The Forty-Niners | Page 7

garrison of forty in
uniform, and contained within its walls a blacksmith shop, a distillery,
a flour mill, a cannery, and space for other necessary industries.
Outside the walls of the fort Captain Sutter raised wheat, oats, and
barley in quantity, and even established an excellent fruit and vegetable
garden.
Indeed, in every way Captain Sutter's environment and the results of his
enterprises were in significant contrast to the inactivity and
backwardness of his neighbors. He showed what an energetic man
could accomplish with exactly the same human powers and material
tools as had always been available to the Californians. Sutter himself
was a rather short, thick-set man, exquisitely neat, of military bearing,
carrying himself with what is called the true old-fashioned courtesy. He
was a man of great generosity and of high spirit. His defect was an
excess of ambition which in the end o'erleaped itself. There is no doubt

that his first expectation was to found an independent state within the
borders of California. His loyalty to the Americans was, however,
never questioned, and the fact that his lands were gradually taken from
him, and that he died finally in comparative poverty, is a striking
comment on human injustice.
The important point for us at present is that Sutter's Fort happened to be
exactly on the line of the overland immigration. For the trail-weary
traveler it was the first stopping-place after crossing the high Sierras to
the promised land. Sutter's natural generosity of character induced him
always to treat these men with the greatest kindness. He made his
profits from such as wished to get rid of their oxen and wagons in
exchange for the commodities which he had to offer. But there is no
doubt that the worthy captain displayed the utmost liberality in dealing
with those whom poverty had overtaken. On several occasions he sent
out expeditions at his personal cost to rescue parties caught in the
mountains by early snows or other misfortunes along the road,
Especially did he go to great expense in the matter of the ill-fated
Donner party, who, it will be remembered, spent the winter near
Truckee, and were reduced to cannibalism to avoid starvation.[1]
[1: See _The Passing of the Frontier_, in "The Chronicles of America."]
Now Sutter had, of course, been naturalized in order to obtain his grant
of land. He had also been appointed an official of the
California-Mexican Government. Taking advantage of this fact, he was
accustomed to issue permits or passports to the immigrants, permitting
them to remain in the country. This gave the immigrants a certain
limited standing, but, as they were not Mexican citizens, they were
disqualified from holding land. Nevertheless Sutter used his good
offices in showing desirable locations to the would-be settlers.[2]
[2: It is to be remarked that, prior to the gold rush, American
settlements did not take place in the Spanish South but in the
unoccupied North. In 1845 Castro and Castillero made a tour through
the Sacramento Valley and the northern regions to inquire about the
new arrivals. Castro displayed no personal uneasiness at their presence
and made no attempt or threat to deport them.]

As far as the Californians were concerned, there was little rivalry or
interference between the immigrants and the natives. Their interests did
not as yet conflict. Nevertheless the central Mexican Government
continued its commands to prevent any and all immigration. It was
rather well justified by its experience in Texas, where settlement had
ended by final absorption. The local Californian authorities were thus
thrust between the devil and the deep blue sea. They were constrained
by the very positive and repeated orders from their home government to
keep out all immigration and to eject those already on the ground. On
the other hand, the means for doing so were entirely lacking, and the
present situation did not seem to them alarming.
Thus matters drifted along until the Mexican War. For a considerable
time before actual hostilities broke out, it was well known throughout
the country that they were imminent. Every naval and military
commander was perfectly aware that, sooner or later, war was
inevitable. Many had received their instructions in case of that
eventuality, and most of the others had individual plans to be put into
execution at the earliest possible moment. Indeed, as early as 1842
Commodore Jones, being misinformed of a state of war, raced with
what he supposed to be English war-vessels from South America,
entered the port of Monterey hastily, captured the fort, and raised the
American flag. The next day he discovered that not only was there no
state of war, but that he had not even raced British ships! The flag was
thereupon hauled down, the Mexican emblem substituted, appropriate
apologies and salutes were rendered, and the incident was considered