His next duty was to establish the Indian reservations. After extensive exploration in the northern part of California he selected territory in the south at Tejon Pass near modern day Bakersfield. He felt there would be too much chance for conflict with whites if they were to remain in the gold rush north. He named the area Sebastian Indian Reservation. It took half of his allotted $250,000 to buy the animals, farm implements, clothing, etc., that the Indians needed. Commissioner George Manypenny was not happy about the expense. Ultimately Beale was accused of theft of government funds. He was later cleared of the charges but he resigned from the job.
He and his wife returned to the Tejon area to live. He bought a ranch of 48,825 acres, part of which the reservation occupied. Beale's predecessor had so messed up what Beale had started that Beale felt compelled to do as much as he could to help unofficially. Those Indians living on his property were encouraged to stay and work.
They lived in San Francisco for a short time afterward. While there their second child was born on March 6, 1856, a boy named Truxtun. While there they learned of an Indian uprising back home. Beale received a military commission to deal with it. He reached an agreement with them and avoided war. Local commissioner Henley accused Beale of creating the situation but it was actually Henley's doing. In the summer of 1856, Beale was elected sheriff of San Francisco, when a vacancy was created by redistricting of the county. He was defeated in the general election in November. But by then, he had been offered the chairmanship of the state Democratic Committee in Sacramento. He worked tirelessly to secure the presidency for his old friend James Buchanan.
