[Illustration: Burt, sc.]
THE LAND OF GOLD;
OR,
=Three Years in California.=
BY
REV. WALTER COLTON, U. S. N.,
AUTHOR OF “SHIP AND SHORE,” &c.
* * * * *
=New York:=
D. W. EVANS & CO., 677 BROADWAY.
1860.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year Eighteen Hundred and
fifty,
BY S. A. ROLLO & COMPANY,
In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the
Southern District of New York.
TO
GEN. MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO,
ONE OF CALIFORNIA’S DISTINGUISHED SONS,
IN WHOM
THE INTERESTS OF FREEDOM, HUMANITY, AND EDUCATION
HAVE FOUND AN ABLE ADVOCATE AND MUNIFICENT BENEFACTOR
=This Volume=
IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
BY HIS FRIEND
THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
Many events of moment occurred in California during my residence of
three years in that country, and which were sketched in a journal kept
by me at the time. They are interspersed with anecdotes and incidents of
a less general concern, but which may not be without some interest with
the reader, as affording a clue to the leading features of society, and
traits of individual character. The circle of engaging objects in a
community, just emerging into the refinements of civilization, is never
broad; but every phase in the great change going on possesses an intense
individuality, and leaves its ineffaceable impression, like a ship
sweeping a solitary sea, or a bird scaling a sunset cloud. California
will be no more what she has been: the events of a few years have
carried her through the progressive changes of a century. She has sprung
at once from the shackles of colonial servitude to all the advantages
and dignities of a sovereign state.
Her emigrants are rushing from every continent and isle; they crest
every mountain, they cover every sea; they sweep in like a cloud from
the Pacific, they roll down like a torrent from the slopes of the Sierra
Nevada. They crowd to her bosom to gather gold; their hammers and
drills, their mattocks and spades divert the deep stream, and are echoed
from a thousand caverned hills; the level plain, the soaring cliff and
wombed mountain, give up their glowing treasures. But the gifts of
nature here are not confined to her sparkling sands and veined rocks,
they extend to the productive forces of her soil; they lie along her
water-courses, through her verdant valleys, and wave in her golden
grain; they reel in her vintage, they blush in her fruits, while her
soft zephyrs, as they float the landscape, scatter perfume from their
odorous wings.
But with all these gifts disease is here with its pale victims, and
sorrow with its willow-wove shrine. There is no land less relieved by
the smiles and soothing cares of woman. If Eden with its ambrosial
fruits and guiltless joys was still sad till the voice of woman mingled
with its melodies, California, with all her treasured hills and streams,
must be cheerless till she feels the presence of the same enchantress.
It is woman alone that can make a home for the human heart, and evoke
from the recesses of nature the bright and beautiful: where her
footsteps light, the freshest flowers spring; where her voice swells,
the softest echoes wake: her smiles garland the domestic hearth; her
sympathy melts through the deepest folds of grief; her love clothes the
earth with light. When night invests the heaven, when the soft pleiads
in their storm-rocked cradle sleep, and the sentinel stars on their
watch-towers wane dim, her vigil flame still pours its faithful beam,
still struggles with the encroaching darkness till the day-spring and
the shadows flee away. Of all these sources of solace and hope
multitudes in California are now bereft; but the ties of kindred, the
quick-winged ship, and the steed of flame, on his iron-paved track, will
soon secure them these priceless gifts. The miner, returning from his
toil, will yet half forget the labors of the day in the greetings of his
home:
“At length his lonely cot appears in view,
Beneath the shelter of an aged tree;
Th’ expectant _wee things_, toddlin’, stacher thro’
To meet their dad, wi’ flichterin noise an’ glee.
His wee bit ingle, blinkin’ bonnily,
His clean hearth-stane, his thriftie _wifie’s_ smile,
The lisping infant prattling on his knee,
Does a’ his weary carking cares beguile,
An’ makes him quite forget his labor an’ his toil.”
PHILADELPHIA, July, 1850.
W. C.
CONTENTS.
Page
CHAPTER I.—The flag.—Meeting of citizens.—Disposition of
forces.—Col. Fremont’s band.—Alcalde of Monterey.—Indian
mother.—Military leaders.—A California farm 13
CHAPTER II.—Fecundity of the Californians.—First intelligence of
the war.—Wild Indians on board ship.—The chief.—First newspaper
published in California.—Raising the materials.—The rival
suitors.—Flight of Gen. Castro.—A Californian on horseback 27
CHAPTER III.—A thief obeying orders.—Game.—No penitentiary
system.—The California cart on a gala day.—The runaway
daughter.—Faith of the Indians.—Return from the war.—First trial
by jury.—Indian and his squaw on the hunt.—Whales in the
bay.—The two gamblers.—Ladies on horseback.—Merriment in
death.—The Englishman and his mistress 39
CHAPTER IV.—Funeral ceremonies.—Elected alcalde.—Flight of Gen.
Castro.—Los Angeles taken.—Oven-bath.—Grog in a chimney.—The
flea.—First rain.—Rising of the Californians.—Measures of Com.
Stockton.—Mormons 54
CHAPTER V.—Fire on the mountains.—Emigrants.—Pistols and
pillows.—Leaders of the insurrection.—California plough.—Defeat
at San Pedro.—Col. Fremont’s band.—The Malek Adhel.—Monterey
threatened.—Soldier outwitted.—Raising men.—Bridegroom.—Culprits 72
CHAPTER VI.—Santa Barbara taken.—Lieut. Talbot and his
ten.—Gambling in prison.—Recruits.—A funny culprit.—Movements of
Com. Stockton.—Beauty and the grave.—Battle on the Salinas.—The
captain’s daughter.—Stolen pistols.—Indian behind a
tree.—Nuptials in California 89
CHAPTER VII.—San José garrisoned—A California rain.—Escape of
convicts.—Shooting Edwards.—Two washerwomen.—Death of Mr.
Sargent.—Indian hens.—Hunting curlew.—The California horse.—An
old emigrant.—The grizzly bear 106
CHAPTER VIII.—Little Adelaida.—Col. Fremont’s battalion.—Santiago
In love.—Sentiments of an old Californian.—The prize
Julia.—Fandango.—Winter climate.—Patron Saint of
California.—Habits of the natives.—Insurrection in the
north.—Drama in a church.—Position of Com. Stockton 121
CHAPTER IX.—Day of the Santos Innocentes.—Letting off a
lake.—Arrival of the Dale with home letters.—The dead
year.—Newly-arrived emigrants.—Egg-breaking
festivities.—Concealment of Chaves.—Plot to capture the alcalde 134
CHAPTER X.—Destruction of dogs.—The wash-tub mail.—The surrender
in the north.—Robbing the Californians.—Death-scene in a
shanty.—The men who took up arms.—Arrival of the
Independence.—Destitution of our troops.—Capture of los Angeles 149
CHAPTER XI.—Arrival of the Lexington.—The march to los Angeles,
and battle of San Gabriel.—The capitulation.—Military
characteristics of the Californians.—Barricades down 163
CHAPTER XII.—Return of T. O. Larkin.—The tall partner in the
Californian.—Mexican officers.—The Cyane.—War mementoes.—Drama
of Adam and Eve.—Carnival.—Birth-day of Washington.—A California
captain.—Application for a divorce.—Arrival of the Columbus 173
CHAPTER XIII.—The people of Monterey.—The guitar and runaway
wife.—Mother ordered to flog her son.—Work of the
prisoners.—Catching sailors.—Court of Admiralty.—Gamblers caught
and fined.—Lifting land boundaries 189
CHAPTER XIV.—A convict who would not work.—Lawyers at
Monterey.—Who conquered California.—Ride to a
rancho.—Leopaldo.—Party of Californians.—A dash into the
forests.—Chasing a deer.—Killing a bear.—Ladies with
fire-arms.—A mother and volunteer 199
CHAPTER XV.—A California pic-nic.—Seventy and seventeen in the
dance.—Children in the grove.—A California bear-hunt.—The bear
and bull bated.—The Russian’s cabbage head 210
CHAPTER XVI.—A Californian jealous of his wife.—Hospitality of the
natives.—Honors to Guadalupe.—Application from a Lothario for a
divorce.—Capture of Mazatlan.—Larceny of Canton shawls.—An
emigrant’s wife claiming to have taken the country.—A wild
bullock in Main-street 220
CHAPTER XVII.—Rains in California.—Functions of the alcalde of
Monterey.—Orphans in California.—Slip of the gallows
rope.—Making a father whip his boy.—A convict as prison
cook.—The Kanacka.—Thom. Cole.—A man robbing himself.—A
blacksmith outwitted 230
CHAPTER XVIII.—First discovery of gold.—Prison guard.—Incredulity
about the gold.—Santiago getting married.—Another lump of
gold.—Effects of the gold fever.—The court of an
alcalde.—Mosquitoes as constables.—Bob and his bag of
gold.—Return of citizens from the mines.—A man with the gold
cholic.—The mines on individual credit 242
CHAPTER XIX.—Tour to the gold mines.—Loss of horses.—First night
in the woods.—Arrival at San Juan.—Under way.—Camping out.—Bark
of the wolves.—Watch-fires.—San José.—A fresh start.—Camping on
the slope of a hill.—Wild features of the country.—Valley of the
San Joaquin.—Band of wild horses 257
CHAPTER XX.—The grave of a gold-hunter.—Mountain spurs.—A company
of Sonoranians.—A night alarm.—First view of the
mines.—Character of the deposits.—A woman and her pan.—Removal
to other mines.—Wild Indians and their weapons.—Cost of
provisions.—A plunge into a gold river.—Machines used by the
gold-diggers 269
CHAPTER XXI.—Lump of gold lost.—Indians at their game of
arrows.—Camp of the gold-hunters.—A Sonoranian
gold-digger.—Sabbath in the mines.—The giant Welchman.—Nature of
gold deposits.—Average per man.—New discoveries 282
CHAPTER XXII.—Visit to the Sonoranian camp.—Festivities and
gambling.—The doctor and teamster.—An alcalde turned cook.—The
miner’s tattoo.—The little Dutchman.—New deposits discovered.—A
woman keeping a monté table.—Up to the knee and nine-pence.—The
volcanoes and gold.—Arrival of a barrel of rum 295
CHAPTER XXIII.—Natural amphitheatre.—No scientific clue to the
deposits of gold.—Soil of the mines.—Life among the
gold-diggers.—Loss of our caballada.—The old man and
rock.—Departure from the mines.—Travelling among gorges and
pinnacles.—Instincts of the mule.—A mountain cabin 309
CHAPTER XXIV.—A lady in the mountains.—Town of Stockton.—Crossing
the valley of the San Joaquin.—The robbed father and boy.—Ride
to San José.—Rum in California.—Highwayman.—Woodland
life.—Rachel at the well.—Farewell to my camping-tree 324
CHAPTER XXV.—Cause of sickness in the mines.—The quicksilver
mines.—Heat and cold in the mines.—Traits in the Spanish
character.—Health of California ladies.—A word to mothers.—The
pingrass and blackbird.—The Redwood-tree.—Battle of the eggs 339
CHAPTER XXVI.—The public domain.—Scenery around
Monterey.—Vineyards of los Angeles.—Beauty of San Diego.—The
culprit hall.—The rush for gold.—Land titles.—The Indian
doctress.—Tufted partridge.—Death of Com. Biddle 351
CHAPTER XXVII.—The gold region.—Its locality, nature, and
extent.—Foreigners in the mines.—The Indians’ discovery of
gold.—Agricultural capabilities of California.—Services of
United States officers.—First decisive movement for the
organization of a civil government.—Intelligence of the death of
Gen. Kearny 365
CHAPTER XXVIII.—Ride of Col. Fremont from los Angeles to Monterey
and back.—Character of the country.—The rincon.—Skeletons of
dead horses.—A stampede.—Gray bears.—The return.—The two horses
rode by Col. Fremont.—An experiment.—The result.—Characteristics
of the California horse.—Fossil remains.—The two classes of
emigrants.—Life in California.—Heads against tails 377
CHAPTER XXIX.—The tragedy at San Miguel.—Court and culprits.—Age
and circumstances of those who should come to
California.—Condition of the professions.—The wrongs of
California.—Claims on the Christian community.—Journalists 391
CHAPTER XXX.—The gold-bearing quartz.—Their locality.—Richness and
extent.—The suitable machinery to be used in the mountains.—The
court of admiralty at Monterey.—Its organization and
jurisdiction.—The cases determined.—Sale of the
prizes.—Convention and Constitution of California.—Difficulties
and compromises.—Spirit of the instrument 403
CHAPTER XXXI.—Glances at towns sprung and springing.—San
Francisco.—Benicia.—Sacramento
City.—Sutter.—Vernon.—Boston.—Stockton.—New
York.—Alvezo.—Stanislaus.—Sonora.—Crescent City.—Trinidad 414
CHAPTER XXXII.—Brief notices of persons, whose portraits embellish
this volume, and who are prominently connected with California
affairs 425
CHAPTER XXXIII.—The mission establishments in California.—Their
origin, objects, localities, lands, revenues,
overthrow.—California Railroad 439
LIST OF PORTRAITS.
CAPTAIN JOHN A. SUTTER.
THOMAS O. LARKIN, ESQ.
HON. J. C. FREMONT.
HON. WM. M. GWIN.
HON. G. W. WRIGHT.
JACOB R. SNYDER.
A LIST
OF THE DELEGATES IN CONVENTION
ASSEMBLED AT MONTEREY, UPPER CALIFORNIA, SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER, A. D.
1849.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
NAMES. WHERE BORN. RESIDENCE. AGE.
───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Robert Semple. Kentucky. Benicia. Forty-two.
John A. Sutter. Switzerland. New Helvetia. Forty-seven.
Thomas O. Larkin. Massachusetts. Monterey. Forty-seven.
M. G. Vallejo. California. Sonoma. Forty-two.
Wm. M. Gwin. Tennessee. San Francisco. Forty-four.
H. W. Halleck. New York. Monterey. Thirty-two.
Wm. M. Steuart. Maryland. San Francisco. Forty-nine.
Joseph Hobson. Do. Do. Thirty-nine.
Thos. L. Vermeule. New Jersey. Loetown. Thirty-five.
O. M. Wozencraft. Ohio. San Joaquin. Thirty-four.
B. F. Moore. Florida. Do. Twenty-nine.
Wm. E. Shannon. New York. Sacramento. Twenty-seven.
Winfield S. Do. Do. Thirty-two.
Sherwood.
Elam Brown. Do. San José. Fifty-two.
Joseph Aram. Do. Do. Thirty-nine.
J. D. Hoppe. Maryland. Do. Thirty-five.
Jno. McDougal. Ohio. Sutter. Thirty-two.
Elisha O. Crosby. Tompkins Co., N. Y. Vernon. Thirty-four.
K. H. Dimmick. New York. Pueblo San José. Thirty-four.
Julian Hanks. Connecticut. Do. Thirty-seven.
M. M. McCarver. Kentucky. Sacramento City. Forty-two.
Francis J. Lippitt. Rhode Island. San Francisco. Thirty-seven.
Rodman M. Price. New York. Do. Thirty.
Lewis Dent. Missouri. Monterey. Twenty-six.
Henry Hill. Virginia. Do. Thirty-three.
Ch. T. Botts. Do. Do. Forty.
Myron Norton. Vermont. San Francisco. Twenty-seven.
J. M. Jones. Kentucky. San Joaquin. Twenty-five.
P. Sainsevain. Bordeaux. San José. Trente ans.
José M. Covarrubias. France. Santa Barbara. Forty-one.
Antonio M^a. Pico. California. San José. Forty.
Jacinto Rodriguez. Do. Monterey. Thirty-six.
Stephen C. Foster. Maine. Los Angeles. Twenty-eight.
Henry A. Tefft. New York. San Luis Obispo. Twenty-six.
J. M. H. Maryland. San Joaquin. Twenty-five.
Hollingsworth.
Abel Stearns. Massachusetts. Los Angeles. Fifty-one.
Hugh Reid. Scotland. San Gabriel. Thirty-eight.
Benj. S. Lippincott. New York. San Joaquin. Thirty-four.
Joel P. Walker. Virginia. Sonoma. Fifty-two.
Jacob R. Snyder. Pennsylvania. Sacramento City. Thirty-four.
L. W. Hastings. Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Sacramento. Thirty.
Pablo de la Guerra. California. Santa Barbara. Thirty.
José Ant^o. Do. Angeles. Fifty-three.
Carrillo.
Man^l. Dominguez. Do. Do. Forty-six.
P. Ord. Maryland. Monterey. Thirty-three.
Edw. Gilbert. New York. San Francisco. Twenty-seven.
Miguel de Pedrorena. Spain. San Diego. Forty-one.
A. J. Ellis. New York. San Francisco. Thirty-three.
[Illustration: VALLEY OF THE SACRAMENTO AND SAN JOAQUIN. _J. W. ORR.
N.Y._]
THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA.
CHAPTER I.
THE FLAG.—MEETING OF CITIZENS.—DISPOSITION OF FORCES.—COL. FREMONT’S
BAND.—ALCALDE OF MONTEREY.—INDIAN MOTHER.—MILITARY LEADERS.—A
CALIFORNIA FARM.
A few words will place within the clear comprehension of the reader, the
posture of public affairs in California at the time my journal opens.
The U. S. flag was raised at Monterey and San Francisco on the 10th of
July, 1846. This event was wholly unexpected by the Californians, and
struck the public heart with the deepest surprise; other causes of alarm
and apprehension faded into shadow in the presence of this decisive
measure; they were the admonitory vibrations, but here was the
earthquake itself. The people were more astounded than indignant, and
quite as intent over problems of preservation as measures of resistance.
At a public meeting held at Monterey, in which the patriotism, talents,
and sagacity of the country were largely represented, the question of
throwing the territory under the protection of England, through the
naval forces commanded by Admiral Seymour, who was on the coast at the
time, was excitingly discussed. But this proposition received its
quietus under the successful railery of Don Raphael, of Monterey. “Our
object,” said this witty counsellor, “is to preserve our country; but
she is gone,—California is lost to us: and this proposal to invoke the
protection of England, is only to seek another _owner_. The redress is
worthy of the market-woman: a dog had robbed her hamper of a leg of
mutton, and she sent another dog more powerful after him to get it away;
when asked what good that would do her, she replied, it would be some
satisfaction to see the _first_ dog deprived of the stolen leg. And so
it is with us; the mutton is gone, and a choice of the dog only remains:
others may prefer the bull-dog, but I prefer the regular hound; he has
outstripped the other in the chase, and so let him have the game.” The
convention broke up without adopting any decisive measures; leaving each
one to act as his impulses or convictions of duty suggested.
The military forces of the country were at this time under the command
of Gen. José Castro, an officer of high pretensions, but utterly
deficient in strength and steadiness of purpose, and that capacity which
can work out important results with slender and inapposite means. His
followers had gathered to him with as little discipline, sobriety, and
order, as would characterize a bear-hunt. Their prime impulse lay in the
excitement which the camp presented. It was the same thing to them
whether their weapon was a rifle or a guitar,—whether they were going to
a skirmish or a fandango. With six or eight hundred of these waltzing
warriors Gen. Castro was now on his march into the southern department,
with the evident purpose of taking up his position near the Pueblo de
los Angeles.
Such was the posture of affairs when Com. Stockton resolved to rest in
no half-way measures. The wave had been set in motion and must roll on,
or its returning force might sweep him and his temporary garrisons into
the Pacific. And yet aggressive measures in the present condition of the
squadron seemed to border on rashness. The Portsmouth, under Commander
Montgomery, must be left at San Francisco to garrison the posts occupied
by the flag; the Savannah, commanded by Capt. Mervin, must remain here
to hold Monterey; the Warren, under Commander Hull, was at Mazatlan;
only the Congress, Lieut. Livingston commanding, and the Cyane, under
Commander Du Pont, remained. With the crews of these, and a hundred and
sixty men under Col. Fremont, California was to be conquered and held,
and this too in the presence or defeat of a military force that had the
entire resources of the country at their command. But a gallant purpose
will often achieve what a questioning prudence would relinquish. The
mountain torrent, with its impetuosity, sweeps away the barrier which
effectually obstructs the level stream.
MONDAY, JULY 27. The bustle of preparation is active in the squadron.
Commander Du Pont received orders last evening to have the Cyane ready
for sea in twenty-four hours. She has tripped this afternoon, and is off
for San Diego, though it has been given out on shore that she is bound
elsewhere, but this is a war-stratagem. She has on board Col. Fremont
and a hundred and fifty of his riflemen. The wind is fresh, and they are
by this time cleverly sea-sick, and lying about the deck in a spirit of
resignation that would satisfy the non-resistant principles of a Quaker.
Two or three resolute old women might tumble the whole of them into the
sea. But they will rally before they reach their port, and see that
their rifles spring true to their trust.
The colonel is a man of small stature, of slender but wiry formation,
and with a countenance indicative of decision and firmness. This is the
fifth time he has crossed the continent in connection with his
scientific purposes. His enterprises are full of hardship, peril, and
the wildest romance. To sleep under the open heaven, and depend on one’s
rifle for food, is coming about as near the primitive state of the
hunter as a civilized man can well get; and yet this life, in his case,
is adorned with the triumphs of science. The colonel and his band are to
land at San Diego, secure horses, and advance upon the position of Gen.
Castro, at los Angeles.
“War’s great events lie so in Fortune’s scale,
That oft a feather’s weight may kick the beam.”
TUESDAY, JULY 28. Com. Stockton informed me to-day that I had been
appointed Alcalde of Monterey and its jurisdiction. I had dreamed in the
course of my life, as most people have, of the thousand things I might
become, but it never entered my visions that I should succeed to the
dignity of a Spanish alcalde. I much preferred my berth on board the
Congress, and that the judicial functions in question should continue to
be discharged by the two intelligent gentlemen, Purser R. M. Price and
Dr. Edward Gilchrist, upon whom they had been devolved. But the services
of these officers were deemed indispensable to the efficiency of the
ships to which they were attached. This left me no alternative; my
trunks were packed, my books boxed, and in an hour I was on shore, a
guest in the house of our consul, T. O. Larkin, Esq., whose munificent
hospitalities reach every officer of the squadron, and every functionary
in the interest of the flag. This is the more appreciated from the fact
that there is not a public table or hotel in all California. High and
low, rich and poor, are thrown together on the private liberality of the
citizens. Though a quasi war exists, all the amenities and courtesies of
life are preserved; your person, life, and liberty, are as sacred at the
hearth of the Californian as they would be at your own fireside. He will
never betray you; the rights of hospitality, in his generous judgment,
require him to peril his own life in defence of yours. He may fight you
on the field, but in his family, you may dance with his daughters, and
he will himself wake the waltzing string.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29. The sloop-of-war Levant, under Commander Page,
sailed to-day, with Com. Sloat on board, for the United States. We gave
the commodore a parting salute. He has rendered the squadron under his
command efficient, and preserved harmony among the officers. The
expediency of his measures in California will be canvassed elsewhere. He
acted on the light and intelligence within his reach. If war has been
declared, the laurel awaits him.
The Levant takes home in her my friend, Lieut. T——: he has resigned his
commission in the navy, and takes orders in the church. He is a pretty
good classical scholar, and has made himself familiar with the
principles of biblical exegesis. All this has been accomplished during
those few leisure hours which the duties of a watch-officer leave one at
sea. It is seemingly reversing the order of things for the navy to
supply the church with spiritual teachers. But few, however, have left
the deck for the pulpit; a much larger number have reached it from the
diagrams and drills of West Point. Among them are some of our most
eloquent and impressive preachers. Of this class is the present Bishop
of Ohio.
We have all been busy in writing letters home, and shall make up a
pretty large mail, filled with tender recollections, and overflowing
with the California news. How the intelligence of our proceedings here
will strike our friends and the country at large, is mere matter of
conjecture. We are acting, however, not only in view of the alleged
collision between the American and Mexican forces on the Rio Grande, but
in reference to the anarchy and confusion into which this country has
been thrown by a revolution which did not originate with us.
THURSDAY, JULY 30. To-day I entered on the duties of my office as
alcalde of Monterey: my jurisdiction extends over an immense extent of
territory, and over a most heterogeneous population. Almost every nation
has, in some emigrant, a representative here—a representative of its
peculiar habits, virtues, and vices. Here is the reckless Californian,
the half-wild Indian, the roving trapper of the West, the lawless
Mexican, the licentious Spaniard, the scolding Englishman, the
absconding Frenchman, the luckless Irishman, the plodding German, the
adventurous Russian, and the discontented Mormon. All have come here
with the expectation of finding but little work and less law. Through
this discordant mass I am to maintain order, punish crime, and redress
injuries.
FRIDAY, JULY 31. Nearly all the houses in Monterey are of one story,
with a corridor. The walls are built of adobes, or sun-baked brick, with
tiled roofs. The centre is occupied by a large hall, to which the
dining-room and sleeping apartments seem mere appurtenances. Every thing
is in subordination to the hall, and this is designed and used for
dancing. It has a wood floor, and springs nightly to the step of those
who are often greeted in the whirl of their amusements, by the risen
sun. The dance and a dashing horse are the two objects which overpower
all others in interest with the Californians. The fiddle has been silent
since our flag went up, from the fact that many of the gentlemen have
left to join Gen. Castro. But if they return, though covered with
disaster, the fiddle will be called upon to resume its fantastic
functions. You might as well attempt to extinguish a love of air in a
life-preserver as the dancing propensity in this people.
SATURDAY, AUG. 1. The Congress has sailed to-day, with all her marines
and full complement of men, for San Pedro. Com. Stockton intends to land
there with a force of some three hundred, march to the Pueblo de los
Angeles, capture that important place, and fall upon Gen. Castro, who,
it is now understood, has posted himself, with some eight hundred
soldiers, in a pass a few miles below. The general will find his
southern retreat cut off by Col. Fremont’s riflemen and the sailors of
the Cyane, his western route obstructed by the Colorado, while the
forces of the Congress will bear down upon him from the north. He has
seemingly no escape, and must fight or capitulate. But his sagacity, his
thorough knowledge of the country, and his fleet horses, may extricate
him. We shall know in a few days; the interest felt here in the result
is most intense. Many mothers have sons and many wives husbands involved
in the issue.
SUNDAY, AUG. 2. I officiated to-day on board the Savannah. It is much to
the credit of the officers of this ship that though without a chaplain,
they have had, during a three years’ cruise, their religious services
regularly on the Sabbath. Four of their number, two lieutenants, the
surgeon, and master, are professors of religion, and exert a deep
influence through their consistent piety. Their Sabbath exercise has
consisted in reading prayers, selections from the Scriptures, and a
brief, pertinent sermon. They have had, also, their Sabbath-school. Such
facts as these will win for the navy a larger share of public confidence
than the capture of forty barbaric fortresses. The American people love
valor, but they love religion also. They will confer their highest
honors only on him who combines them both.
MONDAY, AUG. 3. An Indian woman of good appearance came to our office
to-day, stating that she had been for two years past a domestic in a
Mexican family near Monterey; that she had, during this time, lost her
husband, and now wished to marry again; but wished, before she did this,
to recover her child, which was forcibly detained in the family in which
she had served. It appeared that the father of this family had baptized
her child, and claimed, according to custom here, a sort of guardianship
over it, as well as a right to a portion of its services.
I asked her if her child would be kindly treated where it now was: she
said she thought so; but added, she was a mother, and wanted it with
her. We told her as she was going to marry again, she had better perhaps
leave the child for the present; and if she found her husband to be a
good, industrious man, and disposed to furnish her with a comfortable
home, she might call again at our office, and we would get her child.
She went away with that mild look of contentment which is as near a
smile as any expression which lights an Indian’s face.
TUESDAY, AUG. 4. The military chieftains, who have successively usurped
the government of California, have arbitrarily imposed such duties on
foreign imports as their avarice or exigency suggested. A few examples
will be sufficient to show the spirit and character of these imposts.
Unbleached cottons, which cost in the United States six cents the yard,
cost here fifty, and shirtings cost seventy-five. Plain knives and forks
cost ten dollars the dozen; coarse cowhide shoes three dollars the pair;
the cheapest tea three dollars the pound; and a pair of common
truck-wheels seventy-five dollars. The duty alone on the coarsest hat,
even if made of straw, is three dollars.
The revenues derived from these enormous imposts have passed into the
pockets of a few individuals, who have placed themselves, by violence or
fraud, at the head of the government, and have never reached the public
in any beneficial form. These exactions, enforced by an irresponsible
tyranny, have kept California poor, have crushed all enterprise, and
have rolled back the tide of emigration from her soil as the resisting
rock the rushing stream. But the barriers are now broken, and broken
forever. California is free,—free of Mexican rule and all domestic
usurpers.
WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5. We have in one apartment of our prison two
Californians, confined for having robbed a United States courier, on his
way from Monterey to San Francisco, with public dispatches. They have
not yet been tried. Yesterday they applied to me for permission to have
their guitars. They stated that their situation was very lonely, and
they wanted something to cheer it. Their request was complied with; and
last evening, when the streets were still, and the soft moonlight melted
through the grates of their prison, their music streamed out upon the
quiet air with wonderful sweetness and power. Their voices were in rich
harmony with their instruments, and their melodies had a wild and
melancholy tone. They were singing, for aught they knew, their own
requiem.
THURSDAY, AUG. 6. It sounds strange to an American, and much more so to
an Englishman, to hear Californians talk of farms. They never speak of
acres, or even miles; they deal only in leagues. A farm of four or five
leagues is considered quite small. It is not so large, in the conception
of this people, as was the one-acre farm of Horace in the estimation of
the Romans. Capt. Sutter’s farm, in the valley of the Sacramento, is
sixty miles long. The Californians speak in the same way of the stock on
their farms. Two thousand horses, fifteen thousand head of cattle, and
twenty thousand sheep, are only what a thrifty farmer should have before
he thinks of killing or selling. They are to be his productive stock, on
which he should not encroach, except in an emergency. Only fancy a farm
covering sixty miles in length! Why, a man would want a railroad through
it for his own private use. Get out of the way, ye landlords of England
and patroons of Amsterdam, with your boroughs and dykes, and give place
to the Californian with his sixty mile sweep!
FRIDAY, AUG. 7. The Mormon ship Brooklyn, which we left at Honolulu, has
arrived at San Francisco, and her passengers have debarked on the shores
of that magnificent bay. They have not yet selected their lands. The
natives hold them in great horror. They seem to think cannibalism among
the least of their enormities. They consider the term Mormon the most
branding epithet that can be applied to a man. A mother complained to
me, a few days since, that a gentleman in Monterey had struck her son
and called him a Mormon. She dwelt with great earnestness on the
opprobrious character of the epithet, and appeared to consider its
application to her son a higher crime than that of his fist. I told her
what sort of people these Mormons were; but it was to her as if I had
represented Satan as an angel of light. I lectured the wrong-doer.
SATURDAY, AUG. 8. Capt. Fauntleroy, of the Savannah, and Maj. Snyder,
with fifty mounted men under their command, occupy San Juan, which lies
inland about thirty miles from Monterey. A report reached them a few
days since, that a hundred wild Indians had descended upon the town of
San José and driven off over two hundred horses. They started
immediately with twenty men, well mounted, got upon their trail, and
came up with them at a distance of sixty miles. The Indians finding
themselves hotly pressed, left their horses and took to the bush,
throwing back upon their pursuers the most wild and frantic
imprecations. Three or four of their number only were killed. The
denseness of the forest and the approach of night rendered further
pursuit impracticable.
The horses were all recaptured and brought back to their owners, who
received them with acclamations of surprise and gratitude. This was the
first time, they said, that their property had been rescued from savages
by the government, and they run up the American flag. This prompt
interference of Capt. Fauntleroy and Maj. Snyder will do more to win the
confidence of the Californians than forty orations delivered in the most
liquid Spanish that ever rolled from a Castilian tongue. There is
something in action which the most simple can appreciate, and which the
most crafty cannot gainsay.
[Illustration]
SUNDAY, AUG. 9. I officiated to-day on board the Savannah. The weather
was pleasant, and several gentlemen from the shore attended. There was
no service in the Roman Catholic Church, owing to the absence of one of
the priests and the infirmities of the other. But when there is service,
only a few of the people attend. It is sometimes, however, forced upon
them in the shape of penance. When a friend of mine here was married, it
was necessary that he should confess. The penance imposed on him for his
previous negligences and transgressions was, that he should attend
church seven Sabbaths.