can paper in the English language ever issued in the place, which

also continues to exist.

About this time a singular and unprecedented adventure occurred to the colonel, and which was so remarkable that we take this opportunity of relating it. He had established his quarters in two or three rooms of the second story of a house on the north side of the plaza, near the jail, and in these apartments he had daily been in the habit of displaying his goods, to dry and air them. Three or four days after his arrival in the city, he discovered that he had been robbed, during the night, of a number of valuable articles, and about daylight went to the guard, consisting of a sergeant and twelve men, whose guard-house was in the jail building, to obtain information concerning the robbery. Here, though he addressed them in good Spanish, they pretended not to understand him, and directed indignant and insulting queries to him. The whole party gathered closely around, drew their side-arms and circled them about his head. One of them, finally, struck him on the ear, and being incensed at so gross an outrage, he knocked the fellow down. Hastily perceiving his error and observing his desperate position, he rushed between two men, tripping them, and knocking down a fourth, sprang into the guard-room. This was about thirty feet deep, and along the back wall the arms were arranged in a row. He seized a loaded musket from the rack, and placing his back to the remainder, threatened to shoot the first who should enter the door. Glancing his eyes around he recognized his perilous situation. The sides of the room were of rough logs, between the interstices of which peered at every corner the dark and desperate faces of the prisoners in the contiguous jail cells. Before him were thirteen armed and hostile men, anxious and determined to destroy him. On repeating his questions concerning the robbery, one of them threw himself on a pile of blankets and said that they had slept in that position all the night and had kept no watch. This man attempted, by rolling himself on the blankets, to seize the colonel by the leg and trip him, upon which the latter snatched the rascal's bayonet from its scabbard and placed it on the end of the musket in his hands. The fellow repeating his effort, the colonel stabbed him in the leg, and seizing him

with part of the blankets hurled him out of the door, and thus unexpectedly uncovered his stolen property. Having thus firmly fastened the evidence upon the men, the stolen goods being in sight, they immediately yielded, obeyed all his orders, and throwing their bayonets in a pile, and forming themselves into a line, carried the articles back to his quarters and placed them in the spot whence they had been taken. Before leaving the guardroom he took the precaution to knock out all the flints and remove the primings from the pans of the remaining arms. When he reached his quarters, he sent twelve of the men back, and knocking out the flint and priming and reversing the bayonet of the gun he had retained, gave it to the last man, whom he summarily kicked down stairs. During the day he called on the American consul and preferred charges against the men to the military commandante, who immediately ordered a trial, found them guilty of the theft, and sentenced them to be whipped with fifty lashes on the bare back in the public plaza, which was duly carried into effect on the same day. Ever afterwards the colonel was treated with the most abject humility by the military of the place-though a reputation for such daring bravery was too terribly earned to be desired.

The Oregon at last arrived, and Col. Geary and family reached San Francisco on the 1st of April. Having landed his trunks, of which he had a number, he endeavored to employ persons to carry them to a residence which he had previously secured; but being charged five dollars for each trunk, and complaining of the exorbitant price, he was told by the man whom he had addressed that he would give him five dollars each to carry them himself. Taking the hint, he shouldered a trunk and soon succeeded in conveying them one after another to his quarters. Thus, he at least saved his originally intended outlay, though he never received the additional fee promised by the labor-despising Californian.

The colonel secured a room at the corner of Montgomery and Washington streets, about eight feet by ten, for post-office purposes, and commenced making preparations for distributing the mail, consisting of about five thousand letters. Having no boxes, he drew lines upon the floor, forming squares, which were duly

alphabeted, in which the letters were arranged. These he delivered through a hole in the window, made by the removal of a pane of glass. Col. Geary's labors were most arduous-he was constantly at the delivery window-assistants could only be employed at the high price of sixteen dollars a day, and their labors he was compelled to overlook and direct. It was not long, however, before he had made such vast improvements as to render the postal arrangements very complete. He removed the office to the north-east corner of Washington and Stockton streets, and thence to the south-west corner of Clay and Pike streets, where it remained for a considerable time. Scarcely was the office properly arranged, and in good working order, when Col. Geary learned that General Taylor had, on his induction into the presidency, appointed a successor. Too independent to retain it a day longer than necessary, he applied to Col. Allen, then mail agent for California, to release him from his contract with the general government. Col. Bryan temporarily discharged the duties of the office, until the arrival of Jacob B. Moore, Esq., on whom the administration had bestowed the position. A universal sentiment of regret prevailed on the reception of this intelligence. Col. Geary, by his promptness and incredible dispatch in reaching the city and opening his office, and the admirable manner in which he conducted it, had won the esteem and confidence of the people. Owing to his removal from office, and the impossibility of deciding upon his future course, but chiefly because of the disordered state of the city, occasioned by the outrages of the "Hounds," rendering it actually unsafe for any lady to reside there, Col. Geary determined to let his family remain no longer, but sent back to Pennsylvania, in company with long tried friends, his wife and her two babes, the youngest of whom had been born in April, and was the first male child of purely American parents that was born in San Francisco after the cession of California to the United States. He now formed a co-partnership with Messrs. Wm. Van Vorhees and O. P. Sutton, and entered into a general auction and commission business, under the name of Geary, Van Vorhees and Sutton.

The proclamation of General Riley, governor of California, having been issued a short time previous, the people began to

look around for candidates, and Col. Geary was selected for the office of First Alcalde. Notwithstanding he repeatedly and absolutely refused to be a candidate, his name was placed on every one of the ten different tickets, and in the ensuing election, he received every vote cast for the office, as is officially certified in the following document :

"To Hon. John W. Geary :

"At a special election held in San Francisco, August 1st, 1849, to fill the vacancy existing in the office of First Alcalde of said town and district, you were elected by fifteen hundred and sixteen votes, being the whole number cast.

"FREDERICK BILLINGS, "Chairman Bd. Inspectors and Judges.

"San Francisco, August 2d, 1849."

Col. Geary had vacated his postmastership in favor of Col. Bryan, who, on July 23d, assumed his duties, as soon as possible after hearing of Mr. Moore's appointment of April 15th. Eight days after, the entire population, by their flattering vote, had demonstrated their confidence in his abilities. In obedience to such a testimonial, the newly-elected alcalde entered on the duties of his position, after taking the oath of office and being duly commissioned by Governor Riley. The latter remarked in his address on the occasion, in the presence of Commodore Jones and others, that he was highly pleased at the result of the election, that he entertained the highest regard, and esteem for the colonel, and was prepared to support him on all occasions, and if necessary call in the aid of the army; "and," remarked Commodore Jones, "add the navy, also." About this same time, Governor Riley personally placed in his hands the following appointment to the office of Judge of First Instance (Juez de primera Instancia).

"Know all men by these presents, that I, Bennet Riley, Brevet Brig. Genl. U. S. A., and Governor of California, by virtue of authority in me vested, do hereby appoint and confirm J. W. Geary as Judge of First Instance in and for the District of San Francisco, to date from the first of August, 1849. "Given under my hand and seal at San Francisco, Cala., this 6th day of August, A. D., 1849.

(Official.)

"B. RILEY.

"Bt. Brig. Genl. U. S. A. and Gov. of California. “H. W. HALLECK, Bt. Capt. and Secretary of State.”

Colonel Geary immediately set about the organization of the city, and the establishment of an efficient police force. The task was herculean. Pandemonium had to be quieted-chaos reduced to order. Here was a large maritime city, with a population of about twenty thousand persons, and embracing a strange medley of dangerous and desperate characters-without a solitary officer, or a single law to govern or control them. All these rebellious elements had to be subdued, and good citizens made of daring bravados. This task fell upon the alcalde, who had to perform the duties of every one of the customary officers of a city and county jurisdiction. He was sheriff, probate, recorder,—even notary public and coroner. He daily held an ordinary police or mayor's court; an alcalde's court for the minor cases and general executive matters of the city; a court of first instance with universal civil jurisdiction; a court of first instance with like criminal extent; and a court of admiralty for maritime cases. In fine, he was the curator of the public, doing every thing that was to be done, even to the holding of inquests and taking acknowledgment of deeds. For a long time there was no other magistrate in the place, until Judge Geary himself requested the appointment of other judicial officers, and Hon. Wm. B. Almond was made Judge of First Instance with civil jurisdiction only. Judge Geary performed all these varied and intricate duties with the utmost satisfaction, until the month of January following, when a new election took place, and he was re-elected alcalde, having all but twelve of nearly four thousand votes polled. He continued in this office until the ensuing spring, when the old Mexican institutions were supplanted by our own system of municipal government.

Under the old Mexican laws, alcaldes had power to grant away the public lands at the fixed rates of twelve dollars for fifty-vara lots and twenty-five dollars for one hundred-vara lots. All American alcaldes, previous to Geary's time, had availed themselves of this privilege, and disposed of an immense amount of valuable property at the above mere nominal rates. Soon after the organization of the ayuntamiento, a resolution was offered authorizing and directing the alcalde to make such grants at the legal rates. While the matter was yet in debate, Col.