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I 
ELDORADO,
O R,
ADVENTURES IN THE PATH OF EMPIRE:
A VOYAGE TO CALIFORNIA, VIA PANAMA; LIFE IN SAN FRANCISCO
AND MONTEREY; PICTURES OF TIlE GI)LD REGION, AND
EXPERIENCES OF MEXICAN TRAVEL.
BAYARD TAYLOR,
AUTHOR OF " VIEWS A-FOOT," "1 RHYMES OF TRA'rEL," ETC.
EIGHTEENTH EDITION.
NEW YORK:
G. P. PUTNAM, 506 BROADWAY.
1859.
COMPRISING
B2Y 
Entered according to Act of' Congress, ili the year 1850, by
BAYARD  TAYL)It,
In the Clerk's Office of the District (Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York.
I I
..' 
TO
EDWARD  F. BEALE, LIEUT., U.S. A.
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED
WITH
THE AUTHORr8 ESTEEM AND AFFECTIOn.  
I A.    As. r.. i I
PRE F A C E.
THIs work requires but few words in the way of introduction
Though the author's purpose in visiting California was not to write
a book, the circumstances of his journey seemed to impose it upon
him as a duty, and all his observations were made with this end in
view. The condition of California, during the latter half of the
year 1849, was as transitory as it was marvellous; the records
which were then made can never be made again. Seeing so much
that was worthy of being described-so many curious and shifting
phases of society-such examples of growth and progress, most
wonderful in their first stage-in a word, the entire construction
of a new and sovereign State, and the establishment of a great
commercial metropolis on the Pacific coast-the author suffered
no opportunity to pass, which might qualify him to preserve their
fleeting images. As he was troubled by no dreams of gold, and
took no part in exciting schemes of trade, he has hoped to give
an impartial coloring to the picture. His impressions of California are those of one who went to see and write, and who sought
I
.1
I- -  
PREFACE.
to do both faithfully. Whatever may be the faults of his work,
he trusts this endeavor will be recognized.
A portion, only, of the pages which follow, were included in the
original letters which appeared in the columns of the New-York
Tribune. Many personal incidents, and pictures of society as it
then existed in California, noted down at the time, have been
added, and a new form given to the materials obtained. The
account of the author's journey across Mexico, is now published
for the first time
If, when a new order of things has been established and what
has occurred is looked upon as a phenomenon of the Past, some
of these pages should be preserved as a record and remembrance
thereof, the object of this work will be fully accomplished.
v*e
VlU 
CONTEN1'S
PAea
CHAPTER I.
YFrom New York to Chagres-The Shores of Florida-Night in Havana Harbor New Orleans-Chagres from the Sea...............................    I
CHAPTER II.
Crossing the Isthmus-Quarrel with a Native-The Village of Gatun-Sngs on
the River-A Priest's Household-An Affectionate Boatman-Riding Through
the Forests-We Reach Panama.....................................1
CHAPTER III.
Scenes in Panama-Emigrants Arriving-Ruined Churches......
CHAPTER IV.
The Pacific Coast of Mexico-Meal-time on the Steamer-A Midnight Call at
Acapulco-The MIexican Coast-The Old Presidio of San Bias-Touching at
Mazatlan.......................................................  31
CHAPTER V.
The Coast of California-A Treacherous Coast-Harbor of San Diego-Narratives
of Emigration-Gen. Villamil and his Colony-The Last Day of the Voyage The Anchor Drops..............................................  42
CHAPTER VI.
First Impressions of San Francisco-Appearance of the Town-The New-Comer's
Bewilderment-Indifferent Shopkeepers-Street Gold-People in Town........54
1"
20 
CONTENTS.
PAGS
CHAPTER VII.
To the San Joaquin, on Muleback-Scenery of the Inland —Ranches on the Road Colonel Fremont-A Sonorian Comrade-Crossing the Coast Range-The  Mos quitos and the Ferry..............................................  6a
CHAPTER VIII.
Camp-Life and a Ride to the Diggings-Stockton-Rocky Mountain Men-Fiery
Travel-the Mule's Heart-Arrival at the Diggings.......................  75
CHAPTER IX.
The Diggings on Mokelumne River-Gold in the River-Bed-The Sonorians The Process of Dry-Washing-Stories of the Gold-Diggers-Cost of our Visit...  84
CHAPTER X.
A Gallop to Stockton, with some Words on Law and Society-Appropriating a
Horse-The Californian Horse-A Flogging Scene in Stockton-Law and Order
-Moral Effect of Gold............................................      94
CHAPTER XI.
A Night-Adventure in the Mountains -An Unceremonious Supper-The Trail
Lost-Second View of San Francisco-Col. Fremont's Mine............... 104
CHAPTER XII.
Ban Francisco by Day and Night-The Streets after Breakfast-A  Bull-Chase The Afternoon-The Inside of a Gaming-Hell...................ag
CHAPTER XIII.
Incidents of a Walk to Monterey-Fisher's Ranche-Agriculture in California A Mountain Panorama-Belated on the Road-The Gila Emigrants-Monterey
at Last......................................................    121
CHAPTER XIV.
Lifo in Monterey-The Fleas Outwitted-The Growth of Monterey —Domestic
Life and Society-Quiet of the Town-Population-National Feeling in Cali.
fornia............................................
x 
CONTENTS.
PAGN
CHAPTER XV.
The State Organization of California-Steps toward Organization-The Con vention Mleets-The Question of Sufrage-Trouble about the Boundary-The
Great Seal of the State-Distinguished Californians...................... 14b
CHAPTER XVI.
The Closing Scenes of the Convention-A Ball-Room Picture-Signing the Con.
stitution-Gen. Riley and the Members-Moral of the Convention.. 15
CHAPTER XVII.
Shore and Forest-Swimming a Ravine-Dinner by the Sea-Shore-Geology and
Indian Tradition-The Sea-Lions on Point L o b o s...................... 169
CHAPTER XVIII.
Old California-Its Missions and its Lands-Rise of the Missions-Their Downfall
-Extent of the Mission Property-The Law for Granting Lands-Uncertain
Boundary of Grants-Disposition of the Gold Land..................... 179
CHAPTER XIX.
Return to San Francisco-Journey in an Ambulance-Night and Morning in tho
Mountains-Fording the Pajaro River-A Sirocco in San Joase-Night-Camp
under the O      a       k       s................................................  192
CHAPTER XX.
Ban Francisco Again-Post Office Experiences-More Statistics of Growth-An
Ague Case-Structure of the Post Office-Sounds on the Portico-Increase of
Pay Needed..................................................  203
CHAPTER XXI.
Sacramento River and City-The Straits of Carquinez-New-York-of-the-Pacifi
-View of Sacramento City-Its Life and Business-Cattle of Experience Sights at the Horse Market...........................214
xi 
CONTENTS.
PAOs
CHAPTER  XXII.
Travelling on the Plains-Night, Rain and a Ranche-The Nevada at Sunset-Prairie
and Wood Craft-Among the Hills-A Knot of Politicians...................... 227
CHAPTER XXIIL
Journey to the Volcano-The Forest Trail-Camping in a Storm-The Volcanic Com munity-Appearance of the Extinct Craters-The Top of Polo's Peak-Return to
the Mokelumne................................................................ 239
*  CHAPTER  XXIV.
Election Scenes and Mining Characters-Voting on the Mokelumne-Incidents of
Digging-An Englishman in Raptures-" Buckshot"-Quicksilver-My own Gold
Digging....................................................................... 257
CHAPTER XXV.
The Rainy Season-The Ferry-Deception of the Diggers-Dry Creek and Amador's
Creek-A Ranche and its Inhabitants-A Female Specimen-A Vision Relin quished....................................................................... 260
CHAPTER XXVI.
Night in Sacramento City-Perils of a Stroll-The City Music-Ethiopian Melodies
-Californian Theatre-Playing the Eavesdropper-Squatters' Quarrels —Fate of my
Mare.......................................................................... 272
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Overland Emigration of 1849-Its Character-The Cholera on the Plains-Salt
Lake City-The Great Basin-The Nevada-Descent of the Mountains-Apathy in
Peril-The Close............................................................. 280
CHAPTER XXVIII.
The Italy of the West-Steam on the Sacramento-The Sunsets of California-A
Company of Washmen-A Voracious Donkey-Attempt at Squatter Life........ 292
CHAPTER XXIX.
San Francisco four months Later-Character of Business-Life and Society-Un fathomable Mud-Streets and Men............................................. 801
xii 
CONTENTS.
PAGI
CHAPTER XXX.
Society in California-The Transformation of the Emigrant-The Norsemen  Re vived-The Energies of Society-California Democracy.........................  810
CHAPTER XXXI.
Leaving San Francisco-A German Crew and Chilian Schooner-Weathering a South Easter-The Fire on Shore-We put back in Distress-The Burnt District-Stem ming a Flood Tide-The Steamer-Paso del Mar-Down the Coast...............  815
CHAPTER XXXII.
Mazatlan-A Chinese Boniface-The Streets by Night and Day-The Atmosphere of
the Gulf-Preparations to leave-Solemn Warnings.............................. 826
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Travel in the Tierra Caliente-Tropical Winter-A Lazy Mule-Night at a Ranche A "Caminador"-Evening at a Posada-Breakfast in El Rosario-A Jolly Hostess Ride to La Bayona-The Palm and the Pine-Indian Robbers-Chat with the Na tives-El Chucho-The Ferry of Rio Santiago-A Night of Horror..............  833
CHAPTER XXXIV.
The Ascent to the Table-Land-My Friend and Caminador-A Bargain-The People
-Tepic-Sacred Mysteries at San Lionel-The Massacre of the Innocents-A Val ley Picture-Crossing the Barranca............................................. 350
CHAPTER XXXV.
The Robber Region-Meeting a Conducta-Tequila below-Suspicions-The Robbers
at Last-Plundered and Bound-My Liberation-A Gibbet Scene-The Kind Padre
of Guadalajara................................................................ 862
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Three Days in Guadalajara-My Hosts-An Unlucky Scotchman-Financiering The Cabal-Notoriety-Movable Fortresses-The Alameda-Tropic Beauty by
Moonlight-An Affectionate Farewell.......................................... 8738
CHAPTER XXXVII.
!n the Diligence to Guanajuato-Pleasant Travel-The Cholera-San Juan de los
Lagos-The Valley of Leon-An Enchanted City-The Eve of a Robber's Death.. 883
xiii 
CONTENTS.
PAGIs
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
The Dividing Ridge and Descent to the Valley of Mexico-The Bajio-An Escort-A
Gay Padre-Zurutuza's Hacienda- The Pass of Capulalpan-Mexico............. 898
CHAPTER XXXIX.
Scenes in the Mexican Capital-Interior of the Cathedral-Street Characters-Smok ing in the Theatre-Aztec Antiquities..........................................  899
CHAPTER XL.
Mexican Politics and Political Men-The  Halls of Congress-Presentation of the
American Minister-Herrera, his Government and Ministers.................... 407T
CHAPTER XLI.
Chapultepec and the Battle Fields-The Panorama of the Valley................... 414
CHAPTER XLII.
The Base of Popocatapetl-Another View of the Valley-The Pine Woods of Rio
Frio-Malinche-Popocatapetl and the Pyramid of Cholula-Puebla at Night..... 422
CHAPTER XLIII.
Glimpses of Purgatory and Paradise-The Plains of Perote-The Rim of the Table.
Land-Magnificent View-Paradise-Orizaba Mountain-The Delights of Jalapa The Field of Cerro Gordo-The Continent Crossed.............................. 48C
CHAPTER XLIV.
Vera Cruz and San Juan d'Ulloa-Homeward..................................... 441
xiv 
ELDORADO.
CHAPTER I.
FROM NEW YORK TO CHAGRES.
ON the 28th of June, 1849, I sailed from New York, in the
U. S. Mfail steamship Falcon, bound for Chagres. About eight
months had elapsed since the tidings of an Eldorado in the West
reached the Atlantic shore. The first eager rush of adventurers was over, yet there was no cessation to the marvellous
reports, and thousands were only waiting a few further repetitions,
to join the hordes of emigration. The departure of a steamer
was still something of an incident. The piers and shipping were
crowded with spectators, and as the Falcon moved from her
moorings, many a cheer and shout of farewell followed her. The
glow and excitement of adventure seemed to animate even those
who remained behind, and as for our passengers, there was scarcely
one who did not feel himself more or less a hero. The deck rang
with songs, laughter and gaily-spoken anticipations of roving life
and untold treasure, till we began to feel the heavy swell rolling
inward from Sandy Hook.
Rough weather set in with the night, and for a day or two
we were all in the same state of torpid misery. Sea-sicknessnext to Death, the greatest leveler-could not, however, smooth
down the striking contrasts of character exhibited among the pas
I 
ELDORADO.
sengers   Nothing less than a marvel  like that of California
could have brought into juxtaposition so many opposite types of
human nature. We had an officer of the Navy, blunt, warmhearted and jovial; a captain in the merchant service, intelligent
and sturdily-tempered; Down-Easters, with sharp-set faces-men
of the genuine stamp, who would be sure to fall on their feet
wherever they might be thrown; quiet and sedate Spaniards;
hilarious Germans; and some others whose precise character was
more difficult to determine. Nothing was talked of but the land
to which we were bound, nothing read but Frdmont's Expedition,
Emory's Report, or some work of Rocky Mountain travel.
After doubling Cape HIatteras, on the second day out, our mo
notonous life was varied by the discovery of a distant wreck
Captain Hartstein instantly turned the Falcon's head towards her,
and after an hour's run we came up with her. The sea for some
distance around was strewed with barrels, fragments of bulwarks,
stanchions and broken spars. She was a schooner of a hundred
tons, lying on her beam ends and water-logged. Her mainmast
was gone, the foremast broken at the yard and the bowsprit
snapped off and lying across her bows.   The  mass of spars and
rigging drifted by her side, surging drearily on the heavy sea
Not a soul was aboard, and we made many conjectures as to their
fate.
We lay to off Charleston the fourth night, waiting for the mails,
which came on board in the morning with a few forlorn-looking
passengers, sick and weary with twenty-four hours' tossing on the
swells.  In the afternoon we saw Tybee Lighthous6. through the.
veil of a misty shower   The sun set among the jagged piles of a
broken thunder-cloud, and ribbon-like streaks of lightning dar-ted
all round the horizon. Our voyage now began to have a real in
2 
THE SHORES OF FLORIDA.
terest. With the next sunrise, we saw the Lighthouse of St.
Augustine and ran down the shores of Florida, inside the Gulf
Stream, and close to the edges of the banks of coral. The pasengers clustered on the bow, sitting with their feet hanging over
the guards, and talking of Ponce de Leon, De Soto, and the early
Spanish adventurers. It was unanimously voted that the present
days were as wonderful as those, and each individual emigrant entitled to equal credit for daring and enterprise. I found it delighful
to sit all day leaning over the rails, watching the play of flying-fish
the floating of purple nautili on the water, or looking off to the
level line of the shore. Behind a beach of white sand, half a mile
in breadth and bordered by dense thickets, rise the interminable
forests of live oak, mangrove and cypress. The monotony of this
long extent of coast is only broken by an occasional lagoon, where
the deep green of the woods comes down upon the lighter green
of the coral shoals, or by the huts of wreckers and their trim,
duck-like crafts, lying in the offings. The temperature was delicious, with a light, cloudy sky, and a breeze as soft and balmy as
that of our northern May. The afternoons commenced with a
heavy thunder-shower, after which the wind came fresh from the
land, bringing us a rank vegetable odor from the cypress swamps
On the morning of July 5th, I took a station on the wheelhouse, to look out for Cuba. We had left Florida in the night,
and the waves of the Gulf were around us. The sun, wheeling
near the zenith, burned fiercely on the water. I glowed at my
post, but not with his beam.   I had reached the  flaming boun
dary of the Tropics, and felt that the veil was lifting from an
unknown world. The far rim of the horizon seemed as if it would
never break into an uneven line. At last, towards noon, Capt.
Hartstein handed me the ship's glass. I swept the southern dis
3 
ELDORADO.
tance, and discerned a single blue, conical peak iising fiom the
water-the well-known Pan of Matanzas. As we drew nearer,
the Iron Mountains-a rugged chain in the interior-rose, then the
green hills along the coast, and finally the white beach and bluffs,
the coral reefs and breakers. The shores were buried in vegetation. The fields of young sugar-cane ran along the slopes;
palms waved from the hill-tops, and the country houses of planters lay deep in the valleys, nestling in orange groves. I drank in
the land-wind-a combination of all tropical perfumes in one full
breath of cool air-with an enjoyment verging on intoxication.
while, point beyond point, we followed the enchanting coast.
We ran under the battlements of the Moro at six o'clock, and
turning abruptly round the bluff of dark rock on which it is built,
the magnificent harbor opened inland before us.  To the right lay
the city, with its terraced houses of all light and brilliant colors,
its spacious public buildings, spires, and the quaint, half-oriental
pile of its cathedral, in whose chancel repose the ashes of Christopher Columbus. The immense fortress of the Moro crowned the
height on our left, the feathery heads of palm-trees peering above
its massive, cream-colored walls. A part of the garrison were going
through their evening exercises on the beach. Numberless boats
skimmed about on the water, and a fiat ferry-steamer, painted
green and yellow, was on its way to the suburb of Regoles.
Around the land-locked harbor, two miles in width, rose green
hills, dotted with the country palaces of the nobility. Over all
this charming view glowed the bright hues of a southern sunset.
On account of the cholera at New York, we were ordered up
to the Quarantine ground and anchored beside the hulk of an old
frigate, filled with yellow-fever patients. The Healtlh Officers
received the mail and ship's papers at the end of a long pole, and
4 
NIGHT IN HAVANA HARBOR.
dipped them in a bucket of vinegar. The boats which brought
us water and vegetables were attended by Cuban soldiers, in white
uniform, who guarded against all contact with us. Half-naked
slaves, with the broad, coarse features of the natives of Congo,
worked at the pump, but even they suffered the rope-end or plank
which had touched our vessel, to drop in the water before they
handled it. After sunset, the yellow-fever dead were buried and
the bell of a cemetery on shore tolled mournfully at intervals.
The steamer Isabel, and other American ships, were anchored
beside us, and a lively conversation between the crews broke the
stillness of the tropical moonlight resting on the water. Now
and then they struck into songs, one taking up a new strain as
the other ceased-in the style of the Venetian gondoliers, but
with a different effect. " Tasso's echoes" are another thing from
"the floating scow of old Virginny."  The lights of the city
gleamed at a distance, and over them the flaming beacon of the
Moro. Tall palms were dimly seen on the nearer hills, and the
damp night-air came heavy with the scent of cane-fields, orange
groves and flowers.
A voyage across the Gulf is the perfection of sea-traveling.
After a detention of eighteen hours at Havana, we ran under the
frowning walls of the Moro, out on its sheet of brilliant blue water, specked with white-caps that leaped to a fresh north-easter.
The waves are brighter, the sky softer and purer, the sunsets
more mellow than on the Atlantic, and the heat, though ranging
from 88'0 to 95~ in the shade, is tempered by a steady and delicious breeze.
Before catching sight of land, our approach to the Mississippi
was betrayed by the water. Changing to a deep, then a muddy
green, which, even fifteen or twenty miles from shore, rolls its
5 
ELDORADO.
stratum of fresh water over the bed of denser brine, it needed no
soundings to tell of land ahead. The light on the South Pass
was on our starboard at dusk. The arm of the river we entered
seemed so wide in the uncertain light, that, considering it as one
of five, my imagination expanded in contemplating the size of the
single flood, bearing in its turbid waves the snows of mountains
that look on Oregon, the ice of lakes in Northern Minesota and
the crystal springs that for a thousand miles gush from the western slope of the Alleghanies. When morning came, my excited
fancies seemed completely at fault.   I could scarcely recognize
the Father of Waters in the tortuous current of brown soap-suds,
a mile in width, flowing between forests of willow and cypress on
one side and swamps that stretched to the horizon on the other.
Everything exhibited the rank growth and speedy decay of tropi
cal vegetation   The river was filled with floating logs, which
were drifted all along the shore.   The  trees, especially the
cypress, were shrouded in gray moss, that hung in long streamers
from the branches, and at intervals the fallen thatch of some deserted cabin was pushed from its place by shrubbery and wild
vines.
Near the city, the shores present a rich and cultivated aspect
The land is perfectly flat, but the forest recedes, and broad fields
of sugar cane and maize in ear come down to the narrow levee
which protects them from the flood. The houses of the planters,
low, balconied and cool, are buried among orange trees, acacias,
and the pink blossoms of the crape myrtle. The slave-huts adjoining, in parallel rows, have sometimes small gardens attached,
but are rarely shaded by trees.
I found New Orleans remarkably dull and healthy. The city
was enjoying an interregnum between the deDarture of the cholera
6 
NEW ORLEANS.
and the arrival of the yellow fever. The crevasse, by which half
the city had lately been submerged, was closed, but the effects
of the inundation were still perceptible in frequent pools of standing water, and its scenes daily renewed by incessant showers.
The rain came down, " not from one lone cloud," but as if a
thousand cisterns had been stove in at once. In half an hour after
a shower commenced, the streets were navigable, the hack-horses
splashing their slow way through the flood, carrying home a few
drenched unfortunates.
The Falcon was detained four days, which severely tested the
temper of my impatient shipmates. I employed the occasional
gleams of clear weather in rambling over the old French and
Spanish quarters, riding on the Lafayette Railroad or driving out
the Shell Road to the cemetery, where the dead are buried above
ground. The French part of the city is unique and interesting.
All the innovation is confined to the American Municipalities,
which resemble the business parts of our Northern cities. The
curious one-storied dwellings, with jalousies and tiled roofs, of the
last century, have not been disturbed in the region below Canal
street. The low houses, where the oleander and crape myrtle
still look over the walls, were once inhabited by the luxurious
French planters, but now display such signs as " Magazin des
Modes," "Au  bon marcher, or "Perrot, Coiffeur."  Some of
the more pretending mansions show the porte cochere and heavy
b,arred windows of the hotels of Paris, and the common taverns,
with their smoky aspect and the blue blouses that fill them, are
exact counterparts of some I have seen in the Rue St. Antoine.
The body of the Cathedral, standing at the head of the Place d'
Airmes, was torn down, and workmen were employed in building
a prison in its stead; but the front, with its venerable tower and
7 
ELDORADO.
refreshing appearance of antiquity, will remain, hiding behind its
changeless face far different passions and darker spectacles than
in the Past.
The hour of departure at length arrived. The levee opposite
our anchorage, in Lafayette City, was thronged with a noisy multitude, congregated to witness the embarcation of a hundred and
fifty additional passengers. Our deck became populous with tall,
gaunt Mississipians and Arkansans, Missouri squatters who had
pulled up their stakes yet another time, and an ominous number
of professed gamblers. All were going to seek their fortunes in
California, but very few had any definite idea of the country or
the voyage to be made before reaching it. There were among
them some new varieties of the American-long, loosely-jointed
men, with large hands and feet and limbs which would still be
awkward, whatever the fashion of their clothes. Their faces were
lengthened, deeply sallow, overhung by straggling locks of straight
black hair, and wore an expression of settled melancholy. The
corners of their mouths curved downwards, the upper lip drawn
slightly over the under one, giving to the lower part of the face
that cast of destructiveness peculiar to the Indian.  These men
chewed tobacco at a ruinous rate, and spent their time either in
dozing at full length on the deck or going into the fore-cabin for
' drinks.' Each one of them carried arms enough for a small
company and breathed defiance to all foreigners.
We had a voyage of seven days, devoid of incident, to the
Isthmus. During the fourth night we passed between Cuba and
Yucatan. Then, after crossing the mouth of the Gulf of Honduras, where we met the south-eastern trades, and running the
gauntlet of a cluster of coral keys, for the navigation of which no
chart can be positively depended upon, we came into the deep
8 
CHAGRES) FROM THE SEA.
water of the Caribbean Sea. The waves ran high under a dull
rain and raw wind, more like Newfoundland weather than the
tropics.  On the morning of the eighth day, we approached land.
All hands gathered on deck, peering into the mist for the first
glimpse of the Isthmus. Suddenly a heavy rain-cloud lifted, and
we saw, about five miles distant, the headland of Porto Bello-a
bold, rocky promontory, fringed with vegetation and washed at
its foot by a line of snowy breakers. The range of the Andes of
Darien towered high behind the coast, the further summits lost in
the rain. Turning to the south-west, we followed the magnificent
sweep of hills toward Chagres, passing Navy Bay, the Atlantic
terminus of the Panama Railroad. The entrance is narrow, between two bold bluffs, opening into a fine land-locked harbor,
surrounded by hills.
Chagres lies about eight miles to the west of this bay, but the.
mouth of the river is so narrow that the place is not seen till you
run close upon it. The eastern shore is high and steep, cloven
with ravines which roll their floods of tropical vegetation down to
the sea. The old castle of San Lorenzo crowns the point, occupying a position somewhat similar to the Moro Castle at Havana,
and equally impregnable. Its brown battlements and embrasures
have many a dark and stirring recollection. Morgan and his
buccaneers scaled its walls, took and leveled it, after a fight in
which all but thirty-three out of three hundred and fourteen defenders were slain, some of them leaping madly from the precipice
into the sea. Strong as it is by nature, and would be in the hands
of an enterprising people, it now looks harmless enough with a few
old cannon lying lazily on its ramparts. The other side of the
river is fiat and marshy, and from our place of anchorage we could
only see the tops of some huts among the trees.
1*
9 
ELDORADO.
We came to anchor about half past four. The deck was already
covered with lugg age and everybody was anxious to leave first.
Our captain, clerk, and a bearer of dispatches, were pulled ashore
in the steamer's boat, and in the meantime the passengers formed
themselves into small companies for the journey up the river. An
immense canoe, or " dug-out," manned by half-naked natives
shortly came out, and the most of the companies managed to get
agents on board to secure canoes for them. The clerk, on his return, was assailed by such a storm of questions-the passengers
leaning half-way over the bulwarks in their eagerness for newsthat for a few minutes he could not make himself heard. When
the clamor subsided, he told us that the Pacific steamer would
sail from Panama on the 1st of August, and that the only canoes
to be had that night were already taken by Captain  lartstein,
who was then making his way up the Rio  Chagres, in rain and
thick darkness. The trunks and blankets were therefore taken
below again and we resigned ourselves to another night on board,
with a bare chance of sleep in the disordered state-rooms and
among the piles of luggage. A heavy cloud on the sea broke out
momently into broad scarlet flashes of lightning, surpassing any
celestial pyrotechnics I ever witnessed.   The dark walls of San
Lorenzo, the brilliant clusters of palms on the shore and the
green, rolling hills of the interior, leaped at intervals out of the
gloom, as vividly seen as under the noon-day sun.
10 
CHAPTER II.
CROSSING THE ISTHMUS.
I LEFT the Falcon at day-break in the ship's boat. We rounded
the high bluff on which the castle stands and found beyond it a
shallow little bay, on the eastern side of which, on low ground,
stand the cane huts of Chagres. Piling up our luggage on the
shore, each one set about searching for the canoes which had been
engaged the night previous, but, without a single exception, the
natives were not to be found, or when found, had broken their
bargains. Everybody ran hither and thither in great excitement,
anxious to be off before everybody else, and hurrying the naked
boatmen, all to no purpose. The canoes were beached on the
mud, and their owners engaged in re-thatching their covers with
split leaves of the palm. The doors of the huts were filled with
men and women, each in a single cotton garment, composedly
smoking their cigars, while numbers of children, in Nature's own
clothing, tumbled about in the sun.  Having started without
breakfast, I went to the "Crescent City" Hotel, a hut with a floor
to it, but could get nothing. Some of my friends had fared better
at one of the native huts, and I sat down to the remains of their
meal, which was spread on a hen-coop beside the door. The pigs
of the vicinity and several lean dogs surrounded me to offer their 
services, but maintained a respectful silence, which is more than
could be said of pigs at home. Some pieces of pork fat, with
fresh bread and a draught of sweet spring water from a cocoa
shell, made me a delicious repast.
A returning Californian had just reached the place, with a box
containing $22,000 in gold-dust, and a four-pound lump in one
liand. The impatience and excitement of the passengers, already
it a high pitch, was greatly increased by his appearance. Life
and death were small matters compared with immediate departure
from Chagres. Mien ran up and down the beach, shouting, gesti.
culating, and getting feverishly impatient at the deliberate habits
of the natives; as if their arrival in California would thereby be
at all hastened. The boatmen, knowing very well that two more
steamers were due the next day, remained provokingly cool and
unconcerned. They had not seen six months of emigration without learning something of the American habit of going at full
speed.  The word of starting in use on the Chagres River, is "goahead!"   Captain C        and Mr. M, of Baltimore, and
myself were obliged to pay $15 each, for a canoe to Cruces. We
chose a broad, trimly-cut craft, which the boatmen were covering
with fresh thatch. We stayed with them until all was ready, and
they had pushed it through the mud and shoal water to the bank
before Ramos's house. Our luggage was stowed away, we took
our seats and raised our umbrellas, but the men had gone off for
provisions and were not to be found. All the other canoes were
equally in limbo. The sun blazed down on the swampy shores,
and visions of yellow fever came into the minds of the more timid
travelers. The native boys brought to us bottles of fresh water,
biscuits and fruit, presenting them with the words: " bit!" " picayune!" "Your bread is not good," I said to one of the shirt
12
ELDORADO. 
QUARREL WITH A NATIVE.
less traders' Si, Sehor!" was his decided answer, while he
tossed back his childish head with a look of offended dignity which
chanrmed me.  While sitting patiently in our craft, I was much
diverted by seeing one of our passengers issue from a hut with a
native on each arm, and march them resolutely down to the river.
Our own men appeared towards noon, with a bag of rice and dried
pork, and an armful of sugar-cane.  A few strokes of their broad
paddles took us from the excitement and noise of the landing-place
to the seclusion and beauty of the river scenery.
Our chief boatman, named Ambrosio Mendez, was of the mixed
Indian and Spanish race. The second, Juan Crispin Bega, belonged to the lowest class, almost entirely of negro blood. lie
was a strong, jovial fellow, and took such good care of some of our
small articles as to relieve us from all further trouble about them.
This propensity is common to all of his caste on the Isthmus.   In
addition to these, a third man was given to us, with the assurance
that he would work his passage; but just as we were leaving, we
learned that he was a runaway soldier, who had been taken up for
theft and was released on paying some sub-alcalde three bottles of
liquor, promising to quit the place at once. We were scarcely
out of sight of the town before he demanded five dollars a day for
his labor. We refused, and he stopped working. Upon our
threatening to set him ashore in the jungle, he took up the paddle,
but used it so awkwardly and perversely that our other men lost
all patience. We were obliged, however, to wait until we could
reach Gatun, ten miles distant, before settling matters. Juan
struck up "Oh Susanna!" which he sang to a most ludicrous
imitation of the words, and I lay back under the palm leaves,
looking out of the stern of the canoe on the forests of the Chagres
River.
12 
ELDORADO.
There is nothing in the world comparable to these forests. N(i
description that I have ever read conveys an idea of the splendid
overplus of vegetable life within the tropics. The river, broad,
and with a swift current of the sweetest water I ever drank, winds
between walls of foliage that rise from its very surface.  All the
gorgeous growths of an eternal Summer are so mingled in one
impenetrable mass, that the eye is bewildered. From the rank
jungle of canes and gigantic lilies, and the thickets of strange
shrubs that line the water, rise the trunks of the mango, the ceiba,
the cocoa, the sycamore and the superb palm. Plaintains take
root in the banks, hiding the soil with their leaves, shaken and
split into immense plumes by the wind and rain. The zapote,
with a fruit the size of a man's head, the gourd tree, and other
vegetable wonders, attract the eye on all sides. Blossoms of
crimson, purple and yellow, of a form and magnitude unknown in
the North, are mingled with the leaves, and flocks of paroquets
and brilliant butterflies circle through the air like blossoms blown
away. Sometimes a spike of scarlet flowers is thrust forth like
the tongue of a serpent from the heart of some convolution of un
folding leaves, and often the creepers and parasites drop trails and
streamers of fragrance from boughs that shoot half-way across the
river. Every turn of the stream only disclosed another and more
magnificent vista of leaf, bough and blossom. All outline of the
landscape is lost under this deluge of vegetation. No trace of the
soil is to be seen; lowland and highland are the same; a mountain is-but a higher swell of the mass of verdure. As on the
ocean, you have a sense rather than a perception of beauty. The
sharp, clear lines of our scenery at home are here wanting. What
shape the land would be if cleared, you cannot tell. You gaze
upon the scene before you with a never-sated delight, till your
14 
THE VILLAGE OF GATUN
brain aches with the sensation, and you close your eyes, overwhelmned with the thought that all these wonders have been from
the beginning-that year after year takes away no leaf or blossom
that is not replaced, but the sublime mystery of growth and decay
is renewed forever.
In the afternoon we reached Gatun, a small village of bamboo
huts, thatched with palm-leaves, on the right bank of the river.
The canoes which preceded us had already stopped, and the boatmen, who have a mutual understanding, had decided to remain
all night.  We ejected our worthless passenger on landing, notwithstanding his passive resistance, and engaged a new boatman
in his place, at $8. I shall never forget the forlorn look of the
man as he sat on the bank beside his bag of rice, as the rain began to fall. Ambrosio took us to one of the huts and engaged
hammocks for the night. Two wooden drums, beaten by boys, in
another part of the village, gave signs of a coming fandango, and,
as it was Sunday night, all the natives were out in their best
dresses.  They are a very cleanly people, bathing daily, and
changing their dresses as often as they are soiled. The children
have their heads shaved from the crown to the neck, and as they
go about naked, with abdomens unnaturally distended, from an
exclusive vegetable diet, are odd figures enough. They have
bright black eyes, and are quick and intelligent in their speechb
and motions.
The inside of our hut was but a single room, in which all the
household operations were carried on. A notched pole, serving
as a ladder, leJ to a sleeping loft, under the pyrarmidal roof of
thatch. Here a number of the emigrants who arrived late were
stowed away on a rattling floor of cane, covered with hides.  After
a supper of pork and coffee, I made my day's notes by  the light
15 
ELDORADO.
of a miserable starveling candle, stuck in an empty bottle, but had
not written far before my paper was covered with fleas.  The
owner of the hut swung my hanmmock meanwhile, and I turned in,
to secure it for the night. To lie there was one thing, to sleep
another. A dozen natives crowded round the table, drinking
their aguardiente and disputing vehemently; the cooking fire was
on one side of me, and every one that passed to and fro was sure
to give me a thump, while my weight swung the hammock so low,
that all the dogs on the premises were constantly rubbing their
backs under me. I was just sinking into a doze, when my head
was so violently agitated that I started up in some alarm. It was
but a quarrel about payment between the Sefora and a boatman,
one standing on either side.  From their angry gestures, my own
head and not the reckoning, seemed the subject of contention.
Our men were to have started at midnight, but it was two
hours later before we could rouse and muster them together. We
went silently and rapidly up the river till sunrise, when we reached
a cluster of huts called Dos Hermanos (Two Brothers.) HIlere
we overtook two canoes, which, in their anxiety to get ahead, had
been all night on the river.  There had been only a slight shower
since we started; but the clouds began to gather heavily, and by
the time we had gained the ranche of Palo Matida a sudden cold
wind came over the forests, and the air was at once darkened.
We sprang ashore and barely reached the hut, a few paces off,
when the rain broke over us, as if the sky had caved in. A dozen
lines of white electric heat ran down from the zenith, followed by
crashes of thunder, which I could feel throbbing in the earth under
my feet. The rain drove into one side of the cabin and out the
other, but we wrapped ourselves in India-rubber cloth and kept
out the wet and chilling air. During the whole day the river rose
16 
SONGS ON THE RIVER.
rapidly and we were obliged to hug the bank closely, running
under the boughs of trees and drawing ourselves up the rapids
by those that hung low.
I crept out of the snug nest where we were all stowed as closely
as three unfledged sparrows, and took my seat between Juan and
Ambrosio, protected from the rain by an India-rubber poncho.
The clothing of our men was likewise waterproof, but without
seam or fold. It gave no hindrance to the free play of their
muscles, as they deftly and rapidly plied the broad paddles
Juan kept time to the Ethiopian melodies he had picked up from
the emigrants, looking round from time to time with a grin of
satisfaction at his skill.  I preferred, however, hearing the native
songs, which the boatmen sing with a melancholy drawl on the
final syllable of every line, giving the music a peculiar but not
unpleasant effect, when heard at a little distance. There was
one, in particular, which he sang with some expression, the refrain running thus:
"Ten piedad, piedad de mis penas,
Ten piedad, piedad de mi amor!"
(Have pity on my sufferings-have pity on my love!)
Singing begets thirst, and perhaps Juan sang the more that he
might have a more frequent claim on the brandy. The bottle
was then produced and each swallowed a mouthful, after which
he dipped his cocoa shell in the river and took a long draught.
This is a universal custom among the boatmen, and the traveler
is obliged to supply them. As a class, they are faithful, hardworking and grateful for kindness. They have faults, the worst
of which are tardiness, and a propensity to filch small articles;
but good treatment wins upon them in almost every case.  Juan
17 
ELDORADO.
said to me in the beginning " soy tu amigo yo," (Ameri(anice: I
am thy friend, well I am,) but when he asked me, in turn, for
every article of clothing I wore, I began to think his friendship
not the most disinterested. Ambrosio told me that they would
serve no one well who treated them badly.   " If the Americanb
are good, we are good; if they abuse us, we are bad. We are
black, but nmuchos caballeros," (very much of gentlemen,) said
he. Many blustering fellows, with their belts stuck full of pistols
and bowie-knives, which they draw on all occasions, but take
good care not to use, have brought reproach on the country by
their silly conduct. It is no bravery to put a revolver to the
head of an unarmed and ignorant native, and the boatmen have
sense enough to be no longer terrified by it.
We stopped the second night at Pefa Blanca, (the White
Rock,) where I slept in the loft of a hut, on the floor, in the
midst of the family and six other travelers. We started at sunrise, hoping to reach Gorgona the same night, but ran upon a
sunken log and were detained some time. Ambrosio finally released us by jumping into the river and swimming ashore with a
rope in his teeth. The stream was very high, running at least five
miles an hour, and we could only stem it with great labor. We
passed the ranches of Agua Salud, Varro Colorado and Palanquilla, and shortly after were overtaken by a storm on the river.
We could hear the rush and roar of the rain, as it came towards
us like the trampling of myriad feet on the leaves. Shooting
under a broad sycamore we made fast to the boughs, covered ourselves with India-rubber, and lay under our cool, rustling thatch
of palm, until the storm had passed over.
The character of the scenery changed somewhat as we ad.
vanced   The air was purer, and the banks more bold and steep.
18 
A PRIESTrS HOUSEHOLD.
The country showed more signs of cultivation, and in many places
the forest had been lopped away to make room for fields of maize,
plantain and rice.   But the vegetation was still that of the
tropics and many were the long and lonely reaches of the river,
there we glided between piled masses of bloom and greenery. I
remember one spot, where, from the crest of a steep hill to the
edge of the water, descended a flood, a torrent of vegetation
Trees were rolled upon trees, woven into a sheet by parasitic vines,
that leaped into the air like spray, from the topmost boughs.
When a wind slightly agitated the sea of leaves, and the vines
were flung like a green foam on the surface of the river, it was
almost impossible not to feel that the flood was about rushing
down to overwhelm us.
We stopped four hours short of Gorgona, at the hacienda of
San Pablo, the residence of Padre Dutaris, cure of all the interior. Ambrosio took us to his house by a path across a rolling,
open savanna, dotted by palms and acacias of immense size.
Herds of cattle and horses were grazing on the short, thick-leaved
grass, and appeared to be in excellent condition. The padre
owns a large tract of land, with a thousand head of stock, and his
ranche commands a beautiful view up and down the river. Ambrosio was acquainted with his wife, and by recommending us as
buenos caballeros, procured us a splendid supper of fowls, eggs,
rice boiled in cocoa milk, and chocolate, with baked plantains for
bread. Those who came after us had difficulty in getting anything. The padre had been frequently cheated by Americans
and was therefore cautious.  He was absent at the time, but his
son Felipe, a boy of twelve years old, assisted in doing the honors
with wonderful grace and self-possession. His tawny skin was
as soft as velvet, and his black eyes sparkled like jewels. Ie is
9
19 
ELDORADO.
almost the only living model of the Apollino that I ever saw.  IIc
sat in the hammock with me, leaning over my shoulder as I noted
down the day's doings, and when I had done, wrote his name in
my book, in an elegant hand. I slept soundly in the midst of an
uproar, and only awoke at four o'clock next morning, to hurry
our men in leaving for Gorgona.
The current was very strong and in some places it was almost
impossible to make headway. Our boatmen worked hard, and by
dint of strong poling managed to jump through most difficult
places. Their naked, sinewy forms, bathed in sweat, shone like
polished bronze. Ambrosio was soon exhausted, and lay down;
but Miguel, our corps de reserve, put his agile spirit into the
work and flung himself upon the pole with such vigor that all the
muscles of his body quivered as the boat shot ahead and relaxed
them. About half-way to Gorgona we rounded the foot of Monte
Carabali, a bold peak clothed with forests and crowned with a
single splendid palm. This hill is the only one in the province
from which both oceans may be seen at once.
As we neared Gorgona, our men began repeating the ominous
words: " Cruces-mucha colera." We had, in fact, already heard
of the prevalence of cholera there, but doubted, none the less,
their wish to shorten the journey. On climbing the bank to the
village, I called immediately at the store of IMr. Miller, the only
American resident, who informed me that several passengers by
the Falcon had already left for Panama, the route being reported
passable. In the door of the alealde's house, near at hand, I
met Mr. Powers, who had left New York a short time previous
to my departure, and was about starting for Panama on foot,
mules being very scarce.  While we were deliberating whether to
go on to Cruces, Ambrosio beckoned me into an adjoining hut.
20
9 
AN AFFECTIONATE BOATMAN.
The owner, a very venerable and dignified native, received me
swinging in his hammock.   He had six horses which he would
furnish us the next morning, at $10 the head for riding animals,
and $6 for each 100 lbs. of freight. The bargain was instantly
concluded.
Now came the settlement with our boatmen. In addition to
the fare, half of which was paid in Chagres, we had promised
them a gratificacion, provided they made the voyage in three
days. The contract was not exactly fulfilled, but we thought it
best to part friends and so gave them each a dollar. Their antics of delight were most laughable. They grinned, laughed,
danced, caught us by the hands, vowed eternal friendship and
would have embraced us outright, had we given them the least
encouragement. Half an hour afterwards I met Juan, in a clean
shirt and white pantaloons. There was a heat in his eye and a
ruddiness under his black skin, which readily explained a little
incoherence in his speech. " lli amigo!" he cried, " mi been
amigo! give me a bottle of beer!"  I refused.  "But," said
he, "we  are friends; surely you will give your dear friend a
bottle of beer."  "I don't like my  dear friends to drink too
much;" I answered. Finding I would not humor him, as a last
resort, he placed both hands on his breast, and with an imploring
look, sang:
"Ten piedad, piedad de mis penas,
Ten piedad, piedad de mi amor!"
I burst into a laugh at this comical appeal, and he retreated,
satisfied that he had at least done a smart thing.
During the afternoon a number of canoes arrived, and as it
grew dark the sound of the wooden drums proclaimed a fandango.
21 
ELDORADO.
The aristocracy of Gorgona met in the Alcalde's house; the
plebs on a level sward before one of the huts. The dances were
the same, but there was some attempt at style by the former
class. The ladies were dressed in white and pink, with flowers in
their hair, and waltzed with a slow grace to the music of violins
and guitars. The Alcalde's daughters were rather pretty, and at
once became favorites of the Americans, some of whom joined in
the fandango, and went through its voluptuous mazes at the first
trial, to the great delight of the natives. The Sefiora Catalina, a
rich widow, of pure Andalusian blood, danced charmingly.  Her
little head was leaned coquettishly on one side, while with one hand
she held aloft the fringed end of a crimson scarf, which rested
lightly on the opposite shoulder. The dance over, she took a
guitar and sang, the subject of her song being  " los amigos
Americanos."  There was less sentiment, but more jollity, at the
dances on the grass. The only accompaniment to the wooden
drums was the " ha.,  ao," of the women, a nasal monotone,
which few ears have nerve  to endure.   Those  who  danced
longest and with the most voluptuous spirit, had the hats of all
the others piled upon them, in token of applause.  These halfbarbaric orgies were fully seen in the pure and splendid light
poured upon the landscape from a vertical moon.
Next morning at daybreak our horses-tough little mustangs,
which I could almost step over-were at the door. We started
off with a guide, trusting our baggage to the honesty of our host,
who promised to send it the same day. A servant of the Alcalde
esco tad us out of the village, cut us each a good stick, pocketed
a real and then left us to plunge into the forests. The path at
the outset was bad enough, but as the wood grew deeper and
fiaker and the tough clay soil held the rains which had fallen, it
22 
RIDING THROUGH THlE FORESTS.
became finally a narrow gully, filled with mud nearly to our horses'
bellies. Descending the steep sides of the hills, they would step
or slide down almost precipitous passes, bringing up all straight
at the bottom,  and climbing the opposite sides like cats.  So
strong is their mutual confidence that they invariably step in each
other's tracks, and a great part of the road is thus worn into holes
three feet deep and filled with water and soft mud, which spirts
upward as they go, coating the rider from head to foot.
The mountain range in the interior is broken and irregular.
The road passes over the lower ridges and projecting spurs of the
main chain, covered nearly the whole distance to Panama by dense
forests. Above us spread a roof of transparent green, through
which few rays of the sunlight fell. The only sounds in that leafy
wilderness were the chattering of monkeys as they cracked the
palm-nuts, and the scream of parrots, flying from tree to tree. In
thie deepest ravines spent mules frequently lay dead, and high
above them, on the large boughs, the bald vultures waited silently
for us to pass.  We  overtook many trains of luggage, packed on
the backs of bulls and horses, tied head-to-tail in long files. At
intervals, on the road, we saw a solitary ranche, with a cleared
space about it, but all the natives could furnish us was a cup of
thick, black coffee.
After ascending for a considerable distance, in the first half of
our journey, we came to a level table-land, covered with palms,
with a higher ridge beyond it. Our horses climbed it with some
labor, went  down  the other side  through  clefts and gullies
which seemed impassable, and brought us to a stream of mnilky
blue water, which, on ascertaining its course with a compass, I
found to be a tributary of the Rio Grande, flowing into the Pacific at
Panama   We now hoped the worst part of our route was over,
23 
ELDORADO.
but this was a terrible deception. Scrambling up ravines of
slippery clay, we went for miles through swamps and thickets,
urging forward our jaded beasts by shouting and beating.  Going
down a precipitous bank, washed soft by the rains, my horse
slipped and made a descent of ten feet, landing on one bank and
I on another. He rose quietly, disengaged his head from the
mud and stood, flank-deep, waiting till I stepped across his back
and went forward, my legs lifted to his neck. This same adventure happened several times to each of us on the passage across.
As we were leaving Gorgona, our party was joined by a long
Mississippian, whose face struck me at the first glance as being peculiarly cadaverous. He attached himself to us without the least
ceremony, leaving his own party behind. We had not ridden far
before he told us he had felt symptoms of cholera during the night,
and was growing worse. We insisted on his returning to Gorgona
at once, but he refused, saying he was "bound to go through.'
At the first ranche on the road we found another traveler, lying
on the ground in a state of entire prostration. He was attended
by a friend, who seemed on the point of taking the epidemic, from
his very fears. The sight of this case no doubt operated on the
Mississippian, for he soon became so racked with pain as to keep
his seat with great difficulty. We were alarmed; it was impossible to stop in the swampy forest, and equally impossible to leave
him, now that all his dependence was on us. The only thing resembling medicine in our possession, was a bottle of claret. It
was an unusual remedy for cholera, but he insisted on drinking it.
After urging forward our weary beasts till late in the afternoon,
we were told that Panama was four hours further. We pitied the
poor horses, but ourselves more, and determined to push ahead.
After a repetition of all our worst experience, we finally struck
24 
WE REACH PANAMA.
the remains of the paved road constructed by the buccaneers when
they held Panama. I now looked eagerly forward for the Pacific,
but every ridge showed another in advance, and it grew dark with
a rain coming up   Our horses avoided the hard pavement and
took by-paths through thickets higher than our heads. The cholera-stricken emigrant, nothing helped by the claret he drank,
implored us, amid his groans, to hasten forward. Leaning over
the horse's neck, he writhed on his saddle in an agony of pain,
and seemed on the point of falling at every step. We were far in
advance of our Indian guide and lost the way more than once in
the darkness. At last he overtook us, washed his feet in a mudhiole, and put on a pair of pantaloons. This was a welcome sign
to us, and in fact, we soon after smelt the salt air of the Pacific,
and could distinguish huts on either side of the road. These gave
place to stone houses and massive ruined edifices, overgrown with
vegetation. We passed a plaza and magnificent church, rode
down an open space fronting the bay, under a heavy gate-way,
across another plaza and through two or three narrow streets,
hailed by Americans all the way with: "Are you the Falcon's
passengers?"  "From  Gorgona?"  "From Cruces?" till our
guide brought us up at the HIotel Americano.
Thus terminated my five days' journey across the Isthmusdecidedly more novel, grotesque and adventurous than any trip
of similar length in the world. It was rough enough, but had
nothing that I could exactly call hardship, so much was the fatigue balanced by the enjoyment of unsurpassed scenery and a
continual sensation of novelty. In spite of the many dolorous
accounts which have been sent from the Isthmus, there is nothing,
at the worst season, to deter any one from the journey.
VOL  I.        2
25 
CHAPTER III.
SCENES IN PANAMA.
I SAW less of Panama than I could have wished. A few hasty
rambles through its ruined convents and colleges and grass-grown
plazas-a stroll on its massive battlements, lumbered with idle
cannon, of the splendid bronze of Barcelona-were all that I could
accomplish in the short stay of a day and a half. Its situation at
the base of a broad, green mountain, with the sea washing three
sides of the narrow promontory on which it is built, is highly picturesque, yet some other parts of the bay seem better fitted for
the purposes of commerce. Vessels of heavy draught cannot
anchor within a mile and a half of the city, and there is but one
point where embarkation, even in the shallow " dug-outs" of the
natives, is practicable. The bottom of the bay is a bed of rock,
which, at low tide, lies bare far out beyond the ramparts. The
south-eastern shore of the bay belongs to the South-American
(Continent, and the range of lofty mountains behind it is constantly
wreathed with light clouds, or shrouded from view by the storms
which it attracts. To the west the green islands of Taboga, and
Dthers, rise behind one another, interrupting the blue curve of the
watery horizon. The city was already half American. The native boys whistled Yankee Doodle through the streets, and Se 
PANAMA-EMIGRANTS ARRIVING.
fioritas of the pure Castilian blood sang the Ethiopian melodies
of Virginia to their guitars. Nearly half the faces seen were
American, and the signs on shops of all kinds appeared in our
language. On the morning after I arrived, I heard a sudden
rumbling in the streets, and observing a general rush to the windows, followed the crowd in time to see the first cart made in
Panama-the work of a Yankee mechanic, detained for want of
money to get further.
We found the hotels doing a thriving business, though the fare
and attendance were alike indifferent. We went to bed, immediately after reaching the Hotel Americano, that our clothes might
be washed before morning, as our luggage had not arrived.
Nearly all the passengers were in a similar predicament. Some
ladies, who had ridden over from Cruces in male attire, a short
time previous, were obliged to sport their jackets and pantaloons
several days before receiving their dresses. Our trust in the
venerable native at Gorgona was not disappointed; the next
morning his mule was at t?e door, laden with our trunks and
valises. Some of the passengers, however, were obliged to remain in Panama another month, since, notwithstanding the formal
contract of the Alcalde of Gorgona, their luggage did not arrive
before the sailing of the steamer.
The next day nearly all of our passengers came in. There had
been a heavy rain during the night, and the Gorgona road, already
next  to impassable, became actually perilous.   A  lady from
Maine, who made the journey alone, was obliged to ford a torrent
of water above her waist, with a native on each side, to prevent
her from being carried away. A French lady who crossed was
washed from her mule, and only got over by the united exertions
of seven men.
27 
ELDORADO.
The roads from Cruces and Gorgona enter on the eastern sid6
of th3 city, as well as the line of the railroad survey. The
latter, after leaving Limon Bay, runs on the north side of the
Chagres River till it reaches Gorgona, continuing thence to Panama in the same general course as the mule route. It will
probably be extended down the Bay to some point opposite the
island of Taboga, which is marked out by Nature as the future
anchorage ground and dep6t of all the lines touching at Panama.
The engineers of the survey accomplished a great work in fixing
the route within so short a space of time. The obstacles to be
overcome can scarcely be conceived by one who has never seen
tropical vegetation or felt tropical rains. The greatest difficulty
in constructing the road is the want of stone, though this is in
some degree supplied by abundance of lignum-vite and other durable wood. The torrents of rain during the summer season will
require the side-hill cuttings to be made of unusual strength.
The estimated cost of the road appears small, especially when the
value of labor is taken into consideration. The natives are not
to be depended on, and there is some risk in taking men from the
United States half way to California.
Panama is one of the most picturesque cities on the American
Continent. Its ruins-if those could be called ruins which were
never completed edifices-and the seaward view from its ram.
parts, on a bright morning, would ravish the eye of an artist.
Althougoh small in limit, old and terribly dilapidated, its situa.
tion and surroundings are of unsurpassable beauty. There is one
angle of the walls where you can look out of a cracked watchtower on the sparkling swells of the Pacific, ridden by flocks of
snow-white pelicans and the rolling canoes of the natives-where
your vision, following the entire curve of the Gulf, takes in on
28 
RUINED CHURCHES
either side nearly a hundred miles of shore. The ruins of the
Jesuit Church of San Felipe, through which I was piloted by my
friend, Lieutenant Beale, reminded me of the Baths of Caracalla.
The majestic arches spanning the nave are laden with a wilderness of shrubbery and wild vines which fall like a fringe to the
very floor. The building is roofless, but daylight can scarcely
steal in through the embowering leaves. Several bells, of a sweet,
silvery ring, are propped up by beams, in a dark corner, but from
the look of the place, ages seem to have passed since they called
the crafty brotherhood to the oracion. A splendid College, left
incomplete many years ago, fronts on one of the plazas. Its Corinthian pillars and pilasters of red sandstone are broken and
crumbling, and from the crevices at their base spring luxuriant
bananas, shooting their large leaves through the windows and folding them around the columns of the gateway.
There were about seven hundred emigrants waiting for passage,
when I reached Panama. All the tickets the steamer could possibly receive had been issued and so great was the anxiety to get
on, that double price, $600, was frequently paid for a ticket to
San Francisco. A few days before we came, there was a most
violent excitement on the subject, and as the only way to terminate
the dispute, it was finally agreed to dispose by lot of all the tickets for sale. The emigrants were all numbered, and those with
tickets for sailing vessels or other steamers excluded. The remainder then drew, there being fifty-two tickets to near three
hundred passengers. This quieted the excitement for the time,
though there was still a continual under-current of speculation
and intrigue which was curious to observe. The disappointed
candidates, for the most part, took passage in sailing vessels, with
a prospect of seventy days' voyage before them. A few months
29 
ELDORADO
previous, when three thousand persons were waiting on the Isthmus, several small companies started in the log canoes of the
natives, thinking to reach San Francisco in them! After a voyage of forty days, during which they went no further than the
Island of Quibo, at the mouth of the Gulf, nearly all of them returned; the rest have not since been heard of.
The passengers were engaged in embarking all the afternoon of
the second day after my arrival. The steamer came up to within
a mile and a half of the town, and numbers of canoes plied between her and the sea-gateway. Native porters crowded about
the hotels, clamoring for luggage, which they carried down to the
shore under so fervent a heat that I was obliged to hoist my
umbrella. One of the boatmen lifted me over the swells for the
sake of a medio, and I was soon gliding out along the edge of the
breakers, startling the pelicans that flew in long lines over the
water. I was well satisfied to leave Panama at the time; the
cholera, which had already carried off one-fourth of the native
population, was making havoc among the Americans, and several
of the Falcon's passengers lay at the point of death.
so 
CHAPTER IV.
THE PACIFIC COAST OF MEXICO.
THE fbllowing morning, at eleven o'clock, the last canoe-load
of mails came on board. Ten minutes afterwards our parting
gun was fired, and its echoes had not died away when the paddles
were in motion and the boat heading for Taboga.  We  ran past
several steep volcanic islands, matted in foliage, and in an hour
came-to before Taboga, which is to Panama what Capri is to
Naples, only that it is far more beautiful. In the deep ana
secure roadstead one may throw a stone from the ship's deck into
the gardens of orange and tamarind fringing the beach. The
village lies beside a cocoa grove in a sheltered corner, at the foot
of hills which rise in terraces of luxuriant vegetation to the
height of a thousand feet. The mass of palm, cocoa, banana
and orange trees is unbroken from the summit to the water's
edge. The ravine behind the village contains an unfailing spring
of sweet water, from which all vessels touching at Panama are
supplied. The climate is delightful and perfectly healthy.
The steamer Oregon was lying high and dry on the beach,
undergoing repairs, having injured her keel by running on a rock
during the voyage down. The remarkable adaptation of Taboga
for a dry dock was shown by the fact that while at high tide the 
ELDORADO.
Oregon floated, at low tide one might walk around her on dry
ground; by building two walls and a gate in front, the dry dock
would be complete. This is the only place between Cape Horn
and San Francisco where such a thing is possible. These unrivaled advantages, as well as the healthiness of Taboga and its
splendid scenery, point it out as the stopping-place for steamers
and passengers, if not the commercial depot of this part of the
Pacific.
A voyage from Panama to San Francisco in the year 1849, can
hardly be compared to sea-life in any other part of the world or
at any previous period. Our vessel was crowded fore and aft:
exercise was rendered quite impossible and sleep was each night
a new experiment, for the success of which we were truly grateful.
We were roused at daylight by the movements on deck, if not
earlier, by the breaking of a hammock-rope and the thump and
yell of the unlucky sleeper. Coffee was served in the cabin; but,
as many of the passengers imagined that, because they had paid a
high price for their tickets, they were conscientiously obligated to
drink three cups, the late-comers got a very scanty allowance.
The breakfast hour was nine, and the table was obliged to be fully
set twice. At the first tingle of the bell, all hands started as if a
shot had exploded among them; conversation was broken off in
the middle of a word; the deck was instantly cleared, and the
passengers, tumbling pell-mell down the cabin-stairs, found every
seat taken by others who had probably been sitting in them for
half an hour. The bell, however, had an equally convulsive effect
upon these. There was a confused grabbing motion for a few
seconds, and lo! the plates were cleared. A chicken parted in
twain as if by magic, each half leaping into an opposite plate;
a dish of sweet potatoes vanished before a single hand; beefsteak
32 
MEAL-TIME ON THE STEAMER.
flew in all directions; and while about half the passengers had all
their breakfast piled at once upon their plates, the other half were
regaled by a " plentiful lack."  The second table was but a repetition of these scenes, which dinner-our only additional mealrenewed in the afternoon. To prevent being driven, in self-defence,
into the degrading habit, eight of us secured one end of the second
table, shut off by the mizen-mast from the long arms that might
otherwise have grabbed our share. Among our company of two
hundred and fifty, there were, of course, many gentlemen of marked
refinement and intelligence from various parts of the Unionenough, probably, to leaven the large lump of selfishness and
blackguardism into which we were thrown. I believe the controlling portion of the California emigration is intelligent, orderly and
peaceable; yet I never witnessed so many disgusting exhibitions
of the lowest passions of humanity, as during the voyage. At sea
or amnong the mountains, men completely lose the little arts of dissimulation they practise in society. They show in their true light,
and very often, alas! in a light little calculated to encourage the
enthusiastic believer in the speedy perfection of our race.
The day after leaving Panama we were in sight of the
promontory of Veraguas and the island of Quibo, off Central
America. It is a grand coast, with mountain ranges piercing the
clouds. Then, for several days, we gave the continent a wide
berth, our course making a chord to the arc of the Gulf of
Tehuantepec. The sea was perfectly tranquil, and we were not
molested by the inexorable demon that lodges in the stomachs of
landsmen. Why has never a word been said or sung about
sunset on the Pacific? Nowhere on this earth can one be over vaulted with such a glory of colors. The sky, with a ground-hue
of rose towards the west and purple towards the east, is mottled
2'g
3,. 
ELDORADO.
and flecked over all its surface with light clouds, running through
every shade of crimson, amber, violet and russet-gold. There is
no dead duskiness opposite the sunken sun; the whole vast shell
of the firmament glows with an equal radiance, reduplicating its
hues on the glassy sea, so that we seem floating in a hollow sphere
of prismatic crystal. The cloud-strata, at different heights in
the air, take different coloring; through bars of burning carmine
one may look on the soft, rose-purple folds of an inner curtain,
and, far within and beyond that, on the clear amber-green of the
immaculate sky. As the light diminishes, these radiant vapors
sink and gather into flaming pyramids, between whose pinnacles
the serene depth of air is of that fathomless violet-green which
we see in the skies of Titian.
The heat, during this part of the voyage, was intolerable.
The thermometer ranged from 82~ to 84~ at night, and 86~ to
90~ by day-a lower temperature than we frequently feel in the
North, but attended by an enervating languor such as I never
before experienced.   Under its influence one's energies flag,
active habits of mind are thrown aside, the imagination grows
faint and hazy, the very feelings and sensibilities are melted and
weakened. Once, I panted for the heat and glare and splendid
luxuriance of tropical lands, till I almost made the god of the
Persians my own. I thought some southern star must have been
in the ascendant at my birth, some glowing instinct of the South
been infused into my nature. Two months before, the thought of
riding on that summer sea, with the sun over the mast-head,
would have given a delicious glow to my fancy. But all my vision
of life in the tropics vanished before the apathy engendered by
this heat. The snowy, bleak and sublime North beckoned me
like a mirage over the receding seas.  Gods! how a single sough
34 
A MIDNIGHT CALL AT ACAPULCO.
of keen north-west wind down some mountain gorge would have
beaten a march of exulting energy to my spirit! how my veins
would have tingled to the sound, and my nerves stiffened in the
healthy embraces of that ruder air!
After a week of this kind of existence we passed the sun's
latitude, and made the mountains of Mexico. The next night
we came-to at the entrance of the harbor of Acapulco, while the
ship's boat went to the city, some two miles distant. In about
two hours it returned, bringing us word that thirty or forty
Americans were waiting passage, most of whom were persons who
had left Panama in the Humboldt in March, and who had already
been three months in port. Captain Bailey determined to take
them on board, and the Panama felt her way in through the
dark, narrow entrance.
It was midnight. The beautiful mountain-locked basin on
which Acapulco is built was dimly visible under the clouded
moon, but I could discern on one side the white walls of the
Fort on a rocky point, with the trees of the Alameda behind
it, and still further the lights of the town glittering along the hill.
As we approached the Fort we were hailed, but as a response
was not immediately made the light was suddenly extinguished.
Some one called out "fuero! fuero!" (outside!) and our boat,
which had been sent out a second time, returned, stating that a
file of soldiers drawn up on the beach had opposed any landing.
It was followed by another, with four oars, containing a messen
ger from the Governor, who announced to us, in good English,
that we were not allowed to come so near the town, but must lie
off in the channel; the cholera, they had learned, was at Panama,
and quarantine regulations had been established at Acapulco
This order was repeated, and the Panama then moved to the other
35 
ELDORADO.
side  of the  harbor   The  boat, however,  came  out again,
bringing a declaration from the Governor that if we did not
instantly fall back to a certain channel between two islands, we
should be fired upon. Rather than get into a quarrel with the
alarmed authorities or be subjected to delay, we got under way
again, and by sunrise were forty miles nearer San Blas.
We had on board a choice gang of blacklegs, among whom
were several characters of notoriety in the United States, going
out to extend the area of their infernal profession.   About a
dozen came on from New Orleans by the Falcon and as many
from New York by the Crescent City. They established a branch
at Panama, immediately on their arrival, and two or three
remained to take charge of it.  They  did not commence very
fortunately; their first capital of $500 having been won in one
night by a lucky padre. Most of them, with the devil's luck,
drew prizes in the ticket lottery, while worthy men were left
behind. After leaving Acapulco, they commenced playing monte
on the quarter-deck, and would no doubt have entrapped some
unwary passengers, had not the Captain put a stop to their
operations. These characters have done much, by their conduct
on the Isthmus and elsewhere, to earn for us the title of
"Northern barbarians," and especially, by  wantonly offending
the religious sentiment of the natives. I was told of four who
entered one of the churches with their hats pulled fast over their
brows, and, marching deliberately up the aisle, severally lighted
their cigars at the four tapers of the altar. The class was known
to all on board and generally shunned.
There is another class of individuals whom I would recommend
travelers to avoid. I saw several specimens on the Isthmus.
They are miserable, melancholy men, ready to yield up their last
36 
THE MEXICAN COAST.
breath at any moment. They left home prematurely, and now
humbly acknowledge their error. They were not made for traveling,, but they did not know it before.  If you would dig a hole
and lay them in it, leaving only their heads above ground, they
would be perfectly contented. Let them alone; do not even
express your sympathy. Then their self-pity will change to indignation at your coldheartedness, and they will take care of
themselves for very spite.
Our track, now, was along and near the coast-a succession of
lofty mountain ranges, rising faint and blue through belts of
cloud. Through a glass, they appeared rugged and abrupt, scarred
with deep ravines and divided by narrow gorges, yet exhibiting,
nearly to their summits, a rich clothing of forests. The shore is
iron-bound and lined with breakers, yet there are many small bays
and coves which afford shelter to fishing and coasting vessels and
support a scanty population. The higher peaks of the inland
chain are occasionally seen when the atmosphere is clear. One
morning the Volcano of Colima, distant ninety miles " as the
bird flies," came into sight, shooting its forked summits far above
the nearer ranges. It is in the province of Jalisco, near Lake
Chapala, and is 16,000 feet in height-a greater than Mount
Blanc!  I was delighted with Cuba and the Isthmus, but forgot
them at once when I viewed the grand outline of this coast, the
only approach to which is seen in the Maritime Alps, on leaving
Genoa.
On the third morning from Acapulco, we saw the lofty group
of mountains bounding the roadstead of San Blas on the East.
The islands called Las Tres Marias were visible, ten miles distant, on our left. They are too small and scattering to break the
heavy seas and " soutbhrs" which come in te the very end of the
37 
ELDORADO.
bight on which San Bias is built. Vessels of light draught may
run across a narrow bar between breakers and find safe anchorage in a little inlet on the northern side, but those which are
obliged to lie in the open road are exposed to considerable danger.
A high white rock, of singular form, about a quarter of a mile
from the shore, serves as a landmark for vessels. The village
which is a little larger than Chagres, and like it a collection of
cane huts with a few stone houses, lies on one side of the inlet
before mentioned, on fiat swampy ground, and surrounded by rank
forests and jungles. A mile behind it, on a high, precipitous
rock, is the Presidio of San Blas, now almost deserted, all business being transacted at the village on shore.
We came-to, a mile from the place, and were soon after visited
by the Alcalde, who, after exchanging the ordinary courtesies informed us there were plenty of provisions on shore, and departed,
saying nothing of quarantine. A flock of cayucas, paddled by
the natives, followed him and swarmed around us, ready to take
passengers at three rials apiece. Three or four of us took one of
these craft, and were paddled ashore, running on the edge of the
breakers which roared and dashed along the mouth of the inlet.
We landed on a beach, ancle-deep in sand and covered with mustangs, mules and donkeys, with a sprinkling of natives. Our
passengers were busy all over the village, lugging strings of
bananas and plantains, buying cool water-jars of porous earth,
gathering limes and oranges from the trees, or regaling themselves
at the fondas with fresh spring-water, (not always unmixed,)
tortillas and fried pork. Several gentlemen who had come overland from Vera Cruz, awaited our arrival, and as the place was
very unhealthy they were not long in embarking
In company with some friends, I set out for the old Presidio
38 
THE OLD PRESIDIO OF SAN BLAS.
on the cliff The road led through swampy forests till we reached
the foot of the ascent. A native passed us, on a sharp-trotting
mule: "Doude va, hombre?  T" pic, was his answer.  Up
we went, scrambling over loose stones, between banana thickets
and flowering shrubs, till we gained a rocky spur near the summit.
Here the view to the north, toward Mazatlan, was very fine.
Across the marshy plain many leagues in breadth, bordering the
sea, we traced the Rio Grande of the West by the groves of sycamore on its banks; beyond it another lateral chain of the Sierra
Madre rose to the clouds.  Turning again, we entered a deserted
court-yard, fronted by the fort, which had a covered gallery on the
inside. The walls were broken down, the deep wells in the rock
choked up and the stone pillars and gateways overrun with rank
vines. From the parapet, the whole roadstead of San Blas lay
at our feet, and our steamer, two miles off, seemed to be within
hail.
This plaza opened on another and larger one, completely covered
with tall weeds, among which the native pigs rooted and meditated
by turns. A fine old church, at the farther end, was going to ruin,
and the useless bells still hung in its towers. Some of the houses
were inhabited, and we procured from the natives fresh water and
delicious bananas. The aspect of the whole place, picturesque in
its desolation, impressed me more than anything on the journey,
except the church of San Felipe, at Panama. The guns of the
Presidio were spiked by Commander Dupont, during the war;
there has been no garrison there for many years.
We descended again, made our purchases of fruit, and reached
the beach just as the steamer's gun signalized us to return.   The
cayuca in which we embarked was a round log, about ten feet long,
rolling over the swells with a ticklish facility.  We  lay fiat in
39 
ELDORADO.
he bottom, not daring to stir hand or foot for fear of losing
tne exact balance which kept us upright, and finally reached the
gangway, where we received a sound cursing from one of the
ship's crew for trusting ourselves in such a craft. A dozen
others, pulling for life, came behind us, followed by a launch
bringing two live bullocks for our provender.  A  quarrel broke
out between one of our new passengers and a native, in which
blows were exchanged.  The question was then raised "whether
a nigger was as good as a white man," and like the old feuds of
the Bianchi and the Neri in Tuscany, the contest raged fiercely
for the rest of the day.
The morning mist rose from the summits of the Sierra MIadre
of Durango. As we neared Mazatlan, a light smoke was discerned
far on our left; and we had not been long in the harbor before the
California came rounding in, her passengers cheering us as she
passed and dropped anchor between us and the town. She looked
somewhat weather-beaten, but was a pleasant sight to our eyes.
Conversation was kept up between the two ships so long as they
were in hearing, the Panama's passengers inquiring anxiously
about the abundance of gold, and the Californians assuring them
that it was as plenty as ever.
Few ports present a more picturesque appearance from the sea
than Mazatlan. The hart )r, or roadstead, open on the west to
the unbroken swells of the Pacific, is protected on the north and
south by what were once mountain promontories, now split into
parallel chains of islands, separated by narrow channels of sea
Their sides are scarred with cragfs, terminating toward the sea in
precipices of dark red rock, with deep caverns at the base, into
which the surf continually dashes. On approaching the roads
these islands open one beyond the other, like a succession of shift
40 
TOUCHING AT MAZATLAN.
ing views, the last revealing the white walls of Mazatlan, rising
gradually from the water, with a beautiful back-ground of dim blue
mountains. The sky was of a dazzling purity, and the whole
scene had that same clearness of outline and enchanting harmony
of color which give the landscapes of Italy their greatest charm.
As we ran westward on the Tropic of Cancer across the mouth of
the Gulf, nothing could exceed the purity of the atmosphere.
41 
CHAPTER V.
THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA
" There is California!" was the cry next morning at sunrise.
' Where?" "Off the starboard bow." I rose on my bunk in
one of the deck state-rooms, and looking out of the window, watched
the purple mountains of the Peninsula, as they rose in the fresh,
inspiring air. We were opposite its southern extremity, and I
scanned the brown and sterile coast with a glass, searching for
anything like vegetation. The whole country appeared to be a
mass of nearly naked rock, nourishing only a few cacti and some
stunted shrubs. At the extreme end of the Peninsula the valley
of San Jos6 opens inland between two ranges of lofty granite
mountains. Its beautiful green level, several miles in width,
stretched back as far as the eye could reach. The town lies near
the sea; it is noted for the siege sustained by Lieut. Haywood and
a small body of American troops during the war. Lying deep
amid the most frightfully barren and rugged mountains I ever saw,
the valley of San Jos6 which is watered by a small river, might
be made a paradise. The scenery around it corresponded strikingly with descriptions of Syria and Palestine. The bare, yellow
crags glowed in the sun with dazzling intensity, and a chain of
splintered peaks in the distance wore the softest shade of violet. 
A TREACHEROUS COAST.
In spite of the forbidding appearance of the coast, a more peculiar
and interesting picture than it gave can hardly be found on the
Pacific. Cape San Lucas, which we passed toward evening, is a
bold bluff of native granite, broken into isolated rocks at its points,
which present the appearance of three distinct and perfectly-formed
pyramids. The white, glistening rock is pierced at its base by
hollow caverns and arches, some of which are fifteen or twenty
feet high, giving glimpses of the ocean beyond. The structure of
this cape is very similar to that of The Needles on the Isle of
Wight.
On the 12th of August we passed the island of Santa Marguerita,
lying across the mouth of a bay, the upper extremity of which is
called Point San Lazaro. Here, the outline of the coast, as laid
down on the charts in use, is very incorrect. The longitude is
not only placed too far eastward by twenty to thirty miles, but an
isolated mountain, rising from the sea, eight miles northwest of
Point San Lazaro, is entirely wanting. This mountain-a summit
of barren rock, five miles in length and about a thousand feet in
hight, is connected with the coast by a narrow belt of sand, forming a fine bay, twelve miles deep, curving southward till it strikes
Point San Lazaro. The northern point of the headland is bordered by breakers, beyond which extends a shoal. Here the
current sets strongly in shore, and here it was that a whale-ship
was lost a few months since, her crew escaping to wander for days
on an arid desert, without water or vegetation. The Panama, on
her downward trip, ran on the shoal and was obliged to lay-to all
night; in the morning, instead of the open sea promised by the
chart, the crags of the unknown headland rose directly in front of
her. The coast, as far as I could see with a good glass, presented
an unbroken level of glaring white sand, which must extend in
43 
ELDORADO.
land for fifty or sixty miles, since, under the clearest of skies, La
sign of rock or distant peak was visible.  The appearance of the
whole Peninsula, in passing-the alternations of bleak mountain,
blooming plain and wide salt desert-the rumors of vast mineral
wealth in its unknown interior and the general want of intelligence
in relation to it-conspired to excite in me a strong wish to traverse it from end to end.
The same evening we doubled Cape San Lucas, we met the
ship Grey Eagle, of Philadelphia, one of the first of the California
squadron. She was on her way from San Francisco to Mazatlan,
with two hundred passengers on board, chiefly Mexicans. Threo
cheers were given and returned, as the vessels passed each other.
The temperature changed, as we left the tropics behind and met
the north-western trades; the cool winds drove many passengers
from the deck, and the rest of us had some chance for exercise.
All were in the best spirits, at the prospect of soon reaching our
destination, and the slightest thread of incident, whereto a chance
for amusement might be hung, was eagerly caught up.  There
was on board a man of rather grave demeanor, who, from the
circumstance of having his felt hat cocked up like a general's,
wearing it square across his brows and standing for long whiles
with his arms folded, in a meditative attitude, had been generally
nicknamed " Napoleon." There was no feature of his face like
the great Corsican's, but from the tenacity with which he took his
stand on the mizen-yard and folded his arms every evening, tho
passengers supposed he really imagined a strong resemblance
One of those days, in a spirit of mischief, they bought a felt hat,
gave it the same cocked shape, and bribed one of the negro cooks
to wear it and take off Napoleon. Accordingly, as the latter began ascending the shrouds to his favorite post, the cook went up
44 
HARBOR OF SAN DIEGO.
the opposite side. Napoleon sat down on the yard, braced him.
self against the mast and folded his arms; the cook, slyly watch
ing his motions, imitated them with a gravity which was irresistible.
All the passengers were by this time gathered on the quarter.
deck, shouting with laughter: it was singular how much merriment so boyish a trick could occasion. Napoleon bore it for a
time with perfect stolidity, gazing on the sunset with unchanged
solemnity of visage. At last, getting tired of the affair, he looked
down on the crowd and said: "you have sent me a very fit
representative of yourselves."  The laugh was stopped suddenly,
and from that time forth Napoleon was not disturbed in his
musings.
The only other point of interest which we saw on the Peninsular coast, was Benito Island, off the Bay of Sebastian Viscaino,
so named, after the valiant discoverer of California. Two mornings after, I saw the sun rise behind the mountains back of San
Diego. Point Loma, at the extremity of the bay, came in sight
:n the left, and in less than an hour we were at anchor before the
bide-houses at the landing place. The southern shore of the bay
is low and sandy; from the bluff hights on the opposite side a
narrow strip of shingly beach makes out into the sea, like a natural breakwater, leaving an entrance not more than three hundred
yards broad. The harbor is the finest on the Pacific, with the
exception of Acapulco, and capable of easy and complete defense. The old hide-houses are built at the foot of the hills just
inside the bay, and a fine road along the shore leads to the town
of San Diego, which is situated on a plain, three miles distant
and barely visible from the anchorage. Above the houses, on a
little eminence, several tents were planted, and a short distance
further were several recent graves, surrounded by paling. A
45 
ELDORADO.
number of people were clustered on the beach, and boats laden
with passengers and freight, instantly put off to us.  In a few
minutes after our gun was fired, we could see horsemen coming
down from San Diego at full gallop, one of whom carried behind
him a lady in graceful riding costume. In the first boat were
Colonel Weller, U. S. Boundary Commissioner, and Major Hill,
of the Army. Then followed a number of men, lank and brown
" as is the ribbed sea-sand"-men with long hair and beards, and
faces from which the rigid expression of suffering was scarcely
relaxed. They were the first of the overland emigrants by the
Gila route, who had reached San Diego a few days before. Their
clothes were in tatters, their boots, in many cases, replaced by
moccasins, and, except their rifles and some small packages rolled
in deerskin, they had nothing left of the abundant stores with
which they left home.
We hove anchor in half an hour, and again rounded Point
Loma, our number increased by more than fifty passengers. The
Point, which comes down to the sea at an angle of 60~ has been
lately purchased by an American, for what purpose I cannot imagine, unless it is with the hope of speculating on Government
when it shall be wanted for a light-house.  In the afternoon we
passed the island of Santa Catalina, which is about twelve miles
in length, rising to a height of 3,000 feet above the sea, and inhabited by herds of wild goats. Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa,
which lie opposite Santa Barbara and separated from it by the
channel of the same name, were left behind us in the night, and
the next day we were off Cape Conception, the Cape Horn of California. True to its character, we had a cold, dense fog, and
violent head-winds; the coast was shrouded from sight.
The emigrants we took on board at San Diego were objects of
46 
NARRATIVES OF EMIGRATION
general interest. The stories of their adventures by the way
sounded more marvellous than anything I had heard or read
since my boyish acquaintance with Robinson Crusoe, Captain
Cook and John Ledyard. Taking them as the average experience of the thirty thousand emigrants who last year crossed
the Plains, this California Crusade will more than equal the great
military expeditions of the Middle Ages in magnitude, peril and
adventure.   The  amount of suffering which  must have been
endured in the savage mountain passes and herbless deserts of the
interior, cannot be told in words. Some had come by way of
Santa Fe and along the savage hills of the Gila; some, starting
from Red River, had crossed the Great Stake Desert and taken
the road from Paso del Norte to Tucson in Sonora; some had
passed through Mexico and after spending one hundred and four
days at sea, run into San Diego and given up their vessel; some
had landed, weary with a seven months' psssage around Cape
Horn, and some, finally, had reached the place on foot, after
walking the whole length of the Californian Peninsula.
The emigrants by the Gila route gave a terrible account of the
crossing of the Great Desert, lying west of the Colorado. They
described this region as scorching  and sterile —a country of
burning salt plains and shifting hills of sand, whose only signs of
human visitation are the bones of animals and men scattered
along the trails that cross it. The corpses of several emigrants,
out of companies who passed before them, lay half-buried in siand,
and the hot air was made stifling by the effluvia that rose from the
dry carcases of hundreds of mules. There, if a man faltered,
he was gone; no one could stop to lend him a hand without a
likelihood of sharing his fate. It seemed like a wonderful Providence to these emigrants, when they came, suddenly upon a large
47 
ELDORADO.
and swift stream of fresh water in the midst of the Desert, where,
a year previous, there had been nothing but sterile sand. This
phenomenon was at first ascribed to the melting of snow on the
mountains, but later emigrants traced the river to its source in a
lake about half a mile in length, which had bubbled up spontaneously from the fiery bosom of the Desert.
One of the emigrants by the Sonora route told me a story of
a sick man who rode behind his party day after day, unable to
keep pace with it, yet always arriving in camp a few hours later.
This lasted so long that finally little attention was paid to him and
his absence one night excited no apprehension.   Three days
passed and he did not arrive. On the fourth, a negro, traveling
alone and on foot, came into camp and told them that many miles
behind a man lying beside the road had begged a little water from
him and asked him to hurry on and bring assistance. The next
morning a company of Mexicans came up and brought word that
the man was dying. The humane negro retraced- his steps forty
miles, and arrived just as the sufferer breathed his last. He
lifted him in his arms; in the vain effort to speak, the man
expired. The mule, tied to a cactus by his side, was already dead
of hunger.
I was most profoundly interested in the narrative of a Philadelphian, who, after crossing Mexico from Tampico to San
Blas, embarked for San Francisco, and was put ashore by his
own request, at Cape San Lucas. He had three or four companions, the party supposing they might make the journey to San
Diego in thirty or forty days, by following the coast. It was soon
found, however, that the only supply of water was among the
mountains of the interior, and they were obliged to proceed on
foot to the valley of San Jos6 and follow the trail to La Paz, on
48 
GEN. VILLAMIL AND HIS COLONY
the Californian Gulf. Thence they wandered in a n(,arly opposite
direction to Todos Santos Bay, on the Pacific, where they exchanged some of their arms for horses. The route led in a zigzag direction across the mountain chain, from one watering-place to
another, with frequentjornadas (journeys without water,) of thirty,
forty and even sixty miles in length. Its rigors were increased
by the frightful desolation of the country, and the deep gullies or
arroyos with which it is seamed. In the beds of these they would
often lose the trail, occasioning them many hours' search to
recover it. The fruit of the cactus and the leaves of succulent
plants formed their principal sustenance. After a month of this
travel they reached San Ignacio, half-way to San Diego, where
their horses failed them; the remainder of the journey was performed on foot. The length of the Peninsula is about eight
hundred miles, but the distance traveled by these hardy adventurers amounted to more than fifteen hundred.
Among the passengers who came on board at San Diego, was
Gen. Villamil, of the Republic of Ecuador, who was aid to Bolivar
during the war of South-American independence. After the secession of Ecuador from Columbia, he obtained from Gen. Flores
a grant of one of the Galapagos Islands-a group well known to
whalers, lying on the equator, six hundred miles west of Guayaquil.
On this island, which he named Floriana, he has lived for the past
sixteen years. His colony contains a hundred and fifty souls, who
raise on the light, new soil, abundant crops of grain and vegetables.
The island is fifteen miles in length, by twelve in breadth, lying in
lat. 10~ 30' S. and its highest part is about 5,000 feet above the level
of the sea. The soil is but from twelve to eighteen inches deep,
yet such is the profusion of vegetable growth, that, as Gen. Villa
nail informed me, its depth has in many places increased six inches
VOL. 1.    3
49 
ELDORADO.
sinee he first landed there. The supply of water is obtained in a
very singular manner. A large porous rock, on the side of one of
the mountains, seems to serve as an outlet or filter for some subterranean vein, since on its base, which is constantly humid, the
drops collect and fall in sufficient abundance to supply a larg6
basin in the rock below. Pipes from this deposit convey the water
to the valley. Its quality is cool, sweet and limpid, and the
rocky sponge from which it drips never fails in its supply.
We were within sight -of the Coast Range of California all day,
after passing Cape Conception. Their sides are spotted with
timber, which in the narrow valleys sloping down to the sea appeared to be of large growth. From their unvarying yellow hue,
we took them to be mountains of sand, but they were in reality
covered with natural harvests of wild oats, as I afterwards learned,
on traveling into the interior. A keen, bracing wind at night
kept down the fog, and although the thermometer fell to 52~,
causing a general shiver on board, I walked the deck a long time,
noting the extraordinary brilliancy of the stars in the pure air.
The mood of our passengers changed very visibly as we approached
the close of the voyage; their exhilarant anticipations left them,
and were succeeded by a reaction of feeling that almost amounted
to despondency. The return to laborious life after a short exemption from its cares, as in the case of travel, is always attended
with some such feeling, but among the California emigrants it was
intensified by the uncertainty of their venture in a region where all
the ordinary rules of trade and enterprise would be at fault.
When I went on deck in the clear dawn, while yet
"The maiden splendors of the morning-star
Shook in the steadfast blue,"
50 
THE LAST DAI OF THE VOYAGE.
we were rounding Point Pinos into the harbor of Monterey. As
we drew near, the white, scattered dwellings of the town, situated
on a gentle slope, behind which extended on all sides the celebrated
Pine Forest, became visible in the grey light. A handsome fort,
on an eminence near the sea, returned our salute. Four vessels,
shattered, weather-beaten and apparently deserted, lay at anchor
not far from shore. The town is larger than I expected to find
it, and from the water has the air of a large New-England village,
barring the adobe houses. Major Lee and Lieut. Beale, who went
ashore in the steamer's boat, found Gen. Riley, the Civil Governor,
very ill with a fever.  As we were preparing to leave, the sun rose
over the mountains, covering the air with gold brighter than ever
was scratched up on the Sacramento. The picturesque houses of
Monterey, the pine woods behind and the hills above them, glowed
like an illuminated painting, till a fog-curtain which met us at the
mouth of the harbor dropped down upon the water and hid them
all from sight.
At last the voyage is drawing to a close. Fifty-one days have
elapsed since leaving New York, in which time we have, in a
manner, coasted both sides of the North-American Continent,
from the parallel of 40~ N. to its termination, within a few degrees
of the Equator, over seas once ploughed by the keels of Columbus
and Balboa, of Grijalva and Sebastian Viscaino. All is excitement on board; the Captain has just taken his noon observation.
We are running along the shore, within six or eight miles' distance;
the hills are bare and sandy, but loom up finely through the deep
blue haze. A brig bound ta San Francisco, but fallen off to the
leeward of the harbor, is making a new tack on our left, to come
51 
ELDORADO.
up again. The coast trends somewhat more to the westward,
and a notch or gap is at last visible in its lofty outline.
An hour later; we are in front of the entrance to San Francisco
Bay. The mountains on the northern side are 3,000 feet in hight,
and come boldly down to the sea. As the view opens through the
splendid strait, three or four miles in width, the island rock of
Alcatraz appears, gleaming white in the distance. An inwardbound ship follows close on our wake, urged on by wind and tide
There is a small fort perched among the trees on our right, where
the strait is narrowest, and a glance at the formation of the hills
shows that this pass might be made impregnable as Gibraltar.
The town is still concealed behind the promontory around which
the Bay turns to the southward, but between Alcatraz and the
island of Yerba Buena, now coming into sight, I can see vessels at
anchor. High through the vapor in front, and thirty miles distant, rises the peak of Monte Diablo, which overlooks everything
between the Sierra Nevada and the Ocean. On our left opens
the bight of Sousolito, where the U.S. propeller Massachusetts and
several other vessels are at anchor.
At last we are through the Golden Gate-fit name for such a
magnificent portal to the commerce of the Pacific! Yerba Buena
Island is in front; southward and westward opens the renowned
harbor, crowded with the shipping of the world, mast behind mast
and vessel behind vessel, the flags of all nations fluttering in the
breeze! Around the curving shore of the Bay and upon the
sides of three hills which rise steeply from the water, the middle
one receding so as to form a bold amphitheatre, the town is planted
and seems scarcely yet to have taken root, for tents, canvas, plank,
mud and adobe houses are mingled together with the least apparent
52 
THE ANCHOR DROPS.
attempt at order and durability. But I am not yet on shore. The
gun of the Panama has just announced our arrival to the people
on land.  We glide on with the tide, past the U.S. ship Ohio
and opposite the main landing, outside of the forest of masts. A
dozen boats are creeping out to us over the water; the signal is
given-the anchor drops-our voyage is over.
53 
CHAPTER VI,
FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF SAN FRANCISCO.
I LEFT the Panama, in company with Lieut. Beale, in the boat
of the U. S. ship Ohio, which brought Lieutenant Ells on board.
We first boarded the noble ship, which, even in San Francisco harbor, showed the same admirable order as on our own coast. She
had returned from Honolulu a few days previous, after an absence
of three months from California. The morning of our arrival,
eighteen of her men had contrived to escape, carrying with them
one of the boats, under fire from all the Government vessels in
the harbor. The officers were eager for news from home, having
been two months without a mail, and I was glad that my habit of
carrying newspapers in my pockets enabled me  to furnish them
with a substantial gratification. The Ohio's boat put us ashore
at the northern point of the anchorage, at the foot of a steep
bank, from which a high pier had been built into the bay. A
large vessel lay at the end, discharging her cargo. We scrambled
up through piles of luggage, and among the crowd collected to
witness our arrival, picked out two Mexicans to carry our trunks to
a hotel. The barren side of the hill before us was covered with
tents and canvas houses, and nearly in front a large two-story
building displayed the sign: " Fremont Family Hotel." 
APPEARANCE OF THE TOWN.
As yet, we were only in the suburbs of the town. Crossing
the shoulder of the hill, the view extended around the curve
of the bay, and hundreds of tents and houses appeared, scattered
all over the heights, and along the shore for more than a mile. A
furious wind was blowing down through a gap in the hills, filling
the streets with clouds of dust. On every side stood buildings of
all kinds, begun or half-finished, and the greater part of them
mere canvas sheds, open in front, and covered with all kinds of
signs, in all languages. Great quantities of goods were piled up
in the open air, for want of a place to store them. The streets
were full of people, hurrying to and fro, and of as diverse and
bizarre a character as the houses: Yankees of every possible variety, native Californians in sarapes and sombreros, Chilians, Sonorians, Kanakas from Hawaii, Chinese with long tails, Malays
armed with their everlasting creeses, and others in whose embrowned and bearded visages it was impossible to recognize any
especial nationality. We came at last into the plaza, now dignified by the name of Portsmouth Square. It lies on the slant side
of the hill, and from a high pole in front of a long one-story adobe
building used as the Custom House, the American flag was flying.
On the lower side stood the Parker House-an ordinary frame
house of about sixty feet front-and towards its entrance we
directed our course.
Our luggage was deposited on one of the rear porticos, and we
discharged the porters, after paying them two dollars each-a
sum so immense in comparison to the service rendered that there
was no longer any doubt of our having actually landed in California. There were no lodgings to be had at the Parker Housenot even a place to unroll our blankets; but one of the proprietors
accompanied us across the plaza to the City Hotel, where we ob
55 
ELDORADO.
tained a room with two beds at $25 per week, meals being in ad dition $20 per week. I asked the landlord whether he could send
a porter for our trunks. "There is none belonging to the house,"
said he; "every man is his own porter here." I returned to the
Parker House, shouldered a heavy trunk, took a valise in my hand
and carried them to my quarters, in the teeth of the wind. Our
room was in a sort of garret over the only story of the hotel; two
cots, evidently of California manufacture, and covered only with
a pair of blankets, two chairs, a rough table and a small lookingglass, constituted the furniture. There was not space enough
between the bed and the bare rafters overhead, to sit upright, and
I gave myself a severe blow in rising the next morning without
the proper heed. Through a small roof-window of dim glass, I
could see the opposite shore of the bay, then partly hidden by the
evening fogs. The wind whistled around the eaves and rattled
the tiles with a cold, gusty sound, that would have imparted a
dreary character to the place, had I been in a mood to listen.
Many of the passengers began speculation at the moment of
landing. The most ingenious and successful operation was made
by a gentleman of New York, who took out fifteen hundred copies
of The Tribune and other papers, which he disposed of in two
hours, at one dollar a-piece! Hearing of this I bethought me of
about a dozen papers which I had used to fill up crevices in packing my valise. There was a newspaper merchant at the corner
of the City Hotel, and to him I proposed the sale of them, asking
him to name a price.  " I shall want to make a good profit on the
retail price," said he, "and can't give more than ten dollars for
the lot." I was satisfied with the wholesale price, which was a
gain of just four thousand per cent!
I set out for a walk before dark and climbed a hill back of
56 
THE NEW-COMER'S BEWILDERMENT.
the town, passing a number of tents pitched in the hollows.
The scattered houses spread out below me and the crowded
shipping in the harbor, backed by a lofty line of mountains, made
an imposing picture. The restless, feverish tide of life in that
little spot, and the thought that what I then saw and was yet to
see will hereafter fill one of the most marvellous pages of all
history, rendered it singularly impressive. The feeling was not
decreased on talking that evening with some of the old residents,
(that is, of six months' standing,) and hearing their several
experiences. Every new-comer in San Francisco is overtaken
with a sense of complete bewilderment. The mind, however it
may be prepared for an astonishing condition of affairs, cannot
immediately push aside its old instincts of value and ideas of
business, letting all past experiences go for naught and casting
all its faculties for action, intercourse with its fellows or advancement in any path of ambition, into shapes which it never before
imagined. As in the turn of the dissolving views, there is a
period when it wears neither the old nor the new phase, but the
vanishing images of the one and the growing perceptions of the
other are blended in painful and misty confusion. One knows not
whether he is awake or in some wonderful dream. Never have I
had so much difficulty in establishing, satisfactorily to my own
senses, the reality of what I saw and heard.
I was forced to believe many things, which in my communications to The Tribune I was almost afraid to write, with any hope
of their obtaining credence. It may be interesting to give here a
few instances of the enormous and unnatural value put upon
property at the time of my arrival.  The Parker House rented
for $110,000 yearly, at least $60,000 of which was paid by
gamblers, who held nearly all the second story. Adjoining it on
3*
57 
ELDORADO.
the right was a canvas-tent fifteen by twenty-five feet, called 1 E1l
dorado," and occupied likewise by gamblers, which brought $40,000
On the opposite corner of the plaza, a building called the "Miner's
Bank," used by Wright & Co., brokers, about half the size of a
fire-engine house in New York, was held at a rent of $75,000.
A mercantile house paid $40,000 rent for a one-story building ot
twenty feet front; the United States Hotel, $36,000; the PostOffice, $7,000, and so on to the end of the chapter. A friend of
mine, who wished to find a place for a law-office, was shown a
cellar in the earth, about twelve feet square and six deep, which
he could have at $250 a month. One of the common soldiers at
the battle of San Pasquale was reputed to be among the millionaires of the place, with an income of $50,000 monthly. A
citizen of San Francisco died insolvent to the amount of $41,000
the  previous Autumn.   His administrators  were  delayed  in
settling his affairs, and his real estate advanced so rapidly in value
meantime, that after his debts were paid his heirs had a yearly
income of $40,000. These facts were indubitably attested;
every one believed them, yet hearing them talked of daily, as
matters of course, one at first could not help feeling as if he had
been eating of "the insane root."
The prices paid for labor were in proportion to everything else.
The carman of Mellus, Howard & Co. had a salary of $6,000 a
year, and many others made from $15 to $20 daily. Servants
were paid from $100 to $200 a month, but the wages of the
rougher kinds of labor had fallen to about $8. Yet, notwithstanding the number of gold-seekers who were returning enfeebled
and disheartened from the mines, it was difficult to obtain as many
workmen as the forced growth of the city demanded. A gentleman who arrived in April told me he then found but thirty o?
58 
INDIFFERENT SHOPKEEPERS.
forty houses; the population was then so scant that not more than
twenty-five persons would be seen in the streets at any one time.
Now, there were probably five hundred houses, tents and sheds,
with a population, fixed and floating, of six thousand. People
who had been absent six weeks came back and could scarcely
recognize the place. Streets were regularly laid out, and already
there were three piers, at which small vessels could discharge.
It was calculated that the town increased daily by from fifteen to
thirty houses; its skirts were rapidly approaching the summits of
the three hills on which it is located.
A curious result of the extraordinary abundance of gold and
the facility with which fortunes were acquired, struck me at the
first glance. All business was transacted on so extensive a scale
that the ordinary habits of solicitation and compliance on the one
hand and stubborn cheapening on the other, seemed to be entirely
forgotten. You enter a shop to buy something; the owner eyes
you with perfect indifference, waiting for you to state your want;
if you object to the price, you are at liberty to leave, for you need
not expect to get it cheaper; he evidently cares little whether you
buy it or not. One who has been some time in the country will
lay down the money, without wasting words. The only exception
I found to this rule was that of a sharp-faced Down-Easter just
opening his stock, who was much distressed when his clerk
charged me seventy-five cents for a coil of rope, instead of one
dollar. This disregard for all the petty arts of money-making
was really a refreshing feature of society.   Another equally
agreeable trait was the punctuality with which debts were paid,
and the general confidence which men were obliged to place,
perforce, in each other's honesty. Perhaps this latter fact was
owing, in part, to the impossibility of protecting wealth, and
59 
ELDORADO
consequent dependence on an honorable regard for the rights of
others.
About the hour of twilight the wind fell; the sound of a gong
called us to tea, which was served in the largest room of the hotel.
The fare was abundant and of much better quality than we ex pected-better, in fact, than I was able to find there two months
later. The fresh milk, butter and excellent beef of the country
were real luxuries after our sea-fare. Thus braced against the
fog and raw temperature, we sallied out for a night-view of San
Francisco, then even more peculiar than its daylight look. Busi ness was over about the usual hour, and then the harvest-time of
the gamblers commenced. Every " hell" in the place, and I did
not pretend to number them, was crowded, and immense sums
were staked at the monte and faro tables. A boy of fifteen, in
one place, won about $500, which he coolly pocketed and carried
off.  One of the gang we brought in the Panama won $1,500 in
the course of the evening, and another lost $2,400. A fortunate miner made himself conspicuous by betting large piles of
ounces on a single throw.  His last stake of 100 oz. was lost, and
I saw him the following morning dashing through the streets, trying to break his own neck or that of the magnificent garahon he
bestrode.
Walking through the town the next day, I was quite amazed to
find a dozen persons busily employed in the street before the
United States Hotel, digging up the earth with knives and crumbling it in their hands. They were actual gold-hunters, who obtained in this way about $5 a day. After blowing the fine dirt
carefully in their hands, a few specks of gold were left, whicheb
they placed in a piece of white paper. A number of children
were engaged in the same business, picking out the fine grains b)
60 
STREET GOLD-PEOPLE IN TOWN.
applying to them the head of a pin, moistened in their mouths.
I was told of a small boy having taken home $14 as the result of
one day's labor. On climbing the hill to the Post Office I observed in places, where the wind had swept away the sand, several
glittering dots of the real metal, but, like the Irishman who kicked
the dollar out of his way, concluded to wait till I should reach the
heap. The presence of gold in the streets was probably occasioned by the leakings from the miners' bags and the sweepings
of stores; though it may also be, to a slight extent, native in the
earth, particles having been found in the clay thrown up from a
deep well.
The arrival of a steamer with a mail ran the usual excitement
and activity of the town up to its highest possible notch. The
little Post Office, half-way up the hill, was almost hidden from
sight by the crowds that clustered around it. Mr. Moore, the new
Postmaster, who was my fellow-traveler from New York, barred
every door and window from the moment of his entrance, and
with his sons and a few clerks, worked steadily for two days and
two nights, till the distribution of twenty thousand letters was
completed. Among the many persons I met, the day after landing, was Mr. T. Butler King, who had just returned from an
expedition to the placers, in company with General Smith. Mr.
Edwin Bryant, of Kentucky, and Mr. Durivage, of New Orleans,
had arrived a few days previous the former by way of the Great
Salt Lake, and the latter by the northern provinces of Mexico
and the Gila. I found the artist Osgood in a studio about eight
feet square, with a head of Captain Sutter on his easel. He had
given up gold-digging, after three months of successful labor
among the mountains.
I could make no thorough acquaintance with San Francisco
61 
ELDORADO.
during this first visit. Lieutenant Beale, who held important
Government dispatches for Colonel Frrmont, made arrangements
to leave for San Jos6 on the second morning, and offered me a
seat on the back of one of his mules. Our fellow-passenger,
Colonel Lyons, of Louisiana, joined us, completing the mystic
number which travelers should be careful not to exceed. We
made hasty tours through all the shops on Clay, Kearney, Washington and Montgomery streets, on the hunt of the proper equipments. Articles of clothing were cheaper than they had been or
were afterwards; tolerable blankets could be had for $6 a pair;
coarse flannel shirts, $3; Chilian spurs, with rowels two inches
long, $5, and Mexican sarapes, of coarse texture but gay color,
$10. We could find no saddle-bags in the town, and were necessitated to pack one of the mules. Among our camping materials
were a large hatchet and plenty of rope for making lariats; in
addition to which each of us carried a wicker flask slung over one
shoulder. We laid aside our civilized attire, stuck long sheathknives into our belts, put pistols into our pockets and holsters, and
buckled on the immense spurs which jingled as they struck the
ground at every step.  Our "animals" were already in waiting;
an alazan, the Californian term for a sorrel horse, a beautiful
brown mule, two of a cream color and a dwarfish little fellow
whose long forelock and shaggy mane gave him altogether an
elfish character of cunning and mischief.
62 
CHAPTER VII,
TO THE SAN JOAQUIN, ON MULEBACK
IT was noon before we got everything fairly in order and moved
slowly away from the City Hotel, where a number of our fellowpassengersthe only idlers in the place, because just arrivedwere collected to see us start. Shouldering our packs until we
should be able to purchase an aparejo, or pack-saddle, from some
Mexican on the road, and dragging after us two reluctant mules
by their lariats of horse-hair, we climbed the first "rise," dividing
the town from the Happy Valley. Here we found a party of Sonorians encamped on the sand, with their mules turned loose and
the harness scattered about them. After a little bargaining, we
obtained one of their pack-saddles for eight dollars. Lieut. Beale
jumped down, caught the little mule-which to his great surprise
he recognized as an old acquaintance among the Rocky Mountains
during the previous winter-and commenced  packing.  In my
zeal to learn all the mysteries of mountain-life, I attempted to
alighlt and assist him; but alas! the large rowel of my spur caught
in the folds of a blanket strapped to the saddle, the girth slipped
and I was ingloriously thrown on my  back.   The  Sonorians
laug,hed heartily, but came forward and re-adjusted the saddle with
a willingness that reconciled me to their mirth. 
ELDORADO.
All was finally arranged and we urged our nmules along in the
sand, over hills covered with thickets of evergreen oak. The guns
of the Ohio, fired for the obsequies of ex-president Polk, echoed
among the mountains of the bay, and companies of horsemen,
coming in from the interior, appeared somewhat startled at the
sound. Three miles from San Francisco is the old Mission of
Dolores, situated in a sheltered valley, which is watered by a perpetual stream, fed from the tall peaks towards the sea. As we
descended a long sand-hill before reaching the valley, Picayune,
our pack-mule, suddenly came to a stop. Lieut. Beale, who had
a most thorough knowledge of mule-craft, dismounted and untied
the lash-rope; the pack had slightly shifted, and Picayune, who
was as knowing as he was perverse, would not move a step till it
was properly adjusted. We now kept the two loose mules in advance and moved forward in better order   The mountains beyond
the Mission are bleak and barren and the dire north-west wind,
sweeping in from the sea through their gorges, chilled us to the
bones as we rode over them.
After ascending for some distance by a broad road, in which,
at short intervals, lay the carcasses of mules and horses, attended
by flocks of buzzards, we passed through a notch in the main
chain, whence there was a grand look-out to the sea on one side,
to the bay on the other. We were glad, however, to descend from
these raw and gusty heights, along the sides of the mountains of
San Bruno, to the fertile and sheltered plains of Santa Clara.
Large herds of cattle are pastured in this neighborhood, the grass
in the damp flats and wild oats on the mountains, affording them
sufficient food during the dry season. At Sanchez' Ranche, which
we reached just before sunset, there was neither grass nor barley
and we turned our mules supperless into the corral. The Sefora
64 
SCENERY OF THE INLAND.
Sanchez, after some persuasion, stirred up the fire in the mud
kitchen and prepared for us a guisado of beef and onions, with
some rank black tea. As soon as it was dark, we carried our
equipments into the house, and by a judicious arrangement of
our saddles, blankets and clothes, made a grand bed for three,
where we should have slept, had fleas been lobsters. But as they
were fleas, of the largest and savagest kind, we nearly perished
before morning. Rather than start for the day with starved animals, we purchased half a fanega-a little more than a bushelof wheat, for $5. Mr. Beale's horse was the only one who did
justice to this costly feed, and we packed the rest on the back of
little Picayune, who gave an extra groan when it was added to his
load.
Our road now led over broad plains, through occasional belts
of timber. The grass was almost entirely burnt up, and dry,
gravelly arroyos, in and out of which we went with a plunge and
a scramble, marked the courses of the winter streams. The air
was as warm and balmy as Mlay, and fragrant with the aroma of
a species of gnaphalium, which made it delicious to inhale. Not
a cloud was to be seen in the sky, and the high, sparsely-wooded
mountains on either hand, showed softened and indistinct through
a blue haze.   The character of the scenery was entirely new to
me. The splendid valley, untenanted except by a few solitary
rancheros living many miles apart, seemed to be some deserted
location of ancient civilization and culture. The wooded slopes
of the mountains are lawns, planted by Nature with a taste to
which Art could add no charm. The trees have nothing of the
wild growth of our forests; they are compact, picturesque, and
grouped in every variety of graceful outline. The hills were
covered to the summit with fields of wild oats, coloring them
65 
ELDORADO
as far as the eye could reach, with tawny gold, against which the
dark, glossy green of the oak and cypress showed with peculiar
effect. As we advanced further, these natural harvests extended
over the plain, mixed with vast beds of wild mustard, eight feet
in height, under which a thick crop of grass had sprung up, furnishing sustenance to the thousands of cattle, roaming everywhere
unherded. The only cultivation I saw was a small field of maize,
green and with good ears.
I never felt a more thorough, exhilarating sense of freedom than
when first fairly afloat on these vast and beautiful plains. With
the mule as my shallop, urged steadily onward past the tranquil
isles and long promontories of timber; drinking, with a delight
that almost made it a flavor on the palate, the soft, elastic, fragrant
air; cut off, for the time, from every irksome requirement of
civilization, and cast loose, like a stray, unshackled spirit, on the
bosom of a new earth, I seemed to take a fresh and more perfect
lease of existence. The mind was in exquisite harmony with the
outer world, and the same sensuous thrill of Life vibrated through
each. The mountains showed themselves through the magical
screen of the haze; far on our left the bay made a faint, glimmering line, like a rod of light, cutting off the hardly-seen hills
beyond it, from the world; and on all sides, from among the glossy
clumps of bay and evergreen oak, the chirrup and cheery whistle
of birds rang upon the air.
After a ride of twenty-five miles without grass, water or sign of
habitation, we stopped to rest at a ranche, in the garden of which
I found a fine patch of grape vines, laden with flourishing bunches.
We watered our mules with a basket of Indian manufacture, so
closely plaited that scarcely a drop found its way through. At
the ranche we met an emigrant returning from the mines, and
(36 
RANCHES ON THE ROAD.
were strongly advised to turn back. He had evidently mistaken
his capacity when he came to California.   "You think you are
very wise," said he, "and you'll believe nothing; but it won't be
long before you'll find out the truth of my words. You'll have to
sleep on the ground every night and take care of your own animals;
and you may think yourselves lucky if you get your regular meals."
We fully agreed with him in every respect, but he took it all for
unbelieving irony. At Whisman's ranche, two miles further, we
stopped to dinner. The sight of a wooden house gladdened our
eyes, and still more so that of the home-made bread, fresh butter
and milk which Mrs. Whisman set before us. The family had
lived there nearly two years and were well contented with the
country. The men go occasionally to the mines and dig, but are
prudent enough not to neglect their farming operations. The
grass on the vega before the house was still thick and green, and
% well fifteen feet deep supplied them with good water. The
vegetables in their garden, though planted late, were growing
,inely; the soil is a rich, dark loam, now as cracked and dry as a
inder, but which, under the Winter and Spring rains, is hidden
y a deluge of vegetable bloom.
As evening drew on the white spire of Santa Clara Mission
ti owed in the distance, and an hour's sharp riding brought us in
front of its old white-washed walls. The buildings, once very
spacious in extent, are falling into ruin, and a single monk in the
corridor, habited in a very dirty cowl and cassock, was the only
saintly inhabitant we saw. The Mission estate, containing twentyfive thousand head of cattle and many square leagues of land, was
placed by Gen. Kearney in charge of Padre del Real, President
of the Missions of the North. The Padre, however, exceeded his
powers by making leases of the Mission lands to emigrants and others,
67 
ELDORADO.
and devoting the proceeds to the benefit of the Church Personal.
At the time we passed, several frame houses had sprung up
around the Mission, on grounds thus leased. Beyond the buildings, we entered a magnificent road, three miles in length, and
shaded by an avenue of evergreen oaks, leading to Pueblo San
Jose, which we reached at dusk.
Pueblo San Jose6, situated about five miles from the southern
extremity of the Bay of San Francisco, and in the mouth of the
beautiful valley of San Jose', is one of the most flourishing inland
towns in California. On my first visit, it was mainly a collection
of adobe houses, with tents and a few clapboard dwellings, of the
season's growth, scattered over a square half-mile. As we were
entering, I noticed a little white box, with pillars and triangular
facade in front, and remarked to my friend that it had certainly
been taken bodily from Lynn and set down there. Truly enough,
it was a shoe store! Several stores and hotels had been opened
within a few weeks, and the price of lots was only lower than those
of San Francisco. We rode into an open plaza, a quarter of a
mile in length, about which the town was built, and were directed
to the Miner's Home, a decent-looking hotel, near its northern
end. Our mules were turned into a stable at hand; tea, with the
substantial addition of beefsteak, was served to us, and lighting
the calumet, we lounged on the bench at the door, enjoying that
repose which is only tasted after wearisome travel. Lieut. Beale
went off to seek Col. Fremont, who was staying at the house of
Mr. Grove Cook; Col. Lyons and myself lay down on the floor
among half a dozen other travelers and fleas which could not be
counted.
In the morning we went with Lieut. Beale to call upon Col
Fremont, whom we found on the portico of Mr. Cook's house,
68 
COLONEL FREMONT.
wearing a sombrero and Californian jacket, and showing no trace
of the terrible hardships he had lately undergone.   It may be interesting to the thousands who have followed him, as readers may,
on his remarkable journeys and explorations for the past eight
years, to know that he is a man of about thirty-five years of age,
of medium height, and lightly, but most compactly knit-in fact,
I have seen in no other man the qualities of lightness, activity,
strength and physical endurance in so perfect an equilibrium.
His face is rather thin and embrowned by exposure; his nose a
bold aquiline and his eyes deep-set and keen as a hawk's. The
rough camp-life of many years has lessened in no degree his native refinement of character and polish of manners. A stranger
would never suppose him to be the Columbus of our central
wildernesses, though when so informed, would believe it without
surprise.
After the disastrous fate of his party on the head waters of the
Rio del Norte, Col. Fremont took the southern route through
Sonora, striking the Gila River at the Pimos Village. It was exceedingly rough and fatiguing, but he was fortunate enough to find
in the bottoms along the river, where no vegetation had been
heard of or expected, large patches of wild wheat. The only
supposition by which this could be accounted for, was that it fell
from the store-wagons attached to Major Graham's command,
which passed over the route the previous autumn.   Otherwise,
the bursting forth of a river in the midst of the Great Desert,
which I have already mentioned, and the appearance of wheat
among the sterile sands of the Gila, would seem like a marvellous
coincidence, not wholly unsuited to the time. Col. Fremont had
just returned from the Mariposa River, where his party of men
was successfully engaged in go'd-digging  In addition, he had corn
69 
ELDORADO.
menced a more secure business, in the establishment of a steam
saw-mill at Pueblo San Jos6. The forests of redwood close at
hand make fine timber, and he had a year's work engaged before
the mill was in operation. Lumber was then bringing $500 per
thousand feet, and not long before brought $1,500.
At the house of Mr. Cook we also saw Andrew Sublette, the
celebrated mountaineer, who accompanied Lieut. Beale on hi
overland journey, the winter before.  He was lame from scurvy
brought on by privations endured on that occasion and his subsequent labors in the placers. Sublette, who from his bravery and
daring has obtained among the Indians the name of Kee-ta-tahve-sak, or One-who-walks-in-fire, is a man of about thirty-seven,
of fair complexion, long brown hair and beard, and a countenance
expressing the extreme of manly frankness and integrity. Lieut.
Beale, who has the highest admiration of his qualities, related to
me many instances of his heroic character. Preuss and Kreuzfeldt, Fremont's old campaigners, who so narrowly escaped perishing among the snows of the central chain, were at the Miner's
Home, at the time of our stay.
About noon we saddled our mules, laid in a stock of provisions
and started for Stockton. At the outset, it was almost impossible
to keep the animals in order; Picayune, in spite of his load,
dashed out into the mustard fields, and Ambrose, our brown mule,
led us off in all sorts of zigzag chases. The man to whom we had
paid $2 a head for their night's lodging and fare, had absolutely
starved them, and the poor beasts resisted our efforts to make them
travel. In coursing after them through the tall weeds, we got off
the trail, and it was some time before we made much progress
towards the Mission of San Jos6. The valley, fifteen miles in
breadth, is well watered and may be made to produce the finest
70 
A SONORIAN COMRADE.
wheat crops in the world. It is perfectly level and dotted all over
its surface with clumps of magnificent oaks, cypresses and sycamores. A few miles west of the Pueblo there is a large forest of
red wood, or California cypress, and the quicksilver mines of Santa
Clara are in the same vicinity. Sheltered from the cold winds of
the sea, the climate is like that of Italy. The air is a fluid balm.
Before traveling many miles we overtook a Sonorian riding on
his burro or jackass, with a wooden bowl hanging to the saddle
and a crowbar and lance slung crosswise before him.   We offered
him the use of our extra mule if he would join us, to which he
gave a willing consent. Burro was accordingly driven loose laden
with the gold-hunting tools, and our Bedouin, whom we christened
Tompkins, trotted beside us well pleased. At the Mission of San
Jose we dispatched him to buy meat, and for half a dollar he
brought us at least six yards, salted and slightly dried for transportation. The Mission-a spacious stone building, with courtyard and long corridors-is built upon the lower slope of the
mountains dividing San Francisco Bay from the San Joaquin
valley, and a garden extends behind it along the banks of a little
stream.
The sight of a luxuriant orchard peeping over the top of its
mud walls, was too tempting to be resisted, so, leaving Lieutenant
Beale to jog ahead with Tompkins and the loose animals, Colonel
Lyons and myself rode up the hill, scrambled over and found
ourselves in a wilderness of ripening fruit. Hundreds of pear
and apple trees stood almost breaking with their harvest, which
lay rotting by cart-loads on the ground. Plums, grapes, figs and
other fruits, not yet ripened, filled the garden. I shall never
forget how grateful the pears of San Jose were to our parched
throats, nor what an alarming quantity we ate before we found it
71 
ELDORADO.
possible to stop. I have been told that the garden is irrigated
during the dry season, and that where this method is practicable,
fruit trees of all kinds can be made to yield to a remarkable
extent.
Immediately on leaving the Mission we struck into a narrow
earon among the mountains, and following its windings reached
the " divide," or ridge which separates the streams, in an hour.
From the summit the view extended inland over deep valleys and
hazy mountain ranges as far as the vision could reach. Lines o,
beautiful timber followed the course of the arroyos down the sides
streaking the yellow hue of the wild oats, which grew as thickly
as an ordinary crop at home. Descending to a watered valley, we
heard some one shouting from a slope on our left, where a herd of
cattle was grazing. It was Lieut. Beale, who had chosen our
camping-ground in a little glen below, under a cluster of oaks.
We unpacked, watered our mules, led them up a steep ascent,
and picketed them in a thick bed of oats. I had taken the lashrope, of plaited raw-hide, for the purpose of tethering Ambrose,
but Tompkins, who saw me, cried:  " Cuidado! hay bastante
coyotes aqui," (Take care! there are plenty of coyotes here)which animals invariably gnaw in twain all kinds of ropes except
hemp and horse-hair. The picketing done, we set about cooking
our supper; Tompkins was very active in making the fire, and
when all was ready, produced a good dish of stewed beef and
tortillas, to which we added some ham, purchased in San Jos6
at eighty cents the pound.   We  slept under  the  branching
curtains of our glen chamber, wakened only once or twice by the
howling of the coyotes and the sprinkling of rain in our faces
By sunrise we had breakfast and started again.
The first twenty miles of our journey passed through one of
72 
CROSSING THE COAST RANGE.
the most beautiful regions in the world. The broad oval valleys,
shaded by magnificent oaks and enclosed by the lofty mountains
of the Coast Range, open beyond each other like a suite of palace
chambers, each charming more than the last. The land is
admirably adapted for agricultural or grazing purposes, and in a
few years will become one of the most flourishing districts in
California.
We passed from these into hot, scorched plains, separated by
low ranges of hills, on one of which is situated Livermore's
Ranche, whose owner, Mr. Livermore, is the oldest American
resident in the country, having emigrated thither in 1820. He is
married to a native woman, and seems to have entirely outgrown
his former habits of life. We obtained from him dinner for
ourselves and mules at $2 25 each; and finding there was neither
grass nor water for twenty-five miles, made an early start for our
long afternoon's ride. The road entered another carion, through
which we toiled for miles before reaching the last "divide."  On
the summit we met several emigrant companies with wagons,
coming from Sutter's Mill. The children, as brown and wildlooking as Indians, trudged on in the dust, before the oxen, and
several girls of twelve years old, rode behind on horses, keeping
together the loose animals of the party. Their invariable greeting
was: " How far to water?"
From the top of the divide we hailed with a shout the great
plain of San Joaquin, visible through the openings among the
hills, like a dark-blue ocean, to which the leagues of wild oats
made a vast beach of yellow sand. At least a hundred miles of
its surface were visible, and the hazy air, made more dense by the
smoke of the burning tul6 marshes, alone prevented us from
seeing the snowy outline of the Sierra Nevada After descending
VOL. r.   4
73 
ELDORADO.
and traveling a dozen miles on the hot, arid level, we reached A
slough making out from the San Joaquin. The sun had long been
down, but a bright quarter-moon was in the sky, by whose light
we selected a fine old tree for our place of repose. A tent,
belonging to some other travelers, was pitched at a little distance.
Feeling the ground with our hands to find the spots where the
grass was freshest, we led our mules into a little tongue of
meadow-land, half-embraced by the slough, and tied them to the
low branches, giving them the full benefit of their tether. Tompkins complained of illness, and rolling himself in his sarape, lay
down on the plain, under the open sky. We were too hungry to
dispose of the day so quickly; a yard of jerked beef was cut off, and
while Lieut. Beale prepared it for cooking, Col. Lyons and myself wandered about in the shadow of the trees, picking up everything that cracked under our feet. The clear red blaze of the
fire made our oak-tree an enchanted palace. Its great arms, that
arched high above us and bent down till they nearly reached the
ground, formed a hollow dome around the columnar trunk, which
was fretted and embossed with a thousand ornaments of foliage.
The light streamed up, momentarily, reddening the deeps within
deeps of the bronze-like leaves; then sinking low again, the shadows returned and the stars winked brightly between the wreathed
mullions of our fantastic windows.
The meal finished, we went towards the tent in our search for
water. Several sleepers, rolled in their blankets, were stretched
under the trees, and two of them, to our surprise, were enjoying
the luxury of musquito bars.  On the bank of the slough, we
found a shallow well, covered with dead boughs; Lieut. Beale,
stretching his hand down towards the water, took hold of a snake,
which was even more startled than he.  Our quest was repaid by
74 
THE MOSQUITOS AND THE FERRY.
a hearty draught, notwithstanding:ts earthy flavor, and we betook
ourselves to sleep. The mosquitos were terribly annoying; after
many vain attempts to escape them, I was forced to roll a blanket
around my head, by which means I could sleep till I began to
smother, and then repeat the operation.   Waking about midnight, confused and flushed with this business, I saw the moon,
looming fiery and large on the horizon.  "Surely," thought I,
with a half-awake wandering of fancy, " the moon has been bitten
by mosquitos, and that is the reason why her face is so swollen
and inflamed."
Five miles next morning took us to the San Joaquin, which was
about thirty yards in width. Three Yankees had " squatted" at
the crossing, and established a ferry; the charge for carrying
over a man and horse was $2, and as this route was much traveled,
their receipts ranged from $500 to $1,000 daily. In addition to
this, they had a tavern and grazing camp, which were very profitable. They built the ferry-boat, which was a heavy flat, hauled
across with a rope, with their own hands, as well as a launch of
sixty tons, doing a fine business between Stockton and San Francisco. Tompkins, who perhaps imagined that some witchcraft of
ours had occasioned his illness, here left us, and we saw his
swarthy face no more. Disengaging our loose mules from a corral
full of horses, into which they had dashed, from a sudden freak
of affeoiion, we launched into another plain, crossed in all directions by tule swamps, and made towards a dim shore of timber
twelve miles distant.
75 
CHAPTER VIII.
CAMP-LIFE, AND A RIDE TO THE DIGGINGS.
As we came off the scorching calm of the plain into the shadow
of the trees, we discerned two tents ahead, on a gentle knoll.
This was the camp of Major Graham, who commanded the expedition sent from Monterey, Mexico, overland into California, in
the summer of 1848. He was employing a little time, before returning home, in speculating on his own account and had established himself near Stockton with a large herd of horses and cattle,
on which he was making good profits.  Lieut. Beale was an old
acquaintance of the Major's, and as firiends of the former we were
made equally welcome. We found him sitting on a camp-stool,
outside the tent, wearing a hunting-jacket and broad-brimmed
white hat.  With a prompt hospitality that would take no denial,
he ordered our mules driven out to his caballada, had our packs
piled up in the shade of one of his oaks, and gave directions for
dinner. For four days thereafter we saw the stars through his
tree-tops, between our dreams, and shared the abundant fare of
his camp-table, varying the delightful repose of such life by an
occasional gallop into Stockton.  Mr. Callahan, an old settler, who
had pitched his tent near Major Graham's, went out every morning
to hunt elk among the tul, and we were daily supplied with steaks 
STOCKTON.
and cutlets from his spoils. In the early morning the elk might
be seen in bands of forty or fifty, grazing on the edge of the
marshes, where they were sometimes lassoed by the native vaqueros, and taken into Stockton. We saw the coyotes occasionally
prowling along the margin of the slough, but they took good care
to sneak off before a chance could be had to shoot them. The
plain was perforated in all directions by the holes of a large burrowing squirrel, of a gray color, and flocks of magpies and tufted
partridges made their covert in the weeds and wild oats.
Our first visit to Stockton was made in company, on some of
Major Graham's choicest horses. A mettled roan canalo fell to
my share, and the gallop of five miles without check was most inspiring. A view of Stockton was something to be remembered.
There, in the heart of California, where the last winter stood a
solitary ranche in the midst of tul4 marshes, I found a canvas
town of a thousand inhabitants, and a port with twenty-five vessels
at anchor! The mingled noises of labor around-the click of
of hammers and the grating of saws-the shouts of mule drivers
-the jingling of spurs-the jar ard jostle of wares in the tentsalmost cheated me into the belief that it was some old commercial
mart, familiar with such sound,s for years past. Four months,
only, had sufficed to make the place what it was; and in that time
a wholesale firm established there (one out of a dozen) had done
business to the amount of $100,000. The same party had just
purchased a lot eighty by one hundred feet, on the principal street,
for $6,000, and the cost of erecting a common one-story clapboard
house on it was $15,000.
I can liken my days at Major Graham's camp to no previous
phase of my existence. They were the realization of a desire
sometimes felt, sometimes expressed in poetry, but rarely enjoyed
77 
ELDORADO.
in complete fulfilment. In the repose of Nature, unbroken day
or night; the subtle haze pervading the air, softening all sights
and subduing all sounds; the still, breathless heat of the day and
the starry hush of the night-the oak-tree was for me a perfect
Castle of Indolence. Lying at full length on the ground, in listless ease, whichever way I looked my eye met the same enchanting
groupage of the oaks, the same glorious outlines and massed shadows of foliage; while frequent openings, through the farthest
clumps, gave boundless glimpses of the plain beyond. Scarcely
a leaf stirred in the slumberous air; and giving way to the delicate languor that stole in upon my brain, I seemed to lie apart
from my own mind and to watch the lazy waves of thought that
sank on its shores without a jar. All effort-even the memory of
effort-came like a sense of pain.  It was an abandonment to
rest, like that of the " Lotos-Eaters," and the feeling of these
lines, not the words, was with me constantly:
"Why should we toil alone,
We only toil, who are the first of things,
And make perpetual moan,
Still from one sorrow to another thrown;
Nor ever fold our wings
And cease from wanderings,
Nor steep our brows in slumber's holy balm:
Nor harken what the inner spirit sings,
' There is no joy but calm!'"
There is one peculiarity about the Californian oaks, which I do
not remember to have seen noticed. In the dry heat of the long
summer seasons, their fibre becomes brittle, and frequently at
noon-day, when not a breath of air is stirring, one of their stout
arms parts from the trunk without the slightest warning sound
78 
ROCKY MOUNTAIN MEN.
and drops bodily to the earth. More than one instance is related,
in which persons have been killed by their fall. For this reason
the native Californians generally camp outside of the range of the
limbs.
After discussing our further plans, it was decided to visit the
Mokelumne Diggings, which were the most accessible from Stockton. Accordingly, on Monday morning, our mules were driven
in from the plain and saddled for the journey. The sun was
shining hotly as we rode over the plain to Stockton, and the tentstreets of the miraculous town glowed like the avenues of a brickKiln. The thermometer stood at 98~, and the parched, sandy soil
burnt through our very boot-soles. We therefore determined to
wait till evening before starting for another stage to the Mokelumne. While waiting in the tent of Mr. Belt, the alcalde of the
place, I made acquaintance with two noted mountaineers-Mr.
William Knight, the first man who followed in the track of Lewis
and Clark, on the Columbia River, and White Elliott, a young
Missourian, who for ten years had been rambling through New
Mexico and the Rocky Mountains. The latter had been one of
Lieut. Beale's men on the Gila, and the many perils they then
shared gave their present meeting a peculiar interest. Elliott,
who, young as he was, had undergone everything that could harden
and toughen a man out of all sensibility, colored like a young girl.
his eyes were wet and he scarcely found voice to speak. I had
many opportunities of seeing him afterwards and appreciating his
thorough nobleness and sincerity of character.
Mr. Raney, who had just established a line of conveyance to
the Mokelumne, kindly offered to accompany us as far as his
ranche on the Calaveras River, twenty-four miles distant. We
started at four o'clock, when a pleasant breeze had sprung up,
79 
ELDORADO.
and rode on over the level plain, through beautiful groves of oak
The trail was crossed by deep, dry arroyos, which, in the rainy
season, make the country almost impassable; now, however, the
very beds of the tul6 marshes were beginning to dry up. The air
was thicker than evei with the smoke of burning tul4, and as we
journeyed along in the hazy moonlight, the lower slopes of the
mountains were not visible till we reached Mr. Raney's ranche,
which lies at their base. We gave our tired mules a good feed of
barley, and, after an excellent supper which he had prepared, betook ourselves to rest. The tent was made of saplings, roofed
with canvas, but had cost $1,000; the plain all around was
covered deep with dust, which the passing trains of mules kept
constantly in the air. Nevertheless, for the first time in several
days, we slept in a bed-the bed of Calaveras River, and in the
deepest hollow of its gold-besprinkled sands. The stream, which
in the spring is thirty feet deep, was perfectly dry, and the timber
on its banks made a roof far above, which shut out the wind and
sand, but let in the starlight.  Heaping the loose gravel for pillows, we enjoyed a delightful sleep, interrupted only once by the
howling of a large gray wolf, prowling in the thickets over us.
While waiting for breakfast, I saw a curious exemplification of
the careless habits of the miners, in regard to money. One of
the mule-drivers wanted to buy a pistol which belonged to an
other, and as the article was in reality worth next to nothing.
offered him three dollars for it.   "I will sell nothing for such a
beggarly sum," said the owner: " you are welcome to take the
pistol." The other took it, but laid the three dollars on a log, saying: " you must take it, for I shall never touch it again." " Well,"
was the reply, "then I'll do what I please with it;" and he flung
the dollars into the road and walked away. An Irishman who
so 
FIERY TRAVEL-THE MULE'S HEART.
stood by, raked in the dust for some time, but only recovered
about half the money.
Leaving the ranche soon after sunrise, we entered the hills.
The country was dotted with picturesque clumps of oak, and, as
the ground became higher and more broken, with pines of splendid growth. Around their feet were scattered piles of immense
cones, which had been broken up for the sake of the spicy kernels
they contain. Trails of deer could be seen on all the hills, leading down to chance green spots in the hollows, which a month since
furnished water. Now, however, the ground was parched as in a
furnace; the vegetation snapped like glass under the hoofs of our
mules, and the cracks and seams in the arid soil seemed to give
out an intense heat from some subterranean fire. In the glens
and caiadas, where the little air stirring was cut off, the mercury
rose to 110~; perspiration was dried as soon as formed, and I
began to think I should soon be done to a turn.
After traveling about fourteen miles, we were joined by three
miners, and our mules, taking a sudden liking for their horses
jogged on at a more brisk rate.  The instincts of the mulish heart
form an interesting study to the traveler in the mountains. I
would, were the comparison not too ungallant, liken it to a woman's, for it is quite as uncertain in its sympathies, bestowing its
affections where least expected, and when bestowed, quite as constant, so long as the object is not taken away. Sometimes a horse,
sometimes an ass, captivates the fancy of a whole drove of mules;
but often an animal nowise akin. Lieut. Beale told me that his
whole train of mules once took a stampede on the plains of the
Cimarone, and ran half a mile, when they halted in apparent satisfaction. The cause of their freak was found to be a buffalo calf,
which had strayed from the herd. They were frisking around it
4*
'81 
ELDORADO.
in the greatest delight, rubbing their noses against it, throwing up
their heels and making themselves ridiculous by abortive attempts
to neigh and bray, while the poor calf, unconscious of its attractive
qualities, stood trembling in their midst. It is customary to
have a horse in the atajos, or mule-trains, of the traders in
Northern Mexico, as a sort of magnet to keep together the separate
atoms of the train, for, whatever the temptation, they will never
stray far from him.
We turned from the main road, which led to the Upper Bar,
and took a faint trail leading over the hills to the Lower Bar.
The winding canon up which we passed must be a paradise in
Spring; even at the close of August the dry bed of the stream
was shaded by trees of every picturesque form that a painter
could desire. Crossing several steep spurs, we reached the top of
the divide overlooking the Mokelumne Valley, and here one of
the most charming mountain landscapes in the world opened to
our view. Under our very feet, as it seemed, flowed the river,
and a little corner of level bottom, wedged between the bases of
the hills, was dotted with the tents of the gold-hunters, whom we
could see burrowing along the water.   The mountains, range
behind range, spotted with timber, made a grand, indistinct
background in the smoky air,-a large, fortress-like butte, toward
the Cosumne River, the most prominent of all. Had the atmosphere been clearer, the snowy crown of the Nevada, beyond all,
would have made the picture equal to any in Tyrol.
Coming down the almost perpendicular side of the hill, my
saddle began to slip over the mule's straight shoulders, and, dismounting, I waded the rest of the way knee-deep in dust. Near
the bottom we came upon the Sonorian Town, as it was called,
firom the number of Mexican miners encamped there.  The place,
82 
ARRIVAL AT THE DIGGINGS.
which was a regularly laid-out town of sapling houses, without
walls and roofed with loose oak boughs, had sprung up in the
wilderness in three weeks: there were probably three hundred
persons living in or near it. Under the open canopies of oak we
heard, as we passed along, the jingle of coin at the monte tables,
and saw crowds gathered to watch the progress of the game.
One of the first men Lieutenant Beale saw was Baptiste Perrot,
a mountaineer who had been in his overland party. He kept a
hotel, which was an open space under a branch roof; the
appliances were two tables of rough plank, (one for meals and
one for monte,) with logs resting on forked limbs as seats, and a
bar of similar materials, behind which was ranged a goodly stock
of liquors and preserved provisions. We tethered our mules to a
stump in the rear of the hotel, hastened supper, and made ourselves entirely at home.
83 
CHAPTER IX,
THE DIGGINGS ON MOKELUMNE RIVER.
OUR first move was for the river bottom, where a number of
Americans, Sonorians, Kanakas and French were at work in the
hot sun. The bar, as it was called, was nothing more nor less
than a level space at the junction of the river with a dry arroyo
or " gulch," which winds for about eight miles among the hills
It was hard and rocky, with no loose sand except such as had
lodged between the large masses of stone, which must of course be
thrown aside to get at the gold. The whole space, containing
about four acres, appeared to have been turned over with great
labor, and all the holes slanting down between the broken strata
of slate, to have been explored to the bottom. No spot could appear more unpromising to the inexperienced gold-hunter. Yet
the Sonorians, washing out the loose dust and dirt which they
scraped up among the rocks, obtained from $10 to two ounces
daily. The first party we saw had just succeeded in cutting a
new channel for the shrunken waters of the Mokelumne, and were
commencing operations on about twenty yards of the river-bed,
which they had laid bare. They were ten in number, and their
only implements were shovels, a rude cradle for the top layer of
earth, and fiat wooden bowls for washing out the sands. Bap 
GOLD IN THE RIVER-BED.
tiste took one of the bowls which was full of sand, and in five
minutes showed us a dozen grains of brigffht gold. The company
had made in the forenoon about three pounds; we watched them
at their work till the evening, when three pounds more were
produced, making an average of seven ounces for each man. The
gold was of the purest quvlity and most beautiful color. When I
first saw the men, carrying heavy stones in the sun, standing nearly
waist-deep in water, and grubbing with their hands in the gravel
and clay, there seemed to me little virtue in resisting the temptation to gold digging; but when the shining particles were poured
out lavishly from a tin basin, I confess there was a sudden itching
in my fingers to seize the heaviest crowbar and the biggest shovel.
A company of thirty, somewhat further down the river, had
made a much larger dam, after a month's labor, and a hundred
yards of the bed were clear. They commenced washing in the
afternoon and obtained a very encouraging result. The next
morning, however, they quarreled, as most companies do, and
finally applied to Mr. James  and Dr. Gillette, two of the principal operators, to settle the difficulty by having the whole bed
washed out at their own expense and taking half the gold. As
all the heavy work was done, the contractors expected to make a
considerable sum by the operation. Many of the Americans employed Sonorians and Indians to work for them, giving them half
the gold and finding them in provisions. Notwithstanding the
enormous prices of every article of food, these people could be
kept for about a dollar daily-consequently those who hire them
profited handsomely.
After we had taken the sharp edge off our curiosity, we returned to our quarters. Dr. Gillette, Mr. James, Captain Tracy
and several other of the miners entertained us with a hospitality
85 
ELDORADO.
as gratifying as it was unexpected. In the evening we sat down
to a supper prepared by Baptiste and his partner, Mr. Fisher,
which completed my astonishment at the resources of that wonderful land. There, in the rough depth of the hills, where three
weeks before there was scarcely a tent, and where we expected to
live on jerked beef and bread, we saw on the table green corn,
green peas and beans, fresh oysters, roast turkey, fine Goshen
butter and excellent coffee. I will not pretend to say what they
cost, but I began to think that the fable of Aladdin was nothing
very remarkable, after all. The genie will come, and had come
to many whom I saw in California; but the rubbing of the lamp
-aye, there's the rub. There is nothing in the world so hard on
the hands.
I slept soundly that night on the dining-table, and went down
early to the river, where I found the party of ten bailing out the
water which had leaked into the river-bed during the night.
They were standing in the sun, and had two hours' hard work before they could begin to wash. Again the prospect looked uninviting, but when I went there again towards noon, one of them
was scraping up the sand from the bed with his knife, and throwing it into a basin, the bottom of which glittered with gold.
Every knifeful brought out a quantity of grains and scales, some
of which were as large as the finger-nail. At last a two-ounce
lunip fell plump into the pan, and the diggers, now in the best
possible humor, went on with their work with great alacrity.
Their forenoon's digging amounted to nearly six pounds. It is
only by such operations as these, through associated labor, that
great profits are to be made in those districts which have been
visited by the first eager horde of gold hunters. The deposits
most easily reached are soon exhausted by the crowd, and the
86 
THE SONORIANS.
labor required to carry on further work successfully deters single
individuals from  attempting it.   Those who, retaining  their
health, return home disappointed, say they have been humbugged
about the gold, when in fact, they have humbugged themselves
about the work. If any one expects to dig treasures out of the
earth, in California, without severe labor, he is wofully mistaken.
Of all classes of men, those who pave streets and quarry limestone
are best adapted for gold diggers.
Wherever there is gold, there are gamblers. Our little village
boasted of at least a dozen monte tables, all of which were frequented at night by the Americans and Mexicans. The Sonorians left a large portion of their gold at the gaming tables,
though it was calculated they had taken $5,000,000 out of the
country during the summer. The excitement against them prevailed also on the Mokelumne, and they were once driven away;
they afterwards quietly returned, and in most cases worked in
companies, for the benefit and under the protection of some
American. They labor steadily and faithfully, and are considered
honest, if well watched. The first colony of gold-hunters attempted to drive out all foreigners, without distinction, as well as
native Californians. Don Andres Pico, who was located on the
same river, had some difficulty with them until they could be
made to understand that his right as a citizen was equal to theirs
Dr. Gillette, to whom we were indebted for many kind attentions, related to me the manner of his finding the rich gulch
which attracted so many to the Mokelumne Diggings. The word
gulch, which is in general use throughout the diggings, may not
be familiar to many ears, though its sound somehow expresses its
meaning, without further definition. It denotes a mountain ravine,
differing from ravines elsewhere as the mountains of California
87 
ELDORADO.
differ from all others-more steep, abrupt and inaccessible. The
sound of gulch is like that of a sudden plunge into a deep hole,
which is just the character of the thing itself. It bears the same
relation to a ravine that a " canion" does to a pass or gorge.
About two months previous to our arrival, Dr. Gillette came
down from the Upper Bar with a companion, to "prospect" for
gold among the ravines in the neighborhood. There were no
persons there at the time, except some Indians belonging to the
tribe of Jose Jesus. One day at noon, while resting in the shade
of a tree, Dr. G. took a pick and began carelessly turning up the
ground. Almost on the surface, he struck and threw out a lump
of gold of about two pounds weight. Inspired by this uniexpected
result, they both went to work, laboring all that day and the next,
and even using part of the night to quarry out the heavy pieces
of rock. At the end of the second day they went to the village
on the Upper Bar and weighed their profits, which amounted to
fourteen pounds! They started again the third morning under
pretence of hunting, but were suspected and followed by the other
diggers, who came upon them just as they commenced work.
The news rapidly spread, and there was soon a large number of
men on the spot, some of whom obtained several pounds per
day, at the start. The gulch had been well dug up for the large
lumps, but there was still great wealth in the earth and sand, and
several operators only waited for the wet season to work it in a
systematic manner.
The next day Col. Lyons, Dr. Gillette and myself set out on a
visit to the scene of these rich discoveries. Climbing up the
rocky bottom of the gulch, as by a staircase, for four miles, we
found nearly every part of it dug up and turned over by the
picks of the miners. Deep holes, sunk between the solid strata
88 
THE PROCESS OF DRY-WASllNG.
or into the precipitous sides of the mountains, showed where veins
of the metal had been struck and followed as long as they yielded
lumps large enough to pay for the labor. The loose earth, which
they had excavated, was full of fine gold, and only needed washing
out. A number of Sonorians were engaged in dry washing this
refuse sand-a work which requires no little skill, and would soon
kill any other men than these lank and skinny Arabs of the West.
Their mode of work is as follows:-Gathering the loose dry sand
in bowls, they raise it to their heads and slowly pour it upon a
blanket spread at their feet. Repeating this several times, and
throwing out the worthless pieces of rock, they reduce the dust to
about half its bulk; then, balancing the bowl on one hand, by
a quick, dexterous motion of the other they cause it to revolve,
at the same time throwing its contents into the air and catching
them as they fall. In this manner everything is finally winnowed
away except the heavier grains of sand mixed with gold, which is
carefully separated by the breath. It is a laborious occupation,
and one which, fortunately, the American diggers have not attempted. This breathing the fine dust from day to day, under a
nore than torrid sun, would soon impair the strongest lungs.
We found many persons at wore in the higher part of the gulch,
searching for veins and pockets of gold, in the holes which had
already produced their first harvest. Some of these gleaners,
following the lodes abandoned by others as exhausted, into the
sides of the mountain, were well repaid for their perseverance.
Others, again, had been working for days without finding anything.
Those who understood the business obtained from one to four
ounces daily. Their only tools were the crowbar, pick and knife,
and many of them, following the veins under strata of rock which
lay deep below the surface, were obliged to work while lying fiat
89 
ELDORADO.
on their backs, in cramped and narrow holes, sometimes kept moist
by springs. They were shielded, however, from the burning heats,
and preserved their health better than those who worked on the
bars of the river.
There are thousands of similar gulches among the mountains,
nearly all of which undoubtedly contain gold. Those who are fa
miliar with geology, or by carefully noting the character of the
soil and strata where gold is already found, have learned its indications, rarely fail in the selection of new spots for digging. It is
the crowd of those who, deceived in their extravagant hopes, disheartened by the severe labor necessary to be undergone, and
bereft of that active and observing spirit which could not fail to
win success at last, that cry out with such bitterness against the
golden stories which first attracted them to the country. I met
with hundreds of such persons, many of whom have returned home
disgusted forever with California.  They compared the diggings
to a lottery, in which people grew rich only by accident or luck.
There is no such thing as accident in Nature, and in proportion
as men understand her, the more sure a clue they have to her
buried treasures. There is more gold in California than ever was
said or imagined: ages will not exhaust the supply.   From what
I first saw on the Mokelumne, I was convinced that the fabled
Cibao of Columbus, splendid as it seemed to his eager imagination,
is more than realized there.
I went up in the ravines one morning, for about two miles,
looking for game. It was too late in the day for deer, and I saw
but one antelope, which fled like the wind over the top of the
mountain. I started a fine hare, similar in appearance to the
European, but of larger size. A man riding down the trail, from
the Double Spring, told us he had counted seven deer early in the
90 
STORIES OF THE GOLD-DIGGERS.
mnorning, beside numbers  of antelopes and partridges.   The
grizzly bear and large mountain wolf are frequently seen in the
more thickly timbered ravines.   The principal growth of the
mountains is oak and the California pine, which rises like a spire
to the height of two hundred feet.  The piio,7s, or cones, are
much larger and of finer flavor, than those of the Italian stonepine. As far as I could see from the ridges which I climbed, the
mountains were as well timbered as the soil and climate will allow.
A little more rain would support as fine forests as the world can
produce. The earth was baked to a cinder, and from 11 A. M.
to 4 P. M. the mercury ranged between 98~ and 110~.
There was no end to the stories told by the diggers, of their
own and others' experiences in gold-hunting. I could readily
have made up a small volume from those I heard during the four
days I spent on the Mokelumne. In the dry diggings especially,
where the metal frequently lies deep, many instances are told of
men who have dug two or three days and given up in despair,
while others, coming after them and working in the same holes,
have taken out thousands of dollars in a short time. I saw a man
who came to the river three weeks before my visit, without money,
to dig in the dry gulch. Being very lazy, he chose a spot under
a shady tree, and dug leisurely for two days without making a cent.
He then gave up the place, when a little German jumped into his
tracks and after a day's hard work weighed out $800. The unlucky digger then borrowed five ounces and started a boardinghouse. The town increased so fast that the night I arrived he
sold out his share (one-third) of the concern for $1,200. Men
were not troubled by the ordinary ups and downs of business, when
it was so easy for one of any enterprise to recover his foothold. If
a person lost his all, he was perfectly indifferent; two weeks of
91 
ELDORADO
hard work gave him enough to start on, and two months, with the
usual luck, quite reinstated him.
The largest piece found in the rich gulch weighed eleven
pounds. Mr. James, who had been on the river since April,
showed me a lump weighing sixty-two ounces-pure, unadul terated gold.  We had a visit one day from Don Andres  Pico,
commander of the California forces during the war. lIe had a
company of men digging at the Middle Bar, about a mile above.
He is an urbane, intelligent man, of medium stature, and of a
natural gentility of character which made him quite popular among
the emigrants.
From all I saw and heard, while at the Mokelumne Diggings, I
judged there was as much order and security as could be attained
without a civil organization.   The inhabitants had elected one of
their own number Alcalde, before whom all culprits were tried by
a jury selected for the purpose. Several thefts had occurred, and
the offending parties been severely punished after a fair trial
Some had been whipped and cropped, or maimed in some other
way, and one or two of them hung.   Two or three who had
stolen largely had been shot down by the injured party, the general feeling among the miners justifying such a course when no
other seemed available. We met near Livermore's Ranche, on
the way to Stockton, a man whose head had been shaved and his
ears cut off, after receiving one hundred lashes, for stealing ninetyeight pounds of gold. It may conflict with popular ideas of morality, but, nevertheless, this extreme course appeared to have
produced good results. In fact, in a country without not only
bolts and bars, but any effective system of law and government:
this Spartan severity of discipline seemed the only security against
the most frightful disorder. The result was that, except some petty
92 
COST OF OUR VISIT.
acts of larceny, thefts were rare. Horses and mules were sometimes taken, but the risk was so great that such plunder could not
be carried on to any extent. The camp or tent was held inviolate, and like the patriarchal times of old, its cover protected all
it enclosed. Among all well-disposed persons there was a tacit
disposition to make the canvas or pavilion of rough oak-boughs as
sacred as once were the portals ef a church.
Our stay was delayed a day by the illness of Lieut. Beale, who
had been poisoned a few days previous by contact with the thus
toxicodendron, which is very comnion in California. His impatience to reach San Francisco was so great that on Saturday afternoon we got ready to return to Stockton. Our bill at the hotel
was $11 a day for man and mule-$4 for the man and $7 for the
mule. This did not include lodgings, which each traveler was epected to furnish for himself. Some slight medical attendance,
furnished to Lieut. Beale, was valued at $48.  The high price
of mule-keep was owing to the fact of barley being $1 per quart
and grass $1 per handful. Dr. Gillette took a lame horse which
had just come down from a month's travel among the snowy
ridges, where his rider had been shot with an Indian arrow, and
set out to accompany us as far as Stockton. One of our mules,
which was borrowed for the occasion at Raney's Ranche, had
been reclaimed by its owner, and I was thus reduced to the necessity of footing it. In this order, we left the town just before
sunset, and took a mule-path leading up the steep ascent.
93 
CHAPTER X.
A GALLOP TO STOCKTON) WITH SOME WORDS ON LAW AND
SOCIETY.
INSTEAD of retracing our steps through the fiery depth of the
cation, we turned off eastward through a gap in the hills and took
a road leading to the Double Spring. The doctor insisted on my
mounting behind him on the limping horse, and we had an odd
ride of it, among the dusky glens and hollows. At the Double
Spring, where a large tent was pitched, three of us were furnished
with supper, at a cost of $11-not an exorbitant price, if our appetites were considered. It was decided to push on the same
night to another ranche, seven miles distant, and I started in advance, on foot. The road passed between low hills, covered with
patches of chapparal, the usual haunt of grizzly bears. I looked
sharply at every bush, in the dim moonlight; my apprehensions
were a little raised by the thought of a miner whom I had seen one
evening come down to the Mokelumne, pale as a sheet, after having been chased some distance by a huge she-bear, and by the
story told me at the Double Spring, of the bones of two men,
picked clean, having been found on the road I was traveling. I
was not sorry, therefore, to hear the halting tramp of the doctor's
horse behind me;  the others came  up after awhile, and we 
APPROPRIATING A HORSE.
reached the tent   The landlord lay asleep in one corner; we
tied our animals to a tree, made one bed ill common against the
side of the tent, and were soon locked in sound repose.
Lieut. Beale, who was still unwell and anxious to hurry on,
woke us at the peep of day, and after giving a spare feed to our
mules, we took the road again. As the doctor and I, mounted on
the lame horse, were shuffling along in advance, we espied a venerable old animal before us, walking in the same direction. The
doctor slipped off the bridle, ran forward and caught him without
any difficulty. There was no sign of any camp to be seen, and
we came to the conclusion that the horse was an estray, and we
might therefore lawfully make use of him. He was the most grotesque specimen of horseflesh I ever saw-lame like our ownand with his forehead broken in above the eyes, which did not
prevent his having a nose of most extraordinary length and prominence. The doctor bridled him and mounted, leaving me his
own horse and saddle, so that we were about equally provided.
By dint of shouting and kicking we kept the beasts in a sort of
shambling gallop till we reached Raney's Ranche, where the doctor
took the precaution of removing the bridle and letting the horse
stand loose; the custom of the miners being, to shoot a man who
puts his gear on your horse and rides him without leave.
As it happened, the precaution was not ill-timed; for, while
we lay inside the tent on a couple of benches, we heard an exclamation from some one outside.  " There you are!" said the
voice; "what do you mean, you old rascal? how came you here?
you know you never left me before, you know you did n't!"Then, turning to the tent-keeper, who was standing by the cooking-fire, he enquired: "how did that horse get here?"' "hy,"
answered the former, with a slight variation of the truth, " he was
95 
ELDORADO.
driven in this morning by some men who found him in the road,
about three miles from here. The men have gone on to Stockton,
but left him, thinking he might have an owner somewhere, though
he don't look like it."  " Three miles!" ejaculated the voice
"it was six miles from here, where I camped, and the horse never
left me before; you know you did n't, you rascal!" Then, coming
into the tent, he repeated the whole story to us, who marvelled
exceedingly that the horse should have left. " He does n't look
to be much," added the man, " but I've had him two years among
the mountains, and never saw sich another wonderful kn,win'
animal. "
Sergeant Falls, who owned a ranche in the neighborhood, came
along shortly after with a caballada which he was driving into
Stockton. The day was hot, but a fine breeze blew over the hazy
plain and rustled the groves of oak as we went past them on a
sweeping gallop, which was scarcely broken during the whole ride
of twenty-five miles. No exercise in the world is so exciting and
inspiring as the traveling gait or " lope" of the Californian horse.
I can compare it to nothing but the rocking motion of a boat over
a light sea.  There is no jar or jolt in the saddle; the rider sits
l'ghtly and securely, while the horse, obeying the slightest touch
of the rein, carries him forward for hours without slackening his
bounding speed. Up and down the steep sides of an arroyo-over
the shoulder of a mountain, or through the flinty bed of some dry
lake or river-it is all the same. One's blood leaps merrily along
his veins, and the whole frame feels an elastic warmth which exquisitely fits it to receive all sensuous impressions. Ah! if horseflesh were effortless as the wind, indestructible as adamant, what
motion of sea or air-what unwearied agility of fin or steady sweep
of wing-could compare with it?  In the power of thus speeding
P6 
THE CALIFORNIAN HORSE.
onward at will, as far as the wish might extend, one would forget
his desire to soar.
I saw at the Pueblo San Jos4 a splendid pied horse belonging
to Col. Frdmont-the gift of Don Pio Pico-on which he had
frequently ridden to San Francisco, a distance of fifty-five miles,
within seven hours.  When pushed to their utmost capacity, these
horses frequently perform astonishing feats. The saddles in common use differ little from the Mexican; the stirrups are set back,
obliging the rider to stand rather than sit, and the seat corresponds
more nearly to the shape of the body than the English saddle.
The horses are broken by a halter of strong rope, which accustoms
them to be governed by a mere touch of the rein. On first attempting to check the gallop of one which I rode, I thoughtlessly
drew the rein as strongly as for a hard-mouthed American horse.
The consequence was, he came with one bound to a dead stop and
I flew bolt upwards out of the saddle; but for its high wooden
horn, I should have gone over his head.
At Raney's Ranche, our notice was attracted to the sad spectacle of a man, lying on the river bank, wasted by disease, and
evidently near his end. He was a member of a company from
Massachusetts, which had passed that way three weeks before, not
only refusing to take him further, but absolutely carrying with
them his share of the stores they had brought from home. This,
at least, was the story told me on the spot, but I hope it was untrue. The man had lain there from day to day, without medical
aid, and dependant on such attention as the inmates of the tent
were able to afford him. The Dr. left some medicines with him,
but it was evident to all of us that a few days more would terminate his sufferings.
All the roads from Stockton to the mines were filled with atajos
VOL. I.    5
io? 
ELDORADO.
of mules, laden with freight. They were mostly owned by Americans, many of them by former trappers and mountaineers, but the
packers and drivers were Mexicans, and the aparejos and alforjas
of the mules were of the same fashion as those which, for three
hundred years past, have been seen on the hills of Grenada and
the Andalusian plains. With good mule-trains and experienced
packers, the business yielded as much as the richest diggings
The placers and gulches of Mokelumne as well as Murphy's Diggings and those on Carson's Creek, are within fifty-five miles of
Stockton; the richest diggings on the Stanislaus about sixty,
and on the Tuolumne seventy. The price paid for carrying to
all the nearer diggings averaged 30 cents per lb. during the summer. A mule-load varies from one to two hundred lbs., but the
experienced carrier could generally reckon beforehand the expenses
and profits of his trip. The intense heat of the season and the
dust of the plains tended also to wear out a team, and the carriers
were often obliged to rest and recruit themselves. One of them,
who did a good business between Stockton and the Lower Bar of
the Mokelumne, told me that his profits were about $3,000 monthly.
I found Stockton more bustling and prosperous than ever. The
limits of its canvas streets had greatly enlarged during my week
of absence, and the crowd on the levee would not disgrace a much
larger place at home. Launches were arriving and departing
daily for and from San Francisco, and the number of mule-trains,
wagons, etc., on their way to the various mines with freight and
supplies kept up a life of activity truly amazing.  Stockton was
first laid out by Mr. Weaver, who emigrated to the country seven
years before, and obtained a grant of eleven square leagues from
the Government, on condition that he would obtain settlers for the
whole ofitwithin a specified time. In planningthe town of Stockton
98 
A FLOGGING SCENE IN STOCKTON.
he displayed a great deal of shrewd business tact, the sale of lots
having brought him upwards of $500,000.  A great disadvantage
of the location is the sloughs by which it is surrounded; which, in
the wet season, render the roads next to impassable. There
seems, however, to be no other central point so well adapted for
supplying the rich district between the Mokelumne and Tuolumne,
and Stockton will evidently continue to grow with a sure and
gradual growth.
I witnessed, while in the town, a summary exhibition of justice.
The night before my arrival, three negroes, while on a drunken
revel, entered the tent of a Chilian, and attempted to violate a
female who was within. Defeated in their base designs by her
husband, who was fortunately within call, they fired their pistols at
the tent and left.  Complaint was made before the Alcalde, two
of the negroes seized and identified, witnesses examined, a jury
summoned, and verdict given, without delay. The principal offender was sentenced to receive fifty lashes and the other twenty
-both to leave the place within forty-eight hours under pain of
death. The sentence was immediately carried into execution,
the negroes were stripped, tied to a tree standing in the middle
of the principal street, and in presence of the Alealde and Sherifi
received their punishment. There was little of that order and
respect shown which should accompany even the administration of
impromptu law; the bystanders jeered, laughed, and accompanied
every blow with coarse and unfeeling remarks.  Some of the more
intelligent professed themselves opposed to the mode of punishment, but in the absence of prisons or effective guards could suggest no alternative, except the sterner one of capital punishment.
The history of law and society in California, from the period of
the golden discoveries, would furnish many instructive lessons to
99 
ELDORADO.
the philosopher and the statesman.  The first consequence of the
unprecedented rush of emigration from all parts of the world into
a country almost unknown, and but half reclaimed from its original barbarism was to render all law virtually null, and bring the
established authorities to depend entirely on the humor of the
population for the observance of their orders.   The countries
which were nearest the golden coast-Mexico, Peru, Chili, China
and the Sandwich Islands-sent forth their thousands of ignorant
adventurers, who speedily outnumbered the American population.
Another fact, which none the less threatened serious consequences, was the readiness with which the worthless and depraved class
of our own country came to the Pacific Coast. From the beginning, a state of things little short of anarchy might have been
reasonably awaited.
Instead of this, a disposition to maintain order and secure the
rights of all, was shown throughout the mining districts. In the absence of all law or available protection, the people met and adopted
rules for their mutual security-rules adapted to their situation,
where they had neither guards nor prisons, and where the slightest
license given to crime or trespass of any kind must inevitably have
led to terrible disorders. Small thefts were punished by banishment from the placers, while for those of large amount or for
more serious crimes, there was the single alternative of hanging.
These regulations, with slight change, had been continued up to
the time of my visit to the country.  In proportion as the emigration from our own States increased, and the digging community
assumed a more orderly and intelligent aspect, their severity had
been relaxed, though punishment was still strictly administered
for all offences. There had been, as nearly as I could learn, not
more than twelve or fifteen executions in all, about half of which
100
I I 
LAW  AND ORDER.
were inflicted for the crime of murder. This awful responsibility
had not been assumed lightly, but after a fair trial and a full and
clear conviction, to which was added, I believe in every instance,
the confession of the criminal.
In all the large digging districts, which had been worked for
some time, there were established regulations, which were faithfully observed. Alcaldes were elected, who decided on all disputes of right or complaints of trespass, and who had power to
summon juries for criminal trials. When a new placer or gulch
was discovered, the first thing done was to elect officers and extend the area of order. The result was, that in a district five
hundred miles long, and inhabited by 100,000 people, who had
neither government, regular laws, rules, military or civil protection, nor even locks or bolts, and a great part of whom possessed
wealth enough to tempt the vicious and depraved, there was as
much security to life and property as in any part of the Union,
and as small a proportion of crime. The capacity of a people for
self-government was never so triumphantly illustrated. Never,
perhaps, was there a community formed of more unpropitious elemients; yet from all this seeming chaos grew a harmony beyond
what the most sanguine apostle of Progress could have expected.
The rights of the diggers were no less definitely marked and
strictly observed. Among the hundreds I saw on the Mokelumne and among the gulches, I did not see a single dispute nor
hear a word of complaint. A company of men might mark out a
race of any length and turn the current of the river to get at the
bed, possessing the exclusive right to that part of it, so long as
their undertaking lasted.  A  man might dig a hole in the dry
ravines, and so long as he left a shovel, pick or crowbar to show
that he still intended working it, he was safe from trespass   Iis
101 
ELDORADO.
tools might remain there for months without being disturbed. I
have seen many such places, miles away from any camp or tent,
which the digger had left in perfect confidence that he should find
all right on his return. There were of course exceptions to these
rules-the diggings would be a Utopia if it were not so-but they
were not frequent. The Alcaldes sometimes made awkward decisions, from inexperience, but they were none the less implicitly
obeyed. I heard of one instance in which a case of trespass was
settled to the satisfaction of both parties and the Sheriff ordered
to pay the costs of Court-about $40. The astonished functionary remonstrated, but the power of the Alcalde was supreme,
and he was obliged to suffer.
The treatment of the Sonorians by the American diggers was
one of the exciting subjects of the summer. These people came
into the country in armed bands, to the number of ten thousand
in all, and took possession of the best points on the Tuolumne,
Stanislaus and Miokelumne Rivers.  At the Sonorian camp on the
Stanislaus there were, during the summer, several thousands of
them, and the amount of ground they dug up and turned over is
almost incredible. For a long time they were suffered to work
peaceably, but the opposition finally became so strong that they
were ordered to leave. They made no resistance, but quietly
backed out and took refuge in other diggings. In one or two
places, I was told, the Americans, finding there was no chance
of having a fight, coolly invited them back again!  At the time
of my visit, however, they were leaving the country in large numbers, and there were probably not more than five thousand in all
scattered along the various rivers. Several parties of them, in
revenge for the treatment they experienced, committed outrages
on their way home, stripping small parties of the emigrants by
102
I 
MORAL EFFECT OF GOLD.
the Gila route of all they possessed. It is not likely that the
country will be troubled with them in future.
Abundance of gold does not always beget, as moralists tell us, a
grasping and avaricious spirit. The principles of hospitality were
as faithfully observed in the rude tents of the diggers as they
could be by the thrifty farmers of the North and West. The cosmopolitan cast of society in California, resulting from the commingling of so many races and the primitive mode of life, gave a
character of good-fellowship to all its members; and in no part
of the world have I ever seen help more freely given to the needy,
or more ready cooperation in any humane proposition. Personally, I can safely say that I never met with such unvarying
kindness from comparative strangers.
103 
CHAPTER XI.
A NIGHT-ADVENTURE IN THE MOUNTAINS.
ON reaching Stockton, Lieut. Beale and Col. Lyons decided to
return to San Francisco in a launch, which was to leave the same
evening. This was thought best, as mule-travel, in the condition
of the former, would have greatly aggravated his illness. The
mules were left in my charge, and as the management of five was
an impossibility for one man, it was arranged that I should wait
three days, when Mr. R. A. Parker and Mr. Atherton, of San
Francisco, were to leave. These gentlemen offered to make a
single mulada of all our animals, which would relieve me from my
embarrassment. I slept that night in Mr. Lane's store, and the
next morning rode out to Graham's Camp, where the Major received me with the same genial hospitality. For three days
longer I shared the wildwood fare of his camp-table and slept
under the canopy of his oaks. Long may those matchless trees
be spared to the soil-a shore of cool and refreshing verdure to
all who traverse the hot plains of San Joaquin!
Messrs. Parker and Atherton, with three other gentlemen and
two servants, made their appearance about sunset. My mules
had already been caught and lariated, and joining our loose animals, we had a mulada of eight, with eight riders to keep them in 
AN UNCEREMONIOUS SUPPER.
order.   The  plain was dark when we  started, and the trail
stretched like a dusky streak far in advance. The mules gave us
infinite trouble at first, darting off on all sides; but, by dint of
hard chasing, we got them into regular file, keeping them in a
furious trot before us. The volumes of dust that rose from their
feet, completely enveloped us; it was only by counting the tails
that occasionally whisked through the cloud, that we could tell
whether they were in order.  One of my spurs gave way in the
race, but there was no stopping to pick it up, nor did we halt
until, at the end of twelve miles, the white tent of the ferry came
in sight.
We crossed and rode onward to my old camping-place on the
slough. A canvas tavern had been erected on a little knoll, since
my visit, and after picketing our animals in the meadow, we proceded to rouse the landlord. The only person we could find
was an old man, lying under a tree near at hand; he refused to
stir, saying there was nothing to eat in the tent, and he would not
get up and cook at that time of night. My fellow-travelers, accustomed to the free-and-easy habits of California, entered the
tent without ceremony and began a general search for comestibles.
The only things that turned up were a half-dozen bottles of ale
in a dusty box and a globular jar of East-India preserves, on
which odd materials we supped with a hearty relish. The appetite engendered by open-air life in California would have made
palatable a much more incongruous meal. We then lay down on
the sloping sides of the knoll, rolled in a treble thickness of
blankets, for the nights were beginning to grow cool. I was
awakened once or twice by a mysterious twitching of my bedclothes and a scratching noise, the cause of which was explained
when I arose in the morning. I had been sleeping over half a
105 
ELDORADO.
dozen squirrel-holes, to the great discomfort of the imprisoned
tenants.
The old denizen of the place, in better humor after we had
paid for our unceremonious supper, set about baking tortillas and
stewing beef, to which we added two cans of preserved turtle
soup, which we found in the tent. Our mules had scattered far
and wide during the night, and several hours elapsed before they
could be herded and got into traveling order. The face of the
broad plain we had to cross glimmered in the heat, and the Coast
Range beyond it was like the phantom of a mountain-chain. We
journeyed on, hour after hour, in the sweltering blaze, crossed the
divide and reached Livermore's Ranche late in the afternoon.
My saddle-mule was a fine gray animal belonging to Andrew
Sublette, which Lieut. Beale had taken on our way to Stockton,
leaving his own alazan at the ranche. Mr. Livermore was absent, but one of his vaqueros was prevailed upon, by a bribe of
five dollars, to take the mule out to the corral, six miles distant,
and bring me the horse in its stead. I sat down in the door of
the ranche to await his arrival, leaving the company to go forward
with all our animals to a camping-ground, twelve miles further.
It was quite dark when the vaquero rode up with the alazan,
and I lost no time in saddling him and leaving the ranche. The
trail, no longer confined among the hills, struck out on a circular
plain, ten miles in diameter, which I was obliged to cross. The
moon was not risen; the soil showed but one dusky, unvaried
hue; and my only chance of keeping the trail was in the sound
of my horse's feet. A streak of gravelly sand soon put me at
fault, and after doubling backwards and forwards a few times, I
found myself adrift without compass or helm. In the uncertain
gloom, my horse blundered into stony hollows, or, lost in the mazes
106 
THE TRAIL LOST.
of the oaks, startled the buzzards and mountain vultures from
their roost. The boughs rustled, and the air was stirred by the
muffled beat of their wings: I could see them, like unearthly,
boding shapes, as they swooped between me and the stars. At
last, making a hazard at the direction in which the trail ran, I set
my course by the stars and pushed steadily forward in a straight
line.
Two hours of this dreary travel passed away: the moon rose,
lighting up the loneliness of the wide plain and the dim, silvery
sweep of mountains around it. I found myself on the verge of a
steep bank, which I took to be an arroyo we had crossed on the
outward journey. Getting down with some difficulty, I rode for
more than a mile over the flinty bed of a lake, long since dried up
by the summer heats. At its opposite side I plunged into a
ghostly wood, echoing with the dismal howl of the wolves, and
finally reached the foot of the mountains. The deep-sunken glen,
at whose entrance I stood, had no familiar feature; the tall clumps
of chapparal in its bottom, seemed fit haunts for grizzly bear; and
after following it for a short distance, I turned about and urged
my horse directly up the steep sides of the mountain.
It was now midnight, as near as I could judge by the moon, and
I determined to go no further. I had neither fire-arms, matches
nor blankets-all my equipments having gone on with the packmule-and it was necessary to choose a place where I could be
secure from the bears, the only animal to be feared. The very
summit of the mountain seemed to be the safest spot; there was
a single tree upon it, but the sides, for some distance below, were
bare, and if a "grizzly" should come up one side, I could dash
down the other. Clambering to the top, I tied my horse to the
tree, took the saddle for a pillow, and coiling into the smallest
107 
ELDORADO.
possible compass, tried to cover myself with a square yard of saddle-blanket. It was too cold to sleep, and I lay there for hours,
with aching bones and chattering teeth, looking down on the vast,
mysterious depths of the landscape below me.  I shall never forget the shadowy level of the plain, whose belts and spots of timber
were like clouds in the wan light-the black mountain-gulfs on
either hand, which the incessant yell of a thousand wolves made
seem like caverns of the damned-the far, faint shapes of the distant ranges, which the moonshine covered, as with silver gossamer,
and the spangled arch overhead, doubly lustrous in the thin air.
Once or twice I fell into a doze, to dream of slipping off precipices
and into icy chasms, and was roused by the snort of my horse, as
he stood with raised ears, stretching the lariat to its full length.
'When the morning star, which was never so welcome, brought
the daylight in its wake, I saddled and rode down to the plain.
Taking a course due north, I started off on a gallop and in less
than an hour recovered the trail.  I had no difficulty in finding
the beautiful meadow where the party was to have camped, but
there was no trace of them to be seen; the mules, as it happened,
were picketed behind some timber, and the men, not yet arisen,
were buried out of sight in the rank grass. I rode up to some
iilpas, (brush-huts,) inhabited by Indians, and for two reals obtained a boiled ear of corn and a melon, which somewhat relieved
my chill, hungry condition. Riding ahead slowly, that my horse
might now and then crop a mouthful of oats, I was finally overtaken by Mr. Atherton, who was in advance of the company.   We
again took our places behind the mules, and hurried on to the
Mission of San Jose.
Mr. Parker had been seized with fever and chills during the
night, and decided to rest a day at the Pueblo San Jose.  Messrs
108 
SECOND VIEW OF SAN FRANCISCO.
Atherton and Patterson, with myself, after breakfasting and
leaking a hasty visit to the rich pear-trees and grape-vines of the
garden, took a shorter road, leading around the head of the bay
to Whisman's Ranche. We trotted the twenty-five miles in about
four hours, rested an hour, and then set out again, hoping to reach
San Francisco that night. It was too much, however, for our
mules; after passing the point of Santa Clara mountain they began to scatter, and as it was quite dark, we halted in a grove near
the Ruined Mission. We lay down on the ground, supperless and
somewhat weary with a ride of about seventy miles. I slept a
refreshing sleep under a fragrant bay-tree, and was up with the
first streak of dawn to look after my mules. Once started, we
spurred our animals into a rapid trot, which was not slackened till
we had passed the twenty miles that intervened between us and
the Mission Dolores.
When I had climbed the last sand-hill, riding in towards San
Francisco, and the town and harbor and crowded shipping again
opened to the view, I could scarcely realize the change that had
taken place during my absence of three weeks. The town had not
only greatly extended its limits, but seemed actually to have
doubled its number of dwellings since I left. HIigh up on the
hills, where I had seen only sand and chapparal, stood clusters of
houses; streets which had been merely laid out, were hemmed in
with buildings and thronged with people; new warehouses had
sprung up on the water side, and new piers were creeping out toward the shipping; the forest of masts had greatly thickened;
and the noise, motion and bustle of business and labor on all sides
were incessant. Verily, the place was in itself a marvel. To
say that it was daily enlarged by from twenty to thirty houses
may not sound very remarkable after all the stories that have
109 
ELDORADO.
been told; yet this, for a country which imported both lumber
and houses, and where labor was then $10 a day, is an extraordinary growth. The rapidity with which a ready-made house is put
up and inhabited, strikes the stranger in San Francisco as little
short of magic.  He walks over an open lot in his before-breakfast
stroll-the next morning, a house complete, with a family inside,
blocks up his way. He goes down to the bay and looks out on
the shipping-two or three days afterward a row of storehouses,
staring him in the face, intercepts the view.
I found Lieut. Beale and Col. Lyons, who gave me an amusing
account of their voyage on the San Joaquin. The " skipper" of
the launch in which they embarked knew nothing of navigation,
and Lieut. Beale, in spite of his illness, was obliged to take command. The other passengers were a company of Mexican miners.
After tacking for two days among the tul6 swamps, the launch
ran aground; the skipper, in pushing it off, left an oar in the
sand and took the boat to recover it. Just then a fine breeze
sprang up and the launch shot ahead, leaving the skipper to follow. That night, having reached a point within two miles of the
site of an impossible town, called New-York-of-the-Pacific, the
passengers left in a body.  The next day they walked to the little
village of Martinez, opposite Benicia, a distance of twenty-five
miles, crossing the foot of Monte Diablo. Here they took anothei
launch, and after tossing twelve hours on the bay, succeeded in
reaching San Francisco.
At the United States Hotel I again met with Colonel Fremont,
and learned the particulars of the magnificent discovery which had
just been made upon his ranche on the Mariposa River. It was
nothing less than a vein of gold in the solid rock-the first which
had been found in California. I saw some specimens which were
110 
COL. FREMONT S MINE
in Col. Fremont's possession. The stone was a reddish quartz,
filled with rich veins of gold, and far surpassing the specimens
brought from North Carolina and Georgia. Some stones picked
up on the top of the quartz strata, without particular selection,
yielded two ounces of gold to every twenty-five pounds. Col.
Fremont informed me that the vein had been traced for more than
a mile   The thickness on the surface is two feet, gradually widening as it descends and showing larger particles of gold. The dip
downward is only about 20~, so that the mine can be worked with
little expense. The ranche upon which it is situated was purchased by Col. Fremont in 1846 from Alvarado, former Governor
ot the Territory. It was then considered nearly worthless, and
Col. F. only took it at the moment of leaving the country, because disappointed in obtaining another property. This discovery
made a great sensation thoughout the country, at the time, yet it
was but the first of many such. The Sierra Nevada is pierced in
every part with these priceless veins, which will produce gold for
centuries after every spot of earth from base to summit shall have
been turned over and washed out.
Many of my fellow-passengers by the Panama were realizing
their dreams of speedy fortune; some had already made $20,000
by speculating in town lots.  A friend of mine who had shipped
lumber from New  York  to the amount of $1000 sold it for
$14,000. At least seventy-five houses had been imported from
Canton, and put up by Chinese carpenters. Washing was $8 a
dozen, and as a consequence, large quantities of soiled linen were
sent to the antipodes to be purified. A vessel just in from Canton brought two hundred and fifty dozen, which had been sent out
a few months before; another from the Sandwich Islands brought
one hundred dozen, and the practice was becoming general.
III 
CHAPTER XII.
SAN FRANCISCO BY DAY AND NIGHT.
A BETTER idea of San Francisco, in the beginning of
September, 1849, cannot be given than by the description of a
single day. Supposing the visitor to have been long enough in the
place to sleep on a hard plank and in spite of the attacks of
innumerable fleas, he will be awakened at daylight by the noises
of building, with which the hills are all alive. The air is
temperate, and the invariable morning fog is just beginning to
gather. By sunrise, which gleams hazily over the Coast Mountains
across the Bay, the whole populace is up and at work. The
wooden buildings unlock their doors, the canvas houses and tents
throw back their front curtains; the lighters on the water are
warped out from ship to ship; carts and porters are busy along
the beach; and only the gaming-tables, thronged all night by the
votaries of chance, are idle and deserted.  The temperature is so
fresh as to inspire an active habit of body, and even without the
stimulus of trade and speculation there would be few sluggards at
this season.
As early as half-past six the bells begin to sound to breakfast,
and for an hour thenceforth, their incessant clang and the braying
of immense gongs drown all the hammers that are busy on a 
THE STREE''S AF'I'TER BREAKFAST.
hundred roofs. The hotels, restaurants and refectories of all kinds
are already as numerous as gaming-tables, and equally various in
kind. The tables d'hote of the first class, (which charge $2 and
upwards the meal,) are abundantly supplied. There are others,
with more simple and solid fare, frequented by the large class who
have their fortunes yet to make. At the United States and
California restaurants, on the plaza, you may get an excellent
beefsteak, scantily garnished with potatoes, and a cup of good
coffee or chocolate, for $1. Fresh beef, bread, potatoes, and all
provisions which will bear importation, are plenty; but milk, fruit
and vegetables are classed as luxuries, and fresh butter is rarely
heard of. On Montgomery street, and the vacant space fronting
the water, venders of coffee, cakes and sweetmeats have erected
their stands, in order to tempt the appetite of sailors just arrived
in port, or miners coming down from the mountains.
By nine o'clock the town is in the full flow of business. The
streets running down to the water, and Montgomery street which
fronts the Bay, are crowded with people, all in hurried motion.
The variety of characters and costumes is remarkable. Our own
countrymen seem to lose their local peculiarities in such a crowd,
and it is by chance epithets rather than by manner, that the NewYorker is distinguished from the Kentuckian, the Carolinian from
the Down-Easter, the Virginian from the Texan. The German
and Frenchman  are more  easily recognized.   Peruvians and
Chilians go by in their brown ponchos, and the sober Chinese, cool
and impassive in the midst of excitement, look out of the oblique
corners of their long eyes at the bustle, but are never tempted to
venture from their own line of business. The eastern side of the
plaza, in front of the Parker House and a canvas hell called the
Eldorado, are the general rendezvous of business and amusement
113 
ELDORADO.
-combining'change, park, club-room and promenade all in one.
There, everybody not constantly employed in one spot, may be
seen at some time of the day. The character of the groups
scattered along the plaza is oftentimes very interesting. In one place
are three or four speculators bargaining for lots, buying and sellflug "fifty varas square " in towns, some of which are canvas and
some only paper; in another, a company of miners, brown as
leather, and ruogged in features as in dress; in a third, perhaps,
three or four naval officers speculating on the next cruise, or a
knot of genteel gamblers, talking(r over the last night's operations.
The day advances. The mist which after sunrise hung low and
heavy for an hour or two, has risen above the hills, and there will
be two hours of pleasant sunshine before the wind sets in from the
sea.  The crowd in the streets is now wholly alive.  Men dart
hither and thither, as if possessed with a never-resting spirit.
You speak to an acquaintance-a merchant, perhaps.  He utters
a few hurried words of greeting, while his eyes send keen glances
on all sides of you; suddenly he catches sight of somebody in the
crowd; he is off, and in the next five minutes has bought up half
a cargo, sold a town lot at treble the sum he gave, and taken a
share in some new and imposing speculation. It is impossible to
witness this excess and dissipation of business, without feeling
something of its influence. The very air is pregnant with the
magnetism of bold, spirited, unwearied action, and he who but
ventures into the outer circle of the whirlpool, is spinning, ere he
has time for thought, in its dizzy vortex.
But see! the groups in the plaza suddenly scatter; the city
surveyor jerks his pole out of the ground and leaps on a pile of
boards; the venders of cakes and sweetmeats follow his example,
and the place is cleared, just as a wild bull which has been racing
114 
A BULL-CHASE.
down  Kearney street makes  his appearance.   Two  vaqueros,
shouting and swinging their lariats, follow at a hot gallop; the
dust flies as they dash across the plaza. One of them, in midcareer, hurls his lariat in the air. Mark how deftly the coil
unwinds in its flying curve, and with what precision the noose
falls over the bull's horns! The horse wheels as if on a pivot,
and shoots off in an opposite line. He knows the length of the
lariat to a hair, and the instant it is drawn taught, plants his feet
firmly for the shock and throws his body forward. The bull is
" brought up" with such force as to throw him off his legs.
He lies stunned a moment, and then, rising heavily, makes
another charge. But by this time the second vaquero has thrown
a lariat around one of his hind legs, and thus checked on both
sides, he is dragged off to slaughter.
The plaza is refilled as quickly as it was emptied, and the
course of business is resumed. About twelve o'clock, a wind
begins to blow from the north-west, sweeping with most violence
through a gap between the hills, opening towards the Golden
Gate. The bells and gongs begin to sound for dinner, and these
two causes tend to lessen the crowd in the streets for an hour or
two. Two o'clock is the usual dinner-time for business men, but
some of the old and successful merchants have adopted the
fashionable hour of five. Where shall we dine to-day? the
restaurants display their signs invitingly on all sides; we have
choice of the United States, Tortoni's, the Alhambra, and many
other equally classic resorts, but Delmonico's, like its distinguished
original in New York, has the highest prices and the greatest
variety of dishes. We go down Kearney street to a two-story
wooden house on the corner of Jackson. The lower story is a
market; the walls are garnished with quarters of beef and
115 
ELDORADO.
mutton;  a huge  pile of Sandwich Island squashes fills one
corner, and several cabbage-heads, valued at $2 each, show
themselves in the window. We enter a little door at the end of
the building, ascend a dark, narrow flight of steps and find ourselves in a long, low room, with ceiling and walls of white muslin
and a floor covered with oil-cloth
There are about twenty tables disposed in two rows, all of them
so well filled that we have some difficulty in finding places. Taking up the written bill of fare, we find such items as the following:
ENTREES.
Fillet of Beef, mushr,oom
sauce.........  $] 75
Veal Cutlets, breaded...  1 00
Mlutton Chop.......   I 00
Lobster Salad............2 00
,Sirloin of Venison........... 1 50
Baked Mlaccaroni.....  0 75
Beef Tongue, sauce piquante   1 00
SOUPS.
Mock  Turtle.......,$0 75
St. Julien....... I 00
FISH.
Boiled Salmon Trout, Anchovy
sauce.........  1 75
BOILED.
Leg Mutton, caper sauce.. I 00
Corned Beef, (Cabbage,... 1 00
Ham and Tongues.... 0 75
So that, with but a moderate appetite, the dinner will cost us
$5, if we are at all epicurean in our tastes.  There are cries of
"steward!" from all parts of the room-the word " waiter" is
not considered sufficiently respectful, seeing that the waiter may
have been a lawyer or merchant's clerk a few months before. The
dishes look very small as they are placed on the table, but they
are skilfully cooked and very palatable to men that have ridden in
from the diggings.   The appetite one acquires in California is
something remarkable.   For two months after my arrival, my
sensations were like those of a famished wolf.
In the matter of dining, the tastes of all nations can be gratified
here. There are French restaurants on the plaza and on Dupont
street; an extensive German establishment on Pacific street; the
Foinda Peruanai; the Italian Confectionary; and three Chinese
116 
THIE AFTERNOON.
houses, denoted by their long three-cornered flags of yellow silk.
The latter are much frequented by Americans, on account of their
excellent cookery, and the fact that meals are $1 each, without
regard to quantity.   Kong-Sung's  house is near  the water;
Whang-Tong's in Sacramento Street, and Tong-Ling's in Jackson
street. There the grave Celestials serve up their chow-chow and
curry, besides many genuine English dishes; their tea and coffee
cannot be surpassed.
The afternoon is less noisy and active than the forenoon.
Merchants keep within-doors, and the gambling-rooms are crowded
with persons who step in to escape the wind and dust. The sky
takes a cold gray cast, and the hills over the bay are barely visible
in the dense, dusty air. Now and then a watcher, who has been
stationed on the hill above Fort Montgomery, comes down and
reports an inward-bound vessel, which occasions a little excitement
among the boatmen and the merchants who are awaiting consignments. Towards sunset, the plaza is nearly deserted; the wind
is merciless in its force, and a heavy overcoat is not found unpleasantly warm.  As it grows dark, there is a lull, though occasional gusts blow down the hill and carry the dust of the city out
among the shipping.
The appearance of San Francisco at night, from the water, is
unlike anything I ever beheld. The houses are mostly of canvas,
which is made transparent by the lamps within, and transforms
them, in the darkness, to dwellings of solid light. Seated on the
slopes of its three hills, the tents pitched among the chapparal to
the very summits, it gleams like an amphitheatre of fire. Here
and there shine out brilliant points, from the decoy-lamps of the
gaming-houses; and through the indistinct murmur of the streets
comes by fits the sound of music from their hot and crowded pre
117 
ELDORADO.
cincts.  The picture has in it something unreal and fantastic; it
impresses one like the cities of the magic lantern, which a motion
of the hand can build or annihilate.
The only objects left for us to visit are the gaming-tables, whose
day has just fairly dawned.   We need not wander far in search of
one. Denison's Exchange, the Parker HIouse and Eldorado stand
side by side; across the way are the Verandah and Aguila de
Oro; higher up the plaza the St. Charles and Bella Union; while
dozens of second-rate establishments are scattered through the less
frequented streets. The greatest crowd is about the Eldorado;
we find it difficult to effect an entrance. There are about eight
tables in the room, all of which are thronged; copper-hued Kanakas, Mexicans rolled in their sarapes and Peruvians thrust
through their ponchos, stand shoulder to shoulder with the brown
and bearded American miners. The stakes are generally small,
though when the bettor gets into "a streak of luck," as it is called,
they are allowed to double until all is lost or the bank breaks.
Along the end of the room is a spacious bar, supplied with all
kinds of bad liquors, and in a sort of gallery, suspended under the
ceiling, a female violinist tasks her talent and strength of muscle
to minister to the excitement of play.
The Verandah, opposite, is smaller, but boasts an equal attraction in a musician who has a set of Pandean pipes fastened at his
chin, a drum on his back, which he beats with sticks at his elbows,
and cymbals in his hands. The piles of coin on the monte tables
clink merrily to his playing, and the throng of spectators, jammed
together in a sweltering mass, walk up to the bar between the
tunes and di-ink out of sympathy with his dry and breathless throat.
At the Aguila de Oro there is a full band of Ethiopian serenaders,
and at the other hells, violins, guitars or wheezy accordeons, as
118 
THE INSIDE OF A GAMBLING-HIELL.
the case may be. The atmosphere of these places is rank with
tobacco-smioke, and filled with a feverish  stifling heat, which
communicates an unhealthy glow to the faces of the players.
We shall not be deterred from entering by the heat and smoke,
or the motley characters into whose company we shall be thrown.
There are rare chances here for seeing human nature in one of its
most dark and exciting phases. Note the variety of expression in
the faces gathered around this table! They are playing mnonte,
the favorite game in California, since the chances are considered
more equal and the opportunity of false play very slight. The
dealer throws out his cards with a cool, nonchalant air; indeed,
the gradual increase of the hollow square of dollars at his left hand
is not calculated to disturb his equanimity. The two Mexicans in
front, muffled in their dirty sarapes, put down their half-dollars
and dollars and see them lost, without changing a muscle. Gambling is a born habit with them, and they would lose thousands
with the same indifference. Very different is the demeanor of the
Americans who are playing; their good or ill luck is betrayed at
once by involuntary exclamations and changes of countenance,
unless the stake should be very large and absorbing, when their
anxiety, though silent, may be read with no less certainty. They
have no power to resist the fascination of the game. Now counting their winnings by thousands, now dependent on the kindness
of a friend for a few dollars to commence anew, they pass hour
after hour in those hot, unwholesome dens. There is no appearance of arms, but let one of the players, impatient with his losses
and maddened by the poisonous fluids he has drank, threaten one
of the profession, and there will be no scarcity of knives and revolvers.
There are other places, where gaming is carried on privately
119 
ELDORADO.
and to a more ruinous extent-rooms in the rear of the Parker
House, in the City Hotel and other places, frequented only by the
initiated. Here the stakes are almost unlimited, the players being
men of wealth and apparent respectability. Frequently, in the
absorbing interest of some desperate game the night goes by un
heeded and morning breaks upon haggard faces and reckless hearts.
Here are lost, in a few turns of a card or rolls of a ball, the product
of fortunate ventures by sea or months of racking labor on land.
How many men, maddened by continual losses, might exclaim in
their blind vehemence of passion, on leaving these hells:
"Out, out, thou strumpet, Fortune! All you gods,
In general synod, take away her power;
Break all the spokes and fellies from her wheel,
And bowl the round nave down the hill of heaven,
As low as to the fiends!"
120 
CHAPTER XIII.
INCIDENTS OF A WALK TO MONTEREY.
I STAYED but four or five days in San Francisco on my return.
The Convention, elected to form a constitution for California, was
then in session at Monterey, and, partly as an experiment, partly
for economy's sake, I determined to make the journey of one
hundred and thirty miles on foot.   Pedestrianism in California,
however, as I learned by this little experience, is something more
of a task than in most countries, one being obliged to carry his
hotel with him. The least possible bedding is a Mexican sarape,
which makes a burdensome addition to a knapsack, and a loaf of
bread and flask of water are inconvenient, when the mercury
stands at 90~. Besides, the necessity of pushing forward many
miles to reach " grass and water" at night, is not very pleasant
to the foot-sore and weary traveler. A mule, with all his satanic
propensities, is sometimes a very convenient animal.
Dressed in a complete suit of corduroy, with a shirt of purple
flannel and boots calculated to wear an indefinite length of time, I
left San Francisco one afternoon, waded through the three miles
o)f deep sand to the Mission, crossed the hills and reached
lSanchlez' Ranche a little after dark.  I found the old man, who
is said to d(lislike the Americans most cordially, very friendly. lie
VoI. I.    6 
ELIDORADO.
set before me a supper of beef stewed in red-peppers and then
gave me a bed-an actual bed-and, wonder of wonders! without
fleas. Not far from Sanchez there is a large adobe house, the
ruins of a former Mission, in the neighborhood of which I noticed
a grove of bay-trees. They were of a different species from the
Italian bay, and the leaves gave out a most pungent odor. Some
of the trees were of extraordinary size, the trunk being threo
feet in diameter. They grew along the banks of a dry arroyo,
and had every appearance of being indigenous. I found the jornada of twenty-five miles to Secondini's Ranche, extremely fatiguing in the hot sun.  I entered the ranche panting, threw my
knapsack on the floor and inquired of a handsome young Californian, dressed in blue calzoneros: "Can you give me anything
to eat?" " Nada-nad-i-t-a!" he answered, sharpening out the
sound with an expression which meant, as plain as words could
say it: "nothing; not even the little end of nothing!"
I was too hungry to be satisfied with this reply, and commenced
an inventory of all the articles on hand. I found plenty of French
brandy, iescal and various manufactured wines, which I rejected;
but my search was at last rewarded by a piece of bread, half a
Dutch cheese and a bottle of ale, nearly all of which soon disappeared. Towards night, some of the vaqueros brought in a cow
with a lariat around her horns, threw her on the ground and
plunged a knife into her breast. A roaring fire was already kindled
behind the house, and the breath had not been many seconds out
of the cow's body, before pieces of meat, slashed from her flank,
were broiling on the coals. When about half cooked, they were
snatched out, dripping with the rich, raw juices of the animal,
and eaten as a great delicacy. One of the vaqueros handed me e
large slice, which I found rather tough, but so remarkably sweet
122 
FISHER S RANCHE.
and nutritious that I ate it, feeling myself at the time little better than a wolf.
I left Secondini's at daybreak and traveled twelve miles to the
Mission of Santa Clara, where, not being able to obtain breakfast
I walked into the garden and made a meal of pears and the juicy
fruit of the cactus. Thence to Pueblo San Jose, where I left the
road I had already traveled, and took the broad highway running
southward, up the valley of San Jos6. The mountains were
barely visible on either side, through the haze, and the road, perfectly level, now passed over wide reaches of grazing land, now
crossed park-like tracts, studded with oaks and sycamniores-a
charming interchange of scenery. I crossed the dry bed of Coyote Creek several times, and reached Capt. Fisher's Ranche as it
was growing dusk, and a passing traveler warned me to look out
for bears.
Capt. Fisher, who is married to a Californian lady and has lived
many years in the country, has one of the finest ranches in the
valley, containing four square leagues of land, or about eighteen
thousand acres. There are upon it eighteen streams or springs,
two small orchards, and a vineyard and garden.  He purchased
it at auction about three years since for $3,000, which was then
considered a high price, but since the discovery of gold he has
been offered $80,000 for it. I was glad to find, firom the account
he gave me of his own experience as a farmer, that my first impressions of the character of California as an agricultural country,
were fully justified. The barren, burnt appearance of the plains
during the summer season misled many persons as to the value
of the country in this respect. From all quarters were heard
complaints of the torrid heat and arid soil under which large
rivers dry up and vegetation almost entirely disappears. The
123 
ELDORADl)(O.
possibility of raising good crops of any kind was vehemently de.
nied, and the bold assertion made that the greater part of California is worthless, except for grazing purposes. Capt. Fisher
informed me, however, that there is no such wheat country in the
world. Even with the imperfect plowing of the natives, which
does little more than scratch up the surface of the ground, it produces a hundred-fold. Not only this, but, without further cultivation, a large crop springs up on the soil the second and sometimes even the third year. Capt. Fisher knew of a ranchero who
sowed twenty fanegas of wheat, from which he harvested one
thousand and twenty fanegas. The second year he gathered from
the same ground eight hundred fanegas, and the third year six
hundred. The unvarying dryness of the climate after the rains have
ceased preserves grain of all kinds from rot, and perhaps from the
same circumstance, the Hessian fly is unknown. The mountainsides, to a considerable extent, are capable of yielding fine crops
of wheat, barley and rye, and the very summits and ravines on
which the wild oats grow so abundantly will of course give a richer
return when they have been traversed by the plow.
Corn grows upon the plains, but thrives best in the neighborhood of streams. It requires no irrigation, and is not planted
until after the last rain has fallen. The object of this, however,
is to avoid the growth of weeds, which, were it planted earlier,
would soon choke it, in the absence of a proper system of farming. The use of the common cultivator would remove this difficulty, and by planting in March instead of May, an abundant
crop would be certain. I saw several hundred acres which Capt.
Fisher had on his ranche. The ears were large and well filled,
and the stalks, though no rain had fallen for four months, were as
green and fresh as in our fields at home.  Ground which has been
124 
AGRICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA.
plowed and planted, thougth it shows a dry crust on the top, re
tains its moisture to within six inches of the surface; while close
beside it, and on the same level, the uncultured earth is seamed
with heat, and vegetation burned up. The valley of San Jose is
sixty miles in length, and contains at least five hundred square
miles of level plain, nearly the whole of which is capable of cultivation. In regard to climate and situation, it is one of the most
favored parts of California, though the valleys of Sonoma, Napa,
Bodega, and nearly the whole of the Sacramento country, are said
to be equally fertile.
Vegetables thrive luxuriantly, and many species, such as
melons, pumpkins, squashes, beans, potatoes, etc., require no
further care than the planting. Cabbages, onions, and all others
which are transplanted in the spring, are obliged to be irrigated.
Grape vines in some situations require to be occasionally watered;
when planted on moist slopes, they produce without it. A
Frenchman named Vigne made one hundred barrels of wine In one
year, from a vineyard of about six acres, which he cultivates at
the Mission San Jos6. Capt. Fisher had a thousand vines in his
garden, which were leaning on the earth from the weight of their
fruit. Many of the clusters weighed four and five pounds, and in
bloom, richness and flavor rivaled the choicest growth of Tuscany
or the Rhine. The vine will hereafter be an important product
of California, and even Burgundy and Tokay may be superseded
on the tables of the luxurious by the vintage of San Jos4 and
Los Angeles.
Before reaching Fisher's Ranche, I noticed on my left a bold
spur striking out fromn the mountain-range. It terminated in a
bluff, and both the rock and soil were of the dark-red color of
Egyptian porphyry, denoting the presence of cinnabar, the ore of
12b 
ELDORADO.
quicksilver   The veins of this metal contained in the moiuntain
are thought to be equal to those of the mines of Santa Clara,
which are on the opposite side of the valley, about eight miles from
Pueblo San Jose.
The following morning I resumed my walk up the valley.  The
soft, cloudless sky-the balmy atmosphere-the mountain ranges
on either hand, stretching far before me until they vanished in
purple haze-the sea-like sweep of the plain, with its islands and
shores of dark-green oak, and the picturesque variety of animal
life on all sides, combined to form a landscape which I may have
seen equalled but never surpassed. Often, far in advance beyond
the belts of timber, a long blue headland would curve out from the
mountains and seem to close up the beautiful plain; but after the
road had crossed its point, another and grander plain expanded
for leagues before the eye.  Nestled in a warm nook on the sunny
side of one of these mountain capes, I found the ranche of Mr.
M3urphy, commanding a splendid prospect. Beyond the house
and across a little valley, rose the conical peak of E1 Toro, an
isolated mountain which served as a landmark from San Jos6
nearly to Monterey.
I was met at the door by Mr. Ruckel of San Francisco, who,
with Mr. Everett of New York, had been rusticating a few days
in the neighborhood. They introduced me to Mr. Murphy and
his daughter, Ellen, both residents of the country for the last six
years. Mr. M3urphy, who is a native of Ireland, emigrated firom
Missouri, with his family, in 1843. He owns nine leagues of land
(forty thousand acres) in the valley, and his cottage is a well-known
and welcome resting-place to all the Americans in the country.
During the war he remained on the ranche in company with his
daughter, notwithstanding Castro's troops were scouring the
126 
A MOUNTAIN PANORAMA.
country, and all other families had moved to the Pueblo for protection. His three sons were at the same time volunteers under
Fr6mont's command.
After dinner Mr. Murphy kindly offered to accompany me to
the top of E1 Toro. Two horses were driven in from the caballada and saddled, and on these we started, at the usual sweeping
speed. Reaching the foot of the mountain, the lithe and spirited
animals climbed its abrupt side like goats, following the windings
of cattle-paths up the rocky ridges and through patches of stunted
oakt and chapparal, till finally, bathed in sweat and panting with
the toil, they stood on the summit. We looked on a vast and
wonderful landscape. The mountain rose like an island in the sea
of air, so far removed from all it overlooked, that everything was
wrapped in a subtle violet haze, through which the features of the
scene seemed grander and more distant than the reality. West
of us, range behind range, ran the Coast Mountains, parted by
deep, wild valleys, in which we could trace the course of streams,
shaded by the pine and the giant redwood. On the other side, the
valley of San Jose, ten miles in width, lay directly at our feet,
extending to the North and South, beyond point and headland,
till either extremity was lost in the distance.  The unvarying
yellow hue of mountain and plain, except where they were traversed
by broad belts of dark green timber, gave a remarkable effect to
the view. It was not the color of barrenness and desolation and
had no character of sadness or even monotony. Rather, glimmering through the mist, the mountains seemed to have arrayed
themselves in cloth of gold, as if giving testimony of the royal
metal with which their veins abound.
After enjoying this scene for some time, we commenced the
descent. The peak slanted doinward at an angle of 45~, which
127 
ELDORADO.
rendered it toilsome work for our horses. I was about half-way
down the summit-cone, when my saddle, slipping over the horse's
shoulders, suddenly dropped to his ears. I was shot forward and
alighted on my feet two or three yards below, fortunately retaining
the end of the lariat in my hand. For a few minutes we performed
a very spirited pas de deex on the side of the mountain, but Mr.
Murphy coming to my assistance, the horse was finally quieted and
re-saddled. The afternoon was by this time far advanced, and I
accepted Mr. Murphy's invitation to remain for the night.  His
pleasant family circle was increased in the evening by the arrival
of Rev. Mr. Dowiat, a Catholic Missionary from Oregon, who
gave us an account of the Indian massacre the previous winter.
HIe was on the spot the day of its occurrence and assisted in interring the bodies of Dr. Whitman and his fellow-victims.
I traveled slowly the next day, for the hot sand and unaccustomed exercise were beginning to make some impression on my
feet. Early in the afternoon I reached some milpas standing in
the middle of a cornfield. A handsome young ranchero came
dashing up on a full gallop, stopping his horse with a single bound
as he neared me. I asked him the name of the ranche, and
whether he could give me a dinner. " It is Castro's Ranche," he
replied; " and I am a Castro. If you want water-melons, or dinner
either, don't go to the other milpas, for they have nothing: venga!
and off he started, dashing through the corn and over the melon
patches, as if they were worthless sand. I entered the milpa,
which resembled an enormous wicker crate. In default of chairs
I sat upon the ground, and very soon a dish of tortillas, one of
boiled corn and another of jerked beef, were set before me. There
was no need of knives and forks; I watched the heir of the Castros,
placed a tortilla on one knee and plied my fingers with an assiduity
128 
BELATED ON IHE ROAD.
equal to his own, so that between us there was little left of the
repast.  He then picked out two melons from a large pile, rolled
them to me, and started away again, doubtless to chase down more
customers.
The road crossed the dry bed of a river, passed some meadows
of fresh green grass and entered the hills on the western side of the
valley. After passing the divide, I met an old Indian, traveling
on foot, of whom I asked the distance to San Juan. His reply in
broken Spanish was given with a comical brevity: " San Juantwo leagues-you  sleep —I sleep rancho-you walk-I walk,
anda, vamos!" and pointing to the sun to signify that it was
growing late, he trudged off with double speed. By sunset I
emerged from the mountains, waded the Rio Pajaro, and entered
on the valley of San Juan, which stretched for leagues before me,
as broad and beautiful as that I had left. The road, leading directly across it, seemed endless; I strained my eyes in vain looking for the Mission. At last a dark spot appeared some distance
ahead of me. " Pray heaven," thought I, " that you be either a
houses and stand still, or a man, and come forward."  It was an
Indian vaquero, who pointed out a dark line, which I could barely
discern through the dusk. Soon afterwards the sound of a bell,
chiming vespers, broke on the silence, but I was still more weary
before I reached the walls where it swung.
At the inn adjoining the Mission I found Rev. Mr. Hunt, Col
Stewart, Capt. Simmons and Mr. Harrison, of San Francisco
We had beds, but did not sleep much; few travelers, in fact, sleep
at any of the Missions, on account of the dense population. In
the morning I made a sketch of the ruined building, filled my
pockets with pears in the orchard, and started up a caniada to cross
the mountains to the plain of Salinas River. It was a mule-path,
6*
129 
ELDORADO.
impracticable for wagons, and leading directly up the face of the
dividing ridge.  Clumps of the madrono-a native evergeen, with
large, glossy leaves, and trunk and branches of bright I urplefilled the ravines, and dense thickets of a shrub with a snow-white
berry lined the way. From the summit there was a fine mountain-view, sloping off on either hand into the plains of San Juan
and Salinas.
Along this road, since leaving San Jose, I met constantly with
companies of emigrants fronrthe Gila, on their way to the diggingrs.  Many were on foot, having had their animals taken from
them by the Yuma Indians at the crossing of the Colorado. They
were wild, sun-burned, dilapidated men, but with strong and hardy
frames, that were little affected by the toils of the journey.  Some
were mounted on mules which had carried them from Texas and
Arkansas; and two of the Knickerbocker Company, having joined
their teams to a wagon, had begun business by filling it with vegetables at the Mission, to sell again in the gold district.  In a little
glen I found a party of them camped for a day or two to wash
their clothes in a pool which had drained from the meadows above.
The companies made great inroads on my progress by questioning
me about the gold region. None of them seemed to have any very
definite plan in their heads. It was curious to note their eagerness
to hear " golden reports" of the country, every one of them betraying, by his questioning, the amount of the fortune he secretly
expected to make.   "Where would you advise me to go?" was
the first question. I evaded the responsibility of a direct answer,
and gave them the general report of the yield on all the rivers.
"How much can I dig in a day?"  This question was so absurd,
as I could know nothing of the physical strength, endurance or
geological knowledge of the emigrant, that I invariably refused to
130 
THE GILA EMIGRANTS.
make a random answer, telling them it depended entirely on them.
selves.  But there was no escaping in this manner.   "Well, how
much do you think I can dig in a day?" was sure to follow, and I
was obliged to satisfy them by replying: "Perhaps a dollar's
worth, perhaps five pounds, perhaps nothing!"
They spoke of meeting great numbers of Sonorians on their way
home-some of whom had attempted to steal their mules and
provisions. Others, again, who had reached the country quite
destitute, were kindly treated by them. The Yuma and Maricopas
Indians were the greatest pests on the route. They had met with
no difficulty in passing through the Apache country, and, with the
exception of some little thieving, the Pimos tribes had proved
friendly. The two former tribes, however, had united their forces,
which amounted to two thousand warriors, and taken a hostile position among the hills near the Colorado crossing. There had
been several skirmishes between them and small bodies of emigrants, in which men were killed on both sides. A New York
Company lost five of its members in this manner. Nearly all the
persons I met had been seven months on the way. They reported
that there were about ten thousand persons on the Gila, not more
than half of whom had yet arrived in California. Very few of
the original companies held together, most of them being too large
for convenience.
Descending a long canada in the mountains, I came out at the
great Salinas Plain. At an Indian ranche on the last slope,
several cart-loads of melons were heaped beside the door, and I
ate two or three in company with a traveler who rode up, and
who proved to be a spy employed by Gen. Scott in the Mexican
campaign. He was a small man, with a peculiar, keen gray eye,
and a physiognomy thoroughly adapted for concealing all that was
131 
ELDORADO.
passing in his mind. His hair was long and brown, and his
beard unshorn; he was, in fact, a genuine though somewhat
diminutive type of Harvey Birch, differing from him likewise in a
courteous freedom of manner which he had learned by long familiarity with Spanish habits. While we sat, slicing the melons
and draining their sugary juice, he told me a story of his capture
by the Mexicans, after the battles in the Valley. He was carried
to Queretaro, tried and sentenced to be shot, but succeeded in
bribing the sergeant of the guard, through whose means he succeeded in escaping the night before the day of execution. The
sergeant's wife, who brought his meals to the prison in a basket,
left with him the basket, a rebosa and petticoat, in which he arrayed
himself, after having shaved off his long beard, and passed out unnoticed by the guard. A good horse was in waiting, and he nevex
slacked rein until he reached San Juan del Rio, eleven leagues
from Queretaro.
To strike out on the plain was like setting sail on an unknown
sea. My companion soon sank below the horizon, while I, whose
timbers were somewhat strained, labored after him.   I had some
misgivings about the road, but followed it some four or five miles,
when, on trying the course with a compass, I determined to leave
it and take the open plain. I made for a faint speck far to the
right, which, after an hour's hard walking showed itself to be a
deserted ranche, beside an ojo de agua, or marshy spring. Fortunately, I struck on another road, and perseveringly followed it
till dusk, when I reached the ranche of Thomas Blanco, on the
bank of the Salinas River.  Harvey Birch was standing in the
door, having arrived an hour before me. Tortillas and frijoles
were smoking on the table-a welcome sight to a hmungry man!
Mr  Blanco, who treated us with g nuine kindness: then gav( us
132 
MONTEREY AT LAST.
good beds, and I went to sleep with the boom of the surf on the
shore of the distant bay ringing in my ears.
Mr. Blanco, who is married to a Californian woman, has been
living here several years. His accounts of the soil and climate
fully agreed with what I had heard from other residents. There
is a fine garden on the ranche, but during his absence at the
placers in the summer, all the vegetables were carried away by a
band of Sonorians, who loaded his pack-mules with them and
drove them off. They would even have forcibly taken his wife
and her sister with them, had not some of her relatives fortunately arrived in time to prevent it.
I was so lame and sore the next morning, that I was fain to be
helped over the remaining fifteen miles to Monterey, by the kind
offer of Mr. Shew of Baltimore, who gave me a seat in his wagon.
The road passed over sand-hills, covered only with chapparal, and
good for nothing except as a shooting-ground for partridges and
hares.  The view of the town as you approach, opening through a
gap between two low, piny hills, is very fine. Though so far inferior to San Francisco in size, the houses were all substantially
built, and did not look as if they would fly off in a gale of wind.
They were scattered somewhat loosely over a gentle slope, behind
which ran a waving outline of pine-covered mountains. On the
right hand appeared the blue waters of the bay, with six or seven
vessels anchored near the shore. The American flag floated gaily
in the sunshine above the fort on the bluff and the Government
offices in the town, and prominent among the buildings on the
high ground stood the Town Hall-a truly neat and spacious edifice of yellow stone. in which the Constitutional Convention was
then sitting.
In spite of the additional life which this body gave to the place,
133 
ELDORADO.
my first impression was that of a deserted town. Few people
were stirring in the streets; business seemed dull and stagnant;
and after hunting half an hour for a hotel, I learned that there
was none. In this dilemma I luckily met my former fellowtraveler, Major Smith, who asked me to spread my blanket in his
room, in the cuartel, or Government barracks.   I willingly complied, glad to find a place of rest after a foot-journey which I deelared should be my last in California.
134 
CHAPTER XIV,
LIFE IN MONTEREY.
MAJOR SMITH, who was Paymaster for the stations of Monterey
and San Diego, had arrived only a few days previous, from the
latter place.  He was installed in a spacious room in the upper
story of the cuartel, which by an impromptu partition of muslin,
was divided into an office and bedroom. Two or three empty
freight-boxes, furnished as a great favor by the Quarter Master,
served as desk, table and wash-stand. There were just three
chairs for the Major, his brother and myself, so that when we had
a visit, one of us took his seat on a box. The only bedding I
brought from San Francisco was a sarape, which was insufficient,
but with some persuasion we obtained a soldier's pallet and an
armful of straw, out of which we made a comfortable bed. We
were readily initiated into the household mysteries of sweeping,
dusting, etc., and after a few days' practice felt competent to take
charge of a much larger establishment.
I took my meals at the Fonda de la Union, on the opposite
side of the street. It was an old, smoky place not uncomfortably
clean, with a billiard-room and two small rooms adjoining, where
the owner, a sallow Mexican, with his Indian cook and muchacho,
entertained his customers. The place was frequented by a nuni
I
..;:,.-.
~ I 
ELDORADO.
ber of the members and clerks of the Convention, by all rambling
Americans or Californians who happened to be in Monterey, and
occasionally a seaman or two from the ships in the harbor. The
charges were usually $1 per meal; for which we were furnished
with an olla of boiled beef, cucumbers and corn, an asado of beef
and red-pepper, a gitisado of beef and potatoes, and two or three
cups of execrable coffee.  At the time of my arrival this was the
only restaurant in the place, and reaped such a harvest of pesos,
that others were not long in starting up.
There was one subject, which at the outset occasioned us many
sleepless nights. In vain did we attempt to forego the contemplation of it; as often as we lay down on our pallets, the thought
would come uncalled, and very soon we were writhing under its
attacks as restlessly as Richard on his ghost-haunted couch. It
was no imaginary disturbance; it assailed us on all sides, and
without cessation. It was an annoyance by no means peculiar to
California; it haunts the temples of the Incas and the halls of the
Montezumas; I have felt it come upon me in the Pantheon of
Rome, and many a traveler has bewailed its visitation while sleeping in the shadow of the Pyramid.  Nothing is more positively
real to the feelings, nothing more elusive and intangible to the
search. You look upon the point of its attack, and you see it not,
you put your finger on it, and it is not there!
We tried all the means in our power to procure a good night's
rest. We swept out the room, shook out the blankets and tucked
ourselves in so skillfully that we thought no flea could effect an
entrance-but in vain. At last, after four nights of waking torment, I determined to give up the attempt; I had become so nervous by repeated failures that the thought of it alone would have
prevented sleep. At bed-time, therefore, I took my blankets,
136
I I 
THE FLEAS OUTWITTED.
and went up into the pine woods behind the town, I chose a
warm corner between some bushes and a fallen log; the air was
misty and chill and the moon clouded over, but I lay sheltered
and comfortable on my pillow of dry sticks. Occasionally a partridge would stir in the bushes by my head or a squirrel rustle
among the dead leaves, while far back in the gloomy shadows of
the forest the coyotes kept up an endless howl. I slept but indifferently, for two or three fleas had escaped the blanket-shaking, and did biting enough for fifty.
After many trials, I finally nonplussed them in spite of all their
cunning. There is a thick green shrub in the forest, whose powerful balsamic odor is too much for them. After sweeping the
floor and sprinkling it with water, I put down my bed, previously
well shaken, and surrounded it with a chevaux-de-fiise of this
shrub, wide enough to prevent their overleaping it. Thus moated
and palisaded from the foe, I took my rest unbroken, to his utter
discomfiture.
Every day that I spent in Monterey, I found additional cause
to recede from my first impression of the dullness of the place.
Quiet it certainly is, to one coming from San Francisco; but it
is only dull in the sense that Nice and Pisa are dull cities. The
bustle of trade is wanting, but to one not bent on gold-hunting, a
delicious climate, beautiful scenery, and pleasant society are a
full compensation. Those who stay there for any length of time,
love the place before they leave it-which would scarcely be said
of San Francisco.
The situation of Monterey is admirable. The houses are built
on a broad, gentle slope of land, about two miles from Point
Pinos, the southern extremity of the bay. They are scattered
over an extent of three quarters of a mile, leaving ample room
137 
ELDORADO.
for the growth of the town for many years to come. The outline
of the hills in the rear is somewhat similar to those of Staten
Island, but they increase in height as they run to the south-east,
till at the distance of four miles they are merged in the high
mountains of the Coast Range. The northern shore of the bay is
twenty miles distant, curving so far to the west, that the Pacifio
is not visible from any part of the town.  Eastward, a high, rocky
ridge, called the Toro Mountains, makes a prominent object in
the view, and when the air is clear the Sierra de Gavilan, beyond
the Salinas plains, is distinctly visible.
During my visit the climate was mild and balmy beyond that
of the same season in Italy. The temperature was that of midMIay at home, the sky for the greater part of the time without a
cloud, and the winds as pleasant as if tempered exactly to the
warmth of the blood. A thermometer hanging in my room only
varied between 52~ and 54~, which was about 10~ lower than the
air without. The siroccos of San Francisco are unknown in
Monterey; the mornings are frequently foggy, but it always
clears about ten o'clock, and remains so till near sunset. The
sky at noonday is a pure, soft blue.
The harbor of Monterey is equal to any in California. The
bight in which vessels anchor is entirely protected from the northwesters by Sea-Gull Point, and from the south-eastern winds by
mountains in the rear. In the absence of light-houses, the dense
fog renders navigation dangerous on this coast, and in spite of an
entrance twenty-five miles in breath, vessels frequently run below
Point Pinos, and are obliged to anchor on unsafe ground in Carmel Bay. A road leads from the town over the hills to the exMission of Carmel, situated at the head of the bay, about four
miles distant. Just beyond it is Point Lobos, a promontory on
138 
THE GROWTH OF MONTEREY.
the coast, faiious for the number of seals and sea-lions which
congregate there at low tide. A light-house on Point Pinos and
another on Point Lobos would be a sufficient protection to navigation for the present, and I understand that the agents of the Government have recommended their erection.
The trade of Monterey is rapidly on the increase. During my
stay of five weeks, several houses were built, half a dozen stores
opened and four hotels established, one of which was kept by a
Chinaman. There were at least ten arrivals and departures of
vessels, exclusive of the steamers, within that time, and I was
credibly informed that the Collector of the Port had, during the
previous five months, received about $150,000 in duties. Provisions of all kinds are cheaper than at San Francisco, but
merchandize brings higher prices.  At the Washington House,
kept by a former private in Col. Stevenson's regiment, I obtained
excellent board at $12 per week. The building, which belongs
to an Italian named Alberto Tusconi, rented for $1,200 monthly.
Rents of all kinds were high, $200 a month having been paid for
rooms during the session of the Convention. Here, as in San
Francisco, there are many striking instances of sudden prosperity
Mr. Tusconi, whom I have just mentioned, came out five years
before, as a worker in tin. He was without money, but obtained
the loan of some sheets of tin, which he manufactured into cups
and sold.   From this beginning he had amassed  a fortune of
$50,000, and was rapidly adding to his gains.
There was a good deal of speculation in lots, and many of the
sales, though far short of the extravagant standard of San Francisco, were still sufficiently high. A lot seventy-five feet )by
twenty-five, with a small frame store upon it, was sold for $5,000.
A one-story house, with a lot about fifty by seventy-five feet, in
139 
ELDORADO.
the outskirts of the town, was held at $6,000. This was about
the average rate of property, and told well for a town which a
year previous was deserted, and which, only six months before,
contained no accommodations of any kind for the traveler.
There is another circumstance which will greatly increase the
commercial importance of Monterey. The discoveries of gold
mines and placers on the Mariposa, and the knowledge that gold
exists in large quantities on the Lake Fork, King's River and the
Pitiuna-streams which empty into the Tular6 Lakes on their
eastern side-will hereafter attract a large portion of the mining
population into that region. Hitherto, the hostility of the Indians
in the southern part of the Sierra Nevada, and the richness of
more convenient localities, have hindered the gold diggers from
going beyond the Mariposa. The distance of these rivers from
San Francisco, and the great expense of transporting supplies tc
the new mining district, will naturally direct a portion of the importing trade to some more convenient seaport. Monterey, with
the best anchorage on the coast, is ono hundred and twenty-five
miles nearer the Tular6 Lakes. By bridging a few arroyos, an
excellent wagon road can be made through a pass in the Coast
Range, into the valley of San Joaquin, opening a direct communication with the southern placers.
The removal of the Seat of Government to the Pueblo San
Jos-, will not greatly affect the consequence of the place. The
advantages it has lost, are, at most, a slight increase of population, and the custom of the Legislature during its session. This
will be made up in a different way; a large proportion of the
mining population, now in the mountains, will come down to the
coast to winter and recruit themselves after the hardships of the
Fall digging.  Of these, Monterey will attract the greater portion,
140 
DOMESTIC LIFE AND SOCIETY.
as well from the salubrity of its climate as the comparative cheap
ness of living. The same advantages will cause it to be preferred,
hereafter, as the residence of those who have retired from their
golden labors. The pine-crowned slopes back of the town contain many sites of unsurpassed beauty for private residences.
With  the exception of Los Angeles, Monterey contains the
most pleasant society to be found in California. There is a circle
of families, American and native, residing there, whose genial and
refined social character makes one forget his previous ideas of
California life. In spite of the lack of cultivation, except such
instruction as the priests were competent to give, the native population possesses a natural refinement of manner which would grace
the most polished society. They acknowledge their want of education; they tell you they grow as the trees, with the form and
character that Nature gives them; but even uncultured Nature
in California wears all the ripeness and maturity of older lands. I
have passed many agreeable hours in the houses of the native
families.  The most favorite resort of Americans is that of Dona
Augusta Ximeno, the sister of Don Pablo de la Guerra. This
lady, whose active charity in aiding the sick and distressed has
won her the enduring gratitude of many and the esteem of all, has
made her house the home of every American officer who visits
Monterey.   With a rare libera]ity, she has given up a great part
of it to their use, when it was impossible for them to procure quarters, and they have always been welcome guests at her table. She
is a woman whose nobility of character, native vigor and activity of
intellect, and above all, whose instinctive refinement and winning
grace of manner, would have given her a complete supremacy in
society, had her lot been cast in Europe or the United States.
During the session of the Convention, her house was the favorite
141 
E,LDORADO.
resort of all t1-e lealin,g members, both American and Californian.  She was tliorou,hly versed in Spanish literature, as well as
the works of Scott and Cooper, through translations, and I have
frequently been surprised at the justness and elegance of her remarks on various authors.  She possessed, moreover, all those
bold and daring qualities which are so fascinating in a woman,
when softened and made graceful by true feminine delicacy. She
was a splendid horsewoman, and had even considerable skill in
throwing the lariat.
The houses of Senfior Soveranez and Sefior Abrego were also
much visited by Americans. The former gentleman served as a
Captain in Mexico during the war, but since then has subsided into
a good American citizen.  Senor Abrego, who is of Mexican origin,
was the most industrious Californian I saw in the country. Within
a few years he had amassed a large fortune, which was in no danger
of decreasing. I attended an evening party at his house, which
was as lively and agreeable as any occasion of the kind well could
be. There was a tolerable plano in his little parlor, on which a
lady from Sydney, Australia, played " Non piu mestal with a good
deal of taste. Two American gentlemen gave us a few choice flute
duetts, and the entertainraent closed by a quadrille and polka, in
which a little son of Senor Abrego figured, to the general admiration.
The old and tranquil look of Monterey, before the discovery ot
the placers, must have seemed remarkable to visitors from the
Atlantic side of the Continent. The serene beauty of the climate
and soft, vaporous atmosphere, have nothing in common with one's
ideas of a new, scarce-colonized coast; the animals, even, are those
of the old, civilized countries of Europe. Flocks of ravens croak
from the tiled roofs, and cluster on the long adobe walls; magpies
142 
QUIET OF THE TOWN —POPULATION.
chatter in the clumps of gnarled oak on the hills, and as you pIass
through the forest, hares start up from their coverts under the
bearded pines.  The quantity of blackbirds about the place is astonishing; in the mornings they wheel in squadrons about every
house-top, and fill the air with their twitter.
But for the interest occasioned by the Convention, and the social
impulse given to Monterey by the presence of its members, the
town would hardly have furnished an incident marked enough to
be remembered. Occasionally there was an arrival at the anchorag,e-generally from San Francisco, San Diego or Australiawhich furnished talk for a day or two. Then some resident would
give a fandango, which the whole town attended, or the Alcalde
would decree a general horn-burning.   This was nothing less than
the collecting of all the horns and heads of slaughtered animals,
scattered about the streets, into large piles, which burned through
half the night, filling the air with a most unpleasant odor. When
the atmosphere happened to be a little misty, the red light of these
fires was thrown far up along the hills.
I learned some very interesting facts during my stay, relative to
the products of California. Wisconsin has always boasted of raising the largest crops of talking humanity, but she will have to
yield the palm to the new Pacific State, where the increase of
population is entirely without precedent. A native was pointed
out to me one day as the father of thirty-six children, twenty of
whom were the product of his first marriage, and sixteen of his
last. Mr. Hartnell, the Government translator, has a family of
twenty-one children. Seior Abrego, who had been married twelve
years, already counted as many heirs.  Several other couples in
the place had from twelve to eighteen; and the former number, I
was told, is the usual size of a family in California. Whether or
143 
ELDORADO
not this remarkable fecundity is attributable to the climate, I am
unable to tell.
The Californians, as a race, are vastly superior to the Mexicans.
They have larger frames, stronger muscle, and a fresh, ruddy complexion, entirely different from the sallow skins of the tierra caliente or the swarthy features of those Bedouins of the West, the
Sonorians.   The families of pure Castilian blood resemble in features and build, the descendants of the Valencians in Chili and
Mexico, whose original physical superiority over the natives of the
other provinces of Spain, has not been obliterated by two hundred
years of transplanting.   Sefior Soveranez informed me  that the
Californian soldiers, on account of this physical distinction, were
nicknamed "Americanos" by the Mexicans.   They have no national feeling in common with the latter, and will never forgive
the cowardly deportment of the Sonorians toward them, during the
recent war. Their superior valor, as soldiers, was amply expe
rienced by our own troops, at the battle of San Pasquale.
I do not believe, however, that the majority of the native population rejoices at the national change which has come over the
country. On the contrary, there is much jealousy and bitter feeling among the uneducated classes. The vast tides of emigration
from the A tlantic States thrice outnumbered them in a single year,
and consequently placed them forever in a hopeless minority.
They witnessed the immediate extinction of their own political
importance, and the introduction of a new language, new customs,
and new laws It is not strange that many of them should be opposed to us at heart, even while growing wealthy and prosperous
under the marvellous change which has been wrought by the enterprise of our citizens. Nevertheless, we have many warm firiends,
and the United States many faithful subjects, among them. The
144 
NATIONAL FEELING IN CALIFC RNIA.
intelligent and influential faction which aided us during the war,
is still faithful, and many who were previously discontented, are
now loudest in their rejoicing. Our authorities have acted toward
them with constant and impartial kindness. By pursuing a similar
course, the future government of the State will soon obliterate the
differences of race and condition, and all will then be equally Cal.
ifornian and American citizens.
VOL. I.    7
145 
CHAPTER XV.
THE ST) TE ORGANIZATION OF CALIFORNI &.
IN some respects, the political history of California for the year
1849, is without a parallel in the annals of any nation. The
events are too recent for us to see them in the clear, defined outlines they will exhibit to posterity; we can only describe them as
they occurred, throwing the strongest light on those points which
now appear most prominent.
The discovery of the Gold Region of California occurred in little
more than a month after the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, by
which the country was ceded to the United States. Congress
having adjourned without making provision for any kind of civil
organization, the Military Government established during the war
continued in force, in conjunction with the local laws in force under
the Mexican rule-a most incongruous state of things, which gave
rise to innumerable embarrassments. Meanwhile, the results of
the gold discovery produced a complete revolution in society, up.
turning all branches of trade, industry or office, and for a time
completely annulling the Government.   Mexico and the South
American republics sent their thousands of adventurers into the
country like a flood, far outnumbering the native population.
During the winter of 1848-9, the state of affairs was most critical; 
STEPS TOWARD ORGANIZATION.
the American and foreign miners were embittered against each
other; the authorities were without power to enforce their orders,
and there seemed no check to restrain the free exercise of all lawless passions. There was a check, however-the steady integrity
and inborn capacity for creating and upholding Law, of a portion
of the old American settlers and emigrants newly arrived. A
single spark of Order will in time irradiate and warm into shape a
world of disorderly influences.
In the neglect of Congress to provide for the establishment of
a Territorial Government, it was at first suggested that the People
should provisionally organize such a Government among themselves.
Various proposals were made, but before any decisive action was
had on the subject, another and more appropriate form was given
to the movement, chiefly through the labor and influence of a few
individuals, who were countenanced by the existing authorities.
This was, to call a Convention for the purpose of drafting a State
Constitution, that California might at once be admitted into the
Union, without passing through the usual Territorial stage-leaping with one bound, as it were, from a state of semi-civilization to
be the Thirty-First Sovereign Republic of the American Confederacy. The vast influx of emigration had already increased the
population beyond the required number, and the unparalleled speed
with which Labor and Commerce were advancing warranted such
a course, no less than the important natural resources of the
country itself.  The result of this movement was a proclamation
from Gov. Riley, recommending that an election of Delegates to
form such a Convention be held on the first of August, 1849.
Gen. Riley, the Civil Governor appointed by the United States,
Gen. Smith, and Mr. T. Butler King, during a tour through the
mining districts in the early part of summer, took every occasion
141 
ELDORADO.
to interest the people in the subject, and stimulate them to hold
preparatory meetings. The possibility of calling together and
keeping together a body of men, many of whom must necessarily
be deeply involved in business and speculation, was at first strongly
doubted. In fact, in some of the districts named in the proclamation, scarcely any move was made till a few days before the day
of election. It was only necessary, however, to kindle the flame;
the intelligence and liberal public spirit existing throughout the
country, kept it alive, and the election passed over with complete
success. In one or two instances it was not held on the day appointed, but the Convention nevertheless admitted the delegates
elected in such cases.
Party politics had but a small part to play in the choice of candidates. In the San Francisco and Sacramento districts there
might have been some influences of this kind afloat, and other districts undoubtedly sent members to advocate some particular
local interest. But, taken as a body, the delegates did honor to
California, and would not suffer by comparison with any first State
Convention ever held in our Republic. I may add, also, that a
perfect harmony of feeling existed between the citizens of both
races. The proportion of native Californian members to the
American was about equal to that of the population. Some of the
former received nearly the entire American vote-Gen. Vallejo
at Sonoma, Antonio Pico at San Jos6, and Miguel de Pedrorena
at San Diego, for instance.
The elections were all over, at the time of my arrival in California, and the 1st of September had been appointed as the day on
which the Convention should meet. It was my intention to have
been present at that time, but I did not succeed in reaching Monterey until the 19th ofthe month. The Convention was not regularly
148 
THE CONVENTION MEETS       &
organized until the 4th, when Dr. Robert Semple, of the Sonoma
District, was chosen President and conducted to his seat by
Capt. Sutter and Gen. Vallejo.  Capt. William G. Marcy, of the
New-York Volunteer Regiment, was elected Secretary, after
which the various post of Clerks, Assistant Secretaries, Translators, Doorkeeper, Sergeant-at-Arms, etc., were filled. The day
after their complete organization, the officers and members of the
Convention were sworn to support the Constitution of the United
States. The members from the Southern Districts were instructed to vote in favor of a Territorial form of Government, but expressed their willingness to abide the decision of the Convention.
An invitation was extended to the Clergy of Monterey to open
the meeting with prayer, and that office was thenceforth performed
on alternate days by Padre Ramirez and Rev. S. H. Willey.
The building in which the Convention met was probably the
only one in California suited to the purpose. It is a handsome,
two-story edifice of yellow sandstone, situated on a gentle slope,
above the town.  It is named "Colton Hall," on account of its
having been built by Don Walter Colton, former Alcalde of Monterey, from the proceeds of a sale of city lots. The stone of
which it is built is found in abundance near Monterey; it is of a
fine, mellow color, easily cut, and will last for centuries in that
mild climate. The upper story, in which the Convention sat,
formed a single hall about sixty feet in length by twenty-five in
breadth. A railing, running across the middle, divided the members from the spectators. The former were seated at four long
tables, the President occupying a rostrum at the further end,
over which were suspended two American flags and an extraordinary picture of Washington, evidently the work of a native artist.
The appearance of the whole body was exceedingly dignifiesd and
149 
ELDORADO.
intellectual, and parliamentary decorum was strictly observed.
A door in the centre of the hall opened on a square balcony, sup.
ported by four pillars, where some of the members, weary with
debate, came frequently to enjoy the mild September afternoon,
whose hues lay so softly on the blue waters of the bay.
The Declaration of Rights, which was the first subject before
the Convention, occasioned little discussion. Its sections being
general in their character and of a liberal republican cast, were
nearly all adopted by a nearly unanimous vote. The clause prohibiting Slavery was nmet by no word of dissent; it was the universal sentiment of the Convention. It is unnecessary to recapitulate here the various provisions of the Constitution; it will be
enough to say that they combined, with few exceptions, the most
enlightened features of the Constitutions of older States. The
election of Judges by the people-the rights of married women to
property-the establishment of a liberal system of education-and
other reforms of late introduced into the State Governments east
of the Rocky Mountains, were all transplanted to the new soil of
the Pacific Coast.
The adoption of a system of pay for the officers and members
of the Convention, occasioned some discussion. The Californian
members and a few of the Americans patriotically demanded that
the Convention should work for nothing, the glory being sufficient.
The majority overruled this, and finally decided that the members should receive $16 per day, the President $25, the Secretary and Interpreter $28, the Clerks $23 and $18, the Chaplain
$16, the Sergeant-at-Arms $22 and the Doorkeeper $12. The
expenses of the Convention were paid out of the " Civil Fund,"
an accumulation of the duties received at the ports. The funds
were principally silver, and at the close of their labors it wa9
150 
THE QUESTION OF SUFFRAGE.
an using to see the members carrying their pay about town  tied
up in handkerchiefs or slung in bags over their shoulders. The
little Irish boy, who acted as page, was nearly pressed down by
the weight of his wages.
One of the first exciting questions was a clause which had been
crammed through the Convention on its first reading, prohibiting
the entrance of firee people of color into the state.  Its originator
was an Oregon man, more accustomed to and better fitted for
squatter life than the dignity of legislation. The members, by
the time it was brought up for second reading, had thoughlt more
seriously upon the question, and the clause was rejected by a large
majority: several attempts to introduce it in a modified form also
signally failed.
It was a matter of regret that the question of suffrage could not
have been settled in an equitable and satisfactory manner. The
article first adopted by the Convention, excluding Indians and
Negroes, with their descendants, from the privilege of voting, was,
indeed, modified by a proviso offered by Mr. de la Guerra, which
gave the Legislature the power of admitting Indians or the descendant3 of Indians, by a two-thirds concurrent vote, to the
right of suffrage. This was agreed to by many merely for the
purpose of settling the question for the present; but the native
members will not be content to let it rest. Many of the most
wealthy and respectable families in California have Indian blood
in their veins, and even a member of the Convention, Dominguez,
would be excluded from voting under this very clause.
The Articles of the Constitution relating to the Executive, Judicial and Legislative Departments occupied several days, but the
debates were dry and uninteresting. A great deal of talk was expended to no purpose, several of the members  having the samo
151 
ELDORADO.
morbid ambition in this respect, as may be found in our legisla tive assemblies on this side of the mountains. A member from
Sacramento severely tried the patience of the Convention by his
long harangues; another was clamorous, not for his own rights but
those of his constituents, although the latter were suspected of
being citizens of Oregon.  The Chair occasionally made a bung ling decision, whereupon two of the members, who had previously
served in State Assemblies, would aver that in the whole course
of their legislative experience they had never heard of such a
thing. Now and then a scene occurred, which was amusing
enough. A section being before the Convention, declaring that
every citizen arrested for a criminal offence should be tried by a
jury of his peers, a member, unfamiliar with such technical terms,
moved to strike out the word " peers."  " I don't like that word
peers,'" said he; " it a'int republican; I'd like to know what
we want with peers in this country-we're not a monarchy, and
we've got no House of Parliament. I vote for no such law."
The boundary question, however, which came up towards the
close of the Convention, assumed a character of real interest and
importance. The great point of dispute on this question was the
e(astern limit of the State, the Pacific being the natural boundary
on the West, the meridian of 42~ on the North, and the MIexican line, run in conformity with the treaty of Queretaro, on
the South.   Mr. Hastings, amember from Sacramento, moved
I that the eastern boundary, beginning at the parallel of 42~, should
follow the meridian of 118~ W. long. to 38~ N. thence running
direct to the intersection of the Colorado with 114~ W. following
that river to the Mexican line. This was proposed late on Mon.
day night, and hurried through by a bare majority. Messrs.
Gwin and Halleck, of the Boundary Committee, with all the Cali
152 
TROUBLE AB3UT THE BOUNDARY.
fornian members, and some others, opposed this proposition,
claiming that the original Spanish boundary, extending to the line
of New Mexico, should be adopted. With some difficulty a reconsideration of the vote was obtained, and the House adjourned
without settling the question.
The discussion commenced in earnest the next morning. The
members were all present, and as the parties were nearly balanced
the contest was very animated and excited. It assumed, in fact,
more of a party character than any which had previously come up.
The grounds taken by the party desiring the whole territory were
that the Convention had no right to assume another boundary
than that originally belonging to California; that the measure
would extend the advantages and protecting power of law over a
vast inland territory, which would otherwise remain destitute of
such protection for many years to come; that, finally, it would
settle the question of Slavery for a much greater extent of territory, and in a quiet and peaceful manner.   The opposite partythat which advocates the Sierra Nevada as the boundary linecontended that the Constitution had no right to include the Mormon settlers in the Great Salt Lake country in a State, whose
Constitution they had no share in forming, and that nearly the
whole of the country east of the Sierra Nevada was little better
than a desert.
After a hot discussion, which lasted the whole day, the vote
was reversed, and the report of the Boundary Committee (including all the Territory as far as New Mexico) adopted. The opposition party, defeated after they were sure of success, showed their
chagrin rather noisily.   At the announcement of the vote, a
dozen members jumped up, speaking and shouting in the most
confused and disorderly manner. Some rushed out of the room;
7*
153 
ELDORADO.
others moved an adjournment; others again protested they would
sign no Constitution, embodying such a provision.  In the midst
of this tumult the House adjourned. The defeated party were
active throughout, and procured a second reconsideration. Major
Hill, delegate from San Diego, then proposed the following boundary: a line starting from the Mexican Boundary and following
the course of the Colorado to lat. 350 N., thence due north to the
Oregon Boundary. Such a line, according to the opinion of both
Capt. Sutter and Gen. Vallejo, was the limit set by the Mexican
Government to the civil jurisdiction of California. It divides the
Grcat Central Basin about two-thirds of the distance between the
Sierra Nevada and the Great Salt Lake.   This proposition was
adopted, but fell through on second reading, when the boundary
which had first passed was readopted by a large vote. When it
came to be designated on the map, most of the members were
better satisfied than they had anticipated. They had a State with
eight hundred miles of sea-coast and an average of two hundred
and fifty miles in breadth, including both sides of the Sierra Nevada and some of the best rivers of the Great Basin. As to the
question of Slavery, it will never occasion much trouble. The
whole Central Region, extending to the Sierra Madre of New
Mexico, will never sustain a slave population. The greater part
of it resembles in climate and general features the mountain
steppes of Tartary, and is better adapted for grazing than agriculture. It will never be settled so long as an acre of the rich loam
of Oregon or the warm wheat-plains of California is left untenanted.
One of the subjects that came up about this time was the design of a Great Seal for the State. There were plenty of ideas in
the heads of the members, but few draughtsmen, and of the eight
154 
THE GREAT SEAL OF THE STATE.
or ten designs presented, some were ludicrous enough. The
choice finally fell upon one drawn by Major Garnett, which was,
in reality, the best offered. The principal figure is Minerva, with
her spear and Gorgon shield, typical of the manner in which
California was born, full-grown, into the Confederacy. At her
feet crouches a grizzly bear, certainly no very appropriate supporter for the Gorgon shield. The wheat-sheaf and vine before
him illustrate the principal agricultural products of the country,
and are in good keeping-for Ceres sat beside Minerva in the
councils of the gods. Near at hand is a miner with his implements, in the distance the Bay of San Francisco, and still further the Sierra Nevada, over which appears the single word:
"EUREKA!"
The discussion on the subject was most amusing. None of the
designs seemed at first to tally with the taste of the Convention,
as each district was anxious to be particularly represented. The
Sacramento members wanted the gold mines; the San Francisco
members wanted the harbor and shipping; the Sonoma members
thought no seal could be lawful without some reminder of their
noted "bear flag;" while the Los Angeles and San Diego members
were clamorous for the rights of their vines, olives and wild horses
-so that, no doubt, the seal they chose was the most satisfactory
to all. The sum of $1,000 was voted to Mr. Lyon, one of the
Secretaries, for the purpose of having it engraved. The Convention also voted the sum of $10,000 to Mr. J. Ross Browne, its
reporter, on his contracting to furnish one thousand printed
copies of the entire proceedings in English and three hundred in
Spanish. This sum also included the remuneration for his labors
as a stenographer.
Aftei discussing various plans for meeting the expenses of the
155 
ELDORADO.
State, at the outset, an ordinance was adopted, (subject to the
action of Congress,) the substance of which was as follows:
1. One section out of every quarter township of the public lands
shall be granted to the State for the use of the schools. 2. Seventy-two sections of unappropriated land within the State shall be
granted to the State for the establishment and support of a University. 3. Four sections, selected under direction of the Legislature, shall be granted for the use of the State in establishing a
Seat of Government and erecting buildings. 4. Five hundred
thousand acres of public lands, in addition to the same amount
granted to new States, shall be granted for the purpose of defraying the expenses of the State Government. And five per cent. of
the proceeds of the sale of public lands, after deducting expenses,
shall be given for the encouragement of learning. 5. All salt
springs, with the land adjoining, shall be granted to the use of the
State.
It may probably be thought, on reading these various provisions
for the filling of the State Treasury, that the appetite for gold
must surely grow by what it feeds on. California, nevertheless,
had some reason for making so many exacting demands. The
expenses of the Government, at the start, will necessarily be enormous; and the price of labor so far exceeds the value of real
estate, that the ordinary tax on property would scarcely be a drop
in the bucket.  The cost of erecting buildings and supporting the
various branches of government will greatly surpass that to which
any state has ever been subjected. In paying the expenses of the
Convention from the Civil Fund, Gov. Riley in many instances
took upon himself weighty responsibilities; but the circumstances
under which he acted were entirely without precedent.   His
course was marked throughout by great prudence and good sense.
156 
DISTINGUISHED CALIFORNIANS.
Towards the close of the Convention, those of the members
who aspired to still further honor, commenced caucusing and
the canvassing of influence for the coming election. Several
announced themselves as candidates for various offices, and
in spite of vehement disclaimers to the contrary the lines of old
parties were secretly drawn. Nevertheless, it is impossible at
present to pronounce correctly on the political character of the
State; it will take some time for the native Californians to be
drilled into the new harness, and I suspect they will frequently
hold the balance of power.
One of the most intelligent and influential of the Californians is
Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, whom I had the pleasure of
meeting several times during my stay in Monterey. As Military
Commandant, during the Governorship of Alvarado, he exercised
almost supreme sway over the country. He is a man of forty-five
years of age, tall and of a commanding presence; his head is large,
forehead high and ample, and eyes dark, with a grave, dignified
expression. Hie is better acquainted with our institutions and
laws than any other native Californian.
Among the other notable members were Covarrubias, formerly
Secretary of Government, and Jose Antonio Carrillo, the righthand man of Pio Pico. The latter is upward of fifty-five years
of age-a small man with frizzled hair and beard, gray eyes, and
a face strongly expressive of shrewdness and mistrust. I saw'
him, one  day, dining at a restaurant with Gen.  Castro-the
redoubtable leader of the Californian troops, in Upper and Lower
California. Castro is a man of medium height, but stoutly and
strongly made.  He has a very handsome face; his eyes are large
and dark, and his mouth is shaded by moustaches with the gloss
and color of a raven's wing, meeting on each side with his whist
157 
ELDORADO.
kers.   He wore the sombrero, jacket and calzoneros of the country.  His temperament, as I thought, seemed gloomy and saturnine, and I was gravely informed by a Californian who sat opposite me, that he meditated the reconquest of the country!
Capt. Sutter's appearance and manners quite agreed with my
preconceived ideas of him. He is still the hale, blue-eyed, jovial
German-short and stout of stature, with broad forehead, head
bald to the crown, and altogether a ruddy, good-humored expression of countenance. He is a man of good intellect, excellent
common sense and amiable qualities of heart.   A  little more
activity and enterprise might have made him the first man in
California, in point of wealth and influence
158 
CHAPTER XVI.
THE CLOSING SCENES OF THE CONVENq'ION.
THE day and night immediately preceding the dissolution of the
convention far exceeded in interest all the former period of its
existence. I know not how I can better describe the closing
scenes than by the account which I penned on the spot, at the
time:
The Convention yesterday (October 12) gave token of bringing
its labors to a close; the morning session was short and devoted
only to the passing of various miscellaneous provisions, after which
an adjournment was made until this morning, on account of the
Ball given by the Convention to the citizens of Monterey. The
members, by a contribution of $25 each, raised the sum of $1,100
to provide for the entertainment, which was got up in return for
that given by the citizens about four weeks since.
The Hall was cleared of the forum and tables and decorated
with young pines from the forest. At each end were the American
colors, tastefully disposed across the boughs. Three chandeliers,
neither of bronze nor cut-glass, but neat and brilliant withal,
poured their light on the festivities.   At eight o'clock-the
fashionable ball-hour in Monterey-the guests began to assemble,
and in an hour afterward the Hall was crowded with nearly all the 
ELIDORADO.
Californian and American residents. There were sixty or seventy
ladies present, and an equal number of gentlemen, in addition to
the members of the Convention.  The dark-eyed daughters of
Monterey, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara mingled in pleasing
contrast with the fairer bloom of the trans-Nevadian belles. The
variety of feature and complexion was fully equalled by the variety
of dress. In the whirl of the waltz, a plain, dark, nun-like robe
would be followed by one of pink satin and gauze; next, perhaps,
a bodice of scarlet velvet with gold buttons, and then a rich
figured brocade, such as one sees on the stately dames of Titian.
The dresses of the gentlemen showed considerable variety, but
were much less picturesque. A complete ball-dress was a happiness attained only by the fortunate few. White kids could not be
had in Monterey for love or money, and as much as $50 was paid
by one gentleman for a pair of patent-leather boots. Scarcely a
single dress that was seen belonged entirely to its wearer, and I
thought, if the clothes had power to leap severally back to their
respective owners, some persons would have been in a state of
utter destitution. For my part, I was indebted for pantaloons and
vest to obliging friends. The only specimen of the former article
which I could get, belonged to an officer whose weight was considerably more than two hundred, but I managed to accommodate
them to my proportions by a liberal use of pins, notwithstanding
the difference of size. Thus equipped, with a buff military vest,
and worsted gaiters with very square toes, I took my way to the
lHail in company with M3ajor Smith and his brother.
The appearance of the company, nevertheless, was genteel and
respectable, and perhaps the genial, unrestrained social spirit that
possessed all present would have been less had there been more
uniformity of costume. Gen. Riley was there in full uniforms
160 
A BALL-ROOM PICTURE.
with the yellow sash he won at Contreras; Majors Canby, Hill and
Smith, Captains Burton and Kane, and the other officers stationed
in Monterey, accompanying him. In one group might be seen
Capt. Sutter's soldierly moustache and clear blue eye; in another,
the erect figure and quiet, dignified bearing of Gen. Vallejo. Don
Pablo de la Guerra, with his handsome, aristocratic features, was
the floor manager, and gallantly discharged his office. Conspicuous
among the native members were Don Miguel de Pedrorena and
Jacinto Rodriguez, both polished gentlemen and deservedly popular. Dominguez, the Indian member, took no part in the dance,
but evidently enjoyed the scene as much as any one present. The
most interesting figure to me was that of Padre Ramirez, who, in
his clerical cassock, looked on until a late hour. If the strongest
advocate of priestly gravity and decorum had been present, he
could not have found in his heart to grudge the good old padre the
pleasure that beamed upon his honest countenance.
The band consisted of two violins and two guitars, whose music
made up in spirit what it lacked in skill. They played, as it
seemed to me, but three pieces alternately, for waltz, contra-dance
and quadrille. The latter dance was evidently an unfamiliar one,
for once or twice the music ceased in the middle of a figure. Each
tune ended with a funny little squeak, something like the whistle
of the octave flute in Robert le Diable.   The players, however,
worked incessantly, and deserved good wages for their performance.
The etiquette of the dance was marked by that grave, stately
courtesy, which has been handed down from the old Spanish times.
The gentlemen invariably gave the ladies their hands to lead them
to their places on the floor; in the pauses of the dance both parties
stood motionless side by side, and at its conclusion the lady was
bravely led back to her seat.
161 
ELDORADO
At twelve o'clock supper was announced. The Court-Room
in the lower story had been fitted up for this purpose, and, as it
was not large enough to admit all the guests, the ladies were first
conducted thither and waited upon by a select committee. The
refreshments consisted of turkey, roast pig, beef, tongue and pates
with wines and liquors of various sorts, and coffee. A large supply
had been provided, but after everybody was served, there was not
much remaining. The ladies began to leave about two o'clock,
but when I came away, an hour later, the dance was still going on
with spirit.
The members met this morning at the usual hour, to perform
the last duty that remained to them-that of signing the Constitution.  They were all in the happiest humor, and the morning
was so bright and balmy that no one seemed disposed to call an
organization. Mr. Semple was sick, and Mr. Steuart, of San
Francisco, therefore called the meeting to order by moving Capt.
Sutter's appointment in his place. The Chair was taken by the
old pioneer, and the members took their seats around the sides of
the hall, which still retained the pine-trees and banners, left from
last night's decorations. The windows and doors were open, and
a delightful breeze came in from the Bay, whose blue waters
sparkled in the distance. The view from the balcony in front was
bright and inspiring. The town below-the shipping in the harbor-the pine-covered hills behind-were mellowed by the blue
October haze, but there was no cloud in the sky, and I could
plainly see, on the northern horizon, the mountains of Santa Cruz
and the Sierra de Gavilan.
After the minutes had been read, the Committee appointed to
draw up an Address to the People of California was called upon
to report, and Mr. Steuart, Chairman, read the Address. Its tone
162 
SIGNING THIE CONSTITUTION.
and sentiment met with universal approval, and it was adopted
without a dissenting voice. A resolution was then offered to pay
Lieut. Hamilton, who is now engaged in engrossing the Constitution upon parchment, the sum of $500 for his labor. This magnificent price, probably the highest ever paid for a similar service,
is on a par with all things else in California. As this was their
last session, the members were not disposed to find fault with it,
especially when it was stated by one of them that Lieut. Hamilton
had mwitten day and night to have it ready, and was still working
upon it, though with a lame and swollen hand. The sheet for the
signers' names was ready, and the Convention decided to adjourn
for half an hour and then meet for the purpose of signing.
I amused myself during the interval by walking about the town.
Everybody knew that the Convention was about closing, and it was
generally understood that Capt. Burton had loaded the guns at the
fort, and would fire a salute of thirty-one guns at the proper moment. The citizens, therefore, as well as the members, were in
an excited mood. Monterey never before looked so bright, so
happy, so full of pleasant expectation.
About one o'clock the Convention met again; few of the members, indeed, had left the hall. Mr. Semple, although in feeble
health, called them to order, and, after having voted Gen. Riley a
salary of $10,000, and Mr. Halleck, Secretary of State, $6,000 a
year, from the commencement of their respective offices, they proceeded to affix their names to the completed Constitution. At
this moment a signal was given; the American colors ran up the
flag-staff in front of the Government buildings, and streamed out
on the air. A second afterward the first gun boomed from the
fort, and its stirring echoes came back from one hill after another,
till they were lost in the distance.
163 
ELDORADO.
All the native enthusiasm of Capt Sutter's Swiss blood was
aroused; he was the old soldier again. He sprang from his seat,
and, waving his hand around his head, as if swinging a sword, exclaimed: " Gentlemen, this is the happiest day of my life. It makes
me glad to hear those cannon: they remind me of the time when
I was a soldier. Yes, I am glad to hear them-this is a great
day for California!" Then, recollecting himself, he sat down, the
tears streaming from his eyes. The members with one accord,
gave three tumultuous cheers, which were heard from one end of
the town to the other.  As the signing went on, gun followed gun
from the fort, the echoes reverberating grandly around the bay,
till finally, as the loud ring of the tkirty-yfirst was heard, there was
a shout: "That's for California!" and every one joined in giving
three times three for the new star added to our Confederation.
There was one handsome act I must not omit to mention. The
Captain of the English bark Volunteer, of Sidney, Australia, lying in the harbor, sent on shore in the morning for an American
flag. When the first gun was heard, a line of colors ran fluttering up to the spars, the stars and stripes flying triumphantly from
the main-top. The compliment was the more marked, as some
of the American vessels neglected to give any token of recognition to the event of the day.
The Constitution having been signed and the Convention dissolved, the members proceeded in a body to the house of Gen.
Riley. The visit was evidently unexpected by the old veteran.
When he made his appearance Captain Sutter stepped forward
and having shaken him by the hand, drew himself into an erect
attitude, raised one hand to his breast as if he were making a report to his commanding officer on the field of battle, and addressed
him as follows 
164 
GEN. RILEY AND THE MEMBERS.
"GENERAL: I have been appointed by the Delegates, elected
by the people of California to form a Constitution, to address
you in their names and in behalf of the whole people of California, and express the thanks of the Convention for the aid and
cooperation they have received from you in the discharge of the
l esponsible duty of creating a State Government. And, sir, the
Convention, as you will perceive from the official records, duly appreciates the great and important services you have rendered to
our common country, and especially to the people of California,
and entertains the confident belief that you will receive from the
whole of the people of the United States, when you retire from
your official duties here, that verdict so grateful to the heart of
the patriot:' Well done, thou good and faithful servant.' "
Gen. Riley was visibly affected by this mark of respect, no less
appropriate than well deserved on his part. The tears in his
eyes and the plain, blunt sincerity of his voice and manner, went
to the heart of every one present.  " Gentlemen:" he said, "I
never made a speech in my life.  I am a soldier-but I canfeel;
and I do feel deeply the honor you have this day conferred upon
me. Gentlemen, this is a prouder day to me than that on which
my soldiers cheered me on the field of Contreras. I thank you
all from my heart. I am satisfied now that the people have done
right in selecting Delegates to frame a Constitution. They have
chosen a body of men upon whom our country may look with
pride: you have framed a Constitution worthy of California.
And I have no fear for California while her people choose their
Representatives so wisely. Gentlemen, I congratulate you upon
the successful conclusion of your arduous labors; and I wish you
all happiness and prosperity."
The General was here interrupted with three hearty cheers
16iN 
ELDORADO.
which the members gave him, as Governor of California, followed
by three more, "as a gallant soldier, and worthy of his country's
glory." He then concluded in the following words: "I have
but one thing to add, gentlemen, and that is, that my success in
the affairs of California is mainly owing to the efficient aid rendered me by Capt. Halleck, the Secretary of State. He has stood
by me in all emergencies. To him I have always appealed when
at a loss myself; and he has never failed me."
This recognition of Capt. Halleck's talents and the signal service he has rendered to our authorities here, since the conquest,
was peculiarly just and appropriate. It was so felt by the members, and they responded with equal warmth of feeling by giving
three enthusiastic cheers for the Secretary of State.  They then
took their leave, many of them being anxious to start this afternoon for their various places of residence. All were in a happy
and satisfied mood, and none less so than the native members.
Pedrorena declared that this was the most fortunate day in the
history of California. Even Carillo, in the beginning one of our
most zealous opponents, displayed a genuine zeal for the Constitution, which he helped to frame under the laws of our Republic.
Thus closes the Convention; and I cannot help saying, with
Capt. Sutter, that the day which sees laid the broad and liberal
foundation of a free and independent State on the shores of the
Pacific, is a great day for California. As an American, I feel
proud and happy-proud, that the Empire of the West, the commerce of the great Pacific, the new highway to the Indies, forming the last link in that belt of civilized enterprise which now
clasps the world, has been established under my country's flag;
and happy, that in all the extent of California, from the glittering
snows of the Shaste to the burning deserts of the Colorado, no
I r)6 
MORAL OF THE CONVENTION
slave shall ever lift his arm to make the freedom of that flag a
mockery.
The members of the Convention may have made some blunders in the course of their deliberations; there may be some ob;ectionable clauses in the Constitution they have framed. But
where was there ever a body convened, under such peculiar circumstances?-where was ever such harmony evolved out of so
wonderful, so dangerous, so magnificent a chaos? The elements
of which the Convention was composed were no less various, and
in some respects antagonistic, than those combined in the mining
population. The questions they had to settle were often perplexing, from the remarkable position of the country and the absence
of all precedent.  Besides, many of them were men unused to
legislation. Some had for years past known no other life than
that of the camp; others had nearly forgotten all law in the wild
life of the mountains; others again were familiar only with that
practiced under the rule of a different race. Yet the courtesies
of debate have never been wantonly violated, and the result of
every conflict of opinion has been a quiet acquiescence on the part
of the minority. Now, at the conclusion, the only feeling is that
of general joy and congratulation.
Thus, we have another splendid example of the ease and security with which people can be educated to govern themselves.
From that chaos whence, under the rule of a despotism like the
Austrian, would spring the most frightful excesses of anarchy
and crime, a population of freemen peacefully and quietly de.
velops the highest form of civil order-the broadest extent of
liberty and security. Governments, bad and corrupt as many of
them are, and imperfect as they all must necessarily be, nevertheless at times exhibit scenes of true moral sublimity. What I
167 
ELDORADO
have to-day witnessed has so impressed me; and were I a be.
liever in omens, I would augur from the tranquil beauty of this
evening-from the clear sky and the lovely sunset hues on the
waters of the bay-more than all, from the joyous expression of
every face I see-a glorious and prosperous career for the STATE
OF CALIFORNIA!
168 
CHAPTER XVII.
SHORE AND FOREST.
No one can be in MIonterey a single night, without being startled
and awed by the deep, solemn crashes of the surf as it breaks
along the shore. There is no continuous roar of the plunging
waves, as we hear on the Atlantic seaboard; the slow, regular
swells-quiet pulsations of the great Pacific's heart-roll inward
in unbroken lines and fall with single grand crashes, with intervals of dead silence between. They may be heard through the
day, if one listens, like a solemn undertone to all the shallow
noises of the town, but at midnight, when all else is still, those
successive shocks fall upon the car with a sensation of inexpressible solemnity. All the air, from the pine forests to the sea, is
filled with a light tremor and the intermitting beats of sound are
strong enough to jar a delicate ear. Their constant repetition at
last produces a feeling something like terror. A spirit worn and
weakened by some scathing sorrow could scarcely bear the reverberation.
WThen there has been a gale outside, and a morning of dazzling
clearness succeeds a night of fog and cold wind, the swells are
loudest and most magnificent.  Then their lines of foam are flung
upward like a snowy fringe along the dark-blue hem of the sea,
VOL. I.     8 
ELDORADO.
and a light, glittering mist constantly rises from the hollow curve
of the shore. One quiet Sunday afternoon, when the uproar was
such as to be almost felt in the solid earth, I walked out along the
sand till I had passed the anchorage and could look on the open
Pacific. The surface of the bay was comparatively calm; but
within a few hundred yards of the shore it upheaved with a slow,
majestic movement, forming a single line more than a mile in
length, which, as it advanced, presented a perpendicular front of
clear green water, twelve feet in height. There was a gradual
curving-in of this emerald wall-a moment's waver-and the whole
mass fell forward with a thundering crash, hurling the shattered
spray thirty feet into the air.  A second rebound followed; and
the boiling, seething waters raced far up the sand with a sharp,
trampling, metallic sound, like the jangling of a thousand bars of
iron. I sat down on a pine log, above the highest wave-mark, and
watched this sublime phenomenon for a long time. The sand-hills
behind me confined and redoubled the sound, prolonging it from
crash to crash, so that the ear was constantly filled with it. Once,
a tremendous swell came in close on the heels of one that had just
broken, and the two uniting, made one wave, which shot far beyond the water-line and buried me above the knee. As far as I
could see, the shore was white with the subsiding deluge. It was
a fine illustration of the magnificent language of Scripture: " He
maketh the deep to boil like a pot; he maketh'the sea like a pot
of ointment; one would think the deep to be hoary."
The pine forest behind the town encloses in its depths many
spots of remarkable loneliness and beauty. The forest itself had
a peculiar charm for me, and scarcely a day passed without my
exploring some part of its solemn region.   The old, rugged trees,
blackened with many fires, are thickly bearded with long gray
170 
THE FOREST-SWIMMING A RAVINE.
moss, which gives out a hoarse, dull sound as the sea-wind sweeps
through them. The promontory of Monterey is entirely covered
with them, excepting only the little glens, or canfadas, which wind
their way between the interlocking bases of the hills. Here, the
grass is thick and luxuriant through the whole year; the pines
shut out all sight but the mild, stainless heaven above their tops;
the air is fragrant with the bay and laurel, and the light tread ot
a deer or whirr of a partridge, at intervals, alone breaks the deli cious solitude. The far roar of the surf, stealing up through the
avenues of the forest, is softened to a murmur by the time it
reaches these secluded places.  No more lovely hermitages for
thought or the pluming of callow fancies, can be found among the
pine-bowers of the Villa Borghese.
After climbing all of the lesser heights, and barking my hand on
the rough bark of a branchless pine, in the endeavor to climb it
for a look-out, I started one afternoon on an expedition to the top
of a bald summit among the hills to the southward.   It was apparently near at hand and easy of access, but after I had walked
several miles, I saw, from the top of a ridge, that a deep valleya chasm, almost-was to be passed before I could reach even its
foot. The side seemed almost precipitous and the loose stones
slid under my feet; but by hanging to the low limbs of trees, I
succeeded in getting to the bottom. The bed of the valley, not
more than a hundred yards in breadth, was one matted mass of
wild vines, briars and thorny shrubs. I trusted to the strength of
my corduroys for defence against them, and to a good horse-pistol
should I stumble on some wild beast's lair-and plunged in. At
the first step I sank above my head, without touching the bottom.
The briars were woven so closely that it was impossible to press
through or creep under them; I could only flounder along, draw
171
I 
ELDORADO.
ing myself up by the greatest exertions, to sink into another gulf
a few inches in advance. M3y hands and clothes were torn, my
mouth filled with dry and bitter pollen from the withered vines
that brushed my face, and it was only after an hour's labor that I
reached the other side, completely exhausted.
I climbed the opposite hill, thinking my object nearly attained,
when lo! another, a deeper and rougher chasm still intervened.
The sun was already down and I gave up the journey. From the
end of the ridge I had attained, I overlooked all the circumference
of the bay. Behind the white glimmer of the town the forest rose
with a gradual sweep, while before me lay a wide extent of undulating hills, rolling off to the Salinas Plains, which appeared beyond
"Dim tracts and vast, robed in the lustrous gloom
Of leaden-colored even, and fiery hills
Mingling their flames with twilight, on the verge
Of the remote horizon."   *
Taking another road, I wandered home in the dusk, not without
some chance of losing myself among the frequent hollows and
patches of chapparal. I lay in wait half an hour for two deer, a
glimpse of whom I had caught in the woods, but as I had not the
keen sight of a Kentucky hunter, I las obliged to go home without them.
The opposite shore of the promontory contains many striking
and picturesque points, to which the Montereyans often resort oni
parties of pleasure. One of the most remarkable of these is PPunta
de los Cipreses, or Cypress Point, which I visited several times
One of my most memorable days, while at Monterey, was spent
there in company with my friend, Ross Browne. We started
early in the morning, carrying with us a loaf of bread and a piece
172 
DINNER BY THE SEA-SIDE.
of raw beef, as materials for dinner. After threading the mazes
of the forest for several miles, we came upon the bleak sand-hills
piled like snow-drifts between the forest and the beach. The bare
tongue of land which jutted out beyond them was covered with a
carpet of maritime plants, among which I noticed one with a beautiful star-like flower: another, with succulent, wax-like leaves,
bears a fruit which is greatly relished by the Californians.
The extremity of the Point is a mass of gray rock, worn by the
surf into fantastic walls and turrets. The heavy swells of the
open sea, stiiking their bases with tremendous force, fill their
crevices with foaming spray, which pours off in a hundred cataracts as the wave draws back for another shock. In the narrow
channels between the rocks, the pent waters roll inland with great
force, flooding point after point and flinging high into the air the
purple flags and streamers of sea-weed, till they reach the glassy,
sheltered pools, that are quietly filled and emptied with every
pulsation of the great sea without. A cold mist hung over the
sea, which heightened the wildness and bleakness of the scene and
made it inspiring. Flocks of sea-gulls uttered their shrill, piping
cry as they flew over us, and a seal now and then thrust up his
inquisitive head, outside of the surf.
We collected the drift-wood which lay scattered along the
shore, and made a roaring fire on the rocks. After having sliced
and spitted our meat and set our bread to toast, we crept into the
crevices that opened to the sea, and at the momentary risk of
being drenched, tore off the muscles adhering to them. When well
roasted, their flesh is tender and nearly as palatable as that
of an oyster; it is of a bright orange color, with a little black
beard at one end, which is intensely bitter and must be rejected.
We seasoned our meat by dipping it into the sea, and when our
173 
ELDORADO.
mneal was ready, ate it from the pearly shells of the aveltne, which
strewed the sand. It was a rare dinner, that, with its grand ac
companiment of surf-music and the clanging sea-gulls as our
attendants. On our way home we came suddenly on a pack of
seven black wolves, who had been feeding on the body of a large
stranded fish. They gave a howl of surprise and started off at
full speed, through the bushes, where I attempted to follow them,
b-at my legs were no match for their fleetness.
I rode to Point Pinos one afternoon, in company with Major
Hill. Our way was through the Pine Forest; we followed no
regular path, but pushed our horses through chapparal, leaped
them over trees that had been uprooted in the last winter's
storms, and spurred them at a gallop through the cleared intervals. A narrow ridge of sand intervenes between the pines and
the sea. Beyond it, the Point-a rugged mass of gray sandstone
rock, washed into fantastic shapes, juts out into the Pacific. The
tide was at its ebb, but a strong wind was blowing, and the shock
and foam of the swells was magnificent.   We  scrambled from
ledge to ledge till we gained the extremity of the Point, and there,
behind the last rock that fronts the open sea, found a little sheltered cove, whose sides and bottom were covered with star-fish,
avelones, muscles, and polypi of brilliant colors. There were
prickly balls of purple, rayed fish of orange and scarlet, broad
flower-like animals of green and umber hue, and myriads of little
crabs and snails, all shining through the clear green water. The
avelone, which is a univalve, found clinging to the sides of rocks.
furnishes the finest mother-of-pearl. We had come provided with
a small iron bar, which was more than a match for their suction
power, and in a short space of time secured a number of their
beautiful shells. Among the sand-hills and even in some parts
174 
GEOLOGY AND INDIAN TRADITION
of the forest, the earth is strewed with them.   The natives were
formerly in the habit of gathering them into large heaps and making limne therefrom.
The existence of these shells in the soil is but one of the facts
which tend to prove the recent geological formation of this part
of the coast. There is every reason to believe that a great part
of the promontory on which Monterey is built, was at no very remote period of time covered by the sea. A sluggish salt lagoon,
east of the Catholic Church, was not more than twenty years ago
a part of the bay, from which it is now separated by a sandy meadow, quarter of a mile in breadth. According to an Indian tradition, of comparatively modern origin, the waters of San Francisco
Bay once communicated with the bay of Monterey by the valley
of San Jose and the Rio del Pajaro. I should think a level of
fifty feet, or perhaps less-above the present one, would suffice
to have effected this. The other Indian tradition, that the outlet
of the Golden Gate was occasioned by violent disruption of the
hills, through the means of an earthquake, is not based on
natural evidence. The sloughs and marshes in the valley of San
Joaquin, and around the Tulare Lakes, present every appearance
of having been left by the drainage of a subsiding ocean. A
thorough geological exploration of California would undoubtedly
bring to light many strange and interesting facts connected with
her physical formation.
On our way home, we discovered a sea-otter, basking on an
isolated rock.  Major Hill crept stealthily to within about fifty
yards of him, took good aim and fired. He gave a convulsive leap
and tumbled into the sea, evidently badly wounded, if not killed.
His boady floated out on the waves, and a flock of sea-mews, att acted by the blood, flew round him, uttering their piping cry
175 
ELDORADO.
and darting down to the water.  The otter is rare on this part of
the coast, and thll skin of one is valued at $40.
I shall notice but one other ramble about the forests and shores
of Monterey. This was a visit to the ex-Mission of Carmel and
Point Lobos, which I made in company with MIr. Lyon, one of the
Secretaries of the Convention. A well-traveled road, leading over
the hills, conducted us to the Mission, which is situated on the
Pacific side of the promontory, at the head of a shallow bay. The
beautiful but deserted valley in which it stands is threaded by the
Rio de Carmel, whose waters once gave unfailing fertility to its now
neglected gardens. The Mission building is in the form of a hollow
Square, with a spacious court-yard, overlooked by a heavy belfry
and chapel-dome of sun-dried bricks. The out-buildings of the
Indian retainers and the corrals of earth that once herded thousands of cattle are broken down and tenantless. We climbed into
the tower and struck the fine old Spanish bells, but the sound
called no faces into the blank windows.
We bribed a red-headed boy, who was playing with two or three
younger children in the court-yard, to bring us the keys of the
church.  HIis father-an American who had been many years in
the country and taken unto himself a native wife-followed, and
opened for us the weather-beaten doors. The interior of the
Church was lofty, the ceiling a rude attempt at a Gothic arch,
and the shrine a huge, faded mass of gilding and paint, with some
monkish portraits of saints. A sort of side-chapel near the entrance was painted with Latin mottos and arabesque scrolls which
exhibited a genuine though uncultivated taste for adornment.
The walls were hung with portraits of saints, some black and some
white, some holding croziers, some playing violins and some baptizing Indians. Near the altar is the tomb of Padre Junipero
176 
THIE SEA-LIONS ON POINT LOBOS.
Seria, the founder of M3onterey and the zealous pioneer in the
settlement and civilization of California.
We reached Point Lobos, which is three miles beyond the Mis.
sion, by a ride along the beach. It is a narrow, bluff headland,
overgrown with pines nearly to its extremity. The path brought
us to the brink of a stony declivity, shelving down to the sea.
Off the Point, and at the distance of not more than two hundred
yards, is a cluster of low rocks, some of which are covered with a
deposit of guano. As we reined up on the edge of the bluff, a
most extraordinary sound met our ears-a mingled bellowing,
groaning and snorting, unlike anything I had ever heard.  The
rocks seemed to be in motion at the first glance, and one might
readily have imagined that the sound proceeded from their uneasy
heaving on the waves.  But, on looking more closely, I saw that
their visible surface was entirely covered with the huge bodies of
the seals and sea-lions who had congregated there-great, unwieldy, wallowing creatures, from eight to fifteen feet in length,
rolling to and fro among each other and uttering their peculiar
bellowing cry. Occasionally, a group of them would slip off into
the water, and attracted by their curiosity, approach the'shiore.
The sea-lions, with their broad heads, rough manes and square
fronts, showed some resemblance to the royal beast, when viewed
in front. They are frequently captured and killed by whalers for
the sake of their blubber, which yields a considerable quantity of
oil.
I attended the Catholic Church in Monterey one Sunday, to
hear good old Padre Ramirez. The church is small and with
scanty decorations; the nave and gallery were both crowded by
the Californian families and Indians. Near the door hung opposite pictures of Heaven and Hell-the former a sort of pyramid
8*
177 
ELDORADO.
inhabited by straight white figures, with an aspect of solemn distress; the latter enclosed in the expanded jaws of a dragon,
swarming with devils who tormented their victims with spears and
pitchforks. The church music was furnished by a diminutive
parlor-organ, and consisted of a choice list of polkas, waltzes and
fandango airs. Padre Ramirez preached a very excellent sermon,
recommending his Catholic flock to follow the example of the
Protestants, who, he said, were more truly pious than they, and
did much more for the welfare of their church. I noticed that,
during the sermon, several of the Californians disappeared through
a small door at the end of the gallery. Following them, out of
curiosity, I found them all seated in the belfry and along the coping of the front, composedly smoking their cigars.
There was a little gold excitement in Monterey during my
visit, on account of the report that a washing of considerable richness had been discovered near the Mission of San Antonio, among
the Coast Mountains, sixty miles to the southward. According
to the accounts which reached us, a number of people had commenced working there, with fair success, and traders were beginning to send their teams in that direction. Gold was also said to
exist in small quantities near the Mission of Carmel, where, indeed, there were strong geological indications of it.  These discoveries, however, were too slight to affect the repose of the town.
which a much greater excitement could scarcely have shaken.
178 
CHAPTER XVIII,
OLD CALIFORNIA-ITS MISSIONS AND ITS LANDS.
THREE or four weeks of my stay in Monterey were principally
passed in the office of the Civil Government, where I was employed in examining all the records relating to land titles and
Mission property in California.  Notwithstanding the apparent
dryness of the subject, I found the documents curious and interesting. The smoky papel sellado on which they were writtenthe naive and irregular orthography-the rude drawings and maps
which accompanied them and the singular laws and customs of
which they gave evidence, had a real charm to any one possessing
the slightest relish for the odor of antiquity. Most interesting of
all was a box of records, brought from La Paz, Lower California,
where many similar boxes, equally precious, were used for the
wadding of Castro's cannon.  Amnong its contents were letters of
instruction from the Viceroy Galvez, original letters of Padre
Junipero Serra and mandates from the Bishops of Mexico to th
Miissionaries in Sonora and California. I was never tired of hear
ing Capt. Halleck, the Secretary of State, whose knowledge of the
early history of California is not equalled by any one in the country, talk of those marvellous times and make clea  the misty
meaning of the rare old papers. 
ELDORADO.
The extensive history of Vanegas, an abridgment of which has
been introduced by Mr. Forbes into his work on California, is the
most complete of all which have been written. It is mainly confined, however, to the settlement of the Peninsula, and throws no
light on the after decay and ruin of the Missions of Alta California. These establishments, to which solely are owing the settlement and civilization of the country, have now entirely fallen
from their former supremacy, and are of no further importance in
a civil view. Some facts concerning the manner of their downfall, which I learned during my labors among the archives, may
be not  inappropriately given  here.   Henceforth, under  the
ascendancy of American institutions, they have no longer an
existence: shall we not, therefore, now that their day is over,
take one backward glance over the places they have filled and the
good or evil they have accomplished?
The history of their original foundation is one of remarkable
interest. Through the perseverance and self-denying labors of a
few Catholic Priests alone, the natives, not only of the Peninsula
and the Coast, as far north as San Francisco Bay, but the extensive provinces of Sonora and Sinaloa, were taught the arts of
civilized life and subjected to the dominion of Spain. The lives
of Padres Kino, Salvatierra and Ugarte exhibit instances of danger, adventure and heroic endurance scarcely inferior to those of
Cortez and Coronado. The great work they accomplished on the
Peninsula and in the Northern Provinces of Mexico, in the beginning of the last century, was followed fifty years later by Padre
Junipero Serra, who in 1769 founded the Mission of San Diego,
the first settlement in Alta California. In the succeeding year
he landed at Monterey, and by a solemn mass which was per.
formed under an oak-tree still standing near the fort, took posses.
ISO 
RISE OF THE MISSIONS.
sion of the spot.  After laboring for thirteen years with indefatigable zeal and activity, during which time he founded nine m ssions,
the good Padre died in 1784, and was buried in the grave-yard of
Carmel. His successors continued the work, and by the year
1800 had increased the number of Missions to sixteen. Since
that time only three more have been added. The Missions are
named and located as follows: San Rafael and San Francisco Solano, north of San Francisco Bay; Dolores, near San Francisco;
Santa Clara and San Jose, near Pueblo San Jose; San Juan,
Santa Cruz and Carmel, near Monterey; Soledad, San Antonio
and San Miguel, in the Valley of Salinas River; San Luis Obispo;
La Purisimna, Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara and San Buenaventura,
near Santa Barbara; San Gabriel and San Fernando, near Los
Angeles;  and San  Luis Rey, San Juan Capistrano and San
Diego, on the coast, south of Los Angeles.
The wealth and power in the possession of these Missions naturally excited the jealousy of Government, after California was
organized into a territory. The padres, however, had been granted
almost unlimited privileges by the earlier Viceroys, and for a long
time no authority could be found to dispossess them. A decree
of the Spanish Cortes, in 1813, relating to the Missions of South
America, was made the basis of repeate4 attempts to overthrow
the temporal power of the padres, but without effect, and firom 1800
to 1830, they revelled securely in the full enjoyment of their
wealthy establishments.
That, indeed, was their age of gold-a right bounteous and prosperous time, toward which many of the Californian and even of the
old American residents, look back with regret. Then, each Mission was a little principality, with its hundred thousand acres, and
ts twenty thousand head of cattle. All the Indian population,
I Iq I 
ELDORADO.
except the " Gentiles" of the mountains, were the subjects of the
padres, cultivating for them their broad lands and reverencing
them with the same devout faith as they did the patron saint of the
settlement.  The spacious galleries, halls and courtyards of the
Missions exhibited every sign of order and good government, and
from the long rows of adobe houses flanking them an obedient
crowd came forth, at the sound of morning and evening chimes.
The tables of the padres were laden with the finest fruits and
vegetables from their thrifty gardens and orchards, and flasks of
excellent wine from their own vineyards. The stranger who came
that way was entertained with a lavish hospitality for which all recompense was proudly refused, and on leaving, was welcome to
exchange his spent horse for his pick out of the caballada.  Nearly
all the commerce of the country with other nations was in their
hands. Long habits of management and economy gave them a
great aptitude for business of all kinds, and each succeeding year
witnessed an increase of their wealth and authority.
The first blow given to their privileges, was a decree of the Supreme Government of MIexico, dated August 17, 1833, by which
the Missions of Upper and Lower California were secularized and
became  public property.   They were  converted  by law into
parishes, and the padres, from being virtual sovereigns of their
domains, became merely curates, possessing only spiritual powers
over their former subjects. Instead of managing the revenue of
the estates, they were paid from $2,000 to $2,500, at the option
of Government. The church was still kept for religious purposes.
and the principal building for the curate's house, while other portions of the establishment were appropriated to the purposes ot
court-houses and schools.
This law of course emancipated the Indians from the authority
182 
THEIR DOWNFALL.
of the padres, and likewise absolved the latter from their obligations to maintain them.  To provide for their support, therefore,
the Government granted to every head of a family a lot from one
to four hundred varas square, which was assigned to the use of
themselves and their descendants, but could not be sold by them
under penalty of the land reverting back to the public domain.
The temporal affairs of each Mission were placed under the charge
of an Ayuntamiento, who was commissioned to explain to the Indians the new relations, and put them in possession of the land
A portion of the revenue was applied to their benefit, and in return therefor they were obliged to assist in cultivating the common
lands of the new pueblos or parishes.   By a further decree, in
1840, Governor Alvarado substituted majordomos in place of the
ayuntamientos, giving them power to manage the temporal affairs
of the Missions, but not to dispose of the revenues or contract'
debts without the permission of Government.
These decrees put a stop to the prosperity of the Missions. The
Padres, seeing the establishments taken out of their hands, employed
themselves no longer in superintending their cultivation; while
the Indians, though free, lost the patient guidance and encouragenment they had received, and relapsed into their hereditary habits
of sloth and stupidity.  Many of them scattered from their homes,
resuming a roving life among the mountains, and very soon several
of the Missions almost ceased to have an existence. Gov. Micheltorena, therefore, in 1843, in a pompous proclamation setting forth
his loyalty to the Catholic Faith, attempted to restore the former
state of things by delivering twelve of the Missions into the hands
of the priests.  He declared, at the same time, that all the cattle
and property should be given up to them, but that those portions
of the Missioni estates which had been granted to individuals should
183 
ELDORADO.
still remain in possession of the latter.  The proclamation, so far
as I can leain, never went into effect, and the chasing of Micheltorena from the country soon put an end to his plans.
In the year 1S45 Governor Pio Pico completed the obliteration
of the M1issions. By a Government decree he directed that the
Missions of San Juan, Carmel, San Francisco Solano and San
Juan Capistrano should be sold at auction on a specified day.
One month's notice was given to the Indian neophytes of the
Missions of San Rafael, Dolores, Soledad, San Miguel and La
Purisima to return to the cultivation and occupancy of the lands
assigned them by Government, otherwise the same should be declared unoccupied and disposed of like the preceding. All the
remaining Missions, except the Episcopal Mansion at Santa Barbara, were to be rented.  Of the proceeds of these sales and leases
one-third was to be used for the support of the resident priests,
one-third for the benefit of the Indians, and the remaining third
constituting the Pious Fund of California to be applied to purposes
of education and beneficence.
The Indian neophytes of the five last-namied Missions having
neglected to assemble, Pico, by a decree in October, 1845, ordered that they should be sold to the highest bidder; and at the
same time, that those of San Fernando, Buenaventura, Santa
Barbara and Santa Ynez, should be rented for the term of nine
years. This was the last valid decree touching the Missions.
The remaining Missions of Santa Clara, San Jose, Santa Cruz,
San Antonio, San Luis Obispo, San Gabriel and San Diego were
therefore thrown immediately into the hands of the United States
after possession had been taken by our troops; and all Mission
property not legally granted or sold under the laws of California,
becomes part of the public domain.
184 
EXTENT OF THE MISSION PROPERTY.
I endeavored to obtain some statistics of the land, cattle and
other property belonging to the various Missions.  The data on
record, however, partake of the same indefinite character as the
description of lands for which grants are asked. I found, it is
true, an account of the boundaries of most of the Missions, with
the quality of the land embraced by theIn, but the particulars,
notwithstanding they were given by the resident padres themselves,
are very unsatisfactory. The lands are described as lying between
certain hills and rivers, or embracing certain plains; sometimes
they are spoken of as cahadas or llanos only. Some are of great
extent; the Mission lands of San Antonio contain two hundred
and twenty-five square leagues and those of San Miguel five hundred and thirty-two. The others vary from twenty to one hundred square leagues. At a rough guess, I should compute the
original Mission lands at about eight millions of acres; probably
four to five millions of acres have since been disposed of by saleq
and grants. The remaining three millions of acres, comprising
the finest lands in California, are the property of the United States.
As much of it has been cultivated, or is capable of immediate
adaptation for the planting of orchards, gardens and vineyards, the
sale or disposal of it would seem to require different regulations
from those which govern other portions of the public domain.
The Mission buildings now are but wrecks of their former condition. The broken walls, deserted corrals, and roofless dwellings
which surround them, are but melancholy evidences of their ancient prosperity.  Their character for wealth and hospitality has
passed away with the rule of the padres and the vassalage of the
Indians. They have had their day. They have fulfilled (and
nobly, too, be it acknowledged) the purpose of their creation. I
see no cause for lamenting, as many do, over their downfall.  The
185 
ELDORADO.
spiiit of Enterprise which has now taken firm r(ot in the soil, will
make thli,r neglcted gardens blossom again, and deck their waste
fields with abundant harvests.
A subject of more direct interest to the California emigrants, is
that of the character and validity of the grants made to settlers
previous to the acquisition of the country.   The extravagant pitch
to which land speculation has risen, and the uncertain tenure by
which many of the best locations along the coast are held, render
some official examination and adjustment very necessary. The
amount of speculation which has already been done on an insecure
basis, will give rise to endless litigation, when the proper tribunal
shall have been established. Meanwhile, a brief account of the
character of the grants, derived partly from Capt. Halleck's admirable Report on California Affahis and partly from an examination of the grants themselves, may not be without its interest and
uses.
The first general decree for the granting of lands bears date of
June, 1779, when Governor Neve, then established at Monterey,
drew up a series of regulations, which were approved by the King
of Spain, and for more than forty years remained in force, with
little modification, throughout the territory.  To each poblador
(settler) was granted a bounty of $116 44 per annum for the first
two years, and $60 per annuml for the three following, with the
loan of horses, cattle and farmiing utensils from the Government
supplies. Settlers in pueblos, or towns, had likewise the privilege
of pasturing their stock on the lands belonging to the town. Many
of the minor regulations established in this decree of Gov. Neve,
are sufficiently amusing. For instance, no poblador is allowed to
sell any of his animals, until he shall possess fifteen mares and one
stallion, fifteen cows and one bull, and so on, down to cocks and
186 
THE LAW FOR GRANTING LANDS.
hens.  fI( mlust tlh i sll li i. xt a stock to the Government, which
of course pays its ownl pirica.
These regulations, designed only for the first rude stage of
colonization, were superseded by the decree of the Mexican Republic for the colonization of its Territories, dated Aug. 18, 1824,
which was further limited and defined by a series of regulations,
dated Nov. 21, 1828. Up to the time when California passed
into the hands of the United States, no modifications were made
to these acts, and they consequently remain in force. Their most
important provisions are as follows:
The Governor of the Territory is empowered to make grants
of lands to contractors (for towns or colonies) and individuals or
heads of families. Grants of the first-named class require the approval of the Supreme Government to make them valid. For the
latter the ratification of the Territorial Assembly is necessary;
but in no case can the Governor make grants of any land lying
within ten leagues of the sea-coast or within twenty leagues of
the boundaries of any foreign power, without the previous approval of the Supreme Government. The authorities of towns,
however, are allowed to dispose of lands lying within the town
limits, the proceeds to be paid into the municipal fund. The
maximum extent of a single grant is fixed at one square league of
irrigable land, four of temporal, or land where produce depends on
the seasons, and six of land for pasturing and rearing cattleeleven square leagues (about fifty thousand acres) in all. The
minimum extent is two hundred varas square (a vara is a little
less than a yard) of irrigable land, eight hundred of temporal, and
twelve hundred of pasturage. The size of a house lot in any of
the pueblos is fixed at one hundred varas. The irregular spaces
aid patches lying between the boundaries of grants throughout
187 
ELDORADO.
the country ai e to be distributed among the colonists who occupy
the adjoining land, or their children, preference being given to
those who have distinguished themselves by their industry and
moral deportment.
All grants not made in accordance with these regulations,firom
the time of their adoption up to July 7, 1846, when the American
flag was raised at Monterey and the Departmental Junta broken
up, are not strictly valid, according to Mexican law.   The restrictions against lands within ten leagues of the sea-coast   ecrc
never removed.  The only legal grant of such land, was that made
to Captain Stephen Smith, of the port of Bodega, which received
the approval of the Supreme Gov  unment.  In the Macnamara
Colonization Grant, made by Pio Pico, only four days before the
occupation of Monterey by our forces, it is expressly stated that
the consent of the Mexican Government is necessary to make it
valid. Yet, in spite of this distinct provision, large tracts of this
coast, from San Francisco to San Diego, were granted to citizens
and colonists by Figueroa, Alvarado and other Governors. All
these acts, having never received the sanction of the Supreme
Government, would, by a literal construction of the law, be null
and void. The Supreme Government of Mexico always reserved
to itself the right of using any portion of the coast, promontories,
harbors or public land of the interior, for the purpose of erecting
forts, arsenals or national storehouses.
There are on file in the archives about five hundred and eighty
grants, made by various Governors between 1828 and 1846.
Probably one hundred of these lack the full requirements of the
Mexican law-exclusive of those located on the sea-coast. Some
are complete and satisfactory in all respects, to the signature of
the Governor, but the concurrence of the Territorial Assembly
]Ss 
UNCERTAIN BOUNDARIES OF GRANTS.
is wanting. In others the final concession is withheld for the purI~ose of procuring further information. Others again, appear to
have been neglected by the proper authorities, and a few, on further testimony, have been denied. As the owners of such lands,
in many instances, are entirely unaware of the imperfect nature
of their titles, many sales and transfers have been made in good
faith, which will hereafter be invalidated. Some individuals have
acted in a more reprehensible manner, by making sales of lands to
which they had no legal claim.
In settling the boundaries of grants, which are sound in every
respect, there will nevertheless be some difficulty. Much of the
land was never surveyed, the locality and character being rudely
sketched on paper by the petitioner, sometimes without any specified extent, and sometimes with a guess at the quantity, which is
often very wide of the mark. Such sketch, or topographical outline is, I believe, required by law, and the collection embraced in the
number of grants and applications on file, exhibits a most curious variety of attempts at drawing.  In the absence of any further clue,
it would be difficult to find many of the localities or anything in
the least resembling them. The boundaries are frequently given
as included within certain hills, arroyos, rivers and marshes, but
the space so designated frequently contains double the amount of
land asked for.
On the lands throughout the country, known and recognized as
belonging  to the United  States, a number of emigrants have
established themselves, making choice of advantageous locations,
and trusting to obtain possession by right of preeminence as settlers. Nearly all of the fords on the Sacramento and San
Joaquin and their tributaries-the springs and meadow lands at
the bases of the mountains —and all sites which seem calculated
189 
ELDORADO.
for future towns or villages-have been appropriated in like manner. The discovery of gold has rendered any bounty unnecessary, to promote emigration.
I endeavored to ascertain the exact extent of granted land in
California, as well as the amount which will remain to the United
States; but owing to the indefinite character of many of the
grants, and the absence of correct statistical information, was
unable fully to succeed. The geographical limnits within which
the grants are embraced, are more easily traced. By referring to
Fremont's Map of California, a line drawn from  the mouth of
Russian River, on the Pacific, north of Bodega, to the mouth of
Rio Chico, a tributary of the Sacramento, and continued to the
Sierra Nevada, would comprise tne northern limit.  From this line
to the Oregon boundary-a region two hundred and fifty miles in
length by two hundred in breadth-belongs to the public domain.
The land about the mouths of the Sacramento and San Joaquin,
with some tracts on the Rio Americano, Cosumne, Calaveras
and Mariposa, is included in various grants, but the remainder
of the settled land as you go southward, is upon the western side
of the Coast Range, and all of it within ninety miles of the
sea. The best agricultural districts-those of Napa, San Jose
and Los Angeles-are already settled and cultivated, but the
upper portion of the Sacramento country, the valleys of Trinity
River and Russian River, and the lower slopes of the Sierra Nevada, embrace a great deal of arable land of excellent quality.
The valleys of the Coast Range north of San Francisco Bay have
been but partially explored.
The entire gold district of the Sierra Nevada belongs to the
United States, with the exception of Johnson's Ranche on Bear
Creek, Sutter's possessions on the Rio Americano, a grant on the
190 
DISPOSITION OF TIlE GOLD LAND.
Cosiumne, and Alvarado's Ranche on the Mariposa, now in possession of Col. Fr(!mont.  Some anxiety is felt among the mining
population, as to the disposition which the Government will make
of these vast storehouses of wealth.  The day before the adjournment of the Convention, a resolution was offered, requesting Congress not to dispose of any part of the gold region, but to suffer it
to remain free to all American citizens. It was defeated by a
bare majority, but many of those voting nay, avowed themselves
in favor of the spirit of the resolution, objecting to its adoption on
the ground of propriety alone.  The population, generally, is opposed to the sale of gold land for the reason that it would probably fall into the hands of speculators, to the disadvantage of the
mining class. The lease of land would present the same objections, besides being but an uncertain privilege.  Th  fairest and
most satisfactory course would be the imposition of a small per
centage on the amount of gold actually dug or washed out by
each individual or company. The miners would not object to
this; they only oppose any regulation which would give speculators a chance to elbow them out of their' bars' and' pockets.'
l)i 
CHAPTER XIX.
RETURN TO SAN FRANCISCO.
AFTER the adjournment of the Convention, Monterey relapsed
into its former quiet, and I soon began to feel the old impatience
and longing for motion and change. The season was waning, and
barely time enough remained for the accomplishment of my de.
sign of a journey to the head of the Sacramento Valley.  My
friend, Lieut. Beale, with whom I had beguiled many an hour in
tracing out plans for overland journeys and explorations, which
should combine a spice of bold adventure with the acquisition of
permanently useful knowledge, had left a week previous, in company with Col. Fr6mnont and his family. A heavy fog had for
several days lain like a bar across the mouth of the bay, and we
feared that the anxiously-awaited steamer from Panama would
pass without touching. This was a question of interest, as there
had been no mail from the Atlantic States for more than two
months, and the general impatience on that account was painful
to witness. Under these circumstances, I grew tired of looking
on the fresh, sparkling, intense blue of the bay and the dewyviolet shadows of the mountains beyond it, and so one fine morning thrust my few moveables into my knapsack and rolled up my
sarape for a start. 
JOURNEY IN AN AMBULANCE.
I had a better reliance than my own feet, in making the jour ney   Mr. Semple, ex-President of the Convention, with his son
and two of the ex-Clerks, were about leaving, and I was offered
the means of conveyance as far as Pueblo San Jose. Mr. Semple
was barely recovering from a severe attack of typhoid fever, and
was obliged to be conveyed in an army ambulance, which was
furnished by Capt. Kane, of the Quartermaster's Department.
We started at noon, under a hot, bright sun, though the entrance
to the bay was still covered by the bar of dark fog. The steamer
Unicorn was anxiously expected, and as a gun had been heard
during the night, Gen. Riley ordered a shot to be fired from the
fort every half-hour, as a guide for the steamer, should she be
outside.  Had there been any certainty of her arrival, our haste
to receive the long-delayed mail would have induced us to post
pone the journey.
We toiled through the desolate sand-hills to the Salinas River,
and lanched again upon its broad, level plains. Our team consisted of four Californian horses, neither of which had ever been a
week in harness, and consequently were not broken of the dashing
gait to which they had been accustomed. The driver was an
emigrant who arrived two months previous, by the Gila route,
after suffering the most terrible privations. We had all our provisions, blankets and camping utensils stowed in the ambulance,
and as it was not large enough to contain our bodies likewise, two
of the party followed in a light wagon. Under the steady gallop
at which our fiery horses drew us, the blue ridges of the Sierra de
Gavilan soon rose high and bleak before us, and the timbered
shores of the plain came in sight. Our crossing of the arroyos
would have startled even an Alleghany stage-driver.  When one
of these huge gullies yawned before us, there was no check of our
voL. I.   9
393
'I 
ELDORADO.
speed. We dashed sheer off the brink at an angle of fifty degrees; there was a giddy sensation of falling for an instant, and
in the next our heavy vehicle regained the level, carried half-way
up the opposite steep by the momentum of our descent. The
excitement of such a plunge was delightful: the leaping of a fivebarred gate on an English hunter would have been tame to it.
On the skirt of the timber Mr. Semple pointed out the scene of
a battle between the Californian and American troops, during the
war. Foster, a scout belonging to the company of Emigrant Volunteers, while reconnoitering along the bases of the mountains,
discovered a body of two hundred Californians on the plain. He
immediately sent word to Burrows' company of Americans, then
at the Mission San Juan, and in the meantime attacked them with
the small force accompanying him. The fight was carried on
among the trees.  When the Americans-sixty-six in all-arrived
on the field, they found Foster dead, with eleven wounds on his
body.  Four Americans and seven Californians were shot in the
fight, which resulted in the defeat of the latter and their retreat
up the plains to their post at the Mission of Soledad. Foster was
buried where he fell, under a large oak, near the road.
We entered the mountains, and encamped about dusk in a
sheltered glen, watered by a little stream. Some benevolent predecessor had left us a good stock of wood, and in a short time the
ruddy lights of our fire were dancing over the gnarled oak-boughs.
and their streamers of grey moss. I tried my hand, for the first
time, at making coffee, while the others spitted pieces of meat on
long twigs and thrust them into the blaze.  My coffee was approved
by the company, and the seasoning of the keen mountain air was
not lost on our meal. The pipe of peace-never omitted by the
genuine trapper or mountaineer-followed; after which we spread
194 
NIGHT AND MORNING IN THE MOUNTAINS.
our blankets on the ground and looked at the stars through the
chinks of the boughs, till we dropped asleep. There is no rest so
sweet as that taken on the hard bosom of Mother Earth. I slept
soundly in our spacious bed-chamber, undisturbed even by the con tinued barking whine of the coyotes. The cool, sparkling dawn
called us up betimes, to rekindle the fire and resume cooking.
When the sun made his appearance above the hills our driver said:
"There comes old Hannah, to open the stutters of our house and
let in the light"-the most ludicrous combination of scullionish
and poetical ideas it was ever my lot to hear. I must acknowledge,
however, that " Old Hannah" did her office well, giving our house
the most cheery illumination.
As we wound through the lonely passes of the mountains, Mr.
Semple pointed out many spots where he had hidden on his nightrides as messenger between San Francisco and Monterey during
the war. From some of the heights we looked down valleys that
stretched away towards Santa Cruz, and could discern the dark
lines of redwood timber along their border. The forest near the
Mission contains the largest specimens of this tree to be found in
California, some of the trunks, as I was credibly informed, measuring fifteen feet in diameter. Captain Graham, an old settler,
had five saw-mills in operation, which he leased to speculators at
the rate of fifty dollars per day for each. The timber is soft and
easily worked, susceptible of a fine polish, and when kept dry, as
in the interior of buildings, will last for centuries.
Midway down one of the long descents, we met Messrs. Marcy
and Tefft, who had been to San Francisco to attend to the printing
of the Constitution, bundles of which, in English and Spanish,
were strapped to their saddles. Our next incident was the discovery of three grizzly bears, on the side of a caiada, about a
195 
El,DORADO.
quarter of a mile distant. Mr. Semple, who, with the keen sight
of one accustomed to mountain life, was on the alert for game, first
espied them. They were moving lazily among a cluster of oaks;
their bodies were, apparently, as large as that of a mule, but an
experienced eye could at once detect the greater thickness and
shortness of their legs. We had no other arms than pistols and
knives, and no horses of sufficient fleetness to have ventured an
attack with safety; so we passed on with many a wistful and lingering look, for the gray hide of one of those huge beasts would
have been a trophy well worth the capture. Indeed, the oldest
hunter, when he meets a grizzly bear, prefers making a boy's bargain-" If you'll let me alone, I'll let you alone." They are
rarely known to attack a man when unprovoked, but when wounded
no Indian tiger is more formidable.
Towards noon we reached the Mission San Juan. The bands
of emigrants from the South had stripped all the fruit-trees in its
gardens, but at a tienda in the Mission building, we were supplied
with pears at the rate of three for a real-plump, luscious fruit,
with russet peel, and so mellow that they would scarcely bear
handling. While we were idling an hour in the warn corridor,
trying to maintain a conversation in Spanish with some of the natives, a brother of Mr. Semple, who had come from Benicia to
meet him, rode up to the inn. He had a gray horse, whose trot
was remarkably rough, and at his request I changed places, giving
up to him my seat in the ambulance. We dashed out on the plain
of San Juan at a full gallop, but my perverse animal soon lagged
behind. He was what is called a " Snake horse," of the breed
owned by the Snake Indians in Oregon, whence, in fact, he had
been brought, still retaining the steady, deliberate pace at which
he had been accustomed to haul lodge-poles. His trot was rack
196 
FORDING THE PAJARO RIVER.
ing, and as a final resort to procure a gallop, I borrowed a pair of
very sharp spurs from our driver. At the first touch the old Snake
started; at the second he laid his ears flatly back, gave a snort
and sprang forward with galvanic energy, taking me far in advance
of the flying ambulance. It was so long since he had traveled
such a pace that he seemed as much astonished as I was at the
effect of my spurs.
The ambulance at last reached the Pajaro River, which flowed
between deep and precipitous banks. The four horses plunged
down the declivity; the ambulance followed with a terrible shock,
which urged it into the middle of the streanm, where it stuck, the
king-bolt having been snapped off.  We partly stripped, and after
working an hour with the ice-cold water above our knees, succeeded
in fastening with chains the fragment of the bolt. It was now
dinner-timne, and we soon had a blaze among the willows and a pot
of coffee boiling before it.  The beverage, which never tasted more
refreshing, sent a fine glow into our benumbed nether limbs, and
put us into traveling humor again. The Pajaro Plains, around
the head of the river, are finely watered, and under proper cultivation would produce splendid crops. From the ridge descending
to the valley of San Jos6 we overlooked their broad expanse. The
meadows were still green, and the belts of stately sycamore had
not yet shed a leaf. I hailed the beautiful valley with pleasure,
although its soil was more parched and arid than when I passed
before, and the wild oats on the mountains rolled no longer in
waves of gold. Their sides were brown and naked to desolation;
the dead umber color of the landscape, towards sunset, was more
cheerless than a mid-November storm. A traveler seeing California only at this season, would never be tempted to settle.
As we journeyed down the valley, flocks of wild geese and
197 
ELDORADO.
brant, cleaving the air with their arrow-shaped lines, descended to
their roost in the meadows. On their favorite grounds, near the
head of Pajaro River, they congregated to the number of millions,
hundreds of acres being in many places actually hidden under
their dense ranks. They form in columns as they alight, and
their stations at roost are as regularly arranged as in any military
camp. As the season advances and their number is increased by
new arrivals, they become so regardless of human presence that
the rancheros kill  large quantities with  clubs.   The  native
children have a curious method of entrapping them while on the
wing. They tie two bones at the ends of a string about a yard in
length, which they hurl into the air so skilfully that in falling it
forms an arch. As the geese fly low, this instrument, dropping
into a flock, generally takes one of them across the neck; the
bones fall on each side and drag the goose to the earth, where he
is at once seized and dispatched.
We passed Murphy's Ranche and the splendid peak of El Toro
and reached Fisher's Ranche as the blaze of camp-fires under the
sycamores was beginning to show through the dusk. Here we
found Major  Hill, who, with  Mr.  Durivage and Midshipman
Carnes, with six men from the wreck of the propeller Edith, had
left Monterey the day before ourselves. Their fire was kindled,
the cooking implements in order, and several of the party employed in the task of picking three wild geese and preparing them
for the pan. While at supper, one of Capt. Fisher's men excited
the sporting propensities of some of our party by describing a
lake in the valley, where the geese roosted in immense quantities.
As it was not more than a mile distant, muskets were got ready
and four of the sportsmen set out by moonlight. They found
some difficulty, however, in fishing out the geese after they were
198 
A SIROCCO IN SAN JOSE.
shot, and only brought two with them at midnight. I, who was
fatigued with miy management of the Snake horse, crept into a
cart-bed near the Ranche, laid a raw-hide over the top and was
soon floating adrift on a sea of dreams.
We had harnessed and were off before the daybreak brightened
into sunrise. As we passed the last mountain headland and the
mouth of the valley lay wide before us, I noticed a dim vapor over
the place where the Pueblo San Jose should stand. The reason
of this was explained when we reached the entrance of the town.
We were met by a hurricane of dust which for several minutes
prevented our advancing a step; the adobe houses on each side
were completely hidden, and we could only breathe by covering
our faces with the loose folds of our jackets. Some wind intended
for San Francisco had got astray among the mountains, and coming on San Jose unawares, had put in motion all the dust that had
been quietly accumulating during the summer.
The two weeks which had elapsed since San Jose had been
made a capital, were sufficient to have created a wonderful change
What with tents and houses of wood and canvas, in hot haste
thrown up, the town seemed to have doubled in size. The dusty
streets were thronged with people; goods, for lack of storage
room, stood in large piles beside the doors;'the sound of saw and
hammer, and the rattling of laden carts, were incessant. The
Legislative Building-a two-story adobe house built at the town's
expense-was nearly finished. Hotels were springing up in all
quarters; French restaurateurs hung out their signs on little onestory shanties; the shrewd Celestials had already planted themselves there, and summoned men to meals by the sound of their
barbaric gongs. Our old stopping-place, the " Miner's Home,"
was converted into a "City Hotel," and when we drew up before
199 
ELDORADO.
the door, we were instantly surrounded by purveyors from rival
establishments, offering to purchase the two wild geese which
hung at the wagon-tail.  The roads to Monterey, to Stockton, to
San Francisco, and to the Embarcadero, were stirring with continual travel.  The price of lots had nearly doubled in consequence
of this change, so that the town lost nothing by its gift of the
legislative building to Government.
The ambulance, carrying Mr. Semple, set out for Benicia along
the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. Those of us who were
bound for San Francisco made search for other conveyances.
HIearing that a launch was about starting, I walked down to the
Embarcadero, about seven miles distant, where I found a dozen
vessels anchored in an estuary which ran up among the tull.
One of them was to leave that night at ten o'clock; the fare was
$10, and the time dependent on the wind, but usually varying from
two to four days. I gave up the chance at once, and retracing
my steps to the nearest ford, crossed Coyote River and struck
across the meadows towards Whisman's Ranche, which I reached
after two hours' walk. Evening came on while I was journeying
alone in the midst of the boundless landscape-boundless, but for
the shadowy mountain-piles which lay along the horizon, seeming,
through the haze, like the hills of another planet which had
touched the skirts of the globe on its journey through space.
Long lines of geese and brant sailed through the air, and the white
crane, from his covert on the edge of the marsh, uttered at intervals his strong, guttural cry. As the sunset gathered to a blaze,
the mountains across the bay were suffused with a rosy purple
tint, while those against the western sky stood in deep violet
shadow. At last, the sounds of animal life died away on the plain,
and the stars were gradually kindled in the cloudless firmament
200 
N'IGHT-CAMP UNDER THE OAKS.
By this time I had approached a fine old grove, detached from
the shore of timber. The sound of musket shots and the braying
of mules told that a party had encamped there. No sooner had
I reached the shadow of the trees than my name was shouted, and I
recognized Major Hill and my other friends of his party. I threw
down my sarape, took a seat among them and employed myself
on the breast of a goose. We sat cross-legged around a glowing
fire, passing the pans and cups from hand to hand, and using
fingers or knives according to the toughness of the meat. The
mules were picketed among the oats which grew knee-deep under
the trees, and a few paces off, around a still larger fire, the sailors
and teamsters brewed their bucket of tea and broiled their huge
slices of beef. Our meal over, we lighted our puros and stretched
out at full length on the grass, enjoying to the full the quiet of the
place and the soothing influence of the weed. And then came
rest-rest delicious anywhere, but doubly so under the broad arms
of the evergreen oak, with the full clear flood of moonlight broken
into a thousand minute streams on the turf. It was a long time
before I could compose myself to sleep. The solemn repose of
the grove-the deep shadows of the trees-the far, misty, silvery
glimpses of plain through the openings-wrought powerfully on
my imagination and kept every faculty keenly alive. Even in
sleep the impression remained, and when I awoke in the night, it
was with a happy thrill at opening my eyes on the same maze of
moonlight and foliage.
The next day I accompanied the party on foot, taking an occasional lift with the sailors in the wagon. The jolly tars were not
at home on dry land, and seemed impatient to see the end of the
journey. The driver was enjoined to keep a good look-out from
the fore-top  (the saddle-mule.)   " Breakers ahead!" shouted
9*
201 
ELDORADO.
Jack, when we came to an arroyo; " hard up!" was the answer.
" Take a reef in the aft wheel!" was the order of the driver.
The lock was clapped on, and we rode in triumph into a smoother
sea. We nooned at Sanchez' Ranche, reached the Mission Dolores
at dusk, and started over the sand-hills in the moonlight. The
jaded team stalled at the foot of a steep hill but was afterwards
got off by unloading the wagon. I pushed on ahead, hearing the
bustle and mingled sounds of the town, long before I reached it
I struck the suburbs half a mile sooner than on my previous return, and from the first rise in the sand had an indistinct view of
a place twice as large as I had left. I was too weary, however to
take a long survey, but went directly to the Post Office, where I
found Mr. Moore and his sons as cheerful, active and enterprising
as ever, and was again installed in a comfortable nook of the
garret.
202 
CHAPTER XX.
SAN FRANCISCO AGAIN-POST-OFFICE EXPERIENCES.
])URINe. my absence in Monterey, more than four thousand emigrants by sea had landed in San Francisco. The excitement
relative to gold-digging had been kept up by new discoveries on
the various rivers; the rage for land speculation had increased,
and to all this was added the gathering heat of political conflict.
San Francisco was something of a whirlpool before, but now it had
widened its sweeps and seemed to be drawing everything into its
vortex.
The morning after I arrived, I went about the town to note the
changes and improvements. I could scarcely believe my eyes.
The northern point, where the Bay pours its waters into the
Golden Gate, was covered with houses nearly to the summit
many of them large three-story warehouses. The central and
highest hill on which the town is built, was shorn of its chapparal
and studded with tents and dwellings; while to the eastward
the streets had passed over the last of the three hills, and were
beginning to encroach on the Happy Valley. The beautiful
crescent of the harbor, stretching from the Rincon to Fort Montgomery, a distance of more than a mile, was lined with boats,
tents and warehouses, and near the latter point, several piers jutted into the water.  Montgomery street, frontingo the Bay, had 
ELDORADO.
undergone a marvellous change. All the open spaces were built
up, the canvas houses replaced by ample three-story buildings, an
Exchange with lofty sky-light fronted the water, and for the space
of half a mile the throng of men of all classes, characters and nations, with carts and animals, equaled Wall street before three
o'clock.
In other parts of the town the change was equally great. Tents
and canvas houses had given place to large and handsome edifices,
blanks had been filled up, new hotels opened, market houses in
operation and all the characteristics of a great commercial city
fairly established.   Portsmouth Square was filled with lumber
and house frames, and nearly every street in the lower part of the
city was blocked up with goods. The change which had been
wrought in all parts of the town during the past six weeks seemed
little short of magic.  At first I had difficulty in believing that
what I looked upon was real, so utterly inadequate seemed the
visible means for the accomplishment of such wonderful ends.
On my way to call upon Col. Fr6mont, whom I found located
with his family in the Itappy Valley, I saw a company of Chinese
carpenters putting up the frame of a Canton-made house. In
Pacific street another Celestial restaurant had been opened, and
every vessel from the Chinese ports brought a fresh importation.
An Olympic circus, on a very handsome scale, had been established, and a company of Ethiopian serenaders nightly amused
the public.  " Delmonico's" was the fashionable eating-house,
where you had boiled eggs at seventy-five cents each, and dinner
at $1 50 to $5, according to your appetite. A little muslin
shed rejoiced in the title of " Irving House."  A number of fine
billiard rooms and bowling alleys had been opened, and all other
devices for spending money brought into successful operation
204 
MORr. STATISTICS OF GROWTH.
The gamLe's com)plained no longer of dull prospects; there were
hundreds of molite, roulette and faro tables, which were crowded
nightly until a late hour, and where the most inveterate excesses
of gaming might be witnessed. The rents of houses had increased
rather than fallen. I might give hundreds of instances, but it
would be only a repetition of the stories I have already told
Money brought fourteen per cent. monthly, on loan.  A gentleman of Baltimore, who came out in the Panama, sold for $15,000
a steam engine which cost him $2,000. Sonle drawing paper,
which cost about $10 in New York, brought $164. I found
little change in the prices of provisions and merchandise, though
the sum paid for labor had diminished. Town lots were continually on the rise; fifty vara lots in the Happy Valley, half a mile
from town, brought $3,500. I met with a number of my fellow
passengers, nearly all of whom had done well, some of them having already realized $207000 and $30,000.
The population of San Francisco at that time, was estimated at
fifteen thousand; a year before it was about five hundred. The
increase since that time had been made in the face of the greatest
disadvantages under which a city ever labored; an uncultivated
country, an ungenial climate, exorbitant rates of labor, want of
building materials, imperfect civil organization-lacking everything, in short, but gold dust and enterprise. The same expense,
on the Atlantic coast, would have established a city of a hundred
thousand inhabitants.   The price of lumber was still $300 to
$400 per thousand feet. In addition to the five saw-mills at
Santa Cruz, all the mills of Oregon were kept going, lumber, even
there, bringing $100 per thousand. There was no end to the
springs of labor and traffic, which that vast emigration to Cali
205 
ELDORADO.
fornia had set in motion, not only on the Pacific Coast, but through
out all Polynesia and Australia.
The activity throughout the mining region during the fall seas
son, gave rise to a thousand reports of golden discoveries, the
effect of which was instantly seen on the new-comers. Their
highest anticipations of the country seemed realized at once, and
their only embarrassment was the choice of so many places of
promise. The stories told were marvellous even to Californians;
what wonder, then, that the green emigrants, who devoutly swallowed them whole, should be disappointed and disgusted with the
reality? The actual yield on most of the rivers was, nevertheless, sufficiently encouraging. The diggers on the forks of the
American, Feather and Yuba Rivers, met with a steady return
for their labors. On the branches of the San Joaquin, as far as
the Tuolumne, the big lumps were still found. Capt. Walker,
who had a company on the Pitiuna-a stream that flows into the
Tulare Lakes-was in Monterey, buying supplies at the time I
left. His company was alone in that desolate region, and working
to advantage, if one might judge from the secrecy which attended
their movements. The placers on Trinity River had not turned
out so well as was expected, and many of the miners were
returning disappointed to the Sacramento. Several companies
had been absent among the higher ridges of the Sierra Nevada, for
a month or more, and it was suspected that they had discovered
diggings somewhere on the eastern side.
The sickly season on the Sacramento and its tributaries, was
nearly over, but numbers of pale, emaciated frames, broken down
by agues and diarrhoeas, were daily arriving in the launches and
steamers. At least one-third of the miners suffered more or less
from these diseases, and numbers of men who had landed only a
206 
AN AGUE CASE.
few months before, in the fulness of hale and lusty manhood, were
walking about nearly as shrunken and bloodless as the corpses
they would soon become. One of the most pitiable sights I ever
beheld was one of these men, who had just been set ashore from a
launch. lIe was sitting alone on a stone beside the water, with
his bare feet purple with cold, on the cold, wet sand. He was
wrapped from head to foot in a coarse blanket, which shook with
the violence of his chill, as if his limbs were about to drop in
pieces. He seemed unconscious of all that was passing; his long,
matted hair hung over his wasted face; his eyes glared steadily
forward, with an expression of suffering so utterly hopeless and
wild, that I shuddered at seeing it. This was but one out of a
number of cases, equally sad and distressing. The exposure and
privations of a miner's life soon sap a frame that has not previously been hardened by the elements, and the maladies incident
to a new country assail with double force the constitutions thus
prepared to receive them.
I found the climate of San Francisco vastly improved during
my absence.  The temperature was more genial and equable, and
the daily hurricanes of the summer had almost entirely ceased.
As a consequence of this, the streets had a more active and pleasant aspect, and the continual whirl of business was enlivened by
something like cheerfulness. Politics had taken root in this appropriate hot-bed of excitement, and was flourishing with a
rapidity and vigor of growth which showed that, though an exotic
plant, it would soon be native in the soil. Meetings were held
nearly every night at Denison's Exchange, where the rival parties
-for the different personal interests were not slow in arraying
themselves against each other-bhad their speeches, their huzzas
and their drinks.  The Congressional candidates bore  the brunt
207 
ELDORADO.
of the struggle, since three or four of them were residents; but
the Senatorship gave rise to the most deep-laid and complicated
machinations.  The principal candidates, T. Butler King, Col.
Fremont and Dr. Gwin, had each his party of devoted adherents,
who occupied the two weeks intervening between the nomination
and election, in sounding and endeavoring to procure the votes of
the candidates for the State Legislature, on whom the choice of
Senators depended.
Col. Fremont was residing at the time in the Happy Valley,
in a Chinese house, which he had erected on one of his lots Mr.
King was at Sonoma, where he had gone to recruit, after an illness
which was near proving fatal. His friends, however, called a
meeting in his favor, which was held in Portsmouth Square-an
injudicious movement, as the consequence proved. Dr. Gwin was
making an electioneering tour through the mining districts, for the
purpose of securing the election of the proper Delegates to the
State Senate and Assembly. It was curious how soon the American passion for politics, forgotten during the first stages of the
State organization, revived and emulated the excitement of an
election in the older States.
A day or two after my arrival, the Steamer Unicorn came into
the harbor, being the third which had arrived without bringing a
mail. These repeated failures were too much for even a patient
people to bear; an indignation meeting in Portsmouth Square was
called, but a shower, heralding the rainy season, came on in time
to prevent it. Final]y, on the last day of October, on the eve of
the departure of another steamer down the coast, the Panama
came in, bringing the mails for July, August and September all
at once! Thirty-seven mail-bags were hauled up to the little
Post-Office that night, and the eight clerks were astounded by the
208 
STRUCTURE OF TIlE POST OFFICE.
receipt of forty-five thousand letters, besides uncounted bushels of
newspapers. I was at the time domiciled in Mr. Moore's garret
and enjoying the hospitalities of his plank-table; I therefore offered
my services as clerk-extraordinary, and was at once vested with
full powers and initiated into all the mysteries of counting, classi
fying and distributing letters.
The Post-Office was a small frame building, of one story, and
not more than forty feet in length. The entire front, which was
graced with a narrow portico, was appropriated to the windows for
delivery, while the rear was divided into three small compartments
-a newspaper room, a private office, and kitchen. There were
two windows for the general delivery, one for French and Spanish
letters, and a narrow entry at one end of the building, on which
faced the private boxes, to the number of five hundred, leased to
merchants and others at the rate of $1,50 per month. In this
small space all the operations of the Office were carried on. The
rent of the building was $7,000 a year, and the salaries of the
clerks from $100 to $300 monthly, which, as no special provision
had been made by Government to meet the expense, effectually
confined Mr. Moore to these narrow limits. For his strict and
conscientious adherence to the law, he received the violent censure
of a party of the San Franciscans, who would have had him make
free use of the Government funds.
The Panama's mail-bags reached the Office about nine o'clock.
The doors were instantly closed, the windows darkened, and every
preparation made for a long siege. The attack from without commenced about the same time. There were knocks on the doors,
taps on the windows, and beseeching calls at all corners of the
house. The interior was well lighted; the bags were emptied on
the floor, and ten pairs of hands engaged in the assortment and
209 
ELDORADO.
distribution of their contents. The work went on rapidly and
noiselessly as the night passed away, but with the first streak ot
daylight the attack commenced again.  Every avenue of entrance
was barricaded; the crowd was told through the keyhole that the
Office would be opened that day to no one: but it all availed nothing. Mr. Moore's Irish servant could not go for a bucket of water
without being surrounded and in danger of being held captive.
Men dogged his heels in the hope of being able to slip in behind
him before he could lock the door.
We labored steadily all day, and had the satisfaction of seeing
the huge pile of letters considerably diminished. Towards evening the impatience of the crowd increased to a most annoying
pitch. They knocked; they tried shouts and then whispers and
then shouts again; they implored and threatened by turns; and
not seldom offered large bribes for the delivery of their letters.
"Curse such a Post-Office and such a Post-Master!" said one;
" I'll write to the Department by the next steamer.   We'll see
whether things go on in this way much longer." Then comes a
messenger slyly to the back-door:" Mr.           sends his compliments, and says you would oblige him very much by letting me
have his letters; he won't say anything about it to anybody."  A
clergyman, or perhaps a naval officer, follows, relying on a white
cravat or gilt buttons for the favor which no one else can obtain.
Mr. Moore politely but firmly refuses; and so we work on, unmoved by the noises of the besiegers. The excitement and anxiety
of the public can scarcely be told in words. Where the source
that governs business, satisfies affection and supplies intelligence,
had been shut off from a whole community for three months, the
rush from all sides to supply the void, was irresistible.
In the afternoon, a partial delivery was made to the owners of
210 
SOUNDS ON THE PORTICO.
private boxes. It was effected ill a skillful way, though with some
danger to the clerk who undertook the opening of the door. On
account of the crush and destruction of windows on former occasions, he ordered them to form into line and enter in regular order.
They at first refused, but on his counter-refusal to unlock the door,
complied with some difficulty. The moment the key was turned,
the rush into the little entry was terrific; the glass faces of the
boxes were stove in, and the wooden partition seemed about to
give way. In the space of an hour the clerk took in postage to
the amount of $600; the principal firms frequently paid from $50
to $100 for their correspondence.
We toiled on till after midnight of the second night, when the
work was so far advanced that we could spare an hour or two for
rest, and still complete the distribution in time for the opening of
the windows, at noon the next day.   So we crept up to our blankets in the garret, worn out by forty-four hours of steady labor.
We had scarcely begun to taste the needful rest, when our sleep,
deep as it was, was broken by a new sound. Some of the besiegers, learning that the windows were to be opened at noon,
came on the ground in the middle of the night, in order to have
the first chance for letters. As the nights were fresh and cool,
they soon felt chilly, and began a stamping march along the portico, which jarred the whole building and kept us all painfully
awvake. This game was practised for a week after the distribution
commenced, and was a greater hardship to those employed in the
Office than their daily labors. One morning, about a week after
this, a single individual came about midnight, bringing a chair with
him, and some refreshments.   He planted himself directly opposite
the door, and sat there quietly all night. It was the day for dispatching the Monterey mail, and one of the clerks got up about
211 
ELDORADO.
four o'clock to have it in readiness for the carrier.  On opening
the door in the darkness, he was confronted by this man, who,
seated solemnly in his chair, immediately gave his name in a loud
voice: "John Jenkins!"
When, finally, the windows were opened, the scenes around the
office were still more remarkable. In order to prevent a general
riot among the applicants, they were recommended to form in
ranks. This plan once established, those inside could work with
more speed and safety. The lines extended in front all the way
down the hill into Portsmouth Square, and on the south side
across Sacramento street to the tents among the chapparal; while
that from the newspaper window in the rear stretched for some
distance up the hill.  The man  at the tail of the longest line
might count on spending six hours in it before he reached the
window. Those who were near the goal frequently sold out their
places to imnpatient candidates, for ten, and even twenty-five dollars; indeed, several persons, in want of money, practised this
game daily, as a means of living!  Venders of pies, cakes  and
newspapers established themselves in front of the office, to supply
the crowd, while others d;d a profitable business by carrying cans
of coffee up and down the lines.
The labors of the Post Office were greatly increased by the
necessity of forwarding thousands of letters to the branch offices
or to agents among the mountains, according to the orders of the
miners. This part of the business, which was entirely without
remuneration, furnished constant employment for three or four
clerks. Several persons made large sums by acting as agents,
supplying the miners with their letters, at $1 each, which included the postage from the Atlantic side. The arrangements
212 
INCREASE OF PAY NEEDED.
for the transportation of the inland mail were very imperfect, and
these private establishments were generally preferred.
The necessity of an immediate provision for the support of all
branches of Government service, was, (and still remains, at the
time I write,) most imminent. Unless something be speedily
done, the administration of many offices in California must become impossible. The plan of relief is simple and can readily be
accomplished in the Civil Department, by a direct increase of
emolument, in the Military and Naval, by an advance in the price
of rations, during service on the Pacific Coast. Our legislators
appear hardly to understand the enormous standard:)f prices, and
the fact that many years must elapse before it can be materially
lessened. Men in these days will not labor for pure patriotism,
when the country is so well able to pay them.
213 
CHAPTER XXI.
SACRAMENTO RIVER AND CITY.
THE  change of temperature following the heavy shower which
fell the day after my arrival at San Francisco, seemed to announce
the near approach of the rainy season. I made all haste, therefore, to start on my tour through the northern placers, fearing
lest it might be made impossible by a longer delay. The schooner
James L. Day was advertised to leave for Sacramento City about
the time we had finished distributing the mail, and as no preparation is required for a journey in California, I took my sarape and
went down to Clark's Point, which is to San  Francisco what
Whitehall is to New York. The fare was $14, which included
our embarkation-a matter of some little consequence, when $5
was frequently paid to be rowed out to a vessel. There were
about seventy passengers on board, the greater part of whom had
just arrived in the steamer Panama. The schooner was a trim,
beautiful craft, that had weathered the gales of Cape Horn. A
strong wind was blowing from the south, with a rain coming up,
as we hove anchor and fired a parting gun. We passed the
islands of Yerba Buena and Alcatraz, looked out through the
Golden Gate on the Pacific, and dashed into the strait connecting
the Bay of San Francisco with Pablo Bay, before a teu-knot 
THE STRAITS OF CARQUINEZ.
breeze. This strait, six miles in length and about three in
breadth, presents a constant variety of scene, from the irregularity of its mountain-sheres. In the middle of it stands an island
of red volcanic rock, near which are two smaller ones, white with
guano, called The Brothers. At the entrance of Pablo Bay are
two others, The Sisters, similar in size and form.
Pablo Bay is nearly circular, and about twelve miles in diameter. The creeks of Napa, Petaluma and San Rafael empty into
it on the northern side, opposite Mare Island, so called from a
wild mare who was formerly seen at the head of a band of elk,
galloping over its broad meadows. We had but a dim glimpse of
the shore through the rain. Our schooner bent to the wind, and
cut the water so swiftly, that it fairly whistled under her sharp
prow. The spray dashed over the deck and the large sails were
motionless in their distension, as we ran before the gale, at a most
exhilarating speed. A very good dinner at $1, was served up in
the eight-by-ten cabin and there was quite a run upon the cook's
galley, for pies, at $1 apiece.
We speedily made the entrance to the Straits of Carquinez,
where the mountains approach to within three-quarters of a mile.
Several of the newly-arrived emigrants expressed themselves delighted with the barren shores and scanty patches of chapparal.
It was their first view of the inland scenery of California. The
rain had already brought out a timid green on the hills, and the
soil no longer looked parched and dead.  " Ah!" said one of the
company, " what beautiful mountains! this California is really a
splendid country."  " Very well," thought I, "but if you dig
less gold than you anticipate, catch the ague or fail in speculation,
what will you say then? Will not the picture you draw be as
dark and forbidding as it is now delightful P"
215 
ELDORADO.
We passed a small sail-boat, bound for Sacramento and filled
with emigrants. Half of them were employed in bailing out the
scud thrown over the gunwale by every surge. We shot by them
like a flash, and came in sight of Benicia, once thought to be a
rival to San Francisco. In a glen on the opposite shore is the
little town of Martinez. Benicia is a very pretty place; the situa tion is well chosen, the land gradually sloping back from the
water, with ample space for the spread of the town. The anchor age is excellent, vessels of the largest size being able to lie so near
shore as to land goods without lightering. The back country,
including the Napa and Sonoma valleys, is one of the finest agri cultural districts of California. Notwithstanding these advan
tages, Benicia must always remain inferior, in commercial importance, both to San Francisco and Sacramento City. While in
the country, I was much amused in reading the letters respecting
it, which had been sent home and published, many of them predicting the speedy downfall of San Francisco, on account of the
superior advantages of the former place.   On  the strength of
these letters vessels had actually cleared for Benicia, with large
cargoes. Now, anchorage is one thing, and a good market
another; a ship may lie in greater safety at Albany, but the sensible merchant charters his vessel for New York. San Francisco
is marked by Nature and Fate (though many will disagree with
me in the first half of the assertion) for the great commercial mart
of the Pacific, and whatever advantages she may lack will soon be
amply provided for by her wealth and enterprise.
Benicia-very properly, as I think-has been made the Naval
and Military Station for the Bay. Gen. Smith and Commodore
Jones both have their head quarters there. The General's house
and the military barracks are built on a headland at the entrance
216 
NEW-YORK-OF-THE-PACIFIC.
of Suisun Bay-a breezy and healthy situation. M1onte Diablo,
the giant of the Coast Range, rises high and blue on the other
side of the strait, and away beyond the waters of the Bay, beyond
the waste marshes of tule6 and the broad grazing plains, and above
the low outlines of many an intermediate chain, loom up faint and
far and silvery, the snows of the Sierra Nevada.
We came-to off New-York-of-the-Pacific in four hours after
leaving San Francisco-a distance of fifty miles. The former
place, with its aspiring but most awkward name, is located on a
level plain, on the southern shore of Suisun Bay, backed by a
range of barren mountains. It consists of three houses, one of
which is a three-story one, and several vessels at anchor near the
shore. The anchorage is good, and were it not for the mosquitos,
the crews might live pleasantly enough, in their seclusion. There
never will be a large town there, for the simple reason that there
is no possible cause why there should be one. Stockton and
Sacramento City supply the mines, San Francisco takes the commerce, Benicia the agricultural produce, with a fair share of the
inland trade, and this Gotham-of-the-West, I fear, must continue
to belie its title.
We anchored, waiting for the steamer Sacramento, which was
to meet the schooner and receive her passengers. She came along
side after dark, but owing to the violence of the rain, did not leave
until midnight. She was a small, light craft, not more than sixty
feet in length, and had been shipped to San Francisco around
Cape Horn. She was at first employed to run between Sacramento City and San Francisco, but proved insufficient to weather
the rough seas of the open Bay. The arrival of the steamer
McKim, which is a good sea-boat and therefore adapted to the
navigation of the Bay, where the waves are little less violent than
voL. I.    l0
217 
ELDORADO.
in the Pacific, drove her from the route, but she still continued
to run on the Sacramento  River.   Many small steamers, of
similar frail construction, were sent around the Horn, the speculators imagining they were the very thing for inland navigation.
The engine of the Sacramento was on deck, as also was her den
of a cabin-a filthy place, about six feet by eight. A few berths,
made of two coarse blankets laid on a plank, were to be had at
$5 each; but I preferred taking a camp-stool, throwing my sarape
over my shoulders and sleeping with my head on the table, rather
than pay such an unchristian price.
As the day dawned, gloomy and wet, I went on deck. We were
near the head of " The Slough," a broad navigable cut-off, which
saves twenty miles in making the trip. The banks are lined with
thickets, behind which extends a narrow belt of timber, principally oak and sycamore. Here and there, in cleared spots, were
the cabins of the woodmen, or of squatters, who intend claiming
preemption rights. The wood, which brings $12 or $15 a cord,
is piled on the bluff banks, and the steamers back up to it,
whenever they are obliged to " wood up." At the junction of
the slough with the river proper, there is a small village of Indian
huts, built of dry tule reeds.
The Sacramento is a beautiful stream. Its width varies from
two to three hundred yards, and its banks fringed with rich
foliage, present, by their continuous windings, a fine succession of
views. In appearance, it reminded me somewhat of the Delaware.
The foliage, washed by the rain, glistened green and freshly in the
morning; and as we advanced the distant mountains on either
hand were occasionally visible through gaps in the timber. Before reaching the town of Sutter, we passed a ranche, the produce
of which, in vegetables alone, was said to have returned the owner
218 
VIEW OF SACRAMENTO CITY.
a Geilman, by the name of Schwartz-$25,000 during the sea son. Sutter is a town of some thirty houses, scattered along the
bank for half a mile. Three miles above this we came in sight
of Sacramento City. The forest of masts along the embarcadero
more than rivalled the splendid growth of the soil. Boughs and
spars were mingled together in striking contrast; the cables were
fastened to the trunks and sinewy roots of the trees; sign-boards
and figure-heads were. set up on shore, facing the levee, and galleys
and deck-cabins were turned out " to grass," leased as shops, or
occupied as dwellings. The aspect of the place, on landing, was
decidedly more novel and picturesque than that of any other town
in the country.
The plan of Sacramento City is very simple. Situated on the
eastern bank of the Sacramento, at its junction with the Ric
Americano, the town plot embraces a square of about one and
a-half miles to a side.  It is laid out in regular rig,ht-angles, in
Philadelphia style, those running east and west named after the
alphabet, and those north and south after the arithmetic.  The
limits of the town extended to nearly one square mile, and the
number of inhabitants, in tents and houses, fell little short of ten
thousand. The previous April there were just four houses in the
place! Can the world match a growth like this?
The original forest-trees, standing in all parts of the town, give
it a very picturesque appearance. Many of the streets are lined
with oaks and sycamores, six feet in diameter, and spreading
ample boughs on every side. The emigrants have ruined the
finest of them by building camp-fires at their bases, which, in some
instances, have burned completely through, leaving a charred and
blackened arch for the superb tree to rest upon. The storm
which occurred a few days previous to my visit, snapped asunder
219 
ELDORADO.
several trunks which had been thus weakened, one of them crushing to the earth a canvas house in which a man lay asleep. A
heavy bough struck the ground on each side of him, saving his
life. The destruction of these trees is the more to be regretted,
as the intense heat of the Summer days, when the mercury stands
at 120~, renders their shade a thing of absolute necessity.
The value of real estate in Sacramento City is only exceeded by
that of San Francisco. Lots twenty by seventy-five feet, in the
best locations, brought from $3,000 to $3,500. Rents were on
a scale equally enormous. The City Hotel, which was formerly a
saw-mill, erected by Capt. Sutter, paid $30,000 per annum. A
new hotel, going up on the levee, had been already rented at
$35,000. Two drinking and gaming-rooms, on a business street,
paid each $1,000, monthly, invariably in advance. Many of the
stores transacted business averaging from $1,000 to $3,000 daily.
Board was $20 per week at the restaurants and $5 per day at the
City Hotel. But what is the use of repeating figures? These
dead statistics convey no idea of the marvellous state of things in
the place. It was difficult enough for those who saw to believe,
and I can only hope to reproduce the very faintest impression of
the pictures I there beheld. It was frequently wondered, on this
side of the Rocky Mountains, why the gold dust was not sent out
of the country in larger quantities, when at least forty thousand
men were turning up the placers. The fact is, it was required as
currency, and the amount in circulation might be counted by millions. Why, the building up of a single street in Sacramento
City (J street) cost half a million, at least! The value of all
the houses in the city, frail and perishing as many of them were,
could not have been less than $2,000,000.
It must be acknowledged there is another side to the picture
220 
ITS LIFE AND BUSINESS.
Three-fourths o,' the people who settle in Sacramento City are
visited by agues, diarrhceas and other reducing complaints. In
Summer the place is a furnace, in Winter little better than a
swamp; and the influx of emigrants and discouraged miners generally exceeds the demand for labor. A healthy, sensible, wideawake man, however, cannot fail to prosper. In a country where
Labor rules everything, no sound man has a right to complain.
When carpenters make a strike because they only get twelve dollars a day, one may be sure there is room enough for industry and
enterprise of all kinds.
The city was peopled principally by New-Yorkers, Jerseymen
and people from the Western States.   In activity and public
spirit, it was nothing behind San Francisco; its growth, indeed,
in view of the difference of location, was more remarkable. The
inhabitants had elected a Town Council, adopted a City Charter
and were making exertions to have the place declared a port of
entry. The political waters were being stirred a little, in anticipation of the approaching election. Mr. Gilbert, of the Alta
California, and Col. Steuart, candidate for Governor, were in the
city. A political meeting, which had been held a few nights before,
in front of the City Hotel, passed off as uproariously and with as
zealous a sentiment of patriotism as such meetings are wont to
exhibit at home. Among the residents whom I met during my
visit, was Gen. Green, of Texas, known as commander of the Mier
Expedition.
The city already boasted a weekly paper, the Placer Times,
which was edited and published by Mr. Giles, formerly of the
Tribune Office. His printers were all old friends of mine —one of
them, in fact, a former fellow-apprentice-and from the fraternal
feeling that all possess who have ever belonged to the craft, the
221 
ELDORADO.
place became at once familiar and home-like. The little paper,
which had a page of about twelve by eighteen inches, had a circulation of five hundred copies, at $12 a year; the amount received
weekly for jobs and advertising, varied from $1,000 to $2,000.
Tickets were printed for the different political candidates, at the
rate of $20 for every thousand. The compositors were paid $15
daily. Another compositor from the Tribune Office had established a restaurant, and was doing a fine business. His dining
saloon was an open tent, unfloored; the tables were plank, with
rough benches on each side; the waiters rude Western boys who
had come over the Rocky Mountains-but the meals he furnished
could not have been surpassed in any part of the world for substantial richness of quality. There was every day abundance of
elk steaks, unsurpassed for sweet and delicate flavor; venison,
which had been fattened on the mountain acorns; mutton, such as
nothing but the wild pastures of California could produce; salmon
and salmon-trout of astonishing size, from the Sacramento River,
and now and then the solid flesh of the grizzly bear. The salmontrout exceeded in fatness any fresh-water fish I ever saw; they
were between two and three feet in length, with a layer of pure
fat, quarter of an inch in thickness, over the ribs. When made
into chowder or stewed in claret, they would have thrown into ecstacies the most inveterate Parisian gourmand. The full-moon
face of the proprietor of the restaurant was accounted for, when one
had tasted his fare; after living there a few days, I could feel my
own dimensions sensibly enlarged.
The road to Sutter's Fort, the main streets and the levee fronting on the Embarcadero, were constantly thronged with the teams
of emigrants, coming in from the mountains. Such worn, weatherbeaten individuals I never before imagined. Their tents were
222 
CATTLE OF EXPERIENCE.
pitched by hundreds in the thickets around the town, where they
rested a few days before starting to winter in the mines and elsewhere. At times the levee was filled throughout its whole length
by their teams, three or four yoke of oxen to every wagon. The
beasts had an expression of patient experience which plainly showed
that no roads yet to be traveled would astonish them in the least.
After tugging the wagons for six months over the salt deserts of
the Great Basin, climbing passes and canions of terrible asperity in
the Sierra Nevada, and learning to digest oak bark on the arid
plains around the sink of Humboldt's River, it seemed as if no
extremity could henceforth intimidate them. Much toil and suffering had given to their countenances a look of almost human
wisdom. If their souls should hereafter, according to the theory
of some modern philosophers, reappear in human frames, what a
crowd of grave and reverend sages may not California be able to
produce! The cows had been yoked in with the oxen and made
to do equal duty. The women who had come by the overland
route appeared to have stood the hardships of the journey remarkably well, and were not half so loud as the men in their complaints
The amount of gambling in Sacramento City was very great,
and the enticement of music was employed even to a greater extent than in San Francisco. All kinds of instruments and tunes
made night discordant, for which harrowing service the performers
were paid an ounce each. Among the many drinking houses,
there was one called " The Plains," which was much frequented
by the emigrants. Some western artist, who came across the
country, adorned its walls with scenic illustrations of the route,
such as Independence Rock, The Sweet-Water Valley, Fort Laramie, Wind River Mountains, etc. There was one of a pass in the
Sierra Nevada, on the Carson River route. A wagon and team
223 
ELDORADO.
were represented as coming down the side of a hill, so nearly perpendicular that it seemed no earthly power could prevent them
from making but a single fall from the summit to the valley.
These particular oxen, however, were happily independent of gravitation, and whisked their tails in the face of the zenith, as they
marched slowly down.
I was indebted for quarters in Sacramento City, to Mr. De
Graw, who was installed in a frame house, copper-roofed, fronting
the levee. I slept very comfortably on a pile of Chinese quilts,
behind the counter, lulled by the dashing of the rain against the
sides of the house. The rainy season had set in, to all appearances, though it was full a month before the usual time. The
sky was bleak and gray, and the wind blew steadily from the
south, an unfailing sign to the old residents. The saying of the
Mexicans seemed to be verified, that, wherever los Yankis go,
they take rain with them.
It was therefore the more necessary that I should start at once
for the mountains. In a few weeks the roads would be impassable, and my only chance of seeing the northern rivers be cut off.
The first requisite for the journey was a good horse, to procure
which I first attended the horse-market which was daily held towards the bottom of K street. This was one of the principal sights
in the place, and as picturesque a thing as could be seen anywhere.
The trees were here thicker and of larger growth than in
other parts of the city; the market-ground in the middle of the
street was shaded by an immense evergreen oak, and surrounded
by tents of blue and white canvas. One side was flanked by a
livery-stable-an open frame of poles, roofed with dry tule, in
which stood a few shivering mules and raw-boned horses, while the
stacks of hay and wheat straw, on the open lots in the vicinity,
224 
SIGHTS AT THE HORSE MARKET.
offered feed to the buyers of animals, at the rate of $3 daily for
each head.
When the market was in full blast, the scene it presented was
grotesque enough. There were no regulations other than the
fancy of those who had animals to sell; every man was his own
auctioneer, and showed off the points of his horses or mules. The
ground was usually occupied by several persons at once,-a rough
tawny-faced, long-bearded Missourian, with a couple of pack
mules which had been starved in the Great Basin; a quondam
New York dandy with a horse whose back he had ruined in his
luckless " prospecting" among the mountains; a hard-fisted farmer with the wagon and ox-team which had brought his family
and household gods across the continent; or, perhaps, a jocky
trader, who understood all the arts of depreciation and recommendation, and invariably sold an animal for much more than he
gave. The bids were slow, and the seller would sometimes hang
for half an hour without an advance; in fact, where three or four
were up at once, it required close attention in the buyer to know
which way the competition was running.
I saw a lean sorrel mule sold for $55; several others, of that
glossy black color and clean make which denote spirit and endurance, were held at $140, the owner refusing to let them go for
less. The owner of a bay horse, which he rode up and down the
market at a brisk pace, c uld get no bid above $45. As the animal was well made and in good condition, I was about to bid,
when I noticed a peculiar glare of the eye which betrayed suffer
ing of some kind. " What kind of a back has he?" I inquired.
" It is a very little scratched on the top," was the answer; " but
he is none the worse for that."  " He'll not do for me," I thought,
but I watched the other bidders to see how the buyer would be
10*
225 
ELDORADO.
satisfied with iiis purchase. The horse was finally knocked off at
$50: as the saddle was not included the new owner removed it,
disclosing a horrible patch of raw and shrinking flesh. An altercation instantly arose, which was not settled when I left to seek a
horse elsewhere.
The owner of a stack of hay near at hand desired to sell me a
mule out of a number which he had in charge. But one which
he recommended as a fine saddle-mule would not go at all, though
he wounded her mouth with the cruel bit of the country in the
effort to force her into a trot; another, which was declared to be
remarkably gentle, stumbled and fell with me, and a third, which
seemed tQ be really a good traveler, was held at a price I did not
desire to pay. At last, the proprietor of a sort of tavern adjoining the market, offered to sell me a gray mare for $1 00.  Now, as
the gray mare is said to be the better horse, and as, on trial, I
found her to possess a steady and easy gait, though a little lazy, I
determined to take her, since, among so many worn-out and usedup animals, it seemed a matter of mere luck whether I would
have selected a good one. The mare was American, but the
owner assured me she had been long enough in the country, to travel
unshod and keep fat on dry grass. As saddles, blankets, and other
articles were still necessary, my outfit was rather expensive. I pro.
cured a tolerable saddle and bridle for $10; a lariat and saddle.
blanket for $5; a pair of sharp Mexican spurs for $8, and blankets
for $12. With a hunting-knife, a pair of pistols in my pocket, a
compass, thermometer, note-book and pencil, I was prepared foi
a tour of any length among the mountains.
226 
CHAPTER XXII,
TRAVELING ON THE PLAINS.
I WAITED another day for the rain to subside, but the wind still
blew up the river and the sky remained hopelessly murk and
lowering. I therefore buttoned up my corduroy coat, thrust my
head through the centre of my sarape, and set out in the teeth of
the gale. Leaving the muddy streets, swamped tents and shivering population of Sacramento City, a ride of a mile and a half
brought me to Sutter's Fort, built on a slight rise in the plain.
It is a large quadrangular structure, with thick adobe walls, and
square bastions at each corner. Everything about it showed signs
of dilapidation and decay. The corrals of earth had been trampled
down; doors and gateways were broken through the walls, and all
kinds of building materials carried away. A two story wooden
building, with flag-staff bearing the American colors, stood in the
centre of the court-yard, and low ranges of buildings around the
sides were variously occupied as hospitals, stores, drinking and
gaming shops and dwellings.   The hospital, under the charge of
Drs. Deal and Martin, was said to be the best regulated in the
district. It was at the time filled with fever patients, who reoeived nursing and medical attendance for $100 per week.
Behind the fort, at the distance of quarter of a mile, flows the 
ELDORADO.
Rio Americano, with several fine grazing ranches on its banks
The view on all sides is over a level plain, streaked with lines of
timber, and bounded on the east and west, in clear weather, by the
distant ranges of the Coast Mountains and the Sierra Nevada.
Three or four houses have sprung up on the low ground in front
of the fort during the summer. Riding up to a large unfinished
frame building to make inquiries about the road, I was answered
by a man whom I afterwards learned was the notorious Keysburg
the same who came out with the emigration of 1S46, and lived all
winter among the mountains on the dead bodies of his companions.
He was of a stout, large frame, with an exceedingly coarse, sen.
sual expression of countenance, and even had I not heard  his
revolting history, I should have marked his as a wholly animal
face. It remains in my memory now like that of an ogre, and I
only remember it with a shudder. One of those who went out to
the Camp of Death, after the snows were melted, described to me
the horrid circumstances under which they found him-seated
like a ghoul, in the midst of dead bodies, with his face and hands
smeared with blood, and a kettle of human flesh boiling over the
fire. He had become a creature too foul and devilish for this
earth, and the forbearance with which the men whose children he
had devoured while they were toiling back to his succor through
almost fathomless snows, refrained from putting him to death, is
to be wondered at. He had not the plea of necessity in the use
of this revolting food; for the body of an ox, which had been
thawed out of the snow, was found untouched near his cabin.
He spoke with a sort of fiendish satisfaction, of the meals
he had made, and the men were obliged to drag him away
from them by main force, not without the terrible convie.
tion that some of the victims had been put to a violent death
228 
NIGHT, RAIN AND A RANCHE.
to glut his appetite. There is no creation in the whole range of
fiction, so dark and awful in its character, as this man.
After passing the first belt of timber, I was alone on the plains,
which looked strikingly bleak and desolate under the dark and
rainy sky. The road was filled with pools of mud and water, by
which, when night came down on the changeless waste, I was
enabled to find my way. The rain set in again, adding greatly to
the discomfort of such travel. My gray mare, too, lagged more
than I liked, and I began to calculate my chances of remaining
all night on the plain.  About two hours after dark, however, a
faint light glimmered in the distance, and I finally reached the
place of my  destination-Murphy's  Ranche  on the  Cosumne
River. An Indian boy tied my horse to a haystack, and Mrs.
Murphy set about baking some biscuit in a pan, and roasting a
piece of beef for me on a wooden spit. A company of gold-diggers, on their way from the Yuba to winter on the Mariposa, had
possession of one end of the house, where they lay rolled in their
blankets, their forms barely discernible through the smoke sent
out by the rain-soaked wood of which their fire was made. I
talked an hour with them about the prospects of mining on the
different rivers, and then lay down to sleep on the clay floor.
The next morning the sky was as thick, heavy and gray as a
Mackinaw blanket, with a precocious drizzle, betokening a storm.
Nevertheless, I saddled and started for Hick's Ranche, a day's
journey distant, in the edge of the mountains. I forded the
Cosumne River, (almost universally pronounced Mokosume,) at
this place a clear, swift stream, bordered by dense thickets. It
was already up to my saddle-skirts, and rapidly rising. Two or
three tule huts stood on the opposite bank, and a number of dirty,
stupid Indian faces stared at me through the apertures. Taking
.229 
ELDORADO.
a dim wagon-trail, according to directions, I struck out once more
on the open plains. The travel was very toilsome, my horse's
feet sinking deeply into the wet, soft soil. The further I went
the worse it became. After making five miles, I reached some
scattering oak timber, where I was forced to take shelter from the
rain, which now beat down drenchingly. Cold and wet, I waited
two hours in that dismal solitude for the flood to cease, and taking
advantage of the first lull, turned about and rode back to the
ranche. All that night it rained hard, and the second morning
opened with a prospect more dreary than ever.
fly companions in that adobe limbo were the miners, who had
been spending the Summer onsthe upper bars of the Yuba. According to their accounts, the average yield of the Yuba diggings
was near two ounces for each man. Those who had taken out
claimns of eight paces square in the beginning of the season, frequently made $10,000 and upwards. Owing to the severity of
the Winter in that region, the greater portion o the miners were
moving southward until the Spring. Several companies came up
in the course of the day, but as the ranche was full, they were
constrained to pitch their tents along the banks of the swollen
Cosumne. Mr. Murphy, I found, was the son of the old gentleman
whose hospitalities I had shared in the valley of San Jose. lHe
had been living three years on the river, and his three sturdy young
sons could ride and throw the lariat equal to any Californian.
There were two or three Indian boys belonging to the house, one
of whom, a solid, shock-headed urchin, as grave as if he was borni
to be a " medicine-manu did all the household duties with great
precision and steadiness.  He was called "Billy," and though
he understood English as well as his own language, I never heard
I -'m speak. MTy only relief, during the wearisome detention, was
230 
THE NEVADA AT SUNSET.
in watching his deliberate motions, and wondering what thoughts,
or whether any thoughts stirred under his immoveable face.
The afternoon of the second day the clouds lifted, and we saw
the entire line of the Sierra Nevada, white and cold against the
background of the receding storm. As the sun broke forth, near
its setting, peak after peak became visible, far away to north
and south, till the ridge of eternal snow was unbroken for at least
a hundred and fifty miles. The peaks around the head-waters of the
American Fork, highest of all, were directly in front. The pure
white of their sides became gradually imbued with a rosy flame,
and their cones and pinnacles burned like points of fire. In the
last glow of the sun, long after it had set to us, the splendor of
the whole range, deepening from gold to rose, from rose to crimson, and fading at last into an ashy violet, surpassed even the
famous " Alp-glow," as I have seen it from the plains of Piedmont.
An old hunter living on the ranche came galloping up, with a
fat, black-tailed doe at the end of his lariat. Hie had first broken
the hind leg of the poor beast with a ball, and then caught her
running. The pleading expression of her large black eyes was
almost human, but her captor coolly drew his knife across her
throat, and left her to bleed to death.  She lay on the ground,
uttering a piteous bleat as her panting became thick and difficult,
but not until the last agony was wholly over, did the dull film steal
across the beauty of her lustrous eyes.
On the third morning I succeeded in leaving the ranche, where
I had been very hospitably entertained at four dollars a day for
myself and horse. The Cosumne was very much swollen by the
rains, but my gray mare swam bravely, and took me across with
but a slight wetting. I passed my previous halting-place, and was
231 
ELDORADO.
advancing with difficulty through the mud of the plains, when, on
climnbing a small " rise," I suddenly found myself confronted by
four grizzly bears-two of them half-grown cubs-who had posses
sion of a grassy bottom on the other side. They were not more
than two hundred yards distant. I halted and looked at them,
and they at me, and I must say they seemed the most unconcerned
of the two parties. Mly pistols would kill nothing bigger than a
coyote, and they could easily have outrun my horse; so I went
my way, keeping an eye on the most convenient tree. In case of
an attack, the choice of a place of refuge would have been a delicate matter, since the bears can climb up a large tree and gnaw
down a small one. It required some skill, therefore, in selecting
a trunk of proper size. At Murphy's, the night previous, they
told me there had been plenty of " bear-sirgn" along the river, and
in the " pockets" of solid ground among the tule. As the rainy
season sets in they always come down from the mountains.
After traveling eight or ten miles the wagon trails began to
scatter, and with my imperfect knowledge of prairie hieroglyphics,
I was soon at fault. The sky was by this time clear and bright;
and rather than puzzle myself with wheel-tracks leading everywhere, and cattle-tracks leading nowhere, I guessed at the location
of the ranche to which I was bound and took a bee-line towards it.
The knowledge of tracks and marks is a very important part oi
the education of a woodsman. It is only obtained by unlearning
or forgetting for the time, all one's civilized acquirements and recalling the original instincts of the animal. An observing man,
fresh from the city, might with some study determine the character
of a track, but it is the habit of observing them rather than the
discriminating faculty, which enables the genuine hunter to peruse
the earth like a volume, and confidently pronounce on the number
232 
PRAIRIE AND WOO0 CRAFT.
and character of all the animals and men that have lately passed
over its surface. Where an inexperienced eye could discern no
mark, he will note a hundred trails, and follow any particular one
through the maze, with a faculty of sight as unerring as the power
of scent in a dog. I was necessitated, during my journey in the
interior of California, to pay some attention to this craft, but I
never got beyond the rudiments.
Another necessary faculty, as I had constant occasion to notice,
is that of observing and remembering the form, color and character
of animals.  This may seem a simple thing; but let any one, at
the close of a ride in the country, endeavor to describe all the
horses, mules and oxen he has seen, and he will find himself at fault.
A Californian will remember and give a particular description of a
hundred animals, which he has passed in a day's journey, and be
able to recognize and identify any one of them.  Horses and mules
are to him what men, newspapers, books and machinery are to us;
they are the only science he need know or learn. The habit of
noticing them is easily acquired, and is extremely useful in a
country where there are neither pounds nor fences.
The heavy canopy of clouds was lifted from the plain almost as
suddenly as the cover firom a roast turkey at a hotel dinner, when
the head waiter has given the wink. The snows of the Nevada
shone white along the clear horizon; I could see for many a league
on every side, but I was alone on the broad, warm landscape.
Over wastes of loose, gravelly soil, into which my horse sank above
the fetlocks-across barren ridges, alternating with marshy hollows
and pools of water, I toiled for hours, and near sunset reached the
first low, timbered hills on the margin of the plain. I dismounted
and led my weary horse for a mile or two, but as it grew dark,
was obliged to halt in a little glen-a most bear-ish looking place,
233 
ELDORADO.
filled with thick chapparal. A fallen tree supplied me with fuel
to hand, and I soon had a glowing fire, beside which I spread my
blankets and lay down. Getting up at midnight to throw on more
logs, I found my horse gone, and searched the chapparal for an
hour, wondering how I should fare, trudging along on foot, with
the saddle on my shoulders. At last I found her in a distant part
of the wood, with the lariat wound around a tree. After this I
slept no more, but lay gazing on the flickering camp-fire, and her
gray figure as she moved about in the dusk. Towards dawn the
tinkle of a distant mule-bell and afterwards the crowing of a cock
gave me welcome signs of near habitation; and, saddling with the
first streak of light, I pushed on, still in the same direction, through
a thick patch of thorny chapparal, and finally reached the brow of
a wooded ridge just as the sun was rising.
Oh, the cool, fresh beauty of that morning! The sky was
deliciously pure and soft, and the tips of the pines on the hills
were kindled with a rosy flame from the new-risen sun.  Below
me lay a beautiful valley, across which ran a line of timber, betraying, by its luxuriance, the water-course it shaded. The
reaches of meadow between were green and sparkling with dew;
here and there, among the luxuriant foliage, peeped the white top
of a tent, or rose the pale-blue threads of smoke from freshlykindled camp-fires. Cattle were grazing in places, and the tinkle
of the bell I had heard sounded a blithe welcome from one of the
groups. Beyond the tents, in the skirts of a splendid clump of
trees stood the very ranche to which I was bound.
I rode up and asked for breakfast. My twenty-four hours' fast
was broken -by a huge slice of roast venison, and coffee sweetened
with black Mexican sugar, which smacks not only of the juice of
the cane, but of the loaves, joints, roots, and even the unctuous
234 
AMONG THE HILLS.
soil in which it grows. For this I paid a dollar and a half, but no
money could procure any feed for my famishing horse. Leaving
the ranche, which is owned by a settler named Hicks, my road led
along the left bank of Sutter's Creek for two miles, after which it
struck into the mountains. Here and there, in the gulches, I
noticed signs of the gold-hunters, but their prospecting did not
appear to have been successful. The timber was principally pine
and oak, and of the smaller growths, the red-barked madrono and
a species of esculus, with a fruit much larger than our Western
buckeye. The hills are steep, broken and with little apparent
system. A close observation, however, shows them to have a
gradual increase of elevation, to a certain point, beyond which
they fall again. As in the sea the motion of the long swells is
seen through all the small waves of the surface, so this broken
region shows a succession of parallel ridges, regularly increasing
in height till they reach the Sierra Nevada-the "tenth wave,"
with the white foam on its crest.
About noon, I came down again upon Sutter's Creek in a little
valley, settled by miners. A number of tents were pitched along
the stream, and some log houses for the winter were in process of
erection.  The diggings in the valley were quite profitable during
the dry season, especially in a cafion above. At the time I passed,
the miners were making from half an ounce to an ounce per day.
I procured a very good dinner at Humphrey's tent, and attempted
to feed my famishing gray with Indian meal at half a dollar the
pound; but, starving as she was, she refused to eat it. Her pace
had by this time dwindled to a very slow walk, and I could not
find it in my heart to use the spur. Leaving the place immediately after dinner, I crossed a broad mountain, and descended to
Jackson's Creek, where a still greater number of miners were
235 
ELDORADO.
congregated. Not the Creek only, but all the ravines in the
mountains around, furnished ground for their winter labors   A
little knoll in the valley, above the reach of floods, was entirely
covered with their white tents. The hotel tent was kept by an
Oregonian named Cosgrove, and there was in addition a French
restaurant.
From Jackson's Creek I took a footpath to the Mokelumne.
After scaling the divide, I went down into a deep, wild ravine,
where the path, notched along its almost perpendicular sides,
threatened to give way beneath my horse's feet. Further down,
the bottom was completely turned over by miners, a number of
whom were building their log cabins.  The rains had brought at
last a constant supply of water, and pans and cradles were in full
operation among the gravel; the miners were nearly all Frenchmen, and appeared to be doing well. The ravine finally debouched
upon the river at the Middle Bar. I found the current deep and
swollen by the rains, which had broken away all the dams made for
turning it. The old brush town was nearly deserted, and very few
persons were at work on the river banks, the high water having
driven all into the gulches, which continued to yield as much as
ever.
I forded the river with some difficulty, owing to the deep holes
quarried in its channel, which sometimes plunged my horse down
to the neck. On turning the point of a mountain a mile below,
I came again in sight of the Lower Bar, and recognized the features of a scene which had become so familiar during my visit in
August. The town was greatly changed. As I rode up the hill,
I found the summer huts of the Sonorians deserted and the inhabitants gone; Baptiste's airy hotel, with its monte and dining
tables, which had done us service as beds, was not to be found.
236 
A KNOT OF POLITICIAN8.
I feared that all of my friends were gone, and I had made the
journey in vain. The place was fast beginning to wear a look of
desolation, when as I passed one of the tents, I was hailed by a
rough-looking fellow dressed in a red flannel shirt and striped
jacket. Who should it be but Dr. Gillette, the sharer of my grotesque ride to Stockton in the summer. After the first salutations
were over, he conducted me  to Mr. James' tent, where I found
my old comrade, Col. Lyons, about sitting down to a smoking
dinner of beef, venison and tortillas. Dr. Gwin, one of the candidates for U. S. Senator, had just arrived, and was likewise the
guest of Mr. James. I joined him in doing execution at the
table, with the more satisfaction, because my poor mare had about
a quart of corn-the last to be had in the place-for her supper.
After dinner, Mr. Morse, of New Orleans, candidate for Congress, and Mr. Brooks, of New York, for the AssembIy, made
their appearance.  We  had a rare knot of politicians.  Col.
Lyons was a prominent candidate for the State Senate, and we
only lacked the genial presence of Col. Steuart, and the jolly one
of Capt. McDougal (who were not far off, somewhere in the diggings,) to have had all the offices represented, from the Governor
downwards. After dinner, we let down the curtains of the little
tent, stretched ourselves out on the blankets, lighted our cigars
and went plump into a discussion of California politics. Each of
the candidates had his bundle of tickets, his copies of the Constitution and his particular plans of action. As it happened there
were no two candidates for the same office present, the discussion
was carried on in perfect harmony and with a feeling of good-fellowship withal. Whatever the politics of the different aspirants,
they were, socially, most companionable men.   We will not disclose the mysteries of the conclave, but simply remark that every
237 
ELDORADO.
one slept as soundly on his hard bed as though he were dreaming
of a triumphant election.
The flood in the river, I found, had proved most disastrous to
the operations on the bar. Mr. James' company, which, after
immense labor and expense, had turned the channel for three
hundred yards, and was just beginning to realize a rich profit from
the river-bed, was suddenly stopped. The last day's washing
amounted to $1,700, and the richest portion of the bed was yet
to be washed. The entire expense of the undertaking, which
required the labor of forty men for nearly two months, was more
than twenty thousand dollars, not more than half of which had
been realized. All further work was suspended until the next
summer, when the returns would probably make full amends for
the delay and disappointment. The rich gulch was filled with
miners, most of whom were doing an excellent business. The
strata of white quartz crossing the mountains about half way up
the gulch, had been tried, and found to contain rich veins of gold
A company of about twelve had commenced sinking a shaft to
strike it at right angles.  In fact, the metal had increased, rather
than diminished in quantity, since my former visit.
238 
CHAPTER XXIII.
JOURNEY TO THE VOLCANO.
MY first care in the morning was to procure forage for my mare.
The effects of famine were beginning to show themselves in her
appearance. She stood dejectedly beside the pine stump to which
she was tethered, now and then gnawing a piece of the bark to
satisfy the cravings of her stomach.   Her flanks were thin and
her sides hollow, and she looked so wistfully at me with her dull,
sunken eyes, that I set out at once in the endeavor to procure
something better than pine-bark for her breakfast.   The only
thing I could find in all the village was bread, five small rolls of
which I bought at half a dollar apiece, and had the satisfaction
of seeing her greedily devour them. This feed, however, was far
too expensive, and rather than see her starve outright, I gave her
to Gen. Morse, for the ride back to Sacramento City, his own
horse having broken loose during the night. The grass, which
had already begun to sprout, was not more than quarter of an
inch in height, and afforded no sustenance to cattle. I therefore
reluctantly decided to shorten my journey, and perform the
remainder of it on foot.
The same night of my arrival on the river, I heard many stories
about "s The Volcano" —a place some twenty miles further into 
ELDORADO.
the heart of the mountains, where, it was said, a very rich de posit of gold had been found, near the mouth of an extinct crater.
I made due allowance for the size which gold lumps attain, tho
farther they roll, but a curiosity to see some of the volcanic ap pearances which are said to become frequent as you approach the
snowy ridge, induced me to start in the morning after having seen
my horse's head turned again towards the region of hay.
Dr. Gillette kindly offered to accompany me on the trip-an
offer the more welcome, on account of the additional security it
gave me against hostile Indians. The entire mountain district,
above the Upper Bar (about four miles from the Lower Bar) and particularly at the Forks of the Mokelumne-was overrun
with Indians, some of whom were of the tribe of the old chief,
Polo, and others of a tribe lately made hostile to the Americans
by an affiay at the Volcano. Polo, it was rumored had been
shot; but I gave no credit to the report. He was much too
cautious and cunning, to be entrapped. To the miners about
that region, he was as much of a will-o'-the-wisp as AbdelKader was to the French. More than once he visited the diggings in disguise, and no small company, prospecting above the
Forks, was safe from having a brush with his braves.
We took care to provide ourselves with a good double-barreled
rifle before starting. Our route lay up the river to the Middle
Bar. Climbing the mountain behind that place, we took a line
for the Butte, a lofty, isolated peak, which serves as a landmark
for the country between the Cosumne and the Mokelumne. Descending through wild, wooded ravines, we struck an Indian trail,
with fresh tracks upon it. The thick chapparal, here and there,
made us think of ambuscades, and we traveled more cautiously and
silently than was actually needful.  In the deep nooks and re
240 
TIlE FOREST TRAIL.
cesses of the mountains we noticed ruined huts and the ashes of
deserted camp-fires. The gulches in all directions had been dug
up by gold-hunters during the summer. One, in particular, at
the foot of the Butte, showed-as we ascended it, for more than a
mile-scarcely afoot of soil untouched.  The amount of gold obtained from it must have been very great. The traces of these
operations, deep in the wilderness, accounted for the fact of miners
becoming suddenly rich, after disappearing from the Bars for a
few days.
We climbed to the level of the mountain region, out of which
the Butte towered a thousand feet above us. Our trail led eastward from its foot, towards the Sierra Nevada, whose shining summits seemed close at hand. The hills were dotted with forests of
pine and oak, many specimens of the former tree rising to the
height of two hundred and fifty feet. The cones, of a dark red
color, were fully eighteen inches in length. The madrono, which
rises to a stately tree in the mountains near Monterey, was here a
tough shrub, looking, with its blood-red arms and lifeless foliage,
as if it had been planted over a murderer's grave. The ground, in
the sheltered hollows, was covered with large acorns, very little
inferior to chesnuts in taste; the deer and bear become very fat
at this season, from feeding upon them. They form the principal
subsistence of the Indian tribes during the winter. In one of the
ravines we found an "Indian wind-mill,  as the miners call it-a
flat rock, with half a dozen circular holes on its surface, beside
each of which lay a round stone, used in pulverizing the acorns.
We passed one or two inhabited camps a short distance from the
t'-ail, but were apparently unobserved. Further on. in the forest,
we came suddenly upon two young Indians. who were going on a
trail leading towards the Forks. They started at first to run, but
VOL. I.   11
241 
ELDORADO.
stopped when we hailed them; they understood neither English
nor Spanish, but some tobacco which the doctor gave them  way
very joyfully received.
The stillness and beauty of the shaded glens through which we
traveled were very impressive. Threaded by clear streams which
turned the unsightly holes left by the miners into pools of crvstal,
mirroring the boughs far above, their fresh, cool aspect was very
different from the glowing furnaces they form in summer. The
foliage was still very little changed; only the leaves of the buckeye had fallen, and its polished nuts filled the paths. The ash was
turned to a blazing gold, and made a perpetual sunset in the woods.
But the oak here wore an evergreen livery; the grass was already
shooting up over all the soil, and the Winter at hand was so decked
in the mixed trappings of Summer Autumn and Spring, that we
hardly recognized him.
Late in the afternoon we accidentally took a side trail, which
led up a narrow ravine and finally brought us to an open space
among the hills, where a company of prospecters were engaged in
pitching their tent for the winter. They were seven in number,
mostly sailors, and under the command of a Virginian named
Woodhouse. Their pack-mules had just arrived with supplies
from their former camp, and a half-naked Indian was trying to
get some flour.  On learning the scarcity of the article on the
river, they refused to sell him any. He importuned them some
time, but in vain: " Very well," said he, " you shall be driven
off to-morrow," and went away.  We were very hungry, and employed the cook of the company to get us something to eat. lHe
built a fire, fried some salt pork, and made us a dish of pancakes.
I could not help admiring the dexterity with which he tossed the
cake in the air and caught it on the other side as it came down
242 
CAMNIPING IN A STORM.
into the pan. We ate with an animal voracity, for the usual
California appetite-equal to that of three men  at home-was
sharpened by our long walk.
It was now beginning to grow dark, and a rain coming on. We
were seven miles from the Volcano, and would have preferred remaining for the night, had the miners given any encouragement
to our hints on the subject. Instead of this, it seemed to us that
they were suspicious of our being spies upon their prospecting, so
we left them and again plunged into the forest. Regaining the
proper trail we went at a rapid rate through gloomy ravines, which
were canopied by thick mist. It grew darker, and the rain began
to fall. We pushed on in silence, hoping to reach some place of
shelter, but the trail became more and more indistinct, till at last
we kept it with our feet rather than our eyes. I think we must
have walked in it a mile after we ceased entirely to see it. Once
or twice we heard yells in the distance, which we took to be those
of a party of the hostile Indians. The air grew pitchy dark, and
the rain fell so fast, that we lost the trail and determined to stop
for the night. We had just crossed a sort of divide, and our posi.
tion, as near as we could tell in the gloom, was at the entrance of
a deep ravine, entirely covered with forests, and therefore a tolerabl)ly secure covert. I had two or three matches in my pocket,
from which we struck a flame, at the foot of a pine tree. We fed
it daintily at first with the dry needles and filaments of bark, till it
grew strong enough and hungry enough to dry its own fuel.
Swinging with our whole weight to the ends of the boughs, we
snapped off sufficient to last for the night, and then lay down on
the dark side of the tree, with our arms between us to keep them
dry. The cold, incessant rain, pouring down through the boughs,
soon drenched us quite, and we crawled around to the other side
243 
ELDORADO.
The Indians, like Death, love a shining mark; and the thought of
an arrow sent out of the gloom around us, made our backs feel uncomfortable as we stood before the fire. Lying in the rain, however, without blankets, was equally unpleasant; so we took alter
nate half-hours of soaking and drying.
Salt pork and exercise combined, gave us an intolerable thirst,
to allay which we made torches of cedar bark and went down to
the bottom of the ravine for water. There was none to be found;
and we were about giving up the search when we came to a young
pine, whose myriad needles were bent down with their burden of
rain-drops.  No nectar was ever half so delicious.  We  caught
the twigs in our mouths and drained them dry, then cut down the
tree and carried it back in triumph to our fire, where we planted
it and let the rain fill up its aromatic beakers. The night seemed
interminable. The sound of the rain was like stealthy footsteps
on the leaves; the howling of wolves and the roar of water-falls at
a distance, startled us. Occasionally, the tread of some animal
among the trees-possibly a deer, attracted by the flame-put all
our senses on the alert. Just before daybreak the storm ceased,
and in ten minutes afterwards the sky was without a cloud.
The morning broke brightly and cheeringly.  We  resumed the
path, which led into a grassy meadow about a mile long, at the
further end of which we struck a wagon trail. A saucy wolf came
down to the edge of the woods, and barked at us most impertinently, but we did not think him worth the powder. The air was
fragrant with the smell of cedar-a species of the thuya —which
here grows to the height of two hundred feet. Its boles are perfectly straight and symmetrical, and may be split with the axe
into boards and shingles. Many of the trees had been felled for
this purpose, and lay by the roadside. From the top of a little
244 
THE VOLCANIC COMMUNITY.
ridge we looked down into the valley of the Volcano, and could see
the smoke rising from the tents. The encampment is in a deep
basin, surrounded by volcanic hills, several of which contain extinct craters. A small stream flows through the midst. The
tents and cabins of the miners are on the lower slopes of the hills,
and the diggings are partly in the basin and partly in gulches which
branch off from its northern side. The location is very beautiful,
and more healthy than the large rivers.
Descending into the valley, we stopped at a tent for breakfast,
which was got ready by the only female in the settlement-a woman from Pennsylvania, whose husband died on the journey out.
A number of the miners were from the same place. Maj. Bartlett of Louisiana, with his company, were also at work there; and
in another valley, beyond the wooded ridge to the north-east, Capt.
Jones of Illinois was located, with a company of about sixty men.
The whole number of persons at this digging was nearly one hundred and fifty, and they had elected an Alcalde and adopted laws
for their government. The supplies on hand were very scanty,
but they had more on the way, which the first favorable weather
would enable them to receive.
In addition to my motives of curiosity, in visiting the Volcano,
I was empowered with a political mission to the diggers. The
candidates on the Mokelumne gave me letters to some of them,
and packages of tickets which I was enjoined to commend to their
use. On delivering the letters, I found I was considered as having
authority to order an election-a power which was vested only in
the Prefect of the District or his special agents. At the suggestion of some of the miners I went with them to the Alcalde, in
order to have a consultation. I disclaimed all authority in the
matter, but explained to them the mode in which the elections
245 
ELDORADO.
were to be held on the river, and recommended them to adopt a
similar action. Owing to the short time which elapsed between
the Governor's proclamation and the day of election, it was im possible for the Prefect of each district to notify all the organized
communities. The only plan, therefore, was to meet on the ap pointed day, publicly elect Judges and Inspectors, and hold the
election in all other respects according to the requirements of the
Constitution. This was agreed to by the law-givers of the Volcano
as the most advisable mode of action. But behold how easy it
is, in a primitive community like this, to obtain the popular favor!
There was, on one of the tickets in the San Joaquin district, a
candidate for the State Senate, whose surname was the same as
mine, and the Volcanics, as I afterwards learned, took me to be
the same individual.  " We  will vote for him," said they, " because he came here to see us, and because he appears to understand the law." Accordingly, the whole vote of the place was
given to my namesake, but intended for me. Had I known this
fact sooner, I might have been tempted to run for Alcalde, at least.
Major Bartlett went with us to examine the diggings. The alluvial soil of the basin contains little gold, but has been dug up
very extensively by the miners, in search of the clay stratum;
beside which the gold is found in coarse grains, mixed with sand
and gravel. There is, however, no regularity in the stratum;
everything bears marks of violent change and disruption. In
holes dug side by side, I noticed that the clay would be reached
eighteen inches below the surface in one, and perhaps eight feet
in the other.  This makes the digging something of a lottery,
those who find a deposit always finding a rich one, and those who
find none making nothing at all. In the gulches the yield is more
certain. A Mexican had lately taken twenty-eight pounds out ot
246 
APPEARANCE OF THE EXTINCT CRATERS.
a single "pocket;"  another miner, having struck a rich spot,
dug $S,000 in a few days. Many made three, four and five
ounces daily for several days. In the upper valley the average
was about an ounce a day. From my hasty examination of the
place, I should not think the gold was thrown up by the craters
in a melted state, as the miners imagine. The fact of its being
found with the layer of clay would refute this idea. From the
strata, water-courses, and other indications, it is nevertheless evident that large slides from the hills, occasioned by earthquakes or
eruptions, have taken place.
I climbed the hills and visited two of the craters, neither of
which appeared to be the main opening of the volcano. On the
contrary, I should rather judge them to be vents or escape-holes
for the confined flame, formed in the sides of the mountain. The
rocks, by upheaval, are thrown into irregular cones, and show
everywhere the marks of intense heat. Large seams, blackened
by the subterranean fire, run through them, and in the highest
parts are round, smooth holes, a foot in diameter, to some of which
no bottom can be found. These are evidently the last flues
through which the air and flame made their way, as the surface
hardened over the cooling volcano. The Indian traditions go back
to the time when these craters were active, but their chronology is
totally indefinite, and I am not geologist enough to venture an
opinion. Pines at least a century old, are now growing on the rim
of the craters. Further up the mountain, the miners informed
me, there are large beds of lava, surrounding craters of still larger
dimensions.
We took dinner at Major Bartlett's tent, and started on our
return accompanied by Dr. Carpentier, of Saratoga, N. Y. Before leaving, I took pains to learn the particulars of the recernt
247 
ELDORADO.
fight with the Indians at the Volcano.  The latter, it seems, first
discovered the placer, and were digging when the whites arrived.
They made room for them at once, and proposed that they should
work peaceably together. Things went on amicably for several
days, when one of the miners missed his pick. He accused the
Indians of stealing it; the chief declared that if it was in their
camp it should be returned, and started to make inquiries. Instead of walking he ran; upon which one of the whites raised his
rifle and shot him. The Indians then armed at once. The
miners called up the remaining white men from the placer, and
told them that they had been attacked and one of their number
killed. The consequence of this false information was a general
assault upon the Indians who were at once driven off, and had not
returned up to the time of my visit. The same day a man named
Aldrich, from Boston, was found in the meadow on the trail by
which we came, pierced with three arrows. The neighborhood
of the Volcano was considered dangerous ground, and no one
thought of venturing into the mountains, unless well armed. It
is due to the miners to say, that on learning the true state of the
quarrel, they banished the scoundrels whose heartless cruelty
had placed the whole community in peril.
We retraced our steps, saw the snows of the Nevada turned by
the sunset to a brighter gold than any hidden in its veins, and
reached the camp of the prospecters in a starry and beautiful
twilight. As we approached through the trees, in the gathering
gloom, they shouted to us to keep off, taking us for Indians, but
allowed us to approach, when we answered in English. We were
kindly received, and again procured an excellent supper. The
men were better than we imagined.  They had been anxious about
our safety the previous night, and fired their rifles as signals to
249 
tHE TOP OF POLO S PEAK.
us. After we had grown tired of talking around the blazing campfire about grizzly bears, Mexicans, Gila deserts and gulches whose
pockets were filled with gold, they gave us a corner in their tent
and shared their blankets with us. I took their kindness as a rebuke to my former suspicions of their selfishness, and slept all
the better for the happiness of being undeceived.
It was a model morning that dawned upon us. The splash of
a fountain in the sun, the gloss of a white dove's wing, the winking of the beaded bubbles on Keats' cool draught of vintage, could
not have added a sparkle to its brightness. The sky was as blue
and keen as a Damascus blade, and the air, filled with a resinous
odor of pine, cedar and wild bay, was like the intoxication of new
life to the frame. We were up and off with the dawn, and walked
several miles before breakfast. On reaching the foot of the Butte,
Dr. G. and myself determined to make the ascent. Its ramparts
of red volcanic rock, bristling with chapparal, towered a thousand
feet above us, seemingly near at hand in the clear air. We believed we should be the first to scale its summit. The miners do
not waste time in climbing peaks, and the Indians keep aloof, with
superstitious reverence, from the dwelling-places of spirits.
After a toilsome ascent, at an angle of 45~, we reached the
summit. I-Iere, where we supposed no human foot had ever been,
we found on the crowning stone-the very apex of the pyramidthe letters " D. B." rudely cut with a knife.  Shade of Daniel
Boone! who else but thou could have been pioneer in this far
corner of the Farthest West! As the buried soldier is awakened
by the squadron that gallops to battle over his grave, has the
tramp of innumerable trains through the long wilderness called
thee forth to march in advance, and leave thy pioneer mark on
every unexplored region between sea and sea?
249 
ELDORADO.
Nevertheless we gave the name of Polo's Peak to the Buttein honor of the dauntless old chief who presided over the country
round about. Before I left the region, the name was generally
adopted by the miners, and I hope future travelers will remember
it. The view from the top is remarkably fine. Situated about
half-way between the plain and the dividing ridge of the Sierra
Nevada, the Peak overlooks the whole mountain country. The
general appearance is broken and irregular, except to the east,
where the ranges are higher. The mountains within ten miles of
us had snow on their crests, and the Nevada-immaculate and
lustrous in its hue-was not more than thirty miles distant. The
courses of the  Calaveras, Mokelumne and  Cosumne, with the
smaller creeks between them, could be distinctly traced. In the
nearer region at our feet, we could see the miners at work felling
logs and building their winter cabins, and hear the far whoop of
Indians, from their hidden rancherias. On the west, the horizon
was bounded by the Coast Range, Monte Diablo in the centre and
Suisun Bay making a gap in the chain. Between that blue wall
and the rough region at our feet lay the great plains of Sacramento and San Joaquin, fifty miles in breadth, and visible for at
least one hundred and fifty miles of extent. The sky was perfectly clear, and this plain alone, of all the landscape, was covered
with a thick white fog, the upper surface of which, as we looked
down upon it, was slowly tossed to and firo, moving and shifting
like the waves of an agitated sea.
We enjoyed this remarkable prospect for an hour, and then
made our way down the opposite side of the Peak, following bear
and deer trails through patches of thorny chapparal and long
slopes of sliding stones. We tarried for Dr. Carpentier in one of
the glens, eating the acorns which lay scattered under the trees
250 
ELECTION SCENES AND MINING CHARACTERS.
As he did not appear, however, we climbed the river hills and
came down on the Upper Bar, reaching our starting-point in time
for a dinner to which we did full justice.
CHAPTER XXIV.
ELECTION SCENES AND MINING CHARACTERS.
ON my arrival at the Lower Bar, I found Mr. Raney, of Stock.
ton, who had made the journey with the greatest difficulty, the
roads being almost impassable. The rainy season had now fairly
set in, and as it came a month earlier than usual, the miners, in
most cases, were without their winter supplies. Provisions of all
kinds had greatly advanced in price, and the cost of freight from
Stockton ran up at once to 75 cts. per lb. Flour was sold on
the river at $1 per lb. and other articles were in the same proportion   Much anxiety was felt lest the rains should not abate,
in which case there would have been a great deal of suffering on
all the rivers.
The clouds gradually lowered and settled down on the topmost
pines. Towards evening a chill rain came on, and the many
gullies on the hill-sides were filled with brown torrents that
brawled noisily on their way to the swollen Mokelumne. The big
drops splashed dismally on our tent, as we sat within, but a
double cover kept us completely dry and the ditch dug inside the
pins turned off the streams that poured down its sides. During
the night, however, the wind blew violently down the ravines, and
251 
ELDORADO.
the skirts 3f our blankets nearest the side of the tent wcre
thoroughly soaked. My boots stood under a leaky part of the
canvas, and as I hastened to put them on next morning, without
examination, I thrust my foot into about three inches of water
The Election Day dawned wet and cheerlessly. From the folds
of our canvas door, we looked out on the soaked and trickling
hills and the sodden, dripping tents. Few people were stirring
about the place, and they wore such a forlorn look that all idea of
getting up a special enthusiasm was at once abandoned. There
was no motion made in the matter until towards noon, as the most
of the miners lay dozing in their tents. The Alcalde acted as
Judge, which was the first step; next there were two Inspectors
to be appointed. I was requested to act as one, but, although I
had been long enough in the country to have held the office, I declined to accept until after application had been made to some of
the inhabitants. The acquiescence of two of the resident traders
relieved me of the responsibility. The election was held in the
largest tent in the place, the Inspectors being seated behind the,
counter, in close proximity to the glasses and bottles, the calls for
which were quite as frequent as the votes. I occupied a seat next
the Alcalde, on a rough couch covered with an India-rubber
blanket, where I passed the day in looking on the election and
studying the singular characters present.
As there were two or three candidates for State offices in the
place, the drumming up of voters gave one a refreshing reminiscence of home. The choosing of candidates from lists, nearly all
of whom were entirely unknown, was very amusing. Names, in
many instances, were made to stand for principles; accordingly, a
Mr. Fair got many votes. One of the candidates, who had been
on the river a few days previous, wearing a high-crowned silk hat,
252 
VOTING AND VOTERS.
with narrow brim, lost about twenty votes on that account. Some
went no further than to vote for those they actually knew. One
who took the opposite extreme, justified himself in this wise:" When I left home," said he, " I was determined to go it blind.
I went it blind in coming to California, and I'm not going to stop
now. I voted for the Constitution, and I've never seen the Constitution I voted for all the candidates, and I don't know a
damned one of them. I'm going it blind all through, I am." The
Californians and resident Mexicans who were entitled to vote, were
in high spirits, on exercising the privilege for the first time in
their lives. It made no difference what the ticket was; the fact
of their having voted very much increased their self-importance,
for the day at least.
The votes polled amounted to one hundred and five, all of which
were "For  the Constitution."  The number of miners on the
Bar, who were entitled to vote, was probably double this number,
but those who were at work up among the gulches remained in
their tents, on account of the rain. A company on the other side
of the river was completely cut off from the polls by the rise of
the flood, which made it impossible for them to cross. The In.
spectors were puzzled at first how far to extend the privilege of
suffrage to the Mexicans. There was no copy of the Treaty of
Queretaro to be had, and the exact wording of the clause referring
to this subject was not remembered. It was at last decided, however, that those who had been residing in the country since the
conquest, and intended to remain permanently, might be admitted
to vote; and the question was therefore put to each one in turn.
The most of them answered readily in the affirmative, and seemed
delighted to be considered as citizens. " Como no?" said a fat,
good-humored fellow, with a ruddy olive face, as he gave his
253 
ELDORADO.
sarape a new twirl over his shoulder: " Como no? soy Amertcano
ahora."   (Why not? I am now an American.)  The candidates,
whose interest it was to search out all delinquents, finally exhausted the roll, and the polls were closed. The returns were made
out in due form, signed and dispatched by a messenger to the
Double Spring, to await the carrier from the Upper Bar, who was
to convey them to Stockton.
During the few days I spent on the Mokelumne, I had an opportulnity of becoming acquainted with many curious characteristics
and incidents of mining life. It would have been an interesting
study for a philosopher, to note the different effects which sudden
enrichment produced upon different persons, especially those whose
lives had previously been passed in the midst of poverty and privation. The most profound scholar in human nature might here
have learned something which all his previous wisdom and experience could never teach. It was not precisely the development of
new qualities in the man, but the exhibition of changes and contrasts of character, unexpected and almost unaccountable. The
world-old moral of gold was completely falsified. Those who were
unused to labor, whose daily ounce or two seemed a poor recompense for weary muscles and flagging spirits, might carefully hoard
their gains; but they whose hardy fibre grappled with the tough
earth as naturally as if it knew no fitter play, and made the coarse
gravel and rocky strata yield up their precious grains, were as
profuse as princes and as open-hearted as philanthropists
Weather-beaten tars, wiry, delving Irishmen, and stalwart foresters from the wilds of Missouri, became a race of sybarites and
epicureans.   Secure in possessing the " Open Sesame"  to the
exhaustless treasury under their feet, they gave free rein to every
whim or impulse which could possibly be gratifiel.
'' 5 4 
AN ENGLISHMAN IN RAPTURES.
It was no unusual thing to see a company of these men, who
had never before had a thought of luxury beyond a good beefsteak and a glass of whiskey, drinking their champagne at ten dollars a bottle, and eating their tongue and sardines, or warming in
the smoky camp-kettle their tin canisters of turtle-soup and lobstersalad. It was frequently remarked that the Oregonians, though
accustomed all their lives to the most simple, solid and temperate
fare, went beyond every other class of miners in their fondness
for champagne and all kinds of cordials and choice liquors
These were the only luxuries they indulged in, for they were, to a
man, cautious and economical in the use of gold.
One of the most amusing cases I saw was that of a company of
Englishmen, from New South Wales, who had been on the Mokelumne about a week at the time of my visit. They had only
landed in California two weeks previous, and this was their first
experience of gold-digging. One of them, a tall, strong-limbed
fellow, who had served seven years as a private of cavalry, was
unceasing in his exclamations of wonder and delight. He repeated his story from  morning till night, and in the fullness of his
heart communicated it to every new face he saw.  " By me soul,
but this is a great country!" he would exclaim; " here a man
can dig up as much goold in a day as he ever saw in all his life
Hav'n't I got already more than I know what to do with, an' I've
only been here a week. An' to think'at I come here with never
a single bloody farthing in my pocket! An' the Frenchman,
down the hill there, him'at sells wittles, he wouldn't trust me for
a piece of bread, the devil take him!'If ye've no money, go an'
dig some;' says he;' people dig here o' Sundays all the same.'
' Ill dig o' Sundays for no man, ye bloody villain;' says I,' I'll
starve first.' An' I did'nt, an' I had a hungry belly, too.  But o'
1*
255 
ELDORADO.
MIonday I dug nineteen dollars, an' o' Tuesday twenty-three, an' o0
Friday two hundred an' eighty-two dollars in one lump as big as
yer fist; an' all for not workin' o' Sundays.   Was  there ever
sich a country in the world!"  And, as if to convince himself
that he actually possessed all this gold, he bought champagne, ale
and brandy by the dozen bottles, and insisted on supplying every
body in the settlement.
There was one character on the river, whom I had met on my
first visit in August and still found there on my return. He possessed sufficient individuality of appearance and habits to have
made him a hero of fiction; Cooper would have delighted to have
stumbled upon him. His real name I never learned, but he was
known to all the miners by the cognomen of " Buckshot"-an
appellation which seemed to suit his hard, squab figure very well
He might have been forty years of age or perhaps fifty; his face
was but slightly wrinkled and he wore a heavy black beard which
grew nearly to his eyes and entirely concealed his mouth. Wh-en
he removed his worn and dusty felt hat, which was but seldom, his
large, square forehead, bald crown and serious gray eyes gave him
an appearance of reflective intellect;-a promise hardly verified
by his conversation. He was of a stout and sturdy frame, and
always wore clothes of a coarse texture, with a flannel shirt and
belt containing a knife. I guessed from a slight peculiarity of his
accent that he was a German by birth, though I believe he was not
considered so by the miners.
The habits of " Buckshot" were still more eccentric than his
appearance. He lived entirely alone, in a small tent, and seemed
rather to shun than court the society of others. His tastes were
exceedingly luxurious; he always had the best of everything  in
the market, regardless of its cost. The finest hams, at a dollai
256 
257
and a half the pound; preserved oysters, corn and peas, at six
dollars a canister; onions and potatoes, whenever such articles
made their appearance; Chinese sweetmeats and dried fruits, were
all on his table, and his dinner was regularly moistened by a bottle
of champagne. He did his own cooking, an operation which cost
little trouble, on account of the scarcity of fresh provisions. When
particularly lucky in digging, he would take his ease for a day or
two, until the dust was exhausted, when he would again shoulder
his pick and crowbar and commence burrowing in some lonely
corner of the rich gulch. He had been in the country since the
first discovery of the placers, and was reported to have dug, in all,
between thirty and forty thousand dollars,-all of which he had
spent for his subsistence. I heard him once say that he never
dug less than an ounce in one day, and sometimes as much as two
pounds. The rough life of the mountains seemed entirely congenial to his tastes, and he could not have been induced to change
it for any other, though less laborious and equally epicurean
Among the number of miners scattered through the different gulches, I met daily with men of education and intelligence, from all parts of the United States.   It was never
safe to presume on a person's character, from his dress or
appearance.   A  rough, dirty, sunburnt  fellow, with unshorn
beard, quarrying array for life at the bottom of some rocky
hole, might be a graduate of one of the first colleges in the
country, and a man of genuine refinement and taste.  I found
plenty of men who were not outwardly distinguishable from the
inveterate trapper or mountaineer, but who, a year before, had
been patientless physicians, briefiess lawyers and half-starved
editors. It was this infusion of intelligence which gave the gold
hunting communities, notwithstanding their barbaric exterior and
cc BUCKSHOT.)) 
ELDORADO.
mode of life, an order and individual security which at first sight
seemed little less than marvellous.
Since my first visit, the use of quicksilver had been introduced
on the river, and the success which attended its application to
gold-washing will bring it henceforth into general use. An improved rocker, having three or four lateral gutters in its bottom,
which were filled with quicksilver, took up the gold so perfectly,
that not the slightest trace of it could be discovered in the refuse
earth. The black sand, which was formerly rejected, was washed
in a bowl containing a little quicksilver in the bottom, and the
amalgam formed by the gold yielded four dollars to every pound
of sand. Mr. James, who had washed out a great deal of this
sand, evaporated the quicksilver in a retort, and produced a cake
of fine gold worth nearly five hundred dollars. The machines sold
at one thousand dollars apiece, the owners having wisely taken the
precaution to have them patented.
There is no doubt that, by means of quicksilver, much of the
soil which has heretofore been passed by as worthless, will give a
rich return. The day before my departure, Dr. Gillette washed
out several panfuls of earth from the very top of the hills, and
found it to contain abundance of fine grains of gold. A heap of
refuse earth, left by the common rocker after ten thousand dollars
had been washed, yielded still another thousand to the new machine. Quicksilver was enormously high, four dollars a pound
having been paid in Stockton. When the mines of Santa Clara
shall be in operation, the price will be so much reduced that its
use will become universal and the annual golden harvest be thereby
greatly increased. It will be many years before all the placers or
gold deposits are touched, no matter how large the emigration to
California may be   The region in which all the mining operations
258 
MY OWN GO l)-DIGGING.
are now carried on, extending from the base of the proper Sierl'a
Nevada to the plains of Sacramento and San Joaquin, is upwards
of five hundred miles in length by fifty in breadth. Towards the
head of the Sacramento River gold is also found in the granite
formation, and there is every reason to believe that it exists in the
valleys and canions of the great snowy ridge.
I was strongly tempted to take hold of the pick and pan, and
try my luck in the gulches for a week or two. I had fully intended,
on reaching California, to have personally tested the pleasure of
gold-digging, as much for the sake of a thorough experience of life
among the placers as from a sly hope of striking on a pocket full
of big lumps.  The unexpected coming-on of the rainy season,
made my time of too much account, besides adding greatly to the
hardships of the business. Two or three days' practice is requisite
to handle the implements properly, and I had no notion of learning
the manipulations without fingering the gold. Once, indeed, I
took a butcher-knife, went into one of the forsaken holes in the
big gulch, lay on my back as I had seen the other miners do, and
endeavored to pick out some yellow grains from the crevices of the
crumbling rock. My search was vain, however, and I was indebted
to the kindness of some friends for the only specimens I brought
away firom the Diggings.
259 
CHAPTER XXV.
THE RAINY SEASON.
I LEFT the Mokelumne River the afternoon following Election
Day, and retraced my path to Jackson's Creek, which I reached
at dark.   Being  unhorsed, I resumed my  old plodding gait,
"C packing" my blankets and spurs.  I was obliged to walk to the
Upper Bar, in order to cross the Mokelumne, whose current was
now very deep and rapid. A man named Bills, who kept a brush
hotel with a canvas roof, had set up an impromptu ferry, made by
nailing a few planks upon four empty barrels, lashed together
This clumsy float was put over by means of a rope stretched from
bank to bank. The tendency of the barrels to roll in the swift
current, made it very insecure for more than two persons. The
same morning, four men who were crossing at once, overbore its
delicate equilibrium and were tipped into the water, whence they
were rescued with some difficulty. A load of freight met with the
same luck just before I reached the ferry. The banks were heaped
with barrels, trunks, crates of onions and boxes of liquor, waiting
to be taken over, and some of the Mexican arrieros were cnd!-a
voring to push their pack-mules into the water and force them to
swim. I took my place on the unsteady platform with some doubts
of a dry skin, but as we were all careful to keep a plumb line, the
passage was made in safety. 
NIGHT AT JACKSON'S CREEK.
I toiled up the windings of a deep gulch, whose loneliness, after
I had passed the winter huts of the gold-diggers, was made very
inlpressive by the gathering twilight. The gray rocks which walled
it in towards the summit looked dim and spectral under the eaves
of the pines, and a stream of turbid water splashed with a melancholy sound into the chasm below. The transparent glimmer of
the lighted tents on Jackson's Creek had a cheery look as seen at
the bottom of the gulch on the other side of the mountain. I
stopped at Cosgrove's tent, where several travelers who had arrived before me were awaiting supper. We sat about the fire and
talked of gold-digging, the election and the prospect of supplies
for the winter.  When Mrs. Cosgrove had finished frying her beef
and boiling her coffee, we rolled to the table all the casks, boxes
and logs we could find, and sat down to our meal under the
open stars. A Chinook Indian from Oregon acted as waiter-an
attendance which we would rather have dispensed with. I was
offered a raw-hide in one corner of a small storage-tent, and spread
my blanket upon it; the dampness of the earth, however, striking
through both hide and blankets, gave me several chills and rheumatic pains of the joints, before morning.  The little community
established on the knoll numbered about sixty persons. They
were all settled there for the winter, though the gold dug did
not average more thbn half an ounce to each man, daily.
Next morning, I crossed the hills to Sutter's Creek, where I
found the settlement increased by several new arrivals. From
this place my path branched off to the north, crossing several
mountain ridges to Amador's Creek, which, like the streams I had
already passed, was lined with tents and winter cabins. I questioned several miners about their profits, but could get no satisfactory answer. Singularly enough, it is almost impossible to learn
261 
ELDORADO.
from the miners themselves, unless one happens to be a near acquaintance, the amount of their gains. If unlucky, they dislike
to confess it; if the contrary, they have good reason for keeping it
secret.   When most complaining, they may be most successful.
I heard of one, who, after digging fruitlessly for a week, came
suddenly on a pocket, containing about three hundred dollars.
Seeing a friend approaching, he hastily filled it up with stones, and
began grubbing in the top soil.  "Well, what luck?" inquired
his friend. "Not a damned cent," was the answer, given with a
mock despondency, while the pale face and stammering voice betrayed the cheat at once. Nobody believes you are not a goldhunter. Hie must be a fool, they think, who would go to the
mountains for any other purpose. The questions invariably asked
me were: "Where have you been digging?" and "Where  do
you winter?" If I spoke of going home soon, the expression
was: "Well, I s'pose you've got your pile;" or, " You've been
lucky in your prospecting, to get off so soon."
Leaving Amador's Creek, a walk of seven miles took nme to
Dry Creek, where I found a population of from two to three hundred, established for the winter. The village was laid out with
some regularity, and had taverns, stores, butchers' shops and
monte tables. The digging was going on briskly, and averaged
a good return. The best I could hear of, was $114 in two
days, contrasted with which were the stories of several who had
got nothing but the fever and ague for their pains. The amount
of sickness on these small rivers during the season had been very
great, and but a small part of it, in my opinion, was to be ascribed
to excesses of any kind. All new countries, it is well known,
breed fever and ague, and this was especially the case in the gold
region where, before the rains came on, the miner was exposed
2- 62 
THE WINTER SETTLEMENTS.
to intense heat during the day and was frequently cold under
double blankets at night. The water of many of the rivers occa
sions diarrhoea to those who drink it, and scarcely one out of a
hundred emigrants escapes an attack of this complaint.
At all these winter settlements, however small, an alcalde is
chosen and regulations established, as near as possible in accordance with the existing laws of the country. Although the authority exercised by the alcalde is sometimes nearly absolute, the
miners invariably respect and uphold it. Thus, at whatever cost,
order and security are preserved; and when the State organization
shall have been completed, the mining communities, for an extent
of five hundred miles, will, by a quiet and easy process, pass into
regularly constituted towns, and enjoy as good government and
protection as any other part of the State. Nothing in California
seemed more miraculous to me than this spontaneous evolution of
social order from the worst elements of anarchy It was a lesson
worth even more than the gold.
The settlement on Dry Creek is just on the skirts of the rough
mountain region-the country of canions, gulches, caiadas and
divides; terms as familar in the diggings as " per cent" in Wallstreet. I had intended to strike directly across the mountains to
the American Fork. The people represented this route to be impracticable, and the jagged ridges, ramparted with rock, which
towered up in that direction, seemed to verify the story, so I took
the trail for Daly's Ranche, twenty-two miles distant. After
passing the Willow Springs, a log hut on the edge of a swamp,
the road descended to the lower hills, where it was crossed by frequent streams. I passed on the way a group of Indians who were
skinning a horse they had killed and were about to roast. They
were well armed and had probably shot the horse while it was
263 
ELDORADO.
grazing.  I greeted them with a "buenas dias," which they sullenly returned, adding an "ugh! ugh!" which might have ex
pressed either contempt, admiration, friendship or fear.
In traveling through these low hills, I passed several companies
of miners who were engaged in erecting log huts for the winter.
The gravelly bottoms in many places showed traces of their prospecting, and the rocker was in operation where there was sufficient
water. When I inquired the yield of gold I could get no satisfactory answer, but the faces of the men betrayed no sign of disap
pointment. While resting under a leafless oak, I was joined by a
boy of nineteen who had been digging on the Dry Creek and was
now returning to San Francisco, ague-stricken and penniless.  We
walked on in company for several hours, under a dull gray sky,
which momentarily threatened rain. The hot flush of fever was
on his face, and he seemed utterly desponding and disinclined to
talk. Towards night, when the sky had grown darker, he declared himselfunable to go further, but I encouraged him to keep
on until we reached a cabin, where the miners kindly received him
for the night.
I met on the road many emigrant wagons, bound for the diggings. They traveled in companies of two and three, joining
teams whenever their wagons stuck fast in the mire. Some were
obliged to unload at the toughest places, and leave part of their
stores on the Plain until they could return from their Winter quarters. Their noon camps would be veritable treasures for my
friend Darley, the artist, if he could have seen them. The men
were all gaunt, long-limbed Rip Van Winkles, with brown faces,
matted hair and beards, and garments which seemed to have
grown up with them, for you could not believe they had ever been
taken off. The women, who were somewhat more tidy, had suft
26-,l 
THE RAINS AND THE PLAINS.
fered less from the journey, but there were still many fine subjects
for the pencil among them. In the course of the day I passed
about thirty teams.
At night, after a toilsome journey, I reached the Cosumne
River, two miles below the diggings. I was wet from the swamps
I crossed and the pools I had waded, weary in body, and
thoroughly convinced of the impossibility of traveling on the
Plains during the rainy season.  One  would think, from  the
parched and seamed appearance of the soil in summer, that nothing short of an absolute deluge could restore the usual moisture.
A single rain, however, fills up the cracks, and a week of wet
weather turns the dusty plain into a deep mire, the hollows into
pools, and the stony arroyos into roaring streams. The roads
then become impassable for wagons, killing to mules, and terribly
laborious for pedestrians. In the loose, gravelly soil on the hilltops, a horse at once sinks above his knees, and the only chance
of travel is by taking the clayey bottoms. Where, a month before there had been a jornada of twenty miles, arid as the desert,
my path was now crossed by fifty streams.
Where the trail struck the river I came upon a small tent,
pitched by the roadside, and was hailed by the occupants. They
were two young men from Boston, who came out in the suminer, went to the North-Fork of the American, prospered in their
digging, and were going southward to spend the winter. They
were good specimens of the sober, hardy, persevering gold-digger
-a class who never fail to make their " piles."  I willingly accepted their invitation to spend the night, whereupon they threw
another log on the camp-fire, mixed some batter for slap-jacks, and
put a piece of salt pork in the pan. We did not remain long
about the fire, after my supper was finished. Uniting our store of
12
265 
ELDORADO.
blankets, we made a bed in common for all three, entirely filling
the space covered by the little tent. Two or three showers fell
during the night, and the dash of rain on the canvas, so near my
head, made doubly grateful the warmth and snugness of our
covert.
The morning brought another rain, and the roads grew deeper
and tougher. At Coates's Ranche, two miles further, I was
ferried across the Cosumne in a canoe. The river was falling, and
teams could barely pass. The day previous a wagon and team
had been washed several hundred yards down the stream, and the
owners were still endeavoring to recover the running works which
lay in a deep hole. Several emigrant companies were camped on
the grassy bottoms along the river, waiting a chance to cross. At
the ranche I found breakfast just on the table, and to be had at
the usual price of a dollar and a half; the fare consisted of beef
broiled in the fire, coarse bread, frijoles and coffee. The landlady
was a German emigrant, but had been so long among the American settlers and native rancheros, that her talk was a three-stranded
twist of the different languages.  She seemed quite unconscious
that she was not talking in a single tongue, for all three came
to serve her thought with equal readiness.
I stood in the door some time, deliberating what to do. The
sky had closed in upon the plain with a cheerless drizzle, which
made walking very uncomfortable, and I could find no promise of
a favorable change of weather. MIy intention had been to visit
Mormon Island and afterwards Culloma Mill, on the American
Fork. The former place was about thirty miles distant, but the
trail was faint and difficult to find; while, should the rain increase,
I could not hope to make the journey in one day. The walk to
Sacramento presented an equally dispiriting aspect, but after some
266 
A RANCHE AND ITS INHABITANTS.
questioning and deliberation, I thought it possible that General
Morse might have left my gray mare at some of the ranches
further down the river, and resolved to settle the question before
going further. Within the space of two or three miles I visited
three, and came at last to a saw-minill, beyond which there was no
habitation for ten miles. The family in an adjoining house seemed
little disposed to make my acquaintance; I therefore took shelter
from the rain, which was now pouring fast, in a mud cabin, on the
floor of which lay two or three indolent vaqueros   They were
acquainted with every animal on all the ranches, and unhesitatingly declared that my mare was not among them.
When the rain slacked, I walked back to one of the other
ranches, where I found several miners who had taken shelter in a
new adobe house, which was partially thatched. We gathered
together in a room, the floor of which was covered with wet tul4
and endeavored to keep ourselves warm. The place was so chill
that I went into the house inhabited by the fam;lv, and asked pernmission to dry myself at the fire. The occupants were two women, apparently sisters, of the ages of eighteen and thirty; the
younger would have been handsome, but for an expression of habitual discontent and general contempt of everything. They made
no answer to my request, so I took a chair and sat down near the
blaze. Two female tongues, however, cannot long keep silent,
and presently the elder launched into a violent anathema against
all emigrants, as she called them. I soon learned that she had
been in the country three years; that she had at first been living
on Bear Creek; that the overland emigrants, the previous year,
having come into the country almost destitute, appropriated some
of the supplies which had been left at home while the family was
absent gold-hunting; and, finally, that the fear of being in future
267 
ELDORADO.
plundered of their cattle and wheat had driven them to the banks
of the Cosumne, where they had hoped for some security. They
were deceived, however; the emigrants troubled them worse than
ever, and though they charged a dollar and a half a meal and
sometimes cleared fifty dollars a day, still their hatred was no
abated.
Most especially did the elder express her resentment against
the said emigrants, on account of their treatment of the Indians.
I felt disposed at first to agree with her wholly in their condemnation, but it appeared that she was influenced by other motives
than those of humanity. "Afore these here emigrants come,'"
said she; " the Injuns were as well-behaved and bidable as could
be; I liked'em more'n the whites. When we begun to find gold
on the Yuber, we could git'em to work for ns day in and day out,
fur next to nothin'.  We told'em the gold was stuff to whitewash
houses with, and give'em a hankecher for a tin-cup full; but after
the emigrants begun to come along and put all sorts of notions
into their heads, there was no gettin them to do nothin'."
I took advantage of a break in this streak of " chain lightning,"
to inquire whether Dr. Gwin and Gen. Morse had recently passed
that way; but they did not know them by name. " Well," said
I, " the gentlemen who are trying to get elected."  " Yes,"  rejoined the elder, " them, people was here. They stuck their heads
in the door one night and asked if they might have supper and
lodgin'. I told'em no, I guessed they couldn't. Jist then Mr.
Kewen come along; he know'd'em and made'em acquainted
Gosh  but I was mad.   I had to git supper for'em then; but if
't'd'a bin me, I'd'a had more spunk than to eat, after I'd bin
told I could'n't." It had been difficult for me to keep a serious
countenance before, but now I burst into a hearty laugh, which
268 
A FEMININE COMPLIMENT.
they took as a compliment to their "spunk."  One of the household, a man of some education, questioned me as to the object of
my emigration to California, which I explained without reserve.
This, however, brought on another violent expression of opinion
from the same female.  " That's jist the way," said she; " some
people come here, think they've done great things, and go home
and publish all sorts of lies; but they don't know no inore'n nothin' in God A'mighty's world, as much as them people that's bin
here three years." After this declaration I thought it best to
retreat to the half-finished adobe house, and remain with my companions in misery. Towards evening we borrowed an axe, with
which we procured fuel enough for the night, and built a good
fire. A Mexican, driven in by the rain, took out his cards and set
up a monte bank of ten dollars, at which the others played with
shillings and quarters. I tried to read an odd volume of the
" Scottish Chiefs," which I found in the house, but the old charm
was gone, and I wondered at the childish taste which was so fascinated with its pages.
We slept together on the earthen floor. All night the rain pattered on the tule thatch, but at sunrise it ceased. The sky was
still lowering, and the roads were growing worse so rapidly, that
instead of starting across the plains for Mormon Island, the nearest point on the American Fork where the miners were at work,
I turned about for Sacramento City, thinking it best to return
while there was a chance. A little experience of travel over the
saturated soil soon convinced me that my tour in the mountains
was over. I could easily relinquish my anticipations of a visit to
the mining regions of the American Fork, Bear and Yuba Rivers,
for life at the different diggings is very much the same, and the
character of the gold deposits does not materially vary; but there
269 
ELDORADO.
had ever been a shining point in the background of all my former dreams of California-a shadowy object to be attained, of
which I had never lost sight during my wanderings and from
which I could not turn away without a pang of regret and disappointment. This was, a journey to the head of the Sacramento
Valley, a sight of the stupendous Shaste Peak, which stands like
an obelisk of granite capped with gleaming marble, on the borders of Oregon, and perhaps an exploration of the terrific canons
through which the river plunges in a twenty-mile cataract, from
the upper shelf of the mountains. The fragments of description
which I had gathered from Oregonians, emigrants and " prospecters" who had visited that region, only made my anticipations
more glowing and my purpose more fixed. I knew there was
grandeur there, though there might not be gold. Three weeks of
rough travel, had the dry season extended to its usual length,
would have enabled me to make the journey; but,. like most of
the splendid plans we build for ourselves, I was obliged to give it
up on the eve of fulfilment. A few days of rain completely washed
it out of my imagination, and it was long before I could fill the
blank.
I was accompanied by one of the " Iowa Rangers," from Dubuque, Iowa. He had been at work at the Dry Diggings on Weaver's Creek. He was just recovering from the scurvy, and could
not travel fast, but was an excellent hand at wading.  Before
reaching the timber of the American Fork, we crossed thirty or
forty streams, many of which were knee-deep. Where they were
so wide as to render a leap impossible, my pjan was to dash through
at full speed, and I generally got over with but a partial saturation: the broad, shallow pools obliged us to stop and pull off our
boots. It was one form of the water-cure I did not relish. " If
270 
SACRAMENTO AGAIN.
this be traveling in the rainy season," thought I, " I'll have none
of it."
On the banks of the American Fork we found a sandy soil and
made better progress. Following that beautiful stream through
the afternoon, we came at dusk to Sutter's Fort, which was surrounded by a moat of deep mud.  I picked my way in the dark
to Sacramento City, but was several times lost in its tented labyrinths before I reached (Oapt. Baker's store-under whose hospitable roof I laid down my pack and took up my abode for several
days.
271 
CHAPTER XXVL
NIGHT IN SACRAMENiO CITE.
SACRAMENTO CITY was one place by day and another by night;
and of the two, its night-side was the most peculiar. As the day
went down dull and cloudy, a thin fog gathered in the humid atmosphere, through which the canvas houses, lighted from within,
shone with a broad, obscure gleamn, that confused the eye and
made the streets most familiar by daylight look strangely different.
They bore no resemblance to the same places, seen at mid-day,
under a break of clear sunshine, and pervaded with the stir of
business life. The town, regular as it was, became a bewildering
labyrinth of half-light and deep darkness, and the perils of traversing it were greatly increased by the mire and frequent pools left
by the rain.
To one, venturing out after dark for the first time, these perils
were by no means imaginary. Each man wore boots reaching to
the knees-or higher, if he cou:d get them-with the pantaloons
tucked inside, but there were pit-falls, into which had he fallen,
ever. te.  would have availed little.  In the more frequented
streets, where drinking and gambling had full swing, there was a
partial light, streaming out through doors and crimson windowourtains, to guide his steps. Sometimes a platform of plank re 
PERILS OF A NIGHT RAMBLE.
ceived his feet; sometimes he skipped from one loose barrel-stave
to another, laid with the convex-side upward; and sometimes,
deceived by a scanty piece of scantling, he walked off its further
end into a puddle of liquid mud. Now, floundering in the stiff
mnire of the mid-street, he plunged down into a gulley and was
" brought up" by a pool of water; now, venturing near the houses
a scaffold-pole or stray beam dealt him an unexpected blow. If
he wandered into the outskirts of the town, where the tent-city of
the emigrants was built, his case was still worse. The briery
thickets of the original forest had not been cleared away, and the
stumps, trunks and branches of felled trees were distributed over
the soil with delightful uncertainty. If he escaped these, the lariats of picketed mules spread their toils for his feet, threatening
entanglement and a kick from one of the vicious animals; tentropes and pins took him across the shins, and the horned heads of
cattle, left where they were slaughtered, lay ready to gore him at
every step. A walk of any distance, environed by such dangers,
especially when the air was damp and chill, and there was a possibility of rain at any moment, presented no attractions to the
weary denizens of the place.
A great part of them, indeed, took to their blankets soon after
dark. They were generally worn out with the many excitements
of the day, and glad to find a position of repose. Reading was
out of the question to the most of them when candles were $4 per
lb. and scarce at that; but in any case, the preternatural activity
and employment of mind induced by the business habits of the
place would have made impossible anything like quiet thought
I saw many persons who had brought the works of favorite authors
wi'th them, for recreation at odd hours, but of all the works thus
brought, I never saw one read. Men preferred-or rather it grew,
273 
ELDORADO.
involuntarily, into a customi-to lie at ease instead, and turn ovei
in the brain all their shifts and manceuvres of speculation, to see
whether any chance had been left untouched.  Some, grouped
around a little pocket-stove, beguile an hour or two over their
cans of steaming punch or other warmling concoction, and build
schemes out of the smoke of their rank Guayaquil puros for the
odor of a genuine Havana is unknown. But, by nine o'clock at
farthest, nearly all the working population of Sacramento City are
stretched out on mattrass, plank or cold earth, according to the
state of their fortunes, and dreaming of splendid runs of luck or
listening to the sough of the wind in the trees.
There is, however, a large floating community of overland emigrants, miners and sporting characters, who prolong the wakefulness of the streets far into the night.  The door of many a gaulbling-hell on the levee, and in J and K streets, stands invitingly
open; the wail of torture from innumerable musical instruments
peals from all quarters through the fog and darkness. Full bands,
each playing different tunes discordantly, are stationed in front of
the principal establishments, and as these happen to be near together, the mingling of the sounds in one horrid, ear-splitting,
brazen chaos, would drive frantic a man of delicate nerve. All
one's old acquaintances in the amateur-music line, seem to have
followed him. The gentleman who played the flute in the next
room to yours, at home, has been hired at an ounce a night to
perform in the drinking-tent across the way; the very French
horn whose lamentations used to awake you dismally from the first
sweet snooze, now greets you at some corner; and all the squeaking violins, grumbling violincellos and rowdy trumpets which have
severally plagued you in other times, are congregated here, in
loving proximity. The very strength, loudness and confusion of
274 
ETHIOPI AN MELODIES.
the noises, which, heard at a little distance, have the effect of one
great scattering performance, marvellously takes the fancy of the
rough mountain men.
Some of the establishments have small companies of Ethiopian
nmelodists, who nightly call upon "Susanna!" and entreat to be
carried back to Old Virginny. These songs are universally popular, and the crowd of listeners is often so great as to embarrass
the player at the monte tables and injure the business of the
gamblers. I confess to a strong liking for the Ethiopian airs, and
used to spend half an hour every night in listening to them and
watching the curious expressions of satisfaction and delight in the
faces of the overland emigrants, who always attended in a body.
The spirit of the music was always encouraging; even its most
doleful passages had a grotesque touch of cheerfulness-a mingling
of sincere pathos and whimsical consolation, which somehow took
hold of all moods in which it might be heard, raising them to the
same notch of careless good-humor.   The Ethiopian melodies well
deserve to be called, as they are in fact, the national airs of Amierica.
Their quaint, mock-sentimental cadences, so well suited to the
broad absurdity of the words-their reckless gaiety and irreverent
fzLmiiliarity with serious subjects-and their spirit of antagonism
and perseverance-are true expressions of the more popular sides
of the national character. They follow the American race in all
its emnigrations, colonizations and conquests, as certainly as the
Fourth of July and Thanksgiving Day. The penniless and half
ldespairing emigrant is stimulated to try again by the sound of
"It'l never do to give it up so!" and feels a pang of home-sickness at the burthen of the " Old Virginia Shore."
At the time of which I am writing, Sacramento City boasted
the only thoatre in California.  Its performances, three times a
275 
ELDORADO.
week, were attended by crowds of the miners, and the owners
realized a very handsome profit. The canvas building used for
this purpose fronted on the levee, within a door or two of the City
Hotel; it would have been taken for an ordinary drinking-house,
but for the sign: " EAGLE  THEATRE," which was nailed to the
top o' the canvas frame. Passing through the bar-room we arrive at the entrance; the prices of admission are: Box, $3;
Pit, $2.  The spectators are dressed in heavy overcoats and felt
hats, with boots reaching to the knees. The box-tier is a single
rough gallery at one end, capable of containing about a hundred
persons; the pit will probably hold three hundred more, so that
the receipts of a full house amount to $900. The sides and roof
of the theatre are canvas, which, when wet, effectually prevents
ventilation, and renders the atmosphere hot and stifling. The
drop-curtain, which is down at present, exhibits a glaring landscape, with dark-brown trees in the foreground, and lilac-colored
mountains against a yellow sky.
The overture commences; the orchestra is composed of only
five members, under the direction of an Italian, and performs with
tolerable correctness.  The piece for the night is "The Spectre
of the Forest," in which the celebrated actress, Mrs. Ray, "of the
Royal Theatre, New Zealand," will appear. The bell rings; the
curtain rolls up; and we look upon a forest scene, in the midst of
which appears Hildebrand, the robber, in a sky-blue mantle. The
foliage of the forest is of a dark-red color, which makes a great
mpression on the spectators and prepares them for the bloody
scenes that are to follow. The other characters are a brave
knight in a purple dress, with his servant in scarlet; they are
about to storm the robber's hold and carry off a captive maiden.
Several acts are filled with the usual amount of fi,ghting and ter
276 
THE INSIDE OF A CALIFORNIA TIIEATRE.
rible speeches; but the interest of the play is carried to an awful
height by the appearance of two spectres, clad in mutilated tent covers, and holding spermaceti candles in their hands. At this
juncture Mrs. Ray rushes in and throws herself into an attitude in
the middle of the stage: why she does it, no one can tell. This
movement, which she repeats several times in the course of the
first three acts, has no connection with the tragedy; it is evidently
introduced for the purpose of showing the audience that there is,
actually, a female performer. The miners, to whom the sight of
a woman is not a frequent occurrence, are delighted with these
passages and applaud vehemently.
In the closing scenes, where Hildebrand entreats the heroine to
become his bride, Mrs. Ray shone in all her glory.   " No!" said
she, " I'd rather take a basilisk and wrap its cold fangs around me,
than be clasped in the hembraces of an'artless robber." Then,
changing her tone to that of entreaty, she calls upon the knight in
purple, whom she declares to be " me lope-me only'ope!" We
will not stay to hear the songs and duetts which follow; the
tragedy has been a sufficient infliction. For her "'art-rending"
personations, Mrs. Ray received $200 a week, and the wages of
the other actors were in the same proportion. A musical gentleman was paid $96 for singing " The Sea! the Sea!" in a deep
bass voice. The usual sum paid musicians was $16 a night. A
Swiss organ-girl, by playing in the various hells, accumulated
$4000 in the course of five or six months.
The southern part of Sacramento City, where the most of the
overland emigrants had located themselves, was an interesting place
for a night-ramble, when one had courage to undertake threading
the thickets among which their tents were pitched.  There, on
fallen logs about their camp-fires, might be seen groups that had
2 i-7 
ELDORADO.
journ(yed together across the Continent, recalling the hardships
and perils of the travel. The men, with their long beards,
wveather-beaten faces and ragged garments, seen in the red, flickering light of the fires, made wild and fantastic pictures.  Sometimes four of them  light be seen about a stumnip, intent on reviving their ancient knowledge of "poker," and occasionally a
more social group, filling their tin cups from a kettle of tea or
something stronger.   Their fires, however, were  soon left to
smioulder away; the evenings were too raw and they were too
weary with the day's troubles to keep long vigils.
Often, too, without playing the eavesdropper, one might mingle
unseen with a great many of their companies gathered together
inside the tents. TL.e thin, transparent canvas revealed the shadows of their forms, and was no impediment to tLe sound of their
voices; besides, as they generally spoke in a bold, hearty tone,
every word could be overheard at twenty yards' distance. The
fiagmuents of conversation which were caught in walking through
this part of the city made a strange but most interesting medley.
There were narratives of old experience on the Plains; notes
about the passage of the mountains compared; reminiscences of
the Salt Lake City and its strange enthusiasts; sufferings at the
sink of Humboldt's River and in the Salt Desert recalled, and
opinions of California in general, given in a general manner.
Thel conversation, however, was sure to wind up with a talk
about home-a lamentation for its missed comforts and frequently
a regret at having forsaken them. The subject was inexhaustible,
and when once they commenced calling up the scenes and incidents of their life in the Atlantic or MIississippi world, everything
else was forgotten. At such times, and hearing snatches of these
onvcri;ations, I too was carried home by an irresistible longing,
278 
SQUATTERS' AND GAMBLERS' QUARRELS.
and went back to my blankets and dreams of grizzly bear, discouraged and dissatisfied.
Before I left the place, the number of emigrants settled there
for the winter amounted to two or three thousand. They were
all located on the vacant lots, which had been surveyed by the
original owners of the town and were by them sold to others.  The
emigrants, who supposed that the land belonged of right to the
United States, boldly declared their intention of retaining possession of it. Each man voted himself a lot, defying the threats
and remonstrances of the rightful owners. The town was greatly
agitated for a time by these disputes; meetings were held by both
parties, and the spirit of hostility ran to a high pitch. At the
time of my leaving the country, the matter was still unsettled, but
the flood which occurred soon after, by sweeping both squatters
and speculators off the ground, balanced accounts for awhile and
left the field clear for a new start.
In the gambling-hells, under the excitement of liquor and play,
a fight was no unusual occurrence   iMore than once, while walking in the streets at a late hour, I heard the report of a pistol;
once, indeed, I came near witnessing a horrid affray, in which one
of the parties was so much injured that he lay for many days blind,
and at the point of death. I was within a few steps of the door,
and heard the firing in time to retreat.  The punishment for these
quarrels, when inflicted-which was very rarely done-was not so
prompt and terrible as for theft; but, to give the gambling community their due, their conduct was much more orderly and respectable than it is wont to be in other countries. This, however,
was not so much a merit of their own possessing, as the effect of a
strong public sentiment in favor of preserving order.
I must not omit to mention the fate of my old gray mare, who
2*
279 
ELDORADO.
would have served me faithfully, had she been less lazy and better
provided with forage.  On reaching Sacramento City I found that
Gen. MIorse had been keeping her for me at a livery stable, at a
cost of $5 a day. She looked in much better spirits than when I
saw her eating pine-bark on the Mokelumne, and in riding to the
town of Sutter, I found that by a little spurring, she could raise
a very passable gallop. The rains, however, by putting a stop to
travel, had brought down the price of horses, so that after searching some time for a purchaser I could get no offer higher than
$50. I consented to let her go; we went into a store and weighed
out the price in fine North Fork gold, and the new owner, after
trotting her through the streets for about an hour, sold her again
for $60. I did not care to trace her fortunes firther.
280 
CHIAPTER XXVII.
THE OVERLAND EMIGRATION OF S1849.
SACRAMENTO CITY was the goal of the emiigration by the northern routes. From the beginning of August to the last of December
scarcely a day passed without the arrival of somne man or company
of men and families, from the mountains, to pitch their tents for
a few days on the bank of the river and rest from their months of
hardship.  The vicissitudes through which these people had passed,
the perils they had encountered and the toils they had endured
seem to me without precedent in History.   The story of thirty
thousand souls accomplishing a journey of more than two thousand
miles through a savage and but partially explored wilderness,
crossing on their way two mountain chains equal to the Alps in
height and asperity, besides broad tracts of burning desert, and
Plains of nearly equal desolation, where a few patches of stunted
shrubs and springs of brackish water were their only stay, has in
it so much of heroism, of daring and of sublime endurance, that
we may vainly question the records of any age for its equal.
Standing as I was, at the closing stage of that grand pilgrimage,
the sight of these adventurers as they came in day by day, and the
hearing of their stories, each of which had its own peculiar and
separate character, had a more fascinating, because more real interest than the tales of the glorious old travelers which so impress
us in childhood 
ELDORADO
It would be impossible to give, in a general description of the
emigration, viewed as one great movement, a complete idea of its
many wonderful pllases.  The experience of any single man, which
a few years ago would have made him a hero for life, becomes
mere common-place, when it is but one of many thousands; yet
the spectacle of a great continent, through a region of one thousand miles from north to south, being overrun with these adventurous bands, cannot be pictured without the relation of many
episodes of individual bravery and suffering. I will not attempt a
full account of the emigration, but, as I have already given an
outline of the stories of those who came by the Gila route, a similar sketch of what those encountered who took the Northern route
-the great overland.highway of the Continent-will not be without
its interest in this place.
The great starting point for this route was Independence, Mo.,
where thousands were encamped through the month of April,
waiting until the grass should be sufficiently high for their cattle
before they ventured on the broad ocean of the Plains. From the
first of MIay to the first of June, company after comnpany took its
departure from the frontier of civilization, till the emigrant trail
from Fort Leavenworth, on the Missouri, to Fort Laramie, at the
foot of the Rocky Mountains, was one long line of mnule-trains and
wagons. The rich meadows of the Nebraska, or Platte, were
settled for the time, and a single traveler could have journeyed for
the space of a thousand miles, as certain of his lodging and regular
meals as if he were riding through the old agricultural districts ot
the Middle States. The wandering tribes of Indians on the Plains
— the Pawnees, Sioux and Arapahoes-were alarmed and bewildered by this strange apparition.  They believed they were about
to be swept away forever from their hunting. grounds and,graves.
2 8'- 
THE CHOLERA ON THE PLAINS.
As the season advanced and the great body of the emigrants got
under way, they gradually withdrew from the vicinity of the trail
and betook themselves to grounds which the former did not reach.
All conflicts with them were thus avoided, and the emigrants
passed the Plains with perfect immunity from their thievish and
hostile visitations.
Another and more terrible scourge, however, was doomed to fall
upon them. The cholera, ascending the Mississippi from New
Orleans, reached St. Louis about the time of their departure from
Independence, and overtook them before they were fairly embarked
on the wilderness. The frequent rains of the early spring, added
to the hardship and exposure of their travel, prepared the way for
its ravages, and the first three or four hundred miles of the trail
were marked by graves. It is estimated that about four thousand
persons perished from this cause. MLen were seized without warning with the most violent symptoms, and instances occurred in
which the sufferer was left to die alone by the road-side, while his
panic-stricken companions pushed forward, vainly trusting to get
beyond the influence of the epidemic. Rough boards were planted
at the graves of those who were buried near the trail, but there
are hundreds of others lying unmarked by any memorial, on the
bleak surface of the open plain and among the barren depths of the
mountains. I have heard men tell how they have gone aside from
their company to bury some old and cherished friend-a brother,
it may often have been-performing the last rites alone and unaided, and leaving the remains where none but the wolf will ever
zcek their resting-place.
Py the time the companies reached Fort Laramie the epidemic
had expended its violence, and in the pure air of the elevated
mountain region they were safe from its further attacks.  Now,
283 
ELDORADO.
however, the real hardships of their journey began. Up and down
the mountains that hem in the Sweetwater Valley-over the spars
of the Wind River chain-through the Devil's Gate, and past the
stapendous mass of Rock Independence-they toiled slowly up to
the South Pass, descended to the tributaries of the Colorado and
plunged into the rugged defiles of the Timpanozu Mountains.
Here the pasturage became scarce and the companies were obliged
to take separate trails in order to And sufficient grass for their
teams. Many, who, in their anxiety to get forward with speed,
had thrown away a great part of the supplies that encumbered
them, now began to want, and were frequently reduced, in their
necessity, to make use of their mules and horses for food. It was
not unusual for a mess, by way of variety to the tough mule-meat,
to kill a quantity of rattle-snakes, with which the mountains
abounded, and have a dish of them firied, for supper. The distress
of many of the emigrants might have been entirely avoided, had
they possessed any correct idea, at the outset of the journey, of its
length and privations.
It must have been a remarkable scene, which the City of the
Great Salt Lake presented during the summer. There, a community of religious enthusiasts, numbering about ten thousand,
had established themselves beside an inland sea, in a grand
valley shut in by snow-capped mountains, a thousand miles from
any other civilized spot, and were dreaming of rebuilding the
Temple and creating a New Jerusalem.   Without this restinz-l
place in mid-journey, the sufferings of the emigrants must have
been much  aggravated.   The Mormons, however, whose rich
grain-lands in the Valley of the Utah River had produced them
abundance of supplies, were able to spare sufficient for these whose
stock was exhausted. Two or three thousand, who arrived late in
'' 8 4 
THE EMIGRANTS IN THE GREAT BASIN.
the season, remained in the Valley all winter, fearing to undertake
the toilsome journey which still remained.
Those who set out for California had the worst yet in store for
them.  Crossing the alternate sandy wastes and rugged mountain
chains of the Great Basin to the Valley of Humboldt's River, they
were obliged to trust entirely to their worn and weary animals for
reaching the Sierra Nevada before the winter snows.   The grass
was scarce and now fast drying up in the scorching heat of midhummer. In the endeavor to hasten forward and get the first
chance of pasture, many again committed the same mistake of
throwing away their supplies. I was told of one man, who, with a
refinemcnt of malice and cruelty which it would be impossible to
surpass, set fire to the meadows of dry grass, for the sole purpose,
it was supposed, of retarding the progress of those who were behind and might else overtake him. A company of the emigrants,
on the best horses which were to be obtained, pursued him and
shot him from the saddle as he rode-a fate scarcely equal to his
deserts.
The progress of the emigrants along the Valley of Humboldt's
River is described as having been slow and toilsome in the extremne.  The River, which lies entirely within the Great Basin,
whose waters, like those of the uplands of Central Asia, have no
connexion with the sea-shrinks away towards the end of summer,
and finally loses itself in the sand, at a place called the Sink.
Ihere, the single trail across the Basin divides into three branches,
and the emigrants, leaving the scanty meadows about the Sink
have before them an arid desert, varying from fifty to eighty miles
in breadth, according to the route which they take.  MIany companies, on arriving at this place, were obliged to stop and recruit
their exhausted animals, though exposed to the danger of being
285 
ELDORADO.
detained there the whole winter, from the fall of snow on the
Sierra Nevada. Another, and very large body of them, took the
upper route to Lawson's Pass, which leads to the head of the
Sacramento Valley; but the greater part, fortunately, chose the
old traveled trails, leading to Bear Creek and the Yuba, by way of
Truckee River, and to the head-waters of the Rio Americano by
way of Carson's River.
The two latter routes are the shortest and best. After leaving
the Sink of Humboldt's River, and crossing a desert of about fifty
miles in breadth, the emigrant reaches the streams which are fed
from the Sierra Nevada, where he finds good grass and plenty of
game. The passes are described as terribly rugged and precipitous,
leading directly up the face of the great snowy ridge. As, however, they are not quite eight thousand feet above the sea, and are
reached from a plateau of more than four thousand feet, the ascent
is comparatively short; while, on the western side, more than a
hundred miles of mountain country must be passed, before reaching the level of the Sacramento Valley.   There  are frequent
passes in the Sierra Nevada which were never crossed before the
summer of 1849. Some of the emigrants, diverging from the
known trail, sought a road for themselves, and found their way
down from the snows to the head waters of the Tuolumne, the
Calaveras and Feather River. The eastern slope of the Sierra
Nevada is but imperfectly explored. All the emigrants concurred
in representing it to me as an abrupt and broken region, the
higher peaks of barren granite, the valleys deep and narrow, yet
in many places timbered with pine and cedar of immense growth.
After passing the dividing ridge,-the descent from which was
rendered almost impossible by precipices and steeps of nakled rock
about thirty miles of alternate canons and divides lay between
286 
THE DESCENT OF THE MOUNTAINS.
the emigrants and the nearest diggings.  Tho steepness of the
slopes of this range is hardly equalled by any other mountains in
the world.  The rivers seemi to wind their way through the bot
toms of chasms, and in many places it is impossible to get down
to the water. The word canion (meaning, in Spanish, a funnel,)
.has a peculiar adaptation to these cleft channels through which the
rivers are poured.  In getting down from the summit ridge the
emigrants told mnie they were frequently obliged to take the oxen
from the wagon and lower it with ropes; but for the sh(er descents
which followed, another plan was adopted.   The wheels were all
locked, and only one yoke of oxen left in firont; a  niddlingsized pine was then cut down, and the butt fastened to the
axle-tree, the branchy top dragging on the earth.  The holding
back of the oxen, the sliding of the locked wheels, and the resistance of the tree together formed an opposing power sufficient to
admit of a slow descent; but it was necessary to observe great caro
lest the pace should be quickened, for the slightest start would
have overcome the resistance and given oxen, wagon and tree together a momentum that would have landed them at the bottom in
a very different condition.
In August, before his departure for Oregon, Gen. Smith took
the responsibility of ordering pack-mules and supplies to be provided at the expense of Government, and gave Major  Pucker
orders to dispatch relief companies into the Great Basin to succor
the emigrants who might be remaining there, for want of provisions to advance further.  In this step hlie was also wairmly
seconded by Gen. Riley, and the preparations were made with the
least possible delay. Public meetings of the citizens of San Fran.
cisco were also held, to contribute means of relief. MIajor Btucker
dispatched a party with supplies and fresh animals by way of the
287 
ELDORADO.
Truckee River route to the Sink of Humboldt's River, while he
took the expedition to Pitt River and Lawson's Pass) under his
own command. The first party, after furnishing provisions on
the road to all whom they found in need reached the Sink, and
started the families who were still encamped there, returning with
them by the Carson River route and bringing in the last of the
emigration, only a day or two before the heavy snows came on,
which entirely blocked up the passes   But for this most timely
aid, hundreds of persons must havw perished by famine and cold.
Those who took the trail for Lawson's Pass fared even worse.
They had been grossly deceived with regard to the route, which,
instead of being a nearer passage into California, is actually two
hundred miles longer than the other routes, and though there is no
ridge of equal height to be crossed, the amount of rough mountain
travel is even greater. The trail, after crossing the Sierra by a
low gap, (which has lately been mentioned in connection with the
Pacific Railroad,) enters the Valley of Pitt River, one of the
tributaries of the Upper Sacramento. Following the course of
this river for about ninety miles, it reaches a spur of the Sierra
Nevada, which runs from the head waters of Feather River to
near the Shaste Peak, closing up the level of the lower Sacramento
Valley. These mountains are from five to six thousand feet in
height and rugged in the extreme, and over them the weary emigrant must pass before the Land of Promise-the rich Valley of
the Sacramnento-meets his view.
At the time I returned to Sacramento City, Major Rucker had
just returned from his expedition. He found a large body of
emigrants scattered along Pitt River, many of them entirely
destitute of provisions and others without their animals, which
the predatory Indians of that region had stolen. Owing to the
288 
APATHY  IN  PERIL.
large number who required his assistance. he was obliged to return to the ranchles on Deer Creek and procure further supplies,
leaving Mir. Peoples to hurry them  on meanwhile.  Everything
was done to hasten their movement, but a strange and unaccountable apathy seemed to have taken possession of them. The season was late, and a single day added to the time requisite to get
them into the Sacramento Valley might prove ruinous to them
and their assistants. Whether the weary six months they passed
in the wilderness had had the effect of destroying all their active
energy and care for their own safety, or whether it was actual
ignorance of their true situation and contempt of counsel because
it seemed to wear the shape of authority, it is difficult to tell-but
the effect was equally dangerous. After having improvidently
thrown away, in the first part of the journey, the supplies so needful afterwards, they now held fast to useless goods, and refused to
lighten the loads of their tired oxen. But few of them appeared
to have a sense of the aid which was rendered them; instead
of willingly cooperating with those who had charge of the relief
party, they gave much unnecessary trouble and delayed the journey several days.
Of the companies which came by this route several small parties
struck into the mountains to the southward of Pitt River, hoping
to find an easy road to the diggings on Feather River. Of these,
some reached the river, after many days of suffering and danger;
others retraced their steps and by making desperate efforts regained the companies on Pitt River, while some, who had not
been heard of at the time I left, were either locked up for the
winter in the midst of terrible snows, or had already perished from
hunger. f met with one or two who had been several days in the
mountains without food, and only escaped death by a miracle.  A
13
289 
ELDOitADO.
company of six, who set out on the hunt of some Indians who had
stolen their cattle, never returned.
It happened to the emigrants as Major Rucker had forewarned
them. A letter fiom Mr. Peoples, which he received during my
stay, gave a most striking account of the hardships to which they
had subjected themselves. A violent storm came on while they
were crossing the mountains to Deer Creek, and the mules, unaccustomed to the severe cold, sank down and died one after another.
In spite of their remonstrances, Mr. Peoples obliged them to leave
their wagons and hurry forward with the remaining animals. The
women, who seemed to have far more energy and endurance than
the men, were mounted on mules, and the whole party pushed on
through the bleak passes of the mountains in the face of a raging
storm. By extraordinary exertions, they were all finally brought
into the Sacramento Valley, with the loss of many wagons and
animals.  On receiving this letter, Major Rucker set out for Lawson's Ranche on Deer Creek, where he saw the emnigrants comfortably established for the winter.  They had erected log-houses
for shelter; the flour supplied to them from the Government stores
and cattle from the large herds on the neighboring ranches, furnished them with the means of subsistence.   The return to Sacramento City, in the depth of, the rainy season, was an almost inmpossible undertaking.
The greater part of those who came in by the lower routes,
started, after a season of rest, for the mining region, where many
of them arrived in time to build themselves log huts for the winter
Some pitched their tents along the river, to wait for the genial
spring season; while not a few took their axes and commenced
the business of wood-cutting in the timber onl its banks. When
shipped to San  Francisco, the wood, which they took with the
290 
CLOSE OF THE EMIIGRAT[ON.
usual freedom of Uncle Sam's nephews, brought $40 a cord; tho
steamboats which called for it on their trips up and down, paid
$15. By the end of December the last man of the overland companies was safe on the western side of the Sierra Nevada, and the
great interior wilderness resumed its ancient silence and solitude
until the next spring.
291 
CHAPTER XXVIIL
THE ITALY OF THE WEST
AT the end of a week of rain, during which we had a few doceptive gleams of clear weather, I gave up all hope of getting to
the Yuba and Feather Rivers, and took my passage in the steamer
Senator, for San Francisco. The time for leaving was before sunrise, and the loud ringing of the first bell awoke me as I lay on my
Chinese quilt in Capt. Baker's store.  The weather had changed
during the night, and when I went out of doors I found a keen,
cloudless dawn, with the wind blowing down the river. Had the
three weeks of dry season, so confidently predicted by the old set,tlers, actually commenced? I was not long in deliberating, though
the remote chance of an opportunity for making my journey to the
Shaste Peak, tempted me sorely; but the end proved that I decided aright, for on the second day after my arrival at San Frantisco, the rains set in again worse than ever.
The steamer, which formerly ran between Boston and Eastport,
was a strong, spacious and elegant boat.   Notwithstanding the
fare to San Francisco was $30, she rarely carried less than two
hundred passengers. When I went on board, her decks were already filled, and people were hurrying down from all parts of the
town, her bell tolling meanwhile with the quick, incessant stroke 
STEAM ON THE SACRAMENTO.
of a Hudson River boat, one minute before the time of starting.
After my recent barbaric life, her long upper saloon, with its sofas
and faded carpet, seemed splendid enough for a palace. As re
sped down the Sacramento, and the well-known bell and sable
herald made their appearance, requesting passengers to step to the
Captain's office, I could scarcely believe that I was in California.
On the hurricane deck I met with several persons who had been
fellow-passengers on the Atlantic and Pacific. Some had been to
the head of the Sacramento Valley; some on Feather River;
some again on the famous Trinity, where they had got more fever
than gold; but all, though not alike successful, seemed energetic
and far from being discouraged.
After passing the town of Sutter, the bell rang for breakfast,
and having previously procured a ticket for two dollars, I joined
the anxious throng who were pressing down the cabin stairs. The
long tables were set below in the same style as at home; the fare
was abundant and well prepared; even on the Hudson it would
have given rise to few grumblings. We steamed rapidly down
the river, with Monte Diablo far before us. Owing to the twists
and turns of the stream, it was but an uncertain landmark, now
appearing on one side and now on the other. The cold snows of
the Sierra Nevada were faintly seen in the eastern sky, but between
the Sacramento and the mountains, the great plain stretched out
in a sweep which to the north and south ran unbroken to the
horizon. The banks, stripped now of their summer foliage, would
have been dreary and monotonous, but for the tents and log-houses
of the settlers and wood-cutters. I noticed in little spots where
the thicket had been cleared away, patches of cabbages and other
hardy vegetables, which seemed to have a thrifty growth.
We came at last to the entrance of the slough, the navigation
293 
ELDORADO.
of which was a matter of considerable nicety. The current was
but a few feet wider than the steamer, and many of the bends
occasioned her considerable trouble. Her bow sometimes ran in
among the boughs of the tr es, where she could not well be
backed without her stern going into the opposite bank. Much
time and part of the planking of her wheel-houses were lost in
getting through these narrow straits. The small craft on their
way up the river were obliged to run close under the limbs of the
trees and hug the banks tightly until we had passed. At last we
came out again in the real Sacramento, avoiding the numerous
other sloughs which make off into the tul6 marshes, and soon
reached the city of Montezuma, a solitary house on a sort of headland projecting intu Suisun Bay and fronting its rival three-house
city, New-York-of-the-Pacific   The bay was dancing to the fresh
northern breeze as we skimmed its waters towards Benicia; Monte
Diablo, on the other side, wore a blue mist over his scarred and
rocky surface, which looked deceptively near.
The three weeks of rain which had fallen since I passed up the
bay, had brought out a vivid green over all the hills. Those along
the water were no longer lifeless and barren, but covered with
sprouting vegetation. Benicia, as we approached it, appeared
like a child's toy town set out on a piece of green velvet. Contrasted with this gay color, the changeless hue of the evergreen
oaks appeared sombre almost to blackness; seen in unison with
a cloudless sky and the glittering blue of the bay, the effect
of the fresh green was indescribably cheerful and inspiring.
We touched but a few minutes at Benicia, whose streets
presented a quiet appearance, coming from the thronged avenues
of Sacramento City. The houses were mostly frame, of neat
construction; a church with a small white spire, at the upper
294 
THE SUNSETS OF CALIFORNIA.
end of the town, stood out brightly against the green of the hills
behind.
Beyond these hills, at the distance of thirty-five miles, is the
pleasant little town of Sonoma, Gen. Vallejo's residence. In
summer it is reached from Sacramento City by a trail of forty
miles, but when the rains come on, the tul6 marshes running up
from the bay between the river and the mountains, are flooded,
and a circuit of more than a hundred miles must be made to get
around them. Two days' journey north of Sonoma is Lake Clear,
a beautiful sheet of water, sixty miles in length, embosomed in the
midst of grand mountain scenery.
Sunset came on as we approached the strait opening from Pablo
Bay into the Bay of San Francisco. The cloudless sky became
gradually suffused with a soft rose-tint, which covered its whole surface, painting alike the glassy sheet of the bay, and glowing most
vividly on the mountains to the eastward. The color deepened
every moment, and the peaks of the Coast Range burned with a
rich vermilion light, like that of a live coal. This faded gradually
into as glowing a purple, and at last into a blue as intense as that
of the sea at noonday.   The first effect of the light was most
wonderful; the mountains stretched around the horizon like a
belt of varying fire and amethyst between the two roseate deeps
of air and water; the shores were transmuted into solid, the air
into fluid gems. Could the pencil faithfully represent this magnificent transfiguration of Nature, it would appear utterly unreal
and impossible to eyes which never beheld the reality. It was no
transient spectacle, fading away ere one could feel its surpassing
glory. It lingered, and lingered, changing almost imperceptibly
and with so beautiful a decay, that one lost himself in the enjoymient of each successive charm, without regret for those which
295 
ELDORADO.
were over. The dark blue of the mountains deepened into their
night-garb of dusky shadow without any interfusion of dead ashy
color, and the heaven overhead was spangled with all its stars long
before the brilliant arch of orange in the west had sunk below the
horizon. I have seen the dazzling sunsets of the Mediterranean
flush the beauty of its shores, and the mellow skies which Claude
used to contemplate from the Pincian Hill; but, lovely as they
are in my memory, they seem cold and pale when I think of the
splendor of such a scene, on the Bay of San Francisco.
The approach to the city was very imposing in the dusk. The
crowd of shipping, two or three miles in length, stretched along
the water in front; the triple crown of the hills behind was clearly
marked against the sky, and from the broad space covered with
sparkling lights, glimmerings of tents and white buildings, and
the sounds of active life, I half believed that some metropolis of a
century's growth lay before me. On landing, notwithstanding I
had only been absent three weeks, I had some difficulty in recognizing localities. The change appeared greater than at any previous arrival, on account of the removal of a great many of the
old buildings and the erection of larger and more substantial edifices in their stead.
After a few days of violent rain, the sky cleared and we had a
week of the most delicious weather I ever experienced. The temperature was at no time lower than 50~, and in the middle of the
day rose to 70~. When the floating gauze of mist had cleared off
the water, the sky was without a cloud for the remainder of the
day, and of a fresh, tender blue, which was in exquisite relief to
the pale green of the hills. To enjoy the delighful temperature
and fine scenery of the Bay, I used frequently to climb a hill just
in the rear of the town, whence the harbor. the strait into Pablo
296 
A COMPANY CF WASHMEN.
Bay, the Golden Gate and the horizon of the Pacific could all be
seen at one view. On the top of the hill are the graves of several
Russians, who came out in the service of the Russian Company,
each surmounted with a black cross, bearing an inscription in their
language.  All this ground, however, has been surveyed, staked
into lots and sold, and at the same rate of growth the city will not
be long in climbing the hill and disturbing the rest of the Muscovites.
In company with my friends, the Moores, I made many short
excursions among the hills, during this charming season.  Our
most frequent trip was to Fresh Pond, in the neighborhood of the
old Presidio. With a gray donkey-an invaluable beast, by the
way-harnessed to a light cart, in which we had placed two or
three empty barrels, we drove out to the place, a little basin shut
in by the hills, and only divided by a narrow bushy ridge from the
waters of the Golden Gate. Several tents were pitched on its
margin; the washmen and gardeners had established themselves
there and were diligently plying their respective occupations. A
little strip of moist bottom adjoining the pond had been cleared of
its thickets and was partly ploughed, showing a rich black loam.
The washerwomen, of whom there were a few, principally Mexicans
and Indians, had established themselves on one side of the pond
and the washmen on another. The latter went into the business
on a large scale, having their tents for ironing, their large kettles
for boiling the clothes and their fluted wash-boards along the edge
of the water. It was an amusing sight to see a great, burly, longbearded fellow, kneeling on the ground, with sleeves rolled up to
the elbows, and rubbing a shirt on the board with such violence
that the suds flew and the buttons, if there were any, must soon
snap off  Their clear-starching ant ironing were still more ludi
297 
ELDORADO.
crous; bat, notwithstanding, they succeeded fiully as well as the
women, and were rapidly growing rich from the profits of their
business. Where $8 a dozen is paid for washing clothes, it is
very easy to earn double the wages of a Member of Congress
The sunsets we saw from the hills as we drove slowly back with
the barrels filled, were all of the same gorgeous character.  The
air had a purity and sweetness which made the long hour of twilight enchanting, and we frequently lingered on the road till after
dark.  We helped our patient donkey up the hill by pushing behind his cart-an aid he seemed fully to appreciate, for he pulled
at such times with much more spirit. Hie had many curious ways
about him, the most remarkable of which was his capacity for digestion. Cloth, canvas and shavings seemed as much his natural
food as hay or green grass. Whenever he broke loose during the
night, which was not seldom, it was generally followed in the
morning by a visit firom some emigrant, claiming damages for the
amount of tent-covering which had been chewed up. Once, indeed, a man who had indulged rather freely in bad brandy, at
twenty-five cents a glass, wandered in the dark to the place where
the donkey was tethered, lay down at his feet and fell asleep.
When he awoke in the morning, sobered by the coolness of his
bed and foggy blankets, he found to his utter surprise and horricr,
that the ravenous beast had not only devoured his cap but cropped
nearly all the hair fromn one side of his head! As the man's hair
happened to be glowing in color and coarse in texture, the mistake
of the donkey in taking it to be swamp hay, is not so much to be
wondered at.
The valley about the Mission Dolores was charmingly green
and beautiful at this time. Several of the former miners, in anticipation of the great influx of emigrants into the country and a
298 
AN ATTEMPT AT SQUATTER LIFE.
consequent market for vegetables, pitched their tents on the best
spots along the Mission Creek, and began preparing the ground
for gardens. The valley was surveyed and staked into lots almost
to the summit of the mountains, and the operation of squatting
was performed even by many of the citizens of San F'rancisco, for
the purpose of obtaining titles to the land. Some gentlemen of
my acquaintance came into the possession of certain stone quar'ries,
meadow lands and fine sheep-pastures, in this manner; wh'ereupon a friend of mine, and myself, concluded to try the experiment,
thinking the experience might, at least, be of some benefit.  So,
one fine morning we rode out to the Mission, where we found the
surveyor on one of the hills, chopping up the chapparal into
"hundred vara" lots.  He received us cordially, and on looking
over his map of the locality, found two adjoining lots of two hundred varas each, which were still unoccupied. They lay on the
western side of the Valley, on the slope of the mountains. We
hastened away, crossed two yawning arroyos and climbed the steep,
where, truly enough, we found the stakes indicating the limits of
the survey. I chose a little valley, scooped out between two peaks
of the ridge, and watered by a clear stream which trickled down
through its centre. My friend took a broader tract, which was not
so well watered as mine; however, on examining the soil, we
agreed that it would produce good crops of cabbages and turnips.
Accordingly, we marched leisurely over the ground, ascended to
its highest part, and took a seat on a boulder of gray rock, which
stood exactly upon the line between our two territories. All the
beautiful Valley lay beneath us, with the bay beyond, a part of th
shipping of San Francisco, and Monte Diablo in the distance-a
fiale prospect for a squatter!
On our return to the city, we debated wheller we should pro
299 
ELDORADO.
cure materials for a tent and take up an abode on the lofty lots;
but, as it was not at all clear that any land could be granted, or
that it would be worth taking even if we should become bona fide
settlers, we finally determined to let the matter rest. We did not
repeat our visit, and we learned soon afterwards that violent Jis
putes had arisen between the inhabitants of the Mission and the
emigrants who had commenced gardening. I, who never owned
a;vad of land in my life, would nevertheless have accepted the
proprietorship of one of the bleak pinnacles of the Sierra Navadaor better, the top of the Shaste Peak-could it have been given
me, for the mere satisfaction of feeling that there was one spot of
the Earth which I might claim as my own, down to its burning
oentre.
300 
CHAPTER XXIX.
SAN FRANCISCO, FOUR MONTHS LATER.
0F all the marvellous phases of the history of the Present, the
growth of San Francisco is the one which will most tax the belief
of the Future. Its parallel was never known, and shall never be
beheld again. I speak only of what I saw with my own eyes.
When I landed there, a little more than four months before, I
found a scattering town of tents and canvas houses, with a show
of frame buildings on one or two streets, and a population of about
six thousand. Now, on my last visit, I saw around me an actual
metropolis, displaying street after street of well-built edifices,
filled with an active and enterprising people and exhibiting every
mark of permanent commercial prosperity.  Then, the town was
limited to the curve of the Bay fronting the anchorage and bottoms
of the hills. Now it stretched to the topmost heights, followed
the shore around point after point, and sending back a long arm
through a gap in the hills, took hold of the Golden Gate and was
building its warehouses on the open strait and almost fronting the
blue horizon of the Pacific.   Then, the gold-seeking sojourner
lodged in muslin rooms and canvas garrets, with a philosophic
lack of furniture, and ate his simple though substantial fare from
pine boards. Now, lofty hotels, gaudy with verandas and balconies, were met with in all quarters, furnished with home luxury, 
ELDORADO.
andl aristocratic restaurants presented daily their long bills of fare,
rich with the choicest technicalities of the Parisian cuisine. Then,
vessels were coming in day after day, to lie deserted and useless at
their anchorage. Now scarce a day passed, but some cluster of
sails, bound outward through the Golden Gate, took their way to
all the corners of the Pacific. Like the magic seed of the Indian
juggler, which grew, blossomed and bore fruit before the eyes of
his spectators, San Francisco seemed to have accomplished in a
day the growth of half a century.
When I first landed in California, bewildered and amazed by
what seemed an unnatural standard of prices, I formed the
opinion that there would be before long a great crash in speculation.  Things, it appeared then, had reached the crisis, and itwas
pronounced impossible that they could remain stationary. This
might have been a very natural idea at the time, but the subsequent course of affairs proved it to be incorrect. Lands, rents,
goods and subsistence continued steadily to advance in cost, and as
the credit system had been meanwhile prudently contracted, the
character of the business done was the more real and substantial.
Two or three years will pass, in all probability, before there is a
positive abatement of the standard of prices.   There will be
fluctuations in the meantime, occasioning great gains and losses,
but the fall in rents and real estate, when it comes, as it inevitably
must in the course of two or three years, will not be so crushing
as I at first imagined. I doubt whether it will seriously injure the
commercial activity of the place. Prices will never fall to the
same standard as in the Atlantic States. FortuLes will always be
made by the sober, intelligent, industrious, and energetic; but no
one who is either too careless, too spiritless or too ignorant to succeed at home, need trouble himself about emigrating.   The same
302 
ITEMIS OF SPECULATION.
general rule holds good, as well here as esewhere, and it is all the
better for human nature that it is so.
Not only was the heaviest part of the business conducted
on cash principles, but all rents, even to lodgings in hotels, were
required to be paid in advance. A single bowling-alley, in the
basement story of the Ward House-a new hotel on PortsmouthSquare-prepaid $5,000 monthly.   The firm of Findley, Johnson & Co. sold their real estate, purchased a year previous, for
$20,000, at $300,000; $25,000 down, and the rest in monthly
instalnents of $12,500. This was a fair specimen of the speculations daily made. Those on a lesser scale were frequently of a
very amusing character, but the claims on one's astonishment were
so constant, that the faculty soon wore out, and the most unheardof operations were looked upon as matters of course   Among
others that came under my observation, was one of a gentleman
who purchased a barrel of alum for $6, the price in New York
being $9. It happened to be the only alum in the place, and as
there was a demand for it shortly afterwards, he sold the barrel
for $150.  Another purchased all the candle-wick to be found, at
an average price of 40 cts. per lb., and sold it in a short time at
$2 25 per lb. A friend of mine expended $10,000 in purchasing
barley, which in a week brought $20,000   The greatest gains
were still made by the gambling tables and the eating-houses.
Every device that art could suggest was used to swell the custom
of the former. The latter found abundant support in the necessities of a large floating population, in addition to the swarm o
permanent residents.
For a month or two previous to this time, money had been very
scarce in the market, and from ten to fifteen per cent. monthly, was
pai'd, with the addition of good security. Notwithstanding the
303 
5ELDORADO.
quantity of coin brought into the country by emigrants, and the
millions of gold dust used as currency, the actual specie basis
was very small compared with the immense amount of business
transacted. Nevertheless, I heard of nothing like a failure; the
principal firms were prompt in all their dealings, and the chivalry
of Commerce-to use a new phrase-was as faithfully observed as
it could have been in the old marts of Europe and America.  The
merchants had a'Change and News-room, and were beginning to
cooperate in their movements and consolidate their credit. A
stock company which had built a long wharf at the foot of Sacraento-st. declared a dividend of ten per cent. within sixweeks after
the wharf was finished.  During the muddy season, it was the
only convenient place for landing goods, and as the cost of constructing it was enormous, so were likewise the charges for wharfage and storage.
There had been a vast improvement in the means of living
since my previous visit to San Francisco. Several large hotels
had been opened, which were equal in almost every respect to
houses of the second class in the Atlantic cities.  The Ward
House, the Graham House, imported bodily from Baltimore, and
the St. Francis Hotel, completely threw into the shade all former
establishments. The rooms were furnished with comfort and even
luxury, and the tables lacked few of the essentials of good living,
according to a' home' taste. The sleeping apartments of the St.
Francis were the best in California.   The cost of board and
lodging was $150 per month-which was considered unusually
cheap. A room at the Ward House cost $250 monthly, without
board.   The  principal restaurants  charged  $35  a week for
board, and there were lodging houses where a berth or "t bunk"
— one out of fifty in the same room-might be had for $6 a week
304 
A CITY OF MEN.
The model of these establishments-which were far from being
"model lodging-houses"-was that of a ship.  A number of staterooms, containing six berths each, ran around the sides of a large
room, or cabin, where the lodgers resorted to read, write, smoke
and drink at their leisure. The state-rooms were consequently
filled with foul and unwholesome air, and the noises in the cabin
prevented the passengers from sleeping, except between midnight
and four o'clock.
The great want of San Francisco was society. Think of a city
of thirty thousand inhabitants, peopled by men alone! The like
of this was never seen before. Every man was his own housekeeper,
doing, in many instances, his own sweeping, cooking, washing and
mending. Many home-arts, learned rather by observation than
experience, came conveniently into play. He who cannot make a
bed, cook a beefsteak, or sew up his own rips and rents, is unfit
to be a citizen of California. Nevertheless, since the town began
to assume a permanent shape, very many of the comforts of life
in the East were attainable. A family may now live there without suffering any material privations; and if every married man,
who intends spending some time in California, would take his
family with him, a social influence would soon be created to which
we might look for the happiest results.
Towards the close of my stay, the city was as dismal a place as
could well be imagined. The glimpse of bright, warm, serene
weather passed away, leaving in its stead a raw, cheerless, southeast storm. The wind now and then blew a heavy gale, and the
cold, steady fall of rain, was varied by claps of thunder and sudden blasts of hail.   The mud in the streets became little short
of fathomless, and it was with difficulty that the mules could drag
their empty wagons through. A powerful London dray-horse, a
305 
ELDORADO.
very giant in harness, was the only animal able to pull a good
load; and I was told that he earned his master $100 daily.  I saw
occasionally a company of Chinese workmen, carrying bricks and
miortar, slung by ropes to long bamboo poles.  The plank side walks, in the lower part of the city, ran along the brink of pools
and quicksands, which the Street Inspector and his men vainly endeavored to fill by hauling cart-loads of chapparal and throwing
sand on the top; in a day or two the gulf was  as deep as ever.
The side-walks, which were made at the cost of $5 per foot,
bridged over the worst spots, but I was frequently obliged to go
the whole length of a block in order to get on the other side.
One could not walk any distance, without getting at least ancledeep, and although the thermometer rarely sank below 500, it was
impossible to stand still for even a short time without a death-like
chill taking hold of the feet. As a consequence of this, coughs
and bronchial affections were innumerable. The universal custom
of wearing the pantaloons inside the boots threatened to restore
the knee-breeches of our grandfathers' times. Even women were
obliged to shorten their skirts, and wear high-topped boots. The
population seemed to be composed entirely of dismounted hussars.
All this will be remedied when the city is two years older, and
Portsmouth Square boasts a pave as elegant as that on the dollar
side of Broadway.
The severe weather occasioned a great deal of sickness, especially among those who led an exposed life. The city overflowed
with people, and notwithstanding buildings were continually growing up like mushrooms, over night, hundreds who arrived were
obliged to lodge in tents, with which the summits of the hills were
covered. Fever-and-a,gue and dysentery were the prevailing complaints, the great prevalence of which was owing undoubtedly to
306 
WINTER WEATHER.
exposure and an irregular habit of life. An association was form
ed to relieve those in actual want, many of the wealthiest and
most influential citizens taking an honorable part in the matter.
Many instances of lamentable destitution were by this means
brought to light. Nearly all the hospitals of the place were soon
filled, and numbers wvent to the Sandwich Islands to recrait. The
City Hospital, a large, well ventilated rnd regulated establis.ment, contained about fifty patients.   The attending physician
described to me several cases of nearly hopeless lunacy which had
come under his care, some of them produced by disappointment
and ill-luck, and others by sudden increase of fortune. Poor
human nature!
In the midst of the rains, we were greeted one morning with a
magnificent spectacle. The wind had blown filriously during the
night, with violent falls of rain, but the sun rose in a spotless sky,
revealing the Coast Mountains across the bay wrapped in snow
half-way down their sides. For two days they wore their dazzling
crown, which could be seen melting away hour by hour, from their
ridges and cloven ravines. This was the only snow I saw while in
San Francisco; only once did I notice any appearance of frost.
TShe grass was green and vigorous, and some of the more hardy
plants in blossom; vegetables, it is well known, flourish with equal
luxuriance during the winter season. At one of the restaurants,
I was shown some remarkable specimens of the growth of California soil-potatoes, weighing from one to five pounds each; beets
and turnips eight inches in diameter, and perfectly sweet and
sound; and large, silver-skinned onions, whose delicate flavor the
most inveterate enemy of this honest vegetable could not but have
relished.  A gentleman who visited the port of Bodega, informed
me that he saw in the garden of Capt. Smith, the owner of the
307 
ELDORADO.
p)lace, pea-vines which had produced their third crop from the
same root in one summer.
As the rains drove the deer and other animals down from the
mountains, game of all kinds became abundant. Fat elks and
splendid black-tailed does hung at the doors of all the butchershops, and wild geese, duck and brant, were brought into the
cety by the wagon-load.  "Grizzly bear steak," became a choice
dish at the eating-houses; I had the satisfaction one night of
eating a slice of one that had weighed eleven hundred pounds.
The flesh was of a bright red color, very solid, sweet, and nutritious; its flavor was preferable to that of the best pork. The
large native hare, a specimen of which occasionally found its way
to the restaurants, is nowise inferior to that of Europe. As an
illustration of the money which might be spent in procuring a
meal no better than an ordinary hotel-dinner at home, I may
mention that a dinner for fifteen persons, to which I was invited,
at the " Excelsior," cost the giver of it $225.
The effect of a growing prosperity and some little taste of luxury
was readily seen in the appearance of the business community of
San Francisco.  The slouched felt hats gave way to narrow-brimmed black beavers; flannel shirts were laid aside, and white
linen, though indifferently washed, appeared instead; dress and
frock coats, of the fashion of the previous year in the Atlant'c
side, came forth from trunks and sea-chests; in short, a San
Francisco merchant was almost as smooth and spruce in his outward appearance as a merchant anywhere else.   The  hussar
boot, however, was obliged to be worn, and a variation of the
Mexican sombrero-a very convenient and becoming head-piececame into fashion among the younger class.
The steamers which arrived at this time, brought large quan.
308 
SAN FRANCISCO NEWSPAPERS.
tities of newspapers from all parts of the Atlantic States. The
speculation which had been so successful at first, was ccompletely
overdone; there was a glut in the market, in consequence whereof
newspapers came down to fifty and twenty-five cents apiece. The
leading journals of New-York, New-Orleans and Boston were cried
at every street-corner. The two papers established in the place
iss.ied editions "for the Atlantic Coast," at the sailing of every
steamer for Panama. The offices were invaded by crowds of purchasers, and the slow hand-presses in use could not keer pace
with tbe demand. The profits of these journals were almost incredible, when contrasted with their size and the amount of their
circulation. Neither of them failed to count their gains at the
rate of $75,000 a year, clear profit.
My preparations for leaving San Francisco, were made with the
regret that I could not remain longer and see more of the wonderful growth of the Empire of the West. Yet I was fortunate
in witnessing the most peculiar and interesting stages of its progress, and I took my departure in the hope of returning at some
future day to view the completion of these magnificent beginnings
The world's history has no page so marvellous as tl at which has
just been turned in California
309 
CHAPTER XXX
SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA.
THERE are soime features of Society in California, which I have
hilherto failed to touch upon in my narrative, but which deserve a
passing notice before I take my final leave of that wonderful land
The direct effect of the state of things growing out of the discovery
of the placers, was to develop new qualities and traits of character,
not in single individuals, but in every individual of the entire community-traits frequently most unlooked-for in those who exhibited
them in the most marked degree. Society, Therefore, was for the
time cast into new forms, or, rather, deprived of any fixed form. A
man, on coming to California, could no more expect to retain his
old nature unchanged, than he could retain in his lungs the air he
had inhaled on the Atlantic shore.
The most immediate and striking change which came upon the
greater portion of the emigrants was an increase of activity, and
prcoortionately, of reckless and daring spirit.  It was curious to
see how men hitherto noted for their prudence and caution tooksudden leave of those qualities, to all appearance, yet only prospered the more thereby. Perhaps there was at bottom a vein of
keen, shrewd calculation, which directed their seemingly heedless
movements; certain it is, at least, that for a long time the rashest 
TIIE EMIGRANTS.
speculators were the most fortunate. It was this fact, no doubt,
that seemed so alarming to persons newly-arriived, and gave rise
to unnumbered predictions of the speedy and ruinous crash of the
whole business fabric of San Francisco.  But nothing is more contagious than this spirit of daring and independent action, and the
most doleful prophets were, ere long, swallowed up in the same
whirlpool against which they had warned others.
The emigrants who arrive in California, very soon divide into
two distinct classes. About two-thirds, or possibly three-fourths
of them are active, hopeful and industrious. They feel this singular intoxication of society, and go to work at something, no
matter what, by which they hope to thrive. The remaining por
tion see everything " through a glass, darkly." Their first bright
anticipations are unrealized; the horrid winds of San Francisco
during the dry season, chill and unnerve them: or, if they go to
the placers, the severe labor and the ill success of inexperienced
hands, completes their disgust. They commit a multitude of sins
in the shape of curses upon every one who has written or spoken
favorably of California. Some of them return home without having
seen the country at all, and others, even if they obtain profitable
situations, labor without a will. It is no place for a slow, aa
over-cautious, or a despoiding man.   The  emigrant should be
willing to work, not only at one business, but many, if need be;
the grumbler or the idler had far better stay at home.
It cannot be denied that the very activity of California society
created a spirit of excitement which frequently led to dangerous
excesses.  The habits of the emigrants, never, even at home, very
slow and deliberate, branched into all kinds of wild offshoots, the
necessary effect of the sudden glow and expansion which they experienced   Those who retained their health seemed to revel in an
"I i 
ELDORADO.
cx~tll>,;1ane of animal sp;rits, which carried them with scarce a jar
ove' barriiers and obstacles that would have brought others to a
fall stand. There was something exceedingly hearty, cordial and
encouriaging in the character of social intercourse.  The ordinary
forms of courtesy were flung aside with a bluntness of good-fellowship infinitely preferable, under the circumstances.   I was
constantly reminded of the stories of Northern History-of the
stout Vikings and Jarls who exulted in their very passions and
made their heroes of those who were most jovial at the feast and
most easily kindled with the rage of battle. Indeed, it required
but little effort of the imagination to revive those iron ages, when
the rugged gold-diggers, with their long hair and unshorn beards,
were grouped around some mountain camp-fire, revelling in the
ruddy light and giving full play to a mirth so powerful and profound that it would not have shamed the Berserkers.
The most common excesses into which the Californians run, are
rninking and gambling.  I say drinking, rather than drunkenness,
for I saw very little of the latter.  But a single case came under
my observation while I was in the gold region. The man's friends
took away his money and deposited it in the hands of the Alcalde,
then tied him to a tree where they left him till he became sober.
The practice of drinking, nevertheless, was widely prevalent, and
its effects rendered more destructive by the large amount of bad
liquor which was sent into the country. Gambling, in spite of a
universal public sentiment against it, grew and flourished; the
disappointment and ruin of many emigrants were owing to its ex
istence. The gamblers themselves were in many instances men
who had led orderly and respectable lives at home. I have heard
some of them frankly avow that nothing would induce them to ac.
quaint their friends and families with the nature of their occupa
s I -),
I - 
THE ENERGIES OF CALIFORNIA SOCIETY.
tion, they would soon have enough, they said, and then they would
wash their hands of the unclean stain, and go home to lead more
honorable lives. But alas! it is not so easy to wash out the
memory of self-degradation. If these men have in truth any sentiment of honor remaining, every coin of the wealth they have
hoarded will awaken a shameful consciousness cf tlie base and unmanly business by which it was obtained
In spite, however, of all tlhese dissipating and disorganizing influences, the main stock of society was sound, vigorous and progressive. The rank shoots, while they might have slightly weakened the trunk, only showed the abundant life of the root. In
short, without wishing to be understood as apologizing in any degree for the evils which existed, it was evident that had the Californians been more cool.Agrave and deliberate in their temperament —,hcd they lacked the fiery energy and impulsive spirit
which pusked thema irresistibly forward-the dangers which surrounded them at the outset would have been far more imminent.
Besides, this energy did not run at random; it was in the end
directed by an enlightened experience, and that instinct of Right,
which is the strength and security of a self-governed People.
Hundreds of instances might be adduced to show that the worst
passions of our nature were speedily developed in the air of California, but the one grand lesson of the settlement and organiza
tion of the country is of a character that ennobles the race.
The unanimity with which all united in this work- the frank
ness with which the old prejudices of sect and party were disclaimned-the freshlly-awakened pride of country, which made
every citizen jealously and disinterestedly anxious that she should
acquit herself honorably in the eyes of the Nation at large-formed
a spectacle which must claim our entire admiration.   In view of
14
313 
El DORADO.
the splendid future which is opening for California it insures her
a stable foundation on which to build the superstructure of her
wealth and power.
After what has been said, it wL' appear natural that California
should be the most democratic country in the world.   The practical equality of all the members of a community, whatever might
be the wealth, intelligence or profession of each, was never before
thoroughly demonstrated. Dress was no guage cf respectability.
and no honest occupation, however menial in its character, affected a man's standing. Lawyers, physicians and ex-professors dug
cellars, drove ox-teams, sawed wood and carried luggage; while
men who had been Army privates, sailors, cooks or day laborers
were at the lhead of profitable establishments and not infrequently
assisted in some of the minor details of Government.  A  man
who would consider his fellow beneath him, on account of his appearance or occupation, would have had sonice difficulty in living
peaceably in California. The security of the country is owing, in
no small degree, to this plain, practical development of what the
French reverence as an abstraction, under the name of Fraternite.
To sum up all in three words, LABOR IS RESPECTABLE: may it
never be otherwise, while a grain of gold is left to glitter in Californian soil!
I have dwelt with the more earnestness on these features o.0
Society because they do not seem to be fully appreciated on this
side of the Continent. I cannot take leave, in the regular course
of my narrative, of a land where I found so much ir Nature to
admire and enjoy, without attempting to gi,e some general, though
impeifeet view of Man, as he appeared under those new and wore
derful influences.
314 
CHAPTER XXXI.
LEAVING SAN FRANCISCO.
THE rainy season, by rendering further travel very unsatisfactory
and laborious, if not impossible, put an end to my wanderings in
California, which, in fact, had already extended beyond the period I
had originally fixed for my stay. I was therefore anxious to set out
on my homeward journey through Mexico, to which I looked forward with glowing anticipations. Rather than wait for the steamer
of Jan. lst., I decided to take one of the sailing packets up for
MIazatlan, as the trip down the coast is usually made in from ten
to fifteen days. The most promising chance was that of a Peruvian brigantine belonging to a German house, which I was assured
would sail on the 15th of December. A heavy gale coming up at
the time put this out of the question. I waited until the 17th,
when I went on board, determined to set foot no more in San
Franciscan mud.   The  brigantine-which  bore the name of
Iquiqueia, from the Peruvian port of Iquiqua-was a small,
rakish craft, built at the Island of Chilobe for a smuggler in the
opium trade; having been afterwards purchased by a house in
Callao, she still retained the Peruvian colors.
In her low, confined cabin, containing eight berths, which were
reached by a dark and crooked well, opening on the deck near the 
ELDORADO
rudder, seven passengers were crowded-Americans, Mlexicans and
Venezuelans-besides the captain, mate, supercargo and steward,
who were Germans, as were likewise the greater part of the crew.
To complete the circle that met around our little table to discuss
the invariable daily dinner of rice soup and boiled beef, I must
not omit mentioning a Chinese dog, as eccentric in his behavior
as the Celestials on shore. The captain and crew did nothing to
falsify the national reputation for tardiness and delay. In our
case the poco tiempo of the Chagres boatmen was outdone.  Seven
days were we doomed to spend in the Bay, before the almost
hopeless conjunction of wind, tide, crew, passengers and vessel
started us from our anchorage.  On getting aboard, the captain
declared everything to be in readiness, except the wood and water,
which would be forthcoming next day. Having some experience
of German deliberation, I at once resigned myself to three days'
delay. The next day was stormy and rough; on the second, two
casks of water were brought on board; the third was stormy; the
wood was purchased on the fourth; and on the fifth, the sailors
quarreled about their pay and refused to go to sea.
While we thus lay in the harbor, just inside the RIineon, trying
to bear with patience a delay so vexatious, one of the terrible
south-east gales came on. The wind gradually rose through the
night, and its violence was heard and felt in the whistle of the
rigging and the uneasy roll of our brigantine.  When morning
dawned, the sky was as gray and cold as an arch of granite
except towards the south-east, where a streak of dun light seemeco
like the opening through which the whole fury of the blast was
poured upon the bay. The timbers of the shipping creaked as
they were tossed about by the lashed and driven waters; the rig
ging hummed and roared till the ropes were ready to snap with
316 
A GALE AND A FIRE.
thle violence of their vibrations. There was little rain accompanying the gale, but every drop stung like a shot. Seen under
a sky and through an atmosphere from which all sensation of light
and warmth was gone, the town and hills of San Francisco
appeared as if cast in bronze, so cold, dark, and severe were their
outlines. The blackest thunder-gusts I ever saw, had nothing so
savage and relentless in their expression. All day and night,
having dragged our anchor and drifted on the shoals, we lay
thumping heavily with every swell, while a large barque, with
three anchors out, threatened to stave in our bows. Towards
morning the rain increased, and in the same proportion the gale
abated. During its prevalence five or six vessels were injured,
and two or three entirely lost.
The sailors having been pacified, the supercargo taken on board,
and the brig declared ready for sea, we were detained another day
on account of the anchor sticking fast in the mud, and still another
through lack of a favorable wind. Finally, on the eighth day
after going on board, the brig was warped through the crowded
vessels, and took the first of the ebb tide, with a light breeze, to
run out of the harbor.
I went on deck, in the misty daybreak, to take a parting look
at the town and its amphitheatric hills. As I turned my face
shoreward, a little spark appeared through the fog. Suddenly it
shot up into a spiry flame, and at the same instant I heard the
sound of gongs, bells and trumpets, and the shouting of human
voices. The calamity, predicted and dreaded so long in advance,
that men ceased to think of it, had come at last-San Francisco
was on fire! The blaze increased with fearful rapidity. In
fifteen minutes, it had risen into a broad, flickering column, making all the shore, the misty air and the water ruddy as with another
317 
ELDORADO.
sunrise.  The sides of new frame housee, Beattered through the
town, tents high up on the hills, and the hulls and listless sails of
vessels in the bay, gleamed and sparkled in the thick atmosphere.
Meanwhile the roar and tumult swelled, and above the clang of
gongs and the cries of the populace, I could hear the crackling
of blazing timbers, and the smothered sound of falling roofs. I
climbed into the rigging and watched the progress of the confla gration. As the flames leaped upon a new dwelling, there was a
sudden whirl of their waving volumes-an embracing of the frail
walls in their relentless clasp-and, a second afterwards, from roof
and rafter and foundation-beam shot upward a jet of fire, steady and
intense at first, but surging off into spiral folds and streamers, as
the timbers were parted and fell.
For more than hour, while we were tacking in the channel
between Yerba Buena Island and the anchorage, there was no
apparent check to the flames. Before passing Fort Montgomery,
however, we heard several explosions in quick succession, and
conjectured that vigorous measures had been taken to prevent
further destruction. When at last, with a fair breeze and bright
sky, we were dashing past the rock of Alcatraz, the red column
had sunk away to a smouldering blaze, and nothing but a heavy
canopy of smoke remained to tell the extent of the conflagration.
The Golden Gate was again before us, and I looked through its
mountain-walls on the rolling Pacific, with full as pleasant an
excitement as I had looked inwards, four months before, eager to
catch the first glimpse of the new Eldorado.
The breeze freshened, the swell increased, and as the breakers
of the entrance receded behind us, we entered the rough sea left
by a recent gale. In trying to haul close to the wind, the captain
discovered that the rudder was broken. Immediately afterwards,
318 
WE PUT BACK IN DISTRESS.
there was a cry of " a leak!" and from the terror on the faces of
the mate and sailors, I thought that nothing less than a dozen
blankets could stop the opening. The pumps were rigged in haste,
but little water was found in the hold, and on examination it appeared that the leak, which was in the bow, was caused by the
springing apart of the planking from a violent blow on the rocks
which the brig had received a short time previous. The captain
decided at once to return, much to our disappointment, as the
wind was fair for Mazatlan. We were twenty miles from the entrance, and after beating up until next morning found ourselves
just as far off as ever. The wind continuing fair, the captain at
length listened to us, and turned again towards Mazatlan. A
change of wind again changed his mind, and all that day and the
next we tacked back and forth-sometimes running out towards
the Farellones, sometimes close under the lee of the Punta de Los
Reyes, and again driven down the coast as far, on the other side of
the entrance   What our brig gained in tacking, she lost in leeway, and as the rudder hung by a single pintle, she minded her
helm badly. On the afternoon of the third day we were becalmed,
but drifted into the entrance of the Gate with the flood-tide, in
company with fifteen vessels, that had been waiting outside. A
light southern breeze springing up, enabled us to reach the anchorage west of Clark's Point in the night; so that next morning,
after landing on the beach and walking through a mile of deep
inud, I was once more in San Francisco.
I hastened immediately to Portsmouth Square, the scene of the
conflagration. All its eastern front, with the exception of the
Delmonico Restaurant at the corner of Clay-st. was gone, together
with the entire side of the block, on Washington-st. The El dorado, Parker House, Denison's Exchange and the United States
319 
ELDORADO.
Coffee House forming, collectively, the great rendezvous of the
city, where everybody could be found at some time of the daywere among the things that had been. The fronts of the Verandah, Aguila de Oro, and other hells on Washington-st. were
blackened and charred from the intense heat to which they were
subjected, and from many of the buildings still hung the blankets
by means of which they were saved. Three days only had elapsed
since the fire, yet in that time all the rubbish had been cleared
away, and the frames of several houses were half raised. All over
the burnt space sounded one incessant tumult of hammers, axes
and saws. In one week after the fire, the Eldorado and Denison's
Exchange stood completely roofed and weatherboarded, and would
soon be ready for occupation. The Parker House was to be re
built of brick, and the timbers of the basement floor were already
laid. The Exchange had been contracted for at $15,000, to be
finished in two weeks, under penalty of forfeiting $150 for every
additional day. In three weeks from the date of the fire, it was
calculated that all the buildings destroyed would be replaced by
new ones, of better construction. The loss by the conflagration
was estimated at $1,500,000-an immense sum, when the number
and character of the buildings destroyed, is considered. This did
not include the loss in a business way, which was probably
$500,000 more. The general business of the place, however, had
not been injured. The smaller gambling hells around and near
Portsmouth Square were doing a good business, now that the
head-quarters of the profession were destroyed.
Notwithstanding there was no air stirring at the time, the pro.
gress of the fire, as described by those who were on the spot, had
something terrific in its character. The canvas partitions of rooms
shrivelled away like paper in the breath of the flames, and the dry,
i')'2 0 
INCIDENTS OF THE CONFLAGRATION
resinous wood of the outer walls radiated a heat so intense that
houses at some distance were obliged to be kept wet to prevent
their ignition. Nothing but the prompt measures of the city authorities and a plentiful supply of blankets in the adjacent stores,
saved all the lower part of the city from being swept away. The
houses in the path of the flames were either blown up or felled like
trees, by cutting off the ground timbers with axes, and pulling over
the structure with ropes fastened  to the roof.   The Spanish
merchants on Washington street, and others living in adobe
houses in the rear, were completely stupified by the danger, and
refused to have their buildings blown up. No one listened to
them, and five minutes afterwards, adobes, timbers and merchandize went into the air together.
A very few persons, out of the thousands present, did the work
of arresting the flames.  At the time of the most extreme danger,
hundreds of idle spectators refused to lend a hand, unless they
were paid enormous wages. One of the principal merchants, I
was told, offered a dollar a bucket for water, and made use of
several thousand buckets in saving his property. All the owners
of property worked incessantly, and were aided by their friends,
but at least five thousand spectators stood idle in the plaza. I
hope their selfish indifference is not a necessary offshoot of society
here. It is not to be disputed, however, that constant familiarity
with the shifting of Fortune between her farthest extremes, blunts
very much the sympathies of the popular heart.
The German house of whom I had obtained a passage for 3Iazatlan, was burned out, but the supercargo soon discovered its
whereabouts. A committee of sea-captains, appointed to examine the brigantine, reported that she could be made ready for
sea in three or four days. Under these circumstances, the own
321 
ELDORADO
ers refused to refund more than half the passage-money, which
was $75, to those of us who chose to leave the vessel. My time
was now growing precious, and I had no doubt the three days
spoken of would be extended to as many weeks. I therefore went
to the office of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, where, as I
expected, every ticket had been taken weeks before, and neither
love, money nor entreaty seemed likely to procure one. Mr.
Robinson, the Agent, however, with a prompt kindness I shall not
soon forget, gave me a passage to Mazatlan, with the understanding that I would have no berth and probably little sleeping-room.
The steamer was to sail on the first of January, at daybreak.
After coming upon my friends like an apparition —-they having
supposed me to be far out at sea-I spent two days on shore,
housed up from rain and mud, and finally took a boat for the
steamer on the last evening of the year 1849. It was during the
prevalence of the spring-tides, and no boat could be had to go
from the Long Wharf to the anchorage off the Rincon, for less
than $4.  I had two oarsmen for myself and blankets; it was
near the middle of the ebb-tide, and we ran inside the shelter of
the point till we were abreast of the steamer. She was now about
three-quarters of a mile distant, but a foaming, raging flood was
between us. Several large boats, manned by four and six oarsmen were struggling in the midst of the current, and borne away
in spite of themselves. One of my men was discouraged, and
wanted to turn back, but there was a majority against himn. I
took good hold of the tiller-ropes, the men stripped to their flannel shirts, planted their feet firmly against the ribs of the boat,
and we dashed into the teeth of the tide. We were thrown and
tossed about like a toy; the spray flew over us, and the strongest
efforts of the men did not seem to move us an inch.  After half
322 
A PULL FOR THE STEAMER.
an hour of hard work, during which we continually lost ground,
we came alongside of a vessel and made fast. At least a dozen
other craft could be seen struggling out after us, but they all fell
away, some of them drifting two or three miles before they could
make a halt. We lay for nearly two hours, waiting for the height
of the ebb to pass, but the flood still foamed and rushed, dashing
against the prows of vessels and boiling around their sterns, with
an incessant roar. At last, another boat with two passengers
came down upon us in the darkness; we joined crews, leaving one
of the boats behind, and set out again with four oars. It was
pitchy dark, with a rain dashing in our faces. We kept on, towards the light of the steamer, gaining about a yard a minute, til
we reached her lee gangway.
I unrolled my blankets and put in a preemption claim for one
end of the cabin-table. Several other berthless persons occupied
the benches on either hand and the iron grating below, which
printed their sideslike a checker-board; and so we passed the night.
The last boat-loads came out in the morning; the parting gun
echoed back from the Island of Yerba Buena; the paddles moved;
San Francisco slid away from us, and the Golden Gate opened
again; the swells of the Pacific rolled forward to meet us; the
coast wheeled around and fronted our larboard side; rain and fog
were behind us, and a speck of clear blue far ahead-and so we
sped southward, to the tropics, and homeward!
The Oregon's freight, both of gold and passengers, was the
most important which had ever left San Francisco. Of the former, we had about two millions of dollars on board; of the latter,
the Congressmen and Senators elect, Col. Fremont, Dr. Gwin,
Gilbert and Wright, together with a score of the prominent
merchants and moneyed men of San Francisco, and several officers
323 
ELDORADO.
of the Army and Navy.  Mr. Butler King was returning from
his survey of the country; Major Rucker, whom I have already
mentioned in connection wiC the overland emigration, and Major
Cross, recently from Oregon, were also on board. The character
of our little community was very different from that which came
up on the Panama; the steamer was under better regulations, and
at meal-time, especially, there was no disgraceful exhibition of
(for want of a better word) swinishness, such as I witnessed on the
former boat. We had a mild and spring-like temperature during
the trip, and blue skies, after doubling Cape Conception.
We touched at Santa Barbara on the third morning out. The
night had been foggy, and we ran astray in the channel between
the Island of Santa Rosa and the mainland, making the coast about
twenty-five miles south of the town. I did not regret this, as it
gave me an opportunity of seeing the point where the Coast Mountains come down to the sea, forming a narrow pass, which can only
be traveled at low tide, between the precipice and the surf. It is
generally known as the Rincon, or Corner-a common Spanish
term for the jutting end of a mountain; in a Californian ballad
(written before seeing the country,) I had made it the scene of an
imaginary incident, giving the name of Paso del Mar-the Pass
of the Sea-to the spot. I was delighted to find so near a corre
spondence between its crags of black rock, its breakers and reaches
of spray-wet sand, and the previous picture in my imagination.
The village of Santa Barbara is charmingly situated, on a warm
slope above the roadstead, down to which stretch its fields of wheat
and barley. Behind it, on a shelf of the mountain, stands the
Mission, or Episcopal Residence of Santa Barbara, its white
arched corridors and tall square towers brightly relieved against the
pine forests in the distance. Above and beyond all, the Moun
324 
VOYAGE DOWN THE COAST.
tain of Santa Ynez lifts its bold and sterile ramparts, like an
unscaleable barrier against the inland.
We lay-to in the road for several hours, shipping supplies. The
shore was so near that we could watch the vaqueros, as they galloped among the herds and flung their lariats over the horns of the
doomed beeves. An immense whale lay stranded on the beach
like the hull of some unlucky vessel. As we steamed down the
coast, in the afternoon, we had a magnificent view of the snowy
range which divides the rich vine-land of Los Angeles from the
Tulare Plains. At daybreak the next morning we were in the
harbor of San Diego, which was little changed since my visit in
August; the hills were somewhat greener, and there were a few
more tents pitched around the hide-houses. Thence away and
down the rugged Peninsula-past the Bay of Sebastian Viscaino,
the headland of San Lorenzo and the white deserts of sand that
stretch far inland-around the jagged pyramids and hollow caverns
of Cape San Lucas-beyond the dioramic glimpse of San Jose, and
into the mouth of the Californian Gulf, where we were struck aback
by a norther that strained our vessel's sinews and troubled the stomachs of her passengers. The next morning we groped about in
the fog, hearing a breaker here and seeing a rock there, but the
captain at last hit upon the right clue and ran us out of the
maze into a gush of dazzling sunshine and tropic heat, which lay
upon the islands and palmy shores of Mazatlan Harbor.
325 
CHAPTER XXXIL
I TOOK leave of my friends and mess-mates, receiving many
gloomy predictions and warnings of danger from the most of them,
and went ashore with the captain, in the ship's boat. The water
is very shallow, from within a mile of the landing, and abounds
with rocks which rise nearly to the surface. Two of these are
called The Turtles, from an incident which is told at the expense
of an officer of the British Navy. He had just reached Mazatlan,
and on his first visit to the shore, knowing that the waters contained turtle, had provided himself with rope and harpoon, and
took his station in the bow of the boat. The men rowed for
some time without interruption, but suddenly, at a whisper from
the officer, backed their oars and awaited the throw. The harpoon was swung quickly to give it impetus; the water flew as it
descended; "hit!" shouted the officer.  And it was hit-so hard
that the harpoon banged back again from the round face of the
rock.
We landed on the beach, where we were instantly surrounded
with the peons of the Custom House, in white shirts and pantaloons. The baggage was carried under the portico of an adobe
house opposite the landing, where it was watched by one of the
officials. Mr  Mott, of Mazatlan, who came passenger in the Ore
MAZATLAN. 
A CHINESE BONIFACE.
gon, was well-known to all the authorities of the place, and I
found, after losing much time in getting a permit to have my luggage passed, that it had all been sent to his house without examination. My next care was to find a lodging-place. There was
the meson, a sort of native caravanserai; the  Ballo de Oro,
(Golden Ball,) a tavern after the Mexican fashion, which is
comfortless enough; and finally the Fonda de Canton, a Chinese
hotel, kept by Luen-Sing, one of the most portly and dignified of
all the Celestials. His broad face, nearly equal in circumference
to the gong which Chin-Ling, the waiter, beat three times a day
at the door, beamed with a paternal regard for his customers.
His oblique eyes, in spite of all their twinklings after the main
chance, looked a good-natured content, and his capacious girth
spoke too well of fat living to admit of a doubt about the quality
of his table. There was no resisting the attractions of LuenSing's hotel, as advertised in his own person, and thither, accordingly, I went.
The place was overrun by our passengers, who nearly exhausted
the supplies of eggs, milk and vegetables in the market. The
Fonda de Canton was thronged; all the rooms were filled with
tables, and gay groups, like children enjoying a holiday, were clus..
tered in the palm-shaded court-yard. Chin-Ling could not half
perform the commands; he was called from every side and scolded
by everybody, but nothing could relax the gravity of his queer
yellow face. The sun was intensely hot until near evening, and I
made myself quite feverish by running after luggage, permits and
passports. I was not sorry when the gun of the steamer, at dusk,
signalized her departure, and I was left to the company and hospitalities of my firiend Lue6n-Sing. After the monte players had
closed their bank in one of the rooms and the customers had with.
327 
ELDORADO.
drawn, Chin-Ling carried in a small cot, and made me a very
good bed, on which I slept nearly as soundly as if it had been soft
plank.
I took a ramble about the city in the clear coolness of the morn ing. Its situation is very peculiar and beautiful. Built at the
foot of a bold hill, it stands on the neck of a rocky, vole.-nic headland,
fronting the sea on each side, so that part of the city looks up the
Californian Gulf and part down the coast towards San Blas. The
houses are stone, of a white, pink or cream-color, with heavy
arched entrances and cool court-yards within. The contrast of
their clear, bright fronts, with the feathery tops of the cocoa-palm,
seen under a dazzling sky, gives the city a rich oriental character,
reminding me of descriptions of Smyrna. The houses are mostly
a single story in height, but in the principal street there are several
magnificent buildings of two stories, with massive cornices and
large balconied windows. The streets are clean and cheerful, and
the principal shops are as large, showy and tastefully arranged as
those of Paris or New York. At night, especially, when they are
brilliantly lighted and all the doors and windows are opened, displaying the gaudy shawls, scarfs and sarapes within; when the
whole population is out to enjoy the pleasant air, the men in their
white shirts and the women in their bewitching rebosas; when
some native band is playing, just far enough distant to drown the
discordance; when the paper lanterns of the fruit-venders gleam
at every corner, and the aristocratic seioritas smoke their paper
cigars in the balconies above-Mazatlan is decidedly the gayest
and liveliest little city on the Continent.
But I was speaking of my morning stroll. The sun was already
shining hotly in the streets, and the mellow roar of the surf on the
northern side of the promontory tempted my steps in that direc
i) 8 
THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE CALIFORNIAN GULF.    329
tion. I threaded the narrow alleys in the suburbs of the town,
lined with cactus hedges, behind which stood the thatched bamboo
huts of the natives, exactly similar to those on the Isthmus.
Gangs of men, naked to the waist, were at work, carrying on their
heads large faggots of dye-wood, with which some of the vessels in
the harbor were being freighted. I reached a shaded cove anmo!lg
the rocks, where I sat and looked out on the dark-blue expanse
of the Gulf. The air was as transparent as crystal and the
breakers rolled in with foam and delightful freshness, to bathe the
shelly sand at my feet.  Three craggy islands off the shore looked
to be within gunshot, owing to the purity of the atmosphere, yet
their scarred sides and ragged crests were clothed in the purple of
distance. The region about the mouth of the Gulf of California
enjoys an unvarying clearness of climate, to which there is probably no parallel on the earth. At Cape San Lucas, the rising
and setting of a star is manifest to the naked eye. Two or three
years frequently pass without a drop of rain. There is, however,
a season of about a week's duration, occurring in some of the
winter months, when the soil is kept continually moist from the
atmosphere. Not a cloud is to be seen; the sun is apparently as
bright as ever; yet a fine, gauzy film of moisture pervades the air,
settles gradually on the surface of the earth and performs the service of rain.
I saw an interesting picture one evening, in front of the Theatre.
A large band was stationed near the door, where they performed
waltzes and polkas in excellent style-an idea no doubt derived
from " Scudder's Balcony" or the gambling-hells of San Francisco.
It had the effect, at least, to draw a dense crowd of the lower
orders to the place, and increase the business of the traders in
fruits and drinks. A military band, of trumpets alone, marched 
ELDORADO
up and down the principal street, blowing long blasts of piercing
sound that affected one like the shock of an electro-galvanic battery. Soldiers were grouped around the door of the Theatre, with
stacked arms, and the tables of dealers in fruit and provisions were
ranged along the walls. Over their braziers of charcoal simmered
the pans of manteca, (lard,) near which stood piles of tortillas and
dishes of fowl mixed with chili colorado, ready to be served up at
a medio the plate.  BLndles of sugar-cane were heaped upon the
ground, and oranges, bananas, and other fruits spread upon mats
beside which their owners sat. There were tables covered with
porous earthern jars, containing cool and refreshing drinks made
of orange juice, cocoa milk, barley flour, and other wholesome ingredients.
The market-place presents a most picturesque appearance,
whether by day or night. It is a small square, on the steep side
of the hill, reached by narrow alleys, in which are to be found all
the articles most in demand by the lower classes-earthenware
after the old Aztec fashion, flaming calicoes, sarapes, rebosas and
broad Guayaquil sombreros.   The place is filled with square,
umbrella-like stands or canopies of palm-leaves, under which are
spread on the ground all kinds of vegetables, fruit and grain that
grow in the vicinity, to be had at low prices. Among the fruits I
noticed a plump green berry, with a taste like a strawberry and
gooseberry combined; they were called by the natives, arellanes.
At night, the square was lighted by flaring lamps or torches of
some resinous wood.
The proximity of California had increased in a striking manner
the growth and activity of 3Iazatlan. Houses were going up in
all parts of the towns, and the prices of articles in the shops were
little below the San Francisco standard.  At a tailoring establish
,330 
PREPARING TO START.
ment I was asked $20 for a pair of Mexican calzoneros, and $25
for a cloth traveling jacket-sums entirely above my reach. I
purchased a good Panama hat for $5, and retaining my suit of
corduroy and shirt of blue flannel, set about hunting for a mule.
There were about fifty emigrants in the place, who had come in a
few days previous, from Durango; but their animals had all been
disposed of to the Mexican traders, at very low prices. I was directed to the meson, where I found a number for sale, in the corral. The owners offered to sell me a caballo sillado (a saddled
and bridled horse) for $100, or a tolerable mule for $80, but
seemed to think I would prefer a frisone, (an American horse,) at
$100, unsaddled. After riding a number of mules around the
corral, I made choice of a small brown one, for which $45 was
asked, but which I obtained for $30. One of the emigrants sold
nme his saddle and bridle for $5; I added a good lariat and blanket,
and was thoroughly equipped for the journey.
It now remained to have my passport arranged, for which the
signature of the President of the City Council was requisite. After
a great deal of search, I found the proper place, where a sort of
Alcalde, who was settling a dispute between two Indians, wrote
a visto, and directed me to call on the President, Don Luis Abioli.
This second visit cost me several hours, but at last I succeeded in
discovering Don Luis, who was busily engaged behind the counter
of his grocery store, in a little building near the market-place.
He stopped weighing sugar to affix his signature to the passport,
received my" mil gracias!" with a profound bow and turned again
to his customers.
The emigrants expressed great astonishment at my fool-hardiness, as they termed it, in undertaking the journey through to
Vera Cruz. These men, some of whom had come overland from
331 
ELDORADO
Chihuahua and some from M3atamoras, insisted most strenuously
that I should not start alone. The Mexicans, they said, were
robbors, to a man; one's life, even, was not safe among them, and
their bitter hostility to Americans would subject me to continual
insult. " Would you believe it?" said a tall, raw-boned Yankee;
" they actually rocked us!" This gentle proceeding, I found, on
further inquiry, had been occasioned by the emigrants breaking
their contract with their guide. I therefore determined to follow
the plan I had adopted in California, and to believe nothing that I
had not seen with my own eyes. "I've traveled in the country,
and I know all about it," was the remark with which I was constantly greeted; " you'll very soon find that I was right." To
escape from the annoyance of these counsels and warnings, I hastened my preparations, and was ready for departure on the second
morning after my arrival.
Luen-Sing, who had traveled over the road once, as far as Tepic, told me I should find it toilsome but safe. The Celestials
assisted me in packing my scanty luggage behind the saddle, and
enjoined on me the promise of patronizing the Fonda de Canton,
when I returned to Mazatlan. I took my final cup of chocolate
on the old table in the corridor, had a last talk with Chin-Ling
about the gold-diggings, shook hands with the whole yellow-faced,
long-eyed crew, mounted my mule and started up the main street,
in the breathless heat of a noonday sun. I doubled the corner of
the hill, passing the Plaza de Toros, (an arena for bull-fights,)
and the scattering huts of the suburbs, till I reached the garita,
near the sea. HIere, an officer of the customs, who was lounging in
the shade, pointed out the road to the old Presidio of Mazatlan,
which I took, feeling very warm, very lonely and a little dispirited
at the ride of twelve hundred miles which lay before me.
332 
CHAPTER XXXIl.
TRAVEL IN THE TIERRA CALIENTE.
IT was a cloudless noon. The sun burned down on the sand
and quivering sea, and the three islands in the Gulf seemed vitrifying in the blue heat of the air. Riding slowly down to the arid
level of a dried-up marsh, over which my path lay, I met an arriero, of whom I asked the distance to the Presidio.  " No llega
hoy," said he; "la mula no anda  ada; es mauy flojo.11 (You'll not
get there to-day; your mule don't go at all; "he's very lazy.")
My heart misgave me for a moment, for his criticism of the mule
was true; but, seeing that my spur had as yet drawn no blood, I
broke a stick from the thicket and belabored him with hand and
foot. I passed a few plantations, with fenced fields, near the town,
and afterwards took to the sandy chapparal near the sea.
The foliage of a tropical winter, on this coast, is not very attractive. There is a season when the growth is suspended-when the
bud closes, the leaf falls and the bough gathers sap for a long time
of splendid bloom. Only the glossy green of the lemon, mango
and sycamore remains; the rest of the wood takes a grayish cast
from its many half-clothed boughs, among which rise the strange,
gloomy pillars of the cereus giganteus, often more than forty feet
in height.  After raking the circuit of a spacious bay, I came to 
ELDORADO.
a cluster of fishing huts on the shore, about three leagues from
Mazatlan. Beyond these the road turned among low hills, covered
with the gray, wintry woods, as far as eye could reach. Gaudy
parrots flew screaming among the boughs; large brown birds, with
hooked bills sat musing by the road, and in the shady spots, I
heard the tender coo of the dove-the sweet emblem of peace and
domestic affection, to which no clime is alien-which haunts all
lands and all zones, where beats the human heart whose softer
emotions it typifies.
I was toiling along in the heat, torturing my conscience as much
as the mule's flankls, when a couple of rancheros, riding behind
me, came up with a good-humored greeting and proposed joining
company. The foremost, a merry old native, of mixed blood,
commenced using his whip on my mule's back and I soon found
that the latter could keep up a sharp trot for an hour, without
trouble. Thanks to my self-constituted mozo, I reached the
banks of the Rio Mazatlan, opposite the Presidio, two hours before sunset. The old man invited me to pass the night at his
ranche, which was near to hand, and I willingly complied. He
turned his own beast loose, and started to a neighboring ranche,
for an armful of oja (the fodder of maize) for my mule. Meanwhile, I walked down to the river, to refresh myself with a bath.
The beauty of the scene kept me from the water for a long time.
On the opposite bank the old walls of the Presidio towered above
the trees; the valley, stretching away to the eastward, to a far-off
line of mountains, out of a notch in which the river found its
way, was spotted with plantations of maize, bananas and melons.
The rancheros were out at work, ploughing and  sowing their
grain. The fervor of the day was over, and a warm, tempered
light was poured over the landscape. As I lay, clasped in the
334 
TWILIGHT CHAT) AT A RANCHE.
soft-flowing crystal of the river, the thought of another bath. on
that very day four years before, came suddenly into my mind. It
was my birth-day; but on that other anniversary I had baptized
my limbs in the sparkling surf of the Mediterranean, on the shore
of the Roman Campagna. I went back to the ranche with that
sensation of half-pain, half-joy, which we feel when the mind and
body are in different places.
My mule was fed and the old man gave me a dish of frijoles,
with three tortillas in lieu of knife and fork. Then we sat down
in the delicious twilight, amnid the beautiful repose of Nature, and
I answered, as well as I could, the questions prompted by their
simple curiosity. I told them about my country and its climate,
aad the long journey I must yet make to reach it, which they
heard with evident interest and wonder. They were anxious to
know how a steamboat could move against the wind, for they had
been told this was the case, by their friends in Mazatlan. The
nearest idea of it which I could give them, was by describing it as
a sea-cart, with broad wheels rolling on the water. At last the
twilight deepened into night, and I unrolled my blankets to make
my bed. " You must sleep to-night en el sercq'o," said the old
man; and a beautiful, star-lit Sereno it was.   "Ah," said his
wife, " what fine blankets! you will sleep better than the Archbishop!" They then went to their hammocks in the hut, and I
lay down on the earth, thanking God that the dismal forebodings
which accompanied me out of Mazatlan had been so happily falsi
fed.
My kind host asked nothing in payment, when I saddled in the
morning, but I insisted on giving him a trifle. " Vaya con
Dios!" said he, as we shook hands, " and if you go to California,
bring me a little piece of gold when you come back." I forded
335 
ELDORADO
the river and passed through old Mazatlan-a miserable village
of huts with a massive presidio and church in ruins.  The mLorningt was fresh and cool, and the road lay in shade for several
miles. My mule, having no whip behind him, was as lazy as ever
and made me the subject of remark from all the natives who
passed. A ranchero, carrying an escopette and three live turkeys
slung to the saddle, before him, offered his horse in exchange. I
refused to trade, but an hour later, met an arriero, with a train of
horses, laden with oja. lie made the game proposition and unloaded the mountainous stack under which one of his horses was
buried, that I might try him.  "Es muy caminador," (a great
traveler,) said the owner; but he was crooked-legged, sore-backed
and terribly thin in withers and flanks. Looking at him in front,
he seemed to have no breadth; he was like a horse carved out of
plank, and I was almost afraid to mount, for fear I should pull
him over. Nevertheless, he started off briskly; so without wasting words,  I made  an even exchange.   Nothing was gained
however, in point of dignity, for my brisk lean horse occasioned
quite as many remarkls as my fat lazy mule.
Towards noon I reached a little village called Santa Fe, where
I got a breakfast of frijoles and chopped sausage, mixed with redpepper-a dish called chorisa-for a real.  The country I passed
was hilly and barren, with a range of broken mountains between
me and the sea. Crossing a ridge beyond Santa Fe, I came upon
extensive fields of aloes, cultivated for the vinous drink called
mescal, which is made of their juice. In the midst of them stood
the adobe town of Agua Caliente-a neat though scattering place,
with a spacious church. I journeyed on for leagues in the burn.
ing sun, over scorched hills, without water or refreshing verdure.
My caminador, too, lost the little spirit he had displayed, and
336 
EVENING AT A POSADA.
jogged along at a snail's pace.  I suffered greatly from thirst for
several hours, till I reached a broad arroyo crossing the road,
where I found a little muddy water at the bottom of a hole.
Some Indians who were seated in the shade, near a sort of campfire, put me on the right trail for Potrerillos, the village where I
expected to pass the night. A pleasantly shaded path of a league
took me thither by sunset.
M/Iy  old native friend on the Rio Mazatlan told me I could
stop wherever I chose, on the road; no ranchero would refuse to receive me. I accordingly rode up to the first house, and inquired;
" Can I stay here to-night?"  "Si Seior," was the ready answer. The place was small, and the people appeared impoverished,
so I asked whether there was a posada in the place.  "Go to Don
Ipolito," said the man; " that is where the estranjeros stay,"
Don Ipolito was a Frenchman, who had an adobe hut and corral
for mules, in the centre of the village.  He was about starting for
Mazatlan, but gave directions to the women and mozos to furnish
me with supper, and my horse with corn and oja. His instructions were promptly obeyed; I had a table set with chorisa and
fiijoles, under the thatched portico; then a cup of black coffee
and a puro, which I enjoyed together, while trying to comprehend
the talk of a very pretty girl of fifteen and a handsome  young
rauchero, evidently her lover, who sat near me on a low adobe
wall.  They were speaking of marriage-that I found at once;
but another ranchero-perhaps a rival suitor-named Pio, formed
their principal  topic.   " Es  sin verguenza, Pio"  (He's  a
shameless fellow, that Pio,) was frequently repeated by both of
them.
My bed-time was not long in coming. A boy was sent into the
loft of the hut for a frame made of woven cane, which was placed
15
337 
ELDORADO.
on the portico, and covered with a coarse matting. I threw my
blankets on it, using my coat for a pillow, and was sound asleep
in five minutes. Half an hour might have elapsed, when I was
suddenly aroused by a sound like the scream of a hundred fiends.
The frame on which I lay was rocked to and fro, and came near
overturning; I sprang up in alarnm, finding my bed in the midst of
a black, moving mass, from which came  the horrid sound.   It
proved to be a legion of hogs, who had scented out a few grains of
corn in a basket which had held my horse's feed, and was placed
under the bed.  The door of the hut opened, and the hostess appeared with a lamp.  At  sight of her, the beasts gave a hasty
grunt, cleared the wall at one bound, and disappeared. "Santa
Maria!"  shrieked the woman;  "son  demonios-son hijos del
diablo!" (they are demons-they are children of the devil!)  I
feared that another descent upon me would be made after she had
gone back to her hammock; but I was not molested again.
I arose in the morning, fed my horse, saddled, and was off by
sunrise.  The town of E1 Rosario was but four leagues distant,
and the road was full of young rancheros in their holiday dresses,
riding thither to mass. Three of them joined company with me
and tried to sell me one of their horses. " You'll never reach
Tepic with that horse," said they, " look at ours!" and away
they would gallop for a hundred yards, stopping with one bound,
to wait for my slow-paced caminador.   They drew out their
tobacco and tinder-boxes, as we rode along; one of them, a spruce
young fellow, with a green silk sash around his waist, rolled his
cigarito in corn-husk, smoked about one-third of it and presented
me with the remainder, that I might see how much better it
tasted than paper. The flavor was indeed mild and delightful; I
puffed away an inch of it, and then returned him the stump. A
338 
A BREAKFAST AT ELROSARIO.
naked boy, basking in the sun at the door of a hut, called out
" Yanki!" as I passed.
El Rosario is built on a beautiful site, in a broad valley, sur-ounded by blue and jagged peaks.  It has several streets of
spacious stone houses, for the most part ruined, and a church with
a fine stone tower a hundred and fifty feet in height. I had to
cross the plaza, which was filled with the rancheros of the neighborhood, waiting for the hour of mass; my caminador was the
subject of general notice, and I was truly rejoiced when I had
hidden his raw bones from sight in the court-yard of a fonda.
The house was kept by a good-natured old lady, and three large
parrots, who, (the parrots) sat each on a different perch, continually repeating: " chiquito perriquito, bonito, blanquito!"-the
only phrase I ever heard a Mexican parrot utter, and which may
be thus translated: " very little, pretty little, white-little parrotling!" I ate my breakfast of beans and red-peppers, chatting
the while with the old ladv, who was loud in her praises of Tepie,
whither I told her I was bound. " Es mi pais," said she, "es us?
pais precioso." She scolded me good-humoredly at starting, for
having left my horse where he might have been stolen, and bade
me beware of the robbers; but, thought 1, who would take such a
horse?
Crossing the river of Rosario, I took a path embowered in green
thickets, through which glided multitudes of macaws and tufted
birds of gay plumage.  At noon I came into a lovely valley among
the mountains, and followed a stream shaded by splendid sycamores and palms. Little patches of meadow land slept like still
lakes among the woods, with thatched ranches spotting their
shores   I rode up to one of these for a drink of water, which an
old man brought me in a calabash, standing bare-headed till I had
339 
ELDORADO.
finished drinking.  The trails soon after scattered, and I found
that I had lost the main road. In this emergency I met a ran
chero, who told me I had wandered far from the right track, but
that he would act as guide. I promised him a reward, if he would
accompany me, whereupon he ran to his hut for a lariat, caught a
horse and sprang on his unsaddled back. We rode for more than
two hours in a foot-path through the depths of the tangled forest,
before striking the road.  The impervious screen of foliage above
our heads kept off the sun and turned the daylight into an emerald
gloom.  Taking leave of my guide, I emerged from these lonely
and enchanting shades upon the burnt upland, where the tall fanpalms rustled drearily in the hot wind. As the afternoon wore
away, another green level of billowy foliage appeared ahead; the
hills lay behind me, and far away to the right I saw the sea-blink
along the edges of the sky.
Notwithstanding the unsurpassed fertility of soil and genial
character Gf climate, this region is very scantily settled, except in
the broad river-bottoms opening towards the sea. There, under
the influence of a perpetual summer, the native race becomes indolent and careless of the future. Nature does everything for
them; a small patch of soil will produce enough maize and bananas
for a family, with which, and the eternal frijoles, they have abundance for life's wants. The saplings of the woods furnish them
with posts, rafters and ridge-poles, the palm and the cane with
thatch and bedding. They are exempt from all trouble as to
their subsistence; the blue ramparts of the Sierra Madre on one
side, and the silver streak of the sea on the other, enclose their
world   They grow up lithe and agile in the free air, mate, wax
old and die, making never a step out of the blind though contented
round which their fathers walked before them. I do not believe
340 
THE HOSTESS OF A MESON.
that a more docile or kindly-disposed people exists than these
rancheros.  In all my intercourse with them I was treated with
unvarying honesty, and with a hospitality as sincere as it was
courteous and respectful. During all my travels in the Tierra
Caliente, I was never imposed upon as a stranger nor insulted as
an American.
My resting-place the third night was the village of Escuinapa,
where I found a meson, kept, or at least managed by a lady whose
kindness and cheerfulness were exactly in proportion to her size;
that is, they were about as broad as they were long. She was a fast
friend of the Americans, and spoke with rapture of the promptness
with which all the emigrants whom she had entertained, had paid
their bills.  Her own countrymen, she said, were slippery customers; they frequently ran off without paying a claco. She
talked of going to California; she thought if she were to establish
a meson in the diggings, all the emigrants who had passed through
Escuinapa would patronize her. "They are all good people,"
said she; " I like them as well as if they were my brothers, and 1
am sure they would come to visit me." An old man, who seemed
to be her husband, sat swinging in the hammock, lifting his feet
high enough that his blue velvet calzoneros should not be soiled on
the floor. I had an excellent dinner of eggs, fish and chocolate,
finishing with a delicate cigarito which the corpulent hostess prepared for me. Two or three Mexican travelers arrived for the
night and took possession of the cane bed-frame and benches in the
room, leaving me only the cold adobe floor.  " Will you take out
your saddle and bridle?" requested the old lady; "los seiorcs
are going to sleep here."  "But where am I to sleep?" I asked
" Con migo!" was the immediate answer.  " Como?" said I,
surprised and alarmed; I was horror-struck and must have looked
341 
ELDORADO.
so, for she seemed amused at my bewilderment. " Come!" she
replied, and took up the lamp. I shouldered the saddle, and followed to a dark, windowless closet, in the rear of the house. It
was just large enough to hold two frames, covered with matting,
and some bags of maize and barley.  "This is your bed," said she,
pointing to one of them, "and this is ours.  I hope you do not
object to our sleeping in the same room." I laid my saddle on
the frame indicated, put my head on it, and slept soundly till the
early dawn shone through the cracks of the door.
Leaving Escuinapa, a day's journey of fifty miles lay before me,
through an uninhabited country. I doubted the powers of my
caminador, but determined to let him have a fair trial; so I gave
him a good feed of corn, drank a cup of chocolate, slung a pineapple to my saddle-bow, and rode out of the village in the morning
dusk. At first the trail led through pleasant woods, with here and
there a ranche, but diverging more and more to the east, it finally
came out on a sandy plain bordering the leagues of salt marsh on
the side towards the sea. On the left the mountain chain of the
Sierra Madre rose high and abrupt, showing in its natural buttresses and ramparts of rock a strong resemblance to the peaks of
the Gila country. A spur of the chain ran out towards the seas
far in front, like the headland of a bay. The wide extent of salt
marsh reaching from near E1 Rosario to La Bayona-a distance
of seventy-five miles, showed the same recession of the Pacific, as
[ had already observed at Panama and Monterey. The ancient
sea-margins may still be traced along the foot of the mountains.
I jogged steadily onward from sunrise till blazing noon, when,
having accomplished about half the journey, I stopped under a
palm-tree and let my horse crop a little grass, while I refreshed
mnyself with the pine-apple. Not far off there was a single ranche,
342 
RIDE TO LA BAYONA.
called Piedra Gorda-a forlorn-looking place, where one cannot
remain long without being tortured by the sand-flies. Beyond it,
there is a natural dome of rock, twice the size of St. Peters, capping an isolated mountain. The broad intervals of meadow between the wastes of sand were covered with groves of the beautiful
fan-palm, lifting their tufted tops against the pale violet of the
distant mountains. In lightness, grace and exquisite symmetry,
the Palm is a perfect type of the rare and sensuous expression of
Beauty in the South. The first sight of the tree had nearly
charmed me into disloyalty to my native Pine; but when the
wind blew, and I heard the sharp, dry, metallic rustle of its leaves,
I retained the old allegiance. The truest interpreter of Beauty is
in the voice, and no tree has a voice like the Pine, modulated to
a rythmic accord with the subtlest flow of Fancy, touched with a
human sympathy for the expression of Hope and Love and Sorrow, and sounding in an awful undertone, to the darkest excess
of Passion.
Making the circuit of the bay, the road finally doubled the last
mountain-cape, and plunged into dark green thickets, fragrant
with blossoms. I pushed on hour after hour, the pace of my caminador gradually becoming slower, and sunset approached without
any sign of " Bayona's hold." Two Indians, mounted on small
horses, came down by a winding trail from the hills, and rode a
little in advance of me. " No tiene uste miedo de viajar solo?"
(Are you not afraid to travel alone?) said one of them.   "What
should I be afraid of?" I asked in return.  " The robbers."  "I
should  like to see them;"  I said.   " Tiene mncho valor,"
remarked one to the other. They then spoke of my tired horse,
and looked admiringly at my blankets, asking me first to make a
gift of them, then to sell them, and, finally, to let them carry
343 
ELDORADo.
them behind their own saddles. I refused them very decidedly,
and they trotted in advance. At the next bend of the road,
however, I saw through the trees that they waited till I nearly
overtook them, when they slowly moved forward. The repetition
of this roused my suspicions; taking off a heavy pair of gloves, I
pulled out my pistol, put on a fresh cap, and kept it in my right
hand. I believe they must have been watching my motions, for
instead of waiting as usual, they dashed off suddenly at a gallop.
The sun went down; the twilight faded, and the column of the
zodiacal light shortened to the horizon, as I walked behind imy
caminador, looking for La Bayona. At last I came to a river,
with two or three ranches on its banks; in front of them was a
large fire, with several men standing about it. One of them
offered to accompany me to the town, which was near. On the
way, he expatiated on the great number of rabbits iu the neighborhood, and lamented that he had no powder to shoot them, winding
up with: " Perhaps, Senior, you might give me a little; you can
easily buy more when you reach Acaponeta." I poured out half
the contents of my flask into a corner of his shirt, which he held
up to receive it; he then pointed out the fording-place, and I
crossed to La Bayona, where my poor horse had rest and good
feed after his hard day's journey. There was a dirty little nmeson
in the place, a bare room. In which was given me for two reales,
and a supper of tortillas and frijoles for a medio (61 cents.)
The landlord and one of his friends talked with me a long
while about the United States.  " Tell me," said the latter, "is
it true what Don Carlos, an American that was here last spring,
told me-that there is a machine in your country in which you
look at the moon, and it seems to be twenty feet long?"  I
assured him it was perfectly true, for I had often seen the moon
344 
MEXICAN ANTICIPATIONS.
in it.  "Is it also true," he continued, "that in the United
States a man pays only one dollar a year, and sends all his children to school for nothing?-and, then, when they have gone
twelve years to school, they are fit for any business? Ah, how
grand that is! how much better than here! Now, I do not
know how to read at all. Why is it that everything is so fortunate
in the United States?"  "Because,  said the other, "it is a
nation muy poderosa.'  "I have heard that there are several
millions of people in it." "That is true," rejoined the other,
"and that is the reason why all the Americans we see are so much
wiser than we are." I was deeply interested in their naive
remarks. In fact, not only here, but throughout all western
Mexico, I found none of the hostility to Americans which had
been predicted for me, but on the reverse, a decided partiality.
In speaking of us, the natives exhibited (and I say it not with any
feeling of national pride,) the liking which men bear to their
superiors. They acknowledged our greater power and intelligence
as a nation, without jealousy, and with an anticipation rather than
a fear, that our rule will one day be extended over them.
The next morning I rode to Acaponeta, four leagues distant, by
a pleasant road over low hills. The scenery was highly picturesque,
the town lies in the lap of a wide valley, nearly encircled by mountains which rise one above another, the farthest still the highest,
like the seats in an amphitheatre. Their sides are cloven by
tremendous chasms and ravines, whose gloom is concealed by perpetual verdure, but the walls of white rock, dropping sheer down
many hundreds of feet from the summit, stand out distinctly in
the vaporless atmosphere. Except the church and a few low
adobe buildings around the plaza, Acaponeta is formed entirely of
cane huts.  I stopped at the Meson del Angel, gave a basket of
345 
ELDORADO.
corn to my horse, and ordered eggs, beefsteak, and chocolate for
breakfast. The cocinera and her daughter were two hours in preparing it, and meanwhile I sat in the shade of an orange tree, be.
side a cool well in the court-yard. The women were very talkative, and amused themselves greatly with my bad Spanish. The
daughter was preparing a quantity of empty egg-shells for the
Carnival, by filling them with finely-minced paper of different
colors and sealing the ends again. In order to show me how
these were used, they bade me take off my hat. Each then took
an egg and approached me, saying, "tu es mi bien amorado,"at the same time breaking the shells on my head. My hair was
completely filled with their many-colored contents, and it was
several days before it was clear of this testimony of affection.
I crossed another large river at Acaponeta, and went on through
embowered paths,
"Under a shade perpetual, which never
Ray of the sun let in, nor moon.
Gay parrots and macaws glanced in and out amid the cool green
shawdows; lovely vistas opened between the boughs into the faery
heart of the wilderness; the trees were laced each to each, by
vines each more luxuriant than themselves; subtile odors pervaded
the air, and large, yellow, bell-shaped flowers swung on their long
stems like cups of gold, tremulous in the chance rays of sunshine.
Here and there, along the ledges of the mural mountains on my
left, I noted the smoke of Indian camp-fires, which, as night approached, sparkled like beacons. I intended to have stopped at
a ranche called San Miguel, but passed it unknowingly, and
night found me on the road. A friendly ranchero pointed out to
me a path which led to a hut, but I soon lost it, and wandered
346 
ELEVATED LODGINGS.
about at random on the dark fenceless meadows. At last I heard
a dog's bark-the sure sign of habitation-and, following the
sound, came to a small ranche.
I was at once given permission to stay, and the women went to
work on the tortillas for my supper. I swung off my fatigue in a
hammock, and supped by starlight on the food of the Aztec-the
everlasting tortilla, which is a most nourishing and palatable cake
when eaten fresh from the hot stone on which it is baked. There
were several dogs about the ranche, and the biggest of them
showed a relentless hostility towards me.  "E1 Chucho don't like
you," said the ranchero; "he'll bite if he can get hold of you;
you had better climb up there and sleep," and he pointed to a
sort of cane platform used for drying fruit, and raised on poles
about twelve feet from the ground. I took my blankets, climbed
up to the frail couch, and lay down under the stars, with Taurus
at the zenith. E1 Chucho took his station below; as often as I
turned on my airy bed during the night, the vile beast set up his
howl and all the dog-herd howled in concert.
The next day I breakfasted at the hacienda of Buena Vista and
rode about six leagues further, to the town of Rosa Morada. (The
Violet Rose.) Just before reaching the place I caught sight of a
mountain very far to the south, and recognized its outline as that
of the Silla de San Juan (Saddle of St. John,) which rises behind the roadstead of San Blas. This was a welcome sight,
for it marked the first step of my ascent to the Table-Land.
was growing tired of the Tierra Caliente; my face was blistered
with the heat, and my skin so punctured by musquitos, fleas, sand
flies and venomous bugs that I resembled a patient in the last
stage of small-pox. There was no meson in Rosa Morada, but a
miserable posada, where I found three Frenchmen, two of whom
317 
ELDORADO.
were fresh from Bordeaux and on their way to California. They
were all engaged about the kitchen fire, concocting their dinner,
which they invited me to share with them. The materials they
picked up in the village were not slighted in the cooking, for
better vermicelli I never ate. They likewise carried their beds
with them and stretched their cot-frames on the airy portico.  I
lay down on the adobes and slept " like a brick."
I was off at daylight, riding over an elevated plain towards the
Rio Santiago. Two arrieros, on their way to Tepic, shared their
tortillas with me and proposed we should join company. They
stopped two hours to noon, however, and I left them. Urging
forward my despairing horse, I crossed one branch of the river at
San Pedro and reached Santiago, on the main branch, an hour before sunset.  In descending to the Rio Santiago-or, more properly, the Rio Tololotlan, its ancient Aztec apellation-I came
upon plantations of bananas and plantains, heavy with ripening
fruit. The country showed signs of wealth and culture; the
houses were large and well built and the fields divided by strong
fences of palm logs. All up and down the broad banks of the
river were scattered arrieros, mules and rows of pack-saddles,
while half a dozen large canoes were plying backwards and forwards with their loads. I got into the first vacant one with my
saddle, bridle and blankets, taking a turn of the lariat round my
horse's nose. An arriero who had passed me the day previous,
with a horse as worn-out as my own, was the other passenger.
The river is about sixty yards wide, and very deep and swift. Our
horses swam bravely behind us, and I believe were much the better for the bath.
I took an instant liking to the arriero for two reasons: firstly,
he had a dark, melancholy, intellectual eye; secondly, he was the
348 
A NIGHT OF HORROR.
only traveler I saw on the road, whose horse was so woeful an
animal  as  mine.   We  started in  company,  and soon grew
strongly attached.   At dusk, we reached a village called Las
Verritas. The inhabitants were all gone to Tepic, except an old
man and a little boy who were selling oja to a company of muleteers squatted around a fire in the middle of the street. Nothing
was to be had to eat, except some cheeses which one of the latter
carried in a wicker pack. I could get no tortillas for money, nor
exactly for love, but compassion helped me. The wife of one of
the men came quietly to me as I sat by my saddle, and slipping
two tortillas into my hand, said in a whisper: " now, when you
buy the cheese, you'll have something to eat with it." With a
cheese for two reals, my sworn friend and I made a hearty supper.
He did for me many kind little offices, with a sort of meek fidelity,
that touched me exceedingly. After our meal was finished, he
went into the woods and brought me a calabash of water, standing
uncovered while I drank it. I lay upon the ground, but all the
fleas in the village, who had been without sustenance for two days,
pounced in upon me in swarms. Added to this, every exposed
part of the body was attacked by legions of musquitos, so that,
with such enemies without and within, I never passed a more
terrible night
349 
CHAPTER XXXIV.
THE ASCENT TO THE TABLE-LAND
I WAS lying upon my back, with my handkerchief over my face
trying to imagine that I was asleep, when the welcome voice of the
arriero shouted in my ear: "Ho! Placero! up and saddle!-the
morning is coming and we must reach Tepic to-day." We fed
our horses and sat on the ground for an hour before the first streak
of dawn appeared. Three or four leagues of travel through a
rich meadow-land brought us to the foot of the first ascent to the
table-land. Our horses were fast failing, and we got off to walk
up the stony trail.  "I think we had better keep very close to
gether," said my friend; "these woods are full of robbers, and
they may attack us." Our path was fenced in by thorny thickets
and tall clumps of cactus, and at every winding we were careful
to have our arms in readiness. We climbed the first long ascent
to a narrow plain, or shelf, from which we ascended again, finding
always higher ridges above us. From the Abrevadero, a sort of inn
or hospice standing alone in the woods, the hot, low country we
left was visible nearly as far as Acaponeta; to one going towards Mazatlan, its dark-blue level might easily be mistaken for
the sea. The Silla de San Juan was now to the west of us, and
stood nearly five thousand feet in height. From the top of every 
A COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION.
successive ridge we overlooked a great extent of country, broken
and cloven in all downward directions by the agency of some preAdamnite flood, yet inclosing in many sheltered valleys and basins
spots of singular fertility and beauty, which are watered through
whole year from the cisterns of the mountains. It was truly, as
the old lady at El Rosario said, "en pais precioso."
We reached at noon a village called El Ingenio, about twelve
leagues from Tepic. It lies in a warm valley planted with bananas and sugar-cane; the mountain streams are made to turn a
number of mills, from which the place probably derives its name.
Here the road from San Bias runs up through a narrow gorge
and joins that from Mazatlan. We walked behind our horses all the
afternoon, but as mine held out best, I gradually got ahead of the
arriero. I halted several times for him to come up, but as he did
not appear, I thought it advisable to push on to a good place of
rest. My caminador had touched the bottom of his capability,
and another day would have broken him down completely. Nevertheless, he had served me faithfully and performed miracles, considexing his wasted condition.   I drove  him  forward up  ravines, buried in foliage and fragrant with blossoms; the golden
globes of the oranges spangled the "embalmed darkness,"  as
twilight settled on the mountains. Two leagues from Tepic, I
reached the hacienda of La Meca, and quartered myself for the
night. One of the rancheros wished to purchase my horse, and
after some chaffering, I agreed to deliver him in Tepic for four
dollars! The owner of the hacienda, on learning this, was greatly
disappointed that I had not bargained with him, and urged me
very strongly to break my word and sell him the horse for three
dollars and a half!  I told him I would not sell the animal fot
351 
ELDORADO.
eight dollars, after having  _ade a bargain; he was enraged at this,
but, as I could plainly see, respected me the more for it.
The young rancheros belonging to the hacienda amused themselves very much at my expense.   A  demon of fun seemed to
possess them, and the simple sentences in my Spanish phrase-book
excited them to yells of laughter. They were particularly curious
to know my tastes and preferences, and on learning that I had
never drank mescal, invited me to go with them and try it. We
went down the road to a little hut, where a shelf with a bottle and
two glasses upon it swinging under the thatched portico, signified
" Liquor for Sale," to the passing arrieros. We entered and sat
down among the family, who were at their scanty supper of rice
and tortillas. The poor people offered me their own plates with
a most genuine unsophisticated hospitality; the rancheros told
them whence I came, and they seemed anxious to learn something
about my country. I tasted the mescal, which is stronger than
brandy, and has a pungent oily flavor; I should think its effects
most pernicious if habitually drank. The people were curious to
know about our Free School System of which they had heard by
some means. None of them knew how to read, and they lamented
most bitterly that education in Mexico was so difficult for their
class. I was deeply touched by the exclamation of an old man,
whose eyes trembled with tears as he spoke: " Ah, how beautiful
a thing it is to be able to read of God!" then adding, in a softened
tone, as if speaking to himself: " but I cannot read I cannot
read." I found many such persons among those ignorant raneherosmen who were conscious of their inferiority and desired
Mnost earnestly to be enlightened and improved.
Tepic is built on the first plateau of the table-land, and about
half-way between the Silla de San Juan and an extinct volcano
352 
TEPIC.
called San Guengu6y, which lifts its blackened brow high into the
eastern sky. The plain, about fifteen rmiles in breadth, is for the
most part moist meadow-land, threaded by several small streams.
The city is girdled by pleasant gardens which hide everything
from view on approaching, except the towers and dome of its
cathedral.  It is a solid well-built town of massive adobe houses
mostly of one story, and divided by streets running at right angles.
The general aspect of the place is dull and monotonous, with the
exception of the plaza, which is one of the most beautiful in
AIexico. A row of giant plane-trees runs around the four sides,
shading the arched corridors of stone in which the traders display
their fruits, trinkets, and articles of dress.  There is an old stone
fountain in the centre, around which, under canopies of grass-matting, are heaped piles of yellow bananas, creamy chirimoyas,
oranges, and the scarlet, egg-like fruit of the Chinese pomegranate.
All the gayety of the city seems to concentrate in the plaza, and,
indeed, there is nothing else worth the traveler's notice, unless lihe
is interested in mianufactures-in which case he should visit the
large cotton mills of Barron and Forbes in the vicinity. It
is mainly through these mills that Tepic is known in the United
States.
I had been directed to call at the posada of Donia Petra, but no
one seemed to know the lady. Wandering about at random in
the streets, I asked a boy to conduct me to some meson. As I
rode along, following him, a group of tailors sitting at a streetcorner, sewing, called out: " Americano!  " No tiene usted cuidado," said the boy, "son mal criados" (Don't mind them; they
have bad manners.) I followed him into the court-yard of a
large building, where I was received by the patron, who gave my
done-over horse to the charge of the mozo, telling me I was just
353 
ELDORADO.
in time for breakfast.  My name was suddenly called from the
opposite corridor; I turned about in surprise, and recognised the
face of Mr. Jones of Guadalajara, whom I had met in Mazatlan
Hle had likewise just arrived, and was deep in the midst of a
tempting salad and omelette, where I soon joined him. I had
been in the house but a few minutes, when a heavy shower began,
and continued several hours without cessation; it was the first of
the cabaT,telos, a week of rainy weather, which comes in the middle of the dry season. The purchaser of my horse did not make
his appearance, notwithstanding I was ready to fulfil my part of
the bargain. As soon as the rain was over, I went the round of
the different mesons, to procure another horse, and at last made
choice of a little brown mustang that paced admirably, giving my
caminador and twenty dollars for him. I made arrangements to
leave Tepic the next morning, for the journey from Mazatlan had
cost me eight days, and nine hundred miles still lay between me
and Vera Cruz, where I was obliged to be on the 16th of February.
Leaving the meson on a bright Sunday noon, I left the city by
the Guadalajara road. The plaza was full of people, all in spotless holiday dress; a part of the exercises were performed in the
port'als of the cathedral, thus turning the whole square into a place
of worship. At the tingle of the-bell, ten thousand persons dropped on their knees, repeating their aves with a light, murmuring
sound, that chimed pleasantly with the bubbling of the fountain.
I stopped my horse and took off my sombrero till the prayer was
over. The scenery beyond Tepic is very picturesque; the road
cresses the plateau on which the city is built, and rounds the foot
of San Guenngue6y, whose summit, riven into deep gulfs between its
pinnacles of rock, was half-hidden in clouds as I passed. I came
354 
SACRED MYSTERIES.
into a pretty valley, surrounded on all sides by rugged hills; fields
of cane and rice dotted its surface, but the soil was much less fer tile than in the rich bottomns of the Tierra Caliente.
My Frieto-the Mexican term for a dark-brown horse-paced
finely, and carried me to the village of San Lionel, ten leagues
from Tepic, two hours before nightfall. I placed him securely in
the corral, deposited my saddle in an empty room, the key of which,
weighing about four' pounds, was given into my possession for the
time being, and entered the kitchen. I found the entire household in a state of pleased anticipation; a little girl, with wings of
red and white gauze, and hair very tightly twisted into ropy ringlets, sat on a chair near the door. In the middle of the little
plaza, three rancheros, with scarfs of crimson and white silk sus
pended from their shoulders and immense tinsel crowns upon their
heads, sat motionless on their horses, whose manes and tails were
studded with rosettes of different colored paper and streamers of
ribbons. These were, as I soon saw, part of the preparations for
a sacred dramatic spectacle-a representation, sanctioned by the
religious teachers of the people.
Against the wing-wall of the Hacienda del Mayo, which occupied one end of the plaza, was raised a platform, on which stood a
table covered with scarlet cloth. A rude bower of cane-leaves, on
one end of the platform, represented the manger of Bethlehem;
while a cord, stretched from its top across the plaza to a hole in
the front of the church, bore a large tinsel star, suspended by a
hole in its centre. There was quite a crowd in the plaza, and
very soon a procession appeared, coming up from the lower part
of the village.   The three kings took the lead;  the Virgin,
mounted on an ass that gloried in a gilded saddle and rose-besprinkled mane and tail, followed them, led by the angel; and
355 
ELDORADO.
several women, with curious masks of paper, brought up the rear.
Two characters of the harlequin sort-one with a dog's head on
his shoulders and the other a bald-headed friar, with a huge hat
hanging on his back-played all sorts of antics for the diversion
of the crowd. After making the circuit of the plaza, the Virgin
was taken to the platform, and entered the manger. King Hierod
took his seat at the scarlet table, with an attendant in blue coat
and red sash, whom I took to be his Prime Minister. The three
kings remained on their horses in front of the church; but between
them and the platform, under the string on which the star was to
slide, walked two men in long white robes and blue hoods, with
parchment folios in their hands. These were the Wise Men of
the East, as one might readily know from their solemn air, and
the mysterious glances which they cast towards all quarters of the
heavens.
In a little while, a company of women on the platform, concealed behind a curtain, sang an angelic chorus to the tune of" 0O
pescator dell'onda." At the proper moment, the Magi turned
towards the platform, followed by the star, to which a string was conveniently attached,'that it might be slid along the line. The three
kings followed the star till it reached the manger, when they dismounted, and inquired for the sovereign whom it had led them to
visit. They were invited upon the platform and introduced to
Herod, as the only king; this did not seem to satisfy them, and,
after some conversation, they retired. By this time the star had
receded to the other end of the line, and commenced movilng for
ward again, they following. The angel called them into the manger, where, upon their knees, they were shown a small wooden
box, supposed to contain the sacred infant; they then retired,
and the star brought them back no more. After this departure,
356 
THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS.
King Herod declared himself greatly confused by what he had
witnessed, and was very much afraid this newly-fbound king would
weaken his power. Upon consultation with his Prime Minister,
the Massacre of the Innocents was decided upon, as the only
means of security.
The angel, on hearing this, gave warning to the Virgin, who
quickly got down from the platform, mounted her bespangled donkey and hurried off. Herod's Prime Minister directed all the
children to be handed up for execution. A boy, in a ragged
sarape, was caught and thrust forward; the Minister took him by
the heels in spite of his kicking, and held his head on the table.
The little brother and sister of the boy, thinking he was really to
be decapitated, yelled at the top of their voices, in an agony of
terror, which threw the crowd into a roar of laughter. King
Hierod brought down his sword with a whack on the table, and the
Prime Minister, dipping his brush into a pot of white paint which
stood before him, made a flaring cross on the boy's face. Several other boys were caught and served likewise; and, finally, the
two harlequins, whose kicks and struggles nearly shook down the
platform. The procession then went off up the hill, followed by
the whole population of the village. All the evening there were fandangos in the meson, bonfires and rockets on the plaza, ringing of
bqll.s, and high mass in the church, with the accompaniment of
two guitars, tinkling to lively polkas.
I left San Lionel early in the morning. The road, leaving the
valley, entered the defiles of the mountains, crossing many a wild
and rocky barranca. (A barranca nearly answers to the idea of
our word "gulley," but is on a deeper and grander scale.) A
beautiful species of pine already appeared, but in the warm hollows
small plantations of bananas still flourished. I lost sight of San
357 
ELDORADO.
Guengue6y, and after two hours of rough travel, camne out on a
mountain slope overlooking one of the most striking landscapes I
ever beheld.   In front, across a reach of high table-land. two
lofty volcanic peaks rose far above the rim of the barren hills. To
the left, away towards the east, extended a broad and lovely valley,
dotted with villages and the green shimmer of fields, and hemmed
in on all sides by mountains that touched the clouds. These lofty
ranges-some of which were covered with trees to the summit,
and some bleak and stony, despite their aerial hue of purplemake no abrupt transition from the bed of the valley: on the contrary, the latter seems to be formed by the gradual flattening of
their bases. The whole scene wore a distinct, vaporless, amethyst
tint, and the volcano of Zurubuco, though several leagues distant,
showed every jag in the cold and silent lips of its crater.
I rode thirty miles, to the village of Santa Ysabel, before breakfasting, and still had twenty-one miles to Ahuacatlan, my stoppingplace for the night. My road led down the beautiful valley,
between fields of the agave americana.   Sunset came on as I
reached the foot of Zurubuco, and struck on a rocky path across a
projecting spur. Here a most wonderful region opened before me
The pleasant valley disappeared, with everything that reminded
me of life, and I was surrounded, as far as the vision extended,
with the black waves of a lava sea. It was terrible as the gates
of Tartarus-a wild, inexorable place, with no gleam of light on
ts chaotic features. The road was hewn with difficulty through
the surgy crests of rock, which had stiffened to adamant, while
tossing in their most tempestuous rage. The only thing like
vegetation, was a tree with a red and bloated trunk, the bark of
which peeled off in shreds,apparently a sort of vegetable elephantiasis, as disgusting as the human specimens I saw on the Isthmus.
358 
CHILDISH HOSTS-A VALLEY-PICTURE.
I passed this region with a sensation bordering on fear, welcoming
the dusky twilight of the shaded road beyond, and the bright moon
under whose rays I entered Ahuacatlan.
At the meson I found no one but the hostess and her two little
sons; but the latter attended to my wants with a childish cour tesy, and gravity withal, which were charming. The little fellows
gave me the key to a room, saw my prieto properly cared for, and
then sat down to entertain me till the tortillas were made and the
eggs fried. They talked with much naivete and a wisdom beyond
their years. After supper they escorted me to my room, and took
leave of me with: " pasa ust muty buena noche!"  I arose in the
cloudless dawn, rode through the gay, spacious plaza of the village,
crossed another barranca, and reached Iztlan in time for break fast. This is a beautiful place, embosomed in gardens, from the
midst of which the church lifts its white tower. Beyond Iztlan, a
delicious valley-picture lay before me. The dark red mountains,
bristling with rock, formed nearly an even circle, inclosing a bowl
about ten miles in diameter. Further down their sides, the plantations of the agave, or aloe, made a belt of silvery gray, and deep
in the fertile bosom of the plain, the gardens and orange groves,
with sparkling glimpses of streams between the black loam, freshly
ploughed, and the fields of young cane, of a pale golden green,
basked in the full light of the sun. Far off, over the porphyry
rim of the basin, a serrated volcanic peak stood up against the
stainless blue of the sky. It was one of those rare chances in
nature, when scenery, color, climate, and the sentiment of the
spot, are in entire and exquisite harmony.
Leaving this valley, which was like a crystal or a piece of
perfect enamel, buried in a region that Nature had left in the
rough, I climbed a barren hill, which terminated at the brink or
359 
ELDORADO.
the grand Barranca-a tremendous chasm, dividing two sections
of the table-land.  Two thousand feet below, at the level of the
Tierra Caliente, lay a strip of Eden-like richness and beauty, but
the mountains which walled it on both sides were dark, sterile and
savage. Those opposite to me rose as far above the level of the
ledge on which I stood, as their bases sank below it. Their ap
pearance was indescribably grand; for the most perfect and sublime effect of a mountain is to be had neither from base nor
suinmit, but a station midway between the two and separated from
it. The road descending to Plan de Barranca, a little village at
the bottom of the chasm, is built with great labor along the very
verge of giddy precipices, or notched under the eaves of crags which
threaten to topple down upon it. The ascent of the opposite
steep is effected by a stony trail, barely large enough for two
mules to pass, up the side of a wide crevice in the mountain-wall.
Finally, the path appears to fail; the precipice falls sheer on one
side; the bare crag rises on the other.   But a sudden twist
around the corner of a rock reveals a narrow cleft, terminating in
the lower shelf of the table-land above. Looking back after I
had scaled this, an atajo of mules which followed me, appeared
to be emerging from the bowels of the earth. The road crossing
the barranca is nearly fifteen miles in length. Large numbers of
workmen are engaged in completing it for vehicles, and over the
deepest chasm a bridge is being constructed by the State of Jalisco.
Five years, however, is the shortest period named for the completion of the work, up to which time the barranca will remain
impassable except for mules. The line of stages to Tepie, which
is greatly demanded by the increase of travel, cannot therefore be
perfected before that time; but Senior Zurutuza, the proprietor of
the diligence lines, proposes opening a communication immediately,
360 
A CHILL LODGING.
by means of a mule-post across the barranca. From Tepic to
San Blas is but a day's journey, so that the chain of comfortable
travel will then reach nearly from ocean to ocean.
My prieto began to feel the effects of the hard hills and thin
air of the upper region, and I therefore stopped for the night at
the inn of Mochitilte, an immense building, sitting alone like a
fortress among the hills. The key of a large, cheerless room,
daubed with attempts at fresco ornament, was given to me, and a
supper served up in a cold and gloomy hall. The wind blew chill
from the heights on either side, and I found priito's blanket a
welcome addition to my own, in the matter of bedding.
361
1e 
CHAPTER XXXV.
THE ROBBER REGION.
I SLEPT soundly in my frescoed chamber, fed pridto, and was
off by sunrise. The road ascended the valley for several leagues,
to the rim of the table-land, with high, barren mountains on either
hand. Before crossing its edge I turned to look down into the
basin I had left. A few streaks of dusky green varied its earthen
hue; far off, in its very bottom, the front of the m6son of
Mochitilte shone like a white speck in the sunrise, and the blue
walls of the barranca filled up the farthest perspective. I now
entered on a broad, barren plain, bordered by stony mountains
and holding in its deepest part a shallow lake, which appeared to
be fast drying in the sun. The scenery strikingly resembled that
of some parts of California, towards the end of the rainy season.
The little town of Magdalena, where I breakfasted, sits beside
the lake, at the foot of a glen through which the road again enters
,Je hills. The waters of a clear stream trickle down through its
streets and keep green the gardens of splendid orange-trees which
gleam behind the gray adobe walls. At the meson I gave pri6to
a sheaf of oja and two hours' rest before starting for the town of
Tequila.  " No quiere ustd tomar ausilio?-hay muchos ladrones
en el camiro;" (Don't you want a guard?-the road is, full of 
MEETING A CONDUCTA.
robbers,) asked the vaquero of the house.  "Every traveler," he
continued, "takes a guard as far as Tequila, for which he pays
each man a dollar." I told him I had no particular fear of the
robbers, and would try it alone.  "You are very courageous," he
remarked, " but you will certainly be attacked unless you take me
as an ausilio."
Soon after leaving the town I met a condtucta of a hundred
soldiers, escorting about fifty specie-laden mules. The officers
were finely mounted, but the men, most of whom had broad,
swarthy Indian faces, trudged along in the dust. Some of them
greeted me with: " Como va, paisano?" some with "How do you
do?" and others with a round English oath, but all imagining.
apparently, that they had made the same salutation. As I was
passing, a tawny individual, riding with one of the officers, turned
about and addressed me in English. He was an American, who
had been several years in the country, and was now on his way to
California, concerning which he wanted some information. Notwithstanding he was bound to San Blas and had all his funds packed
on one of the mules, he seemed still undecided whether to embark
for San Francisco, and like most of the other emigrants I met,
insisted strongly on my opinion as to the likelihood of his success.
The road now entered a narrow pass, following the dry bed of a
stream, whose channel was worn about twenty feet deep in th
earth. Its many abrupt twists and windings afforded unequalled
chances for the guerillas, especially as the pass was nearly three
leagues in length, without a single habitation on the road. My
friend, Lieutenant Beale, was chased by a party of robbers, in this
very place, on his express journey across Mexico, in the summer
of 1848. I did not meet with a single soul, although it was not
later than the middle of the afternoon. The recent passing of the
363 
ELDORADO.
conducta had probably frightened the robbers away from the
vicinity.
After riding two hours in the hot afternoon sun, which shone
down into the pass, a sudden turn disclosed to me a startling
change of scenery. From the depths of the scorched hills, I came
at once upon the edge of a bluff, several hundred feet high, down
which the road wound in a steep and tortuous descent.  Below
and before nme extended a plain of twenty miles in length, entirely
covered with fields of the maguey. At my very feet lay the city
of Tequila, so near that it seemed a stone might be thrown upon
the square towers of its cathedral. The streets, the gardens, the
housetops and the motley groups of the populace, were as completely unveiled to my observation as if Asmodeus had been my
traveling companion. Around the plain, which now lay basking
in the mellow light of the low sun, ran a circle of mural mountains, which, high and blue as they were, sank into nothing before
the stupendous bulk of a black volcanic peak rising behind Tequila.
The whole scene, with its warm empurpled hues, might have
served, if not for the first circle of Dante's Paradise, at least for
that part of Purgatory which lay next to it.
I rode down into the city, crossing several arroyos, which the
floods gathered by the volcano had cut deeper into the plain. At
the Mtson de San Jose-the only inn in the place-I found a large
company of soldiers quartered for the night. The inner patio or
courtyard, with its stables, well, and massive trough of hewn stone,
was appropriated to their horses, and groups of swarthy privates,
in dusty blue uniforms, filled the corridors. I obtained a dark
room for myself, and a corner of one of the stalls for prieto, where
I was obliged to watch until he had finished his corn, and keep off
his military aggressors. The women were all absent, and I pro
364 
SUSPICIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES.
cured a few tortillas and a cup of pepper-sauce, with some diffi.
culty. The place looked bleak and cheerless after dark, and for
this reason, rather than its cut-throat reputation, I made but a
single stroll to the plaza, where a number of rancheros sat beside
their piles of fruit and grain, in the light of smoky torches, hoisted
on poles. The meson was full of fleas, who seemed to relish my
blood better than that of the soldiers, for I believe they all paid
me a visit in the course of the night.
When I arose, the sun, just above the hills, was shining down
the long street that led to Guadalajara.   I had a journey of
eighteen leagues to make, and it was time to be on the road; so,
without feeding my horse, I saddled and rode away. A little
more than four leagues across the plain, brought me to the town
of Amatitlan; where, at a miserable mud building, dignified by the
name of a meson, I ordered breakfast, and a mario de oja for my
horse. There was none in the house, but one of the neighbors
began shelling a quantity of the ripe ears. When I came to pay,
I gave her a Mexican dollar, which she soon brought back, saying
that it had been pronounced counterfeit at a tienda, or shop, across
the way. I then gave her another, which she returned, with the
same story, after which I gave her a third, saying she must change
it, for I would give her no more. The affairs of a few hours
later caused me to remember and understand the meaning of this
little circumstance. At the tienda, a number of fellows in greasy
sarapes were grouped, drinking mescal, which they offered me. I
refused to join them: " es la ultima vez," (it is the last time,)
said one of them, though what he meant, I did not then know.
It was about ten in the forenoon when I left Amatitlan. The
road entered on a lonely range of hills, the pedestal of an abrupt
spur standing out from the side of the volcano. The soil was
365 
ELDORADO.
covered with stunted shrubs and a growth of long yellow grass.
I coul,d see the way for half a league before and behind; there
was no one in sight-not even a boy-arriero, with his two or three
donkeys. I rode leisurely along, looking down into a deep ravine
on may right and thinking to myself; "that. is an excellent place
for robbers to lie in wait; I think I had better load my pistol"'which I had fired off just before reaching Tequila. Scarcely had
this thought passed through my mind, when a little bush beside
the road seemed to rise up; I turned suddenly, and, in a breath,
the two barrels of a musket were before me, so near and surely
aimed, that I could almost see the bullets at the bottom. The
weapon was held by a ferocious-looking native, dressed in a pink
calico shirt and white pantaloons; on the other side of me stood
a second, covering me with another double-barreled musket, and
a little in the rear, appeared a third.  I had walked  like an unsuspecting mouse, into the very teeth of the trap laid for me.
" Down with your pistols!" cried the first, in a hurried whisper.
So silently and suddenly had all this taken place, that I sat still a
moment, hardly realizing my situation. " Down with your pistols
and dismount!" was repeated, and this time the barrels came a
little nearer my breast. Thus solicited, I threw down my single
pistol-the more readily because it was harmless-and got off my
horse. Having secured the pistol, the robbers went to the rear,
never for a moment losing their aim. They then ordered me to
lead my horse off the road, by a direction which they pointed out.
We went down the side of the ravine for about a quarter of a mile
to a patch of bushes and tall grass, out of view from the road,
where they halted, one of them returning, apparently to keep
watch. The others, deliberately levelling their pieces at me,
commanded me to lie down on my face-" la boca a tierra!"  I
366
0 
THE ROBBERS' SEARCH.
cannot say that I felt alarmed: it had always been a part of my
belief that the shadow of Death falls before him-that the man
doomed to die by violence feels the chill before the blow has been
struck. As I never felt more positively alive than at that moment, I judged my time had not yet come. I pulled off my coat
and vest, at their command, and threw them on the grass, saying:
"Take what you want, but don't detain me long." The fellow in
a pink calico shirt, who appeared to have some authority over the
other two, picked up my coat, and, one after the other, turned all
the pockets inside out. I felt a secret satisfaction at his blank
look when he opened my purse and poured the few dollars it contained into a pouch he carried in his belt.  "How is it," said he,
" that you have no more money?" " I don't own much," I answered, "but there is quite enough for you." I had, in fact, barely
sufficient in coin for a ride to Mexico, the most of my funds having been invested in a draft on that city. I believe I did not lose
more than twenty-five dollars by this attack. " At least," I said
to the robbers, " you'll not take the papers" —among which was
my draft. "No," he replied, "no me valen nada.'  (They  are
worth nothing to me.)
Having searched my coat, he took a hunting-knife which I
carried, (belonging, however, to Lieut. Beale,) examined the blade
and point, placed his piece against a bush behind him and came
up to me, saying, as he held the knife above my head: "Now
put your hands behind you, and don't move, or I shall strike.',
The other then laid down his musket and advanced to bind me.
They were evidently adepts in the art: all their movements were
so carefully timed, that any resistance would have been against
dangerous odds. I did not consider my loss sufficient to justify
any desperate risk, and did as they commanded. With the end
367 
ELDORADO.
of my horse's lariat, they bound my wrists firmly together, and
having me thus secure, sat down to finish their inspection more
leisurely. My feelings during this proceeding were oddly heterogeneous-at one moment burning with rage and shame at having
neglected the proper means of defence, and the next, ready to
burst into a laugh at the decided novelty of my situation. My
blanket having been spread on the grass, everything was emptied
into it. The robbers had an eye for the curious and incomprehensible, as well as the useful. They spared all my letters, books
and papers, but took my thermometer, compass and card-case,
together with a number of drawing-pencils, some soap, (a thing
the Mexicans never use,) and what few little articles of the
toilette I carried with me. A bag hanging at my saddle-bow, containing ammunition, went at once, as well as a number of oranges
and cigars in my pockets, the robbers leaving me one of the latter,
as a sort of consolation for my loss.
Between Mlazatlan and Tepic, I had carried a doubloon in the
hollow of each foot, covered by the stocking. It was well they
had been spent for prieto, for they would else have certainly been
discovered. The villains unbuckled my spurs, jerked off my boots
and examined the bottoms of my pantaloons, ungirthed the saddle
and shook out the blankets, scratched the heavy guard of the bit
to see whether it was silver, and then, apparently satisfied that
they had made the most of me, tied everything together in a
corner of my best blanket. "Now," said the leader, when this
was done, "shall we take your horse?" This question was of
course a mockery; but I thought I would try an experiment, and
so answered in a very decided tone: "No; you shall not.  I -nst
have him; I am going to Guadalajara, and I cannot get there
without him. Besides, he would not answer at all for your busi
368 
THEIR DEPARTURE AND MIY LIBERATION.
ness."  He made no reply, but took up his piece, which I noticed
was a splendid article and in perfect order, walked a short distance
towards the road, and made a signal to the third robber..Cuddenly he came back, saying: " Perhaps you may get hungry
before night-here is something to eat;" and with that he placed
one of my oranges and half a dozen tortillas on the grass beside
me. "Mil gracias," said I, "but how am I to eat without
hands?" The other then coming up, he said, as they all three
turned to leave me: "Now we are going; we have more to carry
than we had before we met you; adios!"  This was insultingbut there are instances under which an insult must be swallowed.
I waited till no more of them could be seen, and then turned to
my horse, who stood quietly at the other end of the lariat:
"Now, prieto," I asked, " how are we to get out of this scrape?"
He said nothing, but I fancied I could detect an inclination to
laugh in the twitching of his nether lip. However, I went to
work at extricating myself-a difficult matter, as the rope was tied
in several knots. After tugging a long time, I made a twist
which the India-rubber man might have envied, and to the great
danger of my spine, succeeded in forcing my body through my
arms. Then, loosening the knots with my teeth, in half an hour
I was free again. As I rode off, I saw the three robbers at some
distance, on the other side of the ravine.
It is astonishing how light one feels after being robbed. A
sensation of complete independence came over me; my horse,
even, seemed to move more briskly, after being relieved of my
blankets. I tried to comfort myself with the thought that this
was a genuine adventure, worth one experience-that, perhaps, it
was better to lose a few dollars than have even a robber's blood
on my head; but it would not do. The sense of the outrage and
369 
ELDORADO.
indignity was strongest, and my single desire was the unchristian
one of revenge. It is easy to philosophize on imaginary premises,
but actual experience is the best test of human nature. Once, it
had been difficult for me to imagine the feeling that would prompt
a man to take the life of another; now, it was clear enough. In
spite of the threats of the robbers, I looked in their faces sufficiently to know them again, in whatever part of the world I might
meet them. I recognized the leader-a thick-set, athletic man,
with a short, black beard-as one of the persons I had seen
lounging about the tienda, in Amatitlan, which explained the
artifice that led me to display more money than was prudent. It
was evidently a preconceived plan to plunder me at all hazards,
since, coming from the Pacific, I might be supposed to carry a
booty worth fighting for.
I rode on rapidly, over broad, barren hills, covered with patches
of chapparal, and gashed with deep arroyos.  These are the usual
hiding-places of the robbers, and I kept a sharp look-out, inspecting every rock and clump of cactus with a peculiar interest.
About three miles from the place of my encounter, I passed a
spot where there had been a desperate assault eighteen months
previous. The robbers came upon a camp of soldiers and traders
in the night, and a fight ensued, in which eleven of the latter were
killed. They lie buried by the road-side, with a few black crosses
to mark  the spot, while directly above  them stands a rough
gibbet, on which three of the robbers, who were afterwards taken,
swing in chains. I confess to a decided feeling of satisfaction,
when I saw that three, at least, had obtained their deserts.
Their long black hair hung over their faces, their clothes
were dropping in tatters, and their skeleton-bones protruded
through the dry and shrunken flesh. The thin, pure air of the
370 
MEXICAN PUNISHMENT AND PROTECTION.
table-land had prevented decomposition, and the vultures and
buzzards had been kept off by the nearness of the bodies to the
road. It is said, however, that neither wolves nor vultures will
touch a dead Mexican, his flesh being always too highly seasoned
by the red-pepper he has eaten. A large sign was fastened above
this ghastly spectacle, with the words, in large letters: "Asr
CASTIGA LA LEY EL LADRON Y EL ASESINO."  (Thus the law
punishes the robber and the assassin.)
Towards the middle of the afternoon, I reached a military
station called La Venta, seven leagues from Guadalajara. Thirty
or forty idle soldiers were laughing and playing games in the
shade. I rode up to the house and informed the officer of my
loss, mentioning several circumstances by which the robbers might
be identified; but the zealous functionary merely shrugged his
shoulders and said nothing.  A proper distribution of half the
soldiers who lay idle in this guard-house, would have sufficed to
make the road perfectly secure. I passed on, with a feeling of
indignation against the country and its laws, and hurried my
prieto, now nearly exhausted, over the dusty plain. I had ascended beyond the tropical heats, and, as night drew on, the
temperature was fresh almost to chilliness. The robbers had
taken my cravat and vest, and the cold wind of the mountains,
blowing upon my bare neck gave me a violent nervous pain and
toothache, which was worse than the loss of my money. Prieto
panted and halted with fatigue, for he had already traveled fifty
miles; but I was obliged to reach Guadalajara, and by plying a
stick in lieu of the abstracted spur, kept him to his pace. At
dusk I passed through Sapopa, a small village, containing a splendid monastery, belonging to the monks of the order of Guadalupe. Beyond it, I overtook, in the moonlight, the family of a
371 
ELDORADO.
ranchero, jogging along on their mules and repeating paternosters,
whether for protection against robbers or cholera, I could not tell.
The plain was crossed by deep, water-worn arroyos, over which
the road was bridged. An hour and a half of this bleak, ghostly
travel brought me to the suburbs of Guadalajara-greatly to the
relief of prieto, for he began to stagger, and I believe could not
have carried me a mile further.
I was riding at random among the dark adobe houses, when an
old padre, in black cassock and immense shovel-hat, accosted me.
" Estrangero?" he inquired; " Si, padre," said I.  "But," he
continued, "do you know that it is very dangerous to be here
alone?" Several persons who were passing, stopped near us, out
of curiosity.  " Begone!" said he, "what business have you to
stop and listen to us?"-then, dropping his voice to a whisper, he
added: " Guadalajara is full of robbers; you must be careful how
you wander about after night; do you know where to go?" I an.
swered in the negative.  " Then," said he, "go to the M4son de
la Merc4d; they are honest people there, and you will be perfectly safe; come with me and I'll show you the way." I followed
him for some distance, till we were near the place, when he put
me in the care of "Ave Maria Santissima," and left.  I found
the house without difficulty, and rode into the courtyard.   The
peoplie, who seemed truly honest, sympathized sincerely for my
mishap, and thought it a great marvel that my life had been
spared For myself, when I lay down on the tiled floor to pass
another night of sleepless martyrdom to fleas and the toothache, I
involuntarily said, with a slight variation of Touchstone's sage reflection: "Aye, now  I am  in Guadalajara; the  more fool I;
when I was at home I was in a better place; but travelers must
be content."
372 
CHAPTER XXXVI.
THREE DAYS IN GUADALAJARA.
WHEN I got off my horse at the Meson de la Mere4d, I toldl
the host and the keeper of the fonda that I had been robbed,
that I had no money, and did not expect to have any for two or
three days.  " No kace nada," said they, "you may stay as long
as you like." So they gave my horse a sheaf of oja and myself a
supper of tortillas and pepper-sauce. The old lady who kept the
fonda was of half-Castilian blood, and possessed all the courtesy
of her white ancestors, with the quickness and vivacity of the Indian. She was never tired of talking to me about the strangers
who had stopped at the meson,- especially of one whom she
called Don Julio, who, knowing little Spanish, frequently accosted her as " mule!" or " donkey!" for want of some other word.
She would mimic him with great apparent delight. She had
three daughters-Felipa, Mariquita and Concepcion-of whom
the two former were very beautiful. They were employed in the
manufacture of rebosas, and being quite skilful in tending the
machines, earned a dollar a day-a considerable sum for Mexico.
Concepcion was married, and had a son named Zenobio-a very
handsome, sprightly little fellow, with dark, humid, lustrous eyes
The circumstance of my remembering and calling each one by 
ELDORADO.
name, seemed to please them highly, and always at meal-tire- they
gathered around the table, asking me innumerable questions about
my country and my travels.
My first move next morning was to find the Diligence Office. I
went into the main plaza, which is a beautiful square, shaded by
orange trees, and flanked on two sides by the picturesque front of
the Cathedral and the Government Palace. As I was passing the
latter build_;ng, one of the sentinels hailed me. Supposing it to
be meant in derision, I paid no attention to it, but presently a
sergeant, accompanied by two men, came after me. One of the
latter accosted me in English, saying that it was so long since he
had seen an American, he hoped I would stop and talk with himn.
He was a Scotchman, who for some reason had enlisted for a year
and had already served about half of his time. Hle complained
bitterly of the bad treatment of the men, who, according to his
story, were frequently on the point of starvation. The MIexican
soldiers are not furnished with rations, but paid a small sum daily,
on which they support themselves. As the supplies from headquarters are very irregular, and a system of appropriation is practised by all the officers through whose hands they must come, the
men are sometimes without food for a day or two, and never receive more than is barely sufficient for their wants. The poor
Scotchman was heartily sick of his situation and told me he would
have deserted long before, only that he had no other clothes in
which to disguise himself.
At the office of the Diligence, I found the administrador, Don
Lorenzo del Castafio, to whom I related my story and showed my
draft. " Es superior," said he, after examining it, and then told
me to call the next morning, as he would see a merchant in the
meantime who, he was sure, would pay me the amount.  D)rafts
'00 74 
FINANCIERING.
on the city of Mexico were at a premium of two per cent. and he
had no difficulty in getting it accepted. The money, however,
was paid to me in quarter-dollars, reals and medios, which it
took me more than an hour to count. I went back to the office,
with a heavy canvas-bag in each pocket, paid all the money to the
administrador, who gave me a ticket for the next stage to Mexico,
and an order for the residue on all the agents of the line. By
exhibiting these orders at the different stopping-places on the road,
the traveler receives credit for all his expenses, the amount at
each place being endorsed at the bottom, and the remainder, if
any, paid on his arrival at Mexico. By this means, he is saved
the necessity of taking any money with him, and may verify the
old Latin proverb by whistling in the face of the robber. I was
thus led, perforce, to give up my original plan of traveling on
horseback to Mexico, by way of Lake Chapala, Zamora, the
ancient city of Morelia and the valley of Toluca. This route
offered less of general interest than that of Lagos and Guanajuato,
but had the attraction of being little traveled by strangers and
tittle known. Perhaps I lost nothing by the change, for the hills
near Zamora are robber-ground, and I had no desire to look into
the barrels of three or four leveled muskets a second time.
I found Guadalajara in a state of terror and prayers. For a
month previous the inhabitants had been expecting the arrival of
the Cholera, now that its ravages in Durango and Zacatecas were
over.  The city authorities were doing everything in their power
to hasten its approach, by prohibiting all public' amusements and
instituting solemn religious festivals. The Cathedral was at all
times crowded with worshippers, the Host frequently carried
through the streets, gunpowder burned' and rockets sent up to
propitiate the Virgin. As yet no case had been reported in the
,O'T,i i 0 
ELDORADO.
city, though there were rumors of several in the neighboring
villages.  The convicts were brought out every morning in long
gangs, chained together, each man carrying a broom made of small
twigs. Commencing with the centre of the city, they were kept
sweeping the whole day, till all the principal streets were left without
a particle of dust or filth.  The clanking of their fetters was con stantly heard in some part of the city; the officers  who walked
behind them carried short whips, with which they occasionally
went up and down the lines, giving each man a blow. This
daily degradation and abuse of criminals was cruel and repulsive.
The men, low and debased as they were, could not have been
entirely devoid of shame, the existence of which always renders
reclamation possible; but familiarity with ignominy soon breeds
a hardened indifference which meets the pride of honesty with an
equal pride of evil.
Guadalajara is considered the most beautiful city in Mexico.
Seated on a shelf of the table-land, between three and four thousand feet above the sea, it enjoys a milder climate than the capital,
and while its buildings lack very little of the magnificence of the
latter, its streets are a model of cleanliness and order. The block
fronting on the north side of the plaza, is a single solid edifice of
stone, called the Cortal, with a broad corridor, supported on stone
arches, running around it.  The adjoining block is built on the
same plan, and occupied entirely by shops of all kinds. Shielded
alike from rain and sun, it is a favorite promenade, and always wears
a gay and busy aspect. The intervals between the pillars, next the
street, are filled with cases of toys, pictures, gilt images of saints, or
gaudy slippers, sarapes and rebosas. Here the rancheros may be
seen in abundance, buying ornaments for the next festivals. Venders of fruit sit at the corners, their mats filled with fragrant and
376 
THE COSTAL-NOTORIETY.
gleaming pyramids, and the long shelves of cool barley-water and
tepache, ranged in glasses of alternate white and purple, attract
the thirsty idler.   Here and there a group is gathered around
a placard pasted on the wall-some religious edict of the cholerafearing authorities, a list of the fortunate tickets in the last lottory, or the advertisement of a magnificent cock-fight that is to
come off in the old town of Uruapan. The bulletin at the lotteryoffice is always surrounded; rancheros, housemaids, padres and
robbers come up, pull out their tickets from under their cassocks
and dirty sarapes, compare the numbers and walk away with the
most complete indifference at their ill luck. The shops belonging
to different trades are always open; tailors and shoemakers frequently sit in groups in the open corridor, with their work on
their knees, undisturbed by the crowds that pass to and fro.   I
spent several hours daily in the cortal, never tiring of the picturesque life it exhibited.
It is remarkable how soon a man's misfortunes are made public.
The second day of my stay in Guadalajara, I believe I was known
to most of the inhabitants as " the American who was robbed."
This, together with mny rugged and dusty suit of clothing, (what
was left of it,) made me the subject of general notice; so, after
selling my draft, I hastened to disguise myself in a white shirt
and a pair of Mexican pantaloons. One benefit of this notoriety
was, that it was the means of my becoming acquainted with two
or three American residents, and through them, with several intelligent and agreeable citizens. I never entered a place under such
woful auspices, nor passed the time of my stay more delightfully. In
walking about the streets I was often hailed with the word " uistli!"
by some of the lower class. From the sound I thought it might
possibly be an old Aztec word of salutation; but one day I met a
377 
ELDORADO.
man, who, as he said it, held up a bottle of mescal, and I saw at
once that he meant wkiskey. The fact that it was constantly re peated to me as an American, gave rather a curious inference
as to the habits of-the emigrants who had passed through the city
before me.
The appearance of Guadalajara on Sunday morning was very
cheerful and beautiful. Everybody was in the streets, though not
more than half the shops were closed; the bells rang at intervals
from the cathedral and different churches; the rancheros flocked
in from the country, the men in snow-white shirts and blue cal zoneros, the women in their best rebosas and petticoats of some
gay color; and the city, clean swept by the convicts, and flooded
with warm sunshine, seemed to give itself up truly to a holiday. I
walked down along the banks of the little river which divides it
into two unequal parts. The pink towers of the Bishop's Palace
rose lightly in the air; up a long street, the gateway of the Convent of San Francisco stood relieved against a shaded court-yard;
the palms in some of the near gardens rustled in a slow breeze,
but the dark shafts of the cypress were silent and immovable.
Along the parapets of the bridges, the rancheros displayed their faggots of sugar-cane and bunches of bananas, chatting gaily with each
other, and with their neighbors who passed by on mules or asses.
I visited most of the churches during the time of service. Many
of them are spacious and might be made impressive, but they are
all disfigured by a tawdry and tasteless style of ornament, a profusion of glaring paint and gilding, ghastly statues, and shocking
pictures. The church of the Convent of San Francisco is partly
an exception to this censure; in a sort of loggia it has a large
painting of the Last Supper, by a Mexican artist, which is truly a
work of great beauty. In the body of the church are several un
378 
MOVABLE FORTRESSES
doubted originals by MIurillo, though not of his best period; I did
not see them.   The cathedral, more majestic in proportion, is
likewise more simple and severe in its details; its double row of
columns, forming three aisles, the central one supporting a low
dome, have a grand effect when viewed from the entrance. It was
constantly filled with worshippers, most of whom were driven
thither by the approach of the cholera. Even in passing its door,
as they crossed the plaza, the inhabitants uncovered or made
the sign of the cross-an extent of devotion which I never witnessed out of Mexico.
I found great source for amusement in the carriages collected
near the doors during mass-hour. They were all the manufacture
of the country, and the most of them dated from the last century.
The running works were of immense size, the four wheels sustaining a massive and elaborately carved frame, rising five or six feet
from the ground, and about twelve feet in length. In the centre
of this, suspended in some miraculous manner, hung a large
wooden globe, with a door in each side-a veritable Noah's Ark
in form and solidity, and capable of concealing a whole family
(and the Mexican families are always large) in its hollow maw.
These machines were frequently made still more ridiculous by the
pair of dwarfed, starved mules, hitched to the tongue, so far in ad
vance that they seemed to be running away from the mountain
which pursued and was about to overwhelm them. I concluded,
however, after some reflection, that they were peculiarly adapted
to the country.  In case of revolution they would be not only
bullet but bomb proof, and as there are no good roads among the
mountains, they would roll from top to bottom, or shoot off a precipice, without danger to the family within.  There are several
extensive carriage manufactories in Guadalajara, but the modern
379 
ELDORADO.
fabrics more nearly resemble those of our own cities, retaining
only the heavy, carved frame-work, on which the body rests.
In the afternoon I went with some friends to make a paseo on
the Alameda. This is a beautiful square on the border of the city,
shaded with fine trees, and traversed by pleasant walks, radiating
from fountains in the centre.  It is surrounded by a hedge of
roses, which bloom throughout the whole year, covering with a
fragrant shade the long stone benches on which the citizens repose,
Don and ranchero mingled together, smoking their puros and
cigaritos. The drive is around the outside of the Alameda; I
saw but a small part of the fashion of Guadalajara, as most of the
families were remaining at home to invite the cholera. There
were some handsome turn-outs, and quite a number of splendid
horses, ridden in the Mexican style, which is perfection itselfhorse and rider moving as one creature, and having, apparently,
but one soul.   The Mexican horses are all sprung from  the
Arabic and Andalusian stock introduced into the country by
Cortez, and those large bands which run wild on the plains of San
Joaquin and in the Camanche country, probably differ but slightly
from the Arab horse of the present day.
A still more beautiful scene awaited us in the evening. The
paseo is then transferred to the plaza, and all the fashionable population appears on foot-a custom which I found in no other Mexican city. I went there at nine o'clock. The full moon was
shining down over the cathedral towers; the plaza was almost as
distinct as by day, except that the shadows were deeper; the
white arches and pillars of the cortal were defined brilliantly
against the black gloom of the corridor, and the rows of orange
trees, with their leaves glittering in the moonlight, gave out a rare
and exquisite odor from their hidden blossoms.  We sat down on
o'D80 
TROPIC BEAUITTY BY MOONLIGHT.
oze of the benches, so near the throng of promenaders passing
around the plaza, that their dresses brushed our feet. The ladies
were in full dress, with their heads uncovered, and there were
many specimens of tropic beauty among them.  The faint clear
olive of their complexion, like a warm sunset-light on alabasterthe deep, dark, languishing eye, with the full drooping lid that
would fain conceal its fire-the ripe voluptuous lip-the dark hair
whose silky waves would have touched the ground had they been
unbound-and the pliant grace and fullness of the form, formed
together a type of beauty, which a little queenly ambition would
have moulded into a living Cleopatra. A German band in front
of the cathedral played " God save the King" and some of the
melodies of the Fatherland. About ten o'clock, the throng began
to disperse; we sat nearly an hour longer, enjoying the delicious
moonlight, coolness and fragrance, and when I lay down again on
the tiles, so far from thinking of Touchstone, I felt glad and grateful for having seen Guadalajara.
Among the Guadalajarans I met was Don Ramon Luna, a gentleman of great intelligence and refinement. His father emigrated
from Spain as a soldier in the ranks, b-at by prudence, energy
and native talent, succeeded in amassing a large fortune. Don
Ramon spoke English and French with great fluency, and was,
moreover, very enthusiastic on the subject of Mexican antiquities.
At his ranche, a few leagues from Guadalajara, he had, as he
informed me, a large number of ancient idols and fossil remains,
which the workmen had collected by his order. I regretted that
the shortness of my stay did not permit me to call on Padre
Najar, of the Convent del Carmen, who formerly resided in Philadelphia, and published a very able work on the Otomai language.
The diligence was to start on Monday. On Saturday afternoon
881 
ELDORADO.
I sold my horse to a sort of trader living in the meson, for seven
dollars, as he was somewhat worn out, and horses were cheap in
Guadalajara. The parting with my good hosts the next day was
rather more difficult, and I was obliged to make a positive promise
of return within three years, before they would consent that I
should go. After I had obtained some money and paid them for
my board, the old lady told me that thenceforth she would only
charge half-price for every meal I chose to take in her house.
"Thanks to the Supreme King," said she, "I have not been so
much in need that I should treat friends and strangers both alike."
After this, I only paid a medio for my dinner of eggs, frijoles,
lantecas and chili colorado. On Sunday night I rolled up my
few possessions in my sarape, took leave of the family and went
to the Casa de Diligencias to spend the night. The old hostess
threw her arms around me and gave me a hearty embrace, and
the three daughters followed her example.  I did not dislike this
expression of friendship and regret, for they were quite beautiful.
As I went down the court-yard, the voice of the mother followed
me: "Go with Ave Maria Purisima, and do not forget Maria do
la Ascencion Hidalgo!"
882 
CHAPTER XXXVII.
IN THE DILIGENCE TO GUANAJUATO.
THE mozo awoke me shortly after three o'clock, and before I
had finished dressing, brought me a cup of foaming chocolate and
a biscuit. The only other passenger was a student from Tepic,
on his return to college, in Mexico. The stage already waited for
us, and we had no sooner taken our seats on the leather cushions,
than "vamonos!" cried the driver, the whip cracked and the
wheels thundered along the silent, moonlit streets. The morning
was chill, and there was little in the dim glimpses of adobe walls
and blank fields on either hand, to interest us; so we lay back in
the corners and took another nap.
The style of diligence travel in Mexico is preferable to that of
any other country. The passenger is waked at three o'clock in
the morning, has a cup of chocolate brought him, (and no one has
drank chocolate who has not drank it there) takes his seat, and has
nearly reached the end of the second post by sunrise. The heavy
stage, of Troy manufacture, is drawn by six horses, four leaders
abreast, who go at a dashing gallop as long as the road is level.
About eleven o'clock a breakfast of six or eight courses is served
up in good style, the coachman waiting until the last man has
leisurely finished. There is no twanging of the horn and cry of 
ELDORADO.
" All ready!" before one has bolted the first mouthful.  Off again,
there is no stoppage till the day's journey is over, which is generally about four o'clock, allowing ample time for a long walk and
sight-seeing before dinner.
The second post brought us to the Rio Santiago, which I had
crossed once between Mazatlan and Tepic. We got out to look
at the old stone bridge and the mist of a cataract that rose above
the banks, two or three hundred yards below. Our road lay across
broad, stony tracts of country, diversified by patches of cactus;
in the distance, the mountain parapet of a still higher table-land
was to be seen. The third post, thirty miles from Guadalajara,
was at the village of Zapotlanejo, where the cholera had already
appeared. The groom who assisted in harnessing our fresh horses,
informed us that twenty persons had died of it. The place looked
quiet and half-deserted; many of the houses were studded with
little wooden crosses, stuck into the chinks of the adobes. The
village of Tepatitlan, which we passed during the forenoon, was
likewise a cholera locality.  We dashed through it and over a bare,
bleak upland, many leagues in width, in the middle of which stood
the Rancho de la Tierra Colorada, (Ranche of the Red Earth) our
breakfast-place.
During the afternoon we crossed a very rough and stony barranca. The chasm at the bottom was spanned by a fine bridge,
and eight cream-colored mules were in readiness to take us up the
ascent. Even after reaching the level, the road was terribly rough,
and the bounds which our stage made as it whirled along, threatened to disjoint every limb in our bodies. I received a stunning
blow on the crown of my head, from being thrown up violently
against the roof. We were truly rejoiced when, late in the afternoon, we saw the little town of San Miguel before us, in a hollow
384 
SAN JUAN DE LOS LAGOS.
dip of the plain.  We finished a ride 3f ninety miles as we drove
into it, and found the stage from Lagos already before the hotel.
The town did not boast a single " sight," so my companion and I
took a siesta until dinner was announced.
The next morning our route lay over the dreary table-land,
tavoidiing the many chasms and barrancas with which its surface
was seamed: often running upon a narrow ridge, with a gaping
hollow on each side. The rancheros were ploughing in some
places, but the greater part of the soil seemed to be given up to
pasturage. The fields were divided by walls of stone, but frequently, in the little villages, a species of cactus had been planted
so as to form gardens and corrals, its straight, single pillars standing side by side, to the height of ten feet, with scarcely a crevice
between.   The people we met, were more hale and ruddy in
their appearance than those of the Tierra Caliente. As they galloped alongside the stage, with their hats off, speaking with the
driver, I thought I had never seen more lightly and strongly made
forms, or more perfect teeth.  When they laughed, their mouths
seemed to blaze with the sparkling white rows exhibited. Towards noon, we saw, far ahead, the tops of two towers, that appeared to rise out of the earth. They belonged to the church of
San Juan de Los Lagos, the place of the great Annual Fair of
Mlexico —a city of five thousand inhabitants, built at the bottom
of a deep circular basin, whose rim is only broken on one side by
a gash which lets out the waters it collects in the rainy season.
Seen firom the edge of the basin, just before you commence  the
descent, a more fantastic picture could scarcely be imagined.
The towers of the church are among the tallest in Mexico. During
the Fair, the basin is filled to its brim, and a tent-city, containing
from three hundred thousand to half a million inhabitants, is
17
385 
planted in it.  From Sonora to Oajaca, all Mexico is there, with
a good representation from Santa Fe, Texas and California. We
descended by a zigzag road, of splendid masonry, crossed the gulley at the bottom by a superb bridge, and stopped at the Diligence
Hotel for breakfast. The town was at prayers, on account of
cholera. Five hundred people had already died, and the epidemic
was just beginning to abate. I saw several of the ignorant populace issue from their huts on their knees, and thus climb their
painful way up the hill to the cathedral, saying paternosters as
they went. Two attendants went before, spreading sarapes on
the stones, to save their knees, and taking them up after they had
passed. We ate a hearty breakfast in spite of the terror around
us, and resuming our seats in the diligence, were whirled over
hill and plain till we saw the beautiful churches of Lagos in the
distance. At the hotel, we found the stage from Zacatecas just
in, bringing passengers for Mexico.
I took an afternoon stroll through Lagos, visiting the marketplace and principal churches, but found nothing worthy of particular note.  We arose in the moonlight, chocolated in the comedor,
or dining-hall, and took our seats-seven in all-in the diligence.
We speedily left the neat, gay and pleasant city behind us, and
began a journey which promised to be similar to that of the two
preceding days-a view of barren table-land, covered with stone
fences and cactus hedges, on either side, and blue mountains ever
in far perspective. With the sun, however, things looked more
cheerful, and soon after entering on the third post, we climbed a
stonfiy cerro, from which opened a splendid view of the Valley of
Leon. Far as the vision extended, the effect was still heightened
by a veil of thin blue vapor which arose from the broad leagues of
field and meadow below us. In the centre of the picture rose thA
386
ELDORADO.
0 
THE VALLEY OF LEON.
spires of Villa de Leon, from the mnidst of green barley-fields and
gardens of fruit trees.  To the eastward, beyond the valley-which
to the south melted into the sky without a barrier-ran the high
and rocky ranges of the mineral mountains of Guanajuato. We
had nearly crossed the table-land of the Pacific side of Mexico,
and these hills were spurs from the spinal ridge of the Continent.
Our horses galloped into Leon-a large and lively town, which
pleased me much better than Lagos. We had a capital breakfast
of eight courses in the hall of the Sociedad del Comercio, and took
in two fresh passengers, which just filled the diligence. Dashing
out of the town, the road led over the level plain, between fields
and gardens of great fertility. In the soft morning light, the
animation and beauty of the scene were delightful. The peons
were everywhere at work in the fields, watering the trees and vegetables from wells, out of which they drew the water with long poles.
At a bridge over the dry bed of a river near the town, I noticed a
gang of about fifty ferocious fellows, in ragged sarapes. Several
soldiers, well armed, paced up and down the road, and I afterwards learned that the diligence was frequently robbed there. Two
long posts down the valley, made with horses going a carrera,
brought us to Silao. While the grooms were changing teams, we
supplied ourselves with oranges, bananas, zapotes chicos and
granaditas de China. The latter fruit is about the size of an
egg, with a brittle shell of a bright scarlet color, inside of which
is a soft white sack. Breaking this open, the tender, fragrant
pulp is revealed-the most dainty, exquisite thing that Nature ever
compounded. We also bought an armful of sugar-cane, which we
hung on the umbrella-hooks, and chopped up and chewed as
thirst required.
From Silao to Guanajuato is but one post. Leaving the former
387 
Ei:T. DORADO.
place, we approached a cape of the mountains, and traveled fo!
several miles over wild hills covered with immnense cactus trees.
the trunks of many of them measuring two feet in diameter.  From
the summit we looked down into a large mountain-basin, opening
towards the south into the Valley of Leon.   On its opposite side,
aniong mountains whose summits are the more sterile from the
glittering veins of precious ore within, we saw the walls of some of
the mining establishments of Guanajuato.
Of all places in Mexico, the situation of this city is the most
picturesque and remarkable.   It lies like an enchanted city,
buried in the heart of the mountains. Entering a rocky canfada,
the bottom of which barely affords room for the road, you pass
between high adobe walls, above which, up the steep, rise tier
above tier of blank, windowless, sun-dried houses, looking as if
they had grown out of the earth. You would take them to be a
sort of cubic chrystalization of the soil. Every corner in the windings of the road is filled with the buildings of mining companieshuge fortresses of stone, ramparted as if for defence. The scene
varies with every moment;-now you look up to a church with
purple dome and painted towers; now the blank adobe walls, with
here and there a spiry cypress or graceful palm between them,
rise far above you, along the steep ledges of the mountain; and
again, the mountain itself, with its waste of rock and cactus, is all
you see. The caniada finally seems to close. A precipice of
rock-out of a rift in which the stream flows-shuts up the passage. Ascending this by a twist in the road, you are in the heart
of the city. Lying partly in the narrow bed of the ravine and
partly on its sides and in its lateral branches, it is only by mounting to some higher eminence that one can realize its extent and
position   At tho farther end of the city the mountains form a
"I 8 Is 
GUANAJUATO AND ITS MINES.
cul de sac. The caniada is a blind passage, and you can only
leave it by the road you came.  The streets are narrow, crooked,
and run up and down in all directions; there is no room for
plazas nor alamedas. A little triangular space in front of the
cathedral, however, aspires to the former title. The city reminded
lie of descriptions of the old Moorish towns of Spain-not as they
now exist, but as they stood in the fourteenth century.
In the afternoon I took a walk through the city, climbing one
of the hills to a cross planted on a small rocky point under the
fortress of San Miguel. Thence I could look down on the twisted
streets and flat house-tops, and the busy flood of life circulating
through all. The churches, with their painted spires and domes,
gave a bizarre and picturesque character to the scene. Off to the
north, in the sides of the mountains, I could see the entrances to
the silver mines, and the villages of the mining communities.
Around Guanajuato there are more than a hundred mines, employing about seventy-five thousand workmen. The business of
Guanajuato is now very flourishing, the mines having in 1849
yielded $8,400,000, or $600,000 more than the previous year.
New mines have been opened on the rich vein of La Luz, which
will soon be in a producing state, and promise much higher results.
There is a fascination about the business, which is almost equal to
that of play. The lucky discoverer of a new mine will frequently
squander away the sudden wealth he has acquired in a week's dissipation. The wages of the common workmen vary from four
reals to two dollars a day.
Before night I visited the cathedral and the churches of San
Diego and San Felipe-the latter a dark old structure, covered
with quaint, half-Gothic ornaments, its front shaded by several
tall cypresses. In the church of San Diego, i saw a picture of
389 
ELDORADO.
great beauty, of the Murillo school, but hardly, I think, an original of the renowned master of Spanish painting.  After dinner,
while wandering about, looking at the fruit-stands, which were
lighted with a red glow by smoky torches, I witnessed a curious
ceremony. One of a band of robbers, who had been taken and
convicted, was to be shot the next morning. All the bells in the
city commenced tolling at sunset, and the incessant diing-dong
they kept up for nearly two hours, was enough to drive one frantic. I heard the sound of music, and saw the twinkling of wax
tapers; I therefore pressed through the crowd into the middle of
the little plaza, to obtain a good view of the procession. First
came a company of soldiers, with a military band, playing dirges;
after this the Bishop of the city bearing the Host, under a canopy
of white and silver, borne by priests, who also carried lanterns of
blue glass; another company of soldiers followed, and after them
a long double line of citizens, each of whom held an immense
burning taper in his hand. With the clang of bells and the wail
of brazen instruments, they came towards us. The thousands in
the plaza dropped on their knees, leaving me standing alone in the
centre. A moment's reflection convinced me of the propriety of
following their example, so I sank down between a woman with a
very dirty rebosa and a black-bearded fellow, who might have been
the comrade of the condemned robber.
The procession, keeping a slow and measured pace, proceeded
to the prison, where the sacrament of extreme unction was administered to the criminal. It then returned to the cathedral, which
was brilliantly lighted, and filled with a dense throng of people.
The military band was stationed in the centre, under the dome,
and mingled its harmonies with those of the powerful organ. I
could get no further than the door-way, whence the whole interior
390 
THE EVE OF A ROBBER~% DEATH.
was visible as a lighted picture, framed in the gloomy arch under
which I stood. The rise and swell of the cheral voices-the deep,
stunning peal of the bells in the tower-the solemn attitude of the
crowd, and the blaze of light under which all these imposing ceremonies were seen-made a powerful impression on me.   The
people about me constantly repeated their paternosters, an
seemed to feel a deep sympathy with the convicted. I remembered, that in the afternoon I had seen in the cathedral a man
somewhat advanced in years, who was praying with an intensity of
grief and supplication that made him for the time insensible to all
else. His sobs and groans were so violent as to shake his whole
frame; I had never seen a more vehement expression of anguish.
Thinking he might have been the robber's father, I began to have
some compassion for the former, though now and then a wicked
feeling of rejoicing would steal in, that another of the tribe was
soon to be exterminated. Th.e most curious feature of the scene
was a company of small boys, carrying bundles of leaves on which
was printed the "Last Dying Speech and Confession," in poetry,
the burden being " Adios, Guanajuato amado!"  These boys
were scattered through the crowd, crying out:" Here you have
my sentence, my confession, my death, my farewell to Guanajuato
-all for a cuartilla!'  The exercises were kept up so long, that
finally I grew weary, and went to bed, where the incessant bells
rang death-knells in my dreams.
In Guanajuato I tasted pulque for the first and last time.
Seeing a woman at the corner of a street with several large jars of
what I took to be barley-water, I purchased a glass. I can only
liken the taste of this beverage to a distillation of sour milk (if
there could be such a thing) strongly tinctured with cayenne pepper and hartshorn. Men were going about the streets with cans
391 
ELDORADO.
on their heads, containing ices made firom tropical fruits, which
were much more palatable.
They even have authors in Guanajuato. On the theatre bills I
saw the announcement that an original tragedy entitled " Ez
Amor Conyugal," by a young Guanajuatense, was in preparation
" The precious comedy of the Two Fernandos and the Two Pepas" was to be given as an afterpiece-probably a travesty of the
" Comedy of Errors."
392 
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE DIVIDING RIDGE) AND DESCENT INTO THE VALLEY OF
MEXICO.
WE were roused in Guanajuato at three o'clock in the morning,
for the jornada of one hundred and ten miles to Queretaro. A
splendid moon was riding near the zenith, with her attendant star
at her side; and by her light we drove down the ominous depths
of the caiada. The clumsy leaves of the cactus, along the ledges
of the hills, seemed in the uncertain light, like the heads of robbers
peering over the rocks; the crosses of the dead, here and there,
spread out their black arms, and we were not free from all apprehensions of attack, until, after a post of three leagues, we
reached the level and secure land of the Bajio. Once, only, a
company of about twenty wild-looking men, whose weapons glittered in the moonlight, hooted at us as we passed; we took them
to be a part of the robber-band, on their way to Guanajuato to
witness the execution of their comrade.
In five posts we reached the city of Salamanca, where breakfast was already on the table. No sooner had the final dish of frijoles and cup of coffee been dispatched, then the cochero summoned
us. The mozo drew away with a jerk the rope which held the
four leaders; the horses plunged and pranced till the lumbering
mass of the diligence )egan to move, when they set off in a furious 
ELDORADO.
gallop. For ten miles, over the level road, the speed was scarcely
slackened, till we drew up at the next post, and exchanged our
dusty and reeking steeds for a fresh team, as fiery and furious as
the first.
The country through which we passed, is one of the richest
regions in Mexico. It is called the Bajio, or Lowland, but is in
fact an extent of table-land, about four thousand feet above the
level of the sea, and only lower than the mountain-ridges which
enclose it and draw from the upper clouds the streams that give
it perpetual growth. From the city of Leon, near Lagos, it extends to San Juan del Rio, beyond Queretaro-a distance of
nearly two hundred miles. It is traversed by the Rio Lerma, the
stream which, rising in the Volcano of Toluca (the neighbor of
Popocatapetl) mingles with the waters of Lake Chapala, and afterwards-first as the Rio Blanco and then as the Rio Santiagofinds its way into the Pacific at San Blas. This immense level is
all under fine cultivation and covered with thousand-acre fields of
wheat, maize and barley in different stages of growth. The white
fronts of haciendas gleamed from out their embowering gardens,
in the distance, and the spires of the country towns, rising at intervals, gave life and animation to the picture. In the afternoon
we passed the city of Zelaya, nearly smothered in clouds of dust
that rose from the dry soil
As we reached the boundary of the State of Queretaro, eight
lancers, armed likewise with escopettes and holster-pistols, galloped out of the cactus on a wild, stony hill, and took their places
on each side of us. They constituted a military escort (at the
expense of the passengers,) to the gates of Queretaro. With their
red pennons fluttering in the wind and their rugged little horses
spurred into a gallop, they were very picturesque objects. Our
394 
A GAY PADRE.
time was divided in watching their movements and looking out for
the poles planted by the roadside as a sign that robbers had been
taken and shot there.  My Mexican fellow-travelers pointed to
these tokens of unscrupulous punishment with evident satisfaction. A large tree near Queretaro, with a great many lateral
branches, bears a. sign with the words "Por Ladrone3," (For
Robbers,) in large letters.  It is probably used when a whole
company is caught at once.
We drove into Queretaro after dark, and the only glimpse I had
of the place was from the balcony of the hotel. I regretted not
having arrived earlier, for the purpose of visiting the cotton manufactory of Don Gaetano Rubio, which is the largest in the Republic. Among the passengers in the diligence from Mexico, who
joined us at the dinner-table, was a jovial padre, who talked constantly of the Monplaisir troupe of dancers and Cuenen, the
violinist. In fact, he was more familiar with American and European theatricals than any one I had met for a long time, and
gave me a ready account of the whereabouts of Cerito, Ellsler,
Taglioni, and all the other divinities of the dance. He then commenced a dissertation upon the character of the different modern
languages. The English, he said, was the language of commerce;
the French, of conversation; the German, of diplomacy, because
there were no words of double meaning in it!-and the Spanish,
of devotion. With his conversation and delightful cigaritos, I
passed the hour before bed-time very pleasantly. I never met a
more lively and entertaining padre.
We drove to the town of San Juan del Rio, eleven leagues dis
tant, for breakfast. A fresh escort was given us at every post,
for which a fresh contribution of two reals was levied on each passenger.  Towards evening, leaving the Bajio, we came upon a
395 
ELDORADO.
large, arid ilano, flat as a table, and lying at the foot of the
Mlount of Capulalpan. A string of mules, carrying stone from the
mountains, stretched across it, till they almost vanished in the
perspective. One by one they came up out of the distance, emptied the stones; which were heaped upon their backs in rough
wicker frames, and turned about to repeat the journey. They
belonged to the estate of Senfior Zurutuza, proprietor of the diligence lines of Mexico, who shows as much prudence and skill in
the cultivation of his lands as in the arrangement of his stages
and hotels. The estate which he purchased of the Mexican
Government, at a cost of $300,000, contains thirty-seven square
leagues, nearly all of which is arable land. The buildings stand
in a little valley, nine thousand feet above the sea. The principal
storehouse is two hundred feet square, and solid as a fortress. An
arched entrance, closed by massive gates, leads to a paved courtyard, around which runs a lofty gallery, with pillars of oak resting
on blocks of lava. Under this shelter were stored immense piles
of wheat and chopped straw. On the outside, a number of persons were employed in removing the grain from a large circular
floor of masonry, where it had been trodden out by mules, and
separating it from the chaff by tossing it diligently in the wind.
The hotel for the accommodation of travelers, is a new and elegant structure, and a decided improvement on other buildings of
the kind in Mexico.
We slept soundly in the several rooms allotted to us, and by
daybreak next morning were on the summit of the Pass of Capulalpan, about eleven thousand feet above the sea. The air was
thin and cold; the timber was principally oak, of a stunted and
hardy kind, and the general appearance of the place is desolate in
the extreme.   I-Iere, where the streams of the two oceans are
396 
APPROACHING MEXICO.
divided, the first view of Popocatapetl, at more than a hundred
miles distance, greets the traveler. A descent of many miles,
through splendid plantations, lying in the lap of the mountains,
brought us to the old town of Tula, on the banks of the Tula
River, which empties into the Gulf, at Tampico. Here we breakfasted, and then started on our last stage towards the capital.
Crossing a low range of hills, we reached the Desagua, an immense
canal, cut for the draining of the Valley of Mexico. The afternoon was hot and breezeless; clouds of dust enveloped and almost
stifled us, rising as they rolled away till they looked like slender
pillars, swayed from side to side by the vibrations of the air. We
passed the towns of Guatitlan and Tanepantla, where we only
stopped to get a drink of tepache, a most nourishing and refreshing beverage, compounded of parched corn, pineapple, and sugar
The road was hedged by immense aloes, some of which had leaves
ten feet in length: they are cultivated in great quantities for the
pulque, which is manufactured from their juice. A few hours of
this travel, on the level floor of the Valley of Mexico, brought us
to the suburbs, where we met scores of people in carriages and on
horseback, going out to take their evening paseo around the Alameda.  Rattling over the streets of the spacious capital, in a few
minutes we were brought to a stand in the yard of the Casa de
Diligencias.
A few minutes after my arrival, the Vera Cruz stage drove into
the yard. The first person who jumped out was my friend Mr.
Parrot, U. S. Consul at Mazatlan. Gov. Letcher, our Envoy to
Mexico, came in the same stage, but was met at the Peion Grande
by a number of Americans in carriages, and brought into the city.
It is a pleasant thing to have friends of your own size. I made
my first appearance in the City of the Montezumas covered with
3,J 7 
ELDORADO.
dust and clad in the weather-beaten corduroys, which were all the
robbers left me. Thanks to the kind offer of Mr. Parrot and Mr.
Peyton, who accompanied him, I sat down to dinner in half an
hour afterwards, looking and feeling nmuch more like a member
of civilized society.
398 
CHAPTER XXXIX.
SCENES IN THE MEXICAN CAPITAL.
I SALLIED out, on the bright sunny morning after reaching
Mexico, to make a survey of the city. The sky was cloudless
except on the horizon, in the direction of Popocatapetl, and the
air was charmingly cool and fresh. Its rarity, by accelerating the
breathing, had a stimulating effect, but I found that a faster pace
than ordinary exhausted me in a few minutes. Most of the shops
were closed, and the people from the neighboring villages began
to come in for the morning mass. The streets are broad, tolerably
clean, and have an air of solidity and massive strength beyond
that of any modern city. The houses are all of stone, witl few
windows on the streets, but an arched gateway in the centre,
leading to a patio, or courtyard, where the only correct view of
their size and magnificence may  be obtained.   The glimpses
through these gateways, while passing, are often very beautiful-the richly-sculptured frame of stone enclosing a sunny picture of a fountain, a cluster of orange-trees, or the slender, grace
ful arches of the corridor. The buildings are painted of some
light, fresh color, pink and white being predominant; some of
them, indeed, are entirely covered with arabesque patterns in
fresco.  The streets run at right angles, with nearly Philadelphian 
ELDORADO.
regularity, but the system of naming them is very confusing to a
stranger.  A  name extends no farther than a single block, the
same street having sometimes as many as twenty different nrames
in different places.  Thus, while there are several thousand names
of streets in the city, (all of them long and difficult to remember)
the actual number of streets is small.
I wandered about for some time, looking for the Grand Plaza,
and at last fell into the wake of the mass-going crowd, as the
surest way to find it. It is in the very centre of the city, though
the business quarter lies almost entirely on the western side. It
is one of the most imposing squares in the world, and still far inferior to what it might be made. It covers about fourteen acres,
which are entirely open and unbroken, except by a double row of
orange-trees in front of the Cathedral. The splendid equestrian
statue of Charles IV.  by  the sculptor Tolsa, which formerly
stood in the centre, has been removed since the war of Independence, and the Government has never been able to replace it by
something more to its republican taste. The National Palace,
with a front of five hundred feet, occupies nearly the entire eastern
side of the plaza, while the Cathedral, with a church adjoining,
fills the northern. Around the other sides runs a cortal, whose
arches are nearly blocked up by the wares and gay fabrics there
disposed for sale. One of the houses forming this cortal was built
by Cortez, and is still owned by his descendants. As in our own
cities, there is a row of hacks strung along one side of the plaza,
the drivers of which assail you with continual invitations to Tide.
The Cathedral is grand and impressive from its very size, but
the effect of the front is greatly injured by its incongruous style of
architecture. There seems to have been no single design adopted,
but after half had been built, the architect changed his plan and
40.3 
INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL.
finished the remainder in a different style. The front, as high as
the Cathedral roof, has a venerable appearance of age and neglect,
while the two massive, square, unadorned towers rising from it,
are as brilliantly white and fresh as if erected yesterday. The
front of the church adjoining is embossed with very elaborate ornaments of sculpture, all showing the same disregard of architectural unity. The interior of the Cathedral is far more perfect in
its structure. The nave, resting its lofty arch on pillars of a
semi-Gothic character, with the gorgeous pile of the high-altar at
its extremity, blazing with gold and silver and precious marbles,
looks truly sublime in the dim, subdued light which fills it. The
railing around.the altar is solid silver, as well as the lamps which
burn before it. In the shrines along the side aisles there are many
paintings of fine character, but everywhere the same flash of gold
and appearance of lavish treasure. The Cathedral was crowded
to the very door by a throng of rancheros, Indians, stately ladies
in silks and jewels, soldiers and leperos, kneeling side by side.
Tne sound of the organ, bearing on its full flood the blended
voices of the choir, pealed magnificently through the nave. There
were some very fine voices among the singers, but their performance was wanting in the grand and perfect unison which distinguishes the Italian chorus.
In the afternoon, there was a great fair or festival at Tacubaya, and half the population of the city went out to attend it.
The stages in front of the Diligence Hotel, which bore the inscription on their sides: " A Tacubaya, por 2 reales," were
jammed with passengers. I preferred a quiet walk in the Alameda to a suffocating ride in the heat and dust, and so did my
friend, Peyton. The Alameda is a charming place, completely
shaded by tall trees, and musical with the plash of fountains
401 
ELDORADO.
Through its long avenues of foliage, the gay equipages of the
aristocracy may be seen rolling to and from the paseo-President
Herrera, in a light, open carriage, followed by a guard of honor,
among them.   We roamed through the cool, shaded walks, finding sufficient amusement in the curious groups and characters we
constantly met until the afternoon shadows grew long and the sun
had nearly touched the Nevada of Toluca. Then, joining the increasing, crowd, we followed the string of carriages past a guardhouse where a company of trumpeters shattered all the surrounding air by incessant prolonged blasts, that nearly tore up the
paving,-stones. A beautiful road, planted with trees, and flanked
by convenient stone benches, extended beyond for about a mile,
having a circle at its further end, around which the carriages
passed, and took their stations in the return line. We sat down
on one of the benches facing the ring, enjoying the tranquillity of
the sunset and the animation of-the scene before us. The towers
of Mexico rose behind us, above the gardens which belt the city;
the rock of Chapultepec was just visible in front, and far to the
south-east, a snowy glimmer, out of the midst of a pile of clouds,
revealed the cone of Popocatapetl. Among the equipages were
some of great magnificence: that of Don Gaetano  Rubio  was
perhaps the most costly. Large American horses are in great
demand for these displays, and a thousand dollars a pair is frequently paid for them. The mixture of imported vehicles-English, French and American-with the bomb-proof arks and moveable fortifications of the country, was very amusing, though their
contrast was not more marked than that of the occupants. The
great ambition of a Mexican family is to ride in a carriage an all
public occasions, and there are hundreds who starve themselves
402 
SMOKING IN THE THEATRE.
on tortillas and deny themselves every comfort but the cigarito,
that they may pay the necessary hire.
I went one evening to the Teatro de Santa Anna, which is one
of the finest theatres in the world. On this occasion, the performance might have honorably stood the ordeal of even Paris
criticism. There was a ballet by the Monplaisir troupe, songs by
the prima donna of the native opera and violin solos by Franz
Coenen. The theatre is very large, having, if I remember rightly,
five tiers of boxes, yet it was crowded in every part. There was
a great display of costly dresses and jewelry, but I saw much less
beauty than on the moonlit plaza of Guadalajara. The tendency
of the Mexican women to corpulency very soon destroys the bloom
and graces of youth; indeed, their season of beauty is even more
brief than in the United States. Between the acts the spectators
invariably fell to smoking. The gentlemen lit their pcros, the
ladies produced their delicate boxes of cigaritos and their matches,
and for some minutes after the curtain fell, there was a continual
snapping and fizzing of brimstone all over the house. By the time
the curtain was ready to rise, the air was sensibly obscured, and
the chandeliers glimmered through a blue haze. At home. this
habit of smoking by the ladies is rather graceful and pretty; the
fine paper cigar is handled with an elegance that shows off the
little arts and courtesies of Spanish character, with the same effect
as a fan or a bouquet; but a whole congregation of women smoking together, I must admit, did take away much of the reverence
with which we are wont to regard the sex. Because a lady may
be a Juno in beauty, is no reason why she should thus retire into
cloud-nor is the odor of stale tobacco particularly Olympian
The streets of Mexico are always an interesting study. Even
403 
ELDORADO.
after visiting the other large cities of the Republic, one is here in.
troduced to new and interesting types of Mexican humanity.
Faces of the pure Aztec blood are still to be found in the squares
and market-places, and the canal which joins Lakes Chalco and
Tezcuco is filled with their flat canoes, laden with fruits, vegetables
and flowers. They have degenerated in everything but their hostility to the Spanish race, which is almost as strong as in the days
of Montezuma. The leperos constitute another and still more disgusting class; no part of the city is free from them.  They implore you for alms with bended knees and clasped hands, at every
turn; they-pick your pockets in broad daylight, or snatch away
your cloak if there is a good opportunity; and if it be an object
with any one to have you removed from this sphere of being, they
will murder you for a small consideration. The second night I
spent in Mexico, my pocket was picked in the act of passing a
corner where two or three of them were standing in a group. I
discovered the loss before I had gone ten steps further; but,
though I turned immediately, there was no one to be seen. The
aguadores, or water-carriers, are another interesting class, as they
go about with heavy earthen jars suspended on their backs by a
band about the forehead, and another' smaller jar swinging in
front to balance it, by a band over the top of the head. The
priests, in their black cassocks and shovel hats with brims a yard
long, are curious figures; the monasteries in the city send out
large numbers of fat and sensual friars, whose conduct even in public is a scandal to the respectable part of the community. In all
the features of its out-door life, Mexico is quite as motley and
picturesque as any of the old cities of Spain. The Republic
seems to have in no way changed the ancient order, except by
404 
AZTEC ANTIQUITIES.
tearing down all the emblems of royalty and substituting the eagle
and cactus in their stead.
The scarcity of all antiquities of the Aztec race, will strike
travelers who visit the city. Not one stone of the ancient capital
has been left upon another, while, by the gradual recession of the
vaters of the lakes, the present Mexico, though built precisely on
the site of the ancient one, stands on dry ground. There are frequently inundations, it is true, caused by long-continued rains,
which the mountain slopes to the north-east and south-west send
into the valley, but the construction of the I)esagua-an immense
canal connecting Lake Tezcuco with the Rio Montezuma-has
greatly lessened the danger.   Of all the temples, palaces, and
public edifices of the Aztecs, the only remains are the celebrated
Calendar, built into one corner of the cathedral, the Sacrificial
Stone and a collection of granite gods in the National Museum.
The Calendar is an immense circular stone, probably ten feet in
diameter, containing the divisions of the Aztec year, and the astronomical signs used by that remarkable people. The remaining
antiquities are piled up neglectedly in the court-yard of the Museum, where the stupid natives come to stare at them, awed, yet
apparently fascinated by their huge, terrible features.   The
Sacrificial Stone is in perfect preservation. It is like a great
mill-stone of some ten or twelve feet diameter, with a hollow in
the centre, from which a groove slants to the edge, to carry away
the blood of the victim. Scattered around it on the pavement
were idols of all grotesque forms, feathered serpents and hideous
combinations of human and animal figures.  The Aztec war-god,
Quetzalcoatl, was the hugest and most striking of all.  He was
about fourteen feet in height, with four faces, and as many
pairs of arms and legs, fronting towards the quart(ers of the com
405 
ELDORADO.
pass; his mouth was open and tongue projecting, and in the
hollow thus formed, the heart of the victim was thrust, while yet
warm and palpitating. His grim features struck me with awe
and something like terror, when I thought of the thousands of human hearts that had stained his insatiate tongues. Here, at least,
the Aztecs had a truer conception of the Spirit of War than ourselves.  We still retain the Mars of the poetic Greeks-a figure
of strength and energy, and glorious ardor only-not the grand
monster which all barbaric tribes, to whom war is a natural instinct,
build for their worship.
There are some relics of the Spanish race in this museum,
which I should not omit to mention. In one dusty corner, behind a little wooden railing, are exhibited the coats-of-mail of
Cortez and Alvarado. The great Cortez, to judge from his helmet,
breast-plate and cuishes, was a short, broad-chested and powerful
man-the very build for daring and endurance.  Alvarado was a
little taller and more slight, which may account for his celebrated
leap-the measure of which is still shown on a wall near the city,
though the ditch is filled up. In the centre of the court-yard
stands the celebrated equestrian statue of Charles IV., by the
Mexican sculptor, Tolsa. It is of bronze, and colossal size. In
the general spirit and forward action of the figures, it is one of
the best equestrian statues in the world.   The  horse, which
was modeled from an Andalusian stallion of pure blood, has
been censured.   It differs, in fact, very greatly from the perfect Grecian model, especially in the heavy chest and short
round flank; but those who have seen the Andalusian horse
consider it a perfect type of that breed. It is a work in which
Mexico may well glory, for any country might be proud to have
produced it.
40)6 
CHAPTER XL.
MEXICAN POLITICS AND POLITICAL MEN.
I SPENT one morning during my stay in Mexico, in visiting both
Houses of the Mexican Congress, which were then in session, in
the National Palace. I could not but regret, on approaching this
edifice, that so fine an opportunity for architectural effect had
been lost through a clumsy and incongruous plan of building.
The front of five hundred feet, had it been raised another story,
and its fiat pink surface relieved by a few simple pilasters and cornices, would have equaled that of the Pitti Palace or the Royal
Residenz in Munich. One of its court-yards, with a fountain in
the centre and double gallery running around the four sides, is
nevertheless complete and very beautiful. While looking out of
the windows of the Palace on the magnificent square, the foremost
picture in my mind's eye was not that of Cortez and Alvarado,
battling their way back to Tlascala, after the " Noche Triste;"
not that of the splendid trains of the Viceroys of yet powerful
Spain; but the triumphal entry of Scott, when the little army that
had fought its way in from Chapultepec, greeted his appearance
on the Plaza with huzzas that brought tears even into Mexican
eyes.  Think as one may of the character of the war, there are
scenes in it which stir the blood and brighten the eye. 
ELDORADO.
Mr. Belden, an American many years resident in Mexico, accomnpanied me to the Halls of Congress, and pointed out the principal characters present. We first visited the Senate Chambera small elliptical room in the centre of the Palace. There were
no desks except for the Secretaries, the members being seated on
a continuous bench, which ran around the room, with a rail in firont
of it. Probably two-thirds of the Senators-fifteen or twenty in
all-were present. The best head among them is that of Otero,
who, I think, was one of the Cabinet during the war. He is a
large, strongly-built man, with features expressing not only intelligence, but power. At the end of the room sat Don Luis Cuevas,
one of the Commissioners who signed the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo-a man of polished bearing, and, from appearance, something of a diplomat. Gen. Almonte, whose low forehead, broad
cheek-bones and dark skin betray his Indian blood, occupied the
seat next to Pedraza, the President of a few days during a revolution in 1828.   Almonte is the son of the Liberator Morelos,
and that circumstance alone gave him an interest in my eyes.
The demeanor of the Senate is exceedingly quiet and grave.
The speeches are short, though not, in consequence, always to the
point. On the contrary, I am told that any definite action on any
subject is as difficult to be had as in our own Congress. It is
better, however, to do nothing decorously, than after a riotous
fashion.
The Hall of Congress fronts on one of the inner courts of the
Palace. It is semi-circular in form, and lighted by windows of
blue glass, near the top. As in the Senate, the members have no
desks, but are ranged along two semi-circular benches, the outer one
raised a step from the floor.  The Speaker sits on a broad platform, in front of the centre of the chord, with two Secretaries on
408 
TIlE HAL, OF CONGRESS.
each lhatnd. At each corner of the platform is a circular pulpit,
just large enough to take in a spare man nearly to the armpits
They are used by the members for set harangues. Behind the
Speaker's chair, and elevated above it, is a sort of throne with
two seats, under a crimson canopy. Here, the President of the
Republic and the Speaker of Congress take their seats, at the
opening and close of each Session. Above the canopy, in a gilded
frame, on a ground of the Mexican tricolor, hangs the sword of
Iturbide. A picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe, with her blue
mantle and silver stars, completes the decorations. Around the
architrave of the pillars which form the semi-circle and across the
cornice of the chord, are inscribed, in letters of gold, the names
of the Mexican Chiefs of the War of Independence-conspicuous
among them those of Morelos, Bravo, Victoria and Mina.
The Mexican Congress elects its Speaker monthly. The incumbent at the time, Portillo, was a young man, who presided
with admirable dignity and decorum.   As in the Senate, the
members exhibit a grave and courteous demeanor; the etiquette
of dignified legislation, I presume, is never violated. The only
notable Representative present was Arrangoiz, whose name is well
known in the United States. I was disappointed in not seeing
Alaman, the head of the Monarchist faction, Editor of the Universal, and author of an,xcellent History of Mexico, then in the
course of publication. Two or three short speeches were made
during my visit, but I was not sufficiently versed either in the language or politics, to get more than the general drift of them.
Congress appeared to be doing nothing satisfactory; the thinking
population (a very small number) were discontented, and with
reason. A short time previous, the Report of the Committee of
Finance came up for discussion.  After engaging the House  for
18
405 
ELDORADO.
several days, during which many warm speeches were made on
both sides, all seemed ready for a decision; when, lo! the menmbers suddenly determined that they had no right to v9te upon it!
One o'clock the same afternoon was the hour appointed for the
presentation of Mr. Letcher, the new Envoy from the United
States. On coming out of the Senate Chamber we noticed that
the corridor leading to the rooms of the President was deserted by
the groups of officers in full uniform who had been lounging about
the door. Entering the ante-chamber, we found that Mr. LetcheJ,'
with Mr. Walsh, Secretary of Legation, had just passed into the
Hall of Audience. Mr. Belden was well known to all the officers
of Government, and his company procured us admission at once
We  took our places among the Secretaries of the different De
partments, about half way up the Hall. Gen. Herrera, the President, was seated on a platform at the end of the room, under a
crimson canopy, having on his right hand Lacunza, Minister of
Foreign Affairs, and on his left Castanieda, Minister of Justice
The other Ministers, with a number of officers of the General
Staff, were ranged at the foot of the platform. Mr. Letcher had
just commenced his address as we entered. He appeared slightly
embarrassed during the first phrases, but soon recovered the proper
composure. I had no doubt, however, that he would have felt
much more at home in making a stump speech in his native IKentucky. His address consisted mainly of expressions of good will
on the part of the United States, and a desire for more intimate
and amicable relations between the two Governments. Gen. Herrera, on receiving the letters accrediting Mr. Letcher, replied in a
neat speech, cordially responding to the expressions of amity which
had been made, and invoking for both nations the same harmony
410 
HIIERRERA AND I1S GOVERNMENT.
in their mutual relations as they already possessed in their consti
tutional forms.
After the interchange of a few compliments, Mr. Letcher took
his leave, and immediately afterwards the President rose and left
the hall, in company with his Ministers. He bowed to us in passing, probably recognizing us as Americans. He is a man of about
sixty, of short stature, and with a countenance whose prominent
expression is honesty and benevolence. This corresponds with
the popular idea of his character. He is a man of excellent
heart, but lacks energy and determination.  His Governments
though quiet and peaceful enough at present, is not sufficiently
strong for Mexico. So long as the several States continue to defy
and violate the Federal Compact, a powerful Head is needed to
the General Government. The rule of Herrera met with no open
opposition   At the time of my visit, the country was perfectly
quiet. The insurrection in the Sierra Madre had been entirely
quelled, and the ravages of the Indians in Durango and Chihuahua
appeared to have subsided for a time. Nevertheless, the Conservative party, whose tendency is towards a monarchy) was said to
be on the increase-a fact no doubt attributable to the influence
and abilities of Alaman, its avowed leader. The name of Santa
Anna had been brought forward by his friends, as a candidate for
Congress from the district of the Capital, though his success was
scarcely a matter of hope.
The Government was still deeply embarrassed by its forced
loans, and Congress took the very worst means to settle its difficulty.  A committee, appointed to report some plan of settlement
made the following propositions, which I here give, as a curiosity
in legislation:-1. That the Government be authorized to make
an'micable arrangement with its creditors, within the space of
411 
EI.DORADO.
forty days.  (!)  2. That such arrangement cannot take effect
without the approbation of Congress; (!!) and 3. That  the Government be authorized to accept a further sum of $300,000 on
the American indemnity. The resignation of Seior Elorriagar
the Minister of Finance, was fully expected, and took place. in
fact, about three weeks after I left. Very few Ministers hold this
office more than two or three months. The entire want of confidence between the Executive and Legislative Departments utterly
destroys the efficiency of the Mexican Government. The Ministers wear a chain, which is sometimes so shortened by the caprice
of Congress, that the proper exercise of their functions is rendered
impossible.
Several of the States had a short time previous been taking
singular liberties with the Constitution. For instance, the Legislatures of Zacatecas, Durango and Jalisco, had separately passed
laws regulating the revenue not only on internal commerce, but
foreign imports!  The duties on many articles were enormous,
as, for instance, in the State of Jalisco, 37 1-2 cents per lb. on
tobacco, and 75 cents on snuff. Zacatecas, with a curious discrimination, imposed a duty of 12 1-2 per cent. on home manufactures, and 5 per cent. on foreign merchandise! In such a
state of things one knows not which most to wonder at, the
audacity of the States, or the patient sufferance of the Supreme
Government.
I scanned with some curiosity the faces and forms of the chief
officers of the Republic as they passed.
Herrera wore the uniform of a general-a more simple costume
than that of the other officers present, whose coats were ornamencted with red facings and a profusion of gold embroidery. The
Ministers, except Arista, were dressed in plain suits of black
7 
TIlE MIINISTERS-EDITORS.
Lacunza is a man of low stature and dark complexion, and a
barely perceptible cast of shrewdness is mingled with the natural
intelligence of his features. Castafieda, on the other hand, is
tall, thin, with a face of which you are certain, at the first glance,
that it knows how to keep its owner's secrets. The finest-looking
man present was Gen. Arista, who is six feet high, and stout in
proportion, with a large head, light hair closely cropped, fair compiexion and gray eyes. From the cast of his features, one would
take him to be a great overgrown Scotch boy, who had somehow
blundered into a generalship. He is said to have the most influential hand in the Cabinet. Among the States of the North
there is, as is well known, a powerful party devoted to his interests.
While in Mexico, I had the pleasure of meeting with Don
Vicente Garcia Torres, the talented editor of the Monitor Republicano, as well as with several of the writers for El Siglo Die.
y Liueve.  To M. Rne6 Masson, the enterprising editor and proprietor of Le  Trait D' Union, (the only foreign journal in
Mexico,) I was  also indebted for many courteous attentions.
His paper is conducted with more industry and gives a more intelligible view of Mexican affairs than any of the native prints.
The Count de la Cortina, the most accomplished writer in
Mexico, and author of several works, was pointed out to me in the
street one day. He possesses a princely fortune and the finest
pieture-gallery in America.
413 
CHAPTER XLI.
RIDES TO CHAPULTEPEC AND GUADALUPE.
No  American, whatever  be  his moral  creed  or  political
sentiments, should pass through Mexico without a visit to the
battle-fields in the Valley, where his country's arms obtained
such signal triumphs. To me they had a more direct, thrilling interest than the remains of Aztec Empire or the Spanish Viceroyalty. I was fortunate in seeing them with a companion, to
whom every rood of ground was familiar, and who could trace all
the operations of Scott's army, from San Augustin to the Grand
Plaza in the city. We started for Chapultepec one fine afternoon,
with Mr. Belden, taking his carriage and span of black mules. We
drove first to the Garita de Belen, where one of the aqueducts
enters the city. Here a strong barricade was carried after the
taking of Chapultepec by Pillow's division, while Worth, following down the line of the other aqueduct, got possession of the
Ganita de San Cosme. The brick arches are chipped with shot,
for the whole distance of three miles. The American troops advanced by springing from arch to arch, being exposed, as they
approached the Garita, to a cross-fire from two batteries. The
running battle of the Aqueducts, from Chapultepec to Mexico,
a distance of three miles, was a brilliant achievement, and had 
MIONTEZUMAS GARDEN.
not our forces been so flushed and excited with the storming of
tle leighllt, and the spirit of the Mexicans proportionately lessened,
the slaughter must have been terrible.
We followed the aqueduct, looking through its arches on the
green wheat-fields of the Valley, the shining villages in the distance and sometimes the volcanoes, as the clouds grew thinner
about their white  summits.   At last, we reached the gate
of Chapultepec. Mr. Belden was known to the officer on guard,
and we passed unchallenged into the shade of Montezuma's cypresses. Chapultepec is a volcanic hill, probably two hundred
feet in height, standing isolated on the level floor of the valley.
Around its base is the grove of cypress trees, known as Montezuma's Garden-great, gnarled trunks, which have been formed by
the annual rings of a thousand years, bearing aloft a burden of
heavy and wide-extending boughs, with venerable beards of gray
moss. The changeless black-green of the foliage, the dull, wintry
hue of the moss, and the gloomy shadows which always invest this
grove, spoke to me more solemnly of the Past-of ancient empire,
now overthrown, ancient splendor, now fallen into dust, and ancient creeds now forgotten and contemned,-than the shattered
pillars of the Roman Forum or the violated tombs of Etruria.   I
saw them on a shaded, windless day, with faint glimmerings of
sunshine between the black and heavy masses of cloud. The air
was so still that not a filament of the long mossy streamers trembled; the trees stood like giant images of bronze around the rocky
foot of the hill. The father of the band, who, like a hoary-headed
seneschal, is stationed at the base of the ascending carriage-way,
measures forty-five feet in circumference, and there are in the
grove several others of dimensions but little inferior. The first
415 
ELDORAjDtt.
onset of our troops, in storming Chapultepee, was made under
cover of these trees.
Leaving our carriage and mules in charge of the old cypress, we
climbed the hill on foot.  The zigzag road still retains its embank mnent of adobes and the small corner-batteries thrown up in anti
cipation of the attack; the marks of the cannon-balls from Tacu
baya and the high ground behind Molino del Rey, are everywhere
visible.  The fortress on the summit of Chapultepec has been for
many years used as a National Military Academy. We found a
company of the cadets playing ball on a graveled terrace in front
of the entrance.  One of them escorted us to the private apartments of the commanding officer, which are built along the edge
of a crag, on the side towards Mexico. Mr. Belden was well acquainted with the officer, but, unfortunately, he was absent. His
wife, however, received us with great courtesy and sent for one of
the Lieutenants attached to the Academy. A splendid Munich
telescope was brought from the observatory, and we adjourned to
the balcony for a view of the Valley of Mexico.
I wish there was a perspective in words-something beyond the
mere suggestiveness of sound-some truer representative of color,
and light, and grand aerial distance; for I scarcely know how else
to paint the world-wide panorama spread around me. Chapultepec,
as I have said before, stands isolated in the centre of the Valley
The mountains of Toluca approach to within fifteen miles beyond
Tacubaya, and the island-like hills of Guadalupe are not very distant, on the opposite side; but in nearly every other direction
the valley fades away for fifty or sixty miles before striking the
foot of the mountains. The forms of the chains which wall in
this little world are made irregular and wonderfully picturesque
by the embaying curves of the Valley-now receding far and faint
416 
Ti'E PANORAMA OF THE VALLEY.
now piled nearer in rugged and barren grandeur, now tipped with
a spot of snow, like the Volcano of Toluca, or shooting far into
the sky a dazzling cone, like cloud-girdled Popocatapel. But
the matchless Valley-how shall I describe that?  How reflect on
this poor page its boundless painting of fields and gardens, its silvery plantations of aloes, its fertilizing canals, its shimmering
lakes, embowered villages and convents, and the many-towered capital in the centre-the boss of its great enameled shield? Before us
the aqueducts ran on their thousand arches towards the city, the
water sparkling in their open tops; the towers of the cathedral,
touched with a break of sunshine, shone white as silver against the
cloud-shadowed mountains; Tacubaya lay behind, with its palaces
and gardens; farther to the north Tacuba, with the lone cypress
of the "Noche Triste," and eastward, on the point of a mountaincape shooting out towards Lake Tezcuco, we saw the shrine of
Our Lady of Guadalupe. Around the foot of our rocky watchtower, we looked down on the heads of the cypresses, out of whose
dark masses it seemed to rise, sundered by that weird ring from
the warmth and light and beauty of the far-reaching valley-iorld.
We overlooked all the battle-grounds of the Valley, but I felt
a hesitancy at first in asking the Lieutenant to point out the localities. Mlr. Belden at length asked whether we could see the
height of Padierna, or the pedregal (field of lava) which lies to
the left of it. The officer immediately understood our wish, and
turning the glass first upon the Pehon Grande, (an isolated hill
near Ayotla,) traced the march of Gen. Scott's army around Lake
Chalco to the town of San Augustin, near which the first hostilities
commenced. We could see but a portion of the field of Padierna,
more familiarly known as Contreras. It lies on the lower slopes
of the Nevada of Toluca, and overlooking the scenes of the subse
417 
ELDOIRADO.
quent actions.  The country is roughi and broken, and the cross
ing of the famed pedregal, from the far glimpse I had of the
ground, must have been a work of great labor and peril.  Nearly
east of this, on the dead level of the valley, is the memorable field
of Churubusco. The tete de pont, where the brunt of the battle
took place, was distinctly visible, and I could count every tree in
the gardens of the convent. The panic of the Mexicans on the
evening after the fight at Churubusco was described to me as having been without bounds. Foreigners residing in the capital say
it might then have been taken with scarce a blow.
Beyond Tacubaya, we saw the houses of Miscoac, where the
army was stationed for some time before it advanced to the former
place. Gen. Scott's head-quarters was in the Bishop's Palace at
Tacubaya, which is distinctly seen from Chapultepec and within
actual reach of its guns. On an upland slope north of the village
and towards Tacuba the shattered walls of the Casa Mata were
pointed out.  Near at hand-almost at the very base of the
hill-rose the white gable of Molino del Rey. The march of the
attacking lines could be as distinctly traced as on a map. How
Chapultepec, which commands every step of the way, could be
stormed and carried with such a small force, seems almost miraculous. Persons who witnessed the affair from Tacubaya told mo
that the yells of the American troops as they ascended the hill in
the face of a deadly hail of grape-shot, were absolutely terrific;
when they reached the top the Mexicans seemed to lose all thought
of further defence, pouring in bewildered masses out of the doors
and windows nearest the city, and tumbling like a torrent of water
down the steep rocks. The Lieutenant, who was in Chapultepec
at the time, said that one thousand and fifty bombs fell on the
fortress before the assault; the main tower, the battlements and
418 
MEXICAN FEELING''TOWVARDS THE UNITED S''TArls.  419
stairways are still broken and shattered from their effects.  " Here,"
said he, as we walked along the summit terrace, " fifty of ours lie
buried; and down yonder"'-pointing to the foot of the hill-" so
mnany that they were never counted." I was deeply moved by his
calm, sad manner, as he talked thus of the defeat and slaughter of
his countrymen. I felt like a participant in the injury, and almost wished that he had spoken of us with hate and reproach.
I do not believe, however, that Mexican enmity to the United
States has been increased by the war, but rather the contrary.
During all my stay in the country I never heard a bitter word said
against us. The officers of our army seem to have made friends
everywhere, and the war, by throwing the natives into direct contact with foreigners, has greatly abated their former prejudice
against all not of Spanish blood. The departure of our troops was
a cause of general lamentation among the tradesmen of Mexico
and Vera Cruz. Nothing, was more common to me than to hear
Generals Scott and Taylor mentioned by the Mexicans in terms
of entire respect and admiration. " If you should see General
Taylor," said a very intelligent gentleman to me, " tell him that
the Mexicans all honor him.   He has never given up their houses
to plunder; he has helped their wounded and suffering; he is as
humane as he is brave, and they can never feel enmity towards
him. " It may be that this generous forgetfulness of injury argues
a want of earnest patriotism, but it was therefore none the less
grateful to me as an American.
We took leave of our kind guide and descended the hill. It
was now after sunset; we drove rapidly through the darkening
cypresses and across a little meadow to the wall of Molino del
Rey. A guard admitted us into the courtyard, on one side of which
loomed the tall structure of the mill; the other sides were flanked 
ELDORADO.
with low buildings, flat-roofed, with heavy parapets of stone along
the outside. Crossing the yard, we passed through another gate to
the open ground where the attack was made. This battle, as is
now generally known, was a terrible mistake, costing the Americans
eight hundred lives without any return for the sacrifice. The low
parapets of the courtyard concealed a battery of cannon, and as
our troops came down the bare, exposed face of the hill, rank after
rank was mowed away by their deadly discharge. The mill was
taken, it is true, but, being perfectly commanded by the guns of
Chapultepec, it was an untenable position.
It was by this time so dark that we returned to the city by the
route we came, instead of taking the other aqueduct and following the line of Gen. Worth's advance to the Garita of San Cosme.
Landing at Mr. Belden's residence, the Hotel de Bazar, we went
into the Cafe6 adjoining, sat down by a marble table under the
ever-blooming trees of the court-yard, and enjoyed a chirimoya ice
-how delicious, may readily be imagined when I state that this
fruit in its native state resembles nothing so much as a rich vanilla cream.   The Caf6 de Bazar is kept by M. Arago, a brother
of the French astronomer and statesman, and strikingly like him
in features. At night, the light Moorish corridors around his
fountained court-yard are lighted with gay-colored lamps, and
knots of writers, politicians or stray tourists are gathered there
until ten o'clock, when Mexican law obliges the place to be
closed.
Mir. Peyton and myself procured a pair of spirited mustangs
and one morning rode out to the village of Guadalupe, three
niles on the road to Tampico. It was a bright, hot day, and
Iztaccihuatl flaunted its naked snows in the sun. The road was
crowded with arrieros and rancheros, on their way to and from the
420 
GUADALUPE.
city-suspicious characters, some of them, but we  had left our
purses at home and taken our pistols along. The shrine of the
Virgin was closed at the timer but we saw the little chapel il
which it was deposited and the flight of steps cut in the rock,
which all devout Christians are expected to ascend on their knees.
The principal church in the place is a large, imnposing structure,
but there is a smaller building entirely of blue and white glazed
tiles, the effect of which is remarkably neat and unique. Half
way up the hill, some rich Mexican who was saved from shipwreck by calling upon the Virgin of Guadalupe, has erected a
votive offering in the shape of an immense mast and three sails,
looking, at a distance, like part of an actual ship.
After a week in Mexico, I prepared to leave for Vera Cruz, to
meet the British steamer of the 16th of February. The seats in
the diligence had all been engaged for ten days previous, and I
was obliged to take a place in the pescante, or driver's box, for
which I paid $34.  Again I rolled my sarape around my scanty
luggage and donned the well-worn corduroy coat. I took leave of
my kind friend Mr. Parrot, and lay down to pass my last night in
the city of the Moutezumas
421 
CIIAPTER XLII.
THE BASE OF POPOCATAPETL.
WHEN we were called up by the mozo, at four o'clock, the air
was dark, damp and chilly: not a star was to be seen. The
travelers who gathered to take their chocolate in the dining-hall
wore heavy cloaks or sarapes thrown over the shoulder and covering the mouth. Among them was my companion from Guanajuato, Don Antonio de Campos. I climbed to my seat in the
pescante, above the driver and groom, and woited the order to
start. At last the inside was packed, the luggage lashed on
behind, and the harness examined by lanterns, to see that it was
properly adjusted.   " Vamos!" cried the driver; the rope was
jerked from the leaders, and away we thundered down the silent
streets, my head barely clearing the swinging lamps, stretched from
corner to corner. We passed through the great plaza, now dim
and deserted: the towers of the Cathedral were lost in mist.
Crossing the canal, we drove through dark alleys to the barrier of
the city, where an escort of lancers, in waiting among the gloomy
court-yards, quietly took their places on either side of us.
A chill fog hung over all the valley. The air was benumbing,
and I found two coats insufficient to preserve warmth.  There are
no gardens and fields of maguey on tb's side of the city, as on that 
ANOTHIIER VIEW OF THE VALLEY
of Tacubaya   Here and there, a plantation of maize interrupts tho
uniformity of the barren plains of grass.  In many places, the
nmarshy soil bordering on Lake Tezcuco, is traversed by deep
ditches, which render it partially fit for cultivation. Leaving the
shores of Tezcuco, we turned southward, changed horses at the
little Penion, (an isolated hill, between Lakes Chalco and Xochimilco) and drove on to Ayotla.  This is the point where the
American army under Gen. Scott left the main road to Mexico,
turning around the Pefion Grande, south of the town, and taking
the opposite shore of Lake Chalco. It is a small, insignificant
village, but prettily situated beside the lake and at the foot of the
towering Pefion; a little further, a road branches off to Ameea
and the foot of Popocatapetl. Here we left the valley, and began
ascending the barren slopes of the mountain. Clumps of unsightly
cactus studded the rocky soil, which was cut into rough arroyos
by the annual rains.
Slowly toiling up the ascent, we changed horses at a large hacienrda, built on one of the steps of the mountains, whence, looking
backward, the view of the valley was charming.  The  Penion
stood in fiont; southward, towards Ameca and Tenango,
stretched a great plain, belted with green wheat-fields and dotted
with the white towers of villages. The waters of Chalco were at
our feet, and northward, through a gap in the hills, the broad
sheet of Lake Tezcuco flashed in the sun.  But it was not till
we had climbed high among the pine forests and looked out from
under the eaves of the clouds, that I fully realized the grandeur of
this celebrated view. The vision seemed to embrace a world at
one glance.  The Valley of Mexico, nearly one hundred miles in
extent, lay below, its mountain-walls buried in the clouds which
hung like a curtain above the immense picture.  But through a
423 
ELDORADO
rift in this canopy, a broad sheet of sunshine slowly wandered over
the valley, now  glimnmering on the lakes and brightening the
green of the fields and gardens, and now lighting up, with wonder ful effect, the yellow sides of the ranges of hills. Hiad the morn ing been clear, the view would have been more extended, but I do
not think its broadest and brightest aspect could have surpassed
in effect, the mysterious half-light, half-gloom in which I saw it.
The clouds rolled around us as I gazed, and the cold wind blew
drearily among the pines. Our escort, now increased to twelve
lancers, shortened their ascent by taking the mule paths. They
looked rather picturesque, climbing in single file through the
forest; their long blue cloaks hanging on their horses' flanks and
their red pennons fluttering in the mist. The rugged defiles
through which our road lay, are the most famous resort for robbers
in all Mexico. For miles we passed through one continued
ambush, where frequent crosses among the rocks hinted dark
stories of assault and death. Our valorous lancers lagged behind,
wherever the rocks were highest and the pines most thickly set;
I should not have counted a single moment on their assistance,
had we been attacked. I think I enjoyed the wild scenery of the
pass more, from its perils. The ominous gloom of the day and
the sound of the wind as it swept the trailing clouds through the
woods of pine, heightened this feeling to something like a positive
enjoyment.
When we reached the inn of Rio Frio, a little below the summit of the pass, on its eastern side, our greatest danger was over.
Breakfast was on the table, and the eggs, rice, guisados and firijoles
speedily disappeared before our sharp-set appetites. Luckily for
)ur hunger, the diligence from Puebla had not arrived. The little
valley of Rio Frio is hedged in by high, piny peaks, somewhat
424 
TI'IE TAELE-LAND OF PUEBLA.
resembling the Catskills. Below it, another wild, dangerous pass
of two or three miles opens upon the fertile and beautiful tableland of Puebla. The first object which strikes the eye on emerg
ing from the woods, is the peak of Malinche, standing alone on the
plain, about midway between the mountain ranges which terminate, on the MIexican side, in Popocatapetl, on the Vera Cruz side,
in Orizaba. I looked into the sky, above the tree-tops, for the
snows of Iztaccihuatl and Popocatapetl, but only a few white
streaks on the side of the former volcano, could be seen. A violent snow-storm was raging along its summit, and upon Popocatapetl, which was entirely hidden from sight.
The table-land on which we entered, descends, with a barely
perceptible slant, to Puebla-a distance of forty miles. Its surface, fenceless, and almost boundless to the eye, is covered with
wheat and maize. Fine roads cross it; and the white walls of
haciendas, half-buried in the foliage of their gardens, dot it, at intervals, to the feet of the distant mountains. The driver, an intelligent Mexican, pointed out to me the various points of interest,
as we passed along. He professed to speak a little English, too,
which he said he had picked up from passengers on the road;
but as all his English amounted only to a choice vocabulary of
oaths, it told badly for the character of his passengers.
All afternoon the clouds covered the summits of the volcanoes,
and stretching like a roof across the  albie-land, rested on the
broad shoulders of Malinche.  As the sun descended, they lifted
a little, and I could see the sides of Popocatapetl as far as the
limit of the snow; but his head was still hooded. At last, through
a break just above the pinnacle of his cone, the light poured in a
full blaze, silvering the inner edges of the clouds with a sudden
and splendid lustre. The snowy apex of the mountain, bathed in
425 
ELDORADO.
full radiance, seemed brighter than the sun itself-a spot of
light so pure, so inconceivably dazzling, that though I could niot
withdraw my gaze, the eye could scarcely bear its excess. Then,
as the clouds rolled together once more, the sun climbing through
numerous rifts, made bars of light in the vapory atmosphere,
reaching from the sides of Popocatapetl to their bases, many
leagues away, on. the plain. It was as if the mountain genii who
built the volcano had just finished their work, leaving these, the
airy gangways of their scaffolding, still planted around it, to attest its marvellous size and grandeur.
The most imposing view of Popocatapetl is from the side towards Puebla. It is not seen, as from the valley of Mexico, over
the rims of intermediate mountains, but the cone widens downward with an unbroken outline, till it strikes the smooth tableland. On the right, but separated by a deep gap in the range,
is the broad, irregular summit of Iztaccihuatl, gleaming with
snow.  The  signification of the name  is the "White  Lady,"
given by the Azteos on account of a fancied resemblance in its
outline to the figure of a reclining female.  The mountain of Malinche, opposite to the volcanoes, almost rivals them in majestic
appearance. It rises from a base of thirty miles in breadth, to
a height of about thirteen thousand feet. I gazed long upon
its cloudy top and wooded waist, which the sun belted with a
beam of gold, for on its opposite side, on the banks of a river
which we crossed just before reaching Puebla, stands the ancient
city of Tlascala.   The name of the volcano  Malinche, is an
Aztec corruption of Mariana, the Indian wife of Cortez. I could
not look upon it without an ardent desire to stand on its sides, and
with Bernal Diaz in hand, trace out the extent of the territory
once possessed by his brave and magnanimous allies
426 
T'IlE PYRAMID  OF  CHOLULA.
On the other hand, between me and the sunset, stood a still
more interesting memorial of the Aztec power. There, in full
view, its giant terraces clearly defined against the sky, the topmost one crowned with cypress, loomed the Pyramid of Cholula!
The lines of this immense work are for the most part distinctly
cut; on the eastern side, only, they are slightly interrupted by
vegetation, and probably the spoliation of the structure. Although
several miles distant, and rising from the level of the plain, without the advantage of natural elevation, the size of the pyramid
astonished me.  It seems an abrupt hill, equal in height and imposing form to the long range in front of it, or the dark hill of
Tlaloc behind.   Even with Popocatapetl for a back-ground, its
effect does not diminish. The Spaniards, with all their waste of
gold on heavy cathedrals and prison-like palaces, have never equaled this relic of the barbaric empire they overthrew.
I do not know whether the resemblance between the outline of
this pyramid and that of the land of Mexico, from sea to sea, has
been remarked. It is certainly no forced similitude. There is the
foundation terrace of the Tierra Caliente; the steep ascent to the
second broad terrace of the table-land; and again, the succeeding
ascent to the lofty, narrow plateau dividing the waters of the continent. If we grant that the forms of the pyramid, the dome, the
pillar and the arch, have their antitypes in Nature, it is no fanciful speculation to suppose that the Aztecs, with that breadth of
imagination common to intelligent barbarism, made their world
the model for their temples of worship and sacrifice.
Cholula vanished in the dusk, as we crossed the river of TIascala and entered the shallow basin in which stands Puebla. The
many towers of its churches and convents showed picturesquely
in the twilight. The streets were filled with gay crowds ireturn
427 
ELDORADO.
ing from the Alameda.   Motley maskers, on horseback and on
foot, reminded us that this was the commencement of Carnival.
The great plaza into which we drove was filled with stands of
fiuit-venders, before each of which flared a large torch raised
upon a pole. The cathedral is in better style, and shows tc
greater advantage than that of Mexico. So we passed to the
Hotel de Diligencias, where a good dinner, in readiness, delighted
us more than the carnival or the cathedral.
After the final dish of frijoles had been dispatched, I made a
short night-stroll through the city.  The wind was blowing strong
and cold friom the mountains, whistling under the arches of the
cortal and flaring the red torches that burned in the market-place.
The friuit-sellers, nevertheless, kept at their posts, exchang,ing
jokes occasionally with a masked figure in some nondescript costume. I found shelter from the wind, at last, in a grand old
church, near the plaza.  The interior was brilliantly lighted, and
the floor covered by kneeling figures.  There was nothing in the
church itself, except its vastness and dimness. to interest me; but
the choral music I there heard was not to be described.   A
choir of boys, alternating with one of rich masculine voices, over.ran the full peal of the organ, and filled the aisle with delicious
harmony.   There was a single voice, which seemed to come out
of the air, in the pauses of the choral, and send its clear, trumpettones directly to the heart.  As long as the exercises continued, I
stood by the door, completely chained by those divine sounds.
The incense finally faded; the tapers were put out one by one;
the worshippers arose, took another dip in the basin of holy water,
and retired  and I, too, went back to the hotel, and tried to keep
warm under cover of a single sarape.
The manufactures of Puebla are becoming important to Mexico
428 
PUEBLA.
-the more so, from the comparative liberality which is now exercised towards foreigners.  A  few years ago, I was informed, a
stranger was liable to be insulted, if not assaulted, in the streets;
but, latterly, this prejudice is vanishing. The table-land around
the city is probably one of the finest grain countries in the world.
Under a proper administration of Government, Puebla might become the first manufacturing town in Mexico.
429 
CHAPTER XLIIL
GLIMPSES OF PURGATORY AND PARADISE.
RisING before three o'clock is no pleasant thing, on the high
table-land of Puebla, especially when one has to face the cold
from the foretop of a diligence; but I contrived to cheat the early
travel of its annoyance, by looking backward to Popocatapetl, which
rose cold and unclouded in the morning twilight. We sped over
fertile plains, past the foot of Malinche, and met the sunrise at the
town of Amozoque, another noted robber-hold. In the arroyos
which cross the road at its eastern gate a fight took place between
the advanced guard of the American army and a body of Mexican
soldiers, on the march to the capital.
From Amozoque the plain ascends, with a scarcely perceptible
rise, to the summit of the dividing ridge, beyond Perote.   The
clouds, which had gathered again by this time, hid from our view
the mountain barriers of the table-land, to the east and west.
The second post brought us to Acajete, whose white dome and
towers we saw long before reaching it, projected brightly against
the pines of a steep mountain behind. One is only allowed time
at the posts to stretch his legs and light a cigar.   The horses-or
mules, as the case may be-are always in readiness, and woe to the 
PURGATORY.
unlucky traveler who stands a hundred yards from the diligence
when the rope is drawn away from the ramping leaders.
The insular mountain of Acajete shelters a gang of robbers
among its ravines, and the road, bending to the left around its
base, is hedged with ambush of the most convenient kind.  The
driver pointed out to me a spot in the thicket where one of the
gang was shot not long before.   Half-vway up the acclivity,  a
thread of blue smoke rose through the trees, apparently from
some hut or camp on a little shelf at the foot of a precipice.
Further than this, we saw nothing which seemed to denote their
propinquity. The pass was cleared, the horses changed at E1
Pinal-a large hacienda on the north side of the mountain-and
we dashed on till nearly noon, when the spires of Nopaluca appeared behind a distant hill-the welcome heralds of breakfast!
Beyond this point, where a trail branches off to Orizaba, the
character of the scenery is entirely changed.  We saw no longer
the green wheat-plains and stately haciendas of Puebla.   The
road passed over an immense Ilano, covered with short, brown
grass, and swept by a furious wind.   To  the north, occasional
peaks-barren, rocky and desolate in their appearance,-rose at
a short distance from our path. On the other hand, the llano
stretched away for many a league, forming a horizon to the eye
before it reached the foot of the mountains. The wind frequently
increased to such a pitch that all trace of the landscape was lost.
Columns of dust, rising side by side from the plain, mingled as
they whirled along, shrouding us as completely as a Newfoundland
fog. The sun was at times totally darkened. My eyes, which
were strongly blood-shotten, from too much gazing at the snows of
Popocatapetl, were severely affected by this hurricane.  But there
is no evil without some accompanying good; and the samne wind
4'0'1 
ELDORADO.
which nearly stifled me with dust, at last brushed away the clouds
from the smooth, gradual outline of Cofre de Perote, and revealed
the shining head of Orizaba.
Beyond La Venta de Soto, the road skirts a striking peak of
rock, whose outline is nearly that of an exact pyramid, several
thousand feet in height.   The mozo called it Monte Pizarro.
From its dark ravines the robbers frequently sally, to attack travelers on the plain. At some distance from the road, I noticed
a mounted guard who followed us till relieved by another, planted
at short intervals. As the sunset came on, we reached a savage
volcanic region, where the only vegetation scattered over the ridgy
beds of black lava, was the yucca and the bristly cactus. There
were no inhabitants; some huts, here and there, stood in ruins;
and the solitary guard, moving like a shadow over the lava hills,
only added to the loneliness and increased the impression of danger. I have seen many wild and bleak spots, but none so absolutely Tartarean in its aspect.  There was no softer transition of
scene to break the feeling it occasioned, for the nightfall deepened
as we advanced, leaving everything in dusky shadow, but the vast
bulk of Cofre de Perote, which loomed between me and the southern
stars. At last, lights glimmered ahead; we passed down a street
lined with miserable houses, across a narrow and dirty plaza, and
into a cramped court-yard.   The worst dinner we ate on the
whole journey was being prepared in the most cheerless of rooms
This was Perote.
I went out to walk after dinner, but did not go far. The
squalid look of the houses, and the villanous expression of the
faces, seen by the light of a few starving lamps, offered nothing
attractive, and the wind by this time was more piercing than ever.
Perote bears a bad reputation in every respect: its situation is
432 
THE EDGE OF THE TABLE-LAND.
the bleakest in Mexico, and its people the most shameless in their
depredations. The diligence is frequently robbed at the very gates
of the town. We slept with another blanket on our beds, and
found the addition of our sarapes still desirable.   The mozo awoke
us at half-past two, to coffee and chocolate in the cold. I climbed
into the pescante and drew the canvas cover of the top around
my shoulders. The driver-an American, who had been twenty
years on the road-gave the word of starting, and let his eight
mules have full rein.  Five lancers accompanied  us-two some
distance in advance, one on each side and one bringing up the
rear. The stars shone with a frosty lustre, looking larger and
brighter in the thin air. We journeyed for two hours in a half
darkness, which nevertheless permitted me to see that the country
was worth little notice by daylight-a bleak region, ten thousand
feet above the sea, and very sparsely inhabited.
About sunrise we reached the summit of the pass, and commnenced descending through scattering pine woods. The declivity
was at first gradual, but when we had passed the bevelled slope of
the summit ridge, our road lay along the very brink of the mountains
overlooking everything that lay between them and the Gulf of
Mexico. Immediately north of the pass, the mountain chain turns
eastward, running towards the Gulf in parallel ridges, on the summits of which we looked down. The beds of the valleys, wild,
broken, and buried in a wilderness but little visited, were lost in
the dense air, which filled them like a vapor. Beginning at the
region cf lava and stunted pine, the eye travels downward, from
summit to summit of the ranges, catching, at intervals, glimpses
of gardens, green fields of grain, orange orchards, groves of palm
and gleaming towers, till at last it rests on the far-away glimmer
of the sea, under the morning sun. Fancy yourself riding along
19
433 
ELDORADO.
the ramparts of a fortress ten thousand feet in height, with all the
climates of the earth spread out below you, zone lying beyond zone,
and the whole bounded at the furthest horizon to which vision can
reach, by the illimitable sea! Such is the view which meets one
on descending to Jalapa.
The road was broad and smooth, and our mules whirled us
downward on a rapid gallop. In half an hour from the time when
around us the hoar-frost was lying on black ridges of lava and
whitening the tips of the pine branches, we saw the orange and
banana, basking in the glow of a region where frost was
unknown.  We  were  now on the borders of paradise.   The
streams, leaping down crystal-clear from the snows of Cofre de
Perote, fretted their way through tangles of roses and blossoming
vines; the turf had a sheen like that of a new-cut emerald; the
mould, upturned for garden land, showed a velvety richness and
softness, and the palm, that true child of light, lifted its slender
shaft and spread its majestic leaves against the serene blue of
heaven. As we came out of the deep-sunken valleys on the brow
of a ridge facing the south, there stood, distinct and shadowless
from base to apex, the Mountain of Orizaba. It rose beyond
mountains so far off that all trace of chasm or ledge or belting
forest was folded in a veil of blue air, yet its grand, immaculate
cone, of perfect outline, was so white, so dazzling, so pure in its
frozen clearness, like that of an Arctic morn, that the eye lost its
sense of the airy gulf between, and it seemed that I might stretch
out my hand and touch it. No peak among mountains can be
more sublime than Orizaba. Rising from the level of the sea and
the perpetual summer of the tropics, with an unbroken line to the
height of eighteen thousand feet, it stands singly above the other
ranges with its spotless crown of snow, as some giant, white-haired
434 
PARADISE
NoI thern king might stand among a host of the weak, effeminate
sybarites of the South. Orizaba dwells alone in my memory, as
the only perfect type of a mountain to be found on the Earth.
After two leagues of this enchanting travel we came to Jalapa,
a city of about twenty thousand inhabitants, on the slope of the
hills, half-way between the sea and the table-land, overlooking the
one and dominated by the other. The streets are as clean as a
Dutch cottage; the one-story, tiled houses, sparkling in the sun,
are buried in gardens that rival the Hesperides. Two miles before
reaching the town the odor of its orange blossoms filled the air.
We descended its streets to the Diligence HIotel, at the bottom,
where, on arriving, we found there would be no stage to Vera
Cruz for two days, so we gave ourselves up to the full enjoyment
of the spot. My fellow-passenger for Guanajuato, Don Antonio
de Campos, and myself, climbed into the tower of the hotel, and
sat down under its roof to enjoy the look-out. The whole landscape was like a garden. For leagues around the town it was one
constant alternation of field, grove and garden-the fields of the
freshest green, the groves white with blossoms and ringing with the
songs of birds, and the gardens loading the air with delicious perfume. Stately haciendas were perched on the vernal slopes, and
in the fields; on the roads and winding mule-paths of the hills we
saw everywhere a gay and light-hearted people.   We passed the
whole afternoon in the tower; the time went by like a single pulsation of'delight. I felt, then, that there could be no greater happiness than in thus living forever, without a single thought beyond
the enjoyment of the scene. My friend, Don Antonio, was busy
with old memories. Twenty years before, he came through Jalapa
for the first time, an ardent, aspiring youth, thinking to achieve
his fortune in three or four years and return with it to his native
435 
ELDORADO.
Portugal; but alas! twenty years had barely sufficed for the fulfilment of his dreams-twenty years of toil among the barren
mountains of Guanajuato.  Now, he said, all that time vanished
from his mind; his boyish glimpse of Jalapa was his Yesterday,
and the half-forgotten life of his early home lay close behind it.
After dinner, all our fellow-travelers set out for the Alameda,
which lies in a little valley at the foot of the town. A broad
paved walk, with benches of stone at the side and stone urns on
lofty pedestals at short intervals, leads to a bridge over a deep
chasm, where the little river plunges through a mesh of vines into
a large basin below. Beyond this bridge, a dozen foot-paths lead
off to the groves and shaded glens, the haciendas and orange
orchards. The idlers of the town strolled back and forth, enjoying
the long twilight and balmy air.  We were all in the most joyous
mood, and my fellow-passengers ofthree or four different nations
expressed their delight in as many tongues, with an amusing
contrast of exclamations: " Ah, que joli petit pays de Jalape!"
cried the little Frenchwoman, who had talked in a steady stream
since leaving MIexico, notwithstanding she was going to France on
account of delicate lungs.  " Siente uste el aroma de las nara,njas?"  asked a dark-eyed Andalusian.   " Iimmlische  Luft!"
exclaimed the enraptured German, unconsciously quoting Gotz
von  Berliehingen.   Don  Antonio  turned  to  me,  saying  in
English: a MIy pulse is quicker and my blood warmer than for
twenty years; I believe my youth is actually coming back again."
We talked thus till the stars came out and the perfumed air was cool
with invisible dew.
When we awoke the next morning it was raining, and continued
to rain all day —not a slow, dreary drizzle. nor a torrent of heavy
drops, as rain comes to us, but a fine, ethereal, gauzy veil of moisr
4,'D 6 
JALAPA RAIN.
ture that scarcely stirred the grass on which it fell or shook the
light golden pollen from the orange flowers. Every two or three
days such a shower comes down on the soil of Jalapa
"a perpetual April to the ground,
Making it all one emerald."
We could not stroll among the gardens or sit under the urns of
the Alameda, but the towers and balconies were left us; the landscape, though faint and blurred by the filmy rain, was nearly as
beautiful, and the perfume could not be washed out of the air.
So passed the day, and with the night we betook ourselves early
to rest, for the Diligence was to leave at three o'clock on the
morrow.
For two leagues after leaving Jalapa I smelt the orange blossoms in the starry morning, but when daylight glimmered on the
distant Gulf, we were riding between bleak hills, covered with
chapparal, having descended to the barren heats of the tropical winter, beyond the line of the mountain-gathered showers.
The road was rough and toilsome, but our driver, an intelligent
American, knew every stone and rut in the dark and managed his
eight mules with an address and calculation which seemed to me
marvellous. Hle had been on the road six years, at a salary of
$150 per month, from the savings of which he had purchased a
handsome little property in Jalapa. Don Juan, as the natives
called him, was a great-favorite along the road, which his sturdy,
upright character well deserved. At sunrise we reached the
hacienda of El Encero, belonging to Santa Anna, as do most of
the other haciendas between Jalapa and Vera Cruz.  The hill of
Cerro Gordo appeared before us, and a drive of an hour brought
us to the cluster of cane-huts bearing the same name.
437 
ELDORADO.
The physical features of the field of Cerro Gordo are very interesting.  It is a double peak, rising from the midst of rough,
rolling hills, covered with a dense thicket of cactus and thorny
shrubs. Towards Vera Cruz it is protected by deep barrancas
and passes, which in proper hands might be made impregnable.
Had Gen. Scott attempted to take it by advancing up the broad
highway, he must inevitably have lost the battle; but by cutting
a road through the chapparal with great labor, making a circuit of
several miles, he reached the north-eastern slope of the hill-the
most accessible point, and according to the Mexican story, the side
least defended. Having gained one of the peaks of the hill, the
charge was made down the side and up the opposite steep in the
face of the Mexican batteries. The steady march of our forces
under this deadly hail, to the inspiriting blast of the Northern
bugles, has been described to me by officers who took part in the
fight, as the most magnificent spectacle of the war.  After taking
the battery, the guns were turned upon the Mexicans, who were
flying through the chapparal in all directions. Many, overcome
by terror, leaped from the brink of the barranca at the foot of the
hill and were crushed to death in the fall. Santa Anna, who
escaped at this place, was taken down by a path known to some
of the officers. The chapparal is still strewn thickly with bleached
bones, principally of the mules and horses who were attached to
the ammunition wagons of the enemy.   The driver told me that
until recently there were plenty of cannon-balls lying beside the
road, but that every American, English or French traveler took
one as a relic, till there were no more to be seen. A shallow
cave beside the road was pointed out as the spot where the Mexicans hid their ammunition. It was not discovered by our troops,
but a Mexican who knew the secret, sold it to them out of reo
438 
CERRO GORDO.
venge for the non-payment of some mules which he had furnished
to his own army. The driver lay hidden in Jalapa for some days
previous to the battle, unable to escape, and the first intelligence
hi received of what had taken place, was that furnished by the
sight of the flying Mexicans.   They poured through the town that
evening and the day following, he said, in the wildest disorder,
some mounted on donkeys, some on mules, some on foot, many of
the officers without hats or swords, others wrapped in the dusty
coat of a private, and all cursing, gesticulating and actually weeping, like men crazed. They had been so confident of success that
the reverse seemed almost heart-breaking.
A few miles beyond Cerro Gordo we reached Plan del Rio, a
small village of calne huts, which was burned down by order of
Santa Anna, on the approach of the American forces. A splendid stone bridge across the river was afterwards blown up by the
guerillas, in the foolish idea that they would stop an American
specie-train, coming firom Vera Cruz. In half a day after the
train arrived there was an excellent road across the chasm, and
the'Iexicans use it to this day, for the shattered arch has never
been rebuilt. From Plan del Rio to the Puente Nacional is about
three leagues, through the samne waste of cactus and chapparal.
The latter place, the scene of many a brush with the guerillas
during the war, is in a very wild and picturesque glen, through
which the river forces its way to the sea. The bridge is one of
the most magnificent structures of the kind on the continent.  On
a little knoll, at the end towards Jalapa, stands a stately hacienda
belonging to Santa Anna.
WVe sped on through the dreary chapparal, now sprinkled with
palms and blossoming trees. The country is naturally rich and
productive, but is little better than a desert.  The only inhabitants
439 
ELDORADO.
are a set of half-naked Indians, who live in miserable huts, supporting themselves by a scanty cultivation of maize, and the deci
they kill in the thickets. Just before we reached the sea-shore,
one of these people came out of the woods, with a little spotted
fawn in his arms, which he offered to sell.  The driver bought it
for a dollar, and the beautiful little creature, not more than two
weeks old, was given to me to carry. I shielded it from the cold
sea-wind, and with a contented bleat it nestled down in my lap
and soon fell fast asleep.
At sunset we drove out on the broad sands bordering the Gulf.
A chill norther was blowing, and the waves thundered over the
coral reefs with a wintry sound. Vera Cruz sat on the bleak
shore, a league before us, her domes and spires painted on the
gloomy sky. The white walls of San Juan d'Ulloa rose from the
water beyond the shipping. Not a tree or green thing was to be
seen for miles around the city, which looked as completely desolate as if built in the middle of Zahara. Nevertheless, I blessed
the sight of it, and felt a degree of joy as I passed within its gates,
for the long journey of twelve hundred miles across the Continent
was safely accomplished
440 
CHAPTER XLIV.
VERA CRUZ AND SAN JUAN D'ULLOA-HOMEWARD.
I CANNOT say much of Vera Cruz.  A  town built and sustained
by commerce alone, and that not the most flourishing, presents
few points of interest to the traveler. Its physiognomy differs but
little from that of the other Mexican cities I have described.
There is the Plaza, flanked by the Cathedral,-the same pink
mass of old Spanish architecture, picturesque only for its associations-the Diligence Hotel, with its arched corridor forming a cortal along one side-the dreary, half-deserted streets, with their
occasional palaces of stone enclosing paved and fountained courtyards-the market, heaped with the same pyramids of fruit which
have become so familiar to us-the dirty adobe huts, nearest the
walls, with their cut-throat population-and finally, the population
itself, rendered more active, intelligent and civilized by the presence of a large number of foreigners but still comprised mainly
oi the half-breed, with the same habits and propensities as we find
in the interior. The town is contracted; standing in the plaza, one
can see its four corners, bounded by the walls and the sea, and ali
within a few minutes' walk. Outside of the gates we corme at once
upon the deserts of sand. 
ELDORADO.
On reaching Vera Cruz, there were no tidings of the steamer,
which was due on the 4th. The U. S. schooner Flirt, Capt.
Farren, was in port waiting for a norther to go down, to sail for
New Orleans, but there was small chance of passage on board of
her. On the morning of the 15th, the U. S. steamer Water-witch,
Capt. Totten, made her appearance, bound homeward after a
cruise to Havana, Sisal, Campeachy and Laguna. I had almnost
determined, in default of any other opportunity, to take passage
in her, as a " distressed citizen," when, on rowing out to the
Castle of San Juan d'Ulloa on the third morning, one of the boatmen  descried a faint thread of smoke on the horizon.  " El
vapor!" was the general exclamation, and at least fifty dissatisfied
persons recovered their good-humor.
MIy friend Don Antonio was acquainted with the Commnandante
of the Castle, Don Manuel Robles, by which means we obtained
free admission within its coral walls. It is a place of immense
strength, and in the hands of men who know how to defend it, need
no more be taken than Gibraltar. We climbed to the top of the
tower, walked around the parapets, shouted into the echoing wells
sunk deep in the rock, and examined its gigantic walls. The
spongy coral of which it is built receives the shot and shells that
have been thrown upon it, without splintering; here and there
we noticed holes where they had imbedded themselves in it, rather
adding to its solidity.  We sat two or three hours in the tower,
watching the approaching smoke of the steamer. As the chimes
rang noon in Vera Cruz, a terrific blast of trumpets pealed through
the courtyard of the Castle, below us. The yellow-faced soldiers,
in their white shirts and straw hats with the word " Ulua" upon
them, mustered along one side, and after a brief drill, had their
dinner of rice, fiijoles and coffee served to them.   The force in
442 
SUNDAY IN VERA CRUZ.
the Castle appeared very small; the men were buried in its immense vaults and galleries, and at times, looking down from the
tower, scarcely a soul was to be seen. The Commandante invited
us to his quarters, and offered us refreshments, after we had made
the round of the parapets.   Singularly enough, his room was hung
with American engravings of the battles of the late war
The most interesting object in Vera Cruz is an old church, in
the southern part of the city, which was built by Cortez, in 1531
-the oldest Christian church in the New World. Some miles
distant is the old town of Vera Cruz, which was abandoned for the
present site.  I had not time to visit it, nor the traces of the
Americans among the sand-hills encircling the city. One Sunday
evening, however, I visited the pasco, a paved walk outside the
gate, with walls to keep off the sand and some miserable attempts
at trees here and there. As it was Carnival, the place was
crowded, but most of the promenaders appeared to be fbreigners.
Beyond the paseo, however, stood a cluster of half-ruined buildings,
where the lower class of the native population was gathered at a
fandango. After the arrival of the steamer nothing was talked of
but our departure and nothing done but to pack trunks and contrive
ways of smuggling money, in order to avoid the export duty of six
per cent.
We left Vera Cruz on the morning of February 19th, and reached
Tampico Bar after a run of twenty-two hours. The surf was so
hig(h after the recent norther, that we were obliged to wait three
days before the little river-steamer could come to us with her million of dollars. The Thames, however, was so spacious and pleasant a ship, that we were hardly annoyed by the delay. Coming
from semi-civilized Mexico, the sight of English order and the en
443 
ELDORADO.
joyment of Engilis  conf( t were doLubly agreeable.  Among our
passengers were Latcly Enelin  Stua;'t Alortley, returning from  a
heroic trip to Mexico; Lord Sta,llk Kcrr, a gentleman of intelli
genee and refinement, and an amiateurl altist of much talent; and
Mr. Hill, an English traveler, on his way home after three years
spent in Russia, Siberia, Polynesia, and the interior of South
America. My eight days spent on board the Thames, passed
away rapidly, and on the afternoon of the 26th, we made the
light-house on Mobile Point, and came-to among the shipping at
the anchorage.  I transferred myself and sarape to the deck of a
high-pressure freight-boat, and after lying all night in the bay, on
account of a heavy fog, set foot next morning on the wharf at
Mobile.
Leaving the saine afternoon, I passed two days on the beautiful
Alabama River; was whirled in the cars fiom Montgomery to
Opelika, and jolted twenty-four hours in a shabby stage, over the
hills of Georgia, to the station of Griffin, on the' Central Railroad;
sped away through Atlanta and Augusta to Charleston; tossed a
night on the Atlantic, crossed the pine-barrens of Carolina and
the impoverished fields of the Old Dominion; halted a day at
Washington to deliver dispatches firom Mexico, a day at HOME, in
Pennsylvania, and finally reached my old working-desk in the Tribune Office on the night of March 10th-just eight months and
eight days from the time of my departure.
Thus closed a journey more novel and adventurous than any I
hope to make again. I trust the profit of it has not been wholly
mine, but that the reader who has followed me through the foiegoing pages, may find some things in them, which to have read
were nat also to have forgotten.
444 
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Itnixiort 6offp~t'sZS' ort. 
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