The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 13, 1896, Page 20

THE SAN FRANCISCO. CALL, UNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1895 19 IN THE TREASURE HOUSE OF CALIFORNIA'S PIONEERS Jhe Most Interesting Museum on Earth, Rich in Relics of Events, Which in the Early ITHZ}' the space of a few square feet, in this City, are such inestim ble historical treasures as the origi- | _nnl Bear flag; the proclamation which, | issued by Commodore Sloat, immediately | preceded the raising of the American flag a: Monterey when the United States formally took possession of California and saved it from the Enclish; the bell which sounded in earlier days to call the Vigi- lance Committee together; the saw, crank and other paraphernalia from Sutter's mill; the battle flag of the “First Califor- nia Regiment,” otherwise known as the Thirty-second Regiment of New York Volunteers; *‘Captain Jack’s” war drum from the lava beds; and not lessinter- esting the cannon which, originally pre- | sented by the Czar of Kussia to the garri- | son of Fort Ross, was afterward used by | Commodore Stockton at San Pedro, Los | Angeles and San Pasqual. | These areall in 8 museum, of course, | but a museum which, in a small compass, embodies more State history than any objects of historical interest already enumerated, and many others, are in the tody of the Society of California Pio- | . Securely sheltered in a building | vich is in itself historical, as it marks | one instance of the broadly manifested | public spirit of James Lick, the number of these priceless treasures slowly increases. | Tragedies and comedies, relics of war and | reminders of stern justice meted out in the spirit of but without the form of law, | provokers of smiles and reminiscences for | tears — these and the magic glitter of | that gold which made California so soun | a State, are in the keeping of their proper | custody, of those who were, in propri | persone, State-makers in every sense of | the term. When the collection is com- ! plete it will supgest the most unique page of history that has been written in mod- other museum in the United States. The | | ern times. They will help to make up the most unique museum store upon earth. | Upon a pedestal in an angle stands a | small iron chest. The lid of it rattles whenever the chest is jarred. It once had | a key and until a short time ago, in fact. | Then some chance visitor learning of the | historical valne ot the chest stole the key. | The chest very likely would also have been stolen by the same tor if it had not been protected by its size and weight. | Small though it is the story runs that it | contained $16,000 when it was stolen by John Jenkins from the shipping office of | Virgin & Co. on Long wharf on the tenth | y of June, 1851. Jenkins had the con- spicuous distinction of being the first man lynched to secure order by the Com- mittee of Vigilance. Jenkins was dealt with very promptly and the proceedings w trorough and energetic. “He was | convicted,”” says a veracious chronicler, “‘that evening as an example to the law- ; less characters then infesting the City.” | The committee brought him to the plaza and there they hung him from a beam of | the ola adobe house. He was left until mor g, relays of men holding the rope [ by whichk he was suspended. | se to this Ilittle irom chest with ch Jenkins made away, and which was | saved from the bay after he had thrown it | in, is a perfect treasury of objects which have histories. A little to the left, not more than two paces, there i3 a queer little cannon, It is perhaps 314 feet long. | The chamber of it runs to a point at the vent. Eight ounces of powder were enough to charee it. On the top are what | looks like two handles to carry it by. The Czar of Russia presented this cannon to | the Russian garrison of Fort Ross and the Russian flag waved over it for a time. Captain Satter afterward received it. He caused it to be mounted upon the wall of his famous fort, a large picture of which is almost directly over the cannon. The plece was one of those which banged a salute when the American flaz was firsy | Strong constitution. Almost under the raised upon that fort at sunriseon the | Shadow of James Lick’s hatbox, which morning of July 12, 1847. Then it became | TSts on tlie top of the Sloat flagstalf sec- « tield viece and went with the command | tion before mentioned, is the first piano of Commodore Stockton and was used by | that ever came to California. Strange as him in his advance from San Pedro to Los | it may appear, as a fact, this first piano is Angeles; again in the engagement at San | 8D UPright. Steve Massett had it at some Pasqual, December 6, 1846; again at Los | ©f bis entertainments. Along came the Angeles on the 8th and 9ih of June, 1847. | DIE fire of 1850. The piano could only be 1t was then transferred to Colonel Mason | 58ved by throwing it to the ground from of the First United States Dragoons, who | & Second-story window. Down it went script. roia, and Mr. Toler attests that it was written by his hand, at the order of | Commodore Sloat, whose aid he was. Pianos, like everything else connected returned it to Captain Sutter. He pre- [ With a bang, jingling and tinkling out a | sented it to the Society of California Pio- | Protest from every note included within neers. | the compass of its eight octaves. Just beyond a stout wire partition at|{ When the piano struck the ground one the east end of the museum there is a sec- | of its legs was broken off. It ought to tion of what looks like an old-fashioned | have been a generally broken up music- mast. In reality it is a four-foot section | maker according to all reasonable ex- of that flagstaff upon which Commodore | pectation. Sloat ordered Midshipman Toler to raise | discovery was made that, with the excep- the American flag at Monterey, on the 7th | tion of one broken leg, it was all right. day of July, 1846. This section was the | The cost of replacinz the broken leg with base of the pole. A piece of the top part | a new one was $50. Alfter that it resumed isin another part of the museum; also | its task of furnishing accompaniments for upon the wall, bearing the attestation re. | the early Californians as they sang. It cently placed thereupon by William P. | had ups and downs. Open the case to- Toler, now of Oakland, is a long manu- | day and run your fingers over its time- When it was examined the | @uF which the United States took possession | with the early period of California his-| tory, seemed to have been built with a| | in frames on the side walls. ORNIR'S FirsT Pl1ANoO. | This was the proclamatiorn by |stained ivory keys, and every note will respond in tune. It has about as good tone as it ever could have possessed. The sound is practically the same that was heard half a century ago when California Wwas new. On the west wall, where it should be, is the original Bear flag. There are three bear flags of different dates on the walls. The original bear is an odd-looking beast. There is no doubt of the authenticity of the relic—the original flag. H. L. Ford will go down to history as the man who suggested placing a picture of the bear on the flag. Mrs. John Sears provided the muslin of which the flag was made. Wil- liam Todd agreed to paint itand placed on 1t a single star, remembering the *lone star” of the Texas Republic flag. Toda was equal to painting the star, but when be came to the bear he produced a picto- rial beast of subdued mien which can be considered a bear only by voetical license. He would never have been suspected of being a bear without a license. There are two other bear flags of d:fferent periods. One of these has a bear standing on its bindlegs. These three flags are spread out Not far away from them is a flag carried by Walker into Nicaragua. Over the last named is the picture ot Dr. Tucker, who gave it to the Pioneers. At least one more flag of historical in- terest is in the collection. This was car- . D O. BROWERS (ROSSING THE [STHMUS” | ried through several battles in the Civil War at the head of the First California or Thirty-second Regiment of New York Volunteers. Two colonels were killed in battle in command of this regiment while yet the battle-flag was 1n use, these being Colonel Matheson and Colonel Lemon. The last colonel of the regiment, Francis E. Pinte, gave it to the Pioneers. It tloated at Manassas, West Point, Va., Crumpton Gap, An- tietam, Fredericksburg and Salem Height, Va. The wear of actual service is evident upon its tattered folds. The San Francisco Vigilance Committee is represented in various parts of the mu- seum by enauring memorials. The largest single object that belonged 1o that world- famous committee now in the Pioneer building is the bell, which stands on a pedestal just beyond the case that shelters the California Regiment battle-flag. Mon- umental Fire Company No. 6 owned the bell, and it was the first one ever erected in. San Francisco. The Vigilance Com- mittee used it in 1856, and to the ears of offenders it played weird tunes. The “all-seeing eye”” and the seal and police badge of the committee are in one case. In another case is a very small, old-fash- ioned clock, not more than the span of a band in diameter. This ticked out the minutes at meetings which were full of fate to certain individuals. Taken to- gether the bell and the clock are surely grim reminders of an exciting period and exciting occurrences. There is one corner of the musenm—a small jog formed by the junction of a wire barricade—which would provoke the enthusiasm of any student of history. Here are gathered a piece of the keelson of the Natalie, the vessel upon which Napoleon escaped from the island of Elba; upon this wooden relic are pieces of the machinery which went to make up Sut- ter's mill; above these hangs one of the saws from that mill. Crossed in a glass case in this same cor- ner are two torches which were presented by friends in Philadelphia to Pennsyl- vania Fire Company No. 12 of 8an Fran- cisco in 1854, Somewhat gorgeous with silver trimmings the handles proudiy claim to have been fabricated from the tree under which William Penn wrote his memorable treaty with the Indians, “which was never sworn to and never broken.” Between the torches and Sut- ter's long-disused saw and machinery is the quarterboard of the Loo Choo, one of the vessels which brought to California a part of Btevenson’s regiment. G. B. Mellus, who has charge of the Pioneer Museum, once worked on the Loo Choo in Boston as & sailmaker. Mixed in with the historical treasures of Qalifornia are other objects, but the greater part of all is purely Californian, Two stone chairs of the Incas are there. Then in a case are two miniature brass cannons, made from a gun which was on board of Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar. General Grant's coat, the one which he wore at the capture of Vicksburg, is in evidence. This came from the Dent family. There would have been many smali cannon balls for the public to have looked at but, incredible as it may seem, the public has stolen them. Bulky iron- mongery was flitted away as easilyasa key of an iron box. Baskets or hand- satchels may bave been used. No pocket short of one lined with leather and stitched with stout cord could carry away even a small canfion ball. So several per- sons, tourists or others, have taken part in looting a pile of cannon balls. The Vigilance Committee badge of 1856 is present only in one specimen. This is on white ribbon and bears only the fol- lowing A daguerrotype of Kit Carson, the famous frontiersman, is near neighbor to James Lick’s stone teapot ana the dies from which 1woney in California were stamped in the early days. The chain with whioh Jasper O'Xarrell surveyed San Francisco in 1844 rests quietly in a show- case corner. Most characteristic of all, perhaps, is a box containing the remains Days Gaused the Blood to Tingle ! == THEHULK o THENIANTIC yRoM of a pioneer’s outfit in 1849. The box is small enough to be turned into a waffle. In it are a small roll of tape, a cake of soap, small white buttons, one threaded needle and two copper cents. Almost jostling against it is a slate bowl used by the padres ‘o hold holy water. There are busts and pictures galore. Ons large picture shows odd features of the journey over the isthmus. There are many portraits of well-known pioneers and views of San Francisco and Sacra- mento at different Wimes; cases of glitter- ing ores, some samples having more or less interesting histories. Odds and ends from the South Seas have space to cling to, bows and arrows, etc. Old men Launt the rooms, gray haired and with other marks of old age visibly creeping on. They enter through the office on the first floor, passing other gray- haired men who occupy official positions. Than they pass along through a wide hall, which is decorated in part with a mural tablet of marble, upon which have been sculptured the names of al! the presidents of the Society of California Pioneers down to the present time. They climb slowly | dime and two nickels. up easy flights of stairs, seeing the pore traits of famous Californians on every side. When they have reached the third floor they have no jurther to climb. Many of them walk with canes. Mr. Pinkbam, the marshal, does not. Neither does Captain Swasey, who isas erect and seemingly as alert as when he first saw San Fran- cisco, fifty-one years ago. Around them are more mute records of daring and hero- ism, of wild adv enture, than any other single society on earth can justly claim for their own—as appertaining directly to themselves—in which they were the actors. Midway of the museum isa small glit- tering vparticle. Never taken from the soil, it nevertheless is the counterfeit pre- sentment of that which caused thousands of men to sail around Cape Horn, to jour- ney over deserts and mountains, to cross the isthmus and to delve through days filled with toil and glory in the auriferous soil of California. A small, plush-covered box, with a tiny clasp, is beneath the sparkling trifle. 1Itis locked up securely in a showcase. Not of great intrinsic value, 1t 1s still of great value in the eyes of pioneers, for it is a fac-simile of the first nugget connected with the name of Marshall, the discoverer of Cali fornia zold. Davip H. WALKER. Buying a Horse for 70 Gents. A horse for 70 cents! A real live animal, capable of drawing & peddler’s cart and its owner for a price less than six bits. McCurrie, special officer for the Preven- tion of Cruelty to Animalsin the City and County of San Francisco, has founa the oddest horse trade that hascome to notice in a long time. I forget who the peddler was,” McCur- rie said yesterday, “but I know about the lowest-priced horse tLat ever has assisted any man in San Francisco to carry on business.” McCurrie has every day contact with horses all over the City and, as might be supposed, it is a fact that the poorer horses are those which are the most sub- ject to abuse and so attract his attention more closely, the complaints being princi- pally against the owners of such. “Of course this was a cash trade,” said McCurrie, with some amusement. *“The money paid over was two quarters, one When the owner of the nag received this money the ped- dler got the horse sure enough and was ready for business.” “The fact is that peddlers can get all the horses they want now for §1 each. I knew of another case where a horse was bought by a peddier for an old stove which was much the worse for wear; the stove, I mean, and for $1in cash.” Some inquiry was made on the basis of McCurrie’s statements. The fact appears to be that many horses have been botght for less than $5. Sorry-looking nags, of course, these are, but they do to move a load of bananas or other truck for sale over short distances on the level streets of the City, and they are able to stand at street cor- ners indefinitely on anywhere from three to four legs. But a sharp lookout is kept upon such animals and upon their owners by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. 3 There was an example of this watchful- ness one day during the past week. A human brute was driving four horses with a heavy load attached to them and it was noticed that one of the leaders could not step on one fore foot without pain. The horses were stopped and 1t was discovered that the ailing horse had just been shod and that a nail had been driven into its foot, upon which it had been forced by blows to walk over the cobbles. The suggestion has often been made that California is the place for the poor man. There probably is no other place where peddlers can get the motive power for their wares at the rate of a horse for 70 cents. TJo lIrrigate the Desert. Jones—What do you think of that project of the Enterprise Brewing Com- pany? Robinson—What is it? Jones—They propose to establish a branch in the Desert of Sahara and open beer saloons at each oasis.—Boston Courier. O “WATERMAN,”’ “Swan,” “Crown” and “Lead- er” fountain pens, good for Christmas, at San- born & Vail's. 4 R OREITOX X