The country lying between the _Sierra Nevada_ and the Pacific Ocean,
and bounded at the north, though somewhat indefinitely, by the Oregon
Territory, and at the South by the Lower California, confined by
the late treaty of the two neighboring Republics to the line three
miles south of San Diego, is known as Upper California, a country
now engrossing the attention of the civilized world with its future
importance. There is no other instance known in history where a country
just emerging so to say, from obscurity, immediately acquired such
complicated and multifarious relations, not only to the nation of whose
territory it is only a small portion, but to the whole civilized world,
as California has. In view of these various relations, we propose here
to consider the subject of Upper California.
Before California can answer all those expectations, the realization of
which the world with good reason looks for, an increase of population
must be secured for her. To effect which it will not be very difficult,
if to its natural advantages, the government of the Union will add its
efforts to promote by every legislative and administrative measure the
influx of new settlers. But in all its proceedings, liberality should
be its motto, and none of that miserly policy that is afraid of losing
an acre from its lands or a dollar from its treasury.
California holds in its bosom resources that no other country can
boast of comprised in so small a territory--its mineral wealth, its
agricultural capacity, its geographical position, conspire to make it
in time one of the most favored lands. And it will lie in the power of
the government either to accelerate or retard the unfolding of its
future importance. When considered in point of mineral productions,
if allowed to be developed by capitalists, California is capable of
becoming an important centre of the commerce of the Pacific. Here
we find in the neighborhood of the Clear Lake, about a hundred and
twenty-five miles north of Sonoma, Lead, Copper, Sulpher and Saltpetre;
on the South side of San Francisco Bay, Silver-mines have been found
in the vicinity of Pueblo de San Jose; Quicksilver mines which are
pronounced to be richer than those of Spain, are already being worked
to a great profit in the same region; Coal strata have been also found
in the coast range of mountains near Santa Cruz, in the neighborhood
of the Mission of San Luis Obispo, and near San Diego. California Coal
seems to be in the intermediate state between the anthracite and the
bituminous; it is not as hard as the former nor so soft as the latter;
it burns more easily than the first, and does not give out so smoky and
unpleasant a flame as the second; it ignites easily and burns with a
very pleasant flame without much smoke. Iron is scattered through the
mountains of the country, and we have no doubt that a workable mine of
it will before long be discovered. We mention not the gold washings
that are being worked so successfully at present, for as respects
their duration and the developement of the industry of the country,
they scarcely deserve the attention of the economist be they ever so
rich; as all other mines are more beneficent in their influence to the
progress of a country than gold mines. These will become the means of
advancing the prosperity of the country only when a regular system of
mining by sinking shafts into the rocks shall commence, which it is to
be hoped will be done ere long.
The labor expended in working these various mines would give a firm
support to the agriculture of the country, which at this day is totally
neglected. There is no country, probably, where the soil is so grateful
to the hand that cultivates it. There is almost no plant, grain, or
fruit that cannot be raised here. Rye grows wild on the skirts of
the gold region towards the _Sierra Nevada_; oats cover completely
the coast range of the mountains; wheat and corn grow luxuriantly on
all the plains, notwithstanding it rains only in the winter season;
potatoes, onions and every other kind of garden vegetables with very
little care grow to a very large size and of excellent flavor. Some
of these vegetables can be kept growing all the year round, such as
onions, peas, and some others. Every description of fruit trees seem
to be natural to the soil, for they attain here a great perfection.
The apple, the peach, the pear, the apricot, the fig, the cherry, the
plum, the grape, the pomegranate, the citron, the orange, the olive,
the currant, the gooseberry and various other berries are found here
either cultivated or in a wild state. The inhabitants of the country
have not done much towards the culture of any fruit trees or shrubs;
and that is the reason the quantity of any fruit is very limited, when
compared with the wants of the population and the capacities of the
soil. Knowledge and industry with very little exertion would increase
the quantity not only to supply the wants of the country but even
to a super-abundance. The pear and the olive seem to have been the
favorite fruit with the Priests of the Missions, as they have raised
them in large quantities and of excellent quality. The California olive
is among the largest known, and in flavor surpasses that of France;
the varieties of the pear are numerous and delicious in quality. The
grape vine grows throughout the country, from the extreme north down
to San Diego. Excellent grape is produced at Sonoma, at the Mission
of San Jose, and some other points. The best however, or where it was
made the best use of, is that of the Pueblo de los Angeles. The wine
produced there by several vine growers is of excellent quality; in the
opinion of many judges in the matter, it is superior to any wine that
Spain or Portugal can produce. Its color, its flavor and its strength
are _sui generis_; it wants only to be known to be sought after by
_amateurs_; and there is no doubt but its culture and the exportation
of it will extend rapidly with the increase of commerce on this coast.
The most celebrated wine at present is that made by M. Vignes, a French
gentleman who settled in the country some fifteen years ago and was
the first to plant a vineyard in this region. There are two qualities
of it, red and white; the latter is more inviting than the former by
the very beauty of its color. The growing of the grape vine and of the
olive may be made a very profitable branch of foreign commerce, if
there were men to attend to the business; settlers from the South of
Europe could develope this branch of industry to great advantage, and
could not fail to make themselves opulent. There are in the country
appropriate spots for the culture of rice and the sugar cane: the
former could be easily raised on the overflowed lands of the San
Joaquin and on the creeks of San Francisco Bay. Cotton even might be
raised here, but we think one could employ his time more profitably in
some other business, as cotton is so cheap elsewhere. Hemp grows wild
in different parts of the country.
There is yet another branch of industry at which we have not heretofore
so much as hinted, but which would prove for California one of the
richest mines of which she could boast; we mean the raising of sheep.
The climate of the country and much of its surface are admirably
adapted for the purpose; in fact, as it proved a source of wealth
to New South Wales, it would be equally so to California; a great
similarity of climate of the two countries guarantees the result. In
this way every portion of the country would be turned to advantage; the
mountains now lying barren would be a grazing ground for the sheep; and
the valleys now trodden exclusively by cattle and horses would be given
up to the plough, and there would be no more livestock raised than
the actual wants of the country require. Merino rams could be easily
procured from Oregon, Peru, or even New South Wales, to improve the
native breed of the sheep. He who enters upon this business the first
will lay the foundation for a colossal fortune which he can realize in
a few years.
The face of the country being broken up into mountains and having
large valleys separating the two coast ranges of mountains into the
sea coast range on the west, and the spurs of the Sierra Nevada on the
East, offers an ample ground for the shepherd and agriculturalist. The
valleys south of San Francisco Bay lie almost parallel with the sea
coast, gradually receding with it in a South-east direction. This gives
an opportunity for the North-west winds, which prevail on the coast, to
sweep over them, and thus temper the heat of the sun, renovate the air,
and carry away over the snowy mountains any _miasmata_ that might be
suspended in the atmosphere, and which if left undisturbed might prove
a prolific source of disease. This accounts for the extreme healthiness
of the sea coast of California. The portion of the country that is
less salubrious than the rest of it is confined between the Sacramento
and the San Joaquin; fevers seem to be dominant there, yet even there
people can get acclimated and enjoy good health for years. In point
of climate San Francisco and San Diego present a striking contrast.
The former being so much exposed to the North-west winds has a very
disagreeable temperature; but it is nothing more than disagreeable,
as fogs and winds have their periods there; it is however, far from
being unhealthy; with ordinary care and prudence, one in a few months
gets acclimated, and cannot but enjoy perfect health. Its winter,
notwithstanding the rains, is more agreeable than its summer, when fog
and chilling winds prevail. This climate extends only the length of the
bay; it improves as we recede farther south. On the contrary, in San
Diego the climate is most delicious and equable; neither enervating by
excessive heat, nor disagreeable on account of Northern blasts. Rains
are scanty, yet vegetation is luxuriant wherever the soil is good.
We may observe here in regard to the climate of California in general,
that for the sake of health, summer dress should be entirely dispensed
with; the nights throughout the coast are cold, and every new comer is
more liable to suffer through neglect of this precaution than even the
natives. Woolen dress is never oppressive here, but always beneficial.
Strangers, if they suffer, owe their illness to the oversight of this
fact, together with the excesses that some of them commit.
The agriculture of a country should be made the basis of every branch
of industry and trade; these latter should, so to say, feed the springs
of the former. In California every facility is offered to the farmer.
The working of the various mines will guarantee him a profitable sale
of all his productions. The exterior commerce naturally following the
working of mines, will equally contribute its share in favor of the
agriculturalist. The American whalers scattered throughout the Pacific
Ocean to the number of nearly 700, will come to California for fresh
provisions if they have the security that they will run no risk of
losing their crews on their arrival there. It will be the duty of the
Federal Government, as well as of the local authorities, to devise
measures that will give this security to all shipping. The government
squadron that will be constantly stationed in the Pacific, will also
draw its provisions from California as soon as she shall be able to
furnish them, since it will be less expensive to the Government, and
more beneficial for the service; for much of the stores that are now
shipped round Cape Horn at considerable expense, become unfit for use
by the time they are wanted by the Navy.
Such are the unfailing sources from which the labor of the farmer
will be liberally paid; but they are not the only ones. Every year
will see them expand and always working for the advantage of the
agriculturalist. It is not necessary to be gifted with an extraordinary
foresight to predict that as soon as the industry and enterprise of
the Americans take a fair footing on this soil, the commerce of the
country will grow daily; the trade with China, with the Islands of
the Pacific, and with the whole western coast of America will be ere
many years, in the hands of American citizens resident in California,
which will be made a _depot_ of the industry of the whole Union. To
swell this commercial tide beating against the shores of California
comes the railroad that must inevitably be built across the territory
of the Union, and whose terminus must be on the Bay of San Francisco.
It may take many years before this work will be accomplished, but we
have no doubt of its being sooner or later entered upon. We have a
particular right to express our faith in the accomplishment of the
work, as we were the first, at least to our knowledge, who, five years
ago, prophesied on a public occasion, the union of New York with San
Francisco by means of the iron bars laid across the continent. At that
time it was more difficult to foresee than it is now, and probably
those who then smiled at our enthusiastic visions of the future, will
now agree with us that the time is not far removed when the Pacific
shore railroad will pass into the facts of history. The accomplishment
of this work will appear less difficult when we consider that one
half of the proposed railroad is already built--we mean the distance
from New York to Natchez. Now, combining all the results of the
different branches of industry above spoken of, and which can and will
be exercised in this territory whenever there shall be a sufficient
number of inhabitants for the work, is it difficult to foresee the
part California is to perform in the civilized world? And all this
will ultimately turn to the especial benefit of the tiller of the
soil. The country can sustain several millions of inhabitants with the
greatest ease possible. The apparent drawback upon the agriculture of
the country in the eyes of a farmer from the States is the comparative
scarcity of timber and water; and he is more disagreeably impressed,
if, arriving by land, he beholds, first of all, the extensive plains of
the Sacramento.--Should he come from Oregon he feels home-sick, and is
willing almost immediately to turn upon his heels for his well wooded
home. But the Sacramento plains are not the best representatives of the
country; they are good only for a scanty population; the want of an
abundant supply of wood and water is only apparent at first sight, and
particularly to those whose first idea of farming is to clear away the
woods from the land they are to settle upon. The same time which the
farmer in Oregon devotes to the clearing of land can be, if necessary,
devoted to looking for and securing a lasting spring of water that
may answer for all farming purposes--a thing very easily done, if one
possesses a little knowledge and industry. We can say safely, that
there is hardly a spot in California on which water cannot be found if
looked for; although frequently on the surface there may be no signs
of it, yet the ground, notwithstanding this, is so percolated with it
that it needs, comparatively speaking, but little labor to strike upon
a lasting spring. We doubt not that those who have means would find it
profitable to sink an artesian well, if the land require it, which work
would not be very expensive here, because there is never an occasion
to go very deep in search of water in California. By what we have said
we do not mean to imply that the necessity for these wells will be
felt throughout the country; far from it--there are not only numerous
streams in the hills that never dry up, offering fine mill sites, but
others that wash the plains can be turned to agricultural purposes
with all ease. At one time, when California was under the direction
of the Spanish priests, it was like a garden; but the Mexican misrule
blasted it like the Northern wind when it breathes upon a budding
flower. Those who have not seen such things before, would be surprised
at finding wheat and corn, the principal grains that are raised here,
growing luxuriantly in plains where there are but scanty rains. We
have seen excellent potatoes grow on a slope of a hill in the Bay of
Monterey. This is undoubtedly owing to the moisture brought from the
sea by winds, nightly dews, and to the fact that the sub-soil is always
more or less moist. There is a remarkable advantage in the climate of
California for the farmer; the seasons and their peculiarities are so
well known that he can count almost with certainty upon the results of
his rural labors.
Although timber cannot be found on every spot that is arable, yet we
may safely assert that there is a sufficient quantity of it through the
country to satisfy all the wants of the inhabitants that are yet to
settle here. The coast range of mountains from Oregon down, is quite
plentifully wooded; particularly near Botega on the North and Santa
Cruz on the South side of the Bay of San Francisco. There are already
from six to eight saw-mills in the country, and there is yet room for
more. In fact, in our opinion, if the American farmer get rid of his
_stereotyped_ notions of farming, and using his intelligence, adapts
himself to the climate and the state of the country, he will reap a
golden harvest much more abundant than anywhere else; and even we would
go farther and assert that he will do so with much less labor than in
any of the States.
In connexion with the farming interest we cannot overlook the excellent
state of natural roads throughout the country. A good road enables
the farmer to dispose of his produce and greatly diminishes his rural
labors. There are but a few, if any, countries that can boast of so
good natural roads as California. From San Francisco down to San Diego,
a carriage may pass along the valleys almost upon a beaten track,
although everything in relation to roads is at present completely
neglected. In Spanish times they were in a better state, for the
Priests then used to make their journeys to San Diego in carriages all
along the coast. A very little labor would make them even now all that
roads need be.
Not less important to the farming interest, as to every interest in the
country, is a railroad uniting the States on the East side of the Rocky
Mountains with the Pacific shores. The advantages of such a National
work are numerous, and if the people and the government of the Union
understand fully its importance, they will lose no time in undertaking
it. The practicability of the work is not to be questioned; the country
through which it _should_ pass, and the energy and enterprise of the
American citizens are sufficient guarantees for its feasibility. The
immense advantages in a commercial point of view to be derived from
such an enterprise are indisputable. The trade of China, of the Islands
of the Pacific and the whole Western coast of America, will be brought
so much nearer the Union that it will not fail to pour immense wealth
into her lap. She will become really a formidable commercial rival
of Great Britain, and a common carrier to the whole of Europe. It
will bind the whole Union with more indissoluble ties; the sectional
interests of each State will be mingled and merged in the common
interest made fast to the Pacific shore. To California individually,
such a railroad will be of great consequence, as it will make it a
centre of an extensive commerce, and will bring to her a sufficient
population to develope all her internal resources.
Once before we have indicated the route for such a railroad, and we
will take this opportunity to enforce it upon the public still more, as
farther reflection and information upon the subject enables us to do
even with more reason than before.
The projected railroad across the continent should start from the
Mississippi near the mouth of the Ohio, or at such a point that the
navigation will never be liable to be interrupted by ice; thence to
the vicinity of the Arkansas; thence along the prairie ridge which
separates the waters that flow into the Arkansas from those which
flow into the Mississippi and Missouri, to the point where the road
passes from Missouri to New Mexico, and by _San Miguel_ to _Santa
Fe_; thence up the valley of the _Rio del Norte_ to the mouth of the
_Abaca_ creek; thence up the creek to the town of the same name, and
thence through a pine forest of low sandy hills ninety miles in length
to the _Rio de la Plata_, which is a tributary of the _San Juan_. The
latter is a tributary of the _Colorado_. It should cross the _Colorado_
to the Northwest side and proceed along the trail from _Santa Fe_
to California to a point between the _Mahahve_ river and the _San
Bernardino_ mountain; thence through about ten miles of low hills to
the great valley of the _San Joaquin_; thence down that magnificent
and fertile valley, about five hundred miles on a level, to the tide
water of the Bay of San Francisco. By this route the road will pass
over a dead level of about eight hundred miles at the eastern end, and
about five hundred miles at the western; it will have _no mountains to
cross_, will be nearly free from snow in all parts, will afford, for
New Mexico, an outlet to both Oceans, and terminate at the best part of
the western coast of America.
The point of the terminus of the railroad is by an accident, so to
speak, already selected with a good deal of discernment; it is called
the New York of the Pacific, situated at the upper part of the Bay of
San Francisco, known here as Suisun Bay. An enterprising company, at
the head of which is Col. Stevenson, have bought a tract of land at
the mouth of the _San Joaquin_, where it mingles its waters with those
of the Sacramento, and are already building a town. Its situation for
the terminus of the railroad is very advantageous; it is level; has
abundance of land to expand upon; it is in the neighborhood of grazing
farms; its climate is healthy, as is the rest of the south bank of the
San Joaquin; well-water can be found there within a few feet of the
surface; the river is deep enough to admit large vessels close to the
shore, and its water here is fresh and sweet; ships can water here with
the greatest facility. The vessels going up the Sacramento pass within
sight of it. It is a spot very judiciously selected for a town, and we
have no doubt it will grow, as the proprietors spare no efforts to make
it acceptable to new settlers.
But the railroad should not stop here; it should branch away along
the shore to the point where now the town of _Martinez_ is being laid
out,--a very pretty site facing the straits of Carquinez; thence
it should strike the valley of San Jose--one of the richest spots
in California and which would support, a million of industrious
inhabitants--and following along the coast terminate at San Diego.
The advantages of uniting the two opposite points of the country by
means of a railroad, will not only help its speedy settlement--an
important consideration in many respects--but will be equal to gaining
a free port on the coast of Mexico for the exclusive benefit of
American citizens. By the means of _Santa Fe_ and _San Diego_, should
the railroad be constructed as indicated above, the Union will have the
command of the largest share of the Mexican trade.
So far as we know, and we have taken considerable pains to ascertain
the fact, we may assert that there is no better route for a railroad
from the States to California. No other passage through the _Sierra
Nevada_ can be found but the one we have indicated. There is none to
be found between the heads of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.
We have rambled over that region, and the conformation of the country
gives us confidence in saying that it is not at all favorable to such
a passage; and besides, supposing that such a passage could be found,
a single fact in relation to the subject will destroy all hopes of
effecting the object; we mean that from the line where the auriferous
region terminates, to the very ridge of the _Sierra Nevada_--the region
of granite, occasional limestone, and Masses of sand-stone--snow
lies for six months, accompanied with intense cold; the depressions
of the mountains are filled up with it to such a degree that the
tops of the highest trees only peep through it as if they were but
so many insignificant bushes. In fine, the snow levels the tops of
the mountains into a continuous plain, as it were, through which the
melting sun alone, by degrees, can effect a passage towards the end
of June or the beginning of July. This is the time when the Snowy
Mountains can be traversed. The government a few weeks ago sent an
expedition in search of such a passage through the Northern portion of
the gold region about the head of the Sacramento river. We feel sure
that the attempt will be fruitless.
It would be well, on the part of the government, to look for passages
for military roads leading from the States to the Pacific, or to take
advantage of those already discovered. There ought to be at least three
such roads; one leading to Oregon, another to the north of California,
striking at the head of the Bear Creek, and the third taking a
southerly course to San Diego. These roads would offer great facilities
to the emigrants from the States, who never should take the same
track in large companies, on account of the scantiness of grass. The
military posts thus established would keep in check the roving tribes
of Indians, offering security to the emigrants. There is already,
considering the character of the country through which it passes, a
very good road made by the renowned mountaineer, Greenwood, leading by
the head of _Yuba_ and striking at the _Bear Creek_ valley, till it
reaches Johnson’s farm on the confines of the plains. This road may be
made better and much shorter, if it should follow from the ridge at the
head of Bear Creek valley, striking at the head of the north fork of
the same creek, and following it along a little towards the Yuba side,
then again turning towards the Bear Creek, and continuing so till the
hills acquire a more confused outline, and finally striking Johnson’s
farm. By this route the journey would be shortened several days, and
the difficult descent at the junction of the North Fork of the Bear
Creek with the same creek would be avoided.
The military roads thus disposed would give a security to the
settlements from horse thieving Indians, who now frequently make
incursions upon them, carrying away herds of horses and mules, and
sometimes even pick up an unaware traveller on his journey. The present
disposition of the troops is of no real service to the country. They
are stationed in comfortable and quiet quarters in towns where they are
the least wanted, and the thieving Indians are allowed to make nightly
excursions into the settlements, and to infest the roads. Under the
Spanish government there were different military posts established in
the country, and the troops in detachments were made constantly to
traverse the country in different directions from post to post, thus
keeping always on the road, they kept in check the predatory Indians,
who, by the way, are neither very brave nor formidable in numbers.
According to our notions, soldiers are not kept for the purpose of
meddling with politics and living always in towns; they should perform
the service that the country may need at their hands, although that
service may lead them into camp life.
Since the occupation of the country by the American forces, the
inhabitants complained bitterly of the frequent depredations of
the horse thieving Indians, but the powers that be listened with
indifference to them, and offered no effective remedy for the evil, and
it does not seem probable that the present military authorities will
do any better for the country, judging from the disposition they have
made of the forces. The inhabitants, if they can combine, will have to
take the subject into their own hands, for it is even doubtful whether
the highest authorities of the Union will deign to look into the wants
of the _benighted ranchero_ of California. However, we will not lay the
faults of the past government at the door of the present one; we will
hope still a while longer for the best at its hands.
It is of no small importance to those who wish to settle in California
to know the state of landed property in the country; it will be but
following their wishes if we offer a few pertinent remarks upon the
subject, which we will do after a few preliminaries. A line drawn
from the coast eastward that would pass at the southern edge of
the Clear-lake valley; then another that would go north and south,
intersecting the former, touching the western side of the auriferous
region, and following it down to the frontier line south of San Diego,
may be considered as enclosing the inhabited portions of the country.
There is very little public land within the above described lines, as
it is almost entirely occupied by proprietors or covered by titles.
The government, therefore, cannot expect to find much in the settled
portion of the country that should come under its immediate control
in the shape of public lands. The land on the north and east sides
of the imaginary lines we drew, is either unoccupied or inhabited
by rambling tribes of Indians. We may say that the whole auriferous
region is occupied by Indians in its whole extent, and the oak is the
frontier line of the Indian dominions; beyond that line the undisputed
possessions of the pine and the bear commence. The wild Indians of
California are probably the most inferior race of all the Aborigines of
the continent; they lack energy and spirit; they live on roots, acorns,
pine-nuts, insects, and occasionally on game, when they can catch it,
or on horse or mule flesh when they can steal it. North of the Bay of
San Francisco, and between the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, some
of the Indians live in the families of the settlers, or near their
farms, working for their subsistence and an occasional blanket. These
are called in Spanish, very properly, _Indios manzos_--(tame Indians.)
The others live in the woods, rambling frequently from spot to spot and
sustaining themselves in the way we have already mentioned.
On the south side of the Bay of San Francisco and the San Joaquin
rivers, the Indians are more numerous, and particularly as we go
further south they are more spirited and enterprising in thieving than
those of the north; and those particularly on the southern frontier
of California are brave and formidable. The _Indios manzos_ are
sufficiently numerous in the settlements here, and some thousands of
them were living at the Missions. The wild Indians in this portion
of the country occupy the mountains back of the settlements; amongst
them are now found in large numbers, those who, after the Mexican
government succeeded in ruining the Missions, fled into the mountains
and resumed their former life. In these mountains are found numerous
beautiful valleys, well watered and full of game of every description;
the climate is said to be very benign. It would be very difficult to
estimate accurately the number of Indians, both tame and wild, in the
country; we therefore will not offer any supposition of our own on the
subject.
The government at Washington will find itself somewhat embarrassed
in selecting a course of conduct with these Indians; they have been
accustomed to a different system of management than that of the United
States. They cannot be removed, in justice and humanity, from the
country, for there is no place to remove them to where they could
subsist; it would be dooming them to destruction; and it would be more
humane to butcher them outright than expose them to a slow but sure
extinction. The system that the Spanish government pursued with them
seems to suit, at least the Indians of this country, better than the
American way. It acknowledged no rights in them to the soil, but it
sends out missionaries to gather them into the folds of the church,
and to make settlements of them under the directions of the Priests.
In our opinion, the only safe and humane mode of bringing them within
the pale of civilization, would be by establishing Protestant Missions,
if you like,--but modeled somewhat after the Spanish fashion,--in
those mountains on the spots fit for agriculture and grazing, where
they could be brought to an industrious and peaceable life by
persuasion, which could be easily effected, as they are sufficiently
docile, and in this manner their services might be secured for the
country as heretofore; they are, when engaged with settlers, those
who generally perform the labors of the field or about the house,
without losing, however, their freedom. In these occupations they seem
quite contented, if they have enough meat to eat, which of course
never fails in California. There can be in California no other but
free labor hereafter, as it has been heretofore. The new settlers,
as well as the old ones, are extremely opposed to any other. It is
in vain that the gentlemen from the Southern States of the Union, in
their dreaming hours, try, or have tried, to introduce their black
institutions through the _legal doors_, as they think, of Congress
into the territory of California. Whether Congress may please, in its
wisdom, to think that it has a right to introduce slavery into its new
territories or not, it matters not for California; she cares very
little what Congress may do in forgetfulness of its duty towards her,
but she is resolved to resist any such measure; and whoever entertains
the question for a moment, either in the legislative halls or before
the public, shows his ignorance of the disposition and unanimous
determination of the inhabitants of California. The slave-holder who
would come here with his legalized chattles, would find his sojourn
very uncomfortable, and would lose completely on his speculation. The
inhabitants of this country feel already indignant at the intrigues
of the Southern gentlemen who prevented, in the last Congress, the
passage of necessary laws for California. We may state here once for
all, that if Congress wish to govern this country, it must be just and
paternal in its care of it; if it pass any laws it must not pass them
in ignorance of the state of things in California; it must not imagine
that this country is only inhabited by semi-barbarous tribes that can
be co-erced into obedience. The inhabitants are very easily governed
by justice, and there are no more loyal citizens in the whole Union
than the California settlers; but they think they understand their
rights, and would not be downtrodden by any legislative bodies. At this
moment the larger portion of them are Europeans and Americans, and the
rest are Mexicans either born in California or in other States of that
Republic. It is the interest of the Union to keep them in good humor,
and consolidate the new territories by just and liberal laws.
Judging from the specimens of the laws proposed in Congress for the
benefit of California, and which, thanks to the knowledge, wisdom and
eloquence of Hon. T. H. Benton, Senator from Missouri, failed to go
into effect, we fear that that honorable body is in danger of running
on shoals in its legislative measures relating to this country, and
particularly in laws affecting landed property. The gentlemen in
Congress apply their American ideas of the value of landed property
to a country that has been, so to say, born and raised under Spanish
system of laws, and is totally different from any of the States in
its domestic and civil arrangements. It would be impossible by any
legislative act to change suddenly the character of former civil
institutions of the country without committing outrageous injustice
to its inhabitants, and even running the risk of raising their
opposition. California, as well as New Mexico, comes into the Union as
a full-grown man, whose habits are already formed, connects himself by
ties of matrimony with another family; his new relations, if they be
wise, do not wish him to be like themselves in every particular, but
gradually by gentle influences, try to assimilate him to themselves,
in which, in the long run, they will succeed. This is precisely the
position of the government of the Union in regard to these newly
acquired territories. To assimilate them by degrees without doing
violence or injustice to their habits and possessions, should be the
rule of a wise legislation. They are not to be punished for what,
in the eyes of American legislators, appears to be defective in the
Spanish or Mexican laws; if so, it would be doing violence to justice,
to the laws of nations, and to the very late treaty by which the
American government bound itself to respect their rights of property
precisely as the Mexican government would have done or did do. The
plain meaning of this is that the government of the United States is
bound to recognize and legalize after its fashion to suit its system of
laws, the present possessions of the Californians as it finds them, and
has no right to go behind the fact of actual possession and scrutinize
and invalidate them. The Mexican government has left them so, as we
find them, and if it had continued its sway in these countries, there
is no possible doubt but it would not have disturbed them. These people
who were brought up to tend their cattle on a large surface of land,
as their grazing farms are, without any knowledge of any other mode
of getting a living, if cut down to the American idea of a farm, of a
hundred and eighty acres, or supposing even a section of 640 acres,
would be reduced to beggary, nay, worse, to servitude. Would such a
step be creditable to an enlightened, Christian nation like the United
States? Tending cattle is their only occupation and only knowledge; it
will take some time before they be trained to a different mode of life.
The Spanish and Mexican law does not know a fee-simple title,--in the
meaning of the U. S. laws it is a grant of perpetual lease, on some
conditions. To suit its own practice, the American government should
recognize the titles as it finds them in the country by giving the
proprietors a fee-simple title, after its own fashion, on the top of
the former one by which the land was held.
The Spanish and Mexican governments were liberal in giving facilities
to acquire land, particularly in California. It was a common practice
of the Mexican government that when a foreigner married a native he
was recognized as a citizen, and by applying, could obtain a grant of
land for a grazing farm of from a league to four leagues, or sometimes
even more. As a general rule, the largest grazing farm that could have
been granted under Mexican government, consisted of eleven leagues;
there are, however, individuals that possess as many as thirty and
forty leagues of land. Such large possessions are open to suspicion in
regard to their being legal possessions, and into such the American
government may inquire with more justice, as they are larger than even
the necessities of California farmer’s life could require. But small
proprietors cannot have more than is absolutely necessary to their
maintenance.
The landed possessions in California may be arranged into three
categories, which sprang very naturally from the system of the
colonization of the country. There are Mission lands, _Pueblo_ lands
and _ranchos_, as they are called here, but in better Spanish they
would be called _haciendas_, and in plain English, grazing farmlands of
private individuals.
The settlement of California was owing to the will of a pious Countess
in Mexico, who left an immense fortune to christianize the heathen
inhabitants of this country. About the year of 1670, an expedition,
led by a missionary priest, and escorted by a company of soldiers and
settlers, landed on the shores of California. The first attempts at
colonizing the country were not successful, but by perseverence in
repeated efforts the Spaniards at last succeeded in getting a foot-hold
in this land. They gathered Indians about them, christianized them
after their fashion, and made them _manzos_; soon, with their labor,
Mission buildings were erected, farms put in order, cattle raised, and
the Indians were instructed in various handicrafts. Finally, in course
of time, through the whole length of the land, Missions were planted,
and flourished; the Priests grew fat and rich, and the Indians became
tame and industrious, and were well taken care of. The country smiled
with abundance and the people were happy. Soon, settlers came into the
country and planted themselves, very naturally, near the Missions,
on which, at first, they depended for their worldly goods; but by
degrees they sprung into _Pueblos_, viz. towns. These towns had lands
alloted to them by leagues, which were to be used in common by all
the inhabitants for their cattle; or if any of them wished to till a
piece of land, by an application to the _alcalde_, if there were no
objections by the inhabitants, he received a permit from the judge
so to do, and as long as he or his heirs occupied it, no body had a
right to disturb them. In this way it followed that the inhabitants of
towns acquired small portions of land for their houses and tillage,
while the rest of the town land was used in common for grazing. Under
this arrangement of town property there was always enough land for all
new settlers that might come to inhabit these _Pueblos_. This manner
of disposing of town land, sanctioned by Mexican law, served as a
precedent to the town authorities of San Francisco, Pueblo de San Jose,
Santa Cruz and Monterey, when they, in 1847, disposed of a portion
of the land belonging to those respective towns, giving perpetual
leases to their possessors. This measure was particularly favorable to
foreigners recently arrived in the country, as thus they were enabled
to buy the rights of the natives who were not disposed to put much
value upon so small parcels of land, and thereby the American interest
was much promoted.
The land of the _ranchos_ was always either a royal grant of Spain
or of the supreme government of Mexico, or latterly of the Governor
of California; all these grants practically had the same effect; the
possessor of the tract of land thus granted was always in the full
enjoyment of his rights and privileges, and no authority could disturb
him in his possessions. As the country was frequently disturbed by
revolutions, when it was not uncommon for one of the contending
parties to burn up or carry away or destroy the archives of a town or
even of the country, the land proprietors were not molested in their
possessions, although they could not show their property enregistered
in the records. Besides the officers of the Mexican government being
proverbially negligent of their duties, may not have paid sufficient
attention to proper order in these matters. Under such circumstances it
would not be surprising if some proprietors should find their property
unregistered in the archives of the country. Whatever land is left that
has not been disposed of in one of the ways aforesaid, is public land
at the disposal of the government.
Such being the disposition of landed property in California, the
American government, if it be just and does not wish to create a
general disaffection among the people towards itself, must recognize
the actual possessors in their possessions by a summary act of
legislation recognizing the rights they claim, and to prevent all
future difficulties, giving them the fee-simple title to their
possessions. The _ranchos_ must be acknowledged to be the property of
private individuals; the towns must have their rights to their town
lands, and the Missions, if they yet have any Indians, ought to retain
their tracts of land; or if these exist no longer, the church and
public education have the next and best right to them. The lands of
the Missions were always considered as Indian lands, or lands devoted
for the benefit of the Indians living at the Missions; the priest was
but a steward of the Mission. When the riches of the Missions excited
the envy of some high persons in office, they set themselves to work
to secularize them--and they succeeded under the Mexican government.
The Missions were secularized and circumscribed, and received laymen
for their administrators, who superintended and administered them so
well that the riches of the Missions fled, their buildings were ruined,
their Indians scattered, and at present scarcely their shadow is left;
yet they do exist just to remind the world of their former opulence.
With the exception of two or three, on all of them there are yet some
Indians and a Priest left shorn of their former glory.
In view of the state of landed property of the country, there are three
methods by the means of which California may receive an increase to
its population without any violence to justice or law being committed.
Supposing that the American government has recognized all titles to
lands as it found them, then those who have no means of buying land
from private individuals should receive liberal donations from the
government, or settle in one of the towns where yet town lands exist,
and taking advantage of the Mexican law by petitioning the _alcalde_,
the settler could get land for his house and tillage, and being
more industrious than the natives, he could even grow rich soon and
enjoy his possessions as if they were his in fee simple. Those who
have means could find tracts of land to buy, either enough only for
themselves, or larger than they actually need, to be divided into farms
of sufficient size and induce new settlers, by offering them liberal
terms, to settle around them; by this arrangement both parties would be
gainers.
In our view of the subject, we think the interest of the whole country
would induce the government to use all means at its disposal to favor
a prompt settlement of California, since the sooner it will be densely
settled the sooner its vast resources will be developed, and the sooner
the whole Union will reap advantages resulting from such a developement.