Chapter IV: San Francisco

We will now pay our respects to the occidental metropolis of the United States, sometimes honored with the title of the Queen City of the Pacific.

It has not been more truthfully remarked that Paris is France, than that San Francisco is California. This is the grand mart in which all the travel, news, capital, business, and, in fact, every species of interest or employment that belongs to the State is concentrated--the nucleus around which every plan and project must first be developed before it can receive life, vigor, system and order. It is the fountain-head of all the tributaries of trade and traffic that flow through the State--the great trestle-board or chart of operations to which all the journeymen repair for designs and instructions to pursue their labors. It is the supreme tribunal and regulator of affairs--the heart, the life, and the stay of the State. Contrary to the general rule, in this case the city supports the country, instead of the country nurturing and sustaining the city; and this will continue to be the case so long as the country is under the necessity of importing whatever she requires for use. Until she becomes the producer of the bulk or major part of that which she consumes, San Francisco will retain this ascendency. Every important movement, whether of a public, private, political or commercial character, receives its impetus from this point; and owing to its advantageous geographical position, and the facilities and accommodation offered for shipping, I think it may be safely said that San Francisco will be a great city, although California can never become a great State.

In order to particularize a little, and to furnish the reader with a more systematic idea of the city, we will imagine ourselves in a vessel, some distance at sea, approaching the coast of California in about the lat. of 37° 45´ N. and lon. 122° 25´ W. This will bring us to the Golden Gate, the entrance to the harbor. This entrance is a narrow outlet, through which at least seven-eighths of the entire waters of the State find their way into the Pacific ocean. It can be so thoroughly fortified that no maritime expedition could ever force its way through it.

Passing through the Gate, we enter the bay, and find it to be one of the largest and finest in the world, dotted with several small islands, and abounding in excellent fish of every variety. Soon we arrive at Long Wharf; the steamer is run alongside, and we are in the Eldorado of modern times. Around us we behold an innumerable crowd of eager lookers-on, who have come down from the city to meet their wives, lovers, fathers, mothers, sisters, or brothers, as the case may be. The crowd is probably one of the most motley and heterogeneous that ever occupied space. It is composed of specimens of humanity from almost every clime and nation upon the habitable globe. Citizens from every State in the Union, North and South, Americans, French, English, Irish, Scotch, Germans, Dutch, Danes, Swedes, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Russians, Poles, Greeks, Chinese, Japanese, Hindoos, Sandwich Islanders, New Zealanders, Indians, Africans, and hybrids--all stand before us. We see all grades and conditions, all ages and sexes, all colors and costumes, in short, a complete human menagerie.

By the sides of the wharves, and anchored in different parts of the commodious and noble bay, we see magnificent ships, barks and brigs from every nation of commercial note. But of all these majestic palaces of the deep, none are equal in beauty of design and finish, in grace, symmetry and elegance, or in excellence of quality, to our own American clippers. Thinking that it might be of interest to some of my readers, as a specimen of American marine or naval nomenclature, I have taken the pains to collect a majority of the names of these oaken chariots of old Neptune that have from time to time entered the Golden Gate, freighted with merchandise from Atlantic ports. Some of the names are truly appropriate and poetic. Ten of them, as will be seen, have, as a prefix, the word “Golden.” I have arranged them in the subjoined list in alphabetical order:

Antelope, Archer, Atalanta, Aurora, Bald Eagle, Belle of Baltimore, Celestial, Challenge, Champion, Climax, Comet, Contest, Courser, Dancing Feather, Dashing Wave, Dauntless, Defiance, Don Quixotte, Eclipse, Empress of the Seas, Eureka, Fearless, Flying Arrow, Flying Childers, Flying Cloud, Flying Dragon, Flying Dutchman, Flying Eagle, Flying Fish, Game Cock, Gazelle, Gem of the Ocean, Golden Age, Golden City, Golden Eagle, Golden Fleece, Golden Gate, Golden Light, Golden Racer, Golden Rule, Golden State, Golden West, Gray Eagle, Gray Feather, Gray Hound, Herald of the Morning, Highflyer, Hornet, Honqua, Hurricane, Ino, Invincible, John Gilpin, King Fisher, Mystery, National Eagle, Neptune’s Car, Northern Crown, Ocean Pearl, Ocean Spray, Olive Branch, Onward, Oriental, Orion, Pampero, Peerless, Phantom, Queen of Clippers, Queen of the Pacific, Queen of the Seas, Rattler, Raven, Red Rover, Reindeer, Ring Leader, Rip Van Winkle, Rover’s Bride, Sea Serpent, Seaman’s Bride, Shooting Star, Simoon, Light Foot, Living Age, Mandarin, Matchless, Messenger, Meteor, Monsoon, Morning Light, Mountain Wave, Sirocco, Skylark, Snowsquall, Southern Cross, Spitfire, Stag Hound, Storm King, Sun Beam, Surprise, Sword Fish, Siren, Tam O’Shanter, Telegraph, Tinqua, Tornado, Trade Wind, Typhoon, Viking, Waterwitch, Western Star, Westward Ho! West Wind, Whirlwind, White Squall, White Swallow, Wide Awake, Wild Duck, Wild Pigeon, Wild Ranger, Winged Racer, Wings of the Morning, Witch of the Wave, Witchcraft, Wizard, Zoe.

Leaving the vicinity of the shipping, we wend our way towards the heart of the city. As we proceed, we observe many objects of interest that deserve more attention than we can bestow upon them at this time.

Degradation, profligacy and vice confront us at every step. Men are passing to and fro with haggard visages and heads declined, muttering to themselves, and looking as hungry and ferocious as the prowling beasts of an Asiatic jungle. Before us on either side, we see a group of boys, clad in slouched hats, dirty shirts, ragged pants, and shabby shoes, without socks, who have no regular business. Sometimes they sell newspapers in the morning, and in the middle of the day engage in various occupations, as, for instance, in peddling fruits, nuts and toys. At this time several of them seem to have met by chance, and they have stopped to discuss the times and the progress of events. If we were near enough, we should probably hear the right hand party criticising Madame Anna Thillon’s last performance of the opera of La Somnambula, or of the Daughter of the Regiment; and those on the left giving their opinions upon the merits of Madame Anna Bishop’s last oratorio or ballad concert. After disposing of all the actors and actresses in music, opera, pantomime, tragedy and comedy, or, perhaps, after bragging of the successes of certain amours or other youthful depravities, they rally together, and entering the nearest groggery, one calls for a brandy smash, another for a whiskey punch, a third for a gin cocktail, and so on, until all are served. Then, bowing to each other, they drink to the prosperity of Young America, to which school they all belong; and dashing their glasses upon the counter with as hideous and vociferous anathemas as ever passed the lips of an East India pirate, they separate, segar in mouth, and return to their respective avocations. Not unfrequently these vicious youths repeat their potations so often that they become thoroughly inebriated, and may be seen quarreling, fighting, and lying about the streets like hardened and inveterate topers.

The bales and stacks of hay and straw piled upon some of the wharves, deserve a passing glance, since they form the sleeping apartments of dozens of penniless vagabonds who are always wandering about the city in idleness and misery, and have no other place to rest, no bed to sleep upon, except these out-door packages of provender, into which they creep for shelter and slumber during the long hours of the night.

Continuing our perambulations in a westerly direction, we find ourselves at the foot of Commercial street, which runs almost due east and west through the centre of the city. This street we will pass up, paying attention as we proceed to some of the irregularities and peculiarities which distinguish San Francisco from other cities, and California from other countries. The first houses we see are from one to two stories in height, and are built of red wood, a very light combustible kind of timber that resembles the spruce or cedar. Oregon produces nearly all the building materials out of which these and most other houses and tenements in California are constructed; and I have been credibly informed that the red wood and fir trees in that territory grow from two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet high, and proportionally thick. In some of the remote and comparatively inaccessible parts of California these varieties of timber are also found, and are said to acquire the same gigantic bulk.

Most of the buildings in this part of the street are tenanted by those mysterious and avaricious characters whose arrival in this, as well as in other places, is always as inexplicable as that of the flies in summer, and whose exit is equally as unceremonious as that of the swallows in winter--no one knowing whence they came or whither they go--the Jews, those nomades of civilization. These erratic and money-loving descendants of the ancient biblical patriarchs seem to follow in the wake of all adventurous Christians and gentiles who wear those convenient articles of apparel denominated ready-made clothes. Preferring to travel the way after it is once opened, they are seldom known as the pioneers of a new country; and claiming to be conservative in their principles and opposed to aggression, they profess disinclination to encroach upon foreign territory; but after the battles are fought with the forest, the wild beasts, or the biped enemy, and peace and security established, they are ever ready to come in and partake of whatever advantages may have been attained. So it has been in California, so it is yet, and so it will always be here and every where else, with these homeless and migratory people.

They do not employ any of their time or means in advancing the permanent and substantial interests of the country. None of them engage in any sort of manual labor, except, perhaps, that which is of the most trivial and unmanly nature, such, for instance, as the manufacturing of jewelry and haberdashery. Mining, the cultivation of the soil, in a word, any occupation that requires exposure to the weather, is too fatiguing and intolerable for them. The law requiring man to get bread by the sweat of his brow, is an injunction with which they refuse to comply. It is a tax they are unwilling to pay--an enigma beyond their comprehension--they will not sweat. Dealing in ready-made clothing appears to be their peculiar forte; and this is about the only thing they follow in San Francisco--as I think it may be said to be their principal pursuit wherever they go, when they have not the means to set themselves up as pawn-brokers or note-shavers.

We observe that they have presumptuously usurped or occupied from four to six feet of the way on either side of the street, by building little wooden racks and projections in front of their stores, for the purpose of making a more conspicuous display of their marketable vestments in dry weather. In any other place than California such unjust appropriations of the streets of a city would not be tolerated; but here, where usurpation, illegality and confusion reign supreme, no attention is paid to it.

It has ever been the misfortune of the Jew to undergo the scorn and contumely of self-styled Christians, and indeed of all nations. Since the destruction of his ancient capital by the Romans, he has been an outcast in the world, the standing butt of the Gentile’s scoffs. California is no exception to this general rule. But little respect is shown him there; and he is continually jeered by having applied to him such annoying epithets as Christ-killer, ham-hater and anti-pork-eater. But few of them have signs over their doors, as most men have who transact business upon their honor and reputation. Some of them buy and sell under assumed names; but in general their business is anonymously conducted. Bidding adieu to the cosmopolitan issue of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and leaving them in the peaceable possession and enjoyment of their “too or tree towsand monnies,” we will take a glance at matters of more importance.

Higher up the street we come to a better class of buildings than the miserable little shops we have just left, and we get a fair view of the permanent and attractive architecture of San Francisco--the brick and stone structures. Many of these buildings are beautifully designed and symmetrically proportioned, and have fire-proof walls varying from sixteen to twenty-four inches in thickness. They are usually from two to four stories in height. One hotel is five stories high, being the tallest house in the State.

Probably no city in this country can boast of buildings so substantial and thoroughly fire-proof as those of San Francisco. Besides making the walls very thick, every care is taken to have the doors, window-shutters and roofs equally stout and incombustible; nor is this precaution at all surprising, when it is remembered that this city alone has lost more than twenty-five millions of dollars by fire.

Owing to the unusual dryness of the weather, the prevalence of winds in summer, and the inadequate supply of water possessed by the city, all combustible matter is rendered so inflammable that it is quite impossible to keep it from burning after fire is once communicated; hence the necessity of using brick and stone instead of wood. The amount of money invested in this durable kind of improvement, as will be seen by reference to the following statistics which I borrow from the Herald, is something over thirteen and a half millions of dollars--the number of buildings being six hundred and thirty-eight:

No. of buildings. Value. Mason street 4 $ 35,000 Powell street 13 156,500 Stockton street 35 423,500 Dupont street 37 450,000 Kearny street 23 535,000 Montgomery street 55 3,500,000 Sansome street 46 1,036,000 Battery street 63 1,106,000 Front street 39 612,000 Davis street 3 85,000 Geary street 2 16,000 Sutter street 3 30,000 Bush street 5 144,000 Pine street 9 144,500 California street 47 1,230,750 Sacramento street 52 778,000 Commercial street 21 462,000 Clay street 28 593,000 Merchant street 15 348,500 Washington street 37 608,500 Jackson street 19 308,000 Pacific street 7 107,000 Broadway 10 145,000 Vallejo street 3 36,000 Green street 2 16,000 Union street 6 92,000 Greenwich street 3 35,000 Lombard street 2 12,000 Chestnut street 2 20,000 Francisco street 1 36,000 Market street 2 40,000 First street 5 76,000 Brannan street 10 50,000 Third street 4 44,500 Miscellaneous 55 307,000 --- ----------- Total 638 $13,618,750

It is a remarkable fact, however, that less than half of these improvements have been made with California gold. Ask the proprietors where they got the money which they have expended in the erection of these buildings, and they will tell you it came from the Atlantic States and from Europe. Those who occupy them, the merchants and business men from New York, London, Paris, Hamburg, Bremen, and other places, will testify to this fact. California gold is to the world much what Southern cotton is to the North; it is not retained at home to supply the wants of the people, to afford them employment, to enrich or embellish the country, but is passed into distant hands, and afterwards brought back at a premium. Thus the producers are continually drained, and the commonwealth necessarily impoverished by this unthrifty management.

These buildings are erected upon the most eligible and convenient sites, and form what is properly termed the business portion of the city--covering, probably, about one-sixth of its superficies. Almost all of the residences or private dwellings are built of wood, and are very frail and inelegant. It is the intention, however, of a large number of the citizens to take down the wood and substitute brick or stone, as soon as they get able, if that is ever to be the case.

To acquaint ourselves with the character of the speculators and business men in San Francisco would be a curious and interesting task. They are certainly the shrewdest rascals in the world, and a straight-forward, honest man, who acts upon principle and adheres to a legitimate system of dealing, can no more cope with them than he can fly. But notwithstanding their shrewdness, and I might say, in some instances, their excellent business qualifications, they exhibit less method and system in their transactions than any class of traders I ever saw. Whatever they do is done in a helter-skelter, topsy-turvy sort of way, as if they had just fallen out of their element, and were scrambling to get back again. They never take time to do a thing well, but are always going and coming, or bustling about in such a manner, that one would suppose they were making preparations for some calamitous emergency, rather than attending to the every day routine of an established occupation.

This restless disposition is characteristic of the inhabitants of every part of the State; the mind seems all the time to be intently engaged upon something in another place, and the body is always pushing forward to overtake it.

Pursuing this digression a little further, it may be remarked of San Francisco that, although she is indebted to California for her existence, she is no longer dependent upon the State for her support. San Francisco can now claim to be as much the city of the Pacific, or of the world, as of California. The commercial advantages she enjoys, her inviting harbor and central position, are far superior in importance to any benefit she is likely to receive from the interior. The profits she will gain from the whale-fishing fleet of the North Pacific, and from her trade with the islands of the South Pacific, with China, Oregon and Russian America, will place her in a more prominent and enviable position than it is possible for the State ever to attain.

Returning to our subject, we find ourselves as far advanced on our way as Montgomery street. The course of this street lies north and south through the middle of the most beautiful and wealthy part of the city; it is, therefore, both the Broadway and the Wall street of San Francisco. Every phase and trait of life and character is cognizable here. The dramatist who would study human nature here, would have an opportunity of striking out something new, instead of repeating the old creations of his predecessors, for surely never was there so varied a page spread out before the eyes of man.

While in this vicinity, we may observe men, who in the Atlantic States bore unblemished reputations for probity and honor, sinking into the lowest depths of shame and degradation. Others, whose moral characters are unobjectionable, have been pecuniarily unfortunate, and are driven to the necessity of engaging in the most menial and humiliating employments. Among the latter class, I might mention lawyers, who, to save themselves from the severe pangs of actual want, have been compelled to fish around the wharves for crabs, and to enlist themselves in the petty traffic of shrimps and tomcods. Ministers and physicians fare no better. In a certain hotel in this city, not long since, a lawyer was employed as a regular runner; in another, adjacent to it, a physician was engaged to pare potatoes and wash dishes; while in a neighboring restaurant, a preacher was hired to wait upon the customers and clean off the tables. Now, does not every reasonable man know that these professional men did not voluntarily follow these inferior pursuits? It was not a matter of choice with them. They could not help themselves; they were out of money, out of employment, destitute of friends, and were compelled to take advantage of the first opportunity that offered of earning their daily bread. Half the lowest and most servile situations or offices in this and other cities in the State are filled, often without any other remuneration, than board and lodging, by these unlucky and depressed adventurers.

New as the country is, the dandy, that exquisite flower of a finished civilization, is not unknown. He may be seen at any time sunning his external splendor on the side-walk, and scorning his more useful cotemporaries as loftily as though, he were promenading Broadway or the Champs Elysees.

Together with bankers, stock-jobbers, and other moneyed men, we observe that the students or disciples of Blackstone, Coke and Story have selected this street for their offices. Considering the heterogeneous composition of society in this country, the loose and unsystematic transactions of every-day business, and the unsettled state of public affairs, it will be readily perceived that there is an incessant clashing of feeling and interest, and that the result is a great deal of strife and litigation. Disputes and difficulties relative to real property, and spurious or imaginary claims, keep the court dockets continually crowded; and the lawyers have rich and abundant opportunities for the exercise of their forensic abilities.

For the first two or three years after the settlement of California by the Americans, all attempts to organize or establish the civil law proved fruitless; and during this anarchical period no redress could be had, except by an appeal to lynch-law, in which case death was sure to be the fate of the criminal. Then the country had no practitioners of law, except those whose talents ranked far below mediocrity; but now the San Francisco bar can boast of some of the most profound and eminent jurists in the Union. It is probable that they have been more fortunate in accumulating wealth, than any other class of men. Much of their business has been of such a nature that they could mould it almost exclusively to their own interest, provided they felt inclined to take such an advantage of their clients; and every body knows it would be a very unlawful thing in a lawyer to neglect himself. They are the largest owners of real estate in the city, and there is no species of property that yields so great a profit as this, if properly managed.

Land titles are now as much contested as they ever were, there being in some instances as many as half a dozen claimants to a single lot. The squatters cause most of these troubles. Generally poor, and homeless, they settle upon any vacant or unoccupied piece of ground that suits them; and as there is a numerous body linked together for mutual support and protection, it is an extremely difficult matter for the half-sustained civil authorities to remove them. If the law were sufficiently forcible--if there were any such thing in California as sovereign law, these intruders would be brought to justice, and instead of the broils and butchery now so common all over the country, peace, safety and good order would exist. But as it is, no dependence can be placed upon the administration of justice; and unless a man takes the law in his own hands, and defends his person and property _vi et armis_, he must tamely submit to whatever injury or indignity is offered him. Sometimes several squatters settle indiscriminately upon a single claim; and in these cases, feuds, animosities and contentions are sure to follow; but the difficulties are soon arranged by a recourse to weapons, it being generally conceded that he is the rightful owner or claimant, who happens to possess the largest bowie-knife and the truest aim with rifle or revolver.

The grog-shops or tippling-houses constitute the last but not the least prominent feature of Montgomery street that we will notice at the present time. The devil has certainly met with more than usual success in establishing so many of these, his recruiting officers, in this region; for we cannot visit any part of the state or city without finding them always at our elbow. San Francisco might allot one to every street corner in the city, or in other words, four to every intersection of the streets, and still her number would not be exhausted. It is astonishing what an amount of time, labor and money is misspent in this nefarious traffic. Out of the two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants in California, from twelve to fifteen thousand are exclusively engaged in this diabolical, but lucrative business; and, what is worse than all, nearly one-fourth of the bars are attended by young females, of the most dissolute and abandoned character, who use every device to entice and mislead the youthful and unsuspecting. Women being somewhat of a novelty here, their saloons are always thronged with customers, many being induced to patronize them merely for the sake of looking at them. What a base prostitution of their destiny and mission! Woman has come here, not only to pander to man’s vitiated appetites, but also to create and foster in him unholier desires, and, if possible, to lead him further astray than he would have gone without her.

Lest we should fall in love with one of these sirens, we will not go near them, but will enter one of the saloons kept by a biped of our own sex. Across the street is a large and fashionable one, called the Blue Wing,

“Where politicians most do congregate,
To let their tongues tang arguments of State.”

Adding ourselves to the number of its inmates, we find the governor of the State seated by a table, surrounded by judges of the supreme and superior courts, sipping sherry cobblers, smoking segars, and reveling in all the delights of an anticipated debauch. Another group of less distinction in public affairs, but better known to the proprietor because of their more frequent and protracted visits, occupy a second table in the back part of the room, where they are playing cards and carousing over a general assortment of distilled, fermented and malt liquors. The proprietor himself is a red-nosed, jolly fellow, of burgomaster proportions, generally in a good humor, who treats his victim-patrons with the utmost courtesy and politeness. He is every man’s man, and always has a smile and a smart saying prepared for the entertainment of the bystanders. His two clerks, for he is unable to wait upon all his customers himself, are equally urbane in their deportment, and may be found at their posts from six o’clock in the morning till twelve o’clock at night, ready to flavor and tincture mixed drinks, to prepare hot punches, and to deal out low anecdote to vulgar idlers. On the shelves and counters are dozens of labeled decanters and bottles, filled with the choicest liquors and artificial beverages that the world produces; other articles of similar use and value are also kept for sale, and stored away in their appropriate places. As a minute survey of the bill of fare may not be uninteresting, I herewith present it:--

BILL OF FARE OF A CALIFORNIA GROGGERY.

Bowie Knives and Pistols.

Scotch Ale, English Porter, American Brandy, Irish Whiskey, Holland Gin, Jamaica Rum, French Claret, Spanish Sack, German Hockamore, Persian Sherbet, Portuguese Port, Brazilian Arrack, Swiss Absynthe, East India Acids, Spirit Stews and Toddies, Lager Beer, New Cider, Soda Waters, Mineral Drinks, Ginger Pop, Usquebaugh, Sangaree, Perkin, Mead, Metheglin, Eggnog, Capilliare, Kirschwassen, Cognac, Rhenish Wine, Sauterne, Malaga, Muscatel, Burgundy, Haut Bersæ, Champagne, Maraschino, Tafia, Negus, Tog, Shambro, Fisca, Virginia, Knickerbocker, Snifter, Exchange, Poker, Agent, Floater, I O U, Smasher, Curacoa, Ratafia, Tokay, Calcavalla, Alcohol, Cordials, Syrups, Stingo, Hot Grog, Mint Juleps, Gin Sling, Brick Tops, Sherry Cobblers, Queen Charlottes, Mountaineers, Brandy Smashes, Whiskey Punch, Cherry Bounce, Shamperone, Drizzles, Our Own, Red Light, Hairs, Horns, Whistler, White Lion, Settler, Peach and Honey, Whiskey Skin, Old Sea Dog, Peg and Whistle, Eye Opener, Apple Dam, Flip Flap, One-eyed Joe, Cooler, Cocktails, Tom and Jerry, Moral Suasion, Jewett’s Fancy, Ne Plus Ultra, Citronella Jam, Silver Spout, Veto, Deacon, Ching Ching, Sergeant, Stone Wall, Rooster Tail, Vox Populi, Tug and Try, Segars and Tobacco.

The annual consumption of beer, wines and liquors in this State exceeds five millions of gallons, a vast deal of which is retailed at extraordinarily remunerative rates. All of the first class establishments, I mean those that deal in good qualities, charge twenty-five cents for every drink or dram they sell; but an adulterated article, of which there is always an abundant supply in market, can be procured at about one half that price. In some of the most popular and respectable saloons, genuine articles are always kept on hand for the benefit and accommodation of those who are willing to pay for a delicious (?) draught. I may not be a competent judge, but this much I will say, that I have seen purer liquors, better segars, finer tobacco, truer guns and pistols, larger dirks and bowie knives, and prettier courtezans here, than in any other place I have ever visited; and it is my unbiased opinion that California can and does furnish the best bad things that are obtainable in America.