USA > California > Nevada County > History of Nevada County, California; with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, residences, public buildings, fine blocks, and manufactories > Part 2
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NEWSPAPERS.
Californian, from August 15, 1846, to January 4, 1849.
California Star, from January 9, 1847, to January 4, 1849. Alta California, from January 4, 1849, to January 1, 1851. Placer Times, from April 28, 1849, to June 16, 1851.
Sacramento Daily Union, from March 19, 1851, to Novem- ber 8, 1852.
Democratic State Journal, from November 8, 1852, to De- cember 2, 1854.
Sacramento Daily Union, from December 2, 1852, to Feb- ruary 22, 1875.
Nevada Journal, a few files.
Young America, for the year 1855.
Nevada Democrat, from 1856 to 1861.
Nevada Daily Transcript, from September 6, 1860, to June 1, 1880.
Grass Valley Daily Union, from October, 1866, to June 1, 1880.
Hydraulic Press, a few files.
Sun Juan Times, a few files.
Truckee Republican, from April 30, 1872, to June 1, 1880.
BOOKS.
Forbes' California, by J. Alexander Forbes, 1839.
Annals of San Francisco, by Frank Soule, J. H. Gihon and James Nesbet, 1855.
Native Races of the Pacific States, by H. H. Bancroft, 1875; 5 vols.
History of California, by Franklin Tuthill, 1866.
History of the Public School System of California, by John Swett, 1876.
The Natural Wealth of California, by Titus Fey Cronise, 1868.
The Narrative of the Exploring Expedition to Oregon and North California in the Years 1843-44, by Brevet Captain J. C. Fremont, 1846.
Resources of the Pacific Slope, by J. Ross Browne, 1869.
A History of the City of San Francisco, and Incidentally of the State of California, by John S. Hittell, 1878.
Gazeteer of the California Pacific Railroad and its Branches, for the Year 1871-72, by Hamilton Brown.
Historical and Descriptive Sketch Book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino Counties, by C. A. Menefee, 1873.
The History of San Jose and Surroundings, by Frederic Hall, 1871.
The Resources of California, by John S. Hittell, 1874.
History of California, by Capron, 1854.
El Dorado; or, Adventures in the Path of Empire, by Bay- ard Taylor, 1850; 2 vols.
Rivers of the West.
Scenes in El Dorado in the Years 1849-50, by Samuel C Upham, 1878.
History of the Donner Party, by C. F. McGlashan, 1879.
Three Years in California, by Rev. Walter Colton, U. S. N., 1850.
Scenes in the Rocky Mountains, by a New Englander, 1846
Histories of San Joaquin, Yuba, Sutter, Sacramento and Sonoma Counties, published by Thompson & West.
Report of the Debates in the Convention of California, on the formation of the State Constitution, by J. Ross Browne, 1850. Nevada Directory, by Brown & Dallison, 1856.
Directory, by Hugh B. Thompson, 1861.
Grass Valley Directory, William S. Byrne, 1865.
Bean's History and Directory of Nevada County, California, by Edwin F. Bean, E. G. Waite, Wm. S. Byrne, F. Tilford, E. W. Roberts, James D. White, J. E. Squire and George D. Dornin.
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HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
CHAPTER II.
Discovery of Lower California Expedition of Cartes Probalde Onay of the Name Northward Adventures of CaleDa Cape Mand ino In .. . ered Viscaine's Voyages Sir Francis Drake - Portale Discovers Sal Franciseu Hay Mission Dolares Fouleled.
WHEN Cortez and his conquistadores had overrun and subdued the territory of Mexico, they conceived that there was another and still more inviting country somewhere nortli- ward, abounding with silver and gold, and possessing in its unknown solitudes the long sought Fountain of Youth. "Theso romantic ideas had been inspired by a popular ro- inance which appeared at Seville in 1510. It was entitled " The Sorgas of Esplandian, the son of Amadis, of Ganl," and, among other very wonderful things, contained tho follow- ing passage :-
" Know that on the right hand of the Indies, there is an "island callod California, very near to the Terrestrial Para- " dise, which wus peopled by black women, without any men "among them, bocanse they were accustomed to live after " the manner of the Amazons. They were of strong and "hurdoned bodies, of ardent courage, and of great force. " Tho island was the strongest in the world, from its steep " rocks and great cliffs. Their arms were all of gold, and so " were the caparisons of the wild beasts they rode."
This exciting and popular book was published and univer- sally road in Spain abont twenty-tive years before the Northi- Pacific Expedition of Cortez, and it is not improbable that "California, very near to the 'Terrestrial Paradise, " was in the mind of Hernando Grijalva, the commander of the fleet, to whom tho honor of the discovery belongs ; and thus, in all probability, tho name of our great Stato is accounted for. There have been various speeulations among scholars and geographers concerning the origin and derivation of the name of California, andl of all these, the foregoing explan- ation seems to be the most ronsonable and plausible. The appellativo which, three hundred and thirty years after, was to stir tho cupidity and enterprise of the whole civilized world, was only an arbitrary creation in tho mind of the dreamy old romaneor of Seville, in 1510.
Cortez had achieved the conquest of Mexico in 1519, and, nine years after, having returned to the Court of Charles V., was received with distinguished honors and rewarded by many royal concessions, and among these was one anthor- · izing him to conquer, at his own expense, any countries that ho might discover north-west of Mexico, annex them to the Spanish erown, keep for himself one-twelfth of all the pre- cious metals and pearls, and retain the perpetual viceroyalty
for himself and his male heirs. Returning to Mexico, he Invle immediate preparations for the expedition, but, for various reasons, did not get to sea until 1535. Having landed on the peninsula of Lower California, he found the country so barren and nuinviting that be abandoned the expedition and returned to Mexico in 1537. There he learned that, during his absence, ten Spaniards, who had been with De Soto in Florida, had crossed the continent, bringing reports of a rich, popnlons, and extensive empire in the north-west, which they had heard of but not seen. The story of these two adventurers, corresponding with the previous conjectures of Cortez and his men, revived thoir drooping hopes and ambition for conquest, and led to another expedition in 1542, nder Jose R. Cabrillo, who sailed north- ward as far as Cape Mendocino, which he named Capo Men- doza, in honor of his friend and patron, tho Viceroy of Mexico. Cabrillo sailed from the port of Navidad, in Mex- ico, on the 27th of June, 1542, keeping within sight of the coast the greater part of the way, and having reached the great headland now known as Cape Mendocino, returned in the following April, withont making any further discoveries except the Farallone Islands. He did not find the entranco to the Bay of San Francisco, or land at any other point on our coast.
In his " History of Upper and Lower California," printed in London in 1839, and now a rare and valuable work, Mr. Alexander Forbes says that Old, or Lower California, was discovered in the year 1534, by a squadron fitted out by Cortez and commanded by Grijalva. The expedition sailed from the coast of Guatemala, and put into a harbor in the Gulf of California, in what they supposed to be an island, and which they named Santa Cruz. It is now known as L:i Paz; but there is an island lying off this harbor which is still called Santa Cruz. The companion of Grijalva was Mendoza, who commanded the other ship, and Himines was pilot. . Both of these perished during the expedition; the former in a mutiny headed by the pilot Himines, who was himself slain by the natives of La Paz, together with twenty other Spaniards. The issue of this expedition was so unsatisfactory to Cortez that he resolved to pursue the dis- covery in person, and in the following year he fitted out three ships at Tehnantepee, which he joined himself at Cheametla, having marched overland from Mexico with a large retinne of soldiers, slaves, settlers, and priests. As before stated, the country was found so barren as to afford no sustenance for his armament, and in the then imperfect state of naviga- tion transport was both difficult and dangerous from the
opposite coast. Only one vessel returned with supplies; but in the meantime Cortez explored the Gulf to the northward, and ascertained that California was neither an island nor un archipelago, as had been supposed, but part of the mainland. For some time after this the Gulf of California was known as the "Sea of Cortez; " it was also called the Hod Son (1) Mar Rojo), probably from the discoloration of its northern part by the intlow of the Rio Colorado, or Red River. After many labors and dangers Cortez returned to Acapulco, but continued to prosecute his discoveries at his own cost and commanded by his own officers. Tho chief of these was Francisco do Ulloa, who in 1537 sailed with three ships, and during two years explored the gulf to its northern extremity. The expedition of Ulloa confirmed the previous report of the birrenness of Lower California, und the rudo- ness and poverty of the natives, who were found quito naked.
Tho Viceroys of New Spain mado several subsequent attempts to oxplore and settle Lower California, but without much success, for nearly a century.
In 1562 Jnan Rodrignez Cabrillo explored the western coast of the peninsula as high as lalitude 63 . In 1596 Don Caspar Viseaino commanded an expedition to the gulf, and made an attempt to settle tho country by establishing a gar- rison at La Paz, which was so named from the peaceablo disposition of the inhabitants. Viscaino surveyed the coast a hundred leagues northward, where the natives were moro warlike and killed some of his people. Having run ont of provisions, and tho extreme barrenness of the coast continu- ing, he 'abandoned the expedition and returned to Now Spain.
In 1602 Viseaino lod a still more extensive expedition to explore the west coast of the peninsula, which proved very snecessful. In this voyage he examined the port of Mag- dalena and other places on the western coast, and, sailing northward into nnexplored regions, discovered Upper Cali- fornia, the harbor of San Diego, Monterey, and San Fran- cisco. The coast was examined imperfectly as far north as the latitude of 45; this was twenty-four years after the expedition of Sir Francis Drake, who did not discover the great bay. It is established, therefore, that the territory comprising the State of California was first discovered by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portugese by birth, but then acting as pilot, or navigator, in the service of the Spanish government.
Sir Francis Drake reached the Pacific Oecan through the Straits of Magellan, in 1578, thirty-six years after Cabrillo
HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
had named Cape Menlocino, and, not having heard of Cabrillo's previous expedition, took possession of the country in the name of Queen Elizabeth, of England. Drake landed near Point Reyes, fifteen miles north of the Golden Gate, in latitude 37' 59' 54, and anchored in what is now known as Drake's Bay. Through a remarkable oversight, he lost the immortal fame of the first discoverer of the grandest harbor on all the sea-coasts of the New World.
It is related that when Drake was treating with the natives, he mistook tho common head-dress of the chiefs for the cinblem of royalty, and when one was presented to him, he accepted it as tho abdication of Indian sovereignty in favor of the British Queen, took formal possession of thio country, and named it Now Albion!
According to an old map published in Europe in 1645, three years after Cabrillo's voyage, a bay of San Francisco is men- tioned as having been known to the first navigators; but other circunstances lead to the conclusion that it was what is now known as Drake's Bay, somo sixty miles north of the groat harbor. When Portala, the real discoverer, came upon tho great bay, in his expedition ovorland, he supposed it to be the San Francisco harbor north of Point Reyes, which had long been known to the Spanish navigators, and it was so named. The original Spanish port of San Fran- cisco was therefore located near Point Reyes, and there is where Viseaino and Sir Francis Drake anchored, neither having found his way through the Golden Gate.
From 1610 to 1660 somo twenty attempts were made to tako possession of the country, under tho impression that it abounded in gold, silver, and precious stones. Very little is known of the coast from the time of Viscaino's discovery, in 1602, till 1769, a period of one hundred and sixty-six years, and then occurred tho real discovery of the, great Bay of San Francisco.
In 1767, the Jesuits, by order of Charles III., were expelled from Spain and her colonial dependencies, including Lower California, where their missions and property were granted to the Fathers of the Order of St. Francis, or the Franciscan Friars. Theso missionary enthusiasts, acting under instrnc- tions from the Viceroy of Mexico, at once prepared to explore and extend their missions into the upper territory, of which little or nothing was then know !. Father Junipero Serra was appointed President of all the missions to be established in Upper California, and in company with sixteen Monks from the Convent of San Fernando, in the City of Mexico, proceeded to carry out the grand design of civilization on the North Pacific. Expeditions, both by land and sea, were
fitted ont; the ships to transport heavy supplies, and the land voyagers to drive the flocks and herds. The first ship, the Sun Carlos, left Cape St. Lucas, in Lower California, January 9, 1769, and was followed by the San Antonio on the 15th of the same month. A third vessel, the San Jose, was dispatched from Loretto on the 16th of June. After much suffering, these real pioneers of California civilization reached San Diego; the San Carlos on tho Ist of May; the San Antonio on the 11th of April, 1769, the crews having been well nigh exhausted by scurvy, thirst, and starvation. After leaving Loretto, the San Jose was never heard of more.
The overland expedition was divided into two divisions; one under command of Don Gaspar de Portala, the appointed Military Governor of the new territory, and the other under Captain Rivera y Moncado. Rivera and his company, con- sisting of Father Crespi, twenty-five soldiers, six mnleteers, and a party of Lower California Indians, started from Villa- ceta on the 24th of March, and reached San Diego on the 14th of May, 1769. Up to that time no white man had ever lived in Upper California, and then began to riso the morning star of our present civilization.
The second division, accompanied by Father Junipero, started from Villaceta on the 15th of May, and arrived at San Diego July 1st. Here Father Junipero organized the first mission in Upper California, on the 16th of July, 1769, and there the first native Californian was baptized on the 26th of December of that year. These are memorable points in the ecclesiastical history of this Coast.
On the 14th of July, 1769, Governor Portala started out in search of Monterey, as described by the previous naviga- tors. He was accompanied by Fathers Juan Crespi and Francisco Gomez; the party consisting of fifty-six white per- sons, including a sergeant, an engineer, thirty-three soldiers, and a company of emigrants from Sonora, together with a unmber of Indians from Lower California. They missed their course and could not find the Bay of Monterey, but continued on northward, and, on the 25th of October, came upon the great bay of San Francisco, which they named in honor of the titular Saint of the friar missionaries. Father Junipero Serra was not of this illustrious company of explor- ers, and did not visit the Bay of San Francisco for nearly six years after its discovery. The honor belongs to Governor Portala and Friars Crespi and Gomez, together with their humbler companions. The party then returned to San Diego, which they reached on the 24th of January, 1770, after an absence of six months and ten days. Six years thereafter, on the 9th of October, 1776, the Mission of San Francisco
de los Dolores was founded on the western shore of the great Bay, the old church remaining in tolerablo preservation to the present time, the most interesting landmark of onr primitive civilization.
CHAPTER III.
THE ABORIGINES.
Their Probable Origin-Evidences of Mongolian Derivation-Observations of the Missionaries-Political Condition and Social Habits-Means of Subsist- ence-Religious Ideas and Treatment of the Sick.
There is no doubt that the inhabitants of Mexico and California, when discovered by the Spaniards, were of Mon- golian origin. Such is the conclusion of ethnologists and philologists who have studied the Hindoo, Chinese, and Jap- anese annals during the present century.
These all correspond in recording the fact that abont the year 1280 Genghis Kahn, the great Mongol Chief, invaded China with his barbarous Tartar hordes, and subjugated its people; and having achieved that enterprise, he fitted ont an expedition of 240,000 men, and 4,000 ships, under the command of Kublai Kahn, his son, for the conquest of Japan. This expedition encountered a violent storm, which destroyed a great part of the fleet, and drove some of the ships upon the west coast of America. It is considered certain that Mango Capac, the founder of the Peruvian nation, was the son of Kublai Kahn, the Commander of that ill-fated expedition, and that the ancestors of Montezuma appeared in Mexico about the same time. "The Peruvians," says Grotius, " were a Chinese colony, and the Spaniards " fonnd at the entry of the Pacific Ocean, on coming through " the Straits of Magellan, the wrecks of Chinese vessels." Every custom of the Mexicans, as described by their Span- ish conquerors, proves their Asiatic origin. They had no written language, but kept their records by means of bundles of strings, with knots of various eolors, similar to those used by the Chinese at that time. Their civil, military eeremo- nies, their music, weapons, names of deities, their system of notation and method of calenlating time, were all identical with those of China. The strange hieroglyphics found in Mexico and throughout North America, are ascertained to be of Mongolian origin, and were the usual signs to mark the subjugation of a country.
The most interesting feature of these recent discoveries concerning the ancient history of California and Mexico. is the strange fact that many of the Tartar invaders were
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HISTORY OF NEVADA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
Christians. Vega, a Peruvian historian, relates that among tho spoil which the Spaniards took from the palace of the Incas was a highly polished jasper cross, which was kept in the sacred chamber of the palace, and was held in grent veneration. According to Marco Polo, who trav- eled and wrote in the thirteenth century, there were many Nestorians in the service of Genghis Kahn on his Japan expedition, and these may have been among the adven- turers who were driven upon the American shore, bringing with thera the traditions of Christianity. In 1866, the ruins of Christian places of worship, which had been aban- doned before the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, wore found about three hundred miles from Jalapa, and among those was tho figuro of a man, with the emblems of Christianity, tho cross and lamb, all beautifully carved. In 1518, Grijalva found many grout stono crosses in Yucatan, where the people worshiped them, and the Spaniards under Cortez saw many such in Mexico. An old Latin book pub- lishod at Lorraine, in 1579, says that "Tatarrayno, the power- " fnl King of Qnovera (nn old name of California) was amply " providod with riches, worshiped the Savior's Cross and the " momory of tho Holy Virgin;" but that is probably a Monk- ish romano, Tho largo stono honses known as casas grandes, found in Mexico and along the Gila river, are identical with old structures in Thibot which were oreetod by Mongolians and remain to the present time. The armor of Montezuma, obtained by Cortoz and now in the Museum of Madrid, is known to be of Asiatie manufacturo, and to havo belonged to ono of Kublai Kahu's generals.
Tho foregoing, derived from Cronise's valuable work, aro searcely necessary, to show the possibility of ancient migra- tiou from Asia to this coast. In 1813, a British ship fell in with a dismasted Japanese junk about one hundred and fifty miles off tho north-west coast, near Qncen Charlotte's Island. It containod throo porsons alive, who had been adrift eighteen months. Several years ago, tho remains of a Chinese junk were found imbedded in the mud of tho Columbia river at a considerable distance from the Ocean, and the Indians said it had come there long ago filled with strange men, and no- body knew whenco they came or whither they went. Added to all this is tho fact that Behring's Strait is sometimes frozen over, and may be passed ou sledges, without the intervention of adverse fortunes of the sea. In view of all these facts and the striking resemblance betwccu tho Chinese and Iudi- ans of tho presont time, it seems clear euongh that the aboriginal inhabitants of this coast were derived from the great Asiatic family of maukind.
Upper California, when first visited by the Spaniards, was inhabited by the same race of men as the lower province. The Northern people varied somewhat in their physical char- acteristics and customs from their Sonthern brethren, but not more than they differed from one another in separate districts. At the present time there is a marked dissimilarity between the coast and mountain tribes, or between the fish and flesh-caters, the former being perhaps the most bestial and degraded human beings of the Continent. The Pacific Coast aborigines, as described by the first discoverers, were a timid and feeble race, compared with the north-castern savages, but there were remarkable variations among theni, as to physical character, and especially in regard to sizc. Venegas, speaking of the Lower California Indians, says: " Of all the natives hitherto discovered, tho Californians are " at least equal to any iu the make of their bodies." Capt. Beechey says: " The stature of the Indians which we saw in " the missions was by no means diminutive. The Alehones " are of good height, and the Turlarios wero thought to be "' generally above the standard of Englishmen."
La Perouse describes them as in general small and weak, their average height being five feet two and a half inches. Langsdorff says "none of the meu were above five feet. " They are of a darker color than the natives of the provinces " more to the South; aud, with their filthy habits aud con- " stant exposure to the Suu, they approach the hue of the " Negro. They resemble the Negro also iu their large pro- " jecting lips and broad and flat uoses. Their hair, however, " is very different from that of the Negro, being long and " straight, not crisp. If left to grow, it hangs down to the " hips, but they commonly cut it to the length of four or five " iuches, which makes it stick ont like quills. The hair grows " far down towards the eyes; the eyebrows are in general " small, though sometimes bushy; the beard is in general " very scanty, although occasionally a flowing beard is " observed, the cause of the differeucc not being known."
Father Palou, the earliest authority, remarked the differ- ence in color between the tribes on opposite sides of the Bay of San Francisco, and also the coutrast between the Upper aud Lower Californians in the mode of wearing their hair. He considers this custom, and that of sprinkling ashes on their bodies, as partly dependent on causes of tem- porary occurrence : " All the uatives of Upper California," he says, " both men and women, ent their hair very short, " particularly when any of their relations or friends die. In " these cases they also put ashes on their heads, faces, and " other parts of their bodies. This practice of throwing ashes
" on their persons was general among all the nations who had " been redneed nuder the dominion of the Spaniards; but " those in the Sonth never ent their hair. On the contrary, " they scem to have great pride in its abundance, and stick " beads and other ornaments into wreaths of it bonnd round " their heads. They are also in the habit of painting them- " selves in parti-colored stripes of rod and black; and this is " also an emblem of mourning for their friends, for whom " they seem to entertain strong affections."
La Peronso doubts whether the scantiness of the board, so general among these people, is natural or the effect of art. Forbes, who wroto in 1835, believes that it is partly natural but chiofly artificial. They tattoo their bodios, but in a less degree than the inhabitants of tho islands, and the practice is chiefly confined to tho women. They turn their toes inward in walking, and their timid carriago indicatos their pusillanimous character. Both sexes, in their nativo stato, go nearly naked; having only a wrapper around the waist. In winter they use an outer garment of door or otter-skin, or tho feathers of water-fowl, the latter worn chiefly by women. The skins aro cut into strips, twisted into ropes and tied together, so as to have the feathers or fur on both sides of tho garment.
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