1840, when he was admitted to the bar. Thereupon he entered on the practice of his profession, devoting to it his whole time for several years. We next find him practicing at Mount Sterling, Illinois, whither he had removed with his family. On April 2d, 1849, he left the Prairie State to emigrate overland to California. He had with him his wife and only living child, a daughter of tender years.

This little family were accompanied by several of their neighbors, who were also burning to behold the land of promise. On the 30th of April, the party, numbering less than twenty persons, assembled at St. Joseph, Missouri. From this place the adventurous company started on the 9th of May.

"On that day," to use the language of Gov. Bigler himself, in his Address to the Sacramento Pioneers in 1865, "the long journey was commenced in good earnest, and with a fixed determination on the part of all to meet difficulties to be overcome, dangers to be encountered, and privations to be endured, with inflexible fidelity to each other, and as far as possible refrain from expressions calculated to cause discontent or discouragement."

Mr. Bigler had fully entered upon his pilgrimage to a land where high honors awaited him, and was surrounded by cheerful and happy companions; but his heart was heavy with sorrow. His wife, who had refused to part with him, was in delicate health, his daughter was a mere child, as stated, and these frail charges he was taking with him on a long and perilous journey. Besides, he was leaving behind him the mouldering form of an only and dearly beloved son, whom death had but recently wrested from his bosom and given to the grave. He had shaken off despondency, but could not free himself from gloomy thoughts.

Gov. Bigler has given a detailed account of his weary march overland, in the address before alluded to. He did his full share of hard work throughout the entire journey. He drove his own ox-team across the plains, and stood guard regularly over the train of wagons. On many occasions, when he was greatly fatigued, or in need

of sleep, his wife would relieve him; and in addition to standing guard, she would often assist in yoking the oxen to the wagons.

When about twenty-five miles east of the upper crossing of the Sweetwater, the Governor's party were overtaken by Wm. T. Coleman. This gentleman had, two days previous, left his train with others to go upon a hunting tour: he had become bewildered in the hills, and for some length of time had not tasted food. His new acquaintances had the pleasure of supplying his wants, and he was enabled to move forward in search of his companions. The accidental meeting of these two men, in the heart of the trackless desert, could not have been more friendly, nor their parting more cordial, even if the veil had been lifted from the future, and their subsequent eminence disclosed to them. What pleasurable emotions must be awakened in the breasts of the successful politician and the merchant prince, whenever their thoughts recur to that brief interview!

Mr. Bigler and family at length arrived in Sacramento, August 31st, 1849; his wife and daughter being, it is said, the first white female emigrants to Sacramento.

Upon his arrival, finding there was no call for his legal services in the new, unsettled community, and being in want of immediate funds to make his family comfortable, Mr. Bigler determined to resort to manual labor. He took off his coat, or rather kept off his coat, and sought employment. He soon obtained a situation in the store of an auctioneer, named Stevens, where he worked for some time. Next, he engaged in the wood trade, cutting his wood in the country, near Sacramento, and carrying it into the city for sale. After prosecuting this business for some time, he contracted with a Sacramento merchant to make a number of calico comforters for beds. In addition to his other compensation, he received from his employer sufficient calico to furnish his wife and daughter with much-needed dresses.

After completing the comforter contract, he was for some time employed in unloading the river steamers on their arrival, for which he received pay at the rate of two

dollars per hour. By such laborious pursuits as these he maintained himself and family in comparative comfort. Nor was he less esteemed by his neighbors, because of his honest toil. The pioneers, nearly all of them, were engaged in actual physical labor, without regard to former associations or professional pursuits. Labor was their

acknowledged king.

The time had now arrived when our subject was to abandon his humble occupations. About the middle of October, 1849, he was notified by Mr. Charles Sackett, on behalf of the citizens, that he had been nominated at a public meeting as a candidate for the Assembly. The Sacramento legislative district then extended from the Cosumnes river to the Oregon line, and from the Coast Range to the line then dividing California and Utah. This district was then entitled to four senators and nine assemblymen. The election was a general one, and took place November 13th, 1849.

The candidates for Governor were Peter H. Burnett, afterwards Supreme Judge of the State, and now President of the Pacific Bank, San Francisco; John W. Geary, the late distinguished Governor of Pennslyvania; Gen. John A. Sutter, and others. The first named gentleman received a large majority of the votes cast. John McDougal was elected Lieutenant Governor, and Geo. W. Wright and Edward Gilbert were chosen members of Congress. In the Sacramento legislative district, John Bidwell, Thomas J. Green, Henry E. Robinson, and Elisha Crosby, were elected senators, and Dr. T. J. White, Elisha W. McKinstry, (the present able County Judge of San Francisco) George B. Tingley, John Bigler, P. B. Cornwall, John F. Williams, E. Cardwell, T. J. Hughes, and Madison Walthall, assemblymen.

Mr.

Before the Legislature assembled, the rainy season set in, and Sacramento was almost deluged. The citizens at that early day were very poorly sheltered from the wintry weather. Much suffering was the consequence. Bigler and family were compelled to endure trials and privations which it had never been their misfortune to meet before, even on the uninhabited desert wastes where