SAN FRANCISCO.
The Palace Hotel--General McDowell--Palo-Alto--The
"Hoodlums"--The Real Sir Roger--Exiles in the Far West--The
Chinese Population--For and Against them--The Sand Lot--Fast
Trotters--The Sea Lions--The Diamond Palace--The Coloured
Population--"Eastward Ho!"
The British Consul, Mr. Booker, who has been watching over the
interests of the Queen's subjects for some thirty years here, and who
is an institution by himself, met the train at a place called, I think,
Porta Costa, and welcomed the Duke and his friends. There had been
for some days an infusion of the Chinaman in the general element of
life along the line, but here it became concentrated, and then ceased
to attract much attention. As the train approached the wide expanse
of muddy water from the Sacramento, which charges down with impetuous
volume, and colours the bay with its turbid stream, we could form an
idea of some of the advantages in the expanse of navigable river, that
had, however, lain long without appreciation but for the bright red
gold possessed by San Francisco. The bay is animated; white canvassed
craft stud its waters, and the smoke of steamers pollutes the clear,
bracing air. Italian fishermen are busy with line and net, and flights
of ducks and squadrons of gulls and cormorants show that the waters
are well stocked. It was too late in the year to see the country in
the full affluence of its wealth of fruit and crops, of hay and corn,
and the hillsides and fields are now disappointingly brown. Presently
we arrived at Oakland, where the train was run out on a pier 3500
yards long, to the steam ferry-boat which was to convey us across
to San Francisco. The ferry-boat was crowded, for Oakland is a city
of some 50,000 people; and of course it had once on a time, not very
remote, only a few sheds and insignificant houses. From this side of
the bay the city of the Golden Gate, some miles away, was now visible
in all its pride of place--pride but not beauty, now at least--for the
city presents no great attraction to the eye. The streets, running in
parallel lines at right angles to the quay right up the sandy hillside,
look like the ribs of some stranded monster, "lank and lean and
brown." The most prominent object is the hotel to which we are going,
which towers far over the general level of house-top, steeple, and
factory-chimney.
There is a little pamphlet, crammed with statistics and with an array
of figures and superlatives enough to daze one, given to the guests
of the Palace Hotel; but those who are in that happy category scarcely
need the information, and those who are not could not derive any idea
of the building from the repetition of the ciphers which are to be
found in the guide-book. The drawing on the outside affords the best
notion of the size, but only actual purview can enable one to judge
of the excellent arrangements, the service, the table. For once the
American idol "Immensity" is not overlaid. "'Tis blinding bright--'tis
blazing white! O Vulcan! what a glow!" Electric lights flooding the
court with brightness beyond description. And what a court! Sweetness
and light indeed! In the great quadrangle, 144 feet by 84, there are
fountains playing, groups of statuary, and exotic plants, and, tier
after tier, rise the pillared terraces outside the seven storeys of
which the main building consists, painted a lustrous white, shining
like purest Parian. There are 755 rooms, abounding in conveniences,
and comfortably luxurious. Each is provided with high-pressure hot and
cold water, and there is an elaborate system of ventilation, alarms,
conductors, pneumatic tubes, telephones, and "annunciators" for fire,
letters, servants, &c. The beds are excellent; the furniture admirable;
and this vast structure, 120 feet high, 275 feet broad, and 350 feet
deep, is not only fire, but--listen--"earthquake proof"; so says the
bill of fare, and so says ex-Senator W. Sharon, the proprietor. I have
not the least desire to test the truth of the averment, but if I must
be in a hotel when an earthquake visits the city in which I am, let me
be in the Palace, San Francisco. A man may live here in the enjoyment
of a pretty continuous series of meals and one of the best bedrooms
for four dollars a day, and there is a lower tariff of bed and board at
three dollars a day.
_June 8th._--Our first day was rendered exceedingly pleasant by the
kindness of General McDowell. The weather did its very best to prevent
our enjoying it, and was signally defeated. San Francisco is perhaps
the windiest city in the world, and at this time of year there is
almost always a storm in the harbour, and a steady, powerful, and
somewhat chilly blast, setting in a little before noon, and lasting
throughout the day until nearly sundown, up the streets. The General's
aide-de-camps came over early to the hotel, in full uniform, in honour
of Major-General Green, but General McDowell appeared in mufti, which
eased us down a little. A powerful steamer, the "_General Macpherson_,"
was prepared for the party, which was swollen by a considerable number
of gentlemen invited by our host to meet the Duke, and the gentlemen
from Topeka, who were included in the invitation. The excursion
afforded a favourable opportunity of inspecting the city defences.
From Alcatraz Fort, Point and Presidio Island batteries, which would
not be considered very formidable as far as armament is concerned,
although their position affords great advantages for torpedo defence,
salutes were fired in honour of Sir Henry Green. But in the case of
some of us the sight was marred by the rising sea, which increased to
an inconvenient height as the steamer reached the Seal Rocks, close to
the entrance to the bay. Of the seals I shall give an account farther
on. They did not seem to mind the steamer very much until she blew her
whistle, when many of them splashed into the sea. At the termination of
the trip, which lasted some four hours, General McDowell entertained
the party at his official quarters, which are beautifully situated on
a bluff overhanging the water of the bay.
_June 9th._--We spent, in some respects, an abortive and deceitful
day; not, indeed, that there was anything disappointing about our
entertainment at Belmont, under the auspices of ex-Senator Sharon;
but that we started full of enterprise, and intent upon inspecting the
great works of the Spring Valley Reservoir, and of making an excursion
through what was described as a very beautiful county whence is
brought the water supply of the great city in which we were sojourning.
However, though we were baulked in the object of our expedition, the
day passed, and not in the least degree unpleasantly, and instead of
going to the Lakes we drove about the neighbourhood of Belmont, and
visited several country seats.
No one who visits San Francisco should omit taking an early opportunity
of going to Palo-Alto to inspect the stock of General Stanford's
thorough-breds, and the breeding establishment, which as a sample of
perfect order and management cannot be surpassed. I cannot answer for
the figures, but I was informed that the owner spends 25,000_l._ a year
upon the maintenance of his stud and stables, and that he has not as
yet sold a colt or filly, or parted with a single animal; sires, mares,
and young brood now amounting to about 700 head. They are beautifully
housed in detached stables fitted up with every convenience that a
horse of the highest pedigree and most luxurious taste can desire.
I was particularly struck with the perfect silence which prevailed
throughout the stables. No shouts to "stand over there," and none of
that "----" (groom's expletive) which is so common in our country.
And partly owing perhaps to that mode of treatment, and to gentleness
in handling, all the horses without exception seemed tractable and
sweet-tempered. High-bred stallions stood out in the open for our
inspection, and allowed themselves to be rubbed and felt without even
laying down their ears or raising a hind-leg from the ground. In reply
to a question respecting a remarkably beautiful animal, which seemed to
have a little more fire in him, the head groom said "You may walk under
his belly if you like," and then and there he told one of the grooms
to do so, which the man did, without attracting any unusual degree of
attention from the animal. Outside one of the large blocks of stables
there is a kind of testing arena, in which we were told it was the
pleasure of General Stanford, when he was at home, to sit watching the
performance of his young horses. It is an ellipse, like a large circus,
bordered with a hoarding, and in the centre there is a raised stage for
the visitors, on which are revolving chairs. The riding-master, with an
attendant, performing the functions of the late Mr. Widdicombe, sets
the animal in motion, checking him when he breaks into a gallop. The
speed at which the animal trots the ellipse is known by the time marked
on a chronometer, and the fact is recorded for the information of the
inspectors, who can turn round their chairs and follow the action of
the horse as it trots round the ring.
The district of the State in which Palo-Alto is situated boasts of
several residences of the Californian millionaires. One house which
we visited, I think belonging to Mr. Flood, furnished the most ornate
and beautiful examples of woodwork that were ever seen by any of the
party. The house, which was as large as a good-sized English country
mansion, is constructed of timber of the finest quality, beautifully
worked, painted and varnished; and with moderate care a mansion of this
kind will last, in this climate, a couple of hundred years, which to
the American mind is an eternity. There were artists from New York,
and the staff of an upholsterer and decorator of great renown from the
Empire City were still busily engaged in the place as we went through
the rooms. The magnificent halls, reception-rooms, billiard-rooms,
library, bedrooms, all fitted up with extraordinary luxuriousness,
but in a somewhat florid taste, were of wood, the doors of many of
the apartments arresting attention by their extraordinary beauty and
finish. The ceilings decorated in fresco by Italian artists, and bright
windows filled with stained glass gave an appearance of light and
grace to the whole residence. The kitchen arrangements were marvels
of ingenuity, and one envied the butler who would have such a pantry
as that which was displayed for our inspection. Some of the pictures
which were ready to be placed on the walls were remarkable, however,
only for the richness of their frames; and, indeed, we heard that
the excellent proprietor was not a man of very cultivated taste; a
child of fortune, in the prime of life and of money-making, spending
a portion of his enormous wealth with an easy hand, but destitute of
what is called book-learning, and leaving to some future generation the
cultivation of the graces and the acquirement of accomplishments which
the circumstances of his early life had denied him to effect.
It had been arranged that we should return to San Francisco to dinner,
but Senator Sharon had in his secret heart resolved that we should do
nothing of the kind, or at least, that if we did so, it should only be
after we had partaken of such a feast at Belmont as would very much
indispose us to test the capabilities of the _chef_ of the Palace
Hotel. From Palo-Alto accordingly we were driven to the charming
country house, some miles away, of the ex-senator of Oregon, and we
were regaled there, after some delay, at a very elaborate _déjeûner_,
sent out from San Francisco. It was nigh 8 o'clock ere we got back
to the city; and the night ended by what might well be called "an
excursion" to the Baldwin Theatre, which was at the time the most
attractive of the places of entertainment of that sort open in the
city. As some of us were walking back, after the play was over, with
an American friend, talking of the "hoodlums," famous rowdies, who, we
were assured, had been of late days utterly broken up by the vigilance
of the police, our attention was attracted to a number of lads smoking
at the corner of the street. Our friend said "Hoodlums broken up! There
they are--don't you believe it. That's a lot of them, and if you were
alone you might find out very unpleasantly that there are plenty of
them."
The San Francisco journalists possess astonishing powers of
imagination. I rubbed my eyes when I read that I had described "with
eloquence the similarity between a marsh at San Bruno and a patch
of jungle in the north-west of Scinde, where I had the felicity
of spending three weeks with General Green while the natives were
arranging a plan to capture the party and cut our throats." I never
was in the north-west of Scinde in my life, and, although I had the
pleasure of passing a longer time in his company in the United States,
and of being on the same plateau before Sebastopol when he was there,
for a still longer period, many years before, I never spent three
weeks there with General Green. The Duke was described as "professing,
but showing, little enthusiasm." However, these matters are of very
slight interest or importance; only one wonders how many of the readers
of this sort of literary work believe in it. One of our party has,
according to a local paper, become a clergyman, and now rejoices in the
style and title of "the Bishop," by which he is universally addressed
by the party.
While in the train, on our way to Belmont, I had the pleasure of
being introduced to a gentleman who, although a lawyer in very large
practice, is General of the State Volunteers; and in the course of
conversation, I heard that he had papers containing the statement of
a gentleman who had visited, and which convinced him that the real
Roger Tichborne was living not very far from San Francisco. General
Barnes, whose name and character stand high in the city of the Golden
Gate, and whom I found to be a gentleman of great intelligence, seemed
perfectly satisfied by the story told by this new "claimant"; but what
he mentioned to me did not at all tend to create in my mind any notion
that he was not an impostor, and especially were my doubts confirmed by
the quotations which General Barnes made from some of the narrative, in
which there was a ridiculous jumble of French and English, in order to
justify, apparently, the stress placed by the "claimant" in his story
on that part of his life which was passed in France. He spoke of his
uncle as "mon oncle," and of Thursday as "Jeudi," and so on. However,
General Barnes appeared to be so impressed by the truthfulness of the
man's bearing, and by the full details he gave him at an audience
in which he supplied the facts for the consecutive narrative which
I was promised, that I expressed a desire to read it. General Barnes
subsequently sent me a long written paper containing the heads of the
claimant's story, a perusal of which strengthened the conviction I
had previously entertained. I only mention this circumstance because
there was a report spread throughout the Press, by the agency of one
of the great telegraphic associations which furnish the American
public with intelligence, that the Duke of Sutherland and myself
had interviewed the real Roger Tichborne at San Francisco, and had
satisfied ourselves that he was the man; and innumerable "headings"
were invented for this supposed interview, of which I was soon made
aware on my return westward in every newspaper that I read. I promptly
denied the statement that the Duke or myself had seen the new claimant,
and although the denial appeared in print I was exasperated day after
day by being asked questions afterwards with regard to this supposed
conversation with Tichborne at San Francisco, and by inquiries as to
my real impression; so it would appear that no one had seen or paid
any attention to the refutation of the story which had brought down
on my devoted head communications from friends of other Tichbornes,
of whom there are several living, some in poverty and others in
comparative affluence, in various cities and districts of the United
States. I had further the mortification of seeing it stated in print
that I had used disparaging words in alluding to the credulity of
General Barnes, which was an entirely baseless fabrication. With all
the extraordinary keenness of the American mind generally, there is
associated with it a considerable amount of the Anglo-Saxon quality
which is termed "gullibility," and the land swarms with impostors who
make a living out of the easy faith of the population. I do not speak
merely of spiritualists, quacks, and professors of peculiar religions
or medical dogmas, nor of the preachers of eccentric forms of faith or
unbelief, but of the mass of persons who contrive to get an existence
by representing that they are "someone else." Although their tricks
are well known, the trade still flourishes. They are always the "sons
of peers," who have got into disgrace with their families, but who
will eventually be owners of castles of historic fame and of enormous
estates; "distinguished soldiers"; "Maids of Honour to the Queen,"
who for some unknown reasons are living in small out-of-the-way
villages in the West; or political conspirators who have played a great
part on some distinguished stage and have saved themselves from the
consequences of defeated enterprize by taking refuge in the States.
And then there are hordes of persons who are known by the title of
"confidence men," who travel about on the trains or in the steamers,
looking out for victims, or lounging about the bars and saloons,
waiting for their prey in the shape of some facile and easy-eared
stranger, who in consideration of their merits and distress shall give
them temporary assistance. Sometimes, doubtless, there are cases of
very real suffering, sorrow, and poverty, to which exile in the United
States affords a melancholy refuge. I was obliged to hear in one great
city of a gallant soldier who, reduced to poverty by no fault of his
own, had quitted England and given up the society of his friends,
and lived in a small suburb of a town on the coast of the Pacific,
his secret known only to one or two officials, shunning all contact
with his countrymen and evading as far as possible all inquiries of
his friends. In San Francisco, where there is a poor-house open to
strangers and to native-born Americans alike, there are, I am told, to
be met with extraordinary exemplifications of the "downs" of fortune.
Adventurous and daring spirits, and pioneers of civilisation, at one
time probably possessed of wealth which was wasted in dissipation,
or lost in unfortunate speculations, are there, talking of the days
that are gone, in all languages of the world, and awaiting their end;
while others who started with them in the same race are building their
palaces or revelling in the enjoyment of wealth, compared to which our
greatest fortunes are, if figures can be trusted, a mere bagatelle. How
rapidly some of these fortunes can be made was illustrated by numerous
stories connected with some of the richest men in California. I was
told by an eminent tradesman of San Francisco that one day a miner came
into his establishment to buy a watch, which he said must be cheap
and good, for he wanted something he could trust to in the matter of
time, as he was going off with a party on an exploring expedition
after gold. This was in the early time of the great "booms" in the
West. He selected a watch, for which he paid $40, and departed. The
following day he appeared in the shop and asked to see the proprietor,
and then, producing the watch, he said he would like to have $30 for
it, as he had lost all his money in a "spree" the night before and
must have something to start with. The jeweller said, "Well, I will
return you what you gave me for the watch, as it has suffered no harm,
and you shall have your $40 back again." The man went away exceedingly
rejoiced, and the incident was forgotten. Some eighteen months
afterwards a man came to the establishment, and looking at rings, gold
chains, and jewellery of the most costly character, and asking for the
best of everything that they had got, gave orders which occasioned the
attendant to have some doubts as to his sanity, or certainly as to the
means he had of paying the amount, which was rapidly running up to tens
of thousands of dollars. So he sought out his principal. The strange
customer said, "I suppose you don't know me?" which was admitted to
be the case. He went on buying all the same, making the remark, "You
need not be uneasy about the money, for So-and-so (the bankers) will
tell you I am all right, and when you send the things home you shall
be paid. I am Joe Smith, from whom some time ago you took a watch he
bought from you when he came to your store, and gave him the full value
for it when he was in want of money," and so departed, having shown his
gratitude by buying 6000_l._ worth of jewellery. This worthy miner is
now one of the wealthy pillars of the State.
The Chinese quarter of San Francisco has been described, I will not say
_ad nauseam_, but as often as any book has been written which contains
an account of a visit to the city of the Golden Gate. Of course we
went there, and saw all that was to be seen under the best possible
auspices, for Mr. Bee, whom I have already mentioned, was our guide
and companion, assisted by an exceedingly intelligent officer of the
police force; and on the occasion of our second visit, when we went to
the theatre, we had the advantage of being under the protection of the
gentleman who represents law and order, on behalf of the municipality,
in connection with the Chinese population and the arrangements for
theatrical performances.
The inspection of the dreadful den in which the opium-smokers were to
be seen suggested to my mind a train of thought in connection with the
traffic which I would not willingly have communicated to my American
friends. It will seem incredible some day to the awakened conscience
of the nation that we should have ever sanctioned such a frightful
crime as the opium traffic. "It only poisons about two millions of
people," is the excuse, "and brings in one-sixth of the whole revenue
of India." If ever it were justifiable to utter the exclamation "Perish
India!" it would be, I believe, in regard to that disgraceful source of
revenue, and the necessity that is imposed upon us, as it is alleged,
to raise it, in order to maintain the government of our Indian empire.
Here in San Francisco the State has nothing to do with the sale of the
poison, and it is very questionable whether the police regulations
should not be applied to it, just as they are to persons who have
tried to commit suicide, or to the inebriates in public-houses, or to
places where intemperance is carried on to an extent injurious to the
public peace. Death is the inevitable result of continued indulgence
in opium-smoking, although it is true that in some cases the victim
lingers on a few years, utterly indifferent to all the business of life
except the one--the means of supplying himself with his only source
of enjoyment. I was in one of the shops where they sell the drug, and
was much struck by the cadaverous, sunken faces of the unfortunate
customers, with bright dreamy eyes, trembling limbs, and wasted bodies,
who came in to buy it. It is cheap enough, in all conscience, as a very
small quantity suffices to produce what is called "the desired effect";
but for its bulk it is exceedingly dear, and indulgence in it must
consume a considerable amount of the earnings of the best-paid artisans
when they are no longer able to earn sufficient to keep them with a
full supply. "Then," as our informant says, "they will commit any crime
to get it."
The general impression made upon me by the appearance of the Chinese
population was most favourable. I do not now speak of what one might
see in going through the haunts where the police regulations assign
exclusive possession to certain classes of the population, which, sooth
to say, seemed numerous enough; I refer to the business quarters, and
to the crowds of cleanly, intelligent, well-behaved people of both
sexes in the streets. General McDowell, and many other persons, for
whose opinion the greatest respect must be entertained, look with
apprehension on the effect of the Chinese immigration, and have,
indeed, declared that it will destroy the Union if it be not checked;
and these apprehensions are based upon the possibility that in time
millions on millions of the swarming population of China will inundate
the United States, gradually overrun town after town, usurping all
the fields of labour, and beating down the white man to the greatest
misery by competition in every branch of trade, industry, and labour.
This party has successfully, I believe, impressed its views upon a
considerable number of senators and representatives in the Eastern
States, who can exercise pressure on the Supreme Government; and
the treaty recently signed between the Republic and China contains
provisions which enable the authorities at the western seaports to
exercise considerable control over the current of emigration. But, on
the other hand, it is alleged that the fears which are expressed of
a rapidly increasing exodus of Chinese from China, and an anabasis
into the United States, are purely imaginary--in fact, unreal and
pretentious. The pro-Chinese party allege that the emigration comes
from only one port in one province, and that you may go all over the
West, and ask any Chinaman or Chinawoman where he or she comes from,
and you are met with the invariable answer, from the one port. The
friends of the Chinese--arguing, moreover, that the State at large
is benefited enormously by the accession to its resources from the
Celestial Empire, and that the labour was attacked, not because it
was cheap, but because it was good; that it is now indispensable, for
without Chinamen and Chinawomen it would be almost impossible to carry
on the ordinary life of these cities--allege that the agitation which
has been so violent in San Francisco is mainly encouraged by those
who want to secure the Irish vote. Colonel Bee represents these views
very strongly. He argues that Canton, not larger than the State of
New Hampshire, is the sole source of emigration. He insists on it that
there are no more than 100,000 Chinese in the whole of the Union, and
that for the last ten years the emigrants have not sufficed to fill
the places of those who had gone home with money, never intending to
return, or who had died. He maintains, indeed, that the Chinese are
decreasing rather than otherwise; and with all the power of figures,
which he has at his fingers' ends as Consul, demonstrates that a very
large proportion of the Chinese who are entered as arriving at San
Francisco and other parts are the same men and women as those who came
some years previously and went back to their native country, returning
to gain more dollars.
The principal enemies of the Chinese are the Irish, who, having
monopolised the whole of the work of bricklayers, plasterers, carters,
porters, and general labourers until their arrival, have been forced
to reduce their rates of labour steadily by the competition of the
Chinaman.
The part of the population of San Francisco denominated the Sand lot,
and especially those connected with the political associations of the
city, do not by any means share Colonel Bee's views; but the agitation
is dying out, and the meetings, which were of weekly occurrence, to
excite the people against the Mongolians have decreased in number,
importance, and interest. The directors of public companies, and
the contractors for public works, are all in favour of the Chinese
workman, who is sober, industrious, and orderly; and although the trade
combinations among them are exceedingly subtle, and their powers of
association for trade purposes remarkable, being moreover the most
ancient in the world, the Chinese in the Western States have not as
yet taken to indulge in the luxury of strikes. As domestic servants,
nurses, and attendants on children, they appear to be affectionate
and careful; and nothing could be better than the service of the hotel
in which we were lodged, the great portion of which was carried on by
Chinamen and women.
_June 10th._--In the spacious courtyard of the Palace Hotel, at
7 o'clock this morning, there might have been observed three
well-appointed waggons (as Americans call the vehicle more
appropriately termed "spider" at the Cape), each with two horses
of race, fast trotters, panting for a spin through the city and the
Park out to the shores of the Pacific. The Duke and Sir H. Green and
Mr. Stephen were driven by Mr. Howard. Mr. Wright was "personally
conducted" by Mr. ----, and I was put behind a pair of as handsome
chestnuts as could well be seen anywhere, of which the owner and
driver (General Barnes) was very reasonably proud. The streets of
San Francisco, like those of most of the American cities we have
visited, are atrociously paved; the torture of driving over boulders
is aggravated by the sharp ribs of the tram ways, so that it is not
pleasant, if, indeed, it be possible, to drive rapidly till the limit
of municipal incompetence or fraud be passed. But once out on the
suburbs the chestnuts were invited to step it, and were bowling along
at a good fourteen miles an hour on our way to the Park, over as good
a road as horse or man ever felt under hoof or foot. The Park not long
ago was a waste of sand, it is now swarded and planted with shrubs, and
luxuriant with flowers. Notices that it was unlawful to do more than
ten miles an hour were posted up, but the General did not pay strict
attention to them till he came near shady places, where experience
warned him that policemen might be lying privily in ambush. The pace
was quickened till the waggon seemed to fly through the air rather
than move over the ground. It was the perfection of travelling on
wheels--almost as buoyant as a headlong gallop. The waggon weighed but
180 lb., the powerful animals "scarcely felt it more than their tails."
I had a turn at the reins by "kind permission" of the General. The art
of driving trotters needs practice. You must keep a strong, steady
pull on the head, or they "break." Very soon I had the satisfaction
of making the chestnuts break the law with a vengeance, and of hearing
the General say, "We are just within the three minutes! not ten seconds
inside it!"--that is, of trotting at the rate of just twenty miles an
hour. Up hill and down hill, and along the flat out of the Park and
over the smooth road, and in half an hour the Pacific was in sight, and
the murmurs of the surf rose above the rhythm of the regular beat of
the eight hoofs in front of us! Cliff House was in view. Seal Rocks,
in their setting of foam, lay before us, and in forty minutes from the
time we left the hotel, despite policemen, miles of bad pavements, and
tramways, we drew up at the steps of Cliff House, nine miles from San
Francisco, and the trotters had not turned a hair. From the verandah
at the sea front of the hotel, we enjoyed for half an hour a spectacle
which is, as far as I know, unique. At the distance of 500 or 600 yards
from the beach at our feet there is a group of four very rugged rocks,
with serrated edges and tops, the sides broken here and there into
ledges and small platforms. They are too small to be called islands,
the largest being, as it seemed, not 100 yards wide. The slopes are
not, I think, so steep as they looked on the land side. On the two
largest of these rocks there were herds of sea-lions, so close that we
could see, through very poor opera-glasses, with the greatest ease,
their eyes, teeth, and whiskers, as they reposed or played with each
other. Some had clambered to the highest ledges, escalading the sides
by a series of painful-looking struggles with their flappers; others
were fast asleep in cosy nooks; some were tossing their heads about and
making believe to bite each other in sport; the younger ones were bent
on teasing their fathers and mothers by uncouth gambols. As they played
or moved they uttered cries between a bark and a roar; now and then the
noise was like that of a pack of hounds in full cry, and the effect of
the strange sound mingling with the tumult of the surf and the beat of
the waves was most singular and "eldrich." Those fresh from the sea
were shining black, but became lighter as they dried. The older ones
were not darker than cinnamon bears or unwashed sheep. As many of those
on the rocks had not long left the water the general effect of the
herd put one in mind of a gathering of enormous slugs on cabbages--not
a poetic simile, but a just one, I think. Occasionally a sea-lion,
hungry or bored by his companions, threw himself with a splash into the
wave, and it was interesting to watch the rapidity and actual grace of
his movements in the sea compared with his laborious efforts on the
land. One could see them quite clearly through the body of the heavy
billows; occasionally a bold one would glide close on shore and fish
in the edge of the surf, raising his head and shoulders clear above
the surface, and then diving out of sight. They were cruising about
in every direction. You remember the sea-lion at the Zoo, of which the
French attendant was so fond? Well, the creatures below and before us
were most of them double the size of that fellow, and several exceeded
the largest ox in size. The monsters are quite well known; one is named
Ben Butler, "because he is such a great beast." They were formerly
protected by law, but some one thought they killed too many fish, and
the law was repealed. They are safe all the same, for there is a law
against the discharge of firearms within 300 yards of an inhabited
dwelling; Cliff House throws its ægis over the sea-lions in that wise;
but the quantity of fish which must be devoured by these mountainous
phocæ (an they be so) daily would maintain a decently-sized city. The
hide furnishes the "sealskin" used to cover trunks, and the body yields
oil fat, and the tusks are close, white, and hard. These sea-lions
breed far away up north, and come with their young regularly every
year to the same resorts; but incessant war is waged upon them by the
sealers and whalers, so that the chances are against the beast where he
is not protected by law, and their numbers do not increase. Altogether,
the spectacle was one never to be forgotten. A hotel, with oysters
awaiting us for a forebreakfast refection in the background, waggons
from Michigan, horses from Kentucky, all the apparatus of civilised
life close at hand, the Pacific and its strange wild denizens at our
feet! "Let us turn in and have an oyster." "What! oysters in June?"
"Yes, and good ones too." In this favoured land oysters are in season
all the year round. There are no oysters found on the coast, I am told,
and they will not breed. They are brought all the way from the Atlantic
coast when they are mere oysterlets, and they are laid down in the
Pacific, where they grow fat and large, but are not "crossed in love,"
and therefore are fit to be eaten from January to January. They are
about the size of a spring chicken, and need some courage on the part
of an assailant who desires to dispose of them as he would a native.
This was our last day in the city of the Golden Gate, and the
photographers were masters of the situation; and there was much
_débris_ of sight-seeing to sweep up--visits to be made, shops to be
inspected, among which I must mention specially the Diamond Palace
of Colonel Andrews, one of the handsomest jeweller's "stores" in
the world, though it is not as large as the establishments of the
principal firms in London, Paris, Vienna, or as Tiffany's in New
York. The distinctive feature of the interior is the decoration of the
paintings of fair women, on the ceiling and the walls above the cases,
by necklaces, diadems, zones, and other feminine ornaments of real
diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and pearls. The pictures are the work of
an Italian artist of merit, and the general effect is very striking;
but I doubt whether it is a good way of inducing people to buy the
articles which bedeck the ideal beauties. At Bradley and Rulofson's
we saw photographs of many of our friends, and had one more proof of
the smallness of the world. Every one we knew seemed to have visited
San Francisco. There we all submitted to inevitable fate, and left our
negatives behind us, but the Duke was captured by a rival photographic
institution, and had a sitting all to himself.
The aspect of a crowd in a large American city differs from that of
the passers-by in the street of an English town, most of all in the
appearance of such a large proportion of coloured people. Here it may
be said, however, that they are colourless, as the prevailing hue of
the foreign population is that of the Chinaman. In Canada the number
of negroes, or of persons of negro descent, of varying gradations of
colour, is remarkable, considering the circumstances, but they probably
may be accounted for by the emigration in the olden times of those
who were escaping from slavery, or who went with their masters and
employers into the Dominion. In the cities on the Lakes I was very
much struck by the persons of undoubted African descent who are to
be met with in the streets in great numbers; and in Chicago there is
a quarter nearly exclusively occupied by them--honest, industrious,
hard-working people seemingly, given to stand about at the street
corners, however, a good deal on Sundays, and cultivating a bright
attire, especially on the part of the ladies, whose bonnets and
shawls were things to wonder at. There are loafers amongst them, as
there are amongst their betters; but, taking them all in all, in the
Northern, Western, and Atlantic States, they are a decidedly useful
element in the population, easing the burden of labour to the white
man, and following many occupations, such as those of waiters, barbers,
bricklayers, and labourers in the less skilled sort of work, for which
it would be difficult to find American substitutes. One peculiarity,
which may be accounted for by some wiser person than myself, seems to
be their recklessness as to what they put on their heads. Whether it
is merely a compliance with the custom of the white man, which impels
them to cover the highly effective protection against sun and cold
which Nature has given them, or not; or whether it is that the canons
of taste in such matters have not yet settled down to those accepted
by people in civilised life in the Western world, the male negro has
the most extraordinary indifference as to the quality and shape of the
thing which he calls a hat or cap, and it would not be easy to find out
of the gutters of some Irish country town anything more dilapidated,
battered, and utterly incoherent than some of the hats which one may
see on the heads of people of colour, especially down South. Whatever
other virtues they may have, neatness is not amongst them; for, with
all their affectation of finery, their clothes are generally ill-kept,
their houses are unkempt, and, where they are cultivators of the soil,
the operations are performed in a slovenly manner. The traditions of
the old plantation have descended upon them, and influence them.
On my way from Messrs. Donahue and Kelly, the bankers in Montgomery
Street--I believe the former of these gentlemen has had the
privilege of giving his name to steamers and cities, leastways
railway stations--I saw a party of sailors belonging to the United
States steamer "_Rodgers_," now about to proceed in search of the
"_Jeannette_," and I was much struck by their resemblance to our own
bluejackets in general "cut of the jib," dress, face, and figure.
They were in charge of a smart-looking officer, and had been paying a
farewell visit to the fruit and vegetable markets--one of the sights of
the city. They were in high good-humour, laughing and chatting loudly,
more than is the wont of Americans, and I could not but contrast
their fine physique with that of the soldiers we had seen at Sir Henry
Green's parade when General McDowell took us round the harbour. The
detachment at the Fort, consisting of infantry and artillerymen, and
squads of different regiments, had some weedy veterans in the ranks,
who had lost their setting up and did not look fit for much work; but
the sailors, probably a picked lot, were good all round.
_À propos_ of Messrs. Donahue and Kelly, the number of wealthy
men in San Francisco of Irish origin or nationality is remarkable.
Millionaires with names of Milesian prefixes and terminations are
phenomenal. We had intended to return to the East Coast by way of Utah,
and to stay a day or two at Salt Lake City, but the railroad company
did not consider it expedient to give the party the facilities which
had been accorded in every other instance by the American authorities
to the Duke and his friends. To have gone round Salt Lake City would
have cost a couple of hundred pounds more for haulage, and we were
much more interested in seeing Leadville and Denver than the City of
the Mormons; the game was not thought to be worth the candle, and
it was resolved that we would go back as we came, in charge of the
representatives of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Railroad Company.
It was only one item more in the long list of things we ought to have
seen if we could, and I can safely say that we had a large share of the
common experience of travellers in regard to the relations between the
possible and the impossible in the course of a journey in a strange
land, where there are for ever cropping up representations that "you
really ought not to leave without seeing" so and so. The evening of our
last day was passed in the society of General McDowell, Mr. Morgan,
the English Consul, Colonel Bee, and others, who had done so much to
make the visit to San Francisco all that could be desired, and whose
courtesy and kindness will ever be remembered by every one of us most
gratefully. Like Sir Charles Coldstream, we "had seen everything,
done everything," but, unlike him, had found there was plenty in it.
The street railway--most ingenious and successful, invaluable in a
hilly city like Lisbon--the Chinese Theatre, the Joss houses--shops,
eating-houses, opium dens of the Chinese quarter, the clubs, the
principal buildings, the streets, the shops, the markets, the harbour,
the suburbs, and country round about--all had been inspected, and
yet each day we were told that we were doing positive injustice to
ourselves and to the objects which were perforce neglected. In the
morning there was a levée in the hotel to bid the Duke good-bye and
see the party start on their return journey. At the very last moment a
gentleman came forward with a proposal to take us to the North Pole by
balloon, but there was not time to consider it in all its bearings and
the offer was declined with thanks. We started at 10 A.M., and the Duke
was attended to the boat and to the station across the water by a large
body of San Franciscans, who took leave ere the train started. The
gentlemen who were with us on the journey westwards attended the Duke
on his way towards the Eastern States. All day we travelled through
California--"the hot furnace"--which at first, however, proved to be
only very warm, and the coloured servants had constant supplies of iced
compounds to be drunk for the solace of the homeward bound, and had
laid in a stock of San Franciscan luxuries to soothe the way.