History of California, Volume VI, Part 25

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 816

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8 Several public meetings were held, and a first committee of 25 being ignored, another of 500 was chosen to impress the aldermen. S. F. Herald, June 12, 1856, etc .; Pac. News, May 3, 1850, etc. Just then came a large fire to divert attention, and subsequent demonstrations proved less imposing. The mayor vetoed the $4,000, on the ground that it would also injure the credit of the city. Alta Cal., May 27, 1850, etc. The charter of 1851 allowed no pay.

81 Even here a prying curiosity, coupled with impertinent sarcasm, so far disturbed the composure of the aldermen that they cast the medals into the melting-pot, as the nearest pit of oblivion, although too late. The S. F. An- nals, 306, understands that the scheme was mainly due to a sub-committee. Cal. Courier, Dec. 14, 21, 1850.

219

WILD AND WICKED EXPENDITURES.

fering and rifling must have been, when it is shown that the expenditure for the nineteen months following August 1, 1849, amounted to more than two million dollars, of which more than one fourth was during the last three months. 82 This absorbed not only a liberal tax levy, and the larger and choicer proportion of public lands,83 but compelled the issue of scrip at an interest of thirty-six per cent.84 Issued one after the other, without prospect of speedy payment, this paper depre- ciated sixty per cent and more, till contractors and pur- veyors were obliged in self-protection to charge twice and thrice the amounts due them. Unscrupulous officials and speculators, moreover, seized the oppor- tunity to make fortunes by purchasing the scrip at low rates, and paying it into the treasury at par in lieu of the coin obtained for taxes. Thus a debt of more than a million rolled up within the year ending February 1851, and grew so rapidly, while city prop- erty and credit so declined, that the legislature had to come to the rescue with restrictive enactments. 85

82 Among the items figured $41,905 for printing; surveying absorbed another big sum; the city hall purchase, with repairs, etc., absorbed about $200,000.

83 The sale of Jan. 3, 1850, of water lots yielded $635,130, and in April followed another big sale.

84 Three per cent monthly, which was by no means exorbitant at the time.

85 As will be seen later. The first deficit of $24,000 appeared in the Jan .- Feb. 1850 account. On Aug. 31st the debt was $282,306. S. F. Picayune, Sept. 5, 1850; S. F. Directory, 1852, 14. On March 1, 1851, it had risen to $1,099,557.56. S. F. Alta Cal., Apr. 27, 1851. Soon after the debt was funded for $1,300,000. The expenditures from Aug. 1, 1849, to Jan. 28, 1851, amounted to $2,012,740.10; on the streets, wharves, and landings, there were expended $826,395.56; on hospitals, cemeteries, and board of health, $231,358.86; on police and prisons, 8208,956.87; on fire dept, $108,337.85; on courts, $236,892.12; and the balance of over $400,000 on salaries, rents, print- ing, etc. During the quarter ending Feb. 28, 1851, the receipts and expen- ditures were: Received from licenses, $25,744.55; from hospital fund, $301; from courts, $2,734.50; wharf dues, 333.95; sale of beach and water lots, $5,230.65; and from street assessments, $103,355.40. On the other hand, the fire and water department caused an expenditure of $7,945.10; the streets, including surveys, $223,482.28; the prison, courts, and police, $20,464.19; hospital, including cholera expenses, $41,036.11; wharves, $39,350.59; and the salaries, legal expenses, printing, and other contingent items, nearly $80,000. S. F. Alta, Apr. 27, 1851. The grand jury of Sept. 1851 com- mented in scathing terms upon the 'shameful squandering' by parties whom they were unable to designate. By that time nearly all the city property had been disposed of, valued at three or four million, yet this, added to revenue and loans, had failed to leave the city any commensurate benefit. Sacra-

220

SAN FRANCISCO.

mento, without landed resources, had received proportionately larger bene- fits, by incurring a debt of less than half a million. Benicia's scrip was nearly at par. The main exhibit by S. F. was in grading and planking, two thirds of which cost had been contributed by the property owners. Similar was the showing for the county, which had expended $455,807 for the year . ending June 1851, while the receipts were only $69,305. Most of the sums allowed were pointed out as suspicious. See report in S. F. Herald, Sept. 30, 1851; Aug. 5, 22, 30, 1850; Aug. 29, 1851; Cal. Courier, Id., and Oct. 26, Dec. 6, 1850; Cal. Polit. Scraps, 123; Richardson's Mining Erp., MS., 30; Alta Cal., Apr. 27, 1851, etc .; S. F. Picayune, Aug. 3-5, Sept. 5, 1850. The assessed value of property for 1851 was $17,000,000, and the estimated rev- enue $550,000, $400,000 being from licenses. This was declared amply suffi- cient for expenses, now reduced by $410,000, of which $290,000 was for sala- ries of municipal officers and police. Reprehensible as the mismanagement was, these aldermen were not worse than many of their accusers, nor half so bad as some later councilmen, who ranked us permanent citizens and esteemed members of the community; for the former were comparative strangers, afflicted by the prevailing mania for speedy enrichment, and with no inten- tion of remaining in California. Geary's demeanor is not wholly spotless. His unassuming manners and ability, and his veto on many obnoxious meas- ures, gave an éclat to his official career, which served greatly to gloss over several questionable features, such as amassing some $200,000 in less than three years, not derived from trade; illegally buying city lots; countenance- ing the purchase of the useless city hall on Stockton st; and other doubtful transactions connected with the disposal of city property and money. He returned to Pa in Feb. 1852, served with distinction in the civil war, and became gov. of his native state. His portrait is given in Ann. S. F., 725.

CHAPTER XI.

SOCIETY.

1849-1850.

INGATHERING OF NATIONALITIES-PECULIARITIES OF DRESS AND MANNERS- PHYSICAL AND MORAL FEATURES-LEVELLING OF RANK AND POSITION- IN THE MINES-CHOLERA-HARDSHIPS AND SELF-DENIALS-A COMMUNITY OF MEN-ADULATION OF WOMAN-ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF STEAMERS -SANITARY CONDITION OF SAN FRANCISCO-RATS AND OTHER VERMIN- THE DRINKING HABIT - AMUSEMENTS - GAMBLING - LOTTERIES AND RAFFLES-BULL AND BEAR FIGHTING-THE DRAMA-SUNDAY IN THE MINES-SUMMARY.

SOCIETY during the flush times of California pre- sents several remarkable features besides the Baby- lonian confusion of tongues, and the medley of races and nationalities. It was a gathering without parallel in history, for modern means of communication alone made it possible. The inflowing argonauts of 1849 found San Francisco not only a tented city, like the rest of the interior towns and camps, but a com- munity of men. The census of 1850 places the female population, by that time fast increasing, at less than eight per cent of the total inhabitants of the country, while in mining counties the proportion fell below two per cent.1

1 Calaveras shows only 267 women in a total of 16,884; Yuba, 221 in a total of 9,673; Mariposa, 108 in 4,379, yet here only 80 were white women; Sacramento, 615 in 9,087. In the southern counties, chiefly occupied by Mexicans, the proportion approaches the normal, Los Angeles having 1,519 women in a total of 3,530. U. S. Census, 1850, 969 et seq. The proportion in 1849 may be judged from the overland migration figures, which still in 1850 allows a percentage of only two for women, with a slightly larger fraction for children. Sac. Transcript, Sept. 30, 1850; S. F. Picayune, Sept. 6, 1850. Many writers on this period fall into the usual spirit of exaggeration by re- ducing the females even more. Burnett, Rec., MS., ii. 35-7, for instance,

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222

SOCIETY.

It was, moreover, a community of young men. There was scarcely a gray head to be seen.2 From these conditions of race, sex, and age, exposed to strange environment, result phases of life and char- acter which stamp the golden era of California as peculiar.

Of nationalities the flow from Europe alone equalled in variety that of the mediæval crusades, with notable prominence to the leading types, the self-complacent Briton, the methodic and reflective German, and the versatile Gaul. The other continents contributed to swell the list. Africa was represented, besides the orthodox negro, by swarthy Moors and straight-fea- tured Abyssinians. Asia and Australasia provided their quota in pig-tailed, blue-garbed Mongols, with their squat, bow-legged cousins of Nipon, lithe and diminutive Malays, dark-skinned Hindoos enwrapped in oriental dreaminess, the well-formed Maoris and Kanakas, the stately turbaned Ottomans, and the ubi- quitous Hebrews, ever to be found in the wake of movements offering trade profits.3 The American element preponderated, however, the men of the United States, side by side with the urbane and pic. turesque Hispano-Americans, and the half-naked aborigines. The Yankee fancied himself over all, with his political and commercial supremacy, being full of great projects and happy devices for surmount- ing obstacles, even to the achieving of the seemingly impossible;4 and fitted no less by indomitable energy, assumes only 15 per mille for San Francisco, which naturally had a larger proportion of women than the mining camps.

2 Calaveras exhibits in its total of 16,884 only 69 persons over 60 years; Yuba only 21 in its total of 9,673. Ib.

3 Helper, Land of Gold, 53-4, states that the 'general dislike to their race induced many to trade under assumed names.' See also McDaniels' Early Days, MS., 4.

" Their selfishness, tempered by sagacious self-control, is generally of that broad class which best promotes the general weal. They readily combine for great undertakings, with due subordination, yet without fettering individual- ity, as manifested in the political movements for which they have been fitted from childhood by participation in local and general affairs. Lambertie extols the audacious enterprise 'qui confond un Francais,' and the courageous energy which yields to no reverses. Voy., 209-10. Auger, l'oy., 105-6, also admires the power to organize. See California Inter Pocula, this series.

223

NATIONAL DIVERSITIES.

shrewdness, and adaptability than by political and numerical rights to assume the mastery,5 and so lift into a progressive state a virgin field which under English domination might have sunk into a stagnant conservative colony, or remained under Mexican sway an outpost ever smouldering with revolution.

As compared with this foremost of Teutonic peo- ples, the French, as the Latin representatives, appeared to less advantage in the arts needful for building up a commonwealth. Depth of resource, practical sense, and force of character could not be replaced by effer- vescing brilliancy and unsustained dash. They show here rather in subordinate efforts conducive to creature comforts,6 while Spanish-Americans were conspicuous from their well-known lack of sustained energy."

The clannish tendencies of the Latin peoples, due partly to the overbearing conduct of the Anglo-Sax- ons, proved not alone an obstacle to the adoption of superior methods and habits, but fostered prejudices on both sides. This feeling developed into open hos- tility8 on the part of a thoughtless and less respect- able portion of the northern element, whose jealousy was roused by the success achieved by the quicker eye and experience of the Spanish-American miners. The Chinese did not become numerous enough until 1851 to awaken the enmity which in their case was based on still wider grounds.9

5 Among the less desirable elements were the ungainly, illiterate crowds from the border states, such as Indiana Hoosiers and Missourians, or ' Pike County ' people, and the pretentious, fire-eating chivalry from the south. While less obnoxious at first, the last named proved more persistently objec- tionable, for the angularities of the others soon wore off in the contact with their varied neighbors, partly with the educated youths from New England. Low's Stat., MS., 7; Findla's Stat., MS., 9; Fay's Facts, MS., 19.

6 In catering for others, or making the most of their own moderate means. 'Les plus pauvres,' exclaims Saint Amant, Cal., 487, on comparing their back- ward condition with that of the adaptive Americans.

" They were slow to take lessons from their inventive neighbors. A warn- ing letter against the Chilians came from South American. Unbound Doc., 327-8. Revere, Keel and Saddle, 160-1, commends their quickness for pros- pecting, and their patience as diggers. Bosthuck's Cal., 311; Barry and Put- ten's Men and Mem., 287 et seq .; Fisher's Cals., 42-9; Alta Cal., June 29, 1851. 8 As will be seen later.

9 All of which is fully considered in another volume of this work.

224

SOCIETY.

Certain distinctiveness of dress and manner assisted the physical type in marking nationalties; but idiosyn- crasies were less conspicuous here than in conventional circles, owing to the prevalence of the miner's garb- checked or woollen shirts, with a predominance of red and blue, open at the bosom, which could boast of shaggy robustness, or loosely secured by a kerchief; pan- taloons half tucked into high and wrinkled boots, and belted at the waist, where bristled an arsenal of knife

and pistols. Beard and hair, emancipated from thral- dom, revelled in long and bushy tufts, which rather har- monized with the slouched and dingy hat. Later, a species of foppery broke out in the flourishing towns; on Sundays particularly gay colors predominated. The gamblers, taking the lead, affected the Mexican style of dress: white shirt with diamond studs, or breast- pin of native gold, chain of native golden speci- mens, broad-brimmed hat with sometimes a feather or squirrel's tail under the band, top-boots, and a rich scarlet sash or silk handkerchief thrown over the shoulder or wound round the waist. San Francisco took early a step further. Traders and clerks drew forth their creased suits of civilization, till the shoot- ing-jacket of the Briton, the universal black of the Yankee, the tapering cut of the Parisian, the stove- pipe hat and stand-up collar of the professional, ap- peared upon the street to rival or eclipse the prosti- tute and cognate fraternity which at first monopolized elegance in drapery.10

Miners, however, made a resolute stand against any approach to dandyism, as they termed the concomi- tants of shaven face and white shirt, as antagonistic to their own foppery of rags and undress which at- tended deified labor. Clean, white, soft hands were an abomination, for such were the gambler's and the preacher's, not to speak of worshipful femininity. But horny were the honest miner's hands, whose one only

10 Fay's Facts, MS., 10. Placer Times, Oct. 27, 1849, and contemporaries, warn their readers against such imitation of foppery.

225

WHIRL OF EXCITEMENT.

soft touch was the revolver's trigger. A store-keeper in the mines was a necessary evil, a cross between a cattle-thief and a constable; if a fair trader, free to give credit, and popular, he was quite respectable, more so than the saloon-keeper or the loafer, but let him not aspire to the dignity of digger.11

Nor was the conceit illusive; for the finest speci- mens of manhood unfolded in these rugged forms, some stanch and broad-shouldered, some gaunt and wiry; their bronzed, hairy features weather bleached and furrowed, their deep rolling voices laden with oaths, though each ejaculation was tempered by the frankness and humor of the twinkling eye. All this dissolution of old conventionalities and adoption of new forms, which was really the creation of an original type, was merely a part of the overflowing sarcasm and fun started by the dissolution of prejudice and the liberation of thought.

A marked trait of the Californians was exuberance in work and play, in enterprise or pastime-an exuber- ance full of vigor. To reach this country was in itself a task which implied energy, self-reliance, self-denial, and similar qualities ; but moderation was not a virtue consonant with the new environment. The climate was stimulating. Man breathed quicker and moved faster; the very windmills whirled here with a velocity that would make a Hollander's head swim. And so like boys escaped from school, from supervision, the adventurer yielded to the impulse, and allowed the spirit within him to run riot. The excitement, more- over, brought out the latent strength hitherto confined by lack of opportunity and conventional rules. Chances presented themselves in different directions to vaulting ambition. Thrown upon his own resources midst

11The supposed well-filled pockets of the miner and his ever-present loaded revolver made him an object of respect. Their most allowable ap- proach to gay display was in the Mexican muleteer or caballero attire, not omitting the gay sash and jingling spurs. Kip's Sketches, 18-19; S. F. Dir., 1852, 12-13; Overland, Sept. 1871, 221 Bosthwick's Cal., 56.

HIST. CAL., VOL. VI. 15

226

SOCIETY.

strange surroundings, with quickened observation and thought, the enterprising new-comer cast aside tradi- tional caution, and launched into the current of specu- lation; for everything seemed to promise success whatever course might be pursued, so abnormal were the times and place which set at naught all calcula. tions formulated by wisdom and precedent Amid the general free and magnificent disorder, recklessness had its votaries, which led to a wide-spread emphasis in language,12 and to a full indulgence in exciting pastimes. All this, however, was but the bubble and spray of the river hurrying onward to a grander and calmer future.

This frenzied haste, no less than the absence of families, denoted that the mania was for enrichment, with hopes rather of a speedy return to the old home than of building a new one. San Francisco and other towns remained under this idea, as well as temporary camps and depôts for the gold-fields, whither went not only diggers, but in their wake a vast following of traders, purveyors, gamblers, and other ravenous non- producers to absorb substance.

The struggle for wealth, however, untarnished by sordidness, stood redeemed by a whole-souled liberal- ity, even though the origin of this ideal Californian trait, like many another virtue, may be traced to less noble sources; here partly to the desire to cover up the main stimulant-greed; partly to the prodigality bred by easy acquisition; 13 partly to the absence of restraining family cares. Even traders scorned to haggle. A half-dollar was the smallest coin that could be tendered for any service, and many hesitated to offer a quarter for the smallest article. Every- thing proceeded on a grand scale; even boot-blacking assumed big proportions, with neatly fitted recesses,

12 For specimens, I refer to Cremony's Apache, 345.

13 It was manifested in social intercourse, also in charity, which in these early days found worthy objects among the suffering immigrants, as related under the Overland Journey. Garniss, Early Days, MS., 19, instances the liberality to stricken individuals, for which the wide-spread opulence gave less occasion.

227

A LEVEL SEA OF HUMANITY.

cushioned chairs, and a supply of entertaining journals. Wages rose to a dollar an hour for laborers, and to twelve and twenty dollars a day for artisans.14 With them was raised the dignity of labor, sanctified by the application of all classes, by the independence of min- ing life, and by the worshipful results-gold.

A natural consequence was the levelling of rank, a democratic equalization hitherto unapproached, and shattering the conservative notions more or less preva- lent. The primary range of classes was not so varied as in the older countries; for the rich and powerful would not come to toil, and the very poor could not well gain the distant land; but where riches lay so near the reach of all, their accumulation conferred less advantage. Aptitude was the esteemed and distin- guishing trait. The aspiring man could break away from drudgery at home, and here find many an open field with independence The laborer might gain the footing of employer ; the clerk the position of principal; while former doctors, lawyers, and army officers could be seen toiling for wages, even as waiters and shoe- blacks. Thus were grades reversed, fitness to grasp opportunity giving the ascendency.15

The levelling process left indelible traces; yet from the first the mental reservation and consequent effort were made to rise above any enforced subjection. The idea of abasement was sometimes softened by the disguise of name, which served also for fugitives from misfortune or disgrace, while it flattered imitators of humble origin. This habit received wide acknowl- edgment and application, especially in the mines,

14 As will be considered under Industries.

15 Even clergymen left an unappreciated calling to dig for gold. Willey, in Home Missionary, xxii. 92. Little, Stat., MS., 11, instances in his service as porters, muleteers, etc., two doctors, two planters claiming to own estates, and a gentleman, whatever that may be. See also Cassin, Stat., MS., 5-6, who identified in a bootblack a well-known French journalist of prominent family. Count Raousset de Boulbon, of filibuster fame, who prided himself on royal blood, admits working as a wharf laborer. Master and slave from the southern states could be seen working and living together. But such instances are well known. No sensible man objected to manual labor, al- though he hesitated at the menial grades.

228

SOCIETY

where nicknames became the rule, with a preference for abbreviated baptismal names, particularized by an epithet descriptive of the person, character, national- ity; as Sandy Pete, Long-legged Jack, Dutchy. The cause here may be sought chiefly in the blunt unre- strained good-fellowship of the camp, which banished all formality and superfluous courtesy.16

The requirements of mining life favored partnership; and while few of the associations formed for the jour- ney out kept together, new unions were made for mutual aid in danger, sickness, and labor. Sacred like the marriage bonds, as illustrated by the softening of partner into the familiar 'pard,' were the ties which oft united men vastly different in physique and tempera- ment, the weak and strong, the lively and sedate, thus yoking themselves together. It presented the affinity of opposites, with the heroic possibilities of a Damon or Patroclus.17 Those already connected with benevo- lent societies sought out one another to revive them for the practice of charity, led by the Odd Fellows, who united as early as 1847.18

With manhood thus exalted rose the sense of duty and honor. Where legal redress was limited, owing to the absence of well-established government, reliance had to be placed mainly on individual faith. In 1848 and 1849 locks and watchmen were little thought of. In the towns valuable goods lay freely exposed, or sheltered only by frail canvas structures; and in the camps tents stood unguarded throughout the day, with probably a tin pan full of gold-dust in open view upon the shelf.19 The prevalent security was due less to

16 Yet it required great intimacy to question even a comrade concerning his real name and former life.

17 This applies of course rather to unions of two. Rules for larger asso- ciations are reproduced in Shinn's Mining Camps, 113; Farwell's Vig., MS., 5. 18 An account of these and other orders will be given later.

19 The frail nature of the early business houses in S. F. and elsewhere has been described. Wheaton instances a crockery shop on the border of the Sydney convict settlement, where a notice invited purchasers to select their goods and leave the money in a plate, the proprietor being engaged elsewhere. Stut., MS., 3-4. Coleman relates that a gold watch was picked up near his

229

COMING OF THE CRIMINALS.

the absence of bad men-for reckless adventurers had long been pouring in, as instanced by the character and conduct of many of the disbanded New York volunteers-than to the readiness with which gold and wages could be gained, and to the armed and deter- mined attitude of the people. Soon came a change, however, with the greater influx of obnoxious ele- ments; and the leaden reality of hard work dissipated the former visions of broad-cast gold. Fugitives from trouble and dishonor had been lured to California, graceless scions of respectable families, and never-do- wells, men of wavering virtue and frail piety, withering before temptation and sham-haters, turned to swell the army of knaves.20 Bolder ruffians took the initiative and banded to raid systematically, especially on con- voys from the mines. So depraved became their recklessness that sweeping conflagrations were planned for the plunder to be obtained,21 while assassination followed as a matter of course. But murder was lit- tle thought of as compared with the heinous crime of theft. Disregard for life was fostered by an excitable temperament, the frequency of drunken brawls, the universal habit of carrying weapons, and the nomadic and isolated position of individuals, remote from

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History of California, Volume VI, Part 25

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe Publication date: 1885-1890 Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers Number of Pages: 816

Author: Bancroft, Hubert Howe
Publication date: 1885-1890
Publisher: San Francisco, Calif. : The History Company, publishers
Number of Pages: 816