History of the State of California: From the Period of the Conquest by Spain to Her Occupation by the United States of AmericaFrost, John
History
History of the State of California: From the Period of the Conquest by Spain to Her Occupation by the United States of America
Frost, John
California -- Gold discoveries; California -- History
Americans, by their superior intelligence and shrewdness in business,
generally contrive to turn to their own benefit the earnings of the
Mexicans, Chilians, and Peruvians in this country, and any measure of
exclusiveness which is calculated to diminish the productive labor of
California would be of exceedingly doubtful policy.
When applied to by the different parties for my opinion on the
question of expelling foreigners, I have uniformly told them that no
persons, native Americans or foreigners, have any legal right to dig
gold in the public lands; but that, until the government of the
United States should act in the matter, they would not be molested in
their pursuits; that I could not countenance any class of men in their
attempts to monopolize the working of the mines, and that all
questions touching the temporary right of individuals to work in
particular localities, of which they were in actual possession, should
be left to the decision of the local judicial authorities.
I cannot close my remarks on this subject without again calling the
attention of government to the importance of establishing a mint in
California at the earliest moment.
This measure is called for by every consideration of natural policy
and of justice to the mercantile mining population of California.
General Kearny, during his administration of affairs in this country,
appointed, by virtue of his authority as governor of California, two
sub-Indian agents, who have ever since been continued in office, and
their services found of great utility in preserving harmony among the
wild tribes, and in regulating their intercourse with the whites.
They have been paid from the "civil fund" very moderate salaries,
which will be continued until arrivals of agents regularly appointed
by the general government. Notwithstanding every effort on the part of
those agents and of the officers of the army here, it has not been
possible at all times to prevent aggression on the part of the whites,
or to restrain the Indians from avenging these injuries in their own
way.
In the month of April last, the agent in the Sacramento valley
reported that a body of Oregonians and mountaineers had committed
most horrible barbarities on the defenceless Indians in that vicinity.
Those cruel and inhuman proceedings, added, perhaps, to the execution
of a number of chiefs some year and a half since by a military force
sent into the San Joaquin valley by my predecessor, (the facts of
which were reported to Washington at the time,) have necessarily
produced a hostile feeling on the part of the natives, and several
small parties of whites, who, in their pursuit of gold, ventured too
far into the Indian country, have been killed.
My correspondence with the Indian agents and military officers
established in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys will inform you
of the measures taken to prevent a repetition of these difficulties.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account