History of California, Volume VI, Part 48

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

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Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

428

MINING METHODS.

Val. Union, June 22, 1872; Panamá Star, Feb. 24, 1849; Hewlett's Stat., MS .; Hearn's Cal. Sketches, MS., 3; Little's Stat., MS., 6-8, 12; Sayward's Pion. Remin., MS., 12-13; Auger, Voy. en Cal., 105-16; Crescent City Herald, Nov. 29, 1854; Chas Holland, in Coast Review, May 1873, p. 75; Coke's Ride, 185, 359-60; Grass Val. Foothill Tidings, March 15, 22, 29, Apr. 5, 12, 19, 26, May 3, 10, 17, 1879; Cassin's Stat., MS., 18; Fresno Expositor, June 22, 1870; Fay's Stat., MS., 11-13; Lambertie, Voy. Cal., 239-40, 259-63; Hist. Stanis- laus Co., 103-4; Perry's Travels, 90-1; S. F. Call, Jan. 19, 1873; Jan. 10, 1875; S. F. Mer. Gaz. and Shipp'g Reg., Jan. 3, 1857; S. F. Whig and Advert., June 11, 1853, 2; S. F. Post, Aug. 8, 1877; S. F. Manual, 197-204; S. F. Herald, Jan. 29, June 1, 4, 6, 8, July 19, 23, Aug. 1, 1850; May 21, 1852; Cil. Spirit Times, Dec. 25, 1877; S. F. Morn. Globe, Aug. 19, 1856; S. F. Town Talk, May 6, 1856; Ferry, Cal., 106-7; Lecky's Rat., i. 275; Cerruti's Ramblings, 28-9; Fisher's Cal. 42-9; Thompson's Stat., MS., 21-6; Fitzgerald's Cal. Sketches, 179-81; Mrs Tibbey, in Miscel. Stat., 19-20; Peachy's Mining Laws, 1-86; Lett's Cal. Illust., 102-4; Findla's Statement, MS., 9; Cal. Rev. and Tax. Scraps, 4-10; S. F. Bulletin, 1855-7, passim; Brooks' Four Months, 15, 17, 51-3, 59-61, 65, 68-72, 77, 89, 91, 183, 206; Id., Hist. Mex. War, 536; Grass Val. Union, Nov. 15, 1867; Meadow Lake W. Sun, Nov. 24, 1864; C. Costa Gazette, Apr. 9, 1879; Cal. Digger's Hand-Book, 7-9, 12-14, 27-8, 30-8, 43, 66, 72-8; S. F. Pacific News, Dec. 22, 1849; Jan. 1, 10, Apr. 26-7, 1850; May-Dec. 1850, passim; Unbound Doc., 12, 50, 318, 327-8, 383, 408-11; El Universal, June 5, 1849; Nov. 30, 1850; Tyler's Bidwell's Bar, MS., 2-7; Trinity Times, Jan. 27, 1855; Trask's Geol. Cal., 23-4; Torres, Perip., 81, 148-9; Todd's Sunset Land, 45; South. Quart. Review, v. (N. S.) 301-21; Kirk- patrick's Jour., MS., 37; Kip's Cal. Sketches, MS., 5, 36-41, 48-52; Kelly's Ex- cursion, ii. 23-4; Matthewson's Stat., MS., 8-9; Upham's Notes, 328-9; Seventh U. S. Census, 985; Siskiyou Co. Affairs, MS., 10; Sherwood's Cal., 3-27; S. F. Cal. Courier, July-Dec. 1850, passim; Sac. Union, 1854-6, passim; St Amant, Voy., 575-9; Miguel Urrea, in Soc. Mex. Geog., ii. 44; Grass Val. National, Dec. 31, 1874; S. José Mercury, Jan. 12, 1865; Direct. Grass Val., 1865, 69-88; Garniss' Early Days S. F., MS., 15; S. Diego Arch., 325, 349; Hayes' Scraps, San Diego, i. 94; Id., Angeles, ii. 102-8, 258, 272, 279; xviii. 101-3; Id., Min- ing Cal., i .- vii., passim; Cal. Gold Regions, 15; Cal. Pol. Scraps, 267-74; Swan's Trip to the Gold Mines; Cal. Pion., no. 49, pp. 48-9; Barstow's Stat., MS., 2, 4-7, 14; Capron's Hist. Cal., 229-34; Borthwick's Three Years in Cal., passim; Bonwick's Mormons, 350-1, 370-1, 379, 391; Knox' Underground, 797- 814; Savage Coll., MS., iii. 188; U. S. Land Off. Rept, 1855, 141-2; Simpson's Gold Mines, 5, 7-8, 11, 13, 27; Marysville W. Appeal, Aug. 24, 1867; Marys- ville D. Appeal, Oct. 23, 1864; Marysville Direct., 1858, 23-30, 94; Barry's Up and Down, 125-30; Hutchings' Illust. Cal. Mag., i. 218, 340; iii. 343, 469, 506, 519; iv. 452, 497; Valle, Doc., 72 et seq .; Hist. Doc. Cal., i. 507-9, 520; iii. 371, 373, 379-82; Vallejo, Col. Doc., xxxv. 63; xxxvi. 189, 213; Bigler's Diary, MS., 76; Browne's Min. Res., 15-72, 193-200; Martin's Nar., MS., 54-5; Marryat's Mountains; Kane, in Miscel. Stat., 10; Hawley's Observ., MS., 8-9; Mariposa Gazette, Feb. 26, 1869; Jan. 17, June 27, 1873; Id., Chron., Dec. 8, 1854; U. S. Govt Doc., Spec. Sess., March 1853, Sen. Doc. 4, pp. 405; Id., 31st Cong., Ist Sess., Sen. 1, p. 488; McDaniel's Early Days, MS., 7; McCollum's Cal., 45; Jacob's Prec. Metals, ii. 41 et seq .; Janssens, Viday Ad., MS., 221; Bakersfield South. Cal., June 8, Nov. 23, 1876; Barnes' Or. and Cal., 14-18, 118; Misc. Hist. Papers, Doc. 26, 34; Soc. Mex. Geog., Bolet., ii. 44; Vowell's Mining Districts, MS., 23-4; Ballou's Advent., MS., 25; Wheaton's Stat., MS., 6, 9; Columbia Gaz., Dec. 9, 1854; Id., Clipper, Dec. 2, 1854; Sonora Herald, Dec. 9, 1854; Schlagintweit, Cal., 216-311; Safford's Narr., MS., 21-2; Son. Co. Hist., 29-38; Weston's Life in the Mines, MS., 7; La Voz de Sonora, Oct. 5, 1855; Velasco, Son., 307; Van Dyke's Stat., MS., 3-5, 8; Yuba Co. Hist., 44, 136; Vallejo D. Recorder, Nov. 5, 1870; S. F. Alta Cali- fornia, 1849-56, passim; Wright's Big Bonanza, 567-9; Son. Democrat, Jan. 31, 1880; Sutton's Stat., MS., 3-4, 11; Yreka Union, Feb. 20, 1864, June 5, 1869; Woodward's Stat., MS., 3, 5; Wood's Sixteen Months, 50-4, 57, 64, 84, 100, 125-30, 135, 144-8, 171-6; Id., Pioneer Work, 64-5, 98-9.

CHAPTER XVII.

BIRTH OF TOWNS.

1769-1869.

MEXICAN TOWN-MAKING -- MISSION, PRESIDIO, AND PUEBLO-THE ANGLO- AMERICAN METHOD-CLEARING AWAY THE WILDERNESS-THE AMERI- CAN MUNICIPAL IDEA-NECESSITIES ATTENDING SELF-GOVERNMENT- HOME-MADE LAWS AND JUSTICE-ARBITRATION AND LITIGATION-CAMP AND TOWN SITES-CREATION OF COUNTIES-NOMENCLATURE-RIVERS AND HARBORS-INDUSTRIES AND PROGRESS.

FOR three quarters of a century California had been a colonial appendage of Mexico, occupied as a military frontier, with friars to superintend the subjugation of the natives, and convert them into citizens useful to themselves and to the state. They were, for lack of ready material, to swell the ranks of the colonists, who, under protection of the sword and cross, formed nuclei for towns, raising up in due time a self-sustaining province of tribute-paying subjects. The missions being gradually changed into locally self-governing pueblos, the teaching and protecting friars and soldiers were to pass onward with the extending border line. But the Mexicans did not possess the true spirit of hard-working, thrifty colonists and home-builders. They were easily deterred by such obstacles as distance from convenient centres and home associations, espe- cially when their indolent disposition was disturbed by danger from beasts and savages. Even for con- tiguous states within the republic, colonization had to be fostered by military settlements, with semi-com- pulsory enlistment; hence progress fell into the ruts of

( 429 )

430

BIRTH OF TOWNS.

slow pastoral life, in which the well-known prolificness of the race ranked as chief factor. Under like con- ditions there would have been like drawbacks, only in less intensified degree, when California became a part of the United States. Development would have been very gradual but for the same incentive which had promoted the occupation of America, and the rapid extension of Spanish conquests to the borders of Arizona-gold. The broader effect of its discovery was here greatly owing to the facilities provided for immigration by a more advanced age, no less than to the energetic, enterprising character of the chief par- ticipants.

The Anglo-Americans were in good training for the conquest of nature. During the past two centu- ries much of their time had been spent in subduing the wilderness, in killing off the wild beasts and wild men, and planting settlements along the gradually retreating frontiers ; so that when they came to Cali- fornia they were ready to make short work of what- ever should stand between them and that grand development which was to see a valley of pathless plains and silent foothills blossom within one brief year into countless camps and busy highways. Be- fore this their adventurous vanguard had displayed to easy-going pueblo dwellers their bent for city building by planning more than one pretentious site; but it was in the mining region that this talent was to appear in impromptu evolutions, out of which should spring regulations so admirable in principle and adaptability as to serve as a basis for later com- munities, and to eclipse the century codes of Europe.

The concurrence of the miners at some promising locality, and the demand of numerous and less fortu- nate late comers, called for a distribution or readjust- ment of ground claims on the principle of free land and equal rights, at least among citizens of the United States, as title-holders, and with special consideration for the discoverer. This was the foundation of the mining-camp system.

431

MINING COMMUNITIES.

The miners were an ultra-democratic body, priding themselves upon an equality which to the present end manifested itself in according free and full voice to every person present. True, might here also retained a certain sway, permitting the bully at times to over- ride the timid stranger or the stripling, and ever giving precedence to the preponderance of brain, of tact, of fitness, which required assurance, however, to make its way in the jostling crowd. The only injus- tice countenanced in general assembly was perhaps in the direction of race prejudice. A large proportion of the people had been trained partly in local political clubs and movements, partly in the rules and coopera- tive duties of overland companies; and the need of partners for labor and camp routine tended to sustain the practice, frequently defined by written rules,1 but tinctured by a socialism of the fraternal type.

With the Germanic trait of swift adaptation of means to ends, so highly developed among Americans, the first indication of a gathering community or the brewing of public questions was signalized by a meet- ing for framing rules and appointing officers to watch over their observance. The emergency found both able leaders and intelligent followers. A committee was promptly nominated of men with clear heads and per- haps legal experience; and their project for regulating the size and tenure of claims, the settlement of dis- putes, recording titles and enforcing order in the camp, would be enunciated by the chairman from the com- manding elevation of a tree-stump or empty provision barrel, and adopted with occasional dissent, article by article, by show of hands or word of mouth.2 The

1 Concerning the share in expenses, household and mining labor, tools, yield, etc., as shown in the chapters on mines.

2 For rules, see the chapter on mining. In due time the boundaries of dis- tricts were given to which the rules applied. The use of water, encroach- inents, rights of foreigners, recorder's duties, meeting place and procedure, the sale of claims, fees, amendments, etc., received consideration, although not at all meetings, the earliest rules covering as a rule only a few essential points. Each camp was a body politic by itself, asking leave or counsel of none others; and thus arose a lack of uniformity, which in due time, however, was modified through the lessons brought by intercourse.

432

BIRTH OF TOWNS.

prevalence of distinct rules, even in closely adjoining districts, was no doubt confusing, but they had the merit of better suiting the requirements of its occu- pants and the nature of the environments than a general code, which frequently proved obstructive by inapplicable features. In some camps hearsay suf- ficed to rule proceedings subsequent to the first distri- bution, but usually a recorder was chosen to register claims and decide disputes. Compromise formed here the leading feature of Anglo-Saxon adjustment, until complex society and interests gave predominance to lawyers.3 In grave cases, or in those of wide appli- cation, a gathering was called,4 from which judge, jury, and defenders might be chosen to hold trial. Conven- tions were also ordained for stated periods to consider the condition of affairs and effect improvements.5 A public jealous of its rights, and with ready views, kept guard over proceedings, and assisted with fixed or vol- untary and casual contributions to form a financial de- partment for the simple and honest administration of affairs.

Larger camps found it prudent for order and ad- ministration to install a permanent council,6 with more

3 As a rule, questions were submitted to neighbors. Some districts desig- nated a special arbitrator, or a standing committee sworn by the alcalde. Fees ranged from $2 or $3 to 50 cents, at times with mileage added.

$At the instance of any one, although it was left to the summoned persons to disregard the appeal if trivial. A vote on the spot might settle the ques- tion; otherwise a presiding officer, judge, jury, and defenders would be chosen; witnesses were summoned, and a written record was kept. Any one was permitted to prosecute, while liable to be called out as executive officer. In civil cases the jury was often restricted to six men for the sake of economy. There were plenty of lawyers among the miners, who appeared when called upon. Although decisions were as a rule prompt, with enforcement or exe- cution within a few hours, yet at times days were consumed to accord full weight to testimony. The fund derived from registration of claims provided for the costs; otherwise collections or assessments were made, particularly to pay the sheriff. The alcalde used to receive his ounce of gold for a trial, jurors probably $5 for a case, and witnesses actual expenses. Two rival claimants to a deposit at Scott Bar, Klamath River region, once sent to S. F. for lawyers and judge to conduct the case. The winners paid the cost.

5 With the aid of delegates from other districts, and to annul obnoxious rules. Instance the six-monthly meetings at Jamestown, and those of Brown Valley in Jan. and Aug. 1853. Claim-holders had in some places to attend. Instance also the 'hungry convention' at Grass Valley during the winter of 1852-3.

6 As at Rough and Ready, where three citizens composed it. The stand-

433

MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT.

or less extended sway. Others adhered, under the guidance of earlier arrivals, to the existing form of local government by chosing an alcalde. This semi- oriental feature was indeed upheld by the military governors, who preferred to interfere as little as pos- sible with Mexican customs pending congressional enactments.7 But the American alcalde had about him little of the autocratic and parental control ac- corded to his southern prototype, whose subjects were so largely composed of servile Indians. The prevail- ing sense of intelligent equality quelled assumption. Yet a certain degree of arbitrary power was exercised by him to save precious time. Guided by simple equity, and occasionally by some code from an eastern state, his decisions were, as a rule, abided by, with rare appeal to, the governor.

In 1850 the state laws ordered alcaldes to be re- placed by justices of the peace for every township, with jurisdiction of no mean grade ;8 but several places incorporated as towns and cities,9 burdening them- selves often too hastily with an elaborate staff of offi-

ing committee of arbitration was a form of it. At Sonora a regular town council of seven, with a mayor, was chosen in Nov. 1849, in connection with a movement to establish a hospital.

7 As late as Aug. 1849 Gov Riley ordered an election of alcaldes and other local officials. See remarks on Nevada, Sonora, Marysville, and Sac- ramento, and in the chapter on S. F. 1849; also Riley's favorable comment on the mining alcalde. Rept of Aug. 1849; Taylor's Eldorado; Ryan's Ad- vent. In Southern Cal. the alcalde spirit lingered long under Mexican officials. Sta Barb. Arch., 77-115, passim, 1854, etc .; and Vallejo, Doc., xxxiv .-

v. A constable was early chosen to aid the alcalde.

8 Chiefly because they were empowered to settle mining cases of any value. The townships at this time extended at times over an average county.

9 In some cases town organization had been effected too hastily, for a char- ter from the legislature was required to give it legality. The existing coun- cil at Sonora was accordingly disbanded till this document was obtained. Nevada fell into debt, dismissed her officials, and reincorporated under a cheaper charter; San Bernardino suffered a relapse in the Mormon exodus; Benicia was overshadowed by S. F., and so forth. The first rules governing such incorporations are given in Cal. Statutes, 1850, 78, 128. The population necessary for towns must exceed 200, whose government was assigned to five trustees, elected annually, with a treasurer, assessor, and marshal. For cities the population must exceed 2,000. The officials to be elected were mayor, marshal, police judge, and a council of at least three members, one for each ward; term not to exceed two years. These rules were elastic, for old Alameda was incorporated in 1854, when the population on the entire peninsula barely exceeded 100; and Benicia and others assumed city garb, with less than 2,000.

HIST. CAL., VOL. VI. 28

434

BIRTH OF TOWNS.

cials under the selfish manœuvring of politicians and speculators. Taking advantage of the unsettled con- dition, and the business preoccupation among citizens, these worthies furthermore proceeded to divert local resources to their own ends, and ingulf the settlement in debt by useless or extravagant measures from which they sought enrichment. They sold offices to the highest bidder, and by the complexity of departments and routine they manipulated justice to shield the corrupt, by whose support they sustained themselves.10 These were among the causes which converted larger towns into hot-beds of crime, the refuge of a class driven from camps and other places ruled by the fear- inspiring swiftness of a miners' court.11

The site of mining camps received apparently little of the consideration governing the location of settle- ments. In the rush for gold, nothing was thought of save the momentary convenience of being near to the field of operation. And so they sprang up, often in the most out of the way spots, on the sandy flat left by retreating river currents, along the steep slope of a ravine, on the arid plain, on the hilltop, or in the cul-de-sac hollow of some forbidding ridge, with lack or excess of water, troublesome approach, and other obstacles. Even the picturesque faded fast as the foliage fringe round the white-peaked tents was reduced to shorn stumps, midst unsightly mounds of earth, despoiled river-beds, and denuded slopes, the ghastly battle-field of Titanic forces. The chief conveniences were due to the store-keepers and liquor dealers, who, with a keen eye to the main chance, followed in the train of the diggers; and while planting themselves on the most conspicuous spot, were prompted, on pub- lic grounds, although for private gain, to demand for

10 See the chapters on S. F., and the sections on Sac., Oakland, etc. Under the county notes are shown instances of incorporation. As Gwin came to Cal. with the express aim to legislate for her, so others flocked hither to gather the crumbs of local management.

11 Compulsory in a great degree, owing to the lack of prisons and keepers for affording delay for trials.

435

THE MAIN STREET.

residents and wayfarers an outline for a street with ready access to their bar and counter. Along this thoroughfare clustered the shrines of Bacchus and Fortuna, gambling-halls, shed-like hotels, and other adjuncts of life and traffic, corresponding to the extent and prominence of the diggings. In most cases the solitary and perhaps crooked main street formed the only avenue among the cluster of tents, brush huts, and log cabins; in others the camps were scattered at fre- quent intervals, especially along the Stanislaus. Occa- sionally a rich field drew a gathering of thousands within a few weeks 12 to one point, which, like Sonora, Columbia, Placerville, and Nevada, became the centre for a number of minor groups, and marked its stages of progress by such significant features as the trans- formation of early canvas structures and sheds into frame buildings, and these again sometimes into sub- stantial brick edifices; the appearance of a local news- paper; the introduction of sewers and water-works, and finally gas, the crowning affirmation of permanent prosperity, more so than the documentary claim presented in a city charter, whose pretensions were frequently swept away by disincorporation.

As centres of mining districts they often controlled a flourishing trade over a large extent of country,13 until the growth of population demanded a division with new or subordinate rallying points. In due time they became aspirants for the honors of a county seat, some by influencing the creation of a county, on pleas similar to those for organizing districts-pub- lic convenience 14 -- but which were widely stretched

12 Any of the rich streams, Stanislaus, Yuba, Feather, furnishes instances, as shown in the note on counties, and in the chapter on mining. Sonora and Nevada are among the best known.

13 To which physical obstacles, as ravines, rivers, and ranges, and the attendant convenience assigned the limits. The moment these created ob- jections a new district was formed without even consulting the mother dis- trict. Rules were modified to suit the change and wishes of the majority occupying the new centre. At times camps united also for certain objects. Districts were frequently cut in two by the arbitrary border lines of counties, yet this seldom affected their organization or unity.

14 The legislature was swayed greatly by whim and political intrigue in creating counties. Sections like El Dorado and Calaveras were long left in-

436

BIRTH OF TOWNS.

to suit the fancy of speculators and politicians, in and out of legislature. Others managed by a pre- ponderating vote and interest to wrest the dig- nity from less powerful towns.15 In many instances

tact, although counting already in 1850 a population of over 20,000 and 16,000 respectively, and presenting numerous internal obstacles, notably in steep ranges and rugged divides; while other regions, like Mendocino, with a white population of only 55, and small prospects for advancement, were accorded equal status. Compare also the contemporaneous segregation of Colusa, Yolo, and Solano, with ready means for intercourse and a scanty pop- ulation, except in a few spots, and the limitation of Marin to a mountain- ous corner, while the adjoining Sonoma revelled in a fertile expanse, with jurisdiction in a measure as far as Humboldt. Subsequently such small sec- tions were lopped off as rich Amador on one side of the Mokelumne, and barren Alpine on the other. Lassen was granted autonomy to please a few growlers, while similar louder and sounder complaints elsewhere remained unheeded. Del Norte and Klamath were given the sway of their respective rocky circuits; and when the latter speedily sought relief from the privilege, its terrain must needs be awarded to the already cumbersome Humboldt and Siskiyou, without a share to Del Norte, for which proximity and natural boundaries designed it. According to the act of Apr. 22, 1850, the petition of at least 100 electors was required for organizing a county. Later the Sac. Union, Apr. 11, 1855, etc., objected to a voting population as a basis. The Political Code of Cal. divides the counties into three classes, the first with a population of 20,000 and over, the second with 8,000 and upwards, the third below 8,000, with boards of supervisors numbering 7, 5, and 3 members re- spectively, each representing a supervisor's district for a term of three years, a portion of the board retiring annually. Its meetings are fixed for the first Monday in Feb., May, Aug., and Nov., the books kept by it covering minutes of proceeding, allowances from the treasury, warrants upon the treasury, list of franchises granted, and records of roads and works. Of county officers, every two years, as judge, sheriff, treasurer, clerk, auditor, recorder, attor- ney, surveyor, coroner, assessor, collector, school superintendent, public ad- ministrator, and commissioners of highways, several positions may after due notice be consolidated in counties of inferior rank, for the sake of economy, the clerk, for instance, acting also as auditor and recorder. For townships, subordinates could be added to the indispensable justices of the peace and constables, and every official, except judges, supervisors, and justices, could appoint the needful deputies. With several, residence at the county seat was compulsory for obvious reasons. Bonds ranged from $100,000 for treasurers in the first-class counties, to $5,000 for school superintendents and coroners, the proportion in third-class counties being about one fifth these amounts. Changes have been made under this heading, as well as that for pay. Instance, proposed reforms in Cal. Jour. Sen., 1867-8, ap. 78. One act abolished the supervisor office in several counties. Cal. Statutes, 1854, 280. Other reforms are indicated by the assessment list, which raised valuations for 1873-4 to nearly three times the amount ruling in 1872-3. Property in Oak- land, for instance, then valued at $6,600,000 was in 1873-4 assessed at $18,500,000.

15 Placerville gained it from Coloma, and quelled the aspirations of several rivals. In Yolo the dignity was tossed from one village to another, as differ- ent speculators obtained the upper hand. In the south San Joaquin counties the railroad founded towns and aided them to seize the prize. In Alameda Oakland snatched it by force of vote from a more central locality. In some other counties, as Solano, a central point was specially located as the seat. Several towns owe their existence chiefly to a retention of the officials. Hum- boldt county was moved to secession from Trinity, because the seat was trans- ferred to inland Weaverville.

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History of California, Volume VI, Part 48

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