Personal Reminiscences of Early Days in California with Other Sketches | Page 9

recognized by Congress. Mr. Crosby,
therefore, thought it best for me to procure, in addition to my
commission as Alcalde, an appointment as Justice of the Peace; and
through his kind offices, I obtained from Governor Burnett the proper
document bearing his official seal. After my election, I went to
Sacramento, and on the 22d of January, 1850, was sworn into office as
first Alcalde of Yubaville, by the Judge of the Court of First Instance,
as that was the name of the district in the certificate of election; but I
was always designated, after the name of the town had been adopted, as
First Alcalde of Marysville.[4]
Captain Sutter, whose deed I had drawn, was a remarkable character.
He was about five feet nine inches in height, and was thick-set. He had
a large head and an open, manly face, somewhat hardened and bronzed
by his life in the open air. His hair was thin and light, and he wore a
mustache. He had the appearance of an old officer of the French army,
with a dignified and military bearing. I subsequently became well
acquainted with him, and learned both to respect and to pity him. I
respected him for his intrepid courage, his gentle manners, his large
heart, and his unbounded benevolence. I pitied him for his simplicity,
which, while suspecting nothing wrong in others, led him to trust all
who had a kind word on their lips, and made him the victim of every
sharper in the country. He was a native of Switzerland and was an
officer in the Swiss Guards, in the service of the King of France, in
1823, and for some years afterwards. In 1834, he emigrated to America,
and had varied and strange adventures among the Indians at the West;
in the Sandwich Islands, at Fort Vancouver, in Alaska, and along the
Pacific Coast. In July, 1839, the vessel which he was aboard of, was
stranded in the harbor of San Francisco. He then penetrated into the
interior of California and founded the first white settlement in the
valley of the Sacramento, on the river of that name, at the mouth of the

American River, which settlement he named Helvetia. He built a fort
there and gathered around it a large number of native Indians and some
white settlers. In 1841, the Mexican government granted to him a tract
of land eleven square leagues in extent; and, subsequently, a still larger
concession was made to him by the Governor of the Department. But
the Governor being afterwards expelled from the country, the
concession was held to be invalid. The emigrants arriving in the
country after the discovery of gold proved the ruin of his fortunes. They
squatted upon his land, denied the validity of his title, cut down his
timber, and drove away his cattle. Sharpers robbed him of what the
squatters did not take, until at last he was stripped of everything; and,
finally, he left the State, and for some years has been living with
relatives in Pennsylvania. Even the stipend of $2,500, which the State
of California for some years allowed him, has been withdrawn, and
now in his advanced years, he is almost destitute. Yet, in his days of
prosperity, he was always ready to assist others. His fort was always
open to the stranger, and food, to the value of many thousand dollars,
was, every year, so long as he had the means, sent out by him for the
relief of emigrants crossing the plains. It is a reproach to California that
she leaves the pioneer and hero destitute in his old age.
[1] Col. Stevenson was born at the commencement of the century, and
is therefore now, 1893, in his ninety-fourth year.
[2] See Exhibit A, in Appendix.
[3] See Exhibit B, in Appendix.
[4] See Exhibit C, in Appendix.

EXPERIENCES AS ALCALDE.
Under the Mexican law, Alcaldes had, as already stated, a very limited
jurisdiction. But in the anomalous condition of affairs under the
American occupation, they exercised almost unlimited powers. They
were, in fact, regarded as magistrates elected by the people for the sake
of preserving public order and settling disputes of all kinds. In my own
case, and with the approval of the community, I took jurisdiction of
every case brought before me. I knew nothing of Mexican laws; did not
pretend to know anything of them; but I knew that the people had
elected me to act as a magistrate and looked to me for the preservation
of order and the settlement of disputes; and I did my best that they

should not be disappointed. I let it be known that my election had been
approved by the highest authority.
The first case I tried was in the street. Two men came up