Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-06-02
THIRTY YEARS AGO.
LEGISLATURES THEN AT WAR ON
PRISON AFFAIRS.
rors of the Mountain Meadows
Massacre in Utah.

disturbing factor IN Stale pOIlllcs anu leS-
islation. McCauley was the lessee" of
the San Quentin Prison, but he was anxious
to surrender his charge to the State, the
Legislature having refused to appropriate
money to pay for the keeping of the con-
vIcts. The Legislature of 1859 had frittered
away almost the entire session in discuss
ing the State Prison question, then potent
lever in the fight for the Governorship,
h. ng been divided into two factions-the
Weller and anti Weller. The Alta of May
2S 1859, in discussing the situation, said:
The wicked and unprincipled knaves who
pretended to be political leaders in either
House, kept the State Prison matter an
open question Tor factional purposes,
without giving the real public welfare
a single thought in connection with the
subject. Under the absurd presumption of
pretending to legislate for the public good,
these persons split the Legislature into fac
tons upon the State Prison question,
merely for the furtherance of the aims of
rival political aspirants for office" Thus,
II will be seen that in some particulars
California has made little progress. For
thirty years we find the public welfare SUBJ
ordinated by the politicians who have run
the Legislatures to party or individual i'll
terests.
THE Democratic primary election in
San Francisco in MAY, 1859, developed
much feeling between the Northern and
''chivalry" wings of the party, and the re-
suit was a victory for the former, which
even then was known as the Tammany
element. The same old jealousies seem TO
have been maintained to the present day,
or rather to have been revived since the
war, for the Southern wing of the National
Democracy point to the result in New York
State at the last Presidential election as
proof that Tammany threw it down " by
electing Hill for Governor and yet giving
large majority for the Republican candidate
for President.
THE question of division of the
State was being discussed by the press as
an issue in the coming campaign. The
Legislature of the winter of 1859 had passed
a bill for division, leaving its final decision
to a vote of the people of the proposed new
State and its ratification by Congress. The
UNION was strongly opposed TO the meas
ure, and declared: The principle upon
which that bill passed is wrong. The d.
vision of State is not question to be
decided solely by those who favor such
division. II is one in which the whole
people of the State should have an oppor-
tunity to express their opinions through
the ballot box. 1t is q political divorce
case, in which two distinct parties should
appear The Legislature, however, made
only one party to the suit-the people of
the five counties that want TO secede."
AT the annual election of the Dash
away Association of Sacramento Alexan-
der Badlam was chosen President, and
Morris NJ. Estee one of the ice-Presidents.
Just what it was that these gentlemen were
disposed to dash away" in those days is
not specifically mentioned, but intoxicating
beverages are presumed to have been al
luded to. They both have changed their
politics" since then, however.
...... Every community in those days was
afflicted by set of men who regarded
themselves as wonderful vaqueros
They were the same type of be-
ings known at the present day as
bad" men or cowboys. One of
this class made his appearance in Sacra-
mento on May 81, 1859, mounted on a fiery
untamed broucho, and made speciality of
riding into houses along the street-wher-
ever there was the appearance of bar be-
ing inside. He made the effort several
times on the Courthouse block, but being
repulsed started of down town, keeping a
lookout for openings. He struck one on
street. and essayed to dash through it, but
Inc door was IOO low, anu WnlI6 IDe
broncho got safely inside his rider came to
grief on the sidewalk Some years later
the feat was frequently accomplished by
well-known and distinguished volunteer
cavalry officer then stationed at Camp
Union, at Agricultural Park-the dashing
but unfortunate Colonel Edward McGarry,
who finally ended his life by his own hand
at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco.
News had Just been received June
2dl of the arrival of Indian Agent Forney
at Salt Lake with sixteen children, the
survivors of the terrible Mountain Mead
ows massacre. Several of the children de-
clared emphatically that white Mormons
participated with the Indians in the awful
butchery of their parents. The men who
went after the children found skulls and
skeletons of the slain emigrants strewn
along the meadows for a distance of two
miles, where the victims had fallen during
the eight days of the butchery. On every
hand were found CHASTITY evidences of the
bloody onslaught and determination of the
unfortunate emigrants en- route to the
Pacific shores, with all their household
treasures.
.....On the evening of June l 1850 the
Republicans of Sacramento elected the
following named delegates to the County
Convention J. r. Ray, f. l.. Barber, S.
Scion Holl, Charles Babb, J. w. Owens, C.
P. Huntington, Leland Stanford, F. Wood
ward, George l. Lytle, David w. Miller J.
W. Avery, James w. Hill, r. c. Downs,
Washington Weeks, a II. ?. Harmon, j.
B. Marshall, William Hendrie, Dr. A. B.
Nixon, D. II. Haskell, p. w. Burnett, L.
Frink, H. Montfort, w. r. Strong, ,bohn
Carroll.
...... The UNION OF May 31st devoted a
column to an elaborate description of the
plans for the Agricultural Pavilion, at
Sixth and NJ streets, the contract for which
had lust been let. and in which the name
of NJ. +. Butler figured as architect. 1t
would puzzle the most ambitious of re-
porters to find much to say in praise of the
old structure to-day.
I'm a review of the Sacramento pro-
duce market the fact was stated, with much
pride, that one of the leading firms en-
gagged in that business u. Gregory sent out
nearly every week a dozen wagon-loads OF
vegetables for the mountain towns. Now
adavs hundreds of carloads of green fruit
and vegetables are shipped weekly to all
parts of the coast and to every point in the
United States. Gregory Bros, sons of the
same j. Gregory referred to, last season
shipped forty-one carloads of fruit and veg
etabeS during one week.
.Caduc & Firderer were then in the
ice business on Third street, between and
X. where the Union Ice Company now has
its headquarters.
...... Houston. Hastings Il Co. was one oil
the prominent clothing firms in business in
Sacramento, their store being at Second
and streets.
There was a lively opposition going
on between the Young America and Prin-
cess steamboats,, plying between this city
and Marysville. One day they came down
the river, each under full head of steam
in a race to Sacramento. 1t was most eX'
citing race, and the passengers, forgetting
their danger, entered into the spirit of the
contest with much enthusiasm. The boats
passed through the drawbndge side by side
The Princess, having the Inside track,
hitched up at the wharf first and won tbs
race. The fare then was 81 to Marysvillt
nv the Princess and % cents by the Young
America. From here to San Francisco
each charged so cents.
...,..One of the prairieschooners OF those
DAYS passed through town one Saturday
with sn inside passenger-a lame or sick
horse. standing uprightin the hold, secured
by sundry lashings TO the crafts bulwarks
As the vessel passed meat-market on
street. the attaches hooted at the Captain
and his queer cargo. The skipper of the
prairies got even with them, however, by
asking If they did not want to improve
II