eo Murphy of
San Rafael, and Lassen the Dane, for whom Lassen's Peak was named,
were among those who came here before 1830.

Governor Figueroa, called the "benefactor of Alta California" ordered
the Missions to be given up to the Indians. By directing that the
town of Yerba Buena should be laid out, he also is remembered as the
founder of San Francisco. Richardson, who carried out the governor's
orders, was the first settler and Leese built the first frame-house of
San Francisco.

In Governor Alvarado's time many Americans came to the new country,
although Alvarado and General Vallejo tried hard to keep them out.
Vallejo was then the military commander, and had headquarters at
Sonoma, where he had an adobe fort and a few soldiers to protect the
Mission of Solano. Here General Vallejo was living with his Indian and
Californian settlers when the place was taken by Ide, the leader
of the "bear-flag party." Vallejo, set free when the short-lived
"bear-flag republic" went to pieces, lived many years at Sonoma. He
was afterwards a member of the first legislature. He tried hard in
1851 to have the state capital at Vallejo; but he failed, for he did
not keep his agreement to put up buildings for government use.

A man well known in the early days was John Sutter, a Swiss, who built
a fort and settled where Sacramento now stands. He called his colony
New Helvetia, and soon had about three hundred Indians at work for
him. Some of the men were carpenters, blacksmiths, and farmers, while
the women wove blankets or a coarse cloth. His fort enclosed about an
acre of ground, with an adobe wall twenty feet high. A large gate was
shut every night to keep safe those inside this walled fort. You have
read that Marshall, who found gold, was building a sawmill for Sutter
when he picked up the precious yellow nuggets. Sutter and Marshall
quarrelled at last about the ownership of the mill at Coloma, where
the pieces of gold were picked up. Marshall died a poor man, unhappy
and neglected by the state, which has since put a costly bronze statue
over his grave.

Sutter was very active in the Micheltorena war, when Governor
Micheltorena was defeated and put out of office by Alvarado and
Castro.

The last of the Mexican governors, Pio Pico, tried his best to
prevent the rush of Americans into his country, but though Castro,
the military commander, helped him, the Americans came and stayed. And
both Pico and Castro with their soldiers were d