USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume II > Part 21
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When the Bay district track was first established public sentiment against racing, as implied by the action of the legislature, was not aggressive. There were some who maintained that betting was demoralizing and should not be per- mitted, but the argument that the contests resulted in improving the breed of horses appealed strongly to the practical, and besides, strange as it may seem, at that time the professional gambler was not nearly so much in evidence on the race track as at a later period. Although the people loved to see a race betting on the races had not developed into a mania, and the fleecing of the unwary was not much practiced. The betting instinct was probably as strong, but the game had not been systematized so that the race track operator could gather in the nickel of the newsboy with the same facility that he does larger sums. Men who bet for "the sport of the thing," in early days if called upon to answer for the practice were always ready to urge that they were encouraging a great industry, one that would bring profit and fame to California.
That was before the advent of the automobile, when no one foresaw that the horse would succumb to a rival. The belief in the value of such contests was sup- ported by visible evidences of what seemed to be a result of racing. The stock farm established at Palo Alto by Governor Stanford, in a way, did more to spread the fame of California and its climate than all the books published by "boosting" committees to boom the resources of the state. The horses raised on this farm, and on the Santa Ana ranch of E. J. Baldwin in Los Angeles, were seen in every state of the Union, and proclaimed the fact that an animal reared out of doors and at large during the winter is apt to have qualities not found in those trained under less clement skies. The success attained at these ranches was the magnet that drew the stables from all parts of the United States to winter in California. The presence of so much "equine talent," and the recognized benefits of raising fine stock effectually silenced criticism of the racing practice. At that time fine stock was an engrossing subject in California and occupied the minds of others than the frequenters of the race track. To this fact may be traced the invention of the universally popular and highly educational moving picture. It was a San
Racing Receives Legislative Encourage- ment
The Public and Horse Racing
Origin of Moving Pictures
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Francisco photographer named Muybridge who first attempted to determine with the aid of the camera how a race horse appeared in motion. Leland Stanford provided the funds which enabled Muybridge to make his interesting experiments, which were subsequently illustrated in a handsome volume, the pictures and com- ments in which effectually revolutionized preconceived notions, and pointed the way to the successful introduction of the motion picture shows which play so large a part in the life of today.
Pugilism Experiences a Revival
Prize fighting which, during the Fifties and Sixties, was accounted among the manly arts, and was patronized by princes, was overdone during those decades in California. The great heroes of the first decade after the occupation were the heavy weight sluggers, all of them sooner or later finding their way to the Golden State to give exhibitions or to wage their battles. John C. Heenan (the Benicia Boy), Yankee Sullivan, Tommy Chandler and others had boxed in San Francisco, and had their admirers, who found no difficulty in overlooking such eccentricities as those exhibited by Yankee Sullivan, who added to his shoulder hitting accom- plishments that of ballot box stuffing, and who also had the reputation of having elected a man to the supervisorship who was not even a candidate. For this and other offenses he was taken in hand by the Vigilantes of 1856, and became so alarmed over the prospect of having his neck stretched that he tried to commit suicide by severing the arteries of his arm with a table knife. This worship of the pugs abated considerably after the hanging of Casey, the object of Yankee Sullivan's affections, and finally, in the middle of the Seventies, legal prohibitions of boxing put an end to exhibitions, but it was no unusnal occurrence for a match to be arranged for a prize fight to be pulled off in the adjoining county of San Mateo or over the bay. By the beginning of the Eighties the taste for the prize ring, which had been kept under control for several years, showed signs of reviv- ing. A visit made by John L. Sullivan in 1883 was responsible for something like a furore in sporting circles, and for several years after public exhibitions were quite common. There was little effort made by those who managed these affairs to conceal their real character. Fights to a finish were unblushingly arranged for, and were witnessed in public halls by the most influential men in the community.
The game of baseball had many votaries and, as in the East, it assumed a pro- fessional form during the period. In 1876 a club of Californians, known as the Centennials, and consisting of ten members, visited the East, and played with the prominent organizations withont, however, greatly distinguishing itself. Later Cali- fornia clubs began to give a better account of themselves and their ranks were sometimes drawn upon to strengthen Eastern teams. Andrew J. Piercy, whose experience on the diamond dated back to 1861, in 1881 joined the Nationals of Chicago, and figures in the records as the first Californian who crossed the Rockies to play in the National League. As a drawing entertainment baseball did not succeed very greatly during the seventy decade, but in 1881 it began to become popular and later the interest in it developed to such an extent that sporting an- nalists speak of it as a "boom." Tennis and golf had not attained to any degree of popularity. There were a few tennis courts in the state, but the playing was amateurish and attracted little attention. Yachting, always a favorite sport with San Franciscans, retained its hold, and the fleets of the rival clubs were constantly being added to, as well as their resources for the entertainment of members. But public events were of comparatively rare occurrence, the yachtmen, as a rule, pre- ferring the pleasure of sailing for sailing's sake to exhibitions of speed.
Professional Baseball and Other Sports
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In April, 1879, Charles E. Locke, who was running the Bush street theater at that time, engaged a man who had successfully conducted a pedestrian endurance contest in New York to come to this City to manage a match. The Mechanics' pavilion was secured, and on June 5 several walkers began a six-day match. The novelty drew thousands to witness the uninteresting sight of a number of men wearily traveling over the oblong path, and making a record, and the enterprising man who projected the entertainment "coined money." This first exhibition was followed by several others, but the furore soon died out. While it lasted several San Franciscans developed the walking habit sufficiently to be in demand in other cities to which the craze had extended, among them Gus Guerrero, Bobby Vint, Frank Hart and Peter McIntyre. During these contests the trainers of the con- testants pushed the latter to such an extent at times that police interference was threatened. It was no unusual occurrence during the closing days of a contest to see a man walking or staggering along half asleep. The amusement, while quite tame otherwise, gratified the morbid desire to see others suffer and also ministered to the gambling propensity; but there is no evidence that it increased the ability of the spectators to endure, or that it promoted the pedestrian habit, although it is true that for a period all the small boys in town were doing endurance stunts, for the time abandoning their roller skates.
No story of the doings of a community which overlooked the performances of the small boy would be complete; and the same may be said of the doings of his sister. The rising generation in San Francisco was not very different from that in the older states of the Union. The boys and girls of the City play the same games as those of other cities, but they enjoy an advantage over those of re- gions where unpropitious weather interferes with outdoor sports in being able to play in the open at all seasons of the year. Although many children in San Francisco grow up without acquiring an intimate acquaintance with snow they are not unfamiliar with the delights of coasting. The topography of the City lends itself admirably to that diversion and they may be seen at all times of the year engaged in the occupation, their coasters being on wheels and not on runners as in more inclement countries. About the end of the period 1871-83 the use of cement for sidewalk construction opened a new outlet for the energies of the youngsters, permitting them to transfer their activities on the roller skate to the open air, and the practice of outdoor skating became general. The proximity of the ocean, and the cheap street-car fare makes the beach on the ocean side of Golden Gate park a popular resort, and while sea bathing is not indulged in to any extent by old or young, large numbers of children avail themselves of the opportunity to wade in the surf and disport themselves on the sands at all seasons of the year.
In the earlier years, before Golden Gate park was thought of, the Cliff house was the objective of all visitors to the City. From its porch a large colony of seals, which inhabited the rocks, could be seen dragging themselves up their pre- cipitous sides or swimming about undisturbed by the occasional vessel entering the Golden Gate, near which the rookcry was situated. The traveler had to see the seals and all who came saw them. The San Franciscan visited the Cliff for quite a different purpose. A visit to it was usually a punctuating mark in an afternoon drive, refreshments solid and liquid being a specialty. The house itself at the time and the nearby stables, where the "teams" were put up, presented a bustling
Six-Day Walking Contests
Sports of the Children
The Cliff House and Ocean Beach
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appearance on Sundays and holidays, and on other days there were always signs of life, but it was not a popular resort until made accessible by the street cars, which carried a passenger for a single fare from any part of the City to the beach, which thereafter took on many of the characteristics of a sea side watering place, although outdoor bathing has never been included in the list of diversions offered. The annual plunge of the members of the Olympic club on New Year's day is merely indulged in to demonstrate that midwinter weather in San Fran- cisco permits bathing, but truth demands the admission that the inclination for sea baths at other seasons of the year has never been highly developed, although the love of salt water exhibits itself in the patronage bestowed upon the nearby Sutro baths, which are under cover.
Favorite Sunday Outings
During the Seventies and well into the Eighties the picnic grounds on the Alameda, Marin and Contra Costa side of the bay were much more favored than Golden Gate park and the beach. The tide of ferry travel indicates this as much as it does the growth of Oakland and the other trans bay towns. The ferry lines maintained by the railroad in 1872 carried 2,415,141 passengers both ways, and in 1883 the number had increased to 6,493,841. During the Seventies the favorite Sunday outing was a visit to one of the many picturesque spots in the counties named. They were quickly reached and the fare was small, and there was a cur- rent belief that the change of climate proved beneficial to the voyager. That the change was experienced is undeniable, for there are seasons of the year when the mere crossing of the bay secures a difference of temperature amounting to several degrees. The climatic peculiarities of the City and the ease with which a different brand of weather may be obtained has resulted in San Franciscans regulating their summer outings with a view to securing warmth. If they wish to keep cool they stay home.
It would be a mistake to assume that Oakland at this particular time only served the purpose of a suburban retreat for San Franciscans. It had already offered such attractions to many doing business and working in the City that they preferred to make their homes there, and as early as 1871 there were plenty who looked forward to the time when Oakland would become industrially and commercially important. In that year an interesting pamphlet was published by the "boosters" of that town, in which it was asserted "that Oakland must eventually become the base of the greatest part of the commerce concentrating at the Bay of San Fran- cisco." The writer, however, took the precaution to assure his readers that he was "not predicting the downfall of San Francisco." "On the contrary," he said, "we believe San Francisco will prosper and increase. We are looking forward to the time when the commerce concentrating on the Bay of San Francisco will be five fold greater than it is at present." The prediction, so far as it concerns expan- sion of volume of commerce on the bay has not yet been realized, but the growth of Oakland during the seventy decade shows that the booster was gifted with fore- sight, for the value of its property advanced from $4,563,767 in 1870 to $28,348,- 778 in 1879-80, a more than five fold increase during the period. The other towns about the bay made progress, but their advances were not so marked during this period as later, when the growing wealth of the City permitted its inhabitants to indulge in the luxury of a town and country house. This has had the effect of promoting the growth of suburban population centers on the peninsula and in the neighboring counties, and also of calling into existence numerous resorts within reaching distance of the City, whose prosperity reflects that of the metropolis.
Growth of Oakiand
CHAPTER LV
VARIED ACTIVITIES OF THE PEOPLE OF A GROWING CITY
SAN FRANCISCO POLICE FORCE IMPROVED-A GANG OF BANDITS EXTERMINATED-TWO NOTORIOUS CRIMINAL CASES-THE DELAYS OF THE LAW-A TWICE DESPOILED BANK -FIGHT FOR THE PROTECTION OF SAILORS-THE BARBARY COAST-THE BAR AND ATTEMPTS AT REFORM OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE-COLONEL E. D. BAKER AND OTHER NOTED LAWYERS OF SAN FRANCISCO-JUSTICE FIELD OF THE SUPREME COURT- CALIFORNIA'S FIRST CHIEF JUSTICE-THE RAILROAD AND THE LEGAL PROFESSION- CORPORATION LAWYERS IN THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION-JOURNALISTIC IN- FLUENCE DURING THE PERIOD-GEORGE K. FITCH AND THE "BULLETIN"-THE "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE"-THE "ARGONAUT" AND ITS FOUNDER-BEGINNINGS OF THE SUNDAY MAGAZINE IN DAILY PAPERS-WELL KNOWN WRITERS-ART IN THE SEVENTIES AND EARLY EIGHTIES-LIBRARIES-CALIFORNIA'S FREE LIBRARY SYSTEM -HENRY GEORGE'S LAND THEORIES AND HIS GREAT BOOK-JOHN F. SWIFT'S POLITI- CAL NOVEL-JOAQUIN MILLER-ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON'S LIFE IN SAN FRANCISCO -BANCROFT'S PACIFIC COAST HISTORIES-MONT EAGLE UNIVERSITY-STANFORD'S FOUNDATION-EDUCATIONAL-PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS.
HE critics of San Franciscan conditions during the Seventies would be able to find little in the police records to justify their assertion that it was a particularly turbulent city, or that the criminal element was unusually active during the period. Statistics of crime are not always dependable, OF SAN FR `CC but such as exist show that San Francisco was no worse than any other seaport city of its size at any time between JO SEAL OF 1871 and 1883, not even excepting the two or three years during the time it was supposed to be at the mercy of sand lot mobs. The number of arrests per capita indicate something like the average urban showing of departure from the straight and narrow path, with fewer of those exceptional crimes, which attract general attention, than at any time during many years previous. Indeed the country pro- vided more in the way of sensational criminal events during the twelve years than the City.
By far the most exciting occurrence related in the criminal annals of the Sev- enties was the capture near Los Angeles county in May, 1874, of the bandit Vas- quez, who had terrorized the state for several years, and in the course of his career had murdered several persons. A reward of $8,000 had been offered for Vasquez if caught alive, or $6,000 for his body, by special authorization of the legislature. He was captured by a ruse. One of the posses in search of the bandit learned that he was concealed in the house of a man named Greek George. Pre- Vol. II-10
Police Records and Crime
Capture of Bandit Vasquez
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vious experience suggested that his captors would have to adopt some method of approaching his place of concealment which would not excite suspicion, and the device of concealing themselves in the body of a wood wagon was adopted. By this means Greek George's place was reached without alarming the inmates until the posse had surrounded the house, when a woman gave the alarm. Vasquez jumped from a window, but found his retreat cut off by armed men. He fought for his life but was brought down by several shots. He was so severely wounded that it was thought he would die, but he recovered and was taken to Tres Pinos in San Benito county and was there tried for a murder committed by him and found guilty and was hanged on March 19, 1875. While waiting his trial one of the band named Chavez wrote a letter to the authorities in which he threatened to kill everyone who had anything to do with the conviction of Vasquez, but the latter exhorted his follower to change his course of life, warning him that he would come to grief if he failed to do so. Chavez attempted to adopt the convicted bandit's advice and made his way to Arizona where he was subsequently recognized by a couple of men who, in pursuit of the reward offered for the robber, killed him while he was resisting capture.
The capture of Vasquez was notable as disposing of the last band of organized highway robbers infesting the state. Vasquez was less ferocious than Murietta, and the depredations of his band were not near so serious as those committed by the earlier outlaw, but the more settled condition of the interior, and the growing interdependence of the people, and the increased travel resulting from it, caused his operations to be viewed with more alarm than those of his predecessor. His boldness created a feeling of uneasiness resembling that produced in Italy by the organized bandits of that country, and it was feared that the band he formed in 1873, unless dispersed would make the state as unsafe for the traveler as those regions in which robbers were in the habit of seizing travelers and holding them for ransom. Vasquez in addition to being a bold robber and a ruthless murderer had the reputation of being a gay Lothario and had several affairs with women. It was generally believed that his capture in Los Angeles county was due to information supplied by a woman whom he had deserted.
The two most noted criminal cases of this period were those of Wheeler the strangler, and the murder of a man named Skerrit. George Wheeler on October 20, 1880, delivered himself to the police stating that he had strangled his sister- in-law at 23 Kearney street. The name of his victim was Della Tillson. She had been living with her sister who had married Wheeler several years earlier in Massachusetts. Wheeler had become infatuated with Della, and had been in- timate with her and she had borne him a child. Later Wheeler went to Cisco in Nevada, and there Della met a man named George Peckham, with whom she sus- tained relations. Wheeler discovering this forced Della to accompany him to San Francisco. His deserted wife with the help of Peckham located him in San Francisco about a month earlier than the strangling, and the three, Wheeler and the two sisters, lived in the same house together. On the night of the murder Wheeler had occasion to go out on business, and when he returned he found Della with hat and gloves on, apparently having also been out. When Wheeler ques- tioned her she told him she had been with Peckham and that she intended to marry him. According to Wheeler, Della sat on his knee when she made this con- fession, and he became so enraged that he choked her to death. Della was a
An Extraordinary Criminal
Last of the Organized Bandits
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comely looking young woman, and was about twenty-one years of age when 'mur- dered. Wheeler at first thought of attempting to conceal his crime, and placed the body of his victim in a trunk where it was found by the police after he had informed them concerning the murder. Despite the fact that he had confessed, Wheeler made a fight for his life and was tried four times. He was finally con- victed and hanged January 23, 1884, more than three years after he had com- mitted the crime.
In August, 1883, Nicholas Skerritt, a dry goods dealer doing business on Bush street near Montgomery, and the owner of a number of houses in the City, made the acquaintance of a man who gave the name of of La Rue, and who represented himself as from Colorado. Skerritt had some trouble collecting his rents and La Rue threw out the suggestion that he was in a position to take care of the property, and if it were made worth his while he might be induced to invest. The acquaint- anceship and negotiations began on the 5th of August, and Skerritt spoke about them to a Mrs. Dixon, with whom he was intimate, and to others, thus laying the foundations for an audacious scheme for the despoilment of his victim. On Sun- day evening August 12th, Skerritt had an interview with La Rue at the house of Mrs. Dixon, where the former boarded. On Monday Skerritt disappeared and was not seen again. On the Wednesday following Skerritt's disappearance the husband of Mrs. Dixon, and a couple of other persons, and the bank with which he did business received dispatches from Sacramento, signed N. Skerritt, which stated that he had made a clean sweep of all his property and that he had gone to Colorado to complete the transaction. The dispatch also stated that he had one-half of the amount to be paid in hand, and added, "La Rue will take charge. Favor him. He is solid and reliable."
The day the dispatch was received La Rue made his appearance at the Dixon's and took away part of Skerritt's effects. Dixon was inclined to suspect that there was something wrong and concluded to bring the matter to the attention of the police. A detective was assigned to the case who soon ascertained that deeds had been filed which transferred nearly all of Skerritt's property to La Rue. The detective, whose name was Hogan recalled the fact that in 1878 a man named Wright Le Roy had been sent to prison for forgeries committed in Alameda. The similarity of the name and peculiarities connected with the Alameda forgeries suggested that the perpetrator might be the same person and the detective worked on that theory. It was learned that Le Roy, who was a lawyer, had been liberated from prison on the 27th of May, 1883. The identity of La Rue and Le Roy as one and the same person was soon established, but although the police were satisfied that there had been foul play it was several days before the body of Skerritt was found in the toilet of one of his own houses, to which he had been lured by his murderer. When Le Roy was arrested a bunch of keys was found on his person all of which were accounted for but one which apparently belonged to a Yale lock. Duplicates of this were made and furnished to the police, who after a long search discovered that the key fitted the front door of No. 620 Market street, a house in which Le Roy had a room. In this room were found some of the personal effects of Skerritt, and among other things a dozen large cans of chloride of lime with which the murderer intended to consume the body of his victim. Le Roy was tried for his crime and convicted and hanged January 18, 1885.
A Remark- able Bit of Detective Work
An Audacious Criminal
ยท
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Delays of the Law
In 1874 a doctor named J. Milton Bowers arrived in San Francisco from the East and established himself in San Francisco. His subsequent and previous career connected him with a series of remarkable crimes which, however, were not disclosed until nearly a decade later when they resulted in long drawn out trials which drew forth much adverse comment on the law's delays and the defects in criminal procedure, and started an agitation for reform. This movement is re- ferred to because modern or recent reformers have assumed that the defects com- plained of are a comparatively recent development. The case of Wheeler the strangler, who was able to secure the postponement of retribution, although he had confessed an atrocious crime, for over three years has just been cited, but it was by no means isolated. At this particular time, and all through the Seventies, the course of justice was slow except in those cases in which the criminal showed no disposition to fight for his life or liberty. The assumption was common that it was only the rich malefactor who profited by the technicalities of the law, but it was signally refuted by the facts. Lawyers were found ready to defend criminals whose crimes attracted public attention for the sake of the notoriety, and the adver- tisement which a successful defense gave them. In the game of wits played by the lawyers of San Francisco against the law makers and the courts the former oftener than otherwise proved successful. The modern censor who assumes that a particular case of villainy unwhipt of justice marks a new departure does the times in which he lives an injustice.
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