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UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
440013268107
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES
ERSITATIS
SIGILLUM .
LVX
RNIENSI
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A
MDC
EX LIBRIS
ROBERT ERNEST COWAN
THE
CALIFORNIA PILGRIM:
A SERIES OF LECTURES,
BY J. A. BENTON,
PASTOR OF THE FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST IN SACRAMENTO.
, " May I not write in such a style as this, in such a method, too, and yet not miss My end-thy good ? Solidity, indeed, becomes the pen Of him who writeth things divine to men : But must I needs want solidness, because By metaphors I speak ..
SACRAMENTO, CAL .: SOLOMON ALTER, PUBLISHER. MARVIN & HITCHCOCK, SAN FRANCISCO. 1853.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853, by JOSEPH A. BENTON, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern District of California.
F 865 B44C
TO
JARED LINSLY, M. D.,
THE CITY OF NEW YORK;
THE READY HELPER
OF ASPIRING AND STRUGGLING YOUTH;
THIS VOLUME Ss Respectfully Suscribed,
BY HIS
OBLIGED SINCERE FRIEND, TIIE AUTIIOR.
259359
COWAN LIBRARY, 1936
SACRAMENTO, December 28th, 1852.
REV. MR. BENTON :
Dear Sir : Having heard, with deep interest, your series of lectures on the progress of the " California Pilgrim," and believing a general dissemination of the expositions and views so attrac- tively and felicitously set forth therein, would not only be profitable to them, but desirable by the people of California generally, you are hereby requested, most respectfully, to furnish a copy of your manuscripts containing them, for publication. And you will much oblige,
Yours, &c.,
ELIAS D. KENNEDY,
JOHN MCKEE,
F. W. PAGE,
D. O. MILLS,
R. B. HALL,
W. C. WATERS,
R. H. MCDONALD,
JAMES GALLUP,
JONA. WILLIAMS,
A. C. SWEETSER,
H. W. HARKNESS.
SACRAMENTO, January 18, 1853.
JOHN MCKEE, D. O. MILLS, W. C. WATERS, AND OTHERS :
Gentlemen : Your note, requesting the publication of my lectures on the " California Pilgrim," has been sometime under consideration. I have now resolved to comply with your wishes ; and, as soon as it is practicable, I shall commit my manuscripts to the hands of the printers.
Obediently yours,
J. A. BENTON.
PREFATORY NOTE.
The author conceived the idea of these leetures while on a visit into the country last summer. He wrote and delivered them. They took this form that the most diverse matters might be wrought into them, and that the writer might relieve the somewhat somber cast of his ordinary discourses, and escape the charge of being a scold.
The reader should be informed that the " Moral" of eaeli lecture was originally spoken extemporaneously. They are now written from memory, and given in brief, and for substance only. The burning of Sacramento occurred during the delivery of the lectures; and hence the notice taken of that event, in the ninth lecture.
The design of the lectures, in part, was, to benefit a class of people, not otherwise reached by the author's ministra- tions. They are published to be of still further service, if haply they may, to that large class.
For himself, the writer of this book has nothing to say. Whether he be a novice in authorship ; what public relations he may sustain ; what opinions he may hold ; and what may be his personal peculiarities ; the curious in such matters, if any, can easily find out otherwise, if they do not find them in the book.
·
1
ILLUSTRATIONS.
I. MONTE DIABOLO, - - - -
Page. 9
II. GROUP ON THE STEAMER'S DECK, - 38
III. FORTUNATUS WAIT, - 94
IV. MODEL LEGISLATORS, - - -
145
V. MORNING AFTER THE CONFLAGRATION, - 189
VI. JONATHAN JOINTSTOCK, -
252
CONTENTS.
-
LECTURE I.
Page. Place of the Dream-The Pilgrim on the Steamer-The
Narrative of his Life, . - 9
LECTURE II.
The Pilgrim now a man of Note-Scenes on Board-Entrance
into the Harbor, -
- 29
LECTURE III.
Going on Shore-A Night's Entertainment-First Day in San
Francisco, - - 46
LECTURE IV.
Second Day in San Francisco-Castle Ancient-Journey to the Mission, - - 68
LECTURE V.
Journey to the South-Fortunatus Wait-Mrs. Nettles-San -
Jose, - - 93
LECTURE VI. Journey to Stockton-Tour of the City-Journey to Sacramento, 116
LECTURE VII. :
Sunday in the City-The Churches-Tour through a portion of the City, -
- - 138
vili
CONTENTS.
LECTURE VIII.
The Stages-Horse Market-Levee-K
street corners- Page.
Evening Tour, - -
- - 159
LECTURE IX.
Election Day-Departure-Return-Sacramento Burned, - 183
LECTURE X.
American River-Ride across the Plain-Mining Towns- Journey to the North Fork, - - 202
LECTURE XI.
Vicinity of Yankee Jim's-Learned Miners-Discussion of the Origin of Gold - - 223
LECTURE XII.
Journey to Grass Valley-to Nevada-to the Sierra-Tlic
Conclusion - - -
-
- - 243
MONTE DIABOLO.
·· A certain place, which was a lone craggy mcurtain."-Page 9.
THE
CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
LECTURE I.
"The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream. "- JER. 23 : 28.
As I traveled through this world and its wildernesses, I lighted upon a certain place, which was a lone craggy moun- The place of tain. The blue air hung around it, changing the dream. to a purple in the glow of the evening hour Deep valleys were sunk on every side of it; and, here and there, they opened through frightful gorges. The mountain itself was seamed with fissures, and furrowed with dark ravines. It was not fitted for the dwellings of men. No human beings abode there, but for a night.
of it.
About the name It was called after no man, nor saint, nor good- angel. For a thousand miles along the ocean- border had all regions of water and land been honored with the names of worthies and holies, female and male. Inlet and bay, rill and river, hill and valley, plain and desert, forest and rock, rejoiced in saintly titles. It was as if the whole company of the faithful, whether human or angelic in origin, had, for a day, alighted along the shore, when on some terrestrial crrand, and left their appellations behind. But on this mountain top there was no record writ, and, as yet, it stood unknown, and without a name.
2
10
TIIE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
An era of travel and discovery arrived. The good Fath- ers journeyed castward to spy out the land. They came upon this mountain, all nameless then. Its vast proportions made it deserving of a lofty and imposing title. The cata- logue of distinguished worthies was long ago exhausted. But so towering a peak must not lack a name importing some- what. So, for want of a better, it was yeleped after that How it was notorious person that first made revolt in heaven, yeleped "Mon-
te Diabolo." and unfurled an ill-starred banner on the celes-
tial heights. Thus it came to pass that the solitary moun- tain had a noteworthy name ; standing there in its grandeur, on the confines of a region still unexplored. In later times, dim tradition-held in high esteem by not a few-failed not to keep alive the story, that in days gone by, there happened many a strange thing there ; so much so, that the aborigines , and all the common sort of people, held the place to be possessed by him, or the progeny of him, in honor of whom it had been originally named.
There were there neither moat, nor ditch, nor castellated peak, nor crumbling walls, to tell of any defiant lord, any deeds of valor in arms, or to declare the wonders of faded renown. The grim spirit of the ages had left there many a record, and strewn the emblems of his power on every hand ; but him, no eye of man had seen, and none had ever pre- sumed to call him by a name.
The story of the mountain may seem a legend or a myth, and some man's matter of fact may brush it away, or rob it of venerableness and beauty ; but the lone grandeur of the mountain abides ; and mortal may not presume to deny the doing, when he cannot tell what persons are there, nor what deeds are done, within the folds of mist, when ofttimes the craggy top is hidden among the clouds.
11
THE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
As I said, in traveling, I lighted upon this spot, after a weary day's journey. From the summit I looked off in every direction. As the sun went down, at my left, it sank far out in the boundless waters, where the blue of the sea and the sky met and mingled. Nearer, on my left, ran up and down successive lines of hills, giving the landscape the appearance of a furrowed field, run through by Nature's generous ploughshare. These belts of rock and forest gradually diminished in height toward the west, and finally melted into the ocean waves.
On my right lay a broad valley, many leagues in length, embosoming mighty rivers; its borders laeed and interlaced with silver streams, whose gathered waters mingled at last, and poured all their fullness through a deep channel, a litttle way to the northward from the mountain's base. Beyond the great valley, toward the east, one above another, step by step, the wooded hills began to ascend; and then,
" Stern and bold,
Their snowy summits shining in the sun, The distant mountains rose ; and North and South Stretched out the serried range ; its liquid sides Fruitful of streams, whose dashing torrents roll O'er golden sands. "
A lodge is In the cavernous rocks I sought a place of sought. rest. For the twilight was deepening, and the stars began to shine; and sometimes I thought I heard a low growl, or a quick, sharp bark, as if I were not altogether alone in a place so solitary. Coming to a spot that seemed like the mouth of some deep cave, or den, I laid me down there weariedly to sleep, with thoughts of home, and friends
12
THE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
far away, and my wanderings of late, all fresh in my mind.
The sleeper hath Nevertheless I soon fell asleep; and, as I a vision. slept, I dreamed a dream. I fain would keep in memory that mountain dream; and therefore I have written it down.
What the dream - In my dream I saw a gallant slip coasting er saw. along the shore of a deep, broad, and tranquil
sea. A murky cloud from her smoke-pipe hung over the seething foam in the track of her keel. A light breeze on the larboard quarter just filled her spread canvas. On the quarter-deek, half concealed by the mizzen-mast and the spanker, a man of middle-age, and serious aspect, was sitting with a book in his hand. As he read therein he wept, for he "remembered Sion ; " and, being unable to contain longer, he broke out, saying, "How much have I lost ! "
His trouble the rather increased, as he thought of the miserable condition of hundreds about him, his fellow- voyagers for time and eternity, whom he feared, perchance, he might never have warned enough of their evil and danger. So he resolved still further to utter words of good counsel to certain whom he had often overheard profaning the name of God. His boldness on this occasion took them somewhat by surprise ; for before he had dealt only in gentle words. They said this man was alone in the business of reproof; although there were many on board who professed to be holy men, and hailed from the city of Moral-action ; while it was proved that all of them had lived in the province of Mortal-ruin, at least for a time.
These profane men were sore amazed at the words of the serious man; not for that they could gainsay what he uttered, but because they believed, not knowing what to
13
THE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
think else, that "some distemper had got into his head. " "Therefore, it drawing toward night, and hoping that sleep might settle his brains, with all haste they got him to bed. " But the night was to him as the day. Wherefore, instead of sleeping, he spent its hours in weeping and praying. " So when the morning was come they would know how he did. " He told them he was much the same in mind ; but, if anything changed, he was more anxious than ever to have them reformed. He also set to talking with them again in serious mood. Whereat, "they began some of them to be hardened. They also thought to drive his distemper away by harsh and surly carriage toward him." Sometimes they would mock himn ;" anon they would chide him ; and then they would take pains to neglect him entirely. Where- fore, the more sincerely he pitied them, and the more earnestly he prayed for them, both in his retirement and as he walked solitary.
I perceived, also, that with new diligence, and a heartier zest, he applied himself to the study of his book-the which he kept always in his hands-and that, the more he perused and reflected, the more steadfast and calm he became, until he ceased from his melancholy looks and sighs, and began to wear a bright and heavenly face.
I observed that now he began talking and explaining his book to knots and groups of men, as he found opportunity. Some there were that loved to hear his words; and they followed him from one company to another. Ere long as other men gathered round to hear him, in the edge of the crowd would linger those profane deriders. By and by, they began to correct each other; and in a short space they left off their profanity altogether ; and, finally, were not ashamed to be seen walking with the serious man in his
14
THE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
portion of the great ship. Thus, by degrees, this person, who seemed to be a sort of poor pilgrim, began to be a man somewhat set by in that motley company borne along on the foaming billows. Still, there were many that thought him not a little singular, and somewhat fantastical, and given to whims and conceits ; and by some he was consid- ered very straight-laced, and a man of many prejudices, whose notions were got from thecatechism, and whose views of things were governed by Pres. Edwards' resolutions.
Now I saw in my dream, so soon as the face and fame of the Pilgrim-for such he now affirmed that he was-became known, and his haunts on the ship were It gets about that made familiar, and it got bruited about that
he is a Pilgrim. he was a pilgrim, taking this route through the land of gold, for the golden city, amid the serene mountains in the Glad-land, that a common desire sprang up to see, and hear, and talk with a man so presumptuous as to think he could be a pilgrim, keeping steadily on his course, when those on board, twenty to one, at least, were opposed to religious pilgrimages, or thought little of them, or had come back from them disheartened, in former years. These all were sure that this individual must be a very weak-minded and misled man; and, if he were not, he had got into strange company, where the major part smoked, swore, drank, gambled, and gallanted courtesans, and was taking the most unfrequented-by pilgrims-of all roads to reach the Glad-land. They did not consider that when one is to go half round the world to find his destina- tion, it matters not in which of two opposite directions he travels, provided he keep to his parallel ; nor remember that "They shall come from the East and the West, the North and the South, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."
15
THE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
The Pilgrim is At length, so urgent became the wish to
asked to tell his
story. see and hear the Pilgrim, and so general the interest felt in the matter, that he promised the company to meet them on the next Lord's day, and tell them who he was ; what he was ; whence he came ; and why he had set out on this pilgrimage. So, when, for want of a preacher, a gentleman in undress uniform, perhaps it was the com- mander of the vessel, had read prayers and concluded the service ; which, to the Pilgrim, was a pleasure, though it were very formally rendered ; and when the excitement of the dinner hour had passed away, he sat down quietly to tell the company his story.
The narration And he thus began. I was born forty
begins.
years ago in the city of Doomsend, in the province of Sin and Misery. It was a very large province. No accurate survey was ever made of it, nor any definite bounds fixed to it. The city where my father lived was exceedingly large, and was crowded with people. Although the mortality was frightful, and the inhabitants perished by thousands every year ; yet, so vast was the throng con- tinually rushing to the place, that no diminution was ever perceptible in the numbers that weut jostling each other through the streets.
The Father of My father was Mr. Freelove Gaine ; and Pilgrim. he drove a profitable business in Dooms- end by engaging in all sorts of traffic, devising numerous schemes for speculation, and being much concerned in settling up the affairs of dead men.
The Pilgrim's I was called by my father Followup Gaine, original name. though never so christened, for my mother wished to name me Fearevil Gaine. At an early age I was sent from home to be taught; and strange, confused
16
TIIE CALIFORNIA PILGRIMI.
memories of those days haunt me still. But I was not suffered to remain long at the school where my mother placed me, under Mr. Wisdom Branch's tuition, in the little inland town of Refuge, in the province of Moderation, inhabited by a people who had no commerce with the city of Doomsend.
My father took me home ; and in a few days stationed me at a desk in his spacious office, among a score of youth, who were there to learn by what appliances and sharp practice they might hope to succeed in acquiring wealth and influ- ence, as my father had, in the great city.
A zealous man It came to pass while I was yet a youth, preaches. that a noted and zealous preacher visited the populous city of our abode, and in very startling language warned the inhabitants of their danger; announcing the speedy destruction of the place ; declaring that it must come ere long to an utter end, and no one conld tell how soon its foundations would be shaken, or the flames of wrath let loose upon it. This preacher was Mr. Holdfast High ; and he was one who never for a moment let go his grasp upon the vastness of things above, nor failed to act under their power.
There were few, however, that gave him heed and obeyed his instructions ; though all confessed that he was earnest and eloquent. But, among the few who listened and com- plied was my own mother. She in vain strove to prevail on her husband and her children to go with her in her flight from the doomed city. My father did nothing to oppose the going of any of us, for he was too much absorbed in mon- ey-getting to take trouble about other matters. Yet there were many in the city who made mock of the little company of believers about to set off on their journey of escape, de -.
17
THIE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
termined, if possible, to reach the city of Redemption in the province of Faith.
The great mass of the citizens said, that, however much Mr. Holdfast High might know of other regions, he was ignorant of theirs, and was a fool for coming to them with any such messages as he had been delivering in their midst. They alleged that it was impossible to burn more than one block in Doomsend, at a time, on account of the unusual breadth of the streets. And, besides, the city stood on the banks of the river of Mortality, and they could flood its whole area, to the depth of several feet, with the waters of that river, in a very little while. And then, also, the entire province of Sin and Misery, a thousand times as big as any other, was deeply concerned in the preservation of its chief city; and the hosts of the inhabitants would rush to its rescue at a moment's warning ; so that it was all folly for any of their people to be alarmed about the matter.
My mother, indeed, was never content to dwell in Dooms- end; and had only consented to abide there for a time. She was born in the town of Euphemia, in the province of Innocence; and she had married my father with the un- dlerstanding, that, after a few years' stay in Doomsend, they would return and settle in her native place. But his business and his gains had served to attach him more and more to Doomsend ; till, at length, she began to despair of ever getting out of it alive. And now she went out of it- so much alone-as she verily believed, not only to preserve the life of her own soul, but the souls of any whom she might draw away after her.
When my mother found that she could not prevail on me to accompany her, she embraced and kissed me many times, and her tears fell on my face like rain, while my heart
18
THE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
smote me dreadfully for my obstinate wickedness; but still I refused to go with her. Then she took from her bosom a volume of the Book of Life and gave it to me, enjoining me to read it every day, and to think on my ways and turn unto the Lord. I could not help making the promise to read the book diligently, although I felt unwilling to commit myself to any farther task, or to engage to follow her.
As soon, however, as she was gone, and I saw how ill things proceeded without her, in our house, especially on Sunday-for that day began there to be a day of carousal, as in the rest of Doomsend-I was often sad and dejected, and would retire to my chamber, and read the Book my mother gave me, and think of my condition. The more I perused it, the more I felt a longing to know what its pages revealed ; and it began to seem strange to me that I had possessed such a Book so long without knowing anything at all, beyond what my mother told me in childhood, of the wonders and treasures it contained. And thus, from week to week, I read on until I became greatly distressed in my mind; and, at times, I could scareely refrain from crying out in my trouble. I perceived that I was indeed a sinner, lost and undone.
Matters went on thus many days and weeks, and often the tears would come in my eyes when I was about my daily business, but I dared not tell my distress to any one for fear my grief would be turned into ridicule ; and when night eame I could get no sleep for thinking of my mother, my own wretched state, and the coming misery of the whole city, and how stubborn and foolish I had been in not flying with her to a place of safety. I saw by the Book, I felt in my soul, that, born as I was, and living as I had lived, " I was surely condemned to die, and after that to come to judg-
19
THE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
ment ;" and I could think of the future only with an inde- finable dread.
It chanced one day, when filled with sorrow and distress on account of my sins, I had gone out from the city to be rid of a jovial meeting, and a company of young inebriates on a drinking bout, that, as I was walking by myself in a lone dell, half thinking aloud, and praying in my thoughts, and repeating to myself such Scriptures as, " Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die ? My son, give me thine heart," A new friend that there came to me a man of a cheerful appears. countenance, and a serene light in his eye, who, seeing my dejected state, accosted me with kind words, saying, "Art thou in trouble, my son ?" "Never in worse, sir," said I, for my soul is troubled, and I know not how to ease me of my sorrows and burdens, though I am quite sure I should have escaped all this misery had I gone with my good mother to the city of Redemption.
It is not yet too late to set out for the place, my son, said he, but you cannot overdo in making haste to leave this city, and flee the wrath to come, nor too soon reach the strong gates of the blessed city of Redemption, whose Lord hath himself declared, "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." Moreover, added he, you will not set out alone, for I am come hither on purpose to help off a nephew of mine, one Mr. Highresolve, a youth of excellent parts, who has been a long time determined to leave, but could never get Ile tella his his master's consent to go until now. My
name. name is Good Counsel, and I dwell hard by the best road to the glorious city you have in mind. In- deed, I live on the borders of the province of Faith, at the
20
THE CALIFORNIA PILGRIM.
place where all the paths from the region of Sin and Misery meet, and beyond my house the road is one and the same for all the escaped ; it is the " highway of holiness."
Then he took me by the hand and counseled me still more particularly. I was charmed with his speech; and I had never met one before who seemed a man of so excellent a spirit. My tears dropped on his hand as I kissed it, and I told him that if he would acquaint me with Mr. Highre- solve, I would at once abandon Doomsend and all my bad associates-for, indeed, the major part were a sorry set, giving their nights over to dissipation, and spending all the heat, freshness, and beauty of their youth in riot and de- bauch-and we two would make good our escape together.
The name of It was then that he asked me my name. I the youth about
to be a Pilgrim. was almost ashamed to let him know that it was Followup Gaine. At first he looked surprised, on learn- ing my name; and I found that it was because he had known my father in childhood, and they had been mates at school. He said that he had not spoken with my father since they were lads ; that my father never fancied him, even in boy- hood ; and that, of late years, he had avoided him pretty much altogether.
As to myself, he remarked, that, although " Godliness with contentment is great gain," yet, inasmuch as my name was somewhat equivocal in its signification, and there might be a bad construction put upon it, and an ill odor might seem to risc out of it, it would be better to change the latter part, since I was about to Icad a new life, and to go among strangers, and so to alter it that it should read Followup Good instead of Followup Gaine. I forthwith complied with his suggestions, and ever since that day I have been known as Mr. Followup Good.
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