Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-10-31
AFTER MANY YEARS.
VISIT OF A "FoRTY-EINER" TO HIS
OLD sTAMPING-GRoUND.
Sacramento as She Used 10 Bs-The
First Flood and the First
White Woman.

The RECORD UNION had q pleasant call
yesterday from George w. Hotchkiss, of
Chicago, editor of the Lumber Trade Journal,
who is making tour of the Pacific coast.
Mr.. Hotchkiss was q resident of Sacramento
as early as 1S49, when he was an emPloye
of the firm of Scranton & Smith. The
frame of the building occupied by that firm
was fitted in New Haven, brought here and
put up on ] street, about where Wach-
horst's store now stands. There was but
one wooden building erected before that
one in this city, and that, he says, was on
the corner of Front and J streets.
Mr.. Hotchkiss related many interesting
incidents of that year in Sacramento. He
claims to have been the first to give the
alarm when the flood of 1880 broke into
the city. He was out at night in the rear
of the store, and noticed some water creep
ing in from the slough. He undertook to
stop it by means of few shovelfuls of
earth, but the volume increased so rapidly
that he became alarmed, and an investiga-
ton showed that the whole surface of the
north side of the city was flooded. The
the storekeepers, and the night was given
up to preparations for the food.
but about the funniest thing recall, I"
said Mr. Hotchkiss, twas the scene created
here by the arrival of the first white
woman in Sacramento. | remember it
well l was back in the store waiting on
an Indian and two squaws. Presently
heard an exclamation from some one on
the street. and rushing out found scores of
men on the sidewalks gazing intently
down toward the river. Then some one
sang out, Here she comesi' and soon a
woman hove in sight on the sidewalk,
the men falling back respectfully and
forming open ranks, through which she
passed. The Indians on whom had been
waiting had hidden around the corner of
the building behind some boxes and crock
eEY crates, and gazed in perfect astonish
ment upon the apparition."
"And was she really the first lady to ar
rive in Sacramento?" was asked.
81 said she was a woman" replied Mr..
Hotchkiss. but don't think she was what
you would call lady. However, believe
she was about the first of her sex to set foot
here. But before the close of 40 1mmi-
grants were arriving in vast numbers, and
the sight of woman on the streets soon
ceased to be cause for wonderment."
I.
went to Greenwood Valley, FL Dorado
county, where he had store, bowling
alley, etc. The only mining he ever did
was on l street, near the slough, where he
once washed out small vial of dust. He
lately visited Sitka, Vancouver and other
points on the northern coast of the Pacific,
and has been in the Humboldt county red
wood region. Speaking of this wood, he
said:
1.-THE people OF California never have ap-
preciated, and do not now appreciate, the
value of their redwood lumber. There is
nothing in this country to equal redwood
for durability, and when selected for the
interior finish of houses it is as pretty a
wood as can be found. If we had to send
to Europe for it there would be no end to
the demand. l am sorry to see it wasted,
as is being done in the regions where it
grows
Mr.. Hotchkiss departed yesterday after
noon for San Francisco, whence he will go
by water to Portland. After short stay
there he will visit the booming cities of the
Northwest and inspect the lumber dis
tricts. His health has been poor for some
-ears past, and he hopes to build it up
again through the medium of the health
giving climate of the Pacific coast.
Speaking of Sacramento, Mr.. Hotchkiss
Sdlu NE Ddu LOL udu llLuo ~ ~ over muCu
of the city, but had seen enough to con-
vince him that it had grand commercial
facilities, and was destined to be place of
considerable importance. OF course, there
were no traces left of the time when he
lived here. 1t was then city of tents,
chiefly, and everything was in an en-
bryotic and confused state. Nobody had
come to stay longer than was found neces-
sary to make pile and the majority of
men did not seem to be very particular as
to how they made their piles. Gambling
was rampant, and the pop of the pistol
was heard so often of day and night as to
cause little excitement. From what he
could see, Sacramento was well built, with
the exception of some portion of the down.
town section, but this he had no doubt
would in the course of time be improved.
Eastern ideas and methods are penetrating
into all corners of the West, and Eastern
capital is daily seeking investment on the
Pacific slope. No doubt these influences
would be felt here, as elsewhere, in due
time.