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THE

GOLDEN STATE:

A HISTORY OF THE REGION

WEST OF THE

ROCKY MOUNTAINS ;

EMBRACING

CALIFOKXIA,

OREGON, NEVADA, UTAH, ARIZONA, IDAHO, WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

BRITISH COLUMBIA, AND ALASKA,

ixmx tU^ (BinHt^i ^am\ to t\xt '$^xmnt Wmc:

CITING A TOLL ACCOUNT OF

THE DISCOVERY OF THE COUNTRY; EARLY TOYAOES OF SPAXTSH, ENGLISH
PORTUGUESE, FRENCH, RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN NAVIGATORS; RULE OF
SPAIN, MEXICO, AND THE UNITED STATES: EARLY SPANISH MISSIONS;
REVOLUTIONS; CONQUEST BY MEXICO AND BY THE UNITED
STATES; INAUGURATION OF AMERICAN CIVILIZATION; DIS-
COVERY OF GOLD; MINING, MINERALS, COMMERCE,
AGRICULTURE, AND MANUFACTURES;

ALSO, A FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE ,

KOrXTAINS, SCEXERY, VALLEYS. FORESTS, FLOATERS, RIVERS. LAKES, ISLANDS, DESERTS.

WATERFALLS, BAYS, HARBORS, SPRINGS. GEYSERS, CLIMATE. SEASO.^S, NATIVES. BIRDS,

FISHES, BEASTS, LANDS, NAVIGATION", ROADS, DITCHES, CANALS, POPULATIOr*,

CUSTOMS, SOCIETY, CHINESE. COURTS, LAWS, EDUCATION, SCHOOLS, RE-

• LIGION, CHURCHES. LITERATURE, EMIGRANTS. CITIES, COUNTIES.

TOWNS, PEGFESSIONS, TKAUES, AMUSEMENTS, BtO.

WITH A HISTORY OF

MORMONISM AND THE MORMOXS.
By E. GUY McCLELLAlSr,

(Sereateen Years a ReBident of the Pacific Coast,) .

AUTHOR OF "REPUBLICANISM IN AMERICA," Etc.,

Illustrated "with Numerous Maps and Engravings.

PUBLISHED BY

WILLIAM FLINT & COMPANY,

PHILADELPHIA, PA., CINCINNATI, OHIO, SPRINGFIELD, MASS.

SOUTHERN PUBLISHING COMPANY, ATLANTA, GA.

A. ROMAN & CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.

THE NEW YORK I

PUBLIC LIBRARY

374102

A«TO«, LENOX K>in
TJLDEN FCJVO^
" 1906 I

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by
R. GUY McCLELLAN,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

Entered, according to Act of the Parliament of Canada, in the year 1872, by

R. GUY McCLELLAN,
In the Office of the Minister of Agriculture,

Entered, according to Act of Parliament, in the year 1872, by

R. GUY McCLELLAN,

At Stationers' Hall, London, England.

Cheeked
Mav -/QwQ

PREFACE.

In presenting to the reader that region of the Republic of America
lying west of the Rocky mountains, a territory bewildering in its
vastness, and fertile, rich, varied, wild, and picturesque beyond
description, reveals its charms; and a history of unbounded fas-
cination, leading its devious courses through the rough seas of the
buccaneer and navigator, over the arid plains and precipitate moun-
tains of the explorer, checkered and interspersed with the pilgrimages
of the holy fathers, the march of conquering bands, the achievements
of invading armies, the rise and fall of nations, the events of dis-
covery and conquest, the revealing of unlimited treasures, the opening
of new avenues of commerce, the building of new societies, the
founding of new states, the advent of new social and religious con-
ditions, the weird enchantments of the phantom king, gold, and
the delusive and fascinating hopes of his devotees is unfolded.

The binding together of the extremes of the nation by bands of
steel, upon which the swift courser with iron hoof and fiery breath
leaps over vast plains and climbs arid heights in his journey from
sea to sea, the broad-winged messenger of commerce teaching the
lesson of exchange and intercourse to the Orient and new republic,
daily tend to awaken interests in our newest but richest half of the
nation, and familiarize the people of every clime with the •Citirivalled
beauty and attractions of that vast domain, passing from the chaos
of bygone ages into the activities of unsurpassed social and com-
mercial life.

So little is known abroad respecting the vastness, fertility, natural
wealth, genial climate, and great development of the Pacific slope,
that I write in the ardent hope of drawing the attention of the public
of America and the adventurous of all lands to a section embracing
raore than one-half of the area of the whole American Republic, and

(15)

^5 THE GOLDEN STATE,

containing more of the precious metals than all the world beside —
a land whose giant mountains in their eternal ermine crowns, looking
from their thrones of clouds, forest trees lifting their arms toward
the sky, and mountain urns tumbling their crystal floods from aerial
heights, present the grandest scenes of terrestrial beauty.

Many books have been written respecting the Pacific coast and
its people ; but, in most cases, they have been the result of the ex-
aggerated and distorted visions of early voyagers, or the superficial
observer, catching brief glimpses of the Sierras in hurried trip from
ocean to ocean, or the wild dreams of some enthusiast fresh from
the snows of the East, plunged into the flower gardens of the Golden
State, and sipping the rich wines of Los Angeles at the festive boards
of kind friends.

In producing a History of the whole Pacific Coasts from the
northern extreme of Alaska to the tropical regions of Mexico, I have
brought to my aid the experience of seventeen years residence and
active participation in the stirring events and business affairs of the
country, and extensive travel and observation in California, Nevada,
Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Washington Territory, and British Columbia,
where, by the camp-fire of the pilgrim gold-hunter, in the dark
chamber of the mine, on the tedious march, and dangerous ascent of
the mountain height, the checkered fortune and uncertain fate, I
have been enabled to present from personal and long experience the
chief events whereof I write.

ILLUSTRATIONS,

Yosemite Falls and Valley, . • .

Map of North America, . . •

Sir Francis Drake in California, in 1579, . •

Spanish Ship of Seventeenth Centun,', ,

The Golden Gate and Bay of San Francisco, in 1769,
Montgomery Street, San Francisco, in 1849,
Mission of San Carlos, in 1770, . . •

Mail Service in the Sierras, . . ,

Sherman, Summit of the Rocky Mountains, .

A Buffalo Hunt on the Plains,
Monterey, California, in 1846, . • •

Mission Rancho, California, in 1770, . •

Mission of Santa Barbara, in 1786, . •

Father Garzes and the Indians in 1775,
James Marshall, Discoverer of Gold in California,
** Honest Miners " going Home,
Gold Mining in California, in 1849,
Interior of "El Dorado" Gambling House, in 1849,
Emigrant Train — Gold Hunters in 1849, •

Chinese, Gold Mining in California, , ,

Miners around their Camp-fire, , • ,

Map of California, . . • •

" Big Trees," Mariposa Grove, • • •

" Big Trees," Calaveras Grove, , ,

Nevada Falls, Yosemite Valley, . • ,

The Pioneer's Cabin, . . , ,

Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevada Mountains, , ,

First Glimpses of the Sierras, , ,

MiiTor Lake, Yosemite Valley, , , ,

Sentinel Rock, Yosemite Valley, . ,

Donner Lake, Sierra Nevada Mountains, •

Tunnel in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, ,

Lakes in Anderson Valley, . . ,

The Golden Gate, Bay of San Francisco,
Mount Tamalpais, from the Bay of San Francisco,

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(17)

IL L US TRA TIONS.

Farallone Islands, ....

Sea Lions, vicinity of the Golden Gate,
Seal Rock and the " Cliff House, "
Near View of the Yosemite Falls, •

Section of Mammoth Tree, . .

A Cotillion Party on the Stumps of Mammoth Tree,
South, or Half Dome, Yosemite Valley,
El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, . •

Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite Valley, . .

Bridal Veil Falls, Yosemite Valley, .

North Dome, and Royal Arches, . •

The Great Geyser of the Fire-Hole Basin,
The Bee-hive, . . . . •

The Giantess Geyser, Yellowstone Region,
Horse Raising in California, . . •

Bull and Bear Fight, . •

Lassoing Horses in California, • •

Rodeo — Cattle Branding, . •

Cape Horn — Sierra Nevada Mountains, •

Summit of the Sierras, . . .

Pleasant Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains,
Interior of Snow-Sheds, Sierra Nevada Mountains,
Giants' Gap, Sierra Nevada Mountains, .

American River, Sierra Nevada Mountains,
Crossing the Plains, ....
Moving on the Plains, . . .

Lincoln School House, San Francisco, •

First School House in San Francisco, •
Custom House in 1849, • •

Post Office in San Francisco, in 1 849, •

Dennison's Exchange in 1849, • •

Island and Cove of Yerba Buena in 1847,
San Francisco in 1849, • • •

First Fourth of July in San Francisco, .
San Francisco Destroyed by Fire, . •

San Francisco from the Bay in 1 847, .

First Hotel in San Francisco, • •

Grand Hotel, San Francisco, . •

First Protestant Church in San Francisco, .
Rush to the Gol^Mines in 1848,
,01i(Jjj|^sionj«urch, San Francisco,
leneral m^ of the Almaden Quicksilver Mines,

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IL L US TRA TIONS.

The Ford of the Yosemite, . •

View of Mount Shasta,

Night Scene on the San Joaquin River,

Night Scene on the Sacramento River,

Sutter's Mill, Place of the First Discovery of Gold

Front Street, Sacramento City, in 18 50,

Hydraulic Mining, California,

Snow-Sheds, Sierra Nevada Mountains,

Map of the Pacific States and Territories,

Falls on the Columbia River, •

View on the Columbia River, •

Deer Hunting in Oregon, .

Catching Salmon, Columbia River Oregon

Mount Hood, Oregon, . .

Scene on the Columbia River, .

Dale Creek Bridge, Rocky Mountains,

Frontier Fort, . . .

Mule Team going into the Silver Mines,

Star Peak, Nevada,

View of Great Salt Lake and Ogdon,

Finger Rock, Weber Canon, Utah, ,

General View of Great Salt Lake City,

Indians Horse-Racing on the Plains, ,

Shooting Mountain Sheep in the Rocky Mountain

Indians Gambling, . . • .

Pulpit Rock, Echo Canon, Utah, . •

Monument Ri>ck, Echo Canon, Utah, , •

Joseph Smith, Founder of Mormonism, ,

Brigham Young, Head of the Mormon Church,

Joseph F. Smith, one of the " Twelve Apostles,"

Mrs. Alice Young Clawson, Brigham Young's Daughter,

George A, Smith, " Church Historian, "

Orson Pratt, one of the "Twelve Apostles,"

Orson Hyde, one of the "Twelve Apostles,"

Brigham Young's Harems,

Street Scene in Salt Lake City,

A Wagon Load of Mormons at Ogdon Canon,

Witches Rocks, Echo Canon,

Starting for the Silver Mines, Utah,

Brigham Young and a portion of his Family,

The Mormon Temple, Salt Lake City,

A Mormon Family. • • •

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ILL USTRA TIONS.

Interview with a Grizzly, . .

Apache Squaw Scalp Dance, Arizona,

Procuring Poison for his Arrows,

Council with Friendly Indians,

Emigrants Fording the Snake River, .

Shoshone Falls, Snake River, Idaho,

Crater of the Great Geysers, Yellowstone Region,

The Fan Geysers, Yellowstone Region,

Bathing Pools, Yellowstone Region,

The Grotto Geyser, Yellowstone Region,

Castle Rock, Columbia River,

Mount Rainier, from Puget Sound,

Indian Encampment, Puget Sound,

Indian Canoe Race on Interior Lake,

Old Fort Walla- Walla, Washington Ten-itory,

Great Canon and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone,

The Devil's Slide, Montana, Yellowstone Region,

Shale and Slate Rock and Tower Falls, Yellowstone,

Great Spring, Fire-Hole Basin, Yellowstone,

Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming Territory,

Elk Hunting, British Columbia, .

Indian, Interior of Alaska, ,

Native of British Columbia, . •

Mud Volcano, Yellowstone Region,

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone,

Map of Alaska and British Columbia,

Sitka, Capital of Alaska, . .

Natives House-building, Alaska, ,

Skin Canoe and Indians, Alaska,

Moose Hunting in the Yukon River, Alaska,

Icebergs as seen off the Northern Coast of Alaska,

Whale Fishing off the Coast of Alaska, .

Aurora Borealis, as seen in Northern Alaska,

Aurora Borealis and Trading Station, Alaska, •

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER I.

Discovery of America — Earliest colonization — Columbus* voy-
ages— Spanish in South and Central America — Cortez in
Mexico — Cabrillo and Drake in California — Behring, Cook,
Vancouver, and other navigators — Jesuits — Acquisition of
California — Discovery of Gold .•, 33

CHAPTER II.

First recorded history — Jesuits — Missions — Cortez' expedi-
tion— Exploration of the Gulf of California — Ulloa's expedi-
tion— Cortez returns to Spain — Cabrillo's expedition — Sir
Francis Drake's expedition : he takes possession of Califor-
nia— New Albion — San Diego and Monterey discovered-^
The Golden Gate not yet discovered — Viscayno's voyage — ,
Father Tierra's expedition : he takes possession of California
in the name of the King of Spain — Conversion of the
heathen — Father Ugarte's expedition — The Jesuits expelled —
Franciscan missions established — Father Serra's expedition —
Dominican friars in California — Voyage of the San Carlos
and San Antonio — Loss of the San Jose 40

CHAPTER III.

Don Portala's expedition — First settlement established — Father
Serra at San Diego — First chapel built — Discovery of the
Bay of San Francisco — Founding of missions — San Carlos
the first vessel that entered the Golden Gate — Native civili-
zation— Spain and the Franciscan fathers — Wealth of the
missions — Independence of Mexico — Government of Cali-
fornia— Manumission of the Indians — Property of the missions

confiscated — Departure of the fathers 49

(21)

2 2 THE GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER IV.

Republican government in Mexico — American flag hoisted at
Monterey — France and England seek to possess Califor-
nia— De Mofra's explorations — Russians in California — •
Revolution : a Yankee in it — Monterey captured by Alva-
rado and Graham — California declared a free State — Vallejo
military chief — Religion established by law — Mexican author-
ity again recognized — Graham and others banished — Com-
modore Jones declares California a part of the United States
in 1842 — Revolution of 1844 — Castro General-in-chief —
Banishment of Governor Micheltorena 58

CHAPTER V.

Early navigators — Voyage of Sir Francis Drake — Voyages of
Sebastian Viscayno and Vistus Behring — Settlement of Sitka
— King George's Sound Company — East India Company —
Thomas Jefferson's interest in the Pacific coast — Expedi-
tion of John Ledyard : he is arrested by order of the
Empress of Russia — Voyage of Vancouver — The King of
Spain forbids Captain Cook to enter California — First Amer-
ican vessels on the Pacific coast — Captain Gray discovers the
Columbia river — First American vessel enters the Bay of San
Francisco — John Brown and Thomas Raben first Americans
in California — Trade to the Columbia river — Count Rosa-
noff in California — Delia Byrd enters San Diego — Russians
evacuate California at the request of the United States —
Expedition of Lewis and Clark — First settlement in Oregon
— John Jacob Astor founds Astoria — Fur trade of Oregon — •
The British take possession of Oregon — Its restoration to
the United States — Astor's fur trade in the Rocky moun-
tains— First overland journey to California — Arrest of Jede-
diah Smith — Letter from American seamen in 1826 — Letter
from Smith to one of the fathers — Death of J. S. Smith
— Battle's expedition — Asiatic emigration encouraged — First
settlers in California — First mercantile house in California —
Commodore Wilkes' expedition to the Pacific — Discovery of
a wrecked Japanese junk — Fremont's explorations — Sutter's
hospitality — End of Fremont's second exploration 64

CONTENTS. 2 x

CHAPTER VI.

Pico and Castro in command of California — Decline of the
missions — Early trade — English, French, and American
consuls in California — Indolence of the people — Fremont's
third exploration : his trials and triumphs in California —
Castro and Fremont — Fremont raises the American flag —
Lieutenant Gillespie carries letters to Fremont — Kit Carson
saves Fremont — Sonoma captured — W. B. Ide declares a
republican government and hoists the "Bear Flag" — Fre-
mont elected Governor — Commodore Sloat captures Mon-
terey— British projects frustrated — Sloat's proclamation —
The American flag hoisted in San Francisco — Commodore
Stockton at Monterey — Dupont and General Kearney at
Monterey — Arrival of Stevenson's regiment — Uneasiness of
the native Californians — Interesting speeches — Proposition to
place California under the protection of England or France —
General Vallejo favors annexation to the United States Zd

CHAPTER VII.

Feud bet\veen Sloat and Fremont — Commodore Stockton in
command : his proclamation — Departure of Sloat — Castro,
Pico, and Flores oppose the Americans — Stockton warns
Castro of his peril — Flores' proclamation to his countrymen
— Final surrender of the Mexicans — Treaty of peace con-
cluded— Strife between Commodore Stockton and General
Kearney — Fremont appointed Military Governor — Stockton
takes his departure — Fremont ousted — General Kearney and
Commodore Shubrick in command — Colonel Mason super-
sedes General Kearney — General Kearney proceeds to Wash-
ington— His ill-treatment of Fremont — Fremont arrested and
carried to Fortress Monroe — Court-martialled — Discharged
from arrest by order of the President — Nominated for the
Presidency loi

CHAPTER VIII.

Colonel Mason and General Riley in command of the govern-
ment of California — End of the Mexican war — Acquisition
of Texas and New Mexico — Treaty between the United States

24 THE GOLDEN STATE.

and Mexico — Boundary established — Convention to frame a
State Constitution meets at Monterey — California admitted
into the Union — Treaty between England and the United
States defining western boundary — Claims of Portugal to
California — Claims of Spain — Pope Alexander VI settles the
dispute — Treaty between Spain and Portugal — A bull from
the Pope — Chain of title to California — Speech of Hon.
Thomas H. Benton on the boundary question — Treaty stipu-
lations— Rulers under Spanish, Mexican, and United States
governments in California — English, French, and American
consuls in California no

CHAPTER IX.

California under American rule — Population in 1842 and 1845
— Arrival of Mormons at San Francisco — Population in
1848 — In 1870 — Composition of population of San Francisco
in 1842 — Establishment of Mission Dolores — First house built
in San Francisco — First child born — Hudson Bay Company
at San Francisco — First newspaper in California — First school
— First Protestant minister — First Protestant church — First
steamboat — Discovery of gold — Sutter and Marshall — First
mining — Rush to the mines — Official notice of the gold
discovery — Early gold-seekers — Advent of the Chinese 116

CHAPTER X.

Population of California in 1849 — Rush to the mines — Gold
yield of 1848 — Population and scenes of San Francisco in
1849 — Ships for California — Overland emigration — Across
the Isthmus — Arrival of first steamer — Commerce in 1849 —
Occupations of the people — Gray-shirt brigade — Ships at a
discount — Up the Sacramento river — Early disappointments
— Gambling — Gold product — Gold excitements — Honesty
of the ''forty-niners" — Lynch law — Prices in the mines —
Cultivation of the soil — Cattle — Eggs — Fruit — All ''going
home in the spring" — Indians in the mines — Yankee specu-
lators— Suffering and disappointments in the mines — Miners
going home , 1 24

CONTENTS, 25

CHAPTER XL

Growing importance of San Francisco — Crime and dis'^ipation
— First Vigilance Committee — Law and order — Building a
city — Destroyed by fire — Rebuilt — Wild speculation —
Strange occupations — Fortune and misfortune — First house
built at Sacramento — Population of — Prosperity in business
and speculation — Price of land in San Francisco — Rents in
San Francisco — Prices of merchandise — Amusements — Board
— Labor — Cost of building — Streets paved with merchandise
— Gold-hunters still arriving — Largest product of gold-
Suicide and death — Only a mining country — Import of
breadstuffs — Interior steam-navigation — First river-steamer —
Fares on the rivers 133

CHAPTER XIL

Early agriculture — No vegetables — Gardening in the mines —
Advent of farmers — Ignorance of seasons and crops — Increase
of agriculture — Lumber — Fishing — Manufacturing — Coal — •
Fruits — Vegetables — Permanent settlement in California —
Varied industry — Happy homes — Legitimate occupations — •
Gold-hunters' graves — Overland emigration — Suffering of the
** Donner party * ' — Settlers to the rescue 1 40

CHAPTER XIIL

•

California — Origin of the name — Griffins in the land — Hot
ovens of the natives — Area of the State — Agricultural, min-
eral, grazing, and marsh lands — Area equal to one hundred
and forty-five States the size of Rhode Island — Compared
with states and countries of Europe — Equal to thirty-eight
governments of Europe — Capable of supporting a population
of eighty-three million — Great productiveness of the soil —
Genial climate — Great natural resources — Commercial im-
portance—Mountains— Valleys — Rivers — Climate — Seasons
— Harvests — Forests — Mineral range — Beauties and wonders
of the Sierras • • • 147

2 6 THE C OLDEN ST. I TE,

CHAPTER XIV. ,

Mountains — Sierra Nevadas — Winter, spring, Jind summer in
the Sierras — Snows of the mountains — Farming, lumbering,
and grazing in the Sierras — Forests — Big trees — Shrubs —
Plants — Flowers — Grasses — Poison oak 159

CHAPTER XV.

Valleys — Trees, vegetables, fruits, flowers, grain, and grasses — •
Lakes — ^Alkaline and borax lakes — Dry lakes — Death valley. 1 70

CHAPTER XVI.

Rivers — Bays — Harbors — Bay of San Francisco — Puget sound
— Fort Point — Straits — San Quentin — Islands — Seal Rock —
Cliff House — Sea-lions — Golden Gate: origin of the name. 181

CHAPTER XVII.

Islands off the coast — Farallones — Islands in bays and rivers — •
First mint in California — Indian tribes — Shell money-
Springs — Petroleum — Mud springs — Calistoga springs — Sul-
phur springs — Soda springs — Tar springs — Asphaltum —
Geysers 202

CHAPTER XVIII.

Waterfalls — Yosemite falls — Creeks — Rivers — Mirror lake —
Bridal Vail — Earthquakes 214

CHAPTER XIX.

Zoology — Relics of antiquity — Animals — Birds — Fishes — Bull
and bear fights — Reptiles — Bees — Horned toad — Whales.... 236

CONTENTS. ^

CHAPTER XX.

ITie precious metals — First mention of gold — Gold in Eden —
Gods of the heathen — Aaron's golden calf — Ornaments of
Jerusalem — Gold of the Romans — First gold in America^
Gold in South America and Mexico — Gold in Asia and
Europe — Gold-mining in the United States — Discovery of
gold in California — Sir Francis Drake's voyage — Expedition
of Commodore Wilkes to California — Product of gold^
Mining operations — Quartz and quartz-mining — Rich mines
— Quartz mills — Discovery of gold in Australia : yield of the
precious metals in — On the Pacific coast — Mineral wealth of
Great Britain — Progress of mining in Australia — Chinese
in the gold-fields — Precious metal in the world , 248

CHAPTER XXI.

Tunnel-mining — Sutro tunnel — Canals — Ditches — Asphaltum
— Cement — Coal — Copper — Cobalt — Nickle — Diamonds —
Electro-silicon — Gypsum — Iron — Lead — Petroleum — Quick-
silver— Salt — Sulphur — Tin — Marble — Granite — Caves — -
Mining laws — Mining laws of Spain and Mexico — Geology
and mineralogy — Great mines of the world , 271

CHAPTER XXII.

Climate — Seasons — Heat and cold — Winter in the Sierras —
Trade-winds — Animal vitality — Summer in the Sierras and
valleys — Rain-fall compared with other parts of the world — •
Flowers of the valleys — Spring-time — Wheat-fields — Agricul-
ture— Harvesting — Planting and sowing — Volunteer crops —
Straw-burning — Storms and hurricanes — Sand-storms 292

CHAPTER XXIII.

Agriculture — Manufactures — Commerce — First agriculture in
America — Increase of agriculture in California — Decline of
mining — Decay of mining towns — Area of California — Agri-
cultural lands — Spanish grants — Vast estates — How to obtain

28 THE GOLDEN STATE.

public lands — School lands — Who may secure the public
lands — Grain, fruit, and vegetable growing — Yield of grain
per acre — Harvesting — Wild oats — Wild mustard — Hops
— Potatoes — Tobacco — Large vegetable growths — Straw-
berries— Tropical fruits — Oranges, figs, and nuts — The grape
• — Fertility of the Sierras — Tea culture — Beet sugar — Cotton
and rice — Silk culture 309

CHAPTER XXIV.

Sheep and wool — Horses — Cattle raising and branding — Rodeos
— Native horsemanship — Lassoing grizzly bears — Poultry and
bees 342

CHAPTER XXV.

Natural advantages — Regularity of climate — Perpetual summer
— Advantages for manufacturing — Interest on money — Manu-
factories— Railroads first in California — Great overland rail-
road : building and completion of — Government aid in bonds
and lands to railroads — ''The last tie" — Rejoicings at the
completion of the great national highway — Ocean, bay, and
river navigation — Ship-building — Telegraphs, postage, and
post-ofiices — United States branch mint — Circulating me-
dium— Mints on the Pacific coast — Navy-yard — Commerce —
Exports of gold and merchandise — Agricultural and mechani-
cal products — Decline in gold-mining — Shipping of San
Francisco — Imports and exports — Effects of the overland
railroad 355

CHAPTER XXVI.

Eddcation — Free schools — Schools in San Francisco — Cost of
School Department — Chinese schools — Indian slaves — Na-
tional education — Agricultural colleges — State university —
Agricultural societies — Reform, deaf, dumb, and blind
schools — Newspapers — Books — Libraries — Literature — Pro-
tective and benevolent societies — Religion — Prisons and
crimes — Asylums — Governors of California — Laws — Lawyers
—Doctors — Divines 38 J

CONTENTS. 20

CHAPTER XXVII.

Chinese empire — Chinese in the United States — Seeking gold
in America — In California — Employments, character, and
customs of the Chinese-^Chinese in San Francisco — Moral
depravity — Chinese persecuted — Social and political condi-
tion of the Chinese — Buddha, Confucius, and Mencius —
Religion of the Orient — Chinese classics — Opium and other
stimulants — Small feet of the women — Christianity among
the Chinese — Coolyism — Chinese slavery in America —
Spanish barbarity 420

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Counties — Coast counties — Area — Productions — Population
— San Diego — Los Angeles — Santa Barbara — San Luis Obispo
— Monterey — Santa Cruz — San Mateo — San Francisco : com-
position of the city, its population, education, buildings,
trades, professions, newspapers, nationalities, society — Marin
— Sonoma — Mendocino — Humboldt — Klamath — Del Norte. 443

CHAPTER XXIX.

Interior and valley counties — Resources, climate, and popula-
tion— Siskiyou — Trinity — Shasta — Tehama — Butte — Colusa
— Yuba — Sutter — Yolo — Lake — Napa — Solano — Sacramento
— Contra Costa — Alameda — San Joaquin — Stanislaus — Santa
Clara — Merced — Fresno — Tulare — Kern — San Bernardino. . 474

CHAPTER XXX.

Mountain counties — Area, resources, climate, and population —
Inyo — Mono — Mariposa — Tuolumne — Calaveras — Amador
— Alpine — El Dorado — Placer — Nevada — Sierra — Plumas —
Lassen • ••••• • 504

30 THE COLLrEN STATE.

CHAPTER XXXI.

Pacific coast — Oregon — Nevada — Utah — Arizona — Tdaho-^
Washington Territory — British Columbia and Alaska 523

OREGON.

History— Geography — Climate — Season.^ — Forests — Minerals-
Mining — Agriculture— Rivers — Mountains — Resources — Pro-
gress— Area — Population — Cities — Society.. ••• ••••• 526

CHAPTER XXXIL
NEVADA.
Acquisition of — Area — Population — Geography — Mountains-
Valleys — Lakes — Rivers — Forests — Soil — Seasons — Climate
— Mines — Mining — Minerals — Counties — Cities — Progress
• — Schools — Newspapers — Libraries — Future prospects 541

CHAPTER XXXIIL

UTAH.

Area — Acquisition — Climate — Seasons — Mines — Mining — •
Minerals — Mountains — Lakes — Rivers — ^Agriculture — Edu-
cation— Material development — Mormons — Society — Popu-
lation— Great Salt lake and Salt Lake City — Overland rail-
road— Discovery and history of Salt lake , 549

CHAPTER XXXIV.
MOR MONISM AND THE MORMONS.

Population and religions of the world — Christianity — Moham-
medanism— Buddhism — Judaism — Mormonism : its rise,
progress, history, and practices — Joseph the prophet and his
followers — The golden plates from the hill Cumorah — Christ
in America — Mormon and Moroni — John the Baj^tist ordains
Joseph Smith — Smith's birth, early history, life, adventures,
and death — Polygamy — Brigham Young : his birth, history,
and career — Desertion of Nauvoo — Mormons march west-
ward— Settle at Salt lake — Their city, religion, society, and
practices — Despotism in Utah — Mormon godhead 563

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXXV.
ARIZONA TERRITORY.
Area and population — Climate — Soil — Mountains — Rivers-
Forests — Mines — Mining — Minerals — Settlement — Civiliza-
tion— Railroads — Indians 600

CHAPTER XXXVI.

IDAHO TERRITORY.

Area — Geography — Mountains — Rivers — Forests — Lakes — •
Scenery — Waterfalls — Valleys — Agriculture — Climate — In-
dians— Gold and silver mines — Material progress — Railroads
—Cities and towns — Population • 60 7

CHAPTER XXXVII.

WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

History, area, and population — Boundary — Geography — Moun-
tains — Lakes — Rivers — Bays — Harbors — Seasons — Climate
— Agriculture — Grazing — Forests — Lumber — Commerce —
Fish — Game — Natives — Gold, silver, coal, and other mines
— Progress — Railroads , ..••••......• 613

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Ger)graphy — History — Hudson Bay Company — Area — Islands
— Mountains — Rivers — Lakes — Forests — Climate — Agricul-
ture— Valleys — Seasons — Rain — Bays — Harbors — Inlets —
Natural resources — Gold and other minerals — Cities — Customs
—Population — Natives — Commerce — Canadian railway 632

CHAPTER XXXIX.

ALASKA.

History — Geography — Area — Mountains — Forests — Rivers-
Seas — Bays — Harbors — Islands — Climate — Seasons — Mines
— Natives — Fish — Animals — Fur-seals — Commerce — Popu-
lation— Towns — Progress — Religion — Future prospects 644

32 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XL.
APPENDIX.

Population of the United States: native, foreign, colored, and
Chinese — Population of the Pacific coast : native, foreign,
and Chinese — Population by counties of California, Oregon,
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Washington Territory : also,

. aggregate of Alaska and British Columbia — Chinese in the
United States and on the Pacific coast — Distances from San
Francisco to various points inland and to various ports and
countries and cities of the United States — Population of
cities. .••••• • • f • • • • 653

4if

r^o '

Q
!3EI

THE GOLDEN STATE

CHAPTER I.

Discovery of America — Earliest Colonization — Columbus' Voyages
— Spanish in South and Central America — Cortez in Mexico
— Cabrillo and Drake in California — Behring, Cook, Vancouver,
and other navigators — Jesuits — Acquisition of California — Dis-
covery of Gold.

The growth of civilization and colonization in what
is termed the New World presents many striking feat-
ures of interest ; and the tedious march of progress In
the early history of the country contrasts forcibly with
the rapid strides of popular institutions, education, and
the advancement of the present period.

Modern colonization In America, as it marches west-
ward, subduing prairie and forest, spanning rivers and
piercing mountains, establishing governments, found-
ing states and cherishing civilization, is in hopeful con-
trast with the decay of many of the countries and
governments of Europe, where a stagnation of ideas,
stereotyped monotony, and general apathy of the peo-
ple mark the decline of many of these countries, whose
haughty rulers reigned in splendor centuries before
America was known.

Colonization and civilization in America advanced
with singular irregularity ; often contending with most
formidable natural obstacles, while vast regions, most
inviting and possessing great natural attractions, were

3 {33)

34 THE GOLDEN STATE.

entirely neglected or unknown. Thus, while the seeds
of our social and national existence were belngf sown
in the east, the vast territory of California, with its rich
soil, genial climate, and balmy atmosphere, lay wrapped
in primitive solitude.

The first settlement and attempt at civilization on
the western continent was made in Mexico, by the races
of men wliose origin is still a mystery. The Taltecs,
who, in the year A. D. 700, first settled in this country,
maintained a semi-civilization in Mexico for four centu-
ries; from w4iich period, for four additional centuries,
(until 1521,) the Aztecs, and other tribes from the
north, maintained a form of government, founded the
city of Mexico, and erected the splendid temples and
palaces from which the ambitious Spaniard, Cortez, in
1 521, drove Montezuma and put an end to Aztec rule
in Mexico.

Iceland, whose eternal glaciers stand sheer and cold,
was the next part of America discovered, (if this
dependency of Denmark can be called a part of
America.) This event dates from the year 860, when
the Norwegian pirate, Naddodr, was wrecked upon its
shores. In 874 a colony of Naddodr's countrymen
seeking refuge from the tyranny of Harfager, founded
a colony and established a republican government in
these Inliospltable regions ; and with the introduction
of Christianity In the year 1000, and the art of writing
in 1057, the foundation of modern civilization was laid
in the western world.

Greenland, discovered and setded about the same
time as Iceland, had entered upon a career of civiliza-
tion, and little doubt exists but that the Northmen, in
making their voyages from Norway to Iceland and

DISCOVERY OF THE PACIFIC. 35

Greenland, had frequendy touched along die coast of
New England ; but these early northern colonies, after
exisdng for four centuries, passed away, and, from 1404
until 1576, had almost gone from the memory of man
and had to be rediscovered in 1721.

America still slumbered until 1492, when Columbus
brought the new world into the family of nations. The
newly discovered continent awaited a name, which the
voyage of the ambitious Amerigo Vespucci, in 1499,
furnished, he giving it his own Christian name.

Cabot, at New^foundland, in 1497, and Columbus'
voyages, were drawing attention to the Atlantic side of
the continent. Alvarez de Cabral had made known
his discovery of Brazil in 1501, but the waters of the
great ocean w^est of America had not yet been seen by
European eye ; this was reserved for the Spanish
adventurer, Balboa, who, in 1513, after making a jour-
ney into the interior of Darien, (Colombia,) was led to
a high mountain by the natives, from a peak of which
he first beheld the waters of the Pacific ocean. Clad
in an armor of mail, with the royal flag of Spain, upon
which was emblazoned Mary and the infant Jesus in
her arms, and the crown of his sovereign, he waded
deep into the water and exclaimed to his soldiers and
followers, " Spectator's of both hemisphei^es, I call you to
witness that I take possessioji of this part of the tmiverse
for the crown of Castile, My swo7^d shall defend what
my arm hath giveii to it^

Simultaneously with the entr}^ of Cortez into Mexico
in 1 519, the Portuguese navigator, Magellan, then in
the employ of the Spanish government, effected an
entrance into the Pacific ocean through the straits now
bearing his name. To this gallant navigator (slain at

-2 6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

the Phlllpp.Ines, In 1520) are we Indebted for the
appropriate name of this vast ocean — Pacific.

Other navigators and explorers came. Cortez, hav-
ing conquered Mexico, pushed westward to the Gulf of
California in i 534, and, from that period up to 1540,
the date of his final departure to Spain, had made
several expeditions in the vicinity of Lower California.
In 1535, Pizarro was asserting Spanish domination in
Peru. The year 1542 found Cabrillo exploring the
coast of California as far north as Cape Mendocino.
Francis Drake, in 1579, was buffeting the north winds
of the Pacific, and erecting the- flag of monarchical
England upon the shores of California ; and 1 602 found
the Spanish navigator, Viscayno, exploring the lower
coast of California and seeking shelter in the harbors
of San Diego and Monterey. The first colonization
of what is now the Republic of America was effected
In Virginia, In 1607; and 1620 witnessed the Pilgrims
landing on the shores of New Enoland.

Lemaire and Schouten, the Dutch navigators. In
1 61 5, had discovered Cape Horn. The Danish navi-
gator, Behring, in the service of Russia, had, in 1727,
discovered the passage between the continents of
Europe and America, giving It his own name, and
traversed the lonely shores of Alaska. The year 1764
found the English explorers, Willis and Carteret, navi-
o-atlne the North Pacific and establlshinor Eno^llsh do-
minion on the Pacific side of British Columbia. The
famous Captain Cook had made his first voyage to the
Pacific in 1768. The cross of the Jesuit fathers was
first carried into California and planted at San Diego
in 1769. The English navigator, Vancouver, in 1770,
was exploring the Straits of Fuca and the island now

JESUITS OCCUPY CALIFORNIA. 2,7

called after its discoverer. Kenguelen, the French
navigator, in 1772, was sailing in the waters of the
North Pacific.

During all these eventful years, while, from Iceland
to Patao-onia and distant Alaska, America was beinof
explored and settled, up to July, 1769, when Governor
Portala first beheld the Bay of San Francisco, the vast
region of California, its genial climate, rich soil, tower-
ing mountains, and mineral wealth, were all unknown
to civilized man. No furrow had been turned in all
her broad, rich valleys ; no hand had touched her
golden treasures; no keel had ruffled her placid waters;
and, although her mighty Golden Gate had stood ajar
since creation's dawn, the mystic seal that secluded her
charms was still unbroken save bv the wild birds, whose
fleet course carried them uninterrupted through that
portal destined to become one of the world's greatest
commercial marts.

Man — civilized, educated man — had not yet asserted
his dominion over this vast field ; and, within all this
broad land, a solitude, quiet, calm, and placid, through
all the long m^onths and years, reigned supreme, broken
only by the whoop of the savage as he danced to his
lengthening shadow beneath the tall pine tree.

From 1769 to 1846, Jesuits, Franciscan friars, Span-
ish and Mexican adventurers, amidst local revolutions
and turbulent factions, had ruled and occupied Cali-
fornia without effecting a permanent civilization or in-
dustry. Lingering shadows of Spanish superstition,
crumbling walls of ancient missions, neglected graves,
fragments of church bells that once, from the branches of
sturdy oaks, called the red man to the foot of the cross,
silently proclaimed the departure of a once semi-re-

S THE GOLDEN STATE.

ligious condition. Roving brigands, subsisting upon the
semi-barbarous inhabitants, and revohitionary outbursts
from whose leaders issued sX2^x\X\x\^pronu7icia7nentos, ex-
hibited the lack of executive authority in the country,
and the rapid decline of the last vestige of religious,
social, and national power in the land. To redeem this
degenerate people, found a new civilization, nationality,
and freedom, required the quickening impulses of a
social and national existence founded upon broader
and more progressive principles than any yet known
in the land.

At this critical period, when jealous monarchs of
Europe were turning their eyes toward the chaos of
California and contemplating a new held for American
imperialism, the flag of the American Republic was
hoisted over the Mexican territorial capitol at Monte-
rey, and California entered upon a new era of advance-
ment. But it required the opening of the treasure
vaults of the Sierras and the loosenino- of the crolden
sands of the Yuba to set in motion the lono- lines of
pilgrims across vast deserts and over the precipitous
mountains, and to spread the sails of vast fleets seeking
a channel through the Golden Gate. It required the cry
of Gold ! to break the links of the family circle and leave
in a wreck behind the household gfods, as man souo-ht in
the unfrequented ravines and gulches of the Sierras
the treasures of the new EI Dorado. The voice came
stern and potent, reaching the dwellings of civilized
men in every corner of the globe ; it echoed in the ears
of the shrewd Yankee, muscular Celt, vivacious Gaul,
bearded Turk, stalwart Polander, grim Russian, and
polite Castilian. It was heard by the turbaned Moslem
in his harem, the wandering Arab on his pilgrimage to

DISCOVERY OF GOLD. 39

Mecca, the dreamy sons of the Flowery Kingdom as
they wandered by the waters of the Yang-tse-kia7ig^ or
bent before Tien-tan to do homage to their prophet.
The syren song of the enchantress was caught up by
every kindred of men, who joined in the cosmopolitan
throng to seek, by unknown channels, the shores of a
land whose sands of gold and hidden mountain treas-
ures, for the first time in the history of nations, had
broken the seal of Oriental exclusiveness and brought
into companionship, in voyages by sea and journeys by
land, in intercourse of business and trade, the strange
families of men whose complexions, costumes, and
tongues startled and confounded each other,

40 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER II.

First recorded history — Jesuits — Missions — Cortez* expedition-
Exploration of the Gulf of California — Ulloa's expedition —
Cortez returns to Spain — Cabrillo's expedition — Sir Francis
Drake's expedition: he takes possession of California — New
Albion — San Diego and Monterey discovered — The Golden Gate
not yet discovered — Viscayno's voyage — Father Tierra's expedi-
tion : he takes possession of California in the name of the King
of Spain — Conversion of the heathen — Father Ugarte's expedi-
tion— The Jesuits expelled — Franciscan missions established — ■
Father Serra's expedition — Dominican friars in California — Voy-
age of the San Carlos and San Antonio — Loss of the San Jose.

The first authentic account of California that we
possess is derived from the records and writings of
the early Spanish navigators. These, after having ex-
plored and settled the greater part of South and Cen-
tral America, turned their attention to the exploration
of the coast of Lower and Upper California ; until,
however, the acquisition of the country by the Ameri-
can government, in 1846, no permanent settlement had
been made nor development of the country effected,
with the exception of a few scattered missions estab-
lished by the Jesuit priests for the conversion of the
native population.

For more than three-quarters of a century previous
to this period, frequent voyages had been made and
expeditions fitted out by zealous Spanish adventurers,
for the purpose of discovering the fabled treasures of
California, which seemed not to be confined to silver
and gold, but also to diamonds and other precious
stones. Each expedition, however, failed either to dis-
cover the golden treasures of her mountains, or bring
to light the splendid harbor of San Francisco.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE AT DRAKES' BAY CALIFORNIA, IN 1 5 79.

SPANISH SHIP OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY, OFF THE COAST

OF CALIFORNIA.

Lbtiil*'***^''

THE GOLDEN GATE AND BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO, 1 769.
(City of San Francisco built where the Deer are.^

MONTGOMERY STREET, SAN FRANCISCO, 1 849.

EXPLORATIONS OF COklhZ. 4 1

Cortez, who, in 1521, completed the conquest of
Mexico, turned his attention to the exploration of the
coast of California. This he did under most unfavorable
circumstances : he was compelled to build his vessels
of raw material taken from the forest, and, without
chart or guide, to explore a coast whose waters had
hitherto been undisturbed by the navigator's keel. His
explorations were confined chiefly to the west coast of
Mexico and the Gulf of California. After many ship-
wrecks and mutinies of the crews, which rendered his
explorations abortive, the pilot, Xlmlnes, who had him-
self been a mutineer, landed, in 1534, on the east side
of the peninsula of Lower California ; after having sur-
veyed the coast, he returned with encouraging accounts
of the land he had discovered.

Later In the same year, Cortez In person, wdth four
vessels, left Tehuantepec to explore further northward.
He reached Lower California and explored a portion
of It, his object being to found a Spanish colony; but
so great were the sufferings of his party, and so hostile
the Indians, that he soon returned to Mexico, leaving
his object unaccomplished.

Still hopeful, however, of m.aking rich discoveries
toward the north, Cortez, in 1537, fitted out another
expedition of three vessels under the command of
Francisco de Ulloa. This officer, after exploring the
Gulf of California, steered westward round the Cape of
Lower California, and proceeded north to the twenty-
ninth degree of latitude. At the end of a year's cruise
he returned to Mexico with reports of a wretched, bar-
ren, and Inhospitable region, much to the chagrin of
Cortez, whose dreams of spice islands and of great
mineral wealth now began to fade away. Three years

42 THE GOLDEN STATE.

later Cortez returned to Spain, having bade adieu to
the American continent forever.

In the year 1542, Juan Rodrlguiz Cabrlllo, by birth a
Portuguese, but at this period In the service of Spain,
by directions of Mendoza, Viceroy of Mexico, sailed
from the western coast of Mexico, on June 27, on a
voyage of discovery and exploration. He kept his
course westward along the coast of California to Cape
Mendoza, (called after the viceroy ; now Cape Men-
docino,) and returned In the following April to Nati-
vldad, the place of departure, without having gained
much knowledo-e of the countrv.

Francis Drake (afterwards Sir Francis Drake) sailed
from England, in his good ship the Golden Hind^ to
make explorations In the Pacific, and, by right of dis-
cover}'^, add to the possessions of his countrymen. He
was not aware that, thirty years before, Cabrillo had
discovered and explored the coast of California. After
preying upon the Spanish galleons in his track, from
Magellan's straits to Panama, and robbing them of
their treasure and precious cargoes, he headed north,
along the California coast. After having proceeded as
far north as the southern line of Oregon, being bufteted
by northern gales, he was driven south, June, 1579, and
sought refuge in an inlet near Point Reyes, a short
distance north of the Golden Gate ; here he remained
thirty-six days. During this time he took possession
of the country in the name of the Queen of England,,
(Elizabeth,) calling it New Albion, and erected a monu-
ment commemorative of his act; upon this was "a
plate nailed upon a fair great post, whereupon was
engraven her majesty's name, the day and year of our
arrival there, with the. free giving up of the province

S/J? FKANCIS DRAKE IN CALIFORXIA. 43

and people Into her majesty's hands, together with her
highness' picture and arms In a piece of five pence of
current EngHsh money, under the plate, where under
was also written the name of our general." Drake
was not aware that the Spaniard had taken possession
of the country In the name of his sovereign, and planted
the cross upon Its shores.

The harbor that Drake entered was for many years
supposed to be the Bay of San Francisco, but the
strono^est evidence seems to Incline aQ-alnst this. The
harbor In which he lay Is In Marin county, a few miles
north of the Golden Gate, and Is still called Drake's
bay; and In some of the old English histories of his
discoveries the region of California Is called " Drake's
land back of Canada," and " New Albion."

After having lain In harbor thIrty-sIx days, Drake set
sail for England. He went by way of the Philippine
Islands and the Cape of Good Hope, thus making a
complete circuit of the globe. He was the first navigator
that ever accomplished such a feat, returning home In
the same vessel In which he commenced the voyage.

Philip the III, King of Spain, anxious to retain the
possession to which he was entitled by discovery, for-
warded from Madrid to the Viceroy of Mexico In 1596
orders to explore and take possession of California
in his name. In accordance with this command, General
Sebastian Viscayno, In 1 602, sailed from Acapulco with
three vessels. He pushed his way against the prevailing
north winds along the west coast of Lower California,
surveying the ocean and coast as opportunity presented
Itself. On November 10, he reached as far north as the
harbor of San Diego ; here he lay at anchor ten days.
Pioceeding still north he reached, on the i6th of Decem-

44 ^-^^ GOLDEN STATE,

ber, 1 602, the Bay of Monterey ; this name he gave it
in honor of the Count de Monterey, Viceroy of Mexico.
Viscayno next entered some small Inlet in the coast a
little north of San Francisco, and one of his vessels is
supposed to have proceeded as far north as the Columbia
river. But the splendid Bay of San Francisco was not
entered by him, but to him, as to all the other Spanish
navigators and Sir Francis Drake, the seal of the Golden
Gate was still unbroken.

After this voyage of Viscayno, he went to Spain in
hope of aid for the further prosecution of his explorations
:n California ; however, although his report of the coun-
try was most flattering, he did not receive the necessar}'
encouragement, and his records, maps, and charts being
lost or destroyed, all about the expedition was forgotten;
and, for more than a century and a half after his depart-
ure, San Diego and Monterey were unvisited. The
whole country seemed to have passed from the recollec-
tion of civilized man ; the red man alone was supreme
in his animal life, huntlnof the deer and maklnor his acorn
and grasshopper pie, his shell mioney and flint-pointed
arrow, encumbered by neither art nor fashion, other than
a few feathers stuck in his hair and a few streaks of
rude paint upon his cheeks and body, and in company
with his squaw, who, minus chignon, high-heeled boots,
and hoop-skirt, wandered in dreamy apathy over the
rugged mountains, amidst the dense forests, through
the beautiful valleys, and aloncr the murrriurlnof streams.

On the 25th of October, 1697, we find Salva Tierra,
with a company of six soldiers and three Indians, pitch-
ing his tent at the Bay of San DIonysio, a little south
of San Bruno, Lower California. Tierra was sent by
the Society of Jesuits on a mission for the spiritual con-

MISS 10. YS ESTABLISHED. 43

quest of California; Into this project the Viceroy of
T^Iexico and the King of Spain entered with much
interest, the latter being anxious to have the permanent
possession of a country of whose riches much had been
said by visitors.

In the powers granted to Tierra was added a com-
mission from the King of Spain, which empowered the
colonists to enlist soldiers at their own expense, and
to appoint officers of justice in the new land ; this, how-
ever, to be without putting the government of Spain to
any expense, or drawing upon it for funds, without the
express orders of the King: further, he was to take
possession of the country and hold it in the name of his
majesty. At Loreto, on the Bay of San Dionysio, Tierra
planted his garrison and erected a little chapel ; before
its door he placed a crucifix, and In the name of the
King of Spain took formal possession of the country
on the 25th of October, 1697.

The Rev. Father Tierra, having established his mis-
sion, began his work of the conversion of the heathen ;
he collected them at his little chapel, where, after having
endeavored to instruct them in the catechism and prayer,
he fed the inner man with small portions of boiled maize.
This was so much appreciated that when, on account of
Its scarcity, the pious fathers began to lessen the supply,
the new converts gathered their tribes from far and
near and conspired for the murder of the whole mis-
sionary band, ten only in number. These, however,
successfully withstood the attack of over five hundred
savages, and drove them in confusion from the mission.
The continued kindness of the fathers, and the fact
that a state of war would deprive them of their new
luxury, soon drew the Indians around the cross; and

46 THE GOLDEN' STATE.

the missionary work continued not only to maintain
its footing but to make its way slowly through the.
peninsula.

In the year 1700, by the arrival of Father Ugarte
from Mexico, a new impetus was added to the labors
of the missionaries. He settled at St. Xavier, Lower
California, with the prayers of Mary of Savoy and
King Philip of Spain, that he might be prospered
in diffusing Catholicism, accompanying him ; but most
likely better still than these, the supplies from Mexico,
furnished by the indefatigable Father Kino, which, with
the increase of cattle and sheep at the missions, brought
some apparent success to the cause of the cross, to
which concurring causes we may also add the habits of
industry inculcated by Father Tierra on the native
population.

All along, from the first discovery of the coast, Cali-
fornia was supposed to be an island, and on the maps
and charts was called Islas Carolinas ; and not until
Father Kino's expedition to the waters of the Colorado
and across the Gulf of California, in 1702, was it deter-
mined that California was not an island^ but a part of
the mainland of the American continent, and that the
Gulf of California ended at the mouth of the waters ot
the Colorado, leaving the land lying west of it a penin-
sula. But it required the expedition of Father Ugarte.
in 1722, to fully settle the question, that the waters ot
the Colorado and the Gulf of California had no outlet
except between the mainland of Mexico and Lower
California. This expedition, made by the reverend
father on board of his rude craft. The Trhmiph of the
Cross, built on the shores of the Gulf of California for
this express purpose, was the fullest and most thorough

EXPULSION OF THE JESUITS. 47

survey of the whole gulf and coast made up to that
period.

Up to 1 745, repeated massacres by the Indians, of
the fathers of the missions, had, at times, almost depopu-
lated the coast. At this time there were only sixteen
small missions, all confined to the barren region of the
peninsula of Lower California; still their beacon lights
and fresh supplies of provisions to the famished and
scurvied crews of the yearly galleon which, on her
voyage from the Philippine islands to Panama, visited
them, was no small part of their usefulness.

All the labors of piety, and efforts to utilize the native
population by teaching habits of industry, were carried
on by the untiring energy and zeal of the Jesuit fathers,
at a large outlay of labor and money, together with
sacrifice of comfort : the money was received by dona-
tions from the friends of the missions in Spain and
Mexico. But all the labors and sacrifices of the early
fathers were doomed to destruction. Kino- Charles of

Spain, jealous of the political influence of the Jesuit
order throughout his dominions, in i ']6^y issued a decree
expelling the whole order from his possessions. This
was speedily executed both in Mexico and California:
the missions, funds, and all were assigned to the Fran-
ciscan monks of Mexico, and the Jesuits themselves
placed under their control, with Father Junipero Serra
as president. Serra, on the ist day of April, 1768,
entered Loreto, the capital of the missions on the penin-
sula, and took formal possession.

Under the leadership of the energetic Father Serra,
new life was infused into the missionary establishments
on the peninsula. But soon another religious Romish
order — that of the Dominican friars — was granted power

48 THE GOLDEN STATE,

by the King of Spain to enter the missionary field at
the missions already established ; sooner, however, than
make a division of the labor with a rival organization,
the Franciscans abandoned the entire field of the penin-
sula of Lower California, and started westward to found
new missions and introduce civilization into Upper
California.

The expedition, under the new order of things, made
ample preparations for a permanent settlement. Com-
panies of soldiers, with muleteers, herds, and flocks, were
to proceed overland from Lower California, whilst two
vessels, equipped and provisioned, were to proceed by
sea as far north at least as San Diego.

About this time a new order was received in Mexico
by the Vicar-general, from the King of Spain, to make
a settlement at San Diego, and possess and hold the
country. On this new enterprise, headed by Father
Junipero Serra, the San Carlos, the first of the two ves^
sels, commanded by Don Vicente Vilal, with sixty-two
persons on board, sailed from Cape St. Lucas, Lower
California, on the 9th of January, 1769, for San Diego.
She was followed, on the 15th of the same month, by
the San Antonio, commanded by Don Juan Perez ; and.
on the 1 6th of June, the San yose sailed from Loreto.
After nearly a four months voyage, the San Carlos, on
the I St day of May, arrived at San Diego; on the nth
day of April following, the San Anto7iio arrived at the
same port, after a most perilous voyage and the loss of
several of the crew by scurvy ; but the ill-fated San
Jose, after leaving Loreto, was never heard of.

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DON PORTALA'S EXPEDITION, 49

CHAPTER III.

Don Portala's expedition — First settlement established — Father
Serra at San Diego — First chapel built — Discovery of the Bay of
San Francisco — Founding o£ missions — San Carlos the first vessel
that entered the Golden Gate — Native civilization — Spain and
the Franciscan fathers — Wealth of the missions — Independence of
Mexico — Government of California — Manumission of the Indians
— Property of the missions confiscated — Departure of the fathers

Don Caspar Portala, Governor of Lower California
In 1769, took command of one division of the overland
expedition. This was intended to proceed from Lower
California, advance northward as far as practicable,
plant the cross, and establish the dominion of his majesty,
the King of Spain. A second division was headed by
Don Fernando Riveray Moncada. Father Crespi was
in this division, which was composed of soldiers, mule-
teers, and Indians. ^ These had with them two hundred
head of cattle, and a number of horses and mules. On
the 24th of March, 1769, they started from Villacata,
Lower California; and, on the 14th day of May following,
arrived at San Diego, where they, on the ist day of
July, 1769, established the first white settlement and
mission in what is now the State of California.

In May, 1769, Governor Portala, with Father Juni-
pero Serra and the second division of the overland
expedition, left Lower California, and, after a journey
of forty-six days, at the head of his expedition, arrived
at San Diego on the ist day of July, 1769. Great
rejoicings and demonstrations ensued ; the vessels dis-
charged their guns, the soldiers their muskets, to cele-
brate the final meeting of the four divisions of this first

THE GOLDEN STATE.

expedition to permanently plant white settlements and
establish civilization In Upper California. In a few days
a mission was founded, a cross planted, a chapel built,
a priest selected to preside, a patron saint named, the
ground blessed and sprinkled with holy water, and
every thing was made ready for the conversion of the
heathen.

On the 14th clay of July, 1769, Governor Portala
started with a new expedition from San Diego to dis-
cover the Bay of Monterey and establish a mission.
Priests, soldiers, muleteers, and Indians — in all, sixty-
five — with provisions and pack-trains, set out on their
northward journey. At Monterey they halted and
planted a cross, but, not satisfied that It was the place
of which they were In search, they proceeded still
northward; and, on the 25th of October, 1769, came
In sight of the sand-hills of the peninsula of San Fran-
cisco, with its beautiful bay stretching north and south
a hundred miles, landlocked upon all sides save at the
narrow entrance of the Golden Gate on the west. This
is one of the finest harbors In the world, being sur-
passed only by that most beautiful sheet of water and
harbor in Washington Territory, Puget sound.

To Governor Gaspar De Portala, then, must be
awarded the honor of the discover}^ of the Bay of San
Francisco and not to Sir Francis Drake : he, as we
know from the best authority, never saw It; neither
can It be assigned to Father Junipero Serra, who, with
other missionaries, remained at San Diego during Port-
ala's journey to San Francisco. Six years elapsed, after
Portala's discover}^, before Serra first beheld the Bay
of San Francisco. This fact is well established by the
v^itlngs of Father Palou, who kept the records of the

BAY OF SAN FRANCISCO DISCOVERED. cj

missions at this period. Nor can the honor of Its dis-
covery be awarded to Friar Juan Crlspi, who accompa-
nied Portala. Portala named the harbor, after the
founder of his monastic order, (Saint Francis,) San
Francisco.

In about six months after Portala's discovery of the
Bay of San Francisco, he and his party returned to San
Diego. A mission was not founded at San Francisco
for more than six years after. Father Portala havingr
returned to Mexico, Father Junipero Serra was com-
missioned president of all the missions in Upper Cal-
ifornia. Under his directions, the missions at San
Francisco w^ere founded by Friars Francisco Palou and
Bonito Cambou on the 9th day of October, 1776.
Father Junipero Serra did not, as some have written,
found the missions at San Francisco. Once only dur-
ing his stay in California did he visit San Francisco ;
the period of his stay was short, extending from the
I St to the loth of October, 1777.

Two years previous to this, in so far as Is positively
known, no keel of a vessel had ever ruffled the waters
of the Golden Gate. This honor was reserved for the
San Carlos, This ship, in June, 1775, entered the
spacious harbor and explored the bay in all directions.
She had been despatched from the lower countr}^ for the
purpose of exploring the Bay of San Francisco, w^hich
had been discovered by land, and also for the purpose
of seeing if it could be entered by the mouth or chan-
nel which Portala declared he had discovered on his
visit in i 769.

The party which had founded the missions at San
Francisco left Monterey (where a mission had been
founded on the 3d of June, 1770) for that purpose

THE GOLDEN STATE,

on the i/th of June, 1776; and, travelling overland,
reached the Bay of San Francisco on the 27th of the
same month, and founded the missions as already
stated.

With increasing supplies of provisions, seeds, cattle,
horses, and sheep, the missionary fathers entered upon
the holy work of the red man's conversion. This was
the sixth mission, up to this period, founded in Cali-
fornia. From this time until the year 1800 — a period
of twenty- four years — the fathers labored with great
zeal and industry, and were able to report eighteen
missions established and 647 savages converted to the
cause of Christianity : how far, is not stated. With a
stock on hand of 7,080 neat cattle, 6,238 sheep, 1,000
horses, and more than 5,000 bushels of grain raised
per annum, matters seemed prosperous.

In the year 1802, the eighteen missions had an aggre-
gate population of 15,562 — 7,945 males and 7,617 fe-
males. This of course included (besides the priests,
soldiers, and Spanish) the Indians attendant at the
churches, and supposed to be civilized. These mis-
sions were at the following places, and founded at the
subjoined dates, and in the order following: San Diego,
July 16, 1769; San Carlos de Monterey, June 3, 1770;
San Antonia de Padua, July 14, 1771 ; San Gabriel,
September 8, 1771 ; San Louis Obispo, September i,
1772 ; San Francisco, October 9, 1776 ; San Juan Capls-
trano, November t, 1776; Santa Clara, January 18,
1777 ; San Buenaventura, March 31, 1782 ; Santa Bar-
bara, December 4, 1786; La Purlsima Concepcion,
December 8, 1787; Santa Cruz, August 28, 1791;
Soledad, October 9, 1791; San Jose, June 11, 1797;
San Juan Bautlsta, June 24, 1797; San Miguel, July

FOUNDING OF JESUIT MISSIONS. 53

25, 1797 ; San Fernando Rey, September 8, 1797 ; San
Louis Rey de Francia, June 13, 1798; San Inez, Sep-
tember 17, 1804; San Rafael, December 14, 1819; and
San Francisco de Solano, August 25, 1823: making in
all twenty-one, up to the year 1823.

For the protection of the missions, military posts or
presidios were established : one at each of the following
places : San Diego, Monterey, Santa Barbara, and San
Francisco. These enclosures were surrounded by
adobe walls, nearly twelve feet In height, with chapel,
officers' quarters, barracks, store-houses, &c. Little
encouragement was given to colonization, and the
priests watched officers and soldiers, none of whom
were allowed to marry without a license from the King
of Spain, which the fathers took good care was not too
often orranted. With the fathers the Indians seemed

to be the great centre of attraction : they were a race
who submitted unreservedly to their spiritual and
temporal domination. They were good blacksmiths,
farmers, tanners, weavers, soap-makers, herders of
flocks, and tillers of the soil; and, under the leadership
of their masters, had raised the missions to positions
of importance, and the fathers themselves to opulence
and power.

Whilst the fathers discouraged by all means the
immigration of white settlers into California, and pro-
hibited those under their control from marrying, they
most anxiously desired to cultivate amicable and even
conjugal relations between the Spaniards and Indians.
As evidence of this we find that the first grant of land
made in California was to Manuel Burton, a Spanish
soldier, on November 27, 1775, for leading to the altar
as his wife a native convert woman.

54 THE GOLDEN STATE.

But all the precautions and teachings of the fathers
were unavailincr to raise the native Californian above
the docile, half-idiotic wretch, who, destitute of ambition,
hoped or thought of nothing beyond a supply of food to
fill his ever-craving stomach; and so soon as the influ-
ence, care, and protection of his master were withdrawn,
he relapsed into his native bestiality, forsook the corn-
field and the loom, and returned to scour the shores
for dead whales on which to gorge himself, or to roam
upon arid plains to fatten upon acorns and grasshopper
pie.

Conflicts and jealousies between the fathers and the
military commanders of the presidios caused the Vice-
roy of Mexico to define their powers in 1773. The
fates, however, seemed to have decreed the downfall of
the missions, which occupied the fairest portion of 'the
world, and whose rulers, having relapsed from their
pristine energy and zeal, were leading a lazy, semi-
barbarous life in superstition and apathy to earthly and
heavenly things.

Spain already possessed by discovery and occupation
the vast region of the American continent from Mao^el-
lan's straits to the Columbia. The king became jeal-
ous of the power and influence of the missions, and
determined on their suppression.

A long calm seemed now to hang over California,
during which the Franciscan friars were complete sover-
eigns of the land. With the increase of flocks and
luscious wines they grew lusty of body, easy of gait,
docile in temper, mechanical in prayer, and moderate
in zeal ; and in their case, as in that of most other
mortals, good dinners, well washed down with red wine,
tended to abate the fervor of their devotion, and led

END OF SPANISH RULE IN CALIFORNIA. 55

their thoughts and actions toward the precious metals
and gross things of earth. Accordingly we find that
they, in 1835, shortly before their abandonment of the
country, raised large crops of wheat, maize, barley,
beans, grapes, and other products, amounting to more
than one hundred thousand dollars per annum; this, too,
at the very low prices of those times. We find them also
in the possession of 216,727 horned cattle, 32,201 horses,
2,844 niules, 177 asses, 153,455 sheep, 1,873 goats, and
839 swine. Indeed, one of the fathers, Louis Martinez,
is said to have taken to Spain with him when he left the
country more than one hundred thousand dollars in
treasure. Even all this wealth is supposed to be less
than half of what the fathers possessed about the year
1822, before the Mexican authorities attempted to con-
fiscate their property. The fostering care of the Span-
ish government and the Viceroy of Mexico, together
with the contributions of the friends of religion, had
lent character and power to the missions of California
and had swelled " tJie pioits fiend of California " to
respectable proportions.

But all this power, splendor, and missionary labor
were dashed to the ground by the fall of Spanish rule in
Mexico ; for, on the achievement of the independence of
Mexico, in 1822, radical changes were wrought, both in
the civil and ecclesiastical affairs of the country. The
new empire not only laid claim to that vast territory
then known as Mexico, but also to that limitless and
undefined country so long claimed and partly settled
by Spanish adventure- --California. When Mexico be-
came a republic, in 1824, this whole country was erected
into a Mexican Territory, with a representative in

56 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Congress, and military commandant at Monterey, the
capital. The powers of the Franciscan fathers in Cali-
fornia were soon curtailed by the Mexican Congress.
In 1826, that body proclaimed the manumission of all
the civilized Indians in California, with a division of the
country into parishes, and allotments of land for the
Indians. This measure, together with a failure on the
part of Mexico to pay the allowances of the fathers,
and the decline of the '' pious fund of Calif ornia',' caused
missionary labors to decline. The Indians relapsed
into their former barbarism, squandered their means,
and became nude savages. The political party In
power in the early part of 1833 passed laws confiscat-
ing the lands and property of the missions. These
were subsequently revoked by Santa Anna, who came
into power in the same year. By the sad and fluctu-
ating changes of administration in Mexico down to the
year 1845, the missions and fathers were embarrassed
and harassed by acts of confiscation and abridgment
of powers. In 1845 came the final blow: many of the
missions were sold at auction ; others were rented, the
rents to be divided into three funds — one-third to gfo to
the missionaries, a third to a pious find of California
for charitable and educational purposes, and a third to
the support of the civilized Indians. The fathers re-
turned either to Mexico or Spain; and, In a brief period
from this, the once powerful missions of California,
their pious priests and praying Indians, were known
only as things of the past ; and to-day no trace of their
former presence Is to be seen In the whole land, except
an occasional dilapidated and crumbling adobe wall, the
fragments of some cathedral bell, the declining cross as

END OF MISSIONS IN CALIFORNIA. 57

It droops In melancholy solitude In the midst of the
burled dead, whose history, like their mortal remains^
is wrapped in its narrow grave beneath the rank grass
and wild brier.

California, under tne absolute rule of Spain for fifty
years and under the rule of Mexico for twenty-four
years, made but little progress either in material, social,
or moral development ; and, at the time when it fell
Into the possession of the United States, was almost as
unknown, uninhabited, and undeveloped as it was when
Cortez first attempted its exploration in the sixteenth
century.

58 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER IV.

Republican government in Mexico — American flag hoisted at Mon-
terey— France and England seek to possess California — De
Mofra's explorations — Russians in California — Revolution: a
Yankee in it — Monterey captured by Alvarado and Graham —
California declared a free State — Vallejo military chief — Religion
established by law — Mexican authority again recognized — Graham
and others banished — Commodore Jones declares California a
part of the United States in 1842 — Revolution of 1844 — Castro
General-in-chief — Banishment of Governor Micheltorena.

With the dawn of republican government in Mexico
commenced a new era of importance in California. The
rule of Spain was forever annihilated in the western
provinces, and this was heartily acquiesced in by the
Spanish inhabitants in California. One of the first acts
of the Congress of the Mexican republic was the passing
of laws encourao^ins: immiofration into their western ter-
ritory, so that, simultaneously with the decline and dis-
appearance of the Franciscan fathers and their missions,
the settlement of the country by Mexican immigrants
and a few wandering foreigners was begun. The latter
class consisted chiefly of seafaring men, who settled
about the ports and bays, and straggling seamen who
left the ships which occasionally touched at the ports
along the coast, and of one or two solitary merchants.
This portion of the new population was regarded with
a jealous eye by the Mexican and Spanish settlers.
The class, however, which engaged the special attention
and roused the jealousy of the native population con-
sisted of the few Americans now settling in the country.

California, althoueh distant from the seat of American
and European civilization and political strife, was not

RUSSIAN COLONY IN CALIFORNIA. Ci

tranquil nor entirely unknown previous to this period.
Repeated outbreaks among the native and immigrant
population kept pace with the ever turbulent state of
affairs in Mexico ; and, besides, many foreign nations
had longed for her possession. France had an eye
upon this distant land, and, regardless of the claims of
Spain or the assumption of England, despatched, in
1S41, from the French legation in Mexico, M. Duflot de
Mofras, a scientific and accomplished gentleman, to
make explorations in California. For two years De
Mofras having occupied himself In the work of investi-
gation, sent to his government a detailed account of
the country, the Bay of San Francisco, the political con-
dition of California, the designs of Europe and the
United States upon it, and concluded it with the follow-
ing statement, "That it is perfectly clear that California
will belonof to whatsoever nation will take the trouble
to send there a ship of war and two hundred soldiers."
For a brief period the Russians had a feeble foothold
in California; but it is doubtful if they ever had any
intention to subjugate it or permanently setjtle in it.
Those who came to it came to supply with agricultural
products the Russian American Fur Company in the
cold regions of the northwest. In 1 8 1 2, they established
themselves at Bodega bay, in Sonoma county, about sixty
miles nordi of San Francisco. A few years later, they
established another small settlement thirty miles north
of Bodega, at a place called Ross. At these places they
kept up small establishments and forts, to protect them-
selves both from the Spanish settlers and the Indians.
The former always manifested the greatest jealousy and
dislike toward them. After an occupation of thirty
years, they, in 1841, sold their property and left the

6o THE GOLDEN STATE,

country. Of Russians there were about eight hundred,
and a large number of Kodiak Indians ; all of whom
sought their homes in the far-off northern climes, turn-
ing their backs on the sunny land where they had
trapped the beaver and the otter, and worshipped before
the cross of the rude Greek church.

About the year 1836, jealousies springing up between
the Mexican authorities in the territory, the monotony
of affairs was disturbed, and occasionally a revolution
broke out. A serious misunderstanding had existed
between Angel Ramirez, a Mexican, and chief official
of customs, and Juan Bautista Alvarado, second officer,
and a native of California of Spanish descent. Alva-
rado's arrest being ordered by Ramirez, he fled, and
found refuge in the cabin of Isaac Graham, in the moun-
tains of Santa Cruz. Graham had many years previously
wandered across the Rocky mountains as a trapper, and
had pitched his tent here. He was a Yankee — at least
an American, from the State of Tennessee ; and, being
ripe for adventure, on hearing of Alvarado's wrongs,
In conjunction with him he concocted a scheme for the
overthrow of Mexican authority In California, and the
proclaiming of California a free and independent State.
In a few days, Graham, at the head of a force of fifty
riflemen, and Alvarado and Jose Castro, with one hun-
dred native Californians, started upon their mission,
supplied with ammunition from American vessels on
the coast. They by night entered Monterey, the capital
of the Territory, seized and made prisoner the Governor,
Nicolas Gutierrez, and with him two or three hundred sol-
diers. Guderrez at first made some show of resistance;
but the crash through the roof of the presidio building
of a four-pound shot soon brought him to his senses.

REVOLUTIONS IN CALIFORNIA. 6 1

He surrendered what he could no longer keep. This
was, indeed, the only shot fired during the revolution.

Alvarado and Castro were now in undisturbed pos-
session of the capital. California was declared a free
and independent State, with Alvarado at the head of
civil and Guadalupe Vallejo at the head of military
affairs. The Mexican Governor, Gutierrez, with all the
Mexican officers and soldiers in California, was banished,
a republican government established, and the Catholic
religion secured by prohibiting the exe7^cise of any other
form of worship.

Alvarado, after meeting with some opposition to his
rule from a portion of the native Californians, was
recognized, and appointed Governor of California, by
the INIexican government ; and California having again
submitted to Mexican rule, was divided into two dis-
tricts with territorial governments, Senor Pena being
prefect of the south and Jose Castro of the north.
Alvarado held his position as governor until 1842.

Graham and the other foreigners who had assisted
in elevating Alvarado to power, having by this time
become obnoxious to him, were arrested and sent as
prisoners, some to Monterey and Santa Barbara, and
the most dano^erous to Mexico. This event was cele-
brated by a solemn mass and great rejoicings, the
prospect of being rid of the adventurous foreigners and
the dangerous Yankees beincr so encouramne. But
Alvarado's treachery' in this matter failed to accomplish
its object; for, in July, 1842, the exiles returned to
Monterey on board of a Mexican vessel, at government
expense. For this they were indebted to the kind and
noble efforts of the Encrlish consul and other foreign
dio^nitaries in Mexico.

62 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Dissensions were now rife between the civil and
military authorities in California, and in August, [842,
General Manuel Micheltorena arrived at San Diego
from Mexico, with full powers from the government to
supersede Vallejo in the military and Alvarado in the
civil affairs of California. Micheltorena was received
by the people with great rejoicing : bull-fights, fandan-
gos, and other entertainments attested the joy of the
populace. But, in the midst of their festivities, all was
brought to a standstill : the irrepressible Yankee? had
entered upon a new role in California. Commodore
Jones, of the United States navy, having been hovering
about the coast of California, learned in some way that
difficulties existed between the United States and
Mexico with reference to Texas, which difficulties were
likelv to lead to the annexation of Texas and California,
if not of Mexico itself. The gallant commodore, believ-
ing that it was the desire of his government, with the
United States frigate United States and sloop-of-war
Cyane, on the 19th of October, 1842, entered the port
of Monterey, hoisted the stars and stripes, took posses-
sion of the capitol, and proclaimed California a part of
the American republic. Alvarado, who had not yet
been displaced by Micheltorena, surrendered to Jones
on the following day. Jones' authority, however, was
brief; for, on the day after the surrender, having had
information which led him to believe that his acts were
premature, and not in conformity with the wishes of
his government, he hauled down his banners and quietly
departed, having offered apologies for his intrusion.
The new commandant, General Micheltorena, thereupon
entered upon his duties unopposed.

But difficulties were not yet ended. General Vallejo

(

END OF MEXICAN RULE IN CALIFORNIA. (j\

and Governor Alvarado being now deposed, having
been bitterest enemies, became firm friends, and with
General Castro entered upon a new enterprise, mto
driving MIcheltorena out of the countr}^ All the ammu-
nition of the government was stored at San Juan : upon
this point the attention of the new revolutionists was
directed. In November, 1844, Castro entered the town,
captured the mission and the government ammunition.
The governor afforded the rebels eight days grace In
which to disband and surrender to his authority ; but
the rebels, regardless of this courtesy on the part of
MIcheltorena, marched upon the capital. The Mexican
military force In the territory was small ; and MIchel-
torena, fearing defeat, called for aid from John A.
Sutter, who had been a foreign resident of the country
ever since 1839. Sutter responded, and with one hun-
dred mounted men, mostly foreigners, hurried to the
rescue. Castro at the head of the rebel band, on the
2 1 St of July, 1845, ^^t the government forces a short
distance from Los Angeles, where an engagement
took place lasting two days, resulting In the killing of
four persons and the unconditional surrender of the
government forces.

Once more California was an Independent country.
The champion of the conquest. General Castro, was
now General-In-chlef ; and PIo Pico, Governor. MIchel-
torena, together w^Ith his officers and soldiers, were
shipped to San Bias on board of an xA.merIcan vessel ;
and Mexican rule ended In California, as the like fate
befell the rule of Pico and Castro, as will appear in the
succeeding chapter of this volume.

64 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER V.

Early navigators — Voyage of Sir Francis Drake — Voyages of Sebas-
tian Viscayno and Vistus Behring — Settlement of Sitka — King
George's Sound Company — East India Company — Thomas
Jefferson's interest in the Pacific coast — Expedition of John
Ledyard : he is arrested by order of the Empress of Russia —
Voyage of Vancouver — The King of Spain forbids Captain Cook
to enter California — First American vessels on the Pacific coast — •
Captain Gray discovers the Columbia river — First American ves-
sel enters the Bay of San Francisco — John Brown and Thomas
Raben first Americans in California — Trade to the Columbia
river — Count Rosanoff in California — Delia Byrd enters San
Diego — Russians evacuate California at the request of the United
States — Expedition of Lewis and Clark — First settlement in
Oregon — John Jacob Astor founds Astoria — Fur trade of Ore-
gon— The British take possession of Oregon — Its restoration to
the United States — Astor's fur trade in the Rocky mountains —
First overland journey to California — Arrest of Jedediah Smith —
Letter from American seamen in 1826 — Letter from Smith to one
of the fathers — Death of J. S. Smith — Battle's expedition —
Asiatic emigration encouraged — First settlers in California — First
mercantile house in California — Commodore Wilkes' expedition
to the Pacific — Discovery of a wrecked Japanese junk — Fre-
mont's explorations — Sutter's hospitality — End of Fremont's
second exploration.

The period which elapsed from the first Anglo-Saxon
voyages to the Pacific coast to the discovery of gold
forms one of the most interesting chapters in our his-
tory. The solitude and primitive order of the vast
territory of Alaska, Washington Territory, Oregon, and
California were unbroken, save by an occasional adven-
turer; and California was as little known to the world
as the fabled garden of Eden.

Among those who broke the seal of its primitive
obscurity on our coast was Sir Francis Drake, who, in
1558, made a voyage to California in the course of his
explorations in the Pacific, also General Sebastian

EARL Y EXPL OR A TIONS.

Viscayno, who, under orders of Philip III of Spain, ex-
plored California In 1803, where at Point Reyes he dis-
covered the wreck of Sebastian Cermenon's vessel,
stranded in 1595 on her voyage from Manilla to Aca-
pulco ; and VIstus Behring, a Dane, who was employed
by Catharine of Russia to make explorations In the
North Pacific and on the coasts of Asia and America.

The founding of Sitka, in 1805, by the Russian
American Fur Company, which was organized In 1799,
and the foundlngf of the Kine Georofe's Sound Com-
pany, organized In London In i 784, with the object of
makinor settlements on the Pacific coast, aided much in
developing the country. Between the years 1 784 and
1 790 the East India Company (English) had despatched
several ships to this coast. Thomas Jefferson, acting
United States minister in France In 1785, took a lively
interest In m.atters pertaining to the Pacific coast. A
Connecticut Yankee, named John Ledyard, who accom-
panied the famous English navigator. Captain Cook,
on his last voyage to the Pacific, conceived the idea of
exploring the west coast of America. After several
ineffectual efforts to secure aid either from the United
States Congress or the British government, he went to
France and had an interview with Thomas Jefferson,
then United States minister in that country, at whose
suggestion he undertook a journey across the country
to Kamtschatka, thence by sea to Nootka sound or
some other point on the west coast of America, thence
overland to the Atlantic States. Permission was ob-
tained from the Empress of Russia for Ledyard to pass
through her dominions. He proceeded as far as Ir-
koutsk, in Siberia, on his way to Okhotsk, where he
designed to take passage for the American continent.

(i6 THE GOLDEN STATE

Here he was, on the 24th of February, 1788, arrested
by order of the Empress of Pvussla. After being con-
veyed to the frontier of Poland, he was released, with
the injunction never again to set his foot upon Russian
territory. Ledyard soon undertook an expedition to
explore the source of the Nile ; and died at Cairo in
Egypt, November 15, 1788

The En owlish navio-ator Vancouver, who visited the
coast in 1793, and spent some time In the Bay of Mon-
terey, contrary to Spanish custom, at least on the
Pacific, met with a kind reception and received courte-
ous attentions from the Spanish authorities at that place.

The jealousy of the Spanish toward all foreign inter-
course was manifest upon all occasions. The Viceroy
of Mexico, on the 23d of October, 1776, wrote to the
Governor of California as follows: " That the king, hav-
inof received Intellio-ence that two armed vessels had
sailed from London, under the command gf Captain
Cook, bound on a voyage of discovery to the southern
ocean and the northern coast of California, commands
that orders be ofiven to the Governor of California to
be on the watch for Captain Cook, and not permit him
to enter the ports of California."

Yankee enterprise was seeking wider fields for its
operations, and the Pacific was attracting attention. In
the summer of 1787, Messrs. Barrell, Bulfinch & Co.,
merchants, of Boston, Mass., fitted out two vessels and
despatched them to the Pacific, with directions to pro-
ceed as far north as KInQf Georofe's sound. One of
these vessels, the Washington, ninety tons, was com-
manded by Captain Robert Gray ; the other, the Co-
hmibia, two hundred tons, was commanded by Captain
John Kendrlck. A resolution had previously passed

EARLY VOYAGERS. 67

Congress that these vessels be granted sea letters of
safety by the Federal government, which was done ;
besides this, the State of Massachusetts issued pass-
ports to them, and letters from the Spanish minister in
the United States was obtained, introducing the cap-
tains to the Spanish officials on the Pacific coast, which
latter accounts for Governor Pages' letter to the com-
mandant at the presidio of San Francisco, wherein we
have the first m^ention of an American vessel on the
Pacific coast. Both vessels left Boston on the 30Lh
day of September, 1787; and on the 17th of Septem-
ber, I "jZ^, the WasJiington reached Nootka sound, and
in a few days the Columbia arrived at the same place.
Captain Gray subsequently commanded the Cohmibia,
and on board of her discovered the Columbia river.
Amone other articles on board these vessels. Intended
for trafficking with the natives of the Pacific coast, was
a quantit}' of copper coins, issued by the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts ; some of which were discovered half
a centur}^ later among the natives on the coast.

Followinof Is a letter from the Governor of California
to the commandant of the presidio at San Francisco,
respecting the Washington and Columbia :

"Whenever there may arrive at the port of San Francisco a ship
named the Columbia, said to belong to General Washington, of the
American States, commanded by John Kendrick, which sailed from
Boston in Septem.ber, 1787, bound on a voyage of discovery to the
Russian establishments on the northern coast of this peninsula, you
will cause the said vessel to be examined with caution and delicacy,
^sing for this purpose a small boat which you have in your posses-
sion, and taking the same measures with every other suspicious
foreign vessel, giving me prompt notice of the same.

" May God preserve your life many years.

"Pedro Faces.
"Santa Barbara, May 13, 1789.

" To Josef Arguello."

6S THE GOLDEN STATE.

The ship Cohiinhia alluded to was now under com*
mand of Captain Robert Gray, which sailed upon a
second voyage in search of traffic among the natives,
and arrived at the Straits of Fuca, June 5, 1791. Cap-
tain Gray, on his expedition, In trading down the coast
with the natives, on the 7th of May, 1792, three years
after the mention made of him by Governor Pages of
California, discovered and entered the Columbia river,
to which he gave its name, after his ship, which was the
first vessel that ever entered that river, and from which
Gray set sail homeward on May 20, 1792. Captain
Gray, with reports of his discovery and a valuable
cargo of furs, returned to Boston, without touching at
any of the ports of California.

Expeditions from Boston were soon inaugurated for
settlement and trade upon the Columbia ; and from this
period American vessels, at inter\^als, visited the coast,
but their trade was chiefly confined to the Columbia
river and the distant whale-grounds in the North
Pacific.

Jose Argiiello, the commiandant of the presidio of
San Prancisco, on the 26th of August, 1803, writes to
Governor Jose Joaquin de Arrillaga as follows :

*' That, on the first of the present month, at the hour of evening
prayers, two American vessels anchored in the port, (San Francisco,)
one named the Alexander, under the command of Captain John
Brown, and the other, named the Ase?-, under the command of
Thomas Raben ; that, as soon as they anchored, the captain came
ashore to ask permission to get supplies of wood and water, when,
observing that he was the same Brown that was there in the preced-
ing month of March, he refused to give him permission to remain
in port; that, on the day following, at six in the morning, he
received a letter from the captain, (or supercargo,) a copy of which
he transmits, which is as follows :

DISCOVERY OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER. 69

*'PoRT OF San Francisco, August 12, 1S03.
*'To the Se7ior Commandant e of the port :

*' Notwithstanding your order for our immediate departure from
this port, I am constrained to say that our necessities are such as to
render it impossible for us to do so. I would esteem it a great
favor if you would come aboard and see for yourself the needy cir-
cumstances in which we are placed ; for, during the whole of the
time we have been on the northwest coast, we have had no oppor-
tunity of supplying ourselves with wood and water, the Indians
being so savage that we have not been able to hold any kind of
friendly intercourse with them whatever."

The letter continues at considerable length, detailing
a long cruise of the vessels upon the northwest coast
with several encounters with Indians. After detailing
the reports of the capture of the ship Boston by the
Indian chief Ouatlazape, on his travels through the
Straits of Juan de Fuca, the massacre of all the crew
save two, and the beaching and burning of the vessel,
it concludes as follovv^s :

**This is all the account I am able to give of the matter, and I'
pray you, in the name of God, to come aboard our ship and see
the needy circumstances in which we are placed, destitute of vrood
and water, and our vessel needing repairs. Trusting in your Chris-
tian charity, and that of your nation, vre hope to be permitted to
remain in this port the time necessary to obtain supplies and make
repairs, since otherwise we shall certainly lose our ship.

*' God preserve your life many years.

'^ James Rowan."

After the discovery of the Columbia by Captain Gray,
the next vessel that entered that river is supposed to
have been the brig Jennet, Captain Parker, of Bristol,
Rhode Island, in the summer of 1792. On the 20th of
October of this year, the Chatham, of the British navy,
commanded by Captain Broughton, entered the Co-
lumbia and explored it in small boats, leaving on the

THE GOLDEN STATE.

ioth of November following. From this period until
1805, twelve vessels had entered the Columbia river,
all of which were fitted out and sailed from Boston,
except one, the Jttno, of Bristol, Rhode Island.

As early as March 14, 1803, the brig Delia Byrd^
Captain Cleveland, of Salem, Mass., arrived at San
Diego ; and, in 1 807, the ship Jtino, already mentioned,
havinof been sold to the Russians at Sitka, entered the
Golden Gate, having on board the Russian ambassador
to Japan, Count Von Resanoff While in California,
the count was so delighted with the country that he
arrano-ed for the foundincr of a Russian settlement at

o o

Bodega bay, in Sonoma county. This location was
made in 181 2; and, in 1820, another settlement was
established at Fort Ross, in the same county. The
Russians had subsequently a settlement also on the
Farallones ; but Count Resanoff never returned to
California, being accidentally killed in Siberia by a fall
from his horse.

The English government, desiring to acquire Cali-
fornia, offered serious objections to the Russian settle-
ments in it ; and the Mexican authorities, fearing that
they did not possess the ability to dislodge them from
the formidable forts, appealed to the United States
government to request their removal, in compliance
with the treaty stipulations of April, 1824, between
Russia and the United States, that the former would
not permit her subjects to make settlements south of
latitude 50° 40' on the Pacific. Uncle Sam came to the
rescue ; made a demand that the Russians evacuate ;
and in 1841 the imperial, eagles of the Czar took their
flight northward to Alaska. One of the brass guns of
the Russian company in California is now in the pos*

VOYAGERS AND EXPLORERS. 7 I

session of the Pioneer Society in San Francisco ; others,
with other property, were sold to Captain Sutter on
the departure of the company, and the remainder were
included in Seward's recent purchase of the Czar's pos-
sessions in North America.

Perkins, Lamb & Co., and Lyman & Co., of Boston,
were the principal parties in fitting out vessels for the
early traffic on the northwest coast. The expedition
of Lewis and Clark, under the direction of President
Jefferson, to explore the Columbia, which left the At-
lantic side in 1804, arrived at the Columbia, November
15, 1805; and in March, 1806, started on their home-
ward march, to report to their government the result
of their expedition.

During the years 1806-9, ten vessels, fitted out from
Boston by the enterprising firms of Thomas Lyman,
Perkins, Lamb & Co., and Lyman & Co., entered the
Columbia; and, in 1810, the Albatross, from Boston,
Captain T. Winship, entered the Columbia. The cap-
tain located a post, and planted a garden, at Oak Point,
on the Columbia. This was the first settlement made
in Oregon.

In this year a new stimulus was given to the com-
mercial interests of the Pacific coast. John Jacob
Astor, of New York, in connection with Wilson P.
Hunt, of New Jersey, and others, organized the Pacific
Fur Company. In September, 18 10, the ship To7iqtcin^
with the stores, officers, employes, &c., of this company,
sailed from New York, and arrived at the Columbia on
the 24th of March, 181 1, and established themselves on
the southern bank near the mouth, which they named,
after the founder of the company, Astoria, Astor and
Hunt admitted into the company Messrs. McDougal,

72 THE GOLDEN STATE.

McKay, and Robert and David Stewart, who, at the
head of eleven clerks, thirteen Canadian voyagers, and
five mechanics, entered upon a most lively and profita-
ble fur-trade. A garden was planted, started by plant-
ing twelve potatoes, (all they had,) and an American
settlement was commenced.

On the 5th of May, 181 2, the ship Beaver, twenty
guns, Captain So wis, by way of the Sandwich islands,
with additional supplies, and having on board Mr.
Clark, six clerks, and twenty-six Kanakas, arrived to
join Astor's company on the Columbia.

News of American occupation of Oregon reaching
the British authorities and the members of the North-
west Fur Company, (a company established by charter
of Louis XIII, of France, in Acadia, Nova Scotia, in
1 630, and whose existence and legality were acknowl-
edged by the British government on the transfer of
Acadia to England by the treaty of Utrecht, in 1714,)
thev became alarmed at the encroachments of Ameri-
cans in such close proximity to the northern British
American boundar}^ then undefined and uncertain.
This fur company despatched from Canada Mr. David
Thompson, as their agent, to the Columbia river, where
he arrived July 15, 181 3, and located at Astoria. His
object was to supplant Astor and his American inter-
ests, and obtain possession of the country and its fur
trade.

Messrs. Hunt, McKenzie, McClellan, and Crooks,
members of the Pacific Fur Company, with sixty men,
had left the Atlantic States, crossed the country, and,
after great peril and the loss of many of their com-
rades, arrived at Astoria, January 28, 181 2. In August,
1S12, Mr. Hunt, on board the Beaver, made a voyage

FUR TRADERS ON THE COAST.

to the Russian settlements of Alaska for the purpose
of trade ; thence to the Sandwich islands, from whence
he despatched his ship to China, and remained at the
Sandwich islands until June, 1813, when the Albatross,
on her way from Canton, brought him the news of
the war between Great Britain and the United States,
and that the company's ship Beaver was at Canton,
blockaded by an English w^ar-ship. Mr. Hunt, on
board the Albatross, sailed at once for the Columbia
river, where he arrived August 4, 181 3. Here he
found things changed: his resident partners at Astoria,
who managed the business in the interior, w^ere British
subjects, and were desirous to sell the rights of the
company to the Northwest Fur Company. Hunt, on
the Albatross, soon departed for the Sandwich Islands.
At Washington islands he met the United States frigate
Essex, Commodore Porter, from whom he learned that
the British intended to seize all the American property
on the Pacific. At the Sandwich islands he chartered
the brig Pedler and started back to Astoria, where he
arrived in February, 18 14, only to learn that Immedi-
ately after his departure from Astoria, In August, 18 13,
Mr. McTavish, an ag^ent of the Northwest Fur Com-
pany, with a number of employes, had arrived at Asto-
ria, and that his partners had, on the i6th of October,
181 3, sold out the American Pacific Fur Company
to the Northwest Fur Company, and had themselves
joined that company and thrown all their Influence into
it. Thus, by the duplicity of the British subjects in the
Astor company, and without the knowledge or consent
of its founder and head, they turned over to the North-
west Fur Company, at a nominal sum, that prosperous
concern, which in so short a time (two years) had laid

74 THE GOLDEN STATE.

the foundation of American settlement on the Pacific
coast, and the princely fortune of its projector.

The British, in possession of the fur company and
Astoria, changed its name to their patron saint, and
called it Fort George. On December i, following, the
British sloop-of-war Raccoon^ Captain Black, arrived at
Astoria, and landed a troop of British soldiers. Black
took formal possession of the place, lowered the Ameri-
can flag, and placed in its stead the cross of St. George;
and thus Oregon was in possession of the British, which
they formally held until the 6th of October, 1818, when,
by order of the Prince Regent of England to the North
American Fur Company, under date of January 27,
181 8, to deliver the territory to the American govern-
ment, it was restored by the following article :

*' We, the undersigned, do, in conformity to the first article of
the treaty of Ghent, restore to the government of the United States,
through its agent, J. P. Provost, Esq., the settlement of Fort George,
on the Columbia river.

** Given under our hands in triplicate, at Fort George, (Columbia
river,) this 6th day of October, 181 8.

*' F. HiCKEY, Captain H. M. Ship Blossom,
"J. Keith, of the N. W. Co:\

On the restoration of the territory, the stars and
stripes once more floated over Oregon.

In 182 1, the North American Fur Company and the
Hudson Bay Company consolidated, under the name
of the Hudson Bay Company, in which capacity they
continued in Oregon and Washington Territory until a
very recent period.

On the disbandment of the Pacific Fur Company,
(Astor's,) a number of the employes of the company
embarked in trading and independent trapping, some
of whom found their way to California. Astor, however,

C/5

l-H

►J
<

TRAPPERS IN THE INTERIOR. 75

did not abandon the fur trade ; but, in connection with
W. H. Ashley, in 1823, formed a second North Ameri-
can Fur Company, extending its operations in the direc-
tion of the Rocky mountains; and, in 1824, established
a post near Salt lake. In 1826, this company had in
its employ over oae hundred men in the Rocky moun-
tains and on the Green river.

During this period a company known as the Rocky
Mountain Fur Company was trading in the mountains,
and pushed its operations into California, and as far
north as the Umpqua river in Oregon. The members
of this company were Messrs. Jackson, Sublette, Smith,
and others. The overland journeys up to this date
were all made to Oregon : as yet, the foot of the white
man had never entered California by the overland route,
until the Smith above alluded to, in the spring of 1825,
found his way into California, and who is entitled to the
honor of being the earliest overland pioneer of California.
In July, 1825, he established a post near the present
town of Folsom, and entered upon his business of
trapping. Smith, in October of this year, left his com-
pany on the American river and started east to report
to his partners on Green river. In May, 1826, in com-
pany with several others, he again set out for California.
On his way, at the Mohave settlements on the Colorado,
all the party except Smith and two others were killed
bv the Indians.

Smith and his two companions. Turner and Galbraith,
on entering California, in December, 1826, in the lower
part of the State, were arrested on suspicion of having
desicrns aofainst the o-Qvernment, and carried to the
presidio at San Diego, where the commandant of the
territory, Governor Echandia, interrogated them upon

76 THE GOLDEN STATE.

their Intentions and business in California. The follow-
ing letter from the officers of American vessels then on
the coast had the effect of releasing Smith and his com-
panions, securing them a passport permitting them to
pursue their journey toward the Columbia river in
Oreofon :

''We, the undersigned, having been requested by Captain Jedediah
S. Smith to state our opinions regarding his entering the province of
California, do not hesitate to say that we have no doubt in our
minds but that he was compelled to for want of provisions and
water, having entered so far into the barren country that lies between
the latitudes of forty-two and forty-three west that he found it im-
possible to return by the route he came, as his horses had most of
them perished for want of food and water. He was, therefore,
under the necessity of pushing forward to California, it being the
nearest place where he could procure supplies to enable him to
return.

*' We further state as our opinions that the account given by him
is circumstantially correct, and that his sole object was the hunting
and trapping of beaver and other furs.

''We have also examined the passports produced by him from the
Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the government of the United
States of America, and do not hesitate to say we believe them to be
perfectly correct.

"We also state that, in our opinion, his motive for wishing to
pass by a different route to the head of the Columbia river on his
return is solely because he feels convinced that he and his companions
run great risk of perishing if they return by the route they came.

" In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals
this 2otli day of December, 1826.

"Wm. G. Dana, Capf. of Schoonei- Waverly. [l. s.]

"Wm. H. Cunningham, Capt. of Ship Courier. [l. s.]
"Wm. Henderson, Capt. of Brig Olive Bi-anch. [l. s.]
"James Scott. [l. s.]

"Thos. M. Robbins, Mate of Schooner Waverly. [l. s.]
"Thos. Shaw, Supercargo of Ship Coiwier.^^ [l. s.]

Smith, with his companions, except Turner and Gal-

bra.ith, who remained in California, started upon their

y. S. SMITH, FIJ^ST EXPLORER. 7 7

northward journey; but winter coming on, they met
with great difficulty in pursuing their course, and, after
several ineffectual attempts to cross the mountains, were
forced to retreat to the valleys for shelter and suste-
nance. Here Smith aeain found himself in trouble:
his presence appeared before the "holy fathers" like a
terrible apparition, filling them with terror, and they
again demanded an explanation ; and poor Smith,
reduced to extremities sufficient to arouse sympathy in
the heart of a pagan, pours forth his sad story to Father
Duran, then stationed at San Jose:

LETTER FROM CAPTAIN JEDEDIAH S. SMITH TO FATHER DOR-\N.

*' Reverend Father : I understand, through the medium of one
of your Christian Indians, that you are anxious to kno^y who we
are, as some of the Indians have been at the mission and informed
you that tliere were certain white people in the country. We are
Americans, on our journey to the River Columbia. We were in at
the Z\Iission San Gabriel in January last. I went to San Diego and
saw the general, and got a passport from him to pass on to that
place. I have made several efforts to cross tl e mountains, but the
snows being so deep, I could not succeed in getting over. I re-
turned to this place (it being the only point to kill meat) to wait a
few weeks until the snow melts, so that I can go on. The Indians
here also being friendly, I consider it the most safe point for me to
remain until such time as I can cross the mountains with my horses,
having lost a great many in attempting to cross ten or fifteen days
since. I am a long ways from home, and am anxious to get there
as soon as the nature of the case will admit. Our situation is quite
unpleasant, being destitute of clothing and most of the necessaries
of life, wild meat being our principal subsistence.

*'I am, reverend father, your strange but real friend and Christian
brother,

**J. S. Smith.

*'May 19, 1827."

Smith and his party, in the summer of 1S27, pursued
their journey northward, when, arriving at the mouth

78 THE GOLDEN STATE,

of the Umpqiia river, in Oregon, the whole company,
except Smith, Daniel Prior, and Richard Laughlin, were
murdered by the Indians, who carried their packs of
valuable furs to the Hudson Bay Company, where they
sold them. With his remaining companions. Smith
pushed northward, and finally reached Fort Vancouver,
on the west side of the Columbia river. He subse-
quently returned to St. Louis, (1830,) sold out his
interest in the fur company, and was finally killed by
Indians on the Cimarron river, in 1831, on his way to
Santa Fe, at the head of an emigrant company. It is
said that, in his peregrinations in the Sierras, Smith
discovered gold somewhere between Mono lake and
Salt lake, and that he carried a considerable quantity
of it to his partners in the fur company on Green river;
but this lacks positive confirmation.

A company of trappers, under the leadership of
James O. Pattie, left the valley of the Mississippi, in
1825, bound for the Pacific coast. This company spent
five years in roaming through New Mexico and Colo-
rado. They were finally plundered in the Gila valley
b)^ the Yuma Indians, and near the mouth of the Colo-
rado. The members of this company first entered
California in 1830. An account of this expedition was
published in the message of President Jackson to
Congress, in 1836.

At this period, and for many years previous, Con-
gress manifested a deep interest in encouraging emi-
gration to the Pacific. As early as 1820, John B.
Floyd, a member of Congress from Virginia, framed a
bill and presented it to that body, " favoring emigration
to the country west of the Rocky mountains, not only
from the United States but from China."

FIRST AMERICAXS IN CAIIFORNIA. 79

Captain Brown, by water, and Captain Smith, by
land, are beyond all doubt entitled to the honor of being
the first Americans that ever entered California. Pre-
vious to Smith's arrival overland, considerable business

had sprung up along the coast of California, and the
tradine vessels of the shrewd Yankee could be found
threading their Avay into every nook and corner, from
Lower California to Sitka. From these vessels, as
well as from stray trappers from Oregon, some settle-
ment had been made in the country.

In 1 81 4, one of the Hudson Bay Company's ships
put Into Monterey for supplies, having, on board John
Gllroy, a Scottish youth, eighteen years of age, who
was so 111 with scurvy that he had to be left at this
port. Six long years passed from the date of his being
left at Monterey before another ship entered that har-
bor, except the unwelcome visit made by a Spanish
pirate, In 1819, which, after capturing the fort, sacked
the town and finally burned It, which was not difficult,
as it contained only six small houses. Gllroy located
in the Santa Clara valley, and was the first Anglo-
Saxon, or Celtic, settler In California. He died a few
years since, at his home In the town of Gllroy, Santa
Clara county, having resided constantly in Callfofnia
from his first arrival.

In 1 81 8, Antonio M. Sunol, a native of Spain, but at
one time in the French navy, arrived at Monterey.
Fie resided In California from his arrival to 1865, when
he died, In Santa Clara county.

Captain F. W. Macondray, on board the ship Pan-
ther, from Chili, arrived at Monterey, In 1821 ; and con-
tinued to reside In the country-. In mercantile business
in San Francisco, until his decease a few years since.

80 THE GOLDEN STATE,

The first mercantile house opened in CaHfornia was
In 1822, by an English firm from Lima, Peru; they
established themselves at Monterey. A trade in hides,
furs, tallow, wine, and grain was now fast growing to
importance. In this year, W. E. P. Hartnell, an Eng-
lishman, arrived at Monterey, and W. A. Richardson,
also an Englishman, arrived at San Francisco. Hart-
nell subsequently became the first translator for the
United States government of the Mexican archives,
and Richardson became the first harbor master at San
Francisco.

J. B. R. Cooper arrived at Monterey from Boston,
Mass., in 1823, and engaged in catching sea otter on the
coast. He died in California in the winter of 1 871-2.
He was the half-brother of the late Thomas O. Larkin,
first and only United States consul in California.

The Congress of the United States, on the i8th of
May, 1836, passed an act authorizing an expedition to
explore the Pacific ocean, and make a full examination
of the islands, rocks, shoals, &c., in the line of the whal-
ing fleets of the Pacific, the coast line, and interior of
Oregon and California ; and, by order of the Presi-
dent of the United States, and by letter from J. K. Paul-
ding, Secretary of the Navy, dated August 11, 1838,
Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, subsequently Commodore
Wilkes, was appointed to command the expedition.
The Secretary's letter to Wilkes says :

*' Thence you will direct your course to the northwest coast of
America, making such surveys and examinations, first of the terri-
tory of the United States on the seaboard and of the Columbia river,
and afterwards along the coast of California, with special reference
to the Bay of San Francisco, as you can accomplish by the month
of October following your arrival."

COMMODORE WILKES' EXPEDITION. 8 1

The fleet consisted oi the United States ship Viii-
ceniies, United States ship Peacock, United States ship
Relief, United States brig Porpoise, tender Sea- Gull,
and tender Flying Fish. This fleet, well equipped, and
manned with seamen and scientific men, sailed on its
mission August i8, 1838; and, after exploring the
South Pacific, arrived, on April 28, 1841, oft Cape
Disappointment, near the mouth of the Columibia river •
but, owing to the roughness of the bar, and not know-
ing the channel, Wilkes headed north, and, on the i ith
of May, entered the Straits of Fuca, just forty-nine
years after the navigator Vancouver, in pursuing the
track of De Fuca, had visited there.

Wilkes, in describing his explorations along the north
coast, mentions the wreck of a Japanese junk, near
Point Grenville, which is midway between the Columbia
and Puget sound, Washington Territor^^ He says :

"It was also near this spot that the very remarkable occurrence
of the wreck of a Japanese junk happened in the year 1833. The
officers of the Hudson Bay Company became aware of this disaster
in a singular manner. They received a drawing, on a piece of
China paper, in which were depicted three shipwrecked persons,
with the junk on the rocks, -and the Indians engaged m plundering.
This was sufficient to induce them to make inquiries^ and Captain
McNeil (a native of Boston) was despatched to Cape Flattery to
obtain further information, and afford relief, should it be needed.

" He had the satisfaction to find three Japanese, whom he rescued
from slavery; and the Hudson Bay Company, with characteristic
liberality, sent them to England ; thence they took passage to China,
where, I understand, they still remain, in consequence of their being
unable to obtain a passage to Japan."

Wilkes, making a voyage up Puget sound, crossed
by land to the Cowletz, thence clown the Columbia, and
arrived at Astoria in the latter part of May, 1841.
After extending his explorations inland as far as Fort

82 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Colville, through the greater part of Oregon and Wash
ington Territory, he proceeded to California. On the
14th of October, 1841, the Vi7icennes, Commander Ring-
gold, arrived at San Francisco. Here intelligence of
the death of President Harrison was received, Wilkes,
in his report, says : " As soon as the ship anchored, an
officer was despatched on shore to call upon the authori-
ties ; but none of any description were to be found :
the only magistrate or alcalde was absent."

After the land expedition had explored Southern
Oregon and a great portion of the interior of California,
the various divisions of the expedition met at San
Francisco, on the ist of November, 1841, from whence
the fleet sailed for the Hawaiian group. From there
the expedition extended its operations to the South
Pacific, returning home by China and the Cape of Good
Hope, and arrived at New York on the loth day of
June, 1842, and disbanded.

Wilkes' official report to Congress of his extensive
explorations in the Pacific — a work of five volumes,
w^ith drawings, maps, charts, &c. — is a valuable acqui-
sition to our early history of the, Pacific coast; but fails
to exhibit either the genial climate or fertile soil of
California as these subjects deserve ; and the single
allusion of his mineralogist, Mr.. Dana, of the indication
of precious metals in some quartz specimens found in
Southern Oregon, is the only mention made of mmerals
in his report.

It was in conjunction with this expedition, and to ex-
plore that part of the Pacific coast which could not be
reached by Wilkes' party, that the expeditions of John
C. Fremont and his associates were subsequently
inaugurated.

FREMONT S EXPLORATIONS. Z'7^

The solicitude of the government to ascertain more
concerning the region In the vicinity of the Columbia
river being settled up with Americans caused a com-
mission to be Issued to John C Fremont, to explore
the Rocky mountains In search of an available pass to
the Columbia. In furtherance of this object, Fremont,
at the head of a party fitted out for this expedition, left
Washington, on the 2d of May, 1842 ; and, after a six
months campaign, In which he extended his explora-
tions no farther than the Rocky mountains, he, on the
29th of October, returned and reported the result of
his observations, which were so favorably received by
Congress that a second expedition was fitted out, with
directions to explore not only a route through the
Rocky mountains but through the greater part of Ore-
gon and California. Fremont was again appointed to
command this expedition, consisting of thirty-nine men,
which left the Missouri river on their w^estern tour in

May, 1843.

Fremont pushed westward with great energy, making
scientific observations upon the whole route. On No-
vember 4, 1843, he arrived at the Dalles on the Colum-
bia river, Oregon, and soon started southward through
the Wallamet valley and Southern Oregon by Klamath
lake. Here he encountered the Sierras, and with his
horses and mules famishing, surrounded with frowning
granite peaks, deep ravines, biting frosts, and Increasing
depth of snow, without trail or hope of speedy relief, he
passed New Year's day, 1844. From this period until
March following, this litde band batded daily against
the Held frosts and desolation of the Sierras, when,
finally, reaching the southern slope of the mountains,

84 THE GOLDEN STATE.

hope dawned upon them. They emerged from their
winter Imprisonment on March 6, 1844.
Fremont, in his report, says:

" Here the grass was smooth and green, and groves very open ;
the large oaks throwing a broad shade among sunny spots. Shortly
afterwards, we gave a shout at the appearance on a little bluff of a
neatly built adobe house with glass windows. . . . We came
unexpectedly into a large Indian village, where the people looked
clean, and wore cotton shirts, and various other articles of dress."

This was one of Sutter's houses, and Fremont and
his party soon found themselves in comfortable quarters
with the noble Swiss philanthropist.

On the 24th of March, Fremont headed homeward,
following the San Joaquin valley, with the Sierras on
his left ; heading south he soon reached the alkaline
plains of San Bernardino county, of which inhospitable
region Fremont, In his report, speaks as follows :

'' One might travel the world over without finding a valley more
fresh and verdant — more floral and sylvan — more alive with birds
and animals — more bounteously watered — than we had left in the
San Joaquin; here, within a few miles ride, a vast desert plain
spreads before us, from which the boldest traveller turns awav in
despair."

He further says :

"■ Our cavalcade made a strange and grotesque appearance; and
it was impossible to avoid reflecting upon our position and composi-
tion in this remote solitude. Within two degrees of the Pacific
ocean ; already far south of the latitude of Monterey, and still forced
on south by the desert on one hand and the mountain range on the
other; guided by a civilized Indian, attended by two wild ones
from the Sierras, a Chinook from the Columbia, and our own mix-
ture of American, French, and German — all armed ; four or five
languages heard at once ; above a hundred horses and mules, half
wild ; American, Spanish, and Indian dresses and equipments inter-

FREMONT'S EXPEDITIONS. 85

mingled — such was our composition. . . In this form we jour-
neyed ; looking more like we belonged to Asia than to the United
States of America."

In May, 1844, Fremont and his party found them-
selves, after travelling a circuit of thirty-five hundred
miles since September, 1843, In the vicinity of Salt
lake ; where they had halted In their westward march.
On the 6th of August, 1844, he with his party arrived
at St. Louis, where they disbanded ; and thus ended
his second overland expedition.

f;5 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER VI.

Pico and Castro in command of California — Decline of the mis-
sions— Early trade — English, French, and American consuls in
California — Indolence of the people — Fremont's third explora-
tion : his trials and trimiiphs in California — Castro and Fremont
— Fremont raises the American flag — Lieutenant Gillespie carries
letters to Fremont — Kit Carson saves Fremont — Sonoma captured
• — W. B. Ide declares a republican government and hoists the ''Bear
Flag" — Fremont elected Governor — Commodore Sloat captures
Monterey — British projects frustrated — Sloat's proclamation —
The American flag hoisted in San Francisco — Commodore Stock-
ton at Monterey — Dupont and General Kearney at Monterey—-
Arrival of Stevenson's regiment — Uneasiness of the native Cali-
fornians — Interesting speeches — Proposition to place California
under the protection of England or France — General Vallejo
favors annexation to the United States.

The spring of 1846 found Governor Pico and General
Castro — who, with General Vallejo, had deposed the
last of the Mexican eovernors In California — In com-
mand of the civil and military affairs of the territory.
But these officers were neither reconciled to their rela-
tions with each other nor the future aspect of the affairs
of California. By this time the missions of the pious
fathers had been abandoned, and were in a hopeless
state of decay ; the native converts had lost their piety
with the decline of their supply of food ; the vast herds
and flocks of the Franciscan fathers had disappeared.
Most of the officials and Influential men of Mexico at
one time In the country had either been banished or of
their own will had departed. The last of the Spanish
galleons had disappeared from the Paciffc. The Inte-
rior trade of the whole country was a mere myth.
Ships commanded and owned by Americans were
hovering about the ports, supplying the settlers and

MONTEREY, MEXICAN TERRITORIAL CAPITAL OF CALIFORNIA, IN 1S46.

MISSION RANCHO, CALIFORNIA, IN I770.

MISSION OF SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, FOUNDED IN 1 786.

FATHER GARZES AND THE INDIANS IN CALIFORNIA, IN 1 775.

INDOLENCE OF THE PEOPLE, Sj

natives with all kinds of goods and "notions," for which
they received hides, tallow, and peltry ; these found a
market chiefly in Boston. Many foreigners were settling
about the coast ; and across the plains and from Oregon
came considerable numbers of Yankees, always a terror
to the Spanish and Mexican settlers. England, France,
and the United States had their consuls at Monterey,
the capital, and the ships of their respective nations
seemed to increase and hover suspiciously about the
ports.

All attachment to Spanish rule had long since died
out, and Mexico, always In the throes of intestine war,
had neither security nor attraction for the native popu-
lation of the country, now the sole rulers of California.
The Indians had lono- before ceased to be the willine
slaves of the people. The masses were reckless, indo-
lent, and illiterate, living oft' the flocks and herds which
roamed over limitless acres. Agriculture was alm.ost
entirely unknown ; the hand of skill and industry had
never brought forth from the rich soil the rewards of
the husbandman ; roads, bridges, canals, and wheeled
carriages were unknown ; the iron horse had not yet
crossed the Mississippi, nor looked out upon the placid
waters of the Pacific ocean. All branches of art and
manufacture were yet a mystery. Codes of laws,
courts, and juries, with doctors, lawyers, and schools,
were unheard of. Carpets, cook-stoves, window glass,
and wood floors w^ere never seen ; m^ilk, butter, cheese,
and eggs were something of which the people knew
not even by name, although cattle dotted every hill,
and the genial climate and prolific soil, without the aid
of man, supported all stock the whole year around.
What Is now the city of San Francisco was a scattered

88 THE GOLDEN STATE.

village of mud and adobe huts, with a few hundred In-
habitants, who alternately waded through sand and mud
unaided by streets, and no other light than that which
the tallow candle or whale oil afforded. Navigation upon
the inland waters of the State was confined to a few
whaleboats in the possession of the resident foreigners.
The great forests, fisheries, quarries of granite, and beds
of coal were undisturbed. The sands of the Yuba and
Feather rivers still concealed their golden treasure, and
the great bosom of nature, which held In Its gigantic
and stern embrace the mineral wealth of the foot-hills
and Sierras, still refused to man the secret which two
years later electrified the world, and brought the most
unknown and fairest portion of the globe Into close
social and commercial relations with all parts of the
world, and so materially aided in developing California,
in 1870, to its status of five hundred and sixty thou-
sand active, educated, and progressive people, in the
possession of real estate to the value of two hundred
million dollars, and personal property worth one hun-
dred million dollars, and an area and capabilities to sus-
tain a population of seventy million.

The third expedition under Frem.ont was projected
by Congress during the early part of 1845 5 ^.nd In the
spring of that year started across the plains and the
Rocky mountains to the Pacific, with instructions to
endeavor to find the best route from the Rocky moun-
tains to the mouth of the Columbia river. After a
most hazardous journey, he arrived with his faithful
guide and escort, Kit Carson, and his men, (six of whom
were Delaware Indians,) the whole company consisting
of sixty-two men, within a hundred miles of Monterey,
where he halted, and proceeded In person to the head-

MEXICAN TREACHERY. Sc^

quarters of General Castro, the Mexican general in
charge of the territory. His object was to obtain a
pass for himself and company to go to the San Joaquin
valley, where hunting and pasture were abundant. He
received a verbal promise from the general that it would
be all right, to go where he desired, and that, on his
word of honor "as a soldier," he would not be molested.
Fremont and his party were soon on their way to tlie
valley.

Three days after this. General Castro had raised an
army of three hundred native Californlans, and sent a
despatch to Fremont, notifying him to quit the country
at once, else he would march upon him and put to
death his w^hole company. This treachery did not
much surprise Fremont, w^ho replied that he would
leave when he was ready. He prepared for action,
entrenched himself on " Hank's Peak," about thirty
miles from Monterey, and overlooking that village,
\vhere he raised the American flaof. The w^hole com-
pany was well armed, each with a knife, a tomahawk,
two pistols, and a rifle. Castro now came dashing on
with cavalry, infantry, and artillery ; but, after making
a few ineffectual attacks, always galloped off before
cominof within rano^e of Fremont's bullets. Castro
issued bulletins and proclamations daily of the impend-
ing destruction of the little band, but always keeping
out of rifle-range of the entrenchments. After four
days of this fighting, Fremont broke camp and started
on his journey toward Oregon. Castro was not
visible.

Fremont had proceeded into Oregon, and had reached
Klamath lake, when he was overtaken by Lieutenant
Gillespie, of the United States army, who had left

THE GOLDEN STATE.

Washington the previous November, crossing the coun-
try from Vera Cruz to Mazatlan, and who arrived at
Monterey In a United States sloop-of-war, and started
up the valley in search of the explorers. Gillespie had
letters to Fremont from the Secretary of State, and it
is supposed they, or other letter? .o him from friends
at Washington, caused him to retrace his steps and re-
turn to the valley of the Sacramento. This move had
been quickened by the fact that, on the very night after
receiving his despatches, and while all were asleep, the
Indians broke into his camp and assassinated three of
his Delaware Indians, and might have slain the whole
company had it not been for the vigilance of Kit Carson,
who sounded the alarm.

Fremont soon returned to the Sacramento valley,
and encamped near the mouth of the Feather river,
where the settlers soon flocked around him. Great
alarm was caused by reports that General Castro, with
a strong force of cavalry, was on the march to attack
them. A company of twelve volunteers, headed by
Mr. Mersite, started for the Mexican fort at Sonoma,
in Sonoma county, and on the 15th of June, 1846,
entered and captured the post, where they found two
hundred and fifty stand of arms and nine cannon. Here
they captured General Vallejo, and took him a prisoner
to Sutter's fort at Sacramento.

William B. Ide, a N,ew England man, was left to
garrison the fort at Sonoma, with a force of eighteen
men. General Castro having charge of the department
of Sonoma, issued his proclamation, calling upon his
countrymen to rise and drive the marauders from the
soil. On the i8th of June, Ide issued Jiis proclamation
to the people of Sonoma, to defend themselves, and

IDE'S PROCLAMATION.

calling upon them to assemble at Sonoma, and assist in
establishing a republican government
Following is Ide's proclamation :

**A proclamatiojt to all persons a7id citizens of the District of Sonojiia^
requesting them to re7nai7i at peace, and follow their rightful occupa-
tions without fear of molestation.

" The Commander-in-chief of the troops assembled at the fortress
of Sonoma gives his inviolable pledge to all persons in California,
not found under arms, that they shall not be disturbed in their per-
soBs, their property, or social relations, one with another, by men
under his command.

'' He also solemnly declares his object to be, first, to defend him-
self and companions in arms, who were invited to this country by a
promise of lands on which to settle themselves and families, who
were also promised a republican government; when, having arrived
in California, they were denied the privilege of buying or renting
lands of their friends ; who, instead of being allowed to participate
in or being protected by a republican government, were oppressed
by a military despotism ; who were even threatened by proclama-
tion, by the chief officers of the aforesaid despotism, with extermi-
nation, if they should not depart out of the country, leaving all their
property, arms, and beasts of burden ; and thus deprived of their
means of flight or defence, were to be driven through deserts inhab-
ited by hostile Indians to certain destruction.

*' To overthrow a government which has seized upon the property
of the missions for its individual aggrandizement, which has ruined
and shamefully oppressed the laboring people of California by enor-
mous exactions on goods imported into the country, is the determined
purpose of the brave men who are associated under my command.

*' I also solemnly declare my object, in the second place, to be to
invite all peaceable and good citizens of California, who are friendly
to the maintenance of good order and equal rights, and I do hereby
invite them, to repair to my camp at Sonoma, without delay, to
assist us in establishing and perpetuating a republican government,
which shall secure to all civil and religious liberty, which shalj
encourage virtue and literature, which shall leave unshackled by
fetters agriculture, commerce, and manufactures.

** I further declare that I rely upon the rectitude of our intentions,
the favor of Heaven, and the bravery of those who are bound and

9 2 THE GOLDEN STATE,

associated with me by the principles of self-preservation, by the love
of truth, and the hatred of tyranny, for my hopes of success.

*'I furthermore declare that I believe that a government, to be
prosperous and happy, must originate with the people, who are
friendly to its existence; that the citizens are its guardians, the
officers its servants, its glory its reward.

*' William B. Ide.
"Head-Quarters, Sonoma, yune i8, 1846."

A flag was improvised, by painting in rude form the
figure of a grizzly bear on a piece of white cotton cloth.
It followed Ide's proclamation, and was the first flag
after California was declared independent of Mexico.
It is still in possession of the *' Pioneer Society " of
California, at San Francisco.

Fremont was at Sutter's fort during these event-
ful operations ; but hearing that Castro intended a raid
upon Ide at Sonoma, he reached there, on the 23d of
June, at the head of ninety riflemen. He met only a
few retreating Mexicans of De la Torres' band, who
made their way to Saucelito, where they escaped by
boat across the bay to Yerba Buena, (now San Fran-
cisco.) Castro did not appear.

Fremont returned to Sonoma, and, on July 4, 1846,
called a meeting of the Americans. He was appointed
governor, issued a proclamation of independence, and
declared war against Mexico ; and, at the head of his
company of one hundred and sixty men, started for
Sutter's fort. Intending to attack Castro, who was re-
ported to be at Santa Clara. They soon learned, how-
ever, that he was on the retreat to Los Angeles, but
they determined to follow him, (some five hundred
miles.)

Soon news reached them of a new feature In affairs.
On the 7th day of July, Commodore Sloat, of the United

UNITED STATES AND MEXICO AT WAR. 93

States navy, with the frigate Savannah and another
small vessel, arrived at the Bay of Monterey, California.
The commodore had no instructions from his eovern-
ment to take any hostile steps on the Pacific coast : on
the contrar}^ his mission was peace ; but whilst he was
at Mazatlan he heard of the annexation of Texas, and
of the war waQ;inor between Mexico and the United
States, and that General Taylor was already marching
toward the city of Mexico, and that Matamoras was
occupied by United States forces. These things Sloat
had learned while on board his vessel at the Mexican
port of Mazatlan. The news of these events had been
sent by courier privately from the city of Mexico to
the Mexican officials at Mazatlan; and although instruc-
tions had been issued, dated May 13, 1846, and directed
by the President of the United States, to Comm.odore
Sloat, to take possession of and hold Mazatlan, Monte-
rey, and San Francisco, and to declare the country the
property of the United States, they had not reach^
him.

Admiral Seymour, of the British navy, with the line-
of-battle ship Collingiuood, was at Mazatlan. He had
also received despatches from the city of Mexico, and
it was evident that all the Mexican officials favored the
occupation of California by the British, instead of by
their enemies, the Americans, with whom they were
now at war.

The British admiral, basking In the smiles of the
Mexican authorities, hoisted sail upon his ship, and
the Collingwood majestically moved seaward, bound for
Monterey. Commodore Sloat, who was watching with
a jealous eye the movements of the British admiral,

94 THE GOLDEN STATE,

half an hour later set sail upon his two little vessels,
the Sava7i7iah and Preble, and headed directly for Mon-
terey, determined to take possession of the town if he
arrived there before the British admiral. The Savan-
7iah, being the fastest, reached Monterey first, where
Sloat learned of determined efforts being made by the
British and Mexican authorities to place California
under the protection of the English government.

Governor Pico, the Mexican Governor of the Terri-
tory of California, and General Castro, were In favor
of this scheme. Mr. Forbes, the English vice-consul
at Monterey, was active In making the negotiations ;
and the American consul, Thomas O. Larkin, also at
Monterey, informed Sloat upon his arrival of the state
of affairs. This, together with the news of the opera-
tions of Fremont and his party at Sonoma, (it is sup-
posed he had heard of them,) and the state of affairs
between the United States and Mexico, determined
him at once (July 7) to despatch two hundred and fifty
marines on shore, and to hoist the American flae over
the town of Monterey. A salute of twenty-one guns
was fired, and a proclamation Issued that California
henceforth was a part of the United States.

The dull ship of the British rear-admiral arrived at
IMonterey only to see the stars and stripes floating over
it as a part of the republic of America. The admiral,
too, read the proclamation, and saw that he was out-
witted by Sloat, and outrun by the Savannah, and that
the swiftness of the Savannah and the gallantry of
Commodore Sloat had placed California beyond British
rule.

The proclamation Is as follows:

COMMODORE SLOATS PROCLAMATION, 95

" TO THE INHABITANTS OF CALIFORNIA \

'' The central government of Mexico having commenced hostilities
against the United States of America, by invading its territory, and
attacking the troops of the United States stationed on the north
side of the Rio Grande, and with a force of seven thousand men,
under the command of General Arista, which army was totally
destroyed, and all their artillery, baggage, &c., captured on the 8th
and 9th of JNIay last, by a force of two thousand and three hundred
men, under the command of General Taylor, and the city of Mata-
moras taken and occupied by the forces of the United States, and
the two nations being actually at war by this transaction, I shall
hoist the standard of the United States at Monterey immediately,
and shall carry it throughout California.

*' I declare to the inhabitants of California that, although I come
in arms with a powerful force, I do not come among them as an
enemy to California : on the contrary, I come as their best friend,
as henceforth California will be a portion of the United States, and
its peaceable inhabitants will enjoy the same rights and principles
they now enjoy, together with the privilege of choosing their own
magistrates and other officers for the administration of justice among
themselves, and the same protection will be extended to them as to
any other State in the Union. They will also enjoy a permanent
government, under which life, property, and the constitutional right
and lawful security to worship the Creator in the way the most
congenial to each other's sense of duty will be secured, which,
unfortunately, the central government of Mexico cannot afford them,
destroyed as her resources are by internal factions and corrupt officers,
who create constant revolutions to promote their own interests and
oppress the people. Under the flag of the United States, California
will be free from all such trouble and expenses ; consequently the
country will rapidly advance and improve both in agriculture and
commerce, as, of course, the revenue laws will be the same in Cali-
fornia as in all parts of the United States, affording them all manu-
factures and produce of the United States free of any duty, and all
foreign goods at one-quarter of the duty they now pay. A great
increase in the value of real estate and the products of California
may also be anticipated.

''With the great interest and kind feeling I know the government
and people of the United States possess towards the citizens of Cali-

g6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

fornia, the country cannot but improve more rapidly than any other
on the continent of America.

^"^ Such of the inhabitants of California, whether native or foreigners,
as may not be disposed to accept the high privileges of citizenship,
and to live peaceably under the government of the United States,
will be allowed time to dispose of their property and to remove out
of the country, if they choose, without any restriction ; or remain
in it, observing strict neutrality.

''With full confidence in the honor and integrity of the inhabitants
of the country, I invite the judges, alcaldes, and other civil officers
to execute their functions as heretofore, that the public tranquillity
may not be disturbed ; at least until the government of the territory
can be more definitely arranged.

''All persons holding titles to real estate, or in quiet possession of
land under color of right, shall have those titles guaranteed to them.

"All churches and the property they contain in possession of the
clergy of California shall continue in the same rights and possessions
they now enjoy.

"All provisions and supplies of every kind furnished by the in-
habitants for the use of the United States ships and soldiers will be
paid for at fair rates ; and no private property will be taken for
public use without just compensation at the moment.

"John D. Sloat,

^' Commander-in-chief of U. S. Naval Force on Pacific Ocean.
" United States Flag-Ship Savannah,

"Harbor of Monterey, July 7, 1846."

The day following, July 8, by order of Commodore
Sloat, a party from the United States sloop-of-war
Portsmouth landed at Yerba Buena, now San Francisco,
and hoisted the American flag on the plaza.

On the loth, Commander Montgomery, of the Ports
mouth, sent an American flag to Sonoma, which was
hoisted, and the flag improvised by Ide and his men,
known as the "Bear Flag," was hauled down, all welcom-
ing the stars and stripes.

Commodore Stockton, on board the United States
frigate Congress^ arrived at Monterey July 15, just one

OCCUPATION OF CALIFORNIA. 97

week after Sloat had taken possession of the country ;
and one week later, Commodore Sloat sailed home on
board the Levant.

Stockton was now In full command of the American
fleet, aided by Commodore Dupont. Meantime, Gen-
eral Stephen W. Kearney had arrived at Monterey,
crossing by. way of New Mexico. He had orders from
the United States government to take possession of
and establish a government for California ; but, on his
arrival, he found that Sloat, Stockton, and Fremont had
already accomplished these things.

One of the forces which conduced much to the suc-
cessful military occupation of California was the arrival
at San Francisco, on the 7th of March, 1847, of Colonel
Jonathan D. Stevenson, at the head of one thousand
volunteers, raised in New York, to serve, during the
war, In California. The conquest of California had
taken place before the arrival of this regiment ; but it
was of Invaluable service to the State in maintaining
order in the country.

Early in 1846, it was agreed upon by the leading
Mexican officials of the Territory of California, as pro-
mulgated by the Departmental Assembly, that a con-
vention should meet at Santa Barbara, on the 15th of
June, 1846, to consider the future prospects of the
country. Before this period arrived, the stars and
stripes were hoisted by Fremont ; but before this, and
before the authorities knew of Fremont's coming to the
country, an Informal meeting, held at Monterey, at the
house of Don Jose Castro, fully developed that the
people were ready for any form of government that
would afford them protection and security from their
never-ceasing political turmoil.

98 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Following are a few extracts from speeches made by

leading persons at this meeting :

^'Excellent Sirs, to what a deplorable condition is our country-
reduced ! Mexico, professing to be our mother and our protectress,
lias given us neither arms, nor money, nor the materials of war for
our defence. She is riot likely to do any thing in our behalf,
although she is quite willing to afflict us with her extortionate min-
ions, who come hither, in the guise of soldiers and civil officers, to
harass and oppress our people. We possess a glorious country,
capable of attaining a physical and moral greatness corresponding
with the grandeur and beauty which an Almighty hand has stamped
upon the face of our beloved California. But, although nature has
been prodigal, it cannot be denied that we are not in a position to
avail ourselves of her bounty. Our population is not large, and it
is sparsely scattered over valley and mountain, covering an immense
area of virgin soil, destitute of roads, and traversed with difficulty;
hence it is hardly possible to collect an army of any considerable
force. Our people are poor, as well as few, and cannot well
govern themselves and maintain a decent show of sovereign power.
Although we live in the midst of plenty, we lay up nothing j but,
tilling the earth in an imperfect manner, all our time is required to
procure subsistence for ourselves and families. Thus circumstanced,
we find ourselves threatened by hordes of Yankee immigrants, who
have already begun to flock into our country, and whose progress
we cannot arrest. Already have the wagons of that perfidious people
scaled the almost inaccessible summit of the Sierra Nevada, crossed
the entire continent, and penetrated the fruitful valley of the Sacra-
mento. What that astonishing people will next undertake I cannot
say, but, in whatever enterprise they embark, they will be sure to
prove successful. Already are these adventurous land-voyagers
spreading themselves far and wide over a country which seems suited
to their taste. They are cultivating farms, establishing vineyards,
erecting mills, sawing up lumber, building workshops, and doing a
thousand other things which seem natural to them, but which Cali-
fornians neglect or despise. What, then, are we to do ? Shall we
remain supine, while these daring strangers are overrunning our
fertile plains, and gradually outnumbering and displacing us ? Shall
these incursions go on unchecked, until we shall become strangers
in our own land ? We cannot successfully oppose them by our own

CALIFORNIA SEEKING PROTECTION. 99

unaided power, and the swelling tide of immigration renders the
odds against us more powerful every day. We cannot stand alone
against them, nor can we creditably maintain our independence
even against Mexico ; but there is something which we can do,
which will elevate our country, strengthen her at all points, and yet
enable us to preserve our identity and remain masters of our own
soil. Perhaps what I am about to suggest may seem to some faint-
hearted and dishonorable. But to me it does not appear so. It is
the last hope of a feeble people, struggling against a tyrannical gov-
ernment which claims their submission at home, and threatened by
bands of avaricious strangers from without, voluntarily to connect
themselves with a power able and willing to defend and preserve
them. It is the right and duty of the weak to demand support from
the strong, provided the demand be made upon terms just to both
parties. J see no dishonor in this last refuge of the oppressed and
powerless, and I boldly avow that such is the step I would now have
California take. There are two great powers in Europe which
seem destined to divide between them the unappropriated countries
of the world. They have large fleets and armies not unpractised in
the art of war. Is it not better to connect ourselves with one of
these powerful nations than to struggle on without hope as we are
doing now? Is it not better that one of them should be invited to
send a fleet and an army to protect California rather than we should
fall an easy prey to the lawless adventurers who are overrunning
our beautiful country? I pronounce for annexation to France or

England

1 >

To this speech General Mariano G. Vallejo — a native
Californian — replied as follows :

''I cannot, gentlemen, coincide in opinion with the military and
civil functionaries who have advocated the cession of our country to
France or England. It is most true that to rely any longer upon
Mexico to govern and defend us would be idle and absurd. To this
extent I fully agree with my distinguished colleagues. It is true
that we possess a noble country, every way calculated, from position
and resources, to become great and powerful. For that very reason
I would not have her a mere dependence upon a foreign monarchy,
naturally alien, or at least indifferent to our interests and our wel-
fare. . . . Even could we tolerate the idea of dependence,
ought we to go to distant Europe for a master? What possible

3741

lOO THE GOLDEN STATE.

sympathy could exist between us and a nation separated from us
by two vast oceans? But waiving this insuperable objection, how
could we endure to come under the dominion of a monarch? .
We are republicans. Badly governed and badly situated as we are,
still we are all, in sentiment, republicans. So far as we are gov-
erned at all, we at least profess to be self-governed. Who, then,
that possesses true patriotism, will consent to subject himself and
children to the caprices of a foreign king and his official minions ?
Our position is so remote, either by land or sea, that we are
in no danger from a Mexican invasion. Why, then, should we
hesitate still to assert our independence? We have, indeed, taken
the first step by electing our own governor ; but another remains to be
taken. I will mention it plainly and distinctly : it is annexation
to the United States. In contemplating this consummation of our
destiny, I feel nothing but pleasure, and I ask you to share it.
Discard old prejudices, disregard old customs, and prepare for the
glorious change which awaits our country. Why should we shrink
from incorporating ourselves with the happiest and freest nation in
the world, destined soon to be the most wealthy and powerful?
AVhy should we go abroad for protection, when this great nation is
our adjoining neighbor? When we join our fortune to hers, we
shall not become subjects, but fellow-citizens, possessing all the
rights of the people of the United States, and choosing our own
federal and local rulers. We shall have a stable government and
just laws. California will grow strong and flourish, and her people
will be prosperous, happy, and free. Look not, therefore, with
jealousy upon the hardy pioneers, who scale our mountains and
cultivate our unoccupied plains; but rather welcome them as
brothers, who come to share with us a common destiny."

From this period General Vallejo and his friends
took active measures for the annexation of California
to the United States. The general still resides in Cali-
fornia, his native State, of which he is a loyal and
honored citizen.

COMMODORE STOCKTON'S PROCLAMATION IQI

CHAPTER VII.

Feud between Sloat and Fremont — Commodore Stockton in com-
mand : his proclamation — Departure of Sloat — Castro, Pico, and
Flores oppose the Americans — Stockton warns Castro of his peril
— Flores' proclamation to his countrymen — Final surrender of the
Mexicans — Treaty of peace concluded — Strife between Commo-
dore Stockton and General Kearney — Fremont appointed Mili-
tary Governor — Stockton takes his departure — Fremont ousted —
General Kearney and Commodore Shubrick in command — Colonel
Mason supersedes General Kearney — General Kearney proceeds
to Washington — His ill-treatment of Fremont — Fremont arrested
and carried to Fortress Monroe — Court-martialled — Discharged
from arrest by order of the President — Nominated for the
Presidency.

The occupation of California by Commodore Sloat
and the promulgation of his proclamation was official
notice to the world that the territory of California was
the property of the United States. This at once ended
all effort or design of England or France to possess
themselves of the country, and their fleets on the coast
quietly withdrew.

Notwithstanding that Fremont had confronted Castro,
and had defended the Americans in the Sacramento
valley, and had been appointed governor at Sonoma,
and proclaimed California a part of the American Union
before Sloat had entered and taken possession of Mon-
terey, he found himself superseded by the commodore,
who, now In the military occupation of the country,
commanded Fremont to report to him, and demanded
in no mild terms by what authority he was acting. Fre-
mont, chagrined and disappointed, answered, " Upon
my own authority." This was thought most presump-
tuous on the part of the young captain of the corps of

I02 THE GOLDEN STATE.

topographical engineers, who had no military authority
from his eovernment. But Fremont had to succumb
to the superior position of the commodore, who now
assumed the duties of military governor.

Fremont was now at Monterey at the head of his
battalion, chafing with the mortification inflicted upon
him by Sloat. The commodore, under his proclama-
tion of July 7, was in supreme command, but ill-health
prompted him to return home.

On the 15th of July, 1847, Commodore Stockton, on
board the United States frigate Congress^ arrived at
Monterey. Sloat turned over his command to Stock-
ton, who Immediately assumed command as Military
Governor of California'; and, on the 28th of July, he
issued the following proclamation :

*'0n assuming the command of the forces of the United States
on tlie coast of California, both by sea and land, I find myself in
possession of the ports of Monterey and San Francisco, with daily
reports from the interior of scenes of rapine, blood, and murder.
Three inoffensive American residents of the country have within a
few days been murdered in a most brutal manner ; and there are
no Californian officers who will arrest and bring the murderers to
justice, although it is well known who they are and where they are.
I must, therefore, and will, as soon as I can, adopt such measures
as may seem best calculated to bring these criminals to justice, and
to bestow peace and good order on the country.

*'In the first place, however, I am constrained by every principle
of national honor, as well as a due regard for the safety and best
interests of the people of California, to put an end, at once and by
force, to the lawless depredations committed by General Castro's
men upon the persons and property of peaceful and unoffending
inhabitants.

**I cannot, therefore, confine my operations to the quiet and
undisturbed possession of the defenceless ports of Monterey and
San Francisco, whilst the people elsewhere are suffering from law-
less violence ; but will immediately march against these boasting

COMMODORE STOCKTON'S PROCLAMATION. 103

and abusive chiefs, (who have not only violated every principle of
national hospitality and good faith towards Captain Fremont and
his surveying party, but who, unless driven out, will, with the aid
of the hostile Indians, keep this beautiful country in a constant
state of revolution and bloodshed,) as well as against all others who
may be found in arms aiding and abetting General Castro.

^'The present general of the forces of California is an usurper;
has been guilty of great offences; has impoverished and drained
the country of almost its last dollar; and has deserted his post now
when most needed. He has deluded and deceived the inhabitants
of California, and they with his expulsion from the country. He
came into power by rebellion and force, and by force he must be
expelled. Mexico appears to have been compelled, from time to
time, to abandon California to the mercies of any wicked man who
could muster one hundred men in arms. The distances from the
capital are so great that she cannot, even in times of great distress,
send timely aid to the inhabitants ; and the lawless depredations
upon their persons and property go invariably unpunished. She
cannot or will not punish or control the chieftains w^ho, one after
the other, have defied her power and kept California in a constant
state of revolt and misery.

*' The inhabitants are tired and disgusted with this constant suc-
cession of military usurpers, and this insecurity of life and property.
They invoke my protection. Therefore upon them I will not make
war. I require, however, all officers, civil and military, and all
other persons, to remain quiet at their respective homes and stations,
and to obey the orders they may receive from me or by my author-
ity; and if they do no injury or violence to my authority, none
will be done to them."

Commodore Sloat, on the 23d of July, sailed home

on the Levant, leaving Stockton In full command, who

immediately organized a battalion of mounted riflemen ;

and Fremont, who could not even receive a recoo-nltlon

from Sloat, was appointed major, and, at the head of

his corps of one hundred and sixty men, embarked on

board the United States sloop-of-war Cyane for San

Diego, to quell a strong opposition organized against

the American occupation of the country, headed by

IC4 THE GOLDEN STATE.

General Castro, Governor Pico, and Don Jose Marld
Flores, whose forces, until January i6, 1847, demanded
all the energy and vigilance of Stockton, General
Kearney, Fremont, and Gillespie, to hold them in sub-
jection. The final overthrow of this opposition, ex-
tending over a vast territory, deprived of every means
of transportation, with only about three hundred men
against twelve hundred or fifteen hundred well-mounted
and most expert cavalry of the enemy, reflects in its
details the highest credit upon the bravery, skill, and
fidelity of John C. Fremont, Commodore Stockton, and
their officers and men.

The bulletins and proclamations Issued by the con-
tending parties were often of an exciting and belliger-
ent tone ; a few samples of which are here given.

Commodore Stockton, on leaving Monterey to chas-
tise Castro, said, in one of his proclamations : " Imme-
diately march against the boasting and abusive chiefs,
who had not only violated every principle of national
hospitality and good faith toward Captain Fremont,
but who, unless driven out, would keep this beautiful
country in a constant state of revolution and blood-
shed, as well as against all others who might be found
in arms aiding and abetting General Castro." And
again : " Tell Castro he must unconditionally surrender,
or experience my vengeance."

The following proclamation, issued by Flores, will
show how tenaciously some at least of the native Cali-
fornlans opposed American occupation of California:

^^Mexicafi Aj-my, Section of OperatioJis,

''Angeles, October i, 1846.

''Fellow-Citizens: It is a month and a half that, by lament-
able fatality, fruit of the cowardice and inability of the first author-

FL ORES ' PR 0 CLAMA TIOiV.

105

ities of the department, we behold ourselves subjugated and op-
pressed by an insignificant force of adventurers of the United
States of America, and placing us in a worse condition than that
of slaves.

"They are dictating to us despotic and arbitrary laws, and load-
ing us with contributions and onerous burdens, which have for an
object the ruin of our industry and agriculture, and to force us to
abandon our property, to be possessed and divided among them-
selves.

'*And shall we be capable to allow ourselves to be subjugated,
and to accept, by our silence, the weighty chains of slavery? Shall
we permit to be lost the soil inherited from our fathers, which cost
them so much blood and so many sacrifices ? Shall we make our
families victims of the most barbarous slavery? Shall we wait to
see our wives violated — our innocent children punished by the
American whips — our property sacked — our temples profaned — and,
lastly, to drag through an existence full of insult and shame ? No !
a thousand times no ! Countrymen, first death !

''Who of you does not feel his heart beat with violence, who
does not feel his blood boil, to contemplate our situation ? And
who will be the Mexican who will not feel indignant, and who will
not rise to take up arms to destroy our oppressors? We believe
there is not one so vile and cowardly. With such a motive the
majority of the inhabitants of the districts, justly indignant against
our tyrants, raise the cry of war, with arms in their hands, and of
one accord swear to sustain the following articles :

** I. We, the inhabitants of the Department of California, as
members of the great Mexican nation, declare that it is and has
been our wish to belong to her alone, free and independent.

'' 2. Consequently the authorities intended and named by the
invading forces of the United States are held null and void.

" 3. All the North Americans being enemies of Mexico, we swear
not to lay down our arms till they are expelled from the Mexican
territory.

''4. All Mexican citizens, from the age of fifteen to sixty, who
do not take up arms to forward the present plan, are declared
traitors, and under pain of death.

"5. Every Mexican or foreigner who may directly or indirectly
aid the enemies of Mexico will be punished in the same manner.

" 6. The property of the North Americans in the department,

I06 THE GOLDEN STATE.

who may directly or indirectly have taken part with or aided the
enemies, shall be confiscated, and used for the expenses of the war,
and their persons shall be taken to the interior of the republic.

** 7. All those who may oppose the present plan will be punished
with arms.

*'8. All the inhabitants of Santa Barbara and the district of the
north will be invited immediately to adhere to the present plan.

**JosE Ma. Flores.

**Camp in Angeles, September 24, 1846."

On the 1 6th day of January, 1S47, the war waged
by the CaHfornians under Castro, Pico, and Flores was
brought to a close by the flight of Flores to Mexico,
and the capitulation of Castro, Pico, and their forces to
Fremont. Commissioners were appointed on both
sides to arrange terms of peace. The Californians
acknowledged the supreme authority of the Americans,
and the Americans promised protection of Hfe and
property to all Californians and Mexicans of every
class and condition, regardless of former acts of hos-
tility. All prisoners on both sides were released, pa-
roles cancelled, and all parties to stand upon an equal
footing whilst submissive to the authority of the United
States. This treaty, concluded by Fremont while his
two superiors. Commodore Stockton and General Kear-
ney, were in the face of the enemy but a few miles
distant, was a bold and presumptuous act, at once defi-
ant and destructive of the official dignity of his supe-
riors. But a victory so easily won, and so effectually
endinor a strife carried on under most unfavorable cir-
cumstances by the Americans, and at once placing the
flag of the republic in triumph over so vast a field, was
not to be despised ; and the good sense of Stockton
and Kearney led them to accede to the situation, leav-
ing to Fremont the laurels so boldly won. The Amer-

TREATY OF SETTLEMENT.

107

ican conquest was complete, and the war in California
at an end.

Fremont, on the i6th day of January, 1847, signing
himself "Military Commandant of California," approved
the treaty, which was signed on the part of the Amer-
icans by Major P. B. Reading, Colonel W. H. Russell,
and Captain Louis McLean ; and on the part of the
Californians by Jose Antonio Carrillo, Augustine Oli-
vera, and Andres Pico, " Commandant of Squadron
and Chief of the National Forces of California."

Now came a serious conflict of rank and jurisdiction
between General Kearney and Commodore Stockton ;
Kearney claiming that his instructions from Washington,
to take charge of California and establish a govern-
ment, placed him in authority as military governor, and
the superior of both Fremont and Stockton. Stockton
had taken possession of the country, and was acting
as military governor before Kearney arrived in the
country, and claimed to rank Kearney. Fremont de-
cided to report to Stockton, which he did on his enter-
ing Los Angeles, on January 14, 1847. On the i6th,
two days later, Stockton appointed Fremont Military
Governor, and W. H. Russell Secretary, of the new
Territory. Stockton In a few days departed from the
port of San Pedro for the coast of Mexico.

Fremont now found himself comfortably enjoying
the dignity of governor, and the title of the conqueror
of California. But there was trouble ahead little
dreamed of. General Kearney was chafing at the
indignity offered him by Fremont reporting to Stock-
ton, and at Stockton placing Fremont as Military
Governor of the Territory, and was determined to be
revenged.

loS THE GOLDEN STATE,

Kearney departed for Monterey. Here he found
Commodore Shubrlck, on board the United States ship
of war Lidependence. Kearney and Shubrick were now
in possession of official authority from their govern-
ment, appointing the former MiHtary Governor of Cali-
fornia, and the latter supervisor of customs, port charges,
and naval affairs. On the ist day of March, 1847,
these two officials made a joint proclamation, setting
forth their official positions, and forwarded a copy of
the document to Governor Fremont, whose brief gu-
bernatorial star of less than two months was eclipsed
forever. Kearney, from this date, entered upon the
duties of his new office as Military Governor of
California.

Fremont, aware of the official authority by which
Kearney was acting, obeyed the orders of his new
superior; but the officers and men of Fremont's battal-
ion, and indeed the whole native population, felt so
indignant at what they conceived to be an outrage per-
petrated on Fremont, that there was much danger of
another outbreak.

Important events were now transpiring with great
rapidity. Colonel Mason had arrived from Washington
with instructions to relieve General Kearney, assume
military command, and relieve Fremont from all con-
nection with the army, allowing him either to pursue
his explorations northward or to join his regiment and
obey the commands of the new military governor.
Here ended the two months military reign of General
Kearney, who, on the 19th of June, 1847, started on
his journey overland to Washington, compelling the
ill-treated Fremont to turn over to another his survey-
ing instruments, sold all the horses he had collected.

OFFICIAL FEUDS.

1 09

refused him permission to join his (Kearney's) reo-i-
ment, and obliged him to follow in the wake of his
(Kearney's) trail across the plains, and to encamp at
night never more than one mile from Kearney. This
was a most humiliating position, but Fremont was
obeying the orders of his superior officer. Kearney
was determined to crush him, and at Fort Leavenworth
Fremont was arrested, carried to Fortress Monroe,
where a court-martial found him guilty of disobedience
mutinous and disorderly conduct, and sentenced him tc
forfeit his com^mission. President Polk, however, ap^
proving the findings and decisions, discharged Fremont
from arrest, and requested him to report for duty ; but
Fremont, regarding the whole situation as an outrage
and an insult, resigned his commission, and returned
to private life : not to be forgotten, however, for the
majority of the people of the country considered him
the pioneer conqueror of California, and a much-abused
man, and, in respect of his eminent service, and the
sympathy consequent upon a real or supposed perse-
cution, he was placed at the head of the ticket for
President of the United States by the Republicans in
1857, when he received 1,341,514 of the popular vote
to 1,832,232 by Buchanan, the successful Democrati
candidate.

no THE GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER VIII.

Colonel Mason and General Riley in command of the government
of California — End of the Mexican war — Acquisition of Texas
and New Mexico — Treaty between the United States and Mexico
— Bomidary established — C'onvention to frame a State Constitu-
tion meets at Monterey — California admitted into the Union —
Treaty between England and the United States defining western
boundary — Claims of Portugal to California — Claims of Spain —
Pope Alexander VI settles the dispute — ^Treaty between Spain
and Portugal — A bull from the Pope — Chain of title to California
— Speech of Hon. Thomas H, Benton on the boundary question
— Treaty stipulations — Rulers under Spanish, Mexican, and
United States governments in California — English, French, and
American Consuls m California.

Colonel Richard B. Mason, who succeeded General
Kearney as Military Governor of California, assumed
command on the 31st of May, 1847, ^^^ continued in
office until the 13th day of April, 1849 > when he was
succeeded by General Bennet Riley, who entered upon
the office of military governor, under whose administra-
tion affairs were conducted until California was admitted
as a State into the Union, on the 9th of September,
1850.

The war between the United States and Mexico,
which began by the battle of Palo Alto, on the 8th of
May, 1846, and ended with the fall of the city of Mexico,
on the 14th of September, 1847, ^^^ which secured
to the United States Texas and New Mexico, afforded
little opportunity for the government to quell disturb-
ances or establish a government in the then inaccessi-
ble land of California.

At the close of the Mexican war, a treaty was entered
into between the United States and Mexico, defining

MILITARY RULE IN CALIFORNIA. Ill

the southern boundary of the United States, and ceding
a vast portion of the northern territory of Mexico. By
the terms of this treaty, the Hne dividing the repubhc
of Mexico and the United States was declared to be
the Rio Grande, to the thirty-second parallel ; thence
westward alongf the southern line of New Mexico to
the Gila river; thence following that stream until It
joined the Rio Colorado ; thence westward to the
Pacific ocean south of San Diego about one league, and
in latitude thirty- two and a-half; the United States
paying fifteen million dollars to Mexico, and adopting
the claims of citizens of the United States acxainst that
country. This treaty, ceding New Mexico and Cali-
fornia, and defininof the southern boundarv of the United
States, was dated at the city of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
February 2, 1848; exchanged at Oueretaro, IMay 30,
1848; ratified by the United States, March 16, 1848;
and officially proclaimed by the President, July 4, 1848;
and thus the title of the United States to New Mexico
and California was complete.

Meantime, General Riley, as military governor, con-
tinued to rule California. On June 3, he issued a proc-
lamation calling a State Convention to frame a con-
stitution. The convention assembled at Monterey,
on Monday, September i, 1849. The constitution was
adopted October 10, 1849, ^^"^^ ratified November 13,
1849. On the 20th of December, 1849, General Riley
proclaimed the election of the new governor under the
constitution, and resigned his position as military gov-
ernor ; and, by act of the United States Congress, Cali-
fornia, without going through the probationary stages
of a civil territorial government, was, on the 9th day of
September, 1850, admitted Into the Union.

I I 2 THE GOLDEN STATE.

During the early part of the conquest of California,
the western boundary of the whole American posses-
sions was undefined, and a source of danger between
England and the United States; but happily, on the
15th of June, 1846, a treaty was concluded between the
two nations, confirming the western boundary of the
American republic, and also confirming the title of the
United States to the Territory of Oregon, the boundary
line being "the forty-ninth degree of latitude from the
Stony mountains west to the middle of the channel
which separates Vancouver island from the continent ;
thence southerly through the middle of the channel
and to Fuca straits to the Pacific ocean."

The more fully to define and illustrate to the reader
the origin of the legal Spanish and American titles to
California, and to understand the chain of titles, let it
be remembered that the Portuguese, previous to the
discovery of America by Columbus in 1492, had dis-
covered the Azore islands, In longitude thirty-one west ;
in consequence of which, all the discoveries made by
Columbus were claimed to belong to the crown of
Portugal, and that Spain had no title to them and that
her subjects should be excluded from these possessions.
This proposition was rejected by Spain. The dispute
upon the right of possession between Spain and Por-
tugal to these countries was referred to Pope Alexander
VI — the law of nations and the adopted law of the
world then recognizing the pope as the ultimate source
of all temporal power. He was king of kings, making
and unmaking them and their possessions at will, with-
out recourse upon the part of the dethroned. The
origin and source of all landed titles was conceded to
be in his infallible holiness.

TITLE TO CALIFORNIA, I 1 3

On the 3d clay of May, A. D. 1493, the pope rendered
his decision between the crowns of Spain and Portugal.
By his decree, all countries inhabited by infidels, already
discovered by or which might be discovered by the
Spanish, wxst of one hundred leagues west of the
Azores, he granted to Spain ; and all lying east of that
line to Portugal. In 1494, a treaty between the Kings
of Spain and Portugal moved this boundary two hun-
dred and seventy leagues further west. The bounda-
ries thus established continued to be respected by all
nations ; and, when an infringement of it w^as attempted
through the avarice of King Henry VII of England, w^ho
attempted to possess himself of a portion of the terri-
tory granted to Spain, a bull from his holiness the pope
caused him to abandon his designs. Thus it will be
seen that the chain of title to California w^as, first, by
the discoveries of Spain and Portugal ; then by the
decree and division by Pope Alexander granting it to
Spain ; from Spain to Mexico by revolution ; from
Mexico by conquest and treaty to the United States.

In conjunction and illustration of the foregoing his-
tory of American title and claim to the northern boun-
dar}^ of the republic, the following extracts from a
speech delivered in the United States Senate, on the
1 2th day of January, 1843, by the Hon. Thomas H.
Benton, may serve a good purpose.

Mr. Benton, speaking upon the northern boundary
question, said:

" — The treaties of 1803 and 1819; the former with France, by
which we acquired Louisiana ; the latter with Spain, by which we
acquired all her rights on the northwest coast of America north of
forty-two degrees. By the first of these treaties we became a party
to the tenth article of the treaty of Utrecht between France and
S

114 THE GOLDEN STATE.

England, the treaty of peace of 1714, which terminated the wars
of Queen Anne and Louis XIV, and settled all their differences of
every kind in Europe and America, and undertook to prevent the
recurrence of future differences between them. The tenth article
of this treaty applied to their settlements and territories in North
America, and directed commissioners to be appointed to mark and
define their possessions. These commissioners did their work.
They drew a line from ocean to ocean, to separate the French and
British dominions, and to prevent further encroachments and col-
lisions. This line began on the coast of Labrador, and followed
a course slightly southwest to the centre of North America, leaving
the British settlements of Hudson bay to the north, and the French
Canadian possessions to the south. This line took for a landmark
the Lake of the Woods, which was then believed to be due east
from the head of the Mississippi; and from that point took the
forty-7imth pai-allel of latitude indefinitely to the west. The language
is ^indefinitely;'' and this established the northern boundary of
Louisiana, and erected a wall beyond which future French settle-
ments could not cross to the north nor British to the south.

**As purchasers of Louisiana, the treaty of 1803 7nade us a party
to the tenth article ofi the treaty ofi Utrecht, and made the fiorty-ni?ith
parallel the same to us a?id the British which it had been to the French
and the British : it became a wall which neither party could pass,
so far as it depended upon that line."

California, from her permanent occupation by Spain
and the establishment of her rule in 1767, to 1822 — a
term of fifty-five years — had ten Governors. Under
twenty-four years of Mexican rule — from 1822 to 1846
— she had thirteen governors; and under the American
military rule of four years — from July 7, 1846, to Sep-
tember 9, 1850 — had six military governors.

But three nations had appointed consuls In California
previous to the American occupation of the countr}'.
In 1843, Thomas O. Larkin, an American, who arrived
in California in 1836, was appointed United States
consul which of^ce he held until July 7, 1846, when

CONSULS IN CALIFORNIA. I I 5

Commodore Sloat took possession of the country in
the name of the United States. In 1844, James A.
Forbes was appointed the first consul from Great
Britain, which office he still held at the time of the
American occupation. In May, 1845, Don Louis Gas-
quet was appointed French consul, which office he held
until 1847, when he was succeeded by M. Movenhaut.
All these officers resided at the Mexican capital of the
Territory, Monterey.

lit) THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER IX.

California under American rule — Population in 1842 and 1845 —
Arrival of Mormons at San Francisco — Population in 1848 — In
1S70 — Composition of population of San Francisco in 1842 —
Establishment of Mission Dolores — First house built in San Fran-
cisco— First child born — Hudson Bay Company at San Francisco
— First newspaper in California — First school — First Protestant
minister — First Protestant church — First steamboat — Discovery
of gold — Sutter and Marshall — First mining — Rush to the mines
— Official notice of the gold discovery — Early gold-seekers — ■
Advent of the Chinese.

No sooner was California in the possession of the
Americans, and the flag of the republic waving its pro-
tecting folds over the land, than new life was Infused
into ^very branch of commerce, trade, and Industry ;
and the Spanish, Mexicans, and Indians began to seek
seclusion or oblivion before the march of the invader,
who laughed at the tame realities of life, so soon to give
place to scenes of commercial enterprise. Industry,
speculation, and wild excitement hitherto unknown in
the annals of history.

The total white population of California, In 1845, is
estimated to have been about eight thousand. During
the years 1846 and 1847, considerable emigration had
found its way from Oregon, over the Rocky mountains,
and by sea.

On the 31st of July, 1846, the ship Brooklyn, from
New York, with about two hundred and thirty Mor-
mons, under the leadership of Samuel Brannan, arrived
at San Francisco, with the intention of founding a Mor-
mon settlement.

At the beginning of 1848. It was estimated that the

JAMES W.MARSHALL, DISCOVERER OF GOLD IN CALIFORNIA, J AxN LAKY I9, 1848*

■■'liitajlj.jlli

"HON'EST MINERS" GOING HOME, IN 1S5O.

^^^J^^CE GOLDJMINING IN CALIFORNIA IN 1S49

INTERIOR OF THE " EL DORADO," GAMBLING HOUSE.
(On Kearney Street facing the Tlaza, in 1849.)

POPULATION OF CALIFORNIA. II7

\vhole white population of California, of all nations, was
about fourteen thousand. At this period (1870) it is
about six hundred thousand. The population of San
Francisco, in 1842, was only one hundred and ninety-six
persons — seventy-six men, fort}^-two w^omen, forty-two
boys, and thirty-six girls. The census taken in this
year gives the name, age, birthplace, sex, and occupation
of each person, in which there were in all but twent}'-
six foreigners, as follows : ten Americans, four English-
men, four Sandwich Islanders, two Germans, two Irish-
men, and of Manilla, Peru, France, and Scotland, one
each. No lawyers, insurance agents, dentists, tailors,
hatters, dressmakers, real estate agents, doctors, or
undertakers appear in the list. The marked improve-
ment and growth of San Francisco continued steadily
from the date of the American conquest. Although the
Mission Dolores (now in the city limits of San Fran-
cisco) was established in 1776, there was not a solitar}'
sign of life or settlement about the bay or beach of
Yerba Buena cove, now the heart of the city of San
Francisco, until 1835, when a tent made of old sails
was erected by Captain W. A. Richardson. On the
4th of July of the following year, Jacob P. Leese erected
a small frame building adjoining Richardson's house, in
which was borUj April 15, 1838, Rosalie Leese, the first
child born at Yerba Buena, (good herb,) now San Fran-
cisco, and the city was started. At this point, a small
depot of the Hudson Bay Company was established,
which, however, disappeared in 1846. In January, 1847,
San Francisco had a population of four hundred and
fifty-nine persons of all classes — three hundred and
twenty-nine males and one hundred and thirty-eight
females ; of these three hundred and seventy-five were

Il8 THE GOLDEN STATE.

whites, thirty- four Indians, forty Sandwich Islanders,
and ten negroes — eighty-four colored. The whites
represented the following nations : United States, two
hundred and twenty-eight; California, thirty-eight;
Mexico, two ; Canada, five ; Chili, two ; England,
twenty-two ; Germany, twenty-seven ; France, three ;
Ireland, fourteen ; Scotland, fourteen ; Switzerland, six;
at sea, four ; and of New Holland, New Zealand, Malta,
Denmark, Peru, Russia, Poland, Sweden, and West
Indies, one each. At this period the trades and pro-
fessions were beginning to be represented : a minister,
a schoolmaster, two surveyors, three lawyers, and three
doctors represented the professions ; many of the trades
were represented.

A weekly newspaper, published by Samuel Brannan
and edited by E. P. Jones, called the California StaVy
was the first newspaper published in San Francisco ;
but as early as August 15, 1846, Messrs. Colton and
Semple had started the Californian — the first paper
published in California — at Monterey. In May, 1847,
this journal was transferred to San Francisco.

San Francisco was fast assuming a city appearance.
In March, 1848, It contained two hundred houses, and
a population of eight hundred and fifty souls. A public
school — the first in California — had been opened on the
3d of April, 1848, by Thomas Douglas. On November
15, 1848, the first steamer ever upon the waters of San
Francisco bay — a small boat taken from Sitka by Cap-
tain Leidesdorff — made a trial trip around the bay. In
October, 1848, the first Protestant church in California
was established by Rev. T. D wight Hunt at San Fran-
cisco. Mr. Hunt was a Presbyterian minister, who
came from the Sandwich Islands, and was the first Prot-

DISCOVERY OF GOLD. II9

estant minister in California. There was no reo;ular
church organization : Mr. Hunt preached in the school-
house.

Although the first gold had been discovered by James
W. Marshall, at Sutter's mill, on the American river, as
early as the 19th of January, 1848, no news of the fact
had reached San Francisco until February following,
when the crash came which sent its echo throughout
the world, and drew within the circle of California people
of every part of the globe. The great event which
brought the almost unknown and distant land of Cali-
fornia to the notice of the world, and produced in so
brief a period such scenes of excitement and commer-
cial advantages, was the discovery of gold.

In the fall of 1847, Captain John A. Sutter, a Swiss
by birth, and a man of great adventure and many ster-
ling qualities, who arrived in San Francisco July 2, 1839,
and located in the following year at Neiu Helvetia, near
Sacramento, was erecting a saw-mill at a place called
Coloma, about fifty miles east of Sacramento City, on
the American river, which empties into the Sacramento.
James W. Marshall had contracted for the erecting of
the mill, and he and his men were at work in cutting
and w^idening the tail-race : to effect this, he let the
water of the river through the cut, which in its course
carried away quantities of earth and sand. In cleaning
portions of this away, Marshall observed some particles
of yellow glittering substance : these he examined
through curiosity. This was on the 19th day of Janu-
ary, 1848. A piece of gold, weighing about six penny-
weights, was carried by Marshall, in about two weeks,
to Captain Sutter, who examined it without much belief

I 20 THE GOLDEN STATE.

of its value. Much doubt of Its being gold still rested
among all who saw the "stuff;" and Sutter seems to
have regarded Marshall as insane when he insisted that
it was gold.

In February following, specimens of the new discovery
were carried to San Francisco. Here an old Georgian
gold-miner — Isaac Humphrey — saw it, and at sight
pronounced it gold, and at once prepared to start for
the new gold-fields. His persuasions failed to induce
any of his friends to accompany him : they laughed at
the idea, so he was compelled to start alone ; and, on
the 7th of March, 1848, reached the place of discovery.
The news had now spread among the workmen and
others in the vicinity of the discovery of " some curious
yellow stuff" Humphrey, on March 8, commenced
prospecting, and soon confirmed his belief of the nature
of the discovery. Soon the workmen abandoned the.
sawinof of the lumber and erectlnor of the mill, and
plunged Into the new labor, now paying from five to
fifty dollars per day to the hand. Through the spring
and summer of 1848, the news of the discovery reached
San Francisco and ever}' hamlet in California and Ore-
gon, and the excitement became intense; and from
every direction the pilgrims wended their way to the
new Mecca — the gold-fields. The scattering popula-
tion of the valleys caught up the excitement: wild stories
of fabulous discoveries had reached them : fields of
standing grain were left to fall to the ground ; cattle,
farms, wives, and children, all abandoned. The news
continued to spread. Quantities of the precious metal
were in the hands of miners, reporting that all could
make from ten to one hundred dollars a day ; in some

JiUSII FOR THE GOLD MIiVES. 121

cases, many thousands. This was too much. Who
could endure It? A dollar and a dollar and a-half per
day were the wages of laborers and mechanics at San
Francisco. It was only one hundred and twenty miles
up the river to Sacramento, and from there a few miles
to the mines. All hands — the schoolmaster, butcher,
baker, lawyer, doctor, and merchant — started up the
Sacramento river. The whole village was on the march :
onlv the few women and children remained. The tvv^o
newspaper offices closed : even the devil was amongst
them, as some of them fully realized before they got
.through. Oregon's sturdy settlers made their long
pilgrimage from the north, over snow-capped moun-
tains and lonely deserts. Up from the lower portion
of the State came the native Californian mounted on
his faithful steed, the half-breed, and the Indian. Now
from Mexico came the miner, vaquero, and desperado.
Up from Chili and Peru came the speculator, gambler,
and courtesan. Over the Rocky mountains came the
long lines of the emigrant trains, working their tedious
march over almost precipitous mountains of eternal
snows and arid deserts of alkali and quicksands, leaving
behind them the new-made grave, and the bleaching
bones of their famished and overburdened brutes, to
tell the sad story of their weary journey, and to mark
the path of the future traveller over the sandy deserts
of the Humboldt.

The few vessels that could find sailors to take them
from the coast spread the news wherever they touched.
The Inhabitants of the lonely and unfrequented Islands
of the seas heard the glad tidings of the land of gold.

Official announcement was made of the rich dis-

122 THE GOLDEN STATE.

coveries in the halls of Congress ; and, as the news
spread through the American republic, the people
seemed spell-bound and charmed — maddened to em-
brace the element of social power. The peculiar men-
tal and physical temperament of the American, his
activity, and excitability, well fitted him to become the
subject of what now assumed the form of a painful
disease. No class was exempt from the ravages of the
new mania ; so, from Maine to the Mississippi, occupa-
tions were abandoned ; the judge, lawyer, doctor, mer-
chant, banker, mechanic, farmer, mariner, and laborer
bade adieu to startled friends, hurriedly kissed weeping
wife and child, bade them farewell, and across the
plains, over the Isthmus, around the Horn, joined the
hurrying throng, bound for California.

From England, Germany, France, Russia, and Spain,
came the gold-seeker. Australia and Van Dieman's
Land let loose their penal colonists. The Islands of
the sea sent forth their strange-looking inhabitants of
various hues, complexions, and tongues. The Turk
and the Greek joined In the throng. From across the
deep sea came a strange people, the seal of whose
national exclusiveness had never been broken until
touched by the magic shock of gold in the sands and
hills of the new world. They were a peculiar people.
The similarity of physical organization, the long, coarse,
black hair braided in a solitary cue behind, with shaven
crown, almond eye, yellow face, and mechanical, meas-
ured step, told of a race whose primeval order had
never been disturbed by any other branch of the human
family. Their strange and inharmonious voice and un-
known tonorue seemed to startle the most stoical of all

EARLY GOLD HUNTERS.

123

the races of men, whilst their singular costume gave
them more the appearance of beings of another sphere
than the inhabitants of earth. In silent, sullen mood
with all mankind, and without knowing the sound of a
voice of any of the many nationalities with whom they
were to associate, or being able to convey either by
word or gesture a single thought, v/ant, or idea to any
save their own race, they, with their kettles, rice, hea-
then gods, and chop-sticks, joined in the ever-lengthen-
ing procession of strange-looking beings, and set their
face towards the reputed land of gold.

124 ^-^-^^ GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER X.

Population of California in 1849 — Rush to the mines — Gold yield
of 1848 — Population and scenes of San Francisco in 1S49 — Ships
for California — Overland emigration — Across the Isthmus —
Arrival of first steamer — Commerce in 1849 — Occupations of the
people — Gray-shirt brigade — Ships at a discount — Up the Sacra-
mento /tiver — Early disappointments — Gambling — Gold product
— Gold excitements — Honesty of the "forty-niners" — ^Lynch
law — Prices in the mines — Cultivation of the soil — Cattle — Eggs
— Fruit — All ''going home in the spring" — Indians in the mines
— Yankee speculators — Suffering and disappointments in the mines
— Miners going home.

The year 1849 is a period ever memorable in the
history of Cahfornia; and there are few portions of the
civiHzed elobe which cannot find among^ its inhabitants
those who can date from that year the departure of
dear friends bound for CaHfornia whose faces they have
never aeain beheld.

The excitement of the gold discovery In 1848 had,
up to Januar}^ i, 1849, niore than doubled the popula-
tion of California. At this period the total population
was estimated at twenty-six thousand — thirteen thou-
sand natives, eight thousand Americans, and five thou-
sand of all other nations. During the year 1848, ten
million dollars in gold had been extracted from the
mines, principally from the Yuba, Feather, and Ameri-
can rivers, and the gulches thereabout ; the rocker,
shovel, prospecting-pan, and crevice-knife, being the
only machinery employed.

In San Francisco and throughout the country the
excitement was intense; but, up to the spring of 1849,
it was confined to the small population on the coast,
most of whom had been in California for many years.

EARLY GOLD EXCITEMENT. I 25

But, In the spring of 1849, there was a new stimulus.
The city of San Francisco, in January, 1849, had a
population of two thousand, most of whom were pre-
paring to go to the mines when the rainy season would
be over. How little did they dream of the flood of
human beings to be let loose upon them ! Already the
ocean was dotted with sails from every nation of the
globe, all heading for distant California. The gallant
ship, with impatient crew and passengers, was buffeting
the gales of Cape Horn, or seeking a passage through
Magellan's straits. The trade winds of the North
Pacific were bearing before them hordes of strange
beings from Asia and the islands of the seas. The
eager Yankee, with bowie-knife and revolver attached,
was threading the serpentine cours^of the miasmatic
Chagres, or belaboring his stubborn mule through the
jungles of the Isthmus ; or, by the tedious journey of
the plains, following the dusty line of the meandering
ox-team, as he anxiously cast his wistful eyes toward
the promised land in the direction of the setting sun.

On the 28th of February, 1849, ^^ pioneer steamship
of the ocean line of American passenger ships — The
California — arrived at San Francisco from New York.
She was followed by the steamship Oregon from
New York, which, with three hundred and fifty pas-
sengers, arrived on the 31st of March following. The
steamship Panama^ with a load of passengers, arrived
August 4.

The floodgates of commerce and population were
now open, and through them poured a torrent of human
beings upon the little village of San Francisco, with its
few adobe and frame houses, nestling around the beach
and sand-hills. Ships were daily arriving with full car-

126 THE GOLDEN STATE.

goes of merchandise: no wharves, warehouses, stores,
streets, offices, lumber, or labor were to be had at any
price. July, 1849, found the Bay of San Francisco
filling with the ships of every nation, and the Golden
Gate received a continuous stream of shipping. The
flags of every nation, with the peculiar marine architec-
ture, customs, costumes, and language of the new-
comers, lent a romantic aspect to a scene fearfully wild
and disordered, in consequence of the haste and anxiety
of all to start for the mines ; for now the most fabulous
stories, with the fact of the arrival of millions of dollars
in gold-dust, wrought the public mind into a feverish
delirium. Five hundred square-rigged vessels lay in
the harbor, with half a mile of mud-flats between them
and high-water mark — Montgomery street; but one
wharf, Broadway, to accommodate this fleet. Agents
and consignees of these valuable ships and cargoes
found the crews (sometimes including officers) take
to the small boats as soon as the anchor was dropped,
and head for the Sacramento river toward the new
diggings. Lighters, scows, and boats had to land these
cargoes, but what could be done ? Of the few convey-
ances of this character, none could be had but at fabu-
lous prices. Laborers, who, a year ago, would have
been glad to have received one dollar and a-lialf a day,
now demanded from twenty to thirty dollars. There
were no laborers : one man was as good as another —
they were *' in a free country :" who would labor for
hire, when he could go to the mines and beco7ne a million'
naire? Still they came: more ships, more people;
no room, no lodgings, no lumber, nobody to saw lum-
ber ; no forests supposed to be in the country, nobody
thinking -dibovX forests. Carpenters, blacksmiths, team-

EARL V GOLD EXCITEMENT. I 2 7

sters, clerks, sailors, or soldiers, as soon as they touched
la7id — all became miners. Ho ! for the mines !

The scramble now became powerfully Intense : every-
body on the run unless stuck In the mud or deep sand.
Oft' came the coats of the merchants, speculators, doc-
tors, and preachers, carrying, lugging, wheeling boxes,
goods, and boards, erecting tents of canvas and old
sails, tin, raw-hides, blankets, and even of body clothing.
The stove-pipe hat, black clothes, and white shirt gave
way to the slouch-hat and gray shirt. Razors were out
of use : no time to shave. Goods selling at any prices:
sometimes at rates making a fortune for the owner,
again at prices which brought him to the verge of ruin.

The sand-hills and mud-flats now presented the ap-
pearance of a battle-field : people of every nation, cos-
tume, tongue, and clime, In the busy and excited crowd,
hauling, running, trading, buying, selling, building,
drinking, fretting, cursing, laughing, dancing, weeping,
and doing a little of every thing under the sun but
praying ; all seemed to flounder about In supreme reck-
lessness. The tailor, shoemaker, and clerk awkwardly
pulled at the heavy oar to move the lumbering, freighted
scow deserted by the sailors, now on their way to the
mines ; the judge sweating and chafing, as with judicial
invectives he levied his qiw warranto upon a refractory
mule belly-deep In mire. In the legitimate exercise of
his hereditary prerogative of backing out of a bad job ;
the doctor refuslnof to see the results of his emetics, and
pills cheap at five dollars each. Shovels, boots, blankets,
prospecting-pans, butcher-knives, bacon, gray shirts,
whiskey, and tobacco were In great demand. Gold
sixteen dollars per ounce, weighed on the coffee-scales,
or " hefted " in the hand.

128 THE GOLDEN STATE.

The first six months of 1849 added more than fifteen
thousand to the population of the country, over ten thou-
sand of whom landed In San Francisco : less than two
hundred of all this number were women. More ships,
more people, more excitement. Splendid ships were
left to the mercy of the winds, deserted by all hands. A
ship's boat was worth more than a ship, for In the former
the crew could make a voyage up the Sacramento river,
and thence on foot to the mines. These frail craft,
filled with gold-seekers and deeply laden frequently
with provisions and tools besides, were headed across
the dangerous inland sea of the Bay of San Francisco,
and up the Sacramento river, each person armed with
some Implement of propulsion : the oarsman with oars,
passengers with shovels, tin-pans, paddles, pieces of
boards, and even the hands and feet served their pur-
pose in endeavoring to propel the crazy little concern,
often making but little progress, or brought to a stand-
still by the excited crew and passengers pulling in op-
posite directions — one rowing up stream, another on
the other side, or his next companion, laboring In his
excitement to drive her down stream. The scenes on
the river were often very amusing and ludicrous.

Even as early as 1849, it was not all gold that glit-
tered ; and many a poor fellow, disheartened, ragged,
and forlorn, sought the back track, at least as far as
San Francisco, where he could earn recrular waofes at
some honest employment, or enter upon the exciting
scenes of the gambling-house, now publicly indulged in
by all classes.

The up-river parties, on meeting a boat coming down
stream, would of course suppose that her crew were
returning with a load of gold, and would hurriedly in-

EARLY GOLD EXCITEMENT. I 29

quire the "news from the mines," receiving an answer
that all was right up there — that all they had to do was
to go up and fill their bags, generally directing them to
some place perhaps never heard of before, or noted for
Its poverty. In evidence of their own success, they
would call the attention of the new-comers to several
canvas sacks in the bottom of their boat : . these gener-
ally were filled with a heavy black sand intended for
the eyes of the up-river crews, and only served as bal-
last, being worthless. On beholding these bags, the
eyes of the up-river crews were frequently seen to start
in their sockets ; unintelligible sounds were heard to
proceed from their throats as they plunged their oars,
shovels, pans, dippers, and legs into the water, while
headine toward Sacramento. These bao^s thus afforded
some compensation to the disappointed returning crews.
Mining was not confined to the Yuba, American, and
Feather rivers, but spread over the entire field of the
ravines, gulches, and streams of the foot-hills, and up to
the Sierras ; m.any of the locations yielding immense
fortunes of pure gold with but little effort or mechanical
appliances. More than forty million dollars were ob-
tained in the year 1849; ^-^^^j ixovd January 19, 1848,
the day of the discovery of gold in California, to the
beginning of 1870, the gold product of the State has
been one billion dollars. (For table and product, see
Appendix.)

The overland emigration was constantly pouring Into
the valleys and ravines of the upper country, and here
scenes of the wildest excitement prevailed ; sometimes
caused by the discovery of rich " pockets " in the river
beds, or nuggets in the gulches, but oftener by the
fabulous reports of waggish or half-crazy "prospect-

130 THE GOLDEN STATE.

ers," who, without the least foundation in fact, reported
the discovery of " mountains of gold," or lakes whose
sands were sparkling yellow; the location of these
"discoveries" generally being sufficiently distant from
those receiving the secret to lend a charm to the tale,
and to wear out their patience and exhaust both their
body and purse before they returned to their starting
point ; conscious of their fulfilment of that passage of
Scripture which says that ""the last condition of that
man is worse than the first."

Throughout the gulches and ravines, cotton-tent vil-
lages sprang up as if In a single night; soon to present
scenes of excitement, activity, and industr}^ Honesty
was a virtue with the "forty-niners:" merchandise,
tools, provisions, clothing, and gold-dust were secure
in and about the tent-doors both day and night ; and
not until the floods of adventurers by sea and land
poured in did petty thieving commence. There was no
time for courts, juries, and lawyers to be occupied in
discovering and punishing offenders: so on discovering
a thief he was summoned before a few miners, and, if
found guilty, was, without delay, placed upon a mule's
back, a rope put about his neck, tied to the limb of
some sturdy oak, and ordered to stand up ; the mule
received a lash of a whip, and the culprit was left sus-
pended : thus ended the career of many an early gold-
seeker.

Prices in the gold-fields ran beyond all conception.
Luxuries were out of the question: If any were offered,
they were bought up at once by those who first saw
them, without questions. Vegetables and fruits were
scarce: no person had time to attend to the cultivation
of the soil : a few apples from Oregon, or from the few

EARL Y SCENES IN THE MINES.

131

orchards about the missions, were considered cheap at
from one to five dollars apiece. So with produce*
eggs were rare Indeed, and considered cheap from one
to five dollars apiece, regardless of age or quality. Of
fresh butter there was not a pound : there were plenty
of cattle in the valleys — wild Spanish stock, fast as
race-horses and fierce as tigers : who would undertake
the subjugation of such animals, miilk them, and go
through the tedious process of butter-making? Hatch-
ing chickens with the hope of eggs at some future date,
and planting trees that apples might grow, would
have been considered proof positive insanity, had such
things been done. All were sojourners, " going home
in the spring " or fall, as the case might be, with a for-
tune (?) Men with little tents and booths fitted up
for the sale of goods suitable for the miners were coin-
ing money.

Thousands of Indians, sometimes under the leader-
ship of whites, or on their own account, worked, often
making large amounts, but generally spending at night
their day's earnings : whiskey was the first considera-
tion with the aborigine, after which he might indulge
in the luxury of a gray shirt, which w^ould constitute his
whole costume. The squaws, besides packing all the
food and doing all the drudgery for their lords, would
gather a little gold, which they would invest in a slouch-
hat and gray shirt, and their toilets and wardrobes
were complete. These simple children of the forest
had not yet learned the value of gold, nor the use or
meaning of the scales ; so they gave whatever they
had, were it much or lltde, for any ardcle which they
might fancy. One Yankee, in this way, realized fifty
thousand dollars in a few days from two rolls of three-

1^2 THE GOLDEN STATE.

ply carpeting : this he cut up in pieces of two yards
each, cut in the centre lengthwise, large enough to
admii of the head; this was bound with braid, and a
bunch of ribbon of some fancy color ornamented each
end of the cut ; this formed a gaudy garb for both male
and female natives, and thus caparisoned, and leaping
with joy, they entered upon their new career of fashion.

The mines continued steadily to yield their golden
wealth. Twenty-five dollars a day might be the average
of the miners, still thousands were making hundreds per
day ; and thousands, after paying exorbitant prices for
every thing, and being " in bad luck," found themselves,
after a year's hard labor and deprivation, without a
dollar : clothes, health, hopes, all gone ; far from home,"
dispirited, disappointed, in receipt of letters from wife
or fond ones at home making urgent appeals for help,
or anxiously imploring their return, reminding them of
their promises when leaving home that they would only
be absent six months or a year.

The latter part of 1849 and the years 1850 and 1851
found thousands of penniless, downcast miners, return-
ing by the steamers to their Eastern homes, or plunging
into gambling, dissipation, and vice. Meantime the
gold product was still on the increase — forty million
dollars being extracted in 1849, fifty million dollars in
1850, and fifty-five million dollars in 1851. Many per-
sons, having realized large fortunes, either returned
heme or entered into business in the orrowinor towns
in California.

■ J^^^=- -.-^^^l^t^^^"^ :

EMIGRANT TRAIN GOLD HUNTERS 1 849.

CHINESE. GOLD MINING IN CALIFORNIA.

EARLY GOLD EXCITEMENT, 1 33

CHAPTER XI.

Growing importance of San Francisco — Crime and dissipation — •
First Vigilance Committee — Law and. order — Building a city —
Destroyed by fire — Rebuilt — Wild speculation — Strange occupa-
tions— Fortune and misfortune — First house built at Sacramento
— Population of — Prosperity in business and speculation — Price
of land in San Francisco — Rents in San Francisco — Prices of
merchandise — Amusements — Board — Labor — Cost of building —
Streets paved with merchandise — Gold-hunters still arriving —
Largest product of gold — Suicide and death — Only a mining
country — Import of breadstuffs — Literior steam navigation — First
river steamer — Fares on the rivers.

The rush to the mines from San Francisco, durinof
the years 1849, 1S50, and 1851, was unabated still.
Streams of irnxmicrrants and orold-seekers entered the

o o

Golden Gate, though large numbers were returning
home. San Francisco continued to be the grand em-
porium of commerce. Its harbor was the only port of
entry and egress on the entire coast. Here the new-
comer learned his first California experience, and here
the disappointed miner, the gambler, cutthroat, and
courtesan plied their arts. The " Sydney Ducks " and
" Hounds " — classes of desperadoes — were ever on the
alert for booty. They were a great auxiliary to the
reckless land-grabber, who, regardless of law or equity,
possessed himself of all property from which he could
drive the occupant. These fellows were good as stand-
mg witnesses in any case, provided they " could see the
color" — that is, were well paid; good on juries either
to acquit their friends or convict their enemies ; loud
of mouth, bold in swagger ; could drink more whiskey,
chew more tobacco, smoke more cigars, and use more

134 "^^^ GOLDEN STATE,

slang phrases and profane language than anybody else;
late at the bar-rooms and gambling-houses at night,
and late in bed in the morning ; early and often at the
polls on election day ; armed always with pistol, bowie-
knife, and sword-cane. If some land-robber wanted a
few men, all he had to do was to go to the head-quarters
of these gangs, and state that he wanted help : fifty or
a hundred dollars apiece would bring a gang, who, wath
ropes, would drag down the shanty of some unoffending
man, who, wath fifty pistols at his head, had to surrender
his property. These bands often became so bold and
defiant that their robberies were celebrated with pro-
cessions, banners, and bands of music. These villains
were, in the summer of 1849, disbanded by the inter-
position of the citizens, who formed a vigilance com-
mittee, tried, convicted, and sentenced a number of
them.

Later in the same year and In 1850, courts were
established, and soon wholesome legislation and police
regulations began to exert their influence upon a popu-
lation which, at best, owing to natural causes, was wild,
rash, riotous, and disorderly.

The years 1850 and 1851 exhibited great activity and
progress in San Francisco ; and although the greater
part of the city had been burned for the fourth time,
still, Phcenix-like, it rose from the ashes. Wild specu-
lation in city lots, merchandise, and lumber had now to
a great extent taken the place of the first excitement
about the mines. Mud-fiats were being filled In, sand-
hills levelled, houses built, banks, hotels, restaurants,
and stores erected ; employment of all kinds In demand,
and thousands ready to do any thing, after their first
experience of salt bacon and beans In the gulches and

EARLY MINING SCENES. I 35

mountain ravines, which refused them fortunes. Every
distinction in costume, country, trade, and profession
was levelled : the gouty judge and nimble tailor were
catering to the hungry crowd in the restaurant; the
blacksmith sawing lumber ; a dentist shoeing a kicking
mustang or slaughtering a bullock ; a butcher keeping
a millinery store ; a barber cleaning tripe and making
sausages ; a shoemaker shaving at a dollar a head ; a
painter digging a gutter ; a horse-doctor building a
boat ; a lawyer sawing firewood ; a sailor milking a cow ;
a bookkeeper blacking boots ; a jeweller picking chickens
or diofS^inor clams ; a merchant in the kitchen as cook ;
a farmer keeping an assortment store ; an ox-driver
painting a sign ; while a sickly-looking clerk shovelled
dov\'n a sand-hill. All were tradesmen, all were pro-
fessional men. Trades or occupations would change
with the last job or highest pay. Men who could not
succeed left the -country in disgust, never to return
again ; while their next neighbors, with a fortune,
returned to take their families to the land of gold —
" God's best country," as the fortunate ones would call
it ; and so it was to many, who, landing upon its shores
penniless, were soon able to pay off their debts at home,
and place themselves and families in affluence. How
different with those who, forming the larger class, either
returned home with barely enough to pay their passage,
or who, failing in health, hopes, and fortune, have found
unknown graves, or still chase the fickle phantom which
allured them to a strange land.

The State of California kept continually increasing in
population and wealth. Cities and villages sprang up
in all directions. Sacramento, a barren waste in 1848,
and in which the first frame house was erected in

136 THE GOLDEN STATE.

January, 1849, had, in the spring of 1850, a population
of twelve thousand. Other places of importance, both in
the mininor and agricultural regions, were springing up.
Great life and bustle abounded everywhere ; the gold
product was still on the increase ; labor was well re-
warded. Fortunes were made in San Francisco, Sacra-
mento, and in many of the mountain towns, in a few
business operations, or by the constant profits of a small
store. Land and rents in San Francisco had run beyond
all precedent : fifty and one hundred vara lots in San
Francisco were, as late as 1850, granted by the alcaldes,
under the Mexican laws, to persons, on payment of
sixteen dollars ; many of these lots, in one or two years,
were worth Intndreds of thottsands of dollars ; and m^any
of the best city blocks now in the city cost their present
owners but the above price. Fifty thousand dollars for
a lot, which, a few days previous, sold at two or three
thousand, was not uncommon. A rude shell of a frame
store or cotton tent rented for fabulous prices : for
instance, a canvas tent near the plaza — the " El Do-
rado " — fifteen by twenty-five feet, rented for forty
thousand dollars per annum ; the " Parker House," a
common two-story frame building on Kearney street,
also near the plaza, brought a yearly rent of one hun-
dred and twenty thousand dollars ; a small, rough wood
building at the plaza, rented by Wright «& Co., brokers,
at seventy-five thousand dollars per annum ; a small,
one-story rough building, twenty feet front, occupied as
a store, rented at forty thousand dollars a year ; and
for poor accommodations for the custom house business
a rent of seven thousand dollars per month was paid.

Some leading articles of commerce were very dear:
flour and salt pork, forty dollars per barrel; coarse

EARLY MINING EXPERIENCE\ I 37

boots, from thirty to one hundred dollars a pair ; wages
for common labor, one dollar per hour; and mechanics,
twelve to twenty dollars a day. Amusements were
luxuries ; in the circus sixty dollars for a private box,
and three dollars in the pit. Board in a hotel, or tent,
about eight dollars a day, and from twenty-hve to forty
dollars per week. Lumber from three hundred to five
hundred dollars per thousand. To build a brick house,
it was estimated that it would, when finished, and that
too in a rou^h manner, cost a dollar for each brick in
the buildlnor.

Soon vast overstocks of many descriptions of goods
glutted the market ; so much so that, rather than pay
the exorbitant rents and storage necessary, the mud-
holes and gulches were filled up with boxes of choice
tobacco, and Clay street, for a great distance, was
paved with shovels, the handles making a kind of cordu-
roy, and rather rough surface.

Immigrants and gold-seekers were still coming. In
1850, the State had a population of 117,538; twenty-
seven thousand people arrived in San Francisco by sea
and by the Isthmus. The year 1852 showed a popu-
lation of 264,435. During the year 1853, thirty- four
thousand gold-seekers had returned home by sea, and
fifteen thousand by land. The yield of gold in this year
was the largest ever produced in the State — sixty-five
million dollars. The product has kept steadily decreas-
ine ever since at about an averao^e of two million dol-
lars per annum, until the present time, ^1872,) when
it is about twenty-five million dollars.

During the first years of the mines, much distress
and disappointment prevailed, owing to diseases engen-
dered by long voyages, hardship, and exposure in the

138 THE GOLDEN STATE.

mines, disappointment in business or at the faro-table
Deaths from sheer neglect, want of medical aid, drunk-
enness, or suicide — the latter always a favorite mode
in California of relieving one's self of life's burdens —
were frequent.

Throughout the first three or four years of the min-
ing excitement, every article of trade had to be im-
ported. Most people believed that California was only
a mining country — that nothing would grow upon the
barren soil without constant irrigation ; so that the im-
ports, in 1853, of San Francisco were over forty-five
million dollars, over five million dollars of which was
for flour and meal, four million dollars for butter, and
over four million dollars for lumber. In this year,
over fifty-seven million dollars in gold was exported.
The tonnage arrivals and departures were considerably
larger in this year than that of the port of Boston.

As early as 1853, San Francisco was the third city
in tonnage entrances in the United States — New York
and New Orleans alone being ahead of it. Since that
period, however, the tonnage entries have fallen off
considerably ; still, San Francisco is fourth in this Hne
yet — only three. New York, Boston, and New Orleans,
being ahead.

The navigation of the Sacramento and other rivers
and the Bay of San Francisco, in the year 1848 and
the early part of 1849, ^^^ carried on exclusively in
small sailing crafts, (which were very scarce,) and in
ships' boats, which made tedious voyages. After the
gold discovery, and before steamers were in California,
these small vessels found active employment in carry-
ing passengers at twenty-five to forty dollars each to
Sacramento : ten days, and two weeks, would be occu-

EARLY RIVER NAVIGATION. I 39

pied by these crafts In making the trip. In October,
1849, communication by steam to Sacramento was
established: the first boat being the ''Pioneer,'' a small
Iron steamer shipped out from Boston in pieces ; next
came the steamer Mmt, followed by the McKhn. All
these entered upon the passenger trade to Sacramento
In October, 1849, performing the trip In half a day.
Fares were yet high: cabin, thirty dollars; deck, twenty
dollars ; a berth, five dollars extra ; and m.eals, tv/o
dollars. The steamer Senator was soon after piit on
the Sacramento route ; and from that period to the
present, steam navigation of all the Inland waters of the
country has been conducted with great spirit and with
splendid steamers.

Let It be remembered that the first steamer ever
upon the Bay or waters of San Francisco and Cali-
fornia was the small boat, about the size of a ship's
boat, taken from Sitka in 1847, by Captain W. A.
Leidesdorff, and run on the bay until February, 1848,
when she was lost In a northwest gale In the Bay of
San Francisco.

140 THE GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER XII.

Early agriculture — No vegetables — Gardening in the mines — Advent
of farmers — Ignorance of seasons and crops — Increase of agricul-
ture— Lumber — Fishing — Manufacturing — Coal — Fruits — Vege-
tables— Permanent settlement in California — Varied industry —
Happy homes — Legitimate occupations — Gold-hunters' graves —
Overland emigration — Suffering of the "Donner party" — Settlers
to the rescue.

The settlers in California before the discovery of gold,
as well as those immediately succeeding that period,
had the most vas^ue and incorrect idea of the ao^ricul-
tural capability of the country. Some small vineyards
and wheat-fields were cultivated by the Mexicans about
the missions. The new-comers soon formed the opinion
that California was only a mineral region, a desert of
sand-hills, rugged, volcanic mountains, and alkaline
flats. Such were the reports written "home" by the
gold-seekers, and such the prevailing opinion among
the masses of the people everywhere. Of course, in
the first years of the gold-fever, no one had the time
nor disposition to cultivate the soil ; so that every
mouthful consumed came by ship to San Francisco.
The luxury of fresh fish, butter, eggs, and vegetables
was not to be thought of. There was no time to grow
vegetables : If they could be produced by steam, or dug
out of the hills, the people might stop to cook them.
After a while, some miner who had a fixed habitation
would plant a few seeds and cultivate a little spot, with
a few cabbages, onions, lettuce, and potatoes, only to
be surprised that, without manure and without care,
they would grow most luxuriantly, and sell at fabulous

EARL Y A GRICUL TURE.

141

prices. Soon, ever}^ mining camp and gulch \Yas pro-
ducing a supply of vegetables. Those who could not
endure hard labor, or whose "luck" refused them gold,
sought the rich spots about the streams and ravines,
and practical gardening was soon in full operation,
often paying much better than mining. Others seeing
the price of chickens and eggs, and being fully disgusted
with their fate in the mines, turned their attention to
raising fowls ; this also often paying large revenue.
Others, again, having a few cows, would make butter,
and sell milk at prices parang well their time and labor.
Farmers were arriving with their families and teams
across the country ; and, after a few months disappoint-
ment In the mines, v/ould seek the valleys and cultivate
the soil — first in the small valleys about the mines, and
after a while they extended into the lower and fertile
regions of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Santa
Clara valleys.

Imperfect knowledge of the seasons, and an idea
that through the dry summers every thing, even wheat,
must be irrigated, often led to great loss and delay, and
in many instances to total failure of crops. Many of
these branches of industry were not only carried on
under circumstances of great Ignorance as to seasons
and soil, but ignorance and Inexperience in most of
those engaged as to the practical workings of their
calling ; as, an ex-judge or briefless lawyer setting h^ns
or feeding chickens and selling eggs ; a frisky young
doctor or merchant's clerk picking lettuce or selling
squash ; a tailor trying to milk a kicking cow ; a sailor
roasting his goose ; an apothecary trying to plough ;
while a shoemaker waxed warm in the exercise of all

142 THE GOLDEN STATE.

his power to make both ends meet by sowing wheat to
the last end of the land.

Agricultural implements were scarce and rude; and,
as for houses, the canvas tent was the only structure
on the premises. Harness and implements all lay
tipon the ground in all seasons of the year, and an
untidy, shiftless, agricultural population soon sprang
up in most sections of the country. The miners and
the entire population of the towns and villages were all
vmiformed with the gray shirt and slouch hat; all looked
alike in that respect : all were " honest farmers, going
home in the fall," or "honest miners, going home in
the sprinor."

From the year 1853, the agricultural and other in-
dustrial pursuits of the State progressed with great
enercTV, and often with most encouramne results : a
good season often making a fortune from a patch of
potatoes, beans, or onions, or from a field of wheat.
Men began to rush to the mountains and canons in
search of lumber, erecting steam and water power mills,
and supplying much material for buildings, bridges,
wharves, and replacing w^th sawed lumber the raw-hide
fences of 1849 and 1850. Fleets of boats and squads
of men w^ere engaged in supplying the markets with
fish from the rivers and bay. Granite, slate, and marble
quarries were opening; coa.1 from Monte Diablo was in
the market; asphaltum from the lower coast made
excellent sidewalks and roofing ; fruit trees of two and
three years growth were yielding luscious fruits; straw-
berries, cherries, and currants began to be abundant;
immense fields of thousands of acres waved in eolden-
colored wheat; and, from an importer of breadstuffs,

EARLY AGRICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 1 43

California has become the greatest exporter of wheat
and flour of any State in the Union.

People were beginning to see that California had
other resources than her mines, and to think that they
might make their homes in her beautiful, rich valleys
where eternal summer reigns. So soon as the people
began to be impressed with the idea of a permanent
residence for themselves and families, and abandoned
the idea of roving over the country in search of a fortune
\vith which to "return home," California entered upon a
new era of prosperity. At this period men settled dow^n
to their work in earnest; and while many made fortunes,
experience had taught the masses that to make a good
living, support their families, and lay up a little yearly,
was all that could be expected. With these ideas, men
sent for their families and began to build up their new
homes. Most of those from the cold regions of the
Atlantic States, Canada, and Europe, seeing the bene-
fits and pleasures of so genial a climate as California,
determined to live and die in the land of g-old. Througrh-

o o

out the entire coast new fields of labor were opened,
and new and permanent homes erected. The vast val-
leys were fenced, tilled, and harvested ; quiet homes
nestled in the small, rich valleys and gulches, secluded
in the foot-hills and canons ; substantial dwellings in
the cities, with neat cottages in the country, began to
show that California, as well as other lands, had homes.
Speculation in mining and commerce must now share
its laurels with the arts and labor now asserting their
dominion, and calling to their support men of ability,
ambition, and industry. With the constantly increasing
population, and the progress in mining, commerce, and
agriculture, there sprang up a demand for machinery,

144 ^-^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

raw and manufactured articles of daily consumptior ;
and soon an army of operators, laborers, mechanics,
and artisans plunged into the field. The pursuits to
be followed were not always selected with regard to
the experience or fitness of the person engaged, but
generally with an eye to how much money there was in
it. This often led to amusino- scenes and conflicts of
occupations and strange results ; as often occasioned
by the singular customs, st}des, and manner of doing
business by the people of the various nationalities rep-
resented, or by general ignorance. Pay was good, and
in most cases better for a mechanic than for a miner ;
and soon the gold-hunters were in swarms transformed
into agriculturalists, mechanics, and artisans ; they set-
tled quietly down as farmers, lumbermen, teamsters,
fishermen, carpenters, blacksmiths, tanners, tailors, ma-
sons, coachmakers, painters, surveyors, photographers,
physicians, judges, lawyers, preachers, teachers, hotel
and bar-room keepers, politicians, and grave-diggers ;
the latter class having, from July, 1850, to July, 1853 —
three years — buried in San Francisco alone 4,055 gold-
hunters. Poor fellows ! how many of them, struck
down either by disease contracted on the tedious voy-
age round Cape Horn, on the miasmatic Isthmus of
Panama, in the mines, or by dissipation, and far from
the kind hand and gentle care of fond ones to aid and
cheer them, have left their epitaph written only in the
aching hearts of those who still, in doubt and fear, sigh
for them, while their unmarked graves occupy their
uncertain tenure in the shifting sands of Verba Buena!
In the whole history of California and the trials of its
early pioneers there is no chapter so sad in its details
as that of the unfortunate immigrant company known

OVERLAND IMMIG RATION. 1 45

as the " Donner Party." Of the immigration of 1846,
a party of about eighty took a new route, by the south
end of Salt lake. The advance party of the immigrants
of that season reached the Sacramento valley before
the falling of the snows in the mountains ; but the
Donner party, consisting of eighty persons — forty-
three men, thirty women, and seven children — mowing to
delays, found themselves, on the 31st of October, at
the Truckee pass, in the heart of the Sierras ; and,
owing to an unusually early and severe winter, in the
midst of mountains of snow, through which a passage
was utterly impossible. Their cattle had been buried
in the snow, and fell among the ravines, so that no trace
of them could be found. Soon out of provisions, starva-
tion stared them in the face : all hope gone, and the
last morsel of tough ox-hide having been devoured,
the aspect grew fearful. A party of fifteen persons —
five women, eight men, and two Indians — left Donner's
camp about six weeks after their halt, and headed west,
in hopes of reaching the settlements west of the Sierras.
After toiling through the snows, often twelve feet deep,
they found themselves at the end of the first week out
of provisions, fainting and falling one by one. Three
remaining ones pushed forward, after partaking of the
flesh of their fallen comrades, dr^^ing the remainder and
packing It on their backs for food, upon their horrid
journey. Still toiling on, they were soon again out of
food ; the last raw-hide string from their snow-shoes
was eaten. At this stage, the two Indians, tearing that
they might be murdered for food, stealthily left. The
seventeenth day out, the last of the party, except one,
had expired. The u.nfortunate survivor, more dead

than alive, aided by two friendly Indians, reached the
10

146 . THE GOLDEN STATE.

settlers on Bear river. Aid was immediately forwarded
to the remaining survivors in the snows of the Sierras
by the people of the valleys, who, from San Francisco
to the foot-hills, were all saddened at the terrible news
of the sufferers. The relief parties found it most haz-
ardous to penetrate the Sierras. On reaching the
camp of the unfortunates, scenes of horror presented
themselves : the wild aspect of the surviving skeletons,
as they stared in blank and idiotic gaze with their hol-
low eyes from their pillows of snow, surrounded by the
grim skeletons of their dear friends, was heart-rending.
Of the eighty persons doomed to this awful mountain
imprisonment, but forty-four survived — twenty-two of
whom were females.

Donner's camp, the farthest away of the immigrants,
was not reached by the relief party until late in April,
1847. At this camp all were dead but one: he, sur-
rounded by the skeletons of his fallen comrades, and
his kettle in which was boiling his meal of human flesh,
refused food. He had been converted into a cannibal,
repulsive and savage ; and only by force was he com-
pelled to quit the horrid scenes of his six months
imprisonment.

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EARLIEST MENTION OF CALIFORNIA, 1 47

CHAPTER XIII.

California — Origin of the name — Griffins in the land — Hot ovens
of the natives — Area of the State — Agricultural, mineral, grazing,
and marsh lands — Area equal to one hundred and forty-five States
the size of Rhode Island — Compared with states and countries of
Europe — Equal to thirty-eight governments of Europe — Capable
of supporting a population of eighty-three million — Great produc-
tiveness of the soil — Genial climate — Great natural resources — ■
Commercial importance — Mountains — Valleys — Rivers — Climate
— Seasons — Harvests — Forests — Mineral range — Beauties and
wonders of the Sierras.

California : the origin of the name of this State has
been a fruitful subject of disputation by writers both of
the past and present centuries, all of whom fail to give
2svy positive date or identity of person or circumstances
to support the various theories regarding it; and as
the most searching investigation on the part of the
author of this volume has failed to clearly define the
origin of the name, or to throw any new light upon the
subject, some of the opinions generally entertained
respecting this subject are here given.

The name is first found in a small volume of romance
published in Spain, in 1510, entitled ''The Sergas of
Esplandian, the son of Aviadis, of Gaul!' The follow-
ing extracts from this once popular volume will show
how the name occurs :

'' Know that on the right hand of the Indies there is an island
called California, very near to the Terrestrial Paradise, which was
peopled by black women, without any men among them, because
they were accustomed to live after the manner of the Amazons.
They were of strong and hardened bodies, of ardent courage, and
of great force. The island was the strongest in the world, from its
steep rocks and great cliffs. Their arms were all of gold, and so
were the caparisons of the wild beasts they rode."

148 THE GOLDEN STATE.

**In the island called California are many griffins, on account of
the great savageness of the country and the immense quantity of

wild game to be found there

An opinion prevails among some well-informed
authors that the name is derived from the Latin words
calidus fornits, meaning hot oven; and that the idea
was taken from the hot furnaces, or sweat-ovens, into
which the natives put their sick, or from the hot valleys
of the country : indeed, certain canons and small valleys
in California are almost hot enough in summer time to
suggest such an idea; but as the State received its
name before civilized man had beheld the land, Cortez
had invaded Mexico, Balboa discovered the Pacific
ocean, and Magellan first navigated its waters, it is sup-
posed that the name California was the coinage of the
brain of the novelist mentioned. The fabulous stories
circulated by the early Spanish navigators respecting
the riches of the newly discovered country, and the
great natural productiveness of the soil, and its min-
erals, may have suggested the name, from the Greek
words Kala-cJw7^a-nea, meaning a rich or fresh produc-
tiveness, fertility; opposite to Aphoria — sterility or
unproductiveness. In this view, the application of the
name is most suggestive and appropriate.

Centuries before the discovery of the American
continent, and while the early navigators of Europe
made their tedious voyages to the Indian ocean and
the Red sea^ the stories of the discoveries of distant
lands and strange people were the staple of the ro-
mantic and fabulous tales related about the "Terres-
trial Paradise" and the "Land of Gold," its marvellous
wonders and strange people. The fictions of the
ancients and heathen mytholog}^ were freely employed

EARLIEST MENTION OF CALIFORNIA. 149

to lend charms and wonder to the distant and strange
land; and, to fulfil the idea of the ancients as to the
keeper of the precious metals, the Spanish novelist
already quoted assured his readers that the imaginary
animal, the grifnn — half lion and half eagle — which
was supposed to watch over mines of gold and hidden
treasure, had its abode in California.

That the reader may realize the absurdities of these
early times, and the notions of the people respecting
this then unexplored land, a few additional extracts are
here given from some of the early explorers of the
South Pacific, who had worked up their imaginations
respecting the fabled land of gold. One writer, de-
scribing the dangers of the seas, says :

*'The crew and passengers consume their provisions, and then
die miserably. Many vessels have been lost in this way ; but the
people have learned to save themselves from this fate by the follow-
ing contrivance: they take bullocks' hides along with them, and
whenever this storm rises they sew themselves up in the hides,
taking care to have a knife in their hand ; and, being secure against
the sea- water, they throw themselves into the ocean. Here they are
soon perceived by a large eagle called a griffin, which takes them
for cattle, darts down and seizes them in his gripe, and carries them
upon dry land, where he deposits his burthen upon a hill or in a
dale, there to consume his prey. The man, however, now makes
use of his knife to kill the bird, and creeps forth from the hide.
Many people have been saved by this stratagem."

Another traveller, Sir John Maundeville, speaking of
the strange lands he had visited, and doubtless Califor-
nia was one of the islands alluded to, (California was
considered an island by its first discoverers,) says :

''In one of these isles are people of great stature, like giants,
hideous to look upon, and they have but one eye, which is in the
middle of the forehead ; and they eat nothing but raw flesh and
fish. And in another isle, toward the south, dwell people of foul

I50

THE GOLDEN STATE.

stature and cursed nature, who have no head, but their eyes are in
their shoulders. In another isle are people that have the lip above
the mouth so great that, when they sleep in the sun, they cover all
the lace with that lip. And in another isle there are dwarfs which
have no mouth, but instead of their mouth they have a little round
hole, and when they shall eat or drink they take it through a pipe
or a pen or such a thing, and suck it in. And in another isle there
are people that have ears so long that they hang down to their
knees, [a tribe of Oregon Indians split the ear, allowing the outside
M-hich was cut from the top to hang down, thus making the ears to
hang- down to the shoulders.] In another isle there are people that
have horses' feet. In another isle there are people that go upon
their hands and feet like beasts, and are all skinned and feathered,
and would leap as lightly into trees and from tree to tree as squir-
rels or apes. In another isle are hermaphrodites ; and in another
isle are people that go upon their knees, and at every step they go
it seems that they will fall: they have eight toes on every foot.
Many other diverse people of diverse natures there are in other
lands about, of which it vrere too long to tell.

" Of Paradise I cannot speak properly, for I was not there. 'Tis
far beyond Cathay, [China,] and I repent not going there, but I
was not worthy. But as I have 'heard say of wise men beyond, I
shall tell you with good will. Terrestrial Paradise, as w4se men
say, is the highest place of the earth ; and it is so high that it nearly
touches the circle of the moon there, as the moon makes her. turn.
.... And you shall understand that no man that is mortal may
approach to that Paradise : for by land no man may go for wild
beasts that are in the deserts, and for the high mountains and great
huge rocks that no man may pass by for the dark places that are
there; and by the rivers may no man go, for the water runs so
roughly and sharply, because it comes down so outrageously from
the high places above, that it runs in great waves, that no ship may
row or sail against it, and the water roars so, and makes so huge a
noise, and so great a tempest, that no man may hear another in a
ship, though he cried with all the might he could. Many great
lords have essayed with great will, many times, to pass by these
rivers toward ParadiSu, with full great companies, but they might
not speed in their voyage; and many died, from weariness in row-
ing against the strong waves, and many of them became blind, and
many deaf, for the noise of the water, and some perished and were

AREA OF CALIFORNIA.

151

lost in the waves ; so that no mortal man may approach to that
place without special grace of God : so that of that place I can tell
you no more."

Cortez having, in 1521, completed the conquest of
Mexico, turned his attention to exploring the western
side of his new acquisitions; and at this period we find
the Gulf of California called by its present name, and
also the " Sea of Cortez." That California was the
land mentioned by the novelist in 15 10 cannot be
doubted, as California was considered an island, and
placed upon the maps and geographies as such, until
the expedition of the Viceroy of New Spain, in 1686,
more than a century and a-half after Cortez visited the
country, and discovered and reported it to be a part of
the mainland of the continent of America.

The State of California extends from latitude 32° 45'
to latitude 42° ; is a little over eight hundred miles in
length, and twelve hundred miles, following the chief
indentations of the coast. It is an average width of
two hundred miles from the Pacific ocean to the crest
of the Sierras, the eastern boundary; and contains an
area of 188,981 square miles, or 120,947,840 acres.

California is bounded on the north by the State of
Oregon, on the east by the State of Nevada and Terri-
tory of Arizona, on the south by the republic of Mexico,
and on the west by the Pacific ocean.

The combined area of the six New England States is
but 68,348 square miles, showing that California has an
area almost three times as great as this division of the
republic.

The area of the six Middle States — New York, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and West
Virginia — is 137,464 square miles; showing that the

152 THE GOLDEN STATE.

area of California is 51,517 square miles larger than
this section.

The combined area of the twelve States forming the
New England and Middle States is 205,812 square
miles, showing that California contains an area almost
as great as these twelve States. It is 78,135 square
miles lareer than the whole of Great Britain ; the latter
being 110,846 square miles. It would make twenty-
four States the size of the State of Massachusetts, leav-
ing 2,781 square miles; and the area of California
would make one lumdred and forty-Jive States as large
as the State of Rhode Island.

The combined area of Great Britain, Holland, Greece,
Denmark, Brunswick, and Switzerland is 188,330 square
miles, leaving the area of California 551 square miles
larger than these six European countries.

The area of Andorra, Anhalt, Baden, Belgium,
Bremen, Brunswick, Papal States, Denmark, Frank-
fort, Greece, Hamburg, Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, Hesse-
Darmstadt, Hesse-Homburg, Holland, with Luxem-
burg, Lichtenstein, LIppe-Detmold, LIppe-Schaumburg,
Mecklenburg-SchwerIn, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Nassau,
Portugal, Reuss, San Marino, Saxony, Saxe-Altenburg,
Saxe-Coburgand Gotha, Saxe-Melning-HIldburg, Saxe-
Weimar-Eisenach, Schwarzburg, Rudolstadt, Schwarz-
burg-Sondershausen, Waldeck, Lubec, Wurtemberg,
Switzerland, and the republic of Hayti — diirty-seven
countries of Europe and one republic of America,
(West Indies,) — embraces a total of 189,273 square
miles — a fractloii only more than the area of California.

The population of the thirty-eight countries alluded
to is, In round numbers, thirty million ; while the popula-
tion of California, by the census of 1870, was but 560,247

AREA OF CALIFORNIA. J53

— a little less than three persons to each square mile.
So genial the climate, so productive the soil, so early
the maturity of cattle, so rich in precious metals, so
great the water-power — In a word, so great the natural
resources of California, when compared with the coun-
tries already alluded to — that eighty million of people
could be easily maintained upon her soil. But Califor-
nia Is capable of sustaining a larger population ; and,
that the reader may comprehend what may possibly be
the population of this vast region, and to what popula-
tion and power California may yet attain. It is but
necessary to present a few further illustrations from
some of the most popular countries of Europe. The
area of Great Britain is 110,846 square miles, and her
population thirty-two million. This would be 286 per-
sons to each square mile. Now let us see what this
density would give California: at the rate of 286 to
each mile, California would have a population of
54,048,566. But California can even do better than
that : she can surpass the largest density of any country
of Europe. At the present period, (1872,) Belgium, the
most densely populated country of Europe, has a popu-
lation of 440 persons to each square mile of her whole
area of 11,313 square miles. Belgium must still con-
tinue to grow more dense in population ; but, with her
present density in California, the State would have a
population of 83,151,640, or more than double the
population of every State and Territory in the Ameri-
can republic ; the federal census giving the whole pop-
ulation of the republic at 38,281,384 in 1870

Of the 1 20,947,840 acres in the State of California,
but o2,2iZ'^^?)l^ acres have been surveyed. There are
7,095,714 acres covered by Mexican grants, 5,023,714

154

THE GOLDEN STATE.

acres of which have been confirmed, and patents issued
by the government, leaving 2,071,825 acres of the
claims reported for action not yet patented. Outside
of all lands granted by the federal government and the
lands covered by the Mexican grants there are yet
(1872) 100,070,177 acres of public lands in the State.

Year after year the arable lands of the State seem
to widen : mountain ridges and high, rolling hills,
regarded as worthless a few years since, are found by
experience to be excellent farm-lands, producing grain,
vegetables, and fruit of almost every description ; and,
under a diversified cultivation and the agricultural skill
and labor of European farmers, thousands of acres yet
considered worthless will be made most productive.
So far but a fraction of the land of the State has even
been surveyed, and rich and fertile valleys are to-day
without a furrow ever havino- been turned. But three

million acres are cultivated, and five million acres en-
closed, (1872,) within the whole State. Twefity million
bushels of wheat are grown annually, and to pasture the
three and a half million sheep, two hundred and fifty
thousand horses, and eight hundred thousand neat
catde in the State, occupies wide ranges of untilled
and unfenced land.

It is difficult to give any correct classification of the
lands of the State. It is estimated, however, that sixty-
five million acres are susceptible of cultivation; twenty-
five million acres of pasture lands ; fifteen million acres
of mountain, forest, and rugged hills ; six million acres
of sandy, gravelly, and alkaline plains ; five million acres
of overflowed, salt-marsh, and tide lands ; and 4,947,840

acres in lakes, rivers, and bays.

To know whether California is capable of sustaining

FUTURE GREATNESS OF CALIFORNIA. 1 55

a population of the density of any of the countries here
mentioned it is only necessary to be informed that, in
natural resources, the most densely populated country
above named is vastly inferior to this State, whose
balmy climate permits of out-door labor and cultivation
of the soil every day of the year, and whose rich and
inexhaustible soil produces so abundantly and luxuri-
antly. Her fields of wheat yield from fourteen to one
hundred bushels to the acre — forty to sixty bushels
being considered a good yield, and twenty-one bushels
to the acre the average of the State ; whilst in most
of the countries of Europe and the Eastern States of
America from eight to fourteen bushels to the acre is
considered a good crop, while many of them average
only fi;om five to six bushels to the acre.

The unparalleled productions of vegetables, fruit,
and grain, with the ease of cultivation, the perpetual
summer, time saved from building warm houses and
procuring food and shelter for cattle, fuel and raiment
for man, the freeness of the agricultural lands from
either forests or rocks, the absence of worms and dis-
ease in fruit and grain, the abundance of wild grass and
wild oats, the early maturity of fruit trees and cattle,
the great water-powers, whose cr^^stal spray is never
congealed by winter's frosts, the healthful and vigorous
condition of man and beast — all assure us that Cali-
fornia is capable of producing from her soil the means
of sustaining a population of three times the density of
any of the countries or States named in this chapter.

The natural resources, great mineral and agricultural
wealth of California, with her eio^ht hundred miles of
sea coast indented with numerous bavs and harbors,
facing the Pacific ocean, the direct and easy steam com-

156 THE GOLDEN STATE.

munication with Asia and the islands of the Pacific, the
railroad connection with the Atlantic States, all place
her midway in the direct line of trade between Asia
and Europe, and render her geographically one of the
most favorably located States in the Union.

The country is divided into hundreds of valleys by
ridges and chains of mountains. The principal moun-
tains are the Sierra Nevada range, running about four
hundred miles along the eastern boundary in the north-
ern portion of the State, and the Coast Range, follow-
ing the course of the ocean along its western line the
entire length of the State. Toward the southern sec-
tion of the State the chain is often broken and inter-
sected with streams, canons, and small, fertile valleys.
At some places, as in Marin county, on the north side
of the Golden Gate, this range of mountains pushes
almost to the ocean ; but its general course is from
twelve to twenty miles from the sea, leaving a belt of
rich agricultural and grazing land between it and the
Pacific. This section of the State is entirely different
in climate from the interior: durinof the hot sumimer
months, the fogs and vapor from the ocean hang in
dense volumes over It, cooling the air, and keeping
vegetation green through the entire dry season. The
harvest in this section is several weeks later than in
the valleys of the interior. Here, too, is the great
dairy and pasture range of the State. South of Santa
Cruz, this ridge is to a great extent barren of trees, or
covered with an inferior growth of timber; but west of
this point, and particularly through the upper portions of
the State, it is crowned with valuable forests of cedar,
fir, redwood, and oak. The valleys upon both sides of
this range are well watered with thousands of crystal

MOUNTAIN CHAINS AND PEAKS, I 57

streams, running from the ridges of the mountains
either toward the interior or emptying into the Pacific
ocean. Trout are abundant in all these streams. This
chain averaees in height from two thousand to six
thousand feet above the level of the sea, and in width
from fifteen to thirty-five miles.

The grand mountain chain of the Sierras, marking
the eastern boundary of California for more than four
hundred miles south from the Oregon line, often broken
and irregular, in its general features of natural gran-
deur presents varied themes of reflection and observa-
tion, as being the main artery or back-bone from whose
lateral spurs and rugged sides emanate the great gold
and silver supply, which exists not only in California
and Nevada but which, following the general line of
this range, supplies the vast mineral wealth from Pata-
gonia through South and Central America, Mexico,
California, Oregon, Washington Territory, and British
Columbia, until it is lost in the eternal snows of Alaska's
lonely shore on the distant confines of the Arctic ocean.
In this grand range of mountains in California are
found the highest elevations in the republic except those
in Alaska — Mount Whitney being higher than Mount
Hood, or the highest peaks of the Rocky mountains.
Here Mount Shasta lifts its hoary head 14,440 feet;
and Mount Whitney, the loftiest mountain of the range,
stands fifteen thousand feet above the sea-level. Here,
too, stand the solemn sentinels of the forest, the mighty
trees of Mariposa, Calaveras, Tuolumne, and Tulare,
the most gigantic vegetable growth in the world, the
wonder and admiration of all who behold them, dwarf-
ing Into comparative insignificance the cedars of
Lebanon and the pines and firs of the Baltic and the

158 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Saco. Here, too, may be seen the famed valley and
falls of the Yosemite, where, at a few bounds, the
mighty sheet of water dashes a distance of two thou-
sand five hundred and twenty-six feet into the valley
below. High in the ridges of this chain, nestling betwixt
the precipitous and frowning walls of dark and relent-
less granite, nature elevates her mighty urns, which,
like inland seas, inspire and impress man with the
majesty of creation, as he floats upon their placid
waters, or in vain attempts to sound their almost
fathomless depths. Here the Sacramento, San Joa-
quin, and Klamath rivers have their source. Down
the sides, ridges, spurs, and gorges of this range, and
its foot-hills and gulches, the men of every clime search
for gold ; and, up from the parched and arid plains and
heat of summer, man and beast seek cooHng fountains
of pure water and new life, in the rich verdure and
chanrinof scenes of the charmino- Sierras, whose o^ran-
deur of mountains, granite domes, cascades, lakes,
forests, and foliage surpass in natural beauty the
forests and glaciers of the Alps and the fascinations
of Como, Neufchatel, and Lucerne.

MOUNTAIN CHAINS AND PEAKS, 1 59

CHAPTER XIV.

Mountains — Sierra Nevadas — Winter, spring, and summer in the
Sierras — Snows of tlie mountains — Farming, lumbering, and
grazing in the Sierras — Forests — Big trees — Shrubs — Plants —
Flowers — Grasses — Poison oak.

The description already given of the Coast Range
and Sierra Nevada mountains will have sufficiently
defined the two orreat mountain rano^es of California.

For the better information of the reader, a descrip-
tion of the principal mountains of the State, with the
counties in which they are located, is here given. In
the description of the several counties, the leading feat-
ures of interest — as the valleys, forests, mountains,
lakes, and rivers — are more minutely described.

In the Coast Range, the following are the principal
peaks: Tamalpais, Marin county, 2,597 feet; Monte
Diablo, Contra Costa county, 3,856; M omit St. Helena^
Napa county, 4,343 ; Moimt Hamilton, Santa Clara
county, 4,443 ; Mount Finos, Santa Barbara county,
7,300; Mount Sail Bernardino, San Bernardino county,
8,500; Mount Ripley, Lake county, 7,500; Mount Dow-
ney, Los Angeles county, 5,675 ; besides many other
mountain peaks in this range of from four thousand to
five thousand feet.

The chief mountains in the Sierra Nevada range, in
California, are the volcanic cones near Mono lake. Mono
county, 9,300 feet; Dome 7nountain, Tulare county,
9,825; Lassen Peak, Shasta county, 10,577; Silver moun-
tain, Alpine county, 10,934; Mount Hoffman, Alpine
county, 10,872; Cathedral Peak^ Mariposa county,

l60 THE GOLDEN STATE.

11,000; Mo7mt Silliman, Tulare county, 11,623; Castle
Peaky Mono county, 13,000; Ly ell Peak, Mono county,
13,217; Mount Dana, Mono county, 13,227; Momtt
Brewer, Mono county, 13,886; Mount King, Fresno
county, 14,000; Mount Shasta, Siskiyou county, 14,440;
Mount Tyndell, Tulare county, 14,386; Mount. Wil-
liams, Tulare county, 14,500; and Mount Whitney,
Tulare county, 15,000, the highest mountain in Cali-
fornia.

The tv/o main chains of mountains In California —
the Coast Range and the Sierras — are not of the bar-
ren and desolate character that many might suppose.
The Coast Range, southward of the Golden Gate, pre-
sents many rugged, wild, frowning, rocky crags, and
bald, granite peaks; but the general range of this chain
is filled with rich ravines and small valleys, and even
the rolling hills, high above the clouds and fog-banks
of summer, are in many places rich in deep soil, covered
with a luxuriant growth of wild oats, grass, and flowers,
well suited to agriculture or grazing, well wooded, and
abounding in beautiful, never-failing streams of water.

The Sierra Nevadas, averaging from fifty to seventy
miles in width and over four hundred and fifty miles in
length in California, are by no means a desert of eter-
nal snow and frowning granite : on the highest ridges,
deep snow falls during the winter months, but the cli-
mate in the endre ransfe is not so cold as in the State
of Virginia or portions of Kentucky during the corre-
sponding months. The snow-fall in this range begins
toward the end of November, and continues through the
winter months until April, during which, upon the high
ridges, there is a snow-fall of from ten to forty feet,
but on the middle and lower ranges only of a few feet,

SOIL, SEASONS, AND VEGETATION'. l6i

which disappears in April, when spring opens balmy
and pleasant. Hundreds of thousands of acres of this
range is deep loam soil, fit for agriculture, with rich
meadows from which are cut large quantities of hay.
This district affords the finest pasture-range In summer
on the whole coast. In this rangre, also, down its ruQr-
ged sides, are the vast forests of firs, oaks, and pines,
^\hlch will be found rr^re fully described imder the
head of " Forests" further on. *

Snow almost entirely disappears from the Sierras in
summer. By the middle of July, not a trace of winter
can be seen except in a few isolated spots, where, high
up in the clouds, clinging to the northern side of some
towering peak, may be seen small patches of snow, as
if dodging and hiding from the powerful rays of the
sun, which through the long summer pours down its
scorchlnof floods of liofht and heat, meltlnof all before it
and parching the valleys below.

Farming, lumbering, and grazing are carried on v/ith

success In this range. Indeed, it is yearly becoming the

resort of the tourist, and thousands of the citizens of

the towns and villages of the scorched plains of the

lower country repair hither in the summer months, to

bask beneath the luxuriant foliage, angle In the streams,

float upon the placid lakes, gaze upon the towering

columns of the smooth grranite and slate mountain

peaks, which, like cathedral domes, lift their imposing

heads above the clouds ; or wander upon the verdant

lawn, in admiration of the mysterious wonders and

beauties of the famed Yosemlte, whose ever-chanmnof

scenes of gauzy vapor, and dancing, fickle rainbows,

present scenes more like the fabled dreams of fairy land

than the realities of earth.
II

l52 THE GOLDEN STATE,

FORESTS.

. The greater part of the State of California (except
the high mountains) consists of rolling hills, rich and
fertile valleys, swamp and overflowed lands, and is
entirely free from rock ; and, as far as the eye can
reach, in all directions, without tree or shrub of any
kind, except a fringe of willow or cottonwood about the
edges of the streams and spy^ings, a few clumps of
broadspread oa'ks in the valleys, or straggling ones
about the ravines and canons of the hills.

Along the Coast Range, the Sierras, and the various
smaller mountain chains and ridcfes, forests of oak.
pine, white and red cedar, cypress, laurel, fir, and other
species are abundant w^est of Santa Cruz ; south of this
point, in the Coast Range, timber is confined chiefly to
scattering trees or a few groups of inferior growth.
Redwood — a species of cedar — grows in great profu-
sion, is of common use in house-building, and forms a
staple commercial lumber throughout the State. This
tree grows to a great size : one in Santa Cruz county
is two hundred and seventy-five feet in height and nine-
teen feet in diameter. Many trees can be found among
this class of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred
and fifty feet in height, and six, eight, ten, and fourteen
feet in diameter. The wood is of a reddish color, very
free from knots, and splits easily; is very durable,
although not very strong.

Common to the Coast Range, valleys and hills, is a
great variety of trees and shrubs of variegated and
beautiful appearance, differing very essentially from the
same species in other countries ; many of them entirely
confined to the State of California. In the large variety
in the State are the wild nutmeg, ironwood, poplar

/'^^Mf^y,,,,,'-^^^^

"BIG TREES," MARIPOSA AND CALVERAS GROVES, CALIFORNIA.

(First tree, 350 feet high and 28 feet in diameter ; Second tree 386 feet high and 31 feet in

diameter.)

I— t

<:
u

"pi

W
Z

FORESTS, TREES, AXD SHRUBS. 1 63

white cedar, cypress, Monterey pine, walnut, willow,
dog^vood, cherry, white maple, in the southern coast;
throughout the central and northern part of the State
may be found the yew, chestnut, ash, alder, cottonwood,
manzanita, madrona, laurel, chinquapin, oak, sycamore,
balsam-fir, spruce, cedar, sugar aod other pine, walnut,
dogwood, crab-apple, buckthorn, lilac, cherry, plum,
grape-vine, vine-maple, and sequoia, (mammoth tree.)

It will be observed that California is destitute of many
of the species of valuable timber of the Atlantic States
and Canafe, such as beech, birch, sugar-maple, hemlock,
juniper, elm, and hickory. To compensate in some
deofree for the loss of those valuable forest trees Call-
fornia has many species peculiar to her soil, not to be
found in any other part of the globe ; Indeed all her
trees, flowers, and shrubs seem to be different froni
those in any otli^ r country, many of the former supply-
i^jg the finest quality of cabinet and house timber.

THE BIG TREES.

These are found only In the Sierra range, and chiefly
in the groups of Calaveras, Mariposa, Tuolumne, and
Tulare counties. They stand in solitary grandeur, as
the most gigantic specimens of vegetable life on the
globe. These giants of the forest stand In the valleys
nestled in this chain of mountains at an elevation of
from four thousand to five thousand feet above the sea;
and as no vegetable life exists In this range above nine
thousand feet altitude, their tops are much below that
range. There are seven distinct groups of these mam-
moth trees — three In Mariposa count}^ two In Tulare,
and one each In Tuolumne and Calaveras coundes.
The group in the latter county was the first discovered,

164 ^-^-^ GOLD EX STATE.

and possesses among Its numbers the tallest tree known
in the State.

To persons who have not visited the Pacific coast
and seen the immense forests of California, Oregon,
and Washington Territory, a description of these forests
of the Sierras sounds like romance. To the lumbermen
of the Baltic and Penobscot, who look upon a pine of
eighty to one hundred feet high and three to six feet in
diameter as a monster, a description of the " Big Tree
Grove " of Calaveras county, some of the trees of which
are four hundred and thirty-five feet in length and one
hundred and ten feet in circumference at the base, or
more than thirty-three feet in diameter, must seem
ridiculous. One of these monsters was cut down some
years ago, by boring with long augers, which occupied
five men constantly for twenty-two days, equal to one
hundred and ten days labor of one i^an ; the stump,
levelled and planed ofT, being twenty-seven feet in
diameter, has often been the scene of cotillion parties
and festive gatherings — not of children, but of full-
grown, able-bodied California men and women. An-
other of these giants now fallen is hollow, forming a
tunnel so large that parties have often rode Into it on
horseback for seventy feet, turned the horse around
and rode out without dismounting. The top is broken
off, and two horsemen can ride abreast through this
tree for its entire length without stooping.

These trees grow in a deep, rich soil ; the wood is
soft, light, and dry, splitting freely, of a reddish color,
and is valuable for building purposes ; it much resem-
bles red cedar.

The Calaveras grove is situated in Calaveras county,
between the Stanislaus and Calaveras rivers, twenty

GIANTS OF THE FOREST.

165

miles east of Mokelumne Hill, and 4,760 feet above the
sea-level. There are ninety-two of the "Big Tree'*
species in the group ; ten of them are over thirty feet
in diameter, and eighty-two of a diameter from fifteen
to thirty feet, ranging from tw^o hundred and forty to
three hundred and sixty-six feet in height. A list of
twenty-five of the largest trees of the Calaveras group
is here given, with the names :

Names of the Trees.

T. Starr King

General Scott

General Jackson

Two Sentinels, (front

of hotel)

Salem Witch

Trinity

Mother of the Forest..

William C. Biyant

Heniy W\ Beecher ...

Granite State

General Washington..
Abraham Lincoln

*
4-*

0 >

c 0 .

4JJ3 to

1:^8

■S

c-i! 2

tuO

l^^

ffi

366

327

320

315

• • •

310

« • •

308

'305

305

291

286

284

281

Names of the Trees.

Bay State

Old Kentucky

Empire State

Andrew Johnson

Daniel Webster

Mother and Son

Edward Everett

Pride of the Forest...

Vermont

John Torrey, (nobis)

Arborvitae Queen

Beauty of the Forest.
Henry Clay

2S0
277

275

273
270

269

265

260

259

258

258
241

o >

c o

o
o

3 v <U
l- « w

45
50

49
64
46

41
35

The Mariposa group, in IMariposa county. Is situated
about thirty miles southeast of the town of Mariposa.
It consists of four hundred and twenty-seven trees,
varying in size from two hundred and seventy-five to
three hundred and twenty-five feet in height, and from
twenty to thirty-four feet in diameter. They extend
over an area of about five hundred acres, about six
thousand feet above the level of the sea. One of these
giants now prostrate Indicates a length of four hundred
feet, and a diameter of about forty feet. " The Grizzly
Giant" is the king of this group, being about thirty-

I 66 THE GOLDEN STATE.

four feet In diameter, and three hundred and twenty-
five feet In height. There are three other groups in
this county, near the Mariposa grove: one contains
elghty-six and the other thirty-five mammoth trees,
averaging about the diameters of those already de-
scribed.

Throughout Tuolumne county groups of the "Big
Trees" are found ; and still further south, In Tulare
county, at an elevation of about sixty-five hundred feet,
and about forty-six miles northeast of the town of
Visalla, scattered over a range of fifty miles In length,
hundreds of these trees are found ; and, although the
average height Is not so great as those of Calaveras
and Mariposa, some now prostrate are as great In girth
as the largest In the State. The largest standing tree
of this group Is two hundred and seventy-six feet In
height, and one hundred and six feet in circumference ;
a portion of It had been burnt away; originally its girth
is supposed to have been about one hundred and twent)'
feet.

Not the least remarkable about these mountain mon-
archs Is their age, ascertained by scientific observation
to be in some cases from one thousand to three thou-
sand years ; and still there they stand. In primeval
majesty, defiant of sun, rain, frost, and storms, unen-
cumbered by branches, erect, well proportioned. In
their crowns of evergreen they look down from their
aerial heights upon their offspring, young giants in the
bud or a few hundred years of age, struggling for the
mastery over the oak and sturdy pitch and sugar pine,
soon to be dwarfed in comparison, as the young sequoia
lifts his arms into the clouds.

INDIGENOUS PRODUCTIONS, 1 67

• SHRUBS, PLANTS, FLOWERS, AND GRASSES.

Of the classes of indigenous shrubs, plants, flowers,
and grasses there is a great number and a great variety,
many of them of much beauty, fragrance, and value.
Alder, cottonwood, lilac, wild cherry, plum, grape, bam-
berry, current, blueberry, (a few of this latter, only in
the Coast Range,) strawberries, raspberries, black-
berries, salmonberries, tar-weed, white lervisia, pitcher-
plant, soft arnica, wild flax, and wild mustard abound
all over the coast, valleys, and hill-sides. The wild
mustard grows in great fields, or forests, some of the
stalks attaining twelve and fourteen feet in height, with
branches, to which a horse can safely be hitched, and
upon which the birds lodge. The berry of this plant
attains a size, quality, and perfection unequalled in the
world ; and the gathering of it of late years has proved
a source of profitable employment to thousands of
people. There is enough mustard growing wild in
California to supply the market of the whole world.

POISON OAK.

The poison oak of California exists pretty generally
over the State ; but abozmds in the lower valleys and
Coast Range. Generally it is a little, straggling shrub, ,
three or four feet high, with dark red, glaze-like leaves;
in the shade of trees. It climbs like a vine, the leaves
being broader and of a light green. Many persons are
affected by this poisonous shrub, either by coming in
contact with it or having its poisonous gases carried in
the air ; it generally affects the face and exposed parts
with swelling and itching, which is very painful and
unpleasant. Those persons subject to this affliction are

1 68 • THE GOLDEN STATE.

liable to repeated attacks ; and, as but little is generally
known about the treatment necessary, some of the most
effective remedies are here given, all of which are simple
and applied externally: constant applications of hot
water to the parts affected, steam or hot baths, warm
solutions of sugar of lead, water of ammonia, warm
vinegar and water ; all applied as hot as can be com-
fortably endured. On the authority of Dr. Colbert A,
Caiifield, of California, a recipe is here given, which
beyond doubt is most effective : a decoction made by
stewing either the dried or green leaves or by rubbing
the bruised green leaves of the grindelia, a plant grow-
ing in many parts of California, especially in the south.
It is a tall perennial belonging to the composite family,
and looks like a small sunflower. It is from one to two
feet high, has bright yellow flowers in heads of one or
two inches in diameter; the buds, and even the leaf,
contain a sticky balsam or resinous matter ; its medici-
nal qualities are supposed to be contained in its resinous-
or balsamy matter. It has long been known to the
Indians and native Spanish of California, not only as a
cure for poison oak, but in many skin diseases, as salt-
rheum, nettle-rash, and many others. A small quantity
of this herb gathered in season, and kept in every
family, would, If properly applied, save much anxiety
and suffering from the effects of poison oak.

Of the grasses and plants, many species abound, but
in no part of the State do they form a sod : the roots
die out by the heat of summer, except with the "bunch
grass," which grows In many parts of the whole Pacific
coast springing from the roots, and forming large and
high clumps. It affords excellent pasturage, and the
new crop is generated from the seeds which fall into the

GRASSES, HAY, AND PASTURAGE. ' I 69

crevices of the earth, and start Immediately after the
first rains in November. In February, March, xA^pril,
May, and June, the whole country, hill-sides and valleys,
seem to be covered with grass and clover, and for miles
present a charming scene of shades and ridges of yellow,
red, white, and variegated flowers.

The wild oats, which seem to grow everywhere, is a
staple article of pasturage, and is cut in great quantities
for hay. Its growth is very luxuriant, in many places as
dense and tall as the best fields of cultivated oats. In
seventeen years residence on the Pacific coast, the author
has never seen a spear of timothy grown in California :
the dry seasons kill the roots. I do not believe there
Is a spear of It growing In the State, unless In some
small valleys In the Sierras, or where It Is constantly
irrigated durinof the summer months. Wild oats, oats,
and barley, cut green, form the staple " hay " of Cali-
fornia ; and, strange to say, barley throughout the State
is given to horses generally In preference to oats.
Through Oregon and Washington Territory, timothy
grows well ; some fields along the Columbia surpass-
ing the finest growth of the Atlantic States.

170 THE GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER XV.

Valleys — Trees, vegetables, fruits, flowers, grain, and grasses —
Lakes — Alkaline and borax lakes — Dry lakes — Death valley.

VALLEYS.

The vast and fertile valleys of California, stretching
over a length of country of seven hundred miles, form
the richest and most varleofated ao^rlcultural district in
the world, produce almost every species of tropical and
semi-tropical trees, fruits, nuts, herbs, flowers, and
grasses, and yield most abundantly of wheat, barley,
jDOtatoes, fruit, and vegetables.

Nearly all the valleys of the State run parallel with
the coast. The three chief are the San Joaquin, Sacra-
mento, and Santa Clara ; but the two last, in which are
numerous others divided and subdivided within their
general area of about five hundred miles in length by
sixty in width, form the great agricultural field of Cali-
fornia, completely enclosed between the Sierra Nevada
and the Coast Range of mountains ; these, running
almost north and south for five hundred miles, nearly
join by curving toward each other in Siskiyou county
at the north, near the southern line of Oregon, and
joining at the south in Los Angeles county, at Mount
PInos, leaving to the south and east of the Sierras the
vast deserts and valleys of San Bernardino and San
DIeeo counties, stretchlnof east and south to the west-
ern line of Arizona, the river Colorado, and Lower
California. A fuller description of the soil, area, &c.,
of these valleys will be found in the chapter descriptive

'O'l'fe;

iU:l !l

i:!:''"-,';:

Min,

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ill

• *>iUli0 'III,! '11' 1' lili'lll'l.. IJi l\i

LAKES IN CALIFORNIA. I7I

of the several counties and of the ao^rlcultural resources
of the State.

LAKES.
There are twenty-two principal lakes In California,
with an area of 29,641 square miles ; besides innumera-
ble small ones, some of very respectable size, of con-
siderable depth, and of great natural beauty. Some,
elevated high in the Sierras, contain crystal water, with
abundance of fish, while others, low in the alkaline flats,
are so acrid and bitter that no animal life can be found
within their vv^aters, floating on their surface, or par-
taking of their pungent fluid.

Tulare Lake. — This lake is situated In Tulare county,
its southern line being the western boundary of a por-
tion of Kern county. It is about seventy miles directly
east from the town of San Louis Obispo,- which lies
close to the Pacific ocean, in the county of that name,
and one hundred and eighty miles south from San Fran-
cisco. This is the largest lake in the State, being thirty-
three miles in length by twenty in Vvddth. The Sierra
Nevada mountains being directly on the east of it, send
down innumerable streams ; many of which, such as
Kings, Kern, and Elk, are of considerable size, and pour
their floods into this lake, which forms the common recep-
tacle of all the waters of a vast area of country. Strange
as it may seem, there is no visible outlet to this great
sheet of water. In the rainy season, the land upon the
west and east sides, being low, is overflowed to a great
extent, forming tule and swamp. It is supposed that
there must be some subterranean outlet to this sheet
of water.

Goose Lake. — This Is second In size of all the lakes

172 THE GOLDEN STATE.

In California, and is situated on the State lines of Oregon
and California, about one-third in Oregon and two-thirds
in California, in Siskiyou county, and about seventeen
miles from the extreme northeast corner of the State.
It is thirty-three miles in length by nine in breadth, and
is surrounded by a richly timbered and agricultural
country, but almost wholly uninhabited.

Rhett Lake. — This lake is also in Siskiyou county,
about eight miles east of Goose lake, and close to the
Oregon State line. Its greatest length is about four-
teen miles, and its width about eleven.

Wright Lake — Also in Siskiyou county, is six miles
directly east of Rhett lake, and four miles from the
Oregon State line. It is ten miles in length by five in
width.

Alkali Lakes. — Three lakes, bearing each the name
of Alkali, are situated in the eastern limit of Siskiyou
county, and east of the Sierras, running more than
three-fourths of the width of the county, in a northerly
and southerly direction, close to the State line between
California and Nevada. They are in one of the richest
agricultural valleys in the State. Innumerable streams
running from the north and west empty into them; and,
although these streams are of crystal purity, the water
of the lakes is so alkaline that no livinof thingr is found
in them. Surprise valley, in which they are situated,
contains some excellent agricultural land. The streams
and lakes at certain seasons swarm with wild fowls,
geese, ducks, and crane.

The most northerly of these lakes is fifteen miles
south of the northern boundary of the State ; its length
is fifteen miles, and its width eight. The centre one is

LAKES IN CALIFORNIA. ITs

about three miles south of the northern one, and is six-
teen miles in lenorth and seven in width. The one
farthest south is connected with the centre one by a
strip of water of three miles in length. The lake is
nine miles long and nine broad ; a portion of it is in
the northeast corner of Lassen county. /

Lower Klamath Lake. — This lake is directly on the
boundary line between California and Oregon — half in
each State ; and is high in the Sierras amidst rugged
hills and the desolate table-lands of Siskiyou county.
Its extent is fifteen miles in length by six in width, and
is connected by a stream of five miles in length with
Upper Klamath lake, lying directly north and* in the
State of Oregon, and with Rhett lake, in Siskiyou
county, by a stream of nine miles in length.

Lake Tahoe. — Fourth in size is this queen of the
Sierras, whose frowning granite walls upon the one side
and rich foliage upon the other have been the theme of
romantic poets, enthusiastic tourists, and sighing lovers.
It is situated high in the Sierras, one-half being upon
each side of the boundary line between the States of
California and Nevada, and partly in the counties of
Placer and El Dorado. It is twenty-one miles in length
by twelve in width, and 6,220 feet above the level of the
sea, nestled up among the tall pines, firs, and oaks, and
overtopped by the towering pinnacles and snow-capped
crowns of the Sierras, which reflect their lengthened
shadows upon its placid bosom, as the setting sun gilds
in golden hues the rich, wild, but picturesque and beauti-
ful scenery around. The wild and leaping surge and
deafening roar of the Niagara may impress the beholder
with the terrible power of Omnipotence ; but to fill the

174 ^-^^ GOLDEN STATE.

soul with that sweet inspiration which cahnly draws
us into communion with the harmony of nature, the
subHmity of perfection, and a contemplation of a better
land, we must stand upon the silvery shores of Lake
Tahoe, while, amidst a stillness sublime and awful, the
rays of the morning sun like ribbons of gold dart
throuorh the chasms of the frowning mountains and
through the dense forest, streaking with amber and
golden sheen the placid blue waters, through whose
transparent depths the landscape is mirrored below ; or,
at the close of day, beneath the deep shadow of the
stern Sierras, watch the mountain monarch as he comes
from his forest glen to bathe his parched lips in this
grand aerial urn — God's fountain in the wilderness, to
beautify His footstool and invigorate His creatures.

But Lake Tahoe is not always dreamy, calm, and
placid : her fair smiles are often converted into frowns
terribly threatening and uneasy. When the storm-
cloud breaks over the Sierras, and the snow-flakes fly
fast before the thickening gale, she dashes her angry
foam in seething, fitful wrath upon the beetling rocks
and green sward on the shores, striking with terror the
unfortunate navigator, who, with his frail craft, is often
submero-ed beneath its whelmine waters.

The colors and transparency of this beautiful sheet of
water are some of its principal attractions. The shore
of the lake is a hard, grayish sand. The water, which
is a pea-green, gradually deepens, leaving the bottom
of the lake at eighty feet clearly visible ; at about half
a mile from shore, the color changes to a deeper green,
but from first tinged with blue ; about one mile from
shore, and where the shade is a very deep green, it
suddenly changes to an almost indigo-blue : the lines

>
PI

n
f

>
d

SENTINEL ROCK YOSEMITE VALLEY.
(4,500 feet high above the Valley.)

LAKES IN CALIFORNIA,

175

of these three shades or colors are as distinctly drawn
as if painted.

For many years It had been supposed that this
lake was bottomless ; but recent soundings establish
its greatest depth to be about fifteen hundred feet.
Several small boats ply on the lake, either to fish for
trout, which are abundant, or for the recreation of the
guests at the Tahoe Hotcse or Gleiibrook House. A
small steamer, the Governor Blaisdell, plies upon it,
for the accommodation and pleasure of travellers.
Coming years will behold this rare gem of nature and
Its gorgeous scenery as the recreation-ground and
watering-place of happy throngs of health and pleasure
seekers.

Clear Lake and Borax Lake. — These sheets of
water are In the centre of Lake county, about eighty
miles directly north of San Francisco, forty miles from
the ocean, east of the Coast Range, and about fifteen
hundred feet above the level of the sea. The greatest
length of Clear lake Is about twenty miles ; at both ends
it Is about eight miles In width, but contracts In the
centre to about three miles. Close to the eastern side
of this lake Is Borax or Kayser lake, covering a surface
of from two hundred to four hundred acres, according
to the season. Great quantities of pure borax of the
best quality are taken from the bottom of this lake.

Mirror Lake. — This fascinating miniature lake, situ-
ated In the famed Yosemlte valley, formed by the spent
waters of the Yosemlte falls, bathes the foot of the
North Dome, and covers a surface of about eight acres.
It Is noted for Its transparent beauty. Here the over-
hanging mountains, trees, and foliage are all mirrored

176 THE GOLDEN STATE,

in the water below, as clear and lifelike as they stand
upon Its banks.

Owens Lake. — This lake is in Inyo county, two hun-
dred and sixty miles southeast from San Francisco, and
directly east of the principal chain of the Sierra Nevadas,
in a country generally desolate and of little agricultural
value. The extent of the lake is eighteen miles in
length by eight in width. Owens river, a stream of
pure water and considerable value, running from north
to south, empties into this lake, the waters of which are
so impregnated with alkali and chloride of soda that it
is unfit for man or beast. Like most of the lakes in the
southern section of the State it has no visible outlet, and
is supposed to have some subterranean passage to the
Pacific ocean.

Fall Lake. — This lake is situated In the extreme
northeast corner of Shasta county. It is about four
miles In length and three in width, and is in Fall River

valley.

Swan Lake. — Swan lake is In the western border of
Lassen county, close to Plumas county. It Is six miles
in length and three in width, and high among the hills
of the Sierras.

EiVGLE Lake. — Eagle lake Is centred In Lassen county.
It is of very irregular shape, and, like Swan Lake, is high
in the mountains. It is twelve miles in length and about
eight In width. Its waters are shallow.

Honey Lake — Is twenty miles northeast from Eagle
lake. Is In Lassen county, and eight miles west of the
boundary line between California and Nevada. It is
very irregular in shape ; is fifteen miles in length and

DONNER LAKE, AND RAILROAD TUNNEL, SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS.

(6,000 feet above the sea.)

LAKES IN CA L IFO RXIA. ijj

nine in width. Its water Is very shallow and of a saltish
taste. It is situated in Honey Lake valley, a rich
meadow and farming district ; numerous streams empty
into it, but it has no visible outlet. It derives its name
from the honey-dew deposited upon the shrubbery
and grass in its vicinity, by the honey-dew aphis, a
species of bee sometimes found In desert and barren

regions.

DoNNER Lake. — This beautiful sheet of water Is In
the southeastern corner of Nevada county, east of the
main ridge of the Sierras, and twelve miles northwest
of Lake Tahoe. It is four miles in length and one in
width. The scenery and natural beauty of this lake
are unsurpassed in the State ; its shores are fast
becoming a fashionable place of resort to the lovers of
rural beauty.

Clear Lake. — Clear lake Is near the southeast end
of El Dorado county, sixteen miles south of Lake Tahoe.
It Is high In the Sierras, and its surroundings are
beautifully picturesque. The area of this lake is two
miles in lenofth and one in width

Truckee Lake. — Truckee lake Is a small but beautiful
sheet of water In the Sierra mountains, sixteen miles
directly west of the eastern boundary of the State, and
twelve miles northwest of Donner lake. It Is In Sierra
county, close to its southern line ; Is about one and
a-half miles in length and three-quarters In width.

Highland Lakes. — These are three lakes almost in
the centre of Alpine county, on a high ridge of the
Sierras, surrounded by most gorgeous and imposing
scenery of deep forest and beautiful meadow. The

1^8 ^-^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

waters of these lakes are clear and of great depth.
They are about one and a-quarter miles In length each,
and about three-quarters of a mile in breadth, and
within one and a-half miles of each other.

Lake Elenor. — This Is the principal lake in Tuolumne
county, about eight miles from the northern line of
Mariposa county, and a few miles from where the Tuo-
lumne river falls twelve hundred feet. It Is perched
hioh in the rueeed Sierras ; is about two miles in
length and one mile in width.

Mono Lake. — Mono lake Is one of the most remark-
able sheets of water in the world. It Is situated In the
northern part of Mono county, east of the Sierras, and
nine miles west of the eastern State line, and one hun-
dred and sixty-two miles due east from San Francisco.
It is thirteen miles in length and eight miles in width.
There are several islands in it ; the two principal ones
close together In Its centre are two miles each in length
and a mile in width. The lake is supposed to occupy the
bed of an ancient crater, and its waters to be one thou-
sand feet lower than formerly. Numerous streams
empty into this lake, yet its water is so bitter and so
impregnated with lime, salt, borax, and carbonate of
soda that no living thing exists beneath or floats upon
it; its surface Is a kind of oily fluid, over which the
winds pass without causing a ripple. The wild fowls
which inhabit the marshes and streams In Its vicinity
never light upon or touch its waters. From its bottom
are thrown volumes of water, from boiling springs
beneath, with such violence that a boat cannot be kept
upon its surface.

From the principal Island in this lake open angry

LAKES IN CALIFORNIA. ijg

mouths, from which are emitted gusts of steam, gas,
and sryoke, which attest the unquenched fires below.
The deserted aspect of its surroundings, the volcanic
cones which lift their beetlinof heads thousands of feet
above the sterile scene, all lend an aspect of desolation,
w^ell entitling this cauldron to the name of the "Dead
Sea."

It would be well to notice here that one sign of life,
and one only, is visible in this lake. In summer a
small fly deposits its eggs upon the oily surface ; soon,
millions of small, whitish worms float thereon, drifting
In windrows upon the shore, when they are gathered
by the Indians, who make them a staple of food and
consider them a luxury.

Guadalupe Lake — Is situated in the extreme western
corner of Santa Barbara county, a little less than one
mile from the Pacific ocean. It is a long, narrow sheet
of water lying in a valley, extending in a westerly and
easterly direction seven miles, and is about one mile in
wddth.

Buenavesta Lake. — This lake is in the Tulare valley
in Kern county, eleven miles from its western line.
It is nine miles in length and four and one-half miles
in width.

Kern Lake. — Directly east of Buenavesta lake, 5nd
connected by a narrow strip of water of about four miles
in length, is Kern lake ; its course being east and west,
about eieht miles in lenofth and three and a-half in
width. Both this and Bilenavesta lake are connected
by streams with Tulare lake, which is about forty-three
miles north of them.

l80 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Dry Lakes. — From the western line of Los Aneeles
county on the Pacific ocean to the eastern boundary line
of this State, in the centre of Inyo county, a distance of
two hundred and twenty miles, thence southerly to the
extreme southern boundary of the State, at the junction
of the Gila and Colorado rivers, a distance of three hun-
dred miles from Inyo county, and embracing the counties
of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, and the
southern portions of Kern and Inyo, there Is not a
single lake of any size, although this area contains sixty
thousand square miles, or more than one-third of the
area of the whole State. The Sierra Nevada moun-
tains are lost before they reach this tract, which, on its
eastern line, is a dreary waste of alkaline plains and
jagged volcanic peaks. A great portion of this area
was at some remote period covered with water, as the
numerous beds of dry lakes attest. There are eighteen
of these lake-beds now dry in this tract, with an area
of sixteen thousand five hundred square miles, includ-
ing Death Valley, In the western corner of San Bernar-
dino and the south end of Inyo county, and twelve
miles from the eastern State line, embracing an area
of forty miles in length and ten miles In width, a great
portion of which is one hundred and fifty feet below
the level of the sea, an ash-bed of bufning sands and
alkali dust.

klVERS IN CALIFORNIA. 1,Q1

CHAPTER XVI.

Rivers — Bays — Harbors — Bay of San Francisco — Piiget sound — •
Fort Point — Straits — San Quentin — Islands — Seal Rock — Cliff
House — Sea-lions — Golden Gate : origin of the name.

RIVERS.

In the whole coast line of Cahfornia of seven hun-
dred miles there are no rivers of any considerable
magnitude or navigable importance, except the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin, and they empty into the Bay
of San Francisco and have their outlet throuQrh the
Golden Gate.

Sacramento River. — This is the principal navigable
river in the State ; its source is high in the Sierras, in
the northern part of Shasta county, fed by Innumerable
streams which dash wildly through deep canons and
mountain ororofes, fallinor more than five thousand feet
in five miles. After reachinof the lower ao^ricultural
country, it flows In a meandering stream of consider-
able magnitude, skirted by willows, oaks, cottonwood,
and sycamore trees. In Its serpentine windings, it
passes through the counties of Shasta, Tehama, and
Colusa, forming the county line between Sutter, Yolo,
Sacramento, Contra Costa, and Solano, where It empties
into Suisun bay, then into San Pablo bay, and through
the Bay of San Francisco to the Golden Gate. Its
general course Is from north to south from Its source
to Sacramento City, which Is about two hundred and
forty miles ; and from Sacramento to San Francisco
about one hundred and twenty miles. Its course is from
east to west. Steamers drawlncr three feet of water

1 82 THE GOLDEN STATE.

run from San Francisco to Sacramento, and those
drawlne fifteen inches run from Sacramento to Red
Bluff, in Tehama county, two hundred and forty-seven
miles from San Francisco.

San Joaquin River. — The source of this river is in
the Sierras, in an opposite direction from that of the
Sacramento, and in the extreme eastern part of Fresno
county. Its course is from east to west, and for its first
fifty miles it is fed by a number of mountain streams,
which are of great volume and rush in precipitous
descent through dark and frowning canons. Passing
through the western part of Fresno county, it reaches
the fertile San Joaquin valley, through which it passes
directly in the centre of Merced, Stanislaus, and San
Joaquin counties, finally emptying into the Sacramento
at Suisun bay. Steamers drawing five feet of water run
upon this river to Stockton, at the head of tide navi-
gation, one hundred and twenty miles from San Fran-
cisco, and boats of lighter draught ascend much higher
up the river.

Feather River. — This river has Its source In the
rugged Sierras, in Plumas county, and is fed by numer-
ous crystal streams which leap In wild cascades down
abrupt descents through Plumas and Butte countleis,
until It reaches Oroville and Marysville : thirty miles
below the latter it joins the Sacramento. Steamboats
of light draught run from Sacramento to Marysville, a
distance of fifty miles. The general course of the
stream is In a southwesterly direction. The beds of
this stream and Its tributaries have produced millions
of gold. It Is not navigable.

Yuba River. — This river, which empties into the

RIVERS IN CALIFORNIA, I 83

Feather river at Mar^'sville, has Its source in the
Sierras in the eastern part of Nevada county, and near
the eastern boundary of the State. Its course through
Nevada and Yuba counties is among deep ravines and
gulches, and over the repositories of milHons of gold.
It is not navigable.

American River. — The American river, so famous
in early days for its gold deposits, has its source near
Lake Tahoe in the Sierras. It runs almost due west,
and forms the line between the counties of El Dorado
and Placer. It is a dashing stream, often passing
through deep ravines and dark, shady forests. Running
through the lower portions of Sacramento count}^ it
winds slowly through the plain until it meets the
Sacramento just above Sacramento City. It is not
navigable.

There are a number of rivers emptying into the San
Joaquin, having their source high in the Sierras, and
running over and through deep gorges and canons
toward the south, and averaging from one hundred to
one hundred and twenty miles in length ; many of them
are of great beauty and volume : among these are the
Cosumnes, Mokaht7iine^ Calaveras^ Stanislaus^ Tuohunne^
and Merced,

King's River. — Kind's river is a stream of much
volume. Its source is in the Sierras in the eastern
portion of Fresno county, and south of the San Joaquin.
For the first fifty miles It rushes over precipitous rocks
and mountain gorges ; striking the Tulare valley, it
courses sluggishly through the tule swamps until It
empties into Tulare lake. This river is about ninety-
five miles in leno^th.

184 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Kern and Bravo Rivers. — Both these rivers have
their source in the lower end of the Sierra range, in the
eastern part of Tulare county. They carry a consider-
able body of water through rough canons and gorges,
until they meet the tule lands of Kern county, where
they empty into Kern lake, from which to their source
they are more than one hundred and twenty miles in
lenQth.

Owens River. — This river issues from the White and
Palisade mountains, east of the Sierras and close to
the eastern line of the State, in Mono county , hundreds
of little streams from both sides of these mountains swell
its volume, its course being southwest, until it empties
into Owens lake. This river is about one hundred miles
in length, but is not navigable.

MoHAVA River. — The Mohava river issues from the
San Bernardino mountains in the western part of San
Bernardino county, sixty miles east from the Pacific
ocean. Its course is nearly southeast a distance of one
hundred miles, where it is lost in the Sink of the Alohava^
in the southeastern section of San Bernardino county.

Coast Rivers. — The rivers emptying into the Pacific
ocean, with the exception of those principal ones whose
outlet is through the Golden Gate, are but few, and
not one navigable except for a short distance by small
craft of light draught. There are seven small streams
that empty into the ocean from San Diego county, the
most southern county of the State; none of them are of
much importance, the greatest being about sixty miles
in length. They are not navigable. Sail Diego, San
BemardinOy San Louis Rey, and Margarita are the
principal ones in this county.

RIVERS IN CALIFORNIA. 1 85

Six small rivers and numerous creeks find their way
Irom die Coast Range to the Pacific, the entire length
of the State ; six have an outlet through Los Angeles
county : none of them are navigable. Santa Ana and
San Gabriel are the chief ones, the former being about
fifty miles in length. . The Los Angeles is a branch, of
considerable magnitude, of the San Gabriel ; its course
is from east to west.

In Santa Barbara county there are bu three rivers :
they have their source in the Coast Range and empty
into the Pacific ocean: none of them are of any impor-
tance. The Santa Clara, in the southern part of the
county, has its source in the northern part of Los
Angeles county ; its length is about fifty miles. The
Santa Inez, running almost due west and emptying into
the Pacific ocean near the northern line of Santa Bar-
bara county, is about seventy miles in length, and is fed
by innumerable streams.

Santa AL^ria or Cuyama River. — This river has its
source in the eastern portion of Santa Barbara county,
and forms the western line of that county for almost
one hundred miles in its serpentine course in a direct
westerly line to the Pacific ocean, where it empties at
the Bay of San Louis. It is not a navigable stream.

Carmel and San Jose Rivers. — These two rivers
have their source in Saint Lucia mountains, a chain of
the Coast Range, in Monterey county. They are each
about fourteen miles in length. Running northwest,
they empty into the Pacific at Carmel bay, four miles
south of the town of Monterey, in Monterey county.
They are not navigable.

Salinas River. — This is the only stream of any im-

1 86 THE GOLDEN STATE.

portance west of the Santa Inez to this point. Its sonrce
is in the rugged Santa Barbara mountains, in the lower
end of San Louis Obispo county, through the corner of
which it passes in a northwesterly course the entire
length of the county, thence through the centre of
Monterey county to the Bay of Monterey and the
Pacific ocean, where it finds an outlet. Its course for
its entire length of about two hundred miles is along
the coast line about fifty miles from the ocean; it is fed
by numerous streams which water the fertile Salinas
valley.

Pajaro River. — This stream has its source In the
southern section of the Mount Diablo mountains, in the
southern part of Santa Clara county, running almost
west. It forms the boundary line between the counties
of Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey. It is about
forty miles in length, and empties into Monterey bay
about twenty miles south ot the town of Santa Cruz.
It is not naviorable.

The San Felipe is considerable of a stream, having
Its source in Santa Clara county, and emptying mto the
Pajaro river.

San Benito river has its source about the middle of
Monterey county, running parallel with the ocean north-
west for sixty miles ; it empties into the Pajaro fourteen
miles from its mouth.

San Lorenzo River. — The San Lorenzo is the only
river in Santa Cruz county. It has its origin in the
Coast Range, and runs south a distance of about fifteen
miles and directly south of the town of Santa Cruz,
where it empties into the Pacific ocean. From this point
northward along Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and crossing

RIVERS IN CALIFORNIA. 1 8/

the Golden Gate, thence the length of Marin county^
there is not a stream of any note until reaching a third
of the length of Sonoma county.

Russian River. — This river rushes down in consider-
able volume through the rugged peaks and canons of
the Coast Range; its source is midway in the county of
Mendocino, and it is fed by a number of streams. For
seventy miles its course is almost due south, when, at
a point in Sonoma county, six miles from the northern
corner of Napa county, it turns suddenly toward the
west ; passing through the centre of Sonoma county, it
dashes in serpentine course through gulches of the Coast
Range until it empties into the Pacific ocean. West-
ward from this point, for almost three degrees of lati-
tude, along the northern half of Sonoma county, all of
Mendocino county, and the southern half of Humboldt
county, the Avhole coast line is indented w^ith small
rivers and creeks, none of which are of any importance ;
WallaJiallm, in Sonoma county, and Nevarro, Albion^
Grande, and Noyo, in Mendocino county, and Mattole
and Bear rivers, in Humboldt county, being the chief
ones, none of which are navigable.

Eel River. — The source of this river is in the Coast
Range, in the centre of Mendocino county, more than
one hundred and twenty miles from where it reaches
the Pacific ocean. Hundreds of streams pour down the
gulches and through the forests to join it on its course,
makinor Mendocino and Humboldt counties through
which they flow the best-watered sections of the State.
The course of the Eel river is directly northwest, follow-
ing the course of the coast, about twent}'-five miles from
the ocean, until it empties into the Pacific five miles south

1 88 THE GOLDEN STATE,

of Humboldt bay, In Humboldt county. From this
point north for twenty miles, to the northern boundary
of Humboldt county, there are six rivers, all small ; the
two principal ones, Elk and yacoby^ empty into Hum-
boldt bay in Humboldt county.

Mad River. — Five miles north of Humboldt bay, and
at the northern boundary of Humboldt county, is the
outlet of Mad river, which has its source in the southern
corner of Trinity county, from whence, through the
lower part of this county and the northern half of
Humboldt county, it courses in a northwesterly direc-
tion, and on a parallel with Eel river at a distance of
eighteen miles to the northeast. It is fed in its course
of almost one hundred miles by numbers of streams
shooting forth from the deep forests and canons of
Humboldt county, until it pours its volume into the
Pacific ocean five miles north of Humboldt bay.

Little River. — Eight miles north of Mad river, and
in the southern part of Klamath county, is this stream,
running due west from the Coast Range to the Pacific;
it is about fifteen miles from its source to its mouth.

Redwood Creek. — Twenty miles farther north, in
Klamath county, is Redwood creek, having its source
in the northern part of Humboldt county, and running
northwest a distance of forty miles ; passing through
the forests and canons of the western side of Klamath
count}^ it empties into the Pacific ocean eighteen miles
south of Klamath river, at a point called Gold Bluff.

Klamath River. — This river has its source in the
northern portion of California among the Sierras and
Jakes, directly on the Oregon and California State line,

HI VERS IN CALIFORXIA. 1 89

many of Its branches pushing far Into the southern
part of Oregon. It crosses the Oregon line and enters
CaHfornIa In a well-defined stream in Siskiyou county,
one hundred miles due east from the northern State
line, on the Pacific ocean. From this point it courses
in a rapid and dashing volume through the northern end
of Siskiyou county, crosses the southern corner of Del
Norte county, down to the lower part of Klamath county,
a distance of one hundred and twenty miles : in this
course it has ea-thered ereat volume and force from the
numerous tributaries of the dense forest and mountains
of this section of country. Twelve miles from the
southern line of Klamath county, it turns suddenly from
its course of southeast to northwest, crosses again in
an opposite course the northern line of Klamath county,
eighteen miles from the ocean, enters the southern line
of Del Norte county, which it follows, still in its north-
westerly direction, for eighteen miles, when it empties
into the Pacific. From the ocean, for forty miles, it is
navigable for steamers of light draught. At this point
is the mouth of the

Trinity River. — Havinof its source in the northeast-
ern corner of Trinity county, it winds its serpentine
course through its rocky and precipitous channels
through half the length of that county, in a south-
westerly direction ; then, suddenly turning northwest,
enters the southern portion of Klamath county, where
it empties into the Klamath river forty miles from its
mouth. »

North of Klamath river, and the only one north of
that in the State, is

Smith River. — This river rises In the northern part

IQO THE GOLDEN STATE.

of Del Norte county, close to the Oregon line. It is
joined In Its course by innumerable streams from both
sides. Its direction Is due west for twenty miles from
its source, when It turns northwest and empties into
the Pacific ocean close to the northern State boundary
in latitude forty-two.

Pitt River. — Pitt river has its source in Siskiyou
county, in the Warren range of mountains, near Goose
lake. Its course Is in a southwesterly direction through
Siskiyou county, across the northwestern portion of
Lassen county, into the northeastern corner of Shasta
county, where It merges Into the principal branch of the
Sacramento river. Its length from its source to this
point Is about one hundred miles ; it passes through a
rugged and mountainous country.

Scott and Shasta Rivers. — These two rivers are of
considerable volume in the spring time. They run west
through the northwestern corner of Shasta county, and
empty Into the Klamath river. Their length each Is
about thirty miles.

BAYS AND HARBORS.

From the southwest line of the State to its northern
boundary, a distance of eight hundred miles, there are
but three first-class harbors — the Bay of San Francisco
and the harbors of San Diego and Humboldt. Besides
these there are fifteen bays and harbors, chiefly open
roadsteads or Inlets : none of these are sufficiently
secure in all kinds of weather, or of sufficient depth, to
afford protection or render them attractive as places of
resort for shipping. Aside from these bays there are
almost innumerable rivers and Indentations In the coast

BAYS AND HARBORS IN CALIFORNIA. I9I

where small craft can seek shelter in cases of emer-
gency, and to and from which an active coast-trade is
carried on by small steamers and sailing craft.

The bays and harbors of the coast are here described,
commencing at San Diego, and following the line of
the coast north to the northern boundary of the State.

San Diego Harbor. — This is the most southerly har-
bor on the coast of California. It is twelve miles north
of the line between California and Mexico, in San Diego
count}^, and about four hundred and fort^^-six miles south
of San Francisco. A broad channel of thirty feet depth
of water leads into this fine harbor, w^hich is completely
landlocked, with good anchorage, and a length of twelve
miles and from two to three miles in width. Large
steamers ply between San Francisco and this port, which
is fast becoming of commercial importance. The town
of San Diego is situated on the northern end of the bay.
The next harbor northward is

San Pedro Bay. — This bay is situated near the centr
of Los Angeles county, on the coast, three hundred and
seventy-five miles south of San Francisco. This harbor
is exposed to the south winds, which render it very unsafe
in winter. The water for two miles from shore is shal-
low, lighters having to be used to discharge cargo. An
inlet from this bay, with Deadman's island near its mouth,
forms the entrance to Wilmington, a thriving tow^n.
The town of Los Angeles is directly east from this
point, about twenty miles inland, and is connected w^ith
it by a railroad. Anaheim Landing is formed by an
inlet from this bay, which is only an open roadstead
formed by a projecting cape. Northward, for the entire
length of Santa Barbara county, there is not a single

ig2 THE GOLDEN STATE.

bay of any Importance, although there are several inlets
suited to coasting vessels.

San Louis Bay. — This bay is on an open roadstead,
in the southern end of San Louis Obispo county, formed
by Point San Louis, extending out about five miles.
There is good anchorage, but the harbor, if it can be so
called, is sheltered only from north winds. It is about
two hundred miles south of San Francisco.

EsTERO Bay. — Sixteen miles north of San Louis bay
Is Estero bay. The main bay is an open roadstead ; but
Moro Rock, runninor out for about four miles, forms a
bay of three miles in length, secure from all winds except
the westerly. It is in about the centre of the coast line.
of San Louis Obispo county ; it affords good shelter,
and has sufficient depth of water.

Carmelo Bay. — This little bay is directly south of
Cypress Point, the most prominent headland of Monte-
rey county, and about four miles south of the town and
harbor of Monterey. It is about three miles in length
and two in width ; has deep water, but is exposed to the
south and west winds. The ruins of the old mission of
San Carlos are here. The bay possesses much natural
beauty, but is of little commercial importance. Four
miles north of this is

Monterey Bay. — It Is formed by an oblong Indenta-
tion in the coast in the north end of Monterey county,
and the southern end of Santa Cruz county. It is ninety
miles south of San Francisco. The bay Is twenty-five
miles wide, and twelve miles in a line from the outer
points of Cypress on the south and Santa Cruz on the
north. At its southern limit is the town and landing

BAYS AND HARBORS IN CALIFORNIA. 1 93

of Monterey, close to which, on Point Pinos, is a light
house. The Sahnas river empties into the centre of this
bay, at the western extremity of which is situated the
town. The towns of Santa Cruz and Monterey are
twenty-five miles apart across the bay, which is open to
the south and west, but has a sufficient depth of water;
large steamers and sailing craft enter this bay. There
is a brisk trade between San Francisco and this place.

Bay of Santa Cruz. — It is situated in the southern
end of Santa Cruz county, and the northern part of
Monterey bay, of which it is almost a part. It is but an
open roadstead, exposed to the south and west winds,
and on that account is not safe at all times. The bay is
small, but has very deep water; and is of considerable
commercial importance, in consequence of extensive
lime - kilns, powder and paper mills, and tanneries ;
besides being the outlet of a rich agricultural section of
country. Steamers and sailing vessels ply regularly
between this port and San Francisco, from which it is
distant eighty miles south. The thriving town of Santa
Cruz is situated at its head. The next harbor north-
ward is in San Mateo county.

Half-moon Bay. — It is a small indentation in the
coast, protected from the north winds by a projecting
point, but exposed to the south and west. As a harbor
it is of little importance. Small steamers and sailing
vessels of light draught run between this point'and San
Francisco, which is forty-six miles north. It is sur-
rounded by a rich agricultural valley and rolling hills.
Spanish Town, a small village, is inland about two miles
from the bay. Following the coast line north the next
harbor is the

194 * ^-^^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

Bay of SxVN Francisco — Which has its outlet through
the Golden Gate, and which, for size, depth, ease of
entrance, and security, is unsurpassed in the world, ex-
cepting by Puget sound in Washington Territory. The
Golden Gate, or entrance to the Bay of San Fran-
cisco, is situated in latitude 37° 48' north, and longitude
122° 30' west from Greenwich. The discovery of this
bay will be found treated of in another chapter. The
entrance to the bay Is through a passage running due
east for a distance of five miles in length, and is about
two miles wide; this passage and the bay inside are of
great depth and of easy access, there being thirty feet
of water at low tide. On the northern side of the en-
trance rise almost perpendicular, dark, and frowning
rocks, to a height of three thousand feet, where, at Point
Bonita, is a ligJit-house. On the southern side, at the
entrance, is built, in the solid rock, at Fort Point, a
strong fortification, completely guarding the entrance.
From this point to San Francisco Is a range of rolling
and grassy hills, a great part of the small valleys being
covered with mountains of white and driftine sands.

Six miles from the entrance of the Golden Gate Is
the city of San Francisco. Here the bay turns south-
ward in the direction of San Jose for thirty miles, form-
ing a peninsula between It and the Pacific ocean, upon
which Is the city and county of San Francisco. The
bay at its widest point between San Francisco and San
Jose is twelve miles ; at Oakland, directly east of San
Francisco on the opposite side of the bay. It is eight
miles in width. Coursing west from San Francisco the
bay extends north until It meets San Pablo bay, form-
ing a continuous sheet of water west of San Francisco
of thirty miles in length and twelve miles at its widest

^".■fe*.«i^' ■' iH,«lH:,^.^:SviiC;'

J^AYS AND HARBORS IN CALIFORNIA. I 95

point ; thus making this landlocked ocean sixt)^ miles
runninof north and south and about nine miles in width.

At the northeastern portion of San Francisco bay are
Mare straits. Here is situated the town of Vallejo, on
the west side of Solano county. Directly opposite
Vallejo is the United States navy-yard on Mare island.
At these places there are deep water and safe anchorage.
Passing through the Straits of Carquines, a narrow pas-
sage of eight miles, in an easterly direction, is met Sitisun
bay, extending ten miles in length. Here the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin rivers empty their great volumes
received from the vast interior of the State through a
thousand tributary streams, all finding their way through
the Golden Gate.

On the north of San Pablo bay, and east from San
Francisco thirty miles, are the counties of Napa and
Sonoma ; and on the west side the county of Marin,
being the northern peninsula which, at the entrance
of the Bay of San Francisco, forms its northern rock-
bound wall ; in this county, on the bay, twelve miles
from San Francisco, is the State prison at San Ouentin.

There are several islands in the Bay of San Fran-
cisco. Alcati^az isla7id, six miles from the entrance —
the Golden Gate — is in the centre of the channel : a
solid rock of sixteen hundred feet in length and four
hundred and fifty feet in width, and about one hundred
and thirty-five feet above the level of the sea. It is a
strong fortress, bristling with heavy artillery from
granite walls ; and, in conjunction with the heavy arma-
ment at Fort Point, and Black Point between Fort
Point and San Francisco, is a complete harbor-defence.

Angel island, close to Marin county, directly north
of Alcatraz and four miles from San Francisco, contains

196 THE GOLDEN STATE,

about eight hundred acres, chiefly good land; strong
fortifications have been built here recently.

Directly in the line between San Francisco and Oak-
land, midway In the bay, Is Yerba Biiena, or Goat island.
It is less in size than Angel Island, and Is held by the
United States as a military station, although no troops
have ever been stationed there. A bridge of consider-
able length extends from Oakland toward this Island,
this bridge being the terminus of the overland railroad.

Four miles north of Angel Island is Red Rock,
Further north, In San Francisco bay. Is Bird Rock and
the Two Sisters, There are other small Islands and
rocks In the bay, but not of sufficient Importance to
mention.

About a mile south of the Golden Gate Is Seal Rock,
a clump of jagged rocks standing high above the sea,
worn and scarred by the incessant dashing of the waves,
which In stormy weather break over them with terrible
fury; the roar of the waters can often be heard at San
Francisco, a distance of eight miles. These rocks in
calm weather are a source of o^reat Interest owlnp* to
the Immense seals, frequently called sea-lions, which
continually crawl up their rugged sides and" bask upon
them, keeping up a constant howl, much to the amuse-
ment and wonderment of the visitors at the Cliff House,
who, upon the balcony, level their glasses upon them.
Some of these animals are as large as an ox. They
are protected by law from the sportsman's slaughter.

The name Golden Gate Is applied to the entrance of
the Bay of San Francisco. Many attempts have been
made to ascertain the origin of this name and its appli-
cation to this passage, but all without satisfactory
results, few writers going beyond the year 1S47, ^vhen

BAYS AND HARBORS IN CALIFORNIA.

197

the name appears in the ^'Geographical Menioij^ of Call-
fojmia,'' written by John C. Fremont, who had explored
the country.

\n ''The Book of Co7tstant Purity'' ascribed to Lau-
ki-un, a Chinese philosopher, who is supposed to have
lived more than fourteen centuries before Christ, the
words golden gate are first found in the records of the
human family, and indeed nowhere else, except in
modern writings pertaining to the harbor of San Fran-
cisco, is the name found. A Chinese sage, speaking of
"The Book of Constant Puiaty!' says : " Scholars of the
first rank, if they understand it, will be raised to become
heavenly rulers. Those of the second rank, if they
attend to its instructions, will be placed among the
immortal sages of the southern palace. Those of the
lowest class, if they obtain this book, will enjoy long
life on earth, roam at will through the three w^orlds,
and enter the Golden Gate." Whether or no this
prophetic allusion applies to the hundi^ed tJioiisand, of
the "lower class," of Chinese who have, since the dis-
covery of the precious metals in California, entered the
Golden Gate is left to the judgment of the reader.

The great temple of Solomon, which was begun
1012 B. C, was ornamented with the precious metals,
and this with other edifices and palaces erected by this
proud king are said to have had " gates of gold."

Whatever the origin of the name. Golden Gate, as
applied to the entrance to the Bay of San Francisco,
although applied long before the discovery of gold in
California, is certainly most appropriate, for through
this gate has passed more gold than through any other
port in the world.

The early navigator or explorer, after the perils of a

105 THE GOLDEN STATE,

tedious sea-voyage or the trials of the arid plains and
the frosts of the stern Sierras, when first beholding the
beautiful Bay of San Francisco, burnished like molten
gold with the bright sun of a California sky, might well
exclaim, CJirysori'Jioas ! (Golden Stream,) the name ap-
plied to a beautiful river In Syria near Damascus ;
or the name mio^ht have been suororested to some navl-
gator by Chrysocei^as, (Horn of Gold,) a name applied
to the harbor of Byzantium.

BoLiNAS Bay. — Ten miles north of the Bay of San
Francisco Is Bollnas bay, formed by a projecting point
of rocks, on the west side of Marin county. It is shel-
tered only from the north and west, and is of little
importance except for small coast-traders.

Drake's Bay. — This famous historic bay is the place
visited by Sir Francis Drake In 1579, and which som.e
supposed was the Bay of San Francisco. It Is directly
south of the long projecting Point Reyes, in Marin
county, and thirty miles north of the Golden Gate; Is of
considerable size, and well sheltered from the west and
north, but is of little value as a commercial port.

ToMALES Bay. — Eighteen miles north of Drake's
bay, and forty-eight miles north of the Golden Gate, In
Marin county, near the northern end of the county, is
this bay. It is less than a mile In width, having eleven
feet of water at low tide ; it is fifteen miles In length,
heading southeast and parallel with the Coast Range.
It is sheltered from all winds and perfectly landlocked.
The surrounding country Is a rich agricultural and
grazing district, and a lively coast-trade is carried on
between this point and San Francisco

£AYS AND HARBORS IN CALIFORNIA. 1 99

BoDEGO Bay. — Six miles directly north of Tomales
bay, and where the southern corner of Sonoma county
reaches the Pacific ocean, is this little bay, formed by a
projecting point. It is well sheltered from the north
and west, but is open to the southwest. It is only
about two miles in length and one and a-half in w^idth,
Avith nine feet of water at low tide. A small Russian
settlement was established here in 1812, which was not
abandoned until 1841. An active coasting and produce
trade is carried on from this port to San Francisco.
From this point north and along the coast for one hun-
dred and seventy miles there is not a single harbor or
safe entrance for a vessel of large size. This space
embraces the northern half of Sonoma county, all of
Mendocino and the greater part of Humboldt county.
In this space there are numerous rivers and small inlets,
to and from which an active lumber and produce trade
is carried on with San Francisco.

Humboldt Bay. — North of the Golden Gate two
hundred and twenty-three miles, and in the northern
part of Humboldt county, is Humboldt bay, entering
the coast where the dense forests of firs and pines grow
to the water's edge. The passage in is about a quarter
of a mile Vvdde and about half a mile long, having
eighteen feet of water at low tide; inside, the bay swells
north and south for six miles in each direction, leaving
a narrow peninsula between it and the ocean. The
bay inside is twelve miles from north to south, and
about four in width ; it is completely landlocked, and is
one of the most secure harbors in the State. Steamers
and ships of all classes enter this bay, many of the lat-
ter loading lumber and spars for foreign and domestic

200 THE GOLDEN STATE.

ports. The town of Eureka is situated on the inside
of the bay. On the northern side of the entrance there
is a good hght-house ; there are also substantial tug-
boats on the bay. This harbor was not discovered
until 1850.

Trinidad Bay. — ^Twenty miles north of Humboldt,
and in the southern end of Klamath county, is Trinidad
bay. It is an open roadstead, formed by a projecting
cape toward the west ; it is exposed to the south and
west winds, and on that account is not a safe harbor.
It is small, but has good anchorage and plenty of water.
The town of Trinidad is located at its head, is in the
midst of a timbered district, and an active trade is car-
ried on in timber from this port. It is two hundred and
forty- three miles north from San Francisco.

Crescent City Harbor. — This is the farthest harbor
north upon the coast of California, forty-seven miles
north of Trinidad and two hundred and ninety north
of San Francisco. It is an open roadstead, formed by
the projecting Cape of St. George, extending westward
about a mile. It is in about the centre of Del Norte
county, and seventeen miles south of the northern State
line. One mile from shore the depth of water is only
twelve feet ; vessels of any considerable size must dis-
charge by lighters, but for vessels of light draught
there is good wharf accommodation, and a considerable
coast-trade is carried on between this point and San
Francisco by steamer and sailing craft. Immense quan-
tities of fir, pine, and redwood lumber leave this port.
It is also the most northern point of egress and ingress
to and from the mines in this section of the State and

jBAVS and harbors in CALIFORNIA. 20I

in southern Oregon. Crescent City is located upon its
northern beach.

Pelican Bay. — A sort of bend in the coast forms this
bay ; it is directly north of Crescent City, in the forty-
second parallel of north latitude, the boundary between
California and Oregon passing directly through its
centre. A lagoon, six miles in length, and Smith river
empty into it in the northern corner of Del Norte
county. The Coquette river in Oregon, just north of
the State line, also empties into this bay, which is an
open roadstead, and not sheltered except by the coast
on the east : it has no advantages as a harbor.

202 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XVII.

Islands off the coast — Farallones — Islands in bays and rivers-
First mint in California — Indian tribes — Shell money — Springs —
Petroleum — Mud springs — Calistoga springs — Sulphur springs — •
Soda springs — Tar springs — Asphaltum — Geysers.

ISLANDS.

The islands of the coast line of California are few,
considering the great distance from San Diego to Hum-
boldt. In the entire length of the State there are but
seven islands of any importance, and these are at its
southern end, the farthest north being off the county of
Santa Barbara in latitude thirty-four degrees, and all
within a coast line of seventy miles, leaving eight de-
grees of latitude, or more than five hundred and fifty
miles of coast, from Santa Barbara to the Oregon line,
without a single island except the Farallones, a clump
of rugged rocks off the Golden Gate.

Besides the islands off the coast there are several
inside the Golden Gate; these are described in the
chapter treating upon the Bay of San Francisco.

The islands of -the coast will here be described in
their order, commencing with the most southerly and
continuing northward.

San Clement Island. — This is the most southerly
island of the coast. It is direcdy in the thirty-third
degree of north latitude, and is forty-three miles distant
from the coast of Los Angeles county; is twenty miles
in length and five in width. There is but litde good
agricultural or grazing land upon this island ; its general

ISLANDS IN CALIFORNIA. 203

character is barren and rocky ; and some of the peaks
are over one hundred feet in height.

Santa Catalina Island. — This island lies directly
midway between San Clement island and the county of
Los Angeles, about twenty miles from the coast, and is
about the same size as San Clement; it is twenty miles
in lenorth and five in w^idth. There is considerable
good land and some cultivation on the island, which
has been a grazing field for thousands of sheep. Some
of the mountains on this Island rise three thousand feet
above the sea. There are two good harbors, Union
and Catalina ; and an abundance of gfood water on the
island. Both this and San Clement island were, by act
of the California Legislature of April 25, 185 1, attached
to the county of Los Angeles : they are south of San
Francisco about four hundred miles.

North of these Islands and off the coast of Santa
Barbara county are the five other Islands forming the
coast islands : the most southerly of these is

Santa Barbara Island. — This island is thirty-six
miles south of Santa Barbara county. Is about two and
a-half miles In length, about two miles in width, and.
about five hundred feet in height, rocky and irregular,
and is the abode of Innumerable sea-lions and wild
birds. It Is thirty-six miles from the mainland. There
is but little good land on It.

San Nicolas Island. — This island Is twenty-six miles
northwest of Santa Barbara island and sixty miles from
the mainland of Santa Barbara county ; it is twelve
miles In length and five miles wide. A great portion
of its surface Is rocky, but there are some valleys, and

204 THE GOLDEN STATE.

large numbers of sheep pasture among- them. Its
greatest surface is about six hundred feet above the
sea. It is about three hundred and forty miles from
San Francisco.

Santa Cruz Island. — Inside of San Nicolas, almost
in a direct line east forty-two miles, twenty-five miles
from the mainland and directly opposite the town of
Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara county, is the island of
Santa Cruz; it is twenty-four miles in length and seven
miles in width. Its surface is rugged, but it has a great
portion of good pasturage, upon which more than thirty
thousand sheep graze. Wild hogs and goats abound
in the mountains ; so numerous are the former that
they destroy the sheep by devouring the young lambs,
and although efforts have been made to exterminate
these hogs, it has been impossible, as they secure them-
selves in the dense jungles in the hills. These hogs
first came from the Sandwich islands: they never grow
large, and are somewhat like the North Carolina pine-
woods hogs ; are long legged and long bristled, have
great heads and tusks, run like race-horses, and gen-
erally die if fed upon corn and potatoes. There is now
a war of extermination waging between the sheep and
hogs : the sheep by destroying the grass, and the hogs
by rooting up the pasturage and devouring the lambs :
the hogs have the sheep at a great disadvantage.
There is good water on the island, and a safe harbor
on the land side. It is two hundred and eighty miles
south of San Francisco.

Santa Rosa Island. — Five miles directly west of
Santa Cruz island, and thirty miles from the mainland
of Santa Barbara county, is Santa Rosa island, sixteen

ISLANDS IN CALIFORNIA. 205

miles In length, and twelve in width at its widest point.
The sides of this island are about two hundred feet in
height, with but few safe places for landing. The
surface above this is almost level and produces abun
dant grass, upon which thousands of sheep pasture. A
few Mexican families reside on the island.

The first mint in California was established on this
island, how long ago is uncertain — perhaps centuries
before Julius Caesar invaded Britain. From it was
issued the panga or shell money of the Indians, which
supplied the coast and interior tribes as far east as the
Tulare and Owens lakes with the current funds of the
aborigines. Once a year bands of Indians from the
interior would visit the sea-coast at Santa Barbara
county and the island of Santa Rosa, to trade with the
island or coast tribes. Those of the interior brought
panoche, (a thick sugar made from honey-dew and a
species of wild cane,) nut pipes, and wild tobacco. This
money was made from mussel shells found on the coast
and the adjacent islands ; the pieces had holes in them,
and were strung on fibres of wild hemp ; eight strings
were of the value of a silver dollar ; and as this money
brought the tribes into commercial intercourse, the
priests encouraged it. As late as the year 1833, the
Indians preferred this money to gold or silver. Not a
trace of these once powerful coast-tribes, their canoes,
or money remains at this date. Santa Rosa is two
hundred and seventy-three miles south of San Fran-
cisco.

San Miguel Island. — Six miles west of Santa Rosa
island, twenty-eight miles from the coast of Santa Bar-
bara county, and two hundred and sixty-five miles south

206 THR GOLDEN STATE.

of San Francisco, is the island of San Miguel ; It is nine
miles in length and four in width ; is generally rocky,
but a large number of sheep pasture upon it ; there is
a harbor on the east side. The thirty-fourth parallel
of north latitude runs directly through the three islands
of Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel.

By act of the California Legislature, of April 25, 1851,
the five islands, Santa Barbara, San Nicolas, Santa Cruz,
Santa Rosa, and San Miguel, were attached to the county
of Santa Barbara. Most of these islands are visited
by steamers from San Francisco. Following the coast
northward for four hundred and fifty miles, to the
Oregon State line, not an island is met with in the
whole course except the clump of rocks off the Golden
Gate known as the Farallones.

Farallones Group. — Twenty-five miles due west
from the Golden Gate is this group of six small islands,
of rugged and barren rock, without soil, grass, or herb.
The most southerly of the group contains about two
acres, and is the largest of them all ; a spring of good
water issues from the rocks, and a light-house is erected
upon the principal island. This clump of barren rocks
is in the possession of countless numbers of sea-lions
and wild birds, the e^es of the latter havinp- been for
many years a source of considerable revenue to the
companies engaged in gathering them.

By act of the Legislature of California, of the 19th of
April, 1856, the Farallones, Alcatraz, and Yerba Buena
or Goat island were attached to the city and county of
San Francisco. For description of these last-mentioned
islands see Bay of San Francisco.

THE SOUTH FARALLONE ISLAND, FROM THE BIG ROOKERY, LOOKING SOUTH.
(Six barren rock islands. Twenty-five miles due west of the Golden Gate in the Pacific Ocean.)

SEA LIONS AND THEIR YOUNG, VICINITY OF THE GOLDEN GATE, CALIFORNIA
(These Sea Lions weigh from 2,000 to 5,000 pounds each.)

HOT, MINERAL, AND OTHER SPRINGS, 207

SPRINGS.

California Is prolific In natural wonders: not only
are her animals, forests, and vegetation astonishing to
mankind — the Sierras and their lateral ridges In pro-
ducing gold and silver — her mountains in elevating
their pinnacles— her streams In pouring their dashing
cataracts thousands of feet below — her myriads of
singing crystal springs leaping from their mountain
imprisonments to join the hurrying waters of the Sacra-
mento and San Joaquin to the bosom of the Pacific —
but the bowels of the earth, as If uneasy from the effects
of a prolonged emetic, belch from its angry mouth vol-
canic jets of mud, steam, sulphur, and bitter, mineral,
hot, and cold water.

From the centre of Mono lake (see Lakes) jets of
steam and smoke are emitted in fitful flashes. Four
hundred miles north of this point, and near the Mattole
river, in Humboldt county, are numerous springs, not
of water but of gas : some of them burst forth in jets of
great force, and, when ignited, blaze, and hiss their
forked tonenes from the earth until the elements are
quenched. From the head of a stream of water one
of these jets sends forth its volume, which, when Ignited,
presents the singular appearance of the river being on
fire. Small springs of petroleum are also found in this

reorion.

In San Diego county, near its centre, eighty miles
east of the town of San Diego and fifty miles west from
the Colorado river, is the bed of a lake of considerable
size : it is about six feet below the level of the ocean.
Five miles south of this, in an alkali flat, is a cauldron
of boiling mud, tossing and shaking Its angry sides and

208 THE GOLDEN STATE.

surface, and emitting volumes of steam and sulphurous
vapors, throwing with loud reports jets of mud high in
the air. For many miles around this cauldron are hot
springs and deposits of sulphur ; a trembling niotion
is felt under foot for a great distance, and at times a
rumbling, subterraneous noise is heard in the vicinity.
There are also sulphur springs near this locality.

In Alameda county, thirty-three miles in a direct line
southeast from San Francisco, are warm and mineral
springs possessing great medicinal qualities. They are
the resort of pleasure-seekers and invalids during the
summer season; the climate is genial and salubrious.

Calistoga Springs. — The springs at Calistoga, in
Napa county, are seventy-six miles north from San
Francisco. They are situated in a beautiful and fertile
valley dotted with live oaks, and surrounded by rolling
hills and mountains partly covered with trees. The
view is very picturesque, and good hotel accommoda-
tions make it a fashionable place of resort during the
summer months.

The springs, which boil from a low, boggy spot In the
valley, form quite a group. Some of them are walled
with boards and arranged for bathing; some of them
are also very hot, so much so that at a little depth eggs
can be boiled in a few minutes. Although these springs
are twenty-five miles distant from the Geysers, in So-
noma county, they are supposed to be connected with
them by some subterranean passage. Experiments
made by boring to a depth of sixty feet proved the
water to be so hot that no test of its actual heat could
be made.

White Sulphur Springs. — A group of springs

HOT, MINERAL, AND OTHER SPRINGS. 209

called the White Sulphur springs is also in Napa counr^%
about seventeen miles north of Napa City. Sulphur
water issues from the rocks in a narrow gorge in the
mountains, through which a crystal stream dashes, sing-
ing in its course beneath the deep and beautiful foliage
of oaks, alder, and willows which fringe the margin of
the stream. Rich foliage shades the springs and crowns
the mountains.

These springs and their surrounding scenery are most
delio-htful. A comfortable hotel and cottages are main-
tained here for the accommodation of oruests.

Soda Springs. — On the east side of Napa valley, and
five miles north of the town of Napa, are situated the
famous Soda springs. They are located on the side of
a mountain, about one thousand feet above the level
of the sea. These springs, which are ver}^ numerous,
occupy about thirty-five acres of land. From these
springs a very superior article of soda is obtained,
which has become a staple beverage throughout the
State: durinsf the summer more than five thousand
fdozen bottles per month are sold. The water is pleasant
to the taste, and by many is considered to possess great
medicinal qualities : it contains bicarbonate of soda,
carbonate of magnesia, carbonate of lime, chloride of
sodium, subcarbonate of iron, sulphate of soda, siliceous
acid, and alumina.

Asphaltum and petroleum are found in several por-
tions of the State. Asphaltum — a thick, tarry sub-
stance— and petroleum issue from the surface of the
earth. Seven miles west of Los Angeles more than
twenty acres are covered with holes: from these bubbles

up thick petroleum, which, when cool, forms asphaltum.
14

2IO THE GOLDEN STATE.

In a deep canon, twenty miles east of Los Angeles,
asphaltum issues from a mountain side, depositing large
quantities in the gorge below. On the coast of Santa
Barbara county, near Mount Hoar, asphaltum forms a
thick coat upon the sea-shore, and in places runs far
into the sea, following the beach from the slate rock
from which it oozes. From these deposits as well as
from those in Los Angeles county large quantities of
asphaltum are shipped to San Francisco, w^here it is
extensively used for roofing purposes; and, when mixed
with gravel and sand, it forms the elegant sidewalks of
San Francisco.

Tar Springs. — Six miles west of Buena Vista lake,
in the western part of Kern county and near the eastern
line of Santa Barbara county, is a boiling spring of thick
tar, and another of petroleum — the former covering
about an acre. From the centre of this spring or lake
constant jets of steam and gas 'escape; as the fluid
around the edges of the spring cools, it forms a solid
asphaltum : birds, beasts, and reptiles, unconscious of
danger, often rest upon this liquid matter around the.
edges, only to find themselves imbedded in the con-
gealed and gluey mass in the embrace of death : their
bones are found in great quantities in this congealed
matter.

In the southern and 'eastern portion of Kern county
large tracts of alkali desert and salt marsh is found,
wdth salt and hot springs. In the eastern part of this
county, in a small valley, surrounded by high mountains,
is a small salt lake, the water of w^iich is very pure and
very salt. The great evaporation caused by the ra^s
of the sun pouring down in this little valley produces

CE YSERS OF CALIFORNIA. 211

great quantities of the best quality of salt. All the salt
supply for this section of country is obtained in this
lake. Salt and sulphur are also obtained at many
points along the coast in the lower portion of the State;
and in Alameda county, across the bay from San Fran-
cisco, large quantities of salt are produced annually, by
flooding the marsh lands with the water of the bay and
damming it m, until, under the powerful rays of the sun,
it is absorbed, leaving its crystals of salt on the bottom,
from which they are gathered and sent to market.

Geysers. — One hundred miles north of San Fr^-
cisco and twenty-five in a direct line north of Santa
Rosa, in the northeast corner of Sonoma county, is one
of the greatest natural curiosities in the State, if not in
the world. In a deep canon, surrounded by sharp and
abrupt peaks of the Coast Range, is the scene of the
mysterious laboratory of nature known as the Geysers
and hot springs. The springs, w^hich are very numer-
ous, are in Pluton canon, and cover a space of about
two hundred acres ; they are about eighteen hundred
feet above the level of the sea, with mountains on all
sides from three thousand to four thousand feet in
height; there are more than three hundred springs,
steam-holes, and gas-jets in the group. On the side-
hills in the vicinity oak and fir trees rear their heads
above the smoke and steam of the cauldron below; and
the scenery in the vicinity is picturesque and romantic.
There is abundance of trout in the adjacent streams,
and of bear, deer, and quail in the hills. There is good
hotel accommodation, and were it not that during the
summer months it is so warm, the Geyser springs
would be a most agreeable summer resort for tourists.

212 THE GOLDEN STATE.

The springs are of various sizes and degrees of heat;
some so hot that an ^^g can be boiled in three minutes.
The fluids emitted from these springs are of every color
and shade: one, the "Devil's Ink Bottle," sends forth a
good quality of black ink. Mingled with the fluids,
impregnating the air, and crusting the surface in this
vicinity, are alum, ammonia, sulphuric acid, nitric acid,
sulphur, epsom salts, magnesia, and soda.

A short distance from this is the "Witch's Cauldron,"
about seven feet In diameter, boiling and hissing, as its
sable hell-broth lashes for three or four feet above the
lipi of the cauldron. The depth of this infernal pit is
unknown.

Some yards from the cauldron are "Steamboat
springs," where, in apertures in the side of the rocks,
in dense volumes, great jets of steam shoot forth with
a roaring, thundering noise, like the escaping steam
from a steamboat. Strange to say, that, in the edges
of the steam and hot springs, where the heat is two
hundred degrees, grass, flowers, and herbs grow: they
are, however, peculiar to this place, and seem to flourish
in water and steam that would destroy life in any other
vegetable ofrowth.

o o

In the vicinity of this laboratory of nature wagon-
loads of alum, sulphates of iron, sulphur, and epsom salts
can be oradiered. The strano^e and fearful commotions
in this locality, whether caused by chemical forces or
from some unquenched furnace still devouring the rocks
below, is well calculated to impress the beholder with
the power of Omnipotence.

Shocks of earthquakes, although irregular and uncer-
tain in their oscillations and appalling in the extreme,
soon pass away ; but to stand upon the verge of eter-

GEYSERS OF CALIFORNIA. 21 3

nity surrounded widi volumes of steam and smoke,
whose sulphurous odors stifle and blind, and where the
quivering lips and gaping jaws coated with rough sul-
phurous scales sputter in angry moans from infernal
depths, while the black, yellow, and green -streaked
boiling saliva from these angry mouths, whose fetid
breath suffocates and confounds, lashes up its acid fluids,
and seeminof to invite the beholder into the "Devil's
Cauldron," with his sins fresh blown upon him, is not to
be trifled with nor easily forgotten.

The famed Geysers of Iceland, Milton's Paradise
Lost, and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, warmed up with
a doctrinal sermon upon the unquenchable fires of hell,
may serve to awaken a lively imagination of the regions
where the "worm never dieth ;" but, for a genuine
realization of the blowpipe of his Satanic majesty, drop
the hypochondriac in the midst of these seething scenes
— let him cast his eyes upon the mountains of sulphur
around — let him look upon the mysterious meander-
incfs of Pluton creek — inhale the erases and fumes emit-
ted from the angry mouths craving for a drop of cold
water — look upon the scalding and angry fluids — feel
the sides of the crater tremble and swell beneath his
feet, as heavy sighs come forth from its fathomless fur-
nace, and its sulphurous crest is shaken in reckless
defiance of the tame realities of every-day life — and the
scene is complete, and the argument of unquenchable
fires conclusive.

214

THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Waterfalls — Yosemite flills — Creeks — Rivers — Mirror lake — Bridal

Vail — Earthquakes.

There are few countries In the worid so well supplied
with water as California. She abounds In vast lakes,
expansive bays, and swift rivers. The Coast Range
of mountains pours innumerable streams of crystal
water from Its sides, cutting their way through Its
ridores to the ocean on the west, or courslncr down Its
eastern side to water the fertile valleys below. In this
ranore there are manv beautiful canons, orlens, and val-
leys, through which these streams leap in sparkling
cascades, affording tempting and cheap motive power
for the wheels of Industry, and this power the growing
necessities of the times will demand.

Almost two hundred miles to the east of this chain
of mountains are the famed Sierras, stretching for four
hundred and fifty miles along the eastern line of the
State, with their numerous lakes and dashing rills fed
by the eternal snows of their mountain tops, and pour-
ing their liquid streams Into the parched valleys below.
The mvrlads of boundinof streams which course from
the western slope of this range have many features of
wild beauty and utility. Besides supplying the miner
and agriculturist with water, their foaming, leaping
tides, pouring through deep chasms thousands of feet
below, over the frowning, precipitous walls of rocks,
the rugged hill-sides, and through the tall trees, must,
like the waters of the Coast Range, at no distant day

NEAR VIEW OF THE YO-SEMITE FALLS. — 2,634 FEET IN* HEIGHT.
(First Fall 1,600 Feet. Second Fall 600 Feet. Third Fall 434 Feet.)

SECTION OF MAMMOTH TREE, CALIFORNIA.
(31 Feet in diameter.)

A COTILLION PARTY OF THIRTY-TWO PERSONS DANCING ON THE STUMP OF

THE MAMMOTH TREE.

YOSEMITE AND ITS WONDERS. 21 5

supply the busy scenes of skilled Industry with sufficient
motive power. But whether or no the hand of science
and industry shall tame the wild current of the Yo-
semlte, its natural beauty must hold supreme sway over
all the ofreat wonders of California.

YOSEMITE FALLS.

One hundred and forty miles due east from San Fran-
cisco, and one hundred and eighty- two miles by the
nearest line of travel, on the head waters of the Merced
river and in the extreme eastern part of Mariposa
county, forty-five miles west of the eastern State line,
in a gorge of the Sierras, are the famed Yosemite falls
and valley, one of the most picturesque spots in the
world.

The valley with the surroundings of this scene of
marvellous beauty stands about 4,060 feet above the
sea, is about eight miles In length and one In width,
swelling in the centre to about three miles. It is
reached by a descent of over two thousand feet down
the rugged sides of the mountains by which it is sur-
rounded. This beautiful valley, through the centre of
which meanders in graceful curves a silver stream, upon
v/hose sides is a green carpet of grass bespangled with
delicately tinted flowers and studded with stately pines,
presents In the deep forest a picture of unsurpassed
beauty. The atmosphere, so pure, perfumed, buoyant,
and invieoratine, with the mellow sunliorht floodinof
down upon this charming spot, makes it most attractive,
and Induces feelings of serene composure and good will
toward men.

Entering the valley at the west by a precipitous

21 6 THi£ GOLDEN STATE,

descent, the green vale Is brought suddenly to a termi-
nation by the closing in of the walls of a steep canon ;
threading up this valley, frowning walls of granite of
from three thousand to four thousand feet completely
surround it, until the beholder is standing in the midst
of the wildest, most terribly grand, and awe-inspiring
natural architectural splendor on the globe. Casting
his eyes upward, he beholds the grandest scene of
nature, before which the majesty of the pyramids of
Egypt, the frigid walls of Iceland's mountains, the
glaciers of Lapland, and the stately grandeur of the
Andes pale. No scene so grand can be found in the
gorges of Switzerland : neither the rugged face of Via
Mala, the frowning pass of Tete Noir, nor the precipice
over which the Staubbach pours its foam, can present
such wild beauty. The cleft walls and lofty turrets of
the Himalayas fail to equal the stern, imposing perpen-
dicular walls of smooth granite, rearing their massive,
clean sides, for almost a mile, sheer and stern. Nor
can the wild roar and dashing tide of the Niagara equal
the grand march of the crystal fountains leaping from
their granite imprisonment and bounding headlong in
reckless glee (?ver and through these precipitous walls
for 2,700 feet. Looking heavenw^ard, the beholder
views the soft-shaded drab sides of two perpendicular
walls, rising almost a mile in height, and so close that,
should either fall over, it would tumble against the
other. Seeking in vain for the lost mass of rock which
once filled the chasm, the conclusion is arrived at that
the bottom must have dropped out, and the molten
mass in the bowels of the earth received as a sweet
morsel the millions of tons of granite once a part of

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LAilliajRAL ROCKS, YOSEMITE VALLEY.
(2,660 feet high above the Valley.)

EL CAPITAN AND THE DOMES. 2 I 7

these mountains; and this idea seems to be entertained
by the most scientific observers.

Bastions, peaks, and shafts rear their heads in impos-
ing grandeur. El Capitan Hfts its sheer sides 3,300
feet above the httle valley; cathedral spires push their
slender granite shafts high in the air, above which the
''Three Brothers" rear their unscarred and solemn walls
four thousand feet in perpendicular grandeur above
the valley. As the observer looks in reverence upon
Jehovah's grandest masonry, the eye is relieved by
what appears to be a shrub held in a crevice of the per-
pendicular wall: it seems to cling nervously to the cold
rock, yet shakes its tiny branches in defiance of all
below : it is more than twenty-five hundred feet from
the green vale below. This tiny shrub proves to be a
gigantic forest pine, dwarfed in the distance.

Still other attractions, mighty walls and frowning
turrets, strike the beholder: "Sentinel rock," elevated
three thousand feet from the valley, and the crowning
grandeur of the scene — the "Dome" — whose bastion
and perpendicular walls rear in unbroken masses 4,160
feet above its pedestal, fringed with grass and beautiful
flowers below.

Contemplating these mighty, stern sentinels of eter-
nity, whose domes may have been reared millions of
centuries before the tree from which was plucked the
forbidden fruit of Eden sent forth its first leaf — In the
midst of these scenes, we sigh for the lost energies of
Plato and Kepler, probing the sides and sounding the
lungs of mother earth ; we bear testimony to the ir-
reparable loss to science that Whitson, Baron Fourier,
De Maillet, Leibnitz, Hutton, Werner, Murray, Kirwan,
Deluc, Lyell, Buckland, Humboldt, Hugh Miller, and

2l8 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Agasslz have never gazed upon these monumental piles
abounding- in rich evidences and stern lessons of eeo-
lomcal wonders.

But these gigantic columns and frowning pillars are

not the only wonders or beauties of Yosemite. Mingled

with these stately domes, and pouring their sparkling

gems from their aerial urns, are the most magnificent

waterfalls that ever adorned the earth. Standing upon

the sward below and looking upward, the scene is grand

be^'ond description : through the narrow walls of the

smooth rocks above is heard the thundering march of

Yosemite fall, coming with its mighty torrent, thirty

feet wide and three feet deep, dashing at a single bound

sixteen hundred feet upon a ledge or grand shelf of

granite; here, gathering its spent forces, it rallies again,

and, leaping from urn to urn, frolics downward for a

distance of seven hundred feet, eddying, curving, and

sparkling along ; here, marshalling all its forces and

raising its hoarse chorus in the wild cry of its last effort,

it plunges furiously through the chasm four hundred

additional feet, coiling itself like a serpent in the basin

of the lawn below, through which it sullenly meanders,

v/hispering in subdued tones to the nodding flowers

and foliage, which seem to recognize the presence of a

dethroned monarch. The fall of this micrhtiest of cas-

cades, from its uppermost height to its final repose in

the valley below, is 2,700 feet; whilst the famed V^orings-

fos of Norway, a mere thread in volume, is but 950

feet, and the world-famed Niap-ara, althouo^h so vast in

volume that it has no rival on the elobe, falls but 1 60

feet, but one-sixteenth of the fall of Yosemite, leaving

the California waterfall the greatest in the world.

One of the many charming features of this spot is

BRIDAL VEIL FALL, YOSEMITE VALLEY,
(630 feet high,)

NOTRII DOME AND ROYAL ARCHES, YOSEMITE VALLEY.
(3,568 feet high above the Valley.)

THE GREAT GEYSER OF THE FIRE-HOLE THE GIANTESS GEYSER.

BASIN.
(Yellowstone Rejion, Wyoming Territory. Line of the Northern Pacific Railroad.)

YOSEMITE AND ITS BEAUTIES.

219

the deep basin known as Mirror lake — a placid foun-
tain formed from the spent diamond drops of the cata-
ract, so transparent that the hanging cliffs, stately pines,
and foliage upon its borders are so completely mirrored
in its depths that, with their roots seemingly clinging to
the surface and tops downward, all the verdure and
beauty of the forest and grandeur of the mountains are
seen — in reality above, in shadozu below. The photog-
rapher's art has beautifully portrayed this scene of
substance and shadow in the familiar pictures of "Mirror
lake" so common in the picture stores and art galleries
of San Francisco.

But all the beauty of Yosemite does not end with
these scenes. We must yet dwell upon the most fairy-
like pictures of earth: the ''Bridal Vail," outrivalling
the daintiest grossamer behind which blushingr maiden
hides her charms, pours its sparkling flood of pearls,
dancing, leaping, and sporting in fantastic glee, and bath-
ing the stern and precipitous cliffs in its cooling mists
of nine hundred feet descent. This beautiful fall, burst-
ing from the summit, light and gauzy in its volume,
spreads its glistening spray in a sheet of thin vapor,
which, met by the eddying zephyrs that float about,
catch up its fleecy folds, looping, tossing, and whirling
them about in spasms of sublime coquetry, ever chang-
ing the fascinating scene in the hazy and translucent
mists, where the mysterious crimson and gold of the
ever-changing rainbows, dancing and floating, blend,
dissolve, and disappear like the shadow of a vision.
The dallyings and coquetry of these new-born myste-
ries, as in couplets and triplets they lock arms and seem
to waltz into their dissolving eternity, shaking from
their azure pinions the silvery mists of the clouds, form

2 20 THE GOLDEN STATE.

the loveliest combination of terrestrial and celestial
phenomena ever beheld by man.

The view from the summit of the grand bastions and
peaks of this fascinating spot, looking from their aerial
heights upon the frolicking torrents, leaping and laugh-
ing in their mountain glee, and watching the sudden
meanderings in the vale below, where stately pines of
two hundred feet look like garden shrubs, Is at once
grand, picturesque, and romantic, outrivalling any scene
of natural beauty yet discovered on the globe, lending
new inspiration to the beholder, and opening new fields
of meditation for the painter and the poet — a scene
W'here the careworn combatant in the fickle struggle of
life can look from Jiis heated and disordered plain upon
the majesty of Jehovah's mightiest cathedral, whose
silver-tongued organs, from creation to eternity, peal
forth their choral strains proclaiming the omnipotence
of the Creator.

So sacred is the Yosemite valley held by the people
of California that, in order to preserve its primitive
beauty and spare Its forests from invading ax-men, they
procured an act of Congress donating this lovely spot
to the State, in trust for the people.

EARTHQUAKES.

Since the days of the first mutterings of Stromboli,
(Liparl isles,) whose continuous fires have not been
quench(jd for more than two thousand years, up to the
desolating ravages of Vesuvius and Etna, the uplifting
of Jorullo, and the angry lips of Cotopaxi spit forth its
molten masses of more than one hundred tons a dis-
tance of nine miles, the human family have held the
strange phenomenon of earthquakes as fearful visita-

EAR THQ UAKES. 2 2 I

tlons of God's wrath ; but science, which has enabled
man to measure the heavenly constellations, harness
steam, chain the licrhtninof and encircle the elobe in its
electric bands, has fully demonstrated the volcanic origin
of this element of force and terror. All parts of the
globe have been at some time visited by earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions; and those portions of the sphere
where the interior fires have m.ost to feed upon, and
where they reach their fiery tongues nighest the surface,
sometimes break forth in volcanic eruptions ; or the
great furnaces below, receiving of a sudden great floods
of water from the fissures of the earth, gorges, and
streams of the mountains, or from the ocean itself,
generate such immense bodies of steam and gases that
these elements, in seeking an escape, rush furiously
through the chasms below, causing mother earth to
cough, shake her sides, and wriggle her back, much to
the terror of her occupants.

Europe, South and Central America, and Mexico
have been the theatres of fearful eruptions and shocks
of earthquakes. In many parts of the United States
shocks of great severity have been felt. Philadelphia
and Boston, in the seventeenth century, found their
chimney-tops rattling about the heads of their pious
Quakers and sedate Puritans.

The severest earthquake ever felt in the United
States was at New Madrid, Missouri, which commenced
at two o'clock of the morning of December i6, 1811.
Twenty-eight shocks occurred on this day, uprooting
trees, opening large fissures in the earth, shaking down
chimneys, and doing much damage. From this period
to the 8th of February following, the earth was con-
stantly agitated. On this day the shocks were most

22 2 THE GOLDEN STATE.

severe: houses were levelled, trees rent in pieces, por-
tions of the land sunk, forming lakes; and a large island
in the Mississippi, covered with immense forests, sank
beneath the waters, and the course of the Mississippi
was turned back for more than an hour; jets of electric
fire, mud, and soot issued from the earth, which was in
commotion for several months; yet it is not certain that
a sino-le life was lost.

There is no account of any earthquake ever having
occurred in California of any such violent character,
until the Inyo earthquake of 1872: indeed, compared
with the earthquakes of other times and countries,
California's earthquakes are but gentle oscillations,
reminding us of the herculean spasm of nature that
jerked the Sierras from the bowels of the earth, and
tossed the Himalayas and Andes into the air. Through-
out the length of the State, especially within a space,
of sixty miles of the coast, occasional tremors and light
earthquake-shocks are felt; sometimes these shocks are
sharp and decisive, but, so far, have not been destruc-
tive to any extent. History does not tell us of any earth-
quakes in California from its earliest settlement up to
1800. In October of this year, some adobe buildings
were cracked at the village of Sail Juan Bautista. This
is the first earthquake mentioned in the mission records
of the countr)'. The next account is found in the records
of the Presidio of San Francisco, showing that twenty-
one shocks had occurred from the 21st of June to the
17th of July, 1808. From this period to 181 2 there is
no mention of earthquakes. In September of that year,
a very severe earthquake shook the lower portion of
the State with great violence, almost totally destroying
the Mission of San Juan Capistrano, in Los Angeles

E.4R rilQ UAKES. 2 2^

county, and the Mission of Prurlssima, In Santa Barbara
county; also the. church at San Inez. Thirty persons
are supposed to have been killed by this shock: this
is the first account of loss of life in California by earth-
quakes. In 1818, a mission church at Santa Clara was
thrown down; and at San Francisco, on May 15, 1851,
glass windows were broken, goods in the stores mis-
placed and shaken down, and ships in the bay rocked
and tumbled about by a very severe shock. At San
Jose, in November, 1858, a severe shock cracked most of
the brick buildings of the town. A portion of Alameda
county was severely shaken on July 3, i Sdi . About noon
on Sunday, October 8, 1865, a very severe shock was
felt at San Francisco, and many buildings were shaken
so as to cause them to be cracked. The vibrations
seemed to be from north to south ; along the western
side of Montgomery street, for several blocks, the glass
windows were shivered to atoms, and on the west side
of Third street, for two blocks, and in many other parts
of the city, the glass was broken and literally ground to
powder. Great consternation was caused among the
worshippers in the churches, (it being Sunday ;) many
fainted and were much alarmed.

Since the occupation of the country by the Ameri-
cans, In 1846, there has not a year passed without one
or more shocks belne felt in the State; sometimes con-
fined to small sections of the country, at others extend-
ine over a vast area. It often occurs that the shocks
felt at San Francisco are not felt at Stockton, Sacra-
mento, or Marysvllle. The severest earthquake since
the occupation of the country, up to 1872, was experi-
enced on the 2 1 St of October, 1868, about eight o'clock
in the morning. It was felt most severely in the vicinity

2 24 "^^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

of San Francisco and In Alameda county, causing con-
siderable damage and much alarm. It commenced by
gentle oscillations, increasing in violence, v/hen, with a
fearful tremor, it tossed and swayed the buildings until
they toppled and almost fell, causing great terror, and
filling the streets with the inhabitants, many of whom
abandoned their dwellings, sought refuge upon the
vacant lots and public parks, where they erected tents,
and for several days refused to be comforted or return to
their homes. Many brick buildings were cracked, others
partly sank, and some in course of erection were thrown
down ; while n(9t a building in the city which was sub-
stantially built or upon good solid foundations, although
there were many brick houses of four and five stories
in the city, received any damage. Several shaky, rick-
ety walls and hanging cornices of brick and mud (for
the mortar used in San Francisco is the poorest in the
world) were thrown down or much damaged, and win-
dows were pretty generally broken. Three persons
were killed, all by the falling of defective cornices or
walls. The court-house at San Leandro, Alameda
county, was thrown down, and one man killed. Many
other buildings around the Bay of San Francisco were
destroyed, and in some sections not a brick chimney
could be seen standino-. Added to the terror of the
people was a dull, sickening sensation, like sea-sickness,
causing some great distress. Some persons who had
arrived shortly before this from the Atlantic States, and
others who had been in California for many years, left
the State, intending never to return. It seems singular
that these people should leave a country where, for
more tlian half a century, not a half-dozen people have
been killed by any natural phenomena, while in the

EAR THQ UAK'ES. 2 2

New England States, Middle States, and in the valley
of the Mississippi, hundreds are killed annually by sun-
stroke, lightning, frost, and hurricanes, which yearly
destroy millions of dollars worth of property.

California is entirely exempt from accident by sun-
stroke, lightning, hurricanes, and frosts. There is
scarcely a State in the Union, east of the Rocky moun-
tains, which does not in a single year lose more human
lives by some of the above-mentioned phenomena than
has been lost by earthquakes in California within the
memory of man up to the year 1872.

The severest earthquake ever known in California,
far surpassing in violence, duration, and destruction of
life any disturbance of this nature west of Mexico, in
America, occurred in the southeastern section of the
State, in the county of Inyo, on the 26th of March, 1872,
completely levelling the houses in the vicinity and caus-
ing great panic and loss of life. The location of this
eruption is in 37° north latitude and 118° longitude
west from Greenwich, one hundred and eighty miles
due east from the Bay of Monterey, and two hundred
and thirty miles due southeast from the city of San
Francisco. Inyo county lies entirely east of the Sierra
Nevada mountains. (This county and Mono adjoining
on the north are the only counties in the State east of
this range.) In the Sierras forming the western line
of the county, close to the scene of this commotion,
stand the loftiest mountains in the State — Tyndall and
Whitney standing respectively fourteen and fifteen
thousand feet above the sea. Abundant evidences of
former eruptions and the volcanic nature of this section
are seen on ever)^ side : alkaline deserts, dry lakes, hot

and sulphurous springs, and to the south Death valley
15

2 26 THE GOLDEN STATE.

and the mud volcanoes, hot, salt, alkaline, and bitter
springs and extinct craters of San Bernardino county,
Owens lake, (see Lakes.) The Coso, Inyo, and White
mountains, with valuable mines of gold and silver, pass
through this county. In the vicinity of the disturbances
are rich agricultural valleys and pasture ranges, but,
owing to the remoteness of the county from railroads
and navigation, but little permanent settlement has yet
been made. The entire population of the county is but
1,956, engaged chiefly In quartz-mining, grazing, and
agriculture. A large number of the population are
native Callfornlans of Mexican extraction, and the vil-
lages are built chiefly of adobe or sun-dried bricks, as
are most of the Spanish and Mexican towns of America.
Earthquakes make fearful havoc among such houses,
shaking them Into heaps of loose sand, while frame or
solid brick buildings are little affected, unless by severe
shocks.

At two and a-half o'clock on the morning of March
26, the inhabitants of the district w^ere awakened by
loud explosions as of heavy artillery, followed in an in-
stant by a terrible upheaval and rocking of the earth
from south to north. At the little town of Lone Pine,
as if in a twinkling, the whole place (containing about
five hundred inhabitants) was destroyed, not a building
left standinof, and the frenzied inhabitants buried in the
ruins — some In death; others rending the night air with
their agony and lamentations; parents and children,
wives and husbands, separated, some dead, others in
intense pain crying to be relieved from their imprison- ■
ment in the ruins of their fallen homes; others In the
wildest delirium, rocked, pitched, and tossed in the
darkness of night among the dead and dying, while the

EAR THQ UAKES. 2 2 7

hissing, roaring, and rumbling of volcanic heat and steam
below, and tumbling mountain-tops above swaying their
heads to and fro, and shaking from their sides vast
bodies of rocks, rendered the scene appalling in its
intense fur}^ From two and a-half o'clock, the time
of the first shock, until sunrise over three hundred
distinct shocks were felt, and more than one thousand
distinct shocks within three days, and seven thousand
shocks to April 4. The earth during this period was
not still a moment, shaking, trembling, and quaking,
indicating the immense forces at work below. At
Tibbet's ranche, fifteen miles, from the town of Inde-
pendence, about forty acres of ground sunk about
seven feet below the surface of the country; Owens
lake rose four feet, and Owens and Kern rivers turned
back for several miles, and ran over their banks, de-
positing shoals offish on the shores; and vast, yawning
fissures and chasms opened their jaws, in some instances
swallowing the dead and dying, and stretching for miles
across the country their sepulchral depths, from which
came the sulphurous and fiery breath of the unbridled
and unwelcome monster whose voice is the terror of
our race.

Lone Pine, which seems to have been the centre point
of the shock, had twenty-seven persons killed and a large
number wounded; and fifty-two buildings (three-fourths
of the whole town) were destroyed, hx. Corro Gordo,
Swansa, and Independence buildings were shaken down
and a few persons killed and some wounded. Thirty-
four persons in all were killed by the earthquake of Inyo
county, and about one hundred wounded. The desti-
tution of the people being relieved by donations from
other sections of the State, they buried their dead, re-

2 28 THE GOLDEN STATE.

built their homes, entered their mines and fields, and
pursue their avocations on the scenes of one of the
most appalling natural phenomena ever known in the
limits of the republic of America.

The extent of the Lone Pine Earthquake was along the
\vhole line of California, being felt in every town from
the Oreofon line to the Gulf of Mexico, and from the
southern slope of the Sierras to the waters of the Pacific,
extending seven to eight hundred miles north and
south and three hundred miles from east to west.

The Sierra Nevada in the region described breaks
down southerly into a ^number of detached parallel
ranges, and in San Bernardino and San Diego counties
loses altogether its distinctive character as a great
mountain chain. The region abounds with evidences
of comparatively recent volcanic action. Alkali lakes,
like Owens lake — a body of salt and alkaline water
twenty-two miles in length and eight in width — solfa-
taras, hot springs, and mud volcanoes, point unmistaka-
bly to the fact that the .tremendous forces which once
were in active operation all along the Sierra are here
still asserting themselves with lessened but still threat-
ening energy. The noted depression of Death's valley,
not far southeast from Owens lake, with its area of
forty miles in length and ten miles in width, a great
portion of which is one hundred and fifty feet below the
level of the sea, w^hile the surrounding mountains are
not less than five thousand feet above it, is a locality
plainly evidencing volcanic action. Still further south,
in San Bernardino county, north of the trail leading
from Fort Mojave via the sink of the Mojave, the
Mojave desert and river, to Los Angeles, there are
numerous volcanic craters, rising to heights of fifty to

EAR 1 'HQ UAKES. 229

two hundred feet above the desolate plain, still as per-
feet as when their fires went out. A lava fiow covers
the earth for many miles, stretching like a great frozen
river through the desert in this vicinity.

The volcanic belt extends to the borders of the Col-
orado desert, where hot mineral springs, volcanic ashes
in vast beds,' lava, pumice-stone, and other evidences
of comparatively recent volcanic disturbance, are found
in abundance. It is even supposed that the "Dry
Lake," or great salt plain of the Colorado desert, was
the bed of the sea at no very distant date, and that its
present condition is the result of volcanic action, the
ancient water-line, still distinctly marked by sedimentary
discoloration, extending along the side of the San Gor-
gonlo mountain, south of San Gorgonio pass, for some
fifty miles. At Dos Palmas, a water station on the
northeastern side of the Colorado desert, on the trail
from San Bernardino via San Gorgonio pass to Lapaz,
on the Colorado river, in May, 1868, a severe earth-
quake— which was not felt in northern and central
California — opened a long fissure in the earth, from
which a stream of cold water flowed for some weeks.

This fissure is but a short distance from the ereat hot

<_>

spring of Dos Palmas, which is still flowing, but is said
to have grown very much cooler since that event. At
Fort Tejon, in* the southeastern part of Kern county,
several years ago, the earth was rent Into a chasm. In
the late convulsion the ground heaved and vibrated,
and then, as the awful sound died in its far-off echoes,
those who had escaped from their crumbling dwellings
aghast and almost speechless with terror hoped the
catastrophe was over. But almost instantly, away to

230 THE GOLDEN STATE.

the south, down the narrow valley towards Lone Pine,
was heard a sharp and thundering explosion as of a
thousand columbiads fired at once. The people braced
themselves for the shock ; nearer and nearer came the
appalling noise, and, as the shock advanced, thousands
upon thousands of huge rocks tumbled from the crags
on either hand and crashed with deafening din into the
ravines and upon the edges of the valley below. Then
came the noise under their feet, and with it the awful,
sickening, and terrifying uplift and swing of the earth.
The people ran to and fro; some screamed, some
prayed; others stood still and watched the course of
things with stoical Indifference. They soon learned,
that but one or two persons had been killed there, and
yet none knew what the end might be, for the earth
vibrated constantly. At short intervals would be heard
away off in the direction of Lone Pine and the lake
that terrible boom! bang! as if the very mountains
themselves were splitting in twain. Not only did tens
of thousands of rocks and boulders, rolling down the
mountains, add to the confusion of the scene, but in
the Sierras, on one side of the valley, avalanche after
avalanche of snow was sent thundering, booming,
almost screaming, down from the regions of eternal
frost and ice to the gulfs below.

People living near Independence, at* points where
they could see plainly the sides of the mountains on
either hand, at every succeeding shock could plainly
see, In a hundred places at once, bursting from the
rifted rocks, great sheets of flame, apparently thirty or
fifty feet In length, and which would coil and lap about
a moment and then disappear. These flames could not

EAR THQ UAKES. 2 \ I

have been caused by friction of rocks and boulders
coming down the mountains.

When dayHght came, the entire valley south of Inde-
pendence and toward Lone Pine was filled with smoke
and dust, and in places, people said, the fumes of sul-
phur were almost suffocating. The clouds of smoke
extended from Fish Springs south, as far as the eye
could reach.

Numerous springs were dried up instantly and others
broke out in other places, while the flow of water from
all was greatly Increased. In one little stream, three
or four inches deep, the water was thrown upward to
the heicrht of two or three feet over foot-bridges ;
springs of water were forced out of the mountains
where before the rocks had been as dry as a powder
house. The valley w^as literally torn in pieces. In
every direction there were fissures, w^hich, however,
filled in again by the loose soil. Some, however, were
long and deep. At one place a large section of the
valley had subsided about ten feet, leaving an abrupt,
perpendicular bank at the sides. In many places the
ground was thrown into ridges and mounds, five or six
feet high, and in every direction were signs of the
destructive agencies that had been at work, all, how-
ever, decreasing in number and extent as they travelled
north. Cattle and horses were thrown prostrate during
the heavier shocks, and their bellowing and neighing
were pitiful to hear. At Fish Springs and other places
the atmosphere was strongly impregnated with sulphur.
For seventy-five miles north of Independence not an
adobe or brick house was left standing. The Indians
were terrified and commenced leaving the country,

232 THE GOLDEN STATE,

fearing the recurrence of a general convulsion of
nature, which, according to their traditions, occurred
in that region some hundreds of years ago, and created
what Is known as Owens River valley, but which was
before a chain of mountains.

The great air-valves of Mount Hood, Oregon, the
Mauna Loa, Sandwich islands, and Vesuvius, in Italy,
simultaneously with the Inyo disturbances, gave forth
tokens of activity; and the latter, drawing its fiery
breath beneath mountain and sea, acting as a safety-
valve to the troubled Sierras, lights with sheeted fiame
Italian skies, while trembling Naples and Campania,
and buried Pompeii and Herculaneum, attest its majes-
tic grandeur and appalling power. Almost simultane-
ously with the Inyo earthquake, Vesuvius poured forth
volumes of smoke, ashes, and fire, and floods of liquid
lava poured down Its sides and far into the country,
destroying life and property, and driving the terrified
inhabitants from their homes. At Naples, twelve miles
distant, so thick did the ashes fall that the people had
to carry umbrellas to shield themselves ; and these
emissions and fiery terrors continued throughout the
greater part of the month of April, 1872.

The Inyo earthquake of 1872, although severe and
destructive, is but tame when compared with the con-
vulsions in many parts of Europe. The destruction
of Herculaneum and Pompeii, In the year 62^, and their
final burial by volcanic floods of fire and ashes in the
year 79, are among the most striking of recorded
natural destructive commotions. In the year 115,
while the Emperor Trajan was in the city of Antloch,
in Syria, It was almost totally destroyed; again, In 458,

EARTHQUAKES. 233

it was visited by a severe earthquake; and in 526
occurred the most disastrous earthquake on record:
while the Festival of the Ascension swelled the city to
overflow came the fearful eruptions, in which two hun-
dred and fifty thousand persons were swallowed up. In
centuries past the feverish pulsations of the earth
visited almost every portion of the globe, rocking the
proud Roman empire as if it were a cockle-shell.

The great earthquake in Chili, in 1822, raised one
hundred thousand square miles of country from two to
seven feet above its former level. In the year 1692,
in the island of Jamaica, the city of Port Royal, the
capital, was carried down beneath the surface of the
water ; more than one thousand acres sunk in one
minute, the sea rolling the ships in the harbor over the
tops of the houses. On a more gigantic and destruc-
tive scale was the one on the island of Java, in 1772,
when the lofty volcano Papandayang was in action, and
an area, including the mountain, of six miles broad and
fifteen miles long sunk, carrying down forty villages
and 2,957 inhabitants.

In the great earthquake of Lisbon, of November i,
1755, a deep, rumbling, hollow sound preceded the
terrible shock, which in six minutes destroyed the
principal portion of the city, carrying down sixty thou-
sand people. The sea receded, leaving the bar dry,
and returning in a great wave fifty feet high, while the
adjacent mountains trembled and were flung into the
valleys. The frightened inhabitants, who had sought
refuge upon the elegant marble quay, just completed
at great cost, suddenly found themselves as if upon a
foundering ship : quay and all, with the surrounding

•

2 7, A THE GOLDEN STATE.

boats and shipping, all plunged into eternity. Not one
of the one thousand human beings thus engulfed, nor a
sign of boat or vessel of the fleets swallowed up, ever
reappeared above the suxface ; but over the spot still
stands the waters, six hundred feet deep, leaving no trace
of the life, bustle, and wealth of this doomed and desolate
region. The shock that thus caused such devastation

shook an area four times as great as all of Europe. It
was felt at once in the Alps and along the coast of
Sweden. The thermal springs of Toplitz, Germany,
for a time disappeared. Loch Lomond and other lakes
In Scodand rose and fell by the agitation. Along the
shores of Barbadoes, Antigua, and Martinique the tide
rose suddenly more than twenty feet, and the sea was
of inky blackness. The waters of Lake Ontario were
aeitated ; and on the shores of Massachusetts the sea
roared and was fearfully agitated, water-spouts burst
forth, and springs which still run were opened. Chim-
neys in Boston were thrown down, and houses dis-
jointed and cracked.

Naples, in December, 1857, was threatened with total
destruction by violent shakes ; while Mount Vesuvius
continued to emit clouds of smoke accompanied with
loud reports like the roar of cannon. At this time the
destruction in the surrounding provinces was terrible.
Potenza, the capital of Basilicata, was left without a
single house inhabited. Marsico Nuovo, Tito, Lauren-
zana, Polla, and other places were reduced to ruins :
from twenty-five to forty thousand lives were lost, it is
estimated.

On the 19th of June, 1858, an earthquake of great
severity visited Mexico, destroying many houses in the

EARTHQUAKES, 235

capital and the aqueduct supplying the city with water,
and levelling churches and buildings throughout many
parts of the country. On the 2 2d of March, 1859, "^^^
city of Quito, in Ecuador, was almost entirely destroyed
by an earthquake : several thousand persons perished.
Throughout the greater part of Africa and in the
region of Greenland no record is made of any earth-
quakes having occurred. In the Atlantic ocean, midway
between Guinea and Brazil, near the equator, eruptions
are almost constantly occurring, passing ships experi-
encinor their effects and also observino^ the variations in
soundings and the great irregularity of the bottom of
the sea. That this Is the seat of active volcanoes cannot
be doubted.

2^6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XIX.

Zoology — Relics of antiquity — Animals — Birds — Fishes — Bull and
bear fights — Reptiles — Bees — Horned toad — Whales.

California in her zoological department exhibits
many interesting and entirely new specimens of beasts,
birds, and fishes, many of which are of great size, beauty,
and value, either on account of their meat or fur ; and
to the sportsman they present a field of great attraction.

The discovery of the bones of immense animals at a
great depth in the earth, and of a size larger than any
specimens now known upon the continent, assures us
that, at some remote period, animals of enormous size
and of a species unknown to the present age roamed
the hills and valleys of California.

The bones of Indians, Indian arrows, and stone mor-
tars have also been found at a great depth in the earth,
showing that i)ian existed in the country before the
great convulsion of nature which pushed up the Sierras
and elevated the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys
above their ancient levels.

ANIMALS.

The grizzly bear and elk are the two largest animals
of California. The grizzly is confined to the regions
west of the Rocky mountains, and is to be found
throughout the Sierras, foot-hills, and Coast Range.
In early days, these bears were very numerous, but are
now comparatively scarce and seldom molest man ;
although there have been many desperate fights between
the grizzly and hunters. Their great size, strength,

■'•iii;;"i'iiiiiiiT'!'ifii'

%iiiii:i:,i;t'^

BULL AND BEAR FLGHTS 237

and vicious nature render them a most formidable
enemy. Many of them are still to be found in the
Coast Ranee within a few hours travel of San Fran-
cisco, and generally throughout the timber portion of
the State. Their chief diet is berries and herbs.

The black bear, a smaller animal, inhabits the Sierras
and the northern part of Oregon. There are also the
cinnamon bear and brown bear in the mountains, but
none of these are so destructive or vicious as the black
bear of Canada and the other British provinces; indeed,
none of them will attack man unless pressed to the
combat. But the grizzly is combative and destructive,
if wounded or brought to bay by his pursuers. The
weight of the grizzly is from eight hundred to sixteen
hundred pounds ; and some, more than seven feet in
length and over two thousand pounds in weight, have
been killed in the State : these are griants in strenorth

o o

and appearance, far surpassing the lion and tiger.

It was between these monsters and the 5erce Spanish
bull that the desperate struggles formerly took place,
when a dollar a head was willingly paid to see the bull
and bear fight in California. These savage sports are
rare now but to the lover of brute force they will
always form a spectacle of deep interest. The puny
efforts of cocks, dogs, and men are tame and insipid
compared with the fierce struggle of the bull-pit as seen
in California. The pit was circular, formed upon the
ground by many posts planted in the earth from eight
to ten feet in height, with seats around like the amphi-
theatres of the Romans. In this pit the grizzly was
placed : the bull, after having his nose scarred so that
the blood would trickle into his mouth and nostrils, by
tasting and smelling which he would become desperate

238 THE GOLDEN STATE.

and roar furiously, was ushered into die presence of
his mortal enemy. The sight and smell of each was
the signal for the other to prepare for battle: the
grizzly, with measured step and yawning jaws, coursing
the circuit of the pit, would await the assault of his nim-
ble assailant; the bull, with spine as straight as an
arrow, horns like lances, and an eye of blood, would
nervously survey his antagonist, bellowing deep moans
from his bloody lips, and with a leap, such as a Spanish
bull only can make, quick as a flash, fierce and terrible,
plunge his straight sharp horns into the shaggy coat of
the grizzly, from which they' would bound as if bruin
were a solid ball of rubber. After a few thrusts and
passes from the bull, and a few scratches or heavy
blows from the paws of the bear, the mountain and
valley monarchs with the fury of desperation bound at
and grapple with each other ; bruin, dodging the fierce
thrusts of the bull's horns, rolls upon his back, embraces
the head and neck of his antagonist in his powerful
arms, and, plying his throat and breast with his hind
claws, holds the poor bull in such terrible embrace that
the wildest and most desperate plunges are unable to
release him from his destroyer. In this struggle the
bull generally has his throat and breast torn open, or
his neck broken in bruin's hug; but sometimes a fortu-
nate thrust of the bull's horns upon bruin at an un-
guarded moment may, like a bayonet, pierce his side;
in either case, the fight is not regarded a success unless
one or both are killed, which is generally accomplished
amidst a din of roaring, growling, and frothing of the
expiring combatants, and the wild plaudits of the spec-
tators, making the closing scene of these fearful com-
bats the most herculean spectacles of animated nature

ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND FISHES. 239

The hide of the grizzly is of little value, and his meat
IS so coarse that it is little sought after. Both the hides
and flesh of the other bears in California are valuable.

Lion. — The cougar, sometimes called the panther, or
California lion, is found in most of the wooded districts
of the State. It is larger than the largest dog; mottled
with dark stripes, and sly, cunning, and restless; pounces
upon its prey from a tree-top or hiding place, is cowardly,
and seldom attacks man.

The jaguar or American tiger, also the wild cat and
mountain cat, wolf, several species of foxes, and the
cayote, are found in the mountains and hill-sides of the
State. All the species of foxes are small, and therefore
inferior to the Canadian fox. The badger, raccoon,
glutton, skunk, weasel, fisher, sable, mink, land and sea
otter, beaver, squirrels in great abundance and variety,
seals and sea-lions, are also found either in the rivers
or bays of the coast of California, and northward in the
waters of the Pacific coast. No species of land or water
fur-bearing animals produce such valuable fur as their
species do in the more northern regions. Fine furs and
good fish are found only in cold climates, if we except
the salmon of California.

Of seals there are many varieties : the small, spotted
seal, the fur seal, and the sea-lion — the latter a species
inhabiting the rocky cliffs and small islands of the
Pacific ocean. A species of this seal or sea-lion inhabits
the clump of rocks directly south of the Golden Gate,
in front of the Cliff House, affording much amusement
to visitors by their howling and floundering about upon
the rocks. Some of these animals are of immense size,
larger than an ox. They are at this place protected

240

THE GOLDEN STATE.

from the sportsmen by State law. Immense numbers
of sea-lions of a very large species inhabit the Faral-
lones, a clump of islands of rock directly west of the
Golden Gate. Alono- the lower coast of the State
several parties are employed killing seal and sea-lion,
and trying oil from them. The larger species at the
Farallones are not very valuable for oil or for their
pelts. The fur seal increases in numbers northward
along the Pacific coast ; it is unknown in the vicinity of
vSan Francisco, but is occasionally found in waters along
the Oregon coast, and in myriads in Alaska: the fur is
ver}^ valuable.

The large gray squirrel and gopher seem to have
complete possession of the whole country. They both
burrow in the ground, which seems to be alive with
them, for at every step the traveller is confronted with
heads popping up and down in rapid succession, with
innumerable pairs of little round eyes staring him in
the face. During the dry season the valleys and hill-
sides are completely honeycombed with these nimble
pests, which destroy hundreds of thousands of bushels
of wheat and barley annua^y. The large gray squirrel
is very handsome, is almost as large as a cat, with a
large, bushy tail, and is good eating. Hare, rabbits,
'rats, and mice are abundant and in great variety.

Elk and Deer. — The California elk is the same as
the Canadian moose, only the former is much larger,
with larofe, branching horns like those of the deer. At
one period elk were very numerous, but "^re now found
only in the northern part of the State and in the moun-
tain ranges ; they are very plentiful in Oregon. Deer
are still numerous, and seem to abound all over the

ANIMALS, BIRDS, AND FISHES. 24 T

State. There are several varieties : the mule-deer,
black-tail, antelope, and white-tail.

In many parts of the Sierras is found the mountain-
sheep. It is double the size of the domestic sheep ;
the body is covered with a coarse hair; the horns are
enormous, heavy and curling. It is said that when
pursued, it will leap dow^n the terrible precipitous walls
of the Sierras, landing upon its head and horns below;
and thus, bounding from cliff to cliff, escape its pursuer.
It is very shy, and rarely captured.

BIRDS.

The "American eagle" is not only found in ever}^
Fourth of July oration all over the coast, but in his
original grandeur among the crags and waterfalls of
the Sierras and Coast Range. Geese, swan, and ducks
are plentiful in spring and fall. Swan are not so plen-
tiful as ducks and geese ; they are very numerous,
however, in Oregon. Geese are so abundant in many
parts of California and Oregon that they destroy vast
fields of growing grain, and hundreds of them are killed
by the farmers and hunters by sticking sharp-pointed
stakes in the grain-fields : the geese descending at
night cannot see these sharp perpendicular poles, and
in their descent strike upon them and are pierced and
killed.

Quail. — This beautiful bird, a species of the grouse

but only half its size, is found in great quantities all

over the State ; every clump of bushes, wheat-field and

vineyard is inhabited by them. They are plump, sweet

and pleasant to the taste, and are a staple article of

food. They are protected by law from the sportsman
16

242

THE GOLDEN STATE.

during the spring and summer months. A species of
grouse is found in the northern part of the State, and
the prairie-hen in the extreme northeastern portion.

The pigeon and dove are plentiful throughout Cali-
fornia. The gull, robin, sparrow, swallow, blackbird,
and the familiar crow are all well represented in Cali-
fornia ; and the sand-hill crane bathes his shrunk shanks
as deliberately in the waters of the Pacific as does his
eastern brother in the waters off Cape Cod or in those
of the Chesapeake. Woodpeckers, snake-killer, cuckoo,
fish-hawk, chicken-hawk, bat, owl, buzzard, vulture,
raven, jay, magpie, king-fisher, humming-bird, tanager,
tittark, chat, bluebird, thrush, wren, oriole, lark, linnet,
grosbeak, bittern, heroa, plover, snipe, curlew, rail, brant,
pelican, petrel, or "Mother Carey's chickens," albatross,
cormorant, loon, murre, and a great number and variety
of water, land, and singing birds, make up the rare and
large variety of birds inhabiting California, numberin
more than three hundred and fifty distinct species.

REPTILES.

There are fewer reptiles in California than in any of
the Atlantic States ; the long, dry summers are not
congenial to their species. The reptiles of California
are entirely different from those of any other part of
the world, and are generally smaller than those of the
Eastern States. Snakes are rare ; the rattlesnake is
the only poisonous one known, and is very scarce. In
some portions of the State the scorpion is found, but is
very rare.

One of the most poisonous and dread reptiles is the
tarantula ; amputation of the limb often being necessary,
after the bite of this loathsome creature. It is of the

PO IS 0X0 us AXD OTHER REPTILES. 243

Spider species, sometimes growing to the size of a frog ;
the body is covered with a thin brown hair, and its spin-
dling legs project three to four inches from each side.
It lives in a little house made in the side-hills or in rocks,
and constructed with great skill ; a door to its home,
which hangs upon a hinge from above, fitting so closely
that it can scarcely be detected ; there are little holes
through this door, into which it inserts its claws to open
the door, or holds it inside if attacked, and keeps it
secure. It has a mortal enemy in a species of large
wasp. This w^asp, strange to say, makes the body of
• the living tarantula the place of deposit for its eggs.
The tarantula is in great dread of these wasps, and flees
from them, locking itself in its secure home if it reaches
it, before it is pierced by the planter of the female wasp.
The eggs of the wasp being ready to deposit, the female
sails abroad in search of a tarantula ; at sight she vigor-
ously attacks it, thrusting her eggs into its body ; if the
tarantula is not killed at once, it only finds its home
with the seeds of death in it, for the eggs of the wasp
soon hatch little ones, which remain in the flesh of the
unfortunate animal, upon which they feed until death
relieves it of its terrible consumers. The tarantula
seldom bites man, is shy, and will escape upon the
approach of any noise or the presence of a human
being.

There are great numbers and varieties of lizards in
California, varying from one and tw^o inches to a foot
in length. The larger species are found in the southern
part of the State; none of them are poisonous or vicious.
Frogs and toads are plentiful throughout the State.
The "horned toad" inhabits the southern part of the
State, and is the most unsightly thing on the earth ; it

244

THE GOLDEN STATE,

often oTows to a leneth of seven or eiojit Inches, about
three inches In breadth, and seems to be of the hzard
species ; two horns, from about an Inch to one and
a-half Inches In length, grow directly w^iere the horns
grow upon a cow; It has a tall of half the length of the
body : the whole body, legs, belly, and tall to Its very
tip, Is covered w^Ith thorny scales, ending In sharp,
diamond-pointed horns. The appearance of this little
animal is not calculated to make it many friends or
admirers, yet it is perfectly harmless.

Bees. — The native bees of California are very numer-
ous In the southern part of the State, living in hollow"
trees where they deposit great quantities of honey.
The domestic bee thrives all through the State and In
Oregon, making honey from the fir trees and flowers
of the country.

Wasps, mosquitos, and flies are plentiful, and Cali-
fornia may not only be called the land of gold but also
the land of the flea: here this pest of the human race
attains a size, agility, and perseverance worthy of a
better cause than that of Its occupation. Grasshoppers
are numerous, but generally not destructive; occasion-
ally myriads of them in some seasons wull pass over a
section of country, completely destroying every thing
green, blocking up roads, filling wells, springs, and
houses, from which they drive the inhabitants. On
the plains, they so swarm on the railroads that they
stop the trains, their bruised bodies so greasing the
rails that sand has to be used to counteract their effect.

FISH.

California is \vell supplied with a great variety of fish,
from the sperm-whale to the shrimp. There are over

FISHES OF THE PACIFIC. 245

two hundred varieties of fish In the ocean, bays, rivers,
and lakes of the State, many of them entirely unknown
elsewhere. Shell-fish are abundant, and the variety
very great. Oysters are scarce and small, mussels and
clams plenty. Crabs are of great size, some species
being more than a foot in width, and are an article of
common table food. The "mother-of-pearl oyster" is
found in the bays on the lower coast and in the Gulf of
Mexico. The squid grows to a great size on the coast,
some being more than three feet in length, with arms in
some cases over seven feet long. Shrimp, the counter-
part of a young lobster, swarm in myriads in the bays;
they are about the size of an overgrown grasshopper;
they have a thin, tough shell like a lobster; in the res-
taurants and hotels they are a common article of food,
and are much liked by many. Lobsters are plentiful,
and grow to a great size, in some instances measuring
a foot and a-half in length: strange to say, none of them
have the large claws of the Atlantic lobster.

Whale. — The Pacific ocean, from Behrlng's strait
southward to the coast of California, is the great whale-
ground of the world. Fleets of vessels are yearly en-
gaged in the whale fishery, making Honolulu their head-
quarters. Few whales are caught upon the coast of
California, although hundreds of them can be seen blow-
ing and spouting along the entire coast, from Panama
to the Columbia river; occasionally one of these mon-
sters of the deep finds himself Inside the Golden Gate,
where his dashing about like a goldfish in a globe and
his spouting attracts the boatmen, who give him lively
chase. At other times a "northwester" dashes one

246 THE GOLDEN STATE.

■upon the beach, where he Hes stranded Hke some "Q^al-
lant ship;" upon such occasions, "whale" is in the mouth
of everybody. The fortunate finder of a stranded
whale generally "locates" a "claim" upon him, erects a
wall around him, and collects an admission fee from the
curious who desire to see a "big fish." In the Bay of
Monterey, and at other points along the southern coast,
a small species of w^hale is caught, and considerable
quantities of oil are made.

There is but one species of fish in California w^hich
in quantity and rich flavor surpasses the species of the
Atlantic ocean: that is the salmon, so abundant in all
the principal streams of the coast, from the Golden
Gate to Behring's strait. About November, they enter
the Bay of San Francisco; and from that period until
they again seek the ocean, in June following, they are
caught in great numbers in the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers and all the rivers north. They are a
staple article of food, and can be found in good supply
fresh in the markets every day in the year. Some of
them are of great size, weighing as high as sixty pounds ;
but the general weight is from twenty-five to thirty
pounds.

Sturgeon are abundant in the bays and rivers, but
are coarse, cheap, and generally not much liked as food.
Trout are plentiful in most of the lakes and streams of
the State, but are neither so beautiful nor sweet as the
Adantic trout. All the fish on the coast except the
salmon, smelt, and trout are long, coarse, poor, and
tasteless, compared Avith the same species on the Atlan-
tic coast. A small, poor quality of mackerel Is caught
in and about Monterey bay. A small but very good

FISHES OF THE PACIFIC.

247

quality of herring is very abundant, and is caught in
great quantities in spring in the Bay of San Francisco
and along the coast. The real cod is not found on the
coast of California, but is abundant, although of a small
class, on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska.
Rock-cod, a very bony fish, is plentiful; also tomcods,
smelts, and soles or flatfish. The eel is not found on
the Pacific coast, although several species resembling it,
called eels, are to be found, but all inferior.

Besides those mentioned, there are a great many
other kinds of fish in California, the market being sup-
plied every day in the year with great abundance and
variety; the prices are very low.

248 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XX.

The precious metals — First mention of gold — Gold in Eden — Gods
of the heathens — Aaron's golden calf — Ornaments of Jerusalem —
Gold of the Romans — First gold in America — Gold in South
America and Mexico — Gold in Asia and Europe — Gold-mining
in the United States — Discovery of gold in California — Sir
Francis Drake's voyage — Expedition of Commodore Wilkes to
California — Product of gold — Mining operations — Quartz and
quartz-mining — Rich mines — Quartz mills — Discovery of gold in
Australia: yield of the precious metals in — On the Pacific coast
— Mineral wealth of Great Britain — Progress of mining in
Australia — Chinese in the gold-fields — Precious metal in the
world.

In the chapters of this volume treating upon the
early gold discovery, geology, counties, &c., will be
found much Information respecting mining In California.
(See these chapters.)

The discovery of gold brought California prominently
before the world. Had it not been for that event, more
than likely San Francisco would be to-day an obscure
outpost upon our western coast; Oregon would still
be a Territory, Alaska still under the imperial flag of
the Czar, and the great valleys of California untllled.

From the earliest period of which we have any
knowledge, the precious metals have been sought for
by all nations and classes, and the effects of their
influence understood and appreciated. The earliest
records of the human family make mention of gold,
and the kings, priests, and prophets of ancient times
seem to have fully understood its value. Abraham's
riches, as mentioned in Genesis xiii, 2, are said to have
consisted of cattle, silver, and gold Even the Garden
of Eden is supposed to have contained the precious
metals. In Genesis il, 11, 12, gold is spoken of simul-

GOLD AND ITS HISTORY. 249

taneously with the creation, and as existing in the land
of Havilah, which was encompassed by the first river
running from the Garden of Eden.

Gold formed the gods and idols of the ancients ; and
Aaron formed a calf of gold for the children of Israel,
but Moses reduced it to powder by burning it in a fire.
Solomon employed gold in great abundance in orna-
menting the temple of Jerusalem.

South America early produced her share of gold.
Atahuallpa, the Inca of Peru, offered gold to the value
of $15,480,710 for his ransom when a captive of war.
The land of Ophir (the location of which is still a mys-
tery) supplied the Phoenicians and Israelites with gold;
once in three years the ships of King Solomon com-
pleted a voyage there and back. The Pyrenees and
Alps supplied the Romans with much of their gold.
Spain obtained her supply of the precious metals along
the Tagus ; and the Athenians obtained gold in Thessaly
and the island of Thasos.

At the time of the discovery of America, in 1492, the
total value of the precious metals in the whole of Europe
was estimated at one hundred and seventy million dol-
lars. In the year 1 600, it had increased to six hundred
and fifty million dollars — an increase of four- fold in a
century. So, in a corresponding degree, the value of
gold decreased, in the fact that every commodity of
merchandise had advanced four-fold in this period, and
a corresponding increase in every article of consump-
tion keeps pace with the increase of the precious
metals.

The total amount of the precious metals In circula-
tion throughout the world, in 1S72, is esUmated at four

250 THE GOLDEN STATE.

billion dollars. Of this amount California has, since
1848, contributed one billion dollars, and Australia,
since 1 851, an additional billion dollars. Thus it will
be seen that California and Australia, in the brief period
of twenty years, have contributed to the world one-half
of its gold.

In estimating the wealth of nations and the value of
products, it must always be borne in mind that, while
mines of gold and silver become exhausted, the 77ietah
produced do not, but, unlike the product of shop and
field, which becomes extinct on use, the precious metals
retain their value for aees.

From 1492 to 1500, about fifty-two thousand pounds
sterling in gold went annually from the American conti-
nent to Europe. Up to 1 519, of the precious metals
gold only was found in America.

With the conquest of Mexico, In 1521, and the dis-
covery of the rich silver mines of Potosi, In 1545, a
large supply of silver found Its w^ay from America to
England. In the reign of James VI, gold was mined
in the slate rocks of Leadhills, Scotland ; and near the
close of the last century fifty thousand dollars In gold
was collected In two months, m the county of Wicklow,
Ireland. At Cornwall, Devonshire, in Wales, and other
parts of Great Britain, gold has been mined for, but
never profitably.

In almost all the mountains and streams of Europe
and Asia gold has been discovered In less or greater
quantities, on the Rhine, Rhone, Reuss, Danube, and
Aar, in the Alps, and Siberia. Up to the date of the
discovery of gold in California, Russia was the greatest
gold-producing country in the world. Croesus is sup-

GOLD AND ITS HISTORY. 25 I

posed to have obtained his gold In the sands of the
River Pactolus, In Asia Minor.

The gold product of Borneo Is supposed to be about
five million dollars per annum.

Gold has been obtained In Japan from time imme-
morial. During the sixty years that the Dutch traded
with that country, they are supposed to have carried
away in trade over forty million dollars In gold.

The whole region of South and Central America and
Mexico is rich In gold and silver. The heathens of the
Isthmus of Panama of past centuries made their gods of
gold, and Interred them in the graves of their dead. A
few years since, mining ior gods was a profitable employ-
ment In New Grenada,

Gold-mining In the United States is comparatively of
a recent date ; the first discovery being made in North
Carolina, in 1799, In Meadow creek, a small stream In
Cabarrus county. It was discovered by a boy named
Conrad Reed, who, on a Sunday, was sporting and catch-
ing fish In the stream. He saw a yellow lump of metal
in the water and carried it home ; his father took It to
the village silversmith at Concord, but he was unable to
tell what It was. For three years the lump, which was
about the size of a small smoothing-iron, was used as a
weight against the door; when. In 1802, the old man
Reed carried it to Fayettevllle : there a jeweller pro-
nounced It gold, melted It Into a bar, and paid Mr.
Reed three hundred and fifty dollars for It, much to
his surprise and delight. Meadow creek was soon
thoroughly explored, when considerable gold was dis-
covered. In 1803, one piece found In that stream
weighed twenty-eight pounds, another sixteen pounds.
In 1 83 1, a rich quartz vein was discovered In the vicinity

252 THE GOLDEN STATE.

of Meadow creek, and, from this period, mining for gold
was pushed widi interest in North CaroHna.

Previous to 1825, but httle gold was found in the
United States ; some small quantities were found in
Alabama, and betw^een the Coosa and Potomac. In
1825, a gold-bearing quartz lead was discovered by a
Mr. Barringer, at Montgomery, North Carolina. Soon
after this, gold-bearing quartz was discovered in Vir-
ginia, Georgia, and South Carolina ; and gold in small
quantities was obtained from many rivers in these States.

In 1824, the first native gold appeared in the United
States mint at Philadelphia. The supply increased
considerably for a few years. Up to 1827, North Caro-
lina was the chief gold-producing State in the Union.

The entire product of gold of the five Southern
States, from 1828 to 1872, is estimated to have been
forty million dollars, as follow^s: North Carolina, eighteen
million five hundred thousand dollars; Georgia, fourteen
million five hundred thousand dollars; Virginia, three
million five hundred thousand dollars ; South Carolina,
three million dollars ; Alabama, five hundred thousand
dollars. In 1829, the first mint deposit of gold from
South Carolina — thirty-five hundred dollars — was made;
in the same year, Virginia deposited twenty-five hundred
dollars; and, in 1830, Georgia deposited two hundred
and twelve thousand dollars.

The increase of gold from the Southern States was
so great that, in 1837, ^ United States mint was estab-
lished at Charlotte, North Carolina, and another at
Dahlonega, Georgia. It is estimated that the Southern
States yielded an average of one million dollars in gold
annually, from 1808 up to the discovery of gold in
California in 1848. Gold in these regions was gener-

GOLD AND ITS HISTORY. 253

ally obtained from decomposed quartz and from slate
rock of such a poor quality that it seldom paid for work-
ing ; and of late years the yield has greatly fallen off,
it having been for the last twenty years less than five
hundred thousand dollars per annum. Gold has been
discovered in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Hampshire,
and Vermont, but not in quantities to justify working.

In many parts of Canada gold has been found in
small quantities; and, in i860, free gold in well-defined
quartz ledges was discovered in the southeastern part
of Nova Scotia ; these mines are still profitably worked.

The discovery of gold in California in 1848, and in
Australia in 1851, introduced a new era in the produc-
tion of the precious metals. Gold is known to have
been discovered in Australia as early as 1839, by Count
Strazeleckl, who, in September of the following year,
informed the lieutenant-governor of the colony of his
discovery. In 1841, the Rev. Mr. Clark announced that
he had discovered gold in Australia ; and, from the
year 1843 ^^ 1847, Sir Roderick I. Murchison repeatedly
urged the exploration of Australia for the precious
metals. In February, 1851, a Mr. Hargrove, who had
been in California, found gold in Australia, and in April
following announced his discovery, which led to the
finding of the vast gold-fields of that region, so rich and
so profitably worked up to the present period, with
prospects of inexhaustible supply.

GOLD IN CALIFORNIA.

The first mention of gold in California is found In a
small volume of romance published In Spain In 15 10 —
seventy years before the arrival of Sir Francis Drake
in California. The book is entlded ''The Scrgas of

254

THE GOLDEN STATE.

Esplandian, the son of Ainadis of Gauir (See Chapter
XIII of this volume.) In this romance the following
passage occurs : " The Island was the strongest in the
world, from Its steep rocks and great cliffs. Their
arms [the natives'] were all of gold, and so were the
caparisons of the wild beasts they rode."

The next mention of ofold In California Is found In
Hukluyt's account of Sir Francis Drake's voyage to
California in the summer of 1579. In this account a
paragraph reads : " There is no part of the earth here
to be taken up wherein there Is not a reasonable quan-
tity of gold or silver." This statement of Hukluyt Is a
pure fiction, like the account of the Spanish novelist of
1 510, and was only Intended to lend a charm to the
distant land of California. Most of Californians well
know that there Is not a shovelful of earth in the vicinity
of Drake's bay, or any portion of the coast wherein the
English buccaneer spent the six w^eeks In 1579, in
■which there is '' a reasonable quantity of gold or silver,"
so far as known, nor has either of these metals been
discovered In any quantity up to the present time
within the radius of one hundred miles of Drake's
bay, In Marin county.

Placer gold in small quantities had been discovered
in California at various times between the years 1775
and 1828, near the Colorado in the southern part of
California; in 1802, a vein of mineral supposed to con-
tain gold was discovered at Olizal, in Monterey county;
and, In 1828, small particles of placer gold were dis-
covered at San Isdro, In San Diego county; but none
of these indications of the precious metals were suffi-
cient to attract public attention, or to warrant the belief
that gold existed In paying quantities In the country.

GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. 255

Alexander Forbes, the British consul at Monterey, in
writing a history of California in 1835, says: "No min-
erals of particular importance have yet been found in
Upper California, nor any ores of minerals." In 1838,
at San Francisquito, about forty-five miles northwest
from Los Angeles, placer gold was discovered in small
quantities; these mines were worked steadily for many
years with considerable profit.

James D. Dana, who accompanied the expedition of
Commodore Wilkes as mineralogist to the coast of
California in 1841, and who made a trip from the
Columbia river, overland through Oregon and by the
Sacramento valley, to San Francisco, in his official report
to the Congress of the United States, mentioned that
gold had been found in the Sacramento valley and in
Southern Oreo^on; but Dana did not seem to be much
interested In the discover)^, nor to consider it of any
importance.

On the 4th of May, 1846, Thomas O. Larkin, United
States consul at Monterey, in an official correspondence
with James Buchanan, the Secretary of State, said:
"There is no doubt but gold, silver, quicksilver, copper,
lead, sulphur, and coal mines are to be found all over
California; and it is equally doubtful whether, under
their present owners, they will ever be worked." On
the 7th of July following — sixty-six days after the date
of this communication — the stars and stripes floated
over Monterey, and California was a part of the Ameri-
can republic.

On the 19th of January, 1848, ten days before the
signing of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, James W.
Marshall discovered gold at Coloma, on the American
river, as has been described In a preceding chapter.

256

THE GOLDEN STATE.

On the 15th of March following, the first printed

notice of the discovery was made in the Californian,

published at San Francisco, as follows:

"In the newly made race-way of the saw-mill recently erected
by Captain Sutter, on the American fork, gold has been found in
considerable quantities. One person brought thirty dollars to New
Helvetia, gathered there in a short time."

The same paper, May 29, 1848, announced that its

publication would be suspended, as follows:

''The whole country, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and
from the sea-shore to the base of the Sierra Nevada, resounds with
the sordid cry of gold J gold ! gold I while the field is left half
planted, the house half built, and every thing neglected but the
manufacture of picks and shovels and the means of transportation
to the spot where one man obtained one hundred and twenty-eight
dollars worth of the real stuff in one day's washing, and the average
for all. concerned is twenty dollars per diem."

From 1848 to the present period, the gold mines of
California have been worked most successfully; not al-
ways certainly with profit to those engaged, but in the
aggregate producing almost one billion dollars. The
following table will show the annual product for the last
twenty-four years:

1848, .... ^10,000,000

1849, 40,000,000

1850, 50,000,000

1851, 55,000,000

1852, 60,000,000

1853, 65,000,000

1854, 60,000,000

1855, 55,000,000

1856, 55,000,000

1857, 55,000,000

1858, 50,000,000

1859, 50,000,000

1S60, 45,000,000

t86i, .... ;^4o,ooo,ooo

1862, 34,700,000

1863, 30,000,000

1864, 26,600,000

1865, 28,500,000

1S66, 26,500,000

1S67, 25,000,000

1S68, 25,000,000

1S69, 25,000,000

1S70, 25,000,000

1871, 25,000,000

Total,

^961,000,000

GOLD IN CALIFORNIA. 257

It will be observed that the decrease has been steadily
going on since 1853: this is owing to the fact that about
that perigd the rich placers and river beds were vigor-
ously worked, and that a few years after this period
most of this class of mines were \vorked out, and quartz,
cement, and bank diggings had to be operated at a great
outlay and often with but indifferent results.

The mineral belt in California extends from the Ore-
gon State line, on the north, southward the entire length
of the State, and to the summit of the Sierras on the
east, from which it extends a distance of from fifty to
seventy-five miles west, embracing the western slope of
the Sierras. This district embraces all the Sierra range
in California, with the heads of all the important rivers
in the State and the foot-hills and gulches of the Sierras
— the richest orold-bearinor resfion ever discovered.
Within this wide ranofe orold has been found in its
virgin state on the sides and ravines of grassy hills, the
summits of high table-lands, sandy and gravelly flats,
the rich loam soil of the gardens and wheat-fields, the
ridges, sand-bars, and beds of living and ancient rivers.

During the first five or six years after the gold dis-
covery in California, the efforts of the miners were
chiefly directed to mining in the gulches, streams, and
river beds; and every available spot of this class
swarmed with thousands of gold-seekers, who pene-
trated every nook and corner in this wide range, and
with prospecting-pan, shovel, and rocker, tom, sluice,
wing-damming the rivers, sluicing the flats and side-
hills, have discovered and pretty thoroughly w^orked
most of the accessible surface-diggings in the State.
From this period, (1853,) the time at which the mines

produced the largest annual yield, the decline In this
17

25S THE GOLDEN STATE.

branch of mining has been steady; until, at the present
time, there is but Httle surface-mining in the State, ex-
cept that done by Chinese, who, unskilled in tbe deeper
and more complicated mining of to-day, seek the aban-
doned placer mines of the whites or such new fields as
would not pay white labor, and, by a system of frugality,
industry, and sobriety known only to this patient race,
obtain large sums from this class of mines — seventy-
five cents, one dollar, and one dollar and a-half per day
beino^ considered p^ood wa^es.

With a decline in placer-mining came a decline in
wages. In the flush times of '49, an ounce in gold (six-
teen dollars) per day was a miner's wages ; in 1852, it
had fallen to eight dollars; and, in 1853, to five dollars;
since which time it has steadily declined until the
present, when two to three dollars are the wages. In
all these cases, the miner finds himself in board, lodg-
ing, &c. ; he also often finds it most difficult to obtain
employment even at those rates.

Placer-mining is not entirely ended in California, but
all ground that would pay the primitive methods of
mining during the first few years after the discovery of
g"old is worked ; the individttal can no longer with
crevice-knife, shovel, tom, or pan hope for rewards in
any part of the State. These primitive implements, the
long lines of sluices, the temporary ditches, winding
their serpentine course along rugged hills and spanning
deep gulches, ridges, and piles of gravel, wing-dams,
water-wheels, saw-mills, tumble-down shanties, aban-
doned villages, and general debris of the early gold-
hunter's home, all proclaim in mute but solemn and
last increasing eloquence the decline of that period in
our history when the. monthly and semi-monthly steam-

GOLD AND GOLD-MINING.

259

ers deposited their thousands of gold-seekers In San
Francisco, when the "prairie schooner" toiled its weary
march over the inhospitable plains, and a population of
adventurous, bold, impetuous men, drawn from all
quarters of the globe, entered upon that terribly wild,
romantic drama, half comic, half tragic, wherein the
sharp report of the pistol, the shrieks of the wounded,
groans of the dying and disappointed, blasphemy of the
wicked, bacchanalian revelries of the drunkard, discord
ant tones of the hurdy-gurdy and ballet girl, inharmo-
nious squeak of the rude violin of the fandango, the
popping of bottle corks, the shuffling of tumblers and
the clink of gold on the gambling table, kept time to
the click of the pick, shovel, prospecting-pan, and rocker
of the busy miner.

On the decline of placer-mining In California the at-
tention of thousands was turned to other pursuits, and
from that period dates the permanent prosperity of
the State and the development of the vast and varied
resources of the soil.

At each stage, as the nature of the mines changed,
appliances and machinery were adapted to their work-
ing ; the pan gave way to the rocker, the rocker to the
sluice and shovel, and finally to the use of powder and
the hydraulic, which powerful agents levelled the hills
and made mining possible and profitable, when under
the old system It was both Impossible and unprofitable.
Vast portions of the gulches and foot-hills of the Sierras
which are impregnated with gold, either In particles of
floury fineness, scaly or coarse, are now worked by
water, carried often a great distance in ditches and
flumes; the object in carrying the water in these flumes
being to get the elevation as great as possible above

26o THE GOLDEN STATE.

the ground to be sluiced. The process of washing Is
done by attachnig a strong canvas or leather hose with
a nozzle of two or more inches in diameter, when the
water is played upon the face of the bank from numer-
ous streams, as firemen play upon a burning building,
so handline the hose and nozzle as to undermine the
hills or mountains: these operations often cause the
banks to cave in in immense masses, often with fatal
result to the inexperienced. Sometimes where the
mountain Is great or the ground hard, drifts are pierced
into Its sides, into which great quantities of powder are
placed; when this "mine" Is exploded, a deep sound
like the rumbling of an earthquake Is heard, and for
miles around the shock caused by the explosion Is felt;
the hill is shivered to atoms, and the earth and bould-
ers are so loose that the water from the hose soon
washes them down. Sluice-boxes are so arranged at
the foot of the hill that all the earth and gravel pass
through them in the flood of escaping water. In riffles
and false bottoms in these sluices are placed deposits
of quicksilver; the fine particles of gold being heavier
than sand find the bottom of the sluice, and on their
passage down in the water are caught by the quicksil-
ver, where they are held In amalgam until the miner
finally — once a week or once in several months — cleans
out his sluices, takes out the gold and quicksilver, which
Is in a soft mass of about the consistency of dough.
The gold, being all coated with the quicksilver, is put
into a retort or close iron vessel and placed in a hot
fire; the quicksilver, escaping through a tube, falls into
a dish. Is caught and saved for future use; the gold. In
a solid lump, free from quicksilver. Is now taken from
the retort and ready for the market or mint.

GOLD AND GOLD-MINING. 261

Another branch of mining Is the working of quartz.
Lodes of great richness have been discovered in m.any
parts of the State, and have been worked for many
years. The first quartz-mining in California was soon
after the discovery of gold, and was conducted by
Mexicans, who had had experience in this branch in
the mines of Mexico. The process was crude, either
pounding the quartz In mortars or grinding it in rude
arrastars worked by a single mule; but as they worked
only rich ores, they generally succeeded in making
them pay.

As early as 1850, quartz-mining was commenced at
Grass valley, in Nevada county, and soon at other points
in the State; but, from ignorance and imperfect ma-
chinery, the first five or six years of this branch of
mining was a failure, often entailing serious loss upon
all concerned. By degrees, experience, cheapness of
labor, and improved machinery gave a new Impetus to
this branch of Industry, which Is fast on the Increase in
the State. Througrhout the lenfrth of the Sierras for
about four hundred and fifty miles, and from the sum-
mit of that range for a distance of from thirty to fifty
miles along its western slope, quartz ledges, generally
incased in granite, are found; some of great size and
richness, others most seductive and ruinous to all en-
gaged in them.

The chief quartz -mining districts of California are
situated In Tuolumne county near Sonora, and James-
town near Mariposa In Mariposa county; about Clear
creek, Tulare county; Angels, Calaveras county; Jack-
son, Amadore county; Logtown, El Dorado county;
Nevada and Grass valley, Nevada county; Downie-
vllle. Sierra county; Indian valley, Plumas count}\

2 62 THE GOLDEN STATE.

The extent and width of leads, yield per ton, and pro-
duction of mines vary very widely. Of eighty-four
principal gold quartz ledges recently examined, it was
ascertained that the average thickness of twenty-one is
from one to twelve inches; twenty, from thirteen to
twenty-four; nine, from twenty-five to thirty-six; ten,
from thirty-seven to forty-eight; nine, from five to ten
feet. It will be thus seen that the ledges are generally
very narrow; but as the quality has much to do with
the productiveness, many of the small leads yield the
greatest amount of bullion.

The yield of the eighty-four mines examined run
from four dollars to one hundred and eighty dollars to
the ton — one mine yielding the former amount, and
one the latter. Of the others, three yielded six dol-
lars ; four, eight dollars ; one, nine dollars ; nine, ten
dollars; twenty- two, between ten dollars and nineteen
dollars ; fourteen, between twenty dollars and twenty-
nine dollars; fourteen, between thirty dollars and forty-
nine dollars; three, between fifty dollars and sixty-nine
dollars ; and in four the yield was over seventy dollars.

The cost of extractino^ and working ores varies much;
often governed by the location, extent of the lead, free-
ness of the ore from base metals, fuel and transporta-
tion. For instance : in the mine yielding one hundred
and eighty dollars per ton, the lead was only two inches
thick and it cost sixty dollars to extract a ton of ore ;
while in a lead fifteen feet wide and yielding fifteen dol-
lars per ton, it cost but fifty cents to extract a ton of
ore. The cost of extractinor a ton of ore from the mines
examined was from fifty cents to twenty-six dollars.
The average cost, however, of the eighty-four examined
mines was about four dollars per ton ; while to work

GOLD AND GOLD-MIXING. 263

the ore from the time it left the mine until it was in
amalgam was from seventy-five cents to seven dollars
per ton, or an average of about three dollars. To the
price of extracting the ore, averaging about four dollars
per ton, the cost of milling, averaging about three dol-
lars per ton, must be added; also, an average of about
sixty cents per ton for transportation: making the
average expenses for mining and reducing the ore, until
the gold is extracted, $7.60 per ton : while the average
yield of ore per ton is $18.50, leaving a profit of $10.90
per ton. It must be borne in mind that these figures
indicate an average, and do not by any means convey
the idea that <^// mines pay this amount; for instance:
some lodes worked only yield in all four dollars per
ton; these are w^orked at a cost of about $2.50, leaving
a profit of §1.50 per ton; while many cost all that is
obtained, leavinof nothinof. The famous Eureka mine
at Grass valley, Nevada county, yields about forty-seven
dollars per ton, and costs about fifteen dollars per ton
for mining and milling; leaving about thirty- two dollars
per ton net profit.

The average yield of quartz in California and Nevada
is the largest of any in the world. In many mines in
Austria and Russia, quartz is worked which yields but
one dollar and two dollars to the ton ; and, in Japan,
even lower grades are profitably worked.

The famous St. John Del Rey, in Brazil, one of the
oldest and most profitable gold-mines in the world, has
produced over fifteen million dollars in about forty
years working; yet its gross yield per ton is only $7.59.

The most remarkable mine in the world is the Com-
stock lode at Virginia, in the State of Nevada, produc-
ing gold and silver, but chiefly the latter. It was dis-

264 ^'-^^ GOLDEN STATE.

covered In 1858, by James Fennimore, who, soon after,
sold his Interest for a trifle to Henry Comstock. More
than fifty companies are at work on this lode, which has
produced over one hundred million dollars in bullion
since Its opening, the yield per ton being about forty
dollars. No sino-le lode of ancient or modern times
equals this Immense mass of ore. The lode proper is
located within an area three miles in length by about
six hundred yards In width ; but the lode proper, in its
W'idest place. Is only one hundred and fifty feet, and at
some points only a few feet. About five thousand men
are employed annually in the various mines on this
lode, the average annual yield per man being twent}^-
five hundred dollars : this Is the greatest average yield
from anv one lode In the world. The mines of Call-
fornia and the districts of Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Som-,
brerete, Chihuahua, Durango, PotosI, and Alamos pale
befoi^fe the magnitude of this o-rcat silver mountain.

The richest mining-district In California is in a radius
of four miles around Grass valley, Nevada county, which
yields over three million five hundred thousand dollars
annually, employing two thousand men, who produce
an average of seventeen hundred and fifty dollars to
each person ; the quartz yielding from thirty dollars to
thirty-five dollars per ton. The greatest yield in the
State is reported in this district: one thousand dollars
per ton from a small lode running a mill of eighc
stamps only.

It is estimated that about one-third of the gold, yield
of California is now obtained from quartz ; while the
remainder Is obtained from bank, cement, and placer
diggings. Considerable depth has been obtained in
some of the quartz mines: the Eureka, at Grass valley,

GOLD AND GOLD-MINING. 265

IS supposed to have gone to the greatest depth of any in
the State — over 1,220 feet ; a few others have gone to a
depth of from six hundred to seven hundred feet, Avhile
most are down from one hundred to two hundred feet.

Improved machiner)^ for crushing quartz, with the
decrease in wages, is steadily inducing capitalists to
embark in mines partly if not wholly abandoned many
years since ; still, throughout the entire quartz region
of the State, will long remain deserted mines, rickety,
tumble-down mills, and rusty machiner}^ witnesses of
the recklessness and folly of the thousands who, through
ignorance if not- through worse motives, induced capi-
talists to supply mills before a "lead" had been dis-
covered, onlv to be abandoned so soon as failure stared
them in the face, with the admonition to discover and
test a mine before building a mill!

There is no branch of industry or speculation wherein
there has been so much deception practised as in the
quartz-mining of the Pacific coast. Periodical spasms
cf excitement are gotten up about some new mining-
district; "prospecters" start out and soon return with
their "pockets full of rocks," often genuine discoveries
but as often rich specimens obtained from some old
working mine ; assays are made, showing hundreds or
thousands of dollars per ton ; people become excited,
companies are incorporated, shares sold — they look
pretty on paper — capitalists invest and lose.

Cement Mining. — Within a few years past large
bodies of cement in the hillsides and flats of the minlnuf
regions of the State have been found to contain gold.
This cement is crushed and v/orked like quartz, and is
attracting considerable attention.

266 THE GOLDEN STATE,

Mining on the Gold Beaches. — Beginning- at Hum-
boldt bay, In Humboldt county, and extending northward
for more than two hundred miles upon the beach of the
Pacific, both in California and Oregon, the sands of the
shore are mingled with fine gold-dust, and, at each con-
vulsion of the ocean, new deposits are thrown to the
surface ; the violence of each successive storm seeming
to heave new treasures from the depths of the sea.
Upon this beach miners erect their sluices, guide the
waters of the mountain streams through them, and
wash the sand of this golden shore for its precious con-
tents. An average of ten dollars to the man per day
is made, but, owing to loss of time occasioned by storms
and other delays, this species of mining has not a.lways
been profitable.

Quartz IMills. — It Is estimated that there are about
four hundred and fifty quartz-mills, with an aggregate
of 5,500 stamps, in the State. The machinery of these
mills is estimated to have cost over seven million dol-
lars; more than half of them are propelled by steam,
the rest by water. There are more than one hundred
of them lying idle ; some having been erected where no
quartz or mineral existed, others upon lodes of poor
quality, and some upon ledges now exhausted.

A comparison between the several gold-producing
sections of the Pacific coast and California, and the gold
product of Australia, and the mineral resources of
Great Britain, may not prove uninteresting.

The yield of the precious metals upon the whole Pa-
cific coast for the year 1871 is estimated at ^68,000,000:
California producing but a little over one-third of
this amount. The yield was as follows: California,

GOLD AND GOLD-MINING. 26 J

$25,000,000; Nevada, J2 5,000,000; Idaho, $8,000,000;
Oregon, $3,000,000; Utah, $2,500,000; Bridsh Colum-
bia, $2,000,000; Arizona, $1,500,000; and Washington
Territory, $1,000,000. Estimating the gold and silver
product of California, since the discovery of gold in
1848 to the year 1872, at $1,000,000,000, and the pro-
duct of all the other sections of the Pacific coast, from
the discovery of gold in them to the year 1872, at
$200,000,000, would give an aggregate yield for the
whole coast of $1,200,000,000, to the period ending
Januar}^ i, 1872.

In 1 85 1, gold was discovered In Australia; and, from
that period forward to the present, mines, both in
placers and quartz, have produced abundantly of the
precious metals. In 1852, the gold-mines of Victoria
produced $44,375,640; and. In 1856, produced the
largest amount of any single year since the discovery —
$59,719,820. California's greatest yield was in 1853 —
$65,000,000. Since 1856, there has been a marked
decline in the product of the Australian mines; but
these mines produce more at the present time than do
the gold-mines of California. The gold-fields of Aus-
tralia extend over Victoria, New South Wales, New
Zealand, and Queensland; and the mines of these re-
gions, from the year 1851 to 1872, have produced an
aggregate of gold equal to the w^hole product of Cali-
fornia from 1848 to 1872 — $1,000,000,000. The figures
following exhibit the result of the periods named, and
the product since these last dates is estimated, and is as
nigh correct as can well be ascertained.

Victoria, from 1851 to 1868, yielded $711,369,000;
New South Wales, from 1851 to 1868, $148,314,125;
Queensland, from i860 to 1S67, $2,424,850; New Zea-

268 THE GOLDEN STATE,

land, from 1853 to 1867, $74,924,280: showing a total
within these dates of $937,032,255.

It will be observed in the table of annual yield of
gold in California that the amount from the discovery
of gold to 1872 is but $961,000,000. Amounts, going
from the mines into the hands of private parties, and
not easily accounted for, have been estimated to swell
the amount in the table to $1,000,000,000; and the es-
timated aeereeate amounts obtained from the Austra-
Han mines and the amounts passing Into private hands,
since the last reports above, will swell the total pro-
duct of Australia to a litde over the entire yield of
California.

The approximate value in the yield of the precious
metals in California and Australia, considering the large
amounts and that the dates of discovery in each country
are so close to each other, is something most remarka-
ble in the history of gold-mining and the gold product
of the world.

The eovernment of Victoria collects for miners'
licenses, miners' rights, leases of gold and mineral
lands, and other mining taxes; while in the United
States no collections are made, except in a few instances
where local governments impose a small tax upon
Chinese, and that in violation of the laws of the
national government.

In the seven leading mining- districts of Victoria,
namely, Ballarat, Beeckworth, Sandhurst, Mar^^borough,
Castleniain, Ararat, and Gippsland, there are 2,431
miles of water races constructed, at a cost of $1,551,350.
The area of land held as claims in the same districts Is
133,575 acres; and the estimated value of the claims in
these seven districts is $44,347,520. The number of

GOLD AND GOLD-MINING. 269

machines employed in alluvial mining are 441 steam-
engines, 1,887 pumping machines, 298 whims, 320
whips, 261 cradles, 19,346 water-wheels, 643 stamps
crushing cement ; and the number employed in quartz-
mining are 602 steam-engines, 66 crushing machines,
5,977 stamps, 512 whims, 436 whips. The value of all
the mining machinery and appliances used in mining
in Victoria is estimated at §10,752, 160.

The number of men enorasfed in mininof in Victoria,
in 1 85 1, was 19,300; the largest number in i860,
108,562 ; and the number in 1868 was 64,658.

In 1857, there were 2)6,'}^2'] Chinamen working at the
mines in Victoria. In 1868, the number was reduced
to 15,300. The remainder have nearly all returned to
their native land. Only fifty-six of the 15,300 were
working at the quartz mines ; the balance were work-
ino- on the alluvial mines.

In 1852, the average earnings of miners was §1,310;
in 1862, it fell to $336; in 1868, the average rose to
$520 per man per annum.

Gold; of all metals, has a peculiar charm for the
human family, and the real value of the baser metals is
often ignored in the thirst for the circulating medium as
it comes glittering from the mine or the mint. Great
Britain does not produce the precious metals, yet her
annual yield of minerals far surpasses all the gold of
California, and that in such magnitude that there is no
comparison. The annual value of the mineral products
of Great Britain is about three times as great as the
greatest annual yield of gold In California, and eight
times as great as the mines of California produce at the
present period. The value of the minerals taken from
the mines of Great Britain, in 1869, was §176,269,000.

270 THE GOLDEN STATE.

If we calculate this amount by twenty-four, the years
of the existence of the gold-mines of California, and in
which they have produced ^1,000,000,000, we will have
the aggregate sum of $4,230,456,000 worth of iron,
lead, copper, tin, and coal in Great Britain, against
$1,000,000,000 of gold produced from all the mines of
California within the same period. A feature worthy
of notice in connection with this subject Is that, while
the yield of the precious metals in California is steadily
on the decrease, the production of the mines of the
British islands is steadily on the Increase. But it is
doubtless only a question of time when the supply from
the earth must give out.

The minerals raised from the earth in the United
Kingdom, in 1869, were of the value of no less than
$176,269,000. This amount exceeds that of the pre-
ceding year by upwards of $8,000,000. The coal pro-
duced in 1869 was 107,427,557 tons. The returns for
1868 showed only 103,141,157 tons produced, being less
than in 1869 by above four million tons. The produc-
tion of iron ore in 1869 advanced to 1 1,508,525 tons, of
the value of $16,000,000; the quantity is about 1,340,000
tons more than the year preceding. The great increase
is in North Staffordshire and in Scotland. The tin ore
amounted to 14,720 tons, and copper ore, 129.953 tons.

MIXES AND MINING.

271

CHAPTER XXI.

Tunnel-mining — Siitro tunnel — Canals — Ditches — Asphaltum —
Cement — Coal — Copper — Cobalt — Nickle — Diamonds — Electro-
silicon — Gypsum — Iron — Lead — Petroleum — Quicksilver — Salt
—Sulphur — Tin — Marble — Granite — Caves — Mining laws — Min-
ing laws of Spain and Mexico — Geology and mineralogy — Great
mines of the world.

Tunnel-Mining. — Tunnel-mlnlnof Is carried on to a
considerable extent in California: mountains are pierced
through granite and slate, for great distances and at
great expenditure of time and money, in order to reach
quartz veins ; the object being to strike the lode as low
down as possible, so as to drain the mine of water and
extract ore : when the lode is reached, drifts and branch
tunnels enable the miner to quarry the quartz, which
finds its way through the main tunnel to the surface or
the mill, where it is ground and the metal extracted.
Mountains are also often pierced in order to reach the
deposits of gold dust in the beds of ancient rivers and
basins, which in many instances have proven very rich.

SuTRO Tunnel. — The grandest project in tunnel-
mining in America Is the Sutro tunnel, at Virginia City,
in the State of Nevada, intended to cut the famous
Comstock lode, and pass under Mount Davidson at a
depth of 7,827 feet from its top, which is 1,622 feet
above Virginia Cit}^

The Comstock lode will be reached by this tunnel at
a distance of twenty thousand feet, or three and one-
fourth miles, from its mouth, and be cut at a perpen-
dicular depth of 1,900 feet — or 2,900, following the dip

272

THE GOLDEA STATE.

of the lode. At the beginning of the year 1872, the
Crown Point, Belcher, and other mines on this lode
had reached a depth of 1,700 feet, developing marvel-
lous richness. The present working of all the mines on
this lode is done by the tedious and expensive process
of hoisting through shafts and pumping out water. The
tunnel when completed will drain the mines to a great
depth, and open a wqde avenue for transporting ores
from the vein on cars. It is estimated that three and
a-half years from January i, 1872, will be necessary to
reach the lode by this tunnel, involving an outlay of
four and a-half million dollars.

Congress, by act of July 25, 1866, has made liberal
donations to this project, granting in perpetuity a belt
of rich mineral land through w^hich the tunnel passes,
seven miles in length and four thousand feet in width— *^
5,080 acres ; also, 1,280 acres of land at the mouth of
the tunnel, the exclusive ownership of all mines dis
covered by the tunnel, and a royalty forever of two
dollars on each ton of ore extracted from any part of
the Comstock lode after the vein is reached by the tun-
nel. The payment of this amount is made compulsory
by the same act. From this tax the tunnel company
will derive a large revenue. Work on the tunnel is
being vigorously pushed.

Deep mining, on trite silver veins such as the Com-
stock, has proved most successful. The shafts now
dowm three thousand feet on the Sampson mine, in
Germany — the deepest in the world — demonstrate con-
tinued and improving richness.

Bevond all doubt the Comstock lode is the most ex-
tensive and the richest quartz mine in the world, far
surpassing any thing in Mexico, South and Central

MIXES AXD MINING,

273

America, and Europe. Granada, In Spain; Kongsberg-,
in Norway; Pasco, in Peru ; PotosI, in Bolivia; Chafiar-
cillo, in Chili; Valenciana, Veta Granda, Real del
Monte, of Mexico; the Schemnitz and Felsobanya, of
Hungary — although representing the great silver sup-
ply fountains of the world — all pale before the magni-
tude of the Comstock, of Nevada.

The lode proper, as developed in the Comstock, ex-
tends five miles in length, and has a width of from fift}'
to five hundred feet. Fifty steam-engines and three
thousand men are employed in working the various
mines, which were opened in 1859, and have yielded,
up to January, 1872, an aggregate of one hundred and
forty million dollars — of which ninety million dollars
was silver and fifty million dollars gold.

With the present mode of working, rock yielding
less than twenty dollars a ton is not worked, because
it will not pay.

The annual yield from the Comstock is now about
sixteen million dollars, and of the State of Nevada
twenty-five million dollars.

The i\ustrian government has but recently completed
the adit-level of Joseph II, commenced in 1782, leading
from the valley of the river Gran to the mining district
at Schemnitz, a distance of ten miles, cutting the veins
at a depth of fourteen hundred feet. It is ten feet wide
and twelve high, used both as a railway and canal, and
was constructed partly to explore for new veins and
partly to drain mines already in operation. The
Schemnitz mines. In the northern part of Hungary,
furnish gold, silver. Iron, lead, copper, and sulphur —
gold to the value of about sevent}^-five thousand dol-
lars, silver seven hundred thousand dollars — the annual

2 74 ^-^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

value of all the metals not exceeding one million five
hundred thousand dollars.

The celebrated silver mines at Freiberg, in operation
since the commencement of the thirteenth century, are
at present drained by an adit beginning on a tributary
of the river Elbe, extending something over eight
miles, so as to communicate with all the mines in the
upper part of the district, being over eight feet wide
and nearly ten feet high, securing a drainage at a depth
of sixteen hundred feet. But, as the ore of these mines
continues to increase in richness with the depth, it has
been proposed by eminent engineers, and the govern-
ment of Saxony it is said has in contemplation the con-
struction of an adit-level of the extraordinary length
of twenty-two miles, opening in the river Elbe, and
cuttinof the veins of the Freiberof district at the average
depth of two thousand feet. Should this bold concep-
tion ever be carried into practical effect, it will consti-
tute one of the grandest enterprises of the present age,
and the most extensive mining tunnel in the world.

The Freiberg mines, to which so much talent, energy,
and such vast expenditures of money are being de-
voted in contriving works to operate and improve them,
yield a silver product of the annual value of about one
million dollars, and in a period of nearly three hundred
and fifty years have • produced an aggregate value not
exceeding one hundred and twenty million dollars. '

The Harz mines, in the district of Clausthal, In the
former kingdom of Hanover, are drained by a tunnel
penetrating the mountains for a distance of six and
one-half miles, nine hundred feet beneath the town of
Clausthal, commenced in 1777 and completed about
the beginning of the present century. The first tunnel

MINES AND MINING.

275

in the Harz for draining mines was commenced in 1525,
and before the end of that century three more were
constructed; and, in 1799, another was completed of a
length, including galleries, of nearly eleven miles.

In 185 1, the Ernst August tunnel was commenced In
the neighborhood of Gittelde to drain the deep mines
of the Clausthal district, estimated to require twenty-
two years in its completion, but by the improved appli-
ances now used In tunnelling was finished in 1864 — in
twelve years and eleven months. This is said to be
the largest tunnel in the Harz, and furnishes the deep-
est natural drainage to the mines that can ever be ob-
tained. The water in this tunnel has sufficient depth
to allow the use of long flat-boats for the transportation
of the ore.

The mines of the Harz are chiefly argentiferous
galena, with copper pyrites, iron pyrites, and gray cop-
per ore, producing annually a supply of silver worth
six hundred thousand dollars; lead, five hundred and
seventy-five thousand dollars; copper, ninety thousand
dollars; iron, one hundred and twenty-five thousand dol-
lars; or an aggregate value of one million four hundred
thousand dollars.

It will thus be seen that the combined yearly product
of Schemnitz, Freiberg, and the upper Harz, for the
profitable working of which the best engineering talent
of Europe has been taxed for a period of three centu-
ries to provide means of drainage and ventilation, and
the governments of Austria, Saxony, and Hanover have
lavishly expended so much money, Is not much over four
million dollars, or about one-fourth of the value of the
gold and silver annually furnished by the Comstock lode.

In all the localities above referred to, where deep

276 THE GOLDEN STATE.

drainage has been effected, the result appears to have
fully realized the expectations of the projectors, so
much so at Freiberg that it is contemplated to drive an
adit far surpassing any similar work yet undertaken,
and reaching a lower level than any hitherto attained
in that locality; and both in Freiberg and in the Harz
the ores appear not merely to have maintained their
quality, but even to have increased in richness with the
depth of the mine.

The great Sampson vein, on the Harz, has been
worked to the depth of 2,580 feet, being the deepest
mine now in operation on the globe. At the depth of
2,160 feet, one of the finest accumulations of ore ever
met with was reached; and, although the works have
been carried down four hundred and twenty feet further,
this superior quality of the ore is still maintained.

A tunnel of fifteen miles in leno^di was commenced

some years since in Saxony, intended to open the prin-
cipal mines of Freiberg; it is supposed that fifty years
labor will be necessary to insure its completion.

Quartz-mining is in its infancy in California. The
western ridge of the Sierras from its summit is ribbed
for its entire length with a series of rich gold quartz
veins, and not until these mountains are pierced with
such gigantic tunnels as those of some of the mines of
Europe and the Sutro tunnel will California begin to
yield her golden treasure, now held in the granite
coffers of the Sierra Nevadas, awaiting only the touch
of scientific labor to open their ponderous doors.

Canals and Ditches. — In every branch of mining
water is necessary, and, where it cannot be obtained
through natural channels, artificial conveyances must

MINES AND MINING.

277

be constructed. To conduct water to the mines scat-
.tered over the slopes of the Sierras and foot-hills of
California has been a work of great skill, as well as of
great necessity, and the whole interior mining district
is a complete net-work of ditches and canals. There
are over five hundred ditches constructed for mining
purposes, making a total length of more than four
thousand eight hundred and fifty miles in length. Be-
side these, there are six hundred and seventy ditches
constructed for irrigation in the agricultural regions,
extending their waters to more than seventy thousand
acres of land.

OTHER MINERALS BESIDE GOLD AND SILVER.

AspJialttmi — Which is a kind of tarry substance,
issues from the ground In great quantities along the
sea-coast in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties.
When mixed with sand and other Ingredients, It is ex-
tensively used for roofing houses and making sidewalks
in cities.

Boi^ax. — The most extensive borax deposits in the
world are In California. The chief supply Is obtained
from the bottom of a smiall lake in Lake county.

Cement — Of a very good quahty and in considerable
quantity is obtained at several points in the State.

CoaL — Within a few years past coal has been dis-
covered in several parts of the State ; but so far the
only mines worked to any extent are the mines in
Monte Diablo, In Contra Costa county, directly east of
San Francisco, and the Coos Bay mines, In Klamath
county, near the Oregon State line.

Copper. — The principal copper mmes of California

278 THE GOLDEN STATE.

are located at Copperopolis, Calaveras county. This
locality, as well as many others in California, is rich in
copper; but, owing to the high price of labor, lack of
cheap transportation, and the low prices of copper in
foreign markets, these mines have not been renumera-
tive, but, on the contrary, have generally proven disas-
trous to all engaged in them.

Cobalt and Nickle. — These minerals have been found
in small quantities in Placer county and in other parts
of the State.

Diamonds. — In Amadore and other counties, in the
western slope of the Sierras, diamonds have been found,
but they are rare and of inferior quality. Miners have
found them generally in cleaning up their sluices. None
of them have the brilliancy of a first-class diamond. A
few have been found of fair qualit}^ and worth from
thirty dollars to sixty dollars each.

Electro-Silico7z. — This is a chalk-like mineral found
in great quantities In El Dorado county and also in the
State of Nevada. It is used in cleaning silverware and
metals of every description : it imparts a glossy polish
and fine burnish to the finest gold and silver. It is the
best known article in use for polishing metals, is largely
in use in the State, and must eventually find a market
in other quarters.

Gypsum — Has been discovered in considerable quan-
tities in Los Angeles and Santa Cruz counties.

Iron. — Many parts cTf the State have shown favorable
indications of deposits of iron ore ; but so far no mine
of rich ore has been opened, nor any work done to
justify the belief that the State has any iron deposits to
equal those of the Atlantic States. Lake, Santa Clara,

MINES AND MINING. 279

Butte, Placer, Calaveras, and Sierra counties have shown
good indications of iron.

Lead. — Lead Is abundant on the Pacific coast — Ari-
zona, Nevada, and California having it in great abun-
dance. Santa Catalina island, off the coast of Santa
Barbara county, abounds in this mineral. Extensive
lead-works at San Francisco receive full supply of ore
from various directions on the coast.

Petroleum. — Petroleum of an inferior quality has been
discovered in many parts of California from the north-
ern to the southern extremity of the State. So far its
discovery has been confined to the Coast Range of
mountains and to the counties of Kern, Humboldt,
Santa Barbara, and Santa Cruz.

Platimim a7id Phmibago, — These minerals are found
in many places throughout the State ; the former in
small quantities only, but the latter in abundance in
Mariposa, Calaveras, Tuolumne, and Los Angeles
counties.

Quicksilver. — California produces more quicksilver
than any other country in the world. The principal
supply is derived from the famous New Almaden mine,
in Santa Clara county, about thirteen miles southeast
of the town of San Jose. This mine has been worked
constantly since 1850, having produced about forty
million pounds since that period, without any signs of
decrease in the yield. Beside this mine there are others'
in the State from which a considerable quantity of quick-
silver is obtained — the New Idria, Guadalupe, Reding-
ton, and San Juan Bautista. Besides supplying the
home market with the large amount of quicksilver used
in mining and for other purposes, all the Pacific States
" and Territories derive their supply from California, and

2 So THE GOLDEN STATE.

great quantities, shipped annually to Australia,, South
and Central America, the Atlantic States, Great Britain,
China, and Japan, are obtained in these mines.

Salt. — There is a good supply of salt in California.
In some of the southern counties of the State great
deposits are found in the beds of ancient lakes which
have been dried up for centuries. In Los Angeles,
Alameda, and other counties, large quantities of salt
are made by ditching and confining the salt water until
solar evaporation carries off the water, leaving a crystal
deposit upon the bottom. Alameda county alone pro-
duces more than ten thousand tons annually. Great
quantities of salt are annually imported into the State
from Carmen island and Europe. Immense beds of
salt are found in Nevada and Utah, and mountains
of excellent salt in Arizona, and Oregon has several
valuable salt-springs.

SulpJiur. — Sulphur of a superior quality is found In
great abundance in California, the chief supply being
obtained in Lake, Sonoma, and Colusa counties. It has
been lately discovered in the counties of Klamath, Kern,
Napa, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara. The powder
works in the State receive their supply in the State.

Till. — The only tin -mines yet discovered in the
United States are in the southern part of California.
The San Jacinto tin company have fifty-three distinct
lodes in one small district In San Bernardino county.
Many of these lodes are very rich in mineral ; but,
owing to the low pric€ of tin (forty cents per pound)
and the high price of labor, work has been suspended
after the company having produced many tons of a
superior article of tin. There are also tin-mines In Los
Angeles and San Diego counties and other portions of

MINES AND MINING, 28 1

the southern part of the State. The first development
of tin in the State was in 1868.

Marble and Granite. — Marble and granite of good
quality is found in many parts of the State. The chief
granite quarries are in Sacramento county, at the town
of Folsom. Marble of good quality and different varie-
ties is found in Plumas, El Dorado, Tuolumne, Butte,
Salano, Amadore, and Placer counties. The greater
part of the marble, however, used in the State is im-
ported direct from Italy.

Caves. — Among the natural wonders of California,
the Alabaster cave of El Dorado stands prominent.
This cave, which is the only one of note in t le State,
was discovered in April, i860. The cave consists of a
number of chambers or rooms, the main entrance to
which is a tunnel-like aperture in the side of a moun-
tain of white limestone. The interior of this cave is
beautiful beyond description, and consists of a series of
chambers of various sizes, shapes, and colors. The first
chamber reached on entering is about twenty-five feet
in length and seventeen feet in width, varying from five
to twelve feet in height. Passing through this apart-
ment, the Dmigeon of Enchantmeiit is reached — a cham-
ber of one hundred and twenty feet in length and
seventy feet in width, and from five to twent}^ feet in
height. Here the luxuriant and exquisite decoration
of nature strikes the vision of the beholder. Pendent
from roof and walls are beautiful stalactites in every
variety of form and shade of color, from bright coral to
milk-white, most exquisitely wrought by the hand of
nature into the most fantastic foliage and charming
crystallizations, representing trees, plants, flowers, and

282 THE GOLDEN STATE.

leaves, casting their shadows and brilliant contrasts of
light and shade, which sparkle and glisten like stars in
a clear sky or diamonds in fleecy robes of ermine.
Passing from this apartment, the throne upon which
is seated nature's grandest effort is reached. Here
Grecian, Roman, and Italian art pales, and the royal
pomp and tinsel of the Vatican fades into stiffness and
disorder: no canopy so gorgeous, no pulpit so eloquent
as the one from which comes the silent admonition of
man's inferiority and Jehovah's omnipotence as pro-
claimed from the Crystal Chapel of this royal apart-
ment, whose exquisite draper}^, fleecy festoonings, and
silver cords, looped from pillar and dome by the fingers
of nature, when illuminated with artificial light, render
Alabaster cave a most charming sight

MINING LAWS.

By the civil law the primary title to all the precious
metals was vested in the Crown. All gold, silver, and
precious stones, if in the public domain, belonged to the
sovereign, and it was long held that even the precious
metals in the lands of individuals were subject to the
royal will. In parts of Asia and Europe, all mines of
precious metals are worked under the direction of the
monarch, whether in public or private lands ; in other
parts, the government derives a revenue from all mines
worked by demanding one-tenth of the product of the
mine if worked by the owner, and if the mine is worked
by other than the owner, he pays two-tenths — one to
the owner and one to the kine.

At this day the prevailing opinion is, that all mines
of precious metals, wherever situated, are subject to the
sovereign, that they are a part of the royal patrimony,

MIXES AND MIXIAG. 283

alid necessary as a source of revenue in times of war.
Laws enforcing this doctrine have been passed by many
countries of Europe, including Germany, France, and
Portugal. Accordinor to the laws of Eno-land, mines of
gold and silver are termed royal mines ; they are the
exclusive propert}^ of the crow^n, and a grant of land
from the king will not pass the title of these mines with-
out specific words divesting the ci'owii of title. And this
doctrine of title to the precious metals is the law of the
United States, although no claim has been made by the
government of the United States to the precious metals
in the lands of individuals, and in all the States and
Territories where the precious metals exist the mines
have been thrown open to every citizen, without re-
striction or price, to mine w^here he pleased. England,
too, has adopted this wise policy in reference to Aus-
tralia, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, and other places.
Within the past few years much anxiety has been
felt by persons settled upon the mineral lands in Cali-
fornia and other parts of the United States because they
could not obtain title to them. These lands were neither
offered at public sale nor could they be preempted nor
entered under the homestead laws of the country ; and
their occupants were but tenants at sufferance of the
United States. In order to relax these oppressive law^s
and enable the miner to obtain a permanent and com-
plete title to his mine. Congress enacted the following
laws, which must stimulate new enterprise in the min-
eral regions of the whole country :

THE NATIONAL MINERAL LAND LAW.

[Approved July 26, 1S66.]

Sec. I. Be it enacted, &c., That the mineral lands of the public
domain, both surveyed and unsurveyed, are hereby declared to be

284 '^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

free and open to exploration and occupation by all citizens of l^iC
United States and those who have declared their intention to become
citizens, subject to such regulations as may be prescribed by law,
and subject also to the local customs or rules of miners in the several
mining districts, so far as the same may not be in conflict with the
laws of the United States.

Sec. 2. That whenever any person or association of persons claim
a vein or lode of quartz, or other rock in place, bearing gold, silver,
cinnabar, or copper, having previously occupied and improved the
same according to the local customs or rules of miners in the dis-
trict where the same is situated, and having expended in actual
labor and improvements thereon an amount of not less than one
thousand dollars, and in regard to whose possession there is no con-
troversy or opposing claim, it shall and may be lawful for said
claimant or association of claimants to file in the local land office a
diagram of the same, so extended laterally or otherwise as to con-
form to the local laws, customs, and rules of miners, and to enter
such tract and receive a patent therefor, granting such mine, together
with the right to follow such vein or lode with its dips, angles, and
variations, to any depth, although it may enter the land adjoining,
which land adjoining shall be sold subject to this condition.

Sec. 3. That upon the filing of the diagram as provided in the
second section of this act, and posting the same in a conspicuous
place on the claim, together with a notice of intention to apply for
a patent, the Register of the Land Office shall publish a notice of
the same in a newspaper published nearest to the location of said
claim, and shall also post such notice in his office for the. period of
ninety days ; and after the expiration of said period, if no adverse
claim shall have been filed, it shall be the duty of the Surveyor-
General, upon application of the party, to survey the premises and
make a plat thereof, indorsed with his approval, designating the
number and description of the location, the value of the labor and
improvements, and the character of the vein exposed ; and upon the
payment to the proper officer of five dollars per acre, together with
the cost of such survey, plat, and notice, and giving satisfactory
evidence that said diagram and notice have been posted on the claim
during said period of ninety days, the Register of the Land Office
shall transmit to the General Land Office said plat, survey, and
description, and a patent shall issue for the same thereupon. But

NATIONAL MINING LAW. 285

said plat, survey, or description shall in no case cover more than
one vein or lode, and no patent shall issue for more than one vein
or lode, which shall be expressed in the patent issued.

Sec. 4. That when such location and entry of a mine shall be
upon unsurveyed land it shall and may be lawful, after the extension
thereto of the public surveys, to adjust the surveys to the limits of
the premises according to the location and possession and plat
aforesaid ; and the Surveyor-General may, in extending the surveys,
vary the same from a rectangular form to suit the circumstances of
the country and the local rules, laws, and customs of miners : Pro-
vided^ That no location hereafter made shall exceed two hundred
feet in length along the vein for each locator, with an additional
claim for discovery to the discoverer of the lode, with the right to
follow such vein to any depth, with all its dips, variations, and
angles, together with a reasonable quantity of surface for the con-
venient working of the same, as fixed by local rules ; A?id provided
further^ That no person may make more than one location on the
same lode, and not more than three thousand feet shall be taken in
any one claim by any association of persons.

Sec. 5. That, as a further condition of sale, in the absence "of
necessary legislation by Congress, the local Legislature of any State
or Territory may provide rules for working mines involving ease-
ments, drainage, and other necessary means to their complete de-
velopment j and those conditions shall be fully expressed in the
patent.

Sec. 6. That v/henever any adverse claimants to any mine located
and claimed as aforesaid shall appear before the approval of the sur-
vey, as provided in the third section of this act, all proceedings shall
be stayed until a final settlement and adjudication in the Courts of
competent jurisdiction of the rights of possession to such claim, when
a patent may issue as in other cases

Sec. 7. That the President of the United States be and is hereby
authorized to establish additional land districts, and to appoint the
necessary officers under existing laws, whenever he may deem the
same necessary for the public convenience in executing the provi-
sions of this act.

Sec. 8. That the right of way for the construction of highways
over public lands, not reserved for public uses, is hereby granted.

Sec. 9. That whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the

286 THE GOLDEN STATE.

use of Avater for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other pur-
poses, have vested and accrued, and the same are recognized and
acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and the decisions of
courts, the possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be
maintained and protected in the same ; and the right of way for the
construction of ditches and canals for the purpose aforesaid is hereby
acknowledged and confirmed : Provided, however, That whenever,
after the passage of this act, any person or persons shall, in the con-
struction of any ditch or canal, injure or damage the possession of
any settler on the public domain, the party committing such injury
or damage shall be liable to the party injured for such injury or
damage.

Sec. io. That whenever, prior to the passage of this act, upon
the lands heretofore designated as mineral land, which have been
excluded from survey and sale, there have been homesteads made by
citizens of the United States, or persons who have declared their
intention to become citizens, which homesteads have been made,
improved, and used for agricultural purposes, and upon which there
have been no valuable mines of gold, silver, cinnabar, or copffer
discovered, and which are properly agricultural lands, the said set-
tlers or owners of such homesteads shall have a right of preemption
thereto, and shall be entitled to purchase the same at the price of
one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, and in quantity not to
exceed one hundred and sixty acres; or said parties may avail
themselves of the provisions of the act of Congress, approved May
20, 1862, entitled ''An act to secure homesteads to actual settlers
on the public domain," and acts amendatory thereof.

Sec. II. That upon the survey of the lands aforesaid, the Secre-
tary of the Interior may designate and set apart such portions of
the said lands as are clearly agricultural lands, which lands shall
thereafter be subject to preemption and sale as other public lands
of the United States, and subject to all the laws and regulations
applicable to the same.

The manner of acquiring title to and possession of
the mines of CaHfornia and other parts of the country
has been very simple. On the miner discovering a
location that presented inducements sufficient to war-
rant labor he measured off a "claim." If no "district"

MINING LAWS. 28/

had already been formed, a meeting of die miners ''in
camp" was called and a recorder elected, whose busi-
ness it was to reside in the vicinity and keep a book in
which he would make a record of all mines "located"
in the district. At this meeting the size of the claim to
be held, the amount of labor to be performed in order
to hold the mine, and all other rules necessary to the
mining interests of the district were passed; and these,
if not in violation of statute law, or the Constitution of
the State, were recognized as law in each mining dis-
trict, and courts acted upon and recognized them as
binding upon all concerned. When a claim was located,
a written notice would be posted on one corner upon a
stake driven in the ground; this notice giving the name
of the owner or owners, with the size and courses of
the claim, and the "laws" of the district gave the miner
title to either work or sell his claim.

Titles under these reo^ulations have constituted the
sole riorht to all the m.ines in the States and Territories

of the Pacific coast prior to the act of Congress of
1866; and, as comparatively few have sought title to
their mines under this act, the great body of mines in
the country are held, worked, and sold under these
primitive laws of the miners. In all the States and
Territories the Lemslatures have enacted laws in har-

mony with the interests of the miners, and conforming
as nigh as possible to the general features of the mining
rules and prevailing custom of the miners.

Through the mining regions of the country agricul-
ture and every other branch of industry is subordinate
to mining: mills, dwellings, streets, churches, factories,
orchards, gardens, wheat-fields, and even the grave-
yard, are invaded by the shovel, pick, and sluice of the

288 THE GOLDEN STATE.

miner, custom and law recognizing his right to pursue
the precious metals wherever he can find them on the
public domain, being responsible only for actual dam-
ages to individual property.

In conformity with the liberal Institutions of the
United States, the government has from the earliest
period thrown open her mineral lands to the free and
unrestricted use of all persons residing In the country,
without exacting a fee, royalty, or tax of any descrip-
tion; but, In the law of 1866, It Is provided that citizens
only, or persons having made a declaration of Intention
of citizenship, can obtain "^fee simple title to mines.

Many of the States and Territories, regardless of
the title of the United States to the mines within their
limits, have enacted laws taxing aliens employed In
minlnof either on their own account or for others. A
statute of California Imposed a tax of four dollars per
month upon each alien engaged In mining for gold or
silver In the State. The law, however, was not gener-
ally enforced, except upon the Chinese, great numbers
of whom are eno^aofed In working^ over the mines lonof
since deserted by the whites. Generally, throughout
all the States and Territories, any white man could
work the mines without molestation or tax. In some
mining districts of California, and other parts of the
Pacific coast, there were laws prohibiting aliens from
holding mines In their own names; but such Instances
were rare, and were Intended to discourage Chinese
miners only.

The recent amendments to the Federal Constitution, .
and the laws of the National Congress declaring and
guaranteeing to every person residing in the republic,
regardless of birthplace or nationality, equal rights be-

MINING LAWS. 2 89

fore and equal protection of the laws, have rendered
void the State and mining-district laws imposing a tax
upon or prohibiting any class of persons from any of
the rights or privileges enjoyed by others; and, in 1870,
put an end to the collection of the foreign miners' tax
in all parts of the country. The laws of most countries
prohibit aliens from mining except by license or permit
from constituted authority, and few, if any, nations in
the world will permit an alien to obtain a fee simple to
mineral lands. A royal decree of the King of Spain,
published in the year 1783, and still in force in the
republic of Mexico, contains the following clause:

*^ Chapter VII, Section i. To all the subjects in my dominions,
both in Spain and the Indies, of whatever rank and condition they
may be, I grant the mines of every species of metal, under the
conditions already stated or that shall be expressed hereafter; but I
prohibit foreigners from acquiring or working mines as their own
property in these my dominions, unless they be naturalized or tol-
erated therein by my express royal license."

As an illustration of the decline of mining in the in-
^prior, and of the growing disinclination to collect a
mining tax, even of the Chinese miners, the amount of
taxes collected during the past few years will serve.
The amount of foreis^n miners' license collected, durino-
the year 1868, in California, w^as ^60,443; while the
amount collected in 1869 was but ^11,840.20: but a
trifle over one-fifth of the amount collected in the pre-
ceding year.

PHYSICAL STRUCTURE.

The physical structure of California clearly Indicates
the volcanic origin of the Sierras ; and the great mineral-
producing belt, stretching from Cape Horn to Behring

strait, and the sudden eruptions In the Andes, Hawaiian
19

:90

THE GOLDEN STATE.

islands, Iceland's Geysers, and Mount Hood, demon-
strate that the interior forces which pushed up Mount
Shasta, and elevated the Sierras from mother earth's
bosom, still have an existence. The treasure of Peru,
Chili, Central America, Mexico, Colorado, Arizona,
Nevada, California, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Washing-
ton Territory, British Columbia, and Alaska, all belong
to the great mother vein whose rich mineral deposits
of gold and silver give more mineral wealth than all
the rest of the world.

In California, the gold and silver producing range is
chiefly confined to the Sierras, which, on their eastern
side, throw out the immense silver wealth of Nevada,
and, upon their western slope, hold in their stern granite
embrace the gold of California. The Coast Range,
extendinof the length of the State, and formingr a chdin
along the sea-coast of from eight to twenty miles in
width, possesses none of the precious metals, except in
a few places where detached portions of the Sierras
have been carried toward the west, or where spurs of
this chain push down to the sea, as they do in D^i
Norte and San Diego counties. But, although the
precious metals are not found in the Coast Range to
any great extent, other minerals of value are found
there in great abundance — coal, copper, tin, quicksilver,
lead, asphaltum, borax, sulphur, salt, alum, arsenic,
antimony, g}^psum, epsom salts, petroleum, soda, and
many others.

The valley formation of California consists of a deep
loam and sand, with but little clay. In portions of the
valleys a black, tough adobe soil is found : it Is veiy
productive, but being generally in low places, where
the water stands until late in the spring, it is either too

PHYSICAL STRUCTURE.

291

Avct for cultivation or, when the waters leave it, bakes
and cracks with the heat of the sun. Through portions
of the low foot-hills tough clay is found ; in other por-
tions of the foot-hills, sandy and gravelly ridges of little
value. But the greater part of the foot-hills and the
slopes of the Sierras are fit for cultivation, and contain
the best grape and fruit lands in jhe State. Along the
chief rivers, bays, and sloughs of the State, vast areas
are overflowed with salt water, or with the water from
rivers and interior lakes ; and, toward the southeastern
portion of the State, the beds of ancient lakes, sandy
and alkaline deserts, occupy a considerable space.

292 THE GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER XXII.

Climate — Seasons — Heat and cold — Winter in the Sierras — Trade-
winds — Animal vitality — Summer in the Sierras and valleys —
Rain-fall compared with other parts of the world — Flowers of the
valleys — Spring-time — Wheat-fields — Agriculture — Harvesting —
Planting and sowing — Volunteer crops — Straw-burning — Storms
and hurricanes — Sand storms.

CLIMATE AND SEASONS.

No State in the Union nor country in the world pos-
sesses such diversity of cHmate as CaHfornia. Within
her Hmits can be found the genial rays of the tropical
sun, the fogs and damps of England, and the eternal
snows of the Alps, with every shade and degree of tem-
perature between these degrees blended into each other
and extending their duration through every month in
the year. Throughout the vast agricultural valleys
and Coast Range regions the climate is most genial:
frost and snow are rarely seen, and time seems to pass
in the uninterrupted course of protracted summer.
Autumn may bring its golden harvest, winter its re-
freshing showers, spring its verdure, and summer its
heat; but all these are so blended and portions of each
season carried into the others that it may be said that,
with the exception of the Sierra mountains, the climate
of California is perpetual summer. Wheat-fields green
in January, in head in March, and ripe in June ; vege-
tables growing ever}^ day in the year ; new potatoes in
February and strawberries in March ; tender lambs
gambolling upon the sward in December and January ;
and sheep-shearing in February and March, may indi-
cate the genial climate of a land whose clear sky, invig-

CLIMATE AND SEASONS. 293

orating atmosphere, and hearty, genial people are never
forgotten by those who have ever lived in the country —
a region always to be spoken of as the beautiful sicnny
laud, whose gorgeous verdure, rich soil, variegated
forests, unsurpassed productiveness, and joyous crystal
streams whose dimpled currents are never congealed
by the pinching frosts of winter, render California a
land most desirable for the abode of man.

California beyond doubt is the favorite spot of earth,
where nature has dealt her bounties with most lavish
hand to proclaim her supreme power and adorn most
luxuriantly her footstool — a land v/hose wheat-fields
of June, clustering grapes of October, and orange groves
of February are presided over by the gentle Ceres, who,
no longer dreading the abduction of her daughter, the
fair Proserpine, by the ungallant Pluto, has chosen her
terrestrial abode In the sunny land of California.

The climate of California may be divided into three
classes : that of the Coast Range, of the Interior valleys,
and of the Sierras. The climate of the coast and about
San Francisco is perhaps the most evenly tempered
in the world — cool, invigorating, and embracing. This
evenness of climate and temperature extends the whole
length of the State, with but little variation during the
year. At San Francisco, which locality can be taken as
indicating the average of the coast temperature, the
average of winter Is 52°, and of summer 64°, and the
annual average about 56°. The lowest point reached
at San Francisco during the past twenty-one years was
in January, 1864, when the thermometer descended to
25° at the coldest time during the twenty-four hours,
and stood at "^^^^ at noon on the same occasion. During
the same period (twenty-one years) the hottest days

294 ^-^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

were on the loth and nth of September, 1852, when
the thermometer indicated 97° and 98°. Other hot days
have been experienced at San Francisco, but none to
equal the time mentioned in 1852. In July, 1855, ^^e
thermometer reached 90°, and in October, 1864, and
September, 1865, reached 91°. The next highest point
was reached on the 6th of July, 1867, when the ther-
mometer indicated 93°. Such extremes are ver}' rare,
as well as the extreme of the mercury falling below the
freezing point at or south of San Francisco. Indeed,
at and south of this point, the climate may be termed
perpetual summer; flower gardens, shrubs, and grass
being as verdant and fragrant in January as in June.

The seasons in California seem to be the reverse of
the seasons in any other part of the world. December^,
at which time the rains have fully set in and the season
when winter develops its severity in most parts of the
world, and the succeeding months until May are termed
winter, or the " rainy season," in California. About the
middle of November the rains begin to fall in the valleys,
and the Sierras receive their new fleecy robes of winter,
the skirts of which grow thin and ragged as they reach
down the western foot-hills of the Sierra range, until
they entirely disappear at the edge of the green sward,
where under the same sun, and in the same latitude
and longitude, the icicle and the honeysuckle struggle
for the mastery — where the cold fingers of winter
pinch the blooming cheeks of spring. During this
period, and while the tall pines groan under their burden
of snow, and the fierce gales sweep over the jagged
peaks of the Sierras, and the miner seeks the shelter
of his log-cabin, makes his tedious journey up the moun-
tain sides v/ith his broad snow-shoes, or, with sledded

. CLIMATE AXD SEASONS. 295

feet, sweeps down the crusted glade, in the valley below
the farmer guides the plow, tender shoots of buds and
grass welcome the refreshing showers, and waving
fields of grain, blossoms, spreading trees, and warbling
birds proclaim the presence of spring. Through the
vrinter months, or rainy season, farmers put in all their
seed : wheat, barley, and oats are sown from November
to May, but the greater part of the grain is sown before
the end of February ; generally the early sown grain
produces the most abundant harvests, and grain sown
in November and December requires but about one-
half of the seed of that sown later in the season.

California during the rainy season is exempt from
the prevailing summer w^inds which sweep in from the
Pacific ocean, and the whole country west of the Sierras
and to the ocean is mantled in green. It must not be
understood that it rains all the time during the rainy
season : on the contrary, the weather is very fine, not
raining more than one day out of four, and a great
portion of the time the sun shines bright, the air is
balmy, and altogether the weather is beautiful ; and
what seems most strange is, that the rain falls generally
at night. Throughout this season the air is so balmy
that men work in the fields and in shops and stores in
their shirt-sleeves, and throughout the whole State,
with the exception of the Sierra range, in winter the
doors of stores and other buildings are never closed,
and in many instances the whole fronts of establish-
ments are open and goods displayed in great profu-
sion, giving an oriental aspect to the business marts of
the country.

Once or twice during each winter, ice, the thickness
of window-glass, forms at and about San Francisco, and

296 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Avhite frost Is often visible ; but persons who do not
rise early may live a lifetime In California without seeing
ice, frost, or snow, unless the snowy caps of the moun-
tains are visible.

Winter even In Its Intensest form In California Is not
severe, and even the dreaded Sierras, which have been
the theme of unguarded writers, and represented as a
chain of relentless Icebergs, are mild in comparison
with the winters of New York, New England, and
Canada : the severest weather of midwinter Is not so
cold in the Sierras as the weather of the early part of
the month of March in New York.

Snow falls to a great depth on the Sierras — from
three to thirty feet; but much of the lowlands and
valleys of this range receive but little snow, and cattle
in some instances live in the mountains the year round
without the aid of man.

The area of California Is so great and the climate so
diversified at the different localities, even at the sam^
season of the year, that a few hours travel at any time
will carry a person Into a variety of climates. For a
distance interiorwards of fifty miles from the ocean,
along the length of the State, it is damp and cool, with
hiofh winds durlno- the entire summer months. Durinor
the latter part of each day during this season (June,
July, August, September, and October) Immense clouds
and banks of fog roll up from the Pacific ocean before
a stiff westerly breeze, keeping every thing In the tier
of coast counties damp and their population clad In
warm garments ; while the Interior valley counties are
parched, and their inhabitants, In thin linen, are stewing
in fretful unrest and perspiration.

In the Interior valley counties hay is cut In May and

CLIMATE AND SEASONS.

297

grain in June; while in the Coast Range, owing to th
cold prevailing northwest winds and the fogs, hay Is not
cut until June and July, and the grain crop Is from two
to five weeks later than in the Interior. It Is these
prevailing winds and fogs passing through the Golden
Gate and breaking over the city of San Francisco that
keep the Inhabitants of that city through the summer
months clad In heavy woollens and furs, and their
throats and lungs Irritated with severe colds, while they
struororle amidst whirlwinds thick with dust and foe.

The prevailing or trade-winds of the coast generally
begin to be felt in June and continue until October.
During this period it Is generally calm through the
nights and until the middle of the day; at about noon
the winds set In strong, and from that time until sunstt
it blows a gale; with the setting of the sun It grows
calm again, and continues so until the late forenoon of
the following day.

During the dry season, and while the entire coast-line
for from ten to thirty miles interiorwards Is enveloped
in foe and bathed In mist, the climate of the interior
valleys is intensely dry and hot. In the San Joaquin,
Sacramento, Santa Clara, Sonoma, and Napa valleys,
neither the fogs nor the prevailing winds of the Coast
Ranee are felt.

Throughout the long summer, while the population
of the Coast Ranee lives amidst fleetine clouds of foe
that sweep across and often obscure the sun, Inside the
fog range, through the great interior valleys and up
into the foot-hills of the Sierras, the sun pours down
his rays in uninterrupted golden floods, parching the
earth, which, for six months — from May to November
— does not receive a drop of rain, nor even does a

29S THE GOLDEN STATE.

cloud obscure the sun for a moment, which, through all
the long days of summer, from early morning until the
close of day, sweeps like a flame of fire across the
horizon. So great is the heat that, during the middle
of each clay, vegetation is as if scorched, and droops,
limber and wilted; but with the setting of the sun the
air becomes cool, and the night, which is almost cold,
brings with it copious dews, which invigorate vegeta-
tion and refresh all animate life, so that the coolness
of the nights counteracts the great heat of the day;
and, although the thermometer stands often at 80°,
100°, and even 120°, in the shade, and the air is so hot
that it seems to burn the lunofs and throat in inhaling
it, yet neither man nor beast seems to be oppressed nor
to relax their vigor, but each performs his labor with
unabated vitality. Cattle and horses taken from the
plow are not jaded and panting with fatigue, and a
California horse under the saddle will carr}^ his rider
eighty, a hundred, and even a hundred and twenty miles
in a day, often over a rough country, and continue his
journey at these rates of speed for many days in suc-
cession.

However hot the air, it is not oppressive, and men
vx^orking in the mines, gulches, and fields under a
scorching sun do not experience fatigue; and there
being no such thing as a hot night known in California,
none of the inconveniences of hot weather, such as are
experienced in other quarters, are felt here.

The cool nights, bracing atmosphere, genial climate,
nourishing food, and pure water of California infuse a
physical vitality into all animate nature not equalled on
any other part of the globe : beyond all question man
and beast, the year through, possess from twenty-

CLIMATE AND SEASONS. 299

five to fifty per cent, more motive power than is pos-
sessed by man or beast elsewhere.

Disease amone horses and cattle is almost unknown
in California, and few of the complaints that cripple and
render horses useless in other countries are ever seen
here : ringbone and spavin are unheard of, and a
sickly, thin horse is a thing rarely to be met with. On
the contrar}/, horses are healthy, well-knit, and muscu-
lar, with great spirit and vitality. The fleet-footed
Spanish or half-breed horse of California, with muscle
of iron, foaming mouth, dilating nostril, and flaming
eye, is the pride of the horseman.

Winter in the Sierras has already been described.
But the reader must not suppose that summer does not
smile in these aerial regions : here to the bea.uties of
the climate of the valleys are added dense forests, luxu-
riant foliage, green meadows, and crystal streams. By
the first of ]^,lay, the snows have disappeared from the
whole range except a few patches high up among the
rocky peaks and in the deep clefts on the northern
slope of the mountains. The air is balmy, mild, and
V refreshing. As summer passes and the valleys below
are parched, these mountains still retain their verdure,
and through the long, hot summers of the valleys the
Sierras are green, their forests musical with singing
birds, and their lakes and natural wonders the resort
of thousands of the pleasure-seeking inhabitants of the
dusty plains.

The Sierras are by no means a rocky and sterile
waste : their lofty granite domes and scarred precipi-
tous walls are uninviting as the home of man ; but a
great portion of this range consists of rich valleys and
rolling hills, where meadows, waving fields of grain, and

300 THE GOLDEN STATE.

luxuriant grapes and fruits surround the many happy
homes, whose prosperity attests the value of 'the Sierras
as a future place of permanent abode. Rich meadows
of great extent are nestled in among the mountains of
the Sierra range, and great quantities of natural hay are
annually cut. The wide pasture-range of the Sierras
serves as a most welcome retreat to the famished
cattle and sheep of the dusty valleys, which in great
numbers are driven up from the parched plains during
the summer months.

As the heat of summer differs in different parts of
the State, so the rainfall is graduated, and differs in ey •
tent, decreasing in regular order from north to south,
only about one-half as much rain falling at San Diego
as at San Francisco, and about half as much at Sa i
Francisco as at Humboldt. The annual rainfall a t
San Diego is ten and a-half inches; at Monterey, twelv *
inches; while at San Francisco it is twenty-one an<l
a-half inches; Humboldt, thirty-four and a-half inches*,
at Astoria, Oregon, it is eighty-six and a-half inches;
Steilacoom, Washington Territory, fifty-two inches ; and
at Sitka, ninety inches. This latter is perhaps as large
an average rainfall as is found in any part of the world.
There are points in the interior of California where as
high as one hundred and forty inches have fallen in a
single year, but of course the average is much less.
The annual rainfall at Sacramento is eighteen and
a-quarter inches; at Benicia, twenty-three inches; at
Stockton, sixteen inches. The smallest rainfall in the
State of California, if not in the United States, is at
Fort Yuma, on the western bank of the Colorado, and in
the extreme southeastern corner of the State: three and
a-quarter inches is the average annual fall at this point.

CLIMATE AND RAINFALL.

301

A comparison between the rainfall of California and
other parts of the world may be interesting to the
reader. At Cincinnati the annual fall is eighty-six and
a-quarter inches; Bordeaux, thirty-four inches; Ma-
deira, thirty nine inches; Liverpool, thirty-four inches;
Paris, tw^enty-two and a-half inches; Rome, thirty-one
Inches; Portland, Maine, forty -five and a-quarter
inches; New York city, forty-three and a-half inches; St.
Louis, forty-two inches; New Orleans, fifty-one inches;
Portsmouth, N. H., thirty-six inches; Boston, Mass.,
thirt}^-five inches; Newport, R. I., fifty-two inches; Fort
Pike, La., seventy-two inches ; Vancouver, Washington
Territory, forty-five inches; Fort Conrad, New Mexico,
six and three-quarter inches.

It will be seen from the figures here given that the
rainfall of California is less than one-half of the average
fall of the Atlantic States, and one-third less than the
average fall of the great wine-producing regions of
Europe ; about equal to that of Paris, and less than
Liverpool and Rome ; and Oregon, noted for its rainy
winters, averages only about as much as the central
portion of the Atlantic States.

The following table will show the annual rainfall at
San Francisco for each year during the past twent}'-
three years, and the fall of each rainy season:'

SEASON. RAIN.

1849-50* ZZ-'^^

1850-51, 7.18

1851-52, 19.25

1852-53, 33.20

1853-54, 23.87

1854-55* 23.68

1855-56, 21.66

1856-57, 19.88

YEAR. RAIN.

1849, 18.00

1850, 2.30

I85I, 15.12

1852, 25.60

1853, 19-03

1854, 22.12

1855, 27.80

1856, 22.01

302

THE GOLDEN S'lATE.

SEASON.

RAIN.

I857-5S, 21.81

1858-59, , . , . , . 2 2.22

1S59-60, 22.27

1860-61, ...... 19.72

1861-62, 49-27

1862-63, 13-62

1S63-64, 10.08

1864-65, 24.73

1865-66, 22.93

1866-67, 33.84

1867-68, 40.05

1868-69, 21.06

1869-70, 20.08

1870-71, 14.47

1871-72, 27.09

YEAR.

1857,
1858,

IS59.
IS60,

I861,

1862,

RAIN.

20.55
19.6^

18.03

16.15

18.43

28.29

1863, 16.68

1864, 18.55

1865, 10.50

IS66, 32.98

1867, 33.00

1868, 28.23

1869, 23.18

1870, 15.57

I87I, 23.12

Within the limits of California almost every degree
of temperature and climate can be found. A few hours
ride from San Francisco, in winter, will bring the trav-
eller from blooming beds of flowers into the midst of
mountains of snow; so, in summer, two hours travel
will lead you from the strong, cool, bracing winds and
dense foo^s of the coast line into the intense heat of the
valleys, and a few hours later you can bathe your tem-
ples in the snows of the Sierras and the icy waters of
Lake Tahoe ; or, travelling south, you will reach the
alkaline flats of Death valley, and the burning sands
of Fort Yuma — the hottest spot on the American con-
tinent, if not the hottest in the world, where the average
annual temperature is 73° in the shade, the thermometer
often standing 1 20° in the shade for a month at a time.

The evenness of the temperature of California as a
whole is unsurpassed on the globe, except in one or
two instances ; and the mean temperature of San Fran-
cisco shows a climate varvinor but two deorrees on an

CLIMATE AND TEMPERATURE. 303

average of the twelve months of the year — the average
of January being 49°, and of June 56°, the annual
average being 54°. Fort Yuma, at the junction of the
Gila and Colorado rivers, has a temperature in June of
87°, and in January of 56°, and an annual temperature
of ']2!^\ Sacramento has a temperature in June of 71°,
and in Januar}* of 45°, with an annual temperature of 59^.
Steilacoom, Washington Territory, has a temperature
in June of 60"^, and of ^i^"^ in Januar)^, and an annual
temperature of 50° ; the city of Mexico has a tempera-
ture in June of 65°, and in January of 52°, and an annual
temperature of 60°; New York, 6^1^ in June, and 31°
in January, and an annual temperature of 51°; New
Orleans, 81° in June, and 55° in January, and an annual
temperature of 69°; Honolulu, ^^"^ in June, 71° in Jan-
uary, and an annual temperature of 75°; London, 58""
in June, i']'' in January, and an annual temperature of
49° ; Naples, 70° in June, 46° in January, and an annual
temperature of 60° ; Funchal, 67° in June, 60° in Jan-
uaiy, and an annual temperature of 65°; Canton, 81°
in June, 52° in January, and an annual temperature of
69° ; Nagaski, 77° in June, 43° in January, and an annual
temperature of 62'' ; Jerusalem, 7 1 ° in June, 47° in Jan-
uary, and an annual temperature of 62°.

It will be observed that the climate of California
resembles closely the favored lands of the olive, the fig,
and the orange ; and that the climate of San Francisco
approaches regularity the year round, with greater
similarity than any place named except Honolulu and
Funchal, and that Naples itself is surpassed by the
beautiful regular climate of the great interior valleys of
California, which, up to the fortieth parallel, (the south-
ern line of Humboldt county,) has the annual average

304 ^-^^ GOLDEN STATE.

(60°) of Asia Minor, Central Italy, Spain, and Northern
Syria ; while the southern limit of the State, in the
vicinity of San Diego and in the direction of the Colo-
rado and Gila, has the mean annual temperature of
Cairo (70°) and the northern portion of Africa; and in
portions of the San Joaquin valley, Death valley, and the
sandy deserts of the southern side of San Bernardino
county, adjoining Arizona Territory, we have the sum-
mer climate of the Great Desert of Sahara.

California, in the early part of May, is the loveliest
spot on earth : the deep rich soil of the valleys and the
sides of the hills, as far as the eye can reach, wave with
luxuriant wheat, barley, and oats bursting into head;
while all the untilled land — valley, hills, and even the
steep mountain sides — are covered w^ith wild oats, and
variegated flowers of every tint and hue, pink and
orange being the predominant colors. Hundreds of
thousands of acres, bedecked in the charming robes of
spring, whose golden fleece is unbroken by a single
tree, rock, or other obstrucdon, roll In seeming undu-
latlno- waves until their outlines are lost in the distance.

It was over these charming valleys — a terrestrial
paradise — that the eye of the pious missionary father
wandered, as the tattooed aborigines lazily wended their
way from their mountain homes to the foot of the cross.
Here the vaquero coursed upon his fleet steed, as he cir-
cled the countless herds, ere the Invading hand of agri-
culture turned the furrow, or the husbandman broke the
primitive order of nature.

California Is eminently a land of flowers, and if the
Invasion of civilization has broken the natural beauty
of the vast valleys and rolling hills by the uniformity of
wheat-fields, vineyards, orchards, and flower-gardens, it

I
SOIL AND AGRICULTURE. 305

has Introduced scientific industry, refinement, and happy
homes, whose intelligent occupants subdue the sterile
sand-hills of San Francisco and the arid plains of the
interior, where the domestic comforts of home are in
strong contrast with the pastoral semi-barbarous lives
of the early Spanish settlers of the country, and the
perpetual bloom of the rose, lily, and honeysuckle, so
abundant every month in the year, will compensate for
the partial loss of the wild flowers of the vale.

May is the most charming month in the year in Cali-
fornia: the last showers of spring invigorate vegeta-
tion ; wheat is in head, orchards in bloom, every thing
green, bright, and clean ; haying is vigorously prose-
cuted. By the end of May the wild flowers disappear,
and June ushers in harvest, with rustling fields of
wheat. At this time grass and flowers are all dried up,
and the whole face of the country wears a browned and
parched appearance except the oaks, orchards, and
vineyards, which latter retain their verdure until No-
vember. The grass, which during the dry season seems
parched, retains all its strength, and instead of being
dead is only cured by the sun, affording nutritious
pasturage until the fall rains destroy it and start the
new grass.

The great wheat-crop of California, in some instances
consisting of ten thousand acres in a single field, is cut
with reapers of the most approved style. Some of these
machines clip only the heads off the field, leaving the
body of the straw standing : the grain in this form is
carried directly to the thresher, which is located in the
open field ; here It is threshed, and put in sacks of
about two hundred pounds each. The long-continued
dry season has thoroughly dried the grain on foot, so

306 THE GOLDEN STATE,

that it IS ready for the mill, or for shipment in bulk or
sacks on shipboard to any part of the world. The
grain once in sacks, it is piled in great heaps upon the
open field, where it may remain secure from a drop of
rain until November; or, if it is transported to shipping
points, it is piled up in great heaps upon the piers and
wharves until it is shipped. So dry is the grain that it
can be taken directly from the thresher and shipped to
Liverpool, China, or Australia without sustaining any
damage, and the mills in many instances have to
dampen it before they can grind it into flour. A
peculiarity of the wheat of California is, that however
ripe or long it stands in the field it does not shell : the
little capsule which holds the kernel being strong, and
not opened by rain or any change in the weatheh

In ordinary seasons enough grain shells in the hand-
ling to make seed; and, should the ground remain
unploughed, the rains of winter will beat the grains into
the mellow earth, and in a short time a spontaneous
crop will spring up : thus good harvests of grain are
often obtained for two or three seasons without either
ploughing or sowing. But sowing every year, with
deep ploughing and summer fallowing, as in other
countries, produces the best crops.

As horses, cattle, and sheep live out in the open fields
during the entire winter or rainy season, there is no at-
tention paid to saving straw or fodder of any kind,
except for the towns and cities ; so that the custom of
farmers all over the State and in Oregon is, to burn
the straw upon the field, and during the fall months vast
fires can be seen consuming the piles of straw where
the thresher stood, or sweeping the tall stubble from the
field.

SOIL AND AGRICULTURE. ^

Farmers, however, are now beginning to learn the
folly of consuming what. In seasons of protracted
droueht, and durlnor the lonof and sometimes cold rains
of winter, might save their stock from destruction, and
are abandoning the burning of their straw, collecting
it into vast piles and stacks, and in some instances
erecting sheds over it. Here, secure from rain or from
the scorching heat of summer, cattle will collect and
feed freely. As the pasturage range is circumscribed
by fencing and cultivation, the necessity of preserving
every spear of fodder will press itself upon the intelli-
gent farmer until the folly of straw-burning will be
entirely abandoned.

Storms are very rare on the Pacific coast, and such
hurricanes as sweep over the Atlantic States and por-
tions of Europe are unknown. Occasionally a stiff
northwest breeze is felt along the coast line, and the
usually tranquil w^aters of the deep Pacific lash with
great fury upon the coast. But the interior of the
^.v^hole country, through each month of the year, is calm.
Along the Coast Range, fir trees, three hundred feet in
height, toss their lofty heads without the loss of a limb,
half-decayed trees stand upon their frail pedestals, and
tenements of llsfht boards are unmoved. Fitful crusts,
gales, thunder, and hail-storms are unknown.

During the spring and summer months occasional
claps of thunder may be heard in the Sierra range;
but at San Francisco and throughout the body of the
State thunder is not heard nor liorhtninor seen more
than once in each three or four years, and then but in
their feeblest forms.

In the southeastern portion of the State, where vast
alkaline and sandy deserts stretch for leagues, what is

^08 THE GOLDEN STATE.

termed sand storms Interrupt the traveller and fill the
air with clouds of Impenetrable dust. These storms
are of but short duration, but their violence strikes ter-
ror to man and beast; and when the traveller is over-
taken by one of these storms, which obscures the sun
with volumes of dust, blinds the eyes, and cuts the
cheeks with flying sand and gravel, his progress is im-
possible: all former signs of roads are obliterated, and
the only alternative is to come to a halt and with
blanket, coat, or shawl wrap head, face, and mouth of
man and beast to prevent suffocation, a^d Uo still until
the fury of the gale is spent.

AGRICULTURE AND COMMERCE,

;o9

CHAPTER XXIII.

Agriculture — Manufactures — Commerce — First agriculture in Amer-
ica— Increase of agriculture in California — Decline of mining —
Decay of mining towns — Area of California — Agricultural lands —
Spanish grants — Vast estates — How to obtain public lands —
School lands — Who may secure the public lands — Grain, fruit,
and vegetable growing — Yield of grain per acre — Harvesting —
Wild oats — Wild mustard — Hops — Potatoes — Tobacco — Large
vegetable growths — Strawberries — Tropical fruits — Oranges, figs,
and nuts — The grape — Fertility of the Sierras — Tea culture —
Beet sugar — Cotton and rice — Silk culture.

From the earliest history of the human race down to
the present time no pursuit or occupation has so mate-
rially aided in developing the physical, mental, and
moral condition of man as that of agriculture. Com-
merce has brought with it adventure, deception, opu-
lence, and power: so it has induced craft, dissipation,
voluptuousness, and vice. Manufactures have stimu-
lated invention, introduced new and useful commodities,
and, in some instances, relieved man from oppressive
physical labor: they have also crowded and huddled
people together in the unwholesome atmosphere of
cities and factories, and enfeebled the race in the pur-
suit of the tinselled display and allurements of wealth.
Art has beautified the abodes of men, spread the broad
sails of commerce, and lent a charm to life : so, too, it
has induced frivolity, and, when uncontrolled, has fear-
fully pandered to the vices of the times. Science has
gauged the celestial and terrestrial bodies, measured
the depths of oceans, the heights of mountains, and the
degrees of heat and cold ; analyzed the earth, separated
and purified metals, traversed continents, subdued the

3IO THE GOLDEiV STATE.

elements, and encircled die Hobe : but Its ever-cravincr
necessities and demands multiply the wants and cares
of man, ever pressing new claims and multiplying the
w'ants and labors of the race. All these combined, or
In their separate influences, have built and fostered our
large cities — commerce, manufacture, art, and science —
and our large cities are the nurseries of disease, dissipa-
tion, idleness. Immorality, crime, folly, fashion, and sin,
whose corrupting currents fill the prisons, asylums, and
hospitals of the land, and swell from the crowded centres
of vice until they trench upon the peaceful home of the
agriculturalist, lashing their pestilential foam from dock,
garret, cellar, saloon, prison, asylum, and brothel, up to
the green fields and producing fountains of the physical
supply of the race — the fields of the farmer ; and as the
physical existence of the population of both country and
city depends entirely upon the agricultural regions, so
the morality, virtue, and patriotism of the nation rely
upon the pure fountains of the rural districts to supply
the fast advancing national, social, moral, and physical
mortality of the crowded cities of the land.

The ever-chanmncr conditions of man and the vicis-
situdes of nations, sudden revulsions in trade, and the
calamities of w^ar, have fully demonstrated that the
surest foundation of Individual and national existence
and prosperity is agriculture. Without It all else must
cease. Man may subsist for a brief period by the
chase, but the game and the hunter alike disappear
before the invading ploughshare, as is forcibly illus-
trated In the decline of the aboriofines of America.

On the arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers at Plymouth,
their scanty stores of provisions were quite exhausted,
and the forests seemed to afford but little hope of a

A GRICUL TURE. 3 I i

supply of game during the approaching winter or the
coming spring; and, had it not been for the feeble efforts
in agriculture practised by the Indians before the arri-
val of the Mayflower, the whole colony would have
perished.

The historian Moore, in describing the efforts of the
Pilgrims to penetrate the forest in 1620, says:

''Here they found a cellar carefulh' lined with bark, and covered
with a heap of sand, in which about four busliels of seed-corn in
ears were well secured. After reasoning on the morality of the
action, they took as much of the corn as they could carry, intending,
when they should find the owners, to pay them their satisfaction.
On the third day they arrived, weary and welcome, where the ship
lay, and delivered their corn into the common store. The company
resolved to keep it for seed, and pay the natives the full value when
they should have opportunity. . . The ground was frozen and cov-
ered with snow, but the cellars were known by heaps of sand, and
the frozen earth was penetrated with their swords till they gathered
corn to the amount of ten bushels. This fortunate supply, with a
quantity of beans preserved in the same manner, they took on the
same conditions as before. . . Six months after, they paid the own-
ers to their satisfaction. The acquisition of this corn they always
regarded as a peculiar favor from Divine Providence, without which
the colony could not have subsisted."

Lord Chatham, in speaking of the noble pursuit of
agriculture, said:

"Trade increases the wealth and glory of a country; but its real
strength and stamina are to be looked for among the cultivators of
the land. In their simplicity of life is found the simpleness of
virtue, the integrity of courage and freedom. These true, genuine
souls of the earth are invincible, and they surround and hem in the
mercantile bodies, even if these bodies, which supposition I totally
disclaim, could be supposed disaffected to the cause of liberty."

From the period in which Adam was tending a gar-
den, Cain tilling a farm, Abel feeding his flocks, and

3 I 2 THE GOLDEN STA TE.

the dove was hovering over the ark, to the present
period, agriculture has been regarded in all lands as the
noblest pursuit of man. If England looks to her agri-
cultural regions for physical and moral support in the
hour of national drnger, and calls for patriotism from a
'peasantry whose tenure of the soil is subject to the will
of a landlord whose mandates of ouster are executed
by ejecting wife and child and turning them to the
mercies of the poor-house, how much more may a
country look to the tillers of the soil for support where
every farmer is the absolute owner of the land he culti-
vates! America does proudly look to her agricultural
districts as the great conservator of the moral, physical,
and political strength of the nation; and to no portion
can either State or nation look with greater confidence
than to the rich agricultural regions of California, where
the farmer is not confined to fifty or a hundred acres,
but looks out upon his broad domain more vast than
many of the principalities of Europe, and with a climate,
soil, and productiveness unsurpassed on the globe.

With the decline of surface-mlninof In California came
the development of the great agricultural resources of
the State, and the explosion of the fallacious notions of
the early settlers that California was a barren waste,
fit only for the miner or the grazing of flocks. How
litde did these early adventurers dream of the change
soon to be wrought, of the decay of the mines, and the
spread of agriculture, whose waving fields of grain,
vineyards, orchards, fn.iits, and flowers so enhance the
value and charms of California!

Throughout the western slope of the Sierras, the
foot-hills and ridges, where once were enacted the busy
scenes of the miner's life, stand marked evidences of

AGRICULTURE, 3 1

'»

the decline of the precious metals. The scarred brows
of the mountains, excavations, deep holes, ridges of
gravel, abandoned tunnels, dilapidated shanties, saw-
mills, ditches, and flumes, with the general debris of
abandoned villages and mining-camps, attest the unsub-
stantial character of mining.

In many portions of the State, where, but a few years
ago, towns sprang up as If by magic, and scenes of ex-
citement, business, and revelry lent a wild charm to the
busy life of the miner, there Is scarcely a sign of life to
be seen. The wreck of the miner's tent, scattered
fragments of the frail tenement of the gold-hunter,
rusty picks, shovels, ketdes, and pans attest the decline
of the earliest Industry of the State. Dwellings that
cost many thousand dollars are w^orthless and stand un-
occupied; and the "leading" hotel, once crowded with
boarders at a dollar a meal and twenty-five cents for
"drinks," where the good-natured miner and "mountain-
man" held their midnight orgies, and from which went
forth the dulcet strains of the violin, mingled with the
bacchanalian shouts of the riotous thronof, Is now Inhab-
Ited only by birds and beasts. In the language of Cali-
fornia, these early scenes have "dried up." Long since
the last door of the hotel has been broken down, and
Its last pane of glass broken by the Idle passer-by.
Hoo^s raise their broods in the basement ; horses
mules, and cows seek shelter In the parlors and bar-
room ; while sheep and goats clatter up the rickety
stairs to the "bed-rooms," and owls, hawks, bats, and
swallows have undisputed possession of garret, eave,
and chimney.

The progress and permanent character of the agri-
cultural regions are strongly contrasted with these

THE GOLDEN STATE,

scenes. The early abode of the farmer Is replaced by
one of elegance, comfort, and luxury ; waving fields of
grain stretch out upon all sides, broken only by the
thrifty orchard, the vineyard, and the clustering roses,
which lend a sweet charm to the peaceful home where
the musical voices of happy children bless the increas-
ing years of fond parents, and the ripening fruits and
harvests of a bounteous soil, genial climate, and well-
spent industry crown with success the labors of the
tiller of the soil.

Each succeeding year more distinctly marks the
boundary between the two pursuits of mining and agri-
culture : the former, steadily on the decline, leaves but
a wreck behind, without a shadow of hope for recupera-
tive energy, and those who follow in its seductivie
allurements generally find their occupation, credit, an'l
home ephemeral In the extreme ; while the latter steadll /"
augments the wealth of the State, affords constant em-
ployment and permanent homes, cultivating not onl i
the rich valley lands but daily extending its lines towanl
the Sierras, up the ravines, gulches, and foot-hills, oblit-
erating the old landmarks of the miner, fencing, plowing,
planting, and reaping over and around the deserted
ditches, sluices, tunnels, and shafts, and up to the sum-
mit of the highest mountain ranges. So, too, year after
year the agricultural area of the State widens, and the
fallacious notions of the early settlers respecting the
sterile nature of large portions of the State disappear.
The trudi is, that there is but a small proportion of the
vast area of the State that is not susceptible of cultiva-
tion or suited to grazing — not less than sixty-five million
acres being fit for the plow. (For area, &c., see Chap-
ter XIII.)

A GRICUL TURE. 3 1 5

The area of California has not yet been ascertained
with exactness. This is owing to the fact that the coast
Hne of more than nine hundred miles, following the in-
dentations of the coast, has not yet been exactly sur-
veyed ; but the extent of the State as ascertained is
188,981 square miles, or 120,947,840 acres.

Of the agricultural lands of the State, the San Joa-
quin and Santa Clara valleys form a very important
part, but by no means constitute the agricultural lands
of California. Rich valleys of various dimensions are
found outside these two principal ones all the way from
San Diego to Del Norte county ; and many of the
valleys high up in the Sierras — in Humboldt, Siskiyou,
Lassen, and Alpine counties — grow every variety of
grains and fruits grown in the central counties of the
State, and produce an average of wheat and barley
ereater than the rich asfricultural counties surroundinof
the Bay of San Francisco.

Spanish Grants. — Throuofhout the southern ami cen-
tral portions of the State, embracing much of the best
agricultural and erazine lands of California, larcre tracts
have been granted by the Spanish and Mexican authori-
ties to individuals. Some of these grants form princely
domxains, many of them containing from ten to fifty
thousand acres, and tracts of the latter size, and even
larger, are held by individuals in California at this
day.

The boundaries of these early grants were very in-
definite, being generally designated by some river, the
ocean, or some irregular mountain range never ascer-
tained, as the surveyor's art was unknown in California
until after the conquest of the country by the United

31 6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

States. To ascertain and define the limits and bounda-
ries of these early grants has been a work full of diffi-
culty and perplexity to settlers.

More than three hundred and fifty of these Spanish
grants, covering an area oi five and a-quarter million
acres, have been presented to the authorities of the
United States for adjustment; and hundreds of fraudu-
lent and irregular grants, covering vast areas, have
lingered in tedious lltloratlon throuo-h the Federal and
State courts, to the great detriment of public interests.
The greater portion of this class of claims Is now,
however, finally settled. Some of the early grants,
embracing immense tracts, still remain in the hands of
first parties or their children ; but most of them have
passed into the hands of capitalists or shrewd attorneys,
who, at the outlay of a few hundred or thousand dollars,
or some trifling legal service, hold princely estates.

The inclination to hold on to these vast tracts is daily
growing less, and as the country is becoming settled
and mllroads span the valleys, owners of the soil ex-
hibit a desire to dispose of their lands at reasonable
rates and In tracts suitable for farming purposes.

Lands In California are also held In large tracts by
the United States, the State of California, and the rail-
road companies in the State, there being 100,070,177
acres of unsurveyed United States lands yet (1872) In
California.

For the convenience of the public, there are six land
offices established by the United States in California —
one at each of the following places: San Francisco,
Sacramento, Stockton, IMarysvIlle, Visalla, artd Hum-
boldt, at all of which offices every informadon respect-
ing the public domain may be obtained free of charge.

PUBLIC LANDS.

317

For the better information of the reader, the follow-
ing directions to obtain the public lands are here given:

PUBLIC LANDS.
How to secure the Public Lands under the Preemption and Hoitiestead Laws,

Department of the Interior,

General Land Office, yz^/j/ 19, 1865.

Numerous questions having arisen as to the mode of proceeding
to purchase public lands, or acquire title to the same by bounty land
locations, by preemptions, or by homestead, this circular is commu-
nicated for the information of all concerned.

In order to acquire title to public lands, the following $teps must
be taken:

1. Application must be made to the register of the district land
office in which the land desired may be situated.

A list of all the land offices in the United States is furnished by
the department, with the seat of the different offices, where it is the
duty of the register and receiver to be in attendance, and give
proper facilities and information to persons desirous of obtaining
lands.

The minimum price of ordinary public lands is one dollar and
twenty-five cents per acre. The even or reserved sections falling
within railroad grants are increased to double the minimum price,
being two dollars and fifty cents per acre.

Lands once offered at public sale, and not afterwards kept out of
market by reservation or otherwise, so as to prevent free competi-
tion, may be entered or located.

2. By the applicant filing with the register his written application
describing the tract, with its area, the register will then certify to
the receiver whether the land is vacant, with its price; and when
found to be so, the applicant must pay that price per acre, or may
locate the same with land-warrant, and thereafter the receiver will
give him a ''duplicate receipt," which he is required to surrender
prior to the delivery to him of the patent, which may be had either
by application for it to the register or to the General Land Office.

3. If the tract has not been offered at public sale, it is not liable
to ordinary private entry, but may be secured by a party legally
qualified, upon his compliance with the requirements of the preemp-
tion laws of 4th September, 1841, and 3d March, 1S43; ^'^^ 'dS.X.tr

31 8 THE GOLDEN STATE.

such party shall have made actual settlement for such a length of
time as will show he designs it for his permanent home and is
acting in good faith, building a house and residhig therein, he may-
proceed to the district land office, establish his preemption claim
according to law by proving his actual residence and cultivation,
and showing that he is otherwise within the purview of these acts.
Then he can enter the land at one dollar and twenty-five cents, either
with cash or with bounty land-warrant, unless the premises should be
two dollars and fifty cents per acre lands. In that case the whole
purchase money can be paid in cash, or one-half in cash, the residue
with a bounty land-warrant.

4. But if parties legally qualified desire to obtain title under the
Homesteafl Act of 20th May, 1862, they can do so on complying
with the Department Circular dated 30th October, 1862.

5. The law confines homestead entries to surveyed lands ; and
although, in certain States and Territories referred to in the original
law, preemptors may go on lands before survey, yet they can only
establish their claim after return of survey, but must file their pre-
emption declaration within three months after receipt of official
plat, at the local land office where the settlement was made before
survey. Where, however, it was made after survey, the claimant
must file within three months after date of settlement; and where
a/:tual residence and cultivation have been long enough to show that
the claimant has made the land his permanent home, he can establish
his claim, and pay for the same at any time before the date of the
public sale of lands within the range of which his settlement may
fall.

6. All unoffered surveyed lands not acquired under preemption,
homestead, or otherwise, under express legal sanction, must be
offered at public sale under the President's proclamation, and
struck off to the highest bidder, as required by the Act of April 24,
1820.

J. M. EDMUNDS,
Commissioner General Land Office.

School Lands. — The State of California obtained by
orrant from the National Congress six million acres of
the public domain In the State ; this consists of the six-
teenth and thirty-sixth sections In each township.

AGRICULTURE.

319

These lands are mostly disposed of already ; still
such as are left may be purchased, at one dollar and
twenty-five cents per acre, on easy terms. The State
Surveyor-General being", ex officio, SxrIq Locating Agent,
all the applicant has to do is to make application to
him, where the necessary blanks and all information
may be obtained. Citizens of the United States, or
those havine made their declaration of intention of
citizenship, only can obtain these lands.

Besides these lands mentioned, there are millions of
acres of eood agricultural lands for sale in the State,
with respectable offices and agents in every county and
town of importance to give information to the pur-
chaser. It is a most difficult task to attempt a descrip-
tion of the quality, value, and price of lands in the
State, so much depends upon location. Lands in the
hands of private owners can be bought all the way
from twenty-five cents to five hundred dollars per acre.
In many portions of the counties adjoining the Bay of
San Francisco rich acrricultural lands can be bouo-ht'for
from fifty to one Imndred dollars per acre, and in the
wheat-growing regions of the San Joaquin and other
valleys good farm-land can be purchased at from five
to fifteen dollars per acre, often on very favorable
terms.

It must always be borne in mind that when agricul-
tural lands are spoken of in California there is meant
a good rich soil, entirely free from rock or trees of
any description, and generally every foot being fit for
the plow ; all the great valleys and rich rolling hills in
the State being covered with wild oats and grass, and
entirely free from timber, brush, or stones.

220 T^^E GOLDEN STATE.

Wheat. — The official report of the Surveyor-General
of the State shows that, In 1869, (this year Is selected
as being a fair average season,) there were 2,343,204
acres under cultivation, 1,286,133 of which were under
wheat and 468,076 under barley. This report, as well
as the reports of the Agricultural Bureau of Congress
for 1869, affords many illustrations of the great produc-
tiveness of California over every State of the Union.
Besides the superiority of California wheat, the yield
per acre surpasses all the States of the Union, and
every country in the world.

The total wheat crop of 1869 was about twenty-five
million bushels, and the average annual yield amounts
to twenty-one bushels to the acre. To illustrate the
great productiveness of California, and to assure the
reader that wheat-ofrowlnof is not confined to the central
valleys of the State, and that certain localities produce
beyond any other portion of the world, it is only neces-
sary to say, that throughout the northern portions of
the State, and high up In the Sierras, the average of
wheat and barley is greater than in the counties adjoin-
ing the Bay of San Francisco, and not so liable to rust
or other blight as in these latter counties. The coun-
ties of Humboldt and Del Norte, In the rugged moun-
tains, and at the northern line of the State, average
twenty-five and twenty-seven bushels to the acre re-
spectively ; and Alpine county, perched up in the
Sierras, averages twenty bushels of wheat to the acre.

Throughout all parts of the State, in the great valleys,
the Sierras and the Coast Range, there are many small
valleys of inexhaustible richness, producing annually
from sixty to one hundred and twenty bushels of prime
wheat to the acre. Like the entire grain-producing

AGRICULTURE. 32 1

reo-Ions of the State, these valleys have been sown in
wheat for from twelve to twenty years without one
season's intermission, and without receiving a shovelful
of manure or change of crop. Except in a few instances
of gardening, there is no manure used upon the soil.
Year after year, wheat, barley, beans, and potatoes are
raised upon the same land, without any artificial stimu-
lant: indeed, most of the farmers never save a particle
of manure, and know but little of its use.

To illustrate the superiority of California as a wheat-
growing country, let us compare the annual yield per
acre with the wheat-producing regions of the Atlantic
slope, as shown by the official returns for 1869. The
highest yield east of the Rocky mountains is credited
to Vermont — sixteen bushels to the acre ; next comes
Iowa — fourteen and a-half bushels; and third on the
list. New York — fourteen bushels; Wisconsin, thirteen
bushels; Illinois, eleven and a-half bushels; Kentucky,
eight and a-half bushels; Tennessee, six bushels;
Texas, six bushels ; and Kansas but five bushels. It
Vvdll here be seen tliat, in the most favored wheat-pro-
ducing regions of the Atlantic States, the average yield
per acre is but a little over one-half of the yield in Cali-
fornia, while in many States it is but one-third, and in
some less than one-fourth.

The California wheat is produced upon land neither
requiring clearing of timber, brush, stones, or other
obstructions, but where the gang-plow can run uninter-
rupted o-M^r hundreds of thousands of acres, and without
the aid of manure. Then, too, there are no threatening
clouds or rain-storms in the autumn sky ; no binding
of sheaves and stookinor. The harvest is carried di-

rectly from the mower, dry as tinder, to the thresher,
21

322 THE GOLDEN STATE.

and from the thresher the ^XT^Xn is fit for the mill or
shipment. The grains are not shrivelled, lean, or milky,
but each grain full, plump, and hard, matured regularly
and thoroughly by the uninterrupted flood of mellow
sunlight falling upon it during the ripening season.

Wheat is generally put in sacks of one and two hun-
dred pounds, and flour in sacks of from fifty to a hun-
dred pounds, and in this manner shipped abroad or
transported into the interior of the State and adjoining
Territories. (See Chapter XXII.)

Wheat, flour, and grain of every description, potatoes,
beets, carrots, onions, and every description of vegeta-
bles, fruit and berries, are all sold by the pound. The
bushel and other such measures are unknown in Cali-
fornia.

In the early days of California, beef was sold by the
yard, and this custom still prevails in Lower California,
Mexico, and South and Central America. When a
beef is slaughtered, the meat is cut up into long strips,
several fathoms long, and hung upon trees to dry.
Neither salt nor any thing else is put on it. After it is
thoroughly dried, which the pure, dry atmosphere will
soon do, it is ready for the market, and, being coiled
up like a rope, is carried upon the pummel of the saddle
upon the long journey of the vaquero^ or to the market.

Barley. — Next in importance to the wheat crop is
the barley crop of California. The crop of 1869 was
about nine million bushels. Barley grows in all the
counties in the State, and flourishes well in the Sierra
range. The grain is very large, dry, and well-filled.
It is used chiefly for brewing and for feed for horses.
It is used for the latter purpose almost entirely to the

A GRICUL TURE. \2X

exclusion of corn or oats. The average yield per acre
is about twenty-five bushels.

Oats. — Oats grow well in most parts of the State.
Great quantities are cut green for hay, used for feed
for horses, and ground into meal. The crop of 1869
was about three million bushels. The average product
per acre is thirty-four bushels, and in som.e portions of
the State one hundred and tw^enty-five and even one
hundred and fifty bushels to the acre are produced.

Wild Oats. — Wild oats cover the whole face of the
country along the Coast Range and central and south-
ern portions of the State. They afford excellent* pas-
turage, and are cut in great quantities for hay. The
beard is long and the grain small, and much resembles
the tame oats of the country, from which it is supposed
to have orimnated from seed carried to the coast at an

early day by the Spanish colonists.

Neither timothy nor clover grows in California. This
is owing to the continued drought of summer, which kills
the roots. Nearly all the grasses in the State grow
directly from the seed deposited each year ; so that no
sod forms on the soil. Some species of bunch grass,
and alfalfa, a species of clover, are the only grasses in
California w^hich continue to grow year after year from
the roots.

Other Growths. — Corn, rye, buckwheat, peas, beans,
mustard, castor beans, broom corn, onions, flax, hops,
tobacco, and all kinds of vegetables, grow abundantly
in the State. About one million bushels of corn were
grown in California in 1869, the average being thirty
bushels to the acre. Peas average thirty-six bushels
to the acre. Beans grow abundantly, especially along

324 THE GOLDEN STATE.

the sea-coast, wnere the dense fogs of summer reach
them: the yield is about twenty-seven bushels to the
acre.

Onions grow in great abundance, and to enormous
size. About one hundred and eighty thousand bushels
were produced in 1869: the average yield per acre is
about sixty-eight bushels.

Flax, so far, has been grown in but two or three coun-
ties ; but it will grow well in most parts of the State.
There were over one hundred and twenty thousand
pounds grown in 1869, chiefly in the counties of Solano,
Alameda, and Santa Cruz ; the former county producing
more than three-fourths of the entire product of the
State. Flax is a native of California, and grows wild
in great abundance in many parts.

Wild mustard grows profusely through the middle,
southern, and Coast Range districts of California. It is
not the slender shrub of the Atlantic States, but grows
in immense forests, some of the stalks growing to the
size of small trees, in which the birds lodo^e and to
which the traveller can hitch his horse in safety. The
grain is very large, and of superior quality. All the
mustard used in the State, together with great quanti-
ties shipped abroad, is gathered from the fields. There
is enough wild mustard in California to supply the
markets of the world, and many persons have, within a
few years past, made many thousand dollars in a season
by gathering wild mustard.

Hops, of a very superior quality, are grown in many
parts of the State. The soil and climate of California
are very favorable for hop-raising ; the long, dry sum-
mer and autumn being very favorable for drying.
About one million pounds were grown in the State in

A GRICUL TURE. 325

1869, the average to the acre being about eighty-four
pounds.

Neither the soil nor dimate seems to be adapted to
tobacco. In some locahties it seems to thrive pretty
well ; but as a whole tobacco-o-rowinor in California has
not been a success. Only about one hundred and
twenty thousand pounds were raised in 1869. The
average per acre is about eight hundred pounds. The
quality of the California tobacco is inferior, and most
of the leaf used in the manufacture of cigars is im-
ported.

Potatoes grow ever^'where in the State, and produce
most abundantly. No rot, blight, or disease has ever
been known to affect the potato in California, and in
size and quality they are unsurpassed in the world.
Single potatoes weighing from one to four pounds are
common, and in some instances a single potato has
weighed from six to seven pounds. The crop of 1869
amounted to about three million five hundred thousand
bushels. The average yield per acre is about one hun-
dred and twenty bushels, although in many localities it
reached from three hundred and fifty to five hundred
bushels to the acre. Sweet potatoes of a fine quality
grow through the central and southern parts of the
State.

Vegetables and fruits of every description produce
most abundantly, and grow to a size unequalled in any
other part of the world. The general average of fruits
and vegetables in the markets of California is double
the size of the best varieties in the Atlantic States, while
some grow to sizes unheard of outside of California.
To illustrate, a few of the large growths are here given:
carrots, thirty pounds; Irish potatoes, seven pounds;

226 THE GOLDEN STATE.

sweet potatoes, fourteen pounds ; turnips, thirty poundr.;
watermelons, sixty-five pounds ; cabbages, seventy-five
pounds ; beets, two hundred pounds ; pumpkins, two
hundred and fifty pounds, one pumpkin vine producing
one hundred and thirty pumpkins of an aggregate
weight of 2,604 pounds ; squash, one hundred and forty
pounds.

Vegetables of alm.ost every description grow the
year round, so that the markets are well supplied at
every season. So soon as the vegetables are taken
from the soil, the ground is tilled, fresh seed sown, the
land Irrigated, (if in summer,) and a new crop Is started.
So, too, some varieties of fruits and berries are in the
market every day In the year, and generally a full
supply most of the year.

The growth of fruits and berries Is also remarkable.
A pear, exhibited in the Washington market, San Fran-
cisco, in the fall of 1870, grown at Sutterville, Sacra-
mento county, weighed four pounds six ounces, and
measured one foot seven Inches In circumference, and
one foot eleven Inches in o^irth lenorthwise.

In 1870, there was raised near Sacramento a potato
weighing three pounds nine ounces, and measuring
fifteen and one-half inches in circumference, and twenty-
three Inches grlrth lenQ^thwIse.

A potato raised at Walnut Grove, Sacramento county,
in 1869, measured fourteen Inches In circumference,
thirty-six inches whole length round lengthwise, and
weighed four pounds. Currants grow to the size of
cherries elsewhere ; pears weigh four pounds; raspber-
ries and blackberries grow most abundantly and of great
size ; and strawberries, which are in market from the

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, r<

first of March until Christmas, grow the size of plums
and small potatoes. They are not taken to market in
baskets and pails of a few quarts each, but by the ton:
one hundred and forty tons having arrived in a single
day in the San Francisco market in May, 1870. In June
of this year a cherry grown in Alameda county, and
exhibited in San Francisco, measured three and one-
half inches in circumference.

Fruit and berries of every description are entirely
free from bugs, worms, and other insects so destructive
and disaorreeable in most of the Atlantic States.

Apples, apricots, cherries, grapes, peaches, pears, and
piums are raised in nearly every county in the State.
Blackberries are chiefly grown in Alameda, Napa, Sac-
ramento, San Joaquin, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma
counties. Alameda and Santa Clara counties raise
nearly all our currants. The best fig counties are Sac-
ramento, San Joaquin, Sierra, Solano, Butte, and Yuba.
The same counties also furnish large quantities of
nectarines. The counties producing the largest quan-
tities of prunes are Alameda, Placer, Sacramento, Santa
Clara, Sierra, and Yuba. The supply of raspberries
is chiefly obtained in Alameda and Los Angeles coun-
ties. Santa Clara is the chief county for strawberries,
the yield there being nearly seventy-five per cent, of the
total product. Most of the quinces raised come from
Los Angeles, Santa Clara, and Yuba counties. Nearly
all the oranges, lemons, limes, and citron produced In
the State are raised in Los Angeles county ; while all
the canteleups and watermelons are furnished by Sac-
ramento county. The gooseberry crop is light, scarcely
reaching one hundred tons, and Alameda probably

328

THE GOLDEN STATE.

raises more than any other county hi the State. It Is
safe to say that nine-tenths of all the fruit raised in the
State seeks San Francisco for a market ; and that at
least one hundred tons of the quantity sent here decays
or is otherwise wasted before it passes into the hands
of consumers. In the annexed table is given the aggre-
gate pounds of the different varieties of fruit raised in
California during the year 1870, together with the mai-
ket value of the same, as based on the average prices
in San Francisco during that season:

VALUE.
$415,100
106,689

7S,75o
203,333

QUANTITY.

Apples, lbs. . .

20,755,000

Apricots, . . . c

2,I33J75

Blackberries, .

1,050,000

Cherries, ....

1,129,625

Currants, ....

697,000

Figs,

1,066,000

Grapes,

11,654,000

Nectarines, . . ,

720,000

Peaches, . , . ,

7,982,000

Pears,

9,828,000

Plums,

2,952,250

Prunes,

337,750

62,730
74,620

466,160

36'ooo

274,381

204,751

147,613
20,265

QUANTITY.

VALUE.

Raspberries, . ,

61,000

$7,625

Strawberries, . -

1,957,000

166,345

Quinces, ....

749,750

14,995

Oranges, ....

2,466,000

73>98o

Lemons, ....

226,000

5.650

Limes,

75,000

1,125

Watermelons,

50,000

4,oco

Canteleups, . .

50,000

3.500

Citron, .....

100,000

4,000

Total, ; . : . .

52. ^71.612

The above figures show how Important the fruit In-
terest has become In California. In no State in the
Union can such a variety of fruit be so successfully
raised as here. The local consumption Is every year
Increasing, while new markets are constantly being
opened. The Increasing demand for dried and pre-
served fruits gives assurance that our fruit interest may
yet be more fully and profitably developed.

The following table shows the date of arrival in San
Francisco of the first fruit of the season, and the prices
at which such samples w^ere sold. As the season ad-
vances and fruit becomes abundant, It also becomes

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.

3^9

cheap, grapes and other fruits retaiHng at from three
to five cents per pound :

DATE OF
ARRIVAL.

FRUITS.

Apples, June 15,

Apricots, , ... May 28,
Cherries, .... May 2, .
Currants, .... June 4, .

Figs, June 28,

Grapes, June 27,

PRICE PER
POUND.

^i 25

DATE OF
AKKIVAL.

FRUITS,

Peaches, June 15, .

Pears, June 9, .

Plums, June 10, .

Raspberries, . . . June i, .
Strawberries, . . March 17,

PRICE PER
POUND.

31 00
10

50
50

The thrift of fruit trees in California is most remark-
able. Apple, plum, peach, cherry, and pear, in the first
and second year from the slip or graft, produce fruit,
and trees at three and four years of age produce
abundantly ; and it is not uncommon to see slender
slips, of one and two years old, with such a weight of
fruit as breaks them to the ground. An instance came
under the writer's observation, in Oregon, of an apple
slip, but two years old, upon which was a solitary apple —
the only one produced — measuring eight inches in cir-
cumference.

The growth of fruit trees in California is unequalled
in any other part of the world. Apple, cherry, and
pear trees often grow ten, twelve, and fourteen feet,
from the bud, in a single year. As a rule, all fruit trees
are bearing well at two and three years ; and, at four
years, are further advanced than their species at seven
in the Atlantic States.

The climate and soil of the State are so diversified
that every variety of fruit on the Atlantic shores between
Maine and Florida may be found here. All the dif-
ferent kinds of apples, plums, cherries, currants, and
gooseberries peculiar to the North are common here ;
so also the almost tropical oranges, olives, figs, lemons,
and pomegranates.

230 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Los Angeles and other southern counties produce
most of the oranges and lemons of California, but they
can be cultivated with success as far north as Sacra-
mento and Sonoma counties ; and in some instances
these fruits are cultivated along the western slope of
the Sierras in Amadore, Placer, Nevada, and Siskiyou
counties, where the northern portion of the State joins
the Sierra mountains. The number of orange trees in
the State is about fifty thousand ; and the yield of
oranges, in 1870, is estimated at more than two and
a-half million, about three times as great as the crop of
any previous year. Each tree, when in full bearing,
yields from twelve hundred to fifteen hundred each.
The California orange has no superior anywhere : they
are sweeter and finer- flavored than any of the imported,
and the best qualities from the Sandwich and other
Pacific islands are little souo^ht after when California
oranges are in supply.

Lemons are grown chiefly in the southern part of the
State ; but, like the orange, the cultivation is fast creep-
ing toward the Sierras, and, of late years, farmers are
planting lemon trees as high up as Amadore, Calaveras,
and Humboldt counties. They can be grown in every
county in the State.

Limes are cultivated to a limited extent ; and, with
proper attention, could be made a profitable branch of
industry. Mexico and Central America, both of which
prcfduce great quantities of limes, offer a strong compe-
tition in the lime trade.

Figs grow all over the State : the southern and cen-
tral portions produce most abundantly, but they are
grown in almost every county. Sacramento and Santa
Barbara are the chief producing counties. The fig

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 33 1

grows throughout the foot-hills and up in the Sierras —
as hiorh up as Humboldt and Siskiyou counties. The
trees produce most abundantly, grow very large, and
bear two crops per year. Large quantities of figs are
dried and sold throughout the coast.

Olives are grown in thirty counties in the State.
There are about thirty thousand olive trees in Califor-
nia, more than half of w^iich are in Santa Barbara
county. The olive is cultivated along the western slope
of the Sierras, but flourishes best in the central and
southern sections of the State.

Walnuts grow in every county in the State, and are
fast attracting the attention of farmers, both on account
of their value for shade and timber as well as for the
nuts. There are about forty thousand walnut trees in
California. Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Los Angeles, and
Alameda counties are the largest walnut-producing
sections.

Almonds thrive throuQ^hout the central and southern
portion of the State; but, like most of the other fruits
and nuts, can be profitably grown in every county in
California. About one-quarter of the forty-five thou-
sand almond trees in the State is in Santa Barbara
county.

So far the cultivation of prunes has been very limited.
There are only about twelve thousand prune trees in
the State. They can be grown up to the Sierras, but
grow best in the central and southern sections.

Pomegranates have been almost entirely neglected,
and the few grown in the State have been as much for
ornament as for profit.

Plums, cherries, quinces, nectarines, apricotS; pears,
peaches, and apples grow equally well in every section

332 THE GOLDEN STATE,

of California. Apples, peaches, and pears are produced
in immense quantities, and of superior quality. There
are about two and a-half million apple trees in the
State. Santa Clara and Sonoma counties take the lead in
producing apples. The northern portion of the country
produces the finest quahty, but the apples of Oregon
are superior to any raised In California, and the chief
Vvinter supply of California is obtained from Oregon.

Peaches grow most abundantly, and are of superior
quality. During the summer months the w^hole country
seems to be flooded with peaches. There are about
one million producing trees in the State. Santa Clara,
Sonoma, Sacramento, Yolo, and San Joaquin are the
chief producing counties.

With strawberries ripe in February, (they are In the
market eleven months in the year,) cherries in May,
peaches In June, and all the varieties of fruits, nuts, and
berries through the spring, summer, and fall months —
with vegetables fresh from the field every day in the
year — it may be said that the markets of California are
constantly supplied with a greater variety and better
quality of fresh vegetables, fruits, and berries than any
other portion of the world. It, however, requires that
skilled labor and condensed population which induces
competition and economy to develop the great hidden
resources of the rich soil and semi-tropical climate of
California,

The Grape. — California beyond all doubt Is the
greatest grape-producing country in the w^orld. Grapes
grow in every county in the State, from the aerial
heights of Alpine and Siskiyou counties to the waters
of the Colorado, and produced In an abundance un-

THE GRAPE. 333

known elsewhere. It Is estimated that there are thirty-
five milHon grape-vines in the State, and that when
these are in full bearing they will produce thirty-hve
million gallons of wine annually. The long, dry sum-
mers of California, with the air so pure, is peculiarly
adapted to the ripening and drying of the grape.
Throughout the long, dry summer the leaves and
branches of the grape are green ; and from September
until Christmas the markets are flooded w^ith grapes of
great size, variety, and richness, and at very low prices.
The yield of wine to the acre, in California, is more
than double the averao^e of the best v/ine countries of
Europe. California produces a thousand gallons to the
acre ; while the product of European wine-growing
countries Is only about four hundred gallons.

Large quantities of grapes are converted Into v/Ine
and brandy and consumed for table use. In some
counties species suited to making raisins are grown ;
but the greater part of the grapes raised are the
Mission or California. They are smaller and sweeter
than most other varieties,; but the wine produced Is
inferior and is much cheaper than from the European
species grown In the State. California produces from
eight thousand to ten thousand pounds of grapes to the
acre ; while Ohio produces but five thousand pounds,
and France but three thousand pounds.

Wine in quantity can be bought at the cellars In
California at from tvventy-five cents to seventy-five
cents per gallon, according to the quality and variety
of grapes used. Grapes bought by the whole crop in
the vineyard bring only from one to one and a-half
cents per pound ; but in locations where grapes arc
sold for table use, and even in some instances when

334 '^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

made into wine, a gross income of from five hundred
dollars to two thousand dollars per acre is realized ;
but generally on cheap varieties from fifty dollars to
two hundred dollars per acre is an average net profit.
Almost the entire labor connected with grape culture is
performed by Chinese.

The cultivation of foreign species of grapes is of late
years attracting attention, and many of these varieties
grow most luxuriantly, and sell at most remunerative
prices. The Flaming Tokay, White Tokay, Black
Malvolsle, Muscat of Alexandria, Golden Chasselas,
Rose of Peru, Black and White Hamburg, all grow
well.

In early days the mission fathers thought the deep,
rich bottom lands the best suited to the grape : in their
notions, however, they were mistaken. The grapes
grown upon the highlands, and even up through the
foot-hills, and grapes grown in the Sierras, are finer In
flavor and make superior wine to those of the same
varieties in the rich lowlands. The vines bear at two
years old, and at three and ,four years produce abun-
dantly. Sonoma, Los Angeles, Sacramento, Napa, and
El Dorado are the chief grape-producing counties in
the State. Grapes are grown in every county in Cali-
fornia, and the foot-hills and every foot of soil along the
mountain sides and the ridges of the Sierras will pro-
duce choice grapes. The7^e are tJiirty million acres of
land in California tipon which g7^apes can be grow7t ;
and that California will eventually become the great
centre of wine producing in the world seems to be but
a question of time. The wine product of the State, for
1872, is estim.ated at ten million gallons, besides two
million gallons of grape brandy.

A GRICUL TURE. ^ '^ 5

The largest and most productive grape-vine in the
world is in California, at Montecito, Santa Barbara
county. In 1765, Senora Dominguez, then a little girl,
was making a journey on horseback toward her home:
she had in her hand for a whip a grape-vine. After rid-
ing awhile she observed that the vine was budding in
her hand, and, on her arrival at home, she planted it.
It grew ; and to-day is fresh and vigorous, although it
is entered upon its second hundredth year. From this
single sprig has grown a stem eighteen inches in diam-
eter, w^ith Innumerable branches and off-shoots covering
an area one hundred and twenty feet in length and
eighty feet In width, and producing between three and
four tons of grapes annually. This vine and Its pro-
duce had for almost a century been^the chief support
and shelter of its planter: for one hundred years Senora
Dominguez lived beneath the hospitable shade of this
vine, and on the 9th day of May, 1865, at the ad-
vanced age of one hundred and five years, and just one
hundred years from the time she had planted It, sur-
rounded by over three hundred of her offspring,
in children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and
great-great-grandchildren, Senora Dominguez died,
leaving her generous vine still fresh and vigorous. The
great growth and productiveness of this vine Is attrib-
uted by some to the fact that Its roots are watered by
a mineral spring adjacent.

Tea. — China and Japan are the great supply foun-
tains of all the tea used throughout the globe. From
the palace of the Czar, the courtly halls of Westminster,
and throughout every town, village, and home In Amer-
ica, may be found, as a staple household luxury, this

c;:;6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Oriental herb, so long the leading export of China, and
one of the most extensive imports of America.

It has long been asserted by men of experience that
the climate and soil of California were well adapted to
tea-growing. But, strange to say, although Chinese
have been located in every section of the State, no
attempt had been made to grow tea until the summer
of 1869, when Herr Schnell, an intelligent German,
skilled in tea-growing in Japan, arrived with a small
colony of Japanese tea-farmers and founded a colony
in El Dorado county. The soil of this place is sandy,
and rather dry. Tea plants, to be healthy, should not
be planted in very moist soil. That upon the higher
and dryer portion of this plantation is more prosperous'
than the other. The tea seed is about the size of ar?
ordinary marble. They are first planted in hills, aboul
a hundred in each hill. It takes about ten days fo)*
them to sprout; when they do, the seed is halved
exactly in the centre. After the plants are about a yeaj*
old, they are fit to transplant. This is done in tw(;
ways : one way, and the best, is to form a hill about
eighteen inches across, the same as in raising melons ;
four plants describe a foot square in the circle. No irri-
gation is necessary after the plants get a fair start.
There are over four hundred thousand in this planta-
tion. The hills should be six feet apart one way, and
eight feet the other. Another way of planting Is In
hedges, three rows in each hedge, with half as many in the
centre as in the outside rows. Eighty-seven thousand
of these are set out. There are also five million seeds
planted in hills, on the place. The tea plants will attain
a growth of six feet, but for use are never allowed to
grow over three feet. All are growing finely upon this

TEA AND ITS PRODUCTION. 337

place, and from samples raised it is almost beyond a
doubt that tea-raising in California will yet prove a
success.

Owing to the fact that the land upon which Mr.
Schnell's plantation was located was more valuable for
gold -mining than for agriculture, and the repeated
invasion of the miner, he was, In 1872, compelled to
abandon it; thus ending the first practical effort in
tea-growing in the State.

But one variety or kind of tea Is known, and Is the
one designated by Dr. von Siebold as the simensis Linn.
All of the varieties described by botanists under the
names bokea, virldls, laden, strlcta, &c., are only varia-
tions of the simensis Linn., produced by different modes
of cultivation and geographical distribution. Dr. von
Siebold places the simensis wwA^v \}v^^ vtonadelphia poly-
andria Linn., and to the natural family of the cameleia-
rimi decam. The tea shrub in Japan is an evergreen,
from four to six feet high, with a straight stem, and
numerous Irregular branches. Growing wild, the shrub
will reach a height of fifteen or twenty feet. The stem
is of a bright gray color, the branches chestnut, and the
wood hard, and having a peculiar odor. On the young
branches are the short, soft, green, small leaves, wdilch
are arranged in Intervals, and are of an elliptical shape,
with teeth on the borders, resembling closely the leaves
of the wild rose. The color is a bright green, of dif-
ferent shades, deepening as the season advances.
Between the leaves sprout the blossoms, which are at
first of a rose color, but in the course of their develop-
ment assume lighter shades, and finally, when full blown,
are of the color of the ordinary tea-rose. They have

no odor, and are very tender, but are put to no use.
22

^l^S THE GOLDEN STATE.

The Story that these flowers are preserved for mixing
teas that are only drunk by the emperor and the nobihty
is a fabrication. When these flowers fade away, they
leave a small fruit, which is divided into two or three
partitions, generally three, which contain the seeds.
Owing to the great quantity of oil contained in these
seeds, they are cliflicult of preservation, and easily decay.
The tea shrub is very easy of cultivation, and will grow
nearly everywhere with plenty of air and sun, but
cannot live in shady places. The new plants are raised
from seeds, which are planted in rows in furrows from
four to six inches deep, in a manner similar to that in
which beans are usually planted ; but, out d?" this num-
ber of seeds, probably but a few in each hill will sprout,
owing to the decay produced by the excessive quantity
of oil they contain. The proper time for tea-planting
is in November or December, when it sprouts through
the ground in about thirty days. By the ensuing
May, the plant reaches a height of about fourteen
inches, when the perfect and tender leaves are stripped
off, and are placed under immediate manipulation.
They are first put in a large copper pan and roasted,
then put in baskets and shaken and swung in j:he
wind until they are dried of the moisture that has
been exuded by the heat, then roasted again, then
rolled in the palms of the hand to separate the leaves
and prevent their crumbling into powder, then dried ;
again in the baskets by shaking and swinging, and
then put in jars, when they are ready for market.
The black teas are roasted three times, the green
teas but once or twice. Every year the trees or
shrubs are trimmed down to a height of about three
feet ; after having reached that height, and when prop-

BEET SUGAR.

339

erly taken care of, they will, produce good crops for
upward of thirty years. It Is absolutely necessary that
the plants should have the morning sun, and be on the
south side of a hill, or the leaves will become yellow,
and the tea be of an inferior quality.

The soil and climate of California, for the growth and
curing of tea, are pronounced unequalled In any part
of the world. The foot-hills and western slope of the
Sierras up to the deep snow line are estimated as well
adapted to tea-raising. A great portion of the teas
now used in the United States come direct by steam-
ship from China and Japan to San Francisco, whence it
is transported overland by rail to the Atlantic cities.

California cannot be expected to compete with China
and Japan in raising tea, if it were only the difference
in the cost of labor between them; but at some future
period California will doubtless reckon among her
varied and remunerative productions that of tea.

Beet Sugar. — California possesses many advantages
over France, Germany, and other beet-growing coun-
tries. The vast alkaline regions of the State, as well
as the rich bottom-lands of the valleys, produce beets
of enormous size and superior qualit}^, without artificial
manure. Owing to the mild climate, beets can remain
in the field until they are wanted for use, or, if pulled,
can be piled in the open air or under some frail shed
without danger of rot or frost. Then, too, owing to the
long, dry summer, and bright sun, the California sugar-
beet possesses more strength than do the beets of any
other portion of the globe. About forty tons of sugar-
beet can be grown upon an acre of land In California,

340 THE GOLDEN STATE,

which can be bought for one-eighth the price of land In
Europe, which will not produce one-half the yield.

Europe now derives most of her sugar from the beet,
which for more than forty years has kept constantly in-
creasing as a basis of permanent supply. More than
one thousand beet-sugar mills are now in operation in
Europe.

Two companies have recently erected beet-sugar
mills in California; and a mill in successful operation
at Alvarado, Alameda county, has placed a superior
article of sugar in the market. The State should not
only make all the sugar used on the coast, but soon
become a large exporter of that staple of commerce.

Cotton and Rice. — Some attempts at raising cotton
have been made in California, with good success. In
some sections of the southern portion of the State
cotton will grow well, and the soil and climate seem
to be well adapted to its production.

Much of the tule and other low and overflowed lands
of the State are suited to rice-growing, but so far no
practicable attempt has been made in this direction, ex-
cept upon a very small scale upon some of the islands
in the Sacramento river.

Silk. — The mulberry tree, upon the leaves of which
the silk-worm feeds, grows in every county in Califor-
nia; there are half a million trees in the State. Sacra-
mento, El Dorado, Yolo, Los Angeles, and Sutter are
the chief silk-producing counties. The balmy, even cli-
mate of California, free from oppressive frosts, sudden
changes, thunder storms, and protracted damps and
colds, is peculiarly adapted to the growth of silk and

SIx^K MANUFACTURE.

341

the breeding of the silk-worm. The Japanese worms
thrive best in California, and the staple produced is
longer and finer than the best varieties of France or
Italy. An excellent quality of dress silk has been
manufactured in the State; but a general ignorance in
reference to the raising and feeding of the worms, and
also of the cultivation of the mulberry tree, has greatly
retarded an important branch of industry, for which
California is eminently fitted.

A small factor}^, for the manufacture of silk, has been
recently erected at San Jose, and one manufacturing
thread only at San Francisco. The prospects of Cali-
fornia, at some future day, becoming an extensive silk
manufacturing district are ver^^ encouraging.

342 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XXIV.

Sheep and wool — Horses — Cattle raising and branding — Rodeos —
Native horsemanship — Lassoing grizzly bears — Poultry and bees.

Sheep and Wool. — Both the climate and soil of
California are admirably adapted to sheep. The even
temperature, generally dry weather, freeness from de-
structive storms, wide range of pasture, and the fact
that sheep do not require shelter or food other than
what nature supplies, greatly reduces the cost and labor
so necessary In the Atlantic States and Europe.

Flocks In California are free from disease, and the
loss by wild animals not a quarter of that throughout
the Atlantic States. Sheep grow fast and mature
earlier in California than in c.ny other part of America.
Ewes generally have lambs when one year old, and
twins and triplets are common.

The original stock of sheep was of a very inferior
quality, and consisted of the remnants of the old mission
flocks and bands of ver}^ Inferior stock brought Into the
State overland from New Mexico. But as the impor-
tance of wool-growing begins to attract attentit)n, the
stock Is exhibiting signs of decided improvement by
the Introduction of pure-blooded sheep. Still there are
flocks of the old stock (Mexican sheep) yet in the State,
roaming the sandy and dusty plains of the southern
section of California, as much like wolves, as regards
wool, as like sheep. This class averages a fleece of
wool, sand, and dirt, as it is sheared, of only two pounds.
Inferior American sheep in the State average a clip of
four pounds ; while merino and miprovcd breeds yield

g§^s§''*-nw^^>w-

SHEEP AND WOOL,

o4j

from six or eight to twelve and twenty pounds. The
largest fleece produced in the State was by a Frcnich
merino buck in Monterey county — forty-two pounds.
All these weights are given before the fleeces are
washed.

The raising of sheep for their wool was first com-
menced in California in 1853, and since that period the
increase has been steady. The first exportation of
wool from the State was in 1855 — three hundred and
sixty thousand pounds. The wool crop of California
for 1 871 reached twenty-eight million pounds, worth
about seven million five hundred thousand dollars. Of
the entire growth, four million pounds were used in the
factories in California, and twenty-two million five hun-
dred thousand pounds sold in the Atlantic States, of
which 2,223,322 pounds went by sea, and 20,100,182
pounds by rail.

The remarkable development of wool-growing in
California, and the unlimited extent to which it may
attain in the grenial climate and on the broad rano-es of
the Golden State, and the importance of this product to
the nation, may be ascertained in some degree by the
table here giving the export of wool from San Francisco
during the past fifteen years:

VALUE.

^173.500
200,000

353>5oo
400,000

510,000

1,062,000

1,230,000

1,252,000

There are about two million five hundred thousand
sheep and twenty-five thousand Cashmere and Angora

YEAR.

POUNDS.

1857, . .

, 1,100,000, . .

1858, . ,

. 1,430,000, . .

i«59, . .

' 2,375,000, . .

i860, .

. 3,170,000, . .

1861, . .

3,730,000, . .

1862, .

5,900,000, . ,

1863, .

. 2,270,000, . .

1864, .

. 5,930,000, . .

YEAR.

POUNDS.

VALUE.

1865, .

. 6,473>ooo. • <

. 1,350,000

1866, .

. 4,674,000, .

950,000

1867, .

7,048,000, . .

1,215,000

1868, .

. 13,225,000, . .

2,428,000

1869, .

. 13,274,000, . .

2,454,000

1870, .

. 19,010,000, . .

3,506,000

I87I, .

. 22,323,000, .

6,697,000

344 ^-^^ GOLDEN STATE.

goats in the State. Flocks of three, eight, ten, and
twenty thousand are not uncommon; and one sheep-
raiser in the southern section of the State, who, in 1853,
commenced in poverty to raise sheep, has now about
eighty thousand acres of land, and owns forty thousand
sheep, chiefly of superior breeds.

There are six woollen mills in California, which use
annually over four million pounds of wool. Cassi-
meres, tweeds, flannels, a variety of other goods, and
blankets, are produced at these mills Only the finest
grades of wool are used, and the California made
blankets, in size, weight, and fineness, surpass those
made in any other part of the w^orld. California is now
highest on the list of wool-producing States in the
Union,

Cattle. — As early as the first settlement of Cali-
fornia, cattle were introduced from Spain and Mexico.
But little attention w^as paid to milk or butter, and
cattle of every description and age ran wild together.
They soon multiplied, and in great herds grazed upon
the hills and roamed the valleys as wild as deer. They
were used only for beef and for their hides and tallow,
which, for many years previous to the American occu-
pation of the country, formed the chief export. At
this early period cows w^ere never milked; when beef
was wanted, the vaquero, reata in hand, mounted his
fleet horse, dashed into the band, and, snaring one, led
it to the slaughter; or, when hides and tallow were
wanted for the trading vessels of the coast, whole herds
were slaughtered upon the field, the hides and tallow
carried away, and the carcass left where the animal
was slain. Great numbers of Spanish cattle still roam

CATTLE AND HORSES.

345

over the southern portion of the State; these cattle re-
semble the wild beasts of the forest more than cows;
they are generally of a yellowish-brown or drab color,
with large, dark circles round the eyes and nostrils;
long, slim legs, as lank as a hound and fleet as a deer;
their horns grow immense, sometimes measuring eight
feet from tip to tip. As all the herders and vaqueros
are always mounted, these cattle, not being accus-
tomed to see a man on foot, will, when they chance to
see one, encircle him, and often with great fury attack
him.

The Introduction of superior stock is fast absorbing
the original Spanish cattle of the State; but immense
bands of Spanish and mixed cattle yet run w41d.

Except in a few instances where cows are milked, or
a few oxen worked, cattle are never handled: they
roam, cows, calves, and all, in great herds. Once a
year, at least — generally in the spring — there is a gen-
eral rodeo, or gathering, of the cattle and horses together,
that all the young ones may be branded according to
law; as a statute imposes the duty upon all stock own-
ers to brand with a hot iron all cattle and horses on
the hip with some letter or sign, which shall be recorded
as their mark.

The general rodeo Is a season of great activity and
excitement, from a week to ten days generally being
spent in the exciting business of collecting every de-
scription of cattle within a wide district Into some small
valley, where a corral or pen Is erected, the object
being to secure every unmarked animal so that the
owner may imprint his brand upon It. To accomplish
this the vaquero, mounted upon his fleet steed, or a
dozen of them thus mounted, gallop in among the

46 thje: golden state.

cattle, others circling the bands to keep them together;
pursuit Is given to an unbranded animal, the race con-
tinuing amidst the swaying, tossing, thousands of cat-
tle bellowing, running, pawing, and raising clouds of
dust, through which the active riders whirl, gallop, and
plunge as they swing their reatas. When an animal
is looped by the neck, horns, or foot, it is led to the
branding place, secured, and the hot iron pressed deep
upon the hip.

At these seasons each band Is separated, and the
vaqueros keep a kind of guardianship over the herds.
Durlnof these eatherincrs the cattle- owners and va-
queros camp out, or at somxe neighbor's house hold
fandangos, and, amidst a copious supply of wine and
eatables, conclude their great annual rodeo.

The horsemanship of the vaquero during these ex-
citing scenes is a most interesting feature of the per-
formance. The fleetness of horses and the dexterity
with which the lasso is thrown are often made tests of
efficiency between contestants for superior horseman-
ship.

The horse Is so trained that, without the use of bridle
or rein, he will follow, however long or devious the
course, the animal selected for capture ; and, antici-
pating every move of his rider, will watch the throwing
of the lariat, brace himself, or fall upon his haunches,
and, with the raw-hide reata stretched from the cap-
tured animal to the pummel of the saddle, lead the
most refractory animal at will.

So expert, too, is the vaquero In the use of the lariat
that, coiling it In a loose bunch in his hand, swinging it
about his head he will throw the bunch, one end being
still fast to the saddle, and snare by the foot, horn, or

CATTLE AND HORSES, 347

neck an animal whilst his horse is under full gallop.
Should his hat, his knife, or rope fall, he never dis-
mounts, and seldom slackens his speed, but, whilst his
horse is on the full run, swoops down upon the ground
with one hand, v/hile his heel or spur pressed under the
saddle-girth holds him to his position on his horse. The
greatest skill and dexterity of the vaquero is exhibited
in catching wild animals. At an early day, and before
fire-arms were much in use, wild cattle, horses, elk, deer,
and all other animals, whether for domestic uses or for
the sake of their flesh, were caught with- the lasso; and
the Mexican hunter started in pursuit of the grizzly
bear mounted upon his fleet pony, and armed only with
a raw-hide rope. Generally three, four, or more of
these mounted hunters thus armed would scour the
gulches and mountains until they found their game.
The formidable grizzly, surrounded by the expert va-
queros, w^ould soon find himself snared by the neck by
two or three sharp hide ropes, with one end of each
fast to the saddle-pummel, and horses drawing in op-
posite directions ; thus, half strangled, leaping, and
gnawing at the lariat, the unlucky animal is caught by
the legs by the reatas of other riders and either
despatched by the hunter's knife, strangled to death, or,
surrounded by horses and lines, led an unwilling cap-
tive to the rancho of the hunter. Some of these en-
counters have been most desperate and hard fought.
Lassoing grizzly bears is attended with great danger,
and few persons knowing the immense strength of
these animals desire to experiment upon such game.
But the Mexican fears nothing when armed with the
reata and mounted upon his horse.

Cattle, as well as all other live stock in California,

348 2"^^ GOLDEN STATE.

run at large, are never housed, nor receive food, except
what nature provides for them.

During extremely dry seasons, when the pasturage
becomes scarce, and the soil almost parched, cattle
suffer for want of food : at such periods, large numbers
are driven to the mountains, generally to the Sierras,
where the natural meadows and wild grasses keep
green during the greater part of summer.

Farmers have been in the 'habit of burning their
straw upon the field in the fall: of late years, straw
has been more generally heaped up in the fields, some-
times under large sheds. During the drought of sum-
mer and the cold rains of winter, cattle gather round
these stacks and keep in good condition, while those
having to depend upon what they can gather from the
parched soil often suffer.

The number of neat cattle In the State Is about
one million; the largest number in any one county Is
in Merced — sixty thousand ; the next largest numbers
are in Kern, Tulare, Colusa, and San Diego. Marin
county contains about twenty-four thousand head of
cattle, and is the greatest dairy county In the State.
The celebrated ranche (farm) of the Shafter Brothers,
containing seventy-five thousand acres, is in this county:
this Is supposed to be the largest dairy farm in the
world. There are no "dairy-maids" In California, milk-
ing and butter and cheese making being done by men.

The whole State produces about six million pounds
of butter annually, and one-third of this whole amount
is produced in Marin county, which has but about
twenty-four thousand neat cattle, all told, out of one
million, in the State. Merced county, with sixty thou-

CATTLE AND HORSES. 3,] 9

sand head of cattle, produces but about nine thousand
pounds of butter annually. California produces about
five million pounds of cheese annually. Santa Clara
and Monterey counties produce jointly three million
pounds, leaving but two million pounds to the entire
remainder of the State. Santa Clara county makes as
much cheese as all the State, outside of Santa Clara
and Monterey counties; Santa Clara county has but
twenty-two thousand cattle, seven thousand of which
are cows.

Spanish cows give but little milk, and In many of the
southern counties, where Immense herds of cattle roam,
milk, butter, and cheese are unknowm. The squatter
and ranchero have their frail abodes solitary and alone
on the vast plain, or by the side of some sluggish stream
or tule bottom; and here they raise their children, with-
out ever tasting milk, butter, or cheese. It Is a strange
commentary upon domestic economy to see vast droves
of cows, calves and all, running wild, fairly swarming
the country, and surrounding the houses In which dwell
sickly and green-looking women, who live upon hot
biscuits rank with saleratus, squash and salt bacon —
they and their children — without knowing the use or
benefits of the dairy. In one portion, at least, of the
southern counties, where cattle are so numerous that
they swarm around the telegraph poles to scratch them-
selves In such numbers that they cut down the poles
for miles, although they are made of elght-Inch-square
sawed lumber, and In some Instances driven thick with
spikes, the cattle swarming round them In a circle, and
each one giving a rub In Its hurried march; yet in this
section the traveller, for a journey of two hundred

350 THE GOLDEN STATE,

miles, cannot get a taste of butter or cheese, nor milk
to color his black and bitter coffee.

Notwithstanding the genial climate, wide range, and
splendid pasturage of California, fully one-third of all
the butter used in the State "is imported from the At-
lantic States; this, too, is the case with Oregon, Wash-
ington Territory, and British Columbia. The people
of these regions send their orders from their perpetual
green fields and rich pasturage to New York and even
to the icy land of Canada for their butter. This, per-
haps, is not worse than sending to Boston, New York,
and Philadelphia for dried fruits, from California and
Oregon, when thousands of tons of green fruit can be
gathered in the orchards of these States, and bought
for less than the freio^ht from the east. Throuorh most
parts of the Pacific coast dried fruits are imported
thousands of miles at great cost, while the ground in
many orchards is covered with superior fruit, which
rots in tons every year.

The Horse. — Of all parts of the world California is
the favorite land for the horse: here he has for centu-
ries roamed at will over the vast rich valleys, where the
native grass, flowers, and wild oats grow luxuriandy.

Previous to the American occupation of the country,
the horse was not doomed to the servile labor of draw-
ing the plow or wheeled carriage, as no such articles
were known to the population : his only occupation was
to carry his master upon his back ; stables and harness
were equally unknown.

The original stock introduced into the country from
Spain and Mexico possessed excellent qualities for
the saddle, being light bodied, high spirited, and fleet.

THE HORSE. 35 I

After roaming wild in great bands, without any care,
the stock soon decrenerated to all sorts of base colors —
claybank, drab, and spotted ; leaving few of the deep
bay, iron-gray, pure white, or jet black : still the spirit,
endurance, and speed of the original Spanish stock
remained, and, while the California horse became un-
fitted for heavy draught, he became the finest saddle-
horse in the world, able to carry his rider sixty and one
hundred miles in a day over a rough road, and perform
these journeys several days in succession, without other
food than could be gathered from the soil on his journey.

The California horse rarely trots or walks : his gait,
under the saddle, is a fast gallop, which he will keep
up, over hill and down mountain sides alike, through a
whole day's journey, and generally pressing hard on
the rein, the whip or spur being rarely necessary.

Breakino- these horses to the saddle is attended with

much difficulty. Many of them at four, five, and even
ten years of age have never been within an enclosure,
nor had the hand of man upon them. They are lassoed,
like other wild beasts, blindfolded, a saddle and bridle
put upon them, and then mounted by the vaquero,
(rider.) Rearing, pitching, rolling, and jumping stiff-
legged, until they are completely exhausted, is a part
of their first exercise. They are, however, soon broken
to the saddle, and from the commencement of their
training rarely exhibit a vicious disposition, and, when
once fairly broken, are kind, gentle, and fond of their
master.

Horses in California increase fast, and are entirely
free from disease : bots, worms, spavin, ringbone, and
kindred diseases, are almost unknown. The evenness
of the climate, with an abundance of good, wholesome

-1

52 THE GOLDEN STATE

food, and freedom from unwholesome and close stables
and attacks of colds, renders the horse healthy, muscular,
sound, and hardy beyond the horses of any other part
of the United States, if not of any other part of the world.

Of the three hundred thousand horses in California,
fully one-half are wild Mexican stock, running in large
bands throughout the southern part of the State. Many
thousand are owned by persons who know them only
by the brand.

Throughout the State generally the horse is an in-
dispensable domestic servant. Ever^^body rides: men
going to their employment in the fields mount their
horses; neighbors visiting, and children going to school
in the country, all ride. It Is rare to see a person
making a journey on foot, except In the mining regions.

California has many fine roads, and to all parts of the
interior the chief travel Is done by stages — large, com-
fortable Concord coaches — carrying from twelve to
twenty persons, and drawn by four or six horses.
Relays of fresh horses are kept apt each ten or twelve
miles on the road, and while in the coach are generally
at a gallop, and the speed with which these horses dash
down the mountain sides, and over and along the deep
gulches and beside the frowning precipices. Is fearful.

In the cities and towns, horses are very numerous,
and in San Francisco county (which Is but the size of
the city) there are over ten thousand horses. Los
Angeles county has the largest number of horses of
any county in the State — fifteen thousand.

There being neither timothy nor clover In California,
the native grasses, wild oats, oats, and barley, cut green,
form the hay- feed of horses. Barley, which grows very
abundantly, and has a very large, dry, and plump grain,

MULES AND HOGS. 2)^^

is supplied to horses generally, and Is supposed to be
superior to oats for this purpose.

The Introduction of superior horses Into the State Is
fast improving the native stock, and the cross between
the Imported and native horse has many points of
superiority not to be found In either in their original
purity.

Mules are not generally used In the State. At an
early day the carrying of freight Into the mines and
over the mountains was done chiefly by pack-trains of
mules ; but of late years rail and wagon roads have
supplanted them. There are but about twenty-eight
thousand mules In the State, scattered through each
county; Mendocino county having about three thou-
sand— more than double that of any other county In the
State. Mules are no more serviceable than horses,
and cost generally more than double as much as the
ordinary farm-horse. Much of the heavy hauling and
of the labor connected with the ofovernment service Is
still done by mules.

Oxen are rarely used, either upon the farm or for
general labor, In California ; they are considered too
slow, and except In the lumber districts are scarcely to
be seen. All the ploughing and farm work is done by
horses and mules.

Hogs. — The greater part of the State of California is
not well adapted for hogs: it Is too dry ; but in the tule
and low lands they thrive w^ell. Labor and food for
hogs are too expensive to make the raising of hogs
profitable where they have to be fed by hand. There
are six hundred thousand hogs in the State ; still the
increase has been but little for many years. Consldera-

354

THE GOLDEN STATE.

ble quantities of bacon and ham are cured in the State;
and as the Chinese in the country use no other meat
but fresh pork, much of the pork ol the State is con-
sumed by these people.

Poultry — Turkeys, geese, ducks, and hens all thrive
well in California, and many a fortune has had its foun-
dation laid in the hen's nest, in the State, in the early
days when eggs were from three to ten dollars per
dozen, and chickens from two to ten dollars per pair.
The aggregate number of turkeys, geese, ducks, and
fowls in the State is one million five hundred thousand.

Bees. — Bees do well all over the Pacific coast. In
Oregon they make honey from the branches of the fir
trees; and in California the mild climate and the abun-
dance of wild flowers enable bees to make honey eight
to ten months in the year, and to propagate their species
with great rapidity, one hive often producing twenty
swarms in a year. The production of honey in Cali-
fornia is much greater than in any other part of the
United States, and is about five times as much as is
produced in the Adantic States. There are about sixty
thousand hives in California, Colusa county having six-
teen thousand — more than one-fourth of all the hives
in the State: then comes Butte county, with twent}''-
five hundred hives ; next comes Stanislaus county, with
about two thousand hives ; and Monterey and Los
Angeles counties, with about eighteen hundred each.
Bees will thrive well in every county in the State.

In the southern secdon of California great quandtles
of bees have swarmed in the trunks of hollow trees
and become wild. There are great quantities of honey
obtained annually from these deserters.

MANUFA CTUREC. 355

CHAPTER XXV.

Natural advantages — Regularity of climate — Perpetual summer —
Advantages for manufacturing — Interest on money — Manufacto-
ries— Railroads first in California — Great overland railroad : build-
ing and completion of — Government aid in bonds and lands to
railroads — "The last tie" — Rejoicings at the completion of the
great national highway — Ocean, bay, and river navigation — Ship-
building— Telegraphs, postage, and post-offices — United States
branch mint — Circulating medium — jNImts on the Pacific coast —
Navy-yard — Commerce — Exports of gold and merchandise — Ag-
ricultural and mechanical products — Decline in gold-ujining—
Shipping of San Francisco — Imports and exports — Effects of the
overland railroad.

California possesses many natural advantages
beyond most other States in the Union, which must
ultimately be productive of great benefits. The water-
power of the dashing streams of the Sierras alone is
greater than the whole water-power of New England;,
the Coast Range, too, particularly north of San Fran-
cisco, as well as many other parts of the State, has
vast water-power, only waiting the hand of skilled labor
to call it into turnino^ the wheels of an active manufac-
ture which must at some day not far distant form an
important branch of the industry' of the State; nor are
these magnificent water-powers subjected to the pinch-
ing frosts of winter, which for so many months in the
year bind up the forces of the streams, clog the wheels,
and hold in icy embrace the industry of large sections
of the Atlantic coast.

The room of the operative need not be heated with
air-consuming stoves and ranges, nor the apartments
filled with foul air, caused by closed doors and windows,
nor the operative himself imprisoned in dark cells or

356 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Steam closets to keep the animal forces active. The
climate of the entire State is so mild and the tem-
perature so even that the severe colds and diseases
engendered by the sudden changes of the weather
in the Atlantic States are entirely unknown in Cali-
fornia.

Neither chillincr northern blasts nor driftinor snows
drive over bleak and barren fields, pinching animal life
into trembling and contracted contortions, nor frostinor
the windows and whitening the forests, Winter's gray
locks are not shaken with terrible menace in the face
of the poor, nor is the approach of the new year looked
forward to with contemplations of dreaded cold. Cali-
fornia at this season asserts her eternal summer by new
robes of green, and the window of the cotter, instead
of the ice-crystallizations and snow-bank adornments
of the Atlantic slope, are festooned and adorned with
running vines, ivy, and delicate flowers.

ThrouQ^hout the State, wherever mechanical skill is
exercised and manufactures are carried on, the bene-
ficial effects of a genial climate and rich soil are mani-
fest by the ease, comfort, and increasing prosperity of
the mechanic. With all the natural advantages of Cali-
fornia for manufacturinof but little advance has been
made, except in the actual necessities for every -day
consumption and of the commonest articles of domestic
use. The cause of this has been the hic^h rates of
wages, the sparse population, and the high rates of in-
terest, want of cheap transportation, and many other
causes incident to a new country.

The crushing of quartz, cabinet work, sawing of lum-
ber, casting of iron, and. making- of flour form the chief

MA A' UFA CTURES. 357

mechanical industry of the State ; and, although most
of the raw material necessary in a varied manufacturing
industry is produced in great abundance in California —
metals, wood, leather, wool, and other articles — yet the
State cannot compete in manufactures with the old,
settled portions of America, Europe, and Asia ; where
cheap labor, low interest, and systematized skill offset
the natural advantages of the Golden State. In many
parts of Europe and Asia, capital for mechanical
industry can be obtained at from three to seven per
cent, per annum ; while in California, short loans, se-
cured by good collateral, payable in sixty and ninety
days, bear interest at from one to three per cent, per
month. Still, notwithstanding all these drawbacks, Cali-
fornia is battling bravely in the field of mechanical in-
dustry; and, although her manufactures are confined to
a few articles, and within small limits, the efforts in pro-
ducing woollen goods, cordage, powder, glass, paper,
machinery, pottery, castings, shot, lead pipe, refined
sugar, furniture, wood-ware, rolling stock, files, salt,
fuse, soap, candles, glue, oil, matches, lime, cement,
chemicals, boots and shoes, carriages, agricultural im-
plements, saddlery, matting, billiard tables, pianos,
brooms, pails, books, clothing, cigars, spirits, ale, and
wine form no inconsiderable feature of the prosperity
of the State. San Francisco is daily growing into im-
portance in manufacture, and, by degrees, as the price
of labor becomes lower, and the one mid a- half and two
per cent, pei^ 7nojith bankers relax their grip, and money
can be obtained at reduced rates of interest, many
branches of mechanical industry now struggling for
recognition will become extensive and profitable.

358 THE GOLDEN STATE,

RAILROADS.

In 1 841, there were in the whole United States but
3,535 miles of railroad in operation ; in 1850, but 8,876.
In 1870, there were fifty thousand miles, of which the
six New England States had 4,494, against 589 in
1841; the six Middle States, 10,991, against 1,837 i^
1 841 ; the ten Western States, 23,769, against 196 in
1 841; and the twelve Southern States, 12,468, against
913 in 1 841 ; and the Pacific coast, which as late as
1854 had not a foot and in 1855 but eight miles of rail-
road, had, in 1870, 1,677, ^s follows: California, 925;
Oregon, 159; and Nevada, 593; all of which have since
largely increased, there now being thousands of miles of
railroad projected through California, Oregon, Nevada,
Washington Territor)^ Idaho, Arizona, and the entire
coast, connecting all the principal towns, valleys, and
harbors in the country.

The first railroad built in California was the line of
twenty-two miles from Sacramento City to Folsom,
completed on the ist of Januar}^ 1856. The building
of other roads soon followed, until the present, when a
lively competition has projected and has in active
course of construction lines of road runnino^ in all di-
rections from the great commercial centres of the State,
until the rich agricultural valleys lying between the
Coast Range and the Sierras, parallel with the ocean
and these chains, are completely dotted with projected
lines of rail running in all directions, all having connec-
tion by land or water with San Francisco.

South of the Golden Gate are lines runnino- to San
Jose and all sections along the southern coast of the
State, eventually to reach San Diego, while lines tra-

RAILROADS. 359

verse the rich agricultural valleys of the San Joaquin
and Tulare, destined to reach the Colorado and the
Southern Pacific roads, sending their laterals in all di-
rections to the towns, valleys^ and mines on either side;
while the Atlantic and Pacific railroad, having its start-
ing point on the west side of the Mississippi at St.
Louis, Missouri, follows the thirty-fifth parallel of north
latitude, passing through Missouri, Indian Territory,
New Mexico, and Arizona, crossing the Colorado,
enters California, and, passing northwestward through
the southern half of the State, reaches San Francisco.
Farther south is the Southern Pacific railroad, following
from Memphis on the Mississippi a little west of the
thirty-second parallel of north latitude westward through
Arkansas, Texas, and the southern section of New
Mexico and Arizona, crossing the Colorado river close
to the Mexican line; thence west to the citv of San
Diego near the southern line of the State of California,
where it proceeds northwestward until, like all the
others, it finally reaches San Francisco.

These two international roads, connecting the Pacific
and the Atlantic, are being vigorously pushed to com-
pletion ; and will, in their course, develop and settle the
vast semi-tropical regions of Southern California and
the rich mineral, agricultural, and grazing region be-
tween the Colorado and the Mississippi through Ari-
zona, New Mexico, Texas, and the Indian Territory,
affordingdirect and certain communication, at all seasons
of the year, between the Pacific and Atlantic; and, finally
sending their branches into tropical Mexico, will open
up new and rich avenues of exploration, commerce, and
settlement, and eventually plant the flag of republican
America over the area of the semi-republic of Mexico.

360 THE GOLDEN STATE.

North and east of San Francisco are lines built and
projected in all directions, leading through the valleys
of the Coast Range to Humboldt and other points in
the northern extreme of the State ; while lines, connect-
ing by boat at San Francisco with Oakland, Vallejo,
and San Rafael, lead east and north to all the principal
interior towns and valleys, and extend finally to the
Oregon State line, where they join lines of railroads
through the rich valley of the Wallamet and other sec-
tions of Oregon, and finally northward, crossing the
Columbia river, and still on, across Washington Terri-
tory, until they reach, by direct and continuous rail,
every portion of the continent from Pictou and Halifax,
Nova Scotia, Boston, St. Louis, Mexico, California,
Oregon, and Washington Territory, right up to the
British line on the Pacific ocean, at the forty-ninth de-
gree of north latitude.

CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD.

On the 8th day of January, 1863, ground was first
broken at the city of Sacramento, California, and labor
begun upon this national highway, which cuts the Sierras
and Rocky mountains, spans vast plains, deserts, and
prairies, and unites the Atlantic and Pacific by continu-
ous iron rail. In its connections it forms a chain of
road across the entire continent, a distance of three
thousand three hundred and twenty-three miles, from
San Francisco to New York city. It is eight hundred
and eighty miles from San Francisco to Ogden, at the
northern end of Great Salt lake, Utah Territory, which
is the eastern end of this road; from this point eastward
to Omaha, Nebraska, on the western bank of the Mis-
souri river, a distance of one thousand and thirty-three

CAPE HORN — CENTRAL PACIFIC RAILROAD, SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS,
(Cars 2,500 feet above the American river, in the chasm below.)

RAILROADS. 36 1

miles, was built by the Union Pacific Railroad Company.
At Omaha and Chicago connections are made with this
road by various lines connecting with all parts of the
West, east of Omaha, and all parts of the Atlantic sea-
board, Canada, and the lower British provinces.

The cars of this line do not run into the city of San
Francisco, but have their terminus on a long wharf
projecting three miles into the waters of the Bay of
San Francisco at Oakland, in Alameda county, three
miles distant, directly east from San Francisco. Large
and elegant steam ferry-boats ply between these points
every few minutes. At the town of Vallejo, twenty-
eight miles northeast from San Francisco, in Solano
county, on the shore of the distant waters of the bay,
is also another terminus. Laro^e and eleo^ant steamers
run between San Francisco and this point several times
each day, carrying overland and way passengers and
mail to the trains which run to Sacramento and on to
the Atlantic States.

The running time on these roads, forming the great
overland line, is seven days from San Francisco to
New York and Boston.

In the construction of this road most formidable
obstacles have been overcome : the Sierra Nevada
mountains, long considered a barrier over and beyond
which no road could pass, have been pierced by im-
mense tunnels, their deep gulches spanned by bridges,
and their frowninor brows cfrooved for the foot of the
iron horse. The dreaded Rocky mountains yielded to
science and labor, and their precipitous and stern eleva-
tions were climbed, and their rugged peaks flung into
the torrents and gulches below. The greatest altitude
on this line from San Francisco to New York is on the

362 THE GOLDEN STATE.

summit of the Rocky mountains, at Sherman, in Wy-
oming Territory, on the Union Pacific road, 1,365 miles
east of San Francisco. This point has an altitude of
8,242 feet above the level of the sea. The highest point
on the Central Pacific road, from San PVancisco to
Ogden, is in the Sierras, two hundred and forty-three
miles from San Francisco, at Summit, and a few miles
v/est of the eastern State line of California. At this
point the altitude reaches a height of 7,017 feet above
the level of the sea.

This great national highway in its course passes in a
northeasterly direction from San Francisco, through
the States of California and Nevada and a portion
of Utah Territor)^, until it reaches Ogden, in Utah
Territory, a little north of Great Salt lake. At this
point the road runs almost clue east, passing through
the southern side of Wyoming Territory for its entire
length, and through the entire length of Nebraska, fol-
lowing the course of the Platte river, to Omaha; thence
along the southern side of the State of Iowa, and
through Illinois, to the city of Chicago, on the south-
western shore of Lake Michigan, where it joins the
great network of railroads spreading over the entire
country south, east, and north of this point.

This great continental highway was begun and it3
construction vigorously prosecuted during the internal
war in America, from 1861 to 1865; and throughor.t
all that critical and eventful period received the foster-
ing care and stimulus of the national government, and
the people on both sides of the continent took the deep-
est interest in its success, and the States and Territo-
ries through which it passes aided it financially in a
most liberal manner. To the two companies building

RAILROADS, :>6;

the road — the Central Pacific on the California side, and
the Union Pacific on the eastern side — the National
Congress donated by grant, iny^^ simple, alternate sec-
tions of land along the line of the roads of these two
companies amounting to i 2,800 acres per mile, for each
mile built, from Sacramento to Omaha, or an aggregate
of 22,707,200 acres. Of this grant the Central Pa-
cific received 8,832,000 acres, and the Union Pacific
13,875,200 acres.

The federal government also loaned to these two
companies $52,840,000 of six per cent, thirty years
bonds, and guaranteed the interest on the companies'
first mortgage bonds to an equal amount — the interest
paid by government on these bonds to be paid back by
the companies. These are the most munifiicent dona-
tions ever made by any nation to any project or for
any purpose in any age. The two companies build-
ing this road built the number of miles, and received
the amounts of the national donation, as follows: Cen-
tral Pacific built six hundred and ninety miles and re-
ceived $24,386,000; the Union Pacific (from Ogden to
Omaha) built 1,084 niiles and received $28,456,000.
The grant was distributed per mile, according to the
difficulty in constructing: over the plains, sixteen thou-
sand dollars per mile ; second class, thirty-two thou-
sand dollars per mile ; and for the mountains, forty-
eight thousand dollars per mile. Of these classes of
road the companies built as follows, (which will account
for the seeming small proportion received by the Union
Pacific Company :) the Central Pacific (California) built
twelve miles at sixteen thousand dollars per mile, five
hundred and twenty- two miles at thirty-two thousand
dollars per mile, and one hundred and fifty-six miles at

64 THE GOLDEN STATE.

forty-eight thousand dollars per mile; the Union Pacific
Company built five hundred and twenty-six miles at
sixteen thousand dollars per mile, four hundred and
eight miles at thirty-two thousand dollars per mile, and
one hundred and fifty miles at forty-eight thousand
dollars per mile.

For more than half a century the subject of connect-
ing the Pacific and Atlantic sides of the continent by
rail had been acritated ; but the friends of such a scheme
wxre ridiculed by those who contemplated the vast arid
plains and the stern Rocky mountains and Sierras, con-
sidered insurmountable barriers. Indeed, many of those
who most zealously advocated the practicability of a
railroad crosslnof these formidable mountain chains
were reo^arded as insane, and not until the indomitable
Californian had scaled the Sierras, and pierced their
mighty granite ribs, did the people of the country
become inspired with the possibility of uniting the
East and the Pacific slope by rail; but the patient
sons of the Orient, under the lead of American skill,
toilinof throuo^h and over the Sierras, crave confidence
to the people of the Atlantic side, who set their faces
tovv^ard the setting sun, and advanced to meet the
laborers marching east.

The Central Pacific Company having completed the
road from the waters of the Pacific to Promontory, in
Utah Territory, and the Union Pacific Company having
finished that from Omaha westward to Promontory,
great preparations were made for celebrating the join-
inor of the iron band connectinor the East and the
West. After six long )ears of unremitting toil, the
task was ended: the army of eight thousand of the
meek disciples of Confucius, headed by skilled engi-

CONTINENTAL RAILROAD. 305

neers, had subdued nature in the formidable Sierras;
bridges spanned deep and awful gorges, and angry,
foaming streams; long tunnels pierced solid granite
domes, and deep scars found safe footing for the iron
horse round the sharp curves of frowning granite bat-
tlements and bold, projecting bluffs. The division from
the East had passed the vast deserts dotted with neg-
lected orraves and the bleachingf bones of the over-
burdened beast which fell by the w^ayside, and climbed
the stern sides of the Rocky mountains. It w^as a
meeting of the extremes of the nation — the joining of
the East and the West. The day came upon which the
last tie and the last rail were to be put in place : trains
from the East arrived from the shores of the Atlantic
gayly bedecked with flags, mottoes, and devices of
victory; and up from the Golden Gate, in the Far West,
where the settinor sun bathes in the calm waters of the
Pacific, came the hardy sons of California, with their
callous hands and open hearts, to join their brothers of
the East; from the East, dashing over vast plains, and
bounding over the Rocky mountains, and from the
West, over the eternal snows and through the storm-
clouds of the Sierras, came the impatient steed, whose
fiery breath and hoarse shriek put to flight the children
of the forest. In this triumphal train from the West
came the "last tie" — a polished laurel from the golden
shore of California — and the "last spike," of pure gold
from the rocks of the Sierras. In the midst of the vast
concourse from the East and West, the almond-eyed
son of Asia, facing East, and the sturdy Celt and
Saxon, facing West, join hands, as with uncovered heads,
beneath the ensign of the republic, and amidst the
frinij of cannon, rinc^incr of bells, and screaniin'j of

^66 THE GOLDEN STATE.

whistles, the last tie was laid and the last spike driven
in the national highway joining the two great oceans.

Extensive preparations had been made to celebrate
the completion of this great work throughout the whole
country. A telegraph station at the junction was so
arraneed that instant communication could be sent to
all parts of the republic of the final joining of the rails,
and the firing of guns by electricity at remote points.

At twelve o'clock M., on the loth of May, 1S69, the
President of the Central Pacific road, with gold ham-
mer in hand, stepped forward; a blessing was invoked
by a clergyman present, all heads uncovered; a gentle
blow of the hammer fell upon the last spike : the fric-
tion of the blow fired a fifteen-inch Parrott gun at the
Golden Gate, eight Jutndred and eighty miles dista?it,
rang the bells in the cities of San Francisco, Chicago,
New York, Boston, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and other
places ; and the people throughout the land spent the
day in rejoicing at the completion of the grandest work
of man ever undertaken, and the greatest triumph of
art over nature.

The completion of this national highway must even-
tually be of incalculable benefit to the whole country.
Already has it brought wdiat had seemed to be remote
dependencies of the republic into close fellowship and
active commercial relations with the Atlantic States,
and brought the vast Pacific slope within easy support-
ine distance of the nation in case of foreicrn invasion oj.
mternal rebellion.

San Francisco has suffered from the immediate effects
of the road in its divertincr the channels of travel and
trade ; but what San Francisco loses will be more than
gained by the State at large in its intercourse with the

;:^

OCEAN, BAY, AND RIVER NAVIGATION. 367

East, and In the establishment of commercial affairs
upon a safer and more stable basis than has yet been
known on the Pacific coast.

The protracted snow blockade on the overland road
during the greater part of the months of December,
1 87 1, and January and February, 1872, has demon-
strated that but little interruption need be anticipated
west of the Rocky mountains. On the entire line of
1,341 miles from San Francisco to Laramie, a little west
of the crest of the Rocky mountains, no interruption
whatever has been experienced; although in the Sierras
the road is 7,01 7 feet above the sea and snow fails from
ten to forty feet in some places.

The whole difficulty with snow on this road has been
within a rancre of two hundred miles of the crest of the
Rocky mountains, extending about one hundred miles
on each side. Here the altitude is from 7,000 to
8,242 feet, and the fierce gale sweeping over the vast
plains and mountains, bald, bleak, and dreary, without
tree or shrub to interrupt it, drives snow hardened in
its course and mixed with sand and gravel, filling the
depressions in the road and banking the plains time and
again, defying the feeble efforts of shovel and snow-plow.

OCEAN, BAY, AND RIVER NAVIGATION.

The inland waters of California are all w^ell supplied
with steamboats and sailing craft. The bay of San
Francisco Is navigated by steamboats — models of supe-
rior skill, elegance, speed, and comfort. Ferry-boats
ply in all directions from San Francisco about the bay
and rivers, and the Sacramento and San Joaquin are
navigated by swift and elegant boats.

The Inauor-u ration of railroads In the State has re-

36S THE GOLDEN STATE,

lleved the people from the oppressive monopoly main-
tained for twenty years on the inland waters of Cali-
fornia by the "California Steam Navigation Company,'*
which, during that period, had bought off more tJian
one hundred stcameis, most of which w^ere tied up
and allowed to rot along the river banks, while rates
of passage and freight were maintained at fabulous
and ruinous prices; while "opposition" steamers were
bought off or sunk by the soulless corporation, which,
while it paid millions to its stockholders, imposed
a cruel' oppression upon the people, believed in the
aggregate to be a fit subject for plunder and insult.
During a brief period of "opposition" on the inland
waters, passage would fall from ten dollars to one
dollar, and even at times passengers would be carried
between San Francisco and Sacramento and Stockton
for fifty cents each, finally free, and in some instances
they were paid a dollar a head to go on certain
steamers, where free meals and cigars were supplied
to all, and a choice band of music discoursed to
happy crowds surrounded with festivities and flying
flags. Those were seasons of joy for the "runner,"
whose hoarse voice and wild orHmaces startled and be-
wildered the unoffending pedestrian, who found him-
self and "baggage" swooped up and unceremoniously
liurled on board the "accommodation" steamer. But
these seasons were brief Soon the "opposition" would
quietly lie at the river bank or bottom of the bay, the
flags would be lowered, music hushed, the excited
crowd and wild "runners" dispersed, and, solitary,
silent, and sad, the plodding "miner" approached the
narrow plank, at the end of which a savage hireling
grabbed his last ten dollars, thrusting him rudely by.

SHIP-BUILDING, 369

Scores of saillns: vessels are also enofasfed in navi-
gating the inland waters and coast of California, Oregon,
Washington Territory, and all parts of the waters north
and south of San Francisco, and the islands of the Pacific
ocean, Mexico, Central and South America.

Fleets of clipper ships, from all parts of the commer-
cial world, enter and depart through the Golden Gate,
freighted with merchandise for California, and carr-ying
away wheat, flour, copper, silver and other ores, hides,
wool, wine, and other merchandise.

Ocean steamers run regularly from San Francisco
to every harbor of Interest In the State, and lines of
swift and elegant steamers ply between the city of San
Francisco and Oregon, Washington Territory, British
Columbia, Alaska, Japan, China, Sandwich islands, Aus-
tralia, iMexico, and Central America. The steamers run-
ning from San Francisco to China, Japan, and Panama,
for elegance, speed, and capacity, are unequalled In the
world, far surpassing any of the boats running between
the Atlantic ports of America and Europe.

On the 5th of May, 1870, the steamship IdaJio arrived
at San Francisco, from Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, with
freight and passengers which she received on board at
the former port from the steamship Wanga- Wanga^
direct from Australia and New Zealand, being the pio-
neer voyage of aline of steam communication established
between San Francisco and Australia and New Zealand.

SHIP-BUILDING.

But little has been done in ship-building In California.

Some river streams and small saillnor craft have been

constructed about the Bay of San Francisco, chiefly out

of timber taken from old vessels or imported from
24

^70 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Oregon, Washington Territory, or the Atlantic States.
The higher rates of wages and exorbitant prices of all
material necessary in the construction of vessels would
be sufficient to retard this branch of Industry in the
State ; but the most serious drawback, and the one
which must prohibit any success in ship -building in
California, is the scarcity of the necessary timber so
essential in this branch of industry. California furnishes
but little timber fitted for ship-building. The oak of the
State is of a coarse-grained, scrubby nature, shaky and
liable to split very much when exposed to the sun ; and
the knees and crooks so indispensable in every vessel
cannot be found in any part of the State, and must be
imported either from the Atlantic States or from Oregon,
where an inferior article of fir, cedar, and oak knees and
crooks can with difficulty be obtained. The only timber
in the State useful in ship-building is the fir of the north-
ern portion of the State, which makes excellent plank
for sides and deck.

The whole Pacific coast Is destitute of beech, birch,
maple, hemlock, juniper, and Canada spruce, all of which
supply the material for ship -building in such abun-
dance and excellent quality in Maine and British North
America.

Puget sound, In Washington Territory, owing to Its
deep water and proximity to a better supply and greater
variety of timber than is to be found on any other part
of the Pacific coast, has the only inducements on the
whole Pacific to offer to those interested in naval archi-
tecture ; but the advance made in the past few years in
constructing Iron ships in the yards of Great Britain,
for the mercantile service, must tend to materially
lessen the value of wood for ship-building.

TELEGRAPH. 37 1

TELEGRAPH.

California is well supplied with telegraphs. There
are over three hundred stations in the State, and com-
munication can be had not only with every point of
importance in California but also in Oregon, Nevada,
Utah, Washington Territory, and British Columbia; and
by the lines at San Francisco, connecting with those
across the continent and the i\tlantic submarine cable,
the Pacific coast is in direct communication vv^ith all
parts of the American republic and Canada, and also
with Europe and Asia. Notice of events transpiring in
St. Petersburg, London, and Paris are transmitted to
San Francisco and the remotest parts of the Pacific
coast, and the people of San Francisco are often treated
to events transpiring in Asia, Europe, and the Atlantic
side of America before the hour at which they actually
take place : this is owing to the geographical position
of the country, San Francisco being so far west. To
illustrate : the sun rises at London, England, eight hours
before it is seen at San Francisco ; so that, if an event
transpires in England at four o'clock P. M., it is heard
of in San Francisco about nine o'clock A. M., or about
the hour merchants and others are entering their offices
in the morning,^ or seven hours by San Francisco time
before the event has happened ; and the events of Lon-
don transpiring at noon may be known in San Fran-
cisco about six o'clock on the morning before, and the
events of five o'clock P. M. in London may be read in
the morning papers in San Francisco at breakfast table,
six or seven hours before the hour of the day in which
they have transpired.

The difference in time between Boston, Mass., and

372

THE GOLDEN STATE.

San Francisco, is about three hours, so that events
transpiring- at Boston, New York, or any of the Atlantic
cities, at noon, daily, are known at San Francisco be-
tween nine and ten o'clock in the forenoon of the same
day.

During the late civil war In the country, the citizens
of San Francisco would read at their breakfast tables,
at nine o'clock A. M., of terrible battles having been
fought in some part of the South at twelve o'clock,
noon, or three hoitrs befoi^e they had taken place^ accord-
ing to the time in California.

To further illustrate this subject will be found a time-
table, showing the time of day at various places on the
globe when it is twelve o clock, noon, at San Francisco:

A. M. H. M. S.

Astoria, Oregon ii 55 12

Calcutta, India I 35 56

Canton, China 3 43 00

Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, 9 39 8

Melbourne, Australia 5 48 00

Pekin, China 3 56 00

Sydney, Australia 6 14 00

Singapore, East Indies 3 8 00

Shanghai, China 4 12 40

Tobolsk, Siberia 12 43 00

Yeddo, Japan 5 30 00

Yreka, Cal Ii 59 30

p. M.

Acapulco, Mexico i 26 28

Archangel, Russia 10 50 00

Aspinwall, Isthmus 2 50 40

Berlin, Prussia 9 3 35

Boston, Mass 3 25 48

Cape of Good Hope 9 32 50

Charleston, S. C 2 50 40

Chicago, 111 2 19 44

Cincinnati, 0 2 32 16

Constantinople lO 9 44

Detroit, Mich 2 38 12

Eastport, Maine 3 42 00

p. M. H.

Fort Yuma, Cal 12

Frankfort, Germany >8

Galveston, Texas i

Geneva, Switzerland 8

Gibraltar, Spain 7

Halifax, Nova Scotia 3

Havana, Cuba 2

Jerusalem, Palestine lo

Lima, Peru 3

London, England 8

Los Angeles, Cal 12

Louisville, Ky 2

Mexico, Mexico i

Mecca, Arabia., 10

Montreal, Canada 3

New Orleans, La 2

New York city 3

Nevada, Cal 12

Oregon City, Oregon 12

Panama, Isthmus 2

Paris, France 8

Philadelphia, Pa 3

Placerville, Cal 12

Portland, Me 3

Rio Janeiro, Brazil 5

50 32

34 4^

24.

■iZ

15 44

FO STAGE AND POST-OFFICES,

p. M. H. M. S.

Rome, Italy 903

Sacramento, Cal 12 3 58

Santa Fe, New Mexico 12 55 44

Salt Lake City 12 41 40

St. Louis, Mo 294

p. M.

H. M. S.

St. Petersburg 10 11 20

Stockholm, Sweden 9 22 20

Toronto, Canada 2 52 00

Vienna, Austria 9 15 35

Washington, D. C 3 2 cx)

POSTAGE AND POST-OFFICES.

Previous to the acquisition of California, there was
not a post-ofiice in the territory. The official docu-
ments to and from Mexico, as well as the correspond-
ence of the missionaries, were taken by special car-
riers; and as there were no newspapers published or
circulated in the country, there was but little need of
postal facilities. The few foreigners in the country
would send or receive an occasional letter by some
trader or whale-ship touching on the coast.

So soon as the United States asserted authority over
the territory, the newspaper press commenced opera-
tions, and post-offices were established in the country;
but at this early day, and for many years subsequent,
all mail matter to the Pacific coast had to cross the
Isthmus of Panama, thence by steamer to San Fran-
cisco; from twenty-four to thirty days being occupied In
the voyage from New York to San Francisco. It gen-
erally required from sixty to ninety days from the date
of writing a letter to the receipt of an answer by the
Isthmus route. Postage on the half- ounce in those
days was ten cents, when the distance was over three
hundred miles. The arrival of the semi-monthly
steamer at San Francisco was an event celebrated by
the firinof of oruns and the rlncrlnof of bells, and the
signal for a general rush of the inha.bitants to the post-
office, where lon':^- lines of anxious letter-seekers would
take their position, ''first come, first served" being the

374 ^^^ GOLDEN STATE,

rule; and woe betide the unfortunate wretch whose
temerity caused him to attempt to break the restless,
anxious, swaying line of the gray-shirt brigade swinging
in long lines from the post-office windows.

As these lengthening columns swayed and wriggled,
sometimes a-half mile in length, great anxiety and im-
patience were often manifested by persons wishing to
get to the all-important window of the post-office;
rugged miners, who had not perhaps for a year heard
a word from home, and anxious merchants, whose fate
depended upon their letters and invoices, seeing no
hope of approaching the office for hours, would offer
sums to buy out some fortunate one ''In the line;" from
five to twenty dollars were average prices, but fifty and
one hundred dollars were often paid for a good position
nigh the window. Prices would be in proportion to the
length of the line, or the anxiety of individuals. The
expression of countenance of some of those paying
highest rates, when forced to leave the window without
a letter, is beyond description. "Selling out" In the
line soon became a trade, and many an impecunious
individual pocketed his ten or twenty dollars three or
four times during the day by selling out and hitching
on to the line again.

Cases, too, have not been unfrequent where over-
anxious individuals, in search of letters, would take
their position at the post-office window one or two days
before the arrival of the expected steamer, often passing
the entire night standing watching the window, and only
leavinof it when forced to seek food and drink. It often
befell these faithful sentinels that, during the brief ab-
sence from their post, the steamer's gun would fire, and,
after a break-neck race of a few minutes, they would be

POSTAGE AND POST-OFFICES. 375

forced to attach themselves to the extreme end of a
line from a quarter to half a mile in length.

Great relief was experienced some years since by
the establishment of the "Pony Express," which carried
letters from the Missouri river to San Francisco in
twelve to fifteen days, at twenty-five cents the half
ounce. This express continued to carry letters be-
tween the roads buildinor from the East to the West
until the completion of the road in 1869; when the
rider of the fleet pony dismounted, handed his mail-
bags to the rider of the tireless iron-horse, who rides
over the posting winds and gallops over the storms of
the Sierras.

Mails are now received at San Francisco each day,
in seven days, from New York, Boston, and Philadel-
phia. There are four hundred and fifty post-offices
now in California.

UNITED STATES BRANCH MINT.

In 1854, a United States Branch Mint was established
at San Francisco. Previous to this period, much incon-
venience was experienced throughout the State for
want of a circulating medium. Gold-dust, at sixteen
dollars per ounce, was generally received and paid in
all matters of business. Individuals had resort to
making coins of pure gold, which passed current in the
country: of this class were the fifty dollar pieces called
"slugs," octagon in form and made of pure gold, but
now entirely out of use.

A magnificent granite and free stone building for a
new mint, to cost two million dollars when completed,
is nio^h finished.

The mint at San Francisco has been kept constantly

3/6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

employed since its establishment in 1854, and has
issued an aggregate of ^306,074,663.98 in gold and
silver coin from its opening until the ist of January,
1872. Of the total mint coinage, $298,245,706.81 was
gold and $7,828,957.17 was silver. The coinage of
gold and silver for the year 1870 was $20,355,000;
and for 1871 it was $20,041,775, of which $18,905,000
was gold and $1,136,775 was silver.
. Until within a few years past, twenty-five cents was
the smallest coin in circulation in any part of the Pacific
coast. More recently, ten cent pieces have gone into
use ; and still more recently, five cent pieces, although
the latter are scarce, and it may be said that, throughout
California and the whole Pacific coast, ten cents is the
smallest coin in general circulation.

Paper money has never been used to any extent in
California, and the Constitution of the State prohibits the
making, issuing, or putting in circulation any bill, check,
ticket, certificate, promissory note, or the paper of any
bank, or the issuing of paper in any form, as money;
hence all the banking and business of the country is
done in gold and silver coin, the latter being at a great
discount and declined if offered in large quantities.
The securities and paper money of the federal gov-
ernment, "greenbacks," bonds, &c., are used in many
instances in business, and are bought and sold as other
securities.

Beside the gold and silver of California, considerable
amounts of bullion reach the mint at San Francisco
annually from all the States and Territories west of the
Rocky mountains — Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah,
Oregon, Idaho, Washington Territory, and British
Columbia.

COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION: ^-j j

The increasincr demand for mintlnor facilities on the

o o

Pacific coast has induced the federal government,
within a few years, to establish a branch mint, in 1864,
at Denver, Colorado ; one at Carson City, Nevada, in
1869; and one now (1872) in course of erection at
Dalles, on the Columbia river, Oregon.

NAVY YARD.

At Mare Island, twenty-eight miles from San Fran-
cisco by steamer, and in the direction of Sacramento
from San Francisco, the federal government has estab-
lished the most extensive navy yard in the republic.
Thirty acres of land, on Mare island, with an extensive
water-front, is owned by the United States : upon this
are erected laro^e and substantial brick buildino^s, for all
the purposes of the yard. There is an excellent dry-
dock at these works, where all the repairing of the
Pacific squadron is done. The works and grounds
here have been projected upon a scale adequate to the
growing interests of the Pacific side of the republic.

COMMERCE.

In preceding chapters will be found statements of
the commercial transactions of California under Spanish,
Mexican, and early American rule. The Internal Im-
provements constantly going on In the State, In build-
ing railroads, factories, and the varied local Industries,
together with the establishment of steam communi-
cation to all parts of the Pacific coast, the Pacific islands,
Asia, and Australia, are fast giving CaHfornia a promi-
nent commercial position.

In the early history of the State, when gold was the
only export, and every article of food and consumpdon

THE GOLDEN STATE.

had to be imported, and all the gold was sent out of the
country, exports presented very formidable figures.

California, in 1853, yielded sixty-five million dollars in
gold, and exported fifty-seven million dollars; only two
million dollars of which were merchandise. California
now yields annually but about twenty-five million dollars
in gold. There were over thirty-two million dollars in
gold shipped from San Francisco in 1870; but a great
portion of this found its way from the adjoining Pacific
States and Territories to California, which latter State
cannot be credited with more than sixteen million dol-
lars export of gold of her own production, although her
product was twenty-five million dollars.

The following table exhibits the annual exports of
merchandise and treasure, from the port of San Fran-
cisco, from 1848 to and including the year 1871 :

MERCHANDISE.

TREASURE.

TOTAL.

1848-50,

$2,000,000

;^66, 000, 000

$68,000,000

I85I, . .

1,030,000

45,989,000

46,989,000

1852, . .

1,500,000

45,779,000

47,279,000

IS53, . .

2,000,000

54,965,000

56,965,000

1854, . .

2,500,000

52,045,633

54,545,633

1855, . .

4,189,611

45,161,731

49,351,342

1856, . .

4,270,516

50,697,434

54,967,950

1857, . .

. 4,369.758

48,976,692

53.346,450

1858, . .

4,770,163

47,548,026

52,318,189

1859, . .

• 5>533,4n

47,640,462

53,173,873

i860, . .

8,532,439

42,325,916

50,858,355

I86I, . .

9,888,072

40,676,758

50,564,830

1862, . .

. 10,565,294

42,561,761

53,127,055

1863, . .

. 13.877,399

46,071,920

59,949,319

1864, . .

. 13,271,752

50,707,201

68,978,953

1865, . .

. 14,554,130

44,426,172

58,980,302

1866, . .

. 17,281,848

44,365,668

61,647,516

1867, . .

22,421,298

40,671,797

63,093,095

1868, . .

. 22,844,235

36,358,096

59,202,331

TRADE AND COMMERCE. 379

MHRCHANDISB. TREASURE. TOTAL

1869, . . . 20,846,349 37,287,114 58,i33»463

1870, . . . i7,769>742 32,983,139 50,752,881

1871, . . . 13,992,283 17^253,346 31,245,629

Totals, $207,978,300 $985,491,866 $1,193,470,166

The exports overland, since 1870, not being included
here, makes the amounts appear small. It will be seen
by the foregoing how steadily the export of gold has
decreased, and how steadily the export of merchandise
has increased. It may still seem strange to the reader
that the aggregate exports of California have decreased
since 1853. In that year the aggregate export of the
State was $56,965,000, against $50,752,881 in 1870 —
a decrease of $6,212,191 per annum in sixteen years;
but it must be remembered that the gold product of the
State is forty million dollars less per annum now than
it was sixteen years ago ; and that the mechanical and
agricultural industries of the country have to make up
this deficit. Besides, the growth in and development of
wealth represented in farms, orchards, vineyards, cities,
schools, and the aggregate of real and personal property
in the State had no existence ^ 1853, as compared with
the present wealth of the State already alluded to. Nor
is the wealth of California, as it is to-day, so easily pro-
duced as in the times when the gold-fields yielded their
first and richest harvest. The exports of the early
period when almost every thing produced in the State
Avas shipped out of it, and when there were no local
industries in the countr}^ if compared with the exports
of the present time, will not convey a correct idea of
the wealth or prosperity of California.

If the agricultural and mechanical productions of
California be compared with the yield of gold in the

3 So THE GOLDEN STATE,

palmiest days of the State, it will be found that these
branches of industry are fast gaining on the richest
yields of the State, and completely eclipsing the gold
product of to-day.

The agricultural productions of California are esti-
mated at thirty million dollars for the year 1872, and
the value of manufactured articles in the State for the
same period at thirty-one million dollars, making an
aggregate of sixty-one million dollars per annum — a
larger sum than has been produced from the mines of
California in any one year since the discovery of gold,
except the year 1853, and thirty -six million dollars
greater than the gold product of the State at the present
period. Adding the agricultural, mechanical, and gold
products of 1872, we have an aggregate of eighty-one
million dollars, or twenty-one million dollars 7no7'e than
the annual yield of gold in any year since 184S. If we
add to these productions the real estate and personal
property of California, valued at three hundred million
dollars, some idea of the increasing wealth of the State
may be had.

The tonnage entry of *he port of San Francisco, for
the year 1871, was 3,519 vessels of all classes, including
the coasting fleets, and aggregating one million tons.
Of the one hundred million pounds of tea finding its
w^ay from China and Japan into the United States an-
nually, twenty-two million pounds enter the port ot
San Francisco, and is transported East by rail.

The completion of the Pacific and Atlantic railroad
in 1869 has wrought great changes in the commercial
affairs of California, in placing the merchants of the
State in constant and speedy communication with the
great manufacturing centres of the Atlantic States and

TRADE AND COMMERCE. 38 1

Europe; relievlnj^ Importers, to a degree, of the tedious
and uncertain voyages by the Isthmus of Panama and
Cape Horn, and placing the public beyond the reach of
the monopolist, whose fortune depends upon the dangers
of the seas and the winds that baffle the mariner.

Another change wrought in the commercial affairs
of the State is diversion of trade from San Francisco.
Previous to the completion of the railroad, San Fran-
cisco was the only outlet in the State. Every person
leaving the coast, either for Europe or the Atlantic
States, was obliged to come first to San Francisco; so
all the merchandise, intended for the State, had also to
enter San Francisco. Now persons in the interior take
the cars at their homes along the road; so the interior
merchants, from the Bay of San Francisco to Utah,
order their goods overland, having them dropped at
the stations along the road, much to the detriment of
San Francisco, which, owing to the causes here men-
tioned, has great cause, at least for the present, to re-
gret the completion of a road, which, while it redounds
vastly to the benefit of the State, has temporarily pros-
trated the business of the merchants of San Francisco.

Among the articles of export of the State, In 1871,
were seven hundred and fift^^ thousand gallons of wine
and eighty thousand gallons of brandy, a great portion
of which went East to all parts of the Atlantic States
by rail.

382 THE GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER XXVI.

Education — Free schools — Schools in San Francisco — Cost of School
Department — Chinese schools — Indian slaves — National education
— Agricultural colleges — State university — Agricultural societies —
Reform, deaf, dumb, and blind schools — Newspapers — Books — ■
Libraries — Literature — Protective and benevolent societies — Re-
ligion— Prisons and crimes — Asylums — Governors of California —
Laws — Lawyers — Doctors — Divines.

The American pioneers of California, although far
from the seat of civilization, had not forgotten the early
precepts of their ancestors, that the foundations of
American freedom were laid upon the universal intelli-
gence of the people; so that, in the moulding of the
new State from the crude fragments of a Spanish semi-
civilization Into well-ordered and active progress, and
building up the pillars of the new nation on the Pacific,
the spirit and genius of ripest progress are visible, and
most effectually woven into the fabric of the organic
law of the State.

The free school system, established by law in 1851,
has extended to every county, village, and town in Cali-
fornia; and the neat school-house in the remote interior,
on every hillside and valley, with efficient teachers,
trained In the Normal school of the State, affords ample
facilities to every child, regardless of race, color, or
birthplace, to obtain a free education. In all the de-
partments of public education, California Is second to
no State In the Union. At the heads of the educa-
tional departments, generally, are found men of char-
acter and culture, and the teachers, as a class, are
equally competent as the teachers In any of the At-

LI^•COLN SCHOOL HOUSE, SAN FRANCISCO, 1 873.
(Accommodation, 1150 Boys. Cost ^100,000.)

FIRST SCHOOL HOUSE IN SAN FRANCISCO
(On Portsmouth Square, 1847.)

CUSTOM HOUiE, ON THE PL \ZA. RENT $J,003 A MONTH IN 1S49.

POST OFFICE, COKMiiR OF CLAY AND PIKE STREETS, SAN FRANCISCO 1S49.

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL BUILDINGS, 383

lantic States; and the school buildings generally are
large, elegant, and comfortable, and, in San Francisco,
are not surpassed In capacity and appointments in any
city in the Union.

In the public institutions of the State not only are
the ordinary branches of an English education taught,
but in the cities cosmopolitan schools are maintained,
where foreign languages form a part of the instruction.

Besides the other educational institutions maintained
by the State is a university, established at Oakland,
where a full college course is afforded free to all who
choose to enter. There Is also a law and medical
school attached to this institution. A State Noinnalr
school, with all the modern improvements, and of most
spacious and elegant dimensions, recently built at the
beautiful city of San Jose, fifty miles south of San Fran-
cisco, educates and graduates, as professional teachers,
those of both sexes who enroll themselves for that
profession. There Is also a reform school at San
Francisco; and an educational institution for deaf, dumb,
and blind (the only one west of the Rocky mountains)
a short distance from Oakland.

San Francisco, the great metropolis of the Pacific
coast, with its 149,473 inhabitants, (1870,) has become
famous for its public school institutions ; and at the
present period presents a striking illustration of the
progressive genius of the cosmopolitan population of
that youthful but expanding city.

Prior to the occupation of California by the Ameri-
cans, not a school existed in the whole country, except
those maintained by the Jesuits for the conversion of
the Indians; but no sooner had the stars and stripes
floated over the land than institutions of free education

384 ' ^-^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

and free worship clustered around the dwelHngs of the
pioneer.

The first American school established in San Fran-
cisco was a private one, opened In April, 1847, t)y Mr.
Marsten, who Is entitled to the honor of being the first
"Yankee school-master" on the Pacific coast. The
school was opened In a little shanty, to twenty or thirty
pupils. In the fall of 1847, ^^ citizens of San Fran-
cisco organized a public school and erected a small
one-story school-house.

This humble building subsequently served for a
church for the first preaching of the Protestant religion
in California, the first theatre, court-house, station-
house, &c.

On the 3d of April, 1848, the Rev. Thomas Douglas
opened a private school ; organized, however, as a pub-
lic school. The summer of 1848 found Douglas' school
closed, and all the pupils large enough to travel,
parents, and teacher on the march to the gold-fields
of the rivers and gulches of the foot-hills of the Sierras.
On the 23d of April, 1849, ^^ R^v. Albert Williams
opened a select school, which he taught for a few
months only ; and, in October following, Mr. and Mrs.
J. C. Pelton opened a private school, which, in April,
1850, was made a public school, and Mr. Pelton and
his wife were employed by the common council of the
city, at a monthly salary of five hundred dollars. From
this period forward to the present time, San Francisco
has gone steadily onward In her public schools, until
her beautiful school edifices adorn every hill-side and
look out upon the placid waters of the Pacific ocean
from every quarter.

On the 30th of June, 1870, there were 45,617 chil-

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL BUILDINGS. 385

dren In San Francisco under fifteen years of age ; of
whom 27,055 were between the ages of five and 'fifteen
years. To accommodate these there were fifty-eight
public schools; three hundred and sixty-nine teachers —
three hundred and twelve females and fifty-four males.
The amount expended In the city for public school pur-
poses during the year ending June 30, 1870, was
^522,500 In gold; and the total expenditure for this
purpose in the city for the eighteen years of the exist-
ence of free schools In San Francisco, to the beginning
of 1 87 1, wdLsfotcr and a-qiiarter million dollars.

Many of the school buildings In San Francisco sur- '
pass In elegance and capaciousness the schools of any
Atlantic city. There are seven hundred and twenty
pupils taught in a school building on Silver street, the
Rincon school (girls' grammar) has six hundred young
lady pupils ; Lincoln school, named after Abraham Lin-
coln, Is exclusively a boys' school, and numbers 1,150
pupils ; the Dcmnan school (girls' grammar) has seven
hundred young ladles ; and other school buildings of
great capacity are in contemplation and are being con-
stantly erected.

Colored or negro children have a separate school, at
which one hundred and forty-five children are taught.

San Francisco maintains one school for the Chinese:

this is the only free school maintained on the continent

for the education of this race. The number of Mongolian

children in the city under fifteen years of age in (1870)

1,148, and the number of persons attending the Chinese

school (many of whom are grown men) is two hundred

and two. A library of 8,510 volumes, and valued at

^10,469 — the property of the public schools of San
25

3 S 6 THE G OLDEN STA TE.

Francisco — is in the rooms of the Board of Education
of the city.

To convey a further idea of the extent to which public
instruction is carried on in San Francisco, and the vast
sums so wilHngly spent in the cause of education, a
comparison between the value of pubhc school property
in the progressive city of Chicago and San Francisco
may serve to illustrate. At the end of 1870, the popula-
tion of Chicago was 299,370, and that of San Francisco,
149,473. -^t this period the total valuation of the public
school property of Chicago was $1,873,375 » while San
Francisco, with a population of only about half that of
the former city, possessed in its public school depart-
ment property to the value of $1,729,800 — double as
much in proportion to its population as the school prop-
erty of Chicago.

The report of the State Superintendent of Public
Instruction to 1870 shows that there were 1,144 school
districts in the State, with 1,268 schools, in which there
were employed 1,687 teachers — 970 males and 730
females. The number of pupils enrolled was 73,744,
and the average attendance of pupils, 56,715.

The whole number of children in the State at that
period, between five and fifteen years of age, was
112,743, of whom 57,374 were boys and 55,369 were
girls. Of this number 1 10,642 were white — 56,264 boys
and 54,378 girls; and ^^^ negroes — 432 boys and 406
girls. There were also of this number 1,263 Indian
children — 678 boys and 585 girls — living under the
guardianship of white persons. There were also at
this period 57,983 children in the State under five years
of age — 57,410 whites, 278 negro, and 295 domestic

EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS, 3S7

Indians; making a total of 1 70,726 children of all classes
under fifteen years of age in the State in 1870.

Of the 112,743 children between the ages of five and
fifteen years but 6'],Z'^\ had attended the public schools
at any time during the year; of whom 67,307 were
whites, 406 colored, and 121 Indians. There were at
the same time attending private schools 16,273 children
between fiva and fifteen years of age — 16,159 whites,
sixty-nine colored, and forty-five Indians — making a total
of 84,107 children of all classes between five and fifteen
years of age attendant at school, and leaving 28,636
of these asfes who never enter a school.

It will be seen that of the '^^^ colored children In the
State but 475, or a little over one-half, were attending
school; while of the 1,263 I^^dian children between the
ages of five and fifteen years, said to be under the
guardianship of whites, but 1 66 ever entered a school,
leaving 1,097 without instruction. The fact is, that the
greater part of these Indian children were bought from
some of the tribes in the State and throughout portions
of Oregon and Washington Territory, or kidnapped by
some of the traders on the coast; and are held as slaves,
without knowledge of parents, relatives, or kin.

The number of Mongolian (Chinese) children In the
State at this time, under fifteen years of age, was 1,470.
There were seventy-nine deaf and dumb children be-
tween the ages of five and twenty-one years, and thir-
teen blind of the same age. The total valuation of the
school property of the State was ^2,796,705.12, and the
State expenditure for the school year of 1869 amounted
to $1,290,585.52 In gold.

Sunday-schools, under the direction of zealous and
competent teachers, are maintained throughout the

^88 THE GOLDEN STATE.

whole Pacific coast ; there beinor over two hundred
Sunday-schools, with more than twenty-five thousand
scholars, and four thousand officers and teachers, in
California. There are in the State ten Sunday-schools
for Chinese, having ;^6^ teachers and 1,640 scholars, and
an average attendance of 552. Most of these Chinese
schools are in San Francisco, and are maintained by the
different church organizations. The efforts of the teach-
ers are chiefly directed toward teaching the English lan-
guage. All the scholars in these schools are exclusively
males, and many of them men of middle age. No
female child or Chinese woman enters any school in
California; and no Chinese women, with but few excep-
tions, engage in any occupation or employment save
the plying of their vile and nameless profession.

NATIONAL EDUCATION — THE ESTABIiSHMENT OF AGRICUL-
TURAL COLLEGES IN THE UNITED STATES.

In the year 1862, Congress passed an act entitled
*'An act donating public lands to the several States
and Territories which may provide colleges for the
benefit of aericulture and the miechanic arts," which
was approved, July 2, 1862, by President Lincoln; and
which granted to each State, for such purpose, thirty
thousand acres of land for each Senator and Repre-
sentative in Congress, according to the apportionment
under the census of i860, amounting in the aggregate
to 9,510,500 acres. Besides these donations, Congress
has, by donating the sixteenth and thirty-second sections
in the States for school purposes, granted 69,066,808
acres directly, and for internal improvement (generally
given to the educational fund) granted an additional
13,669,671 acres: thus making a total of 92,246,979

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES. 389

acres (up to 1871) of the public domain donated to the
cause of education in the Union. The act provides
that all moneys realized by the sale of these lands
(agricultural college) shall be invested in stocks of the
United States, or of the States, and that only the in-
terest thereof shall be expended for the purposes
named. The Legislature of each State which accepts
this bequest must establish one college of agriculture
and the mechanic arts, erect suitable buildings, choose
a faculty of professors, and prescribe such a course of
study as will have a tendency "to promote the liberal
education of the industrial classes in the several pur-
suits and professions of life," by making the leading
feature and objects of such instruction to be ''to teach
such branches of learninor as are related to acrriculture
and the mechanic arts," including "military tactics," and
not excludinof "other scientific and classical studies."
The design of Congress appears to have been to estab-
lish a national American system of education for the
benefit of the whole people.

The Legislatures of twenty- three States have re-
sponded to this maornificent donation of Congress, and
have either established or commenced agricultural col-
leges. The following States have organized indepen-
^ dent institutions : Michigan, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Illinois,
Massachusetts, and Maine. The following States have
incorporated their agricultural colleges with other semi-
naries or universities : Connecticut, Kentucky, New
York, New Jersey, Vermont, Kansas, Maryland, Cali-
fornia, Delaware, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The
States of Ohio and Indiana have accepted the donation ;
but, as yet, have only commenced. The first six States

390 THE GOLDEN STATE.

have farms of from four hundred to one diousand acres
attached to their ao^ricultural colleo-es.

On the 23d of March, 1868, an act of the Legislature
of Cahfornia organized a State imiversity, and accepted
the munificent donation of one hundred and fifty thou-
sand acres of land granted by the National Congress
for the establishing and maintaining of a college of
agriculture and the mechanic arts, &c.

The university was opened* on the 23d of September,
1868, and about fifty students had entered up to the
beginning of 1870.

This Institution has Its location at Berkeley, about
four miles north of Oakland, in Alameda county, and
directly facing the Golden Gate. The buildings are
constructed upon the most Improved modern principle,
and are located in a park of two hundred acres, beau-
tifully situated and ornamented with shade and other
trees.

In point of equipment the University of California Is
superior to any In the Union, as Its apparatus was
selected from the most approved modern styles in
England, France, Germany, and America, and many
valuable appliances of modern invention Introduced
which will materially aid in developing and Illustrating
branches of science heretofore not supposed to be sus-
ceptible of illustration by artificial means.

Law, medical, and agricultural departments are con-
nected with the university ; and these, with all the
departments of the Institution, are open to both sexes
alike who can pass the nece3sary examination in scholar-
ship and character.

The practical workings and beneficial effects of the
study of the science of agriculture, as comprehended in

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES. 39 1

the act of Cono^ress establishIno[- and fosterinor aericul-
tural colleges, cannot be doubted, when we reflect that
in no branch of Industry is there such widespread igno-
rance as in the noble pursuit of agriculture — no branch
of industry wherein thrift, education, and systematized
labor combined with the application of science so readily
reward the laborer ; and California, whose generous
soil and genial climate place her in the front rank of
the most favored sections of the elobe, would seem the
most fitung place to bring to unequalled perfection the
productions of the soil and the science and practice of
agriculture.

It is truly encouraging to see at last so deep an
interest manifested in this sadly neglected and noble
industry as exhibits itself in the generous aid afforded
it by the national and State governments. Many of the
States in the Union have taken steps to instruct their
young men in the science and practice of agriculture,
many of them having State agricultural colleges, with
farms attached.

The earliest effort to establish an agricultural school
was made in 1775, by the Abbe Rosier, who proposed
to the French minister, Turgot, to place at his disposal
the park of Chambord. But to the enthusiastic efforts
of Emanuel Fellenberg, who. In 1 799, established upon
his estate of Hofwyl near Berne, in Switzerland, an agri-
cultural school, is the w^orld indebted for its advanced
state of agricultural information founded.-upon combined
science and labor.

In the year 1 799, the Prince Schwarzenberg founded
an agricultural school at Krumau, in Bohemxia, on a
domain of three hundred thousand acres, which Is still
in successful operation. The collections at this famous

392 THE GOLDEN STATE,

school comprise models of agricultural implements,
philosophical and chemical apparatus, insects, fruits,
the cultivated plants of the country, minerals, and a
herbarium. Beside these, there are a botanical garden,
conservatory, and an astronomical observatory. The
instruction is gratuitous.

In many parts of Europe there are agricultural schools
in which instructions are given in botany, zoology,
mineralogy, geology, mathematics, chemistry, physics,
mechanics, agriculture, sylviculture, and the working of
mines ; and wherein the students are brought into actual
contact with every department of practical labor con-
nected with farm -work. They plough, harrow, dig,
cultivate, plant, sow, hoe, thresh, graft, prune, take care
of teams and stock generally, lay out and superintend
work, erect farm-buildings, keep accounts, and perform
every duty of a practical farmier. Students occupy a
term of from three to five years, and after a rigid ex-
amination are, if qualified, graduated.

It is in such institutions as these, in our own country,
that the parents of California should place their sons
instead of crowding them into law, medical, and theo-
logical schools, offices and stores, or permitting them to
join the great and ever increasing army of shiftless
idlers growing up in the land, who seek a precarious
subsistence by clinging to the skirts of some over-
crowded profession, vend small wares, or live in absolute
idleness and vice, while millions of acres of generous
soil only await the touch of industry to bounteously
reward its possessor.

Scientific agriculture is but in its infancy in the United
States. In portions of New England and the Middle
States, where population begins to cut up the land into

SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE. 393

small farms, and the proximity of markets renders the
productions of the soil of great value, considerable atten-
tion is being paid to manuring the land and rotation of
crops ; but throughout the West, and particularly west
of the Rocky mountains, as a rule, the greatest igno-
rance and recklessness in the cultivation of the soil
exists, many farmers entirely ignoring the idea that any
thing will grow upon their farms except wheat, others
grow only barley, and others again only corn or pota-
toes. The wheat farmer buys the barley and oats upon
which he feeds his horses and the vegetables upon his
table ; while the baidey farmer buys his flour and vege-
tables. The stock-raiser, who counts his horned cattle
by the thousands, buys his butter, cheese, and bacon ;
while the hog farmer buys every thing, even bacon and
lard, and, strange as it may seem, hundreds of men
throughout the West drive their hogs to market, sell
themx on the foot at three and four cents per pound,
and carry home ham at twenty to thirty cents a pound.

Year after year the land is sown in the same seed,
without manure or a season's rest, until finally the soil
exhibits signs of exhaustion, and eventually refuses to
produce at all, much to the surprise of the "farmer,"
who must seek "better land."

Within some years past, agricultural societies formed
in most of the States have aided much in disseminat-
ing practical facts to farmers. But systematized and
scientific ao^ricultural education has been slow in its
progress.

The scientific schools attached to Yale^ Harvard, and
Dar^motUh colleges each provide for instruction in
some of the branches of agricultural science, and have
proved of great advantage to those availing themselves

394

THE GOLDEN STATE,

of their benefits ; but the want of experimental farms
has been much felt at these Institutions.

As early as 1837, the subject of establishing agricul-
tural schools was agitated In the States of Pennsylvania
and New York; but, up to 1853, no practical form had
been given to the subject. In this year, the State of
Pennsylvania projected her present flourishing agricul-
tural college. The State of Michigan, In 1855, estab-
lished an agricultural college, appropriated fifty thou-
sand dollars, and purchased a tract of seven thousand
acres of land for this purpose. In 1857, a further sum
of forty thousand dollars was appropriated by the
Legislature, and in May, 1857, the first class was ad-
mitted.

Throuehout the United States acrrlcultural societies
and colleges are fast Increasing, and their beneficial
effects extending to every State and Territory in the
Union. In 1862, the National Congress established a
distinct department of agriculture, with a commissioner
at its head, for the distribution of seeds, roots, &c., and
general information free to the people.

West of the Rocky mountains, besides the stimulus
given to agriculture by the appropriations of Congress
already alluded to, the States and most of the counties
have ao^rlcultural societies.

In 1862, the State of Oregon, by its Legislature,
incorporated an agricultural college at Eugene City;
and 'the State agricultural society of that State, which
has a meeting annually at Salem, exerts much influence
upon the agricultural interests of the State and the
prosperity of the people.

On the 14th of June, 1870, *'The Columbia District
Agricultural Society" was organized at Dalles City,

EDUCATION AND REFOR.^f. 395

Oregon. This society will embrace all of Oregon and
Washington Territory lying east of the Cascade moun-
tains.

Industrial School. — A school for the reformation
of juvenile offenders of both sexes is established at
San Francisco. During the year i86S, the inmates of
the State Reform school, at Alarysville, were trans-
ferred to this institution, and the State Reform school
abandoned. Unfortunate children, without the whole-
some control and guardianship of parents, and those
abandoned to their own resources, or who inherit the
low cunning, crime, and viciousness of wretched pa-
rents, swell the ranks of idle, unwashed urchins, who,
in the genial climate of San Francisco, congregate
under and about the wharves and city front, subsisting
upon stray scraps and the fruits of pilfering, and afford
abundant material for this institution and for the State
prison.

Deaf, Dumb, and Blind. — The State has recently
erected in Alameda county, about four miles north of
the city of Oakland, at a cost of one hundred and fifty-
eight thousand dollars, an institution for the care and
education of the deaf, dumb, and blind. It is the only
establishment of this character on the Pacific coast, is
built upon the most improved plan, and has capacity to
accommodate all those persons upon the Pacific coast
who may find it necessary to enter it. From the i st of
October, 1867, to 1870, but ninety-six persons w^ere
admitted to this institution — sixty deaf and dumb and
thirty-six blind. Persons between the ages of six and
twenty-five years are entitled to admission.

396 THE GOLDEN STATE,

NEWSPAPERS, BOOKS, LIBRARIES, AND LITERATURE.

There is not a State In the Union nor a country in
the world whose people, as a class, is so well educated,
enlightened, and progressive as the people of California.
The first settlers of the State were generally engaged
in active life in their early homes; persons of energy,
ambition, and generally better educated than the mass
of their countrymen. Misfortune In business, and a
restless and uncontrollable desire to gain riches, to-
gether with the spirit o^ adventure, drew to the Pacific
coast the mass of Its population. Many of the early
comers were compelled to make long and expensive
voyages by sea, and tedious journeys by land, often
through foreign countries and amidst scenes and cir-
cumstances which, of themselves, formed a most inter-
esting and salutary chapter in the history of their lives,
On their arrival in California, new and strange fields of
industry were opened up to them. Men of culture and
letters were found In the employments allotted to me-
nials In the older-settled parts of the world, and these
men, located throughout the country In farming, stock-
raising, lumbering, mining, and other industries, and
eno-aored In the various trades and business of the

o o

cities, form the mass of liberal-minded, intelligent men
who have broken down the barriers of superstition and
staid conventionalities of sectarianism, and established
a social and mental activity commensurate with the age,
and in happy contrast with the narrow prejudices and
sectional strifes of many of the older-settled sections
of the countrv.

Civilization, in its westward march. Is no longer
guided by the rude trapper and axeman, but pushed

EDUCATION AXD BOOKS. ^97

ahead by the refining and enlightening" influences of
the school-house and printing-press, whose presence
and power are felt in every home throughout the wide
expanse of the Pacific slope.

As early as the year i860, when California was but
ten years old, as a State, and her whole population but
379,994, her newspaper circulation, in proportion to her
population, was the largest in the world, far surpassing
any part of New England and Europe. At that period
the annual circulation of new^spapers in the United
States was thirty to each person. The average in the
fifteen slave States was but fourteen. In California the
issue was sixty-nine to each person — 77zore than dotible
that of the average of the whole cou7itry, and five times
as great as that of the slave States. Besides the issue
of papers from the press of the State, as here indicated,
a greater amount of reading matter from the Atlantic
States and Europe — newspapers and magazines — is re-
ceived in California, in proportion to the population,
than is received in any other State in the Union from
abroad. So, too, with letters: the letter mails of Cali-
fornia are larger, in proportion to the population, than
the mails of any other State in the Union or any other
part of the world.

There are published in the State of California one
hundred and seventy new^spapers and magazines of all
classes, sixty-seven of this number being published in
the city of San Francisco. The foreign residents in
San Francisco publish and maintain newspapers in
German, French, Spanish, and Italian; also, one one-
half in Russian, and a monthly issue in the Chinese
language for circulation in Asia.

The newspaper press of the State, in many instances,

398 2".^"-5* GOLDEN STATE,

is conducted with much spirit and ability, and is most
liberally patronized by the business community as an
advertising medium. In California everybody reads
newspapers. On the street-corners, hand-cartmen,
hackmen, and draymen seem to devour the contents of
the daily papers; while the stage-driver and expressman
throughout the valleys, gulches, and ravines, as he
speeds his way, is ceaseless in flinging right and left
wads of newspapers at the door of every farm-house,
store, inn, cottage, cabin, and footpath which leads to
the dwelling of some hermit, secluded in the jungle,
ravine, or gulch, where he lives chasing the deer or
hunting for gold.

In the field of authorship and bookmaking, California
has not been behind her sister States. More than one
hundred different books have been written in the State;
some of them ponderous octavos, and embracing his-
tor}^, poetry, fiction, religion, education, agriculture,
mining, politics, and a variety of miscellaneous subjects.
This number does not include the statutes and State
Supreme Court Reports.

Throughout the State, and in all the cities and towns,
there are a number of literary societies and libraries;
but there is not a free library of any description in the
State.

There are sixt}'^-three libraries in California, with over
two thousand volumes each, of an aggregate of one
hundred and seventy-five thousand.

The State library at the capital, Sacramento, contains
about thirty thousand volumes, chiefly law. It is not a
circulating institution.

The library of the Mercantile Library Association of
San Francisco contains about twenty- eight thousand

EDUCATION AND BOOKS. 399

volumes, which circulate among its members. Com-
modious reading-rooms, well supplied w^ith papers from
all parts of the world, are attached for the convenience
of Its patrons.

With books pertaining to the early history of Cali-
fornia, the Pacific coast generally, and the islands of
the Pacific ocean, the Odd Fellows' library of San
Francisco Is perhaps the best supplied of any in the
United States. It contains about twenty thousand
volumes.

In the library of the Mechanics' Library Association
of San Francisco there are about sixteen thousand
volumes of well-selected books; and the public school
department of San Francisco owns a library of eight
thousand five hundred and ten volumes.

There are about five thousand five hundred volumes
In the Young Men's Christian Association library at
San Francisco; and the library of the San Francisco
Verein contains four thousand two hundred volumes.

The Society of California Pioneers have elegant
reading-rooms, and a small library of some two thou-
sand five hundred volumes.

Home for the Care of the Inebriate. — Besides the
thousands of drunkards' homes, in saloons, out-houses,
wharves, streets, and dwellings, where wives, sisters,
and mothers are made the unwillinof oruardians of the
drunkard, an institution called the Home of the Inebri-
ate has been established In San Francisco, supported In
part by contributions and aid from the State. In the
two years ending Januan^ r, 1870, there had been ad-
mitted five hundred and thirty-seven persons to this
institution — four hundred and seventy-three males and

400 THE GOLDEN STATE.

sixty-four females. As In the State prison and insane
asylum, foreigners preponderated. Of the total num-
ber (five hundred and thirty-seven) but two hundred
and thirty were Americans ; while three hundred and
seven were of foreign birth — Ireland, as In the State
prison and insane asylum, taking the lead : Ireland, one
hundred and ninety-five; Germany, thirty-three; and
Scotland, thirteen.

O BENEVOLENT AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS.

Benevolence and charity are leading traits of char-
acter of the whole people of California. Long voyages
by sea and tedious journeys by land, restless nights,
. hard fare, privations, and poverty at some time in the
lives of most have worked the sordidness out of their
souls, and touched the generous fountains which never
fail to yield their pure and copious flow of charity: not
miserly, begrudging charity, but hearty, generous, lib-
eral aid, that makes the heart of the giver glad and the
spirits of the receiver light.

In this land, where, from the earliest settlement of
the country, the mutual exchange of a pot of beans, a
piece of bacon or venison, and a night's lodging has
been regarded a sacred duty, and where the sudden
revulsions of life have tauorht men how fickle are riches,
charity, either In its organized forms or individual char-
acter, meets with most generous recognition from all
classes in California.

Throughout the State, in every town and village,
there are organized societies for the dispensation of aid
to the poor and afflicted. \r San Francisco alone there
are one hundred and fifty benevolent and eighty pro-
tective societies.

ORGANIZED CHARITY,

401

In California the objects of charity are not of the
classes found in older settled countries — old people
and children; for, although some of these classes are
now to be found in destitution, men and women in the
prime of life, destitute of every thing but poverty, are
often compelled to seek temporary relief; so that, from
the year 1849 tc> the present day, men and women, out
of employment and out of money and a home, may be
seen in the streets, stores, and offices of every town in
the State begging for alms. In many instances, when
people are found to respond generously, their kindness
is taken advantage of by those who make 2. profession
of begging. A couple of well-authenticated cases which
recently occurred in San Francisco will illustrate the
extent to which professional bees^inof is carried on in
California. A man with a sorrowful face called upon
the head officer of a benevolent society, stating that his
child was dead and that he had no means of defiaying
the expenses of the funeral. A charitable lady was
despatched with him to the scene of mourninor, when
the fellow, after leading the lady several blocks, ran at
lull speed in an opposite direction and was soon out of
sight. In another instance, a young girl in tears ap-
plied at a benevolent institution, stating that her father
was dead and her mother and little brothers and sisters
in destitution, and without the means of burying the
husband and father. An amiable lady was sent with
the orirl to learn the true state of the case. On arrivinof
at the wretched abode of the familv, sure enouo^h the
father was dead and lying in a rude coffin, surrounded
by his weeping wife and children. The case was one
of great distress, and the good lady from the benevo-
lent society emptied her purse into the lap of the tear-
26

402 THE GOLDEN STATE,

ful wife and mother, and took her departure to procure
further aid for the family and provide for the burial of
the unfortunate man. After her departure from the
house, and before she had gone many steps, she found
that she had forgotten her handkerchief, which she had
held to her weeping eyes in the house of the distressed
family ; so she quickly retraced her steps and quietly
entered, only to see the ''cold corpse" sitting up in his
narrow coffin eountlnof his coin.

To those not familiar with the uncertainties, priva-
tions, and trials incident to a new countr}^, It is difficult
to understand why there should be poor people in a
land like California ; but the causes of temporary or
even painfully protracted poverty are well understood
by all Californians. San Francisco, containing one-
fourth of the whole population of the State, and the
main depot for all new-comers, although the seat of
much wealth, luxury, refinement, and pleasure. Is also
the seat of great distress, vice, and poverty, which keeps
the city hospital, almshouse, and numerous charitable
institutions taxed to their utmost capacity. It is esti-
mated that more than twenty thousand persons annu-
ally receive public charity in the city ; one institution
alone — the San Francisco Benevolerit Society — having
during the year ending December 31, 1870, aided 7,969
persons, at a cost of $22,488. Owing to the mild
climate, the pains of pinching frost are not added to
penury ; but poverty in any of its forms is bad enough.
In San Francisco there are at least five thousand men
and boys who roam about the city, picking up a living
from the contents of milk- cans and bread stolen from
the doors of dwellings, the dregs of beerkegs, and such
pickings as they can obtain about the lunch-tables of

EELIGIOy. 403

saloons. Of this number, but few ever see fire or liebt,
eat at a table, or sleep upon a bed ; but find shelter about
the wharves, in hogsheads, coal-yards, sheds, stables,
lumber-yards, and even upon the sidewalks.

RELIGION.

Weighed In the scale of orthodoxy, the people of
California as a class cannot be considered religious,
although there are many large and influential religious
organizations and devout Christians, and zealous relig-
ionists who follow the Mosaic star or the philosophy
of Buddha and Confucius. As in most parts of the
West, materialism with widespread indifferentism seems
to offer easy avenues and a welcome retreat from the
trammels and anatJie7iias of self-ordained rulers, and the
hidebound dogmas and proscriptions of feeble-minded
fanatics and bigots, who breathe only in the fetid and
sulphurous atmosphere of ritualism and the torments
of eternal fire.

Swinging a pick, rolling a wheelbarrow, and washing
dishes in the mines, with scanty meals of salt bacon and
beans, washing a dirty shirt with blistered hands, and
travelling long, dusty, and lonely roads with an empty
stomach, have been found most efficacious in working
the superstition and other nonsense out of a large por-
tion of the able-bodied men of California.

The early teachings of the Jesuit and Franciscan
fathers have had but little effect upon the heathen ; and
at this period nearly every vestige of their former labors
and of the native Indians of California, has disappeared.

In California, as in most Spanish and Catholic coun-
tries, ail forms of religious worship except Catholicism
were prohibited by law ; and, previous to the year i S4S,

404 ^-^^'^ GOLDEN STATE.

no form of Christian relig-ion save that taught by the
Catholic missionaries had ever been preached in the
land. In the summer of 1848, the Rev. T. Dwight
Hunt, a Presbyterian missionary to the Sandwich islands,
arrived at San Francisco, then a scattering village of
two hundred rude adobe houses. He was elected
"chaplain of the town;" and commenced preaching to
a few persons in a small house occupied during the
week by a school, taught by Thomas Douglas. Mr
Hunt, who was the first Protestant minister in Califor-
nia, continued preaching in San Francisco ; and was, on
the 29th of July, (Sunday,) 1849, elected pastor of the
" First .Conereo-ational church," which office he held
until the first Sunday in January, 1855, wh(in he
resigned his position and left for the Atlantic States,
where he is still (1872) engaged in his Christian minis-
tradons. At the installation of Mr. Hunt, as pastor of
the First Congregational church, which took place on
the 26th of June, 1850, were Revs. J. A. Benton, S. V.
Blakeslee, S. H. Willey, and O. C. Wheeler.

Althoueh Rev. Mr. Hunt had commenced his min-
istrations in 1848, no church organization had been
effected until the third Sunday in April, 1849, when the
Rev. S. Woodbridfj-e, who arrived at San Francisco on
the 28th of February, assisted by the Rev. Albert Wil-
liams, organized and established, at Benicia, the Jirst
Protestant churcJi organization in California.

Rev. S. FI. Willey, subsequently acting chaplain of
the town of Monterey, with 'Rev. Mr. Woodbridge,
arrived at San P'rancisco on board the first passenger
vessel with gold-seekers bound for California.

The second Protestant church oroanization in Call-
fornia, and the first in San Francisco, was the First

RELIGION, 405

Presbyterian church, organized by the Rev. Albert
VVilHams, on the 20th of May, 1849. ^^i'- Wilhams
had arrived at San Francisco on the 31st of March,
1849, ^"^ board the steamer Oregon, the second pas-
senorer steamer which had arrived with orold- hunters.
The Second Protestant church opjanization in San
Francisco was the First Congregational church, pre-
sided over by the Rev. T. Dwight Hunt, already al-
luded to.

The people of California have been peculiarly favored
in having in the ministry, from the earliest period of
American possession to the present time, a large class
of those whose example, influence, fidelity, virtue, and
sterling labors for the promotion of their fellow-men
have endeared their names in the memory of thousands,
and who did eminent service to their adopted State,
their country, and religion.

Omitting atheists, pantheists, Mormons, deists, spirit-
ualists, free-lovers, the disciples of Buddha, and other
"believers" and "unbelievers," the oro^anized relioious
bodies of the State are represented as follows:

The Roman Catholic Church numbers In California
one archbishop, one bishop, one hundred and twenty-
four priests, twenty-nine students for the priesthood,
one hundred and two houses of w^orship, beside forty-
seven chapels and stations, thirty-six schools, including
five colleges, in all having over eight thousand pupils.
It has also six asvlums, four hospitals, and eio-ht con-
vents. It holds enormous properties, draws heavily
upon the purses of its members, and works its affairs
with the precision of machinery. Saddlier's Catholic
Alviaiiac for 1870 estimates tlie Catholic population of
the diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles at thirty

405 THE GOLDEN STATE.

thousand; and the whole number in the State can hardly
fall short of one hundred thousand.

The Methodist Episcopal Church has in California
one hundred and thirteen preaching stations, one hun-
dred and twenty preachers, (including probationers,)
five thousand two hundred members, and one hundred
and forty-six Sunday-schools, with nearly nine thousand
scholars. It has also ninet}^-three church buildings and
fifty-five parsonages, valued at ^990,000. The Univers-
ity of the Pacific owns a valuable property near San
Jose.

The Methodist Episcopal Church South has fifty so-
cieties, fifty-one ministers, 3,385 members, twenty-three
church buildings, and twenty- three parsonages, valued
at ^i 10,000. They have a prosperous college at Vaca-
ville, Solano county, and an academy at Visalia. The
Methodist bodies comprise nearly a third of the Prot-
estants in the State.

The Old and New School Presbvterians have effected
a union. In California they have eighty-eight preach-
ers and forty-two churches, with 2,600 members and
3,500 Sunday-scholars.

The Cumberland Presbyterians claim twelve hundred
members, chiefly in the interior counties.

The Congregationalists, who differ from the Presby-
terians chiefly in the simple democracy of their church
government, report forty-nine ministers and forty-eight
churches, with a membership of 2,121, and 5,178 Sun-
day-scholars. They hold church property valued at
$271,000, including thirty-two houses of worship.

The Baptists, who are also Congregational in govern-
ment, have fifty-eight ministers and sixty-two churches,
with three thousand members.

RELIGION. 407

The Disciples — a branch of the Baptist family —
probably number two thousand or more.

The Episcopalians report forty-five clergymen and
thirty-four churches, with about two thousand commu-
nicants and 2,600 Sunday-scholars. They have a theo-
logical school at Benicia, with a dozen students, and are
zealous for the establishment of schools in every parish,
distrusting the public schools as unreligious.

The Unitarians have four conQ^reoations and four
ministers, with a probable Sunday attendance of one
thousand or twelve hundred, and a scattered constitu-
ency of several thousand more.

The Swedenborgians, or Church of the New Jerusa-
lem, have two small congregations in San Francisco;
and there are several minor sects represented in the
State.

There cannot be less than ten thousand Jews, v/ho
hold fast to the ten conmiandments and the worship of
the Living One, though they have only three or four
synagogues.

In round numbers, the Protestants have four hundred
churches, four hundred ministers, twenty-five thousand
members, and twenty-five thousand children gathered
in Sunday-schools, with a probable attendance at Sun-
day meetings of twenty-five thousand persons who are
not counted as members, making in all a population of
seventy-five thousand who are directly under this form
of reliorious instruction and influence in California.

Of the Catholic population not more than seventy-
five thousand are likely to be reached by the efforts of
the priests, making a total of one hundred and fifty
thousand nominal Christians.

408 THE GOLDEN STATE,

PRISONS, CRIMES, ASYLUMS, CHARITIES, &c.

Prisons and asylums are doubtless the last Institu-
tions that could be thought of by the fortune-seekers
who look toward California and sigh to grasp her
golden treasure. But such Institutions, the accompani-
ments of "civilization," are found even in California.

The rapid acquisition of fortunes, founding of civil
government, establishment of religion, education, and
refinement, have not been the sole aim and occupation
of those who visited California, as can be attested by
the terrible calendar of crime and the ever-lenijthenlnor
column whose gory sides still run with the life-blood
of the victims of the murderous knife and pistol ; and
the cry for more room to accommodate the ever-in-
creasing throng who unwillingly seek an admission into
the expanding jails, prisons, and asylums of the State.

If California can boast of her virtuous, Industrious,
honest, and progressive men and women, so, too, she
. may mourn over her corrupt. Idle, vicious, profligate,
and criminal rabble, who, trampling under foot every
impulse of manhood, virtue, honesty, and industry, seek
only by crime to subsist at the sacrifice of the lives,
property, virtue, and peace of their fellow-beings ; and
as California can boast of her success, activity, mental
and moral forces, quickened and propelled by the cos-
mopolitan nature of her population, her genial climate,
and invigorating atmosphere, so she can look with
horror upon her i7ite7isijied cvmQ, the result of the same
natural causes.

Crime, at best, in any of the States of America or
portions of Europe, where but a single race of mankind
live, is bad enouo^h ; but where the concentrated sin

CRIMES AND PRISONS. 409

and vlllany of every portion of the world meet in their
concrete and angular forms it is appalling ; and in no
other portion of the globe, outside of California, does
crime assume so many and such loathsome f>rms.
Here the highwayman and mountain-robber are repre-
sented by the daring and boldness of every race of
men. The horse-thief has the dasl and agility of
Europe, Asia, and America. The desperado comes
from every part of America, Asia Europe, and the
islands of the seas ; and the professional burglar has
picked locks in both hemispheres: the ponderous doors
of mighty iron safes at his bidding fly open alike in
Paris, London, Pekin, and San Francisco.

The midnight-ranger, who, with murderous club, knife,
pistol, or lariat, lurks for the unsuspecting pedestrian,
came across the seas with the brand of the crimina' and
his hands red with the blood of his fellow -men. The
slip-shod, sly sneak-thief, who, with bated breath, spectre-
like, passes through apertures, doors anc windows as
he nimbly plies his "jimmey," skeleton-key^, anc' chlo-
roform on his march to the throat or pocketr of hi£
unconscious victim, has perhaps acquired the perfec-
tion of his art in Hamburg, Paris, London, or the penal
colonies of Australia.

The shaven-headed, sandal-footed, shrunken-shanked,
almond-eyed, addle-pated Chinaman, who, with stealth
of fox and eye of lynx, "counts your chickens before
they are hatched,'' and throttles your favorite rooster
at the dead watch of the nighr, first, "like the hen
gathereth her brood under her wing," bagged his
chickens by the waters of the Hoang-ho or the Yang-
tse-kiang. The well-dressed gambler who lies in wait
for the "honest miner" — the quack doctor with specif-

41 0 THE GOLDEN STATE.

ics for all diseases — the diviner of diings past, present,
and to come, "speaking all languages" and interpret-
ing the phases of the moon, the ebb and flow of tides,
who looks equally wise in the shuffling of cards, rolling
of globes, manipulating of crowns, or the tickling of
palms, as he throws the mystic symbols of his art before
his victim — may all have left their country for their
country's good, and sought a new field for their opera-
tions in the land of gold. The lewd courtesan ; the
"nice young man travelling for his health ; " the genteel
"bummer," who picks his teeth at the doors of fashion-
able hotels, escorts stylish ladies to the opera, boasts
of female conquests, and "subsists upon the enemy;"
the vender of bad whiskey and other poisonous drugs ;
the unwashed and seedy street-corner loafer and bar-
room bummer, whose unsavory breath pollutes the air,
and whose unappeased maw and guzzling throat wel-
comes the stray crumbs, shrimps, and slops of the
" saloon ; " the " standinp- witness," who testifies accord-
ing to his pay ; the traducer and calumniator, who, for
hire, drags the secrets of the family-circle and the grave
before the public ; the scribbler, who, through a subsi-
dized and venal press, blasts the fair fame of man, and
bends the preo'nant hino^es of the knee where thrift
may follow fawning — these, with a large number of
vicious, idle, frivolous, none-producing vagabond men
and women, create in a great degree the burdens
and evils against which the industrious, honest, pro-
ducing people of California have to contend.

To hold in check the ever increasing tide of crime,
and relieve the misery and want incident to Idleness
and profligacy, has sorely burdened the people of Cali-
fornia, who find the establishment of new criminal

CRIMES AND PRISONS. 4I I

courts, the building of capacious jails, hospitals, and
asylums a matter of yearly increasing necessity,

STATE PRISON.

At San Ouentin, twelve miles north of San Francisco,
in Marin county, is the State Prison, where representa-
tives of every race can be seen, serving out the penalty
of* almost every conceivable crime and those too terri-
ble for the ear. This institution was established in
1851, since which period to the ist of January, 1870,
there have been 4,528 convicts lodged within it.

Estimating the population of the State from 1851 to
the end of 1870 at five hundred thousand, it will be seen
that one out of every one hundred and ten of the popu-
lation have been in the State prison: the number of
persons convicted more than once must be deducted
from this enumeration ; but even this would leave the
number of convictions large beyond comparison. It is
estimated that more than twenty-five thousand persons
have been indicted in the State for the commission of
felonies ; and that the total number of arrests in Cali-
fornia, from the year 1849 to the beginning of 1871, for
every species of crime and misdemeanor, amounts to
four hundred thousand. As the population of the Stat
from i8z|.9 to the present period would average but littl
over this number, it will be seen that the number of
arrests made during the twenty years of the existence
of the State about equals the whole population ; but it
must not be understood that every person in California
has been arrested at some period of his stay here : the
fact that there has been a continuous stream of people
passing through the State, and hoards of straggling
vagabonds and adventurers from all parts of the world

412

THE GOLDEN STATE.

passing to and fro Into the adjacent territories, and the
fact that the same persons have been arrested many
times, will, to a great extent, account for what might
seem a record of unparalleled crime.

In the city of San Francisco, for the year ending June
30, 1870, there were 15,232 arrests raade by the police;
twelve thousand of which can be traced to the direct
influence of intoxicating drink. During this period, the
loss of stolen property to the amount of $130,517 was
reported to the city police; of which $110,262 was re-
covered.

The completion of the overland railroad brought to
San Francisco a great influx of professional thieves,
burglars, and counterfeiters from Atlantic cities ; but so
Dold were the operations of these professionals, and so
efficient the detective police, that in nearly every instance
the guilty parties were arrested, and many of them are
now in the State prison.

At the beginning of the year 1870, there were 732
prisoners confined in the State prison. Of this number
374 were native-born Americans, 73 of whom were born
in California. Every State in the Union was repre-
sented in this institution. There were also 358 persons
of foreign birth confined here. Almost every known
language was spoken, and almost every profession and
trade represented except clergymen and lawyers. Of
the total number of convicts, 515 could read, and 217
could neither read nor write. Of the Americans, 28- .
could read, and of the foreigners 227. The total of all
classes that could read and write was 444. Many of
the prisoners were serving a third, fourth, and fifth
term, and one his sixth term, in a State prison.

During the year 1869, a school was established in the

IXSAXE AS I Z UM. 4 I 3

prison, and many of the convicts availed themselves of
the opportunity and devoted all their leisure time to
study.

The annual exoense of conductinof this establishment
IS ^114,600. Beside this, there was, at the beginning
of 1.^70, a debt of $87,000 incurred in enlarging the
buildings; and the sum of $30,000 paid in this year, to
settle an adverse title to the prison grounds.

INSANE ASYLUM.

Insanity prevails to an alarming extent throughout
the whole Pacific coast, superinduced to some extent by
climatic effects, combined with intemperance, the excit
ing scenes of speculation, and sudden revulsions in
fortune, or protracted impecuniosity. No particular
class indicates excess over its fellows in these maladies
and afflicdons. The stalwart Polander and the meek
Mongolian, the miillionaire and the beggar, alike swell
the ranks of the insane and the suicide.

As in the case of the State prisoners, every State in
the Union and almost every nation on the globe is rep-
resented in this institution. There were 920 patients
in the State insane asylum at Stockton at the beginning
of the year 1870, and increasing numbers still pressed
forward from every section of the State, seeking admis-
sion into an institution already crov/ded beyond its
utmost capacity. Of this number, (920,) G'jG were
males and 244 were females. Insanity is much greater
among the foreign than among the American native
born. Of 482 persons admitted in 1869 — of whom 102
were females — but 179 were Americans; while 283
were foreigners and 20 unknown. These unfortunates
came " from Greenland's icy mountains to India's coral

414 1^^^ GOLDEN STATE,

Strand" — one from Iceland and one from India. Ireland
was represented by the largest number of any foreign
nation — 99 ; next came Germany with '^'] ; England,
29; France, iS; and China, 17.

During the nineteen years of the existence of the asy-
lum— from 1 85 I to 1870 — the total number admitted
into it was 4,596; of whom 1,001 died and 2,243 were
restored to reason. The expense of maintaining this
mstitution is about ^152,000 per annum.

EXECUTIVE, JUDICIARY, LAWS, &c.

In a preceding chapter will be found a list of all the
Spanish and Mexican civil and military governors and
American military governors of California from the first
settlement of the country to and including the year
1849. Since that period to the present there have
been ten governors in California, as follows : Peter H.
Burnett, who was the first American governor after the
military rule, was elected by the people on the 13th of
November, 1849, his term of office commencing on the
15th of December following; he served until January
8, 1 85 1, when he resigned, and was succeeded by John
McDouo:all, who was elected lieutenant-orovernor with
Burnett; McDougall served until the ist of January,
1852 ; John Bigler, who was elected for two terms in
succession, served from January i, 1852, to January 1,
1856; J. Neely Johnson, from 1856 to 1858; John B.
Weller, from 1858 to i860; Milton S. Latham, who
was elected for the term from i860 to 1862, after filling
the office for fourteen days, resigned on January 14,
i860, and was elected United States senator; John G.
Downey, who was elected lieutenant-governor with
Latham, served as governor undl 1862; Leland Stan-

EXECUTIVE, JUDICIARY, LAWS, ^e, 41 5

ford, January, 1862, to December, 1863. After this the
g-overnor was elected for a term of four years. Fred-
erick F. Low was inaugurated on the first Monday in
December, 1863, and served until the first Monday in
December, 1867; upon which day Henry H. Haight
was inaugurated to serve until the first Monday in De-
cember, 1871 ; at which time Newton Booth was inau-
gurated governor for the following four years.

The governor, with a lieutenant-governor, is elected
for a term of four years. The governor receives a
salary of seven thousand dollars per annum in gold,
(the largest salary of any governor in the Union.) He
resides at Sacramento, the capital of the State. The
lieutenant-governor receives an annual salary of ^3,600;
he is compelled by law to reside at the State prison as
resident director of that institution.

The governor must be at least twenty-five years of
age, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the
State two years previous to his election.

In the Legislative department there are two branches
— the senate and assembly ; the first consists of forty
members, elected by the people for a term of four years.
The lower branch, or assembly, consists of eighty mem-
bers, elected by the people for a term of two years.
California is represented at the national capital by two
senators, elected by the Legislature for a term of six
years ; and by three congressmen, elected by the people
for a term of two years. All male citizens twenty-one
years of age are entitled to vote at all elections.

The laws of California, in protecting individuals in
their personal property and private rights, are most
Hberal. A homestead, of the value of five thousand
dollars, is exempt from all debts, and may be held by

41 6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

the head of a family, a husband, widow, widower, or
any person, married or single, acting as the head of a
family; and any unmarried person, not acting as the
head of a family, may hold a homestead of the value
of one thousand dollars.

The separate property of husband and wife, before
marriage, remains the separate property of each after
marriage ; so the property of each, acquired by inheri-
tance or gift after marriage, remains the separate prop-
erty of the individual acquiring it.

California has, by statute, wisely protected her people
from the machinations and spoliations of the heartless
creditor by exempting the tools of the mechanic, the
horse and cart of the laborer, the dray or wagOM cf the
expressman, the horses, farming implements, fecv,l, and
seed of the farmer, the library of the professional man,
and the household furniture, provisions, and clothing of
every householder in the State, from execution. There
is neither arrest nor Imprisonment for debt, except in the
cases of fraud or an abscondlno- debtor.

All the children of the family inherit alike. The
father or husband controls all the joint property, and
can dispose of it without the consent of the wife, except
the homestead, which he cannot encumber or sell with-
out the wife's consent. The husband also has the
management of the wife's separate property, but the
wife, on application to a competent court, can have
another person appointed her agent.

Lands cannot be tied up indefinitely, as by statute a
will to real estate is limited to two lives In beinor • and
a lease cannot be made of real estate for a lono^er
period than ten years, except for a town lot, which may
extend a period of twenty years.

EXECUTIVE, JUDICIARY, LAWS, ^e. 417

Conveyance by deed grants the fee simple; most all
the other titles known in other parts of the world are
almost entirely unknown in the State.

Statute of Limitations. — Articles charged in a store-
account are barred in one year; on an account not in
writing, two years; on a contract in writing, promissory
note, &c., in four years; on a judgment, five years.

Divorce. — A divorce may be granted for any of the
following causes: natural impotency, existing at the
time of marriage; want of consent of parents where
the female is under fourteen years of age, unless a rati-
fication of the marriage is made after the parties become
of age ; by an act of adultery of either party; excessive
cruelty; habitual intemperance; wilful desertion by
either party for a period of two years; failure on the
part of the husband to provide the necessaries of life
for the wife (he having the ability) for the term of three
years; obtaining the consent of either party by fraud;
the conviction of either party of a felony. A residence
in the State of six months next preceding the action is
necessary, in order to give a court jurisdiction.

judiciary. •

The Supreme Court of California consists of five
judges, elected by the people for a term of ten years
each, at a salary each of six thousand dollars per annum.
It is the court of last resort in the State. Terms of
this court are held at Sacramento on the first Mondays
in January, April, July, and October.

The State is divided into nineteen judicial districts,

with a district court of original jurisdiction in each. In

each of these districts a judge is elected by the peoj^le,
27

41 8 THE GOLDEN STATE.

for a term of six years, at a salary of five thousand
dollars. There are four judicial districts In the city of
San Francisco : In these latter the salary is six thou-
sand dollars each per annum. Each of the fifty counties
in the State has a court called the county court. There
are also other inferior courts of limited jurisdiction.

California constitutes a separate United States judi-
cial district^ presided over by a United States district
judge, at a salary of five thousand dollars per annum.
Courts are held at San Francisco, beginning on the
first Monday in April, second Monday in August, and
first Monday In December.

The States of California, Oregon, and Nevada con-
stitute the Ninth United States circuit ; and a United
States circuit court is held at San Francisco, com-
mencing its terms on the first Monday in February,
second Monday in June, and first Monday In October.
The judge's salary is five thousand dollars per annum.

The legal profession is well represented on the Pa-
cific coast, and judges and attorneys of unimpeachable
integrity and eminent attainments maybe found all over
the States and Territories of the entire country. There
are at least from seven to ten lawyers in California
where there should be one. In all the towns and vil-
lages, and especially In San Francisco, where there are
over five hundred of them, there is a great overstock
of lawyers, and many of them find It most difficult to
earn a livelihood. Some few firms and individuals do a
fair business and some few a large business ; but when
a comparison Is made between the lawyers of the State
and the merchants, farmers, or other classes and
branches of industry, it may be safely said that the
lawyers of California as a class are the poorest men in

TRADES AND PROFESSIONS.

419

the State, and that great numbers of them eke out an
impecunious and precarious existence, from which there
is no hope of reUef until they abandon the profession.
Three or four hundred of the lawyers now in San Fran-
cisco could soon add much to their fortune, health, morals,
and the benefit of the State, by tilling the soil, raising
stock or chickens, making butter, running sawmills, or
conducting some branch of regular industry. The same
might in truth be said of doctors and other professional
men, who, for the sake of staying in a city, undergo all
the pangs of poverty, while the broad acres of a gen-
erous soil only await the touch of industry to yield Its
rich harvest and bounteous rewards.

Throughout the whole Pacific coast, every cit}^ village,
and town is overstocked with "professional men" —
lawyers, doctors, dentists, "artists," &c. — and still thou-
sands of young men in the East anxiously seek the
West for a field of professional labor. The anvil and
the plow still call for young and active men, promising
them peace, health, and plenty, while the occupations
suited to woman, and the streets, concert halls, gambling
houses, and drinking saloons are crowded with stahvart
"loafers" and decayed dandies, who, in our practical
age, are but a burlesque upon the sex to which they
belong.

420 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XXVII.

Chinese empire — Chinese in the United States — Seeking gold in
America — In California — Employments, character, and customs
of the Chinese — Chinese in San Francisco — Moral depravity —
Chinese persecuted — Social and political condition of the Chinese
— Buddha, Confucius, and Mencius — Religion of the Orient —
Chinese classics — Opium and other stimulants — Small feet of the
women — Christianity among the Chinese — Coolyism — Chinese
slavery in America — Spanish barbarity.

The great empire of China, with its four hundred
million of people, peculiar in physical type, customs, and
religion, has, until a recent period, remained compara-
tively excluded from the rest of the world.

Commercial intercourse with many of the seaports
of the empire has long existed, but the great interior
of the country, with its olive-faced, almond-eyed, sha-
ven-headed, sandal-footed people, is still almost un-
known.

Merchants, travellers, and missionaries may be found
about the seaports, and gradually work their way into
the skirts of the country; but European customs and
the name of Christ and his mission are all unknown to
the people of this vast empire, still dreaming over the
philosophy of Buddha and Confucius, plodding along
without the appliances of steam and the aid of modern
invention. China is to-day as it was centuries ago,
and centuries hence will find this vast nation almost
as exclusive as it has been since the creation of the
race.

Until a recent period no Chinaman was allowed to
leave his country, and if by accident or design any
found their way into foreign lands, and returned to their

CHINESE IN AMERICA. 42 I

homes, transportation for life or decapitation awaited
them.

Throughout the civIHzed world to this day the ap-
pearance of the strange people of this oldest empire,
with flowing robes, sandals, and cue. Is a source of
wonder and curiosity, always suggesting the Darwinian
theory of the creation of our species.

The date of the arrival of the first Chinaman in
America is uncertain. A few Chinese and Japanese
have, at remote periods, been driven from their native
shores to the islands of the Pacific, and occasionally
upon the western coast of America; but no effort had
been made for thousands of years, either by these
people or their governments, to see other lands or
affiliate with other people.

In the twenty years from 1820 to 1840 but eleven
Chinese had arrived in the United States, and from
1840 to 1850 but three hundred and thirty-five. Of
this latter number three hundred had arrived at San
Francisco In 1849, induced to seek their fortunes In the
new El Dorado.

The discovery of gold in California forms a new era
in the history of Chinese migration. The proximity of
the Golden State to the Orient, with direct ocean com-
munication, soon broke the hermetic seal of the "flowery
kingdom," and brought floods of its strange people to
the shores of America.

A few years before the discovery of gold in Cali-
fornia, vessels trading between China, the Pacific islands,
and San Francisco carried a few Chinese as cooks and
servants. On the 2d day of February, 1848, the brig
Eagle, from Canton, arrived at San Francisco with the
first Chinese in the country — one woman and two men

42 2 THE GOLDEN STATE.

who came over In the employ of an American gentle-
man lonof resident in China. The men went to the
mines, and through them and the masters of vessels
anxious to employ their craft in profitable trade news
reached China of the rich Q^old - fields of America.
Yankee ingenuity was soon employed, and walls, trees,
cliffs, and masts of ships at Hong-Kong and Canton pro-
claimed in blazing colors and Oriental hieroglyphics the
startling news of motmtains of gold in California.
• Late in 1848 a few Chinese gold-hunters arrived at
San Francisco, and in 1849 came an addition of three
hundred ; so that the earliest American pioneer to the
gold-fields found himself face to face with these people.
At first the Chinese were regarded with great curiosity
and treated with kindness ; but the vast numbers In
which they soon came to the country, their exclusive
habits and indifference to every thing American, changed
kindness to fierce hostility, which loses none of its
bitterness with lapse of tim.e.

The number of Chinese who arrived at San Francisco
in 1850 was four hundred and fifty; in 185 1, twenty
seven hundred; and in 1852, eighteen thousand — more
than eleven thousand havinpf arrived in the month of
June of this year.

The total number of Chinese who arrived In the
American republic to and including 1870 is estimated
at one hundred and fifty thousand; of whom, according
to the census returns, 63,154 still remain in the country,
74,646 have returned home, and twelve thousand have
died. (The bodies of the dead are all sent to China.)
Of the 63,154 Chinese In the United States, 60,765 are
on the Pacific coast, as follows: California, 49,277;
Nevada, 3,152; Oregon, 3.330; Arizona, 20; Idaho,

CHINESE IN AMERICA,

423

4,274; Utah, 445; and Washingt(xi Territory, 234;
leaving but 3,389 Chinese in the whole republic outside
of the Pacific coast; of this number, 1,949 are in that
portion of Montana in and about the region properly
embraced with the area of the Pacific slope. These'
are divided amonor the followinis: States and Territories,
as follows : Arkansas, 98 ; Connecticut, 2 ; Georgia, i ;
Illinois, i; Iowa, 3; Kentucky, i; Louisiana, 71;
]\Iaine, i ; Maryland, 2; Massachusetts, 87; Michigan,
i; Mississippi, 16; Missouri, 3; New Jersey, 5; New
York, 29; Ohio, i ; Pennsylvania, 13; South Carolina,
i; Texas, 25; Virginia, 4; Colorado, 7; District of
Columbia, 3; Montana, 1,949; Wyoming, 143.

It will be observed that by the census of 1870 many
of the States had not a sino^le Chinese in them. The

census of this year shows but 55 Japanese in the whole
republic, as follows: California, '^^y'^ Massachusetts, 10;
Michigan, i; New Jersey, 10; and Pennsylvania, i.
Since this period many Japanese have arrived in the
countr}^ the great majority being of the higher classes,
and have entered our colleges and scientific schools,
v\^here they make rapid progress in the languages, and
seem to feel a deep interest in adopting the costume, lan-
guage, and customs of the new world. Many Ameri-
cans have, within the past two years, at the invitation
of the Japanese government, gone to that countr}', and,
under large salaries, entered into the service of the
Mikado ; others have been enaao^ed as teachers and in-
structors in modern civilization. Japan is represented
at Washington by a minister ; and with fifty -five
Japanese in America for the past three years, they
have imbibed and diffused more of our American ideas
than one Jinndred and fifty thousaiid Chinese who have

424

THE GOLDEN STATE,

landed in our country have done in the past twenty
years.

As may be seen by reference to the location of the
Chinese, it will be noticed that they have spread over
the entire Pacific coast: indeed there is not a camp,
station, city, or village throughout the remotest part of
California, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Montana, Idaho,
Washington Territory, and British Columbia, but these
people are to be seen, engaged in mining, wood-chop-
ping, making roads, farming, fishing, gardening, wash-
ing, in factories, and in houses as cooks, chamber-maids,
(men,) nurses, and general servants. But, in whatever
capacity employed, one thing is apparent everywhere :
that they have no attachment to the soil, customs, or
people of America — they don't take root in the countr}^

Kot being so rugged as the Saxon or Celt, the China-
man adapts himself to the lighter out-door work and
to the duties generally performed by women in all parts
of the world outside of the Pacific coast of America ;
and when, with his shaven-head, smooth face, wooden
shoes, white stockings, and white jeans, costume flow-
ing loose and airy, he is engaged in household affairs,
while puzzling man to know his species or sex, he is
the picture of ease, order, cleanliness, and sobriety.
But see the Chinaman as he Is to be seen in his own
quarters — see twelve thousand of them huddled to-
gether within a few blocks in San Francisco, stewing In
their filth, fumes of opium and odors known only to a
Chinaman — see them cooped by hundreds in a single
room, packed away like mummies on shelves, in dark,
damp holes, subsisting upon scant morsels of boiled
rice and dried fish — see him waddling knee-deep in filth
through narrow, dark alleys, lined with rickety shanties,

CHINESE IN AMERICA.

425

whose each window-pane reflects the spectral form of
his painted, courtesan countrywomen, plying their vile
arts by such signs, gestures, and grimaces as put even
the sturdy "honest miner" to flight — see all this!
have your olfactories draw mild comparisons between
a Chinese "stink-pot" of ancient times and these im-
ported and nameless odors, and feel compassion for
the hog put in comparison with these heathen, in their
styes, and you may have some idea of social life and
habits among the celestials in Sacramento and Jackson
streets, and other localities in San Francisco.

Three virtues are always found prominent with China-
men : patience, frugality, and sobriety. Nothing so
much draws out our sympathy and interest to these
people as their childlike^ innocent-looking faces, and
the uncomplaining, mild disposition with which they pur-
sue their allotted employment.

Chinamen in the mining districts of the Pacific coast
are generally employed in surface-mining, and working
mines abandoned by Americans. In many instances
they make rich discoveries and good pay; but thou-
sands work where fifty or seventy-five cents per day only
can be made. They never engage in quartz or deep
diggings, preferring to sit and shake a rocker through
the long day In the broiling sun, if fifty cents per clay
can be made, to risking themselves underground for
any inducement. As a rule. Chinamen will not go
below the level of their heads in mining on any terms.

In mining, farming, in factories, and in the labor gen-
erally of California, the employment of Chinese has been
found most desirable ; and much of the labor done by
these people, if performed by white men at higher
wages, could not be continued nor made profitable.

426 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Thousands of Chinamen were employed in building
the Central Pacific railroad from San Francisco to
Ogden, in Utah; and thousands are constantly en-
gaged in similar work in all parts of the Pacific coast,
always giving satisfaction. Indeed it is conceded by
those employing them that, while in physical powers
they are inferior to the white man, they are superior
in diligence and sobriety. Drunkenness, fasts, feasts,
saints-days, celebrations, election-days, clubs, compa-
nies, orders, societies, parades, and every thing else that
attracts other men, are entirely unknown to a China-
man. One week in each year he must have for his
new year ; and although he would once in a while like
to present his Joss with a roast pig or offering of a
spring chicken, he will forego this, and leave his soul
to fate, rather than lose a day and his seventy-five cents.

With a resignation that mio-ht well become men toil-
ing only for eternity these quiet people plod through
the long years, heedless of all passing events save the
revolutions of the globe, at whose turn they count off
their daily stipend. Internal nor external affairs of
State or nation disturb not the Chinaman. His home
is far away. In the distant future he sees accumulated
coin, a great ship with white sails, and a broad sea, and
beyond this he sees his almond-eyed bride, pig-tailed
offspring, floating gardens, fat ducks, and a happy refuge
in the blessed land of his ancestors.

In San Francisco whole blocks and streets are occu-
pied exclusively by Chinese, where they conduct every
branch of commerce and traf^c in Oriental style — Joss-
houses, theatres, markets, workshops, gambling houses,
all in operation. There are many large importing
houses and wealthy firms, high in the estim.ation of the

CHINESE /A AMERICA. 427

mercantile community: some of these have accumulated
considerable wealth. Thousands of Chinese are em-
ployed In the city In factories, making slippers and
clcrars ; and lar^e numbers are eno^ao^ed In washincr.
Chinese wash-houses strike the eye at every corner
throughout the whole city, and In every city on the
Pacific coast.

The census of 1870 shows 1 1,810 Chinese In San
Francisco ; of whom 9,777 were males, and 2,040 were
females. Of the males, Z^]*] were under fifteen years
of age ; and of the females, 271 were under fifteen years.
There were 189 males and 131 females born In Cali-
fornia— 320 American citizens born of Chinese parents.

No further commentary upon the morals of these
people will be necessary than to state that, out of the
1,769 Chinese females over fifteen years of age In San
Francisco, 1,452 are public courtesans ; leaving but 317
Chinese women in the city assuming virtue.

The Chinese In San Francisco have accumulated
considerable property, notwithstanding nearly all their
earnings go to China. The aggregate wealth of this
class Is two million dollars, all of which is personal
property, except seventy-five thousand dollars in real
estate owned by a "Chinese doctor" having a large
practice among Americans. This Is the only real estate
owned In the city by Chinamen.

For many years the bitterest prejudice has prevailed
amonor all classes on the Pacific coast against the

o o

Chinese. The great competition In labor and the low-
ering of the standard of wages induced by these people
strike directly at the laboring classes, who raise their
voices loud against the presence of those who de-
grade their occupation by reducing Its pay below the

428 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Standard of remunerative prices; and who, not adapting
themselves to the institutions of the country nor affih-
ating with the people, continue to remain aliens and
3trangers.

Political parties, ever catching at popular prejudice
to gain temporary strength, have grasped the passions
of caste and race, thrust them into their doctrines, and
incorporated them into their laws, raising oppressive
barriers and cruel distinctions between men; so that,
by special laws, the Chinaman throughout the Pacific
coast has been made the centre of personal hatred and
leo^al discrimination that alike deofrade manhood and
disfigure the temple of justice.

- Popular opinion, marking with its caustic touch
passing men and events, has placed a deep brand on
the face of the Chinaman on the western shores of
America, until society utterly refuses to receive as
''man and brother" any member of that vast race form-
ing more than one-third of all the people on the globe,
and boasting of a literature and religion centuries older
than civilization in the western world.

In California no social intercourse whatever, except
in commercial aftairs, is held between Americans and
Chinese; indeed, no thought of the possibility of do-
mestic relations between the Chinaman and the Cau-
casian enters the minds of either people.

Marriage with any other of the colored or mixed
races of men, Indian or negro, is possible; but no white
man on the Pacific coast has yet made any such alliance
with a Chinese. In the strangely blended types of
man, as found in California, mixed and crossed breeds,
between almost every race and shade, present Cau-
casian blood; but no instance is to be found pledging

CHIXESE IN AMERICA.

429

the mutuality of the Saxon or Celt with the people of
the Orient in the propagation of half-breed Chinese.

In New York, Louisiana, and perhaps other sections
of the East, instances exist of marriages of -Irish women
to Chinese husbands; but on the Pacific coast no white
woman has, so far, yielded to a disgrace that would at
once place her outside the pale of the lowest society of
her people, and endanger her life itself; for so deeply
rooted and general is the prejudice against amalgama-
tion with Chinese that every species of crime may be
committed under some pretext or other, but the last
crowning sin — to marry a Chinese — will be avoided.
The human nondescript that might be produced by the
amal(:{-amation of the Caucasian and Chinese must lonof
remain unknown, at least in California.

Whatever may be said of the Chinese religion by
those who know but little about it, it must be confessed
that their three great teachers, Buddha, Confucius, and
Mencius, in morality, sobriety, and the plain, practical
precepts of life, stand unsurpassed in the history of the
human race. In all the writinors of the advocates of
other religions no passages more deeply weave them-
selves into the fabric of our better human nature than
the sweet, tender, loving tones of Confucius wdien plead-
ing obedience to the laws of nature and advocating filial
love and obedience.

The doctrines of the Chinese philosophers, while
aiming remotely at a future state of existence, and ac-
knowledging the fatherhood of the Deity and practical
progress in sanctity, is unencumbered with the terrors
of fire, and the mystic vail through which the disciples
of miracles, mysteries, and metamorphoses struggle to
gain glimpses of eternity.

430 THE GOLDEN STATE.

To-day Christianity is the great predominant religion
of the West, while Buddhism continues to be the re-
ligion of the East, indorsed and adopted by half the
people of the globe. Christ came to teach In the hum-
ble capacity of a carpenter's son; Buddha, as the born
son of a Hindoo king, stepped from a throne to the
low estate of a beggar to teach humility. The life of
Buddha, the founder of the religion of the East, began
in Hindostan five hundred and fifty-seven years before
Christ : he died at eighty years of age. The family
name was Gautama, or Sakya-Muni; and in later
life the prophet was called Siddartha, "he by whom
the end is accomplished," and finally Buddha, "the
enlightened," as Jesus is called the Christ, the giver
of truth. i\t the age of sixteen, by pouring water
on the head, he was consecrated as prince royal.
From earliest youth he was most studious, and in
the sciences of his times was regarded as most re-
markable. Great care was taken to keep from him
all painful sights, that his mind might not be afiiicted
with sorrow; but the sight of an aged man, a loath-
some disease, and a corpse, for the first time, had
so pained him with the thought that to such all might
come as to cause a sudden change in his whole life.
Turning his back upon palace, father, wife, child, and
friends, in the garb of recluse, and in the face of a
narrow, intolerant religion of the Brahminical church
and cruel, caste proscriptions, he entered upon the es-
tablishing of broader ideas and a literature in harmony
with the new progress. To-day the doctrines of Buddha
are the foundations of the prevailing religion of Hin-
dostan, Ceylon, Burmah, Siam, Corea, Thibet, Cochin
China, China, and Japan. If numbers be evidence of

CHINESE RELIGION, 43 1

the virtue or strength of a religion, let us remember
that, in 1872, the estimated population of the globe was
1,380,000,000, of whom 380,000,000 were Caucasian,
200,000,000 Ethiopian, 220,000,000 Malay, 1,000,000
Indo-American, and 580,000,000 Mongolian.

Buddhism, now known in China as the religion of
Fo, was introduced into that country from Hindostan
about the year sixty of the Christian era, and now,
amalgamated with the doctrines of China's greatest
sage and teacher, Confucius, forms the staple of Ori-
ental faith ; but its origin in Hindostan dates back
five hundred years before Christ.

Confucius, whose father was prime-minister of the
state wherein he lived, was born five hundred and
fort}^-nine years before Christ, in the ancient kingdom
of Loo, in the northeastern portion of China, now the
province of Shan-tung. He was at an early age left
an orphan and educated in retirement by his mother,
Chino; — a woman of remarkable virtues and Intelli-
gence. The family name was Kung Chung-ni, but is
popularly styled Kung Fu-tse. The study of diplo-
macy and political economy early engaged his atten-
tion. He married at nineteen, and, like Buddha, on
the birth of his first child left his wife, the more closely
to apply himself to his studies and professions. Wan-
dering from province to province he promulgated
the philosophy which has made him Immortal in the
eyes of Oriental nations, and to-day dedicates the valley
where repose his remains as a sacred sjypt, pointed to
by the learned and devout of his race as holy ground
to pilgrim and priest.

In the Wti-kmg and S-s/m, " The Five Classics and
Four Books," the writings of Confucius, are found the

432 THE GOLDEN STATE.

fundamental basis of the social, political, and religious
practices of the Chinese nation. Here we first find re-
corded that earliest manifestation of nature's sweetest
voice. The Golden Rule : " What you do not want done
to yourself do not do to others ;" which, in modified and
altered forms, has been woven into sacred history and
laid down by Christian teachers as the light of the law
of eternity. Here, too, we find the first proclamation
of the fatherhood of God, "All between the four seas
are brethren," says Confucius.

The perfection of God and his creation Is beautifully
set forth in that simple, natural belief, to which enlight-
ened man in all lands seems to be approaching, that
*'A11 men are born perfect, and if not educated, the
natural character is changed, and man becomes de-
praved." Few persons, not blinded by the green vail
of superstition, watching the sweet, simple innocence of
childhood, the purity of youth, and the depravity of
manhood, can adopt the theory of pains, pe7ialties, and
fire for the departed spirits of babes, and that mature
age, penance, and fiery purgations are the only paths
to the presence of God. "Jesus may do for foreigners,
but Confucius is the holy man of China," says the son
of the Orient as he listens to the tale of the fierce
torments necessary in the purgation of the "original
sin" of the Caucasian.

In the material world, centurfes upon centuries have
rolled away — kings, governments, and dynasties grown
and di^appea^d — Persia, Assyria, Egypt, Greece, and
Rome flourished and faded away — the eternal hills them-
selves have lifted and lowered their heads in the lapse
of time ; but the Chinese nation and the Chinese people
remain unchanged. No admixture of other races leaves

CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 433

a single line upon the physical mould ; nor do the busy
changes in science, government, society, or religion
leave a single imprint upon the stereotyped conditions
of these people, whose primeval customs, literature, and
religion are as active and fresh as they were centuries
before the deluge, the dispersion at Babel, and the rule
of Kublai Khan. The China of to-day is but the
Cathay of centuries ago.

On the Pacific coast of America, more than in any
other part of the globe outside of China, can be .seen,
in Oriental purity, the Chinese people. In San Fran-
cisco, where twelve thousand of them live, all their
social habits, peculiarities, and religious dogmas are
practised as in their own country. In every town of
importance in California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, ]\Ion-
tana, and Idaho, distinct communities of Chinese, with
their merchants, doctors, prophets, mechanics, actors,
priests, and laborers, are found, with their temples,
theatres, and gambling-houses. San Francisco alone
has five public Joss-houses, with innumerable images of
prophets, kings, gods, animals, birds, beasts, fishes, in-
sects, and fearful-looking nondescript creatures having
their origin only in the brain of some enthusiastic dis-
ciple of Buddha.

In the Joss-houses there are no regular hours for wor-
ship. In each, one or more officiating priests live in
some wing of the building, and are generally attending
to lighting Joss-sticks, feeding lamps, arranging vases,
shifting scenes, mats, carpets, and flowers, sounding
gongs, and burning fire-crackers. A fortune-teller, at a
side table, In the presence of the gods, directs the
earthly affairs of his confiding audience, who dole out

their scanty coin for his mystic art.
28

434

THE GOLDEN STATE.

People pass in and out of the temples at all hours
of the day, some lounging Idly, walking about, and
jesting pleasantly upon the appearance of the figures
before them; others more devout bear fresh oil for the
lamps, flowers, fruit, boiled rice, sweetmeats, roast fowl,
and roast pig, and distribute them, in tempting display,
before the painted images. After a few prostrations,
cracking of Joss-sticks, burning of paper, sounding of
eono-s, beating of drums, and the deafenino^ roar of in-
numerable fire-crackers, the worshippers gather their
offerings of flowers, chicken, and pig, and, through the
smoke and odors of the Joss-house, pass quietly to their
homes, to pick the sacred chicken-bones and eat the
rice upon which Joss is supposed to have made his
imaginary feast.

Chinese never bury their dead in foreign soil, and
the bodies of all dead Chinamen throughout the re-
motest interior of California are gathered up by friends
and agents, shipped to San Francisco, and from there
to China. The spirit of a dead Chinaman, according
to Chinese belief, can never reach the happy sphere of
his departed ancestors while the body lies in the soil of
the foreign barbarian.

Mourning for the dead Is proclaimed by the wearing
of luJiite. The friends of deceased persons follow the
dead to the grave, scattering Joss-paper to notify the
spirits of their new companion. Flowers, fruits, boiled
and roast chicken, ducks, and pig are laid upon the
grave, to appease the hungry gods, and mollify the
spirits of deceased ancestors.

Love-making among the Chinese Is never indulged
in by the writing of letters or personal interviews of
the parties interested; such would be considered very

CHINA AND THE CHINESE, 435

shocking". IMatch-making is conducted by a class of
women who go about from one family to another, and
report to the parents of youth desirable matches of
either sex. Sometimes enofao^ements are made between
mere children, and by parties at remote distances. The
lovers never see each other, and, as the bride is closely
vailed, the "happy man" never sees the face of his wife
until after the marriage ceremony, and when in the
bridal chamber. But little affection exists between
man and wife. They are never seen in company
together, and if company visit the home the wife is not
permitted to sit at table. In the street husband and
wife do not walk side by side, nor arm-in-arm, but the
wife, at a reserved distance, trots along behind. The
universal education of Chinamen in their country does
not extend to females, but stringent laws, with penal-
ties, are enacted, prohibiting the education of women.

Under the existing laws of the Chinese empire, po-
lygamy Is not prohibited, and the husband can sell his
wife and child, at pleasure. Infanticide prevails to an
alarming extent; but male children are never destroyed
by their parents. Writers, sages, and teachers in the
empire all denounce child-murder, but no law of the
land makes it a crime.

No holiday, day of repose, or Sabbath Is observed by
the Chinese, except the new year. At this time a great
demonstration is made, generally lasting a week. New
year is the time when all appear in their choicest flow-
ing robes. New silk must be added to the cue; the
head must be clean-shaved, and gorgeous feathers,
silks, satins, and flowers ornament both sexes. All
outstanding debts are adjusted, and receipts passed in
full, paid or not paid.

436 THE GOLDEN STATE,

The beginning of the year is not at regular periods
of time : it occurs in each year at the time that the first
new moon appears after the sun enters Aquarius, wliich
is at irregular periods between the 21st of January and
the 19th of February.

In their mode of eating, and what they eat, the
Chinese appear as strange as they do In their religion
and costume. Tea, the great staple of their country,
is drank by all, but without milk or sugar; a small
quantity of dry tea is put in a small cup holding a
mouthful, boiling water is poured on this and drank at
once. Rice, fowls, vegetables, fruits, sweetmeats, and
pork form the staple diet of all Chinese : but little bread
is used, and beef, mutton, butter, cream, and milk are
totally unknown as articles of food. The use of the
knife and fork Is unknown, all food being carried to
the mouth with the chop-sticks : these are about the
length and size of a pen-holder, and are held between
the fino-ers, the two outer ends cominof close tocrether,
and the velocity with which a Chinaman will carry to
his mouth his food or a stream of soup is only within
the comprehension of the skilled in hydraulics.

The Chinese indulofe but little in intoxicatinof drinks:
brandy, wine, and other beverages are used by some,
but never to excess ; whiskey, gin, and other compounds
so freely used by Caucasians, are never tasted, and
drunkenness is almost unknown. In seventeen years
Intercourse with a hundred thousand Chinese, the writer
has never seen a drunken Chinaman. If the philosophy
of Confucius has taught these people what the Koran
has taught the Mohammedan and what all the rest of our
race have failed to learn, something has been accom-
plished.

CHINA AND THE CHINESE, 43*^

Tobacco In pipes and cigars are freely used by nearly
all Chinese ; but so far the chewing of this narcotic Is
left to their wiser brethren of Europe and America.

Opium, the great enemy of the Orient, was for many
years excluded from the Chinese dominions by rigid
laws ; but the avarice of British merchants. In the name
of the '' Hono7^able East India Company," and backed
up by the English government, at the point of the
bayonet, In 1839, Imposed Its sale, and opened Canton
to its free importation. Chinese on the Pacific coast of
America Indulge freely in the pernicious drug so fatal
to their countrymen; and, beside the regular Imports,
unheard-of devices are resorted to in smuesfllnor it into
the country.

The importation Into the United States amounts to
over two hundred and ten thousand pounds annually,
valued at two million dollars, upon which an Import duty
of one million dollars is paid. In Tennessee and other
Southern States opium is grown to some extent, and
the white poppy grows well In California; but the
tedious process of scoring the poppy bulbs and high
rate of wages must permanently prohibit opium pro-
duction In America. The great supply centres of opium
are Persia, Turkey, Arabia, China, and India. This drug
is obtained from the capsules of the white poppy ; it is
heavy, of a dense texture, and brownish-yellow color ;
not perfectly dry, will receive an impression from the
finger; tastes bitter and acrid, and has a faint smell.
It is used by smoking, and, while its fumes are sooth-
ing and fascinating, its effects are most destructive and
prostrating, ending often in physical and mental ex-
haustion and insanity. Persons addicted to its use often
become so infatuated with Its Influence that they aban-

438 THE GOLDEN STATE.

don all business and society, betake themselves to some
secluded dark hole, and, drawing with their last breath
the fatal opium pipe, surrender life to this subtile tyrant.

In dress, the costume of male and female Chinese
differs but little: loose fiowino^ earments of some lio^ht
stuff, wooden shoes, and w^hite, drab, or sky-blue stock-
ings, are alike worn by both sexes. The heads of the
women are not shaven, and instead of the braided cue
of the men they wear the hair fantastically glued up in
broad fan-like wings, and gayly bedecked with flowers.

Widows in China are not permitted to marry within
three years of the death of the husband, and marriage
with a widov/ is at all times reproachful. On her second
marriage, a woman is not permitted to indulge in any
display: she must dress plainly, and, instead of the
gorgeous sedan of the nuptial festivals of virgins, she
must be carried in a plain black chair by two men
only.

The custom of compressing the feet of Chinese
women is of ancient but obscure oriorin : it is done

solely as a mark of beauty, as their Caucasian sisters
compress the waist. When the child is from three to
five years of age, the feet are firmly bound with strong
strips of cloth, the toes bent under, and the foot placed
in an iron shoe : in this condition it remains for several
years, the child meantime undergoing intense agony.
When the person is full-grown, the foot is but the size
of a child's. The process completely cripples the per-
son, but the more helpless and tottering the greater
the success and the greater the beauty. So far, no
small-footed Chinese women have arrived in America,
because all the immicrrants have been from the towns
of Hong-Kong and Canton and of the poorer classes,

CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 439

who cannot afford the luxury of small feet, and who
by long intercourse with foreigners have abandoned
the custom. The Idea that but one foot is compressed
is Incorrect * both feet alike undergo this torture.

In walking, Chinese always go In single file : they
never walk arm-in-arm nor abreast, but string out like
a flock of wild geese, one after another.

A Chinaman never drinks cold water : if he drinks
water at all. It must be hot, or at least warm.

Throuohout the whole of China, and indeed wher-
ever Chinese are found, all the labor Is done by the
people. Horses are unknown in labor, and, unless
kept by a few high officials and military men, are never
seen in the empire. All the heavy burdens, stone,
timber, and merchandise are carried on poles, to which
hundreds of Chinamen are sometimes attached. Wag-
ons and carriages of every description are unknown ;
the sedan and chairs attached to poles conveying all
travellers and pleasure-seekers.

In the few instances in which a Chinaman uses ani-
mal force, in plowing or other work, he makes but little
choice In selection of species ; so that to see a horse,
cow, mule, ass, sheep, dog, and a goat all hitched up to-
gether would be quite in harmony with his propriety
and adaptation of animal utility.

Chlnamien in America make but little progress in
Christianity. In San Francisco considerable effort has
been made by efficient and earnest Christian ministers to
evangelize these people. A Chinese missionary school
and chapel have been maintained for many years ; and,
while many Chinamen partake of the benefits of such
institutions to acquire the English language, not a dozen
conversions have been made in twenty years; and a real

440 THE GOLDEN STATE.

devout Christian Chinaman is something yet to be seen
in the new world.

No Chinaman in America has yet undertaken to
study our laws or familiarize himself with our system
of government. During the rebellion of 1 86 1-5, the
seventy thousand of these people In the country re-
mained totally oblivious to all passing events : no one
of them ever shared a single thought or sympathy
with either combatants, neither frowned at defeats nor
rejoiced at victories. There is neither a Democrat
nor a Republican Chinaman In the whole republic of
America.

Coolyism, or the enslaving of Chinese, is carried on
to considerable extent throughout the Islands of the
Pacific ocean, the republics of South America, Brazil,
and the West India islands. Most of the Chinese find-
irjg their way Into these countries are shipped from the
port of Macao, lying on the south coast of China near
the mouth of the river Hong-KIang. Spanish and
Portuguese speculators and captains seem to have
almost an exclusive control of this traffic. In which
African slavery in its worst forms exhibits but mild types
of horrors.

Since the abolition of negro slavery in the republic
of America, strenuous efforts have been made to Intro-
duce Chinese labor Into the cotton and rice-fields of the
South, with but little effect.

It is estimated that 'in South America, the Pacific
islands, and the West Indies, there are at least eighty
thousand of these unfortunate Asiatics, deluded from
their country by the allurements of heartless specu-
lators, now undergoing the horrors of slavery in lands
where white and black alike hold them In contempt.

CHINESE SLAVERY. 44 1

and lay the heavy burdens of servitude and bondage
with relentless severity.

At the port of Macao and its vicinity are agents of
the Portuguese orovernment authorized to conduct the
deportation of the coolies. Other agents and runners
of the Spanish and Portuguese governments drum up
in the country all Chinese who can be induced to ship
on a contract of eight years service at four dollars per
month, with food, clothing, lodgings, and medicine. At
the port of debarkation, a form implying the willingness
of the Chinaman to indenture himself and embark is
gone through ; and, after the vessel with her human
cargo on board is ready to sail, a final inspection of
willingness on the part of the "cooly" is had, but gen-
erally in such a hurried and imperfect manner that the
poor slave learns his fate only when between decks of
the ship he finds himself battened down and with his
astonished countrymen packed like sardines, or when,
on his arrival in America, he finds himself the bound
slave of a cruel master, or on the auction block. To
the credit of humanity be it said that Chinese declar-
ing their unwillingness to leave their country are, under
the authority of the officers at Macao, released and
put on shore; but under the specious arguments of
"runners" they soon find themselves at sea.

Great numbers of coolies find their way to Cuba,
w^here they are employed on the sugar plantations as
cooks, house-servants, washers, cigar- makers, sugar-
makers, and in all manner of drudgery. At the present
time there are upwards of thirty-five thousand of these
people in Cuba, and a recent decree of the captain-gen-
eral of the Island compels all not bound, within a given
period, to select masters at four dollars each per month;

442

THE GOLDEN STATE.

in failure of which thev will be arrested and under the
government placed at labor for life, or until they select
masters under prescribed rules of the captain-general
and a board of directors.

Numbers of French and Spanish vessels are engaged
in carrying coolies from Macao and other Chinese ports
to the port of Mariel, a few miles west of Havana, and
after quarantine they are sent to their masters and
landed at the city of Havana, their destination. All not
contracted for are sent to a guard-house until disposed
of, and those held under indenture are taken charge of
or sold, their term of servitude being eight years, and
transferred to the new master by a Spanish official. All
those arrivinor in \\\ health or disabled are auctioned oH
to the highest bidders, who place them in hospital until
restored to health, when they are set at work or sold
again at great profit to the first buyer.

In their new homes the poor Chinese slaves soon
find their circumstances most wretched : they learn a
little Spanish, but only to know their degradation —
slaves to the whites, and hated by the blacks. Thrilling
scenes of revenge by the coolies, by fire, poison, or
otherwise, often follow acts of cruelty by the whites.

It is fair to conclude that nothinor short of the inter-
position of the United States government and the sub-
stitution of republican freedom over the land will amel-
iorate the condition of the wretched cooly in Spanish
America and the West Indies.

COUNTIES IN CALIFORNIA. 443

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Counties — Coast counties — Area — Productions — Population — San
Diego — Los Angeles — Santa Barbara — San Luis Obispo — Monte-
rey— Santa Cruz — San Mateo — San Francisco : composition of
the city, its population, education, buildings, trades, professions,
newspapers, nationalities, society — Marin — Sonoma — Mendocino
• — Humboldt — Klamath — Del Norte.

In the general description of California in preceding-
chapters, the principal features of each section of the
State — climate, seasons, mountains, rivers, lakes, bays,
harbors, forests, mines, and agricultural productions —
are given. To more fully convey to the reader the
great development, resources, climate, and condition of
the different sections of the State, each county in Cali-
fornia, with its climate, seasons, natural productions,
and material prosperity, with the area, population, and
principal cities of each, are here set forth. The pro-
ductions and material wealth of each are given as they
were In 1870, this being the period of the enumeration
of population.

In order that the various sections of the State mav
be followed in their physical connections, the counties
are divided into three classes: the coast coimtics, facing
upon the Pacific ocean, the valley and inteidor countieSy
embracing the chief agricultural portions of the State,
and the inoiuitam counties in and about the Sierra Ne-
vada range, representing the great mineral wealth of
California.

The most southern count}^ adjoining the Mexican
Territory of Lower California, • is San Diego, which
forms the first county (beginning south) of the

444 ^-^^ GOLDEN STATE,

COAST COUNTIES.

San Diego. — The first settlement made in California
was made in this county in 1769. Here is situated the
beautiful harbor of San Diego, the early haunt of the
Jesuit fathers. The county is among the largest in
the State; its area is 15,156 square miles, making it
almost as large as the republic of Switzerland, with its
15,261 square miles of territory. Several of the New
England States might be contained in this county. The
combined area of Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut,
and Massachusetts is but 16,030 square miles.

The county of San Diego is bounded on the w^est by
the Pacific ocean, north by Los Angeles and San Ber-
nardino counties, east by the Colorado river, w^hich
separates it from the Territory of Arizona, and south
by the Mexican Territory of Lower California. The
climate of this county is mild, and very equal, not being
surpassed in any part of the world. Frost and snow
are never seen, and the years succeed each other
through successive periods of bright, balmy, dry, sunny
summers, and gentle rainy seasons of brief duration,
in which hill and valley are clad in verdure and fragrant
flow^ers. In this county the rainfall is only one-quarter
as much as it is at San Francisco. All the tropical
fruits grow in San Diego — the orange, lime, lemon, and
fig — and experiments recently riiade with the pine-apple
and banana show that the climate and soil are well
suited to them.

The population of San Diego county is 4,951 ; of
whom 3,743 are native born and 1,208 are foreigners.
There are 2,300 residing in the city of San Diego, the
county-seat. The county is eminently an agricultural

COAST COUNTIES.

445

one, tl^e soil beincf rich and the dimate crenial. Stock-
raising- is also carried on extensively. No mineral of
importance had been discovered in this county until
1870, when rich veins of quartz, containing free gold,
were found in the southern portion. Since this time,
three quartz mills have been built, and mining is carried
on to some extent.

The surface of the countr}- is a succession of rolling,
bald hills, covered with wild oats, grass, and flowers, and
rich, fertile valleys. Forest trees are rarely met with.

There are in the county twenty thousand acres of
land under cultivation, one hundred thousand grape-
vines, thirty thousand cattle, ten thousand horses, and
forty thousand sheep; and there are sixty thousand
bushels of wheat grown annually.

Los Angeles. — Lying directly north of San Diego,
on the line of the coast, is Los Angeles county, with an
area of six thousand square miles, 1,100 of which are
in islands off the coast; and a population of 15,309, of
whom 10,984 are native and 4,325 of foreign birth:
5,600 reside in the city of Los Angeles, the county-
seat. The county Is bounded south by San Diego,
west by the Pacific ocean, north by Santa Barbara,
and east by the county of San Bernardino.

The climate here, as in San Diego, is perpetual sum-
mer: frost and snow are unknown. Gentle rains in
winter cover the whole surface with green and wild
oats ; native grasses and flowers spread over the vasr
rolling hills and rich valleys, which are entirely free
from trees and present a charming scene. All the
semi-tropical and many of the tropical fruits grow well'

446 ^-^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

and the county is celebrated for Its vast vineyards and
orange groves. The orange in this county is ripe in
the months of December and Januar}^ and in quaHty is
superior to those grown In Central America and the
Saidwlch Islands.

The rainfall in Los Angeles is only about half as
great as at San Francisco. Like all the southern sec-
tions of the State, there are eight months without rain
during which the sun liangs like a ball of fire in a
cloudless sky ; but the prevailing westerly winds from
the Pacific ocean cool the atmosphere, so that heat is
never oppressive. This county w^as settled at an early
day by the Jesuits, who discovered gold and made
some progress in placer-mining in this county three-
quarters of a century before the discovery at Sutter's
mill, in 1848.

Some idea of the prosperity and resources of this
angel land may be had when we know that there are in
the county fourteen thousand horses, twenty-five thou-
sand cattle, five million grape-vines, producing annually
one million five hundred thousand crallons of wine and
one hundred thousand gallons of brandy; four hundred
and fifty thousand sheep, producing annually one mil-
lion three hundred thousand pounds of wool ; tw^o thou-
sand four hundred fig trees, three thousand seven hun-
dred lemon trees, five thousand three hundred walnut
trees, two hundred and fifty thousand mulberry trees,
tw^o thousand olive trees, and thirty-five thousand orange
trees. The county produces seventy thousand bushels
of wheat, one hundred and forty thousand pounds of
honey, and three hundred thousand bushels of barley;
and produces one-third of the whole corn-crop of the

COAST COUNTIES. 447

State, one-third of the tobacco, and one-fourth of the
silk cocoons orrown In CaHfornla.

Los Angeles Is the only town of Importance In the
county : San Gabriel, Soledad, Anahlme, and Wilming-
ton are growing towns, but all small.

Santa Barbara. — Alonor the coast line and west of
Los Angeles county Is the county of Santa Barbara,
with an area of 4,572 square miles ; of which 432 square
miles are contained In six Islands lying off the coast, in
the Pacific ocean. This county Is among the largest
ones In the State, being as large as the com.blned area
of the States of Delaware and Rhode Island, larger
than the Papal States, and four times as great as the
area of the Duchy of Brunswick. It Is bounded on the
west and southwest by the Pacific ocean, north by San
Luis Obispo, east by Los Angeles, and south by the
Santa Barbara channel. The population of the county is
7,784; of whom 6,538 are native born and 1,246 are of
foreign birth. Santa Barbara, a town first settled in
1 780 by the Jesuits, and beautifully located near the
ocean, and the present county-seat. Is the only place of
importance in the county. Carpenteria, Alamo, Inas,
and San Buenaventura are grrowlnof towns.

The climate of this section is unsurpassed in the
world ; with the exception of four months, during which
light rains fall at intervals, the entire season is per-
petual sunshine. Frost and snow are unknown, and
the prevailing west winds of summer from the Pacific
ocean temper the atmosphere, and, without being too
hot or too cool, make it bracing and most invigorating.
No part of Italy or the most favored portions of the
globe surpass this and adjoining counties in climate.

448 THE GOLDEN STATE.

All the scmi-tropical and many of the tropical fruits
grow to great perfection ; and general agriculture and
stock-raising are prosecuted with great success. The
soil is rich and covered with luxuriant native grasses,
wild oats, and flowers. No part of the State is better
adapted to fruit and nut -growing than this county.
The orange, fig, and lemon produce most abundantly.

So far no mines of importance containing the precious
metals have been discovered, but asphaltum, sulphur,
and other minerals are obtained. There are in the
county forty-five thousand acres of land under cultiva-
tion ; four hundred and thirty thousand grape vines ;
twenty-eight thousand olive trees, (the whole number
of olive trees in the State being but thirty- four thou-
sand ;) also one hundred and fifty thousand sheep,
producing annually six hundred and fifty thousand
pounds of wool. This county and Los Angeles pro-
duce one-half of all the corn grown in" the State, and
Santa Barbara grows annually more than one-third of
the bean crop of California. Wheat, barley, and corn
grow well. There are two hundred and twenty thou-
sand bushels of barley and two hundred and seventy
thousand bushels of corn produced yearly. The county
is altogether prosperous, and possesses great natural
resources for the building up of permanent wealth.

San Luis Obispo. — North of Santa Barbara, and on
the line of the Pacific ocean, is the county of San Luis
Obispo, with an area of three thousand two hundred
square miles, and a population of 4,772; of whom 3,833
are native and 939 of fordgn birth. It is bounded on
the west by the Pacific ocean, north by Monterey, east
by Kern county, and south by Santa Barbara county.

COAST COUNTIES.

449

The climate of this county is similar to that of the
counties lying south of it. Rains fall to some extent
during winter, at which season fields of grass and grain
are all green. Frost and snow are unknown, and
summer is a protracted season of eight months of
beautiful sunshine and clear sky, without a drop of rain
falline. Like the rest of the Coast Ranore, the atmos-
phere is tempered by the prevailing west winds from
the ocean. The surface is a succession of rolling hills,
high mountains, and beautiful valleys covered with
grass, flowers, and wild oats. Forest trees are- scarce.
The soil is rich and most productive. All the semi-
tropical and many of the tropical fruits grow to perfec-
tion. The lemon, fig, olive, orange, almond, walnut,
and the mulberry tree all do w^ell.

No mines of importance have yet been discovered in
San Luis Obispo county, which may be regarded as
stricdy an agricultural region. There are no towns of
consequence in this section ; the town of San Luis
Obispo, beautifully situated in a fertile valley nine miles
from the ocean, and the seat of an early Spanish mis-
sion, is the present county-seat and the only place of
any size In the county..

The enclosed land in the county is one hundred thou-
sand acres, and twenty thousand acres are under culti-
vation. There are in the county thirty-five thousand
sheep, ten thousand horses, and twenty-five thousand
cattle. Dairying and sheep and stock raising are car-
ried on extensively. There are produced annually five
hundred thousand pounds of wool, three hundred thou-
sand pounds butter, and three hundred and fifty thou-
sand pounds cheese. The county in climate, soil, and

resources has many attractions.
29

45 O THE GOLDEN STATE,

Monterey. — North of San Louis Obispo, bounded
on the west by the Pacific ocean, north by Santa Cruz
county, northeast and east by Merced, Tulare, and
Fresno counties, and south by San Louis Obispo county,
is the county of Monterey, with the old historic town of
Monterey, once the Mexican territorial capital, for the
county-seat. This ancient town was settled by the
Jesuit missionaries in 1770, and for more than three-
quarters of a century was the most important point
upon the Pacific coast north of Panama. Here it was
that Commodore Sloat, of the United States navy, on
July 7, 1846, hoisted the American flag, and declared
as United States territory that vast area forming Cali-
fornia, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, Wyoming, and the
greater part of Arizona.

The area of Monterey county is 4,356 square miles:
it is within a fraction of the size of the State of Con-
necticut, and is 930 square miles greater than the com-
bined area of the States of Rhode Island and Delaware.
The total population of the county is 9,876; 7,670 being
native Americans and 2,206 of foreign birth. The city
of Monterey has a population of 1,1 1 2. It is beautifully
located near the southern end of the spacious Bay of
Monterey, where the surrounding countiy is most
charming. The climate of the county is perpetual
summer ; the soil is rich and productive in all the
semi-tropical and many tropical fruits ; agriculture and
grazing are the chief industries of the people. The
country is better wooded than that farther south, and
the " Monterey cedar," a most beautiful ornamental
tree, grows abundantly. Salinas and other valleys con-
tain large areas of most productive lands. Hollister,
CaslrovUle, and Salinas City are prosperous towns.

COAST COUNTIES.

451

There are one hundred and ten thousand acres ot
land cultivated in the county; and five hundred thou-
sand bushels of wheat and one million bushels of barley
produced annually. Corn, peas, and oats grow well,
and one-third of the tobacco grown in the State is pro-
duced in this county. There are thirty-six thousand
cattle in the county, producing one hundred and fifty
thousand pounds of butter and one million eight hun-
dred thousand pounds of cheese annually: more than
one-third of the cheese produced in the State is made
in this county. There are two hundred thousand sheep,
producing six hundred and fifty thousand pounds of
wool annually. Bees thrive well, there beinof more
than seventy thousand pounds of honey produced yearly
in the county. The grape grows luxuriantly, there
being one million vines in the county; the olive, mul-
berry, almond, fig, and lemon grow, but the orange has
not yet been cultivated to any extent. No mines have
been discovered in this county, which is one of the best
agricultural regions in the State.

Santa Cruz. — Bounded west by the Pacific ocean,
north by San Mateo, east by Santa Clara, and south by
Monterey, is the county of Santa Cruz, containing 432
square miles, and a population of 8,743; there being
6,758 native Americans and 1,985 of foreign birth.
The town of Santa Cruz, situated at the southern end
of the county, and facing the lovely Bay of Santa Cruz,
has a population of twenty-five hundred, and is the
county-seat. The sea-beach here is lovely, and Santa
Cruz is fast becoming a fashionable place of resort for
sea- bath i nor.

The physical character of this county differs mate-

452 THE GOLDEN STATE,

rially from that of the counties farther south. It is a
httle cooler, more rain falls, and the surface is generally
rueeed and much of it covered with forest trees or
great magnitude and value, some of which grow to fifty
feet in circumference; redwood, cedar, oak, ash, laurel,
and fir are abundant. There are, however, many rich
valleys, and the pasture range is excellent, as the fogs
from the ocean keep vegetation green the greater part
of the year. The climate is perpetual summer, and
semi-tropical and tropical fruits thrive. Dairying, lum-
bering, and agriculture are the chief pursuits of the
people. There are eighteen thousand acres of land
cultivated, producing one hundred and ten thousand
bushels of wheat and one hundred thousand bushels of
barley. One-third of the buckwheat raised in the State
is grown in this county. The grape, orange, olive, mul-
berry, almond, walnut, lemon, fig, and fruits generally,
do well. There are seven thousand cattle in the county,
and one hundred thousand pounds of butter produced
annually.

Lumbering is carried on quite extensively, there being
twenty-seven saw-mills in the county. There are nu-
merous tanneries, lime-kilns, and a paper and powder
mill at the town of Santa Cruz.

San Mateo. — On the coast line, directly north of
Santa Cruz county, bounded on the west by the Pacific
ocean, north by the county of San Francisco, east by
the Bay of San Francisco, and south by Santa Clara
county, is the county of San Mateo. As will be seen,
this county is situated upon the peninsula lying be-
tween the ocean and the Bay of San Francisco. The
climate is much cooler, both in summer and winter, than

COAST COUNTIES. 453

in the counties farther south, but frost is almost un-
known, and snow never falls; and most of the semi-
tropical fruits grow well. On the coast the damps and
fogs keep the grass green all summer, and the effects
of drought are but little known. The surface of the
country is rugged, and its southern half covered with
forests of redwood, fir, cedar, oak, and other valuable
timber; but the northern end of the county is roll-
ing hills and small valleys, covered with grass and wild
oats, but entirely destitute of trees. Large areas of
the county are fit for agriculture and grazing. Dairy-
ing and lumbering are carried on to a considerable ex-
tent. Gold, in smiall quantities, has been discovered,
but no mines of importance have yet been developed.
During the early part of 1871, quartz veins, containing
gold, silver, and lead, but abounding in the latter, had
been opened quite close to the Bay of San Francisco,
and within five miles of the city of San Francisco.
The area of the county is four hundred and thirty-two
square miles. There are eighty-five thousand acres of
land cultivated, and four hundred and fifty thousand
bushels of wheat, five hundred thousand bushels of
barley, three hundred thousand bushels of oats, twenty-
two thousand bushels of beans, six hundred thousand
bushels of potatoes, thirteen thousand pounds of hops,
twenty-four thousand tons of hav, thirteen thousand
bushels of onions, two hundred and twenty-five thou-
sand pounds of butter, and two hundred and fifty thou-
sand pounds of cheese produced annually. Great va-
riety and quantity of fruit and vegetables are produced
for the San Francisco market. The grape, lemon, fig,
walnut, almond, mulberry, olive, and orange are grown,
but do not thrive so well as in the counties farther

454

7 HE GOLDEN STATE.

south. There are fifteen thousand five hundred cattle
In the county, twenty-five miles of railroad, and seven-
teen saw-mills, the latter producing large quantities of
lumber. This county furnishes San Francisco with its
chief supply of milk and water. Redwood City, a
small town upon the line of railroad from San Fran-
cisco to San Jose, is the county-seat. The railroad
from San Francisco to San Jose and other points south
passes through the whole length of the county. There
are no towns of Importance in San Mateo: Belmont,
Menlo Park, and San Mateo, all upon the railroad lines,
are thriving towns. The population of the county is
6,635, of whom 3,493 are native and 3,138 are of foreign
birth.

San Francisco. — The county of San Francisco, In
which is situated the city of San Francisco, the great
mercantile emporium of the Pacific coast, and the third
commercial city in the United States, contains an area
of forty-two square miles, and embraces the narrow pen-
insula between the Pacific ocean and the Bay of San
Francisco. It lies south of the Golden Gate, and the
northern point of the county, upon which is situated
the city of San Francisco, Is a succession of rugged
hIDs, sand ridges, deep gulches, and green valleys. On
the southern side, adjoining San Mateo county, the sur-
face Is covered with grass and the soil is rich, but there
are laree ranees of mountains; while on the western
side, facing the Pacific ocean, shifting mountains and
hills of white sand, carried from the shore of the Pacific
ocean inland for miles by the strong prevailing west
winds of summer, give a wild and desolate appearance
to a wide section entirely barren and destitute of trees.

■"--^^'S-^-^ .

DENNISON'S exchange and the PARKER HOUSE, SAN FRANCISCO.
(Before the Fire of December 1849. Parker House rented for $120,000 a year in 1849.

I3LAND AND CO\'^ OF YERBU BUENA, IN 1 847.
(City of San Francisco built on the Cove.)

^ti^IJi-^.-^

is^

>^-, r/

i*^^

A^ji':^

SAX FRANCISCO IN 1S49.

CELEBRATING THE FIRST FOURTH OF JULY, AT THE FIRST HOUSE

IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1836.

SAAT FRANCISCO. 455

The sand beach for miles at this point is hard, level,
and clean, affording an elegant and romantic drive, with
rolline ridees of sand on the east and the broad Pacitic
on the west. At this point, and seven miles from the
city, is the "Cliff House," where the great sea-lions
perch upon their sea-beaten rocks, and are objects of
admiration and wonder to the new-comer. A fine
macadamized road from the city to this point forms the
chief drive for the pleasure-seekers of the great me-
tropolis.

The Bay and the present site of San Francisco was
first discovered on the 9th of October, 1769, by Gov-
ernor Portala, the Mexican pioneer, and his associates,
who made a journey by land from Monterey northward,
planting the cross among the Indians. Seven years
later the mission of San Francisco was founded, and in
1836 the first house was built where now stands the
magnificent city of San Francisco. The growth and
commercial importance of the city has kept on steadily
and with astonishing rapidit)^ increasing until, in ele-
gance, it is not surpassed in America. High hills have
been levelled down and flung into muddy holes and
deep ravines; parks laid out and ornamented, wide and
pleasant streets well paved, water and gas conducted
everywhere, horse railroads running in every direction,
pleasure-gardens, play-grounds, public halls, theatres,
churches, schools, libraries, banks, hospitals, colleges,
foundries, factories, and all the appliances of modern
civilization maintained upon the broadest principles.

The city of San Francisco is substantially built with
brick and wood. Few houses exceed four stories in
height: the dread of earthquakes check building to a
greater elevadon. In the business centres the buildings

456 THE GOLDEN STATE,

are all made of brick or stone, and many elegant struc-
tures with iron fronts painted white adorn the city.
There is not a city in the United States where so much
glass is used in buildings ; almost the entire fronts of
all the fine stores, hotels, and offices are elegant plate
glass running from the ceilings to the street, at once
giving an attractive appearance to the city and light and
comfort within.

Some idea of the Pacific metropolis m'ay be had from
a brief inspection of the leading features of the compo-
nent parts of the city and its population as demonstrated
by the federal census of 1870. At that period the
real and personal property in the city was valued at
$265,000,000. There were at the same time 25,300
houses in the city, and 36 banks having $25,000,000 on
deposit; 50 miles of street railroad; 800 manufacturing
establishments, employing $18,000,000 and producing
$45,000,000. in value annually; 36 halls, 45 wharves,
8 theatres, ^'] apothecaries, 600 lawyers, 70 book stores,
325 shoemakers, 33 brewers, 420 brokers, 370 butchers,
27 cigar importers, 64 cigar factories conducted by
whites and 34 Chinese cigar factories, employing 4,500
Chinese and 300 white men, and producing annually
70,000,000 cigars valued at $3,000,000; 450 retail cigar
stores, 42 coffee-houses, 71 confectioners, 60 dentists,
200 dressmakers, 30 foundries, 220 fruit dealers, 700
groceries, 13 hospitals, 200 hotels, 200 incorporated
companies, ^i^ insurance companies, 147 jewellers, 68
laundries; 2,100 saloons, which, with the 700 retail gro-
ceries, make 2,800 places for the sale of liquors; 450
lodging houses, 750 merchants, 100 Chinese merchants,
88 newspapers, 30 photographic galleries, 450 physi-
cians, 145 restaurants, 2)1 steamboat lines, 100 music

SAN FRANCISCO.

457

teachers, ^2> churches, 5 Jewish synagogues, 14 Joss-
houses, 241 benevolent societies, 62 protective unions,
12 Hterary and historical societies, 40 military compa-
nies, and 41 social clubs.

Not the least remarkable In the development of this
youngest but most active and progressive American
city is the composition of its citizens. Scarcely a spot
on earth, from the metropolis of London to Iceland and
Fiji, but is represented in San Francisco. Here the
strangest physical and mental types of the race are
found, each leaving its imprint upon the institutions and
rising generation of the country.

To the European or the people of the Atlantic States,
where the orfowth of ofreat cities is the result of centu-
ries, the sudden springing into existence of the great
commercial city of San Francisco seems like fiction.
Thirty-seven years ago not a sign of human life marked
the spot where now stands this proud metropolis. In
1836, the first humble house was built; and during the
succeeding eleven years but four hundred and fifty-nine
persons had congregated abbut the shores of the Bay
of San Francisco. But potent agents soon awoke the
slumbering nations to cross deep seas and arid plains
to build up the giant city of the Far West. The starry
ensio-n of the new nation of freedom w^as hoisted in
1846, and the charmer, gold, was discovered in 1848.

From a population of 459 in 1847, San Francisco had
swelled to 34,776 in 1850. In i860, the city had 56,802
population; and, in 1870, it had reached 149,473 — ^^^
increase of almost 166 per cent, in ten years; and the
increase is^ still marked by indicadons of steady and
rapid growth.

The population of the city is about one-quarter of

45 S THE GOLDEN STATE.

the population of the whole State, and has grown en-
tirely out of proportion to the population of the country
chiefiv from the fact that it has been the o-reat distribut-
ing point of all the merchandise from Mexico to Alaska,
on the coast. Now that the continental railroad has
opened interior avenues of supply, and the overland
railroad building from Lake Superior to Washington
Territory will form a short connectino^ link between
the Atlantic seaboard and the finest harbor in America,
inviting the commerce of Asia to the new port of the
West, Puget sound, some division of San Francisco's
protracted monopoly of commerce may reasonably be
expected.

The composition of the population of San Francisco
presents many features of striking interest: perhaps
no other city of importance in the United States or in
any other part of the world contains more foreign than
native voters. The registered voters of the city In
1870 aggregated 36,410, of whom 16,205 were native
and 20,205 were adopted citizens : showing 4,000 more
naturalized than native citizen voters In the city. Of
the voters at this time 352 were colored, all native.

The total population was composed of 75,824 adult
males, 61,577 adult females, 23,722 males under fifteen
years of age, and 23,261 females under fifteen years.
Of the population, 18,346 males and 18,219 females
were born In California ; and the Chinese population
was 11,810, of whom 9,777 were males and 2,040 were
females. Of the males, Z']'] were under fifteen years
of age, and 271 females were under fifteen; of the
Chinese residents, 189 males and 131 females were
native-born Californlans. The colored population was
1,094, of whom 626 were males and 468 were females;

SAN FRANCISCO DESTROYED BY FIRE, DECEMBER 24, 1 849; MAY 4, 1S5O;

MAY 4, 185I; JUNE 22, 1851.

SAN FRANCISCO FROM THE BAY IN 1S47.

OLD CITY HOTEL, 184O, CORNER OF KEARNEY ANEi Cw>.Y STREETS.

(First Hotel in San Francisco.)

GRAND HOTEL, SAN FRANCISCO, 1873,

SAxV FRANCISCO. 459

of the colored population, 95 males and 84 females were
born in California.

San Francisco is the tenth city in population in the
United States, being surpassed only by New York,
Philadelphia, Brooklyn, St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore,
Boston, Cincinnati, and New Orleans. To give an idea
of the cosmopolitan character of the 149,473 forming
the population of San Francisco, of whom 75,754 were
native Americans and 73,719 were of foreign birth, a
complete analysis of the component parts in 1870 is
here given. The native-born represented the republic
as follows: Alabama, 347; Arkansas, 35; California,
38,491 ; Connecticut, 850; Delaware, 149; Florida, 30;
Georgia, 97; Illinois, 756; Indiana, 261; Iowa, 175;
Kansas, 13; Kentucky, 447; Louisiana, 851; Maine,
2,650; Maryland, d>j6\ Massachusetts, 7,147; Michi-
gan, 305; Minnesota, j^)'^ Mississippi, 119; Missouri,
664; Nebraska, 11; Nevada, 218; New Hampshire,
750; New Jersey, 871; New York, 12,612; North
Carolina, 127; Ohio, 1,116; Oregon, 219; Pennsylva-
nia, 2,635; Rhode Island, 489; South Carolina, 195;
Tennessee, 220; Texas, 78; Vermont, 661; Virginia
and West Virginia, 6j2) J Wisconsin, 346 ; Alaska, 23 ;
Arizona, 4; Colorado, i ; District of Columbia, 231 ;
Idaho, 1 1 ; Indian Territory, i ; Montana, i ; New
Mexico, 4; Utah, 21; Washington, 72; Wyoming, 2.
The foreign population represented the different nations
as follows: Africa, 25; Asia, 20; Atlantic islands, 164;
Australasia, 914; Australia, (proper,) 476; Belgium, 139;
Bohemia, 43; Canada, 1,154; New Brunswick, 401;
Newfoundland, 39; Nova Scotia, 437; Prince Edward
island, 44 ; British America, (not specified,) 290 ; Cen-
tral America, 44 ; Cuba, 28 ; Denmark, 593 ; France,

460 THE GOLDEN STATE.

3,547; Baden, 7S9 ; Bavaria, 1,101; Brunswick, 21;
Hamburg, 610; Hanover, 1,182; Hesse, 684; Lubeck,
5; Mecklenburg, 42; Nassau, 24; Oldenburg, 56;
Prussia, 7,578; Saxon}^ 318; Wurtemberg, 598; Ger-
many, (not specified,) 594 — (total, Germany, 13,602;)
Gibraltar, i; England, 5,172; Ireland, 25,864; Scot-
land, 1,687; Wales, 247 — (total of Great Britain and
Ireland, 32,998;) Greece, 27 ; Holland, 190; Hungar)^
61 ; India, 17; Italy, 1,622; Malta, 2; Mexico, 1,220;
Norway, 390; Pacific islands, 57; Poland, 517; Portu-
gal, 199; Russia, 281 r Sandwich islands, 51; South-
America, 418; Spain, 119; Sweden, 780; Switzerland,
775 ; Turkey, 7, the West Indies, 207; China, 11,711 ;
and Japan, 8.

In the public schools of the city there Vv^ere 23,552
pupils; of whom 11,796 were boys and 11,756 were
girls: in one school building alone 1,150 boys were in
attendance. Notwithstanding, there were 5,667 adults
in the city who could not read or write. It must, how-
ever, inspire the friends of republican America to know
that but nine of these illiterates were native-born
Americans, only two of whom were women. At the
head of the list of the unlettered stands Ireland, with
4,885; then follows Italy, with 258; Mexico, 283; Chili,
44; West Indies, 73; England, 29; Poland, 33; Portu-
gal, 23; and 40 negroes. The Chinese are not found
in these numbers of uneducated, as all Chinese read
and write their own lancjuacre.

The federal census of 1850 gave the population of
California at 92,597 ; of whom 70,340 w^ere native,
21,802 were foreign, and 455 unknown. In i860, it
was 379,994, there being 233,466 natives and 146,528
foreigners. The population of 1870 was 560,247; of

SAA FRANCISCO. 46 1

whom 356,416 were native American and 209,831 were
of foreign birth. Of the native population, 323,507
were the offspring of foreign parents in full or in part,
and 295,723 were of foreign father and mother. It
will be seen that in the whole population of the State
there are but 140,585 more native than foreign born:
this is the largest proportion of foreign population in
any State in the Union. Wisconsin comes next to
California, with 690,320 native and 304,845 foreign pop-
ulation. The smallest proportion of foreigners in any
State is found in North Carolina, which, with a popu-
lation of 1,071,361, had but 3,029 foreign residents
accordinor to the last federal census.

The Chinese population of California In 1870 was
49,277, and the colored population 4,272. There were
also 33 Japanese in the State. How surely the mod-
ern civilization of the white man exterminates his red
brethren may be understood from the fact that, in i860,
the Indian population of California was 17,798, whereas,
in 1870, it was but 7,241. Verily the hatchet of the
red man is burled in the West, but with it the hand
that once so fiercely wielded it.

The evidence of the material ofrowth of the com-
mercial and social affairs of California, and Its city by
the sea occupying the site of the recent little Spanish
village of Verba Buena, to be realized must be seen,
studied, and known, as represented In the material de-
velopment of San Francisco, whose elegant hotels,
dwellings, stores, schools, theatres, libraries, halls, mar-
kets, buildings, and streets so delight and surprise vis-
itors; and the social, intellectual, and moral status of the
people gathered by intercourse and study of its digni-
fied judges, able lawyers, shrewd merchants, keen specu-

462 THE GOLDEN STATE.

lators, Industrious mechanics, celebrated artists, eloquent
orators, terse writers, unscrupulous politicians, pious
preachers, charitable people, and animated youth.

San Francisco fairly represents the social and mate-
rial condition of the people of the whole State. Here
may yet be found, as well as the more modern institu-
tions, traces of the earlier society developed under the
stimulus of eold and remoteness from the centres of
civilization. Every thing that can be seen In any large
city in the world Is met with in San Francisco, and a
great many things entirely unknown elsewhere may be
seen In the metropolis of the Golden State. With the
industrious, virtuous, and honest m^ay be found the
most singular developments of animal life. They came
across deep seas and over arid plains — the sober, In-
dustrious, lively, happy, talkative, prosperous, ambi-
tious, pious, charitable, noble, and generous, and the
idle, vain, silly, stupid, shrewd, dull, cunning, profane,
eccentric, reckless, morose, solitary, stolid, miserly,
bigoted, slandering, sly, deceptive, and pilfering; here
the loafer, the dandy, and the man with his organ and
monkey are to be seen, as in every other city In the
w^orld; besides a large class of beings whose origin and
history, beginning in distant parts of the globe, under
the sky of republican freedom or the dome of mon-
archal tyranny, bud forth in fruitful Intensity In the
freedoms of the newest societies of the new world.

It must also be admitted that the staid order of older
communities, in wealth and society, has not been easily
maintained In a land where a day's development In a
mine, a turn In stocks, or manipulation of a Spanish
grant, may elevate to social and financial greatness the
veriest clown, or s'nk into complete obscurity the

'-'SJist^>i»;5^^'J^t<*5■;^

FIRST PROTESTANT CHURCH 2-V SAN FRANCISCO — 1 849.
(First Presbyterian Church.)

RUSH TO THE COLD MINES FROM SAN FR.VNCISCO IN 1S4S.

THE OLD MISSION LIIURCH AND OUT BUILDINGS, SAN FRANCISCO.

(Founded in 1776,)

GENERAL VIEV; 0£ THE QUICKSILVER WORKS AT NEW ALMADEN.

(Santa Clara County, California.)

SA.V FRANCISCO. 463

noblest of the race. Gold everywhere has its ac-
knowledged dignity and power in the affairs of man-
kind, and in no part of the globe has the tricks, fickle
gildings, and strange metamorphoses of this tyrant
been more felt than in the new communities of the
Pacific coast.

The feverish excitement of the earlv davs of ofold-
mining in California have, to great extent, passed away.
The cool brow and steady hand of agriculture silently
lift the laurels of peace and plenty over the deserted
camp of the early gold-hunter; roving bands of bearded
pilgrims have settled down to ordered employments
and new social life as the heads of happy families,
blessed with the smiles of innocent youth; the noisy
din of the early mining-camp is turned to social order,
where the grentle influence of woman and the wise
counsels of man mould a new order in the directions
of purit}^ and progress.

In California, the easy, genial soclabilit}^ of the people
mjdst not be confounded with otoss and vulo^ar famil-
iarit}' ; on the contrary, a more polite, courteous, and
dignified people are not to be found in America. As
a rule, individiLality asserts its dominion with greater
ease and less display than in any other land. The dig-
nity of labor has here raised higher its monument than
elsewhere. Architects from every hemisphere have
added to Its column ; and tollers from every sphere of
life have placed a stone in its concrete structure and
bowed before its majesty.

In San Francisco, and in every town throughout the
Pacific coast, order, law, safety of person and property
are established and maintained ; and ample facilities
for the enjoyment of life, cultivation of the Intellect, and

464 I^HE GOLDEN STATE.

religious worship afforded. The population is as firmly
rooted to the soil as is the people of any part of the
globe ; and the institutions of the country are founded
upon broad, comprehensive, and equitable principles,
shorn of the narrow proscriptions of bigots and fanatics,
so often found in many of the older settled parts of the
world. The recognized elements of regulated society
have, in every section of the coast, usurped the disor-
dered and unsettled customs of earlier periods, and the
new societies of to-day count In their composition a
vast number of the most thoughtful and progressive
people of the republic. Every town and village on the
Pacific coast has now its churches, schools, libraries,
newspapers, societies, and active, intelligent men and
women: persons thoroughly imbued with the necessity
of utilizing the material of youth to the growing im-
portance of the age.

Whoever doubts the intelligence of the people of the
Pacific coast, let him turn to the chapters on education
and schools in this volume; let him also see the circula-
tion of newspapers, and know that in its newspaper press
California is at the head of every community In the
world. No part of progressive New England nor of
America Issues from the newspaper press, in proportion
to population, as does the Golden State. California,
with her population of but 560,247, a large percentage
of whom do not read the English lanouao^e, (Chinese,)
maintains 223 newspapers and periodicals, 40 of which
are dallies and 183 weekly and other publications.

New York, with a population of 4,382,759, eight times
that of California, Issues but 657 papers of all classes,
89 only of which are daily ; whereas if this State main-
tained a newspaper press equal to that of California, in

SAN FRANCISCO. 465

proportion to her population, It would be 1,820 instead
of 657.

Massachusetts, with a population of 1,457,351, and
the accumulated learning of centuries, has but 186
newspapers, only 21 of which are daily, while Cali-
fornia has 40 of this latter class. It will be seen that
even Massachusetts Is far behind California, maintain-
ing only a little over one-fourth as many newspapers
as the latter in proportion to her population.

The State of Maine, with a population as large as
that of California, has but 54 newspapers, only six of
which are daily, against 40 dailies in California.

There are only two States In the whole Union hav-
ing more ^<3;z/j/ newspapers than California: New York,
with 89, and Pennsylvania, with 61; while California has
40. The Golden State stands fifth In the list of all the
States in the aggregated number of newspapers, as fol-
lows : New York, 657; Pennsylvania, 471 ; Illinois, 409 ;
Ohio, 331 ; California, 223. Delaware, with one-quarter
the population of California, has but 07ie daily 7iewspaper ;
and Florida, with one-third, has but the same — a soli-
tary daily paper. The whole number of newspapers
published on the Pacific coast Is 305, of which Cali-
fornia has 223, there being 88 of every description in
the city of San Francisco alone ; the remainder being
divided as follows: Oregon, 32; Nevada, 12; Wash-
ington Territory, 1 5 ; Idaho, 6 ; Utah, 9 ; Arizona, 2 ;
Alaska, i ; and British Columbia, 5.

California has a newspaper for every 2,500 of her

people. The aggregate number of newspapers in the

republic Is 6,100, and the population 38,555,983; this

is but one paper to each 7,000, and if the number

throughout the Union was In proportion to the number
30

466 THE GOLDEN STATE.

in California, instead of 6,ioo newspapers there would
be 1 6,400 in the country.

Marin. — Directly north of the county of San Fran-
cisco, and divided from It by the Golden Gate and the
waters of the Bay of San Francisco, is Marin county,
with an area of five hundred and seventy square miles.
The surface is rusfSfed hills, alternatinor with numerous
small valleys; the hills in some places are well wooded,
and there are innumerable springs and creeks. As a
grazing field it is unsurpassed ; wild oats and native
grasses grow luxuriantly, and the rains of winter and
fogs of summer keep a large part of the county a field
of perpetual verdure. The largest and most complete
dairies in the world are in this county, at one of which
2,500 milch cows are kept. The total number of cat-
tle in the county is 25,000: of this number 17,000 are
milch cows ; and although there are 230,000 milch
cows in the State, yet Marin county, with 17,000, pro-
duces 1,800,000 pounds of butter, or more than one-
third of the whole annual product of the State. There
are also 400,000 pounds of cheese made in the county
annually, and varied branches of agriculture and fruit-
growing are prosecuted. The climate is perpetual
summer ; the temperature varies but little from sixty-
five degrees the whole year, and the heat of summer is
never felt. Marin county is bounded upon the west by
the Pacific ocean, north by Sonoma, east by San Pablo
and San Francisco bays, and south by the Golden Gate.
Olema, Bollnas, San Ouentin, Saucelito, and San
Rafael are the principal towns. The population of the
county is 6,903 ; of whom 3,761 are native American
and 3,142 of foreign birth. The population of San

COAST COUNTIES. 467

'Rafael, the county-seat, is 831. Paper and powder are
manufactured in the county, and at the town of San
Quentin is located the State prison. No minerals of
any description have yet been discovered in Marin
county.

Sonoma. — North of Marin county, bounded upon
the west by the Pacific ocean, north by Mendocino,
northeast and east by Lake and Napa, and south by
Marin, is the county of Sonoma, containing 1,400 square
miles — 94 square miles more than the State of Rhode
Island. The population of the county is 19,819; of
whom 15,656 are native born and 4,163 are of foreign
birth. Santa Rosa, the county-seat, has a population
of 2,901. This county is accessible by water from the
Bay of San Francisco, and upon the ocean from the
waters of the Pacific. The county is diversified with
rolling hills and rich valleys ; considerable oak, cedar,
madrona, and other trees grow. The soil is rich be-
yond comparison, and the country generally is one of
the most lovely spots in the world. Upon the sea-coast
the summer is cool, but in the southern and central
portions it is warm ; nothing can surpass the bright,
sunny days of sum^mer in this charming section. Agri-
culture is the chief business of the people, and the
grape attains great perfection and is cultivated exten-
sively. The orange and fig grow well. In the produc-
tion of grapes and wine, Sonoma is surpassed in the
State only by the county of Los Angeles. The num-
ber of grape-vines in the county is 3,500,000. Large
quantities of grapes reach the San Francisco market
from this section, and there are 500,000 gallons of wine

468 THE GOLDEN STATE.

and 10,000 gallons of brandy produced in the county
annually. Sonoma Is surpassed only by one county in
the State in producing apples, and is third in the pro-
duction of peaches and plums. It has the largest area
of land enclosed (460,000 acres) and the largest num-
ber of acres cultivated (250,000) of any county in the
State.

There are 1,900,000 bushels of wheat, 325,000 bushels
of barley, 100,200 bushels of corn, 300,000 bushels of
oats, 270,000 bushels of potatoes, 160,000 pounds of
wool, 250,000 pounds of cheese, and 650,000 pounds of
butter produced in the county annually. There are in
the county 53,000 sheep, 14,000 horses, and 40,000 cat-
tle; eight grist-mills and sixteen saw-miills. There are
but four counties in the State having a larger value of
real and personal property. Copper and quicksilver
have been found in Sonoma, but not in any great quan-
tity ; no mines of gold or silver have yet been worked.
The celebrated Geysers and hot and numerous sulphur
springs are in this county. Sonoma is one of the most
lovely and most prosperous sections of California.
Petaluma, Sonoma, Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Bodega,
and Cloverdale are the principal towns.

Mendocino. — On the sea-coast, bounded west by the
Pacific ocean, north by Humboldt and Trinity counties,
east by Tehama, Colusa, and Lake, and south by So-
noma and Lake, is the county of Mendocino, with an
area of 3,816 square miles — three times the area of
the State of Rhode Island — and a population of 7,545;
there being 6,147 native Americans and 1,398 of foreign
birth.

COAST COUNTIES. 469

The surface of the county is rough, and the hills
covered with dense forests of redwood, cedar, fir, and
many other varieties ; as a grazing region it is unsur-
passed, and large areas of the best description of agri-
cultural lands still remain unoccupied. Lumibering and
stock-raisine are carried on to considerable extent.

The county is well watered, but there is no harbor of
magnitude on the coast. Albion, Mendocino, Punta

Arenas, and Ukiah are the chief towns : the latter, with
a population of 965, is the county-seat.

There are 200,000 acres of land enclosed, and 84,000
acres cultivated; and 200,000 bushels of wheat, 300,000
bushels of barley, 20,000 bushels of corn, 15,000 bushels
of peas, 500,000 bushels of potatoes, 200,000 pounds
of hops, 150,000 pounds of butter, and 300,000 pounds
of wool produced annually. There are in the county
five grist-mills, twenty saw-mills; 10,000 horses, 3,500
mules, (the largest number of the latter in any count}^
in the State,) 30,000 cattle, 25,000 hogs, and 200,000
sheep ; Los Angeles county only surpassing it in the
latter. No mines of importance have yet been dis-
covered.

In winter the climate is several degrees colder than
at San Francisco, and but few of the semi-tropical fruits
grow well ; but the grape and many varieties of fruit
thrive well, and the climate generally is warm and de-
lightful. The fogs from the ocean during summer keep
the grass green, and as a grazing county Mendocino is
unsurpassed in the State.

Humboldt. — Bounded west by the Pacific ocean,
north by Klamath, east by Trinity, and south by Men-

470 THE GOLDEN STATE.

docino, IS Humboldt county, widi an area of 2,800 square
miles — 580 square miles larger than the State of Dela-
ware— and with a population of 6,140; of whom 4,646
are native Americans and 1,494 ^^^ ^^ foreign birth.
Eureka is the county-seat. The surface of the country'
is rueeed ; the hills are clad with dense forests of red-
wood and fir ; the pasture ranges are wide and excellent,
and there are many rich and fertile valleys in which the
various branches of agriculture are carried on most
successfully. Lumbering, grazing, and farming are all
carried on to considerable extent. No mines of impor-
tance have yet been found. Rivers and creeks of great
volume and purity water this section, and Humboldt
bay affords an entrance to ships of large size. The
soil is most productive, and nearly all the grains, fruits,
and vegetables grow well. The county is celebrated
for its yield of potatoes : 640,000 bushels (the largest
quantity grown in any county in the State) are pro-
duced annually. Peas grow well : 70,000 bushels
(more than half the product of the State) are grown in
this county. It is also the third county in the produc-
tion of oats. Dairying, stock-raising, agriculture, and
lumbering are all carried on extensively ; but the cul-
tivation of the grape and the semi-tropical fruits of
the southern portion of the State has not been much
prosecuted. The climate like that of the greater por-
tion of the State is perpetual summer; snow falling
only upon the high mountains, while the valleys below
are perpetual verdure. Summer heats are never op-
pressive, the cool breeze off the ocean keeping the
temperature even, and the fogs and damps keeping
vesretation gfreen. Railroads buildincr from the south-

COAST COUNTIES. 47 1

ern portion of the State, soon to connect this section by
rail with San Francisco, will develop the great natural
resources of this section.

Klamath. — North of Humboldt count}^ and bounded
upon the west by the Pacific ocean, north by Del Norte,
east by Siskiyou, and south by Humboldt, is Klamath
county, with an area of two thousand square miles, and
a population of i,686. It is the only county but one in
the State having more foreign than native inhabitants,
there being 893 of the former and 793 of the latter. •
The country is mountainous in the extreme ; the hills are
covered with dense forests of valuable timber, and the
valleys with luxuriant grass. There are many rich val-
leys ; and mines of gold, silver, copper, and other metals
are worked successfully. Upon the ocean-beach the
sands are washed for gold, and in some places pay well :
each rise of the tide and each surge of the sea brings up
new grains of gold, so that the work of extracting the
precious metal from the sands goes on continuously.
There is no good harbor on the coast line of this
county. Trinidad bay affords some shelter and good
anchorage. The county is w^ell watered ; but, owing
to its mountainous character and its remoteness and
want of means of transportation, its resources are but
little developed. Orleans Bar, a small mining-camp, is
the county-seat. Sawyers Bar and Trinidad are the
only other places of any importance in the county. The
climate is good : in winter, considerable depth of snow
falls in the mountains, but the valleys are open and
cattle crraze at laro-e throucrhout the whole vear. The
rainfall is three times as great on the coast of this

4/2

THE GOLDEN STATE.

county as It Is In the vicinity of San Francisco. Snow
in the mountains and rain in the valleys make up win-
ter, while summer is long, dry, and charming. Wheat,
oats, barley, vegetables, and most of the fruits grow
abundantly.

Del Norte. — Bounded west by the waters of the
Pacific ocean, north by the Oregon State line, east by
Siskiyou, and south by Klamath, Is the county of Del
Norte, the most northern county In the State, and the
last upon the sea-coast line or coast counties. The area
of this county is 1,440 square miles — 134 square miles
greater than the State of Rhode Island. The popula-
tion of Del Norte Is 2,022, there being 1,580 native
Americans and 442 foreigners. The principal towns
are Altaville, Happy Camp, and the county-seat, Crescent
City. Close to the ocean at this point steamers and
vessels find anchorage, but there is no harbor of safety.
The rainfall in this county Is three times as great as at
San Francisco ; snow falls In the mountains to consider-
able depth in winter, and frost Is keenly felt, but the
cold weather Is of short duration, and in the valleys
pasturage is green, and sheep, cows, and horses graze
at large during the whole year. Along the sea-coast
the damps from the ocean keep the air cool In summer,
but Inland It Is warm during the summer months. The
surface of the country Is rough ; the hills and moun-
tains are covered with dense forests and undergrowth.
Throughout the county there are many rich valleys
and wide pasture-ranges. Mines of gold, silver, copper,
and other minerals are found, and mining Is carried on
to considerable extent, there being many rich gold

COAST COUNTIES. 473

quartz mines in this section. On the ocean-beach the
sands are washed for gold, In many instances with
profit: the agitation of the waves at each storm seems
to throw up new deposits of gold-dust, affording a con-
tinuous field for the labor of the miner.

The county Is well suited to the various branches of
agriculture. Wheat, oats, barley, and fruit grow well;
and even in this extreme northern section of the State
the grape, lemon, fig, walnut, and orange are cultivated,
althou;;-h the semi-tropical fruits, so far, are not grown
to any extent, and do not thrive so well as farther
south; Indeed, none of the semi-tropical fruits grow to
any extent In this section.

474

THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XXIX.

Interior and valley counties — Resources, climate, and population —
Siskiyou — Trinity — Shasta — Tehama — Butte — Colusa — Yuba —
Sutter — Yolo — Lake — Napa — Solano — Sacramento — Contra Cos-
ta— Alameda — San Joaquin — Stanislaus — Santa Clara — Merced —
Fresno — Tulare — Kern — San Bernardino.

Leaving the coast range of counties, and going inte-
riorward, adjoining the southern Oregon State line, is
found a range of counties embracing, in the northern
portion, a high mountainous region, and, extending
southward, occupy a large section of the foot-hills of
the Sierras, and still further south embrace the great
valleys and agricultural districts of the State. A great
variety of climate and resources is found in this chain
of counties, stretching from Oregon to Mexico, a dis-
tance of seven hundred miles. In the section of these
counties in the Sierras snow falls to a great depth, and
winter wears a stern frown for three months of the year,
v;hile through the central and southern portions snow
is never seen, and toward the Mexican line it is tropi-
cal, and great heat and drought prevail throughout the
long, dry summers. To distinguish these counties from
the others in the State, they are known as the

INTERIOR AND VALLEY COUNTIES,

The first of which, beginning at the Oregon State line,
and facing southward, is

Siskiyou — Bounded north by the southern State line
of Oregon, east by the State of Nevada, south by Las-
sen, Shasta, and Trinity counties, and west by the coun-

THS FORD OF Til.: YO-SEMITE,

VltW OF MOUNT SHASTA, TIIIHTY MILE3 DISTANT.

NIGHT SCENE ON THE SAN JOAQUIN RIVER — MONTE DIABLO IN THE DISTANCE.

NIGHT SCENE ON THE MAIN BRANCH OF THE SACRAMENTO RIVER.

INTERIOR AND VALLEY COUNTIES. 475

ties of Klamath and Del Norte. This is one of the
largest counties in the State, having an area of 8,740
square miles — equal in extent to the combined area of
the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, the Duchy of Anhalt,
and the Principality of Lichtenstein, and within a frac-
tion of the size of the territory of the States of Rhode
Island and Massachusetts combined.

The population of Siskiyou county is 6,848 ; of whom
4,321 are native American and 2,527 are of foreign
birth. The face of the country is a succession of
mountains, valleys, forests, lakes, and rivers. There
are many large and rich valleys, yielding most abun-
dantly of wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, fruits, and berries ;
and several large lakes and rivers supply the county
with water, and large areas of pasture range making
It a superior location for stock-raising. The mountains
are high, and, in winter, covered with great depth of
snow. The famous Moimt Shasta^ 14,440 feet above
the sea-level, is in this county.

Mines of gold, in placer and quartz, are worked with
profit, and mines of great richness are in course of de-
velopment. The resources of the county are varied,
and consist of agriculture, fruit-growing, lumber, grazing,
and mining.

The climate is colder in winter than in any other sec-
tion of the State, but never so cold that horses, sheep,
and cattle cannot pasture in the valleys throughout the
whole year. Summer is delightful in this region, and
in some sections it is quite warm; but altogether the
climate is mild and beautiful. A line of railroad, in-
tended to run from the Sacramento valley to Oregon,
will pass through this county, and will greatly develop
its varied resources. There are no cities or towns of

4/6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

any importance in Siskiyou. Yreka is the county-
seat.

Turning southward from Siskiyou, a description of
all the counties embraced between the coast tier and
the range along the Sierras, embracing mountain, valley,
and "bay counties," and representing the great agricul-
tural centre of the State, will be here given.

Trinity.— Bounded upon the north by Klamath and
Siskiyou, east by Shasta and Tehama, south by Mendo-
cino, and west by Humboldt, is Trinity county, with an
area of i,8oo square miles, and a population of 3,213,
consisting of 1,397 native Americans and 1,816 for-
eigners. This county is known as a "mountain county;"
its surface is rugged in the extreme. The mountains
are clad in forests of oak, fir, and pine, and there are
many beautiful and fertile valleys, and the county is
well watered. Snow falls to considerable depth in
winter, but cattle graze at large throughout the year.
Placer and quartz mining are carried on to a consider-
able extent. The resources of the county are mining,
grazing, farming, fruit-growing, and lumbering. Rain
falls to a very great extent in winter; summer is mild,
but warm. Wheat, barley, oats, corn, potatoes, and
fruit grow well, and the grape, lemon, fig, and mul-
berry all grow in this section, but not so well as farther
south.

There are but few towns of any importance in the
county. Weaverville is the county-seat. The mines
in this section, so far as worked, are river, surface, and
bank. The greatest quantity of water used for mining
purposes in any county in the State is used in Trinity.
The principal mining in ihe county is done by Chinese

INTERIOR AND VALLEY COUNTIES. 477

large numbers of whom worked the surface-mines long
since abandoned by the whites.

Shasta. — Bounded north by Siskiyou, east by Lassen,
south by Tehama, and west by Trinity, is the county of
Shasta, with an area of 4,500 square miles, and a popu-
lation of 4,173, divided between 2,937 native Americans
and 1,236 foreigners. This county is within a fraction
of the size of the State of Connecticut, and is more
than three times as laro^e as the State of Rhode Island,
and equal to the whole Papal States. The surface is a
succession of rugged mountains, deep ravines, and
beautiful valleys. Mining, agriculture, grazing, fruit-
growing, and lumbering are the chief resources of the
county. There are more than one and a-half million
grape-vines in the county, and the lemon, ^g, and other
fruits grow well. It is the best-watered section in the
State. The head-waters of the Sacramento and innu-
merable other streams send out their branches in all
directions through this county.

The climate of Shasta county is charming. In winter
snow falls to a considerable depth in the mountains,
and the weather is cold, but cattle graze upon the
valleys and hill-sides throughout the year. The heat
of summer is not Intense, and the weather, generally,
is delightful. But few towns of Importance have yet
grown in this county. Shasta is the county-seat. Coal
and iron, as well as the precious metals, are found.
The railroad building from the Sacramento valley to the
State of Oregon will pass through this region, and will
aid in developing its varied resources.

TehAxMA. — Approaching the valley of the Sacra-
mento, and at the head navigable Vv-aters of the Sacra-

478 THE GOLDEN STATE,

mento river, is the county of Tehama, embracing an
area of 2,800 square miles, and having a population of
3,587; of whom 2,834 are native Americans and 753
are of foreign birth. This county is more than double
the size of the State of Rhode Island, and has a great
variety of resources — placer mines of gold, rich agri-
cultural lands, grazing ranges, and forests of valuable
trees. Portions of the country are rugged, but there
are large and beautiful valleys of most rich and pro-
ductive soil, yielding grain, vegetables, and fruits of
every variety. Farming is pursued with great energy
and profit. The railroad connecting California and
Oregon passes through this county. The climate is
mild; snow sometimes falls upon the mountains, but
the face of the country in winter is perpetual verdure.
The grape and most of the semi-tropical fruits grow
well. The rainfall is considerable in winter. During
a part of summer the weather is very warm. The
Sacramento river passes through the county, and is
navigable to Red Bluff, the county-seat, a town of 920
inhabitants. The town of Tehama has a population of
only 163, and so far there is no city of importance in
the county of Tehama.

In the northern portion of the county stands Lassens
peak, 10,577 f^^t above the sea. More than half a mil-
lion pounds of wool are produced annually. The county
is eminently an agricultural one.

Butte. — South of Tehama and bounded northwest by
Tehama, northeast by Plumas, southeast by Yuba,
south by Sutter, and west by Colusa, is the county of
Butte, with an area of 1,458 square miles, and a popula-
tion of 1 1,403 ; there being 7,428 native Americans and

INTERIOR AND VAILEY COUNTIES. 479

3,975 persons of foreign birth. The county embraces
a portion of the foot-hills and mountains of the Sierras,
and a large area of the most productive agricultural
lands in the State. The resources of this section are
varied — mines of gold of great richness, deep forests
and rich agricultural lands. The climate is delightful :
upon the high mountain tops snow falls in winter, but
throughout the valleys the climate is perpetual summer.
Grain, fruit, and vegetables grow abundantly, and many
of the semi-tropical fruits ripen to perfection. Rains
fall to considerable extent in winter, but the summers
are long, Axy, and in some places excessively hot ; but
the weather altopfether Is charminof. The lemon, fio-,
walnut, almond, olive, orange, and mulberry all grow
well ; and farming, dairying, grazing, mining, and lum-
bering are carried on extensively.

There are several ei"owinor towns in the count^. .:
Oroville is the county-seat ; Chico, with a population
of 3,718, Is a prosperous and Increasing town. Lines
of railroad traversing the county, together with its genial
climate and varied resources, make it one of the most
prosperous portions of the State.

Colusa. — Bounded north by Tehama, south by Yolo,
and west by Mendocino and Lake, Is the county of
Colusa, with an area of 2,376 square miles, and a popu-
lation of 6,165 ; of whom 5,088 are Americans and 1,077
are of foreign birth. This county Is fifty-one square
miles larger than the State of Delaware, and possesses
great natural resources. Salt, sulphur, and quicksilver
are found In the northwestern portions of the county,
but so far no mines of any Importance of gold or silver
have been discovered. Agriculture and grazing are

480 THE GOLDEN STATE.

the chief pursuits of the people. The Sacramento
river passes through the eastern side of the county for
its entire length. Colusa is eminently an agricultural
county, being one of the chief wheat-growing counties
in the State. Rains fall to considerable extent in winter,
but snow is never seen, and the climate is protracted
summer. Every variety of grain, vegetables, and fruits
grow well, and many of the semi-tropical fruits attain
great perfection.

There are no towns of Importance in this county :
Colusa, the county-seat, with a population of 1,051, and
Princeton and Monroeville, are the principal ones.

Yuba. — Bounded on the north by Butte, east by
Nevada and Sierra, south by Sutter and Placer, and
west by Sutter and Butte, is the county of Yuba, with an
area of six hundred square miles, and a population of
10,851 ; of whom 6,144 are native Americans and
4,707 of foreign birth. This county consists of moun-
tains, rolling hills, forests, and beautiful valleys of un-
surpassed productiveness. The climate is perpetual
summer. Winter is distinguished only from the other
seasons by the rainfall. Summer is long, dry, and ex-
ceedingly hot in many of the valleys and canons. Mines
of gold, of great richness, are still worked, and great
quantities of fruit and grain are raised, many of the
semi-tropical fruits attaining great perfection. The
orange, lemon, fig, walnut, almond, mulberry, and grape
all grow well. More than one-half of the castor beans
grown in California are produced in this county. Con-
siderable lumber is made, but the chief wealth of the
county Is Its varied agricultural and mineral resources.
There is one woollen factory in operation in the county.

INTERIOR AXD VAIIEY COUNTIES. 48 1

Marysvllle, the county-seat and principal city, has a
population of 4,375, and is connected with various parts
of the State by railroad and river navigation.

Sutter. — In the fertile valley of the Sacramento,
bounded north by Yuba and Butte, east by Yuba and
Placer, south by Yolo and Sacramento, and west by
Yolo and Colusa, is Sutter county, with an area of 576
square miles, and a population of 5,030; there being
3.949 native Americans and 1,081 of foreign birth.
This is eminently an agricultural county. A portion
of the northern section is covered with rugged hills,
and large areas of the western side is tide land, subject
to overflow in winter; but the greater portion of the
county is fit for cultivation, and large quantities of grain,
fruit, and vegetables are cultivated. The climate is
continuous summer: rain falls to considerable extent in
winter, and the summers are long, dry, and exceedingly
hot. The Sacramento river passes along the western
side of the county, and the Feather river through it.
All the grains, and the orange, grape, lemon, fig,
almond, walnut, and mulberry grow well. There are
few towns of any size. Yuba City, with one thousand
inhabitants, is the county-seat. Railroads intersect the
county, which is altogether prosperous.

Yolo. — Lying west of the Sacramento river, and
bounded north by Colusa, east by Sutter and Sacra-
mento, south by Solano, and west by Lake and Napa,
is the county of . Yolo, with an area of 1,150 square
miles, and a population of 9,899; of whom "],^^Z are
native Americans and 2,121 are of foreign birth. A
portion of the northwestern side of the county is hilly,

and alon^ the streams and rolling hills oak and other
31 • *^

43 2 THE GOLDEN STATE,

trees grow; but the greater part of the surface is level,
with deep rich soil, entirely free from forest, shrub, or
stones: there is considerable low tule lands alone the
Sacramento river. The soil is rich, and grain, fruit,
vegetables — in fact, almost any thing that grows from
the soil in any part of the world — can be produced in
this county. The climate is uninterrupted summer. Th
rains of winter are neither cold nor excessive, and
summer is delightful, although very hot in many places.
Yolo is altogether an agricultural county. One and
a-half million bushels of wheat are grown annually in
this county, and the orange, lemon, grape, fig, and
every variety of agricultural product grows most abun-
dantly. Half the mulberry trees in the State are in
Yolo, and one-third of the pea-nuts grown in California
are produced in this county.

There are few towns of importance in Yolo. Wood-
land, a prosperous and growing place in the southern
portion of the county, is the county-seat. Railroads
pass through the principal valleys, and the county
generally may be regarded as one of prosperity.

Lake. — Bounded north by Mendocino, northeast by
Yolo and Colusa, south by Napa, and southwest by
Mendocino and Sonoma, is the county of Lake, with an
area of 972 square miles, and a population of 2,969 ;
divided between 2,483 native Americans and 486
foreigners. The surface of this county is a succession
of rolling hills, deep canons, and rich valleys. The
hills are well wooded, and there is an abundant supply
of water and native grasses. The resources of this
county are varied — lumbering, farming, and grazing.
Quicksilver, sulphur, borax, and copper are obtained in

INTERIOR AND VAIIEY COUNTIES. 483

considerable quantities. So far, neither gold nor silver
have been found. The climate of Lake county is sum-
mer perpetually, and the general aspect of the county at
all times is picturesque and charming. The weather,
without being too hot, is warm and most delightful.
Grazing, dairying, fruit-growing, and farming are all
carried on successfully. Most of the semi-tropical fruits
grow here, and the soil is very productive. The
almond, walnut, fig, olive, and mulberry grow in Lake
county. There are no towns of importance in the
county. Lakeport, the county-seat, has a population
of 297 persons. The county is generally prosperous.

Napa. — Bounded north by Lake, northeast by Solano
and Yolo, south by Solano and the Bay of San Pablo,
and west by Sonoma, is Napa county, with an area of
828 square miles, and a population of 7,163; of whom
5,394 are native American and 1,769 are of foreign
birth. The general features of this county are succes-
sive hills, mountains, and beautiful valleys. Forests of
oak and other trees frinofe the hill-sides and dot the
valleys. Springs of boiling hot water, mineral, soda,
and sulphur springs of great beauty and value are
found. No mines of the precious metals have yet been
discovered in this county; but sulphur, copper, and
quicksilver are obtained. The springs of soda and the
hot springs of the county are favorite places of resort
for invalids and pleasure-seekers ; and the soda, pure
from the springs, is largely sold over the State. Napa
is eminently an agricultural county; the grape, orange,
fig, lemon, walnut, olive, mulberry, and almost every
variety of fruit, grain, and vegetables growing most
abundantly. The climate is continuous summer, and

484 ^^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

the whole surface of the county perpetual verdure.
Frost is occasionally seen in January, but never suffi-
cient to affect vegetation. Summer is dry, and in most
places in the county the weather is quite warm, although
never excessively hot. The waters of the Bays of San
Francisco and San Pablo afford direct water communi-
cation to and from San Francisco. The chief towns in
the county are Napa City, the county-seat, Calistoga,
where are located the hot springs and petrified forests,
St. Helena, Suscol, and Sebastopol. There are forty*
six miles of railroad in the county, the permanent agri-
cultural wealth of which is fast developing.

Solano. — Bounded north by Yolo and Napa, east by
the Sacramento river, south by Suisun bay and the
Straits of Carquinez, and west by Napa, is the county
of Solano, with an area of 800 square miles, and a pop-
ulation of 16,871; of whom 11,263 are native American
and 5,608 are of foreign birth. Along the northern
side of the county are rolling hills, covered with oak
and other timber ; but the great body of the county is
level and slightly rolling land of unsurpassed fertility,
producing grain, fruit, vegetables, grapes, and many
of the semi-tropical fruits in great abundance. No
precious metals have been discovered in this count}^ ;
but cement, marble, and coal are found. The county
havinor railroads and a direct water communication with
San Francisco gives it superior commercial advantages.
The climate is perpetually mild; the heavy falls of
rain in winter and the drought of summer alone dis-
tinguishing the seasons. Agriculture is the chief re-
source of the county, there being but one county in the
State having a greater area of cultivation. There are

INTERIOR AND VAILEY COUNTIES. 485

almost one and a-half million grape-vines in Solano,
and two million bushels of wheat grown annually.
Two -thirds of all the flax grown in California is grown
in this county.

Vallejo, where the United States navy-yard is* situ-
ated, is the chief city of the county, and is growing fast:
its population is 6,392. The other chief towns in this
county are Benicia, with a population of 1,660, Rio Vista,
Suisun, Vacaville, and Fairfield, the county-seat.

There are but three counties in the State surpassing
Solano in the production of wheat. The country is fast
filling up with industrious and prosperous farmers.

Sacramento. — Bounded north by Placer and Sutter,
east by El Dorado and Amador, south by Contra Costa
and San Joaquin, and west by the Sacramento river, is
Sacramento county, with an area of 1,026 square miles,
and a population of 26,830, divided betw^een 16,228
native Americans and 10,602 foreigners. The county
has a diversity of soil and resources. Upon its eastern
side are spurs and ridges of the foot-hills of the Sierras,
well timbered with oak and other trees. This region,
once the busy scene of mining, is now covered with the
grape-vine, orchards, and farms. There are large areas
of valley lands, and toward the Sacramento and San
Joaquin rivers almost one-third of the area of the county
is low, rich soil, subject to overflow in spring: this land
is unsurpassed for its productiveness ; vegetables, grain,
and fruit of almost every variety grow to perfection.
Toward the foot-hills, gold-mining had been carried on
to considerable extent some years ago, but, with the
exception of some placer mines worked by Chinamen,
no mines of any importance are now worked. The

486 THE GOLDEN STATE.

climate of this county is delightfully mild. Along the
foot-hills there are slight falls of snow in winter, but
throughout the valleys snow is never seen. Rain falls
freely in winter, and the valleys in summer are exces-
sively hot and dry, grass being crisped by the heat of
the sun and the dry, hot winds. The Sacramento river
and various railroads afford abundant means of travel
to and through the county.

Extensive and varied agriculture and manufacturing
industries add to the increasing prosperity of the county,
which has the second largest population of any county
in the State.

This county is famous in history as the home of
General Sutter, and Sutter's Fort, a short distance from
the city of Sacramento, is a place ever green in the
memory of the early gold-hunter.

Sacramento City, the capital of the State, is built upon
low ground, on the south side of the Sacramento river.
It has been subject to overflow, and is surrounded by
a levee or earth embankment, and is supposed to be
secure from the effects of floods. The city is spread
over a large area of almost water-level plain, built with
substantial brick and wood houses. The capitol build-
ing, State agricultural building, and other edifices adorn
the city, and add much to its attractions. Beautiful gar-
dens and shade-trees ornament and beautify the capital
city, giving it a green and pleasant appearance. Rail-
road machine-shops, a woollen factory, and various other
branches of industry give employment to large numbers
of the people. Trains of gars and lines of steamboats
run daily between San Francisco and Sacramento. The
population of the city of Sacramento is 1 6,298, being the
second largest city in the State. Folsom is the only

INTERIOR AND VALIEY COUNTIES. 487

town of any importance outside of Sacramento in the
county, but there are several small growing places, and
altogether the county is prosperous.

Ao-riculture is the chief resource of the county, and
the grape, orange, lemon, fig, olive, apple, peach, pear,
and all the products of the farm grow abundantly.
Onions, melons, pea-nuts, sw^eet potatoes, and hops are
grown to a larger extent in this county than in any
other in the State. More than one-half of the sweet
potatoes grown in California annually are produced in
Sacramento county.

CoxTRA Costa. — In an easterly direction across the
bay from San Francisco is the county of Contra Costa.
It is bounded north by the Straits of Carquinez, Suisun
bay, and the River San Joaquin, east by San Joaquin
county, south and southwest by Alameda, and west by
the Bay of San Francisco. The area of this county is
756 square miles, and the population is 8,461 ; of w^hom
5,791 are native Americans and 2,670 are of foreign
birth. Contra Costa is bounded upon three sides by
water, and is called a '' bay county," from the fact that
it faces upon the Bay of San Francisco. The surface
of the county is rolling hills and rugged mountains, with
beautiful fertile valleys, and even the high rolling hills
have a deep rich soil, and are covered with wald oats
and native grasses down to the waters of the bay.
There is little timber, the general face of the country
being free from tree or shrub. Agriculture, grazing,
and coal-mining are the chief branches of industry.

Monte Diablo, a high chain of mountains, is a promi-
nent object, and quite visible from the city of San Fran-
cisco. It is directly east of the Goldeli Gate and San

4S8 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Francisco. In winter snow falls upon this range, but
is of short duration, lasting a few days only, during
which time it is an object of curiosity to the people of
San Francisco and surrounding country. In this high
mountain range are inexhaustible beds of coal, pro-
ducing one hundred and fifty thousand tons annually.
This is the only county in the State in which coal-
mining is successfully prosecuted.

Copper, quicksilver, and other minerals are found in
Contra Costa, but are not yet developed ; gold nor silver
has not been discovered in this county. Grain, vege-
tables, and fruit grow well. The damp and fogs from
the bay keep the western side of the county cool during
summer ; but, while these influences preserve the pas-
turage green, they are a source of annoyance to farmers
by blighting wheat with rust: indeed, all the portions
of each county facing the salt water of the Bay of San
Francisco are subject to rust in the wheat, while a little
distance from these sections rust is -unknown.

The climate is exceedingly mild, winter being known
only by its rains. Sum.mer is delightful, the air being
rendered cool and bracing by the winds sweeping through
the Golden Gate, and across the bay, and passing over
the greater portion of the county.

Martinez, situated near the Straits of Carquinez, is
the county-seat. Antioch, Alamo, Pacheco, and San
Pablo are the chief towns in the county, but are all
small. Nearly all the semi-tropical fruits grow well in
Contra Costa county, which is eminently an agricultural
district. *'

Alameda. — Directly east from San Francisco, and
• Mght miles acro§s the bay, bounded north by Contra

INTERIOR AXD VALLEY COUNTIES. 489

Costa, east by San Joaquin, south by Santa Clara, and
west by the Bay of San Francisco, is Alameda county,
with an area of Soo square miles, and a population of
24,237; of whom 14,382 are native Americans and 9,855
are of foreign birth. The surface is a succession of
beautiful valleys and rolling hills, with deep rich soil,
covered with wild oats and native grasses. There are
some rugged hills, and the range of Monte Diablo runs
through the county. Upon a few flats along the bay,
and some of the hills, and in the gulches, grow oak and
other trees; but the general face of the country for
miles is entirely free from trees, shrubs, or stones, and
is fit for the plow. The soil is unsurpassed in its pro-
ductiveness. Grain, fruit, and vegetables grow most
luxuriantly, and great quantities of berries, cherries,
\ and fruit of every description are sent from this county
to the San Francisco market. The mulberr}^ and most
of the semi-tropical fruits grow. The resources of the
county are agriculture, fruit-growing, grazing, and dairy-
ing. The climate ib perpetual summer. Snow never
falls, and the prevailing winds from the ocean and the
Bay of San Francisco so temper the climate that, in
the western side of the count}^, the heat is never great.
Coal has been discovered in some parts of the county,
but none of the precious nor other metals have been
found. Hot springs and many objects of natural
beauty exist in the county. Steamers run every hour
from San Francisco to Alameda, a town containing
1,557 inhabitants.

San Leandro, a beautifully situated town in the heart
of a rich agricultural valley, is the county-seat. Brook-
lyn, Alameda, Alvarado, Centreville, and Haywood are
all growing towns in this county. At Alvarado, a beet-

490

THE GOLDEN STATE.

sugar mill, producing excellent sugar from beets raised
In the valley, is in successful operation. Oakland, di-
rectly east and across the bay from the city of San
Francisco, is the principal city in the county, having a
population of 11,164. ^^ ^^ the third city in size In the
State. The city of Oakland is built upon a level piece
of sandy land, beautifully ornamented with evergreens,
oaks and other native forest trees, which break the
strong west winds sweeping across the bay ; and in
summer, when the cold fogs and winds of San Fran-
cisco are chilling and oppressive. It Is warm, calm, and
delightful at Oakland. The o-reat overland railroad
passes through the city, and out upon a wharf of three
miles In length, toward Goat island and San Francisco,
where connection is made by ferry-boats. Oakland Is
the home of thousands of persons engaged In business
in San Francisco. There are numerous educational
institutions In the city and vicinity. The State univer-
sity is located at Berkeley, five miles out of town. The
view from Alameda county is charming: the city of
San Francisco, vrith its hills and lofty church spires, the
beautiful Bay of San Francisco, Its Islands, the moun-
tains of Marin county, and the Golden Gate, are all in
full view; and with the sun sinking into the bosom of
the ocean, and gilding the landscape and bay, the scene
is most lovely.

San Joaquin. — The county of San Joaquin Is situated
in the fertile valley af that name, which embraces nine
million acres of the most fertile and tillable land in Cali-
fornia. The county is bounded north by Sacramento,
east by Calaveras, Amador, and Stanislaus, and west by
Contra Costa and Alameda. The area of the county

INTERIOR AND VAIIEY COUNTIES. 49 1

is 1,350 square miles — 44 square miles greater than
the State of Rhode Island — and contains a population
of 21,050; of whom 14,824 are native Americans and
6,226 are of foreign birth.

The county is almost level. Scattered oaks and
other trees of beauty dot the plains, lending a most
picturesque and beautiful aspect. Large areas are
subject to overflow in winter; but these lands are of
the richest character, and, when surrounded by levees,
produce vegetables, grain, and fruit beyond comparison.
The climate is mild and even. Rains fall to consid-
erable extent in winter, and the summers are exces-
sively dry and hot. Grazing and a diversified agricul-
ture are the chief resources of the county. No miner-
als, so far, have been discovered. The overland rail-
road passes through the county, and steamers run from
San Francisco to Stockton and other points. More
than one and a-half million bushels of wheat are pro-
duced annually in this county, which Is In the heart of
the wheat-growing region of the State. The lemon,
fig, walnut, almond, mulberry, olive, and orange grow.

Mokelumne, Farmington, and Woodbridge are grow-
ing towns. Stockton, the county-seat and principal city
in the county, has a population of 10,033, ^^*^ i^ ^^ ^^
head of river navigation on the San Joaquin river:
boats of light draught, however, ascend farther. Stock-
ton is a nicely built city and is growing rapidly ; at this
place Is situated the State insane asylum. The city is
built upon a low plain ; it Is very dusty and exceedingly
hot In summer, but well shaded with beautiful trees.

Stanislaus. — Bounded north by San Joaquin count}^
northeast by Tuolumne and Calaveras, southeast by

492 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Merced, and west by Santa Clara, Is the county of Stan-
islaus, with an area of 1,350 square miles — 44 square
miles more than is comprised within the area of the
State of Rhode Island — and a population of 6,499 5 of
whom 5,147 are native and 1,352 are of foreign birth.
The body of the county is situated between the foot-
hills of the Sierras and the Monte Diablo rano-e of
mountains, and is one of the most fertile sections of the
State, and produces one-third more wheat than any
other county in California. Along the foot-hills, in the
eastern section of the county, placer gold-mines have
been worked to considerable extent, and copper has
been discovered ; but the county is eminently an agri-
cultural one. The surface is generally level, there
beinor but little timber, save alono^ the edo^es of the
streams and upon the hill-tops. The San Joaquin
and other rivers flow through the county. Grain,
vegetables, and fruits of every description grow abun-
dantly ; and over the level and fertile plains, as far as
the eye can reach, can be seen miles upon miles of wav-
ing fields of wheat, unbroken by a single tree, fence, or
shrub, and in the whole county not an interruption of
rock or tree obstructs the plow. The climate is pro-
tracted summer. The rains of winter mantle the whole
surface in green. Summer is dry and hot; but, as the
evenings and nights of summer are cool throughout the
whole State, the weather, however hot during the day,
is never oppressive. Stanislaus produces every variety
of fruit, grain, and vegetables, and most of the semi-
tropical fruits grow well ; and one and a-quartcr mil-
lion pounds of wool and three and a- quarter million
bushels of wheat are produced annually. There are
no towns of any importance. Knight's Ferry, the

INTERIOR AND VALLEY COUNTIES. 493

county-seat, with a population of 850, is the only place
of importance.

Santa Clara. — In a southerly direction from San
Francisco, and separated from It by San Mateo county,
is the count}' of Santa Clara, lying between the Monte
Diablo m.ountalns on the east and the Santa Cruz moun-
tains on the west, and bounded north by Alameda and
the head of the Bay of San Francisco, east by Merced
and Stanislaus, south by INIonterey, and west by Santa
Cruz county. The area of this county is 1,332 square
miles — 26 square miles larger than the State of Rhode
Island. The population of the county is 26,246 — the
third largest of any county in the State — made up of
17,241 native Americans and 9,005 foreigners. The
surface of the county is a succession of delightful val-
leys, rolling hills, and wooded mountains. Upon many
of the valleys, beautiful oak and other trees grow. The
soil is deep, rich, and fertile, producing grain, fruit, ber-
ries, and vegetables in great abundance. In most places
the surface is entirely free from trees, shrubs, or rock
to interrupt the plow. The climate is charming ; snow
never falls, and winter is a succession of mild showers
and sunshine. Spring (Januar}^) presents waving fields
of orrain, verdant hills clad in wild oats and wild flow-
ers, and vast orchards blooming and fragrant. Just
enough of the ocean breezes of summer pass over the
Coast Range of mountains to temper the heat of sum-
mer to the most balmy and delightful temperature,
without maklnof it either too hot or too cool.

Agriculture in great diversity, grazing, and stock-
raising are the chief resources of the count}'\ No
mines of precious metals have yet been discovered, but

^94 ^-^^ GOLDEN STATE.

the famous New Almaden and other quicksilver mines
of great richness are in this county.

This Is one of the greatest agricultural counties In
California, and supplies the San Francisco market with
great abundance of fruits and berries. One-third of all
the apple trees in the State are In this county. Peaches,
apples, pears, cherries, grapes, and other fruits are pro-
duced In great quantities. There are over three mil-
lion strawberry vines, producing one and a-half million
pounds of strawberries annually ; there being but one
million pounds grown In all the rest of the State. Mon-
terey and Santa Clara counties produce one-third of all
the cheese of the State ; the latter county making one
and three-quarters of a million pounds annually. The
olive, orange, grape, lemon, fig, and most of the semi-
tropical fruits grow abundantly, and the county yields
two million bushels of wheat annually.

INIanufacturlng and mechanical Industry is carried
on to considerable extent. At San Jose and Los Gatos
are established large woollen factories. The county is
reached from San Francisco by daily trains and by
steamboats upon the bay.

There are several growing towns in the county. The
county-seat, San Jose, is built upon the rich soil of the
valley, eight miles inland from Alviso, the head of navi-
gation on the Bay of San Francisco. It contains a
population of 9,091. The city is well built, having
many elegant dwellings. The soil In the vicinity is
rich, producing abundantly. Beautiful ornamental and
fruit trees and the numerous flower-gardens lend a
charming aspect to the place, and make It one of the
most beautiful cities In the world. The State Normal
school and other educational institutions are located

INTERIOR AND VAILEY COUNTIES. 495

here. • The next town of importance In the county is
Santa Clara, three miles northwest from San Jose.
This town was founded as a mission in 1774. It has a
population of 3,470. The place Is celebrated for its
educational Institutions, the College of Santa Clara and
the University of the Pacific being located here. Gil-
roy, Alviso, and Saratoga are also growing towns in
this county, from which railroads are projected to all
parts of the southern section of the State, and to the
Atlantic States.

Merced. — Lying between the foot-hills of the Sierra
Nevada and Monte Diablo, In the heart of the San
Joaquin valley, and with the San Joaquin, Merced, and
other rivers passing through it, Is the county of Merced,
embracing an area of 1,975 square miles, and having a
population of but 2,807; of whom 2,196 are native and
611 are of foreign birth. A considerable portion of
the county is subject to overflow, but is easily re-
claimed, and almost every foot of the county Is of the
very best description of agricultural land, which will
produce grain, vegetables, and fruits of every descrip-
tion most abundantly. The county Is bounded north-
west by Stanislaus, northeast by Mariposa, southeast
by Fresno, and southwest by Santa Clara and Monterey.
The surface of the country Is generally level. Oak
and other trees grow about the streams and on the
mountains, but the body of the county Is for miles en-
tirely free from any obstruction to the plow. The soil
is easily cultivated, and Is rich beyond comparison. No
mines have yet been discovered. The resources of the
county are agriculture and grazing. All the semi-tropi-
cal fruits grow well. The climate is unbroken by the

496 I^HE GOLDEN STATE.

presence of frost or snow. Winter, with warm rains,
is a season of verdure. December ushers in wavinor
fields of grain, and rich meadows gayly bedecked with
flowers through the months of January, February, and
March, with ripe fields of grain in June and July, give
a continuous season of summer. The progress already
made by the sparse population of this county is re-
markable.

There are no towns of importance in this county.
Snellings, the county-seat, Dover, Hopeton, and Merced
Falls are the only places of any importance. At the
latter town is situated the woollen factory of the Merced
Falls Woollen Manufacturing Company.

Fresno. — Extending from the crest of the Monte
Diablo or Coast Rangfe of mountains to the summit
of the Sierras, in the midst of the San Joaquin valley,
and embracing an area of 8,750 square miles, and
having a population of 6,'^Z^\ of whom 4,974 are native
Americans and 1,362 are of foreign birth, is the county
of Fresno. This county would make six States the
size of the State of Rhode Island, and have 884 square
miles to spare. The eastern end of the county, in the
Sierras, is rugfeed and mountainous in the extreme.
Here the grandest forest giants in the world grow.
The mountains and rolling hills are generally well
wooded, and mines of gold and other metals are found
in this section. Extending westward, the body of the
county lies in the San Joaquin valley. The San Joaquin
river passes through the centre of the county, and is
navigable to Fresno City. Other rivers of considerable
magnitude pass through this county, the great body of
which is perfectly level, having a deep rich soil, entirely

INTERIOR AND VAILEY COUNTIES. 497

free from forest or other obstructions. Toward the
west, where the county joins Monte Diablo, the surface
is rolHng and rugged. Here the quicksilver mines of
New Idria are located.

The climate in this county is varied. In winter con-
siderable snow falls in that portion in the Sierras, but
throughout the great valley the whole surface is envel-
oped in green during the entire winter, affording pas-
turage to the vast herds of cattle and flocks of sheep in
this county. Summer in the valley is hot, but in the
mountains it is delightful; and in the hottest •and dry-
est of summer, cattle are driven from the valleys into
the Sierras, where they graze upon the luxuriant native
grass and herbage, green during the hottest weather.
In the valley regions it is perpetual summer, and most
of the semi-tropical fruits grow well.

Stock-raising is the chief business of the county, but
farming is carried on to considerable extent; and the
soil is rich and well adapted to every branch of agricul-
ture and fruit-raisinof. There are a hundred thousand
cattle and a hundred and fifty thousand sheep in this
count}^ and more than a-half million pounds of wool
grown annually. This section has a charming climate
and varied natural resources, which are being fast de-
veloped by lines of railroad building through its rich
valleys.

No towns of importance have yet grown In this sec-
tion. jNlillerton, the county- seat, Fresno City, and
Kingston are the only places of any size.

Tulare. — Bounded on the north and northeast by
Fresno, east by Inyo, south by Kern, and west by Mon-
terey, and extending from the Monte Diablo range to
32

498 THE GOLDEN STATE,

the Sierras, occupying a great portion of the fertile Tu-
lare valley, is Tulare county, embracing an area of 5,600
square miles — 600 of which are embraced in Tulare
lake, the largest lake In the State. Several rivers of
magnitude pour down from the west slope of the Sier-
ras, and are lost in the depths of the inland sea of Tu-
lare lake. The population of the county is 4,533 ; of
whom 3,977 are Americans and 556 are of foreign
birth. The surface of the county is rugged and moun-
tainous in the extreme in the eastern end, which em-
braces a* portion of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and
is also rugged and hilly on the western end, embracing
a portion of Monte Diablo. These sections are well
wooded ; and throughout the broad, rich valley of the
centre of the county, oak and other trees occasionally
dot the surface or grow by the river side.

This county Is almost as large as the States of Con-
necticut and Delaware, and would make four States as
large as the State of Rhode Island, leaving an area of
476 square miles. Winter, even in the Sierra range, is
not severe in this county ; and although considerable
snow falls it Is of short duration, and cattle and horses
graze at large through this section the entire year. In
the valleys it Is continuous summer. December, Janu-
ary, and February present a beautiful scene of verdure.
Grain, vegetables, and fruits of almost every description
grow abundantly. Winter in the valleys is made up of
mild rains and sunshine. Summer Is very Ary and hot.
The agricultural capacity of the county is unsurpassed;
but stock-raising Is the chief Interest of Tulare, which
is third in the State in the number of its cattle. The
grape, lemon, fig, walnut, almond, mulberry, olive, and
orange all grow well. Mines of gold and other min-

INTERIOR AND VAIIEY COUNTIES. 499

erals are found In the county In the western slope of the
Sierra range, but are Httle developed.

VIsalia, a flourishing- town of 762 Inhabitants, is the
county-seat. There are no other towns of any magni-
tude In the county. Vandalia and Porterville are small
vlllao^es.

Kern. — Bounded on the north by Tulare, east by
San Bernardino, south by Los Angeles, and w^est and
southwest by San Luis Obispo, Is the county of Kern,
extending from the Monte Diablo range in the west to
the Sierra Nevada in the east, and occupying the
southern extreme end of the great fertile valleys of the
San Joaquin and Tulare. The surface of the country Is
diversified with mountains, plains, valleys, and lakes.
It is well watered, and forests grow upon the rolling hills
and mountains and trees along the streams ; but the
valleys for miles upon miles are an unbroken field of
native grasses and wild flowers, affording the finest
pasture-range in the State. The soil is most produc-
tive, yielding grain, vegetables, and fruits of every
description. As many as eight full-grown crops of hay
have been cut upon the same piece of ground in a
single year in parts of this county. The climate Is unin-
terrupted summer. In January and February snow falls
lightly upon the Sierra range, but soon disappears.
Fall, winter, and spring in the valleys are continuous
seasons of verdure. Winter is Interspersed with warm
showers of rain, balmy atmosphere, and sunshine. The
lemon, fig, grape, almond, walnut, mulberry, olive, and
orange all grow well. Mines of gold, silver, and other
metals are found in the eastern section of the county
•along the range of the Sierra Nevada mountains, some

500 THE GOLDEN STATE,

of which are worked with profit; but agriculture and
ofrazino- are the chief resources of this section, and are
carried on successfully. Kern embraces an area of
8,000 square miles — equal to the combined area of
the Papal States and the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darm-
stadt, and w^ithin a fraction of the combined area of the
States of Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island, and
w^ould make seven States of the size of the latter State.
The population of Kern is but 2,925 ; there being 2,1 57
native Americans and "j^Z foreigners. Heretofore the
county has been almost Inaccessible for want of means
of transportation ; but railroads now building will de-
velop the resources of the county.

There are no towns of any importance In this sec-
tion. Havllah, the county- seat, has a population of
439. Bakersville and Kernvllle are small but growing
villao-es.

Considerable numbers of the cattle and sheep grazing
in this and Tulare county are owned In other sections
of the State, and are only herded there because pas-
turage is abundant

San Bernardino. — Occupying the extreme southeast-
ern part of the State, and running to within twenty miles
of the ocean on the west, and to the extreme eastern
line of the State, being in a direct line from Los Ange-
les county to the Colorado river, a distance of 220 miles,
and, from the Colorado river to its northern boundary,
225 miles, and containing an area of 23,472 square miles,
and a population of 3,988, of whom 3,328 are American
and 660 are foreigners, Is the county of San Bernardino,
the largest county in California.

The vast area of this county presents a great diver-

INTERIOR AND VALLEY COUNTIES. 50I

sity of climate, soil, and resources — rich valleys, rolling-
hills, high mountains, sandy deserts, alkaline and dry
lakes, hot and sulphur springs. The extent of this
county may be understood when it is considered that it
is more than four times as great as the Kingdom of
Saxony, almost double the size of the Kingdom of Hol-
land with Luxemburof, and would make three States as
large as the State of Massachusetts, leaving seventy- two
square miles, and would make eighteoi States the size
of the State of Rhode Island.

The boundaries of this county are : northwest, Inyo ;
northeast, the State of Nevada ; east, the Colorado river,
separating It from Arizona ; south, San Diego ; and
west, Los Angeles and Kern counties.

Adjoining the county of Los Angeles, and In the
vicinity of the Monte Diablo range or San Bernardino
mountains, Is a section of beautiful countr}^ somewhat
\vooded upon the hills, and well watered. Here the soil
is rich and most productive, and the climate charming.
In this section are the chief settlements in the county,
and the count}^-seat, San Bernardino, with a population
of 3,060 Inhabitants, leaving but 928 In all the remaindei
of the county. In this region are the Temescal moun-
tains, in which are rich and extensive tin-mines. A
short distance east of the San Bernardino mountains,
in this section, at Holcomb and Bear valleys, are rich
mines of gold in quartz and placer Gold, silver, lead,
copper, and other minerals are found in 'many parts of
the county, and recent discoveries of silver and lead
near the eastern line, and the Colorado river, show that
the mineral resources of the county are very great.
There has been but little mining yet done in this section.

Throughout the western portion of the county there

502 THE GOLDEN STATE,

are many fertile valleys, several high mountains, and
some springs and lakes ; but toward the central, south-
ern, and eastern parts of the county are vast sand
deserts, as far as the eye can reach without a green
shrub, tree, or hill to break the monotony. No vege-
table nor animal life is found in these wastes, except once
in a while a few tufts of bunch grass ; even the homed
toad cannot find food for sustenance in these regions.
Here the dreaded sand-sto7'nis sometimes overtake the
forlorn traveller, and the dreariness of the dry lakes
and the solitude of Death valley strike awe to the heart
of the '' prospecter," and the enchanting illusions of the
mirage draw his feet toward fancied scenes of pleasure
and hope, only to be confounded and wrecked upon the
burning sands of the desert.

The Sierra Nevada mountains, so formidable in the
northern end of the State, are broken and thrown about
in fragments in this section ; so that, in San Bernardino
county, they are entirely lost: so, too, the great valleys
of San Joaquin and Tulare are broken up before they
reach this county, which, in its physical character, is
entirely different from any other section of the State.

The climate of the county is summer perpetually.
Throughout the northern and western part of the county
rains fall through the months of what is winter at the
East, although not to any extent; but toward the south-
eastern end, adjoining Arizona, no rain falls in winter,
and a few showers in July and August, making about
three inches of rain, Is all the rain that falls durine the
whole year. The heat of summer in this quarter is
very great.

Railroads projected to run through the San Joaquin
valley, and also from San Diego, will pass through thitj

INTERIOR AND VALLEY COUNTIES. 50^

county; and at a point near Fort Mohave, where the
States of CaHfornia and Nevada and the Territory of
Arizona join, will cross the river Colorado, and con-
nect with roads through Arizona, New Mexico, and the
Atlantic seaboard. These roads will develop the re-
sources and wonders of this county.

All the semi-tropical and most of the tropical fruits
will grow in this section. The lemon, fig, mulberry,
almond, walnut, olive, and orange are all cultivated suc-
cessfully; and notwithstanding the broad, dry lakes,
ashy and volcanic beds, and sandy deserts, there are
vast areas of fertile and most productive land still un-
inhabited.

504 ^^^ GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER XXX.

Mountain counties — Area, resources, climate, and population—
Inyo — Mono — Mariposa — Tuolumne — Calaveras — Amador — Al-
pine— El Dorado — Placer — Nevada — Sierra — Plumas — Lassen,

Turning northward from the Colorado river and the
deserts of San Bernardino county, and following the
ridge of the Sierra Nevada mountains to the Oregon
State line, is found that range of counties embracing
the greater part of the Sierras, with their wonderful
forest giants, lofty mountains, and magnificent water-
falls; here, too, are the great treasure vaults of the
Golden State, with representatives of every race and
kindred of man bowinof to and knockinor at their doors.
This chain of counties is known as the *

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES.

Some years ago, when the placer mines of some of
these counties became exhausted, the miners aban-
doned them and sought the valley counties as a place
of permanent abode. Within a more recent period,
the great capacity of these mountain regions for pro-
ducing grain, vegetables, and fruit has been ascer-
tained: particularly have they become celebrated for
grape-growing, and for producing the finest wines in
California. Nearly every variety of fruit, including the
orange, olive, lemon, and fig, grow in most of these
counties, and orchards, vines, and gardens now bloom
upon the ruins of the early miner's temporary home
along the foot-hills and gulches of the western slope of
the Sierras. For diversified agriculture and the far-

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES. 505

mer's home, these mountain counties, generally well
wooded, with pure water and pure air, are much pref-
erable-to the low and flat valley regions; and, although
it is but a very few years since any attention was first
paid to agriculture in this section, the material progress
made is most encouraging.

Inyo. — The county of Inyo, the most southern of the
mountain counties, is bounded north by Mono, north-
east by the State of Nevada, southeast by San Bernar-
dino, and west by Fresno and Tulare. The area of this
county is 4,680 square miles — equal to the area of the
State of Connecticut, and would make three States of
the size of the State of Rhode Island, leaving 768
square miles. The whole of this county lies east of the
Sierra Nevada mountains. The surface is rugged, and
interspersed with elevated mountains, lakes, valleys,
and forests. The loftiest mountains in the State are In
this county. The climate is mild: snow falls upon the
mountain range? in winter, but it is never very cold,
and throughout the whole year sheep, cattle, and horses
graze upon the hillsides and valleys. There is but little
rainfall, and the summers are generally very warm. In
the reeion about Owens lake and Owens river there
is a considerable area of the most fertile land in Cali-
fornia, and many small valleys of great richness through-
out the county, many of which are cultivated with great
profit. There are some forest trees upon the moun-
tains and hill-sides, but a large area of the eastern por-
tion of the county is destitute of trees, and is but a
sandy desert. Springs of salt, sulphur, alkaline, soda,
and poison are found; and mines of gold, silver, tin,
lead, and copper, of great richness, exist. Lead is ex-

506 THE GOLDEN STATE,

tenslvely mined, and veins of quartz, rich in free gold,
are worked with great profit. The remoteness of the
county has, so far, much retarded its development.
Mining, grazing, and agriculture are the chief resources
of this section. Grain, vegetables, and fruit, including
grapes, oranges, lemons, figs, and olives, grow, and the
mulberry thrives well.

The whole population of the county Is but 1,956; of
whom 1,104 3.re native Americans and 792 are of foreign
birth. Independence, the county-seat, has a population
of 400. Cerro Gordo, Bend City, Kearsarge, Lone
Pine, and Lake City are small towns in the county. It
was in this county, in the vicinity of Lone Pine, that the
severest earthquake ever experienced in the United
States occurred, in March, 1872, as described in a pre-
ceding chapter.

Mono. — The next county northward is Mono. Like
Inyo, it lies entirely east of the Sierras, and these two
counties are the only ones in the State east of that chain
of mountains. Mono runs alongf the Sierras for a dis-
tance of 170 miles, and is about 40 miles in width, but
growing narrow toward its northern end. The area of
this county is 4,1 76 square miles — double the size of the
State of Delaware, and more than three times as large
as the State of Rhode Island. It has the smallest popu-
lation of any county in the State — 430 ; of whom 305
are native Americans and 125 are of foreign birth.

The remoteness of this section from markets and the
lack of means of transportation, more than the want of
natural resources, have retarded the progress of this
county. The surface of Mono is rugged and generally
well wooded, particularly upon its western side. Owens

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES. 507

and other rivers have their fountain-heads in this
county. Mountains of considerable altitude and lakes
of wonderful fluids exist. Toward the eastern side of
the county there are wide areas unfit for tillage, but
there are also many beautiful and fertile valleys suscep-
tible of high cultivation ; and grain, vegetables, and
fruit grow well. None of the semi-tropical fruits nor
the grape have yet been cultivated. Agriculture and
mining are the chief resources of the county. Farming
and grazing are profitably conducted, and mines of
gold, silver, and other minerals are found, but are yet
very little developed. The climate is cold in winter,
considerable snow falling upon the mountains, but in
the valleys it is mild, and cattle graze upon the native
grasses throughout the whole year. Summer is long,
dr}^, and hot,' but most agreeable.

Benton and Bridgeport are the only towns of any
importance in the county ; the latter town, situated near
the Sierras, in the Big Meadows, is the county-seat.

Mariposa. — This county lies directly west of Mono
lake and upon the western slope of the Sierra Nevada
mountains, and is almost directly east from the city of
San Francisco. It is bounded north by Tuolumne, east
by Mono, south by Fresno, and west by Merced ; and
has an area of 1,440 square miles and a population of
4,572 ; of whom 2,192 only are Americans, while 2,380
are of foreign birth. The surface of the country is diver-
sified with mountains, rolling hills, dense forests, beau-
tiful valleys, dashing streams, and delightful water-falls.
Here are the celebrated Big Trees and the famed
Yosemite Valley and Falls. In that portion of the county
in the Sierras snow falls to considerable depth In winter,

508 THE GOLDEN STATE.

but along the western side snow is rarely seen, and
cattle and sheep graze the year round upon the native
grasses. Summer in the Sierras is delightful, the
forests, foliage, and grass being green, while in the
valleys below all is parched with heat. A great portion
of the county is suited to grazing and farming, and each
year these pursuits are receiving more attention. Fruit-
growing is conducted upon a large scale, and with
profit. The fig, olive, grape, mulberry, almond, and
orange grow, but not so well as in counties farther
south. Mariposa possesses great mineral wealth, and
veins of quartz rich in gold have been and are still
worked with great profit. This is the most southern
county of the chain of early mining counties extending
northward from this point. The principal towns in the
county are Bear Valley, Coulterville, Hornitos, and
Mariposa, the county-seat.

Tuolumne. — North of Mariposa, and extending from
the crest of the Sierras to the San Joaquin valley in the
west, a distance of 70 miles. Is the county of Tuolumne,
with an ai^ea of 1,944 square miles, and a population of
8,150; of whom 4,182 are native American and 3,968
are of foreign birth. The county is bounded northwest
by Calaveras, north by Alpine, east by Mono, south by
Mariposa, and southwest by Stanislaus.

This county is famous in the early history of Cali-
fornia for its rich placer mines, and still produces
largely of the precious metals ; but, like many of the
mining counties, the placers are much exhausted, and
quartz-mining has taken the place of the crevice-knife,
pan, and shovel of the past. The county, once almost .
depopulated upon the failure of the gold placers, is now

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES. 509

last developing Its inexhaustible resources in producing
grain, vegetables, and fruit ; and now, in its new pros-
perity, the vast canals, ditches, and flumes built and
abandoned by the early miner, carry water to blooming
gardens, orchards, vineyards, and waving fields of wheat
and corn.

The surface of the county is rugged, and throughout
its eastern end is covered with vast forests of oak, pine,
and other valuable timber, some of which grow to
great size. The county Is well watered with numerous
dashing streams, fed by the snows of the Sierras.
Throughout this section there are Innumerable beauti-
ful and fertile valleys ; and the foot-hills and rolling,
gravelly ridges, heretofore supposed to be worthless,
are the finest grape -lands In the State, producing a
rich, sweet grape, from which the choicest wines are
produced. Apples, grapes, peaches, and the lemon,
almond, walnut, mulberry, fig, and orange grow In the
western slope of the county.

The climate of this section Is charmlno-. Snow falls
in the Sierra Nevada mountains to considerable depth,
and wrnter Is cold, but this is only confined to the
mountains. In the valleys and lower foot-hills snow
never falls ; and In these sections It Is perpetual sum-
mer. In the mountains. In summer, the foliage Is charm-
ing ; and the wide ranges of native grasses, green
throughout the whole summer, while the valleys below
are parched with heat, afford excellent pasturage and
a cool and delightful retreat from the heat of summer
in the low valley counties. Rain falls to considerable
extent In the western part of the county In winter; but,
like all the rest of the State, no rain falls from April
until November.

5IO

THE GOLDEN STATE,

The principal towns in the county are Sonora, the
county-seat, with a population of 2,498, and Columbia,
with a population of 2,200. Chinese Camp, Big Oak
Flat, and Springfield are towns of some importance.

Calaveras. — Northwest of Tuolumne county is the
county of Calaveras, with an area of 936 square miles,
and a population of 8,895; consisting of 4,677 native
Americans and 4,218 foreigners. It is bounded north-
west by Amador, east and southeast by Alpine and
Tuolumne, (Alpine lying between it and the crest of
the Sierras,) and southeast by Stanislaus and San
Joaquin. The surface of the country is rugged, with
abrupt mountains, deep canons, and rolling hills. In
the eastern section there are vast forests, and here are
the famous ^^ Big Trees of Calaveras',' numbered by
hundreds, some of which are hundreds of feet in height
and more than thirty feet in dia^jieter. The western
slope of the county has many beautiful and fertile val-
leys which are cultivated successfully, and the rolling
hills produce abundantly of superior grapes. Fruit of
almost every variety grows, including the orange, fig,
and lemon; but these do not thrive so well as in the
more southern section of the State. Calaveras is well
watered by several rivers of magnitude.

But a few years ago, this section was regarded as a
purely mining region; and, upon the decay of the placer
gold-mines, people left the county in great numbers
and disgust. Should the miner of "'49-50" now return,
he would find wheat-fields, orchards, vineyards, and
gardens growing upon the hills and in the gulches
abandoned as worthless years ago, sheep and cattle

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES. 5II

grazing upon the hills, and the school-house standing
upon the ruins of his once lonely bachelor cabin.

Surface-mining is pretty well exhausted in Calaveras
county, but nlining in quartz, bank, and river is still
carried on to considerable extent. At this period, the
resources of the county are mining, agriculture, and
stock-raisinof.

The climate is deligfhtful: in the eastern end of the
county snow falls in winter, but cold is never intense ;
throughout the southern and western sections a little
snow falls upon the hills, but in the valleys it is con-
tinuous summer. Considerable rain falls in what is
called winter, and the summers are long, dry, and exces-
sively hot in some places.

There are several towns of importance In the county:
Angel's Camp, Mokelumne Hill, Campo Seco, Copper-
opolis, and San Andreas, the county-seat, are the chief
ones.

Amador. — Lying directly north of Calaveras, and
occupying the foot-hills of the Sierras, is the county of
Amador; bounded north by El Dorado, east by Alpine,
south by Calaveras, and west by Sacramento and San
Joaquin, and with an area of 700 square miles, and a
population of 9,582; of whom 5,449 are native American
and 4,133 of foreign birth.

Portions of this county, toward the east, are well
timbered, and the country generally is well watered.
The surface Is rugged, but toward the western end of
the county there are many rich valleys and a large area
of agricultural lands unsurpassed in the production of
the grape and fruits of almost every description; and,
although a portion of the county Is well up In the snow

512 THE GOLDEN STATE.

line of the Sierras, the orange, fig, lemon, and mulberry
grow well. A few years since the county was regarded
as worthless for agricultural purposes, and was to a
great extent abandoned by the miners an the exhaus-
tion of the placer-mines; but now the character of the
soil is more fully understood, and orchards, vine-
yards, and dairies stand upon the hill-sides and in the
gulches abandoned by the early gold-hunter, and the
ditches and flumes so lonof forsaken are ao^ain musi-
cal with their crystal streams, nourishing and invigorat-
ing orchards and vines by the side of the quartz-mill
and the deserted camp of the departed miner. Mines
of great richness were formerly worked in this county,
but at present the gold yield is chiefly from quartz-
ledges, many of which are worked with great profit.

The climate of Amador is ■ varied. In the high
mountains snow falls to considerable depth, and during
winter the weather is cold, but the snow is of short
duration, and toward the western section of the county
it is perpetual summer; true, the snow from the Sierras
send down a thin fringe, but it is soon dissolved. Cattle,
sheep, and horses graze at large during the whole year.
The heat of summer is great in some places, but toward
the Sierras the foliage, forests, and grass are green, and
the air balmy and delightful.

There are several towns In thfs county; the most
prominent of which are Jackson, the county-seat, with
a population of 2,411, Fiddletown, Drytown, lone,
Sutter Creek, and Volcano.

Alpine. — Directly east of Amador, and with the
crest of the Sierras in its centre^ — one-half of the
county being east of this range — is the county of Al-

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES. 513

pine. It IS bounded north and northwest by El Dorado,
east by the State of Nevada, south by Tuolumne, and
west by Calaveras, Amador, and a part of El Dorado.
The surface of this country is very rugged, many peaks
of the Sierras standinor more than ten thousand feet
above the sea. A great portion of the county is
densely timbered with forests of great beauty and
value. Several rapid streams course down the moun-
tain sides, affording abundant motive power. Through-
out the county there are many small valleys of great
fertilit}^ and the various branches of agriculture and
grazing are carried on to considerable extent. Mines
of gold, silver, copper, and other minerals are found,
and quartz-mining is carried on very profitably. As a
grazing country it is excellent. Cattle and sheep graze
at large throughout the whole winter, and during sum-
mer, when the lower counties are parched, the native
grasses and herbage are green, and the climate charm-
inor, beine neither too hot nor too cool. Winter is cold,
stormy, and boisterous, snow falling to a great depth
upon the high mountains, but frost is not so intense as
in portions of the State of Virginia, and the real cold
weather ig but of short duration.

The area of Alpine is 850 square miles, and its popu-
lation but 685 ; of whom 485 are native Americans and
200 are of foreign birth. The hardier varieties of fruit
all grow well, but the semi-tropical fruits, so abundantly
produced in many of the counties of the State, do not
grow here. Monitor, Markleeville, and Silver Moun-
tain, the county-seat, are the principal towns.

El Dorado. — Extending from the Sacramento valley

to the summit of the Sierra Nevada mountains, a dis-
ss

514 THE GOLDEN STATE,

tance of 85 miles, embracing an area of 1,872 square
miles, and containing a portion of Lake Tahoe upon
the crest of the Sierras, and with a population of
10,309, consisting of 6,287 Americans and 4,022 for-
eigners, is the county of El Dorado, celebrated in his-
tory as the seat of the first discovery of gold in Cali-
fornia by Marshall in 1848. This county is in the
heart of the great mining region of California. In this
county, and upon either side of it, are situated the river-
beds, gulches, and quartz mines from which so many
millions of gold have been extracted. El Dorado pos-
sesses a variety of soil, scenery, climate, and resources.
In the mountain section lofty spurs and crags of the
Sierras lift their bald heads, and snow and frost repre-
sent winter; but even in the coldest portions of the
Sierras winter is short and mild, as compared with
many parts of the Atlantic coast. In the mountain
section of the county forests of great beauty and value
exist, and dashing streams, passing furiously through
deep canons and ravmes, lend a charming aspect to the
country. In the western portion snow never falls, and
here it may be called perpetual summer. The snow
line from thfe Sierras struggles hard to extend its fleecy
fringe into the valley, but the warm winds and rains
dissolve It before it descends far down the foot-hills.
Cattle and sheep graze at large throughout the whole
year, except for a short period in winter in a portion of
the Sierras. Throughout the valleys there are wide
pasture-ranges, and the Sierras in summer are green
with native grasses and herbs, affording the best pas-
ture-ranges in the State.

Agriculture is fast developing the great resources of
this section, and a wealth more permanent than gold or

SUTTER'S MILL, WHERE MARSHALL DISCOVERED THE FIRST GOLD IN

CALIFORNIA, JANUARY 1 9, 1 848.

FRONT STREET, SACRAMENTO CITY, 1856.

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES. . 515

silver Is to be seen In the waving corn-fields, blooming
orchards, and vineyards now so successfully cultivated
upon the abandoned fields of the pioneer gold-hunter.
El Dorado Is second only to the county of Nevada In
quartz-mining In the State, and Is sixth in the counties
of the State In the growth of the grape. Coloma, sit-
uated thirty-five miles northeast from the city of Sacra-
mento, and the place where Marshall, In 1848, discov-
ered gold, and In the vicinity of which, for so many
years, were enacted the wild scenes of early California
life, is surrounded with blooming orchards and clustering
vines. Fruit-growing is condi^cted successfully In this
county, and almost every variety grows w^ell. In the
western parts of the county the mulberry grows to per-
fection, and the lemon, olive, fig, and orange are culti-
vated ; but these latter do not grow so well as they do
in the southern section of the State.

There are a number of towns in this county : Placer-
vllle, the county-seat, with a population of 1,562, Colo-
ma, Georgetown, Diamond Springs, El Dorado, and
Shingle Springs are the principal ones. Many of the
early mining towns In this county are abandoned, and
substantial buildings, costing from §5,000 to §20,000 In
their erection in early days, are inhabited only by cattle
and hogs; but the corn-field, the vine, and the fig tree
march steadily toward and overshadow their ruins.

Placer. — North of El Dorado, and extendlno- In a
range of eighty miles In length from the crest of the
Sierras to within eight miles of the Sacramento, having
an average width of eighteen miles and an area of 1,386
square miles, and a population of 11,357, rnade up of
6,167 Americans and 5,199 foreigners. Is the county of

5i6

THE GOLDEN STATE.

Placer, famous for its rich mines of gold, and partaking
of the oreneral features of all the counties in this moun-
tain range. A portion of the eastern end of the county
is occupied by the beautiful Lake Tahoe, and the dash-
ing Truckee river passes through a portion of it
Jagged mountain peaks, deep gulches, canons, and
dense forests occupy a great portion of the eastern end
of the count3^ and snow falls to considerable depth.
Toward the Sacramento are a succession of rollinof hills
and rich valleys, and the climate in this section is summer
perpetually. Here nearly every branch of agriculture
is successfully prosecuted. The grape and nearly all
the semi-tropical fruits, including the lemon, fig, and
oranee, sfrow. Summer in the mountain rano^es is
charming, and the green herbage and native grasses
afford wide pasture-ranges. In portions of the western
side of the county the heat of summer is great, but
never oppressive. Cattle and sheep graze at large
during the whole year, and altogether the climate is
delightful. The great overland railroad passes through
this county a distance of ninety miles.

Placer is bounded north by Nevada, east by the State
of Nevada, south by El Dorado and Sacramento, and
west and northwest by Sutter, Yuba, and Nevada.

The chief resources of the county are mining, agri-
culture, lumber, and dairying. It is surpassed only by
two counties in the State in the growing of peaches, and
is the fourth county in the State in the production of
wine. Auburn, the county-seat, and Colfax, Cisco, Dutch
Flat, Iowa Hill, and Forest Hill, are the principal towns.

Nevada. — Directly north of Placer, and extending in
a direct line from the State line of Nevada on the east

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES. 517

to within seventeen miles of the Feather river, at
Marysville, a distance of about seventy miles, and hav-
ing an average width of fifteen miles, and an area of
1,026 square miles, is the county of Nevada, celebrated
in the history of California as the greatest gold-pro-
ducing county in the State. Placer and bank mines of
great richness have long been worked in this section ;
but the quartz mines of the county seem inexhaustible,
and still yield beyond comparison with any gold region
in the world. The surface of the country is mountain-
ous in the extreme in the region of the Sierras ; here>
too, vast forests of great beauty and value are found,
and dashing streams and beautiful lakes lend a charm
to the delightful scenery of this section. The Truckee
river, pouring its flood from Lake Tahoe, passes
through the eastern extremity of the county. In this
quarter snow falls to considerable depth in winter, and
for a brief period frost is severe ; but summer is de-
lightful, and the native grasses upon the s'de-hills and
valleys of the Sierras afford wide and excellent pasture-
ranges. In the western end of the county, toward the
Sacramento river, the surface is a series of rolling hills
and small valleys. Winter never reaches this section,
and here cattle and sheep graze at large throughout the
whole year, and fruits of almost every variety, including
many of the semi-tropical, grow. The grape, fig, and
orange are cultivated, and gardening and dairying are
carried on to considerable extent. Like the o^reat inte-
rior of California, this section has a long, dry, and hot
summer ; but the cool nights keep it from being op-
pressive, and altogether the climate is delightful.

Taken altogether — the inexhaustible gold-mines, the
vast forests, and diversified ao-rlculture of Nevada — it is

5l8 THE GOLDEN STATE.

one of the most prosperous counties in the State. The
great overland railroad in its course passes for a dis-
tance of thirteen miles through the eastern end of the
county over the crest of the Sierras ; and other roads
building will add greatly to the development of this
section.

Nevada county is bounded north by Yuba and Si-
erra counties, east by the State of Nevada, south by
Placer, and west by Yuba. The population is 19,134;
of whom 10,479 ^^^ native American and 8,655 are of
foreign birth. There are several growing and prosper-
ous towns in the count}^ Nevada City is the county-
seat, and is a place of considerable population and im-
portance. Grass valley, in the heart of the richest
mining region in the world, is an incorporated city, with
a population of 7,066. Little York, French Corral, and
North San Juan are towns of some importance, all sur-
rounded by rich mining districts.

Sierra. — Adjoining Nevada county on the north,
and perched high in the Sierras, bounded north by Plu-
mas and Lassen, east by the State of Nevada, south by
Nevada county, and v/est by Yuba and Plumas, and
embracing an area of 830 square miles, and with a
population of 5,619, of w^hom 2,816 are of native
American and 2,803 ^^^ of foreign birth, is the county
of Sierra.

The surface of the county is a succession of abrupt
mountains and jagged peaks, some of which stand
almost nine thousand feet above the sea. Numerous
deep canons and gulches, with dashing streams and deep
forests, lend a wild but picturesque aspect to the coun-
try. Small valleys of great beauty and fertility are

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES.

519

found, and grazing, dairying, lumbering, fruit-growing,
farming, and mining are all carried on successfully.

Great quantities of gold have been extracted from
the gravel beds and rich quartz veins of this county,
and fortunes have been suddenly realized from rich
deposits of gold. Sierra is still only second to Nevada
county in her yield of gold, and mines of permanent
value are being worked with great profit, and new and
rich discoveries made almost daily.

Snow falls to considerable depth throughout the
eastern end of the county in winter, and frost is felt
sometimes to a great extent; but toward the western part
of the county but little snow falls, and cattle and sheep
graze in the valleys throughout the entire year. Almost
every variety of the hardier fruits grow well, and even
the fig and orange have been grown , but none of the
semi-tropical fruits do well.

There are no towns of magnitude in Sierra county.
The principal" ones are Downieville, the county-seat,
Forest City, Brandy City, Rowland Flat, and Goodyear's
Bar.

Plumas. — North of Sierra county, and with its whole
area in the Sierra Nevada mountains, and at an eleva-
tion of from 4,000 to 7,000 feet above the level of the
sea, is the county of Plumas: bounded north and east by
Lassen, south by Sierra, and west by Butte and Te-
hama. The area of this alpine county is 2,736 square
miles — equal to two States of the size of Rhode Island
and 124 square miles to spare. Plumas has a popula-
tion of 4,490, divided between 2,414 native Ameri-
cans and 2,075 foreigners, and several growing towns.
Quincy, the county-seat, has a population of 640. La

520 THE GOLDEN STATE,

Porte, Granville, Meadow Valley, and Taylorsville are
all prosperous towns.

The surface of the country is a succession of high
mountains, rolling hills, deep canons, dashing streams,
and large, fertile, and beautiful valleys of unsurpassed
agricultural and grazing capacity. Vast areas of this
county are covered with dense forests of valuable tim-
ber, and placer and quartz mines of great richness are
worked with profit. Snow falls upon the high moun-
tain peaks to considerable depth in winter ; but frost is
not so intense as in portions of the States of Virginia
and Tennessee, and in the valleys and ravines cattle,
horses, and sheep pasture throughout the whole year.
Summer in this county is unlike summer in the valley
counties. In Plumas, although the heat of summer is
considerable, yet the native grasses and rich herbage
of the beautiful valleys and of the hill-sides are fresh
and green, and the eye can linger with increasing-
admiration upon rich meadows, fields of corn, deep
forests, blooming orchards, lofty mountains, and laughing
streams, frolicking through precipitate gulches and turn-
ing the busy wheels of the quartz-mill. Big Meadow
valley, fifteen miles in length and four miles in breadth,
Mountain Meadows, of nearly equal size, Indian valley,
eleven miles in length by two In width, American val-
ley, eleven miles in length by four miles in width, are
unsurpassed In beauty and fertility in California; here
/arlous branches of farming are prosecuted most suc-
:essfully. Nearly all the hardier fruits — apples, pears,
peaches, plums, cherries, and the grape — do well. Agri-
culture, dairying, fruit-growing, lumbering, and mining
are the resources of the county.

MOUNTAIN COUNTIES. 52 1

Few counties In California possess greater natural
resources than Plumas, and Its future prosperity Is In-
sured by Its rich agricultural and grazing lands.

Lassen. — Directly north of Plumas, situated In the
broken spurs of the Sierras, and east of the main chain
of these mountains, and with a length from north to
south along the line of the State of Nevada of more
than 100 miles, and containing an area of 4,932 square
miles — 182 square miles more than the State of Con-
necticut— Is Lassen county: bounded north by Siskiyou,
east by the State of Nevada, south by Sierra and
Plumas, and west by Plumas and Shasta.

The county lies almost entirely east of the Sierra
Nevada mountains. The general character of this sec-
tion Is essentially different from the counties west of
that range. The rolling hills are covered with dense
forests of pine and other trees. Alkaline plains and
sage brush, broad lakes, fertile valleys, and high moun-
tain peaks make up the physical features of the
country.

In winter snow falls to considerable depth, but frost
is never severe, and In the valleys and ravines cattle,
sheep, and horses graze throughout the whole year.
Summer Is dry and warm, but not uncomfortably hot.
A great portion of the surface Is covered with rich
native grasses, green throughout the greater part of the
year, affording wide and excellent pasture-ranges. Ag-
riculture, grazing, and lumber are the resources of this
county. In the valleys grain, vegetables, and the har-
dier fruits all grow well, and dairying and lumbering are
successfully prosecuted. As yet but little has been

522 THE GOLDEN STATE.

done in mining, although mines of considerable Impor-
tance have been discovered.

The population of Lassen county is 1,327; consisting
of 1,178 native Americans and 149 foreigners. Susan-
ville, the county-seat, has a population of 640. The
other towns are all small.

Siskiyou county, lying directly north of Lassen
county, and extending to the Oregon line, and already
described, is the last or most northern one of the tier
of mountain counties, following the range of the Sierra
Nevada mountains, and forming the great gold-pro-
ducing region of California,

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THE PACIFIC COAST. 52

CHAPTER XXXI.

Pacific coast — Oregon — Nevada — Utah — Arizona — Idaho — Wash-
ington Territory — British Columbia and Alaska.

The vast region lying west of the Rocky mountains,
designated the Pacific coast, in which is embraced CaH-
fornia, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, a part
of Montana, Washington Territory, British Cokimbia,
and Alaska, contains an area equal to one-half of the
whole territory of the Republic of America. The three
States and five Territories in this division belonging to
the United States contain an area of 1,259,234 square
miles, and British Columbia is estimated at 300,000
square miles in extent.

Until a recent period this wide domain, with Its geni d
climate, vast forests, great mountains, magnificent rivers
and harbors, broad and fertile valleys, and great min-
eral wealth, was comparatively unknown, even to th'-i
people of America; and although new States have
sprung up, cities been built, rivers navigated, and moun-
tains pierced, and the track of the iron horse is found
on mountain side and valley, and the seat of new, vig-
orous, and happy communities find permanent lodgment
in the rich soil of the new civilization of the Far West,
yet but little is known of the country, even in the
States east of the Rocky mountains, and thousands of
well-informed persons in Europe and America have
never heard of the divisions of this section, nor know
their location nor their names.

In preceding chapters, that portion of the Pacific
coast more generally known abroad on account of the

524 "^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

great mineral wealth, agricultural productions, and
matchless natural beauties developed and brought to
light since the discovery of gold in 1848, has been pre-
sented to the reader ; and now the following chapters
will be devoted to briefly setting forth the physical feat-
ures, climate, and vast resources and wonders of that
wide area extending from the scorching sands of the
Colorado to the stern heights of Oregon and the grim,
ice-bound shores of northern Alaska.

The area embraced within the succeeding chapters
is entirely distinct in climate, soil, productions, animals,
fish, and birds, from any section of the United States
east of the Rocky mountains ; and, together with Cali-
fornia, contain more of the precious metals than all the
world besides so far as yet discovered, and its still un-
explored and unoccupied regions afford the last remain-
inof refuo^e for that lar^e element of wanderers and
adventurers always pushing ahead of civilization, seek-
ing new discoveries, new homes, and new acquaintances
beyond the sound of church-bell and the echo of the
steam-whistle. The range for this class is still wide .
the red man and the mountain deer have still uncertain
tenure of the soil, and the stately elk and grim bear
look out from their forest homes, tempting sport for the
unerring rifle of the frontiersman ; and whe-n the vast
regions from the Colorado to Behring Strait cease to
afford attractions to the pioneer, man's condition will
be so changed that the new civilization built upon the
lonely wastes will afford him solace ; or other planets
will be discovered in which the primitive forests and
howling deserts will afford him an asylum.

The marked physical features of that portion of
America lying west of the Rocky mountains, so well

THE PACIFIC COAST, 525

defined by its volcanic origin and great mineral wealth,
as well as by Its genial climate and rich soil, give it a
distinct character from all that section of the country
east of the great mountain division of the continent.

Coal, iron, lead, copper, and petroleum in great
abundance, and gold and silver in limited quantities,
have been found east of the Rocky mountain chain ;
but the precious metals of the continent lie west of this
division, and are found in and about the Sierra Nevada
mountains — the crreat mother lead of the grold and
silver of the American continent,

Brazil, Chili, Peru, and the whole region of South
and Central America, rich in gold and silver, and the
Republic of Mexico, so famed for its mineral wealth*
all go to the Sierra range for their metallic treasures.
California, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Oregon,
Idaho, Montana, Washington Territory, and British
Columbia — some on the east and some on the west of
this range of mountains — all derive their gold and
silver from the main chain, or from the arms and lat-
erals of the Sierras, which, although passing under dif-
ferent names in different sections, is but the same grand
mineral chain, entering the continent at Patagonia,
passes northward through the whole of South and
Central America, Mexico, California, Oregon, British
Columbia, and Alaska, until, in the distant west, it dlp^
into the sea on the frozen shores of the Arctic ocean.

The early history, acquisition, and settlement of the
several sections of country described in the following
chapters will be found fully set forth in preceding por-
tions of this volume, so that what follows more imme-
diately relates to the natural resources, development^
and material growth of the country.

526 THE GOLDEN STATE.

OREGON.

History— Geography — Climate — Seasons — Forests — Minerals — Min
ing — Agriculture — Rivers — IMounta
Area — Population — Cities — Society.

ing — Agriculture — Rivers — IMountains — Resources — Progress —

Oregon, as originally organized, embraced, besides
the area of the present State, the area now contained
within the Territories of Idaho and Washington ; and
of the entire domain of the American republic, Oregon,
as originally organized, was the only portion acquired
by oidginal discovery.

The thirteen original colonies were taken from Great
Britain by conquest; besides, Virginia claimed, under
her original charter from England, an undefined tract,
coverinof what was known as the "Northwestern Terri-
tor}^" embracing the area of the present States of Ohio,
Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. This claim
Virginia granted to the federal government in 1787,
and it became a part of the aggregate territory of the
republic. The whole territory of the United States
east of the Mississippi river, except the State of Florida
and a part of the State of Mississippi, was acquired by
the United States with the thirteen original colonies.
As compensation for spoliations upon American com-
merce by Spain, the Spanish crown ceded to the United
States, in 1819, the territory embraced in the State of
Florida and the southern section of the State of Mis-
sissippi. The purchase of Louisiana by the American
government from the French, in 1803, placed the
Americans in the possession of the vast region lying
west of the Mississippi, and extending its boundaries
to the Rocky mountains in the west, the British posses-
sions in the north, and the Gulf of Mexico on the south.

^M J

HORSE-TAIL FALL, COLUMBIA RIVER.

VIEW ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER.

o
w

0REG0P7. 5^7

Texas was acquired by annexation in 1845, ^^^ New
Mexico and Colorado by conquest and treaty with
Mexico after the war of 1846-8; and Alaska was ac-
quired by purchase from Russia in 1867.

Oregon, discovered by Captain Gray, of Boston, in
1792, was explored by authority of the United States,
by Lewis and Clark, in 1S04-5. In 1808, the Missouri
Fur Company established a post on the head waters of
the Snake or Lewis river; and, in 181 1, John Jacob
•Astor, of New York, founded the Pacific Fur Company,
at Astoria, near the mouth of the river Columbia. This
was the beginning of settlement in the country. At a
more remote period, the Hudson Bay Fur Company,
an English incorporation, was established in Oregon.
This latter company, by its factors and employes, held
almost despotic sway over the native tribes and white
settlers until 1850.

As early as 1830, emigrants were making their way
over the Rocky mountains and Into Oregon. The lib-
eral inducement of six hundred and forty acres of land
free to every head of a family and three hundred and
twenty acres to each person twenty-one years of age
emigrating to the Territory, offered by Congress, had,
up to 1849, attracted considerable emigration; so that
when the gold-fields of California, In 1849, attracted
their thousands of miners, Oregon was prepared to
supply flour, lumber, butter, eggs, cheese, and fruit to
the gold-hunter who roamed over the then untllled
valleys of California.

In 1843, Oregon was organized as a Territory, and
on the 1 2th of February, 1859, was admitted a State
into the Union. The State Is bounded on the south
by the northern line of California and a part of the

528 THE GOLDEN STATE.

State of Nevada, east by Idaho, north by the River
Columbia, and west by the Pacific ocean. The south-
ern line of Oregon, where it joins the State of Califor-
nia, Is in the forty-second parallel of north latitude, and
the northern line, at the mouth of the Columbia river,
is in 46° 20' of north latitude.

The area of Oregon is 95,274 square miles — about
61,000,000 acres; and the population, in 1870, was
90,776, of whom 86,929 were white, 346 colored, 3,330
Chinese; and 79,323 were of native American birth and
11,600 of foreign birth.

The physical features of Oregon are rugged hills
covered with fir and oak trees; lofty mountains clad in
perpetual snow; vast and dense forests of fir and
cedar; rolling hills of deep rich soil; extensive valleys
of perpetual verdure and unsurpassed productiveness;
numerous lakes, springs, and streams; majestic rivers,
whose cascades, combined with a rich forest scener}^,
make Oregon one of the most picturesque quarters
of the republic.

The climate of Oregon is mild. Winter, which com-
mences in December, casts its mantle of snow upon
the elevated hills, and burnishes anew the high moun-
tain peaks where summer heats are unknown.

Throughout the forest and valley districts snow and
ice are rarely seen; and, in the Wallamet and other
principal agricultural valleys, it is perpetual summer.
Once perhaps during each winter a few inches of snov/
will fall, but in most of cases it is swept away either by
rain or the heat of the sun in one or two days; some-
times it may linger for a week, but this is rare. Ice of
a few inches in thickness is formed durine each winter
in some places, but it remains only for a few days; and,

OREGON. 529

In the agricultural and grazing districts, sheep, horses,
and cattle run at large and forage during the whole
season. But there are periods in severe winters when
snow and cold rains are disastrous to stock, and when
the kindly hand of the farmer is necessary to supply
them wdth food; but generally grass is green through-
out the whole year, and all stock live at large in the
open air.

At Astoria, and along the whole Coast Range, rain
falls in great abundance during the winter and spring;
but in the interior, and particularly in the eastern por-
tion of the State, the rainfall is not half so great as
upon the Coast Range, and the winters, generally rainy,
are warm and pleasant.

Fields of growing grain covering the ground may
be seen in the months of January and February, and
vegetables grow throughout the whole year. In Ore-
gon, as In California, it is not easy to draw the lines
dividing the seasons. Winter is known only by the
presence of a greater amount of rain and a little colder
weather ; summer is mild, with showers of rain, blended
w^ell into the late spring season and early summer, and
the excessive heats of the Atlantic States are unknown.

The hottest days are not oppressive, owing to the
coolness of the nights. Once in a great while the heat
of summer will reach one hundred and ten degrees in
the shade ; but, owing to the cool nights, the heat does
not reach its greatest extent until early in the afternoon,
lasting only three or four hours during the day.

Oregon is as far north as the northern boundary of

the State of Maine, but the degrees of cold in each are

v^t-y different. In many parts of Oregon winter never

reaches the freezing-point; while in Maine for six
34

5 30 THE G OLDEN STA TE,

months It is perpetual winter, where frost and piercing
winds carry terror before them.

The chmate of Oregon is milder than the climate of
either Virginia, Kentucky, or Tennessee; and at Astoria,
the mouth of the Columbia river, the average tempera-
ture is little different from that of San Francisco ; the
annual temperature being in summer fifty-two and in
winter forty-two degrees above zero.

The wide agricultural and grazing ranges of Oregon
are well supplied with copious streams from the moun-
tain sides; and the water-power of the State, which
might easily be employed in turning the wheels of me-
chanical industry, is not surpassed in the United States.
The Falls of the Wallamet, at Oregon City, are of
great volume and force ; and the majestic Columbia,
having its source In the western slope of the Rocky
mountains, far in the Interior of British Columbia,
where it is fed by the eternal snows of that region,
coursing through British Columbia, Washington Ter-
ritory, and for more than three hundred miles forming
the northern boundary of Oregon, with Its cascades and
numerous falls, affords unlimited motive-power. The
River Columbia, forming the boundary between Ore-
gon and Washington Territory, may be classed among
the most Important navigable rivers of the world, and
is surpassed In extent only by one river on the whole
Pacific coast of America — the majestic Yukon, of
Alaska, flowing for more than two thousand miles
toward the sea.

At the historic town of Astoria, in Oregon, where
the Columbia empties Into the Pacific ocean. It Is a
broad and noble stream; and for one hundred and sixty
miles — to the Cascades — affords a navigable course for

OREGON. 531

ships and large ocean-steamers. At this point a rail-
road of six miles in length, on the Washington Terri-
tory side, and which was completed on the 21st of
April, 1863, and a road, a distance of thirteen miles,
built in 1864, at the Dalles, lead to the waters above;
where, for a distance of more than four hundred ad-
ditional miles, the Columbia is navigated by steamers
and sailing vessels ; Lewiston, on the Snake river, in
Idaho, being the head of navigation upon its southern
branch. But continuinof the course of the main Colum-
bia still beyond Wallula and the large lakes through
which it passes through British America, it is navigable
for light draught boats for one thousand miles from the
ocean, the only obstacle being the cascades and the
w^ide bar lying outside the mouth of the river, where
the channel is shifting, the water shallow, and generally
a heavy, rolling sea, rendering navigation perilous.

The next river of magnitude in Oregon is the Wal-
lamet, having its source in the eastern side of the Cas-
cade range of mountains, and running from east to west
a distance of about one hundred and seventy-five miles,
passing through the centre of the extensive and fertile
valley of the Wallamet, forming the falls at Oregon
City, and emptying itself into the Columbia twelve
miles below the city of Portland, the chief city of Ore-
gon, and the head of navigation for ocean vessels on
the Wallamet.

From the mouth of the Wallamet, twelve miles below
Portland, to the latter city, ocean steamers run regu-
larly; and from that city to the Oregon City falls, a dis-
tance of twelve miles above Portland, steamers of lieht
draught have navigated for the last twenty years, and
above the falls, for the whole length of the Wallamet,

532 THE GOLDEN STATE.

small steamers run; and for more than twenty-five
years the waters of the Wallamet and Columbia have
been the only highway and outlet of all the business
and commerce of Oreofon. •

Lines of railroads now in operation and building
throuo^hout Oregfon will connect that State with Cali-
fornia on the south, Puget sound on the northwest, and,
joining the great overland road, will place the hereto-
fore isolated State of Oregon in direct railroad com-
munication with all parts of the Pacific coast, and open
up a market for her rich products in all parts of the
Atlantic States, the Pacific coast, and Asia.

In the northeastern portion of the State are several
rivers of magnitude — the Des Chutes, John Days, Uma-
tilla, Lewis or Snake river, being the principal ones.

The sea-coast of Oregon from its northern extremity
to the California boundary is almost a straight line from
north to south, without any prominent capes or head-
lands. Numerous inlets and harbors indent the coast;
but there is no river of any great magnitude south of
the Columbia.

The Rogue, Umpqua, Coquett, and Yaquina are the
chief rivers on the coast line. They are all navigable
for a short distance for steamers of light draught,
and settlement is fast making in the rich valleys by
which they are surrounded. Oregon is celebrated for
its scenery — stalwart mountains, dashing streams, and
lofty forest trees. Mounts Jefferson and McLaughlin lift
their venerable heads ten thousand feet above the sea,
and they, with many others whose summits are per-
petual snow, standing above the dense fir forests and
green fields of summer, present a panorama of unsur-
passed beauty; but towering above all, and looking

OREGON', 533

down upon the beautiful valley of the Wallamet, with
its meandering streams, tall forests, cultivated fields,
bloominof orchards, vast herds and flocks, active Indus-
try, and happy homes, Is Afoicnt Hood, nature's grand-
est monument In the wilderness, lifting Its head 11,218
feet above the sea level, and teaching the lesson of
ages to the beholder. This sentinel of eternity, wrapped
in his fleecy robes of ermine, looks from his throne of
clouds upon the busy scenes of men, and out upon the
crested main of the ocean, whose cooling breezes have
fanned his silvery locks from the period of creation.

What the temple of Mecca Is to the good Mohamme-
dan Mount Hood Is to the Oregonlan. In the still
night, when, by the light of a solitary star, he followed
the lazy ox-team, or fled before the murderous toma-
hawk of the red men, this monumental pile was his
beacon and his guide; and now, when the fingers of
time have wroucfht his locks with silver threads, and
his step grows feeble, the venerable pioneer, leaning
upon his staff, points to this hoary king of the West,
and, with trembling accents, and a reverence akin to
idolatry, tells to his children's children the eventful
story of his early life — his pilgrimage across the plains,
his struesfles and adventures In the forests of distant
Oreofon.

There are three principal mountain chains in Oregon
— the Cascade, Blue mountains, and the Coast Range ;
the latter running from the California line to Astoria,
and in many places leaving broad valleys lying
between It and the ocean. Tlfls mountain chain is
rugged, and great portions of It are covered with dense
forests of fir and other trees. Innumerable streams
course down both sides of this mountain range. Owing

534 ^-^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

to tlie good supply of water, abundance of grass, and the
fogs and damps of summer from the ocean, the whole
western slope of the Coast Range, with the belt of
valleys between it and the Pacific, affords the best pas-
ture region on the whole coast. Throuo^hout the south-
ern portion of this mountain chain rich mines of gold,
silver, copper, and other minerals have been discovered,
and are being worked with profit. A hundred miles
inland from the Coast Range, and running parallel with
it from north to south for the whole length of the State,
is the Cascade range of mountains, a continuation of
the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. In this
chain there are many lofty mountains, including Mounts
Jefferson and Hood, the latter being the northern ter-
minus of the chain, and located twenty miles directly
south of the Columbia river at the Cascades. It is
between these two chains of mountains that the beau-
tiful and fertile valley of the Wallamet Is situated, In
which the o-reat aofricultural wealth of Oregon is found.
In the Cascade range, as in the Coast Range, rich de-
posits of the precious and other metals are found, and
many mines are being worked with good results.

One hundred and fifty miles east of the Cascade
mountains is another mountain chain, running parallel
with the Cascades and formin^r the third errand moun-
tain range of Oregon. This latter chain, known as the
Blue moitntains, although one hundred and fifty miles
from the Cascade or Sierra range. Is but a portion of
the great Sierra chain, flung one hundred and fifty
miles farther eastward ; and, like the Sierras, It throws
its deposits of gold, silver, and other metals far upon
either side, and holds in its cfranite vaults untold mil-
lions of the precious metals. Mines of great richness

n
>

MOUNT HOOD, OREGON, FROM THE DALLES.

feigm

SCENE ON THE COLUMBIA RIVER.

OREGON. 535

are being worked In this section, and the yield of the
precious metals is steadily on the increase in Oregon:
three million dollars of gold and silver being now pro-
duced annually.

The vast area of Oregon lying east of the Cascade
mountains, embracing more than two-thirds of the area
of the State, and known as Eastern Oregon, differs in
its physical features and climate materially from the
western portion of the State. The winters are compar-
atively dry, and but a small amount of snow falls upon
the mountains. Much of the country Is covered by
high table -lands, alkaline plains, sandy and volcanic
deserts ; but there are innumerable rich valleys, well
watered and of the best quality of agricultural lands
and wide pasture - ranges, abundantly supplied with
native grasses, which make this section of the State
valuable as a grazing region. Much of the mountains
and rolling hills are covered with fir, pine, oak, and
other timber, but generally of an inferior growth w^hen
compared with the same species west of the Cascade
mountains.

The southeastern part of Eastern Oregon has a great
number of lakes, many of them of considerable size.
Klamath lake, situated close to the Cascade mountains,
and Lower Klamath lake form one continuous sheet of
water of fifty miles in length. The southern part of
the Lower Klamath is In California, and the remainder,
including Klamath lake, in Oregon. The Klamath
proper is thirty miles in length and fourteen miles in
width. There are several other lakes of almost as
great proportions as this and great numbers of smaller
ones, some of which are filled with fish, and some so
impregnated with alkaline that no living thing is found

536 THE GOLDEN STATE,

in their waters. Many of these lakes are the home of
milHons of wild fowl — geese, ducks, and crane.

Throughout the northern portion of Eastern Oregon,
the Des Chutes, John Day, Umatilla, and Snake rivers
supply an abundance of pure water, and salmon and
trout are found in great numbers.

Oregon is famous for its wild game. Elk, deer, ante-
lope, bear, geese, ducks, swan, quail, grouse, and crane
are plenty ; and the Columbia and all the principal
streams abound in salmon and other fish ; and the fur-
bearing animals — the beaver, otter, and mink — are still
plenty : but the posts established by the American,
Hudson Bay, and other fur companies have all been
abandoned, and the fur trade of the State is smaller and
conducted only by private individuals.

Wild berries in great abundance and variety grow in
Oregon ; and salt springs and other mineral waters are
found. Mines of coal and iron are worked successfully ;
and copper, lead, marble, and limestone are found in
many sections of the State, and of superior quality.

The forests of Oregon are unsurpassed in the world.
Vast districts of country of rolling hills, mountains, and
level lands are covered with forests of fir, tall and erect,
without a limb, save a bunch upon the top. These
forest trees generally stand about two hundred feet in
height, and running from four to ten feet in diameter ;
but many of the trees grow to three hundred feet and
more in height, and attain a diameter of from eight to
twelve feet. A large timber-trade is carried on in Ore-
gon with California and other parts of the Pacific coast ;
and the supply that could be furnished by her forests is
beyond calculation. Fir is the great staple timber of the
country. Cedar, oak, ash, pine, and some other varie-

OREGON. 537

ties grow in considerable quantity ; but, like California
and all the Pacific coast territory, Oregon does not pro-
duce the fine white and yellow pine, nor the maple,
birch, and beech of the Eastern States and Canada.
In fact not a tree of these beautiful varieties of timber
is to be found upon the whole Pacific coast ; still there
are many varieties useful in ship and house building,
and very beautiful for furniture and ornamental work.

Agriculture is the chief industry of the people of
Oregon. The mild winters, genial climate, rich soil,
and summer showers always insure good crops. There
never yet has been a failure of the wheat or other grain
crop of the State ; and the average product per acre in
wheat, oats, rye, and barley is a third greater than any
of the States east of the Rocky mountains. Oregon and
California average nineteen bushels each of wheat to the
acre, while Virginia produces but nine bushels, South
Carolina but seven, and Tennessee but eight and
a-quarter. Wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, corn, flax,
hemp, tobacco, hops, vegetables of all kinds, apples,
pears, plums, cherries, and berries of almost every
variety grow most abundantly : grapes, peaches, and
some other varieties of fruits do not grow so well as
they do in California, but in many localities grapes do
well.

The great staple product of Oregon Is wheat. It was
from the rich valleys of Oregon that the California
miner in early days received his supply of bread, and to
the present time, notwithstanding California exports
largely of wheat and flour, Oregon flour Is sold in the
California markets. At Portland, and other towns in
Oregon, ships load with wheat and flour for the markets
of Europe, Asia, Australia, and the islands of the Pacific;

53S THE GOLDEN STATE.

and agencies for the sale of Oregon flour are established
in San Francisco.

Apples in great quantities are shipped from Oregon
to California and to all ports along the coast, and to
British Columbia. The rapid growth of fruit trees in
this State is remarkable : ten and twelve feet are often
produced in a year, and so abundantly do trees bear at
three and four years old that they are often crushed
with the weight of the fruit.

Horses, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry all thrive well
in Oregon, and produce their species at a much earlier
period than do their kind in any part of the Atlantic
side of the republic. There are in the State 75,000
horses, 4,500 mules, 102,000 cattle, 62,500 milch cows,
150,000 hogs, and 420,000 sheep; there are also 160
miles of railroad, and several roads in course of con-
struction.

The wide pasture -ranges, great variety ot native
grasses, and mild climate, make Oregon the finest
grazing section of the country. In many portions of
the State stock-raising is carried on to a great extent,
and sheep-raising and wool-growing is receiving con-
siderable attention; and besides supplying several local
factories, large quantities of wool are shipped to Cali-
fornia and to the Atlantic States.

Many branches of manufacture are prosecuted in
Oregon, and the whole business of the State has received
a great stimulus from the railroads already constructed
and now building in the Wallamet valley. Some idea
of the amount of flour produced may be ascertained
from the fact that there are eighty flouring mills in
operation in the State, many of which produce one
hundred and fifty barrels of flour daily; and one, the

'inM\iiin'

is.

OREGON'. 539

largest in the State, located at Salem, grinds two hun-
dred barrels per day.

One hundred and seventy saw-mills are employed in
making lumber, and fifteen quartz-mills are in opera-
tion in the mines. A linseed-oil mill is in successful
operation at Salem. There are seven woollen factories
in the State, one at each of the following places : Salem,
Oregon City, Brownsville, Dalles, Ashland, Aurora, and
Dallas. Numerous churches, schools, and colleges attest
the progress and refinement of the people. There are
twent}^-eight newspapers published in Oregon, and eight
libraries, (public and society,) with an aggregate of
fourteen thousand volumes, which supply in part the
reading matter of the people of the State.

On the discovery of gold in California, numbers of
the people of Oregon went to the mines, many of whom
realized fortunes and returned to their new homes In
the beautiful valley of the Wallamet.

The mass of the people of Oregon, however, never
having come In contact with nor been affected by the
excitement Incident to gold -mining, have remained
quietly upon their farms and at their other employ-
ments, and, as a consequence, have built themselves up
quiet and peaceful homes free from the excitement^
extravagance, folly, and unrest incident to early life In
California.

The pioneer of Oregon had to contend long and bit-
terly with the relentless red man for the possession of
the soil. A population of about thirty thousand sav-
ages, consisting chiefly of the Walla Wallas, Shawnees,
CJiinook, and Flathead tribes, struggled long and
fiercely to maintain their ancient hunting-grounds ; but
at last they gave way before Inevitable fate, and the last

540 THE GOLDEN STATE,

representatives of the powerful tribes of distant Oregon
are fading away before the axe and ploughshare of the
invadinor white man.

The State of Oregon Is divided into twenty-two
counties, with the capital at Salem, forty miles by a
direct line south of Portland, and on the east bank of
the Wallamet river. There are several thriving towns
in the State. Portland, with a population of 8,293, of
whom 5,715 are native Americans and 2,578 are of
foreign birth, is the chief city of Oregon. It is at the
head of ocean-steamer navigation, on the west side of the
Wallamet, and is substantially built with many elegant
houses. Railroads traversing the Wallamet valley and
other parts of the State enter this city, whose pros-
perity is evidenced by its nicely paved streets, elegant
stores, hotels, banks, schools, churches, and colleges.
Many branches of mechanical industry are prosecuted
in this city, which is a port of entry of considerable
commercial importance, and for its size is one of the
most thriving and active cities in the United States.

Altogether, the genial climate, natural resources, and
large areas of good land yet attainable from the gov-
ernment and from occupants at reasonable prices,
make Oregon one of the most desirable quarters of the
republic for the emigrant in search of a home.

The new-comer will find, besides the great resources
and inviting climate, well - ordered society, schools,
churches, and colleges, active and progressive men and
women, with big, generous hearts and willing hands,
and the foundations of a great and prosperous State
well established.

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NEVADA. 541

CHAPTER XXXII.

NEVADA.

Acquisition of — x\rea — Population — Geography — Mountains — Val-
leys— Lakes — Rivers — Forests — Soil — Seasons — Climate — Mines
— Mining — Minerals — Counties — Cities — Progress — Schools —
Newspapers — Libraries — Future prospects.

Nevada, known as the Silver State on account of its
extensive silver-mines, lies directly east of the State of
California, from which it is separated in its division line
by the crest of the Sierra Nevada mountains. The
area now forming this State was originally a part of the
Territory of California, and more recently of a portion
of the district embraced within the Territory of Utah,
and was acquired by the United States from the Repub-
lic of Mexico, by the acquisition of California, in 1846.
In 1 861, a territorial government was established by
act of Congress, and, in 1864, It was admitted a State
in the Union, with a very small population.

The area of Nevada Is 81,531 square miles, and its
population, according to the federal census of 1870,
was 42,491, of whom 38,959 were white, 357 colored,
and 3,152 Chinese. Of the whole population, almost
one-half were of foreign birth, there being 23,690 native
born and 18,801 foreigners.

Nevada is bounded on its extreme southeastern cor-
ner by the river Colorado, which separates it from the
Territory of Arizona. Utah forms the eastern line and
Oregon the northern. On the west, the crest of the
Sierras forms the line between this State and the State
of California. The beautiful Lake Tahoe, seven thou-

:^,r, THE GOLDEN STATE.

sand feet high, in the top of the Sierras, Is partly In
Nevada and partly in California; and in this region, as
in many other parts of the State, the scenery is mag-
nificent, abounding in rugged mountain peaks capped
with snow, dense forests, and beautiful lakes.

East of the Sierras the climate is entirely different
from that of California, immediately west of them. The
climate of Nevada is colder in winter and generally
with less rainfall than the former. Snow covers all the
hio^h mountain rancres and hills, and even for a brief
period reaches the valleys; but generally throughout
the rolling hills, pasture ranges, and agricultural sec-
tions snow falls but little, and cattle and. horses graze
at large throughout the entire winter, and in many of
the valleys snow is never seen. The climate of the
State is much milder than that of either of the States of
Virginia or Tennessee. The surface of the country is
a succession of rugged mountains, broad alkaline flats,
rolling, gravelly ridges, and sandy deserts. Interspersed
with small fertile valleys, rich river bottoms, and ravines.

From the mountain ridges pour down dashing streams,
soon, however, lost in the flats below, where they bury
themselves In the earth, thus leaving many rich valleys
entirely destitute of running streams, and lending an
aspect of desolation and barrenness to large areas of
productive land. In this State Is presented the singu-
lar phenomenon of the creeks and rivers pouring into
caverns In the earth, running many miles under ground,
and rising to the surface again; but only to again dip
into the ground, where their course Is lost sight of for-
ever.

The principal rivers of Nevada are the Humboldt,
Truckee, Carson, and Walker. Humboldt river after

NEVADA. ^43

passing for three hundred and fifty miles from east to
west, empties into Lake Humboldt, in a deep valley in
the western portion of the State. Carson and Walker
rivers, having their source in the eastern side of the
Sierras, pour their floods into Carson and Walker
lakes, and, like the Humboldt, are lost to view forever.
Truckee river has its source in the waters of the beau-
tiful Lake Tahoe, situated upon the crest of the Sierras.
Tahoe is twent}^-one miles in length, twelve miles in width,
and elevated 6,250 feet above the sea level, and forms a
part of the boundary be^veen California and Nevada.
From this lake the Truckee pours in a mighty torrent,
for the first few miles passing through deep canons,
gulches, and ravines, forming rapids and cascades of
great power and beauty. The river in its course runs
from Lake Tahoe in a northeasterly direction for a dis-
tance "of more than eight^^ miles, and until it reaches
Pyramid lake, on the eastern slope of the Sierras. This
charminor lake is thirtv-five miles in leno-th, ten miles in
width, and elevated 3,940 feet above the waters of the
Pacific ocean. Thus the waters of Lake Tahoe empty
into Pyramid lake, but Pyramid lake, like Humboldt,
Carso 1, Walker, and all the other lakes in the State,
has no visible outlet, but pours the mighty tide of the
Truckee, together with its own waters, into the bowels
of the earth, which, with the waters of all the rivers and
lakes of the State of Nevada, must pass under the
Sierras, or to the Colorado river — hundreds of miles —
before a final outlet Is found in the Pacific ocean.

On the eastern slope of the Sierras, and some other
mountain ranges in Nevada, there are heavy growths
of timber, but generally the State is but poorly wooded ;

544 "^^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

and the plains and valleys are destitute of trees, except
\vhere frlnoes of cotton-wood or willows skirt the rivers
and streams.

In the mountains wild game Is abundant, and the
Truckee and other rivers abound with trout. The
native tribes of Indians are of a very low order, and,
although treacherous and cruel, are not warlike, and
generally give but little trouble to the whites.

Agriculture is carried on to considerable extent, and
there are large areas of tillable land which might be
brought into a high state of cultivation by carrying
water in ditches from the mountains. There are wide
pasture-ranges in the State well adapted to cattle and
sheep ; and large herds of horned cattle graze at large
durine the whole winter.

The material growth of Nevada has been very great
during the past ten years ; and the State may be con-
sidered as in a prosperous and progressive condition.

At the end of 1870, the population of Nevada was
42,491 ; and her taxable property, independent of
mines, was ^32,524,600, and her working mines were
valued at ^30,000,000 — an aggregate of more than
^62,000,000, or about $1,500 for each inhabitant In the
State. Nevada stands the highest of all the States in
the Union In the average production of wheat; and
equal with California and Oregon, the highest average
producing States in the Union, in barley, oats, rye, and
potatoes. California and Oregon yield nineteen bushels
of wheat to the acre ; while Nevada produces twenty-
three. Illinois yields twelve bushels, Indiana eleven,
and I'ennessee and Vlrcrlnia each but el^^ht bushels to
the acre, on an average.

NEVADA, 545

The live stock in the State consists of 8,600 horses,
1,000 mules, 26,700 cattle, and 12,800 sheep.

The mineral wealth of Nevada is not surpassed by
the richest parts of the great mineral region of the
Pacific coast. The annual yield of the precious metals
has been about ^15,000,000; at the present period it is
^25,000,000 per annum. This is the present annual
yield of the California mines. Rich discoveries of the
precious metals are being daily made in this region, so
lately appearing upon the maps of America as "unex-
plored ; " and it would seem that nature had deposited
her richest treasures in the mountains and ruQ^cred hills
of this remote section, and that through toil, privations,
dangers, and poverty, the pioneer and hardy miner
should open the vast gold and silver vaults of Nevada
to meet the growing wants of the new civilization push-
ing westward toward the direction of the setting sun,
and the exigencies of complicated internal disorders
of commerce.

As early as 1850, gold had been discovered In Nevada,
but until the discovery of the famous Comstock lode at
Virginia City, in 1859, but little mining had been done
in this region ; and the country, a wild and uninhabited
desert, was regarded as the most worthless and deso-
late portion of the American continent. In 1859, and
succeeding years, the discoveries of great deposits of
gold and silver in the mountains produced a panic
throughout the whole Pacific coast, almost depopulating
many sections of California, from which latter State
Nevada has received almost her entire population.

Previous to the year 1859, but about §400,000 In
gold had been obtained in Nevada; since that period

546 THE GOLDEN STATE.

to the present, the yield of gold and silver has exceeded
$135,000,000.

Marked industry and perseverance are leading traits
among the population of Nevada, and the vast amount
of labor being expended upon the mines of the State
may be partially understood by the fact that there are
156 quartz-mills, with an aggregate of 2,200 stamps,
employed in reducing ores. But the wealth of Nevada
does not consist alone of her aericulture, and oold and
silver mines, but also in her rich and boundless deposits
of other minerals : iron, copper, carbonate of soda,
sulphur, alum, and other minerals of superior quality,
and in great abundance, exist throughout the State.
Salt, so important an article, and so much employed in
the working of ores, is found in such vast quantities
that it is supposed that there is salt enough in Nevada
to supply the markets of the whole United States.
Salt is found in almost every county in the State : it is
found upon the surface, and in vast beds In the earth,
where it can be shovelled up white and pure, and of
the best quality. Doubtless at one time large salt
lakes, or perhaps the ocean, covered vast areas of the
surface of what is now the State of Nevada, and doubt-
less to this fact may be attributed the presence of such
extensive salt- beds as are found in this State. In one
section of the southern part of Nevada, a single salt-bed
of great depth and of superior quality covers an area
of fifty square miles. Salt springs and deposits oi
salt are things which exist all over the globe, at least
in most countries; but it seems to have been left to
this section (Nevada) to rear a mountain of this useful
mineral. In Lincoln county stands a solitary mountain

NEVADA.

547

of pure salt, transparent as crystal and of superior
quality.

Mining, agriculture, lumbering, cattle and sheep
raising, and many other branches of industry, are carried
on most successfully in Nevada. The great overland
railroad connectinof San Francisco and New York
passes through the whole width of the State, giving a
stimulus to business, and inducino- investments in mininof
interests ; and various other roads, projected and build-
ing, indicate the speedy development of this section.
Already there are six hundred miles of railroad built
in Nevada.

The State is divided into fourteen counties, and in
the mining districts there are several growing towns.
Carson City, at the eastern base of the Sierras, is the
capital of the State. It is built on a low flat, where the
skirts of the Sierras reach a fertile valley. The popu-
lation of the city is 3,042 ; of whom more than half are
foreigners, there being 1,606 of the latter, and but
1,436 native Americans. Virginia City, the largest city
in the State, a few miles east of Carson, and built upon
the high ridge and over the great Comstock lode — the
richest and most extensive quartz-mine in the world —
has a population of 7,048, almost equally divided be-
tween native and foreign born, there being 3,592 of the
former, and 3,456 of the latter. White Pine, in the
centre of a newly discovered and rich mining district,
although scarcely a hut had been built in it two years
before, had, at the beginning of 1871, a population of
7,200. Austin, Belmont, and several other growing
towns in the mining districts indicate considerable
activity and signs of general progress. The State has

2^8 ^-^^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

in operation 156 quartz-mills, seven flour-mills, and
twenty- two saw-mills. Schools, churches, theatres, and
eleo-ant dwellino-s in all the towns and villao^es exhibit
the industry and intelligence of the people, who main-
tain in their State thirteen newspapers, and an aggre-
gate of 1 60,000 books in its libraries.

Notwithstanding the wide areas of barren, alkaline,
and sandy deserts of Nevada, enough of good soil,
wide pasture-ranges, forests, lakes, rivers, and mines
of gold, silver, and other minerals exist to warrant the
permanent wealth and future greatness of this young
and sparsely populated interior State.

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UTAH,

549

CHAPTER XXXIII.

UTAH.

Area — Acquisition — Climate — Seasons — Mines — Mining — Minerals
— Mountains — Lakes — Rivers — Agriculture — Education — Ma-
terial development — Mormons — Society — Population — Great Salt
lake and Salt Lake City — Overland railroad — Discovery and
history of Salt lake.

The Terriiiory of Utah, embracing an area of 106,382
square miles, is situated directly east of the State of
Nevada, and is bounded on the west by Nevada, north
by Idaho and Wyoming, east by Colorado, and south
by Arizona.

The area comprising Utah, like that of Nevada and
a great part of the Territory of Arizona, formerly
belonged to the Mexican Territory of California, and
title to it was acquired by the United States when, in
1846, Commodore Sloat took possession of California
by hoisting the American flag over the Mexican terri-
torial capital at Monterey, and by subsequent treaty
between the United States and the Republic of Mexico

The Territory, as now bounded, is situated directly
In the line of the overland railroad connectinof San
Francisco with Chicago, New York, and other eastern
cities. Ogden, at the head of Great Salt lake, Is 881
miles east of San Francisco and 1,913 miles west of
Omaha. The road, running In an easterly and westerly
direction, passes through the extreme northern end of
the Territory, and close to the northern end of Great
Salt lake, and through the city of Ogden, and distant
from Salt Lake City about thirty-six miles. Between

550 THE GOLDEN STATE.

this point and the chief city of the "Saints," connection
is made by a branch railroad uniting the city of Ogden
and Great Salt Lake Citv.

The climate of Utah is mild in many parts, and nearly
all the tropical and all the semi-tropical fruits grow well
in the southern districts. Snow seldom falls in the
valleys, and the rainfall is much less than in the north-
ern part of California. Altogether, the climate is
delightful, and in comparison with the country directly
east of the Rocky mountains, and in the same degree
of latitude throughout the whole Atlantic coast, it might
be termed perpetual summer.

The northern part of the Territory Is mountainous,
and in these regions snow falls to a great depth in
winter, and for several months the hills and mountains
are clad in great depths of snow, and cold is Intense.

Mines of the precious and other metals are found
throughout the hilly sections, and the yield of silver
during the past few years has greatly Increased, in-
ducing foreign and American capital to embark quite
largely In the development of the great silver veins of
this Territory.

Valleys of great extent and unsurpassed productive-
ness are numerous, and many of them are well watered
by the Innumerable streams pouring down from the
mountains and emptying their floods into the lakes
below, and by canals and ditches. In the southern
section of the Territory, the surface is much more level
and less broken by jagged mountain ranges than In the
north, and In this quarter there are wide ranges of un-
productive and barren soil. But there are also innu-
merable valleys of great beauty and fertility, producing
grain, fruit, vegetables, tobacco, and cotton. Through

UTAH.

551

this section, added to a genial climate and rich soil, are
the almost countless branches of the main Bear river,
Colorado, Sevier, Ogden, Weber, Green, and Grand
rivers — supplying the country abundantly with water.

The Colorado river proper (but near its source
known as the Green river) has its fountain-head in the
western base of the Rocky mountains, in the centre of
Wyoming Territor}^, from which point it passes in a
southwestern direction in its serpentine course, for
more than fifteen hundred miles in length, until it
reaches the Gulf of California, through which it finds a
passage for its waters to the Pacific ocean.

Utah, under the stimulus of railroads, the opening of
her mines, the development of her agricultural resources,
and the industry of her people, is fast assuming marked
indications of permanent prosperity. The hand of
skilled labor Is leadlncr the coollnof waters of the hlofh
mountain streams and lakes Into the parched valleys,
and convertlnor seemlno- sterile and desert wastes into
fields of waving corn, and gardens and orchards of
beauty and great value.

The productiveness and fertility of the soil Is unsur-
passed by any section of the country. Large areas
under wheat produce as high as twenty-two bushels to
the acre; barley, twenty-nine bushels; corn, twenty-four
bushels; oats, thirty-three bushels; and potatoes, one
hundred and twenty-five bushels : these are about the
average productions, and far surpass the yield of any
State or Territory east of the Rocky mountains.

Public schools are maintained by law. In 1870, there
were 200 school districts and 25,000 school children
between the ages of four and sixteen years in the Ter-
ritory. Polygamy being a part of the religion of the

552

THE GOLDEN ST A IE.

people, the Increase of children, In proportion to the
population, is remarkably large as compared with other
sections of the country.

The mineral wealth of Utah, which, until recendy,
had been almost endrely unknown, Is fast attracdng
public attention; and the annual product of gold and
silver Is estimated at $2,500,000, with every prospect
of a large Increase. But the wealth of the Territory
is not confined to the precious metals. Iron, copper,
lead, and many other minerals abound throughout the
country, and Inexhaustible beds of superior coal have
recendy been opened, and the great salt Inland sea of
Great .Salt lake — seventy-five miles In length, thirty-five
miles In breadth, and 4,300 feet above the sea — sup-
plies unlimited quantities of salt.

A half a century ago the foot of a white man had
not entered the vast region of the "Great Salt Lake
desert," and the people now knocking at the doors of
the nadonal halls of legislation for the admission of the
State of Deseret were scattered in every corner of the
globe, and might still be beyond the Rocky mountains
and over the seas In Interior Europe had it not been for
the quickening Impulse of the "spirit of prophecy" and
the new revelation to the " prophet Joseph" of the new
religion through which wandering spirits could easily
reach the abode of the blessed, and rejoice with their
fathers throug-h riorhteousness and the deeds done In
the flesh.

Agriculture and stock-raising are the chief occupa-
tions of the people, but recently a variety of manufac-
turing industries and mining occupy a large portion of
the skill and. labor of the people of Utah, great num-
bers of whom belonged to the laboring classes of Europe

UTAH. r

before joining the Mormons, and who carry into their
business affairs the marked industry and frugaHty of
the European peasantry.

There are in the Territory, besides other marked
signs of material prosperity, fifty-five grist-mills, fifty-
two saw-mills, several quartz-mills, and many in course
of construction ; eight newspapers and thirteen libra-
ries— public and county — with an aggregate of fourteen
thousand books.

Bear River, Jordan, and Salt Lake valleys are very
productive, and possess great advantages for the
prosecution of diversified agriculture ; but interspersed
among the mountains, lakes, and fertile valleys are
wide ranges of most uninviting country, in some places
covered with white sage ; in others, the surface is grav-
elly, dry, and sandy, without the sign of vegetable or
animal life. These wide areas, added to the bald hills
and ridges, without tree or shrub as far as the eye can
reach, present a most desolate aspect.

Utah, like a large portion of all that region in its
vicinity, is quite destitute of forest trees, and the evils
experienced by farmers and others from this cause
alone are very great. In the vicinity of Salt Lake City
no trees grow except a few that have been planted, and
the nighest fuel supply of wood to the city is at a dis-
tance of fifteen to twenty-five miles, and twenty and
forty miles is not an unusual distance for the people to
draw their scant supply of fuel.

Owing to the want of summer rains, and the alkaline
and light soil in many places, agriculture is only made
profitable by the aid of irrigation. Under the rule of
the "saints," public officers see that each member of
society contribute their time or money to erecting dams,

554 ^-^^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

reservoirs, and ditches to lead the waters of the streams
into the agricultural districts. By this system, and the
industry of the inhabitants, large areas that otherwise
must remain totally useless are made to "blossom like
the rose" and produce most abundantly.

Nothincr so much strikes the traveller through Utah
as the dull, quiet, dreamy apathy of the people, and the
humble abodes in which they dwell throughout the
country. None of the nicely-painted houses, with
thrifty flower and kitchen gardens, and bright-faced,
clean children, and sparkling-eyed, active mothers, and
charming young ladies at the needle or the piano, are
seen— ^not but that the people are industrious enough,
but generally the absence of lumber, the long, dry,
dusty summers, the scarcity of water, and a general
desire to do nothing but what is " useful," with the in-
fluence of woman "bound to service and labor',' give to
these people, in their patched-up cabins of bits of
boards, rails, slabs, brush, tin, and green hide, the ap-
pearance of g)^psies rather than of Americans ; indeed,
it is scarcely just to call the Mormons by the latter name,
gathered as they are from every quarter of the globe,
holding themselves, in religion, society, and even in
government, distinct and independent from the people
and crovernment of the United States, and livinof in a
remote and isolated region where they never come in
contact with the people of the country in which they
have built up their sovereign dominion of Church and
vState.

Still the INIormons have done much in their hereto-
fore-secluded home. On the arrival of their advance
guard at Salt lake, on July 24, 1847, they found the
whole land a howling desert — its pasture ranges the

;r:,,;iv:wij.5if

ma.'fifi,;^:?:

■.mill"

a
y.

UTAH. ■ 555

home of the buffalo and deer ; its hills the haunts ot
voracious beasts and savage men ; and its sandy wastes
the sepulchres of their fellows and the "valley of death"
to their famished and burdened beasts.

Who can recount the trials and privations of these

people, and not feel a pang of pity for the masses led

on by a few designing knaves, seeking .their own ag-

"grandizement through the spirit of "false prophecy"

and the superstition of their dupes?

But out of the chaos of the heart of the great desert
of America, the combined labor and the indomitable
spirit of the people and the leader of the new religion,
the followers of "Joseph the prophet," have brought
not only peculiarities of religious practices and social
disorder, but also growing towns, prosperous cities, and
dense communities, soon to add a new star to the con-
stellation of our national Union of States.

The federal census of 1870 gives the entire popula-
tion of Utah at 86,786, about equally divided between
the sexes. Of the whole population, 86,044 were white,
118 colored, and 445 Chinese. A great majority of the
adult population are of foreign birth, gathered up from
every part of Europe by the proselyting ministers of
the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints;" and
the larger number of native than foreign population
appearing in the census returns is owing to the rapid
increase of children under the carefid husbandry of the
"saints."

The native population of Utah is 56,084, and the
foreign population 30,702 ; while 60,000 of the popula-
tion are the children of foreign parents.

Great Salt Lake City, the chief city of the Mormons,
and the wonderful inland salt sea of Salt lake, are as

2^6 ^^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

well known in history to the whole American people
and a great portion of Europe as is the Republic of
America itself.

The city, begun in 1847, is situated on the level val-
ley, about 4,300 feet above the sea, in the great "Utah
desert," and twelve miles distant from Great Salt lake.
A short distance from the city are ranges of hills, deep
canons, and abrupt mountains, clad in perpetual snow ;
which, with the vast rows of shade trees planted in the
streets and gardens of the city, and rippling threads of
water passing through the gutters, give a very pictur-
esque and charming view. The streets are laid out at
right angles, are broad, clean, and level.

The city proper is about four miles in length and two
miles wide, and is chiefly built of adobe or bricks dried
in the sun ; and with these is built much after the man-
ner and has much the appearance of all the old Spanish
towns in Mexico and California. These houses make
little pretension to architectural beauty ; and with low
ceilings, small doors, and few and small windows, and,
in many cases, ground-floors, contrast strongly with the
neat, white house, with green shutters, plate glass, and
fine carpets, of the people of New England and the
Atlandc States generally. But there are many fin
buildings in the city, including the public buildings, (the
city being the capital of the Territory,) the Endow-
ment House, Temple Block, the Tabernacle, and the
residences and harems of Brigham Young and his
apostles.

The population of the capital city is 12,854; of whom
7,604 are of native birth and 5,250 are foreigners.
Almost every nationality on the globe is represented
here, either for the purposes of trade or the hope of

UTAH, 557

salvation. Every country of Europe contributes mem-
bers to the Mormon faith — England, Wales, France,
Germany, Austria, Russia, Holland, Sweden, and Den-
mark. Irish and Scotch are scarce, still the Irish Mor-
mon is not unknown ; and the Jew, African, and China-
man embrace the faith and the //^^r^^/ ze^/z^^i" of the Mor-
mons with avidity and an apparent relish, particularly
if they can see ease and money in it.

Besides Salt Lake City there are several other cities
and towns of importance in the Territory, fast develop-
ing into respectable proportions under the stimulus of
railroads and the recent rich discoveries of extensive
and rich silver mines ; but all the buildings partake of
the adobe, tile roof, low ceilings, and shabby appearance
of three-quarters of the houses in Salt Lake City.

Ogden, a shabby-looking place, romantically cluster-
ing at the foot of high ridges of volcanic mountains, at
the northern end of Salt lake, and thirty-six miles north
of Salt Lake City, is the terminus of the Central Pacific
portion of the overland railroad, and distant from San
Francisco 88 1 miles. From this point, looking toward
the south, is a fine view of Great Salt lake and the snow-
clad mountains to the west, which seem to shadow their
fleecy crowns in the sea of the desert. Here, passen-
gers overland, going east or west, change cars, although
they do not change roads. From this point, a rail-
road of thirty-six miles in length runs directly south to
Salt Lake City ; and persons desiring to see the great
city of the plains must leave the main road and travel
south thirt3^-six miles.

Ogden contains a population of 3,127; of whom 2,086
are native and 1,061 are of foreign birth. Mount
Pleasant, another town, has a population of 1,346; of

^^8 THE GOLDEN STATE,

whom 752 are native and 594 are foreigners. MantI
has 1,239 in population; and Logan, the only other
place of importance in the Territory, has a population

of 1,757.

Not the least remarkable of all the natural wonders
of this country are its numerous hot and mineral
springs, its lakes, and rivers, many of which sink and
are lost entirely in the desert. But the most singular
and best known natural object in the whole territory
is the famous lake — the great inland salt sea of America
— Great Salt lake, located in what is known as the
great interior basin lying between the Rocky moun-
tains on the east and the Sierra Nevadas on the west,
and extending from Oreofon to the Colorado river;
interpersed with lakes, rivers, springs, and geysers, and
parallel mountain chains passing from north to south,
broken occasionally, as about Salt lake, with jagged
mountain peaks and broken ridges elevating as do
Mount Nebo, 8,000 feet; Wasatch, 6,000 feet; and
Twin Peaks, a little south of Salt Lake City, elevated to
11,600 feet above the sea level. In this region did
the early pilgrim to the shrine of mammon in the
golden sands of California, and the disciples of the
new religion of America, fall fainting by the way in the
tedious march over arid plains and burning sands, and
famished for want of food and water, chased by fierce
bands of painted and plumed savages, or by the fasci-
nating illusions of the mysterious inirage lead their
weary march toward man, river, ship, or sea, in the
gauzy vapors and thin air of nothingness which dis-
solved at touch.

Geological evidences all teach that, at some remote
period, the greater portion of the vast basin of the

SHOOTING MOUNTAIN SHEEP IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

INDIAN'S GAMBLING.

PULPIT ROCK, ECHO CANON.

MONUMENT ROCK, ECHO CANON, UTAH.

UTAH. 559

interior of America was a sea, of which Salt lake
alone remains as a living witness; and the great num-
bers of hot, mineral, and other springs In and about
Salt Lake City, and other portions of the Territory,
attest to the fact of recent volcanic disturbances In this
entire section.

Great Salt lake, the main objective point of interest
in the Territory of Utah, is situated near the north-
western part of the Territory, and at an elevation of
4,200 feet above the sea level. It is surrounded, or
nearly so, by ranges of hills, and upon the west with
high mountains whose peaks are covered perpetually
with snow. The lake is seventy-five miles long in a
direct line, and thirty-five miles broad, but its irregular
form gives it greater dimensions, and its size, as cal-
culated by skilled engineers, is ninety miles in length
by forty miles in breadth. Into this sea of the desert
many rivers and streams empty, but the lake is but
little changed either in volume or Its waters In their
great salt-producing capacity. Several large islands
are in the lake, and upon them, as throughout the
greater part of the territory, the same combinations of
hot, sulphur, salt, and other springs are visible.

The water in Salt lake is of an average depth of
ten feet, but in many places near the centre Its depth
is much greater. Reports from time to time of great
sink-holes through the bottom of the lake, through
which the waters find an outlet to the ocean, or into
the depths of the bowels of the earth, are Incorrect.
So far, no outlet has been discovered for the waters,
either by an interior passage or surface stream, and the
conclusion that the waters are absorbed by percolation
and solar evaporation must be regarded as correct

560 THE GOLDEN STATE,

until further evidences of other sources of escape are
demonstrated.

Salt lakes, salt springs, salt beds, and salt mountains
abound throughout the great interior basin of America.
Arizona and Nevada have great supplies of salt in their
desert regions, as well as sulphur, alum, borax, soda,
and other minerals; but the great salt sea of Utah sur-
passes all in magnitude and in capability of production.

Notions prevail that the waters of Salt lake are pure
brine, but this is incorrect. In some parts of Utah, and
indeed close to the lake, are springs and streams of this
character, but, while Salt lake is the saltest body of water
in the world of its magnitude, the great floods of water
from rivers and the meltino- snows of the mountains
finding their way into the lake much reduce the saline
quality of the water.

The waters of the Atlantic ocean yield about three
per cent, of saline matter, while the waters of the Great
Salt lake produce twenty per cent, of pure salt. Salt
lake contains about a thousand billion solid feet of
water, and is capable of producing Jive hundi'ed billion
tons of salt, which would supply the wants of the present
population of the whole globe for more than a thousand
years. The salt of this vast inland sea is carried from
the deserts, salt beds, hill-sides, and salt springs of the
mountain-sides, in solution into this great salt basin.

During the whole period of the colonization of
America and the progress of the United States, up to
1845, nothing comparatively was known of the great
Interior region of* the American continent; Indeed,
until the discovery of gold In California, with the excep-
tion of a few trappers, no Caucasian eye had ever seen
Great Salt lake and its vicinity. As early as the year

UTAH. 561

1690, Baron Horton, the French governor of the colony
of Newfoundland, had made a journey into the interior
of America, and is supposed to have reached and navi-
gated the Mississippi river, in the vicinity of which he
learned from tribes of natives, who brought him cap-
tives of other tribes, of the existence of a great inland
salt sea ; and this information, communicated by the
Baron to his countrymen, is the first recorded history
we have touching this wondrous lake. The Baron
writes :

''The Mozeemlek nation is numerous and puissant. These four
captives informed me that, at a distance of one hundred and fifty
leagues from where I tlien was, their principal river empties itself
into a salt lake of three hundred leagues in circumference, the mouth
of which is two leagues broad \ that there are a hundred towns,
great and small, around that sort of sea, and upon it they navigate
with such boats as you see drawn on the map, which map the
Mozeemlek people drew me on the bark of trees ; that the people
of that country made stuffs, copper axes, and several other manu-
factures."

We next find mention of Salt lake and Its vicinity In
a publication deriving its authority on this subject from
the accounts of the natives of the interior, and issued
in 1772, with the remarkable title of "A description of
the Province of Carolana, by the Spaniards called
Florida, and by the French called Louisiana;" in which
is given an account of **a lake many leagues west of
the mountains in w^hlch there is no living creature, but
around its shores the spirits inhabit in great vapors ;
and out of that lake a great river d:se nbogues into the
South sea."

In the winter of 1824-5, a party of American trap-
pers, connected with the fur company of Ashley, Henrys,

and others, found themselves in the vicinity of Great
36

562 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Salt lake, and James Bridger, one of the number, was
Intrusted to follow the course of Bear river, in which
he was led to discover the lake, and, after tasting its
water, had concluded that it must be an arm of the
Pacific ocean. In the spring of 1826, four men, in skin
canoes, explored Its margin and islands in search of an
outlet and In pursuit of beaver, neither of which were
found. This Is supposed to have been the first Ameri-
can discovery of this inland sea, and James Bridger is
supposed to have been the real discoverer.
. The expeditions fitted out by the United States in
1842-5, under the leadership of John C. Fremont, and
subsequent scientific expeditions, brought for the first
time to the notice of the general public the wonders of
Great Salt lake and Its vicinity, and the final settlement
of the Mormon pilgrims at this point. The overland
emigration to California and Oregon, and finally the
completion of the great overland railroad, connecting
the Pacific and Atlantic oceans by steam, and passing
close to the northern end of the lake, and through the
entire length of Utah, has brought this whole region
with its natural wonders and Its singular people, into
direct contact with the public.

The traveller will now find in Utah, in addition to
railroad conveniences, a comfortable steamboat navi-
gating the waters of Great Salt lake.

JOSEPH SMITH,
Founder of the Mjrmon Church.

BRIGHAM YOUNG, HEAD OF THE -MORMON
CHURCH.

JOSEPH I. SMITH.

(Nephew of Jo. Smith. Jr., and one of the Twelve
Apostles.j

MRS. ALICE YOUNG CLAWSON.

(Bri2:ham Young's eldest dausjhter — an actress.
Herself and her two sisters are married to H. B.
Clawson.)

i,wt

GEORGE A. SMITH, FIRST COUNSELLOR,
CHURCH HISTORIAN. NEXT TO YOUNG
IN AUTHORITY.

ORSON PRATT,
ONE OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES.

ORSON HYDE,
PRESIDENT OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES.

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 563

CHAPTER XXXIV.

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS.

Population and religions of the world — Christianity — Mohamme-
danism— Buddhism — Judaism — Mormonism: its rise, progress,
history, and practices — Joseph the prophet and his followers —
The golden plates from the hill Cumorah — Christ in America —
]Mormon and Moroni — John the Baptist ordains Joseph Smith-
Smith's birth, early history, life, adventures, and death — Polyg-
amy— Brigham Young : his birth, history, and career — Desertion
of Nauvoo — Mormons march westward — Settle at Salt lake —
Their city, religion, society, and practices — Despotism in Utah —
Mormon godhead.

In considering the peculiar religious tenets of the
only organized religious body claiming to be Christian
which still practices, as a part of its faith, polygamy,
and holds a distinct revelation from God to its prophet,
it is well to briefly review the several religious divisions
of the earth, and the leading organized religions of the
w^orld.

The population of the globe is In round numbers
about 1,381,000,000, divided as follows: 380,000,000
Caucasians, 200,000,000 Ethiopians, 220,000,000 Ma-
lays 1,000,000 American Indians, and 580,000,000
Mongolians.

All these people speak 3,064 languages and practice
1,000 different religions, which may be classed into six
general divisions, within which all the other creeds and
denominations exist. These creneral divisions of course
convey but an imperfect idea of the religious faith of
the several divisions of the globe, as the reader may
judge from the fact that all European countries and
America are classed as Christian; but the division will

564 T^^ GOLDEN STATE.

at least form a general estimate without going Into com-
plicated details of enumeration. The six great religious
organizations represent the population of the world as
follows: Christians, 388,600,000; Pagans, 200,000,000;
Mohammedans, 165,400,000; Jews, 7,000,000; and
Buddhists and other Asiatic religions, 620,000,000, or
almost one-half of the population of the whole globe.

The countries in which Christianity is the prevailing
religion are Europe, America, Australia, some of the
Polynesian Islands, that part of Russia in Asia, and a
few minor places.

Before the discovery of Japan by Pinto, in 1542, it
had passed through many religious forms. As early
as 1549, Xavier, the great apostle of Catholicism, w::s
received by the Prince of Satsuma into the empire, and
he and his successors had, up to 1584, converted to the
Christian faith 1,800,000 Japanese, and had 200 priests
established in the country, all of whom were subse-
quently, by edicts of banishment, driven from the
empire ; since which time no trace of Christianity has
existed In the land until the year 1872, when an Im-
perial decree abolished the edicts against Christianity,
some of which had been strictly enforced for more than
three centuries. The royal edicts of 1872, ordering
the Buddhist priests to learn trades or enter the army,
under pains and penalties for disobedience, exhibit a
practical turn of mind In the Mikado and his progress-
ive advisers.

Mohammedanism prevails In Turkey, Persia, Afghan-
istan, Morocco, Egypt, Tunis, Tripoli, and numerous
interior States.

Buddhism, the prevailing religion of China and Japan,
(modified and changed In some places,) extends over

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 565

India, Farther India, China, Japan, Burmah, and Siam,
and odier pordons of Asia; and the seven miUion Jews
are "dispersed" over the globe as follows: in Ger-
many, 478,500; Austria, 1,124,000; Great Britain,
40,000; France, 80,000 ; European Russia, 2,277,000 ;
Italy, 20,200; Switzerland, 4,200; Belgium, 1,500;
Netherlands, 64,000; Luxemburg, 1,500; Denmark,
4,200; Sweden, 1,000; Greece, 500; European Turkey,
70,000 ; Portugal, 3,000 ; Syria and Asiatic Turkey,
52,000; Morocco and North Africa, 610,000; Eastern
Asia, 500,800 ; and America, 500,000.

Of the 38,555,983 people forming the population of
the United States, according to the census of 1870,
there are estimated to be 33,555,983 Protestants and
5,000,000 Catholics. ^The Catholics belong to the
Romish church, and acknowledge the pope as the sov-
ereign head of the church. The Protestants, so called,
represent every conceivable religion, from believing in
Christ, either as the Saviour or as a moral reformer
simply, or the intensest atheism.

Throughout most parts of the world, some particular
religious order is established and maintained by legal
authority; as the Greek church in Russia, the Episcopal
church in England, the Catholic church in Austria,
Buddhism in China, and Sintooism in Japan. In
America, there are no religious orders or sects main-
tained by authority of the government, but the republic
is classed among the Protestant nations of the world.
All persons not Catholics are supposed to be and are
denominated Protestants, although this class embraces
hundreds of relicrious orders differinor almost as much
from each other as do the Universalist and the Catholic
from each other.

566 THE GOLDEN STATE.

The guarantee of equal religious freedom assured
to all by the federal constitution of the United States
gives generous scope to the people either to practise
or to organize new forms of religion ; but with few ex-
ceptions, new religious enterprises have been barren
of desirable results, and have failed to attract such sup-
port as would give them material strength and national
or international prominence.

The four great controlling religions of the world —
CJu^istianity, Mohammeda7iisin, yicdaism, and Bucld-
hism — had their origin in Asia and in Europe, as is
claimed, under the direct control of God and visitation
of angels. But w^hether from the fact of the turbid
waters of the Atlantic not beino- Invitlnof for aerial celes-
tial flights from the Old to the New World, or that the
soil of the new continent was not productive of worthy
objects of "inspiration," America, with all its progress
and invention, l^as not promulgated a religion of any
great magnitude, and its people have received but few
celestial visitations, and these generally of a very local
and imperfect order, and generally ending in complete
failure. True, the great established religious bodies
have been fearfully mutilated, and limbs lopped off and
new ones engrafted, but generally without change or
injury to the parent body. "Warnings, visitations, and
dreams" of coming events have been "foreshadowed"
to "wise ones," and "visions" have proclaimed the "end
of the world" to "chosen ones," who abandoned their
earthly goods preparatory to their aerial flight. Trum-
pets have sounded to warn people of the "coming to
pass" of the destructloH of the race ; but a few days
generrJdy found the disciples of such doctrines visiting
the " groceries" for pork and beans, and their " celestial

MORMONISM AND THE MORMO'NS. 567

tiiimpets" turned into fish-horns to aid in peddUng
clams, or gathering old clothes and " soap-fat."

"Spiritual manifestations" have been pretty freely
dispensed in America ; and, besides the " appearance "
of all the notables of our own country, Europe and
Asia have sent us some of their choicest brands. Han-
nibal, Julius Caesar, Confucius, and Napoleon have
" come over the seas," and, through " mediums," given
us glimpses of cool and sulphurous regions without
much disturbing the equanimity of our people.

The only genuine demonstration that we have yet
had in America, through the direct medium of " inspira-
tion" and "angels," w^as the "revelations" made to the
"prophet" Joseph Smith, the founder oi Mor77ionis7n —
the new American religion of the " Disciples of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints." In this new enterprise
many of the necessary elements in successfully estab-
lishing religious creeds seem well defined : the obscu-
rity, ignorance, and superstition of its founder and
"prophet," and the "persecution" of its disciples.

Joseph "the prophet," vulgarly called Joseph Smith,
is supposed to have come " among his people " without
any mysterious disturbances of the ordered laws of
nature other than attend the birth of common "sinners."
His father in the flesh was a plain, medium-sized man,
without education, who lived by doing od i jobs for his
neighbors, telling fortunes, "finding things lost," and
seeing with a " double sight." He had no visible physi-
cal marks to distinguish him from his fellow-men, save
that he was rather taller than ordinary persons, had a
long nose and a large mouth, and was afflicted with
chronic laziness.

The mother of the " prophet," whose maiden name

568 THE GOLDEN STATE.

was Lucy Mack, Is said to have belonged to the "lower
order" of people. She was a simple-minded, Ignorant,
unlettered woman, full of superstitious notions, and
believing In " signs" and dreams, and was of much ser-
vice to her husband, Joseph Smith, Sr., In "divining"
things. This pair had their terrestrial domicil at the
litde village of Sharon, Windsor county, In the State
of Vermont; and here, on the 23d of December, 1805,
Joseph the "prophet" was born. It Is not recorded
by the people of Sharon that there were any terrestrial
or celestial " signs " to proclaim the advent of the
" revealer of truth." The boy, at a very tender age,
exhibited marked symptoms of the "talents" of his
parents — Ignorance, superstition, and " sight-seeing ;"
and soon became expert In "divining," and the use of
witch-hazel In locating suitable positions for his neigh-
bors' wells, from which occupation he acquired the title
of "water-witch," In which he much delighted. It was
In one of these wells, located by his " divining-rod," that
he once found the " mysterious peep-stone," through
which he could see all things, "past, present, and to
come ;" and by which he could, like his earthly progeni-
tor, " find things lost." Indeed, the boy seemed to have
absorbed the whole of the varied " talents " of his
parents, as the rest of the family seem to be only like
other poor, Ignorant people. , .

In the year 181 5, when Joseph was ten years of age,
the family with the young "prophet" settled In Wayne
county, near the village of Palmyra, In the State of
New York, where they remained for ten years. At
the end of this period the " prophet" was twenty years
of age, and had considerably developed his "talent" as
"water-witch" and "sight-seer," and "revealing" the

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 569

location of "lost, strayed, or stolen" cattle or goods,
and the "buried treasures of the pirates," in all of
which he spent much of his time when not employed
in hewing wood and drawing water, or feeding the hogs
and stock of his neighbors, at a monthly stipend of six
dollars.

On leaving Wayne county, the "Smith family" moved
to the adjoining county of Ontario, taking up their
abode near Manchester.

It is reported by Joseph that, at the tender years of
sixteen, he had a "visitation," warning him of the
danger of his losing his soul, and of the ungodly
character of the orofanized religious institutions of his
time; and that while at prayer "in the bush" at the
rear of the paternal mansion, in Ontario county, a
celestial pyrotechnic display illuminated the forest and
" the person of the prophet," and in a " vision" he saw
two angels, who brought unto him the glad news of the
forgiveness of his sins, and that he w^as chosen by God
to reveal the "true religion" and dispel all existing sects.
On the 23d of September, 1823, the prayers of Joseph
brought him another visit from angels, and renewed
assurance of heavenly powers, and finally "revealing"
to him that his hand should draw forth from " the hill
Cumorah" t]\Q plates of gold wli^r^on were inscribed, in
a language known only to himself, the gospel of the
true God.

On the 22d of September, 1826, In the midst of
angels and revolting devils, " with a mighty display of
celestial machinery," Joseph, unaccompanied, save by
the " messengers," extracted from the hill Cumorah,
near Manchester, the domicil of his parents in Ontario
county, New York, a " mysterious box, containing

570

THE COL DEN S TA TE.

golden plates of the thickness of tin, bound together
like a book, fastened at one side by three rings, which
run through the whole, formincr a volume about six
inches thick," upon which was engraved, in " reformed
Egyptian, the language of the Jews and the writings of
the Egyptians." The box also contained four precious
stones, " transparent and clear as crystal — the Uriin
and Thuvmiwt used by seers in ancient timies — the in-
struments of revelations of things distant, past, and
future."

From these golden plates Joseph, by Inspiration,
translated the " Book of Mormon," the Bible of the
Mormons, which was first published in 1830 by Pome-
roy Tucker, of Ontario county, New York. The divine
authenticity of the work being doubted by "unbeliev-
ers," the Lord sent living witnesses in the persons of
three " disciples" — David Whitmer, an obscure, simple
man, Martin Harris, a superstitious neighbor of the
young "prophet," and Oliver Cowdery, an itinerant
scribe, who aided Joseph in the translation — all of whom
make the solemn declaration attached to the printed
copies of the " Book of Mormon," as follows :

''We have seen the plates which contain the records. They were
translated by the gift and power of God, for His voice hath de-
clared it unto us, wherefore we know of a surety that the work is
true; and we declare, with words of soberness, that an angel of
God came down from heaven, and brought and laid before our eyes,
that we beheld and saw the plates and the engravings thereon."

. Other disciples of the " prophet" followed with evi-
dence of the "divine origin" of the plates. Among
these testifying were three of the Smith family, besides
a number of the immediate friends and neighbors of
Joseph. They certify:

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 571

'•Joseph Smith, the translator, has shown us the plates of which
hath been spoken, which had the appearance of gold ; and as many
of the plates as the said Smith had translated we did handle with
our hands; and also saw the engravings thereon; all of which had
the appearance of ancient work and curious workmanship."

The account given of the origin of the golden plates,
and the necessity of their discovery, as given by Smith,
too^ether with the " evidence" of those who " saw" the
plates, is doubtless sufficient evidence to establish, in
the minds of manv, the " divine orimn" of the " Book
of Mormon ;" and however shallow and absurd it may
be, it m.ust be acknowledged that it is but little more
absurd and unnatural than the basis upon which thou-
sands, if not millions, of the race found their faith.

The prophet Joseph says that, about six hundred
years before Christ, God warned a band of Israelites
at Jerusalem of approaching captivity and destruction,
and directed ihem eastward to seek the "promised
land ;" that when at the sea, Nephi, the leader of the
band, was directed by angels to build a craft, upon
which a " double ball and spindle " were attached, in
which the Israelites set sail for the west, and landed all
safe in Central America, (Columbus had not yet started
his ships toward the new world.) After spending some
time in South America, where they "multiplied," a
vicious Jew of the name of Laman got up a conspiracy
against the " priesthood," for which all hands, priests
and all, were " cursed " and doomed henceforth " to
be a brutish and a savage people, having dark skins,
compelled to dig in the ground for roots, and hunt
their meat in the forests like beasts of prey." It, how-
ever, was prophesied that God would eventually rescue
a portion of the tribe, who should " have the curse

572 THE GOLDEN STATE.

removed, and become a fair and delightsome people,'*
who, in coming time, should " blossom as the rose
under the teachings of the Latter-day Saints." The
party upon whom the " curs^ " remained were the
followers of Laman, called the Lamanites, from whom
sprang the American Indians ; and from the party
having the curse re7noved came the Nephites, called
after NephI, their first ruler. Alma, Kish, Noah, and
others had ruled these people, who, like the Lamanites*
had spread over the whole American continent, built
cities, and carried on protracted wars in which hundreds
of thousands were slain. Local disorders, caused by
" false prophets," had long disturbed the composure
of the Nephites, who had become numerous and power-
ful, holding complete dominion of a great part of in-
terior America; finally powerful bands from the Rocky
mountains came down and drove the Nephites east, to
the waters of Lake Erie, where a vigorous stand was
made, in which the Nephites were worsted.

After the crucifixion of Christ at Jerusalem, he came
over to America, and dispensed his gospel to the tribes
of the " lost children of Israel," making many converts
among the Nephites. But the new disciples were
doomed to defeat and annihilation ; from the north
came down the famous mountain chief, Onandagus, and
" covered the whole land with dead bodies."

The fierce Lamanites with the " curse" on them
were still in rebellion, and after pushing the Nephites
from the mountains, across the Mississippi, and beyond
the lakes, finally surrounded them in Ontario county,
New York, where, In the year of our Lord 430, at the
hill Cumorah, two hundred and thirty thousand of
the Christian Nephites lay slain. Morinoiiy and his son

MOR MONISM AND THE MORMONS. 573

Moroni, of all this once powerful nation, remained.
By these the history of their extinct race was perpetu-
ated. Mormon havinof added an account of his de-
parted people, and being assured by angels from
heaven that in lapse of time the hand of a prophet
should restore the record to the world, took the sacred
volume and delivered it into the hands of his son Mo-
roni, who, in obedience to his father's injunction, buried
it in the hill Cumorah, which is in the county of Ontario,
in the State of New York, from whence, on the 2 2d
day of September, 1826, according to prophecy, :hey
were brought fordi by the hand of ''Joseph ch^
prophet."

This is the record left by Joseph Smith of the origin
of the new religion of " the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints," of which he was the founder. The
sect and their book take their names from the preserver
of the records of the Christian Nephites, Mormon,
whose volume, "The Book of Mormon," as translated by
Joseph, was lirst given to the world from the press Df a
newspaper office in Ontario county. New York, in 1830.

In denial of the divine oris^in of the Book of Mor-
mon, it is stated that, in 181 2, the Rev. Solomon Spaul-
ding, a Presbyterian minister, who from failing health
had left his profession, had written a romance called
the ''Manuscript Found!' having its principal scenes
laid in the history of the Indian tribes of the interior of
America. The manuscript Mr. Spaulding endeavored
to have printed by Mr. Patterson, of Pittsburg, Penn-
sylvania, and others, desiring it to be prefaced as
deciphered from plates dug from the earth in Ohio.
But failing in this, the manuscript was left in the hands

574 ^-^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

of Mr. Patterson, who kept a printing office, In which
Sidney Rigdon, one of the " founders of the faith," was
employed. Patterson died in 1826, but the manuscript
was never after seen by any of his friends.

Mrs. Spaulding, the widow of the author oi '' Maiiu-
sc7^ipt Fo2C7id,'' avers that she had a complete copy of
her husband's book in manuscript; and, in 1825, while
residing in Ontario count^^, New York, that Joe
Smith was diof2:inof a well for a Mr. Stroud, who lived
next door to her, and that her copy of the book disap-
peared from her trunk.

When the "Book of Mormon" appeared, the rela-
tives of Patterson, the printer, and Mrs. Spaulding and
her relatives recognized the latter as an interpolation of
" Mantes crip t Found,'' and published all the facts; only,
however, to draw from Smith, Rigdon, and their fol-
lowers cries of " persecution."

Mormonism was being promulgated as early as the
15th of May, 1829. John the Baptist appeared among
the disciples and ordained Joseph Smith and Oliver
Cowdery in the Aaronic priesthood, and on the 6th of
April, 1830, near the town of Manchester, the home
of the prophet, the "Mormon church" was organized
with the friends and family of Joseph, six In all, consist-
ing of Joseph Smith, his father Joseph, senior, Samuel
Smith, Hyrum Smith, Joseph Knight, and Oliver Cow-
dery. The laying on of hands " for the gift of the Holy
Ghost" followed the sacrament, which had been par-
taken of by all, and on the nth of April, 1830, the first
Mormon sermon was preached by Oliver Cowder}^,
soon after followed by a "miracle," and a first "confer-
ence" on June ist following. The wife of the prophet

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 575

Joseph was, by special revelation, proclaimed " Elect
Lady and Daughter of God."

Soon acquisitions to the " revealed truth" from all
sides poured in, and zealous preachers were sent
among the Gentiles and Lamanites to tell them of the
fulfilment of the prophecy. .

At first, the "doctrines" of the church were not very
definite ; any views suited to attract superstitious, sim-
ple-minded persons, seeking for "signs," "wonders,"
and "revelations" were acceptable. The "destruction
of the world" was very effective in drawing timid
women and semi-idiotic men into the circle of the
" saints."

Joseph Smith soon assumed absolute control of the
Mormon church, not alone from the fact that he had
been " Inspired by God to reveal the truth," but that he
was endowed with the spirit of prophecy, and by
" revelation" was to direct the spiritual and temporal
affairs of " his people." So step by step during the life
of Smith, and through the reign of Brigham Young,
the affairs of the Mormon church and people have been
directed by " revelation."

During the latter part of 1830 and the early part of
1831, nearly all the saints had departed from New York
State and settled at Kirtland, Ohio, proselyting on their
journey west.

In June, 1 831, Joseph Smith, with a few chosen elders,
tvere on the march to "Zion, which should never be
moved," as Joseph had a revelation that Jackson county,
Missouri, had been " solemnly dedicated to the Lord
and His saints," and here they began to establish
themselves. The early converts, including the Smiths
and friends, were " dispensing the gospel," while Joseph

57<5 THE GOLDEN STATE.

Smith and Sidney RIgdon opened a bank, which soon
failed. Amono;- odier active missionaries in the field
was Samuel H. Smith, the brother of Joseph, whose
ministrations "brought to the fold" the grandest apostle
of them all in the person of Brigham Young, " Prophet,
Priest, Seer, Revealer in all the world ; first President
and Trustee-in-trust of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints," and late Governor of the Territory
of Utah ; who, with his four brothers and six sisters, all
embraced the new religion.

The State of Vermont, the birthplace of Joseph
Smith, also produced the great polygamist Brigham
Young, who was born at Whittingham, Windham
county, in that State, on the ist of June, 1801. Brig-
ham, who was raised on a farm, had at an early age
learned the painting and glazing business, which he fol-
lowed until the rich field of Mormonism opened for his
splendid talents as a ruler.

With the growth of Mormonism, its leaders becam-s
bold and defiant, proclaiming themselves kings and
rulers, before whom all others must bow, and that
eventually they would drive all " disbelievers '* out of
tlie country.

So violent and intemperate had become the leaders
of the new religion, and so obnoxious had they rendered
themselves to the people of Missouri, that, in the sum-
mer of 1833, the Inhabitants assembled at Independ-
ence, the head-quarters of the Mormons, destroyed
their newspaper office, whipped, tarred and feathered
some of the leaders, and after serious conflicts, in
which some of the populace were slain In a hand-to-
hand conflict, the Mormons retreated, evacuated Jack-
son county, and headed west; and, on the nights of

MO R MONISM AND THE MORMONS. 577

November 4 and 5, crossed the IMissouri river into
Clay county. After a brief sojourn at Liberty, Clay
county, Missouri, in May, 1836, on warning of the
people " to leave," they evacuated Clay county, and
located in the counties of Davis, Carroll, and Caldwell.
The organization at Kirtland, Ohio, was still maintained.
Joseph had marched with an army into Missouri to
avenge the wrongs of his people, but the cholera over-
took the prophet and his soldiers, and drove them from
the field. Meantime Smith had finished an " inspired
translation " of the Old Testament ; Brigham had re-
ceived the "orift of tonofues," and he and Heber C.
Kimball, and others of "the twelve apostles," in 1835,
started from Kirtland on their missionary labors, adopt-
ing the name of " Latter-day Saints," as the world was
soon to be destroyed, and they would be the last saints
of earth. Continuous conflicts between the saints and
people of Missouri kept several counties of the State
in war, and the disorders of dissenting saints kept the
leaders in endless confusion and dread. As early as
June, foreign missions were organized, and Orson
Hyde, H. C. Kimball, and W. Richards sent to Eng-
land, where many converts were made.

The seat of Mormonism was In confusion. Multi-
plied crimes caused Governor Boggs to Issue an order
of banishment of the saints out of the State, "even if
it was necessary to exterminate them." Smith and
RIgdon were flying from the angry creditors of their
decayed bank, and Brigham Young, for participation in
evils, was heading for Ouincy, Illinois. Armed bands
of Mormons were in the field, and the State militia of
IMissouri, under the call of the governor, had met and
defeated the saints, and after their leaders had been

278 THE GOLDEN STATE.

held to trial " for treason, murder, robbery, arson, and
larceny," the whole Mormon community in Missouri,
numbering more than twelve thousand, now headed for
Illinois, and in January, 1839, setded at Quincy, Adams
county, and other parts of the State. By this time the
"persecutions" of the Mormons gained them, much
sympathy as they wandered west, and, either through
negligence or the desire of the people of Missouri to
be relieved as easily as possible of the Mormon pris-
oners. Smith and his associates escaped from their
guards, and headed for Illinois ; and he and his people,
on the nth of June, 1839, laid the foundations of their
famous city of Nauvoo, in Hancock county, wherein
o-reat activity and zeal were manifested. A thriving
city rose as if by magic, missionaries issued in every
direction, and Brigham Young, as "president of the
twelve aposdes," had, in April, 1840, arrived in England,
where great success attended the missionary efforts of
"Latter-day Saints," who, early in the year 1841, led
to their " Zion" in the wilderness nearly eight hundred
English converts to the "faith." On October 3, 1840,
the foundations of the great temple, which Joseph
had spiritual command to erect, were laid, and Nauvoo
attained an important position, and the " prophet" and
his disciples assumed spiritual and temporal supervision
of all with whom they came in contact, proclaiming the
speedy conversion of the whole world to the " revealed
religion of Mormon."

The new religion and its followers, however, were
doomed to further "persecution for the Lord's sake."
The liberdes of the saints had drawn to their circle
hundreds of designing, vicious, and cunning rascals,
who, playing upon the weak minds of the enthusiastic

MOK MONISM AND THE MORMONS. 579

converts, led them Into all manner of excesses and
crimes against the "Gentiles," who finally, dreading
the political Influence of the sect, and the power of the
"Nauvoo leeion," rose and drove them from the land.

The prophet had, in 1844, nominated himself for the
Presidency of the United States, and his people had
placed him as lieutenant-general at the head of the
" Nauvoo legion." Courts and all local authority were
controlled by the Mormons, and a political and social
war waged against the "Gentiles;" new orders of priestly
functions and nobility were established, ending In the
crowning and anointing of Joseph as king and high
priest, and claiming his direct descent from Joseph, the
son of Jacob.

Plurality of wives had gradually crept into the order
at Nauvoo, and Joseph and his elders reaped a rich
harvest of spiritual wives from the fairest doves of
their flocks.

The final end of the prophet of the " revealed truth"
was at hand. A number of Mormons, including Smith,
had, on the 24th of June, 1844, been arrested, and were
held in jail at Carthage, near Nauvoo. Soon, however,
all except Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum, were
released, but their offences appearing great they were
held In custody. The political and military power of
the Mormons had now become so great in the city of
Nauvoo and vicinity, and their crimes so appalling, that
the people had determined to take the law into their
own hands, and avenge themselves. The most effective
way to accomplish this, and to insure future security,
they thought, was to strike at the fountain-head ; so the
life of the prophet must atone the wrongs of his people.
A band of citizens, disguised and armed, had entered

580 THE GOLDEN STATE.

into a conspiracy with the guard, so that easy access
was had to the jail. About six o'clock on the morning
of the 27th of June, 1844, this band forced open the
prison doors, shot and killed Hyrum Smith instantly.
Joseph, who was armed with a pistol, bravely defended
himself, ascended to the upper part of the jail, and
sprang from the window to the ground, receiving stun-
ning injuries, and in his helpless condition was brutally
murdered by being riddled by the balls from the guns
of his assassins.

Thus fell the great American prophet at the early
age of thirty-nine years, full of spiritual and muscular
strength, fair and comely, erect in his six feet of manly
beauty — the proud commander of his sect and the
admired of his " sisters in the Lord."

The death of Joseph spread a pall of mourning over
Nauvoo : the wives and people of the " founder of the
faith" joined in sending lamentations to heaven for the
slain king, upon whose head they placed the martyr's
crown dyed in the blood of sacrifice.

On the death of the prophet dissensions sprang up
among his people, and the church and saints looked
for " signs" of a leader. Joseph had a son named after
himself, but it was said by the prophet that " the man
was not born who was to lead this people."

Many of the "saints" had revelations of special mis-
sions and authority to succeed Joseph, but to no pur-
pose.

Brigham Young, who was at the head of the twelve
apostles, at once took a leading position, and on the
15th of August, 1844, an "encyclical letter to all the
saints in the world" was issued by himself and his
apostles. On the 7th of October, a general council of

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 58 1

the Mormons at Nauvoo decided to leave the govern-
ment of the " church" with the " college of the twelve
apostles," at the head of which was Brigham Young.
From this period dates the rule of the man who built
up Nauvoo until it spread over an area of six square
miles, with its magnificent temple, costing over a million
dollars, and \Xs ffteen thousand saints.

Continued conflicts between the Mormons and the
Gentiles, with charges of murder, arson, counterfeiting,
and other crimes, aroused the people of Illinois ; and,
warned by an approaching general uprising to exter-
minate them, the whole Mormon people commenced
the evacuation of their city and temple, and, bidding
adieu to Nauvoo, in the winter of 1845-6, headed by
Brigham Young and his fellow-apostles, turned their
faces toward the great desert, in the direction of the
setting sun. Fifteen thousand men, w^omen, and children,
with their sluggish ox-teams, numbering many thou-
sands, plunged into the dead of winter, experiencing
untold miseries, privations, and death, wended their
tedious journey over the precipitous mountains and arid
plains, leaving the new-made graves of their fellows to
mark their sad pilgrimage beyond the reach of per-
secution.

The Mormon leaders had no settled views of a per-
manent location, further than that in some quarter of
the Pacific coast they might find refuge from Gentile
intolerance. Oregon, Vancouver Island, the Sandwich
islands, and the Spanish Territory of California were
all looked to as suitable fields of retreat ; and, in the
hope of reaching the latter Territory, five hundred
Mormons joined the expedition of General Kearney,
which left Fort Leavenworth, on the Missouri, in June,

582 THE GOLDEN STATE.

1846, marching by way of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and
the Gila, until it reached the coast of California. Many
of these people finally settled in California ; and on the
discovery of gold, in 1848, abandoned San Francisco
and the lower country and went to the mines.

In 1845, ^^^ while California was yet a Spanish
colony, an expedition of saints was fitted out, and sailed
in due time from the city of New York on board the
ship Brooklyn. She made the voyage safely round
Cape Horn, and first visited the Sandwich islands ; and
finally, on the 31st of July, 1846, (twenty-four days
after Commodore Sloat had hoisted the American flag
over California,) entered the Bay of San Francisco,
where the Mormons pitched their tents on the adjacent
sand-hills, and, under the leadership of Samuel Bran-
nan, a shrewd Maine Yankee, maiijtained an organiza-
tion until the discovery of gold, in 1848; when the
consequent fever infesting the whole camp, the saints,
leader and all, started for the mines. This broke up
the design of permanent settlement on the Pacific
shores, west of the Sierras.

During this period, the main body of the Mormons
had collected near Omaha, where, under the executive
talent of their new leader, they had consolidated their
strength, and the people unanimously proclaimed that
" the mantle of the prophet Joseph had fallen on the
seer and revelator, Brigham Young."

The object of the saints now was to reach the Pacific
and join their brethren gone before them by sea. Presi-
dent Young accordingly, at the head of the pioneer pil-
grims, consisting of one hundred and forty-three men,
with seventy wagons, left Omaha, on the 14th of April,
1847; ^"^) after a three months journey across the

MO R MONISM AND THE MORMONS, 583

trackless desert, on the 24th of July following, entered
the valley of Great Salt lake. Here the saints pitched
their tents, fully believing that in this most secluded
and unfrequented region of the continent they might
live unmolested for centuries. But the discovery of
gold In California, In 1848, led the people of the East
across the plains in vast numbers ; and the trail of the
pioneer saints to their Jordan and Zion In the desert
was made the highway of the vast emigrant trains and
bands of gold-hunters, and Salt lake became the best
known section of America west of the Missouri.

The acquisition of California brought the Territory
of Utah, then a part of California, under the dominion
of the United States; a fact which the saints have been
loath to learn, as from their first settlement' they have
had absolute social, religious, and political control of
the country, in utter defiance of federal laws and the
national constitution.

As early as the 5th of March, 1849, ^^ Mormon
leaders assumed sovereign dominion over their "Zion,"
by the meeting of a convention at Salt Lake City "of
all the citizens of that portion of Upper California
lying east of the Sierra Nevada mountains, to take
Into consideration the propriety of organizing a terri-
torial or State government." The convention estab-
lished the " free and independent State of Deseret^'
elected State officers, and finally applied to Congress
for admission as a State Into the Union. Congress
declined, however, to admit the new State ; but, on
September 9, 1850, organized the Territory of Utah,
President Fillmore appointing Brigham Young gov-
ernor. From that period forward national authority
has been completely Ignored by the Mormons, until the

584 ^-^-^ GOLDEN STATE,

years 187 1-2, when the federal territorial officers, for
the first time in the history of the Territory, seemed to
comprehend that Utah was not a foreign nation, but
was subject to the authority and laws of the United
States.

During the rebellion of 1 861-5, active measures
were adopted by the Mormon leaders, looking to the
separation of Utah from the jurisdiction of the United
States, and the establishing of an independent gov-
ernment; while not a man, dollar, nor sign of in-
terest or sympathy was offered to the national gov-
ernment. Repeated efforts, from time to time, have
been made to induce the Federal Congress to admit
Utah as a State, the last time being on the i8th of
March, 1872, when an election was held, a constitution
adopted. United States Senators elected, and the "State
of Deseret" once more sought in vain admission into
the Union. At the election in March, 1872, all the
w^omen in the Territory over twenty-one years of age,
regardless of birthplace or nationality, voted. The
Gentile population being so small a minority, did not
offer any opposition, nor vote at this election.

Brigham Young, who had ruled as a despot at the
head of the Mormon church, had, by federal appoint-
ment, held the office of territorial governor from 1850
until the early part of 1858, when he was succeeded
by Governor Gumming, who, with Colonel Albert
Sidney Johnston, (late of the Confederate army,) led
James Buchanan's " army of invasion " into Utah to
quell the " Mormon rebellion," which had driven the
federal officers from the Territory, and, under the lead-
ership of Governor Brigham Young, had assumed
alarming proportions ; and drew from the Mormon

BRIGIIAM young's HAREMS, SALT LAKE CITY.
(f Bee Flive " on the right, " Lion House " on left. Young's office, central building.)

STREET SCENE IN SALT LAKE CITY.

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS. 585

chief his famous edict, addressed to the commander of
the federal forces sent into the Territory to enforce
order:

Governor's Office, Utah Territory,
Great Salt Lake City, Septcmhei- 29, 1857.

Sir: By reference to the act of Congress passed September
9, 1850, organizing the Territory of Utah, published in a copy of
the Laws of Utah, herewith, p. 146, chap. 7, you will find the
following :

Sec 2. And be it further enacted, That the executive power in
and over said Territory of Utah shall be vested in a governor, who
shall hold his office for four years, and until his successor shall be
appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed by the President of
the United States. The governor shall reside within said Territory,
shall be commander-in-chief of the militia thereof, &c., &lc.

I am still the Governor, and Superintendent of Indian Affairs for
this Territory, no successor having been appointed and qualified,
as provided by law, nor have I been removed by the President of
the United States.

By virtue of the authority thus vested in me, I have issued and
forwarded you a copy of my proclamation forbidding the entrance
of armed forces into this Territory. This you have disregarded.
I now further direct that you retire forthwith from the Territory by
the same route you entered. Should you deem this impracticable,
and prefer to remain until spring in the vicinity of your present
encampment, Black's Fork or Green river, you can do so in peace,
and unmolested, on condition that you deposit your arms and
ammunition with Lewis Robinson, Quarter-master General of the
Territory, and leave in the spring as soon as the condition of the
roads will permit you to march. And should you fall short of pro-
visions, they can be furnished you by making the proper application
therefor.

General D. H. Wells will forward this, and receive any communi-
cation you may have to make.

Very respectfully,

Brigham Young,

Governor, and Superiniendent of Indian Affairs, Utah Territory,

To the Officer commanding the Forces

Now invading Utah Territory,

C^S6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

The army still marched toward the city of the saints,
causing a general " scare," and a stampede of one-half
of the Mormon population toward the Colorado and
Mexico. Finally, "peace commissioners" were ap-
pointed, the "war" ended, and the Mormons returned
to their city.

Passing through various phases or social local dis-
turbance of church and State, and continuously op-
posing the authority of the national government, the
Mormons have found themselves surrounded by an
increasing population from all quarters of the republic,
induced by recent railroad communication, curiosity,
and the development of rich silver and other mines in
the Territory. Until within a recent period the tem-
poral and spiritual power of the American prophet and
his people are fast running below zero ; and eventually
must be frozen out in the pure atmosphere that chills
concubinage and the Incestuous pollutions of marriage
to whole families.

The Mormon leaders, dreading the Influx of Gentiles,
and the consequent danger to their long sway of politi-
cal power. In 1870, resorted to the expedient of female
suffrage ; and, by territorial enactment, at a single dash,
added fifteen thousand to the Mormon " cause." By
this law, every woman In the Territory, over twenty-
one years of age, and all under that age, if married,
vote at all elections. No naturalization laws of the
nation are applied to those women, three-quarters of
whom are Ignorant, superstitious foreigners. This Is
the only quarter of the republic enjoying (?) female
suffrage ; and the spectacle of the polygamists on elec-
tion day opening the doors of their harems and march-
incr dieir wives to the polls Is a strange contradiction

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS, 587

and perversion of liberty. Brigham casts seventeen
votes — his sixteen living wives and his own, to say
nothing of the control over his '' interesting family !'

In 1852, to check the "licentious cohabitation" of
anti-Mormons and the "lewd men of California," who
sometimes found their way to the harems of the saints,
a law was enacted by the territorial Legislature of
Utah, with severe pains and penalties for " lewd and
lascivious cohabitation." These statutes have now been
made to recoil against those who enacted them, suits
having been commenced before the United States ter-
ritorial judges by oppressed Mormon women against
their truant lords, for over-indulgence in "wives ;" and
even Brigham, who, as Governor of the Territory, signed
the law to keep the unrighteous feet of the invading
Gentile from his domicile, found himself Indicted by a
grand jury and held in bonds to appear for trial, for the
crime of" lewd and lascivious cohabitation. " Doubtless
the prophet thought this a new " revelation."

The Gentiles (all those who are not Mormons) in the
Territory hold that all marriages with Mormons and
their women are void, except with their first living wife ;
while the Mormons hold that they are supported by
the Christians' Bible Itself in polygamy ; that marriage
is a sac7'ament, the regulation of which is solely with the
"church;" that they can have as many wives as they
please, when their " religion" directs them ; that the
cJmrch alone can mainy and divorce; and that all acts
of courts in these matters are usurpations, tyrannical
and void.

Trouble continued to accumulate with the saints in
1 870- 1. The mystic circle of the "holy twelve
aposdes" had been broken by the rude hand of the

5SS THE GOLDEN STATE.

United States territorial marshal ; Brigham and apostle
Daniel H. Wells had been arrested and held in bonds
for trial for " raising a family," under indictments for
lasciviousness ; and the murderous Bill Hickman came
forth from his mountain retreat, " unbosomed" himself
to the federal territorial officers, disclosing the partic-
ipation of Brigham Young and his saints in the most
revolting crimes and murders, revealing a sickening
record of individual assassinations, and ending with the
avowal that the direct orders of Brigham Young pre-
ceded almost every murder of the terrible list of slain
in Utah ; and that the Mountain Meadows massacre,
where one hiuidred and tJiirty-two innocent immigrants
— men, women, and children — were cruelly butchered
in 1858, in Southern Utah, was by the authority of
Young and his "apostles." On these confessions, and
other charges of crime by numerous witnesses, Brig-
ham Young, Daniel H. Wells, Orson Hyde, Hosea
Stout, and William Kimball, all saints, were accused.
Some were arrested, while others fled, and Brigham,
who had been held in heavy bonds to appear in court
on charges of murder, fled to Southern Utah, but
finally returned to Salt Lake City, where he was
arrested early in 1872, and cast into prison to await
his trial.

The case of Young and his associates was, on appeal
upon the irregularity and want of jurisdiction of the
federal territorial court, carried to the Supreme Court
of the United States, which held that the manner of
drawing juries by the territorial courts from September
20, 1870, to April, 1872, was illegal. By this decision,
on the 25th of April, 1872, Brigham Young and four
hundred other prisoners, including twenty-four charged

MORMOmSM AND THE MORMONS. 589

With murder, were released. This event was the sienal
for new vows, and faith in the Divine interposition to
release his saints and humiliate their persecutors. At
the great annual conference held at Salt Lake City at
this period more than twelve thousand disciples swelled
the chorus in the great tabernacle, proclaiming the vic-
tory of God and his saints, and giving new inspiration
to the elders and bishops, a new batch of whom were
despatched "with glad tidings" to the people of Europe.
The social practices and religious dogmas of the
Mormons are almost as romantic, singular, and ridicu-
lous as the crimes of which they are accused are atro-
cious and appalling. They claim to be Christians, but
assert that all other Christian orofanizations have de-
parted from the "true doctrine," having scarcely grace
enough to become good Mormons, while the disciples
of Joseph the prophet shall eventually, by the grace of
God, subdue the whole races of men, lead them to sal-
vation, and eventually rule over them as gods and
kinors in the land of their inheritance in the skies. The
Bible they hold as the foundation of all their faith,
giving it a literal interpretation; but that the Book of
Mormon, translated from the golden plates by their
prophet, is an infallible and indispensable key to the
mysteries of revelation and the kingdom of heaven.
Souls, they say, existed from all time, and in invisible
bodies float in vacancy, are caught by angels, and
finally, from the cradles of the harems of the saints,
are sent out in tangible form as live Mormons to fulfil
the Scriptures by multiplication and conversion of the
"heathen," which is the highest mission of the saints
and the especial business of the Mormon women; for
if, by missionary labors, a Mormon convert a dozen

590 THE GOLDEN- STATE, .

Gentiles, how much "glory must surround his head in
the presence of his many wives and his many children."
Surely here is a "gathering of spirits."

In the eternity they hold there are many worlds and
many gods, and that each world has a head god, and a
son next in command, but that over all is one chief,
who is the father of all the little gods; and that he, too,
"is the father of Jesus Christ in the only way known in
nature, just as John Smith, senior, is the father of John
Smith, junior."

The theory of creation and of the Garden of Eden,
as well as Darwin's " Descent of Man," giving the
origin of our ancestors in oysters, slugs, and apes, are
all rejected by the saints, who claim that "when the
earth was prepared, there came from an upper world a
son of God, with his beloved spouse, and thus a colony
from heaven, it may be from the sun, was transplanted
on our soil." This theory is synonymous with the view
recently promulgated by the learned professor in Edin-
burgh, Scotland, who declares that there are no germs
of human creative life on our globe, and that, after
"careful study of the subject of creation and the race,"
he concludes that our ancestors came from some of the
globes above us, and made their terrestrial descent upon
an areolite. It is not mentioned whether other emi-
grants are to follow, or whether the sudden contact of
the metal aerial horse with the earth gave the riders a
vivid and unpleasant realization of terra firma. Doubt-
less the Mormon theory is as correct as any other ver-
sion of this subject, and any of the others are as correct
as that of the Mormon view.

]\Iormons and the few others who may reach heaven
are to appear "in the flesh," and, surrounded by their

MO R MONISM AND THE MORMONS, 59 1

7mves and children, sing perpetually to their prophet.
Baptism by immersion is a sacrament. Brigham him-
self has been twice in the " plunge," and the sins of all
converts are floated on the "waters of regeneration;"
and upon the appearance of an influx of Gentile immi-
grants, lascivious men from California, or grasshoppers,
all saints that are considered " shaky " get a dip.

The composition and order of the "godhead" are
Eloheim, Jehovah, Adam, Christ, and Joseph Smith.
From this "head centre" issue the inspirational light
that led the saints from New York to Nauvoo, and
thence to the " promised land" in the vicinity of Great
Salt lake.

A plentiful supply of prophecy, power of the Holy
Ghost, i7ispiratio7z, gospels, signs, wonders, 7nystic powers,
visions, faith, atone?ne7it, 7^ege7ieratio7i, spirits, a7igels,
saints, revelations, testi77i07iy, healing by layi7ig on of
ha7ids, a7iointi7ie7its, holy oils, patriarchs, 7^eniissio7is, bish-
ops, teachers, eva7igelists, purgatio7is, asce7isio7is, desce7i-
sio7is, drea77is, calli7igs, priesthoods, sac7'a7ne7its, 07^ders,
p7Vgressio7is, gifts of to7igues, co7isecratio7is, arid 77iiracles
are woven throug^h the doctrines of the Mormon faith
to render it palatable to the most visionary of mortals,
while the practical workings of polygamy have strong
attractions for the more materialistic. Christ, the Alor-
mons say, was but a man as others, having in his brief
lifetime set his followers the injunction of 77tidtiplication
by having five wives himself, among whom were Mary
and Martha.

Polygamy at first was not a part of the Mormon
faith. Joseph did not find any revelation of Its neces-
sity on the golden plates, and in the Book of Mo 7^72071
such a practice is fiercely denounced. In the second

592 THE GOLDEN STATE.

chapter of the work is found a warning to the
Nephltes :

'^ But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes.
For this people begin to wax in iniquity ; they understand not the
Scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whore-
doms because of the things that were written concerning David and
Solomon, his son. They, truly, had many wives and concubines,
which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord. Wherefore,
hearken unto the word of the Lord, for there shall not any man
among you have save it be one wife, and concubines he shall have,
none; for I, the Lord God, delighteth in the chastity of woman,"

With the Mormons, as with other mortals, even pro
phecies and revelations are controlled or altered h\
circumstances ; so, while at Nauvoo, the increase oi
beautiful young women so inspired Joseph, Brigham,
and other saints, that a new revelation was deemed
necessary. The prophet sought it and it came, fully
denying the injunction in the Book of Mormon, and
going back to the harems of " the servants of the Lord''
for a justification of concubinage and incest. Joseph
received the new revelation at Nauvoo, on the 12 th of
July, 1843; and in the Deseret News extra, of the 14th
of September, 1852, at Salt Lake City, it was first pub-
licly proclaimed to the "people;" the bishops and
elders having first selected the fairest of their flocks
for their own use.

The " revelation" in part reads :

*' Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, my servant Joseph, that
/iiasmuch as you have inquired at my hands to know wherein I, the
Lord, justified my servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as also
Moses, David, and Solomon, my servants, as touching the principle
and doctrine of their having many wives and concubines ; beliold
and lo, I am the Lord, and will answer thee as touching this

matter."

THE MORMON TEMPLE, SALT LAKE CITY,

A MORMON FAMILY

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS, 593

*'And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood, if any
man espouse a virgin and desires to espouse another, and the first
give her consent, and if he espouse the second and they are virgins
and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified ; he cannot
commit adultery, for they are given unto him ; for he cannot com-
mit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to none else :
and if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot
commit adultery, for they belong to him and are given unto him ;
therefore is he justified. They are given unto him to multiply and
replenish the earth according to my commandment, and to fulfil the
promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the
world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may
bear the souls of men, for herein is the work of my Father continued
that he may be glorified.'

Emma Smith, the wife of Joseph, is commanded,
under dire penalties from the Lord, to receive kindly
to her bosom, all the wives that Joseph may have given
tmto Iiwz, and the Mormon women generally are ad-
vised of God's impending wrath if they reject the wife-
offerings he gives to his saints ; and to fully provide
against emergencies and be ready for any change that
may be desirable, the spirit tells the prophet of further
revelations, concluding:

"And now, as pertaining unto this law, verily, verily, I say unto
you, I will reveal more unto you hereafter ; therefore, let this suffice
for the present. Behold, I am Alpha and Omega. Amen!"

In the "new revelation," provision is made for
" spiritual wives" for the saints, so that the " apostles,"
elders, and others of the church may i"^^/ unto them-
selves the wives of others as spiritual Ww^s for eternity;
so that in the land where the " streets are paved with
gold" and Mormons are gods, the wife is not necessa-
rily obliged to associate with her /(^(^r husband of earth,

but can select her company while here, provided she

594 ^-^^ GOLDEN STATE.

avoid the "lascivious men of California" and choose a
faithful saint. Virgins also can, before marriage, select
their heavenly mate by sealing on earth.

On the first mention of the new doctrine of polygamy,
In 1843, ^t caused great commotion, and many rebelled
against It. A few elders attempted to promulgate the
revelation, but so fierce w^as the opposition that, while
Joseph and a few of his leaders held a monopoly of the
" new law," he made public proclamation against it in
the church paper, the Times and Seasons , published at
Nauvoo, as follows: •

I^OTICE.

As we have lately been credibly informed that an elder of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, by the name of Hiram
Brown, has been preaching polygamy and other false and corrupt
doctrines in the county of Lapeer and State of Michigan,

This is to notify him and the church in general that he has
been cut off from the church for his iniquity, and he is further noti-
fied to appear at the special conference on the 6th of April next, to
make answer to these charges.

Joseph Smith,

Hyrum Smith,

Presidents of the Church.

This proclamation satisfied the "common people,"
and suited particularly the European missionaries, who
took good care to give it publicity. Meantime, Young
and his elders had stocked their harems with the choice
doves of their flocks.

Mary Ann Angell Young, the second wife of Brig-
ham, (he was a widower with two children when he
joined the church,) who now lives in separate quarters
at Salt Lake City, soon found herself surrounded by
the Increaslncr wives of her husband, and this too, while

MORMONISM AND THE MORMON'S. 595

polygamy was publicly proclaimed " the work of the
devil." Lucy Decker Seely, the divorced wife of Dr.
Seely, was the seco7id (or first polygamous) wife, soon
followed by Harriet Cook, who gave birth to the first
offspring of polygamy — Oscar Young. Clara Decker,
Clara Chase, Lucy Bigelow, Harriet Bowker, Harriet
Barr}^, and the charmmg Emeline Free, so long the
favorite of the " president," were all soon added to the
harem ; Emeline in turn beinof succeeded amonof others
by Amelia Folsom, Brigham's present centre of affec-
tion.

Brigham Young, who for the past twenty-eight years
has ruled as a king at the head of Church .and State in
Utah, has practically fulfilled the injunction to " In-
crease and multiply." His children are counted by
scores, and they and his wives, spij'itical and teinpoi-al^
may never be fully discovered until the division of the
property of the dead president enters the courts.

Marriages in Mormondom are not publlcally pro-
claimed: no license is necessar}^ and all unions are
*' solemnized " at the " Endowment House," in the
presence of a few friends only.

Brigham, who was born on the ist of June, 1801,
and was consequently seventy-one years of age on the
1st of June, 1872, had, up to that period, twenty-four
wives, (sixteen of whom were living,) and fifty-four
spiritual wives sealed to him " for eternity."

Among the wives of Brigham, as among those of
many of the saints, are instances of three or four
sisters all married to the same man, and mothers and
daughters, in pairs and triplets, joining to one husband
in the same house, and a grandmother, mother, and
child all wives of one man.

cq5 the golden state.

The late Heber C. Kimball, who so long stood next
in authority to Young, fulfilled well his earthly mission,
leaving seventeen widows to "mourn his loss," and
innumerable children to his " inheritance," besides
"spiritual wives for eternity."

All the " apostles," as well as nearly all the Mormon
"brethren," embrace polygamy; and they and their
children in their footsteps have jumbled the laws of
consanguinity beyond the hope of solution.

The marrying of brothers and sisters, at least of the
half-blood, has been permitted ; and innumerable in-
stances of marriaofes with nieces and other close blood-
relations are constantly occurring. Two of the daugh-
ters of Brigham Young are married to H. B. Clawson,
a prominent saint, and but recently the aggregate
wives of five Mormons numbered seventy^ and their off-
spring one hundred and fifty.

The doctrines of Mormonism, as given by "Joseph
the prophet," are as follows :

**We believe in God the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus
Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.

"We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and
not for Adam's transgression.

"We believe that through atonement of Christ all mankind may
be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel.

"We believe that these ordinances are: First, Faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ ; Second, Repentance ; Third, Baptism by immersion
for the remission of sins ; Fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift
of the Holy Ghost.

" We believe that a man must be called of God by ' prophecy
and by laying on of hands,' by those who are in authority to preach
the gospel and administer the ordinances thereof.

"We believe in the same organization that existed in the primi-
tive church, viz. : apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists,
&c.

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS, 597

"We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions,
healing, interpretation of tongues, &:e.

*•' We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is trans-
lated correctly. We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the
word of God.

*' We believe all God has revealed, all that He does now reveal,
and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important
things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

" We believe in the literal gathering of Israel, and in the restora-
tion of the ten tribes j that Zion will be built upon this continent ;
that Christ will reign personally on the earth, and that the earth
will be renewed in its paradisiac glory.

*' We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according
to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same
privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

"We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, magis-
trates ; in obeying, honoring, and sustaining law.

*' We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous,
and in doing good to all men. Indeed, we may say that we follow
the admonition of Paul : 'we believe all things; we hope all things;*
we have endured many things and hope to be able to endure all
things. If there is any thing virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or
praiseworthy, we seek after these things.'

How closely the practices of the " Latter-day Saints"
comport with the " inspired doctrines" may well be
known by the dark catalogue of crime on the court
records of Utah against the '* head of the church," his
apostles and followers, and the misery and social dis-
order of the harems.

In American polygamy, as in the East, women are
o-enerally regarded little better than slaves ; herded as
they are, in Young's and Kimball's and odier establish-
ments, by scores, giving birth to children whose fathers
are claimed as husband in such infinitesimal parts that
love and the kindred accompaniments of the household
are mythical illusions, leaving the hearth of home a

598 THE GOLDEN STATE,

barren waste, and the heart of woman an empty sepul-
chre, where the light of l(5ve never casts a ray to dispel
the eternal eclipse, in whose unholy shadow the canker-
worm of jealousy and the pangs of despair gnaw their
victims to the grave.

If the sullen, dreamy apathy of the Mormon women,
looking with wild distrust upon husbands claimed by
others, and wincing under unprovoked neglect, or
the display of hypocritical affection to associates by
their lord ; the unwelcome proclamation of the birth of
the child of their associate in fractional wedlock ; and
-the pangs and gloom to which their imprisoned and
impoverished love is bound as it struggles through the
night of absolute despair — if these things be "joy and
gladness," and *' woman's highest mission," by what
name shall we call the ordered laws that centres one
w^oman's love to the heart of one affectionate and con-
fiding husband, where the mutual love and parental
joys are lighted anew in the innocent faces proclaiming
the unity of souls in the " twain flesh made one ?"

Society, as it is known in other parts of America, is
entirely unknown in Utah. There is but little inter-
course between Mormon families. Even in the city of
Salt Lake, where an elegant theatre is maintained, it
is patronized chiefly by Gentiles and apostate Mormons.
Visitinof amongr women and eveninof entertainments are
rare, and Gentile men are excluded from all intercourse
with the wives and dauQrhters of the saints.

On the Sabbath the harems let loose their flocks,
who file in solemn procession to the tabernacle, to
listen to the prophecies of Joseph, and the laws of
*' increase," as expounded by the " elders of the Lord.'*

In Salt Lake City, a few leading Mormons who have

MORMONISM AND THE MORMONS, 599

means maintain spacious establishments, where their
wives and famihes Hve in comparative comfort. But as
the great body of the people are poor, a man often finds
it burdensome to support five, eight, or ten wives, so
the women soon find that they have to rely upon their
own industry for their bread. Dress, fashion, and the
filigrees of modern city w^omen are unknown among
Mormon wives. Plain dressing, plain food, hard work,
obedience, baptism, and child-bearing are the pleasures
and duties of Mormon women.

Of late years, the influx of Gentiles, railroad inter-
course and enterprise in the Territory have somewhat
changed the position of the young Mormon females,
many of whom decline to enter the harems, and leave
the country, seeking homes and protection in Cali-
fornia, Oregon, and Nevada, and other sections, much
to the displeasure of the bishops and elders.

The solution of the "■ Mormon question " still dis-
tracts the country. Utah as a State, with an anti-Mor-
mon majority, could soon exterminate polygamy. As
a Territory, with Mormon juries, no punishment can
be imposed on Mormon offenders. A few years, how-
ever, at most, will give Utah an anti-Mormon majority,
when Mormonism, now embraced by about eighty
thousand in Europe and America, will be weeded out
of Utah, and eventually be known only as a thing
of the past.

600 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XXXV.

ARIZONA TERRITORY.

Area and population — Climate — Soil — Mountains — Rivers — Forests
— Mines — Mining — Minerals — Settlement — Civilization — Rail-
roads— Indians.

The Territory of Arizona is situated in the semi-
tropical region lying directly east of California and
west of Mexico, and is bounded on the south by the
Republic of Mexico, east by New Mexico, north by
Utah, and west by the Colorado river, which forms the
boundary between the extreme southeastern corner of
California and the northwestern part of Arizona.

This Territory, which embraces an area of 126,140
square miles, was acquired from the Republic of
Mexico by the conquest of California, and the " Gads-
den Purchase ;" and by act of Congress of the 24th
of February, 1863, was organized with a territorial
government, with the capital at Tucson.

In 1S70, the population of this Territory, exclusive
of Indians, was but 9,658 ; of whom but 3,849 were
native born, and 5,809 were foreigners. The pre-
ponderance of foreigners is owing to the fact of the
large numbers of Mexicans in the country. There
were at this period but twenty-six colored people and
twenty Chinese in this Territory.

The climate of Arizona is exceedingly dry in its
western division, and in the section adjoining the River
Colorado ; and in many portions of the interior the
heat of summer is intense, it often reaching one hun-

INTERVIEW WITH A GRIZZLY,

APACHE SQUAW SCALP DANCE, ARIZONA.

ARIZONA TERRITORY. 6oi

dred and twenty degrees In the shade, at which it will
continue for many days in succession. Winter in these
quarters is almost unknown, and, except upon the high
mountains, snow never falls ; but in the northern and
eastern portion of the Territory the mountains are
clad with snow perpetually ; throughout the valleys
and low hills snow and frost are unknown, and the
climate of the Territory may be called perpetual sum-
mer. The rainfall in the western part of i\rizona does
not exceed four inches per annum ; but, throughout
the central and eastern division, sufficient rain falls
for agricultural purposes.

The physical character of the countr}^ is rugged in
the extreme, and large areas of mountain and alkaline
deserts are unfit for cultivation. In many portions
large grazing-ranges exist, and there are innumerable
rich and fertile valleys, well adapted to agricultural
pursuits, and where many of the tropical and all the
semi-tropical fruits grow abundantly.

Owing to the sparse population and the continuous
excitement in the Territory about mines, but little has
been done in developing the agricultural resources of
the country ; but the richness of the soil, the wide and
excellent pasture-ranges, and the mildness of the cli-
mate, all tend to make this Territory a very desirable
field for the immigrant and the employment of labor
and capital.

Many portions of the country are but poorly w^atered;
but vast areas are supplied with abundance of water
from the Innumerable branches of the Colorado and
Gila, the two principal rivers in the Territory. The
Gila, flowing from east to west in a vast body, empties

602 THE GOLDEN STATE,

into the Colorado near a point where the boundary of
Cahfornia, Arizona, and the RepubHc of Mexico join on
the Colorado. From this point, both the Gila and Colo-
rado rivers flow in one mighty current to the Gulf of
California, and through these waters reach the Pacific
ocean.

The Colorado river, having Its source in the Rocky
mountains, courses southwestward through Wyoming,
Utah, and the northwest corner of Arizona, forming the
western boundary of the latter Territory. This vast
river (often interrupted in its course of more than one
thousand miles from its source to the sea) is navigable
for steamers of lar^e size for a considerable distance
from the Gulf of California, and upon its upper waters
to steamers of lioht drauQ^ht.

Forests of considerable extent exist In many parts of
the country, and the scenery is generally picturesque,
many of the hill-sides being covered with a dense
growth of small trees; so that, amidst forests, -dashing
cascades, bald mountains, and snow-clad peaks, many
sections of Arizona present unsurpassed scenes of
natural beauty.

As yet the great resources of this Territory are un-
developed. The hardy miner has, however, established
the fact that mines of gold, silver, copper, lead, and
Iron of crreat extent and richness abound throuo^hout
the whole country. Not only are these metals found
in the bowels of the earth, but vi02tntai7is of lead,
copper, iron, sulphur, and salt rear their heads, con-
fronting the explorer on every side, and Impressing him
with the vast wealth of this almost unexplored region,
destined to become at some future period the centre of

ARIZONA TERRITORY, 603

civilized society, and a prosperous State in the Ameri-
can Union.

The annual product of the precious metals In Ari-
zona, even with its scant population and great disad-
vantages, is about $1,500,000; but, by the application
of machiner}^ and well-directed efforts to develop her
mineral resources, there is no reason why Arizona
should not yet equal in her mineral productions the
greatest yield of California in her best days.

Trade with Arizona has been carried on chiefly w^Ith
California. Nearly all the supplies — provisions, mer-
chandise, and machinery — used in the Territory go from
San Francisco either to San Diegfo, thence across the
country by teams to the Colorado, or by steamers and
sailing vessels up the Gulf of California and the waters
of the Colorado, thence to the interior. A line of rail-
road, (the Southern Pacific,) projected from San Diego,
California, intended to run in an easterly and westerly
direction, crossing the Colorado, and passing through
the extreme southern part of Arizona, New Mexico,
Texas, and Arkansas, crosses the Mississippi at Mem-
phis, making connection with the whole Atlantic coast,
and thence to the Atlantic seaboard; and another road
— the Atlantic and Pacific, or 35th parallel railroad —
projected farther north in California, and intended to
pass directly through the centre of Arizona, New
Mexico, Indian Territory, and Missouri, crossing the
Missouri at St. Louis, and passing on In an easterly
direction to the Atlantic States, will, when completed,
so develop the great natural wealth of this almost un-
known region that It must attract a large share of the
immigration of the country, and become the centre of

6o4 ^-^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

great mining activity. Both roads are now being vig-
orously pushed, and but a few years will elapse before
two southern through railroads from ocean to ocean
will bring this beautiful region of country a prosperous
State in the Union.

The Territory, with all its drawbacks, Is struggling for
the development of Its resources and the establishment
of civilization. Tucson, the capital, Tubac, Arizona
City, La Paz, and Prescott, the principal towns, show
signs of enterprise and refinement. Schools, churches,
and the printing-press assert their dominion, and soon
will the murderous scenes of the forest savage give
way to the pursuits of Industry and the laws of civiliza-
tion. Already there are three newspapers published
in Arizona — one at Tucson, one at Prescott, and one at
Arizona City.

Arizona is the paradise of the red man. Here for
hundreds of thousands of years (for aught we know)
he has angled In Its streams, hunted In Its glens, roamed
over Its valleys, lurked In Its forests and deep canons,
listened to the wild roar and watched the maddened
leap of Its cataracts; here he listened to the traditions
of his fathers, and burled the bones of his ancestors ;
and here, with a pertinacity worthy of a better cause,
he holds on to the huntlne-srrounds of his fathers; here
the Mojave, Yavapai, Pima, Yuma, and the murderous
Apache whet their knives and raise the bloody toma-
hawk for the scalp of the "pale face," and exhibit such
fierce resolution and brutality to hold on to the expiring
embers of primitive barbarous life and the last huntlng-
o^rounds and the last natural rights of a once numerous
and powerful but fast-expiring race, whose history, from

ARIZONA TERRITORY, 605

the landing of the Pilgrims to the present hour, has
filled our records with chapters of blood and scenes of
most revolting barbarity, making the extinction of the
aborigines a desired consummation.

The Apache tribe of Indians in Arizona are the
most warlike and fierce enemy of the white man of all
the races on the continent. Their " braves" are power-
fully built, active, muscular, daring, and savage as a
gorilla. All efforts yet made to reconcile these savages
to fellowship with their white brethren have been in
vain. They are still numerous and powerful, defying
the feeble efforts of humanitarian and soldier alike.
The mild climate, abundance of game, and the fleet
ponies upon which they are mounted, the deep forests,
dark ravines, and gulches, whose winding ways are
known only to the Apaches, enable them from their
places of security to pounce like w^ild beasts upon immi-
grant, miner, or soldier alike.

So determined are these savages to drive the whites
out of their country, and in such dread do the people
hold the poison-arrow, scalping-knife, and tomahawk
of these " red devils," that mines of fabulous richness,
rich farminof and ofrazinor lands alike, are all abandoned ;
and, despite of a few feeble military posts in the Terri-
tory, the Apache still holds sway, and the power of life
and death even of the military forces. But alas ! for
the red man, his days in our land are numbered, and
the sands of his time fast leave an empty glass in which
his shadow is but dimly reflected. Railroads and " civil-
ization" have, from Maine to Oregon, sealed his fate;
his canoe lies stranded upon the shores of the great
lakes; his bow and arrows hang upon the forest trees;

6o6 THE GOLDEN STATE,

his tomahawk rests upon the ground; his hunting-
grounds wave in rustHng corn; his war-whoop dies
upon the passing breeze, to be answered by the shrill
whistle of the iron courser, whose fiery breath proclaims
the departure of a past race to its eternal hunting-
grounds.

" Lo ! the poor Indian !" he has left no written lan-
guage, no laws, customs, arts, nor architecture to per-
petuate his memory ; his stone-axe, poison-arrow, and
bloody record proclaim for a brief period his fierce
career ; while his euphonious names, like jewels of
antiquity, cling to our lakes, rivers, and mountains, to
recall to the future historian the existence of a race
whose origin is a mystery, whose career and extinction
are not unalloyed with romance and incomprehensible
fatality.

COUNCIL WITH FRIENDLY NZZ PERCES INDIANS, IDAHO.

EMIGRANTS FORDING THE SNAKE RIVER.

IDAHO TERRITORY. 607

CHAPTER XXXVI.

IDAHO TERRITORY.

Area — Geography — Mountains — Rivers — Forests — Lakes — Scenery
— Waterfalls — Valleys — Agriculture — Climate — Indians — Gold
and silver mines — Material progress — Railroads — Cities and towns
— Population.

The Territory of Idaho embraces an area of 90,932
square miles. It was formerly embraced within the
Territory of Oregon, and more recently within the area
of Washington Territory; and was, In 1863, with Its
present limits, organized with a territorial government
by act of Congress. The Territory In length, from the
northern line of the State of Nevada to British Colum-
bia In the north, runninof the whole length of Oregon
and Washinofton Territories, Is about five hundred
miles. At Its northern end It Is narrowed to about
&ft}^ miles, lying between the western slope of the Rocky
mountains and Washington Territory on the west.
From this point, extending south until it reaches Its
southern boundary, It gradually widens, until it finally
attains a width of three hundred miles.

Idaho is bounded on the west by Oregon and Wash-
ington Territory, north by British Columbia, east by the
Rocky mountains and Wyoming Territory, south by
Nevada and Utah ; the crest of the Rocky mountains
forming the entire eastern line, leaving the whole of
this Territory west of that range of mountains.

The surface of Idaho Is a succession of lofty moun-
tain chains, rugged hills, alkaline and volcanic flats,
rolling pasture-ranges, and numerous fertile valleys.
The Territory Is well supplied with water by several

5o8 ^-^^-^ GOLDEN STATE,

rivers of magnitude, and innumerable dashing streams,
fed by the eternal snow of the mountains. The chief
river in Idaho Is the Snake, sometimes known as Lewis
river; having its source in the western slope of the
Rocky mountains, and coursing In a westerly direction
across the entire width of the southern part of the Ter-
ritory, a distance of more than three hundred miles,
until it reaches the eastern boundary of Oregon, where
it turns directly north, and for a distance of two hun-
dred miles forms the line between Oregon and Idaho.
A few miles north of this point, at the city of Lewiston,
where the Territories of Washington and Idaho are
divided by this stream, it turns directly west, and for
one hundred additional miles keeps this course, until
near Wallula, in Washington Territory, it empties into
tlie main Columbia, and is carried to the Pacific ocean.
The Snake river, in its circuitous passage from the
Rocky mountains to Lewiston, runs through a great
variety of country — sandy desert, elevated table-Ian^,
rich valleys, deep canons and gorges; and often cutting
through and leaping over high mountains, creating in
its passage impassable and lovely cascades and falls oi
great magnitude and beauty. The Shoshone falls, in
the southern portion of the Territory, but thirty-five
miles north of the point where Utah and Nevada join
upon the southern line of Idaho, and one hundred and
fifty miles from the western line of Wyoming Territory,
is surpassed only in magnitude by Niagara and the
Yosemite. The Great Shoshone has an uninterrupted
descent of two hundred feet, pouring its mighty flood
below, presenting a scene of uhsurpassed beauty, and
cuts off the further passage of the salmon, which abound
in all the waters from this point to the Pacific ocean.

IDAHO TERRITORY. 609

From the Columbia to Lewlston, one hundrea miles,
the Snake river is navigated by steamers ; but beyond
this point, owing to the numerous falls and rapids,
there is no navio^atlon. Innumerable branches of the
Snake river intersect the whole country upon both
sides of the main stream.

In the extreme northern corner of Idaho is Clarke's
Fork, a branch of the Columbia river, of ereat mao^ni-
tude, in its course passing through Lake Pen d'Orellie,
twenty-two miles in length and six miles in width.
Forty miles south of this lake, and near the line of
Washington Territory, the Spokan river, a branch of
the .Columbia, enters and passes through Lake Coeur
d' Aline, twenty-five miles in length and five miles in
width. There are several lakes of less magnitude
than the two here named in the Territory, and many
streams of great volume and beauty.

Forests of considerable magnitude, in which -a great
variety of valuable timber grows, are found ; and there
are large areas of grazing and agricultural lands.
Boise, Wieser, Payette, Camas, and other valleys, con-
tain hundreds of thousands of acres of superior land ;
and Bear Lake valley, in the extreme southeast corner
of the Territory and close to the line of Utah Terri-
tor}^ and in which there is a Mormon settlement of five
thousand people in a prosperous condition, is one of the
richest ao^ricultural districts on the Pacific coast. The
climate is mild, and the soil rich beyond comparison.
In this fertile valley are situated Bear lake, and the Bear
river, a stream of considerable size, coursing through
Bear valley in a circle, and finally emptying into Great
Salt lake in Utah.

Monument, a station on the Central Pacific overland
39

6lO THE GOLDEN STATE.

railroad, at the northern end of Great Salt lake, is but
twenty miles from the southern line of Idaho, near
Bear valley, and from this and other points of this
road travellers entering the southern portion of the
Territor}^ will find the easiest and shortest route. To
reach the northern portion of the Territory from the
Pacific side, passage can be made by the waters of the
Columbia and Snake rivers, or by a journey overland
throucrh Oreofon.

The climate of Idaho In the northern section In
winter is cold, and snow of great depth falls, and frost
is severe in the mountains ; but the cold of winter Is
much less than the cold in the same latitude east of the
Rocky mountains. There are wide pasture-ranges in the
Territory, and cattle, horses, and sheep in great num-
bers are driven toward the south, where they graze all
winter upon the bunch grass and rich foliage of South-
ern Idaho ; indeed, even In the northern part, cattle
are rarely housed in winter. Summer In Idaho Is de-
lightful. The extreme heat of the Atlantic States Is
not experienced, and the evenings are cool and the
general temperature bracing and charming. In the for-
ests wild game Is abundant, and the principal streams
abound with salmon, trout, and other fish.

The red men, although still found In the country In
considerable numbers, are neither numerous nor war-
like, and, as In most parts of the West, having spent their
fury, are slowly passing away to the shades of oblivion.

So far, mining Is the chief business of the Territory,
and, like the whole range west of the Rocky mountains,
crold, silver, and other minerals are found In most of
the mountain ranges, and many mines are worked wnth
vigor and with great profit. The annual yield of gold

CRATER OF THE GIANT GEYSER, YELLOWSTONE REGION, A\^OMING TERRITORY.

(Line of the Northern Pacific Railroad.)

THE FAN GEYSER, YELLOWSTONE REGION', WVOMING TERRITORY,
(Line of the Northern Pacific Railroad.;

LATHING POOLS, YELLOWSTONE REGION, WYOMING TERRITORY.
(Line of the Northern Pacific Railroad.)

THE GROTTO GLYSLR, YELLOWSTtiNK REGION, WYOMING TERRITORY.
(Lia^ of the Northern Paciiic Railroad.)

IDAHO TERRITORY, 6l I

and silver in Idaho Is about g8,ooo,ooo — one-third as
much as the annual yield of California at the present
period. Many other metals besides gold and silver
have been discovered, but, as yet, have been but little
developed. Gold was first discovered In Idaho in 1852,
about the banks of the Pen d'Orellie river, but attracted
little attention. The discovery of the Oro Fino mines,
in i860, awakened great Interest, and drew a large
number of eold-hunters from California and Orecron to-

o o

ward the then almost unexplored region of Idaho. Since
that time forward, settlement has gone steadily on, and
a degree of prosperity highly creditable to the pioneers
and sparse population of this heretofore remote and
inaccessible region has been attained. Idaho, under
the stimulus of the Industry of her people, her great
natural resources, as well In agriculture, grazing, and
lumber as in mines of gold and silver, Is fast attaining
importance. Each year the capacit}^ of the soil for
producing wheat, oats, barley, vegetables, and fruit of
almost every variety Is becoming understood ; and
blooming orchards, waving fields of wheat — the latter
producing from three to five times as many bushels to
the acre as does Illinois, Virginia, or Tennessee — and
wide and luxuriant pasture-ranges swarming with fat
cattle, attest the capacity of the soil, and give hope of
a future vigorous and prosperous State.

The Northern Pacific railroad, now being built from
Lake Superior to Puget sound, will pass through a great
portion of this Territory, and materially develop Its
resources and Increase its population; and the projected
Canadian Pacific road, from Canada to British Columbia,
W'hen constructed, will be tributary to this and all the
American territory immediately south of that line.

6 1 2 THE G OLDEN STA TE.

Several towns of some Importance have sprung up
in Idaho. Among the principal ones are Lewiston and
Idaho City, the latter with a population of 889, Silver
City, with 599, and the territorial capital, Boise City, '
with 995. This city is situated in the southwestern
corner of Idaho, one hundred and ten miles north of the
southern line, and sixt}^ miles directly east from where
the western boundary joins the State of Oregon.

The progress made in quartz-mining has been con-
siderable. There are now thirty quartz-mills in opera-
tion ; and tw^enty-five saw^-mills and ten flouring mills.
Churches, schools, and theatres are maintained. Four
newspapers are published in Idaho, and the territorial
and Supreme Court libraries, at Boise City, contain
an aesfreo^ate of fifteen thousand books.

Idaho, like many of the Territories of the United
States, presents the somewhat remarkable condition of
a preponderating element of foreigners in her popula-
tion. The census of 1870 shows the entire population
of the Territory to have been 14,999; ^f whom 7,114
were native and 7,885 were of foreign birth. Of the
aggregate population, 10,618 were white and sixt}^
colored, besides 4,274 Chinese. The Chinese In this
Territory, as in every section of the republic west of
the Rocky mountains, push their way into every por-
tion, however remote ; establishing their wash-houses,
eneaeinof as laborers, servants, and miners, and, while
oblivious to latitude, language, laws, and customs, seem
to fully comprehend the value of the charmer, gold,
whose glitter brought them over deep seas and desolate
plains and into the fastnesses of the great American
deserts.

CASTLE ROCK, COLUMBIA RIVER-

MOUNT RAINIER FROM PUGET SOUND, (Washington Territory.)

WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 613

CHAPTER XXXVII.

WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

History, area, and population — Boundary — Geography — Mountains
— Lakes — Rivers — Bays — Harbors — Seasons — Climate — Agricul-
ture— Grazing — Forests — Lumber — Commerce — Fish — Game — ■
Natives — Gold, silver, coal, and other mmes — Progress —
Railroads.

Washington Ter-ritory was, until 1853, a part of
the Territory of Oregon, at which time it was by act
of Congress erected into a separate Territor}^ with
an eraa of 69,994 square miles This Territor)^ is the
extreme western portion of the United States south
of British Columbia, and possesses the greatest extent
of navigable waters of any State or Territor}^ in the
republic. Passing through the centre of the Territor)^,
from north to south and from east to west on its eastern
boundary, are one thousand miles of the Columbia
river; and on its western shore are five hundred miles
of the Pacific ocean, and within the circle of its great
harbor — the inland sea, Puget sound — including islands,
are three thousand one hundred miles of shore line, all
accessible to the largest class ships ; making an aggre-
orate of four thousand six hundred miles of navio^able
water line in the Territory.

Washington Territory is bounded on the south by
the River Columbia, which forms the line betw^een this
Territory and the State of Oregon ; east it is bounded
by Idaho ; west by British Columbia, the boundary
beincT the fortv-ninth decree of north latitude ; on its
northwest corner is the Strait of San Juan de Fuca,
and upon its western line the Pacific ocean.

6l4 ^-^^ GOLDEN STATE,

The general features of the surface of this Territory
are dense forests of fir and other trees, broad plains?
numerous fertile valleys, rugged hills, and snow-capped
mountains, whose bald and snow- clad tops stand high
above the surrounding country; numerous lakes, great
navieable waters, and dashincr streams of much volume
and beauty.

The two chief mountain chains in Washington are
the Coast Range, broken and irregular, and the Cascade
range, bold and well-defined. In ■ this latter range is
the highest mountain between California and Alaska,
Mount Rainier, about seventy miles southeast from
Olympia at the head of Puget sound, and standing
14,444 ^^^t above the waters of the ocean. In the .^ame
mountain chain, and about the same distance from
Olympia as is Rainier, but a little more toward the
west, stands Mount St. Helen's, 9,550 above the sea
level. Forty-five miles directly north from the town of
Dalles, on the Columbia, is Mount Adams, 9,570 feet
in hfeicrht. All these mountains are in the Cascade

range, and their snow-clad summits can be seen from
Olympia, the Columbia river, and surrounding country
at all seasons of the year.

Near the northwestern corner of the Territory, and
about fifteen miles from the British Columbia line,
and twenty-five miles directly east from the ocean, is
Mount Baker, 10,700 feet in height, and a most promi-
nent object from the waters of Bellingham bay, Straits
of Fuca, Puget sound, and adjacent country. The next
mountain of prominence in the Territory is Mount
Olympic, and, although less in magnitude than any of
those already named, owing to its location, is the most
prominent feature of the whole country. It stands

WASHINGTON TERRITORY. ^jc

upon the peninsula formed by the waters of the Pacific
ocean, the Straits of Fuca, and Puget sound. It is
sixty-five miles in a direct line southeast from Cape
Flattery, the extreme northwestern point of the Terri-
tory; twenty miles south from Port Anglos, on the
waters of the Straits of Fuca; forty-five miles about
west from Port Townsend, at the entrance of Puget
sound ; and thirty-five miles northeast from the highest
waters of the Pacific ocean. Lifting its head 8,138 feet
above the ocean, looking far out upon the waters of the
Pacific, and seeming almost to cast its icy shadow far
over the sea, stands Mount Olympic — a prominent land-
mark and object for every navigator in this quarter of
the Pacific, and presenting a strong and beautiful con-
trast with the verdure of the valleys and the deep green
of the tall firs, whose tops struggle in vain to reach the
ermine mantle of this stately sentinel of antiquity.

The navigable waters of Washington Territory are
of the most extensive and remarkable character. Be-
ginning at the southern extremity of the Territory, at
the mouth of the Columbia, which forms the southern
boundary of the Territory, dividing Washington Terri-
tor}' and Oregon, it runs northward through Washing-
ton Territory and a great portion of British Columbia;
has one thousand miles of naviorable waters in Wash-

ington, one hundred and sixty miles of which — from
the mouth of the Columbia to the Cascades — is navi-
gated by ships and large ocean-steamers. At this
point, after making a portage of six miles, and another
at Dalles, farther up the river, small steamers and
sallinof vessels ascend for an additional distance of elo^ht
hundred and forty miles. Inside the Columbia bar
are Gray's and Baker's bays, and twenty-five miles

6 1 6 THE G OLDEN STA TE,

north of the mouth of the Columbia, on the sea-coast,
is Shoalwater bay, celebrated for its oyster-beds, but
navigable only for small vessels. Twenty miles north
of Shoalwater bay is Gray's harbor, admitting vessels
of light draught only. From this point to Cape Flat-
tery, the extreme west headland of the Territory,
there are several small rivers, but no harbor of any
importance. Between Cape Flattery and the mainland
of Washington Territory and Vancouver island, on the
north and west, is the famous Strait of Fuca, fourteen
miles In width, and in the shape of a half circle, sweep-
ing for one hundred and fifty miles from Cape Flattery
to near the mouth of Frazer river, in British Columbia,
where it meets the Gulf of Georgia. In all this strait
not an obstacle is found to impede navigation — no
sunken rocks, reefs, or shoals; and ships of the largest
size can go close to the main shore and the shores of
the islands toward its eastern side. In the middle of
the strait the w^ater is more than one hundred fathoms
deep, and in some places bottom has not been found.
This strait leads into the great Inland sea of Puget
sound, which enters the northwestern end of Washinor-
ton Territory.

Juan de Fuca strait, so famous In the early records
of the first voyagers on the North Pacific coast, received
its name in 1792 from the navigators who, about this
period, had confirrned the statements of Its real dis-
coverer, the old Greek sailor, Juari de Ftcca, whose
early voyage had not determined that Vancouver was
an island, but still left the Impression that the island
was a part of the mainland. Captain Cook's voyage
of 1778, although extending northward beyond the
strait, did not discover it. He had followed the outer

WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 6 1 J

western line of Vancouver island, and it still required
the voyages of Meares, Berkely, Duncan, Kendricks,
Gray, and others, from 1787-9, to fully confirm the
existence of a strait between the Island of Vancouver
and the mainland. On the 29th of April, 1792, Van-
couver entered the strait and commenced his surveys
to confirm the existence of this great navigable water ;
but Vancouver found the Yankee ahead of him. On
his arrival in the sound, he found Captain Gray, of Bos-
ton, had navigated the strait, and was there in person,
exploring and trafficking with the Indians, dealing out
his "Yankee notions" and Massachusetts copper coins
to the natives. Gray received his English cousin
kindly, and showed him the country " round about,'*
and an American flag floating from a pole on the
beach.

In 1592, Apostolus Valerianos, the Greek pilot known
as Juan de Fuca, was sent by the Viceroy of Mexico
on a voyage of discovery along the coast of California
and Oregon, and along the northwest coast. Upon
this cruise he made his famous discovery of the strait
now bearing his name. But his discovery and him-
self were long regarded as myths, neglected and
almost forgoUen, as the viceroy, without affording
him material aid, recommended him to the King of
Spain, with a report of his discoveries ; but no aid
rewarded the exertions of poor Fuca, who, in 1602,
died in Italy, In poverty and obscurity.

A brief narrative of Fuca's discovery, published In
1625 by Michael Lok, entitled '' Purchas Jiis PilgrimeSy'
first published under the title of " A 7iote made by 7ne^
Michael Lok the elder, toucJiing tJie Strait of the Sea, coin-
?nonly called Fretum Anian, in the South sea, through the

6l8 THE GOLDEN STATE,

northwest passage of Meta Incognita," had first intro-
duced to the pubHc the discoverer of the Strait of Fuca.
Lok had met the old Greek sailor at Venice in 1596,
and learned from his lips his triumphs and his miseries.
Captain Candlish, the English navigator and buccaneer,
the old navii^ator said, had taken his cralleon off the
coast of Lower California, "whereby he lost sixtie
thousand duckets of his owne goods." Fuca applied
to the English government through Lord Cecil, Sir
Walter Raleigh, and others, for service under Its
patronage. In hope of regaining his losses by their
pirate countrymen, but without success.

The narrative of Fuca's voyage into the strait says :

''x\lso, he said, that he went on land in divers places, and that
he saw some people on land clad in beasts' skins : and that the land
is very fruitful and rich in gold, silver, pearl, and other things, like
JVmm Spania.

*' And also, he said, that he being entered thus farre into the said
strait, and being come into the North sea already, [between Van-
couver island and the mainland,] and finding the sea wide enough
everywhere, and to be about thirtie or fortie leagues wide in the
mouth of the straits where hee entered, hee thought hee had now
well discharged his office and done the thing which hee was sent to
doe, and that hee not being armed to resist the force of the salvage
people that might happen, hee therefore set sayle and returned
homewards againe towards Nona Spania^ where he arrived at
Acapuko, Anno 1592."

Puget sound, from Its western entrance near Port
Townsend to Its head waters at Olymxpia, Is eighty miles
in a direct line, and about one hundred and twenty miles
by the course generally navigated. North of the en-
trance at Port Townsend, and toward Bellingham bay,
there are several entrances through channels and groups
of islands to this sound, and ships of the largest size

''K •! All' J I'i V, . '

WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 6ig

can at all seasons and with all winds find an easy
entrance and exit to and from this magnificent sheet
of water.

Bellingham bay, which is fifty miles north of Port
Townsend, and which forms an opening into Puget
sound, is distant from Olympia one hundred and thirty
miles in a direct line; so that Puget sound proper is
about one hundred and thirty miles in length in an air-
line from its head waters to its northern entrance.
The sound has an average width of twenty-five miles,
sv/elling in its widest part to fifty miles. The general
course of the waters of the sound is from north to
south, and from the entrances to its Kead is a succession
of islands, some small, others containing thousands of
acres, and nearly all covered with oak, ash, fir, and
other timber, shrubbery, fern, and green grass, lending
a most picturesque and romantic appearance to this
lovely section. Innumerable channels, inlets, coves, and
small bays indent the mainland and the shores of the
islands within the sound, which, with the verdure of
the surrounding country, the stillness of the waters,
the dense and deep green forests rising upon either
side, and the venerable white heads of the mountains
in the background, not only make Puget sound one
of the finest and safest harbors in the world but a
scene of unsurpassed beauty.

Like the Strait of Fuca, Puget sound is uninterrupted
by either rocks, reefs, flats, or shoals — there not being
a single object of danger to navigation within the whole
length of a coast line, including islands, bays, and inlets,
of three thousand one hundred miles. In all this
length there is not an object to retard the progress of
the largest ocean-steamer, and in most places so deep

620 THE GOLDEN STATE,

is the water that the sides of the largest ship will
touch the banks before her keel will touch the bottom.
With but few exceptions the banks are clay, and the
beach white, hard sand and pebble. The water of the
sound is of crystal purity, and sixty fathoms deep in
many places, and in some parts bottom has not been
found with a hundred fathom line. There are several
streams running into the sound, but none of any mag-
nitude, and there is no bay or river at its head; but the
water of the ocean flows its whole length, making a
rise of twelve feet at neap tide and eighteen feet at
spring tide. At Olympia, the head of the v/aters, there
is quite a long mucl-fiat at low tide, but this is the only
place of this kind upon the whole sound. Indeed,
in most parts, the water is too deep for convenient
anchorage.

Ice is never seen in all the waters of Puget sound.
It is nevfer stormy upon this inland sea. There are no
strong currents, cross seas, gales, nor gusts of wind.
The climate is mild, the waters sheltered upon every
side, completely landlocked; and pure water, fish, game,
wood, and coal are abundant, making it one of the
safest and most convenient seaports in the world for
repairs and supplies. The waters of Puget sound are
navigated by steamers and ships, and steamers run
regularly to and from this point and California, Van-
couver island, and other places ; and fleets of domes-
tic and foreign vessels load with lumber and spars for
Europe, Asia, Australia, South America, Sandwich
islands, and California.

The climate of Puget sound and adjoining country is
mild and generally agreeable, never being too cold nor
too hot.' It is much like the climate of Oregon. Snow

WASHING TO X TERRITORY. 621

falls upon the mountain ridges and high lands ; and for
a few days in each winter a light coat of snow may fall
in some of the valleys, but is soon swept away by the
heat of the sun. Ice is formed upon the waters of the
northeastern portion of the Territoiy ; but throughout
the region upon the sea-coast and all the southern sec-
tion frost and snow are seldom seen. The ground is
never frozen. Vegetables grow the year round ; and
horses, sheep, and cattle graze at large throughout the
whole winter. Gardening is generally begun in March,
but vegetables and flowers grow every day In the year;
and farming is never interrupted by cold or frost. The
waters of Puget sound are never frozen, and the climate
of winter and summer differs but a few decrees — the

mean annual temperature being fifty degrees ; winter
temperature being fort}^-one degrees, and mean summer
sixt}'-two degrees. Yet this region is in the line of the
fort}'-ninth degree of north latitude. Is three degrees
farther north than the city of St. John, Newfoundland,
and the city of Quebec, Canada; and Is north of the
whole of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward
island, and the whole of the River St. Lawrence. But
Puget sound is seventy degrees west of St. John's,
Newfoundland, and fifty-two degrees west of Quebec,
and where the influence of the great interior line of the
Rocky mountains and the waters and breezes of the
Pacific ocean so subdue the rlsrors of winter as to make
the whole Pacific coast — at least as far as the forty-
ninth degree of north latitude — perpetual summer; and
even up to Behring strait, in the sixty-sixth degree of
north latitude, along the whole coast line, so mild that
snow rarely falls upon the low lands, and that heavy

62 2 THE GOLDEN STATE.

falls of cold rains with light frosts constitute the wintei
of this region on the sea-coast.

One of the chief features of Washington Territory Is
its vast forests. These consist of fir trees, which, in the
vicinity of Puget sound and the whole western portion
of the Territory, cover the greater part of the surface
and grow to a great size. The forest is dense ; the
trees straight, free from limbs, and generally carry their
thickness well toward the top, which is surmounted
v/ith a tuft of evergreen boughs. The timber is free
from knots, strong, and durable ; and is used generally
in house and ship building, and makes the finest masts
and spars in the world. The trees generally grow
from two hundred to two hundred and fifty feet in
height, and from four to ten feet in diameter ; and trees
are often found to crrow three hundred feet in height;
and at some of the mills on the sound, planks of two
hundred feet in length, clear, and entirely free of knots,
are cut. Lumbering, agriculture, and mining are the
chief occupations of the people ; and sawed and other
lumber finds a market in California, Mexico, South and
Central America, the Sandwich islands, and even in
Australia, China, Japan, and some parts of Europe.
With the great supply of timber, the fine harbors, and
genial climate of Washington Territory, it must at
some day become an important ship-building point.

It must not be understood that all the surface of
Washington Territory is covered with forest: on the
contrary, even in the vicinity of the sound, there are
many rich and beautiful valleys, and a considerable area
of excellent agricultural land ; and agricultural pursuits,
which are conducted m all parts of the Territory, show

WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 623

that the soil will produce abundantly of wheat, oats,
barley, vegetables, and fruit; and that timothy and
clover, neither of which will grow in California, except
in a few localities, grow most luxuriantly.

As a grazing country, Washington Territory Is equal
to any portion of America — the mild climate, native
grasses, and rich herbage making It a most desirable
place for horses, cattle, and sheep. Animals live in the
open air during the whole year, and, with the exception
of a few cold or stormy days In January In a few locali-
ties, experience little difficulty in supporting themselves
without the aid of man.

Wild game of almost every variety — elk, deer, bear,
swan, geese, ducks, crane, snipe, plover, grouse, and
many others — abound. Fur animals — seal, sea-otter,
otter, beaver, mink, fox, martin, and other varieties —
are abundant, and of good quality. The bays and
rivers are well stocked with fish, salmon of the finest
quality abounding In the Columbia and the waters of
Puget sound, and all the rivers of any size. Mines of
the precious and other metals are found, arid worked to
great advantage In many parts of the country. On
the tributaries of the Columbia, and throughout the
greater part of the eastern side of the Territory, gold and
silver mines, yielding annually one million dollars, are
worked with great profit. Rich deposits of copper and
iron have been discovered, and coal-beds of great ex-
tent and value abound in the whole country surround-
ing Puget sound and Belllngham bay. The country
generally Is well watered with dashing streams, and the
falls and cascades afford abundant motive power for the
future mechanical industries of this quarter. Wild
berries in great quantity and variety grow throughout

624 ^-^-^ GOLDEN STATE,

the Territor)^ and these, with the abundance of fish
and game, supplied the wants of the numerous Indian
tribes inhabiting this section. There are still large
numbers of Indians in Washington Territory, but, as
in most other quarters of the West, they are passing
away. Soon will the canoe of the red man be seen
upon the waters of Pjjget sound no more forever. The
coming shriek of the steam-whistle will sound the death-
knell of the Chinook, Shawnee^ Walla Walla, and Flat-
head throughout the forests and along the shores of
this western land.

The people of Washington Territory are chiefly
American, but there is a large number of other nation-
alities. It has not yet become dense enough to indulge
its members in all the vice of more populous places,
and the inhabitants are generally industrious and well
disposed. Churches, schools, libraries, and other evi-
dence of progress are to be found. The federal gov-
ernment has donated to the Territory three thousand
square miles of land for educational purposes, and a
territorial university is maintained at Seattle, on the
shores of Puget sound, and free schools are liberally
maintained throughout the country.

Washington is divided into twenty-one counties, with
the territorial capital at Olympia, at the head waters
of Puget sound. The population of the Territory in
1870 was 23,955, having mora than doubled during the
past ten years. Of the entire population, 18,931 were
native Americans, and 5,024 were of foreign birth.
There were 207 colored and 234 Chinese in the Terri-
tory at this period.

In 1870, there were in Washington Territory twenty-
five grist-mills, fifty-six saw-mills, one woollen factory,

%
WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 625

thirteen newspapers, and four public libraries, contain-
ino- an aggregate of nine thousand volumes; a terri-
torial university and several schools and churches.
There were at the same time within the Territory two
hundred thousand acres of improved land, and eleven
thousand horses, one thousand mules, fift}^ thousand
cattle, thirty-one thousand sheep, and fifteen thousand
hogs; and there were produced in this year four hun-
dred thousand bushels of wheat, three hundred thou-
sand bushels of barley, sixty-one thousand bushels of
oats, and thirty-one thousand tons of hay. The lumber
resources are almost inexhaustible, and of the very best
quality. Some idea of the extent of this trade may
be had from the fact that the small population of the
lumber districts in the vicinity of Puget sound manu-
factured, in 1870, one hn7tdred aiid ninety 7nillion feet,
furnishing cargoes for one hundred and thirteen ships,
one hundred and ninety-one barks, forty-five brigs, and
eighty-seven schooners, which found their way to all
parts of the Pacific coast, South and Central America,
Sandwich islands, Australia, East Indies, China, Japan,
and Europe.

Altogether — with the mild climate, rich mines, great
forests, navigable waters, agricultural and grazing lands,
and the large amount of the public domain yet open to
settlernent — Washington Territory is one of the most
desirable sections of America in which the immierant
can seek a home. Here is yet the virgin soil, primitive
forests, and great natural wealth for a prosperous and
populous State; and here, too, is the last remaining
available site in the United States for a orgeat maritime
commercial city on the shores of the magnificent inland

sea of Puget sound, inviting to its capacious bosom the
40

t
626 TI/£ GOLDEN STATE.

commerce of Asia and the North Pacific coast, and
standing In an almost direct line between the great pro-
ducing and consuming centres of the world — Europe
and Asia.

The No7Hhern Pacific railroad^ now being built from
Lake Superior to Puget sound, will, when finished,
draw to Its western terminus the nucleus of a great
city, develop the agricultural and mineral resources of
Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Northern Oregon, Wash-
ington Territory, and a great portion of the rich val-
leys of that portion of the Canadian dominion between
the lakes and the rocky mountains, rich In soil, min-
erals, and forests, the gold-fields and other resources
of British Columbia, and the gold and coal mines of
Alaska, and the vast fishing resources of the Pacific.

In considering the new national highway of the
North, it Is well to estimate Its advantages In Its com-
mercial and local influences, and also in its national
importance. Already the lakes of the Interior are con-
nected by water and rail with the Atlantic seaboard,
and the products of interior America find their way
to the ocean line and to Europe through these chan-
nels ; but farther toward the West — from the lakes to
the Pacific ocean — lies a vast region, mild in climate,
rich In soil, minerals, forests, and wonders, yet to be
brought under the dominion of man, and upon which
prosperous and vigorous States must yet be erected.

The section of country to be affected by the Northern
railroad is vastly superior In climate and natural re-
sources to the country between the Sierras and the
Rocky mountains, along the Union and Central Pacific
roads. An opinion prevails that, along the line of the
Northern road, cold must be Intense, and the obstruc-

WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 627

tioRs of snow formidable ; this notion is incorrect.
As you proceed north from the line of the Union and
Central Pacific roads the elevation decreases, gradually
falling from 8,235 feet at Sherman, in the Rocky
mountains, on the Union Pacific, and 7,042 feet at Sum-
mit, in the Sierras, to 4,950 feet at Deer Lodge Pass,
and 3,700 feet at Clark's river, on the line of the North
Pacific road in the Rocky mountains. These being the
highest points on the line of the roads mentioned, it
will thus be seen that, alone the line of the Northern
Pacific road, the elevation is at least three thousand feet
less than alono- the line of the Union and Central Pa-

cific roads. This depression continues from Lake
Superior to Puget sound on the Pacific, leaving a belt
runninof across the whole continent of from eisfht hun-
dred to a thousand miles in breadth lying from three
to four thousand feet lower than the ranp-e from San
Francisco to Chicago : forming a depression through
which, at least as far east as the Rocky mountains,
the mild trade-winds of the Pacific carry their influence,
renderinof the whole reofion from Puofet sound to the
Rocky mountains, and a great area of the territory of
British Columbia — even as far north as Lesser Slave
lake in the line of the fifty-sixth degree of north latitude
— milder in winter than the climate of the States of
Virorinia and Tennessee.

The new road to the Pacific beofins at the head of
Lake Superior, passing directly west between the forty-
sixth and fort}^-eighth degrees of latitude through the
centre of the State of Minnesota, through Dakota, In
the centre of which it crosses the Missouri river and a
succession of streams, forests, and fertile valleys; cross-
ing the whole length of ?^Iontana Territory, where, for

62 S THE GOLDEN STATE.

four hundred and fifty miles, It follows the valley of the
Yellowstone river, with its fertility, sterility, forests, des-
erts, lakes, water-falls, fire-holes, hot, mineral, and
other springs, and its famous geysers, presenting the
grandest combination of beauties and natural wonders
on the continent. Yellowstone Lake and the princi-
pal geysers lie directly in the line of the Northern
Pacific railroad and in the northwestern corner of
Wyoming Territory, close to the line of Montana, and
just east of the base of the Rocky mountains, and
directly In the forty-fifth degree of north latitude and
thirtv-three west longitude. Here, embracinof a vast
tract which Includes the water-falls, lakes, geysers, hot,
mud, sulphur, and other springs, w^ith the beautiful
scenery, the National Congress has made a reservation
for a public park, where the near future will witness
thousands of health and pleasure seekers enjoying the
finest natural scenery and grandest combination of
natural phenomena In America.

The park reserved by the national government Is
the largest reservation for public uses In the world,
being sixty-five miles In length and fifty-five miles In
breadth, or an area of 3,575 square miles. These vast
public grounds are under the supervision of a commis-
sioner appointed by the President of the United States;
and a large painting of the Yelloivstone caiion, to adorn
the walls of the national capitol, has recently been
completed.

At this park, the course of the road turns northwest
throuQfh the mineral districts of Montana, followinor the
eastern slope of the Rocky mountains, until, at Deer
Lodofe Pass, It crosses this ranore and follows on north-
west In that portion of Montana west of the Rocky

GREAT SPRING, FIRE-HOLE BASIN.

YZLLOWSTONE LAKE, WYOMING TERRITORY.
(Line of the Northern Pacific Railroad.)

WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 629

mountains until it reaches Missoule Mills, near the
eastern line of Idaho, where the road will branch, one
line keeping on northwest until, at the forty-ninth
parallel of north latitude, it crosses in a direct westerly
line the northern end of Idaho and Washington Terri-
tories, crossing the Columbia river, and on to Puget
sound, along the eastern shore of which it passes west-
ward to the great coal regions of Bellingham bay, close
to the British line. At jMissoule Mills, in the western
slope of Montana, where the road branches, one line
turns a little south of west, crossing Idaho, and, at its
western line, crosses the Snake river at Lewiston,
where it enters Washington Territory, and at old Fort
Walla Walla crosses the Columbia river, upon the
western side of which it passes through the fertile and
beautiful country of the Columbia for one hundred and
seventy miles to Fort Vancouver, thence turning di-
rectly west, following the river, reaches Kalama, on the
west bank of the Columbia, where it turns directly north
through the rich valley of the Cowlitz to Olympia, where
it joins the northern branch in its course westward to the
British boundary: making the entire line, from Duluth,
Lake Superior, by the branch via Vancouver, a total
distance of two thousand miles to Puget sound, and by
the northern branch, one thousand seven hundred and
seventy-five miles.

As a winter- road, it is fair to conclude that no greater
interruptions from snow will be experienced than pre-
vail in any of the Atlantic States; the whole line of
road, from Duluth to Puget sound, has but an average
elevation of two thousand two hundred feet, and the
fall of snov/ is much less than it is one thousand miles
farther south. In the whole len^^th of the Union Pacific

630 THE GOLDEN STATE.

road, from Chicago to San Francisco, during the severe
winter of 187 1-2, the only obstruction by snow was in
the rano^e of the Rockv mountains, at an elevation of
from seven thousand four hundred to eight thousand
feet above the sea, not an hour's obstruction occurring
on any point as low as the highest point on the line of
the Northern Pacific road.

The national government, comprehending the import-
ance of this international hiohwav, has aided its construe-
tion by donating to it almost twenty-three thousand acres
per mile, or fifty million acres of land in the aggregate.

The Northern Pacific road will make the route
between Liverpool and the ports of Asia one thousand
four hundred miles shorter than any line now travelled,
and place the great lakes of the interior and the Pacific
ocean almost seven hundred miles closer together than
the line of the Union Pacific ; and New^ York city three
hundred and thirty-five miles nigher to Puget sound
than to San Francisco. This northern road will be the
natural outlet for the business soon to be developed in
the rich valleys of the Red river, the head of the Mis-
souri, Yellowstone, Assiniboin, and Saskatchewan, east
of the Rocky mountains, and the rich fields of gold and
agriculture in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washing-
ton Territory ; and its terminus at Puget sound will be
the connectinor link of the immense Asiatic and Pacific
trade passing east of the Rocky mountains, which will
include the whalinof and other fishino- interests of the
Pacific, soon to find their natural depot in the splendid
and genial harbor of Puget sound.

From Lake Superior to the waters of the Pacific in
Washington Territor)^on both sides of the Rocky moun-
tains, is a vast region of unsurpassed fertility, where

WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 63 1

wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, most of the hardier fruits,
and every variety of berries and vegetables grow most
abundantly : a deep, rich soil, millions of acres of which
are ready for the plow ; forests of beauty and value,
wide grazing ranges, rivers, lakes, and mines rich in
gold, silver, copper, coal, and other minerals, almost
entirely unoccupied. Here new communities and new
States must be built; here is room enough for fifty
million people. Who can contemplate the future great-
ness of the new States of this region, and the national
importance of Its hidden treasures being brought close
to our crowded centres by the tireless iron horse, whose
ambition sets at defiance the rocks, ridges, and forests
of the Rocky mountains I

632 THE GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

BRITISH COLUMBIA.

Geography — History — Hudson Bay Company — Area — Islands —
Mountains — Rivers — Lakes — Forests — Climate — Agriculture —
Valleys — Seasons — Rain — Bays — Harbors — Inlets — Natural re-
sources— Gold and other minerals — Cities — Customs — Population
— Natives — Commerce — Canadian railway.

British Columbia Is that portion of the Dominion of
Canada lying west of the Rocky mountains, and washed
on the west by the Pacific ocean. This Is the only
portion of the whole possessions of Great Britain en
the Pacific, and embraces, besides the mainland of
British Columbia, a number of Islands in the Pacific,
embracing Vancouver, in itself three hundred miles
in length and sixty miles wide, Queen Charlotte, and
numerous other islands, many of them of great size,
and possessing valuable forests, a genial climate, abun-
dance of fish in their waters, and game, and mines of
gold, silver, copper, coal, and other minerals within
their area.

The colony of British Columbia was formerly a por-
tion of that vast region known as the Hudson Bay
Company's territory, which extended from Lake Supe-
rior west and north to the Pacific and the Arctic oceans,
and included at one time Orecron and Washinofton
Territory, over all of which region the dominion of this
once mighty company was absolute in commercial and
military affairs, and in a portion of which the Hudson
Bay Company still conducts their fur trade to considera-
ble extent.

c
c

C.
C

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%

I— I

I— (

BRITISH COLUMBIA. 6^^

The present limits of British Columbia are west by
the Pacific ocean and a portion of Alaska, north by the
Arctic ocean, east by the Rocky mountains, and south
by Washington Territory, in the forty-ninth degree of
north latitude. From this point toward the northwest,
the colony of British Columbia has a direct frontage of
six hundred miles on the Pacific ; here a long tongue
of Alaska, of six hundred miles In length and a hun-
dred miles wide, extends along the coast toward the
southeast, and cutting ofT six hundred additional miles
of coast line from the colony. The total area of British
Columbia, which now includes Vancouver Island (lately
a separate colony) and a multitude of other islands,
is estimated at three hundred thousand square miles.

British Columbia is a succession of mountain chains,
rugged peaks, plains, fertile valleys, dense forests, lakes,
creeks, and dashing rivers, all making a varied, wild,
and picturesque country, and, although still almost In
its primitive condition, very desirable In many sections,
affording rich agricultural fields and wide pasture-
ranges, where cattle, horses, and sheep graze at large
throughout the entire year. In the interior, and toward
the eastern line of the colony, the mountains are high,
and many peaks are perpetually clad In snow ; but
toward the Pacific side but little snow falls, and on the
immediate coast line and the islands the climate Is mild
- — milder than in any portion of the States of Virginia,
Maryland, or Tennessee; and the same warm winds
and ocean currents from the Pacific, which temper the
whole seaboard of California, Oregon, and Washington
Territory, keep the climate of the coast range of this
section most inviting — so mild In winter that vegetables
grow throughout the whole year, and so cool, yet so

634 ^^-^ GOLDEN STATE.

charminnf, that the dimate of the coast Hne and the
islands is invioj-oratlnof and delicrhtful. In the o^reater
portion of British Columbia, both islands and mainland,
along the coast west of Washinq^ton Territory, the
winter temperature varies little from an average of 40°;
spring, 48°; summer, 62°; autumn, 50°; and the annual
temperature, 51°. Rains fall in this section about the
same as in Oregon and Washington Territory, being
dispersed more generally through all the seasons of
the year than along the southern Pacific coast. About
sixty inches of rain falls along the coast during the
year, the greater part falling from November to April,
the rest of the year being comparatively dry.

Along the sea-coast of the colony and the islands
are the most charminor navicjable waters in the world.
On the east end of Vancouver island, and followed up
to the Gulf of Georgia, is the charming inlet, so placid,
the Strait of Juan de Fuca, separating Vancouver island
from Washington Territory on the east; thence along
the mainland, with Vancouver, Queen Charlotte, and
other islands to the south, is a direct line of six hundred
miles, indented witb innumerable bays, harbors, rivers,
inlets, and sounds, including Burard inlet, Howe sound,
Jarvis canal, Toba inlet, Bute inlet, Vancouver and
Queen Charlotte straits, and many others of great
magnitude, with high, hanging, rugged mountain peaks,
some bald and stern, others clad in perpetual verdure
of forest trees, grasses and herbs, which mirror their
beauties in the still waters, upon which float the fleets
of Indian canoes, freighted with fish, furs, ivory, and
bone for their commercial patrons — the Hudson Bay
Company. In climate, beautiful waters, capacious har-
bors, and safe anchorage, and wild, charming scener)^

BRITISH COLUMBIA. 635

this coast IS not surpassed on the continent. In all the
rivers and bays salmon and other fish, of great size and
superior quality, abound; and valuable fishing-grounds
of cod, halibut, and other deep-sea fish exist off the
coast. In the interior, elk, deer, bear, otter, martin, fox,
mink, geese, ducks, trout, and a great variety of game
of birds and beasts, and valuable fur-bearing animals,
are found.

In the interior of the colony many mountain peaks
rise to great height, and are clad perpetually in snow.
The Rocky mountains, forming its eastern boundary,
are known In the colony as Selkirk mountains. Here,
in latitude fifty-three north. Mount Brov/n stands six-
teen thousand feet above the sea, and Mount Hooker
has an elevation of fifteen thousand seven hundred feet.
The course of the Rockymountains is northward through
the country until finally they reach the ice-bound shores
of the Arctic ocean. So with the Sierra Nevada ranee
in this region, although passing under other names, run
through the whole length of the colony, parallel with
the Rocky mountains, bearing with them their rich
freight of the precious metals so abundantly diffused in
the rich gold-mines of Cariboo, the Frazer, Thompson,
and other rivers of British Columbia.

Forests of c^reat maornitude and value, consistinof
chiefly of fir, oak, cedar, and ash, abound in many parts
of the country, and the fir trees often reach a height
of from two to three hundred feet, straight and free
from limbs, making a superior quality of lumber. The
fish, fur, and lumber interests of the colony are very
valuable ; while coal on Vancouver and other islands,
and on the mainland, is abundant and of superior
quality. Iron, lead, copper, gold, and silver also exist,

03 6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

and the rich gold-mines developed in 1858 have con-
tinued to yield abundantly, not being surpassed in rich-
ness even in California or Australia. These mines are
chiefly worked in the beds of the rivers, and banks and
sand-bars on the Frazer, Thompson, and other rivers
and their various branches, which produce free gold of
great purity, and of late years quartz veins of great
richness have been opened. During the last fourteen
years the gold-mines of British Columbia have steadily
yielded rich rewards to those engaged, (of course all
do not succeed,) and, with about two thousand men
employed, the mines now produce over two million
dollars annually, and rich discoveries in bank, river, and
quartz are being constantly made ; indeed, the country
has not yet been fairly prospected for the precious
metals, and centuries hence will find hundreds of mil-
lions of dollars of gold produced from the mountains
and gulches of British Columbia.

For stock-raising, the colony has many advantages
in its wide ranges, covered with nutritious bunch-grass
which grows luxuriantly, and its well-sheltered valleys
and hill-sides rich in herbage and pasture ; and in the
valleys of Bonaparte, Thompson, Nicola, and Frazer
rivers, more than twenty thousand head of cattle run
at large throughout the whole year, grazing upon the
rich natural meadows of the country.

British Columbia is well watered by numerous rivers,
lakes, and creeks. The Frazer river is the chief one
of the colony. It has its source high in the western
slope of the Rocky mountains, close to the fifty-fifth
degree of north latitude, running in a southerly direc-
tion until, nearly opposite the eastern end of Vancouver
island, it empties into the Gulf of Georgia, about four-

BRITISH COLUMBIA. 637

teen miles north of the hne of Washington Territory,
and passes into the Pacific ocean. This river is more
than one thousand five hundred miles from its source
to its mouth, and is navigable for large steamers for
one hundred miles, and for an additional hundred miles
for steamers of light draught; but its course is gener-
ally over a very rough country, forming falls and rapids;
and the melting snows of the interior so swell its cur-
rent that at times, as it passes over its precipitate bed,
and through deep, dark, and narrow gorges in the
mountains, it is fearful, as in its mad career it forms
eddies and whirlpools, which form deep holes, roaring
and twirling as they suck down large floating trees,
whirling, crashing, and tearing limbs and bark off
Such periods are very dangerous for small boats and
canoes, many of which were, during the eventful gold
excitement of 1858-9, with their whole crews, swallowed
in those dreaded whirlpools.

The material growth of the colony is not yet very
great. For almost a centur}^ the country has been the
great centre of the Hudson Bay Company, an English
fur company of great magnitude and influence, which
maintained their trading -posts from Labrador to the
Pacific ocean, and still hold a footing in the country.
At Forts Langley, Hope, and Yale, on the Frazer river,
and at Victoria, Vancouver island, this company had
maintained villages and posts of importance before the
discovery of gold in 1858 ; from which points, by steam-
ers and sail, the goods for traffic with the Indians found
their way direct from London, and the annual and valu-
able cargo of furs found an outlet on its way to Eng-
land. At Victoria, which is on the eastern end of Van-
couver island the Hudson Bay Company had, long

638 THE GOLDEN STATE.

before the gold excitement of 1858-9, laid out, upon \
beautifully situated elevation, at the waters of the har-
bor of Victoria, the site of the present city of Victoria,
now the capital of British Columbia. At that period,
a strong- fort, with upright posts of large hewn logs, of
a height of fifty feet, with rifle-pits and mounted guns,
were maintained around the large enclosure containing
the officers' quarters, storehouses, merchandise, and
furs ; and one or two steamers carried on the business
of the company between this point and all parts of the
coast. The officers of the company here, as well as
throughout the whole coast, were chiefly Scotchmen,
who worked their way overland from Canada at an
early day, and, in their long sojourn in the wilderness,
had married and intermarried with the native Indians;
thus at once securing the friendship of the natives,
facilitating traffic, and adapting the family-circle to the
primitive order of life in their new rural homes. The
late Doctor McLaughlin, of Oregon City, Oregon, a
gentleman of high character and attainments, so long
the head-factor of the Hudson Bay Company on the
Pacific, and James Douglass, now Sir James Douglass,
long head-factor at Victoria, and late Governor of Van-
couver island, both married Indian squaws and raised
families, who were educated in Europe, and, on their
return to their forest homes, married with the whites.
I do not know of a single case where any of the officers
or employes of this company married a white woman :
all took wives of the Indian tribes of the coast or
interior.

Victoria, in 1857, had a population of about one
hundred persons. In 1858, so great was the excitement
respecting the gold discoveries on Frazer river that

BRITISH COLUMBIA, 639

real estate in San Francisco fell more than a hundred
per cent, in a few months, and great depression was
experienced throughout California. Four or five large
ocean-steamers were employed to their utmost capacity
to convey passengers and freight from San Francisco
to Victoria, where more than sixty thousand gold- hunters
had assembled in a few months, and the city of Victoria
assumed scenes of excitement equalled only by San
Francisco in 1849. The whole hill in the vicinity of
the old Hudson bay fort and stores was for miles dotted
with tents, as if a great army had invaded the land, and
the great steamers, piles of goods, large booths of com-
merce, drinking-saloons, gambling-houses, dance-houses,
real estate and merchandise auctions, with the excite-
ment of building boats and buying canoes, (a passage
of from a hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty
miles across the Gulf of Georgia, and thence up the
Frazer river, had to be made before the mines were
reached, and this in small open boats, most perilous
both from the sea and the hostile Indians from the
north,) all excited, racing to and fro, carrying boards,
bundles, mining-tools, bedding, provisions, clothing,
tents, whiskey, and every conceivable article, in their
mad rush alike astonished the quiet Hudson bay men,
who thought the whole world had gone mad, and the
natives, who, awe-stricken, saw more men than they
thoupfht had existed in the whole world. After a while
these awe-stricken Indians began to learn their own
power, and tribes of red-haired savages from Queen
Charlotte island and the whole coast came down in
their immense wood canoes, (some of which are fifty
and sixty feet In length, of the finest lines of a clipper
ship, and carrying fifty to one hundred Indians,) and,

640 THE GOLDEN STATE.

lying in wait in the Strait of Fuca, Belli ngham bay, the
Gulf of Georgia, and Frazer river, would attack small
boats, rob them of their valuables, and murder all on
board. Scores of these deluded gold-hunters, in 1858-9,
lost their lives In this way, to say nothing of the loss
by small, frail boats swamping In the rough waters of
the gulf and In Frazer river. The Chinese were ob-
jects of hatred, being regarded as bad Indians, and put
to death at every opportunity. Victoria built up to a
city of ten or twelve thousand people, In 1859, but soon
the miners began to return In great distress and poverty.
Goods In Victoria were only half the prices they had
cost in San Francisco ; real estate fell five hundred
per cent, in a few months ; the city was almost depopu-
lated, and has since remained a city of emptiness, with
five houses empty for every one occupied. It now
presents a desolate aspect, with but little prospect of
immediate improvement. The population Is about
four thousand, nearly half of whom are Americans.
Churches, schools, and a theatre are maintained; and a
line of steamers runs regularly between San Francisco
and Victoria, and also between Olympia, Puget sound,
and other ports, and this place. The harbor at Victoria
is small, and not accessible to vessels of great draught;
but about four miles west of Victoria, on the south
side of the island, Is the harbor of Esqulmalt, small,
but with deep water, and overhanging with dense fir
forests and rocks, making it well sheltered. Here all
large vessels, as well as the ships of the British navy In
this quarter, enter. Farther west, on the south side
of the island, are the expansive waters of Barclay Inlet,
Nootka sound, and other harbors. On the northeastern
end of the Island, a little north of Victoria, Is the village

BRITISH COLUMBIA. 64 1

of Nanaimo, where extensive coal-mines are operated,
the product of which, with the BelHngham bay coal of
Washington Territory, finds a market in San Francisco
and other sections of the coast. Between the ea.st end
of Vancouver island and Puoret sound is the small island
of San Juan, of little importance except as an object of
contention between England and America to deter-
mine the water-line through the Gulf of Georgia and
Strait of Fuca, an i to maintain a few lazy soldiers of
both countries in the "joint occupancy" of the island.*

Victoria is a free port, and about one thousand
vessels enter and depart annually. All this section of
country — its trade, natural wealth, and future develop-
ment— naturally belong to the great port of Puget
sound, and must eventually redound to the direct in-
terest of that section and the Northern Pacific railroad.

The population of the colony of British Columbia
consists of about ten thousand whites and fifty thousand
Indians, half-breeds, and mixtures between Indians and
white men. The chief hunting and labor about the
Hudson Bay Company's establishment are done by the
Indians. Some of the tribes are very numerous and
powerful; the men are tall, muscular, and large boned,
skin about copper color, and long, flowing black hair,
except that some of the tribes from the far northwest
coast and Queen Charlotte island, who often visit Vic-
toria in larore canoes with their freights of fish, furs,

* On the 24th of October, 1872, the Emperor William, of Germany, to whom
England and the United States had submitted the final settlement of the ownership
of San Juan island, rendered his decision, making the Canal De Haro the line
between British Columbia and Washington Territory; thus establishing the title
of the United States to San Juan island. And on the 22d of November, 1S72,
the British troops evacuated the island, leaving the Americans in full possession
of San Juan,
41

642 THE GOLDEN STATE.

bone, squaws, pappooses, and wolf-dogs, are very
light colored, with smooth, copper-colored skin, and
flowing hair, quite red. Few of the tribes ever molest
the employes of the Hudson Bay Company, most of
whom speak the language of the natives as their own,
and are connected by marriage with some of the tribes;
but w^ith Americans and others they are unreliable,
deceitful, and murderous.

About Victoria, Frazer river, and all parts of Puget
sound, are found numbers of the Flathead Indians.
The head is made flat while the child is young, by lash-
ing it on a board on its back and lashing another
board tight over the forehead, pressing the back of the
head and the front above the eyebrows flat, running to
a broad, sharp point at the top, so that, if they put on a
hat, it must go on crosswise. The child remains on the
board until the skull forms hard in its shape. God,
they say, was Flathead.

The condition upon which British Columbia entered
the Canadian confederation was, that the latter would,
not later than July, 1873, commence the construction
of the Canada Pacific railway, connecting the lakes and
the St. Lawrence river with the Pacific side of British
Columbia ; which road will be about 2,700 miles in
length, commencing at Lake Nippung, near Georgiana
bay, and must be completed within ten years after its
commencement. The government of Canada and the
government of British Columbia have donated to this
international highway of the north large tracts of land,
consisting of alternate blocks of twenty miles in depth,
along the line of the road ; besides this, the Dominion
government makes an appropriation of twenty million
dolla7's.

MUD VOLCANO, YELLOWSTONE REGION, WYOMING TERRITORY.
(Line of the Northern Pacific Railrod.)

LOWER 1 ALLS Uh' THE YELLOWSTONE, WYOMING TERRITORY,
(350 feet in height. Line of the Northern Pacific Railroad,)

BRITISH COLUMBIA, 643

In addition to the main line, two branches will be
built — one from the main line to Lake Superior, and one
from Manitoba to the American boundary, where a
road already connects with Duluth, at the head of Lake
Superior. The Pacific terminus of this road must be
on the narrow tongue of land between the Frazer river
and the northern line of Washington Territory, at
which point it will be connected with the Northern
Pacific railroad, now building ; and that Washington
Territory must eventually receive more direct benefit
from this Canadian road than British Columbia must
be clear to all familiar with the geography of the two
sections.

The completion of the Northern Pacific and the
Canadian Pacific railroads will open up the rich agri-
cultural and mineral resources of the vast region from
the great lakes to the Pacific ocean, and inaugurate new
channels of commerce and new organized communities,
soon to join in the union of States from the Arctic to
the Rio Grande.

644 "^^^ GOLDEN STATE.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

ALASKA.

History — Geography — Area — Mountains — Forests — Rivers — Seas
— Bays — Harbors — Islands — Climate — Seasons — Mines — Natives
— Fish — Animals — Fur-seals — Commerce — Population — Towns
— Progress — Religion — Future prospects.

Alaska, formerly known as Russian America, em-
braces the extreme northwestern end of the continent
of America; bounded on the north by the Arctic ocean
and on the west by the Pacific ocean and Behring
strait, which separates it from Siberia and Asiatic
Russia, from which at the narrowest point in the
strait it is distant but about twenty miles. On the
Arctic side, the eastern line terminates at Demarkation
Point in the line of the one hundred and forty-first
clegfree of w^est longitude from Greenwich, which course
it follows south, dividing the Territory of Alaska from
British Columbia on the east, until it reaches Mount
St. Elias, about sixty miles from the Pacific ocean, where
it turns southeast, and in an irregular line follows the
course of the coast, leaving a belt of mountain chain
of about an averao^e width of one hundred miles and
about five hundred miles in length, until It reaches the
one hundred and thirtieth degree of west longitude, a
little north of Simpson river, and enters the Pacific
ocean north of Graham and Queen Charlotte islands,
thus cutting a strip of about one hundred miles in
breadth and five hundred miles lone off the western
shore of British Columbia. From this point, in a
southwesterly direction, the coast line of Alaska on the

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ALASICA. 645

Pacific is a succession of bays, rivers, sounds, inlets,
and islands, forming a chain of abrupt, rugged, irreg-
ular coast of more than seventeen thousand miles in
extent alone the waters of the Pacific, followinof all the
principal inlets and island lines until it reaches Behring
strait. Chief among the islands are Prince of Wales,
New Archangel, Sitka, and Kodiak, all east of the
peninsula of Alaska, and the extensive groups of
islands known as the Aleutian islands, extendinor throuorh
thirty degrees of longitude, and reaching almost across
the Pacific ocean toward Copper and Behring islands
on the Asiatic coast off the shore of Kamschatka.
This vast chain of islands, more than a hundred in
number, form a half-circle to the north, leaving between
it and Behring strait, Bristol bay, and Behring sea,
into which empties the Great Yukon, one of the
mightiest rivers on the American continent, carrying in
its course deposits which form at its mouth the greatest
moorland in America, and gradually decreasing the
depth of water in Behring sea. In the semicircle
formed to the north by this chain of islands, and twelve
degrees ofT the mouth of Bristol bay in Behring sea,
are the islands of St. George and St. Paul, so famous
for their valuable fur-seals.

This terra incognita of the Northwest is yet totally
unexplored ; and although its coast line on the Pacific
has been long the active field of the Russian American
Fur Company, and the whaling fleets of the United
States, and more recently of the American fur-seal
hunters and fishermen of the Pacific coast, but little
has been seen of the vast interior region of this country,
embracing an area of more than Jive Jmndred tJiousand
square miles.

646 THE GOLDEN STATE.

The early voyages of the Russian navigators, Beh-
ring, Tschirikoff, and others, and the occupation of the
Aleutian Islands and the mainland by Russian merchants
from Eastern Siberia, had given title of the country
to the Russian nation, which, by treat}?" with Great
Britain, In 1825, established its eastern boundary as
now defined. Carteret, Byron, Willis, La Perouse,
Quadra, Vancouver, and many other early navigators,
had explored the coast of Alaska ; and the famous Cap-
tain Cook, in his voyage round the world, had explored
much of the coast and many of the islands of this
remote region. So, too, the search for the lamented
Sir John Franklin and his party drew to the western
shore of this section Moore, Kellet, Colllson, McClure,
and others, who have familiarized to us many of the
important points, bays, and Inlets of this quarter, as
Point Barrow, Point Franklin, Icy cape, Cape LIsburne,
Point Hope, Kotsebue sound. Cape Prince of Wales,
Porte Clarence, Norton sound. Cape Romanzov, Cook
straits, and Bristol bay, all north of the Alaska penin-
sula and the Aleutian group.

Alaska, formerly known as Russian America, had,
from its discovery by the early Russian navigators,
been in the possession of the Russian empire, whose
dominions extend throughout so vast a portion of
Europe and Asia. On the i8th of October, 1867, the
government of the United States, by private purchase,
and the payment of seven million two hundred thou-
sand dollars In gold, received at Sitka, from the com
missloners, formal possession and acquired title to
Alaska, taking all the rights of the government and
the control of the people; leaving to the latter, how-
ever, by stipulation of the 30th of March, 1867, the

ALASKA. 647

right to remain in the country and become citizens of
the new republican government erected over the late
dominions of the Czar in America, or to return to the
Russian empire. The language of the conditions is :

"The inhabitants of the ceded Territory, according to their
choice, reserve their natural allegiance, may return to Russia within
three years ; but if they should prefer to remain in the ceded Ter-
ritory, they (with the exception of the uncivilized tribes) shall be
admitted to the enjoyment of all the rights, advantages, and immu-
nities of citizens of the United States, and shall be maintained and
protected in the free enjoyment of their liberty, property, and
religion. The uncivilized tribes will be subject to such laws and
regulations as the United States may from time to time adopt in
regard to aboriginal tribes in the country."

Thus the United States, in the possession of the vast
Territory from Behring strait and the Arctic ocean to
British Columbia on the west, and from the Atlantic
and the Gulf of Mexico on the south and east, presses
hard its British neighbor on flank and rear; and, as the
imperial eagles of the Czar took flight before the stars
and stripes on Alaska's lonely shores, so the British
lion, before the advance of the new freedoms of the re-
public and the growing power and progress of America,
must soon leave his lair and join in the new order of
national freedom, ultimately embracing the whole con-
tinent of America north of the Isthmus of Panama, with
the future canal of Darien as the southern boundary
of the republic.

The interior of Alaska is rough, mountainous, and
wild in the extreme. The great range of the Rocky
mountains, which, from Patagonia to the Arctic ocean,
passes through the whole length of the continent,
reaches the Arctic through British Columbia, as does the
Sierra Nevada range; but successions of jagged peaks

64S THE GOLDEN STATE.

and ranges dot the country, and along the entire coast
of the Pacific a high range of mountains, from eight to
ten thousand feet above the sea, covered with dense
forests and enveloped In snows and fogs, lends a wild
and uninviting aspect to the country. In this range
stands the famous Mount St. Ellas, in latitude 60° 22'
and longitude 140° 54', elevated seventeen thousand
nine hundred feet, overshadowing every mountain in
America north of Popocatapetl, Mexico. Here, too, is
situated Mount Fairvveather, fourteen thousand seven
hundred feet in height. Both these mountains are clad
in perpetual snow and are seen at a great distance,
standing above all other mountains and above the tall,
dense forests. Both these mountains Indicate marked
evidence of their unquenched interior volcanic forces.
In the year 1839, Mount St. Ellas emitted volumes of
smoke, and, in 1847, flames and ashes. At this time
there was a general volcanic disturbance of the earth
on the whole Pacific coast north of Mount Baker, and
throuehout the Aleutian islands evidences of the for-
mer existence of destructive volcanoes and earthquakes
are still apparent. ■

Alaska is well supplied with timber, and along a
great portion of the coast are valuable forests of fir,
oak, ash, cedar, and many other varieties. The cedar
of Alaska grows to a great size, and is superior to
almost any other wood in cabinet and house work.
The Aleutian chain and all the other Islands north of
the peninsula of Alaska are destitute of forest or other
trees, the natives building their huts of mud and stone,
and using for fuel bone and the stray driftwood they
pick up upon the shores, and building their canoes of
skins.

NATIVES HOUSEBUILDING, ALASKA.

SKIN CANOE AND INDIANS, ALASKA.

III ll'; ' "'!':::tif'J!il! I lliu^

ALASICA. 649

Rivers of orreat extent and dashino- streams course
from the Interior mountains, and find their way, through
rough gulches and long valleys, to the Pacific and Arc-
tic oceans. The Yukon, one of the greatest rivers
on the American continent, has its source in British
Columbia, In longitude one hundred and thirty west, and
with its ten mouths empties Into Behring sea near Nor-
ton sound, In the sixty-fifth degree of west longitude;
and, In its serpentine course, Is more than four thousand
five hundred miles in length, often swelling to four and
even ten miles In width In Its numerous arms, dotted
with Islands, and is navigable for many thousand miles
from Its mouth. The Meloze, Porcupine, Nu'ato, and
other streams oi magnitude empty Into the Yukon. A
great part of the Yukon passes through a low country,
and broad, low valleys, with willows, shrubs, and rich
meadows of fine pasture-ranges, skirt it on either side,
where vast herds of deer graze throughout the year.
South of the Yukon is the Kouskoqulm river, with Its
numerous branches, extending three hundred and fifty
miles into the interior; and south of the Aleutian penin-
sula are a number of rivers of considerable mas^nltude,
with interior valleys and rich forests. The Suschlna,
emptying into Cook's inlet, is more than two hundred
and fifty miles in length, and the Copper river over
two hundred miles ; and the Stekin, whose mouth is
directly east of the Island of SIka, extends into British
Columbia three hundred miles.

So far as yet ascertained, Alaska possesses but little
attractions for immigrants or capacity for agriculture.
Along the Pacific coast some small valleys which will
produce vegetables, oats, and barley, are found; but it
is all far north of the line where wheat-ofrowincr or

650 THE GOLDEN STATE.

creneral agriculture could be successfully prosecuted.
The summer seasons are short, damp, and cloudy, the
rainfall at Sika and vicinity being about ninety inches
per annum, the greatest in any part of the world ; As-
toria, Orecron, comes next with an annual fall of
seventy- eight inches. From Behring strait to the
eastern line of Alaska, on the sea-coast, but little snow
falls; and although a portion of this range is as far north
as Greenland, yet the warm currents and winds from
Asia so modify the climate that in many portions of the
low valleys vegetation is green all winter, and cattle
could live at lar^e without the aid of man. Alaska is ,
particularly valuable for its forests of valuable timber,
mines yet to be developed — coal, gold, silver, copper,
and other minerals — its game, and inland and water
fur-bearing animals, and its valuable and vast fishing
interests.

Throughout the whole interior, on the banks of the
Yukon and other rivers, and the islands, the Russian
American Fur Company — a large body of Russian
merchants, incorporated by royal authority in 1 799 —
has built its posts, and for almost a century prosecuted
a most extensive and profitable fur-trade. (The com-
pany existed many years before its incorporation.)
Martin, sable, mink, otter, beaver, and other furs ob-
tained, abound in the interior, and sea-otter and the
valuable fur-seal are found on the islands and coast.
Some idea of the extent of the Russian American Fur
Company may be learned from the fact that two large
steamers, several small ones, eight brigs and barques,
and numerous small boats, were constantly employed,
and about ten thousand Russians, Aleuts, and Esqui-
maux were eno^aeed on the coast and islands, and six

ALASITA, 651

thousand Koloschlans eno^aored In trafficklnor with the
interior tribes for this company. The annual produc-
tions of the company amounted to more than a million
dollars.

The islands of St. George and St. Paul, In 57° north,
longitude 170° west, off the mouth of Bristol bay, In
Behring sea, are the resort of the fur-seal, so long so
valuable a source of profit to the Russian American
Fur Company, and now, by act of Congress, made a
source of revenue to the federal government. By this
act, approved July i, 1870, the government grants to
the Alaska Commercial Company, composed of capital-
ists of San Francisco and New York, the exclusive
right to take fur-seal on the Islands of St. George and
St. Paul for the term of twenty years, from the ist of
May, 1870, at an annual rent of fifty-five thousand dol-
lars, and a tax or duty of two dollars and sixty-two and
a half cents on each skin sold or shipped, and fifty-five
cents on each gallon of seal oil, with twenty-five thou-
sand dried salmon and other articles annually to the
natives. The number of skins collected annually Is
restricted to one hundred thousand, which must be taken
during the months of June, July, September, and Oc-
tober of each year. Provision Is made, however, for
the natives of the Islands being housed, clothed, fed,
and educated, and for their taking, at all seasons, such
seals lor food or clothing as may be necessary. The
late Major-General Thomas, In his official report on his
visiting St. Paul and St. George In 1869, said:

''The number of seals on the islands, after the young are born,
is estimated all the way from ^z;^ to fifteen million; but they are
countless, lying in the rookeries y covering hundreds of acres , like sheep
if I apen^

652 ' THE GOLDEN STATE.

The habits of these seals are peculiar. About the
last of April, or early part of May, the old male seals
come from the south, and land upon St. George and
St. Paul, (the only islands inhabited by them.) After
thoroughly examining the coast and interior of the
islands for several days, soon millions begin to arrive,
and, forming themselves into families, or colonies, led
by the old males, they slowly make their way to the
rookeries or secluded portions of the interior. The
able-bodied males form a circle, inside of w^iich they
guard the females, keeping the young and the super-
annuated males on the outside. The object seems to
be to protect the females and their young. Fierce bat-
tles ensue between the guardians of the families, and
also with them and the old and young male seals kept
on the outer circle.

Under the regulations of killing these seals, only the
young and old males on the outer circle are taken.
The native hunters, armed with clubs, make their way
along the outer circle of the families, and drive toward
the interior the males on the outside of the families.
Sometimes they drive them one or two miles; here,
out of the range of the families, they slaughter them by
striking them on the head with their clubs, secure all
the skins they can, and return the next day, to repeat
the same operation, until the desired supply is obtained.
The old males still keep guard over the females and
their young until the young are able to take to the
water freely, when all make for the shore and sport on
the rocks and in the waters, all mingling again indis-
criminately, and remaining on the islands and on their
shores until September or October, when suddenly
they head south, abandon the islands, and are seen no

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ALASKA. 653

more until the following spring, when, as before, they
repeat their family gatherings and births in the rook-
eries of St. Paul and St. George. It is not known where
they go nor whence they come; doubtless they seek
refuge in some of the islands off the Asiatic coast.

The fur of these seals is very dark, fine, soft, and
beautiful, like the finest black silk velvet, with a
golden shade toward the skin. Long, coarse gray hairs
stand out above this fine coat, and all skins are pick-
elled, sent to London, England, (the only part of the
world where they are dressed,) where, by a process of
operating on the flesh side, all the long hairs are ex-
tracted, and the skins dressed, leaving a soft, beautiful ,
plush of great value and highly prized.

Considering the great importance of the whale,
walrus, sea-otter, salmon, cod, and other fisheries of
Alaska, and the needed development of the resources
of the country, both the constitutionality and the equity
of the national government giving absohtte and exclusive
control of the islands of St. George and St. Paul, their
valuable fur-seals and inhabitants, into the hands of a
few capitalists, to tlie exclusion of all other citizens of
the republic, may well be seriously questioned. The
fur seal-skins which a few years since could be bought
of the natives of the Aleutian islands for a dollar apiece
are now sold when dressed, throughout the United
States, at tweiity-five dollars each and upwards.

The fur-seal of Alaska is. not found in any other
part of America. The seal so numerous off the coast
of Newfoundland and vicinity, taken on the ice by
fleets of steamers and vessels annually, are the common
hair seal, brown and spotted — the skin and oil of each
being worth only about three dollars.

654 "^^^ GOLDEN STATE,

The population of Alaska is estimated at fifty thou-
sand, less than two thousand of whom are white. On
the cession of the country to the United States nearly
all the Russian population left the country for St.
Petersburg and Siberia ; but a few, however, still remain
in the country. The Indian tribes composing the popu-
lation are numerous, but are generally of a docile and
submissive nature. So long have they been under the
dominion of the Russian American Fur Company and
the Greek church priests, that submission has become
a fixed part of their conduct. Few^ locate permanently,
but in the interior live by the chase, and on the coast
. are largely employed in killing walrus, sea-otter, fur-
seals, and fish. On the coast and islands they all be-
long to the Greek church, and Russian and native
priests attend to their spiritual wants and afford them
some degree of education. The physical type and
social qualities of the Japanese are strongly marked In
many of the coast natives, from whom many of them,
doubtless, have descended. The islands are generally
barren rocks with but scant timber or vegetation, the
natives living chlefiy on rye and coarse bread furnished
them by the fur-seal companies, seal-meat, and fish.
The Alaska Commercial Company in possession of St.
Georcre and St. Paul have made some effort to main-

tain schools among the natives; but whether or not
the condition of the natives (so called) under this
monopoly is not a species of slavery of American citi-
zens is a subject worthy the closest investigation and
study of the national government.

So far, no towns of any importance have been built
in Alaska. Sitka, known as New Archangel, a little
village of a dozen frail tenements, was the ancient

ALASKA. 655

head-quarters of the Russians in Russian America. It
is buih on one of the islands of the coast, about nine
degrees north of Queen Charlotte island, in the group
discovered by Tschirikoff, Behring's associate, in 1741.
It is geographically situated in latitude 57° 2' 45" north,
longitude 135° 17' 10" west, and, although so far north,
the weather is never cold, the thermometer rarely
markinof lower than 20° above Fahrenheit. The town
is built on a low belt of land close to the shore, with
the residence of the former Russian governor, a clumsy
wooden building, standing upon a rock about one hun-
dred feet above the other houses. The country in the
vicinity is a succession of high hills densely wooded, and
snow-capped mountains. On Crooze island, opposite
the town, is Mount Edgcumbe, an extinct volcano, rising
eiofht thousand feet above the sea.

Sitka has, made no progress in the last half century^
and with the exception of a few soldiers, and the United
States custom officers, a few traders and Indians, and
the old Russian Greek church, there is little to indicate
settlement. There are no roads, either on the islands
or mainland. The country has not yet been organized
under a territorial government, and with the exception
of the fishing interest being developed, there are litde
signs of material improvement; and Sitka, with its
dilapidated wharf, ancient Russian fort, old storehouses,
houses painted yellow with iron roofs painted red, the
old Russian hulks of ships on the shore propped up
and roofed over, and the green dome of the old Greek
church, with a few lounging soldiers and sleepy officers,
an unemployed "collector," who has no customs to col-
lect, an empty post-office, bands of half-nude Indians,
troops of wolf-dogs, and ni7iety inches of rain per annum,

6^6 THE GOLDEN STATE.

makes Sitka, as a place, very desirable to leave, A
newspaper, The Alaska Herald, (supposed to be pub-
lished in Alaska,) Intended to represent the interests
of Alaska and Siberia and the North Pacific coast ^en-
erally, Is issued at San Francisco. There are four post-
ofifices in Alaska — one at Fort Tongass, one at Fort
Wrangel, one at Kodiak, and one at Sitka. A steamer
runs between San Francisco and Sitka, a distance of
about one thousand six hundred miles, making a trip
once a month ; and vessels leave San Francisco occa-
sionally for this port, which has, during the past twenty
years, supplied California with ice, this being the only
point south of that place on the coast where Ice could
be obtained. Since the building of railroads In Cali-
fornia, however, the lakes In the Sierras supply the"^
greater part of the Ice used In California.

The extent and value of the fishing Interests of the
newly acquired territory are very great. Off the coast,
besides the valuable fur-seals, vast banks of cod and
halibut, extending over an area of thirty thousand
square miles, exist In the eastern section of Behring
sea and about the Aleutian islands and the Kodiak
group ; and of late years fleets of fishing vessels leave
San Francisco In June of each year, and take cargoes
of cod and halibut In these waters and In the waters on
the Asiatic coast along the line of Siberia, all the way
from Plover bay to the Ochotsk sea. In this latter region,
and along the coast of Kamschatka at PetropaulovskI,
and even In the region of the Amoor river, fishermen
and traders from California extend their operations,
and among a class of active. Industrious, and in many
cases prosperous people resident In these quarters,
find hearty welcome and reciprocity in trade. This

5«

C
?=

H
>

en
>

ALASKA. 65 7

region, so easy of access, to the commerce and enter-
prise of the Pacific coast, but so remote from the seat
•of power of the Czar at St. Petersburg, has long been a
favorite prison for political offenders; consequently the
present population is made up in great part of men
of education, skill, and ambition, and in their new homes
have lost none of their hatred of monarchy, and catch
with eager hope every ray of liberty cast upon their
remote shores by the flag that gives freedom to all in
America.

The development of Alaska will not begin until the
Northern Pacific railroad connects Puget sound with the
East, and a thrifty and numerous population find their
homes in the great cities yet to be built on the shores
of the magnificent inland sea of Washington Territory.
Then the whaling fleets of the North Pacific and the
Arctic will winter in Puget sound, and vast fleets of
American vessels will draw from the shores of Alaska
the hidden treasures of the deep — whale, walrus, seal,
cod, halibut, and salmon. Mines of gold and silver,
once exhausted, never recuperate: the treasures of the
seas are never diminished, but annually multiplied as
the leaves of the forests.

In the rich treasure-vaults of the deep, where, on the
now lonely shores of Alaska, the illusive mirage paints
its wondrous panorama, and the aurora borealis lights
northern skies, will the future populous cities of the
Pacific draw untold wealth, and fleets of American
ships find employment; and on the placid waters of
the Northern Pacific will the American seaman find a
welcome refuge from the gales and winter frosts of
the Atlantic seaboard.
43

658 THE GOLDEN STATE,

CHAPTER XL.

APPENDIX.

Population of the United States : native, foreign, colored, and Chinese — Popula-
tion of tlie Pacific coast : native, foreign, and Chinese — Population by counties
of California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Washington Territoiy:
also, aggregate of Alaska and British Columbia — Chinese in the United States
and on the Pacific coast — Distances from San Francisco to various points
inland and to various ports and countries and cities of the United States.

POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES— 1870,

Including all the States and Territories. Aggregate, 38,555,983.
Native, 32,989,434; foreign, 5,566,546; colored, 4,880,009 ; Chi-
nese, 63,149; Japanese, 55.

POPULATION OF THE PACIFIC COAST,

Embracing California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho,
Washington Territory, British Columbia, and Alaska. Aggregate,
841,059. Native, exclusive of British Columbia and Alaska,
539,467; foreign, exclusive of British Columbia and Alaska;
289,652; Chinese on the Pacific coast, exclusive of British Co-
lumbia and Alaska, and embracing Montana, 60,765; in the re-
mainder of the whole Union, 2,389.

POPULATION OF CALIFORNIA— 1870.

Total, 560,247. Native, 350,416 ; foreign, 209,831.
Representing the States and countries as follows :
Native — Alabama, 1,257; Arkansas, 2,396; California, 163,653;
Connecticut, 2,977; Delaware, 408; Florida, 134: Georgia,
1,024; Illinois, 10,689; Indiana, 5,190; Iowa, 5,367; Kansas,
279; Kentucky, 6,605; Louisiana, 1,979; Maine, 11,261; Mary-
land, 2,596; Massachusetts, 15,334; Michigan, 3,032; Minne-
sota, 461; Mississippi, 994; Missouri, 16,050; Nebraska, 237;
Nevada, 1,089; New Hampshire, 2,720; New Jersey, 2,598; New
York, 33,766; North Carolina, 1,640; Ohio, 12,735; Oregon,
2,471; Pennsylvania, 11,208; Rhode Island, 1,419; South Caro-
lina, 851; Tennessee, 4,686; Texas, 1,886; Vermont, 3,500;
Virginia and West Virginia, 5,293 ; Wisconsin, 3,088 ; Alaska, 28;
Arizona, 93 ; Colorado, 60 ; Dakota, 7 ; District of Columbia,
458; Idaho, 84; Indian Territory, 19; Montana, 65; Ncav Mexico,
i75i Utah, 850; Washington, 206; Wyoming, 21. Colored^ 4^272

POPULAT.:ON OF THE PACIFIC COAST,

659

The foreign population represents the nations of the earth as
follows: Africa, 48; Asia, 56; Atlantic islands, 943; Australia,
1,593; Austria, 1,078; Belgium, 291; Bohemia, 90; Canada,
6,977; China, 48,823; New Brunswick, 1,170; Newfoundland,
72 ; Nova Scotia, 1,438 ; Prince Edward island, 54 ; British Amer-
ica, (not specified,) 949; Central America, 124; Cuba, 45 ; Den-
mark, 1,837; France, 8,068; Germany, 28,700 — as follows : Baden,
2,143; Bavaria, 2,547; Brunswick, 61 ; Hamburg, 934 ; Hanover,
2,555; Hessen, 1,500; Lubec, 12; Mecklenburg, 95 ; Nassau, 49 ;
Oldenburg, no; Prussia, (not specified,) 14,782; Saxony, 622;
Weimer, 9; Wurtemburg, 1,461 ; Germany, (not specified,) 2,820;
England, 17,699; Ireland, 54,421; Scotland, 4,949; Wales, 1,517;
Greece, 97: Greenland, i ; Holland, 452; Hungary, 102; India,
(y2i\ Italy, 4,660; Japan, 33 ; Luxemburg, 11 ; Malta, 5 ; Mexico,
9,309; Norway, 1,000; Pacific islands, 93; Poland, 804; Por-
tugal, 2,507; Russia, 540; Sandwich islands, 279; South America,
1,940; Spain, 405; Sweden, 1,944; Switzerland, 2,927; Turkey,
17; West Indies, 340.

POPULATION OF CALIFORNIA BY COUNTIES— 1870.

Counties.

•

jrt

bJO

■4-t

4-*

1)
0

Whi

'5
c

County-Seat.

Alameda

Alpine

Amador

Butte

Calaveras

Colusa

Contra Costa....

Del Norte

El Dorado

Fresno

Humboldt

Inyo

Kern

Klamath

Lake

Lassen

Los Angeles ....

Marin

Mariposa

Mendocino

Merced ,

Mono

Monterey

Napa ,

Nevada

Placer

Plumas

Sacramento

San Bernardino. ,

San Diego

San Francisco. ..

San Joaouin

San Luis Obispo.

San Mateo

Santu Barbara...

24.237

685

9,582

11,403
8,895
6,165
8,461
2,022

10,309

6,336
6,140
1,956
2,925

1,674
2,969

1,327
15,309
6,903
4,572
7,545
2,807

430
9,876
7,163

19,134

11,357
4,489

26,830

3,988

4 951

f 49,473

21,050

4,772
6,635

7,784

14,382

485

5,449
7,428

4,677
5,088

5,791
1,580
6,287

4,972
4,646
1,164
2,157
783
2,483
1,178
10,984
3,761
2,192
6,146
2,196

305
7,670

5,394

10,479

6,167

2,414
16,228

3,328
3,743
75,753
14,824
3,833
3,497
6.538

9,855
200

4,133
3,975
4,218
1,077
2,670
442
4,022

1,364
1,494
792
768
891
486

149
4,325
3,142

2,380

1,399
611

125
2,206
I 769
8,655
5,190
2,075

10,602

660

1,208

73,720
6,226

939
3,138
1,246

22,106

676

7,870

9,185
7,400

5,389
8,271
1,009
8,589

3,259
6,025

1,608

2,193
1,069
2,825

1,309
14,720

6,394
3,344
6,865
2,548
386
9,428
6,725
16,334
8,850

3,571
22,725

3,964
4,838
136,059
19,192
4,567
6,099

7.483

III

• • • •

424

774

133

2,635

• • • •

232

585

• • • •

134

219

126

116

542

• ■ • •

203

112

162

479

• • • •

1.341

230

• « • •

137

109

163

1,933

1,641

2,094

1.432
271
160
217

1.581
427

39
29

143
542
119

17
236

361

1,104

129

186

230

260

2,629

2,407

911

3,598

12,018

1,628

5>9

San Leandro.

Silver Mountain.

Jackson.

Oroville.

San Andreas.

Colusa.

Alartinez.

Crescent City,

Placerville.

Millerton.

Eureka.

Independence.

Haviiah.

Orleans Bar.

Lakeport.

Susanville.

Los Angeles,

San Rafael.

Mariposa.

Ukiah.

Snelling.

Bridgeport.

Monterey.

Napa City.

Nevada City,

Auburn.

Quincy.

Sacramento.

San Bernardino.

Sa:: Diego.

San Francisco.

Stockton.

San Luis Obispo.

Redwood City.

Santa Barbara.

66o

THE GOLDEN STATE.

POPULATION OF CALIFORNIA BY COUNTIES— C^;^/m«^^.

Counties.

Santa Clara.
Santa Cruz..

Shasta

Sierra

Siskiyou. ...

Solano

Sonoma ....
Stanislaus ..

Sutter

Tehama.,..

Trinity

Tulare

Tuolumne...

Yolo

Yuba

Totals

26,246

17,241

8,743

6,758

4,173

2,937

5,619

2,816

6,848

4,321

16,871

11,263

19,819

15,656

6,499

5,147

5,030

3,949

3,587

2,834

3,213

1,398

4,521

3,967

8,150

4,182

9,899

7,778

10,851

6,144

560,223

350,393

.£?
'53

9,005

1,985
1,236
2,803
2,527

5,608
4,163
1,352

1,081

753

1,815

554
3,968

2,121

4,707

24,537
8,532

3,529

4,781

5,312

15,871
19,184

6,189

4,791
3,166

1,950

4,379
6,540
9,321
8,367

County-Seat.

499,324

179

1,518:

156

574

• • • •

809

1,457

919

473

• • • •

306

• • • •

208

146

• • • •

275

139

1,095

1,539

117

392

151

• • • •

2,333

4,611

7,059

49,229

San Jose,

Santa Cruz.

Shasta.

Downieville.

Yreka.

Fairfield.

Santa Rosa.

Modesto.

Yuba City.

Red Bluff.

Weavervilltt,

Visalia.

Sonora.

Woodland.

Marysville.

POPULATION OF OREGON— 1870.

Total, 90,923. Native, 79,323; foreign, it, 600.

Representing principally the States and countries as follows:

Native — Arkansas, 491; California, 1,674; Connecticut, 263;
Illinois, 4,722; Indiana, 3,451; Iowa, 3,695; Kentucky, 2,387;
Maine, 676; Maryland, 330; Massachusetts, 756; Michigan, 466 ;
Missouri, 7,061; New Hampshire, 219; New York, 3,092; North
Carolina, 457; Ohio, 4,031; Oregon, 36,932; Pennsylvania, 1,921 ;
Tennessee, 1,544; Vermont, 432 ; Virginia, 1,447 '> Wisconsin, 434;
Idaho, 144; Washington, 592. Colored, 346.

Foreign — China, 3,326; Canada, 877; Nova Scotia, %(i\ British
America, (not specified,) 124; France, 308; Germany, 1,875;
England, 1,347; Ireland, 1,967; Scotland, 394; Italy, 31; Mexico,
51; Norway, 76; Poland, 65 ; Portugal, 48; Russia, 67; Sweden,
205; Switzerland, 160.

Counties.

Baker

Benton, . .
Clackamas
Clatsop. . .
Columbia.

Coos

Curry. . . . ,
Douglas...
Grant. . . . ,
Jackson

Totals.

Native.

Foreign.

Chinese.

2,804

1.757

1,047

679

4,584

4,341

243

5^993

5.436

557

1.255

952

303

863

744

119

1,644

1.255

389

504

426

6,066

5,684

382

2,251

1,001

1,250

939

4,778

3.721

1.057

634

POPULATION OF THE PACIFIC COAST.

66l

POPULATION OF O^Y.QO^— Continued.

Counties

Josephine

Lane

Linn ,

Marion . ,

Multnomah

Polk

Tillamook

Umatilla

Union

Wasco

AVashington. . . . . .

Yamhill

Totals.

Ij204
6,426

8,717
9,964

11,510

4,701
408

2,916

2,552
2,509

4,261

5,012

Native.

817
6,291

8,474
9,049

8,425

4,573
380

2,692
2,338

2,131

4,038

4,798

Foreign.

387

135

243
916

3,085

128

224

214

378
223
214

Chinese.

223

7
2

27
506

45
28

POPULATION OF NEVADA— 1870.

Total, 42,491. Native, 23,690; foreign, 18,801.

Representing principally the States and countries as follows:

Native — California, 2,360; Illinois, 1,141; Indiana, 520; Ken-
tucky, 603; Maine, 1,083; Massachusetts, 998; Missouri, 1,053;
Nevada, 3,352; New York, 3,265; Ohio, 1,858; Pennsylvania,
1,458; Virginia, 551; Utah, 954. Colored, 357.

Foreign — Austria, 157; Canada, 1,952; China, 3,143; Nova
Scotia, 231; Germany, 2,181; England, 2,549; Ireland, 5,035;
Scotland, 630; Wales, 301; Italy, 199; Mexico, 225; Sweden,
217; Switzerland, 247.

Counties.

Totals.

Churchill

Douglas

Elko

Esmeralda

Humboldt

Oander

Wincoln

Nyon

Lrye

Stomsby

Wop

oLry

Rashoe 1 3,091

Lhite Pine ' 7,189

196
1,215

3,447

1,553
1,916

2,815

2,985

1,837
1,087

11,359

Native.

140
791
2,054
1,065
1,065
1,580
2,148

893
760

1,760

108

5,557
1,997

3,772

Foreign. Chinese,

424

1,393
488

851
1,235

837

944

327
1,908

25
5,802

1,094
3,417

23
439

56
220

218

23
116

767

745
221

292

662

THE GOLDEN STATE.

POPULATION OF UTAH— 1870.

Total, 86,786. Native, 56,084; foreign, 30,702.

Representing principally the States and countries as follows :

Native — Alabama, 145; California, 308; Connecticut, 234;
Illinois, 2,105; Indiana, 399; Iowa, 1,492; Kentucky, 317;
Maine, 239 ; Massachusetts, 492 ; Michigan, 228 ; Mississippi, 125 ;
Missouri, 908; Nebraska, 272 ; New Hampshire, 165 ; New Jersey,
322; New York, 2,247 ; North Carolina, 215 ; Ohio, 1,133; Penn-
sylvania, 1,315; Tennessee, 405; Texas, 104; Vermont, 325;
Virginia, 287; Wisconsin, 117; Utah, 41,250. Colored, 118.

jForeign — Australia, 74; Africa, (white,) 128; China, 445;
Canada, 566; New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, 11 1; Denmark,
4,956; France, 6^', Prussia, 152 ; Germany, 206 ; England, 16,073 ;
Ireland, 502; Scotland, 2,391 ; Wales, 1,783; Holland, 122 ; Italy,
74; Norway, 613; Russia, 13; Sweden, 1,790; Switzerland, 509.

Counties.

Totals.

Native.

Foreign.

Chinese.

Beaver

2,007

4,855
8,229

4,459
2,277

2,034

1^513

2,753
1,972

1.955

450

18,337
6,786

2,512
2,177

12,203
1,244
3,06 \
7,858

1,405

2,795
5,121

3,010

1,610

1,344
1,292

1,974
1,215

54
1,291

368

10,894

3^890

• • • •

1,448
1.350

8,439
887

2,455
5,242

602
2,060
3,108

1,449

667

690

221

779
757

28
664

7,443
2,869

19
1,064

827
3,764

357
609

2,616

Box Elder

403

Cache

Davis

Iron

Tuba

J "•'-'"• ••••• • •

Kane

Millard

Morgan

Piute

Rich

Rio Virgin

Salt Lake

San Pete

Sevier

Summit

Tooele

Utah

Wasatch

Washington

Weber

POPULATION OF ALASKA— 1870.

Estimated at 50,000 Indians and 2,000 whites.

POPULATION OF THE PACIFIC COAST.

663

POPULATION OF ARIZONA— 1870.

Total, 9,658. Native, 3,849; foreign, 5,809.

Representing principally the States and countries as follows:

Native — Arizona, 1,240; California, 156; New York, 481;
Ohio, 235 ; Pennsylvania, 275. Colored^ 26.

Foreign — Austria, 24; British America, 143, China, 20, Den-
mark, 19; England, 137; France, 69; Germany, 379; Ireland,
495; Scotland, 54; Sweden, 14; Switzerland, 23.

Counties.

Totals.

Native.

Foreign.

Chinese.

Mohave

179
5.716
2,142
1,621

122

1,900

1,208

619

57
3,816

934

1,002

Pima

Yavapai

Yuma

POPULATION OF IDAHO— 1872.

Total, 14,999. Native, 7,114; foreign, 7,885.

Representing principally the States and countries as follows :

Native — Alabama, 26; Arkansas, 24; California, 230; Connec-
ticut, 59; Georgia, 23; Illinois, 400; Indiana, 252; Iowa, 312;
Kentucky, 243 ; Maine, 242 ; Maryland, 65 ; Massachusetts, 200 ;
Michigan, 69; Missouri, 536; Nebraska, 27; New Hampshire, 54;
New Jersey, 49; New York, 800; North Carolina, 44; Ohio, 550;
Oregon, 347; Pennsylvania, 416; Tennessee, 109; Texas, 26;
Vermont, 75; Virginia, 175 ; Wisconsin, 118; Idaho, 925 ; Utah,
478 ; Washington, 47. Colored — 60.

Foreign — Atlantic islands, 71; Austria, 26; British America,
335; China, 4,267; Denmark, 2>Z] France, 144; Germany, 599;
England, 540; Ireland, 986; Scotland, 114; Wales, 335; Italy,
11; Mexico, 43; Norway, 61; Sweden, 91; Switzerland, 52.

Counties.

Ada

Altures .. . .

Boise

Idaho

Lemhi . . . .
Nez Perces
Oneida. . . .

Owyhee

Shoshone . ,

Totals.

2,675

688
3.834

849

988

1,607

1,922

1,713

722

Nativb.

2,178
286

1,183
205

509
609

1,189

862

Foreign.

497

403
2,651

644

479

998

733

851
629

Chinese.

78
314

1.754

425
120

747

36S
46.'?

664

THE GOLDEN STATE.

POPULATION OF WASHINGTON TERRITORY— 1870.

Total, 23,955. Native, 18,931 ; foreign, 5,024.

Representing principally the States and countries as follows:

Native — Arkansas, 98; California, 400; Connecticut, 120;
Georgia, 24; Illinois, 967; Indiana, 806; Iowa, 749; Kansas, 34;
Kentucky, 402; Louisiana, 59; Maine, 858; Maryland, 102;
Massachusetts, 400; Michigan, 114; Minnesota, ^^t'y Missouri,
946 ; Nebraska, 26 ; New Hampshire, 96 ; New Jersey, Zd ; New
York, 1,097; North Carolina, 71; Ohio, 866; Oregon, 1,615;
Pennsylvania, 527; Rhode Island, 54; South Carolina, 28; Tenn-
essee, 196; Texas, 44; Vermont, 163; Virginia, 311; Wisconsin,
203; Idaho, 76; Montana, 44; Utah, 30; Washington, 5,964.
Colo7'ed — 207.

Fo7'eign — Australia, 37; Austria, 19; British America, 970;
China, 234; Denmark, 84; France, 113; Germany, 645; En-
gland, 791; Ireland, 1,097; Scotland, 309; Wales, 44; Holland,
25; Italy, 24; Mexico, 12; Norway, 104; Poland, 25.

Counties.

Chehalis

Clallam . .

Clarke

Cowlitz

Island

Jefferson

King

Kitsap

Klikitat

Lewis

Mason

Pacific

Pierce

Skamania

Snohomish

Stevens

Tliurston

Wahkiakum

Walla Walla

Whatcom

Wakima

Island of San Juan

Totals.

401

408

3,081

626
1,268
2,120

866

329

ZZ'6

289

738
1,409

599

734

2,246

270

5'3oo
534
432
554

Native.

381

274

2,606

645

400

690
1.605

434
289

779
225

591
1,144

108

413

488

I;93I
190

4,692
341

410

295

Foreign.

134

475

85
226

578

515
432

109

147
265

25
186

246

315

608

193
22

259

Chinese.

7
19

I
I
6

POPULATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA— 1870.

Estimated at 50,000 Indians and 10,000 whites.

TABLES OF DISTANCES. 665

DISTANCES FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO VARIOUS POINTS INLAND.

Miles.

Alameda 9

Alviso 46

Alta 186

Auburn 152

Austin 437

Benicia 30

Big Trees 198

Bridgeport 289

Carson City 255

Cisco 209

Colfax 171

Colusa , 192

Copperopolis 155

Crystal Springs 23

Diamond Springs 164

Downieville 232

Dutch Flat 184

Eureka 230

Fairfield 50

Folsom 139

Fort Yuma 732

Fort Point 4

Genoa 141

Geyser Springs 1 18

Goat Island i^

Great Salt Lake City, 827

Havilah 450

Haywards 19

Healdsburg 80

Miles.

Humboldt Lake 345

Jackson 185

Lake Taboe 228

Lone Mountain 3

Los Angeles 480

Lower Lake 120

Mariposa 211

Maiysville 171

Martinez 33

Mare Island 28

Millerton 175

Mokelumne Hill 180

Mountain. View 38

Monte Diablo 44

Napa 50

Nevada 182

Newcastle 148

New Almaden 67

Oakland 7

Oroville 196

Pacheco 38

Petaluma 48

Pino 142

Placerville 167

Red Blufif. 247

Redwood 31

Rio Vista 73

Ruby Valley • 440

Sacramento 117

Miles.

San Andreas 170

San Bernardino 500

San Juan South 94

San Jose 51

San Leandro 15

San Mateo 20

San Quentin 12

San Rafael 12

Santa Clara 47

Seal Rock 6

Silver Mountain 257

Snelling 187

Sonora 187

Sonoma 52

Stockton 117

Suisun 50

Sutterville 114

Vallejo 28

Visalia 308

Warm Springs 37

Weaverville 365

White Sulp. Springs, 67

Willow Springs 686

Woodbridge 85

Yosemite Valley 247

Yreka 400

Yuba City 167

DISTANCES FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO VARIOUS PORTS.

Miles.

Acapulco, Mexico 1,840

Anaheim, California 312

Calcutta, via Honolulu IIj38o

Callao, Peru 4,010

Canton, via Honolulu 7>097

Cape San Lucas, Mexico i>450

Juaymas, " i>530

Half Moon Bay, California 46

Hong Kong, via Honolulu 7,000

Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands... 2,080

Jeddo, Japan 5,000

Kanagawa, Japan 5,000

La Paz, Mexico 1,300

Liverpool, via Cape Horn 13,100

Manzanillo, Mexico I>550

Mazatlan, " I,390

Melbourne, via Honolulu 7, 160

Monter«»y, California 86

Miles.

New York, via Cape Horn 14,000

New York, via Panama 5,287

Panama, New Grenada 3,260

Rio Janeiro, Brazil 8,320

San Bias, Mexico 1,47°

San Diego, California 450

San Pedro, " 380

San Buenaventura, California... 325

San Luis Obispo, " ... 205

Santa Barbara, ♦* ... 292

San Simeon, " ... 165

Santa Cruz, *♦ ... 64

Shanghai, via Honolulu 6,740

Sydney, via Honolulu 6,700

Tahiti, Society islands 4.490

Valparaiso, Chili 5'30O

Yokohama, via Honolulu 5>58o

666

THE GOLDEN STATE.

DISTANCES FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO VARIOUS POINTS
VIA CENTRAL AND UNION PACIFIC RAILROADS AND
THEIR CONNECTIONS.

San Francisco to Chicago, 2,406; St. Louis, 2,388; Baltimore,
3,232; Philadelphia, 3,230; New York, 3,300; Boston, 3,540.

West from Omaha.

Elevation. Distance

966

1,686
1,850
2,789

3^500
4,073
6,041
8,242
7,123

6,550
6,732
6,685

6,340
6,879
4,340

4,905
5^970

4,903
4,508

4,331
4,077

4,507

5.845
7,017

5,939
3,612

2,421
30'

23
48
12
II

132

154
291

377
414

516

549
578

645

709

785
858

966

1,032

1,084

1,214

1,339

1,391

1,451

1,587
1,622

1,656

1,671

1,684

1,707

1,722

1,775
1,822

1,897

1,908

1,911

1,914

Omaha

Lone Tree

Grand Island

North Platte

Julesburg

Sidney

Cheyenne

Sherman, (summit of Rocky mountains).

Laramie

Medicine Bow

Rawlings

Bitter Creek

Bryan <

Wahsatch

Ogden, (head of Salt lake)

Promontory

Toano

Carlin

Battle Mountain

Winnemucca

Wadsworth

Reno

Truckee , . . . .

Summit (of the Sierra Nevadas)

Cisco '

Alta

Colfax

Sacramento

Stockton

San Leandro

Brooklyn

Oakland Wharf

San Francisco.

East from

San
Francisco.

1,914

1,782

1,760

1,623

1,537

1,500

1,398

1,365

1,341

1,269

1,205

1,129

1,056

948

882

830

700

584

523

463

327

292

258

243

230

207

192

117

TABLES OF DISTANCES,

667

DISTANXES ON THE COAST NORTH FROM SAN FRANCISCO^
SHORTEST SAILING ROUTE IN NAUTICAL MILES.

Cal.

Bolinas Point,
Point Reyes,
Tomales,
Bodega Point,
Point Arenas,
Mendocino City,
Point Gordo,
Cape Mendocino,
False Cape,
Table Bluff,
Humboldt Bar,
Trinidad Head,
Crescent City,
Rogue river.
Port Orford,
Cape Blanco,
Cape Arago,
Unipqua,
Cape Perpetua,
Cape Foulweather,
Cape Lookout,

MILES.

••••■ 54

105

126

188

201

206

217

223

241

283

Oregon 325

345

356

6^7
410

447
474
510

MILES.

False Tallamook, Oregon 536

Tallamook Head, " 547

Astoria, « 560

Cape Disappointment " 567

Vancouver, Washington Terr.... 635

Portland, Oregon 670

Port Angeles, Washington Terr.. 740

Victoria, Vancouver island 746

Esquimalt, " 760

Port Townsend, Washington T.. 770

Bellingham bay, " .. 800

Seattle, " •• 8ia

New Westminster, British Col... 815

Steilacoom, Washington Terr.... 840

Olympia, " .... 860

New Archangel, Sitka island 1,290

Sitka, Alaska 1,480

Kodiak, " 2,030

Onalaska " 2,591

St. Paul's island, Alaska 2,821

Cape Prince of Wales 3>34l

66^

THE GOLDEN STATE,

CENSUS OF CITIES— 1870.

The following table contains the population of each of the one hundred and
thirty-four largest cities in the United States. It shows all the cities having a
population of ten thousand and upward :

City,

Statb. Populat'n.

».

3-
4-

5-
6.

7-
8.

JO.
XI.
J2.

«3-
14-
15-
16.

17-
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.

23-

24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
BO-
32-
33-
34-
35.
36.
37-
38.

39-
40.

41.

42.

43-
44.
45-
46.
47-
48.

49-

50.

51-
52-
53-
54-

55-
56.
57-
58.

59'
60.

61.

62,

63.
64

65
66,

New York New York 942,292

PhUadelphia. . . Pennsylvania 674,022

Brooklyn New York 396,099

St. Louis Missouri 310,864

Chicago lUinoi.s 298,977

Baltimore Maryland 267,354

Boston Massachusetts .... 250,526

Cincinnati Ohio 216,239

New Orleans. .Louisiana 191,418

San Francisco. .California 149,473

Buffalo New York 117,714

Washington District Columbia. 109,199

Newark New Jersey 105,059

Louisville Kentucky 100,753

Cleveland Ohio 92,829

Pittsburg Pennsylvania 86,076

Jersey City. .. .New Jersey 82,546

Detroit Michigan 79,577

Milwaukee Wisconsin 71,440

Albany New York 69,422

Providence .. . .Rhode Island..... 68,904

Rochester New York 62,386

Alleghany Pennsylvania S3, 180

Richmond Virginia 51,038

New Haven Connecticut 50,840

Charleston South Carolina. . . . 48,956

Indianapolis .. .Indiana 48,244

Troy New York 46,465

Sj-racuse New York 43,051

Worcester Massachusetts .... 41,105

Lowell Massachusetts .... 40,928

Memphis Tennessee 40,226

Cambridge Massachusetts .... 39,684

Hartford Connecticut 37,180

Scranton Pennsylvania 35,092

Reading Pennsylvania 33,930

Paterson. New Jersey. ...... 33,579

Kansas City... .Missouri 32,260

Mobile Alabama 32,034

Toledo Ohio 31,584

Portland Maine 31,419

Columbia Ohio 31,274

Wilmington.,. .Delaware 30,841

Dayton Ohio ; 30,473

Lawrence Massachusetts .... 28,921

Utica New York 28,804

Charlestown. . .Massachusetts .... 28,323

Savannah Georgia , 28,235

Lynn Massachusetts .... 28,233

Fall River Massachusetts.... 26,768

Springfield Massachusetts .... 26,703

Nashville Tennessee 25,865

Covington Kentucky 24,505

Quincy Illinois , 24,052

Manchester,, . .New Hampshire.. 23,536

Harrisburg Pennsylvania 23,104

Peoria Illinois 22,849

Evans ville Indiana 21,830

Atlanta Georgia 21,789

Lancaster Pennsylvania 21 ,295

Oswego ........ New York 20,9 10

Elizabeth New Jersey 20,832

Hoboken New Jersey 20,297

, Poughkeepsie.. New York 20,080

, Davenport Iowa 20,038

. St. Paul Minnesota 20,030

. Erie Pennsylvania 19,646

68
69
70.

71-
72.

73-
74-
75-
76.

77-

78,

79-
80.

81.

82.

83-
84.

85.
86.

87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93-
94-
95-
96.

97-

98.

99.

100.

lOI.

102.

103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
no.
III.

113.

113-

114.

115-
116.
117.
118.
119.
120.
121.
122.
123.
124.
125.
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.

131-
132.

133.
134-

CiTY. State. Populat'n.

St. Joseph Missouri 19,566

Wheeling. West Virginia 19,280

Norfolk Virginia 19,229

Bridgeport Connecticut 18,969

Petersburg Virginia 18,950

Chelsea Massachusetts .... 18,547

Dubuque Iowa 18,434

Bangor Maine 18,289

Leavenworth. , .Kansas 17,873

Fort Wayne., , .Indiana 17,718

Springfield Illinois 17,364

Auburn New York 17,225

Newburg New York 17,014

Norwich Connecticut 16,653

Grand Rapids. .Michigan 16,507

Sacramento ....California 16,283

Terre Haute... .Indiana 16,103

Omaha Nebraska 16,083

Pennsylvania 16,030

New York 15,863

Indiana i5,395

Williamsport ,.

Elmira

New Albany...

Augusta Georgia 15,389

Cohoes New York 15, 357

Newport Kentucky 15,087

Burlington Iowa 14,930

Lexington Kentucky 14,801

Burlington Vermont 14,387

Galveston Texas 13,818

Lewiston Maine 13,600

Alexandria Virginia 13,570

Lafayette Indiana 13,506

Wilmington . . . .North Carolina. , . . 13,446

Haverhill Massachusetts . ,. . 13,092

Minneapolis ... .Minnesota 13,066

Sandusky Ohio 13,000

Salt Lake Utah 12,854

Keokuk Iowa 12,766

Fond du Lac, .Wisconsin........ 12,764

Binghampton.. .New York 12,692

Oshkosh Wisconsin 12,662

Vicksburg Mississippi 12,443

San Antonio. . . .Texas 12,256

Concord New Hampshire. , 12,241

Des Moines,.. .Iowa 12,035

Jackson Michigan ii,447

Georgetown . . . .District Columbia. 11,384

Aurora Illinois 11,162

Hamilton Ohio 11,081

Rockford Illinois 11,046

Schenectady . . . New York 11 ,026

Rome New York 11,000

Waterbury Connecticut 10,826

Macon ......... Georgia 10,810

Madison Indiana 10,709

Altoona Pennsylvania io,5oo

Portsmouth , , . .Ohio 10,502

Montgomery ., .Alabama 10,588

Nashua New Hampshire.. 10,543

Oakland California 10,500

Portsmouth Virginia 10,492

Biddeford Maine 10,282

Hannibal Missouri 10,125

0.gdensburg ... .New York 10,076

Stockton California Jo,o66

Council Bluffs.. Iowa 10,020

Zanesville Ohio 10,01 j

Akron Ohio 10,005

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

Across the Continent, 358-367.

Agriculture, early, in California, 87,
130-143. Lands in California, 154.
Flov/ers and seasons, 304-308. Agricul-
ture and commerce, 309-317. Vegetables,
fruits, and nuts, 324-334. Colleges to
promote, 388. Of each county in the
State of California, 443-523. In Oregon,
529-538. Wheat, cattle, horses, &c.»
537-539- In Nevada, 544-546. In
Utah, 551. In Alaska, 649. In Idaho,
609-612. In Washington Territory
622-631,

Alameda county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, cities, population, &c., 488-490.

Alaska explored, 36 ; settled, 65. Russian
American Fur Company, 65. Sold to
the United States, 70-7 1 . Area, climate,
mountains, rivers, forests, mines, islands,
cities, population, resources, &c., 656.
Population, 663.

Alkaline lakes, 172.

All nations represented in the State prison,
408-413.

Alcatras island, 195.

''All of one flesh," 135, 141.

Almonds, nuts, and fruits, 330-332.

Alpine county, area, soil, climate, moun-
tains, population, &c., 512-513.

Alvarado and Castro's rebellion, 60.

Amador county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 511-512.

America, colonization of, 33-39. North-
men in, 34-35. South and Central ex-
plored, 35-38. Operations in California,
60-62. Influence in California, 67-72;
Oregon, 71-76. Citizens in trouble in
California, 75-79. Vessels on California
coast, 76-77. Citizens of, in California,

86-89. Flag hoisted in California by
Slf^at, 94-96. Flag hoisted over San
Francisco by Montgomery, 96-97. Ac-
quisition of territory, 86-115. Rule in
California, 1 16-130. Influence in Japan,

423.
American river, 183.
Amerigo Vespucci names the new world,

35.
Angel island, 195.

Apaches in Arizona, 604.

Apostolus Valerianos discovers Strait of
Fuca, 616-620.

Appendix, population of United States,
Pacific coast, and all its States and Terri-
tories, 658-665.

Apples and other fruits, 327-331. In
Oregon, 537-539-

Arguello, Jose, commandant at San
Francisco, refuses admission to American
vessels, 68-69.

Arizona, Chinese in, 422. Newspapers
in, 465. Area, soil, climate, rivers,
forests, mountains, mines, resources,
population, &c., 600-606. Population
by counties, 662.

Arizona, gold product of, 267.

Ashley, W. H., with Astor in the fur
trade, 75.

AsPHALTUM and its uses, 209, 277.

Astoria founded, 71-76. English occupy,
71-76. Formally surrender, 74. Call it
Fort George, 74. Commodore Wilkes at,
81-82. Rainfall at, 300, 529.

AsTOR, John Jacob, founds Astoria, 71-76.
His fur company, 71-74. Dissolution
of his fur company, 74-75. Establishes
another company, 74-76. Fur company
in the Rocky mountains, 75.

(6«9)

670

THE GOLDEN STATE,

Atlantic and Pacific railroad, 603-604.
Australia, gold discovered, 253. Yield

of mines, 267-270.
Austria, mining in, 273,
Aztecs in Mexico, 34.

Balboa discovers the Pacific ocean, 35.

Banishment of Mexican authorities, 61-
62.

Barley product of California, 322. In
the several counties, 443-523.

Baron Horton's account of Great Salt
lake, 560-562.

Bay of San Francisco' discovered, 37-43
Of San Diego and Monterey discovered
43-45. Discovered by. Don Caspar Por
tala, 49-51. First vessel to enter, 51
Francis Drake did not discover, 42-44
Captain John Brown ordered to leave
6S-69. First steamboat on, I18-125
Islands in, 194-198.

Bays and harbors in California, 190-201.

'* Bear flag" in California, 90-93-96.

Beaver makes a voyage to Russian Amer-
ica, 72-73.

Bees on the Pacific coast, 244. In Cali-
fornia, 354.

Beet sugar, 339.

Begging as a profession, 400-402.

Behring in the Pacific ocean, 36, 65.

Bellingham bay and vicinity, 619.

Benevolent and aid societies, 400-402.

Berries and fruits, 327-331.

Big trees and vegetable growths, 157, 163-
166.

Birds, 241.

Blind, deaf, and dumb, schools for, 395.

Bodega bay settled by Russians, 59. Ex-
tent and location, 197.

Boise, Lewiston, and other cities of Idaho,
612.

BoLiNAS bay, 19S.

Boundary between United States and
Canada, 72.

Books, newspapers, libraries, and litera-
ture, 396-400.

Book of Mormon, its origin and influence
568-600.

Borax and its collection, 277.

Boston merchants on the Pacific coast
66-80.

Boston, ship, on the Northwest coast, 69

Bravo river, 184.

Brazil discovered, 35.

Bridger, James, discoverer of Great Sail
lake, 561-562.

British Columbia, gold yield of, 267
Its history, area, soil, mountains, rivers
islands, forests, climate, productions,
mines, progi^ess, cities, resources, &c
632-643. Population of, 664.

British naval vessels in the Columbia, 69-
70. Occupy and claim Oregon, 72-76
Formally surrender, 74-75. Seek tc
secure California, 93-99.

Brooklyn, Mormon ship, at San Francis-
co, 116.

Broughton, captain in British navy, in
the Columbia river, 69-70.

Brown, John, ordered out of California,
he remonstrates, 68-69. First American
in California, 79.

Buddhism, the religion of the East, 430-
437. And other religions of the world,

563-569-
Buena Vista lake, 179.

Bull and bear fights, 237-238.

Buried, Qiinese never, in America, 434.

Butte county, area, soil, climate, resources,

population, &c., 478-479.

Cabot in Newfoundland, 35.

Cabrillo in California, 36, 42.

California, unknown, 34. Cortez in, 36.
Cabrillo explores, 36. Drake on the
coast, 36. Viscayno in, 36. Spanish
and other navigators in, 35-39. Jesuits
and Franciscan friars, 37. Spanish rule
in, 37. Gold discovered, 38-39. Ameri-
can rule in, 38. Pilgrim gold-seekers
in, 38-39. First account of, 40-49. Ac-
quisition by America, 40-47. Cortez'»

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

671

expeditions, 41-48. Cabrillo in, 42.
Francis Drake takes possession of, 42—
43. Called New Albion, 42. Called
** Drake's land back of Canada," 43
Philip, King of Spain, interested in
43-47. Spiritual conquest of, 44-49
Father Ugarta in, 46-47. Gulf of, ex
plored, 46-47. "Planting the cross" in
40-49. Missions established in, 40-49
Jesuits expelled from, 47-48. First set-
tlement in, 49-51. End of Spanish rule
in, 55-59. Always unsettled, 58-65.
France desires, 59. Russians in, 59-60.
Graham and others revolutionize, 60-65.
Commodore Jones takes possession of,
62. Early navigators and voyagers in,
64-80. Captain Cook forbad to enter,
66. Boston merchants in, 66-80. Cap-
tain John Brown in, 78-79. Russians
in, 70-71. Early American navigators
in, 67-72. Jedediah Smith first explorer
overland, 75-78. Turner, Galbraith, and
others arrested, 75-76. Chinese immi-
gration encouraged, 78. First Ameri-
cans in, 79-83. Early settlement in, 79-
85. Commodore Wilkes in, 80-82. As
seen by Fremont, 83-85, 89-106. Mexi-
can rule in, 86-94. Early condition of,
87-106. War in, 89-106. Fremont
governor of, 92. Commodore Sloat
takes possession of, 92-106. Mexican
feuds in, 97-110. To be ceded to
France or England, 97-110. Americans
in possession of, 92-110. Acquisition
and boundary of, IIO-115. Organized
as a State, in. Original title to the
soil, 1 1 2-1 1 5. Under American rule,
early population, 1 16-130. Gold dis-
covered in, 119-123. Chinese in, 122-
123. First steamers in, 125. Early
mining in, 130-143. Earliest mention
of its name, 147-150. Area of, 151-
154. Area and population compared
with other countries, 1 51-154. Moun-
tains, valleys, and resources, 153-159.
Rivers in, 180-191. Lakes, 171-179.

Bays in, 190-201. Islands in, 202-206.
Springs in, 207-213. Yosemite, 214-
220. Earthquakes, 220-235. Gold,
mines, and mining, 248-270. Physical
structure, 289-291. Climate and seas-
ons, 292-305. Rainfall, 300-303. Area,
315. Wheat, 320. Resources, 355-381.
Railroads in, 358-359. Navigation of,
367-369. Ship-building, 369-372. Tele-
graph and time in, 371-374. Commerce,
trade, and shipping, 377-381. Schools,
education, books, newspapers, colleges,
&c., 377-400. Religion, prisons, asy-
lums, executive, judiciary, laws, lawyers,
402-419. Chinese, 420-441. Counties
in, set .forth, 443-523. Population by
counties, &c., 658.

Calaveras, grove of big trees, 164-167.

Calaveras county, area, soil, climate,
" big trees," resources, population, &c.,
510.

Calistoga springs, 208.

Canada Pacific railway and its mfluence
642.

Canals and ditches, 276-277.

Cape Horn discovered, 36.

Carmelo bay, 192.

Carteret in the Pacific, 36.

Castro, General, revolution in California
60-61. In authority, 86-89. ^^^s com.
bats with Fremont, 89-106.

Catholicism established, 40-54, 61. Its
extent in California, 403-408. In the
world, 563-567.

Cattle, horses, and sheep, 306-308.
Raising, branding, vaquero, 344-350.
In each of counties of California, 443-
523. In Oregon, 538, In Nevada, 545.

Caves in California, 281-282.

Cemenon's explorations and voyages, 65.

Cement mining, 265-266.

Central Pacific railroad, 360-367. Its
effects, 380. Chinese constructing, 426,

Charitable and aid societies, 400-402.

Children in the schools, 384-387.

Chinese in California, 122-123. "Shall

672

THE GOLDEN STATE.

enter the Golden Gate," 196-198. In
Australia, 269. Mining tax, 289. Chil-
dren in the schools, 385. Men in the
schools, 388. Numbers, religion, em-
ployment, customs, &c., 421-442. Total
in America, 422. In Australia, 420, 442.
Christianity of the, 439. Slavery of, in
America, 440. In San Francisco, 454,
466. In Nevada, 541. In Arizona, 600.
In Idaho, 612. In the United States
and on the Pacific coast, 558-565. In
Washington Territoiy, 624.

Christ in person in America, 572.

Christianity, first, in America, 34. In
California, 40-54-61. Among the Chi-
nese, 420, 441 . Chinese progress in, 439.
In the world, 563.

Churches, ministers, and religion, 403-
408.

*' Civilization" introduced into California,
47-48.

Clear lake, 175-177.

Cliff house, 196.

Cli\la.te in the Sierras, 159-161. Of Cali-
fornia, 292-305 ; and fruits, 329-331. In
California, 355. Of each section of the
State by counties, 443-523. Of the Pa-
cific coast, 523-525. Of Oregon, 526-
540. Of Nevada, 541-547. Of Utah,
550. Of Arizona, 600. Of Idaho, 610.
Of Washington Territory, 620-625. Of
British Columbia, 632, 643. Of Alaska,
644, 663.

Coal and coal-mining, 277. In Washing-
ton Territory, 623.

Coast rivers, 184-189.

Coast Range mountains, 159-162.

Coast counties, climate, soil, area, pro-
ductions, population, towns, 443-523.

Cobalt and nickle, 278.

Coin only circulated on the Pacific coast,

375-377.
CoLLiNGWOOD, Admiral Seymour, outdone,

93-95-
CoLOMA, where Marshall discovered gold

m 1848, 515.

Colonization of America, 33-39. Of
California and the Pacific coast, 36-39.

Colored persons in the United States and
on the Pacific coast, 658-665.

Colorado river and its sources, 601. Ex-
ploration of, 46-47.

Colored children in the schools, 385-
386.

Columbia cruises on the Pacific, 66-69.

Columbia river discovered by Captaiu
Gray, 66-68. Entered by other naviga-
tors, 69-70. British exploring, 69-70.
Pass to, sought by the United States, 82-
85. Fremont's explorations of, 88-94.
Exploration and discovery, 527-529.
Navigation of, 530.

Columbus discovers America, 35.

Colusa county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 479-480.

Commerce of California, 138. General,
309-317. Tables showing extent and
comparisons, 377-381. Of Oregon, 530
535- Of Washington Territory, 624.

CoMSTOCK mines, Nevada, 263-264.

Confucius and his religion, 431-435.

Congress, United States ship, in California,
96-97. Announces gold discovery, 121.

Consuls in California, 94, 114-115.

Contra Costa county, area, soil, climate,
resources, population, &c., 487-488.

Cook's voyages, 36, 65-68. Not permitted
to enter California, 66.

CoOLYiSM in America, 440.

Copper and copper-mining, 277.

Cortez in Mexico, 34. In California, 36,
41-47. Leaves for Spain, 42.

Cotton and rice, 340.

Counties of California, area, soil, climate,
towns, population, &c., 443-523.

Courts and lavs^ers, 417-419.

Crespi, Father, at San Diego, 49-50.

Crescent City harbor, 200.

Crime, prisons, and asylums, 408-413.

Cuba, coolyism in, 440.

Cyane, United States vessel, in California,
103.

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

(>ll

Dana, James D., his account of gold on
the Pacific, 255.

Deaf, dumb, and blind, schools for the, 395.

Death valley, encountered by Fremont,
84. Location, &c., 180. Peculiar feat-
ures, 225-235.

Deer and other animals, 240-241.

Defamers, thieves, and quacks, 408-413.

Del Norte county, area, soil, climate, for-
ests, resources, population, &c., 472-473.

Diamonds in California, 278.

Discovery of America, 33-39. Green-
land and Iceland, 34-35. Peru, 36.
Alaska, 36. Golden Gate, 37. Gold,
38. Gold by Wilkes, 82.

Divorce, laws of, 417.

Doctrines and faith of the Mormons, 596-
600.

Dominican friars as missionaries, 47-48.

Donner lake, 177.

** Donner party" in the Sierras, 144.

Douglas, Thomas, first school-teacher in
California, no.

Drake, Sir Francis, in California, 36.
Takes possession of California for Great
Britain, 42. Did not enter the Golden
Gate, 42-44. Departure for England,
43. In California, 64. His mention of
gold discoveries, 254.

Drake's bay not the Bay of San Francisco,
43. " Drake's land back of Canada,"
43. In Marin county, 198.

Dry lakes, 180.

DUPONT, Commodore, in California, 97.

Dutch navigators in the Pacific, 36.

Eagle lake, 176.

Earthquakes and volcanoes in various

parts of the world, 220-235.
East India Company, 65.
EcHANDiA, Governor of California, alarmed

at American encroachments, 75-79.
Eden, gold in, 248.
Education, schools, colleges, newspapers,

books, 382-400. American, in Japan,

423. In San Francisco, 454-466.

Eel river, 187.

El Capitan, 217.

El Dorado county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 513-515.

El Dorado, new, discovered, 38-39.

Electro-Silicon, 278.

Elizabeth, Queen of England, claims
California, 42-43.

Elk and deer, 240-241.

Empress of Russia gives pass to Ledyard,
65.

England claims California, 42-43, 70.
Sends expeditions to the Pacific coast,
64-69. Occupies and claims Oregon, 72-
76. War with the United States, 73.
Formally surrenders Oregon, 74. Seeks to
obtain California, 93-99. Gold in, 250.-

Esquimalt as a harbor, 640.

Estero bay, 192.

Europe, countries of, compared with Cali-
fornia in area and population, 1 52-153.
Gold in, 250.

Executive, judiciary, laws, &c., 414-417.

Exemptions from legal process, 416.

Explorations and early voyages in Amer-
ica, 33-69. Of Lewis and Clark, and
others, 7 1-72. Fremont's, on the Pacific
coast, 82-96. Of Oregon, 526-529.

Faces, Pedro, Governor of California, re-
specting the Columbia and Washington^
67.

Fall lake. 176.

Farallones, Russian settlement »t, 70.
Island of, 206.

Farming and fanners, 305-317. Of fru't
and vegetables, 324-331. In Oregon,

537-539-
Fashion among the Chinese, 438.

" Fathers" in California, 40, 54. Ban-
ished, 47, 49-54. Missions confiscated,

55-57-
Father Duran, letter from Jedediah

Smith, 76-77.

Feather river, 182.

Female suffrage in Utah, 584-587.

6/4

THE GOLDEN STATE,

Figs and other fruits, 330-331.

First schools in California, 384.

First vessel to enter the Golden Gate, 51.
To enter the Columbia river, 68.

Fish in the Pacific, 244-247. In the
waters of Alaska, 655-656.

Flathead Indians of the Northwest, 642.

Flax in California, 324.

Fleas in California, 244.

Fleet, Commodore Wilkes', in the Pacific,
81-82.

Flores, Don Jose Marid, a troublesome
customer — his proclamation, 104-106.

Flowers, 304. Shrubs, plants, and grasses,
167-169.

Floyd, J. B., encourages Chinese immi-
gration to California, 78.

FoLSOM as an early trading place, 75.

Foreigners in America, on the Pacific
coast, by counties, 658-665.

Forests and forest trees and shrubs in
California, 162-166, In the several
counties in California, 443-523. Of
Oregon, 566.

Fort Ross, Russian establishment in Cali-
fornia, 70.

Fort Vancouver, early trappers at, 78.

Franciscan friars in California, 37, 47.
Sovereigns in the land, 54, 86.

France desires to possess California, 59.

Frazer river, British Columbia, 636.

Freiberg mines, 274-275.

Fremont, John C, first expedition to the
Rocky mountains, 82-85. Third expe-
dition, 88-96. Appointed governor, 92.
Early in official diflficulties, loi-iio.
Achieves avictor)% 106-107. Polk par-
dons : nominated for President of the
United States, 109.

Fresno county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 496-497.
Fruit, production, quantity, and value of,
chief localities producing, 327-331. In
each of the counties of California, 443-
523. In Oregon, 537-539. Washington
Territor)', 620-631.

Fuca strait, Captain Robert Gray in, 68.

Vancouver and Wilkes in, 81-82. As a

boundary, II 2.
Fur and fur-bearing animals, 239. In

Alaska, 649-656.

Geysers of California, 211-213.

Ghent, treaty of, applied tc Oregon, 74.

Gillespie, Lieutenant, overland journey.
89-90.

GiLROY, John, early in California, 79.

Godhead of the Mormons, 591-592.

Gold discovered, 38. Jedediah Smith
said to have discovered, 78. Discovery-
reported by Wilkes, 82. Discovered at
Sutter's mill, 11Q-120, Earlv mining-,
124-138. Yield, 132. Hunters buried.
144. Location of Siipply, 157. In
Eden, 248. Of the ancients, 249. In
South and Central America, 249-252.
Discovery of, in the United States, 250-
253. In Califort);3, AustiaJJ^, Canada,
and Nova Scotia, 253-270. Chinese in
search of, 420-441. " Mountains of, in
California," 422. Product of the Pacific
coast, 264-270. In California, Oregon,
Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Wash-
ington Territoiy, 264- 27c. In Nevada,
544. In Oregon, 526, In Arizona, 603 -"
604. In Washington Territory, 623.

Golden Gate discovereu, 37. Drake did
not enter, 42-4-;.. Difccvtrcd by Don
Caspar Portala, 49-51. First vessel to
enter, 51, 194-198. Chinese shall enter,
197.

Golden Hinde, D^-aVe's vessel. 42.
Golden plates of the Book of Mormon,

568-600.
Goose lake, 171.

Governors of California, Spanish and
Mexican, 57-59, 86-89, 114. Military,
107-109. American o>ii, 414-415.
Governor GuticiTci: deposed 60-61.
Graham, Isaac, revolution <ind banishment

of, 60-65.
Granite and marble, 281,

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

675

Grant, first land, in California, 53.

Grape culture and wine, 332-334. Largest
vine in the world, 335.

Grasses, flowers, plants, and shrubs, 167-
169.

Grass valley mines, 264.

Grasshoppers blocking roads, 244,

Gray, Captain Robert, on the Pacific coast,
66-80. Discovers the Columbia river,
67-68. At Puget sound and vicinity,
618.

Great Britain, area compared with Cali-
fornia, 152-153. Gold in, 250. Min-
eral yield, 269-270.

Great Salt lake, its extent, &c., 552.

Greenland discovered, 34-35.

" Griffins" in the country, 148-149.

Grizzly bear, 236-237.

Guadalupe lake, 179.

Gulf of California explored, 46-47.

Gulf of Georgia and the Indians, 640,

Gypsum in California, 278.

Harbors in California, 190-201,

Half-moon bay, 193.

Harems of th« Mormons, 597-599.

Highland lakes, 177.

Hogs and their numbers, 353-354.

Holidays unknown to Chinese, 435.

** Holy Fathers" in California, 40-54.

Home for inebriates, 399.

Homestead of husband or wife, or any

head of a family, 415.
Horned toad, 243.
Honey lake, 176.
Hops in California, 324.
Horses in California, 154, 306. And their

use and numbers, 350-352. None in

China, 439.
"Hounds," a murderous rabble, 133.
How to secure the public lands, 316-318.
Hudson Bay Company in Oregon, 74-75.

Trading with murdeious Indians, 78.

Ship at Monterey, 79, At San Francisco,

117. In British Columbia, 637-639.
Humboldt county, area, soil, climate,

forests, resources, population, &c., 469-

470.
Humboldt bay, 199.
Humphrey, Isaac, " knows the stuff," 120.
Hunt, Rev. T. Dwight, first Protestant

minister in California, 118-119.
Husband, can sell wife and child in China,

435. In Utah, 593-599.

Iceland discovered, 34-35.

Idaho, yield of mines, 267, 610. Cliinese
in, 422. Newspapers in, 465. Area,
climate, soil, mountains, rivers, forests,
mines, valleys, scenery, resources, popu-
lation, &c., 607-612. Population, Chi-
nese, &c., 662.

Ide, William B., raises the "bear flag"
and issues a proclamation, 90-92.

Immigrants, "the plains across," 121.
Flocking into -the mines, 137.

Importations in California, 138. And
exportations, 377-381.

Indians, Christian, in California, 45-47, 52-
53. Kodiak, in California, 60. On the
Colorado, 75. Murder trappers in
Oregon, 77-78. Yuma, plunder trappers,
78. With Fremont, 84-89. In the gold-
mines, 131. In the public schools, 387.
In Oregon, 539, Of Alaska, 645. In
Arizona, 604-606. In Idaho, 610. In
Alaska and British Columbia, 663.
In Washington Territory, 624. In British
Columbia, 634.

Industrial school, 395.

Inebriates' home, 399.

" Infidels" as a boundary for nations, 113.

Inheritance, laws respecting, 416.

Insane asylum and its occupants, 413-414.

Interior and valley counties, area, soil,
climate, valleys, resources, &c., 474-503.

Interest on money, 357.

Intoxication almost unknown among the
Chinese, 436.

Inyo county, area, soil, mountains, forests,
climate, resources, population, &c., 505-
506.

6^6

THE GOLDEN STATE.

Inyo, earthquake of 1872, 225-235.
Iron in California, 278.
Islands in California, 202-206.

Jackson, President, account of early trap-
pers, 78.

Japanese in the United States and in Cali-
fornia, 423. Religion of, 431.

Japanese junk wrecked on the coast of
Washington Territory, 81.

Japan, Christianity in, 564.

Jefferson, Thomas, interested in explor-
ing the Pacific, 65. Lewis' and Clark's
expedition, 71.

Jesuits in California, 37, 44-54. Ex-
pelled by King Charles of Spain, 47-48.

Jews, "dispersion" of, 565.

Jones, Commodore, takes possession of
California, 62.

Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism,
his birth, career, and death, 566-600.

Joss-houses in San Francisco, 426, 433.

JUAN'de Fuca strait, its discovery, early
histoiy, &c,, 616-625.

Judiciary, State, 417.

Kearney, General S. W., overland to
California, 97. Persecutes Fremont, 107-
109. Takes his departure, io§-i09.

Kern county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 499.

Kendrick, Captain, on the Pacific coast,
66-69.

Kenguelen explores the Pacific, 37.

Kern lake, 179.

King George's Sound Company, 65.

King's river, 183.

King of Spain, authority in California, 44-
47. Charles expels the Jesuits, 47-48.
Influence in San Diego, 47-48.

Kino's, Father, expeditions, 46-47.

Kit Carson with Fremont, 88-89.

Klamath county, area, soil, climate, for-
ests, productions, population, &c., 471-
472.

Klamath river, 188.

Lake Cceur d' Aline, 609,

Lake Eleanor, 178.

Lake Pen d'Orellie, 609.

Lakes Tahoe, Humboldt, and others, in
Nevada, 173, 542-543-

Lakes — Lake Tahoe and all the chief
lakes in California, 1 71-179. Oi Ore-
gon, 534-536. Of Nevada, 542-543-

Lake county, area, soil, climate, resources,
population, &c., 482-483.

Lakes in Oregon, 535.

"Land of Gold," early mention of, 148-

149.

Lands in California, 152-154. Spanish
grants and public lands, 316-321. Pub-
lic, for educational purposes, 377—400.
How disposed of, 416.

Land offices in California, 316-317.

La Purissima Concepcion mission founded,

52.

Larkin, Thomas O., United States consul
at Monterey, 92, 114.

Lassen county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c,, 521.

«* Latter-Day Saints," their religion,
practices, and origin, 566-600.

Laws, homestead, divorce, separate prop-
erty, &c., 415-417.

LAW'S, mining, 282-289.

Lawyers and courts, 417-^^19.

Lead on the Pacific coast, 279. Mountains
of, in Arizona, 602.

Ledyard, John, his explorations, 65. Ban-
ished by Empress of Russia, 66.

Leese, Jacob P., builds first house at San
Francisco, II 7.

Legislature and laws, 415-417.

Lemair in the Pacific ocean, 2i^,

Lemons and limes, 330.

Letter from sea captains to release Ameri-
can explorers, T^y-T^. J. K. Paulding
to Lieutenant Wilkes, 80-81.

Lewis' and Clark's expeditions, 71.

Lewis' and Clark's river, 608-609.

Libraries, colleges, schools, education,
and books, 377-400.

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

6J7

LiEDESDORFF, Captain, introduces first
steamVjoat in California, Ii8, 139.

Limitation, statute of, 417.

Limes and lemons, 330.

Lion and cougar, 239.

Little river, 188.

Lone Pine destroyed by earthquake, 227.

Los Angeles, battle of, 63. County of,
area, soil, climate, productions, popula-
tion, and towns, 445.

Louisiana, acquisition of, 113-115.

Love-making, peculiar, among the Chi
nese, 434.

Lower California explored, 40-49. Cortez
and Ximines explore, 41-43. Ulloa in,
41. Visited by Salva Tierra, 44-45.
Expedition of Governor Portala to San
Diego, 49-51.

Lower Klamath lake, 173.

Lumber of Oregon, 536-537. Of Wash-
ington Territoiy, 624.

Mad river, 188.

Magellan discovers the straits and names
the Pacific ocean, 35-36.

Manufactures and resources of Califor-
nia, 355-380. Of Oregon, 558.

Marble and granite, 281.

Mariposa county, area, soil, climate, for-
ests, Yosemite valley, population, re-
sources, &c., 507-508.

Marin county, area, soil, productions,
climate, resources, population, &c., 466-
467.

Mariposa grove of big trees, 165-166.

Marriage, none with Chinese, 428.

Marshall, James W., discovers gold in
California, 119-123. Location of dis-
covery, 514.

Mason, Colonel, in command of California,
108-109. Succeeded by Riley, iio.

Massachusetts issues passports to Cap-
tain Gray and associates, 67-68. Early
traders to the Pacific, 66-80.

Match-making among the Chinese, 435.

Mendocino county, area, soil, climate,

forests, productions, population, &c.,
468-469.

Merced county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 495-496.

Merchandise, prices in the mines, 130.
Paving the streets with, 137. Imports
and exports, 378.

Mexico, first settled, 34. Cortez and
Montezuma in, 34. Aztecs' temples, 34.
Confiscates missions, 54-57. Indepen-
dence of, 55. Republican government
established, 55-58. Rule in California,
57. Authorities of, banished, 61-63.
Calls on " Uncle Sam" for aid, 70. Rule
of, in California, 86-89. War with the
United States, 93-95. Feuds in Cali-
fornia, 97-110. War with the United
States, iio. Land grants in California,

153-155.

Micheltorena appointed military gov-
ernor, 62.

Military governor, feuds and jealousies,
107-109.

Mineral lands and laws regarding, 281—
289.

Mines, discovery of and rush to, 119-123.
Early scenes in, 124-139. Of the pre-
cious metals, and earliest histoiy and
yield of, 248-270. Of rnetals in Great
Britain, 269—270. Tunnel-mining, 271—
282. In various parts of the world,
273-280. Mining laws, 281-289. Chi-
nese in, 425. In Nevada county, 516-
518, 544. In Oregon, 526. In Utah,
552. In Arizona, 602-603. I^^ Wash-
ington Territory, 623. In British Co-
lumbia, 635.

Ministers, churches, and religion, 403-
408.

Mint, first, in California, 205. United
States and coinage, 375-377.

Mirror lake, 175-219.

Missions established, 40-54. Founding
of San Francisco, 51-53. Presidios of
the, 53. End of, in California, 54-57.
Dolores at San Francisco, 117.

6^^

THE GOLDEN- STATE,

MoFRAS, M. Duflot de, French agent, 59.
Mohammedanism and other religions,

563-569.
INIoHAVE river, 184.

MoNCADA, Don, at San Diego, 49.

Money, coin, and paper — paper not in use
on the Pacific coast — 375-377.

Mono county, area, soil, climate, resources,
population, &c., 506-507.

Monterey, first visited, 44. Portala's ex-
pedition to, 50-51. Mission founded,
52. Taken by Commodore Jones, 62.
Destroyed by pirates, 79. Earliest com-
merce of, 79-82. Taken possession of
by Commodore Sloat, 92-106. Stockton
in command, 102. Capital and consuls
at, 114.

Monterey bay, 192.

Montgomery, Commodore, hoists the
stars and stripes over Yerba Buena, 96-

97.

Monterey county, area, soil, climate, pro-
ductions, population, &c., 450-451.

Mono lake, 178.

Mormons in California, 116, 582. In
Utah, 549-600.

Mountains, valleys, rivers, and forests in
California, 1 56-1 59, 170. In Oregon,
532. In Washington Territory, 613. In
British Columbia, 635. In Alaska, 644-
660.

Mountain counties, area, soil, climate,
rivers, forests, mountains, resources,
population, &c., 504-522.

Mount Hood, Oregon, 533.

Mounts Hooker and Brown, 635.

Mount Olympic, 615.

Mount Rainier, 614.

Mount St. Elias, Alaska, 647.

Mourning of Chinese indicated by whiter

434.
Mules and their uses, 353.

Murder of children in China, 435.

Mustard, wild, 324.

Nanaimo and its coal-mines, 641.

Napa county, area, soil, climate, resources,
population, &c., 483-484.

Nationalities in Stale prison, 411-413.

National education, agricultural colleges,
388-400.

Native Americans in the United States and
on the Pacific coast, by counties, 658-665.

Nauvoo, its erection, evacuation, and de-
struction, 578-580.

Navigation in California, 367-369.

Navigators and explorers on the Pacific
coast, 64-80.

Navy-yard, 195. At Mare island, 377.

Nevada, gold and silver mines, 263-264.
Yield of mines, 266-267. Railroads in,
358, Chinese in, 422. Newspapers in,
465. Area, climate, soil, forests, rivers,
lakes, mines, agriculture, development,
and resources, 541-547. Chinese in,
541. Beds and mountains of salt, 546.
Population of, 660.

Nevada county, area, soil, climate, mines,
resources, population, &c., 516-518.

New Albion, name given to California by
Sir Francis Drake, 42-43.

New England, settlement of, 36.

Newfoundland, Cabot in, 35.

Newspapers, books, libraries, and litera-
ture, 369-400. In San Francisco, 454-
466.

New World, settlement of, 33-39.

New-year of the Chinese, 435-437.

" Nice young men" and"" bummers," 410-

413-

Normal school, education, and colleges,
382-400.

Northern Pacific railroad, in Idaho.
611. Its extent, influence, and import-
ance, 626-631.

Northmen in America, 34-35.

Northwest Fur Company on the Pacific,
72-74.

Northwest boundary defined, 11 2- 115.

Nova Scotia gold-mines, 253.

' Oats in California, wild oats, 323,

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

679

OciuiN, bay, and river navigation, 367-369.

OGBiiN and Salt Lake City, Utah, 557.

Olf/ES, nuts, and fruits, 330-332.

Onions in California, 324.

OriUM, used by Chinese, 436-437, In the
United States, 437.

Oranges and other fruits, 327-331.

Oregon, discovered and explored, 66-80.
First settlement in, 71. John Jacob
Aster in, 71-72. Pacific Fur Company,
71-76. Occupied and claimed by the
English, 72-76. Formally suiTcndered
by the English, 74. Fort George, 74.
Hudson Bay Company in, 74-75. Early
fur traders in, 75. Trappers murdered
in, by Indians, 77-78. Commodore
Wilkes in, 81-82. Wilkes reports gold
in, 82. Fremont in, 83-85, 89. Boun-
dary defined and title settled, 112-115.
Gold product of, 267. Rainfall, 300.
Farming in, 306. Railroads in, 358.
Agricultural societies, 394-395. Chinese
in, 422. Newspapers in, 465. Area,
geography, climate, seasons, forests,
minerals, mining, agriculture, rivers,
mountains, resources, population, cities,
society, &c., 526-540. Railroads and
navigation, 530-532. Lakes, forests,
game, lumber, &c., 534-536. Agricul-
ture, industries, manufactures, commerce,
cities, progress, &c., 537-539. Popula-
tion of, 660.

L/REGON, steamship, arrived at San Fran-
cisco, 125.

C/RIENTAL seal broken, 38-39.

Oriental habits in California, 425-429.
Religion, 430-435-

Owens lake, 176.

Owens river, 184. Affected by earth-
quake, 227.

Oxen and their uses, 353.

CLYSTERS and other shell-fish, 145,

Pacific coast, in obscurity, early voyage-
ers and navigators on, 64-80. Wilkes'
expedition to, 80-82. Its physical for-

mation, 289-291. Railroads on, 358.
Mints and coinage on, 375-377. Chinese
on, 422. Newspapers on, 465. Area,
soil, climate, forests, rivers, mountains,
resources, population, &c., 523-525.
Yield of gold and silver, 264-270, Mor-
mon settlement on, 5S2-587. Popula-
tion of, 658-665. Rain, climate, and
temperature, 300-304. Steam navigation
of, 367-369. Ship-building on, 369-370.

Pacific ocean discovered, 35-36. Behr-
ing, Cortez, Magellan, Pizarro, Cabrillo,
Drake, Viscayno, Lemair, Schouten,
Willis, Carteret, Cooke, Vancouver,
Fuca, and Kenguelen in, 36-37. Early
navigators and voyagers in, 64-So.
Wilkes' and other voyages in, 79-S2.

Pacific Fur Company in Oregon, 71-76.

Pajaro river, 186.

Palo Alto, battle of, no.

Palon's, Father, explorations, 50-51.

Panama, steamship, arrives at San Fran-
cisco, 125.

Panther, ship, arrives in California, 79.

Paradise as known by Maundeville, 149-
151. Terrestrial, 147-148.

Paulding's, J. K,, instructions to Lieuten-
ant Wilkes, 80-81,

Peaches and other fruits, 330-332.

Pelican bay, 201.

Pena, Senor, prefect in California, 61,

Peru discovered, 36.

Petroleum in California, 279.

Philip, King of Spain, interested in Cali-
fornia, 43-65-

Pico, Pio, Governor of California, 63, 86-
89.

Pilgrims, landing of, 36. Agriculture
of, 310.

Pioneers of Oregon, 539.

Pioneer, first steamer on the Sacramento,

139-

" Pioneer Society," guns of early Rus-
sians, 70-71. "Bear Flag" in posses-
sion of, 92.

" Pious fund of California," 55-56.

6So

THE GOLDEN STATE,

Pirate, Naddodr, 34. Monterey destroyed
by a, 79.

Pitt river, 190.

PiZARRO in Peru, 36.

Plants, shrubs, flowers, and grasses, 167-
169.

Platinum and plumbago, 279.

Placer county, area, soil, climate, mines,
resources, population, &c,, 515-516.

Plumas county, area, soil, climate, moun-
tains, valleys, population, &c., 519-520.

Plural wives of the Mormons, 579-600.
New revelation regarding, 591-594.

Poison oak, its effects and cure, 167-169.

Polk, President, pardons Fremont, 109.

Polygamy in China, 435. Among the
Mormons, S93-599.

Pope Alexander VI, " source of all tempo-
ral power," decides the limits of nations,
I12-II3.

Population, earliest, in California, 52,
I16-117. Compared with other coun-
tries, 152-154. Of all the counties in
the State of California, 443-523. Of
San Francisco, 454-466. Of Oregon,
526. Of Nevada, 541, Of Utah, 555. Of
Arizona, 600. Of the United States, the
Pacific coast, and all the country west
of the Rocky mountains, 658-665. Of
Washington Territory, 624.

PoRTALA discovers the Golden Gate, 37,
49; and Bay of San Francisco, 50-51.

Portland, Oregon, and other cities, 540.

Portsmouth, ship of war, at San Fran-
cisco, 96-97.

Portugal claims possessions on the Pa-
cific, 112-114.

Potatoes in California, 325.

Poultry in California, 354.

Presidios of the missionaries, 53.

Prisons, crimes, and asylums, 408-413.

Proclamation of W. B. Ide, 90-93. Of
Commodore Jones, 62. Of Commodore
'Sloat, 94-97. Of Commodore Stockton,
102-103. Of Flores, 104-106. Of Kear-
ney and Shubrick, 108

Professional begging, 400-402.

" Professional men" in good su])ply, 419.

Protestant church, first, in California,
118-119.

Protestantism, first, in California, 403-
408. In the world, 565.

Prunes, plums, and pomegranates, 331.

Puget sound, ship-building on, 370. Its
discovery, early history, magnitude, com-
merce, and climate, 616-625. Effects
of Northern Pacific railroad, and future
importance, 626-631,

Quacks, vagabonds, and thieves, 408-413.
Quail and othei birds, 241-242.
Quartz-mining, 261-267. In various

countries, 263-268. Mills, 266. In

Nevada, 546.
Quicksilver in California, 279. New

Alameda mine, 494.

Railroads in the United States, on the
Pacific coast, and in California, 358-366.
In Oregon, 532. In Arizona, 603.
Northern Pacific and Canadian, 626, 642.

Rain, frost, snow, ice, and winds, 295-303.
In Oregon, 529. In Alaska, 649. In
Arizona, 601. In Washington Terri-
tory, 620-624. In British Columbia, 634.

Real estate and rents in San Francisco,
136.

Redwood creek, 188.

Religion established by law, 61,

Religious denominations of the world-
Christians, Pagans, Mohammedans, Jews,
Buddhists, and Mormons, 563-600. In
Alaska, 653.

Religion, churches, and preachers, 403-
407. Of the Chinese, 429-433. Of the
world, 430-439.

Reptiles, horned toad, 242-244.

Republican government, first, in America,
34. In Mexico, 55-59.

Resources of California, 1 51-159. Set
forth by counties, climate, soil, area, pro-
ductions, and population, 443-523.

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

68 1

Re\^lation on polygamy, 591-594- I^e-
nial of the right of polygamy, 594.

Revolutions in California, 60-65.

Rhet lake, 172.

Rice and cotton, 340.

Richardson, Captain W. A., builds first
house at San Francisco, II 7.

Riley, General Bennet, military governor
of California, no.

Rivers in California, 1 81-190.

Rivers in Oregon, 530-532. Of Nevada,

542.

Rocky mountains explored, 75-79. Fur
companies in, 75. John C. Fremont ex-
plores, 82-85. Railroad across, 360-367.
In the Far West, 635.

ROSANOFF, Count Von, in California, 70.

Russian America sold to the United States,
70-71.

Russian American Fur Company, 65, 649.
Evacuate California, 70-71.

Russians in California, 59, 60, 70.

Russian river, 187.

Sacramento county, city, area, soil, cli-
mate, resources, population, &c., 485-487.

Sacramento City established, 135-136.
River navigation, 1 38-139.

Sacramento river, 181.

Salem, the capital of Oregon, 540.

Salinas river, 185.

Salmon, 246.

Salt Lake City, its history, population, and
people, 556-557.

Salt, mountains, beds, and lakes of, in
Nevada, 546. In Arizona, 602.

Salt in California, 210-211. On the Pa-
cific, 280. In Nevada, 546. In Ari-
zona, 602. In Utah, 558.

Salt lake, Fremont at, 85. Its extent,
location, &c., 558. Earliest discovery
and history of, 560-562.

San Antonio arrives at San Diego, 48.

San Antonio de Padua mission, 52.

Santa Anna revokes confiscation of mis-
sions, 56.

Santa Barbara island, 203.

Santa Barbara mission founded, 52.

Santa Barbara county, area, climate, soil,

productions, population, &c., 447-448.
San Bernardino county, area, soil, climate,

resources, population, &c., 500-503.
San Buenaventura mission founded, 52.
San Carlos leaves for San Diego, 48.

First vessel to enter the Golden Gate, 51-

52.

Santa Catalina island, 203.

Santa Clara mission founded, 52.

Santa Clara county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, towns, population, &c., 493-495.

San Clement island, 202.

Santa Cruz county, area, soil, climate, pro-
ductions, population, &c., 451-452.

Santa Cruz bay, 193.

Santa Cruz island, 204.

Santa Cruz mission founded, 52.

San Diego explored by Viscayno, 43-44.
To be held for the King of Spain, 48.
Arrival of San Carlos and San Antonio.
48. First settlement, 49-51. Mission
founded, 52. Delia Byrd enters, 70.
Turner and Galbraith at, 75. Fremont
at, 103-105. Area, climate, soil, pro-
ductions, population, and towns of coun-
ty, 444-445-

San Diego harbor, 191.

San Fernando Key mission founded, 52.

San Francisco bay, 43, 194. Discovered
by Don Caspar Portala, 49-51. First
vessel to enter, 5 1 . Captain John Brown
and others refused admission, 67-69.
Francis Drake did not discover, 42-44.
First steamboat on, 118, 125.' Islands
in, 194-198. Navigation on, 367-369.

San Francisco city and county, area, loca-
tion, population, commerce, manufac-
tures, society, customs, newspapers, &c.,
454-466.

San Francisco de Solano mission founded,

53-
San Francisco, mission founded, 5 '"5 2.
Earliest settlement at, 79-82. Viucennes

682

THE GOLDEN STATE.

at, Z2. Early condition of, 87-88. Taken
possession of by the Americans, 96-
99. First house built in, 117. Early
commerce and newspapers, 1 17-123.
Rush for the gold-mines from, 1 17-123.
First steamer arrived at, 125. Destroyed
four times, 134. Real estate and rents,
136. Chinese in, 426-429.
San Gabriel mission founded, 52,
San Inez mission founded, 52.
San Joaquin county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, cities, &c., 490-491.
San Joaquin river, 182.
San Jose mission founded, 52.
San Jose, loss of, 48.
San Juan Bautista mission founded, 52.
San Juan Capistrano founded, 52.
San Juan island and its occupancy, 641.
San Lorenzo river, 186.
San Luis Key de Francia mission founded,

52.
San Luis bay, 192.
San Luis Obispo county, area, soil, climate,

productions, p6pulation, &c., 448-449.
Si^N Luis Obispo mission founded, 52.
San Mateo county, area, soil, climate, pro-
ductions, population, &c., 452-453.
Santa Maria river, 185.
San Miguel mission founded, 52.
San Miguel island, 205.
San Nicolas island, 203,
San Pedro bay, 191.
San Rafael mission founded, 53.
Santa Rosa island, 204.
Savannah and Preble take the town of

Monterey, 93-95.
Schouten in the Pacific ocean, 36.
Schools, colleges, education, books, news-
papers, intelligence, 382-400. In San
Francisco, 454-466. In Oregon, 539,
In Utah, 551. In Washington Territory,
624.
Schools, first, in California, 118.
School lands of California, 318-319.
Scientific agriculture, earliest efforts to es-
tablish, in Europe and America, 388-395.

Scott river, 190.

Seals of Alaska and Newfoundland, 650-
656.

Seals and sea-lions, 239-240.

Sea of Cortez, the Gulf of California, 151.

Seasons and climate, 292-305.

Serra, Father, at the head of the missions,
47-48. At San Diego, 49-50.

Settlement, of America, 33-39. Of New
England and Virginia, 36. First, in
California, 49-51. First, of California,
58-59. In Oregon, 71-75. Of Sitka,
65. Of San Francisco, 1 1 6-1 23.

Sewakd's, W. H., purchase of Alaska, 70-

71.

Seymour, British admiral, outdone in his
designs on California, 93-99.

Shasta county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 477-478.

Sheep and wool in California, 154, 342-
344. In Oregon, 538-539.

Shell money of the natives, 205.

Ship-building on the Pacific coast, 369-
370. On Puget sound, 370.

Shipping and commerce, 377-381. Of
Oregon, 537-539.

Shoshone falls, Idaho, 608.

Shrubs, plants, flowers, and grasses, 167-
169.

Shubrick, Commodore, in California, 108.

Sierra county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 518-519.

Sierra Nevada mountains, Fremont and
his party in, 83-85. Climate of, 157-
161. Mineral wealth and extent of, 523-
525. In Nevada, 541. In the Far West,

635.
Silk and the silk-worm, 340-341.

Siskiyou county, area, soil, climate, for-
ests, resources, population, &c., 474-
476.

Sitka founded, 65. With Alaska, pur-
chased by the United States, 70-71, 645.
Location, population, climate, &c., 653-

655-
Slavery of Chinese in America, 440.

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

683

Sloat, Commodore, takes possession of
California, 92-106.

Small feet of Chinese women, 438.

Smith, Captain Jedediah, first man over-
land, 75-79. His troubles and letters in
California, 76-79. Finally slain on the
Cimarron river, 78. First American in
California, 79.

Smith, Joseph, the "prophet," founder of
Monnonism, 566-600,

Smith river, 1 89.

Snake river, Idatio, 608.

Snow blockade on railroads, 367.

Solano county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 484-485.

Sonoma county, area, resources, soil, cli-
mate, productions, geysers, population,
467-468.

Sonoma, capture of, 90-93. Fremont in :
appointed governor, 92.

Southern Pacific railroad, 603-606.

Spanish navigators on the coast of Cali-
fornia, 35-38. Rule in, 44-54. Galle-
ons on the coast of California, 47. Rule
in California, 57-59, 87-89, 114. Jealous
of Russians, 59.

Spanish grautji, 315.

Speeches of 2vlexicans relating to Cali-
fornia, 97-100. Of Thomas H, Benton,
I13-114.

** Spiritual" conquest of California, 44-49.

Springs in California, 207.

Stanislaus county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 491-493.

State, California organized as a, iii.
Area and resources of, 1 5 1- 1 59.

State of Deseret seeks admission into the
Union, 583-584.

State laws respecting homestead, separate
property, exemptions, and divorce, 415-
417.

State prison and its occupants, 408-413.

State university and school, 390.

Stars and stripes hoisted, 92-99.

Steamers, first, in California, 1 18-125, ^^3^-
139. Sailing to various ports and coun-
tries, 367-369.

*' Stevenson's regiment" in California, 97.

St. George and St. Paul, Alaska, 650-656.

Stockton, Commodore, in California, 96-
97. In command at Monterey, 102-105.

Strait of Fuca, discoveiy, early history,
and voyages to; Captains Gray and Cook
at, 616-625.

Strawberries, season of, 332.

Sulphur in California, 280.

Sunol, Antonio M., early settler in Cali-
fornia, 79.

SuTRO tunnel and the Comstock lode, 271-
273. «

Sutter county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 481-482.

Sutter, John A., in the revolutions, 63,
Purchases Russian property, 70-71.
Fremont at his home, 84. Gold discov-
ered at his mill, 119-123.

Sutter's fort, Fremont at, 92-93.

Swan lake, 176.

" Sydney ducks," a riotous rabble, 134.

Tar springs, 210.

Taylor, General, in Mexico, 93.

Tea, its culture and variety, 335-339. Im-
ports of, 380.

Telegraph on the Pacific coast, 371-374.

Temperature in various parts of the world,
302-304. In the several counties of Cali-
fornia, 443-523.

Temperate habits of the Chinese, 436.

Tennent, brig, enters the Columbia river.
69.

" Terrestrial paradise " on the Pacific,
147-148.

" The Book of Constant Purity," 197.

The Bridal Vail, 219.

The California, first steamer in California,

125.

*' The Cross" planted in California, 40-49.

The " Dome" of Yosemite, 217.

The flea in California, 244.

The Five Classics ami Four Books, 431.

The Golden Rule of Confucius, 432.

" The last tie and the last spike," 365.

The place for tlie boys, 392.

684

THE GOLDEN STATE.

" The same ^rown," 68.
Thieves, lobbers, and vagabonds, 408-413.
TiERRA, Salva, visits California, 44-46.
Time in various places, 371-374.
Timothy and clover not universally grown,

169,323.
Tin in California, 280-281.
Tobacco in California, 325.
ToMALES bay, 198.
Towns in the counties of California, 443-

523-

Trans-continental railroads, 359-367.

Trappers on the Pacific coast and in the
Rocky mountains, 71-80.

Treaty of Utrecht, 72. Of Ghent, 74.
Between Russia and the United States,
70-71. Between Mexicans and Ameri-
cans, 106-107. Of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
110-115. With France and Spain, 113-

115.

Treasure and commerce compared, 377-

381.

Trees, fruits, and herbs, 329-331.

Trinity county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 476-477.

Trinity bay, 200.

Trinity river, 189.

Truckee lake, 177.

Tulare county, area, soil, climate, re-
sources, population, &c., 497-498.

Tulare lake, 171.

Tuolumne county, area, soil, climate,
mountains, forests, resources, population,
&c., 508-510.

Ugarta, Father, in California, 46-47.

Ulloa, Francisco de, explores Lower Cali-
fornia, 41.

" Uncle Sam" showing his authority on
the Pacific, 70-71.

United States, encourages Captain Gray,
67-80. Settles difficulties between Russia
and Mexico, 70-71. Citizens ordered
out of California, 67-69. Purchases
Alaska, 70-71. Northern boundary, 72.
War with Great Britain, 73. Congress

interested in exploration, 78-79. Con-
gress projects Wilkes' expedition to the
Pacific, 80-82. Seeks pass to the Co-
lumbia river, 82-85. Takes possession
of California, 92-106. Officials and sol-
diers in California, 92-109. War with
Mexico, no. Gold discovery in and
product of, 250-253. Mining laws, 281-
289. Aid to railroads, 363-364. Branch
mint and coinage, 373-377. Establishes
agricultural colleges, 388-400. Courts,
418. Chinese and Japanese in, 420-441.
Acquisition of Oregon and other terri-
tory, 526-529. Religious denominations
of, 565. Acquires Alaska, 656. Popu-
lation of, 658. Yellowstone Park, 628.
Aid to Northern Pacific railroad, 630.

Union Pacific railroad, 363-366.

Utah, precious metals in, 267. Chinese
in, 423. Newspapers in, 465. Area,
climate, mines, soil, rivers, lakes, agri-
culture. Mormons, population, cities, de-
velopment, religion, 549-600. Popula-
tion of, 661.

Utrecht, treaty of, 72. As applied to
the Northwest boundary, 112-115.

Vagabonds, quacks, thieves, and villains,
408-413.

Vallejo, General, at the head of military
affairs, 60-64, 86-89. Taken prisoner,
90. Favors the Americans : his speech,
99-100.

Valleys and mountain ranges, 170. For-
mation, 289-291. Flowers on, 304-305.

Vancouver island and British Columbia,
637-639. Boundary of, 112.

Vancouver in the Pacific, 36. Island
named, 37, 66.

Vegetables, early, in the mines, 130-
143. Production of, 325-326. And
chief productions of each county in Cali-
fornia, 443-523.

Viceroy of Mexico's interests in California,

42, 43-49-
Victoria and Vancouver island, 637,

ANALYTICAL INDEX.

68 5

ViNCENNES at San Francisco, 82.
Virginia and other cities of Nevada,

547.
Virginia, first settlement in, 36.

ViscAYNO, Spanish explorer, on the coast
of California, 36. Reaches San Diego,
43-44; and Monterey, 44-45^ 65.

Volcanic eruptions and indications, 220-

235-
Voyages and explorations on the Pacific

coast, 64-80.

Walking, how the Chinese do, 439.
Wallamet valley and its resources, 537-

539-
Wallamet falls, Oregon, 530.
Wallamet river and its navigation, 531-

532.

Walnuts, fruits, and berries, 330-332,

War in California, 89-106. Between the
United States and Mexico, no. Of
Queen Anne and Louis XIV, 113-114.
With the Mormons, 584-585.

Warm springs, 208.

Washington Territory, Hudson Bay Com-
pany in, 74-75. Wilkes visits wreck of
Japanese junk in, 80-82. Gold product
of, 267. Rainfall, 300. Ship-building
in, 370. Chinese in, 423. Newspapers
in, 465. Area, climate, soil, mountains,
rivers, harbors, forests, mines, fish, pop-
ulation, resources, railroads, &c., 613.
Population, Chinese, &c., 631.

Waterfalls, Yosemite, and others, 214—
220. Wallamet, Oregon, 530.

West Indies, Coolyism in the, 440.

Whales in the Pacific, 245.

Wheat in California, 154-305. Product
of the State of California, 320. In the
several counties, 443-523. In Oregon,
537. In Nevada, Oregon, and other
places, 544-

White Sulphur springs, 208. Soda springs,
209.

Widows restrained from marr}dng, 438.

Wife's separate property, 416.

Wild oats in California, 169, 323.

Wild game in Oregon, 536.

Wilkes', Commodore, expedition to the
Pacific coast, 80-82.

Willis in the Pacific ocean, 36.

Wine and grapes, 332-334. Shipment of,
381.

Wives of the " Saints," 594-600.

Woman among the Mormons, her con-
dition, &c., 554.

Wool in California, 154. In Oregon, 538.

Worship of the Chinese, 433-435.

XiMlNES explores Lower California, 41.

Yankee revolution in California, 60-61.

Still bothersome, 62-63. Enterprise on

the Pacific coast, 66-87. Merchant in

the mines, 131-132.
Yellowstone valley, its geysers, beauties,

and wonders, 628.
Yellowstone national park, the largest

in the world, 628.
Yerba Buena, first settlement at, 1 17.
Yerba Buena, or Goat island, 196.
Yolo county, area, soil, climate, resources,

population, &c., 481-482.
Yosemite valley and falls, 158, 214-220.

Location of, &c,, 507.
YoUNGjBrigham, converted to Mormonism :

his birth and eventful career, 576-600.
Yukon river, its extent, &c,, 648.
Yuba county, area, soil, climate, resources,

population, &c., 4S0-481.
Yuba river, 182.

" ZiON, which never shall be moved," 575.
Zoology of California, 236-247,

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The following are a iew of the many reports received from Agents :

Our agent in Greenville, S C, sold 6-5 Bibles, mostly high prices, in eight days.

Our agent in Tallahassee, FLa., sold 11 the first day, and 53 in one week's canvass.

From Aberdeen, Miss., our agent reports nearly 200 -old in less thm three months' work.

Riliegh, N. C, agent sold and delivered 87 in tweoty-two days' time.

IS were soli in one day and bo in one week's time, by our agent in Salem County, N. J., who also
cleared ;«3,000 in one year's canvass.

Our agent in Berlcs County, Pa., averages 60 Bibles a month for four months, three-fourths of them
beinor of the Germnn edition.

The agent of Schuylkill County, Pa., sold Bibles enough in one year's time to buy a oomiort-
able home.

A lady agent at Boston, Ga., sold 5 copies for her first half day's work.

Columbia, S. C, was supplied by our agent with 50 cop es, in five d ys' time.

Our agent in Columbia County, Ohio, delivered 150 copies in 3 small townships.

Our Chemung County, N. Y., agent sold 43 Bibles within a radius of two miles.

Our agent at Syracuse, N. Y., sold 1000 Bibles in one year's time, an average of nearly 100
a month.

Kimsbarg, Holmes County, Ohio, agent sold 40 in six days.

We will send a complete outfit to any one wishing to canvass for our works,
on receipt of a guarantee that they will canvass diligently, and if 12 copies
are not sold, that the canvassing outfit will be returned to us in two months from
time of receipt.

Send for Circulars and Terms. Address

WM. FLINT & CO.,

Philada., Pa., Atlar ta, Oa., Cincinaatji, Ohio, Clxlcago, III., Sprin^ffi^ld, Mass.

S THE NEW
^1 REF]

This book is
tak

YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ERENGE DEPARTMENT

under no circumstances to be
en from the Building

w turn) 410

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Full text of "The golden state: a history of the region west of the Rocky mountains; embracing California, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Washington territory, British Columbia, and Alaska, from the earliest period to the present time...with a history of Mormonism and the Mormons"

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