goldfields

And there was none juicer in 1880s San Francisco than the case of Sharon v. Sharon, which pitted elderly millionaire William Sharon against his mistress/wife (take your pick) Sarah Althea Hill. I wrote about this Scandalous Saga last year and you can follow the whole story by clicking through to that post and subsequent posts. It is a story replete with civil suits ranging from divorce to libel to slander; criminal prosecutions from adultery to larceny to murder; allegations of forgery, blackmail, and voodoo, and pistols and knives drawn in the courtroom. It has it all!

At the time I found a couple of cartoons from the Wasp about the scandal and courtroom drama, but now I have a few more to show you.

After the court dismissed the suit against William Sharon for adultery on a technicality, Sarah Althea Hill promptly sued for divorce, claiming that they had a secret marriage. Hence we have this cartoon titled “Re-Opening the Ball.” Althea, decked out in extravagant fashion, is on the arm of wizened old ex-Senator Sharon (or he is on her arm).

Judge Sullivan starts up the music, while the crowd of attorneys promenades in. The fat man with the spade beard and spectacles is David S. Terry, who will later marry Althea and come to a Very Bad End.

The bearded gentleman dressed up as a lady in yellow with a bright red fan is Althea’s attorney, George W. Tyler. He is also the central figure in the scene of courtroom mayhem below. As he questioned Mrs. Shawhan, and implied that she was less than respectable, she fingered a pistol in her pocket, and Tyler reached to draw his own pistol. Pandemonium ensued — you can read about it in the Pistols in the Courtroom post.

The Sacramento History Museum has some fun and short video tours you can enjoy during this time of confinement. The museum is closed, and they probably don’t encourage you wandering around the streets of Old Sacramento, but there are still some fun things to do virtually.

Take a few minutes to take an Anytime Tour. They have Anytime Tours in Old Sacramento and Anytime Tours at the Old City Cemetery, presented by costumed guides. The stories about bold businesswomen of early Sacramento are a particular treat.

Take a ride on the Union and Central Pacific Railroads!

This series of guidebooks told you everything you needed to know as you rode the train across the continent, bound for California. Once you got to the Golden State, the book guided you on all the routes throughout the state, describing each station and town, and all the beauties and wonders to be seen along the way. It was lavishly illustrated with etchings of the scenic marvels of America.

Here is the page telling you what to expect as you journey northward on the Central Pacific Railroad through Chico and Red Bluff to its terminus at Redding. Gridley and Biggs are “both new and flourishing towns,” and Chico is “one of the best and most prosperous towns in California,” where you can see the beautiful home of General Bidwell, one of California’s “most enterprising citizens.”

If your destination is anywhere else in Northern California not on the rail line, such as  Big Meadows, Cherokee Flat, or Orland, the guidebook tells you all about the connecting stagecoach lines. What a valuable book! Well worth the price of $1.50 for the railroad (paperback) edition, or $2.00 for the hardback edition.

Don’t leave home without it!

(My thanks to the California State Library, which pointed out that these books are available on the Internet Archive.)

Account of General’s attack of heart trouble in Vallombrosa, April 4, 1900

The following account was written for Annie Bidwell by one of her maids, Florence, who had gone with General Bidwell on the morning of April 4, 1900. I don’t know Florence’s last name. The account can be found in the John Bidwell Collection in the California State Library.

Chico April 4, 1900

On Wednesday morning at eight o’clock, General drove up the creek with William Conway, taking me with him to open the gate (when he came back) as he said he was only going to be gone about one hour. We drove up the South side, then crossed a little below the Dam, onto the North side. We kept close to the creek for a ways as the General said I am just going this way to mark out a new road. I will tell you what to do William and then I will leave you to your self as I am not going to stop today.

The Mechoopda Band. William Conway is at the center of the front row, holding a trumpet. Photo courtesy of Special Collections, Meriam Library, CSU Chico.

When we got down to where Harry was working the General told William to put on his rubbers and help him out of the wagon. I got into the front seat and held the horses when the General got to the ground he gave a little stamp and said there, I am as spry as a young boy. Now William our Log has burned pretty well but we will take the chain and pull it over a little way. Now Harry get your horses. They pulled it over and then the general took the crow bar and showed William how to knock the fire out of the root without putting out the fire. He then had William take the big ax and chop off a big knot from the stump they were burning. He then called Harry and had him pull the logs that were on the ground a little uphill to the spot where they were when he was take sick. He and Harry sawed a little while and then quit.

The General then went back to see how William was getting along then went and done a little more sawing, then quit and walked around a little while. Then he turned to me and said are you cold Florence, for I was sitting right in the shade with the North wind blowing hard. I told him I was and he had Harry drive the horses to the South side of the log in the sun and I was only there a few minutes watching the General as he poked around the fire and started a little blaze as the chips fell down from William’s ax.

It seems strange but I never took my eye off the General that morning. I followed every movement just with the thought the ground is so uneven and so many little rock and limbs lying around from the tree they were burning so as to warn him if he should happen to go near anything he would stumble over. While watching him he laid the crowbar down and stood for a moment with his hand on the stump as if thinking. Then he called to Harry and said, Harry you take the horses, and Florence you come here. Of course I waited for Harry to get to the horses before I let go of the reins as they were very restless.

William looked up and said I think there is something the matter. The General was then walking to the log with his head held down as if he had the neuralgia. I said Jump Billy and I jumped at the same time leaving the horses alone for Harry had not yet got into the wagon. We both got to the General at the same time. I said he has got neuralgia Billy hold him up. He was then sitting like he does when he had that pain. He had hold of him only a few seconds when he dropped his head back and gasped for breath like as if he were having a fainting fit. I said to William he has fainted and started Harry to town in all haste.

I ran to the creek and got some water and loosened his clothes around his neck and rubbed him as best we could. When we fixed up a place as best we could and laid him on the ground he seemed better in a few minutes and wanted to know what was the matter and what were we all doing. We said keep quiet General you will be all right in a little while and as he commenced to rally he wanted to be propped up and complained of too much weight on his chest though there was nothing there. As he got a little better he asked for some water then he complained of being cold and to cover him up. When you got to the spot and you now what. . .

The account breaks off there, although there must have been a little more to it. The General was taken home in the wagon and died later that day. His heart attack came as he was doing one of the jobs he loved best — road-building.

Looking for an entertaining and historical way to spend a few hours? Time will fly while you peruse the pages of The Wasp, San Francisco’s premier satiric periodical, digitized by the California State Library and available online at the Internet Archive.

The weekly Wasp began publication in August 1876 and continued into the 20th century; the online collection goes up to 1920. As stated in its first issue, “Its mission, as the name will indicate, signifies a busy,  industrious life, ever on the wing in search of news and ever ready to inflict a justifiable sting upon those who will abuse public trust.” It sought to be “fearless, bold, and independent, not owned or controlled by any men or party of men . . .” and took jabs equally at Democrats, Republicans, and third parties.

It was notable for its outstanding full-page color political cartoons and numerous line sketches and comics. I’ll show you some of these in upcoming posts. Many are now obscure, referring to long-dead controversies and long-forgotten public figures. But others are timeless and a delight to behold. Here’s one — the cover of the January 1st, 1881 issue:

The decade of the 1870’s had been a tough one, overshadowed by the Panic of 1873 and the Long Depression that lasted through the decade. Here California looks to the dawn of a brighter day as Hard Times fade away behind her. California is depicted as she is on the State Seal, as Minerva, goddess of wisdom, with the California grizzly bear at her feet and her shield embossed with the miner’s pick and shovel.

I hope you’ll enjoy The Wasp as much as I have.