General John Bidwell, another "path-finder," who in 1841 led the first
party of white men over the Sierras, lived to be over eighty years of
age. He saw the state, once a wilderness where naked Digger Indians
chased elk and antelope, grow to a pleasant land of orchards and
vineyards, of great cities full of people. General Bidwell was for a
time in Sutter's employ, and surveyed nearly all the large ranches
and the roads in early days. All his life he planted trees and built
roads, and at his great Rancho Chico is one of the largest orchards in
the state. Part of his life-work was to help a tribe of savage Indians
to be good American citizens, and as one of the fathers of California
he should always be remembered.
Many notable names appear in the days when the finding of gold brought
this shore of the Pacific Ocean before the eyes of the world. Among
these are Gwin, who was chosen senator with Fremont; Larkin, widely
known as the first and last American Consul to California and for his
accounts of the gold discovery; and Halleck, first secretary of the
state and afterward General Halleck.
The streets of San Francisco honor some of the citizens of 1848 and
1849: Geary, the first postmaster; Leavenworth and Hyde, the first
alcaldes or mayors; Van Ness, Broderick, Turk, and McAllister,
recalling prominent men of those days. Spanish families like Sanchez,
Castro, Noe, Bernal, and Guerrero had also a place on the city map.
Indeed, every town has some native Californian names in and around it.
Don Victor Castro, said to be the first white child born in San
Francisco, died lately at San Pablo in the house he had built sixty
years ago. He was called the last of the Spanish grandees, those dons
who, before the Gringos came, had estates that stretched miles away
on every hand, and thousands of cattle with many Indian servants. Don
Victor built and ran the first ferry across San Francisco Bay.
Sacramento was laid out as a town for Sutter by three lieutenants of
the U.S. army: Warner, who was afterwards killed by Indians; Ord,
who was a general in the Civil War, while the third, in after years
"marched through Georgia" as General Sherman. Marysville was also laid
out by Sutter, and Stockton by Weber, who owned all the land around
it.
In 1849 Doctor Gregg and his party found Humboldt Bay. In 1851
Yosemite Valley was discovered by Major Savage and a company of
soldiers, who were out hunting hostile Indians. This band of Indians
was called the Yosemites, and their old chief's name was Tenaya, for
whom the beautiful lake is named.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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