Sixty Years In Southern California, 1853-1913 - free ebook by Harris Newmark

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Sixty Years In Southern California, 1853-1913

Harris Newmark

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SIXTY YEARS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

SIXTY YEARS IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

1853-1913 CONTAINING THE REMINISCENCES OF HARRIS NEWMARK EDITED BY MAURICE H. NEWMARK MARCO R. NEWMARK Every generation enjoys the use of a vast hoard bequeathed to it by antiquity, and transmits that hoard, augmented by fresh acquisitions, to future ages. In these pursuits, therefore, the first speculators lie under great disadvantages, and, even when they fail, are entitled to praise.— Macaulay. WITH 150 ILLUSTRATIONS NEW YORK The Knickerbocker Press 1916 Copyright, 1916 by M. H. and M. R. NEW

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INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Several times during his latter years my friend, Charles Dwight Willard, urged me to write out my recollections of the five or six decades I had already passed in Los Angeles, expressing his regret that many pioneers had carried from this world so much that might have been of interest to both the Angeleño of the present and the future historian of Southern California; but as I had always led an active life of business or travel, and had neither fitted myself for any sort of literary undertaking

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FOREWORD

FOREWORD

The Historian no longer writes History by warming over the pancakes of his predecessors. He must surely know what they have done, and how—and whereby they succeeded and wherein they failed. But his own labor is to find the sidelights they did not have. Macaulay saves him from doing again all the research that Macaulay had to do; but if he could find a twin Boswell or a second Pepys he would rather have either than a dozen new Macaulays. Since history is becoming really a Science, and is no more

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PREFACE

PREFACE

The Editors wish to acknowledge the coöperation given, from time to time, by many whose names, already mentioned in the text, are not repeated here, and in particular to Drs. Leo Newmark and Charles F. Lummis, and Joseph P. and Edwin J. Loeb, for having read the proofs. They also wish to acknowledge Dr. Lummis's self-imposed task of preparing the generous foreword with which this volume has been favored. Gratitude is also due to various friends who have so kindly permitted the use of photographs

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CHAPTER I CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 1834-1853

CHAPTER I CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH 1834-1853

I was born in Loebau, West Prussia, on the 5th of July, 1834, the son of Philipp and Esther, née Meyer, Neumark; and I have reason to believe that I was not a very welcome guest. My parents, who were poor, already had five children, and the prospects of properly supporting the sixth child were not bright. As I had put in an appearance, however, and there was no alternative, I was admitted with good grace into the family circle and, being the baby, soon became the pet. My father was born in the a

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CHAPTER II WESTWARD, HO! 1853

CHAPTER II WESTWARD, HO! 1853

In April, 1853, when I had reached the age of nineteen, and was expected to take a still more important part in our business—an arrangement perfectly agreeable to me—my father and I resumed our selling and again left for Sweden. For the sake of economy, as well as to be closer to our field of operations, we had established two insignificant manufacturing plants, the one at Copenhagen, where we packed for two months, the other at Gothenburg, where we also prepared stock; and from these two points

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CHAPTER III NEW YORK—NICARAGUA—THE GOLDEN GATE 1853

CHAPTER III NEW YORK—NICARAGUA—THE GOLDEN GATE 1853

On September 20th, during some excitement due to the fear lest passengers from New Orleans afflicted with yellow-fever were being smuggled into the city despite the vigilance of the health authorities, I left New York for Nicaragua, then popularly spoken of as the Isthmus, sailing on the steamer Illinois as one of some eleven or twelve hundred travelers recently arrived from Europe who were hurrying to California on that ship and the Star of the West . The occasion afforded my numerous acquainta

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CHAPTER IV FIRST ADVENTURES IN LOS ANGELES 1853

CHAPTER IV FIRST ADVENTURES IN LOS ANGELES 1853

Once fairly well settled here, I began to clerk for my brother, who in 1852 had bought out a merchant named Howard. For this service I received my lodging, the cost of my board, and thirty dollars each month. The charges for board at the Bella Union—then enjoying a certain prestige, through having been the official residence of Pio Pico when Stockton took the city—were too heavy, and arrangements were made with a Frenchman named John La Rue, who had a restaurant on the east side of Los Angeles S

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CHAPTER V LAWYERS AND COURTS 1853

CHAPTER V LAWYERS AND COURTS 1853

In the primitive fifties there were but comparatively few reputable lawyers in this neighborhood; nor was there, perhaps, sufficient call for their services to insure much of a living to many more. To a greater extent even than now, attorneys were called "Judge;" and at the time whereof I write, the most important among them were Jonathan R. Scott, Benjamin Hayes, J. Lancaster Brent, Myron Norton, General Ezra Drown, Benjamin S. Eaton, Cameron E. Thom, James H. Lander, Lewis Granger, Isaac Stock

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CHAPTER VI MERCHANTS AND SHOPS 1853

CHAPTER VI MERCHANTS AND SHOPS 1853

Trivial events in a man's life sometimes become indelibly impressed on his memory; and one such experience of my own is perhaps worth mentioning as another illustration of the rough character of the times. One Sunday, a few days after my arrival, my brother called upon a tonsorial celebrity, Peter Biggs, of whom I shall speak later, leaving me in charge of the store. There were two entrances, one on Main Street, the other on Requena. I was standing at the Main Street door, unconscious of impendi

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CHAPTER VII IN AND NEAR THE OLD PUEBLO 1853

CHAPTER VII IN AND NEAR THE OLD PUEBLO 1853

About the time when I arrived, Assessor António F. Coronel reported an increase in the City and County assessment of over eight hundred and five thousand dollars, but the number of stores was really limited, and the amount of business involved was in proportion. The community was like a village; and such was the provincial character of the town that, instead of indicating the location of a store or office by a number, the advertiser more frequently used such a phrase as "opposite the Bella Union

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CHAPTER VIII ROUND ABOUT THE PLAZA 1853-1854

CHAPTER VIII ROUND ABOUT THE PLAZA 1853-1854

At the time of my arrival, the Plaza, long the nucleus of the original settlement, was the center of life in the little community, and around it clustered the homes of many of those who were uppermost in the social scale, although some of the descendants of the finest Spanish families were living in other parts of the city. This was particularly so in the case of José Andrés Sepúlveda, who had a beautiful old adobe on some acreage that he owned northwest of Sonora Town, near the place where he c

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CHAPTER IX FAMILIAR HOME-SCENES 1854

CHAPTER IX FAMILIAR HOME-SCENES 1854

Many of the houses, as I have related, were clustered around and north of the Plaza Church, while the hills surrounding the pueblo to the West were almost bare. These same hills have since been subdivided and graded to accommodate the Westlake, the Wilshire, the West Temple and other sections. Main and Spring streets were laid out beyond First, but they were very sparsely settled; while to the East of Main and extending up to that street, there were many large vineyards without a single break as

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CHAPTER X EARLY SOCIAL LIFE 1854

CHAPTER X EARLY SOCIAL LIFE 1854

In June, 1854, my brother sold out, and I determined to establish myself in business and thus become my own master. My lack of knowledge of English was somewhat of a handicap; but youth and energy were in my favor, and an eager desire to succeed overcame all obstacles. Upon computing my worldly possessions, I found that I had saved nearly two hundred and forty dollars, the sum total of my eight months' wages; and this sum I invested in my first venture. My brother, J. P. Newmark, opened a credit

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CHAPTER XI THE RUSH FOR GOLD 1855

CHAPTER XI THE RUSH FOR GOLD 1855

As I have already related, I made fifteen hundred dollars in a few months, and in January, 1855, my brother advised me to form a partnership with men of maturer years. In this I acquiesced. He thereupon helped to organize the firm of Rich, Newmark &amp; Company, consisting of Elias Laventhal (who reached here in 1854 and died on January 20th, 1902), Jacob Rich and myself. Rich was to be the San Francisco resident partner, while Laventhal and I undertook the management of the business in Los

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CHAPTER XII THE GREAT HORSE RACE 1855

CHAPTER XII THE GREAT HORSE RACE 1855

From all accounts, Fourth of July was celebrated in Los Angeles with more or less enthusiasm from the time of the City's reorganization, although afterward, as we shall see, the day was often neglected; but certainly in 1855 the festivities were worthy of remembrance. There was less formality, perhaps, and more cannonading than in later years; music was furnished by a brass band from Fort Tejón; and Phineas Banning was the stentorian "orator of the day." Two years previously, Banning had provide

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CHAPTER XIII PRINCELY RANCHO DOMAINS 1855

CHAPTER XIII PRINCELY RANCHO DOMAINS 1855

Of the wonderful domains granted to the Spanish dons some were still in the possession of their descendants; some had passed into the hands of the Argonauts; but nothing in the way of subdividing had been attempted. The private ownership of Los Angeles County in the early fifties, therefore, was distinguished by few holders and large tracts, one of the most notable being that of Don Abel Stearns, who came here in 1829, and who, in his early adventures, narrowly escaped exile or being shot by an

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CHAPTER XIV ORCHARDS AND VINEYARDS 1856

CHAPTER XIV ORCHARDS AND VINEYARDS 1856

During 1856, I dissolved with my partners, Rich and Laventhal, and went into business with my uncle, Joseph Newmark, J. P. Newmark and Maurice Kremer, under the title of Newmark, Kremer &amp; Company. Instead of a quasi wholesale business, we now had a larger assortment and did more of a retail business. We occupied a room, about forty by eighty feet in size, in the Mascarel and Barri block on the south side of Commercial Street (then known as Commercial Row), between Main and Los Angeles st

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CHAPTER XV SHERIFF BARTON AND THE BANDIDOS 1857

CHAPTER XV SHERIFF BARTON AND THE BANDIDOS 1857

In the beginning of 1857, we had a more serious earthquake than any in recent years. At half-past eight o'clock on the morning of January 9th, a tremor shook the earth from North to South; the first shocks being light, the quake grew in power until houses were deserted, men, women and children sought refuge in the streets, and horses and cattle broke loose in wild alarm. For perhaps two, or two and a half minutes, the temblor continued and much damage was done. Los Angeles felt the disturbance f

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CHAPTER XVI MARRIAGE—THE BUTTERFIELD STAGES 1858

CHAPTER XVI MARRIAGE—THE BUTTERFIELD STAGES 1858

In January, 1858, I engaged, in the sheep business. After some investigation, I selected and purchased for an insignificant sum, just west of the present Hollenbeck Home on Boyle Avenue, a convenient site, which consisted of twenty acres of land, through which a ditch conducted water to Don Felipe Lugo's San António rancho —a flow quite sufficient, at the time, for my herd. These sheep I pastured on adjacent lands belonging to the City; and as others often did the same, no one said me Nay. Every

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CHAPTER XVII ADMISSION TO CITIZENSHIP 1859

CHAPTER XVII ADMISSION TO CITIZENSHIP 1859

In 1858, my brother, to whom the greater opportunities of San Francisco had long appealed, decided upon a step that was to affect considerably my own modest affairs. This was to remove permanently to the North, with my sister-in-law; and in the Los Angeles Star of January 22d, 1859, there appeared the following: Mr. Joseph P. Newmark has established a commission-house in San Francisco, with a branch in this city. From his experience in business, Mr. Newmark will be a most desirable agent for the

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CHAPTER XVIII FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE TELEGRAPH 1860

CHAPTER XVIII FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THE TELEGRAPH 1860

In 1860, Maurice Kremer was elected County Treasurer, succeeding H. N. Alexander who had entered the service of Wells Fargo &amp; Company; and he attended to this new function at his store on Commercial Street, where he kept the County funds. I had my office in the same place; and the salary of the Treasurer at the time being but one hundred and twenty-five dollars a month, with no allowance for an assistant, I agreed to act as Deputy Treasurer without pay. As a matter of fact, I was a sort

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CHAPTER XIX STEAM-WAGON—ODD CHARACTERS 1860

CHAPTER XIX STEAM-WAGON—ODD CHARACTERS 1860

Early in 1860, Phineas Banning and J. J. Tomlinson, the energetic rivals in lighterage and freighting at San Pedro, embarked as lumber merchants, thereby anticipating the enormous trade that has flowed for years past from the North through Los Angeles to Southern California and Arizona. Having many teams, they hauled lumber, when traffic was not sufficient to keep their wagon-trains busy, from the harbor to the city or even, when there was need, to the ranchos . It must have been in the same yea

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CHAPTER XX THE RUMBLINGS OF WAR 1861

CHAPTER XX THE RUMBLINGS OF WAR 1861

The year 1861 dawned dark and foreboding. On the twentieth of the preceding December, South Carolina had seceded, and along the Pacific, as elsewhere, men were anxiously wondering what would happen next. Threats and counter-threats clearly indicated the disturbed state of the public mind; and when, near Charleston Harbor, a hostile shot was fired at the Star of the West , the certainty of further trouble, particularly with the coming inauguration of Lincoln, was everywhere felt. Aside, however,

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CHAPTER XXI HANCOCK—LADY FRANKLIN—THE DELUGE 1861

CHAPTER XXI HANCOCK—LADY FRANKLIN—THE DELUGE 1861

When the Civil War began, California and the neighboring territory showed such pronounced Southern sympathies that the National Government kept both under close surveillance, for a time stationing Major, afterward General James Henry Carleton—in 1862 sent across the Colorado River when the Government drove out the Texans—with a force at Camp Latham, near Ballona, and dispatching another force to Drum Barracks, near Wilmington. The Government also established a thorough system of espionage over t

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CHAPTER XXII DROUGHTS—THE ADA HANCOCK DISASTER 1862-1863

CHAPTER XXII DROUGHTS—THE ADA HANCOCK DISASTER 1862-1863

On the first of January, 1862, after an experience of about five years, I retired from the selling of clothing, which was never congenial to me; and as I had been buying hides and wool on a small scale since the middle of the fifties, I forthwith devoted myself to the commission business. Frenchmen from the Basque country, among whom were Miguel Leonis, Gaston Oxarart, Domingo Amestoy and Domingo Bastanchury, had commenced to appear here in 1858 and to raise sheep; so that in 1859 large flocks w

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CHAPTER XXIII ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN 1864-1865

CHAPTER XXIII ASSASSINATION OF LINCOLN 1864-1865

Of all years of adversity before, during or since the Civil War, the seemingly interminable year of 1864 was for Southern California the worst. The varying moves in the great struggle, conducted mostly by Grant and Lee, Sherman and Farragut, buoyed now one, now the other side; but whichever way the tide of battle turned, business and financial conditions here altered but little and improved not a whit. The Southwest, as I have already pointed out, was more dependent for its prosperity on natural

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CHAPTER XXIV H. NEWMARK & CO.—CARLISLE-KING DUEL 1865-1866

CHAPTER XXIV H. NEWMARK & CO.—CARLISLE-KING DUEL 1865-1866

From 1862 I continued for three years, as I have told, in the commission business; and notwithstanding the bad seasons, I was thus pursuing a sufficiently easy and pleasant existence when a remark which, after the lapse of time, I see may have been carelessly dropped, inspired me with the determination to enter again upon a more strenuous and confining life. On Friday, June 18th, 1865, I was seated in my little office, when a Los Angeles merchant named David Solomon, whose store was in the Arcad

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CHAPTER XXV REMOVAL TO NEW YORK, AND RETURN 1867-1868

CHAPTER XXV REMOVAL TO NEW YORK, AND RETURN 1867-1868

The reader may already have noted that more than one important move in my life has been decided upon with but little previous deliberation. During August, 1866, while on the way to a family picnic at La Ballona, my brother suggested the advisability of opening an office for H. Newmark &amp; Company in New York; and so quickly had I expressed my willingness to remove there that, when we reached the rancho , I announced to my wife that we would leave for the East as soon as we could get ready.

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CHAPTER XXVI THE CERRO GORDO MINES 1869

CHAPTER XXVI THE CERRO GORDO MINES 1869

It was early in 1869 that I was walking down Spring Street one day and saw a crowd at the City Hall. On a large box stood Mayor Joel H. Turner, and just as I arrived a man leaning against the adobe wall called out, "Seven dollars!" The Mayor then announced the bid—for an auction was in progress—"Seven dollars once, seven dollars twice, seven dollars three times!" and as he raised his hand to conclude the sale, I called out, "A half!" This I did in a spirit of fun; in fact, I did not even know wh

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CHAPTER XXVII COMING OF THE IRON HORSE 1869

CHAPTER XXVII COMING OF THE IRON HORSE 1869

The Los Angeles &amp; San Pedro Railroad continued in 1869 to be the local theme of most importance, although its construction did not go on as rapidly as had been promised. The site for a depot, it is true, had been selected; but by June 14th, only six miles were finished. Farmers were loud in complaints that they had been heavily taxed, and in demanding that the road be rushed to completion, in order to handle the prospectively-large grain crop. Additional gangs were therefore employed, an

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CHAPTER XXVIII THE LAST OF THE VIGILANTES 1870

CHAPTER XXVIII THE LAST OF THE VIGILANTES 1870

As I have somewhere related, I began buying hides as far back as 1855, but it was not until 1870 that this branch of our business assumed such importance as to require more convenient quarters. Then we bought a place on the southeast corner of Alameda and Commercial streets, facing sixty feet on Alameda and having a depth of one hundred and sixty-five feet, where we constructed a hide-house and erected a press for baling. We paid P. Beaudry eleven hundred dollars for the lot. The relatively high

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CHAPTER XXIX THE CHINESE MASSACRE 1871

CHAPTER XXIX THE CHINESE MASSACRE 1871

H. Newmark &amp; Company enjoyed associations with nearly all of the most important wool men and rancheros in Southern California, our office for many years being headquarters for these stalwarts, as many as a dozen or more of whom would ofttimes congregate, giving the store the appearance of a social center. They came in from their ranches and discussed with freedom the different phases of their affairs and other subjects of interest. Wheat, corn, barley, hay, cattle, sheep, irrigation and

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CHAPTER XXX THE WOOL CRAZE 1872-1873

CHAPTER XXX THE WOOL CRAZE 1872-1873

As already stated, the price of wool in 1871 was exceedingly high and continued advancing until in 1872 when, as a result, great prosperity in Southern California was predicted. Enough wool had been bought by us to make what at that time was considered a very handsome fortune. We commenced purchasing on the sheep's back in November, and continued buying everything that was offered until April, 1872, when we made the first shipment, the product being sold at forty-five cents per pound. As far as

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CHAPTER XXXI THE END OF VASQUEZ 1874

CHAPTER XXXI THE END OF VASQUEZ 1874

Although a high school had been proposed for Los Angeles as early as 1860, it was not until 1873, during Dr. W. T. Lucky's superintendency and under his teaching, that high-school courses were inaugurated here. Then the more advanced students were accommodated in the schoolhouse on Pound Cake Hill, where the Court-house now stands; and from this humble beginning the present high-school system of Los Angeles has been evolved. Later, under Dr. T. H. Rose's leadership, the grammar departments were

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CHAPTER XXXII THE SANTA ANITA RANCHO 1875

CHAPTER XXXII THE SANTA ANITA RANCHO 1875

Until near the end of the seventies, there was very little done toward the laying of sewers, although the reader will remember that a private conveyor connected the Bella Union with the zanja running through Mellus's Row. Los Angeles Street from First to Second, in 1873, had one of brick and wood; and in 1875, a brick sewer was built from the corner of Main and Arcadia streets down to Winston and thence to Los Angeles Street. It must have been in the early seventies that a wooden sewer was const

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CHAPTER XXXIII LOS ANGELES & INDEPENDENCE RAILROAD 1876

CHAPTER XXXIII LOS ANGELES & INDEPENDENCE RAILROAD 1876

Once Santa Monica's boom had been launched, the town developed as had few other suburbs of Los Angeles. Within nine or ten months a thousand inhabitants pointed with satisfaction to one hundred and sixty houses and perhaps half as many tents. Senator Jones built a wharf and pushed to completion the Los Angeles &amp; Independence Railroad; and the road was opened to the public on Wednesday, December 1st, 1875, with a depot on San Pedro Street near Wolfskill Lane. Two trains a day were run—one

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CHAPTER XXXIV THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 1876

CHAPTER XXXIV THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC 1876

Before the completion of the San Fernando tunnel, a journey East from Los Angeles by way of Sacramento was beset with inconveniences. The traveler was lucky if he obtained passage to San Fernando on other than a construction train, and twenty to twenty-four hours, often at night, was required for the trip of the Telegraph Stage Line's creaking, swaying coach over the rough road leading to Caliente—the northern terminal—where the longer stretch of the railroad north was reached. The stage-lines a

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CHAPTER XXXV THE REVIVAL OF THE SOUTHLAND 1877-1880

CHAPTER XXXV THE REVIVAL OF THE SOUTHLAND 1877-1880

The late seventies were marked by an encouraging awakening of national energy and a growing desire on the part of the Angeleño, notwithstanding the excessive local dullness, to bring the outside world a pace or two nearer; as a result of which, things began to simmer, while there was an unmistakable manifestation on the part of those at places more or less remote to explore the almost unknown Southwest, especially that portion bordering on the Pacific. I have already noted, with varying dates, t

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CHAPTER XXXVI CENTENARY OF THE CITY—ELECTRIC LIGHT 1881-1884

CHAPTER XXXVI CENTENARY OF THE CITY—ELECTRIC LIGHT 1881-1884

The year 1881 opened with what, for Los Angeles, was a curious natural phenomenon—snow falling in February and covering the streets and plains with a white mantle. So rare was the novelty that many residents then saw the oddly-shaped flakes for the first time. It was about that time, according to my recollection, that another attempt was made to advertise Los Angeles through her far-famed climate, an effort which had a very amusing termination. Prominent men of our city invited the California Ed

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CHAPTER XXXVII REPETTO AND THE LAWYERS 1885-1887

CHAPTER XXXVII REPETTO AND THE LAWYERS 1885-1887

Ten or twelve months after the starting of the first cable railway here, Los Angeles, in 1885, resumed the march of progress, this time with an electric street car line. Poles—with huge arms stretching out into the middle of the street and often spoken of derisively as gallows-poles—and wires were strung along Los Angeles and San Pedro streets, down Maple Avenue to Pico Street and thence westward to what was known as the Electric Homestead Tract, just outside of the city limits. A company owned

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CHAPTER XXXVIII THE GREAT BOOM 1887

CHAPTER XXXVIII THE GREAT BOOM 1887

Not as impulsively perhaps as on previous occasions, I left Los Angeles for Europe on April 30th, 1887, accompanied by my wife and our two children, Marco and Rose. Mrs. Eugene Meyer, my wife's youngest sister, and her daughter joined us at San Francisco and traveled with us as far as Paris. We took passage on the French ship Normandie , departing from the Morton Street Pier in New York on May 14th, and nine days later we landed at Havre, from which port we proceeded to the French capital. On th

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CHAPTER XXXIX PROPOSED STATE DIVISION 1888-1891

CHAPTER XXXIX PROPOSED STATE DIVISION 1888-1891

By agreement among property owners, the widening of Fort Street from Second to Ninth began in February, 1888. This was not accomplished without serious opposition, many persons objecting to the change on the ground that it would ruin the appearance of their bordering lots. I was one of those, I am frank to say, who looked with disfavor on the innovation; but time has shown that it was an improvement, the widened street (now known as Broadway), being perhaps the only fine business avenue of which

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CHAPTER XL THE FIRST FIESTAS 1892-1897

CHAPTER XL THE FIRST FIESTAS 1892-1897

Accompanied by my family, I traveled to Alaska, in 1892, going as far as Muir Glacier and visiting, among other places, Metlakahtla (where we met Father William Duncan, the famous missionary and Arctander ), Sitka, Juneau and the Treadwell Mines, near which the town of Treadwell has since developed. To-day, the tourist starts from Seattle; but we left Tacoma, sailing north about the seventh of July. I found much to inspire me in that rather extreme portion of the globe, where I was profoundly im

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CHAPTER XLI THE SOUTHWEST ARCHÆOLOGICAL SOCIETY 1898-1905

CHAPTER XLI THE SOUTHWEST ARCHÆOLOGICAL SOCIETY 1898-1905

A cloud, considerably larger than a man's hand, flecked the skies at the dawn of 1898 and troubled many who had been following the course of events in Cuba. So, too, like the thrill sent through the nation at the firing on Fort Sumter, the startling intelligence of the destruction of the United States battleship Maine electrified and united the people. Along the Coast, intense excitement scarcely permitted Westerners to keep themselves within bounds; and instant was the display of patriotic ferv

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CHAPTER XLII THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE 1906-1910

CHAPTER XLII THE SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE 1906-1910

On January 1st, 1906, after more than half a century of commercial activity—with some things well done, and some poorly enough—during which it has never been my ambition to better myself at the expense of others, I retired from business to enjoy the moderate but sufficient affluence which years of varying fortune had bestowed upon me. Rather early in the morning of April 18th, news was received here of the awful calamity that had befallen San Francisco; and with lightning rapidity the report spr

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CHAPTER XLIII RETROSPECTION 1910-1913

CHAPTER XLIII RETROSPECTION 1910-1913

At one o'clock in the morning of October 1st, 1910, occurred the most heinous crime in the history of Los Angeles. This was the dynamiting, by the evil element of union labor, of the building and plant of the Los Angeles Times , resulting in the sudden extinction of no less than twenty human lives and the destruction of the property of the corporation. The tragedy, lamented in obsequies of the most impressive kind ever witnessed in this city, was followed by the construction, on the same site an

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