Before the letter I last wrote you had left Bear Valley (6th inst) two gentlemen arrived from San Francisco, with the purpose of securing debts due from the Company: one representing the Bank of Cala, the other our commercial agents. They both treated me with the greatest possible consideration & confidence; and the Bank agent, after having secured the sheriff ready to act before he saw me, consented to suspend all proceedings until I could go to S.F. & communicate with the company, unless in the meantime circumstances should occur compelling him to act—as proceedings of other parties in the same direction. I have learned here that our small checks have been protested, and I am afraid it is all up, but have telegraphed the Bank that if they can prevent alarm & violent proceedings, I think I can serve all the California creditors. This I shall do if possible. Our assets, discreetly used, will cover all California indebtedness—keep the hands employed & supported thro’ the winter & pay them off in full. If they get alarmed, however, I don’t know what consequences to anticipate. We owe them $40,000 (for wages) and they will naturally be very angry and possibly take the law into their own hands. Since I began writing; I find that the fact of the protests is getting reported at Stockton & creating some excitement.

We collected $4000 in rough bullion (bars) on the evening the news reached me, which I immediately gave myself a bill of sale of—also executed a Bill of sale for some instruments which with the bullion will make up about the value of my year’s salary.

We shall have a few grievous confidential debts—trust money &c.—but I think I shall be able to provide for them all, unless there is a panic and everything is knocked to splinters.

Of course you see that either the Bank has been acting in a most unjustifiable manner, or else I have been most shabbily treated by the Company. I am inclined to think that the Bank has been unnecessarily frightened and acted precipitately.

The Agent of the Bank—Col Fry—after some study of our condition expressed a highly favorable opinion of the management of the [293]Estate, and the Cashier wrote me that I could depend on the confidence, respect & friendship of the Trustees of the Bank, personally, to any extent.

Fry agreed with me, that if there was no interruption of work, our assets personal would cover our California liabilities, (including $60,000 to the Bank) by more than $100,000.

I wrote you that my year’s expenditure had been $140,000 short of the amount I proposed to use in my last January report. The amount short was mainly what was saved by the abandonment of certain mines. My accounts are not yet all in, & complete, & I cannot say how much I have exceeded my estimates of expenditure on the work accomplished. There are explorative works which I estimated would be finished before this & which are not, but as far as I can now judge, these have cost, on an average, pro rata of progress, but little if any more than I estimated. There was no important error in my estimates, except in the estimates of yield, which I gave with abundant saving clauses. The gold was not in the mines as the experts whom I was advised by the Trustees to employ, led me to hope that it might be.

Your letter has just come to hand dated Decr 9th. I shall write to you soon. In the meantime you may be interested in the Brooklyn affair although nothing may come of it. Stranahan induced me to go over the other day & examine the site with him and a Mr Taylor who has recd a financial appt under the Commrs. The latter seems an undemonstrative man who probably takes the position as a moderately easy way of securing a competent annual remuneration. He is Stranahan’s next door neighbour and is a lawyer, of between 50 & 60, I should think.

I found that the Prest, for S is Prest, was inclined to increase the boundaries on the south and east sides to some considerable extent. On examination of the ground in this direction & in connection with an impression gained when on the ground last summer, I did not hesitate to recommend him, if he went to the Legislature at all, to make some such modification as the one indicated on the sketch. He had not supposed the cheap flat land valuable for Park purposes but I explained to him that by securing it the Commrs could make a skating pond deserving the name and in this particular easily surpass their Competitors the C.P. Moreover as the land on this side, with the exception of the lots marked expensive lots, could be bought for less than half the price of that on the other side and as the plan of having a hundred foot avenue running through the Park was an objectionable feature and the ground on the Washington [295]Avenue side was generally unsuited for Park purposes, being in an awkward shape, I suggested that this be, not perhaps immediately abandoned, but entirely thrown out of the Park scheme except so far as a control of the lots bordering on the avenue was concerned & this perhaps only for a short distance near the principal entrance as the Ave was unsuited for handsome residences. By this means the cost of the desirable addition would be very little—as the Washington Avenue section is valuable & increasing in value—and the Reservoir with its steep formal banks and artificial constructions and splendid view could be connected with the Park by a flying bridge—and all cumbrous & expensive structures in connection with crossing over or under Flatbush Avenue avoided. The lie of the land, the diagonal direction of the streets, & the near propinquity of Greenwood Cemetery, which occupies a large tract, and the general relation of Brooklyn to the work seems to suggest that transverse Roads may be omitted without detriment to public convenience, perhaps. However, one may be called for.

Stranahan absorbed the idea rapidly enough and if Saturday had been fine I was to have gone over the ground with him again as he is anxious to get the subject before the Legislature this season. He had previously asked me what I would make a plan for, & I told him that I should probably ask $10,000. This somewhat alarmed him, but he asked me con amore to come over & see the ground, and I have sketched the results. If it should end in any decided modifications I suppose that my chance will be no worse. I really however approach the subject with a feeling akin to dislike, fearing to be annoyed as we were in the CP affair. We are all pretty well. Love to y’ wife.