['cl.'>K} mm B(v6 , b.. 1 CO CO GC GEN. MARIANO GUADALUPE VALLEJO, OXE OF CALIFOENIa's DISTINGUISHED SONS, IN WHOM TMK INTERESTS OF FREEDOM, HUMANITY, AND EDUCATION HAVE FOUND AN ABLE ADVOCATE AND MTNIFICENT BENEFACTOR, ^l)is llolume IS ATOST RESrECTFULLY DEDICATED BY HIS FRIEND THE AUTHOR. 25938G PREFACE. JMany events of moment occurred in California during mj' residence of three years in that country, and which were sketched in a journal kept by me at the time. They are interspersed with anecdotes and incidents of a less general concern, but which may not be without some interest with the reader, as affording a clue to the leading features of society, and traits of individual character. The circle of engaging objects in a community, just emerging into the refinements of civilization, is never broad ; but every phase in the great change going on possesses an in- tense individuality, and leaves its inefiaceable impression, like a ship sweeping a solitary sea, or a bird scaling a sunset cloud. California will be no more what she has been : the events of a few years have carried her through the progressive changes of a century. She has sprung at once from the shackles of colonial servitude to all the advantages and dignities of a sovereign state. Her emigrants are rushing from every continent and isle ; they crest every mountain, they cover every sea ; they sweep in like a cloud from the Pacific, they roll down like a torrent from the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. They crowd to her bosom to gather gold ; their hammers and drills, their mattocks and spades divert the deep stream, and are echoed from a thousand caverned hills ; the level plain, the soaring cliff and wombed mountain, give up their glowing treasures. But the gifts of nature here are not confined to her sparkling sands and veined rocks, they extend to the productive forces of her soil ; they lie along her water-courses, through her verdant valleys, and wave in her golden grain ; they reel in her vintage, they blush in her fruits, while her soft zephyrs, as they float the landscape, scatter per- fume from their odorous wings. But with all these gifts disease is here with its pale victims, and sorrow with its willow-Vvfove shrine. There is no land le.^3 b PREFACE. relieved by the smiles and soothing cares of woman. If Eden with its ambrosial fruits and guiltless joys was still sad till the voice of woman mingled with its melodies, California, with all her treasured hills and streams, must be cheerless till she feels the presence of the same enchantress. It is woman alone that can make a home for the human heart, and evoke from the re- cesses of nature the bright and beautiful : where her footsteps light, the freshest flowers spring; where her voice swells, the softest echoes wake : her smiles garland the domestic hearth ; her sympathy melts through the deepest folds of grief; her love clothes tlie earth with light. When night invests the heaven, when tlie soft pleiads in their storm-rocked cradle sleep, and tlie sentinel stars on their watch-towers wane dim, her vigil Hame still pours its faithful beam, still struggles with the encroaching darkness till the day-spring and the shadows flee away. Of all these sources of solace and hope multitudes in California are now bereft; but the ties of kindred, the qniek-winged sJiip, and the steed of ilame, on his iron-paved track, will soon secure tliem these priceless gifts. The miner, returning from his toil, will yet half forget the labors of the day in the greetings of his home : '■ At lentctli liis lonoly cot appears in view, Beneatli the slieller of au aged tree ; Til' expectant wee t/iing^s, toddlin', stacher tliro' To meet their dad, wi' flichterin noise an' glee. IJis wee bit ingle, blinkin' bonnily. Ills clean hearth-stane, his thriflie wifir's smile. The lisping infant prattling on his knee, Docs a' his weary carkiiig cares beguile, An' makes him quite forget his labor an' liis toil." Philadelphia, July, 1850. VV. C. CONTENTS. Page CHAPTER I.— The fliig.— Meeting of citizens.— Disposition of forces.— Col. Fremont's band. — Alcalde of Monterey. — Indian mother. — Military leaders. — y A California farm 13 CHAPTER H. — Fecundity of the Califomians. — First intelligenceof the war. — Wild Indians on board ship. — The chief. — First newspaper published in Cali- fornia. — Raising the materials. — The rival suitors. — Flight of Gen. Castro. — A Californian on horseback 27 CHAPTER III.— A thief obeying orders. — Game.— No penitentiary system. — The California cart on a gala- day. — The runaway daughter. — Faith of the In- dians. — Return from the war.-^Iyrst trial by jury. — Indian and his squaw on the hunt. — Whales in the bay. — The two gamblers. — Ladies on horsel)ack. — MeiTiment in death. — The Englishman and his mistress 39 CHAPTER IV.— Funeral ceremonies.— Elected alcalde.— Flight of Gen. Cas- tro. — Los Angeles taken. — Oven-bath. — Grog in a chimney. — The flea. — First rain. — Rising of the Califomians. — Measures of Com. Stockton. — Mormons . 54 \ CHAPTER V. — Fire on the mountains. — Emigrants. — Pistols and pillows. — Leaders of the insurrection. — California plough. — Defeat at San Pedro. — Col. Fremont's band. — The Malek Adhel. — Monterey threatened. — Soldier out- wilted. — Raising men. — Bridegroom. — Culprits 72 CHAPTER VI.— Santa Barbara taken.— Lieut. Talbot and bis ten.— Gambling in prison. — Recruits. — A funny culprit. — Movements of Com. Stockton. — Beauty and the gi-ave. — Battle on the Salinas. — The captain's daughter. — Stolen pistols. — Indian behind a tree. — Nuptials in California 89 CHAPTER VII. — San Josi' gai'risoned. — A California rain. — Escape of convicts. \, — Shooting Edwai'ds. — Two washerwomen. — Death of Mr. Sargent. — Indian hens. — Hunting curlew. — The California horse. — An old emigrant. — The grizzly bear 106 CHAPTER VIII.— Little Adelaida.— Col. Fremont's battalion.— Santiago in love. —Sentiments of an old Californian. — The prize Julia. — Fandango. — Winter / climate — Patron Saint of California. — Habits of the natives. — Insurrection in the north. — Drama in a church. — Position of Com. Stockton 121 K 8 CONTENTS. Page CHAPTER IX.— Day of the Pantos Innocentes.— Letting off a lake.— Arrivul of the Dale with home letters. — The dead year. — Newly-arrived emigrants. — Egg-breaking festivities. — Concealment of Chaves. — Plot to capture the al- calde 134 CHAPTER X.— Destruction of dogs.— The wash-tub mail.— The surrender in the north. — Robbing the Californians. — Death-scene in a shanty. — The men who took up arms. — Arrival of the Independence. — Destitution of our troops. — Captiu-e of los Angeles 149 CHAPTER XI. — Arrival of the Lexington. — The march to los Angeles, and battle of San Gabriel. — The capitulation.— MiliUiry characteristics of the Cali- fornians. — Barricades down 163 CHAPTER XH.— Return of T. O. Larkin.— The tall partner in the Califomian. — Me.\ican officers. — Tlie Cyane. — War mementoes. — Drama of Adam and Eve. — Carnival. — Birth-day of Washington. — ."V California captain.-=»\ppli- cation for a divorce. — Arrival of the Columbus 173 CILVPTER XIII. — The people of Monterey. — The guitar and runaway wife. — Mother ordered to flo!; her son. — Work of the prisoners. — Cat<;hing sailors. — Court of Adrnirally. — Gamblers caught and fined. — Lifting land bounda- ries 189 CHAPTER XIV. — A convict who would not work.-=*t,awyers at Monterey. — Who conquered California.— Ride to a ranclio.— Leopaldo. — Party of Cali- fornians. — A dash into the forests. — Chasing a deer. — Killing a bear.— Ladies with firearms. — .\ mother and volunteer 199 CH.\PTER XV.— .\ California pic-nic. — Seventy and seventeen in the dance. — Children in the grove. — A California bear-hunt. — The bear and bull bated. — The Russian's cabbage head 210 CHAPTER XVI.— A Califomian jealous of his wife.— Hospitality of the na- tives. — Honors to Guadalupe. — Application from a Lothario for a divorce. — Capture of Mazatlan. — Larceny of Canton shawls. — An emigrimt's wife claiming to have taken the country. — A wild bullock in Main-street 220 CHAPTER XVII.— Rains in California.— Functions of the alcalde of Monterey. — Orphans in California.— Slip of the gallows rope. — Making a father whip his boy.— A convict as prison cook.— The knacka. — Thorn. Cole. — A man robbing himself. — A blacksmith outwitted 2,30 CHAPTER XVIII.— First discoverj' of gold.— Prison guard.— Incredulity about the gold. — Santiago getting married. — Another lump of gold. — Efleclsofthe (rold feve r. — The court of an alcidde. — Mosfjuitoes as constables. — Bob and his bag of gold. — Return of citizens from the mines. — A man with the gold cholic. — The mines on individual credit. 242 CHAPTER XIX.— Tour to the gold-mines.— Loss of horses.— First night In the woods. — Arrival at San Juan. — Under way. — Camping out. — Bark of the CONTENTS. 9 Page wolves.— Watch-fires. — San Jos(^ . — A fresh start. — Campina; on the slope of a hill. — Wild features of the country. — Valley of the San Joaquin. — Band of wild horses 257 CHAPTER XX, — The grave of a gold-hunter. — Mountain spiu-s. — A company of Sonoriinians. — A night alarm. — First view of the mines. — Character of the deposits. — A woman and her pan. — Removal to other mines. — Wild In- dians and their weapons. — Cost of provisions. — A plunge into a gold river. — Machines used by the gold-diggers 2G9 CHAPTER XXI. — Lump of gold lost. — Indians at their game of arrows. — Camp of the gold-huntei-s. — A Sonoranian gold-digger. — Sabbath in the mines. — The giant Welchman. — Nature of gold deposits. — Average per man. — New discoveries 282 ^ CHAPTER XXII. — Visit to the Sonoranian camp. — Festivities and gambling. — The doctor and teamster.-^4n alcalde turned cook. — The miner's tattoo.— The little Dutchman.— New deposits discovered. — A woman keeping a monte table. — Up to the knee and nine-pence. — The volcanoes and gold. — Arrival of a barrel of rum 295 CHAPTER XXIII.— Natural amphitheatre.— No scientific clue to the deposits of gold. — Soil of the mines. — Life among the gold-diggers. — Loss of our caballada. — The old man and rock. — Departure from the mines. — Travelling among gorges and pinnacles. — Instincts of the mule. — A mountain cabin 309 CHAPTER XXIV.— A lady in the mountains.— Town of Stockton.— Crossing the valley of the San Joaquin. — The robbed father and boy. — Ride to San Jos6. — Rum in California. — Highwayman. — Woodland life. — Rachel at the well. — Farewell to my camping-tree 324 . CH.\PTER XXV. — Cause of sickness in the mines. — The quicksilver mines. — Heat and cold in the mines. — Traits in the Spanish character. — Health of California ladies. — A word to mothers. — The pingiass and blackbird. — The Redwood-tree. — Battle of the eggs 339 , CHAPTER XXVI.— The public domain.— Sceneiy around Monterey.— Vine- j'ards of los Angeles. — Beauty of San Diego. — The culprit hall. — The rush for gold.-^and titles. — The Indian doctress. — Tufted pai-tridge. — Death of Com. Biddle 351 CHAPTER XXVII.— The gold region.— Its locality, nature, and extent.— For- eigners in the mines. — The Indians' discovery of gold. — Agricultural c.npa- bilities of California.— Services of United States officers. — First decisive ..^ movement for the organization of a civil government. — Intelligence of the death of Gen. Kearny 365 CHAPTER XXVIII.— Ride of Col. Fremont from los Angeles to Monterey and back. — Character of the country. — The rincon. — Skeletons of dead horses. — A stampede. — Gray bears. — The return. — The two horses rode by Col. Fre- mont. — An experiment. — The result. — Characteristics of the California horse. 10 CONTENTS, Pago — Fossil remains.— The two classes of emigrants. — Life in California. — Heads against tails 377 CHAPTER XXIX.— The tragedy at S.-m Miguel .-^Court and culprits.— Age and circumstances of those who should come to California.-M^ondition of the professions.~The wrongs of California.— Claims on the Christian commimi- ty. — Journalists 39J CHAPTER XXX.— The gold-bearing quartz.— Thoir locality.— Richness and extent. — The suitable machinery to be used in the mountains.— The court of admiralty at Monterey. — lis organization and jurisdiction. — The cases deter- mined.— Sale of the prizes.— Convention and Constitution of California.— Difficulties and compromises. — Spirit of the instrument 403 CHAPTER XXXI.— Glances at towns sprung and springing.— San Francisco. — Benicia.— Sacramento City.— Sutter. — Vernon.— Boston.— Stockton.— New York. — Alvezo.— Stanislaus. — Sonora. — Crescent City. — Trinidad 414 CHAPTER XXXII.— Brief notices of persons, whose portraits embellish this volume, and who are prominently connected with California affairs 425 CHAPTER XXXIII.— The mission establishments in California.— TTieir origin, objects, localities, lands, revenues, overthrow. — California Railroad 439 LIST OF PORTRAITS, Captain Joun A. Suttee, TuoMAs 0. Laukin, Esq. Hon. J. C. Fremont. Hon. Wm. M. Gwin, Hon. G. W. Wright. Jacob R, Snyder, Esq. THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. CHAPTER I. THE FLAG. MEETING OF CITIZENS. — DISPOSITION OF FORCES. — COL. FRE- MONt's B.\.ND. ALCALDE OF MONTEREY. INDIAN MOTHER. MILITARY LEADERS. A CALIFORNIA FARM. A FEW words will place within the clear compre- hension of the reader, the posture of public affairs in California at the time my journal opens. The U. S. flag was raised at Monterey and San Francisco on the 10th of July, 1846. This event was wholly unexpected by the Californians, and struck the pub- lic heart with the deepest surprise ; other causes of alarm and apprehension faded into shadow in the presence of this decisive measure ; they were the ad- monitory vibrations, but here was the earthquake it- self. The people were more astounded than indig- nant, and quite as intent over problems of preserva- tion as measures of resistance. At a public meeting held at Monterey, in which the patriotism, talents, and sagacity of the country were largely represented, the question of throwing the territory under the protection of England, through 2 14 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. the naval forces commanded by Admiral Seymour, who was on the coast at the time, w^as excitingly dis- cussed. But this proposition received its quietus un- der the successful railery of Don Raphael, of Mon- terey. " Our object," said this witty counsellor, " is to preserve our country ; but she is gone, — California is lost to us : and this proposal to invoke the protec- tion of England, is only to seek another owner. The redress is worthy of the market-woman : a dog had robbed her hamper of a leg of mutton, and she sent another dog more powerful after him to get it away ; when asked what good that would do her, she replied, it would be some satisfaction to see iha first dog de- prived of the stolen leg. And so it is with us ; the mutton is gone, and a choice of the dog only remains : others may prefer the bull-dog, but I prefer the regu- lar hound ; he has outstripped the other in the chase, and so let him have the game." The convention broke up without adopting any decisive measures ; leaving each one to act as his impulses or convictions of duty suggested. The military forces of the country were at this time under the command of Gen. Jose Castro, an officer of high pretensions, but utterly deficient in strength and steadiness of purpose, and that copacity which can work out important results with slender and inapposite means. His followers had gathered to him with as little discipline, sobriety, and order, as would characterize a bear-hunt. Tiieir prime im- fHilse lay in the excitement which the camp present- THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 15 ed. It was the same thing to them whether their weapon was a rifle or a guitar, — whether they were going to a skirmish or a fandango. With six or eight hundred of these waltzing warriors Gen. Castro was now on his march into the southern department, with the evident purpose of taking up his position near the Pueblo de los Angeles. Such was the posture of aflTairs when Com. Stock- ton resolved to rest in no half-way measures. The wave had been set in motion and must roll on, or its returning force might sweep him and his tem- porary garrisons into the Pacific. And yet aggres- sive measures in the present condition of the squad- ron seemed to border on rashness. The Portsmouth, under Commander Montgomery, must be left at San Francisco to garrison the posts occupied by the flag ; the Savannah, commanded by Capt. Mervin, must remain here to hold Monterey ; the Warren, under Commander Hull, was at Mazatlan ; only the Con- gress, Lieut. Livingston commanding, and the Cyane, under Commander Du Pont, remained. With the crews of these, and a hundred and sixty men under Col. Fremont, California was to be conquered and held, and this too in the presence or defeat of a military force that had the entire resources of the country at their command. But a gallant purpose will often achieve what a questioning prudence would relinquish. The mountain torrent, w-ith its impetu- osity, sweeps away the barrier which effectually ob- structs the level stream. ]G THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. Monday, July 27. The bustle of prepnratlon is active in the squadron. Commander Du Pout re- ceived orders last evening to have the Cyane ready for sea in twenty-four hours. She has tripped this afternoon, and is off for San Diego, though it has been given out on shore that she is bound elsewhere, but this is a war stratagem. She has on board Col. Fremont and a hundred and fifty of his riflemen. The wind is fresh, and they are by this time cleverly sea-sick, and lying about the deck in a spirit of resig- nation that would satisfy the non-resistant principles of a Quaker. Two or three resolute old women might tumble the whole of them into the sea. But they will rally before they reach their port, and see that their rifles spring true to their trust. The colonel is a man of small stature, of slender but wiry formation, and with a countenance indica- tive of decision and firmness. This is the fifth time he has crossed the continent in connection with his scientific purposes. His enterprises are full of hard- ship, peril, and the wildest romance. To sleep under the open heaven, and depend on one's rifle for food, is coming about as near the primitive state of the hunter as a civilized man can well get ; and yet this life, in his case, is adorned with the triumphs of sci- ence. The colonel and his band are to land at San Diego, secure horses, and advance upon the position of Gen. Castro, at los Angeles. " War's great events lie so in Fortune's scale, Tliat oft a feather's weight may kick the beam." TllHEE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 17 Tuesday, July 28. Com. Stockton informed me to-day that I had been appointed Alcalde of Mon- terey and its jurisdiction. I had dreamed in the course of my life, as most people have, of the thou- sand things I might become, but it never entered my visions that I should succeed to the dignity of a Spanish alcalde. I much preferred my berth on board the Congress, and that the judicial functions in question should continue to be discharged by the two intelligent gentlemen. Purser R. M. Price and Dr. Edward Gilchrist, upon whom they had been de- volved. But the services of these officers were deemed indispensable to the efficiency of the ships to which they were attached. This left me no alterna- tive ; my trunks were packed, my books boxed, and in an hour I was on shore, a guest in the house of our consul, T. O. Larkin, Esq., whose munificent hospitalities reach every officer of the squadron, and every functionary in the interest of the flag. This is the more appreciated from the fact that there is not a public table or hotel in all California. High and low, rich and poor, are thrown together on the pri- vate liberality of the citizens. Though a quasi war exists, all the amenities and courtesies of life are pre- served ; your person, life, and liberty, are as sacred at the hearth of the Californian as they would be at your own fireside. He will never betray you ; the rights of hospitality, in his generous judgment, re- quire him to peril his own life in defence of yours. He may fight you on the field, but in his famil}^ you 18 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. may dance with his daughters, and he will himself wake the waltzing string. Wednesday, July 29. The sloop-of-war Levant, under Commander Page, sailed to-day, with Com. Sloat on board, for the United States. We gave the commodore a parting salute. He has render- ed the squadron under his command efficient, and preserved harmony among the officers. The expe- diency of his measures in California will be canvassed elsewhere. He acted on the light and intelligence within his reach. If war has been declared, the lau- rel awaits him. The Levant takes home in her my friend, Lieut. T : he has resigned his commission in the navy, and takes orders in the church. He is a pretty good classical scholar, and has made himself familiar with the principles of biblical exegesis. All this has been accomplished during those few leisure hours which the duties of a watch-officer leave one at sea. It is seemingly reversing the order of things for the navy to supply the church with spiritual teachers. But few, however, have left the deck for the pulpit ; a much larger number have reached it from the dia- grams and drills of West Point. Among them are some of our most eloquent and impressive preachers. Of this class is the present Bishop of Ohio. We have all been busy in writing letters home, and shall make up a pretty large mail, filled with ten- der recollections, and overflowing with the California THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 19 news. How the intelligence of our proceedings here will strike our friends and the country at large, is mere matter of conjecture. We are acting, however, not only in view of the alleged collision between the American and Mexican forces on the Rio Grande, but in reference to the anarchy and confusion into which this country has been thrown by a revolution which did not originate with us. Thursday, July 30. To-day I entered on the du- ties of my office as alcalde of Monterey : my jurisdic- tion extends over an immense extent of territory, and over a most heterogeneous population. Almost every nation has, in some emigrant, a representative here — a representative of its peculiar habits, virtues, and vices. Here is the reckless Californian, the half-wild Indian, the roving trapper of the West, the lawless Mexican, the licentious Spaniard, the scolding Eng- lishman, tlie absconding Frenchman, the luckless Irishman, the plodding German, the adventurous Russian, and the discontented Mormon. All have come here with the expectation of finding but little work and less law. Through this discordant mass I am to maintain order, punish crime, and redres's in- juries. Friday, July 31. Nearly all the houses in Mon- terey are of one story, with a corridor. The walls are built of adobes, or sun-baked brick, with tiled roofs. The centre is occupied by a large hall, to 20 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. which the dining-room and sleeping apartments seem mere appurtenances. Every thing is in subordina- tion to the hall, and this is designed and used for dancing. It has a wood floor, and springs nightly to the step of those who are often greeted in the whirl of their amusements, by the risen sun. The dance and a dashing horse are the two objects which over- power all others in interest with the Californians. The fiddle has been silent since our flag went up, from the fact that many of the gentlemen have left to join Gen. Castro. But if they return, though cov- ered with disaster, the fiddle will be called upon to resume its fantastic functions. You might as well attempt to extinguish a love of air in a life-preserver as the dancing propensity in this people. Saturday, Aug. 1. The Congress has sailed to- day, with all her marines and full complement of men, for San Pedro. Com. Stockton intends to land there with a force of some three hundred, march to the Pueblo de los Angeles, capture that im- portant place, and fall upon Gen. Castro, who, it is now understood, has posted himself, with some eight hundred soldiers, in a pass a few miles below. The general will find his southern retreat cut ofl' by Col. Fremont's riflemen and the sailors of the Cyane, his western route obstructed by the Colorado, while the forces of the Congress will bear down upon him from the north. He has seemingly no escape, and must fight or capitulate. But his sagacity, his thorough TFIREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 21 knowledge of the countiy, and his fleet horses, may extricate him. We shall know in a few days ; the interest felt here in the result is most intense. Many mothers have sons and many wives husbands involved in the issue. Sunday, Aug. 2. I officiated to-day on board the Savannah. It is much to the credit of the officers of this ship that though without a chaplain, they have had, during a three years' cruise, their religious ser- vices regularly on the Sabbath. Four of their num- ber, two lieutenants, the surgeon, and master, are professors of religion, and exert a deep influence through their consistent piety. Their Sabbath exer- cise has consisted in reading prayers, selections from the Scriptures, and a brief, pertinent sermon. They have had, also, their Sabbath-school. Such facts as these will win for the navy a larger share of public confidence than the capture of forty barbaric for- tresses. The American people love valor, but they love religion also. They will confer their highest honors only on him who combines them both. Monday, Aug. 3. An Indian woman of good ap- pearance came to our office to-day, stating that she had been for two years past a domestic in a Mexican family near Monterey ; that she had, during this time, lost her husband, and now wished to marry again ; but wished, before she did this, to recover her child, which was forcibly detained in the family in which 22 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. she had served. It appeared that the father of this family had baptized her child, and claimed, according to custom here, a sort of guardianship over it, as well as a right to a portion of its services. I asked her if her child would be kindly treated where it now was : she said she thought so ; but added, she was a mother, and wanted it with her. We told her as she was going to marry again, she had better perhaps leave the child for the present ; and if she found her husband to be a good, indus- trious man, and disposed to furnish her with a com- fortable home, she mio;ht call a^ain at our office, and we would get her child. She went away with that mild look of contentment which is as near a smile as any expression which lights an Indian's face. Tuesday, Aug. 4. The military chieftains, who have successively usurped the government of Califor- nia, have arbitrarily imposed such duties on foreign imports as their avarice or exigency suggested. A few examples will be sufficient to show the spirit and character of these imposts. Unbleached cottons, which cost in the United States six cents the yard, cost here fifty, and shirtings cost seventy-five. Plain knives and forks cost ten dollars the dozen ; coarse cowhide shoes three dollars the pair ; the cheapest tea three dollars the pound ; and a pair of common truck-wheels seventy-five dollars. The duty alone on the coarsest hat, even if made of straw, is three dollars. THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 23 The revenues derived from these enormous imposts have passed into the pockets of a few individuals, who have placed themselves, by violence or fraud, at the head of the government, and have never reached the public in any beneficial form. These exactions, enforced by an irresponsible tyranny, have kept Cali- fornia poor, have crushed all enterprise, and have rolled back the tide of emigration from her soil as the resisting rock the rushing stream. But the barriers are now broken, and broken forever. California is free, — free of Mexican rule and all domestic usurpers. Wednesday, Aug. 5. We have in one apartment of our prison two Californians, confined for having robbed a United States courier, on his way from Monterey to San Francisco, with public dispatches. They have not yet been tried. Yesterday they ap- plied to me for permission to have their guitars. They stated that their situation was very lonely, and they wanted something to cheer it. Their request was complied with ; and last evening, when the streets were still, and the soft moonlight melted through the grates of their prison, their music streamed out upon the quiet air with wonderful sweetness and power. Their voices were in rich harmony with their instruments, and their melodies had a wild and melancholy tone. They were sing- ing, for aught they knew, their own requiem. Thursday, Aug. 6. It sounds strange to an Ameri- 24 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. can, and much more so to an Englishman, to hear CaH- fornians talk of farms. They never speak of acres, or even miles ; they deal only in leagues. A farm of four or five leagues is considered quite small. It is not so large, in the conception of this people, as was the one-acre farm of Horace in the estimation of the Ro- mans. Capt. Sutter's farm, in the valley of the Sac- ramento, is sixty miles long. The Californians speak in the same way of the stock on their farms. Two thousand horses, fifteen thousand head of cattle, and twenty thousand sheep, are only what a thrifty farmer should have, before he thinks of killing or selling. They are to be his productive stock, on which he should not encroach, except in an emergency. Only fancy a farm covering sixty miles in length ! Why, a man would want a railroad through it for his own private use. Get out of the way, ye landlords of England and patroons of Amsterdam, with your bor- oughs and dykes, and give place to the Californian with his sixty mile sweep ! Friday, Aug. 7. The Mormon ship Brooklyn, which we left at Honolulu, has arrived at San Fran- cisco, and her passengers have debarked on the shores of that magnificent bay. They have not yet selected their lands. The natives hold them in great horror. They seem to think cannibalism among the least of their enormities. They consider the term Mormon the most branding epithet that can be ap- plied to a man. A mother complained to me, a few THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 25 days since, that a gentleman in Monterey had struck her son and called him a IMormon. She dwelt with great earnestness on the opprobrious character of the epithet, and appeared to consider its application to her son a higher crime than that of his fist. I told her what sort of people these ^Mormons were ; but it was to her as if I had represented Satan as an angel of light. I lectured the wronar-doer. Saturday, Aug. 8. Capt. Fauntleroy, of the Sa- vannah, and Maj. Snyder, with fifty mounted men under their command, occupy San Juan, which lies inland about thirty miles from Monterey. A report reached them a few days since, that a hundred wild Indians had descended upon the town of San Jose and driven off over two hundred horses. They started immediately with twenty men, well mounted, got upon their trail, and came up with them at a dis- tance of sixty miles. The Indians finding themselves hotly pressed, left their horses and took to the bush, throwing back upon their pursuers the most wild and frantic imprecations. Three or four of their number only were killed. The denseness of the forest and the approach of night rendered further pursuit im- practicable. The horses were all recaptured and brought back to their owners, who received them with acclama- tions of surprise and gratitude. This was the first time, they said, that their property had been rescued from savages by the government, and they run up the 2(5 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. American flag. This prompt interference of Capt. Fauntleroy and Maj. Snyder will do more to win the confidence of the Californians than forty orations de- livered in the most liquid Spanish that ever rolled from a Castilian tonij-ue. There is something in action which the most simple can appreciate, and which the most crafty cannot gainsay. Sunday, Aug. 9. I officiated to-day on board the Savannah. The weather was pleasant, and several gentlemen from the shore attended. There was no service in the Roman Catholic Church, owing to the absence of one of the priests and the infirmities of the other. But when there is service, only a few of the people attend. It is sometimes, however, forced upon them in the shape of penance. When a friend of mine here was married, it w^as necessary that he should confess. The penance imposed on him for his previous negligences and transgressions was, that he should attend church seven Sabbaths. 27 CHAPTER II. FECUNDITY OF THE CALIFORNIAXS. FIRST INTELLIGENCE OF THE WAR. WILD INDIANS ON BOARD SHIP. THE CHIEF. — FIRST NEWSPAPER PUB- LISHED IN CALIFORNI.\. RAISING THE M.VTERIALS. — THE RIVAL SUITORS. FLIGHT OF GEN. CASTRO. A CALIFORNIAN ON HORSEBACK. Monday, Aug. 10. The fecundity of the Califor- nians is remarkable, and must be attributed in no small degree to the effects of the climate. It is no uncommon sight to find from fourteen to eighteen children at the same table, with their mother at their head. There is a lady of some note in Monterey, who is the mother of twenty-two living children. The youngest is at the breast, and must soon, it is said, relinquish his place to a new-comer, who will, in all probability, be allowed only the same brevity of bliss. There is a lady in the department below who has twenty-eight children, all living, in fine health, and who may share the "envied kiss" with others yet to come. What a family — what a wife — what a mother! I have more respect for the shadow of that woman than for the living presence of the mincing being who raises a whole village if she has one child, and then puts it to death with sugar-plums. A woman with one child is like a hen with one chicken ; there is an eternal scratch about nothing. 28 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. Tuesday, Aug. 11. A deserter from Gen. Castro's camp presented himself at my office to-day and gave himself up to the American authorities. He repre- sents the general as in rather a forlorn condition. His troops, it appears, are daily deserting him. His present force is estimated at less than six hundred. He is anxious to fly into Mexico, but is unable to raise a sufficient number of volunteers. The ex- pectation here is, that he will surrender to Com. Stockton. The British brig-of-war Spy anchored in the harbor of Monterey this evening. She is from San Bias, with dispatches for Admiral Seymour. Her officers are perfectly silent as to news from the United States and Mexico. She leaves in a few hours for the Col- lingwood at the Sandwich Islands. She has, un- doubtedly, news of moment, but will not reveal it. Wednesday, Aug. 12. The U. S. ship Warren, under Commander Hull, arrived this afternoon in thirty days from Mazatlan, bringing the eventful in- telligence that war had been declared between the United States and Mexico. The mysterious silence of the officers of the Spy is now explained. But their secrecy has availed them for only twenty-four hours. The war news produced a profound sensation here. The whole population were instantly thrown into groups in the corridors and at the corners of the streets. The hum of voices continued late into the night. It was an extinguisher on the hopes of those THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 29 who had looked to Mexico for aid, or who had chmg to the expectation that the American government would repudiate our possession of California, and order the squadron withdrawn. They now relinquish all idea of a return to their old political connection, and appear resigned to their fate, which seems inevitable. These disappointed families compose but a part of the population ; another portion has become thoroughly wearied with revolutions, and are prepared to counte- nance almost any government that promises stability, Thursday, Aug. 13. The Warren sailed this morning for San Pedro, to convey the war intelli- gence to Com. Stockton. It will throw a new aspect upon his operations in California. Expediency gives place to moral necessity. We have now a double motive for exertion — national honor, which looks at home, and an enlarged philanthropy, which looks here. It is of but little moment what the ultimate action of our government may be in reference to California. It cannot change her destiny. She is severed forever from Mexico. Should our govern- ment attempt to throw her back on that country, she will not stay thrown back. The rebound will carry her further off than ever. She is on a wave which will not ebb till this generation have mouldered in their graves. Friday, Aug. 14. Sixty of a tribe of wild Indians, who live in the mountains, about two hundred miles 3* 30 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. distant, made a descent a few days since upon a farm within thirty miles of Monterey, and carried off a hundred horses. Twenty of the tribe, with the chief, remained behind to secure further booty. Inteih- gence of tliis having reached Capt. Mervin, he dis- patched a mounted force, apprehended them in their ambush, and brought them to Monterey, and deUvered them over to our court for trial. They were as wild a looking set of fellows as ever entered a civil tribunal. The chief was over seven feet high, with an enormous blanket wrapped round him and thrown over the shoulder like a Spanish cloak, which set forth his towering form to the best advantage. His long black hair streamed in dark- ness down to his waist. His features strikingly resembled those of Gen. Jackson. His forehead was high, his eye full of fire, and his mouth betrayed great decision. His step was firm ; his age must have been about fifty. He entered the court with a civil but undaunted air. When asked why he permitted the men of his tribe to steal horses, he replied that the men who took the horses were not properly members of his tribe, that they had recently attached them- selves to him, and now, that he had found them horse-thieves, he should cut them. I could get at no satisfactory evidence that he, or the twenty with him, had actively assisted those who took off the horses. I delivered them over to Capt. Mervin, who commanded the military occupation of the town. The United States troops were formed into a hollow THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 31 square, and they were marched into the centre where they expected to be shot, and still not a muscle shook, and the features of each were as set as if chiselled from marble. What must have been their unbetrayed sur- prise, when Capt. Mervin told them they were ac- quitted by the tribunal ! He then told the chief he should recognize him as king of the tribe — that he must not permit any of his men to commit the slight- est depredations on the citizens, that he should hold him responsible for the conduct of his tribe, and that he must come and report himself and the condition of his tribe every two moons. To all this the chief fully assented. They were then taken on board the frigate, where the crew had been mustered for the occasion. Here they were told how many ships, men, and guns we had at our command ; so much to inspire them with awe : and now for their good will. The whole party were rigged out with fresh blankets, and red handker- chiefs for each, which they use as a turban. The chief was attired in a uniform of one of our tallest and stoutest officers : navy buttons, epauletts, sword, cap with a gold band, boots, and spurs ; and a silver chain was put about his neck, to which a medal was attached, recognizing him as the high chief of the tribe. He looked every inch a chief. The band struck up Hail Columbia, and they departed, vowing eternal allegiance to the Americans. The sailors were delighted with these savages, and half envied them their wild life. 32 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. Saturday, Aug. 15. To-day the first newspaper ever published in California made its appearance. The honor, if such it be, of writing its Prospectus, fell to me. It is to be issued on every Saturday, and i5 published by Seniple and Colton. Little did I think when relinquishing the editorship of the North American in Philadelphia, that my next feat in this line would be off here in California. My partner is an emigrant from Kentucky, who stands six feet eight in his stockings. He is in a buckskin dress, a fox- skin cap ; is true with his rifle, ready with his pen, and quick at the type-case. He created the materials of our office out of the chaos of a small concern, which had been used by a Roman Catholic monk in printing a few sectarian tracts. The press was old enough to be preserved as a curiosity ; the mice had burrowed in the balls ; there were no rules, no leads, and the types were rusty and all in pi. It w^as only by scouring that the letters could be made to show their faces. A sheet or two of tin were procured, and these, with a jack- knife, were cut into rules and leads. Luckily we found, with the press, the greater part of a keg of ink ; and now came the main scratch for paper. None could be found, except what is used to envelop the tobacco of the cigar smoked here by the natives. A coaster had a small supply of this on board, which we procured. It is in sheets a little larger than the common-sized foolscap. And this is the size of our first paper, which we have christened the Californian. THREE YEARS I\ CALtFORNIA. 33 Though small in dimensions, our first number is as full of news as a black-walnut is of meat. We have received by couriers, during the week, intelligence from all the important military posts through the ter- ritory. Very little of this has transpired; it reaches the public for the first time through our sheet. We have, also, the declaration of war betw^een the United States and Mexico, with an abstract of the debate in the senate. A crowd was waiting when the first sheet was thrown from the press. It produced quite a little sensation. Never was a bank run upon harder ; not, however, by people with paper to get specie, but exactly the reverse. One-half of the paper is in English, the other in Spanish. The sub- scription for a year is five dollars ; the price of a single sheet is twelve and a half cents ; and is con- sidered cheap at that. Sunday, Aug. 16. A brilliant day, and no sounds to disturb its tranquillity save the moan of the pine- grove as the wdnd sighs through it, and the thunder of the breaking waves on the beach. We had divine service on board the Savannah, — a much more grate- ful occupation to me than the investigation of crimes in the Alcaldean court. Till the Americans took possession of Monterey, the Sabbath was devoted to amusement. The Indians gave themselves up to liquor, the Mexicans and Cali- fornians to dancing. Whether the bottle or the fid- dle had the most votaries it would be difficult to say. 34 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. But both had so many, that very few were left for the church. Some, however, attended mass before they dressed for the ball-room. But their worship and their waltz came so close together, that a serious thought had only time to dodge out of the way. Monday, Aug. 17. A complaint was lodged in my court this morning, involving the perplexities of a love-matter. The complainant is a Californian mo- ther, who has a daughter rather remarkable for her personal attractions. She has two rival suitors, both anxious to marry her, and each, of course, extremely jealous of the attentions of the other, and anxious to outdo him in the fervency and force of his own assi- duities. The family are consequently annoyed, and desire the court to interfere in some way for their re- pose. I issued an order that neither of the rival suitors should enter the house of the complainant, unless invited by her, till the girl had made up her mind which she would marry ; for it appeared she was very much perplexed, being equally pleased with both : and now, I suppose, roses and all the other si- lent tokens of affection will pass plenty as protesta- tions before. " The course of true love never did run smooth." Tuesday, Aug. 18. The ado made to reach th3 hand of the undecided girl shows how very rare such specimens of beauty are in these parts. She has nothing to recommend her as a sober, industrious, THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 35 frugal housekeeper. She knows how to dance, to play on the guitar and sing, and that is all. She would be as much lost in the kitchen as a dolphin on dry land. She would do to dress flowers in the bal- cony of a millionaire, but as the wife of a Californian, her children would go without a stocking, and her husband without a shirt. Her two suitors own, prob- ably, the apparel which they have on and the gay horses which they ride, but neither of them has a real in his pocket. Yet they are quite ready to be mar- ried : just as if the honey-moon had a horn of plenty instead of a little urn of soft light, which gushes for a few brief nights, and then leaves its devotee like one of the foolish virgins, whose lamp had gone out ! . Wednesday, Aug. 19. Several of Gen. Castro's officers have just arrived in town, delivered them- selves up, and been put upon parole. They state that the general's camp, near the Pueblo de los Angeles, broke up a few days since in the night ; that the gen- eral and Gov. Pico had started for Sonora with fifty men and two hundred horses ; that their flight was hastened by the approach of Com. Stockton, with the forces of the Congress, on the north, and Maj. Fre- mont, with his riflemen, on the south. The commo- dore had reached, it appears, within a few hours' march of his camp. The general had taken the pre- caution to send forward in advance a portion of his horses, to serve as fresh relays on his arrival. He ex- pects to leave Col. Fremont on the right, and will be 36 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. obliged to cross an immense sandy plain, lying be- tween the Pueblo and Red River, where his horses will be for two days without water or food. He is to cross Red River, a broad and rapid stream, on a raft, the construction of which will detain him a day ; his horses will swim, for California horses are trained to rush over mountain-torrents. The only hope of his capture lies in his detention at the river, unless Col, Fremont, anticipating his flight, has thrown a force south to intercept him. Once across the river he is safe ; nothing but a tornado, or a far-strikino- thun- derbolt, can overtake a Californian on horseback. Thursday, Aug. 20. An Indian was brought be- fore me to-day, charged with having stolen a horse. He was on his way, it appears, to Monterey, and when within thirty miles, his own horse having given out, he turned him adrift, and lassoed one belonging to another man, which he rode in, and then set him at liberty as he had his own. The owner arrived soon after, recovered his horse, and had the Indian arrest- ed, who confessed the whole affair, and only plead in excuse that his own horse had become too tired to go further. I sentenced the Indian to three months' la- bor on the public works. He seemed at first very much surprised at what he considered the severity of the sentence ; but said he should work his time out faithfully, and give me no further trouble. As he was half-naked, I ordered him comfortable apparel, and then delivered him over to Capt. Mervin, to be THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 37 employed in excavating a trench around the newly- erected tort. Friday, Aug. 21. A Californian is most at home in his saddle ; there he has some claims to originality, it" not in character then in costume. His hat, with its conical crown and broad rim, throws back the sun's rays from its dark, glazed surface. It is fast- ened on by a band which passes under his chin, and rests on a red handkerchief, which turbans his head, from beneath which his black locks flow out upon the wind. The collar of his linen rolls over that of his blue spencer, which is open under the chin, is fitted close- ly to his waist, and often ornamented with double rows of buttons and silk braid. His trowsers, which are fastened around his loins by a red sash, are open to the knee, to which his buckskin leggins ascend over his white cotton drawers. His buckskin shoes are armed with heavy spurs, which have a shaft some ten inches long, at the end of which is a roller, which bristles out into six points, three inches long, against which steel plates rattle with a quick, sharp sound. His feet rest in stirrups of wood, carved from the solid oak, and which are extremely strong and heavy. His saddle rises high fore and aft, and is broadly skirted with leather, which is stamped into figures, through the interstices of which red and green silk flash out with gay effect. The reins of his bridle are thick and narrow, and the headstall is profusely orna- 25938G 38 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. merited with silver plate. His horse, with his long flowing mane, arching neck, broad chest, full flanks, and slender legs, is full of Are. He seldom trots, and will gallop all day without seeming to be weary. On his back is the Californian's home. Leave him this home, and you may have the rest of the world. Saturday, Aug. 22. Our little paper, the Califor- nian, made its appearance again to-day. Many sub- scribers have sent in their names since our last, and all have paid in advance. It is not larger than a sheet of foolscap ; but this foolscap parallel stops, I hope, with the shape. Be this as it may, its appearance is looked for with as much interest as was the arrival of the mail by the New Yorkers and Bostonians in those days when a moon waxed and waned over its transit. Sunday, Aug. 23. Officiated to-day on board the Savannah. There is no Protestant church here. Emigrants have generally become Roman Catholics. Policy, rather than persuasion or conviction, sug- gested it. Men who make no pretensions to religion, have nothing to give up in the shape of creeds or conscientious scruples. They are like driftwood, which runs into the eddy which is the strongest ; or like migratory birds, which light where they can find the best picking and the softest repose. The wood- pecker never taps an undecayed tree ;. and a world- line; seldom embraces a thoroujjjhlv sound faith. 39 CHAPTER III. A THIEF OBETIXG ORDERS. — GAME. NO PENITENTIARY SYSTEM. THE CALIFORNIA CART ON A GALA-DAY. — THE RUNAW.\y DAUGHTER. FAITH OF THE INDIANS. RETURN FROM THE WAR. FIRST TRIAL BY JURY. INDIAN AND HIS SQUAW ON THE HUNT. — WHALES IN THE BAY. THE TWO GAMBLERS. LADIES ON HORSEBACK. MERRIMENT IN DEATH. — THE ENGLISHM.AN AND HIS MISTRESS. Monday, Aug. 24. One of our officers, bound with dispatches to San Juan, fell in with an Indian to-day, on a horse, without saddle or bridle, save a lasso ; and knowing from this circumstance that he had stolen the animal, ordered him to come to Mon- terey and deliver himself up to the alcalde, and then passed on. So on the Indian came with the horse, and presented himself at our office. I asked him what he w^anted ; he told me the order he had received ; but I could not at first comprehend its import, and inquired of him if he knew why the order had been given him. He replied, that it was in consequence of his having taken the horse of an- other man. I asked him if he had stolen the animal ; he said yes, he had taken him, but had brought him in here and given himself up as ordered ; that he could not escape, as the Americans were all over California. I told him stealing a horse was a crime, and sentenced him to three months' labor on the public works. He was half naked. I ordered him comfortable clothes, 40 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORXIA. and gave him a plug of tobacco, and in an hour he was at his task, chewing and chcerl'uL He is not wanting in intelhgence ; and if he only had as much respect for the rights of property as he has for mili- tary orders, he might be a useful member of the com- munity. Oats in California grow wild. The last crop plants the next, without the aid of man. The yield is suffi- cient to repay the labors of the husbandman, but is gratuitously thrown at his feet. But the fecundity of nature here is not confined to the vegetable king- dom, it is characteristic of the animals that sport in wild life over these hills and valleys. A sheep has two lambs a year; and if twins, four: and one litter of pigs follows another so fast that the squeelers and grunters are often confounded. Wednesday, Aug. 26. The Californians breakfast at eight, dine at twelve, take tea at four, supper at eight, and then go to bed — unless there is a fandango. The supper is the most substantial meal of the three, and would visit anybody but a Californian with the nightmare. But their constant exercise in the open air and on horseback, gives them the digestion of the ostrich. The only meat consumed here to any extent is beef. It is beef for breakfast, beef for dinner, and beef for supper. A pig is quite a rarity ; and as for chickens, they are reserved ibr the sick. The woods are full of partridges and hare ; the streams and la- THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 41 goons are covered with ducks and wild geese ; and the harbor abounds with the most delicious fish. But no Californian will angle or hunt, while he has a horse or saddle left. And as for the Indians, but very few of them have any hunting gear beyond the bow and arrow ; with these they can kill the deer and elk, but a partridge and hare are too shy and too quick. They spear a large salmon which frequents Carmel river, three miles distant, and bring it in to market. This fish is often three feet long, extremely fat, and of a flavor that takes from Lent half the merit of its absti- nence. Spearing them is high sport for the Indian, and is another feature in California life. Thursday, Aug. 27. Nothing puzzles me so much as the absence of a penitentiary system. There are no work-houses here ; no buildings adapted to the purpose ; no tools, and no trades. The custom has been to fine Spaniards, and whip Indians. The dis- crimination is unjust, and the punishments ill suited to the ends proposed. I have substituted labor ; and have now eight Indians, three Californians, and one Englishman at work making adobes. They have all been sentenced for stealing horses or bullocks. I have given them their task : each is to make fifty adobes a day, and for all over this they are paid. They make seventy-five, and for the additional twen- ty-five each gets as many cents. This is paid to them every Saturday night, and they are allowed to get with it any thing but rum. They are comfort- 4* 42 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. ably lodged and fed by the government. I have appointed one of their number captain. They work in tiie field ; require no other guard ; not one of them has attempted to run away. Friday, Aug. 28. The ox-cart of the Californian is quite unique and primitive. The wheels are cut transversely from the butt-end of a tree, and have holes through the centre for a huge wood axle. The tongue is a long, heavy beam, and the yoke resting on the necks of the oxen, is lashed to their horns, close down to the root ; from these they draw, in- stead of the chest, as with us ; and they draw enor- mous loads, but the animals are large and powerful. But to return to the cart. On gala days it is swept out, and covered with mats ; a deep body is put on, which is arched with hoop-poles, and over these a pair of sheets are extended for a covering. Into this the ladies are tumbled, when three or four yoke of oxen, with as many Indian drivers, and ten times as many dogs, start ahead. The hallooing of the dri- vers, the barking of the dogs, and the loud laughter of the girls make a common chorus. The quail takes to the covert as the roaring establishment comes on, and even the owl suspends his melancholy note. What has his sad tone to do amid such noise and mirth ? It is like the piping cry of an infant amid the revelry and tumult of the carnival, Saturday, Aug. 29. Four Californians — a girl, her THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 43 father, mother, and lover, all well clad and good-look- ing — presented themselves before me to-day. The old man said he had come to reclaim his daughter, who had run away with the young Mexican, — that he had no objection to his marrying her, but this run- ning away with her didn't look decent. The rash lover stated in his defence that he was ready to marry her, had run away with her for that purpose, had placed her immediately with his sister, and that she was still as chaste and pure as the driven snow. To all this the father and mother assented. I now expected we should have a wedding at once, and that I might be called upon to officiate. But to my utter surprise, on asking the girl if she insisted on marrying her lover, she declined. She said her es- cape with him was a wild freak ; she had now got over it, and wished to return with her father. This fell like a death-knell on the ears of her lover, who again protested his affection and her purity. Having been once myself a disappointed suitor, I had a fel- low feeling for him, and advised the girl to marry him ; but she said no, that she had changed her mind : so I delivered her to her father, and told my brother in misfortune he must wait ; that a woman who had changed her mind once on such a subject, would change it again. Sunday, Aug. 30. Several gentlemen and ladies of Monterey were present to-day at our service on board the Savannah. I have it in contemplation to 44 THREE YEAllS IN CALIFORMA. establish a service on shore. There are plenty of halls, which are now used lor dancing, and I should have as little scruple in converting one of them into a church, as Father Whitfield had in appropriating to his use the popular airs of the day, when he said he had no notion of letting the devil run away with all the fine tunes. Blessings on the memory of that devoted missionary ! He has embalmed in his church melodies that will live when the profane lyres from which they flowed have long since been silent. The wild Indians here have a vague belief in the soul's immortality. They say, " as the moon dieth and Cometh to life again, so man, though he die, will again live." But their future state is material ; the wicked are to be bitten by serpents, scorched by lightning, and plunged down cataracts ; while the good are to hunt their game with bows that never lose their vigor, with arrows that never miss their aim, and in forests where the crystal streams roll over golden sands. Immortal youth is to be the por- tion of each ; and age, and pain, and death, are to be known no more. Monday, Aug. 31. I am at last forced into a systematic arrangement of my time ; without it, I could never get through with my duties. I rise with the sun, read till eight o'clock, and then breakfast ; at nine, enter on my duties as alcalde, which confine me till three, p. m., then dine ; and at four take my THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. 45 gun and plunge into the woods for exercise and }mr- tridges ; return at sunset, take tea, and in tiie evening write up my journal, and an editorial for the CaHfornian. When the Sabbath comes, I preach ; my sermons are composed in the woods, in the court-room, or in bed, just where I can snatch a half-hour. I often plan them while some plaintiff is spinning a long yarn about things and matters in general, or some defendant is losing himself in a labyrinth of apolo- getic circumstances. By this forbearance both are greatly relieved ; one disburdens himself of his grievances, the other lightens his guilt, and, in the mean time, my sermon develops itself into a more tangible arrangement. My text might often be — " And he fell among thieves." Tuesday, Sept. 1. It is singular how the Cal- ifornians reckon distances. They will speak of a place as only a short gallop off, when it is fifty or a hundred miles distant. They think nothing of riding a hundred and forty miles in a day, and breaking down three or four horses in doing it, and following this up by the week. They subsist almost exclu- sively on meat, and when travelling, sleep under the open sky. They drive their ox-carts, loaded with lumber or provisions, two hundred miles to market. Their conceptions seem to annihilate space. Wednesday, Sept. 2. The officers of Gen. Castro 46 THREE YEARS IN CALIFORNIA. have been permitted to return to their homes, after having taken an oath that they will not, on pain of death, be found in arms against the United States during the existence of the present war. A few, perhaps from national pride, refused at first the oath, but were compelled to take it, or be treated as pris- oners of war. They of course preferred the former. The ladies don't seem to care much about these nice points in military etiquette : they want their hus- bands at home ; and their return, though on parole, is the signal for getting up a ball. A Californian would hardly pause in a dance for an earthquake, and would be pretty sure to renew it, even before its vi- brations had ceased. At a wedding they dance for three days and nights, during which time the new- married couple are kept on their feet. No compas- sion is shown them, as they have so much bliss in reserve. Thursday, Sept. 3. Dispatches were received this morning, by courier, from Com. Stockton, dated at the Pueblo de los Angeles. They contain his second address to the people of California, which de- fines the new attitude in which the country is placed by the declaration of war between the United States and Mexico. The address is humane in its tone, expansive and vigorous in its spirit. It has had the salutary effect to set the community at rest, by es- tablishing in the minds of the wavering the full con- viction that California is henceforth a part of the THREE YEARS IN CALII'ORWIA. 47 United States. Ex-Gov. Pio Pico, it seems, did nut escape with Gen. Castro, but has surrendered to the commodore. He is one of the few who commanded the confidence and respect of the public. Friday, Sept. 4. I empannelled to-day the first jury ever summoned in CaUfornia. Tlie plaintiff and defendant are among the principal citizens of the country. The case was one involving property on the one side, and integrity of character on the other. Jts merits had been pretty widely discussed, and had called forth an unusual interest. One-third of the jury were Mexicans, one-third Californians, and the other third Americans. This mixture may have the better answered the ends of justice, but I was apprehensive at one time it would embarrass the proceedings ; for the plaintiff spoke in English, the defendant in French, the jury, save the Americans, Spanish, and the witnesses all the/ languages known to California. But throug;h the silent attention which prevailed, the tact of Mr. Hartnell, who acted as in- terpreter, and the absence of young lawyers, we got along very well. The examination of the witnesses lasted five or six hours ; I then gave the case to the jury, stating the questions of fact upon which they were to render their verdict. They retired for an hour, and then returned, when the foreman handed in their verdict, which was clear and explicit, though the case itself was rather complicated. To this verdict, both parties 48 THREE YEARS IS CALIFORNIA, bowed without a word of dissent. The inhabitants who witnessed the trial, said it was what they Hked — that there could be no bribery in it — that the opinion of twelve honest men should set the case forever at rest. And so it did, though neither party completely triumphed in the issue. One recovered his property, which had been taken from him by mistake, tiie other his character, which had been slandered by design. If there is any thing on earth besides re- ligion for which I would die, it is the right of trial by jury, Saturday, Sept. 5. I encountered on my hunting excursion to-day a wild Indian, with a squaw and papoose. They were on horses, he carrying his bow, with a large quiver of arrows hung at his side, and she with the child in the bunt of her blanket, at the back. They were dashing ahead in the wake of their dogs, which were in hot chase of a deer. The squaw stuck to her fleet animal as firmly as the saddle in which she sat, and took but little heed of the bogs and gullies over which she bounded. His glance was directed to a ridge of rocks, over which he seemed to expect the deer to fly from the field of wild oats through which the chase lay, I watched them till they disappeared in their whirlwind speed over the ridge. Whether the deer fell into their hands or escaped, I know not ; but certainly I would not hazard my neck as they did theirs lor all the game even in the California forests. But this, to THREE YEARS IN CAMF(JRNIA. 49 tliciu, is liie ; they seek no repose between the cradle and the trrave. Sunday, Sept. G. The bell of the Roman Catholic church, which has been silent some weeks, rung out loud and clear this morning. I directed the prisoners, sentenced to the public works, to be taken to the ser- vice. I had given them soap, and sufficient time to clean their clothes, on Saturday ; though having but one suit, they had only their blankets for covering while these were w^ashing and drying. With a ma- rine at their head, armed and equipped, they made quite a respectable appearance. Their conduct, du- ring service, was reported to me as very becoming. They may yet reform, and shape their lives after the precepts of morality and religion. My own service was on board the Savannah, where we had the offi- cers of the Erie. Monday, Sept. 7. We have been looking for a whale-ship, or spouter, as she is called by our sailors, to come in here, and take care of the whales which are blowing around us. One belonging to the gen- uine old Nantucket line, came to anchor last evening. She had been on the northwest coast in pursuit of the black whale ; but found them so wild, owing to the havoc that has been made among them, that she captured but very few. This morning her boats were lowered, and their crews put olf in pursuit of one of these monsters. 50 THREE YEARS IN CALIFviRMA. The fellow plunged as they approached, and was out of sight for some minutes, when he hove up at a dis- tance. " There she blows !" was the cry, and off they darted again ; but by the time they had gained the spot another plunge was heard, and only a deep foaming eddy remained. The next time she lifted they were more successful, and lodged one of their harpoons. The reel was soon out, and away the boat flew, like a little car attached to a locomotive. But the harpoon at last slipped its hold, and the whale escaped. The loss seemed proportionate to the bulk of the monster. Tuesday, Sept. 8. We have had for the last five days hardly an hour of sunshine, owing to the dense fogs which prevail here at this season. These murky vapors fill the whole atmosphere ; you seem to walk in them alone, like one threading a mighty forest. A transcendentalist might easily conceive himself a ghost, wandering among the cypresses of a dead world. But, being no ghost or transcendentalist, I had a fire kindled, and found refuge from the fog in its cheerful light and warmth. Wednesday, Sept. 9. A Califoniian came into my court in great haste last evening, and complained that another Californian was running away with his oxen. Suspecting the affair had some connection with a gambling transaction, I innnediately handed him a warrant for the arrest of the fu