Tuolumne County

History

A History of Tuolumne County, California - San Francisco, B.F. Alley, 1882.

        Having considered the resources and business of Sonora, it is now proposed to proceed to the remaining camps in the county.

        Jacksonville, as has already been said, was founded in the Spring of '49 by Col. Alden A. M. Jackson, although that gentleman does not possess the distinction of being the first settler, for that honor belongs to a Mr. Smart, who located there a few weeks previously and engaged in agricultural pursuits. His property was known as " Spring Garden," which acquired celebrity as being the first fruit garden in this portion of the State.

        The new town grew but slowly, as compared with the rate of increase of other locations. Its growth, however, was permanent. From the time when Col. Jackson erected the first store until the middle of the Summer of 1851, there had been a steady enlargement, sufficient to place it second only to Sonora in point of population. And in later years, although Jacksonville suffered the inevitable decline that has attended all the mining towns of that era, still she sank into insignificance but slowly. Situated upon the Tuolumne River, the efforts of her inhabitants have always been directed to mining the bed of that stream, which at its low stage, in the months of August, September, October and November, is successfully done. At other times, the flats and gulches of the surrounding country afford a field for the exercise of their industry.

        The mining operations conducted here were of a very extensive character for that day, being devoted to turning the course of the river. The Jacksonville Damming Company was organized on the 20th of January, 1850, with the object stated as follows: " To change the present course of Tuolumne River, above and below Wood's Creek, by digging a canal of 20 feet in width by 2,380 feet in length, requiring a depth of 2 feet in the first 200 feet, and an average depth of 18 inches throughout." The company, comprising fifty members, went to work and constructed the race and also a stone dam across the river. After all this work, the race had to be deepened throughout from 10 to 20 feet, but before the work could be completed, a freshet destroyed the portion completed.

        The company erected a wing dam, by which means they took out sixteen thousand dollars, in fifteen days, from two small holes, sunk to the bed-rock, and to keep these clear from water, twenty-eight men were employed in pumping.

        Abandoning work for the rainy season, they increased the number of shares to one hundred, and resumed their attempts in the summer of 1851. This year they deepened the race and built a dam of logs, locked together, and supported by other logs pinned to them at right angles, with a backing of stone and dirt. This form of dam has always been found to give better results, as to its efficiency and durability, in withstanding the severe floods of winter, than stone structures, being also less difficult and costly of construction. The above-mentioned dam, which occupied only seven weeks in its construction, replaced a stone structure which was eight months in building.

        The Directors of the company were Messrs. Sayres, Sweet, Pitts, Barber, McKey, Stoddard, Hazen, Francis Hull, Murphy, Reynolds, Fletcher and Jenkinson.

        Hawkins' Bar, situated on the Tuolumne, below Jacksonville, was the site of the first river-bed workings on the Tuolumne. Its name was derived from one Hawkins, who kept a trading tent, the first in the place. In April, 1849, there were fifteen or twenty miners working on the banks, with pans and rockers, in the primitive mode of mining. By September of the same year, the population had increased to seven hundred men, who, at the first legislative election cast five hundred votes. The hillsides were covered with tents, and all the bustle characteristic of some old market town was exhibited. Large operations were commenced, but the rise of the water interfered disastrously with them, as had been the case at Jacksonville. Consequent upon this, large numbers left the camp, while the remainder gave themselves to the digging of an immense canal for the complete drainage of the bar in the coming season. Again fortune frowned upon their efforts, for in the summer of 1850 a sudden rise of the water drove out of their respective claims the various companies, who had just commenced to extract gold. At that time the number of miners was six hundred. By the next year the number had dwindled to one hundred and fifty, with perhaps one hundred on the opposite side of the river, and half as many more scattered along the river, from Red Mountain Bar to Swett's Bar. The latter worked either alone, or with two or three in company. The average daily product of these river miners, in the year 1851, was stated at eight dollars per day.

        Of the claims at Hawkins' Bar, that of Captain Lutter was worked by coffer damming, as was also that of Armstrong. These two claims employed fourteen men. The McAvoy Company consisted of sixty men, who, for a time, averaged twenty dollars per day each. The original company, consisting of one hundred and thirteen men, known as the Hawkins' Bar Company, after two years of persistent efforts, finally abandoned their attempts to work the bed of the river by damming.

Nearly the same was the experience at the several camp of Stevens' Bar, Indian, Texas, Morgan's, Don Pedro's Rogers', Swett's, and many other "Bars" on the Tuolumne. In the beginning of November, 1849, the Swett's Bar Company, composed of seventy members, commenced operations by cutting a race, concluding their work just as the rise of the waters took place and caused an abandonment for the season of their contemplated works. Such misfortunes have almost invariably befallen the river miners, but have never disheartened them.

        On the 10th of August, 1850, the same company, then reduced to sixty men, resumed their labors, widening their race to twelve feet width at bottom. After fifty-nine days, they had completed the dam, only to have it washed away the same evening. Rebuilding it, it was again washed away, and the men laid aside their task for the year, it being then too late to effect anything.

        In August, 1851, resuming work, the company, now consisting of but twenty-seven men, in a few weeks had completed a dam, which enabled them to engage in taking out gold, which they did at the rate of an ounce per day to the man, and continuing for some time very successfully.

        The "Stony Point" Company abandoned their work under the pressure of difficulties, but another company, consisting of thirteen members, calling themselves the "Rum Blossom" Company, achieved a considerable reward .

        The population of Swett's Bar was estimated, in 1851, at one hundred and thirty men.

        Big Oak Flat, situated on the south side of the Tuolumne River, was first located and the diggings opened by James Savage, a white man, who had acquired influence over a large number of Digger Indians, whose labor he utilized in his mines, paying them with provisions, blankets, etc., and also protecting them—or pretending to protect them—from the encroachments of other whites.

        In the summer of that year a considerable number of Mexican and American miners settled here, forming the camps of Big Oak Flat and First, and Second Garrote. The origin of the name Garrote is traced to the fact that a Mexican who was convicted of stealing, suffered death by hanging, at the hands of his countrymen, whence the word. An interesting portion of the history of these camps is the account of a fracas between the Indians and whites, which was brought about in the following way: a Texan whose name was Rose, was one day at the Indian camp, when words were exchanged between him and the chief, " Lo­tario," ending in the fatal stabbing of the latter. The Indians present immediately killed Rose, by shooting him with arrows. The whites in the neighborhood rushed to arms, and without inquiring into the cause of the trouble, attacked the natives with firearms, killing two and wounding several. This fracas resulted in the destruction of all relations between the whites and the aborigines for a considerable time. The red men were finally pacified, however, through the exertions of Mr. Savage.

        The placers in the vicinity of the Flat have always been favorably regarded, but a drawback from the scarcity of water always exercised a prejudicial effect. About 1855, however, a ditch was commenced by some enterprising individuals for the purpose of bringing water from the South Fork of the Tuolumne, which should enable the placers in the vicinity of Big Oak Flat, the two Garrotes, Spring Gulch, Big Creek, Copps' Creek, and other neighboring localities, to be worked. About eighteen miles of this ditch were completed, and considerable work done on the remainder, when its further progress was stayed, owing to pecuniary difficulties. Arrangements were made afterward to enable the work to proceed, and it was in part completed.

        The next important matter of general interest that took place subsequent to the tax troubles heretofore narrated, was the memorable riot at Holden's Garden. This fight, though typical of the difficulties relating to rights of possessors of mining claims, caused undue excitement in Sonora, and furnishes an instructive bit of history, whose interest time has not abated.

        In February, 1851, several mining companies of miners along the edge of Mr. Joshua Holden's garden, now the time-honored title of the low land lying above and to the north of the present City Waterworks, and bordering on Woods' Creek, the search for gold having proved successful, the various parties entered into an agreement to reimburse the proprietor of the soil for all damages accruing to the ground and the growing crops. After Mr. Holden's departure for San Francisco, a short time afterward, the Washington Company commenced encroaching upon the more valuable portions of the garden, in the course of their work finding considerable quantities of gold, to secure which they laid off an extensive mining claim.

        On Mr. Holden's return, he proposed an arrangement by which he was to receive compensation for the additional damage to crops, etc., but at a meeting of those interested, at which the miners, but not Mr. Holden, were present, opposition was made to paying any damages whatever, and the meeting was broken up without any action on that point. On the following day a personal collision occurred between Mr. Holden and two of the members of the Washington Company, at which a number of bystanders, mostly gamblers and roughs, resisted, by the exhibition of pistols, the attempts of other individuals of that company to assist their fellow-members. By this interference, the gambling community became unwittingly identified with Mr. Holden's cause, a fact that proved of the greatest detriment to that gentleman subsequently.

        Later in the day, this portion of the gambling fraternity, fourteen in number, "jumped" a portion of the ground claimed by the Washington Company, and prepared to hold it at all hazards. Whether or not Mr. Holden was a party to this action is not at all clear. It is highly probable, from the circumstances, that he was; but his standing as a business man and his well known character, would seem to contradict that theory. The Sonora Herald, the only paper published at the time, by the tenor of its remarks, would indicate that he bad nothing to do with it; but the prevailing opinion was strongly against him, as will be seen in the conclusion of this narrative.

        Being invited to go upon the ground to observe the boundaries of the Washington Company's claim, Mr. Holden accepted, but delayed going until the next morning.

        In the meantime the jumping party organized, armed themselves, and determined to hold their claim at all hazards. Proceeding to the ground, against the advice of Mr. Holden, they found there all the members of the Washington Company, prepared with firearms to receive them, but keeping quietly at work in their ditch. The aggressors arranged themselves on a hill, perhaps a hundred yards distant.

        Major Barry (the celebrated Justice) was an eyewitness, and to him the following account is due. He said: "About eight o'clock in the morning I went to the garden, having understood that a difficulty was expected between two companies, each contending for rights in the same claim. When I had approached within about thirty feet of the claim I heard a shout behind, and, turning round, I saw a company of men, all armed, about three hundred yards off. One young man, named Alexander Saloschen, was running towards the Garden Company [Washington Company], with his rifle, against the remonstrances of his own party, who shouted to him not to shoot. As he came within hailing distance of me, I told him to go back, and he did so for a short distance, but turning again, he ran and fired on the Garden Company, which was quickly returned with a volley. All the arms on both sides were fired off, amounting, it is supposed, to from sixty to seventy-five shots. Only one man was killed —named Leven Davis. The young man who commenced the attack was slightly wounded in the cheek. Of the Garden Company, three were wounded, but not dangerously. Thus the matter rested for a moment.   The Garden Company shortly after held a meeting and appointed a committee to draft resolutions. I was called upon to address the assembly, which by this time amounted to about five or six hundred, and there was the most profound order and attention. They then adjourned, to meet again at three o'clock, at which time they convened, and all passed off in good order. An arrest was issued from my office, as Justice of the Peace, and handed to the High Sheriff, to bring up the originators of the riot. Several persons were brought in, but not a witness appeared on the part of the State; and so, of course, there was no action. Mr. Holden was exculpated from all participation or blame, he himself having invited the most rigid investigation."

        In this affray Leven Davis, a young man on the side of the gamblers, was shot in the head, dying immediately. The gambler, Saloschen, who fired the first shot and received a slight wound in the face, was a former partner of Labetoure, a well known French resident, previously mentioned. At a later date he resided in Stockton, which place became too hot to hold him, in consequence of an unprovoked attack upon a citizen. After leaving that city, all traces of him were lost.

        Of the men belonging to the Washington Company, whom Justice Barry described as "wounded, but not dangerously," two died of their wounds; showing that the gentleman was misinformed as to their true condition.

        Immediately upon the above events taking place, the report spread that the gamblers of Sonora had taken up arms against the miners. The excitement spread, and the surrounding camps poured out their population toward Sonora, as the invariable habit was, and the mass-meeting, a peculiarity of the times, was promptly held, at which Major Solomon, afterward Sheriff, presided, and Caleb Dorsey, known to all Tuolumneites, was Secretary. Resolutions, of course, were adopted. They read as follows:

            " WHEREAS: An outrage of the grossest nature has been perpetrated upon the miners of Sonora, Wood's Creek, Shaw's Flat and vicinity, while in the peaceable pursuit of an honest livelihood, by a party of cut-throats and gamblers, headed by one Joshua Holden, and residing in Sonora; therefore,

            "Resolved, That the said Holden be immediately arrested and tried by the civil authorities of the county.

            "Resolved, That all those persons who were engaged in making the unprovoked attack, on the morning of the 13th of March, are, in the opinion of this meeting, guilty of attempt at premeditated murder; and to prevent the occurrence of like scenes again, we demand the immediate arrest and trial of said persons—the cases to be tried and submitted as in the above resolution.

            "Resolved, That in the event of any future aggression by the same individual, or his abettors, we pledge ourselves to rid this region of their presence.

            "Resolved, That this meeting pledge their sacred honor to carry out these resolutions, and to render their assistance, if necessary, in apprehending the various parties; also to prevent the use of firearms in determining disputes in future.

            "Resolved, That these resolutions be published in the Sonora Herald."

        The paper from which the above report is taken proceeds as follows:

            "We have endeavored to give a plain statement gathered from parties on both sides. All who read it will, we think, exculpate the Washington Company, and also Mr. Holden, except so far as the mode of redress taken by him on the preceding day for the insulting language said to have been used. There was the civil law, and, as we think, he should have tried its efficacy. But that difficulty was afterward settled between him and the two men. What rankled in the breasts of the American miners was, that pistols should have been drawn upon them. They do not like such proceedings, and the day has come when they will put them down. It has been customary for some men to browbeat all with whom they come in contact. If anything is said or done that does not please them, a six-shooter is forth­with presented. The miners and the sober citizens will tolerate this no longer. Never was a more foolish or more culpable act committed, than that of going armed to take possession of a disputed claim. An arbitrator or a jury can decide disputes, and good American citizens will hereafter compel the substitution of such tribunals in the place of Bowie-knives and Colt's revolvers."

        In consequence of the expressed opinion concerning the innocence of Mr. Holden, the editors published the defamatory resolutions without endorsement.

In the Spring of 1851 occurred also two notorious murders, which, though not noticeable for any peculiarity, or for the standing of the parties concerned, still strongly attracted public attention and they were matters of common talk for a considerable length of time. The murders alluded to were that of Tyndal Newby by A. J. Fuller, and George Palmer by John Thornley. The former case occurred at Smith's Flat, and on the trial, which took place in March, the following circumstances were elicited :

        Fuller and his victim were partners in mining, at the Flat. For awhile they lived together in harmony, but a difficulty arose in relation to Fuller's taking some of the partnership funds to gamble with. Later, the quarrel was augmented by a dispute concerning the possession of a fly-tent. Finally, these troubles culminated in a fist-fight, Fuller being decidedly worsted. Being thrown, he yet retained his hold on his stronger partner, who, in order to release himself, threw hot coals and ashes in his opponent's face as he lay upon him. Both arose, and Fuller procuring his rifle, shot at Newby, who was retreating, and gave him a mortal wound.

        The principal witnesses in this trial were Messrs. Calloway, Staples and Carey. The District Attorney, J. K. Shafer, in conjunction with Mr. Irving, of San Francisco, were of the side of the prosecution, while John M. Huntington and E. C. Marshall, partners in law, and both prominent lawyers, acted for the defense. Their exertions were successful to such a degree that, in spite of a plain case of murder being made out, the jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter, and fixed the penalty at nine months' imprisonment and a fine of one hundred dollars ! This result is ascribed to the powerful argument of Mr. Marshall.

        The latter gentleman would seem to have had abilities of no common order, added to a rough but effective manner, that made him peculiarly adapted to the situations in which he found himself placed. It is of him that "Cosmorama," (Captain Tom Stoddart), the able correspondent of a Tuolumne newspaper, related this incident :

        " The first assemblage for political purposes occurred at Lytton's Exchange, Sonora. The chairman, General L. A. Besancon, explained the object of the meeting, and urged an immediate organization of the Democratic party.

            " Up to this time there had been no decided advantage in either the Democratic or Whig parties, both seeming actuated by the same spirit of apathy ; but a circumstance was about to occur by which the political proclivities of the miners of Tuolumne were to be unmistakably marked. Mr. Edward Marshall, brother of the celebrated Tom Marshall, of Kentucky, having come forward, and as he prefaced his remarks by saying he was glad to appear before the assemblage as a Democrat, having been born and raised on good Democratic soil, the Whigs who were present showed a disposition to hiss down his speech and disturb the meeting. This raised the high-spirited Kentuckian, and he paused for an instant, then throwing open his coat, he commenced such a burst of eloquence and determination as completely overawed his opponents. His exact words were: 'I have been in larger crowds than this, and a great deal more dangerous.' Throwing off his coat so as to expose his revolver, he added: 'And by God's will, I am going to make a Democratic speech.' The Democrats present cheered, and those who were on the fence going over to the Democrats, the Whigs were completely in the minority in Tuolumne county." This incident occurred in 1850.

        No great excitement was occasioned by the murder just described, nor were there attempts made at lynching the prisoner. There had been a notable change in the feeling regarding such matters taking place, and this change was becoming more marked. The action of vigilance committees and lynch law proceedings were less favorably looked upon, and when in 1851 a man named Thomas Jones was given fifty lashes on the bare back, with the added ignominy of being branded on the hip, and half his head shaved, public feeling took sides with the culprit, and his alleged offense—horse-stealing—although looked upon as a grave crime in those days, was thought to have been too severely expiated.

        Juries evidently partook of this feeling of leniency toward accused parties, for although ridiculously light had been Fuller's sentence for the murder of his partner, yet it was reserved for another jury to overstrain the quality of mercy and set free as cold-blooded and outrageous a murderer as had thus far added to the dark records of assassination.

        George Palmer, a native of New York, and a miner by profession, was eating his supper at the "Arkansas Hotel," in the northern part of Sonora, when John Thornley, otherwise called Wilson, a man of bad character, already the slayer of one man, entered the hotel, and approaching Palmer, revolver in hand, ordered him from the house. Palmer, begging him not to shoot, acquiesced, and leaving the hotel walked a dozen paces, when Thornley fired two shots at him, the second of which inflicted a death wound.

        The murderer fled, and, aided by a dark night, made his escape to Green Springs, the next day proceeding to Hawkins' Bar, but came back to Green Springs within a day or two, and was there taken by Sheriff Work and Deputy Sheriff Vyse, and lodged in jail at Sonora. As soon as it became known that he had been captured, a people's meeting was held and a feeble attempt made to get possession of the prisoner ; but as the attempt extended no farther than demanding him of the Sheriff, it was necessarily unsuccessful. Meanwhile the culprit was taken before Judge Tuttle, and his examination commenced. Six Deputy Constables, Messrs. Warren, Miller, Woodworth, Alexander, Pierson and Denman, were appointed to aid the Sheriff to maintain strict order. The conclusion reached, the prisoner was committed to jail to await his trial by the District Court.

        The Herald, describing these occurrences, laments the insecure condition of the county jail at that time, a fear that proved well founded, for the miscreant broke jail shortly after, and escaped to Los Angeles. After several months he was recaptured, brought back to Sonora, tried and acquitted !

The Holden's Garden Chispa.

        The next event possessing historical interest that is found to occur in the records of Tuolumne was the discovery of an enormous lump of gold. The Sonora Herald, of May 3, 1851, spoke as follows concerning it:

            " The largest lump of gold that has yet been found was taken from Holden's Garden last Saturday evening—weighing 28 pounds and 4 ounces, lacking 15 grains. It is mixed with quartz, but the gold is estimated at 20 pounds. As yet it has not been accurately weighed in water, and so we can not exactly state the relative proportions of gold and quartz. Mr. Peter Mehen offered four thousand five hundred dollars for the lump, at sight, but his offer was not accepted. The fortunate party consisted of eight men, and are known under the name of "Wheaton Company." This was the first party that undertook to work the spot known as Holden's Garden, some two months since, their claim being at the foot of the quartz mountain. Between them and Mr. Holden there has ever been, we believe, the most amicable feelings, and there is probably no person in town who is better pleased than Mr. Holden to hear that the company have been so successful. From the first they have been taking out gold by the pounds. Frequently their day's work has amounted to five pounds. For a week or two, however, the yield has been comparatively small, and some of the members, accustomed to heavy strikes, were beginning to be discouraged. Two of the original party sold out to Mr. Rounds and Mr. Gore, who entered the company just in time to share the glory and the profits of the big lump. The names of the present members are, Edward E. Wheaton, from Baltimore; Hiram T. Fuller, Vermont; W. J. Harris, Maine; Jesse Allen and John M. Lockwood, New York City; John R. Valleau, Natchez, Mississippi; A. Gore, Alabama; and Spafford F. Rounds, Upper Canada. A more industrious, moral, intelligent, and in every way worthy company can not probably be found in California. It always gives pleasure to hear of the success of such men; and such are the men who, in the main, are bound to be successful in this country. After telling about the big lump, it may appear rather insignificant to add that the same company took out two pounds of fine gold the same day. We mention this circumstance simply to guard Atlantic editors against the mistake into which some of them have fallen in supposing that all the gold is in big lumps, and that they are as common here as paving stones on Long Island."

The Barry Papers.

        Thus far this history has dealt solely with the leading facts relating to the progress of the various mining camps contained within the present limits of Tuolumne. It is considered proper here to introduce references and allusions to such of the less important, but possibly as interesting, phases of pioneer existence as will throw light upon the inner life of the people who delved here for gold. This section, then, will include such matters as have come down to the present, more or less perfectly authenticated, and bearing directly upon affairs with which all are acquainted whose memories run back through the three decades that separate the placid present from the energetic past.

        Among the mementoes of the "flush times" that have by tradition been handed down to the present time, are the famous "Barry Papers," which composed the docket of Justice R. C. Barry. The original docket can not at this time be found, although strenuous efforts to do so have been made by the compilers of this volume. It has most likely been destroyed in some of the numerous fires that have devastated Sonora, or, if still in existence, it doubtless lies hidden in some forgotten nook. Its contents included the following indorsements on the papers in Coroner's inquests held by Barry, in his capacity of Justice and  officio Coroner:

[No. 1.] " Wm. Doff, who was murdered with Buck, October 20, 1850, one mile from office. There was $13 found on body of deceased, which I handed over to J. M. Huntington, Public Administrator. Nothing more found to be his. R. C. BARRY, Justice Peace. Coroner Protem. (No clue to murderers)"

[No. 2.] " Michael Burk, Oct. 20, 1850; murdered one mile from town. No effects found on deceased. R. C. BARRY, Justice Peace. Coroner Protein."

[No. 3.] " George Williams, Oct. 22, 1850, cut his throat with a razor. No property whatever. R. C. BARRY, Justice Peace. Acting Coroner."

[No. 4.] " Dr. James Say, Oct. 28,1850; it was rumored that deceased was poisoned, but, upon a post mortem examination, Dr. Bradshaw found that he died of disease of the hart. No property whatever except about $50, which was appropriated to burying the Body. R. C. BARRY, Justice Peace. Acting Coroner."

[No. 15.] " Wm. Bowen, June 26, 1851. Bowen was hung by the mob at Curtises Creek, for killing A. Boggs. No property found belonging to deceased. The law has never discovered the hangmen. Warrants issued for Hogg and others. No evidence to bind over, after much examination. Justice's fees, $10. R. C. BARRY, Justice Peace. Acting Coroner."

[No. 8.] " James Haden, Feb. 25, 1851, was found murdered in Washington street, by some sharp instrument, late at night. No property. No clue to the purpetrater. R. C. BARRY, Justice Peace. Acting Coroner."

[No. 9.] " Leven Davis, March 13, 1851, was killed by a rifle shot fired from Holden's Garden, in a Jumping Claim Row.  R. C. BARRY, Justice Peace. Acting Coroner."

[No. 10.] " Wm. A. Bowen, April 2, 1851, was found murdered back of Washington street, ner Holden's. Was cut to death with a knife. No clue to the purpetrater.  R. C. BARRY, Justice Peace. Acting Coroner."

        This reference is to a case described thus, in the Herald of that time:

            " About two o'clock on Monday morning a young man named William Bowen, from Providence, Rhode Island, was stabbed with a sword or knife, and died near daybreak. He appeared to be about 22 or 23 years of age. His name, together with an anchor, were pricked in Indian ink on his arm. It has not been discovered who committed the deed, but it may be traced to his own folly. As far as we can learn, he was flourishing a sword in a Spanish house just behind Justice Barry's office, where men were drunk and women were dancing, at a late hour of the night. The place, the company, and the hour, were all against him; and we trust the unhappy result will be a warning to others. Major Barry held an inquest, and learned the above particulars, which he has kindly furnished."

[No. 16.] " Inquest upon body of William Clark, July 16, 1851, was found dead in his bed, about a mile north of this office, in a tent, under suspitious surcomstances, but was found on examination to of died sudenly a natural death by disease of the heart and lungs; no property but an old tent and a few little cooking and keeping fixtures—appropriated them to burying the body.          R. C. BERRY, Justice Peace, acting Coroner."

[No. 17.] " William Ford, July 28, 1851, was shot and killed by a young man called Stud-Horse Bob—was considered justifiable; no property found with him, but had some means in the hands of Major Holden, who administered. Arrested him and examined the case—no fault found, Justice's fees $10." 

Copy of a summons issued by Justice Barry in an action for restitution of property and damages:

" STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

County of Tuolumne.

To the Sheriff or any Constable of the aifresaid county, greeting: You are hereby commanded to summons Maberry and Street to appear before me on the eighth day of november A. D. 1851 at the hour of nine o'clock to answer to complaint filed in this court by D. T. Donnaeld where in he charges them with a nucense by putting a privy on a lot which they have jumped belonging to Pltff as a possessor right, he now comes to claim his rights as an American Cittizen by claiming a writ to dispossess them and to have restitution according to law, with appropriate damages for the impossission now about to be carried out against him by such high-handed and mercenary arrogance on the part of the aforesaid acused.         R. C. BARRY."

" Sonora City, Nov. 5, 1851."

        On one occasion, a two-days' trial was held in which the State prosecuted a Mexican named Barretta for theft. Most of the legal profession then in Sonora were engaged on one side or the other, and at the end Justice Barry delivered in writing the following decision, certainly unparalleled in the annals of law :

" STATE OF CALIFORNIA,

County of Tuolumne.

" Having investigated the case wherein — Berretta has been charged by an old Mexican Woman named Maria Toja with having abstracted a box of money which was burried in the ground, jointly belonging to herself and daughter, and carrying it or the contents away from her dwelling, and appropriating the same to his own use and benifet, the suppossed amount being over too hundred dollars ; but failing to prove positively that it contained over twenty and that proven by testimony of his owne witness and by his owne acknowledgment, the case being so at variance with the common dictates of humanity, and having bean done under very painful surcumstances when the young woman was about to close her existance, the day before she died, and her aged mother at the same time lying on her bead of sickness, unable to rise and get a morsel of food for herself and he at the time presenting himself, as an angel of releaf to the poor and destitute sick when twenty poor dollars might have releaved the emediate necessitys of the poor, enfeabled sick, and destitute old woman far from home and friends. Calls imperitively for a severe rebuke and repremand for sutch inhuman and almost impresedented conduct, as also the necessity of binding him over to the Court of Sessions in the sum of $500.00.     R C. BARRY, Justice Peace."

        The foregoing extracts are beyond a doubt authentic. There have been published at various times, however, within the last twenty-five years, passages claiming to be taken from this celebrated docket, but which subjected to careful scrutiny, are seen to bear internal evidence of spuriousness. Such paragraphs have proved entertaining reading, but it has been the aim in preparing this work to omit everything of which the slightest probability of falsity exists.

        It has been remarked that the duties and powers of the early Justices were extensive and ill-defined. The subjoined proclamation will serve to indicate the variety of these powers :

            " All persons having stray horses, mules, etc., will come before the Justice of the Peace and report the same, or be dealt with according to law.          R. C. BARRY, J. P.

            " Sonora, June 9, 1850..

            " N. B.—Any person knowing of stray animals in the hands of any person, will do well to report at this office. R. C. B."

            " All persons are forbid firing off guns or pistols within the limits of this town, under penalty ; and under no plea will it hereafter be submitted to ; therefore a derogation from this notice will be dealt with according to the strictest rigor of the law so applying, as a misdemeanor, and a disturbance of the peaceful citizens of Sonora.

            "June 9, 1850.  R. C. BARRY, J. P."

        Major Barry retired in 1852 from the Justiceship, giving place to H. G. Platt and C. M. Radcliffe. Subsequently he sent in a bill for office expenses, etc., connected with his term of office, amounting to three thousand, two hundred and one dollars, which the Supervisors evidently considered extortionate, even for those "flush times," for the bill was cut down to six hundred dollars, and only then allowed after much discussion.

        Also peculiar, but in a less degree, was the eccentric Judge Jenkins, who officiated as Justice of the Peace in Sonora during a portion of the year 1853. Of this gentleman these incidents have been related:

        A man by the name of Jewell entered the American Hotel in Sonora, kept by Charles Ashton, and engaged in a dispute with the proprietor. The latter attacked him with a knife, evidently intending to cut his head off, but only succeeded in inflicting several gashes across his throat, none of which were of a serious character. Both were taken before Judge Jenkins, who, after hearing the evidence, pronounced judgment as follows: " Charley, I have to fine you ten dollars and half the costs; and as for you, Jewell, you're a disgrace to any community, and I fine you ten dollars and the other half!"

        Complaint, it is said, was once entered before Judge Jenkins by a young lady against a young man, on a somewhat delicate subject. It was, in short, a charge of seduction ; to which the learned Judge gave the greatest attention, but finally dismissed the case, on the ground that it was done in self defense!

Herald. Announcements.

        The announcement was made in May, 1851, that the census of the county had been nearly completed, and that the total population would prove to be between eighteen and twenty thousand.

        In the same paper from which the announcement is taken, there is a description of an unique flagstaff. It stood in the rear of the United States Hotel, and was a tall and straight pine tree which had been cleared of its limbs, in order to avoid the danger of its blowing over. Its height, one hundred and thirty-five feet, was such as to make the flag at its top visible at Shaw's Flat on one side, and Campo Seco on the other.

        Further down the column, Mr. Brown, agent for Reynolds & Co., is credited with saying that the mines were doing gloriously ; and that the amount shipped through that house for the week past had been eighteen thousand four hundred and seventy dollars.

        Mr. Holden, it said, would in a few days, have a line of safe and comfortable stages on the road to Stockton, to run daily and to be drawn by fast teams.

        With the same issue, the Herald reduced its subscription price from twenty dollars per annum, to one-half that sum.

        The next issue contained accounts of very extensive fires which had occurred in Stockton and San Francisco, which were made the occasion of an uncommon display of energy and enterprise by Messrs. Reynolds & Co., whose messenger, bearing the news, rode up from Stockton to Sonora in nine hours ! A feat unparalleled at that time.

        This local notice, referring to a gentleman who afterwards became prominent, also appears:

            "JAMES W. COFFROTH.—We were gratified last Friday by a call from a Philadelphia editor, Mr. James W . Coffroth, who for about six years was connected with the Spirit of the times, and during a part of the same time was one of the editors of the Nineteenth Century. He is a young gentleman of promising talents and of moral worth; and we are glad he has come to the conclusion to make this State, and this county, his future home."

        In another place it casually remarked that Fuller, the convicted murderer of Newby, had broken jail and made his escape from the county. Very little concern was manifested at this and similar escapes, it being evidently looked upon as a matter of course, in the then condition of the jail. This is shown in the following number which announces the escape of John Thornley, the slayer of Palmer, who, while awaiting his trial, sawed off his irons and made his escape, being the fourth to do so in less than two weeks.

        The senior editor of the Herald described his impressions of a trip to San Francisco in nearly these words :

        " Passage was taken on the steamer C. M. Weber. The splendid carpets, lamps, lounges, looking-glasses, etc., made us forget we were in California, it resembled so much the Hudson river boats. The Weber is a new boat, and the largest now running to San Francisco from Stockton."

        A year previous he had made a trip in the Captain Sutter, and after paying thirty dollars passage money, had no berth, and not even room to lie upon the floor. The Jenny Lind ran on alternate days with the Sutter, the fare being ten dollars by either steamer. He further remarks that the time occupied by the trip is but twenty-three hours, of which nine and a half hours is taken up by stage travel to Stockton.

        About this time (June, 1851) Martin Arnold & Co.'s stage line was established, making daily trips between Sonora and Stockton, via Knight's Ferry.

        Returning from his trip, the editor stated that his errand below was for the purchase of articles for use in the Herald office. Type, he had bought, but unfortunately had not succeeded in finding a press, so that the contemplated enlargement of his paper could not be effected, as the old historical Ramage press was not large enough to print a sheet exceeding the past issues in size. He further complained that although the office materials had cost over two thousand dollars, yet it was without many of the articles deemed indispensable under other circumstances. There was, for example, no "imposing stone," and their "composing sticks," as well as a portion of their job type, had been whittled with a jack-knife out of pine planks. The editor promised that should any Atlantic printer come this way, fresh from a well-furnished office, he would give him a free ticket to the exhibition of a model office in the gold regions !

        In May, the surprising fact was noted that not a single case of murder or felonious crime had happened in Sonora for a fortnight ! Nor was there, it was asserted, a single case of sickness prevailing.

Murder of Captain Snow.

        On Tuesday, June 10, 1851, Captain George W. Snow, a native of Maine, aged thirty-one years, was murdered in Dragoon Gulch, near Shaw's Flat, by three Mexicans or Mexican Indians. The Mexicans had purchased a "long tom" from the Captain, and directed him to call the next morning at their encampment for his pay, this being, as afterwards appeared, but a ruse to secure the presence of their victim, the fact being well-known that he carried a considerable amount of money on his person. On entering their tent the next morning, he was assaulted and stabbed in two places. He hastily left the tent, calling out as he did so, and proceeding some fifteen yards fell from loss of blood. Help arriving, he was conveyed to his own quarters, where he died at the midnight following.

        It was discovered that the murderers had dug a grave in their cabin to receive the body of their victim, concealing the cavity from view with a rawhide and a blanket, and removing the dirt so as to avoid suspicion.

        Perhaps a more cold-blooded, premeditated, and cruel murder was never chronicled. The perpetrators had been in the employ of Captain Snow for a considerable time.

        Immediately on the commission of the deed, the neighboring miners turned out to search for the villains, but without success, although every exertion was made and a reward of one thousand dollars was offered to secure their apprehension, and it was not until the following Sunday that two of the three were found in Sonora and arrested.

        Meanwhile the funeral of the deceased took place, being attended by a large concourse of friends, who had been won by the murdered man's many excellent qualities and exemplary conduct.

        Immediately on their arrest, the two suspected men, Antonio Cruz and Patricio Janori, were removed by their captors to Shaw's Flat, there to be tried by a People's Court. Of them, Antonio was quite young, and small of stature ; the other was athletic, large, and with a visage marred by the worst of passions.

        A court was organized by appointing T. P. McDonald as Judge, Major Solomon as Marshal, Noah Smith as Clerk, Van Praag as Interpreter, Mr. Dorsey as Attorney for the People, and Mr. Heath as Prisoner's Counsel. The juries were then selected, one for each case, and the trial proceeded in what is described as a fair and impartial manner, and which certainly recalled nothing of the fearful violence and frenzy of other similar assemblages. Although every opportunity was given the accused to establish their innocence, the evidence was overwhelmingly against them, proving their complicity in the crime beyond a doubt. The deposition of the deceased showed that Antonio was at the table, pretending to weigh out the gold, at the time when the others stabbed him. Witnesses were sent for from Pine Log to prove for the accused that they had been there at the time the murder was committed ; but there was nothing in the story of one to show their absence, while the other was looked upon as an accomplice, and would have been lynched himself had he not made his escape in good time.

        The verdicts of both juries were unanimous, and both prisoners were pronounced guilty. The Court then adjourned, leaving the disposition of the prisoners to the assembled multitude. By them it was put to vote, and the decision was to hang the murderers forthwith, at the precise spot where they had committed their crime, and to bury them in the grave they had dug for their victim ! Swift and terrible retribution, this, and promptly and unflinchingly carried out.

        After an hour, granted in order that a priest might administer the solemn rites of his office, ropes were adjusted about their necks and they were swung off.

Before their execution, the younger man made a partial confession, acknowledging that he knew the murder was to be committed, but denying complicity in it. He also said that his companions had been concerned in the murder of three other Americans, of which they had escaped suspicion.

Lynching of Jim Hill.

        Scarcely had the excitement occasioned by the above occurrences died away than another event of still greater moment happened to disturb the serenity of existence. This event was the hanging of a horse-thief, by a mob, preceded by his forcible rescue from Sheriff Work. More than one man whom the future events of history was to make famous participated in this affair, and the circumstances beside, lend a sombre interest that must always keep it fresh in the minds of all to whom the history of the Southern Mines is familiar.

        Jim Hill, a man of well known bad character, accompanied by others of the same stripe, entered a store at Campo Seco and drew his pistol, presenting it at the head of the proprietor, while his companions removed the iron safe with its contents. Going to Sonora a few days later, he entered a house, and meeting a man, a stranger to him, he snatched the latter's pistol from his belt and struck him with it, and then fired it at him. The man, frightened, ran from the house and gave the alarm, upon which the Sheriff arrived and found Hill concealed under a bed, from whence he was removed to the jail. It was in a Spanish house of ill-fame that this occurred, and the keeper was supposed to be an accomplice. In the morning following, a dozen men, among them respectable citizens of Sonora, went to the jail, and took from it, and from the hands of the lawfully constituted officers, without resistance or threats, the prisoner, whom they removed to Campo Seco, there to stand his trial for the robbery of the store. It was characteristic of the times that a unanimous verdict of "guilty" should be rendered, and this without delay or the intervention of useless legal forms, abhorred at that date. It was equally a matter of course that the prisoner, accused of robbery, should meet the punishment due for the greater crime of murder.

        After six o'clock Hill was led forth to die. Addressing the crowd, he said some words describing his life as one of crime, and warning others against following his course. He said he had robbed, but denied that he had ever shed blood. He then threw himself on the mercy of the people.

        The question was then put, " Shall he be hung?" A large number shouted " Aye," but an equally loud shout was raised in the negative. Immediately hundreds drew their pistols, and a universal stampede resulted. Horsemen rode frantically through and over the crowd, and men ran for life in all directions. Order restored, several persons addressed the crowd in favor of or against the hanging, until at length Sheriff Work arrived, unattended, and asked to be heard. Speaking, he pledged his own life that if the prisoner was delivered into the hands of the civil authorities he should be forthcoming at the next session of the District Court. His words were responded to by cries of " Thornley!" " Thornley !" (alluding to the murderer of Palmer, who had broken jail). In the excitement Hill was thrust into a carriage, which the supporters of law and order had provided, and it was driven off hastily toward Sonora, carrying the prisoner, Sheriff Work, and another person, and being accompanied by several men on horseback. The mob, divided against itself, did not put in execution any sure means of regaining control of the prisoner, and the little cavalcade reached Sonora in very quick time. But short as the time that was occupied in traversing the few miles separating Sonora from Campo Seco, it had been long enough to enable the would-be lynchers, gathered in the latter place, to notify the people of Sonora of the failure of their plans, and to admit of a crowd being collected there by means of a gong, which was carried through the streets by E. Linoberg and L. D. F. Edwards. Gathering at the sound of the instrument, in front of Holden's store, the assemblage was addressed by Mr. Edwards, who, in an effective speech, referred to the numerous escapes of prisoners from the county jail, and ended by proposing to take the expected malefactor as soon as he arrived with Work, and hang him. There was not a dissenting voice.

The crowd then prepared with weapons, to meet the Sheriff and prisoner at the entrance to the city. They speedily arrived, the attendant horsemen, as well as the Sheriff, with their weapons drawn. But of no avail was the show of arms. Following the wagon as it proceeded onward in the darkness, the crowd prepared to stop their progress, when the team collided with a post, and Work, together with the prisoner, sprang out and ran at a rapid pace for the jail, plunging through the arroya, while the pursuers refrained from firing in the fear of injuring those of their friends in front, all shouting, " Stop him in front, but don't shoot," while the Sheriff and his few remaining supporters charged into the crowd that encircled the jail and fought his way, step by step, until the door was reached. On the steps, six-shooter in hand, stood Colonel Cheatham. He cried, " Let the man go, George, or I'll shoot." Work was seized and overpowered. Separated from him, the prisoner made no resistance. In fifteen minutes he was hanging by the neck on an oak tree behind the El Dorado Hotel, in the vicinity of the jail.

The Vigilance Committee.

        It is a common error to confound the acts of extemporized mobs, such as that concerned in the striking scenes last alluded to, with the more methodical acts of the Vigilance Committee. This organization was not concerned in any of the more important attempts at Lynch law up to the middle of the year 1851. Consequent upon the success of the Vigilantes of San Francisco in dealing out justice at a time when the whole city, and even the State, seemed at the mercy of the criminal classes, a "Committee" modeled on that of the Bay City was formed in nearly every town in the mining regions. Subsequently, nearly all acts of popular vengeance were ascribed to these formidable organizations, but not always correctly.

        The formation of the first regularly organized and permanent Vigilance Committee in Tuolumne County took place in Sonora, Sunday noon, June 29, 1851. The immediate occasion was the attempt to burn the town, by some persons unknown. The attempt was unsuccessful, owing to the early discovery of the fire; but the recent terrible conflagrations in San Francisco and Stockton had so acted on the feelings of the Sonorans that an organization, similar in all respects to those of the larger cities, was effected. It was composed of the most orderly and respectable citizens, and the quality of zeal was certainly evidenced in the prosecution of its labors. For the first fortnight of its existence it administered upon six cases brought to its attention. An American thief was hunted up and banished from the Southern Mines, under penalty of death in case of return. A. Frenchman, detected in passing counterfeit coin, was also banished. A Mexican, caught in the act of stealing, was whipped with twenty-five lashes on the bare back. Two other Mexicans—counterfeiters—were also given twenty-five lashes each. The sixth, a Mexican horse-thief, proved to have been a consummate villain, received the heavier sentence of one hundred lashes, his head was partially shaved, and he was banished, under penalty of death if returning. Later in the year, owing to the greater efficiency of the courts, the Committee executed but few judgments upon criminals, but among these few were two that are recorded. In the first of these, the criminal, an ex-convict from Sydney, arrested on suspicion of stealing a mule, received seventy-five lashes, had his head shaved, and was banished from the mines. A Mexican, for stealing a pistol, was sentenced to receive fifty lashes, a shaved head, and banishment from the mines.

        In June an affair of considerable notoriety occurred in Sonora. This was a conflict which took place in a disreputable portion of the town, and threatened to precipitate a general war between the American and the Mexican population of the city. The circumstances were these: a row occurred in a Spanish dwelling-house, in which one Contreras took part, and was arrested, but the bystanders interfering, Marshal McFarlane was compelled to shoot one of them, a Chileno, who fell mortally wounded. Another of the same party was killed by Americans, who came up to assist the Marshal.

        This affair—which, considering the time it occurred in, was certainly not of great moment—was made the subject of the most absurd exaggerations by the outside press, all of whom united in representing Sonora to be a center of violence and a hotbed of hostile feeling. Their correspondents in Sonora drew powerfully on their imaginations to picture the town surrounded by a cordon of armed men, who were only able to restrain the pent up and seething masses from breaking into open war through the persuasive appearance of cocked revolvers and drawn bowie knives. It was probably to this spirit of wild exaggeration that Tuolumne owed much of its character for the wild lawlessness and terrible ferocity of its inhabitants. Certain papers published the intelligence that on the above occasion several hundred extra policemen were sworn in, and who patrolled the city constantly, repressing attempted uprisings of the foreign population. The Marshal, they said, was shot at repeatedly, the bullets taking the buttons from his coat!

Organization of Town Council, etc.

        On May 26, 1851, the Common Council of the City of Sonora held their first meeting. The members, all of whom were present, were the Mayor, C. F. Dodge; H. W. Theall, L P. Yaney, A. F. Chatfield, L. C. Gunn, H. T. Fuller, R. S. Gladwin, and Abraham Tuttle.

        Their first business after organizing was the appointment to certain city offices, which were filled as follows: Recorder, Leander Quint; Treasurer, Daniel Sayre; Assessor, Ethan Allen; City Attorney, L. A. Besancon; Marshal, J. F. H. McFarlane; Clerk, A. W. Luckett.

        These appointments were confirmed by an election held a few days subsequently, with the exception of the Assessor, E. Allen, who was beaten at the polls by J. W. Richardson.

        Among the more important business transacted by this Board was the passage of Ordinances numbers Fourteen and Fifteen, relating to gambling. The former of these provides that " The game known as 'French Monte' or Three-card Game,' or the game of 'Loop' or 'String Game,' or the game known as 'Thimbles,' or the game known as 'Lottery,' or the game known as 'Chinese Puzzle' or the 'Lock Game,' or any game having in its tendency deception or fraud, is hereby prohibited within the corporate limits of the Town of Sonora; and, on conviction of any person or persons of an infringement of this ordinance, the party so offending shall be fined in a sum not less than twenty-five or more than one hundred dollars, and imprisonment not more than ten days, or both fine and imprisonment, at the option of the Recorder.

        " It shall be the duty of the Marshal, or any Police officer, upon information coming to them of an infringement of this ordinance, to arrest the person or persons so offending, and report the same to the Recorder.

        " This ordinance to take effect from and after its passage. " Passed Apr. 5th, 1852.

        " CHAS. F. DODGE, Mayor."

ORDINANCE No. 15.

[Amending Section 12 of Ordinance No. 2.]

For every faro bank, monte  bank, roulette, or other gaming table, or game of chance, the owner of each and every bank shall pay a license of fifty cents per day, and no banking game shall be opened without previously taking out a license for not less than one week; and any person opening, dealing, or taking charge of any game without said bank previously taking out said license, shall be deemed guilty of misdemeanor, and shall be fined not less than $25, nor more than $100, for each and every offence; and any owner or occupant of any house who shall allow any banking game to be opened without such license being taken out, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction before the Recorder shall be subject to a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100 for each and every offence. But no license shall be issued to any person under the age of twenty-one years. * * Any person putting up goods or other valuables to be disposed of by raffle, or by other chance, shall previously pay a license of one per cent upon the value of said goods or valuables; and any person or persons violating this provision shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500 for each and every offence.

Ordinance No. 16 provided that all dancing saloons must pay a license of eighty dollars per month; and the previous resolutions closing such houses at midnight were by this ordinance repealed.

Ordinance 17 prohibited entertainments devoted to the display of the human form, particularly the exhibitions known as the " Model Artists," the penalty being a fine of not less than five hundred dollars.

        The foregoing extracts from the city ordinances will give to the critical mind as good an indication of the progress of refinement and morality as could pages of observations. Not alone in the science of government was the city, and with it the county, advancing. For the preceding twelve months Sonora had been steadily on the increase in point of numbers and influence. Additions, generally of the more industrious class, had been pouring in. The people of the town flattered themselves that the days when desperadoes, with knife and pistol, ruled the streets, had passed forever.

Progress of the Town of Sonora.

        At no time in its history were so many permanent structures being erected. Vacant lots were built upon, and the sound of the hammer and saw were heard in all parts of the city.

        One of the most notable structures built this season (the spring of 1852), was a large and substantial frame building at the corner of Taney and Washington streets, in which Messrs. Yaney and Bertine established themselves as bankers. Within the building was a very large safe—an article so ponderous as to require a very considerable outlay of time and money to transport from San Francisco. This safe was regarded as a nine days' wonder by the hardy gold-seekers.

        Previous to the establishment of the house of Yaney & Bertine, three firms, Messrs. Reynolds, Todd, & Co., Adams & Co., and Wm. Hammond & Co., existed. The former firm have the credit of being the original bankers and express men of Sonora, having commenced their operations in May, 1850, as Reynolds & Co. Their business had been very extensive as early as the fall of 1850, when the firms of Reynolds & Co. and Todd & Co. were consolidated, and in 1852 the special deposits reached the amount of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars. The firm of Adams & Co. occupied, at the latter date, a neat building on Washington street, in which was contained a large fire-proof vault, built of stone and cement, with double doors of boiler iron, and within this fire and thief-proof cavern were two large iron safes of the most approved construction. Dr. J. Steinberger remained as agent in charge until 1852, when he was succeeded in his duties by Mr. A. G. Richardson.

        Wm. Hammond & Co. began business in Sonora in November or December, 1851, in general banking and the purchase of gold dust. Their office was in the first story of the adobe building known as Masonic Hall.

        It may here be proper to remark that this building, celebrated in the annals of Sonora, was commenced on June 24, 1851, the Masonic Order laying the corner stone with appropriate ceremonies. The occasion was one long remembered in Tuolumne. Among the Masons who took part in the observances of that day were Charles M. Radcliff (Master of Ceremonies,) Judye Tuttle, E. Linoberg, Mayor Dodge, A. F. Chatfield, Captain Tormey, William Perkins (Orator of the Day,) W. Vyse, Major Sullivan and others.

        After a considerable delay, the building was finally completed and occupied; but its life tenure was short. The inside was completely burned out by the fire of June 18. The rains of the following winter so acted upon the adobe walls remaining, that the whole structure became unsafe, and had to be propped up. After remaining in this empty and forlorn condition for some time, it finally fell in, and remained a wreck until the following July, when the county authorities gained control of it by lease, and entered into a contract with J. M. Huntington for its repair, at a cost not exceeding two thousand dollars. It was the intention to devote it to the use of the Courts, there being at that time no suitable rooms for that purpose. Whether the money was expended on the building does not appear, but shortly after the Supervisors are found to have made other arrangements, and the presumption is that the contract with Mr. Huntington was not fulfilled. The building stood on the northeast corner of Church and Washington streets.

Great Fire in '52.

        The fire of June 18, above referred to, was one of the most serious calamities to which Sonora was ever exposed. It began at one o'clock in the morning, in a building called the "Hotel de France," situated on the plaza, and facing up Washington street. It was occupied by Mme. Landreau. From thence it spread northwards, destroying the block situated in the center of Washington street, and beginning at a point about midway between the present locations of O'Brien's store and Boyd's livery stable. The streets separated by this block were known as East Washington and West Washington streets. The southernmost building which fell a prey to the flames was the Masonic Hall, already spoken of. The wind blowing northward, the fire steadily progressed in that direction, burning nearly every building on Washington street to its head, where the Episcopal Church now stands, and even here the flames were not stayed, but continued as far as the Barnum House, in the northern part of the city, and fully a half mile from the starting point.

        Thus nearly every building in town was burned, only such scattered dwellings as were far removed from the fire having been saved. Many of the structures swept away cost from ten to twenty thousand dollars each, and the total loss was said to exceed three-quarters of a million dollars.

        Among the buildings saved were the Rev. Mr. Deal's new Methodist Episcopal Church, and Rev. W. H. Long's Wesleyan Chapel. The former was used for a short time after the fire as a Postoffice.

        The loss of one life only is recorded. The unfortunate man was a Swiss, named Monier, and he met his fate in the building in which the fire started.

        Immediately following the extinguishment of the fire, a new source of trouble arose. This was the attempt of certain parties to "jump" the land on which the houses had stood; but the attempt was frustrated by the interposition of an armed guard, which was organized to meet such proceedings.

        Reliable estimates, published a week after the fire, when the excitement and consequent exaggeration had cooled, placed the loss at seven hundred and seventy-eight thousand dollars. 

        Of this enormous sum, the following‑named persons or companies lost the amounts set opposite their respective names:

        The above were the principal losers only, the remainder of the gross amount being made up of losses ranging from a few hundreds to five thousand dollars.

The day following the fire, a public meeting was held in Sonora in reference to the calamity, at which Mr. S. H. Dwinelle was called to the chair, and a committee was organized to draft resolutions, directed toward a better protection of the city in case of a similar danger. This committee, consisting of Messrs. Huntington, Yaney, Green, Gunn and C. F. Dodge, presented resolutions proclaiming the expediency of widening the streets and laying them out at right angles; also, that a police force be appointed in the temporary emergency.

        These resolutions were acted upon by the authorities, and the center block, lying in the middle of Washington street, was abolished, and that street widened to its full width of eighty feet. The citizens unanimously accepted the new order of things, and commenced the task of rebuilding in a most thorough manner. Brick became the favorite material for building, and the brickmakers began to ply their vocation actively. Real estate, it was said, had risen, within a few days, to a greater value than previous to the fire. Mr. Linoberg received an offer of one hundred and twenty dollars per front foot for his lot, corner of Linoberg and Washington streets, and Mr. Holden refused five thousand dollars for his hotel site, preferring to erect thereon a large frame hotel and saloon. Adams & Co., whose building was destroyed among the rest, built a much finer one on the same lot, containing a vault constructed of adobes, the walls of which were three feet in thickness, and the apartment within large enough to contain several safes.

        The establishment of the first school in Sonora, and in fact the first in the county as far as is known, took place during the week in which the fire occurred. The preceptress was a Miss Hawkhurst, a lady eminently adapted to the art of instructing the youthful mind, if the laudatory notices of the Herald may be taken as evidence. Possibly, however, the Herald man was susceptible, and the lady's charms were such as to obscure his judgment. Be that as it may, the school was quite a success, though its privileges were extended to but few at the beginning, the pupils numbering but eighteen or twenty, the most of whom were Americans, and between the ages of four and ten.

        It was mentioned that the new M. E. Church escaped destruction in the great fire. This building stood on Yaney street, in the rear of Yaney & Bettine's Banking House. It was decidedly the finest church building in the county, though costing but the comparatively small sum of thirty-three hundred dollars. The dimensions were thirty-five by forty feet, and ninety feet from the ground to the top of the spire. The contractor, Mr. George Fairfield, completed the work in twelve days.

        A reference to the advertising columns of the Herald of that time, reveals many things that must be of interest. In one place Mrs. Sharp respectfully informs the parents and guardians of the Sonora youth that she intends opening a school for young ladies about the first of July. Having been engaged as governess in leading families in Europe, she flatters herself that she is competent to perform the task that she proposes. In addition, she will feel happy to form a class of grown-up ladies whose early education has been neglected, that they may become possessed of a portion of that multifarious learning that the reader must have supposed Madame Sharp imbued with. Her terms were eminently reasonable, board per month, with tuition in all the branches of a sound English education, being only twenty-five dollars, while, in addition, music, French, dancing, washing, and day scholars are taught or dealt with at correspondingly low rates. But whether unforseen circumstances prevented, or the good lady concluded that she was giving too much for a little money, the school, it is to be presumed, was never commenced, for there is no evidence to the contrary.

        Three book stores—G. S. Wells', Mintzer & Co.'s, and B. H. Sweetland's (" Miners' Book Store "), advertise their wares. Messrs. Huntington, Martin & Dwinelle maintained an "ad." asserting their claims as attorneys at law, the latter member of the firm being also a Notary Public. They also advertised " Money to loan, in sums to suit borrowers."

        Mr. C. A. Todd advertised that he had purchased the interest and good will of his former partners in Reynolds & Co.'s Express and Banking House, and would carry on the same without interruption, the office being removed to the old Tuolumne House.

        The American Bath House, on Washington street, at the Plaza, and adjoining Theall, Perkins & Co.'s store; Plump's Coffee House, where ice-cream was to be had; William Stone's splendid circus, composed of the greatest living artists—in fact, the flower of the equestrian school; and numerous other individuals and institutions advertised themselves liberally in the Herald.

        Six banking houses, including Adams & Co. and Todd & Co., did business in Sonora at that time—a fact that seems the more extraordinary when it is compared with the present state of finance. The contrast extends into all matters, of course, but in one particular is most noticeable to the eye of a newspaper man. No weekly four-page paper of limited circulation ever possessed a better advertising patronage than did the Sonora Herald. Its weekly receipts from that source could not have averaged much less than two hundred dollars. The Herald, by its respectable moral tone, by the fullness and completeness of its various departments, and by the vigor, energy and courage of its conductors, commanded success and achieved it. There was not at that time, nor has there since been, published in California a more respectable weekly newspaper. Its editorials were terse and vigorous, and always up with the times. They were such as to furnish an exponent of the feelings of society in general on all prominent topics. This is fully shown in the editor's comments on the Chinese question, in 1852, when that topic was for the first time agitated.. It is surprising to the reader of the present day to observe how little progress has been made in considering that question. The subject remains, morally, in the same light in which it was then regarded. To prove this, let a few sentences be quoted:

        * * * * " They prove convincingly, if proof were needed, that the Chinese have been hardly and harshly treated. Coaxed and invited hither by one class of Americans, they have been driven about and maltreated by another class. Taxed by the Legislature, in return for that protection which it well knew it could not honestly guarantee, they have been driven back by miners, whose voices spoke out long ago against any competition with inferior labor.

        * * * Who, then, are to blame in this matter, the miners, or their would-be masters, the merchants?

        * * * The merchant clique of San Francisco

        * * * thus writes: The immigration of the Chinese to this country is productive of great profit to us, and we believe is of great benefit to the mining and agricultural interests of the State.' Granted, as far as the profit is concerned; granted by us, and very frankly avowed by those who profit by it. The merchant memorialists will pardon us poor miners if we presume to have our own ideas about our own peculiar interests. We have too long served as shuttlecocks, to be bandied about from side to side, the sport and prey of sharper legislators and reckless speculators; we have too long served as cat's paws, by which the merchants and bankers have drawn the golden store out of the fire. * *

        " To say that the Chinese will permanently settle in, improve and populate this country, does not mend the matter. It is but a mere assertion, anyhow. That a country containing so immense a mass of human beings could speedily populate this country, none can doubt. But what we want is not mere population; this were worse than useless, if it were not a healthy increase.

        * * * We want a permanent population; but we also want a free, intelligent, enlightened one. We want a population that speaks our language, understands and appreciates our laws, sympathizes with the expansive spirit of our people, harmonizes with and readily assimilates to us. We want a population each one of whom is capable of sitting on a jury, of depositing a ballot, of understanding the drift of a resolution, the prayer of a petition. Such a population the Chinese can not be. Why, then, should we commit political suicide, because our fathers made our country a refuge for the oppressed ? In plainer and more unmistakable words, why should we ruin our rising country by diluting its already adulterated population with the admixture of a strange and an inferior race, merely because certain merchants find it productive of great profit to them ? "

        Never were more pointed words applied to this question, which has remained an unsettled problem to this day. The ideas above advanced contain all, or nearly all, of argument that has been promulgated on that side. Nor, on the other hand, have the supporters of Chinese immigration got beyond the idea of self-interest in their own arguments. So that the whole subject may be said to be in the same state in which it existed thirty years since.

Diversions of the Early Miner.

        By this date, a noticeable progress in refinement over the rough and reckless previous years had become apparent. As already mentioned, Sonora had taken the initiative in establishing schools and places of worship. Contemporaneously with these came the institution of theatrical exhibitions, which at first were, as befitted the mixed tastes of the earlier inhabitants, not of the highest order. It has been seen that the Town Council of Sonora was impelled to prohibit, by ordinance, the lewd exhibtions called "model artist shows." Bull fights, introduced by the Mexican inhabitants, had previously been a recognized means of diversion—more particularly, it was the regular source of amusement for beguiling the time on Sunday; but the sport, once popular, by the year 1852 had become degraded in the popular estimation, so much so that the newspapers published at that time refused to give their columns to its description. In consequence, there is difficulty in arriving at facts concerning this amusement. When it began, and to how late a date the practice continued, are details shrouded in obscurity. Good fortune has, notwithstanding, preserved this relation of a typical combat which occurred near the spot where Wolfling's slaughter-house now stands: In 1850, Captain Gridley had advertised himself as being in possession of two bears, which he proposed, on a certain day, to pit against a long-horned Mexican bull, or, more properly, a steer, that was owned by another party. This, of course, was not exactly a bull fight, but was a contest perhaps more to the taste of such as chose to pay their dollar to behold, than the real simon-pure bull fight would have been.

        At the appointed hour, the corral was surrounded by an immense crowd, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to view the promised sensation. The bears, being let into the enclosure, excited a feeling of disappointment from their diminutive size, and the outcome showed that they were utterly unable to cope with their active and powerful antagonist. On the first charge of the excited steer, goaded to desperation by the shouts of the bystanders, the smaller of his two antagonists was toppled over instantly, rolling under the legs of the steer. The other, daunted by the onset, sought to escape by climbing the fence, despite the chain by which he was fixed to a stake in the corral. The bystanders, giving ground before the array of teeth and claws, fell over each other in confusion. On order being restored, it was found that Bruin had been shot and partially disabled. Thereon a quarrel arose with the proprietor, who insisted that the crowd should pay him for the damage done to his property. This was not acceded to, but a collection of a few dollars was made up on his promise to let the fight go on.

        Three times more the animals were brought or driven in contact, each time resulting in a victorious charge by the hoofed quadruped that scattered his enemies in utter demoralization, and then the fight was declared "off," the owner of the steer offering to match his animal against five grown-up grizzlies. As there were no takers, one must conclude that the doughty bovine had achieved a reputation as invincible, or that grizzly bears were not easily procurable in quantity.

        Having introduced this circumstance to show the nature of the amusements indulged in in 1850, it will be proper now, in support of the assertion that the people were progressing in refinement, to speak of their amusements and habits two years later.

        In the first place, the various religious organizations thus far formed had met with a considerable degree of success. Public enthusiasm had not yet been awakened in any great degree upon that subject, nor, it may be added, is it noticeable at this day; but many earnest men had commenced the move in the direction of morality and sobriety, by building churches, where the word of God might be heard. In connection with this, a movement was put on foot to effect a more marked observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest, instead of, as before, one of recreation and commercial dealings. That this effort was attended with pronounced results, is not very likely; but there is no doubt that the seed sown then did not all fall on barren soil.

        Not all of the God-fearing men who ministered in "Old Tuolumne" found their paths strewn with roses. Many were compelled to resign their charges, and the few who upheld their crosses found ample opportunity to bear them with all the pain and trouble that is said to deserve so well of their Divine Master.

        To return to the subject of amusements : In 1852 Messrs. Richardson and Imbrie built a theater in Campo Seco, which was one of the earliest structures of the kind in the county. Like most buildings of that date, it was built of wood, boarded up at the sides, and covered with canvas. It was, in fact, hardly more than a tent. In the front portion of the building was the familiar bar. In this primitive structure the Chapman Family held forth for many nights, playing the initial engagement. These actors seem to have had an exceedingly successful season in the mines, playing in all the camps whirl contained any facilities for such performances, or men enough to compose an audience. Every man went to hear them, and very possibly no actors, " star " or otherwise, ever met the expectations of their audiences more fully; and certainly no audiences ever rose to the demands of the performers with such unanimity—such excess of satisfaction, and ebullition of feeling—as theirs. At Columbia the stage was covered with buckskin purses, each containing what the generous givers thought a proper testimonial of their appreciation. Discovering, however, that there was not noise enough about it to fully emphasize their feelings, the boys took to throwing silver pieces, and there was, it was said, an immediate scarcity of these coins, which, by the way, had not long been in circulation in the mines. Enthusiastic, red-shirted miners escorted the actors to and from the theater, and even intruded their effusive good wishes into the privacy of the strangers' apartments. The force of generous sympathy could go no further than it did here.

        In Sonora the Chapmans met with almost equal success. Their exhibitions were given in a small hall in the rear of, and connected with Ward's saloon. A procession of over a thousand miners, it is said, acted as escort on their journey between Columbia and the neighboring city.

        On the opening night in Sonora a bill was given, of which the following is a reproduction :

PHOENIX THEATER,

SONORA.

Grand Opening on New Years' Night !

This new and beautiful Theater, attached to Ward's Saloon, will be opened on the above night, with the following powerful company :

Miss CAROL CHAPMAN, from Burton's Theater, New York.

Mrs. HAMILTON, also from Burton's Theater.

Mrs. BURRILL, from the American Theater, San Francisco.

Mrs. CAMPBELL, from the American Theater, Sacramento.

MR. W. B. CHAPMAN, from the Broadway Theater, New York.

Mr. T. S. CAMPBELL, Acting Manager.

MR. HAMILTON, from Burton's Theater, New York.

MR. THOMPSON, from the National Theater, New York.

MESSRS. G. W. DANIELS and McCABE,

Stage Managers ;

BYERS, T. C. GREEN, PIPER and ROWE.

A full orchestra has been provided, of acknowledged musical talent.

An OPENING ADDRESS, written by a Gentleman of this city, will be delivered by

MISS CAROLINE CHAPMAN

To be followed by the celebrated comedy, in three acts,

of

THE SERIOUS FAMILY,

After which,

DANCING AND SINGING.

To conclude with the Favorite Farce of the
ROUGH DIAMOND !

Full particulars in small bills.

PRICES OF ADMISSION.—Parquette, $1; Dress Circle, $2.

Doors open at 1 past 6, and the curtain will rise at 7 o'clock.

        This bill was continued for eight nights. Subsequently the comedy " Paul Pry " was substituted for a portion of the bill. Later, " She Stoops to Conquer," and " The Honeymoon, were produced.

        Previous to the arrival of the Chapmans, a troupe of ballad singers, styling themselves the " Alleghanians," had visited the mines. Their performances were much attended, their songs being mostly of the pathetic, homelike sort of music that might be supposed to prove interesting and captivating to a population so far separated from their former associations. At Sonora the Methodist Episcopal Church was placed at their service, and was filled repeatedly. The foremost singer, Miss Goodenow, on the occasion of her benefit was enthusiastically received by the citizens, four of whom, Messrs. Bertine, Todd, Gower and Satrustegui, each purchased one hundred dollars' worth of tickets, thus almost rivaling Genin, the hatter, of Jenny Lind celebrity.

Settlement of Columbia.

        Columbia, as already noted, sprang into existence in the month of March, 1850. New, and very rich deep diggings were struck there, together with very extensive, though poorer, surface deposits; and the people from surrounding camps and elsewhere, flocked there in great numbers. At once the place (first called American Camp, and afterwards Columbia) contained several thousand inhabitants, and the greatest success was achieved in mining, although by the most primitive means. With the giving out of the water, however, the population as rapidly fell off to a score, more or less, who alone remained of all the vast multitude.

        The winter of 1850-51 set in with the most sanguine expectations, but the miners left shared in the general disappointment at the insufficient fall of rain, scarcely enough falling to enable the ground to be prospected.  Still, some made wages by carrying their dirt a long distance to water. The general success of these opened the eyes of the people of the surrounding camps to the possibilities thus indicated, and their attention was drawn also to the extent of these grounds. It was seen that there was not a foot of ground upon the immense flat, from Santiago Flat to Tim's Springs, and from Shaw's Flat to the hill overhanging the Stanislaus, but was rich enough to pay for working, if water could be obtained for that purpose ; and that there were hundreds of ravines and gulches that contained gold.

        These tremendous resources, richer in kind than elsewhere found upon the earth's surface, drew again the swarms of people who were to make Columbia the typical placer mining camp of the world.

        From the latest date mentioned, the growth of the camp was steady and permanent. From the obscure location, containing perhaps half a hundred miners, who washed a limited amount of dirt in water brought in barrels, or laboriously carried the gravel to the distant springs, the town grew by successive additions from every camp and from every country. With them came artificial wants. The rude and primitive modes of mining would no longer answer. The winter rains could not be depended on, yet were taken advantage of to the utmost extent. At Christmas time in '51, a stream, fed only by the rains, was flowing through the streets of Columbia. Fifty "toms " intercepted its progress, and not a drop of the precious fluid but was made to do its work over and again, in separating the yellow particles from the gravel.

Transcribed by Kathy Sedler