Page:History of California (Bancroft) volume 6.djvu/30



from Salt  Lake  came  to  assist  the  floods  in  breaking up the  colony.*^

North of  Stockton  Dr  J.  C.  Isbel  settled  on  the Calaveras, and  Turner  Elder  on  the  Mokelumne, together with  Smith  and  Edward  Robinson."  The latter,  on  Dry  Creek  tributary,  has  for  a  neighbor Thomas  Hhoads,  three  of  whose  daughters  married  T. Elder,  William  Day  lor  an  English  sailor,  and  Jared Sheldon.  The  last  two  occupy  their  grants  on  the north  bank  of  the  Cosumnes,  well  stocked,  and  sup- porting a  grist-mill.  Along  the  south  bank  extend the  grants  of  Hartnell  and  San  *  Jon '  de  los  Moque- lumnes,  occupied  by  Martin  Murphy,  Jr,  and  Anas- tasio  Chaboila.  South  of  them  lies  the  Rancho Arroyo  Seco  of  T,  Yorba,  on  Dry  Creek,  where William  Hicks  holds  a  stock-range.^

The radiating  point  for  all  these  settlements  of  the Great Valley,  south  and  north,  is  Sutter's  Fort, founded as  its  first  settlement,  in  1839,  by  the  enter- prising Swiss, John  A.  Sutter. It stands  on  a  small hill, skirted  by  a  creek  which  runs  into  the  American River near  its  junction  with  the  Sacramento,  and overlooking a  vast  extent  of  ditch-enclosed  fields  and park stock-ranges,  broken  by  groves  and  belts  of  tim- ber. At this  time  and  for  three  months  to  come there is  no  sign  of  town  or  habitation  around  what  is now  Sacramento,  except  this  fortress,  and  one  old adobe, called  the  hospital,  east  of  the  fort. A garden

^^ Stout,  the  leader,  had  given  dissatisfaction. Buckland, the  last  to  leave, moved to  Stockton. The place  is  also  called  Stanislaus  City. Bigler, Diary ^ MS., 48-9,  speaks  of  a  Mormon  settlement  on  the  Merced,  meaning  the  above.

^® The  former  on  Dry  Creek,  near  the  present  Liberty,  which  he  transferred to Robinson,  married  to  his  aunt,  and  removed  to  the  Mokelumne,  where twins were  born  in  November  1847;  he  then  proceeded  to  Daylor's.  ThomM Pyle settled  near  Lockeford,  but  transferred  his  place  to  Smith.

" The  ChaboUa,  Uartnell,  Sheldon-Day  lor,  and  Yorba  grants  were  8,  6, 5,  and  11  leagues  in  extent,  respectively.  The  claims  of  E.  Rufus  and  £. Pratt,  north  of  the  Cosumnes,  failed  to  be  confirmed.  Ccd,  Star^  Oct.  23,  1847« alludes  to  the  flouring  mill  on  Sheldon's  rancho.  See  StUter's  Pers.  Bern,,  MS., 162,  in  which  Taylor  and  Chamberlain  are  said  to  live  on  the  Cosumnes.  In the  San  Joaquin  district  were  three  eleven-league  and  one  eight-league  grants claimed  by  Josil'  Castro,  John  Rowland,  B.  S.  Lippiucott,  and  A.  B.  Thompson, all  rejected  except  the  last.