The better class of immigrants did not
approve the squatter method and strongly condemned all such proceedings;
but a portion of the early immigration was from the western frontier
states and of the class that considered a dead Indian the only good
Indian, and to whom a Spaniard, no matter what his condition or degree of
culture and refinement, was a "greaser" and entitled to no respect or
consideration when their several claims were in conflict. They were in
full sympathy with and consistent believers in the good old rule of Rob
Roy, and did not hesitate to take when they had the power and hold when
they could. In 1848, thousands of
Indians were engaged in washing gold in
the placers, some on their own account, others employed by Americans, who
turned their labor to good profit. The men of the later emigration, and in
particular those who came from Oregon, abused the
Indians shamefully and
began a war of extermination upon them, shooting them down on the
slightest pretext and driving them from their claims which they took for
themselves. They also undertook to drive all foreigners from the gold
mines under color of a proclamation from General Smith informing all
foreign adventurers coming to
California
to search for gold, that trespassing on the public lands was punishable by
fine and imprisonment, and that the laws relating thereto would be
strictly enforced. In this movement the Americans were joined by English,
Irish, and German emigrants, and it was especially directed against the
Sonorans, Chilians, and Peruvians. They even included Californians among
the "foreigners." They attempted to drive Don Andrés Pico from a claim he
was working on the Mokelumne river, but the hero of San Pascual was not to
be frightened as easily as the timid Sonorans and he maintained his rights
as an American citizen.
With the immigration there came, as
was to be expected, a plentiful supply of the scum and riff-raff of the
world; escaped convicts and ticket-of-leave men from Botany bay,
desperadoes, fugitives from justice, ne'er-do-wells, and gamblers from all
parts of the globe, drawn to
California
by the promise of easy money which the rapid accumulation of gold by the
people seemed to hold out. Armed bands of desperadoes rode through the
country committing the most atrocious crimes until the citizens, unable to
endure longer the reign of disorder, rose and hunted the criminals like
wild beasts and drove them from the country. Mason, in an official
communication to the war office, reports a number of murders and the
hanging of several men by the citizens, and says: "You are perfectly aware
that no competent civil courts exist in this country, and that strictly
speaking there is no legal power to execute the sentence of death; but the
necessity of protecting their lives and property against the many lawless
men at large in this country, compels the good citizens to take the law
into their own hands. I shall not disapprove of the course that has been
taken in this instance, and shall only endeavor to restrain the people so
far as to insure to every man charged with a capital crime an open and
fair trial by a jury of his countrymen.”
It is evident from the military
dispatches that the deserters from the army contributed to the general
disorder and committed many outrages against life and property. These
deserters were protected by the great mass of the citizens of the mining
region who thought it a shame that the soldiers should be obliged to serve
for what was really a nominal sum while all those around them were reaping
an extraordinary reward for their labor. Riley recommended the restoration
of the war penalty for desertion, and in a letter to the general
commanding the division said: "Information from the south shows that, with
very few exceptions, the dragoons of the squadron of the 1st regiment
deserted upon being ordered to San Luis Rey. Many had previously deserted
from
Los Angeles,
carrying with them their horses, arms and equipments; and it is believed
that the desertions at that place will be greatly increased when the order
breaking up the companies of the 2d dragoons is received; so that I fear I
shall not be able to organize from four companies of dragoons one required
for the escort of the commissioners. It is known that these deserters had
committed many outrages upon the property, and, it is feared, upon the
persons of the inhabitants they encountered in the route to the mines. The disposition I have proposed (that of establishing a four company
post in the mining region and allowing the men limited furloughs) will be
an experiment, but one that should be tried, if only for the sake of
preventing a repetition of the outrages unoffending people have suffered
from those they have been led to suppose would protect them from Indian
depredations and domestic violence."
The
Indians of the Tulares, who,
joined by many of the neophytes of the missions, had for some years been a
source of great annoyance to the rancheros by stealing their cattle and
horses, now renewed their depredations, emboldened by the withdrawal of
the troops from the south. The situation was further complicated by
robberies committed by Sonorans, driven from the northern mines, on their
way out of the country. The troops under command of General Riley were the
2d infantry; companies A and E, 1st dragoons; companies D and E, 2d
dragoons; and companies F and M, 3d artillery; in all six hundred and
fifty men, the number being constantly reduced by desertion. With this
force he had to garrison the forts at San
Francisco, Monterey, and San Diego, furnish
an escort for the boundary commission, guard the government stores, send
expeditions against marauding
Indians, succor starving emigrants,
establish relief stations at Warner' s pass and in the
Sacramento,
and police the territory.
More than two years had elapsed since
the conquest. Congress had met and adjourned without providing
California
with a government. The authorities at Washington recognized the military
government established in
California,
under the laws of war, as a government de facto, to continue until the
congress should provide another. The people of
California,
with that executive instinct of self-government and self-preservation
which first challenged the wonder of the civilized world and afterwards
won its approbation, determined they would have a responsible and
representative government. In full sympathy with this sentiment, Governor
Riley issued, on June 3, 1849, a proclamation calling for the election of
delegates to a convention to be held in Monterey on the first of
September, for the purpose of forming a state constitution. The territory
was divided into ten districts, with thirty-seven delegates, and the
election set for August 1st. The number of delegates was later increased
to forty-eight, owing to the rapid growth in population of some of the
districts. The convention was composed of men in the full vigor of life,
was fairly representative, contained several men of talent, and a good
proportion of men of education and refinement. There were five men of
European birth, six Californians, twelve natives of New York, five of
Maryland, three each from Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio, two from
Massachusetts, and one each from Tennessee, Florida, Missouri, Maine,
Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. All the
men of European birth and nine or ten of the Americans were citizens of
California
before the conquest. Among the Californians were the distinguished Mariano
Guadalupe Vallejo, the courtly Pablo de la Guerra, the polished Jacinto
Rodriguez, and the dignified and handsome José Antonio Carrillo. Among the
Americans who later became more or less famous, were Henry W. Halleck,
later general-in-chief of the United States army; W. M. Gwin, U. S.
Senator; John McDougal, governor and U. S. Senator; Rodman M. Price,
member of congress for and governor of New Jersey; Thomas O. Larkin,
consul and special agent of the United States; Edward Gilbert, member of
congress and editor of the Alta
California;
Pacificus Ord, Francis J. Lippitt, Stephen C. Foster, Robert Semple and
others whose names are well known. The convention completed its labors
October 12, 1849, and the same day Governor Riley issued his proclamation
announcing the formation of a constitution and calling for a vote on
November 13th for its ratification by the people, and for the election at
the same time of a legislature and state officials. The members presented
to Governor Riley their bill for services, charging sixteen dollars per
day, and sixteen dollars for each twenty miles traveled. This the governor
paid from the civil fund. The members now gave themselves up to
congratulations on the success of the convention, and assessing themselves
twenty-five dollars apiece for expenses cleared the hall for a grand ball
given to the citizens of Monterey. The ball, held October 13th was a great
success. General Riley was there in full uniform and wearing the yellow
sash he won at Contreras; Majors Canby, Hill, and Smith, Captains Burton
and Kane, and the other officers stationed at Monterey, accompanying him.
Don Pablo de la Guerra acted as floor manager, and gallantly discharged
the duties of his office. Conspicuous among the Californians were General
Vallejo, Manuel Dominguez, and Jacinto Rodriguez, while Captain
John A.
Sutter, late of Switzerland, and Don Miguel de Pedrorena, formerly of
Spain, took an active part in the festivities.
On December 12th Governor Riley issued
a proclamation declaring the constitution ratified November 13th as the
ordained and established constitution of the State of
California.
The legislature met December 15th and on December 20th Riley resigned his
powers as governor into the hands of Peter H. Burnett, the new executive.
A great population, coming together from the four winds of heaven with but
one idea, to enrich themselves as quickly as possible and then depart,
had, recognizing the necessities of the situation, founded a commonwealth.
Many who tried their luck at the mines
returned to San
Francisco. Even their great success in
obtaining gold could not compensate them for all their privations, the
exposure, the sickness, the hard labor, and harder fare which fell to
their lot. And the shrewd trader saw that, rich as were the gold placers,
a richer field for acquiring wealth lay before him in the town itself. The
great prices and great rise in various kinds of goods, provisions, and
other necessaries of life, opened the brightest prospects to those who
preferred trade to gold hunting. The immigration from the nearest
territory was but a mite to that which would flow from abroad when the
wild reports of abundant gold should reach and be accredited throughout
the eastern states, in Europe, and among the nations of Asia.
It was inevitable that in a community
composed almost entirely of men and living far from the steadying
influences of the eastern states there should develop a spirit of
recklessness and an indulgence in exciting pastimes that led to disorder.
Every man did as seemed good in his own eyes until the lawless element
aroused in the people the instinct of self-preservation, and a form of
order was established. The Argonauts were like boys let loose from school.
Overflowing with vigor and abounding in high spirits, their exuberance
found vent in the ghastly names with which they afflicted the map of
California.
The struggle for wealth was redeemed
by a whole-souled liberality and no tale of woe failed of a generous
response from the miners. The life, hard as it was, was not without its
compensations and comforts. Old distinctions of caste were abolished and
the professional man dug for gold with his own hands or worked for wages
by the side of the common laborer. The angularities of the ungainly and
illiterate in time wore off in the contact with educated men, and to many
a farmer boy, raised within the narrow confines of a New England village,
the experience of a few years in the mines was an education, while fitness
to grasp opportunity brought independence.
Compiled and
edited by
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated July,
2010.
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