Rumors have reached me that there is no very amicable feeling existing between the Americans and foreigners in the gold regions, and that the former are disposed to forcibly expel the latter from the placer districts. I shall soon visit the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and hope to be able to report upon the true state of affairs there by the August steamer. As Congress has declined passing any laws restricting the working of the placers, I shall not deem myself authorized to interfere in this matter, any further than may be necessary to preserve the public tranquillity. Indeed there is much reason to believe that Congress has pursued the best policy, under the circumstances, in leaving the placers open to all; for it would be exceedingly difficult to enforce any regulations not absolutely required by the necessity of the case, and it is more than probable that any attempt at this time to rent out the mineral lands, or to tax their products, would involve a great expense, and it is quite possible that such an attempt would lead to very serious difficulties. Of the large numbers who have been attracted to this country by the flattering prospect of sudden wealth, and with the intention of returning to their former homes to enjoy their gains, many foreigners as well as Americans are becoming established in business, and will make California their permanent place of residence. It is therefore well worthy of serious consideration whether the present system may not prove equally beneficial with that of a more exclusive policy. It certainly conduces much towards developing the resources of the country, extending its commerce, and rapidly augmenting its wealth and population. As soon as I have made a personal examination of the gold regions, I shall be prepared to express my views on this subject; but I cannot omit the present occasion to urge upon the government the importance of establishing a mint in California, with the least possible delay.
Information, not official, has been received, that the revenue laws of the United States have been extended over this country, and that a collector and deputies may soon be expected to take charge of the collection of revenue in this district. On their arrival, all custom-houses and custom-house property will be turned over to them, and the temporary collectors employed by my predecessor and by myself will be discharged. The moneys collected during and since the war, under the direction of the governor of California, and not required for defraying the expenses of the civil government, will be kept as a separate and distinct fund, subject to the disposition of Congress. The grounds upon which this revenue has been collected since the declaration of peace, are fully stated in a letter to the collector of San Francisco, dated the 24th of February last. It may be proper to add, that the course pursued by my predecessor was rendered absolutely necessary by the peculiar circumstances of the case. The wants of the country rendered it imperative upon him to permit the landing of foreign goods in this territory; and had this been done without the collection of duties, large amounts of dutiable goods would have been placed in depot on this coast, to the manifest injury of the revenue and prejudice to our own merchants. The importers have sold their goods at such prices as to cover the duties paid, and still leave them enormous profits; and to now return these duties to the importers would be a virtual gift, without in any way benefitting the people of California. But, to expend this money in objects of public utility in the country, would confer a lasting benefit upon all. I would therefore recommend that such portions of these moneys as may be left, after defraying the expenses of the existing civil government, be given to California as a "school fund," to be exclusively devoted to purposes of education. No difficulty has been experienced in enforcing the tariff of 1846, and the revenue has been collected at a very moderate expense, considering the peculiar circumstances of the times.
All officers of the civil government of California will be paid out of the "civil fund" arising from the customs, the salaries fixed by law, and I would recommend that those officers of the army and navy who have been employed as collectors and receivers of customs in California, both during and since the war, be allowed a fair per centage on the money which they have collected and disbursed. Two and a half per cent. on the amount collected, with the restriction contained in section 2 of the Act of March 3, 1849, is deemed a fair allowance for collecting these customs, and two and a half per cent. on the amount actually expended is deemed ample compensation for keeping and accounting for the same. It would be more just and proper to make the allowance for the actual expenditures than for receiving and keeping these moneys; because, if the reversed rule were established, officers who have received large sums, and within a few days transferred them to others, with no other trouble than merely passing receipts, would be entitled to a higher pay than those who have had all the trouble of expending this money in small sums, and in keeping and rendering accounts of these expenditures.
As soon as these "civil funds" can be collected from the officers now holding them, it is proposed to place them in the hands of some officer, or other responsible person, who will act as treasurer for the civil government, with a fixed compensation for his services. On the arrival of the regular collector and deputies, appointed according to law, a full statement will be made of all the moneys which have been collected in California, and the papers and accounts connected with the expenditure of this civil fund will be sent to Washington, as heretofore, in order that all officers who shall receive or expend the same may be held to a strict accountability.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
B. RILEY,Brevet Brig. Gen. U.S.A., and Governor of California.
Major-General R. Jones,
Adjutant General of the Army, Washington, D.C.
Appendix L
Governor Riley took occasion to make an excursion through the gold regions, soon after his affairs with the assemblies were disposed of. A reconnoisance of the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin was made, and particular care given to the matter of establishing military posts for defending the miners and others from the attacks of the Indians. After his return to Monterey, the following despatch was sent to the headquarters of the United States army. The subject of the Indian troubles receives especial consideration.
Headquarters Tenth Military Department,
Monterey, California, August 30, 1849.
Colonel: I found, on my return to this place from a reconnoissance of a portion of the valleys of San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers, general orders No. 1 from the headquarters of the army; and, as I cannot have copied in season for transmission by the steamer of the 1st proximo the military correspondence at these headquarters, I respectfully submit, for the information of the commander-in-chief, a brief summary of reports heretofore made in relation to military affairs in this department.
My attention was directed, on my arrival in this country, to the unparalleled excitement in relation to the mineral regions; the imminent danger that our troops, as they arrived, would desert to the "placers," and, instead of giving protection to the parties, and aid in the preservation of order and tranquillity, would themselves become the very worst element of disorder; the great extent of Indian frontier to be guarded, and the difficulties then apprehended from the unsettled state of affairs in the mining districts. An attentive consideration of these subjects impressed me with the opinion that the policy most likely to prove advantageous to the service, would be the concentration of all the troops serving in this department, except the necessary guards for the depots at one or more points in the immediate vicinity of the gold regions, from whence a portion of them might be permitted to visit the placers for the purpose of working them for their own benefit – the remainder to be held embodied in a proper state of discipline, in readiness for any emergency that might occur. After the expiration of the furlough of the first class, a second class to be furloughed, and so in succession with the remainder; the troops stationed at points so distant from the mines, that they could not be furloughed, to be relieved by exchange with commands that have been more favorably situated. The practice of granting furloughs, adopted at some of the posts in this country, with the sanction of the former department commander, had succeeded well, and the information received about the time of my arrival from the southern part of this department confirmed me in the opinion previously entertained, that the mania for gold-hunting would exist, in its most exaggerated form, at points most remote from the placers. I accordingly, immediately after relieving Colonel Mason in the command of the department, recommended the adoption of the policy above indicated. It is a matter of regret, that the emergencies of the service have been such that it could not be carried out to the extent recommended; for the experience of the past four months has convinced me that it is the only course that can be adopted, with reasonable hope of success, until the state of affairs in this country is materially changed. In addition to the mere question of expediency, Indian difficulties that were then occurring, and the threatening danger of a proximate collision between the different classes at work in the gold region, made it highly important that a strong military force should be established in the immediate vicinity of the mining region.
For the disposition of the troops in the department, and the measures taken to prevent desertions, &c., I respectfully refer to department order and special orders forwarded to you by this mail. These furnish you with a history of the operations in the department since my assumption of the command. The present disposition of the troops is the same as indicated in orders No. 16, except that company A, 2d infantry, re-inforced by details from other companies – in all, four officers and eighty men – has been detached, under instructions from the commander of the division, as an escort for Captain Warner, topographical engineers, and company E, 1st dragoons, when en route for the station, was diverted from that route, for the purpose of securing the perpetrators of some murders committed by Indians on or near Los Reyes River.
The difficulties apprehended from a collision between the different classes of the mining population have not yet occurred in the form which it was feared they would assume, and at present I do not apprehend any serious difficulty from that source. Some serious Indian disturbances have occurred on the American fork of the Sacramento, and a few isolated murders have occurred at other points; but at the date of the last report from the frontier, every thing was quiet. The Indians of the Sierra Nevada, although in a great number, are of a degraded class, and are divided into so many different tribes, or rancherias, speaking different languages, that any combination on their part is scarcely to be apprehended. Their depredations heretofore have been confined generally to horse-stealing, and only occasionally have murders been committed by them. These, however, have been made the pretence, by the whites in their neighborhood, for the commission of outrages of the most aggravated character – in one or two cases involving in an indiscriminate massacre the wild Indians of the Sierra and the tame Indians of the ranchos. The commanders of detachments serving on the Indian frontiers are instructed to prevent any authorized interference with the Indians by the whites, and to support the Indian agents of their districts in the exercise of their appropriate duties. From the character of the mining population, and the nature of their occupations, unless a strong military force be maintained on that frontier, it will be impossible to prevent the commission of outrages upon the Indians; and they, in turn, will be avenged by murders committed upon isolated parties of whites. Unfortunately, the eagerness with which gold is sought after by detached parties of miners, gives many opportunities for the commission of such outrages. To seek after and apprehend the perpetrators in cases of this kind, a mounted force is absolutely necessary; and, although great difficulty will be experienced in obtaining forage and replacing horses that may be disabled, its services are so indispensably necessary, that I greatly regret my inability to supply more than one company on the Indian frontier until after the company now on duty with the commissioner of the boundary survey is relieved.
I have heretofore called the attention of the War Department and the division commander to the insufficiency of the force assigned to this department by general order No. 49 of 1848. As it may not be possible, with the present military establishment, to order any additional force to this country without the action of Congress, I respectfully invite the attention of the commanding general to the views heretofore expressed on this subject. A topographical sketch of a portion of this department is herewith inclosed, upon which I have indicated the positions or neighborhoods in which I deem it important that troops should be established. The amount and character of the force required in my report to division headquarters, of June 11, is also inclosed.
The embarrassments under which the service has labored will be so readily appreciated at home, that it is unnecessary to refer to them here except to say that, great as these embarrassments have been, they have been greatly increased by the want of line and staff officers.
In consequence of the extraordinary prices of labor, and the consequent enormous expenditures in this country, young officers of the line should not be, in justice to the service and themselves, as they have unnecessarily been, encumbered, in addition to their company duties, with money and property responsibilities to a very great amount. Experienced officers of the quartermaster's department are required at San Francisco, San Diego, and with the commands on the upper Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers. I have now but one officer, Captain Kane, of that department, under my control; and he is necessarily detained at department headquarters in the preparation of my estimates for the services of the ensuing year. Quarters must soon be erected at several of the posts in this department; and I cannot spare line officers for this duty, without destroying their efficiency with their companies, even were it proper to do so. There are no topographical engineers on duty in this department, and, in consequence of the want, I have been able to perform very little of the duty devolved upon me by the 111th paragraph general orders No. 49, of 1848. A reconnoissance of a portion of the valleys of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, undertaken for the purpose of determining the position to be occupied, as recommended in my report to division headquarters of April 16, to the War Department of the 25th of the same month, has strengthened my opinion of the importance of giving the country a most thorough examination before any military posts are permanently located in the interior. The whole district of country lying between the coast range and the Sierra Nevada is exceedingly sickly at certain seasons of the year. The common timber of the country (oak) is not fit for building purposes; and I was greatly disappointed in finding that south of the Sacramento River, pine fit for lumber exists only on the spur of the mountains in small quantities, and in places difficult of access. Stone, as a building material is scarce; and at several of the points where it may be desirable to establish military posts, grain for forage is out of the question, and grass can only be found in exceedingly limited quantities. I expressed a hope in my despatches to the War Department of June 30, that I would be able to make an examination of the country along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, from the source of the San Joaquin to the southern boundary of California; but the season is now so far advanced that I fear I shall not be able to accomplish more than the determination of a position to be occupied in the neighborhood of Los Reyes River. It is of great importance that this point should be determined as soon as possible; for the new discoveries of gold constantly being made in that direction, are attracting thither a large portion of the mining population. The rapidly increasing population of the northern placers is gradually forcing the Indians to the south, and congregating them on the waters of the Lake Buena Vista, (Tula.) This position should be occupied, if possible, before the miners have become established in Los Reyes and the neighboring rivers; and the necessary examinations and arrangements will be made as soon as it is possible to do so.
Since my application (April 25) for officers of the quartermaster's department was made, two officers of that corps, Majors Allen and Fitzgerald, whom I had supposed would be available for duty in this department, have been permanently separated from it; and the number then applied for should be increased by two.
Two of the medical officers in this department are now prostrated by disease; and as their places cannot be supplied here, there should be at least three in this department, in addition to those actually required for duty at the different posts in the department, to meet emergencies of this kind.
The ordnance depots at Monterey and San Francisco are under the charge of military store-keepers. It is important, for the preservation of this property in a serviceable condition, that they should be under the supervision of an experienced ordnance officer.
With the exception of the assistant quartermaster above referred to, the officers above enumerated have heretofore been applied for; but as none have been reported to me, I will state in detail what officers are absolutely required with this command:
Four officers of the quartermaster's department in addition to Captain Kane now on duty here:
Two topographical engineers:
Three additional medical officers:
One officer of the ordnance department:
One officer of the subsistence department.
The irregular communication with some of the interior posts, creates a good deal of embarrassment by delaying the department returns. In consequence of this I am unable to furnish a later return than for June. The transport Mary and Adeline, with companies A and F, 2d infantry, reached San Francisco on the 8th ultimo. The detachment of dragoons, on their march to the department with the collector of this district and the Arkansas emigrants, have not yet arrived. During the months of July and August, so far as reports have been received, there were but few desertions, except from the company detailed for the escort of Captain Warner, topographical engineers; thirty-four men, more than half the whole number reported, have deserted from this company. The entire force in the department at this time does not probably exceed six hundred and fifty, (aggregate;) and consequently more than four hundred recruits are now required to fill up these companies to the standard authorized for this department.
A detailed report of my reconnoissance in the valleys of the San Joaquin and Sacramento will be forwarded by the next steamer. I have delayed it in order to embody in it information in regard to the country in the neighborhood of the Tula, which I am in the daily expectation of receiving.
The want of company officers is very much felt; and I request that authority may be given me to break up the companies whose captains are permanently absent, transferring the officers to other companies, as their services may be needed.
I have the honor to be, very respectfully, colonel, your obedient servant,
B. RILEY,Brevet Brigadier-General U.S. Army, commanding.
Lieut.Col. W. G. Freeman,
Assistant Adjutant General U.S. Army,
Headquarters of the Army, New York.