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Title: The land of gold; reality versus fiction
Author: Helper, Hinton R.
Language: English
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VERSUS FICTION ***
THE
LAND OF GOLD.
REALITY VERSUS FICTION.
BY
HINTON R. HELPER.
BALTIMORE:
PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR,
BY HENRY TAYLOR, SUN IRON BUILDING.
1855.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by
HINTON R. HELPER,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States, for the
District of Maryland.
SHERWOOD & CO., PRINTERS,
BALTIMORE.
TO THE
HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD,
OF NORTH CAROLINA,
These Pages are respectfully Dedicated,
BY HIS
SINCERE FRIEND AND ADMIRER,
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
Previous to my departure for California, near and dear friends extracted
from me a promise to communicate by letter, upon every convenient
occasion, such intelligence as would give them a distinct idea of the
truthfulness or falsehood of the many glowing descriptions and reputed
vast wealth of California. In accordance with this promise, I collected,
from the best and most reliable sources, all that I deemed worthy of
record touching the past of the modern El Dorado, relying upon my own
powers of observation to depicture its present condition and its future
prospects.
This correspondence was never intended for the public eye, for the
simple reason that the matter therein is set forth in a very plain
manner, with more regard to truth than elegance of diction. Indeed, how
could it be otherwise? I have only described those things which came
immediately under my own observation, and, beside this, I make no
pretensions to extensive scholastic attainments, nor do I claim to be an
adept in the art of book-making.
A weary and rather unprofitable sojourn of three years in various parts
of California, afforded me ample time and opportunity to become _too_
thoroughly conversant with its rottenness and its corruption, its
squalor and its misery, its crime and its shame, its gold and its dross.
Simply and truthfully I gave the history of my experience to friends at
home, who, after my return, suggested that profit might be derived from
giving these letters to the world in narrative form, and urged me so
strenuously, that I at length acceded to their wishes, but not without
much reluctance, being doubtful as to the reception of a book from one
so incapable as myself of producing any thing more than a plain
“unvarnished tale.”
In order to present a more complete picture of California, I have added
two chapters, that describing the route through Nicaragua, and the
general _resume_ at the close of my volume. All that I solicit for this,
my first offering, is a liberal and candid examination; not of a part,
but of the whole--not a cursory, but a considerate reading.
H. R. H.
SALISBURY, North Carolina, 1855.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
CALIFORNIA UNVEILED.
Introductory Remarks--Erroneous opinions respecting
California--Sterility of the Soil--The Seasons--Destitution of
Mechanical and Manufacturing Resources--Dependence upon Importations
for the Conveniences and Necessaries of Life--No Inducement to become
Permanent Residents of the country 13
CHAPTER II.
THE BALANCE SHEET.
California statistically considered--Cost of the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo--Price of Passage and Services of Immigrants--Total Yield
of the Mines--Amount of Property destroyed by Fires, Freshets and
Inundations--List of Sailing Vessels and Steamers Wrecked upon the
coast--Public Debt of the State--Debts of San Francisco, Sacramento
and Marysville--Loss of Life by violent measures--Extract from the
Louisville Journal 23
CHAPTER III.
SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA.
Extraordinary Depravity and Corruption--Reasons assigned for the laxity
of Morals--Much of the Degeneracy and Dissipation attributable to
the absence of female society--The Case of an English gentleman--His
Story--General Remarks concerning the different classes of Women 36
CHAPTER IV.
SAN FRANCISCO.
Importance of San Francisco--The Golden Gate--The Harbor--Long Wharf--A
Motley Crowd--The Shipping--Names of Vessels--Vagrant Boys--Commercial
Street--Wooden Tenements--The Jews--Fire-proof brick and stone
structures--Montgomery street--Menial Employments--Professional Men
washing dishes, waiting upon the table, and peddling shrimps and
tomcods--Lawyers and Land Titles--Grog Shops and Tippling Houses--Bill
of Fare of a California Groggery 45
CHAPTER V.
SAN FRANCISCO--CONTINUED.
Clay street--Gazing in Ladies’ Faces--The Gambling
Houses--Heterogeneous Assemblage of Blacklegs--The Plaza--The City
Hall--A Case of Bribery and Corruption--French Restaurants--Flour and
other Provisions--Frauds and Adulterations 69
CHAPTER VI.
SAN FRANCISCO--CONCLUDED.
A Pistol Gallery--Doctor Natchez--Population of the City--Filling in
the Bay--Lack of Vegetation--Yearning for the society of Trees 81
CHAPTER VII.
THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA.
National habits and traits of Chinese Character--Their Dress--The
number of Chinese in California--How they employ their time--Their
arrogance and presumption--Manner of Eating--Singularity of their
names--Is the Chinese Immigration desirable? 86
CHAPTER VIII.
CURSORY VIEWS.
The Pacific Side of the Continent much Inferior to the Atlantic
Side--Poverty and Suffering in California--Rash and mistaken ideas of
the country--A few very Fertile Valleys--Value of the Precious Metals
to the country in which they are found--The Climate 97
CHAPTER IX.
SUNDAY IN CALIFORNIA.
Manner of Spending the Sabbath--Mixture and Dissimilarity of the
Population--Dance Houses--Mexican Women--Influence of Female Society
upon the Community--Churches in San Francisco 109
CHAPTER X.
BEAR AND BULL FIGHT.
Advertisement announcing the Sport--Mission Dolores--An old Catholic
Church--Preparation for the Fight--The Audience--The Attack--Progress
of the Conflict--The Finale 116
CHAPTER XI.
SACRAMENTO.
City and Valley of Sacramento--The Legislature--Shabby
Hotels--Teamsters and Muleteers--Excess of Merchants--Continual
Depression in Business--Perfidy and Dishonesty of
Consignees--California Conflagrations--The Three Cent
Philosopher 131
CHAPTER XII.
YUBA--THE MINER’S TENT.
Trip to the Mines--Modus Operandi of Single-handed Mining--Names
of Bars--Mining Laws--More Gentility and Nobleness of Soul among
the Miners than any other Class of People in California--The case
of a Highwayman--Description of a Miner’s Tent--His Diet and
Cooking Utensils--Toilsomeness of Mining--Proceeds of three months’
labor 147
CHAPTER XIII.
STOCKTON AND SONORA.
Situation of Stockton--The San Joaquin Valley--Trip to Sonora--The best
Hotel in the Place--A Lunatic--A Gambling Prodigy--Shooting Affair--A
case of Lynch Law--Description of Sonora--Land Speculators--Ephemeral
Cities--Excitability of the Californians--The Beard--A good old
Man--His Story 161
CHAPTER XIV.
VOYAGE TO CALIFORNIA VIA CAPE HORN.
Embarkation from New York--A Terrible Storm--Loss of Masts
and narrow escape from Shipwreck--Wreck of a Swedish Brig--An
unfortunate Little Bird--Patagonia and Cape Horn--Stoppage at
Valparaiso--Earthquakes--Appearance of the City--A Delectable
Garden--Two Catholic Priests--Beauty of Ocean Scenery in the
Pacific--The St. Felix Islands--Arrival in San Francisco 187
CHAPTER XV.
VOYAGE FROM CALIFORNIA VIA NICARAGUA.
Departure from San Francisco--Matters and Things aboard the
Steamer--The Passengers--A Hoax--Arrival at San Juan del Sur--Novel
Mode of Debarkation--Ludicrous Scenes--Trip across the Country--The
Weather--Virgin Bay--Lake Nicaragua--The San Juan River--Bad Management
and shabby Treatment on the Isthmus--Negro Slavery and Central
America--San Juan del Norte, alias Greytown 209
CHAPTER XVI.
MY LAST MINING ADVENTURE.
Projected Voyage to Australia abandoned--Trip to the Mines in Tuolumne
county--My quaint Friend and Companion, Mr. Shad Back--Operations in
Columbia--The Result 225
CHAPTER XVII.
THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE.
Disordered State of Society--Atrocious and barefaced
Crimes--Organization of Vigilance Committees--Salutary effect of their
Proceedings--Defence of their Motives and Actions--A case of Lynch Law
in Sacramento 237
CHAPTER XVIII.
BODEGA.
Trip to Bodega on a Mischievous and Refractory Mule--A Chinese
Encampment--Description of the country in the vicinity of Bodega--The
Village of Petaluma--Cruel Treatment of an Indian Boy--Serious
Consequences result from the villainous Pranks of his Muleship--Ben, an
eccentric old Negro 254
CHAPTER XIX.
THE DIGGER INDIANS AND NEGROES.
Indolence and Insignificance of the Digger Indians--What they
eat--Means of obtaining the Necessaries of Life--Their Habits and
Peculiarities--An Incident at a Slaughterhouse--The Negroes in
California--The case of a New Orleans Sea-captain and his Slave Joe--A
North Carolinian and his two Negroes 268
CHAPTER XX.
ARE YOU GOING TO CALIFORNIA?
Resume of the preceding chapters--Arguments in favor of the Atlantic
and Pacific Railway--Advantages of the Southern Route--Abstract of
the Report of the Secretary of War on the several Pacific Railroad
Explorations--Extracts from Letters--Conclusion 280
THE LAND OF GOLD.
CHAPTER I.
CALIFORNIA UNVEILED.
An intelligent and patriotic curiosity will find the history of few
countries more interesting than that of California--which has at length
realized those dreams of El Dorado that beguiled so many an early
adventurer from the comforts and bliss of his fireside, to delude and
destroy him. The marshes of the Orinoco, the Keys of Florida, and the
hills of Mexico cover the bones of many of these original speculators in
the minerals of the Western World. They sought wealth, and found graves.
How many of the modern devotees of Mammon have done better in our newly
opened land of gold?
To explain the causes of the frequent disappointment of these cherished
hopes; to determine the true value of this modern El Dorado; to exhibit
the prominent features of California and its principal cities,
particularly San Francisco, and thus to enable those who still encourage
golden dreams to form a proper estimate of their chances of success,
without submitting to the painful teachings of experience--these have
been the motives which have actuated the author of the present work.
The less to weary the reader, the book has been broken up into chapters,
in which the author proposes to discourse familiarly upon what he has
seen and felt, as he would in a friendly letter, rather than to write a
formal essay or treatise upon California. In pursuing this plan, it is
his intention to confine himself exclusively to facts, and to describe
those facts as clearly as possible, so as to leave no ground for a
conjectural filling up of those outlines which his negligence may have
left vague and indistinct.
In this country, where almost every event that occurs is as momentous
and unaccountable as the wonderful exploits of Habib’s and Aladdin’s
genii, to deal with any thing aside from actual matters of fact, is at
once as silly and profitless a business as that of whistling against the
winds. Yet, in nine-tenths of the descriptions of life and times in
California, truth and facts have been set aside, and the writers,
instead of confining themselves to a faithful delineation of that which
actually exists, have made astonishing and unwarranted drafts upon
their imaginations. Instead of detailing facts, they have written
fictions; instead of making a true record, they have interwoven
falsehoods with the very web of their story. They have chronicled dreams
instead of realities, and have registered vagaries as actual events and
undeniable certainties. But they have themselves been deceived. They
have been duped in listening to the delusive whispers of mischievous
sirens, whose flattering suggestions and plausible stories have had such
a magical influence upon their excited minds, that they have become
accustomed to consider every thought of wealth that occurs to them a
veritable mountain of gold;--that is to say, they have, by some strange
hallucination, been converted to the belief that whatever California
ought to be for their own particular ends and interests, it really is.
In the night-time they have arranged and matured prodigious plans of
profit, and although many days have dawned upon them since, that time
has yet to come which shall reveal to them the utter nothingness of
their nocturnal reveries. But the day will come, and it is fast
approaching, when the spell must be broken. The iron utensils, which
have been transmuted into golden urns and palaces night after night,
shall once and for ever resume their true quality at the approach of
day. The spell-bound shall be freed! The reverie shall be dissipated,
the false wealth analyzed, and resolved into its component parts; and
when these things are done, California will be seen in its true light.
Then the eyes of the people will be opened. The golden haze which has
hung over this land of romantic hopes and deadly disappointments will
then be rolled away, and the clear, naked sunlight of Truth will shine
upon this ugly cheat, revealing it in all its naked deformity to the
eyes of the abused and misinformed public. Then, and not till then, will
the full extent of popular delusion on this topic be known, and this
mighty genie collapse into its original caldron.
The truth is, California has been much overrated and much overdone. She
has been pressed beyond her limits and capacities. Her managers have
been rash, prodigal and incompetent, and they have embarrassed her
beyond hope of relief--though, it must be acknowledged, her condition
was never very hopeful, but, on the contrary, I may say with the poet,
she was only “half made up.” It is plain to be seen that she was never
finished. She has never paid for herself. An overwhelming public debt
now rests upon her shoulders, and she has nothing to show for it. She is
bankrupt. Her resources are being rapidly exhausted, and there is but
lank promise in the future. Her spacious harbors and geographical
position are her true wealth; her gold fields and arid hills are her
poverty. But commodious and safe as are her harbors when once entered,
they are not the easiest nor safest of access in the world, as I shall
hereafter prove by statistics of vessels wrecked upon this coast within
the last six years. And, before I finish, I shall offer other
statistical information of interest and importance relative to the State
at large, in substantiation as well of what I have already said as of
that which I have yet to say. I may remark here that, my curiosity
having led me to collect and prepare these statistics with no little
care and attention, and at no trifling sacrifice of time and means, they
may be relied upon as correct.
A residence of nearly three years, during which time I have traveled
over a wide extent of those parts of the State which are most highly
esteemed for agriculture and minerals, has, I claim, enabled me to
arrive at a pretty accurate estimate of her character and capacities;
and I have no hesitation in avowing it as my candid opinion (and I have
not been a very inattentive observer) that, balancing resource against
defect, and comparing territory with territory, California is the
poorest State in the Union. She has little to recommend her except her
fascinating metal, the acquisition of which, however, in its first or
natural state, seems always to require a greater sacrifice of moral and
physical wealth than a single exchange of it afterwards can possibly
restore. I know it has been published to the world that this country
possesses extraordinary agricultural abilities; but this is an assertion
wholly gratuitous, and not susceptible of demonstration. Taken
altogether, it is no such thing. Some of her valleys are, indeed,
exceedingly fertile; but, when we compare their superficies with the
area of the State, we find they are but as oases in a desert. I
seriously believe that a fair and thorough trial will show that she has
more than three times as much sterile land, in proportion to her
territory, than any of her sister States. On an average, a square rood
of Carolina earth contains as much fertilizing nutriment as an acre of
California soil. Comparatively speaking, she has neither season nor
soil.
No rain falls between the first of April and the middle of November, in
consequence of which the earth becomes so dry and hard that nothing will
grow; and the small amount of grass, weeds, or other vegetation that may
have shot up in the spring, is parched by the scorching sun until it is
rendered as easy of ignition as prepared fuel. The valleys above
mentioned are the only spots exempt from this curse. On the other hand,
from the first of December to the last of March it rains, as a general
thing, so copiously and incessantly, that all out-door avocations must
be suspended; and as there is no mechanical or in-door labor, either of
use or profit, to be performed, the people are subjected to the
disagreeable and expensive task of idling away their time in hotels and
restaurants, at the rate of from two to three dollars per day for board
alone, other expenses being in the same ratio. More of the disadvantages
of this unfortunate inconsistency of the seasons, and of the paucity of
resources of employment here, will be noticed as we proceed. As for the
valleys we have spoken of, they will afford a sufficient supply of
breadstuffs to support sparse settlements, but the average or general
surface of the country is incapable of sustaining a dense population.
If we inquire after the manufacturing and mechanical resources of the
State, we will find that she has none whatever; in this respect she is
as destitute as the aboriginal settlements of America. Nor can she
establish, encourage or maintain these arts, for the reason that she
would be under the necessity of importing, not only the machinery and
raw materials, but also the fuel. She could not, therefore, compete with
neighboring States, which have at least some of these indispensable
requisites. Nor has she any advantages or facilities for either water or
steam power. How, then, can she obtain a reputation for manufactures and
mechanism, having neither the material to work, nor the force or means
to work with? She has neither cotton nor flax, coal nor timber. She is
rich in nothing, and poor in every thing. She has to import every thing
she uses, but has nothing to export, except her gold, which, instead of
being a blessing to her, is a curse. Even the ground she cultivates she
has to inclose with imported fencing wire, not having timber suitable
for railing or paling purposes. That which is esteemed her chief
treasure, dependence and commodity, gold, seems to be the least
subservient to her advancement and prosperity; for, comparatively
speaking, she sends it all away, and retains none for home use or
convenience; and thus it is that she has, in a measure, been a benefit
to others, while she has blindly and foolishly impoverished herself. In
this she has acted upon the principle of the cobbler, whose shoes are
ever tattered, and of the blacksmith, whose horses always go unshod.
But this profuse exportation of gold is significant of another important
fact, while at the same time it demonstrates what I have said above. It
shows conclusively that there is no inducement to invest capital
permanently in this country, either in the prosecution of business or in
the establishment of homes or residences. Immigrants find neither beauty
nor gain to hold them here; and I feel warranted in venturing the
assertion that not more than ten per cent. of the population are
satisfied to remain. Of the other ninety per cent., the bodies only
subsist here--their hearts abide in better climes; and they are
anxiously waiting and wishing for the time when they shall have an
opportunity of releasing themselves from the golden fetters which detain
them, and escaping from a country which, with all its wealth, is to them
a dreary prison. Only a small minority of the few who are lucky enough,
by fair means or foul, to accumulate fortune or competence, are induced
to identify their lives and interests with the country.
But the women are almost unanimous in their determination not to make
California any thing more than a temporary residence; and they have good
reasons for this resolution. Besides the social depravity to which I
shall presently allude, and which is sufficient to shock the
sensibilities of any _man_ of ordinary morality, there are hosts of
minor annoyances, resulting from the climate and the geographical
position of the country, that inflict peculiar pain upon female
sensibilities. The mud, which is often knee-deep, keeps them imprisoned
all the winter; while, in summer, the dust, as fine as flour and as
abundant as earth itself, stifles the inhabitants, fills the houses,
penetrates into every nook and corner, finds its way even into the inner
drawers and chests, soils the wardrobe, spoils the furniture, and
sullies every thing. Besides, California is especially infested with
vermin. Fleas, ants, and all sorts of creeping things are as ubiquitous
as those that tormented Pharaoh and his people, and quite as annoying.
No house is free from them, no one can escape the perpetual martyrdom of
their stings, or the annoyance of their presence. As the ladies are the
special sufferers from these abominable little nuisances, their
unanimous dislike of the country is not at all to be wondered at. In
proof of this unanimity, I can only offer the fact that, in conversation
with quite a number of women who have resided in this State, I have yet
to meet with one who is willing to make it her permanent abode.
We have alluded to the winds, because they really are a peculiar feature
in the meteorology of this State. In the summer time they blow with
peculiar violence, and facilitate the spread of the great fires from
which California has suffered so much.
CHAPTER II.
THE BALANCE-SHEET.
Let us now take a glance at the _pros_ and _cons_ of California in
statistical form. I have said that the State is bankrupt, that she has
never returned an equivalent for the labor and money invested in her,
and that she has been represented to be a great deal more than she is in
reality--all of which I now reiterate, and shall endeavor to
demonstrate. To make out a perfect and complete account-current, or
balance-sheet, exhibiting the State’s entire gains and losses of time,
labor, life, money, etc., would require such a profound knowledge of
financial affairs, and of political economy, that it would puzzle Adam
Smith himself; we will not, therefore, attempt accuracy or exactness,
but, having sufficient data to sustain us in our position, we will
proceed to make it known.
Without charging California with any of the enormous expenses of the
Mexican war, or the check given to the increase of population which that
war occasioned, we will simply make her debtor for the amount of
purchase-money that was paid for her, and for the various sums it has
cost to control, manage and maintain her since. And, to avoid that
complication and multiplicity of entries that would inevitably result
from an introduction of all the individuals, parties or countries that
have had dealings with the State, and as a matter of convenience, we
will assume that there shall be but two parties recognized in the
transaction, one of debit and one of credit--California and the United
States. This will be treating the subject as a matter of dollars and
cents, and will enable us to see how much has been made or lost, as the
case may be, out of this Eureka venture or speculation.
In the first place, then, California is debtor to the United States for
her quota of the amount of purchase-money paid to Mexico for herself and
for New Mexico, including contingent fund absorbed by Mexican claimants,
as per agreement at the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, $10,000,000. In
the next place, let us see how much she is indebted to the United States
for labor. At the present time, her population is estimated at about two
hundred and fifty thousand. It is but little greater now than it was in
1849. In ’51 and ’52 it was larger than it was or has been at any
preceding or subsequent period. It would probably be fair to estimate
the average population at two hundred and fifty thousand for the last
six years; of this number, it is supposed that from thirty to
thirty-five thousand are women and children, who have become residents
of the State within the last three or four years. Admitting, then, that
there are thirty-five thousand women and children, and deducting this
number from two hundred and fifty thousand, we have a balance of two
hundred and fifteen thousand men, whose service for six years, at say
$225 per annum for each man, amounts to $290,230,000. The outfits and
passage of these men--to say nothing of the women and children--cost, at
the lowest calculation, $200 per head; so we find that the expense of
transporting the actual laborers alone has been at least $43,000,000. We
may afford to let this latter amount rest as it is; but when we take
into consideration the fact that the steamers are continually crowded
with persons returning from California, and that their places are filled
by new emigrants, who have to purchase new passage-tickets and new
outfits, it is quite obvious that the figures express much less than the
real amount. The above sums added together constitute the United States’
charge against California. We will add them together, and then compare
the total sum with the amount of gold that has been produced in
California.
Original cost of the country $10,000,000
Labor 290,230,000
Outfits and transportation 43,000,000
-----------
Grand total $343,130,000
Thus we see California is debtor to the United States three hundred and
forty-three millions two hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Now let us
examine the account which California brings as an offset to this amount.
The entire yield of the mines up to the present time, January, 1855, has
been about two hundred and forty-five millions of dollars. And this is
all. We cannot credit her with any thing else that would not be
equipoised or balanced by the capital, whether owned or borrowed,
brought hither from various parts of the world, and invested in business
and improvements, and about which nothing has been said in the bill of
charges. Here, then, is the sum and substance of the whole matter:
The United States account against California. $343,230,000
California’s account against the United States. 245,000,000
----------
Deficit. $98,230,000
And now let us see how much money has been lost in and about California
by casualties, accidents and mismanagement. The reader shall judge
whether any part of the amount should be charged to the State. As for
us, we shall simply feel it our duty to furnish the statistics. In
regard to the expenses of Fremont’s Battalion, of the Army of Occupation
in ’47 and ’48, and of the wars since waged against the
Indians--amounting in all to several millions of dollars, we will say
nothing.
In the annexed table is an account of the various fires that have
occurred throughout the State. It will be perceived that the date of
occurrence and amount of property destroyed are both given.
FIRES IN CALIFORNIA.
Fire in San Francisco, December 24, 1849 $1,000,000
“ “ May 4, 1850 3,500,000
“ “ June 14, 1850 3,000,000
“ “ September 17, 1850 450,000
“ “ December 14, 1850 1,000,000
“ “ May 3, 1851 12,000,000
“ “ June 22, 1851 3,000,000
“ “ November 9, 1852 125,000
“ “ Sundry fires in 1853 265,000
Fire in Sacramento, November 2, 1852 10,000,000
“ Sonora, June 18, 1852 2,500,000
“ “ October 14, 1853 300,000
“ “ November 2, 1853 50,000
“ Stockton, May 6, 1851 3,000,000
“ Marysville, August 30, 1851 500,000
“ “ September 10, 1851 80,000
“ “ November 7, 1852 150,000
“ Shasta, February 8, 1853 225,000
“ Nevada, March 10, 1851 200,000
“ Weaverville, March 7, 1853 125,000
Sundry fires in different parts of the State,
dates unobtainable 4,400,000
----------
$45,870,000
Freshets and inundations, in the Sacramento and San
Joaquin valleys, have swept off or destroyed one
million five hundred thousand dollars worth of
property within the last six years $1,500,000
The following sailing vessels and steamers have been wrecked upon the
coast within the same period:
SAILING VESSELS--SOME WITH CARGOES.
Ship Tonquin--December, 1849 }
“ Crownprincessen--February, 1850 }
“ Utica--July, 1850 }
“ Somerset--December, 1850 }
“ Oxford--July, 1852 }
“ Aberdeen--July, 1853 }$2,300,000
“ Carrier Pigeon--June, 1853 }
“ Eclipse--October, 1853 }
“ Jenny Lind--December, 1853 }
“ San Francisco--February, 1854 }
STEAMERS.
Commodore Preble--May 3, 1850 $ 50,000
Union--July 5, 1851 150,000
Chesapeake--October, 1851 50,000
Sea Gull--January 26, 1852 50,000
Gen. Warren--January 31, 1852 50,000
North America--February 27, 1852 150,000
Pioneer--August 17, 1852 250,000
City of Pittsburg--October 24, 1852 250,000
Independence--February 16, 1853 70,000
Tennessee--March 6, 1853 300,000
S. S. Lewis--April 9, 1853 150,000
Washington--1853 40,000
Commodore Stockton--1852 60,000
Winfield Scott--December 2, 1853 290,000
Sundry steamers and sailers, the names of which have
been misplaced 850,000
---------
$2,760,000
The present public debt of the State--entailed upon the
people by one of the most imbecile and dissolute
legislatures that were ever assembled in an enlightened
country--is three millions of dollars $3,000,000
The debts of the three principal cities are as follows:
The total amount of the indebtedness of San Francisco
is $3,342,000. The debt of the city of Sacramento
amounts to $1,500,000. The entire debt of
the city of Marysville amounts to over $70,000 $4,912,000
-----------
Total $60,342,000
RECAPITULATION.
Fires $45,870,000
Freshets 1,500,000
Shipping 5,060,000
State debt 3,000,000
City debt 4,912,000
-----------
$60,342,000
These figures show the amount of property that has been destroyed, or
the amount of losses that have been sustained in California, by
accidents, mishaps and mismanagement, within the last six years. I will,
moreover, give a list of lives lost by violent measures during the same
period:
Murders 4,200
Suicides 1,400
Insanity, (produced by disappointment and misfortune) 1,700
Wrecked and perished on the way per sailing vessels and
steamers 2,200
Killed by Indians and died of starvation per overland route 1,600
Perished in the mines and mountains of the State for want
of medical attention and food, and by the hands of the
Indians 5,300
------
Total 16,400
It may be urged that the State ought not to be held accountable for any
number of these sixteen thousand four hundred unfortunates, who, for
the lack of law and order in a majority of the cases, lost their lives
by violent means. We leave the question entirely with the reader. It may
also be urged that the State ought not to be charged with any part of
the extraordinary losses by fire and shipwreck, notwithstanding foreign
capitalists were the principal sufferers in both cases. This question we
also submit to the decision of the reader.
But I deem it unnecessary to dwell on this part of my subject. In
presenting the foregoing calculations, it has been my aim to show that
California is a country of unparalleled casualties and catastrophes, and
to direct attention to the immense losses which have been sustained in
opening its mines of wealth. A large number of people, it seems, have
got into the habit of estimating the gains without taking into
consideration the cost or losses at all; and there are those, no doubt,
who will attempt to find fault with the account which I have drawn up
between California and the United States. Though that account is in the
main correct, I admit that slight errors may here and there exist; for,
as I remarked at the outset, the debits and credits are so numerous, and
of such an intricate nature, that it would be impossible to arrive at
the exact amounts without the greatest research and elaboration. If I
have succeeded in undeceiving those who have heretofore regarded
California as an unincumbered God-send, my object has been attained. I
have endeavored to show that, though there has been a great deal of gold
obtained in the country, it is not all clear gain, and that
notwithstanding there are large deposits of pure metal, there are also
huge masses of dross. Shallow enthusiasts have asserted that the United
States would have become bankrupt two or three years ago, had it not
been for the discovery of gold in California. A more preposterous
opinion was never entertained. Equally as much wisdom might be found in
the assertion that Great Britain would have been sold by the sheriff, if
gold had not been discovered in Australia. As a further proof of the
beggarly condition of the country, it may not be amiss to remark that,
during the last session of Congress, the general government appropriated
upwards of four millions of dollars for the relief and benefit of
California; and her senators and representatives are still clamoring for
additional favors.
For the benefit of the reader, and in confirmation of statements made in
this chapter relative to the past and present of California, I give the
following extract from the _Louisville Journal_, to which my attention
has been called since the foregoing calculations and statistics were
prepared.
COST OF CALIFORNIA GOLD.
“For the information of those persons who believe that the United States
thus far have been benefited by the discovery of gold in California, we
propose to submit a few remarks and calculations.
“After the close of the Mexican war and the cession by treaty to us of
Upper California, the world was astonished by the announcement, toward
the close of 1848 or the beginning of 1849, that immense deposits of
gold had been discovered in that country. As soon as the truth of this
report was established, vast numbers of persons, young and old, flocked
to that country. There was a perfect stampede of people from every State
in the Union. Property was sacrificed to raise money with which to reach
this Eldorado, where fortunes for all were supposed to be awaiting the
mere effort to gather them. The first injurious effect on the country
was the sudden withdrawal of so much labor from the channels of
production; it was mainly, too, that description most needed here--that
is, agricultural labor.
“We are not in possession of the statistics requisite to determine with
exactness the number of persons who have been taken from the old States
and have gone to California. The population of that State now exceeds
two hundred thousand. But as there is a constant stream of people
always _in transitu_, either going to or leaving that country, the
number of people withdrawn from the business of productive labor largely
exceeds the population of that State. It is not our purpose to
over-estimate the amount of labor that has been withdrawn from the old
States, but we feel satisfied that it will be under rather than over the
mark to say that from 1849 to 1854, each year inclusive, there has been
an average of 150,000 persons who have been during that time either in
California or on their way going or returning. The time is six years for
150,000 persons, or one year for 900,000 persons.
“Now, if we estimate the average value of this labor at $25 per month
each, or $300 per year, we have ($270,000,000) two hundred and seventy
millions of dollars as the value of the labor taken from the eastern
side of the Rocky Mountains and placed on its western side. In addition
to this, it cost on an average $200 per head as the expenses of the
removal from one country to the other. This makes ($180,000,000) one
hundred and eighty millions of dollars as the cost of removal. The sums
together make the sum total of ($450,000,000) four hundred and fifty
millions of dollars drained from the eastern side of the United States.
To ascertain the amount of the gold obtained from that country, we
propose to take the gold coinage of the mint. This coinage was in--
1849 $ 9,007,761
1850 31,981,738
1851 62,614,492
1852 56,846,187
1853 46,998,945
1854, estimated 42,000,000
------------
Total coinage $249,349,123
“As these figures make the sum total of _all_ the gold coined at the
mint, and a portion of it is known to have been obtained from other
sources than California, the credit will rather be in excess than too
small; but still we propose to add to this amount twenty millions more
as an allowance for unminted gold sold to workers in jewelry and plate
and which has been consumed in the arts. The statement will then stand
thus:
CALIFORNIA, Dr.
To labor and outfits $ 450,000,000
Credit by product of gold coin and nature 269,349,223
------------
Dr. balance $ 180,650,877
“_This shows that there is a balance due us in lost labor and capital of
over one hundred and eighty millions of dollars._
“So far as California is concerned, it is probable that this deficiency
is replaced there by the value of property, real and personal, which the
labor taken from this region of country has produced there.
“The injurious effect of this vast emigration has been felt in the undue
stimulus it has given to the prices of produce, induced by diminished
production and increased demand.
“Another bad effect of this gold crop has been the influence it has
exerted in stimulating excessive importations of foreign goods, In the
last six years the imports will exceed the exports three hundred and
three millions of dollars. Commencing in 1849 with an import trade of
only seven millions of nominal balance against this country, it rapidly
increased, until, in each of the past two years, it has exceeded sixty
millions of dollars.”
CHAPTER III.
SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA.
Having looked into the financial condition of California, let us now
briefly consider the moral and religious state of its society, We know
that we are undertaking an ungrateful and painful task--that we shall
awaken the animosity of those who have an interest in enticing settlers
to this golden region--that we shall provoke contradiction, and probably
excite controversy; but we beseech Heaven to pardon us for speaking the
truth, and challenge our antagonists to disprove our statements.
We cannot, indeed, pretend to disclose all the terrible iniquity of that
society in the compass of a single chapter--the theme is too extensive,
the facts too revolting. It requires space to unfold the scroll which
records such damning facts--it needs time for the mind to become
sufficiently reconciled to the hideous details, to be able to listen to
them without impatience or disgust. We can, at present, do no more than
open the way for a fuller exposition of the subject in subsequent
chapters. Suffice it to say that we know of no country in which there is
so much corruption, villainy, outlawry, intemperance, licentiousness,
and every variety of crime, folly and meanness. Words fail us to express
the shameful depravity and unexampled turpitude of California society.
How much of this is attributable to the metal which attracts the
population, we leave others to determine. One thing, however, is
certain; mining districts do not generally enjoy a very enviable
reputation in any part of the world. Gold, especially, is thought to be
so easily accessible, and the return of the miner’s labor is so
immediately visible, that it has ever attracted the most unthrifty and
dissolute. Men who could not be induced to work at any thing else, will
spend days and weeks delving for the precious bane, hoping against hope,
and laboring with an eager energy which nothing else can excite, and
almost any thing else would more surely reward. Hence, the immediate
neighborhood of a gold-mine is too liable to be a sink for all the
idleness and depravity of the surrounding country. How these evils are
multiplied by the absence of individual proprietorship in the land, and
by the remoteness of a mining district from the beneficial restraints of
public opinion, any one who gives a moment’s consideration to the
subject will perceive.
The exclusive devotion of labor to this one pursuit is another cause of
increased laxity of morals. In the Atlantic States, gold-mining is only
a branch of industry, and not a very important one, compared with the
other pursuits of the population; but in California it is the chief and
almost the only occupation of the inhabitants of the mining districts;
so that while, in the former place, the general virtue of the people
keeps in check the particular vices of the miner, in the latter, the
good intentions of the few are overruled and stifled by the vices of the
many.
We must not, however, commit the mistake of supposing that all the
depravity of California is attributable to the nature of its industrial
pursuits. This is but one of the elements which assist in producing the
deplorable state of affairs under consideration. There are others which
spring from the character of the people, and the circumstances which
have brought them together.
It must be borne in mind that all the adventurers to this country have
come for the express purpose of making money, and that to this end every
other consideration is sacrificed. They have come to “put money in their
purses,” and as a large majority of them are of a class who are rarely
troubled by any qualms of conscience, they are determined to do it at
all hazards. Mammon is their god, and they will worship him.
If it be deemed desirable to make further inquiries into this state of
things, it is only necessary to philosophize a little upon the physical
structure of society. A single glance at it will suffice to convince the
most superficial observer that its ingredients cannot be compounded into
a harmonious, perfect and complete whole. Will a panther from America, a
bear from Europe, a tiger from Asia, and a lion from Africa, organize in
peace and good feeling around the body of a fresh slain deer? If not,
will the Americans, English, French, Germans, Chinese, Indians, Negroes,
and half-breeds, greet each other cordially over a gold mine? These are
problems which those who have leisure may solve as their reason
dictates. In the present case, it is more my province to relate the
condition of things, than to account for their existence; yet, in
preparing statements upon a variety of intricate subjects, owing
sometimes to the difficulty of making one’s self understood, it is both
consistent and proper that, now and then, a few remarks in the way of
explanation should be given.
Another very important cause of this wild excitement, degeneracy,
dissipation, and deplorable condition of affairs, may be found in the
disproportion of the sexes--in the scarcity of women. At present, there
is only about one woman to every ten or twelve men, and the result is
what might be expected. The women are persecuted by the insulting
attentions of the men, and too often fall victims to the arts of their
seducers. Nowhere is the sanctity of the domestic hearth so ruthlessly
violated as in California. For proof of this, we need look no further
than the records of the courts of San Francisco, which show that, in the
course of a single week, no less than ten divorces had been granted,
while, during the same time, only two marriages had been solemnized!
Not long since, an English gentleman, of whom myself and others had
purchased some real estate in this city, came to me, requesting that,
inasmuch as his wife had left him the day before, we would not let her
have any money on his account. After finishing his business
instructions, he gave us the following history. Listen to it. Said he:
“Four years ago, myself and wife, and six other men with their wives,
came together in one vessel to this country. Shortly after our arrival,
family feuds and jealousies became rife in the domestic circle of one of
the parties. The man and his wife separated. Soon their example was
followed by another couple, and another, and so on, until all the
marriage ties of our company were broken, except those that happily
existed between myself and wife. Left alone thus, and having been true
to each other so long, and through so many opposing circumstances, I
cherished the hope that we might remain together, and be true to the
end. But, alas! my fond thoughts and anticipations have proved a sickly
dream. My hopes have been blasted, my happiness wrecked, and my children
disgraced and deserted. My wife, whom I loved and held dearer than all
else on earth, the partner of my life, has been basely seduced. The last
link that bound the remnant of our seven families together has been
severed, and the consequence is, we are a disbanded and disreputable
people. Cursed be the day and the incentive that started me to this
damnable country!” These were his own words, almost verbatim; and he
uttered them as if partly speaking to himself, and partly addressing me.
The total disregard of the marriage tie by the majority of the men of
California puts the husband, who is foolish enough to take his wife with
him to that county, in a painful and embarrassing position. Should the
wife be pretty, she is the more liable to the persecution of attentions
which will shock her if she be virtuous, and flatter her into sin if she
is not. She is surrounded at once by hosts of men, who spare neither
money, time, nor art to win her affections from her husband. What wonder
if they often succeed?
Female virtue or chastity, in the conventional sense of the word, is
known to every one, who is familiar with the internal history of
society, to be a very complex idea. There are women who are chaste only
for want of the opportunity to be otherwise. There are others who are
kept chaste by the force of public opinion, the dread of exposure, and
the general fear of consequences; while a third class preserve their
persons untainted by an innate purity of soul, which shrinks
instinctively from all indelicacy, and feels contaminated by an unclean
thought, and degraded by a lustful look. It is not our business to
inquire into the relative proportion of women embraced in these three
classes. It is enough to know that they exist, to appreciate the effect
which the society of California will exert upon them.
As for the first class, it is not necessary to speak of them. They
fulfil their shameful destiny every where, and California only ripens
their depravity a little earlier. It is the second class who suffer
chiefly from the peculiar moral atmosphere of the land of gold. In the
Atlantic States, hedged in by a healthy public opinion, guarded by
jealous laws, flattered into chastity by the respectful attentions which
that virtue ever commands, they might retain to their dying day that
physical purity which satisfies the great majority of husbands. In
California, however, these restraints are all removed. Public opinion
arrays itself on the side of vice; the laws are powerless to punish the
sins of impurity; and all the attentions the women receive are based
upon the hope of their ultimate fall. How are such women to resist? Cut
loose at once from all those restraints which kept them in the right
way, will they not dart off into the devious paths of error and of sin?
It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and the man who would keep
faithful to himself a wife of this type in California, must have wealth
enough to gratify her most extravagant whims, time to devote exclusively
to watching her, eyes keener than those of Argus, and cunning sharper
than that of Vidocq.
The third class--of whom, I regret to say, I have met with but few in
the Eureka State--have also peculiar trials to undergo. Society in that
country is a reproduction, on a large scale, of the morals of the courts
of Charles II of England and Louis XV of France. Vice only is esteemed
and lauded, virtue is treated as an idle dream, an insulting pretence of
superiority, or a stupid folly beneath the notice of men of sense.
People do not believe in it--they scorn it, they insult it; they
consider it a mere avaricious attempt to dispose of venal charms above
their market value, so that the chaste woman has not only to suffer the
persecution of insulting proposals, but the doubt of that virtue which
repels her pursuers, and the sneers and scandal of a depraved and
debased community.
Many women, of conceded respectability in California, seem to have come
out there for the exclusive purpose of selling their charms to the
highest bidder. Others, of more honest hearts, have fallen victims to
the peculiar seductions of the place, but I must be allowed to pay a
tribute to the sex, even in this its degenerate condition. Paradoxical
as the statement may sound, it is rigorously true that these very women
have improved the morals of the community. Any one who, like myself, has
had the opportunity of seeing California before and after the advent of
these women, must have been struck with the decided improvement in
society since their arrival. They have undoubtedly banished much
barbarism, softened many hard hearts, and given a gentleness to the men
which they did not possess before. What, then, might we not expect from
an influx of the chaste wives and tender mothers that bless our other
sea-board?
CHAPTER IV.
SAN FRANCISCO.
We will now pay our respects to the occidental metropolis of the United
States, sometimes honored with the title of the Queen City of the
Pacific.
It has not been more truthfully remarked that Paris is France, than that
San Francisco is California. This is the grand mart in which all the
travel, news, capital, business, and, in fact, every species of interest
or employment that belongs to the State is concentrated--the nucleus
around which every plan and project must first be developed before it
can receive life, vigor, system and order. It is the fountain-head of
all the tributaries of trade and traffic that flow through the
State--the great trestle-board or chart of operations to which all the
journeymen repair for designs and instructions to pursue their labors.
It is the supreme tribunal and regulator of affairs--the heart, the
life, and the stay of the State. Contrary to the general rule, in this
case the city supports the country, instead of the country nurturing and
sustaining the city; and this will continue to be the case so long as
the country is under the necessity of importing whatever she requires
for use. Until she becomes the producer of the bulk or major part of
that which she consumes, San Francisco will retain this ascendency.
Every important movement, whether of a public, private, political or
commercial character, receives its impetus from this point; and owing to
its advantageous geographical position, and the facilities and
accommodation offered for shipping, I think it may be safely said that
San Francisco will be a great city, although California can never become
a great State.
In order to particularize a little, and to furnish the reader with a
more systematic idea of the city, we will imagine ourselves in a vessel,
some distance at sea, approaching the coast of California in about the
lat. of 37° 45´ N. and lon. 122° 25´ W. This will bring us to the Golden
Gate, the entrance to the harbor. This entrance is a narrow outlet,
through which at least seven-eighths of the entire waters of the State
find their way into the Pacific ocean. It can be so thoroughly fortified
that no maritime expedition could ever force its way through it.
Passing through the Gate, we enter the bay, and find it to be one of the
largest and finest in the world, dotted with several small islands, and
abounding in excellent fish of every variety. Soon we arrive at Long
Wharf; the steamer is run alongside, and we are in the Eldorado of
modern times. Around us we behold an innumerable crowd of eager
lookers-on, who have come down from the city to meet their wives,
lovers, fathers, mothers, sisters, or brothers, as the case may be. The
crowd is probably one of the most motley and heterogeneous that ever
occupied space. It is composed of specimens of humanity from almost
every clime and nation upon the habitable globe. Citizens from every
State in the Union, North and South, Americans, French, English, Irish,
Scotch, Germans, Dutch, Danes, Swedes, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians,
Russians, Poles, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, Hindoos, Sandwich Islanders,
New Zealanders, Indians, Africans, and hybrids--all stand before us. We
see all grades and conditions, all ages and sexes, all colors and
costumes, in short, a complete human menagerie.
By the sides of the wharves, and anchored in different parts of the
commodious and noble bay, we see magnificent ships, barks and brigs from
every nation of commercial note. But of all these majestic palaces of
the deep, none are equal in beauty of design and finish, in grace,
symmetry and elegance, or in excellence of quality, to our own American
clippers. Thinking that it might be of interest to some of my readers,
as a specimen of American marine or naval nomenclature, I have taken the
pains to collect a majority of the names of these oaken chariots of old
Neptune that have from time to time entered the Golden Gate, freighted
with merchandise from Atlantic ports. Some of the names are truly
appropriate and poetic. Ten of them, as will be seen, have, as a prefix,
the word “Golden.” I have arranged them in the subjoined list in
alphabetical order:
Antelope,
Archer,
Atalanta,
Aurora,
Bald Eagle,
Belle of Baltimore,
Celestial,
Challenge,
Champion,
Climax,
Comet,
Contest,
Courser,
Dancing Feather,
Dashing Wave,
Dauntless,
Defiance,
Don Quixotte,
Eclipse,
Empress of the Seas,
Eureka,
Fearless,
Flying Arrow,
Flying Childers,
Flying Cloud,
Flying Dragon,
Flying Dutchman,
Flying Eagle,
Flying Fish,
Game Cock,
Gazelle,
Gem of the Ocean,
Golden Age,
Golden City,
Golden Eagle,
Golden Fleece,
Golden Gate,
Golden Light,
Golden Racer,
Golden Rule,
Golden State,
Golden West,
Gray Eagle,
Gray Feather,
Gray Hound,
Herald of the Morning,
Highflyer,
Hornet,
Honqua,
Hurricane,
Ino,
Invincible,
John Gilpin,
King Fisher,
Mystery,
National Eagle,
Neptune’s Car,
Northern Crown,
Ocean Pearl,
Ocean Spray,
Olive Branch,
Onward,
Oriental,
Orion,
Pampero,
Peerless,
Phantom,
Queen of Clippers,
Queen of the Pacific,
Queen of the Seas,
Rattler,
Raven,
Red Rover,
Reindeer,
Ring Leader,
Rip Van Winkle,
Rover’s Bride,
Sea Serpent,
Seaman’s Bride,
Shooting Star,
Simoon,
Light Foot,
Living Age,
Mandarin,
Matchless,
Messenger,
Meteor,
Monsoon,
Morning Light,
Mountain Wave,
Sirocco,
Skylark,
Snowsquall,
Southern Cross,
Spitfire,
Stag Hound,
Storm King,
Sun Beam,
Surprise,
Sword Fish,
Siren,
Tam O’Shanter,
Telegraph,
Tinqua,
Tornado,
Trade Wind,
Typhoon,
Viking,
Waterwitch,
Western Star,
Westward Ho!
West Wind,
Whirlwind,
White Squall,
White Swallow,
Wide Awake,
Wild Duck,
Wild Pigeon,
Wild Ranger,
Winged Racer,
Wings of the Morning,
Witch of the Wave,
Witchcraft,
Wizard,
Zoe.
Leaving the vicinity of the shipping, we wend our way towards the heart
of the city. As we proceed, we observe many objects of interest that
deserve more attention than we can bestow upon them at this time.
Degradation, profligacy and vice confront us at every step. Men are
passing to and fro with haggard visages and heads declined, muttering to
themselves, and looking as hungry and ferocious as the prowling beasts
of an Asiatic jungle. Before us on either side, we see a group of boys,
clad in slouched hats, dirty shirts, ragged pants, and shabby shoes,
without socks, who have no regular business. Sometimes they sell
newspapers in the morning, and in the middle of the day engage in
various occupations, as, for instance, in peddling fruits, nuts and
toys. At this time several of them seem to have met by chance, and they
have stopped to discuss the times and the progress of events. If we were
near enough, we should probably hear the right hand party criticising
Madame Anna Thillon’s last performance of the opera of La Somnambula, or
of the Daughter of the Regiment; and those on the left giving their
opinions upon the merits of Madame Anna Bishop’s last oratorio or ballad
concert. After disposing of all the actors and actresses in music,
opera, pantomime, tragedy and comedy, or, perhaps, after bragging of the
successes of certain amours or other youthful depravities, they rally
together, and entering the nearest groggery, one calls for a brandy
smash, another for a whiskey punch, a third for a gin cocktail, and so
on, until all are served. Then, bowing to each other, they drink to the
prosperity of Young America, to which school they all belong; and
dashing their glasses upon the counter with as hideous and vociferous
anathemas as ever passed the lips of an East India pirate, they
separate, segar in mouth, and return to their respective avocations. Not
unfrequently these vicious youths repeat their potations so often that
they become thoroughly inebriated, and may be seen quarreling, fighting,
and lying about the streets like hardened and inveterate topers.
The bales and stacks of hay and straw piled upon some of the wharves,
deserve a passing glance, since they form the sleeping apartments of
dozens of penniless vagabonds who are always wandering about the city in
idleness and misery, and have no other place to rest, no bed to sleep
upon, except these out-door packages of provender, into which they creep
for shelter and slumber during the long hours of the night.
Continuing our perambulations in a westerly direction, we find ourselves
at the foot of Commercial street, which runs almost due east and west
through the centre of the city. This street we will pass up, paying
attention as we proceed to some of the irregularities and peculiarities
which distinguish San Francisco from other cities, and California from
other countries. The first houses we see are from one to two stories in
height, and are built of red wood, a very light combustible kind of
timber that resembles the spruce or cedar. Oregon produces nearly all
the building materials out of which these and most other houses and
tenements in California are constructed; and I have been credibly
informed that the red wood and fir trees in that territory grow from two
hundred and fifty to three hundred feet high, and proportionally thick.
In some of the remote and comparatively inaccessible parts of California
these varieties of timber are also found, and are said to acquire the
same gigantic bulk.
Most of the buildings in this part of the street are tenanted by those
mysterious and avaricious characters whose arrival in this, as well as
in other places, is always as inexplicable as that of the flies in
summer, and whose exit is equally as unceremonious as that of the
swallows in winter--no one knowing whence they came or whither they
go--the Jews, those nomades of civilization. These erratic and
money-loving descendants of the ancient biblical patriarchs seem to
follow in the wake of all adventurous Christians and gentiles who wear
those convenient articles of apparel denominated ready-made clothes.
Preferring to travel the way after it is once opened, they are seldom
known as the pioneers of a new country; and claiming to be conservative
in their principles and opposed to aggression, they profess
disinclination to encroach upon foreign territory; but after the battles
are fought with the forest, the wild beasts, or the biped enemy, and
peace and security established, they are ever ready to come in and
partake of whatever advantages may have been attained. So it has been in
California, so it is yet, and so it will always be here and every where
else, with these homeless and migratory people.
They do not employ any of their time or means in advancing the permanent
and substantial interests of the country. None of them engage in any
sort of manual labor, except, perhaps, that which is of the most trivial
and unmanly nature, such, for instance, as the manufacturing of jewelry
and haberdashery. Mining, the cultivation of the soil, in a word, any
occupation that requires exposure to the weather, is too fatiguing and
intolerable for them. The law requiring man to get bread by the sweat of
his brow, is an injunction with which they refuse to comply. It is a tax
they are unwilling to pay--an enigma beyond their comprehension--they
will not sweat. Dealing in ready-made clothing appears to be their
peculiar forte; and this is about the only thing they follow in San
Francisco--as I think it may be said to be their principal pursuit
wherever they go, when they have not the means to set themselves up as
pawn-brokers or note-shavers.
We observe that they have presumptuously usurped or occupied from four
to six feet of the way on either side of the street, by building little
wooden racks and projections in front of their stores, for the purpose
of making a more conspicuous display of their marketable vestments in
dry weather. In any other place than California such unjust
appropriations of the streets of a city would not be tolerated; but
here, where usurpation, illegality and confusion reign supreme, no
attention is paid to it.
It has ever been the misfortune of the Jew to undergo the scorn and
contumely of self-styled Christians, and indeed of all nations. Since
the destruction of his ancient capital by the Romans, he has been an
outcast in the world, the standing butt of the Gentile’s scoffs.
California is no exception to this general rule. But little respect is
shown him there; and he is continually jeered by having applied to him
such annoying epithets as Christ-killer, ham-hater and anti-pork-eater.
But few of them have signs over their doors, as most men have who
transact business upon their honor and reputation. Some of them buy and
sell under assumed names; but in general their business is anonymously
conducted. Bidding adieu to the cosmopolitan issue of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, and leaving them in the peaceable possession and enjoyment of
their “too or tree towsand monnies,” we will take a glance at matters of
more importance.
Higher up the street we come to a better class of buildings than the
miserable little shops we have just left, and we get a fair view of the
permanent and attractive architecture of San Francisco--the brick and
stone structures. Many of these buildings are beautifully designed and
symmetrically proportioned, and have fire-proof walls varying from
sixteen to twenty-four inches in thickness. They are usually from two to
four stories in height. One hotel is five stories high, being the
tallest house in the State.
Probably no city in this country can boast of buildings so substantial
and thoroughly fire-proof as those of San Francisco. Besides making the
walls very thick, every care is taken to have the doors, window-shutters
and roofs equally stout and incombustible; nor is this precaution at all
surprising, when it is remembered that this city alone has lost more
than twenty-five millions of dollars by fire.
Owing to the unusual dryness of the weather, the prevalence of winds in
summer, and the inadequate supply of water possessed by the city, all
combustible matter is rendered so inflammable that it is quite
impossible to keep it from burning after fire is once communicated;
hence the necessity of using brick and stone instead of wood. The amount
of money invested in this durable kind of improvement, as will be seen
by reference to the following statistics which I borrow from the Herald,
is something over thirteen and a half millions of dollars--the number of
buildings being six hundred and thirty-eight:
No. of buildings. Value.
Mason street 4 $ 35,000
Powell street 13 156,500
Stockton street 35 423,500
Dupont street 37 450,000
Kearny street 23 535,000
Montgomery street 55 3,500,000
Sansome street 46 1,036,000
Battery street 63 1,106,000
Front street 39 612,000
Davis street 3 85,000
Geary street 2 16,000
Sutter street 3 30,000
Bush street 5 144,000
Pine street 9 144,500
California street 47 1,230,750
Sacramento street 52 778,000
Commercial street 21 462,000
Clay street 28 593,000
Merchant street 15 348,500
Washington street 37 608,500
Jackson street 19 308,000
Pacific street 7 107,000
Broadway 10 145,000
Vallejo street 3 36,000
Green street 2 16,000
Union street 6 92,000
Greenwich street 3 35,000
Lombard street 2 12,000
Chestnut street 2 20,000
Francisco street 1 36,000
Market street 2 40,000
First street 5 76,000
Brannan street 10 50,000
Third street 4 44,500
Miscellaneous 55 307,000
--- -----------
Total 638 $13,618,750
It is a remarkable fact, however, that less than half of these
improvements have been made with California gold. Ask the proprietors
where they got the money which they have expended in the erection of
these buildings, and they will tell you it came from the Atlantic States
and from Europe. Those who occupy them, the merchants and business men
from New York, London, Paris, Hamburg, Bremen, and other places, will
testify to this fact. California gold is to the world much what Southern
cotton is to the North; it is not retained at home to supply the wants
of the people, to afford them employment, to enrich or embellish the
country, but is passed into distant hands, and afterwards brought back
at a premium. Thus the producers are continually drained, and the
commonwealth necessarily impoverished by this unthrifty management.
These buildings are erected upon the most eligible and convenient sites,
and form what is properly termed the business portion of the
city--covering, probably, about one-sixth of its superficies. Almost
all of the residences or private dwellings are built of wood, and are
very frail and inelegant. It is the intention, however, of a large
number of the citizens to take down the wood and substitute brick or
stone, as soon as they get able, if that is ever to be the case.
To acquaint ourselves with the character of the speculators and business
men in San Francisco would be a curious and interesting task. They are
certainly the shrewdest rascals in the world, and a straight-forward,
honest man, who acts upon principle and adheres to a legitimate system
of dealing, can no more cope with them than he can fly. But
notwithstanding their shrewdness, and I might say, in some instances,
their excellent business qualifications, they exhibit less method and
system in their transactions than any class of traders I ever saw.
Whatever they do is done in a helter-skelter, topsy-turvy sort of way,
as if they had just fallen out of their element, and were scrambling to
get back again. They never take time to do a thing well, but are always
going and coming, or bustling about in such a manner, that one would
suppose they were making preparations for some calamitous emergency,
rather than attending to the every day routine of an established
occupation.
This restless disposition is characteristic of the inhabitants of every
part of the State; the mind seems all the time to be intently engaged
upon something in another place, and the body is always pushing forward
to overtake it.
Pursuing this digression a little further, it may be remarked of San
Francisco that, although she is indebted to California for her
existence, she is no longer dependent upon the State for her support.
San Francisco can now claim to be as much the city of the Pacific, or of
the world, as of California. The commercial advantages she enjoys, her
inviting harbor and central position, are far superior in importance to
any benefit she is likely to receive from the interior. The profits she
will gain from the whale-fishing fleet of the North Pacific, and from
her trade with the islands of the South Pacific, with China, Oregon and
Russian America, will place her in a more prominent and enviable
position than it is possible for the State ever to attain.
Returning to our subject, we find ourselves as far advanced on our way
as Montgomery street. The course of this street lies north and south
through the middle of the most beautiful and wealthy part of the city;
it is, therefore, both the Broadway and the Wall street of San
Francisco. Every phase and trait of life and character is cognizable
here. The dramatist who would study human nature here, would have an
opportunity of striking out something new, instead of repeating the old
creations of his predecessors, for surely never was there so varied a
page spread out before the eyes of man.
While in this vicinity, we may observe men, who in the Atlantic States
bore unblemished reputations for probity and honor, sinking into the
lowest depths of shame and degradation. Others, whose moral characters
are unobjectionable, have been pecuniarily unfortunate, and are driven
to the necessity of engaging in the most menial and humiliating
employments. Among the latter class, I might mention lawyers, who, to
save themselves from the severe pangs of actual want, have been
compelled to fish around the wharves for crabs, and to enlist themselves
in the petty traffic of shrimps and tomcods. Ministers and physicians
fare no better. In a certain hotel in this city, not long since, a
lawyer was employed as a regular runner; in another, adjacent to it, a
physician was engaged to pare potatoes and wash dishes; while in a
neighboring restaurant, a preacher was hired to wait upon the customers
and clean off the tables. Now, does not every reasonable man know that
these professional men did not voluntarily follow these inferior
pursuits? It was not a matter of choice with them. They could not help
themselves; they were out of money, out of employment, destitute of
friends, and were compelled to take advantage of the first opportunity
that offered of earning their daily bread. Half the lowest and most
servile situations or offices in this and other cities in the State are
filled, often without any other remuneration, than board and lodging,
by these unlucky and depressed adventurers.
New as the country is, the dandy, that exquisite flower of a finished
civilization, is not unknown. He may be seen at any time sunning his
external splendor on the side-walk, and scorning his more useful
cotemporaries as loftily as though, he were promenading Broadway or the
Champs Elysees.
Together with bankers, stock-jobbers, and other moneyed men, we observe
that the students or disciples of Blackstone, Coke and Story have
selected this street for their offices. Considering the heterogeneous
composition of society in this country, the loose and unsystematic
transactions of every-day business, and the unsettled state of public
affairs, it will be readily perceived that there is an incessant
clashing of feeling and interest, and that the result is a great deal of
strife and litigation. Disputes and difficulties relative to real
property, and spurious or imaginary claims, keep the court dockets
continually crowded; and the lawyers have rich and abundant
opportunities for the exercise of their forensic abilities.
For the first two or three years after the settlement of California by
the Americans, all attempts to organize or establish the civil law
proved fruitless; and during this anarchical period no redress could be
had, except by an appeal to lynch-law, in which case death was sure to
be the fate of the criminal. Then the country had no practitioners of
law, except those whose talents ranked far below mediocrity; but now the
San Francisco bar can boast of some of the most profound and eminent
jurists in the Union. It is probable that they have been more fortunate
in accumulating wealth, than any other class of men. Much of their
business has been of such a nature that they could mould it almost
exclusively to their own interest, provided they felt inclined to take
such an advantage of their clients; and every body knows it would be a
very unlawful thing in a lawyer to neglect himself. They are the largest
owners of real estate in the city, and there is no species of property
that yields so great a profit as this, if properly managed.
Land titles are now as much contested as they ever were, there being in
some instances as many as half a dozen claimants to a single lot. The
squatters cause most of these troubles. Generally poor, and homeless,
they settle upon any vacant or unoccupied piece of ground that suits
them; and as there is a numerous body linked together for mutual support
and protection, it is an extremely difficult matter for the
half-sustained civil authorities to remove them. If the law were
sufficiently forcible--if there were any such thing in California as
sovereign law, these intruders would be brought to justice, and instead
of the broils and butchery now so common all over the country, peace,
safety and good order would exist. But as it is, no dependence can be
placed upon the administration of justice; and unless a man takes the
law in his own hands, and defends his person and property _vi et armis_,
he must tamely submit to whatever injury or indignity is offered him.
Sometimes several squatters settle indiscriminately upon a single claim;
and in these cases, feuds, animosities and contentions are sure to
follow; but the difficulties are soon arranged by a recourse to weapons,
it being generally conceded that he is the rightful owner or claimant,
who happens to possess the largest bowie-knife and the truest aim with
rifle or revolver.
The grog-shops or tippling-houses constitute the last but not the least
prominent feature of Montgomery street that we will notice at the
present time. The devil has certainly met with more than usual success
in establishing so many of these, his recruiting officers, in this
region; for we cannot visit any part of the state or city without
finding them always at our elbow. San Francisco might allot one to every
street corner in the city, or in other words, four to every intersection
of the streets, and still her number would not be exhausted. It is
astonishing what an amount of time, labor and money is misspent in this
nefarious traffic. Out of the two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants
in California, from twelve to fifteen thousand are exclusively engaged
in this diabolical, but lucrative business; and, what is worse than all,
nearly one-fourth of the bars are attended by young females, of the most
dissolute and abandoned character, who use every device to entice and
mislead the youthful and unsuspecting. Women being somewhat of a novelty
here, their saloons are always thronged with customers, many being
induced to patronize them merely for the sake of looking at them. What a
base prostitution of their destiny and mission! Woman has come here, not
only to pander to man’s vitiated appetites, but also to create and
foster in him unholier desires, and, if possible, to lead him further
astray than he would have gone without her.
Lest we should fall in love with one of these sirens, we will not go
near them, but will enter one of the saloons kept by a biped of our own
sex. Across the street is a large and fashionable one, called the Blue
Wing,
“Where politicians most do congregate,
To let their tongues tang arguments of State.”
Adding ourselves to the number of its inmates, we find the governor of
the State seated by a table, surrounded by judges of the supreme and
superior courts, sipping sherry cobblers, smoking segars, and reveling
in all the delights of an anticipated debauch. Another group of less
distinction in public affairs, but better known to the proprietor
because of their more frequent and protracted visits, occupy a second
table in the back part of the room, where they are playing cards and
carousing over a general assortment of distilled, fermented and malt
liquors. The proprietor himself is a red-nosed, jolly fellow, of
burgomaster proportions, generally in a good humor, who treats his
victim-patrons with the utmost courtesy and politeness. He is every
man’s man, and always has a smile and a smart saying prepared for the
entertainment of the bystanders. His two clerks, for he is unable to
wait upon all his customers himself, are equally urbane in their
deportment, and may be found at their posts from six o’clock in the
morning till twelve o’clock at night, ready to flavor and tincture mixed
drinks, to prepare hot punches, and to deal out low anecdote to vulgar
idlers. On the shelves and counters are dozens of labeled decanters and
bottles, filled with the choicest liquors and artificial beverages that
the world produces; other articles of similar use and value are also
kept for sale, and stored away in their appropriate places. As a minute
survey of the bill of fare may not be uninteresting, I herewith present
it:--
BILL OF FARE OF A CALIFORNIA GROGGERY.
Bowie Knives and Pistols.
Scotch Ale,
English Porter,
American Brandy,
Irish Whiskey,
Holland Gin,
Jamaica Rum,
French Claret,
Spanish Sack,
German Hockamore,
Persian Sherbet,
Portuguese Port,
Brazilian Arrack,
Swiss Absynthe,
East India Acids,
Spirit Stews and Toddies,
Lager Beer,
New Cider,
Soda Waters,
Mineral Drinks,
Ginger Pop,
Usquebaugh,
Sangaree,
Perkin,
Mead,
Metheglin,
Eggnog,
Capilliare,
Kirschwassen,
Cognac,
Rhenish Wine,
Sauterne,
Malaga,
Muscatel,
Burgundy,
Haut Bersæ,
Champagne,
Maraschino,
Tafia,
Negus,
Tog,
Shambro,
Fisca,
Virginia,
Knickerbocker,
Snifter,
Exchange,
Poker,
Agent,
Floater,
I O U,
Smasher,
Curacoa,
Ratafia,
Tokay,
Calcavalla,
Alcohol,
Cordials,
Syrups,
Stingo,
Hot Grog,
Mint Juleps,
Gin Sling,
Brick Tops,
Sherry Cobblers,
Queen Charlottes,
Mountaineers,
Brandy Smashes,
Whiskey Punch,
Cherry Bounce,
Shamperone,
Drizzles,
Our Own,
Red Light,
Hairs,
Horns,
Whistler,
White Lion,
Settler,
Peach and Honey,
Whiskey Skin,
Old Sea Dog,
Peg and Whistle,
Eye Opener,
Apple Dam,
Flip Flap,
One-eyed Joe,
Cooler,
Cocktails,
Tom and Jerry,
Moral Suasion,
Jewett’s Fancy,
Ne Plus Ultra,
Citronella Jam,
Silver Spout,
Veto,
Deacon,
Ching Ching,
Sergeant,
Stone Wall,
Rooster Tail,
Vox Populi,
Tug and Try,
Segars and Tobacco.
The annual consumption of beer, wines and liquors in this State exceeds
five millions of gallons, a vast deal of which is retailed at
extraordinarily remunerative rates. All of the first class
establishments, I mean those that deal in good qualities, charge
twenty-five cents for every drink or dram they sell; but an adulterated
article, of which there is always an abundant supply in market, can be
procured at about one half that price. In some of the most popular and
respectable saloons, genuine articles are always kept on hand for the
benefit and accommodation of those who are willing to pay for a
delicious (?) draught. I may not be a competent judge, but this much I
will say, that I have seen purer liquors, better segars, finer tobacco,
truer guns and pistols, larger dirks and bowie knives, and prettier
courtezans here, than in any other place I have ever visited; and it is
my unbiased opinion that California can and does furnish the best bad
things that are obtainable in America.
CHAPTER V.
SAN FRANCISCO--CONTINUED.
We will now look into Clay street, which intersects Montgomery, and runs
parallel with Commercial. Next to Montgomery, this is the most
fashionable street in the city; the large establishments where retailers
deal in ladies’ and gentlemen’s dress goods being situated upon it. The
side-walks are narrow, and generally crowded to such an excess as to
render it really difficult and tiresome to travel them. To the ladies,
shopping on this street is especially annoying and tedious; for they are
designedly balked or hindered in their course by a set of well-dressed
vagabonds, who promenade the _trestoir_ from morning to night for the
sole purpose of staring in their faces.
The following little circumstance, which occurred here about a year ago,
will show that, however culpable it may be in those who make a regular
business of gazing intently in ladies’ faces, the act is sometimes
induced by a natural and inoffensive regard for the opposite sex. A very
clever married lady, whose notions and ideas of things were somewhat
akin to those of the Merry Wives of Windsor, espied a gentleman gazing
very earnestly in her face, when she turned to him, notwithstanding they
were both on the street, and asked, “Why do you stare at me so hard,
sir? Have I done you any injury?” “Oh! no, madam,” replied he; “I assure
you you have not harmed me in the least. But pardon me; I have been in
the mines for the last two years, and it has been so long since I saw a
lady, that I must own my admiration of you has compelled me to be
somewhat rude in my scrutiny of your charms.” The lady was satisfied
with the complimentary explanation, and since that time has been more
resigned to her fate, and better contented to endure the steady stare of
the public.
The gambling-houses cannot be overlooked in a true sketch of life in San
Francisco. One of the largest and most frequented of these, called the
Diana, stands a few doors above us. The building extends, through the
entire block, from Clay to Commercial street, and has a front
proportionate to its depth. The doors, which lead into it from either
street, are kept wide open from nine in the morning till twelve at
night, during which time the hall or saloon is generally filled to
overflowing with lazy men, of little principle, whose chief employment
consists in devising some sinister plans of procuring a livelihood
without work. On one side is a bar, attended by a _lady_, assisted by
three young white men and two negroes. This is largely patronized by the
occupants of the saloon--one-fifth of them drinking because they have
been lucky, and the other four-fifths drinking because they have been
unlucky. Around the walls are suspended showy paintings and engravings,
some of them of the size of life, representing nude women in every
imaginable posture of obscenity and indecency.
Seated around numerous tables, covered with cloth or velvet, and
finished expressly for gambling purposes, are some rare specimens of
greedy speculators in the folly of their fellow-men. The proprietor of
the house rents his tables to professional gamblers at a stipulated sum
per month, with the condition that he is to receive a certain per
centage on the net proceeds of their swindling operations. Usually, two
gamblers form a copartnership, hire one table, and station themselves
opposite each other, so that each can understand every manœuvre and
secret sign of the other; and when a good opportunity for cheating or
defrauding presents itself to one of them, the other is always prepared
to divert the attention of the audience or of the interested party from
his partner’s motions. Every possible variety of gaming that can be
accomplished by cards and dice is practiced here; and every false and
dishonest trick is resorted to (often with more than anticipated
success) to fleece ignorant men of their purses. Lying on the top of
each table is a pile of gold and silver coin, denominated the bank, the
size and amount of which, as a matter of course, depend altogether upon
the wealth of the proprietors. I have said “the bank” is composed of
gold and silver coin; it must be one or other, or both of these metals
in some shape--whether in dust, ingots, bullion, or coin; for these
constitute the sole recognized currency of the State, there being no
paper money or bank-notes in circulation.
At one of the tables we observe two proprietors, as before described.
One of them is a lank, cadaverous fellow, with a repulsive expression of
low cunning, full of hypocrisy and deceit, taciturn in disposition,
unengaging in manners, who was formerly a Baptist preacher in
Connecticut. The other has a vinous, fat, and jolly countenance, is
open-faced, enjoys a joke, is lively, laughs at his partner for being so
melancholy, is affable and courteous to strangers, talks a great deal,
as might be expected, since, before he came to California, he was
considered one of the most promising young lawyers in Mississippi.
The proprietors of another table are two old gentlemen of “three score
years and ten,” whose white hairs and wrinkled brows would seem to
belong to a more honorable station in life than that assigned them by
destiny. A third table is used by a couple of Spaniards, whose scowling
brows and treacherous eyes indicate that they are better qualified for
the transaction of infamous and atrocious deeds, than for fair dealing
or magnanimous behaviour. A Jew and Jewess have command of the fourth
table; the fifth is under the direction and management of a French
_gentleman_ and _lady_; a young American girl and her paramour have
charge of the sixth; while the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and so on,
are presided over by sundry sorts of wicked spirits, unworthy of being
named. Octogenarians, youthful and middle-aged men, married and
unmarried women, boys and girls, white and black, brown and
copper-colored, the quarrelsome and the peaceable, all associate
together; and, at times, as might be expected, fight, maim, and kill
each other with the same indifference with which people generally pursue
their daily occupations.
I neglected to mention before, that, in some conspicuous point of the
principal houses of this character, there is generally erected a stage
or platform, upon which a company of musicians perform at intervals of a
quarter of an hour. This they are employed to do for the purpose of
enticing unsuspecting strangers and passers-by.
Like those engaged in the liquor traffic, these gamblers are a public
nuisance, a burden upon society. They do no sort of profitable manual or
mental labor; yet the community grants them a license to abuse the
public, and to debase themselves. Their occupation being a
discreditable and dishonorable one, it robs them of that degree of
happiness and respectability which naturally belongs to every
industrious and upright man. Like a deadly contagion, they blast and
destroy all with whom they come in contact.
Thousands of these swindlers live by their expertness in gambling and
tricks of legerdemain. Dissipated, reckless, and restless, they rove
from place to place, rarely acquiring decent habits or becoming
permanent citizens. They are, nevertheless, great lovers and admirers of
women; and most of them make it a special branch of their business to
cultivate a due share of female acquaintance. But we will now bid adieu
to the blacklegs, and return again to the street, merely stopping a
minute or two, as we pass out, to listen to the enchanting strains of
“Katy Darling,” or “Lilly Dale,” played by the brass band in attendance.
What is here called the plaza, or park, which occupies one square
between Washington, Clay, Kearney and Brenham streets, now lies before
us; but as it is nothing more nor less than a cow-pen, inclosed with
unplaned plank, we will say but little about it. In the middle is
planted a tall liberty-poll, near which is erected a rude rostrum for
lynch-lawyers and noisy politicians. If there is a tree, or a bush, or a
shrub, or a sprig of grass, or any thing else in or about it that is
green, or that bears the slightest similitude to vegetation, nobody has
ever yet seen it; and, as a pleasure-ground, it is used only by the
four-footed denizens of the city. On the east side of this delectable
public square is the California Exchange, before the steps of which are
stationed from fifteen to twenty French peasants, who pursue no business
save that of blacking boots. Most of them have acquired or adopted this
ornamental occupation since they left La Belle France.
A few doors above the Exchange stands the City Hall, which was formerly
the Jenny Lind Theatre--a very neat stone structure, but wholly unsuited
for the purpose to which it is now applied. The parties who built it for
a theatre soon ascertained that it was a bad speculation, and became
considerably involved in debt; and, to save themselves, and make the
best of a bad bargain, they bribed a majority of the aldermen to
purchase it for a City Hall, at several thousand dollars above the
original cost.
In this way a monstrous swindle was perpetrated upon the community, by
fraudulently appropriating the public money to the use and benefit of
private individuals. But the fraud could not be remedied; the city
officers had been elected as the representatives of the citizens, whose
rights and powers had been vested in them, and if they were so base as
to prove recreant to their trust, the penalty had to be paid by their
constituents. They consummated their corrupt bargain for the theatre,
the properties were removed, and, after the expenditure of much time,
labor, and money, in making alterations and additions, the building was
converted into what now stands before us--the City Hall of San
Francisco. The principals in this iniquitous transaction enriched
themselves and their accomplices at the expense of the city treasury,
suffering nothing except the denunciations and execrations of an abused
and outraged public. This is a fair sample of the disposition that is
made of the public funds throughout the State. Sheriffs, treasurers, and
tax-collectors, in the majority of cases, are expected to decamp with
all the money in their hands, or to embezzle a part of it; and it has
passed into a proverb, that no _honest_ man can be elected to a city,
county, or state office in California.
Were we to remain an hour or two in this vicinity, we should probably
see a police officer rolling “a perpetual hymn to the Deity” on a
wheelbarrow--for that, we believe, is Poe’s euphemism for a woman.
Intoxication is quite common among the ladies of this particular section
of San Francisco, and the wheelbarrow, or some other vehicle, must be
employed to convey them to the station-house, on account of the total
failure of their natural organs of locomotion.
On the north side of the Plaza are some of the best French
eating-houses in the State. One of them, the _Cafe du Commerce_, which,
translated into English, means Commercial Coffee-house, is quite famous
for its choice gastronomy. A better dinner can be procured here than in
an American house, because the French are better cooks, cleaner in their
culinary arrangements and preparations, more polite and attentive to
their guests, and less accustomed to adulterating their provisions.
Dinner, without wine, costs two dollars for each person; but with it,
from three to five dollars, according to quality and quantity consumed.
The stranger cannot promise himself any thing very sumptuous or
delicious in the way of eatables, even in the first-class hotels. He can
get good wines and liquors, prime cigars and tobacco, and other
accessory articles of superior quality; but the fare at best is very
indifferent.
All the more substantial articles of food, such as flour, meal, beef,
pork, and butter, are imported from Europe or brought from the Atlantic
States. As these provisions are sent around by Cape Horn, they must pass
twice through the tropics before they arrive in San Francisco;
consequently, most of them become more or less sour, musty, or rancid,
which, as we all know, renders them not only repugnant to the palate,
but also injurious to health. But, notwithstanding their transportation
of from seventeen to twenty thousand miles upon the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans, old or fresh, sound or unsound, they must be sold,
served up, cooked, eaten. They cannot be wasted or thrown away, for that
would be a losing business, and people did not come to California to
lose money, but to make it; nor does it matter to them whether they make
it by the sale of sweet flour or by the vending of putrid meats.
Sour flour is sold at reduced prices to the bakers, who mix it with a
larger quantity--say twice as much--of that which is sweet; then it is
manufactured into bread, delivered to the restaurants, and devoured by
the populace. The flour put up by the Gallego and Haxall mills, of
Richmond, Virginia, receives less damage in its transit through the
torrid zone than any other--at least, this is the reputation it enjoys
in California, those brands being more highly prized and more eagerly
sought after by bakers and consumers. Next to the Richmond, the
Fredericksburg and Georgetown flour is most in demand. How it is that
the flour manufactured in the localities just named, or in the vicinity
of those localities, retains its pure and primitive qualities better and
longer than that produced at the North, which, with few exceptions,
spoils on the way, I am unable to say--unless, perhaps, the latitude or
climate imparts to it a healthier condition or a preservative
principle.
Within the last one or two years, considerable quantities of the
cerealia have been cultivated in the low lands and valleys of this
State, and a few flouring mills have been erected, which are now in
operation; but the proprietors mix their grists so much with rye and
barley, that the flour is less marketable than it would be if it was
ground out of genuine wheat. To give character to their spurious
compound, they practice a double imposition, by packing it in empty
Gallego and Haxall barrels, which are clandestinely purchased and kept
in readiness for the purpose. Thus they steal the reputation of the
Virginia brands; and, by placing their falsely-labeled, inferior flour
in the hands of their rascally agents, they succeed in effecting large
sales of it to those who are not particular in their examinations.
Though the fraud is easily detected when the barrels are opened, there
is no chance of obtaining redress; for, in most cases, these deceptions
are carried out in such an indirect or complicated way, through factors
and agents, that it is too difficult a matter to trace them to their
source. If, however, the guilty parties are discovered, it amounts to
nothing; because here, where the laws are so loosely and imperfectly
administered, where all strong persons do as they please, and weak ones
must do as they can, it costs more to adjust a wrong than it does to
endure it.
This system of cheating and adulteration is carried out in all
ramifications of business; and if a man is not continually upon the
alert, he is sure to suffer the penalty of his negligence, by having a
worse thing than he bargained for thrust upon him, and that, too,
without redress.
To return from our digression: although the French are somewhat more
philosophic and scientific in their preparation of viands, we perceive
no material difference between their mode of living and our own. They
eat more slowly, are more graceful in their deportment at table, and
seem to enjoy their meals as a feast, rather than to devour them as a
necessary repast. Wine is their principal drink, morning, noon and
night; and dinner to them, without it, would be as insipid and
unpalatable as breakfast to our American grand-mothers without coffee.
After the main part of the meal is finished, it is customary with them
to sip a small cup of strong coffee, as a sort of accompaniment to their
dessert. This, however, they do not flavor with cream, as we do, but use
Cognac, burnt with sugar, instead. It is an unusual thing for them to
drink water at any time, except when mixed with wine. I have the
pleasure of the acquaintance of a very worthy and estimable French
gentleman, who assured me that he had taken but one drink of crude water
in four years, “and then,” he added, “it make me sick.”
CHAPTER VI.
SAN FRANCISCO--CONCLUDED.
After a night’s lodging in one of the human-stables of San Francisco,
called here, for politeness’ sake, hotels, we feel sufficiently
refreshed to continue our reconnoissance of the city. It will probably
be as well for us to retrace our steps to the south side of the Plaza,
where we re-enter Clay street, and ascend the long, high hill that forms
the western boundary of the city. Before proceeding far, we come to a
pistol gallery, on the left, owned and conducted by one Dr. Natchez, a
short, thick-set “son of thunder,” who keeps on hand the best assortment
of dueling apparatus that the world affords. The proprietor’s real
cognomen is, I think, Brown, Smith or Jones; but every body calls him
Natchez, because he came from the town of that name in Mississippi. He
knows all about guns, pistols, and ammunition; is an excellent shot--can
hit a bull’s eye or a man’s eye every time he pulls a trigger; and never
fails to vindicate his honor when it is assailed. In the opinion of the
duelist, he is emphatically an honor-saving man; and in matters of
personal difficulty and dispute, there is no one so capable of giving
suitable advice, or so well prepared to supply the necessary instruments
of polite slaughter, as Dr. Natchez.
Among the fiery spirits of this Western Metropolis, the slightest
affront, even though it may be purely accidental, is considered a wound
to dignity curable only by an application of Colt’s revolver to the
breast of the transgressor; and as Dr. Natchez enjoys the reputation of
preparing the best remedies for wounded honor, all those afflicted with
the disorder apply to him for relief. Laying before him their ailments
and grievances, he will at once say _the cause must be removed_; the
offending party is waited upon with a challenge, which is accepted; and
the Doctor, with commendable impartiality, superintends the preparation
of the weapons for both parties.
Passing on towards the summit of the hill before us, we soon arrive at
an elevation from which we have a clear and uninterrupted view of the
whole city, which contains, it is supposed, from forty-five to fifty
thousand inhabitants--about one-fifth of the entire population of the
State. The original water-boundary of the city, on the east, was in the
form of a crescent; but, the bay being shallow in this particular part,
its shape has been changed, by filling it in with sand from the adjacent
hills. Owing to the steep declivities of the original site of the city,
this encroachment was demanded and effected by those engaged in
commercial pursuits, who wanted level ground. The land thus made, being
the most eligibly situated and convenient to the wharves, is far more
valuable than that of natural formation. At first, however, heavy losses
were sustained, in consequence of the insecure foundations of most of
the buildings, some of which gave way entirely, and had to be
reconstructed. Now, however, they understand it better, and take special
care to pile and plank the foundation thoroughly before the
superstructure is erected.
The process of filling up these water-lots was very irregular; and, as
the work advanced, several ponds of water, which afterwards became
stagnant, were cut off by these means from the ocean. In other places,
the tide receded from the shallow parts of the bay, and from the surface
thus left bare, as well as from the ponds last mentioned, there arose
large quantities of highly offensive and almost suffocating gas, which
obliterated all the painted signs in the immediate vicinity. Strange to
say, the effluvium exhaled from these foul ponds and marshy places did
not produce disease. The wind blew it off or counteracted its
insalubrious effects.
Viewing the city from our present elevated position, we look in vain for
any verdure. Indeed, there is not a shade-tree in San Francisco. Nor,
if we search the outskirts of the city, can we find either trees,
coppice, vegetation, or any green thing whereon to feast the eyes. The
earth all around us is as sterile and unproductive as a public highway.
We feel a void, as though a friend were absent. Nature wears a repulsive
and haggard expression. Oh! how few there are amongst us who duly
appreciate trees, those noble earth-fingers that point to heaven and
uplift the mind to God! According to my judgment, there is a greater
combination of the beautiful and the useful in a forest oak or hickory,
than in all the gay exotics which are so carefully reared by the
florist. I entertain no doubt that a large, luxuriant elm would attract
more attention in San Francisco than a menagerie or circus; and it is a
wonder that some ingenious and speculative Yankee has not, ere this,
manufactured one out of soft pine and dyed muslin for public exhibition.
As an instance of the feeling that exists here on account of the lack of
trees, I may cite the exclamation of a distinguished gentleman with whom
I once had the honor to dine. Said he, (his wife at the time being in
North Carolina,) “I long for the society of trees almost as much as I do
for that of my wife; and if she and a big oak could now be placed side
by side within my reach, I scarcely know which of the two I should
embrace first!”
Many other natural and artificial deficiencies and peculiarities, for
which San Francisco is famous, might, with propriety, be considered
before we quit our high retreat; but we will now conclude our panoramic
sketch, and descend into the more densely settled part of the city.
CHAPTER VII.
THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA.
The national habits and traits of Chinese character, to which they cling
with uncompromising tenacity in this country, are strikingly anomalous
and distinct from those of all other nations. There is a marked identity
about their features, person, manners and costume, so unmistakable that
it betrays their nationality in a moment. So stereotyped are even the
features and form of this singular people, that we cannot fail in their
identity in the rudest cut that pretends to represent them. Particular
fashions and modes of dress give them no concern whatever. One common
rule seems to guide them in all their personal decorations. All their
garments look as if they were made after the same pattern, out of the
same material, and from the same piece of cloth. In short, the
similarity in their garb, features, physical proportions and deportment
is so great that one Chinaman looks almost exactly like another, but
very unlike anybody else.
Let us now place ourselves in front of one of these xanthous children of
the flowery land, and survey him somewhat minutely. Every one is
acquainted with his method of dressing his head, which is closely
shaven, except a small spot on the crown, about the size of the palm of
the hand. Into this slender lock of hair thus permitted to grow upon the
apex of his cranium, he interweaves long strands of sable silk, which
form a cue that nearly reaches the ground. His hat, which possesses a
brim of enormous width, is manufactured out of ratan or bamboo splints,
and has an indentation made in the top expressly for the accommodation
of his cue. He very seldom, however, wears this appendage tucked up in
his hat, but generally allows it to trail about his back and legs, as
young girls sometimes do ribbons. This pig-tail he loves as he does his
life; and he would as willingly have his right arm amputated as part
with it. Notwithstanding he carries it behind him, it is his
character--the badge of his respectability; and Boodh or Josh alone
could prevail upon him to cut it off. His coat, which is fashioned very
much like a pea-jacket, is made of crow-colored cotton cloth, of flimsy
texture, and buttons loosely around him as low down as convenience will
permit. His pantaloons, the legs of which are a trifle smaller than a
medium-sized meal-bag, are composed of the same stuff as his coat, and
terminate at about the middle of his shins. His shoes or sandals--minus
socks, for he never wears any--are hewn out of solid wood, and taper
towards the toe nearly to a sharp point. As he moves along before us in
these uncouth habiliments--his feet inclosed in rude wooden shoes, his
legs bare, his breeches loosely flapping against his knees, his
skirtless, long-sleeved, big-bodied pea-jacket, hanging in large folds
around his waist, his broad-brimmed chapeau rocking carelessly on his
head, and his cue suspended and gently sweeping about his back--I can
compare him to nothing so appropriately as to a tadpole walking upon
stilts! Ludicrous and absurd as this comparison may appear to some, no
one who has seen him will say that it is incorrectly applied. Such,
then, is something of the outline of the Chinaman; and, with but few
exceptions, may be considered as illustrative of the entire race as seen
in California. The few exceptions are the mandarins, who robe themselves
in long figured gowns, and some of the wealthier classes, who wear silk
and satin goods, instead of cotton fabrics. But the description given
above will suit at least nine out of every ten.
According to the most reliable estimates, there are at the present time
about forty thousand Chinese in California; and every vessel that
arrives from the Celestial Empire brings additional immigrants. From a
fourth to a fifth of these reside in San Francisco; the balance are
scattered about over various parts of the State--mostly in the mines. A
few females--say one to every twelve or fifteen males--are among the
number; among these good morals are unknown, they have no regard
whatever for chastity or virtue. You would be puzzled to distinguish the
women from the men, so inconsiderable are the differences in dress and
figure. The only apparent difference is, that they are of smaller
stature and have smoother features. They are not generally neat in their
outward habit; but on certain occasions, particularly on holidays, the
_elite_ doff their every-day costume, equip themselves in clean attire,
and braid their hair into a kind of crest, which, as it is worn upon the
head, bears a strong resemblance to the tuft of feathers upon the noddle
of a peacock. Those who are from the extreme northern parts of the
Chinese empire, are the ugliest and most rugged featured human beings I
ever saw.
What the majority of them do for a livelihood is more than I can tell,
as they have but few visible occupations. The laundry business affords
those who live in San Francisco, and other cities, the most steady and
lucrative employment; and in passing their premises, the eye is often
attracted to such “Celestial” signs as the following: “Kum Kee. Washer.”
“Ahi Fe. Launder.” “Wong Cho. Washing and Ironing--$3 per Doz.” Catching
and drying fish is another business in which they engage, but do not
carry it on extensively; others are engaged in mercantile pursuits; and
here and there you will find one in a public house, filling the place of
a cook or a waiter. But, though most of them are held as mere slaves by
their wealthier countrymen, it goes desperately against the grain with
them to take the situation of servants among white people, as they are
constitutionally haughty and conceited, and believe themselves to be
superior to us in all respects. So exalted an opinion have they of
themselves that they think they are the most central, civilized and
enlightened people on earth, and that they are the especial favorites of
heaven--hence they are sometimes called “Celestials.” They look upon us
and all other white-skinned nations as “outside barbarians,” and think
we are unduly presumptuous if we do not pay them homage! Out of the
cities, more of them are engaged in mining than in any other occupation;
but, as I intimated before, the majority of them lead a very inactive
and unproductive life. Much physical exertion, however, is not required
to secure them a maintenance; for their aliment, if possible, costs them
less than their dress, which is by no means expensive. Indeed, so
sparing are they in their meals, that it is seldom they eat any thing
but boiled rice; and even this, which they bring with them from China,
is very inferior to that raised in the Carolinas. It is an amusing
spectacle to see one of them feeding on this grain. Holding a bowl of
the rice in such a manner that the nearer edge of it almost touches his
chin, and grasping two chopsticks, about the shape and size of
penholders, between his fingers and thumb, he feeds himself with a
lively and dexterous motion of the hand, not very unlike a musician
playing upon a jewsharp, and continues the feat without intermission
until he has finished. He seems to cram the food down his throat with
these chopsticks, rather than let it undergo the usual process of
mastication. The ardor and haste with which he executes the performance,
remind one of a provident farmer when he pitches new-made sheaves of
provender into a hay-mow, just previous to a thunder-storm.
The Americans salute them all indiscriminately by the easy and
euphonious appellation of “John,” to which they reply as readily as if
they were addressed by their true names; and they return the compliment
by applying the same term to us, equally indiscriminately. A great
number of them think “John” is the only name white people have; and if
they have occasion to speak to an American or European woman, they call
her “John,” too! But their own vernacular cognomens, like their language
and habits, sound certainly very odd to occidental ears. The following
may be taken as fair specimens: Kak Chow, Chum Fi, Yah Wah, Si Ta, Hom
Fong, Dack Mung, Gee Foo. They are deplorably addicted to wasting time
in games of chance; and there are a dozen and a half gambling houses in
San Francisco under their especial control and direction. But neither
Americans nor Europeans participate in the sports or fortunes of their
tables; they themselves are the exclusive gamblers in these eighteen
dens of rascality. Their money is chiefly composed of brass and copper
coins, stamped with the characters of their alphabet. Hardened rice and
stamped slices of pasteboard are also current among them as mediums of
exchange.
Is this Chinese immigration desirable? I think not; and, contrary to the
expressed opinions of many of the public prints throughout the country,
contend that it ought not to be encouraged. It is not desirable, because
it is not useful; or, if useful at all, it is so only to themselves--not
to us. No reciprocal or mutual benefits are conferred. In what capacity
do they contribute to the advancement of American interests? Are they
engaged in any thing that adds to the general wealth and importance of
the country? Will they discard their clannish prepossessions, assimilate
with us, buy of us, and respect us? Are they not so full of duplicity,
prevarication and pagan prejudices, and so enervated and lazy, that it
is impossible for them to make true or estimable citizens? I wish their
advocates would answer me these questions; if they will do it
satisfactorily, I will interrogate them no further. Under the existing
laws of our government, they, as well as all other foreigners, are
permitted to work the mines in California as long as they please, and as
much as they please, without paying any thing for the privilege, except
a small tax to the State. Even this has but recently been imposed, and
half the time is either evaded or neglected. The general government,
though it has sacrificed so much blood and treasure in acquiring
California, is now so liberal that it refuses to enact a law imposing a
tax upon foreign miners; and, as a matter of course, it receives no
revenue whatever from this source. But the Chinese are more
objectionable than other foreigners, because they refuse to have dealing
or intercourse with us; consequently, there is no chance of making any
thing of them, either in the way of trade or labor. They are ready to
take all they can get from us, but are not willing to give any thing in
return. They did not aid in the acquisition or settlement of California,
and they do not intend to make it their future home. They will not
become permanent citizens, nor identify their lives and interests with
the country. They neither build nor buy, nor invest capital in any way
that conduces to the advantage of any one but themselves. They have
thousands of good-for-nothing gewgaws and worthless articles of _virtu_
for sale, and our people are foolish enough to buy them; but their
knowledge of the laws of reciprocity is so limited, that they never feel
in any need of American commodities.
Though they hold themselves aloof from us, contemn and disdain us, they
have guaranteed to them the same privileges that we enjoy; and are
allowed to exhaust the mines that should be reserved for us and our
posterity--that is, if they are worth reserving at all. Their places
could and should be filled with worthier immigrants--Europeans, who
would take the oath of allegiance to the country, work both for
themselves and for the commonwealth, fraternize with us, and, finally,
become a part of us. All things considered, I cannot perceive what more
right or business these semi-barbarians have in California than flocks
of blackbirds have in a wheatfield; for, as the birds carry off the
wheat without leaving any thing of value behind, so do the Confucians
gather the gold, and take it away with them to China, without
compensation to us who opened the way to it.
Still they are received with a flattering welcome. They are taken by the
hand with an obsequious grasp, as if their favor was earnestly desired;
and the impression is at once made upon their minds, that not only their
own presence, but also that of as many more of their kindred as can be
persuaded to come, is coveted by us. Their mining implements and boots
(the only articles of merchandise they purchase from us) are sold to
them at even less rates than to our own countrymen, more from curiosity
than from any other cause. For some unaccountable reason, they are
treated with a degree of deference and civility which is really
surprising. To humor their arrogance and presumption, I have frequently
seen Americans, in crowded places, relinquish the side-walk to them, and
betake themselves to the middle of a rough and muddy street. Moreover,
they are petted as if they were really what they preposterously fancy
themselves--the most elevated and exalted of the human race.
But I am inclined to look upon them as an inauspicious element of
society--a seed of political dissensions. They have neither the strength
of body nor the power of mind to cope with us in the common affairs of
life; and as it seems to be a universal law that the stronger shall rule
the weaker, it will be required of them, ere long, to do one of two
things, namely--either to succumb, to serve us, or to quit the country.
Which will they do? Our people will not always treat them with undue
complaisance. Their real merits and demerits will be developed, and such
stations as their natural endowments qualify them to fill will be
assigned them. They must work for themselves, or we will make them work
for us. No inferior race of men can exist in these United States
without becoming subordinate to the will of the Anglo-Americans, or
foregoing many of the necessaries and comforts of life. They must either
be our equals or our dependents. It is so with the negroes in the South;
it is so with the Irish in the North; it was so with the Indians in New
England; and it will be so with the Chinese in California. The Indians,
it is true, would not submit to be enslaved; but they had to suffer
exile, hunger and death as a consequence of their intractability.
Certain it is, that the greater the diversity of colors and qualities of
men, the greater will be the strife and conflict of feeling. One party
will gain the ascendency, and dominate over the other. Our population
was already too heterogeneous before the Chinese came; but now another
adventitious ingredient has been added; and I should not wonder at all,
if the copper of the Pacific yet becomes as great a subject of discord
and dissension as the ebony of the Atlantic. However, the discussion and
consideration of these matters more properly devolve upon our public
functionaries, who, I presume, if loyal to their constituents and their
country, will not lightly regard them.
CHAPTER VIII.
CURSORY VIEWS.
California has features as distinct and peculiar as the Alps or the
Andes. It cannot be mistaken for any other country; it is like no other
region on the face of the earth. Being new, and in some respects
untried, the most various conjectures, and the most opposite opinions
have been expressed as to its future fortunes and ultimate destiny. A
few who have been successful in their schemes and undertakings, and
whose interests and existence are now blended with it, flatter
themselves that it is destined to become a great and flourishing state;
while, on the other hand, the great majority, who have been disappointed
in all their expectations, and thwarted in every attempt, pronounce it
an unmitigated cheat, and curse it bitterly as the cause of their ruin.
My own opinions are, I imagine, by this time pretty well understood. I
speak of the country as I have seen it, not as a mere passing traveler,
but as an attentive observer. I emigrated to it as much in search of
adventure as of profit; and, during the three years of my residence
within its borders, have had ample opportunities to explore and
scrutinize it as I desired. I am fully satisfied with my information
upon this subject. I have seen all of it that is worth seeing, and a
great deal besides. I crave no further knowledge of it than I now
possess.
While there is any unoccupied land between the British boundaries of
Maine and the Mexican limits of Texas, between the Florida Reefs and the
Falls of St. Anthony, I would not advise any person to emigrate to
California for the purpose of bettering his worldly condition. I have,
indeed, no personal knowledge of the other divisions of land west of the
Rocky Mountains; yet an acquaintance with gentlemen of character and
veracity who have visited those sections, justifies the opinion that
none of them abound in those elements of exuberant and permanent
greatness so characteristic of the States east of the Rio Grande and the
Mississippi. Oregon and Washington territories, Utah and New Mexico are
tolerable countries, and, in some respects, superior to California; but
owing to the general inferiority of their natural advantages, they can
never become as powerful or important States as Louisiana or New York,
Georgia or Illinois. The Pacific side of the continent is, as a general
thing, far inferior to the Atlantic slope.
In my judgment, the present condition and future prospects of
California, so far from offering inducements for additional immigration,
actually portend much poverty and suffering. The very fact that
thousands of men, some of whom have been in the country from three to
four years, are working for nothing but their board, is of itself
justifiable ground for this apprehension. More than a dozen stout,
sober, able-bodied men, who asked nothing in compensation for their
services but food, have applied to me for employment in a single day. I
have elsewhere remarked that many of the most menial and humiliating
situations about hotels, stores and private residences are filled by
these ill-fated men, who, if they had the means, would be glad to shake
off the dust of California from their feet, and return to the homes of
their youth, where peace, plenty and happiness are attainable by all.
Misery and despair go to bed with them at night, rise with them in the
morning and accompany them throughout the day; they have been grossly
deceived; “hope told them a flattering tale,” and broke her lying
promise; their hearts are sick with unrelenting and consuming sorrows.
Strangers among strangers, they have no friend to soothe or assist them
in the hour of misfortune; if they hunger, they must fast; if sickness
overtake them, death is their remedy. Depressed in spirits, and driven
to desperation by bitter and repeated calamities, they betake themselves
to the bottle for solace, become insane from extreme anxiety or
over-activity of the mind, or else, with bullet, knife, or poison, put
a summary end to their wretched lives. Such is the history of many a man
who has perished in that land of gold.
They left their homes flushed with hope; those near and dear to them
imprinted the last kiss upon their cheeks, and bade them adieu with
heavy hearts and tearful eyes, but found consolation in the hope that
they would soon return. Those who escaped the many dangers of the
various routes and reached their destination, wrote back to their
friends immediately upon their arrival that all was well. The news was
received with ecstasy; heaven was thanked for their deliverance from the
perils of the trip; the neighbors were informed of the health and safety
of the adventurers; and for a few weeks all things promised well. In a
month or so another letter was anxiously looked for, but did not make
its appearance; then fears began to be entertained, and the unwelcome
thought would occasionally flash through the mind that all was not well.
Nor was it. Month after month slowly and gloomily passed away, without
bringing any tidings of the poor deluded wanderers; and it has now been
so long since they were heard from, that it is easier to reckon the time
by years than by months. Still their fate is wrapt in mystery which is
no more likely to be unraveled than is the fate of the President and her
crew. All that can be concluded is, that they lie some where within the
confines of California, with no monument to reveal the place of their
final slumber.
The immigration to California has been too much like the rush of an
excited and impatient audience into a theatre, when it is known that a
favorite actor is about to perform. There has been too much scrambling,
too much crowding and pushing. Every body has heard that gold is
scattered over her hills and mountains; thousands covet it, and are
foolish enough to suppose that any body can get it. Without taking a
calm and deliberate view of the subject--without balancing both sides,
or counting the cost, they have suddenly abandoned their homes, and
rushed in disorder to the land over which hovered their visions of
wealth. They imagined that they had discovered the secret of fortune,
and, in their enthusiasm, immediately set out to realize their dreams.
They discovered, alas! too late, that their emigration was ill-timed and
unprofitable, that they had exchanged a good situation for a bad one,
and that immense sacrifices must be made before they could replace
themselves in their former position.
No country can ever become truly great, unless it possesses abundant
agricultural resources; and as California is deficient in this as well
as in other respects, it is absurd to suppose that she will attract
attention longer than her mines pay for working. The banks of the
rivers, and the localities in the San Jose, Sacramento, and San Joaquin
valleys, form exceptions to this general sterility. There the ground is
low and moist, or easily irrigated, the soil is extremely fertile, and
produces vegetables, which, for size and powers of multiplication, have
probably never been equaled. These spots, however, are little more, in
comparison with the area of the State, than are the roads of a county to
the county itself; and they cannot, therefore, be depended upon to
supply the wants and necessities of the whole country, should it ever be
thickly settled throughout--an event which, for the very reason I have
mentioned above, I do not believe will ever take place. These valleys
and the banks of the rivers seem to have become the receptacle of nearly
all the virtue of the surrounding surface of the country. As a few
specimens of the vegetable monstrosities, the productions of these
fertile spots, that have come under my notice, I may mention a beet that
weighed forty-seven pounds; a cabbage, thirty-two pounds; a turnip,
twenty-six pounds; an Irish potato, seven pounds; and a water-melon,
sixty-four pounds. Onions, lettuce, radishes, and other horticultural
productions, also grow to an enormous size. Irish potatoes, however, I
believe, are the most prolific crop that can be planted. Indian corn is
cultivated to but little if any advantage. All of the arable parts of
the State are now settled; and farmers who go thither hereafter will
either have to return, or abandon altogether the idea of cultivating the
soil; for it will be impossible for them to make a subsistence out of
the sterile hills of the upland.
That millions of dollars worth of gold have been taken from the mines,
and that there is a vast amount still remaining, no one pretends to
deny; but then it does not exist in the quantity that is generally
supposed. There is nothing more uncertain, as a business, than gold
mining in California. It is, indeed, like a lottery--more blanks than
prizes; and as every man has to take his chances, he must not feel too
much disappointed if his luck leaves him with the majority. A few make
themselves independently rich, and go home with flying colors; but where
one does it, there are forty or fifty, at least, who, though equally
sober, industrious and deserving, do not make more than their support,
and very frequently not even that.
Half the stories afloat concerning “wealthy returned Californians” are
exaggerated beyond the power of tongue to describe. A case or two in
point:--A young man from the West, who had been mining between two and
three years, and with whom I had become acquainted, started home on a
certain occasion, with about one hundred and sixty dollars over and
above his expenses. In speaking of his friends, I asked him what he was
going to tell them when he got home. “Oh!” says he, “I shall not admit
that I have made so little; for, if I do, they’ll accuse me of having
been indolent, of gambling, of drinking, or some other disreputable
thing that I have never been guilty of; so I’ll give out that I have
made twelve or fifteen thousand dollars; and about the time I shall have
got them all in a good humor, I’ll take an excursion down to New
Orleans, and thence to South America, where I am determined hereafter to
seek my fortune.” Thus, although he was honorable, and not addicted to
habits of dissipation, he had not the nerve to tell the real truth of
his own success. This shows how easily these exaggerated rumors are set
agoing, and public ignorance imposed upon. The further people live from
California, the more credulous are they of golden legends; and I am
persuaded that the young man above alluded to had no difficulty in
making his neighbors in the West believe he was worth whatever amount he
chose to tell them he had made. Extravagant as this story may sound, it
is not without a parallel. A man, who had accumulated from three to four
thousand dollars, returned on a visit to his friends in the East; and,
to test the credulity of the people, he put out the report that he had
made five hundred thousand dollars. His story was received by the
gaping neighbors without a doubt; and all at once our adventurer found
himself the invited guest of nabobs who never knew him before he went to
California, though they had seen him hundreds of times. I cannot close
these remarks without offering a word of advice to the marriageable
ladies. If you seek a rich husband, do not form a matrimonial alliance
with an El Dorado Crœsus; for, in nine cases out of ten, a “wealthy
Californian” is a poor man.
Admitting all that is claimed for California in regard to her mineral
wealth, it affords no reason why every body should rush thither; nor is
it any argument that it will ever become the land of promise which an
enthusiastic imagination may picture. It is already a pandemonium; and
it does not clearly appear how it can become an elysium.
The benefit of mines of the precious metals to the country in which they
are found, is still an open question. The weight of authority is against
them. The history of Mexico and Peru, in this hemisphere, as well as the
new chapter which California is opening, cannot be quoted in their
favor. It seems to be decreed that, the more oblique the route by which
gold is reached, the greater is its value; while the more directly it is
acquired, the more mischievous is it to the morals and the material
wealth of a nation. If, as Joseph Bonaparte so happily remarked, “gold,
in its last analysis, is the sweat of the poor and the blood of the
brave,” the more of these ingredients contribute to produce it, the
richer is the result. The concurrent testimony of all ages proves that
those nations who obtain their wealth by the indirect methods of
agriculture, manufactures and commerce, are more happy and more
prosperous than those who dig their treasures directly from the earth.
This result is partly brought about by the great diversity of
occupations which spring up in such a state of society, and give
employment to all classes of the community: whereas, in a mining region,
rich only in the precious metals, the resources of labor are fewer, and
its tasks less diversified. The moral effect of sudden riches must also
be taken into consideration. Few men can gaze undazzled at the splendor
of a large fortune: and the more rapidly they acquire it, the more
likely are they to grow dizzy in its contemplation. It seems to require
time for a man to become habituated to the sight of wealth, in order to
enable him to enjoy it with ease or dignity.
We cannot, therefore, conclude that the mere presence of gold is
sufficient to advance California to a high position among her sister
commonwealths. She produces the circulating medium of the country, it is
true: and the intrinsic value of that medium causes the world to
overlook the cost of its acquisition. We have endeavored, however, to
set people right on that subject in the chapter entitled “The
Balance-Sheet,” and shall not repeat what was there said.
We will not urge any complaint against the climate; for, in this
respect, all classes and conditions of men can be suited, whether from
the burning regions of Central Africa, or from the snow-capped mountains
of Russian America. Along the southern line of the State it is
oppressively hot, and, as a matter of course, is somewhat enervating;
but in the north and north-east, among the mountains, it is extremely
cold; and snow, to the depth of from two to ten feet, is found there as
late as August. Large quantities of this snow are brought down to the
cities, a distance of more than two hundred miles, by teamsters, and
sold as a substitute for ice. The northern and southern sections of the
State are, as yet, but little inhabited or known, except by the natives,
who, like all other North American Indians, are ignorant of any thing
beyond the limits of their own hunting-ground. In the middle or central
parts of the State, the climate, as a general thing, is delightful, and,
withal, highly invigorating and salubrious. Around San Francisco,
particularly, during the winter season, when it does not rain, the
weather is unusually mild and pleasant; and I have often heard it
compared to the climate of Italy. It is not so agreeable in summer,
because the dust and winds prevail to such a decree, throughout the dry
season, as to become a source of extreme discomfort. The main objection
I have to the California climate, as stated in a previous chapter, is
the division of the seasons into six months of dry weather, which burns
and scorches the earth so severely that nothing will vegetate; and six
months of wet weather, during which time the rain falls so hard and so
fast, that it is quite impossible to perform out-door labor. These two
seasons are general--that is, they affect the entire State; but the
temperature of the atmosphere varies very much, according to locality.
In and about the latitude of San Francisco, it is rarely ever too cold
or too hot: though the weather frequently changes, three or four times
in a single day, from calm and warm to boisterous and cool, and from
boisterous and cool to calm and warm again. In other places, where the
days are intolerably close and sultry, it is necessary to have one or
two blankets to sleep under at night. The remarkable aridity and
unfruitfulness of the country at large, may be ascribed to the
protracted drought of the summer, which begins in April, and lasts until
about the middle of November.
CHAPTER IX.
SUNDAY IN CALIFORNIA.
The Sabbath in California is kept, when kept at all, as a day of
hilarity and bacchanalian sports, rather than as a season of holy
meditation or religious devotion. Horse-racing, cock-fighting,
cony-hunting, card-playing, theatrical performances, and other elegant
amusements are freely engaged in on this day. If I remember correctly,
it was about two months after my arrival in the land of gold and misery,
that I had the misfortune to become acquainted with a renegade down-east
Congregationalist preacher, who invited me to accompany him, on the
following Sunday, in a deer-chase. Throughout the country, and in the
mines, shooting-matches and bear-hunting afford pleasant pastimes;
gambling is also practiced to a considerable extent, though not so much
as on other days. But we shall probably learn more of the manner in
which Sunday is spent, if we confine our attention to one of the larger
cities, San Francisco, for example. Here regattas, duels and
prize-fights are favorite diversions; and the Lord’s day seldom passes
without witnessing one or the other, or both. Here, too, for a long
time, gaming was licensed on Sundays, as it is yet on week days; but
recently the city fathers have passed an ordinance prohibiting the
desecration, and I believe their example has been followed by three or
four of the other cities. There is no State law upon the subject.
Connected with a tippling-house, on the corner of Washington and
Montgomery streets, there is one of the finest billiard-saloons in the
United States. It is very large, and magnificently decorated, has twelve
tables, and is furnished, I am informed, at a cost of twenty-five
thousand dollars. To this place hundreds of infatuated men betake
themselves every Sunday; and it is an unusual thing, at any time, to
find one of the tables unoccupied. Every day of the week, from breakfast
time in the morning till twelve o’clock at night, this saloon, like many
others of a like kind, is thronged; but the crowds are particularly
large on Sunday, because people have more leisure on that day. Though,
in this particular place, they are not allowed to gamble publicly on the
Sabbath, they lose and win as much money in the way of secret wagers as
they do openly on any other day.
What can we expect but an abuse of the Sabbath, when we take into
account the contrariety of characters, tastes, dispositions and
religions here huddled together? When we scrutinize society, we find
that some of its members, the Chinese and other pagans for instance,
know nothing at all of our system or division of time, and that they
are, therefore, absolutely ignorant of the meaning of the word Sunday.
There is no unity of thought, feeling or sentiment here; no oneness of
purpose, policy or action. There is no common interest; every man is for
himself, and himself alone. Society is composed of elements too varied
and dissimilar;--it is a heterogeneous assemblage of rivals and
competitors, who know no sympathy, and recognize no principle, save that
of personal profit and individual emolument. Nearly all colors and
qualities of mankind are congregated here. The great human family is, as
it were, sampled and its specimens formed into one society, each
communicating to the other his own peculiar habits, and each contending
for the same object--the acquisition of gold. It is manifest, therefore,
that there can be but little concert or harmony of action. Masquerade
balls, cotillion parties and jig dances fill up the list of Sunday
diversions. On Pacific street alone, the most notoriously profligate
thoroughfare in the city, there are from twelve to fifteen dance-houses,
in which the terpsichorean art is practiced every night during the week,
but usually with greater zest and animation on Sunday nights. These
fandangoes are principally under the superintendence or management of
Mexican girls, of whom there is no small number in San Francisco and
other cities of the State. Before I ever saw any of the Mexican ladies,
I had heard the most glowing descriptions of their ravishing beauty; but
I must either discredit the accounts, or else conclude that my ideas of
female beauty are very imperfect, for I have never yet beheld one of
them who, according to my standard of good looks, was really beautiful.
Their pumpkin hues and slovenly deportment could never awaken any
admiration in me, even in California.
Bonnets among them are quite unknown. Half the time they go bare-headed
through the streets and to church, just as they do about their premises;
but most of them have a long, narrow shawl, which is sometimes worn over
the head, as well as the shoulders. This shawl is, in fact, an almost
indispensable article of apparel, especially with the better classes,
who never appear in a public place, whether in winter or summer, without
it. They wrap it around their face, head and shoulders so ingeniously
that spectators can not obtain a glimpse of any part of their features,
save the forehead, eyes and nose; the mouth, chin and cheeks are
cautiously concealed. There is a gross lack of consistency among these
women. Notwithstanding they engage in the lowest debaucheries throughout
the week, they are strict attendants of the Catholic church; and dozens
of them may be seen any Sunday on their way to matins, mass or vespers,
clad in habiliments of the greatest possible variety. If they can only
get one fine, fashionable garment they think it makes amends for the bad
material and ill shape of all the others. Nor are they particular to
have their whole person clothed at the same time. I don’t think I have
ever seen one of them fully attired in my life; something was always
wanting. Sometimes they may be seen promenading the streets, robed in
the richest silks that were ever woven in Chinese looms, but when you
gaze down at their lower extremities you discover them stockingless,
their feet thrust into a pair of coarse slippers, which expose to view a
pair of rusty heels that look as if no ablution had been performed upon
them for at least three moons. The Mexicans, however, in most cases, are
fond of aquatic exercises; and they have several bathing establishments
in San Francisco, for the accommodation of the public, (at one dollar
per head for each bath,) as well as for their own convenience and
gratification. Unless I have been misinformed, it is a custom with the
proprietors, when a gentleman retires to take his bath, to dispatch a
female servant to his room to scour and scrub him off! As I resided near
an American bath-house, I always patronized it in preference, and did
not acquaint myself with Mexican usages in this respect.
Lately, however, women of pure and lofty characters have emigrated to
California, and, since their arrival, there has been a gradual and
steady improvement of morals among the people, and the Sabbath is now
much better observed than it used to be. Soon after their arrival,
schools and churches began to spring up, and social circles were formed;
refinement dawned upon a debauched and reckless community, decorum took
the place of obscenity; kind and gentle words were heard to fall from
the lips of those who before had been accustomed to taint every phrase
with an oath; and smiles displayed themselves upon countenances to which
they had long been strangers. Woman accomplished all this, and we should
be ungrateful reprobates indeed if we did not honor, esteem and love her
for it. Had I received no other benefit from my trip to California than
the knowledge I have gained, inadequate as it may be, of woman’s many
virtues and perfections, I should account myself well repaid; and I
thank heaven that I was induced to embark in an enterprise which
resulted in such a collateral remuneration. This I am constrained to
say, because I fear I should never have had a full appreciation of her
merits, had I not witnessed her happy influence in this benighted land.
It was only after leaving a home where her constant presence, her
soothing and animating society, appeared as a matter of course, and
removing to a sphere where she had a better opportunity of displaying
her power, that I could estimate her real worth.
“From woman’s eyes this doctrine I derive:
They sparkle still the right Promethean fire;
They are the books, the arts, the academies,
That show, contain, and nourish all the world.
O, then,
For wisdom’s sake, a word that all men love;
Or for love’s sake, a word that loves all men;
Or for men’s sake, the authors of these women;
Or for women’s sake, by whom we men are men,
Let us love women, and ourselves be true,
Or else we harm ourselves, and wrong them too.”
With the generous assistance and co-operation of the gentler sex, the
various religious denominations have succeeded in establishing for
themselves suitable places of worship in most of the cities and larger
towns throughout the State. San Francisco now contains fourteen
churches, two of which are Presbyterian, two Congregational, one
Unitarian, three Methodist, two Baptist, two Episcopal, and two Roman
Catholic. The Swedenborgians, Universalists, Mormons, and sundry minor
sects occasionally hold service in public halls; and, if I recollect
aright, the Jews have two synagogues. There is also a pagan temple,
where the Chinese pay their adorations to Boodh, or to some other
imaginary deity, whenever they experience a religious emotion.
CHAPTER X.
BEAR AND BULL FIGHT.
It was a beautiful Sabbath morning in November, when the bells aroused
me from a dreamy sleep; but before arising from my couch, being lazy and
inclined to muse, I allowed my fancy to recall my departure from
Carolina with all its attendant circumstances. The hour alone would have
suggested such meditations, for it was on a dewy morning that I bade
farewell to the loved ones of my far-off home. I recalled the yellow
lustre of the sun pouring his floods of golden light over the glistening
tree-tops; the tender adieus, the streaming eyes, the murmured blessing.
I remembered the sadness of my heart as I thought of the distance that
would soon separate me from the friends and companions of my youth, and
the high hopes which soothed my pain.
As I was thus pondering I heard the sound of drum, fife and clarionet;
and stepping to the window to ascertain what was the meaning of this
Sunday music echoing through the streets of San Francisco, I saw a
tremendous grizzly bear, caged, and drawn by four spirited horses
through the various streets. Tacked to each side of the cage were large
posters, which read as follows:--
FUN BREWING--GREAT ATTRACTION!
HARD FIGHTING TO BE DONE!
TWO BULLS AND ONE BEAR!
The citizens of San Francisco and vicinity are respectfully
informed that at _four o’clock this afternoon, Sunday, Nov. 14th_,
at _Mission Dolores_, a _rich treat_ will be prepared for them, and
that they will have an opportunity of enjoying a fund of the
_raciest sport_ of the season. TWO LARGE BULLS AND A BEAR, all _in
prime condition for fighting_, and under the management of
_experienced Mexicans_, will contribute to the _amusement of the
audience_.
Programme--In two Acts.
ACT I.
BULL AND BEAR--“HERCULES” AND “TROJAN,”
Will be conducted into the arena, and there _chained together_,
where they will fight _until one kills the other_.
JOSE IGNACIO, }
PICO GOMEZ, } Managers.
ACT II.
The great bull, “BEHEMOTH,” will be _let loose in the arena_, where
he will be _attacked by two of the most celebrated and expert
picadors of Mexico_, and finally _dispatched after the true Spanish
method_.
Admittance $3--Tickets for sale at the door.
JOAQUIN VATRETO, }
JESUS ALVAREZ, } Managers.
Mission Dolores, the place where these cruel sports were held, is a
small village about two miles south-west of San Francisco, which was
first settled by a couple of Roman Catholic priests during the American
Revolution. It is contended by some that this was the first settlement
effected by white persons in Upper California. The buildings are but one
story in height, covered with tiles, and are constructed of _adobe_ or
sun-dried clay. With regard to the general aspect of the place, it is
distressingly shabby and gloomy. For scores of years, the inhabitants,
who are a queer compound of Spanish and Indian blood, have lived here in
poverty, ignorance and inactivity. But I am digressing. What was I to do
about the bull-fight? I had never witnessed such an exhibition, and
consequently had a great desire to see it. It was Sunday, however, and
how could I reconcile the instructions of a pious mother with an
inclination so much at variance with the divine command? Well, without
entering into any thing like a defence of my determination, suffice it
to say that I made up my mind to go, and went. Anxious, however, to
moderate or diminish the sin as much as possible, I determined to hear a
sermon first, and go to the bull-fight afterwards. For the sake of
somewhat condensing the events of the day, I concluded to leave the city
immediately, and repair to the Mission, there to attend an antique
Catholic church, which has been built nearly three-quarters of a
century.
Starting off with this view, I arrived within hearing of the priests’
voices about the time they began to chant the service, and on entering
the rickety old church, much to my gratification, I learned that it was
an extraordinary occasion with them, and that a deal of unusual display
might be expected. The rite or ceremony of high mass was to be
performed. Monks and friars from the monasteries of Mexico were in
attendance; and the church was thronged with a large and heterogeneous
crowd.
Four o’clock, the hour appointed for the fight between the bear and the
bull, having arrived, a few taps by the drummer, and some popular airs
played by the other musicians, announced that the amphitheatre, which
fronted the church and stood but a few yards from it, was open for the
reception of those who desired admission. I made my way to the
ticket-office, and handed three dollars to the collector, who placed in
my hand a voucher, which gained me access to an eligible seat within the
inclosure. I found myself among the first who entered; and as it was
some time before the whole audience assembled, I had ample opportunities
to scan the characters who composed it, and to examine the arrangement
and disposition of things around me.
The seats were very properly elevated so high above the arena that no
danger was likely to result from the furious animals; and I suppose five
thousand persons could have been conveniently accommodated, though only
about three-fourths of that number were present. Among the auditory, I
noticed many Spanish maids and matrons, who manifested as much
enthusiasm and delight in anticipation of what was to follow as the most
enthusiastic sportsman on the ground. Crying children, too, in the arms
of self-satisfied and admiring mothers, were there, full of noise and
mischief, and a nuisance, as they always are, in theatres and churches,
to all sober-minded people. Of men, there were all sizes, colors and
classes, such as California, and California alone, can bring together.
There was but one, however, who attracted my particular attention on
this occasion. I had no recollection of having ever seen him before that
day. He sat a few feet from me on my left. There was nothing uncommon
about his form or features. The expression of his countenance was
neither intellectual nor amiable. His acquirements and attainments were
doubtless limited, for he demeaned himself rudely, and exhibited but
little dignity of manner. It was the strange metamorphosis he had
undergone since the morning which won for him my special observation.
Only four hours had elapsed since I saw him officiating at the altar and
feasting upon a substance which he believed to be the actual flesh and
blood of Jesus Christ, who died more than eighteen hundred years ago! In
the forenoon of the Lord’s day, he took upon himself the character of
God’s vicegerent, invested himself with sacerdotal robes, assumed a
sanctified visage, and discharged the sacred duties of his office. In
the afternoon of the same Sabbath, he doffed his holy orders, sanctioned
merciless diversions, mingled on terms of equality with gamblers and
desperados, and held himself in readiness to exclaim Bravo! at the
finale of a bull-fight.
By this time the whooping, shouting and stamping of the spectators
attested that they were eager and restless to behold the brutal combat;
and an overture by a full brass band, which had been chartered for the
occasion, gave them assurance that their wishes would soon be complied
with. The music ceased; the trap-door of the bull’s cage was raised, and
“Hercules,” huge, brawny and wild, leaped into the centre of the
inclosed arena, shaking his head, switching his tail, and surveying the
audience with a savage stare that would have intimidated the stoutest
hearts, had he not been strongly barred below them. His eyes glistened
with defiance, and he seemed to crave nothing so much as an enemy upon
which he might wreak his vengeance. He contorted his body, lashed his
back, snuffed, snorted, pawed, bellowed, and otherwise behaved so
frantically, that I was fearful he could not contain himself until his
antagonist was prepared. Just then, two picadors--Mexicans on
horseback--entered the arena, with lassos in hand. Taurus welcomed them
with an attitude of attack, and was about to rush upon one of their
horses with the force of a battering-ram, when, with most commendable
dexterity, the picador who was farthest off lassoed him by the horns,
and foiled him in his mad design. As quick as thought, the horseman from
whom the bull’s attention had been diverted, threw his lasso around his
horns also; and in this way they brought him to a stand midway between
them. A third person, a footman, now ran in, and seizing his tail,
twisted it until he fell flat on his side; when, by the help of an
additional assistant, the end of a long log-chain was fastened to his
right hind-leg. In this prostrated condition he was kept until the other
end of the chain was secured to the left fore-leg of the bear, as we
shall now describe.
Running a pair of large clasping-tongs under Bruin’s trap-door, which
was lifted just enough for the purpose, they grasped his foot, pulled it
out, and held it firmly, while one of the party bound the opposite end
of the chain fast to his leg with thongs. This done, they hoisted the
trap-door sufficiently high to admit of his egress, when out stalked
“Trojan,” apparently too proud and disdainful to vouchsafe a glance upon
surrounding objects. He was a stalwart, lusty-looking animal, the
largest grizzly bear I had ever seen, weighing full fourteen hundred
pounds. It was said that he was an adept in conflicts of this nature,
as he then enjoyed the honorable reputation of having delivered three
bulls from the vicissitudes of this life. It is probable, however, that
his previous victories had flushed and inspired him with an
unwarrantable degree of confidence; for he seemed to regard the bull
more as a thing to be despised than as an equal or dangerous rival.
Though he gave vent to a few ferocious growls, it was evident that he
felt more inclination to resist an attack than to make one. With the
bull, the case was very different; he was of a pugnacious disposition,
and had become feverish for a foe. Now he had one. An adversary of
gigantic proportions and great prowess stood before him; and as soon as
he spied him, he moved backward, the entire length of the chain, which
jerked the bear’s foot and made him rend the air with a most fearful
howl, that served but the more to incense the bull. Shaking his head
maliciously, casting it down, and throwing up his tail, he plunged at
the bear with a force and fury that were irresistible. The collision was
terrible, completely overthrowing his ponderous enemy and laying him
flat on his back. Both were injured, but neither was conquered; both
mutually recoiled to prepare again to strike for victory. With eyes
gleaming with fire, and full of resolution, the bull strode proudly over
his prostrate enemy, and placed himself in position to make a second
attack. But now the bear was prepared to receive him; he had recovered
his feet wild with rage, and he then appeared to beckon to the bull to
meet him without delay. The bull needed no challenge; he was, if
possible, more impetuous than the bear, and did not lose any more time
than it required to measure the length of the chain. Again, with
unabated fierceness, he darted at the bear, and, as before, struck him
with an impetus that seemed to have been borrowed from Jove’s own
thunderbolt; as he came in contact with the bear, that amiable animal
grappled him by the neck, and squeezed him so hard that he could
scarcely save himself from suffocation. The bull now found himself in a
decidedly uncomfortable situation; the bear had him as he wanted him.
Powerful as he was, he could not break loose from Bruin. A vice could
not have held him more firmly. The strong arms of the bear hugged him in
a ruthless and desperate embrace. It was a stirring sight to see these
infuriated and muscular antagonists struggling to take each other’s
life. It was enough to make a heathen generalissimo shudder to look at
them. How ought it to have been, then, with enlightened civilians? This
question I shall not answer; it was easy enough to see how it was with
the Spanish ladies--they laughed, cheered, encored, clapped their hands,
waved their handkerchiefs, and made every other sign which was
characteristic of pleasure and delight. The contending brutes still
strove together. Hercules quaked under the torturing hugs of Trojan.
Trojan howled under the violent and painful perforations of Hercules.
But the bear did not rely alone upon the efficacy of his arms; his
massive jaws and formidable teeth were brought into service, and with
them he inflicted deep wounds in his rival’s flesh. He seized the bull
between the ears and nostrils, and crushed the bones with such force
that we could distinctly hear them crack! Nor were the stunning butts of
the bull his only means of defence; his horns had been sharpened
expressly for the occasion, and with these he lacerated the bear most
frightfully. It was a mighty contest--a desperate struggle for victory!
Finally, however, fatigued, exhausted, writhing with pain and weltering
in sweat and gore, they waived the quarrel and separated, as if by
mutual consent. Neither was subdued; yet both felt a desire to suspend,
for a time at least, all further hostilities. The bull, now exhausted
and panting, cast a pacific glance towards the bear, and seemed to sue
for an armistice; the bear, bleeding and languid after his furious
contest, raised his eyes to the bull, and seemed to assent to the
proposition. But, alas! man, cruel man, more brutal than the brutes
themselves, would not permit them to carry out their pacific
intentions. The two attendants or managers, Ignacio and Gomez, stepped
up behind them, goading them with spears till they again rushed upon
each other, and fought with renewed desperation. During this scuffle,
the bull shattered the lower jaw of the bear, and we could see the
shivered bones dangling from their bloody recesses! Oh, heaven! what a
horrible sight. How the blood curdled in my veins. Pish! what a timid
fellow I am, to allow myself to be agitated by such a trifle as this!
Shall I tremble at what the ladies applaud? Forbid it, Mars! I’ll be as
spirited as they. But, to wind up this part of our story, neither the
bear nor the bull could stand any longer--their limbs refused to support
their bodies; they had worried and lacerated each other so much that
their strength had completely failed, and they dropped upon the earth,
gasping as if in the last agony. While in this helpless condition the
chain was removed from their feet, horses were hitched to them, and they
were dragged without the arena, there to end their miseries in death.
The second act of the afternoon’s entertainment was now to be performed.
It would be unnecessary, and painful to the feelings of sensitive
readers, to dwell long upon this murderous sport. It was a mere
repetition, in another form, of the disgusting horrors of that which
preceded it. Fully satiated with the barbarities I had already
witnessed, I am not sure that I should have staid to see any more, had
it not been for the peculiar sensations which the cognomen of one of the
actors awakened within me. By reference to the advertisement, it will be
perceived that the two managers of this part of the proceedings were
Joaquin Vatreto and Jesus Alvarez. The latter name sounded strangely in
my ears. It occurred to me that it was peculiarly out of place in its
present connection. What! Jesus at a bull-fight on Sunday, and not only
at it, but one of the prime movers and abettors in it!
But now to the fight. All things being ready, the great bull, Behemoth,
was freed from restraint, and sprang with frantic bounds into the midst
of the arena. He bore a suitable appellation, for he was a monster in
size and formidable in courage. Two picadors, Joaquin Vatreto and Jesus
Alvarez, mounted on fiery steeds, with swords in hand, now entered and
confronted him. Behemoth looked upon this sudden invasion as an
intolerable insult. His territory was already too limited for so
powerful a monarch as he considered himself, and he could not think of
dividing it with others. The sight of these unceremonious intruders
inflamed him with such rancor that he could no longer restrain himself;
but lowering his head and tossing his tail aloft, he rushed furiously at
them. They evaded his charge. The horses were well trained, and seemed
to enjoy the sport, and to pride themselves upon their adroit manœuvres.
But both they and their riders had enough to do to evade the fury of the
enraged brute. Each successive bout became more animated and fierce. The
foiling of the bull’s purposes only exasperated him the more. There was
not room enough in his capacious body to contain his effervescing wrath.
The foam which he spurted from his mouth and nose fell upon the earth
like enormous flakes of snow. Faster and faster, and with truer aim, he
charged his foes. At last one of the horses, in attempting to wheel or
turn suddenly round, stumbled, and the bull, taking advantage of the
event, gored him so desperately in the abdomen that a part of his
entrails protruded from the wounds and trailed almost upon the ground!
This was truly a distressing scene. I could have wept for the poor,
innocent charger, but in this case tears were of no avail.
One of the picadors now alighted, and engaged the attention of the bull,
while the other led the two horses outside the inclosure. When this was
done, a man on foot, called a matador, dressed in close-fitting,
fantastic garments, with a heavy sword in his right hand, and a small
red flag in his left, entered the arena and bowed first to the bull and
then to the audience. It was now a matter of life and death between the
bull and the matador. One or the other, or both, must die. If the bull
did not kill the man, the man would kill the bull; if the man killed the
bull, the man was to live, but if the bull killed the man, the bull was
to die; so that death was sure to overtake the bull in any event. The
action commenced, and waxed hotter and hotter every moment, and it was
only by uncommon skill and agility that the matador could shun the
frenzied charges of the bull. Had it not been for the flag which he
carried in his hand, and which enabled him to deceive his antagonist by
seeming to hold it directly before him, when in reality he inclined it
to the right or to the left, as his safety dictated, the bull would
unquestionably have dashed his brains out, thrown him over his head, or
gored him to death. Nothing could have irritated or vexed the bull more
than did the sight of this red flag, and he made all his assaults upon
it, supposing, no doubt, that he would strike the mischief behind it,
but the agile matador always took special care to spring aside and save
himself from the deadly stroke. After tormenting, teasing and chafing
him for about a quarter of an hour in this way, six keen javelins or
darts, with miniature flags attached, were handed to the matador, who
ventured to face the bull, and never quit him until he had planted them
all in his shoulders, three in each. Stung to madness, the animal
reared, rolled and plunged in the most frightful manner. Soon, however,
he was on his feet again, pursuing his persecutor with renewed zeal.
The fates, however, were against him. He could not comprehend, and
consequently could not foil the crafty designs of his adversary, who
completely deceived him with the flag. Night was now coming on, and it
being time to close the performance, the matador, placing himself in a
pompous attitude near the south side of the arena, challenged Behemoth
to the last and decisive engagement by waving the flag briskly before
him. The bull, exasperated beyond description, needed no additional
incentive to urge him to meet the enemy. With a force apparently equal
to that of a rhinoceros, and with the celerity of a reindeer, he rushed
at the matador, who, stepping just sufficiently to the left to avoid
him, thrust the sword into his breast up to the hilt. The matador,
leaving this sword buried in the bull’s body, now laid hold of another,
which was on hand for the purpose, and stabbed him three times in a more
vital part, when down he fell at his victor’s feet, dead. Then jumping
upon the carcass of his slain rival, the matador brandished his sword,
doffed his hat, bowed his compliments, and retired, amid the deafening
plaudits of a wolfish audience.
CHAPTER XI.
SACRAMENTO.
Sacramento is situated on the river and in the heart of the valley of
the same name, about one hundred miles north-east of San Francisco. It
is the second city in the State in size, population and commerce, and
contains from eight to ten thousand inhabitants--being nearly one fourth
as large as San Francisco. It bears to San Francisco much the same
relation that Columbia does to Charleston, or Albany to New York. From
two to six steamboats daily ply between the two cities, conveying
passengers and merchandise; and a vast deal of heavy freight is shipped
in sailing vessels, which usually make the outward and return trip in a
little over a week. The banks of the river are very low, and the current
moves sluggishly towards the ocean. Flood-tide ascends almost as high as
this place. The country, for twenty-five miles on either side of the
river, is an unbroken plain, level as a floor, and would be invaluable
for agricultural purposes were it not for the great freshets of the
winter and spring, and the incessant drought of the summer and fall--two
serious disadvantages to the farmer. Sometimes the whole valley is
completely overflowed and remains under water for two or three
consecutive months, on which occasions it presents the appearance of a
vast lake. Many new immigrants, who are ignorant of the freaks of
California seasons, arriving here in the summer, settle in this valley,
and thank their stars that they were guided to an unclaimed plat of so
much promise. But when winter comes and the windows of heaven are
opened, and the river rises, and the cattle are drowned and the houses
swept off, and they themselves compelled to fly to the upland to save
their lives, they begin to discover the gloomy fact that they have been
caught in a snare.
The site of the city, so smooth and flat, would be one of the most
beautiful in the world, but for the lack of sufficient elevation. For
the first two or three years after its settlement the inhabitants did
nothing to protect it from the floods, but afterwards, becoming tired of
navigating the streets in scows and skiffs, and willing to retain some
of their goods and chattels about their premises, they built a temporary
levee, which has since kept them tolerably dry. It is laid out with the
most perfect regularity; its blocks and streets being as uniform and
methodical as the squares of a chess-board. Those streets which run from
north to south have alphabetical names, beginning with A, and ending
with Z. Only four of them, I, J, K and L, are popular; the others
command no business whatever, and but very few dwellings are situated on
them. The cross-streets, or those which run from east to west, are
designated arithmetically, commencing with 1st and continuing on in
regular succession. Beyond 7th street, however, there are no buildings
of any importance.
At present the legislature meets in this place; but as that august body
is possessed of a remarkably roving disposition, having held its
sessions at four different places within the last four years, at an
extra expense to the State of nearly two hundred thousand dollars, it is
yet uncertain whether this will be determined upon as the permanent
capital. There is no capitol or state-house, nor is it likely that
California will ever be able to build one while its finances are so
recklessly managed. The receipts and expenditures of the State have,
from the organization of its government to the present time, been
intrusted to men who, to say nothing of their dishonesty, were as
ignorant of the uses of money as a prodigal minor. Consequently they
have entailed a public debt upon the people of more than three millions
of dollars without effecting any general improvements excepting a marine
hospital. This distinguished body, which now holds its deliberations in
the court-house, contains some of the most precious scamps that ever
paid devotion to the god of pelf; and, were it not that I have no wish
to deal in personalities, I could here mention names which are
notoriously infamous all over the Atlantic States. Are such men capable
of devising measures for the public weal, or fit to enact laws for the
commonwealth? Whether fit or unfit, they are about the only class of
persons who are intrusted with the functions of legislation in this
abominable land of concentrated rascality. The people of California, as
a general thing, would as soon elect an honest, upright man to office,
as Italian banditti would choose a moralist for their captain. No one
here can be successful unless he assimilates himself to the people; he
must carouse with villains, attend Sunday horse-races and bull-fights,
and adapt himself to every species of depravity and dissipation.
Thus must a man discipline himself before he can receive the support and
patronage of the public. It matters not what his occupation may be,
whether merchant, mechanic, lawyer or doctor, he is sure to be
ostracized, if he stands aloof from the vices and follies of the
populace. Of course there are a few exceptions. Some men, thank heaven,
have an innate abhorrence of every thing that savors of meanness or
vulgarity, and they have nerve enough to cling to their principles at
all times and in all places. No earthly power, even if backed by
reinforcements from the infernal regions, could make them swerve from
their fidelity to truth and justice. They have clearly defined ideas of
right and wrong, and regulate their lives and conduct accordingly. They
understand their duty, and endeavor to perform it. They see the evils of
society, condemn and eschew them. There are a few such men in
California, but they are discountenanced, neglected, sneered at, and
flouted with opprobrious epithets. They are in bad odor; the majority is
against them. The scoundrels are in power, and they have wrecked the
country. To-day the State is lawless, penniless and powerless. Such is
the effect of the union of two bad things--a bad people and a bad
country. It was necessary in the first place, to give even a passable
character to the State, that the administration of affairs should have
been committed to men of pre-eminent sagacity; but instead of pursuing
this policy, the common interests have been confided to political
charlatans, whose actions in every instance have been detrimental to the
interests of the country. As a poor client suffers in the hands of a
pettifogger, or as a patient laboring under an obscure and dangerous
disease, sinks under the treatment of a quack, so has this poor, sick
California suffered and sunk through the agency of her knavish managers.
Leaving these wire-pulling senators and hireling assemblymen, let us
take a short stroll through one or two of the principal streets. We
shall not observe any thing either curious or commendable in the styles
of architecture. The houses are low, rarely exceeding two stories in
height, and are built mostly of wood in the very cheapest manner. All
the lumber used in their construction was brought from Oregon, first to
San Francisco, and thence reshipped to this place. Here and there stands
a plain but uncommonly stout and substantial brick store. I have never
seen any buildings in the Atlantic States equal, in durability and
security against fire, to the brick structures in California. They must
build them so, for reasons heretofore given. Stone is not used at all;
there is none in the vicinity.
As we wend our way through the town, we pass dozens of miserable, filthy
little hotels, in any of which we can procure a bad meal for a dollar. A
palatable dinner in one of the more respectable hotels will cost us
twice that amount. We shall be considerably amused at the queer and
unique canvas signs nailed over the doors of some of the dirty little
huts and shanties around us. One of the taverns announces that it has
“Tip-top Accommodations for Man and Beast;” at another we can find “Good
Fare, and Plenty of it;” a third promises “Rest for the Weary and
Storage for Trunks;” a fourth invites us to “Come in the Inn, and take a
Bite;” a fifth informs us that “Eating is done here;” a sixth assures
us that “We have Rich Viands and Mellow Drinks;” while a seventh
admonishes us to “Replenish the Stomach in our House.” A bar, at which
all kinds of liquors, raw and mixed, pure and sophisticated, are dealt
out, is attached to each of these establishments; and it is generally a
greater source of profit to the proprietor than the table. Small straw
cots, with coarse blankets, which have never been submitted to any
cleansing process, are provided for the guests to sleep on; and when
they retire, they seldom remove any of their clothes, except their
coats, and sometimes not even those. In the morning, when they rise to
perform their ablutions, a single wash-pan answers for all, and one
towel, redolent of a week’s wiping, serves every guest.
More than two-thirds of the population of the northern part of the State
lay in their supplies of provisions, clothing and mining implements at
this place; and we shall notice several teams and pack-trains in the
streets, loading and preparing to start on their journey. Mules and oxen
are chiefly used, though for hauling short distances over good roads
horses are employed. Some of the more remote mining districts, say two
hundred miles from this place, are so rugged and mountainous that it is
impossible to reach them with wagons or other vehicles, and the only
means of transporting merchandise is upon the backs of mules. These
hybrids, unamiable as is their appearance, are truly valuable for this
purpose; they carry ponderous burdens, walk with ease upon the brink of
a precipice, and can be kept in good serviceable condition by provender
on which a horse would starve. After making a few trips they become very
tractable, and it requires only four or five men to manage fifty or
sixty of them. The packers have but little trouble with them, after
strapping the loads on their backs and starting them off. They do not go
abreast, but each follows closely behind another, Indian fashion; and
they will travel patiently in this way from morning till night, rarely
ever attempting a stampede.
Between the petty merchants who sell goods to those teamsters and
muleteers, there is great rivalry and competition. I call them petty
merchants because there are so many more of them than the business
justifies or demands, that each one secures but a small share of the
custom; and they have to resort to the most contemptible devices to pay
current expenses. Indeed I do not believe half of them earn their
support. The reader may think this strange, and wonder why men continue
in an occupation which does not yield them a maintenance. They do not
continue in it; their losses soon compel them to leave; but the
departure of one victim only opens the way for the arrival of another.
Their stands are immediately occupied by novices who, after the lapse of
a few months, sink under the same fate that overwhelmed their luckless
predecessors. Such is the routine of affairs all over the State. I have
never known the time here when business was not clogged with double the
number of traders it required. Ever since San Francisco and Sacramento
were founded they have been overwhelmed with merchants, and this has
been the case with every other city and town of any note throughout the
State. In commercial circles you hear continual complaints of the
dullness of the times. The merchants are always grumbling because they
have nothing to do, and wondering when their business will improve. They
live on the airy diet of hope; their good time is ever dancing before
them, but never waits for them. It entices them on and then eludes
them,--they reach after gold and find dross.
One reason why there is such an excess of business men, is, because
American and European strangers, who have been led into the mistaken
opinion that trading is profitable in California, are continually
arriving with heavy stocks of goods, and opening new shops or going into
the old ones, just vacated by those who could no longer sustain
themselves under the pressure of the times. In this way the humbug is
eternally nourished. As soon as one simpleton sacrifices his effects
and retires, “a sadder and a wiser man,” another fool steps in and takes
his place. Question the New York, Baltimore and Boston shippers
concerning the result of their ventures, and they will tell a doleful
story. Ask the Liverpool, Bordeaux and Hamburg consignors to show the
account sales of their factors, and they will anathematize the inquirer
and California in the same breath. Now and then, it is true, when the
markets are low, as they sometimes are, a shipment turns out lucrative
beyond anticipation; but when such a thing occurs it is a mere matter of
chance, and one gainful shipment occasions scores of unprofitable ones.
Dependent as the State is upon importations for all that she consumes or
requires for use, it must be expected that the markets will be very
fluctuating and changeable,--at any rate, it is so. The price of any
article does not remain the same two weeks at a time. There is almost
always a superfluity of merchandise in market; the supply is generally
double the demand, and many things are sold at less than prime cost.
Yet, by the time this merchandise falls into the hands of the actual
consumer, it usually costs him from one to four hundred per cent. more
than he would have to pay for it in the Atlantic States. The consignee
will probably sell it to a speculator--the speculator to a wholesale
merchant--the wholesale merchant to a jobber--the jobber to a
retailer--the retailer to a muleteer, and the muleteer to the final
purchaser or consumer. Or the importer may sell it to the city grocer,
whose onerous rent makes it necessary for him to re-sell at an
extraordinary advance on invoice rates to defray expenses. Thus the
charges accruing on it, after its arrival, render it very costly.
I might cite instances of the perfidy and dishonesty of California
merchants; but it would be like taking an inventory of the exact number
of blades of grass in a meadow in order to get at the weeds by
subtraction,--it would be easier to reverse the task. It would require
less time to tell of those who have been true to their trusts. I know
one man in San Francisco who received a consignment of nearly twelve
thousand dollars worth of merchandise from his brother in New York. He
placed it in an auction house--had it sold for what it would
bring--appropriated the proceeds to his own use, and wrote back to his
brother that all the goods had been destroyed by fire. His brother heard
of his unfaithfulness, came on to San Francisco and reasoned with him;
but could neither bring him to terms nor find law that would compel the
performance of a common obligation. The defrauded brother returned home
without recovering a cent of his dues. Another New Yorker consigned
twenty thousand dollars worth of merchandise to two different commission
houses (ten thousand to each,) with limited instructions--that is, not
to sell for less than a certain sum. The factors received the goods,
hurried them through the market, put the funds in their pockets, and
wrote to the consignor, informing him that his ventures had been
consumed by fire, and sympathizing with him in his losses! Before long,
however, the shipper was made acquainted with the villainy of his
agents, and applied to the courts for redress; but this was only
employing a rogue to catch a rouge. After a deal of expense and delay,
the case was dismissed. A whole cargo of wares and merchandise, valued
at a trifle less than three hundred thousand dollars, was intrusted to
another man, who disposed of it and absconded with the money.
But why detail these swindling transactions? Volumes upon volumes might
be filled with accounts of the crimes and short-comings of this wretched
country; but their perusal would only be productive of abhorrence and
disgust. If, reader, you would know California, you must go live there.
It is impossible for me to give, or for you to receive a correct
impression of it on paper,--like Thomas, the unbelieving disciple, you
must _see_ and _feel_ before you can be convinced.
On the night of the 2d of November, 1852, Sacramento was almost entirely
destroyed by fire. Twenty-two hundred buildings, with other property,
valued at ten millions of dollars, were completely reduced to ashes.
The wind was blowing very hard at the time the fire commenced, and the
roaring of the flames, the rapidity with which they spread, the
explosions of gunpowder, as house after house was blown up, formed a
scene rarely excelled in terrific grandeur. Men, women and children ran
to and fro in the greatest confusion, excited almost to frenzy, in the
effort to save their lives and effects. Within six hours after the fire
first broke out, more than nine-tenths of the city were swept into
oblivion, and the people were left to sleep on the naked earth without
any shelter but the clothing they had on. Happening, too, just at the
commencement of the rainy season, this conflagration was peculiarly
disastrous, as thousands were deprived not only of shelter, but also of
the means of securing a comfortable living. Provisions at the time were
scarcer than I ever knew them before, or have known them since; and the
extraordinarily high prices which they commanded almost precluded the
poorer classes from buying or using them at all. Flour sold at forty-two
dollars per barrel, pork at fifty-five, and other eatables in about the
same ratio. Farther in the interior the times were still harder. In some
of the distant mining localities flour and pork sold as high as three
dollars per pound--equal to five hundred and eighty-eight dollars per
barrel; and could not be had in sufficient quantities even at these
rates. Many then suffered the pangs of insatiable hunger; and I have
seen children crying to their parents for bread, when there was none to
give them.
A California conflagration is a scene of the most awful grandeur that
the mind is capable of conceiving. When fire is once communicated to the
buildings, especially if it be in the dry season, when the winds rage
and every thing is crisped by the sun, it does not smoulder, but blazing
high in the air, and spreading far and wide, it consumes every thing
within its reach, and leaves nothing behind but cinders and desolation.
No one of the present day, out of California, has ever seen such
pyramids of flame. One of the most beautiful sights I ever beheld was
during a large fire in San Francisco. It was a moonless night, and there
was nothing visible in the dark concave of heaven, save a few twinkling
stars. Others were concealed by the detached masses of floating vapor
which obscured them. Soon after the conflagration commenced, the
brilliant illumination attracted large flocks of brant from the
neighboring marshes; and as they flew hither and thither, high over the
flaming element, they shone and glistened as if they had been winged
balls of fire darting through the air. Had their plumage been burnished
gold, they could not have been more radiant.
Before taking our final leave of Sacramento, we must not fail to get a
glimpse of the Three Cent Philosopher, a Mormon polygamist, who figures
conspicuously in this city as an extortionate usurer. He was born in the
State of New York, near the hallowed spot where Jo Smith received his
apostolic diploma. The Three Cent Philosopher does not carry so small a
purse as his common appellation might seem to indicate; he is the
wealthiest man in the place, and is as tenacious of his property as of
his life. It is supposed that he is worth very near half a million of
dollars. Though he believes in polygamy, and practices it, yet he never
lives with more than one spouse at a time; to have them all around him
at once would be too expensive.
When his wife goes out shopping he gives her fifty cents, and if she
happens to bring back one-tenth of the amount, he takes it from her and
locks it up in his safe. When he travels on a steamboat he always takes
deck passage, and carries food in his pockets to avoid the extra expense
of dining at the table. While passing through the streets he keeps a
vigilant lookout for stray nails, old horse-shoes, pieces of bagging and
other refuse, which he picks up, lugs home and deposits in his
repository of odds and ends. Instead of chairs, he sits on stools and
boxes of his own make; and, in place of coffee, he drinks parched barley
tea or watered milk. His disposition is quite as sweet as wormwood, and
his household is usually a scene of as much calm and domestic bliss as
a family of tomcats. He is in the habit of bickering with his family at
least once every day, and when he does so he rouses the whole
neighborhood with the noise of his oaths and imprecations. In all
probability he is a lineal descendant of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, for
his hand is against every man and every man’s hand is against him. He is
at enmity with all the world and is despised by every body. If his
neighbor looks at him, he curses him, and if an acquaintance says
good-morning to him, he tells him to go to h--ll. He has never been
known to entertain a charitable thought towards his fellow-men, nor to
speak a good word concerning his nearest relations. To sum up all, he is
the extract of ill-breeding, the essence of vulgarity, and the
quintessence of meanness.
CHAPTER XII.
YUBA--THE MINER’S TENT.
My first experience in mining was obtained on the banks of the Yuba
river, a small tributary of the Feather, which is itself a branch of the
Sacramento. Our party, in a stage-coach, left Sacramento city early in
the morning; we traveled due north until late in the afternoon, when we
arrived at Marysville, a city containing eight or nine thousand
inhabitants, and situated at the confluence of the Yuba and Feather
rivers. It was in July, and the roads were four to six inches deep in
dust, which seemed to be as fine as bolted flour, and was so volatile
that it rose in a dense cloud as we passed through it. The heat of the
sun was oppressive in the extreme, and by the time we got to the place
mentioned above, our persons were so besmeared with dust and
perspiration that it was no easy matter for a stranger to determine our
natural color.
I could have made the trip by water, as there is steamboat communication
between Sacramento and Marysville daily; but having sailed up the river
as high as this place once before on a pleasure excursion, I preferred
the land route for the sake of seeing the country. I was disappointed,
however; for, as the distance between the two cities is a mere
continuation of the Sacramento valley, I saw nothing materially
different from the purlieus of the city I had left. The surface of the
valley is remarkably level, and is sparsely timbered with scrubby oaks
and other gnarled trees of uncommon form. Nor is there any thing of
unusual interest to be seen in Marysville. Sacramento is its prototype,
and it has been modeled after that city with scrupulous exactness. I
never saw two places more alike.
By means of the same conveyance that carried us to Marysville, we
resumed our northern journey early in the morning of the succeeding day,
and by twelve o’clock we reached the place of our destination. We were
now on Long Bar, a popular mining place, divided and watered by the
Yuba. Two miles beyond is Park’s Bar, which I had visited on a previous
occasion; but this was the first time I had ever entered the mines for
the purpose of digging gold. Now, however, I had come to try my luck,
and to see what the gnomes and fairies would do for me.
Once fairly started in a miner’s life, I could not completely steel
myself against the extravagant hopes which seemed to float in the very
atmosphere of the mines. Wild and extravagant fancies would in spite of
me obtrude themselves upon what I thought a well-balanced mind. Nor
were these reveries by any means unnatural, unreasonable though they
might be. Thousands of miners have, from time to time, indulged hopes
equally impalpable and transitory. I was standing over deposits of gold,
and who could tell how large they were, or how easily they might be
found? Who knew but that I should dig from these hills more wealth than
was ever locked up in the vaults of the Rothschilds?
I had supplied myself with abundance of provisions, a pair of good
blankets, and every needful mining implement. Being in what is called
surface diggings, that is, on a spot where the gold lies near the
surface of the earth, I could perform all the necessary manipulations
myself. I noticed that those around did not delve deeper than from three
to four feet in this place. It did not pay to go lower; and whether it
paid to dig at all, will be seen hereafter. My implements consisted of a
pick, a spade, a pan, a bucket, a cradle and a wheelbarrow. The
_cradle_, though rudely made and of rude material, was a very good one,
and I have since regretted that I did not keep it and bring it with me,
as it would have answered a domestic purpose quite as well as a more
costly one. The modus operandi of single-handed mining may be described
in a few words. The earth is loosened with the pick, thrown into the
wheelbarrow with the spade, rolled to the river, emptied into the
cradle, washed by pouring water over it from the bucket, and carefully
rocked until the gold is separated from the dirt. The clods of earth,
during this process of washing, slowly dissolve, or are suspended in the
water, whereupon the gold, (if there is any,) being heaviest, sinks to
the bottom. All the contents of the cradle are then turned out, except a
thin layer at the bottom, which is supposed to contain the precious
metal. The next and last process is to scoop this layer into the pan,
and wash and rewash it until the dirt is entirely separated from the
gold. A sieve, or rather a piece of punctured or perforated sheet-iron,
which catches the larger stones and other insoluble substances, is fixed
about midway the depth of the cradle. The gold is generally found in
small particles about the size of grains of sand, sometimes not half so
large, sometimes much larger. The size of the grains, as well as the
quantity, depends very much upon the locality. No lumps larger than a
small pea were obtained from this bar.
Fearing that I might make a fortune immediately, and return to the city
without learning how the gold gleaners live, I determined not to
commence operations until I had scrutinized the whole bar, tents,
miners, mining and all. Indeed it was necessary for me to converse with
some of the miners, in order to acquaint myself with their laws
respecting claims, dams and water. All surface diggings, when marked
out, or laid off in small plats, are called bars; and these bars are
known by distinctive names, as, for instance, Rocky Bar, Steep Bar,
Sandy Bar, &c. The name is not always derived from a peculiarity of the
place. Frequently they are called by the names of the men who first
discovered gold on them, as Brown’s Bar, Hall’s Bar, Drake’s Bar; and
sometimes they take their names from an important event that occurred at
or near them at the time they were opened, as Highwayman’s Bar, Rioter’s
Bar, Murderer’s Bar. Among the more fanciful names that designate
localities in various parts of the mines are the following: Whiskey Bar,
Humbug Creek, One Horse Town, Mississippi Quarters, Mad Ox Ravine, Mad
Mule Canon, Skunk Flat, Woodpecker Hill, Jesus Maria, Yankee Jim’s
Diggings, Death Pass, Ignis Fatuus Placer, Devil’s Retreat, Bloody Bend,
Jackass Gulch, Hell’s Half Acre.
Every Bar is governed by such laws as the majority of the miners see fit
to enact, not by written or published documents, but by verbal
understanding. All the mines are public property, that is, they belong
to the United States government, which, in its suicidal liberality,
exercises comparatively no jurisdiction over them. So far as the general
government is concerned, Chinese marauders and foreign cut-throats have
the same rights and privileges guaranteed to them, in this matter, as
American citizens. Besides the enormous sums of money that the federal
government paid for California, it did a great deal of hard fighting,
and now has to keep a body of troops stationed there to prevent the
Indians from desolating the country; but aliens, who bear no part of the
burden, and who refuse to become permanent settlers or citizens, are
permitted, nay, encouraged, to come in on an equal footing. No tax is
levied upon them. They are protected from the Indians by our soldiery,
and share all the benefits with the native citizens; yet they are not
required to aid in defraying the common expenses. It can hardly be
doubted that this is bad policy? Would it not be bad management in a
father, after having bought a farm, to let strangers come in and carry
off the fruits of the soil, to the detriment and impoverishment of his
own children? If so, then our government, as a general mother, is doubly
culpable.
Almost every Bar is governed by a different code of laws, and the sizes
of the claims vary according to locality. In one place a man may hold
twice, thrice, or even quadruple the number of feet that are allowed him
in another. One fourth of an acre is an average-sized claim. The
discoverer of new diggings is awarded a double or triple share, or only
an equal part, as a majority of those on the ground shall determine. Two
claims cannot be held by one person at the same time, except by
purchase. If a man lets his claim go unworked a certain number of days,
say five, eight or ten, he forfeits it, and any other person is at
liberty to take possession of it. When a miner wishes to quit his claim
only for a few days, he stacks his tools upon it, notifies two or three
adjoining neighbors of his intention, and goes where he pleases. If he
returns within the time prescribed by the laws of the Bar, he is
entitled to resume his claim; but if he is absent a day longer, it falls
to the first person, without a claim, who may happen to find it. There
is more real honesty and fairness among the miners than any other class
of people in California. Taken as a body, they are a plain,
straight-forward, hard-working set of men, who attend to their own
business without meddling in the affairs of others; and I have found as
guileless hearts amongst them as ever throbbed in mortal bosom. Genuine
magnanimity or nobleness of soul, when found at all in California, must
be sought among the miners--especially among those who are farthest
removed from the contaminating influences of idlers and gamblers.
Drones and sluggards--things in the shape of men, who are too lazy to
work for an honest living--are the chief authors of the horrible crimes
that have rendered this country so odious and despicable. They are the
persons who are always creating disturbances; cheating, robbing and
murdering; and there is such a legion of them that no place is exempt
from their presence. Wherever there is money they may be seen skulking
around it; and if they cannot filch it from the rightful owner by
intrigue or artifice, they will do it by more violent measures. They
lurk behind the poor drudging miner, even in the farthest gorges of the
mountains, and there butcher him, that they may avail themselves of his
hard-earned treasures. An incident of this nature, which terminated most
admirably, occurred near this place but a few days before my arrival. A
highwayman met a miner in an unfrequented place, and, with a cocked
pistol pointing towards him, demanded, “Your gold this instant, sir, or
your life!” “Hold! you shall have it,” exclaimed the miner, when quickly
thrusting his hand into his breast pocket, as if feeling for his purse,
he drew his own revolver and shot the would-be assassin dead upon the
spot.
While reconnoitering the bar, I made excuses to call on several miners
who happened to be in their tents. As for the tents themselves, though
nearly all of the same size, they differ very much in appearance and
quality. A great many are made of duck or white canvas; while others are
built of stunted saplings, which grow sparsely throughout the mining
region. Those constructed of the latter material are about the size and
shape of a common hog-pen, with a stick and mud chimney, which very
frequently has a headless whiskey barrel stuck in the top for a funnel.
These are the best and most comfortable domicils about the mines; and it
is only when miners, or a combination of miners, have large claims,
which afford them steady employment for a considerable length of time,
that they are enabled to build them. There being no planks, boards,
slabs, nor other sawn or hewn timbers, the poles are covered with brush
or coarse cloth, and sometimes with raw-hides. The ground is the floor
in all cases. No chimney nor whiskey-barrel flue graces the gable-end of
the canvas tent; it is merely a temporary shelter from the scorching
rays of the sun and the chilling dews of the night. Until the miner is
successful enough to secure a good claim and build himself a hovel, of
course he is compelled to sleep under the roof which canopied Adam and
Eve, and he must take his chances of the tarantula and of the assassin.
The interior of the miner’s tent corresponds to its exterior. Spread
upon the ground, on one side, we see a pair of rumpled blankets, upon
which he sleeps. They are thoroughly saturated with mud and dust, and
have never been shaken, switched nor sunned since their place was
assigned them. Scattered here and there, about the edges of the
blankets, lie several of Paul de Kock’s and Eugene Sue’s yellow-backed
novels, whose soiled margins and dog-eared leaves give evidence that
they are not allowed to go unread. Something less than half a dozen
packs of cards are within reach, while three or four old stumps or
chunks of wood, employed as substitutes for chairs, occupy random
positions about the floor. In one corner is a keg of brandy or whiskey,
and in another the cooking apparatus and provisions. As for tables,
delft-ware, knives and forks, or any thing of that kind, there are none.
The miner always carries his pistol and bowie knife by his side day and
night, and with the latter weapon, aided by his fingers, he reduces his
food to convenient morsels.
His cooking utensils consist of a frying-pan and a pot, neither of
which, except in rare instances, is ever washed. The pot is mostly used
for boiling pork and beans, and the old scum and scales that accumulate
on the inside from one ebullition serve as seasoning to the next. Pork
and beans are two of the principal articles of diet with miners, partly
because they are comparatively cheaper than other provisions, and partly
on account of their being so nutritious and wholesome. The beans,
especially, are very fine; they are imported from Chili, and are
superior to any I ever saw in the Atlantic States. By boiling as much at
one time as the pot will hold, the miner generally saves himself the
trouble of preparing these articles of food oftener than twice a week.
When cooked to suit him, he sets the pot on one side, leaving the
contents in it uncovered; this is his pantry, and out of it he makes his
meals from time to time, until all is consumed, when he replenishes it
with a fresh supply of the same kind. Flap-jacks are very frequently
used in lieu of bread. They are a combination of flour and water, fried
in such grease as can be extracted from the pork; or, if the miner has
no pork, he bakes them as he would other thin cakes of dough. If he is
not too far removed from a depot of general provisions, he will probably
keep a bottle of molasses, which may be seen by the side of the
frying-pan, unstopped, and containing an amount of flies and ants nearly
equal to that of the saccharine juice. These entrapped insects do not
seem to come within the scope of his observation, as he never attempts
to clear his bottle of them. He is not very squeamish about his diet.
It is but seldom that the miner suspends labor on Sunday if his claim is
a rich one; but if it is poor, he usually lets it rest on that day,
while he does his washing and mending. I have already said that he
carries his bowie-knife and revolver with him day and night. There is
scarcely an exception to this rule; ninety-nine out of every hundred are
thus armed, and this accounts for the fatal result of almost every
altercation. No matter what it is that occasions disputes between men,
whether slight misunderstandings or grave difficulties, few words are
bandied before they appeal to their weapons, and the life of one or the
other is sure to be lost in the fracas,--sometimes both are killed. This
barbarous practice of carrying deadly weapons is not alone confined to
the miners; you rarely find a merchant, mechanic, lawyer doctor, or man
of any other calling in California, who does not keep them concealed
about him. By a calculation, based upon fair estimates, I learn that
since California opened her mines to the world, she has invested upwards
of six millions of dollars in bowie-knives and pistols--pretty
playthings to give to her children!
Having surveyed and examined the bar, and all that pertained to it, to
my satisfaction, I constructed a small canvas tent, and the next day
began to search the earth in quest of gold. Though I was not reared in
idleness, this was my first lesson in real hard labor. Here, in the
summer season, the thermometer ranging from 90 to 105 degrees of
Fahrenheit in the shade, mining, when diligently and assiduously
prosecuted, is certainly the most toilsome employment in the world. I
imagine that the tillage of sugar-fields is pastime compared with it,
and that the African slaves who gather coffee in Brazil, have no
adequate conception of hardwork.
For three months I applied myself to my tools and claim with all the
energy of my nature--digging, shoveling and rocking, with the snarls of
grizzly hears to lull me to sleep at night, and the howls of hungry
wolves to regale my ears at the break of day. With all this wear and
tear of body and mind, my account-current of proceeds and expenditures
stood, at the expiration of that time, giving myself no credit for
either loss of time or physical exhaustion, just ninety-three and
three-quarter cents--balance on hand! This was building a palace with a
vengeance! A net profit of ninety-three and a quarter cents in three
months, being “two and six-pence” per month, or a fraction over a cent a
day.
Hope, however, did not forsake me, and besides that, (shall I confess
it?) I felt a sort of malignant satisfaction that I was not alone in my
disappointments. I found consolation in the misfortune of others! When I
looked around me, and saw scores of dirty, hungry, ragged, long-haired
miners, who had toiled and labored like plantation negroes, on this and
other bars, for more than two years, and who could not command as much
as five dollars to save their lives, it buoyed me up, and made me better
satisfied with my own ill-luck. The feeling that thus manifested itself
may have been worthy of censure, but I am sure it was natural, for no
energetic or enterprising man likes to see his neighbor out-do him, or
surpass him in the acquisition of wealth--especially if their chances
and opportunities have always been the same. If I had not been
unsuccessful myself, I should not have chuckled over the corresponding
misfortunes of others; but, to be candid, feeling that my devotion and
application to business entitled me to a reasonable share of prosperity,
I had but little sympathy for my fellow-miners, who, being no more
worthy of reward than myself, failed in their efforts to excel me. I
said I had but little sympathy for them. I had some. It grieved me to
see so many stout, athletic men undergoing so many privations and
discomforts, wasting their time in unprofitable schemes, only to be at
last subjected to the most galling disappointments.
The time had now come, however, for other thoughts and considerations. A
change of location seemed to be necessary. The profits of mining did not
warrant longer continuance at this place. It occurred to me that the sum
of ninety-three and three-quarter cents was but indifferent remuneration
for three months’ herculean labor. I wished to have nothing to do with
this lying equivalent, so handing it over, with my compliments, to a
poor, needy, hungry-looking neighbor, I shook the dust from my feet and
departed, after the manner of Lot when he left Sodom, not deigning to
look behind--not for fear, however, of being turned into a pillar of
gold.
CHAPTER XIII.
STOCKTON AND SONORA.
I have perambulated the streets of San Francisco, Sacramento, Marysville
and Stockton; but of all the California cities, after San Francisco,
Stockton is my choice. It is named in honor of Commodore R. F. Stockton,
and is situated on a tributary of the San Joaquin river, which empties
into the Suisun Bay, opening into the Bay of San Francisco. Being but a
little over one hundred miles to the east of San Francisco, it enjoys
the advantages of daily steamboat communication with that place; but
owing to the narrow banks of the stream and the shallowness of the
water, the vessels are much smaller than those employed upon the
Sacramento. It contains from six to seven thousand inhabitants. Though
only the fourth city in the State in population, it is the third in
business. All the residents of the southern mines draw their supplies
from it; and as it is blessed with a mild climate, it is frequently
resorted to by those who seek pastime or recreation.
The San Joaquin valley, in the midst of which this city is situated,
would probably be the best agricultural land in the State, if the water
could be drained from it; but in its present low and boggy condition, it
is utterly unfit for cultivation. It takes its name from the low-banked
river which meanders through it, and is as level as a garden. No
vegetable production is found upon it, except the tule, a tall, pithy
species of rush or calamus, which bears a more striking resemblance to
the flag than to any thing else of Atlantic growth. This tule, which
grows as thick as it can stand, and from six to eight foot in height, is
an annual plant; and in the fall of the year, if fire be communicated to
it during the night, when there is a light breeze stirring, it burns
with an indescribable splendor. I have said that this aquatic weed is
the only natural product of the valley; this is true, as regards all
that part which is perfectly level, and which presents the appearance of
a vast meadow; but as we approach the Coast Range on the south-west, or
the Sierra Nevadas on the north-east, we come to slightly elevated
knolls, upon which we find clumps of gnarled oaks. These trees all lean
towards the east, as if bowing their heads in adoration, having grown in
this reverential posture while under the influence of the winds from the
west.
This valley affords another evidence of the unfavorable condition of the
country. It shows conclusively that even the most valuable parts of the
State are encumbered with insurmountable impediments. The bottom lands,
which are mainly relied upon for agricultural purposes, are too wet to
till, and too low to drain; while the uplands are so dry and sterile
that neither grains, plants nor fruits can be raised upon them. There is
either too much moisture or none at all. It is a land of mountains and
mud-holes. Still, there are some extensive plains and valleys which
might be successfully cultivated, if the seasons were adapted to them;
but the absence of rain during the summer renders them of little or no
value to the farmer. It is very probable, however, that in the progress
of time, as the other members of the confederacy become burdened with
population, the more eligible parts of this State will be settled and,
by means of irrigation, made tolerably productive; but when California
is thus peopled and converted into a place of permanent habitation, it
will be by the force of destiny, rather than by any attractions it can
offer to immigrants. They may make it their home as a dernier resort,
but they will not do it as a matter of choice. So long as there is any
unappropriated territory in other parts of the Union, California will
not be in demand.
We shall find but few things deserving attention in the city of
Stockton, having already examined its archetypes, San Francisco and
Sacramento. It is due to this place to remark that, notwithstanding all
its Peter Funk and Cheap John establishments, it sustains a better
character than any other city in the State. Though it has its share of
groggeries and gambling-houses, and is, in most respects, fitted out in
true California style, it is not infested with so many drones and
desperadoes as are usually met with in neighboring towns. I am well
acquainted with many of its citizens and know them to be estimable
men--not too lazy to work, nor too sour to laugh at a merry thing.
Sonora is an inland town, situated in the midst of one of the richest
mineral regions in the southern part of the State. A stage-coach affords
the most convenient and expeditious means of reaching this place, which
lies about fifty miles to the south-east. Starting early in the morning,
we travel as last as a dare-devil driver can make four horses convey
us--frequently meeting and overtaking numerous pack trains, pedestrians
and ox-teams, passing to and fro between the mines and Stockton. A part
of the country over which our road leads us, is a somewhat elevated
plain, which, being entirely destitute of trees and other vegetable
products, presents a most dreary and uninviting prospect. We see nothing
around us but the naked earth. There is no accommodation for either bird
or beast--no resting-place for the one, nor food for the other. The
pack-trains, pedestrians and ox-teams, constitute the only animal life
in view; and as we see them plodding along over this barren waste, our
memories are refreshed with vivid recollections of those stories, which
we read in former days, of caravans crossing the great desert of Sahara.
It is a fact worthy of being here recorded, as illustrative of the
success of the miners, that we shall observe a larger number returning
on foot than we find going. I was amused one day, while on my way to the
regions of hidden treasure, when meeting a ragged, hairy, Esau-looking
pedestrian, he hailed me with “Hallo.” “How are you?” answered I. “Which
way?” asked he. “To the mines,” replied I. “Well, my friend,” said he,
“you will excuse me for speaking plainly; this is a free country and I
presume you are at liberty to go to the mines or to the d--l, just as
you please; but, mark my words, if you are going to the mines to dig,
I’ll be d--d if you don’t rue the act.” “May-be not,” remarked I. “Very
well,” he added, “you’ll see. By the time you delve and toil two long
years, under the broiling sun as I have done, and have seen others do,
without making a decent living, you’ll perceive the truth of what I tell
you.”
Steadily pursuing our course, about twelve o’clock we came to the
Stanislaus River, a small tributary stream of the San Joaquin. Here we
stop to change horses and get dinner, there being a sort of bastard
hotel near the brink of the river. Numerous Indians, naked and hungry,
could be seen prowling about this place, or seated in squads, partaking
of a mess of worms, young wasps, grasshoppers, or any other similar
dainty to which their good stars may lead them. It was a long time
before the savage creatures would tolerate the presence of the white man
amongst them; but they have been so repeatedly routed in battle, that
they have now given up open hostility and are comparatively peaceable;
still they secretly cherish the most implacable enmity to our race, and
improve every opportunity to dispatch us when they can do so without
being detected. They gain nothing, however, by these covert misdeeds;
for our people, understanding their insidious conduct, retaliate by
deliberately shooting them down whenever they come in their way. What
the white man’s life is valued at by the Indian, is probably not known;
but the white man hurls the Indian into eternity with as much
nonchalance as though he were a squirrel.
Having appeased our appetites and secured the services of a fresh team,
we cross the river and resume our journey. As we advance towards the
place of our destination, the face of the country changes, from level
plains to rugged slopes and woodlands. In the forenoon our road, though
disagreeably dusty, was both smooth and straight, but now it winds over
rocky glades, hills and gullies; and as the wheels of our vehicle mount
and descend the rough impediments, we are jarred and shaken without
mercy. Approaching still nearer the end of our journey, we have to
contend with a more difficult and uneven surface; but being in charge of
a very skillful driver, we are drawn safely over every rock and crag.
Arriving in Sonora between sundown and dark, we repair to a public
house, and bespeak supper and lodgings for the night. The best hotel in
the place is a one-story structure, built of unhewn saplings, covered
with canvas and floored with dirt. It consists of one undivided room, in
which the tables, berths and benches are all arranged. Here we sleep,
eat and drink. Four or five tiers of berths or bunks, one directly above
another, are built against the walls of the cabin, by means of upright
posts and cross-pieces, fastened with thongs of raw-hide. The bedding is
composed of a small straw mattress about two feet wide, an uncased
pillow stuffed with the same material, and a single blanket. When we
creep into one of these nests, it is optional with us whether we unboot
or uncoat ourselves; but it would be looked upon as an act of
ill-breeding, even in California, to go to bed with one’s hat on. Having
once resigned ourselves into the arms of Morpheus, we are not likely to
be disturbed by the drunken yells and vociferations of night-brawlers,
now that we have become accustomed to such things. The noisy curses of
the rabble will have no more effect upon us than the roaring water-fall
or the mill-wheel has upon the miller. Night glides away, morning dawns,
and we rise from our bunks to battle with another day. On the outside of
the tavern, whither we betake ourselves to wash, are a tub of water, a
basin and a towel, for all the guests; but as only one person can
perform his ablutions at a time, it will be necessary for us to form
ourselves in a line, and take our turn--the first comers being entitled
to the front places. We are now ready to replenish the inner man. The
bar is convenient for those who wish to imbibe. Breakfast is announced.
We seat ourselves at the table. Before us is a reasonable quantity of
beans, pork and flapjacks, served up in tin plates. Pea tea, which the
landlord calls coffee with a bold emphasis, is handed to us, and we help
ourselves to such other things as may be within reach.
No matter what kinds or qualities of viands are set before us, so that
there be sufficient, for our stomachs have become so well tempered by
this time that we feast upon them with as much gusto as if we were
dining in a French restaurant. Neither spices, sauces nor seasonings are
necessary to accommodate them to the palate. Our appetites need no
nursing. Honest hunger disdains such dyspeptic accompaniments as the
contents of cruets and casters. The richest condiments are the poorest
provisions.
Our fast is broken--we are satisfied. The proprietor of the hotel, with
his two male assistants, begins to clear off the table. Women have no
hand in these domestic affairs. There is not a female about the
establishment. All the guests, owners and employees are men. The dishes
are washed, the blankets straightened in the berths; and while the cook
is preparing dinner, some of the tavern-loungers seat themselves around
the table, to take a friendly game of euchre, whist, seven-up,
laugh-and-lay-down, old-maid, commerce or matrimony, while others
saunter off to the gambling houses, of which there are about half a
dozen in the place, to play at roulette, monte, faro, poker, twenty-one,
all-fours or lansquenet. Such is hotel life in California, especially in
the country towns and throughout the mining region.
Frequently several of the guests are fuddled, and as there are no
partitions or apartments in the building, by which one person or set of
persons may be separated from another, they are a most prolific source
of annoyance to their sober neighbors. I recollect one occasion
particularly, when, fatigued by a long day’s journey, I stopped at one
of these mountain taverns in the hope of enjoying a comfortable night’s
rest. Soon after eating my supper, which consisted of the standard
dish, pork and beans, I crept into one of the farthest bunks, annoyed by
the blackguardism and segar fumes of a group of drunken card-players,
who occupied a table near the centre of the room. These swaggering
inebriates, noisy as they were, did not prevent me from sleeping, as I
had become habituated to witnessing such nocturnal carousals; but
towards midnight, in came a wild, blustering lunatic, who had lost his
reason about a week before, yelling and screaming as if a legion of
fiends were after him. He was bare-footed, bare-headed and bare-legged,
having no clothing upon his person, except a shirt; and I understood
afterwards that he had been roaming about the place four or five days
and nights in this condition. Making some inquiry concerning his
history, I learned that he was a lawyer by profession, that he had
formerly figured as an able and influential member of the Maine
Legislature, and that, becoming embarrassed in his financial affairs, he
left his family and emigrated hither in the hope of retrieving his
fortune. Shortly after his arrival, not finding employment for his
talent as a counselor, he determined to seek the favor of the mines; but
his efforts in that quarter proved unavailing. For nearly a year he had
toiled vigorously and incessantly, but to no purpose. He could not
discover the hidden treasure which he sought. Disappointed and
chagrined at the result, he resigned himself to the bottle. The
remembrance of his dependent and far distant family, coupled with the
mischievous influence of ardent spirits, increased and sharpened his
mental suffering; his mind began to vacillate--his reason lost its
equilibrium, and we now find him a raving maniac. More than half naked,
friendless and forlorn, he wanders about the streets and through the
woods, day and night--a poor, miserable, crazy vagabond. Why, it may be
asked, was there not some public provision made for the removal and
security of this pitiable nuisance? Simply because it was in California.
Here, where there is nothing as it should be, this unhappy man was
allowed to run at large. No one cared for him. He was supposed to be
harmless, and was, therefore, permitted to live. If he had inflicted any
bodily injury upon any one, he would probably have been shot or stabbed,
and that would have been the end of the drama. Cases of this or a
similar character are to be met with almost every day. I only mention
this as a single instance.
To give a faint idea of the precocity and waywardness of youth in this
country, I will relate a bloody incident which occurred at another
hotel, where I had put up for a night’s lodging. In this case the
landlord, a short, lean Massachusetts Yankee, was married and had his
family with him. His eldest son, Ned, had not seen his ninth year.
Nevertheless, this boy had learned to gamble. Whether his father or
mother had instructed him in the art, or whether he had been tutored by
the blacklegs frequenting the hotel, I am unable to say; but it was very
evident that his parents cared very little about the matter, for they
permitted him to play cards in their own house, and seemed to pride
themselves upon his proficiency. Indeed, he was so dexterous in his
manner of shuffling and dealing, and so quick to perceive the course and
probable result of the game, that he was known throughout the
neighborhood as the gambling prodigy. It may be questioned whether Hoyle
himself was so conversant with diamonds, hearts, clubs and spades at so
early an age.
Supper was now over, and the tables were surrounded with players. Little
Ned had his place amongst them. I watched him more than an hour. He
handled the cards with so much grace, skill and agility, and seemed to
be so perfectly familiar with every branch of the game, that I could not
withhold my admiration. As the night advanced, the parties became
involved in a quarrel. Some one accused Ned of unfairness in changing
the position of certain cards. Violent oaths and maledictions followed
this accusation. Inflamed with anger, and assuming a menacing attitude,
Ned denounced his accuser (a full grown man, three times as large and
four times as old as himself,) as “a pusillanimous liar and scoundrel,”
and added, “G-d d--n you, I’ll shoot you!” By this time the excitement
had reached a high pitch. Things began to wear an alarming aspect.
Several persons took sides in the matter, some for Ned and some against
him. A general row seemed to be inevitable. Ned had the largest number
of friends; but his enemies were clamorous and obstinate in their
assertions that he had departed from the rules of the game, and declared
in positive terms that he was a disciplined cheat.
Finally, however, Ned’s friends took upon themselves all the
responsibility of his behaviour, and the war of loud invectives and
imprecations was now waged more by the adherents of the original
disputants than by those disputants themselves. The bandying of gross
epithets attracted the attention of a large crowd. Serious consequences
were apprehended. The occasion was pregnant with mischief. One of the
desperadoes jerked a bowie-knife from his pocket, and was about to
plunge it into the body of his antagonist, when another drew a revolver
and shot him. A few struggles--a few groans, and the fallen man had
ceased to live. But the injury was not confined to him alone. As the
ball passed through the breast of the man at whom it was aimed, it
lodged in the shoulder of an innocent spectator, inflicting a severe
but not mortal wound. And now was enacted one of those awful scenes of
retribution for which California is so notorious. The man who had just
committed the homicide was seized by the mob, and, amid loud cries of
“hang him! hang him!” led out to a tree and there summarily executed
according to the prompt sentence of the excited multitude. It was a
season of dreadful uproar and commotion. The man who was shot had not
been dead half an hour before his murderer was suspended by the neck
between heaven and earth. Thus we have seen the blood of two men shed in
the quarrel of a stripling, who had not attained half the age of
manhood, but who already was a reckless and abandoned little gambler. If
we deemed it necessary, we might cite other instances of a similar
character. Suffice it to say that this boy, Ned, may be taken as a fair
sample of the rising generation in California. Of course, they are not
all exactly like him, any more than two persons are exactly alike any
where else; but the same unlimited freedom is extended to them all: they
are allowed to do just as they please. What else can be expected? Is it
to be supposed that parents who put no restraint upon themselves will
govern their children with propriety? If the father is an habitual
gambler, drunkard and desperado, will not the son be so too?
The truth is, there is no attention paid to the moral, mental or
physical discipline of youth in this country. They are left to their own
will and inclination, to grow up, like the plants and weeds in a
neglected garden, without culture or training. Surrounded as they are
with so many examples of depravity, what sort of men and women are they
likely to he? It is probable that the world has never reared such a
horde of accomplished scamps and vagabonds, male and female, as will
soon emerge from the adolescent population of the Eureka State. The
signs of the times warrant this conclusion. How can it be otherwise when
they are familiar with every vice, and strangers to every virtue? It
matters not how strict or careful the parents themselves may be, it is
impossible for them to shield their children from the baneful influences
of the neighborhood; and a man might as well think of raising a healthy
and stalwart family in the midst of a malarious swamp, as to think of
rearing decent sons and daughters in California. The boys persuade
themselves that they are men before they are half matured; and their
superiors are either too little concerned about it, or too deeply
engrossed in business to teach them better. As a consequence of this
precocious manliness, they give themselves up to all the pernicious
habits and indulgences of older reprobates.
A few words now in regard to this town of Sonora. It is built upon the
slope of a long hill, and contains about four thousand inhabitants. Only
one street traverses it. Unlike most other towns, its length is very
much disproportioned to its breadth. As well as I remember, it is
something over a mile long, and only about one hundred yards wide; so
that the single street which passes through it affords an ample avenue
for the intercourse and business operations of the people. The houses,
or, more properly speaking, the shanties, are built close together, and
open on the street, in city style. Indeed, it is here called a city, and
is governed by a mayor and common council. In fact, every collection of
houses in this country, every hamlet, every village, every town, is
called a city. No matter if there be only half a dozen houses in a
place, it is termed a city, always taking the name of the locality upon
which it is built, as Collusi city, Stanislaus city, Marin city. I have
visited two or three of these California “cities” that contained but a
couple of frail tenements each, and four or five old bachelor
inhabitants.
Before it was ascertained which were the natural or most suitable and
convenient parts of the State for city sites and trading posts, there
was a wonderful deal of finesse practiced by a set of land-speculators.
Scattering themselves over the country, they laid claim to certain
eligible plats, which, according to their stories, Nature had formed
expressly for capitals and queen cities. Large maps, margined with
laudatory remarks, setting forth the peerless advantages of this place
and that, were committed to oily-tongued agents for general circulation.
The people were informed that such a place was destined to become a
metropolis, that all the surrounding mountains, hills, valleys and
plains were bound to become tributary to it, that the great system and
machinery of the world could not move on harmoniously without it, and
that those who secured the first choice of lots would at once be in
possession of a lordly fortune. This, as a matter of course, was all
sheer humbug; nevertheless, in California, where humbug mingles with
every transaction of life, and where people are ever ready to lay hold
of any scheme that promises money, it had the desired effect.
Many persons had confidence in these projects, and made investments in
them. Besides several individual cases of which I might speak, I am
acquainted with a company of men who laid out more than one hundred and
fifty thousand dollars in this questionable species of property;--to-day
their investment is not worth two cents on the dollar. It was perfectly
amusing sometimes to witness the working of these bastard enterprises.
The authors and agents of the plan, having their topographic charts and
every thing in readiness, would bustle about among the people, pointing
out and explaining the favorable and commanding situation of the place,
assuring them that the attention of the whole country was now directed
to it, and giving the most exasperated accounts of the demand for lots.
In this way they would soon get up a great excitement, (it requires but
a small matter to excite the people in California.) In a few instances,
as many as seventy or eighty persons have been known to purchase
interests in one of these bubble cities, and, laying aside all other
business, flock to it without delay. Three weeks afterwards, there would
probably be only one or two men on the ground, and no marks or vestiges
of a city, except, perhaps, a few deserted cloth tents. It must be
admitted that the projectors of these ephemeral cities made money at the
expense of their victims.
The Americans were the principal operators in these speculative
movements; but I know several Germans, who, though proverbially cautious
in the matter of dollars and cents, were likewise drawn into them. In
one particular case, two worthy representatives of the _Faderland_
bought four lots, each forty-five by one hundred and thirty-seven feet,
for thirteen thousand dollars, which they afterwards offered to me at
ninety-five per cent. discount! I would not have taken the whole or any
part of the plot at the rate of six dollars an acre.
I have alluded, parenthetically, to the excitability of the
Californians. This is a remarkable trait in their character. The least
thing of unusual occurrence fires their fancy and sets them in motion.
If a terrier catches a rat, or if a big turnip is brought to market, the
people cluster together and scramble for a sight with as much eagerness
and impetuosity as a party of children would scramble after a handful of
sweetmeats. If, in these hasty gatherings, one man happens to tread on
the toes of another, it only requires one minute for the injured party
to shoot the offender, two minutes for some body else to stab the
shooter, and three minutes for the whole crowd to hang the stabber.
While in and about Sonora, we may have an opportunity of inspecting all
the various systems of mining that are carried on in California. The
whole earth, for some distance around, is literally turned upside down,
or inside out. On the left, they are using the common single-hand
rocker; on the right, sluicing; and in another place, sinking deep
shafts. We shall here find a great many Mexican miners, who make deep
pits and excavations in the hills, and who are generally very successful
in their operations. These delving countrymen of Santa Anna seem to have
a peculiar tact for discovering the veins of gold. But they do not
confine themselves much to surface diggings. They have a greater
propensity for holes. Sometimes they will go forty or fifty feet into
the earth without finding an atom of the precious metal; but it is very
seldom that they mistake their ground; they keep going, either in a
perpendicular, horizontal or meandering direction, until they strike the
ore. Except in working quartz veins, machinery has been but little
employed, as yet, in developing the mineral resources of the State; but
I am inclined to the opinion that it might be advantageously applied in
gathering the gold in whatever form it may exist.
A part of the preceding chapter was devoted to observations upon the
habits of life and personal appearance of the miner; but I neglected to
mention his peculiar characteristic or appendage: this is the long hair
upon his head and face. He neither shaves nor shears; he has no use for
either razors or scissors. The tonsorial art is, in his estimation, a
most reprehensible and unmanly innovation. Looking upon it as one of the
fashionable foibles of society, he disavows all connection with it. He
believes that Nature is not apt to make mistakes, that all things were
created about right, that hair was placed upon man’s head and face to
harmonize with the other organs of his body, that it has its distinct
and peculiar offices to perform, and that if it is cut, the whole animal
economy will be more or less enervated. Such is something of the faith
of the miner upon this interesting subject, which has of late been such
a theme of discussion among the mustachioed and non-mustachioed world.
I confess myself, in fact, a convert to his notions. To say that the
whiskers or the hair should never be trimmed, would be as much as to say
that the finger-nails should never be pared; while to say that the beard
or the hair should be cut close to the skin, would be the same as saying
that the finger-nails should be pulled out by the roots. If we shave the
chin and the cheeks, why not the head, the hands and the arms? How comes
it that hair is less tolerable on the side of the face than on the back
of the hand? The Chinaman shaves his head all over, except a small spot
on the crown, about twice the size of a dollar, and we laugh at him for
doing so; but may it not be questioned which is the greater object of
derision, a bald head or a beardless face? We are also in the habit of
ridiculing young ladies because they lace or compress their waists, but
would it not be equally becoming in them to sneer at us for disfiguring
our faces? What would we think of the belles, if they were to get in the
habit of wearing false whiskers? Would we not characterize the
introduction of such a fashion as a silly and whimsical innovation? But
is it any more ridiculous or censurable in a woman to make her face
masculine, than it is in a man to make his feminine?
That the beard is a protection against sore throats, coughs, colds,
asthma, and other ailments, every California miner will be willing to
testify. It is said that the English colliers, who have long suffered
from hemorrhage of the lungs, have evaded the disease altogether by
discontinuing the use of the razor. Yet the newspapers inform us that
the clerks in the Bank of England are not allowed to wear mustachios,
under penalty of dismission.
As I have heretofore remarked, mining in California is one of the most
precarious of all occupations. Yet it is the country’s only source of
wealth, and if the laborer fails in it, he cannot betake himself to
other pursuits. If he cannot make money by digging, shoveling and
rocking, he cannot make it at all. Now and then, it is true, the miner
meets with unanticipated good luck; but when such a thing occurs it is
blazoned from Dan to Beersheba, whereas no mention is ever made of the
thousands of unfortunate, poverty-stricken dupes, who, though equally
industrious and deserving, scarcely defray their expenses.
I may refer to the case of an old man, who, for some time, was engaged
in mining operations at this place, and with whom I became acquainted
soon after my arrival here. Sixty years had left their traces upon his
face, and his snowy beard and silver locks increased his venerable air.
For a man of his age, he was remarkably vigorous; and as he was somewhat
above the usual height, and well proportioned, with a kind heart that
beamed through his intelligent features, he must have been, in his
younger days, a noble specimen of a man. Even at the time of which we
speak, he was a fine looking man, old in years but young in spirit,
whole-souled, free from every species of hypocrisy, plain-spoken, full
of courage and resolution, yet sincere and guileless as a child. Though
I never saw him have on a clean shirt, though his whole garb was
besmeared with mud and soiled with perspiration; though his hoary locks
hung about his breast and shoulders in unrestrained length and unlimited
profusion; and though he was nothing now but a poor, penniless old
miner--yet, convinced that he had those excellent qualities within,
which constitute the great and good man, I should have felt proud to
call him father.
We will let this venerable sexagenarian tell his own story. I indite his
own words, as nearly as I recollect them. Said he, during conversation
one evening, after we had both quit work, “Some men would esteem
themselves wealthy, if they were worth as much money as I was deprived
of by bad legislation in Congress, a while previous to my departure for
this country. Soon after the enactment of the tariff law of 1842, one
of my neighbors and myself invested eighty thousand dollars in the
manufacture of iron, in the State of Pennsylvania. Our business
succeeded beyond our expectations; and in order to supply the increasing
demands for our products, we found it necessary to employ additional
force and capital, build new forges, and otherwise enlarge the sphere of
our operations. Every examination of our affairs developed new evidences
of prosperity, and our hearts glowed with gratitude to those sterling
patriots and sagacious statesmen, Clay, Webster and others, through
whose eloquent influence we were then harvesting the fruits of a
protective tariff. But this thriving state of things was not of long
continuance. In 1846 the tariff act of ’42 was repealed; and that repeal
was the death-blow to our manufacturing interests. The duty on iron was
reduced so low that it was impossible for us to compete with the
importations from Europe. We became embarrassed, made an assignment, and
finally, by sacrificing every thing we had in the shape of property,
extricated ourselves from all liabilities. After this stroke of
misfortune, having a wife and three daughters, who were partly dependent
upon me for support, I concluded to come to California, believing, from
the flattering accounts which I had seen published, that money was more
easily accumulated here than in the Atlantic States. It is now almost
two years since I arrived in San Francisco. Going to the northern mines
first, I worked there something over twelve months; but finding it a
difficult matter to pay expenses, I came south, and settled at this
place. I fear I have not bettered my condition. During the last seven or
eight months I have labored faithfully upon this bar, but have not been
in possession of as much as twenty-five dollars clear money at any one
time. I confess I am utterly disappointed in California. It has been
grossly, shamefully misrepresented. I have tried it to my satisfaction.
Now I would be glad to return to my home in Pennsylvania, but I have no
means to convey me. And there is my poor family, my beloved wife and
daughters--what will become of them? May heaven provide for them, for I
am unable.”
As the good old man uttered these last words, the tears trickled down
his cheeks, and he could say no more. Had it not been that I disdained
to moisten California soil with such precious drops, I believe my eyes
would have rained too; for the clouds began to gather about them, and I
had to use no little precaution to keep them dry. It was certainly no
sign of a white-livered man, to shed tears in a case of this kind; on
the contrary, it was, at least in my opinion, a mark of goodness; and my
estimation of the old gentleman was heightened, on account of the
tender regard he manifested towards his family. He had lately received
a most soothing and affectionate letter from one of his daughters,
urging him by all means to return home on the first opportunity, and
promising to exert herself to the utmost to make him happy. Handing the
letter to me, he remarked that I might read it if I felt so disposed. A
peculiar thrill electrified my whole system as I laid hold of the
delicately penned missive. I was but little acquainted with that kind of
literature, yet there was a charm about it, and I devoured its contents
with avidity. It was a rare souvenir--beautifully written, well worded,
and faultless in orthography.
CHAPTER XIV.
VOYAGE TO CALIFORNIA VIA CAPE HORN.
Among our readers there may be some who are contemplating a trip to
California, and may be hesitating between the two routes commonly
traveled. For their sakes, I have violated the chronological order of my
adventures, that I might introduce a description of the outward and
return trip, in immediate juxtaposition for the greater convenience of
comparison.
From the pier of Wall street, New York, on Friday, January 31st, seven
passengers, myself amongst the number, embarked for San Francisco, on
board the clipper ship Stag-Hound, under command of Capt. Josiah
Richardson. The wind blowing from the north-east afforded us a favorable
opportunity for standing out from land; of this, however, we did not
avail ourselves until about 4 o’clock in the afternoon; for, although
our vessel was towed out early in the morning, and every thing seemed to
be in readiness for our final departure, yet, through some unavoidably
delay, we were obliged to cast anchor off Staten Island, where it became
necessary for us to remain until the time above mentioned. We then
weighed anchor, set sail, and in a few minutes our noble ship was
gliding over the blue waves with swan-like grace.
It was truly a magnificent sight, as we headed off so smoothly and so
majestically from the shore, and made our way out farther and farther
upon the dark blue deep; we spent the greater part of the evening
promenading the quarter-deck, and admiring the enchanting scene. But our
reverie and conversation were not altogether undisturbed by melancholy
thought. We had just started upon a long, uncertain and monotonous
voyage. Old associations had been broken up. We had bid adieu to our
native homes, our nearest relations and dearest friends, probably for
three or four years--possibly for ever. All before us then was an
unknown world--an untrodden path, and phantom-faces of doubt and fear
would loom up from the obscurity of the future.
The next morning I began to feel symptoms of that most intolerable of
all sensations, seasickness. Of this malady I had some little experience
once before, while on my way from Philadelphia to New York via Cape May;
but I never entertained the least idea that it was half so depressing as
I now found it. For three weeks and more I could scarcely eat a
mouthful. It really seemed to me at times that eating was the most
abominable occupation men could engage in; and when I looked upon
dishes of which I had often freely partaken before coming on board the
vessel, I either found it difficult to reconcile myself to the opinion
that I was not dreaming, or came well nigh detesting myself for having
ever been addicted to so gross a habit.
The monotony of our daily life was without variety for the next four or
five days. The wind had been somewhat favorable, and we were making good
progress until the evening of the fifth day, when suddenly the wind
changed and we shortly after found ourselves in the midst of as nice a
hurricane as ever sunk a ship or leveled a forest. The wind howled and
shrieked in such a manner that I could compare it with nothing earthly;
the sea, too, had assumed, by this time, a most formidable appearance;
the rain was falling in perfect torrents--the lightning flashed
incessantly, and such deafening thunder-peals mortal man never heard
before. It appeared as if the elements, for the last five days or so,
had been nursing their wrath for this particular occasion, and were
determined that we, poor devils of passengers, should be made thoroughly
acquainted with the comforts of a crowded ship in a tornado at sea.
The poor affrighted passengers (myself among the rest) despaired of the
ship long before the severest part of the tempest was felt, and prayers
and promises were offered up without stint for our salvation, by many
that never prayed before and I suppose have never done so since. When
morning dawned it seemed as if the fury of the storm increased--sea and
sky were apparently as one; every thing, and every body appeared
helpless, hopeless, panic-stricken. Most of our canvas had been taken in
or closely furled, yet the ship dashed along with the speed of a
race-horse. Things that were not well secured rolled about in the
greatest disorder and confusion. The heavy seas which she had already
shipped, and the still heavier ones she was then shipping, increased, if
possible, the consternation inspired by the awful scene. In fact, things
began to wear such a threatening aspect, that a speedy change of some
sort was looked forward to with the greatest anxiety, not only by the
passengers, but by the captain and crew, when, to complete our terrors,
topgallant-masts, royals, and main-top-mast, with their appendages, came
down with a crash that was heard above the howling of the storm. By this
time the day had been spent, and night considerably advanced,--with fear
and trembling we retired to our state-rooms, doubting whether we should
ever be permitted to see the light of another day. For myself, I suppose
I was quite as indifferent about the matter as any one else; for, when a
person gets to be as much under the influence of nausea as I was at the
time, any change is desirable, even though it carry him to the bottom of
the deep. The night passed, and we found that the storm was beginning to
abate, so that, in about forty-eight hours thereafter, its violence had
entirely ceased, and fine weather attended us across the equator.
The loss of our masts, in this severe gale, at once threw a damper on
our high hopes of a quick passage; but, fortunately for us, we had extra
masts on board; and, through the indefatigable exertions and
perseverance of our vigilant captain, we succeeded in getting all the
wreck cleared away and jury-masts rigged. The shattered timbers and torn
sails opened an unusually large field of labor for our carpenter and
sail-maker. We kept on our course, which had been very nearly south-east
ever since we started, until we passed the Cape Verde Islands, about
four degrees to the west, when we steered due south, and crossed the
equator between twenty-nine and thirty degrees west longitude.
The next interesting event that happened to us occurred off the coast of
Brazil, in latitude 22° 25´--longitude 38° 29´, Sunday, March 2d. It was
about six o’clock in the morning, and I had just left my state-room and
gone on deck to take a bath, when a sailor by my side, pointing over the
starboard bow, cried out, “Boat ahoy! boat ahoy! with men in it.” In an
instant, as if by electricity, the news was conveyed to every ear on
board, and, at the same time, the starboard rail was lined fore and aft
with anxious sailors and half-dressed passengers. As we drew near them,
(they had been rowing towards us all the while as hard as they could
pull,) they commenced waving their hands and handkerchiefs, beckoning to
us and calling out in an unintelligible language, as if imploring us to
receive them on board. At the time, the sea was running moderately high,
and we were gliding along at the rate of five or six knots per hour, so
that in a few minutes we had them directly astern of us; but we were not
so destitute of humanity as to pass them by and leave them to certain
death. Our sympathies were quickly and enthusiastically aroused in their
behalf, and as soon as our captain could get his ship under proper
command, he hove her to and waited for them to row along side. Pretty
soon they came close under the lee of our vessel, and their
weather-beaten features and nautical garb at once gave evidence that
they were not unacquainted with the life of sea-faring men.
A rope was thrown to them and they were all able to pull themselves on
board by it, except one, whom we afterwards ascertained to be their
captain,--he, poor fellow, was so much exhausted that he could not help
himself, and we were obliged to hoist him in. Their story was the next
thing to be learned; for, as yet, not a word they said had been
understood. This difficulty was removed, however, as soon as we got our
men collected; for, among our polyglot assemblage of men, representing
nearly forty different nations, we quickly found an interpreter in the
person of an old Swede, whose translation of their story was, in
substance, as follows:--They were Swedes and belonged to the Russian
brig Sylphide, which had been to Rio and taken in a cargo of eighteen
hundred and twenty-five bags of coffee, with which they had set sail for
Helsingfors, Finland,--when five days out from Rio, a severe storm, or
rather squall, came upon them, and so completely and suddenly wrecked
their vessel, that they had barely time to escape in one of the little
boats with their lives--not even having an opportunity to procure so
much as a bottle of water or a mouthful of food. So precipitate and
unexpected was the calamity which thus overtook them, that they had to
quit their brig without any preparation whatever, and abandon their
carpenter, who happened to be in his berth sick at the time, to a watery
grave.
They had been out three days and nights in this condition, with nothing
to eat or drink, save the legs of their captain’s boots, which they said
they had been chewing to sustain life. Exposed as they were to the
burning rays of a tropical sun, without any thing to eat or drink, it is
not reasonable to suppose that they would have lived more than three
days longer at farthest, if we had not picked them up, or if they had
not been otherwise providentially relieved. We received the captain in
our own cabin, and at our own table, and entertained him as hospitably
and agreeably in every way as it was possible for us to do. His men went
before the mast, and proved a very acceptable addition to our crew,
especially in doubling Cape Horn, for they could endure the cold much
better than our own seamen. That day, in commendation of the act we had
performed in the morning, our captain,--who, by the by, was a very
exemplary and devout scion of an orthodox Yankee house,--read, during
divine service, the parable of the Good Samaritan.
About three o’clock in the afternoon of the same day, a little
circumstance came under my observation, which, though it may seem quite
a trivial affair in the eyes of many, may nevertheless serve to
illustrate in some degree the barbarity of man and his utter
indifference in regard to the lives of inferior animals. The subject of
the incident was a small land bird, very much resembling our hedge
sparrow, which was discovered resting upon one of the larboard main
braces. A gust or blast of wind had probably driven it out to sea, and
it could not find its way back to the shore. It was so weak that it
could scarcely fly, and looked as if it was almost dead. On seeing it, I
ran below and got a few crumbs of bread and strewed them along over the
life-boat nearest to it. But just at that moment, the Swedish captain,
who had now begun to resuscitate, came up on deck; and spying the
distressed little wanderer, he walked up as boldly and deliberately to
the rope upon which it was sitting, as if it had been some noxious
intruder, and shook it violently. Thus frightened, the bird flew off
some distance from the ship, but soon returned and alighted in the very
same place; again the captain shook the rope as he had done at first,
and again the bird did just as it had done before. This same thing was
repeated for the third time, when the wearied little creature,
apparently disgusted with the brutality of the man, who but a few hours
before was himself in a forlorn and helpless condition, dropped down
upon the water, and was seen no more.
Keeping along down the South American coast, we passed between Patagonia
and the Falkland Islands; and on the morning of the 21st of March were
within twenty miles of Staten Land. This was the first land we had seen
since leaving home, and we feasted our eyes upon it, until our ship bore
us so far distant that it had dwindled down to a mere speck. When we
were near enough to Staten Land, I could see with the aid of the
captain’s spy-glass nothing but rugged and sterile mountains, the
highest peaks of which were covered with snow, and presented quite a
picturesque appearance. No vegetation nor living thing of any kind could
be discerned. But a young Bostonian, whom we afterwards saw in
Valparaiso, told us he passed so near the shore of some of the land
lying at the southern extremity of Patagonia, that he could see the
natives, who, he said, were a gigantic people, about eight feet high! He
also said they ran along on the shore abreast of his vessel, whooping
and yelling at him like a set of ferocious savages. On Sunday following
we saw Cape Horn, the most notorious of all places upon the high seas
for rough weather and contrary winds.
Up to this time we had been congratulating ourselves upon the auspicious
season in which we had happened to reach the Cape, and upon the quick
run we were going to make around it. Delightful weather and favorable
winds had cheered us since leaving the latitude of the La Plata river,
and we were in high hopes that we had just hit upon the right time to
sail safely round the dangerous Cape in one or two days, instead of
being kept there six or eight weeks, as is sometimes the case. But we
were doomed to sad disappointment. Towards night that terror of all
navigators, a downright Cape Horn tempest, assailed us, and for seven
successive days and nights kept us almost completely submerged. During
the whole of this time, the wind, which was so intolerably cold and
piercing that it seemed to be charged with isicles, blew right in our
teeth, and brought hail, sleet, rain or snow with it every hour. Owing
to this hard and continued blowing of the wind, the size and power of
the waves became perfectly appalling; indeed they ran so heavy and so
high that each one looked like a little ocean of itself, and frequently
they would strike the ship with such tremendous force that she quivered
and groaned as if she were going to pieces; in fact, I often expected to
see her shivered into fragments, and could hardly believe otherwise than
that we were all destined to become food for the fierce monsters of the
deep. We succeeded, however, in getting fairly around the Cape, much to
the gratification of all, and especially to the relief of our worn-out
seamen, who had been up working with all their might, day and night, for
a whole week.
While in the neighborhood of the Cape, we saw great numbers of the
albatross, gull, petrel, and other birds; by means of a fish-hook tied
to the end of a long line, and baited with a piece of fat bacon, which
we let out some eight or ten rods from the stern of the vessel, we
caught several of a species which the sailors called the Cape Hen. On
measuring one of them from the tip of its right wing to the tip of its
left, I found it to be seven feet across. The albatross is about twice
as large as the Cape Hen. Here, too, while in this latitude, we had our
fairest views of the great Southern Cross and the Magellan Clouds,
constellations of as much notoriety in the southern hemisphere, as the
Pleiades and Belt of Orion are in the northern.
It seems that the Atlantic and Pacific oceans are ever at war with each
other off Cape Horn, where their waters are continually coming into mad
collision, as if no friendship existed between them. But we will now bid
adieu to this aquatic battle field, this bleak, dreary region of storms
and hurricanes, and look forward to a more congenial clime.
Finding our water was now beginning to give out, and that we should have
to procure a fresh supply before we could reach San Francisco, we bent
our course towards Valparaiso, upon the coast of Chili, south of the
city and harbor to which we were then bound; and as we passed along up
the shore, we had a most magnificent view, not only of its own long
range of barren hills, but also of the lofty and towering heights of the
Andes at the distance of one hundred and forty-five miles in the
interior. To add to the grandeur of this spectacle on land, another now
presented itself on the ocean around us, in the form of great
whales--the first we had seen. We saw many of these huge creatures that
day and the next; one of them came within two or three rods of the stern
of the ship, and spouted the water with a noise something like that of a
high pressure Mississippi steamboat.
We had scarcely dropped our anchor in the harbor of Valparaiso before we
were surrounded with little boats filled with natives and foreigners,
who had come out, as they said, to talk with us and to see our ship.
From these men we learned that four days previously a severe earthquake
had been felt, and that all the houses in the city had been more or less
injured--a part of the city completely destroyed, and some few persons
killed. It was also reported by some of them, that it had laid a great
portion of Santiago, the capital, in ruins; but, as yet, no definite
news had been received from any of the inland cities or towns; and it
was not positively ascertained what amount of damage had been sustained
in any place, save only here. Late that evening, about half an hour
before sundown, we passengers made our entrance into the city; but it
was then too late in the day to see or learn any thing of interest, so
we returned directly to our own quarters aboard the ship, and waited in
suspense for the coming morn.
Immediately after an early breakfast, Wednesday morning, we put off in a
small boat for the shore, and were not a little surprised on arriving
there to find every thing so new and so different from what we had
supposed. Crowds of the natives, dressed in their peculiar costume, were
collected upon the wharves, and were making a great hubbub with their
clamorous tongues and noisy actions. They appeared to be an inoffensive,
simple-hearted sort of people; but they were inexcusably ignorant, and
abominably filthy.
Scarcely had we been in the city half an hour that morning, when I
stepped into a barbershop to have the superfluous hair removed from my
head and face. While in the very act of shaving me, the barber very
suddenly sprang aghast from me towards the door; and the first thing I
knew, the whole earth, houses and every thing around me, were quivering
in the most terrific manner; but, fortunately for the timid, helpless
creatures, the vacillation continued but a few seconds, and no very
serious consequences resulted from it. Just at the moment the rumbling
and quaking commenced, I could not for my life think what it was; but
the barber seemed to understand it immediately, for he had been the
unwilling spectator of a much more destructive earthquake only five days
before; and consequently, he knew well enough what the matter was. On
retiring from the shop, just as I entered the street, a similar shock
was experienced, and instantaneously the whole population rushed
headlong out of their houses into the thoroughfares, apparently in the
greatest distress, and frightened half out of their wits. I observed
several of the women particularly, who, upon running into the streets,
immediately placed themselves in an attitude of prayer, by falling upon
their knees, crossing their hands upon their breasts, and casting their
eyes towards heaven. There was something really beautiful and touching
in the unfeigned humility with which these awe-struck mortals resigned
themselves to the will of Him who alone is able to convulse worlds, or
command tranquillity throughout the universe.
Both of these tremors were slight, and neither did much mischief. But
the one that occurred four days previous to our arrival came very near
laying the whole city in ruins. The custom house, churches, stores, and
nearly all the principal buildings were cracked so badly that many of
them were considered dangerous. The people were engaged in pulling down
some entirely, and repairing others as best they could. The ground was
terribly rent in many places; and while on a stroll beyond the limits of
the city, I saw one crevasse which was about five inches in width, and
so long and so deep that I could find neither end nor bottom to it. We
remained in Valparaiso till the afternoon of Saturday, but did not feel
any other shock. For myself, I was satisfied with what I saw then, and
having been since shaken by them two or three times during my sojourn in
California, I hope I shall never feel another.
As for the city itself, we saw nothing that was really beautiful about
it. The majority of the residences were built of mud and straw, and
covered with tiles; and were, I think, upon the whole, rather inferior
to the negro huts upon a southern plantation. The immense sterile hills
all round, about, and through the city, presented quite a dreary and
desolate appearance, and prevented us from seeing more than half the
number of its buildings at the same time. One of the merchants, a New
Orleans man, informed me that the population was estimated at from
60,000 to 65,000. Speaking of this merchant reminds me of a remarkable
instance of stupidity which came under my observation one morning while
visiting his store. He had just received fifty barrels of pork, which
the drayman had left before his door, and which he wished to have stowed
in his cellar. His regular porter being sick, he hired two doltish
countrymen to perform the job. It was stipulated that they should
receive a certain sum of money for removing the pork from the street
into the cellar; and the bargain being fairly understood on both sides,
they began to fulfil their part of the contract, by _lifting_ the
barrels instead of rolling them. We allowed them to pursue this toilsome
system of labor until they had finished about one fifth of their task,
when we interposed and explained to them the easier method of
accomplishing it. It is a fact, according to their own confession, that
they had not sense enough to avail themselves of the rotundity of the
barrels.
Valparaiso surpasses San Francisco in the abruptness of its surface and
the barrenness of its soil. There is no plant within sight of the town,
except here and there in the little vales and hollows. The inhabitants
have to bring all their supplies from beyond the coast range, a distance
of nine or ten miles; and as the hills are so large and so steep that
they cannot be traversed with vehicles, every thing must be transported
upon the backs of mules. The interior of Chili is represented to be a
very beautiful and productive country; and, to use the language of her
historian, “all the fruits of the earth grow there in the greatest
abundance.” Towards noon that day, we chartered some donkeys and rode
out about two miles, to a garden called the Vale of Paradise, in the
upper part of the city. This was one of the most charming spots I ever
beheld, and, with the exception of two or three other little places like
it, the only level and fertile piece of ground we saw during the whole
time we were there. Here, on the 9th of April, we got apples, pears,
peaches, pomegranates, pine apples, quinces, oranges, lemons, figs,
bananas, mangoes and melons, to our hearts’ content.
On Thursday, having wandered from my comrades, I began to perambulate
the streets alone, determined to see and learn as much of the city as
practicable. At last I found I had wandered very nearly to its northern
outskirts, when I came to a little winding path, which I followed up
till it led me to the opened gate of a beautiful, palisaded inclosure.
Upon looking in I observed a long, clean, level walk in the midst of the
most delectable garden I ever saw. All the way overhead, from one end of
the walk to the other, there were large, luscious clusters of grapes,
hanging down in the richest profusion; while on either side there seemed
to be an actual rivalry in growth and luxuriance between the various
fruits and vegetables. About half way up the walk, in a well shaded
place, two middle-aged men, dressed in long robes, and with books in
their hands, were sitting on a bench, reading. Still I continued to
stand at the gate, admiring the fascinating scenery before me, being
seen by nobody, and seeing no one myself, except the two gownsmen, whose
attention seemed to be wholly absorbed by their books. To go in I feared
would not only be an interruption to the quietude and serenity which
pervaded those elysian grounds, but also an intrusion upon the privacy
of gentlemen whom I had no right to disturb. However, hoping to frame a
reasonable excuse by offering to purchase some fruit, I stepped in, and
slowly approaching the literary group, inquired, “Do you speak English?”
Scarcely had the words fallen from my tongue, when the one who sat
farthest from me arose, and having replied in the affirmative, extended
his hand towards me in a very cordial manner, and then asked me a long
question in Latin, not a word of which I understood except the
termination, which was “St. Patrick?” Manifesting by my looks, as well
as I could, my ignorance of his ecclesiastical salutation,
interrogation, or whatever it was, he immediately dropped his classical
lore, and conversed with me freely in English--both of us, in the
meantime, promenading up and down the lovely arbor. From him I learned
that the adjoining buildings were occupied as a Roman Catholic college,
and that this garden was exclusively for the use and benefit of the
priests, of whom he was one, as well as a professor in the institution.
He informed me that it was the largest and most popular college in
Chili, and that they had students from nearly all the republics and
provinces of the continent. He himself was a native of Belgium, but had
emigrated to South America as a missionary some fifteen years prior to
the time I saw him. The book he then held in his hand was a Spanish
history of the United States; and as he asked me a great many questions
concerning our country, I inferred that he felt a good deal of interest
in it. Upon the whole, he appeared to be a very kindhearted and
well-disposed man. Just before leaving, he presented me with a mammoth
bunch of delicious grapes, and at parting, gave my hand a courteous and
sincere shake.
At this place we parted with the wrecked crew we had picked up five
weeks before, leaving them in the hands of the Russian consul. But
before bidding a final adieu to the captain, we purchased a gold ring
and inclosed it in a sympathizing epistle to his wife, condoling with
her in her husband’s misfortunes. When we committed the letter and
little keepsake to his charge, he seemed to be very much affected, and
acknowledged himself under a thousand obligations to us.
Little occurred on our passage from Valparaiso to San Francisco worthy
of note, except the myriads of fish of various kinds which we saw
between the tropics, the sublime sunrises and sunsets, the enchanting
moonlight evenings, and the phosphorescent phenomena of the ocean at
night. The Pacific far surpasses the Atlantic in beauty and diversity of
ocean scenery. Its gentle gales and placid waves inexpressibly charm
the heart of the sailor. Almost every species of fish, from the tiny
pilchard to the monstrous whale may be found in its waters; while
countless numbers of aquatic birds, from the diminutive petrel to the
ponderous albatross, swim lazily upon its bosom.
Six days after leaving Valparaiso we passed within a short distance of
the St. Felix Islands, which rise alone out of the world of water. We
could see nothing that had life in it about them, nor any thing that was
inviting or pleasing to the eye. On the morning of the 5th May, we again
crossed the equator, in longitude 114°.
This voyage afforded us an excellent opportunity for reading; but it may
well be supposed that, in traveling seventeen thousand miles upon the
water, we were sometimes overcome with ennui. As a refuge from this
monotony of “life on the ocean wave,” we betook ourselves to games of
euchre, whist, chess, backgammon and solitaire. Our ship being very
large, perfectly new, beautifully and comfortably finished, and
furnished with the very best accommodations, eatables and drinkables, we
enjoyed ourselves remarkably well, except while sea-sick, or when dashed
and beaten about by ill-bred storms and hurricanes. As there were only
six passengers besides myself, we had abundance of room; and being
together so long, and secluded from all other society, we became as
sociable and familiar as if we had all been members of the same
household. A very amiable and estimable young lady, the sister of a
passenger, and the only female on board, contributed in an eminent
degree to the pleasure of the trip.
We arrived in San Francisco on the 25th of May, having made the passage
in one hundred and thirteen days from New York. This was a very quick
run, considering the misfortunes we met with off the Bermudas. If we had
not been dismasted, we would probably have reached our destination
twelve or fifteen days earlier. The Flying Cloud, clipper-modeled, and
built almost exactly like the Stag Hound, ran from New York to San
Francisco in eighty-nine days, which is the shortest voyage that has yet
been made by a sailing vessel between the two ports. Many of the
old-fashioned ships crawl along for seven or eight months: and I know
one blunt, tub-like carac which consumed three hundred and seventy days
in the passage.
CHAPTER XV.
VOYAGE FROM CALIFORNIA VIA NICARAGUA.
About six hundred homeward-bound passengers, myself included, left San
Francisco on the 16th of March, in the splendid steamship Cortes, under
command of Captain Cropper. It being our intention to reach the
Caribbean sea by the Nicaragua route, we bent our course towards San
Juan del Sur. Wind and wave both favored our movements, and we made
rapid progress. Stray thoughts occupied my mind as my eyes rested for
the last time upon the barren hills of California. There I had witnessed
many strange sights and incidents. Should I ever see them again? Was it
probable that I would stop to renew my acquaintance with them while on
my way to Japan and China in 1875, by the great Atlantic and Pacific
railway? My mind, however, was occupied but a little while in the
consideration of these matters. There was before me a country which
engendered a brighter train of thoughts than that which I was leaving
behind. I began to think of greeting the good old folks at home; of
joining long-parted hands, and of roaming over the glades and glens
which first supported my tottering steps.
Our gallant ship continued to glide bravely on towards the place of her
destination. Neither accident nor rough weather happened to us, and we
should have enjoyed ourselves finely if there had not been so many
persons on board. The crowd was too large for a pleasure party at sea.
There were too many months to feed, too many berths to adjust, and too
many complaints to be heard. Somebody was always in the way of somebody
else. We were too much pent up. There was an abundance of room all
around us, above and below us; but it was not adapted to our purposes.
The Cortez was our only foothold; and it was necessary that we should
cling to her as the only means of reaching terra firma.
But I imagine those of us who had state-rooms on the cabin-deck would
not have felt any disposition to murmur, if we had known how much better
we fared than the other passengers. Only about one hundred and fifty
enjoyed this advantage; all the others were huddled together in the
steerage. Is it reasonable to suppose that any considerable number of
these four hundred and fifty persons would have engaged such
uncomfortable and unwholesome passage, if they could have done better?
No. They could scarcely have been hired to pass through the torrid zone
in the steerage, if they had possessed money enough to pay for a
cabin-passage. It is a well-known fact that the steamers bring a much
larger number of steerage passengers from California than they take
there. The majority of those that go to California take passage in the
cabin; but more than two-thirds of those who return occupy the steerage.
As a matter of course, there was no communication between the cabin and
steerage passengers; at least those in the steerage were not allowed to
come abaft the ship; but I do not think our privileges were
circumscribed in this respect, for I went forward of the bulkhead
several times, as did many others who belonged in the cabin, and the
officers said nothing to us.
There was quite a medley of characters in the cabin. Bishop Soule, of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, may be placed at the head. He is
a stout, fine-looking old gentleman, about seventy years of age; and I
sincerely believe he was the best man aboard the vessel. He had been
stirring up the sinners in California for some time, and was now
returning to his home in Georgia. Next came the Rev. Dr. Boring and
three or four other clergymen, one of whom had formerly been a
missionary in Brazil. The Secretary of Utah Territory, a downright jolly
fellow, dressed in a suit of buckskin, and who, while on the Isthmus,
manifested a most ardent passion for parrots, was also on board. Besides
these, there were eight colonels, seven majors, five captains, three
professors, six doctors, ten quacks, five lawyers, eight pettifoggers,
a score of blacklegs, six or eight ladies, a dozen other adult females,
and fifteen or twenty children. We also had the company of a Polish
patriot, who was on his way to the East to join the Turkish army.
On the seventh or eighth day after our departure from San Francisco, one
of the passengers, while taking spy-glass observations, espied a
motionless object at a great distance on the water--the sea at the time
being perfectly calm and smooth. The spy-glass passed rapidly from hand
to hand, and was kept almost constantly leveled towards the object; but
nobody could determine what it was. One man thought it a ship in
distress; another inclined to the opinion that it was abandoned
altogether; while a third sighingly expressed his conviction that it was
the decaying remnant of a melancholy wreck. The captain, more
dispassionate, experienced, and capable of forming a correct judgment,
now surveyed it carefully; but it was so far off upon the larboard
quarter, that he acknowledged himself unable to give any reliable
information concerning it. What then was to be done? Should we stifle
our curiosity and continue on our course, or should we change and go to
the mysterious object? Some favored one proposition, and some the other.
Considerable betting had been going on as to the number of days we
would be occupied in making the passage, and one half of those who had
thus wagered their money were opposed to losing the time which it would
require to make the examination. But the motion to go being seconded and
sanctioned by a large majority of the passengers, the captain
immediately turned the prow of the steamer.
After sailing awhile on this new track, we discovered a large flock of
longipennate birds flying around the wreck to which we were then bound.
This was an ominous sign. What were these sea buzzards doing about a
disabled vessel, if they were not feeding on the dead bodies of seamen?
But the rapid movement of the Cortez assured us that our curiosity
should soon be allayed. With the aid of the spy-glass we could now view
the object distinctly; and on approaching still nearer, we found it was
nothing but an old empty scow! and that it was frequented by the fowls
of the sea merely because it afforded them a place to rest and to roost.
What a sore disappointment it was, not to find the carcasses of a
hundred starved sailors! A day or two after this, one of the steerage
passengers died, an old sail was wrapped around him, two pieces of
pig-iron were fastened to his feet, and he was cast overboard.
Early in the morning of the thirteenth day of our pilgrimage upon the
water, we arrived at San Juan del Sur, a miserable, good-for-nothing
little town, situated on the western coast of Nicaragua, near the
eleventh parallel of north latitude. The harbor was as mean and ugly as
the town, being very small, shallow and inconvenient. There were no
piers nor wharves, and we had to cast anchor about one hundred and fifty
yards from the shore. Large yawls were then prepared for us, and we were
conveyed as near terra firma as the depth of the harbor would allow. But
when the yawls struck bottom, I think we were still from twenty-five to
thirty yards from the water’s edge; and there were no means or
facilities of reaching the shore, except by wading, or by straddling the
shoulders of the half-breed, quarter-dressed natives, scores of whom, in
the hope of making a few shillings, were standing waist-deep in the
water all around us, and begging us to take seats on their backs, a
request with which, after some deliberation, we complied.
During this novel process of debarkation, I witnessed some most
ludicrous scenes. The Nicaraguans, generally speaking, are much more
feeble, dwarfed, and effeminate than the people of the United States. On
an average, I should think that one able-bodied Kentuckian would be
equal to four or five of these hybrid denizens of the torrid zone. It
will not, therefore, surprise the reader when I tell him that the small
man, while carrying the large one through the water, being top-heavy,
would sometimes drop his burden! Nor was this all; the ladies were yet
behind, and they had to be brought ashore in the same manner!
Among our passengers were two or three oleaginous men, of Falstaff
proportions; one of whom engaged a couple of the stoutest carriers
around the yawl to convey him to the shore. Fixing himself upon their
shoulders as well as he could, he signified to them that he was ready,
and they made for land; but before they had proceeded half a dozen
steps, he weighed them down, and all three fell flat on their backs in
the water! This little mishap created a great deal of merriment; and
several others who had just mounted and started, unable to restrain
their laughter, leaned back too far to give it vent, and down they
tumbled into the water likewise! It was necessary for the rider, or
topmost man, to keep himself in a quiet, perpendicular position; for if
he leaned backward, or forward, or sideway, he was sure to throw the
carrier off his equilibrium, in which case both of them would fall down
together.
The ladies had now arrived from the Cortez, and were ready to disembark.
There was but one way for them to get ashore, and that has already been
explained. They, too, were compelled to straddle the shoulders of the
natives; and when fairly mounted, give the signal of command, and ride
ahead boldly, like equestrian amazons in a circus. It may here be
remarked that these men were nearly naked, there being no apparel upon
them except a kind of bandage or wrapper around their loins. The manner
of mounting the carrier, whose head was almost on a level with the rim
of the yawl, was to place the right limb over his right shoulder, and
the left over his left; and when thus conveyed to the shore, it was a
very easy matter to part the limbs from his shoulders, and slide down
his back. These, then, were the means and facilities which were afforded
for the disembarkation of the ladies; and I have thus dwelt upon the
subject for the purpose of informing my fair readers, if I have any,
what they may expect upon their arrival at San Juan del Sur.
All the passengers and baggage were now landed, and after a deal of
vexation in securing checks and transit tickets, we set forward across
the country in the direction of Virgin Bay, a shabby village, situated
about fifteen miles distant, on Lake Nicaragua. We traveled this part of
the way on donkeys. The roads were in pretty fair condition, and a few
of the ladies, being well skilled in horsemanship, rode sideways, but
the majority of them having but little knowledge of equestrian
exercises, rode like men. This was my first entrance into the dismal
glories of a tropical forest. The trees pressed against each other for
room, and were clothed with the heaviest and most luxuriant foliage I
ever beheld, presenting every tint and shade of green. Coppice and
parasites filled up the interstices between them. Myriads of
gay-plumaged birds warbled upon their branches. Ten thousand times ten
thousand insects chirped beneath their limbs. Nimble monkeys ran up
their trunks, and venomous reptiles slept in their shadows.
To give an idea of the weather, I will simply say that, if I intended to
become a citizen of Nicaragua, I should advocate the immediate
construction of three public works, namely: a government bellows, a
state fan, and a great national umbrella! With the aid of these cooling
machines, I should think a person might manage to keep passably
comfortable; but without them, the heat is almost intolerable. In our
own country, the people are apt to complain of the hot days which dawn
upon them in July and August, but the caloric of the United States bears
no more comparison to that of Nicaragua than a frosty morning in
Carolina to a perpetual winter in Greenland.
We rode on, however, in spite of the fiery heat of the sun, and arrived
at Virgin Bay in good season for dinner. There were eight or ten dirty
little taverns in this despicable little town, and as it was uncertain
how long we should have to wait for our baggage, which was still
behind, and which was not expected before night, we placed ourselves in
charge of the landlords, who were highly pleased to receive such a
multitude of guests. About four o’clock in the afternoon, I went down to
the lake to bathe, having been previously assured that the alligators
did not frequent that side of the bay, except during the night.
The scenery here was grand beyond description. Lake Nicaragua itself may
be justly termed an inland sea. It is more than one hundred miles long,
and sixty miles in width. Mount Ometepe, a dormant volcano, and by far
the most beautiful elevation I ever saw, rises up out of the midst of
this lake, in the form of a sugar-loaf, to the height of seven thousand
feet. At a rough guess, I should say it was about fifty miles in
circumference at the base, or rather at the surface of the water.
A little before sunset, I returned to my hotel, and took supper. I had,
however, but little appetite for culinary preparations, for I had fed
myself on such a quantity of mangoes, oranges, bananas, and other
tropical fruits, that I was quite surfeited. Forty or fifty hammocks
were suspended in the loft of the hotel, and these were more attractive
than any other part of the entertainment.
We sat up until nearly midnight, waiting for our baggage, but it did not
come; and we were then informed that it would not arrive before
morning. The sun arose and found us still separated from our effects.
Noon came and brought the baggage with it. Thus you see we had suffered
an unnecessary delay of twenty-four hours at Virgin Bay. The steamer
Ometepe was now ready to receive us, and as we were all anxious to reach
home, we lost no time in going aboard. From this place we sailed in a
south-easterly direction until breakfast hour next morning, when we
arrived at Fort San Carlos, where we entered the San Juan river, which
conveys the waters of Lake Nicaragua into the Caribbean Sea. There was
nothing to be seen at San Carlos, except the dilapidated fort, and it
was not worth looking at. Here we had to leave the Ometepe, and embark
on a smaller boat, the river being too shallow to float a vessel of deep
draught.
Pursuing the current of the San Juan, we passed the unworthy little
village of Castillo, and again changed boats, leaving one of sorry
dimensions behind, and taking passage in a meaner one of less size, and
now came the peculiar annoyance of the route. Owing to the shoals and
sand banks in the river, we had to change ourselves and our baggage
several times; and every change we made was from bad to worse. Those of
us who had taken passage in the cabin, though we had paid more than
double the price of steerage tickets, received no extra accommodation
whatever. We were reduced to a level with the steerage passengers at
San Juan del Sur, and no manner of distinction was made between us until
we reached the opposite coast. For three days and nights we were all
crowded together in utter disorder and confusion; men, women and
children, white people and negroes, decent men and blackguards--all
fared alike. The presence of the ladies did not seem to exercise any
restraint upon the tongues of the vulgar. I am sure I had never before
been in the company of a set of human beings who were capable of giving
utterance to such an incessant volley of scurrilous and obscene language
as I heard while crossing the Isthmus.
There was not a mouthful of victuals prepared for us on board of these
miserable, rickety little steamers; nor was there any place to sleep,
except on deck, among puddles of tobacco juice. Occasionally we had an
opportunity of buying fruits and refreshments on the way; and this was
the only method we had of procuring any thing to eat. I do not think I
slept two hours out of the seventy-two which we occupied in passing the
two oceans. Indeed, the Transit Company treated us very shabbily. We had
paid them their price, and they had promised us better things.
Sometimes, to save the steamer from running aground, we had to debark,
and walk on the bank of the river. On one occasion we were compelled to
travel more than two miles in this manner, before we could find water
deep enough to carry us aboard the boat. As we neared the mouth of the
river, we met and overtook a great many adult natives, who were in the
same costume in which nature had launched them into the world. They did
not seem to be conscious of any impropriety in thus exposing their
persons.
Nicaragua can never fulfil its destiny until it introduces negro
slavery. Nothing but slave labor can ever subdue its forests or
cultivate its untimbered lands. White men may live upon its soil with an
umbrella in one hand and a fan in the other; but they can never unfold
or develop its resources. May we not safely conclude that negro slavery
will be introduced into this country before the lapse of many years? We
think so. The tendency of events fully warrants this inference.
The time may come when negro slavery will no longer be profitable in the
United States; and it is also possible that the descendants of Ham may
finally work their way beyond the present limits of our country. But if
these fated people ever do make their exodus from the hands of their
present owners, they will find themselves journeying and toiling under
the control of new masters, in the fertile wildernesses and savannas
nearer the equator. Louisiana and Texas may, at some future time--far
in the future--find it to their interest to adopt the white slavery
system of the North; but if negro slavery ever ceases to exist in the
United States, Mexico, Central America, and the countries still further
South, will have to become its outlets and receptacles.
It would be no easy task to find a more feeble and ineffective
population than that which now idles away a miserable existence in
Nicaragua. Nature is too bountiful to the inhabitants. It supplies them
with every necessary of life, and consequently there is no incentive to
exertion or emulation. Countless fruits and nuts grow and ripen
spontaneously, and they have nothing to do but to eat them. We did not
pass a single patch of ground under cultivation; nor did I see any
improvement, except the despicable little huts and shanties in which the
people lived.
On the morning of the first day of April, we arrived at San Juan del
Norte, alias Greytown, which has recently handed its name down to
history, in connection with that of commander Hollins, by whom, in
compliance with instructions from our government, it was bombarded a few
months ago. We did not go on shore, but I saw enough of the place to
convince me that it was never worth half the paper which has been
spoiled by diplomatic notes concerning it. The Americans call it
Greytown, but the original Spanish name is San Juan del Norte, which,
when Anglicized, means Saint John of the North. As we have had a good
deal to say respecting San Juan del Sur, it may not be amiss to state
that the English of it is Saint John of the South. Just before we left
the mouth of the river, we saw eight or ten full-grown alligators,
basking on an islet, thirty or forty yards from us. They were all lying
near each other, and did not seem to be frightened at our appearance. I
was well pleased to have such a fair view of these amiable lizards, but
regretted my inability to secure one for Barnum! About three hundred of
our passengers waved us an adieu at Greytown, and took passage in the
steamer Daniel Webster for New Orleans. The rest immediately set sail
for New York, in the steamer Star of the West.
We now found ourselves happily situated where we had good order, good
accommodations, and good treatment--three good things which many of us
had not been accustomed to for three long years. An air of propriety and
fitness pervaded the Star of the West fore and aft; and we felt as if we
were emerging from a vile and debased community, and entering upon the
threshold of refined society. No incident worthy of note occurred during
this part of our voyage. We were in hopes the captain would stop at
Kingston, Havana, or some other West India port; but he had no occasion
to do so. Passing on between Cuba and Yucatan, we rounded the Florida
Reefs, and then followed the Gulf stream until we reached the latitude
of Cape Hatteras, when we bore nearer the land, and ran into the harbor
of New York on Sunday, April 9th, having had a passage of twenty-four
days from San Francisco.
CHAPTER XVI.
MY LAST MINING ADVENTURE.
More than satisfied with the experience I had acquired in mining
operations in California, I found much difficulty in deciding upon my
future course. At one time I made up my mind to try what the fickle jade
fortune would do for me in Australia, and even went so far as to engage
a passage on board of a ship that would sail for Sydney within a week.
An acquaintance and friend, to whom I imparted my intentions, earnestly
persuaded me to abandon my projected voyage, and urged me to accompany
him to Columbia and take an interest in a very promising mining
adventure. My friend said “he felt quite sure that we could make an
ounce ($16) a day each with the utmost ease, provided we were favored
with sufficient rain. And as the rainy season was close at hand, he was
fully satisfied that we should have as plentiful a supply of water as
our mining operations would require.” I had heard of these diggings
frequently, and that gold was found there in great abundance, but as no
stream watered these surface mines, they could only be worked during the
rainy season. As my friend’s story was corroborated by my own knowledge
of these things, I agreed without much hesitation to abandon my voyage
to Australia, and join him in this new mining expedition--mentally
resolving, however, that it should be the last of my efforts to become
suddenly rich by delving for gold in the mines of California.
We left San Francisco in the latter part of the month of October, ran up
the river San Joaquin to Stockton in a stern-wheel steamboat, so crowded
with passengers that berths were entirely out of the question, and so we
were doomed to get through the night as best we could. And such a night!
It is my candid belief that for some unknown reason this particular
night lasted as long as thirteen others combined together, and that
during its continuance, I visited the infernal regions, upon the
pressing invitation of a legion of fiends, all wearing Chinamen’s hats
and long tails; moreover, I solemnly assert that almost every winged
insect and other creeping thing within a circuit of fifty leagues paid
their respects to us on board that miserable little steamboat. I have a
faint recollection of invoking the aid of all the saints in the calendar
for relief, but they would not hear me, and so I e’en concluded to
imitate great Cæsar’s example at the base of Pompey’s statue,--wrap my
head in my mantle, and thus resign myself to inexorable fate. As to my
friend, I had lost sight of him almost as soon as we entered the boat,
and it was no small gratification to think that remorse had caused him
to commit suicide, or some such thing. I trusted he had leaped overboard
from sheer compunction of conscience for having deluded me into this
scrape, and hoped by drowning himself to atone in some measure for his
atrocious conduct. Poor fellow! I forgave him, and mentally resolved to
get up something pathetic in the shape of an obituary notice, as thus:
Departed this life, on the evening of the 25th of October, 1853, by
water, one Shad Back, (real name supposed to be Shadrach Bachus,) aged
34, or there-away. The immediate cause of his death was remorse of
conscience for having decoyed an unsuspecting and virtuous youth on
board of a poor miserable craft crowded with passengers, without berths,
without seats, and swarming with vermin of every description, including
Chinamen. It is supposed that, in a moment of despair, produced by
witnessing the distress of his victim, he jumped into the river and was
drowned. His numerous friends cannot but bewail his untimely end,
although _some_ are of the opinion that it “sarved him right.”
_Requiescat in pace._
I thought I would add to this a verse or so from some suitable ditty,
but could hit upon nothing that would reach the case better than a
portion of Gray’s Elegy, beginning: “Here rests his head upon this lap
of earth,” &c. Now as I was not fully convinced that “his head _did_
rest upon this lap of earth,” I deemed it best to change the text
slightly to meet the melancholy occasion, and make it read thus:
_There_ rests beneath the briny wave,
A youth to linen and to soap unknown;
Fair science frowned, but failed to save
This blessed youth, who then went down.
I confess my inability to state distinctly what is meant by the last
line; it seemed to rhyme with “unknown,” and as I never had been guilty
of an attempt of this kind before, I thought it would do very well as a
first effort in the line of poetry. I may as well here explain also,
that as I intended to have the whole thing painted upon a good sized
shingle, and that nailed upon some tree near the sea shore, I thought it
would be a good idea to have the hand with an extended finger painted
conspicuously on the shingle, to serve as a pointer towards the ocean;
this would sufficiently explain the meaning of “_there rests_,” and
“_briny wave_.”
Notwithstanding the bodily torments I underwent during that livelong
night, with my head wrapped in a mantle and all the rest of my person
fairly given over to the tender mercies of thousands of mosquitos,
gnats, sand-flies, ants, ticks, fleas and bed-bugs, I really experienced
a strong sensation of relief upon reflecting how very handsomely I had
disposed of my friend’s earthly affairs. At the same time I thought it
quite possible that my good intentions towards his memory, coupled with
the fact of my sufferings, and the pains and penalties I had undergone
and was still enduring, would in a measure serve as a sort of atonement
for my own sins of omission and commission, beginning far back, at a
very early period of my life.
Morning dawned at last, and I was in the very act of gathering the
remainder of my person into an upright position, when I heard a voice,
proceeding from beneath an immense heap of Chinamen, Irishmen, and
niggers, calling me by name, and entreating my assistance to get him
upon his legs. I seemed to know the voice very well, but could not
recall to mind the owner. Deeming it, however, the duty of a good
Christian to help a distressed fellow-creature, I made my way through
the crowd to the spot whence the voice issued, and there, to my intense
grief and astonishment, I beheld my friend Shad upon his back, actively
engaged in repelling, with hands and feet, the united assaults of a
strong force, composed of three Irishmen and four Chinese fellows. I
became convinced, the moment I saw his position, that if he escaped
hanging for his misdemeanors in California, he would become a great
general, and an ornament to the military profession. I came to this
conclusion because, at the moment I saw him, he was preparing to repel
the enemy in a most masterly manner. The allies were _en potence_, and
had already attacked and dispersed Shad’s advanced guard, making
prisoners of his outlying pickets (his boots and hat) in a gallant
manner. Then with a determination to conquer or die, rushed upon the
main body. Here, after a most desperate struggle, during which many
great deeds of daring were exhibited, the enemy were repulsed with
immense loss. Much as I deprecate war in any shape, yet I could not
sufficiently admire the calm and collected appearance of Shad, even when
in the heat of the _melee_. One particular feat performed by one of
Shad’s feet, was observed by me with much astonishment, and it seemed to
strike an Irishman very forcibly too, as he honored the performance by
immediate prostration. The enemy had retired to a distance, and no doubt
held a council of war, and from the disposition of his forces shortly
after, I judged his intention was to make a demonstration upon Shad’s
front, and then attack him with his whole concentrated force in the
rear. My conjecture proved correct. I saw in a moment that this manœvre
must prove successful, unless Shad could strengthen his flanks, or form
himself into a hollow square. And here it soon became apparent how
profoundly my friend had studied the art of attack and defence. A pocket
edition of Vauban must have been his constant companion, or he never
could have assumed such a formidable appearance as that which he now
presented. Like an able general, he had divined the enemy’s intentions,
and to meet the emergency, had disposed his person in such a manner that
he could swing himself around like a teetotum while lying upon his back,
much the same as a long eighteen upon a pivot. In this position, or
rather with this rotary motion, Shad was invulnerable. He presented a
front in every direction, and utterly defeated the enemy’s most
strenuous efforts to capture him.
At this stage of the proceedings, I proposed mediating between the high
contending parties, which proposal being acceded to, I forthwith decided
the matter in difference, (of which I did not understand one word,) by
decreeing a forfeiture of Shad’s boots, the restoration of his hat, and
the payment by Shad for two gallons of _red-eye_, to regale the company.
This last decision was received with marked respect by all but my poor
friend. It was also decreed that the captured boots should belong
hereafter to the most _devout_ of the belligerents. Thereupon they were
deposited at the feet of a boy from the sod, who, since his prostration,
had been seated on deck, curved up in a manner quite curious to behold.
He resembled the capital letter G as much as any thing I could think of
at the time. Peace having been solemnly proclaimed, I had now an
opportunity of better observing my friend Back’s personal appearance. He
had never been very remarkable for great personal beauty at any period
of his life, and as the late battle had not left him wholly unscathed,
it would have proved a great hit indeed to an artist, if he could have
taken his likeness just then! When we came on board of this infernal
boat, Mr. Shad Back possessed a pair of bright blue eyes, which by some
uncommon process had been converted, during the night, into a pair (or
rather one and a half) of dismal black ones; his nose, always flat, was
now scarcely discernible at all--it had been absolutely beaten into his
face; lips as thick and black as those of a Loango negro, and without a
tooth in his head to save him from starvation. The fact is, my friend
Shad had received as severe a mauling as one man could well stagger
under; and although I pitied him truly and sincerely, yet I could not
help feeling a sort of disappointment at knowing he was not drowned or
dead in some way, and it _is_ a great disappointment to any one, after
making extensive preparations to mourn the fate of a man who he hopes
will commit suicide. After he has adjusted his face and his garments to
represent a decent amount of grief, and above all, after he has composed
his epitaph, including therein a scrap of touching poetry, to find that
he is not dead nor drowned after all, I say again, _is_ a
disappointment and a great shame.
But, supposing “all things are for the best,” I swallowed my chagrin and
a cup of (stewed mud) coffee together, resolving to write no man’s
epitaph until I had the sexton’s certificate, or officiated in person at
the crowner’s or coroner’s inquest.
We landed in Stockton a little before noon of the same day, and thence
took passage in a lumber wagon for Columbia, in or near which place the
mines were situated. Columbia is in Tuolumne county, near the base of
the Sierra Nevada, and contains about 2,000 inhabitants. Its mines are
said to be the richest in the State. As we had come here for the express
purpose of making a fortune without let or hindrance, and with as little
labor as possible, we went to work at once, digging and toiling like men
determined to become millionaires within a week at the farthest. In a
few days we had collected a large mass of dirt together, and only waited
for rain to afford us an opportunity of testing its value. But the rain
would not come. Every morning, for at least a month, Shad predicted rain
in torrents, and got drunk without delay, in order, as he said, to
celebrate an event of so much consequence to our future fortunes. Sure
enough, the rain did come at last. It continued to fall somewhat briskly
for about an hour, then it ceased for an hour or so. Again it fell for
another hour, and thus during the day we had rain and sunshine
alternating very systematically indeed, and quite encouragingly.
The amount of water that had fallen barely sufficed to wet the thirsty
earth, and it would therefore require just six such rainy days to give
us water sufficient to commence our washing operations. Mr. Back’s
extensive researches into the science of astronomy enabled him to
predict an astonishing amount of wet weather; at least such, he said,
was _prognoxicated_ by the _starring ferment_, that really the stars
were looking so very wet and uncomfortable, that he could not but pity
their condition, especially jolly old Aaron, with the belt. Shad had
drunk a more than ordinary quantity of liquor that day, in
commemoration, I suppose, of the beginning of the rainy season.
We were now well into the month of December. The rainy season usually
commences about the middle of November, and continues almost without
intermission until the latter part of February. The year previous it had
rained for three months without cessation; now we had no rain. December
passed away, and January had come, still the drought continued. Men and
animals drooped, the earth had become baked, not a shrub, not a leaf,
no, not even a blade of grass could be seen in any direction. A drier
season had never been known in that region. Shad had been sober for
several days upon compulsion entirely. He could get no more liquor, not
because the fiery draught was scarce, but for want of money to pay for
it. My own funds were out, gone to liquidate our daily expenses, so that
the prospect before us looked gloomy enough. I think, had it been our
good fortune to have water, we should have made a very handsome sum out
of our large heap of dirt. Without water, to separate the precious metal
from the dirt, we could do nothing. About the 20th of January it rained
nearly all the morning. “Hope told a flattering tale.” Alas for us poor
devils, the rain ceased at noon; this same half a day’s rain cost Shad
the only shirt he had for liquor. He said he felt morally certain the
rainy season had set in _now_, and that he would have a regular
jollification upon the strength of it, if it cost him his shirt, and it
_did_ cost him his shirt.
The season was now so far advanced that we could no longer hope for
continuous rain, if it came at all; so I resolved, though with
reluctance and after much deliberation, to abandon our _pile of gold_
and make the best of my way back to San Francisco. It was all well
enough that I should make a resolve of this description, but the
principal part of the affair would be to carry it into effect. The
_primum mobile_, the _sinews of war_, the _wherewith_ must first be
found before I could budge an inch. It was next to impossible to expect
aid or counsel from poor Shad. He, good, susceptible soul, had fallen a
willing victim to the artful blandishments of an ancient squaw, not so
much on account of her great personal attractions as in consequence of
her valuable possessions, which consisted of a dilapidated blanket and a
keg of whiskey. I was quite charmed with the appearance of the squaw,
she so strongly resembled a kangaroo; indeed it was quite a treat to see
the pair together, it being problematical which was the most hideous, or
the most beastly. I found it utterly useless to remonstrate with him; in
fact, he never was in a fitting condition to understand me: so I made up
my mind to leave him. Through the kindness of a friend, which was
afterwards reciprocated, I was enabled to pay the few debts I had
contracted, and to leave Columbia with a trifle of money, which, with
economy, enabled me to reach San Francisco in due time.
Thus terminated my last mining adventure in the gold regions of
California.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE.
The title of our chapter will bring up to the minds of all who visited
California, during its early days, some startling recollections. The
Vigilance Committee was the institution of that country, striking terror
into all evil doers. Like all energetic associations, it was capable of
being abused and sometimes ran into extremes, but its worst enemies
cannot deny that it was the only thing which could suppress crime at the
time it was in power.
Great mistakes are made in regard to this organization by most writers
who have spoken of it. They have committed the very common error of
judging of the institutions of one set of people by the standard of
another. They have applied to California the same rule which would guide
them in their judgment of an Atlantic State. In reality, however, there
is no parallel between the two. The latter is inhabited by a population
educated to regard the law as the paramount authority. The lawless are
in the minority among them. Years of good government have taught the
criminal to look upon the public authorities as his bitterest foes, and
the honest man to regard them as his friends and protectors.
In California, however, every thing was the reverse of this. No sooner
were her doors thrown open and her treasures disclosed, than people from
every quarter of the globe thronged to her shores. Men of industrious
habits and adventurous spirit went thither of course, as they always
hasten to every new field of enterprise. The crowd of newcomers,
however, was swelled by others of a far different character. Plunder was
of course to be had, and the swindlers and desperadoes, who live by
their wits, were quite as eager to visit the new country as were the
honest miners who had come to wrench fortune from the flinty bowels of
the earth by their brawny arms.
Villains from all parts of the world swarmed upon the new soil. Cunning
sharpers from New England, desperate vagabonds from Texas, bogus men
from the north-west, and reckless plunderers from the prairies hastened
to California like crows to a corn-field. Mexico sent thither her sly
robbers, Chili and Peru furnished their secret assassins. The penal
colonies of Great Britain vomited their refuse upon this unhappy land,
and even savage pirates from the Eastern Archipelago found their way to
El Dorado. The territory numbered among her inhabitants accomplished
thieves, burglars and cut-throats from every civilized and barbarous
country within reach, men who had been familiar with courts and jails,
and all punishments short of death.
It may readily be understood what a state of society existed there. The
laws of the United States were, by a figure of speech, said to be in
force over the new territory. Really, however, they were as impotent as
they are in a village of Blackfeet among the Rocky Mountains. The
officers of the law were utterly powerless. Rarely did they attempt to
assert their authority, and when they did make the effort, they signally
failed. The only law recognized there was that of the strongest. The
correct aim, the steady hand, the strong arm were the only protectors of
a Californian in those days. He might as well lean upon a wilted blade
of grass as upon the legal authorities.
This condition of affairs afforded a fine harvest to the amiable
gentlemen who had come hither to practice their professions. Robberies
and murders became every-day occurrences, of no more importance than an
assault and battery on election day. The most daring outrages were every
where committed with impunity. Unoffending men were shot down and
pillaged in broad daylight; shops were broken open; haciendas were
stormed;--in short, the country was in a state of siege, and the
blackguards were in the ascendent.
At this critical period, some of the settlers fortunately recollected a
similar state of affairs in the country between the Mississippi and the
Alleghanies, and the sharp but effective remedy which was then applied.
They remembered how organized bands of robbers had infested the states
and territories of the Mississippi Valley, how judges and constables and
sheriffs had been connected with these infamous associations, how
justice was perpetually defrauded of her dues, because juries composed
of members of the same villainous fraternity could easily be packed; and
how, finally, the honest portion of the community, exasperated beyond
endurance by these repeated villainies, took the law in their own hands,
and remorselessly hung and shot all the desperadoes who fell into their
power, with the ultimate effect of restoring peace and good order.
The same evil demanded the same remedy. The Vigilance Committee was
organized. It was composed of the best men in San Francisco, men who
would have been the most zealous supporters of the law, had there been
any law to support; men of firmness and resolution who were determined
to have peace and security at all hazards. It was not exactly a secret
society, but some sort of privacy was necessary to be observed. Were its
agents generally known, not only would they be marked out for the secret
vengeance of the vermin they were hunting down, but their vigilance
would be more easily evaded, and the operations of the committee
crippled.
The most important question which occurred to the committee, at its very
formation, was the disposition to be made of the criminals arrested by
its agents. They had no prisons at their command, and had no time to
devote to the tedious formalities of law proceedings. Ropes, however,
were at their disposal, and even California had trees enough to answer
their purposes, except San Francisco, where the pulleys upon hoisting
beams which projected from the warehouses afforded a very convenient
substitute. Their code, therefore, necessarily resembled Draco’s. For
graver crimes they hung their culprits, for minor offences they flogged
them, rode them on rails, tarred and feathered them, and ordered them
away from a settlement within a given time under penalty of sharper
punishment. Their threats were generally punctually executed. Their
principle was that of Mr. Carlyle--to get rid of rascality by
exterminating the rascals.
The results of the proceedings of this committee were beneficial in the
highest degree. Before its establishment, it was dangerous to walk the
streets of San Francisco in broad daylight; after it had been in
operation for a short time, that city became as safe as any upon the
other sea-board. They retained their authority until a State government
had been formed, its officers duly appointed, and its sovereignty
proclaimed; after which they laid it down. Whatever may be thought of
the organization, no one can accuse it of intentional injustice. Hasty
they may occasionally have been, but deliberately wrong, never. The best
tribute that could be paid to their honesty and efficiency was the
general apprehension of the people on the occasion of the charge just
alluded to. They dreaded the establishment of a government of law, and
generally preferred the irresponsible action of the committee. It is
also a well ascertained fact that California has never been so orderly
as it was under their rule. Immediately upon their resignation, the
rogues began to breathe more freely, and crime to increase.
We have already said that this committee has been harshly judged and
unjustly condemned by persons who were imperfectly or not at all
acquainted with the facts in the case. These very men, however,
recognize the necessity and acknowledge the benefits of the Holy Vehm.
They can see plainly enough that the robber barons “who spared not man
in their anger nor woman in their lust,” who were a curse and a nuisance
to all honest people, needed to be struck suddenly and without remedy by
some invisible hand, which they could neither escape by flight,
intimidate by threats, nor bribe with money. They cannot understand,
however, that the plebeian scoundrels of California required the same
sharp and summary punishments which were needed for the rascally
noblemen of the dreaded Red Land of Westphalia. It is very easy for
people who sit by their comfortable firesides and look out upon well-fed
policemen patrolling the streets, conspicuous by their glittering star,
to descant upon the beauties of law and order. The man, however, who has
just been knocked down and robbed in San Francisco by a vagabond who
cannot be brought to justice, has not so clear a perception of the
necessity of resorting to a tribunal which is powerless to punish, or of
appealing to a constable who is equally unable to protect him from
injury. These things have a relative, not an actual value; they are, or,
perhaps I ought to say, they were worthless in California. A cockney
traveler might as well take a London policeman to Sebastopol to prevent
the Cossacks from taking liberties with his sacred person.
The main thing every where to be attained is order, that honest men may
do their work in peace and quietness. If law gives them this, well and
good. Law must be supported. If law is powerless, then the rifle, or the
knife, or the rope must take its place. In so unsettled a state of
society, as that which existed in California at the time of which we are
speaking, the first thing is to strike terror into the ruffians. That
must be done, let the cost be what it may. After the power of the
honest man is established on a firm basis, then it is time enough to
organize courts of law.
The quiet and honest settlers of California were fully convinced of the
necessity of this committee, and zealously supported it. Indeed, the
committee rarely acted alone. Almost always the citizens were called in,
and had as much to say as the members of this self-constituted tribunal
upon the case in hand. They only took the initiative; they saw that the
scoundrels did not escape; the public did the rest.
As for the thieves, robbers and rascals of every grade, they entertained
a wholesome terror of this energetic organization. When one of them
received his orders to quit a certain place, he did not dare to disobey.
He knew that unless he did what he was commanded, his punishment was
inevitable. The committee was as inexorable as destiny itself.
I have no time to go into the examination of the arguments advanced
against such an institution as this. A glance at one or two must
suffice. It has been said that the committee was irresponsible, and that
it is highly dangerous to entrust the power of life and death to
irresponsible hands. In truth, however, the committee was not
irresponsible. It sprang from the people, and though not formally
elected by them, was nevertheless tacitly acknowledged. All its power
resulted from the fact that it was a genuine exponent of public opinion,
a faithful executor of the public will. The moment it failed fairly to
represent the people, that moment its days were numbered. The members of
the committee knew perfectly well that the same fate which they decreed
to the culprits who fell into their hands, awaited them, should they
ever become dangerous to the people.
Again, they have been accused of haste and cruelty in their operations.
We have already said something on this head. Perhaps, however, it may be
well to speak more directly to this charge. The necessity of punishment
must be granted. There is no other mode of preserving order. Now, it
must be remembered that California was then really in a state of
anarchy, though nominally under the government of the United States.
Every body did that which was right in his own eyes, or rather what his
inclination prompted him to attempt. The consequence was, as we have
already said, that murders and robberies were every-day occurrences.
Life and property were wholly unprotected. In this state of affairs the
vigilance committee took the matter up, and determined to regulate
affairs. What were they to do with a criminal once caught? To take bail
for him, and let him run till a certain course of regular formalities
could be gone through with? That would have been an extremely judicious
proceeding. The escaped scoundrel would have committed further
depredations, and, in all probability, the most conspicuous of the
committee would have fallen victims to his vengeance. It was necessary,
therefore, to try him at once, or else let him go scot-free. The trial
over, and conviction obtained, the sentence, whatever it might be,
required to be immediately executed, because they had no place of
safe-keeping for him. If exile was decreed, he was forthwith drummed out
of the settlement; if he was to be hung, the rope was immediately
provided. There was no help for it; unless justice were summary, it was
null.
As for the charge of cruelty, it must be acknowledged that the code of
the vigilance committee was severe. They hung for many offences which,
in the Eastern States, can only deprive a man of his liberty. This also
was a matter of necessity. Such severity was requisite to strike terror
into the lawless vagabonds who infested the newly settled country.
Besides, it was doing no more than was done in civilized, refined,
enlightened England less than fifty years ago. Indeed, the vigilance
committee were more merciful than the authorities of that realm, who
hung a rogue for stealing a hat. It was only when a robbery was attended
with circumstances of peculiar atrocity that they resorted to this
extreme punishment.
Allowance must also be made for the state of feeling among the people in
regard to capital punishment. It did not inflict such a shock upon them
as it does on the inhabitants of an old, regularly governed country.
Life was held very cheap there; it was taken upon the slightest
provocation. Every man went armed, and weapons were resorted to at the
commencement of a fray. The dry goods man, who measured out calico
behind his counter, waited on his customers with a pair of revolvers
stuck in his belt. The customers, wild, savage looking men, leaned upon
their rifles or played with their bowie-knives while making their
bargain. The purchase completed, the buyer threw down his leathern bag
of gold dust, the seller weighed out the proper quantity and returned
the rest. Should a dispute arise, few words were interchanged; arms were
immediately appealed to, and the question was speedily settled. It is
but fair, however, to say that, during these early days, the regular
traders had but few difficulties with the miners, arising from attempts
to defraud. Clearly, such a state of society cannot be judged by the
same rule which applies to a settled and orderly community. A scene
which I witnessed at Sacramento will probably give my readers a better
idea of the mode of proceeding adopted by the vigilance committee, than
any lengthened description of mere generalities.
A man who had recently returned from the mines, and was on his way to
his home on the Atlantic coast, arrived in Sacramento one morning, and
put up at the Orleans hotel. He had been quite successful in his labors,
and brought in a goodly quantity of gold dust, a portion of which only
he had deposited; the rest he carried about his person for current
expenses. Elated with his good fortune, he could not refrain from
boasting of his skill and judgment, and the excellent results he had
obtained. He exhibited sundry little leather bags, and picked out
nuggets remarkable for size or for oddity of form, which he exhibited
freely to all the inmates of the house. He had one irregular mass of
gold, which, to his fancy, resembled a race-horse. Another jagged,
shapeless lump, he conceived to be a perfect likeness of Mr. Polk, whom
he greatly admired, and this he declared his intention of having made
into a breast-pin. He talked largely of the great things he would do
with his money when he reached home, and, in the excess of his
liberality, “treated the crowd” to innumerable cock-tails and smashes.
Two men, who were unknown to the people of the hotel, seemed
particularly interested in the history of his exploits, and professed to
have acquired a high regard for him personally, during their brief
acquaintance. They swore he was a trump, that such a good fellow
deserved to make money, and professed to rejoice in his success as
greatly as though it had been their own. They too, they said, had just
come in from the mines, where they had made a few ounces, though nothing
like what our friend had secured. They were so exhilarated by his good
fortune that they vowed they would return and try their luck again. They
had come down with the intention of going home, but they did not like to
be beaten by any one, so they would just “knock around” the city a
little, have some fun, and go back to the mines the next day. Our friend
was “such a devilish good fellow,” that they were proud to have made his
acquaintance, and would enjoy their frolic ten-fold if they could only
prevail upon him to accompany them.
Their proposition was accepted. Success and “red-eye” had rendered him
more than usually confiding, and the three strolled away, amid the
laughter of the crowd, reeling, hiccoughing, and swearing eternal
friendship. They rambled off to a back street, engaged in the same
interesting conversation. Suddenly one of the companions of our hero
disengaged himself from his arm, slipped behind him, and with a billet
gave him a tremendous blow upon the head, which knocked him bleeding
upon the pavement. He was stunned only for a moment, and the blow seemed
to have sobered him. He began to struggle, when his other newly found
friend joined in the assault. The two together belabored him severely
over the head till he lay senseless and motionless upon the pavement.
Thinking they had quieted him for ever, they proceeded to rifle his
pockets, and soon stripped him of every thing valuable he had about his
person. They then made off with their booty.
Strange as it may sound to my reader, this outrage was perpetrated about
three o’clock on a summer afternoon. Some persons in the neighborhood
witnessed the whole affair, and immediately gave the alarm. The
vigilance committee, ever on the alert, were soon in pursuit, and the
scoundrels were captured a short distance from the outskirts of the
city. The news spread with great rapidity, and soon a large crowd had
collected. When I reached the scene of action, the members of the
committee were escorting the culprits to a little grove of stunted oaks
which stood upon the outskirts of the town. There was an expression of
calm determination on the faces of the committee, of angry excitement on
those of the rest of the crowd. Furious cries of “hang them!” burst from
the mob, but did not seem to excite or ruffle the chief actors in this
terrible drama, who went about their duties with great system and
deliberation. As for the criminals themselves, a more villainous pair of
faces it was never my fortune to look upon. Low brows, heavy features,
and cold steel-gray eyes, gave them the expression with which
Cruikshanks has pictured Sykes in his illustrations of Oliver Twist.
They were Australian convicts, brutal wretches, whose hands were red
with blood.
A jury was immediately empanneled by order of the committee, one of whom
acted as judge. “Fellow-citizens,” said he, “these men have been accused
of perpetrating an atrocious crime within the limits of this city. We
are now ready to give them a fair trial. Those gentlemen who witnessed
the outrage will now come forward and give in their testimony!”
The culprits were made to confront the jury, guarded by members of the
Vigilance Committee. Several citizens came forward and stated what they
had seen, and others from the hotel identified the prisoners as the men
who went off with the unlucky miner. They also recognized the bags and
the nuggets which were taken from them as the same which had been
exhibited at the hotel. As for the wounded man, he was too badly hurt to
testify.
The case was fairly made out against them, the jury gave in their
verdict, and the judge formally inquired what the convicts had to say
why sentence should not be pronounced upon them. They muttered out a few
unintelligible words, when with a clear loud voice, he said: “Prisoners,
you have been found guilty of a murderous assault and robbery. You have
had a fair trial, and the sentence of this court is that you he
forthwith hung by the neck till you are dead! One hour will be granted
for such religious exercises as you may desire. If there is any one
present who is disposed to render these men any religious service, he is
requested to come forward.”
A man, who represented himself as a Methodist preacher, now advanced to
the miserable men, said a few words to them in a low tone of voice, and
then knelt down to pray beside them. During this part of the ceremony,
the crowd stood silently by, and many took off their hats.
Presently the preacher rose and mingled with the crowd. A man advanced
to the culprits and carefully pinioned their arms with a strong rope. At
this stage of the proceedings, they seemed to be fully aroused to a
sense of their danger. They looked around and seemed to scrutinize every
face in the whole assembled multitude. Never shall I forget that mute,
appealing gaze. It was useless; not a face in the whole crowd wore an
aspect of mercy; but again arose the angry shout: “Hang them! hang
them!” The judge now called out, “Gentlemen! the hour is up!” whereupon
they were led to a tree and swung off. A few struggles and all was over.
The crowd quietly dispersed; the excitement subsided, and an hour
afterwards no one would have suspected that any thing unusual had
happened.
Such proceedings as these--the absolute and inevitable certainty of
punishment--produced order throughout the State. Indeed, it was the
Vigilance Committee alone that ever has enforced obedience to law. The
State’s Attorney of San Francisco states that in four years _twelve
hundred murders had been perpetrated, and only one of the criminals was
convicted_. What wonder if some people still sigh for the days of the
Vigilance Committee?
CHAPTER XVIII.
BODEGA.
Once more in San Francisco, I made preparations to return to the
Atlantic States as rapidly as my health and dilapidated means would
permit. Before leaving this pseudo Eldorado for ever and aye, I had a
wish to see a celebrated grazing district, famed for its vast herds of
horned cattle and wild horses; and so, having hired at an enormous price
a sorry looking mule, like the knight of La Mancha mounted upon
Rosinante, I sallied forth from San Francisco in search of new
adventures. I took the high road along the bay towards Bodega, a small
town situated upon the Pacific coast, 60 miles north-east from San
Francisco. I had hardly cleared the suburbs of the city, when my mule
began to exhibit qualities very far from respectable; as, for example,
he would stop suddenly, hold down his head, plant his fore feet firmly,
and reflect, I suppose, upon the proper moment to pitch me over his
head. He had a very uncomfortable way too of throwing up his head, and
more than once just grazed my nose; then he was so playful! jerking the
bridle suddenly and casting his head round so as almost to reach my leg
with his teeth. And, moreover, I judged him to be partial to botanical
studies, from the fact of his taking every opportunity of pushing his
way through the scrub bushes that lined the road, as if he thought the
occasion favorable to scrape me off his back. I have never been very
famous for my skill in equitation, nor have I ever been too anxious to
intrust myself to the care and safe-keeping of other legs than my own,
and I must acknowledge that when I discovered the little pleasing
eccentricities already enumerated, I thought it would be most prudent to
return; and would have done so, only that the devilish brute would not
consent to take the back track; by which I mean that, when I attempted
to turn his head homeward, he commenced such a series of circumgyratory
evolutions that I remained long in doubt as to which of my limbs would
remain unbroken when I _did_ come to the ground, a catastrophe by no
means far distant if he continued to spin around five minutes longer. I
clung to the pummel of the Spanish saddle, however, with the gripe of a
maniac, shouting wo! with an unction and vigor that I am sure
contributed as much as any thing else towards stopping the incarnate
devil in his mad career. Any person, to have seen my involuntary
performances on this trying occasion, would most assuredly have
pronounced me the best circus rider in the known world. I am favorably
known at home as an even tempered, nay, as a good tempered person; but I
verily believe I lost my temper here on this spot, not that I remember
to have ever been profane, but I am sure I consigned the wretch to the
safe-keeping of a nameless personage, with a particular request
regarding the future disposition of his eyes and limbs. As I could do
nothing better, I let him have his own way, and for the next hour or so
we got along very well together, and I really began to think well of his
muleship; when suddenly, and as if by magic, I found myself upon my back
in the road, and the precious villain prancing and curveting within
fifty feet of where I lay, as if in the very act of rejoicing that he
had thrown me there. I had received a slight bruise upon one of my
shoulders by the fall, a matter not deserving much attention, and was
considering the best method of catching the atrocious robber, as he very
deliberately walked up to me, and adjusted his position so that I could
mount him again with ease, which I did without delay. Shortly after, we
reached a Chinese encampment--all men, or at least I supposed so. They
looked exactly alike in face and in dress. Two or three were assembled
around a fire, the rest were gambling; those by the fire were engaged in
cooking rats in an expeditious manner. I should think there might have
been about a bushel of these animals altogether, and they were laid
with their skins on, from time to time, upon a bed of hot embers to
broil; it was a very primitive way of replenishing the larder! However,
I did not dine with the celestials; I had an indistinct idea at the
moment that the moon’s relatives were exceedingly respectable, only
something the filthiest. Without much further trouble or delay we
arrived, towards midnight, at Bodega. My mule behaved like a trump
during the latter part of the journey, but only after frolicking for
about three quarters of an hour up and down a small stream upon our
road, which his excellency insisted upon surveying, even from its source
to its mouth.
Bodega contains not more than four hundred inhabitants, including
“Digger” Indians, “niggers” and dogs, the last by far the most useful
and most decent of the concern. The people of the town told me that the
place was first settled by the Russians, but no vestiges remain of the
original settlers to denote who or what they were. A very worthy man is
the sole proprietor of the town now--he is an American; some years since
resided in Valparaiso, where he married several bags of doubloons, a
large lot of cattle, some fine horses, and a Chilian lady; removed to
California and became the possessor of the town of Bodega, and a very
large portion of the surrounding country. For my part, I could see
nothing very seductive in Bodega, nothing that could keep me there a
week. The country is almost destitute of timber, with here and there a
woody knoll. The surface of the land is rolling, soil good, and well
adapted for farming purposes. In fact, it is said to be the best grazing
section in the State of California. Dense fogs prevail throughout the
summer months; from these the earth receives a sufficient quantity of
moisture to answer all the purposes of rain. An abundant crop of grass
is produced, upon which vast herds of cattle and droves of horses are
raised. The horned cattle are slaughtered in immense numbers, merely for
their horns, hides and tallow.
Twelve miles south-east of Bodega is the little village of Petaluma,
situated upon the margin of an extensive swamp or morass, through which
a small stream winds its way to the bay of San Francisco. This morass is
entirely overflowed during the winter. In the summer it becomes
perfectly dry, and cracks open in every imaginable direction to the
depth of twelve or fifteen feet, the crevices varying from one to eight
inches in width. At an early period the Indians captured entire herds of
horned cattle in the summer by driving them into this morass. If an
animal attempts to cross this fissured spot he must assuredly break his
legs. It is no uncommon occurrence daily to find three or four wild
horses, and as many more horned cattle, vainly struggling to extricate
their fractured limbs from the clefts and crevices in this death-dealing
Golgotha. In this situation they are quickly dispatched by the Indians
and others living in the vicinity, stripped of their hides, and the
carcasses left for the birds of prey. Owing to certain preservative
properties in the atmosphere, animal matter does not undergo
decomposition in this region with the same degree of rapidity that it
does in other sections of the Atlantic States in the same parallels of
latitude, and it is not unusual to see the carcasses of slain animals
upon this very morass, a month or more after they have fallen, in a good
state of preservation, and without emitting, in any great degree, an
offensive odor.
Upon my return to Bodega, I witnessed the punishment of an Indian boy
for theft. This was the case: The boy had stolen a trifling sum from the
house of an American, and being shortly after detected with the money in
his possession, he was sentenced to expiate his offence in a very novel
manner; and here I might with great propriety use the language of Lord
Byron, the scene reminded me so strongly of the main incidents of his
Mazeppa. A wild horse that had been caught with the lasso only the day
before, was brought out, and the boy’s person in an upright position
securely strapped to his back. The boy thus bound, the horse was then
freed from restraint by the men that held him, and with a cut from a
whip, he bounded away with the speed and swiftness of an arrow shot from
a bow. The race, however, was of short duration. He had scarcely
accomplished the third of a mile, when he suddenly threw himself, and
with frantic efforts endeavored to roll over and over, in order to rid
himself of his burden. In these struggles, one of the boy’s legs was
literally crushed into a bloody mass. The violent exertions of the
animal had so far exhausted his strength, that he was unable to rise. In
this condition, we had time to come up and liberate the boy from his
bonds, but not until the poor creature had ceased to breathe. He was
quite dead, and another murder was to be added to the long list of
California crimes. Horror-sticken and distressed at the scene of
ruthless barbarity I had just witnessed, I made my way out of the
village of Bodega, wondering if the good God would permit such an
unparalleled atrocity to pass unpunished.
In returning, I took the road through the valleys of Sonoma and Napa to
Benicia: feeling fatigued and somewhat indisposed upon reaching the city
of Benicia, I determined to rest there a day or two. Benicia contains
about 1500 inhabitants, is 40 miles north-east from San Francisco,
situated upon a branch of the Sacramento river. The city is regularly
laid out on a gentle slope, rising from the water’s edge to the hills
in the rear. Benicia is a port of entry, contains an arsenal, a
navy-yard, and extensive docks for repairing and refitting steamers.
Ships of the largest class can come up to the wharves. It has been
proposed to establish the seat of government of the State here. It must
be by no means understood that I had traveled thus far upon my return
without trouble from the antics and extravagances of my mule, being
somewhat upon my guard, I more than once foiled him in his design of
getting me off his back. I have seen vicious animals in my time, but
never saw any thing to equal the cunning and malice of this one. It
seemed as if he had been taught every thing that was bad, and being
naturally vicious, had become by long practice more than a match for
man. Desirous of examining more closely a singularly formed elevation
some fifteen miles from Benicia, known as Monte Diabolo, I set out the
third morning after my sojourn in Benicia to visit this famous mountain.
Mounted upon my rascally mule, I had unfortunately suffered myself to be
persuaded to wear a pair of Spanish spurs, having been assured that the
fractious conduct of the mule heretofore was entirely owing to my not
providing myself with these persuaders at the commencement of my
journey. I had ridden barely the half of a mile, when the accursed
animal was seized with a fiend-like desire to break my neck and his own
too. With this commendable purpose in view, he began by taking short
leaps forward, backward and sideways, varied every now and then by an
effort to throw me over his head, by casting his hind legs high into the
air, or in endeavoring to force me off by standing almost upright, and
pawing the air with his fore feet. I maintained my seat with difficulty
during these fiendish gambols, and plied him with the spurs. This
settled the matter at once, for no sooner did I plunge the sharp rowels
into his infernal sides, than he stood for a moment, as if to gather
strength for a more mighty effort; then, dropping his head, he suddenly
threw out his hind feet with such violence as to eject me from his back
with an impetus that I am astonished did not crush every bone in my
body, and kill me outright. As it was, my left leg only was broken. The
mule, demon as he was, seemed to exult in his misdeeds, and to be well
content with the (to him) triumphant termination of the contest; at
least I judged so, from his sounding the trumpet of victory long and
loud; he brayed incessantly for an hour. My leg was broken just above
the ankle, and whenever I moved gave me exquisite pain. What to do I did
not know; I could not move. I was somewhat comforted, however, by
reflecting that I should not lie in this helpless condition long. I was
on the highway, and some traveler must pass soon. I shouted with all
the voice I had left; pain and agony had weakened me so much, that I
feared death would ensue before my situation could be known. At length I
attempted to drag myself upon my hands and knees towards Benicia, then
less than a mile distant. In the effort, the agony I endured caused me
to faint. I know not how long I lay in this death-like condition. When I
again returned to consciousness, I found myself in bed, with my broken
limb confined between splints, after having been properly set by a
surgeon. Many weary days and nights were passed upon a bed of sickness.
I received every attention from the kind people into whose hands I had
fallen. These good Samaritans had found me insensible by the wayside, my
mule standing within ten feet of me, very gravely contemplating his
handiwork, afterwards suffering himself to be led back to Benicia,
without making the slightest demonstration of discontent. As soon as my
new friends discovered the cause of my accident, it was proposed to
shoot the mule forthwith. To this summary disposition of the malignant
brute I objected, not from any desire to save his worthless carcass, but
from a wish to return him to his more worthless owner in San Francisco,
whom I had some hope the animal would cripple for life upon some future
day. I therefore requested my friends to have him returned to his owner
by the first opportunity that offered.
My most constant attendant was an old negro named Ben. A better nurse I
could not have had than this same old fellow. As he was quite an
original, I will describe him. Ben was about four feet six inches in
height, very thin and very black; his grandfather must have been a
chimpanzee--I feel quite sure of that, because his features were
precisely those of an ancient baboon; his age might be about fifty or
fifty-five, and at an earlier day he may have had a nose, I doubt it,
though; at any rate he had none when I saw him. No! not a bit. It had
disappeared altogether. The wool grew within an inch of his eye-brows,
and he had but one eye. Ordinarily and for economy’s sake, Ben was very
simply attired in canvas pantaloons and the remnant of a red woolen
shirt--disdaining hat and shoes, except upon great occasions and State
celebrations; then, indeed, Ben shone conspicuous in all the glory of an
immensely high bell-crowned white hat, with a narrow rim and a broad
green ribbon to match, a tall, stiff shirt collar that reached his ears,
a military stock, tightly buckled around his neck, which effectually
prevented the wearer from looking downward, a whitish looking something
that had been worn for at least seven years as an overcoat by a tall,
stout man, now served Ben in the capacity of a dress coat; to be sure
he had “curtailed its fair proportions” by cutting off one and a half
feet of the skirts, six inches of the sleeves and a good large piece of
the collar. It was a nice garment. A pair of breeches so tight that he
slept in them upon occasions when he had used much exercise, for the
simple reason that he could not get them off without greatly endangering
their respectable appearance; boots large and somewhat dilapidated, of
course the legs of the tights could not be drawn over the boots,
therefore they were tucked inside. But the crowning glory of the entire
outer man was a broad, shining, black leather belt, drawn so tightly
around his waist, that he breathed at times short and sharp.
To Ben’s many other great talents must be added his very great
proficiency in music. He performed very spiritedly indeed upon the bass
drum, and when necessary, could do the jingling upon the triangle. But
his forte was the fife, and it was a pleasing sight to see him upon a
gala day, rigged as described, lugging a huge drum buckled to his breast
bone, thrashing away with both hands as if his life depended upon the
amount of confusion he created. Suddenly he would cease, and drawing the
fife from the depths of his breeches pocket, would favor the procession
or company with an air from “Norma,” or from somewhere else. Heroic Ben!
can I ever forget the day when, attired in all his bravery, tall hat,
big coat, old boots, bright belt, long drum, short fife and all, he
hobbled past the house wherein I lay, followed by all the boys, girls
and dogs in the place? It was some saint’s day, and the Mexicans had
hired Ben as chief musician to aid with such music as he had on hand in
doing proper honor to his saintship; and he did it, too, much to the
admiration of every one within hearing. No! I shall never forget that
day; I think the sight hastened the recovery of my health and strength.
At the end of five weeks, the doctor told me I could travel without
danger to my leg, provided I was careful; accordingly I took passage on
board of the steamer New World for San Francisco, and, with Ben as my
body-guard, reached that city late in the evening of the same day
without any further accident. I immediately put myself under the care of
an able physician, and in a very short time experienced no inconvenience
from my now perfect leg. As to Ben, he would not leave me, and in fact
he made himself so necessary to my comfort that I was quite loth to part
with him. He was a good servant, a good nurse, and honest as far as
circumstances would permit; but he would get liquor to drink some how;
no matter in what shape it came, Ben must have liquor; buy, beg, borrow
or steal, have it he would. I have known him to drink the doctor’s
prescriptions, in consequence of their having a small quantity of brandy
in them; but for this failing I think I should have brought him back
with me to the Atlantic States; as it was, I parted from him only upon
the day that I sailed for home.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE DIGGER INDIANS AND NEGROES.
Of all the aborigines that are known to travelers within the limits of
the western continent, the Digger Indians are certainly the most filthy
and abominable. A worse set of vagabonds cannot be found bearing the
human form. They come into the world and go from it to as little purpose
as other carnivorous animals. Their chief characteristics are indolence
and gluttony. Partially wrapped in filthy rags, with their persons
unwashed, hair uncombed and swarming with vermin, they may be seen
loitering about the kitchens and slaughter-houses awaiting with eager
gaze to seize upon and devour like hungry wolves such offal or garbage
as may be thrown to them from time to time. Grasshoppers, snails and
wasps are favorite delicacies with them, and they have a peculiar relish
for a certain little animal, which the Bible tells us greatly afflicted
the Egyptians in the days of Pharaoh. The male Digger never hunts--he is
too lazy for this; he usually depends upon the exertions of his squaw to
provide something or other to satisfy the cravings of hunger.
The term Digger has been applied to these Indians in consequence of
their method of procuring their food. The grasshopper or cricket of
California is one of their favorite messes. They capture these insects
by first digging a pit in the ground, and then forming a wide circle
round it which is gradually narrowed. In this manner they drive the
insects to the pit and there capture them. After having secured their
prey, the next thing is to prepare it for food. This is accomplished
either by baking the grasshoppers in the fire or drying them in the sun,
after which the Diggers pulverize them. The epicures among them crush
service-berries into a jam and thoroughly incorporate the pulverized
insects with the pulpy mass to which they have reduced the fruit. Others
mix their cricket meal with parched sunflower seed, but this is an
advance in civilization and in the luxuries of the table, which is made
by very few of them. They obtain the young wasps by burning the grass,
which exposes the nests and enables them to grub in the earth for this
delicacy.
Acorns are also a favorite article of diet with these wretched
creatures. In California, this fruit is larger and more palatable than
with us, and it has the merit of being a cleaner kind of food than that
which usually satisfies the Digger’s hunger. Rude as these people are,
they have sense enough to observe that all years are not equally
productive in these nuts, and foresight sufficient to lay in a good
stock during the plentiful years. They pound them up, mix them with wild
fruit, and make their meal into a sort of bread. They are said to resort
to a stratagem to obtain the acorns in greater abundance. There is a
bird in California, called, from his habits, the carpenteir or
carpenter. He busies himself in making holes in the redwood trees and
filling them with acorns. When a Digger finds a tree stocked in this
manner, he kindles a fire at its base, (so the story goes,) and keeps it
up till the tree falls, when he helps himself to the acorns.
Grass-seed constitutes another portion of their diet, and this is
gathered by the women, who use for the purpose, two baskets, one shaped
like a shield, the other deep and provided with a handle. With the
shield the top of the grass is brushed and the seed shaken down into the
deep basket. This also is made into bread.
It is commonly supposed that these Indians belong to a single tribe.
This, however, I think is doubtful. They are scattered over a wide
extent of country, being found far to the north, among the Utahs. Those
upon the frontier usually call themselves Shoshonees or Snakes, while
some claim to be Utahs. Their skin is nearly as dark as that of the
negro. Indeed they greatly resemble the African in color and general
appearance. They are distinguished from him chiefly by their aquiline
noses, their long hair and their well-shaped feet. The southern Diggers
have a lighter complexion, being not so dark as a mulatto.
It is reported on good authority that Captain Sutter, the first settler
on the Sacramento, at whose fort (the present site of Sacramento) gold
was first discovered, employed these people to build his fort for him.
He paid them in tin coin of his own invention, upon which was stamped
the number of days the holder had worked. This was taken at his “store”
for articles of merchandise, such as dry goods, &c. He fed his field
Indians upon the offal of slaughtered animals and the bran sifted from
ground wheat. The latter was boiled in large iron kettles; and then
placed in wooden troughs from which they scooped it out with their
hands. They are said to have eaten it, poor as it was, with great
relish, and it was no doubt more palatable and wholesome than their
customary diet.
These Indians are inveterate gamblers, and when they have been so
fortunate as to obtain clothing, they are almost sure to gamble it away
before they stop. Their game is carried on as follows. A number sit
cross-legged on the ground in a circle, and they are then divided into
two parties, each of which has two head players. A ball is passed
rapidly from hand to hand along the whole of one party, while the other
attempts to guess in what hand it is. If successful, it counts one for
the guessing party towards the game. If unsuccessful, it counts one in
favor of the opposite party. The count is kept with sticks. All the
while this is going on, they grunt in chorus, swinging their bodies to
keep time with their grunts. The articles staked are placed in the
centre of the ring. When they once get excited in play, they never stop
so long as they have any thing to stake. After getting through with
their money, their trinkets and their provisions, they stake their
clothes and keep on gambling till they reduce themselves to the costume
of Adam.
The fate of these poor creatures is involved in no uncertainty. They
must melt away before the white man like snow before a spring sun. They
are too indolent to work, too cowardly to fight. When pinched by the
severity of hunger, and unable to procure their customary filthy diet,
they are driven to the settlements, where they steal if they can, and do
a little labor if they must. No sooner, however, have they procured the
means of satisfying their immediate wants, than they abandon the
employment offered them and relapse into their customary indolent
habits. Of course, it can only be while labor is in such great demand as
it now is, that they can secure even this temporary employment. When
hands become abundant in that country, the laboring white man, the
Chinese or the negro will monopolize all the work. The Indian then will
be confined to thieving for a livelihood, and that is something which
the Californians will not permit. Some of these miserable people have
been cruelly butchered by the whites for indulging their propensity to
make free with other people’s property. They cannot fight for their
plunder, and consequently they must suffer as patiently as they can
whatever penalty is inflicted. If the fierce warlike tribes of the north
could not oppose the march of civilization, how easily will these poor
weak children of the south be crushed under its advancing wheels!
In Marysville, passing by one of the slaughter-houses, I saw a
collection of about twenty of these wretches waiting for the offal. They
were in the habit of presenting themselves regularly every morning at
the same place and at the same hour to gather the refuse of the
slaughtering establishment. The proprietors rather encouraged these
visiters than otherwise, for the same reason that the turkey-buzzard’s
visits are so acceptable to the denizens of most of our southern
cities--they serve the purpose of scavengers so admirably. On this
particular occasion, however, one of the proprietors seemed not so well
satisfied, from the fact of his having detected one or two of these
“Diggers” in the very act of stealing some choice pieces of beef. A
stalwart Tennesseean and his son were the proprietors. The father was a
very stout man, and more than a match for fifty of these poor miserable
devils; fond of whiskey, an inveterate swearer, and withal, when
excited, as was then the case, dangerous. As soon as the theft was
discovered the eldest Tennesseean seized a meat-axe, and with a
tremendous oath threatened to immolate the entire tribe, or, to use his
own quaint but profane language, to “populate hell three deep with the
damned thieving Digger Indians in less than no time.” This was said to
his son, a good natured young man who was using his best endeavors to
prevent his father from putting his terrible threat into execution.
Happily for the Indians, they had sufficient time to get out of reach of
the enraged man, and make good their escape with the stolen meat. The
butcher’s scheme for populating the infernal regions was to my mind
quite original, to say the least of it, and notwithstanding the impiety
of the thing, I could not refrain from laughing. It afterwards became a
matter of grave consideration how he would accomplish an undertaking of
this description, without first having recourse to some actual
measurement, the better to determine the amount of feet and inches
required for each separate body. I think he must have been something of
a surveyor, and had already measured the area contained within the
dominions of the evil one; how else could he name the precise depth of
“Diggers” he intended to furnish? Our worthy butcher, it must be
conceded, understood geometry, as “three deep” distinctly implies
length, breadth and thickness. The only true difficulty in the whole
thing was the specified period of its performance. I understand what is
meant by “no time” very well, but cannot say I am so confident as to the
meaning and intent of the phrase “in less than no time.” I dare say
though some very short period of time is intended, and if time and
opportunity serves, upon some future day I will make the inquiry of the
Tennesseean or his son (I should prefer the latter) what it really
means.
There are comparatively few negroes in this new State. Most of those who
are found here have emigrated from the northern and eastern States in
the capacity of cooks and stewards of vessels. They are in the same
situation as their brethren in New York and Massachusetts, slaves to no
single individual but to the entire community. Like free negroes every
where else, they inhabit the worst parts of the towns in California, and
live commonly in characteristic filth and degradation.
There are a few blacks from the South, and these have been brought out
here as slaves. It is true that on their arrival here they have the
power of claiming their freedom; but such is their attachment to their
masters that this is rarely done. Instances have occurred in which they
have been enticed away by meddling abolitionists, but, disgusted with a
freedom which was of no value to them, they have been eager to return
again to their masters. Several cases of this kind have come under my
own observation.
I was personally acquainted with a New Orleans sea-captain and
ship-owner, who had a very likely negro man named Joe. This slave had
acted as his special servant for many years, and had made two or three
voyages with him between Shanghai and San Francisco. His conduct was
entirely unobjectionable, and his duties were always promptly and
efficiently discharged. Indeed, the captain informed me that, though he
had reared Joe, he never had occasion to whip him for any offence.
Others had observed the admirable traits of the negro, and several
persons had attempted to buy him, offering extraordinary prices; but his
master, having the highest appreciation of his qualities and a strong
personal attachment for him, positively refused to part with him on any
terms. At last, however, Joe deserted the vessel. An abolitionist had
persuaded him to leave his master; and a short while thereafter he
married a Mexican woman--a sort of half-breed--and went off to the
mines, near Campo Seco. But he found his freedom unprofitable and
troublesome. While in his legitimate station he had always had an easy
time, plenty of food and an abundance of clothing. He had also
accumulated two or three hundred dollars, which had been given him by
his master, and others, for extra services. Not long after his marriage
with the Mexican woman, his money disappeared. He became penniless,
ragged, dejected, and, as a last resort, determined to return to San
Francisco, beg his master’s pardon, and, if possible, reinstate himself
in the favor of one who had always been his friend. He did return,
presented himself as a suppliant before his master, told him that he had
been persuaded to leave, that he was sorry for having done so, and now
wished to enter his service again, promising unwavering faithfulness in
the future. The master regarded him with a steady gaze until he had
finished his story, and then, in a distinct and dispassionate tone, said
to him: “You had no cause for leaving me; I had always treated you well.
Now you may go; I don’t want you any longer.” At the conclusion of these
words, the negro dropped in despair at his master’s feet, and wept like
a child. Moved by the sincerity of the negro’s repentance, and having
duly considered the extenuating circumstances of the case, the master
overlooked his estrangement, set him to work and never had the least
difficulty with him afterwards. Of his Dulcina, whom it seems he had
married in a Laguna dance-house, I know nothing, except the information
I gained from Joe himself, that she left him as soon as his money was
gone.
One more instance, and I have done with the negroes. A gentleman and
three of his slaves, from the western part of North Carolina, had been
mining about two years, near Quartzburg, in Mariposa county. Their
efforts having been crowned with success, the master concluded to return
home, and speaking to his slaves of his intention, he told them that
they were at liberty to remain in California, where their freedom would
not be disturbed, and where they would be entitled to the entire
proceeds of their labor. To this they replied that the abolitionists had
told them that long before, and after detailing several attempts to
decoy them from their owner, and signifying their unwillingness to
remain in California, they concluded by requesting their master to take
them with him. He consented, paid their passage, and they all returned
home in the same vessel.
The applicability of slave labor to the soil of Southern California is
now becoming a theme of discussion in that region, and it is probable
that the experiment will one day be tried. Indeed, the propriety of
dividing the State into Northern and Southern California has already
occupied the attention of the legislature; and while it is generally
admitted that the people are about equally divided upon the measure, it
is universally conceded that, in case of its adoption, the southern
portion will establish the laws and institutions of Virginia and
Louisiana.
CHAPTER XX.
ARE YOU GOING TO CALIFORNIA?
In the preceding chapters it has been my purpose to impart such
information as would lead my reader to a correct knowledge of the
present condition of things in California, and to aid him in deciding
whether he will emigrate to that country, or content himself in the
Atlantic States. I have endeavored (in a very brief and feeble manner,
it is true) to purge the films from his eyes, that he might see the
country in its true light. I have told him of the distorted and
exaggerated stories which have been circulated concerning it; of its
barren soil, and unfavorable seasons; of the seeming incompleteness of
nature, and the paucity of resources of employment therein; of its
scanty productions, and dependence upon importations for all kinds of
provisions and merchandise; of the expensiveness of living, and the
extraordinary obstacles which lie in the way of prosecuting business
with success; of the unprecedented number of mishaps and accidents, and
the losses and perils to be apprehended from fire and water; of the lack
of scenery, and the disagreeable consequences of the weather; of the
inefficiency of the laws, and the anarchical state of society; of the
breaches of faith between man and wife--of the almost utter disregard of
the marriage relation, and the unexampled debauchery and lewdness of the
community; of the contrariety of opinions which prevail, and the
continual disputes and disturbances which arise in consequence of the
heterogeneousness of the population; of the servile employments to which
learned and professional men have to resort for the means of
subsistence, and the thousands of penniless vagabonds who wander about
in misery and dejection; of the dissipated and desperate habits of the
people, and the astounding number of suicides and murders; of the
incessant brawls and tumults, and the popularity of dueling; of the
arbitrary doings of mobs, and the supremacy of lynch-law; of the general
practice of carrying deadly weapons, and the contempt that is shown for
human life; of the great difficulty of securing reliable titles to
landed property, and the fatal rencounters with the squatters; of the
bacchanalian riots by day, and the saturnalian revels at night; of the
perfidy and delinquency of public functionaries, and the impossibility
of electing an honest man to office; of the sophistication of
provisions, and the filthy fare in hotels and restaurants; of the
untrustworthy character of business men, and the frauds and stratagems
practiced in almost every transaction; of the contemning of religious
sentiments, and the desecration of the Sabbath; of the incendiaries in
the cities, and the banditti in the mountains; of the alarming depravity
of the adolescent generation--of the abominable dissoluteness of many of
the women--the infamous vices of the men, and the flagitious crimes
against nature. I have spoken freely of all these things; and now what
else shall I say? Is it necessary that I should defile still more paper
with these detestable truths? Can any one be still in a state of
indecision about going to California? I am aware that the public mind
has been somewhat undecided upon this subject, and I have essayed to
give it the proper turn, or restore it to its accustomed equilibrium. I
have spread before my reader a combination of facts, and have related
events which occurred under my own observation. There are scores of
other topics which might be brought in to give strength to my general
argument; but I dislike to tax the patience of the reader with such a
prolonged catalogue of unwholesome realities.
It was my intention to dwell somewhat at length upon a variety of
subjects of interest, but the space which I assigned to myself is
already nearly filled up, so that I find I shall be compelled to abandon
this design and bring these desultory remarks to a close. It would,
however, be a neglect for which I would not readily excuse myself, were
I to pass over the subject of the Pacific Railroad without note or
comment. It is agitating the public mind too deeply, and it is too
intimately connected not only with the prosperity of our Pacific coast,
but also with that of the whole nation, to be lightly regarded; and as
some point in California must be its terminus, if common sense is to
guide us in selecting its course, a work on that country must
necessarily take it into account.
The necessity of this important national highway is too strongly
impressed upon the minds of the thinking people of this nation, to be
easily lost sight of. Some erroneous opinions, however, are entertained
in regard to the objects of the road by many who warmly advocate it. It
is supposed by a few that California is to contribute some wonderful
benefits to it, and some few even go so far as to suppose that she can
support it. This is very absurd, as the previous chapters have, we hope,
clearly explained.
California certainly will contribute something to the support of this
great enterprise, but cannot, by any means, constitute the chief
inducement to its construction. Her gold will of course come more
rapidly, readily and safely across the continent than around Cape Horn.
In this respect, the saving to the consignees on the Atlantic coast will
be very great, and will be represented by three items: saving of time,
saving in the interest of money, and saving in consequence of the
diminution of the risks of transportation. A glance at our table of
casualties by sea, in a former chapter, will show how great the last
named saving promises to be. That on the interest of money will also be
great. It requires about three weeks to send from California by the
shortest existing route to New Orleans, while, by the railroad, that
city will be but a few days’ distant from San Francisco or San Diego.
Allowing a week to be occupied in the trip, the saving in this item will
amount to a half a month, and as a million is often brought in a single
cargo, this is no trifle. At six per cent. per annum, it would amount to
twenty-five hundred dollars on each shipment. The item of time will be
sufficiently appreciated by the mercantile reader without comment from
us.
These, however, are not the only benefits which the road may expect to
derive directly from California. Much of the British commerce, which now
finds its way to that distant region by the long routes, will go thither
by the more direct and expeditious way of the new road. A way commerce
will also inevitably spring up and there will be a cordon of settlements
and towns stretching across a wilderness which years of ordinary
immigration would be required to fill up. Branch roads would also soon
start from the main trunk to various important regions along the route.
The Santa Fe trade and the commerce of the prairies generally would soon
seek this as its natural channel. The emigration to California would
also largely benefit the road. This is likely to be large for some time
to come, and the return tide would also contribute to increase the
pecuniary revenue of this great national enterprise.
To California it would be of the greatest service, and the enlargement
of the resources of that State would of course increase those of the
improvement which causes the beneficial change. The country would then
be settled from the east as well as from the west, and the gold of the
Sierra Nevada would speedily be brought into market.
These advantages, considerable as they are, really form but a very small
portion of the inducements to the construction of this important work.
The great and important revenues of the road will come from far beyond
the limits of the State. The enormous commerce of Eastern Asia and its
Archipelago, which has enriched every nation that ever secured it, will
then flow over our country leaving its golden sands behind it. China
will send its teas, Amboyna its spices, Java its tin, Japan its copper,
through our dominions. No commercial manœuvring, no diplomatic juggles
can divert this mighty trade from its natural course. There is a
destiny in commerce, as well as in other things, and fate seems
determined to pour the riches of the world into our lap. If, in former
times, the slow caravans which conveyed the treasures of the east to
western ports, left wealth behind them, wherever their footprints were
seen, though vexed by Tartar and by Arab plunderers, how much more
benefit is likely to be derived from a rapid and safe transit through a
civilized nation, ready, eager and able to add their quota to the stream
of wealth?
We must not forget, also, that this eastern commerce is greater and more
important than it ever was. Our efforts have unsealed Japan, and before
long we shall be reaping the fruits of our enterprise in that quarter.
Australia, too, is now ready to add her gold to a commerce already
immensely valuable. China must open her doors still wider, for the world
will knock loudly at them. Nor is this all. The whole trade of the
western coast of South America must change its course. A Pacific capital
is destined to absorb it. The whaling fleets of the Pacific will not
have the stormy passage around Cape Horn to dread, but another New
Bedford will look greasily upon the western ocean. The fur trade also
will change its course. Oregon will furnish it with a port of departure,
California with a permit of entry. Siberia itself may divide its trade
between San Francisco and St. Petersburg. We seem to be on the point of
taking the position which China has always claimed, and of becoming the
true centre of the world, at least so far as commerce is concerned.
I believe it is now generally admitted that the Southern route is the
most practicable--that it is the most level, the most fertile, the best
watered, the best timbered, and that the climate through which it runs
is the only one that is favorable at all seasons of the year. I have
conversed with several gentlemen who passed over the various routes on
their way to California, and they informed me that the mountainous parts
of the northern routes are usually blocked up during the winter with
immense drifts of snow, which lie upon the ground to the depth of from
forty to fifty feet--sometimes much deeper. Those who traveled over the
northern routes also complained of the scarcity of wood, water and
provisions, and represented the Indians as being very hostile and
treacherous; while, in most cases, those who traveled over the southern
route experienced no hindrance, difficulty or impediment whatever,
having had pleasure, peace and plenty all the way. But besides the
advantages of climate, surface, soil, wood and water, there are other
considerations which weigh in favor of the southern route. The distance
is much shorter, and the population is more friendly, civilized and
thrifty. It will bring us on more intimate terms with the Mexicans, and
they will be induced to purchase larger quantities of our manufactured
and imported merchandise.
Every southern man should feel a lively interest in this gigantic
scheme, and enlist all his energies in aid of its completion. It affords
one of the finest opportunities that the South has ever enjoyed for
establishing her commercial independence, for counterbalancing the
increasing commercial power of the North. In connection with this
subject, I may here present an extract from a letter which I had the
honor to receive, not long since, from one of the most sagacious and
far-sighted patriots of the South. Speaking of the great Atlantic and
Pacific Railway, among other things, he says: “North Carolina should not
be an indifferent spectator of this noble enterprise. The port of
Beaufort, unrivaled for health, possesses a depth of water sufficient
for all convenient purposes; while the placid bosom of its
well-protected harbor, justly entitles it to be styled the Pacific port
of the Atlantic coast. Pursue its degree of latitude westward across the
continent and the Pacific ocean, and you will find that degree passing
near Memphis, Little Rock, Fulton, El Paso, and San Diego to Shanghai,
the last two being the nearest ports of the two continents, in so low a
latitude. Railways are chartered from Beaufort westward, and are
constructed, or in progress of construction, that will reach perhaps one
third or half way across the continent. May we not then hope, ere long,
to see them uniting the two oceans?”
Experienced navigators have said that, in consequence of the favorable
course of the tradewinds, the voyage can be accomplished between San
Diego and Shanghai in about eight days’ less time than it can be between
San Francisco and Shanghai; and this is certainly a very strong argument
in favor of running the road directly to San Diego--leaving San
Francisco to the right.
Since the above was written, the following abstract of the “Report of
the Secretary of War on the several Pacific Railroad Explorations” has
been published; and as it more than substantiates the correctness of my
remarks, and imbodies a great deal of valuable information concerning
the various routes, I hope the reader will peruse it with due care and
attention. I here transcribe it, with brief comments, from the columns
of the _Herald_:
PACIFIC RAILROAD EXPLORATIONS.
The “Report of the Secretary of War on the several Pacific Railroad
Explorations” is before us. It is an interesting and instructive
document, embracing a careful review of the capabilities and drawbacks
of the following routes, from the actual surveys:
FIRST--The extreme northern route, (Major Stevens’,) between the 47th
and 49th parallels of latitude, starting from St. Paul in Minnesota
territory, and striking the Pacific at Puget’s Sound, or the mouth of
the Columbia, in Oregon. This will require a road, allowing for ascent
and descent, of 2,207 miles. Estimated cost, $130,871,000. The
impediments in this route are the mountains to be tunneled, the numerous
rivers to be bridged, the scarcity of timber, the coldness of the
climate, and its proximity to the British possessions.
SECOND--Route of the forty-first parallel, (Mormon route,) commencing on
the navigable waters of the Missouri, or on the Platte river, and
striking thence over the Plains to the South Pass, thence to the Great
Salt Lake, thence across the Great Basin to the Sierra Nevada chain,
thence over that chain, and down to the Sacramento river, and down the
same to Benicia, just above San Francisco, on the same harbor. Estimated
distance from Council Bluffs to Benicia, 2,031 miles; estimated cost,
$116,095,000. Obstructions same as in the first route, including wider
deserts and deeper and rougher mountain gorges.
THIRD--Route of the thirty-eighth parallel, more familiarly known as
Benton’s great Central route, pronounced utterly impracticable from its
mountain obstructions. Estimated length from Westport to San Francisco,
2,080 miles. The topographical engineers gave up all estimates of the
cost of a road by this route, in absolute despair.
FOURTH--Route of the thirty-fifth parallel--(Senator Rusk’s
route)--beginning at Fort Smith, in Arkansas, thence westward to
Albuquerque on the Upper Rio Grande, thence across the Rocky Mountains
and the Colorado of the West and great desert basin and its mountains,
and the lower end of the Sierra Nevada chain to San Pedro, at the
southern extremity of California, on the Pacific. This route is about as
bad as Benton’s, although the engineers think that 3,137 equated miles
and $169,210,265 might, perhaps, do the work.
FIFTH--Route near the thirty-second parallel, or the extreme southern
route, via Texas, New Mexico, El Paso and the Gila to the Pacific.
Estimated distance from Fulton in Arkansas, to San Pedro on the Pacific,
1,618 miles--equated length, allowing for ascents and descents, 2,239
miles. Estimated cost, $68,970,000.
The advantages of this route are, that it is practically a third shorter
than any of the others between the Mississippi and the Pacific--that it
goes by the flank of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada chain,
instead of going over or under them--that the route is over a region of
elevated table lands requiring little or no grading--and that the soil
is dry and free from snow from one end to the other, except occasional
light falls in New Mexico.
RECAPITULATION.
Distance of Ascents and Length of Comparative
ROUTES. Routes. Descents. Level Routes. Cost.
_Miles._ _Feet._ _Miles._
Extreme northern 1,864 18,100 2,207 $130,781,000
Mormon 2,032 29,120 2,583 116,095,000
Benton’s 2,080 49,986 3,125 [A]----
Albuquerque 1,892 48,812 2,816 169,210,265
Extreme southern 1,618 32,784 2,239 68,970,000
[A] The cost by this route is so great that the road is impracticable.
SUMMIT OF HIGHEST PASS.
_Feet._
Extreme Northern route } { 6,044
Tunnel at elevation of,} { 5,219
Northern route. 8,373
Benton’s route, } {10,032
Tunnel at elevation of,} { 9,540
Albuquerque route 7,472
Extreme Southern route 5,717
These are the results of careful scientific explorations, by highly
accomplished engineers, of the several routes, from the extreme Northern
to the extreme Southern route; and it is only necessary to consult one
of the latest maps of the United States to see at a glance that the only
really available route is that of the extreme South, via El Paso and the
Gadsden country. The estimated cost of a railroad (single track, we
suppose) by this route is, in round numbers, $69,000,000, about half the
estimate of the best of the other routes, to say nothing further of the
saving of a thousand miles or so in the important matter of the distance
to be traversed.
We consider this report conclusive as to the best route for a Pacific
Railroad--it is the extreme Southern route. A glance on any respectable
map of the United States, at the several routes indicated, will satisfy
the reader of this fact. The engineers of the army have only made it
more clear and satisfactory from their actual surveys.
* * * * *
But I must return again to my theme--California! I will now lay before
the reader a few extracts from letters which I have recently received
from friends in the Pacific State, and it will be seen how fully they
corroborate my own statement.
An editorial friend, writing to me from San Francisco, says:--“Business
all over California remains in the same stagnant condition, and every
sign prognosticates a time of hardship and suffering. A crisis, in my
opinion, is approaching, which will drag down nine-tenths of the
business houses in the country. Money gets more stringent every day, and
every body seems to be at a loss to know what to do. I must confess I
see nothing promising in the future. It is truly a dark day for
California.”
Another correspondent says--“There have been an unusual number of
murders, suicides, duels and squatter riots within the last fortnight.
Heaven only knows what is to become of our people. The devil seems to
have them all by the nose, and there is no telling where his
double-tailed majesty means to lead them.” In another letter, this same
correspondent goes on to say--“I have no encouraging news to send you by
this mail. Our markets continue distressingly dull. A great many
failures have taken place, and others are anticipated. Indeed, these are
trying times with the mercantile portion of our community. Every things
wears a dull and unpromising aspect. Hundreds of mechanics and laborers,
many of whom are in a deplorably destitute condition, are sauntering
about the streets, having nothing to do, and being unable to find
employment. And as a consequence of this unprosperous state of things,
we have to contend with many cases of despair and desperation. Within
the last week, four suicides, three murders, numerous robberies and
other crimes have been committed in our city; and the accounts from the
up-country towns, and from the interior of the State, convince us that
there is less respect paid to the moral and civil laws in those places,
than there is in this. It is known that there are now two large bands of
highwaymen prowling about the country; and our cities are filled with
secret organizations for rapacity and plunder.”
Again, another correspondent says--“Every avenue to business is blocked
up with a crowd waiting for an opportunity. Scores of men of almost
every trade and profession are seeking employment amongst us; but there
is no demand for their services. You have no idea of the number of young
men who are getting themselves into a bad pickle by coming to this
country. California is indeed a mammoth lottery, and the credulous world
has been very impatient to secure tickets in it, refusing to believe the
fact that there are ninety-nine blanks to every prize. Two earthquakes
and several fires have occurred since I wrote to you from Sacramento.
The earthquakes were very slight, and but little damage resulted from
them; but the losses by fire have been immense. Enormous sums of foreign
capital are continually passing between the Atlantic States and our
city, in search of profitable investment.”
The following interesting letter, just received, I give in full:--
WEAVERVILLE, Cal., May 7th, 1855.
My Dear Friend,--I owe you an _amende_ for the “long and silent
lapse” that has lately occurred in our correspondence--or rather in
that part of it which emanates from me. A simple statement of the
fact that I have been constantly on the move for the past four
months is the best apology I have to offer in extenuation of my
fault.
Let us retrospect a little. I wrote you frequently from Humboldt
Bay, in answer to favors--my last letter having been written the
day previous to my leaving that place. As I then intimated, the
next day found me on my way to the mines; and the journey, rough as
it was, during the most inclement season of the year, and reaching
to a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, I performed _on
foot_! You have a pretty good idea of the mountains of this
country, and can realize the amount of fatigue and hardship
attendant upon such a trip as mine. Scarcely twenty-four hours
passed that it did not either rain, hail or snow, while we had not
even a tent to shelter us. Yet, with all this, I improved daily in
health and strength--weighing now ten pounds heavier than at any
time previous.
What is to be the result, pecuniarily, of this trip, is yet to be
answered. I have a mining claim, which, with all my industry and
economy, has only yielded me a living. It may improve--I may make a
“strike”--but this is mere speculation. Time alone can tell. I like
mining much--hard work though it be--and am resolved to follow it
as a business for the remnant of my days, or until I have a
competence. There is a charm--an inexpressible something, inherent
in the pursuit--which carries a man through the day’s toil with
unabated energy. It is a feeling akin to that which leads men to
the gaming table, to wild speculations, or to hazardous
undertakings; and each succeeding day finds a miner as eager as
ever to continue the search after the hidden treasure. The gold has
a different appearance, a greater intrinsic value in his eyes, than
that which is acquired in any other way. He is the _first_ to
receive it from Nature’s bank of deposit, and it possesses a beauty
that no coin can equal.
It is away up on the head waters of Trinity river, or rather on one
of its tributaries, that my cabin rears its humble proportions.
With no neighbors nearer than one mile--the mountains rising high
above and all around me--encompassed by a forest of pine and
spruce--in the midst of wild beasts, wild cats, catamounts,
grizzlies and lions--I am leading a genuine backwoods life. It is
needless to say that its novelty charms me, and that I glory in the
most perfect independence. Nor is this all. Flowers, beautiful,
rich, rare, bedeck the mountain sides, (for this is May, the month
of flowers,) and I can gather a bouquet that would shame those of
civilized gardens. Nature defies art, and Nature’s gems stand
proudly, unrivaled and unapproached. And yet this is not all. There
is a little bird who sits and warbles, almost all day long, the
sweetest melody I ever heard. Up in the foliage of a huge pine,
adjacent to my cabin, dwells the pretty songster; and I speak but
the truth when I say that beside him a canary would hang its head.
My wild-wood warbler reigns the king of songsters.
My furniture arrangements are not, as yet, finished. I have neither
table nor chairs. Supported at one end by a sack of potatoes, at
the other by my left hand, is the board on which this sheet is
laid, while your humble friend sits on the ground, _a la Turk_, (or
tailor,) and indites this “missel” to you. I am meek and lowly in
my pretensions now, Hinton, and my rough miner’s suit sits lightly
on my frame. Adieu for the present. I have no envelopes, and must,
therefore, close on this page. Wishing you every success and
happiness,
I remain your attached friend,
* * *
And now listen to what the District Attorney for the county of San
Francisco says. In a speech which he delivered some time ago in a
criminal case in the city of San Francisco, he makes use of the
following language:--“Twelve hundred murders have been committed in this
city within the last four years, and only one of the murderers has been
convicted!” What a striking comment is this upon California justice!
Twelve hundred murders in the city of San Francisco alone, within the
space of four years, and only one conviction! But it is unnecessary for
me to lengthen my remarks upon these subjects. If additional evidences
of the corruption and rottenness of affairs in California are required,
all that is necessary is to look into the papers that come from that
State, and the desired knowledge will soon be obtained. Here, however,
let me simply say that it is impossible to get at the real, naked facts
from the California journals. Almost every newspaper in the State is
under the control of interested parties, and they will not allow the
truth to be spoken when it conflicts with their schemes and projects.
Nevertheless, enough may be learned from them to convince any reasonable
person of the correctness of my description of California.
Thus, then, I have given a fair and truthful statement of what I saw,
and those who are not yet convinced must go and test the matter for
themselves. They will find what I have told them to be true, and that
there is more enormity there than I have ventured to detail.
The absence of all social feeling, of refinement, of the little
elegancies of life, is painfully manifest. It would, of course, be
absurd to expect in a new country all the luxuries of an old
civilization, but their absence constitutes no excuse for the total want
of even the decencies of life. Law is a nullity, or at best a mere
nominal thing; order does not exist except where the dread of the
bowie-knife or the revolver enforces it. Men of notoriously bad
character are intrusted with the management of affairs, and are easily
accessible to bribery. Justice is proverbially venal, legislation is
utterly corrupt. Such a loose administration of public affairs would be
productive of bad results any where, but its influence is especially
malign in California, where so many desperate men are to be found,
determined, at every hazard, to better their fortunes. Murder, robbery
and swindling are the methods by which they aim to increase their
income, the law being powerless to check them.
We have called attention to the general barrenness of the soil, and
endeavored to impress upon the reader’s mind a conviction of the great
uncertainties of mining. What then remains to attract the emigrant? The
feverish excitement of speculation, which entices so many only to
destroy them. In all countries, this is productive as much loss as
gain, but in California, where projects are pursued with a recklessness
elsewhere unknown, the losses are on a gigantic scale. Disappointments,
therefore, have the keenness of those of the beaten gambler, to whom
defeat is irretrievable ruin. What wonder, then, that suicides are so
common in that unhappy country?
Of the condition of females in that State, it is useless for me to
speak. I have already said enough on that subject, and it becomes every
man who thinks of emigrating thither, to ponder well the risks to which
he will subject the ladies of his family. The enormities chargeable upon
California in this respect would be difficult to parallel in any age of
the world. They are of so gross a nature that it is impossible even to
allude to them in a book which may be seen by women.
And now, after having well considered all these things, after having
become thoroughly acquainted with the facts I have been at the pains to
collect and record. I would again ask my reader, Are you going to
California?
THE END.
Typographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:
without any orther remuneration=> without any other remuneration {pg 60}
with dust and derspiration=> with dust and perspiration {pg 147}
I am well aquainted=> I am well acquainted {pg 164}
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "The land of gold; reality versus fiction" ***
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