Mendocino County

History

History of Mendocino County California - Alley, Bowen & Co., San Francisco, 1880

HISTORICAL SKETCH OF CALIFORNIA.

        J. FENNIMORE COOPER, in one of his most able works, says: "On the human imagination events produce the effects of time. Thus, he who has traveled far and seen much is apt to fancy that he has lived long; and the history that most abounds in important incidents soonest assumes the aspect of antiquity. In no other way can we account for the venerable air that is already gathering around American annals. When the mind reverts to the earliest days of colonial history, the period seems remote and obscure, the thousand changes that thicken along the links of recollections, throwing back the origin of the nation to a day so distant as seemingly to reach the mists of time; and yet four lives of ordinary duration would suffice to transmit, from mouth to mouth, in the form of tradition, all that civilized man has achieved within the limits of the republic." The gifted author here speaks of the many changes which the comparatively few short years have worked upon the banks of the noble Hudson. He remarks: " Other similar memorials of the infancy of the country are to be found scattered through what is now deemed the very centre of American civilization, affording the plainest proofs that all we possess of security from invasion and hostile violence; is the growth of but little more than the time that is frequently filled by a single human life." If such may be deemed remarkable on the shores of that stream, how much more closely do they apply to the giant strides effected by the indomitable will of man on the Pacific coast.

        America was discovered by Columbus on the twelfth day of October, 1492, and what a feat was this! Not so much a marvel is it that he came upon the vast continent, as that, in those so-called dark ages there were found men of such great courage and knowledge, unscientific though that may be, to sail away into the darkness, as it were, and sustain themselves against peril on every hand to eventually give, not only to their country, but to mankind the rarest continent of a beatific creation. As the veriest schoolboy knows and utters in a sing-song drawl, America was discovered as stated above, and became the territory of Spain. The Pacific ocean was given to the world by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa, who looked down from the heights of Panama upon its placid bosom on the twenty-fifth day of September, 1513. In 1519 Mexico was conquered by Hernando Cortez, and sixteen years thereafter, in 1537, his pilot, Zimenez, discovered Lower California. In 1542 a voyage of discovery was made along the Californian coast by the famous Captain Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, on the 5th July of which year, he landed at Cape St. Lucas, in Lower California, and following the coast he finally entered the delightful harbor of San Diego, in Upper California, on September 28th. This place he named San Miguel, which was afterwards changed by Viscaiño to that which it now bears.

        The noted English voyager, Sir Francis Drake, sailed along the coast in 1579, but historians are doubtful as to whether he discovered the San Francisco bay. It would appear that this voyage was made from Oregon, where it is said his Spanish pilot, Morera, left him, and thence found his way overland to Mexico, a distance of three thousand five hundred miles. The name of New Albion was given to the country by Drake, with the evident intention of securing it for the British crown.

        It was not until 1602, however, that the Spaniards took any actual steps to possess and colonize the continent. In that year Don Sebastian Viscaiño was dispatched by the Viceroy of Mexico, acting under the instructions of his royal master, King Philip III, on a voyage of search in three small vessels. He visited various points on the coast, among them San Diego; was well pleased with the appearance of the country, and on December 10th discovered and entered a harbor, which he named in honor of Count de Monterey, the Viceroy who had dispatched him on the cruise. We are told that part of this expedition reached as high as the Columbia river, and that the whole subsequently returned to Acapulco. Its efforts were pronounced satisfactory, a glowing description of the landscape was given, but whether they discovered the San Francisco bay is as much a matter of conjecture and doubt as Drake's visit.

        For some unexplained cause not much use had been made of the information gained from these trips, which were of frequent occurrence, and it was not for one hundred and sixty-eight years that any steps towards the permanent settlement of Upper California were undertaken. Under the joint management of Church and State a plan with this end in view was commenced in the year 1683, but it failed, the State being there represented by Admiral Otondo, and the Church by a Jesuit Father named Kino, La Paz being their point of operation; but we believe we are correct in stating that they did not all visit Upper California. The settlement of the peninsula was finally undertaken fourteen years later, when sixteen missionary establishments were founded by Father Salva Tierra. The order which he represented falling into disgrace in Europe, however, was banished from the dominions of Spain and Lower California in 1768, after laboring for seventy years. They were in turn succeeded by the Franciscans and Dominicans, the former of whom, under the guidance of Father Junipera Serra, proceeded to the conquest and conversion of this part of the country. This Reverend Father is recognized by the Catholic Church as the apostle of Upper California, and acknowledged in history as its founder.

        The first permanent settlement was made in San Diego in 1769, when was also established the first mission, whence further operations were directed and new missions founded. On July 14, 1769, Gaspar de Portala, who commanded the expedition that called a halt at San Diego, left that place for Monterey, and there erected a cross.

"Pious Portala, journeying by land,

Reared high a cross upon the heathen strand,

Then far away,

Dragged his slow caravan to Monterey."

        With Father Junipera Serra, he continued his northward journey and, by the merest accident, came upon the world-renowned bay of San Francisco.

        Finding it a place answering every requirement he named it after San Francisco de Asis, and seven years later, June 27, 1776, possession was taken of the spot and a presidio established, the mission being located on the site of the present church. There may be a doubt as to whether the bay was ever discovered by Drake or Viscaiño, but there is none of the visit of Gaspar de Portala, then Governor of the Californias. Henceforward the establishment of missions was rapid, as will be gathered from the accompanying list:

Mission San Diego, in San Diego county, founded under Carlos III, July 16, 1769; containing 22.24 acres.

Mission San Luis Rey, in San Diego county, founded under Carlos IV, June 13, 1798; containing 53.39 acres.

Mission San Juan Capistrano, in Los Angeles county, founded under Carlos III, November 10, 1776; containing 44.40 acres.

Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, in Los Angeles county, founded under Carlos III, September 8, 1771; containing 190.69 acres. Patented.

Mission San Buenaventura, in Santa Barbara county, founded under Carlos III. March 31, 1782; containing 36.27 acres.

Mission San Fernando, in Los Angeles county, founded under Carlos IV. September 8, 1797; containing 76.94 acres.

Mission Santa Barbara, in Santa Barbara county, founded under Carlos December 4, 1786; containing 37.83 acres.

Mission Santa Inez, in Santa Barbara county. founded under. Carlos IV, September 17, 1804; containing 17.35 acres.

Mission La Purisima Concepcion, in Santa Barbara county, founded under Carlos III, December 8, 1787.

Mission San Luis Obispo, in San Luis Obispo county, founded under Carlos III, September 1, 1772, containing 52.72 acres. Patented.

Mission San Miguel Arcangel, in San Luis Obispo county, founded under Carlos IV, July 25, 1797; containing 33. 97 acres. • Patented.

Mission San Antonio de Padua, in San Luis Obispo county, founded under Carlos III, July 14, 1771; containing 33.19 acres. Patented.

Mission La Soledad, in Monterey county, founded under Carlos IV, October 9, 1791; containing 34.47 acres. Patented.

Mission El Carme, or San Carlos de Monterey, in Monterey county, founded under Carlos III, June 3, 1770; containing 9 acres. Patented.

Mission San Juan Bautista, in Monterey county, founded under Carlos IV, June 24, 1797; containing 55.33 acres. Patented.

Mission Santa Cruz, in Santa Cruz county, founded under Carlos IV, August 28, 1791; containing 16.94 acres. Patented.

Mission Santa Clara, in Santa Clara county, founded under. Carlos III, January 18, 1777; containing 13.13 acres. Patented.

Mission San Jose, in Alameda county, founded under Carlos IV, June 11, 1797; containing 28.33 acres. Patented.

Mission Dolores, or San Francisco de Asis, in San Francisco county, founded under Carlos III, October 9, 1776; two lots, one containing 4.3 acres, and the other 4.51 acres. Patented.

Mission San Rafael Arcangel, in Marin county, founded under Fernando VII, December 18, 1817; containing 6.48 acres. Patented.

Mission San Francisco Solano, in Sonoma county, founded under Fernando VII, August 25, 1823; containing 14.20 acres.

        If Sir Francis Drake did not actually enter the broad sheet of water now known as the Bay of San Francisco, in 1579, he must have tarried in its vicinity, for the historian of that famous voyage wrote: " They here discovered a bay, which, entering with a favorable gale, they found several huts by the water side, well defended from the severity of the weather, Going on shore they found a fire in the middle of each house, and the people lying round it upon rushes. The men go quite naked, but the women have a deer skin over their shoulders, and around their waists a covering of bulrushes, after the manner of hemp. These people, bringing the Admiral a present of feathers, and cauls of net-work, he entertained them so kindly and generously, that they were extremely pleased, and soon afterwards they sent him a present of feathers and bags of tobacco. A number of them coming to deliver it, gathered themselves together on the top of a small hill, from the highest point of which one of them harangued the Admiral, whose tent was placed at the bottom. When the speech was ended they laid down their arms and came down, offering their presents; at the same time returning what the Admiral had given them. The women remaining on the hill, tearing their hair and making dreadful howlings. The Admiral supposed them engaged in making sacrifices, and thereupon ordered divine service to be performed in his tent, at which these people attended with astonishment.

        "The arrival of the English in California being soon known through the country, two persons in the character of ambassadors, came to the Admiral and informed him in the best manner they were able, that the King would assist him if he might be assured of coming in safety. Being satisfied on this point, a numerous company soon appeared, in front of which was a very comely person bearing a kind of sceptre, on which hung two crowns and three chains of great length; the chains were of bones and the crowns of net-work curiously wrought with feathers of many colors.

        "Next to the sceptre-bearer, came the King, a handsome, majestic person, surrounded by a number of tall men, dressed in skins, who were followed by the common people, who, to make the grander appearance, had painted their faces of various colors, and all of them, even the children, being loaded with presents. The men being drawn up in line of battle, the Admiral stood ready to receive the King within the entrance of his tent. The company having halted at a distance, the sceptre-bearer made a speech, half an hour long, at the end of which he began singing and dancing, in which he was followed by the King and all his people—who, continuing to sing and dance, came quite up to the tent; when, sitting down, the King taking off his crown of feathers, placed it on the Admiral's head, and put upon him the other ensigns of royalty; and it is said he made him a solemn tender of his whole kingdom. All of which the Admiral accepted in the name of the Queen, his sovereign, in hope these proceedings might, one time or other, contribute to the advantage of England.

        "The common people, dispersing themselves among the Admiral's tents, professed the utmost admiration and esteem for the English, whom they considered as more than mortal—and accordingly prepared to offer sacrifices to them; but they were told, by signs, that their religious worship was alone due to the Supreme Maker and Preserver of all things. The Admiral and some of his people, traveling to a distance in the country, saw such a quantity of rabbits that it appeared an entire warren; they also saw deer in such plenty as to run a thousand in a herd. The earth of the country seemed to promise rich veins of gold and silver, some of the ore being constantly found on digging. The Admiral, at his departure, set up a pillar with a large plate on it, on which was engraved her Majesty's, (Queen Elizabeth) name, picture, arms, and title to the country, together with the Admiral's name, and the time of his arrival there."

        Such is the extraordinary pen-picture of the aboriginal Californians when visited by Drake and his historian. That the clap-trap description of the King proffering his regalia to the Admiral was written with an evident purpose, is fully carried out in the subsequent showering of honors upon Drake by Elizabeth, who, on knighting him, said "that his actions did him more honor than his title."

        The following extract from a letter written by Father Junipero to his friend Father Palou, shows from another stand point what the general situation of affairs was at that date, July 3, 1769:—

        " The tract through which we passed is generally very good land, with plenty of water, and there, as well as here, the country is neither rocky nor overrun with brushwood. There are, however, many hills, but they are composed of earth. The road has been in some places good, but the greater part bad. About half-way, the valleys and banks of rivulets began to be delightful. We found vines of a large size, and in some cases quite loaded. with grapes; we also found an abundance of roses, which appeared to be like those of Castile. In line, it is a good country, and very different from old California.

        " We have seen Indians in immense numbers, and all those on this coast of the Pacific contrive to make a good subsistence on various seeds, and by fishing. The latter they carry on by means of rafts or canoes, made of tule, (bulrushes), with which they go a great way to sea. They are very civil. All the males, old and young, go naked; the women, however, and the female children, are decently covered from their breasts downwards. We found on our journey, as well as the place where we stopped, that they treated us with as much confidence and good will as if they had known us all their lives. But when we offered them any of our victuals, they always refused them. All  they cared for was cloth, and only for something of this sort would they exchange their fish or whatever else they had. During the whole march we found hares, rabbits, some deer, and a multitude of berendos, a kind of wild goat."

        In the establishment of missions the three agencies brought to bear were the military, the civil and the religious, being each represented by the Presidio, or garrison; the Pueblo, the town or civic community, and the Mission, the church, which played the most prominent part. Says one writer: " The Spaniards had then, what we are lacking to-day—a complete municipal system. Theirs was derived from the Romans. Under the civil Roman law, and the Gothic, Spanish and Mexican laws, municipal communities were never incorporated into artificial persons, with a common seal and perpetual succession, as with us under English and American laws; consequently, under the former, communities in towns held their lands in common; when thirty families had located on a spot, the pueblo or town was a fact. They were not incorporated, because the law did not make it a necessity, a general law or custom having established the system. The right to organize a local government, by the election of an alcalde or mayor, and a town council, which was known as an Ayuntamiento, was patent. The instant the poblacion was formed, it became thereby entitled to four leagues of land, and the pobladors, citizens, held it in pro indivisa. The title was a natural right.

        " The missions were designed for the civilization and conversion of the Indians. The latter were instructed in the mysteries of religion (so far as they could comprehend them) and the arts of peace. Instruction of the savage in agriculture and manufactures, as well as in prayers and elementary education, was the padre's business. The soldiers protected them from the hostility of the intractable natives, hunted down the latter, and brought them within the confines of the mission, to labor and salvation."

        Father Gleeson* tells us in his able History of the Catholic Church in California, that the missions were usually quadrilateral buildings, two stories high, enclosing a court yard ornamented with fountains and trees. The whole consisting of the church, father's apartments, store-houses, barracks, etc. The quadrilateral sides were each about six hundred feet in length, one of which was partly occupied by the church. Within the quadrangle and corresponding with the second story, was a gallery running round the entire structure, and opening upon the workshops, store rooms and other apartments.

(* History of the Catholic Church in California, by W. Gleeson, M. A., Professor St. Mary's College, San Francisco, Cal., in two volumes, illustrated. Printed for the author by A. L. Bancroft and Company, San Francisco, 1872.)

        The entire management of each establishment was under the care of two Religious; the elder attended to the interior and the younger to the exterior administration. One portion of the building, which was called the monastery, was inhabited by the young Indian girls. There, under the care of approved matrons, they were carefully trained and instructed in those branches necessary for their condition in life. They were not permitted to leave till of an age to be married, and this with the view of preserving their morality. In the schools, those who exhibited more talent than their companions, were taught vocal and instrumental music, the latter consisting of the flute, horn and violin. In the mechanical departments, too, the most apt were promoted to the position of foremen. The better to preserve the morals of all, none of the whites, except those absolutely necessary, were employed at the mission.

        The daily routine at each establishment was almost the same as that followed by the Jesuits in Lower California. At sunrise they arose and proceeded to church, where, after morning prayer, they assisted at the holy sacrifice of the mass. Breakfast next followed, when they proceeded to their respective employments. Toward noon they returned to the mission, and spent the time from then till two o'clock between dinner and repose; after which they again repaired to their work, and remained engaged till the evening angelus, about an hour before sundown. All then betook themselves to the church for evening devotions, which consisted of the ordinary family prayers and the rosary, except on special occasions, when other devotional exercises were added. After supper, which immediately followed, they amused themselves in divers sports, games and dancing, till the hour for repose. Their diet, of which the poor of any country might be justly envious, consisted of an abundance of excellent beef and mutton, with vegetables in the season. Wheaten cakes and puddings, or porridges, called " atole and pinole," also formed a portion of the repast. The dress was, for the males, linen shirts, pants, and a blanket to be used as an overcoat. The women received each, annually, two undergarments, a gown, and a blanket. In years of plenty, after the missions became rich, the fathers distributed all the surplus moneys among them in clothing and trinkets. Such was the general character of the early missions established in Upper California.

        Let us now briefly consider what was the character and condition of the California Indian on the arrival of the Spanish Fathers. We have already given the experience of Sir Francis Drake and Father Junipero. We shall now endeavor to outline more closely the principal features of their manners and customs.

        For veracity's sake we must aver that the California Indian was anything but an easy subject for civilization. Knowledge he had none; his religion or morals were of the crudest form, while all in all he was the most degraded of mortals. He lived without labor, and existed for naught save his ease and pleasure. In physique he was unprepossessing; being possessed of much endurance and strength; his features were unattractive, his hair in texture like the mane of the horse, and his complexion as dark as the Ethiop's skin. His chief delight was the satisfying of his appetite and lust, while he lacked courage enough to be warlike, and was devoid of that spirit of independence usually the principal characteristic of his race. The best portion of his life was passed in sleeping and dancing, while in the temperate California climate the fertile valleys and hillsides grew an abundance of edible seeds and wild fruits, which were garnered, and by them held in great store. Such means of existence being so easily obtained is perhaps a reason for the wonderful disinclination of Indians to perform any kind of labor. Indeed, what need was there that they should toil, when beneficent Nature had, with a generosity that knew no stint, placed within their grasp an unlimited supply of health-giving food.

        The aboriginal Californian's life was a roving one, for they had no fixed habitation, but roamed about from place to place, fishing, hunting, and gathering supplies. In every stream were fish, and on every mountainside and valley, game; acorns and pine nuts, roots and wild oats were included in the category of their edibles, while it is said that their tastes precluded them not from eating vermin. Their remains consist of earth and shell mounds, which were used as places of sepulture, their dead being interred in a sitting posture, while ultra-civilized cremation was a common practice among them. Their dialects were as various as are those of China to-day, and the natives of San Diego could not understand those of Los Angeles or Monterey.

        These Indians had as dwellings the meanest of huts, built of willows and thatched with titles or rushes. They were fashioned by taking a few poles and placing them in a circle; which were woven together to a conical point, giving them, when completed, the appearance of inverted baskets. They were small and easily warmed in winter, and when swarming with vermin could readily be reduced to ashes and others built in their places. Their cabins or "wickeup" were usually constructed on the banks of streams, or in the dells of mountains but always near some running water-course. Here, without a vestige of covering, they slept like '‘sardines in a tin," those on the outer edge quarrelling, as in more civilized circles, for an inside place. On rising from their litters, be it summer or winter, the first performance would be a plunge into the river, after which they would dance and play around a large fire, when with a healthy appetite they would relish a hearty meal. This was their custom in the cold mountain regions as well as in the more temperate valleys. The skins of wild beasts made them a covering comfortable enough, but the males generally wore absolutely nothing upon their persons save an arrow passed through the hair as a skiver, something like the mode of hair ornament in vogue with fashionable belles some years ago. One of these warriors thus clad, on one occasion paid General Vallejo a visit at Sonoma. As the day was cold the General asked his guest if he was not cold. " No," was the answer, "Is your face cold ?" " Not at all," replied the veteran commandante, "I never wear anything on my face." " Then," rejoined the Indian, triumphantly pointing to his body, " I am all face !" The toilet of the women was more pretentious, consisting only of a scanty apron of fancy skins or feathers, extending to the knees. Those of them who were unmarried wore also a bracelet around the ankle or arm, near the shoulder. This ornament was generally made of bone or fancy wood. Polygamy was a recognized institution. Chiefs generally possessed eleven wives, sub-chiefs nine, and ordinary warriors, two or more, according to their wealth or property. But Indian-like, they would fight among themselves, and bloody fights they often were. Their weapons were bows and arrows, clubs and spears, with which they were very adroit. They wore a kind of helmet made of skins. They were remarkable athletes, and as swimmers and runners were unexcelled. In times of peace they kept up their martial spirit, little though it was, by sham fights and tournaments, their women participating in their battles, not as actual belligerents, but as a sanitary brigade; they followed their warriors and supplied them with provisions and attended them when wounded, carrying their pappooses on their backs at the same time.

        In a descriptive sketch of Napa and the adjacent counties* C. A. Menefee, the author, says of the Indian of Upper California:

(* Historical and descriptive sketch-book of Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino, comprising sketches of their topography, productions, history, scenery, and peculiar attractions, by C. A. Menefee, Napa City, Reporter Publishing House, 1873.)

        " Of navigation they were almost wholly ignorant. Their only method of crossing streams was by means of rafts constructed of bundles of tule bound together, somewhat similar, but far inferior to the balsas used by the Peruvian Indians upon Lake Titicaca, far up among the Andes.

" Their knowledge of the proper treatment of disease was on a level with their attainments in all the arts of life. Roots and herbs were sometimes used as remedies, but the ' sweat-house' was the principal reliance in desperate cases. This great sanitary institution, found in every rancheria, was a large circular excavation, covered with a roof of boughs, plastered with mud, having a hole on one side for an entrance, and another in the roof to serve as a chimney. A fire having been lighted in the centre, the sick were placed there to undergo a sweat-bath for many hours, to be succeeded by a plunge in cold water. This treatment was their cure-all, and whether it killed or relieved the patient depended upon the nature of his disease and the vigor of his constitution. A gentleman who was tempted, some years ago, to enter one of the sanitary institutions, gives the following story of his experience:‑

        " 'A sweat-house is of the shape of an inverted bowl. It is generally about forty feet in diameter at the bottom, and is built of strong poles and branches of trees, covered with earth to prevent the escape of heat. There is a small hole near the ground, large enough for the Diggers to creep in one at a time; and another at the top of the house, to give vent to the smoke. When a dance is to occur, a large fire is kindled in the centre of the edifice, the crowd assembles, the white spectators crawl in and seat themselves anywhere out of the way. The apertures, both above and below, are then closed, and the dancers take their position.

        " 'Four-and-twenty squaws, en dishabille, one side of the fire, and as many hombres in purls naturalibus on the other. Simultaneous with the commencement of the dancing, which is a kind of shuffling hobble-de-hoy, the music bursts forth. Yes, music fit to raise the dead. A whole legion of devils broke loose! Such screaming, shrieking, yelling and roaring was never before heard since the foundation of the world. A thousand cross-cut saws, filed by steam power—a multitude of tom-cats lashed together and flung over a clothes-line—innumerable pigs under the gate, all combined, would produce a heavenly melody compared with it. Yet this uproar, deafening as it is, might possibly be endured; but another sense soon comes to be saluted. Talk of the thousand stinks of the city of Cologne ! Here are at least forty thousand combined in one grand overwhelming stench, and yet every particular odor distinctly definable. Round about the roaring fire the Indians go capering, jumping and screaming, with the perspiration starting from every pore. The spectators look on until the air grows thick and heavy, and a sense of oppressing suffocation overcomes them, when they make a simultaneous rush at the door, for self-protection. Judge of their astonishment, terror and dismay to find it fastened securely; bolted and barred on the outside. They rush frantically around the walls in hope to discover some weak point through which they may find egress; but the house seems to have been constructed purposely to frustrate such attempts. More furious than caged lions, they rush bodily against the sides, but the stout poles resist every onset. Our army swore terribly in Flanders, but even my uncle Toby himself would stand aghast were he here now.

        " There is no alternative but to sit down in hopes that the troop of naked fiends will soon cease from sheer exhaustion. Vain expectation! The uproar but increases in fury, the fire waxes hotter and hotter, and they seem to be preparing for fresh exhibitions of their powers. The combat deepens, on, ye brave! See that wild Indian, a newly-elected captain, as with glaring eyes, blazing face, and complexion like that of a boiled lobster, he tosses his arms wildly aloft, as in pursuit of imaginary devils, while rivers of perspiration roll down his naked frame. Was ever the human body thrown into such contortions before? Another effort of that kind and the whole vertebral column must certainly come down with a crash. Another such convulsion, and his limbs will assuredly be torn asunder, and the disjointed members fly to the four parts of the compass. Can the human frame endure this much longer? The heat is equal to that of a bake-oven. Temperature five hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Pressure of steam one thousand pounds to the square inch. The reeking atmosphere has become almost palpable, and the victimized audience are absolutely gasping for life. Millions for a cubic inch of fresh air, worlds for a drop of water to cool the parched tongue! This is terrible! To meet one's fate among the white­caps of the Lake, in a swamped canoe, or to sink down on the bald mountain's brow, worn out by famine, fatigue and exposure, were glorious; but to die here, suffocating in a solution of human perspiration, carbonic acid gas and charcoal smoke, is horrible. The idea is absolutely appalling. But there is no avail. Assistance might as well be sought from a legion of unchained imps, as from a troop of Indians maddened by excitement.

        "'Death shows his visage, not more than five minutes distant. The fire glimmers away, leagues off the uproar dies into the subdued rumble of a remote cataract, and respiration becomes lower and more labored. The whole system is sinking into utter insensibility, and all hope of relief has departed, when suddenly grand triumphal crash, similar to that with which the ghosts closed their orgies, when they doused the lights and started in pursuit of Tam O'Shanter and his old gray mare, the uproar ceases and the Indians vanish through an aperture, opened for the purpose. The half-dead victims to their own curiosity dash through it like an arrow, and in a moment more are drawing in whole bucketsfull of the cold, frosty air, every inhalation of which cuts the lungs like a knife, and thrills the system like an electric shock. They are in time to see the Indians plunge headlong into the ice-cold waters of a neighboring stream, and crawl out and sink down on the banks, utterly exhausted. This is the last act of the drama, the grand climax, and the fandango is over.'

        " The sweat-house also served as a council chamber and banquet hall. In it the bodies of the dead were sometimes burned, amid the howlings of the survivors. Generally, however, the cremation of the dead took place in the open air. The body, before burning, was bound closely together, the legs and arms folded, and forced, by binding, into as small a compass as possible. It was then placed upon a funeral pile of wood, which was set on fire by the mother, wife, or some near relative of the deceased, and the mourners, with their faces daubed with pitch, set up a fearful howling and weeping, accompanied with the most frantic gesticulations. The body being consumed, the ashes were carefully collected.

        " A portion of these were mingled with pitch, with which they daubed their faces and went into mourning. During the progress of the cremation, the friends and relatives of the deceased thrust sharp sticks into the burning corpse, and cast into the fire the ornaments, feather head-dresses, weapons, and everything known to have belonged to the departed. They had a superstitious dread of the consequences of keeping back any article pertaining to the defunct. An old Indian woman, whose husband was sick, was recently asked what ailed him. Her reply was, 'he had kept some feathers belonging to a dead Indian that should have been burned with his body, and that he would be sick till he died.'

        " The idea of a future state was universal among the California Indians, and they had a vague idea of rewards and punishments. As one expressed it, ' Good Indian go big hill; bad Indian go bad place.' Others thought if the deceased had been good in his life-time, his spirit would travel west to where the earth and sky meet, and become a star; if bad, he would be changed into a grizzly, or his spirit-wanderings would continue for an indefinite period. They expressed the idea of the change from this life to another by saying that 'as the moon died and came to life again, so man came to life after death;' and they believed that 'the hearts of good chiefs went up to the sky, and were changed into stars to keep watch over their tribes on earth.' Although exceedingly superstitious, they were evidently not destitute of some religious conceptions. Certain rocks and mountains were regarded as sacred. Uncle Sam, in Lake county, was one of these sacred mountains, and no one, except the priest or wizard of his tribe, dared to ascend it. Two huge boulders, between Napa City and Capel Valley, were also sacred, and no Indian would approach them. They also held the grizzly in superstitious awe, and nothing could induce them to eat its flesh.

        The Diggers too had their sorcerers, male and female, who had great influence over them. They pretended to foresee future events, and to exercise supernatural control over their bodies, and to cure diseases by curious incantations and ceremonies. They likewise believed in a Cucusuy, or mischief-maker, who took delight in their annoyance, and to him and his agent they attributed much of their sickness and other misfortunes. It may not be out of place here to relate the following legend:

        When the Spaniards were crossing the mountain called Bolgones, where an Indian spirit was supposed to dwell, having a cave for his haunt, he was disturbed by the approach of the soldiers, and, emerging from the gloom, arrayed in all his feathers and war-paint, and very little else by way of costume, motioned to them to  depart, threatening, by gesticulation, to weave a spell around them; but the sturdy warriors were not to be thus easily awed. They beckoned him to approach; this invitation, however, the wizard declined, when one of the men secured him with a lasso to see if he were ' goblin damn'd' or ordinary mortal. Even now he would not speak, but continued his mumblings, when an extra tug caused him to shout and pray to be released. On the relation of this adventure the Indians pointed to Bolgones, calling it the mountain of the Cucusuy, which the Spaniards translated into Monte Diablo. Hence the name of the mountain which is the meridian of scientific exploration in California.

        Four times a year each tribe united in a great dance, having some religious purpose and signification. One of these was held by night in Napa county in 1811, about the time of the vernal equinox, and was terminated by a strange inexplicable pantomime, accompanied with wild gestures and screams, the object of which the Indians said was `to scare the devil away from their rancherias.' An old gentleman who witnessed the performance says he has no doubt that their object must have been attained, if the devil had the slightest ear for music. Superstition wrapped these savages like a cloud, from which they never emerged. The phenomena of nature on every hand, indeed, taught them that there was some unseen cause for all things—some power which they could neither comprehend nor resist. The volcano and the earthquake taught them this, and many accounts of these in past ages are preserved in their traditions, but farther than this their minds could not penetrate.

        It will readily be acknowledged that to catch, subdue and educate a race like this was a task of no mean difficulty, while to perfect it, even remotely, demanded all the elements of success. It was necessary to co-mingle both force and persuasion. The former was represented by the soldiers at the presidio, and the latter by the Fathers at the mission. To keep them together was a task which required the most perfect skill, in short nothing but the attractiveness of new objects and strange ways, with the pleasant accessories of good diet and kind conduct, could have ever kept these roving spirits, even for a time, from straying to their original haunts.

        Let us for a moment glance at the state of the missions in the early part of the present century. In the year 1767 the property possessed by the Jesuits, then known as the Pious Fund, was taken charge of by the government, and used for the benefit of the missions. At that time this possession yielded an annual revenue of fifty thousand dollars, twenty-four thousand of which were expended in the stipends of the Franciscan and Dominican missionaries, and the balance for the maintenance of the missions generally. Father Gleeson says: "The first inroad made on these pious donations , was about the year 1806, when, to relieve the national wants of the parent country, caused by the wars of 1801 and 1804, between Portugal in the one instance and Great Britain in the other, his majesty's fiscal at Mexico scrupled not to confiscate and remit to the authorities in Spain as much as two hundred thousand dollars of the Pious Fund." By this means the missions were deprived of most substantial aid, and the fathers left upon their own resources; add to these difficulties the unsettled state of the country between the years 1811 and 1831, and still their work of civilization was never stayed.

        To demonstrate this we reproduce the following tabular statement, which will at a glance show the state of the missions of Upper California, from 1802 to 1822:-

TABLE SHOWING THE NUMBER OF INDIANS BAPTIZED, MARRIED, DIED AND EXISTING AT THE DIFFERENT MISSIONS IN UPPER CALIFORNIA, BETWEEN THE YEARS 1802 AND 1822:

TOTALS.-Baptized, 74,621 ; Married, 20,412 ; Died, 47,925 ; Existing, 20,958.        

    It will thus be observed that by this, out of the seventy-four thousand six hundred and twenty-one converts received into the missions, the large number of twenty thousand nine hundred and fifty-eight had succumbed to disease. Of what nature was this plague it is hard to establish; the missionaries themselves could assign no cause. Syphilis, measles and small-pox carried off numbers, and these diseases were generated, in all probability, by a sudden change in their lives from a free, wandering existence, to a state of settled quietude.

        Father Gleeson, in his valuable work, says : "In 1813, when the contest for national independence was being waged on Mexican territory, the cortes of Spain resolved upon dispensing with the services of the Fathers, by placing the missions in the hands of the secular clergy. The professed object of this secularization scheme was, indeed, the welfare of the Indians and colonists; but how little this accorded with the real intentions of the government, is seen from the seventh section of the decree passed by the cortes, wherein it is stated that one-half of the land was to be hypothecated for the payment of the the national debt. The decree ordering this commences as follows: 'The cortes general and extraordinary, considering that the reduction of common land to private property is one of the measures most imperiously demanded for the welfare of the pueblos, and the improvement of agriculture and industry, and wishing at the same time to derive from this class of land aid to relieve the public necessities, a reward to the worthy defenders of the country and relief to the citizens not proprietors, decree, etc.,* without prejudice to the fore­going provisions one-half of the vacant land and lands belonging to the royal patrimony of the monarchy, except the suburbs of the pueblos, is hereby reserved, to be in whole or in part, as may be deemed necessary, hypothecated for the payment of the national debt,' etc.

*History of California-Dwinelle.

        " This decree of the Government was not carried out at the time, yet it had its effect on the state and well-being of the missions in general. It could not be expected that with such a resolution under their eyes, the fathers would be as zealous in developing the natural resources of the country as before, seeing that the result of their labors was at any moment liable to be seized on by government, and handed over to strangers. The insecurity thus created naturally acted upon the converts in turn, for when it became apparent that the authority of the missionaries was more nominal than real, a spirit of opposition and independence on the part of some of the people was the natural result. Even before this determination had been come to on the part of the government, there were not wanting evidences of an evil disposition on the part of the people; for as early as 1803 one of the missions had become the scene of a revolt; and earlier still, as we learn from an unpublished correspondence of the fathers, it was not unusual for some of. the converts to abandon the missions and return to their former wandering life. It was customary on those occasions to pursue the deserters, and compel them to return.          *          *

        " Meantime, the internal state of the missions was becoming more and more complex and disordered. The desertions were more frequent and numerous, the hostility of the unconverted more daring, and the general disposition of the people inclined to revolt. American traders and freebooters had entered the country, spread themselves all over the province, and sowed the seeds of discord and revolt among the inhabitants. Many of the more reckless and evil minded readily listened to their suggestions, adopted their counsels, and broke out into open hostilities. Their hostile attack was first directed against the mission of Santa Cruz, which they captured and plundered, when they directed their course to Monterey, and, in common with their American friends, attacked and plundered that place.    From these and other like occurrences, it was clear that the conditions of the missions was one of the greatest peril. The spirit of discord had spread among the people, hostility to the authority of the Fathers had become common, while desertion from the villages was of frequent and almost constant occurrence. To remedy this unpleasant state of affairs, the military then in the country was entirely inadequate, and so matters continued, with little or no difference, till 1824, when by the action of the Mexican government, the missions began rapidly to decline.

        "Two years after Mexico had been formed into a republic, the government authorities began to interfere with the rights of the Fathers and the existing state of affairs. In 1826 instructions were forwarded by the federal government to the authorities of California for the liberation of the Indians. This was followed a few years later by another act of the Legislature, ordering the whole of the missions to be secularized and the Religious to withdraw. The ostensible object assigned by the authors of this measure, was the execution of the original plan formed by government. The missions, it was alleged, were never intended to be permanent establishments; they were to give way in the course of some years to the regular ecclesiastical system, when the people would be formed into parishes, attended by a secular clergy. * * * * *

        "Beneath these specious pretexts," says Dwinelle in his Colonial History, " was, undoubtedly, a perfect understanding between the government at Mexico and the leading men in California, and in such a condition of things the supreme government might absorb the pious fund, under the pretence that it was no longer necessary for missionary purposes, and thus had reverted to the State as a quasi escheat, while the co-actors in California should appropriate the local wealth of the missions, by the rapid and sure process of administering their temporalities." And again: " These laws (the secularization laws), whose ostensible purpose was to convert the missionary establishments into Indian pueblos, their churches into parish churches, and to elevate the christianized Indians to the rank of citizens, were, after all, executed in such a manner that the so-called secularization of the missions resulted only in, their plunder and complete ruin, and in the demoralization and dispersion of the christianized Indians."

        Immediately on the receipt of the decree, the then acting Governor of California, Don José Figueroa, commenced the carrying out of its provisions, to which end he prepared certain provisional rules, and in accordance therewith the alteration in the missionary system was begun, to be immediately followed by the absolute ruin of both missions and country. Within a very few years the exertions of the Fathers were entirely destroyed; the lands which had hitherto teemed with abundance, were handed over to the Indians, to be by them neglected and permitted to return to their primitive wildness, and the thousands of cattle were divided among the people and the administrators for the personal benefit of either.

        Let us now briefly follow Father Gleeson in his contrast of the state of the people before and after secularization. He says: "It has been stated already that in 1822 the entire number of Indians then inhabiting the different missions, amounted to twenty thousand and upwards. To these others were being constantly added, even during these years of political strife which immediately preceded the independence of Mexico, until, in 1836, the numbers amounted to thirty thousand and more. Provided with all the necessaries and comforts of life, instructed in everything requisite for their state in society, and devoutly trained in the duties and requirements of religion, these thirty thousand Californian converts led a peaceful, happy, contented life, strangers to those cares, troubles and anxieties common to higher and more civilized conditions of life. At the same time that their religious condition was one of thankfulness and grateful satisfaction to the Fathers, their worldly position was one of unrivaled abundance and prosperity. Divided between the different missions from San Lucas to San Francisco, close upon one million of live stock belonged to the people. Of these four hundred thousand were horned cattle, sixty thousand horses and more than three hundred thousand sheep, goats and swine. The united annual return of the cereals, consisting of wheat, maize, beans and the like; was upwards of one hundred and twenty thousand bushels; while at the same time throughout the different missions, the preparation and manufacture of soap, leather, wine, brandy, hides, wool, oil, cotton, hemp, linen, tobacco, salt and soda, was largely and extensively cultivated. And. to such perfection were these articles brought, that some of them were eagerly sought for and purchased in the principal cities of Europe.

        " The material prosperity of the country was further increased by an annual revenue of about one million of dollars, the net proceeds of the hides and tallow of one hundred thousand oxen slaughtered annually at the different missions. Another hundred thousand were slaughtered by the settlers for their own private advantage. The revenues on the articles of which there are no specific returns, is also supposed to have averaged another million dollars, which, when added to the foregoing, makes the annual revenue of the California Catholic missions, at the time of their supremacy, between two and three million dollars. Independent of these, there were the rich and extensive gardens and orchards attached to the missions, exquisitely ornamented and enriched, in many instances, with a great variety of European and tropical fruit trees, plums, bananas, oranges, olives and figs; added to which were the numerous and fertile vineyards, rivaling in the quantity and quality of the grape those of the old countries of Europe, and all used for the comfort and maintenance of the natives. In a word, the happy results, both spiritual and temporal, produced in Upper California by the spiritual children of St. Francis, during the sixty years of their missionary career, were such as have rarely been equaled and never surpassed in modern times. In a country naturally salubrious, and it must be admitted fertile beyond many parts of the world, yet presenting at the outset numerous obstacles to the labors of the missionary, the Fathers succeeded in establishing at regular distances along the coast as many as one­and-twenty missionary establishments. Into these holy retreats their zeal and ability enabled them to gather the whole of the indigenous race, with the exception of a few wandering tribes who, it is only reasonable to suppose, would also have followed the example of their brethren, had not the labors of the Fathers been dispensed with by the civil authorities. There, in those peaceful, happy abodes, abounding in more than the ordinary enjoyment of things, spiritual and temporal, thirty thousand faithful, simple-hearted Indians passed their days in the practice of virtue and the improvement of the country. From a wandering, savage, uncultivated race, unconscious as well of the God who created them as the end for which they were made, they became after the advent of the Fathers, a civilized, domestic, Christian people, whose morals were as pure as their lives were simple. Daily attendance at the holy sacrifice of the mass, morning and night prayer, confession and communion at stated times—the true worship, in a word, of the Deity, succeeded the listless, aimless life, the rude pagan games and the illicit amours. The plains and valleys, which for centuries lay uncultivated and unproductive, now teemed under an abundance of every species of corn; the hills and plains were covered with stock; the fig tree, the olive and the vine yielded their rich abundance, while lying in the harbors, waiting to carry to foreign markets the rich products of the country, might be seen numerous vessels from different parts of the world. Such was the happy and prosperous condition of the country under the missionary rule; and with this the reader is requested to contrast the condition of the people after the removal of the Religious, and the transfer of power to the secular authorities.

        "In 1833, the decree for the liberation of the Indians was passed by the Mexican Congress, and put in force in the following year. The dispersion and demoralization of the people was the immediate result. Within eight years after the execution of the decree, the number of Christians diminished from thirty thousand six hundred and fifty to four thousand four hundred and fifty! Some of the missions, which in 1834 had as many as one thousand five hundred souls, numbered only a few hundred in 1842. The two missions of San Rafael and San Francisco Solano decreased respectively within this period from one thousand two hundred and fifty and one thousand three hundred, to twenty and seventy.  A like diminution was observed in the cattle and general products of the country. Of the eight hundred and eight thousand head of live stock belonging to the missions at the date above mentioned, only sixty-three thousand and twenty remained in 1842. The diminution in the cereals was equally striking ; it fell from seventy to four thousand hectolitres. * * * By descending to particular instances, this (the advantage of the Religious over the civil administration) will become even more manifest still. At one period during the supremacy of the Fathers, the principal mission of the country (San Diego), produced as much as six thousand fanegas of wheat, and an equal quantity of maize, but in 1842 the return for this mission was only eighteen hundred fanegas in all."

        But why prolong these instances which are adduced by the learned and Reverend Father? Better will it be to let the reader judge for himself. Figures are incontrovertible facts; let them speak:

COMPARATIVE TABLE EXPLAINING THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE MISSIONS BY THE FATHERS IN 1834 AND THAT OF THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES IN 1842.

        Being twenty-one missions in all distributed over a distance of two hundred and eighty-nine leagues.

        We have thus far dwelt principally upon the establishment of the missions, and the manner of life pursued by the native Indians; let us now retrace our steps, and briefly take into consideration the attempt made by yet another nation to get a foothold on the coast of California, but which would appear not to have heretofore received the attention which the subject would demand.

        The Russians, to whom then belonged all that territory now known as Alaska, had found their country of almost perpetual cold, without facilities for the cultivation of those fruits and cereals which are necessary to the maintenance of life; of game there was an inexhaustible supply; still, a variety was wanted. Thus, ships were dispatched along the coast in quest of a spot where a station might be established and those wants supplied, at the same time bearing in mind the necessity of choosing a location easy of access to the headquarters of their fur-hunters in Russian America. In a voyage of this nature the port of Bodega in Sonoma county, which had been discovered in the year 1775 by its sponsor, Lieutenant Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, was visited in January, 1811, by Alexander Koskoff, who took possession of the place on the fragile pleas that he had been refused a supply of water at Yerba Buena, and that he had obtained, by right of purchase from the Indians, all the land lying between Point Reyes and Point Arena, and for a distance of three leagues inland. Here he remained for awhile, and to Bodega gave the name of Romanzoff, calling the stream now known as Russian river, Slavianka.

        The King of Spain, it should be remembered, claimed all territory north to the Fuca straits. Therefore, on Governor Arguello receiving the intelligence of the Russian occupation of Bodega, he reported the circumstance to the Viceroy, Revilla Gigedo, who returned dispatches ordering the Muscovite intruder to depart. The only answer received to this communication was a verbal message, saying that the orders of the viceroy of Spain had been received and transmitted to St. Petersburg for the action of the Czar. Here, however, the matter did not rest. There arrived in the harbor of San Francisco, in 1816, in the Russian brig " Rurick," a scientific expedition, under the command of Otto von Kotzebue. In accordance with instructions received from the Spanish authorities, Governor Sola proceeded to San Francisco, visited Kotzebue, and, as directed by his government, offered his aid in furtherance of the endeavors to advance scientific research on the coast. At the same time he complained of Koskoff; informed him of the action taken on either side, and laid particular emphasis on the fact that the Russians had been occupiers of Spanish territory for five years. Upon this complaint Don Gervasio Arguello was dispatched to Bodega as the bearer of a message from Kotzebue to Koskoff, requiring his presence in San Francisco. This messenger was the first to bring a definite report of the Russian settlement there, which then consisted of twenty-five Russians and eighty Kodiac Indians. On the twenty-eighth day of October, a conference was held on board the " Rurick " in the harbor of San Francisco, between Arguello, Kotzebue and Koskoff; there being also present Jose Maria Estudillo, Luis Antonio Arguello and a naturalist named Chamisso, who acted as interpreter. No new development was made at this interview, for Koskoff claimed he was acting in strict conformity with instructions from the Governor of Sitka, therefore Kotzebue declined to to take any action in the matter, contenting himself with the simple promise that the entire affair should be submitted to St. Petersburg to await the instructions of the Emperor of Russia. Thus the matter then rested. Communications subsequently made produced a like unsatisfactory result, and the Russians were permitted to remain for a lengthened period possessors of the land they had so arbitrarily appropriated.

        In Bodega, the Russians, however, went to work with a will, whether they had a right to the soil or not. They proceeded into the country about six miles and there established a settlement, houses being built, fields fenced, and agricultural pursuits vigorously engaged in. As soon as the first crop had matured and was ready for shipment, it became necessary for them to have a warehouse at the bay, where their vessels could be loaded, which was done, it being used for the storage of grain or furs as necessity called for. It was not long before they found there was a strong opposition to them and that it would be necessary to build a fort for their protection if they would keep possession of their newly acquired domain. Open warfare was threatened, and the Russians had reason to believe that the threats would be carried out. Besides the Spaniards, there was another enemy to ward against—the Indians—over whom the former, through the missions, had absolute control, and the Russians apprehended that this power would be used against them. Several expeditions were organized by the Spanish to march against the Russians, and while they all came to naught, yet they served to cause them to seek for some place of refuge in case of attack. This they did not care to look for at any point nearer the Bay of San Francisco, for thus they would be brought in closer proximity to the enemy, hence they went in an opposite direction. Doubtless the Muscovite would have been glad to have adopted a laissez faire policy towards the Spanish, and would have been well satisfied to have let them alone if they would only have retaliated in like manner; fearing, however, to trust the Spaniards, they proceeded to search for such a location as would afford them natural protection from their enemies.

        In passing up the coast to the northward, they came to Fort Ross, where they found everything they desired. Vast meadows stretched to the eastward, affording pasture to flocks without number.

"This is the forest primeval; the murmuring pines and the hemlocks,

Bearded with moss and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,

Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,

Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms,

Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep voiced neighboring ocean

Speaks and in accents disconsolate, answers the wail of the forest."

        There was a beautiful little cove in which vessels might lie in safety from the fury of northern storms; near at hand was an ample stretch of beach, on which their rude yet staunch argosies could be constructed and easily launched upon the mighty deep; no more propitious place could have been found for the establishment of the Russian headquarters. The location once chosen they set to work to prepare their new homes. A site was chosen for the stockade near the shore of the ocean, and in such a position as to protect all their ships lying in the little cove, and prevent any vessel inimical to them from landing. The plat of ground inclosed in this stockade was a parallelogram, two hundred and eighty feet wide and three hundred and twelve feet long, and containing about two acres. Its angles were placed very nearly upon the cardinal points of the compass. At the north and south angle there was constructed an octagonal bastion, two stories high, and furnished with six pieces of artillery. These bastions were built exactly alike, and were about twenty-four feet in diameter. The walls were formed of hewed logs, mortised together at the corners, and were about eight inches in thickness.

        The roof was conical shaped, having a small flag-staff at the apex. The stockade approached these towers in such a way that one-half of them was within the inclosure and the other half on the outside, the entrance to them being through small doors on the inside, while there were embrasures both on the inside and outside. They were thus arranged so as to protect those within from an outside enemy, and to also have all within, under the range of the cannon, so that in case of an internal eruption the officers could readily quell the mute. The stockade was constructed as follows: A trench was excavated two feet deep, while every ten feet along the bottom of the trench a hole was dug one foot deep. In these holes posts about six by ten inches were inserted, and between the posts and on the bottom of the trenches there was a strong girder firmly mortised into the posts, and fastened with a strong wooden pin. Slabs of varying widths, but all being about six inches thick, were then placed in an upright position between the first posts and resting on the girder in the trench, being firmly fastened to them. At a distance up the posts of twelve feet from the lower girder, there was run another girder, which was also mortised into the posts and made fast with pins. These girders rested on the tops of the slabs mentioned as being placed between the, posts. The slabs were slotted at the top, and a piece of timber passed into the slots, then huge wooden pins were passed down through the girders and the piece in the slots, and well into the body of the slab. The main posts extended about three feet higher, and near the top a lighter girder was run along, and between the last two mentioned there was a row of light slabs, two inches thick and four inches wide, pointed at the top like pickets. It may well be imagined that when the trench was filled up with tamped rock and dirt, that this stockade was almost invulnerable, when we remember the implements of war likely to be brought against it in those days of rude weapons. All around the stockade there were embrasures suitable for the use of muskets or carronades, of which latter, it is said, there were several in the fortress.

        On the northern side of the eastern angle there was erected a chapel which it is said was used by the officers of the garrison, alone. It was twenty-five by thirty-one feet in dimensions, and strongly built, the outer wall forming a part of the stockade, and the round port-holes for the use of carronades, are peculiar looking openings in a house of worship. The entrance was on the inside of the fort, and consisted of a rude, heavy wooden door, held upon wooden hinges. There was a vestibule about ten by twenty-five feet in size, thus leaving the auditorium twenty-one by twenty-five feet. From the vestibule a narrow stairway led to a low loft, while the building was surmounted with two domes, one of which was round, and the other pentagonal in shape, in which it is said the muscovites had hung a chime of bells. The roof was made of long planks, either sawed or rove from redwood, likewise the side of the chapel in the fort. Some degree of carpenter's skill was displayed in the construction of the building, for a faint attempt at getting out mouldings for the inner door and window casings was made, a bead being worked around the outer edge of the casing, and mitered at the corners.

        On the west side of the northern angle there was a two-story building, twenty-eight by eighty feet in dimensions, which was roughly constructed and doubtless used as the barracks for the men of the garrison. On the northern side of the western angle there was a one-story building, twenty-nine by fifty feet, constructed in a better style of workmanship and evidently used as officers' quarters. On the southern side of the western angle was a one-story building twenty-five by seventy-five feet, which was probably used for a working house, as various branches of industry were prosecuted within its walls, and on the eastern side of the southern angle there was a row of low shed buildings, used, it is presumed, for the stabling of stock and storing of feed. The frame work of all the buildings was made of very large, heavy timbers, many of them being twelve inches square. The rafters were all great, ponderous, round pine logs, a considerable number of them being six inches in diameter. The above includes the stockade and all its interior buildings.

        We will now draw attention to the exterior buildings, for be it known that there was at one time a colony numbering two hundred and fifty souls at Fort Ross. In 1845, there were the remains of a village of about twenty-five small dwelling houses on the north side of the stockade, all of which were in keeping with those at Bodega. They were probably not over twelve by fourteen feet in dimensions, and constructed from rough slabs riven from redwood. These hardy muscovites were so rugged and inured to the cold of the higher latitudes that they cared not for the few cracks that might admit the fresh, balmy air of the California winter mornings.   Also, to the northward of and near this village, situated on an eminence, was a windmill, which was the motor for driving a single run of burrs, and also for a stamping machine used for grinding tan-bark. The windmill produced all the flour used in that and the Bodega settlements, and probably a considerable amount was also sent with the annual shipment to Sitka. To the south of the stockade, and in a deep gulch at the debouchure of a small stream into the ocean, there stood a very large building, probably eighty by a hundred feet in size, the rear half of which was used for the purpose of tanning leather. There were six vats in all, constructed of heavy, rough redwood slabs, and each with a capacity of fifty barrels; there were also the usual appliances necessary to conduct a tannery, but these implements were large and rough in their make, still with these, they were able to manufacture a good quality of leather in large quantities. The front half of the building, or that fronting on the ocean, was used as a work­shop for the construction of ships. Ways were constructed on a sand beach at this point leading into deep water, and upon them were built a number of staunch vessels, and from here was launched the very first sea-going craft constructed in California. Still further to the south, and near the ocean shore, stood a building eighty by a hundred feet, which bore all the marks of having been used as a store-house; it was, however, unfortunately blown down by a storm on July 16, 1878, and soon there will be nothing to mark its site.
        Tradition says that to the eastward of the fort and across the gulch, there once stood a very large building, which was used as a church for the common people of the settlement, near which the cemetery was located. A French tourist once paid Fort Ross a visit, and arriving after dark asked permission to remain over night with the parties, who at that time owned that portion of the grant on which the settlement was located. During the evening the conversation naturally drifted upon the old history of the place. The tourist displayed a familiarity with all the surroundings, which surprised the residents, and caused them to ask if he had ever lived there with the Russians. He answered that he had not, but that he had a very warm friend in St. Petersburg, who had spent thirty years at Fort Ross as a Muscovite priest, and that he had made him a promise, upon his departure for California, about a year before, to pay a visit to the scenes of the holy labors of the priest, and it was in compliance with this promise that he was there at the time. Among the other things inquired about was the church close to the cemetery mentioned above. All traces of this building had long since disappeared, and the settlers were surprised to hear that it ever stood there. The tourist assured them that the priest had stated distinctly that such a building once occupied that site, and also that a number of other buildings stood near it, used by the peasants for homes. Ernest Rufus, of Sonoma, who went to Fort Ross in 1845, tells us that when the land went into disuse after the Russians had left, that wild oats grew very rank, often reaching a height of ten feet, and that the Indians were accustomed to set it on fire, and that during these conflagrations the fences and many of the smaller houses of the Russians were consumed, and that he well remembers that there were a number of small houses near the cemetery, and that the blackened ruins of a very large building also remained, which the half-breed Russo-Indians told him had been used for a church. The tourist mentioned above stated that his friend, the priest, was greatly attached to the place, as had been all who had lived in the settlement. They found the climate genial, the soil productive, and the resources of the country great, and, all in all, it was a most desirable place to live in.

        The Russians had farmed very extensively at this place, having at least two thousand acres under fence, besides a great deal that was not fenced. These fences, which were chiefly of that kind known as rail and post, as stated before, nearly all perished in the wild fires. Their agricultural processes were as crude as any of their other work. Their plow was very similar to the old Spanish implement, so common in this country at that time and still extant in Mexico, with the exception that the Muscovite instrument possessed a mold-board. They employed oxen and cows as draft animals, using the old Spanish yoke adjusted to their horns instead of to their necks, We have no account of any attempt of constructing either cart or wagon, but it is probable that they had vehicles the same as those described as being in use among the Californians at that time, while it is supposed they used to a great extent sleds for transporting their produce when cut to the threshing floor, which was constructed differently from those then common in the country. It was simply a floor composed of heavy puncheons, circular in shape, and elevated somewhat above the ground. Between the puncheons were inter­stices through which the grain fell under the floor as it was released from the head. The threshing was done in this wise: A layer of grain, in the straw, of a foot or two in thickness, was placed upon the floor. Oxen were then driven over it, hitched to a log with rows of wooden pegs inserted into it. As the log revolved, these pegs acted well the part of a flail, and the straw was expeditiously relieved of its burden of grain. It was, doubtless, no hard job to winnow the grain after it was threshed, as the wind blows a stiff blast at that point during all the Summer months.

        The Russians constructed a wharf at the northern side of the little cove, and graded a road down the steep ocean shore to it. Its line is still to be seen, as it passed much of the way through solid rock. This wharf was made fast to the rocks on which it was constructed, with long iron bolts, of which only a few that were driven into the hard surface now remain; the wharf itself is gone, hence we are unable to give its dimensions, or further details concerning it.

        These old Muscovites, doubtless, produced the first lumber with a saw ever made north of the San Francisco bay, for they had both a pit and whip­saw, the former of which can be seen to this day. Judging from the number of stumps still standing, and the extent of territory over which they extended their logging operations, they evidently consumed large quantities of lumber. The timber was only about one mile distant from the shipyard and landing, while the stumps of trees cut by them are still standing, and beside them from one to six shoots have sprung up, many of which have now reached a size sufficient  for lumber purposes. This growth has been remarkable, and goes to show that if proper care were taken, each half century would see a new crop of redwoods, sufficiently large for all practical purposes, while ten decades would see gigantic trees.

        As stated above, the cemetery lay to the eastward of the fort, about one-fourth of a mile, and across a very deep gulch, and was near the church for the peasants. There were never more than fifty graves in it, though all traces are obliterated now of more than a dozen; most of them still remaining had some sort of a wooden structure built over them. One manner of constructing these mausoleums was to make a series of rectangular frames of square timbers, about six inches in diameter, each frame a certain degree smaller than the one below it, which were placed one above another, until an apex was reached, which was surmounted with a cross. Another method was to construct a rectangular frame of heavy planking about one foot high and cover the top with two heavy planks, placed so as to be roof-shaped; others had simply a rude cross; others, a cross on which some mechanical skill was displayed, and one has a large round post, standing high above the adjacent crosses. They are all buried in graves dug due east and west, and, presumably, with heads to the west. There are now no inscriptions to be seen upon any of the graves, and it is not likely that there ever were any, while from their size some of them must have contained children. Silently are these sleeping in their far­away graves, where the eyes of those who knew and loved them in their earthly life can never rest on their tombs again, and while the eternal roar of the Pacific makes music in the midnight watches will they await the great day that shall restore them to their long-lost friends. Sleep on, brave hearts, and peaceful be thy slumber!

        In an easterly direction, and about one mile distant from the fort, there was an enclosure containing about five acres, which was enclosed by a fence about eight feet high, made of redwood slabs about two inches in thickness, these being driven into the ground, while the tops were nailed firmly to girders extending from post to post, set about ten feet apart. Within the enclosure there was an orchard, consisting of apple, prune and cherry trees. Of these - fifty of the first and nine of the last-named, moss-grown and gray with age, still remain, while it is said that all the old stock of German prunes in California came from seed produced there.

        The Russians had a small settlement at a place now known as Russian Gulch, where they evidently grew wheat, for the remains of a warehouse are still to be seen.

        There were several commanders who had charge of the Russian interests on the Pacific coast, but the names of all save the first, Alexander Koskoff, and the last, Rotscheff, have been lost to tradition. General William T. Sherman relates a pleasing incident in his "Memoirs," which is called to mind by the mention of the name of Rotscheff : While lying at anchor in a Mediterranean port, the vessel on which Sherman was traveling was visited by the officers of a Russian naval vessel. During the exchange of courtesies and in the course of conversation, one of the Russian officers took occasion to remark to Sherman that he was an American by birth, having been born in the Russian colony in California, and that he was the son of one of the Colonial rulers. He was doubtless the son of Rotscheff and his beautiful bride, the Princess de Gargarin, in whose honor Mount St. Helena was named. The beauty of this lady excited so ardent a passion in the breast of Solano, chief of the Indians in that part of the country, that he formed a plan to capture, by force or strategy, the object of his love, and he might have succeeded had his design not been frustrated by General M. G. Vallejo.

        We have thus set forth all the facts concerning the Russian occupancy, and their habits, manners, buildings, occupations, etc.; we will now trace the causes which led to their departure from the genial shores of California:

        It is stated that the promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine caused them to leave; but that is hardly the fact, for they remained seventeen years after this policy was announced and accepted by the nations of Europe; it is, however, probably true that European nations had something to do with it, for both France and England had an eye upon this territory, and both hoped some day to possess it. As long as the Russians maintained a colony here, they had a prior claim to the territory; hence they must be got rid of. The Russians also recognized the fact that the Americans were beginning to come into the country in considerable numbers and that it was inevitable that they would soon overrun and possess it. The subsequent train of events proved that their surmises were correct; one thing, however, is evident, and that is, that they did not depart at the request or behest of either the Spanish or Mexican governments. It is almost certain that the Russians contemplated a permanent settlement at this point when they located here, as this section would provide them with wheat, an article much needed for the supply of their stations in the far north. Of course as soon as the Spanish authorities came to know of their permanent location, word was sent of the fact to Madrid. In due course of time reply came from the seat of government ordering the Muscovite intruders to depart, but to this peremptory order, their only answer was that the matter had been referred to St. Petersburg.

        We have shown above that an interview had taken place between Koskoff and the Spanish authorities on board the "Rurick," when anchored in the Bay of San Francisco, to consult on the complaints of the latter, but that nothing came of it. The commandants under the Mexican regime, in later years, organized several military expeditions for the purpose of marching against the intruders, but none in that direction was ever made. For more than a quarter of a century they continued to hold undisturbed possession of the disputed territory, and prosecuted their farming, stock-raising, hunting, trapping and ship-building enterprises, and, whatever may have been the causes which led to it, there finally came a time when the Russian authorities had decided to withdraw the California colony. The proposition was made first by them to the government authorities at Monterey, to dispose of their interest at Bodega and Fort Ross, including their title to the land, but, as the authorities had never recognized their right or title, and did not wish to do so at that late date, they refused to purchase. Application was next made to Gen. M. G. Vallejo, but on the same grounds he refused to purchase. They then applied to Captain John A. Sutter, a gentleman at that time residing near where Sacramento city now stands, and who had made, a journey from Sitka, some years before, in one of their vessels. They persuaded Sutter into the belief that their title was good, and could be maintained; so, after making out a full invoice of the articles they had for disposal, including all the land lying between Point Reyes and Point Mendocino, and one league inland, as well as cattle, farming and mechanical implements; also, a schooner of one hundred and eighty tons burthen, some arms, a four-pound brass field piece, etc., a price was decided upon, the sum being thirty thousand dollars, which, however, was not paid at one time, but in cash installments of a few thousand dollars, the last payment being made through ex-Governor Burnett in 1849. All the stipulations of the sale having been arranged satisfactorily to both parties, the transfer was duly made, and Sutter became, as he thought, the greatest land-holder in California—the grants given by the Mexican government seemed mere bagatelles when compared with his almost provincial possessions; but, alas for human hopes and aspirations; for in reality he had paid an enormous price for a very paltry compensation of personal and chattel property. It is apropos to remark here that in 1859 Sutter disposed of his Russian claim, which was a six-eighths interest in the lands mentioned above, to William Muldrew, George R. Moore and Daniel W. Welty, but they only succeeded in getting six thousand dollars out of one settler, and the remainder refusing to pay, the claim was dropped. Some of the settlers were inclined to consider the Muldrew claim, as it is called, a blackmailing affair, and to censure General Sutter for disposing of it to them, charging that he sanctioned the blackmailing process, and was to share in its profits, but we will say in justice to the General, that so far as he was concerned, there was no idea of blackmail on his part. He supposed that he did purchase a bona fide claim and title to the land in question, of the Russians, and has always considered the grants given by the Mexican government as bogus, hence on giving this quit­claim deed to Muldrew et al., he sincerely thought that he was deeding that to which he alone had any just or legal claim.

        Orders were sent to the settlers at Fort Ross to repair at once to San Francisco bay, and ships were dispatched to bring them there, where whaling vessels, which were bound for the northwest whaling grounds, had been chartered to convey them to Sitka. The vessels arrived at an early hour in the day, and the orders shown to the commander, Rotscheff, who immediately caused the bells in the chapel towers to be rung, and the cannon to be discharged, this being the usual method of convocating the people at an unusual hour, or for some special purpose, so everything was suspended just there—the husbandman left his plow standing in the half-turned furrow, and unloosed his oxen, never again to yoke them, leaving them to wander at will over the fields; the mechanic dropped his planes and saws on the bench, leaving the half-smoothed board still in the vise; the tanner left his tools where he was using them, and doffed his apron to don it no more in California. As soon as the entire population had assembled, Rotscheff arose and read the orders. Very sad and unwelcome, indeed, was this intelligence, but the edict had emanated from a source which could not be gainsaid, and the only alternative was a speedy and complete compliance, however reluctant it might be—and thus four hundred people were made homeless by the fiat of a single word. Time was only given to gather up a few household effects, with some of the choicest mementoes, and they were hurried on board the ships. Scarcely time was given to those whose loved ones were sleeping in the grave yard near by, to pay a last sad visit to their resting place. Embarcation was commenced at once.

"And with the ebb of the tide the ships sailed out of the harbor

Leaving behind them the dead on the shore."

        And all the happy scenes of their lives, which had glided smoothly along, on the beautiful shores of the Pacific, and in the garden spot of the world. Sad and heavy must have been their hearts, as they gazed for the last time upon the receding landscape which their eyes had learned to love, because it had been that best of places—HOME.