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Boler of the United Stoles, Protector of Melico
Defender ·01 the Foilh
•
By PAUL LADY
8
COIN
MACHINE
11.EVIEW
From the hectic, exc1tmg, colorful years
of early San Francisco, have come many
dramatic stories to amaze and amuse the
readers of today.
None are more interesting, more genuine,
than that of Emperor Norton I-Ruler of
the United States, Protector of Mexico,
Defender of the Faith.
Reigning by his own proclamation, and
for 23 years unquestioned by
his loyal and loving subjects,
Emperor Norton has become a
symbol of a glorious period in
the history of the West. Mad?
Yes, but perhaps with a vision
far greater than many of the
more rational men with whom
he fraternized and "ruled."
Perhaps, there was no basis,
then, for the wild "proclama-
tion" _demanding that a bridge
be bmlt across the Bay of San
Francisco, but, strangely
enough, this slightly demented
individual issued such an order
70 years ago and followed later
with specific plans for the un-
dertaking.
"Emperor" Norton was a
notable character in San Fran-
cisco from 1849 to 1880. Arriv-
ing in the most thriving port of
the Pacific, shortly after gold
had been discovered in Califor-
nia, Norton was quickly caught
in the whirlpool of a money-
mad West. Joshua A. Norton,
as !te was rightly known, was a
native of England, of Jewish parentage, and
had been reared on the wild west coast of
Africa.
'
He knew frontier life and he thrived on
it. He had made a small fortune of some
$40,000 in Africa. It could undoubtedly be
doubled many times in a land where "gold
could be picked up in buckets." Norton
thought so and he set out to prove it.
Joshua was still young, but he was
shrewd, and he knew where in the rough
frontier life, he could fit b~st. He estab-
lished an office on Montgomery Street and
soon developed a thriving business as a real
estate agent and general broker. In a short
time he owned considerable real estate. By
1853 he was said to be worth more than a
quarter of a _million dollars. His popularity
was unqueslloned and he was a power in
the roaring city of San Francisco. It was at
that time that his friends in admiration
first calle_d hi1!1 "Emperor," as a compli'.
ment to his rulmg genms. It was a title that
he never forgot.
•
Rice brought Norton's downfall. Not
greedy, only a shrewd business man-per-
haps intoxicated with the money-madness
of the times-Norton gambled all he had
on the rice market. Staples were scarce,
the region was swarming with Chinese, and
to control such a commodity meant power
and fortune. After a time he had cornered
most of the rice on the West Coast and it
seemed now but a question of time before
he would be one of the most powerful men
in the country. Then, one day, through the
Golden Gate, sailed two high-masted
The beloved mad Emperor was the man
who first conceived the Bay Bridge . . . and
ordered it built, to promote a royal romance
with Queen Victoria. This extraordinary map
was Emperor Norton's idea of how the
bridge should be routed. Drawing courtesy
of WESTWAYS.
schooners loaded with rice.
In the wake of indebtedness that fol-
lowed, Norton's mind "cracked." The man
who might have ruled the markets of the
West was now suddenly old, broken in for-
tune and spirit, a has-been who could rule
no more.
For four years Norton was forgotten.
There is no record of what he did or where
he went. Then, suddenly, one day in 1857,
he appeared on the streets of San Francisco
dressed in an old blue suit of regimentals.
Gold plated epaulettes decorated his should-
ers, flower and leaf garnished , his coat
lapel. In his hand he carried a carved cane,
fashioned as an entwined serpent. Many
people must have laughed at this "funny
old man" as he strode proudly through the
busy streets of San Francisco. With real
dignity he made his way to the old Bulletin
office, where he demanded the attention of
the editor. To become an Emperor one must,
of course, first declare himself as such.
This Norton I did and, in the Bulletin, for
September 17, 1859, there was printed the
Emperor's first "proclamation."
"At- the peremptory request and de-
sire of a large majority of the citizen~
of these Uni ted States, I, Joshua Nor-
ton, formerly of Algoa
Bay, Cape of Good Hope,
and now for the past nine
years and ten months of
San Francisco, California.
declare and proclaim my-
self Emperor of these Uni-
ted States, and in virtue of
the authority thereby in me
vested, do hereby order and
direct the representatives
of the different States of
the Union to assemble in
Musical Hall, of this City,
on the 1st day of February
next, then and there to
make such alterations in
the existing laws of the
Union as may ameliorate
the evils under which this
country is laboring, and
thereby cause confidence to
exist, both at home and
abroad in our stability and
integrity."
Norton I.
Emperor of the
Uni ted States.
San Francisco - untamed,
laughing, with a heart as big as the West,
accepted Norton I with all the unrestrained
hilarity of which it was capahle. The Em-
peror had been known and liked when he
was rich, powerful and generous; now he
would be loved and cared for, as an eccen-
tric and pathetic figure, by the city which
he had helped to build.
In the years that followed, Emperor Nor-
ton became a part of the life in old San
Francisco. He appeared everywhere, dressed
in his "state" uniform, now topped by an
old beaver hat that had been sent by a
loyal subject in Oregon, and to which he
had added a rosette and bright feathers.
Along hurly-burly Market Street, he
strode with royal dignity. At the ferry
building and along the docks, he could be
seen "inspecting" the movements of the
boats-his imaginary navy, no doubt. Coun-
cil meetings and civic affairs were gather-
ings which he often attended, always to be
welcomed with the proper respect and dig-
nity.
Well behaved, never causing trouble,
and always kind and considerate, the Em-
peror was seldom refused admittance to
public places. He traveled on trains, boats
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