LIFE SKETCHES OF A JAYHAWKER 41 



gers all left the ship at Honolulu, and he didn't know what he would do. 

 The ship burned at sea on the same voyage, but I never heard whether there 

 were any lives lost or not. I only spent about three weeks at Honolulu, 

 didn't like the country, didn't like the climate, didn't like anything I saw 

 there. There were no inducements there for me, there were not many peo- 

 ple but the natives and they were living on poi and raw fish. That may 

 sound queer to some, but that is a fact that they at that time ate fish raw 

 and then each family had a patch of tura called poi when cooked. They 

 could raise enough tura on two square rods to supply a large family and had 

 cocoanuts and yams just for gathering. If they wanted any exercise they 

 would go swimming. I have seen as many as five hundred of them in the 

 water together. Men, women and children, just as they were born, and 

 they thought that was the proper way. 



Mr. Douglas' sister being a professor's wife, who belonged to the upper 

 class in society, we were both introduced to her set and had rather a fine 

 time. We both returned on the same vessel and had state rooms together 

 again and our passage back was not attended with any striking features out 

 of the common run of things. The day we arrived in San Francisco was 

 the day that James King of William, was shot by a thug named Cora. I 

 have seen many stirring times in California, but never have seen anything 

 to compare with that. The whole city was in arms, men marching the 

 streets at all time of the day or night. A lot of thugs had been running 

 the city for years and controlling the elections with ballot box stuffing and 

 all kinds of trickery that could be thought of and James King of William 

 was editing the Bulletin at the time and was showing up all their rascality 

 in good shape, and the bosses of the gang thought it best to get him out 

 of the way, Cora being their tool to do the work. Casey was another noto- 

 rious character and stabbed a man; and Judge Terry, who was afterwards 

 shot, were all the same stripe. The good citizens of San Francisco were 

 bound to rid the city of all that class and did it effectually too. Hundreds 

 of them were getting away as fast as they could. There was one man, Ed 

 McGowen, a notorious character, they ran him so close that he took refuge 

 in an old carpet that was rolled up by a Spanish woman. The posse that 

 was after him was in the house where he hid in the roll of carpet. If they 

 had found him nothing would have saved him from hanging along with the 

 others. I saw Casey and Corey hanged from a window at the Armory Hall 

 on Sacramento street. They were hanged immediately after the funeral of 

 James King of William. I know I came right from the funeral and attended 

 the hanging bee afterwards. Bruce and Herington were hanged from the 

 same place and I have the picture of the hanging yet. It renovated San 

 Francisco for several years, the people had a chance to govern themselves 

 and have an honest election, which they never had before. If Mr. Hopkins, 

 the man Judge Terry stabbed, had died, he would surely have been hanged 

 too, as they kept him about three weeks in prison waiting to see if Hopkins 

 recovered and that saved the Judge. He was a Stockton man and I knew 

 him very well, but failed to see much good in him. He was the man that 

 killed Broderick in a duel. I better say he was the man who murdered 

 Broderick, as that was one of the most foul deeds that was ever perpetrated 

 in California. In speaking of Senator Broderick, the eulogy that was deliv- 

 ered over his dead body by Col. Baker was the finest piece of composition 



