USA > California > Sacramento County > History of Sacramento County, California, with biographical sketches of the leading men and women of the county who have been identified with its growth and development from the early days to the present, 1913 > Part 25
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In 1850 there were twenty-eight steamers in operation on the Sacramento and Feather rivers, and in the same year twenty-three barks, nineteen brigs and twenty-one brigantines arrived in Sacra- mento.
The California Steam Navigation Company was organized in March, 1854, with a capital stock of $2,500,000, and began operations on the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, with a large number of steamboats. In 1850 the company launched the Chrysopolis, 1625 tons measurement, and the largest steamer ever run on the river until the Seminole and Navajo were placed on the route in 1911.
In 1867 the steamers operating on the river and its tributaries were as follows: eleven steamers to San Francisco; three steamers to Knight's Landing; two steamers to Red Bluff; one steamer to Chico; one steamer to Colusa; one steamer to Princeton; one steamer to Cache Creek, and three steamers to Marysville. In 1867 one hun- dred and three steamers arrived in Sacramento.
In 1869, when the Central Pacific railroad was completed, that company bought out the California Steam Navigation Company, and for years the Southern Pacific Company has been operating the line
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of steamers. The mail boats leaving for San Francisco in the morn- ing are the Apache and Modoc. During the year 1911 two magnifi- cent floating palaces, the Navajo and the Seminole, were put on, leaving this city in the evening.
The Sacramento Wood Company was organized May 1, 1869, with the late Captain Thomas Dwyer as president, and the late Captain J. H. Roberts as secretary. The company put on the steamer San Joaquin No. 1, and several barges, and engaged in general freight business between San Francisco and Butte City, one hundred and eighteen miles above Sacramento. During the '70s the company added three steamers to its fleet-the Varuna, San Joaquin No. 2, and San Joaquin No. 3, and extended its route to MeIntosh's Landing, one hundred and sixty miles above this city. It also operated seven barges and had several traction engines of the Roberts-Doane pat- tern, running from the foothills on both sides of the river, carrying grain from these distant points to the river landings for shipment on the company's barges to tidewater. Each engine drew a train of from fifteen to twenty wagons over the county roads, the capacity of each wagon being about six tons.
The Sacramento Transportation Company was organized in 1882, succeeding the Sacramento Wood Company, and under the same man- agement. It is now operating seven steamers and twenty-three barges in the grain-carrying trade between points on the Upper Sacramento river and Port Costa and San Francisco, and also in freighting at the various landings along the river as far as Red Bluff. In the low water season the company's steamers and barges are only able to ascend as far as Chico Landing, one hundred and forty-eight miles above Sacramento.
In 1874 the firm of Miller and Eaton placed two steamers and several barges on the Upper Sacramento in the grain-carrying busi- ness. In the same year Messrs. D. E. Knight, N. D. Rideout and W. T. Ellis, prominent Marysville citizens, established a weekly freighting service between Marysville and San Francisco. They had two steamers and several barges in service, and continued in the business till 1889.
In 1875 the California Transportation Company was organized, with Capt. A. Nelson as president and Capt. N. Anderson as secre- tary. The two captains, as far back as 1856, had schooners on the river, and in 1866 began to operate the steamer Reform. On its organization the California Transportation Company put several steamers in service between Clarksburg and San Francisco and also on the lower tributaries, engaging heavily in the transportation of fruits, vegetables and perishable products generally, which the river lands below the city produce so bountifully. They also, in October, 1907, established a freight and passenger service between Sacramento and San Francisco. The Chin-Du-Wan and S. M. Whipple were also
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steamers in the river service in the '70s, and the calliope of the former woke the echoes along the river for a number of years.
In 1901 the Farmers' Transportation Company was organized and one steamer was put on the run between Colusa and San Francisco. The Lauritzen brothers' Weitchipec; the Oriole and Sea Gull, L. M. Brainard & Son, owners; the Sentinel, H. W. Crosby, owner; the Gretta A. and Albatross, Liuggi Bros., owners; the San Jose, Stand- ard Oil Company, owner; the Neponset, No. 2, a trading boat, Ryan & Cleary, owners, and a number of schooners, are operating on the river, in addition to the boats of the organizations mentioned.
An immense amount of produce of all kinds is transported on the river. Indeed, the statement has been made that the Sacramento river carries as great an annual tonnage as the Mississippi. It is an inspiring sight to see a steamer towing barges loaded with eight hundred tons of wheat each, when the stage of the river will permit loading to that amount, and gives the beholder a practical illustration of the bounteous production of the valley uplands.
But the tale of the river is not all one of prosperity. Steamboat explosions and other accidents were frequent in the early days, and some of them were very disastrous. The machinery was often defect- ive in those days. During the first few years subsequent to the dis- covery of gold and the introduction of steam vessels into the state, it was estimated that on San Francisco bay and its tributaries alone, there were two or three explosions a week. Indeed, they became so common that the newspapers ceased to give details unless they were peculiarly disastrous.
The first explosion of which there is any account was that of the steamer Fawn, which occurred August 18, 1850, and the Sagamore suffered similarly in the following October, the Major Tompkins fol- lowing, January 23, 1851. During the early part of 1853, the Jack Hays was overhauled and repaired expressly for the traffic between Sacramento and Marysville, in opposition to the Governor Dana, and was renamed R. K. Page. On her first trip up the river, March 23rd, she came alongside of her opponent and the crew and passengers began cheering, each one hurrahing for his boat. They began racing, and the engineer of the Page tossed in a barrel of oil. As they were passing Nicolaus her boiler exploded, being driven forward. Daniel Moore, the former captain of the boat, Thomas Kirbey and Lieut. Harry Moore were standing on the hurricane deck, and were never seen afterward.
The Jennie Lind, while on a trip to Alviso, on San Francisco bay, suffered a terrible explosion April 11, 1853. Between forty and fifty of her passengers, most of whom were at dinner at the time, were killed or badly scalded.
On October 18, 1853, the boiler of the American Eagle exploded, on the San Joaquin river, at a point known as the Three Sloughs,
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twenty-five miles below Stockton, rending the vessel to pieces, killing one of the crew and three passengers. There were fifty-three pas- sengers on board, and Hardiston was the captain. On the afternoon of the same day the steamer Stockton, while passing New York land- ing, burst its boiler, killing one person and scalding eight more. One of the latter, Capt. J. B. Sharp, died the next day.
The Ranger's boiler exploded on January 8, 1854, on San Fran- cisco bay, killing three and scalding severely five more, and wrecking the vessel. On the 10th of the same month a boiler of the Helen Hensley exploded at San Francisco, just as she was going to leave for Benicia, and killed two men. One passenger was thrown upon a bed, and, with it, clear over upon the wharf. He picked himself up and coolly remarked that he guessed he would not go to Benicia that day. The Secretary, Capt. E. W. Travis, exploded April 15, 1854, when between the islands in San Francisco bay known as the "Broth- ers and Sisters." She was racing with the Nevada, and the engineer was seen to lay an oar across the lever of the safety valve, and that was bending up just before the explosion took place. Of sixty per- sons on board, sixteen were killed and thirty-one wounded. The Nevada picked up the survivors.
The Pearl, of the Combination Line, burst a boiler January 27, 1855, just below the mouth of the American river, on her way from Marysville, and while racing the Enterprise of the Citizens' Line. There were ninety-three persons on board, and fifty-six were killed, including the captain, E. T. Davis. Most of the passengers were on the front part of the boat, as she approached the landing. James Robinson would have been drowned had not a large . bloodhound jumped into the water and saved him. Of four ladies on board, none were injured, but the vessel was a total wreck. The legislature, which was in session, adjourned in consequence of the terrible event.
On February 5, 1856, the Belle, running between San Francisco and Marysville, exploded her boiler, when about nine miles above this city. The captain, Charles H. Houston, was killed, as well as between twenty and thirty others. The steamer General Redington, which was coming down the river, picked up the survivors, and the vessel sunk almost immediately.
On August 25, 1861, the boiler of the J. A. McClelland, Capt. C. Mills commanding, exploded when about six miles by water and two by land from Knight's Landing. There were about thirty persons on board, and fifteen were killed outright, several fatally injured and all the rest but one were more or less injured. The whole forward portion of the deck was torn away, and a large piece of the boiler was rolled up like a piece of paper and thrown across the river, a distance of two hundred or three hundred yards. Sheldon S. Bald- win, the pilot, was blown into the air with the pilothouse and several companions. He averred that he must have gone up at least two
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hundred feet, and came straight down into the place where the boiler had been, "not much hurt." The hull, which sank immediately after- wards, was raised, the vessel rebuilt, christened the Rainbow, ran for a time as a strong opposition boat, and was finally bought off by the Steam Navigation Company.
The Washoe exploded a boiler September 5, 1864, thirty-five miles below this city, and ten miles above Rio Vista, with about one hundred seventy-five people on board, killing about half of them and severely injuring more than half of the remainder. Capt. Albert Foster, with the steamer Antelope, picked up the survivors and hastened toward Sacramento, but ran aground on a bar opposite R street and was delayed there for some hours. Captain Foster tolled the hell to notify the citizens of the disaster, and the levee was crowded with anxious people, the fire bells having been tolled in response to his notice.
The Yosemite, Capt. Poole, suffered an explosion of a boiler on the first revolution of her wheels, as she left the wharf at Rio Vista October 12, 1865, with about one hundred fifty people on board. The cause of the explosion was defective iron, all the best iron having been kept in the east during the war for military purposes. About one lmndred lives were lost, thirty-two of them being Chinamen. The bulkheads were too strong to permit the steam to expand into the hull, so it pushed upward, making a great vacancy, into which the people fell. Captain Fonrat, who recently retired from the river, pensioned by the Southern Pacific Company, was the pilot on that occasion, and the steamer Chrysopolis, upward bound, brought the dead and wounded to this city.
The Julia exploded in San Francisco bay, nearly opposite Al- catraz, in September, 1866, while rounding it on her return trip to Stockton. Thirteen were killed, among them the engineer, Mr. Long. Captain Fourat, being near with a boat, picked up some of the dead. There have been a number of minor accidents, but conditions have so improved in these days that serious ones seldom happen.
A river tragedy which occurred more than fifty years ago, bring- ing death to thirty, the evidence of which the waters of the Sacra- mento river have covered for years, was brought to mind again when the buckets of the dredger Vulcan, working at the Monument ranch eight miles up the river brought up the boxing of the shaft of the steamboat Belle which was blown to pieces at that spot in the late '50s by an explosion of the boilers.
Coated with quartz, rusted in places but still in fair shape con- sidering its long immersion, the boxing is one of the few relies which have ever been discovered from the remains of the Belle.
The steamer Belle, Capt. Charles H. Houston in command, left this city February 5, 1856, for Red Bluff with sixty sonls aboard. When opposite the present Monument ranch the boilers exploded with-
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out any warning. The Belle was shattered from stem to stern and all but forty feet of the rear end of the boat sank immediately. The pas- sengers, men, women and children, were blown into the water, many frightfully mangled. Thirty-two were saved out of the total sail- ing list.
There was some lively opposition in the river traffic in the early days, it proving so profitable to the owners of vessels and steamers. The steam propeller McKim, of 326 tons, came to Sacramento in Sep- tember, 1849. On her arrival the citizens turned out as for a holiday, and joined in an ovation to the first "big" steamer that had arrived here. One of her trips, under Captain Macy, brought the owners $16,000. The Senator, of 755 tons, arrived in this city on November 6 of the same year. The fare at that time was only $30; berths $5, and meals for cabin passengers, $1.50. When trade opened in the winter, lively opposition began, one set of agents on the wharf ex- tolling the merits of the McKim above all the other boats, and another saying that the MeKim was a "scow" and a "junk," and that the Senator and New World were the only boats for speed and safety. The competition benefited travelers by reducing the fare, and many other steamers coming on the river, in 1851 the fare had been reduced to one dollar.
On September 18, 1851, the steamer Comanche was launched on the Yolo side of the river. In 1855 the Defender came up and found no place for her to land; she finally moored to the hulk Dimon. A few minutes afterwards the steamer Pike, also tied to the Damon, swung out into the river, and the Defender took her place. It was found that the gangway had been boarded up, but the deckhands soon opened a way with their axes, and the passengers and freight were discharged. When the time for the departure of the Defender ap- proached, a band began to discourse music, to entice passengers on board. A few minutes afterward a small steamer in the stream began to sound her shrill whistle, drowning the music of the band, stopping when it stopped and beginning again when it began to play. The people on shore cursed the steamer, but soon a man and two boys armed with Chinese gongs essayed to rival the band and the steamer. The noise became so strenuous that Judge Morrison was obliged to adjourn his court. Such scenes were not uncommon in the early days of competition.
YOLO BRIDGES
Although a bridge over the Sacramento river is spoken of prior to 1857, there is no record extant that we have found indicating when or by whom it was built, or whether or not there was more than one.
By an act approved by the California legislature, however, April 3, 1857, the Sacramento and Yolo Bridge Company was incorporated, consisting of Johnson Price, V. E. Geiger and George Years, to erect
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a toll bridge across the Sacramento river from Broad street, in Sac- ramento county, to Ann street, in Washington, Yolo county. The drawbridge was not to be less than sixty feet wide for the passage of vessels, and the bridge must be completed within two years. At 12 M., September 18, 1857, the first pile for the bridge was driven. The bridge was eight hundred feet long, was built on five piers, sup- ported by six hundred piles, at least twelve inches in diameter and driven thirty feet to the solid river bed. It was of Leonard's patent, four spans of one hundred thirty-five feet each, the draw when opened having two spaces of seventy-five feet each. It was completed and opened for traffic June 27, 1858, and cost $60,000.
The California Pacific Company began the construction of a new bridge on the Howe truss pattern, October 2, 1869, in order to allow its cars to cross the river and enter Sacramento. While the bridge was being built the steamer Belle ran as a ferry boat. The draw to this bridge was two hundred feet long, leaving an opening on each side seventy feet clear. The bridge was completed January 15, 1870, and on that day William Rowan, chief engineer, ran across on the engine Sacramento. This bridge was rebuilt by the Central Pacific railway in 1878, the draw being swung into place on December 5th of that year, and the bridge opened for traffic the next day. These bridges were of one story, the trains and wagon tracks occupying the same level, and flagmen guarding each end in order to promote the safety of those traveling in wagons. The railroad company had pur- chased the bridge of the Sacramento and Yolo Bridge Company in June, 1878.
In 1893 the Southern Pacific Company and the counties of Yolo and Sacramento built a bridge jointly at the foot of H street. This bridge differed from the others in having two stories, the lower one on the street level, for the railroad trains, and the upper one for foot passengers and wagon traffic, elevated above the railroad tracks and with an inclined plane as an approach on the Sacramento side, running from Second street to the top of the bridge, and a similar approach on the Yolo side. A third approach ran from the top of the bridge, joining the Sacramento approach at that point and run- ning down to the Pioneer mill, thus enabling teams to get to the mill without crossing the network of tracks in the railroad company's vard. When the Pioneer mill went out of business this approach was taken down. This bridge stood until 1912, but as it had outlived its usefulness, a new bridge of steel was constructed by the Southern Pacific Company. The bridge until lately in use was to have been of steel, and the counties contributed to its cost with that understand- ing. The fact of its being constructed of wood was the cause of a long controversy and litigation between the counties and the company. One-half of the $30,000 which the county had agreed to pay was paid at first, but the second half was refused, on the ground stated. The
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supreme court, however, held that as the county had used the bridge, it must pay for it, and the case was finally settled by payment in full.
This bridge was completed in December, 1895, the total cost being $261,000, to which Sacramento county contributed, as stated, $30,000, and Yolo county $10,000.
The new steel bridge constructed near the site of the one built in 1869 is said to be one of the finest pieces of construction of its kind. Its cost is $786,000, which includes $161,671 for overhead construction of a highway for communication between Sacramento and Yolo coun- ties, and the structure and approach thereto. The width of the draw, when opened, is one hundred seventy feet, and the total weight of the bridge is 3389 tons.
During the year 1910 the Northern Electric and Vallejo Northern electric roads combined to build a bridge across the river. There was much discussion in relation to the site, as the river transportation companies claimed that if it were placed too close to the existing bridge there would be great danger of wreck to the boats plying on the river when it was at flood height. The board of supervisors de- bated the question at considerable length, but the war department, which controls the river, finally granted permission to the companies to build the bridge at the foot of M street, instead of P street, as desired by the transportation companies. The estimated cost of the bridge, which is of steel construction, is $380,000, but will probably amount to $400,000. The draw is one hundred seventy feet in width. Of the cost, it was agreed that Sacramento county should pay $118,- 668, and Yolo county $33,333.33. Under a later agreement the Sac- ramento and Woodland road pays a proportion and the Antioch road will also probably do so, lessening the expense to the county.
CHAPTER XXVI LOCAL JUDICIARY AND ATTORNEYS
By Judge W. A. Anderson
HOW OUR TRIBUNALS HAVE BEEN ORGANIZED, WHO HAVE ADMINISTERED JUSTICE IN SACRAMENTO COUNTY, AND ADVOCATES AT THE BAR
There could be nothing more instructive and interesting than the origin and development of the judicial system and the aids thereto by the bar of Sacramento City. In fact the history of the bench and bar of this great state had its inception in Sacramento, where the great legal minds were located in the early history of the state.
The southern part of the state was governed chiefly by the old system of Mexico; but in Sacramento the common law was at once established, and common sense was at all times interwoven into the decrees and judgments, in the start somewhat crude in their con- struction, but very soon developed into a splendid system with the
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aid of the bright genius of the early members of the bar. In this sketch it will be our endeavor to give a brief reference to many of those brilliant men who have long since crossed the Dark River, and who in their time labored in the local field for the betterment of the law and the administration of justice.
Under Mexican rule the government of California was conducted under the laws of March 20th and May 23rd, 1837, and those laws were observed on the acquisition of the country by the United States, until the organization of the state government. They provided for the selection of alcaldes, whose duties were to care for good order and public tranquility, to see that police regulations, laws and decrees were enforced, to provide for the apprehension of criminals, and in some cases to impose fines and imprisonment upon malefactors. There were also justices of the peace, who served as municipal and judicial officers. There was in the territory a superior tribunal, consisting of four judges and an attorney-general, which had the general review of cases tried before inferior courts. There were also conrts of "First Instance," in which cases both criminal and civil were orig- inally brought.
The first legislature, by an act passed March 16, 1850, divided the state into nine judicial districts and constituted the counties of Sacramento and Eldorado the sixth judicial district. Afterwards the counties of Sacramento and Yolo composed that district, and it so existed until the taking effect of the constitution of 1879, which abol- ished that court.
The same legislature, by an act passed April 13, 1850, created a county court in each county, and by an act approved on the 11th day of that month, the court of sessions was created, to be composed of the county judge and two justices of the peace, who were to serve as associate justices. The latter were chosen by the justices of the peace of the county. That court had jurisdiction in cases of misde- treanor, and also exercised functions now performed by the board of supervisors, such as the supervision of claims against the county, and management of roads, etc. Subsequently the court of sessions was abolished and its jurisdiction vested in the county court. Its legislative and supervisorial powers were transferred to the board of supervisors. The present state constitution abolished all of these conrts and provided for the organization of a superior court in the county, with two departments and two judges, with civil and criminal jurisdiction.
In the latter part of August, 1849, General B. Riley, acting mili- tary governor of California, appointed James S. Thomas judge of the court of first instance, with criminal jurisdiction. On the 2nd of September, 1849, Thomas entered upon the duties of his office. A. suit was instituted for the recovery of money. A summons was made returnable the same day at four o'clock, at which time judgment was
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entered and execution ordered. This gives some idea of the rapidity with which business, even of a judicial character, was transacted at that early period of Sacramento's history. On the 3rd of September, Judge Thomas appointed J. P. Rogers clerk of his court. The latter gentleman served in that capacity until the 19th of November follow- ing, and resigned, whereupon James R. Lawrence was appointed. He continued until the 27th of December, at which time Presley Dunlap was appointed to the position.
Judge Shannon opened his court for criminal business in Sep- tember, 1849. R. A. Wilson was appointed clerk, and S. C. Hastings, afterwards chief justice of the supreme court of the state and suhse- quently attorney-general, also the founder of Hastings Law College, acted as prosecuting attorney. D. B. Hanner, who had been elected sheriff by the people in their primary capacity, attended both civil and criminal courts. The first case before Judge Shannon was a prosecution against a party for stealing a cow from Samuel Norris. During the trial defendant's counsel objected to the proceedings because they were not in conformity with the constitutional provision guaranteeing to every party accused of high crime, that before he could be put upon trial he must have been indicted by a grand jury. The court held that inasmuch as the defendant had not raised the question in the beginning of the case, he was deemed as waiving his right, and that the trial must proceed. The defendant was found guilty and fined two hundred dollars and costs, which amounted to five hundred fifteen dollars; rather costly heef !
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