jxtenti,nnibraarp
OF THE
/bCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERS.
J),DDRESS
BY HON. JOHN W. DWINELLE.
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.:
PRINTED BY STERETT & CUBERY, 533 CLAY STREET, NEAR LEIDESDORFF.
Am K~n~;L —----— ~- wrsr1866.s








DD ESS
ON THE
ACQUISITION OF CALIFORNIA
BY THE UNITED STATES.
Ieiftereb beote
THE CORPORATE SOCIETY OF CALIFORNIA PIONEERS,
AT
THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC, IN THE CITY OF SAN FRANCISCO, ON
SEPTEMBER 10th, 1866, ON OCCASION OF THE
OF THE ADMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA INTO THE FEfDERAL
UNION.
BY JOHN W. DWINELLE,
A MEMBRM  OF THAT SOCIETY.
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.:
PRINTED BY STERETT & CUBERY, 533 CLAY STREET, NEAR LEIDESDORFF.
1866.








SIXTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE STATE.
PIONEER CELEBRATION.
THE 10th of September was celebrated by the SOCIETY OF
CALIFORNIA PIONEERS as the sixteenth anniversary of the
admission of California into the American Union.
At two o'clock p. m. the members assembled at the Hall,
and formed in procession.  At the head was the Second
Artillery Band. After them came Vice-President Barstow
(acting as President), ex-Presidents S. R. Harris, Alexander
G. Abell, O. P. Sutton and P. B. Cornwall.
Among the invited guests were Governor Low, ex-Governor
Lyon (of Idaho), General Halleck, Justice S. J. Field, and
Admiral Thatcher.
The Pioneers of the red badge, who arrived in California
before 1849, came next.  These numbered about a score.
The Pioneers of the white badge, who came after 1848, numbered about two hundred.
The procession, marshalled by Charles R. Bond, Esq.,
marched through Montgomery street to Market, through




4               PIONEER CELEBRATION.
Market to Sansome, through Sansome to Pine, and through
Pine to the Academy of Music.
The officers and ex-Presidents, ex-Vice-Presidents, invited
guests, and Pioneers of the red badge, the Orator and Chaplain, occupied the stage; the Pioneers of the White badge
occupied the parquet, and a large audience were seated in
the dress-circle and galleries. The ceremonies began with a
prayer by the Chaplain, Rev. Albert Williams, followed by
the address, by Hon. J. W. Dwinelle.




ADDRESS.
MR. PRESIDENT AND BROTHER PIONEERS:
It has been suggested to me by the Committee through
whose hands I received your invitation to address you at this
time, that I should give a historical character to my remarks.
I was glad to receive this intimation, for it accorded perfectly
with my own desire. The great events of history, when not
sufficiently remote to be counted by centuries, are commonly
reckoned by decades, or periods of ten years. We are met on
the occasion of the Sixteenth Anniversary of the admission of
California into the Federal Union of the United States. But,
presuming upon your assent, I shall dedicate a portion of
these exercises to the celebration of two other historical
events of signal interest and importance, namely: The conquest of California by the United States, which took place
twenty years ago, on the 7th day of July, A. D. 1846, and the
foundation of San Francisco, which was consummated ninety
years ago, on the 17th day of September, A. D. 1776. Two
decades have therefore elapsed since California has become
Anglo-American, and nine decades since San Francisco was
inscribed upon the map of political Geography. It will therefore be peculiarly interesting on this occasion, to cast a retrospective glance into history, and to inquire how it has
come to pass that we are here, and by what title we claim to
possess this fair California of ours.
IGNORANCE OF EARLY GEOGRAPHERS.
It was only by accident, after all, that Columbus discovered the vast region of continents and islands which are now




6    IGNORANCE OF EARLY GEOGRAPHERS RESPECTING
called America. He was not in quest of new continents, nor
of the golden-fruited gardens of the Hesperides. Believing,
from inductive reasoning, that the earth was round, but with
very imperfect notions of its magnitude, he was firmly persuaded that by sailing in a westerly direction from the coast
of Spain, he would in due time arrive on the coast of China,
which was then classed as a portion of the Indies; and when
he discovered the first American Islands, believing that he
had already reached the Indies, he gave to the natives the
name of Indians, which inaccurate classification they have
ever since retained. Looking over the books and maps of the
old geographers, it is curious and wonderful to observe how
much they did know, and how much they did not know of the
geography of the northwestern coast of America, for more
than two hundred years after the discoveries made by
Columbus.  Although Cortez, when he fell into that inevitable disgrace with which the kings of Spain have always rewarded their greatest benefactors, sent out various expeditions from Mexico for the exploration of the northwestern
coast, and even accompanied some of them as far as La Paz
in Lower California, and although the viceroys who succeeded
him sent out various expeditions within fifty years after the
conquest of Mexico, both by sea and by land, which must
have penetrated as far north as the 42d degree of latitude,
yet the physical geography of that region remained in the
most mythical condition, and the very existence of the Bay of
San Francisco was contested as fabulous by the Spanish Viceroys of New Spain less than a hundred years ago. There is
in the possession of the Odd Fellows' Library of this city an
engraved map of the w rld, published at Venice in the year
1546, which is remarkasle for its general accuracy, and for
the beauty of its execution; but on this map, at the latitude
of San Francisco, the American continent is represented as
sweeping around in a large circle, and forming a junction
with that of Asia; while the Colorado, the largest river in
the world, rising in the mountains of Thibet, and meandering
through a course of 15,000 or 20,000 miles, pours its vast volume of waters into the Gulf of California. In the year 1588,




THE NORTHWESTERN COAST OF AMERICA.
a Spanish Captain of Marine, named Lorenzo Ferrer Maldonado, published an account of a voyage which he pretended
to have made from the Atlantic Ocean through the Northern
Sea to the Pacific, and thence to China, giving all, its geographical details and personal incidents. This apocryphal
voyage proved a delusion and a stumbling block to historians
and voyagers for more than two hundred years; and it was not
until the year 1791, that two Spanish frigates, sent out for that
purpose by authority of the King of Spain, by a thorough
exploration of the extreme northwestern coast, established
the fact that a passage through the North Sea did not exist,
and that the pretensions of Maldonado were utterly false. It
is only within a comparatively recent period that the fact has
been generally received in modern geography, that California
was connected with the main continent, and was not an island.
In Ogilvie's "America, being the latest and most accurate
account of the New World," a most elegant and luxurious
folio, published in London in the year 1671, California is laid
down as an island, extending from Cape St. Lucas, in the
Tropic of Cancer, to the 45th degree of latitude, and including the famous New Albion of Sir Francis Drake. The same
map is reproduced by Captain Shelvocke, of the Royal Navy,
in his account of his " Voyage Around the World by way qf the
South Sea," in his Majesty's ship of war, published in London
in 1726; and in a geographical work published in London in
the same year, by " Daniel Coxe, Esq.," an account is given of
" a new and curious discovery and relation betwixt the River
Meschachebe (Mississippi) and the South Sea, which separates
America from China, by means of several large rivers and
lakes, with a description of the coast of the said sea to the
Straits of Uries, as also of a rich and considerable trade to be
carried on from thence to Japan, China and Tartary." I cannot
ascertain that California was relieved of its insular character
among geographers until the publication of a map by Father
Begert, a Missionary of the Society of Jesus, in an account of
Lower California which he printed at Manheim in the year
1771, on his return to Germany after his order had been expelled, in 1769, by order of the King of Spain, from the Mis



8              OUR TITLE TO CALIFORNIA.
sions which they had successfully established among the
Indians of Lower California.  Even after it was admitted
that California was not an island, but a part of the main land,
the most indefinite notions prevailed as to the extent to which
the Gulf of California penetrated towards the north; and to
the very last of the Spanish and Mexican dominion, when any
specific description was given to California in official documents, it was spoken of as a peninsula.
OUR TITLE TO CALIFORNIA.
If a Californian of ordinary historical intelligence were
asked by what legal title we assume to possess this country,
after following the chain through Mexico to Spain, he would
probably pause for want of further specific information, or, at
the most, suggest that Spain derived her title to California
through the right of first discovery. If he were told that all the
rights of Spain, and our rights through her to this land were
derived entirely from a grant made to Spain by the Pope, he
would undoubtedly be greatly surprised; yet such is the historical fact.  Previous to the discovery of America by
Columbus, in 1492, the Portuguese had discovered the Azore
Islands, in longitude 31 W., and on the strength of that discovery claimed that the countries discovered by Columbus belonged to the crown of Portugal, and that the Spaniards should
be wholly excluded from them. But the Spaniards refused to
admit this pretension, and referred the matter for decision to
the then Pope, Alexander VI. It was then a part of the law
of nations, and of the public law of the world, that the Pope
was the ultimate source of all temporal power; that he could
make and unmake kings, and dispose of all the kingdoms of
the earth —powers which he frequently exercised, and against
which it were vain to contend. He was therefore, by general
consent, the acknowledged source of all lawful title to land.
He assumed to decide the case thus referred to his decision,
and on May 3d, A. D. 1493, determined the matter in dispute
between the crowns of Portugal and Spain, by drawing an
imaginary line of longitude one hundred leagues west of the
Azores, and granting to the Spanish monarchs all countries




OUR POSITION HERE NOT AN ACCIDENTAL ONE.       9
inhabited by infidels, which they had already discovered, or
might afterwards discover, lying to the west, and to the
crown of Portugal all those lying to the east of that line.
This line was afterwards removed two hundred and seventy
leagues further to the west, by a treaty subsequently made in
the year 1494, between the Kings of Portugal and Spain; but
so thoroughly was the title thus conceded by the Pope respected by the civilized world, that when Henry VII, of
England, was afterwards about to intrude upon some of the
dominions thus granted to Spain, he abandoned his project on
being warned by the Pope to desist. Our title to California
is therefore deduced from the grant by the Pope to Spain,
from Spain by revolution to Mexico, from Mexico by conquest
and treaty to the United States, and from the United States,
by the operation of various grants and political acts, to the
State and people of California.
At the time when this partition was thus made by the Pope
between the crowns of Spain and Portugal, the earth was
supposed to consist of a large plain, even although Columbus
had been prompted to his discoveries from his inference tiat
the earth was a sphere, because in eclipses it cast a circular
shadow upon the disc of the moon. It was not until the voyage of Magellan, concluded in the year 1521, by which they
reached the Spice Islands of Portugal, in the East Indies, by
sailing westward from Spain, that it was proved by actual
demonstration that the earth was round, and the world learned
that neither our spiritual teachers, nor even the scriptures
themselves, were given to us to teach us lessons in geography.
OUR POSITION HERE NOT AN ACCIDENTAL ONE.
Our position, as possessors of this land of realized promise
and of future hope, is by no means an accidental one. The
popular notion probably is, that the acquisition of California
by the United States was one of the accidental consequences
of our war with Mexico, which broke out in 1846. On the
contrary, the acquisition of California by the United States
was the result of plans long matured and persistently fol



10        LOUIS PHILIPPE'S INDICTMENT AGAINST
lowed, and of a train of causes' carefully laid by the government of the United.States, during nearly half a century before
its consummation. Nay, more: not only the United States,
but the governments of England, France and Russia had determined to acquire California; and it was only by superior
promptness and skill that the United States finally became
the winners in the race. The very plan lately attempted to
be put into execution by the Emperor of the French, of placing
and maintaining an Austrian Archduke upon an Imperial
throne in Mexico, was not conceived by Napoleon III, but
was matured and published to the world by the Government
of Louis Philippe, as early as the year 1844, four years before
the French Revolution of 1848; and was a part of a scheme
devised by the French Government to prevent England or the
United States from getting possession of Mexico, in case
France could not gain it for herself. From this programme,
published by the order of Louis Philippe, by Marshal Soult,
his Minister of War, we shall gather easily the charges made
by France against Mexico before the tribunal of the public
opinion of the world, by which Louis Philippe attempted to
justify, in advance, that intervention in the affairs of Mexico
which his Government was the first to propose, and which
that of Napoleon III has since attempted to effectuate. The
following are the principal features of these charges:
LOUIS PHILIPPE'S BILL OF INDICTMENT AGAINST MEXICO.
Mexico was always prosperous under the rule of her Spanish Kings. Private enterprises succeeded; agriculture and
mines were successful and remunerative; public works were
constructed of utility, magnitude and permanence; religion
and public and private morality prevailed; the finances of
the country were successful and prosperous; and the people
were contented and happy. The attainment of independence
from the mother country has completely reversed these happy
conditions. There is now no security for property or for
private enterprise. The agriculture of the country is becoming reduced to the rudest processes, its products are diminish



THE REPUBLIC OF MEXICO.              11
ing from year to year, and the lands are returning to waste;
the mines are neglected and deserted, and falling into a state
of ruin. Public works are no longer constructed, and those
which were erected under the dominion of Spain are mostly
deserted and falling into a condition of dilapidation and ruin.
The priesthood is becoming corrupt, and public and private
morals are rapidly falling to the lowest point of degradation.
The finances of the country have long since been in a condition of insolvency, and the expenditures have for many years
exceeded the receipts by an annual deficiency of several millions of dollars. The army is composed of bandits: it is
recruited by taking from the public prisons convicted murderers and other malefactors, who have yet to serve a term of
imprisonment not less than ten years, and granting them a
free pardon on condition of their serving five years as soldiers. The officers of the army, who, under the Government
of Spain, belonged to distinguished and educated families, are
now drawn from the most despicable classes, or rise by promotion from the ranks of this bandit soldiery; and the disproportion of officers is so great, that the army of 20,000
soldiers is commanded by 84,000 officers, who are entirely
deficient in military faith and personal honor; they murder
in cold blood their political and military prisoners; they
protect robbers and share their spoils; they are accomplices
in assassination and murder; and theft is practiced by every
one, from the President of the Republic down to the lowest
officers of the Custom House. Republican Mexico has always
been the enemy of France, oppressed her commerce, and practiced the most atrocious tyranny upon our citizens resident in
her territory. She has discriminated against French products, first by her tariffs, and afterwards in the manner in
which she has executed her custom house regulations. She
has, on the most frivolous and unlawful pretences, confiscated
the property of French merchants, for which acts of robbery
and violence she owes them at this time several millions of
dollars, for which she refuses to make them the least compensation. She has thus fallen to the lowest condition of insolvency, brigandage and ruin. She is a public nuisance and




12              LOUIS PHILIPPE ENFORCES
robber on the highway of nations; and any nation, especially
those having claims against her, has a right, as a matter of
international policy, to interfere and establish a solid government in Mexico, which shall fulfil the obligations of national
faith towards the world, maintain order, decency and morality,
and secure life, liberty and property within her own borders.
This can be done only by the establishment of a Mexican
monarchy, for Republican institutions have been tried there,
and have resulted in an utter and hopeless failure. The best
citizens of Mexico desire the re-establishment of a monarchy:
those who are distinguished for their piety, morality, culture,
and the possession of property, are willing to pledge themselves in advance to the support of the movement. Some of
her most distinguished statesmen, in the face of threats of
assassination, have already publicly declared, in the Capital
of Mexico, that the adoption of this plan presented the only
possible hope for the restoration of Mexico to a condition of
respectability and prosperity. " But there are certain conditions necessary to the success of this scheme. The new monarchs of Mexico must be Catholic, and must have family ties
connecting them with the dynasties which formerly ruled in
Mexico. The Infantas of Spain, the French Princes, and the
ARCHDUKES OF AUSTRIA, possess these requisites, and any one
of them would be unanimously welcomed by the Mexican population. The establishment of any monarchy, whatsoever, in
Mexico, is of the greatest importance to the policy of France,
fir a stable government erected there would at once remove
the disabilities and oppression to which our commerce and
citizens are subjected in that country; and this can easily be
accomplished, for a column of 3,000 infantry, and a few vessels of war distributed upon the Atlantic and Pacific coasts,
are all that is wanted to subdue the empire of Montezuma,
whose conquest would be easier to-day than it was in the time
of Hernando Cortez!"
LOUIS PHILIPPE ENFORCES THE NECESSITY OF PROMPT ACTION.
But, continues the programme, if a Catholic monarchy is to




THE NECESSITY OF PROMPT ACTION.           13
be established in Mexico, it should be done at once. The
English, among all foreign nations, have a preponderating
political and commercial interest in Mexico. English subjects
own a large portion of the funded debt of Mexico, upon
which the annual interest is not paid, although pretended to
be secured by an illusory charge upon the customs. She is
ready, therefore, at any moment, to make this a pretext for
seizing any portion of the coast or territory of the Republic.
She has already acknowledged the independence of the revolted provinces of Texas, with a view of taking them under
her protection, or of establishing even more intimate political
relations with them. She has by her intrigues hitherto prevented the United States from acquiring any portion of the
Mexican territory; and, if she retains her present influence
at Mexico, and, still more, if she adds to it by gaining any
territory there, or in any other manner, the results cannot
fail to be most disastrous to the interests of France.
The United States, too, have for more than forty years
looked upon the Territories of Mexico with that covetousness
of acquisition which has ever distinguished that energetic
people. The expedition of Burr would have been hailed with
favor if it had been successful, and his acquittal by a jury
must be taken as evidence of the popular sentiment in favor
of the objects of his expedition. After the purchase of Louisiana from France, and by the treaty of Florida, so called,
and by other subsequent treaties, the United States gained a
large extension of territory in the direction of the Pacific,
and brought down their possessions in Oregon and on the
Pacific coast to the forty-second parallel of latitude. They
even sought, by other propositions communicated to the Court
of Spain for the avowed purpose of defining the boundaries
between the two countries south of that parallel, and proposing limits which were altogether too vague for geographical
or political boundaries, but which they would have found
sufficiently specific for the purpose of intrusion, to gain a
further extension of territory in the direction of New Mexico;
but these latter propositions were indignantly rejected by the
Spanish monarchy. But since the establishment of Mexican




14    THE DOMINION OF THE UNITED STATES IN MEXICO
Independence, and the weakness, demoralization and ruin
which have resulted from it, Mexico has seemed to the United
States to have become an easy prey to their grasping ambition. They have permitted their own citizens to pass in
armed bands over their borders into Texas, and there to stir
up revolt, which has culminated in successful revolution; they
have acknowledged the independence of that country with the
view to its annexation to the Union as one of the Federal
States. A treaty of annexation is at this moment in progress
between Texas and the United States, and will doubtless be
accomplished as the crowning act of the present administration of President Tyler. When that treaty is ratified by the
contracting parties, the military establishment of Texas will
be occupied by the forces of the United States, and war will
immediately ensue between the United States and the Mexican
Republic. That war can issue in but one result; the armies
of the United States will overrun and occupy the territories
of the weaker republic, and they will be at once and forever
absorbed in the domain of the Federal Union. If France,
therefore, determines to protect her interests by the establishment of a Catholic monarchy in Mexico, she should act
promptly and decisively.
LOUIS PHILIPPE CONSIDERS THE DOMINION OF THE UNITED
STATES IN MEXICO PREFERABLE TO THAT OF ENGLAND.
But if Mexico is still to exist under a republican government, it is much better for the interests of France that she
should be absorbed by the North American Union than that
England should either maintain or increase her influence
there. The people of the United States have a strong in.
stinct for a government of law, and even the administration
of their famous " lynch law," in their newly settled territories, arises from their sentiment of order. Under their rigid
administration, the persons and property of French citizens
in Mexico would be protected and respected, and we should
not be compelled to make vain reclamations on the government for official robberies and confiscations. The sentiment
of the people of the United States is favorable and even




PREFERABLE TO THAT OF ENGLAND.          15
friendly to France, and under their dominion we should not
have occasion to complain of odious and hostile discriminations against our'commerce, and what we should gain in these
respects, England would be certain to lose. She would no
longer be the nation favored either by the terms of the laws,
or by their violation in her behalf, but would be reduced, at
least, to a position of equal competition in matters of commerce, which is all that France desires.  Our property would
be respected, the lives of our citizens would be secured, and
on equal terms we could exchange our products for the agricultural and mineral riches of Mexico.
GRANDEUR OF THE AMERICO-MEXICAN DOMINION.
This programme of the government of Louis Philippe concludes with a prediction of the future greatness of the United
States, which might well excite the envy of the most enthusiastic eulogist of "the American Bird of Liberty:";' If this takes place, the Union will command the Pacific
Ocean, through that part of the territory of Oregon which
will belong to her-through California and the western coast
of Mexico, Guatemala, Central America and New Granada.
On the East, she will be mistress of the Atlantic coast, from
Canada to the Isthmus of Darien, and thus will threaten the
group of islands situated at the entrance of the Gulf of
Mexico, and in the Caribbean Sea I "
FAILURE OF THE FRENCH PROGRAMME IN MEXICO.
It is instructive to pause a moment and contemplate the
results of this proposed scheme for the overthrow of Republican institutions and the establishment of a monarchy in
Mexico. Louis Philippe, its responsible author, and the
crafty schemer who prostituted the interests of France to the
aggrandizement of his own family, and who had thus published to the world this libellous imputation of degeneracy
and weakness against the Republic of Mexico, was himself,
within four years afterwards, driven from the throne, and his
dynasty subverted, without his having the courage to permit
a single musket shot to be fired in their defence. His scheme




16    FAILURE OF THE FRENCH PROGRAMME IN MEXICO.
has since been taken up by his successor, Napoleon III, a
monarch of greater sagacity, resources and force of will.
But the Mexican population has not received an Austrian
Archduke as their Emperor with unanimous acclamations; a
column of 3,000 men has not conquered the Empire of Montezuma; and the Republic of Mexico STILL LIVES!
ATTEMPTS OF VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS TO ACQUIRE CALIFORNIA.
But while a covetousness of all the territories of the Mexican
Republic was thus charged upon some of the great political
powers of the world, upon circumstances of mere suspicion,
the desire to acquire California was openly avowed by several
of them, and made equally manifest by the acts of others.
France, in particular, endeavored to qualify herself for the
conquest of California, by a previous exploration of the
country of the most thorough and accurate character. In
1841, Marshal Soult, the French Minister of War, detached
from the French Legation at Mexico, one of its attaches, M.
Duflot de Mofras, a gentleman perfectly competent for that
purpose, with directions to make a thorough exploration of
California in respect to military resources, geography, agriculture, natural history, meteorology, geology, population,
and civil and political history. This work he accomplished
during a sojourn of two years, during which, as he himself
states, he visited every Mission, every village, and every
rancho in California. The results of his exploration were
published to the world by the French Government at the
same time with their programme in regard to Mexico, of
which I have above spoken. This publication was accompanied with charts of all the harbors on the coast of California,
with their soundings; with the most explicit and accurate
directions for entering them from the ocean; and with plans
of all the forts and presidios of California, which were so
accurate, that a distinguished military officer of the United
States, to whom I lent them, was enabled to retrace, at San
Diego, the lines of some of the old fortifications there, respecting which the officers in command at that station could not
obtain any other reliable information. I shall trespass upon




FRENCH EXPLORATION OF CALIFORNIA.          17
the patience of my audience by reproducing many of the details of the report of this remarkable exploration. The
inhabitants, said De Mofras, in substance, are very friendly to
France, for they are tired of the Republic and desire a return
to the old form of government. They hate the Americans,
because they are rapacious, Protestant and Republican. They
incline towards France, because she is monarchical, powerful,
Catholic, and is of the same Latin race to which they themselves belong. They have a presentiment of the approaching
downfall of the Mexican Republic, and would hail in advance
their annexation to a strong European  monarchy.  The
Americans, however, and the English, have set their hearts
upon the acquisition of California. England has already
offered to take California in payment of that portion of the
public debt of Mexico which is held by British subjects,
amounting to several millions sterling, and to liquidate that
debt herself; while the United States have already offered
$5,000,000 for that portion of California lying north of a line
of latitude drawn at equal distances from the Bay of San
Francisco and that of Monterey. While I was at Sanl Francisco, I visited a fleet of American vessels of war (Wilkes's
Exploring Expedition) lying in the harbor there, and was
received hospitably on board by the officers, who made no
secret of the fact that they were executing a thorough survey
of the harbor and of the surrounding country. During my
stay in California, I also visited English men-of-war, lying in
the same harbor, and evidently sent there for the same purpose. English men-of-war are almost always constantly cruising on the coast, as if waiting for a pretext or opportunity
to seize the country. The Americans have constantly a naval
force upon the coast, with instructions to seize the capital
upon probable information of a rupture between Mexico and
the United States. And in the year 1842, Commodore Jones,
upon such a rumor, which afterwards proved to be unfounded,
actually seized Monterey, the Capital of California, and raised
the American flag there; but upon learning that the informatiol
upon which he had acted was not true, he restored the place
to the California authorities; "yet, in my opinion, having




18           EFFORTS OF THE UNITED STATES
once taken it, he would have done better to have kept it, and
also to have seized the port of San Francisco." There are
many persons in California who are friendly to France, and
who can be very useful to us: one of our countrymen, -Maturin,
at San Francisco; Baric, a Frenchman, at Los Angeles;
Sufol, a Spaniard by birth, who served in the French navy,
who speaks our language well; who was on the French brig
which Napoleon quitted, in 1815, when he surrendered himself
to the captain of the Bellerophon. The most important point
on the northwestern coast of the Pacific, is the port of San
Francisco, which is in reality the key of the northwest coast
of America and of the Northern Pacific Ocean. Captain
Beechey, of the Royal British Navy, in 1831, describes it as
being "sufficiently extensive to contain all the British navy,
well sheltered, and with good anchorage everywhere, surrounded with a country varied with hills and valleys, partly
wooded and partly of fine pasturage, and abounding with
cattle of every kind." " It is easy to enter this harbor from
the ocean," says De Mofras; "one should, after crossing the
bar, lay well to the south, having the island of Alcatraz on a
line with the fort, and then, on approaching the gate, or
strait, one should keep in the centre until Point Bonita is
well passed, and-then sail well over to the north. There is a
dangerous reef, called Blossom Rock, which lies on a line
drawn from the southwestern point of Yerba Buena Island
and that of Alcatraz, which is to be avoided; but just behind
the point of Saucelito lives an Englishman, who is married to
a native Californian, one Captain Richardson, who is Captain
of the Port, and an excellent pilot! There is no military force
in California. There are no garrisons at the Presidios. The
gun carriages at the forts have rotted away, and the guns,
which were mostly cast at Manila, more than a hundred years
ago, lie rusting on the ground. It is perfectly clear that California will belong to whatsoever nation will take the trouble
to send there a ship of war and two hundred soldiers!"
EFFORTS OF THE UNITED STATES TO OBTAIN POSSESSION OF
CALIFORNIA.
Having thus given a resum6 of the French report of our




TO OBTAIN POSSESSION OF CALIFOINIA.       19
own intentions and desires respecting the acquisition of California, I shall endeavor to give an authentic account of them,
and of those of other governments. It is true, as above stated,
that the English offered to receive Upper California in payment of a portion of the public debt of Mexico; and it is also
undoubtedly true that the English were prepared to avail
themselves of the pretext of an indemnity for that debt, to
take possession of California upon any favorable conjuncture.
It is also true that the acquisition of California had long been
an object much desired by the Government of the United
States. As early as the year 1835, President Jackson proposed to the Government of Mexico to purchase that portion
lying east and north of a line drawn from the Gulf of Mexico
along the eastern bank of the Rio Bravo del Norte up to the
37th degree of north latitude, and thence along that parallel
to the Pacific Ocean. This would have included within the
proposed cession to the United States all the Bay of San
Francisco, and the territory to the north and east of it, and
have left to the south the Bay of Monterey. This proposition
was favorably received by the Mexican Government, and
would doubtless have been accepted, had it not been for the
intrigues and powerful remonstrances of the British diplomatic representatives. The American Government, however,
did not relinquish its designs, nor desist in the execution of
its plans for promoting the desired result. It continued to
encourage and protect the emigration of its citizens to California. It caused to be made scientific and popular explorations by land, such as those of Frdmont, and by sea, such as
those successfully and thoroughly made by Wilkes's Exploring
Expedition. Indeed, it is more than suspected that the main
object of organizing Wilkes's Exploring Expedition was a
thorough hydrographic survey of the harbor of San Francisco
and its tributaries-a work which was so well accomplished,
that the maps and soundings of the bays and rivers from San
Francisco to Sacramento, which'were made on that occasion,
are reliable to the present time. What Frdmont's instructions were, on his last expedition to California, is a well kept
Cabinet secret, which will probably not be divulged, at least




20    MOVEME"TS OF THE CALIFORNIANS IN RELATION TO
in our time; but it is evident, from his course of action, that
he was directed, in case of receiving reliable information of
the breaking out of war, to do all in his power to secure
possession of California. It is also very certain that the
commanders of American men-of-war cruising on the coast of
California, had explicit instructions not to suffer the country
to fall into the hands of any other power. And the popular
impression is, that the English were about to take possession
of California, and were prevented only by the seizure of
Monterey, by Commodore Sloat, on the 7th of July, 1846.
MOVEMENTS OF THE CALIFORNIANS IN RELATION  TO THEIR
ANNEXATION TO A FOREIGN POWER.
Meanwhile, the natives of California, with that instinctive
apprehension of the coming storm which seems to prevail in
the political as well as in the natural world, began to consult
upon the policy of preventing the anticipated acts of foreign
governments, by declaring their independence of Mexico, and
placing California under the protection of some great political
power. In the year 1836, Don Juan Bautista Alvarado revolted against Mexico, and by the aid of sixty American riflemen, headed by Isaac Graham, drove Gutierrez, the constitutional Governor of California, out of the Department, and
was himself proclaimed Governor in his stead. Acting in
conjunction with General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo and
Don Jos6 Castro, and aiming at annexation with the United
States, he declared California to,be completely independent
of Mexico, and erected into a free and sovereign State-el
Estado libre y soberano de la Alta Calfornia-and raised a flag
like that of the United States, but with a single star. This
revolt was finally abandoned, on certain concessions being
made by the central government, including the appointment
of Alvarado as constitutional Governor. In 1842, President
Santa Anna sent General Manuel Micheltorena to California
as Governor and Commandant-General, with one hundred
and fifty persons to act as officials, and an army of three hundred convicts, drawn from the prisons of Mexico.*  But he,
* I should not dare to credit this act of Santa Anna if it were not officially




THEIR ANNEXATION TO A FOREIGN POWER.                    21
too, after a stormy administration, was forced to retire, in the
year 1845, after having stipulated with the insurgents, by the
treaty of Cahuenga-so styled from  the rancho of that name
where it was concluded-that he and his adherents might
march away with their side arms, with all the honors of war.
The crisis of severance from the mother republic became every
day more inevitable. Dissatisfied as the Californians were
with the exactions and oppressions of the central government, and with the importation from Mexico of a convict
soldiery, who graduated from the camp to become turbulent
citizens or ferocious bandits, the question of secession from
Mexico was freely discussed, and its policy approved. They
differed only as to what great political power should be invoked for protection and annexation. The Departmental
Assembly of California, in the year 1846, passed a law for
the election of delegates to a Junta, or Extraordinary Consubstantiated beyond any doubt. It was published at the time, at Mexico, in
El Observador Judicial y de Legislacion, 1842, vol. i, p. 372, and also afterwards, in the Coleccion de los Decretos y Ordenes de Interes Comun, que dicto el
gobierno provisional en virtud de las bases de Tacubaya, Mexico; Imprenta de J. Al.
Lara, 1850, page 352, under date of February 22, A. D. 1842, and is in the
following terms:
" MINISTERIO DE JUSTICIA -E INSTRUCCION PUBLICA.
" Exmo. Sefior el exmo. Sefior Presidente Provisional, en uso de la Facultad
que concede el art. 70 de las bases acordadas en Tacubaya y juradas por los
representantes de los departamentos, ha tenido a bien disponer: que de los
reos sentenciados a presidio que existan en las circeles de esta capital, se destinen trescientos al departamento de Californias, escogiendo al efecto a los que
tengan algun oficio 6 industria ftil; en el concepto de que si al llegar i aquel
destino hubieren guardado buena condfcta, i juicio del gobierno departmental,
se les rebajarh una parte de su cond6na, 6 se les indultar{ del todo, segun los
servicios que prestaren, y aun se auxiliary'a sus familias para que vayan [L
unirse con ellos, dandoles terrenos y los instrumentos que necesiten para
colonizar: (with the purpose of rebating a part or the whole of their term of
punishment, according to the services they render; and also their families
shall be assisted to join them, and lands and implements of cultivation furnished them.)
1" Lo que tengo el honor de comunicar a V. E. para su debido cumplimiento,
y que se sirva hacer saber esta suprema disposition'a los presidiarios que al
indicato efecto fueren escogidos.
"Exmo. Sefior Gobernador del Departamento de Mexico."
The alleged design of converting California into a convict colony was only
a flimsy pretext for furnishing Micheltorena with three hundred desperate
soldiers; still, it is interesting to know that the intention of making our State
the Botany Bay of Mexico was once thus officially announced.




22          SENTIMENTS OF THE MONARCHICAL
vention, to be styled "The General Council of the United
Pueblos of the Californias: el Concejo General de los Pueblos
Unidos de California," which was to meet at Santa Barbara on
June 15th, 1846, for the purpose of determining the destiny
of California. Meanwhile the resident Consuls and agents of
the three great powers which were striving for the possession
of California-Forbes for Great Britain, Guys for France,
and Larkin for the United States-commenced their movements and counter movements, each hoping to gain the predominating influence in the coming convention. But the
result of an. informal meeting of some of the leading men of
California, at the house of Don Jose Castro, in Monterey,
dissipated all these hopes, and showed that the convention, even if held, must prove an utter failure. On that
occasion, a native Californian, whom it would be invidious
to mention, as he is now a loyal citizen of California, but
who then represented the monarchical party, spoke as follows*:
"Excellent Sirs, to what a deplorable condition is our
country reduced! Mexico, professing to be our mother and
our protectress, has given us neither arms, nor money, nor the
materials of war for our defence. She is not likely to do
anything in our behalf, although she is quite willing to afflict
us with her extortionate minions, who come hither in the
guise of soldiers and civil officers to harrass and oppress our
people. We possess a glorious country, capable of attaining
a physical and moral greatness corresponding with the grandeur and beauty which an Almighty hand has stamped upon
the face of our beloved California. But although nature has
been prodigal, it cannot be denied that we are not in a position to avail ourselves of her bounty. Our population is not
large, and it is sparsely scattered over valley and mountain,
covering an immense area of virgin soil, destitute of roads,
and traversed with difficulty; hence it is hardly possible to
collect an army of any considerable force. Our people are'The speeches which follow were reduced to writing at the time, by the late
Thomas 0. Larkin, then American Consul at Monterey. The first had already
been delivered, in substance, in the Departmental Assembly.




PARTY IN UPPER CALIFORNIA, IN 1846.        23
poor, as well as few, and cannot well govern themselves and
maintain a decent show of sovereign power.- Although we
live in the midst of plenty, we lay up nothing; but, tilling
the earth in an imperfect manner, all our time is required to
procure subsistence for ourselves and our families. Thus
circumstanced, we find ourselves threatened by hordes of
Yankee emigrants, who have already begun to flock into our
country, and whose progress we cannot arrest. Already have
the wagons of that perfiidious people scaled the almost inaccessible summit of the Sierra Nevada, crossed the entire continent, and penetrated the fruitful valley of the Sacramento.
What that astonishing people will next undertake, I cannot
say; but in whatever enterprise they embark, they will be
sure to prove successful. Already are these adventurous
land-voyagers spreading themselves far and wide over a
country which seems suited to their taste. They are cultivating farms, establishing vineyards, erecting mills, sawing up
lumber, building workshops, and doing a thousand other
things which seem natural to them, but which Californians
neglect or despise. What then are we to do? Shall we
remain supine, while these daring strangers are overrunning
our fertile plains, and gradually outnumbering and displacing
us? Shall these incursions go on unchecked, until we shall
become strangers in our own land? We cannot successfully
oppose them by our own unaided power, and the swelling tide
of emigration renders the odds against us more powerful
every day. We cannot stand alone against them, nor can we
creditably maintain our independence even against Mexico 
but there is something which we can do, which will elevate
our country, strengthen her at all points, and yet enable us
to preserve our identity and remain masters of our own soil.
Perhaps what I am about to suggest may seem to some fainthearted and dishonorable. But to me it does not appear so.
It is the last hope of a feeble people, struggling against a
tyrannical government, which claims their submission at
home, and threatened by bands of avaricious strangers from
without, voluntarily to connect themselves with a power able
and willing to defend and preserve them. It is the right and




24          SENTIMENTS OF THE REPUBLICAN
duty of the weak to demand support from the strong, provided
the demand be made upon terms just to both parties. I see
no dishonor in this last refuge of the oppressed and powerless,
and I boldly avow that such is the step I would now have
California take. There are two great powers in Europe,
which seem destined to divide between them the unappropriated countries of the world. They have large fleets and
armies not unpracticed in the art of war. Is it not better to
connect ourselves with one of these powerful nations, than to
struggle on without hope, as we are doing now? Is it not
better that one of them should be invited to send a fleet and
an army to protect California, rather than we should fall an
easy prey to the lawless adventurers who are overrunning
our beautiful country?   I pronounce for annexation to
France or England, and the people of California will never
regret having taken my advice. They will no longer be
subjected to the trouble and grievous expense of governing
themselves, and their beef and their grain, which they produce in such abundance, would find a ready market among
the new comers. But I hear some one say, " No monarchy! "
But is not monarchy better than anarchy? Is not existence
in some shape better than annihilation? No monarchy!
And what is there so terrible in a monarchy? Have we not
all lived under a monarchy far more despotic than that of
France or England, and were not our people happy under it?
Have not the leading men among our agriculturists been bred
beneath the royal rule of Spain, and have they been happier
since the mock republic of Mexico has supplied its place?
Nay, does not every man abhor the miserable abortion christened the Republic of Mexico, and look back with regret to
the golden days of the Spanish monarchy? Let us restore
that glorious era. Then may our people go quietly to their
ranchos, and live there as of yore, leading a merry and
thoughtless life, untroubled by politics or cares of state, sure
of what is their own, and safe from the incursions of the
Yankees, who would soon be forced to retreat into their own
country."
To these arguments, Gen. Mariano G. Vallejo, a native of




PARTY IN UPPER CALIFORNIA, IN 1846.       25
California, whom we are proud to number among the members
of this Society, and who has not lost our esteem in consequence of the assaults made upon him by those who have
succeeded in eonfiscating so large a portion of that landed
property of the native Californians, whose possession was
guaranteed to them by the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgoreplied as follows:
"I cannot, gentlemen, coincide in opinion with the military
and civil functionaries who have advocated the cession of our
country to France or England. It is most true that to rely
any longer upon Mexico to govern and defend us would be
idle and absurd. To this extent I fully agree with my distinguished colleagues. If is true that we possess a noble country,
every way calculated, from position and resources, to become
great and powerful. For that very reason, I would not have
her a mere dependence upon a foreign monarchy, naturally
alien, or at least indifferent to our interests and our welfare.
It is not to be denied that feeble nations have in former times
thrown themselves upon the protection of their powerful
neighbors.  The Britons invoked the aid of the warlike
Saxons, and fell an easy prey to their protectors, who seized
their lands and treated them as slaves. Long before that
time, feeble and distracted provinces had appealed for aid to
the all conquering arms of Imperial Rome, and they were at
the same time protected and subjugated by their grasping
ally. Even could we tolerate the idea of dependence, ought
we to go to distant Europe for a master? What possible
sympathy could exist between us and a nation separated from
us by two vast oceans? But waiving this insuperable objection, how could we endure to come under the dominion of a
monarch?-for, although others speak lightly of a form of
government, as a freeman I cannot do so. We are republicans. Badly governed and badly situated as we are, still we
are all, in sentiment, republicans. So far as we are governed
at all, we at least profess to be self-governed. Who, then,
that possesses true patriotism, will consent to subject himself
and children to the caprices of a foreign king and his official
minions? But, it is asked, if we do not throw ourselves upon




6       FAILURE OF THE CALIFORNIA JUNTA OF 1846.
the protection of France or England, what shall we do? I
do not come here to support the existing order of things, but
I come prepared to propose instant and effective action to
extricate our country from her present forlorn condition. My
opinion is made up that we must persevere in throwing off the
galling yoke of Mexico, and proclaim our independence forever. We have endured her official cormorants and her
villainous soldiery, until we can endure no longer. All will
probably agree with me that we ought at once to rid our-,selves of what may remain of Mexican domination. But
some profess to doubt our ability to maintain our position.
To my mind there comes no doubt. Look at Texas, and see
how long she withstood the power of united Mexico. The
resources of Texas were not to be compared with ours, and
she was much nearer to her enemy than we are. Our position
is so remote, either by land or sea, that we are in no danger
from a Mexican invasion. Why, then, should we hesitate
still to assert our independence? We have indeed taken the
first step by electing our own Governor; but another remains
to be taken. I will mention it plainly and distinctly: It is
annexation to the United States. In contemplating this consummation of our destiny, I feel nothing but pleasure, and I
ask you to share it. Discard old prejudices, disregard old
customs, and prepare for the glorious change which awaits
our country.  Why should we shrink from  incorporating
ourselves with the happiest and freest nation in the world,
destined soon to be the most wealthy and powerful? Why
should we go abroad for protection, when this great nation
is our adjoining neighbor? When we join our fortune to
hers, we shall not become subjects. but fellow-citizens, possessing all the rights of the people of the United States, and
choosing our own federal and local rulers. We shall have a
stable government and just laws. California will grow strong
and flourish, and her people will be prosperous, happy and
free. Look not therefore with jealousy upon the hardy
pioneers, who scale our mountains and cultivate our unoccupied plains; but rather welcome them as brothers who come
to share with us a common destiny."




ENDEAVORS OF RUSSIA TO OCCUPY CALIFORNIA.    27
Upon the conclusion of these remarks, Gen. Vallejo and
his friends retired in a body from the meeting, and he immediately addressed a letter to the Governor, re-affirming the
views which he had expressed, and declared that he would
never assist in any project for annexation to any nationality
except that of the United States, or hold any office under any
government which proposed to surrender California to any
European Monarchy; and thereupon he and his supporters
retired to their homes. This movement on the part of Gen.
Vallejo destroyed the prospects of the Convention, so that,
although its members were elected, it never met, for want of a
quorum; and within a few months thereafter, California was
in the possession of the United States, by the taking of Monterey, by Commodore Sloat, on July 7th, A. D. 1846.
ENDEAVORS OF RUSSIA TO OCCUPY CALIFORNIA.
Meanwhile the Russians had for some time been quietly
insinuating themselves upon the northern coast of California,
with a view to its permanent occupation. In the year 1812,
they established themselves at the port of Bodega, having
previously obtained permission to do so from the authorities
of Spain, for the alleged purpose of maintaining fisheries and
hunting for furs. But already as early as the year 1815, they
had established large ranchos in the interior, had purchased
cattle of the Spanish inhabitants, and had devoted themselves
to the rearing of herds and the production of wheat. During
the revolutionary troubles in Mexico, the Russians held themselves to have become the actual owners of the territory which
they occupied. About forty miles from Bodega, beyond the
river San Sebastian, they constructed a fort, which they called
Slawianski, but which the Mexicans designated as the Fort of
Ross. Over this floated the Russian flag, and a Military
Governor was in command, appointed by the Czar of Russia.
So carefully was this military colony fostered by its own
government, that it possessed one-sixth of the white population of California in the year 1842. But on the final acquisition of California by the United States, the military colony




28        THE MINERAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA
was withdrawn, and most if not all the Russian population
retired at or about the same time.
THESE VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE
MINERAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA.
When we consider what the causes were which have so
rapidly developed California to her present position, it seems
surprising to us that the existence of precious metals within
her limits was not only not suspected, but was even most authoritatively denied.  The acquisition of California was
considered desirable by all these nations, because it was
known that her conditions of climate and soil were such, that
her agricultural sources and productions must be almost
incalculable; that she must become the seat of an immense
population of a highly civilized and prosperous people, and
there form the nucleus of an empire of polittcal and commercial
power which must exert a controlling influence over all the
coasts of the Pacific Ocean. The United States,-in particular, found themselves almost in contiguity with the future seat
of so much prosperity, wealth and power, and naturally
desired that it should become their own. But although
rumors of the existence of gold in California had occasionally
been heard, still they had never been verified, or traced to
any reliable source; and they were regarded as we now regard the fabulous stories of the Golden Sands of Gold Lake,
or those of " Silver Planches," which are said to exist in the
inaccessible deserts of Arizona. It seems strange to us, that,
when the geological character of this country was so well
known and so minutely described, the existence of the precious metals in any large quantity should have been so explicitly denied. De Mofras uses the following language:
" There are no minerals which can be exported from California. The mines of silver and of lead which are situated
near Monterey, are known only by the result of some very
simple assays. Some deposits of marble, of copper and iron,
some traces of petroleum which are found near Santa Cruz,
some mines of ochre, sulphur, asphaltum, kaolin, and of salt,
have not been examined with sufficient care. The only mine




WAS MEANWHILE UNSUSPECTED.                     29
at present operated in this country is a vein of virgin gold
near the Mission of San Fernando, which yields about an
ounce a day of pure gold, and is worked by a Frenchman
named Baric.
" The geological constitution of the soil of California is
very simple. The base of the Rocky Mountains is formed of
granites of various colors, sometimes whitish with spots of
black, sometimes grey or red; above are stratifications of
gneiss, horn-blende, quartz and talcose slate, similar to those
which in Mexico enclose veins of gold, micaceous schist, and talcose schist."
And yet, with all this explicit description, which gave rise
to the recorded suggestion that this geological formation was
the same as that which in Mexico contained veins of gold, it
never occurred to any one of the statesmen or explorers who
interested themselves in the acquisition of California, that
mines of the precious metals existed within her limits.*
OUR GRATITUDE TO THE GIVER OF THIS GIFT.
We have thus shown that our position in California is not
an accidental one, but was the result of a long train of causes
in which human agencies were actively at work. We should
do injustice to ourselves, on this occasion, if we did not give
utterance to higher sentiments than those of admiration for
* In closing the historical narrative, it may be assumed as a fact that the
inevitable rupture between Mexico and the United States was hastened by
the governments of both countries with the expectation that the existence of
war would defeat the plans of the monarchical party in Mexico. It is well
known that the friends of Santa Anna, who was then in exile, applied to the
American Government to pass him through its blockade of Vera Cruz on
his proposed return to Mexico, upon the frank representation, that, although
he was the ablest general the Mexicans could have, and would undoubtedly
command their armies during the war, yet his presence and influence in the
country would prevent the establishment of a foreign monarchy there; and
that the President of the United States, appreciating these considerations,
permitted Santa Anna to land at Vera Cruz perfectly free to pursue his own
course of action. There are gentlemen of the highest respectability residing
in California, who came here upon the personal assurance of President Polk,
in 1846, that the war should not be concluded until Upper California was
secured by treaty to the United States.




30             OUR DUTY TO THE FUTURE.
the patriotism of our fathers and the skill of our statesmen.
We do not entertain those notions of modern atheism, thinly
disguised under the epithet of pantheism, which limit the
operative creation of God to the diffusion of a thin, gaseous
substance throughout infinite space, upon which he set the
impress of his law and then went to sleep, leaving the existing
universe to be evolved from a succession of vortices. We
do not believe that the whole animal and vegetable creations have been evolved from bubbles of albumen, nor even
that pantheistical philosophers are only fully developed
baboons, however probable this latter might seem. This
theory was first popularly presented to the world in a most
shallow and unscientific work called The Vestiges of Creation,
whose author never dared to expose himself to general ridicule
by revealing his name, because, just after the publication of
his book, Lord Rosse turned his tremendous telescope upon the
gaseous pantheistic nebulam, and instantly resolved them into
fixed, starry points. We believe, as geology teaches us, that
God has often, and at remotely successive periods, interposed
in the formation of the physical world, fitting it for the creation and habitation of man. We believe that He still acts in
history, preparing great events, rewarding nations and men
for goodness, and punishing them for crime. We believe that
His adoration is not superstitious, nor prayer an unphilosophical act. " If the Lord had not been on our side-yea, if
the Lord had not been on our side," we should not now possess this beautiful and glorious California, nor hope to transmit it as an inheritance to our descendants. To Him, therefore, we pour out our collected tribute of gratitude, and invoke
His protection for ourselves and our children.
OUR DUTY TO THE FUTURE.
Standing, as we do, between the mighty Past and the mysterious Future, recognizing our gratitude to our fathers and
our duty to our children, let us this day make a public confession and a solemn covenant. Let us confess that those of
us who have come into this country since the discovery of
gold in California was announced to the world, came here




OUR DUTY TO THE FUTURE.               31
rather with the spirit of adventure than with the intention of
remaining here as permanent residents; that we came here to
gather our share of the mineral treasures of the land, and
then to return to the homes of our youth, there to spend the
remainder of our lives; that, at first, we took no thought to
found here the institutions of a higher civilization, nor even
to cultivate social relations; and that, in this solitary isolation to which we condemned ourselves for the sake of gain,
it was true, in a certain sense, of us, as individuals, that "our
hands were against every one, and every one's hand against
us."  Let us confess that this Ishmaelitish tradition has still
a certain influence upon us, and that we do not devote ourselves as fully as we ought to the preparation for the great
future of California; and let us resolve that this day shall
form a new era in our organized efforts. The faculties of
man are threefold-intellectual, moral, and aesthetic: he has
reasoning powers which can be cultivated; a moral and religious sense, which can be elevated; and a perception of the
beautiful in nature and art which can be developed into a
source of happiness and refinement. As of men, so of nations,
for nations are but aggregates of men.  The man who is
wanting in cultivation of any of these faculties is but an imperfect man; a nation which is thus deficient can never act a
perfect part in the history of the world. The Greeks and
Romans were powerful peoples, highly developed in intellect
and aesthetics, but in religion and morals they possessed only
the gross and sensual superstitions of paganism. The Puritans of New England were highly cultivated intellectually
and morally, but not esthetically-they were a strong, stern,
and unsocial race. The politicians of the French Revolution
were men of powerful intellects, and of high culture in literature and art, but they were wanting in religious sentiment,
and disbelievers in the ever-present working of an intelligent
and personal Deity; so that even Robespierre, contemplating
the threatened dissolution of his political system, cried out
in his agony: " If there is no God, then we must create one!"
Deficiency in aesthetic culture is commonly the want of new
countries. The want of culture has been ascribed to us in




32    OUR HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY TEN YEARS HENCE.
California; by this is meant the want of intimate and refined
social culture, of the perception of the beautiful in nature-and
in art-of that beautiful in nature, and that ideal of human
perfection, which the painter strives to perpetuate on his canvass, the statuary to embody in marble, the poet to crystalize
in his verse, and the musician to bring up from the profoundest
depths of the human soul. The charge brought against us is
in a large measure true, as it is always true of new populations; but we have advanced so rapidly to a high degree of
prosperity that it ought to be true no longer, and we ought
ourselves to remove this great reproach. Let us resolve, then,
that we will do all in our power to develop aesthetic culture
in California; that we will not only devote our aid to the
foundation of churches, colleges, schools, and the kindred institutions of morals, science, and humanity, but also to the
cultivation of arts, of the perception of the beautiful, to the
advancement of painting and statuary. So shall we do our
duty to the future; so shall come after us generations of
Californians against whom no such reproach can be broughta perfect race, equally developed in their threefold faculties,
by intellectual, moral, and testhetic culture.
OUR CELEBRATION, TEN YEARS HENCE, OF THE HUNDREDTH
BIRTH-DAY OF OUR CITY.
San Francisco was founded by a colony of soldiers and
settlers, who came up for that purpose from Monterey, overland and by sea, in 1776; and immediately set about constructing a chapel at the Presidio, after which the following
proceeding took place, as recorded by Father Palou, one of
the missionary priests who belonged to the expedition:
"We took formal possession of the Presidio on the SEVENTEENTH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, the anniversary of the impression of the wounds of our Father San Francisco, the patron
of the Presidio and Mission. I said the first mass, and after
blessing the site, (despues del bendito,) the elevation and adoration of the Holy Cross, and the conclusion of the service
with the Te lDeum, the officers took formal possession in the




CONCLUSION.                    33
name of our sovereign, with many discharges of cannon, both
on sea and land, and the musketry of the soldiers."
THE SEVENTEENTH OF SEPTEMBER, A. D. 1776, MUST THEREFORE BE CONSIDERED THE DATE OF THE FOUNDATION OF SAN
FRANCISCO.
Ten years from now San Francisco will have completed the
hundredth year of her existence. In ten years most of us,
under the ordinary providence of God, will be still living.
Let us then, on the hundredth birthday of our beloved city,
go up and celebrate it on the plain of the Presidio, where
she was born. Let us at that time renew the solemn exercises by which the soil was consecrated to civilization: the
blessing of Holy Mother Church will not hurt the most zealous Protestant among us. Let us rear mast-high the old flag
of Spain, with full military honors, to be replaced, with equal
honor, by that of Mexico, which in its turn shall give place,
with " great discharge of musketry and of cannon," to our
own national emblem of unity and strength!
CONCLUSION.
It is the singularly good fortune of the members of our
Society that they have an assured position in the history of
California, and one which can never be taken away from
them. Whatever the future may have in store for us as individuals, the Corporate Society of California Pioneers has
had an existence whose records must always remain in the
literature and history of California. Our banner is here, on
which our names are inscribed, and that banner will always
float at the head of the " innumerable caravan " of the countless generations who are to succeed us-of that column
which, like the Macedonian phalanx, widening as it deepens,
shall draw its vast recruits as well from the tropical regions
of the equator as from the confines of the frozen ocean. Behold the thin mist, curling up from the ripple where the sunbeam kisses the western sea! It mounts to Heaven, and on its
slight curtain Aurora paints the glories of the rising sun;
condenses itself into the fleecy whiteness which decorates the
sky of June; piles up the mighty thunder-cloud, with black



34                     CONCLUSION.
ened base and Alpine peaks of dazzling brightness; and, at
the signal of the " far-flashing red artillery" of Heaven, and
with reverberating crash, dissolves itself in gentle rain; descends with refreshing coolness on the thirsty land; rushes
in torrents of sheety foam adown the mountain side; swells
the vast river to its grassy brink; and then returns its tributary volume to the mother ocean. So, countless as the innumerable drops of rain, shall be the people that come after us.
So shall they rise up from the mists of the future, filling
Heaven and earth and sea with the beauty, greatness, and
goodness of their acts, and then return, like us, to the great
source from which they came. And among them, what multitudes of unborn painters, sculptors, poets, merchant-princes,
generals and statesmen! Unknown they are to us, but sure
to be-most of them still sleeping in the vast caverns where
repose the unborn generations of mankind. But from the
depths of the mists which conceal them, we already hear the
reverberations of their heavy tread.  The parting haze
already reveals the outline of the giant forms of their leaders, but, alas, their faces are veiled! These are the men for
whose coming we are to prepare this California of ours;
these are the men who are to erect on the Pacific Coast the
Imperial Throne of the great American Empire!




ERRATUM.
At page 28, line 3 from the foot, instead of "petroleum" read "mineral
coal."