Californiahas features as distinct and peculiar as the Alps or the Andes. It cannot be mistaken for any other country; it is like no other region on the face of the earth. Being new, and in some respects untried, the most various conjectures, and the most opposite opinions have been expressed as to its future fortunes and ultimate destiny. A few who have been successful in their schemes and undertakings, and whose interests and existence are now blended with it, flatter themselves that it is destined to become a great and flourishing state; while, on the other hand, the great majority, who have been disappointed in all their expectations, and thwarted in every attempt, pronounce it an unmitigated cheat, and curse it bitterly as the cause of their ruin. My own opinions are, I imagine, by this time pretty well understood. I speak of the country as I have seen it, not as a mere passing traveler, but as an attentive observer. I emigrated to it as much in search of adventure as of profit; and, during the three years of my residence within its borders, have had ample opportunities to explore and scrutinize it as I desired. I am fully satisfied with my information upon this subject. I have seen all of it that is worth seeing, and a great deal besides. I crave no further knowledge of it than I now possess.
While there is any unoccupied land between the British boundaries of Maine and the Mexican limits of Texas, between the Florida Reefs and the Falls of St. Anthony, I would not advise any person to emigrate to California for the purpose of bettering his worldly condition. I have, indeed, no personal knowledge of the other divisions of land west of the Rocky Mountains; yet an acquaintance with gentlemen of character and veracity who have visited those sections, justifies the opinion that none of them abound in those elements of exuberant and permanent greatness so characteristic of the States east of the Rio Grande and the Mississippi. Oregon and Washington territories, Utah and New Mexico are tolerable countries, and, in some respects, superior to California; but owing to the general inferiority of their natural advantages, they can never become as powerful or important States as Louisiana or New York, Georgia or Illinois. The Pacific side of the continent is, as a general thing, far inferior to the Atlantic slope.
In my judgment, the present condition and future prospects of California, so far from offering inducements for additional immigration, actually portend much poverty and suffering. The very fact that thousands of men, some of whom have been in the country from three to four years, are working for nothing but their board, is of itself justifiable ground for this apprehension. More than a dozen stout, sober, able-bodied men, who asked nothing in compensation for their services but food, have applied to me for employment in a single day. I have elsewhere remarked that many of the most menial and humiliating situations about hotels, stores and private residences are filled by these ill-fated men, who, if they had the means, would be glad to shake off the dust of California from their feet, and return to the homes of their youth, where peace, plenty and happiness are attainable by all. Misery and despair go to bed with them at night, rise with them in the morning and accompany them throughout the day; they have been grossly deceived; “hope told them a flattering tale,� and broke her lying promise; their hearts are sick with unrelenting and consuming sorrows. Strangers among strangers, they have no friend to soothe or assist them in the hour of misfortune; if they hunger, they must fast; if sickness overtake them, death is their remedy. Depressed in spirits, and driven to desperation by bitter and repeated calamities, they betake themselves to the bottle for solace, become insane from extreme anxiety or over-activity of themind, or else, with bullet, knife, or poison, put a summary end to their wretched lives. Such is the history of many a man who has perished in that land of gold.
They left their homes flushed with hope; those near and dear to them imprinted the last kiss upon their cheeks, and bade them adieu with heavy hearts and tearful eyes, but found consolation in the hope that they would soon return. Those who escaped the many dangers of the various routes and reached their destination, wrote back to their friends immediately upon their arrival that all was well. The news was received with ecstasy; heaven was thanked for their deliverance from the perils of the trip; the neighbors were informed of the health and safety of the adventurers; and for a few weeks all things promised well. In a month or so another letter was anxiously looked for, but did not make its appearance; then fears began to be entertained, and the unwelcome thought would occasionally flash through the mind that all was not well. Nor was it. Month after month slowly and gloomily passed away, without bringing any tidings of the poor deluded wanderers; and it has now been so long since they were heard from, that it is easier to reckon the time by years than by months. Still their fate is wrapt in mystery which is no more likely to be unraveled than is the fate of the President and her crew.All that can be concluded is, that they lie some where within the confines of California, with no monument to reveal the place of their final slumber.
The immigration to California has been too much like the rush of an excited and impatient audience into a theatre, when it is known that a favorite actor is about to perform. There has been too much scrambling, too much crowding and pushing. Every body has heard that gold is scattered over her hills and mountains; thousands covet it, and are foolish enough to suppose that any body can get it. Without taking a calm and deliberate view of the subject—without balancing both sides, or counting the cost, they have suddenly abandoned their homes, and rushed in disorder to the land over which hovered their visions of wealth. They imagined that they had discovered the secret of fortune, and, in their enthusiasm, immediately set out to realize their dreams. They discovered, alas! too late, that their emigration was ill-timed and unprofitable, that they had exchanged a good situation for a bad one, and that immense sacrifices must be made before they could replace themselves in their former position.
No country can ever become truly great, unless it possesses abundant agricultural resources; and as California is deficient in this as well as in other respects, it is absurd to suppose that shewill attract attention longer than her mines pay for working. The banks of the rivers, and the localities in the San Jose, Sacramento, and San Joaquin valleys, form exceptions to this general sterility. There the ground is low and moist, or easily irrigated, the soil is extremely fertile, and produces vegetables, which, for size and powers of multiplication, have probably never been equaled. These spots, however, are little more, in comparison with the area of the State, than are the roads of a county to the county itself; and they cannot, therefore, be depended upon to supply the wants and necessities of the whole country, should it ever be thickly settled throughout—an event which, for the very reason I have mentioned above, I do not believe will ever take place. These valleys and the banks of the rivers seem to have become the receptacle of nearly all the virtue of the surrounding surface of the country. As a few specimens of the vegetable monstrosities, the productions of these fertile spots, that have come under my notice, I may mention a beet that weighed forty-seven pounds; a cabbage, thirty-two pounds; a turnip, twenty-six pounds; an Irish potato, seven pounds; and a water-melon, sixty-four pounds. Onions, lettuce, radishes, and other horticultural productions, also grow to an enormous size. Irish potatoes, however, I believe, are the most prolific crop that can be planted. Indiancorn is cultivated to but little if any advantage. All of the arable parts of the State are now settled; and farmers who go thither hereafter will either have to return, or abandon altogether the idea of cultivating the soil; for it will be impossible for them to make a subsistence out of the sterile hills of the upland.
That millions of dollars worth of gold have been taken from the mines, and that there is a vast amount still remaining, no one pretends to deny; but then it does not exist in the quantity that is generally supposed. There is nothing more uncertain, as a business, than gold mining in California. It is, indeed, like a lottery—more blanks than prizes; and as every man has to take his chances, he must not feel too much disappointed if his luck leaves him with the majority. A few make themselves independently rich, and go home with flying colors; but where one does it, there are forty or fifty, at least, who, though equally sober, industrious and deserving, do not make more than their support, and very frequently not even that.
Half the stories afloat concerning “wealthy returned Californiansâ€� are exaggerated beyond the power of tongue to describe. A case or two in point:—A young man from the West, who had been mining between two and three years, and with whom I had become acquainted, started home on a certain occasion, with about one hundred and sixty dollars over and above his expenses. In speaking of his friends, I asked him what he was going to tell them when he got home. “Oh!â€� says he, “I shall not admit that I have made so little; for, if I do, they’ll accuse me of having been indolent, of gambling, of drinking, or some other disreputable thing that I have never been guilty of; so I’ll give out that I have made twelve or fifteen thousand dollars; and about the time I shall have got them all in a good humor, I’ll take an excursion down to New Orleans, and thence to South America, where I am determined hereafter to seek my fortune.â€� Thus, although he was honorable, and not addicted to habits of dissipation, he had not the nerve to tell the real truth of his own success. This shows how easily these exaggerated rumors are set agoing, and public ignorance imposed upon. The further people live from California, the more credulous are they of golden legends; and I am persuaded that the young man above alluded to had no difficulty in making his neighbors in the West believe he was worth whatever amount he chose to tell them he had made. Extravagant as this story may sound, it is not without a parallel. A man, who had accumulated from three to four thousand dollars, returned on a visit to his friends in the East; and, to test the credulity of the people, he put out the report that he had made five hundred thousanddollars. His story was received by the gaping neighbors without a doubt; and all at once our adventurer found himself the invited guest of nabobs who never knew him before he went to California, though they had seen him hundreds of times. I cannot close these remarks without offering a word of advice to the marriageable ladies. If you seek a rich husband, do not form a matrimonial alliance with an El Dorado CrÅ“sus; for, in nine cases out of ten, a “wealthy Californianâ€� is a poor man.
Admitting all that is claimed for California in regard to her mineral wealth, it affords no reason why every body should rush thither; nor is it any argument that it will ever become the land of promise which an enthusiastic imagination may picture. It is already a pandemonium; and it does not clearly appear how it can become an elysium.
The benefit of mines of the precious metals to the country in which they are found, is still an open question. The weight of authority is against them. The history of Mexico and Peru, in this hemisphere, as well as the new chapter which California is opening, cannot be quoted in their favor. It seems to be decreed that, the more oblique the route by which gold is reached, the greater is its value; while the more directly it is acquired, the more mischievous is it to the morals and the material wealth of a nation. If,as Joseph Bonaparte so happily remarked, “gold, in its last analysis, is the sweat of the poor and the blood of the brave,� the more of these ingredients contribute to produce it, the richer is the result. The concurrent testimony of all ages proves that those nations who obtain their wealth by the indirect methods of agriculture, manufactures and commerce, are more happy and more prosperous than those who dig their treasures directly from the earth. This result is partly brought about by the great diversity of occupations which spring up in such a state of society, and give employment to all classes of the community: whereas, in a mining region, rich only in the precious metals, the resources of labor are fewer, and its tasks less diversified. The moral effect of sudden riches must also be taken into consideration. Few men can gaze undazzled at the splendor of a large fortune: and the more rapidly they acquire it, the more likely are they to grow dizzy in its contemplation. It seems to require time for a man to become habituated to the sight of wealth, in order to enable him to enjoy it with ease or dignity.
We cannot, therefore, conclude that the mere presence of gold is sufficient to advance California to a high position among her sister commonwealths. She produces the circulating medium of the country, it is true: and the intrinsic value of that medium causes the world to overlook thecost of its acquisition. We have endeavored, however, to set people right on that subject in the chapter entitled “The Balance-Sheet,� and shall not repeat what was there said.
We will not urge any complaint against the climate; for, in this respect, all classes and conditions of men can be suited, whether from the burning regions of Central Africa, or from the snow-capped mountains of Russian America. Along the southern line of the State it is oppressively hot, and, as a matter of course, is somewhat enervating; but in the north and north-east, among the mountains, it is extremely cold; and snow, to the depth of from two to ten feet, is found there as late as August. Large quantities of this snow are brought down to the cities, a distance of more than two hundred miles, by teamsters, and sold as a substitute for ice. The northern and southern sections of the State are, as yet, but little inhabited or known, except by the natives, who, like all other North American Indians, are ignorant of any thing beyond the limits of their own hunting-ground. In the middle or central parts of the State, the climate, as a general thing, is delightful, and, withal, highly invigorating and salubrious. Around San Francisco, particularly, during the winter season, when it does not rain, the weather is unusually mild and pleasant; and I have often heard it compared to the climate of Italy. It isnot so agreeable in summer, because the dust and winds prevail to such a decree, throughout the dry season, as to become a source of extreme discomfort. The main objection I have to the California climate, as stated in a previous chapter, is the division of the seasons into six months of dry weather, which burns and scorches the earth so severely that nothing will vegetate; and six months of wet weather, during which time the rain falls so hard and so fast, that it is quite impossible to perform out-door labor. These two seasons are general—that is, they affect the entire State; but the temperature of the atmosphere varies very much, according to locality. In and about the latitude of San Francisco, it is rarely ever too cold or too hot: though the weather frequently changes, three or four times in a single day, from calm and warm to boisterous and cool, and from boisterous and cool to calm and warm again. In other places, where the days are intolerably close and sultry, it is necessary to have one or two blankets to sleep under at night. The remarkable aridity and unfruitfulness of the country at large, may be ascribed to the protracted drought of the summer, which begins in April, and lasts until about the middle of November.
TheSabbath in California is kept, when kept at all, as a day of hilarity and bacchanalian sports, rather than as a season of holy meditation or religious devotion. Horse-racing, cock-fighting, cony-hunting, card-playing, theatrical performances, and other elegant amusements are freely engaged in on this day. If I remember correctly, it was about two months after my arrival in the land of gold and misery, that I had the misfortune to become acquainted with a renegade down-east Congregationalist preacher, who invited me to accompany him, on the following Sunday, in a deer-chase. Throughout the country, and in the mines, shooting-matches and bear-hunting afford pleasant pastimes; gambling is also practiced to a considerable extent, though not so much as on other days. But we shall probably learn more of the manner in which Sunday is spent, if we confine our attention to one of the larger cities, San Francisco, for example. Here regattas, duels and prize-fights are favorite diversions; and the Lord’s day seldom passes without witnessing one or the other, orboth. Here, too, for a long time, gaming was licensed on Sundays, as it is yet on week days; but recently the city fathers have passed an ordinance prohibiting the desecration, and I believe their example has been followed by three or four of the other cities. There is no State law upon the subject.
Connected with a tippling-house, on the corner of Washington and Montgomery streets, there is one of the finest billiard-saloons in the United States. It is very large, and magnificently decorated, has twelve tables, and is furnished, I am informed, at a cost of twenty-five thousand dollars. To this place hundreds of infatuated men betake themselves every Sunday; and it is an unusual thing, at any time, to find one of the tables unoccupied. Every day of the week, from breakfast time in the morning till twelve o’clock at night, this saloon, like many others of a like kind, is thronged; but the crowds are particularly large on Sunday, because people have more leisure on that day. Though, in this particular place, they are not allowed to gamble publicly on the Sabbath, they lose and win as much money in the way of secret wagers as they do openly on any other day.
What can we expect but an abuse of the Sabbath, when we take into account the contrariety of characters, tastes, dispositions and religions here huddled together? When we scrutinizesociety, we find that some of its members, the Chinese and other pagans for instance, know nothing at all of our system or division of time, and that they are, therefore, absolutely ignorant of the meaning of the word Sunday. There is no unity of thought, feeling or sentiment here; no oneness of purpose, policy or action. There is no common interest; every man is for himself, and himself alone. Society is composed of elements too varied and dissimilar;—it is a heterogeneous assemblage of rivals and competitors, who know no sympathy, and recognize no principle, save that of personal profit and individual emolument. Nearly all colors and qualities of mankind are congregated here. The great human family is, as it were, sampled and its specimens formed into one society, each communicating to the other his own peculiar habits, and each contending for the same object—the acquisition of gold. It is manifest, therefore, that there can be but little concert or harmony of action. Masquerade balls, cotillion parties and jig dances fill up the list of Sunday diversions. On Pacific street alone, the most notoriously profligate thoroughfare in the city, there are from twelve to fifteen dance-houses, in which the terpsichorean art is practiced every night during the week, but usually with greater zest and animation on Sunday nights. These fandangoes are principally under the superintendence ormanagement of Mexican girls, of whom there is no small number in San Francisco and other cities of the State. Before I ever saw any of the Mexican ladies, I had heard the most glowing descriptions of their ravishing beauty; but I must either discredit the accounts, or else conclude that my ideas of female beauty are very imperfect, for I have never yet beheld one of them who, according to my standard of good looks, was really beautiful. Their pumpkin hues and slovenly deportment could never awaken any admiration in me, even in California.
Bonnets among them are quite unknown. Half the time they go bare-headed through the streets and to church, just as they do about their premises; but most of them have a long, narrow shawl, which is sometimes worn over the head, as well as the shoulders. This shawl is, in fact, an almost indispensable article of apparel, especially with the better classes, who never appear in a public place, whether in winter or summer, without it. They wrap it around their face, head and shoulders so ingeniously that spectators can not obtain a glimpse of any part of their features, save the forehead, eyes and nose; the mouth, chin and cheeks are cautiously concealed. There is a gross lack of consistency among these women. Notwithstanding they engage in the lowest debaucheries throughout the week, they are strict attendants of the Catholic church; anddozens of them may be seen any Sunday on their way to matins, mass or vespers, clad in habiliments of the greatest possible variety. If they can only get one fine, fashionable garment they think it makes amends for the bad material and ill shape of all the others. Nor are they particular to have their whole person clothed at the same time. I don’t think I have ever seen one of them fully attired in my life; something was always wanting. Sometimes they may be seen promenading the streets, robed in the richest silks that were ever woven in Chinese looms, but when you gaze down at their lower extremities you discover them stockingless, their feet thrust into a pair of coarse slippers, which expose to view a pair of rusty heels that look as if no ablution had been performed upon them for at least three moons. The Mexicans, however, in most cases, are fond of aquatic exercises; and they have several bathing establishments in San Francisco, for the accommodation of the public, (at one dollar per head for each bath,) as well as for their own convenience and gratification. Unless I have been misinformed, it is a custom with the proprietors, when a gentleman retires to take his bath, to dispatch a female servant to his room to scour and scrub him off! As I resided near an American bath-house, I always patronized it in preference, and did not acquaint myself with Mexican usages in this respect.
Lately, however, women of pure and lofty characters have emigrated to California, and, since their arrival, there has been a gradual and steady improvement of morals among the people, and the Sabbath is now much better observed than it used to be. Soon after their arrival, schools and churches began to spring up, and social circles were formed; refinement dawned upon a debauched and reckless community, decorum took the place of obscenity; kind and gentle words were heard to fall from the lips of those who before had been accustomed to taint every phrase with an oath; and smiles displayed themselves upon countenances to which they had long been strangers. Woman accomplished all this, and we should be ungrateful reprobates indeed if we did not honor, esteem and love her for it. Had I received no other benefit from my trip to California than the knowledge I have gained, inadequate as it may be, of woman’s many virtues and perfections, I should account myself well repaid; and I thank heaven that I was induced to embark in an enterprise which resulted in such a collateral remuneration. This I am constrained to say, because I fear I should never have had a full appreciation of her merits, had I not witnessed her happy influence in this benighted land. It was only after leaving a home where her constant presence, her soothing and animating society, appeared as a matter ofcourse, and removing to a sphere where she had a better opportunity of displaying her power, that I could estimate her real worth.
“From woman’s eyes this doctrine I derive:They sparkle still the right Promethean fire;They are the books, the arts, the academies,That show, contain, and nourish all the world.O, then,For wisdom’s sake, a word that all men love;Or for love’s sake, a word that loves all men;Or for men’s sake, the authors of these women;Or for women’s sake, by whom we men are men,Let us love women, and ourselves be true,Or else we harm ourselves, and wrong them too.�
“From woman’s eyes this doctrine I derive:They sparkle still the right Promethean fire;They are the books, the arts, the academies,That show, contain, and nourish all the world.O, then,For wisdom’s sake, a word that all men love;Or for love’s sake, a word that loves all men;Or for men’s sake, the authors of these women;Or for women’s sake, by whom we men are men,Let us love women, and ourselves be true,Or else we harm ourselves, and wrong them too.�
“From woman’s eyes this doctrine I derive:They sparkle still the right Promethean fire;They are the books, the arts, the academies,That show, contain, and nourish all the world.
O, then,For wisdom’s sake, a word that all men love;Or for love’s sake, a word that loves all men;Or for men’s sake, the authors of these women;Or for women’s sake, by whom we men are men,Let us love women, and ourselves be true,Or else we harm ourselves, and wrong them too.�
With the generous assistance and co-operation of the gentler sex, the various religious denominations have succeeded in establishing for themselves suitable places of worship in most of the cities and larger towns throughout the State. San Francisco now contains fourteen churches, two of which are Presbyterian, two Congregational, one Unitarian, three Methodist, two Baptist, two Episcopal, and two Roman Catholic. The Swedenborgians, Universalists, Mormons, and sundry minor sects occasionally hold service in public halls; and, if I recollect aright, the Jews have two synagogues. There is also a pagan temple, where the Chinese pay their adorations to Boodh, or to some other imaginary deity, whenever they experience a religious emotion.
Itwas a beautiful Sabbath morning in November, when the bells aroused me from a dreamy sleep; but before arising from my couch, being lazy and inclined to muse, I allowed my fancy to recall my departure from Carolina with all its attendant circumstances. The hour alone would have suggested such meditations, for it was on a dewy morning that I bade farewell to the loved ones of my far-off home. I recalled the yellow lustre of the sun pouring his floods of golden light over the glistening tree-tops; the tender adieus, the streaming eyes, the murmured blessing. I remembered the sadness of my heart as I thought of the distance that would soon separate me from the friends and companions of my youth, and the high hopes which soothed my pain.
As I was thus pondering I heard the sound of drum, fife and clarionet; and stepping to the window to ascertain what was the meaning of this Sunday music echoing through the streets of San Francisco, I saw a tremendous grizzly bear, caged, and drawn by four spirited horsesthrough the various streets. Tacked to each side of the cage were large posters, which read as follows:—
FUN BREWING—GREAT ATTRACTION!HARD FIGHTING TO BE DONE!TWO BULLS AND ONE BEAR!The citizens of San Francisco and vicinity are respectfully informed that atfour o’clock this afternoon, Sunday, Nov. 14th, atMission Dolores, arich treatwill be prepared for them, and that they will have an opportunity of enjoying a fund of theraciest sportof the season.Two large Bulls and a Bear, allin prime condition for fighting, and under the management ofexperienced Mexicans, will contribute to theamusement of the audience.Programme—In two Acts.Act I.BULL AND BEAR—“HERCULESâ€� AND “TROJAN,â€�Will be conducted into the arena, and therechained together, where they will fightuntil one kills the other.Jose Ignacio,}Pico Gomez, } Managers.Act II.The great bull, “Behemoth,â€� will belet loose in the arena, where he will beattacked by two of the most celebrated and expert picadors of Mexico, and finallydispatched after the true Spanish method.Admittance $3—Tickets for sale at the door.Joaquin Vatreto, }Jesus Alvarez, } Managers.
FUN BREWING—GREAT ATTRACTION!
HARD FIGHTING TO BE DONE!
TWO BULLS AND ONE BEAR!
The citizens of San Francisco and vicinity are respectfully informed that atfour o’clock this afternoon, Sunday, Nov. 14th, atMission Dolores, arich treatwill be prepared for them, and that they will have an opportunity of enjoying a fund of theraciest sportof the season.Two large Bulls and a Bear, allin prime condition for fighting, and under the management ofexperienced Mexicans, will contribute to theamusement of the audience.
Programme—In two Acts.
Act I.
BULL AND BEAR—“HERCULESâ€� AND “TROJAN,â€�
Will be conducted into the arena, and therechained together, where they will fightuntil one kills the other.
Jose Ignacio,}Pico Gomez, } Managers.
Act II.
The great bull, “Behemoth,� will belet loose in the arena, where he will beattacked by two of the most celebrated and expert picadors of Mexico, and finallydispatched after the true Spanish method.
Admittance $3—Tickets for sale at the door.
Joaquin Vatreto, }Jesus Alvarez, } Managers.
Mission Dolores, the place where these cruel sports were held, is a small village about two miles south-west of San Francisco, which wasfirst settled by a couple of Roman Catholic priests during the American Revolution. It is contended by some that this was the first settlement effected by white persons in Upper California. The buildings are but one story in height, covered with tiles, and are constructed ofadobeor sun-dried clay. With regard to the general aspect of the place, it is distressingly shabby and gloomy. For scores of years, the inhabitants, who are a queer compound of Spanish and Indian blood, have lived here in poverty, ignorance and inactivity. But I am digressing. What was I to do about the bull-fight? I had never witnessed such an exhibition, and consequently had a great desire to see it. It was Sunday, however, and how could I reconcile the instructions of a pious mother with an inclination so much at variance with the divine command? Well, without entering into any thing like a defence of my determination, suffice it to say that I made up my mind to go, and went. Anxious, however, to moderate or diminish the sin as much as possible, I determined to hear a sermon first, and go to the bull-fight afterwards. For the sake of somewhat condensing the events of the day, I concluded to leave the city immediately, and repair to the Mission, there to attend an antique Catholic church, which has been built nearly three-quarters of a century.
Starting off with this view, I arrived withinhearing of the priests’ voices about the time they began to chant the service, and on entering the rickety old church, much to my gratification, I learned that it was an extraordinary occasion with them, and that a deal of unusual display might be expected. The rite or ceremony of high mass was to be performed. Monks and friars from the monasteries of Mexico were in attendance; and the church was thronged with a large and heterogeneous crowd.
Four o’clock, the hour appointed for the fight between the bear and the bull, having arrived, a few taps by the drummer, and some popular airs played by the other musicians, announced that the amphitheatre, which fronted the church and stood but a few yards from it, was open for the reception of those who desired admission. I made my way to the ticket-office, and handed three dollars to the collector, who placed in my hand a voucher, which gained me access to an eligible seat within the inclosure. I found myself among the first who entered; and as it was some time before the whole audience assembled, I had ample opportunities to scan the characters who composed it, and to examine the arrangement and disposition of things around me.
The seats were very properly elevated so high above the arena that no danger was likely to result from the furious animals; and I suppose five thousand persons could have been convenientlyaccommodated, though only about three-fourths of that number were present. Among the auditory, I noticed many Spanish maids and matrons, who manifested as much enthusiasm and delight in anticipation of what was to follow as the most enthusiastic sportsman on the ground. Crying children, too, in the arms of self-satisfied and admiring mothers, were there, full of noise and mischief, and a nuisance, as they always are, in theatres and churches, to all sober-minded people. Of men, there were all sizes, colors and classes, such as California, and California alone, can bring together. There was but one, however, who attracted my particular attention on this occasion. I had no recollection of having ever seen him before that day. He sat a few feet from me on my left. There was nothing uncommon about his form or features. The expression of his countenance was neither intellectual nor amiable. His acquirements and attainments were doubtless limited, for he demeaned himself rudely, and exhibited but little dignity of manner. It was the strange metamorphosis he had undergone since the morning which won for him my special observation. Only four hours had elapsed since I saw him officiating at the altar and feasting upon a substance which he believed to be the actual flesh and blood of Jesus Christ, who died more than eighteen hundred years ago! In the forenoon of the Lord’s day, he took upon himself the character of God’s vicegerent, invested himself with sacerdotal robes, assumed a sanctified visage, and discharged the sacred duties of his office. In the afternoon of the same Sabbath, he doffed his holy orders, sanctioned merciless diversions, mingled on terms of equality with gamblers and desperados, and held himself in readiness to exclaim Bravo! at the finale of a bull-fight.
By this time the whooping, shouting and stamping of the spectators attested that they were eager and restless to behold the brutal combat; and an overture by a full brass band, which had been chartered for the occasion, gave them assurance that their wishes would soon be complied with. The music ceased; the trap-door of the bull’s cage was raised, and “Hercules,â€� huge, brawny and wild, leaped into the centre of the inclosed arena, shaking his head, switching his tail, and surveying the audience with a savage stare that would have intimidated the stoutest hearts, had he not been strongly barred below them. His eyes glistened with defiance, and he seemed to crave nothing so much as an enemy upon which he might wreak his vengeance. He contorted his body, lashed his back, snuffed, snorted, pawed, bellowed, and otherwise behaved so frantically, that I was fearful he could not contain himself until his antagonist was prepared. Just then, two picadors—Mexicans on horseback—entered the arena, with lassos in hand. Tauruswelcomed them with an attitude of attack, and was about to rush upon one of their horses with the force of a battering-ram, when, with most commendable dexterity, the picador who was farthest off lassoed him by the horns, and foiled him in his mad design. As quick as thought, the horseman from whom the bull’s attention had been diverted, threw his lasso around his horns also; and in this way they brought him to a stand midway between them. A third person, a footman, now ran in, and seizing his tail, twisted it until he fell flat on his side; when, by the help of an additional assistant, the end of a long log-chain was fastened to his right hind-leg. In this prostrated condition he was kept until the other end of the chain was secured to the left fore-leg of the bear, as we shall now describe.
Running a pair of large clasping-tongs under Bruin’s trap-door, which was lifted just enough for the purpose, they grasped his foot, pulled it out, and held it firmly, while one of the party bound the opposite end of the chain fast to his leg with thongs. This done, they hoisted the trap-door sufficiently high to admit of his egress, when out stalked “Trojan,â€� apparently too proud and disdainful to vouchsafe a glance upon surrounding objects. He was a stalwart, lusty-looking animal, the largest grizzly bear I had ever seen, weighing full fourteen hundred pounds.It was said that he was an adept in conflicts of this nature, as he then enjoyed the honorable reputation of having delivered three bulls from the vicissitudes of this life. It is probable, however, that his previous victories had flushed and inspired him with an unwarrantable degree of confidence; for he seemed to regard the bull more as a thing to be despised than as an equal or dangerous rival. Though he gave vent to a few ferocious growls, it was evident that he felt more inclination to resist an attack than to make one. With the bull, the case was very different; he was of a pugnacious disposition, and had become feverish for a foe. Now he had one. An adversary of gigantic proportions and great prowess stood before him; and as soon as he spied him, he moved backward, the entire length of the chain, which jerked the bear’s foot and made him rend the air with a most fearful howl, that served but the more to incense the bull. Shaking his head maliciously, casting it down, and throwing up his tail, he plunged at the bear with a force and fury that were irresistible. The collision was terrible, completely overthrowing his ponderous enemy and laying him flat on his back. Both were injured, but neither was conquered; both mutually recoiled to prepare again to strike for victory. With eyes gleaming with fire, and full of resolution, the bull strode proudly over his prostrate enemy, and placed himself inposition to make a second attack. But now the bear was prepared to receive him; he had recovered his feet wild with rage, and he then appeared to beckon to the bull to meet him without delay. The bull needed no challenge; he was, if possible, more impetuous than the bear, and did not lose any more time than it required to measure the length of the chain. Again, with unabated fierceness, he darted at the bear, and, as before, struck him with an impetus that seemed to have been borrowed from Jove’s own thunderbolt; as he came in contact with the bear, that amiable animal grappled him by the neck, and squeezed him so hard that he could scarcely save himself from suffocation. The bull now found himself in a decidedly uncomfortable situation; the bear had him as he wanted him. Powerful as he was, he could not break loose from Bruin. A vice could not have held him more firmly. The strong arms of the bear hugged him in a ruthless and desperate embrace. It was a stirring sight to see these infuriated and muscular antagonists struggling to take each other’s life. It was enough to make a heathen generalissimo shudder to look at them. How ought it to have been, then, with enlightened civilians? This question I shall not answer; it was easy enough to see how it was with the Spanish ladies—they laughed, cheered, encored, clapped their hands, waved their handkerchiefs, and made every othersign which was characteristic of pleasure and delight. The contending brutes still strove together. Hercules quaked under the torturing hugs of Trojan. Trojan howled under the violent and painful perforations of Hercules. But the bear did not rely alone upon the efficacy of his arms; his massive jaws and formidable teeth were brought into service, and with them he inflicted deep wounds in his rival’s flesh. He seized the bull between the ears and nostrils, and crushed the bones with such force that we could distinctly hear them crack! Nor were the stunning butts of the bull his only means of defence; his horns had been sharpened expressly for the occasion, and with these he lacerated the bear most frightfully. It was a mighty contest—a desperate struggle for victory!
Finally, however, fatigued, exhausted, writhing with pain and weltering in sweat and gore, they waived the quarrel and separated, as if by mutual consent. Neither was subdued; yet both felt a desire to suspend, for a time at least, all further hostilities. The bull, now exhausted and panting, cast a pacific glance towards the bear, and seemed to sue for an armistice; the bear, bleeding and languid after his furious contest, raised his eyes to the bull, and seemed to assent to the proposition. But, alas! man, cruel man, more brutal than the brutes themselves, would not permit them to carry out their pacific intentions. The two attendants or managers, Ignacio and Gomez, stepped up behind them, goading them with spears till they again rushed upon each other, and fought with renewed desperation. During this scuffle, the bull shattered the lower jaw of the bear, and we could see the shivered bones dangling from their bloody recesses! Oh, heaven! what a horrible sight. How the blood curdled in my veins. Pish! what a timid fellow I am, to allow myself to be agitated by such a trifle as this! Shall I tremble at what the ladies applaud? Forbid it, Mars! I’ll be as spirited as they. But, to wind up this part of our story, neither the bear nor the bull could stand any longer—their limbs refused to support their bodies; they had worried and lacerated each other so much that their strength had completely failed, and they dropped upon the earth, gasping as if in the last agony. While in this helpless condition the chain was removed from their feet, horses were hitched to them, and they were dragged without the arena, there to end their miseries in death.
The second act of the afternoon’s entertainment was now to be performed. It would be unnecessary, and painful to the feelings of sensitive readers, to dwell long upon this murderous sport. It was a mere repetition, in another form, of the disgusting horrors of that which preceded it. Fully satiated with the barbarities I hadalready witnessed, I am not sure that I should have staid to see any more, had it not been for the peculiar sensations which the cognomen of one of the actors awakened within me. By reference to the advertisement, it will be perceived that the two managers of this part of the proceedings were Joaquin Vatreto and Jesus Alvarez. The latter name sounded strangely in my ears. It occurred to me that it was peculiarly out of place in its present connection. What! Jesus at a bull-fight on Sunday, and not only at it, but one of the prime movers and abettors in it!
But now to the fight. All things being ready, the great bull, Behemoth, was freed from restraint, and sprang with frantic bounds into the midst of the arena. He bore a suitable appellation, for he was a monster in size and formidable in courage. Two picadors, Joaquin Vatreto and Jesus Alvarez, mounted on fiery steeds, with swords in hand, now entered and confronted him. Behemoth looked upon this sudden invasion as an intolerable insult. His territory was already too limited for so powerful a monarch as he considered himself, and he could not think of dividing it with others. The sight of these unceremonious intruders inflamed him with such rancor that he could no longer restrain himself; but lowering his head and tossing his tail aloft, he rushed furiously at them. They evaded hischarge. The horses were well trained, and seemed to enjoy the sport, and to pride themselves upon their adroit manœuvres. But both they and their riders had enough to do to evade the fury of the enraged brute. Each successive bout became more animated and fierce. The foiling of the bull’s purposes only exasperated him the more. There was not room enough in his capacious body to contain his effervescing wrath. The foam which he spurted from his mouth and nose fell upon the earth like enormous flakes of snow. Faster and faster, and with truer aim, he charged his foes. At last one of the horses, in attempting to wheel or turn suddenly round, stumbled, and the bull, taking advantage of the event, gored him so desperately in the abdomen that a part of his entrails protruded from the wounds and trailed almost upon the ground! This was truly a distressing scene. I could have wept for the poor, innocent charger, but in this case tears were of no avail.
One of the picadors now alighted, and engaged the attention of the bull, while the other led the two horses outside the inclosure. When this was done, a man on foot, called a matador, dressed in close-fitting, fantastic garments, with a heavy sword in his right hand, and a small red flag in his left, entered the arena and bowed first to the bull and then to the audience. It was now a matter of life and death between thebull and the matador. One or the other, or both, must die. If the bull did not kill the man, the man would kill the bull; if the man killed the bull, the man was to live, but if the bull killed the man, the bull was to die; so that death was sure to overtake the bull in any event. The action commenced, and waxed hotter and hotter every moment, and it was only by uncommon skill and agility that the matador could shun the frenzied charges of the bull. Had it not been for the flag which he carried in his hand, and which enabled him to deceive his antagonist by seeming to hold it directly before him, when in reality he inclined it to the right or to the left, as his safety dictated, the bull would unquestionably have dashed his brains out, thrown him over his head, or gored him to death. Nothing could have irritated or vexed the bull more than did the sight of this red flag, and he made all his assaults upon it, supposing, no doubt, that he would strike the mischief behind it, but the agile matador always took special care to spring aside and save himself from the deadly stroke. After tormenting, teasing and chafing him for about a quarter of an hour in this way, six keen javelins or darts, with miniature flags attached, were handed to the matador, who ventured to face the bull, and never quit him until he had planted them all in his shoulders, three in each. Stung to madness, theanimal reared, rolled and plunged in the most frightful manner. Soon, however, he was on his feet again, pursuing his persecutor with renewed zeal.
The fates, however, were against him. He could not comprehend, and consequently could not foil the crafty designs of his adversary, who completely deceived him with the flag. Night was now coming on, and it being time to close the performance, the matador, placing himself in a pompous attitude near the south side of the arena, challenged Behemoth to the last and decisive engagement by waving the flag briskly before him. The bull, exasperated beyond description, needed no additional incentive to urge him to meet the enemy. With a force apparently equal to that of a rhinoceros, and with the celerity of a reindeer, he rushed at the matador, who, stepping just sufficiently to the left to avoid him, thrust the sword into his breast up to the hilt. The matador, leaving this sword buried in the bull’s body, now laid hold of another, which was on hand for the purpose, and stabbed him three times in a more vital part, when down he fell at his victor’s feet, dead. Then jumping upon the carcass of his slain rival, the matador brandished his sword, doffed his hat, bowed his compliments, and retired, amid the deafening plaudits of a wolfish audience.
Sacramentois situated on the river and in the heart of the valley of the same name, about one hundred miles north-east of San Francisco. It is the second city in the State in size, population and commerce, and contains from eight to ten thousand inhabitants—being nearly one fourth as large as San Francisco. It bears to San Francisco much the same relation that Columbia does to Charleston, or Albany to New York. From two to six steamboats daily ply between the two cities, conveying passengers and merchandise; and a vast deal of heavy freight is shipped in sailing vessels, which usually make the outward and return trip in a little over a week. The banks of the river are very low, and the current moves sluggishly towards the ocean. Flood-tide ascends almost as high as this place. The country, for twenty-five miles on either side of the river, is an unbroken plain, level as a floor, and would be invaluable for agricultural purposes were it not for the great freshets of the winter and spring, and the incessant drought of the summer and fall—two serious disadvantagesto the farmer. Sometimes the whole valley is completely overflowed and remains under water for two or three consecutive months, on which occasions it presents the appearance of a vast lake. Many new immigrants, who are ignorant of the freaks of California seasons, arriving here in the summer, settle in this valley, and thank their stars that they were guided to an unclaimed plat of so much promise. But when winter comes and the windows of heaven are opened, and the river rises, and the cattle are drowned and the houses swept off, and they themselves compelled to fly to the upland to save their lives, they begin to discover the gloomy fact that they have been caught in a snare.
The site of the city, so smooth and flat, would be one of the most beautiful in the world, but for the lack of sufficient elevation. For the first two or three years after its settlement the inhabitants did nothing to protect it from the floods, but afterwards, becoming tired of navigating the streets in scows and skiffs, and willing to retain some of their goods and chattels about their premises, they built a temporary levee, which has since kept them tolerably dry. It is laid out with the most perfect regularity; its blocks and streets being as uniform and methodical as the squares of a chess-board. Those streets which run from north to south have alphabetical names, beginning with A, and ending with Z. Only four of them, I, J, K and L, are popular; the others command no business whatever, and but very few dwellings are situated on them. The cross-streets, or those which run from east to west, are designated arithmetically, commencing with 1st and continuing on in regular succession. Beyond 7th street, however, there are no buildings of any importance.
At present the legislature meets in this place; but as that august body is possessed of a remarkably roving disposition, having held its sessions at four different places within the last four years, at an extra expense to the State of nearly two hundred thousand dollars, it is yet uncertain whether this will be determined upon as the permanent capital. There is no capitol or state-house, nor is it likely that California will ever be able to build one while its finances are so recklessly managed. The receipts and expenditures of the State have, from the organization of its government to the present time, been intrusted to men who, to say nothing of their dishonesty, were as ignorant of the uses of money as a prodigal minor. Consequently they have entailed a public debt upon the people of more than three millions of dollars without effecting any general improvements excepting a marine hospital. This distinguished body, which now holds its deliberations in the court-house, contains some of the most precious scamps that ever paid devotion tothe god of pelf; and, were it not that I have no wish to deal in personalities, I could here mention names which are notoriously infamous all over the Atlantic States. Are such men capable of devising measures for the public weal, or fit to enact laws for the commonwealth? Whether fit or unfit, they are about the only class of persons who are intrusted with the functions of legislation in this abominable land of concentrated rascality. The people of California, as a general thing, would as soon elect an honest, upright man to office, as Italian banditti would choose a moralist for their captain. No one here can be successful unless he assimilates himself to the people; he must carouse with villains, attend Sunday horse-races and bull-fights, and adapt himself to every species of depravity and dissipation.
Thus must a man discipline himself before he can receive the support and patronage of the public. It matters not what his occupation may be, whether merchant, mechanic, lawyer or doctor, he is sure to be ostracized, if he stands aloof from the vices and follies of the populace. Of course there are a few exceptions. Some men, thank heaven, have an innate abhorrence of every thing that savors of meanness or vulgarity, and they have nerve enough to cling to their principles at all times and in all places. No earthly power, even if backed by reinforcements from theinfernal regions, could make them swerve from their fidelity to truth and justice. They have clearly defined ideas of right and wrong, and regulate their lives and conduct accordingly. They understand their duty, and endeavor to perform it. They see the evils of society, condemn and eschew them. There are a few such men in California, but they are discountenanced, neglected, sneered at, and flouted with opprobrious epithets. They are in bad odor; the majority is against them. The scoundrels are in power, and they have wrecked the country. To-day the State is lawless, penniless and powerless. Such is the effect of the union of two bad things—a bad people and a bad country. It was necessary in the first place, to give even a passable character to the State, that the administration of affairs should have been committed to men of pre-eminent sagacity; but instead of pursuing this policy, the common interests have been confided to political charlatans, whose actions in every instance have been detrimental to the interests of the country. As a poor client suffers in the hands of a pettifogger, or as a patient laboring under an obscure and dangerous disease, sinks under the treatment of a quack, so has this poor, sick California suffered and sunk through the agency of her knavish managers.
Leaving these wire-pulling senators and hireling assemblymen, let us take a short strollthrough one or two of the principal streets. We shall not observe any thing either curious or commendable in the styles of architecture. The houses are low, rarely exceeding two stories in height, and are built mostly of wood in the very cheapest manner. All the lumber used in their construction was brought from Oregon, first to San Francisco, and thence reshipped to this place. Here and there stands a plain but uncommonly stout and substantial brick store. I have never seen any buildings in the Atlantic States equal, in durability and security against fire, to the brick structures in California. They must build them so, for reasons heretofore given. Stone is not used at all; there is none in the vicinity.
As we wend our way through the town, we pass dozens of miserable, filthy little hotels, in any of which we can procure a bad meal for a dollar. A palatable dinner in one of the more respectable hotels will cost us twice that amount. We shall be considerably amused at the queer and unique canvas signs nailed over the doors of some of the dirty little huts and shanties around us. One of the taverns announces that it has “Tip-top Accommodations for Man and Beast;� at another we can find “Good Fare, and Plenty of it;� a third promises “Rest for the Weary and Storage for Trunks;� a fourth invites us to “Come in the Inn, and take a Bite;� a fifth informs us that “Eating is done here;� a sixth assures us that “We have Rich Viands and Mellow Drinks;� while a seventh admonishes us to “Replenish the Stomach in our House.� A bar, at which all kinds of liquors, raw and mixed, pure and sophisticated, are dealt out, is attached to each of these establishments; and it is generally a greater source of profit to the proprietor than the table. Small straw cots, with coarse blankets, which have never been submitted to any cleansing process, are provided for the guests to sleep on; and when they retire, they seldom remove any of their clothes, except their coats, and sometimes not even those. In the morning, when they rise to perform their ablutions, a single wash-pan answers for all, and one towel, redolent of a week’s wiping, serves every guest.
More than two-thirds of the population of the northern part of the State lay in their supplies of provisions, clothing and mining implements at this place; and we shall notice several teams and pack-trains in the streets, loading and preparing to start on their journey. Mules and oxen are chiefly used, though for hauling short distances over good roads horses are employed. Some of the more remote mining districts, say two hundred miles from this place, are so rugged and mountainous that it is impossible to reach them with wagons or other vehicles, and theonly means of transporting merchandise is upon the backs of mules. These hybrids, unamiable as is their appearance, are truly valuable for this purpose; they carry ponderous burdens, walk with ease upon the brink of a precipice, and can be kept in good serviceable condition by provender on which a horse would starve. After making a few trips they become very tractable, and it requires only four or five men to manage fifty or sixty of them. The packers have but little trouble with them, after strapping the loads on their backs and starting them off. They do not go abreast, but each follows closely behind another, Indian fashion; and they will travel patiently in this way from morning till night, rarely ever attempting a stampede.
Between the petty merchants who sell goods to those teamsters and muleteers, there is great rivalry and competition. I call them petty merchants because there are so many more of them than the business justifies or demands, that each one secures but a small share of the custom; and they have to resort to the most contemptible devices to pay current expenses. Indeed I do not believe half of them earn their support. The reader may think this strange, and wonder why men continue in an occupation which does not yield them a maintenance. They do not continue in it; their losses soon compel them to leave; but the departure of one victim only opens the way forthe arrival of another. Their stands are immediately occupied by novices who, after the lapse of a few months, sink under the same fate that overwhelmed their luckless predecessors. Such is the routine of affairs all over the State. I have never known the time here when business was not clogged with double the number of traders it required. Ever since San Francisco and Sacramento were founded they have been overwhelmed with merchants, and this has been the case with every other city and town of any note throughout the State. In commercial circles you hear continual complaints of the dullness of the times. The merchants are always grumbling because they have nothing to do, and wondering when their business will improve. They live on the airy diet of hope; their good time is ever dancing before them, but never waits for them. It entices them on and then eludes them,—they reach after gold and find dross.
One reason why there is such an excess of business men, is, because American and European strangers, who have been led into the mistaken opinion that trading is profitable in California, are continually arriving with heavy stocks of goods, and opening new shops or going into the old ones, just vacated by those who could no longer sustain themselves under the pressure of the times. In this way the humbug is eternally nourished. As soon as one simpleton sacrificeshis effects and retires, “a sadder and a wiser man,â€� another fool steps in and takes his place. Question the New York, Baltimore and Boston shippers concerning the result of their ventures, and they will tell a doleful story. Ask the Liverpool, Bordeaux and Hamburg consignors to show the account sales of their factors, and they will anathematize the inquirer and California in the same breath. Now and then, it is true, when the markets are low, as they sometimes are, a shipment turns out lucrative beyond anticipation; but when such a thing occurs it is a mere matter of chance, and one gainful shipment occasions scores of unprofitable ones. Dependent as the State is upon importations for all that she consumes or requires for use, it must be expected that the markets will be very fluctuating and changeable,—at any rate, it is so. The price of any article does not remain the same two weeks at a time. There is almost always a superfluity of merchandise in market; the supply is generally double the demand, and many things are sold at less than prime cost. Yet, by the time this merchandise falls into the hands of the actual consumer, it usually costs him from one to four hundred per cent. more than he would have to pay for it in the Atlantic States. The consignee will probably sell it to a speculator—the speculator to a wholesale merchant—the wholesale merchant to a jobber—the jobber to a retailer—the retailer to a muleteer, and the muleteer to the final purchaser or consumer. Or the importer may sell it to the city grocer, whose onerous rent makes it necessary for him to re-sell at an extraordinary advance on invoice rates to defray expenses. Thus the charges accruing on it, after its arrival, render it very costly.
I might cite instances of the perfidy and dishonesty of California merchants; but it would be like taking an inventory of the exact number of blades of grass in a meadow in order to get at the weeds by subtraction,—it would be easier to reverse the task. It would require less time to tell of those who have been true to their trusts. I know one man in San Francisco who received a consignment of nearly twelve thousand dollars worth of merchandise from his brother in New York. He placed it in an auction house—had it sold for what it would bring—appropriated the proceeds to his own use, and wrote back to his brother that all the goods had been destroyed by fire. His brother heard of his unfaithfulness, came on to San Francisco and reasoned with him; but could neither bring him to terms nor find law that would compel the performance of a common obligation. The defrauded brother returned home without recovering a cent of his dues. Another New Yorker consigned twenty thousand dollars worth of merchandise to two different commission houses (ten thousand toeach,) with limited instructions—that is, not to sell for less than a certain sum. The factors received the goods, hurried them through the market, put the funds in their pockets, and wrote to the consignor, informing him that his ventures had been consumed by fire, and sympathizing with him in his losses! Before long, however, the shipper was made acquainted with the villainy of his agents, and applied to the courts for redress; but this was only employing a rogue to catch a rouge. After a deal of expense and delay, the case was dismissed. A whole cargo of wares and merchandise, valued at a trifle less than three hundred thousand dollars, was intrusted to another man, who disposed of it and absconded with the money.
But why detail these swindling transactions? Volumes upon volumes might be filled with accounts of the crimes and short-comings of this wretched country; but their perusal would only be productive of abhorrence and disgust. If, reader, you would know California, you must go live there. It is impossible for me to give, or for you to receive a correct impression of it on paper,—like Thomas, the unbelieving disciple, you mustseeandfeelbefore you can be convinced.
On the night of the 2d of November, 1852, Sacramento was almost entirely destroyed by fire. Twenty-two hundred buildings, with other property, valued at ten millions of dollars, were completely reduced to ashes. The wind was blowing very hard at the time the fire commenced, and the roaring of the flames, the rapidity with which they spread, the explosions of gunpowder, as house after house was blown up, formed a scene rarely excelled in terrific grandeur. Men, women and children ran to and fro in the greatest confusion, excited almost to frenzy, in the effort to save their lives and effects. Within six hours after the fire first broke out, more than nine-tenths of the city were swept into oblivion, and the people were left to sleep on the naked earth without any shelter but the clothing they had on. Happening, too, just at the commencement of the rainy season, this conflagration was peculiarly disastrous, as thousands were deprived not only of shelter, but also of the means of securing a comfortable living. Provisions at the time were scarcer than I ever knew them before, or have known them since; and the extraordinarily high prices which they commanded almost precluded the poorer classes from buying or using them at all. Flour sold at forty-two dollars per barrel, pork at fifty-five, and other eatables in about the same ratio. Farther in the interior the times were still harder. In some of the distant mining localities flour and pork sold as high as three dollars per pound—equal to five hundred and eighty-eight dollars per barrel; and could not be had in sufficient quantities even at these rates.Many then suffered the pangs of insatiable hunger; and I have seen children crying to their parents for bread, when there was none to give them.
A California conflagration is a scene of the most awful grandeur that the mind is capable of conceiving. When fire is once communicated to the buildings, especially if it be in the dry season, when the winds rage and every thing is crisped by the sun, it does not smoulder, but blazing high in the air, and spreading far and wide, it consumes every thing within its reach, and leaves nothing behind but cinders and desolation. No one of the present day, out of California, has ever seen such pyramids of flame. One of the most beautiful sights I ever beheld was during a large fire in San Francisco. It was a moonless night, and there was nothing visible in the dark concave of heaven, save a few twinkling stars. Others were concealed by the detached masses of floating vapor which obscured them. Soon after the conflagration commenced, the brilliant illumination attracted large flocks of brant from the neighboring marshes; and as they flew hither and thither, high over the flaming element, they shone and glistened as if they had been winged balls of fire darting through the air. Had their plumage been burnished gold, they could not have been more radiant.
Before taking our final leave of Sacramento,we must not fail to get a glimpse of the Three Cent Philosopher, a Mormon polygamist, who figures conspicuously in this city as an extortionate usurer. He was born in the State of New York, near the hallowed spot where Jo Smith received his apostolic diploma. The Three Cent Philosopher does not carry so small a purse as his common appellation might seem to indicate; he is the wealthiest man in the place, and is as tenacious of his property as of his life. It is supposed that he is worth very near half a million of dollars. Though he believes in polygamy, and practices it, yet he never lives with more than one spouse at a time; to have them all around him at once would be too expensive.
When his wife goes out shopping he gives her fifty cents, and if she happens to bring back one-tenth of the amount, he takes it from her and locks it up in his safe. When he travels on a steamboat he always takes deck passage, and carries food in his pockets to avoid the extra expense of dining at the table. While passing through the streets he keeps a vigilant lookout for stray nails, old horse-shoes, pieces of bagging and other refuse, which he picks up, lugs home and deposits in his repository of odds and ends. Instead of chairs, he sits on stools and boxes of his own make; and, in place of coffee, he drinks parched barley tea or watered milk. His disposition is quite as sweet as wormwood, and hishousehold is usually a scene of as much calm and domestic bliss as a family of tomcats. He is in the habit of bickering with his family at least once every day, and when he does so he rouses the whole neighborhood with the noise of his oaths and imprecations. In all probability he is a lineal descendant of Ishmael, the son of Hagar, for his hand is against every man and every man’s hand is against him. He is at enmity with all the world and is despised by every body. If his neighbor looks at him, he curses him, and if an acquaintance says good-morning to him, he tells him to go to h—ll. He has never been known to entertain a charitable thought towards his fellow-men, nor to speak a good word concerning his nearest relations. To sum up all, he is the extract of ill-breeding, the essence of vulgarity, and the quintessence of meanness.