USA > California > The California pilgrim: a series of lectures > Part 11
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They now came upon a group of three ; one of whom Mr.
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Sharp called Dr. Moneymake ; the second, Captain ; the Affixing titles. third, Judge. It turned out soon, that he had fixed the titles all right, though he had no acquaintance with any but the Doctor. . When Keep Faith asked him to explain how he came to be so accurate in the matter, Mr. Sharp remarked, that, when he saw three strangers in Embankment, or even in Bustledom any where, he was sure to call one Doctor, one Captain, and one Judge ; if there was a fourth, he called him Esquire ; a fifth, General; a sixth, Honorable ; and, if a seventh, with a spruce hat 01, but with boots cracked, and run down at the heel, he called him Reverend. If there were any more than the seven, he should begin and go round again, but would double the Doctors. In respect to fixing the titles upon the right persons, he could give no rule very exact, but it of would commonly be safe to call the seediest Distribution
honors.
one, Judge; the rummiest one, Esquire; the supplest one, Doctor; the roughest one, Captain ; the portliest one, Honorable ; the showiest one, General; and the threadbare one, Reverend.
Proceeding down the levee, they examined the hulks moored along in line, looking desolate enough, dismantled and transmuted, withdrawn for ever from the bound, and sweep, and play of the ocean waves, to lie there and consume by time and decay; just as old men, whose limbs refuse longer to carry them, succumb to their fate. They went on the levee far enough to look at the hugest and grandest of all the venerable oaks and sycamores, that once had been, but were no more, a fine feature in Embankment; and, also, at the oldest of all the bricks- the brick buildings-not the oldest of the " order of bricks," in the town. 11
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Then they turned back into a street, on which fronted Another theater. the Pacific theater, a building which had sunk more money, in proportion to its cost, than any other in the place ; and yet men would still try to renovate and revive the concern, dead as it was to anything like popularity. Mr. Sharp said, he thought it might be turned to some profit as a stable, for he saw that the city market, hard by, was stowed full of hay for winter's use, but, whether for the accommodation of loafers, or horses, he could'nt determine,
Keep Faith wished Mr. Antiquary to explain the reasons
How the city for such an appropriation of a public building, came to have a market house not its own.
in the middle of a street. He said there were,
two years or more ago, some patriotic persons, who were desirous of extending the city in that direction ; and, wishing to obtain the aid of the Council, they offered to build a market house, to take their pay out of stall rents, and then give it up to the city, provided the Council would pass a law, requiring all marketing to be done in that building. The agreement was made ; the building erected ; and the law passed. But the market men would not go there, and the Council had not promised to drive them there, and so the project failed. Of course, some of those most concerned were down on the Council, with considerable Indignation. power of indignation, reminding them each of the two hundred dollars per month they were receiving, and hinting that they might properly vote themselves medals, as their cousins in San Fastopolis had done ; suggesting that the material might be any thing they fancied, from sole leather or sheet iron, up to topaz or diamonds, set in gold.
The state hospital was near, and they went silently through Hospital. its various wards, and departed, for the scenes
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they witnessed were saddening ones, as they must be. Mr. Sharp said the intention of the state was to provide amply for all sufferers, and it had done nobly in the matter; and the city of Embankment likewise, had, every year, paid out scores of thousands for taking care of the siek, and dying, and dead. As to this branch hospital, he said he was no doctor, and had no patients to discourse about, nor anything to say concerning the management of it, but he was acquainted with a number of " Odd Fellows" that had.
Going onward till they came to the low grounds, they turned to the right, around a squat, square
". Build not your house too high." building, standing on stilts, and higher than the fence, bringing back, with its emptiness and eminence, memories, more cool than refreshing, of a deluge, a good while after Noali's. They went a block or two along this street, wide and handsome, where were tasteful dwellings, and comfortable and quiet homes, yards, gardens, flowers, vines, and shrubbery, in various stages of advancement. Then they were taken one side, by Mr. Antiquary, to the spot where the gallows had stood, on which the authorities and people of the town had executed three wretched men, more than a twelve month before ; and the work had been done so thoroughly, they hoped, as to spare them the necessity of ever doing it for any others.
Having gone across other low grounds, they stopped to witness the process of brick making ; and to rest themselves in the shade of a tree. A man, with an apron on, long in A brick yard. person and sharp faced, with a curl in his lip, one eye half closed, his hat on one side of his stiff hair, came up, introducing himself as the boss, one Ezekiel Pennyshave, 'prenticed and edycated jest round Bosting. S'pose ye wanter hire, don't ye ? Can't give much ; times
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dull ; makin nothin. No, sir, said Pilgrim ; we only wish to look on a moment. Wall, ye can't steal this trade, no heow. Ef ye don't wanter git work, ye'll dicker, won't ye ? for a There's a watch, reg'lar bull's eye, sell her for
Chance bargain twenty five dollars; runs handsome. No quiere : Pr'aps you'll sell then ; what'll ye take for yourn ? Pay in brick, fifteen dollars a thousand; I s'lect 'em. Don't want tu sell, eh ? But you haint got no pistols ! I'll sell yer one ; she's a smoker ; kill a bear dead's a door nail ; only forty dollars. But they were not in want.
So, when they had been questioned thus, for a quarter of an hour, they rose up to go, and bade the boss good day. They had gone but a few yards, when they heard Ezekiel Pennyshave saying, hello, there, Mister, what'll ye take for A staff. that air prop ? (Meaning Mr. Antiquary's gold headed canc.) Mr. Antiquary said it was a friend's gift, for saving him from being drowned, and he could not part with it. Oh ! said he, you don't say so, drownded ? Wall, it's a capital stick. See here, said he then, ef ye travel much furder that way, ye'll be " pilgrims on the scorchin sand," 'corden to the psa'm book. They went on, however, by brick yards, pig styes, ditches, sand heaps, and sand holes ; through dust, and through bushes ; and came, at last, to the " city of the dead."
There they were busied, a long time, in looking for the The city ceme- graves of some of their acquaintances, who lery. had fallen by the way, in the weary march of the onward hosts, through the land of gold. While they were thus employed, they sun went down; and, oh, for the hundreds there, how many suns had set to rise no more ! They hastened away, for all around was ashy, carthy, and desolate, given utterly over to dreariness, neglect, and
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decay. The firmament hung out its twinkling lamps, and the moon flooded the wide plain with her silver sheen, as they returned, and sought their place of rest.
MORAL.
Among the most durable mementos of decayed nations and extinct races are their sepulchers. The tombs' they built are now their monuments. These exist in the catacombs and pyramids of Egypt, in the rocky caves of Petra, in the buried and now exhumed cities of Assyria, amid the ruins of Central America, and in the mounds of the aborigines of our country.
Those who constructed them, might have had some dim notion, that the bodies they entombed were to revive ; but they had no revelation from God to that purport. Their extreme care for the dead was, therefore, as extraordinary as it was commendable.
But we have a revelation from God, and we believe on the ground of it, in the resurrection of the body. So believing, it seems but natural that we should cherish, with peculiar interest, the graves of our lost ones, who sleep in the dust. It is natural. And it is fit and proper. Yet, as a community, we are acting au unnatural part. Our city cemetery lies without an enclosure, exposed to all sorts of ravages, and to the trampling of beasts, clean and unclean. Every green growth is gnawed and broken, and the grass is trodden into the soil. There is much shrubbery there of a native growth. The spot is a natural flower bed. Securely fenced, in a single season it would begin to bloom in beauty, and would cease to offend by its barren aspect.
There are two thousand graves there ; one half of them, graves of men under thirty, who fell, while yet the visions
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of their youth were bright ; and those graves are so many voices calling on our authorities and our citizens to do, what we have long besought them to do, in the matter. They have no valid excuse to make. This negleet is criminal. Ah, if they all expected to lay their own bodies there, it might soon be a hallowed and beautiful spot ; where we should love to go often, and to linger, and to commune with the departed, and to rejoice in the hope of a blessed resurrection ! . May such a change come speedily. over our cemetery !
LECTURE VIII.
Now I saw in my dream, that the little company that was lodging at Mr. Augustine's house, was awakened very early in the morning, long before the sun was risen, by a loud knock at the door. The man who knocked was Mr. Mr. Staunchman Stannchinan, who had been with Pilgrim and en route. his companions one day at San Fastopolis. He had left that city the evening previous, and, by a fleet steamer, had come to Embankment ; and was on his way into the country, to find the " golden wedge of Ophir." He had secured a seat in the stage, and was now come to give Mr. Augustine a call, before the hour of departure.
The appearance of Pilgrim and Keep Faith, as they came down stairs, gave him a pleasant surprise, for he did not anticipate meeting them again. When they had all . joined in a service of morning thanksgiving and praise, the three accompanied Mr. Staunchman to the Increase City hotel, where he was to take his seat in the Troy coach, and then go whirling over the plains, which they must traverse on foot, when they were able.
They found a large erowd collected about the hotel, Stage office. completely jamming the side walks in front. The street itself was also nearly blocked up with stages, and
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horses, and baggage, and men. The runners and agents were busy selling tickets, and shouting out at the top of their voices, the destination, speed, qualities, and so on, of their respective lines and vehicles. Opposition was rife, and the competition was sharp. The drivers were sitting upon their boxes, attending to their restive teams. Passen- gers were crowding inside, crawling to the top, mounting "' A few more upon the boot, and trying to stick in places seats left, gentle. men; slart in
that could hardly be called seats; so that five minutes." each stage began to look like a cluster of human bees.
At length, the drivers cracked their long whips, and the teams dashed off, one after another, full tilt, up the street. When a dozen or fifteen of them had gone, the candy boys, the newspaper boys, the 'porters, and the lookers on, began to disperse, and some degree of yniet was restored to the noisy street. " The travelers also went thence, to breakfast with their host, remarking that they could now perceive the need there was of so many stables and hay yards in Embankment.
Going out from a high and peculiar hotel, a little way, they looked back upon it, standing slender and tall, above Queen all its neighbors, with its piazza, and balus- " The
City." trades running around the second and third stories, set off with fancy railings, ginger bread, carved work, and cheap ornaments, all neatly covered with white paint. These features combined gave the structure a large and handsome appearance, though it really lacked breadth and capacity, until it took to itself the humbler edifice adjoining.
From one thoroughfare to another, they went by a cross street, having a white chapel, and the drab colored church of the Padre, on their left, and smiths' shops, wagon shops,
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crazy old running gear, remnants of everything, bars of iron, bags of coal, heaps of cinders, and unused timber, on their right.
Turning to the right, they went westward on a street, whose designation was a letter nearly central in the alphabet. On the block they passed first, were boarding houses, horse stables, and harness shops, mixed up strangely together, and allowing scarcely room for a doctor and a lawyer to get offices in anywhere.
They noticed the peculiar architecture of this block but slightly, for their attention was drawn at once to the crowd, hubbub, noise and confusion, at the next corners ; where, indeed, was such a sight and scene as they never beheld or imagined before. It was very like, they fancied, to the The Sacramento place of trade in Vanity Fair, where the horse market. ancient Pilgrim and his friends stirred up such a commotion ; as was written abont, two hundred years ago. Here were hundreds of men of all tongues, peoples, and nations, fof all varieties of colors, dresses, and features. Here were oxen, horses, and mules, of all sizes, ages, and descriptions. Here, were wagons, yokes, chains, saddles, bridles, blankets, spurs, whips, and halters. All for sale, at public vendue. Dogs, swine, kittens, and rabbits, were to be had by private agreement. There were four men, mounted on blocks, divested of their coats, who were auctioneering, each his own property in live stock, and crying their bids and setting forth the qualities of their animals, in the very loudest tones, and so overwhelming each other, as not always to be able to hear themselves. Others were riding their animals about to show them off, and calling for bids as they sat in the saddles. Others still, were mounted upon wagons in the street, and were bellowing, and shouting, and
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frothing at the mouth, in trying to sell out team and vehicle together, as they stood where they might be examined,
Large, two storied buildings occupied the corner lots ; all full of windows, above and below ; having piazzas, stoops, balustrades, and lattice work railings, on the two fronts,
The corner which were painted gaudily. The whole of stands.
the lower floors were devoted to saloons for drinking, sporting, and gaming. Stands for cake, coffee, and punch, were on the two opposite corners, were inserted into every crevice in the vicinity, and were trundled about on wheels, keeping company with nut, fruit, and candy pedlers.
Overshadowing the crowd, on either side of the street, stood two venerable old oaks, that leaned toward cach other, till their branches met above the centre of the street. The trees near A little way south of these trees, stood a
by. sycamore, one of whose limbs had carried weight in the person of Roe, a gambler, who, in shooting at a vietim, had killed a man that was passing by. He was tried by a citizens' jury, and hung the same night, by torch light. This was in February, 1851 ; and Roe was the first man hung in Embankment, but, unhappily, not the last.
When Pilgrim and Keep Faith had looked on awhile, to their very great amusement, if not instruction, they were side to be rid of
They go one joined by Mr. Sharp again, and retired, a the din. short distance, to a spot where their voices could be heard ; for what with pigs, dogs, men, mules, horses, and cattle, the screaming, clatter, din, and roar, were deafening to those near, and might be heard several blocks off. And this they found was the same every day, from morning till noon : the market being always full of some- thing to sell.
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Pilgrim now inquired on what principle the sales were conducted. Mr. Sharp said that the auctioneers were licensed by the authorities, and any one selling by auction without license, was liable to pay a fine. The auctioneers received about ten per cent. commission when they sold stock for others. They were much in the habit of buying Peter Funks'oc- at private sale, and selling at auction. Of cupation not yet gone. course, when men sold their own property, they must have their own bidders, to run the animals up to paying prices, or to buy them in. That practice would account for the occurrence, sometimes witnessed, of the sale of the same animal two or three times in a day, when times were dul', and bidding was slow.
In another way, the same animals were often sold, and the purchasers too. Men not skilled in that kind of trade, would buy innocently, and pay for horses, without getting any bill of sale, or warranty, from responsible parties. Ere they could get the animals purchased away from the market, Purchasing at some person would reclaim them, on the more risks than one. ground that they had been stolen from him, as he could prove property by bill of sale, or by brand. So they would lose their money. In a day or two the same horses would be knocked off to another innocent purchaser, and be reclaimed again. Without some warranty, no one could be sure he was not buying a stolen horse, or, at least, one he could not retain.
And then there was a large business done by some in receiving stolen horses and altering the brands; so that when a claimant came he could identify the horse every way, except in the very important matter of the brand. There were those in the community who had copies of all the brands in use on the large ranchos in various sections.
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Brandsand their They would take these and have them so uses. changed, by additions, in making new irons, as to take in the whole of the old brands, and yet make the new ones very different. They could alter them, too, in other ways, which he would not mention now. But it was easy to see how those, who had a taste that way, could jockey people out of their money, even in so open and honest a place as the equine mart.
They had gone westward but a few paces before they encountered the national odor of the Chinese, and observed that they were on the border of little China, or Hong Kong. For two blocks, almost, these children of the sun and moon were in possession of the buildings, of every description. They had trading houses, lodging houses, carpenter shops, restaurants, gambling rooms, and brothels ; and were, many of them, evidently getting into "fast" The children of ways. Some wore their hair, and had gar- the east transfer-
red to the west. ments on, precisely like Americans. Others had made less progress, and retained the long appendage eoiled up in the hat, but let the hair grow naturally on the rest of the head. Some had got so far as to wear shirts ; and some, only to wearing boots. Those who wore corn fans on their heads, dangled long queues, dragged wooden shoes at their heels, and carried small fans about in their hands, were such as had recently arrived, or had not yet worn out their old clothes. . The buildings were swarm- ing with them. How they all managed to live and prosper, no one knew. As not one of themselves knew aught of Chinese, they could talk with none, except to pass the usual salutations, and daily compliments.
When Pilgrim inquired about their habits, and general behavior, Mr. Sharp said they were reported to be much
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better than they really were. The idea that they were peculiarly neat and tasteful was seen to be false. Their honesty and truthfulness it would not be best to boast of. They Ilabits and cuz- were usually quiet and industrious ; but had toms. and tastes. not yet learned to observe any Sabbath, and were troublesome on that day. They occasionally had a spree, a hurra, and burned bushels of fire crackers. As a novelty, they would try a ride on horseback, at which they made an awkward figure. Very likely, the animal they bought cheap at the market, was a vicious one, and played them a trick ; and they managed to sell him to the next one that came along, whose olive was yet green. On the whole, they were quite human, and somewhat heathen.
The travelers had now come to the line of recent
Phoenix build- improvements. There was a tall Phoenix of ings. wood, on the left, and a three story Phoenix of brick, on the right, with a twist in the black letters of the tablet, as though the graver was troubled with a squint. Both of the corners beyond were built in hand- some style, and the stores were filled with immense stocks of stoves, hardware, and tin; enough, it would seem, to yield the possessors handsome fortunes, when the stocks were cleared out.
Having passed by another block, indifferently built, but beginning to fall in with the march of improvement, they came to one that was solidly built with brick, and fire proof, as was supposed, on the left. and partially so, on the right. The fronts of those warehouses were finely finished ; and the whole wore an imposing aspect, and betokened enterprise and prosperity, of no common sort. In this vicinity were held the courts of certain justices of the peace, the " levees"' of the Recorder, the meetings of the Council,
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and the consultations of the Mayor. Over against a certain Station house. printing office was a stuccoed building, used as a station house, where were the head quarters of the police. As they came up to this building, there issued from it, in regular file, a band of men, who stepped short, and whose chains clanked with every step. They were men of white, red, yellow, and black ; keeping up no artificial distinctions.
In reply to Keep Faith's inquiry, Mr. Sharp said, this
Chain gang. was the celebrated chain gang, an institution which all minor offenders, and those guilty of larcenies, and so on, were obliged to enter, and support themselves, by stump digging, road mending, levee repairing, and other useful employments, under the direction of the mayor, and the chief of the police. It had been resorted to as a substitute for a penitentiary, and was useful in its way ; though objectionable in many respects, since those who once got in were very likely to get in again. It did not answer the purpose of a reform school ; they were too much exposed to observation.
They now went over a few rods of planked road, that covered a slough, and came upon the street that fronted the river. They were attracted by the sound of " give us a bid, going, going, can't dwell, no price at all, gentlemen, Auction & com- going, gone," from the lips of a famous mission stores.
auctioneer, who was sometimes facetious. They were amused and instructed by what they saw in the faces and manners of the buyers ; by the way in which so me would bid who never seemed to buy ; by the droll assort- ments which others secured ; and by the doings of those who seemed to take no interest in anything that was going First rate custo- on, till the wines and liquors were up, when
mers. they were on the alert at once, and very
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anxious to taste the samples, and would bid while there was no danger of getting it knocked down to them. When the vendor had rather keep the article than not, he might strike it off to one of these constant visitors, knowing well that it would not be called for, and he could put it up again under more favorable circumstances.
They visited other auction marts, further down, and busied themselves in looking over some invoices of books they found, and other valuable things, which they had a liking for ; Mr. Sharp saying, that, as a professional man, and a lover of literature, he intended to have the finest Libraries and library in the city ; if his were not so already.
literature.
The booksellers, however, had not encourage- ment enough yet to keep large assortments of books, of the better class ; since much of the demand, from the country, was for cheap publications, trashy novels, filthy picture books, and such volumes as had no permanent value, and men could handle roughly, and throw away after perusal ; and, therefore, it took many months to fill one's shelves, as he desired to have them filled.
The sun was now past his meridian, and the number of men along the levee was rapidly augmenting. The draymen had been hard at work all the forenoon, but had only succeeded in removing a part of the immense freights that had been landed since morning. These goods were piled up, here and there, and nearly intercepted the passage of people on foot. Three steamboats, with flags and pennons flying, lay moored beside their respective storeships, their pipes smoking furiously. The combination was broken up, The levee, and and all were carrying at the lowest rates that the steamboats. ranged above nothing. The runners had been going out through the city all the forenoon, and now were
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