Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/629

 SAN FRANCISCO

76,000 head of neat cattle, 79,000 sheep, 3,000 horses, 18,000 bushels of wheat and barley, merchandise worth $35,000, $25,000 in cash, and about 1,800 Indians. For 58 years the missionaries had complete control of the mis- sion, and it prospered without interruption until in 1834 the missions of California were secularized and given over to civil officers. Their downfall was then most rapid, and in a few years nothing remained save the adobe buildings. One of the first effects of the new policy of secularizing the missions, placing the country under the control of the civil powers, and encouraging colonization, was the estab- lishment of the village of Yerba Buena, near the present site of the city hall. The first house was erected in 1835, and others fol- lowed slowly. The first survey of streets and town lots was made in 1839. A small trade was done in exporting hides, selling wheat to the Russians, furnishing supplies to whalers, and trading with the rancheros in the neigh- borhood. Very few vessels entered the har- bor. In midsummer of 1846 an American man-of-war took possession of the place in the name of the United States. The town was known only as Yerba Buena until Jan. 30, 1847, when the ayuntamiento or town council changed it to San Francisco. On the discovery of gold in the spring of 1848 the town was deserted by many of its inhabitants from June to October ; but the return of the adventu- rers in the autumn, the arrival of others from abroad, the increase of shipping, the abundance of money, and the profits of trade soon built up a city, and in 1849 San Francisco had be- come a great centre of commerce. But the houses were crowded together and built of combustible materials, and several great fires occurred ; the first was on Dec. 24, 1849, when the estimated loss was $1,000,000 ; the next on May 4, 1850, loss $3,000,000; the third on June 14 of the same year, loss $3,000,000 ; the fourth on May 2, 1851, loss $7,000,000; the fifth on June 22, 1851, loss $2,000,000. Yet these fires scarcely interrupted the prosperity of the place. It continued to grow rapidly until January, 1854, when, in consequence of over speculation in land, of a decline in the gold yield, and of the temporary decrease of shipping (the last the result of the home pro- duction instead of the importation of food), the business of the city became less profitable. The title to much of the land was in litigation ; many houses were unoccupied ; and the depres- sion did not cease till August, 1858, when a new era of prosperity began, and the growth of the city has since been steady, notwithstand- ing a real estate panic, which, following im- moderate expectations of the benefits to accrue from the Pacific railroad, began in May, 1869, and lasted four years. The city was incorpo- rated in 1850, and the city and county were consolidated in 1856. In 1851 and 1856, in consequence of bad municipal government and corrupt administration of the criminal laws, SANHEDRIM 605 the people organized vigilance committees, and executed several criminals. (See CALIFORNIA.) SAN FRANCISCO BAY, a sheet of water in California, connected with the Pacific ocean by a strait 5 m. long and 1 m. wide, called the Golden Gate, in lat. 37 48' N., Ion. 122 80' W. It extends S. S. W. about 40 m., being separated from the Pacific by a peninsula from 6 to 15 m. wide, on the N. extremity of which is the city of San Francisco. The bay opposite the city is about 7 m. wide, and in its widest part 12 m. The shores of the Golden Gate are bold and rocky, rising on the north in some places nearly 2,000 ft., while on the south the hills are from 300 to 400 ft. high, many of them being covered with shifting white sand. On the bar there is 80 ft. of water at low tide ; within there is a much greater depth and good anchorage. The principal islands are Alca- traz, in the middle of the channel, about 4 m. from the entrance ; Angel, the largest, con- taining 800 acres ; and Yerba Buena or Goat island, opposite the city. There is a fortifica- tion on Alcatraz island, and another at Fort point on the S. side of the Golden Gate. San Francisco bay is connected on the north by a strait 3 m. wide with San Pablo bay, which is nearly round and about 10 m. in diameter ; and this receives from the east through Carquinez strait (1 m. wide) the waters of Suisun bay, which is about 8 m. long from E. to W. and 4 m. wide. San Pablo and Suisun bays are deep, but Carquinez strait has only 16 ft. of water at low tide. At the head of San Pablo bay is Napa or Mare island, on which is a United States navy yard. The Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, which drain the great valley between the Sierra Nevada and Coast moun- tains, discharge into Suisun bay. The name San Francisco bay is often extended over San Pablo bay. SANGAMON, a central county of Illinois, in- tersected by the Sangamon river, and traversed by several important railroads ; area, 936 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 46,352. The surface is mostly level prairie land diversified with for- ests of good timber. Bituminous coal is found in abundance. The chief productions in 1870 were 336,962 bushels of wheat, 4,388,763 of Indian corn, 397,718 of oats, 187,494 of pota- toes, 50,682 tons of hay, 117,736 Ibs. of wool, 554, 1 96 of butter, and 58,487 of honey. There were 16,395 horses, 3,046 mules and asses, 8,897 milch cows, 26,219 other cattle, 29,749 sheep, and 76,429 swine ; 5 manufactories of agricultural implements, 28 of carriages and wagons, 2 of iron castings, 2 of engines and boilers, 14 of saddlery and harness, 1 woollen mill, 15 flour mills, and 7 saw mills. Capital, Springfield, also the capital of the state. SANGHNARIA. See BLOODROOT. SANHEDRIM (accurately, sanhedrin, a Heb. word formed from the Gr. cwtdpiov, assem- bly), the supreme council of the Jews in later times. Traditionally its origin is traced to the 70 elders appointed by Moses, but its Greek