Geography. - Salt Point
township lies at the extreme northwest corner of Sonoma County. It is
bounded on the north by Mendocino County, on the east by Mendocino
township, on the south by Ocean township, and on the west by the Pacific
Ocean. It is among the largest townships in the county. There are no
navigable streams in it. The Valhalla River runs along its northern
boundary, and forms the dividing line between it and Sonoma County. This
river is of no commercial importance, serving only for the purpose of
rafting logs to the mill, situated near its mouth, in Mendocino County.
Its south fork extends into this township for some distance, being but
a mere creek for the most of the way.
Topography. - The general
surface of Salt Point is very rough and broken. There are no valleys of
level land worth mentioning as such in the entire township. There are no
mountains of prominence, yet the entire section is very hilly. Near Fort
Ross there is an extended section of level country; and it is the boast
of the residents of that place that they are able to lay out a half-mile
race track on quite level ground - a luxury denied all other sections of
the township.
Soil. - The soil is mostly
of a clayey nature, owing to the fact that the greater part is situated
on the mountain sides. In the valleys it is a sandy loam. The clayey
soil is well adapted to the growing of vines and trees, while the
valleys are productive of vegetables, etc. To tell the truth, there is a
remarkable sparseness of soil in almost the entire township, except in
the small valleys.
Climate. - The climate,
although the township borders on the ocean, is far different from that
of Bodega. On the margin of the ocean it is very foggy during a greater
portion of the year. The trade winds strike it fair, and of course this
makes it very cool during the Summer months, and sometimes disagreeably
chilly, but a few miles in the interior the climate is as different as
it is fifty miles away. The heavy belt of timber which skirts the ocean
serves to break the force and effect of the trade winds, while the fogs
are condensed by it to such an extent that but comparatively little ever
reaches the valleys a short distance inland. It is consequently warm and
dry, and withal pleasant and healthful. In that section it is remarkable
that during the day the air in the valleys is very warm, while on the
mountain tops a breath of the sea breeze cools and refreshes everything,
while at night it is reversed, and at the bottoms of the valleys the air
is cool and often very damp with falling due, while on the mountain tops
it is dry and warm.
Mr. CALL has been the possessor of a
rain gauge for the last five years and during that time has carefully
measured and kept a record of the rainfall. He finds the average at Fort
Ross to be about fifty inches annually. As compared with San Francisco
there does not appear to be any great difference in the number of rainy
days, but there seems to be more than twice as much at Ross. No
complaint is made of this, however, for the country is mountainous and
the water runs off the hills doing no harm. In dry years the benefit is
of course great. In the dry season of 1865-6, the fall at Fort Ross was
thirty-one inches, and while the other parts of the State suffered the
dairymen along the Sonoma coast had an exceptionally good year. Mr. CALL
states that he has not yet seen a year when the rains of October were
not sufficient to start the growth of the grass, and the following rains
sufficient to start the growth of the grass, and the following rains
sufficient to start the growth of the grass, and the following rains
sufficient to keep it growing until June, and as there is but little
frost - in some years none at all - on the coast, it will be judged that
the district in and around Fort Ross is the very best dairy and stock
raising district on the Pacific coast.
Products. - The products of
this township are confined almost exclusively to lumber, shingles,
cord-wood, fence-posts, tan-bark, railroad ties and fence pickets. Not
enough of anything else is produced, with the exception of dairy
products, for home consumption. There are a few extensive dairies and
some very extensive stock farms in the township. Fruits, vines and
vegetables do well in little patches here and there, where protected
from the fogs and winds, and reached by the warm rays of the sun;
outside of this, but little of this nature is grown.
Early Settlement. - It is
probable that the settlement of this section by the Russians was
contemporaneous with that of Bodega township. It is quite probable that
when Alexander KOSKOFF and his company began to establish themselves at
Romanzoff or Bodega bay in January, 1811, he found strenuous opposition
from the Spanish authorities of California, who always looked upon the
Russians as usurpers of the soil and were always ready to embrace any
and all opportunities to drive them off. Open warfare was threatened and
the Russians had reason to believe that the threats would be carried
out. There was another enemy to ward against - the Indians - over whom
the Spaniards, 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 stronghold of refuge in case of an attack. They did not care to
seek for this stronghold at any point nearer the bay of San Francisco,
as this would bring them nearer the enemy, hence they went in an
opposite direction. The Russians would doubtless have been glad to have
adopted a laissez-faire policy towards the Spanish, and would
have been very well satisfied to have let them alone if they would only
have retaliated in like manner; fearing, however, to trust the
Spaniards, the new Muscovite settlers at once proceeded to search for a
location which could afford them natural protection from their enemies.
In passing up the coast to the northward, they came to the level and
extensive tract lying adjacent to the present site of Fort Ross. Here
they found everything they could desire. 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 the 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 along the
entire coast of Sonoma County for the establishment of the headquarters
of the Russian colony. The location once chosen, they set to work with a
will 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 vessels inimical to them
from effecting a landing. The plat of ground inclosed in this stockade
was a parallelogram, two hundred and eighty-eight feet wide and three
hundred and twelve feet long, and contained 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 redwood logs, nicely 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. 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 trouble. The stockade was
constructed as follows: A trench was dug 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
girders 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. These 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 entirely invulnerable with the implements of assault likely to be
brought against it in those days of rude weapons of war. All around the
stockade there were embrasures suitable for the use of muskets or
caronades, 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, alone, of the garrison. 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 caronades, are queer
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. In this,
rude yet roomy and comfortable benches were placed for seats, and two of
these are still to be seen at Fort Ross. From the vestibule an
excessively narrow stairway leads to a low loft, evidently not used for
anything originally. The building was surmounted with two domes, one of
which was round and the other pentagonal in shape. It is said that the
Muscovites had a beautiful chime of bells in these towers, which used to
peal out the matins and vespers in the most melliflous tones. 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 carpenters' skill was
displayed in the constructing of this building. 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 it was
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. This was a roughly constructed building, and was doubtless
used for barracks for the men of the garrison. The framework of all the
buildings was made of very large, heavy timbers, many of them being
twelve inches square. The rafters were all great, heavy, round pine
logs, many of them being six inches in diameter. 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 was evidently
used for officers' quarters.
On the southern side of the western
angle was a one-story building, twenty-five by seventy-five feet. This
was probably used for a working house, as various branches of industry
were prosecuted within the walls. On the eastern side of the southern
angle there was a row of low shed buildings, which were probably used
for the purpose of stabling their stock and storing their feed.
This includes the stockade and all
its interior buildings. There were a number of exterior buildings, and
we will now turn our attention to them. Be it known that there was a
colony consisting of at least two hundred and fifty souls at one time at
this place. We will first notice the dwelling houses. We are indebted to
Ernest RUFUS, of Sonoma, who went to Fort Ross in 1845, for much
valuable information in regard to the Russian economy. He states that
there were at that time a village of about twenty-five small
dwelling-houses on the north side of the stockade. These houses were in
keeping with the houses of the peasants already described in Bodega.
They were small, being 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
wind-mill, which was the motor for driving a single run of burrs, and
also for a stamping machine used for grinding tan-bark. This wind-mill
produced all the flour used in that and the Bodega settlements, and
probably quite an amount was also sent with the annual shipment to
Sitka. The burrs were made of the sandstone indigenous to that section,
and seem to have answered the purpose well indeed. These stones were
about three feet in diameter, and one foot in thickness. One of them is
still lying on the site of Fort Ross. This was probably the first
flour-mill of any description north of San Francisco and in the State.
The stamp for crushing tan-bark was made of solid iron, and was about
four inches square. It was hung upon a crank, upon the main shaft of the
wind wheel, and the motion was thus given to it. It was a simple and
very effective device, but required the constant attention of an
operator to turn the bark and stir it up. This mill and stamp did good
service for several years after the Americans came into possession of
it; but not a vestige is left of it now, save the stone. This should
certainly be cared for, in connection with the burr at the site of
Captain Smith's old mill in Bodega, by the Society of Pioneers.
We will now follow this tan bark
farther on and see what use it was put to by the old Muscovites. 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 it 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.
They had all the usual appliances necessary to conduct a tannery, such
as scrapers, mullers, etc., but these implements were large and rough in
their make. It is said, however, that they were able to manufacture a
very good quality of leather, and did so in large quantities.
The front half, or that fronting the
ocean, was used as a work-shop for the construction of ships. Ways were
constructed on a sand beach at this point leading into the deep water of
the cove, and upon them were built a number of staunch sea-going
vessels. The very first ship or vessel of any kind which was ever
launched in California was set afloat at this place. It occurred about a
year previous to the launching of a vessel at Monterey. It was claimed
by all for years that the Monterey vessel was the first, but it has now
been established that it was not, this Russian vessel having about one
year's priority. These vessels all did good service, and one of them was
sailing not long ago. It is said that some of the first ones built here
did not last very long, owing to a sort of premature decay setting in.
It was found that this was owing to the fact that the redwood lumber was
worked up into the vessel while green. They afterwards seasoned all the
lumber thoroughly, and had no more trouble of this character. One of
these vessels, a schooner, passed into Captain SMITH'S hands, and he
gave it the name of "Sacramento," and it is stated that the street in
San Francisco of that name derived its appellation from the fact that
this schooner made its landings at the foot of that street. Still
farther to the south, and near the ocean shore, stood a building eighty
by a hundred, which was evidently used by them as a store house. It was
very strongly constructed, and well adapted for this purpose. This
building was blown down by a storm July 16, 1878, and there will soon 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 this church the cemetery was located. A French tourist
once paid Fort Ross a visit. He arrived after dark, and asked permission
to remain overnight with the parties who at that time owned that portion
of the Muniz grant on which Fort Ross is 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
here 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 this
place as a Muscovite priest, and that he had made him a promise upon his
departure for California, about one 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 this 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 had ever stood there. The tourist assured
them that the priest had stated distinctly that such a building once
stood there, and also that a number of other buildings stood near it,
used by the peasants for homes. Mr. Rufus 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. Their fence was chiefly
what is known as rail and post, although there was some picket fence
also used more specially for small lots or for dividing fences. As
stated before, these fences 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 implement possessed a moldboard. They employed oxen and
cows, both for draft animals, using the old Spanish yoke adjusted to
their horns instead of to their necks. We have no account of any attempt
at constructing either cart or wagon, but it is probable that they had
carts similar to those described in this work as in use among the
Californians at that time. They also doubtless used sleds to a great
extent for transporting their produce. Their grain was cut with a scythe
when it was ripe, and transported on these sleds to the threshing-floor.
This threshing-floor was constructed differently from those common in
the country at that time and described elsewhere in this work. It was
simply a floor composed of heavy puncheons there were interstices
through which the grain fell to the ground under the floor as it was
released from the head. The threshing was done in this manner: 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. The grade 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. All that remains of the
wharf now is a few of the bolts driven into the rocks. It was gone
before Mr. RUFUS went there, hence we are unable to give its dimensions
or farther details concerning it.
These old Muscovites, doubtless, made
the first lumber with a saw ever made north of San Francisco bay. They
had a pit and a whip-saw. The pit used by them 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 very large quantities of lumber. The timber was only
about one mile distant from the shipyard and landing. The stumps of
trees cut by them are still standing, while 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 a century
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. It 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. These 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. The
top was covered over 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 very large round post
standing high above the adjacent crosses. They are all buried in graves
dug due east and west, and, doubtless, with their heads to the west.
There are no inscriptions now to be seen upon any of the graves, and it
is not likely there ever were any. Some of them sleeping in their
far-away 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 silent slumber !.
In an easterly direction, and about
one mile distant from the fort, there was an enclosure, containing
probably five acres. It was enclosed by a fence about eight feet high,
made of redwood slabs about two inches in thickness. These slabs were
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 of fruit trees planted, consisting of
apples, prunes and cherry trees. It is stated that all the old stock of
German prunes in California came from seed procured at this orchard. The
apples were small seedlings, and shaped much as an Eastern "sheep-nosed
June apple," or rather they were miniature "bell-flowers." At present
there are about fifty apple and nine cherry trees standing. They are
moss-covered and gray with age, and many of them have bowed their heads
to the ground under the weight of their years. The fruit is still
pleasant to the taste, but is small and insignificant, when placed
beside the great, grafted, rosy-cheeked giants which are now grown in
all of our California valleys. But these Muscovite apples excel no
apples at all, and there was a day when they were much sought for in the
San Francisco market. The cherries were small and sour, and not of any
particular excellence. At present but little care is taken of the trees,
and surrounded as they are with the wild forest trees, one is reminded
forcibly of some of "Johnny Appleseed's" famous orchards, planted in the
wilds of the Ohio forests, years before the State was settled.
The Russians had a small settlement
at a place now known as Russian Gulch. They grew wheat here, evidently,
for the remains of a ware-house are still to be seen. They lightered
their wheat out to the vessel, which was anchored off the shore some
distance. The wreck of the frame of one of their lighters can still be
seen near that point.
There were several commanders or
Colonial Governors who had charge here, but the names of all save the
first, Alexander KOSKOFF, and the last, ROTSCHEFF, have been lost even
to tradition. General William T. SHERMAN relates a pleasant incident in
his "Memoirs," which is called to mind by the mention of the name of
ROTSCHEFF. It will be remembered that this man had a wife whose beauty
was famous throughout the whole section - truly a second Helen, for the
capture and possession of whom even military expeditions were organized.
The incident is as follows: 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 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 GAGARIN, in whose honor Mount St.
Helena was christened. We have thus fully 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, and then bid them
adios. 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 it is clearly shown in another chapter
of this work, that 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
quite large numbers, and that it was inevitable that they would soon
overrun and possess it. The subsequent train of events proved that their
surmises were perfectly 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 colonies 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 the headquarters at Madrid. In
due course of time, reply came from the seat of government ordering the
Muscovite intruders to depart. To this peremptory order their only
answer was that the order had been forwarded to St. Petersburg for the
action of the Emperor.
Some time later, probably about 1816,
a Russian vessel anchored in the bay of San Francisco. The Spanish
authorities complained of KOSKOFF to the commander of the vessel, and a
conference was held concerning the matter, but nothing came of it. The
commandments under the Mexican regime, in later years, organized several
military expeditions for the purpose of marching against the intruders,
but no real march 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. However, whatever were
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 interests here, including their title to
the land. As the authorities had never recognized their right or title
to the land, and did not wish to do so now, they refused to purchase.
Application was next made to General 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. Capt. SUTTER had come to the country from Sitka, some years
before, on board of 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 amount paid by SUTTER was thirty thousand dollars. This was
not all paid at one time, but in installments of a few thousand dollars
at a time. The last payment was made by SUTTER through ex-Governor
BURNETT, in 1849. SUTTER paid the entire amount in cash, and not a part
in cash and the remainder in wheat and real estate, as has been stated
to us by old settlers. E. V. SUTTER, of San Francisco, a son of the
General, is our authority for the above statements. 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, 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. The remainder refused to pay, and the claim was dropped.
Some of the settlers were inclined to consider the MULDREW claim, as it
is called, a black-mailing affair, and to censure General SUTTER for
disposing of it to them, charging that he sanctioned the black-mailing
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
black-mail 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 in giving this quit-claim 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 to
be rung in the chapel towers, 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-planed board still in the vise; the tanner left
his tools where he was using them, and dropped 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 speedy and complete
compliance, however reluctant it might be. And thus four hundred people
were made homeless by the flat of a single word. Time was only given to
those whose loved ones were sleeping in the graveyard 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 all places -
HOME.
"This is the forest primeval; but where are the hearts that beneath it
Leaped like the roe, when he hears in
the woodland the voice of the huntsman?
Waste are the peasant farms, all the
farmers forever departed!
Scattered like dust and leaves, when
the mighty blasts of October
Seize them and whirl them aloft, and
sprinkle them far over the ocean,
Naught but tradition remains.
Still stands the forest primeval; but
under the shade of its branches
Dwells another race, with other
customs and language,
While from its rocky caverns the
deep-voiced neighboring ocean
Speaks, and, in accents disconsolate,
answers the wail of the forest."