Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-06-15

and manuscripts not TO be duplicated
on the globe, and purpose more or
less completed
The feature that makes the Bancroft
Library Of a unique literary value Is
the exclusive collection Of manuscripts,
narrative and biographical, concerning
the history OF the Pacific coast.
induced Mr.. Bancroft to describe in
detail the most rare and valuable mat
ter OF his collection
ITO begin at the beginning" he said
my first and nearest field for collecting
was California.
II took whatever was within myreach
and set II apart
AT the northern end OF San Fran
cisco bay lived General Vallejo, native
born, who came TO California as he
used to say, in 1901. Prior to American
occupation he held the frontier post Of
Sonoma and was ruler absolute Of
everything thereabout and beyond
northward. After some years OF ef~
fort | succeeded in allayng his sus-
piclons-MeXicans were always sus-
piclous Of Americans, fearing that they
were trying to get some advantage over
them-and enlistlng him in work, the
result being some fifty thousand orogin-
al documents from his own papers and
from those of prominent Mexican faml-
lies living in various parts OF Califor-
MIA, collected by him for me. At my re-
quest he then dictated, in Spanish to
one of my secretaries, who attended
him for that purpose, q complete his
tory of California from the earliest
times, Some three or four years were
spent In this work, and the result was
five large folio manuscript volumes
entitled Historic de California, by NJ.
q. Vallejo, the documents which he had
gathered, and which he had used as
material in writing this work making
fifty bulky volumes In quarto.
Across the bay east was the resi-
dence Of Don Juan Alvarado, the last
Mexican governor OF California and one
Of the ablest men of the period who in
like manner contributed from his var
led experiences five folio volumes In
manuscript, dictated In Spanish and
taken down by my secretaries.
AT the southern end OF the bay was
the Estadillo family; at Monterey,
United States Consul Larkin and the
De la Torrey family; at Santa Barbara
the mission archives and De la Guerra
papers; at Los Angeles, the Mission
San Gabriel, the Picos and the Morenos,
from all Of which sources large drafts
Of original historical material were
made and extensive variations written
out and bound in manuscript.
"l'lo Plco was q shrewd old patriot
conspicuous during the Phil Kearny-
Reconstruction conquest of Callfor-
MIA.
cat San Diego was Judge Hayes, an
American connected by marriage with
q prominent Californian family, who
had made a valuable collection OF ma
terlal relative to affairs in Southern
California. which I purchased.
I'm the Sacramento Valley, before the
discovery of gold, almost the sole resi-
dent was Captain John A. Suffer, a
Swiss immigrant, who secured Mexi-
can grant of ten square leagues OF
land built a fort and was ruined by
the influx of civilization in the form OF
gold diggers, who squatted on his land
killed his Indians and drove off his cat
tie 20 the mines. After some inquiry
found the old gentleman on sick bed
at Litiz Springs, Pennsylvania. He re-
celyed me kindly and entertained me,
relating his experiences, his hopes and
failures, for more than a week, which
wrote down as he told me.
I'm the office OF the United States
surveyor, In San Francisco. and in the
library Of the archbishop were large
accumulations Of historical material.
but OF little value to the student until
/ had the most important portions
copied, under proper arrangement, and
placed In my library To accomplish
this | placed a dozen Mexicans, at as
many tables, in a room which rented
near the United States surveyor gem
erals office, and there kept them at
work, under an American expert for
over eight months All OF these docu-
ments were In Spanish, Of which Ian
guage the educated Mexlcans are reat
and rapid writer's. Sixty large folio
volumes in manuscript was the result
Of this unique piece Of work.
Il made several visits 10 Mexico and
obtained from the churches, from prl-
vate collectors and from the govern
ment great masses Of both printed mat
ter and manuscripts, books and files Of