Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-02-16
THIRTY YEARS AGO.
HOW SACRAMENTO IMPRESSED BAY
ARD TAYLOR IN 1860.
He Saw a City With Great Future
Lively Legislative Days
Local Incidents.

Here is what Bayard Taylor wrote of his
impressions of Sacramento thirty years
ago. 1t will be of interest to all. and espe-
cially to those who were not familiar with
the city in those days. He said: at was
dark when our steamer entered the laby-
where the Sacramento, San Joaquin and
Mokelumne rivers come together in vast
network of sluggish water. The chief at
traction of the Sacramento river consists in
its borders of overhapging trees, between
which the traveller catches glimpses of the
distant mountains on either side of the val
ley, shrouded in light haze of purple, the
snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada rising
high and white above the purple belt.
"When we went ashore at Sacramento
at sunrise the clear sky and balmy atmos-
phere of September morning gave evi.
dence that we had left the raw coast eli
mate behind us. At the St. George Hotel.
a large structure of brick and Folsom gran
lite, we found very agreeable quarters and
an excellent table. The city, like San
Francisco, was altogether different place
from the picture i'll my memory. Having
been not only laid in ashes, but washed
away by the inundation of 1858, but few
houses of the pioneer time remained. The
city is, in reality, only six years old, fact
which accounts for the light character of
the architecture and the unusual number
of one-story buildings. The streets are
broad, inhexiblv right-angled and pro-
saically named after the numerals and the
letters of the alphabet. The business por-
ton of the city extends five or six blocks
back from the river, and greater distance
along and X streets. Beyond this there
are many beautiful private residences and
gardens. The place is greatly admired by
its inhabitants-and justly so-but the
uniformity of its level surface made it ap-
pear somewhat monotonous to me after
visiting San Francisco, the city of hills.
'The first thing l looked for land missed)
was the profusion of grand, ancient oaks
and sycamores which once adorned its
streets. Every one had fallen-some de-
stroyed in the great fre-but the most of
them had been cut down because they in
terfered with building, or their limbs were
breaking of during storms. Their places
had been filed with rows of young cotton
woods of astonishing growth, which cast
alternate showers of down and gum upon
the sidewalks and pedestrians. These
IcuONtu.-LuS.t
grieved over the loss of the noble old
trees. Perhaps it was inevitable that they
should fall, to give way to the rapid growth
of the vigorous young city, but it was
none the less melancholy.
Sacramento is a cheerful, busy town of
about 10, 600 inhabitants, with a temporary
State House 1.-The old Court housel, which
would be imposing if it were all of one
color, substantial churches and school
houses few tiourishing manufactures,
and drinking saloons innumerable. 1t
boasts the best daily paper in the State, the
biggest hotel, and-being the Capitalize
worst class of politicians. 1t is a city
whose future is sure"
........A little paragraph of Eastern news
shows how Buchanan allowed jeff. Davis
and the other Southern conspirators in his
Cabinet to prepare the way for arming re-
belliOus troops in the South in case war
should break out after Lincolns election.
In February, 1861 no less than 5000
stand of muskets were ordered transferred
from the Springfield, Mass, Armorv, and
distributed between Charleston, s. c., Au-
gusta, Ga, and Baton Rouge, La. Also,
5000 rifles from other Northern armories
10 Southern cities.
.........A man named Baldwin then kept
Spanish dance-house near China slough,
acters. On the night of February 18th,
Domingo NADIA and Jose Vega, who had
been spending the evening at this notorious
resort, had quarrel a snort distance away,
and Vega shot NADIA twice, but the wounds
were not dangerous. The wounded man
ran to the Police Station for protection,
and Captain Deal and officer Cody sue
ceeded in arresting Vega. NADIA had him
self killed two men few years before.
......... Among the city delegates elected
to the County Convention in February,
1860, were: ]. A. Crocker, S. E. Herrick,
G. H. Cummings, Benjamin Gray, Mark
John Carroll and @. B. Cooley The al
ternates were: John Herring, F. Wood
ward, H. w. Bragg, Cornelius Cole, E.
Holmes, VIM. Hendrie, w. R. Strong, NJ.
Behrend, E. H. Heacock, 1. B. Marshall
and L. Frink.
.........There was an animated and pro-
tracted debate in the Assembly on the 18th
of February, 1850, over bill appropriating
$3.50 for the relief of Moses Haynes, who
lost an arm while aiding some public Off
Ger to make an arrest. The chief debaters
were johnson of Sierra. Thomas Laspeyre,
John CONFESS, ard Ellis of Sacramento. 1t
was known as one of the liveliest days of
that session, and the bill was lost by a close
vote.
There were some rather queer mar
riages in California in those days. The
Marysville Express referred to one that &C.
Cured at Parks Bar, Yuba county. The
parties first met at a society event at Tim
buctoo, were mutually afflicted, the ques-
ton was popped, and the wedding took
place within three hours
.........E E. S. Lathrop of Martinez had just
matched his horse Laugford to run two
60 10 a NJ flor.
Coombs' horse Ashland. The first race
was to be for 5000, and the second for
50 600. The races were subsequently run
at Sacramento. the particulars of which
will be given later on.
1.-THE Philadelphia Gazette deemed it
worthy of remark that a letter had been
received in that city in twenty-s six days
from San Francisco. Now it takes but five
days for letter to cross the continent, and
yet there are those who grumble at the
railroads for not making better time.
10000 The police force of Sacramento was
composed of the following officers: ]. ].
Watson, Chief; D. Il. WhipIey, Lieutenant;
Samuel Deal, John McClory, F. T. Burke,
Thomas Cody, Joseph W. Taylor. William
Mcintosh, A. r f. Grant and J. P. Counts,
officers.
.--.- The Directors of the Sacramento
Valley Railroad Company chosen for 1850,
were: G. F. Bragg, ]. Mora Moss, G. Touch
ard and @. r. Goodwin, of San Francisco,
and J. P. Robinson, H. w. Hardness and
n. D. Thayer, of Sacramento.
-.....A second baseball club was organ
lied in January, 1860, and the public were
promised a series of exciting contests.
Thus it will be seen that the baseball fever
in Sacramento is not q disease OF recent
origin.
.....-.- A bill was introduced in the Legis-
lature, then in session, granting II. NJ.
Stowe and others the privilege of laying
railroad tracks in certain streets of Ssera-
mento.
....... Mrs. Forbes rendition of Ham
LETT at the Metropolitan Theater was re-
ferred to by the press as a most finished
production.
EQUAL TO EMERGENCIES.