The streets were few in number then, not more than fifteen or twenty,
as the town, at the time of which we are speaking, had only a
population of about five thousand people. As San Francisco grew,
however, under the impetus which the discovery of gold gave to it, the
streets were naturally multiplied; and, to overcome the mire in wet
weather and also the sand of the dry season, which made it difficult
for pedestrians to walk hither and thither or for vehicles to move
to and fro, they were planked in due time. Wooden sewers were also
constructed on each side of the street to carry off the surface water.
A plank road besides ran out to Mission Dolores, the vicinity of which
was a great resort on Sundays, especially in the days when "bull
fighting" was a pastime and the old Spanish and Mexican elements of
the population had not been eliminated or had not lost their prestige.

As one went to and fro then and encountered men of all nationalities,
it was not an uncommon thing to meet many who had the look of
desperadoes, whose upper garment was a flannel shirt, while revolvers
looked threateningly out of their belts at the passerby. All this of
course, was changed after a time, when the days of reform came, as
they always come when the need arises. There is an element in human
society which acts as a corrective, and wrong is finally dethroned,
and right displays her power with a divine force and a vivid sweep as
a shaft of lightning from the sky. We need never despair about the
triumph of the good. It is a noble sentiment which Bryant utters in
"The Battle Field:"

"Truth crushed to earth shall rise again:
The eternal years of God are hers;
But Error, wounded, writhes in pain,