USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume I > Part 37
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While there was no "society" of the sort whose doings fill the modern press, the pioneer community had a mode of singling out some of its members for dis- tinctions which, despite the simplicity of its workings, was fully as effective as that adopted by kings in conferring titles. It is related of a well known general of the ante bellum period that he obtained his dignified appellation by means of an intro- duction at a banquet, and there must have been many others who obtained their titles in the same easy manner, for the town was full of colonels. Lieutenant John Derby, in his "Phoenixiana," tells us that when he sailed from San Francisco for San Diego every passenger but himself seemed to have friends to bid them good- bye, and that it made him feel lonesome and of small consequence. But he remedied the latter shortcoming by a happy device. As the steamer cast loose he lifted his hat and called out "Good-bye, Colonel !" and every man on the wharf responded by raising his tile and shouting "Good-bye!"
It would be a mistake, however, to attribute this title-conferring propensity solely to a disposition to bestow unusual distinctions, or to suppose that it was peculiar to San Francisco. It reflected the spirit of the times, which was decidedly militant. The atmosphere of early San Francisco was remarkably congenial to militancy, and for some years it was a hotbed of intrigue against the peace of other countries. The war which resulted in the acquisition of California was not alto- gether responsible for these breaches of international comity. It did inspire the idea that the institution of slavery might be extended at the expense of the integrity of Mexican territory, and efforts were made by Americans to accomplish this ob-
The Democratic Pioneer
Obtrusive Courtesans
The Ubiquitous Colonel
The Militant Spirit
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ject; but the most serious assault on the sister republic was that planned and car- ried far in the direction of success by Frenchmen, who made San Francisco the base of their operations. The story of these affairs is part of the history of the City because it illustrates in a very pertinent fashion the restless disposition of the people, and the ease with which schemes, no matter how visionary, were eagerly supported by the men who made their way to San Francisco in search of gold or adventure.
CHAPTER XXXI
SAN FRANCISCO A BASE FOR FILIBUSTERING OPERATIONS
A RESTLESS PEOPLE-TWO DESIGNING FRENCHMEN-PLOTS AGAINST MEXICO-ATTEMPT TO CAPTURE SONORA-A FRENCH CONSUL IN THE GAME-WALKER'S DESIGNS ON SONORA-MEXICO AND THE AMERICAN MANIFEST DESTINY IDEA-SAN FRANCISCANS AID FILIBUSTERS-REMARKABLE CAREER OF WALKER -- FATE OF THE FRENCH FILI- BUSTERS-CRABB'S FUTILE EXPEDITION-RESTLESS MINERS-THE BLACK SAND SWINDLE-A RUSH TO AUSTRALIA-THE FRASER RIVER RUSH-STEADY GROWTH OF THE CITY-NUMEROUS HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS-POPULARITY OF TEMPERANCE RESTAURANTS-EVERYBODY BOARDED IN SAN FRANCISCO-THE GREGARIOUS TEN- DENCY-EARLY MEANS OF GETTING ABOUT-FASHIONABLE SECTIONS-CITY GROWS SOUTHWARD-NOT AMBITIOUS TO BECOME A CAPITAL-A BELIEVER IN MANIFEST DESTINY-SOUTHERN INFLUENCE-INCREASING IMMIGRATION.
CI
A Restless People
HE mercurial temperament of the pioneer San Franciscan lent itself to credulity. He was very easily induced to en- O gage in enterprises of doubtful character and validity. On more than one occasion the growing City was almost de- populated by "rushes" to regions where gold was said to SE OF SAN have been discovered in abundance. This trait was by no means peculiar to the townsman; it was a characteristic of all those engaged in the pursuit of mining, excepting the Chinese, who rarely de- serted a field until they had cleaned it thoroughly. The whites, on the other hand, would abandon a region of moderate promise to try their fortunes in a new place which rumor asserted was richer. This propensity continued down to a late date. It was only one of the forms of the restlessness of pioneer days, and was productive of much discomfort to those who could not resist the call, but it did not even re- motely possess the possibilities for mischief held out by filibustering.
The Spanish power in Mexico was overthrown in 1822, and a republican con- stitution was adopted by the Mexican people, who were slow to develop a capacity for self government. Their inability did not pass unnoticed, and long before the vast region comprising New Mexico, Arizona and California was wrested from them by Americans, the European powers were eagerly considering the possibility of securing a share of the spoil in the event of a break-up of the republic which they regarded as inevitable. The third Napoleon was particularly intent upon profiting by the disintegration, and as later events disclosed was not averse to help- ing to promote that result. The evidence that the men who operated on behalf of France were inspired by him is not conclusive, but it is sufficiently strong to cause most Mexicans, and Americans who have given attention to the subject, to believe
Intrigues of Napoleon III.
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that he was cognizant of several movements during the Fifties which had a fatal outcome for their promoters.
Two Designing Frenchmen
In 1850 two titled Frenchmen, Count Gaston Raoul de Roussett-Boulbon and another known as the Marquis de Pindray, were in San Francisco. The latter was said to have left France on account of a shady money transaction, and on his arrival in the City was ready to turn his hand to almost any sort of employment. Raoussett bought a lighter and hired a couple of men to assist him and did a fairly profitable business. Pindray soon took service as a vaquero, and Raoussett in a short time followed his example, investing his money in cattle purchased in the South, which he drove North, but the venture proved unprofitable. The adoption of the same pursuit by the two Frenchmen may have been a coincidence, but it is open to the suspicion that they were familiarizing themselves with an occupation, a knowledge of which might aid them in their future designs.
Plotting Against Mexico
The first demonstration against Mexico was made by Pindray, who formed a band of 150 men and started for Sonora with them. They professed to be colo- nists, but the purposes of their leader were under suspicion and he was assassinated before he reached Mexico. At this time Patrice Dillon was French consul in San Francisco. It is impossible to tell whether he acted without instructions, but he was undoubtedly engaged in an intrigue which had for its object the gaining of a foothold for France in Mexico. He found a ready instrument in Raoussett, who had conceived the idea of converting Sonora into a buffer state to prevent the United States from further encroaching on Mexico. Raoussett was sent by Dillon to the City of Mexico, where, in the course of a few months, he succeeded in con- vincing the authorities that his project was in the interest of Mexico, and they arranged to provide him with money to raise a band of men to assist him in carrying it out. Raoussett had no difficulty in securing 250 adventurers to assist him. They were chiefly Frenchmen and sailed with him for Guaymas, which place they reached in June, 1852.
Attempt to Capture Sonora
Meanwhile, however, a doubt had arisen in the minds of Mexicans regarding the integrity of Raoussett's purpose, and orders were conveyed to him to remain in Guaymas. Raoussett thereupon charged the Mexican government with duplicity and proceeded to defy General Blanco, who had ordered him to refrain from proceed- ing to Sonora. Blanco then "denounced" Raoussett as an insurgent, and the latter attempted to secure the adhesion of the rancheros on the pretense that he was work- ing for the independence of Sonora. Subsequently Raoussett captured Hermosillo, defeating Blanco in an engagement before that place. The Mexican general lost 200 men and fled, while the loss of the French adventurer was 17 killed and 23 wounded. The Frenchman lacked the ability to follow up his successes, and at Mazatlan was seized with a severe illness. Blanco, more successful in diplomacy than in war, succeeded in persuading the disheartened forces of Raoussett to return to San Francisco in a bark chartered for that purpose.
A Plotting French Consnl
While in Mazatlan Dillon wrote to Raoussett urging him to renew his attempt. He returned to San Francisco and was made a hero of by the populace, who were disposed to regard the capture of Hermosillo as an extraordinary exploit. Another appeal was made to the French capitalists in San Francisco, who were about to furnish $300,000 when a false report that Sonora had been sold to the United States, which probably had its origin in the diplomacy which led to the treaty in
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December, 1853, by which Mexico ceded territory embracing 45,535 square miles to the United States, caused the intriguers to withdraw their support.
Meanwhile Walker, who also aimed at the acquisition of Sonora, had sailed from San Francisco for Lower California October 15, 1853. On November 3 he seized La Paz and proclaimed the republic of Lower California. Walker's movements gave Santa Ana much more cause for alarm than those of the Frenchman, and he wrote to the Mexican consul at San Francisco, Luis del Valle, to recruit Frenchmen to a number not exceeding 3,000, who would be willing to take service with Mexico, and to ship them to Guaymas. Del Valle at once applied to Dillon, who entered into an arrangement with Raoussett, who eagerly embraced the opportunity to get a band of armed men into Mexican territory. But the French intriguers at this point encountered an obstacle in the shape of the determination of the pro-slavery ele- ment in San Francisco to prevent any colony being established by France on the American border. They were not disposed to sympathize with Mexico, and had even rejoiced over the victory of Hermosillo, obtained by Raoussett, but Walker's purposes, which were generally understood to be the conversion of the border states of Mexico into a slave holding republic with the view of permitting southern expan- sion, were more in harmony with their desires.
In consequence they set in motion the machinery of the courts, and the British ship "Challenge," chartered to carry 800 men to Guaymas, was seized on March 29, 1854, for violation of the revenue laws. The Mexican consul was tried sub- sequently for violating the neutrality laws. Dillon, who was summoned as a wit- ness, refused to testify, invoking his rights as a consul. Del Valle attempted to profit by the refusal, demanding that he be permitted to prove his innocence by a witness who would not testify. Dillon was forcibly brought into court, and the judge held that the French consul was here merely in his consular capacity, and that his domicile in the eyes of the law was in France. The French consul was then charged with violation of the neutrality laws, but pleaded that the men raised to be sent to Mexico were to colonize a part of that country with a view of preventing filibustering. The jury could not agree, standing ten for conviction and two for acquittal. In the following May a nolle prosqui was entered.
There was great excitement in the City over the trial and the attitude of the French consul was severely deprecated, but the tenor of the criticisms indicates that they were not influenced by consideration for the neutrality laws. As a matter of fact the City was infected with the spirit of filibusterism, and the majority were indisposed to recognize any rights that their neighbors to the south might claim. In 1852, when William Walker proposed his scheme of establishing a republic in Lower California, it was hailed with applause, and scrip or promises to pay based on the revenues of the prospective new government was freely sold. The press voiced the same sentiment as that expressed in the "Annals:" "It is ever the fate of America to go ahead * * * So will America conquer and annex all lands.
That is her manifest destiny."
When the news of the occupation of La Paz by Walker reached San Francisco the flag of the new republic was hoisted at the corner of Kearny and Sacramento streets and an office opened for recruits and more volunteers offered themselves than could be taken to the scene of action. The newspapers recorded all that was doing at great length, and there was great excitement, but no effort on the part of the authorities to prevent the departure of the filibusters. When the barque
Walker's Designs on Sonora
Siavery Advocates Block French Plan
Mexico and Manifest Destiny
Helping Filibusters
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"Anita" sailed with its contingent no one offered to prevent its departure. The hrig "Arrow" had been seized hy General Hitchcock, commanding the United States forces on the Pacific, a couple of months earlier, September 30th, and released for want of sufficient legal evidence to show its destination. Other federal officers and the state and city authorities acted as though the matter did not concern them. Indeed a federal judge in the case of Colonel H. P. Watkins, who was convicted in the United States district court, openly sympathized with the prisoners and la- mented that he was compelled to discharge his duty in fining the captain and an- other prisoner, who by the way escaped paying the fine by professing their inability to raise the amount imposed.
Career of Filibuster Walker
The subsequent adventures of Walker, Raoussett and the other filibusters are not a part of the history of San Francisco. They are not devoid of interest but their recital would consume more space than can be spared and besides they have been related in great detail by numerous writers. It is necessary to round out the story, however, by telling that the Lower California scheme came to naught, and that Walker and his cabinet returned to San Francisco in May, 1854, and were indicted by a grand jury, tried and promptly acquitted. Despite the fact that the whole affair was a wretched fizzle, in which Walker had exhibited some very despotic traits, he was made a hero of by the admiring San Franciscans, and they were quite ready to assist him when he embarked on his Nicaragua enterprise in May, 1855. This expedition, like those previously organized by him, also miscarried. After two years of varying success in that country he was compelled to leave. He went to New York, and after a stay in the North of a couple of years, he returned to New Orleans and from there made another attempt on Central America, fell into the hands of the Honduras military authorities and was tried and shot on September 25, 1860.
Fate of Raoussett
Raonssett met the same fate as Walker. While the trial of Patrice Dillon was pending he surreptitiously left the City in a small schooner carrying a few men, some arms and a quantity of ammunition. His purpose was to make himself mas- ter of Guaymas, with a view of heading off the United States, which he thought menaced Cuba, Canada and Mexico and threatened in a brief period to become master of the world. The little vessel was wrecked off the coast of Lower Califor- nia and he and his comrades were nearly starved before they were able to reach the neighborhood of Guaymas towards the end of June, 1854. A number of the Frenchmen composing the band that had embarked on the "Challenge" had estab- lished themselves in Guaymas and he ordered them to seize the civil and military authorities of that place. They refused and endeavored to effect an arrangement with a general who was about to "pronounce," but the latter, while professing to acquiesce in the Frenchman's plans was secretly preparing to oppose him. When Raoussett attempted to capture Guaymas he was himself taken prisoner and promptly shot.
Crabb's Expedition
Another filibustering expedition, organized by Henry A. Crabb of Tennessee, who made his home in Stockton in 1850, where he took a prominent part in poli- tics during several years, sailed from San Francisco to San Pedro in 1857. Crabb's objective was Sonora, and he proposed marching overland from San Pedro to that Mexican state with a band of one hundred men. His wife, a Mexican, had numerous relatives in Sonora, and he expected them to cooperate with him in his efforts. Before he started on his venture Crabb had thrown out intimations of his purpose
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to annex Sonora, and as he was a violent pro-slavery man, and in communication with some active advocates of the extension of the institution, it was not unreason- ably assumed that he was receiving outside encouragement. Whatever he contem- plated, his plans came to grief, for he was captured by Pesquiera, the governor, who refused to accept his explanation that the object of his visit to Sonora was merely to carry on mining, and ordered him shot. At first our minister to Mexico characterized the expedition of Crabb as that of filibusters, but a little later, at the end of May, 1857, he claimed that the party had no other object in entering Sonora than to secure homes. Nothing came of the claim, and no one believed the minister.
Occurrences of this sort were alternated with other excitements produced by the instability of the population, or that portion of it which manifested no disposi- tion to adopt settled occupations and a not inconsiderable number who were ready on short notice to abandon what they were engaged upon on the chance of improv- ing their condition. The earliest manifestation of this tendency was that furnished by the almost complete abandonment of the town when the news of the discovery of gold at Sutter's fort was received. It is not surprising that the announcement should bave resulted in an exodus at that time, for the embryo City was not offer- ing great inducements to the newcomers to help them make good their belief in its future. Things were proceeding in a humdrum fashion, and the rewards of the merchant, mechanic or laborer were not excessive. There was a wide margin for improvement, and when the possibility of picking up a competence in a few days began to be perceived, hardly any in the community felt that a greater profit might be derived from sticking to ordinary occupations than could be gained by resorting to the gold fields.
But it is astonishing that after the vicissitudes of the mining occupation came to be generally understood, and when even the most credulous had begun to learn that persevering toil in commonplace industries in the long run held out more reliable rewards than searching for gold, the propensity to rush continued. The men who had resorted to the mines soon learned that untrustworthy reports easily gained circulation, and plenty of them were able to relate bitter experiences gained in pur- suing myths. Stories of disappointments were oftener heard than tales of good luck, but the latter made an impression, while the former were easily forgotten. The miner who could exhibit a buckskin bag well filled with gold dust and nuggets was an infinitely greater object of interest than the small army of the unlucky who soon began to find their way to San Francisco which, when the mines began to pour out their treasures in earnest, began to prosper in a business way, holding out many inducements to the able and those willing to work.
The steady stream of immigration, the ebb of the rush to the placers and other causes combined to make the City a very brisk place, and attractive to the man who had the money-making faculty, but as a whole the speculative tendency had pos- session of the community and it was easily deceived by accounts of rich finds, and occasionally with disastrous results. In the early part of 1851 there was a rush to the Klamath river country induced by a report that the sands of the beach near where the stream discharged itself into the ocean were composed of at least one-half pure metal. The most fabulous representations were made and eagerly believed. It was stated that a band of prospectors had found a patch of the metalliferous sand, which was estimated to contain gold to the value of $43,000,000, and these
An Unstable Population
The Restless Miners
Black Sand Swindle
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figures were supposed to represent only one-tenth of the possible richness of this particular spot. Marvelous as it may seem these purely mythical statements were vouched for by men supposed to be reputable. The effect on the community was tremendous. The rush and excitement were as great as when the discovery of gold in California was announced. Shiploads of men went to the alleged wonderful country, only to learn that the black sands which were reputed to be immensely rich were really destitute of the precious metal, or contained so little of it that it could not be extracted by the most cunning devices known to the miners of those days.
A Rush to Australia
Despite this experience, which gave a rude shock to the business interests of San Francisco, greatly unsettling them, a year later, when the reports of the im- mense yields of the Australian mines began to be received, a large number of Cali- fornians left the state and made their way to Victoria, Ballarat and Bendigo. There was no exaggeration in this instance, Australia like California had enormously rich fields, and for many years they remained "a poor man's diggings," but there was no more assurance of their permanency when the fever first attacked San Francisco than there was when the Klamath river excitement lured from the City enough of its population to make their absence noticeable in the diminished crowds on the streets. There was one cause for rejoicing over the rush to Australia. A great many of the bad characters who had come to California from the island continent hastened to return when they learned that the chances of finding gold in the coun- try they hailed from were as good as in the land which refused to welcome them.
The Fraser River Excitement
But the most serious of the rushes, so far as the fortunes of the rising City on the Bay of San Francisco was concerned, was that to Fraser river in British Columbia in 1858. The hegira commenced in the spring and continued until Decem- ber. So many left the City that fears were entertained that it would be depopu- lated. After a while the new diggings began to have few attractions for the majority of those who expected to make their fortunes in them, and the most of them found their way back to San Francisco, and it is noted that on their return business renewed its activity, although it is not clearly apparent how that result could have been produced by the presence of a great number of "strapped" miners.
Uninterrupted Growth
Despite the speculative tendencies of the inhabitants of San Francisco, and the occurrence of startling events calculated to divert men from the pursuit of those ordinary occupations which demand the application of untiring industry to achieve success, the City continued to grow in wealth and population during the decade. Disastrous fires, reckless criminals, corrupt municipal management, intriguing fili- busters, quarrelsome politicians and gold rushes were powerless to arrest its prog- ress. In 1860 the census showed that the City had a population of 56,802, a more than fifty-fold growth since the occupation. But numbers by no means tell the whole story. There were other cities in the United States on the eve of the Civil war whose inhabitants exceeded those of San Francisco, but there was none of double its size which even remotely approached the metropolis of the Pacific in the possession of those features which go to the making of a great city.
Distinguish- ing Peculiarities
At no time after the gold rush began did San Francisco resemble the older com- munities. Five years after that event it contained more hotels, restaurants, thea- ters, saloons and other places created for the diversion of a restless pleasure-loving people than are found today in some cities of a quarter of a million inhabitants. They were not kept for occasional service, but were always in active requisition.
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Although the greatest stars of the period found their way to the City by the Golden Gate at frequent entervals, such visits were inadequate to satisfy the demand for good dramatic performances, and stock companies were maintained, the excellence of which may be inferred from the fact that from their ranks sprang many whose subsequent successful careers stamped them as artists of merit. Grand opera also flourished and acquired something of a permanent character, the stay of visiting companies at times extending over months.
But it was in the possession of hotels and restaurants, far better than the aver- age of the decade, that San Francisco found its chief claim for distinction. In 1853, it is stated, there were 160 hotels and public houses with a descriptive name, and 66 restaurants and coffee saloons. This formidable number included American dining rooms, English lunch houses, Spanish fondas, German wirthschafts, Italian osteria, and Chinese chow chows, and the cost of entertainment in them ranged from $5 to $12 for "a gentleman's dinner," to a couple of dollars for a satisfying meal. But the prices on the menus of popular restaurants are not always an index of the cost of living of the people generally; if they were we should conclude that the average man found it difficult to make ends meet on bigger wages than $15 a day. Some of the items read: "Roast duck, $5; broiled quail, $2; a dozen canned oysters, $1."
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