Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/419



for free  suburban  homesteads,  and  water-lots  without pay, was  always  prevalent  among  the  land-hungry  of San  Francisco,  and  recent  grants  made  by  the  legis- lature seemed to  have  fired  afresh  their  insane  desires. The water-lots  thus  seized  belonged  to  the  state,  and many piles  were  driven  along  the  city  front  for  which the greedy  grabbers  never  received  visible  compensa- tion.

There was  a  difficulty  in  Marin  county  in  August 1854, which  threatened  to  assume  a  serious  aspect. Certain mission  lands  near  San  Rafael,  which  had been set  apart  by  the  Mexican  authorities  for  religious purposes, were  seized  and  staked  off  by  an  organized band of  squatters,  who  determined  to  hold  the  prop- erty vie et  armis. One wing  of  the  mission  buildings at San  Rafael  was,  in  1849,  used  as  a  church,  and  the other as  court  and  jury  rooms  ;  other  apartments  were occupied by  Mexican  families  with  their  dogs,  hogs, and cattle. By order  of  the  alcalde,  William  Rey- nolds, the city  was  surveyed  in  1850  and  laid  off  in town  lots  with  a  Mexican  title. The price  of  lots  was fixed at  thirty  dollars  each,  and  a  day  appointed  by the  alcalde  for  the  sale,  the  first  applicant  to  receive tJie first  choice. A great  rush  was  made  for  lots  by those  who  had  failed  to  make  their  fortunes  in  San Francisco sand-hills ;  but  the  town,  developing  more slowly than  was  anticipated,  many  of  them  were  al- lowed to fall  into  the  hands  of  the  tax-gatherer. The land in  dispute  bordered  upon  the  town,  and  was  part of the  old  mission  orchard  and  vineyard,  which  had been neglected  by  the  church  and  by  its  rightful  own- ers for many  years,  and  had  at  length  fallen  a  prey  to preemptors. On the  7th  of  August  the  church  party, to the  number  of  about  twenty -five,  appeared  against the squatters  with  sticks  and  staves,  and  drove  them from their  shores.

So habituated  had  the  people  of  California  become to trusting  only  to  themselves  for  the  accomplishment of their  purpose,  that  mob  law  became  the  too  f