I was present when the first messenger mounted his pony to start on the first trip across the continent.  He started from Kearny street between Clay and Washington, opposite the “Plaza” — this was on the 3rd of April, 1860.  It was a semi-weekly service, each rider to carry 15 pounds of letters — rate $5 per half ounce.  Stations were erected about 25 miles apart and each rider was expected to span three stations, going at the rate of eight miles per hour.  The first messenger to reach San Francisco from the East arrived April 14, 1860, and was enthusiastically received.  Time for letters from New York was reduced to 13 days, the actual time taking from 10 1/2 to 12 days.  The best horses and the bravest of men were necessary to make these relays, over the mountains, through the snow and across the plains through the Indian-infested country.  The distance from San Francisco to St. Joseph, Mo., was 1996 miles and the service was established by Majors, Russell & Co., of Leavenworth, Kansas.

Now I will go back a few years and pick up a little experience that was scattered along the road.  In 1861 I took my family around the bay for an outing in a private carriage.  We went through San Mateo, Redwood City, Santa Clara, San Jose, Hot Springs, Hayward, San Leandro, Oakland and back to San Francisco by boat.  We enjoyed the trip very much without any mishap to mar its pleasure.

A Venture In Flour.

About this time I bought out Loring & Mason who were in the retail grocery business on the corner of Taylor and Clay streets.  This was another venture in which I had never had any experience, “But,” said I, “Here goes for what there’s in it.”  A few days later there came a man in his buggy from over the hill with whom I was very little acquainted.  He had charge of the Empire warehouse in the lower part of the city.  His name was Mr. Garthwait.  He called at my store and said, “Woolley, I have a lot of Oregon Standard flour in the warehouse.  The storage is paid for one month, and I will sell you what you want for $6 and three bits a barrel, and you can take it out from time to time as you like.”  After looking the situation over for a few minutes I came to the conclusion that I could not buy any lower.  I said, “Well, I will take one hundred barrels.”  “All right,” said he, and drove off.  In a few days I went down and paid for it.  About the middle of December 1861 it commenced to rain in the valleys and a few days later it rained in the mountains throughout the State, and the snow commenced to melt and that, together with the rain in the valleys, started the rivers to rising, and as the rivers went up so did the flour.  The water gauge at Sacramento indicated feet and inches in going up while flour indicated dollars and cents in going up.  On the first of January, 1862, it was still raining and the water coming down in a greater volume.  Communication was cut off from all parts of the country except by water.  The Legislature