WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 317
would be idle and absurd. To this extent I fully agree with my distinguished
colleagues. It is true that we possess a noble country, every way calculated, from
position and resources, to become great and powerful. For that very reason I
would not have her a mere dependence upon a foreign monarchy, naturally alien,
or at least indifferent to our interests and our welfare. It is not to be denied that
feeble nations have in former times thrown themselves upon the protection of their
powerful neighbors. The Britons invoked the aid of the warlike Saxons, and fell
an easy prey to their protectors, who seized their lands and treated them as slaves.
Long before that time, feeble and distracted provinces had appealed for aid to
the all-conquering arms of imperial Rome, and they were at the same time pro-
tected and subjugated by their grasping ally. Even could we tolerate the idea
of dependence, ought we to go to distant Europe for a master ? What possi-
ble sympathy could exist between us and a nation separated from us by
two vast oceans ? But waiving this insuperable objection, how could we
endure to come under the dominion of a monarch ? for although others
speak lightly of a form of government, as a freeman I cannot do so. We
are republicans. Badly governed and badly situated as we are, still we
are all, in sentiment, republicans. So far as we are governed at all, we, at
least, profess to be self-governed. Who, then, that possesses true patriotism
will consent to subject himself and children to the caprices of a foreign king
and his official minions ? But, it is asked, if we do not throw ourselves upon
the protection of France or England, what shall we do ] I do not come here to
support the existing order of things, but I come prepared to propose instant and
effective action to extricate our country from her present forlorn condition. My
opinion is made up that we must persevere in throwing off the galling yoke
of Mexico and proclaim our independence forever. We have endured her
official cormorants and her villanous soldiery until we can endure no longer.
All will probably agree with me that we ought at once to rid ourselves of what
may remain of Mexican domination. But some profess to doubt our ability to
maintain our position. To my mind there comes no doubt. Look at Texas
and see how long she withstood the power of united Mexico. The resources of
Texas were not to be compared with ours, and she was much nearer to her enemy
than we are. Our position is so remote, either by land or sea, that we are in no
danger from a Mexican invasion. Why, then, should we hesitate still to assert our
independence ? We have indeed taken the first step by electing our own governor ;
but another remains to be taken. I will mention it plainly and distinctly. It is an-
nexation to the United States. In contemplating this consummation of our destiny
I feel nothing but pleasure, and I ask you to share it. Discard old prejudices, dis-
regard old customs, and prepare for the glorious change which awaits our coun-
try. Why should we shrink from incorporating ourselves with the happiest
and freest nation in the world, destined soon to be the most wealthy and power-
ful ? Why should we go abroad for protection, when this great nation is our
adjoining neighbor ? When we join our fortune to hers we shall not become
subjects, but fellow-citizens, possessing all the rights of the people of the United
States, and choosing our own federal and local rulers. We shall have a stable
government and just laws. California will grow strong and flourish, and her
people will be prosperous, happy, and free. Look not, therefore, with jealousy
upon the hardy pioneers who scale our mountains and cultivate our unoccupied
plains, but rather welcome them as brothers who come to share with us a com'
mon destiny."
Upon the conclusion of these remarks General Vallejo and his friends retired
in a body from the meeting, and he immediately addressed a letter to the gov-
ernor reaffirming the views which he had expressed, and declared that he would
never assist in any project for annexation to any nationality except that of the
United States, or hold any office under any government which proposed to sur-
render California to any European monarchy ; and thereupon he and his sup-
318 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES
porters retired to their homes. This movement on the part of General Vallejo
destroyed the prospects of the convention, so that, although its members were
elected, it never met for want of a quorum ; and within a few months thereafter
California was in the possession of the United States, by the taking of Mon-
terey, by Commodore Sloat, on July 7, A. D. 1846.
ENDEAVORS OF RUSSIA TO OCCUPY CALIFORNIA.
Meanwhile the Russians had for some time been quietly insinuating them-
selves upon the northern coast of California, with a view to its permanent occu-
pation. In the year 1812 they established themselves at the port of Bodega,
having previously obtained permission to do so from the authorities of Spain, for
the alleged purpose of maintaining fisheries and hunting for furs. But already,
as early as the year 1815, they had established large ranches in the interior,
had purchased cattle of the Spanish inhabitants, and had devoted themselves to
the rearing of herds and the production of wheat. During the revolutionary
troubles in Mexico, the Russians held themselves to have become the actual
owners of the territory which they occupied. About forty miles from Bodega,
beyond the river San Sebastian, they constructed a fort, which they called
Slawianski, but which the Mexicans designated as the Fort of Ross. Over this
floated the Russian flag, and a military governor was in command, appointed by
the Czar of Russia. So carefully was this military colony fostered by its own
government, that it possessed one-sixth of the white population of California in
the year 1842. But, on the final acquisition of California by the United States,
the military colony was withdrawn, and most if not all the Russian population
retired at or about the same time.
THESE VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS HAD NO KNOWLEDGE OF THE MINERAL WEALTH
OF CALIFORNIA.
When we consider what the causes were which have so rapidly developed
California to her present position, it seems surprising to us that the existence of
precious metals within her limits was not only not suspected, but was even most
authoritatively denied. The acquisition of California was considered desirable
by all these nations, because it was known that her conditions of climate and
soil were such, that her agricultural sources and productions must be almost
incalculable ; that she must become the seat of an immense population of a
highly civilized and prosperous people, and there form the nucleus of an empire of
political and commercial power which must exert a controlling influence over all the
coasts of the Pacific ocean. The United States, in particular, found themselves
almost in contiguity with the future seat of so much prosperity, wealth, and
power, and naturally desired that it should become their own. But although
rumors of the existence of gold in California had occasionally been heard, still
they had never been verified, or traced to any reliable source ; and they were
regarded as we now regard the fabulous stories of the golden sands of Gold
lake, or those of " Silver Planches," which are said to exist in the inaccessible
deserts of Arizona. It seems strange to us, that, when the geological character
of this country was so well known and so minutely described, the existence of
the precious metals in any large quantity should have been so explicitly denied.
De Mofras uses the following language :
" There are no minerals which can be exported from California. The mines
of silver and of lead which are situated near Monterey are known only by the
result of some very simple assays. Some deposits of marble, of copper and iron,
some traces of mineral coal which are found near Santa Cruz, some mines of
ochre, sulphur, asphaltum, kaolin, and of salt, have not been examined with
sufficient care. The only mine at present operated in this country is a vein of
virgin gold near the mission of San Fernando, which yields about an ounce a
day of pure gold, and is worked by a Frenchman named Baric.
WEST OF THE EOCKY MOUNTAINS. 319
"The geological constitution of the soil of California is very simple. The
base of the Rocky mountains is formed of granites of various colors, sometimes
whitish with spots of black, sometimes gray or red ; above are stratifications of
gneiss, hornblende, quartz and talcose slate, similar to those which in Mexico
enclose veins of gold, micaceous schist, and talcose schist."
And yet, with all this explicit description, which gave rise to the recorded
suggestion that this geological formation was the same as that which in Mex-
ico contained veins of gold, v it never occurred to anyone of the statesmen or ex-
plorers who interested themselves in the acquisition of California that mines of
the precious metals existed within her limits.*
OUR GRATITUDE TO THE GIVER OF THIS GIFT.
We have thus shown that our position in California is not an accidental one,
but was the result of a long train of causes in which human agencies were ac-
tively at work. We should do injustice to ourselves, on this occasion, if we did
not give utterance to higher sentiments than those of admiration for the patriot-
ism of our fathers and the skill of our statesmen. We do not entertain those
notions of modern atheism, thinly disguised under the epithet of pantheism,
which limit the operative creation of God to the diffusion of a thin, gaseous sub-
stance throughout infinite space, upon which he set the impress of his law and
then went to sleep, leaving the existing universe to be evolved from a succession
of vortices. We do not believe that the whole animal and vegetable creations
have been evolved from bubbles of albumen, nor even that pantheistical philos-
ophers are only fully developed baboons, however probable this latter might
seem. This theory was first popularly presented to the world in a most shal-
low and unscientific work called The Vestiges of Creation, whose author never
dared to expose himself to general ridicule by revealing his name, because, just
after the publication of his book, Lord Rosse turned his tremendous telescope
upon the gaseous pantheistic nebulae, and instantly resolved them into fixed,
starry points. We believe as geology teaches us, that God has often, and at
remotely successive periods, interposed in the formation of the physical world, fit-
ting it for the creation and habitation of man. We believe that He still acts in
history, preparing great events, rewarding nations and men for goodness, and
punishing them for crime. We believe that His adoration is not superstitious,
nor prayer an unphilosophical act. " If the Lord had not been on our side
yea, if the Lord had not been on our side," we should not now possess this
beautiful and glorious California, nor hope to transmit it as an inheritance to our
descendants. To Him, therefore, we pour out our collected tribute of gratitude,
and invoke His protection for ourselves and our children.
OUR DUTY TO THE FUTURE.
Standing, as we do, between the mighty past and the mysterious future,
recognizing our gratitude to our fathers and our duty to our children, let
us this day make a public confession and a solemn covenant. Let us con-
* In closing the historical narrative, it may be assumed as a fact that the inevitable rup-
ture between Mexico and the United States was hastened by the governments of both coun-
tries with the expectation that the existence of war would defeat the plans of the monarchical
party in Mexico. It is well known that the friends of Santa Anna, who was then in exile,
applied to the American government to pass htm through its blockade of Vera Cruz on his
proposed return to Mexico, upon the frank representation that although he was the ablest
general the Mexicans could have, and would undoubtedly command their armies during the
war, yet his presence and influence in the country would prevent the establishment of a
foreign monarchy there ; and that the President of the United States, appreciating these con-
eiderations, permitted Santa Anna to land at Vera Cruz perfectly free to pursue his own
course of action. There are gentlemen of the highest respectability residing in California
who came here upon the personal assurance of President Polk, in 1846, that the war should
not be concluded until Upper California was secured by treaty to the United States,
320 RESOURCES OF STATES AND TERRITORIES
fess that those of us who have come into this country since the discovery
of gold in California was announced to the world, came here rather with
the spirit of adventure than with the intention of remaining here as per-
manent residents ; that we came here to gather our share of the mineral
treasures of the land, and then to return to the homes of our youth, there to
spend the remainder of our lives ; that, at first, we took no thought to found
here the institutions of a higher civilization, nor even to cultivate social rela-
tions ; and that, in this solitary isolation to which we condemned ourselves for the
Bake of gain, it was true, in a certain sense, of us, as individuals, that " our
hands were against every one, and every one's hand against us." Let us con-
fess that this Ishmaelitish tradition has still a certain influence upon us, and
that we do not devote ourselves as fully as we ought to the preparation for th
great future of California ; and let us resolve that this day shall form a new era
in our organized efforts. The faculties of man are threefold, intellectual, moral,
and aesthetic ; he has reasoning powers which can be cultivated ; a moral and
religious sense which can be elevated ; and a perception of the beautiful in
nature and art which can be developed into a source of happiness and refinement.
As of men, so of nations, for nations are but aggregates of men. The man who is
wanting in cultivation of any of these faculties is but an imperfect man; a
nation which is thus deficient can never act a perfect part in the history of the
world. The Greeks and Romans were powerful peoples, highly developed in
intellect and aesthetics, but in religion and morals they possessed only the gross
and sensual superstitions of paganism. The Puritans of New England were
highly cultivated intellectually and morally, but not aesthetically; they were a
strong, stern, and unsocial race. The politicians of the French revolution were
men of powerful intellects, and of high culture in literature and art, but they
were wanting in religious sentiment, and disbelievers in the ever-present working
of an intelligent and personal Deity ; so that even Robespierre, contemplating
the threatened dissolution of his political system, cried out in his agony : " If there
is no God, then we must create one!" Deficiency in aesthetic culture is com-
monly the want of new countries. The want of culture has been ascribed to us in
California ; by this is meant the want of intimate and refined social culture, of
the perception of the beautiful in nature and in art of that beautiful in nature,
and that ideal of human perfection, which the painter strives to perpetuate on
his canvas, the statuary to embody in marble, the poeb to crystallize in his
verse, and the musician to bring up from the profoundest depths of the human
soul. The charge brought against us is in a -large measure true, as it is always
true of new populations ; but we have advanced so rapidly to a high degree of
prosperity that it ought to be true no longer, and we ought ourselves to remove
this great reproach. Let us resolve, then, that we will do all in our power to
develop aesthetic culture in California ; that we will not only devote ,our aid to
the foundation of churches, colleges, schools, and the kindred institutions of
morals, science, and humanity, but also to the cultivation of arts, of the percep-
tion of the beautiful, to the advancement of painting and statuary. So shall
we do our duty to the future ; so shall come after us generations of Californians
against whom no such reproach can be brought a perfect race, equally devel-
oped in their threefold faculties, by intellectual, moral, and aesthetic culture.
OUR CELEBRATION, TEN YEARS HENE, OF THE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY OF
OUR CITY.
San Francisco was founded by a colony of soldiers and settlers who came
up for that purpose from Monterey, overland and by sea, in 1776, and imme-
diately set about constructing a chapel at the presidio, after which the following
proceeding took place, as recorded by Father Palou, one of the missionary
priests who belonged to the expedition :
WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 321
" We took formal possession of the presidio on the seventeenth day of Septem-
ber, the anniversary of the impression of the wounds of our Father San Francisco,
the patron of the presidio and mission. I said the first mass, and after blessing
the site, (despues del bcndito,} tha elevation and adoration of the holy cross, and
the conclusion of the service with the Te Deum, the officers took formal pos-
session in the name of our sovereign, with many discharges of cannon, both on
Bea and land, and the musketry of the soldiers."
The seventeenth of September, A. D. 1776, must therefore be considered the
date of the foundation of San Francisco.
Ten years from now San Francisco will have completed the hundredth year
of her existence. In ten years most of us, under the ordinary providence of
God, will be still living. Let us then, on the hundredth birthday of our be-
loved city, go up and celebrate it on the plain of the presidio, where she was
born. Let us at that time renew the solemn exercises by which the soil was
consecrated to civilization : the blessing of holy mother church will not hurt the
most zealous Protestant among us. Let us rear mast -high the old flag of Spain,
with full military honors, to be replaced with equal honor by that of Mexico,
which in its turn shall give place, with " great discharge of musketry and of
cannon," to our own national emjblem of unity and strength 1
CONCLUSION.
*It is the singularly good fortune of the members of our society that they have
an assured position in the history of California, and one which can never be
taken away from them. Whatever the future may have in store for us as indi-
viduals, the Corporate Society of California Pioneers has had an existence whose
records must always remain in the literature and history of California. Our
banner is here, on which our names are inscribed, and that banner will always
float at the head of the "innumerable caravan" of the countless generations who
are to succeed us of that column which, like the Macedonian phalanx, widen-
ing as it deepens, shall draw its vast recruits as well from the tropical regions of
the equator as from the confines of the frozen ocean. Behold the thin mist curl-
ing up from the ripple where the sunbeam kisses the western sea! It mounts
to Heaven, and on its slight curtain Aurora paints the glories of ,the rising
sun ; condenses itself into the fleecy whiteness which decorates the sky of
June; piles up the mighty thunder-cloud, with blackened .base and Al-
pine peaks of dazzling brightness; and, at the signal of the far-flash-
ing red artillery" of Heaven, and with reverberating crash, dissolves itself
in gentle rain ; descends with refreshing coolness on the thirsty land, rushes
in torrents of sheety foam adown the mountain side ; swells the vast river to its
grassy brink, and then returns its tributary volume to the mother ocean. So count-
less as the innumerable drops of rain shall be the people that come after us. So
shall they rise up from the mists of the future, filling Heaven and earth and sea
with the beauty, greatness, and goodness of their acts, and then return, like us,
to the great source from which they came. And among them, what multitudes
of unborn painters, sculptors, poets, merchant-princes, generals and statesmen !
Unknown they are to us, but sure to be most of them still sleeping in the vast
caverns where repose the unborn generations of mankind. But from the depths
of the mists which conceal them, we already hear the reverberations of their
heavy tread. The parting haze already reveals the outline of the giant
forms of their leaders, but, alas, their faces are veiled ! These are the men for
whose coming we are to prepare this California of ours ; these are the men who
are to erect on the Pacific coast the imperial throne of the great American em-
pire!
H. Ex. Doc. 2921
LETTER
FROM THE
SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY,
ENCLOSING
Report of James W. Taylor, special commissioner Jor the collection of statistics
upon gold and silver mining east of the Rocky mountains.
FEBRUARY 15, 1867. Referred to the Committee on Mines and Mining and ordered to be
printed.
TKEASURY DEPARTMENT,
Washington, February 13, 1867.
SIR : I have the honor to transmit a preliminary report upon gold and silver
mines and mining in the States and Territories east of the Rocky mountains, by
Mr. James W-. Taylor, who has been appointed a special commissioner for the
collection of statistical information on that subject by this department.
Congress having made provision by the civil appropriation act of July 28,
1866, for the collection, by the Secretary of the Treasury, of " reliable statistical
information concerning the gold and silver mines of the western States and Ter-
ritories," I referred the inquiry in relation to districts west of the Rocky moun-
tains to Mr. J. Ross Browne, whose report was transmitted to the House of
Representatives on the 8th of January. There remained for consideration ex-
tensive districts of New Mexico, Colorado, Montana, Dakota, and Minnesota,
which may be properly designated as " western" States and Territories ; and
the mineral statistics of those regions,* especially in regard to the production of
gold and silver, were referred to Mr. Taylor.
The report herewith forwarded also contains some information upon the sit-
uation and prospects of gold mining along the eastern slope of the Alleghany
range, with some generaUstatements of the production of the precious metals in
Canada, Nova Scotia, and other parts of British America a compilation made
by the direction of this department with a view to exhibit all the gold-bearing
districts within the territory of the United States or closely related to our
northern frontier. The kindred topics of the present and future production of
gold and silver in other quarters of the world, and the effect of our own treasure
supply upon the internal commerce and communications of the west, are briefly
noticed in the report herewith enclosed.
I repeat the hope expressed on a former occasion, that the reports above re-
ferred to may prove valuable contributions to the public information in reference
to the great mineral resources of the United States.
I am, very truly, your obedient servant,
H. McCULLOCH,
Secretary of the Treasury.
Hon. SCHUYLRR COLFAX,
Speaker of the House of Representatives
324 GOLD MINES EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
SAINT PAUL, February 8, 1867.
SIR: In pursuance of your letter of instructions of September 12, 1866, I
present some general information in regard to the production of gold and silver
in the Territories of New Mexico, Colorado, and Montana, in a district of Min-
nesota northwest of Lake Superior, of which the lake and river Vermillion in-
dicate the locality, and upon the eastern slope of the Alleghany range in the
States of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland,
with some notice of recent discoveries of gold in New Hampshire, Nova Scotia,
and Canada.
In a second instalment of this communication a general review of the pro-
duction of gold and silver in other quarters of the world is submitted, with the
purpose of indicating relatively the commercial and social importance of the
treasure product of the United States.
A third division presents a summary of the domestic commerce from the Mis-
souri river westward to the interior or mining districts of the United States,
having reference prominently to the situation and prospects of railway commu-
nication with the Rocky mountains and the Pacific coast.
The brief period and the limited means of information which have been avail-
able since the date of your commission will confine the present communication