ELDORADO 151 



majority of those arriving in California during the 

 first years of the gold excitement to return to the 

 States at the close of their mining experience. They 

 were indifferent to the existence or conditions of land 

 tenures. But as their hopes of gaining speedy wealth 

 were not realized, and the climate and future possibili- 

 ties of the State became more fully understood, they 

 began seriously to consider the advisability of making 

 California their permanent home. 



It was soon learned that wherever an attempt was 

 made to settle upon land, the settler was regarded as 

 a trespasser and was notified to leave, or take the con- 

 sequences. The reckless land-grabber, regardless of 

 law or equity, possessed himself of all the real estate 

 from which he could drive the occupant. If a land 

 speculator, claiming everything in sight, wanted a few 

 men to enforce his claim all he had to do was to go 

 to the headquarters of roughs, "shoulder strikers" or 

 "Sydney ducks," and for a few hundred dollars he 

 could hire a gang of ruffians, who with ropes would 

 drag down the tenement of an unoffending settler and 

 with revolvers at his head, compel him to surrender 

 his claim or his life. , 



A large majority of those desiring to settle and 

 make permanent homes were men of intelligence and 

 enterprise, who had perhaps made moderate fortunes 

 at mining. They still had property interests "back 

 in the States," and some of them, ready to make an 

 honest dollar, determined, when they returned East to 

 dispose of their property, and bring their families, to fit 

 out trains and bring back emigrants to California at 

 so much per head. It is chiefly from this class of pio- 

 neers that California owes much of her industrial 



