Page:History of California (Bancroft) volume 6.djvu/29

 league.

who settled  here  in  1837/^  in  an  adobe  hut,  and achieved distinction  as  a  misanthrope  and  miser, sympathetic with  the  spirit  at  whose  mountain's  feet he crouched.

The upper  part  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  had  so far  been  shunned  by  fixed  settlers,  owing  to  Indian hostilit}^ toward  the  Spanish  race. With others  the aborigines agreed  better;  and  gaining  their  favor through the  mediation  of  the  influential  Sutter,  the German Charles  M.  Weber  had  located  himself  on French  Camp  rancho,  which  he  sought  to  develop  by introducing  colonists. In this  he  had  so  far  met  with little success;  but  his  farm  prospering,  and  his  em- ployes increasing, he  laid  out  the  town  of  Tuleburg, soon to  rise  into  prominence  under  the  new  name  of Stockton.^*  He  foresaw  the  importance  of  the  place as a  station  on  the  road  to  the  Sacramento,  and  as  the gateway to  the  San  Joaquin,  on  which  a  settlement had been  formed  in  1846,  as  far  up  as  the  Stanislaus, by a  party  of  Mormons. On the  north  bank  of  this tributary, a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  San  Joaquin,  the migratory saints  founded  New  Hope,  or  Stanislaus, which in  April  1847  boasted  ten  or  twelve  colonists and several  houses. Shortly afterward  a  summons

^^ He  bought  it  from  J.  Noriega,  and  called  it  the  Pulpunes;  extent,  three leagues by  foar. The San  Pablo  and  Pinole  covered  four  leagues  each,  the PauM Goloradoe  three  leagues,  the  Monte  del  Diablo,  on  which  Pacheco  had some 5,000  head  of  cattle,  four  leagues. The aggressive  Indians  had  disturbed several settlers,  killing  F.  Briones,  driving  away  Wm  Welch,  who  settled  in 1832,  and  the  Romero  brothers. Brown settled  in  1847,  and  began  to  ship lumber to  San  Francisco. There were  also  the  grants  of  Las  Juntas  of  Wm Welch,  three  square  leagues;  Arroyo  de  las  Nueces  of  J.  S.  Pacheco  and Cafiada del  Haoibre  of  T.  Soto,  the  two  latter  two  sauare  leagues  each.

^Amonff the  residents  were  B.  K.  Thompson,  £ii  Randall,  Jos. Buzzell, Andrew Baker,  James  Sirey,  H.  F.  Fanning,  George  Frazer,  W.  H.  Fairchild, James McKee,  Pvle,  and  many  Mexicans  and  servants  of  Weber. See fur- ther in Tinkham  s  Hist,  StocHon;  San  Joaquin  Co,  Hist.;  Col.  Star,  May  13, 1848, etc.  Tavlor  reports  two  log  cabins  on  the  site  in  1847,  those  of  Buzzell and Sirey. Nic. Gann's wife,  while  halting  in  Oct.  1847,  gave  birth  to  a  son, William. The name  French  Camp  came  from  the  trappers  who  fremiently camped here. T. Lindsay,  while  in  charge  in  1845,  was  killed  by  Indian nidexB. The war  of  1847  had  caused  an  exodus  of  proposed  settlers.