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 3

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 3

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port of Gillespie's dispatch to Frémont has never been made public, it has been reasonably surmised that it contained an intimation from the authorities at Washington that Fremnont should return to California and be in readiness to assist in the conquest of this territory on the first intimation of the outbreak of war. Fre- mont immediately returned, and encamped at or near the site where Sacramento City is now lo- cated. At that time the population of Califor- nia was estimated at about 10,000, exclusive of Indians, and probably less than 2,000 of that number were foreigners. General Castro, the military commandante of California, had issued several proclamations ordering the foreigners to leave the country, and the American settlers finally determined that the time had arrived that some decisive movement for defense should be made. The immediate occasion for this movement was an order from Castro to Lientenant Francisco de Arce to proceed with fourteen men as a guard for some horses be- longing to the Government, which were at the mission of San Rafael, and remove them to the mission of Santa Clara. The Lieutenant was under the necessity of passing up the Sacra- mento River as far as what was then called New Helvetia,-now the site of Sacramento City, -- that being the first point at which the horses could swim across the river. The party of de Arce was observed by an Indian in their move- ment, who reported that he had seen two or three

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

hundred armed and mounted men advancing up the Sacramento River; and from his inforination the settlers believed that Castro, at the head of a large party, was marching to attack Frémont. The news traveled by conriers among the Americans, and they hastily gathered for the defense at Sutter's Fort. At the meeting there held it was proposed that a sufficient company should follow Lieutenant de Arce and seize the horses. This settlers' party overtook the Lien- tenant and his command on the morning of June 10, 1846, and surprised de Arce's party near the Cosumnes River, where they were en- camped, and, without resistance, their horses and arms were seized, and the captured men were dismissed, each one being given a horse.

This was the first overt act on the part of the foreigners which led to the revolution; and it opened a breach which made it necessary that all should take ground on one or the other side.

This act was immediately followed by the taking of the town and mission of Sonoma, which occurred on the morning of June 14. The party of Americans had been augmented to thirty-three, and were under the command of a man named Merritt. They were known as the famous "Bear Flag party." It was composed mostly of hunters, and of men who could leave their homes at the shortest notice .. They had not time to dress, even if they had good clothes; and as they entered the town they appeared about as rough looking as could well be imag- ined. The seizure of the town and mission was made withont bloodshed, and General M. G. Vallejo, Lientenant-Colonel l'rudon, Don Sal- vador Vallejo and other gentlemen cf promi- nence were captured and carried to Sutter's Fort, where they were kept prisoners for sixty days or more.

A garrison of about eighteen inen, under the command of William B. Ide, was left at Sonoma. In a few days it was increased to about forty; and on the 18th day of June, 1846, Ide issued a proclamation declaring that himself and com- panions had been invited to the country, and had been promised protection by the Govern-

ment; but that they had been subjected to op. pression by the military despotism; that threats had been made, by proclamation, of extermina- tion if they did not depart from the country; that it simply meant that they had either to be compelled to abandon their property and be driven through deserts inhabited by hostile In- dians, or must defend theinselves; and that they had been forced to inaugurate a revolution, with a view of establishing and perpetuating a re- publican government.

The party adopted what has been called the " Bear Flag," and there was a partial organiza- tion under the name of the " Republic of Cali- fornia." The flag was made of a piece of cotton cloth, with one red strip on the bottom, and on the white portion the figure of a grizzly bear, with a single star in front of him. It was painted, or rather stained, with lamp-black and poke-berries. On the top were the words, " Re- public of California."

Inasmuch as there has been considerable dis- pute regarding the causes which led to the rev- olution in California, the capture of Sonoma, the issuance of the Ide proclamation, and the raising of the " Bear Flag" and its design, we rely upon the accounts which were published in the Californian newspaper in Angust and Sep- tember, 1846, a few months after the occurrence of the events, and which were written by Rob- ert Semple, the editor, who was an active par- ticipant in some of the scenes which he de- scribed. In his articles he distinctly stated that he wrote them as a matter of history and for the benefit of future historians.

On the 7th of July, 1846, Commodore John D. Sloat arrived at Monterey with a United States frigate. Monterey was then the Mexican capital of California. The Commodore took pos- session of the town, and hoisted over it the American flag From that day dates the pro- prietorship of the United States to California. Sloat's frigate had been lying at Mazatlan, under instructions to seize California on the first inti- mation of hostilities between his government and Mexico. The first American flag was hoisted

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

in the Sacramento Valley, where Sacramento City now stands. Colonel John C. Fremont was then encamped there, at the head of about 170 men. On the evening of July 10, William Scott arrived in the camp with the news of the hoisting of the flag at Monterey by Commodore Sloat, and brought with him an American flag sent by Captain John B. Montgomery, of the United States ship Portsmouth. Speaking of the receipt of the news at Sacramento, the Cali- fornian, the first newspaper published in Cali- fornia, said:

" It (the news) was received with universal shouts by the men, and our gallant leader, sur-

rounded by a number of officers and soldiers, partook of a cup of good brandy and sang some national airs. The ' Star Spangled Banner' was responded to with warmth."

Of course the flag of the United States sup- planted the flag of the Bear. Several engage- ments occurred between the United States and Mexican forces in the southern portion of the territory, but early in 1847 the Mexicans capitu- lated, and hostilities ceased upon the soil of California.

The above are all the events of importance that occurred in this section in connection with the conquest of the country.

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

DISCOVERY OF GOLD.K -;

CHAPTER IV.

HE first mention of gold in California was made in Hakluyt's account of the voyage of Sir Francis Drake, who spent five or six weeks, in June and July, 1579, in a bay on the coast of California. It has always been a question and will remain a question, whether this bay was that of San Francisco or one further to the north. In the narrative of Hakluyt it is written: " There is no part of the earth here to be taken up wherein there is not a reasonable quantity of gold or silver." At this day we know that this statement must have been un- true, and was doubtless written for the purpose of attracting attention to the importance of the expedition of Sir Francis Drake. California was then a comparatively unknown country. It had been visited only by early explorers, and its characteristics were merely conjectured. When Hakluyt wrote there could hardly be a " hand- ful of soil taken up wherein there is not a rea- sonable quantity of gold or silver," in the light of the present the statement was absurd, for neither gold nor silver has ever been found in the vicinity of the point where Drake must have landed.

Other early explorers stated that gold had been found long before the discovery by Mar- shall; and there is no doubt that a well-founded surmise prevailed that gold existed in California. The country had been explored at times since the sixteenth century, by Spanish, Russian and American parties. It was visited by Commo-

dore Wilkes, who was in the service of the Uni- ted States on an extensive exploring expedition ; and members of his party ascended the Sacra- mento River and visited Sutter at the fort, while others made explorations by land.

James D. Dana, a celebrated author of several works on mineralogy, was the mineralogist of this expedition and passed by land through the upper portion of California. In one of his works he says that gold rock and veins of quartz were observed by him in 1842 near the Umpqua River, in Southern Oregon; and again, that he found gold near the Sierra Nevada and on the Sacramento River; also, on the San Joaquin River and between those rivers. There is, in the reports of the Frémont exploring expedi- tion, an intimation of the existence of gold.

It has been said that in October and Novem- ber, 1845, a Mexican was shot at Yerba Buena (San Francisco) on account of having a bag of gold dust, and when dying pointed northward and said, " Legos! Legos!" (yonder), indicating where he had found the gold dust.

It has been claimed, and with a considerable degree of probability, that the Mormons who arrived in San Francisco on the ship Brooklyn found gold before the famous discovery at Co- loma. The circumstances in connection with this discovery are somewhat romantic. The Mormou people had established themselves at Nauvoo, Illinois, a point where they believed themselves to be beyond the reach of perse-

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

cntion. However, the country there became populated by those not of their faith, and the antagonism against the Mormons resulted finally in bloodshed, and the founder of the church, Joseph Smith, was shot by a mob and killed. The Mormons then determined to remove farther west, and into a section of country beyond the reach of the Government of the United States. They selected California as their future home. Their land expedition started across the plains, and a ship named the Brooklyn carried from the eastern side of the continent a number of the believers. Samuel Brannan, who was prominent in the early history of Sacramento, San Fran- cisco and the State, was one of their leading men who came with the sea voyagers. When the Brooklyn emigrants landed at Yerba Buena (San Francisco) they found that the United States forces had taken possession of California, and that they had landed upon soil possessed by the nation from which they were endeavoring to flee. Couriers were sent overland to inter- cept the land party, and it is said that they found them at the place where Salt Lake City is now located. The overland party determined to locate at that place, although it was then sterile and unpromising. Those who came on the Brooklyn dispersed in California, and some of them located at Mormon Island, in Sacra- mento County; and it is claimed that they found gold long before the discovery at Coloma, but that they kept their discovery a secret. How- ever that may be, it is a fact that mining was prosecuted by them about the time of Marshall's discovery.

At a banquet of the Associated Pioneers of the territorial days of California, held in the city of New York, on January 18, 1878, Colonel T. B. Thorpe, a veteran of the Mexican War, who had been on the staff of General Zachary Taylor, stated that while he had been employed as a journalist in New Orleans, several years before the discovery of gold at Coloma, a Swede, evidently far gone into consumption, called upon him and represented that he was what in his country was called a " king's orphan;" that he

had been educated at a governmental institution, on condition that after he had received his edu- cation he should travel in foreign lands, observe and record what he had seen, and deposit his records with the Government. He stated that he had visited California, remained several days at Sutter's Fort, enjoying the hospitality of Sutter; that while there he closely examined the surrounding country and became convinced that it abounded richly in gold. Colonel Thorpe stated that the Swede gave him this opinion in writing. At that banquet General Sutter was present, and Colonel Thorpe called upon him to say whether he had any recollection concerning the Swedish visitor. Sutter replied that he did recollect the visit, which had occurred about thirty-four years before; and he also remem- bered that the Swede expressed himself regard- ing the presence of mineral wealth in the neigh- boring hills; " but," added the General, " I was too much ocenpied at the time with other con- cerns to devote any time or attention to it. My ·crops were ripe, and it was imperative that they should be gathered as quickly as possible, but I do recollect the scientific Swedish gentleman."

The report of the remarks delivered at that banquet were published, and in it is contained a copy of the manuscript to which Colonel Thorpe referred, in which the "king's orphan " wrote: "The Californias are rich in minerals. Gold, silver, lead, oxide of iron, manganese and copper ore are all met with throughout the country, the precious metals being the most abundant."

There is another account of an early gold dis- covery, which was published in the New Age, in San Francisco, the official organ of the Odd Fellows, in September, 1865. It purports to have been an extract written by the Paris cor- respondent of the London Star, who wrote that in the city of Paris he visited a private museum, and that its owner exhibited to him a nugget of gold, and stated that twenty-eight years before a poor invalid had presented himself and took out of his tattered coat a block of quartz, and asked the proprietor of the museum if he would

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

purchase it, assuring him that it was full of gold. The stranger said: " I have come to you to apply to the Government to give me a vessel and a crew of 100 men, and I will promise to return with a cargo of gold." The proprietor of the museumn presumed that the man was mad, and gave him a napoleon as a matter of charity, but retained a piece of the quartz. Afterward the quartz was analyzed, and it was proved to contain pure gold. Fifteen years elapsed, and a parcel and a letter were left at his door. The parcel was wrapped in a handkerchief, and was heavy. The letter was worn and almost illegi- ble. On deciphering it, it proved to be the dying statement of the poor traveler, which, through the neglect of the lodging-house keeper where he had died after the interview referred to, had never been delivered. The packagecontained a block of quartz, and the letter was thus worded:

"You alone listened to me; you alone stretched out a helping hand to me. Alas! it was too late! I am dying. I bequeath my secret to you. The country from whence I brought this gold is called California."

The credit, however, for the practical discovery of gold in California is due to James W. Marshall. It is true that a gold mine had been worked in 1841 in the lower part of the State, and that gold from that mine had been sent to the Phila- delphia mint for coinage as early as Jnly, 1843. The inine, however, proved unprofitable and was abandoned. The story of the discovery by Mar- shall at Coloma, in January, 1848, is confused, and the precise date upon which it was made can perhaps never be settled. Marshall was em- ployed by Captain Sutter, and was in charge of a party of men erecting a saw-mill at the pres- ent site of Colomna, in El Dorado County. A

raceway was dug and the water turned in. In examining the race afterward, Marshall's atten- tion was attracted by a shining object. He picked it up. It was gold. Other particles of the metal were collected, and Marshall came with them to Sutter's Fort and exhibited them to his employer, Sutter. They were tested in a crude way, and Sutter became convinced that the metal was gold. Afterward specimens were sent to Monterey, then the capital of the Terri- tory, and exhibited to General R. B. Mason, the military governor, and to W. T. Sherman, at that time an obscure officer in the United States Army, but who has since risen to national noto- riety. The integrity of the metal was estab- lished, the news of the discovery sent forth, the world was electrified, and immigration poured in from every civilized country.

James W. Marshall was born in Hope Town- ship, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, October 8, 1810. On arriving at man's estate he re- moved to Indiana, afterward to Illinois and Missouri, and arrived in California in 1844. In 1845 he came to Sutter's Fort, and was employed by Captain Sutter. He took an active part in the California revolution of 1846. After his discovery of gold the Legislature of the State pensioned hin for a time. Subsequently he settled on a small piece of land at Coloma, near where he had discovered the gold, and made his living by farming. About 5 o'clock on the morning of August 10, 1885, he was found dead in his cabin, and was buried near the spot where gold was first found by himn. He was never married.

A fine statue of Marshall has recently been erected by the State at the point where he made his famous discovery.

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

FOUNDING OF SACRAMENTO CITY

CHAPTER V.

HE city of Sacramento is located on the east bank of the Sacramento River, im- mediately below the month of the Ameri- can River. The first settlement was made by John A. Sutter, in 1839, and long before there was any thought of establishing a city. The news of the gold discovery attracted to Sutter's Fort a large immigration from all portions of the civilized world, and this point, being prac- tically the head of inland navigation. became the first nucleus of a settlement. At first a town of canvas tents was established, and after- ward the city was regularly laid out, the survey being made in December, 1848, by Captain William II. Warner, of the United States Army, assisted by W. T. Sherman, now General.

In 1844, however, an effort was made, under the patronage of Sutter and others, to lay ont and build a town at a point three miles below the site of Sacramento City. A survey was made and a village commenced. The first house was erected by Sutter, the second by one Hadel, and the third by George Zins. The last mneu- tioned was a brick building, and the first of the kind crected in California. Zins afterward man- ufactured the bricks, in Sacramento, which were used in the first brick buildings erected in this city. Ile stamped each brick with his initials, and one of them is now preserved in the Crocker Art Gallery Museum of the city, and one in the Museum of the Pioneer Association. For a

time, " Sutterville," as it was called, in honor of its projector, flourished; but after the gold dis- covery the population centered at Sacramento, or the " Embarcadero," the Spanish name.

At the time or shortly after the discovery of gold, quite a number of stores were established at the fort, and indeed that was the practical business center in this portion of the Territory. The first store, an adobe building, was that of C. C. Smith & Co., Samuel Brannan being the "Co." This was started two months prior to the opening of the mines, and across its count- ers were made the first exchanges of American goods for California gold. Brannan subsequently became the sole proprietor. Hensley & Read- ing had a store afterward in the fort, and one of the clerks was James King of William, later editor of the San Francisco Bulletin, who was killed by James P. Casey in the " Vigilance Committee " days of 1856.

When the city of Sacramento was established Sutter owned its site. After the discovery of gold and the laying out of the city, Sutter con- veyed his entire interest in the plat to his son; and on December 30, 1849, Sutter, Jr., em- ployed Peter H. Burnett-afterward Governor -- as his lawyer to manage his newly acquired in- terests. Conveyances were made by Sutter and his son, which resulted in a confusion of titles that were not adjusted until after many years of litigation.

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

After the establishment of Sacramento there was a steady improvement of the town. From a village of canvas tents it grew to be one of wood an I brick structures, and the town of Sut- terville soon had an existence only on piper. After the flood of 1861-'62, an effort was made to revive the town of Sutterville, but it again failed.

During the time that Sacramento was flooded, in January, 1853, all communication with the mining counties was cut off, and some of the enterprising merchants songht higher ground for the city site, where freight could be landed from vessels without danger from floods. The site they selected was on the south bank of the American River, nearly due north from the point now called Brighton, and they named the new town "Hoboken." At that day the American River was navigable to that point. A large town was laid out there, with wide streets and a steamboat landing. Within ten days a place sprang up which promised to be a rival to Sac- ramento. Three steamers made daily trips be- tween the two places. An express office was established at Hoboken, besides many other fa- cilities for commercial business. Trade there flourished. Many of the business firms of Sac- ramento removed to the new town, and the newspapers of the city devoted a page to the interests of Hoboken. But Hoboken declined as rapidly as it had sprung up, and to-day its site constitutes a portion of a farm.

The city of " Boston " was laid out at the con- fluence of the American and Sacramento rivers, north of Sacramento. It, however, never " ma- terialized," and existed only on maps.

The population of Sacramento, prior to Janu- ary, 1848, was comparatively insignificant; but with the influx which followed the discovery of gold its augmentation had been perhaps unpre- cedented in the history of the world. The first census taken in the State-in 1851-during the administration of President Fillmore, was under the superintendency of J. Neely Johnson, as Census Agent of this district. Ile was after- ward Governor of the State. In that enumera-

tion Sacramento was credited with 11,000 in- habitants. The population of the State as then returned was about 120,000. The Federal cen- sus of 1860 credits the city with 12,800; of 1870, with 16,283; of 1880, with 21,420; and the present year, 1889, it has probably between 30,000 and 40,000.

George McDougal, brother of " I John," the second Governor, was a prominent character in the founding of Sacramento City. He came here from Indiana in 1848, joined Frémont's battalion, and was with it in the memorable campaign in Southern California. Returning to San Francisco, he became distinguished there; and when the mines were discovered joined the gold-seekers and had some exciting experiences in the mines. Shortly after the survey of Sac- ramento City was made, he procured a lease of a ferry privilege from Captain Sutter at a point below the entrance of Sutter Lake, and opened the first store in the place, bringing up a store ship and locating it near the foot of I street. His partner was Judge Blackburn, of Santa Cruz. The arrival of the son of Captain Sutter effected an important change in the destiny of the new city. He received the interest of his father in the city, and immediately a question arose between him and MeDougal in respect to the prerogatives of his lease. The question be- ing decided in favor of Sutter, MeDougal became so disaffected with the place that he determined to " extinguish the prospects " of the new city, and move to Sutterville. Transporting all his goods to that point, and leaving his brother John in charge of them, he went East. John then issned immense placards, declaring that the firm over which he presided had determined to take the lead in competition, and accordingly would sell goods at " cost and freight," with a verbal assurance that if they could not obtain patronage at that rate they would sell at the primary cost of their merchandise. But the merchants at the fort combined and Me Dougal & Co. soon had to break up.

George wandered into Utah, New Mexico, and adjacent Territories, and meanwhile reports

HISTORY OF SACRAMENTO COUNTY.

of his death were received on the coast. An Eastern brother administered on his estate. Trace of him was lost for years. Finally Cap- tain Brown, of the ram Stonewall, was going to Japan through the Straits of Magellan, when some Patagonian chiefs came aboard, among whom was a "hirsute, squalid, weather-tanned and very tattooed man," none other than "Colo- nel George MeDougal!" He had journeyed through Central America and varions South American countries, and was then prospecting at Sandy Point, a savage and solitary station in the straits. He was the chief of an Indian tribe!

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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