HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 49 



patches of ground, and guarding their herds of cattle 

 and horses, have all gone to the mines, or are on their 

 way thither. Laborers of every trade have left their 

 work benches, and tradesmen their shops. Sailors 

 desert their ships as fast as they arrive on the coast, 

 and several vessels have gone to sea with hardly 

 enough hands to spread a sail. Two or three are now 

 at anchor in San Francisco with no crew on board. 

 Many desertions, too, have taken place from the gar- 

 risons within the influence of these mines ; twenty-six 

 soldiers have deserted from the post of Sonoma, 

 twenty-four from that of San Francisco, and twenty- 

 four from Monterey. For a few days the evil appeared 

 so threatening, that great danger existed that the gar- 

 risons would leave in a body ; and I refer you to my 

 orders of the 25th of July, to show the steps adopted 

 to* meet this contingency. I shall spare no exertions 

 to apprehend and punish deserters, but I believe no 

 time in the history of our country has presented such 

 temptations to desert as now exist in California. 



"The danger of apprehension is small, and the 

 prospect of high wages certain ; pay and bounties are 

 trifles, as laboring men at the mines can now earn in 

 one day more than double a soldier's pay and allow- 

 ances for a month, and even the pay of a lieutenant 

 or captain cannot hire a servant. A carpenter or 

 mechanic would not listen to an offer of less than 

 fifteen or twenty dollars a day. Coulcf any combina- 

 tion of affairs try a man's fidelity more than this ? I 

 really think some extraordinary mark of favor should 

 be given to those soldiers who remain faithful to their 

 flag throughout this tempting crisis. 



" Many private letters have gone to the United 

 States, giving accounts of the vast quantity of gold 



5 



