ARE YOU GOING TO CALIFORNIA?
Resume of the preceding chapters--Arguments in favor of the Atlantic
and Pacific Railway--Advantages of the Southern Route--Abstract of
the Report of the Secretary of War on the several Pacific Railroad
Explorations--Extracts from Letters--Conclusion 280
THE LAND OF GOLD.
CHAPTER I.
CALIFORNIA UNVEILED.
An intelligent and patriotic curiosity will find the history of few
countries more interesting than that of California--which has at length
realized those dreams of El Dorado that beguiled so many an early
adventurer from the comforts and bliss of his fireside, to delude and
destroy him. The marshes of the Orinoco, the Keys of Florida, and the
hills of Mexico cover the bones of many of these original speculators in
the minerals of the Western World. They sought wealth, and found graves.
How many of the modern devotees of Mammon have done better in our newly
opened land of gold?
To explain the causes of the frequent disappointment of these cherished
hopes; to determine the true value of this modern El Dorado; to exhibit
the prominent features of California and its principal cities,
particularly San Francisco, and thus to enable those who still encourage
golden dreams to form a proper estimate of their chances of success,
without submitting to the painful teachings of experience--these have
been the motives which have actuated the author of the present work.
The less to weary the reader, the book has been broken up into chapters,
in which the author proposes to discourse familiarly upon what he has
seen and felt, as he would in a friendly letter, rather than to write a
formal essay or treatise upon California. In pursuing this plan, it is
his intention to confine himself exclusively to facts, and to describe
those facts as clearly as possible, so as to leave no ground for a
conjectural filling up of those outlines which his negligence may have
left vague and indistinct.
In this country, where almost every event that occurs is as momentous
and unaccountable as the wonderful exploits of Habib’s and Aladdin’s
genii, to deal with any thing aside from actual matters of fact, is at
once as silly and profitless a business as that of whistling against the
winds. Yet, in nine-tenths of the descriptions of life and times in
California, truth and facts have been set aside, and the writers,
instead of confining themselves to a faithful delineation of that which
actually exists, have made astonishing and unwarranted drafts upon
their imaginations. Instead of detailing facts, they have written
fictions; instead of making a true record, they have interwoven
falsehoods with the very web of their story. They have chronicled dreams
instead of realities, and have registered vagaries as actual events and
undeniable certainties. But they have themselves been deceived. They
have been duped in listening to the delusive whispers of mischievous
sirens, whose flattering suggestions and plausible stories have had such
a magical influence upon their excited minds, that they have become
accustomed to consider every thought of wealth that occurs to them a
veritable mountain of gold;--that is to say, they have, by some strange
hallucination, been converted to the belief that whatever California
ought to be for their own particular ends and interests, it really is.
In the night-time they have arranged and matured prodigious plans of
profit, and although many days have dawned upon them since, that time
has yet to come which shall reveal to them the utter nothingness of
their nocturnal reveries. But the day will come, and it is fast
approaching, when the spell must be broken. The iron utensils, which
have been transmuted into golden urns and palaces night after night,
shall once and for ever resume their true quality at the approach of
day. The spell-bound shall be freed! The reverie shall be dissipated,
the false wealth analyzed, and resolved into its component parts; and
when these things are done, California will be seen in its true light.
Then the eyes of the people will be opened. The golden haze which has
hung over this land of romantic hopes and deadly disappointments will
then be rolled away, and the clear, naked sunlight of Truth will shine
upon this ugly cheat, revealing it in all its naked deformity to the
eyes of the abused and misinformed public. Then, and not till then, will
the full extent of popular delusion on this topic be known, and this
mighty genie collapse into its original caldron.
The truth is, California has been much overrated and much overdone. She
has been pressed beyond her limits and capacities. Her managers have
been rash, prodigal and incompetent, and they have embarrassed her
beyond hope of relief--though, it must be acknowledged, her condition
was never very hopeful, but, on the contrary, I may say with the poet,
she was only “half made up.” It is plain to be seen that she was never
finished. She has never paid for herself. An overwhelming public debt
now rests upon her shoulders, and she has nothing to show for it. She is
bankrupt. Her resources are being rapidly exhausted, and there is but
lank promise in the future. Her spacious harbors and geographical
position are her true wealth; her gold fields and arid hills are her
poverty. But commodious and safe as are her harbors when once entered,
they are not the easiest nor safest of access in the world, as I shall
hereafter prove by statistics of vessels wrecked upon this coast within
the last six years. And, before I finish, I shall offer other
statistical information of interest and importance relative to the State
at large, in substantiation as well of what I have already said as of
that which I have yet to say. I may remark here that, my curiosity
having led me to collect and prepare these statistics with no little
care and attention, and at no trifling sacrifice of time and means, they
may be relied upon as correct.
A residence of nearly three years, during which time I have traveled
over a wide extent of those parts of the State which are most highly
esteemed for agriculture and minerals, has, I claim, enabled me to
arrive at a pretty accurate estimate of her character and capacities;
and I have no hesitation in avowing it as my candid opinion (and I have
not been a very inattentive observer) that, balancing resource against
defect, and comparing territory with territory, California is the
poorest State in the Union. She has little to recommend her except her
fascinating metal, the acquisition of which, however, in its first or
natural state, seems always to require a greater sacrifice of moral and
physical wealth than a single exchange of it afterwards can possibly
restore. I know it has been published to the world that this country
possesses extraordinary agricultural abilities; but this is an assertion
wholly gratuitous, and not susceptible of demonstration. Taken
altogether, it is no such thing. Some of her valleys are, indeed,
exceedingly fertile; but, when we compare their superficies with the
area of the State, we find they are but as oases in a desert. I
seriously believe that a fair and thorough trial will show that she has
more than three times as much sterile land, in proportion to her
territory, than any of her sister States. On an average, a square rood
of Carolina earth contains as much fertilizing nutriment as an acre of
California soil. Comparatively speaking, she has neither season nor
soil.
No rain falls between the first of April and the middle of November, in
consequence of which the earth becomes so dry and hard that nothing will
grow; and the small amount of grass, weeds, or other vegetation that may
have shot up in the spring, is parched by the scorching sun until it is
rendered as easy of ignition as prepared fuel. The valleys above
mentioned are the only spots exempt from this curse. On the other hand,
from the first of December to the last of March it rains, as a general
thing, so copiously and incessantly, that all out-door avocations must
be suspended; and as there is no mechanical or in-door labor, either of
use or profit, to be performed, the people are subjected to the
disagreeable and expensive task of idling away their time in hotels and
restaurants, at the rate of from two to three dollars per day for board
alone, other expenses being in the same ratio. More of the disadvantages
of this unfortunate inconsistency of the seasons, and of the paucity of
resources of employment here, will be noticed as we proceed. As for the
valleys we have spoken of, they will afford a sufficient supply of
breadstuffs to support sparse settlements, but the average or general
surface of the country is incapable of sustaining a dense population.
If we inquire after the manufacturing and mechanical resources of the
State, we will find that she has none whatever; in this respect she is
as destitute as the aboriginal settlements of America. Nor can she
establish, encourage or maintain these arts, for the reason that she
would be under the necessity of importing, not only the machinery and
raw materials, but also the fuel. She could not, therefore, compete with
neighboring States, which have at least some of these indispensable
requisites. Nor has she any advantages or facilities for either water or
steam power. How, then, can she obtain a reputation for manufactures and
mechanism, having neither the material to work, nor the force or means
to work with? She has neither cotton nor flax, coal nor timber. She is
rich in nothing, and poor in every thing. She has to import every thing
she uses, but has nothing to export, except her gold, which, instead of
being a blessing to her, is a curse. Even the ground she cultivates she
has to inclose with imported fencing wire, not having timber suitable
for railing or paling purposes. That which is esteemed her chief
treasure, dependence and commodity, gold, seems to be the least
subservient to her advancement and prosperity; for, comparatively
speaking, she sends it all away, and retains none for home use or
convenience; and thus it is that she has, in a measure, been a benefit
to others, while she has blindly and foolishly impoverished herself. In
this she has acted upon the principle of the cobbler, whose shoes are
ever tattered, and of the blacksmith, whose horses always go unshod.
But this profuse exportation of gold is significant of another important
fact, while at the same time it demonstrates what I have said above. It
shows conclusively that there is no inducement to invest capital
permanently in this country, either in the prosecution of business or in
the establishment of homes or residences. Immigrants find neither beauty
nor gain to hold them here; and I feel warranted in venturing the
assertion that not more than ten per cent. of the population are
satisfied to remain. Of the other ninety per cent., the bodies only
subsist here--their hearts abide in better climes; and they are
anxiously waiting and wishing for the time when they shall have an
opportunity of releasing themselves from the golden fetters which detain
them, and escaping from a country which, with all its wealth, is to them
a dreary prison. Only a small minority of the few who are lucky enough,
by fair means or foul, to accumulate fortune or competence, are induced
to identify their lives and interests with the country.
But the women are almost unanimous in their determination not to make
California any thing more than a temporary residence; and they have good
reasons for this resolution. Besides the social depravity to which I
shall presently allude, and which is sufficient to shock the
sensibilities of any _man_ of ordinary morality, there are hosts of
minor annoyances, resulting from the climate and the geographical
position of the country, that inflict peculiar pain upon female
sensibilities. The mud, which is often knee-deep, keeps them imprisoned
all the winter; while, in summer, the dust, as fine as flour and as
abundant as earth itself, stifles the inhabitants, fills the houses,
penetrates into every nook and corner, finds its way even into the inner
drawers and chests, soils the wardrobe, spoils the furniture, and
sullies every thing. Besides, California is especially infested with
vermin. Fleas, ants, and all sorts of creeping things are as ubiquitous
as those that tormented Pharaoh and his people, and quite as annoying.
No house is free from them, no one can escape the perpetual martyrdom of
their stings, or the annoyance of their presence. As the ladies are the
special sufferers from these abominable little nuisances, their
unanimous dislike of the country is not at all to be wondered at. In
proof of this unanimity, I can only offer the fact that, in conversation
with quite a number of women who have resided in this State, I have yet
to meet with one who is willing to make it her permanent abode.
We have alluded to the winds, because they really are a peculiar feature
in the meteorology of this State. In the summer time they blow with
peculiar violence, and facilitate the spread of the great fires from
which California has suffered so much.
CHAPTER II.
THE BALANCE-SHEET.
Let us now take a glance at the _pros_ and _cons_ of California in
statistical form. I have said that the State is bankrupt, that she has
never returned an equivalent for the labor and money invested in her,
and that she has been represented to be a great deal more than she is in
reality--all of which I now reiterate, and shall endeavor to
demonstrate. To make out a perfect and complete account-current, or
balance-sheet, exhibiting the State’s entire gains and losses of time,
labor, life, money, etc., would require such a profound knowledge of
financial affairs, and of political economy, that it would puzzle Adam
Smith himself; we will not, therefore, attempt accuracy or exactness,
but, having sufficient data to sustain us in our position, we will
proceed to make it known.
Without charging California with any of the enormous expenses of the
Mexican war, or the check given to the increase of population which that
war occasioned, we will simply make her debtor for the amount of
purchase-money that was paid for her, and for the various sums it has
cost to control, manage and maintain her since. And, to avoid that
complication and multiplicity of entries that would inevitably result
from an introduction of all the individuals, parties or countries that
have had dealings with the State, and as a matter of convenience, we
will assume that there shall be but two parties recognized in the
transaction, one of debit and one of credit--California and the United
States. This will be treating the subject as a matter of dollars and
cents, and will enable us to see how much has been made or lost, as the
case may be, out of this Eureka venture or speculation.
In the first place, then, California is debtor to the United States for
her quota of the amount of purchase-money paid to Mexico for herself and
for New Mexico, including contingent fund absorbed by Mexican claimants,
as per agreement at the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, $10,000,000. In
the next place, let us see how much she is indebted to the United States
for labor. At the present time, her population is estimated at about two
hundred and fifty thousand. It is but little greater now than it was in
1849. In ’51 and ’52 it was larger than it was or has been at any
preceding or subsequent period. It would probably be fair to estimate
the average population at two hundred and fifty thousand for the last
six years; of this number, it is supposed that from thirty to
thirty-five thousand are women and children, who have become residents
of the State within the last three or four years. Admitting, then, that
there are thirty-five thousand women and children, and deducting this
number from two hundred and fifty thousand, we have a balance of two
hundred and fifteen thousand men, whose service for six years, at say
$225 per annum for each man, amounts to $290,230,000. The outfits and
passage of these men--to say nothing of the women and children--cost, at
the lowest calculation, $200 per head; so we find that the expense of
transporting the actual laborers alone has been at least $43,000,000. We
may afford to let this latter amount rest as it is; but when we take
into consideration the fact that the steamers are continually crowded
with persons returning from California, and that their places are filled
by new emigrants, who have to purchase new passage-tickets and new
outfits, it is quite obvious that the figures express much less than the
real amount. The above sums added together constitute the United States’
charge against California. We will add them together, and then compare
the total sum with the amount of gold that has been produced in
California.
Original cost of the country $10,000,000
Labor 290,230,000
Outfits and transportation 43,000,000
-----------
Grand total $343,130,000
Thus we see California is debtor to the United States three hundred and
forty-three millions two hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Now let us
examine the account which California brings as an offset to this amount.
The entire yield of the mines up to the present time, January, 1855, has
been about two hundred and forty-five millions of dollars. And this is
all. We cannot credit her with any thing else that would not be
equipoised or balanced by the capital, whether owned or borrowed,
brought hither from various parts of the world, and invested in business
and improvements, and about which nothing has been said in the bill of
charges. Here, then, is the sum and substance of the whole matter:
The United States account against California. $343,230,000
California’s account against the United States. 245,000,000
----------
Deficit. $98,230,000
And now let us see how much money has been lost in and about California
by casualties, accidents and mismanagement. The reader shall judge
whether any part of the amount should be charged to the State. As for
us, we shall simply feel it our duty to furnish the statistics. In
regard to the expenses of Fremont’s Battalion, of the Army of Occupation
in ’47 and ’48, and of the wars since waged against the
Indians--amounting in all to several millions of dollars, we will say
nothing.
In the annexed table is an account of the various fires that have
occurred throughout the State. It will be perceived that the date of
occurrence and amount of property destroyed are both given.
FIRES IN CALIFORNIA.
Fire in San Francisco, December 24, 1849 $1,000,000
“ “ May 4, 1850 3,500,000
“ “ June 14, 1850 3,000,000
“ “ September 17, 1850 450,000
“ “ December 14, 1850 1,000,000
“ “ May 3, 1851 12,000,000
“ “ June 22, 1851 3,000,000
“ “ November 9, 1852 125,000
“ “ Sundry fires in 1853 265,000
Fire in Sacramento, November 2, 1852 10,000,000
“ Sonora, June 18, 1852 2,500,000
“ “ October 14, 1853 300,000
“ “ November 2, 1853 50,000
“ Stockton, May 6, 1851 3,000,000
“ Marysville, August 30, 1851 500,000
“ “ September 10, 1851 80,000
“ “ November 7, 1852 150,000
“ Shasta, February 8, 1853 225,000
“ Nevada, March 10, 1851 200,000
“ Weaverville, March 7, 1853 125,000
Sundry fires in different parts of the State,
dates unobtainable 4,400,000
----------
$45,870,000
Freshets and inundations, in the Sacramento and San
Joaquin valleys, have swept off or destroyed one
million five hundred thousand dollars worth of
property within the last six years $1,500,000
The following sailing vessels and steamers have been wrecked upon the
coast within the same period:
SAILING VESSELS--SOME WITH CARGOES.
Ship Tonquin--December, 1849 }
“ Crownprincessen--February, 1850 }
“ Utica--July, 1850 }
“ Somerset--December, 1850 }
“ Oxford--July, 1852 }
“ Aberdeen--July, 1853 }$2,300,000
“ Carrier Pigeon--June, 1853 }
“ Eclipse--October, 1853 }
“ Jenny Lind--December, 1853 }
“ San Francisco--February, 1854 }
STEAMERS.
Commodore Preble--May 3, 1850 $ 50,000
Union--July 5, 1851 150,000
Chesapeake--October, 1851 50,000
Sea Gull--January 26, 1852 50,000
Gen. Warren--January 31, 1852 50,000
North America--February 27, 1852 150,000
Pioneer--August 17, 1852 250,000
City of Pittsburg--October 24, 1852 250,000
Independence--February 16, 1853 70,000
Tennessee--March 6, 1853 300,000
S. S. Lewis--April 9, 1853 150,000
Washington--1853 40,000
Commodore Stockton--1852 60,000
Winfield Scott--December 2, 1853 290,000
Sundry steamers and sailers, the names of which have
been misplaced 850,000
---------
$2,760,000
The present public debt of the State--entailed upon the
people by one of the most imbecile and dissolute
legislatures that were ever assembled in an enlightened
country--is three millions of dollars $3,000,000
The debts of the three principal cities are as follows:
The total amount of the indebtedness of San Francisco
is $3,342,000. The debt of the city of Sacramento
amounts to $1,500,000. The entire debt of
the city of Marysville amounts to over $70,000 $4,912,000
-----------
Total $60,342,000
RECAPITULATION.
Fires $45,870,000
Freshets 1,500,000
Shipping 5,060,000
State debt 3,000,000
City debt 4,912,000
-----------
$60,342,000
These figures show the amount of property that has been destroyed, or
the amount of losses that have been sustained in California, by
accidents, mishaps and mismanagement, within the last six years. I will,
moreover, give a list of lives lost by violent measures during the same
period:
Murders 4,200
Suicides 1,400
Insanity, (produced by disappointment and misfortune) 1,700
Wrecked and perished on the way per sailing vessels and
steamers 2,200
Killed by Indians and died of starvation per overland route 1,600
Perished in the mines and mountains of the State for want
of medical attention and food, and by the hands of the
Indians 5,300
------
Total 16,400
It may be urged that the State ought not to be held accountable for any
number of these sixteen thousand four hundred unfortunates, who, for
the lack of law and order in a majority of the cases, lost their lives
by violent means. We leave the question entirely with the reader. It may
also be urged that the State ought not to be charged with any part of
the extraordinary losses by fire and shipwreck, notwithstanding foreign
capitalists were the principal sufferers in both cases. This question we
also submit to the decision of the reader.
But I deem it unnecessary to dwell on this part of my subject. In
presenting the foregoing calculations, it has been my aim to show that
California is a country of unparalleled casualties and catastrophes, and
to direct attention to the immense losses which have been sustained in
opening its mines of wealth. A large number of people, it seems, have
got into the habit of estimating the gains without taking into
consideration the cost or losses at all; and there are those, no doubt,
who will attempt to find fault with the account which I have drawn up
between California and the United States. Though that account is in the
main correct, I admit that slight errors may here and there exist; for,
as I remarked at the outset, the debits and credits are so numerous, and
of such an intricate nature, that it would be impossible to arrive at
the exact amounts without the greatest research and elaboration. If I
have succeeded in undeceiving those who have heretofore regarded
California as an unincumbered God-send, my object has been attained. I
have endeavored to show that, though there has been a great deal of gold
obtained in the country, it is not all clear gain, and that
notwithstanding there are large deposits of pure metal, there are also
huge masses of dross. Shallow enthusiasts have asserted that the United
States would have become bankrupt two or three years ago, had it not
been for the discovery of gold in California. A more preposterous
opinion was never entertained. Equally as much wisdom might be found in
the assertion that Great Britain would have been sold by the sheriff, if
gold had not been discovered in Australia. As a further proof of the
beggarly condition of the country, it may not be amiss to remark that,
during the last session of Congress, the general government appropriated
upwards of four millions of dollars for the relief and benefit of
California; and her senators and representatives are still clamoring for
additional favors.
For the benefit of the reader, and in confirmation of statements made in
this chapter relative to the past and present of California, I give the
following extract from the _Louisville Journal_, to which my attention
has been called since the foregoing calculations and statistics were
prepared.
COST OF CALIFORNIA GOLD.
“For the information of those persons who believe that the United States
thus far have been benefited by the discovery of gold in California, we
propose to submit a few remarks and calculations.
“After the close of the Mexican war and the cession by treaty to us of
Upper California, the world was astonished by the announcement, toward
the close of 1848 or the beginning of 1849, that immense deposits of
gold had been discovered in that country. As soon as the truth of this
report was established, vast numbers of persons, young and old, flocked
to that country. There was a perfect stampede of people from every State
in the Union. Property was sacrificed to raise money with which to reach
this Eldorado, where fortunes for all were supposed to be awaiting the
mere effort to gather them. The first injurious effect on the country
was the sudden withdrawal of so much labor from the channels of
production; it was mainly, too, that description most needed here--that
is, agricultural labor.
“We are not in possession of the statistics requisite to determine with
exactness the number of persons who have been taken from the old States
and have gone to California. The population of that State now exceeds
two hundred thousand. But as there is a constant stream of people
always _in transitu_, either going to or leaving that country, the
number of people withdrawn from the business of productive labor largely
exceeds the population of that State. It is not our purpose to
over-estimate the amount of labor that has been withdrawn from the old
States, but we feel satisfied that it will be under rather than over the
mark to say that from 1849 to 1854, each year inclusive, there has been
an average of 150,000 persons who have been during that time either in
California or on their way going or returning. The time is six years for
150,000 persons, or one year for 900,000 persons.
“Now, if we estimate the average value of this labor at $25 per month
each, or $300 per year, we have ($270,000,000) two hundred and seventy
millions of dollars as the value of the labor taken from the eastern
side of the Rocky Mountains and placed on its western side. In addition
to this, it cost on an average $200 per head as the expenses of the
removal from one country to the other. This makes ($180,000,000) one
hundred and eighty millions of dollars as the cost of removal. The sums
together make the sum total of ($450,000,000) four hundred and fifty
millions of dollars drained from the eastern side of the United States.
To ascertain the amount of the gold obtained from that country, we
propose to take the gold coinage of the mint. This coinage was in--
1849 $ 9,007,761
1850 31,981,738
1851 62,614,492
1852 56,846,187
1853 46,998,945
1854, estimated 42,000,000
------------
Total coinage $249,349,123
“As these figures make the sum total of _all_ the gold coined at the
mint, and a portion of it is known to have been obtained from other
sources than California, the credit will rather be in excess than too
small; but still we propose to add to this amount twenty millions more
as an allowance for unminted gold sold to workers in jewelry and plate
and which has been consumed in the arts. The statement will then stand
thus:
CALIFORNIA, Dr.
To labor and outfits $ 450,000,000
Credit by product of gold coin and nature 269,349,223
------------
Dr. balance $ 180,650,877
“_This shows that there is a balance due us in lost labor and capital of
over one hundred and eighty millions of dollars._
“So far as California is concerned, it is probable that this deficiency
is replaced there by the value of property, real and personal, which the
labor taken from this region of country has produced there.
“The injurious effect of this vast emigration has been felt in the undue
stimulus it has given to the prices of produce, induced by diminished
production and increased demand.
“Another bad effect of this gold crop has been the influence it has
exerted in stimulating excessive importations of foreign goods, In the
last six years the imports will exceed the exports three hundred and
three millions of dollars. Commencing in 1849 with an import trade of
only seven millions of nominal balance against this country, it rapidly
increased, until, in each of the past two years, it has exceeded sixty
millions of dollars.”
CHAPTER III.
SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA.
Having looked into the financial condition of California, let us now
briefly consider the moral and religious state of its society, We know
that we are undertaking an ungrateful and painful task--that we shall
awaken the animosity of those who have an interest in enticing settlers
to this golden region--that we shall provoke contradiction, and probably
excite controversy; but we beseech Heaven to pardon us for speaking the
truth, and challenge our antagonists to disprove our statements.
We cannot, indeed, pretend to disclose all the terrible iniquity of that
society in the compass of a single chapter--the theme is too extensive,
the facts too revolting. It requires space to unfold the scroll which
records such damning facts--it needs time for the mind to become
sufficiently reconciled to the hideous details, to be able to listen to
them without impatience or disgust. We can, at present, do no more than
open the way for a fuller exposition of the subject in subsequent
chapters. Suffice it to say that we know of no country in which there is
so much corruption, villainy, outlawry, intemperance, licentiousness,
and every variety of crime, folly and meanness. Words fail us to express
the shameful depravity and unexampled turpitude of California society.
How much of this is attributable to the metal which attracts the
population, we leave others to determine. One thing, however, is
certain; mining districts do not generally enjoy a very enviable
reputation in any part of the world. Gold, especially, is thought to be
so easily accessible, and the return of the miner’s labor is so
immediately visible, that it has ever attracted the most unthrifty and
dissolute. Men who could not be induced to work at any thing else, will
spend days and weeks delving for the precious bane, hoping against hope,
and laboring with an eager energy which nothing else can excite, and
almost any thing else would more surely reward. Hence, the immediate
neighborhood of a gold-mine is too liable to be a sink for all the
idleness and depravity of the surrounding country. How these evils are
multiplied by the absence of individual proprietorship in the land, and
by the remoteness of a mining district from the beneficial restraints of
public opinion, any one who gives a moment’s consideration to the
subject will perceive.
The exclusive devotion of labor to this one pursuit is another cause of
increased laxity of morals. In the Atlantic States, gold-mining is only
a branch of industry, and not a very important one, compared with the
other pursuits of the population; but in California it is the chief and
almost the only occupation of the inhabitants of the mining districts;
so that while, in the former place, the general virtue of the people
keeps in check the particular vices of the miner, in the latter, the
good intentions of the few are overruled and stifled by the vices of the
many.
We must not, however, commit the mistake of supposing that all the
depravity of California is attributable to the nature of its industrial
pursuits. This is but one of the elements which assist in producing the
deplorable state of affairs under consideration. There are others which
spring from the character of the people, and the circumstances which
have brought them together.
It must be borne in mind that all the adventurers to this country have
come for the express purpose of making money, and that to this end every
other consideration is sacrificed. They have come to “put money in their
purses,” and as a large majority of them are of a class who are rarely
troubled by any qualms of conscience, they are determined to do it at
all hazards. Mammon is their god, and they will worship him.
If it be deemed desirable to make further inquiries into this state of
things, it is only necessary to philosophize a little upon the physical
structure of society. A single glance at it will suffice to convince the
most superficial observer that its ingredients cannot be compounded into
a harmonious, perfect and complete whole. Will a panther from America, a
bear from Europe, a tiger from Asia, and a lion from Africa, organize in
peace and good feeling around the body of a fresh slain deer? If not,
will the Americans, English, French, Germans, Chinese, Indians, Negroes,
and half-breeds, greet each other cordially over a gold mine? These are
problems which those who have leisure may solve as their reason
dictates. In the present case, it is more my province to relate the
condition of things, than to account for their existence; yet, in
preparing statements upon a variety of intricate subjects, owing
sometimes to the difficulty of making one’s self understood, it is both
consistent and proper that, now and then, a few remarks in the way of
explanation should be given.
Another very important cause of this wild excitement, degeneracy,
dissipation, and deplorable condition of affairs, may be found in the
disproportion of the sexes--in the scarcity of women. At present, there
is only about one woman to every ten or twelve men, and the result is
what might be expected. The women are persecuted by the insulting
attentions of the men, and too often fall victims to the arts of their
seducers. Nowhere is the sanctity of the domestic hearth so ruthlessly
violated as in California. For proof of this, we need look no further
than the records of the courts of San Francisco, which show that, in the
course of a single week, no less than ten divorces had been granted,
while, during the same time, only two marriages had been solemnized!
Not long since, an English gentleman, of whom myself and others had
purchased some real estate in this city, came to me, requesting that,
inasmuch as his wife had left him the day before, we would not let her
have any money on his account. After finishing his business
instructions, he gave us the following history. Listen to it. Said he:
“Four years ago, myself and wife, and six other men with their wives,
came together in one vessel to this country. Shortly after our arrival,
family feuds and jealousies became rife in the domestic circle of one of
the parties. The man and his wife separated. Soon their example was
followed by another couple, and another, and so on, until all the
marriage ties of our company were broken, except those that happily
existed between myself and wife. Left alone thus, and having been true
to each other so long, and through so many opposing circumstances, I
cherished the hope that we might remain together, and be true to the
end. But, alas! my fond thoughts and anticipations have proved a sickly
dream. My hopes have been blasted, my happiness wrecked, and my children
disgraced and deserted. My wife, whom I loved and held dearer than all
else on earth, the partner of my life, has been basely seduced. The last
link that bound the remnant of our seven families together has been
severed, and the consequence is, we are a disbanded and disreputable
people. Cursed be the day and the incentive that started me to this
damnable country!” These were his own words, almost verbatim; and he
uttered them as if partly speaking to himself, and partly addressing me.
The total disregard of the marriage tie by the majority of the men of
California puts the husband, who is foolish enough to take his wife with
him to that county, in a painful and embarrassing position. Should the
wife be pretty, she is the more liable to the persecution of attentions
which will shock her if she be virtuous, and flatter her into sin if she
is not. She is surrounded at once by hosts of men, who spare neither
money, time, nor art to win her affections from her husband. What wonder
if they often succeed?
Female virtue or chastity, in the conventional sense of the word, is
known to every one, who is familiar with the internal history of
society, to be a very complex idea. There are women who are chaste only
for want of the opportunity to be otherwise. There are others who are
kept chaste by the force of public opinion, the dread of exposure, and
the general fear of consequences; while a third class preserve their
persons untainted by an innate purity of soul, which shrinks
instinctively from all indelicacy, and feels contaminated by an unclean
thought, and degraded by a lustful look. It is not our business to
inquire into the relative proportion of women embraced in these three
classes. It is enough to know that they exist, to appreciate the effect
which the society of California will exert upon them.
As for the first class, it is not necessary to speak of them. They
fulfil their shameful destiny every where, and California only ripens
their depravity a little earlier. It is the second class who suffer
chiefly from the peculiar moral atmosphere of the land of gold. In the
Atlantic States, hedged in by a healthy public opinion, guarded by
jealous laws, flattered into chastity by the respectful attentions which
that virtue ever commands, they might retain to their dying day that
physical purity which satisfies the great majority of husbands. In
California, however, these restraints are all removed. Public opinion
arrays itself on the side of vice; the laws are powerless to punish the
sins of impurity; and all the attentions the women receive are based
upon the hope of their ultimate fall. How are such women to resist? Cut
loose at once from all those restraints which kept them in the right
way, will they not dart off into the devious paths of error and of sin?
It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and the man who would keep
faithful to himself a wife of this type in California, must have wealth
enough to gratify her most extravagant whims, time to devote exclusively
to watching her, eyes keener than those of Argus, and cunning sharper
than that of Vidocq.
The third class--of whom, I regret to say, I have met with but few in
the Eureka State--have also peculiar trials to undergo. Society in that
country is a reproduction, on a large scale, of the morals of the courts
of Charles II of England and Louis XV of France. Vice only is esteemed
and lauded, virtue is treated as an idle dream, an insulting pretence of
superiority, or a stupid folly beneath the notice of men of sense.
People do not believe in it--they scorn it, they insult it; they
consider it a mere avaricious attempt to dispose of venal charms above
their market value, so that the chaste woman has not only to suffer the
persecution of insulting proposals, but the doubt of that virtue which
repels her pursuers, and the sneers and scandal of a depraved and
debased community.
Many women, of conceded respectability in California, seem to have come
out there for the exclusive purpose of selling their charms to the
highest bidder. Others, of more honest hearts, have fallen victims to
the peculiar seductions of the place, but I must be allowed to pay a
tribute to the sex, even in this its degenerate condition. Paradoxical
as the statement may sound, it is rigorously true that these very women
have improved the morals of the community. Any one who, like myself, has
had the opportunity of seeing California before and after the advent of
these women, must have been struck with the decided improvement in
society since their arrival. They have undoubtedly banished much
barbarism, softened many hard hearts, and given a gentleness to the men
which they did not possess before. What, then, might we not expect from
an influx of the chaste wives and tender mothers that bless our other
sea-board?
CHAPTER IV.
SAN FRANCISCO.
We will now pay our respects to the occidental metropolis of the United
States, sometimes honored with the title of the Queen City of the
Pacific.
It has not been more truthfully remarked that Paris is France, than that
San Francisco is California. This is the grand mart in which all the
travel, news, capital, business, and, in fact, every species of interest
or employment that belongs to the State is concentrated--the nucleus
around which every plan and project must first be developed before it
can receive life, vigor, system and order. It is the fountain-head of
all the tributaries of trade and traffic that flow through the
State--the great trestle-board or chart of operations to which all the
journeymen repair for designs and instructions to pursue their labors.
It is the supreme tribunal and regulator of affairs--the heart, the
life, and the stay of the State. Contrary to the general rule, in this
case the city supports the country, instead of the country nurturing and
sustaining the city; and this will continue to be the case so long as
the country is under the necessity of importing whatever she requires
for use. Until she becomes the producer of the bulk or major part of
that which she consumes, San Francisco will retain this ascendency.
Every important movement, whether of a public, private, political or
commercial character, receives its impetus from this point; and owing to
its advantageous geographical position, and the facilities and
accommodation offered for shipping, I think it may be safely said that
San Francisco will be a great city, although California can never become
a great State.
In order to particularize a little, and to furnish the reader with a
more systematic idea of the city, we will imagine ourselves in a vessel,
some distance at sea, approaching the coast of California in about the
lat. of 37° 45´ N. and lon. 122° 25´ W. This will bring us to the Golden
Gate, the entrance to the harbor. This entrance is a narrow outlet,
through which at least seven-eighths of the entire waters of the State
find their way into the Pacific ocean. It can be so thoroughly fortified
that no maritime expedition could ever force its way through it.
Passing through the Gate, we enter the bay, and find it to be one of the
largest and finest in the world, dotted with several small islands, and
abounding in excellent fish of every variety. Soon we arrive at Long
Wharf; the steamer is run alongside, and we are in the Eldorado of
modern times. Around us we behold an innumerable crowd of eager
lookers-on, who have come down from the city to meet their wives,
lovers, fathers, mothers, sisters, or brothers, as the case may be. The
crowd is probably one of the most motley and heterogeneous that ever
occupied space. It is composed of specimens of humanity from almost
every clime and nation upon the habitable globe. Citizens from every
State in the Union, North and South, Americans, French, English, Irish,
Scotch, Germans, Dutch, Danes, Swedes, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians,
Russians, Poles, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, Hindoos, Sandwich Islanders,
New Zealanders, Indians, Africans, and hybrids--all stand before us. We
see all grades and conditions, all ages and sexes, all colors and
costumes, in short, a complete human menagerie.
By the sides of the wharves, and anchored in different parts of the
commodious and noble bay, we see magnificent ships, barks and brigs from
every nation of commercial note. But of all these majestic palaces of
the deep, none are equal in beauty of design and finish, in grace,
symmetry and elegance, or in excellence of quality, to our own American
clippers. Thinking that it might be of interest to some of my readers,
as a specimen of American marine or naval nomenclature, I have taken the
pains to collect a majority of the names of these oaken chariots of old
Neptune that have from time to time entered the Golden Gate, freighted
with merchandise from Atlantic ports. Some of the names are truly
appropriate and poetic. Ten of them, as will be seen, have, as a prefix,
the word “Golden.” I have arranged them in the subjoined list in
alphabetical order:
Antelope,
Archer,
Atalanta,
Aurora,
Bald Eagle,
Belle of Baltimore,
Celestial,
Challenge,
Champion,
Climax,
Comet,
Contest,
Courser,
Dancing Feather,
Dashing Wave,
Dauntless,
Defiance,
Don Quixotte,
Eclipse,
Empress of the Seas,
Eureka,
Fearless,
Flying Arrow,
Flying Childers,
Flying Cloud,
Flying Dragon,
Flying Dutchman,
Flying Eagle,
Flying Fish,
Game Cock,
Gazelle,
Gem of the Ocean,
Golden Age,
Golden City,
Golden Eagle,
Golden Fleece,
Golden Gate,
Golden Light,
Golden Racer,
Golden Rule,
Golden State,
Golden West,
Gray Eagle,
Gray Feather,
Gray Hound,
Herald of the Morning,
Highflyer,
Hornet,
Honqua,
Hurricane,
Ino,
Invincible,
John Gilpin,
King Fisher,
Mystery,
National Eagle,
Neptune’s Car,
Northern Crown,
Ocean Pearl,
Ocean Spray,
Olive Branch,
Onward,
Oriental,
Orion,
Pampero,
Peerless,
Phantom,
Queen of Clippers,
Queen of the Pacific,
Queen of the Seas,
Rattler,
Raven,
Red Rover,
Reindeer,
Ring Leader,
Rip Van Winkle,
Rover’s Bride,
Sea Serpent,
Seaman’s Bride,
Shooting Star,
Simoon,
Light Foot,
Living Age,
Mandarin,
Matchless,
Messenger,
Meteor,
Monsoon,
Morning Light,
Mountain Wave,
Sirocco,
Skylark,
Snowsquall,
Southern Cross,
Spitfire,
Stag Hound,
Storm King,
Sun Beam,
Surprise,
Sword Fish,
Siren,
Tam O’Shanter,
Telegraph,
Tinqua,
Tornado,
Trade Wind,
Typhoon,
Viking,
Waterwitch,
Western Star,
Westward Ho!
West Wind,
Whirlwind,
White Squall,
White Swallow,
Wide Awake,
Wild Duck,
Wild Pigeon,
Wild Ranger,
Winged Racer,
Wings of the Morning,
Witch of the Wave,
Witchcraft,
Wizard,
Zoe.
Leaving the vicinity of the shipping, we wend our way towards the heart
of the city. As we proceed, we observe many objects of interest that
deserve more attention than we can bestow upon them at this time.
Degradation, profligacy and vice confront us at every step. Men are
passing to and fro with haggard visages and heads declined, muttering to
themselves, and looking as hungry and ferocious as the prowling beasts
of an Asiatic jungle. Before us on either side, we see a group of boys,
clad in slouched hats, dirty shirts, ragged pants, and shabby shoes,
without socks, who have no regular business. Sometimes they sell
newspapers in the morning, and in the middle of the day engage in
various occupations, as, for instance, in peddling fruits, nuts and
toys. At this time several of them seem to have met by chance, and they
have stopped to discuss the times and the progress of events. If we were
near enough, we should probably hear the right hand party criticising
Madame Anna Thillon’s last performance of the opera of La Somnambula, or
of the Daughter of the Regiment; and those on the left giving their
opinions upon the merits of Madame Anna Bishop’s last oratorio or ballad
concert. After disposing of all the actors and actresses in music,
opera, pantomime, tragedy and comedy, or, perhaps, after bragging of the
successes of certain amours or other youthful depravities, they rally
together, and entering the nearest groggery, one calls for a brandy
smash, another for a whiskey punch, a third for a gin cocktail, and so
on, until all are served. Then, bowing to each other, they drink to the
prosperity of Young America, to which school they all belong; and
dashing their glasses upon the counter with as hideous and vociferous
anathemas as ever passed the lips of an East India pirate, they
separate, segar in mouth, and return to their respective avocations. Not
unfrequently these vicious youths repeat their potations so often that
they become thoroughly inebriated, and may be seen quarreling, fighting,
and lying about the streets like hardened and inveterate topers.
The bales and stacks of hay and straw piled upon some of the wharves,
deserve a passing glance, since they form the sleeping apartments of
dozens of penniless vagabonds who are always wandering about the city in
idleness and misery, and have no other place to rest, no bed to sleep
upon, except these out-door packages of provender, into which they creep
for shelter and slumber during the long hours of the night.
Continuing our perambulations in a westerly direction, we find ourselves
at the foot of Commercial street, which runs almost due east and west
through the centre of the city. This street we will pass up, paying
attention as we proceed to some of the irregularities and peculiarities
which distinguish San Francisco from other cities, and California from
other countries. The first houses we see are from one to two stories in
height, and are built of red wood, a very light combustible kind of
timber that resembles the spruce or cedar. Oregon produces nearly all
the building materials out of which these and most other houses and
tenements in California are constructed; and I have been credibly
informed that the red wood and fir trees in that territory grow from two
hundred and fifty to three hundred feet high, and proportionally thick.
In some of the remote and comparatively inaccessible parts of California
these varieties of timber are also found, and are said to acquire the
same gigantic bulk.
Most of the buildings in this part of the street are tenanted by those
mysterious and avaricious characters whose arrival in this, as well as
in other places, is always as inexplicable as that of the flies in
summer, and whose exit is equally as unceremonious as that of the
swallows in winter--no one knowing whence they came or whither they
go--the Jews, those nomades of civilization. These erratic and
money-loving descendants of the ancient biblical patriarchs seem to
follow in the wake of all adventurous Christians and gentiles who wear
those convenient articles of apparel denominated ready-made clothes.
Preferring to travel the way after it is once opened, they are seldom
known as the pioneers of a new country; and claiming to be conservative
in their principles and opposed to aggression, they profess
disinclination to encroach upon foreign territory; but after the battles
are fought with the forest, the wild beasts, or the biped enemy, and
peace and security established, they are ever ready to come in and
partake of whatever advantages may have been attained. So it has been in
California, so it is yet, and so it will always be here and every where
else, with these homeless and migratory people.
They do not employ any of their time or means in advancing the permanent
and substantial interests of the country. None of them engage in any
sort of manual labor, except, perhaps, that which is of the most trivial
and unmanly nature, such, for instance, as the manufacturing of jewelry
and haberdashery. Mining, the cultivation of the soil, in a word, any
occupation that requires exposure to the weather, is too fatiguing and
intolerable for them. The law requiring man to get bread by the sweat of
his brow, is an injunction with which they refuse to comply. It is a tax
they are unwilling to pay--an enigma beyond their comprehension--they
will not sweat. Dealing in ready-made clothing appears to be their
peculiar forte; and this is about the only thing they follow in San
Francisco--as I think it may be said to be their principal pursuit
wherever they go, when they have not the means to set themselves up as
pawn-brokers or note-shavers.
We observe that they have presumptuously usurped or occupied from four
to six feet of the way on either side of the street, by building little
wooden racks and projections in front of their stores, for the purpose
of making a more conspicuous display of their marketable vestments in
dry weather. In any other place than California such unjust
appropriations of the streets of a city would not be tolerated; but
here, where usurpation, illegality and confusion reign supreme, no
attention is paid to it.
It has ever been the misfortune of the Jew to undergo the scorn and
contumely of self-styled Christians, and indeed of all nations. Since
the destruction of his ancient capital by the Romans, he has been an
outcast in the world, the standing butt of the Gentile’s scoffs.
California is no exception to this general rule. But little respect is
shown him there; and he is continually jeered by having applied to him
such annoying epithets as Christ-killer, ham-hater and anti-pork-eater.
But few of them have signs over their doors, as most men have who
transact business upon their honor and reputation. Some of them buy and
sell under assumed names; but in general their business is anonymously
conducted. Bidding adieu to the cosmopolitan issue of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob, and leaving them in the peaceable possession and enjoyment of
their “too or tree towsand monnies,” we will take a glance at matters of
more importance.
Higher up the street we come to a better class of buildings than the
miserable little shops we have just left, and we get a fair view of the
permanent and attractive architecture of San Francisco--the brick and
stone structures. Many of these buildings are beautifully designed and
symmetrically proportioned, and have fire-proof walls varying from
sixteen to twenty-four inches in thickness. They are usually from two to
four stories in height. One hotel is five stories high, being the
tallest house in the State.
Probably no city in this country can boast of buildings so substantial
and thoroughly fire-proof as those of San Francisco. Besides making the
walls very thick, every care is taken to have the doors, window-shutters
and roofs equally stout and incombustible; nor is this precaution at all
surprising, when it is remembered that this city alone has lost more
than twenty-five millions of dollars by fire.
Owing to the unusual dryness of the weather, the prevalence of winds in
summer, and the inadequate supply of water possessed by the city, all
combustible matter is rendered so inflammable that it is quite
impossible to keep it from burning after fire is once communicated;
hence the necessity of using brick and stone instead of wood. The amount
of money invested in this durable kind of improvement, as will be seen
by reference to the following statistics which I borrow from the Herald,
is something over thirteen and a half millions of dollars--the number of
buildings being six hundred and thirty-eight:
No. of buildings. Value.
Mason street 4 $ 35,000
Powell street 13 156,500
Stockton street 35 423,500
Dupont street 37 450,000
Kearny street 23 535,000
Montgomery street 55 3,500,000
Sansome street 46 1,036,000
Battery street 63 1,106,000
Front street 39 612,000
Davis street 3 85,000
Geary street 2 16,000
Sutter street 3 30,000
Bush street 5 144,000
Pine street 9 144,500
California street 47 1,230,750
Sacramento street 52 778,000
Commercial street 21 462,000
Clay street 28 593,000
Merchant street 15 348,500
Washington street 37 608,500
Jackson street 19 308,000
Pacific street 7 107,000
Broadway 10 145,000
Vallejo street 3 36,000
Green street 2 16,000
Union street 6 92,000
Greenwich street 3 35,000
Lombard street 2 12,000
Chestnut street 2 20,000
Francisco street 1 36,000
Market street 2 40,000
First street 5 76,000
Brannan street 10 50,000
Third street 4 44,500
Miscellaneous 55 307,000
--- -----------
Total 638 $13,618,750
It is a remarkable fact, however, that less than half of these
improvements have been made with California gold. Ask the proprietors
where they got the money which they have expended in the erection of
these buildings, and they will tell you it came from the Atlantic States
and from Europe. Those who occupy them, the merchants and business men
from New York, London, Paris, Hamburg, Bremen, and other places, will
testify to this fact. California gold is to the world much what Southern
cotton is to the North; it is not retained at home to supply the wants
of the people, to afford them employment, to enrich or embellish the
country, but is passed into distant hands, and afterwards brought back
at a premium. Thus the producers are continually drained, and the
commonwealth necessarily impoverished by this unthrifty management.
These buildings are erected upon the most eligible and convenient sites,
and form what is properly termed the business portion of the
city--covering, probably, about one-sixth of its superficies. Almost
all of the residences or private dwellings are built of wood, and are
very frail and inelegant. It is the intention, however, of a large
number of the citizens to take down the wood and substitute brick or
stone, as soon as they get able, if that is ever to be the case.
To acquaint ourselves with the character of the speculators and business
men in San Francisco would be a curious and interesting task. They are
certainly the shrewdest rascals in the world, and a straight-forward,
honest man, who acts upon principle and adheres to a legitimate system
of dealing, can no more cope with them than he can fly. But
notwithstanding their shrewdness, and I might say, in some instances,
their excellent business qualifications, they exhibit less method and
system in their transactions than any class of traders I ever saw.
Whatever they do is done in a helter-skelter, topsy-turvy sort of way,
as if they had just fallen out of their element, and were scrambling to
get back again. They never take time to do a thing well, but are always
going and coming, or bustling about in such a manner, that one would
suppose they were making preparations for some calamitous emergency,
rather than attending to the every day routine of an established
occupation.
This restless disposition is characteristic of the inhabitants of every
part of the State; the mind seems all the time to be intently engaged
upon something in another place, and the body is always pushing forward
to overtake it.
Pursuing this digression a little further, it may be remarked of San
Francisco that, although she is indebted to California for her
existence, she is no longer dependent upon the State for her support.
San Francisco can now claim to be as much the city of the Pacific, or of
the world, as of California. The commercial advantages she enjoys, her
inviting harbor and central position, are far superior in importance to
any benefit she is likely to receive from the interior. The profits she
will gain from the whale-fishing fleet of the North Pacific, and from
her trade with the islands of the South Pacific, with China, Oregon and
Russian America, will place her in a more prominent and enviable
position than it is possible for the State ever to attain.
Returning to our subject, we find ourselves as far advanced on our way
as Montgomery street. The course of this street lies north and south
through the middle of the most beautiful and wealthy part of the city;
it is, therefore, both the Broadway and the Wall street of San
Francisco. Every phase and trait of life and character is cognizable
here. The dramatist who would study human nature here, would have an
opportunity of striking out something new, instead of repeating the old
creations of his predecessors, for surely never was there so varied a
page spread out before the eyes of man.
While in this vicinity, we may observe men, who in the Atlantic States
bore unblemished reputations for probity and honor, sinking into the
lowest depths of shame and degradation. Others, whose moral characters
are unobjectionable, have been pecuniarily unfortunate, and are driven
to the necessity of engaging in the most menial and humiliating
employments. Among the latter class, I might mention lawyers, who, to
save themselves from the severe pangs of actual want, have been
compelled to fish around the wharves for crabs, and to enlist themselves
in the petty traffic of shrimps and tomcods. Ministers and physicians
fare no better. In a certain hotel in this city, not long since, a
lawyer was employed as a regular runner; in another, adjacent to it, a
physician was engaged to pare potatoes and wash dishes; while in a
neighboring restaurant, a preacher was hired to wait upon the customers
and clean off the tables. Now, does not every reasonable man know that
these professional men did not voluntarily follow these inferior
pursuits? It was not a matter of choice with them. They could not help
themselves; they were out of money, out of employment, destitute of
friends, and were compelled to take advantage of the first opportunity
that offered of earning their daily bread. Half the lowest and most
servile situations or offices in this and other cities in the State are
filled, often without any other remuneration, than board and lodging,
by these unlucky and depressed adventurers.
New as the country is, the dandy, that exquisite flower of a finished
civilization, is not unknown. He may be seen at any time sunning his
external splendor on the side-walk, and scorning his more useful
cotemporaries as loftily as though, he were promenading Broadway or the
Champs Elysees.
Together with bankers, stock-jobbers, and other moneyed men, we observe
that the students or disciples of Blackstone, Coke and Story have
selected this street for their offices. Considering the heterogeneous
composition of society in this country, the loose and unsystematic
transactions of every-day business, and the unsettled state of public
affairs, it will be readily perceived that there is an incessant
clashing of feeling and interest, and that the result is a great deal of
strife and litigation. Disputes and difficulties relative to real
property, and spurious or imaginary claims, keep the court dockets
continually crowded; and the lawyers have rich and abundant
opportunities for the exercise of their forensic abilities.
For the first two or three years after the settlement of California by
the Americans, all attempts to organize or establish the civil law
proved fruitless; and during this anarchical period no redress could be
had, except by an appeal to lynch-law, in which case death was sure to
be the fate of the criminal. Then the country had no practitioners of
law, except those whose talents ranked far below mediocrity; but now the
San Francisco bar can boast of some of the most profound and eminent
jurists in the Union. It is probable that they have been more fortunate
in accumulating wealth, than any other class of men. Much of their
business has been of such a nature that they could mould it almost
exclusively to their own interest, provided they felt inclined to take
such an advantage of their clients; and every body knows it would be a
very unlawful thing in a lawyer to neglect himself. They are the largest
owners of real estate in the city, and there is no species of property
that yields so great a profit as this, if properly managed.
Land titles are now as much contested as they ever were, there being in
some instances as many as half a dozen claimants to a single lot. The
squatters cause most of these troubles. Generally poor, and homeless,
they settle upon any vacant or unoccupied piece of ground that suits
them; and as there is a numerous body linked together for mutual support
and protection, it is an extremely difficult matter for the
half-sustained civil authorities to remove them. If the law were
sufficiently forcible--if there were any such thing in California as
sovereign law, these intruders would be brought to justice, and instead
of the broils and butchery now so common all over the country, peace,
safety and good order would exist. But as it is, no dependence can be
placed upon the administration of justice; and unless a man takes the
law in his own hands, and defends his person and property _vi et armis_,
he must tamely submit to whatever injury or indignity is offered him.
Sometimes several squatters settle indiscriminately upon a single claim;
and in these cases, feuds, animosities and contentions are sure to
follow; but the difficulties are soon arranged by a recourse to weapons,
it being generally conceded that he is the rightful owner or claimant,
who happens to possess the largest bowie-knife and the truest aim with
rifle or revolver.
The grog-shops or tippling-houses constitute the last but not the least
prominent feature of Montgomery street that we will notice at the
present time. The devil has certainly met with more than usual success
in establishing so many of these, his recruiting officers, in this
region; for we cannot visit any part of the state or city without
finding them always at our elbow. San Francisco might allot one to every
street corner in the city, or in other words, four to every intersection
of the streets, and still her number would not be exhausted. It is
astonishing what an amount of time, labor and money is misspent in this
nefarious traffic. Out of the two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants
in California, from twelve to fifteen thousand are exclusively engaged
in this diabolical, but lucrative business; and, what is worse than all,
nearly one-fourth of the bars are attended by young females, of the most
dissolute and abandoned character, who use every device to entice and
mislead the youthful and unsuspecting. Women being somewhat of a novelty
here, their saloons are always thronged with customers, many being
induced to patronize them merely for the sake of looking at them. What a
base prostitution of their destiny and mission! Woman has come here, not
only to pander to man’s vitiated appetites, but also to create and
foster in him unholier desires, and, if possible, to lead him further
astray than he would have gone without her.
Lest we should fall in love with one of these sirens, we will not go
near them, but will enter one of the saloons kept by a biped of our own
sex. Across the street is a large and fashionable one, called the Blue
Wing,
“Where politicians most do congregate,
To let their tongues tang arguments of State.”
Adding ourselves to the number of its inmates, we find the governor of
the State seated by a table, surrounded by judges of the supreme and
superior courts, sipping sherry cobblers, smoking segars, and reveling
in all the delights of an anticipated debauch. Another group of less
distinction in public affairs, but better known to the proprietor
because of their more frequent and protracted visits, occupy a second
table in the back part of the room, where they are playing cards and
carousing over a general assortment of distilled, fermented and malt
liquors. The proprietor himself is a red-nosed, jolly fellow, of
burgomaster proportions, generally in a good humor, who treats his
victim-patrons with the utmost courtesy and politeness. He is every
man’s man, and always has a smile and a smart saying prepared for the
entertainment of the bystanders. His two clerks, for he is unable to
wait upon all his customers himself, are equally urbane in their
deportment, and may be found at their posts from six o’clock in the
morning till twelve o’clock at night, ready to flavor and tincture mixed
drinks, to prepare hot punches, and to deal out low anecdote to vulgar
idlers. On the shelves and counters are dozens of labeled decanters and
bottles, filled with the choicest liquors and artificial beverages that
the world produces; other articles of similar use and value are also
kept for sale, and stored away in their appropriate places. As a minute
survey of the bill of fare may not be uninteresting, I herewith present
it:--
BILL OF FARE OF A CALIFORNIA GROGGERY.
Bowie Knives and Pistols.
Scotch Ale,
English Porter,
American Brandy,
Irish Whiskey,
Holland Gin,
Jamaica Rum,
French Claret,
Spanish Sack,
German Hockamore,
Persian Sherbet,
Portuguese Port,
Brazilian Arrack,
Swiss Absynthe,
East India Acids,
Spirit Stews and Toddies,
Lager Beer,
New Cider,
Soda Waters,
Mineral Drinks,
Ginger Pop,
Usquebaugh,
Sangaree,
Perkin,
Mead,
Metheglin,
Eggnog,
Capilliare,
Kirschwassen,
Cognac,
Rhenish Wine,
Sauterne,
Malaga,
Muscatel,
Burgundy,
Haut Bersæ,
Champagne,
Maraschino,
Tafia,
Negus,
Tog,
Shambro,
Fisca,
Virginia,
Knickerbocker,
Snifter,
Exchange,
Poker,
Agent,
Floater,
I O U,
Smasher,
Curacoa,
Ratafia,
Tokay,
Calcavalla,
Alcohol,
Cordials,
Syrups,
Stingo,
Hot Grog,
Mint Juleps,
Gin Sling,
Brick Tops,
Sherry Cobblers,
Queen Charlottes,
Mountaineers,
Brandy Smashes,
Whiskey Punch,
Cherry Bounce,
Shamperone,
Drizzles,
Our Own,
Red Light,
Hairs,
Horns,
Whistler,
White Lion,
Settler,
Peach and Honey,
Whiskey Skin,
Old Sea Dog,
Peg and Whistle,
Eye Opener,
Apple Dam,
Flip Flap,
One-eyed Joe,
Cooler,
Cocktails,
Tom and Jerry,
Moral Suasion,
Jewett’s Fancy,
Ne Plus Ultra,
Citronella Jam,
Silver Spout,
Veto,
Deacon,
Ching Ching,
Sergeant,
Stone Wall,
Rooster Tail,
Vox Populi,
Tug and Try,
Segars and Tobacco.
The annual consumption of beer, wines and liquors in this State exceeds
five millions of gallons, a vast deal of which is retailed at
extraordinarily remunerative rates. All of the first class
establishments, I mean those that deal in good qualities, charge
twenty-five cents for every drink or dram they sell; but an adulterated
article, of which there is always an abundant supply in market, can be
procured at about one half that price. In some of the most popular and
respectable saloons, genuine articles are always kept on hand for the
benefit and accommodation of those who are willing to pay for a
delicious (?) draught. I may not be a competent judge, but this much I
will say, that I have seen purer liquors, better segars, finer tobacco,
truer guns and pistols, larger dirks and bowie knives, and prettier
courtezans here, than in any other place I have ever visited; and it is
my unbiased opinion that California can and does furnish the best bad
things that are obtainable in America.
CHAPTER V.
SAN FRANCISCO--CONTINUED.
We will now look into Clay street, which intersects Montgomery, and runs
parallel with Commercial. Next to Montgomery, this is the most
fashionable street in the city; the large establishments where retailers
deal in ladies’ and gentlemen’s dress goods being situated upon it. The
side-walks are narrow, and generally crowded to such an excess as to
render it really difficult and tiresome to travel them. To the ladies,
shopping on this street is especially annoying and tedious; for they are
designedly balked or hindered in their course by a set of well-dressed
vagabonds, who promenade the _trestoir_ from morning to night for the
sole purpose of staring in their faces.
The following little circumstance, which occurred here about a year ago,
will show that, however culpable it may be in those who make a regular
business of gazing intently in ladies’ faces, the act is sometimes
induced by a natural and inoffensive regard for the opposite sex. A very
clever married lady, whose notions and ideas of things were somewhat
akin to those of the Merry Wives of Windsor, espied a gentleman gazing
very earnestly in her face, when she turned to him, notwithstanding they
were both on the street, and asked, “Why do you stare at me so hard,
sir? Have I done you any injury?” “Oh! no, madam,” replied he; “I assure
you you have not harmed me in the least. But pardon me; I have been in
the mines for the last two years, and it has been so long since I saw a
lady, that I must own my admiration of you has compelled me to be
somewhat rude in my scrutiny of your charms.” The lady was satisfied
with the complimentary explanation, and since that time has been more
resigned to her fate, and better contented to endure the steady stare of
the public.
The gambling-houses cannot be overlooked in a true sketch of life in San
Francisco. One of the largest and most frequented of these, called the
Diana, stands a few doors above us. The building extends, through the
entire block, from Clay to Commercial street, and has a front
proportionate to its depth. The doors, which lead into it from either
street, are kept wide open from nine in the morning till twelve at
night, during which time the hall or saloon is generally filled to
overflowing with lazy men, of little principle, whose chief employment
consists in devising some sinister plans of procuring a livelihood
without work. On one side is a bar, attended by a _lady_, assisted by
three young white men and two negroes. This is largely patronized by the
occupants of the saloon--one-fifth of them drinking because they have
been lucky, and the other four-fifths drinking because they have been
unlucky. Around the walls are suspended showy paintings and engravings,
some of them of the size of life, representing nude women in every
imaginable posture of obscenity and indecency.
Seated around numerous tables, covered with cloth or velvet, and
finished expressly for gambling purposes, are some rare specimens of
greedy speculators in the folly of their fellow-men. The proprietor of
the house rents his tables to professional gamblers at a stipulated sum
per month, with the condition that he is to receive a certain per
centage on the net proceeds of their swindling operations. Usually, two
gamblers form a copartnership, hire one table, and station themselves
opposite each other, so that each can understand every manœuvre and
secret sign of the other; and when a good opportunity for cheating or
defrauding presents itself to one of them, the other is always prepared
to divert the attention of the audience or of the interested party from
his partner’s motions. Every possible variety of gaming that can be
accomplished by cards and dice is practiced here; and every false and
dishonest trick is resorted to (often with more than anticipated
success) to fleece ignorant men of their purses. Lying on the top of
each table is a pile of gold and silver coin, denominated the bank, the
size and amount of which, as a matter of course, depend altogether upon
the wealth of the proprietors. I have said “the bank” is composed of
gold and silver coin; it must be one or other, or both of these metals
in some shape--whether in dust, ingots, bullion, or coin; for these
constitute the sole recognized currency of the State, there being no
paper money or bank-notes in circulation.
At one of the tables we observe two proprietors, as before described.
One of them is a lank, cadaverous fellow, with a repulsive expression of
low cunning, full of hypocrisy and deceit, taciturn in disposition,
unengaging in manners, who was formerly a Baptist preacher in
Connecticut. The other has a vinous, fat, and jolly countenance, is
open-faced, enjoys a joke, is lively, laughs at his partner for being so
melancholy, is affable and courteous to strangers, talks a great deal,
as might be expected, since, before he came to California, he was
considered one of the most promising young lawyers in Mississippi.
The proprietors of another table are two old gentlemen of “three score
years and ten,” whose white hairs and wrinkled brows would seem to
belong to a more honorable station in life than that assigned them by
destiny. A third table is used by a couple of Spaniards, whose scowling
brows and treacherous eyes indicate that they are better qualified for
the transaction of infamous and atrocious deeds, than for fair dealing
or magnanimous behaviour. A Jew and Jewess have command of the fourth
table; the fifth is under the direction and management of a French
_gentleman_ and _lady_; a young American girl and her paramour have
charge of the sixth; while the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and so on,
are presided over by sundry sorts of wicked spirits, unworthy of being
named. Octogenarians, youthful and middle-aged men, married and
unmarried women, boys and girls, white and black, brown and
copper-colored, the quarrelsome and the peaceable, all associate
together; and, at times, as might be expected, fight, maim, and kill
each other with the same indifference with which people generally pursue
their daily occupations.
I neglected to mention before, that, in some conspicuous point of the
principal houses of this character, there is generally erected a stage
or platform, upon which a company of musicians perform at intervals of a
quarter of an hour. This they are employed to do for the purpose of
enticing unsuspecting strangers and passers-by.
Like those engaged in the liquor traffic, these gamblers are a public
nuisance, a burden upon society. They do no sort of profitable manual or
mental labor; yet the community grants them a license to abuse the
public, and to debase themselves. Their occupation being a
discreditable and dishonorable one, it robs them of that degree of
happiness and respectability which naturally belongs to every
industrious and upright man. Like a deadly contagion, they blast and
destroy all with whom they come in contact.
Thousands of these swindlers live by their expertness in gambling and
tricks of legerdemain. Dissipated, reckless, and restless, they rove
from place to place, rarely acquiring decent habits or becoming
permanent citizens. They are, nevertheless, great lovers and admirers of
women; and most of them make it a special branch of their business to
cultivate a due share of female acquaintance. But we will now bid adieu
to the blacklegs, and return again to the street, merely stopping a
minute or two, as we pass out, to listen to the enchanting strains of
“Katy Darling,” or “Lilly Dale,” played by the brass band in attendance.
What is here called the plaza, or park, which occupies one square
between Washington, Clay, Kearney and Brenham streets, now lies before
us; but as it is nothing more nor less than a cow-pen, inclosed with
unplaned plank, we will say but little about it. In the middle is
planted a tall liberty-poll, near which is erected a rude rostrum for
lynch-lawyers and noisy politicians. If there is a tree, or a bush, or a
shrub, or a sprig of grass, or any thing else in or about it that is
green, or that bears the slightest similitude to vegetation, nobody has
ever yet seen it; and, as a pleasure-ground, it is used only by the
four-footed denizens of the city. On the east side of this delectable
public square is the California Exchange, before the steps of which are
stationed from fifteen to twenty French peasants, who pursue no business
save that of blacking boots. Most of them have acquired or adopted this
ornamental occupation since they left La Belle France.
A few doors above the Exchange stands the City Hall, which was formerly
the Jenny Lind Theatre--a very neat stone structure, but wholly unsuited
for the purpose to which it is now applied. The parties who built it for
a theatre soon ascertained that it was a bad speculation, and became
considerably involved in debt; and, to save themselves, and make the
best of a bad bargain, they bribed a majority of the aldermen to
purchase it for a City Hall, at several thousand dollars above the
original cost.