William L. Willis - History of Sacramento County, California

History of Sacramento County, California

WILLIAM L. WILLIS

History of Sacramento County, W. L. Willis

Jazzybee Verlag Jrgen Beck

86450 Altenmnster, Loschberg 9

Deutschland

ISBN: 9783849651886

www.jazzybee-verlag.de

What is termed history is made up of several factors, which sometimes move concurrently and sometimes are divergent. There are many matters of record, which of course are not disputable, but in the recital of which the narrative is tinctured by the opinions or prejudices of the narrator or the historian or of the source of his information. Tradition and personal recollection play another large part in history, and things that are accepted for decades and even for centuries as facts become in the course of time a matter of dispute and even of rejection. The path of the historian therefore is not one of roses. If he be wise he will as far as possible submit each statement to the test of scrutiny and comparison and hold fast to that which he considers as proven, or if he does not reject it, state that the matter is not fully authenticated.

Had the writer been far-seeing, when he came to California in 1874. he would have jotted down the personal recollections and experiences of a large number of the pioneers with whom he became acquainted and who were then in the prime of a vigorous life and with a vivid recollection of what they had passed through and of the conditions they found prevailing here when they arrived. Some of these men came as early as 1846 before the discovery of gold, and he has listened for hours to their tales of adventure and experience, but did not at that time realize that the lips that recited them would one day be stilled in death and many important matters connected with the early history of the state would be buried in oblivion. A book embodying these recollections would have been a most fascinating work, for a glamour always hangs over the history of the days of the Argonauts that seems to grow in interest as time progresses. Many of these reminiscences were probably tinged with romance, but that hardly lessened their interest.

In the compilation of this volume the writer has endeavored to present facts collated by him, without bias or prejudice, and as nearly authenticated as possible. Perhaps some statements may provoke criticism from those who hold a different point of view, or who have received information conflicting with them; and it would be too much to expect that the book would be entirely free from faults or defects, but he can truly say that he has done his best with the resources at his command and sifted the evidence to the best of his ability, and can only ask the indulgence of the public with regard to his shortcomings.

In the compilation of this work, the author has consulted a number of authorities, and had the valuable assistance of a number of persons in collecting data. The works of Dr. Morse, Thompson and West, and Winfield J. Davis have been drawn upon freely, as have those of other authorities. To Hon. W. A. Anderson he is indebted for the valuable chapter on The Bench and Bar, and other reminiscences, and to E. B. Willis, N. E. White, J. A. Woodson and others for suggestions and information. In a work of this kind it is impossible to incorporate all incidents, however interesting to the parties concerned, and where it has not been practicable to secure accurate data, some things have been omitted, rather than run the risk of incorrect statement. He therefore trusts that the public will accept the work in the spirit in which it was written.

W. L. WILLIS.

Serene I fold my hands and wait,

Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea;

I rave no more gainst time or fate,

For lo! my own shall come to me.

The stars come nightly to the sky,

The tidal wave unto the sea;

Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,

Can keep my own away from me."

John Burroughs.

Such has been for many years the attitude of a large part of this grand state, the empress that sits throned on the shores of the Pacific, conscious of her charm and confident of the future that awaits her, and that is drawing as a magnet the dwellers of colder climes and more inhospitable shores to the land of sunshine and flowers. And such has long been the attitude of Sacramento county, the peer of any in California. But a transformation has begun and the future will witness the unfolding of the bud of beauty into a perfect flower that shall surpass the most sanguine expectations. With a city that will expand in the future into the largest inland city on the coast, all her advantages will keep pace with her evolution and she will take her proper place among the gems that grace the diadem of the great empire of the Pacific coast, the magnificent state that took for her motto Eureka, and might well have added to it Excelsior. It may be safely said of Sacramento county that she has played a more important part in the history of the state than any other county within the borders of California. Embracing in her confines the most precious gifts of the lofty Sierras and the foothills at their basethe fertile alluvial soil washed down from their hillsides and canyons to fill up the inland sea of which she was once a partmaking her a second valley of the Nile, no whit inferior to the original in fertility and productiveness, she is almost without a peer. But the mountains and foothills were not niggardly in their munificent gifts, for in addition to her splendid soil they sprinkled it liberally with golden dust and nuggets that enriched many a one of the Argonauts and of the generation that succeeded them, and is to this day pouring millions into the pockets of the men who are mining the precious metal on the lands adjoining the American river.

Sitting majestically on the banks of the magnificent river that forms her western boundary, she has beheld for half a century barges and steamers bringing her choicest products down the bosom of the river to the sea, to supply the markets of the coast cities and of lands beyond the ocean. With the summers sun and the winters rain, aided by the balmy winds of spring and autumn, her crops follow each other in annual succession, and are sent abroad to feed the less fortunate dwellers of Occident and Orient and to spread the fame of her wealth of resources to distant lands. Well has she played her part so far, but it is an insignificant one compared to that which she will play in the near future, when instead of a few thousands, this magnificent valley of the Sacramento shall support millions of happy, prosperous men, women and children of the mighty empire that is developing so rapidly on the western coast of our country. And now has come to her a quickening of perception that will have far-reaching results. Her own has come to her. She realizes the value of her birthright and will take advantage of it to the fullest extent. Agriculture, horticulture, commerce and manufacturing all feel the impulse resultant on the realization of her power and opportunity, and her watchword is Onward."

In the days before the American occupation, Gen. John A. Sutter, the pioneer of pioneers of the state, saw with the vision of a prophet the future of the country, and built his fort near the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers, to become, a few years later. the objective point of the wagon trains which wended their weary way across the trackless wilderness of this vast continent. Here many a company of immigrants, worn out with their long journey and often half-starved and in distress, arrived and were fed and relieved from the stores of the generous-hearted old pioneer, and rested and recuperated under the protection of his fort. Here was for many years the point where the gold seekers, landing from their long and dangerous voyage around the Horn, arrived on boats from San Francisco, and fitted themselves out for the mines. Here, too, was the supply point for these seekers for gold after they had begun with pick, shovel and rocker, to delve their fortunes from the rich placers of the foothills. Here, then, began the making of the history of the Golden state.