The Forty-Niners

The Forty-Niners - A Chronicle
of the California Trail and El
Dorado

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Title: The Forty-Niners A Chronicle of the California Trail and El
Dorado
Author: Stewart Edward White
Release Date: June 28, 2004 [EBook #12764]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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FORTY-NINERS ***

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THE FORTY-NINERS
A CHRONICLE OF THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL AND EL DORADO
BY STEWART EDWARD WHITE
1918

CONTENTS

I. SPANISH DAYS II. THE AMERICAN OCCUPATION III.
LAW--MILITARY AND CIVIL IV. GOLD V. ACROSS THE
PLAINS VI. THE MORMONS VII. THE WAY BY PANAMA VIII.
THE DIGGINGS IX. THE URBAN FORTY-NINER X. ORDEAL BY
FIRE XI. THE VIGILANTES OF '51 XII. SAN FRANCISCO IN
TRANSITION XIII. THE STORM GATHERS XIV. THE STORM
BREAKS XV. THE VIGILANTES OF '56 XVI. THE TRIUMPH OF
THE VIGILANTES BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE INDEX

THE FORTY-NINERS

CHAPTER I
SPANISH DAYS
The dominant people of California have been successively aborigines,
_conquistadores_, monks, the dreamy, romantic, unenergetic peoples of
Spain, the roaring melange of Forty-nine, and finally the modern
citizens, who are so distinctive that they bid fair to become a
subspecies of their own. This modern society has, in its evolution,
something unique. To be sure, other countries also have passed through
these same phases. But while the processes have consumed a leisurely
five hundred years or so elsewhere, here they have been subjected to
forced growth.
The tourist traveler is inclined to look upon the crumbling yet beautiful
remains of the old missions, those venerable relics in a bustling modern
land, as he looks upon the enduring remains of old Rome. Yet there are
today many unconsidered New England farmhouses older than the
oldest western mission, and there are men now living who witnessed
the passing of Spanish California.
Though the existence of California had been known for centuries, and
the dates of her first visitors are many hundreds of years old,
nevertheless Spain attempted no actual occupation until she was forced
to it by political necessity. Until that time she had little use for the
country. After early investigations had exploded her dream of more

treasure cities similar to those looted by Cortés and Pizarro, her interest
promptly died.
But in the latter part of the eighteenth century Spain began to awake to
the importance of action. Fortunately ready to her hand was a tried and
tempered weapon. Just as the modern statesmen turn to commercial
penetration, so Spain turned, as always, to religious occupation. She
made use of the missionary spirit and she sent forth her expeditions
ostensibly for the purpose of converting the heathen. The result was the
so-called Sacred Expedition under the leadership of Junípero Serra and
Portolá. In the face of incredible hardships and discouragements, these
devoted, if narrow and simple, men succeeded in establishing a string
of missions from San Diego to Sonoma. The energy, self-sacrifice, and
persistence of the members of this expedition furnish inspiring reading
today and show clearly of what the Spanish character at its best is
capable.
For the next thirty years after the founding of the first mission in 1769,
the grasp of Spain on California was assured. Men who could do, suffer,
and endure occupied the land. They made their mistakes in judgment
and in methods, but the strong fiber of the pioneer was there. The
original padres were almost without exception zealous, devoted to
poverty, uplifted by a fanatic desire to further their cause. The original
Spanish temporal leaders were in general able, energetic, courageous,
and not afraid of work or fearful of disaster.
At the end of that period, however, things began to suffer a change. The
time of pioneering came to an end, and the new age of material
prosperity began. Evils of various sorts crept in. The pioneer priests
were in some instances replaced by men who thought more of the
flesh-pot than of the altar, and whose treatment of the Indians left very
much to be desired. Squabbles arose between the civil and the religious
powers. Envy of the missions' immense holdings undoubtedly had its
influence. The final result of the struggle could not be avoided, and in
the end the complete secularization of the missions took place, and with
this inevitable change the real influence of these religious outposts
came to an end.

Thus before the advent in California of the American as an American,
and not as a traveler or a naturalized citizen,