stake ; but in civil differences, which by no possi-
biUty can a resort to arms in any wise lessen, and
which must ultimately be determined by arbitration,
by the courts, by common sense and reason, and by
nothing else, fighting is brutish. In squatterism the
existence of courts is ignored, not because, as is the
case with vigilance committees, justice cannot be ob-
tained and the guilty escape, but because justice is
tardy and claimants are impatient. And then the
men of California had so long been thrown upon
themselves for the redress of grievances, that they
had acquired the habit of fighting their own battles,
deeming a resort to law contemptible petty-fogging.
No ! the first, the brawny arm, the knife, the re-
volver, these were the tools for them ! Away with
law and title deeds ; we want not reason, we want the
property !
Swarms of squatters settled on every available spot about San Francisco, whether already claimed or not. The sand hills were so fenced in, without regard to roads or regularity, that it was with difficulty a wagon could make its way beyond the suburbs in any direction. Fights between claimants were frequent, women joining the men in their shooting scrapes, and not infrequently officers in the discharge of their du- ties would be threatened. Most of the land at El Rincon, that is to say Rincon Point, or Rincon Hill, was held by the government as a reserve. The TTnited States leased it for a time to Theodore Shilla- ber, who, upon attempting to take possession the 28th of February, 1850, found it covered with squatters, men of Sydney and that class, who refused to pay rent or vacate. Captain Keys then in charge at the pre- sidio, detailed twenty soldiers to the place, who de- molished the tents and shanties and drove off the squatters. One of them brought suit against the captain for damages which was dismissed by the court. In July 1853 the sheriff, Johnson, was shot by a squatter while placing in possession
