History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 18

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA,

a straw stack near Mount Eden was struck by lightning and burned during a severe thunder-storm, while the telegraph wire at Centreville was also struck in like manner, exploding the magnet in the telegraph office and making a report like that of a musket.

With the year 1863 came marvelous changes. The subject of railroads first commanded public attention in the question of a subsidy for the Alameda Valley Rail- road, and the breaking of ground at Sacramento for the great trans-continental line of the Central Pacific, while in the month of February the organization of the San Fran- cisco, Alameda, and Stockton Railroad Company commenced to be spoken of. The subject of railroads, however, will be found more extendedly dwelt upon in the history of Oakland Township, suffice it here to state that the boon conferred upon Alameda County by this means of transportation has been inestimable. In this year too, a min- . ing excitement had broken out, and several persons were digging into the hills some four miles to the east of Brooklyn, on what afterwards obtained the appropriate sob- riquet of "Wild Cat Ranch," but we have failed to learn that any one "struck it rich " though all at the time were full of hope. On November 23d several parties in Alva- rado were fired upon by a gang of Mexican desperadoes, who took to flight immedi- ately thereafter, but the outraged citizens at once started in pursuit and capturing one of them very properly hanged him at the bridge crossing the Alameda Creek.

The opening of the year still brought the mining excitement. The News of Jan- uary 23d says: "Mr. D. B. Goode called at our office on Wednesday last, on his return from San Francisco, where he had been on business connected with the Occidental Mining Company, located in Murray Township, in the southeast part of this county. This company is organized but not incorporated as yet. Mr. Goode is an old miner, having resided for some time in Placer County, and of course is no novice in mining operations. He has been prospecting and mining in this vicinity since last June and is now satisfied that he has 'struck it rich.' The lead struck is principally silver, with a slight mixture of gold. The district laid out is called the ‘Alameda Mining Dist- rict,' and the by-laws of the company will soon be published. The shaft is now forty feet deep and the rock at this depth just assayed in San Francisco yielded at the rate of eighty dollars per ton of silver. At the depth of forty feet the ledge is some four feet wide, well defined, runs north and south, and dips to the east."

The Mountain House, situated in the northeastern portion of the county, was attacked and plundered by a band of robbers on January 15, 1864, who were armed with pistols and bowie-knives and threatened to kill the inmates, the only men in the house being a sick Frenchman and a not very courageous German. By their intimi- dation they succeeded in obtaining one hundred dollars of Mr. Zimmerman's treasure, two dollars and a half from the Frenchman and all of the Teuton's wealth-one dollar. From this sum they afterwards, out of the fullness of their hearts returned one dollar, saying they did not like to leave a man "dead broke." Making their escape with the booty, they were subsequently apprehended in San José, brought back to Alameda County, tried before Judge Hamilton, and sent across the bay for fifteen years; the sentence of one of them, however, who gave the name of Charles Williams, being afterwards reduced to ten years. Sheriff Morse, at the commencement of this year, reported the enrollment of three thousand and eight men for military duty, a

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EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT.

large proportion of the population when it is considered that California would not be called upon to take any part in the civil war which was then at its height, although it was thought, for prudential reasons, necessary to ascertain the military strength of the State. It is said that in Brooklyn Township there was one man adjudged insane for resisting the muster.

Mr. Halley relates the following distressing accident as occurring on September 7, 1864, about midway between Niles and Centreville. It appears that a Mr. Jerome Rice, an auctioneer of San Francisco, and his book-keeper, a Mr. R. Gardiner, were on their way to Warm Springs in a buggy, drawn by a span of horses, and losing their way near Alvarado in the dark lost sight of the main road and took a wrong direction; when at the point indicated, the horses stopped suddenly on the edge of the river bank and Mr. Gardiner suggested that one of them had better get out and see what was the matter. Mr. Rice thought it was but one of those sudden frights to which horses are subjected and urged them forward again, when, in an instant, horses, driver, carriage and all went crashing down to the bottom of the creek, making a fall of about twenty feet. Strange as it may appear, here they remained as they fell for four days and nights, without relief or food, with the exception of Mr. Gardiner, who, after shouting himself hoarse and remaining a whole day expecting assistance, with a a broken leg, proceeded to drag himself towards the nearest habitation, that of Mr. Overacker, which was almost within hailing distance. He was not seen nor heard and two days and nights and a part of a third day were consumed in making this painful journey. When the circumstances of the sad affair were made known to Mr. Overacker and his family, they at once proceeded to render all the assistance in their power. On arriving at the scene of the accident, they found that Mr. Rice was hurt internally, seriously injured, and knocked insensible by the fall. One of the horses was lying down, tangled in the harness, and the other standing by him. When Mr. Rice was taken up he remarked: " How hard it is to lie here and die. How far is it -" and then became insensible. He died on the following day, at two o'clock in the morning. Mr. Gardiner, notwithstanding the hardships he endured and the severity of his injuries, recovered, but was lame for life.

On September 2, 1864, there was killed in action in the Shenandoah Valley, Captain C. S. Eigenbrodt, a gentleman who had formerly held the office of Super- visor for Washington Township, in this county, and who had gone East with a com- pany of California Cavalry, which was attached to a Massachusetts regiment. The intelligence of his death was received with much regret throughout Alameda, while the Crusade Lodge of Odd Fellows, of which he had been a prominent member, passed resolutions of condolence and regret and otherwise honored his memory. In December, of this year, trouble with "squatters" commenced on the ranch, near the mission, of H. G. Ellsworth, but they were not of long duration, that gentleman having got rid of them, and ultimately obtained full possession of the property. At the January term of the County Court in this year the case of H. G. Ellsworth versus Elias Sampson and twenty others, for trespass as squatters on a portion of the Mission Ranch, was tried, and, after several days in Court, the plaintiff was awarded damages to the extent of one thousand dollars. The legal talent on either side were: For plaintiff, Edward Tompkins; for defendants, W. H. Glascock, H. K. W. Clarke, and

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

Judge Collins. In this year the contract for the construction of the Western Pacific Railroad, from San José to Stockton, was let to Cox & Meyers, and work commenced in the Alameda Cañon in the month of June; while the grading of the San Fran- cisco and Alameda Railroad was completed to San Leandro in January, and the laying of the track finished in March, the first trip being made from San Francisco, by boat and cars, to San Leandro in an hour and a quarter. In April the contract for the completion of the road to Haywards was let to C. D. Bates, and an opening · excursion, free, was had August 25, 1865. On the 22d of March the Contra Costa Railroad, to connect the San Francisco and Alameda Railroad with Oakland and San Pablo, was incorporated, but they never did any work on the proposed line. It has since been effectually carried out by the Central Pacific Railroad Company.

It was in this year that the dastardly assassination of President Lincoln, on April 14, 1865, cast the whole nation into grief. Alameda County was not a whit behindhand in her expression of sorrow, all being naturally impelled by the same feeling of woe, and loud were the execrations hurled at the foul murderer.

Guillermo Castro obtained a confirmation to the lands of the San Lorenzo Rancho, April 29, 1865, and a United States patent was issued therefor, while, not long after, the settlers on the San Ramon Rancho paid the sum of one hundred and eleven thousand dollars to Horace W. Carpentier for his title thereto. This splendid estate had originally cost Mr. Carpentier, we understand, the immense sum of one sack of flour !

Enterprise and activity reigned supreme throughout the year 1867. During it were established a County Teachers' Association; the incorporation of the Oakland Bank of Savings; the location of the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind Institute; the reorganiza- tion of the County Agricultural Society; and the founding of the Agricultural College. The principal occurrence in 1868 was the earthquake of October 21st, which was first felt a few minutes before eight o'clock in the morning. In Alameda County, which appears to have been its center, it was particularly destructive, and great damage was sustained in nearly all of the interior and valley towns, for particulars of which we refer the reader to the township histories; it is sufficient to say here that it was the most prodigious shaking that the county had ever had since its creation.

On the 29th October, 1869, the last rail of the Pacific Railroad was laid in Oak- land, and thus the shores of the two mighty oceans were connected; and hardly had the ring of the final blow upon the last spike been hushed ere a distressing accident occurred near San Leandro, full particulars of which are given elsewhere.

It is now the proper time to show, in one branch of her products, the prominent place which Alameda County had taken. In the year 1868 J. Lusk, whose farm is within four miles of Oakland, cultivated fifty acres of raspberries, and derived from them a very handsome profit. He sent to market ninety tons of fresh raspberries, which were sold at an average of ten cents per pound, or a total of eighteen thousand dollars. He manufactured into jams, jellies, and pie-fruit twenty tons, which realized in the neighborhood of ten thousand dollars. He made fifteen thousand gallons of wine, worth twenty-five cents per gallon, at the lowest figure, six thousand two hun- dred and fifty dollars. He also manufactured ten thousand gallons of vinegar, worth twenty cents per gallon, or two thousand dollars; making the total product of his

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ranch thirty-six thousand two hundred and fifty dollars. The cost of cultivating, picking, canning, barreling, and getting to market may be estimated at twenty thou- sand dollars, leaving for the year's labor the handsome sum of sixteen thousand two hundred and fifty dollars.

In the year 1870 there was another mining excitement in Brooklyn Township, but, like the last, it came to naught, although it was rumored there were indications of the precious metals and coal. It is said that some parties actually paid as high as twenty thousand dollars for a piece of ground which was not worth half the money. On June 22, 1870, the consolidation of the Central Pacific of California with the Western Pacific Railroad, under the name of the Central Pacific Railroad, with a capital stock of one hundred millions of dollars, was effected, and thus was the business of the two lines simplified. In November of this year the beet sugar mill at Alvarado com- menced operations, with a capital stock of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, while about the same time the San José Mission Land Company was organized with a capital stock of one million two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The plan of the association was to purchase a certain tract of land, comprising about five thou- sand acres of the tract known as the San José Mission lands, and to improve and distribute the same among the shareholders; also to raise a fund for the purpose of constructing and endowing two colleges, one for males and the other for females, should the Order of Odd Fellows locate one at San José Mission and the other at Decoto. The intention of the company, however, was not carried out, but the Wash- ington College at Washington Corners was established.

In this year S. B. Martin chartered the Archer, and, loading her with wheat, dis- patched her direct to Liverpool, a new departure, and one which did away with the exorbitant charges of middle-men; besides, it was the first venture of the kind in the county.

During the winter of 1871-72 much damage was done by rain and floods in the lower end of the county, the streets of Mission San José being converted into rushing brooks, while a large area of land was inundated. In the year 1873 Oakland was chosen to be the future county seat by a majority of nine hundred and eighty-five votes of the people, the transactions in regard to which are all detailed elsewhere; while in this year, too, there were surveyors at work on the proposed nar- row guage road to Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County.

In this year a company of Scotchmen, through James Barr Robertson, pur- chased from E. L. Beard, of Mission San José, eighteen thousand acres of salt marsh between Alviso and Alvarado, with the intention of reclaiming it and putting it under cultivation, but only some four or five thousand acres were ever brought into subjec- tion and placed under crop.

Henceforward the history of Alameda County will be found especially noted in the different chapters into which we have divided our volume; but ere bidding farewell to this section of the work we would wish to remark that the cold weather of an almost rainless winter has passed, and the summer season is upon us, and all nature is aglow. The great sun pours down his ripening rays and fills the valleys with light and heat. The mountains are enriched with purple wreaths and they bathe their temples with the cool west winds. The maturing grain overtops the fences an l

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

waving wealth is visible on every hand. From the Sierras to the sea, from Siskiyou to San Diego, the glorious land is rejoicing in a profusion of wealth not known to Egypt or the farthest Indies. Stand back and let the grand procession of her riches pass ! Gold and grain, wine and wool, she produces in increasing plenty. Look at the quality and abundance of her hay crop; see how that speck of cotton is growing in size and whitening her valleys; see tobacco springing up over all her broad expanse. The corn-stalk is the cereal giant of her fields. The growth and variety of her orchards are without limit, and her vegetable products are justly her pride. There is abun- dance of fish in her waters; her dairy products are of superior quality, and her mount- ains teem with untold wealth of ores.

"The Land of Gold" is justly her legend, for she is golden in her cereals and her commercial position, as well as in her ores. She luxuriates in vine-clad hills and dewy meadows. Her peaceful homes nestle in the foot-hills and pleasantly dot the plains; she is a lovely land; she is a healthy land; she is a wealthy land; she is a great land. We love this gorgeous and wondrous land of ours and ring her praise in an altered couplet,

Far westward lies a land of wondrous fame, By nature blest. California is her name.

We love to climb her sloping mountains, gaze upon the beauty of her voluptuous hills, and seek the sweet pastures of her smiling valleys. There is welcome expressed everywhere in her pleasant features. In whatever garb she presents herself, be it the vernal hue of spring or the bronze of autumn, she is beautiful. The seasons and changes make no difference in our passion for her, but we now rejoice with exultant nature and celebrate her opaline beauties. The evergreen oak, the cypress and the willow, furnish at all times rich embroidery for her ample robe, be it green, yellow, or brown.

The growing crops are of all colors from emerald to gold, while fields of new- mown hay stand out in light relief on the hill-sides. The shadows of the high fog- clouds chase each other over the dimpled mountains, the breath of perfume, heightened by the hay, permeates the air, and the song of the meadow lark makes day vocal. ‘Tis the glorious month of June. Spring has flown and left behind her rich legacies of ripening fruits, grains and grasses. The face of the earth is changing from richest green to all the shades of the opal. The evergreen trees and shrubs are assuming a broader contrast with the earth from which they spring; the arroyos have contracted their streams or hidden their placid treasures in their bosoms, while the great rivers are swelling with the melted snows that have mantled the great Sierras; the waving lines of heat dance perceptibly in the moist atmosphere; the birds assume higher flights and become more joyous in their warblings, for they observe the plentitude of the ripening fruits on a thousand trees and shrubs, and with delight in their little bodies they fly from mound to mound of the sweet-scented hay. The dome of Heaven has lifted higher to make room for the increased power and volume of nature as the great earth moves on its momentous errand of pursuing the setting sun, and rolling back on the parched earth the cooling vapors and air-tides of the boundless Pacific. The student is now enjoying his holidays, and the man of business seeks immunity from his daily routine of thought and toil in sweet communion with nature.

Gray

Me Largie

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EARLY HISTORY AND SETTLEMENT.

It will now be in order to climb and camp, and from mountain heights spy out the beauty and wonders of the land. To the man who has not "done " California, new and varied scenes constantly unfold themselves. There is no want of invitations from nature. He may seek the high Sierras or go look upon Yosemite's wondrous walls, falls, and valleys. He can rusticate within the foot-hills or wander among the mines. He may betake himself to the fragrant orange groves of the south, or enjoy a trip to the lakes of the north He can scale Shasta's or Diablo's heights and view the broad expanse of land and sea. Many healing and pleasure-seeking springs invite him thither. The cherry orchards, the hay ricks, and the grain fields have their attact- tions. Sweet contemplation may be secured up the mouth of a cañon.

Without indulging in further speculation let us cross the bosom of the broad bay and betake ourselves where fancy leads. The adventures will be sweetened and the surprises more to be remembered. With a heart uncharged with anticipation we are prepared to enjoy every feature that presents itself to our admiring gaze. The bay's broad sheen, with its pride of shipping and island domes is a picture of its kind un- surpassed in the world. Tall Tamalpais directly to the north and Diablo's rounded peak to the east attract our attention. It is the fashion now to visit the latter and gaze on the adjacent valleys, the far Sierras and the boundless ocean. Monte Diablo! What a name! Has it dark and dismal caves, or is it the abode of demons? It will be found harmless in its inhabitants but its dimensions will gradually grow. That round lump of lifted earth is seventy-five miles in circumference at its base, around which nestle lovely valleys. We pass that beautiful City of the Bay, Oakland, and we seek the mountain's height. The drive over mountain and through valley is one of picturesque majesty. We gradually ascend the mountain by the winding road- way and the world is at your feet. To the east are the heavier-supporting Sierras; to the south the great bay and fruitful plains; to the north the boundless regions stretch- ing towards Oregon; and to the west the mighty ocean. We see the thread-like Sacramento and the tortuous San Joaquin. The bay valleys-the Alameda and Santa Clara-are filled with exhalations from the bay and ocean, and seem to sleep in a shroud of haze. That beautiful valley to the south-'tis the rich Amador-looks like a lake of light. Let us conjure up a picture.

In one of the little valleys, sitting near a spring at whose grateful fountain we slake our thirst, we meet a man of venerable appearance, but by no means a feeble or tottering frame. We soon see that English is not his native tongue. He is of the proud Castillian race, and his tale is a remarkable one. Freely he narrates his event- ful history.

"No one can tell you of this land better than I. Once affluence was mine. No one of the original possessors of the soil owned more leagues, could boast of hand- somer valleys or count larger herds. My father was a native of Spain. I was born in San Francisco in the year 1779, and am now a century and four years of age. The grand city over by the sea has no older son. This mountain which has become the resort of thousands, and whose name is spreading over the world, I was the first white man to tread and explore. The name of Amador was once a host in itself. Here I hunted Indians with my soldiers, and brought them to the mission to learn the arts of civilization and the gospel of Salvation. This mountain was christened by me.

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HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

I will tell you the circumstance under which its name was given. I had my soldiers here in ambush watching for the Indians. One dark night a frightened sentinel came rushing to my tent, and told me he had seen an apparition and thought he was pur- sued by the devil. This was in a monte thicket. We had previously given the place no name, and the incident was suggestive. It ever since has been called Monte Diablo."

" Have you no children ? "

" Many-they count by the score and number three generations. My children and grandchildren and their sons and daughters are scattered all over the State, and with one of them, in a humble cabin yonder I lived for years. My progeny is num- erous, but my glory has departed. Amador was the friend of the Americans. They now possess my lands. They are wealthy and prosperous, have great names, while I pine in obscurity. The native Californian has a sad tale to tell and no one a more doleful one than myself."

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MILITARY OCCUPATION, BEAR FLAG, ETC.

THE MILITARY OCCUPATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND THE RAISING OF THE BEAR FLAG.

THE CAUSE-THE PROGRESS-THE CONCLUSION.

W HEN the present century had but come of age, Mexico ceased to be a portion of the Spanish realm, and plunged, by itself, into the undiscovered mysteries of Statecraft. Iturbide, under the title of August I., was elected by the popular voice Constitutional Emperor, May 19, 1822, and after reigning for a brief period was forced to abdicate during the revolution headed by General Santa Ana in 1823. He, however, returned to the government of his Empire, and lost both his crown and his head.

About this time California had found extreme favor in the jealous eyes of three great powers, namely, France, the United States of America, and Great Britain; we have elsewhere shown what the Russians did on the coast, and how they actually gained a foothold at Bodega and Fort Ross, in Sonoma County. In the year 1818, Governor Sola received a communication from Friar Marquinez, of Guadalaxara, in Old Spain, wherein he informs His Excellency of the rumors of war between the United States and Spain, while, in February of the following year, Father José San- chez, writes to the same official that there is a report abroad of the fitting out of an American expedition in New Mexico. Both of these epistles remark that California is the coveted prize. Great Britain wanted it, it is said, for several reasons, the chief of which was, that in the possession of so extended a coast line, she would have the finest harbors in the world for her fleets.

In the meantime that epidemic so chronic to Mexico, a revolution, had broken out in the year 1836, but nothing of interest occurred in respect to the portion of Cal- ifornia of which we write save the departure of a few of the settlers to join the oppos- ing factions. While this strife was being maintained, Juan B. Alvarado was appointed Governor of California, an office he held until December, 1842, before when the dif- ferences between the Government and the revolutionists had been arranged.

In the month of September, 1842, Commodore Ap Catesby Jones, then in com- mand of the United States fleet, became possessed of two newspapers which would appear to have caused him to take immediate action. One of these, published in New Orleans, stated that California had been ceded by Mexico to Great Britain in consid- eration of the sum of seven millions of dollars; the other, a Mexican publication, caused him to believe that war had been declared between the two countries. The sudden departure of two of the British vessels strengthened him in this belief, and that they were en route for Panama to embark soldiers from the West Indies for the occupation of California. To forestall this move of "perfidious Albion," Commodore Jones left Callao, Peru, on September 7, 1842, and crowded all sail, ostensibly for the port of Monterey, but when two days out, his squadron hove to, a council of the

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 18

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood Number of Pages: 1206

Author: Munro-Fraser, J. P
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Oakland, Calif. : M.W. Wood
Number of Pages: 1206