An illustrated history of Sacramento County, California : containing a history of Sacramento County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future portraits of some of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also prominent citizens of today, Part 2

Author: Davis, Winfield J., 1851- 4n
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 916

USA > California > Sacramento County > An illustrated history of Sacramento County, California : containing a history of Sacramento County from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospective future portraits of some of its most eminent men, and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and also prominent citizens of today > Part 2

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

for California grapes and wines, as well as abun- dant quantity, will find its best solution among the cool, gravelly soils of the foot-hills. The soil of the plain lands varies from red loam and a rich clay, to a rich alluvium mixed with sand. This varies in localities, but affords such a vari- ety that the productions of this portion of the county cover a range from those of the cereals of the middle temperate climate to the fruits of the semi-tropical. They afford, however, mostly soil for grains and grasses. Wheat, oats, hay, alfalfa, barley, corn, hops, besides grapes and fruits flourish when planted in suitable loca- tions. But the richest lands are the bottom lands, which fringe the rivers and larger streams for a distance of from one to three miles. These are covered with a deep, rich alluvium, upon which may be raised any kind of vegetables, and temperate and semi-tropical fruits are reaching full perfection in size, quantity and quality. These lands are almost annually overflown, and the deposit left by the receding waters is said almost to equal guano in its fertilizing effects. Many of these lands are now protected, so that the rising waters may be controlled and utilized with judgment. Upon such lands, so watered, and in such a climate, almost anything will grow.

Owing to the fact that the country is traversed by so many rivers, it contains an unusual amount of this exceedingly rich land, which is nearly all under the highest cultivation.

PRODUCTIONS.

The productions of Sacramento County com- prise all the grains, vegetables, fruits, trees and flowers grown in the temperate and semi-tropi- cal climates. Everything in the way of grain, bread-stuffs, vegetables, and fruits needed for man's comfort and support may be successfully cultivated here. The soil is rich and varied, water is abundant, and the climate is propitious. Here is no winter, in the common acceptation of the word, nor any rainy season as it is under- stood in the tropics. The winter months are called the "rainy season," not that it theu rains

incessantly or severely, but because the rainfall comes almost exclusively in those months. In the summer it rarely rains. The grain is sel- dom housed when harvested, but is left in the fields until ready for the market, the husband- man feeling little fear of trouble from the ele- ments.

CLIMATE.

Perhaps no feature of California has been more powerful in inducing immigration than its mild and equable climate. The north Atlantic States have their cold, damp east winds, which blow from the ocean at times for days in succes- sion, and whose power of penetration is such that neither woolen underwear nor rubber top- coats seem able to keep them from " searching the marrow of one's bones." The borders of the Great Lakes are visited with winds so cold and so charged with moisture, that they clothe all nature in coats of ice, and often jeopardize the lives of the domestic animals. On the northern shores of the lakes, the jingling sleigh- bells for fully five months in the year strive by their merry music to direct attention from the chill of death that lays over the land, and from these sections thousands longingly turn their faces from the cold and ice to the sunny land where each may sit in the shade of " his own vine and fig tree."

In this regard Sacramento County offers temptations that are not exceeded in attractive- ness by those of any portion of the State. The following data, culled from the published re- ports of the United States Government observ- ers will give a fair idea of the charming climate, which has enabled the city of Sacramento to win for itself the delightfully suggestive sobriquet of the "City of Roses."

During the ten years just passed, the highest temperature recorded is 105°, which was reached once, and the lowest is 21°, also reached but once. A better idea of the range of tempera- ture may be had from the fact that during the same period the average number of days in each year upon which the thermometer reached 90°,

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

ten below the surface. About fifteen tons of roughly dressed stone are shipped from this quarry weekly, the most of it being used for cemetery work and street curbs. Thirteen men are employed here at wages ranging from $2.50 to $4 per day.

In the quarry on the State Prison grounds at Folsom, a large force of convicts are employed getting out stone for the dam being built by the State on the American River.

Most of the cobblestones used for paving the streets of San Francisco were taken from the banks of the American River, in the vicinity of Folsom.

At Michigan Bar, on the Cosumnes River, occurs an extensive bed of potter's clay. Being a good article, and easily obtained, large quan- tities of this clay are taken out and shipped to the potteries at Sacramento, San Francisco, and elsewhere in the State. Great quantities of oricks are made from the more common clays found abundantly in this county.

INDIANS.

From Dr. M. F. Clayton we learn the follow- ing particulars concerning the Digger Indians of this region, in early day.

They obtain their English name from the fact that they procured much of their food by dig- ging, in search of roots, reptiles, etc. Acorns, grasshoppers, fish and other animals were also comprised in their menu. Their habits were those of laziness and filth, and they scarcely had energy enough to steal. They were in stature low and stocky. The few attempts that have been made to civilize (?) them have generally resulted in shortening their lives. They did not

follow a tent life, but wandered about like tramps, occasionally, however, having a rancheree, which was a rude hut constructed of bark, pieces of board, sticks and brush. After the discovery of gold they picked up a little of the shining metal occasionally, which they exchanged for a few articles furnished by the whites only. Some- times, too, they would bring forth a few speci- mens of fur and hides from wild animals, for barter with the whites. They were incessant and intolerable beggars. The squaws dia about all the menial labor.

Their dances and funerals were often wit- nessed by the early immigrants. The former were performed within enclosures surrounded by a rude fence, made of bark, pieces of board, shakes, etc., where several tribes would gather, feast, dance, yell and make many hideous noises.

They burned their dead. With bark or leath- ern thongs they would tie the arms and legs of the corpse up about the body so as to make as solid a ball as possible, tying also about it the blankets, clothing and other articles which the subject had possessed, and in a heap of dry bark, brush, etc., burn the corpse into a small charred mass. Meanwhile the men and women, bared to the waist, danced around the pile, yelling, moaning, sweating and violently exercising nn- til nearly exhausted. Great drops of sweat, rolling down, made conspicuons streaks over the dirty surfaces of their bodies. The crema- tion completed, they would pulverize the charred mass upon a flat stone, mix gum or pitch with it and then danb the mixture upon their fore- heads, noses, chins, and in spots and streaks elsewhere upon their bodies. Whence they were often called "Tar-heads."

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SUTTER'S FORT IN 1849. THE BUILDINGS.

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Sutter Fort

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SUTTER'S FORT IN 1849. THE GROUNDS.

The above cuts are kindly furnished this work by the proprietors of "Themis."

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HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

JOHN A. SUTTER AND HIS FORT.

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CHAPTER II.

HE first permanent settler within the limits of what is now Sacramento County, who is known to history, and who initiated European civilization, was Captain John A. Sutter. The following sketch of his life we con- dense from a lecture delivered in New York, April 6, 1866, by General Dunbar in Sntter's presence, and published in the Sacramento Union of May 10 following:

Sutter was born of Swiss parents, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, February 28, 1803. Reared and educated in Baden, yonng Sutter entered the military service of France as Cap- tain under Charles X., and remained there until he was thirty years of age. At this period, yielding to his pioneer impulses, he embarked for New York, and arrived there in July, 1834. His object in coming to the New World was to select a place and prepare the way for a colony of his countrymen in the West. He first located at St. Charles, Missouri; but the vessel containing his effects was sunk, his property lost, and he abandoned the place of his first choice.

After sojourning in St. Louis for a time, he made a journey of exploration to New Mexico, where he met hunters and trappers, who had traversed Upper California, and they described to him the beautiful sun-lit valleys, the verdure- covered hills and the magnificent mountains of that remarkable land. These accounts resolved

him to make California the field of his future operations.

The only way of reaching the Pacific Coast at that time was to accompany trapping expe- ditions of the English and American fur com- panies. On the 1st of April, 1836, Sutter joined Captain Tripp, of the American Fur Company, and traveled with his party to their rendezvous in the Rocky Mountain region. Thence, with six horsemen, he crossed the mountains, and after encountering many dangers, arrived at Fort Vancouver. Not finding it practicable to go south from Vancouver by land, he embarked on a vessel bound for the Sand- wich Islands, hoping to find an opportunity of sailing thence to the California coast. He sailed from the Islands in a vessel bonnd for Sitka, and from there down the coast. The vessel was driven by gales into the Bay of San Fran- cisco, on July 2, 1839. (The point at which San Francisco now stands was then called Yerba Buena.) The vessel was boarded by a Govern- mental officer, with an armed force, who ordered Sutter to leave, saying that Monterey, ninety miles southward, was the port of entry. Per- mission, however, was obtained to remain forty- eight hours for supplies.

On reaching Monterey, Sutter told the Gov- ernor, General Alvarado, that he desired to occupy and colonize a section of country in

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

Upper California, on the Sacramento River. The Governor warmly approved his plan, as he was desirous that the upper country should be subdued and settled. He informed Sutter that the Indians in that country were hostile, that they would not permit the whites to settle there, and that they had robbed the inhabitants of San José and the lower settlements of their cattle, etc; but he readily gave Sntter a passport with authority to explore and occupy any territory which he should consider profitable for his colony, and requested him to return in one year, when he should have his citizenshipacknowledged and receive a grant of such lands as he might desire.

Sutter returned to Yerba Buena, then con- taining scarcely fifty inhabitants, engaged a schooner and several small boats, and with a company of ten whites started to ascend the river with no guide, as no one could be found in Yerba Buena who had ever ascended the Sacra- mento River. After eight days' search he found the month of the Sacramento. Reaching a point about ten miles below the present site of Sacra- mento City, he encountered a party of 200 Indian warriors, who exibited every indication of hos- tility. Fortunately, two or three of the Indians understood Spanish, and Sutter soon soothed them by an assurance that there were no Span- iards in his party,-against whom the Indians were particularly hostile,-and explained to them that he came only to be a peaceable citizen.

Guided by two Indians, who could speak Spanish, Sutter made his way up the Sacra- mento to the Feather River, and ascended the latter stream some distance; but, on account of the aların of some of his men, returned down the Sacramento River to the month of the American, and on August 16, 1839, landed his effects upon the south bank of that streanı, a little above the mouth and near where the city of Sacramento is now located. Here he informed the disappointed whites that they might leave him if they wished, but that the Kanakas were willing to remain. Three of the whites left, with the schooner, for Yerba Buena.

Three weeks later Sutter removed to where he built the fort which has since become famous. But little did he think then that he was to be the most important instrumentality in the found- ing of a magnificent empire. His companions were six wandering whites of various nativities and eight Kanakas, who were ever faithful to him, and who constituted his " colony " and his army. By their aid he was to hold his ground, subdne and colonize a district of country en- tirely unknown, and inhabited only by wild and roving tribes of hostile Indians. This portion of Upper California, though fair to look upon, was peculiarly solitary and uninviting. It was isolated and remote from civilization. The nearest white settlement was a small one at Martinez. The Indians were of that class known as " Diggers."

Born and reared in the atmosphere of royalty and the refined society of Europe, with a liberal inilitary education, gentle and polished in man- ners, and of nnbonnded generosity of heart, we find Sutter successfully planting his little colony in the midst of the wild Digger Indians of the Sacramento country. At length a few pioneers came stealing over the border, then the solid tramp of masses was heard, and then came a human deluge, that overwhelmed our bold Swiss pio- neer.

The first tide of immigration was entirely from Oregon. In the fall of 1839 there was an accession of eight white men, and in August, 1840, five of those who had crossed the Rocky Mountains with Sutter, and whom he had left in Oregon, joined him. During the fall of that . year the Mokelumne Indians, with other tribes, became so troublesome that open war was made against them; and after a severe but short cam- paign they were subdued, and an enduring peace established. Other bands of Indians or- ganized secret expeditions to destroy the colony, but by force and strict vigilance their machi- nations were defeated, and Sutter conquered the entire Sacramento Valley, bringing into willing subjection many of those who had been his fiercest enemies. In time lie made them culti-

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

vate the soil, build his fort, care for the stock, and make themselves generally useful. In the subsequent military history of California, Sutter and his Indians were a power. Traffic increased apace. He sent hides to San Francisco, furnished the trappers with supplies, and received in ex- change or by purchase their furs. The me- chanics and laborers who came he employed, or procured them work.

In June, 1841, Sutter visited Monterey, then the capital of the country, was declared a Mexi- can citizen, and received from Governor Alva- rado a grant of the land upon which he had located-eleven " leagues "-under the title of " New Helvetia." The Governor also gave him a commission. Returning to his colony, he was shortly afterward visited by Captain Ringgold, of the United States Exploring Expedition, under Commodore Wilkes, with officers and men. About the same time Alexander Kotchkoff, Governor of the Russian Possessions in Cali- fornia, visited Sutter and offered to sell him all the possessions of his Government known as Ross and Bodega. Accepting the bargain, Sut- ter came into possession of a vast extent of real estate, besides 2,000 cattle, 1,000 horses, fifty inules and 2,500 sheep, most of which were transferred to New Helvetia.

In 1844 Sutter's improvements were exten- sive, and the amount of his stock was large. During that year he petitioned Governor Michel- torena for the grant or purchase of the surplus over the first eleven leagues of land within the bounds of the survey accompanying the Alva- . rado grant, and this petition was granted Febru- ary 5, 1845, in consideration of Sutter's valuable services and his expenditure of $8,000 in the suppression of the Castro rebellion.

About 1844 small bodies of emigrants began to find their way to California direct from the States, striking Sutter's Fort, the first settlement after crossing the mountains. Year by year these parties of immigrants increased in size, until after the gold discovery, when they could be counted by thousands and tens of thousands. It was then that the value of Sutter's settle-

ment and the generous qualities of the man be- came strikingly apparent. No weary, destitute immigrant reached his fort who was not sup- plied with all that he needed and sent on his way rejoicing. Frequently he even sent sup- plies in advance to those coming through the Sierras. Year after year he did this, without thinking of any return. On one occasion a solitary immigrant was just able to reach the fort and reported that his companions were at some distance back dying of starvation. Sutter immediately caused seven mules to be packed with supplies, and, attended by two Indian boys, started with the immigrant for the scene of dis- tress. On arriving, everything was seized by the crazed wretches and devoured.

Other starving immigrants arriving, they killed the Sutter's seven mules and ate thiem. Then they killed the two Indian boys and ate them. Said Sutter, referring to the circumstance afterward with much feeling, " They ate my Indian boys all up."

During the war between the United States and Mexico, Sutter was a Mexican citizen, and the representative of the Mexican Government on the frontier; but his sympathies were natu- rally with the United States. Whenever any party of American citizens, civil or military, visited him, his unbounded hospitalities were uniformly and cordially extended to them. When the country surrendered to the United States forces, with joy he raised the American flag, July 10, 1846, and fired a salute from the guns of his fort. In 1849 he was a member of the Constitutional Convention; at the first State election was a candidate for Governor, and was afterward a Brigadier-General in the State mi- litia.

But the day on which gold was discovered was an evil one for him. His mechanics and laborers deserted him, even the Kanakas and Indians. He could not hire laborers to plant or harvest his crops. Neither could he run his mills. For a time after the immense flood of immigration poured in, his rights were re- spected; but it was not for long. When men

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

found that money could be made in other ways than by mining, many forcibly entered upon his lands and cut his wood, under the plea that they were vacant and unappropriated lands of the United States. By the 1st of January, 1852, the settlers had occupied his lands capable of settlement or appropriation, and others had stolen all his horses, mules, cattle, sheep and hogs, save a small portion used and sold by him- self. One party of five, during the high waters of 1849-'50, when his cattle were partly sur- rounded by water near the Sacramento River, killed and sold enough to amount to $60,000.

Sutter, broken in purse, disheartened, robbed and powerless to help himself, removed to Sut- ter County and took up his residence at Hock Farm, then a beautiful piece of property, but now a waste of sand and débris. For some . years he led the quiet life of a farmer there, but afterward was a continual haunter of Congress at Washington, where he sought to obtain re- dress from the general Government for the bare- faced robberies that had been practiced upon him. In 1873 he removed to Litiz, Pennsylva- nia, and on the 18th day of June, 1880, died at Washington, District of Columbia.

Sutter was a generous man. His manners were polished, and the impression he made on every one was favorable. In figure he was of medium height, rather stout but well made. His head was ronnd, features regular, with smiling and agreeable expression, while his complexion was healthy and roseate. He wore his hair cut close, and his moustache trimmed short, a la militaire. He dressed very neatly in frock coat, pantaloons and cape of blue.

Such was the man to whom California owes so much, and upon whom she bestowed so little.

Captain John C. Frémont, the "Pathfinder," arrived in this country in March, 1844, and in his narrative thus describes the situation of Sut- ter and his fort:

"Captain Sutter emigrated to this country from the western part of Missouri in 1838-'39, and formned the first settlement in the valley, on

a large grant of land which he obtained from the Mexican Government. He had at first some trouble with the Indians; but by the occasional exercise of well-timed anthority, he has suc- ceeded in converting them into a peaceful and industrious people. The ditches around his ex- tensive wheat fields; the making of the sun- dried bricks of which his fort is constructed; the plowing, harrowing and other agricultural oper- ations, are entirely the work of these Indians, for which they receive a very moderate com- pensation-principally in shirts, blankets and other articles of clothing. In the same manner, on application to the chief of a village, he read- ily obtains as many boys and girls as he has any use for. There were at this time a number of girls at the fort, in training for a future woolen factory; but they were now all busily engaged in constantly watering the gardens. Mr. Sutter was about making arrangements to irrigate his lands by means of the American River. He had this year sown, and altogether by Indian labor, 300 bushels of wheat.

" A few years since, the neighboring Russian establishment of Ross, being about to withdraw from the country, sold to him a large number of stock, with agricultural and other stores, with a number of pieces of artillery and other muni- tions of war; for these, a regular yearly pay- ment is made in grain.

" The fort is a quadrangular adobe structure, mounting twelve pieces of artillery (two of them brass), and capable of admitting a garrison of 1,000 men; this at present consists of forty In- dians, in uniform-one of whom is always found on duty at the gate. As might be expected, the pieces are not in very good order. The whites in the employ of Captain Sutter, Ameri- can, French and German, number thirty men. The inner wall is formed into buildings com- prising the common quarters, with blacksmith and other work-shops, the dwelling-house with a large distillery house, and other buildings oc- cupying more the center of the area.

" It is built upon a pond-like stream, at times a running creek, communicating with the

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

American River, which enters the Sacramento about two miles below. The latter is here a noble river, abont 300 yards broad, deep and tranquil, with several fathoms of water in the channel, and its banks continuously timbered. There were two vessels belonging to Captain Sutter at anchor near the landing-one a large two-masted lighter, and the other a schooner, which was shortly to proceed on a voyage to Fort Vancouver for a cargo of goods."

Nothing now remains of the fort excepting the main two-story building, which is still un- protected against the ravages of the elements and the vandalism of reckless boys. The south- ern end was many years ago replaced with fire- burned brick, and a new roof of shingles has supplanted the primitive Mexican tiling. The property is owned by a gentleman in the East.

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

THE CALIFORNIA REVOLUTION AND THE BEAR FLAG PARTY,

CHAPTER III.

'T was evident in 1844-'45 that hostilities could reasonably be expected between the United States and Mexico. Events which had oc- curred in Texas had aroused a feeling on the part of the Mexican people, and in the United States it was generally understood that the election of Polk in 1844 meant the annexation of Mexican territory. In California, about that time, feelings of animosity sprang up between the Mexican and American population. At first the settlement of Americans in this country had been encouraged by the local government; but in 1845 the American settlers apprehended that steps would be taken by the native population to drive them from the country. This was be- fore there had been any declaration of war be- tween the United States and Mexico. It was very evident, however, that both Governments were preparing for hostilities. Colonel Frémont reached California ostensibly on an exploring expedition. This was one of a series of expedi- tions led by him, for the exploration of the western portion of the continent. He had en- countered some little opposition from the exist- ing government in the lower portion of California, and proceeded on his way toward Oregon.

In April or May, 1846, Lieutenant Gillespie, of the United States Army, arrived in California, and, after preparing himself for the journey, left Monterey in pursuit of Frémont's party, but lie did not overtake them until the 9th of May. Frémont was then in Oregon. While the pur-

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Author: Davis, Winfield J., 1851- 4n Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 916

Author: Davis, Winfield J., 1851- 4n
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago : Lewis Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 916