doc241 - Schoenherr Home Page in Sunny Chula Vista

He replied, 'No, the town is four miles away.' I saw a merry twinkle in his eye, which I
afterwards interpreted as meaning, ' Won't the Yankee schoolma'am be surprised when
she sees the town.'
"Wild looking horsemen, flourishing their riatas, were coming from different directions
toward the landing, and the very gait of the horses seemed different from anything
I had ever seen before. There were no wharves at the time. Passengers were carried in
the ship's boats to shallow water and then carried on the backs of sailors to the shore.
Fortunately for me, a little skiff was over from the lighthouse, which saved me the humiliating
experience meted out to others.
"Once on shore, I was placed with my trunk on a wagon awaiting me, and we
started for Old Town. The prospect as we
Page 249
neared the town was not encouraging, but the climax was reached when we arrived
safely at the plaza. Of all the dilapidated, miserable looking places I had ever seen, this
was the worst. The buildings were nearly all adobe, one story in height, with no chimneys.
Some of the roofs were covered with tiles and some with earth. One of these
adobes, an old ruin, stood in the middle of the plaza. It has since been removed. The
Old Town of today is quite a modern town, compared with the Old Town of 1865.
"I was driven to the hotel, which was to be my future boarding place. It was a
frame structure of two stories, since burned. The first night of my stay at the hotel a
donkey came under my window and saluted me with an unearthly bray. I wondered if
some wild animal had escaped from a menagerie and was prowling around Old Town.
The fleas were plentiful and hungry. Mosquitos were also in attendance. The cooking at
the hotel was quite unlike the cooking at the Hotel del Coronado at the present time. I
sat at the table alone, being the only woman in the house. An Indian boy waited on me
at the table and also gave me the news of the town."
Page 250
PART II. CHAPTER XI. ANNALS OF THE CLOSE OF OLD SAN DIEGO
In 1850, the first steamship line between San Francisco and San Diego was established,
touching at San Pedro, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Monterey. The
first line was owned by a San Franciscan named Wright. In 1856, he transferred it to the
California Steam Navigation Company, and they soon sold to the Pacific Coast Steamship
Company. The first steamers were the Ohio, Goliah, and Fremont, while the Southerner,
Senator, and Thomas Hunt also ran at times. In later years the Ancon and Orizaba
were the regular coastwise steamers. They were all side-wheelers of small tonnage.
As they approached the wharf at San Diego, it was the custom to fire a cannonshot
from the bow, to give notice of their arrival.
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company's steamers from Panama also called twice
a month. Among those calling in 1851 were the Northerner, Tennessee, Antelope, and
others. The fare from New York to San Francisco was, first class, $330; second class,
$290; and steerage, $165.