History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 6

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.

sailed their vessels and barges on the bay. The salt was of very inferior quality, and was produced at great disadvantage, but the consumers of that day were easily satis- fied, and the price paid the producers well for their labors. Those companies first in the field were able to select locations best adapted for their purpose; those following them did not always succeed in finding fields so suitable. In 1862, John Quigley, said to be the pioneer, commenced work at Alvarado, or Union. City. He was fol- lowed by F. A. Plummer. It is not surprising that when consumers became more fastidious, bay salt should have found it hard to compete with the better article imported from Liverpool and the East. About that time it was customary for mer- chants, both in Europe and the United States, to send out cargoes of assorted mer- chandise on venture, trusting to obtain for a portion such prices as would compensate for loss on others. It was not unusual to see large quantities of merchandise put up at auction and sellingat prices much below cost of importation, while other goods readily brought many times the cost price. This condition of things flooded the State with merchandise, against which no manufacturer could compete, and goods forced on the market soon acquired a reputation for quality they did not deserve. These circum- stances have always counted against home production, and it is only lately that Cali- fornia manufacturers have been able to overcome the prejudices then formed. What has been said of imported goods generally, applies particularly to salt, which it has been shown was badly made at the commencement. Still the manufacture went on and was more or less profitable to those engaged in it. On the discovery of the silver mines at Washoe, there was a scarcity in the market. It was not then known that salt in the greatest abundance existed near Virginia City, and all the salt used in metallurgical works was sent from San Francisco and sold at thirty-five dollars per ton.

In 1868 salt works had extended from San Leandro Creek to Centreville, a distance of fifteen miles, and seventeen thousand tons were produced annually. There were seventeen companies, with a capital of one million, two hundred thousand dollars invested in the works, and one hundred laborers employed. From that time to the present the quality of the salt has been much improved, owing to more skillful and more careful manipulation; and while the importation of foreign salt still continues, the quantity is smaller every year, and it is admitted that California is quite able to produce all that can be demanded. At the time mentioned there were six steam mills in San Francisco employed in cleaning and grinding salt, a large proportion of which was for domestic use. The capital employed in these works was two hun- dred and fifty thousand dollars. In 1866 these ground and prepared twelve thousand tons of salt.

Salt is obtained from three principal sources-from rock salt, in which case it is extensively mined, and sometimes is sufficiently pure to be fit for consumption when simply crushed between rollers; from the concentration of natural brines pumped up from wells; and from the waters of the sea, or more frequently from the water of bays in which the sea water has become to a certain extent, although but slightly, concen- trated. This latter production is called bay salt. At the present time a large propor- tion of the salt produced in this State is obtained by this method, and the principal works are on the shores of the Bay of San Francisco, where the conditions required

GEOGRAPHY, AREA, GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, ETC.

for the economic and extensive production of salt are found in the greatest perfec- tion.

The following analysis of the waters of the Bay of San Francisco-samples taken off Oakland Wharf December, 1879-is by Fr. Gotzkow, chemist, tempera- ture 72º Fahrenheit: Chloride of sodium, 23.756; chloride of potassium, 0.470; chloride of magnesium, 3.030; sulphate of lime, 1.263; sulphate of magnesium, 1.837; bromide of magnesium, 0.025; water, 969.619. Equal to 0.297 potash, 12.695 soda, 0.520 lime, 1.728 magnesia, 1.968 sulphuric acid, 16.900 chlorine, 0.020 bromine, in one thousand parts. The water of the bay is distinguished from sea water by the small proportion of potash and bromine. In the Atlantic Ocean, for instance, is found two and a half parts of potash and ten parts of bromine, against one part of the same in the bay.

On the eastern shore of the Bay of San Francisco extensive flats, very nearly level, extend for many miles. They may be seen figured on Whitney's map of the region adjacent to the Bay of San Francisco, published by the State Geological Sur- vey, in 1873. It will be seen by this map that there is a large area suitable for the manufacture of salt, which for convenience of reference has been calculated into square miles and acres. The coast line, from the south line of San Antonio Creek, along the east side of the bay, to Mud Creek, and thence up the west side to Point San Bruno, is, by the scale of the map, sixty-four miles, and the area of swamp land, inside the tide land, from the points mentioned, is, roughly, one hundred and thirteen and sixty- eight hundredths square miles, equal to seventy-two thousand, seven hundred and fifty-five acres.

There is a large area about the bays of San Pablo and Suisun upon which salt could be made, if the waters of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers do not too much dilute the sea water. It will be seen by this that the production of salt on the shores of San Francisco Bay is limited only by the demand. The source from which the salt is drawn is, of course, inexhaustible.

In writing of the manufacture of bay salt in California, it will be impossible to give a detailed description of each of the many works, for want of space, besides they will be found noticed in the industries of the townships in which they are located. 'Suffice it to say, in this place, that there are the following salt producers in Alameda County: Richard Baron; Estate of Captain Chisholm; Peter Christianson; Peter H. Jesson; John Johnson; Patrizio Marsicano; John Michaelson; Peter Michaelson; Andrew Oliver; Estate of - Olsen; D. Pestdorf; United Pioneer and American Salt Companies; Charles A. Plummer; John Plummer, Jr; John Quigley, Alvarado Salt "Works; J. P. Tuckson; Union Pacific Salt Company; L. N. Whisby.

EARTHQUAKES .- There is a sort of nameless terror about an earthquake to those who have never experienced one, and to many who have, the sensation is anything but pleasant. But they are trifles compared with the terrible thunder-storms and hurricanes that prevail on the other side of the continent. Hundreds of people are killed by lightning there, to every one that loses his life by earthquakes here. The thunder-storms and tornadoes have this advantage, however: they send their warning .signals of gathering, skurrying clouds ahead, to prepare people for the dire disaster

HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

which may soon follow. The earthquake steals upon one when he least expects it. A sudden jarring of the earth, with perhaps a deep rumbling noise, followed by a quick, oscillating motion, which dies away in a gentle tremulous vibration, and all is quiet. The shock seldom lasts longer than eight or ten seconds. Many months sometimes intervene between these earth shocks, and then again we have known several to occur in a single day. For the last ten years they have been rare.

The heaviest shock experienced in Alameda since its occupation by Americans was on October 21, 1868, when several buildings were more or less injured. The shock extended for several hundred miles along the coast, caused considerable damage to property in this county and other places, and taught architects the necessity of improving their methods of building, by bracing and strengthening their walls in a more secure manner. In the construction of chimneys, also, galvanized iron has been substituted largely for brick. Wooden buildings are considered earthquake proof. They are seldom damaged to any considerable extent by the shocks.

There are various theories concerning the reason of these disturbances, which at present, however, are mainly speculative. It is possible that scientific research may eventually fathom the cause, if not provide a remedy. The electric theory has many advocates. In other countries the equilibrium of the upper air currents of electricity and those of the earth is established and brought about through the medium of cloud conductors as witnessed in the lightning's flash followed by the thunder peal. Here there are no cloud conductors during the summer months. The earth, it is supposed, becomes overcharged with electricity, which seeks an equilibrium with the upper air currents; hence the disturbance. This theory is strengthened by the fact that earth- quakes usually occur in the fall of the year when the clouds begin to gather and the air becomes filled with moisture. "Good earthquake weather," is what old residents designate a warm, cloudy day preceding the winter rains. The "internal fire " theory has also its advocates. But whatever may be the cause, we much prefer an occasional earthquake to the frequent electrical disturbances that cause so much disaster to life and property in the Atlantic States.

ABORIGINES .- The beautiful valleys and mountain recesses of the Contra Costa afforded a grand home for the aboriginal tribes. Here they swarmed in large num- bers, went through the drama of life, birth, consorting, and death, with an almost stolid indifference. How far back in the course of time this race extends, or whence came their progenitors, no man knoweth. If, as some scientists assert, the very first evidences of the human race appear on the Pacific Coast (at Angel's Camp, Tuol- umne County), why should we doubt that they are the descendants of this primitive race? Wars, disease, natural phenomena, and other causes have conspired to destroy the original race from the face of the earth, or it may have remained for the pale-faced progeny of a kindred, yet far removed race, to perform the final act in the great drama of their existence as a people. Be that as it may, the great fact still remains, that when the Caucasians came to this coast they found it inhabited by a race of copper-colored people of peculiar physique and habits, differing widely from their breth- ren of the East, the Algonquins. The district now known as Contra Costa was no excep- tion to the general rule, but was infested by a horde of these rude barbarians. To

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GEOGRAPHY, AREA, GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, ETC.

describe this people, their habits and customs, will be the object of the following remarks.

It is generally supposed that the Contra Costa was originally inhabited by four tribes of Indians, called Juchiyunes, Acalanes, Bolgones, and Carquinez, who were, all in all, a degraded race. Doctor Marsh described them as stoutly built and heavy limbed, as hairy as Esau, and with beards that would gain for a Turk honor in his own country. They had short, broad faces, wide mouths, thick lips, broad noses, and extremely low foreheads, the hair of the head, in some cases, nearly meeting the eye- brows, while a few had that peculiar conformation of the eye so remarkable in the Chinese and Tartar races, and entirely different from the common American Indian, or the Polynesian. He states further : "The general expression of the wild Indian has nothing of the proud and lofty bearing, or the haughtiness and ferocity so often seen east of the mountains. It is more commonly indicative of timidity and stupidity. The men and children are absolutely and entirely naked, and the dress of the women is the least possible or conceivable remove from nudity. Their food varies with the season. In February and March they live on grass and herbage; clover and wild pea- vine are among the best kind of their pasturage. I have often seen hundreds of them grazing together in a meadow like so many cattle. [If Doctor Boudinot only knew this fact, he would undoubtedly start a new theory that they are the descendants of Nebuchadnezzar.] They are very poor hunters of the larger animals, but very skill- ful .n making and managing nets for fish and food. They also collect in their season great quantities of the seed of various grasses, which are particularly abundant. Acorns are another principal article of food, which are larger, more abundant, and of better quality than I have seen elsewhere. The Californian is not more different from the tribes east of the mountains in his physical than in his moral and intellectual qualities. They are easily domesticated, not averse to labor, have a natural aptitude to learn mechanical trades, and, I believe, universally a fondness for music and a facility in acquiring it. * They are not nearly so much addicted to intoxica- tion as is common to other Indians. I was for some years of the opinion that they were of an entirely different race from those east of the mountains, and they certainly have but little similarity. The only thing that caused me to think differently is that they have the same Moccasin game that is so common on the Mississippi, and what is more remarkable, they accompany it by singing precisely the same tune. The diversity of language among them is very great. It is seldom an Indian can under- stand another who lives fifty miles distant; within the limits of California are at least a hundred dialects, apparently entirely dissimilar. Few or no white persons have taken any pains to learn them, as there are individuals in all the tribes which have any communication with the settlements who speak Spanish. The children when caught young are most easily domesticated, and manifest a great aptitude to learn whatever is taught them; when taken into Spanish families and treated with kindness, in a few months they learn the language and habits of their masters. When they come to maturity they show no disposition to return to the savage state. The mind of the wild Indian, of whatever age, appears to be a tabula rasa, on which no impres- sions, except those of mere animal nature, have been made, and ready to receive any impress whatever. I remember a remark of yours (Mr. Cass) some years ago, that

HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

'Indians were only grown-up children.' Here we have a real race of infants. In many recent instances when a family of white people have taken a farm in the vicinity of an Indian village, in a short time they would have the whole tribe for will- ing serfs. They submit to flagellation with more humility than the negroes. Noth- ing more is necessary for their complete subjugation but kindness in the beginning, and a little well-timed severity when manifestly deserved. It is common for the white man to ask the Indian, when the latter has committed any fault, how many lashes he thinks he deserves. The Indian with a simplicity and humility almost inconceivable, replies ten or twenty, according to his opinion of the magnitude of the offense. The white man then orders another Indian to inflict the punishment, which is received without the least sign of resentment or discontent. This I have myself witnessed or I could hardly have believed.it. Throughout all California the Indians are the principal laborers; without them the business of the country could hardly be carried on."

The tribes inhabiting the Contra Costa did not differ materially from those in this section of the State, as they presented very similar characteristics, habits, and customs to those of the central portion of California. They were lazy and filthy, Doctor Marsh's assertion to the contrary notwithstanding, while, as to home, they were among the fugitivi et vagabondi class. Nature had provided for them with a lavish hand, and all they had to do was to reach forth their hands, pluck and eat. No vain ambitions lured them on in the great race of life; no baubles of riches enticed them into hardships of labor, either mental or physical. They lived to die. Whence or why they came upon the scene of action, it was not theirs to inquire; and, " whither are we drifting ?" was a question over which they stopped not to puzzle their dull brains. And who shall say that they were not as happy in their listless life as are we of the higher type who wrestle with the inevitable almost from our infancy to our dotage? From an ethical point of view, and looking at the matter through the lenses of education, of course it could be said that their lives were worse than wasted; and when they vanished before the overwhelming tide of civilization, the world was rid of so much filth. But it is the old fable of the man and the lion repeated: seeing a picture of a man, the man remarked to the lion that " there stood the lord of creation." The lion asked who painted the picture, to which the man replied, "I did." " Ah!" said the lion, "it makes all the difference in the world who paints the picture of the lord of creation; I should have painted a lion." And so it is in this case. Indian ethics are not our ideas of duty to self or man; and it is not improbable that they lived up to the light they had on that subject quite as near as do their successors.

In regard to their costume, we have already said that it was of the most primitive nature, a slight strip of covering around the loins being full dress; but even this was not usual, for the greater number preferred walking abroad perfectly unclothed. Dur- ing the winter the skin of a deer or other animal, or else a robe manufactured out of the feathers of water-fowl, or strips of other skin twisted together, formed the required protection against the inclement weather, yet such was their stupendous laziness that sometimes naught protected them from the chilly blast but a thick covering of mud- an inexpensive garment at best. The wardrobe of the women was little more exten-

*Letter of Dr. John Marsh of Contra Costa County, to Hon. Lewis Cass, 1846.

GEOGRAPHY, AREA, GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, ETC.

sive, a fringed apron of tules falling from the waist before and behind, and open at the sides, being their summer costume, while in the cold season a deer skin was added. Tattooing is said to have been common within narrow limits among the females, and by these marks were the women of different tribes distinguishable.

Nearly as primitive as their costume were their dwellings, which in summer were a protection of branches, and in winter, a wickeup. Of these latter Bancroft's "Native Races" says: "These are sometimes erected on the level ground, but more frequently over an excavation three or four feet deep, and varying from ten to thirty feet in diameter. Round the brink of this hole willow poles are sunk upright in the ground and the tops drawn together, forming a conical structure, or the upper ends are bent over and driven into the earth on the opposite side of the pit, thus giving the hut a semi-globular shape. Bushes, or strips of bark, are then piled up against the poles and the whole is covered with a thick layer of earth or mud. In some instances the interstices of the frame are filled by twigs woven crosswise, over and under, between the poles, and the outside covering is of tule reeds instead of earth. A hole at the top gives egress to the smoke, and a small opening close to the ground admits the occupants.

" Each hut generally shelters a whole family of relations by blood and marriage, so that the dimensions of the habitation depend on the size of the family."

It strikes us as a curious fact that the natives who roamed around the Bay of San Francisco had no canoes but used bundles of tules lashed firmly together, about ten feet long, and pointed at both ends, as a means of navigation. They were tolera- bly dry in calm weather on a river, but when rough, the paddler, who sat astride of them, was up to his waist in water, still, when needed, they would venture far out to sea on these. Indeed, it is asserted that the Indians of California, previous to the occupation by the Jesuit Fathers, had no other boats than those mentioned above, which were in use even at as late a date as 1840. Says Mr. Bancroft: "The probable cause of the absence of boats in Central California is the scarcity of suitable, favorably located timber. Doubtless if the banks of the Sacramento and the shores of San Francisco Bay had been lined with large straight pine or fir trees, their waters would have been filled with canoes; yet after all, this is but a poor excuse; for not only on the hills and mountains, at a little distance from the water, are forests of fine trees, but quantities of drift-wood come floating down every stream during the rainy season, out of which surely sufficient material could be secured for some sort of boats."

Of their language, but little is left. Here and there a word has fastened itself upon some ranch or town, and will be handed down through a few generations. It was a deep gutteral, not unlike that spoken by the natives of southern China, but that there is any philological relation between the two tongues we will not venture to assert, still there is a sufficient resemblance to occupy the mind of the studiously inclined.

A short half-century has sufficed to see this race become so entirely extinct that the sight of an Indian is almost a rarity. And what has done this? Disease was the prime cause, for it is stated that cholera took them off by thousands in 1833, while it is said they died so fast that the living were unable to care for the dead. Whole tribes became extinct, it being reported by a traveler on the Sacramento River that all of

HISTORY OF ALAMEDA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

one tribe died within a few days except a little girl. Then came war with its kindred calamities as another great decimator of their ranks. Contact with civilization had also much to do with it. Soon after the whites came among them, prostitution became general; the women no longer bore children, and thus the tribe gradually, but surely, died out, and no little ones grew to take the place of the deceased elders. Truly would it appear to have been a matter of destiny, for it was impossible that the two races could exist in contact.

For disease their great " cure-all" was the sweat-bath, which was taken in the " sweat-house," an institution that was to be found in every rancheria. A fire being lighted in the center of the temescal (the term applied to the native sweat-houses by the Franciscan Fathers), the patient is taken within and kept in a high state of perspi- ration for several hours; he then rushes out and plunges into the convenient stream on the bank of which the structure is always raised-a remedy, whether more potent to kill or to cure, we leave to the decision of the reader.

The following graphic description of the experiences of a gentleman in a temescal, we give to the reader as a truthful and racily told adventure :-

" A sweat-house is of the shape of an inverted bowl, and is generally about forty feet in diameter at the bottom, and is built of strong poles and branches of trees, covered with earth to prevent the escape of heat. There is a small hole near the ground, large enough for Diggers to creep in, one at a time, and another at the top to- give out the smoke. When a dance, a large fire is kindled in the center of the edifice, and the crowd assembles, the white spectators crawling in and seating themselves any- where out of the way. The apertures, both above and below, are then closed, and the dancers take their positions.

"Four and twenty squaws, en dishabille, on one side of the fire, and as many hombres, in furis naturalibus, on the other. Simultaneously with the commencement of the dancing, which is a kind of shuffing hobble-de-hoy, the 'music' bursts forth. Yes, music fit to raise the dead. A whole legion of devils broke loose. Such scream- ing, shrieking, yelling, and roaring, was never before heard since the foundation of the world. A thousand cross-cut saws, filed by steam power-a multitude of tom-cats lashed together and flung over a clothes-line-innumerable pigs under a gate-all combined would produce a heavenly melody compared with it. Yet this uproar, deafening as it is, might possibly be endured, but another sense soon comes to be saluted. Talk of the thousand stinks of the 'City of Cologne.' Here are at least forty thousand combined in one grand overwhelming stench, and yet every particular odor distinctly definable. Round about the roaring fire the Indians go capering,. jumping, and screaming, with the perspiration streaming from every pore. The spec- tators look on until the air grows thick and heavy, and a sense of oppressing suffoca- tion overcomes them, when they make a simultaneous rush at the door for self-protec- tion. Judge their astonishment, terror, and dismay to find it fastened securely- bolted and barred on the outside. They rush frantically around the walls in hope to discover some weak point through which they may find egress, but the house seems to have been constructed purposely to frustrate such attempts. More furious than caged lions, they rush boldly against the sides but the stout poles resist every onset. Our army swore terribly in Flanders, but even my uncle Toby himself would stand aghast were he here now.

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History of Alameda County, California : including its geology, topography, soil, and productions, Part 6

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