But the Governor being
afterwards expelled from the country, the concession was held to be
invalid. The emigrants arriving in the country after the discovery of
gold proved the ruin of his fortunes. They squatted upon his land,
denied the validity of his title, cut down his timber, and drove away
his cattle. Sharpers robbed him of what the squatters did not take,
until at last he was stripped of everything; and, finally, he left
the State, and for some years has been living with relatives in
Pennsylvania. Even the stipend of $2,500, which the State of
California for some years allowed him, has been withdrawn, and now in
his advanced years, he is almost destitute. Yet, in his days of
prosperity, he was always ready to assist others. His fort was always
open to the stranger, and food, to the value of many thousand
dollars, was, every year, so long as he had the means, sent out by
him for the relief of emigrants crossing the plains. It is a reproach
to California that she leaves the pioneer and hero destitute in his
old age.
[1] Col. Stevenson was born at the commencement of the century,
and is therefore now, 1893, in his ninety-fourth year.
[2] See Exhibit A, in Appendix.
[3] See Exhibit B, in Appendix.
[4] See Exhibit C, in Appendix.
EXPERIENCES AS ALCALDE.
Under the Mexican law, Alcaldes had, as already stated, a very
limited jurisdiction.
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