. I am determined to continue. I seem to hear
+voices of unconverted thousands calling me,” was all the answer he
+gave. So on foot, with no luggage but his prayer book, he limped out of
+sight--the humble Spanish priest, Junipero Serra.
+
+While only a schoolboy, young Serra had been more interested in the
+Indian inhabitants of the new world than in boyish pleasure. As he grew
+older it became his greatest desire to go to them as a missionary. At
+eighteen he became a priest; but it was not until his thirty-sixth year
+that he gained the opportunity of which he had so long dreamed, when,
+in company with a body of missionaries, among whom were his boyhood
+friends, Francisco Palou and Juan Crespi, he landed at Vera Cruz.
+
+He was too impatient to begin his new work, to wait for the government
+escort which was coming to meet them. So he started out on foot, with
+only such companions as he might pick up by the way, to make the long
+journey to the city of Mexico.
+
+Sixteen years later, attended by a gay company of gentlemen and ladies,
+there traveled over this road one of Spain’s wisest statesmen, Jose
+de Galvez, whom the king had sent out to look after affairs in the new
+world. Flourishing settlements were by this time scattered over a large
+portion of Mexico, and even in the peninsula of Lower California there
+were a number of missions. It was almost a hundred years before this
+time that two Catholic priests of the Society of Jesus had asked
+permission to found mission settlements among the Indians of this
+peninsula.
+
+“You may found the missions if you like, but do not look to us for money
+to help you,” was the answer returned by the officers of the government.
+So the two Jesuit priests set about collecting funds for the work.
+
+They were eloquent men, and the people who heard them preach became so
+interested in the Indians that they were glad to give. And so, little by
+little, this fund grew. As the good work went on, greater gifts poured
+in. Whole fortunes were left them, and finally they had a very large
+sum carefully invested in the city of Mexico. This was known as the Pius
+Fund. From it was taken all the money needed for the founding of the
+missions of Lower California; and, many years later, the expenses of
+founding the twenty-one missions of Upper California came from the same
+source. This fund became the subject of a long dispute between Mexico
+and the United States, of which an account is given in Chapter XI.
+
+In 1767 all the Jesuit priests in New Spain were called back to Europe,
+and a large portion of their wealth and missions on the peninsula were
+given over to the order of St. Francis, with Junipero Serra at their
+head. It was Galvez’s duty to superintend this change, and while he
+was on his way to the peninsula for that purpose he was overtaken by
+an order from the king of Spain to occupy and fortify the ports of San
+Diego and Monterey. The Spanish government had the description of these
+ports furnished by Vizcaino in his account of his explorations in Upper
+and Lower California over one hundred and sixty years before.
+
+The articles of the king’s order were: first, to establish the Catholic
+faith; second, to extend Spanish dominion; third, to check the ambitious
+schemes of a foreign power; and lastly, to carry out a plan formed by
+Philip the Third, as long ago as 1603, for the establishment of a town
+on the California coast where there was a harbor suitable for ships of
+the Manila trade.
+
+Galvez at once proceeded to organize four expeditions for the settlement
+of Upper California, two by land, two by sea. Captain Portola, governor
+of the peninsula, was put in command, with good leaders under him.
+Still, Galvez was not satisfied.
+
+“This is all very well,” he said; “these men will obey my orders,
+but they do not care much whether this land is settled or not, and if
+discouragements arise, back they will come, and I shall have the whole
+thing to do over again. I must find some one who is interested in the
+work, some one who will not find anything impossible. I think I shall
+send for that lame, pale-faced priest, with the beautiful eyes, who has
+taken up the work of these missions so eagerly.”
+
+“So you think we can make the venture a success?” asked Galvez, after he
+had talked over his plans with Junipero.
+
+“Surely,” said Padre Serra, his eyes shining, his whole face glowing
+with enthusiasm. “It is God’s work to carry the cross of the holy faith
+[Santa Fe] into the wilderness, and He will go with us; can you not hear
+the heathen calling us to bring them the blessed Gospel? I can see that
+I have lived all my life for this glorious day.”
+
+Then they went to work, the priest and the king’s counselor--down on the
+wharf, even working with their own hands, packing away the cargo.
+
+“Hurry! Hurry!” said Galvez. The word was passed along, and in a short
+time the four expeditions were ready.
+
+Many were the trials and discouragements of the various parties. Scurvy
+was so severe among the sailors that one ship lost all its crew save two
+men, and there were a number of deaths on another ship; while a third
+vessel which started later was never heard from. Padre Junipero, who
+accompanied the second land party, under the charge of Governor Portola,
+became so ill from the wound on his leg that the commander urged him
+to return; but he would not. Calling a muleteer who was busy after the
+day’s march, doctoring the sores on his animals, he said:--
+
+“Come, my son, and cure my sores also.”
+
+“Padre,” exclaimed the man, shocked at the idea, “I am no surgeon; I
+doctor only my beasts.”
+
+“Think then that I am a beast, my child,” said the padre, “and treat me
+accordingly.”
+
+The man obeyed. Gathering some leaves of the malva, or cheese plant, he
+bruised them a little, heated them on the stones of the camp fire, and
+spreading them with warm tallow, applied them to the wound. The next
+morning the leg was so much better that the cure was thought to be a
+miracle. Still the padre was very weak; and there was great rejoicing in
+the party when at last they looked down from a height on San Diego
+Bay, with the two ships--the San Carlos and the San Antonio--riding at
+anchor, white tents on the beach, and soldiers grouped about. Salutes
+were fired by the newcomers and returned by the soldiers and ships, and
+very soon the four expeditions were reunited.
+
+On the next day, Sunday, solemn thanksgiving services were held. Then
+for fourteen days all were busy attending to the sick, making ready for
+the departure of the ship San Antonio, which was to be sent back for
+supplies, and packing up food and other necessities for the journey to
+Monterey. The San Antonio sailed on the 9th of July, 1769, and five days
+later Governor Portola and two thirds of the well portion of the company
+started overland to Monterey.
+
+Meantime Padre Junipero had been impatiently awaiting an opportunity to
+begin his great work--the conversion of the heathen. He had written
+back in his own peculiar way to his friend Padre Palou, whom he left in
+charge of the missions of Lower California.
+
+“Long Live Jesus, Joseph, and Mary, This to Fray Francisco Palou.
+
+“My dear friend and Sir:--
+
+“I, thanks be to God, arrived day before yesterday at this, in truth,
+beautiful, and with reason famous, port of San Diego. We find Gentiles
+[the name given to the wild Indians] here in great numbers. They seem to
+lead temperate lives on various seeds and on fish which they catch from
+their rafts of tule which are formed like a canoe.”
+
+The second day after the departure of Portola and his party, Sunday,
+July 16, Padre Serra felt that the glorious moment for which he had so
+long prayed had at length arrived. The mission bells were unpacked and
+hung on a tree, and a neophyte, or converted Indian, whom he had brought
+with him from the peninsula, was appointed to ring them. As the sweet
+tones sounded on the clear air, all the party who were able gathered
+about the padre, who stood lifting the cross of Christ on high. All
+joined in solemnly chanting a hymn, and a sermon was preached. Then with
+more chanting, the tolling of, the bells, and the firing of muskets, was
+concluded the ceremony of the founding of the first of the California
+missions, that of San Diego.
+
+Portola and his men, in spite of many discouragements, traveled steadily
+northward for nearly two months until at last, one October morning, they
+saw what they thought to be Point Pinos, the name given by Cabrillo to
+the pine-covered cape to the south of Monterey Bay. They were right in
+thinking this Point Pinos, but the sad part is that when they climbed
+a hill and looked down on the bay they had come so far to find, they
+failed to recognize it.
+
+They tramped wearily over the sun-dried hills that bordered it,
+and walked on its sandy beach, but could not believe the wide, open
+roadstead, encircled by bare brown heights, could be the well-inclosed
+port lying at the foot of hills richly green, so warmly described by
+Vizcaino in his winter voyage. It was a great disappointment, for this
+was the latitude in which they had expected to find Monterey. After
+talking it over, they decided they must be still too far south, so they
+tramped on for many days.
+
+On the last day of October, those of the party who were well enough,
+climbed a high hill--(Point San Pedro on the west coast of the
+peninsula)--and were rewarded by a glorious view. On their left the
+great ocean stretched away to the horizon line, its waves breaking in
+high-tossed foam on the rocky shore beneath them. Before them they saw
+an open bay, or roadstead, lying between the point on which they stood,
+and one extending into the sea far to the northwest. Upon looking at
+their map of Vizcaino’s voyage, they rightly decided that this farther
+projection was Point Reyes; the little bay sheltered by the curve of its
+arm was the one named on the map St. Francis, and now known as Drakes
+Bay. Well out to sea they discovered a group of rocky islands which they
+called Farallones; but not a man who stood on the height dreamed that
+only a short distance to the right up the rocky coast there lay a bay
+so immense and so perfectly inclosed that it would ever be one of the
+wonders of the land they were exploring.
+
+On account of the sick of the party, among whom were the commander and
+his lieutenant, it was decided to travel no further, but to camp here
+while Sergeant Ortega was dispatched to follow the coast line to Point
+Reyes and explore the little bay it inclosed.
+
+With a few men and three days’ provisions consisting of small cakes made
+of bran and water, which was the only food they had left, this brave
+Spanish officer marched away, little imagining the honor which was
+soon to be his. Leading this expedition, he was the first white man to
+explore the peninsula where now stands the guardian city of the western
+coast, and we must wonder what were his thoughts when, pushing his way
+up some brush-covered heights, he came out suddenly upon the great bay
+we call San Francisco.
+
+What a mighty surprise was that sixty miles of peaceful water that had
+so long remained hidden from European explorers, baffling the anxious
+gaze of Cabrillo, the faithful explorations of Ferrelo, the eagle eyes
+of Drake, and the earnest search of Vizcaino!
+
+Pushing steadily on toward Point Reyes, Ortega encountered a second
+surprise, when from the Presidio hills he looked down on beautiful
+Golden Gate, whose rumpled waters seemed to say:--
+
+“No farther can you come. We keep guard here.”
+
+Seeing that it was quite impossible for him to reach Point Reyes, Ortega
+decided to return to Portola. He found the commander and his party so
+weakened by sickness and the lack of food that it had been decided to
+explore no farther, but to return at once to the southern mission. After
+a painful march of sixty days the party reached San Diego.
+
+Bitter was the disappointment of Padre Junipero Serra at the failure to
+found the mission of Monterey. He did not believe, as many of the party
+reported, that the bay was filled up with sand. Keener still was his
+grief when Portola, after looking over the supply of food, announced
+that unless the ship San Antonio or the sloop San Jose arrived by
+a certain date with provisions, they would have to abandon Upper
+California and return to the peninsula.
+
+The padre at once called the people together for a nine days’ session of
+prayer and other church services at which to pray for the coming of the
+relief boat. Portola, though he attended the services, went steadily on
+with his preparations for departure. On the morning of the day before
+the one set for the beginning of the march toward Lower California,
+the padres went to the heights overlooking the bay, where they remained
+watching and praying. At sea a heavy fog hung over the water. Hour after
+hour passed as they gazed out on the lovely bay. Noon came, but they
+would not return to the mission to rest or eat. The afternoon wore away,
+the sun sank in the clouds above the horizon, then, as all hope seemed
+gone, the fog was lifted by a sunset breeze, and there, far out at sea,
+they saw a white sail. The good men fell on their knees in thanksgiving,
+while their Indian servants ran to carry the news to camp.
+
+This vessel, the San Antonio, brought not only abundant provisions but
+fresh orders from Galvez to hurry the work at Monterey. The settlement
+of Upper California was now made certain.
+
+An expedition by land and the San Antonio by sea immediately started
+northward. A few weeks later Padre Junipero wrote to Padre Palou: “By
+the favor of God, after a month and a half of painful navigation,
+the San Antonio found anchor in this port of Monterey, which we find
+unvarying in circumstances and substance as described by Don Sebastian
+Vizcaino.”
+
+They even found Vizcaino’s oak. Indeed, it is said on good authority,
+that the oak remained standing until 1838, when the high tides washed
+the earth from its roots so that it fell.
+
+Soon the land expedition arrived, and one June morning in 1770 the
+members of the two parties, all in their best attire, were gathered on
+the beach for the purpose of founding the second mission. It must have
+been a pretty scene,--the stanch little vessel San Antonio, gay with
+bunting, swinging at anchor a short distance out, while on shore were
+grouped the sailors in the bright dress of seamen of those times, the
+soldiers in leather uniform, the governor and his staff in the handsome
+costumes of Spanish officials, and the padres in their gray robes. Close
+beside the oak a brush house had been built, bells hung, and an altar
+erected. While the bells tolled, the solemn service of dedication was
+held by Padre Junipero, and so was founded the Mission San Carlos de
+Borromeo at Monterey.
+
+Near each of the earlier coast missions there was also founded a
+military station called a presidio, a name borrowed from the Roman
+presidium. The word meant a fort or fortified town. These presidios were
+intended to guard the safety of the missions from the wild Indians, and
+to defend the coast from ships of other countries.
+
+After the religious services Governor Portola proceeded to found the
+presidio and take formal possession in the name of the king of Spain by
+hoisting and saluting the royal banner, pulling up bunches of grass, and
+casting stones, which was an ancient manner of taking possession of a
+piece of land or country. The presidio of Monterey was for a long time
+the site of the capital of Upper California and therefore most important
+in the history of the state.
+
+For the sake of better land and water the mission site was soon removed
+about six miles, to the Carmelo River. Although not so wealthy as some
+of the missions, it was the home of Padre Junipero Serra, president of
+all the missions, and so its history is especially interesting.
+
+The news of the settlement of San Diego and Monterey was received in
+Mexico with great joy, and it was resolved to found five more missions
+above San Diego. Four of these were San Gabriel, near the present site
+of Los Angeles; San Luis Obispo, farther north; San Antonio; and San
+Francisco. Before leaving the peninsula, Padre Serra had asked Galvez,
+“And for Father Francisco, head of our order, is there to be no mission
+for him?” To which Galvez had replied, “If Saint Francis wants a
+mission, let him cause his port to be found and it will be placed
+there.” When the beautiful bay was discovered by Sergeant Ortega, it
+was thought that this might be the harbor Saint Francis intended for
+himself, but before naming it for the head of the order it was necessary
+that it should be explored. Although two land expeditions were sent up
+for this purpose, they were unsuccessful; and it was not until August,
+1775, about four months after the eventful battle of Lexington had taken
+place on the Atlantic coast, that white men first entered the Bay of San
+Francisco in a ship.
+
+Lieutenant Ayala of the Spanish navy, with the San Carlos, had the honor
+of conducting this expedition.
+
+He reached the entrance to the bay just as night was coming on. Not
+liking to trust his vessel in a strange harbor, he sent forward a boat
+to make explorations, and then, as it was a little slow in returning,
+he daringly pushed on in the darkness into the unknown water. His small
+craft bobbed and plunged in the rough water of the bar, darted through
+Golden Gate, and came safely to anchor near North Beach. Soon after
+this exploration it was settled that here Saint Francis should have his
+mission.
+
+Padre Junipero Serra appointed his friend Francisco Palou, who had now
+joined him in his work in Upper California, to make this settlement, and
+on the 9th of October, 1776, there was founded in that portion of San
+Francisco known as the Mission District, at the corner of Sixteenth
+and Dolores streets, the mission of San Francisco. This is often called
+Mission Dolores from the name of a small lake and stream beside which
+it was built. To-day the name San Francisco rests not only on the old
+mission building, with its white pillars, but on the beautiful city
+which is the metropolis of our western coast.
+
+As fast as possible Padre Junipero hastened the establishment of
+missions, choosing those places where there were the largest native
+settlements. In the vicinity of Monterey Bay there were, besides the San
+Carlos mission, Santa Cruz on the northern curve of the bay, and in the
+fertile valley back of the Santa Cruz Mountains the missions of Santa
+Clara, San Jose, and San Juan Bautista. Farther south on a lonely height
+stood Soledad, and much farther south, San Miguel.
+
+The Indians along the Santa Barbara Channel, of whom there were a great
+many, were more intelligent and industrious than in other portions of
+the country settled by the missionaries, and here were the missions of
+Santa Barbara, San Buenaventura, La Purisima, and Santa Inez.
+
+In the south, in the fertile valley where are now the great grain fields
+of Los Angeles county, San Fernando was founded. Between San Gabriel and
+San Diego were placed San Juan Capistrano, San Luis Rey, and the chapel
+of Pala. San Rafael and Solano, to the north of San Francisco Bay,
+complete the list of twenty-one missions of Upper California.
+
+It is impossible to give more than the names of most of these missions,
+although about each many true and beautiful stories might be told. It
+would be well if those who live near one of these noble ruins would seek
+out its particular history and the stories connected with it. This would
+be interesting and helpful work for the students in the schools of the
+state.
+
+The story of the missions seems like a fairy tale, wonderful and
+unreal. Into a wilderness inhabited only by savage men and wild animals,
+hundreds of miles from any civilized settlement, there came these men
+trained as simple priests.
+
+Two by two they came, bringing with them, for the starting of each
+mission, a few soldiers, seven to ten, a few converted Indians from
+the missions of Lower California, a little live stock, some church
+furniture, and always the bells; yet in a little over forty years they
+had succeeded in founding a chain of missions whose sweet-toned bells
+chimed the hours and called to prayer from San Diego to the Bay of San
+Francisco.
+
+Churches were built larger and often of a purer type of architecture
+than those in the civilized well-settled portions of the
+land,--buildings that have lasted for a hundred years and may last many
+years longer if care is taken to preserve them. Canals of stone and
+cement and dams of masonry were constructed that would do credit to our
+best workmen of to-day.
+
+The little packages of wheat and other grains, seeds from Spanish
+oranges and olives, little dried bundles of grapevines from Mexico,
+developed, under their care, into the great fields of grain, groves
+of oranges and olives, and the wide-spreading vineyards of the mission
+ranches. All these wonders were performed with Indian workmen trained by
+the padres.
+
+But what the missionaries cared for more than their success in building
+and planting were the thousands of baptized Indians at each mission.
+These they instructed daily for the good of their souls in the truths of
+the Christian religion, while for their bodily needs they were taught to
+plow the earth, to plant seed, to raise and care for domestic animals.
+They learned also many useful trades; and music, frescoing, and art were
+taught those who seemed to have an especial taste for such things.
+
+At the head of this great work was gentle Padre Junipero Serra, the most
+interesting character in the history of the missions. He was frail and
+slender and much worn by constant labor of head and hands, but his every
+thought and action seemed to be for others. Back and forth from Monterey
+to San Diego, from mission to mission, he traveled almost constantly,
+teaching, baptizing, confirming thousands of his dusky charges. He was
+president of all the missions, and besides this was bishop, doctor,
+judge, and architect, as well as steward of the mission products and
+money.
+
+Associated with him in his work were a group of noble men whose lives
+were spent in caring for the native people with whom they worked and
+among whom they finally died. The inhabitants of California may well
+honor the mission padres for their earnest, unselfish lives, and in no
+way can this be done so fully as in the preservation of the grand old
+buildings they left behind, which are indeed fitting monuments to their
+devotion, energy, and skill.
+
+Beginning with San Diego, let us, in fancy, visit the missions in the
+early part of the nineteenth century.
+
+It is a winter day in the year 1813 when we ride up the broad,
+wind-swept road which leads to the newly dedicated mission building of
+San Diego. The wide plain that surrounds it is green with native grass
+and the blades of young wheat. Of the two hundred cattle, one hundred
+sheep, one hundred horses, and twenty asses brought up by Padre Junipero
+in 1769 to be divided among the earlier missions, San Diego had only its
+due share; yet under the wise management of the padres, they have now at
+this mission, feeding on the green plains, thousands of cattle, horses,
+and sheep, which are tended by comfortably clothed Indian herders. Near
+the mission are the green and gold of orange orchards, the gray of the
+olive, and the bare branches of extensive vineyards. At one side we
+see a large kitchen garden where young Indians are at work planting and
+hoeing.
+
+As we draw up in front of the church, Indian servants come out to take
+our horses. We dismount, and a padre who is superintending work in
+the orchard comes and welcomes us with gentle courtesy. He sends us a
+servant to show us to our room, a small square apartment with a hard
+earthen floor and bare, whitewashed walls with no ornament but a cross.
+The beds are of rawhide stretched over a frame. The covering consists
+of sheets of coarse cotton grown and woven at the southern missions,
+and blankets, coarse but warm, made by the Indians from the wool of the
+mission sheep.
+
+Dinner at the padre’s table we find most enjoyable. There is beef
+and chicken, the frijole, or red bean of Spain, and other vegetables
+prepared in a tasty manner peculiar to Spanish cooking, so we do not
+doubt that the cook has been taught his trade by the padre himself. The
+Indian boys who wait on the table also show careful training, performing
+their duties quickly and quietly. Here we can find for bread the
+tortilla,--still the food of the Indian and Mexican people of
+California. It is a thin cake made of meal or flour and water, and baked
+without grease on a hot stone or griddle. Wines made at the mission,
+the favorite chocolate, thick and sweet, and some fruit from the padre’s
+garden complete the meal.
+
+Dinner over, we visit the church and admire the striking contrast
+between the red tiles of the roof and the creamy white of the walls.
+All the buildings are made of bricks molded from a clay called adobe
+and dried slowly in the sun. Each brick is twelve inches square by four
+inches thick, and the walls are laid two or three bricks deep, those of
+the church itself being nearly four feet in thickness. It seems almost
+impossible that so large and well made a building could have been
+constructed by untrained workmen. Next to the church are the rooms of
+the padres, then the dining room and the quarters of the mission
+guard, which consists apparently of but two men, the rest being at the
+presidio, several miles away. Adjoining these are the storehouses and
+shops of the Indian workmen, all of which open on the great courtyard.
+
+In the courtyard is a busy scene. Blacksmiths with hammer and anvil make
+sounding blows as they work up old iron into needed farm utensils. The
+soap maker’s caldron sends up a cloud of ill-smelling steam. At one side
+carpenters are at work trimming and cutting square holes in logs for the
+beams of new buildings which the padres wish to put up. Saddle makers,
+squatted on the ground, are busy fashioning saddletrees, carving, and
+sewing leather. The shoemaker is hard at work with needle and awl. These
+and many other trades are all going on at once. These courts, which are
+called patios, were generally several acres in extent and at the most
+flourishing period of the missions each settlement often gave shelter to
+over a thousand people.
+
+Behind the central court is the home of the unmarried women. This, and
+the rooms for their work, open on a separate square where there is shade
+from orange and fig trees and a bathing pond supplied by the zanja, or
+water ditch. Here square-figured, heavy-featured Indian girls are busy
+spinning and weaving thread into cloth. Others are cutting out and
+sewing garments. Some, squatted on the ground, are grinding corn into a
+coarse meal for the atole, or mush. At the zanja several are engaged in
+washing clothes. Here these girls live under the care of an old Indian
+woman, and unless she accompanies them they may not, until they are
+married, go outside these walls. Near the mission we visit a long row
+of small adobe buildings, the homes of the families of the Christian
+Indians; a neat, busy settlement where the little ones, comfortably
+clothed, play about attended by the older children, while the mothers
+work for the padres four or five hours daily.
+
+Leaving San Diego and traveling northward along “El Camino Real,” the
+highway which leads from mission to mission, we reach San Luis Rey,
+“King of the Missions,” as it is sometimes called. Its church is the
+largest of all those erected by the padres, being one hundred and sixty
+feet long, fifty-eight feet wide, and sixty feet high. Its one square,
+two-story tower has a chime of bells, the sweet clear tones of which
+reached our ears while we were yet miles from the mission. Counting
+the arches of the long corridor, we find there are two hundred and
+fifty-six. This mission became very wealthy. At one time it had a
+baptized Indian population of several thousand, owned twenty-four
+thousand cattle, ten thousand horses, and one hundred thousand sheep,
+and harvested fourteen thousand bushels of grain a year.
+
+Its prosperity was due in a great measure to good Padre Peyri, who had
+charge of it from its beginning. Many years afterwards, as we shall
+see, the padres were ordered by the Mexican government to leave their
+missions, the wealth they had gathered, and the Indians they had taught
+and cared for. Father Peyri, knowing how hard it would be for him to get
+away from his Indian children, as he called them, slipped off by night
+to San Diego. In the morning the Indians missed him. Learning what had
+happened, five hundred of them mounted their ponies in hot haste and
+galloped all the way to San Diego, forty-five miles, to bring him back
+by force. They arrived just as the ship, with Padre Peyri on board,
+was weighing anchor. Standing on deck with outstretched arms, the padre
+blessed them amid their tears and loud cries. Some flung themselves into
+the water and swam after the ship. Four reached it, and, climbing up
+its sides, so implored to be taken on board that the padre consented and
+carried them with him to Rome, where one afterwards became a priest.
+
+The next link in our chain, the most beautiful of all the missions, is
+that of San Juan Capistrano. It was founded in 1776, the year of
+our Declaration of Independence, but in 1812 it was destroyed by an
+earthquake, the massive towers and noble arch falling in on the Indians,
+who were assembled in the church for morning prayers. Many of them were
+killed. The church has never been rebuilt.
+
+It is Christmas Day when we reach San Gabriel, the next station on El
+Camino Real. Inside the great cactus fence which incloses the square
+about the mission we see a strangely mixed company,--Indians in their
+best clothes, their faces shining from a liberal use of mission soap and
+water; soldiers in their leather suits freshened up for the holiday;
+a few ranchmen in the gay dress of the times, riding beautiful horses;
+women and girls each brilliant in a bright-colored skirt with shawl or
+scarf gracefully draped over head and shoulders.
+
+The Christmas Day morning service, held at four o’clock and known by the
+common people as the Rooster Mass, is long since over. The crowd is now
+gathered for the Pastorel, which, like the miracle plays of the Middle
+Ages, is a drama with characters taken from the Bible.
+
+First to appear on the scene is an orchestra composed of young Indians
+playing violins, bass viols, reeds, flutes, and guitars. Closely
+following come the actors, representing San Gabriel and attendant
+angels, Satan, Blind Bartimeus, and a company of shepherds. The
+entertainment is very simple. There is the announcement of the birth of
+the Savior, the adoration of the babe, and the offering of gifts. The
+play concludes with a protracted struggle between San Gabriel and Satan
+for the possession of Blind Bartimeus, in which the saint finally comes
+off victor while the orchestra plays lively music. After the Pastorel
+there are games, dancing, and feasting. Every one seems happy, and it is
+with regret that we leave the gay scene.
+
+Through the hills to the north, across the Arroyo Seco, not dry now, but
+a swift stream turbulent from the winter rains, we journey on. We pass
+Eagle Rock, a great bowlder high upon the green hillside, one of the
+landmarks of the region, and enter the valley of the Los Angeles River.
+After traveling for several hours, we come to a large plantation of
+trees, vines, and grainfields, in the midst of which lies the mission
+of San Fernando. Its land extends for miles on every side and is
+exceedingly fertile. In front of the beautiful cloisters, under tall
+and stately palm trees, a fountain sends high its sparkling water, which
+falls back with pleasant tinkle into a basin of carved stone.
+
+When we reach San Buenaventura, the next mission on our route, we find
+priests and Indians exceedingly busy, for word has come from Monterey
+that a Yankee trading vessel will soon sail for the south, and cattle
+must be killed and the fat rendered into tallow for the market. As hides
+and tallow are about the only commodities the padres have for sale, this
+is an important event. Indians tend the caldrons of bubbling grease, and
+keep up the fires under the kettles. When the tallow is slightly cooled,
+they pour it into sacks made from the skins of animals. These, when
+filled with the hardened tallow, look as though each again held a plump
+beast.
+
+Traveling up the coast we come one afternoon to
+
+A golden bay ‘neath soft blue skies Where on a hillside creamy rise The
+mission towers whose patron saint Is Barbara--with legend quaint.
+
+Here spring is merging into summer, and we are in time to see the
+ceremony which closes the wheat harvest. The workmen gather the last
+four sheaves from the field, and, fastening them in the form of a cross,
+carry them, followed by a long procession of dusky reapers, up the
+ascent to the church. As they approach, the bells burst out in a joyous
+peal, and from the mission doors the padres come forth, one bearing a
+cross, another the banner of the Virgin. A choir of Indian boys follows,
+chanting a hymn. All advance slowly down the avenue to meet the sheaf
+bearers, then counter march to the church, where the harvest festival is
+celebrated.
+
+Passing by other missions, we must close our journey with a visit to San
+Carlos, the Monterey mission, most prominent of all in the history of
+the church and state. It was from the first the special charge of Padre
+Junipero Serra, and, at the time we see it, his monument as well; for in
+it at last his weary body was laid to rest beside his friend Padre Juan
+Crespi, to whose writings, next to those of Padre Francisco Palou, we
+are most indebted for our knowledge of Junipero Serra and his great
+work. In 1813, with its graceful arched front and two towers, San Carlos
+was a noble-looking building, but since that time one tower has fallen.
+
+We are reminded, as we look, of the scene when Junipero lay dying. Ever
+since morning the grief-stricken people had been waiting, listening for
+the news from the sick room. When the tolling of the bell announced that
+the beautiful life was ended, crowds came weeping and lamenting, anxious
+to see again the beloved face.
+
+It was with great difficulty that the Indians could be kept from tearing
+the padre’s robe from his body, so earnestly did they desire to possess
+some relic of the father they had loved so long.
+
+Here we notice the daily life of the Indian, which (in 1813) is the same
+at all the missions. At sunrise comes the sound of the bells calling
+to the morning prayers, and we see the natives hurrying to the church.
+After service they gather for breakfast of mush and tortillas. As the
+flocks and herds have increased, meat forms part of the daily food,
+sometimes from the freshly killed beeves, but generally in a dried state
+called carne seco. After breakfast the workers go in groups to their
+various employments. Dinner is served at eleven, and they have a resting
+period until two. Then work is again taken up and continued until
+an hour before sunset, when the bells call to evening prayer. Supper
+follows the evening service, after which the Indians can do as they like
+until bedtime. We see some engaged in a game of ball. Many are squatted
+on the ground playing other games,--gambling, we suspect. In one group
+there is dancing to the music of violin and guitar. There is laughter
+and chattering on all sides, and to us they seem happy, at least for the
+time.
+
+The life led by the Indians at the missions was not generally a
+hard one. No doubt when they first came, or were brought, into the
+settlements, from their free wild life, they found it harder to keep the
+regular hours of the missions than to perform the work, which was seldom
+very heavy. When disobedient or lazy, they were punished severely,
+judging by the standards of to-day, but really no harder than was at
+that time the custom in schools and in navies the world over. When the
+soldiers came in contact with the natives, there was generally cruel
+treatment for the latter. But as far as possible the padres stood
+between their charges and the soldiers, always placing the mission as
+far from the presidio as the safety of the former would allow.
+
+At San Diego, about five years after its settlement, wild Indians
+surprised the mission guard, and killed the padre and several of the
+converted Indians in a most cruel manner. The Spanish government gave
+orders that the murderers should be taken and executed and this mission
+abandoned; but Padre Junipero begged so hard for the culprits, who, he
+said, knew no better, having no knowledge of God, that he was finally
+allowed to have his way. Gentleness and patience won the day; not only
+the Indians who made the attack were converted, but many more of their
+tribe, and the mission became a flourishing settlement. There was once
+a rebellion among the Santa Clara and San Jose Indians, led by a young
+convert from Santa Clara, which required soldiers from Monterey to put
+down. Generally, however, the mission life was peaceful, the Indians
+being fond of their padres.
+
+When Mexico became free from Spain, no more money was sent up to pay the
+soldiers or run the government in Upper California, and for a long time
+the missions advanced the money for the expenses of the government.
+
+After a time the new priests who came up from Mexico were not generally
+men of such education and noble character as the early mission padres.
+They cared less for missionary work, and were not so energetic. Their
+influence was not always good for the Indians, who quickly saw the
+difference between them and their old padres. They had little confidence
+in the newcomers, so at the few missions where such as these were in
+charge the Indians were disobedient, and received harsh punishments from
+the padres; and trouble followed.
+
+In 1833 the Mexican government decided to confirm the mandate issued by
+Spain several years before in regard to the breaking up of the mission
+settlements. By this law each Indian was to have his own piece of land
+to own and care for. He was to be no longer under the control of the
+church, but to be his own master like any other citizen. As for the
+padres, they were to give up their wealth and lands, and leave for other
+missionary fields. That this would create a great change in California
+all realized; still it was no new idea, but the plan Spain had in mind
+when the missions were first founded. The mistake was in supposing that
+it was possible for a people to rise in so short a time from the
+wild life of the California Indian to the position of self-supporting
+citizens in a civilized country.
+
+When the Indians understood this order, some were pleased and,
+like children when freed from restraint, ceased to work and became
+troublesome. Many, however, when they found that the padres were to
+leave them, became very unhappy; some, it is said, even died from
+homesickness for the mission and the padre. One committed suicide.
+
+It was soon seen that they were not fitted to look after themselves.
+Only a few years had passed since they were savages, knowing nothing of
+civilized life, and they still needed some one to guide them. They not
+only began to drink and gamble, but were cheated and ill-treated on all
+sides, until many of them became afraid of living in towns and went back
+to wild life. For this they were no longer fitted, and they suffered so
+much from hunger and cold that great numbers of them died.
+
+Because the Indians were not capable of caring for themselves at
+the time of the secularization of the missions, the padres are often
+severely blamed. It is said that they tried to keep the natives without
+knowledge, in fact something like slaves. But the truth is that the
+padres taught them by thousands, not only to cultivate the soil, to
+irrigate wisely, to raise domestic cattle, but to work at every trade
+that could be of use in a new country. They were encouraged to choose
+from among themselves alcaldes, or under officers of the mission.
+In this way every inducement was given to the Indian showing himself
+capable of self-control, to rise to a prominent position in his little
+world, where he generally ruled his fellow-workmen wisely and kindly.
+
+Added to this, the Indians acquired, through the teaching and example of
+the padres, a religion that has lasted through generations. The breaking
+up of the mission settlements scattered the Indians through the country,
+many of them going back to the wild life in the forest and mountains,
+where they no longer had any religious instructions. Yet to-day, after
+all the years that have passed, there are few Indians from San Diego to
+San Francisco who do not speak the language of the padres and follow,
+though it may be but feebly, the teaching of the Catholic faith, the
+“Santa Fe” of the padres.
+
+Some of the mission buildings, many of the flocks, and much of the land
+fell into the hands of men who had no possible right to them. Orchards
+and vineyards were cut down, cattle killed and stolen, and there was
+only ruin where a short time before there had been thousands of busy
+people leading comfortable lives. Soon the churches were neglected
+and began to crumble away, bats flew in and out of the broken arches,
+squirrels chattered fearlessly in the padre’s dining room, and the only
+human visitor was some sad-hearted Indian worshiper, slipping timidly
+into the desolate building to kneel alone before the altar where once
+
+     Sweet strains from dusky neophytes
+     Rose up to God in praise,
+     When life centered ‘round the missions
+     In the happy golden days.
+
+
+
+Chapter V
+
+Pastoral Days
+
+
+
+For hundreds of years poets have written and singers have sung of the
+loveliness of a country life, where there is no gathering together of
+the inhabitants in great cities, no struggle to make money, where the
+people live much out of doors, are simple in their tastes, healthy and
+happy.
+
+These dreams of an ideal life the Spanish-speaking settlers of early
+California made real. In this land of balmy airs, soft skies, and gentle
+seas there lived, in the old days, a people who were indifferent
+to money, who carried their religion into their daily pleasures and
+sorrows, were brotherly toward one another, contented, beautiful,
+joyous.
+
+About the time that the mission of San Francisco was founded, the
+Spanish government decided to lay out two towns, or pueblos, where it
+was thought the fertile character of the soil would lead the settlers
+to raise grain and other supplies, not only for themselves but for the
+people of the presidios. Up to this time a large part of the food had
+been brought, at a considerable cost, from Mexico.
+
+We know that the governor, Felipe de Neve, chose the town sites with
+care, for in the whole state there are nowhere more beautiful and
+fertile spots than San Jose, near the southern end of San Francisco Bay,
+and Los Angeles, near the famous valley of the San Gabriel River. In
+founding these two pueblos, and a third which was located where Santa
+Cruz now stands, the plan pursued was interesting and somewhat different
+from the methods of settlement on the eastern coast of our country.
+
+First there was chosen a spot for the plaza, or central square, care
+being taken that it was not far from good grazing land suitable for
+the settlers’ stock. Around the plaza, lots were set apart for the
+courthouse, town hall, church, granaries, and jail. Next were the lots
+for the settlers, who each had, besides his home spot, several acres of
+farming land with water, and the right to use the pasture lands of the
+town. To each family was given, also, two horses, two cows, two oxen,
+a mule, several goats, sheep, chickens, farming implements, and a small
+sum in money.
+
+Instead of asking tax money of the town people, some of the land was
+reserved as public property to be rented out, the proceeds to be used
+for the expenses of the government. Many people believe that this is the
+wisest plan man has yet discovered for managing the expenses of a city,
+town, or country.
+
+Los Angeles had for many years a large amount of this land near the
+center of the town, belonging to the city government. Gradually it was
+taken up by settlers or appropriated by officials until, when the place
+grew large and thriving, it was found that the land had become private
+property; and finally the city had to pay large sums for parks and land
+for public buildings.
+
+Each pueblo was ruled by an alcalde, or mayor, and council, chosen by
+the people. To advise with these officers, there was a commissioner who
+represented the governor of the country. During the first few years the
+pueblo was governed largely by the commissioner. Presidios, which were,
+at first, forts with homes for the commander, officers, soldiers, and
+their families, and were ruled by the commanding officer or comandante,
+gradually became towns; and then they, too, had their alcalde and
+council. There were four presidios--Monterey, San Francisco, San Diego,
+and Santa Barbara.
+
+In spite of all the gifts of free land, stock, and money, it was hard
+to secure a suitable class of settlers. Many of those who came up from
+Mexico to live in the pueblos were idle or dissipated, and nearly all
+uneducated. When, after several years, a Spanish officer was sent down
+from Monterey to convey to the Los Angeles settlers full title to their
+lands, he found that not one of the twenty-four heads of families
+could sign his name. Later a much better class of people came into
+the country--men of education, brave, hardy members of good Spanish
+families, who obtained grants of land from the government, bought cattle
+from the mission herds, and began the business of stock raising.
+
+This was the beginning of the pastoral or shepherd life. Each rancho was
+miles in extent, its cattle and horses numbered by thousands. The homes
+were generally built around a court into which all the rooms opened, and
+were constructed of adobe bricks such as were used at the missions. In
+the better class of homes several feet of the space in the courtyard
+next the wall were covered with tile roofing, forming a shaded veranda,
+where the family were accustomed to spend the leisure hours. Here they
+received visitors, the men smoked their cigaritos, and the children made
+merry. In the long summer evenings sweet strains of Spanish music from
+violin and guitar filled the air, and the hard earthen floor of the
+courtyard resounded to the tap-tap of high-heeled slippers, the swish of
+silken skirts, and the jingle of silver spurs, as the young people took
+part in the graceful Spanish dances.
+
+It was no small matter to rule one of these great households. La Patrona
+(the mistress) was generally the first one up. “Before the sun had
+risen,” said a member of one of the old families, “while the linnets and
+mocking birds were sounding their first notes, my mother would appear
+at our bedside. ‘Up, muchachos, up, muchachas, and kneel for your Alba!’
+The Alba was a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving for care during the
+night, with a plea for help through the dangers and temptations of the
+day. No excuse for lying abed was accepted; up, and on the floor we
+knelt, then she passed on to where the mayordomo, or foreman, and his
+men were gathering in the courtyard. Here, too, was the cook with the
+Indian maids, busy making tortillas for the morning meal. ‘Your Albas,
+my children,’ my mother would say in her clear, firm voice. Down would
+drop mayordomo, vaqueros, cook, and Indian girls, all devoutly reciting
+the morning prayer.
+
+“After their prayer the children might, if they chose, return to their
+beds, but before sleep could again overtake them there would probably
+come from a distant room the voice of their aged grandfather asking them
+questions from the Spanish catechism.
+
+“‘Children, who made you?’ he would call in a quavering voice.
+
+“A chorus of small voices would sing-song in response, ‘El Dios’ [God].
+
+“Again he would question, ‘Children, who died for you?’
+
+“Again the reply, ‘El Dios.’
+
+“By the time the questions were all answered there was no chance for
+more sleep.”
+
+Nothing was taken with the morning coffee but the tortilla. This was a
+thin cake made of meal from corn ground by Indian women who used for the
+grinding either a stone mortar and pestle, or a metate. The metate was a
+three-legged stone about two feet in length and one in breadth, slightly
+hollowed out in the center; grain was ground in this by rubbing with a
+smaller stone. It took a great number of tortillas to serve the large
+household. One Indian maid, kneeling beside a large white stone which
+served as table, mixed the meal, salt, and water into balls of dough.
+These she handed to another girl, who spatted them flat and thin by
+tossing them from one of her smooth bare arms to the other until they
+were but a little thicker than a knife blade. The cook then baked them
+on a hot dry stone or griddle, turning them over and over to keep them
+from burning.
+
+El Patron (the master) usually rose early, and after his coffee, put on
+his high, wide-brimmed sombrero, and, attended by his sons, if they were
+old enough, and his mayordomo, rode over his estate, looking after the
+Indian vaqueros and workmen. One gentleman, a member of a fine Spanish
+family which lived in the southern part of the state, used to ride
+out with his sixteen sons, all of whom were over six feet in height.
+Generally the families were large, often comprising twelve children or
+more. These made merry households for the little people.
+
+After breakfast it was the duty of the mistress to set the host of
+Indian girls to their tasks. The padres were always glad to let the
+young Indian girls from the mission go into white families where there
+was a wise mistress, that they might be trained in both religious and
+domestic duties. Going to the gate of the courtyard, the Patrona would
+call, “To the brooms, to the brooms, muchachas,” adding, if it were
+foggy, “A very fine morning for the brooms, little ones;” and out would
+come running a cluster of Indian girls carrying each a broom. At the
+work they would go, sweeping as clean as a floor the courtyard and
+ground for a large space about the house.
+
+Next they flocked to the sewing room, often sixteen or eighteen of these
+girls, to take up their day’s work under the mistress’s eye. Some made
+garments for the ranch hands, those who were better work women attended
+to the making of clothing for the family, while the girls who were the
+most skillful with the needle fashioned delicate, fine lace work and
+embroidery.
+
+The children were seldom indoors unless it rained. There were no
+schools; there were few ranches where there were teachers, and the
+fathers and mothers generally had their hands too full to devote
+themselves to their children’s education, so in the early days it was
+all playtime. Later, schools were started for boys, and dreadful places
+they were.
+
+As General Vallejo describes them, they were generally held in a narrow,
+badly lighted room, with no adornment but a large green cross or some
+picture of a saint hanging beside the master’s table. The master was
+often an old soldier in fantastic dress, with ill-tempered visage. The
+scholar entered, walked the length of the room, knelt before the cross
+or picture, recited a prayer, then tremblingly approached the master,
+saying, “Your hand, Senor Maestro,” when with a grunt the hand would be
+extended to him to be kissed. Little was taught besides the reading of
+the primer and the catechism.
+
+Ranch boys early learned to ride, each having his own horse and saddle.
+Every year there was a rodeo, or “round-up,” held in each neighborhood,
+where cattle from all the surrounding ranches were driven to one point
+for the purpose of counting the animals and branding the young. Each
+stock owner had to be there with all the men from his ranch who could
+ride, nor must he forget his branding irons. These brands were recorded
+in the government book of the department, and any one changing the form
+of his iron in any manner without the permission of the judge was guilty
+of a crime.
+
+To the boys the rodeo was the most interesting time of the whole year.
+The coming of the strange herds and vaqueros, the counting and the
+separating of the animals, and the branding of the young stock made a
+period of excitement and fun. Here was offered a chance for the display
+of good horsemanship. Sometimes as the cattle were being gradually
+herded into a circular mass, an unruly cow or bull would suddenly dart
+from the drove and run away at full speed. A vaquero on horseback would
+immediately dash after the animal, and, coming up with it, lean from the
+saddle and seizing the runaway by the tail, spur his horse forward. Then
+by a quick movement he would give a jerk and suddenly let go his hold,
+when the animal would fall rolling over and over on the ground. By the
+time it was up again it was tamed. Many a boy earned his first praise
+for good riding at a rodeo.
+
+Nowhere in the world were there better and more graceful riders. Horses
+used for pleasure were fine, spirited animals. The saddle and the bridle
+were generally handsomely inlaid with silver or gold. A California
+gentleman in fiesta costume, mounted on his favorite horse, was a
+delight to the eyes. His hat, wide in the brim, high and pointed in the
+crown, was made of soft gray wool and ornamented with gold or silver
+lace and cord, sometimes embroidered with rubies and emeralds until it
+was very heavy and exceedingly valuable. His white shirt was of thin,
+embroidered muslin, and the white stock, too, was of thin stuff wrapped
+several times around the neck, then tied gracefully in front. The jacket
+was of cloth or velvet, in dark colors, blue, green, or black, with
+buttons and lace trimmings of silver or gold, often of a very elaborate
+design. About the waist was tied a wide sash of soft material and gay
+color, the ends hanging down at the side. The breeches were of velvet
+or heavy cloth, dark in color, save when the rider was gay in his taste,
+then they might be of bright tints. They either ended at the knee, below
+which were leggings of deerskin, or fitted the figure closely down to
+just above the ankle, where they widened out and were slashed at the
+outer seam, showing thin white drawers, which puffed prettily between
+the slashes. A gentleman in Los Angeles still has the trimmings for such
+suit, consisting of three hundred and fifty pieces of silver filigree
+work.
+
+Every one seemed to live out of doors, and though the ranchos were
+widely scattered, there was much visiting and social gayety. All who
+could, traveled on horseback; while the mother of the family, the
+children, and old people used the clumsy carreta with its squeaking
+wheels.
+
+One of the prettiest sights was a wedding procession as it escorted
+the bride from her home to the mission church. Horses were gayly
+caparisoned, and the riders richly dressed. The nearest relative of the
+bride carried her before him on the saddle, across which hung a loop
+of gold or silver braid for her stirrup, in which rested her little
+satin-shod foot. Her escort sat behind her on the bearskin saddle
+blanket. Accompanying the party were musicians playing guitar and
+violin, each managing horse and instrument with equal skill.
+
+The California woman generally wore a full skirt of silk, satin, wool,
+or cotton, a loose waist of thin white goods, and, in cold weather,
+a short bolero jacket of as rich material as could be obtained. A
+bright-colored ribbon served for a sash, and a lace handkerchief or a
+muslin scarf was folded over the shoulders and neck. In place of bonnet
+and wrap a lace or silk shawl, or a narrow scarf called a rebosa, was
+gracefully draped over the head and shoulders.
+
+Children were dressed like the older people, and very pretty were the
+girls in their low-necked, short-sleeved camisas or waists, and full gay
+skirts, their hair in straight braids hanging down over the shoulders.
+The short breeches, pretty round jackets, and gay sashes were very
+becoming to the boys.
+
+At night the daughters of the house, big and little, were locked into
+their rooms by their mother, the father attending in the same manner
+to the boys. In the morning the mother’s first duty was to unlock these
+doors.
+
+Various games were played. Blindman’s buff was a great favorite for
+moonlight nights. There was also a game called cuatrito, in which the
+players threw bits of stone at a mark drawn on the ground at a certain
+distance.
+
+“In my time,” said a prominent Californian of to-day, “we used to play
+this game with golden slugs instead of stones; there was always a basket
+of slugs sitting door. We liked them because they carried well, and we
+thought it nothing unusual to use them as playthings. They were abundant
+in most of the houses; my mother and her friends used them as soap
+dishes in, the bedrooms.
+
+“In the spare rooms was always a little pile of money covered by a
+napkin, from which the visitor was expected to help himself if he
+needed. We would have considered it disgraceful to count the guest
+money.”
+
+“Our parents were very strict with us,” said another Californian,
+“much more so than is the custom to-day. Sometimes while the parents,
+brothers, and sisters were eating their meal, a child who was naughty
+had for punishment to kneel in one corner of the dining room before
+a high stool, on which was an earthen plate, a tin cup, and a wooden
+spoon. It was worse than a flogging, a thousand times. As soon as the
+father went out, the mother and sisters hastened to the sorrowful one
+and comforted him with the best things from the table.”
+
+The clothes were not laundered each week, but were saved up often for
+several weeks or even a month or two, and then came a wash-day frolic.
+Imagine wash day looked forward to as a delightful event! So it was,
+however, to many California children. Senorita Vallejo, in the Century
+Magazine (Vol. 41), thus describes one of these excursions:--
+
+“It made us children happy to be waked before sunrise to prepare for
+the ‘wash-day expedition.’ The night before, the Indians had soaped
+the clumsy carreta’s great wheels. Lunch was placed in baskets, and the
+gentle oxen were yoked to the pole. We climbed in under the green cloth
+of an old Mexican flag which was used as an awning, and the white-haired
+Indian driver plodded beside with his long oxgoad. The great piles of
+soiled linen were fastened on the backs of horses led by other servants,
+while the girls and women who were to do the washing trooped along by
+the side of the carreta. Our progress was slow, and it was generally
+sunrise before we reached the spring. The steps of the carreta were
+so low that we could climb in or out without stopping the oxen. The
+watchful mother guided the whole party, seeing that none strayed too
+far after flowers, or loitered too long. Sometimes we heard the howl
+of coyotes and the noise of other wild animals, and then none of the
+children were allowed to leave the carreta.
+
+“A great dark mountain rose behind the spring, and the broad, beautiful
+valley, unfenced and dotted with browsing herds, sloped down to the bay
+[of San Francisco]. We watched the women unload the linen and carry it
+to the spring, where they put home-made soap on the clothes, dipped them
+in the spring, and rubbed them on the smooth rocks until they were white
+as snow. Then they were spread out to dry on the tops of the low bushes
+growing on the warm, windless southern slopes of the mountain.” After
+a happy day in the woods came “the late return at twilight, when the
+younger children were all asleep in the slow carreta and the Indians
+were singing hymns as they drove the linen-laden horses down the dusky
+ravines.”
+
+As at the missions, soon the ranchos, little was raised for sale save
+hides and tallow from the cattle. It was not the fault of the settlers
+that, living in so fertile a country, they made so little use of its
+productiveness. Spain’s laws in regard to trade were made entirely
+in the interests of the mother country, the settlers of New Spain,
+especially of Alta California, having no encouragement to raise more
+than they needed for use at home. They could not sell their produce to
+ships from foreign countries, for the penalty for that was death to the
+foreigner and severe punishment for the colonist. All trade had to be
+carried on in Spanish vessels, and it was forbidden to ship olive
+oil, wine, or anything that was raised or made in the home country.
+As California and Spain were much alike in climate and soil, this law
+really stopped all outside trade except that arising from cattle.
+
+After the territory became a Mexican province, the rules were not so
+severe in regard to foreign trade, and finally the New England vessels
+freely entered the ports by paying certain duties to the government.
+
+To the young people upon the ranchos the arrival of a trading vessel was
+a great event. If the port was not far from the house, the Patrona and
+the young ladies sometimes went on board to select for themselves
+from the miscellaneous cargo the things they desired; but as they were
+generally afraid of the water, especially of trusting themselves in the
+ship’s boats, the father and boys often represented the family on such
+occasions.
+
+When news arrived that a ship was coming down the coast, elder sisters
+became very kind and attentive to younger brothers, who accepted panocha
+(a coarse brown sugar cast in square or scalloped cakes) and other gifts
+contentedly, knowing well they would be expected to “coax Father” to
+buy the ring, sash, necklace, or fan which the good sister particularly
+desired. Often a ranchero would go down to the harbor with ten or
+fifteen ox carts loaded with hides, skins, and tallow, and return with
+ranch implements, furniture, dishes, sugar, other food, clothes, and
+ornaments of all kinds. Such laughing, chattering, and excitement as
+there was when the squeaking ox carts came into the courtyard! The whole
+household, from the Patrona and her guests to the Indian mothers with
+their children from the kitchen precincts, gathered to watch the slow
+unloading of the purchases. Slow, indeed, seemed the process to the
+eager children of the family. Except on horseback for a short dash, the
+Californian never hurried. For a journey the usual gait was a little jog
+trot, hardly faster than a walk.
+
+Senorita Vallejo, in the Century Magazine, describes the loading of a
+ship’s cargo: “The landing place for the mission of San Jose was at the
+mouth of a salt water creek several miles away. When a trading vessel
+entered San Francisco Bay, the large ship’s boat would be sent up this
+creek to collect the hides and tallow; but if the season was a wet one,
+the roads would be too bad for the ox carts; then each separate hide was
+doubled across the middle and placed on the head of an Indian. Sometimes
+long files of Indians might be seen, each carrying hides in this manner,
+as they trotted across the wide, flat plains or pushed their way through
+the little forest of dried mustard stalks to the creek mouth.”
+
+No such thing was known as a Californian breaking his word in regard to
+a debt. Yankee ship owners trusted him freely. Once, when a ship was
+in port, the captain left it for a little while in charge of the clerk
+whose business it was to sell the goods, but who had never been in
+California before and knew nothing of its customs. Down to the shore
+came a ranchero attended by servants and ox carts. He came on board and
+bought many things, intending to pay later with hides and tallow which
+were not then ready. When he ordered the goods taken ashore with never
+a word as to payment, the clerk informed him that he must either give
+money or else give some writing saying that he would pay.
+
+Now this Californian, though rich in lands and stock, could neither read
+nor write. When he understood that he was being distrusted, he gravely
+drew from his beard a hair, and, handing it to the clerk, said: “Give
+this to your master and tell him it is a hair from the beard of Agustin
+Machado. You will find it sufficient guarantee.” The clerk saw that he
+had made a mistake, and, taking the hair, placed it in the leaves of
+his note book and allowed the goods to be taken away. When the captain
+returned, he was mortified that there had been any distrust shown.
+
+While California was a Spanish province its chief ruler was appointed by
+the home government and was always an educated gentleman of good family,
+generally an officer of the army. The coming of a new governor was a
+great event in the colony and was celebrated with all possible ceremony
+and display.
+
+In 1810 Mexico began its revolt against Spain. In California the people
+were in sympathy with the mother country and had no doubt of her final
+success. For a long time they received little news of how the war was
+progressing. They only knew that no more money was sent up to pay
+the soldiers or the expenses of government, that the padres no longer
+received any income from the Pius Fund, that even the trading vessels
+from Mexico upon which they depended for their supplies had ceased to
+come.
+
+Times became so hard that the local government turned for aid to the
+missions, which had become largely self-supporting. Many of them were
+indeed wealthy communities, and the padres responded generously to the
+demand for help. For several years they furnished food and clothing to
+the soldiers, and money for the expenses of government, for the most of
+which they never received payment.
+
+Gradually the fine clothes of the Californians wore out, no vessels
+arrived from which they could purchase more, and again it was the
+missions which came to the rescue. Their cotton and woolen goods were in
+great demand. Indian spinners and weavers were busy from morning until
+night making clothes for the “gente de razon,” or “people of reason,”
+ which was the term by which the white settlers were distinguished from
+the natives.
+
+In 1822 a vessel came up from the south, bringing to the governor
+official notice that the war had been decided in favor of Mexico, and
+that California was therefore a Mexican province. This was disagreeable
+news to the Californians, but after consultation held by the governor,
+his officers, the padre who was the president of the missions, and some
+of the leading citizens, it was decided that they were too far away from
+Spain to be able to resist, and that they should take the oath to be
+true to the Mexican government. For the padres, who were all Spaniards
+and loyal to the home government, this was a hard thing to do, and they
+never became reconciled to the change.
+
+From this time California was not so well governed. Mexico, which was
+then an empire but soon became a republic, had its hands full looking
+after its own affairs, and little attention was paid its far-off
+province. Its best men were needed at home, and the governors sent up
+the coast were not always wise or pleasing to the people. There were
+several revolutions with but little bloodshed. One governor was sent
+back to Mexico. At one time the Californians declared that theirs was
+a free state, and a young man named Alvarado was made governor. General
+Vallejo, who was his uncle, was given command of the army. But soon
+the Californians quarreled bitterly among themselves, so that this
+government did not last long and the territory went back under the rule
+of Mexico. That government, in order to have peace in the province,
+confirmed Alvarado and Vallejo in their positions.
+
+During the war between Mexico and Spain a South American pirate paid a
+visit to the coast of Upper California. Monterey was attacked and partly
+destroyed, also the mission of San Juan Capistrano and the rancho El
+Refugio, the home of Captain Ortega, the discoverer of San Francisco
+Bay. In the crew of the pirate ship was a young American named Chapman,
+who had found life among his rough associates not so interesting as he
+had hoped it would be, so he deserted, but was taken prisoner by
+the Californians and imprisoned in a canyon near the present site of
+Pasadena. Later he was brought down to Los Angeles and set at liberty.
+He found the people of the pueblo planning to build a church on the
+plaza, and he told them that if they would let him have some Indian
+workmen he would get some large timbers down from the canyon. He
+accomplished this successfully, and it was considered a wonderful work.
+The stumps of the trees can yet be seen far up on the mountain side, and
+the timbers are still in the plaza church.
+
+Visiting San Gabriel, young Chapman found the padres having trouble
+to keep the flour which they ground in their new stone mill from being
+dampened by water from the mill wheel. Knowing something of machinery,
+the American remedied the defect by means of a flutter wheel, and there
+was no more trouble.
+
+For years the catching of otters for their fur along the lagoons and
+bays about San Francisco and Monterey brought considerable money to the
+northern missions. Chapman, finding that the padres of San Gabriel were
+anxious to engage in this trade, built for them the first sea-going boat
+ever constructed in southern California. It was a schooner, the various
+parts of which he made in the workshop of the mission. They were then
+carried down to San Pedro, where he put them together and successfully
+launched the vessel.
+
+Finally, to close his history, it is recorded of Mr. Chapman that he
+fell in love with the pretty daughter of Captain Ortega, whose home
+he had helped his pirate associates to attack, that he married her and
+lived to a good old age. The country had few more useful citizens than
+this capable man, the first American to settle in the southern part of
+California.
+
+With the secularization of the missions in 1833-34 came a change in the
+peaceful pastoral life. In each section all that was of interest had
+from the first centered around its mission. One of the chief pleasures
+of the early Californians was the feast day, “La Fiesta,” which
+celebrated a saint’s birthday. During the year there were many of these
+festivals. First there were religious exercises at the mission church;
+then in the great square there followed dancing, games, and feasting,
+in which all classes took some part. These happy church festivals ceased
+with the breaking up of the mission settlements. Some of the Indians
+disturbed the community by disorderly conduct, and the ill treatment and
+suffering of the rest of these simple people caused sorrow and dismay
+in the hearts of the better portion of the settlers. There was a wild
+scramble for the lands, stock, and other wealth which had been gathered
+by the missionaries and their Indian workmen.
+
+Many of the beautiful churches were sold to people who cared nothing for
+the faith they represented. In some, cattle were stabled. The mission
+bells were silent, and many of the mission settlements, once so busy and
+prosperous, were solitary and in ruins.
+
+Life in the great ranchos still went on much as before, but it was no
+longer so simple and joyous. A change had begun, and not many years
+later, with the coming of the Americans at the time of the Mexican war,
+the peaceful, happy life of Spanish California was brought to an end.
+
+
+
+Chapter VI
+
+The Footsteps of the Stranger
+
+
+
+At no point does the early history of California come in contact with
+that of the colonies of the Eastern coast of the United States. The
+nearest approach to such contact was in the year 1789, when Captain
+Arguello, commander of the presidio of San Francisco, received the
+following orders from the governor of the province:--
+
+“Should there arrive at your port a ship named Columbia, which, they
+say, belongs to General Washington of the American States, you will
+take measures to secure the vessel with all the people aboard with
+discretion, tact, cleverness, and caution.” As the Columbia failed to
+enter the Californian port, the Spanish commander had no chance to try
+his wits and guns with those of the Yankee captain.
+
+It would seem as though the Californians lived for a time in fear of
+their Eastern neighbors, since prayers were offered at some of the
+missions that the people be preserved from “Los Americanos;” but after
+the coming of the first two or three American ships, when trade began
+to be established, there arose the kindliest feeling between the New
+England traders and the Californians. The ship Otter, from Boston, which
+came to the coast in 1796, was the first vessel from the United States
+to anchor in a California port.
+
+La Perouse, in command of a French scientific expedition, was the
+first foreigner of prominence to visit California. Of his visit, which
+occurred in the fall of 1786, he writes in his journal: “The governor
+put into the execution of his orders in regard to, us a graciousness and
+air of interest that merits from us the liveliest acknowledgments, and
+the padres were as kind to us as the officers. We were invited to dine
+at the Mission San Carlos, two leagues from Monterey, were received upon
+our arrival there like lords of a parish visiting their estates. The
+president of the missions, clad in his robe, met us at the door of the
+church, which was illuminated as for the grandest festival. We were led
+to the foot of the altar and the Te Deum chanted in thanksgiving for the
+happy issue of our voyage.”
+
+La Perouse’s account of the country, the people, and the missions is
+of great value in giving us a picture of these times. In regard to the
+Indians he said that he wished the padres might teach them, besides the
+principles of the Christian religion, some facts about law and civil
+government, “Although,” said he, “I admit that their progress would be
+very slow, the pains which it would be necessary to take very hard and
+tiresome.”
+
+Captain Vancouver, with two vessels of the British navy, bound on
+an exploring voyage round the world, was the next stranger to visit,
+California. So much did he enjoy the courtesy of the Spanish officers
+that when his map of the coast came out it was found that he had honored
+his hosts of San Francisco and Monterey by naming for them two leading
+capes of the territory, one Point Arguello and the other Point Sal.
+
+As early as 1781 Russia had settlements in Sitka and adjacent islands,
+for the benefit of its fur traders, and in 1805 the Czar sent a young
+officer of his court to look into the condition of these trading posts.
+Count Rezanof found the people suffering and saw that unless food was
+brought to them promptly, they would die from starvation. San Francisco
+was the nearest port, and though he knew that Spain did not allow trade
+with foreign countries, the Russian determined to make the attempt to
+get supplies there. Loading a vessel with goods which had been brought
+out for the Indian trade of the north coast, he sailed southward. The
+story of his visit is well told by Bret Harte in his beautiful poem,
+“Concepcion de Arguello.”
+
+Rezanof was warmly welcomed and generously entertained by Commander
+Arguello of the presidio of San Francisco, but in vain did he try to
+trade off his cargo for food for his starving people. The governor and
+his officers dared not disobey the laws of Spain in regard to foreign
+trade. While they were arguing and debating, however, something happened
+which changed their views. The Count fell in love with the commander’s
+beautiful daughter, Concepcion. Then, as the poem has it,--
+
+“. . . points of gravest import yielded slowly one by one, And by Love
+was consummated what Diplomacy begun.”
+
+It seemed to the governor that the man who was to be son-in-law in the
+powerful family of Arguello could not be considered as a foreigner, and
+therefore the law need not apply in his case. Thus the Count got his
+ship load of food and sailed away, promising to return as soon as
+possible for his betrothed wife. One of the most interesting pictures of
+early California is the poem which tells of this pathetic love story.
+
+Count Rezanof was so pleased with the beauty and fertility of California
+that his letters interested the Czar, who decided to found a colony on
+the coast. An exploring expedition was sent out, and the territory about
+Russian River in Sonoma County was purchased of the Indians for three
+blankets, three pairs of trousers, two axes, three hoes, and some beads.
+Fort Ross was the main settlement, and was the home of the governor,
+his officers and their families, all accomplished, intelligent men
+and women. Besides the soldiers there were a number of mechanics and a
+company of natives from the Aleutian Islands, who were employed by the
+Russians to hunt the otter. Up and down the coast roamed these wild
+sea hunters, even collecting their furry game in San Francisco Bay and
+defying the comandante of the presidio, who had no boats with which
+to pursue them, and so could do nothing but fume and write letters of
+remonstrance to the governor of Fort Ross. Spain, and later Mexico,
+looked with disfavor and suspicion upon the Russian settlement, but
+the people of California were always ready for secret trade with their
+northern neighbors.
+
+In 1816 Otto von Kotzebue, captain of the Russian ship Rurik, visited
+San Francisco and was entertained by the comandante, Lieutenant
+Luis Arguello. With Captain Kotzebue was the German poet, Albert von
+Chamisso.
+
+The Russian captain, with brighter faith and keener insight than any
+other of the early visitors to the coast, says of the country: “It
+has hitherto been the fate of these regions to remain unnoticed; but
+posterity will do them justice; towns and cities will flourish where
+all is now desert; the waters over which scarcely a solitary boat is
+yet seen to glide will reflect the flags of all nations; and a happy,
+prosperous people receiving with thankfulness what prodigal nature
+bestows for their use will dispense her treasures over every part of the
+world.”
+
+In the writings of Albert von Chamisso can be found a most interesting
+description of his visit. To him is due the honor of giving to our
+Californian poppy its botanical name.
+
+In 1841, the supply of otter having become exhausted, the Russians sold
+their property and claims about Fort Ross to the Swiss emigrant,
+the genial John Sutter. In 1903, through the agency of the Landmarks
+Society, this property and its still well-preserved buildings came into
+the possession of the state of California.
+
+As early as 1826 there were a number of foreigners settled in
+California. These were mostly men from Great Britain or the United
+States who had married California women and lived and often dressed like
+their Spanish-speaking neighbors. Captain John Sutter, the Swiss who
+bought out the Russians of Fort Ross, came to California in 1839. He
+obtained from the Mexican government an extensive grant of land about
+the present site of Sacramento, and here he erected the famous Sutter’s
+Fort where all newcomers, were made welcome and, if they desired, given
+work under this kindest of masters. Around the fort, which was armed
+with cannon bought from the Russians, he built a high stockade. He
+gained the good will of the Indians and had their young men drilled
+daily in military tactics by a German officer.
+
+Governor Alvarado, at the time of his revolution in 1837, had in his
+forces, under a leader named Graham, a company of wandering Americans,
+trappers and hunters of the roughest type. Although there was no real
+war, and no fighting occurred, yet when Alvarado and his party were
+successful, Graham and his men demanded large rewards, and because the
+governor would not satisfy them they began to persecute him in every way
+possible. Alvarado says: “I was insulted at every turn by the drunken
+followers of Graham; when I walked in my garden they would climb on
+the wall and call upon me in terms of the greatest familiarity, ‘Ho,
+Bautista, come here, I want to speak to you.’ It was ‘Bautista’ here,
+‘Bautista’ there.”
+
+To express dissatisfaction they held meetings in which they talked
+loudly about their country’s getting possession of the land, until
+Governor Alvarado, having good reason to believe that they were plotting
+a revolution, expelled them from the territory and sent them to Mexico.
+
+The United States took up the defense of the exiles and insisted on
+their being returned to California. It does not seem that the
+better class of Americans who had been long residents of the country
+sympathized with Graham and his followers, but from this time there were
+less kindly relations between the Californians and the citizens of the
+United States who came into the territory.
+
+We come now to the story of the conquest.
+
+At the beginning of the year 1845 the United States and Mexico were on
+the verge of war over Texas, which had been formerly a Mexican province,
+but through the influence of American settlers had rebelled, declaring
+itself an independent state, and had applied for admission to the
+American Union. Because the question of slavery was concerned in this
+application, it caused intense excitement throughout the United
+States. The South was determined to have the new territory come in as a
+slave-holding state, while the men of the North opposed the annexation
+of another acre of slave land.
+
+Eight Northern legislatures protested against its admission. Twelve
+leading senators of the North declared that “it would result in the
+dissolution of the United States and would justify it.” On the other
+hand, the South resolved that “it would be better to be out of the Union
+with Texas than in it without her.” The South won its point. Texas was
+admitted, and at once a dispute with Mexico arose over the boundary
+lines, and war at length followed, being brought on in a measure by the
+entrance of United States troops into the disputed territory. During
+the long discussion over Texas the United States was having trouble
+with Great Britain over Oregon, which was then the whole country lying
+between the Mexican province of California and the Russian possessions
+on the north coast (now Alaska). Before the invention of steam cars and
+the construction of railroads, the Pacific coast region had been thought
+of little value. The popular idea was expressed by Webster when he said:
+“What do we want of this vast, worthless area, this region of savages
+and wild beasts, of deserts, of shifting sands and whirlwinds of dust,
+of cactus and prairie dogs?” But now the United States was waking up,
+and things looked different. Of Oregon the Americans were determined
+to have at least a portion. California, so far away from Mexico and so
+poorly governed, they would like to take under their protection,--at
+least the region around the great Bay of San Francisco.
+
+As early as 1840 the United States government urged its consul at
+Monterey, an American named Larkin, secretly to influence the leading
+Californians to follow the example of Texas, secede from Mexico, and
+join the United States, where he was to assure them they would receive a
+brother’s welcome. Just as he felt he might be successful his plans were
+overthrown.
+
+One morning in 1842 there came sailing into Monterey Bay two American
+men-of-war. Suddenly, to the consternation of those watching from the
+shore, one of the ships was seen to fire upon an outgoing Mexican sloop.
+After making it captive the three vessels proceeded to the anchorage.
+Great was the excitement in Monterey. Neither the comandante nor the
+American consul could imagine the reason for such strange conduct. It
+was soon explained, however, by the arrival of a ship’s boat bringing an
+officer who delivered to the authorities a demand for the surrender
+of the fort and place to the American commander of the Pacific fleet,
+Commodore Jones, who was on board one of the newly arrived vessels.
+
+The Mexican officials and the officers of the army were astonished; so,
+too, was the United States consul. They knew of no war between these
+countries. Since he had neither men nor arms to resist this strange
+demand, Alvarado, who was acting for the absent governor, gave orders
+to surrender, and the next day the Mexican flag and forces gave place to
+those of the United States.
+
+After the ceremony of taking possession, Commodore Jones had a talk
+with the American consul, Mr. Larkin, and learned to his dismay that the
+letters upon which he had acted and which indicated that war had been
+declared were misleading, and from the latest news it was evident that
+there was peace between the two countries.
+
+The commodore saw at once that he had made a serious mistake, “a breach
+of the faith of nations,” as it was called, which was liable to involve
+the United States in grave difficulties. How best to undo his rash
+action was now his thought.
+
+He apologized to the Mexican commander and gave back possession of the
+fort. Next, he had the unhappy task of taking down the American flag and
+replacing it with the cactus and eagle banner of Mexico, to which the
+guns of his vessels gave a salute of honor. From Monterey he sailed
+away to San Pedro. There he waited while he sent a messenger to Governor
+Micheltorena, who was living in Los Angeles, asking permission to
+call upon him and apologize in person. This request was granted, and
+Commodore Jones and his staff came up to Los Angeles, where they were
+the guests of their countryman, Don Abel Stearns, who, as he had been
+working with Consul Larkin to win the Californians to the United States,
+was most anxious to undo the mischief of the flag raising. For the
+benefit of this history, Dona Arcadia Bandini, who was the beautiful
+Spanish wife of Mr. Stearns, tells the story of the visit:--
+
+“We gave a dinner to the governor, the commodore, and their attendants.
+Everything was very friendly; they seemed to enjoy themselves, and the
+uniforms of the two countries were very handsome. On the next day but
+one the governor gave a ball. It was to be at his home, which was the
+only two-story house in Los Angeles. To show the Americans how patriotic
+the people of California were, the governor requested in the invitations
+that all the ladies wear white with a scarf of the Mexican colors,--red,
+green, and white. Of course we gladly complied, though some of us had to
+work hard to get our costumes ready.
+
+“The day of the ball came, but with it came rain, such a storm as I
+never had seen. As it drew toward evening the water came down faster and
+faster. The governor had the only carriage in California, and this he
+was to send for the commodore, Mr. Stearns, Isadora, and myself; but
+the poor young officers had to walk, and their faces were long when they
+looked out at the rain and then down at their fine uniforms and shining
+boots.
+
+“Our California horses were not trained to pull loads and would not work
+in the rain, so when the carriage came for us it was drawn by a number
+of the governor’s Cholo soldiers. We got in quite safely, and it was
+only a short distance we had to go, but as I was getting out the wind
+suddenly changed and down came a torrent of water on me. It was clear
+that I could not go to the ball in that condition, but the governor
+immediately ordered the soldiers to pull the carriage back to my home,
+where I soon made another toilet. The ball was delightful. The governor
+and the commodore vied with each other in exchanging compliments and
+courtesies.”
+
+It was a sad fact, however, that in spite of apologies, dinners, and
+balls, Consul Larkin now found it difficult to persuade his California
+neighbors that the United States looked upon them as brothers, and they
+began to regard with suspicion the host of American emigrants who were
+coming into the territory.
+
+In 1842 Lieutenant Fremont, under orders from the United States
+government, made the first of his wonderful journeys over deserts and
+rough mountain ranges into the great unknown West. Soon he was to become
+famous, not only in his own country but in Europe, as the “Pathfinder,”
+ the road maker of the West. Already many an Oregon emigrant had blessed
+the name of Fremont for making plain the trail for himself and his loved
+ones.
+
+In 1846 Captain Fremont, conducting an exploring and scientific
+expedition, entered California with sixty men and encamped in the valley
+of the San Joaquin. Later he moved down into the heart of the California
+settlements and encamped on the Salinas River. Possibly, knowing that
+war would soon be declared between his country and Mexico, he had
+determined to see as much of the enemy’s position as possible, not
+caring particularly what the Mexican authorities might think.
+
+As a natural result, General Castro, commander of the California forces,
+objected; Fremont defied him, and there seemed a likelihood of immediate
+war. There was no actual fighting, however, and in a day or two Fremont
+continued his journey toward Oregon.
+
+He had gone but a little way when he was overtaken by a captain of the
+navy named Gillespie, bringing him letters from the officers of the
+government at Washington. Upon reading these, Fremont immediately turned
+about and marched swiftly back to Sutter’s Fort, where he encamped. Just
+what orders the messages from Washington contained, no one knows; but it
+is thought that perhaps they informed Fremont that war would be declared
+very soon and that the government would be pleased if he could quietly
+get possession of California.
+
+If this was so, he had the best of reasons for his later actions.
+If not, then in his eagerness to obtain for his country the valuable
+territory he so well appreciated and in his desire to win for himself
+the honor of gaining it, he brought on a war that caused the loss of
+many lives and much property, and the growth of a feeling of bitterness
+and distrust between Americans and Californians that has not yet
+entirely passed away. Still it is by no means certain that California
+could have been won without fighting, even had Fremont and the American
+settlers been more patient.
+
+Soon many Americans were gathered about Fremont’s camp; but though there
+were a number of rumors as to what General Castro was going to do to
+them, there was no action contrary to the previous kindly treatment all
+had received from the hands of the Californians. Still the emigrants
+felt that as soon as war was declared an army from Mexico might come up
+which would not be so considerate of them and their families as had been
+their California neighbors.
+
+Having good reason to feel certain that Fremont would stand back of them
+if they began the fight, a company of Americans attacked one of Castro’s
+officers, who, with a few men, was taking a band of horses to Monterey.
+Securing the horses, but letting the men who had them in charge get
+away, they hurried them to Fremont’s camp, where they left them while
+they went on to Sonoma. Here they made prisoner General Vallejo,
+commander of that department of the territory, together with his brother
+and staff.
+
+General Vallejo was one of the leading Californians of the north, a man
+of fine character, quiet and conservative, generous toward the needy
+emigrants and favorable to annexation with the United States. When he
+saw the rough character of the men surrounding his house that Sunday
+morning, he was at first somewhat alarmed. A man named Semple, who was
+one of the attacking party, describing the event in a Monterey paper
+sometime afterward, says: “Most of us were dressed in leather hunting
+shirts, many were very greasy, and all were heavily armed. We were about
+as rough a looking set of men as one could well imagine.” When they
+assured the general that they were acting under orders from Fremont, he
+seemed to feel no more anxiety, gave up his keys, and arranged for
+the protection of the people of his settlement. He was first taken to
+Fremont’s headquarters, then for safe keeping was sent on to Sutter’s
+Fort.
+
+Meanwhile the party which had been left in charge of affairs at Sonoma
+chose one of their number, a man named Ide, as their leader. Realizing
+that they had begun a war, they felt the need of a flag, and not
+daring to use that of the United States, they proceeded to make one for
+themselves. For their emblem they chose the strongest and largest of the
+animals of California, the grizzly bear. The flag was made of a Mexican
+rebosa or scarf of unbleached muslin about a yard in width and five feet
+long. To the bottom of this they sewed a strip of red flannel; in one
+corner they outlined a five-pointed star, and facing it a grizzly bear.
+These were filled in with red ink and under them in black letters
+were the words “California Republic.” The temporary government of
+the followers of the Bear Flag is generally known as the “Bear Flag
+Republic.”
+
+As soon as it seemed probable that the Californians under General
+Castro were marching to attack the Americans, Captain Fremont joined his
+countrymen, and from that time the United States flag took the place of
+the banner of the bear. A little later Captain Fremont took the presidio
+and port of San Francisco, and to him is due the honor of naming
+beautiful Golden Gate.
+
+About two weeks after the capture of Sonoma, Commodore Sloat, with
+two vessels of the United States navy, entered the harbor of Monterey.
+Although he had come for the purpose of taking the territory for his
+country, and had orders to see to it that England did not get possession
+of California ahead of him, yet he had been cautioned to deal kindly
+with the Californians, and he hesitated to take decided steps. It took
+him six days to make up his mind, and then he came to a decision
+partly on account of the actions of Fremont and his men. Slowly up the
+flagstaff on the fort of Monterey rose the Stars and Stripes. Unfolded
+by the sea breeze, the beautiful flag of the United States waved again
+over the land of the padres, and this time to stay. A few days later
+Commodore Stockton reached California to take command in place of
+Commodore Sloat, who returned home. Stockton appointed Fremont commander
+of the American forces on land, and together they completed the conquest
+of the territory.
+
+It was unfortunate that Commodore Stockton had so lately arrived from
+the East that he did not fully understand the state of affairs. As he
+believed the wild rumors which, falsely, accused the Californians of
+treachery and cruelty, his proclamations were harsh and unjust to
+the proud but kindly people whom he was conquering. Many of the late
+historians find much to blame in the treatment given by the Americans
+to the people of California. Severity was often used when kindness would
+have had far better effect.
+
+Los Angeles and San Diego were taken by Stockton and Fremont without
+any fighting, and leaving a few troops in the south, both commanders
+returned to Monterey. They were soon recalled by the news that the
+people of Los Angeles had risen against the harsh rule of Captain
+Gillespie, who had been left in command; that the Americans had
+surrendered but had been allowed to retire to San Pedro, and that all
+the south was in a state of active rebellion.
+
+Landing at San Pedro, Stockton waited a few days, then fearing the
+enemy was too strong for his forces, sailed away to San Diego. Here the
+Americans received a hearty welcome, and much-needed assistance, from
+the Spanish families of Bandini and Arguello.
+
+Mr. Bandini escorted a body of the United States troops to his home
+rancho on the peninsula of Lower California, where he gave them cattle
+and other food supplies. For this aid to the invaders he was forced to
+remove his family from their home there, and on the journey up to San
+Diego. Mrs. Bandini made what was probably the first American flag
+ever constructed in California. As they neared San Diego the officer in
+command discovered that he had neglected to take with him a flag. He did
+not wish to enter the settlement without one, and when the matter was
+explained to Mrs. Bandini, who was journeying in a carreta with her
+maids and children, she offered to supply the need.
+
+From the handbag on her arm came needle, thimble, thread, and scissors,
+and from the clothing of her little ones the necessary red, white, and
+blue cloth. Under the direction of the young officer she soon had a
+very fair-looking flag, and beneath its folds the party marched into
+the town. That night the band of the flagship Congress serenaded Mrs.
+Bandini in her San Diego home, and the next day Commodore Stockton
+called to thank her in person. The flag, it is said, he sent to
+Washington, where it is still to be found with other California
+trophies.
+
+The most severe battle of the war in the state of California was fought
+on the San Pasqual rancho in San Diego County. The forces engaged
+were those of General Andres Pico, who commanded the Californians, and
+General Stephen Kearny, who had marched overland, entered the territory
+on the southwest, and was on his way to join Stockton. Hearing that the
+country was conquered and the fighting over, the American officer had
+sent back about two hundred of his men, but he was afterward reinforced
+by Captain Gillespie and fifty men sent by Stockton to meet him. Several
+American officers were killed in the battle of San Pasqual, and their
+brave commander severely wounded.
+
+Commodore Stockton, on his march from San Diego to Los Angeles, twice
+engaged the enemy, once at the crossing of the San Gabriel River and
+once on the Laguna rancho just east of the city. The Californians
+behaved with great bravery. All of them were poorly armed, many having
+only lances and no fire-arms, and what powder they had was almost
+worthless; yet three times they dashed upon the square of steadily
+firing United States marines.
+
+This was the last battle in the territory. The Californians retreated
+across the hills to the present site of Pasadena. Here, at the little
+adobe house on the banks of the Arroyo Seco, they separated. General
+Flores, their commander, was to ride with his staff through the stormy
+night, down El Camino Real toward Mexico. General Andres Pico, upon whom
+devolved the duty of surrender, was to ride with his associates to the
+old Cahuenga ranch house, the first station on the highway from Los
+Angeles to Santa Barbara. There he met Captain Fremont, and the treaty
+was signed which closed hostilities. The terms proposed by Fremont were
+favorable for the Californians and did much to make way for a peaceful
+settlement of all difficulties.
+
+
+
+Chapter VII
+
+At the Touch of King Midas
+
+
+
+It was by chance that gold was discovered in both northern and southern
+California, and by chance that many great fortunes were made.
+
+Juan Lopez, foreman of the little ranch of St. Francis in Los Angeles
+County, one morning in March, 1842, while idly digging up a wild onion,
+or brodecia, discovered what he thought lumps of gold clinging to its
+roots. Taking samples of the metal, he rode down to Los Angeles to the
+office of Don Abel Stearns, who recognized it as gold.
+
+Soon Juan and his companions were busy digging and washing the earth and
+sands in the region where the little wild flowers grew. These mines
+were called “placer,” from a Spanish word meaning loose or moving about,
+because the metal was loosely mixed with sand and gravel, generally in
+the bed of a stream or in a ravine where there had once been a flow of
+water which had brought the gold down from its home in the mountains.
+
+From these mines Don Abel Stearns sent, in a sailing vessel round Cape
+Horn, the first parcel of California gold dust ever received at the
+United States mint, and it proved to be of very good quality.
+
+The San Fernando mines, as they were called, because they were on a
+ranch that had once belonged to San Fernando mission, yielded many
+thousand dollars’ worth of gold dust. It is on record that one firm in
+Los Angeles, which handled most of the gold from these and other mines
+of southern California, paid out in the course of twenty years over two
+million dollars for southern gold.
+
+The true golden touch, however, was to come in a different part of the
+territory among people of another race and tongue. It was to transform
+California from an almost unknown land with slight and scattered
+population to a community so rich as to disturb the money markets of
+the world; a community sheltering a great host of people, all young, all
+striving eagerly for the fortunes they had traveled thousands of miles
+to find.
+
+After the signing of the treaty of Cahuenga between Colonel Fremont
+and General Pico, the Spanish-speaking people settled down quietly and
+peacefully. The only disagreements were between the American leaders,
+General Kearny and Commodore Stockton, and between Kearny and Fremont,
+who had been appointed by Stockton military governor of the territory.
+This appointment General Kearny disputed. General Vallejo tells in one
+of his letters of having received on the same day communication from
+Kearny, Stockton, and Fremont, each signing himself commander-in-chief.
+
+Whoever was right in the quarrel, Fremont was the chief sufferer, for
+General Kearny, after Stockton left, ordered him to return East under
+arrest and at Washington to undergo a military trial or court-martial
+for mutiny and disobedience of orders. Although the court found him
+guilty and sentenced him to be dismissed from the army, the President,
+remembering his services in the exploration of the West, and quite
+possibly thinking him not the person most to blame, pardoned and
+restored him to his position. Fremont, feeling that he had done nothing
+wrong, refused the pardon and resigned from the army. The next year the
+new President, Taylor, showed his opinion of the matter by appointing
+Fremont to conduct the important work of establishing the boundaries
+between the United States and Mexico.
+
+General Kearny, when he departed for the East, left Colonel Mason, of
+the regular army, as military governor of California. Mason chose as
+his adjutant, or secretary, a young lieutenant named Sherman, who, years
+later, in the Civil War, by his wonderful march through the heart of the
+South, came to be considered one of the greatest generals of his time.
+
+Soon after the Mexican war many settlers were gathered about Sutter’s
+Fort and San Francisco Bay. There were about two thousand Americans,
+most of them strong, hardy men, all overjoyed that the territory was in
+the hands of the United States and all eager to know what would
+finally be decided in regard to it. Reports kept arriving of parties of
+emigrants that were about to start overland for California.
+
+“They are as certain to come as that the sun will rise to-morrow,” said
+genial Captain Sutter, “and as the overland trail ends at my rancho, I
+must be ready to furnish them provisions. They are always hungry when
+they get there, especially the tired little children, and the only thing
+for me to do is to build a flour mill to grind my grain.”
+
+“Well and good,” said James Marshall, one of his assistants, an American
+by birth, a millwright by trade; “but to build a flour mill requires
+lumber, and lumber calls for a sawmill.”
+
+“We will build it, too,” said Sutter. “Take a man and provisions and go
+up toward the mountains; there must be good places on my land. I leave
+it all in your hands.” The place was found on a swift mountain stream.
+Near the present site of Coloma, in the midst of pine forests, on the
+water soon to be so well known as the American River, the sawmill was
+located. Marshall also marked out a rough wagon road forty-five miles
+long down to the fort. Captain Sutter was delighted.
+
+“Set to work as soon as you like, Marshall,” he exclaimed. “This is your
+business.” Soon the mill was built and almost ready for use.
+
+“You may let the water into the mill race to-night,” said Marshall to
+his men. “I want to test it and also to carry away some of the loose
+dirt in the bed.”
+
+Down came the water with a rush, carrying off before it the loose earth;
+all night it ran, leaving the race with a clean, smooth bed. The next
+day, Monday, January 24, 1848,--wonderful day for California--James
+Marshall went out to look at the mill race to see if everything was
+ready to begin work.
+
+“To-morrow,” thought he, “we will commence sawing, and put things
+through as fast as possible. The men are waiting, we have plenty of
+trees down, there is nothing to hinder;” but at that moment as he walked
+beside the bed of the tail race he saw some glittering yellow particles
+among its sands. He stopped and picked one up. The golden touch had
+come.
+
+The following is Marshall’s own description as published in the Century
+Magazine (Vol. 41). “It made my heart thump, for I was certain it was
+gold. Yet it did not seem to be of the right color; all the gold coin I
+had seen was of a reddish tinge; this looked more like brass. I recalled
+to mind all the metals I had seen or heard of, but I could find none
+that resembled this. Suddenly the idea flashed across my mind that it
+might be iron pyrites. I trembled to think of it.”
+
+Finally, to make sure, Marshall, like Juan Lopez, mounted his horse and
+rode away to find some one with more knowledge than himself. That some
+one was Captain Sutter, who looked in his encyclopedia, probably the
+only one in the territory at that time, and by comparing the weight of
+the metal with the weight of an equal bulk of water found its specific
+gravity, which proved it to be gold. Still Sutter thought that he should
+like better authority. General Sherman, in Memoirs, tells how the
+news came to Monterey, where, he was the governor’s gay young military
+secretary:--
+
+“I remember one day, in the spring of 1848, that two men, Americans,
+came into the office and inquired for the Governor. I asked their
+business, and one answered that they had just come down from Captain
+Sutter on special business and they wanted to see Governor Mason in
+person. I took them in to the colonel and left them together. After some
+time the colonel came to his door and called to me. I went in and my
+attention was directed to a series of papers unfolded on his table, in
+which lay about half an ounce of placer gold.
+
+“Mason said tome, ‘What is that?’ I touched it and examined one or two
+of the larger pieces and asked, ‘Is it gold?’ I said that if that were
+gold it could be easily tested, first by its malleability and next by
+acids. I took a piece in my teeth and the metallic lustre was perfect. I
+then called to the clerk, Baden, to bring in an ax and hatchet from the
+backyard. When these were brought, I took the largest piece and beat
+it out flat, and beyond doubt it was metal and a pure metal. Still we
+attached little importance to the fact, for gold was known to exist at
+San Fernando at the south and yet was not considered of much value.”
+
+About this time some of the business men who had settled in the little
+town of Yerba Buena, finding that all ships that entered the harbor were
+sent by their owners not to Yerba Buena, of which they knew nothing, but
+to San Francisco, persuaded the town council to change the name of the
+settlement from Yerba Buena to San Francisco, which was already the name
+of the mission and presidio.
+
+“Gold! Gold!! Gold!!! from the American River,” cried a horseman from
+the mines, riding down Market Street, waving his hat in one hand, a
+bottle of gold dust in the other.
+
+When words like these dropped from the lips of a messenger in any of the
+little communities, the result was like a powerful explosion. Everybody
+scattered, not wounded and dying, however, but full of life, ready to
+endure anything, risk anything, for the sake of finding the precious
+metal which enables its owner to have for himself and those he loves the
+comfortable and beautiful things of the world.
+
+The result at San Francisco is thus described in one of its newspapers
+of 1848: “Stores are closed, places of business vacated, a number of
+houses tenantless, mechanical labor suspended or given up entirely,
+nowhere the pleasant hum of industry salutes the ear as of late; but
+as if a curse had arrested our onward course of enterprise, everything
+wears a desolate, sombre look. All through the Sundays the little church
+on the plaza is silent. All through the week the door of the alcalde’s
+office remains locked. As for the shipping, it is left at anchor; first
+sailors, then officers departing for the mines.”
+
+And how was it at the logging camp where Marshall made his great
+discovery? The new sawmill, built with such high hopes, was soon silent
+and deserted. No more logs were cut, and no lumber hauled down for the
+flour mill. There were no men to be found who were willing to cut and
+saw logs, build mills, or put in the spring wheat when they might be
+finding their fortunes at the mines.
+
+The newly arrived emigrants suffered no doubt from hunger; maybe the
+children cried for bread; but most of the men, as soon as they had
+rested a little and knew what was going on, got together money enough
+to buy the simple implements of knife, pan, pick, and cradle, which were
+all the tools necessary for the easy placer mining of those days, and
+joined the endless procession of those who were pushing up toward the
+streams and canyons round Sutter’s famous sawmill.
+
+As summer came on, the excitement became intense. Not only from the
+region around San Francisco Bay, but from San Diego and Los Angeles,
+people came flocking to the mines. Reports were current of men finding
+hundreds of dollars’ worth of gold a day, gaining a fortune in a few
+weeks. It was almost impossible to hire laborers either in San Francisco
+or on the ranches. Even the soldiers caught the gold fever and deserted.
+
+In the summer, Governor Mason and Lieutenant Sherman visited the mines.
+Upon their return to Monterey, having seen for themselves that many even
+of the wildest rumors were true, they made arrangements to send on to
+Washington official announcement of the discovery.
+
+How this was accomplished is interesting. A lieutenant of the army was
+appointed by the governor for the important office, and a can of sample
+gold was purchased.
+
+The only vessel on the coast ready for departure was a boat bound
+for Peru. On this ship the lieutenant with his pot of gold and the
+governor’s report embarked at Monterey. He reached the Peruvian port
+just in time to catch the British steamer back to Panama. Crossing the
+Isthmus on horseback, he took a steamer for Kingston, Jamaica. There he
+found a vessel just leaving for New Orleans. Reaching that city he at
+once telegraphed the news to Washington, trusting it would be in time to
+form part of the President’s message.
+
+On December 5, 1848, the President, in his message to Congress, after
+speaking of the discovery of gold in California, said, “The accounts
+of the abundance of gold in that territory are of such extraordinary
+character as would scarcely command belief but for the authentic reports
+of officers in the public service who have visited the mineral districts
+and drew the facts which they detail from personal observation.”
+
+The certainty that the wonderful reports of the gold country were true,
+electrified not only the whole country but the whole civilized world.
+Large numbers of people began immediate preparation for making the
+overland journey as soon as the weather should permit; while others, too
+impatient to wait, left for California by the way of the Isthmus.
+
+In February, 1849, there arrived at Monterey the Panama, the first
+steamboat to visit the coast. The whole population turned out to see
+and welcome it. The Californians as they compared it with the stately
+frigates and ships they had been accustomed to see, exclaimed, “How
+ugly!” Although it was not a beautiful vessel, its arrival was an event
+of great importance, for it was the first of a line of steamers which
+were under contract to ply monthly between San Francisco and Panama, and
+with its coming began such an immigration as the world has seldom known.
+
+In 1849 nearly twenty-five thousand people came by land and almost as
+many more by sea, from the States alone. There were between thirty and
+forty thousand from other parts of the world.
+
+San Francisco at the time of the discovery had about seven hundred
+inhabitants, and shortly after only the population of a hamlet, because
+so many had gone to the gold fields. Now it suddenly found itself called
+upon to give shelter to thousands of people bound for the mines, and
+many also returning, some successful, others penniless and eager to get
+work at the very high wages offered, sometimes as much as thirty dollars
+a day.
+
+There were streets to be surveyed, houses and warehouses to be built,
+lumber and brick to be provided. People were living in tents, in brush
+houses, even in shelter made by four upright green poles over which were
+spread matting and old bedding. Hundreds of ships lay helpless in the
+harbor waiting for crews, often for men to unload the cargoes. No longer
+could the papers complain of lack of business. The town was like a hive,
+but such a disorderly one as would have driven wild any colony of bees.
+
+All was mud flats or water where are now the water front and some of
+the leading business streets of the city. On these flats old unseaworthy
+vessels were drawn up and did duty side by side with rough board
+buildings as dwellings and stores. In the rainy seasons the streets were
+lakes of mud where mules and drays were sometimes literally submerged.
+The arrival of the mail steamer was the event of the month to this host
+of people so far away from home and loved ones. Guns were fired, bells
+rang to announce the approach of the vessel, then there was a wild rush
+to the post office, where the long lines of men, most of them wearing
+flannel shirts, wide hats, and high boots, extended far down the street.
+Very high prices were sometimes paid, as high even as one hundred
+dollars, by a late corner to buy from some one lucky enough to be near
+the head of the line a position near the delivery window. Then if no
+letter came, how great was the disappointment!
+
+One man thus described the mines:--
+
+“I was but a lad and my party took me along only because I had a knack
+at cooking and was willing to do anything in order to see the place
+where such wonderful fortunes were made. It was a hot summer afternoon
+when, crossing a region of low, thinly wooded hills, we looked down upon
+American River; away to the east were high mountain ranges, their peaks,
+although it was still August, snow-tipped.
+
+“From them came swiftly down the already famous river. Its volume was
+evidently diminished from the heat, and along its gravelly bed men were
+digging the sand and gravel into buckets. As I reached them and watched
+them work I was greatly disappointed. It seemed like very ordinary dirt
+they were handling; I saw no gleam of the yellow sands of which I had
+heard such stories. I followed one of the men who carried the buckets
+of earth to something that looked very like our family cradle with the
+footboard knocked out. Where the slats might have been there was nailed
+a piece of sheet iron punched full of holes. Above this was a chute in
+which the dirt was emptied. The cradle was then rocked violently while
+water was poured over its contents. The lighter earth and gravel were
+carried away, while the gold, being heavier, rested either on the sheet
+iron or between the slats on the cradle bottom.
+
+“Some of the men had no cradle, only a large pan made of sheet iron.
+This pan, when half filled with dirt, was sunk in the water and shaken
+sidewise until the dirt and gravel were washed away and only heavy
+grains of gold remained. There were enough of these to make my eyes
+open wide. The men who had the cradle were making pretty steadily from
+eighteen to twenty dollars a day apiece.
+
+“After a day or two I visited the dry diggings. Here I saw things that
+were more astonishing to me than anything that I had seen at the placer
+mines. Some men were at work in a little canyon, and I sat on the
+bowlder and watched them digging into the earth with their knives and
+picking up every few minutes spoons of earth in which there were plainly
+visible little lumps of gold the size of a pea. This was considered a
+rich find; the men were joyful over their success. Suddenly one of the
+older ones, looking up at me, sang out:--
+
+“Say, Sonny, why do you sit there idle? Out with that bread knife of
+yours and dig for your fortune. Across this ridge is another ravine. It
+may be like this. Try your luck, anyway.’
+
+“Somehow, until that moment, it had not entered my boyish mind, that I
+might join this great mad race for wealth. I sprang to my feet. My heart
+began to pound faster than it did on the glorious day when in my boyhood
+home I had won the mile race at the county fair. There was a singing
+in my ears; for the minute I could scarcely breathe. I had heard of the
+gold fever, and now I had caught it.
+
+“I dashed up the hillside, fairly rolled down into the rocky little
+valley beyond, and began to dig wildly; but I found only good honest
+earth, rich noble soil so like our fertile bottom lands at home. My
+spirits began to sink, my heart to resume its natural beats. I worked
+half an hour or so without finding any sign, as it was called, and
+began to feel discouraged. In the canyon, which was very narrow, a large
+bowlder blocked my progress. I determined to dig it loose. This was the
+work of some time, but finally I succeeded in dislodging it, and drawing
+up my legs out of its way watched with a youngster’s delight its wild
+dash down the mountain side to the stream far below.
+
+“Slowly I turned to resume my work, but what I saw brought me to my
+feet with a yell. The socket where the stone had rested was dotted with
+yellow lumps of gold as big as a pea, some even larger. Down I went upon
+my knees and I fell to work with a will--the strength of a man seemed in
+my arms. Off came my coat, and spreading it out I scooped the rich dirt
+into it by the handful. I had happened on a pocket, as it was called;
+a turn in the bed of some old mountain stream. The dirt from this when
+washed yielded me about five hundred dollars, but it was all except
+cook’s wages that I ever made at the mines.
+
+“Before I left the gold fields I saw some small attempt at hydraulic
+mining which later proved so successful. From a stream up in a canyon
+some enterprising men had built a log flume and connected with it a
+large hose and nozzle they had brought up from the coast. Turning
+the water in this on a dry hill rich in gold deposit, they easily and
+rapidly washed the dirt down into a sluice or trough below. This had
+bars nailed across, and water running through carried the dirt away
+while the gold dropped into the crevices between the bars.” This method
+of mining and also quartz mining, that is, digging gold and other metals
+from rock, is described in another chapter.
+
+The gold-bearing earth extended along the west slope of the Sierra
+Nevada and their base, from Feather River on the north to the Merced
+River on the south, a territory about thirty miles wide by two hundred
+and fifty long. In this district are still some of the richest mines in
+the world.
+
+
+
+Chapter VIII
+
+The Great Stampede
+
+
+
+The rush of people to the Pacific coast after the gold discovery may
+well be called a stampede. The terrible overland journey, over thousands
+of miles of Indian country, across high mountains and wide stretches
+of desert, was often undertaken with poor cattle, half the necessary
+supplies of food, and but little knowledge of the route. On the other
+hand, those who preferred going by water would embark in any vessel,
+however unsafe, sailing from Atlantic ports to the Isthmus.
+
+In New York the excitement was especially great. Every old ship that
+could be overhauled and by means of fresh paint made to look seaworthy
+was gayly dressed in bunting and advertised to sail by the shortest and
+safest route to California. The sea trip is thus described by an elderly
+gentleman who made the journey when a boy of ten:--
+
+“Together with the news of the discovery of gold came also reports of a
+warm, sunny land which winter never visited, where life could be spent
+in the open air,--a favorable spot where sickness was almost unknown.
+It was, I think, as much on account of my mother’s health as to make his
+fortune that my father decided to go to California. The water route was
+chosen as being easier for her.
+
+“The saying good-by to our relatives had been hard; but by the time we
+were three miles from home we children ceased to grieve, so interested
+were we in new sights and experiences.
+
+“I had never seen salt water until that morning in New York, when we
+boarded the gayly trimmed brig, the Jane Dawson, which was to carry us
+to the Isthmus. To my sister and myself it was a real grief that our
+vessel had not a more romantic name. We decided to call it the Sea
+Slipper, from a favorite story, and the Sea Slipper it has always been
+to us.
+
+“On the deck there were so many unhappy partings that we became again
+downhearted, a feeling which was intensified in the choppy seas of the
+outer bay to the utter misery of mind and body. We got ourselves somehow
+into our berths, where, with mother for company, we remained for many
+hours. Finally the sea grew calmer and we were just beginning to enjoy
+ourselves when off Cape Hatteras a severe storm broke upon us. The
+vessel pitched and rolled; the baggage and boxes of freight tumbled
+about, threatening the lives of those who were not kept to their berths
+by illness.
+
+“Although I was not seasick I dared not go about much. One night,
+however, growing tired of the misery around me, I crawled over to the
+end of the farther cabin, which seemed to be deserted. Presently the
+captain and my father came down the stairs and I heard the officer say
+in a hoarse whisper. ‘I will not deceive you, Mr. Hunt; the mainmast is
+down, the steering gear useless, the crew is not up to its business,
+and I fear we cannot weather the night!’ I almost screamed aloud in my
+fright, but just then a long, lanky figure rose from the floor where it
+had been lying. It was one of the passengers, a typical Yankee.
+
+“‘See here, captain,’ he said, ‘my chum and I are ship carpenters,
+and the other man of our party is one of the best sailors of the
+Newfoundland fleet; just give us a chance to help you, and maybe we
+needn’t founder yet awhile.’ The chance was given, and we did not
+founder.
+
+“Some days later we anchored in the harbor of Chagres. There were many
+vessels in the bay, and a large number of people waiting to secure
+passage across the Isthmus. They crowded around the landing place of the
+river canoes and fought and shouted until we children were frightened
+at the uproar, and taking our hands mother retired to the shade of some
+trees to wait.
+
+“It was almost night when father called to us to come quickly, as he had
+a boat engaged for us. It lay at the landing, a long canoe, in one end
+of which our things were already stored. Some men who were friends of
+father’s and had joined our party stood beside it with revolvers in
+hand watching to see that no one claimed the canoe or coaxed the boatmen
+away. Mother and Sue were quickly tucked beneath the awning, the rest
+of us tumbled in where we could, and at once our six nearly naked negro
+boatmen pushed out the boat and began working it up the stream by means
+of long poles which they placed on the bottom of the river bed, thus
+propelling us along briskly but with what seemed to me great exertion.
+
+“To us children the voyage was most interesting. On either side the
+banks were covered with such immense trees as we had never dreamed of.
+The ferns were more like trees than plants, and the colors of leaves
+and flowers so gorgeous they were dazzling. The fruits were many and
+delicious, but our father was very careful about our eating, and would
+not allow us to indulge as we desired.
+
+“The night came on as suddenly as though a great bowl had been turned
+over us. For an hour or more we watched with delight the brilliant
+fireflies illuminating all the atmosphere except at the end of the boat,
+where the red light of a torch lit the scene. After we had lain down for
+the night the moon rose and I could not enough admire the beauty of the
+tropical foliage, with the silvery moonlight incrusting every branch and
+leaf.
+
+“The second day we left the boats and took mules for the rest of the
+journey. To my delight I was allowed an animal all to myself. Sue rode
+in a chair strapped to the back of a native, and our luggage was taken
+in the same manner, the porters carrying such heavy loads that it did
+not seem possible they could make the journey.
+
+“To my sister and me, the city of Panama was amazingly beautiful, with
+its pearl oyster shells glittering on steeple and bell tower, and the
+dress of the people as magnificent as the costumes described in the
+‘Arabian Nights.’ In Panama we waited a long time for a steamer. The
+town was crowded and many people were ill. My mother was constantly
+helping some one until my father forbade her to visit any stranger,
+because cholera had broken out and many were dying.
+
+“It was a joyful morning when we boarded the steamer California, steamed
+out on the blue Pacific, and headed northward. We had more comfortable
+quarters and better food than when on the Atlantic; but never on the
+steamer did we feel the sense of grandeur and power that came to us on
+the brig when, with white sails all set, she rushed like a bird before
+the wind.
+
+“Toward the close of the voyage there was so much fog that our captain
+did not know just whereabouts we were, and for that reason kept well out
+to sea. One morning there came a rap at the stateroom door, and a loud
+voice cried, ‘Wake up, we shall be in San Francisco in less than an
+hour.’ What a time of bustle followed! The sea was rough. Sue and I
+fell over each other and the valises in our eagerness to get dressed. I,
+being a boy, was out first. The sun was shining as though it was making
+up for the days it was hidden from us. The water was blue and sparkling,
+the air warm and delightful after the cold, foggy weather.
+
+“We were steaming due east, and almost before I knew it we had passed
+through Golden Gate and were in the quiet water of the bay. By the time
+mother and Sue were on deck, we were nearing the wharf. I thought then
+that San Francisco was rather disappointing in its looks, with its
+unpainted houses of all kinds of architecture, and the streets like
+washouts in the hills, but soon I learned to love it with a faithfulness
+which was felt by many of the pioneers and will end only with life.”
+
+Such were some of the hardships and discomforts endured by those
+who traveled to California by water during the period of the gold
+excitement. Yet those who made the journey by land often suffered even
+more.
+
+The first immigrant train to California started in 1841.
+
+It brought among its members a young man named Bidwell, afterward United
+States representative from California. Describing this journey in the
+Century Magazine (Vol. 41), Mr. Bidwell says:--
+
+“The party consisted of sixty-nine persons. Each one furnished his own
+supplies of not less than a barrel of flour, sugar, and other rations in
+proportion. I doubt whether there was a hundred dollars in money in the
+whole party, but all were anxious to go.
+
+“Our ignorance of the route was complete. We knew that California lay
+west, and that was all. Some of the maps consulted and supposed to be
+correct showed a lake in the vicinity of where we now know Salt Lake to
+be, that was three or four hundred miles in length, with two outlets,
+both running into the Pacific Ocean, either apparently larger than the
+Mississippi River. We were advised to take along tools to make canoes,
+so that if we found the country too rough for our wagons, we could
+descend one of these rivers to the Pacific.” It was two years later that
+Fremont, the pathfinder and roadmaker of the West, surveyed the great
+Salt Lake and made a map of it. The Bidwell party after many hardships
+reached California in safety.
+
+The unhappy Donner party, also home seekers, made the journey in 1848.
+They lost their way and became snow-bound in the mountains. A number of
+them died from cold and starvation, but the remainder were rescued by
+relief parties sent out from Sutter’s Fort. Their sufferings were
+too terrible to be told, and yet they started with fair hopes and as
+excellent an outfit as any party that ever crossed the plains. The
+following is from an account of the journey written by one of their
+number for the Century Magazine (Vol. 42):--
+
+“I was a child,” says Virginia Reed Murphy, “when we started for
+California, yet I remember the journey well. Our wagons were all made to
+order, and I can say truthfully that nothing like the Reed family wagon
+ever started across the plains. The entrance was on the side, and one
+stepped into a small space like a room, in the center of the wagon. On
+the right and left were comfortable spring seats, and here was also a
+little stove whose pipe, which ran through the top of the wagon, was
+prevented by a circle of tin from setting fire to the canvas. A board
+about a foot wide extended over the wheels on either side, the full
+length of the wagon, thus forming the foundation of a large roomy
+second story on which were placed our beds; under the spring seats were
+compartments where we stored the many things useful for such a journey.
+Besides this we had two wagons with provisions.
+
+“The family wagon was drawn by four yoke of choice oxen, the others by
+three yoke. Then we had saddle horses and cows, and last of all my pony.
+He was a beauty, and his name was Billy. The chief pleasure to which I
+looked forward in crossing the plains was to ride on my pony every day.
+But a day came when I had no pony to ride, for the poor little fellow
+gave out. He could not endure the hardships of ceaseless travel. When I
+was forced to part with him, I cried as I sat in the back of the wagon
+watching him become smaller and smaller as we drove on until I could not
+see him any more. But this grief did not come to me until I had enjoyed
+many happy weeks with my pet.
+
+“Never can I forget the morning when we bade farewell to our kindred and
+friends. My father, with tears in his eyes, tried to smile as one
+friend after another grasped his hand in a last farewell. My mother
+was overcome with grief. At last we were all in the wagon, the drivers
+cracked their whips, the oxen moved slowly forward, the long journey had
+begun.
+
+“The first Indians we met were the Caws, who kept the ferry and had to
+take us over the Caw River. I watched them closely, hardly daring to
+draw my breath, feeling sure that they would sink the boat in the middle
+of the stream, and very thankful I was when I found that they were not
+like the Indians in grandmamma’s stories.
+
+“When we reached the Blue River, Kansas, the water was so high that
+the men made rafts of logs twenty-five feet in length, united by cross
+timbers. Ropes were attached to both ends and by these the rafts
+were pulled back and forth. The banks of the stream being steep, our
+heavy-laden wagons had to be let down carefully with ropes so that the
+wheels might run into the hollow between the logs. This was a dangerous
+task, for in the wagons were the women and children, who could cross the
+rapid stream in no other way.
+
+“After striking the great valley of the Platte the road was good, the
+country beautiful. Stretching out before us as far as the eye could
+reach was a valley as green as emerald, dotted here and there with
+flowers of every imaginable color. Here flowed the grand old Platte--a
+wide, shallow stream. This part of our journey was an ideal pleasure
+trip. How I enjoyed riding my pony, galloping over the plain gathering
+wild flowers! At night the young folks would gather about the camp
+fire chattering merrily, and often a song would be heard or some clever
+dancer would give us a jig on the hind door of a wagon.
+
+“In the evening, when we rode into camp, our wagons were placed so as
+to form a circle or corral, into which, after they had been allowed to
+graze, the cattle were driven to prevent the Indians from stealing them.
+The camp fire and the tents were placed on the outside of this square.
+There were many expert riflemen in the party, and we never lacked game.
+I witnessed many a buffalo hunt and more than once was in the chase
+close behind my father. For weeks buffalo and antelope steaks were the
+main article on our bill of fare, and our appetites were a marvel.” The
+Reed family was the only one belonging to the Donner party, it is said,
+who made the terrible journey without losing a member.
+
+To the young people and men there was often much pleasure in crossing
+the continent in a prairie schooner, as the white-covered emigrant wagon
+was called; but to the women it was another matter, since they had to
+ride constantly in a wagon, attend to the little children, and do the
+cooking, often under great difficulties. Many of them learned to be
+experts in camp cooking, requiring nothing more than a little hollow
+in the hard ground for a range; or if there were plenty of stones, the
+cooking place might be built up a little. Over this simple contrivance,
+with the aid of a couple of iron crossbars, a kettle, a frying pan, and
+coffee pot, many a delicious meal was easily and quickly prepared.
+
+Mrs. Hecox, in the Overland Monthly, says: “I am sure the men never
+realized how hard a time the women had. Of course the men worked hard
+too, but after their day’s travel was over they sat around the camp
+fire, smoked, and told stories, while the women were tending the
+children, mending clothes, and making ready for the next day’s meals.
+
+“After we crossed the Mississippi, it commenced raining, and for days we
+splashed through the mud and slush. When we camped at night, we had
+to wade about and make some kind of shelter for our fires, and I was
+obliged to keep the children cooped up in the wagons. Here let me say
+that I never heard an unkind word spoken among the women all the way
+across the plain. The children were good, too, and never out of humor
+either, unless some cross man scolded them.
+
+“At one place a drove of buffalo ran into our train and gave us a bad
+scare. I was in the wagon behind ours attending a sick woman when I
+saw the drove coming. I knew the children would be frightened to death
+without me, so I jumped from the wagon and ran, but I was too late.
+Finding that I had no time to get into the wagon, I crawled under it,
+where a wounded buffalo cow tried to follow me. I kicked her in the head
+as I clung to the coupling pole, and somehow broke my collar bone.”
+
+As soon as the grass began to get green in the spring of 1849, after
+the news of the discovery of gold reached the States, the overland march
+began. In white-covered emigrant wagons, in carts, on horses, mules,
+even on foot, came the eager gold seekers. How poorly prepared were
+many of them, it would be hard to believe. They were a brave and hardy
+company of people, but they suffered much. It is estimated that at least
+eight or ten thousand of the young, strong men died before the year was
+over. Many of these deaths were due to overwork and exposure, to the
+lack of the necessaries of life at the mines, also to the fact that
+a great many of the gold seekers were clever, educated people, quite
+unused to extreme poverty, and therefore lacking in the strength that
+comes from self-denial.
+
+Those who remained formed the best material for the making of the state.
+To this class belonged those who endowed the two great universities
+which are now the glory of California. For many years the highest
+position in public life was held by men who came to the Golden State
+over the plains or by the uncomfortable ocean route in the days of ‘49.
+
+
+
+Chapter IX
+
+The Birth of the Golden Baby
+
+
+
+The birth of the Golden Baby, in other words, the coming of the Golden
+State into the Union, was a time of struggle and uncertainty,
+when feelings were deeply stirred and hope deferred caused bitter
+disappointment. When the treaty of peace with Mexico was ratified by
+Congress it left the Pacific coast settlements in a strange position--a
+territory containing thousands of people, with more coming by hundreds,
+but with no legally appointed rulers.
+
+As soon as Congress accepted the treaty, the military governor ceased to
+have any power, for there was then no longer a state of war; yet he was
+still obeyed by courtesy, until some one with a better right took his
+place. The only other official was the local alcalde of each community.
+This was a Mexican office, but was at that time often filled by an
+American who had, perhaps, been in the territory only a few months and
+knew nothing of Mexican laws, but ran things as well as he could after
+the Eastern fashion.
+
+The Rev. Mr. Colton, chaplain of the warship Congress, was made alcalde
+of Monterey, and his book on those times is most interesting.
+
+“My duties,” said he, “are similar to those of the mayor of an Eastern
+city, but with no such aid of courts as he enjoys. I am supreme in every
+breach of peace, case of crime, disputed land title, over a space of
+three hundred miles. Such an absolute disposal of questions affecting
+property and personal liberty never ought to be confided to one man.”
+
+The country owed much to Mr. Colton’s work while alcalde. He soon gained
+the confidence of law-abiding residents, but was a terror to evil doers.
+Those he put to work quarrying stone and building the solid structure
+afterward named Colton’s Hall. Here one of the first of California’s
+schools was opened, and here was held the first convention.
+
+Perhaps the truth that “as a man sows, so shall he reap,” that a wrong
+action is apt to bring its own punishment, was never more plainly shown
+than in the Mexican war. The war was brought upon the United States in
+a great degree by those interested in slavery, not because they had any
+just cause of quarrel with the people of Mexico, but because they wanted
+more territory where slaves could be held.
+
+California, which was the name generally given to all the country
+extending from Mexico northward to Oregon and the Louisiana Purchase,
+and eastward from the Pacific Ocean to Texas, was what they really
+fought for, and when they got it, it became their undoing. When a
+commissioner went to Mexico to arrange for peace, he demanded California
+for the United States. As is usual, the conquered had to yield to the
+victor, and Mexico agreed, “provided the United States would promise not
+to permit slavery in the territory thus acquired.”
+
+“No,” replied Mr. Trist, the American commissioner, “the bare mention
+of such a thing is an impossibility. No American president would dare
+present such a treaty to the Senate.”
+
+The Mexican authorities persisted, saying the prospect of the
+introduction of slavery into a territory gained from them excited the
+strongest feelings of abhorrence in the hearts of the Mexican people,
+but the American commissioner made no promise.
+
+In the summer of 1848 the President, in a special message, called
+the attention of Congress to California and asked that the laws of a
+territory be granted to it. The South agreed, provided half should
+be slave territory. The Northern people, who disliked slavery, had
+no commercial interest in it, and felt it a disgrace to the nation,
+resisted this demand. Then began a bitter struggle over California and
+the question of slavery on her soil, which lasted for two years and
+called forth some of the grandest speeches of those mighty leaders,
+Webster, Clay, and Calhoun.
+
+In 1849, while this fight in Congress was still going on, an amendment
+to tax California for revenue, and another which would result in making
+her a slave state, were added to the regular appropriation bill which
+provided for the expenses of government and without which the government
+would stop. Congress was supposed to close its session on Saturday,
+March 3d, at midnight. The new President, Taylor, was to take office on
+Monday.
+
+There had been many times of excitement in that Senate chamber, but this
+night, it is said by those who were present, was equal to any. Such a
+war of words and a battle of great minds! Many eyes were turned to the
+clock as it drew near the hour of midnight. Would the stroke of twelve
+dissolve the meeting and the great government of the United States be
+left without funds?
+
+To many of the senators this seemed a certainty, but Mr. Webster
+insisted that Congress could not end while they remained in session.
+So, through the long night, the struggle went on. About four o’clock
+the amendment in regard to slavery was withdrawn, and the bill for the
+government money was passed.
+
+Meantime the American settlers in California were extremely
+dissatisfied. To be living without suitable laws was an unnatural and
+dangerous state of affairs which could not be tolerated by men who loved
+their country and their homes. The Spanish Californians, also, were
+anxious to know what they had to expect from the laws of the United
+States. At last it was decided by the people, and agreed to by the
+military governor, Riley, who was a man of good judgment, that
+delegates should be chosen to a convention which should arrange a state
+constitution and government. It was determined, however, to wait for
+word from Congress, which had closed in such tumult.
+
+News would certainly arrive by the next steamer, the Panama, which was
+long overdue. It was a favorite amusement in those days for the boys of
+San Francisco to go upon the hill and watch for her coming. The 4th of
+June they were rewarded by the sight of her. As she came into harbor a
+large part of the population hurried to the wharf, eager to learn the
+action of Congress. Was California to be a state or not?
+
+The disappointment was great when it was found that nothing had been
+done except to pass the revenue laws, which meant taxation without
+representation. In the plaza and on the streets the crowds were loud in
+their disapproval. The excitement was almost as great as in Boston, so
+long before, when the news of the tax on tea arrived. A mass meeting was
+called.
+
+“It is plain they expect us to settle the slavery question for
+ourselves,” said one. “We can do it in short order,” said another.
+
+Monday, September 3, 1849, the constitutional convention met at
+Monterey.
+
+“Recognizing the fact that there is need of more than human wisdom, in
+the work of founding a state under the unprecedented condition of the
+country,” says the minutes of that meeting, “the delegates voted to open
+the session with prayer.” It was decided to begin each morning’s work
+in this way, the Rev. S. H. Willey and Padre Ramirez officiating
+alternately.
+
+There were present forty-eight delegates, seven of whom were Spanish
+Californians. Of these Carrillo of the south and General Vallejo of
+Sonoma were prominent. They were able men, who were used to governing
+and who understood fairly well the needs of the times. Later, in the
+United States Senate, Mr. Webster quoted Mr. Carrillo of “San Angeles,”
+ as he called it. Another delegate, Dr. Gwin, was a Southern man who had
+recently come to California for the purpose of gaining the position of
+United States senator and of so planning things that even though the
+state should be admitted as free soil, it might later be divided and
+part be made slave territory.
+
+He depended for this upon the boundaries. If the whole great section was
+admitted as California, he thought division would surely follow with
+the southern part for slavery. The people, however, showed themselves
+opposed to slavery in their new state, and Dr. Gwin soon found that he
+must either forego his hopes of becoming senator or give way on this
+point. The constitution finally adopted was that of a free state with
+its boundaries as they are to-day. The new legislature chose Colonel
+Fremont and Dr. Gwin senators, and they left in January, 1850, for
+Washington, taking the new constitution to offer it for the approval of
+Congress.
+
+While the people of the Pacific coast had been making their
+constitution, Congress was in session, and the subject of California and
+slavery was still troubling the nation. The discussion grew so bitter
+that in January Clay brought forward his famous Omnibus Bill, so called
+because it was intended to accommodate different people and parties, and
+contained many measures which he thought would be so satisfactory to
+the senators that they would pass the whole bill, although part of it
+provided for the admission of California as a free state.
+
+At once Southerners sprang forward to resist the measure. They realized
+keenly that slavery could not hold its own if the majority of the
+country became free soil. They must persist in their demand for more
+slave territory, or give up their bondmen. Calhoun, the great advocate
+of slavery, who was at that time ill and near his death, prepared a
+speech, the last utterance of that brilliant mind, which was delivered
+March 4th. He was too ill to read it, but sat, gaunt and haggard,
+with burning eyes, while his friend spoke for him. It closed with the
+declaration that the admission of California as a slave or a free state
+was the test which would prove whether the Union should continue to
+exist or be broken up by secession. If she came in free, then the South
+could do no less than secede.
+
+Three days later, March 7th, Webster delivered one of the great speeches
+of his life. In it he said, “The law of nature, physical geography, and
+the formation of the earth settles forever that slavery cannot exist in
+California.”
+
+Seward followed with a speech mighty in its eloquence. He said:
+“California, rich and populous, is here asking admission to the Union
+and finds us debating the dissolution of the Union itself. It seems to
+me that the perpetual unity of the empire hangs on this day and hour.
+Try not the temper and fidelity of California, nor will she abide
+delay. I shall vote for the admission of California directly, without
+conditions, without qualifications, and without compromise.”
+
+On September 9, 1850, California was at last admitted.
+
+From that time the country advanced steadily onward to the terrible
+period of 1861, when the South put her threat into execution. The Civil
+War followed, and the abolition of slavery; but from the sorrowful
+struggle there arose a better and happier nation, a united North
+and South. There are two things to be remembered: that into the new
+territory gained from Mexico slavery never entered; and that the wealth
+which came from the mines of California did much toward strengthening
+the North in the conflict.
+
+Over half a year the Californians had been waiting for their
+constitution to be adopted, and for their representatives to be received
+in Congress. Sometimes it seemed as though the good news would never
+come.
+
+One October morning word came down from the lookout on Telegraph
+Hill: “The Oregon is coming in covered with bunting. All her flags are
+flying.” Almost at the same moment throughout the city could be heard
+the quick booming of her guns as she entered the harbor. With shouts
+and clapping of hands the people rushed to the wharf. Tears were pouring
+down the faces of men who did not know what it was to cry; women were
+sobbing and laughing by turns. The shrill cheers of the California
+boys rose high above all. There was the report of guns, the cracking of
+pistols, the joyful pealing of bells. New York papers sold readily at
+five dollars each. No more business that day. Joy and gayety reigned. At
+night the city was ablaze with fireworks and mighty bonfires, which the
+boys kept going until morning.
+
+Messengers started in every direction to carry the news. The way the
+word came to San Jose was exciting. The new governor, Peter Burnett, was
+in San Francisco on steamer day. On the very next morning he left for
+San Jose on the stage coach of Crandall, one of the famous drivers of
+the West. The stage of a rival line left at the same time. There was
+great excitement: a race between two six-horse teams, with coaches
+decorated with flags, and the governor on the box of one of them.
+
+They had to creep through the heavy sands to the mission, but beyond
+there they struck the hard road, and away they went, horses at a gallop,
+passengers shouting and singing. As they passed through a town or by a
+ranch house people ran out, aroused by the hubbub. Off went the hats of
+all on the coaches.
+
+“California has been admitted to the Union!” some one would shout in his
+loudest voice, and, looking back, they would see men shaking hands and
+tossing hats on high, and small boys jigging while shouts and cheers
+followed them faintly as they disappeared in the distance.
+
+Past San Bruno, San Mateo, Mayfield, they went with a rush, then swept
+through Santa Clara, then at a gallop down the beautiful Alameda to San
+Jose, the governor’s coach but three minutes in advance of its rival.
+
+A few days later there was the grand ceremony of admission day, which
+was described in the papers not only of this country but of England as
+well.
+
+Still, after the rejoicing came a time of anxiety and sorrow. In its
+treatment of the land question in California the United States made one
+of the gravest mistakes ever made by a civilized nation.
+
+The man whom the government sent out to investigate the subject, W. C.
+Jones, was an able Spanish scholar, skilled in Mexican and Spanish law,
+and his carefully prepared report declared that the greater part of the
+rancheros had perfect title to their lands, and all that was necessary
+for the United States to do was to have them resurveyed.
+
+In Congress, Senator Benton and Senator Fremont in most points supported
+this report as the only just plan. Against the bill that was finally
+passed Senator Benton protested vigorously, saying that it amounted
+to confiscation of the land instead of the protection promised by the
+American government, through Larkin and Sloat.
+
+This law made it necessary for every Californian, no matter how long he
+had lived on his land, to prove his title to it, and that, too, while
+the United States attorney resisted his claim inch by inch, as if he
+were a criminal.
+
+Thus the Spanish American, who was seldom a man of business after
+the standard of the Eastern states, was forced into the distressing
+necessity of fighting for what was his own, in courts, the law and
+language of which he did not understand. Meantime his property was
+rendered hard to sell, while taxation fell heaviest upon him because he
+was a large land owner. Often, too, he would have to pay his lawyer in
+notes, promising to give money when he could get it, and in the end the
+lawyer often got most of the land which the United States government had
+left to the unhappy Californian.
+
+The way in which unprincipled men got the better of the rancheros would
+fill a volume. Guadalupe Vallejo, in the Century Magazine (Vol. 41),
+tells how a leading American squatter came to her father and said:--
+
+“There is a large piece of your land where the cattle run loose, and
+your vaqueros are all gone to the mines. I will fence the field at my
+own expense if you will give me half of it.” Vallejo agreed, but when
+the American had inclosed it, he entered it on the record books as
+government land and kept it all.
+
+This article also describes the losses of the ranchmen from cattle
+stealing. It tells how Americans, who were afterward prosperous
+citizens, were guilty of selling Spanish beef which they knew had been
+stolen.
+
+The life of the Spanish-speaking people at the mines was made miserable.
+The American miners seemed to feel that the Californian had no right
+to be there. Of course there were some of the lower class, many of whom
+were part Indian, who would lie, steal, or, if they had an opportunity,
+murder; but often those who were persecuted were not of this type.
+A woman of refinement, who under the title of “Shirley” wrote her
+experiences at the mines, says:--
+
+“The people of the Spanish race on Indian Bar, many of whom are highly
+educated gentlemen, are disposed to bear an ill opinion of our whole
+nation on account of the rough men here. They think that it is a
+great characteristic of Columbia’s children to be prejudiced, selfish,
+avaricious, and unjust.”
+
+Because in a quarrel a Mexican killed a drunken miner, the men of the
+Bar determined to drive away all Californians. They captured several,
+not the guilty one, banished some, and two they sentenced to be flogged.
+Shirley from her cabin heard what was going on. She tells how one of
+them, a gentlemanly young Spaniard, begged in vain to be killed rather
+than be disgraced by whipping. When, finally, he was released, he swore
+eternal vengeance against the American race.
+
+In San Francisco the disorderly state of affairs caused by the host
+of criminals gathered there from all over the world, attracted by the
+discovery of gold, became unendurable. On the city streets robbery and
+murder were of frequent occurrence, no one was safe, and wrongdoers went
+unpunished because, frequently, the officers of the law were in league
+with them. At last the best citizens felt that for the sake of their
+homes and families they must take matters into their own hands, so they
+formed an association, seven thousand strong, which was known as the
+“Vigilantes.”
+
+Those who committed crimes were taken by this organization, and, after
+careful trial, punished. Several of the worst offenders were executed,
+many were banished from the country, and unjust officials were removed.
+When law and order were restored, the Vigilantes disbanded.
+
+The example of San Francisco was followed in various parts of the state,
+especially in the mining camps, where there were many crimes; but not
+all the Vigilantes displayed the same care and fairness as the people of
+the larger city, and sometimes terrible mistakes were made, and innocent
+people suffered.
+
+With thousands of newcomers on the Pacific coast, and the long distance
+between them and their homes, it was often of the greatest importance
+to get their parcels and mail to them as promptly as possible. For this
+reason several express companies were started and did excellent work;
+but the mail route called the Pony Express was the most interesting. It
+is well described by W. F. Bailey in the Century Magazine (Vol. 56).
+
+One day in March, 1860, the following advertisement appeared in a St.
+Louis paper:--
+
+“To San Francisco in eight days. The first carrier of the Pony Express
+will leave the Missouri River on Tuesday, April 3d, and will run
+regularly weekly hereafter, carrying letter mail only. Telegraph mail
+eight days, letters ten days to San Francisco.”
+
+From St. Joseph, Missouri, the first start was made. A large crowd was
+present to see the rider off. The same day, the same hour, the Western
+mail started on the thousand-mile ride eastward. There would be ten
+riders each way, with horses changed every twenty-five miles.
+
+Both Sacramento and San Francisco were full of enthusiasm. It was
+planned to give the first messenger a rousing reception when he should
+arrive from the East. He was received by crowds as he galloped into
+Sacramento, and hurried to a swift river steamboat which immediately
+started for the Bay. News of his coming was telegraphed ahead, and was
+announced from the stages of the San Francisco theaters so that when he
+arrived at midnight a large number of people were awaiting him, bands
+were playing, and bells were ringing; and a long procession escorted him
+to the company’s office.
+
+In all, there were sixty riders of this express company, all young men,
+light in weight, accomplished riders, coolheaded, and absolutely brave.
+They were held in high regard by all, and with good reason. Each when he
+entered the service signed this pledge:--
+
+“I agree not to use profane language, not to get drunk, not to gamble,
+not to treat animals cruelly, and not to do anything incompatible with
+the conduct of a gentleman.” They also had to swear to be loyal to the
+Union.
+
+The average journey of one man was seventy-five miles, this to be
+accomplished in one day, but the men frequently had to double the
+distance, and once, when the messenger who was waiting was killed by
+Indians, “Buffalo Bill” (Mr. Cody) made the long trip of three hundred
+and eighty-four miles, stopping only for meals and to change horses.
+
+By day and by night, through rain and storm, heat and cold, they rode,
+these brave men, one facing east, the other west, alone, always alone,
+often chased by Indians, though, owing to their watchfulness and the
+superiority of their horses, they were seldom caught. A number were,
+however, killed by immigrants, who mistook them for Indians or robbers.
+
+The great feat of the Pony Express was the delivering of Lincoln’s
+inaugural address in 1861.
+
+With the Southern states claiming to be out of the Union, people were
+wild to know what the President would say. To St. Joseph, Missouri,
+the address was hurried. Here it was carefully wrapped in oil skin,
+consigned to the saddle bags, and amid wild cheers the express was
+off. Horses were waiting every ten miles. What a ride was that! “Speed,
+speed! faster, faster!” was the cry. Each man tried to do a trifle
+better than the last, while the thousands on the Pacific coast seemed to
+be straining their ears for the sound of the galloping hoof beats which
+brought nearer to them the brave message of the grand new President. And
+when the last rider came in, making the final ten miles in thirty-one
+minutes, what a cheer went up!
+
+One thousand nine hundred and fifty miles in one hundred and eighty-five
+hours, the message had traveled--at an average of a little more than ten
+miles an hour--straight across the continent.
+
+When we read of the speed-breaking special trains of to-day, let us not
+forget what these brave men of the first overland express accomplished
+in the days of ‘61.
+
+
+
+Chapter X
+
+The Signal Gun and the Steel Trail
+
+
+
+Boom! Boom! Boom! Never in history did the firing of a gun have such
+a powerful effect as that which sent the first shot at the flag of the
+Union, as it floated over Fort Sumter on that memorable Friday, April
+12, 1861.
+
+Fired at a time when most people were hoping for a peaceful outcome of
+the sectional troubles, it astonished the world and stirred the whole
+country to its depths.
+
+Across the dry plains and rugged mountains of the West its echoes seemed
+to roll. The startled people of the Pacific coast looked at each other
+with anxious, uncertain eyes. No one felt quite sure of his neighbor,
+and they were so far from the scene of action that the government could
+not help them. They must settle the great question for themselves. Who
+was for the Union? Who was against it?
+
+In Washington the President and his advisers waited with keen anxiety to
+learn what wealthy California would do. Senator Gwin had often spoken in
+Congress and elsewhere as though it would certainly be one of the states
+to secede. He and others had talked too, in a confident way, of the
+“Grand Republic of the Pacific” that might be then formed out of the
+lands of the Western coast. To lose this rich territory would be a
+terrible blow to the Union.
+
+From the time of California’s admission there had been a constant
+endeavor on the part of Southern sympathizers to introduce slavery into
+its territory. A large number of politicians, especially those holding
+prominent positions, were Southerners, some of whom, like Dr. Gwin, had
+come to the Pacific coast for the express purpose of winning either the
+new state or some portion of it for the South and slavery.
+
+They had succeeded in giving it a fugitive slave law that was
+particularly evil. Under it a colored man or woman could be seized,
+brought before a magistrate, claimed as a slave, and taken back South
+without being allowed to testify in his or her own behalf. Neither could
+a colored person give testimony in a criminal case against one who was
+white.
+
+Opposed to this strong Southern party one man stood almost alone as the
+friend of free labor and free soil. This man was David C. Broderick. For
+years he fought the slavery interests inch by inch in San Francisco, in
+the state legislature, and finally in the United States Senate.
+
+When he went to Washington he found the same state of affairs as
+in California--President Buchanan yielding to the Southern demands,
+Southern members ruling and often terrifying Congress. Broderick at once
+joined Stephen A. Douglas in the struggle he was then making for free
+soil in Kansas and the territories, and his speeches were clear and
+often fierce.
+
+In reply to a speech from a Carolina senator in regard to the disgrace
+of belonging to the working class, Mr. Broderick said (Congressional
+Globe, 1857-58), “I represent a state where labor is honorable, where
+the judge has left his bench, the doctor and lawyer their offices, the
+clergyman his pulpit, for the purpose of delving in the earth, where no
+station is so high, no position so great, that its occupant is not proud
+to boast that he has labored with his own hands. There is no state
+in the Union, no place on earth, where labor is so honored, so well
+rewarded, as in California.” Mr. Broderick died in the midst of his
+bright career, murdered in a duel by one of the leading members of the
+slavery party.
+
+When he died, those of his fellow-citizens who believed much as he did,
+yet had let him fight secession and slavery lone-handed, recognized what
+he had done for them--their “brave young senator,” as Seward called him,
+who had kept the evil of slavery from their soil. His work, stopped by
+the bullet of his enemy, was taken up by the people, and his name became
+a rallying cry for the lovers of the Union, of honest labor, and of free
+soil.
+
+News that the war had really begun brought forth the strongest
+Union sentiments from many of those who had before been careless
+or indifferent. A mass meeting of the people of San Francisco was
+held--business was suspended, flags were flying everywhere, while
+eager-faced people listened to earnest Union speeches. A few days later
+the legislature, by an almost unanimous vote, declared in the strongest
+terms for the Union, offering to give any aid the government might
+require. No one could longer have any doubt of the loyalty of the state
+of California.
+
+There were certainly many people from the South who were deeply in
+sympathy with secession; but these, if honorable men who were able to
+fight, hurried east to join the Confederate army, or if they chose to
+remain under the protection of the flag, were generally wise enough to
+keep their feelings to themselves.
+
+Some there were, however, who, while they enjoyed the law and order of
+the peaceful state, still spoke, plotted, and schemed for secession. To
+keep such as these in order it was found necessary to retain most of
+the California troops in the state for home defense. Those who did reach
+Eastern battlefields fought well and nobly.
+
+One of San Francisco’s ministers was unwise enough frequently to express
+disloyal views in the pulpit, until one Sunday morning he found the
+banner he would dishonor floating over his church, and hanging to a post
+in front of the door a figure intended to represent himself, with his
+name and the word “traitor” pinned to it. The next day he left for
+Europe, where he stayed until the close of the war.
+
+Another minister, Thomas Starr King, was one of the most earnest
+supporters of the government. He organized the California division of
+the Sanitary Commission for the assistance of sick and wounded soldiers.
+Chiefly through his influence California gave over a million and a
+half to that cause, which was one third of the whole expenditure of the
+Commission.
+
+In 1862 Leland Stanford became governor. He was devoted to the Union,
+always striving to influence his state to give liberally of its wealth
+to help the government; and its record in that line was second to none.
+“A good leader, energetic and long-headed,” the governor was called; but
+no one dreamed that long before he was an old man, he would give for the
+cause of education in California the mightiest gift ever bestowed by any
+one man for the benefit of humanity.
+
+During the war, California furnished 16,000 men, two regiments of which
+were among the best of the Union cavalry. One regiment of infantry
+was composed of trappers and mountaineers, from whom were taken many
+“sharpshooters” so famous in assisting the advance of the Northern
+troops.
+
+In the southern part of the state there was a body of volunteers known
+as the California Column, also the California Lancers, who, far off
+though they were, found enough to do. They drove the Southern forces out
+of Arizona and New Mexico, fought the Apache Indians in several battles,
+met and defeated the Texas Rangers, and took various military posts in
+Texas.
+
+Great was the excitement in San Francisco when one morning the United
+States marshall captured, just as she was leaving the wharf, a schooner
+fully fitted out as a privateer. She was filled with armed men, and in
+her cabin was a commission signed by Jefferson Davis in the name of the
+Confederate States, also a plan for capturing the forts of the harbor,
+the Panama mail steamer, then en route north, and a treasure steamer
+soon to, sail for Panama.
+
+In Los Angeles disloyalty was more outspoken and unrebuked by public
+opinion. Sometimes the surrounding ranchmen, many of whom were in
+sympathy with the South, on the news of a Southern victory would come
+into Los Angeles to celebrate with disloyal banners and transparencies.
+Living on Main Street there was a Yankee, one of the leading citizens,
+who upon such an occasion would take his rifle and, promenading the
+flat roof of his wide-spreading adobe, hurl down defiance at the enemy,
+calling them “rebels” and “traitors” and defying them to come up
+and fight him man to man. But there must have been a feeling of good
+fellowship through it all, since no stray bullet was ever sent to put a
+stop to the taunts of the fiery old Unionist.
+
+Some Spanish soldiers of the California Column, however, grew weary of
+such open disloyalty, and one night, when off duty, captured two of the
+Southern ranchmen and proposed to hang them to the oaks in the pasture
+near where the city of Pasadena now stands. The American officers of the
+troops, hearing of the affair, hurried out from Los Angeles and begged
+their men to give up so disorderly and unsoldier-like an idea. “Yes,
+sirs, it is true, all that you say; but they are rebels, they talk too
+much; why suffer them to cumber Union ground?” This seemed the only
+reply they could obtain; but finally the captives were liberated, though
+advised in the future to guard well their tongues and actions.
+
+The desire for war news from the Eastern states led to the completion
+of a telegraph line between the Missouri River and San Francisco, and
+on all sides the need of an overland railroad was also being recognized.
+Plans for such a road had been frequently presented to Congress, but
+straightway slavery entered into the question. The South wanted the
+road, but it must be through Southern territory, while the North favored
+the middle or northern route; and they could not agree.
+
+On one such occasion Senator Benton spoke in favor of a line that had
+just been surveyed by Captain Fremont. He was told by those who had
+other plans that his route was not possible, that only scientific men
+could lay out a railroad and determine the most practicable ways and
+easiest passes. But Senator Benton’s answer is worth remembering.
+
+“There is,” said he, “a class of scientific engineers older than
+the schools and more unerring than mathematics. They are the wild
+animals--the buffalo, elk, deer, antelope, and bear--which traverse the
+forest, not by compass, but by an instinct which leads them always the
+right way to the lowest passes in the mountains, the shallowest fords in
+the rivers, the richest pastures in the forest, the best salt springs,
+the shortest practicable route between two distant points. They are the
+first engineers to lay out a road; the Indian follows. Hence the buffalo
+road becomes the war path. The white hunter follows the same trail in
+the pursuit of game; after that the buffalo road becomes the wagon road
+of the emigrant, and, lastly, the railroad of the scientific man.”
+
+Through her senators and representatives California spent several years
+in pushing this matter. In vain they called attention to the fact that
+the distance from Washington to San Francisco by the way of Cape Horn
+was 19,000 miles, or more than the entire distance round the earth in
+the latitude of San Francisco; and that by Panama it was as far as from
+Washington to Peking in a direct line.
+
+In 1859-60 there appeared in Washington a young engineer named Judah,
+who had been sent by the people of the Pacific coast to urge the
+immediate building of the road by the middle route that which was
+finally chosen. Mr. Judah knew more about the matter than any other man,
+east or west, and he failed in his mission only because the troubles
+over slavery and the prospect of immediate secession took up the whole
+attention of Congress.
+
+However, he came back in no way discouraged, and continued to urge the
+matter in his cheerful, hopeful way. That he should be hopeful does not
+seem strange to us who know that the road was built and that it was a
+great success, but then conditions were different.
+
+“What, build a railroad over those mountains, with their terrible winter
+snows and landslides, across the desert, where there is absolutely no
+water? It is impossible, and these men know it; they only want to get
+the people’s money.” Such was the type of article one might read at any
+time in the papers of the day.
+
+Still, Mr. Judah’s talk had its results. One June day in 1861, Leland
+Stanford, a young lawyer, who was at that time Sacramento’s chief
+grocer, Mark Hopkins and Collis P. Huntington, hardware merchants, and
+Charles Crocker, proprietor of the leading dry-goods store, met and
+organized the Central Pacific Railroad Company, with Stanford as
+president, Huntington as vice-president, Hopkins as treasurer, Judah as
+engineer, and Crocker as one of the directors.
+
+This action seems sensible enough as we write of it, but it was one of
+the most daring undertakings ever attempted by any body of men. None of
+the four was rich, all had worked hard for the little they had; but they
+felt that the country must have the railroad, that without it California
+could never become a great state. But if they could only push forward,
+as soon as they had themselves accomplished something, help would come
+to them from the East and their success would be assured.
+
+Again Mr. Judah went to Washington, and this time he was successful. The
+war had made the government feel the need of the railway, not only to
+bind the Pacific coast closer to the eastern half of the continent, but
+to transport troops to defend its western shores. There were many now
+ready to vote for the road, and in July, 1862, the bill, having been
+passed by both houses, was signed by Abraham Lincoln.
+
+It provided for the building of two roads, one from the Missouri River
+westward, the Union Pacific, and one from the Pacific coast eastward,
+the Central Pacific, the two to be continued till they met and formed
+one long line.
+
+On the day that Leland Stanford was inaugurated governor of California,
+he had the further satisfaction of beginning the construction of the
+overland railroad by digging and casting the first shovelful of earth.
+This took place in Sacramento, in the presence of a large gathering
+of the leading people of the state; and from that time the work went
+speedily on. It was estimated that the road would cost an average of
+eighty thousand dollars a mile, though in the mountains the cost was
+nearer one hundred and fifty thousand.
+
+Not only the right of way, but a large portion of the near-by public
+lands, were granted by the government to each road, and at the
+completion of each forty miles of track there was to be further aid. The
+state of California, the city of San Francisco, and the counties through
+which the railroad passed, each gave generously to the Central Pacific;
+but all this did not bring in enough ready money. Huntington in the
+East and Stanford in the West almost worked miracles in getting funds to
+begin the work.
+
+In the death of Mr. Judah, which occurred at this time, the company
+suffered a great loss. Although the enterprise went on to a successful
+ending, his name dropped out of sight; but those who know, feel that to
+him California owes a great debt of gratitude. Though she was sure
+to have the overland sometime, it might have been years later in its
+accomplishment, but for the faith, energy, and perseverance of Theodore
+D. Judah.
+
+Charles Crocker now took charge of the building of the road; to
+accomplish the work he imported Chinese, whom he found peaceable,
+industrious, and quick to learn. They were arranged in companies moving
+at the word of command like drilled troops--“Crocker’s battalions” they
+were called. There was need of the greatest haste to get the different
+portions completed in the time allowed.
+
+“Why,” said Crocker, “I used to go up and down that road in my car like
+a mad bull, stopping along where there was anything wrong, raising Cain
+with the men that were not up to time.”
+
+Neither Mr. Crocker nor Mr. Stanford ever recovered from the strain of
+that time. It is said that it eventually caused the death of both men.
+
+Meantime the Union Pacific was pushing overland westward as fast as
+possible. Each road was aiming for the rich plains of Utah. If the
+Central stopped at the eastern base of the mountains, it would make this
+road of little value except for Pacific coast traffic; but if it could
+reach Ogden, the line would pay well.
+
+It was a mighty race all through the winter of 1868 and 1869, Crocker
+and his men working like giants. What he accomplished then was scarcely
+less wonderful than Napoleon’s passage of the Alps.
+
+All the supplies for his thousands of workmen, all the materials and
+iron for the road, even the locomotives, he had to have hauled on
+sledges over the mountains through the winter snows.
+
+Ogden was finally made the place where the two roads joined; but they
+first met, and the last work was done, at Promontory, a point fifty
+miles northwest of Ogden. There in May, 1869, the last tie was laid.
+It was made of California laurel, handsomely polished, and on it was a
+silver plate with an inscription and the names of the officers of the
+two roads.
+
+It was an eventful meeting on that grassy plain, under the blue Western
+sky, while all around rose the rugged peaks that had at last been
+conquered by man’s energy. The telegraph at this spot was, for the
+occasion, connected with all the offices along the line and in the
+leading cities of the country, where crowds were in waiting to hear that
+the great work was finished.
+
+Two trains were there with their engines, as Bret Harte describes them,
+“facing on the single track, half a world behind each back.” Around
+stood the guests and officers of the roads waiting for the final
+ceremony. “Hats off,” clicked the telegraph. Prayer was offered, and
+then the four gold and silver spikes, presented by California, Nevada,
+Idaho, and Montana, were put in place by President Stanford of the
+Central Pacific and Dr. Durant of the Union Pacific.
+
+As the silver hammers fell on the golden spikes, in all the telegraph
+offices along the line and in the Eastern cities the hammer of the
+magnet struck the bell--“tap, tap, tap.” “Done,”--flashed the message to
+the eager crowds.
+
+All over the land the event was celebrated with great rejoicing. In
+Buffalo, as the news came, hundreds of voices burst out in the singing
+of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” In Boston, services were held at midday
+in Trinity Church, where the popular pastor offered “thanks to God for
+the completion of the greatest work ever undertaken by men.”
+
+To the four men who were the builders of the Central Pacific, the public
+and particularly the state of California owes much. They not only built
+the road, but made it a grand, complete success in all its departments.
+Without it, California would still be a remote province, little known.
+With it she is one of the chief states of the Union, and in the great
+business world she is known and felt as a power.
+
+Later the corporation became very wealthy and powerful. Then it was that
+it began to abuse its power, working often against the best interests of
+the inhabitants of the Pacific slope. In some cases, as in the eviction
+of the people who were settlers in the Mussel Slough District, it was
+guilty of extreme cruelty and injustice, such as is almost certain to
+bring its own punishment. But in reckoning with the Southern Pacific,
+for so the company is now called, the people of California should be
+careful to look on both sides of the question, remembering the terrible
+struggles of those early days, when the building of the Overland,
+that greatest achievement America had ever seen, was to them like
+the miraculous gift of some fairy godmother, seemingly beyond the
+possibility of nature.
+
+
+
+Chapter XI
+
+That Which Followed After
+
+
+
+About the time that the people of California were beginning to feel
+the trouble arising from the unlimited wealth and power of the great
+railroad corporation, they discovered what they felt was danger coming
+from another quarter. This was in the large number of Chinese pouring
+into the state. Already every town of importance had its quaint Chinese
+quarter, bits of Asia transplanted to the western hemisphere. Yet these
+sons of Asia, with their quiet, gliding motions and oriental dress, had
+been of great service in the development of the new land. Many of the
+most helpful improvements were rendered possible by their labor, and for
+years they were almost the only servants for house or laundry work to
+be obtained. Never did the housewives of the Pacific coast join in the
+outcry against the Chinese.
+
+Although all this was true, it was also a fact that an American
+workingman could not live and support his family on the wages a Chinaman
+would take; and when the white man saw the Chinese given the jobs
+because they could work cheaply, he became discouraged and angry. Was he
+to be denied a living in his own country because of these strangers? For
+this reason the working people became very bitter toward the Chinese.
+
+Their complaints were carried to Washington, and because of them
+the government finally arranged with China for the restriction of
+immigration, but not, however, before the matter caused much trouble in
+California.
+
+During the years 1876-77 times were rightly called “hard” along the
+Pacific slope. Often laboring men could not get work, and their families
+suffered. The blame for all this was unjustly given to the Chinese, who
+were several times badly treated by mobs. The general discontent led at
+last to a demand for a new state constitution, which many people thought
+would remedy the evils of which they complained. For twenty-five years
+the old constitution had done good service. On the day it had been
+signed, Walter Colton, alcalde of Monterey, wrote thus of it in his
+diary: “It is thoroughly democratic; its basis, political and social
+equality, is the creed of the thousands who run the plow, wield the
+plane, the hammer, the trowel, the spade.” Still it had its faults, the
+greatest of which was the power given the legislature over public moneys
+and lands, as well as the chance it allowed for dishonesty in voting.
+
+Unfortunately many of the delegates to the convention which was to make
+the new constitution were foreigners who knew very little of American
+manners, customs, and laws, and few of them were among the deeper
+thinkers of the state, men who had had experience in lawmaking. That the
+new constitution is not much better than the old, many who helped in the
+making of it will agree. It was adopted in May, 1879. Since that time it
+has received a number of changes by means of amendments voted for by
+the people, and in spite of whatever errors it has contained, the state
+under it has gone forward to a high degree of prosperity.
+
+In 1875, during the administration of Governor Pacheco, the first native
+state governor, an invitation was extended to native-born boys of San
+Francisco to take part in the Fourth of July celebration. A fine body
+of young men were thus assembled, of whom Hittell in his story of San
+Francisco says, “They were unparalleled in physical development and
+mental vigor, and unsurpassed in pride and enthusiasm for the land that
+gave them birth.” This gathering led to the founding of the “Native Sons
+of the Golden West,” an organization which now numbers many thousands
+and of which the great state may well be proud. Later there was
+organized a sister society of native daughters, and this also has a
+large membership. As stated in their constitution, one of the main
+objects of these sons and daughters of the West is “to awaken and
+strengthen patriotism and keep alive and glowing the sacred love of
+California.”
+
+An event of the utmost importance to the southern part of the state was
+the completion of the railroad between San Francisco and Los Angeles,
+which occurred in 1879. Its route lay through the rich valley of the San
+Joaquin. Work had been carried on from each end of the line, and it was
+a very happy assembly which gathered to witness the junction of the two
+divisions, the event taking place at the eastern end of the San Fernando
+tunnel. This road was afterward extended from Los Angeles eastward by
+the way of Yuma and Tucson, and is to-day the Southern Pacific Overland.
+Later the Santa Fe Company built its popular road between Los Angeles
+and the Eastern states. Both these companies now have lines from Los
+Angeles to San Diego, and the Southern Pacific has a coast road the
+length of the state, along which the scenery is of great beauty.
+
+Indians
+
+In the history of the state the most pathetic portion is that which
+relates to the Indians. Bancroft says, “The California valley cannot
+grace her annals with a single Indian war bordering upon respectability.
+It can boast, however, a hundred or two of as brutal butcherings on the
+part of our honest miners and brave pioneers as any area of equal extent
+in our republic.” Miners and settlers coming into the country would
+take up the waters where the natives fished, the land where they hunted,
+driving them back to rocky soil, where there was nothing but acorns and
+roots to support life. As a result the poor, unhappy creatures, driven
+by hunger, would steal the newcomers’ horses and cattle. It is true that
+the white men depended, in a great measure, upon their animals for the
+support of their families; but they thought only of their own wrongs,
+and would arm in strong parties, chase the wretched natives to their
+homes, and tear down their miserable villages, killing the innocent and
+guilty alike. The government was the most to blame, because it did not
+in the first place enact laws for the protection of the Indians in their
+rights.
+
+About the towns, many of the natives gathered for work. In some places
+the authorities had the right to arrest them as vagabonds and hire them
+out as bondmen to the highest bidder, for a period often of as many as
+two or three months at a time, with no regard to family ties. Little
+seems to have been done to assist them to a better kind of life. In Los
+Angeles, when working in the vineyards as grape pickers, they were paid
+their wages each Saturday night, and immediately they were tempted
+on all sides by sellers of bad whisky and were really hurried into
+drunkenness. Their shrieks and howls would, for a time, make the night
+hideous, when they were driven by the officers of the law into corrals,
+like so many pigs or cattle, and left there till Monday morning, when
+they were handed over to whoever chose to pay the officers for the right
+to own them for the next week.
+
+Near the Oregon line lived some of the most warlike and troublesome
+Indians of California. Here there were one or two severe fights, the
+worst of which was with the Modocs, in the northern lava beds. It
+was here that General Canby was killed. To-day the Modocs are still
+suffering keenly. In the upper part of the state the Indians have no
+lands of any kind, and noble men and women of California are working to
+secure for them their rights from the government. In the south, whole
+villages have been found living on nothing but ground acorn meal, from
+which miserable diet many children die and older people cannot long
+sustain life.
+
+The Sequoya League, an association for the betterment of the Indians of
+the Southwest, has done much toward opening the eyes of the public and
+of the government officials to the unhappy condition of these first
+owners of the soil. Congress, in 1906, appropriated $100,000 to be used
+in buying land and water for those Indian reservations or settlements
+where the suffering was greatest. This was a good beginning, but as the
+needy Indians are scattered all over the state, much more is required
+before they can be so placed that they can earn a living by their
+labors.
+
+Sheep Industry
+
+Gradually the cattle industry, which was for so long a time the leading
+business of the country, gave way to sheep raising. During summer and
+fall large flocks of grayish white merinos could be seen getting a rich
+living on the brown grasses, the yellow stubble of old grain fields, and
+the tightly rolled nuts of the bur clover; while in winter and spring,
+hills and plains with their velvet-like covering of green alfileria
+offered the best and juiciest of food. This was the time of the coming
+of the lambs. As soon as they were old enough to be separated from their
+mothers they were put during the day in companies by themselves. A band
+of five or six hundred young lambs, playing and skipping over the young
+green grass they were just learning to eat, was a beautiful sight to
+everybody save to the man or boy who had them to herd. They led him such
+a chase that by the time he had them safely corralled for the night,
+every muscle in his body would be aching with fatigue.
+
+Shearing time was the liveliest portion of the herder’s life, which was
+generally very lonely. First came the shearing crew with their captain;
+next arrived the venders of hot coffee, tamales, tortillas, and other
+Mexican dainties; brush booths were erected and a brisk trade began. The
+herds were driven up and into a corral where several shearers could work
+at a time. Snip, snip, snip, went the shears hour after hour. It was the
+boast of a good shearer that he could clip a sheep in seven minutes and
+not once bring blood. As fast as cut, the wool was packed in a long sack
+suspended from a framework. The dust was dreadful, and the man or boy
+whose duty it was, when the bag was partly full, to jump in and tramp
+the wool down so that the bag might hold more, would nearly choke before
+he emerged into the clear daylight.
+
+The passage of the no-fence law by the legislature of 1873, while it was
+opposed by the sheep and cattle men, was one of the greatest aids to the
+growth of agriculture, especially in the southern part of the state.
+It provided that cattle and sheep should not be allowed to run loose
+without a herder to keep them from trespassing. This saved the farmer
+from the necessity of fencing his grain fields, a most important help in
+a country where fence material was so scarce and expensive.
+
+Colony Days
+
+For some time after California’s admission to the Union most of the
+events of importance in its history took place around the Bay of San
+Francisco and the junction of the Sacramento and San Joaquin; but early
+in the seventies the south land awoke from its long sleep and took part
+in history making, not in such stirring incidents as those of the days
+of ‘49, but in a quieter growth that was yet of importance in the making
+of the state. People in the East had begun to find out that southern
+California had a mild, healthful climate and that, though the sands
+of her rivers and rocks of her mountains were not of gold, still her
+oranges, by aid of irrigation, could be turned into a golden harvest,
+and that all her soil needed was water in order to yield most bountiful
+crops.
+
+As little land could be bought in small ranches, those wishing to
+settle in the country chose the colony plan. A number of families would
+contribute to a common sum, with which would be purchased a large
+piece of land of several thousand acres with its water right. Each man
+received from this a number of acres in proportion to the amount of
+money he had invested. The first colony formed was that of Anaheim; then
+followed Westminster, Riverside, Pasadena, and many others, and by that
+time people began to come into southern California in large numbers.
+
+The overland journey was much longer, then than now, but quite as
+pleasant. At twenty-two miles an hour the country could be seen and
+enjoyed, acquaintance made with the plump little prairie dogs of the
+Nebraska plains, and their neighbors the ground owls, which bobbed grave
+salutes as the train passed by. Bands of galloping deer, groups of grave
+Indian warriors sitting on their ponies watching the train from afar,
+an occasional buffalo lumbering along, shaking his shaggy head, were the
+things that interested the traveler who took the overland trains in ‘74
+and ‘75.
+
+At that time between San Francisco and Los Angeles there were two forms
+of travel: a hundred miles of railroad, with the rest of the distance by
+stage; and the steamship line. Families chose the ship. From San Pedro
+to Los Angeles was the only railroad of the southern country. In Los
+Angeles the flat-roofed adobe buildings, where people could walk about
+on the tops of the houses, were a wonder to the Eastern strangers.
+Beautiful homes some of them were, where glimpses could be had of
+stately senoras in silks and laces, and beautiful senoritas whose dark
+eyes made havoc with the hearts of the colony young men. The young
+Californian, who seemed a very part of his fiery steed, was at once the
+admiration and envy of the Yankee boy.
+
+Queer sights were to be seen at every turn. Creaking carretas, whose
+squeaking wheels announced their coming a block away, filled the
+streets, some loaded with grapes, others with rounded shaggy grease-wood
+roots or sacks of the red Spanish bean and great branches of flaming
+red peppers. The oxen, with yoke on the horns, seemed as if out of some
+Bible picture.
+
+Life in the different colonies was much the same. The newcomers had many
+things to learn, but they made the best of their mistakes, and days of
+hard work, such as many of them had never known, were often ended with
+social or literary meetings, where minds were brightened and hearts
+warmed by friendly intercourse.
+
+When the rains were heavy, the swift mountain streams could not be
+crossed, and often provisions gave out; then with neighborly kindness
+those who had, loaned to those who had not, until fresh supplies could
+be obtained. To this day the smell of new redwood lumber, the scent of
+burning grease-wood brush, will bring back those times to the colonists
+with a painful longing for the happy days of their new life in the new
+land. Many never gained wealth, while some lost lands and savings; but
+it was these earnest, intelligent men and women who developed the rich
+valleys of the south land and to whom we are indebted for the bloom and
+beauty found there to-day.
+
+The result of the land laws and the ill-treatment of the Mexican
+population at the mines was a period of highway robbery by bands of
+outlaws, each under the leadership of some especially daring man. The
+story of some of their adventures reminds the hearer of the tales of
+Robin Hood. Not so mild as Robin’s were their lives, however. Often
+their passage was marked by a trail of blood, where bitter revenge was
+taken because of bitter wrongs. Last of these bands was that of Vasquez,
+who robbed the colony folk gently with many apologies. He was finally
+captured and executed, and with him the bandits passed from the page of
+state history.
+
+Alaska
+
+One night in 1867 there took place in Washington an event that was to be
+of great importance to the western part of the United States. This was
+the signing of the treaty for the purchase of Alaska. As early as 1860
+Mr. Seward, in a speech delivered at St. Paul, said:
+
+“Looking far off into the northwest I see the Russian as he occupies
+himself establishing seaports, towns, and fortifications, on the verge
+of this continent, and I say, ‘Go on and build up your posts all along
+the coast up even to the Arctic Ocean, they will yet become the outposts
+of my own country.’” So long ago did the desire for Alaska, or Russian
+America as it was then called, possess the mind of the great statesman.
+But it was not until seven years later that he found the chance to win
+the government to his views. One evening, while the matter was under
+discussion between the two countries, the Russian minister called upon
+Mr. Seward at his home, to inform him that he had just received the
+Czar’s sanction for the sale.
+
+“Good, we will sign the treaty to-night,” said the American statesman.
+
+“What, so late as this, and your department closed, your clerks
+scattered?” remonstrated the Russian.
+
+“It can be done,” replied Mr. Seward; and it was. At midnight the treaty
+was signed. The price paid for Alaska was less than the cost of two of
+our modern battleships. Every year has proved more and more the wisdom
+of the purchase. The discovery of gold in particular has immensely
+increased its value and has brought to California an enlarged commerce.
+
+Spanish-American War
+
+In 1898 came the war with Spain. The tidings of the 15th of February,
+1898, filled the hearts of the people of California with indignation
+and grief. That the United States battleship Maine had been blown up
+in Havana harbor and numbers of our seamen killed, seemed to many
+sufficient cause for immediate war. Some, however, feared for the
+Pacific coast settlements, with insufficient fortifications and no war
+vessels of importance, except the magnificent Western-built battleship,
+Oregon. This vessel was at Puget Sound when the news of the blowing up
+of the Maine reached her. At the same time came orders to hurry on coal
+and proceed to San Francisco. There ten days were spent in taking on as
+much coal and provisions as the vessel could carry. Then, with orders to
+join the Atlantic fleet as quickly as possible, on the morning of March
+19 she steamed through Golden Gate and turned southward, to begin one of
+the longest voyages ever made by a battleship.
+
+The people of California were sad at heart to part with their noble
+vessel, and when, in April, war was declared, thousands followed the
+loved ship and her brave men with their interest and prayers. All alone
+upon the great sea she was sailing steadily onward, to meet, perhaps, a
+fleet of foes, or worse still, a dart from that terror of the waters,
+a torpedo boat; yet always watchful and always ready for whatever foe
+might appear, she journeyed on.
+
+The order given by Captain Clark to his officers in case they sighted
+the Spanish squadron, was to turn and run away. As the Spanish ships
+followed they were almost sure to become separated, some sailing faster
+than others. The Oregon having a heavy stern battery, could do effective
+fighting as she sailed; and if the enemy’s ships came up one at a time,
+there might be a chance of damaging one before the next arrived.
+
+Through two oceans and three zones, fifteen thousand miles without
+mishap, the Oregon sailed in fifty-nine days. When she joined the fleet
+where it lay off Cuba, she came sweeping in at fifteen knots an hour,
+the winner of the mightiest race ever run, cheered at the finish by
+every man of the American squadron. All honor should be given to her
+wise captain and brave crew and to the Western workmen who made her so
+stanch and true.
+
+On a fair May day, while California children were rejoicing over their
+baskets of sweet May flowers, the first battle of the war was fought,
+the first, and for California the most important. When Dewey destroyed
+the Spanish fleet on that Sunday morning (May 1, 1898) in Manila Bay,
+he not only won an important victory, but a greater result lay in the
+change of attitude of the United States toward the rest of the world.
+
+It was a change which had begun long before; many events had led up to
+it, but possession of the Philippines and other islands of the Pacific
+forced our country to recognize the importance of Asia and the ocean
+which washes its shores.
+
+Commerce has always moved westward, going from Asia to Greece, to Rome,
+to western Europe, to the western hemisphere; and the race which takes
+up the movement and carries it forward is the one which gains the
+profits. All must realize the truth of Mr. Seward’s prophecy when he
+said, “The Pacific coast will be the mover in developing a commerce
+to which that of the Atlantic Ocean will be only a fraction.” “The
+opportunity of the Pacific,” some one has called it. Nearly two thirds
+of the people of the earth inhabit the lands washed by the waters of
+this western sea, and the country which secures their trade will become
+the leading nation of the world--a leadership which should be of the
+best kind, supplying the needs of peaceful life, building railroads,
+encouraging the things that help a people upward and onward. To the
+young men of California, Hawaii and the Philippines offer every chance
+for daring, energy, and invention. If to honesty and energy there be
+added a speaking knowledge of the Spanish language, there lie before
+the youth of the Pacific coast the finest opportunities for active,
+successful lives.
+
+As soon as President McKinley issued his call to arms for the Spanish
+war, the men of California responded with a rush. A large number of
+those who had enlisted were hurried to San Francisco, where the military
+authorities were quite unprepared to furnish supplies. For a day or two
+there was real suffering; then the Society of the Red Cross came to the
+rescue, and thousands of dollars’ worth of food and blankets were sent
+to the camp. As soon as the always generous people of San Francisco
+comprehended the state of affairs, there was danger that the hungry
+young soldiers would be ill from overfeeding.
+
+The twenty-third day of May, 1898, is a day to be remembered in the
+history of our country, for on that day went out the first home regiment
+from the mainland of the United States, to fight a foe beyond the sea.
+When the twelve companies of California Volunteers marched through the
+city from the Presidio to the docks of the Pacific Mail and Steamship
+Company, two hundred thousand people accompanied them. So hard was it
+for our peace-loving people to understand the real meaning of war that
+it was not until the brave lads and earnest men were actually marching
+to the steamer which was to carry them thousands of miles to meet danger
+and death, that many quite realized the sorrowful fact. Men cheered
+the regiment as it passed, but the sobs of the women sometimes nearly
+drowned the hurrahs. Said one officer, “It was heartrending. If we had
+let ourselves go, we would have cried our way to the dock.” But in the
+war the record of the California troops was one that gave new honor to
+their state.
+
+Annexation of Hawaii
+
+“The Hawaiian Islands,” said Walt Whitman, in the Overland Monthly,
+“are not a group. They are a string of rare and precious pearls in the
+sapphire center of the great American seas. Some day we shall gather up
+the pretty string of pearls and throw it merrily about the neck of the
+beautiful woman who has her handsome head on the outside of the
+big American Dollar, and they will be called the beautiful American
+Islands.”
+
+In 1893 the native queen of the islands was deposed by a revolution
+conducted in a great measure by Americans living in Hawaii. A
+provisional government was formed and an application made for annexation
+to the United States. Through two presidential terms the matter was
+discussed both in Congress and by the people all over the country.
+Many were against extending our possessions beyond the mainland in any
+direction. Others thought it unfair to the natives of the islands to
+take their lands against their will. It seemed to be pretty well proved,
+however, that the native government was not for the advancement and best
+interests of the country, and that in a short time these kindly, gentle
+people would have to give up their valuable possessions to some stronger
+power.
+
+Captain Mahan, writing of these conditions, said: “These islands are the
+key to the Pacific. For a foreign nation to hold them would mean that
+our Pacific ports and our Pacific commerce would be at the mercy of that
+nation.”
+
+In the early part of the Spanish war (July, 1898) the resolution for the
+annexation of the Hawaiian Islands was passed by Congress and approved
+by President McKinley, and the string of pearls was cast about
+Columbia’s fair neck.
+
+Pius Fund
+
+It seems strange that the first case to be tried in the peace court of
+the nations at the Hague should have been in regard to the Pius Fund of
+the Californias collected by the Jesuit padres two hundred and thirty
+years before, to build missions for the Indians of California. The way
+in which this money was obtained is described in Chapter IV of this
+history. It grew to be a large sum, of which the Mexican government took
+control, paying the interest to the Roman Catholic Church in Upper and
+Lower California. After the Mexican war, Mexico refused to pay its share
+to the Church of Upper California. The United States took up the matter,
+claiming that according to the treaty which closed the war, the Catholic
+Church of the state of California had a right to its Mexican property.
+
+In 1868 it was agreed by the two countries to leave the matter to the
+decision of Sir Edward Thornton, English ambassador at Washington. He
+decided that Mexico should pay an amount equal to one half the interest
+since the war. Mexico did this, but had paid nothing during all the
+years which had passed since that time. To settle the dispute finally,
+it was decided to leave it to arbitration by the Hague court. The
+verdict given was that Mexico should pay the Roman Catholic Church of
+California $1,400,000 for the past, and one half the interest on the
+fund each year from February, 1903, forever.
+
+Panama Canal
+
+The natural result of the nation’s need in the Civil War was the
+overland railroad. The danger to the Oregon on its long journey,
+the difficulties in getting reinforcements to Admiral Dewey, and the
+possession of new lands in the Pacific led to decided action in regard
+to the building of a ship canal through the Isthmus of Panama.
+
+For years the plan had been talked over. In General Grant’s first term
+as President he saw so plainly our need of this water way, that he
+arranged a canal treaty with Colombia, and it seemed as though the work
+would soon begin, but the Colombian government refused to allow the
+matter to go on, hoping to make better terms with the United States.
+This was not possible then, so the plan was not carried out. Later,
+a French company undertook to build a canal across Panama, but after
+several years of work failed.
+
+Many of the Americans favored the route through Nicaragua, but after the
+government had spent much money and time in considering carefully both
+propositions, the preference was given to the Panama route. In 1902 an
+act for the building of the canal was passed by Congress and approved by
+President Roosevelt. It provided, however, that should the President be
+unable to obtain a satisfactory title to the French company’s work and
+the necessary territory from the republic of Colombia on reasonable
+terms and in a reasonable time, he should seek to secure the Nicaragua
+route. The matter was almost settled, when again Colombia’s greed got
+the better of her judgment and she refused to ratify the compact.
+
+When the people of the province of Panama saw that they were likely to
+lose their canal through the action of their government, they promptly
+revolted and declared themselves independent of Colombia. The United
+States recognized their independence, and a satisfactory treaty was at
+once concluded with them. In March, 1904, the commission appointed by
+the President for building the canal sailed for the Isthmus.
+
+Nearly one fourth of the work had already been done by the old company,
+but there was yet a great deal to do. Besides the actual building of the
+canal, its dams and locks, the fever district had to be made healthful
+enough for workmen to live there, marshes had to be drained, pure
+water brought in from the mountains, and the fever-spreading mosquitoes
+killed. In addition to all this, the natives of the land and the many
+bands of workmen of different races had to be brought into an orderly,
+law-abiding condition. In less than a year it was found necessary to
+alter the commission, the President choosing this time men particularly
+noted for their energy and power to make things go. The work progressed
+with great rapidity, until, in August, 1914, the canal was opened to
+navigation.
+
+The Orient
+
+In the latter part of the nineteenth century the eastern portion of Asia
+began to stir itself, rising up from the sleepy, shut-in life it had
+led for hundreds of years. The eyes of the world watched in wonder the
+progress of the war between China and Japan (1894-95). In it was fought
+the first battle in which modern war vessels were engaged. It was found
+that the Japanese, of whom so little was then known, could fight, and
+fight well.
+
+As a result of the war, China ceded to Japan the territory of Manchuria
+and the right to protect Korea. Russia and Germany objected, however,
+and France agreed with them, so Japan had to give way. Soon Russia began
+taking possession of the disputed territories, but she had constant
+trouble with Japan, and early in 1904 war broke out. Before the close
+of the year the civilized world stood astonished not only at the wisdom,
+patriotism, and fighting qualities of the Japanese, but also at their
+humanity, which would not have discredited a Christian nation.
+
+There took place a series of great battles, both on land and on the sea,
+in which the Japanese were generally victorious. The terrible loss of
+life and destruction of property led the President of the United States,
+in the spring of 1905, to urge upon the two countries that fighting
+cease and peace be arranged.
+
+Few statesmen believed that Mr. Roosevelt would be successful in his
+humane endeavor, but he pushed his suggestion with patient perseverance
+until, in September, 1905, Americans had the satisfaction of witnessing
+upon their soil, at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the signing of the treaty
+of peace between Russia and Japan.
+
+Japan’s methods of conducting the war had advanced her to a standing
+among nations which she had never before occupied, and all realized the
+wisdom of securing commercial relations with her people, who were so
+rapidly adopting the habits and customs of the rest of the civilized
+world. In this competition for her commerce, California, by her position
+on the western shore of the United States, has unusual advantages, a
+fact which was soon proved by the amount of money invested in increasing
+her facilities for production and manufacturing. Unfortunately little
+has yet been done in the matter of shipbuilding, and few vessels which
+enter her harbors have been built in the state.
+
+Some Recent Events
+
+“I’ll put a girdle around the earth in forty minutes,” prophesied Puck
+in “Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The boastful fairy did not succeed in
+accomplishing this wonder until midnight on the Fourth of July, 1903. On
+that day the Pacific cable from the United States to Hawaii, to Midway
+Island, to Guam, and to Manila, began operations. The men worked hard
+that last day of the cable laying, and by 11 P.M. the President of the
+United States sent a message to Governor Taft at Manila. Soon after was
+the old prophecy fulfilled, when President Roosevelt, no doubt with Puck
+at his elbow, sent a message round the world in twenty minutes, thus
+bettering Puck’s idea by half.
+
+The saddest year in California’s records is that of 1906. On the morning
+of April 18, a great and overwhelming calamity overtook the beautiful
+region around San Francisco Bay. A movement of the earth’s crust which
+began in the bottom of the ocean far out from land, reached the coast
+in the vicinity of Tomales Bay in Marin County. Wrecking everything
+that came in its direct path, it shivered its way in a southeasterly
+direction to a point somewhere in the northern part of Monterey County.
+The land on the two sides of the fault moved a short distance in
+opposite directions. Thus in some straight fences and roads crossing the
+fault, one section was found to be shifted as much as sixteen feet to
+one side of the other. The severe vibrations set up by this break and
+shifting extended a long distance in all directions.
+
+Although the earthquake was by no means so severe in San Francisco as
+in the region of Tomales Bay or even in the vicinity of Stanford, Santa
+Rosa, San Jose, or Agnews, it caused greater loss of life and property
+on account of the crowded population. Many buildings were wrecked,
+especially those poorly constructed on land reclaimed from swampy soil
+or built up by filling in.
+
+People who had prophesied that, should an earthquake come, the high
+buildings such as those of the Call and the Chronicle would surely
+collapse, were astonished to see those giant structures apparently
+unharmed while buildings of much less height, but without the steel
+framework, were completely wrecked.
+
+The earthquake was a sad calamity, but had this been the sum of the
+disaster the city would only have paused in its progress long enough to
+clear away the wreck and to sorrow with the mourners. It was the fires
+which sprang up while the water system was too damaged to be of use that
+wiped out old historical San Francisco, leaving in its place a waste of
+gray ashes and desolate ruins. Santa Rosa, San Jose, Stanford, Agnews,
+all suffered severely from the earthquake; but in few cases did fires
+arise to add to their loss. The State Insane Asylum at Agnews, which was
+built on swampy ground, was a complete wreck with large loss of life.
+
+The marvelous bravery and cheerfulness with which the people of
+San Francisco bore their cruel fate gave a lesson in courage and
+unselfishness to humanity. The magnificent generosity with which not
+only the people of southern and northern California, but of the whole
+country, sprang to the relief of the unhappy city gave a silver lining
+to the black cloud of disaster.
+
+Before the embers of their ruined homes had ceased to smoke the people
+began the work of rebuilding, and at the time of the visit of the
+Atlantic fleet of the United States navy in 1908, business had so
+revived as to be almost normal, and the welcome accorded the silent
+vessels in white by the gallant City of St. Francis was as hearty and
+generous as any that greeted them during their progress.
+
+October, 1909, was marked by two events of importance to San Francisco.
+One was the visit of President Taft, to whom the great state of
+California had given all its electoral votes. The second was the
+celebration, at the same time, of the discovery of the bay, which
+occurred in the fall of 1769, the founding of the presidio and mission,
+which took place in the fall of 1776, and the rebuilding of the burned
+district. On this occasion the people of San Francisco and their guests
+gave themselves up to a time of merrymaking--a three days’ historical
+carnival called, in honor of the commander of the expedition during
+which the great bay was discovered, the “Portola Festival.”
+
+In 1915 the Panama-Pacific International Exposition was held in San
+Francisco. It contained many novel and beautiful features, and was
+attended by vast multitudes of people. Another notable exposition was
+held at San Diego, beginning in 1915 and continuing in 1916.
+
+
+
+Chapter XII
+
+“The Groves Were God’s First Temples”
+
+
+
+If the people of this century continue the destruction of trees as they
+are doing at present, a hundred years from now this will be a world
+without forests, a woodless, treeless waste. What a desolate picture is
+this! What a grave charge will the people of the future have to bring
+against us that we recklessly destroy the trees, one of God’s most
+beautiful and useful gifts to man, without even an endeavor to replace
+the loss by replanting!
+
+During the last hundred years the American lumber belt has moved
+westward over a wide space. In the early days of our history nearly the
+entire supply came from Maine, and what interesting stories we have
+of those brave pioneer loggers and settlers! Gradually the noble woods
+which furnished the tall, smooth masts for which American ships were
+famous, were destroyed; and the ringing ax blows were then heard in the
+forests about the Great Lakes and in the middle Southern states. This
+supply is by no means exhausted, but to-day the heart of the lumber
+interest is on the Pacific coast.
+
+Around the great central valley which is drained by the Sacramento and
+the San Joaquin rivers, six hundred and forty miles long, lie mountain
+ranges on whose slopes are some of the noblest forests of the world.
+To the north of the central valley the trees of the east and west join,
+forming a heavily wooded belt quite across the state.
+
+In the trade, the greatest demand is for lumber of the pine and fir
+trees, and of these California has as many species as Europe and Asia
+combined. She has, indeed, only a little less than one fifth of all the
+lumber supply of the United States. Her most valuable tree for commerce
+is the sugar pine. It attains a diameter of twelve feet or more and
+is often two hundred feet high. But the most interesting trees of
+California and of the world are the Sequoias, the oldest of all living
+things. Very far back, in the time of which we have no written history,
+in the moist days of gigantic vegetation and animals, the Sequoias
+covered a large portion of the earth’s surface; then came the great ice
+overflow, and when that melted away, almost the only things living of
+the days of giants were the Sequoias of middle and upper California, and
+those on some two thousand acres over the Oregon line.
+
+The Sequoia sempervirens, which is commonly called redwood, is
+distributed along the Coast Range, the trees thriving only when they
+are constantly swept by the sea fogs. For lumber this tree is nearly
+as valuable as the sugar pine. From Eureka to San Diego, this is the
+material of which most of the houses are built. Because of its rich
+color and the high polish it takes, especially the curly and grained
+portions, its value for cabinet work is being more and more appreciated.
+On account of the presence of acid and the absence of pitch and rosin
+in its composition, it resists fire and is therefore a safe wood for
+building. When the Baldwin Hotel in San Francisco, a six-story building
+of brick and wood, burned down, two redwood water tanks on the top of
+the only brick wall that was left standing, were found to be hardly
+charred and quite water-tight.
+
+It is the redwood which furnishes the largest boards for the lumber
+trade. Not long ago a man in the lumber region built his office of six
+boards taken from one of the trees. The boards were twelve by fourteen
+feet, and there was one for each wall, one for the floor, and one for
+the ceiling. Windows and doors were cut out where desired.
+
+In the heart of the redwood and pine forests there are some thirty mill
+plants, and they own about half of the timber district. The methods of
+lumbering are exceedingly wasteful. Scarcely half of the standing timber
+of a tract is taken by the loggers and what is left is often burned or
+totally neglected. Replanting is unthought of and the young trees are
+treated as a nuisance.
+
+Three fourths of the forests of California grow upon side hills,
+generally with an incline of from fifteen to thirty degrees. When the
+trees are gone, therefore, the rain soon washes away the soil, leaving
+the rocks bare. When the next rainy season comes, the water, not being
+able to sink into the earth, and so gradually find its way to the
+streams, rushes down the hillsides in torrents, flooding the smaller
+water courses. Then the rivers rise and overflow, causing great damage
+to property; but their waters quickly subside, and when the dry season
+comes they have not sufficient depth for the passage of ships of
+commerce. The total destruction of the forests would soon destroy the
+navigability of the principal water highways of the state, while
+another serious result would be the lessening of the water supply for
+irrigation.
+
+The second variety of the Sequoia, the gigantea, or “big tree,” as it is
+called, grows much farther inland than the redwood, being found on the
+western slopes of the Sierras. There are ten separate groves of these
+trees, from the little company of six in southern Placer County to
+the southernmost Sequoia, two hundred and sixty miles away on the Tule
+River. The whole put together would not make more than a few hundred
+thousand of extra-sized trees, and of the giants themselves not more
+than five hundred. These rise as high as three hundred and fifty feet,
+and are from twenty to thirty feet through. Near the Yosemite the stage
+road passes through the hollow center of one of those monsters. In a
+grove owned by the government some cavalry men, with their horses, lined
+up on a “big tree” log, and it easily held fourteen, each horse’s nose
+touching the next one’s tail.
+
+How old these trees may be is yet unsettled, but Mr. John Muir, their
+intimate friend and companion, tells of one which was felled which
+showed by its rings that it was 2200 years old. Another which had blown
+down was fully 4000 years old. Later investigation makes it seem not
+unlikely that some have existed for even 5000 years. It seems a sin to
+destroy a living thing of that age.
+
+The great basin of the Santa Cruz Mountains, which contains a large
+collection of the Sequoia sempervirens, belongs to the United States
+government. So, too, do the Mariposa grove of Sequoia gigantea, and the
+General Grant park, and Tuolumne grove, each of which contains a small
+number of fine specimens of the big trees. These properties will be
+protected, but all other groves, in which are the giant Sequoias, are
+in great danger. There has recently been a movement by the government
+toward purchasing the Calaveras grove, which has the finest collection
+of the big trees known, but nothing decided has been done. Meantime
+there are a number of mills engaged in devouring this noble forest.
+
+Unless the people of California take up the matter with earnestness
+and energy, the state and the United States will stand disgraced before
+mankind for letting these wonders of the world, these largest and oldest
+of all living things, be destroyed for the lumber they will make. They
+should be purchased by the government and protected, then some movement
+should be started in all lumber districts by which waste in logging may
+be done away with, young trees protected and cleared, and forest land
+replanted with suitable trees. The law excluding cattle and sheep from
+the forests is already proving its wisdom by the new growth of young
+trees. Only among the giant Sequoias of the Tule and King’s River
+district are there to be found baby trees of that species.
+
+The lumber trade is one of the most interesting and necessary industries
+of the state. Work in the camp is healthful and well paid. Many a
+delicate boy or young man in the city would grow strong and healthy and
+live a much longer time if he would cast his lot with the hardy choppers
+and cutters of the great forest of the Pacific slope. A logging crew
+consists of thirty men, including two cooks. The discipline is as rigid
+as that of a military system; each man knows his own particular duties,
+and must attend to them promptly and faithfully. Trees are not chopped
+down, as used to be the custom; with the exception of a little chopping
+on either edge, a saw run by two men does the work. Oxen are seldom
+used, as in early days on the Atlantic coast, to haul out the logs,
+for they have given way to “donkeys,”--not the long-eared, loud-voiced
+little animals, but the powerful, compact donkey-engines.
+
+Lumber schooners and steamers are the chief features of our coast
+traffic. Almost all the large cities of the Pacific coast owe their
+foundation and prosperity to this trade. San Francisco and Eureka in
+Humboldt County are the principal ports of the trade. Mendocino has a
+rock-bound coast, with no harbors, but she has fine forests. Here the
+lumber steamer secures its cargo by means of suspended wire chutes as
+trolleys. The outer end of the trolley wire is anchored in the ocean,
+the wire crosses the deck of the moored steamer, the slack being taken
+up to the ship’s gaff, thus making a tight wire up and down which the
+trolley car with its load is sent.
+
+Sometimes a great raft made of lumber is taken in tow by a steamer
+loaded with the same material and they start on a voyage down the coast,
+but this is a dangerous venture. If the sea becomes rough the raft may
+break loose from the steamer and go plunging over the waves, no one
+knows where. The brave captains of our coasting vessels fear nothing so
+much as a timber raft adrift which may crash into a vessel at any moment
+and against which there is no way of guarding.
+
+
+
+Chapter XIII
+
+To All that Sow the Time of Harvest Should be Given
+
+
+
+In all but savage countries, wheat is the most important product of the
+soil, A large proportion of human beings living on the earth to-day are
+so poverty-stricken as to make the question of food a matter of anxiety
+for every day. The prayer for bread unites more voices than any other.
+
+The padres who settled California understood this well. A number of
+bushels of wheat, snugly incased in leather sacks, formed a precious
+part of the cargo of the San Carlos, that stout Spanish vessel which
+in 1769 brought the first settlers to California. This seed-wheat
+was divided among the early missions and as soon as possible was
+planted--not with success at first. For a time the padres made little
+progress in crop raising. They had to learn by their failures. In San
+Diego the first wheat planted was sown in the river bottom and the seed
+was carried entirely away by the rising of the stream in the winter; and
+the next year, which proved to be a dry one, it was planted so far from
+the water that it was almost all destroyed by drought. At San Gabriel
+the first crop was drowned out, but the second, planted on the plain
+where it could be irrigated, was a success. San Gabriel was chief
+among the missions for wheat raising, and was called the “mother of
+agriculture.”
+
+Grain planting and harvesting, in the days of the padres, differed
+widely from the methods which prevail to-day. Then the ground was plowed
+once or twice, but in what manner? A yoke of oxen, guided by an Indian,
+dragged a plow with an iron point made by an Indian blacksmith. If iron
+could not be obtained, the point was of oak. Seed, which had been
+first soaked in lye, was sown by hand, broadcast, and harrowed in with
+branches of trees. The grain was cut by the Indians with knives and
+sickles. It was afterward placed on the hardened floor of a circular
+corral made for the purpose, and into it was turned a band of horses
+which were urged to a run by the shouts and whips of the Indian
+vaqueros. After running one way they were frightened into turning and
+going the other. In this manner the grain was trampled out of the husks.
+It was freed from the chaff by being thrown high in the air by the
+shovelful, when the wind was blowing hard enough to carry away the light
+straw.
+
+Next, the grain was washed and dried, then ground, generally between
+two stones bolted together. A pole for a handle was also fastened by
+the bolt, and the stone was turned, sometimes by mules, sometimes by
+Indians. La Perouse, the French scientist who visited the coast in 1786
+and gave to the padres of San Carlos a handmill for grinding grain, said
+that it would enable four Indian women to do the work of a hundred by
+the old way. Before many years the padres at San Gabriel built a water
+mill of stone and adobe which ground grain in large quantities, but not
+with entire success, until Chapman, the first American in that region,
+gave them his assistance to perfect the machinery. This interesting
+building has been restored by Mr. H. E. Huntington and is an object of
+interest to those who visit San Gabriel.
+
+In 1815 the missions raised enough wheat to supply the whole population,
+and there was even an attempt to ship grain to Mexico. This was a
+failure, but a little grain was sold to the Russians at Fort Ross. At
+the time of the change in the mission settlements, when the padres were
+sent away, all agriculture declined. During the Mexican War and when the
+crowd of gold seekers came, there was very little grain or flour to be
+had. Some of the gold hunters, who had been farmers in the East, failing
+to find a fortune in the river sands, and seeing the lack of food
+stuffs, went back to their old occupation. They put in crops of wheat
+and barley along the waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and were
+amazed at the fertility of the soil and the success of their venture.
+
+From this time the cultivation of wheat increased rapidly. In 1899 was
+harvested the largest crop recorded. After that there was a decline in
+wheat raising, because many farmers planted much of their grain lands to
+fruit for canning and drying. To California inventors is due the credit
+of substituting steam for hand labor in planting and harvesting grain.
+
+Let us look at the busy scene on a grain field in the California of
+to-day. It is fall or early winter, and the time for planting has
+arrived. Into the field, which is several thousands of acres in extent,
+comes a great engine, one that does not need a track to run upon. Over
+the ground it rolls. With strength equal to fifty horses it draws behind
+it sixteen ten-inch plows, four six-foot harrows, and a press drill to
+match. It takes only a few men to manage it, and in a short time it has
+plowed, harrowed, and sown the broad acres; nothing is left to do until
+the harvest time arrives.
+
+When the grain is ripe, there comes another great machine. This is the
+harvester, whose knives or cutters may be as much as twenty-six feet
+wide. This one machine cuts off the heads of wheat, thrashes them,
+cleans the grain, and sacks it, clearing seventy-five acres in a day,
+leaving on the fields the piles of sacked wheat ready for market. It
+is most interesting to watch one of these giants of steel and iron
+traveling over the uneven ground, crossing ditches, crawling along side
+hills, without any trouble or change of pace, gathering in the ripe
+grain, turning it out snugly tucked away in the brown gunny-sacks
+waiting for its long journey by ship or car. How the padres would wonder
+if they could see it working!
+
+The grain of the California wheat is white and soft, and contains much
+gluten. No matter what hard red or yellow varieties are brought from
+other countries and planted here, in a year or two they change to the
+California type. It is not certainly known what causes this peculiarity.
+The grain most in favor through the state is called “club wheat” from
+the form of the head, which is blockshaped, instead of long and slender.
+The “club wheat” holds fast its grain so that it can be harvested
+without falling to the ground, which, in so dry a climate, is a great
+point in its favor.
+
+Wheat is raised all over the state, both on high and on low land. Some
+of the largest grain ranches are along the tule lands around Stockton.
+These were marshes once, but have been drained, and now are choice grain
+fields. Wheat was first sent out of the state to England as ballast for
+returning ships, but the trade gradually increased until there are
+now over one hundred of the finest sailing vessels engaged in it.
+Unfortunately, few of these vessels are American, perhaps but one
+fourth. It is a pity that our countrymen should not benefit more by this
+trade. During the grain season at most of the Pacific ports the flag
+of nearly every nation on earth is represented. All styles of shipping,
+from the largest modern steamer to the smallest ocean sailing vessel,
+are then to be found in the harbors of the coast.
+
+Grain is carried to the docks in barges, schooners, or on cars, and is
+seldom shipped except in sacks. Wheat, unless it needs to be cleaned or
+graded, is kept in the sack in which it leaves the home field. To watch
+the grain being loaded in the ship is a sight well worth seeing. If the
+wharf, or car, or warehouse where it lies is higher than the deck of the
+vessel on which it is to be shipped, the sacks are placed on an inclined
+chute down which they descend to the hold of the ship. If the deck of
+the vessel is the higher, sometimes an endless belt, run by electricity,
+is placed in a chute, the sacks are laid on the belt, and so carried to
+their resting place.
+
+In loading wheat for export, a number of sacks in each row are bled;
+that is, a slit is made in the sack which allows a small quantity of
+grain to escape and fill the spaces round the corners and sides of the
+sack, thus making a compact cargo which is not liable to shift. At Port
+Costa is located a grader, where, when necessary wheat can be cleaned
+and graded; here also are many large warehouses.
+
+For a long time about two thirds of the wheat crop of the state was
+sent to Ireland, but now our new lands in the Pacific take much of
+it. California has an immense trade in wheat that has been ground into
+flour. Over six million dollars’ worth of flour is shipped each year,
+nearly three fourths of it going to China, Japan, and the islands of the
+Pacific.
+
+It is believed by scientific agriculturists that better results will be
+obtained in wheat raising as smaller ranches become the rule, where the
+farmer can give more attention to the needs of the grain, adding what
+is necessary to the soil. Often the alternation of crops increases the
+yield--wheat doing much better if planted where beans or other legumes
+were raised the year before. Where the grain fields are not so large,
+irrigation can be depended upon instead of the rainfall, and crops then
+are sure and more even in quantity.
+
+Barley is the grain next in importance to wheat in California. It can
+be raised where wheat can not, as it needs less moisture for its
+development; and if the rains fail, it can be cut for hay which always
+brings a good price. Barley hay, with the heads on, is in California the
+chief food of horses, and in many cases of cattle. A horse for ordinary
+work fed on barley hay gets all the grain necessary. If on account
+of heavier work, stronger food is required, rolled barley is given in
+addition. A large quantity of the better graded barley grain raised in
+the state is used by the brewers for malt.
+
+Corn does not do so well through the state in general, but in some
+locations it is justly claimed that a man can ride on horseback down
+the rows of corn without being seen over the tops. This, too, the padres
+brought into the state. The tortilla, the common food of the Spanish
+settlers, was made of coarse-ground or pounded corn.
+
+Alfalfa, the wonderful forage plant of dry regions of the West, is a
+member of the clover family. Throughout the southern and middle portion
+of California are large ranches devoted to its culture for hay. It
+is also raised extensively for green feed for horses and cattle. It
+produces from three to six crops a year according to location and care
+given it, and is treated for the market much the same as barley hay,
+except that it is generally made into smaller bales. Alfalfa is
+raised by irrigation, the best method being from flumes opening into
+indentations, not so deep as furrows, from which the water spreads,
+flooding the whole surface.
+
+Many a California young man from high school gets his first taste of
+work away from home in the harvest fields. Generally this is a good
+experience for him. He receives some pretty hard knocks, and sees the
+rough side of life, but if he has self-control and good principles, he
+will be the better for the venture, returning more manly, earnest, and
+self-reliant.
+
+
+
+Chapter XIV
+
+The Golden Apples of the Hesperides
+
+
+
+The orange, like many other of California’s most valuable products,
+was brought into the country by the patient, far-seeing padres. Orange,
+lemon, and citron, those three gay cousins of royal blood, traveled
+together, and soon were to be found in many of the mission gardens. The
+most extensive of that early planting was an orchard at San Gabriel,
+set out by Padre Sanchez in 1804. In the height of its prosperity,
+this mission is recorded as having two thousand three hundred and
+thirty-three fruit trees, a large proportion of which were orange
+trees. San Fernando had sixteen hundred trees. San Diego had its orange
+orchard: how many trees is not recorded, but its olive grove numbered
+five hundred and seventeen flourishing trees. Santa Inez had nearly a
+thousand trees. As early as 1800 Santa Barbara and San Buenaventura also
+had valuable orchards.
+
+Outside the missions the first orange trees in any number were planted
+in 1834, the famous Wolfskill grove in 1841. By 1862 there were about
+twenty-five thousand trees of this variety in the state, and two thirds
+of these belonged to Wolfskill, of Los Angeles. A little later several
+large orchards were planted in the region around the Mission San
+Gabriel. In Riverside, often called the mother of orange culture in the
+state, the first seeds were planted in 1870, the first trees from these
+seeds in 1873, and from that period is dated the beginning of extensive
+planting. This was largely the work of colonists. About the time the
+orchards came into bearing, the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe
+Overland were completed, so that an Eastern market was gained for the
+fruit, with the result that the new industry fairly bounded forward. So
+much was sometimes made from an acre of trees that it seemed as though
+people could not get land and plant fast enough. Occasionally an income
+was reported of three thousand dollars from an acre, and eight hundred
+to one thousand dollars per acre was not an uncommon crop.
+
+Although at this time there were a few orange trees in the middle and
+northern parts of the state, for many years it was supposed that only
+the southern country could raise this fruit suitable for the market, but
+to-day people know better. Excellent oranges are grown as far north as
+Shasta, and Butte County, which leads in the northern orange culture,
+has a number of large and valuable orchards. From Tulare County and
+other parts of the valley of the San Joaquin, choice fruit is being
+shipped to the markets of the East. From San Diego all the way up
+the state one may find trees of the citrus family flourishing; still,
+whether north or south, in planting an orange orchard, the greatest care
+has to be taken in the choice of location. Jack Frost is the enemy to be
+avoided, and generally in any strip of country the lower lands are the
+ones he visits first. So the highlands are preferred, and even here the
+currents of air must be studied. A strong, uninterrupted, downward sweep
+of air from the snowcovered mountains will often, at night, drive away
+the needed warmth gathered during the day, so that land protected by
+some mountain spur which makes an eddy in the current is the best for
+this heat-loving fruit.
+
+There are several popular varieties of the orange. The Valencia late is
+being planted by many in preference to others because, besides being a
+fine fruit, it keeps well, ripening when the days begin to be long
+and hot, and is therefore doubly welcome. The sweet orange from the
+Mediterranean country, and the St. Michael, with its paper rind, are
+also favorites, as are the delicious little Mandarin and Tangerine
+varieties, with their thin skin and high flavor; but the king of them
+all is the Washington navel, which has gained for the state its high
+position as an orange-raising territory. This is not a new variety,
+though many may believe it so. A book published in Rome over three
+hundred years ago gives an interesting description and pictures of this
+and other kinds of oranges and the way they should be raised. The title
+of this rare old volume is “Hesperides, or about the Golden Apples,
+their Culture and Use.” Among its many fine illustrations is one of
+Hercules receiving the golden apples. Another shows the bringing of the
+fruit to Italy by a body of nymphs and goddesses in Neptune’s car. Mr.
+Charles F. Lummis has translated portions of the book in the California
+magazine Out West.
+
+On its travels the navel orange finally reached Bahia, Brazil, and
+there, sometime during the Civil War in the United States, a lady
+who, it is said, was the wife of the American consul, discovered the
+deliciousness of this fruit. So pleased was she that she determined to
+share her enjoyment with others; so upon her return to her own country,
+she described this orange to Mr. Saunders, head of the government’s
+experimental farm at Washington. He became interested in the subject,
+sent to Bahia, and had twelve navel trees propagated by budding. These
+were shipped to Washington, where they arrived safely, and were placed
+in the orangery there. They all grew, and from them a large number of
+trees were budded.
+
+Still they had not reached California. Bringing them to the Pacific
+coast was also the work of a woman. Mrs. Tibbetts, wife of a fruit
+grower of Riverside, was visiting in Washington and to her Mr. Saunders
+presented two navel orange trees, which she brought home with her. They
+were planted beside her doorstep in Riverside. The trees grew rapidly,
+and when they bore fruit it did not take the California orange growers
+long to discover that here they had a treasure of more value than the
+largest nugget of gold ever found in the state.
+
+It was at a citrus fair in Riverside in 1879 that this golden king first
+appeared before the world. Then from all over southern California came
+orange men to get buds from these trees. Back home they went with the
+precious bits of life. Acres of seedling oranges were quickly shorn of
+their green crowns. Cut, cut, went knife and shears till only the stock
+was left, and then into a carefully made slit in the bark was placed the
+navel bud. It soon sprouted, and everywhere one could see the stranger
+growing sturdily on its adopted stem. Thousands of buds were sold from
+the two parent trees until there were hundreds of thousands of their
+beautiful children growing all over the state, giving golden harvests.
+
+If we owe to two ladies the success of orange culture in California, it
+was a third who saved the industry when ruin threatened it. For a
+while all went merrily with the orange grower; then in some way,
+from Australia, there came into the country an insect pest called the
+cushiony scale, which settled on the orange trees and seemed likely to
+destroy them. “What can be done to save our trees?” was the cry from
+the people of the southland. What they did was to bring from Australia
+a different visitor, the dainty bug called the ladybird. She was eagerly
+welcomed. No one dreamed of bidding her, in the words of the old nursery
+rhyme, “fly away home.” She was carried to the diseased orchards, where
+she settled on the scale, and as it was her favorite food, she soon
+had the trees clean again. In time other pests came to trouble vine
+and fruit growers, but it is interesting to know that scientists
+nearly always succeeded in finding some insect enemy of the troublesome
+visitor, which would help the horticulturist out of his difficulties.
+
+In the business of orange-growing, success is due in a large measure to
+care in the picking, packing, and shipping of the fruit--care even
+in those little things that seem almost of no consequence. The more
+particular Californians are to ship only the best fruit in the best
+condition and properly packed, the higher prices will the fruit bring,
+the higher reputation the state gain.
+
+The lemon industry comes closely second to the orange. This fruit does
+not need so much heat as does the orange, but neither can it stand
+so much cold. It needs more water, but it bears more fruit and can be
+marketed the year round. The lemons not sold as fresh fruit are made
+to yield such products as citric acid, oil of lemon, from which cooking
+essences are made, and candied lemon peel. In this latter branch of the
+trade, however, the citron is more generally used, though it is not of
+so delicate a flavor.
+
+The pomelo, or grape fruit, is fast gaining in favor and increasing in
+value.
+
+To the stranger who visits California the orange is the most interesting
+of trees. To pick an orange with her own hands, and to pin on her breast
+a bunch of the fragrant blossoms, is to an Eastern woman one of the most
+pleasant experiences of her visit to the Golden State.
+
+In the history of the growth of southern California, and especially of
+its orange culture, the use of water on the soil plays a prominent part.
+It was the discovery that the most sandy and unpromising-looking land
+became a miracle of fertility when subjected to the irrigating stream,
+that caused the wonderful prosperity of the dry portions of the state.
+
+Irrigation, which means the turning of water from a well, spring, or
+stream, upon land to promote the growth of plant life, has been used by
+mankind for thousands of years. In Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico,
+there are remains of irrigation canals made by people who lived so long
+ago that we know nothing of their history.
+
+The padres who settled California were adepts in this science. In
+founding a mission they always chose its site near some stream, the
+water of which could be turned upon the cultivated fields; and the dams,
+canals, and reservoirs which the padres constructed were so well built
+that many of them have lasted until the present time.
+
+It will seem strange to many people to learn that the highest-priced,
+most fertile farm lands in the United States are not to be found in the
+rich valleys of the Eastern states or the prairies of the middle West,
+but in the dry region between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
+Colorado, which belongs to the land of little rain, has in proportion to
+its size the richest mines of any state in the Union, yet the product of
+its farms, all irrigated, equals the output of its mineral wealth.
+
+All the flourishing towns of southern California depend for their
+wonderful prosperity upon the fertility of the irrigated country
+surrounding them.
+
+Trees and plants require water for their growth, but they do not
+all need it in like quantity, nor at the same time; therefore, the
+scientific farmer on arid lands, where there is an abundance of water
+for irrigation, has an immense advantage over his Eastern brother who
+depends for water upon the rainfall alone.
+
+While the valuable raisin crop of the Californian is drying in the sun
+and the slightest shower would damage, or perhaps ruin it, just beyond
+lies the orange orchard, the trees of which are suffering for water.
+The fruit, the size of a large walnut, is still hard and green, and must
+have an abundance of the life-giving liquid if it is to develop into the
+rich yellow orange, filled with delicious juice, which adorns the New
+Year’s market. How would our ranchman prosper if he depended upon rain?
+As it is, he furrows his orchard from its highest to its lowest level;
+then into the flume which runs parallel with the highest boundary of
+the grove he turns the water from pipe or reservoir, and opening the
+numerous little slide-doors or sluice-gates of the flume, soon has the
+satisfaction of seeing each furrow the bed of a running stream, the
+water of which sinks slowly, steadily, down to the roots of the thirsty
+trees. After the water has been flowing in this manner for some hours,
+it is shut off, for it has done enough work. In a day or two the
+ranchman runs the cultivator over the ground of the orchard, leaving the
+soil fine and crumbly and the trees in perfect condition for another six
+or eight weeks of growth.
+
+The first attempts of the American immigrant at irrigation were very
+simple--just the making of a furrow turning the water of a stream upon
+his land. Then, as he desired to cultivate more land and raise larger
+crops, his ditches had to be longer, often having branches. Soon
+neighbors came in and settled above and below him. They too used of
+the stream; there was no law to control selfishness, so there were
+disagreements and bitter quarrels over the water. Lawsuits followed and
+sometimes even fighting and murders. The remedy for this state of things
+was found to be in a company ditch, flume, or reservoir, with the use of
+water controlled by fixed laws.
+
+There are some crops, notably grapes, which are grown without
+irrigation. The grapevine, instead of being treated as a climber, is
+each year trimmed back to the main stem, which thus becomes a strong
+woody stalk, often a foot or more in circumference, quite capable of
+withstanding the heat and dryness of the atmosphere and of drawing from
+the soil all the nourishment needed for the fruit.
+
+Wheat, barley, and oats, both as grain and as hay, are largely raised
+without irrigation. Olives, and many deciduous trees, by careful
+cultivation may flourish without water other than the rainfall; yet
+notwithstanding this, for a home in southern California, land without a
+good water-right is of little value.
+
+The wealth of the region is in a great measure in its expensive water
+system, which, by means of reservoirs, dams, ditches, flumes, and
+pipes, gathers the water from the mountain streams and conveys it to the
+thirsty land below.
+
+
+
+Chapter XV
+
+California’s other Contributions to the World’s Bill of Fare
+
+
+
+By 1874 people in the Eastern states had begun to talk of California
+canned fruits. Apricots and the large white grape found ready sale, but
+California raisins, though on the market, were not in demand. That line
+from the old game “Malaga raisins are very fine raisins and figs from
+Smyrna are better,” represented the idea of the public; and figs,
+raisins, and prunes eaten in the United States all came from abroad. But
+how is it to-day?
+
+Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners of our Eastern friends owe much to
+California. She sends the seedless raisins, candied orange and lemon
+peel, the citron and beet sugar for the mince pies and plum puddings.
+Her cold-storage cars carry to the winter-bound states the delicious
+white celery of the peat lands, snow-white heads of cauliflower, crisp
+string beans, sweet young peas, green squash, cucumbers, and ripe
+tomatoes. For the salads are her olives and fresh lettuce dressed with
+the golden olive oil of the Golden State. Of ripe fruits, she sends
+pears, grapes, oranges, pomegranates. For desserts, she supplies great
+clusters of rich sugary raisins, creamy figs, stuffed prunes, and
+soft-shelled almonds and walnuts. All these and other delicacies
+California gives toward the holiday making in the East.
+
+But it is not only to the homes of the wealthy that she carries good
+cheer; to people who have very little money to spend, and those who
+are far away from civilization, as soldiers, surveyors, woodmen, and
+road-builders, California’s products go to help make palatable fare.
+To these her canned meats, fish, and vegetables, and canned and dried
+fruits, are very welcome.
+
+The canneries and fruit-packing establishments of the state bring in
+many millions of dollars each year and give employment to a host of
+people, a large number of whom are women and young girls.
+
+Most of the fruits California now raises came into the country with
+the padres. Captain Vancouver tells us that he found at the Santa Clara
+mission, at the time of his visit in 1792, a fine orchard consisting
+of apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots; and at San Buenaventura all
+these with the addition of oranges, grapes, and pomegranates. Alfred
+Robinson describes the orchards and vineyards of San Gabriel mission as
+very extensive. Wine and brandy were made at most of the missions, San
+Fernando being especially noted for its brandy. Guadalupe Vallejo tells
+of bananas plantains, sugar cane, citrons, and date palms growing at
+the southern missions. Palm trees were planted “for their fruit, for the
+honor of St. Francis, and for use on Palm Sunday.”
+
+Not only did the padres enjoy fresh fruits from their gardens, but
+raisins were dried from the grapes, citron, orange, and lemon peel were
+candied, and much fruit was preserved. It is not recorded that they had
+pumpkin pie in those days, but a small, fine-grained pumpkin was raised
+extensively for preserves. It is still a favorite dainty among the
+native Californians, and no Spanish dinner is complete without this
+dulce, as it is called. Spanish-American housewives excel their American
+sisters in the art of preserving. Pumpkin, peach, pear, fig, are all
+treated in the same manner, being first soaked in lye, then thoroughly
+washed and scalded in abundance of fresh water, and then cooked in a
+very heavy sirup. The result of this treatment is that the outside
+of the fruit is crisp and brittle, while the inside is creamy and
+delicious.
+
+The first of California’s dried fruits to come before the public was the
+raisin. Raisins are merely the proper variety of grapes suitably dried.
+Some think that they are dipped in sugar, but this is not the fact. The
+only sugar is that contained in the juice of the grape, which should
+be about one fourth sugar. The only raisin grape for general use is the
+greenish variety called the Muscat. The rich purple or chocolate color
+of the raisin of the market is caused by the action of the sun while
+the raisin is being cured. If dried in the shade the fruit has a sickly
+greenish hue. The seedless Sultana is a small grape, fast coming into
+favor for a cooking raisin.
+
+The proper planting of a raisin vineyard requires a large amount of care
+and labor. But the summer is one long holiday, as there is little to do
+to the vines from early May until August. Then comes picking time. From
+all the country round gather men and women, boys and girls, and the work
+begins.
+
+To be a successful raisin grower and packer, one must take care in
+all little things. The workman who neglects to cut from the branch the
+imperfect or bad grapes, or who lays the fruit in the trays so that
+it will be in heaps or overlapped, is apt to be soon discharged. After
+about a week of exposure to the sun and air, the grapes are turned by
+placing an empty tray over a full one, and reversing the positions. Then
+after a few days longer in the sun, the fruit goes to the sweat-box, a
+hundred pounds to the box, and is placed in a room in the packing house,
+where it lies about ten days. The bunches go into this room unequally
+dried, with still a look and taste of grape about them, but after this
+sweating process they come out uniform in appearance, rich, sugary,
+tempting,--the raisins of commerce, with little suggestion of the fruit
+from which they came. Then they are boxed.
+
+There are generally three grades: very choice clusters, ordinary and
+imperfect bunches, and loose raisins. Raisins of the third class are
+sent to the stemmer and a large proportion of them then go to the
+seeder. Seeding raisins for mother and grandmother at holiday times
+used to be the duty and pleasure of the older boys and girls of the
+household. But seeding is now done by machinery. A machine will seed on
+an average ten tons daily. Before entering the seeder the raisins are
+subjected to a thorough brushing, by which every particle of dust is
+removed. They are then run through rubber rollers which flatten the
+fruit and press the seeds to the surface; then through another pair
+of rollers, with wire teeth which catch and hold the seeds while the
+raisins pass on down a long chute to the packing room, where women and
+girls box them for market.
+
+With all fruits the drying process is much the same, though peaches,
+apples, and pears are first peeled. California figs, when dried,
+sell well. This is a fruit which is growing in favor, whether fresh,
+preserved, or dried. Fruit canning is an interesting process. The fruit
+is not boiled in sirup and then placed in cans, as is frequently the
+custom in home preserving, but when peeled it is placed directly in the
+cans, in which it receives all its cooking and in which it is finally
+marketed.
+
+The raising of beets and the converting of them into sugar form an
+industry which is growing rapidly, and is of the utmost importance to
+the people of the Pacific slope.
+
+The canning of fresh vegetables is a new industry which is bringing into
+the state a steady stream of money, and in addition is proving a double
+blessing to thousands of people, both those who gain from it their
+living, and those who could not otherwise have vegetables for food. A
+sailor said recently that if he could not be a sailor he would do the
+next best thing--can vegetables for other sailors. When Galvez
+received the order from the king of Spain to found settlements in
+Upper California, one of the chief reasons for so doing was that fresh
+vegetables might be raised for the sailors engaged in the Philippine
+trade. To-day the Philippines use a large portion of California’s canned
+goods.
+
+In the southern counties olive orchards are being extensively planted.
+Near San Fernando is the largest in the world, covering thirteen hundred
+acres. Doctors have said that a liberal use of California olive oil will
+do much to promote the good health of mankind, and it is thought by many
+that the manufacture of olive oil will be one of the greatest industries
+the state has known.
+
+Nut raising is keeping pace with fruit in importance. To an Eastern
+person it seems strange to see nut-bearing trees cultivated in orchards;
+though profitable, this method does away with the pleasures of nutting
+parties.
+
+California’s crystallized fruits are in constant demand, especially for
+the Christmas trade. This crystallizing is a process in which the juice
+is extracted and replaced with sugar sirup, which hardens and preserves
+the fruit from decay while still keeping the shape.
+
+One sometimes reads the saying, “Fresno for raisins, Santa Clara for
+cherries and prunes, and the northern counties and mountain-ranches for
+apples.” But in fact, California’s fruit industries are well distributed
+over the state, and the really excellent work which is being done in all
+sections will still advance as the people learn more of the necessary
+details and methods.
+
+In spite of mistakes and experiments the steady progress on the
+California ranches is being recognized. Of one of our leading fruit
+growers, Mr. Eliwood Cooper of Santa Barbara, the Marquis of Lorne
+writes in the Youth’s Companion: “He has shown that California can
+produce better olive oil than France, Spain, or Italy, and English
+walnuts and European almonds in crops of which the old country hardly
+even dreams.”
+
+A history of California’s products would be incomplete without a
+reference to him who is called the “Wonder Worker of Santa Rosa.”
+ “Magician! Conjurer!” are terms frequently applied to Mr. Luther
+Burbank, the man who is acknowledged by the scientists of the world to
+have done more with fruits and flowers than any other man. Mr. Burbank
+waves his wand, and the native poppy turns to deepest crimson, the white
+of the calla lily becomes a gorgeous yellow, rose and blackberry lose
+their thorns, the cactus its spines. The meat of the walnut and almond
+become richer in quality, while their shells diminish to the thinness of
+a knife blade.
+
+Yet in these seeming miracles there is nothing of “black art” or sleight
+of hand. The experiments of this wonderful man, the surprising results
+he gains, are obtained, first by a close study of the laws of nature,
+then, where he desires change and improvement, by assisting her process,
+often through years of closest application and unceasing toil. He is a
+man of whom it is truthfully said, “He has led a life of hardships,
+has sacrificed self at every point, that he might glorify and make more
+beautiful the world around him.” Any boy or girl who knows something
+of how plants grow and reproduce themselves will find great pleasure in
+following Mr. Burbank’s simple methods.
+
+It is only recently that his countrymen have begun to appreciate the
+work of this great naturalist. A short time ago a resident of Berkeley,
+a student and book-lover, one who knew Mr. Burbank but had given little
+attention to his productions, was in Paris. While there he had the good
+fortune to be present at a lecture delivered before a gathering of the
+most eminent scientists of Europe. In the course of his address the
+speaker had occasion to mention the name of Luther Burbank. Instantly
+every man in the audience arose and stood a moment in silence, giving to
+the simple mention of Mr. Burbank’s name the respect usually paid to the
+presence of royalty. It is a name now known in all the languages of the
+civilized world, and numbers of the wisest of the world’s citizens cross
+the ocean solely to visit the busy plant-grower of Santa Rosa.
+
+Luther Burbank was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1849, and while
+yet a lad his strongest desire was to produce new plants better than
+the old ones. His first experiment was with a vegetable. For the sake
+of getting seed, he planted some Early Rose potatoes in his mother’s
+garden. In the whole patch only one seed-ball developed, and this he
+watched with constant care. Great was his disappointment, therefore,
+when one morning, just as it was ready to be picked, he found that it
+had disappeared. A careful search failed to recover the missing ball,
+but as he thought the matter over, while at work, it struck Luther that
+perhaps a dog had knocked it off in bounding through the garden. Looking
+more carefully for it, he found the ball twenty feet away from the vine
+on which it had hung. In it were twenty-three small, well-developed
+seeds. These he planted with great care, and from one of them came
+the first Burbank potatoes. The wealth of the country was materially
+increased by this discovery; the wealth of the boy only to the amount of
+one hundred and twenty-five dollars, which he used in attending a better
+school than he had before been able to enjoy.
+
+In 1875 Mr. Burbank, to secure, as he said, “a climate which should be
+an ally and not an enemy to his work,” moved to Santa Rosa, California.
+For ten years of poverty and severe toil he was engaged, for the sake
+of a livelihood, in the nursery business, making, in the meantime, such
+experiments as he had time for. During the next twenty years,
+however, Mr. Burbank was able to give nearly his whole time to his
+nature-studies. His energy is tireless, and his aim is to supply to
+humanity something for beauty, sustenance, or commerce better than it
+has possessed.
+
+Perhaps among all his productions the greatest good to the world will
+arise from the spineless cactus. The scourge of the American desert is
+the cactus, commonly known as the prickly pear, the whole surface of
+which is covered with fine, needlelike spines, while its leaves are
+filled with a woody fiber most hurtful to animal life. When eaten by
+hunger-crazed cattle it causes death. After years of labor Mr. Burbank
+has succeeded in developing from this most unpromising of plants a
+perfected cactus which is truly a storehouse of food for man and beast.
+Spines and woody fiber have disappeared, leaving juicy, pear-shaped
+leaves, weighing often twenty-five or fifty pounds, which, when cooked
+in sirup, make a delicious preserve, and in their natural state furnish
+a nourishing, thirst-quenching food for domestic animals. The fruit
+of this immense plant is aromatic and delicate, and its seeds are at
+present worth far more than their weight in gold, since from them are
+to spring thousands of plants by means of which it is believed the
+uninhabitable portions of the desert may be made to support numberless
+herds of cattle.
+
+Another of Mr. Burbank’s achievements is the evergreen crimson rhubarb,
+which is not only far less acid than the old variety, but richer in
+flavor and a giant in size.
+
+The pomato, a tomato grown on a potato plant, is most interesting. The
+plant is a free bearer, having a white, succulent, delicious fruit,
+admirable when cooked, used in a salad, or eaten fresh as our other
+fruit.
+
+The experiments with prunes conducted at the Santa Rosa ranch have been
+of the greatest value to the state. For forty years the prune growers of
+the Pacific slope had been searching for a variety of this fruit
+which would be as rich in sugar and as abundant a bearer as the little
+California prune of commerce, and yet of a larger size, and earlier in
+its time of ripening. Mr. Burbank with his famous sugar prune filled all
+these requirements, and revolutionized the prune industry of the state.
+Besides this triumph he has succeeded in obtaining a variety of this
+fruit having a shell-less kernel, so that the fruit when dried much
+resembles those which are artificially stuffed.
+
+The flowers which Mr. Burbank has evolved by his methods, and those
+which he has simply enlarged and glorified, are far too numerous to be
+named here.
+
+In 1905 a grant of ten thousand dollars a year was bestowed upon Mr.
+Burbank by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C., for the purpose
+of assisting him in his experiments. Seldom has money been better
+placed.
+
+
+
+Chapter XVI
+
+The Hidden Treasures of Mother Earth
+
+
+
+Thousands of years ago, before the time of which we have any history,
+there were rivers in California,--rivers now dead,--whose sides were
+steeper and whose channels were wider than those of the rivers in the
+same part of the world to-day. Rapid streams they were, and busy, too;
+washing away from the rocks along their sides the gold held there,
+dropping the yellow grains down into the gravelly beds below. After
+a time there came down upon these rivers a volcanic outflow; great
+quantities of ashes, streams of lava and cement, burying them hundreds
+of feet deep, until over them mountain ridges extended for miles and
+miles.
+
+Other changes in the earth’s surface took place, and in the course of
+time our streams of to-day were formed. As they cut their way through
+the mountain ranges, some of them crossed the channels of old dead
+rivers, and finding the gold hidden there, carried some of it along,
+rolling it over and over, mixed with sand and gravel, down into the
+lower lands under the bright sunlight. Here it was found by Marshall and
+the gold hunters who followed him. These were the placer mines of which
+we read in Chapter VII.
+
+Gradually the best placer mines were taken up and the newcomers to the
+gold fields traced the precious metal up the streams into the gravel
+of the hillsides. Then was begun hydraulic mining, where water did the
+work. In the canons great dams were constructed to catch the flow from
+the melting snows of the mountains, and miles of flumes were built
+to carry the water to the mining grounds. Immense pipes were laid and
+altogether millions of dollars were invested in hydraulic mining. The
+water coming down under heavy pressure from the mountain reservoirs
+passed through giant hose which would carry a hundred miner’s inches,
+and, striking the mountain side with terrific force, washed away the
+earth from the rocks. Down fell the sand and gravel into sluices or
+boxes of running water where cleats and other arrangements caught and
+held the gold, which was heavy, while the lighter mixture was carried
+out into the canyon.
+
+The material thus dumped on the mountain side was called debris, and
+to any one living in the mining region of the state that word means
+trouble--means fighting, lawsuits, ruin. For the debris did not stay
+up in the canyon, but was washed down into the rivers, overflowing farm
+lands, spoiling crops and orchards, and making the streams shallow,
+their waters muddy. So great was the destruction this process caused
+that, in 1893, the Congress of the United States enacted a law which
+provided for the creation of a Debris Commission to regulate the
+business of hydraulic mining in California. The result of the
+investigations of this commission was to put a stop to all hydraulic
+mining in territory drained by the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, or
+any other territory where the use of this form of mining should injure
+the river systems or lands adjacent. Thus, almost in a moment, the
+important industry was stopped.
+
+It is estimated that over one hundred million dollars were invested
+in hydraulic mining. Much of this was entirely lost, as the expensive
+machinery rusted and the water system fell into ruins. It was very hard
+for the miners, as well as for the commerce of the state, but the act of
+the government was based upon the principle that one man’s business must
+not damage another man’s property. Clever engineers in the pay of the
+government are still trying to find some way by which the debris can
+be safely disposed of in order that this valuable system may resume
+operation.
+
+Deprived of the use of water as their agent, gold hunters next tried
+mining by drifts; that is, by tunneling into the mountain’s side until
+the bed of a buried river is reached. These tunnels are often five
+thousand to eight thousand feet long. The gold is brought out of the
+ground before it is washed clean of the gravel. Sometimes it is mixed
+with cement, when it has to be crushed in rollers before it can be
+cleared of other material. The counties where drift mining is most in
+operation are Placer, Nevada, and Sierra.
+
+Quartz mining is the most expensive manner of getting out gold, and a
+great deal of valuable and complicated machinery has been invented for
+this branch of the business. The quartz mines of California are among
+the richest in the world, and some of the greatest fortunes of modern
+times have been made from them.
+
+In a mine of this kind there is generally a shaft, or opening,
+extending straight down into the earth, from which, at different levels,
+passageways branch out where the veins of gold are richest. The openings
+must be timbered to prevent caving in, and there must be pumps to remove
+the water as well as hoisting works to take out the material. Then
+on the surface, as near as possible to the mouth of the mine, must be
+located the quartz mill. When possible, a tunnel is used in this mining,
+which makes the handling of ore less expensive, for then there need be
+no hoisting works or pumps, since the tunnel drains itself.
+
+Gold in quartz rock is generally in ledges or veins, one to three feet
+in width. Digging it out is not very hard, save where there is not
+enough room to stand upright and use the pick, or when, in a shaft deep
+in the ground, the heat makes it difficult to work. A California boy at
+the mines wrote recently: “Mining is not so bad; that is, if I could get
+along without the occasional whack I bestow upon my left hand. Last
+week I started a little tunnel and pounded my hand so that it swelled up
+considerably. Drilling is not hard, and loading is a snap, but it’s
+all interesting work and there is the excitement of seeing what you are
+going to find next.”
+
+When the ore reaches the surface it is sent to the mill, where it is
+first pulverized, then mixed with a chemical which goes about catching
+up the grains of gold--arresting and holding them fast. It is quite
+a long process before the gold is completely separated from all other
+material and ready for shipment. Often the quartz contains other
+minerals of value, the separation of which requires much work.
+
+There is a very rich mine in Nevada called the Comstock, which some
+years ago had sunk its shafts so deep into the earth that it became
+almost impossible for the miners to work on account of the great heat,
+the bad air, and the quantity of water which had constantly to be
+pumped out. How these troubles were remedied is the story of one of
+California’s greatest and best citizens. Adolph Sutro was a Prussian
+by birth, and his adopted state may well be proud to claim him. He had
+built a little quartz mill in Nevada, near the Comstock mine. Seeing
+the suffering of the workmen in all the mines on that mountain side, he
+thought of a plan for the construction of a large tunnel which was to
+begin at a low level at the nearest point of the Carson River and
+run deep into the mountain so that it could drain all the rich mining
+section, give good ventilation for the deep underground works, and
+afford a much cheaper and more convenient way of taking care of the
+ore. It was to be four miles long, with branches extending from it to
+different mines. Its height was to be ten feet; width, twelve, with
+a drainage trench in the center to carry away the waste water to the
+Carson River, and tracks on each side for the passage of mules and cars.
+
+At first the mine owners were pleased with the project, and Mr. Sutro
+succeeded in forming a company to build the tunnel. Then he went to
+Washington, where the government became so interested in his plans that
+on July 25, 1866, there was passed an act of Congress granting Sutro
+such privileges in regard to public lands as would safeguard his work.
+About the time that the news of this action reached the West, the men
+who owned the mines and had made an arrangement for the use of the
+tunnel, decided that they did not want the work done; it is said, for
+the reason that they found Mr. Sutro too wise and far-seeing for them
+to be able to manage him. At all events, with all their wealth and power
+they tried to ruin him. They said that his plans were worthless, and
+any one was foolish to invest in the tunnel company. Then Mr. Sutro,
+by means of lectures upon the subject, appealed to the people. In
+California, Nevada, the Eastern states, and even Europe, he told what
+his plans would do for the miners and the good of the country. It was
+not long before he gained all the help he needed, and the great work was
+begun.
+
+As the workmen progressed into the mountain side there were many
+difficulties to overcome. Day and night without ceasing the work went
+on. Laborers would faint from the combined heat and bad air, and be
+carried to the outer world to be revived. Carpenters followed the
+drillers, trackmen coming closely after. Loose rock, freshly blasted,
+was tumbled into waiting cars and hauled away over rails laid perhaps
+but half an hour before. Constantly in the front was Sutro himself, coat
+flung aside, sleeves rolled up. In the midst of the flying dirt, great
+heat, bad air, dripping slush, and slippery mud he worked side by side
+with the grimy, half-naked miners, thus showing himself capable not
+only of planning a great work, but of seeing personally that it was well
+done, no matter with what sacrifice to his own ease and comfort.
+
+After the tunnel was completed, Mr. Sutro sold his interest in it for
+several millions of dollars. How that money was expended, any visitor to
+San Francisco well knows. With it were built the great Sutro baths,
+with their immense tanks of pure and constantly changing, tempered ocean
+water, their many dressing rooms, their grand staircases, adorned with
+rare growing plants, their tiers of seats rising in rows, one above
+another, with room for thousands of spectators, and their galleries of
+pictures and choice works of art. Over all is a roof of steel and tinted
+glass. Nowhere else in America is there so fine a bathing establishment.
+
+Besides this there are the lovely gardens of Sutro Heights, developed
+by Mr. Sutro’s money and genius from the barren sand-hills of the San
+Miguel rancho. In addition to these is the choice library of about two
+hundred thousand volumes, which is of great use to the people of San
+Francisco. Perhaps neither San Francisco nor California has yet quite
+appreciated the value of the work of Adolph Sutro.
+
+Since 1848 the state of California has sent to the United States Mint
+over one billion dollars in gold. Of this, little Nevada County, which
+seems to be worth literally her weight in gold, has sent over two
+hundred and forty million. The Empire Mine is the leading producer of
+California, but there are others nearly as rich. Nevada City is in the
+center of this mining country. The streets are very hilly, and after
+a heavy rain people may be seen searching the city gutters and
+newly-formed rivulets for gold, and they are sometimes rewarded by
+finding fair-sized nuggets washed down from the hills above.
+
+A visitor to one of the deep mines of California says:--
+
+“We descended to the seven hundred foot level, where the day before a
+pile of ore had been blasted down. A little piece of the quartz, crushed
+in a mortar panned out four dollars in gold. I picked out one piece
+of rock, not larger than a peach, and the manager, after weighing and
+testing it, announced that it contained ten dollars in free gold. The
+kick of a boot would reveal ore which showed glittering specks of pure
+gold.”
+
+In the estimate of many people all very valuable mines are supposed to
+be of gold, but this is a mistake. While gold is king in California,
+copper mining is rapidly becoming of great importance. A continuous
+copper belt, the largest yet discovered in the world, exists under her
+soil, and while a comparatively small depth has been so far attained,
+the profit has been considerable. One of the largest quicksilver mines
+in the world is at New Almaden. The value of the output of the borax
+mines is over a million dollars a year. There were mined in California
+in 1907 over fifty different materials, most of them at a value of
+several thousand dollars a year, with some as high as a million and
+over.
+
+The mineral product of California outranking gold in value is petroleum,
+which has added greatly to the wealth of the state. Natural gas and
+mineral waters are also valuable commercial products.
+
+To many, the most interesting class among minerals is the gems, of which
+California yields a variety. The beautiful lilac stone, Kunzite, was
+discovered near Pala, San Diego County. This county has also some fine
+specimens of garnets, and beautiful tourmalines are being mined at a
+profit. San Bernardino County yields a superior grade of turquoise
+from which has been realized as much as eleven thousand dollars a year.
+Chrysoprase is being mined in Tulare County, also the beautiful new
+green gem something like clear jade, called Californite. Topaz, both
+blue and white, is being found, and besides these, many diamonds of
+good quality have been collected, principally from the gravels of the
+hydraulic mines. In 1907 there was discovered in the mountains of San
+Benito County a beautiful blue stone closely resembling sapphire, more
+brilliant but less durable. It was named, by professors of mineralogy in
+the state university, Benitite, from the place where it was discovered.
+
+Perhaps the most valuable of all the products of California is its water
+supply, either visible as in springs and streams, or underground as in
+artesian water. Of its use in irrigation, we have already spoken. In the
+production of electricity it is coming to be of the greatest importance,
+making possible the most stupendous works of modern times. Such is
+the undertaking of the Edison Electric Company in bringing down to Los
+Angeles, over many miles of the roughest country, power from the Kern
+River, tapping the tumultuous stream far up in the Sierras. The taking
+of the necessary machinery to those heights was in itself a wonderful
+labor. The power thus created is a blessing to a wide region.
+
+
+
+Chapter XVII
+
+From La Escuela of Spanish California to the Schools of the Twentieth
+Century
+
+
+
+In no line has California advanced so far beyond the days of the padres
+as in her schools. In the early settlements there were no educated
+people but the priests at the missions and the Spanish officers with
+their families at the presidios. Later, clever men of good families
+came into the territory, took up land, and made their homes on the
+great ranchos, but among these there were few who would take the time
+or trouble to teach the children; so life to the young people was a long
+holiday. The sad result was that they grew up so ignorant as to astonish
+the educated strangers who visited the coast.
+
+At the missions the padres had schools where they taught the young
+Indians something of reading and writing, religious services and songs,
+and the trades necessary for life. This, with their duties in the church
+and the extensive building and planting of the mission settlements,
+took all the time of the hard-working priests. Occasionally, an educated
+woman would teach her own children and those of her relatives, but like
+most attempts at home education, it was so interrupted as to amount to
+little.
+
+In 1794 a new governor came from Spain who was so shocked at this state
+of affairs that he at once ordered three schools opened. The first,
+December, 1794, was held in a granary at San Jose and was in charge of a
+retired sergeant of the Spanish army. The children had been so long free
+from all restraint that they did not like to go to school, and their
+parents did not always take the trouble to insist. There were some
+reasons for this, as the masters did not know much about what they were
+trying to teach, and the use of the ferule and scourge (the latter a
+whip of cords tipped with iron) was frequent and cruel. There were no
+books but primers, and these were hard to obtain. The writing, paper was
+furnished by the military authorities and had to be returned when the
+child was through with it, that it might be used in making cartridges.
+These schools were for boys only, girls not being expected to learn
+anything except cooking, sewing, and embroidery.
+
+Slowly the state of things improved, and in 1829 in the yearly report
+to the Mexican government, it was stated that there were eleven primary
+schools in the province with three hundred and thirty-nine boys and
+girls. One of the best of these schools was that of Don Ignacio Coronel
+of Los Angeles.
+
+In 1846 the first American school was opened at Santa Clara by Mrs.
+Oliver Mann Isbell. It provided for children from about twenty emigrant
+families and was held in a room of the Santa Clara mission on the great
+patio. The floor was of earth, the seats boxes; an opening in the tiled
+roof over the center of the room allowing the smoke to escape when, on
+rainy days, a fire was built on a rude platform of stones set in the
+middle of the floor. Wherever the Americans lived, they would have
+schools, although their first buildings were bare and inconvenient,
+with no grace or adornment either inside or out. In some out-of-the-way
+places, whole terms of school were spent most happily under spreading
+live oaks.
+
+In the making of the first constitution, educational matters were not
+forgotten; one section providing that there should be a common school
+system supported by money from the sale of public lands. On account
+of the minerals the lands so allotted were supposed to contain, it was
+believed that they would sell for such vast amounts that the state would
+have money sufficient for the grandest public schools that ever existed.
+In fact these lands brought in altogether, after a number of years,
+less than a quarter of a million dollars. The act provided also that
+the schools be kept open three months in the year. An effort was made to
+extend this period to six months, but was defeated by Senator Gwin.
+
+Considering the state of the country when the public schools were begun,
+and the short time in which they have been developed, the California
+free schools are a credit to the state and to the men and women who have
+helped to make them what they are. No community is so poor and remote
+but that it may have its school if the inhabitants choose to organize
+for the purpose. Hardly can the settler find a ranch from which his
+children may not attend a district school over which floats the stars
+and stripes.
+
+Money for educational purposes is now raised by state and county
+taxes on property, this sum, in cities, being largely increased by the
+addition of the city taxes. High schools have only recently been given
+state aid, and that moderately; the larger ones still depending, in a
+great measure, upon the special tax of the city, district, or county,
+according to the class to which the school belongs. The state supports
+one Polytechnic school, that at San Luis Obispo, where there are three
+courses, agriculture, mechanics, and domestic science.
+
+About 1878, in the endeavor to teach the children of the worst parts of
+San Francisco a right way of living, the free kindergartens were begun.
+Perhaps their success cannot be better shown than in the fact that
+in the first year of the work along “Barbary coast,” one of the most
+turbulent districts of the city, the Italian fruit and vegetable dealers
+who lived there, brought the teachers a purse of seventy-five dollars,
+because the children had been taught not to steal their fruits and
+vegetables or to break their windows. The first free kindergarten was
+started on Silver Street in “Tar Flats” and had for its teacher a pretty
+young girl, with beautiful eyes and a mass of bronze-colored hair, whom
+the ragged little urchins soon learned to adore. That little school was
+the beginning of one of the best kindergarten systems in the country,
+and the pretty young teacher is now Kate Douglas Wiggin, one of
+America’s best loved writers, the author of those delightful books,
+“The Birds’ Christmas Carol,” “Timothy’s Quest” and others equally
+interesting. There have been many gifts to these kindergartens. In
+memory of their only son, Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford gave one hundred
+thousand dollars, while Mrs. Phoebe Hearst supported entirely three of
+the schools. Kindergartens may now form part of the primary department
+in the school system of any community so desiring, and are to be found
+in most of the cities.
+
+Nothing in the educational work of California is of more importance than
+the five normal schools, which graduate each year hundreds of teachers
+thoroughly prepared in all branches for the important work of training
+the children of the state.
+
+As the crown of the free school system, stands the state university at
+Berkeley. Many an interesting story might be told of the noble men,
+who as early as 1849 began their long struggle to gain for the youth of
+California the chance for higher education. The Reverend Samuel Willey,
+the American consul Mr. Larkin, and Mr. Sherman Day were leaders in
+this enterprise. There was much against them; men’s thoughts were almost
+entirely given to the necessities of everyday life, and few seemed
+able to see that a grand and beautiful future was coming to the new
+territory. The university secured its charter in 1868, but it was not
+until the adoption of the new constitution in 1879 that it was placed on
+a firm basis which could not be changed by each new legislature.
+
+The coming of Mr. Benjamin Ide Wheeler to the presidency was one of
+the best strokes of fortune the institution has ever known. Under his
+management it has taken a great stride forward. In the work it does, and
+the high standard it demands, it takes its place side by side with the
+best universities of the older Eastern states. The work of its college
+of agriculture is becoming of great service to the farmer and fruit
+grower. The result of its experiments in determining the best wheat for
+the soil is of very great importance to the grain industry of the state.
+
+Connected with the university are: the Lick Observatory on Mount
+Hamilton; the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, the Hastings College
+of Law, and Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy, in San
+Francisco; and an admirable University Extension Course which offers its
+advantages to the people of any locality throughout the state who may
+desire its help.
+
+One of the most practical and important associations in the state is
+the Farmer’s Institute, which, under direction and control of the
+university, holds a three days’ meeting once a month in each locality
+throughout the state. Also, once a year, an institute of a week’s
+duration is held at Berkeley, where eminent scientists give their
+services, and the results are most helpful.
+
+The university has received many gifts from distinguished citizens. Mrs.
+Phoebe Hearst has devoted much of her time and a large amount of her
+money to its improvement, and plans are under way to make it the most
+finished and beautiful educational institution ever owned by any state
+or country.
+
+Barely one hour’s ride from San Francisco south, lies the Leland
+Stanford Junior University, which at the time of its foundation, in
+1885, was the greatest gift ever bestowed upon humanity by any one
+person. In this noble movement Mr. and Mrs. Stanford were as one. Their
+only son died in 1884, and the university is a memorial of him, a grand
+example of the way in which those who are dead may yet live, through the
+good done in their names. Although entirely a private benefaction, its
+doors are open to students absolutely free of all tuition charges.
+
+This university started with a large endowment, but after the death of
+Mr. Stanford, a lawsuit with the United States, and a shrinkage in the
+value of the properties it owned, ran the finances so low that for a
+short time it was found necessary to charge a small entrance fee.
+Even then, the college was kept open only through the economy and
+self-sacrifice of Mrs. Stanford and the members of the faculty, who
+stood by the institution with noble unselfishness. By the year 1906
+the financial condition had become satisfactory and the attendance had
+materially increased. Two handsome new buildings, one for the library
+and the other for the gymnasium, were about completed when, on April
+18, an earthquake, the most destructive ever experienced on the Pacific
+coast, shook all the region around San Francisco Bay. Stanford suffered
+severely: the two new buildings were ruined; so, too, was the museum and
+a portion of the chemistry building. Both the noble arch and the
+mosaics in the front of the memorial chapel were destroyed. Beyond
+this, comparatively little damage was done to the college buildings. The
+graduating exercises were postponed until the fall term; otherwise the
+disaster did not interfere seriously with the routine of study, neither
+did it affect the attendance in 1906-7, which was unusually large.
+In the fall of 1907 President Jordan stated that he was empowered
+to announce that Thomas Weldon Stanford, brother of Senator Leland
+Stanford, had decided to give the university his own large fortune of
+several millions.
+
+It is generally recognized that the university owes a great part of its
+present success to the splendid talents and faithfulness of President
+Jordan, who has given the hardest labor of the best years of his busy
+life to helping it onward and upward. Its educational work is thorough,
+and its requirements are being steadily raised. It stands for the
+highest education that is possible. Addition is constantly being made to
+its group of noble buildings. Beautiful Stanford is the sparkling jewel
+in California’s diadem.
+
+Not far from the University of California in the suburbs of Oakland
+is situated Mills College, which for many years was the only advanced
+school for girls of which the state could boast. This institution had
+its beginning as a seminary in Benicia, but was moved to its present
+situation in 1871. In 1885 it became a college with a state charter. In
+plan of studies and high Christian aim, it resembles Mount Holyoke, from
+which many of its leading instructors have been graduated.
+
+There is no place here to speak of all the leading private schools of
+the state. Throop Polytechnic in Pasadena, the Thatcher School in the
+valley of the Ojai, and Belmont Military Academy are among the best. A
+word, however, must be said in tribute to Santa Clara College, without
+which the California youth of from twenty to forty years ago would have
+been lacking in that higher education which stands for so much in
+the making of a state. Incorporated in 1851, it was opened with funds
+amounting to but one hundred and fifty dollars, yet it grew steadily.
+With a clever Jesuit faculty, this college has done admirable work of so
+thorough a character as to win the praise of all those who have come
+in contact with its results. From it have been graduated such men as
+Stephen M. White, Reginaldo del Valle, and many other of our leading
+professional and business men.
+
+
+
+Chapter XVIII
+
+Statistics
+
+
+
+The state of California lies between the parallels 32¡ and 42¡ north
+latitude, extending over a space represented on the eastern coast by the
+country between Edisto Inlet, South Carolina, and the northern point of
+Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Its northern third lies between 120¡ and 124¡
+26’ west longitude. From Cape Mendocino, its most westerly point, the
+coast trends southeastward to San Diego Bay. The total coast line on the
+Pacific is 1200 miles.
+
+The state’s greatest width is 235 miles, which is between Point
+Conception and the northern end of the Amaragosa Range on the Nevada
+line. It is narrowest between Golden Gate and the southern end of Lake
+Tahoe. Its area is 158,297 sq. miles, second only to Texas of all the
+states.
+
+The population of California, according to the United States census
+of 1920, is 3,426,861, which has since been greatly increased. The
+following table shows the counties of the State:--
+
+
+
+
+Counties of California
+
+  Area      Population   Valuation
+  Name            Origin and Meaning of Name
+  Sq. Mi.    1920    1910 of Property County Seat
+
+  Alameda         Sp., Shaded promenade
+  764 344,127 246,131 128,681,766 Oakland
+  Alpine
+  710     243     309     422,063 Markleeville
+  Amador          Sp., Sweetheart
+  632   7,793   9,086   4,918,908 Jackson
+  Butte           Fr., Rounded, detached hill
+  1,660  30,030  27,301  16,057,766 Oroville
+  Calaveras       Sp., Skul’s (from Indian battle ground)
+  1,080   6,183   9,171   6,177,285 San Andreas
+  Colusa          Ind.
+  1,088   9,290   7,732  12,188,096 Colusa
+  Contra Costa    Sp., Opposite coast
+  728  53,889  31,674  21,753,956 Martinez
+  Del Norte       Sp., Of the North
+  992   2,759   2,417   2,882,445 Crescent City
+  Eldorado        Sp., The gilded (name given to fabled land of gold)
+  1,796   6,426   7,492   4,668,840 Placerville
+  Fresno          Sp., Ash tree
+  6,152 128,779  75,657  34,302,205 Fresno
+  Glenn
+  1,270  11,853   7,172  10,645,524 Willow
+  Humboldt        (named for Baron von Humboldt)
+  3,496  37,413  33,857  24,911,492 Eureka
+  Imperial
+  4,200  43,383  13,591             El Centro
+  Inyo
+  10,294   7,031   6,974   2,316,319 Independence
+  Kern
+  8,050  54,843  37,715  24,050,871 Bakersfield
+  Kings
+  1,176  22,032  16,230   7,883,009 Hanford
+  Lake
+  1,328   5,402   5,526   3,258,020 Lakeport
+  Lassen
+  4,520   8,507   4,802   4,590,748 Susanville
+  Los Angeles     Sp., The angels
+  4,200 936,438 504,132 169,268,166 Los Angeles
+  Madera          Sp., Timber
+  2,062  12,203   8,368   6,732,495 Madera
+  Marin           Ind.
+  549  27,342  25,114  14,489,582 San Rafael
+  Mariposa        Sp., Butterfly
+  1,510   2,775   3,956   2,270,246 Mariposa
+  Mendocino       Sp., (from Mendoza, viceroy of Mexico)
+  3,626  24,116  23,929  13,131,995 Ukiah
+  Merced          Sp., Mercy
+  1,932  24,579  15,148  14,877,086 Merced
+  Modoc           Ind.
+  3,741   5,425   6,191   4,076,680 Alturas
+  Mono            Sp., Monkey, or pretty
+  3,020     960   2,042   1,151,109 Bridgeport
+  Monterey        Sp., King’s forest
+  3,340  27,980  24,146  18,962,554 Salinas
+  Napa            Ind.
+  780  20,678  19,800  13,840,291 Napa
+  Nevada          Sp., Heavy fall of snow
+  972  10,850  14,955   7,203,349 Nevada City
+  Orange          (named for its chief product)
+  750  61,375  34,436      13,812 Santa Ana
+  Placer          Sp., Loose (from placer mines)
+  1,365  18,584  18,237   9,677,724 Auburn
+  Plumas          Sp., Feathers
+  2,694   5,681   5,259   2,792,091 Quincy
+  Riverside
+  7,323  50,297  34,696  16,373,296 Riverside
+  Sacramento      Sp., The Sacrament
+  1,000  90,978  67,806  41,333,337 Sacramento
+  San Benito      Sp., St. Benedict
+  1,388   8,995   8,041   6,499,068 Hollister
+  San Bernardino  Sp., St. Bernard
+  19,947  73,401  56,706  21,392,228 San Bernardino
+  San Diego       Sp., St. James
+  4,278 112,248  61,665  20,807,594 San Diego
+  San Francisco   Sp., St. Francis (of Assisi)
+  47 506,676 416,912 564,070,301 San Francisco
+  San Joaquin     Sp., name of a saint
+  1,396  79,905  50,732  34,740,353 Stockton
+  San Luis Obispo Sp., St. Louis the Bishop
+  3,310  21,893  19,383  13,680,235 San Luis Obispo
+  San Mateo       Sp., St. Matthew
+  434  36,781  26,585  18,999,564 Redwood City
+  Santa Barbara   Sp., St. Barbara
+  2,632  41,097  27,738  18,849,976 Santa Barbara
+  Santa Clara     Sp., name of a saint
+  1,286 100,588  83,539  61,390,817 San Jose
+  Santa Cruz      Sp., Holy Cross
+  424  26,269  26,240  12,560,071 Santa Cruz
+  Shasta          Fr., Chaste, pure
+  3,876  13,311  18,920  10,902,036 Redding
+  Sierra          Sp., Sawtoothed Ridge
+  960   1,783   4,098   1,844,560 Downieville
+  Siskiyou
+  5,991  13,545  18,801  10,560,650 Treks
+  Solano          Sp., name of a mission
+  900  40,602  27,559  20,195,481 Fairfield
+  Sonoma          Ind., Valley of the Moon
+  1,620  51,990  48,394  30,380,419 Santa Rosa
+  Stanislaus
+  1,456  43,557  22,522  12,834,108 Modesto
+  Sutter          (named for J. A. Sutter)
+  622  10,115   6,328   6,621,047 Yuba City
+  Tehama
+  3,008  12,882  11,401  11,674,562 Red Bluff
+  Trinity
+  3,282   2,552   3,301   1,651,362 Weaverville
+  Tulare          Sp., Reed-covered
+  4,952  59,032  35,440  17,447,042 Visalia
+  Tuolumne        Ind., Stone wigwams
+  2,208   7,768   9,979   7,089,725 Sonora
+  Ventura         Sp.
+  1,722  28,724  18,347  11,171,219 Ventura
+  Yolo            Ind., Rushes
+  996  17,105  13,926  17,640,436 Woodland
+  Yuba            Sp., Uba, wild grapes
+  636  10,375  10,042   5,898,350 Marysville
+
+
+
+List of Governors
+
+
+
+  Gaspar de Portola, April, 1769
+  Pedro Fages, July, 1770
+  Fernando Rivera y Moncada, May 25, 1774
+  Felipe de Neve, Feb. 3, 1777
+  Pedro Fages, Sept. 1O, 1782
+  Jose Romeu, April 16, 1791
+  Jose Arrillaga, April 9, 1792
+  Diego de Borica, May 14, 1794
+  Jose Arrillaga, Jan. 16, 1800
+  Jose Arguello, July 24, 1814
+  Pablo de Sola, March 31, 1815
+
+  California became province of the Mexican Empire, April 11, 1822
+
+  Luis Arguello, Nov. 10, 1822, First native Governor.
+
+  March 26, 1825, California became province of Mexican Republic.
+
+  Jose Maria Echeandia, Nov. 8, 1825
+  Manuel Victoria, Jan. 31, 1831
+  Jose Maria Echeandia, Dec. 6, 1831
+  Jose Figueroa, Jan. 15, 1833
+  Jose Castro, Sept. 29, 1835
+  Nicolas Gutierrez, Jan. 2, 1836
+  Mariano Chico, May 3, 1836
+  Nicolas Gutierrez, Sept. 6, 1836
+  Jose Castro, Nov. 5, 1836
+  Juan B. Alvarado, Dec. 7, 1836
+  Manuel Micheltorena, Dec. 31, 1842
+  Pio Pico, Feb. 22, 1845, to Aug. 10, 1846, end of Mexican rule.
+
+  The following were Governors under Military Rule, U.S.A.
+
+  John D. Sloat, July 7, 1846
+  Robert F. Stockton, July 29, 1846
+  John C. Fremont, Military Governor, Jan. 19, 1847, for 50 days
+  Stephen W. Kearny, Military Governor, March to May 31, 1847
+  R. B. Mason, Military Governor, May 31, 1847
+  Persifer F. Smith, Military Governor, Feb. 28, 1849
+  Bennet Riley, April 12, 1849
+
+
+
+  Peter H. Burnett, Dec. 20, 1849, First State Governor, Democratic,
+     received 6716 votes, total vote, 12,064.
+  John McDougall, Lieutenant Governor, became Governor Jan. 9, 1851,
+     Democrat
+  John Bigler, Jan. 8, 1852, Democrat
+  John Bigler, Jan. 7, 1854, Democrat
+  John Neely Johnson, Jan. 9, 1856, American Party
+  John B. Weller, Jan. 8, 1858, Democrat
+  Milton S. Latham, Jan. 9, 1860, Democrat
+  John G. Downey (Lieutenant Governor), inaugurated Jan. 14, 1860,
+     Democrat
+  Leland Stanford, Jan. 10, 1862, Republican
+  Frederick F. Low, Dec. 10, 1863, Union Party
+  Henry H. Haight, Dec. 5, 1867, Democrat
+  Newton Booth, Dec. 8, 1871, Republican
+  Romualdo Pacheco (Lieutenant Governor), inaugurated Feb. 27, 1875,
+     Republican (native state Governor)
+  William Irwin, Dec. 8, 1875, Democrat
+  Geo. C. Perkins, Jan. 8, 1880, Republican
+  Geo. Stoneman, Jan. 10, 1883, Democrat
+  Washington Bartlett, Jan. 8, 1887, Democrat
+  Robert W. Waterman (Lieutenant Governor), inaugurated Sept. 13, 1887,
+     Republican
+  H. H. Markham, Jan. 8, 1891, Republican
+  James H. Budd, Jan. II, 1895, Democrat
+  Henry T. Gage, Jan. 4, 1899, Republican
+  Geo. C. Pardee, Jan. 7, 1903, Republican
+  James N. Gillett, Jan. 9, 1907, Republican
+  Hiram W. Johnson, January, 1911, Republican; reelected on Progressive
+     ticket, 1914
+  William D. Stephens (Lieutenant Governor), inaugurated March 15, 1917,
+     Progressive
+
+
+
+Electoral Vote
+
+
+
+  1852, Democratic, 4 votes
+  1856, Democratic, 4 votes
+  1860, Republican, 4 votes
+  1864, Republican, 5 votes
+  1868, Republican, 5 votes
+  1872, Republican, 6 votes
+  1876, Republican, 6 votes
+  1880  Republican, 1 vote
+        Democratic, 5 votes
+  1884, Republican, 8 votes
+  1888, Republican, 8 votes
+  1892, Republican, 1 vote
+        Democratic, 8 votes
+  1896, Republican, 8 votes
+        Democratic, People’s and Silver parties, 1 vote
+  1900, Republican, 9 votes
+  1904, Republican, 9 votes
+  1908, Republican, to votes
+  1912, Democratic, 2 votes
+        Progressive, 11 votes
+  1916, Democratic, 13 votes
+  1920, Republican, 13 votes
+
+
+
+
+Bibliography
+
+  Bancroft--“History of California,” vols. I, II, Ill, IV, V, VI, VII.
+  Bancroft--“California Pastoral.”
+   Bancroft--“History of North Mexican States.”
+   Hittell--“History of California,” vols. I, II, III, IV.
+  Royce--“History of California.”
+   Blackmar--“Spanish Institutions of the Southwest.”
+   Montalvo--“Sergas of Esplandian.” Translator, E. E. Hale, Atlantic
+  Monthly, Vol. XIII, p. 265.
+  Vancouver--“Voyage of Discovery to the Pacific Ocean,” vol. III.
+  Geronimo Boscano--“Chinigchinich,” “History of Mission Indians.”
+      Translator,
+  Alfred Robinson--“Life in California.”
+   Francisco Palou--“Life of Fray Junipero Serra.”
+   Junipero Serra--“Diary.” Translated in magazine Out West, March-July,
+     1902.
+  Hakluyt--“Drake’s Voyages.”
+   Vanegas--“History of California.”
+   Davis--“Sixty Years in California.”
+   Colton--“Three Years in California.”
+   Fremont--“Memoirs.”
+   Sherman--“Memoirs.” Century Magazine, vols. 41-42.
+  Stoddard--“In the Footsteps of the Padres.”
+   Lummis--“The Right Hand of the Continent.” Series, Out West Magazine,
+     1903.
+  Lummis--” Spanish Pioneers.”
+   Jackson--“A Century of Dishonor.”
+   Jackson--“Ramona.”
+   California Book of Louisiana Purchase Exposition.
+
+
+
+
+Index
+
+
+
+   Abalone, 22
+   Acapulco, 68
+   Admission to the Union, 179-182
+   Adobe, 93
+   Alameda, 182
+   Alaska, 214
+   Alba, 110
+   Alcalde, 104, 108, 173, 174
+   Alfalfa, 244
+   Afileria, 209
+   Alta, 86
+   Alvarado, 125, 133, 134, 136
+   American government of California, 173-179
+   American River, 150
+   Americans in California, 129, 134, 140-146, 149
+   Anaheim, settled, 212
+   Anian, Strait of, 53, 62
+   Apricots, 256
+   Area, 289
+   Arguello, Captain Lulls, 128, 131, 132
+   Arguello family, 145
+   Arroyo Seco, 97, 146
+   Ascension, Padre, 8, 670
+   Atole, 94
+   Avalon, 68
+   Ayala, Lieutenant, 88
+   Bahia, 249
+   Bailey, W. F., quoted, 185
+   Bananas, 257
+   Bancroft, quoted, 206
+   Bandini, aids Americans, 145
+   Bandini, Dona Arcadia, quoted, 137
+   Bandini, Mrs., makes flag, 146
+   Barley, 255
+   Bautista, 134
+   Bear Flag Republic, 142
+   Beets, 260
+   Belmont Military Academy, 287
+   Benitite, 277
+   Benton, Senator, 182, 195
+   Berkeley, State University at, 283
+   Bidwell, quoted, 166
+   Bolero, 116
+   Bonito, 22
+   Borax, 276
+   British, visit California, 130
+   Broderick, David C., 190, 191
+   Buffalo Bill, 186
+   Burbank, Luther, 262-266
+   Burnett, Peter, 181
+   Butte County, oranges in, 247
+   Cable, Pacific, 225
+   Cabo de Pinos, 55
+   Cabrillo, Juan Rodriguez, 48-56, 72
+   Cacafuegos, 60
+   Cactus, 265
+   Cahuenga, treaty of, 146, 148
+   Calaveras grove, 235
+   Calhoun, 179
+   California, area of, 289
+   California, climate of, 13-18
+   California, geography of, 13,14
+   California, name, origin of, 11, 12
+   California Column, 198
+   California Lancers, 193
+   Californite, 276
+   Camisa, 116
+   Canneries, 257, 260, 261
+   Cape Mendocino, 67
+   Capitol, 204
+   Carmelo River, 71, 87
+   Carmenon, Sebastin, explorations of, 67
+   Carne seco, 101
+   Carquinez, Strait of, 14
+   Carreta, 116, 118, 213
+   Carrillo, in convention, 177
+   Castillo, Domingo, map of, 12
+   Castro, General, 139, 140, 142
+   Cattle raising, 108, 113
+   Celery, 256
+   Central Pacific Railroad, 197-201
+   Chagres, Panama, 163
+   Chamisso, Albert von, 182
+   Chapman, 125, 126
+   Cherries, 262
+   China, war with Japan, 223
+   Chinese, in California, 202, 203
+   Chinese, work on railroad, 198
+   Chinigchinich, 25, 33-36, 45, 47
+   Chippa, 43-45
+   Cholos, 138
+   Cigaritos, 109
+   Citron, 246, 256
+   Civil War, 180, 189-194
+   Clay, Henry, 178
+   Cleeta, 19-29, 45-47
+   Climate, 13-18
+   Club wheat, 242
+   Cody, Mr., 186
+   Coloma, mill near, 150
+   Columbia, and Panama Canal, 222
+   Colony days, 211-214
+   Colton, Rev. Walter, 173, 174
+   Colton, quoted, 203
+   Comandante, 136
+   Comstock mine, 271
+   Concepcion de Arguello, 130, 131
+   Conquest of California, 139-146
+   Constitution of 1849, 178
+   Constitution of 1879, 203
+   Constitutional Convention of 1849, 177
+   Cooper, Ellwood, 262
+   Copper mining, 276
+   Corn, 244
+   Coronel, Don Ignacio, school of, 280
+   Cortez, Hernando, 12, 53, 74
+   Cotopacnic, 46
+   Counties, 290, 291
+   Cradle, used in mining, 158
+   Crespi, Juan, 75, 100
+   Crocker, Charles, 197-199
+   Cuatrito, 117
+   Cuchuma, 22, 26, 32, 35, 45
+   Cushiony scale, 250
+   Day, Sherman, 284
+   Debris, 268
+   Del Valle, Reginaldo, 288
+   Dewey, Commodore, in Spanish war, 217
+   Dios, 110
+   Dolores mission, 88
+   Donner party, 167
+   Dragontea, 57
+   Drake, Sir Francis, 57-66, 12, 73
+   Drakes Bay, 63
+   Dress of early Californians, 115, 116
+   Dried fruits, 260
+   Drift mining, 269
+   Dulce, 258.
+   Earthquake (1906), 225-228
+   El Camino Real, 95
+   El Refugio, 125
+   Empire mine, 274
+   England, explorations, 59-66
+   Escuela, 279
+   Explorations, 48-73, 81-83
+   Farallones, 81
+   Farmer’s Institute, 285
+   Ferrelo, 56, 57, 85
+   Festivals, 126
+   Fiesta, 126
+   Figs, 260
+   Flores, General, 146
+   Flour trade, 243
+   Forests, 229-236
+   Forty-niners, 156, 172
+   Fremont, Captain, 139-143, 146
+   Fremont, dispute with Kearny, 148, 149
+   Fremont, elected senator, 178
+   Fremont, explorations, 139, 107, 195
+   Fremont, on land question, 182
+   French, visit California, 129
+   Frijoles, 98
+   Fruit, 246-263
+   Fruit, canned, 257, 260
+   Fruit, crystallized, 261
+   Fruit, dried, 260
+   Fruit, preserved, 258
+   Fugitive Slave Law, 190
+   Galli, Francisco, 66
+   Galvez, Jose de, 75-78, 84, 87
+   Gems, 276
+   Gente de razon, 124
+   Gentiles, 80
+   Gesnip, 19-33, 38-47
+   Gicamas, 70
+   Gigantea, 234
+   Gillespie, 140, 143, 146
+   Gold, discovered, 147, 151, 155
+   Gold, early mining, 154-160
+   Gold, modern mines, 267-271, 274
+   Golden Hind, ship, 66
+   Governors, list of, 292
+   Graham, 133, 134
+   Grain, 238-245
+   Grape fruit, 252
+   Grapes, 254, 258-260
+   Guam, 225
+   Gwin, in convention, 177
+   Gwin, senator, 178, 189, 190, 281
+   Hague, 220, 221
+   Harte, Bret, 180, 200
+   Harvester, 240
+   Hawaii, 218-220, 225
+   Hearst, Mrs. Phoebe, 283, 285
+   Hecox, Mrs., quoted, 171
+   Hittell, quoted, 205
+   Hopkins, Mark, 197
+   Huntington, Collis P., 197, 198
+   Huntington, H. E., 239
+   Hydraulic mining, 160, 268, 269
+   Ide, 141.
+   Immigration after 1848, 156, 161-172
+   Indian Bar, 184
+   Indians, aborigines, 19-47, 54, 63, 64
+   Indians, baskets, 43-45
+   Indians, boats, 39
+   Indians, clothing, 21, 31, 32, 33, 43, 63
+   Indians, food, 28, 29, 38, 42, 45-47
+   Indians, houses, 26
+   Indians, hunting, 23-25, 42, 43
+   Indians, myths, 80, 45
+   Indians, worship, 33-36
+   Indians in Santa Catalina, 70
+   Indians, mission, 91-105, 127
+   Indians, on ranches, 110-112
+   Indians, recent history, 206-208
+   Irrigation, 245, 252-255
+   Isadora, 138
+   Isbell, Mrs. Oliver Mann, 280
+   Jacal, 26
+   Japan, 223-225
+   Jesuits in New Spain, 76
+   Jiminez, 53
+   Jones, Commodore, 136, 137
+   Jones, W. C., 182
+   Jordan, President, 287
+   Juan, 48, 51, 52, 56
+   Judah, Theodore D., 196-198.
+   Kahhoom, 43-45
+   Kearny, General Stephen, 145, 148, 149
+   Kern River, electric power from, 278
+   Kindergartens, 282
+   King, Thomas Starr, 192
+   Klamath, 37, 38
+   Korea, 223
+   Kotzebue, Otto von, 132
+   Kunzite, 276
+   Ladybird, 250
+   La Fiesta, 126
+   Laguna rancho, battle of, 146
+   Laguna rancho, sheep on, 210
+   Land question, 182, 183
+   La Perouse, 129
+   La Posesion, 55
+   La Purisima mission, 89
+   Larkin, consul, 136, 137,139, 284
+   Leland Stanford Junior University, 285-287
+   Lemons, 245, 251
+   Lick Observatory, 284
+   Lollah, 30
+   Lopez, Juan, 147
+   Lorne, Marquis of, quoted, 262
+   Los Angeles, beginnings of, 107, 108.
+   Los Angeles, captured by Americans, 143
+   Los Angeles, church built by Chapman, 125
+   Los Angeles, during Civil War, 194
+   Los Angeles, in colony days, 213
+   Los Angeles, Kern River power, 278
+   Los Angeles, old palms in, 144
+   Los Angeles, State Normal School, 283
+   Lumber, 229-236
+   Lummis. Charles F., author, 249
+   Macana, 22, 27, 28, 31, 32, 37, 38, 41, 42, 44, 46
+   Machado, Agustin, 122
+   McKinley, President, 218, 220
+   Maestro, 113
+   Mahan, Captain, quoted, 220
+   Malaga, 256
+   Manchuria, 223
+   Mandarin orange, 248
+   Manila, cable to, 225
+   Manila, trade, 67, 74, 77
+   Manila Bay, battle, 217
+   Marin County, 226
+   Mariposa grove, 234
+   Marshall, James, 150-153
+   Mason, Colonel, 149, 154
+   Mayor domo, 110
+   Mendocino, Cape, 67
+   Mendoza, 72
+   Merced River, 160. 111
+   Mexican government of California, 124
+   Mexico, dispute over Plus Fund, 221
+   Mexico, revolt against Spain, 122, 124
+   Mexico, war with the United States, 134-135, 140, 174
+   Micheltorena, Governor, 137
+   Millay, 48
+   Mills College, 287
+   Mines, modern, 267-277
+   Missions, 76-105
+   Missions, aid government, 123
+   Missions, irrigation, 252
+   Missions, orchards, 257, 258
+   Missions, schools at, 279
+   Missions, secularized, 103-105, 126
+   Missions, wheat raising, 237-239
+   Modocs, 208
+   Monterey, attacked by pirate, 125
+   Monterey, captured by Jones, 186, 137
+   Monterey, captured by Sloat, 143
+   Monterey, mission founded at, 85
+   Monterey, presidio of, 87
+   Monterey Bay, discovered, 55, 71
+   Monterey Bay, Portola at, 81
+   Mountains, 18-16
+   Muchachas, 110, 112
+   Muchchos, 110
+   Murphy, Virginia Reed, quoted, 168
+   Muscat grape, 258
+   Mussel Slough District, 201
+   Nahal, 31
+   Nakin, 29, 47
+   Native Sons of the Golden West, 205
+   Navel orange, 248-250
+   Nevada City, 274
+   Neve, Felipe de, 107
+   New Albion, 64
+   New Almaden,  quicksilver mines, 276
+   Nihie, 35, 36
+   No-fence law, 211
+   Nopal, 29, 32-36, 40, 41, 43
+   Normal schools, 283
+   Nuts, 257, 261, 262
+   Oats, 255
+   Ojai, 287
+   Olives, 246, 255, 261
+   Ollas, 22, 26, 85
+   Oranges, 246-254
+   Oregon, voyage of the, 216, 217
+   Oregon Country, 135
+   Ortega, discovers San Francisco bay, 82, 83
+   Ortega, rancho attacked, 125
+   Otter hunting, 132, 183
+   Outdoor life, 17, 18
+   Outlaws, 214
+   Pacheco, Governor, 205
+   Pacific cable, 225
+   Pacific Ocean, importance of, 18, 217
+   Padres, 51, See Missions
+   Pala, chapel, 89
+   Palou, Francisco, 75, 79, 88, 100
+   Panama Canal, 221
+   Panocha, 120
+   Papas pequenos, 70
+   Pasadena, settled, 212
+   Pastorel, 97
+   Patio, 94
+   Patron, 111
+   Patrona, 110, 112
+   Payuchi, 25-47
+   Pepe, 49, 50
+   Pesos, 60
+   Petroleum, 276
+   Peyri, 95, 96
+   Philippine trade, 58, 71-78, 201
+   Philippines, 217, 218
+   Pico, General Andres, 145, 146, 148
+   Pinos, Point, 55, 71, 80, 81
+   Pius Fund, 76, 220
+   Placer mines, 347, 158, 268
+   Plaza, 107
+   Pocket, in placer mining, 180
+   Pomato, 265
+   Pomelo, 252
+   Pony express, 185-188
+   Port Costa, wheat grader at, 243
+   Portola, Captain, 77-80, 88-85
+   Prairie schooner, 170
+   Preserved fruit, 258
+   Presidios, 85, 108
+   Prunes, 262, 266
+   Pueblos, 106-108
+   Pumpkin, preserved, 258
+   Quartz mining, 270
+   Quicksilver, 276
+   Railroad, 196-201, 205, 206
+   Rainfall, 14, 16
+   Raisins, 250, 258-260
+   Ramirez, 177
+   Ranch life, 109-127
+   Rancheros, 121, 122, 183
+   Ranches, modern, 262
+   Ranchos, 109
+   Rebosa, 118
+   Reyes, Point, 67, 81-88
+   Rezanof, Count, 130, 181
+   Rhubarb, 205
+   Riley, Governor, 176
+   Riverside, founded, 212
+   Riverside, oranges at, 247, 249, 250
+   Robinson, Alfred, quoted, 257
+   Rodeo, 113, 114
+   Roosevelt, 222, 224, 225
+   Ross, Fort, 131, 133
+   Routes to California, 101-172
+   Rurik, ship, 182
+   Russia, sells Alaska, 215
+   Russia, war with Japan, 224
+   Russians in California, 131-133
+   Sacramento, founded, 133
+   Sacramento, pony express at, 186
+   Sacramento, railroad begun, 198
+   Sacramento valley, 239, 269
+   St. John de Anton, 61
+   St. Michael orange, 248
+   Sal, Point, 130
+   Salinas River, 189
+   San Agustin, 67
+   San Antonio mission, 87
+   San Antonio, ship, 79, 83-85
+   San Benito County, benitite in, 277
+   San Bernardino County, gems in, 276
+   San Bruno, 182
+   San Buenaventura mission, 89, 99
+   San Buenaventura mission, fruit trees, 246, 257
+   San Carlos, ship, 79, 88, 287
+   San Carlos de Borromeo mission, 85, 86, 100, 120
+   San Diego, captured by Americans, 143-146
+   San Diego Bay, discovered, 50, 68
+   San Diego mission, 80, 92
+   San Diego mission, fruit trees, 248
+   San Diego mission, Indian revolt, 102
+   San Diego mission, wheat, 287
+   San Diego presidio, 108
+   San Diego, ship, 68
+   San Fernando mines, 148
+   San Fernando mission, 89,90
+   San Fernando mission, brandy, 257
+   San Fernando mission, fruit trees, 246
+   San Francisco, city named, 153
+   San Francisco, disorder in (Vigilantes), 184
+   San Francisco, during Civil War, 192, 198
+   San Francisco, earthquake and fire, 226-228
+   San Francisco, gold excitement, 158, 154
+   San Francisco, growth after 1848, 156
+   San Francisco, in war of 1898, 218
+   San Francisco, kindergartens, 282
+   San Francisco, pony express at, 186
+   San Francisco, Sutro baths, etc., 273, 274
+   San Francisco Bay, discovered, 88, 87, 88
+   San Francisco mission, 87, 88
+   San Francisco presidio, 108
+   San Gabriel mission, 87,90
+   San Gabriel mission, Chapman at, 125, 120
+   San Gabriel mission, mill at, 239
+   San Gabriel mission, orchards, 246, 257
+   San Gabriel mission, wheat, 237
+   San Gabriel River, battle of, 146
+   San Joaquin  Valley, 239, 247, 269
+   San Jose, beginnings of, 107
+   San Jose, early school at, 280
+   San Jose, earthquake, 226
+   San Jose mission, 89, 121
+   San Jose mission, Indian revolt, 102
+   San Jose, ship, 83
+   San Juan Bautista mission, 89
+   San Juan  Capistrano mission, 89, 98
+   San Juan  Capistrano mission, attacked by pirate, 125
+   San Luis Obispo mission, 87
+   San Luis Obispo Polytechnic School, 282
+   San Luis Rey mission, 89, 95
+   San Mateo, 182
+   San Miguel, Cabrillo at, 50, 55-57
+   San Miguel mission, 89, 123
+   San Pasqual, battle, 145, 146
+   San Pedro, Bay-of, discovered, 54, 71
+   San Rafael mission, 89
+   San Salvador, 53
+   San Tomas, ship, 68, 71, 72
+   Sanchez, Padre, 246
+   Sanitary Commission, 192
+   Santa Barbara mission, 89
+   Santa Barbara mission, fruit trees, 246
+   Santa Barbara presidio, 108
+   Santa Catalina, 22
+   Santa Catalina, discovered, 53, 68
+   Santa Clara College, 288
+   Santa Clara mission, 89
+   Santa Clara mission, Indian revolt, 102
+   Santa Clara mission, orchards, 257
+   Santa Clara mission, school at, 280
+   Santa Cruz, town founded, 107
+   Santa Cruz mission, 80
+   Santa Fe, 78
+   Santa Inez mission, 89
+   Santa Inez mission, fruit trees, 246
+   Santa Rosa, 226, 264, 266
+   Saunders, and navel oranges, 249
+   Scale, orange, 250, 251
+   School taxes, 282
+   Schools, early, 113, 279-281
+   Schools, modern, 281-288
+   Sempervirens, 230, 234
+   Senor, 56, 133
+   Senora, 213
+   Senorita, 213
+   Sequoias, 230-235
+   Sequoya League, 208
+   Serra, Junipero, 75-80, 83-88, 102
+   Serra, Junipero, death of, 100
+   Serra, Junipero, work of, 91, 92
+   Seward, 179, 214, 215
+   Shasta, oranges in, 247
+   Shasta, Mount, 275
+   Sheep Industry, 209-211
+   Sherman, Wm. T., 149, 151, 164
+   “Shirley,” quoted, 184
+   Sholoc, 22-82, 85, 36, 89, 46, 47
+   Shumeh, 31
+   Sierra Nevada, 14, 16, 56, 100, 282
+   Slavery struggle, 175-179, 190
+   Sloat, Commodore, 142, 148
+   Soil, 16, 18
+   Solano mission, 89
+   Soledad mission, 89
+   Sombrero, 111
+   Sonoma, captured, 141
+   South Sea, 58
+   Southern Pacific Railroad, 201,290
+   Spain, colonies, 75, 77
+   Spain, colonies, explorations, 48-57, 66-73, 81-83
+   Spain, colonies, revolt against, 122, 124
+   Spain, colonies, trade laws, 119-122
+   Spanish government of California, 77, 122
+   Spanish-American War, 215-219
+   Stampede of 1849, 161
+   Stanford, Leland, gifts for education, 283, 286
+   Stanford, Leland, governor, 193
+   Stanford, Leland, railroad work, 197-200
+   Stanford, Mrs. Leland, 283, 286
+   Stanford, Thomas Weldon, 287
+   Stanford University, 285-287
+   Steamboat, first in California, 155
+   Stearns, Don Abel, 137, 147, 148
+   Stock raising, 108, 113
+   Stockton, Commodore, 143, 146, 148
+   Stockton, grain center, 242
+   Sugar, 260
+   Sultana grape, 239
+   Sutro, Adolph, 271-274
+   Sutro baths, 273, 274
+   Sutter, Captain John, 133, 150-152
+   Sutter’s Fort, 133
+   Sutter’s mill, 150, 153
+   Tamales, 209
+   Tangerine orange, 248
+   Telegraph, 195
+   Texas, 134, 135
+   Thatcher School, 287
+   Throop Polytechnic School, 287
+   Tibbetta, Mrs., and navel oranges, 249
+   Titas, 45
+   Tomales, 226
+   Tortilla, 93,111, 244
+   Trade, early, 119-122
+   Tres Re yes, ship, 68, 82, 83
+   Trist, 175
+   Tsuwish, 43, 45
+   Tuscon, 206
+   Tulare County, products, 247, 276
+   Tules, 30, 31, 35, 39, 40
+   Tuolumne grove, 284
+   Union Pacific Railroad, 197-201
+   United States, conquers California, 134-146
+   University of California, 283-285
+   Valencia late orange, 248
+   Vallejo, General, 125
+   Vallejo, General, captured, 141
+   Vallejo, General, in convention, 177
+   Vallejo, General, loses land, 183
+   Vallejo, General, quoted, 118, 148
+   Vallejo, Senorita Guadalupe, quoted 118, 121, 183, 257
+   Vancouver, Captain, 130
+   Vancouver, Captain, quoted, 257
+   Vanquech, 35
+   Vaquero, 111
+   Vasques, 214
+   Vegetables, 256, 257, 261
+   Ventura, Cabrillo at, 54
+   Vera Cruz, 74, 75
+   Vigilantes, 184, 185
+   Vizcaino, Don Sebastian,  explorations of, 68-73
+   Wash-day expedition, 118
+   Webster, Daniel, 176, 179
+   Westminster, settled, 212
+   Wheat, 237-245, 255
+   Wheeler, Benjamin Ide, 284
+   White, Stephen M., 288
+   Whitman, Walt, quoted, 219
+   Wiggin, Kate Douglas, 282
+   Willey, Rev. Samuel, 284
+   Wolfskill grove, 246
+   Yerba Buena, 152
+   Yosemite, 238
+   Zanja, 94
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg’s History of California, by Helen Elliott Bandini
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