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ing waters of the western ocean. Despite the eminent peril which environed his pathway, despite the toil, the heart-sickness, the weariness and exhaustion, his soul was steadfast and invincible. Like the Alpine adventurer to whom "Excelsior" was the enlivening magic of recuperation, the visions of freedom, and fame, and fortune, were the magical revivers of the exhausted and failing energies of the dauntless pioneer.

At length, like Moses on the summit of Pisgah, he stands upon the snowy heights of the Sierras, and his eyes sparkle, his brain reels with tumultuous pleasures, his bosom heaves with ecstatic emotion, and his noble soul expands with patriotic enthusiasm as he catches a glimpse of the far-off Canaan of his imagination-the golden land of promise. More fortunate than the law-giver of Israel, an angry God has not arrested his footsteps, nor doomed him to perish, in view of the alluring goal of his ambition. With fresh courage and revived hope he is again amid the defiles and fastnesses of danger-haunted mountains, with steady eye and patient steps, and persevering toil, pursuing his undeviating track. Calmly, majestically, with proud heart and defiant energy, he subdues every opposing obstacle, overcomes every difficulty, conquers every peril, and at last with triumph on his brow and exultation in his heart, he plants his foot upon the coveted shore and dedicates it to God, to FREEDOM and his NATIVE LAND.

In the histories of past ages and nations, there are names that will live in enduring remembrance while freedom exists on earth. The virtues and patriotism of Epaminondas perpetuate his name as the brightest that adorns the history of Theban Independence. The courage of Hannibal, whose conquering legions traversed the Alps, and overswept the classic plains of Italy, is indelibly associated with the unforgotten glory of Carthage. With Athens is identified a galaxy of her brilliant sons, and clusters of constellated names adorn the coronal of Roman fame. But in the cycle of coming years, when the pen of the historian shall trace the origin and settlement of this occidental commonwealth, shall depict the virtues, the sufferings, privations, fortitude and intrepidity at the basis of the achievement, shall describe the mighty impulse it has given to the progress of free government and extension of free principles, and shall glisten the truthful page with the names of the heroic founders of its fame, there is none that will gem the record with a purer or more enduring lustre than the name of the immortal SUTTER-the illustrious ORIGINAL of CALIFORNIA PIONEERS.

In the immigrant throng aspiring for the western bourne, there came other than manly forms and brawny arms, and hearts of iron will and fierce determination. The perilous travel, the waterless desert, the fatiguing sands, the exhausting ascent, the fear, the doubt, the trembling hope and final exultation, were destined not for man alone. Nor was the desertion of home, nor the abandonment of friends, nor the relinquishment of ties that rend the heart, the bitter fruit alone of manly privation. There were gentle beings, with loving hearts and melting eyes, and faces fair as the

houris of the Moslem's Eden, who, rising superior to the wilfullness of Orpah, and betraying the self-sacrificing devotion of Ruth, exclaimed each to the treasured object of worldly affection, and hope, and trust-"Whither thou goest, I will go; where thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God." It was a pure, a sublime, an exalted devotion-a devotion not unlike that of Mary's at the sepulchre of the Redeemer. Turning for ever their fascinated gaze from the cherished haunts of nativity, with confidence, and courage, and heroism, they too, followed the illumination of the star of empire, alluring them to the unexplored regions of the west. Fatigue did not discourage them, suffering did not dismay, sickness did not appall, peril did not intimidate. Emboldened by a lofty spirit, sustained by a noble pride, and encouraged by a fond ambition, they encountered with boldness the miseries of privation, the horrors of pestilence, the gloomy and foreboding apparitions of famine and death. There are recollections at which the heart recoils. There are scenes at the contemplation of which the soul shrinks in unutterable anguish, the warm blood freezes in its veins, and the quiet brain becomes distraught with intensest agony. The pen is inadequate to portray-the tongue is powerless to utter the appalling reminiscences that make up the record of woman's experience, or the patience and fortitude with which she endured it all, in the ultimate hope of becoming a mother of an unborn Republic. The toil, the tribulation, the sorrow and suffering have passed, and some-a few only-of the fair relics of the toilsome adventure, are gazing upon the enchanting spectacle of to-day-so like the illusory splendors of a summer dream-with joyous looks and beaming countenances, and hearts lifted with gratitude to the Dispenser of every earthly benefaction. In our hearts we greet them, in our hearts we bless them, and with grateful emotions extend to them the chief homage of this jubilant anniversary.

To you, fellow Pioneers, a word of congratulation and I have done.

This palatial city of San Francisco, with its luxurious mansions, its granite palaces and its costly marts of commerce, is the glorious fruitage of your adventure. The subdued waters of its bay, the extended lines of its quays, the busy hum of its thoroughfares, the exhibitions everywhere visible of its taste, its opulence and refinement, are the splendid creations and magnificent testimonials of your enterprise. Scourged as it has been by the devastating flame, retarded by natural obstacles, and at times inundated by swarms of lawless banditti, it has never been diverted from its onward progress, nor ceased to be the monarch wonder of the world. Like a young Titan, it has humbled the rugged wilderness, has upheaved the seated hills from their foundations, and with a conqueror's step has advanced along the pathway of progress like a prince to a throne. Its harbor glistens with a forest of masts belonging to the ships of every nation, which have poured and are pouring upon our shores the accumulated riches of the East, and vaster treasures from

every clime than ever freighted the galleons of Spain or the argosies of Venice.

Champollion taught the world to decipher the hieroglyphics on the obelisk the tombs and temples of Egypt, but a higher glory was reserved for the Pioneers of the Pacific, by whom was destined the revelation to mankind of its unavailing search of centuries-the western route to the commerce of the Indies and of the islands of the Eastern Archipelago. Coincident with the exhumation of golden treasures from the bleak summits of the Sierras, was the contribution to our shore of the riches of China and Japan, and the remote Islands of the Pacific waste of waters. One other acquisition and the glory of San Francisco will have reached its zenith. When the veins and arteries of commercial life shall permeate the broad expanse that separates the Golden Gate from the Atlantic, then will its magnificent destiny proclaim it the commercial metropolis of the world, outrivaling in commerce, in arts, in science and literature the renown of antiquity, and the boasted pretensions of modern greatness. If this sublime consummation is defeated, freedom will be deprived of its brightest hope, and a crime will be perpetrated against the social and political necessities of humanity, more wicked than that which classic fable has punished with the naked rock and the gnawing vulture. Promote this glorious enterprise, and the swelling splendors and far-reaching fame of this mighty continent will be imperishable monuments to the memory of the PIONEERS OF FREEDOM AND DESTINY.

CHARLES WESTMORELAND.

BY B P. AVERY.

TH

HE name which heads this article was that of one of the most genial and pleasant men who ever devoted themselves earnestly to a good cause. Charles Westmoreland was born in Georgia, in 1829, of good ancestry. He was liberally educated, and possessed qualities which would have made him a popular leader in his native State; but his manhood had hardly begun when, in 1853, he came to California. After a brief trial at the hazards of mining, which every one made in those days, he turned his attention to law, literature, and politics. He was first prominently known as State Senator from Placer county, having been elected to that office on the Know-Nothing ticket in 1855. He was the youngest member of the Senate at that time, except Burton, of Nevada, being only twenty-six years old. His Know-Nothingism was only a temporary cloak for hostility to State-Rights Democracy, and after the dismemberment of the party, he allied himself with the Free-Soil Democracy of California under the leadership of Broderick, to whom he was warmly attached.

During his term in the Senate, he was intimate with the lamented Ferguson, who was killed in a duel with George Pen Johnston in 1859, and eloquently mourned by Col. E. D. Baker. Both were men of brilliant qualities and too social habits, though Westmoreland sub

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