force.  The demonstrations of citizens not professedly belonging to, however in favor of the organization, were, at this and subsequent periods, very impressive.  An evening meeting was held in front of the Oriental Hotel, the number present at which was variously estimated at from five to eight thousand.  This great meeting was presided over by Hon. Baillie Peyton, formerly a distinguished member of Congress, and then City Attorney.  He addressed the meeting, as did Judge Duer and other leading men.  At the close of the meeting, the immense assembly was called upon to say whether they approved and would support the Vigilance Committee, and instantly such a thundering “Aye” went up as seemed sufficient to rend the sky.  When the otherwise minded were called, two “No’s” were heard, faintly breaking the profound silence.  Several other meetings came to a like conclusion.  Such occurrences, and they were frequent, greatly strengthened the hands, and encouraged the hearts of the Executive Committee.  Their labors were various and unremitting.  They issued notice to quit to numbers of persons whom it was neither for the interest nor credit of the community longer to retain.  By their Police they were daily and nightly arresting disturbers of the public peace, thieves and desperate criminals, whom they quietly deposited in their strong rooms to be dealt with according to their deserts.  To be prepared for any emergency their Head Quarters were made an armed camp.  Barriers six feet in height, made of sand bags, with cannon planted in the embrasures, extended along the whole front of the building.  Sentinels paced the roof day and night.  Companies were drilling at all hours at Head Quarters or in their Armories.  These defenses were strengthened from time to time; and others ingeniously contrived were placed in the interior; so that, at length, in the opinion of an officer of large experience, a very large force of regular troops would have been required to carry it by storm.

In the afternoon of Saturday, June 21st, the perfect quiet of the early part of the day was broken up by a tempest of excitement of rare occurrence anywhere.  Between three and four o’clock, a Police Officer of the Vigilance Committee named Hopkins, being ordered with a party of men, to arrest a man named Maloney, having ascertained that he was then in the office of Dr. Ashe, Navy Agent, on Washington Street, entered the office alone, leaving the other officers in the street.  A number of persons were in the room beside Maloney, amongst them Judge Terry, one of the three Judges of the Supreme Court of California.  Hopkins was unable to make the arrest; and retiring from the room, collected his men, and kept watch in the street.  The party in the room armed themselves and scattered into the street to make their way to the Armory of the San Francisco Blues.  While passing up Jackson Street, Hopkins attempted to arrest Maloney.  Terry opposed him with a double-barreled gun, which Hopkins attempted to or did, wrest from