Sunday the Eighteenth day of May was bright and beautiful. It dawned on the pleasant and picturesque City slumbering in its holy light. The roar and tumult of the populous City in its hours of business were stilled. The sun shone joyously in the deep blue sky, undimmed by cloud or vapor. All was hushed in the breathing repose of nature, and the soft and fragrant air, the still earth, and the unruffled surface of the magnificent bay, graced and dignified by grand old Monte Diavolo looking down upon it from its far off border, seemed united together in the same sweet spirit of devotion. As the day wore on, the bells of the various churches rang out their summons to the house of God. No unusual movement or sound in the early morning gave token of that calm solemn, most fearful uprising of the people which, at a later hour, was to make that day one never to be forgotten by any who took part in or witnessed its extraordinary events. The Executive Committee with consummate prudence had kept their plan of action profoundly secret.
At an early hour in the morning the Commander of the force issued orders to the Captains of Companies to notify their men to appear at Head Quarters, No. 41 Sacramento Street, at nine o'clock A. M. ready for duty. Time was of course required to circulate the notice through the City; but soon the men began to congregate from all quarters and the building, extensive as it was, by half past ten o'clock, was filled, both above and below stairs. A most extraordinary assemblage was that which filled those large halls on that Sabbath morning. Men of every rank, occupation and condition in society obeyed that summons, and silently took their places side by side, prepared to do their duty and abide the issue whatever it might be. Many of these order and peace-loving citizens had never before, when in health, been absent from church on the Sabbath day or had the slightest skill in the use of arms, or knowledge of military movements, yet so really a military people are the Americans, and so completely overmastered was every man by the sentiment and purpose common to all; that the precision with which the whole body handled their arms, and marched without music, was remarked with astonishment even by officers of the regular army.
After a short drill in the Rooms, ammunition was distributed, and orders issued to load with ball. The companies then moved in succession into the street. Not a drum was struck, or other instrument of music sounded, but in silence the various detachments moved by different routes upon the designated point. Such a body of men have been seldom if ever seen united, armed, and resolutely bent upon accomplishing such an object. The high and low, rich and poor, men of all classes, ages, and nations; the merchant, the dairy man, the professional man, the clerk, the porter, the father and son, the philanthropist, the patriot, the Christian, all were in the ranks of this great Company; and with flashing eyes and compressed lips marched in silence to accomplish what they deemed an absolutely necessary measure of Retribution and Reform.
As the various columns moved through the streets, from the lower to the upper part of the City, the occasional low but distinct word of command, and the steady tramp of armed men, attracted attention, and windows and doorways and sidewalks became filled with silent, wondering awestruck spectators. From street, lane and alley, they thronged the thoroughfares in which the troops were moving, and keeping pace with them, in like silence, moved steadily on. By exactly calculated movements, each division came upon the ground almost at the precise spot it was to occupy, and upon deploying into line formed part of a hollow square enclosing the whole space in which the Prison was situated. A field piece heavily loaded with grape, was placed in position in front of the iron gate of the Prison. A body of riflemen marched down Broadway, cleared and took possession of a house next the Prison, and which commanded its roof, and filled the roof of the house with sharpshooters. Another body of riflemen were posted on a bluff in rear of the Jail, and which commanded that side. In the meantime windows, roofs of houses, and hill tops at a safe distance were crowded with spectators. Such sounds as must necessarily attend the moving and getting into position so large a body of men were soon hushed; and in profound silence, all awaited the progress of events.
At length a battalion was marched to the front of the Prison within the lines, and drawn up on three sides of a square. Detachments from companies of picked men took post in rear of the square. Soon an empty carriage followed by two others containing members of the Executive Committee were driven into the inner square. They alighted and were joined by the Commander, proceeded up the steps of the Jail, and were admitted into it, and the door closed upon them. All knew that a demand was then making for the surrender of one or more prisoners by Sheriff Scannell; and that upon his answer it depended whether the Prison should be stormed or not. A formal demand was willingly made upon the Sheriff by the Executives for the delivery to them of James P. Casey and that he be placed in irons before such delivery. The Sheriff informed Casey that the Prison was surrounded by two thousand armed men and that he had no force adequate to his protection. Casey finally concluded to go with the Committee provided two respectable citizens would assure him that he should have a fair trial, and not be dragged through the streets. A pledge to that effect was given him by the President and other members of the Executive Committee. The Committee then withdrew from the Prison, and, with their armed escort, awaited the surrender of the prisoner. City Marshal North having placed irons upon him, led him to the door of the Prison and delivered him into the hands of the Committee. He was then placed in a close carriage, Mr. North, at Casey's request, taking a seat by his side, and two members of the Executive Committee also occupying seats in it. As the guard descended the steps of the Jail with the prisoner amid the profound silence of the armed force, a shout was raised by a portion of the spectators several blocks off; but a gesture of disapprobation from one of the Committee was sufficient instantly to restore silence. The Committee arranged themselves in the carriages; the picked men filed in on each side; a heavy guard closed in on all sides in square; the people rushed in, packing the streets with a dense mass; and all moved on in silence to the Committee Rooms.
Profound stillness again reigned around the Prison among the troops and the great body of spectators who kept their ground in expectation of what might follow. A part of the troops who had attended the prisoner to the Rooms, at length returned, and soon after, the carriages again arrived at the Prison, and the Executive Committee demanded of the Sheriff the body of Charles Cora, the murderer of Gen. Richardson, the U. S. Marshal. Only after twice requesting and being granted further time for consideration and being then peremptorily informed that if he was not delivered up in ten minutes, the Jail would be stormed, did the Sheriff produce him. He was brought out in irons, placed with officers in a carriage, the Executive occupying the others, the whole armed force fell in front, on the sides and in the rear in a long column; and the whole, accompanied by a crowd of people, swept on to the Rooms of the Committee. Most deeply was every one impressed with the fearful responsibility assumed by the actors in this extraordinary scene, and with the resolute spirit with which they had thus far prosecuted it. As the procession passed through Montgomery Street, very many of the spectators were observed to uncover their heads, apparently impressed by the solemnity of the scene; or perhaps by their respect for the men who filled the ranks. Arrived at the Rooms, and the prisoner secured, a large force was detailed for guard and patrol duty, and the remainder of the troops were dismissed. Thus ended this eventful day.
From Sunday the 18th until Tuesday following, all was quiet upon the streets. Crowds thronged in silence and deep concern around the Bulletin Boards whenever a new announcement was made of the condition of the sufferer. From five o'clock on Tuesday morning it became apparent that he was sinking; and the public anxiety became momentarily more intense. At half past one P. M. the dreaded intelligence was communicated that Mr. King was dead. Immediately every demonstration was made of the deepest feeling and most profound grief by all classes of the community. Stores, offices and other places of business were immediately closed. Hotels, public buildings and many private dwellings were, in an incredibly short time draped in mourning; and mourning badges were assumed by a large portion of the population. The bells of the churches and engine houses were tolled until a late hour. The different flagstaffs, and the shipping at the wharves and in the harbor displayed their colors at half-mast. Never did a more general, spontaneous, heartfelt sadness oppress a whole people, or manifest itself in a more touching manner. The news was telegraphed in all directions, and from every part of the State came back responses showing that the whole people felt as deeply as the citizens of San Francisco, the loss they had sustained: But sorrow was not suffered to expend itself in respectful but unsubstantial mourning emblems; and while a great multiture, from five o'clock in the afternoon to a late hour in the night, were slowly and sadly passing through the room in Montgomery Block in which their friend lay cold in death, taking a last look at that face long so familiar upon the streets, but soon to be seen no more on earth; a Committee was appointed by the citizens, consisting of Messrs Macondry, Park and Patterson, to receive subscriptions for the benefit of the widow and six young children of Mr. King, left but slenderly provided for. The object was nobly accomplished, and the sum of thirty thousand dollars placed in trust for them. The claim for the widow and the fatherless having been thus met; a sterner duty was believed to rest upon the citizens of San Francisco. Formal and deliberate trials of the two prisoners in the hands of the Vigilance Committee were held by the Executive Committee as provided by the Constitution; and the evidence introduced and the result arrived at were laid before the Board of Delegates for its concurrence or disapproval. Extraordinary precautions were adopted in and about Head Quarters. The number of men on duty within and outside of the building was largely increased. A full company of horse patrolled Sacramento Street day and night. At a block or two above the Rooms, a company of infantry was drawn up in double rank across the street. Any one wishing to visit the Rooms for any purpose, was required to pass to the centre of the company where two soldiers with crossed muskets barred the way until he had given the password. Everywhere evidence was presented that the measures to be adopted had been thoroughly matured; the means abundantly provided, and that the results would be wrought out with quiet but inflexible determination.
On Thursday, the 22d of May, the day broke in clouds over the City; but by ten o'clock, the clouds had dispersed, and amid sunshine and soft airs the hours stole on. The funeral of Mr. King was appointed to take place at twelve o'clock. Great crowds had poured into the City from all parts of the State, and the streets were black with the masses. Preparations were making by almost every society in the City for attending the funeral; and but for another call upon the citizens, it is probable that full two thirds of the men of San Francisco would have taken part in the procession, or looked on from the sidewalks. No such demonstration of profound mourning was ever before witnessed in California. The services in the church were most solemn and affecting. The funeral procession was more than a mile in length, and the number of persons in it was estimated at more than six thousand. Slowly it passed through the City and made its way to Lone Mountain Cemetery where with Masonic services, and in presence of the great multitude, standing uncovered and affected to tears, the remains of the just and good man, the martyr to truth and duty were deposited.
But large as was the assembly thus occupied in the upper part of the City in rendering the last tribute of respect to the loved and lost; a still larger number had collected in the neighborhood of the Committee Rooms in the lower part to witness a solemn act of retribution. They swarmed upon the housetops, filled windows, and such, portion of the streets as was open to them, and from which they could obtain a view of the proceedings, and waited in anxious expectation the infliction of the penalty of their crimes upon the two assassins in the hands of the Committee. From an early hour in the morning, movements in and around the Rooms had plainly indicated the purpose for which they were made. Riflemen were stationed on the roofs of the Committee building and those adjoining. A detachment was sent out, which cleared and thoroughly searched a building opposite. Cannon were placed at points to command and sweep the streets in the vicinity. Cavalry patrolled in all directions, and large bodies of infantry were gradually placed in position, and formed an immense square enclosing the entire block, and allowing no new approach to the Rooms. Ominous preparations were also making in the building by projecting from two of the second story windows in front, platforms with, hinges just beyond the window sills, supported by ropes running to the roof of the building.
At a quarter past one, as the funeral procession was leaving the church on Stockton Street the two offenders against the law of God and man were placed upon the scaffolds, and, after a few words from Casey, denying repeatedly that he was a murderer, as charged by the Alta California and other papers, on the ground that he had been taught always to revenge an insult or injury, a signal was given and the unhappy men instantly passed to their account. The whole body of the military, and many of the other spectators stood uncovered and in profound silence and awe, while this stern and solemn People's tragedy was enacting. Late in the afternoon the entire force of armed citizens was drawn up in line on Sacramento Street presenting a most imposing array; were reviewed by the Commander, and then marched by companies to the Rooms, deposited their arms, and, with the exception of guards detailed for further duty, amounting to some three hundred men, were dismissed.