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1363786 GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 01717 1866
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
history of California
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DARIUS OGDEN MILLS
Born at North Salem, New York, September 5, 1825; died
at Millbrae, Cal., January 3, 19 10; came to California in
1849 and went into business in Sacramento. He soon opened
a bank there under the firm name of D. 0. Mills and Com-
pany, still in existence as the National Bank of D. O. Mills
and Company. After retiring from the Bank of California
in 1877 he removed to New York, though retaining his large
interests in California.
History of California
SPECIAL ARTICLES
EDITED BY
ZOETH SKINNER ELDREDGE
Volume Five
New York
The Century History Company
54 & 56 Dey Street
Printed by
John C. Rankin Company
for
The Century History Company
Copyright By
The Century History Company
all rights reserved
Publication Office
54 & 56 Dey Street, New York, N. Y.
U. S. A.
INTRODUCTION TO THE FIFTH VOLUME
1363786
THE special articles in this volume will give
some idea of what California is, what her
citizens have done, and what they may
reasonably be expected to do to increase the
sum of human knowledge and to promote the welfare
and happiness of the people.
It is hard to understand Spain's long neglect of
California after the voyages of Ulloa, Cabrillo, and
Vizcaino, after Francis Drake sailed his Golden Hinde
up the coast and proclaimed the sovereignty of Queen
Elizabeth, leaving with the Indians a portrait of their
queen in the form of a sixpence nailed to a post at
Point Reyes. It was not until the advent of the
Russians on the northern coast nearly two hundred
years later, combined with the attitude of the English
cabinet, that Spain awoke to the necessity of protecting
her rights. And even in this Spain's action was feeble
and lacking in vigor; so much so that navigators of
other nations marveled that she could maintain herself
in California with so small an armed force. As
Gessler raised his hat on a pole for all to do it reverence,
so Spain planted in California the royal standard of
Castile and Leon, as if she expected the sight of it to
overaw all who contemplated invasion or insult.
Spanish rule in California came to an end in 1821 on
the establishment of the Mexican republic, and the
Mexican title was extinguished in 1848 by the Treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Seventy years ago barefooted
friars were pushing from mission to mission, converting
the heathen, while the ranchero prince, with his cattle
on a thousand hills, entertained all comers with
magnificent hospitality. The exports of California
INTRODUCTION
consisted of a few cargoes of hides and a little grain.
Today what a change! The annual products of the
orchards and vineyards alone amount to #100,000,000,
while another hundred million dollars is taken from
the earth in metals and in mineral oils. The country
that was said by early travelers to be unfit for cultiva-
tion was for many years the largest exporter of wheat
of any state in the union.
Along with the development of material wealth is
the progress of education and the cultivation of the arts
and sciences. And what of the Californian! In him
is concentered the romance and chivalry of Spain, the
glory of England, the energy and valor of the empire
builders; he dwells in the Terrestrial Paradise,* and
the fruits and flowers of the earth are his.
"He made him ride on the high places of the earth,
That he might eat the increase of the fields;
And he made him suck honey out of the rock,
And oil out of the flinty rock;
Butter of kine, and milk of sheep,
With fat of lambs,
And rams of the breed of Bashan, and goats,
With the fat of kidneys of wheat;
And thou didst drink the pure blood of the grape."
San Francisco, May, 1914.
*stf? ' UU^JL^
*When Columbus sailed on his fourth voyage, in which he hoped to pass through
what we now know as the Isthmus of Panama, and sail northwestward, he wrote
to his king and queen that thus he should come as near as men could come to "the
Terrestrial Paradise." (Edward Everett Hale in Atlantic Monthly for February,
1864, cf. also, Las Sergas de Esplandian, Seville, 1510.)
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME
Charles E. Bundschu ("Viticulture in California")
is a wine merchant; was born in San Francisco in 1878;
educated in the public schools, taking a two years special
course in Viticulture at the University of California, class
of 1901, and is at present serving as State Viticultural
Commissioner.
William Wallace Campbell ("A Brief History of
Astronomy in California") is Director of the Lick Obser-
vatory, University of California, and Astronomer in charge
of the Spectroscopic Department. Professor Campbell
was born on a farm in Hancock County, Ohio, in 1862, and
received his education in the public schools and the Univer-
sity of Michigan, receiving the degree of B. S.; has honorary
degrees, M. S. University of Michigan, Sc. D. University
of Western Pennsylvania, LL. D. University of Wisconsin;
has organized and taken charge of expeditions for scientific
observation to Santiago, Chile; Jeur, India; Thomaston,
Georgia; Alhambra, Spain; Flint Island, Pacific Ocean; and
to Russia; is member of many scientific societies in Europe
and America and has received a number of gold medals for
scientific work; is author of text book on Elements of Prac-
tical Astronomy, of a volume on Stellar Motions, and many
papers published in scientific journals.
Albert E. Chandler ("Irrigation in California") is an
Irrigation Engineer, Water-Right Specialist, and Assistant
Professor of Irrigation, University of California. He was
born in San Francisco in 1872; educated in the public
schools, University of California, College of Civil Engineer-
ing, 1896. Has served in U. S. Geological Survey; as State
Engineer of Nevada; U. S. Reclamation Service, and is the
author of several technical works and articles.
Alice Eastwood ("Some General Features of the
California Flora") is Botanist of the California Academy of
Sciences. She was born in Toronto, Canada, in 1859, and
was graduated at the East Denver High School, and is
author of a number of books and papers on Botany.
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Zoeth Skinner Eldredge ("Land Titles in California,"
"George Davidson and the Coast and Geodetic Survey,"
"Banking in California," "San Francisco, the Earthquake
and Fire of 1906") is a retired banker. He was born in
Buffalo, New York, in 1846, and came to California in 1868.
He was weigher and acting cashier, U. S. Mint at Carson
City, Nevada, 1869-73; Secretary and Manager Virginia
Savings Bank, 1879; Cashier Pacific Bank, San Francisco,
1883; National Bank Examiner, 1893-1900; California
State Bank Commissioner, 1904-05; President National
Bank of the Pacific, San Francisco, 1905-09; is author of
"The March of Portola," 1909, "The Beginnings of
San Francisco," 191 2, and is editor of this History of
California.
John M. Elliott ("The City of Los Angeles") is one of
the best known bankers in California and is and has been
for the past thirty years president of the First National Bank
of Los Angeles. He was born in Pendleton, South Carolina,
in 1844; was educated at the Chatham Academy, Savannah,
Georgia, and the Georgia Military Institute, leaving the
latter to enlist in the confederate army, serving for two and
a half years as a private, to the close of the war. He has
served on the Los Angeles Board of Education and for five
years, 1902-1907, on the Los Angeles City Water Board.
George Hamlin Fitch ("California Books and Authors")
is a newspaper man, and since 1880 has been Night Editor
and Literary Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. He was
born in Lancaster, New York, in 1852; was educated in the
public schools of San Francisco, Fort Edward Institute, New
York, and Cornell University, class of 1875; from 1878 to 1879
was Assistant City Editor of New York Tribune. Mr. Fitch
is the author of "Comfort Found in Good Old Books,"
"Modern English Books of Power," "The Critic in the
Orient" and "The Critic in the Occident."
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME xiii
Harry Foot Hodges ("The Panama Canal") is Colonel,
Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., Member and Assistant Chief
Engineer Isthmian Canal Commission; was born in Massa-
chusetts in i860; graduated at West Point Military Academy,
1881, number four in his class; second lieutenant of engineers,
1881; first lieutenant, 1883; captain, 1893; lieutenant
colonel U. S. V. engineers, 1898; colonel, 1899; mustered
out of volunteers, January 25, 1899; major, engineers, 1901;
lieutenant-colonel, 1907; colonel, 191 1.
Alfred L. Kroeber ("The Indians of California") is
Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of Cali-
fornia; was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, 1876; graduated
Columbia College, class of 1896; degrees, A. B., A. M., Ph.
D., and has written a large number of papers on Anthro-
pology and related subjects.
Robert Newton Lynch ("Development of California")
is vice-president and manager of the California Develop-
ment Board and also vice-president and manager of the
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. He was born in
Sharpeville, Pennsylvania, in 1875; educated for the law
and in theology in State Normal School, Chico, California,
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, and in
Regents Park College, London University, class of 1902.
Has served as Baptist Minister and secretary of various
commerical bodies; Commissioner for California to Turin
International Exposition, Turin, Italy, 191 1, and to
Ghent International Exposition, Ghent, Belgium, 191 3.
Alexander G. McAdie ("The Climate of California")
occupies the Abbott Lawrence Rotch chair of Meteorology,
Harvard University, and is Director of Blue Hill Obser-
vatory, Massachusetts; he was born in New York in 1863,
and was educated at the College of the City of New York
and Harvard University; was professor of Meteorology,
United States Weather Bureau, and for some fifteen years
stationed at San Francisco. His literary work includes
xiv HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
"Climatology of California," "Protection from Frost,"
"The Ephebic Oath," "Clouds and Fogs of San Francisco,"
and other books.
Loye Holmes Miller ("The Fauna of California") is
the head of the Department of Biology of the State Normal
School, Los Angeles, and Associate Professor of Comparative
Anatomy, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Los Angeles.
He was born in Minden, Louisiana, in 1874; graduated
University of California, holding the degrees of B. S., M. S.,
and Ph. D.; has served as instructor and associate professor
in Oahu College, Honolulu, in University of California; as
naturalist and collector on various scientific expeditions,
and has published a large number of works and papers on
the fauna and Paleontology of California.
Edmond O'Neill ("The Development of the Petroleum
Industry in California") is Professor of Chemistry, Univer-
sity of California; was born in Nashville, Tennessee, 1858;
educated in San Francisco public schools, University of
California, class of 1879, Strassburg, Germany; Paris,
France; and is consulting chemist and adviser for a number
of California cities in regard to water, sewage, gas, and other
utilities; is a member and officer of a number of scientific
societies and author of many articles of technical nature
published in chemical journals.
Honorable George C. Pardee ("Conservation in
California") was born in San Francisco, 1857; educated j
in public schools and City College of San Francisco; graduated |
University of California, Ph. B., 1879; graduated University I
of Leipzig, M. D., 1885; member Oakland Board of Health,
1889-91; Oakland City Council, 1891-93; Mayor of Oakland,
1983-95; Regent of University of California, 1889-1903;
Governor of California, 1903-07; member National Conser-
vation Commission, 1907-08; President two terms National
Irrigation Congress; Director for California of National
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS VOLUME xv
Conservation Congress and National River and Harbors
Congress; Chairman California Conservation Commission
since 191 1.
Bruce Porter ("Art and Architecture") is a well known
artist of San Francisco, born there in 1865. He received
his education in the public schools and his art training in
London and Paris and in Italy.
G. W. Shaw ("The Agronomics of California") is an
authority on agricultural chemistry and soil selection. He
is a graduate of Dartmouth, class of 1887, and holds that
college's degrees of A. B., A. M., and Ph. D. Has been
professor of chemistry, physics, agricultural technology,
etc., at Whitman College, Washington, Pacific University,
Oregon, Oregon State Agricultural College, Corvallis,
University of California, and head of California's Agronomy
department, besides conducting soil investigations for U. S.
Department of Agriculture and Colorado Sugar Manufac-
turing Company. He is author of many papers and bulletins
on agricultural subjects.
James Perrin Smith ("Outline of the Geology of Cali-
fornia") is Professor of Paleontology in Leland Stanford,
Jr., University; was born in Cokesburg, South Carolina, 1864;
A. B. in classical course, WofTord College, South Carolina,
1884; A. M. Vanderbilt University, Tennessee, 1886; Ph. D.
Gottingen, Germany, 1892; was Assistant Geologist, Geo-
logical Survey of Arkansas, 1888-1890; Geologist, U. S.
Geological Survey, 1896; Professor of Paleontology at Stan-
ford since 1892; has published numerous scientific articles
in various journals.
Crittenden Thornton ("History of the Laws of Cali-
fornia") is a lawyer of high standing in San Francisco. He
was born in Eutaw, Greene county, Alabama, in 1849; was
educated at the City College of San Francisco; has practiced
his profession in Nevada and for the past thirty years in
California.
xvi HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Orson F. Whitney ("The Mormons in the History of
California") known in Utah as Bishop Whitney, was born
in Salt Lake City in 1855; son of a pioneer of 1847; was
educated in the public schools and in the University of
Deseret, now University of Utah; has been newspaper
reporter and editor, Chancellor of University of Deseret,
1886-90; Professor of Theology and English, Brigham Young
College, 1896-97; Assistant Church Historian, lecturer,
preacher, etc.; member of City Council; City Treasurer;
Chief Clerk of House of Representatives, Utah Legislature;
member of Constitutional Convention; State Senator; has
published "Life of Heber C. Kimball," "History of Utah,"
and other works.
Edward James Wickson ("The California Fruit In-
dustry") is Professor of Horticulture in the University of
California. He was born in Rochester, New York, in 1848;
was graduated at Hamilton College, 1869, with degree A. B.;
A. M., 1872; has been connected with the Department of
Agriculture of University of California since 1891 ; was one of
the organizers of the State Horticultural Society and is its sec-
retary; is the author of "California Fruits and How to Grow
Them," "The California Vegetables in Garden and Field."
Charles G. Yale ("Mining in California") is Statistician,
U. S. Geological Survey. He was born in Jacksonville,
Florida, in 1847; was educated in the public schools of San
Francisco and the City College, graduating in the class of
1870; studied chemistry, assaying, etc., under Professor
Thomas Price; has had field experience as assayer, miner,
and millman; was for many years mining statistician, U. S.
Mint at San Francisco, and the California State Mining
Bureau; for twenty years editor Mining and Scientific Press
of San Francisco, mining editor of other San Francisco
papers, correspondent of Engineering and Mining Journal
of New York, and a large contributor to U. S. Mint reports,
State Mining reports, census reports, and to various mining
and other publications, and is today perhaps the best
authority in California on mining matters.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Bundschu (Charles E.)
Viticulture in California 603
Campbell (William Wallace)
A Brief History of Astronomy in California 231
Chandler (Albert E.)
Irrigation in California 301
Eastwood (Alice)
Some General Features of the Californian Flora 39
Eldredge (Zoeth Skinner)
Land Titles in California 141
George Davidson and the Coast and Geodetic Survey 569
Banking in California 423
San Francisco: The Earthquake and Fire of 1906 505
Elliott (John M.)
The City of Los Angeles 557
Fitch (George Hamlin)
California Books and Authors 487
Hodges (Harry Foot)
The Panama Canal 525
Kroeber (Alfred L.)
The Indians of California 119
Lynch (Robert Newton)
The Development of California 587
McAdie (Alexander)
The Climate of California 79
Miller (Loye Holmes)
The Fauna of California 53
O'Neill (Edmond)
The Development of the Petroleum Industry in California 345
Pardee (George C.)
Conservation in California 363
Porter (Bruce)
Art and Architecture in California 461
Shaw (G. W.)
The Agronomics of California 275
Smith (James Perrin)
Outline of the Geology of California 3
Thornton (Crittenden)
History of the Laws of California 397
Whitney (Orson F.)
The Mormons in the History of California 163
Wickson (Edward James)
The California Fruit Industry 321
Yale (Charles G.)
California's Mining History 199
ILLUSTRATIONS
Darius Ogden Mills Frontispiece
Disenoof San Antonio Rancho Facing page 156
Brigham Young " " 164
Philip St. George Cooke " " 168
Gull Monument " " 178
Henry W. Bigler â– " 182
Los Angeles Chapel " " 196
Joseph W. Winans " " 432
Plate 1. The Adopted Plan of the Panama Canal " " 536
Plate 2. The Gatun Dam " " 542
Plate 3. The Gatun Locks " â– 544
Plate 4. Cross-section of Lock Chamber " " 546
George Davidson u " 568
OUTLINE OF THE GEOLOGY
OF CALIFORNIA
CALIFORNIANS may well be proud of the
geologists that have contributed to science
in this field, for there are some great names
among them, names as highly honored in the
scientific centres of Europe as in America.
PRINCIPAL WORKERS IN GEOLOGY IN CALIFORNIA
The pioneer work was done by the geologists of the
Pacific Railroad survey in the early fifties, William P.
Blake, Jules Marcou and Thomas Antisell. Blake was
a keen-sighted, practical geologist whose work still
stands as a model for accuracy. Marcou was a brilliant
but hasty and erratic generalize^ who dared to make a
geologic map of the state at a time when the geology
had not yet been outlined. Antisell was a patient and
plodding student who laid the framework of our
knowledge of the geology of the Coast ranges. Associ-
ated with them, although he was never in California,
was T. A. Conrad, the greatest authority on the
Tertiary paleontology of America.
Immediately after them, and still among the pioneers,
came John B. Trask, our first state geologist, whose
name we are still proud to commemorate in the many
species named after him.
Then came the golden age in the great geological
survey conducted by J. D. Whitney and William M.
Gabb, in the sixties. We are still proud that the great-
est geologist of his time in America should have honored
California by making it the field of his scientific studies
during this decade. Gabb, too, was a genius of the
first rank, and would have become one of the foremost
among American men of science had he not been cut
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
off by premature death. With this survey, too, were
associated Clarence King, W. H. Brewer, and Leo
Lesquereux, famous in other lines of activity. It is
peculiarly fortunate that in a new and difficult region,
men of such high attainments ahould have laid the
foundation.
After this period came genial Professor Joseph Le
Conte, whose deep philosophy and charming simple
expression of it, and whose lovable personality brought
additional glory to California.
A marked increase in scientific activity came in the
eighties and early nineties, through the investigations
of the United States Geological survey, represented by
George F. Becker, Joseph S. Diller, Waldemar Lindgren,
F. H. Knowlton, and Henry W. Turner, whose mas-
terly delineations of the intricate geology of the Sierra
Nevada, and especially of the gold belt, have won the
admiration of the scientific world. Associated with
them in deciphering the geology of the Coast ranges
was William H. Dall, the world's greatest conchologist,
who has given so liberally of his stores of learning in
unraveling our Tertiary paleontology and making
known the wealth of mollusks in our living fauna.
The modern era begins in the opening of the nineties
with the coming of Andren C. Lawson and John C.
Branner to the state. They, with their associates, have
begun the superstructure, and have made great steps
toward deciphering the physical history of California.
No history of the geology of California would be
complete without the name of Harold W. Fairbanks,
who is inseparably connected with the study of physi-
cal geography in our region. John C. Merriam's won-
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY
derful discoveries of fossil mammals, and his masterly
philosophic discussions of the extinct animals that
swam in our seas and roamed over our lands, have
become world famous. And Ralph Arnold has added
a new chapter to our history in his careful stratigraphic
and paleontologic studies that have made our Tertiary
and Quaternary faunas known everywhere.
There are few regions in the world where the records
of geologic history are more complete than in California,
for every major division is represented by marine sedi-
ments, and many of them also by continental deposits.
This is made possible by the geographic position
between two ancient and persistent bodies of water, the
Pacific ocean, and the Great Basin sea, which alter-
nately encroached on what is now California, each one
supplying that part of the record which the other
omitted. The Pacific ocean still washes the western
shore of California, now encroaching, now retreating;
but the Great Basin sea is long since dead, and would
be buried, were it not for the later uplifts that rear its
old sediments in the mountain ranges of the desert
region.
Great Basin Sea. The older portion of the geologic
record, from the Cambrian to the top of the Middle
Jurassic, has been preserved chiefly in the sediments
of the Great Basin sea, while during those ages that
part of California which was afterward covered by the
Pacific ocean was either above water, or has had its
sediments so much metamorphosed that their age is
not positively determinable.
The Great Basin Sea of Paleozoic and early Mesozoic
time covered approximately the area of the Great
6 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Basin of the present age, sometimes more, and some-
times less, dwindling away gradually from the noble
expanse of the Carboniferous Sea to the shrunken
remnant in early Mesozoic time. This basin at all
times was directly connected with the Pacific ocean, by
a broad passage to the northwest; and during a part
of the Paleozoic, especially during the period of the
Coal Measures, it was joined to the Mississippian Sea.
At all other times it was exclusively western, and the
marine Triassic and Jurassic history of the United
States is its peculiar property. It has played very
much the same part in the geologic history of North
America as the ancient Mediterranean or Tethys did
in the history of Europe, though on a much smaller
scale, since it was epicontinental, and not intercon-
tinental. The Cambrian, Silurian, and Devonian
sediments of California are mere fragments of little
area, representing only a small part of the entire time
of those ages. The Carboniferous, however, is fairly
complete, all three major divisions being fully repre-
sented by marine faunas. The Triassic period is
well represented, the Upper Triassic of California
being the standard for this epoch in America, and
comparing very favorably with the rest of the world in
the richness of its faunas, and the completeness of the
record. The Jurassic section of the Great Basin sea
is the most complete in the United States, having
portions of each stage, but it is fragmentary, the faunas
being poorly preserved and scanty. It is not com-
parable with the Jurassic record of Alaska and British
Columbia, and nowhere approaching that of South
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY
America. With this epoch the marine column of the
Great Basin ends abruptly, as the sea was obliterated
at the beginning of the Cordilleran revolution.
Pacific Record. The marine record of California
from the bottom of the Upper Jurassic through the
Quaternary was kept exclusively by the Pacific ocean.
This was divided between two provinces, or areas of
sedimentation, the Sierra Nevada, and the Coast
ranges, but the distribution was not balanced. The
Pacific province is one of the great geosynclines, with
sediments approximating seventy thousand feet in
thickness, and undergoing subsidence more or less
continuously, though spasmodically, from the Triassic
onward, interrupted by great periods of orogenic
activity. This is a part of that grand structural
feature of the continent of which the Great valley,
the Gulf of California, the Willamette valley, and Puget
sound are remnants.
The recognizable Paleozoic and early Mesozoic
sediments are confined to the Sierra Nevada, while the
Cretaceous and Tertiary strata are most complete
in the Coast ranges. The Sierran record is fragmen-
tary, the formations being incomplete, separated by
great unconformities, including great masses of tuffs
and igneous rocks, and showing evidence of important
recurring orogenic and volcanic activity.
The Coast range province, too, showed this same
phenomenon in its Paleozoic and early Mesozoic
sediments, but from the bottom of the Cretaceous to
the middle of the Miocene conditions were more
uniform, indicating moderately quiet advance and
retreat of the sea, with minor unconformities, smaller
8 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
masses of igneous intrusives, and outpourings of surface
lavas. The Coast range revolution, about the middle
of the Miocene epoch, broke the monotony of this
history, and for a time there was much mountain-
making activity. Minor outpourings of lava occurred
along the coast, while farther to the northeast
the Columbian lava flood overwhelmed an area of
about two hundred thousand square miles, and the
rejuvenation of the Sierra Nevada was beginning.
The Cretaceous section of the Coast ranges is more
complete than that of any other single province in
America. It lacks only the uppermost portion, and
shows a variety of conditions not seen anywhere else,
from the boreal faunas of the Knoxville to the tropical
faunas of the Horsetown and Chico epochs, with fossil
floras interbedded in every formation.
The Tertiary marine section of the Coast ranges is
not only the most complete in America, but also more
complete than that of any other single geographic
region in the world. Every minor division is fully
represented by marine faunas, and most of them
have freshwater beds intercalated, with fossil plants
and freshwater animals.
The Quaternary marine section of the Coast ranges
is the most complete that has been described, for this
is almost the only known region where there has
been much post-Quaternary orogenic activity. In
nearly all other regions the Quaternary sediments
are still buried under the oceans in which they were
deposited.
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY
ROCK-FORMING AGENCIES OF CALIFORNIA
Igneous Rocks. A large part of the surface of the
state, a little less than one-half, is made up of igneous
rocks. Of these the most important group consists
of deep-seated granitic rocks, granites, grano-diorites,
diorites, and gabbros, compounds of feldspars and
ferro-magnesian minerals, such as hornblendes, pyrox-
enes, and mica. The greatest of these batholiths is
the great igneous mass of the Sierra Nevada, making
up the bulk of that mountain chain. Smaller batho-
liths of similar character are in the Sierra Madre
range, the White Mountain range, the Klamath
mountains, and in the Santa Lucia mountains.
Associated with the deep-seated granitic rocks in
nearly all these regions there are numerous dyke-rocks,
similar in chemical nature to the parent masses, but
showing only a small surface area.
A second group is composed of basic intrusives,
chiefly peridotites, now largely changed to serpentine,
rich in olivine and other ferro-magnesian minerals.
These cover great stretches in the Coast ranges, where
they are largely of Franciscan age, older than the
Cretaceous; they also form less extensive masses in
the Sierra Nevada.
A third group is composed of dark lavas, mostly
andesites and basalts, surface flows from volcanoes.
These are chiefly of Tertiary age, Miocene, and, to-
gether with the less important rhyolite lava flows,
they cover broad areas in northeastern California,
and smaller patches in all the other mountain regions
of the state. The flows in northeastern California
10 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
are a part of the Columbian field, and probably came
from fissure-eruptions. The others came from ordinary
volcanoes, though in most cases the volcanic cones are
long since destroyed. Mt. Shasta and Lassen Peak
are the two grandest volcanoes of the state, the southern
extension of the Cascade range, still preserving their
ancient form and some feeble remnants of their old-
time activity.
Inorganic Sediments. The greater part of the surface
of California, a little more than half, is made up of
sediments. These are of two groups, (i) inorganic,
and (2) organic.
The inorganic sediments are far greater in thickness
and areal extent, sandstones and shales, derived from
the decay of crystalline rocks. The quartz and
undecomposed feldspars furnished the sand grains,
and the decomposed feldspars furnished the clay for
the shales. The sandstones of California are remark-
able for the large quantity they contain of undecom-
posed fragments of minerals derived from the igneous
rocks, so that they are more often arkose and grey-
wacke than true sandstones.
Thick beds of aluminous shales, now largely changed
to slates, are found in the Carboniferous and Jurassic
rocks of the Sierra Nevada, and to a less extent in the
Franciscan formation of the Coast ranges. The
Auriferous slates also form the surface rocks of
considerable areas in the Klamath mountains.
Less altered shales are extensively developed in all
the later formations of the state, from the Lower
Cretaceous upward, although not on such a grand
scale as in the older periods.
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY n
The greatest individual mass of sediments in Cali-
fornia is formed by the Quaternary and Pliocene
fluviatile deposits of the Great valley. This mass is
about four hundred miles long by fifty in width, and
is several thousand feet thick in the middle, thinning
out toward the edges, surpassing the enormous mass
of Tertiary sediments. These valley deposits have
been bored to a depth of three thousand feet, without
reaching bed-rock, but there are too few deep borings
for an estimate of the average thickness to be possible.
A second great mass of clastic sediments is seen in
the Tertiary sandstones of the Coast ranges which
extend nearly the entire length of the state, and have
a total thickness of about fifteen thousand feet, al-
though not all of this at any one place. A remnant
of this series is seen along the western flank of the Sierra
Nevada in the marine and brackish-water lone forma-
tion, and the upland equivalent is seen in the Auriferous
gravels.
A third great mass of sandstones is found in the
Cretaceous of the Coast ranges, where a thickness of
about thirty thousand feet was deposited. This
thickness surpasses by far that of the Tertiary sand-
stones, but the areal extent is much less. These, too,
overlapped on the foot of the Sierra Nevada.
Smaller masses of sandstone, now largely changed to
quartzite, are seen in the early Mesozoic and Paleozoic
formations of the Sierra Nevada and Coast ranges,
but nowhere forming extensive surface areas.
On the western flank of the Sierra Nevada, through-
out the gold belt, there are in the late Paleozoic and
in the late Jurassic thick beds of tuffs, or volcanic ash,
12 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
now altered to greenstone schists. These in places
have a thickness of several thousand feet, but do not
form considerable areas of the surface rocks.
Organic Sediments. These do not make much of a
figure on the areal map of the state, but play a large
part in its economic history. They are limestones,
siliceous shales, and plant accumulations in the form
of coal or lignite.
The limestones are entirely of organic origin, with
the exception of some smaller occurrences of late
spring deposits, or calcareous tuff, which, however,
are large enough to be used in the manufacture of
cement.
The great masses of limestones are confined to
the Paleozoic and early Mesozoic, though as late as the
middle of the Jurassic period there are some large
beds of limestone. They are formed of ground up
shells, corals, and foraminifers that lived in quiet,
clear waters, but are now largely crystalline, most of
the evidence of their organic origin having been de-
stroyed in the great mountain-making revolutions that
have passed over them. The formation of limestone on
a large scale in California was confined to epochs that
we know from other evidence were warm, and also
to epochs when sheltered, clear seas covered portions
of the state. In such seas corals and foraminifers
abounded, and the evidence of their rock-forming
activity is still visible in the coral reefs of the Paleozoic
and Triassic, and the Fusulina limestone of the
Carboniferous.
From the middle of the Mesozoic up to the Eocene
it was still warm enough at times for reef-building
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 13
corals, and foraminifers to have flourished in the seas
of California; but the warm epoch of the Middle
Jurassic was a time of igneous activity, and during
the Cretaceous there was too much sand and mud
poured into the water for these organisms to find a
favorable habitat.
Limestones, at least in part formed by corals, have
a thickness of several thousand feet in the Cambrian
of Inyo county, but the areal extent is unknown.
The Devonian of Shasta and Siskiyou counties shows
coral reef rock to the thickness of several hundreds
of feet, of small area. These are all surpassed in the
great masses of Carboniferous limestone, of the White
mountains, the western flank of the Sierra Nevada,
and the Klamath mountains, where the lenticular
beds sometimes attain a thickness of two thousand feet.
The Santa Lucia limestone, in the Coast ranges,
of doubtful Paleozoic age, also occur in large beds,
amounting to several hundred feet in thickness, now
changed to marble.
The Upper Triassic of Shasta and Plumas counties
has lenses of limestone in places four or five hundred
feet thick, forming important topographic features,
and largely formed by the agency of corals.
The Franciscan series of the Coast ranges has
similar limestone masses of lenticular form, amounting
in places to a few hundred feet in thickness, and wholly
destitute of fossils, except a few traces of foraminifers.
The Cretaceous lacks limestone beds, except a local
accumulation of shell limestone in the Knoxville
formation of Colusa county, where a thickness of only
a few feet is developed.
14 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The Eocene of the Santa Cruz mountains has some
thin beds of limestone, and the Miocene of Santa
Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Orange counties has
shell limestone amounting to as much as fifty feet in
thickness. With the exception of these local occur-
rences there are no limestone masses in the marine
beds of California from the middle of the Jurassic to
the Quaternary, the Jurassic and Knoxville being
characterized by thick beds df shale, and the other
formations, from the Horsetown up, by enormous beds
of sandstone.
Siliceous Organic Sediments. Among the most
remarkable features of the stratigraphy of California
are the thick beds of siliceous organic sediments.
In the Monterey shale of the middle Tertiary in the
Coast ranges such sediments are extensivey developed,
and in places reach a thickness of five thousand feet.
These are not shales in the ordinary sense, for they are
chiefly organic in origin, the remains of microscopic
diatoms and radiolaria. Similar deposits are known
also in the Eocene of the middle Coast ranges, but on
a smaller scale. These organic siliceous shales are of
great economic importance, for they have furnished
nearly all of the petroleum of California.
Similar masses of siliceous organic sediments are
known in the Coast ranges in the Franciscan forma-
tion, of the earlier Mesozoic, but they are no longer
shales, rather hard, flinty rocks, with the organic
matter long since removed, and the fossil tests of
radiolaria almost entirely destroyed, so that the rocks
now show little resemblance to organic sediments.
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 15
In the Mother Lode region of the Sierra Nevada
there are somewhat similar chert masses, in beds sup-
posed to be Jurassic in age. These too are probably
of radiolarian origin. In the Middle Triassic of Shasta
county a series of siliceous shales almost without
sand grains, and about two thousand feet thick, like-
wise was probably formed partly from the shells of
siliceous organisms.
The Lower Carboniferous and the Devonian of
Shasta and Siskiyou counties also contain many
hundreds of feet of fine-grained so-called siliceous shales
that are probably, at least in part, metamorphosed
organic sediments. Shells of diatoms and radiolaria
are extremely rare in all these older beds, but organic
silica is very soluble, and even a slight degree of
metamorphism destroys the delicate tests, and thus
obliterates the evidence of their origin.
Gold Deposits of California. The gold deposits of
California, which have added in the last sixty years
considerably more than a billion dollars to the world's
wealth, lie principally in the gold belt of the Sierra
Nevada. They are of two sorts, vein or lode deposits,
and Auriferous gravels. The lode deposits are in
quartz veins in the metamorphic auriferous slates and
associated igneous rocks; they are deep seated chemical
deposits formed by the hot waters that permeated
these rocks in the periods of mountain making activity
and great intrusions of granitic masses in the time
preceding the Cretaceous age. They still continue
and will continue for many years to be a great source
of wealth to our state.
16 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The Auriferous gravels are sedimentary deposits laid
down by the ancient Tertiary rivers that won their
golden freight from the wear and tear of the gold
quartz veins of the old mountain highland during the
long period of erosion that lasted throughout the end
of the Cretaceous and early part of the Tertiary periods.
The accumulation is still going in the modern bars of
streams in the gold belt, though not on such a grand
scale as in the Tertiary rivers.
Coal Deposits. During the Eocene epoch plant
remains accumulated to a considerable extent in the
swamps of the old embayment of California, especially
along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada near lone,
the Coast range island area of the Mt. Diablo region,
and in the middle Coast ranges of Monterey, San
Benito, and Fresno counties. These leaf beds have
since been compacted into lignite, and in a few places
into true coal.
Chemical Deposits. In Kern, San Bernardino, San
Diego, and Inyo counties there are extensive chemical
precipitates of salt, soda, potash, borax, and gypsum,
concentrates from the old lakes and salt pans of the
arid region, from Tertiary up to the present. The
areal extent is not large, but they are scattered over
enormous stretches of country, and are of great present
or prospective economic importance. Outranking all
the other chemical deposits in abundance and impor-
tance the petroleum of California, distilled by natural
processes from the organic siliceous shales of the
Tertiary, has come to the front, and in recent years has
surpassed gold as the most characteristic product of
the "Golden State."
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 17
Most Important Events in the Geologic History of
California. In early Cambrian time sedimentation
began in the eastern part of California on the western
shores of the Great Basin sea, and kept up, almost
without interruption, until the middle of the Jurassic.
During this long period the greater part of the state
appears to have been above water, although during the
Santa Lucia epoch (Paleozoic?) calcareous sediments
were laid down in the Coast ranges, and during the
Carboniferous the Great Basin sea spread westward
and southward over much of the region of the Sierra
Nevada. In the Permo-Carboniferous, California, al-
though remote from the center of activity, felt the
effects of the Appalachian revolution, for an uplift
began along the axis of the Sierra Nevada, manifesting
itself in great outpourings of volcanic tuffs, which now
are preserved as greenstones, showing by their marine
fossils that they were deposited in the sea. Further
west, the calcareous sediments of the Santa Lucia
mountains were raised above the sea and changed into
marbles and schists.
The Appalachian revolution restricted, but did not
obliterate, the Great Basin sea, nor did it confine the
relentless advance of the Pacific ocean, for during
the Jurassic marine sediments were laid down along the
Coast ranges, and along the sides of the Sierra.
The Franciscan series has preserved this record in the
Coast ranges, and the Mariposa formation in eastern
California.
The Cordilleran revolution began in the Great Basin
sea in the middle of the Jurassic, when that body of
water, after many vicissitudes, finally went dry, and
18 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
has never since been covered by salt water, although
in later ages Tertiary and Quaternary lakes have been
scattered over its dead basin.
This elevation culminated, in late Jurassic time, in
the upturning, and metamorphism of the Triassic
and Jurassic sediments of the Sierra Nevada, and the
Franciscan beds of the Coast ranges. Since that time
the Sierra Nevada has been above the sea, subjected to
continuous erosion, and there we see the deeper results
of metamorphism. The Coast ranges, on the other
hand, have been buried under the later Cretaceous and
Tertiary sediments, and the deeper products of meta-
morphism are little exposed. The crystalline schists
of the Coast ranges are evidences of rather shallow
hydrothermal metamorphism, while the great masses
of thoroughly altered rocks and auriferous veins of the
Sierra Nevada show the deep-seated action in that
region. This explains the fundamental difference be-
tween the metamorphic rocks of the two areas, where
the phenomenon was contemporaneous, and the rocks
affected were similar in the beginning.
During this epoch along the west coast, from Oregon
to Lower California, there was much igneous activity,
and great masses of serpentine are now seen throughout
the Coast ranges, the results of alteration of the
peridotite dykes that were intruded into the Franciscan
sediments.
It is probable, also, that the Cordilleran revolution
was something more than a mere orogenic disturbance,
for it marks a change from the warmth of the Middle
Jurassic, with its cycads and reef-building corals, to
the cooler epoch of the Upper Jurassic, with its scanty
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 19
boreal fauna. The Middle Jurassic was of tropical
type, from Mexico to Alaska, and uniform up to Franz
Joseph Land. The Upper Jurassic, on the other hand,
was of Boreal type from the Arctic region down as
far as California, and for a short epoch in the Portland
these conditions extended down as far as Mexico.
After this mountain-making epoch near the close
of the Jurassic, the sea again encroached on the up-
lifted area, and the Knoxville sediments were laid
down on the western border of the Coast ranges. The
lower Knoxville beds contain a fauna closely related
to that of the Mariposa, still with Jurassic types of
Aucella, and with the same poverty of other animals.
But the upper Knoxville beds, while still retaining
reminiscenses of the Boreal region in Aucella and a few
other forms, show a preponderance of life characteristic
of more favorable conditions. Aucellas of northerly
habit mingle with cephalopods that did not belong in
the Boreal region, and on the nearby land cycads
abounded.
With the opening of the Horsetown epoch, the
revolution of faunas and floras was complete, the cli-
mate had become tropical, and swarms of Trigonia,
Nautilus and Ammonites like those of India and eastern
Africa occupied the shallow seas of northern Cali-
fornia. These beds were deposited only in a narrow
strip from Shasta county down to the neighborhood
of Mt. Diablo, the rest of the state being above water.
While the Paleozoic and the earlier part of the
Mesozoic were characterized by the formation of
immense masses of limestone, and the Jurassic and
the Knoxville by the deposition of thick beds of
20 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
shale, the middle Cretaceous inaugurated a sandstone-
forming era, which lasted through the entire Tertiary.
During the Upper Cretaceous Chico epoch the
climatic conditions and faunal geography remained
unchanged, but the sea encroached still further on the
land, reaching the foot of the Sierra Nevada, where,
in Butte county, the unaltered and slightly tilted
sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous may be seen resting
upon the upturned, metamorphosed and eroded rocks
of the backbone of California.
By the end of Cretaceous time the subsidence and
erosion of the western part of the continent had almost
established a connection between the Pacific Gulf in
California and Oregon with the old Mediterranean sea
of the Mississippi valley. The intervening isthmus
not covered by salt water was worn down to base-level
and wide expanses of flats were covered with marshes,
which eventually formed coal, preserving a very similar
flora from the outliers of the Mississippi valley almost
to the Pacific coast. These coal-forming conditions
reached far up into Alaska, where almost under the
Arctic circle types of plants flourished that, to-day,
could not live in the open north of Mexico.
In Eocene time the climatic and geographic con-
ditions remained the same as in the Upper Cretaceous,
but the sea had encroached still further on the land,
and the base-levelling of the backbone of the continent
was more complete. The aged rivers began to deposit
their loads of sediments, beginning the formation of
the Auriferous gravels, the first great source of wealth
of the Pacific coast.
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 21
Tropical conditions still prevailed up as far as Alaska,
and coal was still formed abundantly where vegetation
is now scanty. If a geologist in western America
had first named the geologic systems, the Eocene would
have received the name "Carboniferous," for most of
the coal on the west coast belongs to that epoch.
During the Eocene, also, a temporary connection was
established between the Pacific and the Atlantic basins,
for in California and Oregon the Atlantic "fingerpost
of the Eocene," Venericardia planicosta is found along
with Pacific types.
Before the Miocene epoch this Atlantic connection
had ceased, and the faunas of the later Tertiary were
wholly of the Pacific type. The lower Miocene was
still warm, for we find in its fauna a Nautilus still
persisting, and other genera now found only in southern
waters. Quiet accumulation of sediments with abun-
dant organic remains, diatoms and radiolaria, was
going on in the Coast range region. From these the
petroleum, which has added so much to the wealth
of California, was afterwards distilled, in the great
disturbance that took place after the close of the
Monterey epoch of the Miocene.
The vast outpouring of the Columbian lava flow,
which covered an area of more than two hundred
thousand square miles, including the northeastern part
of California, occurred about the middle of the Miocene,
and the Coast range disturbance was probably a local
phase of the same revolution.
In the upper Miocene the climate was no longer
subtropical, but warm-temperate and moist, like that
of the states bordering the present Gulf of Mexico.
22 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Marine animals like those of our time abounded in the
waters, but along with them were some southern
forms. And on the land elms, walnuts, hickories and
laurels nourished, indicating a temperate, rainy climate,
moister if not milder than that of today in the same
region.
In the Sierra Nevada in this epoch there were large
rivers, not running swiftly in deep canons, as they do
now, but winding slowly down low grades, overloaded
with sediments, the Auriferous gravels. These dead
rivers, which must have run on a low plain not far
above sea-level, are now found high up in the Sierra
Nevada, with their channels buried deeply under later
lava flows, and warped by later orogenic movements.
In the Pliocene the warm-temperate types of plants
have disappeared temporarily, and the salt-water
faunas, too, show a change for the worse. The fresh-
water Pliocene lake beds also show the influence of a
cooler climate, for while many of the fossil mollusca
are the same as species now existing in that region,
others that are still living are now found only in the
Klamath mountains.
Now the land had begun to encroach on the sea,
and the shore was receding westward. The whole
west coast was rising, and the salt waters no longer
reached to the foot of the Sierra Nevada, nor even to
the great valley. But the elevation was not uniform,
for valleys in the Coast ranges that had been cut during
the Miocene were filled with sediments during the
Pliocene, which was made possible by local subsidence
along the coast. The immense deposits of the great
valley belong partly to this epoch, and partly to the
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 23
Quaternary, but they are wholly of fluviatile origin.
These gravels and silts have been bored into to the
depth of three thousand feet in the middle of the great
valley, and still bed-rock was not reached.
During the Pliocene the Sierra Nevada was elevated
again, and the rejuvenation of the streams carried the
sediments out of the mountains to the fiats of the valley
floor, piling up the gravels and clays now known as
the Tulare formation. California of that time was
very much like California of today, with a great
mountain range on the east; in the middle a long, broad
valley, low-lying, and covered in many places by fresh-
water lakes; and on the west, a long, low narrow
mountain range. On the submerged narrow coastal
plain, and in troughs parallel to this range, were laid
down the marine Pliocene sediments.
About the close of the Pliocene, and in early Quater-
nary, the elevation of the west coast continued,
causing deep canons to be excavated by the vigorous
streams, in the Sierra Nevada, and in the Coast
ranges. This epoch has been called by Professor
Le Conte the Sierran epoch. The results of this
erosion are still seen in the deep canons, the most
striking scenic features of the Sierra Nevada, but those
of the Coast ranges are now seen only on hydrographic
charts, for they are now buried two or three thousand
feet under the ocean. This shows that in early Quater-
nary time the coast stood two or three thousand feet
higher than now. The record of that time is purely
one of events, for the sediments that were laid down
in the bordering sea are now covered by the ocean,
and the region that is now above sea-level stood too
24 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
high for much deposition. The Sierran epoch cor-
responds to the pre-Glacial or Ozarkian epoch of the
eastern states.
Increasing cold accompanied the period of elevation,
and this culminated in the Glacial epoch, in which
the Sierra Nevada was covered by a continuous sheet
of ice. The ice made its way down sheltering canons
to places that are now 3,500 feet above sea-level, but
which then stood several thousand feet higher. This
means that in the Glacial epoch the climate of Cali-
fornia was very similar to that which now prevails
on the Olympic peninsula in Washington, for in that
region glaciers still come down to 6,000 feet above
the sea, the climate is cool and rainy, and the forests
consist almost entirely of conifers.
During the period of elevation the Channel Islands
off the coast of southern California were connected
with the mainland, allowing mammoths to make their
way across on dry land. The channel was then a gulf,
not unlike the present Gulf of California, and has
been called the Santa Barbara gulf.
After the Glacial epoch had passed, there came
another era of subsidence, but this time on a small
scale, affecting only the immediate shore-line, which
stood for a time from three to seven hundred feet lower
than now. During this period were accumulated the
marine San Pedro beds, known chiefly in the Santa
Barbara gulf. At first the water was a little colder
than at present, allowing marine life now characteristic
of Puget sound to nourish as far south as San Pedro.
Then it became warmer, and, for a short time, species
that today cannot live north of Lower California made
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 25
the Santa Barbara gulf their home. This history is
remarkably like that of New England, where a warm
Champlain epoch of depression followed the Ice Age.
After the San Pedro epoch there came on the west
coast a renewed elevation, causing the streams to
terrace the alluvial deposits that had filled the lowered
valleys in the preceding epoch. This, too, has its
counterpart in the Terrace epoch of New England.
This time has left us no marine record, but only terraces
on the streams, and along the shore.
The last phase in the physical history of the west
coast is the recent subsidence that allowed the sea to
encroach on the river valleys, forming the Bay of
San Francisco, and other bays along the coast. This
has been going on almost into modern time, for Indian
shell mounds, apparently made by the same race that
still exists in California, have been flooded by the
continued subsidence of the Bay of San Francisco.
It is remarkable and little appreciated that the
physical history of the Pacific coast should be so like
that of the eastern coast of America. On both sides
we have the pre-Glacial, Sierran or Ozarkian, elevation
of the land, and erosion of deep canons; the southward
advance of the glaciers; the Champlain, or San Pedro,
subsidence and amelioration of the climate; the Terrace
elevation and moderate erosion; and the recent sub-
sidence that made the fiords of New England and of
Puget sound, the gentler bays of California and Oregon
on the west, and the sounds of the Atlantic states on
the east. On both sides of the continent submerged
26
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
canons run out to sea, marking the course of drowned
rivers of early Quaternary time, now forming channels
of navigation, making possible the maritime commercial
centers of the east and the west.
SYNOPSIS OF QUATERNARY HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
H
55
H
O
W
Pi
Subsidence
epoch of
Golden
Gate and
other bays
Invasion of Golden Gate River System by tide water and for-
mation of the harbors of the west coast. This subsidence has
been going on until very recent time, for Indian shell mounds
around the Bay of San F'rancisco are partly flooded.
Terrace
epoch
Period of uplift and scouring out the channels filled during the
San Pedro epoch, forming terraces in the fluviatile sediments of
San Benito valley, and nearly all the valleys of the Coast range.
The youngest (lowest) terraces of the San Pedro truncate the
upper San Pedro beds and are later than they. The olde r (high-
er) wave-cut terraces of the west coast probably date back to
the Sierran epoch.
<
Upper
San
Pedro
"a,
|
U
Epoch of
depression
along the
coast
Coast stood
300-700 ft.
lower than
now
Warm wa-
ter ma-
rine fauna
Epoch of filling pre-existing val-
leys with gravels and other fluyia-
9
w
1
Lower
San
Pedro
Cold water
marine
fauna
valley, Santa Clara valley, San
Benito valley, and the great valley.
^ I
- C *j
» U U
£ QM-
S'"" °
O
nj
O
Period of elevation of the west coast,
forming the great canons off the Sierras
and the submerged canons of the coast.
A period of no marine sediments (now ex-
posed). In part contemporaneous with
the Glacial epoch, for the glaciers of the
Sierra Nevada came down some of the
canons.
The west coast then stood about
3,000 ft. higher than now, as shown by
the submerged Monterey Bay canon at
a depth of 3,000 ft.
The principal ter-
racing along the
coast took place at
this time, and also
the Channel Islands
were connected with
the mainland, as
shown by the Santa
Rosa Mammoth.
W
U
o
P-
Merced
Beds
Period of depression and filling of troughs with marine Plio-
cene sediments, and formation of great Pliocene lakes above
sea-level.
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 27
ANCIENT CLIMATES OF CALIFORNIA
It may be thought that I am trespassing upon the
province of the Weather Bureau, but, in fact, the
ancient climatology of California belongs to the field
of geology. There is preserved in the geologic record
a climatic record going back untold millions of years,
telling us of a time when the climate of California really
was what we now claim it to be, when all the stories we
tell our eastern friends would be true.
Mesozoic Climates of the West Coast. Since corals
are wholly unknown in the Lower Triassic, and since
the flora of that epoch is as yet little known, it is
not possible to determine the temperature of either
the land or the water. It is, however, certain that the
oceanic temperature in India, in western America and
in northern Siberia, was the same, for there is a re-
markable similarity of the cephalopod faunas in all
three regions.
It is also known that in the Permian and the Lower
Triassic a dry climate prevailed over large areas, for
products of desiccation, such as gypsum and saline
deposits are common in many parts of the world, and
even in regions that are now rainy, as in western
Europe.
In the Upper Triassic there are great limestone
masses and coral reefs in the Alps, the Himalayas and
in California, with many species common to the three
regions. Certainly the epoch of the Tropites subbullatus
fauna was tropical up as far as Shasta county, Cali-
fornia, for there reefs of Astraeidse are extensive. We
may even be justified in assuming that the isotherm
28 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
of 74 F. extended that far north. Indeed it probably
extended up to southern Alaska, for the same coral
reef fauna is found there in the Upper Triassic beds.
After the formation of the coral reefs in northern
California and Oregon the facies changed suddenly
from limestones to clay shales, and with this came an
abrupt change in the marine fauna. The Indian types
of cephalopods disappeared entirely, and in their stead
came in a fauna of which the home seems to have been
the Boreal region. Pseudomonotis ochotica was the
commonest species in this fauna, and was widely
distributed around the North Pacific. It has also
been found as far south as Peru, on one side, and down
to the equatorial part of the Indian ocean on the other.
This wide dispersion does not necessarily mean a
lowering of the oceanic temperature during this epoch,
for this species may have lived in deep water, and
therefore could easily find uniform temperature from
the equator to the Arctic region. But the sudden
change of facies and impoverishment of the fauna over
such an enormous area are suggestive. A slight drop
in temperature below 68° F. would account for it.
The last epoch of the Triassic, the Rhsetic, has no
marine faunas anywhere in America, but the flora,
with its abundant cycads, is widely distributed in both
the northern and the southern hemisphere. Coal
deposits are common in this epoch, and this points to
a very uniform and mild climate far beyond the present
temperate zones.
At the opening of the Jurassic period we find a
Mediterranean marine fauna established in western
America; this same fauna also extended from the
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 29
equatorial regions to Alaska, so that we are without
evidence as to climatic zones, and can only infer that
the temperature was uniform.
In the Middle Jurassic reef-building corals lived in
the waters of the Great Basin sea, and their remains
are quite common in Plumas county, California, but
in that province they formed no reefs, for the waters
were not clear, and much disturbed by the deposition
of volcanic ash. Abundant cycads, a tropical group
of palm-like plants, lived on the land in California at
this time, adding their testimony to the warmth of
the climate. This same Middle Jurassic marine fauna
extended up to Queen Charlotte islands, and to south-
ern Alaska, in the latter place with cycads interbedded
with the salt-water fossils. Here, as was often the
case, the cycads extended some distance north of
the corals, a coral reef with Astrseidae being known in
this epoch on Queen Charotte islands, in 53 N. lat.,
while cycads occur as far north as 57 N. lat. In
this same epoch the northern limit for coral reefs in
the Atlantic region was 53 N., in southern England,
while the other invertebrates and cycads ranged up to
8o° N. lat. A mild climate must have extended up
nearly to the pole.
The Upper Jurassic of California shows a sharp
contrast to the preceding epoch; its marine fauna is
scanty, and what little there is belongs to the Boreal
type, the Aucella fauna, which is characteristic of
Russia, northern Siberia and Alaska. For a short
time this fauna ranged down into the edge of the tropics
in Mexico. This does not mean that the climate was
cold, but merely that the temperature was lower than
30 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
that at which reef-building corals and the other sensi-
tive invertebrates could nourish. In the Lower Cre-
taceous we find the same Boreal type still persisting
as far south as middle California. But here, as in the
Upper Jurassic, the evidence is conflicting, for cycads
are known in both formations.
In the Lower Cretaceous epoch there was a sharp
contrast between conditions on the Pacific and those
on the Atlantic side of America. In the Atlantic
waters coral reefs extended as far north as Texas, while
no corals at all are known in the Pacific waters of
America in California. In the Upper Cretaceous, on
the other hand, coral reefs extended to Ensenada,
Lower California, lat. 31 30' N., while in the Atlantic
waters they did not reach so far north. In other words,
the Pacific waters on the western side of America
became warmer in Upper Cretaceous time than they
were in the preceding epoch, while in the Atlantic
the conditions were reversed, as was the case also in
southern Europe, where coral reefs extended much
further north in the Lower Cretaceous than they did
in the Upper Cretaceous.
The change in faunal geography in western America
about the middle of the Cretaceous period is very
remarkable. The Knoxville epoch had a Boreal fauna,
while with the opening of the Horsetown epoch the
facies changed rather abruptly, and an Indian fauna
came in. Swarms of ammonites of Indian type oc-
cupied the shallow marginal sea, showing at least a
great change in geographic connections, if not in
climate. It has been suggested by the writer that
the opening of the Bering sea passage during the Mari-
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 31
posa epoch of the Upper Jurassic and the Knoxville
epoch of the Lower Cretaceous would account satis-
factorily for the change of facies and the lowering of
the temperature at that time. The closing of this
passage near the end of the Knoxville epoch explains
the change of facies from the Boreal to the Indian type
of fauna, and also the accompanying rise of oceanic
temperature on the coasts of western America.
The favorable conditions, inaugurated in the middle
of the Cretaceous, continued throughout the Chico
epoch, during which coral reefs extended up to Ense-
nada, Lower California, N. lat. 31 30', and a warm
climate prevailed even in Alaska. Reef-building corals
extended up to the middle of California, but they
formed no reefs, since there were no stretches of clear
sheltered waters in which they could flourish.
Neozoic Climates of the West Coast. The Eocene
climate of the west coast was nearly the same as that
of the Upper Cretaceous. The marine deposits have
numerous molluscan genera that are now confined to
the tropics, and on the land palms abounded in Cali-
fornia, Washington and Alaska. No reef-building
corals of this age are yet known anywhere on the west
coast, and it is probable that the marine temperature
was slightly below that necessary for their existence
in this region. The climate of the coast, from Cali-
fornia to Alaska, was probably very much like that of
the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico. There today
many tropical molluscan genera are found in the waters,
and on the marginal coastal plain there is a mixture
of palms, deciduous trees and conifers. This is just
what we find in the fossil Eocene flora of California
32 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
and Puget sound; laurels, figs, sycamores, chestnuts,
elms, liquidambar, oaks, palms and sequoias lived
together. From this association we should infer that
the climate of the west coast was no longer tropical,
but subtropical, and very rainy.
The middleTertiary faunas are very like the present in
the association of genera, and the flora on the land agrees
with this. The palms have disappeared, but laurels still
occur. It is probable that the climate of the upper Mio-
cene had about the same temperature as that of the
present in California, but it had, apparently, a much
greater rain fall, or one much more evenly distributed.
The Tertiary flora of the west coast was immensely
richer than the present. No elm, liquidambar, nor
true laurel lives wild on the west coast now, and many
other types that flourished here are gone. The im-
poverishment of the present tree flora of California,
as compared with that of the Tertiary, has been ascribed
to volcanic activity, but this is absurd. In the first
place the great extinction of the old types took place
in the lowering of temperature near the end of Eocene
time, while the era of great lava outbursts on the west
coast was after the middle of the Miocene. The
climate continued to cool off in the Pliocene, as is
shown by the northern types of mollusca that then
ranged as far south as Los Angeles, and by the fresh-
water lake deposits of middle California, which contain
a fauna at present confined to the Klamath region of
northern California and southern Oregon. The flora
of the Pliocene in California is very scanty, composed
largely of willows, alders and conifers, very much
like that of the Olympic peninsula in Washington.
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 33
The constantly decreasing temperature throughout
the Tertiary is sufficient to account for the reduction
of the flora. The tropical and finally the warm-
temperate types were killed off locally, and such as
were confined to this region were wholly extinguished.
Some of the forms that lived in more favored regions
to the south returned after the Glacial epoch. But
most of the region to the south of California is not
favorable to the extensive growth of forests, and many
of the types have never returned to California, except
when brought in by man.
In the early Quaternary there were extensive ice-
sheets in the Sierra Nevada, and probably the climate
of the sea-coast was cool. The glaciers came down
the slopes to a line that is now about 3,500 feet above
sea-level; it is thought, however, that California stood
considerably higher than now, and that conditions
here were more like those of the present on the Olympic
peninsula.
After the Glacial epoch was past the climate became
warmer, and many mollusca crept slowly up the coast,
from the warm waters of Lower California. This
southern type reached as far north as Santa Barbara
in the upper San Pedro epoch of the Quaternary,
during which time the sea probably had a temperature
as warm as it now is on the shores of Lower California.
This warming up of the west coast was no mere
local phenomenon, for the same thing occurred at the
same time on the eastern coast of America, when a
warm-water fauna ranged up to the Champlain dis-
trict. And also in Europe the climate after the Glacial
epoch was, for a little while, warmer than it is at
34 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
present. After the San Pedro epoch on the west
coast, and the Champlain in the east the climatic
conditions became approximately what they now are,
although it may well be that the Terrace epoch had a
larger rainfall than that of the present.
In the foregoing pages it will be noted that during
all the known Paleozoic the west coast enjoyed a
warm and probably tropical climate, with some sug-
gestion of a northward march of the isotherms, reaching
a culmination in the Upper Carboniferous. There
is then some indication of a southward recession of
the isotherms in the Permian, and a renewed northward
advance in the Lower Triassic. This continued until
the middle of the Jurassic, but the farthest north was
never again reached in the Pacific waters.
In the Upper Jurassic and the Lower Cretaceous
another considerable southward recession of the iso-
therms is indicated, followed by a renewed northward
advance in the middle of the Cretaceous. But this
advance did not reach so far north as that of the Middle
Jurassic. The Eocene epoch shows the temperature
of the west coast nearly holding its own, but with a
probable slight reduction. The Miocene climate had
grown considerably cooler than that of the Eocene, and
by the Pliocene it was already rather cold as far south
as California. The early Quaternary climate was
probably even colder than the Pliocene, for there we
have the local ice-sheets in the high mountains of
California. The post-Glacial amelioration of climate
is as distinct here as it was in eastern America, and in
Europe, and probably as short-lived. Middle and
late Quaternary time was probably much longer than
OUTLINE OF GEOLOGY 35
we have been accustomed to consider it, and there
have doubtless been considerable fluctuations in our
climate in that period, but we have as yet been unable
to decipher these in the geologic record of the west
coast.
1363786
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SOME GENERAL FEATURES OF THE
CALIFORNIAN FLORA
CALIFORNIA extends from north to south
through almost ten degrees of latitude, rep-
resented on the Atlantic coast by the distance
from Newport to Savannah, and in the interior
of the continent from Chicago to Natchez. The cli-
matic conditions between the northern and southern
extremes of these eastern states bring about floras so
different that they are always treated separately. The
flora of California is generally considered an entity,
though besides the same difference in latitude there is
added a greater difference in humidity, the north having
a very heavy rainfall and the south almost none; and
there are even greater extremes in altitude from moun-
tains more than fourteen thousand feet above the level
of the sea, to valleys below its level.
From east to west the state is roughly divided into
the maritime region; the coast mountains with hot, dry
valleys separating the many ranges and peaks; the
Sierra Nevada whose lofty summits are never free from
snow; the great San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys;
and lastly the deserts south and east of the Sierra
Nevada which belong to similar regions in Nevada and
Arizona. These different sections north and south
across the state result in as many floras as there are
peaks, ranges, valleys, or deserts, each with endemic
species and peculiar features, yet all more or less
typically Californian.
The botanist who comes to California from other
parts of the United States has the happiness of behold-
ing a new world of plants when he first sees the Cali-
fornian flowers during the period of greatest luxuriance.
Even those cosmopolitan tramps — the weeds — show
40 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
many unfamiliar species which have been brought from
southern Europe or even the western coast of South
America during the days of Spanish dominion when the
missionaries established agriculture and fostered com-
merce. Among the native flowers so many strange
genera occur, even some new families, and scarcely a
single species identical with any found elsewhere.
Environment is most essential in determining the
character of any flora, and the chief factors are humidity,
which depends generally on situation, and altitude, and
soil constituents. However, environment is not all, for
there are deeply interesting problems not yet satisfac-
torily solved which concern the origin. These bring the
student to the study of the fossil floras of the past ages
and to a broad comparative survey of the floras of the
whole world. In order to really comprehend one flora,
its relation to others must be considered. To illustrate :
The occurrence of the California nutmeg tree (Torreya
Californica) belonging to the yew family, is paralleled
by another species in Florida and two in Japan and
China, but none elsewhere. The tree mallow {Lavatera
assurgentiflora) which is commonly planted around
vegetable gardens as a wind break by the Italians of
the San Francisco bay region is a native of the islands
off the coast of southern California. There are three
other species, one in each of the islands, San Benito
and Guadalupe and one in the Coronado islands; but
neither on the mainland of California nor elsewhere in
North America is there another species indigenous. To
find them we have to go to the Canary islands and the
Mediterranean region. Sometimes geology fills in the
gaps as illustrated most conspicuously by the sequoias
CALIFORNIAN FLORA 41
or redwoods. Their fossils are found in many parts of
the northern hemisphere indicating a former wide dis-
tribution and many species as contrasted with the two
species now living in California, peculiar to this state
and restricted in range. Sequoia sempervirens does not
grow far from the coast, being bounded by the limit of
the sea fogs, while Sequoia gigantea is found in scattered
groves through the Sierra Nevada only. All such species
closely related in form but remotely separated in time
or place, undoubtedly indicate wide-spread distribution
in the remote past, with conditions becoming unfavor-
able for continuance except in isolated regions. This
may also explain endemic species found isolated and
numbering comparatively few individuals. The most
notable examples are the Santa Lucia fir (Abies
bracteata) which is found in a few canons in the Santa
Lucia mountains in Monterey county; the weeping
spruce (Picea Breweriana) restricted to the high moun-
tains of Trinity and Siskiyou counties and the adjacent
mountains of Oregon; the Torrey pine (Pinus Torreyana)
found near San Diego and on the island of Santa Rosa;
the Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) indige-
nous to the coast of Monterey bay, though now widely
cultivated; the Monterey pine (Pinus radiata) with a
range slightly more extended and having a variety on
the island of Santa Rosa with only two needles in a
sheath instead of the three of the typical form.
Examples might be continued indefinitely; for wherever
these isolated species occur they are accompanied by
other species in different families also endemic. The
species of manzanitas (Arctostaphylos) which grow in
42 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the vicinity of the Monterey cypress and pine are not
found elsewhere, and probably a third of the flora of
the Monterey bay region is endemic.
The division of the year in California into the wet
and dry season gives rise to a preponderance of annuals
during the period of most luxuriant vegetation, repre-
senting a bewildering number of species varying from
their relatives often by such minute points of difference
as to show the process of evolution now going on.
Many genera are apparently in a state of transition.
Well defined species mean that the links have not sur-
vived; intergrading forms are those links. One of the
best examples of such a transitional genus is the
Eschscholtzia or Californian poppy. Some botanists
divide this into more than a hundred species and others
consider all to be forms of one. The clovers, lupines,
hosackias, in the pea family; castilleia, orthocarpus,
and pentstemon in the figwort family are other transi-
tional genera. Many of the genera that are typically
Californian show a similar lack of definition and a simi-
lar difference of opinion among botanists. The extrem-
ists are popularly known on the one side as the splitters
and on the other as the lumpers. Some system is
necessary for convenience, names are essential if we are
to deal with these forms in any way, but it can be readily
understood that in placing limits where there are none,
the personal equation is so strong that agreement seems
impossible. These problems give added fascination to
the study of the Californian flora. What fills the evolu-
tionist with delight and satisfies his theories, bewilders
the systematist, brings him to despair or keeps him for-
ever interested trying to solve the riddle of creation.
CALIFORNIAN FLORA 43
In spring the whole country is a beautiful flowery
land except where man has usurped the soil for his
crops, his flocks and herds, and his habitations. The
annuals come up in masses, in colonies, one species
often monopolizing the ground by millions of individ-
uals over one area, another species over another, each
giving its color to the landscape so that its identity can
be known so far as the eye can see. They all quickly
disappear when the rainy season ends, leaving their
sleeping seeds to reproduce the same conditions the
next year. When the first rains arrive in the fall they
usher not winter but spring. Almost at once the brown
hills and valleys, seemingly dead but full of dormant
life, become a misty green which deepens with each
succeeding rain. The myriads of sprouting seedlings
have produced this miracle of a new world. The color
of the winter landscape in California is a rich, luxuriant
green, instead of snowy white; more species are in
bloom at Christmas than in August. Of course, on the
high mountains arctic and boreal conditions prevail
and the higher peaks and valleys are buried for many
months in snow.
It must not be thought that all the hills and valleys
of the lower elevations are brown during summer.
Immense areas of dense evergreen shrubby growth
known as chapparal cover the hills of both the coast
mountains and the Sierra Nevada. It consists of
species of oak, ceanothus, manzanita (Arctostaphylos),
yerba santa (Eriodictyon), azalea, rhododendron, vac-
cinium, gaultheria, pickeringia, chemisal (Adenostoma),
toyon (Heteromeles), sty rax, tree poppy {Dendromecon),
pitcher sage (Sphacele), golden plume (Ericameria) and
44 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
many more that are less common or conspicuous. From
a distance these hills seem velvety in their verdure but
at close range the chapparal is almost impenetrable.
This dense covering of shrubs is of the greatest impor-
tance in conserving the rainfall and they are all pro-
tected from the drought and heat of summer by various
devices that are also characteristic of desert plants.
Each of the dominant species of this chapparal has its
own time for bloom and were it not for the variability
of the rainy season one could tell the month or perhaps
even the week of the year by the prevailing color of the
chapparal. All of one kind will be in bloom at once
and they are often massed together. The different
species of Ceanothus are the painters of blue, purple,
and white; the manzanitas pink and white; the chemise
white which later turns brown; the toyon white in sum-
mer, brilliant red in winter. The berries of the toyon
are to Californians what holly is in other places, the
chief decoration at Christmas.
The forests, too, are always green, the great primeval
forests for which the Pacific coast is renowned. The
deciduous trees are so few that they scarcely give color
in autumn or show bare branches in winter.
In passing from the seashore to the summits of the
highest mountains, belts of vegetation appear, each
marked by its own peculiar trees and shrubs. These
zones are neither parallel nor well defined and can be
outlined only in a general way. There is always an
area where the zone-marking species overlap.
Along the sea-beach where the plants grow in salt
impregnated sand and are bathed by the salty spray
of the ocean, they have many of the same character-
CALIFORNIAN FLORA 45
istics as the plants that grow in the alkaline deserts of
the interior, namely, fleshy foliage, prostrate habit of
growth, great root system, and salty sap. Even the
same genera are represented, such as Abronia, Atriplex,
Suczda, Franseria, and so forth. The species are,
however, different. Among these maritime plants
are some cosmopolitan species, Cakile edentula, Con-
volvulus Soldanella, Mesembryanthemum cequilaterale,
suggesting artificial distribution, probably by sea birds.
The bluffs that generally rise along the coast are
often a tangled mass of plants growing thickest in the
neighborhood of springs which are common on such
bluffs. Here are several shrubs with berries, such as
the blackberry, salmon berry, thimble berry, huckle-
berry, gooseberry, currant, salal, garrya, myrica,
twinberry, dogwood, rose, besides some willows, vari-
ous shrubby composites and tall, rank umbellifers.
Along the northern part of California these form
thickets and are of similar species even to Alaska. In
the southern part the species are different and not so
dense, related to Mexican and desert species.
Above these bluffs are the grassy hills and valleys
devoted to pasturing. Even when these hills are brown
and dry in summer, the herbage is full of nourishment,
natural hay cured by the heat of the sun so that all its
sweetness is preserved. How well do these brown hills
set off the evergreen trees that are scattered here and
there, sometimes carved and dwarfed by the wind, as
are those at the tree limit on the high mountains. How
green these pastures are during the winter but in spring
most beautiful, a kaleidoscope of color from the flowers
growing everywhere.
46 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Along the streams and the lower edges of the inner
hills rise the forests. These forests in northern Cali-
fornia are the home of many splendid trees, chief among
all being the redwood {Sequoia sempervirens). Associ-
ated with this will be found the douglas spruce {Pseu-
dotsuga taxifolia), the California nutmeg {Torreya
calif ornica), the different oaks (Quercus Kelloggii,
Garry ana, lobata, agrifolia, chrysolepsis, densiflora), the
maple {Acer macrophyllum), box-elder {Negundo Cali-
fornia), the laurel or bay {Umbellularia calif ornica),
the incomparable madrona {Arbutus Menziesii), the
wax-myrtle {Myrica calif ornica), the ash {Fraxinus
oregana), the elderberries {Sambucus glauca and calli-
carpa), the buckeye {JEsculus calif ornica). Many of
these trees have a much wider distribution, extending
into the Sierra Nevada and growing at a much greater
altitude. Above the forests and running into them
through shrubby forms of these same trees come the
chapparal covered slopes. Alders and willows frequent
the lower part of the streams and away from the coast
the sycamores also protect the water courses by their
shade. Where the coast mountains rise to high peaks
of from four to six thousand feet, pines appear, also
incense cedar and other species of similar elevations of
the Sierra Nevada. They both catch the moisture
from the high winds that carry vapor across the coast
mountains to the Sierra Nevada. The eastern slope
of the coast mountains and the western side of the
Sierra Nevada are very hot and dry in summer as are
also the great valleys stretching between. Except in
the vicinity of streams or occasional areas where oaks
CALIFORNIAN FLORA 47
abound, the verdure is all gone in summer but reap-
pears in winter, and in spring it is a flowery paradise
everywhere.
In the higher mountains of the Sierra Nevada and a
few peaks of the coast mountains the different zones
are well marked by species of pines and firs. On the
hot, dry foothills are the digger pine (Pinus Sabiniana)
and the blue or white oak {Quercus Douglasii), also
Quercus JVislizeni, an evergreen oak; higher up we find
the yellow pine (Pinus ponderosd) accompanied by the
black oak (Quercus Kelloggii), still higher is the zone of
the sugar pine (Pinus Lambertiana) and with it we find
the incense cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), Jeffreys pine,
related to Pinus ponderosa, the white fir (Abies concolor
Lowiand) and the giant redwood (Sequoia gigantea).
Still higher are the red fir (Abies magnified) which grows
even to timber line, the mountain pine (Pinus monticola)
the foxtail pine (Pinus Balfouriana) and the hemlock
spruce (Tsuga Mertensiana). This last comes pretty
close to timber line on some mountains where Pinus
albicaulis forms wind-carved ridges and clumps like
dense hedges. The tree commonly known in California
as the tamrac is really a pine (Pinus Contorta Murray-
ana) which loves to grow circling the meadows where
snow lies long and the streams head. It is a widely
distributed species in several varieties and in the
Rocky mountains is known as the lodge-pole pine. In
the southern part of the state where the mountains do
not rise so high and run east and west instead of north
and south, some different species are found, as Pinus
monophylla, Pinus Parryana, Pinus Coulteri, and Pseu-
dotsuga macrocarpa. Between the extreme south and
48 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the extreme north of California the zone marking
species have a great difference in altitude, for as one
goes to the arctic regions the vegetation of the loftiest
peaks of the southern mountains is similar in character
and even in some species to that at the very sea level.
The desert flora is related to that of Mexico and is
full of queer plants not found elsewhere. The best
represented families are the Composite? with a great
many genera, the best known being the sage brushes
(Artemisia) ; the rabbit brush (Chrysothamnus) ; Cheno-
podiacece with species of Atriplex or salty sage; Polygo-
nacece, species of Eriogonum, Chorizanthe. There are
many kinds of grasses, also of cactus. The Leguminosa
have most beautiful trees, the palo verde or Parkin-
sonian the mesquites or Prosopsis, and the daleas which
are all shrubs except Dalea spinosa. The yuccas belong
to the lily family and the agaves to the amaryllis family.
Indeed, many of the desert species are of surpassing
beauty in flower and most of them are armed with
thorns or spines. It is a wonderful experience to see
the desert blooming after a plenteous rainfall. Never
shall I forget the ocotilla (Fouquiera splendens) as I saw
it in the spring on the edge of the Colorado desert
in San Diego county. The stems of this plant rise in
groups of single stalks and grow to a height of six to
ten feet. Before the rains they are gray and bare
except for the most awful thorns that completely cover
the stems. After the rain these thorns become hidden
beneath the delicate green leaves and the summit of
the tall stems are glorified by great clusters of the
most brilliant red flowers. For miles these groups of
CALIFORNIAN FLORA 49
wonderful plants are scattered over the desert accom-
panied by different kinds of cactus, daleas, krameria,
ephedra and others not so noticeable. On the Mojave
desert the most conspicuous species is the tree yucca, a
fantastic tree with spreading branches entirely bare
except for the tuft of dagger-shaped leaves at the ends.
It has a weird appearance in keeping with the desolate
country over which it is spread. Where water flows
during the rainy season, the desert willow, a peculiar
tree related to the catalpa, the arrow-wood {Pluchea
borealis), the mesquites (Prosopsis pubescens and
juliflora) together with real willows (Salix), cotton
woods, and sometimes the walnut.
Insular floras have a great value in the light they
have thrown on the evolution of species. It was from
the study of such floras and faunas that both Darwin
and Wallace discovered the Law of Evolution. The
Californian islands that lie off the coast from about
Santa Barbara southward are full of interesting sug-
gestions. They have not been so long separated from
the mainland to lose all connection but not only do
they have peculiar endemic species but where they have
similar species each island will often show some slight
variation from the species on the other islands and also
from what grows on the mainland. A few conspicuous
examples will illustrate. The Lyonthamnus is a pecu-
liar tree found only on these islands, belonging to
the rose family, but with some characteristics of the
saxifrage family. The species as it grows on Santa
Catalina island has simple leaves; on Santa Rosa and
Santa Cruz islands the leaves are compound, each
leaflet resembling a simple leaf of the Catalina species.
50
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The holly-leaved cherry (Prunus ilicifolia) common on
the hills of the mainland from northern to southern
California has a related species on Catalina island
having leaves without the prickly edge, much larger
flowers and fruits, forming a fine, large tree. To num-
ber or list the endemic species of each of these islands
would be quite unsatisfactory because of the great
difference of opinion that would arise over specific lines.
It has been possible in this brief survey of the
botanical features of California to merely touch upon
the interesting features. To fully describe and explain
at length would make a book of good size. While it
is incomplete in so far as details go, yet the main points
have, I think, been touched upon so as to give the
average reader some knowledge of the character of one
of the most interesting floras of the whole world.
0t£^CJ2~ F<^^Zr~&&-&{
THE FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA
ONE of the most fascinating phases of the
polychrome science, biology, is that aspect
dealing with the adjustment of a fauna or a
flora to the physical character of its habitat.
Men nowadays commonly think of earth, air, water as
passive matter and brush them aside into the category
we call "inanimate nature." Birds sing, squirrels
bark, flowers bloom ; but mountains, rivers, and deserts
live and breathe only in the imagination of the senti-
mental poet or of the superstitious barbarian. As one's
horizon of appreciation widens, however, he sees things
in the large, his vision reaches over areas of continental
magnitude and extends through almost incalculable
time. He sees in operation, forces which remain
unnoticed through the briefer periods that can be meas-
ured in the pulse beats we call generations. He sees
the world of organic things take shape and change
that shape in response to environmental influence
almost as though the physical in nature were the
animate thing and organisms the insensate warp and
woof plastic to its touch. The materialistic attitude
toward nature is measurably tempered by this time
and space vision and a faunal biologist sees the animate
appear almost as a garment woven upon the inanimate.
The robe is wondrously fitted to the form beneath it,
displaying rather than hiding its contours, thrown into
ample and luxuriant folds over the deep, quiet places,
only to be drawn tense and spare over the points of
highest tension; perhaps a bit sun-bleached or worn
in spots of severe attrition and exposure, but maintain-
ing an oriental splendor in deeper folds. Figures of
the original pattern may in some places have completely
54 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
disappeared, in others, simply mellowed or been
enriched. So at times it almost seems that earth were
alive and we its mere clothing. To the real naturalist,
be he technical or otherwise, seeing with the larger
vision the fauna of California, the wonder of this
biological garment, its varied texture, its infinite range
of coloring, yet withal its orderly conformity to law,
cannot but appeal most forcefully.
The state of California embraces within its borders
as great if not a greater variety of vertebrate animals
than does any one of her sisters in the union. No
less than 530 distinct races of birds and 337 species of
mammals have been listed by the Museum of Verte-
brate Zoology at the State University from this
commonwealth. Of freshwater and littoral marine
fishes, an equally imposing number has been recorded
by the Zoology department of Stanford University.
Reptiles and Batrachians have been too imperfectly
surveyed to afford positive census as yet while inverte-
brates teem in such myriad numbers as to almost
discourage the cataloging.
The great array of species thus listed from California
is due not solely to the immense area involved but is
attributable to a peculiar combination of many and
widely diverse environmental factors. These factors
include such important ones as great range of latitude,
of elevation, of temperature, of humidity, of insolation.
There extend throughout the length of the state great
parallel ranges of mountains with at least one trans-
verse barrier; there are partly disconnected peaks,
there are continental islands and deep submerged
valleys close inshore; there are unrelated river systems
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 55
draining blindly into desert sinks. The whole country
is geologically young, there have been recent and varied
changes in its topography. There was never a general
ice cap over the entire surface in glacial times to level
off organic inequalities with the planing down of
its physiographic contours. Under such conditions a
biological monochrome is impossible. It is a commonly
accepted bionomic principle that variety of conditions
or rapid change in conditions will be reflected in the
faunal fluctuation of the region involved, hence nature
has here followed a logical course in weaving for herself
a coat of many colors and California is rich in organic
species.
Were the earth a sphere of unvaried surface from pole
to pole, then would distance from the equator probably
constitute the chief if not the only factor governing
the distribution of its organic life. A species would
assume position to north or to south in that temperature
zone congenial to it until there resulted the phenomenon
of species distributed in uniform bands along the
parallel isotherms or lines of equal temperature through-
out the earth. In the large, such zones do exist roughly
outlined upon the continents despite the diversity of
surface. Students of geographic distribution recognize
in North America the so-called Sonoran Zone roughly
coincident with the area of the United States lying
between the Tropical Zone of Mexico and Central
America to the southward and the Boreal Zone of
Canada and Alaska to the northward. Latitude will
thus be seen to constitute an important determinant in
the distribution of species. California extends in its
greater dimension over more than ten degrees of lati-
56 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
tude, a distance here sufficient to traverse the entire
Sonoran Zone. Her southern boundary lies at its
southern isotherm, her northern counties reach beyond
its northern isotherm into the Boreal Zone which is here
deflected southward by the west American mountain
systems.
The state, possessed of such great range of latitude, is
then in a position to attract within its borders a number
of forms from neighboring zones both to north and to
south of her. Hence we find crossing our southern bor-
ders from Mexico a host of animal forms, some just
peeping in as it were and others pushing further to the
northward well into the center of the state. Scott's ori-
ole, Arizona hooded oriole, Texan cardinal, vermillion
flycatcher all are migratory forms capable of crossing
such topographic barriers as intervene, yet, though
coming north only in the warm season from the Tropical
Zone they stop n the southern counties of the state.
The zebra tailed lizard, the chuckawalla, the iguanid
lizard, Dipsosaurus, the banded gecko are nonmigratory
forms diffusing north from the deserts of Mexico into
our southeastern corners where they find a congenial
climate. At the opposite extreme from these gentle-
men of fervid tastes we find in the northern counties of
California the ruffed grouse, evening grossbeak, wolver-
ine, otter, marten, and fisher, all of them forms we share
with our Canadian neighbors to the northward. Back
and forth for varying distances up and down the state,
these organisms pass either in seasonal migration or in
the slower course of species diffusion, each finding his
environmental setting there to flourish.
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 57
In many respects comparable to the effect of longitude
upon organic life is the influence of elevation above sea
level. East and west continental life zones dependent
in the main upon temperature find counterpart locally in
the abrupt mountain ranges of the west. Within a
score of miles one may pass from Lower Sonoran
to Upper Sonoran, thence through Transition to Boreal
at the summit of the range. California is rich in
mountains and the ranges trend in the main parallel
with the meridian. The Sierra Nevadas of the eastern
border of the state rise to the height of perpetual snow
and their north and south direction causes them to
become a pathway for the southward diffusion of boreal
forms such as the leucosticte, cross-bill, sierra grouse,
Mount Whitney coney, marmot and wolverine. In
the vicinity of San Francisco bay the western golden
crowned kinglet occurs in winter at practically sea
level. In Los Angeles county it is seldom if ever noted
below an elevation of five thousand feet. This little
visitor from the cold Boreal is thus able to pass the
entire length of the state, climbing farther and farther
into the mountains as he comes south and so escaping
the scorned mildness of the warmer Sonoran Zone which
laps like waves higher and higher along the flanks of the
range until in southern California, its warmer airs wash
across the ridge through the east and west passes and
break the mountain chain into a number of biological
islands of the Boreal. Upon these isolated peaks there
appear thus segregated, larger or smaller patches of a
more northern biota entirely surrounded by animals
and plants distinctive of the south. Mount Whitney,
Mount Pifios, Mount San Gorgonio, and Mount San
58 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Jacinto constitute such "islands" comparable to
the southern end of the Andes trailing off into an
archipelego in the antarctic sea.
Flanking the somewhat abrupt western base of the
Sierra Nevada from Shasta to the Tehachapi, through
the major part of the length of the state, shielded
from the cool sea-winds by the Coast range immediately
to the west, warm, dry, and level, there lies the great
interior valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin
drainage basins. Here cradled between two great
ranges of mountains, is a region of low elevation, great
flatness of contour and of sluggish drainage, the wheat
field of California. This great valley, so broad that its
limiting ranges fade into the haze of drowsy weather
or recede as vertical walls of white-capped blue on
crystal days, gives the impression of limitless expanse
and offers to animals and plants of plains loving nature,
a congenial habitation. One or two residual bands of
the once abundant antelope and a few of the vanishing
dwarf elk still roam its open stretches protected by a
rigorous state law which brands their killing a felony.
Along its willow and cottonwood bordered water courses
occur the wood-dwellers of the lower Sonoran, finding
here a pleasant highway upon which they venture well
into the northern part of the state. Along this tem-
pered path goes that incarnate spirit of semi-tropic
moonlight, the mocking bird. The anomalous road
runner, a cuckoo with long legs and degenerating wings,
his heritage of tree-dweller foot only slightly adjusted
to the swift coursing habit, finds here a hot open
country with abundant lizard and grasshopper diet
quite to his fancy.
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 59
Shallow, ephemeral, and often alkaline lakes accumu-
late quickly on the level valley floor to form ideal haunts
for such migratory southern gentlemen as the black
necked stilt and the fulvous free duck. Bell's sparrow
and the kangaroo rat, dwellers in sage and sand, find
homes in the low marginal foothills while out over the
plain from spurs of the Coast range sails the great
California condor going easily fifty miles to breakfast
on the once elk and antelope populated plains of this
great level basin, the valley of the Sacramento and the
San Joaquin.
The second great mountain mass, the Coast range,
is less positive as a biological factor than is the Sierra
Nevadan system. Elevations are less pronounced,
continuity is less perfect, slopes less steep, and the
vertical projection of life zones, in consequence, less
perfectly defined. There are no perennial snows, no
upper timberline, no hanging gardens in high glacier
meadows, no crag-set lakes to attract the nesting water
fowl, no roof gardens of tamarak and aspen groves.
Nor are there at the other extreme any sun browned
deserts at their feet such as cling about the skirts of
Whitney, San Gorgonio, and San Jacinto. The system
does, however, suffice to shut off from the west the
wheat field of the interior valley and, among its broken
spurs, to cradle a host of smaller patches of fertile
garden. Where its western slopes do not drop sheer
into the sea it serves to define fragments of a discon-
tinuous coastal plain. In some of the enclosed pockets
to the southward occur isolated colonies of the appar-
ently disappearing yellow billed magpie. Here, too, is
probably the last intrenchment within our borders of
60 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the California condor, unique in the northern hemis-
phere in point of size and equaled elsewhere in the world
only by the great condor of the Andes.
At their northern end these broken coastwise
mountains serve to bring well within our borders the
northwestern Humid Belt, a biological area stretching
down the coast from British Columbia practically to the
San Francisco region. Being cool throughout the year,
shaded by fog and clouds, watered abundantly and
timbered in accordance, this area tempts southward
such cold proof Canadians as the chestnut backed
chickadee and NuttalPs sparrow. The dark coastal
form of the wren tit is here segregated from the pale
colored inland phase which ranges from Shasta county
to Mexico in the Sonoran. The plumed quail, the
coast jay, a dark colored species of that peculiar isolated
rodent, the swellel, not to mention a host of smaller
mammals — all help to characterize this well defined
area.
South of the San Francisco region small pockets of
the coastal area quite apart from the northwestern
Humid Belt, harbor distinctive forms of wren tit, song
sparrow, and chickadee, while up and down the whole
disjointed coastal plain migrates that little salt-marsh
creeper, the Bryant sparrow.
At its southern end the Coast range divides in the
Santa Barbara region into two general masses. While
one portion turns inland, the other continues southward
from Point Conception out to sea as a now partly
submerged peninsula evidenced by the group of peaks
known as the Channel Islands. These islands are
separated from the mainland of southern California by
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 61
the Santa Barbara Channel, an ancient gulf comparable
to the Gulf of California, until in recent geological time,
it established a northern outlet by washing across the
old peninsula in the vicinity of Santa Barbara. When
this important event took place there were left ma-
rooned on the resultant chain of islands a number of
forms of life some of which, though probably added to
from time to time by various contributions from the
mainland, have come to be distinct and characteristic
of their insular habitats. Among the birds thus segre-
gated are the San Clemente house finch, the island
horned lark, San Clemente towhee, island shrike, Santa
Cruz jay, San Nicolas rock wren and others. No less
than four distinct races of gray fox occupy as many sepa-
rate is lands of the group. The ground squirrel and white
footed mouse add to the distinctiveness of the insular
fauna by contributing each a modified subspecific form.
That subdivision of the southern Coast range
mentioned above as passing inland from the region of
Santa Barbara may now very properly claim our atten-
tion. This mountain mass thrusts itself well to the
eastward, its spurs coming to lie in an east and west
direction. In southern Kern county it meets with a
westward spur of the Sierra Nevada and the two fuse to
form the transverse barrier of the Tehachapi, an ob-
stacle of such magnitude that two great competing
railways must needs smother a mutual enmity to such
degree as will permit their using a common track, the
only feasible route yet surveyed over this great divide.
Up its either side labors a great state's internal traffic
only to lower itself cautiously and with almost equal
effort down the serpentine loops of the opposite slope.
62 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
No less than the geographer does the biologist find
this transverse wall of intense interest. Long before
it could hamper the as yet unborn commercial activity
of the rising human animal, it had proven an influence
in measurably retarding the movements of the lower
organisms. As a result of this insulating effect we are
able to recognize south of this barrier the so-called San
Diegan region, which is a well defined faunal island
reaching from Santa Barbara on the north well down
into northern Mexico. To the north and east of this
area lie high mountains and beyond the mountains,
deserts. Moat and battlement could not effect a more
perfect barrier to ancient castle than does this combi-
nation of desert-girt mountains through which the
three narrow passes of Newhall, Cajon, and San
Gorgonio offer the only gateways. Within this warm,
sheltered orchard garden bordering the sea and so
sharply contrasted with the northern Humid Belt we
find such forms as the Anthony towhee, Bryant cactus
wren, and black tailed gnatcatcher. With them push-
ing south into Mexico goes a little beach comber, the
large billed sparrow. Into this same area is now unfor-
tunately intruding along the lines of railway through
the three narrow passes that feathered Ishmaelite, the
English sparrow. The San Bernardino kangaroo rat,
the tawny gopher, San Bernardino grasshopper mouse,
and the Xantus night lizard help to define this very
interesting faunal area.
And now lastly our attention turns to the desert — the
southeastern corner of the state — that part which it is
said "God forgot." A wonder place, it holds the biolo-
gist in an unbreakable hypnosis. Here there is run
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 63
within a score or two of miles, the entire gamut of bio-
logical changes from Boreal to Tropical. Here there
are displayed some of nature's most fascinating phe-
nomena of adaptation to an austere environment. In
late August, at an elevation of more than eleven
thousand feet one may walk over the snow packs of
San Gorgonio peak out to the edge of things and look
down into the pit of North America, sunken in clinker
bare walls to a depth of nearly three hundred feet below
the level of the Sea. Again one may stand at the margin
of the shallow, brackish lake formed by runaway
waters of the Colorado river empounded at the bottom
of this pit and, here subject to a temperature sug-
gestive of the veritable pit, he may look from barren,
sterile, alkali lands to creosote and salt bush belt, thence
to sage and oak belt, on up through various conifer belts,
and finally to barren summit so near that it seems almost
to overhang. With the eye one thus passes rapidly from
desert with an annual rainfall of practically zero to
snow covered peaks with nestling lakes and marshy
meadows in the high hung valleys; from the sterility
of heat and salt to the barrenness of cold and snow.
What a condensation of biological areas ! What endless
interest when we learn that there occurs in each zone
a specially adapted fauna and flora!
A popular concept of the desert makes of it a place
wholly waste and devoid of life. One does not see how
life can exist without water, the desert is a place without
water, hence a place without life — a very simple con-
clusion from a seemingly unchallenged premise. In
this premise, however, lies the fundamental error. The
desert is not waterless except by comparison with more
64 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
favored spots. It may not rain this year but next year
it probably will or else the year following. Some plants
readily wait a year for a drink and are then content
with a very scant sprinkling. They have developed
during long ages of adjustment the power of rapid
drinking through extended root systems spread just
beneath the surface. Water thus acquired in time of
meagre rainfall is almost indefinitely retained by means
of thickened cuticle and minimized leaf surface. Seeds of
more ephemeral flowers may lie hidden in the sand
for several seasons before a rain comes sufficient to
germinate them. They then leap into life, maturity
is attained, seeds ripen on the drying stem from which
the leaves have already withered, the brief life cycle is
run within the few weeks of favorable condition, seeds
drop into the shifting sand, and another long wait is
in order. Where there is seed there is to be found the
attendant procession of interdependent forms — ant,
beetle, lizard, bird, rodent, snake, coyote, vulture — and
the desert is alive. Leagues out on the Mojave desert
from Barstow, away from water on surface or in sub-
stratum, the writer found Gambel quail, canon wren,
sage sparrow, Say phoebe, mocking bird, kangaroo rat,
jack rabbit, coyote, leopard lizard, scaled lizard, desert
tortoise and unidentified insects.
About the Salton Sink on the Colorado desert there
is an abundance of birds, mammals, and reptiles. No
species is more distinctive of such environment than is
that elusive songster, the Leconte thrasher, a bird with
all the sweetness of song that the mocking bird possesses
yet with too much originality to plagiarize as does that
arch rascal. In similar haunts with Leconte thrasher
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 65
occur the cactus wren, sage thrasher, and Gambel quail.
About the natural oases and now readily adopting the
artificial thickets of the irrigated ranches, is the desert
song sparrow with much of the color from his speckled
coat seemingly struck inward to enrich his joyous song
till it surpasses that of his darker coastwise relative, the
San Diego song sparrow. The flooding of the great
Salton Sea and the distribution of water over the land
by artificial means has attracted gulls, terns, pelicans,
cormorants, rails, ducks, cranes, meadow larks, marsh
blackbirds, and a host of other forms appearing most
incongruous in the greater environment of the desert.
Only a step out from these oases, however, the antelope
chipmunk, zebra tailed lizard, desert rattlesnake, and
desert tortoise help to remind one that the "desert
primeval" is very much alive.
From the foregoing discussion it is evident that
California because of her infinitely varied topography
and consequent segregation of faunas, will hold for the
student of species distribution an intense and unending
interest. Here the great questions of adjustment to
environment continually confront him. Why is the coast
wren tit dark and the pallid wren tit from the interior
some shades lighter? If forced to occupy an arid region
would the coast form become bleached or remain dark?
Why do they not intermingle? The valley quail goes
out from the San Diegan region through San Gorgonio
pass to the desert's edge, the Gambel quail comes in
from the desert through the same pass to the edge of the
more humid San Diegan; each species stops at the gate,
as it were, and looks through at the, to him, unpromis-
ing land on the opposite side; they mingle amicably here
66 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
for a space but neither goes down into the domain of
the other. Why do they respect the invisible barrier?
It must be a matter purely of preference as each species
occupies the same ecological position and on this com-
mon border of their habitats the two mingle without
visible antagonism. How does the desert rodent live
his whole life through without knowledge of water and
subsist, as captive specimens have done for years upon
food no more succulent than dry bird seed? What is
the immediate derivation of species of fish now dwelling
in streams that empty into the "dead seas" of blind
drainage systems ? How did the Boreal faunas of our
isolated mountain peaks become stranded upon these
Arrarats as though once borne on a flood tide of cold
now ebbed away from them? Science is confronted
with a multitude of such questions many of which bid
fair to remain long unanswered. The field naturalist
joining hands with the experimental biologist, may
solve in the near future some of these problems, still
for a long time to come California cannot but appeal
to the student of speciation as a land of opportunity.
Diverse as is the topography of the state there
prevails over the major part of its large area a factor
which at first glance would be considered a leveler of
inequalities. That factor is what is known to the
meteorologist as the Franciscan climate. The year is
biseasonal; practically all the rainfall comes within the
five months from November to April, and by far
the greater portion is precipitated within three of these
months. The winters are warm and the summers
practically rainless for seven months consecutively and
the summer temperature away from the coast may
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 67
become quite high. The effect of such a climatic con-
dition upon the fauna of the state is noticeable in
several different ways. In regard to their activities,
one will notice among the mammals of the Sonoran a
marked absence of hibernation and a very positive
tendency to estivation. The ground squirrels and the
pocket gophers display locally such a tendency. They
often lie quietly through the hottest, driest part of the
year with no sign of activity at least upon the surface.
As soon as the rains have moistened the earth suffi-
ciently to green the hills over, the work of these
pestiferous rodents is resumed in force.
Another noticeable effect of the climate is to increase
the resident population of birds. Many kinds which
are elsewhere migratory will remain within the state's
borders throughout the year, performing slight geo-
graphical migration or only the vertical migration up
and down the mountains. The breeding season is
prolonged. Several small species like the humming
birds, finches, and the mocking bird may begin breeding
in February and continue till October. Amphibians
and lizards are active in December and January since
the ponds never freeze sufficiently to drive their myriad
population into refuge in the mud. Insects produce a
greater number of broods per season since every month
of the year has its flowers.
A further effect of the long period of unbroken
sunshine is to bring about a sharp contrast between the
north facing and the south facing slopes in even mod-
erately broken country. On south facing slopes the
sun lies long and lies warm. The moisture is drunk
away in summer faster than the roots of perennial
68 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
plants can burrow to deeper strata, hence we find on
such exposures at lower elevations, only a growth of
annuals and xerophytes which give place on higher
elevations to the dwarfish chapparal or elfinwood.
On the other hand, the shaded north facing slope may
be wooded to the very crest of the divide. Damp,
shady and cool, its perennial thickets offer lodgement
to forms in sharp contrast to the open sunny exposures
of the opposite tilt. On the one side the meadow lark,
on the other side the song sparrow; on the one, the
ground squirrel, on the other, the wood rat. Great
tongues of the Sonoran Zone may run far up along the
sunny side of a large valley to far overlap the downward
reach of the Transition Zone along the opposite side.
In such fashion do the larger biological areas become
checkered into a smaller and smaller pattern of inter-
mingled faunas until the observer, according to his
lights, is either oppressed by the seeming tangle of
forces at play or else he tingles with enjoyment of the
orderly conformity of it all to simple and readable law.
To the student of things as they are, there very
naturally and altogether properly comes the question
as to how they were. Things have not always been so;
everything changes even to men's ideas of the truth.
Hence have we come to realize that the world today is
a product not of special and instantaneous creation,
but of long existing and still operative forces. Slow
indeed has been the change, hence its tardy recognition.
The period of human record is often spoken of by geol-
ogists as being but a mere flash light, an instantaneous
impression of the earth and her creatures. Man-made
history is too young to record any progress in events
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 69
geological, yet the present proves to us that such
change has been and still is going on. We are forced
to concede that mountains are born, yet born to die; that
great inland seas may prove but ephemeral things;
that climate no less than topography is subject to
fluctuation.
In view of the intimate relation existing between the
creature and its habitat one might expect the same law
of mutability to hold true in biology. We find such
to be the case as regards the nature, the abundance,
and the distribution of any organic form. We are
unable, with some possible exceptions, to see any great
modification of a species in nature during the period of
human record. Most of the observable changes in
distribution and in numbers have been, alas, of a de-
structive nature. To the question of how and whence
the appearance of species, paleontology alone can con-
tribute indisputable evidence. As history stands to
economics so does paleontology stand to biology and
neither student of present conditions can intelligently
deal with his varied problems without an appreciative
consideration of the salient points, so far as recorded,
in the development of those conditions. It cannot then
prove amiss in this discussion if mention is made of
some of the horizons of chief interest in the vertebrate
paleontology of California.
Within the limits of the state there are known a
goodly number of bone bearing horizons. These beds
are of different geological age, and represent a diversity
of method of accumulation, hence they include a con-
siderable range of fauna. The great Triassic limestone
deposits of Shasta county are primarily marine and
70 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
from them come the Shastasauridae, a primitive family
of Ichthyosaurians which have contributed materially
to our understanding of the relationships of that group
of highly specialized reptiles. We share with our east-
erly neighbor, Nevada, this interesting family which
until their very recent discovery in like strata of Europe
were unknown except from the Sierra Nevadan lime-
stones. Great whale-like creatures, they swam in an
ancient Triassic sea whose calcareous bottom mud was
later upheaved to form in part the Sierra Nevadan
system. The immense mountain building blocks of
limestone thus formed retain still the bones of these
great creatures as hieroglyphics, readable to the appre-
ciative eye as though scratched upon Chaldean tablets
of kiln dried clay. The original anatomical interest in
these primitive ichthyosaurs has been supplemented
since the discovery of related forms in Europe, by an
additional interest which appeals especially to the stu-
dent of geographical distribution, an interest hinging
upon their synchronous occurrence in points so widely
separated upon the earth's surface.
Human history affords instance of some very ancient
parchments from which the original record was sup-
posedly erased by the mediaeval historian in order that
narrative of his own time might be inscribed thereon.
These parchments, preserved to modern times, have
thus born a dual record — a tale within a tale. So has
it been with the great lenses of the Shasta limestone.
Percolating waters have in several cases dissolved out
extensive caverns in the upheaved blocks of the Triassic
sea bottom; these caves engulfed, during Pleistocene
time, the remains of mammals, birds, reptiles, and
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 71
fishes; drainage lines changing, the mouths of the caves
became closed and the second record was sealed away
from harm in these perfect catacombs. In recent time,
some hundreds of thousands of years of canon cutting
has again opened the bone bearing cavities and the
modern scientific explorer reads the second inscription
on these tablets of time hardened mud. Potter Creek,
Samwel, and Hawver Caves are such repositories which
have yielded interesting Pleistocene remains especially
of mammals and birds. Two mammalian species espe-
cially characteristic of these cave deposits are Eucera-
therium and Preptoceras, hoofed forms showing affinities
with several living ruminants including the now arctic
musk ox. An elephant, a mastodon, a camel, a bison,
two horses, the gigantic bear, Arctotherium, and the
long clawed ground sloth, Megalonyx appear among
the fifty or more mammals listed from these caves.
Eighteen species of birds have been determined from
the same deposits, a list which affords a dual interest,
first because fossil birds are of such rarity that most of
the species are for the first time recorded as fossils and
second because several of the species have their nearest
living relatives now confined to more southern latitudes.
An interesting deposit of Miocene strata occurs in
the Mojave desert near Barstow. The nature of the
accumulation is such as to indicate an extensive lake
bed, the waters of which persisted for a considerable
length of time. About this body of water there roamed
great numbers of little three toed horses, Merychippus,
the dimunitive deer-antelope, Merychodus, and two
species of camel-like creatures, a large and a small one.
The nature of this fauna is distinct from that of other
72 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Pacific coast faunas and shows its nearest relationships
to lie with the plains-dwelling faunas of the Miocene
east of the Rocky mountains.
The marine Miocene of the coastal region is rich in
fossil whales but as yet little has been done in the
determination of this material. There also occur in
these beds associated with the teeth of sharks, the
remains of that aberrant creature, Desmostylus, which
has so long puzzled scientists as to its affinities.
Molluscan remains from upper Miocene beds indicate
a climate cooler than at present prevails in the region.
Perhaps the most remarkable deposit of fossil
vertebrates in the west and certainly the one which
has seized upon the interest and the imagination of
popular and scientific readers alike, is that unique hori-
zon, the Rancho La Brea asphalt. The manner of
accumulation and preservation of remains; the perfect-
ness of specimens; the wide range of species represented;
the seemingly limitless amount of material; the remark-
able completeness with which the Pleistocene fauna of
the region is probably represented — all conspire to make
these beds a wonder place to any one who visits them.
Only a few minutes out from the business center of
Los Angeles and a stone's throw aside from one of the
splendid interurban boulevards, the locality attracts a
procession of visitors from every class of society and
every aspect of interest.
Deep down in the Miocene strata of this locality lie
great beds of oil-impregnated sand, the tapping of which
has afforded a great measure of California's monetary
wealth. Earth shifting disturbances caused, in the
geological ages following the Miocene, an upfolding and
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 73
a consequent cracking of the overlying strata — a con-
dition which as early as Pleistocene time established
chimney-like connection between these buried oil sands
and the surface above. Rock pressure and the expan-
sive force of natural gases brought to the surface greater
or lesser quantities of the crude oil which accumulated
about the mouths of these chimney-like vents. With
the slow upbuilding of the surrounding surface by
process of soil formation, these oil accumulations built
up likewise, now widening out, now encroached upon
by the adjacent soil, until we discover them today as
irregular but sharply denned lenses reaching in some
cases beyond the depth of twenty feet below the
present surface.
The natural oil of the Los Angeles oil fields is
asphaltic in its base and even when freshly discharged
is heavy and viscid. Exposed to the air it becomes
under process of natural distillation a more and more
tenacious tar-like residuum which, even in shallow
accumulations is capable of entangling and holding
animals which may blunder into it. In summer a
surface accumulation of this material in natural depres-
sion may become covered by a thin film of dust blown
over it from the adjacent soil surface until the danger-
ous tar pool appears as innocent as any other part of
the open plain. In winter the rain water accumulates
in the same natural depressions as does the oil. The
result is that a stratum of relatively clear water comes
to overlie and perfectly conceal the sticky mass. The
land of little rain thus tempts the mammal or bird to
destruction by its greatest desideratum, water.
74 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Let the imagination play but for a moment upon
such a set of conditions — the innocent looking pitfall
in dry weather; the water-baited trap tempting the
thirsty after brief showers; the live-baited trap resulting
in either case as the helpless victim seeks his liberty;
finally the carrion-baited trap for the scavenger; a trap
always set, always baited, always operative, universally
tempting, insatiable. Not a pleasing picture is drawn
by this excursion of the imagination, but to the investi-
gator coming a millenium afterward and finding these
remains sealed away in the perfect asphaltic preserva-
tive, what a picture of the local Pleistocene fauna is
revealed !
Perhaps no method of entombment recognized by the
paleontologist could be more impartial in its capture
and preservation of species. Hence the study of the
fossil fauna of Rancho La Brea brings forth many
interesting observations. The richness of fauna in that
age of mammals, the Pleistocene, is beautifully evi-
denced by the presence of mammoth, mastodon, ground
sloth, camel, bison, horse, deer, bear, saber-toothed
tiger, lion, puma, wolf, and others to the extent of more
than fifty species. Associated with these powerful
mammals were equally unusual birds. The great
Teratornis, a raptorial bird larger than any other known
flying bird living or extinct, tore with its immense
eagle-like beak an unsavory sustenance from the dead
bodies of these huge mammals. With him at the
ignoble banquet were four species of true condors,
the smallest equalling in size the living Andean condor.
Attracted and ensnared by the same trap were six
species of eagles instead of the meagre two we now boast
FAUNA OF CALIFORNIA 75
in this region. Wading birds and swimmers were
attracted by the surface pools of rain water or else in
the half light were led to mistake the mirror surface of
freshly outpoured oil for water and left their remains
immortalized in the mud which gripped and held them.
A turkey-like peacock inhabited the near by thickets
and came to drink his destruction at the margin of
such pools. Turtle doves, blackbirds, meadowlarks,
flickers, owls, road runners, and a varied crew of other
forms totalling sixty species, fell, at one time or another,
as prey to this deceptive snare of ever ready bird lime.
A little careful work with a fine pointed instrument
in the now cheesey matrix, a bath in gasolene, drying
in sawdust, and a final polishing with soft cloth turns
these specimens into dark stained, lustrous bronze,
bearing even the most delicate imprint of their former
clothing of muscle and ligament. The studious eye of
science, reading these traces, clothes the whole in living
semblance and the animals of Rancho La Brea are
called to resurrection.
In this horizon, again, the relationships of the birds
point to a withdrawal of their immediate descendants
toward the southward. The eagles, the storks, the
vultures, the caracara, the peacock have left their
nearest living relatives in Mexico, Central America,
and South America.
According to the evidences of paleontology the
ground sloths without question, had their origin in
South America and wandered thence northward into
the United States; the bison and elephants came south-
ward from Alaska where some land connection had let
down the bars between this and the Eurasian continent;
76 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Horses, camels, and saber tooths probably grew up
with the country; lions and bears came with the ele-
phants from the north, while the peccaries developed
with us, then went south to Mexico and later diffused
back into the Sonoran of Texas. These records of
ancient animal migrations, coupled with the present
phenomena of horizontal and vertical distribution show
an effect as of successive wave upon wave of biological
impetus moving now north, now south, swirling and
eddying across the changing face of the country, strand-
ing some species, washing away others, scouring a
pathway for still others, till our flash light of this great
sea of forces, the instantaneous view we call the present,
reveals the fauna of California, clothing her in a rich
and varied robe of many colors.
PARTIAL LIST OF AUTHORS CONSULTED
Grinnell, J. Various papers in the University of California
Publications, Department Zoology and in Condor magazine.
Merriam, C. H. The Geographic Distribution of Life in North
America, Smithsonian Report, 1891.
Merriam, J. C. Various papers in the University of California
Publications and in Science.
Miller, L. H. Various papers in the University of California
Publications and in Condor magazine.
Swarth, H. S. Various papers in the University of California
Publications and in Condor magazine.
Willett, G. Birds of the Pacific Coast of Southern California,
>-' Cooper Ornithological Club, Pacific Coast Avifauna No. 7.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA
THE climate of a country is determined
primarily by geographical latitude, by prox-
imity to large water areas, by the topography,
by prevailing drift of the lower or surface air
and by storm frequency. In California there are five
well marked factors operating to control climatic
conditions. Of these perhaps the most important is
the prevailing drift of the surface air from west to east,
common to temperate latitudes, but marked in this
section of the American continent. In this great aerial
stream are the lesser currents induced by the eddies
and counter-eddies familiarly known as "lows" and
"highs." It has been found that these disturbances
for the most part drift east along a line north of Cali-
fornia and this is the chief reason why the weather in
general is less changeable than in regions nearer the
storm tracks or paths of greatest storm frequency.
Again, the proximity of the Pacific Ocean, a great
natural conservator of heat, serves to prevent marked
temperature changes. Ocean currents also exert a
certain influence, their effect in the main being to cool
the surface air and facilitate cloudy condensation,
thus promoting the formation of fog. Finally the
diversified topography of the State determines what
may be called local climates. The prevailing flow of
air is from the west to the east, that is from the sea to
the land. During the day hours as a rule this flow is
increased; but during the night hours, the wind veloci-
ties are diminished. In the general drift we find the
cause of the strong westerly winds so characteristic
of the California coast. Charts of wind direction
formerly issued by the Weather Bureau but now by
80 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the Hydrographic Office show with much detail the fre-
quency and intensity of the wind for all parts of the
coast. From the 55th parallel to the 30th the winds
are chiefly northwest. In summer between latitudes
35°N and 40°N winds are distributed as follows:
west to northwest, 75 per cent; north to northeast,
4 per cent; east to southeast, 3 per cent; south to
southwest, 3 per cent; and calms, 15 per cent. In
winter the winds are southeasterly, and southerly
gales are frequent. Nevertheless, northwest winds are
not infrequent as is shown by the following: west to
northwest, 30 per cent; north to northeast, 18 per cent;
east to southeast, 17 per cent; south to southwest,
22 per cent; and calms, 13 per cent.
It is because of this general motion of the air from
west to east that the climate of west coasts is less severe
than the climate of east coasts. If the circulation of
the surface air were reversed, the Atlantic coast and the
middle portion of the country would have less varia-
tion of temperature and the climate would be in many
respects milder than that which now exists. On the
other hand, the climate of the Pacific coast, and espe-
cially of California west of the Sierra Nevada, would
lose much of its present equability. The winters
would be rigorous and the summers very warm.
The mean annual temperature of the Pacific near
the California coast is I3°C, 55°F. The prevailing
winds therefore blow over a surface that is warmer in
winter and cooler in summer than a land surface would
be. The temperature amplitude of all the coast
stations is consequently small compared with that of
the interior. During the summer months the mean
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 81
temperature of the water is about I5°C, 6o°F. The
diurnal change in the temperature of the water is small.
During the winter the mean temperature of the water
is about io°C, or 5o°F. Interesting comparisons of
water-surface temperatures, air temperatures and cur-
rents may be found in the Ocean Charts referred to
above. One point however should be noted in con-
nection with air temperature at sea, and that is that
observations are made close to the water surface and
do not represent the air conditions at a height of several
hundred feet.
In the diversified topography of the state, we have
another important factor in determining local climates.
The state has a mean length of nearly eight hundred
miles and an average width of two hundred miles. Its
area is 155,980 square miles, or a little less than a
hundred million acres. The coast line corresponds in
position with that portion of the Atlantic coast extend-
ing from Boston to Savannah. There are very few
rivers, and in both orography and hydrography there
is little resemblance to the Atlantic seaboard. The
coast line has a mean annual temperature ranging
from io°C, 5o°F to I5°C, 6o°F, while on the Atlantic
coast the temperature ranges from 8°C, 47°F to 20°C,
68°F. In July the isotherms run almost north and
south on the Pacific coast, while on the Atlantic coast
they conform to the parallels of latitude. In the winter
the difference between the mean temperature of the
interior of California and the coast amounts only to
about 3°C, 5°F, but in the summer the difference is
marked, amounting in general to n°C, 20°F.
82 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Orography plays an important part in controlling
the movement of the surface air. The prevailing
westerly winds, wherever allowed access to the interior
through gaps in the Coast Range, modify and practi-
cally control the temperature. On the other hand,
when the movement of the surface air is from the north
or northeast, there are marked fohn effects due to the
passage of the air over the mountains and thence down
into the valleys. One of the most trying climatic
features of California is the so-called "norther" or
hot wind, caused by dynamic compression of rapidly
moving air. Northers occur in the great valley chiefly
during May, June and July. Their occurrence is
associated with the presence of high pressure over
Oregon and Idaho and a deepening of the usual summer
low over the valley of the Colorado. Under such
conditions, afternoon temperatures rise to 43°C, no°F,
or even higher.
In the southern portion of the state there are winds
of similar formation known locally as Santa Anas.
In all these cases the air has been dynamically heated
and dried in its passage from the Great Basin southwest
or south over the Sierra Nevada and thence down the
western or southern slopes. The velocity of the wind
sometimes exceeds ten meters per second (twenty miles
an hour), and as much dust is carried, the conditions
created are generally disagreeable.
During December and January under certain pressure
distributions there are well-marked fohn effects in the
counties south of the Tehachapi. Afternoon tempera-
tures will exceed 8o°. Morning temperatures, however,
are low, owing to intense radiation.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 83
We thus have the same pressure distribution resulting
in cool nights and warm afternoons.
STATE DIVISIONS
For convenience in discussing the data, the state has
been divided into five sections, bearing some relation
to the principal watersheds. These divisions are:
Northwestern California
Northeastern California
Central California
California south of the Tehachapi
California east of the Sierra Nevada
NORTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA
This includes the coast counties north of the bay
of San Francisco, also the Coast Range counties west of
the Sacramento watershed. Beginning with Del Norte
and the western half of Siskiyou counties, the district
extends south including Humboldt, Trinity, Men-
docino, Lake, Sonoma, Napa, and Marin counties.
The four last named constitute a subdivision, known
locally as the Bay counties. There are four small
valleys in this subdivision, known as the Russian
River, Sonoma, Napa, and Vaca Valleys.
The Coast Range runs north and south through the
entire district and climatic conditions vary greatly
within short distances, owing to the diversified
topography.
The coast line is bold and rugged. There are many
projecting headlands, the best known of which is Cape
Mendocino, latitude 40°3o'N. The well-known Point
Reyes, latitude 38°n'N, longitude i22°5i'W, is formed
84 HISTORY OF CALIF ORNIA
by a westward projection with a hook to the south,
thus making an open roadstead, known as Drake's
Bay. Francis Drake anchored here in June, 1579.
There are few harbors in the 290 nautical miles.*
The following table gives the distance in nautical
miles of the chief headlands:
San Francisco to Point Reyes 33 miles
Point Reyes to Point Arena 67 miles
Point Arena to Cape Mendocino 9§ miles
Cape Mendocino to Eureka 23 miles
Cape Mendocino to Point St. George 78 miles
The Coast Range extends in a nearly north and south
line the entire length of the district. The St. Helena
Range is the best known of the several minor ranges.
Mount St. Helena, elevation 4,600 feet, is situated at the
intersection of Napa, Lake, and Sonoma counties. In
the northern portion of the district there are many
peaks exceeding six thousand feet. The range is there
locally known as the Trinity mountains. Farther west
are the smaller ranges known as the Scott mountains,
Salmon Alps; and to the southwest the South Fork
mountains and Elk Ridge. The Siskiyou mountains
of Oregon extend southward into California.
The various ranges mentioned form watersheds for
numerous small rivers. The streams of the eastern
slope of the Coast Range drain into the Sacramento.
In the north the Klamath river, and its tributary, the
Trinity, drain the four northwestern counties, emptying
into the Pacific ocean. The Eel River drains the
Mendocino and Lake sections, flowing northwestward.
*A nautical mile is a minute of an average great circle. It is 800 feet (244 meters)
more than a statute mile.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 85
There are comparatively few lakes in this Section,
the only one of any size being Clear Lake, in the center
of Lake county.
The most noticeable climatic features of the coast
district are the moderate temperatures, the frequent
fogs and the high winds. The climate of the interior,
i. <?., of the valleys back from the coast, is entirely
different, as will be shown later. Few extreme tem-
peratures are recorded, the highest temperature at
Eureka being 29.6°C, 85.2°F on June 6, 1903, and the
lowest, 6.7°C, 20°F, January 14, 1888. A good idea
of the small temperature range is obtained from the
statement that the mean of the maximum temperatures
for a period of ten years at Eureka was I4°C, 57°F and
the mean of the minimum temperatures, 9°C, 47°F.
The evenness of temperature is due to two factors, viz : the
proximity of the ocean, and the prevailing movement
of the air in these latitudes from the ocean to the land.
The winds are, as stated above, generally west, but
during the winter months, owing to the approach of
barometric depressions from the north, high southeast
winds occur. These winter storms, known locally as
" southeaster, " are the most important climatic
features of this section. Heavy rains accompany these
storms. During the summer months there are but
few disturbances. The west winds, however, in the
summer months blow steadily during the afternoon
hours. Occasionally during the months of April, May
and June these west or northwest winds reach high
velocities. In a paper entitled "Some High Wind
Records on the Pacific Coast," in the Monthly Weather
Review, February, 1908, McAdie and Thomas give
86 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
records covering high velocities obtained with northwest
and southeast winds. On February 25, 1902, at Point
Reyes, for two hours the velocity varied from 40 to 45
meters a second, 90 to 100 miles an hour, with an
extreme velocity of 46 meters a second, 103 miles
an hour, or a mile in thirty-five seconds. Again, on
March 1, during a severe southeast gale there is a record
of one mile in a little less than thirty seconds; and for
five minutes, including the time of the extreme velocity,
the miles averaged less than thirty-four seconds, or
at the rate of 48 meters a second, 107 miles an hour.
From May 15th to 20th, 1902, high northwest winds
prevailed along the entire coast. At Point Reyes
light, for the forty-eight hours ending midnight, May
1 8th the average velocity of the wind was 32 meters a
second, 72 miles an hour. For the last twenty-four
hours of this period the average velocity was 35 meters
a second, 78 miles an hour, for the last twelve hours,
84 miles, and for the last six hours, 88 miles. The
greatest wind movement recorded in any one hour was
164 kilometers, 102 miles. The maximum velocity
for the storm was 49 meters a second, no miles an
hour, at 8:50 p. m., May 18, and the extreme velocity
120 miles, at 8:38 p. m. The record of the whole
period is complete and legible and of the 7,565 kilometers
4,701 miles shown, only 27 kilometers, 17 miles are
interpolated, owing to the fact that the anemometer
cups were carried away and this interval elapsed before
a new set of cups could be put in place. The feat was
performed by W. W. Thomas, at a time when the wind
was blowing at the rate of 41 meters a second, 91 miles
per hour.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA
87
The writer has found a reference on the old forecast
charts at San Francisco to a record of 48 meters a
second, 108 miles an hour from the southeast at Cape
Mendocino, on January 22, 1886, at 7 a. m. There
was also a note that a maximum velocity of 64 meters
a second, 144 miles an hour from the southeast occurred
at Cape Mendocino, on January 20, 1886.
In the paper referred to above can be found wind
records for San Francisco, Point Lobos, Mount Tamal-
pais, Point Reyes, and a number of interesting accounts
of the velocities experienced at sea by masters of
various steamships and sailing vessels.
The month of May is as a rule the month of maximum
air movement. A good illustration of the duration and
strength of this northwest wind is afforded by the
following table, showing velocities during May, 1903 :
WIND MOVEMENT FOR MONTH
Stations in California
Total for
month
Average
daily
Greatest
in
24 hours
Greatest
hourly-
movement
Point Reyes Light
Mount Tamalpais
San Francisco
Point Lobos
24,072
16,871
10,040
15,431
17,331
776
544
324
498
559
1,673
1,189
517
929
1,185
88
78
34
60
Southeast Farallon
58
A distinctive feature of the coast climate is the sea
fog. The fog belt extends along the entire coast.
During summer afternoons the depth of the fog stratum
varies from 30 to 518 meters, 100 to 1,700 feet. Fre-
quently the lower level of the fog stratum is 30 meters,
100 feet, or less above the sea or ground surface.
Experiments in the vicinity of Mount Tamalpais
88 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
indicate an average summer afternoon temperature of
27°C, 8i°F, for the levels 2,300 feet, 700 meters, and
above. At saturation this would mean over 11,000
grains weight of moisture per thousand cubic feet of
space. The temperature at sea level is about I3°C,
55°F. At saturation this would mean nearly 4,900
grains of moisture per thousand cubic feet of space.
The condition is therefore entirely different from some
of the well-known fog formations on the Atlantic
coast, where warm water supplies the necessary vapor,
and fogs form when the north or northwest winds of
lower temperature than the water favor condensation.*
Kite experiments indicate that at the 1,000-meter,
3,280-foot level on summer afternoons there is a
moderately strong flow of air from east to west. It
would seem as if the heated air of the great valley, or
some portion of it, moved seaward above the level of
the incoming or east flow of the surface draught.
The climate of the counties back from the coast is,
as previously stated, entirely different from the coast
climate. These inland valleys are sheltered from the
ocean winds and show a marked difference in tempera-
ture amplitude, and in humidity. While on summer
afternoons the coast sections are cool and foggy, the
interior sections are warm, dry, and with little wind
stirring unless the wind is from the north, in which
case it may be strong. A fair idea of the climate of
the interior may be obtained from the records of the
station at Upper Lake, kept by Charles Mifflin Ham-
mond, cooperative observer, for a period of more than
There are, of course, other fog formations where warm south winds blow over
cool water surfaces.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 89
twenty-five years. A temperature of 43°C, I09°F has
been recorded once, July 31, 1909, and temperatures
of 4i°C, io5°F several times during midsummer
months. The lowest temperature ever recorded was
9°C, i6°F, on December 18, 1908.
NORTHEASTERN CALIFORNIA
This section includes the northeastern counties,
lying east of an imaginary line through the foothill
section of the Coast Range and south to a line drawn
from the northern side of San Francisco bay to Lake
Tahoe. The counties in the district are Solano, Yolo,
Sacramento, Placer, Nevada, Sutter, Colusa, Butte,
Sierra, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, Modoc, and the
eastern portion of Siskiyou, Tehama, and Glenn.
Practically it is the watershed of the Sacramento river
and its tributaries. This is the principal river of
California. The following note relating to the hydrog-
raphy of the section is taken from a publication of the
Weather Bureau, " Climatological Data of the United
States by Sections" (Bulletin W) Data, Section 15:
"The portion of the drainage basin above Red Bluff, California,
extends from the Trinity Mountains on the west to the Warner
Mountains, near the California-Nevada state line, on the east.
The watershed on the west from the Trinity Mountains is com-
paratively narrow, being only from ten to thirty-five miles in
width, and furnishes a very small portion of the discharge of this
river; but from the east, Pit River, which is the most important
tributary, drains a large area extending about 120 miles east from
Sacramento River between Mount Shasta on the north and Lassen
Peak on the south. The greater portion of this basin is composed
of lava and shows other evidence of volcanic activity, such as
volcanic cones and craters. Nearly all the streams tributary to
90 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Pit River have their origin in large springs, many of which dis-
charge several hundred second-feet. The most important tribu-
tary of the Pit is McCloud River, draining the southeastern slope
of Mount Shasta. It derives its waters principally from the
melting of the snow on the high elevations of this mountain.
The western portion of the watershed extending along the Trinity
Range is well timbered, as is also that portion of the drainage area
in the Sierra Nevada lying between Mount Shasta and Lassen
Peak. Farther east, however, there is little or no forest covering,
and the country is used extensively for pasturage."
The most prominent feature of the section is Mount
Shasta, elevation formerly given as 14,380 feet, recently
(1914) changed by the U. S. Geological Survey to
14,168 feet. The height generally given in atlases,
school geographies, railway folders, etc., namely 14,444
feet is not correct. Shasta is one of the three great
peaks on the Pacific coast south of Alaska, namely
Mount Whitney, (14,502), Mount Ranier (14,408), and
Mount Shasta.
South of Shasta lies Lassen Peak, elevation 3,184
meters, 10,437 ^ eet - To the east and north is a large
area extending to the Warner mountains with an
average elevation of from four to five thousand feet.
The most prominent peaks in this range are, Bidwell,
2,606 meters, 8,551 feet; Fandango, 2,392 meters,
7,848 feet; Cedar, 2,532 meters, 8,308 feet; Warren,
2,846 meters, 9,668 feet; and Eagle, 3,025 meters, 9,934
feet.
In the area between the Cascade Range and Warner
Range are numerous lakes, of which the best known are
Lower Klamath, Tule, Clear, and Goose lakes.
It is of some importance to understand clearly the
orography of the district in order to obtain a better
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 91
comprehension of certain well-marked climatic features.
It is essentially a district of local climates, one in which
marked differences are found in short distances and
where the general air drainage system is modified by
surface conditions. The terms northern and southern
do not apply in describing the climate of this section,
because the isotherms run north and south. Thermal
conditions depend largely upon elevation and the
sheltering influence of the mountains. A more appro-
priate classification of climate is that generally adopted
by horticulturists, in which there are three general
divisions, viz: valley, foothill and mountain. Pro-
fessor E. J. Wickson, in the opening chapter of his
book "California Fruits," aptly says:
"In climatic conditions affecting horticulture we have in
California almost an epitome of the whole United States, with
added climatic characters peculiarly our own."
In the summer months the general movement of the
air is from the south. This is due to the prevailing
westerly winds of these latitudes, so noticeable along
the coast. The Coast Range acts as a barrier to the
eastward flow of the air, and from observations made
with kites and the study of the motion of the lower
clouds it would appear that the surface current from
the west during summer months is comparatively
shallow and indeed is hardly noticeable above the
1,000 meter, 3,280 feet level. Some of this surface
wind passes freely through the gap in the mountains,
i. e., through the Golden Gate, and is deflected north
in the Sacramento valley. This constitutes the well-
known south wind felt nearly every summer night and
which materially moderates the heat of the valley.
92 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
During the long summer, mid-day, and afternoon
temperatures are high. There is, for example, during
the month of July, a difference of 8°C, I5°F, or more
in the mean temperature of Sacramento and San
Francisco; and a difference of I3°C, 25°F, between
the mean temperature of San Francisco and Red Bluff.
The temperatures are: San Francisco, I4.6°C, 57-3°F;
Sacramento, 22. 5 °C, 72.5°F; Red Bluff, 27.8°C, 8 2 .i°F.
There are probably few localities in the world
where there exists so marked a gradient in surface
temperature. During the winter months the differ-
ences are less marked and there is practically the
same temperature at the northern and the southern
end of the valley. The following figures give the
mean temperature for January: San Francisco, 97°C,
49.5°F; Sacramento, 7.6°C, 45-6°F; Red Bluff, 7.4°C,
45.4°F. The higher temperature at San Francisco is
to be explained as due chiefly to its proximity to the
ocean, the same cause operating also to give the lower
temperature in midsummer.
The rainfall is rather evenly distributed, and on the
same level the distribution both as to intensity and
frequency is comparatively uniform. There is however
a marked difference in the amount of rainfall at stations
close together but differing in elevation. The amount
of rain increases as one goes from the floor of the valley
through the foothill section and up the mountain side,
reaching a maximum at a height of about 2,000 meters,
6,560 feet. The records of the stations along the line
of the railroad from Sacramento to Summit, covering
a period of thirty-six years, show a steady increase in
the quantity of rain caught by the gages of about
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 93
icm., 0.4 inch, for every 11 meters, 36 feet, rise in
elevation. The rate of increase is greatest about the
1,000-meter, 3,280-foot, level and becomes negative
above the 2,000-meter, 6,562-foot level. At these high
levels, however, much of the precipitation falls in the
form of snow, and it is possible that with our present
methods of reduction true values have not been
obtained.
VARIATION OF RAINFALL WITH ALTITUDE
In the Monthly Weather Review, July, 191 1, Charles
Lee gives numerous diagrams showing the rate of
increase of precipitation with elevation in various parts
of California. Three sections of the Sierra Nevada are
charted, the first known as the Central Pacific group,
extending from Sacramento to Truckee; second, the
Mokelumne section, extending from Stockton to Carson
lake, about fifty miles south of the first group, and
third, the Tuolumne group, extending from Merced to
the southern end of Walker lake. The Fresno section
then would constitute a fourth group, one still farther
south. From all of them it appears that there is a
definite increase in precipitation with elevation up to
1,500 meters, 5,000 feet, decreasing steadily above
this. The average rate of increase is 8.5 inches,
215 millimeters, per 300 meters, 1,000 feet, 300 meters,
up to 1,500 meters, 5, 000 feet.
East of the Sierra crest precipitation decreases
rapidly with decrease in altitude, maintaining a con-
stant rate to the 1,500-meter, 5,000-foot level and a
decreasing rate below this elevation. The distance
and precipitation curves conform to the profile in
94 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
general shape, except that their maxima are west of
the topographic crest, occupying the same relative
position with respect to the Great Valley as the 1,500-
meter, 5,000-foot level. They have a tendency to be-
come horizontal over the level portion of the profile, to
rise over western slopes below the 1,500-meter, 5,000-
foot contour, to fall over western slopes above this,
and to fall over eastern slopes. In other words, the
general slope of the country seems to have more to do
with the amount of precipitation than does altitude.
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
The portion of California included under this head is
bounded on the north by a line drawn from San Fran-
cisco to Lake Tahoe; on the east by the Sierra Nevada;
on the south by a line drawn from Point Conception
south of Bakersfleld and including the Fern watershed;
and on the west by the Pacific.
The most prominent features are the bay of San
Francisco, that portion of the great valley known as
the San Joaquin, and the coast valleys, embracing the
Santa Clara, the Salinas and other smaller valleys.
The bay of San Francisco is one of the great harbors
of the world. While there is a continuous water
passage from the Pacific ocean to the delta formed by
the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers, the bay
is locally considered as embracing only the central
and southern portions of the water surface; the northern
portion being known as San Pablo bay, which in turn
is distinguished from Suisun bay lying to the east and
connected with the former by the Straits of Carquinez.
The length of the bay proper, in a northwest and south-
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 95
east line, is about forty-two miles; and the width varies
from five to thirteen miles. At mean tide the area of
the bay, exclusive of San Pablo and Suisun bays, is
about four hundred and fifty square miles. The
combined areas amount to about nine hundred square
miles. The bay is connected with the Pacific Ocean
by a narrow water passage varying in width from one
mile to three miles and about six miles long. This is
known as the Golden Gate. The city of San Francisco
lies on the southern side of the Golden Gate, occupying
the end of the peninsula, which is here about seven
miles wide. The area occupied by the city amounts
to about fifty square miles.
The climate of San Francisco is so out of the usual
that it has attracted general attention.* There are
certain noticeable features, such as the fogs and the
low temperatures in midsummer, which are not found in
such marked degree elsewhere. The climatic features
of this city follow.
SUMMARIZED CLIMATIC DATA FOR SAN FRANCISCO
1. The monthly and annual mean temperature of
the air. Jan., 49. 2°; Feb., 51. 3 ; March, 52. i°; April,
53.8 ; May, 55.7 ; June, 56.3 ; July, 56.4 ; Aug., 57.0 ;
Sept, 59.1 ; Oct, 58.5 ; Nov, 55.2 ; Dec, 50.2 ;
the annual, 56. 6°.
2. The extent of the mean diurnal range of
temperature for each month. Jan, 9. 8°; Feb, 11.0 ;
March, 11. 6°; April, 12.9 ; May, 12.2 ; June, 13. 3 ;
*See McAdie, Climate of San Francisco, U. S. Weather Bureau Bulletin 44, 1913.
Reed, W. G., The Rainfall of Berkeley, California, Univ. Calif. Publ. Geog., 1913,
Vol. I, No. 2, pp. 63-7Q.
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
July, 12.2 ; Aug. 11.3 ; Sept., 13. i°; Oct. 13.6 ; Nov.,
1 1. 4 ; Dec, 9. 8°. Annual, 11. 8°. The greatest diurnal
range, Jan., 24 ; Feb., 25 ; March, 27 ; April, 33 ;
May, 35 ; June, 43 ; July, 31 ; Aug., 38 ; Sept., 41 ;
Oct., 33 ; Nov., 26 ; Dec, 22 . The greatest diurnal
range for the entire period, 1871 to 191 1, 43 . This
occurred on June 29, 1891. The maximum was ioo°
and the minimum 57 .
3. The mean temperature at two specific hours,
namely, the early morning and mid-afternoon. At
6 a. m. the mean temperature is, Jan., 46 ; Feb., 48 ;
March, 49 ; April, 50 ; May, 51°; June, 52 ; July, 53 ;
Aug., 54 ; Sept, 55 ; Oct, 55 ; Nov, 52 ; Dec, 47 ;
annual, 51 . At 3 p. m, Jan, 53 ; Feb, 56 ; March,
57°; April, 59 ; May, 6o°; June, 6i°; July, 6i°; Aug,
62 ; Sept, 64 ; Oct, 64 ; Nov, 6o°; Dec, 54 ; annual
59°.
4. The extreme limits or total secular range of the'
mean temperatures of the individual months: Jan. ?
54.8°-46.2°; Feb, 56.8°-47.8°; March, 57.2°-48.9°; Apri
58.2°-5i.6°; May, 59 .8 -52.6 ; June, 62.4°-55. 4 ; July,
6i.6°-55.6°; Aug, 6i.8°-56.4°; Sept, 64.6°-57.6°; Oct,
6 4 .2 - 5 6.6 ; Nov, 5 9 .o -5 3 .i ; Dec, 54 .o -47.o .
5. The mean of the monthly and annual extreme
temperatures and the resulting non-periodic range.
Jan, 8.6°; Feb, 9.0 ; March, 8.3 ; April, 6.6°; May,
7.2 ; June, 7.0 ; July, 6.0 ; Aug, 5.4 ; Sept, 7.0 ;
Oct, 7.6 ; Nov, 5. 9 ; Dec, 7.0 . The warmest year
in 1890, with a mean annual temperature of 57-9°.
The coolest year was in 1893, with a mean annual
temperature, 54.3 , or an annual range of 3. 6°.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 97
6. The absolute highest and lowest temperatures
that occur within a long interval of time. The absolute
highest since 187 1 is 101 on September 8, 1904; and
the lowest 29 on January 15, 1888.
7. The mean variability of the temperature as
expressed by the differences of consecutive daily means :
These data are based upon records carrying six years,
1906 to 1911: Jan., 2.0 ; Feb., 1.8°; March, 2.7 ;
April, 3.2 ; May, 2.4 ; June, 2.4 ; July, 2.1 ; Aug.,
2.0 ; Sept, 2.9 ; Oct, 3.5 ; Nov, 2.3 ; Dec, 2.0 ; for
the year, 2.5 .
8. Mean limit or date of frost in spring and fall
and the number of consecutive days free from frost.
During the past twenty years there has been no
date when the minimum temperature of the air as
officially recorded fell as low as 3 2°. Light frosts
occur during the winter mornings, but no damage
results.
9. The elements of solar radiation as measured by
optical, chemical and thermal effects. No data
available.
10. The elements of terrestrial radiation as
measured by radiation thermometers. No data
available.
11. Temperature of the ground at the surface and
to a depth of one or two yards. No data available.
Records of street temperatures are obtained by a kiosk
in Union Square park and also on Montgomery street,
near California street. In general the range is greater
than the official exposure gives. Temperatures 2° to 3
higher are recorded in the afternoon and 3 or 4 lower
in the early morning.
98 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
12. The monthly means of the absolute quantity
of moisture in the atmosphere: Records covering one
year, May, 191 1, to April, 1912, give the following
mean vapor tension, as determined from bi-hourly
observations: Jan., .306 inch; Feb., .299; March,
.266; April, .274; May, .290; June, .328; July, .365;
Aug., .362; Sept., .364; Oct., .340; Nov., .283; Dec, .234;
annual, .309 of an inch.
13. The monthly means of the relative humidity.
The means as determined from 8. a. m. and 8 p. m.
observations for 20 years, 1 891 to 19 10, are:
a. m. p. m. mean
% % %
January 87 75 81
February 86 72 79
March 85 70 77
April 80 69 74
May 86 71 78
June 89 77 83
July 92 82 87
August 93 79 86
September 88 73 80
October 86 71 78
November 85 71 78
December 84 73 78
Annual 87% 73% 8o<%
14. The total precipitation, by monthly and annual
sums. The annual precipitation, period 1850 to 191 1,
is 22.71 inches. The seasonal precipitation, i. e., from
July 1st of one year until June 30, succeeding year,
covering the seasons from 1849-50, to 1911-12, is
22.58 inches. The monthly amounts are Jan., 4.94;
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 99
Feb., 3.60; March, 3.35; April, 1.65; May, 0.72; June,
0.15; July, 0.02; Aug., 0.02; Sept., 0.30; Oct., 1.02;
Nov., 2.55; Dec, 4.56.
15. The maximum precipitation per day and per
hour. The heaviest precipitation on any one day
occurred Jan., 28-29, 1881, from 11:08 p. m. 28th to
11:08 p. m. 29th, amount 4.67 inches. The next
greatest 24-hour rainfall occurred on September 24,
1904, when 3.58 inches fell. The heaviest hourly
rainfall occurred on September 23, 1904, 0.97 of an
inch fell. In two hours 1.29 inches fell and in 16 hours
and 15 minutes, 3.58 inches fell.
16. The number of days having .01 of an inch of
precipitation, including dew or frost. The mean
number of rainy days, period 1850 to 191 1, Jan., 11;
Feb.; 10; March, 11; April, 6; May, 4; June, 1; July,
o; Aug., o; Sept., 2; Oct., 4; Nov., 7; Dec, 11 ; for the
year, 6j.
17. The percentage of rainy days in each month or
the probability of a rainy day. Jan., 35%; Feb., 36%;
March, 35%; April, 20%; May, 13%; June, 3%;
July, o; Aug., o; Sept., 7%; Oct., 13%; Nov., 23%;
Dec, 35%; for the year, 18%.
18. The number of days of snow with the depth and
duration of the snow cover. Snow falls rarely in San
Francisco. In the period of 41 years, 1871 to 191 1,
snow has fallen on 13 different dates. The greatest
depth was 3.5 inches on December 31, 1882. The
snow seldom lasts more than three hours. The longest
duration was over night.
100 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
19. The dates of earliest and latest snowfall: The
earliest date was December 31st and the latest,
March 3d.
20. Dates of earliest and latest hail: The earliest
hail fell in October and the latest in May. Hail-
storms are infrequent. In 20 years, 1891 to 1910, S 6
hail-storms occurred. Forty-two of these occurred in
December, January, February and March. None
occurred in June, July, August and September.
21. Data regarding thunderstorms. Thunderstorms
are rare, in a period of 20 years there have been 28
storms, eight of which occurred in one year. December
is the month of maximum frequency. The storms are
of short duration and feeble intensity. Damage from
lightning is trivial.
22. The amount of cloudy sky, expressed in
decimals. The period 1891 to 1910, Jan., 5.2; Feb.,
5.0; March, 4.8; April, 3.8; May, 4.0; June, 3.3; July,
3.8; Aug., 4-2; Sept., 3.6; Oct., 3.4; Nov., 3-9; Dec,
4.4; annual, 4.1.
23. Percentage of cloudiness by monthly means for
three or more specific hours of observation. Data
not available.
24. Thickness of the cloud layer or the amount of
strong sunshine as shown by candle sunshine recorder.
Data not available.
25. Number of foggy days or total number of hours
of fog. The number of foggy days recorded in period
from 1 891 to 1910, with one year missing, is 450, or an
average of 24 days per year.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 101
26. Number of nights with dew, also the quantity
of dew. No records of nights with dew have been
kept and there are no instruments for recording the
amount of dew. In the afternoon and night fogs are
accompanied by more or less condensation on the
streets. This wetting is particularly noticeable on
the south sidewalks, during the summer months from
6 p. m. until 9 a. m.
27. The monthly means or total wind velocities or
estimated wind force. Period 39 years, 1872 to 1910,
except December 40 years, and April and May, 1906,
portions of month: Jan., 5,282 miles; Feb., 4,990;
March, 6,563; April, 7,260; May, 8,416; June, 9,118;
July, 9,494; Aug., 9,047; Sept., 7,156; Oct., 5,792; Nov.,
4,649; Dec, 4,952; annual, 82,704 miles.
28. The frequency of winds from the eight principal
points of the compass, and the frequency of calms.
Jan., N., Feb., W.; March, W.; April, W.; May, W.;
June, W.; July, W.; Aug. W.; Sept., W.; Oct., W.;
Nov., W.; Dec, N.; annual, W. There are few calms
and these occur chiefly in the winter months.
29. The frequency of winds for each hour of
observation and the diurnal changes. The most
frequent direction at 1 a. m. is W.; 2 a. m., W.; 3 a. m.,
W.; 4 a. m., W., changing to S.W.; 5 a. m., W-S.W.;
6 a. m., W.-S.W.; 7 a. m., W.-S.W.; 8 a. m., W.-S.W.;
9 a. m., W.-S.W.; 10 a. m., W.; 11 a. m., W.; Noon,
W.; 1 p. m., W.; 2 p. m., W., 3 p. m., W.; 4 p. m., W.;
5 p. m., W.; 6 p. m., W.; 7 p. m., W.; 8 p. m., W; 9
p. m., W.; 10 p. m., W.; 11 p. m., W.; midnight, W.
The diurnal changes are most noticeable during the
102 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
winter months. In January the wind is south, from
midnight until noon, veering to northeast from I p. m.
to 3 p. m. and then becoming northwest. In February,
the same change can be noticed except that the north-
east winds begin at 9 a. m. and northwest at 1 p. m.
During the late spring, the summer and fall the winds
are steadily west. In November a shift to the south
begins at 7 a. m., changing to northeast at 10 a. m.,
northwest at 1 p. m., and west at 3 p.m. In December
the winds are light and variable from 1 a. m. until 3
p. m., mostly northeasterly. At 4 p. m. and through
the balance of the day the winds are northwest.
30. Meteorological peculiarities of each wind
direction, or the respective wind roses for temperature,
moisture, cloudiness and rainfall. The north and
northeast winds are accompanied by a higher tempera-
ture in the summer and fall and lower temperature in
winter. These winds are accompanied by low vapor
content or dry weather, little cloudiness and light
rainfall if any. The east, southeast, and south winds
are accompanied by rising temperature, increasing
moisture, considerable cloudiness and rainfall. The
rain beginning some hours after the commencement of
the wind. The southwest winds are accompanied by
moderate temperature, much moisture, cloudiness and
rain. The west and northwest winds are accompanied
by a fall in temperature, moisture above the normal,
much fog and little rainfall.
31. The mean annual barometric pressure. At sea
level the annual pressure, mean of 38 years, 1873 to
191 1, is 30.027 inches (762.5 millimeters), 1017 Kilobars.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 103
32. Total evaporation, daily and monthly, or some
equivalent factor, such as the depression of the dew-
point, combined with the velocity of the wind. Data
not available.
33. Variations in the gases contained in the
atmosphere. Data not available.
34. Impurities in the atmosphere, such as the
number of dust particles and especially the number of
spores or germs of organic life. No data; but it is
known that large amounts of carbon and sodium
chloride exist in the air within a few hundred feet of
the ground. The impurities are largely due to imper-
fect combustion. Large quantities of smoke escape
into the lower air. Fortunately the strong west winds
carry the smoke and fog eastward over the water
surface.
35. The proportions of ozone, peroxide of hydrogen
and nitric acid. No data.
36. The electrical condition of the atmosphere.
No data.
37. The sensation experienced by the observer,
such as mild, balmy, invigorating, depressing, and
other terms used to express the effect of the weather
upon mankind. The climate is not mild or balmy;
but rather invigorating, as a strong breeze from the
sea stimulates. It may also be noted that the moderate
temperatures are conducive to sleep and rest, especially
during the summer. In this respect San Francisco
differs from many of the great cities of the world.
There is practically no period of the year when heat
in any way interferes with the regular routine of life.
104 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
38. The number of storm centers that pass over a
given locality, or the storm frequency, monthly and
annually. Comparatively few storms pass over San
Francisco. During the summer months the mean
path of storm movement is far to the north. During
the winter months the relative frequency is three
storms per month although in nearly every year there
is a winter month without any marked disturbance.
The spring months average two storms per month,
the duration and intensity decreasing as the season
advances.
39. Frequency of severe local storms. High
southeast or southwest winds occur frequently during
the winter months. During other months winds
seldom reach a velocity of 40 miles. The relative
frequency of severe local storms in which the winds
exceed 50 miles an hour is about two each winter
season. In the past 20 years there have been three
occasions when the wind reached 60 miles or more,
namely, November 30, 1906, 64 northeast; March
I, 902, 60 south; December 23, 1892, 60 southeast.
40. The duration of twilight. There is less twilight
than the normal for cities in latitude 37°to 38 , because
summer afternoon fogs obscure the sky.
41. The blueness or haziness of the sky. The
skies are seldom as blue as in the mountain section.
There is considerable haziness. Occasionally after a
prolonged southeast storm, the air is remarkably pure
and the visibility excellent.
42. The number and extent of sudden change from
warm to cold or moist to dry weather and vice versa.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 105
There are few sudden changes, and the climate is on
the whole one of the most equable in the United States.
The temperature range is small and the only marked
changes occur during the periods of high temperature.
Under such conditions the temperature falls suddenly
in the afternoon of the second or third day, the wind
changing to the west and the fog coming in from the sea.
43. In addition to the above we may add the one
general factor of air drainage, or ventilation. San
Francisco is one of the best ventilated cities in the
world. A glance at the table of mean hourly wind
velocities will show that there is a steady supply of
fresh air, air from the ocean; and during the summer
afternoons or in other words when most needed, the
supply is greatest. This strong surface draught re-
moves impurities, prevents stagnant conditions of
the air, and the existence of poisonous gases. It also
prevents colonization of mosquitoes.
The effect of the moderate temperature, high and
nearly uniform amount of water vapor and excellent
ventilation undoubtedly contribute to health.
One other fact should be noted, namely that there is
little if any loss of sleep during the night hours. It
is seldom if ever too warm during the summer nights
and on the other hand seldom too cold for comfort on
winter nights.
SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY
Regarding the general climatic features of the San
Joaquin valley, it may be said that the precipitation
is lower than might be expected. There is a practically
rainless period from May to September. In some
106 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
seasons there are afternoon thunderstorms in the foot-
hills and occasional light rains. The seasonal rainfall
amounts to about ten inches in the central portion of
the valley, and of this less than half an inch falls dur-
ing the months of June, July, August, and September.
The month of greatest rainfall is December, with an
average of less than two inches. Notwithstanding
the somewhat limited rainfall, the valley and foothill
regions constitute the chief agricultural sections of the
state. Apricots, cherries, almonds, walnuts, peaches,
pears, plums, grapes, figs, and olives are grown most
successfully. Citrus fruits of all kinds nourish in the
foothill section. It may also be pointed out that this
is the only section of the United States in which raisin-
making is carried on.
The summer afternoon temperatures are exceedingly
high. At Fresno a maximum temperature of 46°C,
H5°F has been recorded; and temperatures of from
38 to 43°C, ioo° to no°F are not unusual in the mid-
summer months. Owing to intense radiation the
diurnal range of temperature is large, the difference
between the extremes frequently amounting to 20°C,
40°F, or more. During the winter months the tem-
perature falls to the freezing point or below. The
lowest temperature recorded at Fresno was 7°C, 20°F,
on January 17, 1888. This was the coldest weather
ever experienced in this section. Frosts occur fre-
quently during the winter months; the first killing
frosts occurring about the beginning of December,
and the last about the end of March.
The prevailing winds are from the north and
occasionally they are strong and do damage, especially
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 107
during the first part of June when the wheat is about
ready for harvest. The summer days are as a rule
cloudless. During the winter months, under certain
pressure distribution, a low-lying land fog forms during
the night and morning hours. This stratum of ground
fog is not very deep, often not exceeding 30 meters,
ico feet, and is confined chiefly to the river courses
and bottom lands. The foothill sections are for the
most part above these winter fog belts.
SALINAS VALLEY
The next largest valley in central California is the
Salinas valley, which lies west and southwest of
the San Joaquin. Beginning at the mouth of the Salinas
river, on the southern side of Monterey bay, the valley
extends southeastward through Monterey and San Luis
Obispo counties, nearly one hundred miles, with an
average width of ten miles. On the west side of the
valley the Santa Lucia range rises with an average
altitude of 1200 meters, 4000 feet. On the east side,
the valley is bounded by the various minor ranges
forming the western boundary of the San Joaquin.
The coldest month is January and the warmest
July. In the central part of the valley the mean
annual rainfall is less than 400 millimeters, 15 inches.
There are years, however, when the amount exceeds
500 millimeters, 20 inches, and, on the other hand,
there have been two years in a period of thirty-seven
when the annual rainfall did not exceed 175 millimeters,
7 inches. Both of these were unusually dry years in
California. The rainfall is fairly well distributed for
108 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
agricultural purposes. In the summer months strong
north winds prevail; but from November to March the
prevailing wind is south.
The city of Salinas has a mean annual temperature
of I3°C, 56°F. The highest temperature recorded
was 36°C, 96°F, and the lowest 7°C, 20°F.
The Santa Clara valley lies between the Santa Cruz
mountains on the west and the Mount Hamilton range
on the east. The prevailing westerly winds, intensified
by the formation of the Golden Gate, are deflected up
the Santa Clara valley as strong north winds. There
are well-marked differences in temperature and rainfall
between the valley and the coast. The mean annual
rainfall at San Francisco is about 600 millimeters,
23 inches, and at San Jose about 400 millimeters, 15
inches. In other words, in going south a distance of
fifty miles there is a steadily decreasing rainfall,
amounting to about eight inches in the distance named.
The Lick Observatory is situated on Mount Hamilton
at an elevation of 1,283 meters, 4,209 feet above sea
level. The station is about fourteen miles east of the
city of San Jose. The mean annual precipitation is
about 800 millimeters, 32 inches, or nearly double that
of the floor of the valley. Rain falls in every month of
the year on Mount Hamilton, but the summer rains are
limited to light showers. More than half the annual
rainfall occurs between December and March.
San Jose, the county seat of Santa Clara county, and
most prominent city in the valley, lies fifty miles south
of San Francisco and about eight miles south of the
lower end of San Francisco bay. The elevation varies
from 24 to 30 meters, 80 to 100 feet above sea level, but
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 109
within a few miles from the center of the city the foot-
hills rise to heights exceeding 300 meters, 1,000 feet.
The general movement of the air is from the north,
and the valley is somewhat sheltered from the strong
westerly winds prevalent on the coast. Summer fogs
are not carried over the western hills, but hang in beau-
tiful cascades along the ridge. There is a marked differ-
ence in the amount of bright sunshine during summer
afternoons between the valley, especially that portion
near San Jose, and San Francisco. Low winter fogs
sometimes occur, but as a rule do not last long.
The mean annual temperature of the lower end of the
valley is I4°C, 58°F. The coldest month is January,
with a mean temperature of 9°C, 48°F, and the
warmest month, July, mean temperature 67 . The
highest temperature recorded is 40°C, I04°F, and
the lowest temperature — 8°C, i8°F.
CALIFORNIA SOUTH OF THE TEHACHAPI
This division embraces Santa Barbara, Ventura,
Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial,
and San Bernardino counties. The section is bounded
on the north by the Sierra Madre, on the east by the
Colorado river, on the south by Mexico and the Pacific,
and on the west by the Pacific. The most important
section is the San Gabriel valley. The principal
city is Los Angeles, situated in a valley of the same
name. The center of the city was originally eighteen
miles from the ocean; but recent extension of the city's
boundaries to include San Pedro makes the city a
seaport. Within a distance of sixty miles there are
many smaller cities and towns, of which may be men-
110 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
tioned Pasadena, Riverside, Redlands, and San Ber-
nardino. The mountains to the north rise abruptly
and form a wall varying from 1,500 to 3,000 meters
5,000 to 10,000 feet in elevation. Some of the best
known peaks are Mount Lowe, elevation 1,042 meters,
3,420 feet, Mount Wilson, 1,770 meters, 5,800 feet, and
San Antonio, commonly known as "Old Baldy,"
3,070 meters, 10,080 feet. These can be seen from
elevated places in the valley. On the eastern side lie
the San Bernardino mountains, with an average eleva-
tion exceeding 1,800 meters, 6,000 feet. Some of the
best known peaks in the range are San Bernardino,
3,075 meters, 10,360 feet and San Gorgonio, 3,196
meters, 11,485 feet, locally known as "Old Grayback,"
the highest peak in southern California.
The southern half of the whole district is drained
by the Santa Ana river, which has its source in the
San Bernardino mountains, traversing San Bernardino
valley and breaking through the Santa Ana mountains
between Rincon and Yorba, after which it is diverted
for irrigation in the comparatively level lowlands
around Orange, Santa Ana, Anaheim and Fullerton.
The northern portion is drained by the San Gabriel
river, which rises near the backbone of the Sierra
Madre and flows westerly through various canyons,
reaching lower levels near Azusa. It then flows
southerly through the San Gabriel valley and the Los
Angeles valley, emptying into the Pacific Ocean in a
delta east of Long Beach. A third stream is the Los
Angeles river, formed by a number of small creeks
uniting east of Los Angeles and entering the Pacific
west of Long Beach.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 111
The topography favors a drainage of the air from
the mountains seaward at certain hours and a return
flood, or movement of the surface air from the sea
inland at certain other hours. In other words, the
conditions are extremely favorable for the development
of air streams which reverse their direction at least
twice in each 24-hour period.
In general the lower air flows to the southwest during
the night and early morning hours and to the northeast
during the afternoon hours. During the winter months
when areas of high pressure pass over the Great Basin,
the surface air apparently moves south, crossing the
northern flank of the Sierra Madre and descending
with some momentum into the great valley. The
wind movement is particularly marked in the vicinity of
the mountain passes, a good illustration being near
Cajon Pass, 1,165 meters, 3,823 feet. During these
so-called "northers," also locally known as Santa
Anas, the temperature rises and the humidity falls.
The existence of a low pressure area south of the valley
of the Colorado seems to intensify the condition.
Heavy frosts occur as a rule after a period of boisterous
north wind; and are undoubtedly traceable to the
displacement of the warm air of the valley by air that
is not quite so warm, but remarkably dry and com-
paratively free from dust. During the stillness of
the morning hours and before the return flow of air
from the sea can be effective, the soil, which in places
consists principally of river wash, coarse sand, and
gravel, or else a light sandy loam, loses heat rapidly
by radiation through the dust-free dry air; and it is
not unusual on January mornings to have tempera-
112 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
tures of about — 3°C, 26°F in the orange orchards. At
many points, especially in the lower lands, care must
be taken to protect oranges and lemons from both
the fall in temperature and the rather rapid rise which
occurs about eight o'clock in the morning.
SAN DIEGO
In the extreme southwestern portion of the general
division lies San Diego, located on the bay of the
same name. The city is the oldest one on our Pacific
coast. Weather records have been maintained for a
period of sixty-two years. The climate of the city
is described in detail elsewhere.* In general the rain-
fall is light, seldom exceeding 250 millimeters, 10 inches;
and over eighty per cent of the amount falls between
October and March. There is, however, a much heavier
rainfall in the mountains to the northeast, and the
annual rainfall at an elevation of 1,000 meters, 3,280
feet amounts to 1,500 millimeters, 60 inches. On the
eastern slopes of the mountains the precipitation dimin-
ishes rapidly. In the Colorado desert, particularly that
portion known as the Salton desert, the annual rainfall
does not exceed 75 millimeters, 3 inches. There is,
therefore, a marked variation in rainfall within com-
paratively short distances. It is worth noting that the
heaviest rainfall for a short period, in the United States
occurred in the form of a cloud burst in this section.
On August 12, 1 89 1, according to Archibald Campbell,
cooperative observer, there fell at Campo, 409 milli-
meters, 16.10 inches during a storm of the "Sonora"
""Carpenter, Ford L., The Climate and Weather of San Diego, California, published
by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, 191 3.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 113
type. In the Monthly Weather Review for October,
1906, a description of this particular storm and other
"Sonoras" is given by Campbell. The date, however,
is incorrectly given as August, 1890, and the rainfall
did not all occur within twenty-four hours. The
twenty-four-hour rainfall was 292 millimeters, 11.50
inches. In a period of about eighty minutes 292 milli-
meters, 11.50 inches fell, so far as can be ascertained.
IMPERIAL VALLEY
The Salton Sink is a portion of an ancient lake, and
it has been proposed by William P. Blake, who dis-
covered the Salton Sink, that the original lake be named
Cahuilla, as distinguished from the Salton Sea or pres-
ent body of water, which does not rise to the ancient
lake level, just as Salt Lake, for example, is known to
be the remnant of the greater lake Bonneville. The
area of the Salton Sea during its most recent period of
expansion, 1907-8, was about four hundred square miles.
The surface is approximately sixty meters, two hundred
feet below mean sea level. Previous to the flooding
the lowest point of the sink was 91.4 meters, 273.5 ^ eet
below mean sea level.
The valley lies to the south of the sea, extending to
the Mexican line, and contains approximately half a
million acres of highly fertile land, sloping gently from
the south. The Colorado river about sixty miles east
is tapped at several points, and a supply of water for
irrigation purposes thus provided. The valley has now
substantial agricultural interests. Cotton is one of the
chief products of this section. Brawley, Imperial, El
Centro, Holtville, and Calexico are incorporated towns.
114 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The climate is one of high afternoon temperature
and extreme dryness during the summer months. Dur-
ing 191 1 the highest temperature recorded at Brawley
was 45.5°C, H4°F on July 30th, and the lowest 20°F
on December 24th. The annual mean temperature was
2i.2°C, 70.2°F, the monthly mean for January, 54°F,
and for July, 32.2°C, 90°F.
The rainfall at Calexico during 191 1 amounted to
34.3 millimeters, 2.35 inches, distributed as follows:
January, 11.9 millimeters, 0.47 inch; February, 22.1
millimeters, 0.97 inch; March, 3.3 millimeters, 0.13 inch;
July, 8.4 millimeters, 0.33 inch; and October, 11.4 milli-
meters, 0.45 of an inch. As a rule little rain falls from
the storms of the north Pacific. During the period
from July to October occasional heavy rains occur in
connection with the Sonora type of storm. The winds
are mostly northwesterly in winter and easterly in
summer.
During the overflow of 1907, when the Colorado
river broke through an improperly built headgate and
reached the Alamo and New rivers, thence flowing
north into the Salton Sea, there was much discussion
as to the effect which the newly formed or rather
increased area of water would have upon the climate
of the section, particularly in the matter of rainfall.
Many held that there was an increase in rainfall, cloudi-
ness and relative humidity. In the Monthly Weather
Review for December, 1906, Professor A. J. Henry
discusses the problem and comes to a decision in the
negative.
THE CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA 115
OWENS VALLEY
There is a section of California lying east of the Sierra
Nevada and north of the Sierra Madre to which the
general name of Owens valley has been given, because
of the lake and the river of the same name. The
valley is about a hundred miles long, with an average
width of twenty-five miles. The northern end has
an elevation exceeding 1,200 meters, 4,000 feet, and
the slope is to the south. The Owens river, from
which the city of Los Angeles obtains its supply of
water, is fed by a number of mountain streams, due to
the snows of the high sierra. While the water of the
river is fresh, the water of Owens lake into which it
empties is too saline for potable purposes. The river
channel lies close to the base of the Inyo mountains,
which bound the valley on the east. Detailed descrip-
tion of the character of the valley floor, the run-off
of the various streams, and the amount of water in
the soil can be found in various papers published by the
engineer corps of the Los Angeles Aqueduct.* Reference
may also be made to papers in the Monthly Weather
Review for January, 1910, by Charles H. Lee and
A. B. Wollaber.
The best-known town in the section is Independence
where weather records have been kept, but not contin-
uously, since 1865. This section of the Great Basin has
been known for many years as "the land of little rain."
*See annual reports of the Bureau of the Aqueduct L — a Branch of Public
Works. Lee, C. H., Water Resources of Part of Owens Valley, California, U. S.
Geol. Survey Water Supply paper 294, 191 2.
116 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
At Independence, elevation 2,098 meters, 3,907 feet,
the mean seasonal rainfall is 88.4 millimeters, 4.48
inches; at Bishop, 1,361 millimeters, 5.36 inches.
DEATH VALLEY
This valley lies partly in California (southeastern por-
tion of Inyo county) and partly in Nevada (southern
portion of Nye county).
A few years ago this portion of the old Great American
Desert was accessible only by teams from Goldfield,
Nevada. Now, however, the Tonopah and Tidewater
Railroad traverses the section formerly dreaded, and in
191 2 a cooperative station was established at Greenland
Ranch, a few miles southwest of Ryan, which in turn
is four miles southwest of Death Valley Junction on
the Tonapah and Tidewater Railroad. Self-recording
instruments for obtaining records of temperature and
humidity are being installed and continuous records are
now available.
The name Death Valley is given to this section
because of the loss of a party of emigrants in 1849 and
subsequent numerous deaths of prospectors. During
the summer months afternoon temperatures frequently
reach 49°C, I20°F. As in other portions of the desert,
however, the nights are generally cool. The valley is
below sea level, the lowest point thus far determined
being 177 meters, 280 feet below.
<^^<w^ ^% C K y^L
THE INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA
THERE are few types of mankind lower and
more degraded in their native condition than
the California Indians, and yet few that have
exercised so profound an influence on the
history of a civilized state as this aboriginal race. So
tamely and completely have they given way to the
superior white, that their survivors drag out an ob-
scure, hardly known, and insignificant existence today
on the fringes of the industry and prosperity to which
they barely contribute. Yet all the earliest history
of California revolved about them, and its entire pre-
American period was shaped by Indian relations. Had
the California natives been warlike raiders, or shrewd
aggressive traders like so many others, the Spanish
occupation of the state would have been first delayed
and then run a far different course; the discovery of
gold might have been postponed for years; and the
rush of the Argonauts, the filling up of the land, its
Americanization and development, with the attainment
of its present status, would have been achieved under
widely different conditions from those which the actual
history reveals.
When Cabrillo in 1542 first sailed up the coast of
California, almost simultaneously with the entry on the
lower Colorado river of Alarcon, he found the Indians
simple, poor, friendly, and approachable. Forty years
later that remarkable mixture of buccaneer and gentle-
man, free-booter and patriot, Sir Francis Drake, added
to his feat of being the first Englishman to circle the
globe, the glory of being the earliest member of that
nationality to explore the Pacific coast, and of leaving
a record of the first English church service read on soil
120 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
of what is now the United States — as commemorated
by the impressive Prayer Book Cross surmounting a
height in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.
Drake spent a month and a half repairing his ship
the Golden Hind in a harbor long believed to have
been San Francisco bay, but now almost certainly
identified as the inlet near Point Reyes known as
Drake's bay. Like a prudent general, he built a fort
for his little company; but his subsequent experiences
proved this precaution needless, for the neighboring
Indians, who came in great numbers, were so far from
being hostile or even suspicious, that they regarded
the English as gods, and offered them food and presents
in sheer reverence and good faith.
The British hero has left a most interesting and
exact account of his aboriginal worshipers. His descrip-
tions of their feathered pendant-decorated baskets,
strings of wampum, net-work bags, feather crowns,
method of greeting, and devotions, accord exactly
with the implements and customs of the tribes of
today. Even the one or two words that he mentions
from their language can be identified in idioms that
still survive, and we know now that his native friends
belonged to the coast division of the great Miwok
family — a group of Indians that even in recent decades
roamed over the slopes of Mount Tamalpais and dug
shell fish along the estuaries of the Marin coast.
For nearly two centuries after Drake, California
and its Indians remained almost unknown. Now and
then the coast was touched, as by Vizcaino early in
the following century; but little contact was achieved,
and of that there remains slight record. With the
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 121
suppression of the Jesuit missions in Baja California,
and the handing over of their establishments to the
Dominicans, while Alta California was allotted as a
virgin field to the Franciscans, the real history of our
California, and the first chapter in the story of the
relations of its Indians with the race that was there-
after to dominate them, opens. In 1769 Junipero Serra
blessed the site of San Diego, to be followed in two
generations by the foundation of twenty other missions
extending north to beyond San Francisco.
These church establishments, founded solely on
account of the Indians, and in their behalf, determined
the location for all time of San Francisco, San Diego,
Santa Barbara, San Rafael, and other cities. They
contained for many years the principal wealth of the
territory; and their activities, more than anything else,
shaped the course even of civil developments until
the secularization in 1834. At first, indeed, the
governmental administration was intended as little
more than an arm of support for the propaganda.
Only gradually, as the period of American annexation
was approached, did political and economic considera-
tions of the laity begin to overshadow the interest of
the church in her dusky, simple-minded converts.
It is remarkable, and a tribute to the peace-loving
nature of the Indians, how small a military force the
vice-regal government of New Spain found it necessary
to maintain in protection of the missions and their
tempting wealth. Fifteen men not infrequently con-
stituted the garrison of a presidio whose mission
enclosed from a thousand to two thousand Indians,
without counting their wild relatives who roamed at
122 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
large. Such ease in maintaining order and rule has
not been encountered by Europeans in their settlement
of any other part of America, and reveals the sluggish,
tractable character of the original Californians in its
best aspect. Ninety thousand Indians were baptized,
from first to last, at the twenty-one missions. More
than a third of this number were to be found at any
given moment, for a long duration of years, in their
establishments.
For two centuries, including the whole of the Cali-
fornia mission period, the Apache kept the Spaniard
out of Arizona and parts of New Mexico, and terrorized
time and again extensive tracts in Chihuahua and
Sonora; yet the collective numbers of the various
Apache tribes, in the heyday of their renown, probably
never reached ten thousand. The retardation of the
civilization and development of California, if this
state had been afflicted with desperate raiders of the
calibre of the terrors of the Southwest, is obvious ; the
events of '49, and of subsequent years, would have
spelled a far different chapter of history from that
which we now read.
On the whole, the Indian converts of the Franciscans
in California seem to have been fairly satisfied with
their new life. Regular and abundant meals, the
possession of clothing, the excitement of occasional
fiestas, a secure and even life, unquestionably compen-
sated for a loss of personal liberty and the moderate
amount of labor required of all. The prohibition of
their native religious practices must indeed have
seriously pained some of the older men, whose only
recourse lay in a secret and stinted performance of their
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 123
rites. It is known too that now and then stirrings of
the natural human desire for untrammeled freedom
agitated them; occasional escapes of bands are re-
corded. But a deputation of loyal Indians, armed with
ropes, and led by a few soldiers, was always sufficient,
if inaccessible mountain tracts were not too near, to
bring back the recalcitrants in short order. True
revolts hardly occurred, except for an attack on San
Diego Mission in its early days, and an abortive uprising
of the neophytes of the missions in what is now Santa
Barbara county in 1824. One father exchanged his life
for the blood and crown of martyrdom on the former
of these occasions; and four white men, including,
however, neither missionaries nor soldiers, were killed
in the latter episode; but there is no record that even
half a dozen soldiers suffered death in the occasional
little campaigns and bloodless operations of more than
fifty years.
The missionaries have at times been charged with
the employment of compulsion toward their converts.
Corporal punishment was in use. Discipline, while
not severe, was unrelaxing, and obedience enforced,
where moral superiority failed, by recourse to strength
of arm. These are undoubted facts. But it is unfair
to judge the eighteenth century by the standards of
the twentieth, or to expect to find in the relations of
a few civilized people with a fifty-fold more numerous
native population, the social and legal equalities of a
long settled community all of one race. Above all,
the Franciscans were clearly actuated in the main
only by motives of the Indians' welfare. They were
saving their souls; and if in so doing, they held the
124 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Indians strictly to duties that would both support them
in comfort and decency and would maintain the estab-
lishments, they acted with economic wisdom and
advanced the cause of civilization as well as the interests
of their faith. Despots on a small scale Junipero
Serra or his followers may well have been; but they
surely were benevolent despots, and, what is more yet,
disinterested. They gathered no profits themselves
from their converts' labors. The mission lands and
improvements were merely held in trust for the Indians,
as they might be for children or wards. Such a course
has been and is impossible under the democratic
institutions of our federal government; but there is
no doubt that had it been feasible, and applied, the
Indian problem of the United States would have been
handled with greater satisfaction, disposed of more
quickly, and met on the whole with more fairness,
than has actually been the case.
The Mexican government, too, although moved by
animosity against the missions as religious establish-
ments, planned decently for the Indians when its act
of secularization was enforced in 1834. The mission
lands were to be divided and allotted in severalty to
the Indians, or sold for their benefit. This scheme
unfortunately was entirely theoretical. In its execu-
tion, frauds were sometimes perpetrated upon the
Indians, at the instance and for the benefit of the
resident Spanish Californians. Where the Indians
actually did receive their due in land, it was soon
neglected and entirely abandoned, or passed in one
way or another out of their possession into that of
their more thrifty Caucasian neighbors. The pre-
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 125
diction of the Franciscans was soon verified. The
Indians were as yet incapable of proper independence
or self-support in a civilized community, and a few
years found them homeless, in abject poverty, scat-
tered, and rapidly dying out, except where more
fortunate bands had returned entirely to the old wild
life.
Although low in the scale of advancement, ignorant
of the art of agriculture, and for the most part of that
of pottery making, without knowledge of construction
in stone, and lacking in the picturesque totemism as
well as the aggressive fighting spirit of more easterly
and northerly tribes, the California Indians as a body
displayed several notable peculiarities.
Their considerable numbers contrast with the scanti-
ness of population in most other regions of North
America. The earlier guesses of three quarters of a
million are obviously wild. The more recent estimate
of two hundred and sixty thousand made by a careful
student, must also be regarded as too high. But even
the most conservative figures place the number of
the aboriginal Californians at from one hundred
thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand. This is
a light population compared with that which the state
enjoys today, but it bulks heavily in view of the fact
that according to the closest computations the total
number of Indians in all America north of Mexico at
the time of discovery was less than half the number of
human souls at present in California. With a twentieth
of the area of the United States, California, for all the
deserts along its eastern border, held one-eighth the
native population of the entire country. This superior
126 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
density not only reflects the easier climatic conditions
and geographical advantages; it also proves a social
condition of comparative peace and quiet for many
centuries before the coming of the white man.
Even more exceptional than the numbers of the
Golden State Indians, was the diversity of their
languages. One hundred and thirty-five dialects were
spoken between the Oregon and Mexican boundaries.
About a third of these idioms have become extinct,
through the dying away of the tribes that knew them;
the remainder survive in the mouths of from one to
eight hundred souls each. Nor were these dialects
all mere minor variations of one common mother
tongue. Twenty-one or twenty-two groups or families
were long ago made out, among which the totality
of idioms could be properly distributed; and so dif-
ferent were these groups that their number remained
undiminished, and they stood unimpaired before
comparisons, for thirty years. It is only in immediate
recency that prolonged analysis has finally succeeded
in demonstrating the underlying similarities of several
of these twenty-one families, and thus proving them
akin. Even at that there remain six or eight groups,
each composed of from one to fifty dialects, which are
so dissimilar to one another that a separate origin,
thousands of years ago, must be ascribed to each
class.
Tribal divisions were even more numerous than
tongues; but closer scrutiny reveals that in almost
every case what were at first called tribes are in reality
nothing more than villages, or "rancherias," as,
following Spanish usage, they are still generally called.
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 127
In the absence of any federative principles or higher
organization, these independent rancherias were the
ultimate political units, and in one sense the tribes,
of the California Indians. Of such village communities,
each with its own chief, and each free to conduct war
or negotiate peace at the will of its own members only,
there must have been about one thousand in California.
A number of tribes in the larger sense, that is,
groups of villages linked by similar speech, identical
customs, and generally a common purpose, can how-
ever be distinguished; and of these, a mention of the
more important may be worth while.
About San Diego, and named after its mission, were
the San Dieguefios, or, in Indian parlance, the Kamia,
a group much less tractable than most others. To
their east, on the Colorado river, dwelled their kinsmen
the Cocopa, the Yuma, and the Mohave, even more
renowned for a warlike spirit, and the only tribes in
the state whose men today still wear their hair long.
Following the coast northward, one encountered in the
vicinity of the next three missions the San Luisehos,
the San Juanenos, and the San Gabrielinos, the former
still nourishing, the latter two virtually extinct. All
of these were members of the great Shoshonean family,
and distant relatives, in the remote past, of the re-
nowned Aztecs of Mexico. In the Colorado desert
were the Cahuillas, and north of them the Serranos,
or "mountaineers." Still other Shoshonean tribes
extended across the great Mohave desert past Death
valley, and skirted the eastern flank of the Sierra
Nevada, in part occupying also the higher portions
of this great range, as far north as Oregon. These
128 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
included the Chemehuevi and other Southern Paiute
offshoots; the Kawaiisu; the Tiibatulabal of Kern
River; the Panamint, Koso, and Mono, identifiable
by their names; and the Northern Paiute.
The great Chumash group ranged from Ventura to
San Luis Obispo, and from Santa Cruz Island to
Tehachapi. The Spaniards spoke of them as the
"Indians of the Channel" of Santa Barbara, and
reckoned them as more intelligent, polished, and
wealthy than the other tribes of California. Mission
life was quickly fatal to them, however, and scarcely
a dozen survive. A group of unknown name, usually
called "Salinan" from their habitat, have vanished
almost as completely, while the Esselen, a little tribe
of the coast south of Monterey, became totally extinct
forty or fifty years ago. Still farther north, from
Monterey to San Francisco, and inland to Mount
Diablo, were numerous squalid and interrelated bands,
many of whose local village names have been preserved,
but for whom there is no generic name beyond the
Spanish "coast-men," Costafios, corrupted into Cos-
tanoan in technical book English. A century and a
third of contact with the superior race has proved
fatal to this group also, and it is as good as gone.
In the interior the scythe of civilization began later
to mow its harvest, and more numerous representatives
remain. The great valley of the San Joaquin, from
Stockton to Bakersfield, with much of the adjacent foot-
hill territory, was the possession of the most widely
spread of all the indigenous stocks, the Yokuts, whose
name, like that of many other divisions, means nothing
more than "people" in the original. Forty or fifty
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 129
subdivisions were once comprised in this great group,
the designations of some surviving in modern geo-
graphical terms: Chowchilla, Kaweah, Tache, Yokohl.
The Sierra foothills from the Merced to the Cosumnes
river were occupied by the Miwok, a much broken
family, offshoots from which were found also in Marin
and Lake counties. North of them, from Eldorado
to Plumas counties, were the Maidu — also "the
people" — while Lake Tahoe and adjacent tracts east
of the great watershed belonged to the Washoes, a
tribe of Nevadan rather than Californian affiliations
and outlook.
The entire west side of the Sacramento valley, from
Suisun Bay to Mt. Shasta, was occupied by the Wintun,
with their southern branch the Patwin, an intellectually
superior tribe, it appears, for from them nearly all
their neighbors seem to have borrowed many of their
religious institutions. Across the river from them, in
Tehama and Shasta counties, were the Yana or Nozi,
a dreaded and vindictive little people, whose stubborn-
ness caused them to suffer greatly at the hands of the
whites, and who were distinctive in many of their
habits, especially in the remarkable peculiarity of
possessing different dialects for their men and women.
On Pit river roamed the Achomawi; on Hat creek
the Atsugewi ; to the north, from Tule Lake into Oregon,
the Modoc, a small tribe whose temporarily successful
resistance to the federal soldiery in 1873 has made
them famous; and in Siskiyou county the Shasta,
whose name is perpetuated by that of the snow clad
peak.
130 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The Porno were the dominant group of Sonoma,
Lake, and Mendocino counties, populous, renowned
for their surpassingly fine basketry, and still in their
old haunts. Their northern neighbors, the Yuki or
"enemies," were ruder, warlike, and of peculiar interest
because both their speech and their physical type are
unique. In a broken chain from Mendocino to Del
Norte counties dwelled the Kato, Wailaki, Mattole,
Chilula, Hupa, Tolowa, and others, all members of the
great Athabascan family — original relatives, as evi-
denced by their language, of the far distant Apache and
Navajo and of the still more remote Dene of Alaska.
In Humboldt county, finally, were three small but
populous units, diverse in speech but similar in customs,
and superior in the general level of their life and insti-
tutions to probably all the other aborigines of the state,
except the before-mentioned Chumash. These were
the Wiyot, the Yurok, and the Karok.
"Diggers" is a name that has been indiscriminately
applied to nearly all these groups, until today it is in
the estimation of the public at large the specific tribal
name of the California Indians. Nothing, however, is
more meaningless, and even misleading than this term.
It was used originally, more as a derogatory designation
than anything else, of the Shoshoni, Bannock, and
other tribes of the Great Basin region, who eked out a
scanty living in a half desert habitat by digging roots.
So expressive of contempt, however, was the name, that
it was readily extended, in 1849 and the days following,
to the rude and passive natives of California, whenever
a more fortunate Caucasian felt himself called on to
give way to his feelings toward a people who were "best
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 131
dead, anyway." The multiplicity of Indian divisions
in California, and the lack of proper tribal designations
for most of them, made the term a convenient one,
even for those who did not share such sentiments; and
it soon established itself in usage. It is, however, as
unspecific in denotation as "Indian" itself; resembling
in this respect the familiar "Siwash" of farther north
on the Pacific coast — another term which is frequently
but erroneously thought to be tribal in its force.
The name "Digger" is moreover misleading, since
roots formed only an insignificant element in the food
of the California aborigines. The staple was nearly
everywhere the acorn, which was not only obtained in
abundance, but, when leached by warm water of its
tannic acid, is thoroughly nourishing and palatable.
Seeds of grasses, sages, and herbs probably came next;
then, according to location, either fish or shell-fish, or
rabbits, squirrels, and other small game. Deer, elk,
or antelope provided food only irregularly; and roots
and berries were no more important. Lizards, snakes,
snails, slugs, honey, yellow-jacket larvae, grasshoppers,
caterpillars, and angleworms, were all relished by some
tribes; but others refrained from these delicacies, and
added to the list of tabooed foods the flesh of certain
animals, which, like the bear, were thought to be too
human for consumption, or, like the coyote and eagle
were reverenced for the part they were believed to have
had in the creation of the world. Dog meat, a tid-bit
among eastern tribes, was everywhere in California
thought to be the deadliest of poisons. Agricultural
products, mostly corn, beans, and squashes, were raised
and used only by the Yumas and Mohaves of the
Colorado river bottom lands.
132 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The food, and therefore the mode of life, of the
prehistoric ancestors of our modern California Indians,
was undoubtedly substantially the same for thousands
of years past. This can be asserted confidently from
the abundance of stone mortars and pestles — the typi-
cal acorn and seed crushing implements — which have
been found at all depths of the soil, and in all parts of
the state in countless numbers; in fact, are the utensils
characteristic of the archeology of California. Other
types of stone ware, arrow-points, knives, charmstones,
sinkers, and so forth, occur; but these also have sur-
vived into the life of the modern natives in identical
shapes; so that it is clear that there has been no sig-
nificant evolution nor even retrogression in the customs
and life of the indigenes during a long time past. Stone
axes, for instance, stone war-club heads, and stone
structures, all familiar to the antiquarian of the East
or the Southwest, are completely wanting from the
lowest as well as the highest relic-bearing strata of
California; and are equally lacking from the life of the
most recent generations.
Along the coast, especially on the ramified shores of
San Francisco bay, numerous conspicuous landmarks
of aboriginal occupation remain: the shell heaps. These
moundlike deposits, representing the gradual accumu-
lation of the food refuse of populations whose largest
article of diet was shell-fish, are piled up, in some cases,
to a height of thirty and thirty-five feet. Nearly all
have their bases submerged from two to ten feet below
present sea-level, proving a gradual submergence of the
l an d — a deduction confirmed by geologists on other
grounds— and, since such subsidence is normally very
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 133
slow, indicating a long lapse of time since these sites
first began to be occupied. Clam, mussel, and oyster
shells, with an admixture of ash, pebbles, and earth,
occasional lost or broken implements, and considerable
numbers of human burials, make up the body of these
"kitchen-midden" mounds; and it is interesting to note
that each species of shell is most frequent in those
deposits which were accumulated along the particular
reaches of shore where the living mollusk of the same
variety nourishes most abundantly today. The oyster
beds of the immemorial past lay where they still lie.
The most careful computations of the size of the
larger mounds as compared with the habits of life of
their builders, and the geological subsidence, have led
to an estimate of a lapse of at least three thousand
years since these spots were first inhabited. This is
not an antiquity so great as some parts of the world
can boast. But it is interesting to reflect that San
Francisco was inhabited, though but by primitive
ancestors of Indians, when Solomon built his temple
and Troy was sacked.
Shell beads have been discovered in many of these
remains of the past, and indicate a use of money simi-
lar to that of the more recent tribes. The California
Indian was notably avaricious. Military glory meant
little to him; but the rich man was chief. For so many
strings of shell money, one could buy himself a wife; for
double the amount a woman could be secured who was
of high caste, that is, descended from a wealthy family;
and her husband's children would be of equally lofty
social reputation. At the same price a murder could
be compensated for in blood money. And when no
134 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
such practical uses were necessary, the strings of shells
still gave eminent prestige by their mere possession.
The religion of the Indians was far more complex
than might appear at first sight. Innumerable cere-
monies filled their days. At birth, at puberty, and at
death, rites were performed; marriage alone was no
sacrament. Among many tribes the young men went
through a long and formal initiation before they could
participate in sacred matters; but once admitted, they
were thenceforth members of secret societies which
almost suggest our Masonic orders.
Mourning ceremonies were even more spectacular,
because public, and were accompanied not only by
endless wailing and by long preachments, but by
wholesale destruction of property in memory of the
deceased.
The souls or "hearts" of the dead were supposed to
never perish utterly, though a disagreeable fate might
be in store for them if some religious ritual remained
unfulfilled. Wickedness, however, was not believed to
be punished except in this life, so that good and bad
together went to the same shadow land, where food
furnished itself and eternity was spent in dancing and
festivities.
The legends of the various tribes evince a higher
power of primitive speculation than might be antici-
pated in view of their being largely animal tales. Some
of the traditions accounting for the origin of the world
are not without a lofty strain in all their grotesqueness,
and the solution of the ever- recurring problem of good
and evil is at least attempted. The origin of death, for
instance, is explained in many tribal legends in a form
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 135
^which lacks the moral element of the Biblical account,
but resembles it in presupposing a time in the first
beginning of the world when the ancestors of the human
race were immortal, and in recounting that it was an
error of some one that was responsible for the intro-
duction of death into the scheme of things. In many
legends the someone is stated to have been Coyote,
who, not necessarily evil minded, but mischievous,
heedless, and vain, is believed to have constantly tried
to remodel the universe according to his own ideas.
Sometimes, as when he stole fire, or sunlight, for the
good of mankind, he was a benefactor; on other occa-
sions, as when he released a flood, started a world
conflagration, or chose perpetual death in place of the
alternative of constantly renewed youth, his pranks
and arrogance resulted as disastrously as the plottings
of his Satanic counterpart, the Biblical serpent.
American contact has resulted in much the same
status for the interior and northern tribes as Spanish
influence had achieved for their brethren of the south-
ern coast two generations earlier. The Indians lost
their land, sickened, died like flies, and in the half-state
between civilization and savagery in which they found
themselves, were hard put to it to maintain themselves
at all. The state government did nothing for them,
except occasionally to authorize as militia such parties
of settlers as might organize for the chastisement or
wiping out of an obnoxious band of natives. Sometimes
the settlers had ample provocation; sometimes the first
just complaints came from the Indians, who, obtaining
no hearing or redress, inflicted the retaliation which
they thought called for, but which usually only brought
136 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
still greater misery on their heads. The local history
of California, in part still unwritten — and perhaps best
so — is dotted with examples of individual and whole-
sale outrages of this sort during the fifties and sixties.
In most instances it is perhaps impossible to decide who
was most to blame; but in the end it was inevitable
that the Indians, as the weaker party, suffered most.
The conquerors had no great glory to gain; the events
themselves are half forgotten, the scars they struck
nearly effaced; and it seems wisest to draw the veil
over this chapter of the state's history.
The national government, however, possessed both
precedent and machinery for handling the Indian
situation in the days of the pioneers. That it did
not do so was inexcusable. Had the local tribes been
warlike and predatory, had they inflicted exemplary
injury on those who deprived them of their lands and
often of their sustenance, a cry would have gone up
that would soon have been hearkened to in Washing-
ton. But the settlers were schooled in self-reliance,
and arranged difficulties to suit themselves; and the
Indians had no spokesman before the great father.
Such attempts as the United States made to deal
with the Indian problem were extraordinarily ineffi-
cient, and more feeble than in any other portion of
the country. Bands of the most diverse origin and
speech, divided by age-long antipathies, were assembled
by commissioners and persuaded to assent to treaties
which they did not understand and to cessions of
land to which they laid no claim. In many instances
the treaties were never ratified by the Senate, with
the result that the Indians were dispossessed and
INDIANS OF CALIFORNIA 137
received not even a pretence of a return. Such
reservations as were arranged for, were mostly estab-
lished without consideration of the customs, abilities,
and enmities of the various tribes, and without pro-
vision for their support. The Indians kept running
off; and finally most of these futile attempts were
abandoned. In all California only four reservations
continued to be maintained, counting the scattered
little tracts of southern California hill land as one,
as in effect they are; and these four contain arable
land sufficient for the decent self support of possibly
one-fourth of the shrunken present day population.
With all the tremendous decrease of the last sixty
years, California still ranks fifth in the number of its
Indians — 16,000; and yet no western state contains
so little reservation land, in proportion to its area.
A belated attempt was made in the last ten years to
remedy the earlier oversights and neglect, congress
voting some two hundred thousand dollars for the
purchase of homes for homeless California Indians.
This amount, wisely spent, has relieved some acute
suffering; and has had the salutary moral effect of
making the Indians feel that they were not being
dealt only injustice.
In the main, however, they long ago solved their
problem for themselves — by work. Not the steady,
directed labor of the white man with an ambition
and a future, it is true; but at least enough to show
good intent and capacity, to keep themselves alive,
and to earn a fair measure of respect from those of the
dominant race who know them best. Hop-picking,
fruit-gathering, haying, sheep-shearing, and general
138 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
ranch work, more frequently for hire than on their
own account, are their commonest occupations and
in these they are sought. Such labors, performed in
shabby civilized clothes, are not portrayed in cinema-
tograph films and do not lend much color to romance.
The California Indian therefore occupies a far less
conspicuous place in the public mind than his showier
and more imposing brother of the east. But he has
made greater progress on the road to civilization;
and substantially he already is, though but in an
humble way, a useful, satisfactory, and willing member
of the community and nation.
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LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA
TO understand the land system of California it
is necessary to go back to the colonization of
the country. The establishment of missions
in remote provinces was a part of the colonial
system of Spain, and hence when the king ordered the
military occupation of the province it was determined
to establish three missions therein: one on the bay of
San Diego, one on the bay of Monterey, and one at a
point between to be selected by the expedition and to
be named in honor of San Buenaventura, the good
doctor serafico of Saint Francis and one of his successors
as minister-general of the order. These missions were
to be under the protection of presidios and others
were to follow until the reduction of California was
complete. The new establishments nourished and rap-
idly augmented their number until they extended from
San Diego on the south to Sonoma on the north, occu-
pying the whole territory of the coast, except the
presidios of San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and
San Francisco, and the three pueblos of Los Angeles,
San Jose, and Branciforte; the limits of one mission
forming the boundary of the next. After a time the
governors began making grants of land to individuals —
mainly retired soldiers, but these grants were made
subject to the claims of the missionaries who held the
land in trust for the use of their wards, the Indians.
These grants were but few in number, and usually at a
distance from the mission establishments within whose
jurisdiction they fell. The consent of the priests was
not always given. It was no part of their policy to
promote colonization. In addition to the difficulty of
obtaining land, trade with the colony was not permitted
142 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
and the settler had no market for his product. There-
fore it was that beyond a few retired soldiers California
had practically no settlers. The missions grew and
flourished but immigrants would not come notwith-
standing the inducements of pay and rations offered.
Colonel Costanso, the engineer who had come with
Portola in 1769, was sent to California in 1794 to inves-
tigate conditions and ascertain the reason for the lack
of progress in the settlement of the country, and re-
ported that the mission plan of colonization was a fail-
ure; that after many years the missions still remained
in charge of the priests and mission guards; that there
was a lack of population, and no ship owners on the
coast. There were no inducements to the farmer and
stock raiser, for no trade was permitted with either for-
eign or Spanish ships other than the regular transports.
Notwithstanding the liberal gifts of land, pay, rations
and privileges granted to settlers in the three pueblos
founded, only about thirty families could be obtained,
and the rest of the pobladors consisted of retired soldiers
and the descendants of soldiers.
There has been much misunderstanding in regard to
the title to lands occupied or claimed by the missions.
These lands did not belong to the church nor to the
mission establishments as corporations. The absolute
title to the land was vested in the crown, and the
Indians were recognized as the owners, under the crown,
of all the land needed for their support. All the mis-
sions in California were established under the direction
and mainly at the expense of the government, and the
missionaries there never had any other rights than to
the occupation and use of the lands for the purpose
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 143
of the missions, namely: to prepare the Indians that
they might, in time, take possession of the land then
held in common. This done, the missions were to be
made pueblos and the missionaries returned to their
convent. There never was any misunderstanding in
regard to this principle, least of all on the part of the
missionary priests, and it was understood that the mis-
sions existed at the pleasure of the political authority.
On the 17th of August, 1773, the viceroy, Bucareli,
wrote to the comandante of California, as follows :
"When it shall happen that a mission is to be
converted into a pueblo the comandante will proceed
to reduce it to the civil and economical government,
which, according to the laws, is observed by other
pueblos of this kingdom; then giving it a name and
declaring for its patron the saint under whose memory
and protection the mission was founded."
The right, then, to remodel these establishments
and convert them into towns and villages, subject to
the known policies and laws which governed settle-
ments of that description, we see was a principle of
their foundation; the missions were disposable at the
will of the crown or its representatives. This view of
their purpose and destiny fully appears in the tenor of the
decree of the Spanish cortes of the 13th of September,
181 3, which provided: "That all the new reduciones
y doctrinas of the provinces beyond sea which were
in charge of missionary monks, and had been ten
years subjected, should be delivered immediately to
the respective ecclesiastical ordinaries, without resort
to any excuse or pretext, conformably to the laws and
cedulas in that respect." Also:
144 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
"That the missionary monks should discontinue
immediately the government and administration of
the property of the Indians who should choose, by
means of their ayuntamientos, with intervention of
the superior political authority, persons among them-
selves competent to administer it, the lands being
distributed and reduced to private ownership in accor-
dance with the decree of 4th January, 181 3, on reducing
vacant and other public lands to private property."
It was contemplated that in ten years from their
foundation the missions should cease; that within
that period of time the Indians would be sufficiently
advanced in Christianity and the arts of civilized life
to assume the position and character of citizens. Yet
sixty-five years rolled by and found the missionary
monks still in the government and administration of
the property of the Indians, in possession of twenty-one
great mission establishments, raising annually one
hundred and twenty thousand bushels of wheat,
maize, and other grains, ornamented and enriched with
plantations of palm trees, bananas, oranges, olives, and
figs, orchards of deciduous fruits, fertile vineyards,
and in addition, vast herds of self-moving or live stock,
valued, at current rates, three millions of dollars, and
bringing enormous annual returns upon its aggregate
amount, while thirty thousand Indians lodged in the
mission buildings and contributed their labor to
the production of this wealth.
In 1833 the Mexican congress ordered the seculariza-
tion of the missions and in 1834 Governor Figueroa
issued a reglamento providing for the distribution and
management of their property.
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 145
After Mexico achieved her independence trade rela-
tions with the outside world were established and there
soon came a demand for land, though not many grants
were made until after secularization of the missions
was begun. In 1824 the Mexican congress had adopted
a liberal decree for the settlement of her provinces.
Lands were to be granted to all who could make use
of them, with preference for Mexican citizens, without
distinction, except only that due to private merit
and services rendered to the country. Comandantes
of presidios made grants in the neighborhood of their
presidios and alcaldes granted pueblo lots. The larger
grants were made by the governors, and on a liberal
scale. A square league (sitio), 4,438.56 acres, was the
unit, and of these eleven (48,824.16 acres) could be
granted to one individual. The theory of the eleven
leagues was: one league of irrigable land (tierra de
regadio), four superficial ones of land dependent on the
seasons (de temporal), and six superficial ones for
the purpose of rearing cattle (de abrevadero). The
unit of the large grants was called a sitio de ganado
mayor — a place for large cattle.
The instructions of Viceroy Bucareli of 17th August,
1773, to the comandante of California relative to the
reduction of a mission to a pueblo, also authorized the
granting of lands either in community or individually
to the Indians of the missions, to settlements of white
persons, and to soldiers who should marry Indian
women. Under this reglamento the first private land
grant in California was made November 22, 1775, to
Manuel Butron, a soldier of the Monterey garrison,
146 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
in virtue of his military service and in right of his wife,
Margarita, a daughter of the mission. It was for a
piece of land one hundred and forty varas* square.
With the secularization of the missions and the
development of trade came a great demand for land.
To obtain a grant, the first proceeding was an applica-
tion or petition to the governor, praying for the grant,
specifying usually the quantity of land asked and
designating its position, with some descriptive object
or boundary, and also stating the age, country, and
vocation of the petitioner, together with a rude map
or plan of the required grant, called a diseno, showing
its shape and position with reference to other tracts or
to natural objects. Many of the later petitions,
however, did not contain a diseno. The request was
then referred to the proper authorities for information
concerning the applicant and the land desired, called
an informe, and if all was favorable, the grant was
made by the governor in form, or by writing on the
margin of the application "Let the title issue." The
papers {expediente) were fastened together and trans-
mitted to the territorial diputacion where they were
entered in the record, a copy of all made and filed in
the archives and the original delivered to the grantee
for his protection, and constituted his title. There
was no public or authorized surveyor in the country
and there were not any regular surveys made of grants.
The conditions of occupation with a certain amount
of live stock and of building on the land within a year
were generally added, and the grants usually contained
a direction that the grantee should receive judicial
*A vara is 33 inches.
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 147
possession of the land from the proper magistrate
(usually the nearest alcalde), and that the boundary
of the tract should be designated by that functionary
"with suitable landmarks." The latter injunction
was usually more honored in the breach than in the
observance. The reglamento of Felipe de Neve,
governor of California, approved by the king, 24th of
October, 1781, provided that each settler of a pueblo
(poblador) should receive a solar (house-lot) of one
hundred varas square and four suertes of two hundred
varas each, for planting, together with the free use of
the dehesas (pasture lands) and the rights of montes
and aguas — the woods and waters. Each pueblo had,
for the accommodation and use of future population,
her ejidos — vacant suburbs or common lands — compris-
ing, with the solares, suertes, etc., the four square
leagues provided each pueblo of the Indies by decree
of Philip II. The law of 1824 also provided for grants
to empresarios or contractors, for colonies, but so far
as I know none were granted. The McNamara grant
(of 3,000 leagues), which did not go through, was the
only attempt of this character.
Towards the end of Mexican rule the scramble for
land was very great. It was believed that the loose
bond which held California to Mexico would soon be
broken and it was understood that the United States
intended to acquire the province through the filibustero
method. The opinion was freely expressed by the
American newspapers that California would soon be
United States territory; yet notwithstanding this,
lands were freely granted to such Americans as complied
with the requirements of law. In few cases were all
148 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the formalities of the law complied with, for land was
cheap and the people and authorities indolent and
careless. Sometimes there was no disefio, no informe
of local officials, and no approval by the assembly.
Boundaries were but vaguely described and occasion-
ally, not at all. A grant would be made for so many
leagues at a place indicated by name; or for a certain
area "poco mas o'menos" (a little more or less) between
defined natural bounds; or for a fixed extent to be
located within certain larger bounds, the surplus being
reserved.
As the Americans came in before and after the
conquest they found large portions of the best lands
occupied by Mexican grantees. This was, in the eyes
of many of them, all wrong. As American citizens
they were entitled to land. The big Mexican grant
was to them an abomination. What right had any
man to claim fifty thousand acres of land? Hadn't
they fought for the country, and hadn't the Mexican
grants lapsed with the conquest? At least many of
them acted upon that principle, and associations
of squatters were formed and adopted laws granting to
each member the right to preempt one hundred and
sixty acres of any land that was vacant, or what they"
chose to consider vacant.
In 1849, Henry W. Halleck, captain of engineers and
secretary of state, reported to Governor Mason the
condition of land titles in California, in which he found
that many of the provisions of law regarding the grant-
ing of lands had not been complied with and expressed
the opinion that some of the alleged grants were forged
or antedated.
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 149
In July, 1849, William Carey Jones, an adept in the
Spanish language and a lawyer skilled in Spanish
colonial titles was commissioned by the secretary of
state to proceed to Mexico and to California and
procure information as to the condition of land titles
in California. Jones went first to California, by way of
Panama, and after careful and searching examination
of land matters proceeded to the city of Mexico. His
report dated April 10, 1850, is a model of clear, concise
statement of conditions. He found that much of the
coast country, lying west of the Sacramento and San
Joaquin valleys and south of Sonoma was covered
with private grants, but he was convinced that when
the country was surveyed extensive and valuable
tracts would be found remaining after leaving to every
grantee all that his grant called for; besides which
was the vast region north of Sonoma, the valleys of
the Sacramento and San Joaquin, and the gold region
of unknown extent along the foothills of the Sierra
Nevada. "The grants in California" the report says,
" I am bound to say, are mostly perfect titles ; that is, the
holders possess their property by titles that, under
the law which created them, are equivalent to patents
from our government; and those which are not perfect —
that is, which lack some formality or some evidence
of completeness — have the same equity as those which
are perfect, and were and would have been equally
respected under the government which has passed
away. Of course I allude to grants made in good faith,
and not to simulated grants, if there be any such,
issued since the persons who made them ceased from
their functions in that respect." The report says that
150 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
any measure calculated to discredit, or cause to be
distrusted the general character of the titles in Cali-
fornia, besides the alarm and anxiety which it would
create among the ancient population and among all
present holders of property, would also retard the
substantial improvement of the country. The com-
missioner suggests an authorized survey of the
grants would be sufficient to protect the interests of
the United States and all classes of Californians, the
government reserving the right to take legal steps
against suspicious titles.*
In March, 1851, Congress passed a bill, introduced by
W. M. Gwin, to settle land titles in California. It
provided for a board of three commissioners before
whom every claimant under a Spanish or Mexican
title must, within two years, present his claim with
the documentary and other evidence on which he relied.
Either party might appeal to the district court and
from its decision to the supreme court. All lands for
which claims were rejected or not presented were to be
regarded as part of the public domain. Benton
earnestly opposed the bill, protesting against the plan of
a commission as a violation of the spirit of the treaty
of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and declaring that to oblige
the Californians to defend their titles before three
tribunals would amount to confiscation instead of the
promised protection.
The board organized in December, 1851, in San
Francisco and opened its sessions in January, 1852.
*According to the Geological Survey the land area of California is 99,898,880
acres, of which 20,000,000 acres is arable land. The Spanish land grants covered
about 8,500,000 acres.
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 151
With the exception of one term in Los Angeles in 1852,
the sessions were held in San Francisco until the final
adjournment in 1856. In all, 813 cases were presented;
612 claims were confirmed; 178 were rejected, 19
discontinued, and 4 were still pending in 1880, twenty-
nine years after the passage of the law, according to
the official report to the 24th session of the California
legislature.
The ninth article of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
provides that Mexicans who remained in the ceded
territories of New Mexico and California and became
thereby citizens of the United States should be "Main-
tained and protected in the free enjoyment of their
liberty and property." All the tribunals before whom
the Californians were required to prove their titles
were to be governed in their decisions by this treaty,
the law of nations, the laws, usages, and customs of the
government from which the claim was derived,
the principles of equity, and the decisions of the
supreme court of the United States, so far as they were
applicable. That substantial justice was ultimately
done, so far as the validity of the grants was concerned,
can hardly be denied, but just the same, the Cali-
fornians lost their lands in the process of defense, as
Benton stated would be the case if the land commission
bill passed. The injustice of requiring a proprietor
who had been in possession for ten, twenty, or thirty
years, whose right was well known and had never been
disputed, to appear before a court whose proceedings
were strange and whose language was unknown to
him, and produce the documentary proof of his title —
documents he may have lost, or perhaps never had — -
152 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
will be readily understood. His opponent was the
powerful United States of America who could and did
employ the most astute lawyers to fight him, and who
took advantage of every petty technicality and legal
quibble to defeat his claim. To such an extent was
this carried as to cause severe strictures from the
supreme court. Says Justice Grier (United States vs.
Johnson): "Nor is it a part of the duty of council
representing the government to urge microscopic
objections against an honest claimant, and urge the
forfeiture of his property for some oversight of
the commissioners in not requiring proof according to the
strict rules of common law." Justice Field in United
States vs. Auguisola says: "The United States have
never sought by their legislation to evade the obligation
devolved upon them by the Treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo to protect the rights of property of the inhabi-
tants of the ceded territory, or to discharge it in a
narrow and illiberal manner. * * * They have desired
to act as a great nation, not seeking, in extending their
authority over the ceded country, to enforce forfeitures,
but to afford protection and security to all just rights
which could have been claimed from the government
they superseded." Justice Swayne in United States
vs. Moreno says: "A right of any validity before the
cession was equally valid afterwards, and while it is
the duty of the court, in the cases which may come
before it, to guard carefully against claims originating
in fraud, it is equally their duty to see that no rightful
claim is rejected. No nation can have a higher interest
than the right administration of justice."
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 153
Such opinions illustrate the lofty integrity of the
supreme court and add lustre to the names of those
who composed it.
By questioning the title the law made the land hard
to sell and the owner in order to raise money for taxes,
support, and defense was obliged to part with a good
portion at a fraction of its value, and thus vast tracts
fell into the hands of lawyers and speculating land
sharpers. The result concentrated in a few hands a
great part of the agricultural lands and worked great
detriment to the development of the state, while to
the individual Californian the result was disastrous.
If the land commission decided in his favor, the govern-
ment agent usually appealed to the district court and
thence to the supreme court at Washington; the struggle
for "protection" lasting anywhere from five to twenty-
five years and long before a final decision was reached
the once wealthy proprietor was a beggar. The case
of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo will illustrate this.
In the early forties General Vallejo was the richest
man in California. A man of magnificent proportions,
handsome, proud, and dignified, he was a ranchero
prince, living on his great estate, and entertained all
visitors to California with unbounded hospitality.
A warm and consistent friend of Americans, he advo-
cated their cause in spite of the abominable treatment
he received at the hands of the Bear flag party. In
his History of California (MS) he testifies that his
grant of the rancho of Petaluma was not finally con-
firmed until 1875, after he, tired of fighting squatters
and lawyers, had given up his rights to the land. His
claim to Rancho Nacional Soscol was rejected by the
154 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
supreme court on the ground that he had bought it
from the government — that the governor had no power
to sell public land. He could give it away for nothing
but could not exchange it for food and clothing for his
soldiers; a most unjust ruling. In this case Justice
Greer, dissenting, said: "I cannot consent, by my
silence, that an inference should be drawn that I concur
in the opinion just delivered. I cannot agree to con-
fiscate the property of some thousand of our fellow-
citizens who have made purchases under this title
and made improvements to the value of many millions,
on suspicion first raised here as to the integrity of a
grant universally acknowledged to be genuine in the
country where it originated. * * * This government has
bound itself by a solemn treaty to respect all just claims
which the citizens of California held at its date. I
shall not comment on the good faith with which this
obligation has been observed, or whether it was acting
in good faith to these new citizens to compel every
owner of a grant or title under Mexico to enter into
a long and expensive litigation beginning at home and
ending here; a litigation, too, with one who paid no
costs, while it was ruinous to the claimant, who, if he
retained one-half for himself, when successful, was
considered fortunate. Instead of protecting their
possessions, they were, in many instances, left a prey
to squatters and champertous attorneys. * * * In a
country where land had no value, where it was freely
given to all who asked, without money and without
price, in amounts not to exceed fifty thousand acres,
it will be supposed that there were few cases to be
found where the government could raise money by
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 155
the sale of it. This is, perhaps, the only case to be
found where such a sale has been made. The laws
of 1824 and 1828 were colonization laws; they regulated
grants of land made for this purpose. * * * This sale to
Vallejo was not a colonization grant nor were the
regulations of 1824 and 1828 applicable to it. * * * That
there was a sale by the governor of California for a
consideration paid, when the governor could find no
other way to raise funds for the support of the govern-
ment is satisfactorily proved. It was a matter of
general notoriety at the time. The copy of a letter
from the governor to the grantee accompanying the
title is found among the archives. * * * But we are
about to forfeit the title on the ground that the gov-
ernor, though he might give away land to any amount,
had no authority to sell it for money. It is assumed
that because there was a special power given by statute
to grant to colonists, therefore he had no other power.
This court has frequently decided that the authority
of a governor to make such a grant will be presumed
from the fact that he did make it and that it lay upon
those who deny the power to prove the want of it. * * *
If this treaty is to be executed in good faith by this
government why should we forfeit property for which
a large price has been paid to the Mexican government,
on the assumption that the Mexican government would
not have confirmed it but would have repudiated it for
want of formal authority? Vallejo was an officer of
the army, high in the confidence of the government.
His salary as an officer had been in arrears. In a time of
difficulty he furnished provisions and money to the
government of the territory. How do we know that
156 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Mexico would have repudiated a sale of 80,000 acres
as a robbery of its territory, when any two decent
colonists having a few horses and cows, could have
100,000 for nothing?
"I believe that the Mexican government would have
acted honestly and honorably with their valued servant,
and that the same obligation rests on us by force of
the treaty.
"Now that the land under our government has
become of value these grants may appear enormous;
but the court has a duty to perform under the treaty
which gives us no authority to forfeit a bona fide grant
because it may not suit our notions of prudence or
propriety.
"We are not, for that reason, to be astute in searching
for reasons to confiscate a man's property because he
has too much. Believing, therefore, that in the case
before us the claimant has presented a genuine grant
for a consideration paid, which the Mexican govern-
ment would never have disturbed for any of the reasons
now offered for confiscating, I must express most
respectfully, my dissent."
I have quoted at some length from the opinion of
this great jurist because his argument seems to me to be
unanswerable. In 1863 congress, by special act,
provided that actual purchasers under the Vallejo
title should have the preference to enter the land at
one dollar and twenty-five cents an acre. The grant
covered the towns of Benicia and Vallejo.
Thoughout the long period of litigation the squatter
influence was very great. They elected legislatures,
senators, and congressmen; judges and court officials;
â–
THE DISENO OF THE SAN ANTONIO RANCHO
Granted by Don Pablo Vicente de Sola, Governor of
California, to Sergeant Luis Peralta, August 18, 1820. The
grant was by metes and bounds and was for 1 1 leagues (44,800
acres) in what is now Alameda county, covering the sites of
Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley.
HI
acres
aecent
s, could have
t would have
d servant,
y force of
i merit has
- normous;
grant
'â– adence or
â– log ab sJaaoN old&l nod -<d bajneiO
' 81 JsuguA .sJlfiia*! ziud inz^vsZ oJ .fiimcrtiliO.
•ea retting
>.y>rn£iA won .cause he
uine grant
govern-
reasons
ess most
pinion of
me to be
act,
provi' r the Vallejo
r the land at
ts an acre. The grant
Aid Vallejo.
d of litigation the squatter
ures,
â–
i .•.<?f>
1
1/ ..
$1* It
<a
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 157
they formed a secret league and sometimes opposed
an armed force to legal ejectment. At San Antonio
(East Oakland) a mounted cannon in the plaza with
its squad of armed men was pointed out as the evidence
of title by which they held the land, and to such an
extent were the operations of the squatters carried
that Domingo Peralta was arrested, put in jail, and
made to pay a heavy line for attempting to drive some
trespassers off his property.
The working of the land law of 1851 was oppressive
and ruinous. Seven-eighths of the claims submitted
to the commissioners were valid and genuine titles, yet
as a rule the proprietors lost all their possessions in
the effort to save them. Their lawyers took immense
fees in land and cattle. They became immensely
wealthy while their clients were reduced to poverty.
They were also in some cases, accused of aiding and
abetting the plundering of their clients. A noted case
in point is that of the San Antonio Rancho, granted in
1820 to Luis Peralta, a sergeant of the San Francisco
presidio. This grant was for eleven leagues; it covers
the sites of Berkeley, Oakland, and Alameda, and was,
perhaps, the most valuable grant made in California.
In 1842, Don Luis divided the property among his
four sons and confirmed the division in his will of 1851.*
The story of this grant is a long one and I intend some
day to write it up. Squatters occupied the rancho,
killed the Peraltas' cattle and "preempted" their land.
A false survey was made cutting off some seven thou-
sand granted to citizens was not subject to execution for debts of grantee;
was descended from father to son, and involved feudal liability such as bearing
of arms, etc. Land was seldom granted to women.
158 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
sand acres of redwood timber and all of the water front.
The diseno of the original survey, by Lieutenant
Martinez of the San Francisco presidio, shows the lines
on the bay running to deep water {profunda mar) at the
island of Yerba Buena, and those on the north to
the summit of the Sierra de Contra Costa. The patent
was never given to the Peraltas until after the death,
not only of Don Luis but of his four sons. Their
lawyer, now a very old man, is still living. His wealth
is estimated at seven millions. The descendants of the
original proprietors are living in poverty.
Not only were the Californians stripped of their
property but they were robbed of their good name.
"Give a dog a bad name and hang him." Unjust
and cruelly false statements were made concerning
the Spanish citizens, their government, their officials
and all pertaining to them, until the Americans, with
the prejudice of the Anglo-Saxon against the Latin
race, came to look with suspicion on everything that
was Mexican and some even believed that a Mexican
had no rights that an American was bound to respect.
Nor was this prejudice restricted to Americans living
in California. In the case of the United States vs.
Argiiello, Justice Daniel said: "It can hardly admit
of a rational doubt in the mind of any man who con-
siders the character of much of the population of the
late Spanish domain in America — sunk in ignorance,
and marked by the traits which tyranny and degra-
dation, political and moral, naturally and usually
engender — that proofs, or rather statements, might be
obtained, as to any fact or circumstance which it
might be deemed desirable or profitable to establish."
LAND TITLES IN CALIFORNIA 159
What a statement for a learned justice of the supreme
court of the United States to make concerning a
people of whom he knew little outside the statements
of those who wished to despoil them!
The Honorable Jeremiah S. Black, attorney-general
of the United States, in a report to the president in
i860 on California Land Titles, says: "The archives
thus collected furnish irresistible proof that there had
been an organized system of fabricating land titles
carried on for a long time in California by Mexican
officials; that forgery and perjury had been reduced
to a regular occupation; that the making of false
grants with the subornation of false witnesses to prove
them, had become a trade and a business."
In a series of letters published by William Carey
Jones, the writer severely criticised the attorney-
general's statements and theories, exposed with skill
and fairness some of Black's blunders and false pre-
tensions, and said: "If the matter shall ever be
strictly examined, it will be found that the various
acts of congress in relation to the claims to land in
California, and the way that those acts have been
administered, have had the effect in a large degree to
substantiate what is false and discredit what is true."
There is no doubt that many simulated grants were
presented to the commission and in such a way as to
deceive the very elect. The American occupation,
and in particular, the discovery of gold, had made the
land valuable, and in ignoring testimony regarding
years of undisputed and notorious occupation, as was
done in many cases, the government opened the door
to fraud. All sorts of claims never before heard
160 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
of were presented for confirmation; the testimony of
Mexicans of the lower sort was used to strengthen
bogus grants, and some well known and prominent
Americans found the graves of their reputations in
the land commission and in the United States district
court. The astute attorney-general and the learned
jurist should not have limited their strictures to men
of Spanish blood.
The land act by unsettling land titles and causing
ceaseless litigation worked disaster to California.
Had the genuine grants been promptly confirmed and
patented large tracts of the best lands would naturally
have been sold in small divisions to settlers. As it
was, the estates passed for the most part into the
hands of speculators. Had the recommendations of
Jones for the prompt survey and patent of well-known
valid grants been followed, it would have been well for
the country. The doubt, uncertainty, retarded prog-
ress, litigation, with its legacy of hatred, destruction of
property, and bloodshed, resulting from the operation
of the law would have been avoided. Josiah Royce
says of the land act: "The devil's instrument it proved
to be by our friendly cooperation, and we have got
our full share of the devil's wage for our use of it."*
*Royce, California, p. 46Q.
^>jt7 zI/^l^.
THE "MORMONS" IN THE HISTORY
OF CALIFORNIA
THE activities of the "Mormons " or Latter-day
Saints in the history of California, antedate
for the most part the admission of this com-
monwealth into the American Union. For
this reason I have chosen to take a larger view of the
subject than one suggested by existing boundary lines.
California, up to February, 1848, was a Mexican prov-
ince, comprising the present states of California,
Nevada, and Utah; here named in the order of their
elevation to sovereignty. Any important happening,
therefore, within that general area, prior to the time
when it was ceded by Mexico to the great republic,
may properly be regarded as an event connected with
the history of the Golden State. In fact, the period
might be extended to September, 1850, when divisional
lines were drawn by congress, the territory of Utah
organized, and California admitted into the Union; the
boundary between these two sections of the original
domain being fixed in the Sierra Nevada.
BRANNAN AND THE " BROOKLYN"
The first "Mormons" to set foot upon the coast of
California, came by sea from New York, around Cape
Horn, to the Bay of San Francisco. This was in 1846.
They sailed on the ship Brooklyn, leaving New York
early in February, and landing at Yerba Buena (now
San Francisco) on the last day of July. They numbered
two hundred and thirty-five men, women, and children,
and were under the leadership of Samuel Brannan.
The company was well supplied with farming imple-
ments, mechanics' tools, and all the equipment neces-
sary for a new settlement, which they proposed to
164 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
found somewhere on the Pacific coast. These colonists,
who were probably the first American sea-faring immi-
grants to reach California, carried with them a printing
press, type, paper, and other materials, with which
they afterward published "The California Star," the
second newspaper established in the province. Brannan
in New York, had edited a paper called "The Prophet,"
published in the interest of the Latter-day Saints.
He and his associates put up a printing office, and
issued a copy of the "Star," within fourteen days.
The company settled on the San Joaquin river, where
they plowed, put in crops, and built houses of adobe,
or sun-dried brick.
A MODERN EXODUS
The departure of the Brooklyn company from New
York was incidental to a general westward move-
ment on the part of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the "Mor-
mon" Church, which was then in its sixteenth year,
and had its headquarters at Nauvoo, Illinois, on the
east bank of the Mississippi river. Prior to the exodus
from Illinois, the Church had migrated successively
from three other states of the Union: namely, New
York (where it had its origin), Ohio, and Missouri.
The removals from Missouri and Illinois were compul-
sory, resulting from religious and political differences
between the Latter-day Saints and other inhabitants
of those states.
In Illinois the Saints had prospered for a season,
purchasing lands, building cities, establishing schools
and newspapers, erecting a temple, sending missionaries
BRIGHAM YOUNG
Brigham Young, born at Whitingham, Vermont, June 1st,
1801, joined the "Mormon" Church at Mendon, New York,
in 1832, and became its leader at Nauvoo, Illinois, in 1844.
He directed the exodus, or western migration of his people,
and from July 1847, when he entered Salt Lake Valley, to
the day of his death, August 29, 1877, the life of this famous
Pioneer forms the backbone of the history of Utah, the State
that he founded.
i'j banioi ,1081
: omeoad brui
.alqoaq eirf lo nobis i 3 -,j£> 9 j-j
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 165
through the United States, to Canada, and to Europe,
and starting thence a stream of emigration that has
done much to people, with the bone and sinew of
Great Britain, Scandinavia, and other countries, the
region of the Rocky mountains. The significance of
this emigrational movement, from the "Mormon"
point of view, is the gathering of scattered Israel,
in fulfillment of ancient prophecy — a step preparatory
to the second coming of the Messiah. In and around
the city of Nauvoo, these proclaimers of a new gospel
dispensation gathered to the number of about twenty
thousand. Then came a repetition of their former
painful experiences. Joseph Smith, the founder of
the Church, born at Sharon, Vermont, December 23,
1805, fell a victim to mob violence at Carthage, Illinois,
June 27, 1844. His brother, Hyrum Smith, was slain
at the same time.
This double tragedy, supplemented by the fiercest
kind of opposition, including house-burnings and other
depredations, brought about the exodus from Illinois,
and the pilgrimage into the wilderness. That exodus
had been contemplated by Joseph Smith, who, shortly
before his death, had begun to plan for the removal
of the Church into the great west. He had even
organized an exploring expedition to the Rocky
mountains, designated by him as the future home
of his people. The execution of the project fell
to his successor, Brigham Young, and the men
surrounding him.
The Latter-day Saints began to leave Illinois about
the first of February, 1846. Many of them crossed
the frozen Mississippi on the ice. Most of their
166 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
wagons were drawn by oxen, and some were driven
by women and children. Moving slowly, and founding
temporary settlements along the way, about the middle
of June the hrst companies reached the Missouri
river, and encamped at Council Bluffs, on the Pottawat-
tamie Indian lands. There was no city — only the
Bluffs, where Indian chiefs sometimes met in council.
The Missouri river was then the frontier of the nation,
and the migrating "Mormons" were upon the threshold
of the wilderness, the extreme western fringe of
civilization.
Beyond lay the broad plains where the savage red
man roamed. Farther on were the snow-capped
summits of the Rocky mountains; and farther still,
the sun-burnt valleys and dry plateaus of "The Great
American Desert," renamed by Fremont "The
Great Basin," and separated from the Pacific coast
by the towering Sierra. West of that rocky barrier
the land was fertile, sloping down to the sea; but
eastward, for many a weary league, it was a waste,
almost treeless and waterless.
The only white occupants of this arid, rock-ribbed
wilderness were a few rough mountaineers, living in
lonely log forts, with their Indian wives and half-breed
children, hunting the bear, trapping the beaver,
trading with the natives, and acting as guides for
emigrant trains or chance travelers to or from the
western ocean. Several thousand Americans had
settled among Spaniards and Indians along the Pacific
coast, but none had settled here — Salt Lake valley,
with its environs, was a spot desired by none, shunned
by all.
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 167
This desolate inter-mountain region belonged to
Mexico, and was part of the province of Upper Cali-
fornia, distinguished by its title from Lower California,
the peninsula still bearing that name. Eastward there
was another Mexican province — New Mexico — which
included Arizona. North of these provinces was Ore-
gon, including Washington, Idaho, and other parts.
Oregon was a bone of contention between the United
States and Great Britain, both countries claiming it.
Such was the posture of affairs in the west at the period
of the Mormon exodus.
Just before the beginning of that movement, an
agent of the Latter-day Saints, acting under instruc-
tions from President Brigham Young, went to the
city of Washington, to solicit governmental aid for
his people. No gift of money or of other means was
asked — only employment in freighting provisions and
naval stores to Oregon, or to other points on the Pacific.
The agent, Jesse C. Little, who seems to have presented
his petition after the exodus began, stated that many
of his co-religionists had already left Illinois for Cali-
fornia, and that thousands of others, in the United
States and in the British Isles, would go there as soon
as they were able.
Let me here interject that Upper California, or
that part of it in the region of the Rocky mountains,
became the theme of a "Mormon" hymn, sung on
both sides of the Atlantic, during the period of the
early settlement of the Great Basin.
President Polk received Little kindly, and promised
to do what he could for the homeless people. War
was then pending between the United States and
168 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Mexico, and in April of that year hostilities began on
the Texan border. By this time the "Mormon"
vanguard was well on its way across Iowa, heading
for the Missouri river. After the victories of Palo
Alto and Resaca de la Palma, won by General Zachary
Taylor on the ninth and tenth of May, it was decided
to strike the enemy at three points simultaneously:
General Taylor to continue operations along the Rio
Grande; General Scott to invade Mexico from the
Gulf coast; and General Stephen W. Kearny, with a
third army, to march overland and capture the Mexi-
can provinces in the west. A portion of Kearny's force
was to be recruited from the "Mormon" camps on
the frontier. Five hundred able-bodied men were to
be called for, or given the privilege of volunteering
in their country's cause. They were to unite with the
Army of the West at Santa Fe, and march to the Pacific
coast; the term of enlistment being twelve months.
THE MORMON BATTALION
The first intimation had by the "Mormon" leaders
respecting this purpose of the government, was the
appearance at Mt. Pisgafi, one of their temporary settle-
ments in Iowa, of an army recruiting officer, Captain
James Allen, who issued a circular, making known the
wishes of General Kearny concerning the troops to be
raised. Allen then went on to the Bluffs, to confer
with President Young and other leading men of the
Church. Coming at such a time, without warning,
and embodying a proposition so different from the
one submitted by Agent Little at Washington, the call
created at first some consternation. A force of team-
COLONEL COOKE
Colonel Philip St. George Cooke, U. S. A., a native of
Virginia, born in 1809, was graduated from West Point in
1827, and saw service in Illinois and in Kansas before the
Mexican War, during which he commanded the Mormon
Battalion in its march from Santa Fe into Southern Cali-
fornia. During the Civil War he fought for the Union; was
retired in 1873, after forty-six years of continuous army
service, and died March 20, 1895.
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 169
sters, with wagons to freight stores and supplies, was
one thing; a battalion of five hundred lighting men
was quite another. In the midst of an exodus rife
with dangers and hardships, the services of that number
of able-bodied men could ill be spared.
But there was no hesitation. "You shall have your
battalion, Captain Allen," said President Young, "and
if there are not young men enough, we will take the old
men; and if they are not enough, we will take the
women;" a touch of grim humor tempering the stern-
ness of the resolve. Colonel Thomas L. Kane, U. S. A.,
who came with Agent Little to the Bluffs, in his account
of the enlistment of the battalion, summarized the
incident thus: "A central mass meeting for council,
some harangues at the more remotely scattered camps,
an American flag brought out from the store-house of
things rescued and hoisted to the top of a tree-mast,
and in three days the force was reported, mustered,
organized, and ready to march."
The date of enlistment was the 16th of July. Five
hundred and forty-nine persons, including several
families of women and children, who went with their
husbands and fathers, composed the Mormon battalion.
The five companies were commanded, respectively,
by Captains Jefferson Hunt, Jesse D. Hunter, James
Brown, Nelson Higgins, and Daniel C. Davis. The
volunteers were equipped at Fort Leavenworth, and
marched thence to Santa Fe, which town had already
surrendered to General Kearny.
At Santa Fe, by the general's order, Colonel Philip
St. George Cooke, of the regular army, took command
of the battalion, which then began its arduous march
170 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
across the dreary plains and rugged mountains of
New Mexico, into southern California. Their route
was by way of the Rio Grande, the Gila, the Colorado,
and the San Pedro. They tramped, from the Missouri
to the Pacific, a distance of over two thousand miles,
pioneering much of the way through an unknown
wilderness. Colonel Cooke said of this achievement:
"History may be searched in vain for an equal march
of infantry." Short rations, lack of water, with
excessive toil in road-making, well-digging, and forced
marching, caused much suffering, some sickness, and
several deaths in the battalion. Even before reaching
Santa Fe, many were disabled and prevented from
going farther. These invalid detachments — less than
one hundred men, with most of the women and all
the children — were put in charge of Captains Brown and
Higgins, and ordered to Pueblo, now in Colorado. The
main body, including four or five women who accom-
panied their husbands, pushed on to the Pacific coast,
arriving near San Diego late in January, 1847.
General Kearny, by a more direct route, had reached
the coast some time earlier, though with only a few
men, having disbanded most of his force on learning
that California was already in possession of the United
States; Colonel John C. Fremont, the explorer, aided
by Commodores Sloat, Montgomery, and Stockton,
and the American settlers of Sacramento valley, having
all but subdued the country before Kearny arrived.
Cooke's command had driven out the Mexican garrison
of Tucson, but they had no other opportunity to
engage the enemy. Their most exciting experience
was a "battle with the bulls," on the San Pedro river,
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 171
where they were attacked by an army of wild cattle,
and narrowly escaped dispersion, if not destruction,
from the fierce horns and hoofs of the innumerable
horde.
Fort-building and garrison service were the principal
occupations of these volunteers during their remaining
months of service. They were quartered at San Diego,
San Luis Rey, and Los Angeles, and performed their
duties in such a manner as to call forth the commen-
dation of the United States officers, and at the same
time to win the good will of the conquered Californians.
While in garrison they were permitted to accept outside
employment, offered them by civilians in the towns
where they were stationed. They made and burnt
the first bricks in San Diego, and probably in all
California. A squad of the battalion men served as
General Kearny's escort, when, in May, he set out
for Washington, accompanied by Colonel Fremont,
the latter charged with insubordination, for refusing
to recognize the general's authority.
In July, at the expiration of their year's term of
enlistment, the battalion was honorably discharged at
Los Angeles. There, at the urgent request of Governor
R. B. Mason, Kearny's successor as military comman-
dant, eighty-one of them reenlisted, and were ordered
back to garrison San Diego; their comrades setting out
to rejoin their families or friends, left upon the far
away frontier. Some of these discharged soldiers were
next heard of in connection with the California gold
discovery.
Governor Mason, in his report to the adjutant-
general, September 18, 1847, said: "Of the services of
172 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the battalion, of their patience, subordination, and
general good conduct, you have already heard; and I
take great pleasure in adding that as a body of men
they have religiously respected the rights and feelings
of this conquered people; not a syllable of complaint
has reached my ear of a single insult offered or outrage
done by a Mormon volunteer. So high an opinion did
I entertain of the battalion, and of their special fitness
for the duties now performed by the garrisons in this
country, that I made strenuous efforts to engage their
services for another year."
Henry G. Boyle, one of the volunteers, gives to
history the following items of information: "I think I
white-washed all San Diego. We did their blacksmith-
ing, put up a bakery, made and repaired carts, and, in
fine, did all we could to benefit ourselves as well as the
citizens. We never had any trouble with the Califor-
nians or Indians, nor they with us. The citizens became
so attached to us, that before our term of service expired
they got up a petition to the governor to use his influ-
ence to keep us in the service. The petition was signed
by every citizen in the town."
THE UTAH PIONEERS
The original enlistment of the battalion had caused
the postponement of a project formed by the
"Mormon" leaders before reaching the Missouri river —
namely, the sending of a company of pioneers to explore
the Rocky mountains and look out a home for the main
body of their people. Had it not been for that enlist-
ment, Upper California would have been penetrated by
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 173
the founders of Utah as early as the summer of 1846.
Owing to the postponement, they did not enter Salt
Lake valley until a year later.
From the east to the Pacific coast, there were three
routes of travel, two of them by sea. One doubled Cape
Horn, one crossed the Isthmus of Panama, and the third
was from the frontier over the plains. Westward travel
on the overland route usually started from Independ-
ence, Missouri, the main outfitting point on the frontier.
Most of the emigrants traveled in companies for mutual
aid and protection. The regular route was up the
Platte river, along the Sweetwater, and through South
Pass, now in Wyoming. West of this point, those
going to Oregon would turn north, while those bound
for California would follow Bear river, skirt the north-
ern shore of the Great Salt Lake, and then cross the
country to the Sierra Nevada.
The people at Council Bluffs, after the departure of
the battalion, crossed to the west side of the Missouri,
and built, by permission of the Omaha Indians, the
little town of Winter Quarters, now Florence, Nebraska.
From that point the pioneers, about the middle of
April, 1847, set out upon their journey to the Rocky
mountains. They numbered one hundred and forty-
three men, three women, and two children. Their
leader was Brigham Young. The men were armed with
rifles and small weapons, and a cannon was taken along
to overawe hostile Indians. In their covered wagons
they carried plows, seed grain, and a year's supply of
provisions. They also took with them a case of sur-
veyor's instruments, afterward used in laying out Salt
Lake City. One of the party invented an odometer,
174 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
to measure the distance traveled. In all there were
seventy-two wagons, drawn by horses, mules and oxen.
Mounted men were few. Most of the pioneers, like
the emigrants who followed them, walked the greater
part of the way, a distance of over a thousand miles.
They were required to be watchful and prayerful, to
sacredly observe the Sabbath, and respect the rights of
the red men.
Most travelers to the west passed up the south bank
of the Platte. The pioneers chose the north bank, and
broke a new trail, now covered for hundreds of miles
by the Union Pacific railroad. Streams too deep to
ford were crossed by means of a leather boat, which
served as a wagon box while traveling. Rafts were
also used, made from cottonwood trees growing along
the banks. Some of the streams were only about two
feet deep, but at the bottom were beds of quicksand,
dangerous to teams, and almost pulling a wagon to
pieces. As a rule, the Indians — mostly Pawnees and
Sioux — were friendly, though some of them set fire to
the prairie, burning the grass needed by these travelers
as feed for their animals, and ran off horses belonging
to the company. As a means of protection at night,
the wagons were corraled in a circle or an oval, with the
tongues outside; a fore wheel of each wagon locked in a
hind wheel of the one ahead. The stock were kept
inside the enclosure thus formed. The prairie swarmed
with buffalo, but the pioneers killed game only when
they needed it for food. Now and then the skull of a
dead bison, bleaching on the plains, served as a post
office, in which to leave letters for friends who were
following.
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 175
The pioneers crossed the Platte at Fort Laramie, a
station of the Hudson Bay Fur Company, hiring for
that purpose a ferry-boat, from a Frenchman in charge
of the post. In the Black Hills they constructed a
ferry of their own, and helped over the river at that
point several companies of Missourians, bound for
Oregon; receiving their pay in flour, meal, and bacon
at eastern prices. At Laramie they were reinforced
by a small party of "Mormon" emigrants from
Mississippi.
West of the Rocky mountain "divide" they met
Colonel James Bridger, builder and part proprietor
of Fort Bridger, the second permanent trading post
on the overland route. Bridger's "fort" was nothing
more than a double log house, surrounded by a stock-
ade of posts, driven into the ground. It was situated
on a number of small islands, in Black's fork of Green
river, where the colonel held lands under a grant
from the Mexican government. He advised President
Young not to settle in the Great Basin, until it had been
demonstrated that grain could be raised here, and
banteringly offered a thousand dollars for the first ear
of corn that ripened in Salt Lake valley. Other
mountaineers were equally pessimistic in their reports
concerning this region.
Just before the pioneers crossed Green river, Samuel
Brannan rode into camp, having come directly from
the Bay of San Francisco. He, with two companions,
had crossed the Sierra Nevada at Truckee pass, near
the foot of which they had seen the bleaching bones of
members of the ill-fated Donner party, a belated
company of emigrants, caught in the heavy snows of
176 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the year before, thirty-nine of the original eighty-
seven perishing. Brannan's purpose in meeting the
pioneers was to persuade them to pass by the barren,
forbidding region of the Great Salt Lake, and join
him and his colony on the fertile slopes of the Pacific.
He brought with him sixteen numbers of "The Cali-
fornia Star," and the latest news from the battalion.
He used every endeavor to convince President Young
that it would be to the advantage of the Latter-day
Saints to establish themselves on the western coast;
but in this he was unsuccessful. The prospect painted
by his eloquence had its pleasing features, but was not
alluring to the sagacious leader, who had seen his
people despoiled and driven, repeatedly, through sheer
inability to hold their own against overwhelming odds,
hostile to and arrayed against them. Until they
became strong enough, not only in numbers, but in
influence, through a proper understanding of their
motives on the part of their fellow citizens, to defend
themselves against further possible aggressions, it was
better for them to seek isolation, and face the hardships
and dangers of the desert. Moreover, their martyred
prophet had predicted that they should become "a
mighty people in the midst of the Rocky mountains;"
and they proposed to stand by that prophecy and help
on its fulfilment. "This is the place," said Brigham
Young, indicating Salt Lake valley as the site for their
first settlement, and Salt Lake valley was accordingly
chosen for that purpose.
It was July 24, 1847, when Brigham Young arrived
in view of the Great Salt Lake. Some of his followers
had preceded him, and plowing and planting had
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 177
begun two days before. It was difficult work, and more
than one plowshare was broken in the hard sun-baked
soil. To make the plowing easier, dams were placed
in the mountain streams, and the ground well flooded.
This was the beginning of irrigation in arid America,
by men of the Anglo-Saxon race.
As a protection against hostile and thieving savages
— Shoshones on the north, Utahs or Utes on the south —
these settlers, and those who followed them that season,
built a rude fort, in the form of a rectangle, thus
forming the nucleus of Salt Lake City, the parent and
model of hundreds of towns and villages now dotting
the surface of the Great American Desert.
CRICKETS AND GULLS
From my History of Utah, I here reproduce, with
slight revision, one of the early incidents in the pioneer
colony:
"No event in Western history awakens more interest than the
episode of the crickets and the gulls. It occurred when Salt
Lake City, the earliest settlement in the Rocky Mountain region,
was less than one year old. The so-called 'City' was not even
a village at that time; it was little more than a camp, consisting
of a log-and-mud fort, enclosing huts, tents, and wagons, with
about eighteen hundred inhabitants. Most of these had come
immediately after the Pioneers, who, with Brigham Young,
their leader, arrived in July, 1847. President Young and others
had returned to the Missouri River to bring more of the migrating
people to their new home among the mountains, and those who
remained here were anxiously awaiting the results of their first
labors to redeem the desert and make the wilderness to blossom.
"Some plowing and planting had been done by the Pioneers
upon their arrival, but the seeds then put in, such as potatoes,
corn, wheat, oats, peas and beans, though well irrigated, did not
178 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
mature, owing to the lateness of the season. The nearest ap-
proach to a harvest, that year, were a few small potatoes, which
served as seed for another planting. It was therefore their first
real harvest in this region that the settlers of these solitudes were
looking forward to, at the time of the episode mentioned.
"Much depended upon that harvest, not only for the people
already here, but for twenty-five hundred additional immigrants,
who were about to join them from the far-away frontier. The
supplies brought by those who came the first season had been
designed to last only about twelve months. They were gradually
getting low, and these settlers, be it borne in mind, were well nigh
isolated from the rest of humanity. 'A thousand miles from
anywhere,' was a phrase used by them to describe their location.
They had little communication with the outside world, and that
little was by means of the ox team and the pack mule. If their
harvest failed, what would become of them?
"In the spring of 1848, five thousand acres of land were under
cultivation in Salt Lake Valley. Nine hundred acres had been
sown with winter wheat, which was just beginning to sprout.
"Then came an event as unlooked for as it was terrible — the
cricket plague! In May and June these destructive pests rolled
in black legions down the mountain sides, and attacked the fields
of growing grain. The tender crops fell an easy prey to their
fierce voracity. The ground over which they had passed looked
as if scorched by fire.
"Thoroughly alarmed, the community — men, women and
children — marshalled themselves to fight the ravenous foe. Some
went through the fields, killing the crickets — but crushing much of
the tender grain. Some dug ditches around the farms, turned
water into the trenches, and drove and drowned therein the black
devourers. Others beat them back with clubs and brooms, or
burned them in fires. Still the crickets prevailed. Despite all
that could be done by the settlers, their hope of a harvest was
fast vanishing — a harvest upon which life itself seemed to depend.
"They were rescued, as they believed, by a miracle — a greater
miracle than is said to have saved Rome, when the cackling of
geese roused the slumbering city in time to beat back the invading
THE GULL MONUMENT
This monument, commemorative of the episode of the
Crickets and the Gulls, the destruction of the former by the
hitter, and the consequent rescue of the first harvest sown in
Salt Lake Valley, stands upon the Tabernacle grounds, in
the heart of the Utah Capital. It was unveiled September
29, 1913. The monument was designed and executed by
M. M. Young, a grandson of Brigham Young.
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 179
Gauls. In the midst of the work of ruin, when it seemed as if
nothing could stay the destruction, great flocks of gulls appeared,
filling the air with their white wings and plaintive cries. They
settled dov/n upon the half-ruined fields. At first it looked as if
they came but to help the crickets destroy. But their real
purpose was soon apparent. They came to prey upon the
destroyers. All day long they gorged themselves, disgorged, and
feasted again, the white gulls upon the black crickets, like hosts
of heaven and hell contending, until the pests were vanquished
and the people were saved. The birds then returned to the Lake
islands, leaving the grateful settlers to shed tears of joy over their
timely deliverance.
"A season of scarcity followed, but no fatal famine; and before
the worst came, the glad people celebrated, with a public feast,
their first harvest home.
"The gull is still to be seen in the vicinity of the Great Salt
Lake. The wanton killing of these birds was made punishable by
law. Rome had her sacred geese; Utah would have her sacred
gulls, forever to be held in honor as the heaven-sent messengers
that saved the Pioneers."
THE STATE OF DESERET
By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed February
2, 1848, the conquered Mexican provinces were ceded to
the United States, and at the earliest practicable mo-
ment the white inhabitants of the Basin took steps
toward the founding of a civil government, agreeable
to the constitution and laws of their country. In
February, 1849, a call was issued to "all the citizens
of that portion of Upper California lying east of the
Sierra Nevada Mountains," inviting them to meet in
a political convention at Salt Lake City. The conven-
tion met on the fifth of March, and petitioned congress
for the organization of a territory, to be known as
Deseret — a word taken from the Book of Mormon,
180 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
and signifying honey-bee. Pending action upon this
petition, the convention organized the provisional
government of the State of Deseret, the boundaries
of which were the same as those of the proposed terri-
tory, embracing present Utah and Nevada, parts of
Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, and a
strip of sea-coast in southern California, including the
port of San Diego. Subsequently congress was asked
to admit Deseret into the Union as a state.
The people west of the Sierra Nevada having also
set up a provisional government, it was proposed to
secure the admission of Deseret and California as one
state, with the understanding that they would after-
ward separate, and form two distinct commonwealths.
President Zachary Taylor was said to favor this plan,
which promised a solution of the slavery question in
the newly acquired province, the inhabitants of which
were to decide for themselves whether the state should
be slave or free. Deseret consented to the proposed
union, but with the understanding that the separation
should take place at the beginning of the year 1851,
when each state, with its own constitution, should
become free, sovereign, and independent, without any
further action by congress. Nothing came of the move-
ment, however; California being unwilling to unite.
The building up of the State of Deseret went steadily
on, though in the face of distressing conditions. Since
the autumn of 1848 there had been almost a famine in
the land. The scant harvest, resulting from the cricket
plague and from drought and frost, had made the food
question a serious one, and clothing and other neces-
saries were almost as scarce as breadstuffs. Nearly
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 181
every man in the colony dressed in buckskin, and wore
Indian moccasins. Those who had provisions put their
families upon rations, while those who were without,
or had but little, dug and ate sego and thistle roots, or
cooked the hides of animals, to eke out their scanty
store.
Relief came in a manner most unexpected — and here
my narrative again touches the history of California
proper.
THE GOLD DISCOVERY
It has already been shown how the Mormon battalion
received its discharge at Los Angeles in July, 1847, and
how the main body of the volunteers set out to rejoin
their families or friends, in the Great Basin or on the
Missouri frontier. My story now has to do with these
returning soldiers. Pursuing at first a northwesterly
course, they came to Sutter's fort, near the present city
of Sacramento, where some of them found temporary
employment. The main body, reaching Lake Tahoe,
met Samuel Brannan, returning from Salt Lake valley
after his ineffectual attempt to persuade the pioneers
to locate their new home on the Pacific. Brannan gave
a doleful account of the place they had chosen for a
settlement, and expressed the belief that they would
yet follow his advice, and remove to California.
Subsequently the returning volunteers met Captain
James Brown, of the Pueblo detachment, on his way
to San Francisco, with power of attorney, to draw the
pay due to his men from the government. Captain
Brown delivered to the battalion men an epistle from
the presidency of the Church, advising such of them as
182 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
had no families to remain on the coast, work through
the winter, and come on to "The Valley" with their
earnings the next season. About half of them turned
back, and quite a number rejoined their comrades at
Sutter's fort, where they also secured employment.
Among the mountains, in the little valley of Coloma,
on the south fork of the American river, about forty-
five miles east from the fort, a saw mill was erected for
Captain Sutter, and after its completion the water was
turned into the race, to clear away dirt and other debris,
preliminary to a trial run. The stream having been
shut off, Sutter's foreman, walking along the tail race,
picked up from the bottom of the ditch a few yellow
shining particles, about the size of wheat grains. These
were assayed, and found to be gold. That foreman
was James W. Marshall, famed as the discoverer of
gold in California (January, 1848). But others, beside
Marshall, were concerned in the event; "Mormon"
picks and shovels had helped to bring the precious
metal to the surface.
Henry W. Bigler, afterward of St. George, Utah,
made what was probably the first record of the world-
renowned discovery. The entry in his diary read as
follows: "Monday, 24th. This day some kind of metal
was found in the tail race that looks like gold." Six
days later he wrote: "Our metal has been tried, and
proves to be gold. It is thought to be rich. We have
picked up more than one hundred dollars' worth
last week." Associated with Bigler were Alexander
Stephens, James S. Brown, James Berger, William J.
Johnston, and Azariah Smith, all ex-members of the
battalion. I give the names as they appear in James
HENRY W. BIGLER
Henry W. Biglcr was born at Harrison, Virginia, August
28, 1 81 5, and died at St. George, Utah, November 24, 1900.
He was a member of the Mormon Battalion, and was with
Marshall at Coloma, January 24, 1848, when the gold finder
made his world famous discovery. Mr. Bigler was the first
to record the fact that gold had been found in California.
See narrative.
curne
â–
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 183
S. Brown's "Life of a Pioneer." Some of the richest
gold finds on the American river were by these men
and their comrades who took part in extending the
area of the original discovery. "Mormon Island," in
that river, became noted for its "diggings." A number
of the battalion men, while working on Sutter's land,
shared the results of their labors with him and his
partner, Marshall, who furnished provisions and tools
for the prosecution of the enterprise. Afterward the em-
ployes operated independently on claims of their own.
One of the most enthusiastic promoters of the gold
excitement was our friend Brannan, who stirred San
Francisco (at first indifferent) to a fever of agitation
over the event. Coming down from Sutter's fort, where
he had a store, he brought with him, as did others,
gold dust and nuggets from the placers. "Gold! Gold!
Gold, from the American River!" shouted Brannan, as
he strode down the street, swinging his hat in one hand,
and holding in the other a bottle of the yellow dust,
which he displayed to the gaping crowds that gathered
round him. Sight, reinforcing rumor, kindled a fire
that could not be quenched; Brannan's paper, "The
California Star," added fuel to the flame; and from the
wild rush to the gold fields that followed, San Francisco
was in some danger of being depopulated.
The excitement was not confined to California. It
extended over the civilized world, and by sea and land
eager souls from many nations hurried to the new El
Dorado. Much of this emigration passed through
Salt Lake valley. Here the tired gold seekers halted
for rest, or to obtain supplies to enable them to reach
their journey's end. Some had loaded their wagons
184 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
with merchandise and supplies for the mining camps.
Impatient at their slow progress, and hearing that other
merchants had arrived by sea before them, they all but
threw away the valuable goods they had freighted over
a thousand miles. Dry goods, groceries, provisions,
clothing, implements — in short, all that was needed
by the poorly fed, half-clad community in the moun-
tains, was bartered off to them at almost any sacrifice,
so anxious were the owners to lighten their loads and
shorten the time of travel. In this manner "the gold
emigration," as it was called, greatly benefited the
settlers in the Basin.
The "gold fever" infected some of the citizens of
Deseret, and an influence had to be exerted by leading
men to prevent too large an emigration from these
parts. "We cannot eat gold and silver," said Brigham
Young, to the people who had elected him governor.
"Devote yourselves to agriculture, manufacture, coal
and iron mining; establish those industries that lie at
the basis of every state's prosperity; and let the gold
and silver stay where they are, until the proper time
comes to bring them forth and utilize them." Such
was the substance of his advice. Despite all persuasion
however, some were hurried away, overcome by the
prevailing thirst for sudden wealth.
On the other hand, it is a remarkable fact that the
battalion men who had been advised from Salt Lake
valley to rejoin the main body of their people here in
1848, did so, notwithstanding the prevalent and con-
stantly growing excitement over the gold fields that
was beginning to sweep the coast lands like a cyclone.
Preparatory to their journey to Deseret, they rendez-
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 185
voused at Dutch Flat, a few miles from Coloma, and
crossed the Sierra Nevada at or near the head of the
American river. Three of their number, David Browett,
Daniel Allen, and Henderson Cox, moving out ahead,
were waylaid and killed by Indians. The others reached
their destination in safety. Many of the Brooklyn
company — perhaps most of them — also came on to
"The Valley"; but Brannan, their sometime leader,
remained in California.*
While deprecating the extravagance of the gold
excitement, and averse to the premature opening of
precious mines nearer home, Governor Young had no
prejudice against mining as a vocation. Party after
party of "Mormon" missionaries, on their way to the
Pacific islands and to other parts, were counseled by
him, as president of the Church, to work in the Cali-
fornia mines long enough to provide themselves with
means of transportation to their various fields of labor;
and they acted accordingly.
Much of the gold mined in California found its
way to Deseret, and served a timely purpose. Money
was exceedingly scarce, and great inconvenience had
resulted. Exchange and barter was the rule, clothing
and furniture being paid for with cattle, wheat, or
potatoes. Frequently little bags of gold dust were
handed around, in place of dollars and cents. Sub-
sequently, however, the dust was coined, and gold
pieces, ranging in value from two and a half dollars
to twenty dollars, were issued under the authority
of the State of Deseret. These coins, of unalloyed
virgin gold, were designed purely for local use, and as
*He removed to Mexico in 1880 and died there in 1889. — Ed.
186 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
soon as government money became plentiful, they were
called in and disposed of as bullion to the federal mints.
THE TERRITORY OF UTAH
Congress denied Deseret's prayer for statehood, and
organized the territory of Utah, California at the
same time being admitted into the Union. Utah was
bounded on the west by the state of California, on
the north by the territory of Oregon, on the east by the
summit of the Rocky mountains, and on the south
by the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude. This
cut off the strip of sea-coast included in the proposed
State of Deseret, but still left the territory an area of
225,000 square miles. The Organic Act, or act organ-
izing the territory, was signed by President Fillmore
on the ninth of September, 1850, but the news did not
reach Salt Lake valley until late in January, 1851.
Even then it did not come directly, or in an official way,
but having been published in eastern papers, and carried
across the isthmus and up to San Francisco, along with
the tidings of California's admission, it was brought
to Salt Lake City by Henry E. Gibson, a returning
missionary.
While disappointed at the denial of their petition,
and feeling that congress had been partial to the people
of California, the citizens of Utah made the best of the
affair, and were not without feelings of gratitude
toward the administration, for its consideration in the
matter of federal appointees. Brigham Young, who
had been elected by the people governor of Deseret,
became governor of Utah by presidential appointment,
and three other prominent "Mormons," with about an
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 187
equal number of non-" Mormons," were also commis-
sioned to represent the general government in the
territory. By this time western Utah had received its
first settlers, and the beginnings of Carson county had
been made. This part, about ten years later, was
included in the territory of Nevada.
EVANGELICAL ACTIVITIES
The presence of many of their people, in a more or
less scattered condition, on the Pacific slope, and a
desire to extend their evangelical activities in that
direction, determined the Church authorities at Salt
Lake City upon the project of organizing a mission
in "Western California," as the region beyond the
Sierra Nevada was then called. For that purpose two
of the "Mormon" leaders, Amasa M. Lyman and
Charles C. Rich, were sent to San Francisco, the
former in April, 1849, the latter in the ensuing October.
Subsequently Parley P. Pratt, one of the original
apostles of the Church, presided over the California
and Oregon Mission, and was succeeded by George Q.
Cannon, afterwards Utah's delegate in congress. In
San Francisco, Mr. Cannon edited and published
"The Western Standard," a paper founded by him in
February, 1856.
THE SAN BERNARDINO COLONY
Just before the territorial government went into
effect, the Church authorities decided to establish
an outfitting post in southern California, with a view
to facilitating their prospective emigration from the
Pacific islands, and likewise from Europe, by way of
Panama. The commission to secure a site for this
188 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
purpose and plant a colony thereon, was entrusted to
Messrs. Lyman and Rich. Concerning the project
President Young says in his journal: "Elders Amasa
M. Lyman and C. C. Rich, with some twenty others,
having received my approbation in going to southern
California, were instructed by letter to select a site
for a city or station, as a nucleus for a settlement,
near the Cajon pass, in the vicinity of the sea-coast,
for a continuation of the route already commenced from
this place to the Pacific; to gather around them the
Saints in California; to search out on their route, and
establish as far as possible, the best location for stations
between Iron county and California, in view of a
mail route to the Pacific; to cultivate grapes, sugar
cane, cotton, and any other desirable fruits and prod-
ucts; to obtain information concerning the Tehaun-
tepec route, or any other across the isthmus, or the
passage around Cape Horn, with a view to the gathering
of the Saints from Europe; to plant the standard of
salvation in every country and kingdom, city and
village, on the Pacific and the world over, as fast as
God should give the ability."
Early in 1851 a company of nearly five hundred
men, women, and children, from Salt Lake valley,
crossed the southern desert, threaded the Cajon pass,
and encamped at Sycamore Grove, on the west side of
San Bernardino valley. There they remained, pending
further explorations, and the selection of a site for a
permanent settlement. From Utah they had passed
over much of the trail since covered by the San Pedro,
Los Angeles, and Salt Lake railroad, popularly known
as "The Salt Lake Route." While tarrying at the
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 189
Grove, they established a school, taught by J. H.
Rollins, afterwards assessor of San Bernardino county.
The Los Angeles "Star" welcomed the colonists in
these kindly words: "We learn that one hundred
and fifty Mormon families are at Cajon pass, sixty
miles north of this city, on their way here from Deseret.
These families, it is said, intend to settle in this valley,
and to make it their permanent home. We cannot
yet give full credit to these statements, because they
do not come to us fully authenticated. But if it be
true that Mormons are coming in such numbers to
settle among us, we shall extend to them, as good and
industrious citizens, a friendly welcome."
The spot selected for a settlement was the site of
the now flourishing city of San Bernardino. It was
then a ranch, containing upwards of eighty thousand
acres of land, for which the owners, the Lugo Brothers,
who held it under a grant from the government of
Mexico, were paid the sum of #77,500. The soil was
rich, and water and timber were abundant. The
ranch was described, for situation, as "about one
hundred miles from San Diego, seventy miles from the
sea-port of San Pedro, and fifty miles from Pueblo
de los Angelos." The purchase was consummated
on the twenty-second of September, some months
after the arrival of the "Mormons" in the valley.
They at once went to work, making improvements,
and by the tenth of December had built one hundred
tenements, and projected a stockade fort, afterwards
constructed, for protection against hostile Indians.
They surveyed and fenced a field enclosing nearly two
thousand acres of land, upon which plowing and
190 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
planting immediately began. Then a wagon road was
located from San Bernardino to San Diego. In March,
1852, a city was laid out, Lyman and Rich planting
the center stake of the town site on "Temple Block" —
now the public square of San Bernardino. The blocks
were thirty-six rods square, and the streets five rods
wide; a feature of beauty much commented upon at
the present time. The town resembled, in this respect,
Salt Lake City. In April a bowery was erected, also
an adobe building, sixty by thirty feet in dimensions,
with a good shingle roof. There public meetings were
held, likewise day and Sabbath schools.
After founding their settlement, the colonists made
a road to the forests of redwood, pine, and hemlock,
eleven miles to the northward. Near the point where
this road entered a canon, the workmen found, at an
altitude of two thousand feet, what are now the
Arrowhead Hot Springs, one of the best sanitary
resorts on the Pacific coast.
Later, municipal and county governments were
organized, Daniel M. Thomas being county judge, and
Andrew Lytle, mayor. There was also an ecclesiastical
regime — a Stake organization, with Amasa M. Lyman
as president, and other prominent men in the high
council. Charles C. Rich was associated with Elder
Lyman in the presidency, and after they left, David
Seeley presided. William Crosby was bishop of San
Bernardino ward or branch. These organizations were
maintained during the six years that the "Mormons"
resided there. What they accomplished in a material
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 191
way is partly told in "The Western Standard" of
December 27, 1856; the "Standard" reproducing its
account from "The Los Angeles Star."
"During the past week," says the "Star," "we paid a visit to
the city of San Bernardino. We were glad to find that consider-
able progress has been made in city improvements, since the
period of our former visit. Several new stores have been erected,
the old ones have been improved, and the number of persons
engaged in trade considerably increased. The spirit of enterprise
which characterizes the people of California is as observable here
as in older and more populous communities.
"As yet, there is no Court House, the sessions of the courts
being held in a large room of Bishop Crosby's Hotel. Neither
is there a county jail, nor indeed much need for one. There are
two schools well attended, and a third school house is being
erected. In the school house, the services of public worship
are held, according to the forms of 'Mormonism,' which is the
prevailing religion of the people of the city.
"The Ranch of San Bernardino is laid off in lots of I, 5, 10, 20,
and 40 acres, the extent of the city being two miles square. The
property is held by Lyman, Rich, and others, in trust, we believe,
for the benefit of the Church. The condition of the mortgage on
the ranch is such now, that a warranty deed is given to the pur-
chaser for his land, which is fully released from all liabilities, thus
giving encouragement to immigration and substantial improve-
ment of the farms. In consequence, a large amount of fencing
will be put up the coming year, should the mills be able to produce
sufficient lumber for the purpose. This will depend on the nature
of the season. An abundant rain will make the people prosperous.
The population of the ranch has increased considerably during
the past six months, amounting at present to about three thousand.
" Being desirous of obtaining information regarding the resources
of the community, we applied to J. H. Rollins, Esq., the County
Assessor, who very kindly furnished us with such statistics as
were in his possession. From him, also, we obtained the report
of the County Surveyor, an abstract of which we give elsewhere.
192 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
"From the Assessor's list we take the following account of the
amount of stock cattle, from one year upward, including American
yearlings and two-year-olds:
American cows I 3>5 1 °
California cows, gentle 618
American oxen 230
American horses 174
California horses 1,383
Mules 229
Sheep 3,917
Goats 500
Hogs 437
"The amount of grain raised is as follows: Wheat 30,000
bushels, barley 15,000 bushels, corn 7,000 bushels, and some 200
bushels of oats, the potato crop being almost an entire failure on
account of drouth. Garden vegetables are abundant otherwise.
"The amount of butter, cheese and eggs produced and sold to
merchants in the city of San Bernardino is as follows: Butter
1,700 lbs., cheese 3,000 lbs., eggs 13,000 dozen. This is considered
not more than one-half of the amount of these articles produced.
"There are in this county seven saw mills, six driven by water;
and one steam mill (thirty-five horse power engine). One grist
mill, with two pairs of French burrs, owned by Lyman, Rich,
and Hanks. Also one at Jarupa, with one pair of French
burrs, owned by Don Louis Roubideaux; and one at San
Bernardino, owned by Charles Crismon, with which is connected
a saw mill, and planing and sash machine. Also, in the same
locality, is a steam distillery, which is owned by Charles Crismon,
and is now in operation. Four of the above water mills have
not been in operation since June last, from the dry season.
"In the San Bernardino Mountains there are two shingle
machines, which have cut during the season 500,000 shingles."
The report of the surveyor of San Bernardino
county, Arvin M. Stoddard, contained the following
items:
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 193
"The ranch of San Bernardino is the finest in the County, and
among the finest in the State. It is owned by the 'Mormons,'
and under their management is becoming one of the most thrifty
places in this portion of the State. The ranch is subdivided into
five, ten, twenty, forty and eighty acre lots, which are sold to any
person desiring to settle here, on reasonable terms; by which
means it is fast progressing in the scale of agricultural improve-
ments, having some of the finest land in the State upon which to
operate. It bids fair to become celebrated as a fruit growing
country; already has a large amount of different varieties of trees
been imported from Oregon, which under proper culture thrive
remarkably well. The grape also is beginning to be extensively
cultivated, and at the present time the inhabitants are enjoying
the fruits of their labors in some of the largest and best grapes
that can be found in the State. For raising vegetables, this
ranch is well adapted, and for grazing is not to be excelled by
any."
The San Bernardino colony was maintained until
the latter part of 1857, when, owing to prospective
trouble between the territory of Utah and the general
government — trouble caused by false reports, and
happily averted without bloodshed — the "Mormon"
missions in the west were discontinued, and all
"Mormon" colonizing work outside of Utah aban-
doned; most of the people moving back to their
former homes.
THE CALIFORNIA MISSION
Many years elapsed before there was again any
considerable number of Latter-day Saints within the
state of California. During the latter part of the
eighties, Elders J. W. Pickett and Mark Lindsay, who
had removed from Utah to the coast, were directed
by President Wilford Woodruff, then head of the
Church, to call on the Nethercott family in Oakland,
194 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
they having written, requesting that missionaries be
sent to them. As the result, several members of that
family were baptized. The Nethercotts had a friend,
Norman B. Phillips, in the south end of the state, and
through the instrumentality of Elder Lindsay, this
man and his wife also came into the Church. Phillips
afterwards labored as a missionary in Oakland and
in Sacramento. These were the beginnings of the
present-day California Mission.
The first regularly called missionary in this field was
Elder John L. Dalton, who, from 1892 to 1894, labored
in the north, bringing together quite a number of men
and women who had drifted away from the Stakes of
Zion in the Rocky mountains. Dalton was followed
by A. S. Keller, and H. B. Williams, also from Utah;
and these missionaries, by George H. Maycock, J. D.
Cummings, Nels Johnson, and Ezekiel Blodgett.
In January, 1894, Doctor Karl G. Maeser, superin-
tendent of Church schools for the Latter-day Saints,
was at the Midwinter Fair, in charge of the Utah
exhibits. He was made president of the California
Mission, and directed the holding of its first conference
in San Francisco. Dr. Maeser returned home in
August of that year, and then came Elder Charles J.
Nethercott, appointed with his family, to do missionary
work in and around Oakland, his early home.
Meanwhile two of the leading men of the Church,
Elders Francis M. Lyman and Brigham H. Roberts,
had been laboring strenuously in southern California,
principally among old members of the body. They
reorganized the San Bernardino branch, and visited
MORMONS IN CALIFORNIA 195
San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego, holding
numerous meetings, and everywhere giving new life
and impetus to the mission.
Its third president was Henry S. Tanner, under
whom, from 1894 to 1896, the work grew apace. The
San Francisco and Los Angeles conferences were organ-
ized by him, and the work opened up in the larger
cities of the state. President Tanner was assisted by
capable men, one of whom, Ephraim H. Nye, became
his successor. Elder Nye was released in April, 1901.
Among the Utah visitors to California at the time of
the Golden Jubilee — January, 1898 — were Henry W.
Bigler, James S. Brown, Azariah Smith, and William
J. Johnston, sole survivors of the party who were with
Marshall, the gold finder, half a century before. They
went as honored guests of the Society of California
Pioneers, to participate in the celebration, and were
conspicuous as "Companions of Marshall" in the pro-
cession of the memorable Twenty-fourth, the fiftieth
anniversary of the famous discovery. That same year,
on the second day of September, Wilford Woodruff,
President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, died in San Francisco, while seeking rest and
recuperation on the coast. His first counselor, President
George Q. Cannon, died at Monterey, April 12, 1901.
The California Mission is now presided over by
Elder Joseph E. Robinson, and during his administra-
tion it has increased both in territory and in member-
ship, some of its branches extending into Arizona.
During the summer of 1912 four thousand Latter-day
Saints were expatriated from Mexico, on account of
brigandage and war. About six hundred of these
196 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
remained within the territory of this mission. In 1901
it comprised four branches, with three subdivisions,
aggregating about seven hundred souls. It now has
twelve branches and three wards, with about thirty-five
hundred names on its records.
The California Mission has grown in prestige and
power from the beginning. Its headquarters are at
Los Angeles, where there is a thriving branch, with
subdivisions at Long Beach and Ocean Park. The
Gridley branch numbers nearly eight hundred souls.
They have built a fine social hall, valued at $3,500, and
a church valued at $11,000, with real estate valued at
$1,500. The crowning event in the history of the mis-
sion, up to the time of this writing (January, 1914), is
the erection at its headquarters, 153 West Adams
street, Los Angeles, of a splendid brick chapel, with
art windows, and front embellished with Utah oolite;
the entire structure costing $25,000. The interior is
appropriately furnished with hardwood pews and chairs
and has a beautiful baptistery, with Sabbath school
auditorium and class rooms. Two other buildings have
been erected on the same block — one for the accommo-
dation of the mission president and his family, the
other for the office force and traveling missionaries.
The Los Angeles chapel was dedicated by the present
head of the Church, President Joseph F. Smith, in
May, 1913.
THE LOS ANGELES CHAPEL
(Latter-day Saints)
This structure fronts on West Adams street, Los Angeles.
It was built by the Latter-day Saints between December 9,
1912, when ground was broken, and January 7, 1913, when
the corner stone was laid. The chapel was dedicated May 4,
1913.
^9 DI
branch, -
Park.
red souls,
t $3,500.
of the mis-
I
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY
THE mining history of California virtually began
in the year 1849, although gold had been
discovered before that time and had attracted
the attention of the whole world. During the
summer of that year, however, it is estimated that no
less than fifty thousand people started overland for
California and probably as many more left the seaports
of the eastern states for the same destination and with
the same object in view — to dig for gold. This rush
continued for several years and resulted in the estab-
lishment of camps, villages, towns and cities throughout
the mining regions of the state, most of which are still
in existence, although in many the population is much
scantier and is devoted to other pursuits, as the diver-
sified interests of the state gradually became known
and utilized. But it was the gold miners who settled
California and brought about its early development.
California has well earned and deserves its title of the
"Golden State." Since 1849 and up to the end of
191 3 it has produced, in gold alone, the vast sum
of #1,587,694,320. The entire United States produc-
tion of gold since 1792 (including that of California)
has been #3,451,915,000, so that the single state of
California has produced within about #276,000,000
of as much as all the gold derived from Alaska, Arizona,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and the
southern and scattering states. In other words, all the
other twenty-live gold-producing states of the union
combined have only yielded about #276,000,000 more
than the single state of California in a period of one
hundred and twenty years.
200 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
In the sixty-five years during which gold mining has
been carried on in the state the average production
has been $24,426,066 per annum, equal to an average
monthly production for the consecutive seven hundred
and eighty months, of $2,035,505.
It is to be noted, moreover, that California is still the
leading gold producer among all the states of the union,
and there is still a larger number of producing gold
mines than in any other state. Gold is being mined
yet in thirty-one of the fifty-eight counties of California.
With the exception of the few years when the Cripple
Creek region of Colorado was yielding largely,
California has always been the leading producer.
Among other mining states of the union, California
has, as a gold-producing region, the distinction of hold-
ing the record on all counts. It has made by far the
largest aggregate yield; made the largest output in any
single year; made the highest annual average, although
its mines have been worked for sixty-five years; kept
the lead as a gold-producer the greatest consecutive
number of years; has the largest number of gold mines;
pursues the greatest number of varied branches of gold
mining; has the widest distribution of its gold deposits;
has the largest area of auriferous gravels; and the
deepest gold mines.
As to the distribution of the gold deposits alone,
aside from their varied forms, it may be stated that
California reaches through nine and a half degrees of
latitude, and between the extreme northwest and south-
east corners the direct distance is seven hundred and
seventy-five miles while the width is from one hundred
and forty-eight to two hundred and thirty-five miles.
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 201
Along the Sierra Nevada and its foothills, and the
northwestern Coast range, and the southeastern desert
region, in the tier of counties extending from one end of
the state to the other, there is not a single one without
its gold deposits in one or more forms.
Gold is mined in the highest part of the Sierra
Nevada, the foothills, the valleys, and on the beaches
bordering the ocean. Even in the wastes of the Mohave
and Colorado deserts are many productive gold mines.
The gold is taken from quartz, placers, seam diggings,
pockets, river, hydraulic, drift, ocean beach sand, by
dredging, wing-damming, sluicing, dry-washing, and
other forms of mining. In one county there are gold
mines being worked at elevations of 9,000, 11,000,
13,000, and 13,500 feet, while in the same county gold is
being taken out at places over two hundred feet below
the level of the sea. At the Kennedy mine, Amador
county, at an elevation of 1,500 feet, they are mining
at the bottom of a vertical shaft 3,896 feet deep or
2,396 feet below sea level. It may be thus noted that
the gold deposits extend over a longitudinal area of
seven hundred and seventy-five miles, a lateral area
of an average width of one hundred and ninety-one
miles (or extreme width of two hundred and thirty-five
miles) and a vertical range of 15,896 feet.
The climatic conditions in all except the very highest
ranges are favorable to continued work the year round
and even there the deep quartz mines keep in operation
for twelve months. In some of the foothill and upper
valleys, the men work in their orange and olive orchards
and vineyards during one season, and drift under them
for gold at another season. It is to be noted that today
202 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the three great gold-dredging fields of the state are at
points where citrus fruits first ripen — Oroville, Marys-
ville, and Folsom. The county producing the most
gold is a foothill county, and the next in rank a valley
one, neither in the snowy mountains. The leading
producer of gold is a quartz mining county, and the
one next in order gets its gold from the auriferous
gravels by the dredging system in the midst of orange
and olive orchards and vineyards.
It seems rather odd, in view of the facts to the
contrary, that there is a prevalent impression that
gold mining in California is almost a thing of the past,
and that there is no other mining worth considering.
Yet, the state continues to produce more gold than
any other in the union and, with the value of all its
mineral substances combined exceeds annually the out-
put of any state west of the Mississippi river. Indeed, it
stands fifth in rank among all the states in value of its
mineral products. In the past fifteen years there has
been a gradual annual increase in value of total mineral
substances until in 1912 the total yield was valued at
#92,837,374. This greatly exceeds the gold product of
the banner year of 1852 when the yield from the placers
was #81,294,700. At the present time gold and petro-
leum combined represent about sixty-five per cent of
California's mineral output, the petroleum alone being
about forty per cent of the total output of the entire
United States.
Nearly all who hastened to California in the early
pioneer days came with the expectation of getting a
harvest of gold in a few months and returning to the
"States." But they soon discovered that the precious
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 203
metal was not to be gathered at the grass roots, but
had to be dug for, and not every piece of ground in the
country contained gold. Morever, the work of getting
out the gold was not easy even for those who found
where it was. Probably less than half of those who
succeeded in reaching the mines engaged in the actual
business of mining. The working miners had to be
provided with necessities and soon merchandizing and
other industries sprang up on all sides. With very
few exceptions the multitudes who came to mine, knew
nothing whatever of the business. They did not even
know what were the favorable places to look for the
gold until shown by others who had preceded them.
The pioneers were all placer miners, working surface
deposits only. The pick, pan, rocker, sluice, and long
torn comprised their appliances; the gulches, ravines,
shallow gravel deposits, river beds and bars, the source
of their gold. In these places nature had, by a system
of concentration extending over countless ages, stored
the gold set free by the erosion of the rocks, and washed
out of the buried rivers of the past, and it was found
in nuggets, coarse grains, and line particles. Worthless
surface soil had to be removed to get at shallow gravel
deposits, or small shafts sunk to reach it. In many
places cuts were made in the bedrock and the gravel
shoveled into ground sluices. Always the gravel or
sands had to be washed to recover the gold and in
many places water had to be brought in by ditch or
flume for this purpose. For many years an enormous
yield of gold was maintained from these sources.
Gradually, however, as was to have been expected, the
204 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
richer areas available for this kind of mining were
narrowed, as ground was worked out, and then atten-
tion was turned to other sources of gold supply.
Finding, as the miners of those days did, these
surface auriferous deposits only at certain points, they
began to look for the sources of the placer gold. This
led to the search for quartz veins, and also for the large
bodies of auriferous gravel which were contained in
the hills of the mining region. In time deeper
gravel deposits were found and opened and quartz
veins or ledges were discovered and developed.
The first radical departure from the then known
methods of gravel mining was made about the end of
1852 by E. E. Mattison, a miner at Yankee Jims,
Placer county, who conducted water through a small
ditch to a pressure box and from that carried it through
a canvas hose, with a tin nozzle, discharging it under
pressure against the gravel bank. By means of this
primitive but epoch-making device the gold-bearing
gravel and dirt was washed by the water into and
through sluices and riffle boxes much faster than men
could possibly handle it. This was the first attempt
at hydraulic mining, a system which has been put in
use in all parts of the world. The same plan has been
adopted in railroad construction or where large bodies
of earth had to be removed and where water under a
high head was available, and was found specially useful
in certain parts of the work on the Panama Canal, the
"giants" or nozzles and other mechanical equipment
having been made in California for the canal contractors.
Not long after Mattison's invention (which was never
patented) iron and steel pipes were substituted for
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 205
canvas hose and massive giants or nozzles, some as
large as eleven inches in diameter were used, through
which large volumes of water under immense pressure
were thrown against the gravel banks. Hundreds of
miles of canals and ditches were dug, great reservoirs
were formed, flumes built, and pipe lines laid at enor-
mous cost. It was estimated that when hydraulic mining
was at last prohibited by law in certain portions of
California, over $100,000,000 was invested in that
branch of the gold mining industry alone, and that the
annual gold yield from that source was from eight to
ten millions of dollars.
In certain places the early-day miners who worked
the shallow gulch placers followed the pay gravel up
to the head of the stream and would often find that the
gravel would continue under a capping of hard lava
which covered the hill-top. In other places isolated
hills or ridges were seen to be topped with rich beds of
auriferous gravels. These places were usually high
above the present streams. It was soon determined
that these gravel deposits were in the beds of ancient
buried or " dead " rivers. The finding of these Tertiary
gravels, was, like the first important discovery of gold,
the result of chance rather than by any preconceived
theory or systematic plan of exploration.
The gravels in these dead rivers occupy deep water-
worn channels, once the beds of broad and swiftly-
flowing streams. Careful studies have later been made
of these ancient rivers, made possible by the long-
continued work of the drift miners, and a large part of
them has been mapped, and their courses generally
traced, showing that the periods when these streams
206 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
existed and were active was of great length, and that
there were numerous rivers, at different heights. Most
of them are now covered with a heavy lava capping.
Where the lava-cap has been eroded or cut across, the
gravels are exposed and may be mined by the hydraulic
system; but where the lava cap remains, tunnels, some-
times several thousand feet in length, must be cut to
tap the actual river channel, when the deposit is worked
by the "drifting" system. After the bedrock tunnel
through barren material has reached the gravel of the
ancient river channel, the miners prepare to "drift"
up the gravel channel proper. The auriferous gravel
is blasted and dug out, only the lower portion, near the
bedrock, being mined, and this is removed to the outer
air where it is washed on washing floors, or where
cemented, is first crushed in mills with light and rapid-
dropping stamps.
The gravel channels in these old dead rivers are often
a thousand or more feet in width, varying the same as
modern streams. But only the richer portion of the
gravel may be mined profitably and this "pay lead" is
generally near the center of the old channel and at its
lowest point where the water had cut the deepest into
the rock. Pay leads of one hundred to one hundred
and fifty feet are of average width, but some are three
hundred or four hundred feet. The gravel runs from
$2 to #10 per cubic yard. In some localities as at Iowa
Hill in Placer county, the miners took out as high as
$ 1,000 per lineal foot in mining up the channel in the
center and for the full width of the pay lead.
Capital is required to develop and operate both drift
and hydraulic mines and the ordinary miner cannot
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 207
handle them alone. In drift mining the tunneling
through bedrock to tap the gravel channel involves
considerable initial expense before pay can be reached,
and the ground must all be timbered in the tunnel and
the mine. In hydraulic mining the necessary water
rights, reservoirs, and water supply systems must be
provided before any gravel may be washed. And in
both cases the original cost of the mining ground must
of course be considered. For many years past the
federal government has prohibited hydraulic mines
from operating anywhere in the drainage basins of the
Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers, unless suitable
steps are taken to restrain and impound the debris or
tailings resulting from washing through the sluices such
immense quantities of earth and gravel. This material
used to enter the smaller streams and finally reach navi-
gable waters of the main rivers, and farming and orchard
lands along the banks were more or less damaged. At
the time of this prohibition the hydraulic mining
regions of the central portion of the state were almost
depopulated, the mines closed down, and millions of
dollars worth of mining and water property virtually
confiscated and rendered worthless, either for use or
sale.
In order to be able legally to operate a hydraulic
mine in the drainage basins referred to, a permit must
first be obtained from a federal commission of engineers,
called the California Debris Commission, who supervise
the plans and construction of the restraining works,
dams, etc., and who close down the mine altogether if
it be shown that damage is being done by its operations,
even after the works are completed. Having to keep
208 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the debris behind the dams until fully settled, greatly
restricts the amount of material which may be washed
during a water season, so that the hydraulic mining
industry is no longer as attractive for investment as
formerly. In all other parts of the state except the
drainage basins of the Sacramento and San Joaquin
rivers, this kind of mining may be carried on without
any restriction whatever as there are no navigable
streams north or south of the central drainage basin
referred to. The northwestern counties of Siskiyou,
Trinity, and Humboldt are now the main hydraulic
mining centers and many large and important mines
continue to be operated. There are large areas of
ground still available for this class of work in these
counties which have not yet been developed, as the
water supply systems are by no means to be compared
with those formerly used in the central counties.
There are still some hundreds of known miles of the
ancient buried rivers of California which have never
been worked for gold, and there are many thousands
of acres of exposed auriferous gravel suitable for
hydraulicking, still waiting to be mined. An account
of the origin and scope of the gravels, with maps, and
descriptions of the mines and channels, etc., may be
found in Professional Paper No. 73 of the United States
Geological Survey, entitled "The Tertiary Gravels of the
Sierra Nevada, California," by Waldemar Lindgren,
the eminent geologist.
With the exhaustion of the open surface gold deposits,
the day of the individual miner came to an end in
California. Then both the character of the mining and
of the mining population changed. It was no longer
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 209
possible for the nomadic miner with a few simple tools,
his own labor, and no technical knowledge or capital,
to gather a fortune where nature had concentrated it
for him in a few yards of earth or gravel. It became
necessary to employ both capital and labor to carry on
gold mining under the changed conditions. Ditches,
flumes, and reservoirs had to be built for water systems
for the hydraulic mines; long tunnels had to be run to
tap the ancient gravel channels under the lava-capped
divides; and shafts had to be sunk or tunnels run, and
pumps, hoists, mill, and other machinery provided,
before profit could be expected from the quartz mines.
The great body of miners then stopped working on
their own account, and were employed on daily wages
by companies organized to conduct the operations
requiring investment. The miners gave up their noma-
dic habits and became permanent residents of the larger
towns, taking steady employment in mines and hills,
and this condition continues today. Naturally, how-
ever, there are numerous prospectors throughout the
mining regions, as well as miners working their own
"prospects" (undeveloped mines), but the majority of
the mining population now work for the companies,
where large operations are carried on.
This has resulted in building up permanent towns
and villages in all centers of extensive operations, and
many of these have all the appliances of modern civili-
zation, with convenience of transportation, far different
from the temporary mining camps of the early days.
The era of speculative mining common to newly
settled regions has long since passed in California and
the industry has for many years been conducted in as
210 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
legitimate a manner as farming, manufacturing, etc.,
profits being sought from the products of the mines
themselves rather than from fictitious and evanescent
prices of stock. The stock exchanges have never been
able to induce the gold miners to place the stock of
their mines on the lists to be be dealt in by people who
knew and cared nothing for the real value of the mines
themselves, but only for possible profits from daily
fluctuations of the stock.
It is a somewhat remarkable fact that long years
after the superficial free-gold placer deposits were sup-
posed to have been virtually exhausted, a new system
of mining ground on or near the surface should have
been put in practice which has made so marked a
change in the industry that the gold yield from gravels
has nearly reached that from the quartz mines. The
system of dredging is one where improved modern
appliances of a mechanical nature are utilized to handle
vast quantities of auriferous material in a brief space
of time, and then without the use of water under high
heads, the necessity of tunnels or shafts, or the employ-
ment of much manual labor. Moreover, what is an
important feature in this system is that it may be used
on ground which has no "fall" or dump, is below the
level of the neighboring streams, and had hitherto been
mostly considered worthless for mining.
A pit is dug in the ground in which a very strong
wooden or steel hull or scow boat is built, and the pon-
derous digging machinery is placed in this. A series
of heavy steel digging buckets, some with as high a
capacity as sixteen cubic feet each, revolve on endless
chains around drums placed at the top and bottom of
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 211
a heavy "ladder," digging out the material at the bot-
tom of the pit and, at the top of the revolution dumping
it into a hopper. Water under pressure is led into
this hopper so as to disintegrate the material therein
before it passes to the gold-saving apparatus below.
The tailings or debris, from which the gold has been
taken, passes continually out into the pond behind,
the larger rocks, however, being elevated by a " stacker"
to a pile outside the pond. The boat floats in water in
the pit and as the dredge digs ahead, cutting out one
end of the pit, the space behind is filled with the mate-
rial which has been dug and washed in the sluices and
riffle boxes on the boat. In effect the machine carries
the floating space or pond around with it, digging a
new space constantly, and filling in where it has already
dug. Most of the machines are operated by electric
power.
The largest machines now in use are capable of
digging between 10,000 and 12,000 cubic yards of
gravel daily, digging to sixty-five feet below the water
line of the pond and piling rock, etc., forty feet above
the water line. The largest machines have buckets of
sixteen cubic feet capacity although many have buckets
of five to seven cubic feet capacity each. The cobbles or
water-worn rocks dug up with the gravel are separated
from the dirt and piled up on the bank by the stacker,
taken by power machinery to the large rock crushing
plants owned by the dredging companies, and there
crushed and sized for macadam road building, giving a
good profit as a by-product of gold mining.
The principles of hydraulic mining have also been
applied with effect in gold dredging. Where the gravel
212 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
banks above water are at all cemented, two nozzles,
one at each corner of the dredge, throw water under
high pressure to disintegrate the material being dug by
the buckets so it may be more easily mined.
This is a business requiring large capital, as good
dredging ground is worth from #500 to #1,000 and
upward per acre, and a dredge may cost from #100,000
to #360,000 — the latter the cost of the most recent one
with sixteen cubic feet buckets and all modern equip-
ment. The cost depends on the size and capacity.
The ground to be worked is prospected in advance by
a system of drilling, so it is pretty closely known upon
beginning operations what the gross output and profit
may be on a given area of ground.
In gold mining by this most modern system the
presence of paying gravel is not the only consideration.
It is impossible to dredge areas which are suitable for
either hydraulic or drift mining, or gravels carrying
too many and too large boulders, or lying on hard or
rough bedrock. Those too deep or too shallow may
not be dredged, and there must be sufficient area in
one place to warrant the construction of the expensive
machinery. In places where the area of dredging
ground is not large, only small machines are constructed.
The three points in the state where extensive dredging
operations are carried on are in Butte, Yuba, and Sacra-
mento counties where swift streams from the mountains
and foothills, after having cut for ages through the
older auriferous gravel systems, debouch upon the val-
ley, spread out, from narrow channels to wide ones,
and deposit the silt and fine gold. No coarse gold or
nuggets are found in these places, that having been
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 213
previously deposited further up the streams. There
are other isolated places in the state where one, two,
or three dredges of small size find profit in working
limited areas. There are now sixty-five dredges, large
and small, operating in California, and their annual
gross output of gold is about $7,500,000 a year, which
is far more than the yield of all other forms of placer
mining combined. Since the first dredge was installed
in California in 1899 the gold yield from this source
to the end of 1912 has been in the aggregate $55,415,191.
At some places orange and olive orchards and
vineyards as well as farms have been purchased by the
dredge men and the ground mined for gold, and this
has caused some complaint against them locally. The
largest of the companies now, however, remove the
rocks, level over the worked-out ground, and at once
plant it in orchards and vineyards again, restoring, as
far as may be, the ground to its original condition,
minus the gold they have recovered.
Notwithstanding the combined output annually of
the different forms of placer mining — dredge, drift,
hydraulic, and surface claims — the quartz mines of
the state continue to produce more gold than all these
methods together. The deep or quartz mines now
produce 56.14 percent of the gold and the combined
placers 43.86 per cent. The dredges alone produce
37.68 per cent of all the gold, and 85.93 P er cent oi the
placer gold.
The deep or quartz mines are yielding annually
2,640,000 tons of ore, including gold, silver, copper,
lead and zinc ores. The gold mines predominate
largely and are worked on a very extensive scale. Out
214 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
of five hundred and thirty-two properties of this class
productive in 19 12, there were four hundred and seventy
gold mines and the others produced more or less gold
with their other metals. The siliceous ores derived
from these four hundred and seventy gold mines
amounted to 2,225,429 tons with an average value of
#4.95 per ton in gold and silver and an annual average
of all metals of $5.13 per ton. The average value of
ores varies not only in different mines, but in different
counties. For example, in Nevada county, where the
veins are comparatively small, the average value in
gold and silver from 270,000 tons of ore treated was
#7.62 per ton. In Amador county, where the Mother
Lode vein is quite wide, 673,498 tons of ore milled,
yielded #4. 1 1 per ton on the average. In some counties
such as Sierra and a few others, where they have small
veins, with more or less irregular pay ore, they some-
times obtain hundreds, and even thousands of dollars
per ton from comparatively small quantities of ore.
In the earlier history of gold mining in California
some very foolish and extravagant ideas prevailed in
relation to the gold mines, and, as a result, numbers of
mines were given up and people came to look on quartz
mining as a risky business. It was found later that the
fault lay more in the men than in the mines themselves
and most of the old abandoned mines were subsequently
reopened and put on a paying basis. The quartz
mining industry of the state is today in a more satisfac-
tory condition than it ever has been since its inception.
The appliances for saving the gold have been greatly
improved and are used carefully and intelligently.
Every effort is made to gain as large a percentage of
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 215
the gold in the ores as possible. It is now possible to
work ores at a profit that twenty years or so ago were
considered worthless. This has been brought about
by the adoption of more economical methods in both
mine and mill, increased knowledge of the proper way
to treat ores, improvement in processes, and use of
electric power instead of steam. The cyanide process,
chlorination process, and canvas and slime plants now
in use, play an important part in the ultimate saving
of all the gold. There is now a certain reliability to
quartz mining that it did not formerly possess, so that
the industry has grown to large proportions mainly
through local and individual efforts and the application
of capital. At present most of the more prominent
quartz mines are worked by companies, although some
are operated by individuals; the latter being worked
on a comparatively small scale.
At the quartz mines of the state there are now four
hundred and eighty-three stamp mills and fifty-
four roller mills, having two hundred and ninety crush-
ers, 6,020 stamps, five tube mills, 1,334 concentrators,
and fifty-six cyanide plants. The combined capacity
of these mills is 24,381 tons of ore in twenty-four hours.
In the larger and older quartz mines considerable
depth has been attained. The vertical shaft of the
Kennedy mine in Amador county, is 3,896 feet deep,
and the machinery is built for a depth of 5,000 feet.
The Plymouth shaft is 2,000 feet vertical and in other
mines in the same county, the Fremont has two inclined
shafts one 1,550 and the other 2,200 feet; Keystone
2,220, Lincoln 2,050, Wildman 1,450, South Eureka
2,765, and Argonaut 4,000 feet on an incline. At
216 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Grass Valley, the North Star, the most productive
quartz mine in the state, has a shaft 5,000 feet on the
incline and measures are being taken to provide machin-
ery for sinking 5,000 feet additional. It is noteworthy
that the two deepest mines named, the Kennedy and
North Star, mined ore in 191 3 as good as any they
ever encountered in the upper levels. This is a source
of great encouragement to owners of other properties
which have not sunk to such depths.
Quartz mines are being worked in a great many
counties of the state from Siskiyou on the north to San
Diego on the south. Most of these are in the mountain,
foothill, or desert regions ; there being none of note in the
valley counties. Several of the old mines in the Mother
Lode counties, especially in Amador, have recently been
reopened and unwatered after lying idle for twenty years
or more. The shafts have been repaired and retimbered
and operations to continue sinking resumed.
The space at command prevents any extended
consideration of the quartz mining industry in any
detail. It should be stated, however, that few new
mines of importance have been discovered in recent
years, mainly because active prospecting has almost
ceased. The old time prospector is a thing of the past,
not only in California, but in other states as well. The
new men who have gone into mining are working for
wages and few of them do any prospecting, while the
old-timers who followed that occupation are growing
fewer every year. Moreover, the government has set
aside so much forest and other land as reservations,
and so much is owned by railroad corporations and
private persons, that the area in which prospecting
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 217
may be carried on has gradually become smaller and
smaller. This subject of the decline of prospecting has
attracted the attention of the mining journals and
mining men and has brought about considerable dis-
cussion without, so far, any satisfactory solution to the
problem. Another thing, too, in connection with
quartz mining and milling, is that the enforced eight
hour law in both mines and mills, and the workman's
compensation law, have entailed additional expenses
which are burdensome not only to large properties but
to small ones as well. And a matter of perhaps greater
importance to the quartz miner is, that it is highly
probable in the future the larger operators will have to
impound the tailings or refuse from their mills, in the
same way the hydraulic miners are compelled to do.
This is a matter which has been impending for some
time, but it was only in 191 2 that the first steps were
taken in that direction. An injunction suit involving
several thousand acres of land was filed against several
large mines in Amador county and a number of land
owners. The charge was that the mining companies
have allowed debris or tailings to accumulate in a cer-
tain creek to such an extent that the stream has fre-
quently overflowed and inundated the surrounding
territory. A compromise was effected so that the large
mining companies would be exempt from litigation
until December, 1914, if by that time they took steps
to protect the property of the plaintiffs by restraining
their tailings and not allowing them to enter the streams.
The mining companies have purchased lands near their
properties, and some of them have put up large tailings
218 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
wheels to elevate the tailings and pass them to these
lands so they might be impounded behind suitable
dams away from the streams. This adds to the cost
of the milling of the ores, of course. When it is recalled
that the quantity of ores milled annually in the state
runs from 2,000,000 to 2,225,000 tons it may be seen
what damage might result in certain localities when all
this material is allowed to pass into streams or spread
where the waters carry it. In Amador county alone,
where the first suit has been brought, the mills treat
from 700,000 to 750,000 tons of ore a year, all the
tailings of which (virtually the whole quantity) has
been dumped for years into the creeks to pass on down to
lands below when the winter storms filled the streams.
It is not probable that mines with small mills will be
affected by this matter, but in certain localities more
or less damage may be done unless quartz tailings are
impounded. It is a new thing for quartz miners to
have to impound their tailings, as heretofore they have
always let them run into small creeks or streams and
be carried away.
Perhaps a few words should be said before closing
this account of the gold mines of the state, of the ocean
beach, or " black sand " mining for gold which is carried
on, as it is somewhat peculiar and is only done elsewhere
in this country on the coasts of Oregon, Washington,
and Alaska. The sandy beaches at certain points on
the coast line contain considerable gold in very fine
particles, and this is found in the black sands, or
magnetite, underlying in thin strata, the ordinary
white or yellow, sands common to all ocean beaches.
The constant erosion of the bluffs and banks of earth
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 219
bordering the beaches, by the action of the waves, cuts
them down, and the fine gold therein contained is
concentrated with the heavy iron sands under the top
layer of lighter sand. These beaches are worked inter-
mittently, especially after winter storms when the over-
burden of ordinary beach sand has been washed away,
leaving the heavier and more valuable sand behind.
The black sands are dug up and washed in sluices or
"toms" and the gold saved. Many beaches containing
gold are known at widely separated points along the
California coast. An important feature is that the
black sands also contain considerable quantities of
platinum and iridosmine, as well as other minor miner-
als. The sands of the ocean beach back of Golden
Gate Park, San Francisco, contain more or less gold,
but not in sufficient quantities to warrant mining them.
At one period, many years ago, the discovery of excep-
tionally rich beach sands at Gold Bluff on the northern
coast almost depopulated San Francisco, so great was
the rush of people to locate claims. The first comers
got hundreds of thousands of dollars in that locality as
they found what had been concentrated for ages. The
beaches renew themselves in gold every few years.
When pay gold is found one year, it may be three or
four years before the beach will pay again, and this
depends largely on the severity of the winter storms
which concentrate the sands.
As California has always been best known for its
gold mining industry, and has been preeminent in
that, most of the space reserved for this chapter has
been devoted to that subject. But it is to be borne in
mind that while the gold miners are still active, and
220 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
still lead the other states of the union, other depart-
ments of mining have come to the front in later years.
This is shown by the fact that the annual gold yield
of the state is, on an average, about twenty million
dollars, yet the total value of all mineral substances
produced in California is now nearly ninety-three
millions yearly. And it is worthy of note that the
larger proportion of the values from mineral products
have only been apparent in later years, long after the
gold mines were at their highest point of activity. The
state has proved that it is rich in mineral wealth aside
from its gold and silver. Thus, in 1892 the total value
of all mineral substances, including gold, was only
#18,300,168, and in 1902 it was $35,069,195, while in
191 2 the total value was $92,837,374. This is a won-
derful showing for the last two decades, and it is not
supposed that the highest point of production has yet
been reached.
There have been found in California some seventy
mineral substances which are valuable to mankind and
between forty-five and fifty of these are now being
commercially utilized to a greater or less degree. With
some of the others arrangements are being made
for utilization on the completion of the Panama Canal,
when the heavier and more bulky substances may be
shipped at a profit to points of consumption, but which
cannot at present be mined profitably owing to high
railroad rates from California.
It is not possible in this brief and condensed review
of the mines of the state, to give space to consideration
of minor minerals or even to show the conditions
surrounding all of the important ones.
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 221
It is deemed proper, however, to make mention in a
brief manner, of some few substances more or less
peculiar to the state, or not found in other parts of
the union, except in isolated localities or in quantities
to make it profitable to mine them.
Borax, for example, is a substance which is produced
in the United States only in California, the annual
value of the output being from $1,250,000 to $1,500,000.
All the product of recent years is from Colemanite ore,
and not from superficial marsh deposits as formerly.
The ore is mined principally in Inyo and Los Angeles
counties, but some is also obtained from Ventura
county. The main supply is from Inyo county where
new deposits are about to be opened. A number of
known deposits have not been, as yet, utilized. What
ore is mined is shipped to New Jersey where it is refined
into the borax of commerce.
Chrome, or chromic iron ore, is not produced else-
where in the United States, California having furnished
the entire domestic product since 1880. Formerly,
during the era of sailing vessels, considerable was
shipped around Cape Horn to the eastern states, but
the long railroad haul and resultant cost prevents any
great extension of this industry at present. It is used
for chemical and metallurgical purposes, and for furnace
linings, making hard tool steel, etc.
Outside of California no magnesite is mined in the
United States. The domestic output, in value a little
over a hundred thousand dollars a year, is consumed
on the Pacific coast as it cannot be shipped east and
compete with the imported material from Greece and
Austria. Most of the California product is used in the
222 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
manufacture of paper from wood pulp, although some
is made into tiling, wainscoting, artificial marble,
furnace hearths, fire-proof bricks, hard plaster, flooring,
fire-proof building material, etc.
While platinum is found in other localities, California
produces about ninety per cent of the domestic output
annually. It is obtained mainly as a by-product in
the gold dredging industry but some comes from the
black sands of the ocean beaches and that from
hydraulic and placer mining.
Quicksilver is another important mineral product in
which California stands preeminent, the output annu-
ally being from eighty to eighty-eight per cent of the
entire United States. Of twenty producing mines in
the country seventeen are in California. Indeed, until
Texas began making a small output in 1899, followed
later by Nevada, California supplied the entire product
of the United States as far back as 1850. The average
annual production of the state for sixty-three years has
been valued at $1,465,708, and the total yield of this
substance in the state since 1850 has been 2,124,732
flasks of 75 to j6y 2 pounds each, valued in the aggregate
at $92,275,695.
California is now the leading producer of petroleum
among all the states, and yields from thirty-nine to
forty per cent of the domestic product. The annual
value is about $40,000,000. Pennsylvania and New
York since 1859 have produced 736,205,000 barrels
of forty- two gallons each, and California since 1876
has produced 542,888,881 barrels to the end of 1912.
The California yield at present is from 86,000,000
to 90,000,000 barrels yearly and it is expected, if the
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 223
proportion of the earlier months continues through
the year, that the 19 14 yield will exceed 100,000,000
barrels.
Vast quantities of natural gas have been allowed to
escape in the state for many years, and have only been
utilized in a few localities. But now active steps are
being taken for its conservation and utilization at many
points. Pipes have been laid to several cities of impor-
tance from the wells, and more are being built. The
value of that used at present is about a million dollars
yearly.
Twenty-five out of the fifty-eight counties of the
state contain known coal deposits, a few of which have
been mined, but most of them undeveloped. Almost all
carry an inferior quality of lignite or bituminous coal.
Deposits of iron ore of varying size and quality are
known to exist in thirty-one counties, but the annual
production is nominal and is confined to the county of
Shasta at present where ores are being smelted by
electricity.
California was the earliest of the western states to
make any important output of copper, beginning in
the "foothill belt" of Calaveras county in 1862, but it
was not until the discoveries of large deposits of ore in
Shasta county in 1897, that the mining of the metal
became of much importance. Up to the close of 191 2
the total yield of the state had been 5 18,487,000 pounds,
and the annual output of late years has been from
35,000,000 to 57,000,000 pounds, valued at from
#5,000,000 to #7,000,000. The metal is very widely
disseminated throughout the state but in only twelve
counties is it being mined. The damages being done
224 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
by the fumes from the smelting furnaces in which the
ore is treated, have been the cause of much litigation
and the resultant closing down of several of the more
important plants. The question has not yet been
definitely settled for which reason the copper mining
industry of the state is not as prosperous as it would
otherwise be.
Silver mining, as a separate industry has not been
carried on for several years but some 1,500,000 to
2,000,000 ounces annually are produced, mainly from
crude smelting ores of copper and lead, although con-
siderable is also obtained with the gold from quartz
and placer mining.
Lead mining, owing to the decline in value of silver,
is no longer of much importance in California, but
within the past few years some of the reopened old
mines have resumed production. The mining of zinc
is a comparatively new industry in the state, but the
annual yield at present is about 5,000,000 pounds, all
from Inyo county.
Many varieties of gems are produced in California,
some of them peculiar to the state as far as this country
is concerned. There is no definite value, however, for
these native gems, as the demand is largely from the
tourist trade, and exceedingly irregular. The principal
gems mined are tourmaline, kunzite, turquoise, beryl,
and hyacinth.
The stone industry of the state is very important
and includes limestone, marble, granite, sandstone,
trap rock, paving blocks, etc., there being upward of
one hundred and fifty active quarries. California now
stands sixth in rank among the states in quarry output.
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 225
To prove conclusively that California will long
continue to be a great mining state, it is only necessary
to say that, after sixty-five years work of production
and exploration, there are now fifty-six out of the fifty-
eight counties producing ore or mineral substances,
and some counties as many as nine, ten, eleven, and
twelve different ores.
In compiling statistics of mineral production of any
given region the value of the products is fixed upon the
refined or partly refined metals and is, of course, some-
what greater than the values of the ores from which
they are obtained. The ores of precious or semi-
precious metals, for example, are commonly complex
mixtures of several metals and no quantities or values
can be expressed until the contents are extracted in
metallic form and become articles of commerce. For
this reason the figures of mineral output of California
for 1912 (the latest available complete statistics) are
given under the respective headings of "raw" and
"derived," according to the character of the substances
named.
It is proper to note that a mining feature which will
be of great importance to the agricultural industry of
the United States has just commenced to be developed
in California; that is the production of potash. The
government has for some time been making deep bor-
ings in some of the western states in the hope of finding
this important substance in commercial quantities.
Meantime private enterprise has been making a similar
search, and it has been found in large quantities,
together with other valuable salts, in the floor of an
ancient lake just south of the boundary line between
226
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
MINERAL PRODUCTION OF CALIFORNIA IN 1912
(U. S. Geological Survey)
PRODUCT
RAW
Quantity Value
DERIVED
Quantity Value
Asphalt, short tons
Borax, short tons
Briquets, Fuel, short tons
Cement, barrels
Chromite, long tons
Clay Products, short tons
Coal, short tons
Copper, pounds
Feldspar, short tons
Fuller's Earth, short tons
Gems and Precious Stones
Gold, Fine, ounces (Troy)
Gypsum, short tons
Infusorial Earth
Iron Ore, long tons
Iron, Pig, long tons
Lead, short tons
Lime, short tons
Magnesite, short tons
Manganese Ore, long tons
Mineral Paints, Natural Pigments,
short tons
Mineral Waters, gallons sold
Natural Gas
Petroleums, barrels
Platinum, Fine, ounces (Troy)... .
Pumice, short tons
Pyrite, long tons
Quartz, short tons
Quicksilver, flasks
Salt, barrels
Sand and Gravel, short tons
Sand-Lime Brick
Silver, Fine, ounces (Troy)
Stone
Sulphuric Acid (6o° Baume), d,
short tons
Talc, short tons
Tungsten (6o° Concentrates), short
tons
Zinc, short tons
Miscellaneous
36,111
42,315
201
102,520
10,978
$ 92,139
1,127,813
2,753
(b) 139,919
23,601
213,220$ 2,094,264
(a)
(a)
47,741
(a)
10,512
(a)
2,089,951
86,450,767
6i,l
(a)
(a)
2,189,432
(a)
105,120
(a)
532,971
1,134,456
39,213,588
"(a7
201,453
(a)
(a)
518,516
(c)
40,835
(a) (b)
6,093,790
33,451,672
953,639
(a) (b)
572
72,978
290
603
20,524
1,064,286
1,300,136
(a)
1,169
(a)
2,173
(a) (b)
8,215,894
5,912,450
5,519,526
45,330
19,713,478
219,317
(a)
(a) (b)
5i,5i2
555,822
3,610
19,899
863,034
609,396
33,86o
799,584
c) 3,902,3 13
15,653
(a)
299,846
1,112,817
Total Value, eliminating duplications #9 2 ,837,374
a Value included under "Miscellaneous."
b Value not included in Total Value.
c Stone sold rough included in derived product.
CALIFORNIA'S MINING HISTORY 227
Inyo and San Bernardino counties, California, in the
"desert region." Other and smaller dried up lakes in
the same section of country have been found to contain
the same commercial salines to a lesser degree. The
government has withdrawn large areas of these lands
so they would not fall into private control but used for
the benefit of the nation at large.
The main and largest known deposit, located a few
years ago under the mining laws by private parties, is
the Searles or Borax lake. The deposit is on and near
the floor of this ancient lake, the shore lines of which
are still visible for many miles along the mountain
side above the bottom. The area of the bottom is
about 40,000 acres, and this has been acquired by a
company which has built a railroad twenty-six miles
long from Searles station to the lake deposit where an
experimental plant has been erected. An investment
of some $3,000,000 is required for the complete refining
plant before the commercial salts may be placed upon
the market. The depth of the bed in the bottom of the
lake is from seventy to ninety feet and some of the mate-
rial is in brine and some in solid form. From the
numerous borings and chemical tests which have been
made by the owners, it is estimated that this old lake
bottom contains over 100,000,000 tons of sodium car-
bonate; 42,000,000 tons of sodium bi-carbonate; sodium
biborate to the extent of 30,000,000 tons of commercial
borax; and nearly 24,000,000 tons of potassium chloride.
The quantity of common salt is almost incalculable.
A plant for the manufacture of soda and soda ash has
been built for some time, and efforts are now in the
direction of the potash plant. At the present rate of
228 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
expected to be enough in this single deposit to last
many years thus freeing the country from the necessity
of importing this substance from Germany as is at
present the case.
^>C<&^.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY
IN CALIFORNIA
-ASTRONOMICAL history in California may
/m be said to have begun with the arrival of
/ % George Davidson,* Assistant in the United
-^ States Coast Survey, in the summer of i850,f
to conduct the astronomical and magnetic departments
of the Government's survey of the Pacific coast line.
Davidson's first observing station was at Point Con-
ception. Besides determining the latitude and longi-
tude, and the variation and dip of the magnetic needle,
he reported upon the best location for the proposed
lighthouse at this most prominent and dangerous point
on our western coast. During the first four years,
other stations were occupied, successively, at Monterey,
San Diego, Cape Disappointment (at the mouth of
the Columbia River), Port Orford, Neah Bay (entrance
to Puget's Sound), San Francisco (Presidio), and at
approximately twenty minor points. Longitudes of
the principal stations were determined from observed
positions of the Moon with reference to surrounding
stars (Moon culminations) and from the observed
times of star occultations by the Moon, and the relative
longitudes of minor stations were derived by means of
transported chronometers.
A mass of information — astronomical, magnetic,
topographic, hydrographic and general — collected by
the various parties in the Coast Survey service, was
*Davidson was accompanied by Assistants John Rockwell and James S. Lawson.
Assistant R. D. Cutts, in charge of the triangulation and topographic services,
came to California in the fall of 1850. Rockwell, Lawson and Cutts took prominent
parts in the survey of the coast for many years.
fA preliminary survey, chiefly hydrographic, extending from Monterey to the
Columbia River, was made slightly earlier by Lieutenant William P. McArthur,
U. S. Navy, Assistant in the Coast Survey. Through devotion to duty on this
survey, McArthur's health was impaired, and he died on December 22, 1850.
232 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
systematized and edited by Davidson in 1855, and pub-
lished as a descriptive report of the West Coast, from
Rosario Strait, Washington Territory, to the southern
boundary of California, for the guidance of mariners.
The partial solar eclipse of May 26, 1854, was
observed, with small telescopes, by Assistant Davidson
at his Humboldt Bay station, by Assistant Cutts on
Black Mountain (Loma Prieta), Santa Clara county,
and by Professor James Nooney, Jr., at Benicia. The
partial solar eclipse of March 25, 1857, was observed
by Davidson in San Francisco.
The completion of a telegraph line to San Francisco,
in connection with the Pacific railways, enabled the
Pacific longitudes to be put upon a modern basis.
From a temporary observatory set up in Washington
Square, San Francisco, Davidson interchanged time
signals with Harvard College Observatory on twelve
nights between February 15th and April 4, 1869.
Expeditions conducted by Professor Davidson
observed the total solar eclipses of August 7, 1869, at
Kohklux, Alaska, and of January n, 1880, on the
summit of Santa Lucia mountain, California. The
latter eclipse was also observed, at the same place, by
Professor Frisbie of the U. S. Naval Observatory.
Acting under appointment from the general Govern-
ment, Professor Davidson conducted expeditions to
observe the transit of Venus across the Sun in Japan on
December 8, 1874, an< ^ in New Mexico on December 6,
1882. Clouds vitiated the plans in Japan, but the 1882
transit was successfully observed by Davidson 's party at
Cerro Roblero, New Mexico, and likewise by some of
Davidson's assistants at his observatory in San Francisco.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 233
The transit of Mercury across the Sun was observed
at Summit, in the Sierra Nevada, on May 6, 1878, by
Assistant Colonna of the United States Coast Survey,
and the transit of November 7, 1881, was observed by
Professor Davidson's party at Yolo Base, Sacramento
valley.
In the year i860 George Madeira erected the first
astronomical observatory in California, at Volcano,
Amador county. The refracting telescope, of three
inches aperture, was supplied with equatorial mounting
and delicate clock-work motion. Madeira has recorded
his discovery of the brilliant Comet 1861 II, in the late
afternoon of June 30, 1861, only a few hours following
its discovery in Europe.
It is a remarkable fact that the first research
observatory planned for California, and indeed for the
western half of the United States, was on a relatively
large scale. James Lick's first deed of trust, dated
July 16, 1874, appointed the following trustees:
Thomas H. Selby, George H. Howard,
D. O. Mills, James Otis,
Henry M. Newhall, John O. Earl,
William Alvord.
The terms of the deed directed the trustees " * * *
to expend the sum of seven hundred thousand dollars
(#700,000) for the purpose of constructing and putting
upon the land * * * the said lands being situated on
the borders of Lake Tahoe, County of Placer, State
of California — a powerful telescope, superior to and
more powerful than any telescope ever yet made, with
all the machinery appertaining thereto and appro-
priately connected therewith, or that is necessary and
234 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
convenient to the most powerful telescope now in use,
or suited to one more powerful than any yet con-
structed, and also a suitable observatory connected
therewith.
"Provided, however, if the site above designated shall
not, after investigation, be deemed by said Trustees, or
a majority of them, to be a proper and suitable one on
which to erect and maintain such telescope, then such
Trustees, or a majority of them, shall elect a site on
which to erect such telescope, but the same must be
located within the state of California."
It was further directed that any unexpended balance
of the gift should be invested and that the trustees
should "devote the income thereof to the maintenance
of said telescope and the observatory connected there-
with, and make the same useful in promoting science."
The question, "What induced Mr. Lick to provide
for a great telescope?" has never been satisfactorily
answered; but there is no reason to doubt that he came
to this determination without conscious suggestion from
others. Early in 1873, he told Professor Davidson of
his intention, and from that time until the summer of
1874, Davidson was his principal adviser on the subject.
As Davidson has published, "James Lick originally in-
tended to erect the observatory at Fourth and Market
streets," San Francisco. He gained Lick's promise
(not fulfilled) to make the bequest #1,200,000, to reduce
the proposed diameter of the great refracting telescope
from the impracticable one of seventy-two inches down
to forty inches, and to locate the observatory at an
altitude of 10,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada. Later,
when Lick decided to locate in the low altitude of the
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 235
Coast range, Davidson "declined further conference
with him." There can be no doubt that Davidson's
advice was invaluable in giving a practical turn, at
times when greatly needed, to Lick's plans; without it,
the telescope might have been located at sea-level in the
middle of the business district of San Francisco, or
the entire proposal might have been wrecked on the
rocks of impracticability; but on the score of altitude
and other conditions affecting the location, the con-
census of opinion amongst those who have used great
telescopes and are experienced in the work of
great observatories is to the effect that Lick's choice
of a medium altitude was wise.
The trustees acted promptly in search of reliable
information to guide them in securing a telescope
"larger and more powerful than any yet made."
Mr. D. O. Mills, president of the board, consulted with
many astronomers in the Atlantic coast states in the
summer of 1874. Professor Simon Newcomb was em-
ployed to visit European makers of telescopes and
telescope glass, and his report on these subjects is
dated March 4, 1875. Mr. Lick contracted a personal
dislike for one member of the board and demanded his
resignation. The other members considered this as
unjust, and a menace to their usefulness, and the entire
board resigned. In several ways this was a misfortune.
To mention one way: Mr. D. O. Mills has told me that
this first board recognized the insufficiency of Lick's gift,
and that individual members of the board had definite-
ly agreed amongst themselves to increase Lick's bequest,
after his death should have occurred, by more than
$2,000,000, principally to provide an endowment fund.
236 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Mr. Lick's second deed of trust, dated September 21,
1875, appointed another board of trustees, and provided
that the observatory, when completed, should be con-
veyed to the regents of the University of California
and be known as the Lick Astronomical Department
of the University of California.
A third Board of Trustees, consisting of:
Richard S. Floyd, President,
William Sherman, Vice-President
(died September 12, 1884),
Edwin B. Mastick, Treasurer,
Charles M. Plum,
George Schoenwald,
was appointed by Mr. Lick on September 2, 1876. Lick
died on October 1, 1876. The third board built the
observatory, with Mr. Thomas E. Fraser, Mr. Lick's
confidential business man, as superintendent of con-
struction. In the summer of 1875 Mr. Fraser examined
Mount St. Helena, Mount Diablo, Loma Prieta,
and Mount Hamilton* with reference to their fitness for
observatory sites. In September, 1875, Lick proposed
to the officials of Santa Clara county to construct his
observatory on Mount Hamilton (altitude 4,209 feet),
provided the county would build a first class road to the
summit. The officials acted promptly, and a splendid
road was completed in December, 1876, at a cost of
$78,000. Legal complications following Mr. Lick's
death were not settled until 1879, and active
construction began in that year.
*Named for Reverend Laurentine Hamilton, of Oakland.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 237
Land for the observatory site was obtained by grant
of Congress (1,946 acres), by California Patent (511
acres), by gift of R. F. Morrow (40 acres), and by
purchase (405 acres); total 2,902 acres.
Professor S. W. Burnham was invited to test the
atmospheric conditions existing at Mount Hamilton by
means of observations of double stars. This he did in
the period August 17th to October 16, 1879. He con-
cluded that, "so far as one may judge from the time
during which these observations were made, there can
be no doubt that Mount Hamilton offers advantages
superior to those found at any point where a permanent
observatory has been established. The remarkable
steadiness of the air, the continued succession of nights
of almost perfect definition, are conditions not to be
hoped for in any place with which I am acquainted,
and, judging from the published reports of the various
observatories, are not to be met with elsewhere.* * *
So far as there have been opportunities for judging, it
is obviously an appropriate place for erecting and main-
taining the telescope to be constructed under the Lick
deed of trust, and required to be 'superior to and more
powerful than any telescope ever yet made.'"
In 1879 Captain Floyd and Mr. Fraser consulted
extensively, in Washington, with Professor Simon
Newcomb and Professor Edward S. Holden, and the
general plans then formed for the observatory were
followed in all essential respects. These astronomers
were, in fact, the scientific advisers to the three boards
of trustees through their terms of office. In 1885
Professor Holden was appointed President of the
University of California and director of the Lick
238 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Observatory, on the understanding that he would fill
the former office until the completion of the observatory
and thereafter the latter office. The construction was
finished in 1888, at a total expense of #610,000. A
balance of #90,000 remained, in effect the nucleus of
an endowment fund. The regents of the University
of California assumed control on June 1, 1888, and the
scientific staff entered upon its duties on that date.
The principal equipment provided by the Lick Trustees
consisted of:
A 36-inch equatorial refractor, objective by Alvan
Clark & Sons, mounting by Warner & Swasey. This in-
strument has also a photographic correcting lens of thir-
ty-three inches aperture, figured by Mr. Alvan G. Clark.
By placing the latter lens in front of the 36-inch objec-
tive, the telescope becomes a photographic instrument.
A 12-inch equatorial ref actor, objective and mount-
ing by Alvan Clark & Sons.
A 6^-inch meridian circle instrument, objective by
Alvan Clark & Sons, mounting by Repsold.
Many smaller telescopes and other pieces of auxiliary
apparatus.
Other important instruments were presented to the Lick
Observatory in later years, as follows:
A 36/4-inch reflecting telescope, presented to the Lick
Observatory in 1895 by Edward Crossley, Esq., of
Halifax, England. The mirror was constructed by Sir
Howard Grubb, and mounting by Dr. A. A. Common.
The cost of a building to receive this instrument and
the expense of transporting the instrument and iron
dome from England were met by subscriptions from
prominent citizens of California.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 239
A 6>^-inch comet seeker, objective by John A.
Brashear, the gift of Miss Catharine Bruce.
A 6-inch photographic telescope, with objective by
Willard and mounting by John A. Brashear, all the gift
of Regent Charles F. Crocker.
A 5-inch telescope, with interchangeable photo-
graphic and visual objective, by Alvan Clark & Sons,
the gift of Miss Floyd, daughter of Captain Floyd.
The Mills 3-prism spectrograph, the gift of Mr. D. O.
Mills.
Delicate seismographs, the gift of Mr. William
Randolph Hearst.
In order that the program of determining the radial
velocities of the brighter stars might be extended over
the entire sky, Mr. D. O. Mills provided funds in the
year 1900 for a well equipped expedition to the south-
ern hemisphere. The equipment included a 36^-inch
3-prism spectograph; a 2-prism spectrograph; a i-prism
spectrograph; an instrument shop; and other acessories.
The D. 0. Mills Observatory, administered by the
Director of the Lick Observatory, is located on the
summit of Cerro San Cristobal, at an altitude of about
2,900 feet above sea level, in the northeasterly suburbs
of Santiago, Chile. This important observatory was
supported by Mr. Mills until his lamented death in
1910, and the support has been continued by his son,
Mr. Ogden Mills.
Many auxiliary instruments, such as spectrographs,
seismographs, clocks, chronographs, photometers, etc.,
have been purchased from time to time.
240 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The directors of the Lick Observatory have been
Edward Singleton Holden,
June i, 1888, to December 31, 1897,
James Edward Keeler,*
June 1, 1898, to August 12, 1900,
William Wallace Campbell,
January 1, 1901, to — —
Other astronomers on the staff have been
S. W. Burnham 1888-1892
J. M. Schaeberle 1888-1898
J. E. Keeler 1888-1891
E. E. Barnard 1888-1895
W. W. Campbell 1891
Henry Crew 1891-1892
R. H. Tucker 1893
C. D. Perrinet 1893-1909
R. G. Aitkent 189S
W. J. Hussey 1896-1905
W. H. WrightJ 1897
H. D. Curtis! 1902
The list of assistant astronomers includes the names
of
A. L. Colton, Sebastian Albrecht,
J. H. Moore, R. E. Wilson,
R. F. Sanford.
*Died August 12, 1900.
tBeginning as secretary of the observatory and later promoted to positions of
assistant astronomer and astronomer.
^Beginning as assistant astronomer, with later promotion to position of
astronomer.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 241
Members of the staff have been detailed to take
charge of the D. O. Mills Observatory in Chile, as
follows :
W. H. Wright 1903-1906
H. D. Curtis 1906-1909
J. H. Moore 1909-1913
R. E. Wilson 1913
The scientific staff has averaged: at Mount Hamil-
ton, five astronomers, one assistant astronomer and
two assistants; and in Chile, on the D. O. Mills founda-
tion, one astronomer and two assistants.
The regents maintain three salaried University
fellowships in the Lick Observatory, which are open to
well-prepared graduate students who have decided
to make astronomy or some of the closely related
sciences the basis of professional careers.
The Martin Kellogg Fellowship in the Lick Observa-
tory, endowed by Mrs. Louise W. B. Kellogg, widow
of President Martin Kellogg, provides opportunity
to one holder each year for advanced study and
research under liberal conditions.
The efficiency of the Lick Observatory has been
greatly increased by generous gifts of funds for special
purposes from Regent Phoebe A. Hearst, Regent
Charles F. Crocker, Regent William H. Crocker,
Mr. D. O. Mills, Mr. Ogden Mills, and others; and
by grants of funds from the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, the National Academy of Sciences, and
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The results of researches have been published in
various astronomical journals: in Publications of the
242 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Lick Observatory, volumes I to X — ; Contributions
from the Lick Observatory, volumes I to V, discontinued;
Moon Atlas, sheets I to 19; Lick Observatory Bulletin,
volumes I to VII — ; and in a few special volumes.
The investigational work of the observatory has been
exceedingly fruitful. The great telescope has surpassed
the expectations of those who planned it; and its ener-
getic use throughout the whole of every good night in
the quarter century of its existence has enriched astro-
nomical science in unexpected ways. Lack of space
prevents more than a brief reference to the leading
discoveries made and results obtained, but the following
list comprises those which will be of greatest interest
to the general reader.
1 . To the four bright satellites of Jupiter discovered
by Galileo in 1610, the Lick Observatory has added
three satellites. The fifth satellite was discovered
by visual observations with the 36-inch refractor in
September, 1892. It revolves around the planet once
in 11 hours and 57 minutes, and is probably about one
hundred miles in diameter. The sixth satellite was
discovered by means of photographic observations
made with the Crossley reflector in December, 1904.
It revolves around the planet in 251 days, and is
difficult to see. The seventh satellite was discovered
with the Crossley reflector in January, 1905- Its
period of revolution is 265 days, it has not been seen
in the most powerful telescopes, and is known only
from its photographic images.
2. Twenty-nine comets have been discovered.
Nineteen of these were unexpected, and ten were
periodic comets whose return had been predicted.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 243
3. The first great successes in photographing comets
and the Milky Way were made here. The unequalled
Lick series of comet photographs has taught us more
as to the structure, formation and dissolution of comets'
tails than had been learned in all previous time.
4. About 4,400 double star systems have been
discovered. These are stars which look single to the
naked eye but which the telescope shows to consist in
each case of two stars in mutual revolution around their
center of mass. Many of the stars have been found
to be triple, and a few of them quadruple. A syste-
matic survey, extending from the north pole of the sky
as far south as atmospheric conditions permit, including
all stars down to the ninth visual magnitude, is nearing
completion. It has been found that one star in every
eighteen, on the average, is composed of two or more
suns visible in the 36-inch refractor.
5 . Irregularities in the motions of the first magnitude
star Procyon had led the celebrated German astronomer
Bessel, three-quarters of a century ago, to predict that
Procyon had a companion sun revolving around it. This
companion was discovered with the Licktelescopein 1 896.
6. Spectrographic observations of stellar motions,
made at Mount Hamilton and at Santiago, Chile, have
shown that our Sun and its system of planets, satellites,
etc., constituting the solar system, is traveling through
space, with reference to the general stellar system, at a
speed of about twelve miles per second. The direction
of this motion, as determined by the spectograph,
toward the boundary line between the constellations
Hercules and Lyra, is in good agreement with previous
ideas on the subject.
244 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
7. It is the prevailing belief of astronomers that the
stars have been formed through the operation of evo-
lutionary processes and that a study of their spectra
enables us to arrange them approximately in the order
of their effective ages. The blue stars are considered to
be in early life, the yellow stars in middle life, and the
red stars in old age. The Mount Hamilton and Santi-
ago spectrographic observations of stellar motions have
shown that stars effectively young are traveling slowly,
middle-aged stars more rapidly, and old stars more
rapidly still; that is, that the velocities of the stars
increase with their effective ages. The average space
velocity of the young stars is about eight miles per
second, and of the old stars about twenty-two miles
per second. Our Sun, which is middle-aged and travel-
ing twelve miles per second, is one of the slow-moving
stars of its class.
8. The observations made principally at Mount
Hamilton and in part at Santiago, Chile, have estab-
lished that those nebulae known as planetary nebulae
are traveling through space, in various directions, with
average speeds even higher than the average speeds of
the stars. It had previously been supposed that these
nebulae represented a stage of existence antecedent to
the stellar stage. The high velocities of these objects
have created the opinion that they have more probably
been formed from stars which have been overtaken by
catastrophes, such as collisions with other celestial ob-
jects. The very extended nebulosity in Orion, on the
contrary, is traveling with extremely low velocity, and
affords no reason for changing the prevailing view that
such nebulae are representative of ante-stellar existence.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 245
9. The North Pole Star was found to be a triple
star, in 1899, by means of spectrographic observations.
Two of its members are invisible in our largest
telescopes. The bright star and one invisible compan-
ion revolve around each other in a little less than four
days; and these two, forming a binary system, revolve
around the center of gravity of themselves and the
other invisible body in a period of fifteen years or more.
The first magnitude star Capella was discovered to con-
sist of two stars revolving around their center of mass
in 1 04. 1 days, the two nearly equal components being
inseparable in our largest telescopes.
10. In the same manner about two hundred and fifty
spectroscopic binary stars — stars apparently single in all
telescopes but proved to be double by means of the
spectrograph — have been found at Mount Hamilton
and Santiago. It may be stated with absolute confi-
dence, that one star in every four naked-eye stars, on
the average, is in reality composed of two suns in mu-
tual revolution around their center of mass; and there
are good reasons for believing that observations to be
made in the next decade will show at least one bright
star in every three, on the average, to be double.
Double suns have been proved to be so numerous by
means of the spectroscope that the question is seriously
discussed, "Is our solar system, consisting of one great
star and many small planets revolving around it, in
reality an average or prevailing type of stellar system,
or does it represent an extreme type?"
11. A study of the orbits of spectroscopic binary
stars has established that the component stars in a sys-
tem whose spectrum indicates early age are relatively
246 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
very close together, requiring very short periods of
revolution, and that the orbits are nearly circular. In
systems whose spectra show them to be of greater and
greater effective ages, the distances separating the com-
ponents are successively greater, on the average, and
their orbits are more eccentric. The observed facts
on the subject are fully confirmative of existing mathe-
matical theories of the evolution of double-star systems.
12. The Crossley reflecting telescope established
for the first time the tremendous advantage of this form
of telescope in the photography of certain classes of
celestial objects, such as nebulae, star clusters, etc.
To possess reflecting telescopes became at once the
ambition of many observatories and astronomers.
Reflecting telescopes more powerful than the Crossley
are now in use by, or under construction for several of
the leading observatories. It is through the use
of these instruments that some of the most striking
advances of present day astronomy are made.
13. Before the Crossley reflector was in use about
10,000 nebulae had been discovered at various observa-
tories. A few dozens of these were known to be spiral
in form. The Crossley photographs led to the dis-
covery of many hundreds of additional nebulae in the
extremely small part of the sky covered by the photo-
graphs. It was a simple matter to calculate that cer-
tainly 120,000 and possibly half a million nebulae await
discovery whenever time can be spared for the Crossley
reflector to undertake this work. These photographs
led to the unexpected discovery that the majority of
the nebulae are of spiral form — undoubted evidence
of their rotation.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 247
14. The extensive series of photographs of the minor
planet Eros and surrounding stars, with the Crossley
reflector, led to a new and accurate determination of
the distance from the Earth to the Sun.
15. The following total solar eclipses have been
successfully observed by expeditions whose expenses
were defrayed by the friends whose names are recorded :
1889, January, in northern California, by the
University of California
1889, December, in French Guiana, by Regent
Charles F. Crocker
1893, in Chile, by Regent Phoebe A. Hearst
1898, in India, by Regent Charles F. Crocker
1900, in Georgia, by Mr. William H. Crocker
1901, in Sumatra, by Mr. William H. Crocker
1905, in Spain and Egypt, by Mr. William H. Crocker
1908, in Flint Island, South Pacific Ocean, by
Regent William H. Crocker.
On the basis of Regent Crocker's further generosity,
an expedition is organizing to observe the eclipse of
August, 1914, in Russia.
Numerous technical results concerning conditions
existing in the outer strata of the Sun, in the solar
corona, and in the Sun's surroundings were obtained at
these eclipses, but reference must be limited to only
three subjects.
(a) The extensive and unique set of large-scale
photographs of the solar corona recorded for the first
time the wonderful structure of the inner corona and
furnished invaluable evidence bearing upon the question
of the origin of the coronal streamers.
248 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
(b) The spectrographic results, combined with those
secured by other institutions, have gone far to establish
that the parts of the solar corona nearest to the Sun
consist chiefly of incandescent particles and gases which
radiate their own light to us, whereas the outer parts
of the corona consist principally of small particles of
matter which send us reflected and diffused sunlight.
(c) It had long been an eclipse problem to search
for a planet or planets nearer to the Sun than Mercury,
whose attractions upon Mercury were responsible for
the unexplained discrepancies in the motion of that
body. The Lick eclipse results are substantially final
to the effect that no undiscovered bodies of appreciable
size exist in that region. It is quite possible that small
bodies will some time be found there, but they must be
so small in combined mass as not to disturb the motion
of Mercury appreciably.
1 6. It has been shown that the new stars appearing
in recent years, that is, stars which suddenly shone out
where previously no stars had been known to exist,
have been converted into nebulae, and later, in many
cases, into extremely faint stars of apparently normal
condition. As a consequence, the most probable theory
of new stars is that they were originally so faint as not
to have been included in star catalogues; that they
later passed through extensive clouds of resisting mate-
rials such that the collisions on the star surfaces caused
sudden increase in brilliancy; and, after passing through
the resisting media, that they reverted slowly to their
original state.
17. Many thousands of extremely accurate positions
of the stars have been secured with the meridian circle.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 249
The results, issued in three volumes, are important
contributions to studies of the apparent motions of the
stars on the surface of the celestial sphere.
1 8. Very extensive observations of double stars,
comets, planets, and satellites have been made.
19. A large number of orbits have been computed
for visual double stars, spectroscopic binary stars,
comets and asteroids.
20. Extensive additions have been made to our
knowledge of the spectra of nebulae, comets, new stars,
and stars of special interest; the results being of a
higher order of accuracy than those previously obtained
under less favorable conditions.
21 . Important studies of the spectra of spiral nebulae
and star clusters were inaugurated.
22. An atlas of the Moon was made in the first
years of the observatory's existence, on the basis of
photographs obtained with the large telescope.
23. The motions of approach and recession of about
1,500 naked-eye stars, distributed over the entire sky ;
have been observed with the 36-inch refractor at Mount
Hamilton and the D. O. Mills reflector at Santiago.
These data have been utilized in the solution of many
important problems concerning the stellar system. We
have referred to some of the results in preceding
paragraphs: The motion of the solar system through
space is about twelve miles per second; certainly one
bright star in every four, on the average, though
appearing single in the most powerful telescopes, is in
reality a double star; the velocities with which the
stars travel through space are functions of their effective
ages, the speeds increasing as the stars grow older.
250 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
These observations have shown, further, that the scale
of the universe is about fifty per cent larger than former
estimates had made it; that is, the brighter stars are,
on the average, approximately fifty per cent more
distant from us than we had thought.
24. Spectroscopic observations at Mount Hamilton
and on the summit of Mount Whitney have shown that
the atmosphere of Mars is of low density, probably
much less dense at the surface of Mars than the Earth's
atmosphere is at the summit of the highest peak in the
Himalaya mountains. These observations have estab-
lished likewise that the quantity of water vapor in the
atmosphere of Mars above, say, a square mile of its
surface, must be very slight as compared with the
quantity of water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere
above an equal area. In particular, these observations
do not prove that Mars has no atmosphere and no water
vapor; they merely prove that the quantities of these
elements are relatively small as compared with the
quantities of the same elements on the Earth.
James Lick's gift of a great telescope and observatory
announced in 1874, an d the frequent reports of progress
made by the builders, created wide-spread interest in
astronomy, especially in California. The many observa-
tories, public and private, established in California in fol-
lowing years, owed their inception chiefly to this interest.
The Davidson Observatory, the personal property of
Professor George Davidson, was erected in Lafayette
Park, San Francisco, about 1879. It contained a 6.4-
inch Clark refracting telescope, which was used to
observe the total solar eclipse of 1880 on Santa Lucia
Mountain, several partial solar eclipses, the 1882 tran-
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 251
sit of Venus, star occultations and comets, and to make
drawings of the principal planets. In the late 1880's
the question of variation of terrestrial latitudes was
prominent, and observations at widely-separated sta-
tions were urgently called for. As a labor of love,
Professor Davidson undertook the observations of lati-
tude pairs of stars at this observatory. Between May,
1 89 1, and August, 1892, he secured for this purpose
5,308 observations on 283 stars, and he made an addi-
tional series in 1893-4. His results were in good agree-
ment with those obtained at European, Atlantic coast
and Hawaiian stations. The Davidson Observatory
was dismantled several years ago.
The Chabot Observatory, located in Lafayette Park,
Oakland, was given to the city of Oakland by Mr.
Anthony Chabot in the year 1883. It is under the con-
trol of the Oakland School Department. It has been
used liberally for the instruction of students and public,
by the first director, Mr. F. M. Campbell, and by the
second and present director, Mr. Charles Burckhalter.
The equipment consists of an 8-inch refractor, a 4-inch
transit instrument, clocks, meteorological instruments,
etc. Recognizing Director Burckhalter's ability and
enthusiasm, the board of education in 191 3 authorized
the purchase of a 20-inch refracting telescope and
accessories, to be mounted outside the city limits, for
research duty.
The Berkeley Astronomical Department of the
University of California is a strong factor in the history
of astronomy in California. On the initiative of
Professor Frank Soule, head of the Department of Civil
Engineering, the legislature of 1885 appropriated
252 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
#10,000 for the erection of a Students' Observatory on
the University campus. The original equipment con-
sisted of a 6-inch equatorial refractor, a 3-inch Davidson
meridian instrument, sextants, chronometers, precision
clock, spectroscope and other auxiliary apparatus.
Several other small telescopes and suitable protecting
buildings were added to the equipment in 1903-4.
Instruction began in 1887, chiefly along the lines of
engineering and geodetic astronomy. Dr. Armin O.
Leuschner was asked in 1892 to conduct the astro-
nomical courses, and a few years later he was placed
at the head of the Berkeley Astronomical Department,
as Director of the Students' Observatory. Coincident
with the development of the teaching side, Professor
Leuschner conducted research work on the theory of
orbit determinations, and developed a process of his
own, known as the "Short Method," which possesses
great value. The inspiration radiated to his associates
on the teaching staff and to the students through these
investigations and their application to a great number
of comet, asteroid, and satellite orbits, has been the
chief factor in building up a great school of astronomy,
both graduate and undergraduate. Director Leusch-
ner's chief associate is Professor Russell Tracy Crawford.
Cordial cooperation exists between the Lick and Berke-
ley astronomical departments of the University in all
subjects of mutual interest. A considerable number
of astronomers now holding important positions in
various institutions of learning received their principal
astronomical instruction and training in the Berkeley
and the Lick astronomical departments of the
University of California.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 253
The observatory of the College of the Pacific was
established in the year 1885, on the basis of gifts by
Captain Charles Goodall and David Jacks. There are
a 6-inch Clark equatorial, a 3-inch Davidson meridan
instrument, and accessories. This observatory has the
distinction of having turned the careers of two pro-
fessors in the College of the Pacific, who were more or
less incidentally placed in charge of the astronomical
department, in the direction of practical astronomy:
R. G. Aitken and H. D. Curtis, now astronomers on the
staff of the Lick Observatory.
The observatory of Mills College, erected in 1887,
is used for purposes of instruction. It contains a 5-inch
refracting telescope whose lens, of English make, was
presented by Reverend J. H. Wythe; a small transit
instrument; an 8-inch reflecting telescope, also the gift
of Mr. Wythe; and many minor items of equipment.
In succeeding years, privately-owned telescopes and
observatories, on a modest scale, became quite numer-
ous in California. It is not practicable to list them,
but we may select for mention those belonging to and
used by Reverend J. H. Wythe in Oakland, Mr. Charles
Burckhalter in Oakland, Mr. William M. Pierson in San
Francisco, Mr. F. G.Blinn near Oakland, and Miss Rose
O'Halloran in San Francisco. In recent years Dr.
Edward Gray of Eldridge, California, and Mr. E. L.
Forsyth of Needles, California, have made commend-
able observations of variable stars with small telescopes.
No attempt is made to list the many small telescopes in
California, belonging to individuals and institutions,
which have been used merely to "look through," in
contradistinction to use for serious study or instruction.
254 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The researches of Professor S. P. Langley, at the
Allegheny Observatory, on the quantity and quality
of the Sun's radiations to the Earth were seriously
affected by our atmosphere, and especially by its water-
vapor and dust contents. Langley felt that his results
should be checked and extended by means of observa-
tions secured at both the base and the summit of a high
mountain located in a pure and dry atmosphere, and
in a latitude fairly far south to give high altitude to the
noon sun. Mount Whitney, elevation 14,500 feet,
the highest point of land in the United States, met all
these conditions. The country on the east side of the
mountain is so precipitous that the village of Lone Pkie,
only twelve miles away, is all but 1 1,000 feet lower than
the summit; and the summer skies are remarkable for
their purity and dryness. Through the generosity of
Mr. William Thaw of Pittsburg a well equipped expedi-
tion, conducted by Professor Langley, who was assisted
by James E. Keeler and others, occupied stations at
Lone Pine (altitude 3,760 feet), at Mountain Camp
(altitude 1 1 ,600 feet, on the floor of the deep gorge imme-
diately west of Mount Whitney), and on the summit of
Mount Whitney (altitude 14,500 feet), in the period
July-September, 1881. The results bore importantly
upon the question of the absorption of solar radiations
in their passage through the Earth's atmosphere; but,
while the atmospheric conditions were excellent, the full
value of the summit station could not be utilized because
of the lack of a protecting shelter for the observers.
The favorable opposition of Mars in August-
September, 1909, led Director Campbell of the Lick
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 255
Observatory to plan for spectrographic observations on
Mars and the Moon from ^he summit of Mount Whit-
ney, to determine, if possible, the extent of the Martian
atmosphere and of its water vapor. At the same time,
Langley's successor, Mr. C. G. Abbot, Director of the
Smithsonian Institution Observatory, desired to meas-
ure the heat radiation of the Sun from the summit of
Mount Whitney. To enable both programs of observa-
tions to be carried through, the Smithsonian Institution
built a three-room shelter of stone, steel and glass on the
summit of Mount Whitney in July-August, 1909. The
Lick Observatory expedition, equipped and supported
by Regent William H. Crocker's generosity, secured
the spectrographic observations of Mars as planned.
The Smithsonian Institution likewise secured the
desired observations of the Sun, in August and Septem-
ber, 1909. Mr. Abbot conducted another expedition to
Mount Whitney in 1910, in continuation of the same
research.
In the summer of 1913 a party under the leadership
of Mr. A. K. Angstrom, supported by the Smithsonian
Institution, observed the intensities of nocturnal radia-
tion from the Earth to the sky, and other radiation
effects from the summit of Mount Whitney, from Lone
Pine, and from an intermediate station. At the same
time a party from the Weather Bureau, under the
leadership of Mr. W. R. Gregg, observed atmospheric
conditions above the summit of Mount Whitney with
the help of captive balloons. Through the cooperation
of the Weather Bureau and Director Abbot five sound-
ing balloons, each carrying an automatically-recording
pyrheliometer and auxiliary instruments, were sent up
256 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
from the summit of Mount Whitney on five successive
days. All five sets of instruments were recovered and
their records were readable. One balloon carried the
instruments to the height of 50,000 feet above sea level,
where the result for the intensity of solar radiation was
in excellent agreement with the results secured at
low-level stations.
All of the recent expeditions to Mount Whitney were
vitally indebted to Mr. G. F. Marsh, a public-spirited
citizen of Lone Pine, who was the principal factor in
constructing and maintaining the trail to the summit,
under conditions difficult in the extreme.
The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889, whose
shadow-band extended east-northeasterly across north-
ern California, in approximate latitude +39° was
extensively observed. There were well equipped expe-
ditions from Harvard College Observatory at Willows,
under the direction of Professor William H. Pickering;
from Washington University Observatory at Norman,
under Reverend Father Charroppin; from Carlton
College Observatory at Chico, under Professors Pearson
and Wilson; and from the Lick Observatory at Bartlett
Springs, in charge of Astronomer James E. Keeler,
assisted by Astronomer E. E. Barnard and other mem-
bers of the staff. Many members of the Amateur
Photographic Association of the Pacific Coast, under
the direction of Professor Burckhalter, observed the
eclipse phenomena successfully at Cloverdale, and many
other amateur observers were located at other points.
Clouds interfered with the work of several parties, but
numerous excellent photographs of the corona and
prominences were secured.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 257
The interest in astronomical subjects existing among
the public in California and adjoining states was
revealed at the time of the eclipse, and the Astronom-
ical Society of the Pacific was organized shortly after
the eclipse occurred, in order to develop that interest.
The energy and organizing ability of the first president
of the Society, Edward Singleton Holden, gave wide-
spread membership to the Society. Five meetings per
annum are held on the average, and twenty-five octavo
volumes of the Publications of the Astronomical Society
of the Pacific have been issued. Early in the history of
the Society, Mr. Peter Donohoe provided funds for
awarding a bronze medal to the discoverer of each
unexpected comet. Eighty Donohoe medals have been
awarded to date. Mr. Alexander Montgomery gave
the sum of £2,500 to endow the library of the Society.
Miss Catharine Bruce endowed the Bruce Gold Medal,
with a gift of £2,500. Bruce medals have been awarded
under unique conditions to eleven astronomers in seven
nations. Mr. John Dolbeer and Mr. William Alvord
each bequeathed £5,000 to the endowment fund of the
Society.
The summit of Mount Wilson, located a few miles
northeasterly from Pasadena, altitude 5,886 feet, was
occupied by a Harvard College Observatory party,
under the direction of Messrs. E. S. King and Robert
Black, from 1889 to 1891, as a part of the search, in both
hemispheres, for an observing station possessing excel-
lent atmospheric conditions. The principal instrument
was a 13-inch equatorial refractor. Photographs were
obtained of the major and minor planets, of the Moon
258 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
and of other objects. The station "was then aban-
doned owing to the impossibility of getting at that time
a title to the land."
In the late 1880's Mr. Spence of Los Angeles under-
took to provide the University of Southern California
with a 40-inch refracting telescope. The University's
Year Book for 1890 stated:
"The Spence Observatory.— The crown disc for
the 40-inch glass is now in Boston, and Mr. Alvan G.
Clark is ready to begin the work of grinding and finish-
ing this part of the glass. The flint disc is not yet
complete but is being moulded by Monsieur Mantois
of Paris, and will be ready to ship to this country some
time during the winter."
Shortly following the publication of this statement
Spence died, and the University authorities found that
available financial resources did not justify them in
proceeding further. In 1893 the discs of glass were
purchased by Mr. C. T. Yerkes as the first item of
equipment for the splendid Yerkes Observatory of the
University of Chicago.
The observatory of Napa College, established about
1890, was supplied with an 8-inch Clark-Saegmuller
refracting telescope. When this institution closed its
career, about 1895, the telescope was purchased by
Santa Clara College.
The observatory of Santa Clara College contains the
8-inch refractor described above, mounted in 1900; a
6-inch photoheliograph, mounted in 1907; a Hilger-
Evershed 3-prism spectroscope; and auxiliary instru-
ments. The Director, Father Jerome Ricard, S. J.,
observes the Sun in search of sun-spots and faculse, to
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 259
serve as the basis for his own long-range predictions of
short-period changes in the weather of the Pacific states.
It should be noted that Santa Clara College possessed
a 4-inch telescope, with altazimuth mounting, as early
as i860.
The Lowe Observatory, constructed in 1894 by Mr.
T. S. C. Lowe, on Echo mountain, a shoulder of Mount
Lowe, north of Pasadena, belonged originally to the
Mount Lowe Railway Company, later to the Pacific
Electric Railway Company, and is now the property
of the Southern Pacific Company. Its altitude above
sea level is about 3,500 feet. The principal equipment
consists of a Clark refracting telescope, aperture 16
inches. This instrument had been the property of
Dr. Lewis Swift, in Rochester, New York, where he
had discovered 960 nebulae and nine comets. Coming
to Echo mountain as the first director of the Lowe
Observatory, in 1894, at the age of seventy-four years,
Dr. Swift continued his searches during six years, add-
ing 230 nebulae and five comets to his discoveries.
He resigned in 1900 and was succeeded by Professor
E. L. Larkin, whose energies have been devoted
principally to writing popular articles on a very wide
variety of subjects.
The International Geodetic Association decided, in
1898, to establish four observing stations widely dis-
tributed in longitude, but on the same parallel of lati-
tude (39 08' north), to make systematic observations
of the same selected stars, as a basis for studies of the
latitude-variation problem. These stations, located in
Japan, Italy, Maryland, and at Ukiah, California, were
identically equipped with "Zenith" telescopes of 4^-
260 HISTOR Y OF CALIFORNIA
inch aperture. Later, the Russian government joined
in the work by equipping and supporting a similar sta-
tion on the Oxus River, and the Cincinnati Observatory
which happens to lie in the same latitude, assumed a
share. The Ukiah station has been in continuous
existence, with the following observers:
Frank Schlesinger 1898-1903
Sydney D. Townley 1903-1907
James D. Maddrill 1907-19"
William F. Meyer 19"
The observational data are sent to Potsdam, Germany
for study by the Geodetic Association.
There is a small observatory at the Mare Island Navy
Yard whose work is confined to time determinations.
For many years the results were restricted to the needs
of the navy and to dropping the time ball on Telegraph
Hill (now on the tower of the Fairmont Hotel), San
Francisco. In recent years the United States Navy, m
California, as elsewhere in the United States, supplies
accurate time signals to the Western Union Telegraph
Company, which in turn distributes them widely as
commercial matter. The officer at present in charge
of the Mare Island time service, Professor T. J. J. See,
has devoted his leisure most assiduously to the investi-
gation of many important problems in theoretical
astronomy and geology. His extensive volume,
"Researches on the Evolution of the Stellar Systems,
treats especially of the so-called capture theory of the
origin of the planets and the satellites of the solar
system.
The Mount Wilson Solar Observatory of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington owes its inception to Pro-
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 261
fessor Langley's recommendation, in 1902, that the
Institution should establish and conduct a solar obser-
vatory at a very high altitude. It seems certain that
Langley's proposal reflected his appreciation of Mount
Whitney as an observing station. He had in mind a
station considerably higher than the summit of Mount
Whitney, in Mexico or South America. Other astro-
nomical advisers of the Institution emphasized the
scarcity of well equipped observatories in the southern
hemisphere and the resulting arrears of astronomical
knowledge as to the southern sky, and recommended
that provision be made also for the suitable advancing
of astronomy in the far south. The trustees of the
Institution appointed a committee consisting of Direc-
tor Lewis Boss, Dudley Observatory, Albany, New
York, Director George E. Hale, Yerkes Observatory,
and Director W. W. Campbell, Lick Observatory, to
investigate these subjects more fully, and to consider
the question of suitable sites for such observatories.
The committee appointed Astronomer William J.
Hussey of the Lick Observatory to test the atmospheric
conditions on several mountains in southern California,
at one station in Arizona, and at a few points in New
South Wales, and to observe also the general conditions
which would affect the administration of observatories
in those localities. The committee reported, in 1903, in
favor of a solar observatory, including a 60-inch
reflecting telescope, to be located preferably on Mount
Wilson, and of an observatory for the solution of
certain definite and pressing problems, to be located at
some point in the southern hemisphere as yet unselected.
262 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
In April, 1904, the Carnegie Institution made a grant
of #15,000 to improve the trail to the summit of Mount
Wilson, to mount, shelter and use a horizontal reflecting
telescope loaned by the Yerkes Observatory, and to
make further tests of the conditions on Mount Wilson
(altitude 5,886 feet). Dr. George Ellery Hale was
appointed director of the Mount Wilson Solar Observa-
tory. In December, 1904, a further grant of #150,000
was voted for construction and maintenance during the
year 1905. These and similar grants up to the present
time amount to approximately $1 ,500,000. About two-
thirds of this sum has thus far been expended on equip-
ment, including the construction of a very difficult road
from the foot to the summit of the mountain, and the
remaining third for maintenance and salaries.
The principal instruments on Mount Wilson are as
follows:
A 60-inch reflecting telescope, equipped with
secondary mirrors for converting it into the Newtonian
and Cassegrain forms; with a variety of spectrographs
adapted to the brightness of the stars under investiga-
tion; and with other auxiliary apparatus.
A horizontal reflecting telescope, aperture 24 inches,
focal length 60 feet, fed by means of coelostat mirrors,
and supplied with spectroheliographs, etc., for detailed
study of the Sun's structure. A mirror of 145 feet
focal length is also available to adapt the scale of
the solar image to the atmospheric conditions and to the
requirements of the problem in hand.
A "tower telescope," in which the coelostat mirrors
on the top of a tower receive light from the Sun and
send it vertically down through a lens, aperture 12
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 263
inches and focal length 60 feet, to form an image near
the surface of the ground, at the top of a "well." The
well, 30 feet in depth, contains spectrographs mounted
vertically in such positions that their slits, at the top
of the well, are in the focal plane of the lens on the
summit of the tower.
The tower telescope just described proved so
advantageous that a similar telescope, 150 feet high,
supplied with a well 75 feet deep, suitably equipped
with coelostat mirrors, lenses and spectrographs, was
constructed in 1910. The lens on the tower supplies
an image of the Sun about 17 inches in diameter, and
the large-scale spectrograph in the well enables exceed-
ingly minute details of the solar image to be subjected
to powerful analysis.
In 1906 Mr. John D. Hooker of Los Angeles gave to
the Mount Wilson Solar Observatory the sum of #45,000
to provide the principal mirror of a 100-inch reflecting
telescope. The Carnegie Institution accepted the gift,
and assumed the obligation of providing the telescope
mounting, dome, and auxiliary apparatus, and of
maintaining it in use.
A unique feature of the Solar Observatory consists
in the maintenance of a physical laboratory, whose
principal function is to assist in the interpretation of
phenomena observed in the Sun and stars; in contrast,
more or less sharply defined, with the policy of other
observatories in leaving many problems of interpreta-
tion for solution by existing physical laboratories.
The physical laboratory of the Solar Observatory is
264 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
extensively equipped with the most refined and power-
ful instruments of their class, and has been exceedingly
fruitful of results.
The mountain station is used to secure the astronom-
ical observations, nearly all of which are photographic.
The photographs are measured, the computations are
made, and the results are studied and prepared for
publication, in Pasadena, where the administrative
offices, measuring and computing bureaus, the phys-
ical laboratory, and the extensive shops for the
manufacture of instruments are located.
A second departure from existing practice consists in
the manufacture of essentially all of the instrumental
equipment, excepting lenses, prisms, diffraction gratings
and other highly specialized optical parts, and the more
massive parts of instruments, by the Observatory itself.
In this connection we mention especially the great
number of silver-on-glass mirrors sixty inches and
smaller in diameter. The silver-on-glass mirror for
the ioo-inch reflecting telescope is now under construc-
tion in the optical shops of the Solar Observatory.
In accordance with a third departure from previous
practice, provision is made for the temporary
employment of specialists, wherever their permanent
connections may lie, to come to Pasadena and Mount
Wilson for the application of their methods or special
instruments to the work of the Solar Observatory.
Professor J. C. Kapteyn, of the University of Groningen,
Holland, has taken a leading part in planning the pro-
gram of observations for the 6o-inch reflector, in order
that the results may bear efficiently upon the problems
of the structure of the universe, which he has long been
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 265
investigating; and several physicists of this country and
Europe have assisted in the applications of minor
instruments and in the study of observations secured.
The principal members of the staff are:
George E. Hale, Director
Walter S. Adams, Assistant Director
Frederick H. Seares, Chief of Computing Bureau
Arthur S. King, In Charge of Physical Laboratory
G. W. Ritchey, Optician
Charles E. St. John
Ferdinand Ellerman
Francis G. Pease
Harold D. Babcock
Arnold Kohls chutter
Adrian van Maanen
In addition, there is a large force of assistants, com-
puters, draughtsmen, instrument makers, machinists,
and helpers. The present staff numbers about sixty,
not counting laborers engaged in construction work on
the summit of the mountain.
The resources of the Solar Observatory are devoted
principally to those lines of research which promise to
bear most efficiently upon the problems of sidereal
evolution. Special attention is given to the study of
our Sun, the one star that is near enough to us to be
observed in considerable detail. Many results of very
great value have already been established, and the
future is of rich promise.
The results of the investigations are published,
principally, in the Astrophysical Journal, and re-issued
266 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
as Contributions from the Mount Wilson Solar
Observatory. A few of the most important conclusions
are here set down briefly.
1. Very comprehensive studies of sun-spots, flocculi
and other features of the Sun's surface have led to
correspondingly valuable detailed knowledge, and to the
announcing of a general theory of sun-spots.
2. A sun-spot is the center of a local magnetic field,
and is probably an electric vortex caused by the revo-
lution of negatively charged particles. The strength
of the magnetic field decreases with increasing heights
in the spot strata.
3. There is a connection between the variations of
terrestrial magnetism and changes in the solar activity,
as indicated by the flocculi. The intensities of sun-
spot fields are too weak to account for magnetic storms
observed on the Earth.
4. Evershed's discovery that the principal vapors
of the chemical elements flow outward from sun-spot
centers and tangential to the Sun's surface has been
confirmed and extended, and the principal features of
what may be called the circulatory system of sun-spots
now appear to be well understood. The velocities of
vapors flowing outward from sun-spot centers increase
with distance below a neutral level, whereas the velocities
of gases flowing inward increase with distance above
this neutral level. The materials observed, in effect,
to be flowing outward in the lower levels and inward
in the higher levels do not of themselves form the
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 267
vortex system. The actual vortex is deep seated,
the outflow in the lower observed strata being a portion
of the upper part of the vortex, while the inflow of the
higher gases and vapors is a secondary effect.
5. By means of their lines in sun-spot spectra the
effective relative levels of the vapors of twenty-seven
chemical elements have been determined. The dark
lines of calcium proceed from the highest levels observed
and next lower is the stratum which forms the red ab-
sorption line of hydrogen. In general the heavy ele-
ments occur in the lower strata of the solar atmosphere.
6. The Sun is a magnet whose poles are near the
Sun's poles of rotation, and whose polarity — with ref-
erence to north and south — agrees with the Earth's
magnetic polarity. The vertical intensity of the Sun's
general field at the poles is estimated at fifty gausses.
This is .01 the intensity of the strongest sun-spot field
observed, and about eighty times that of the Earth's
field.
7. By virtue of the large scale of the solar image,
1,200 bright lines in the chromospheric spectrum have
been photographed, without an eclipse, and their
wave-lengths agree well on the average with those of
corresponding dark lines in the general solar spectrum.
8. Photographs of the more prominent spiral and
irregular nebulas, owing to the great scale and mechan-
ical perfection of the 60-inch reflector, are of the highest
excellence. It has been found that great numbers of
nebulous stars are associated with many of the spiral
streamers.
268 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
9. Photographs of the principal star clusters have
revealed unexpectedly great numbers of stars in these
objects, by recording stars fainter than those photo-
graphed with smaller reflecting telescopes. For exam-
ple, the number of stars observed in the Great Cluster
in Hercules is of the order of 30,000.
10. The 60-inch reflector is an admirable instrument
for visual observations of planetary surface features.
The observations of Mars show that the surface is a
mass of details, but afford no evidence that a geomet-
rical system of slender and straight "canals" exists.
1 1 . With the 60-inch reflector and attached spectro-
graphs the radial velocities of 372 stars of apparently
uniform motion, chiefly helium stars, have been deter-
mined. The radial motions of 61 stars whose paral-
laxes and proper motions are known have also been
measured, and twenty of these have space velocities
exceeding 62 miles per second. Ninety-nine spectro-
scopic binary systems have been found in the progress
of the radial velocity determinations.
12. The classic researches of the law of the solar
rotation made in Sweden by Duner a generation ago
have been greatly extended at Mount Wilson, confirm-
ing Duner's results in general, but establishing appar-
ent departures in many details which promise to assist
greatly in the interpretation of conditions existing in
the Sun's atmosphere.
1 3 . The spectrum of the Milky Way has been photo-
graphed. The greater part of the light utilized comes
from stars whose spectra resemble that of our Sun.
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 269
14. Much work has been done to determine whether
light from the stars is absorbed appreciably in its pas-
sage through inter-stellar space. This investigation has
led to the development of a new method of measuring
the distances of the stars.
15. Many investigations are being conducted with a
view to determining the arrangements of the stars in
space and the relations of great groups of stars to each
other.
16. Extensive and elaborate studies have been made
in the physical laboratory as to the effects of varying
temperatures, pressures, magnetic fields and other
factors on the spectra of the principal chemical
elements. In many cases the results have been applied
to the interpretation of solar and stellar spectra.
The late John D. Hooker, of Los Angeles, made
a gift to the Yerkes Observatory for an expedition
to the summit of Mount Wilson in 1904-5, enabling
Professor E. E. Barnard to secure an admirable series
of photographs of the Milky Way, especially of the
more southerly parts of the Milky Way.
The observatory of the Smithsonian Institution of
Washington has maintained a branch observing station
on Mount Wilson, within the lands controlled by the
Solar Observatory, in charge of Director C. G. Abbot,
since 1905. It is utilized during the summer months
for making measures of the solar radiation, the radiation
from the sky, from clouds, etc., for comparison with
and in support of researches made at Washington, on
270 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Mount Whitney, and during two summers in Algiers.
Mr. Abbot's observations have determined the average
intensity of solar radiation to the Earth, the variation
of solar radiation intensity as a function of the spot-
tedness of the Sun, and have made it exceedingly
probable that the solar radiation varies, in irregular
periods of from seven to ten days, as much as eight
or nine per cent.
While excellent instruction in the elements of
astronomy has been given in Stanford University,
notably by Professor Hussey, 1892-5, and by Professor
Townley, 1907 — the authorities made no provision
for an observatory. Chiefly through the efforts of
Mr. A. G. Atkinson, a 6-inch reflecting telescope is in
process of construction in the shops of the Engineering
Department, and a suitable dome has been built.
The Frank P. Brackett Observatory of Pomona
College, the gift of Llewellyn Bixby in honor of his
instructor, was constructed in 1908. It contains a
6-inch refractor; a 3-inch transit instrument; a hori-
zontal photographic telescope of six inches aperture and
forty feet focus, fed by a coelostat mirror, for spec-
trographic observations of the Sun; and much auxiliary
apparatus. The department of astronomy, in charge
of Professor Frank P. Brackett, maintains a local
astronomical society, and issues a journal of astronomy,
as aids to the development of astronomical interest
in the college and community.
The possession of powerful instruments, the great
number of clear days and nights, the purity and
steadiness of the atmosphere, the enthusiasm of the
ASTRONOMY IN CALIFORNIA 271
astronomers, and the favorable governmental condi-
tions maintained for the observatories, give easy
explanation of the fruitfulness of astronomical investi-
gation in California. It has been said that the degree
of civilization attained by any nation may be estimated
from the provision made by its government and people
for the study of the stars. Surely the future of Cali-
fornia promises much as the abode of man and for
the advancement of astronomical science.
&-^i^n^^Z?^%sC^
THE AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA
THE term agronomics is a new coinage referring
to climate, soil and cultural operations as
applied to crop production. Aside from cultur-
al operations the three factors which make for
success in crop production are a proper temperature,
suitable soil, and an adequate moisture supply for the
particular crop to be grown. Practically the whole
problem in agronomics is involved in securing a perfect
harmony between the plant and its environment, the
term environment including both climatic and soil
factors. This, however, is not a treatise upon how
to produce crops in California, but a presentation
of the several natural features of the state which
contribute to her well renowned agricultural standing.
The details of California climate are presented
elsewhere in this publication, hence need not be men-
tioned in this chapter further than as applied specifically
to crop production. Much has been written of Cali-
fornia climate, and by many writers, and while it is
widely known in a general way, its highest and best
interpretation is exhibited in the marvelous range of
the products of the soil. There is no other country or
principality on the globe where can be found growing
all the varied products which characterize this wonder-
ful state. Why this is true has never been satisfactorily
explained, but the fact cannot be disputed. It is
not due to temperature alone for the seasons are
propitious in Italy and Spain, yet the results attained
here are not possible there; it is not due to soil alone,
for other countries have rich soils; it is not due to the
recurrence of a wet and a dry season — a period of rain
and a rainless period — for this peculiarity is found in
276 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the Mediterranean basin; nor is it any known pecul-
iarity of the atmosphere. Yet in a most happy union
of all these, together with a wonderful variety in
topography, there is an alchemy of nature which has
made California productions phenomenal. The same
wonderful range of field crops and fruits, attesting
climatic and soil peculiarities not found in other states,
are found in the extremity of the Sacramento valley
as are found in the extreme southern part of the state.
Latitude here cuts but little figure; elsewhere it marks
the zones of heat and cold. Here these zones are marked
by altitude and not latitude, and the isotherms, in
general, run north and south instead of east and west.
The climate of California has usually been set forth
as an attraction for tourists, but one cannot live on
climate alone; it is, most of all, an agricultural resource
of incalculable value by the influence of which the
inhabitants are able to diversify and increase the
number of products. It is a resource of cash value
because man's labor can be turned to profit every day
in the year. Every day is a growing day in California;
in the field, orchard, garden, on the stock farm and in
the dairy, every day is one of productive labor.
Then, too, climate means variety of production.
The whole gamut of vegetable life is run here. The
whole range of productions from the hardy crops of
the New England states to the rice and cotton of the
southern states; the wheat of Minnesota or the oranges
of Florida; the apples of Michigan or the lemons of
Sicily; the peaches of New Jersey or the olives of Spain;
the corn of Kansas or the melons of Persia; the barley
of Russia or the vines of France; the potatoes of Ireland
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 277
or the peanuts of Georgia ; the sugar beets of Germany
or the figs of Smyrna; all bespeak the wonderful cash
value of California's range of climate and soil. They
work for the farmer and not against him in crop
production.
Still not every place in California is adapted to
the entire range of crops; selection of locality on the
basis of both climate and soil must be made with
reference to the particular crops one desires to grow.
Somewhere in the great state, however, with a range
of climatic conditions associated with a latitude of 33
at an altitude of 270 feet below sea level, to a latitude
of 24 with an elevation of 14,339 f eet > can De grown
the entire range of products mentioned above, and
practically all crops except those which characterize
solely the strictly tropical portions of the world.
Climatically, then it may be well claimed that Cali-
fornia is not only unique, but is wonderfully favored
for productive labor of man.
The favoring characteristics of California climate
find their fitting complement in the adaptability of
her soils to a very wide range of field crop production,
and to the perfect development of fruit bearing tree,
vine and nut. In their wonderful variety, and con-
sequent range of special adaptation, even within narrow
limits of area, the soils resemble very strikingly the
climates. On account of this wide range of both
climate and soil the secret of success in producing
crops most abundantly and cheaply depends very much
upon close attention being paid to the choice of specially
adapted locations for the desired crops. Over climate
we can exercise little or no control. Either the plant
278 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
must be adapted to suit the climate, or its production
is limited only to those regions where a natural climate
is found to which the plant is suited. Soil environment,
however, is subject to modification in a very large
degree, and in permanent crops errors in soil situations
are much more easily remedied than mistakes in
suitability of climate. Many mistakes have been
made in California from the fundamentally wrong
idea that any crop would grow anywhere, an idea
fostered by certain promoters, whose optimism takes
on as wonderful a growth under this climate as do the
crops when grown under suitable conditions. As a
matter of fact, notwithstanding the wide range of
adaptability in the state generally, a most careful
selection of both climatic and soil situations, as well
as water supply, must be made if one meets with the
most abundant success.
The grand divisions which constitute the arable
areas of the state are determined by the topography
of the country. The Sierra Nevada forms a natural
boundary on the east. The Coast range mountains
form a broad belt traversing the entire coast, and
consist of a number of parallel ranges between which
are many small and rich valleys, some of large extent.
The Coast range mountains merge into the Siskiyou
mountains on the north, a connecting link with the
Sierra Nevada, and the Tehachapi mountains, which
form another connecting link at about two-thirds the
length of the state from north to south. Thus is
formed superior California north of the Tehachapi
mountains and southern California on the south.
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 279
Between the Sierra Nevada and the Coast range,
and their connecting links, lies the Great Valley of
central California, about four hundred miles long and
from fifty to sixty miles wide; an agricultural area of
great productiveness and comprising more than one-
ninth of the entire state. The Sacramento river,
rising in the extreme north of this valley, runs through
the northern portion of it, which is known as the Sacra-
mento valley; the San Joaquin river runs northward
through the southern portion, known as the San
Joaquin valley. The two rivers unite near the middle
of the Great Valley and flow westward into San
Francisco Bay.
South of the Tehachapi mountains the Sierra Nevada
continues at a less elevation, and is locally known as
the Sierra Madre. The region known as southern
California lies west of these mountains, while on the
east is still the Mohave region, and on the extreme
south the Colorado basin region, both of which are
included in the grand division of southern California.
If we except the region in the extreme north-western
portion of the state — the region extending northward
from the bay region of San Francisco — where the
conditions of rainfall approximate more nearly those
of the humid states, the soils of California have been
formed under the conditions which characterize those
of all regions with scanty rainfall, and as a result they
present some very distinct differences from those of
the humid regions. Soil is formed by a complex
process, broadly known as weathering, from the rocks
which constitute the earth's crust, and as a matter of
fact, is only pulverized and altered rock intermingled
280 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
with such organic matter as may have grown and
decayed upon it. Two distinct classes of forces are
active in soil formation: physical and chemical. The
physical agencies merely cause pulverization of the
rock; the chemical so thoroughly change the essential
nature of the soil particles that they are no longer
like the parent rock. The resultant action of all the
chief physical soil-forming agencies is more vigorous
in regions of limited rainfall than in the humid regions,
and the resulting rock powder formed by these physical
agencies is constantly, and not intermittently, being
acted upon by other agencies which change its chemical
composition. While the physical agencies of soil
formation are the most active in the semi-arid regions
the same does not hold for the chemical agencies.
As a matter of fact, the process of soil formation,
whether in semi-arid or humid regions is essentially
that of the "fallow," or so-called resting period, given
to dry-farmed land. The fallow lasts for a few months
or a year, while soil formation is always going on and
has gone on for ages, and the result in quality, though
not in quantity, is the same as in the fallow — the rock
particles are pulverized and plant foods are liberated.
The net result of the action of these agencies is the
formation of a rock powder containing a great variety
of sizes of soil grains intermingled with clay. The
larger grains are called sand; the smaller silt, and those
so extremely fine that they do not settle from standing
water within twenty-four hours are known as clay. In
the formation of clay, water is the most active agent, and
under humid conditions its formation is most rapid.
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 281
Soils formed under semi-arid conditions thus contain
less clay than those of humid regions, and we find
loams, or even sands, predominating rather than the
heavy clays of the southern and eastern states. But
even here we must make a careful distinction between
the sands produced under humid conditions and those
formed under such conditions as exist in California,
for here it is found that even the apparently barren
sands are extremely fertile when supplied by irrigation
with the necessary moisture. Here the descriptive
term sand does not bear the same relation to fertility
as in the humid states. There the term refers to
quartz sand which is incapable of forming clay under
the weathering agencies; here, the sand is not simply
siliceous, but consists largely of comminuted portions
of granitic and eruptive rocks, with an admixture of
the ancient schists which cover the flanks of the Sierras,
which under humid conditions would have formed
clays instead of sands. Thus we find that even the
desert-like sands are rich in plant food in California
and produce excellent crops whenever water is applied
to them. Some of the most productive orchards and
vineyards of the state are upon what would appear to
our eastern brothers most unpromising barren sands.
Again the humus content forms another interesting
and important difference between California and east-
ern soils. In humid regions the native plants cover
the ground thickly and form a thick mass of humus-
forming material. Under semi-arid conditions they
are bunched scantily over the surface and form a
limited mass of humus material. The prevailing
forces in countries of low rainfall tend to yield soils
282 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
low in humus, and California is no exception to this
fact. The classic investigations of Dr. E. W. Hilgard,
however, have shown a most important difference
in the humus composition in the arid as compared
with that of the humid regions, viz: that the humus
formed under the former conditions carries three and
one-half times as much nitrogen as does that formed
under the latter conditions, which is a most important
matter when considering the relative fertility of such
soils. Owing to the more sandy nature of these soils
as already indicated, the high percentage of humus
is not so much needed in California soils to maintain
them in good tilth as in the case of the more clayey
soils of the more humid climates. Since the nitrogen
content, from the standpoint of intrinsic fertility, is
the most important quality of the humus, the smaller
quantity of humus is not so important as would at
first appear, a fact which is abundantly borne out in
experience.
One of the most distinct differences between the
soils of California and those of the eastern states
lies in the lack of any clear line of demarcation between
soil and sub-soil. There is no true sub-soil in Cali-
fornia lands, in the sense that it is known in the eastern
states, and here again the peculiar conditions under
which California soils have been formed is evidently
to their advantage.
In the regions of the eastern states the sub-soil
has been profoundly modified by the actions of the
heavy rainfall, which, in soaking through the soil
has carried with it the finest of the soil grains, especially
the clay, into the lower soil layers, thus making the
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 283
sub-soil more distinctly clayey than the top soil.
The final result of this together with the carrying
down of lime and other soil components by the rains has
been the formation of a subsoil of the fine clay particles
which is so compact as to render it difficult for roots and
even air to penetrate it. Normal weathering, then, goes
on most actively in the top soil and the subsoil remains
raw and unweathered, so that when turned up a normal
state of fertility is reached only after several years
of exposure to the elements. Hence the prevalent
idea that to turn up the undersoil and expect to secure
a profitable crop the first year is a fundamentally
wrong procedure. In the semi-arid regions, the light
rainfall seldom fills the soil so completely full of mois-
ture to any great depth as to effectually exclude the
air, or to carry downward any large amount of the
fine clay particles, or remove serious amounts of lime.
Thus the top soil and the undersoil are left in essentially
the same degree of porosity. The soil remains deep,
the air moves through it freely, and all forms of plant
life root deeply. Thus California soils are weathered
and suitable for plant nutrition to very great depths.
There is little or no distinction between soil and subsoil
and the California farmer need give little attention
to the danger from plowing his lands deep, which is
evidenced repeatedly by the impunity with which
the California farmer proceeds to scrape off the top
of his soil and dump it in the low places in the levelling
of his land for alfalfa under irrigation. As compared
with the same acreage it is as though there were three
or four farms, one above the other.
284 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Again, a difference is found in that the leaching action
of rains, which is often great in the eastern states,
practically causes no loss of material useful as plant
foods, for the top water seldom gets into the general
underground drainage, and thus the plant foods are
held more abundantly for plant use. The effect of this
very limited leaching is further shown in the higher lime
content of the California soils, and as Hilgard has well
said, "they are naturally marled," making their plant
food very available and easily obtained by plants.
To sum up the chief characteristics, then : California
soils, on account of their condition of formation carry
less clay than those of humid regions; the sand which
takes its place is fertile because it consists of particles
of many kinds of the parent rock instead of being
essentially siliceous sand; they carry less humus, but
of higher quality, because its nitrogen content is higher;
they carry more lime which renders the plant foods
more available and improves wonderfully their texture;
they are more uniform in structure, are more permeable
and deeper; they have subsoils as fertile as the topsoil.
In ease of handling, productivity, certainty of crop-
lasting quality, they far surpass the soils of the coun-
tries where scientific agriculture was founded, and
confound many of the theories and methods developed
under such conditions.
Any attempt to scientifically classify, or even
describe in detail all the soil types of California in their
wonderful variety would lead far beyond the limits
of this chapter, and a limit must be set by discussing
only the most general types which characterize the
great agricultural areas of the state.
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 285
The Alluvial Loams. These loams exist along the
courses of the existing streams, and extend back from
the stream channel to variable distances until they
finally merge into the loams of the valley plain, or
the adobes. These alluvial loams have been built
up by deposits from the streams, and in their natural
condition represent the highest type of an all-around
soil. They consist of fine alluvium, with seldom any
admixture of coarse material. They are naturally
very deep, but as they approach the valley plains
become more shallow and gradually merge into the
soils which characterize that area. These soils are
naturally well drained, but very retentive of moisture,
and for the most part are farmed to high-class products
without irrigation.
Important areas of this class of soil are found along
all the important streams of northern California,
particularly in the region of San Jacinto, Hamilton,
Colusa, and Chico, where they are being extensively
farmed to sugar beets, alfalfa, corn, and garden crops,
as well as hops, prunes, pears, to all of which they are
particularly well adapted.
In the San Joaquin portion of the Great Valley
the alluvial loams are also an important class, and
are found notably in the valleys of the streams crossing
the eastern side of the valley, as well as about the
borders of Tulare Lake. Here the type takes on a
brownish to black color, varies in texture from heavy
to light, but is always easily tilled and exceedingly
fertile. The noted soils of the Mussel slough region
and the country about Fresno are of this general type.
286 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Their extreme fertility, excellent texture, retentiveness
of moisture, and ease of cultivation class them among
the most highly productive soils of the world.
The coast valleys also present important areas of
this class, among which may be mentioned the impor-
tant and highly developed fruit sections extending from
Oakland southward nearly one hundred miles, including
the Alameda and Santa Clara valleys. It is mainly
to this class of soil that this noted region owes its
preeminence in fruit production.
The Loams of the Valley Plains. Broadly speaking,
in the northern division of the Sacramento valley the
soils are prevalently loams, a type of soil consisting
of an admixture of clay with enough coarse material
to secure permeability to air and water, give ease of
cultivation, deep root penetration and free drainage
of surplus water. These loams are more or less heavy,
according to the proportion of clay commingled with
the sand or coarse material. Interspersed between
these main loam areas are tracts of heavy clay, locally
known as "adobe," which is often the exact counter-
part of the prairie soils of the Mississippi valley.
In the southern portion of the great central valley,
the San Joaquin valley, the soils are of a decidedly
different character, being much lighter in texture
owing to a much larger admixture of sand, and fre-
quently are distinctly sandy soils, but seldom to such
an extent as to render them sterile when supplied with
irrigation water. Even in the case of the heavier soils,
called "adobe" by contrast, although not strictly
such, they take on a lighter character and would
elsewhere be classed as medium clay loams.
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 287
In the matter of intrinsic fertility it would be
difficult, if not impossible to decide between the two
divisions; for while the heavier soils of the northern
portion of the Great Valley are usually richer in plant
food, and thus more lasting, the generally greater
depth of the lighter soils of the San Joaquin valley,
seems to compensate in a measure for their lower
percentage of plant food. This is further true since
the descriptive term sand does not bear the same
relation to fertility in an arid region as it does in the
humid states of the east, as already explained in earlier
portions of this chapter. Here the sand is not simply
siliceous, but consists largely of comminuted portions
of granitic and eruptive rocks, with an admixture of
the ancient schists which cover the flanks of the Sierras,
to which material we have also added the marly residuum
from the underlying material of the rolling plateau
lands which commonly border the foothills of the
valley side. This commingling of materials forms
a more or less sandy soil, but one which is intrinsically
fertile and one whose plant food is in an unusually
available form owing to the presence of a high per-
centage of lime. The only factor which appears
necessary to make any of these sandy soils very pro-
ductive is an adequate quantity of water for irrigation.
On the east side of the Sacramento valley low ridges
and swales at right angles to the river's course come in
from the foothills, forming a gently undulating plain
with a general fall of fifteen to twenty feet to the mile,
often extending clear to the river's edge. The soils
on this side of the river nearly all have a distinctly
reddish tinge, showing intermixture of the red foothill
288 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
soil with the valley deposits. The soils of the extreme
northern portion of the Sacramento valley, north of
Stony creek, are usually of a reddish color and of a
more or less gravelly nature. It is devoted very
largely to grain production, with here and there suc-
cessful orchards of deciduous fruits. Gradually, how-
ever, as irrigation water is made available either from
gravity or from an underground supply by pumping,
it is being developed to alfalfa and a wide variety of
other crops with marked success. South of Stony
creek the valley is quite level and the soils consist
principally of silty or sandy loams, especially bordering
the strictly bottom lands along the rivers and streams.
Immediately adjoining this body of silty loam is
found a variation of the type, locally known as Gridley
loam, a more or less sandy loam soil of reddish color,
underlaid at a depth of two to six feet by a dark reddish
clay loam, and occasionally by a gray, calcareous
hardpan at a depth of about six feet. Taken as a whole
this type appears as an extensive level plain, and where
other soils intervene between this type and the river
there is a well defined terrace noticeable. This type is
largely of sedimentary origin, though altered somewhat
by the action of the Feather river. Alkali is not found
in this soil and it is well supplied with all the mineral
elements of plant food, though sometimes deficient in
humus. Almost the entire area of this soil has been
highly developed to a wide range of field crops and
fruit. Peaches have proven very remunerative on a
large portion of the area, but find their highest develop-
ment on the lighter phases. Pears, apples, apricots,
figs, olives and prunes have also proven profitable
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 289
crops, although apricots do not give as good results
as in some other sections. On the heavier phases of
this soil in the Sacramento valley the noted Thompson
Seedless grape reaches its highest perfection, and the
Tokay, Mission, and Zinfandel do well. Where there
is sufficient moisture, alfalfa, cow peas, beans, corn,
and potatoes are well adapted.
A marked agricultural change in the Sacramento
valley is taking place at the present time on this soil.
The large individual holdings which have prevented the
highest development of agriculture are being sold in
small tracts, water both from gravity supply and pump-
ing, is being developed for irrigation and there is a
rapid increase in the acreage planted to the more
intensive crops.
The loams of the valley plains about Fresno and
Tulare have been the scene of some of the highest
development to fruit in the world. In this region
the general character of these soils is lighter than in the
Sacramento valley, as already pointed out, and with a
much less rainfall, irrigation has been more extensively
developed than farther north. On account of the
limited precipitation the region represented by these
soils in the San Joaquin valley in its pristine condition
appeared almost desert-like in lack of vegetation, yet
wonderful transformation has been brought about
through the magic touch of irrigation and is represented
by the exceptional quickness of growth, early bearing,
and lavish production of tree, vine, and field crops in
general. There is a wide variation in the surface
appearance of these lands throughout the San Joaquin
valley, and they are locally known as " reddish loams,"
290 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
"white ash," and "sand hill," in the different phases,
but all will pass under the general classification here
used, viz: loams of the valley plain. With their varia-
tion in color, there is also a variation in texture, the first
named being the heaviest and the last named the
lightest. Although the sand hill class often carries as
high as 90% sand, yet it is highly calcareous and the
plant food exists in such highly available form that it
is intrinsically very fertile, and produces magnificent
crops, both fruit and field, where the bottom water
does not rise sufficiently to prevent satisfactory root
development.
In the semi-tropic region of Los Angeles, San
Bernardino, and San Diego, the uplands, or mesas,
which occupy the larger portion of the surface, is usually
found prevailing a reddish, gravelly loam soil, the
coarse material of which consists chiefly of granitic
sand. These lands are conspicuous for their orange-
red tint and vary in depth from ten to many feet. It
is these soils which are chosen as preeminently adapted
to citrus fruits. These soils are evidently a modification
of the foothill soil northward of the Sierra Fernando,
but of greater depth, more easily tilled and with higher
percentages of plant food, especially phosphates. On
the lower lands frequent gravel beds are found, which
in their original condition seem to be too barren for
any useful purpose, and yet orange planting on these
areas has proven remarkably profitable and some of the
finest orange groves in the state can be found on these
unpromising masses of debris. The reddish gravel
loam soils of the south are probably excelled by few for
the crops and fruits which are adapted to the climatic
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 291
conditions of the region. In the San Bernardino
valley proper the red loams are very conspicuous and
give the name to the noted citrus district of Redlands.
On the lands which rise from the seashore the loams
take on a different aspect and appear as dark colored,
sandy, micaceous loams, impregnated to some extent
with alkali. Such lands are notably found in Los
Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties, and extend
northward as far as Santa Barbara. It is on this type
of lands that the sugar beet industry has been highly
developed in the southern part of the state. As a rule
these lands are extremely productive and are yielding
rich returns under cultivation, but both fruit and
field crops must be chosen with reference to their
adaptability to low levels and exposure to costal
influences.
The soils of the so-called desert regions of southern
California, under influence of irrigation have surpassed
all expectation in crop production. They are usually
loams of light color, with sometimes a reddish tinge,
and of unusual depth. They are all highly calcareous,
exceedingly rich in potash, but comparatively low in
phosphoric acid, and all notably deficient in humus.
It is on this type of soil, which characterizes the now
well known Imperial valley, that a very wide range of
crop production is being developed, notable among
which may be mentioned alfalfa, melons, and cotton.
Northward from Ventura to Humboldt counties the
Coast Range valleys are mainly characterized by soils
of a gray, silty loam, quite different in appearance
and composition from those found farther south.
Chemically they are distinctly less calcareous than
292 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
those southward, but markedly superior in phosphoric
acid. These silty soils are very remarkable for their
retention of moisture near the surface even in dry sea-
sons — a property of exceeding value in any country of
limited rainfall. In such a broken area the soils
naturally show a correspondng variety in phase, but
in general they may be classed as loams in that they
carry a sufficient proportion of gritty material to enable
free working conditions.
The Clay Loams. This general group of soils varies
from the former in being distinctly heavier and more
tenacious, rendering them more difficult of cultivation.
They are, however, stronger and more lasting in char-
acter. They exist in great variety of color and physical
condition in California, but are not found in such dis-
tinctly large areas as those formerly described. They
are exceedingly rich in all the elements of fertility and
what they lack in ease of working they compensate
to a degree in their great durability. Crops upon
these heavier soils have to be chosen with greater care
as to stocks upon which fruits are to be grown.
From Redding, at the head of the Sacramento valley,
to Bakersfield, at the south end of the San Joaquin, the
valley has along its eastern border a belt of upland, or
foothills, falling from an elevation of four thousand feet
at the base of the mountains to five hundred feet, or
less, at the edge of the valley proper. The rocks are
chiefly sandstones in the southern part of the belt and
clay slates from Mariposa county northward, giving
rise to bright red clayey loam soils, which, though but
a few feet deep, are productive, and have underlying
them upturned layers of slate, between which plant
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 293
roots are able to penetrate to considerable depths and
thus secure both moisture and plant food. In texture
these foothill soils vary from a moderately heavy clay
loam to a heavy, though not uncommonly gravelly,
clay, often of an orange-red color. This color is due
to a high percentage of iron which is often present in
amounts varying from seven to over twelve per cent.
These soils generally carry a good percentage of lime,
though the potash and phosphoric acid is sometimes
low, seldom to such an extent, however, as to make
them non-productive in the presence of sufficient
amounts of moisture, which is doubtless due to the
high availability of these elements in the presence of a
good lime supply.
Interspersed in these foothill lands are granitic areas
in a belt reaching from Feather river south to Amador
county, forming gray or reddish gravelly soils, less pro-
ductive than the distinctly red lands. Lava beds cover
the foothills northward and furnish no agricultural land
of value, except along the small streams.
While at present the main portion of this land is
devoted to early spring pasture, it is without doubt,
destined to be in the near future productive of products
of high value. Where the foothill soils obtain a suffi-
ciency of moisture either naturally or from irrigation,
and are of sufficient depth, they are highly productive.
At a higher elevation than the valley plain the danger
from frosts is less and the writer ventures to predict
that they will finally be devoted to the culture of citrus
fruits which are too sensitive to be risked upon the
plain lands generally.
294 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
There are numerous distinct phases of this general
division of these soils, notable among which may be
mentioned along the foothills in Fresno, Tulare, and
Kings counties. Here may be found a narrow belt of
irregular width where these clay loams, both red and
black in color, become quite heavy, and are so highly
calcareous as to break up, when dry, into small granu-
lations, producing a condition locally known as "dry
bog." On this type of land is found the noted citrus
district of Porterville. Westward of this area, reddish
or brownish heavy loams predominate, which by con-
trast with the lighter soils of the immediate region, are
designated as "adobe," although far from true adobe
in character. This type of land characterizes a belt
varying from eight to ten miles in width at its widest
part in Tulare county and narrows both northward and
southward. When under irrigation, these lands are
proving of great fertility both in field crop and orchard
productions.
The Clay Soils. Under this general classification
is placed all of the very heaviest of the soils, most
prominent among which is the well-known "adobe"
type. Under this name, however, there is a wide
difference in character in different localities until the
term has come to be used to distinguish relatively
between soils of any region as to whether very heavy
or sufficiently intermingled with coarser material to
enable it to be easily and freely worked. This type
of soil consists essentially of clay and fine silt, and
popular terms are used to classify its various phases
as "black adobe," "gray adobe," and "black waxy."
All of these phases are exceedingly sticky when wet,
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 295
and bake very hard when dry, making them very hard
to work; in short, they are clay soils of an extreme type.
The depth, fineness and virginal fertility of these
soils, when free from injurious salts, render them very
fertile when properly handled. Large bodies of this
soil occur in the Sacramento valley, lying between
the Sacramento river and the Coast range. Here the
color is for the most part gray and the soil is more
difficultly tilled than the black adobe on the east side.
In this region these soils are being extensively developed
to rice culture to which they lend themselves admirably
on account of their richness and their imperviousness
to water. For many years little has been done with
this type of land, but with the introduction of rice
upon them, they are returning phenomenal results
with this staple, and their value has been very much
enhanced. So far the adobes have been very little
used for fruit, but alfalfa has been placed upon them
with much success. In the bay region and in the
vicinity of Stockton these soils assume prominence,
in the latter region forming a natural division between
the Sacramento and the San Joaquin valleys.
While predominating in the region of the northern
Coast range, the loams gradually take their place
southward from the bay region.
The Peat Soils. In the deltas of the Sacramento
and the San Joaquin rivers is found a very large
body of land, which under natural conditions is
unproductive on account of swamp conditions, but
which in point of area, the progress of reclamation,
and agricultural possibilities, is of great interest and
importance. These lands lie for the most part in
296 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Sacramento, and Solano
counties. In typical section this soil consists of six
feet or more of fine alluvial river and tidal silts, inti-
mately intermingled with partially decayed vegetable
matter. A considerable variation occurs in the struc-
ture of these soils for in certain districts subject to
overflow by streams in flood times, the surface of the
soil consists largely of river silts, in which the usual
proportion of vegetable matter is much decreased, while
in other cases the soil mass consists principally of peaty
material. These soils need only to be protected from
overflow, and to be properly drained, to be surprisingly
productive as has been thoroughly demonstrated upon
thousands of acres of this class of land. Extreme light-
ness in weight constitutes a very striking feature of
these soils. They carry a large supply of plant food,
and under proper culture return enormous profits from
asparagus, beans, onions, potatoes, celery, barley,
corn, and truck garden crops. On the higher and
better drained areas alfalfa is also grown with much
success. When it is remembered that every month
of the year is harvest time for some of the products
grown on these lands their value can be the better
appreciated. These lands are all below the water
level of the rivers and streams, and are irrigated not
by the addition of water to the surface, but by raising
the water table from below, thus giving ideal conditions
for plant growth to all except the very deep rooted
crops. The unique conditions which obtain here,
including those of long season, suitable climate, rich
AGRONOMICS OF CALIFORNIA 297
soil, subirrigation, coupled with both water and rail
transportation, combine to promise a value in these
lands equal to that of the polders of Holland.
It has been impossible within the confines of this
chapter to more than treat of the most general classes
of California soils in their wonderful variety. Their
productiveness is proverbial, and under the best of
conditions even fabulous, and to even relate stories
of actual yield would stigmatize the writer as a decided
victim of California optimism.
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA
THE importance of irrigation in California is
well illustrated by the great number of official
reports which have been made on many phases
of the subject by state and federal bureaus.
The old State Engineering department, which was
created in 1878 and discontinued in 1887, prepared
maps showing the irrigation systems and irrigated areas
in the San Joaquin valley and in parts of southern
California, made stream measurements and assembled
and compiled much hydrographic data, and published,
under date of October 1, 1888, an exhaustive treatise
on irrigation in San Diego, San Bernardino and Los
Angeles counties.
In 1888 the United States geological survey began
its work of surveying reservoir sites for irrigation pur-
poses. During the nineties it established steam gaging
stations, and for the past ten years has maintained
such stations on most of the California rivers used or
useful for irrigation purposes. Besides hydrographic
data, it has published in its "Water Supply Papers"
many reports on storage possibilities and underground
waters for various parts of the state.
In 1900 Irrigation Investigations of the United States
department of agriculture instituted a study of "the
existing legal, engineering, and agricultural conditions
along nine typical streams used for irrigation in the
state." The work on each stream was in charge of a
recognized expert, and the report (published as Bulletin
No. 100 of the Office of Experiment Stations, United
States department of agriculture) is especially forceful
in portraying the dire need of rational legislation regard-
ing water rights. Since 1900 Irrigation Investigations
302 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
has been very active in California and has published
many bulletins giving the results of its examinations in
many irrigated sections.
The United States census bureau, cooperating with
Irrigation Investigations, made an unusually careful
census of irrigation in 1909, and the results have been
published as advance sheets.
In 191 1 the California legislature created the
conservation commission to investigate and report
upon certain specified subjects of conservation. The
commission contracted with Irrigation Investigations
and with the United States geological survey, so that
the state funds were expended under the direction of the
two federal bureaus and a needless duplication of field
and office work was thus obviated. As a result of this
cooperation, Irrigation Investigations was able to
extend and perfect the statistical work started by the
United States census, and the geological survey com-
piled and published in three volumes all stream flow
data for the state up to July 1, 1912.
In addition to work outlined above, the Topographic
branch of the United States geological survey has
been active for over twenty years in making contour
maps of parts of California, and its published sheets
are now much used in irrigation reconnaissance. The
agricultural experiment station of the University of
California has also published many bulletins on soils
and crops, which are intimately related to irrigation
studies.
Area Irrigated and Irrigable. In another chapter in
this volume the subject of rainfall is treated. It is
sufficient here to call attention to the striking difference
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 303
in seasonal precipitation for different parts of the state.
At Salton, in the Imperial valley, some seasons have
no more than a trace of rainfall, while at Crescent City,
in Del Norte county, the minimum seasonal precipi-
tation for the period 1 885-1908 was 53.73 inches — about
four and one-half feet. It is interesting to note that
Del Norte county is the only county in the state in
which irrigation is not practised.
In a recent examination of lands irrigated and
irrigable, Irrigation Investigations divided the state
into three parts — northern California, central Califor-
nia and southern California. The data, as published
in the report of the Conservation Commission of
California (January 1, 1913), are as follows:
Valley „ .. Foothill .
agricultural galley. agr „ .^Areas^
Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres.
Northern California. 4,621,200 790,000 789,000 487,805
Central California . . 7,889,000 1,046,000 730,000 1,959,355
Southern California. *6,07o,325 745,486
18,580,525 1,836,000 1,519,000 3,192,666
*Includes valley and foothill.
After considering the total irrigable area in each
of the three divisions and the available water sup-
ply, Irrigation Investigations estimates that, of the
6,200,000 acres irrigable in northern California, it is
likely that 3,450,000 acres (about fifty-three per cent)
will be irrigated in the future; of the 9,665,000 acres
irrigable in central California, it is likely that 4,300,000
acres (about forty-four per cent) will be irrigated; and
of the 6,070,325 irrigable acres in southern California,
it is likely that 1,949,600 acres (about thirty-three
per cent) will be irrigated.
304 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Summarizing the above data for the entire state, the
estimate is that, of the 21,865,200 acres irrigable,
9,699,600 acres (about forty-four per cent) may be
irrigated. As the report shows 3,192,646 acres irrigated
in 191 2, the estimate is that the present irrigated area
may be trebled.
Types of Irrigation Enterprises. The types of irri-
gation enterprises, as well classified by the United
States census bureau, are as follows :
"United States Reclamation Service enterprises, which operate
under the Federal law of June 17, 1902, providing for the construc-
tion of irrigation works with the receipts from the sale of public
lands.
"United States Indian Service enterprises, which operate under
various acts of Congress providing for the construction by that
service of works for the irrigation of land in Indian reservations.
"Carey Act enterprises, which operate under the federal law
of August 18, 1894, granting to each of the states in the arid
region 1,000,000 acres of land on condition that the state provide
for its irrigation, and under amendments to that law granting
additional areas to Idaho and Wyoming.
"Irrigation districts, which are public corporations that operate
under state laws providing for their organization and management,
and empowering them to issue bonds and levy and collect taxes
with the object of obtaining funds for the purchase or construction,
and for the operation and maintenance of irrigation works.
"Cooperative enterprises, which are controlled by the water
users under some organized form of cooperation. The most
common form of organization is the stock company, the stock
of which is owned by the water users.
"Commercial enterprises, which supply water for compensation
to parties who own no interest in the works. Persons obtaining
water from such enterprises are usually required to pay for the
right to receive water, and to pay, in addition, annual charges
based in some instances on the acreage irrigated and in others on
the quantity of water received.
"Individual and partnership enterprises, which belong to in-
dividual farmers or to neighboring farmers, who control them
without formal organization. It is not always possible to distin-
guish between partnership and cooperative enterprises, but as the
difference is slight this is unimportant."
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 305
All of the types are represented in California with
the exception of Carey Act enterprises. In order to
take advantage of the provisions of the congressional
Carey Act, each state mu§t accept its terms by the
passage of a state Carey Act. California has not done
so. The failure to do so has not been due to any
opposition to such projects, but has resulted from the
lack of interest in such on account of the small bodies
of irrigable desert land remaining as public lands in
the state.
The acreages irrigated and irrigable by each type of
project in California, as given by the census, are as
follows :
U. S. Reclamation Service, irrigated in 1909 400
Enterprises were capable of irrigating in 1910 1,200
Included in projects 14,200
U. S. Indian Service, irrigated in 1909 3>49°
Enterprises were capable of irrigating in 1910 3>49°
Included in projects 3>8°o
Irrigation districts, irrigated in 1909 I73>793
Enterprises were capable of irrigating in 1910 294,108
Included in projects 606,351
Cooperative enterprises, irrigated in 1909. . ._ 779,020
Enterprises were capable of irrigating in 1910 984,570
Included in projects !>388,435
Commerical enterprises, irrigated in 1909 746,265
Enterprises were capable of irrigating in 1910 1,204,059
Included in projects I >965>°63
Individual and partnership enterprises, irrigated in 1909.. 961,136
Enterprises were capable of irrigating in 1910 1,131,951
Included in projects I >5 12 >5 11
United States Reclamation Service Projects. The only
reclamation service project entirely within California
is the Orland project. The project consists of a
reservoir, on one of the tributaries of Stony creek, and
canals diverting water from the north and south banks
306 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
of the main creek for the irrigation of 14,000 acres
in Glenn and Tehama counties. The project has
recently been completed, but has not yet been for-
mally opened as a project subject to all the provisions
of the reclamation act.
The main canals formerly belonged to private
companies which, owing to lack of storage, served water
in the early part of the irrigation season only. The
Service, in purchasing the canals, has unified all
interests, and the project is certain to be a success.
Irrigation Districts. California was the first state
to pass an irrigation district act. Its "Wright Law"
of 1887, with later amendments, has been the model of
irrigation district legislation in other irrigation states.
It is not unusual today to meet men in northern
California who not only can see no need of irrigation,
but positively hold it to be a menace. As the act was
passed over a quarter of a century ago, it is not sur-
prising that there should have been intense opposition
to the formation of districts under its provisions. As
the valley lands were then, for the most part, in very
large holdings, the owners naturally objected to an
act which subjected their property to irrigation taxes
against their will. As a result, practically every
feature of the act was tested in the courts, and the
supreme court of California and of the United States
finally upheld the constitutionality of the act.
Forty-nine districts were organized soon after the
passage of the act, but only twenty-five ever issued
bonds. Of the twenty-five, only four are now being
operated — the Modesto, the Turlock, the Alta, and
the Tulare, and the last is not operated as a district,
although its system is in use.
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 307
It is apparent, therefore, that districts under the
original act were generally failures. The money
invested in their bonds was either entirely lost or
only partially recovered by settlement payments of
from thirty cents to eighty cents on the dollar.
Each district was controlled by a board of directors
elected from among the residents of the district. As
few, if any, of the directors had any experience in the
management of such projects, the consequent lack of
proper supervision is generally given as the principal
reason for the failures. It is now realized, however,
that most of the proposed projects would have failed
under the best management, as they were initiated
far too early to be properly colonized. Projects of
the best type, even today, find difficulty in securing
purchasers for their lands.
Regardless of the causes of failure, the fact remains
that irrigation district bonds became a drug in the
market. Within the past few years, the district
movement was revived, and two districts, the South
San Joaquin and the Oakdale districts, were organized.
The two new districts were properly advised along
engineering and legal lines, but they experienced the
old difficulty in selling bonds.
As a result, an organization of all those interested in
irrigation districts was formed to wage a campaign
to secure legislation deemed necessary, and the move-
ment has succeeded. In 191 1 legislation was adopted
creating a commission, composed of the attorney-
general, the state engineer and the superintendent
of banks, to report upon the feasibility of district
projects when so requested by the district board of
308 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
directors. Upon approval of the project by the com-
mission, the bonds of the district may be registered
at the office of the state controller and thereupon shall
be considered legal investments for all trust funds
and funds of insurance companies, banks, etc. By
this method the district bonds are placed upon the
same legal basis for purposes of investment as the bonds
of school districts and of cities and counties.
COOPERATIVE OR MUTUAL ENTERPRISES
The Anaheim Union Company. The cooperative or
mutual enterprise is an old type in California. So long
ago as 1856 the Los Angeles Vineyard association was
formed in San Francisco and purchased eleven hundred
and sixty-five acres of the Rancho San Juan y Cajon
de Santa Ana, lying along the Santa Ana river in Los
Angeles county. The original plan was to work the
land upon a cooperative basis for about three years,
and then make an allotment of the subdivisions — aggre-
gating fifty vineyard lots and fifty town lots — to each
member. The town of Anaheim was started in 1857.
In 1859 the Anaheim Water company was incorpo-
rated, and the irrigation system was conveyed to it.
The stock of the water company was divided into fifty
shares — one issued to each of the fifty vineyard lot
owners. The stock was made appurtenant to the
land and could be conveyed only with the land. The
Anaheim Union company is still an excellent example
of the mutual type of enterprise.
Mutual Water Companies of the Imperial Valley.
Although the members of the Anaheim colony must
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 309
be recognized as pioneer irrigators, their work is no
more praiseworthy than that of the settlers of the
Imperial valley, almost half a century later.
The Imperial valley was an uninhabited desert so
late as 1900. It is mostly below sea level, the bottom
of Salton Sea being more than two hundred and eighty
feet below sea level. Its summers are long and hot —
the maximum daily temperatures ranging from ninety
to one hundred twenty-six degrees Fahrenheit. Its
average annual rainfall is less than three inches.
The valley is now irrigated by a main canal belonging
to the California Development company and by lateral
systems belonging to seven mutual water companies —
known as Mutual Water companies Nos. 1, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8 and 12. These mutual companies differ from the
ordinary mutual companies in that they own a part
only of the system. The California Development
company originally owned the lateral systems and
sold stock in the mutual companies for from fifteen
to twenty-five dollars per share — one share of stock
being appurtenant to one acre of land. The Develop-
ment company charges fifty cents per acre foot for
water delivered to the mutual companies.
In 191 2, the seven mutual companies irrigated
228,600 acres — a remarkable showing for twelve years.
COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES
Commercial enterprises may be divided into three
groups as follows:
First — Enterprises furnishing water on a rental basis
only;
310 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Second — Enterprises selling water rights and charg-
ing either a fixed or variable annual rate in addition;
Third — Enterprises selling water rights and a pro
rata interest in the irrigation system. The enterprises
of this group may become mutual enterprises.
First Group of Commercial Enterprises. There are
many examples of the first group among the old systems
of the state. The old Moore ditch, now the property of
the Yolo Water company, was started in 1856. It
diverts water from Cache creek for the irrigation of
lands in Yolo county. The largest system on the
west side of the San Joaquin valley — the San Joaquin
and Kings River Canal and Irrigation company — is
another example. Many of the mining ditches con-
structed during the fifties for hydraulic mining in the
Sierra and foothills are now used for irrigation purposes
and fall into this group.
Water is delivered by the systems of the first group
on a quantity basis (that is, so much per twenty-four
hours inch or per acre foot), or on a flat acreage basis at
rates formerly fixed by the county board of supervisors
and now fixed by the Railroad Commission.
Second Group of Commercial Enterprises. Although
there are many examples of the first group, the favorite
type of commercial enterprise in the past has been the
second group — those selling water rights and charging
an additional annual rate. Prominent examples in the
San Joaquin Valley are the Fresno Canal and Irrigation
company and the Consolidated Canal company, divert-
ing water from Kings river for the irrigation of about
360,000 acres in Fresno county, and the Crocker-
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 311
Huffman Land and Water company, diverting water
from Merced river for the irrigation of about 60,000
acres in Merced county.
There has been much litigation over the rights of
companies to charge for the so-called "water right."
The most notable instance is that of the California
Development company, delivering water on a contract
basis to the mutual companies of the Imperial valley.
The United States circuit court of appeals in
Imperial Water Company No. 5 v. Holabird (as receiver
of California Development company) [197 Fed. 4],
decided May 6, 191 2, holds that the contract in question
is void, as the company is a public service corporation
and, therefore, obligated to furnish water on tender of
the annual rate. The whole decision is based on the
assumption that the company is a public service
corporation.
The supreme court of California, however, in Thayer
v. California Development Company (128 Pac. 21, 164
Cal. 117), decided November 8, 1912, holds that the
company is not a public service corporation as it has
not sold water to any users except those under contract
with it. The court, therefore, denies the right of
Thayer to receive water from the company without
purchasing and holding a water right — that is, stock in
one of the mutual water companies.
According to the Thayer decision, the water right
contracts of enterprises of the second group will be
upheld in all cases where the company has delivered
water only to those holding contracts. In order to
place such companies in the class of public utilities
subject to the jurisdiction of the Railroad Commission,
312 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
legislation was recently passed (approved April 30,
191 3) declaring all water companies public utilities
except those organized for the sole purpose of delivering
water to their stockholders at cost. This act makes
all irrigation companies, except mutual companies,
public utilities.
Third Group of Commercial Enterprises. There are
very few examples of commercial irrigation enterprises
(of the first two groups) in any of the western states
which have been successful financially. To the unini-
tiated there seems great potential wealth in a project
which will cause desert-like land, worth only a few
dollars per acre, to jump to fifty or more dollars per
acre. Those experienced, however, know that this
great increment goes, and has gone, to the land owner
and not to the water company. The successful plan
adopted today is to place the enterprise in the third
group — those selling water rights entitling the pur-
chaser to a pro rata interest in the system. Not only
are commercial enterprises so organizing, but the
Reclamation Service projects and the Carey Act proj-
ects, under the provisions of the respective congres-
sional acts, become the property of the land owners
when all charges are paid.
Recent examples of the third group are the Sacra-
mento Valley Irrigation company, diverting water from
the Sacramento river for the irrigation of about one
hundred and fifty thousand acres in Glenn and Colusa
counties, and the Patterson Land company, diverting
water from the San Joaquin river for the irrigation of
nineteen thousand acres in Stanislaus county.
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 313
The big problem before such companies is coloniza-
tion, rather than irrigation. The companies own the
land (or most of it) under their systems and make
their profits out of the sale of the land. The installa-
tion of the irrigation system is but an incidental,
though prominent, part of the colonization scheme.
A great number of the mutual water companies of
California were started as commercial enterprises
of this group.
IRRIGATION LEGISLATION
Although the miners of California in the construction
of ditches in the early fifties departed from the old
common law doctrine of riparian rights and recognized
their new doctrine of appropriation only, the former
doctrine is the paramount rule in California today.
The miners in each district formulated rules governing
the possession of both mines and ditches and the early
practice of initiating a claim — to either mineral land
or water — was by posting a notice. This practice
rested on local rules only for many years and was
finally adopted as the statutory method in 1872.
The other western states followed the lead of Cali-
fornia, but most of them have adopted better legislation
during the past twenty years. Under the newer codes,
one intending to appropriate water must apply to a
state officer for permission to do so. The state officer,
in approving the application, fixes the time of beginning
and completing construction work and the application
of the water to beneficial use. The applicant, there-
fore, knows, before expending any money in construc-
tion, just what he must accomplish so far as time is
314 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
concerned. As it is now in California, an appropriator,
after posting and recording his notice, must proceed
with reasonable diligence, and just what reasonable
diligence is, must, in contested cases, be decided by a
jury.
California has no special procedure for adjudicating
water rights. One must protect his right as he would
any other property right, by suing everyone who
injures him. Under the newer codes in other western
states, the rights along an entire stream system are
determined by a state officer or commission, specially
and technically qualified, in a comparatively short
time and at very little expense to the claimant.
Under the present system in California, there is
no state officer whose duty it is to divide the waters
of a stream in accordance with the court decrees,
where such exist. After long and expensive litigation
one may have the case decided in his favor, but gen-
erally he must choose between physical force or more
litigation in order to stop the wrongful diversions by
the losing parties. Unfortunately, physical force is
accepted as the only alternative to secure results, and
lamentable frays between armed guards follow. Other
western states have adopted statutes providing for
water masters to close or partially close ditches having
late rights so that the water will go down to those
entitled to its first use. These water masters supervise
the orderly use of irrigation water as a well organized
police corps preserves order in a town.
Since 1900, many irrigators in California have been
striving to secure better legislation regarding water
rights. A bill containing most of the good features
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 315
of the newer legislation in other states was passed by
the legislature in 191 3 and approved by the governor.
Its operation has been suspended, however, by a
petition to refer it to a vote of the people at the general
fall election in 19 14.
It is believed by those who know the successful
operation of the newer irrigation codes in other western
states that the opposition in California is due to lack
of knowledge of the real purpose of such legislation.
In southern California, the water rights on many
streams have been settled by years of litigation. The
owners of such rights are fearful that the new statute
will necessitate more litigation for them — which is
not the case. Many others, although admitting the
crudeness of the present system, or lack of it, hesitate
to accept a new scheme of which they are not sure.
The fate of the new bill at the general election is,
therefore, very uncertain.
As stated above, the doctrine of riparian rights is
superior to that of appropriation in California. The
supreme court of California so decided in the famous
case of Lux v. Haggin (69 Cal. 255) in 1886, and has
since in many cases refused to depart from its opinion
therein given. A riparian owner along a stream has
a right to use its waters for irrigation purposes provided
he does not take more than his proportional share,
considering the other riparian owners. He is not
limited to any degree of reasonableness of use when
attempting to restrain a diversion by an appropriator
to nonriparian lands.
As the great bodies of land to be irrigated in Cali-
fornia lie distant from streams — that is, are not riparian
316 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
thereto — the riparian doctrine is an obstacle in the
way of industrial development. It has been fixed
upon the state by the courts and must remain until
they decree otherwise — which is a consummation
devoutly to be wished but not likely to be realized.
DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERGROUND WATERS
According to the census of 1909, 125,590 acres were
irrigated in the arid states from flowing wells, and
308,043 acres irrigated from pumped wells. Of these
totals, 55,818 acres were irrigated in California from
flowing wells, and 276,595 irrigated from pumped wells.
It is clear, therefore, that California far outranks the
other arid states in the use of underground waters.
The census (1909) gives California 1,604 reservoirs
with a total capacity of 743,269 acre-feet, and gives
Colorado 1,084 reservoirs with a total capacity of
2,646,591. Arizona, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming are
also far ahead of California in the aggregate capacity of
reservoirs. Although California leads in the number
of reservoirs, the great number is due to the fact that
many very small reservoirs are used in connection with
its pumping plants.
The reports of the United States geological survey
and the United States reclamation service show that
there are many reservoir sites which have not been
utilized in the Coast range and in the Sierra. In
southern California, however, practically all available
sites for feasible reservoirs are now in use and the
irrigators are turning their attention to subterranean
storage. Detailed studies of water supply in southern
California, particularly in the Owens valley, the San
IRRIGATION IN CALIFORNIA 317
Bernardino valley, and the vicinity of San Diego, show
the need for such underground storage on account
of the tremendous losses of stored and natural waters
in transit in the regular channels. This need has been
so recognized by congress that public land in the
''debris cones" of southern California streams has
been reserved for the sole purpose of underground
storage — through the artificial spreading of the flood
waters of the streams over the surface.
The extended use of underground water in California,
and particularly in southern California, is reflected
in the resulting litigation — which has been so extensive
that a new doctrine governing the use of percolating
waters has been established.
Elsewhere in the western states, the common law
rule of percolating waters applies — that is, such
waters belong to the land owner. Under the new rule,
as adopted by the supreme court of California, the
land owner is restricted to a reasonable use of the
water on his overlying land, and his neighbor may pump
from his (the neighbor's) land to land not overlying
the percolating water, provided he does not interfere
with such reasonable use. The aim of the new rule
is to secure a reasonable use of the percolating waters.
It is very different from the riparian doctrine, governing
surface waters, as, under the latter, the riparian owner
may restrain a diversion to nonriparian land regardless
of the reasonableness of use on the riparian land.
The new rule of percolating waters, therefore, results
in economy of use and conservation of the water supply,
while the riparian doctrine fortifies waste and prevents
efficiency.
318 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
THE OUTLOOK
Although the legal situation regarding irrigation
water rights in California leaves room for great im-
provement, it must not be concluded that it is an
insurmountable obstacle in the way of irrigation
development. A business house adopting the most
efficient methods operates at far less cost than one
which sticks to those of fifty years ago. So, in Cali-
fornia, greater expenditures than in other states are
necessary to perfect the water rights, but the difference
in selling prices, of land irrigated and land not irrigated,
is ample to stand the greater outlay.
As stated above, the problem regarding new irrigation
works is one of colonization rather than one of engineer-
ing. The attractiveness of the climate and the fertility
of the soil insure an ever increasing population, so that
the real difficulty in the way of irrigation development
must disappear as the years roll on.
^t £> ^^^L^^^^C^^^
THE CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY
WILD apples, pears, plums, cherries, grapes,
blackberries, raspberries, strawberries,
gooseberries, cranberries, huckleberries,
elderberries, currants, etc. — practically all
fruits whose names and characters are common to
English speech are native to California, and the species
thereof are, for the most part, different from those
found wild elsewhere. Besides these, other fruits of
semi-tropical fame, such as the almond, the walnut,
the olive, the jujube, etc., have botanical relatives
indigenous to California. The wild fruits were the
delight of the aboriginal Indians and bears — many of
them refreshed the throngs of gold seekers of 1849 and
some still remain in local esteem. Wild fruits hang
about the snow line on the mountains, crest the ridges
of the foothills, festoon the river banks of the valleys,
hang upon the cliffs, or spread upon the sand beaches
of the ocean.
The Spanish missionaries, who reached Lower
California in 1697 and entered our territory in 1769 to
Christianize the Indians, established missions which
comprised churches and residences and farms to render
the establishments self-supporting. Between 1769 and
1823 more than a score were founded through a
distance of about 500 miles along the California coast
under the authority of the king of Spain and all of
them had irrigated gardens which were planted with
fruits from Mediterranean countries.
Thus came the first cultivated apples, cherries, pears,
plums, peaches, and apricots — grown from the seed of
the then popular kinds in Spain. The grape and fig
322 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
came also in the form of cuttings. But the most sig-
nificant contribution by the padres was the introduction
of distinctively semi-tropical fruits : the orange, citron,
lime, olive, and pomegranate. Fruits were grown in
considerable quantities at the missions. The mission
vineyards were of notable area and value of wine
product — in fact, the beginning of the export wine trade
consisted in a shipment of mission wine from Lower
California to Mexico in 1707 where it was exchanged
for other goods. The first commercial fruit growing
by Americans was in 1850 when, securing possession of
the remnants of the old mission gardens, they stimu-
lated them to new production and sold the products
to the inrushing gold seekers.
Fruits also came to California by way of Siberia for
the Russian outpost on the coast of Mendocino county,
as early as 1812, possessed an orchard of apples and
cherries and some of the original trees still survive —
old, mossy, and not very thrifty but still bearing fruit.
Improved fruits came to Oregon with the American
pioneers as early as 1847, and trees from this stock
reached California in 1 85 1 . This introduction is notable
because the trees were grafted and were the first of
improved and named varieties to reach the state.
Fruits came to California from everywhere. The
almost fabulous prices of the early fifties, the surprising
size and excellence of the fruits first grown and the
sight of the semi-tropical fruits growing in the open air
at the missions, stimulated the pioneers to send for
fruit trees to all countries whence they had come, and
an industry full of unique phases arose rapidly with
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 323
plants from every clime and has attained an eminence
in volume, value and variety of products which it is
our purpose to outline.
In passing to this task, however, let it be noted that
the California fruit industry is not new, but is of ancient
and honorable origin. It is not generally known that
at the time of the establishment of the United States
as a nation, there was a larger acreage of bearing fruit
trees and vines in California than in all the rest of the
territory which now constitutes our national domain.
WHY DOES FRUIT GROW SO WELL IN CALIFORNIA?
California soils are prevalently deep, rich, and loamy.
Not only are the alluvial deposits often of similar
character to the depth of many feet, but the soils of
higher lands formed by rock decomposition are also
free and fertile to a notable depth. Only in spots does
the planter encounter an infertile subsoil; the rule is
that the roots of trees and vines strike deeply — five,
ten, yes even at twenty to thirty feet below the surface,
well diggers have found them helping themselves to
subterranean moisture. Thus the California fruit
grower who makes a good location may buy the equiva-
lent of several ordinary eastern farms, one above the
other, and his trees and vines will strike roots through
all of them. This is one of the reasons why deciduous
fruit trees in California can grow thriftily and bear
large fruit, though not a drop of rain may fall during
the half year of spring and summer, while at the east
a few weeks of drought may seriously distress them.
Another reason why California fruits are large is
the length of the growing season. The high winter
324 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
temperature makes Februaryand March the months of
bloom, then come the months which are warm enough
almost everywhere and then September, October, and
part of November, with temperatures still favorable
for deciduous fruit ripening. Thus it appears that for
these fruits California has a month or two advantage
in the spring and a month or two again in the fall — at
least three months advantage on the whole in the
length of the growing season as compared with average
eastern locations — a quarter of a year more growth for
the fruit, a quarter of a year more of delightful con-
ditions for outdoor labor for the man in helping the
tree to do its best. But this comparison is, of course,
unjust to California, for it is based only on the activity
of deciduous fruit trees such as are grown in wintry
climates. After this comes the season of ripening of
many semi-tropical fruits — the orange, lemon, grape-
fruit, olive, etc. They reach their fruitage while the
deciduous trees are resting and the temperatures which
favor the fruiting of these trees also encourage, in
many places, the strawberry and raspberry to add
another delightful fragrance to the winter air and an-
other phase of deliciousness to the winter menu. All
this is merely another way of saying that California
has an evergrowing temperature — each fruit according
to its nature spreads its bloom, makes its growth and
completes its maturity without haste or hindrance.
How can it escape being large, handsome, and luscious,
providing man gives it the culture which meets its
requirements and befits its nature?
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 325
But there is involved a finer point still. There is in
California an atmospheric quality which works together
with light and heat for the development of fruit and
the preparation of fruit products. The dryness of the
air promotes the efficiency of sunlight: the energy
of that light opens opportunity for the fullest employ-
ment of heat. In a moist summer climate there is a
screen invisible to the eye but nevertheless, to a degree,
destructive of the efficiency of sunshine. It is to the
perfect transparency of dry air that the sunlight of
California owes a part of its efficiency, and the evidence
thereof is the clearness and delicacy of the colors of
California fruits. Moist air deepens tints and tends
toward russet blemishes; the dry air tends to brilliance
and to refinement. Then, too, light and heat work
together in fruit chemistry and promote the production
of sugars, oils, and essences whence come fruity flavors
and the nutritive qualities and they continue their
labors, in connection with dry air, in the preservation
of fruit from decay while it is maturing, and in retaining
natural colors in dried fruit so that California sun
dried fruit reaches the highest standard described in
the trade as "evaporated fruit."
All these factors contribute to the distinctive
excellence of California fruit but all these would fail
of results without the ever present promotive and pro-
tective skill and devotion of the growers. California
fruit growers as a class have no superiors among
agricultural producers in the application of science,
invention, and experimental knowledge to the promotion
of their business. They have practically revolutionized
326 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
fruit growing all the way from soil to sale. They
plant, prune, cultivate, irrigate, protect, pick, pack
and sell fruits according to methods they have them-
selves devised. All other fruit growing states and
countries study their ways and are imitating them so
far as adaptable to other conditions.
But after all, the underlying secret of success in
California fruit growing is the conception of the tree
or vine as a producing machine which must be developed
and maintained in the highest degree of efficiency.
This idea of a tree widely prevails, and in commercial
plantings is sharply and diligently pursued. The tree
must have the best shape to bear a fair amount of
large, well-developed fruit. It must be a low tree in
order that all work upon it can be most cheaply done.
It must grow every year a sufficient amount of strong,
new wood, and to do this it must be pruned to prevent
overgrowth and over-bearing. On the other hand,
satisfactory growth and fruit-bearing must also be
promoted by constant cultivation of the soil and by
irrigation and fertilization, when necessary. It must
be protected in its strength by the absolute destruction
of injurious insects, blight, and diseases. All this
signifies that the tree must be maintained in full
possession of its producing powers, and the California
grower expects to stand beside his trees, constantly
training and pushing them to their work and generously
assisting them to all that they need to do it well. It is
this conception of the grower's relation to his trees and
the discharge of the duties which such relation requires,
which have brought to California fruit growing such
notable success and wide repute.
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 327
VOLUME AND VALUES OF THE CALIFORNIA
FRUIT PRODUCTS
The reader can better understand the confidence
with which the foregoing declarations are made when
the demonstration in terms of volume and value is
cited. A third of a century ago California did little
beyond the supply of her own people. Since then the
advancement has been rapid and the following is her
position among the states and the volume of the product
by which it is attained, as compiled from the thirteenth
census of the United States :
RANK OF CALIFORNIA IN THE UNITED STATES IN
THE PRODUCTION OF FRUITS
Kind of Fruit Rank Among States Value of Product 1909
Almond first # 700,304
Apple ninth 2,901,622
Apricot first 2,768,921
Cherry first 95 1 ,624
Fig first 260,153
Grape first 10,846,812
Lemon first 2,976,571
Olive first 401,277
Orange first 12,951,505
Peach first 8,563,427
Pear first 1,660,963
Plum and Prune first 5,473,539
Walnut, English first 2,247,193
Berries third 1,789,214
Total value* first 50,704,834
"Including minor fruits not listed.
Thus it appears that California leads the other states
in every fruit except two and leads in the total value of
all fruits produced by all states — producing in fact about
one-fourth of all the fruit grown in the United States.
328 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Four crops have been gathered since the census
year, 1909, and the California fruit interests have
notably advanced. Including this increase and using
the commercial value of the fruits as they reach the
markets instead of the "farm value" which the census
gives, a total value at the present time is estimated to
be one hundred millions of dollars.
But striking as is the rapid advance in fruit produc-
tion in California during the last quarter of a century,
it must be conceded that the achievement in successfully
marketing such an immense product at a mean distance
of 2,500 miles from the place of its growth is without
parallel in the commercial history of the world. The
Mediterranean countries, it is true, have for centuries
done a thriving business in long distance fruit market-
ing, but they never reached such an aggregate of value
and they handled chiefly citrus fruits and that by
water routes — most durable fruits by the least trying
transportation. California has not only marketed more
destructible fruits at a greater mean distance, but has
had to employ the most expensive and most trying
transportation — the incessant jar of the railway train,
the dessication and dust of the desert; the stress upon
fruit twice lifted a mile and a half into the air and twice
rattled down again to the plain, as two great mountain
ranges are crossed, including the protection of the fruit
against freezing cold and melting heat — all these and
similarly trying conditions have been triumphed over
in the development of this interesting traffic.
The record of the marketing of California fruits and
fruit products beyond state lines therefore commands
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 329
attention. In the following figures no account is made
of the fruits handled in the local markets of California:
CALIFORNIA OVERLAND SHIPMENTS IN TONS IN 1912
Citrus Fruits 479,098
Deciduous Fruits 167,603
Dried Fruits 194,175
Nuts and Olives I 5>399
Canned Fruits 89,946
Fresh Vegetables 129,659
Wine and Brandy 93*249
1,169,128
Thus it appears that the equivalent of 116,912
carloads of ten tons each of fruits and fruit products
were shipped out of the state of California by rail in
the year 191 2. Shipments by sea might add the
equivalent of 20,000 carloads to the total.
RELATIVE AMOUNTS OF DIFFERENT FRUITS IN
OVERLAND SHIPMENTS
To show the standing of different fruits shipped as fresh fruits
the following compilation is made:
Carloads
Apricots (1913) 169^
Cherries " 231
Grapes " 6,363^
Peaches " 2,395^
Pears u 2,485^
Plums « 1,668
Miscellaneous (1913) i$}4 13,331^
Oranges (1911) 4 6 ,394
Lemons " 6,764 53, 158
Total carloads 66,489^4
330 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
CALIFORNIA DRIED FRUIT AND NUT PRODUCT OF IQI2
Tons
Apples 3,6oo
Apricots 20,000
Figs 5,000
Peaches 30,000
Prunes 102,000
Raisins 95,000
Miscellaneous 3,000 258,600
Walnuts 11,250
Almonds 3,000 14,250
Total of dried fruits and nuts 272,850
INFLUENCE OF FRUIT GROWING UPON THE DEVELOPMENT
OF CALIFORNIA
The records already cited to show the preeminence
of California in the fruit industries of the United States
convey also, by inference, an idea of their importance
in the development of the state, but a definite measure
thereof is pertinent. This is found in the growth in
assessed valuation of a number of counties which have
the greatest orchard and vineyard interests.
ASSESSED VALUATION OF LEADING FRUIT COUNTIES
IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
County 1876 1903 191 2
Santa Clara 27 60 78
Sonoma 15 28^4 40
Napa 8 13 17
Solano 9 19 25
Placer $}4 VA J 3
Fresno 8 31 79
Los Angeles 14* 165 726
Orange — 13 44
San Bernardino 2^f 17 58
Riverside — 14 31
San Diego 2^ i8>< 59
*Including Orange ", ~
tlncluding Riverside 9*>2 3 86 H7°
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 331
Here then we have a group of counties before and after
taking the fruit interest, showing property value
increased nearly thirteen times by the operation.
Some counties have advanced but little it is true, but
one must remember that in some cases, as other
industries declined, their territory would have lapsed to
range value had not the fruit interest arisen. Again,
other counties have advanced so remarkably that one
is prone to seek the cause in the inrush of eastern
capital for home making and city building. But even
here it was the glory of California fruit which incited
and has sustained the movement. This is particularly
true in Los Angeles county.
If, however, one is inclined to regard fruit growing
rather more as incidental than fundamental in the
development of southern California, let him consider
the growth of Fresno and Santa Clara counties. Their
advancement argues indisputably the direct, attractive,
and constructive power of fruit growing. These
counties, and their famous cities of Fresno and San
Jose, have risen to settlement and wealth by the achieve-
ments of those who pursued fruit growing and fruit
preservation, not for their health but from strictly
business considerations, and the attendant growth of
manufacture and commerce is a corollary of the fruit
industry.
Another important contribution of the fruit industry
to the development of California is found in the quality
of citizenship. Fruit growing operations are exceed-
ingly attractive to those who turn from the professions
to seek an outdoor life in a salubrious climate. Man
has never outgrown his taste for fruit which was first
332 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
manifested in Eden, and the thought of constant asso-
ciation of sunshine, fruits, and flowers with his life
and work is most delightful to his esthetic sense. The
horticultural arts seem also to be more elegant and
the manual labor which they exact more clean and hon-
orable than the coarser forms of agriculture. The result
has been the attraction to California in fuller degree
than to any other new state, of people of culture and of
refined tastes, people loyal to education and morality
and generous in their support of such interests. The
class of trade to which fruit products pertain was also
attractive and the opportunity to invest freely in build-
ing up new trade in such products interested people who
had accumulated wealth in all lines of manufacturing
and commerce.
The result has been that the population attracted to
California by fruit growing has been of an exceptionally
desirable class and at the same time the fruit interest
has advanced still more rapidly by reason of this
acquisition because the promoters were possessed of
ample wealth, organizing skill, business ability, and
quick apprehension not only of the most successful
cultural details, but of the broad principles upon the
basis of which a new phase of industry must advance
and a new community escape crudity. No other form
of agriculture could have accomplished for California
what fruit growing has done in securing and promoting
quality in citizenship and in establishing a type of
homes, which, from cottage to villa, manifests the same
aspirations and attributes of enlightened manhood and
womanhood.
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 333
WHAT CALIFORNIA HAS DONE FOR FRUIT GROWING
The ability to originate and invent and to adapt
means to ends has been most clearly displayed in the
up-building of the fruit interests of California and it is
interesting to note briefly that a significant service has
been rendered to fruit growing everywhere because
methods and policies recognized as Californian are being
introduced, wherever practicable, in all parts of the
world. Governmental commissioners have appeared
from all civilized countries and have made elaborate
reports of their observation of California methods.
Not only have young trees and vines been shipped in
all directions from our nurseries, but implements and
machinery employed in fruit growing and preservation
have been widely exported. Greater service than this
has been rendered in the demonstration of the value of
certain pomological methods and policies which are
proving helpful to fruit growers in other parts of the
world. Among these may be named:
First: The importance of clean cultivation during
the growing season, not alone in the conservation of
rainfall but in promoting physical conditions in the
soil which are favorable to vigorous root-action.
California may not have invented such cultivation but
the world paid no heed to it until California exhibited
its benefits by thousands of acres. Now it is the
accepted method nearly everywhere and the epoch of
grass growing in orchards has closed, even in the most
humid climates. In his report of the experiments made
on Woburn farm in England in 1903, the Duke of
Bedford shows that trees in cultivated ground made in
334 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
some cases twice, and in some cases thrice, the growth
of trees growing in grass. The ancestors of the Duke of
Bedford probably in their adoration of turf scorned old
Jethro TulPs "Horse Hoeing Husbandry" in 1733, but
the California demonstration of the truth of Tull's
theory of tillage is bringing belated honor to the
prophet in his own country.
Second: California has shown the essential nature
of thorough surface cultivation in connection with
irrigation and this demonstration is influencing practice
wherever irrigation is employed.
Third: Irrigation supplies always available in case
of deficiency in rainfall are recognized in California as
the safeguard of horticultural investments and of thrift
of trees and vines and this, too, is being provided for
now in humid regions where recently irrigation was
looked upon as only valuable in deserts.
Fourth: Low, vase-shaped fruit trees were formerly
grown in gardens. Today they are found in orchards
on all continents, but California furnished the demon-
stration of their superior economy, thrift, and profit
and banished the old, high-trunk, cow-browsed fruit
trees from commercial orcharding. Modern fruit grow-
ers cannot afford to use spliced ladders, nor can trees
afford to pump sap through several yards of fire wood
in the shape of useless trunk and main branches.
Fifth: Orchard and vineyard protection from pest
and disease first reached great and systematic develop-
ment in California and the two most effective insecti-
cides for fruit tree insects now in use originated in this
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 335
state. In California also the most striking demonstra-
tion of the value of pursuing injurious insects by
multiplying their natural enemies, has been reached.
Sixth: California has led in the new and aggressive
American policy to market fruit products abroad and
has reached signal achievement in supplying American
markets with certain fruits and fruit products previously
available only through importation.
Seventh : Success in the organization of fruit growers
for cooperative action in preparation and marketing
of their own products has enabled California to enforce
policies of wide distribution and economic production
which alone could avert the disaster which usually
attains very rapid increase in the volume of products
which are not already recognized as staple foods.
Eighth: California has reached such success in plant
breeding that a very large part of the varieties com-
mercially grown are of local origin. The production
of fruit in large quantities required varieties adapted
to local conditions of climate and suited to the definite
purposes involved in long shipment, in drying and in
canning. The varieties which delight the amateur may
bring no profit to the commercial grower. California
succeeded so well in reaching these commercial
standards that the California varieties are being
accepted as a basis upon which to begin fruit growing
in the uttermost parts of the world. California con-
ditions also must be credited with bringing new life to
a number of old varieties too delicate in their nature
to reach commercial standing in more trying climates.
Ninth: California also holds the leading place for
the creation of new varieties, found unique and valuable
336 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
both to commercial growers and amateurs, in the
achievements of Luther Burbank, who has worked with
an eye on the requirements of the world at large.
THE SATISFACTION OF IT ALL
Enlistment in California fruit growing has proved
exceedingly satisfactory to tens of thousands of people
in the various ways along which they have approached
it. The fruit districts are full of cottage homes shelter-
ing families of those who have begun with small
investments and have made a good livelihood and often
considerably more, from a few acres of fruits grown
largely without expenditure for hired labor. The
study of the needs of the tree or vine and ministering
to them by personal effort has brought new health,
new strength, and new incentive to the worn and weary,
who have taken up outdoor life and activity in Cali-
fornia fruit growing, with a wise choice of location,
land, and fruits; for obviously, in all investments one
must be wise as well as willing.
In larger operations hundreds have today notably
succeeded by purchasing good land in large tracts at
low rates and making ample investment for its develop-
ment and improvement. Some of the most delightful
of our towns and villages have arisen as a direct
result of such employment of capital. Well established
communities, well churched and schooled, well provided
for in local trade and transportation and widely
known for the high intellectual, moral, and social
standing of their citizens, have followed investment
of money and devoted effort in colony enterprises.
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 337
Hundreds also have purchased large tracts of wild
land and have developed fine estates for their own
personal gratification, with thriving orchards of all
kinds of fruits, rich pastures tenanted with improved
live stock, parks, gardens, and buildings comparable
with the estates of the European nobility, except that
California conditions favor freedom and variety in
outdoor effort unknown in Europe and command
proportional interest and enthusiasm. Estates for
winter residence in California are exceptionally desir-
able not only because of natural advantages and greater
possibilities of development but because of the
advanced standing of the state financially and socially.
All of these three lines of effort then — home making
in a small way, colony enterprises and private estate
development — have yielded, on the whole, great
satisfaction and success. Fruit growing has been the
central idea in nearly all of them but it is obvious that
activity in any productive line begets opportunity
for other lines and so all branches of agriculture have
advanced and the diversification is highly desirable.
Opportunities in manufacture, trade, and professional
effort of all kinds have been quickly seized and devel-
oped with much originality and success. Fruit growing
has created them all and has in turn been advanced
by them all, for every accumulation of capital
promotes it. Successful toilers in all lines become
planters. The ancestral delight of the race, to sit
beneath one's own vine or fig tree, is nowhere more
enthusiastically manifested than in California and
nowhere does the emotion of comfort in ownership
yield such profound and protracted satisfaction.
338 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
THE OUTLOOK FOR CALIFORNIA FRUITS
The outlook for California fruits and fruit products
involves considerations of much economic interest.
Though the volume is already large and there may be
experienced now and then temporary dullness or
depression in this line or that, the business is on the
whole brisk and profitable. There is such a wide
range in the fruits grown and the products made from
them and such changes in local conditions in the many
purchasing states and foreign countries with which
Californians deal, that there must be some fluctuation
in the values of some of the supplies offered in distant
markets. The result is that first one fruit and then
another seems to be more or less profitable. The
fact, however, that all are increasing in volume and
that the total traffic brings each year more money to
the state, is a demonstration of the standing of the
collective output. Each year new markets are found
both at home and abroad and the capacity of old
centers of distribution is shown to be greater than
anticipated. There seems to be every reason to expect
that the products can be profitably multiplied. Al-
though there still remain problems to be solved in
overland transportation, there has been such improve-
ment in the last few years that distant shipment has
become more safe and profitable and distribution far
wider. It is reasonable to believe that further improve-
ment in movement and reduction of cost will be realized
and the per capita consumption in the populous parts
of our own country proportionally advanced. In
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 339
spite of all that the wintry states can do for local
supplies, California can find open markets before and
after the short ripening season of the eastern states
for her early and late fruits and can use her own
mid-season fruits in the drying and canning industries,
though it is a fact that even in the height of the eastern
fruit season, a considerable quantity of California fruit
will command the highest prices because of its exceptional
size, beauty and keeping qualities. The citrus fruits
will continue to supply an American product of excep-
tional quality and freshness, while prunes, nuts,
raisins, and wines will not only do this but will push
forward into the trade of Europe as they are now
beginning to do in a most vigorous manner. A very
startling and significant report was made by one of the
United States consuls in France recently, that our
canned and dried fruits were appearing on the shelves
of all the provision shops of the smaller French towns
and were being freely sold without reducing the prices
of the locally grown fruit. Practically the same thing
could be said of points in Germany and in other Euro-
pean countries. The fact is that European countries
cannot grow fruit enough to supply their own people
and fruit has been largely a luxury. California dried
fruits are being welcomed by the great middle classes
and are likely to become a staple of their diet. This
explains the ultimate disposition of the large amounts
now going direct from California to Europe. The
promotion of such traffic by the building of the Panama
canal need only be suggested.
340 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
OPPORTUNITY IN CALIFORNIA'S GEOGRAPHICAL
POSITION
California's exports of high class food supplies to
European countries are likely to reach values like
those of the wheat and barley, which were formerly
shipped to that part of the world but the development
of adjacent territory on the American continent and
other Pacific countries may shape the future of Cali-
fornia as a fruit producing state in a way which can at
present only be dreamed about. It should be remem-
bered that California has a unique character from a
horticultural point of view. Not only does the state
have a monopoly of semi-tropical conditions of the
United States (excepting parts of Florida and Arizona),
but California has command of the whole of northwest
America and the whole of northeast Asia, not only in
the supply of semi-tropical fruits but in early ripening of
hardy fruits as well. California does not grow tropical
fruits; they must come from the islands and the
tropical south-coast countries. Semi-tropical fruits are
however, vastly more important in commerce than
tropical, and a region which successfully combines
northern orchard fruits with the whole semi-tropical
class commands the fruit trade of all accessible populous
regions which have limited fruit capabilities. There
are now four such regions with the kind of population
which makes for industrial advancement: southern
Europe, south Africa, parts of Australia and California.
As already shown, we are competing successfully with
south Europe in the capacious markets of north Europe.
South Africa and Australia are unfortunate in lying in
CALIFORNIA FRUIT INDUSTRY 341
the southern hemisphere which is mostly ocean wastes
and they are handicapped by tropic-crossing in their
northern shipments, although the fact of opposite sea-
sons may help them, and us also, in avoiding competi-
tion for trade which both desire. California by the
Panama Canal is less than half as far by sea from
European and Atlantic coast ports than formerly, but
California in the future will have less occasion for such
distant recourses. Prophets farseeing in world courses
declare that the Pacific Ocean is to be the arena for
commerce greater than the world has yet seen, and
Pacific coast countries are to contain the greater part
of the world's population. This greatest quarto-sphere
with its superlative opportunities and activities will
have California as its treasure house of fruits and fruit
products. During the half-year of winter the citrus
fruits will afford tonic and refreshment, and before
hardy fruits bloom in northern climes, the same
fruits will appear from the early ripening districts of
California. In this traffic California will not only be
practically without a competitor, but sitting beside the
sea, there will also be every advantage of water trans-
portation and the sustaining ocean temperatures for
the fruits in transit. California dried and canned
fruits will render acceptable diet available even through
the most Arctic stretches along which development may
advance in north America and north Asia while a suc-
cession of fresh fruits will flow to all Pacific ports
throughout the year. California, too, will be the win-
ter residence for all the north Pacific millionaires and
the haven of rest and recuperation for all who are worn
by Arctic cold or tropical heat throughout the great
342 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
circle of the Pacific Ocean. Here the arts will flourish,
and education will attain its highest achievements, and
culture will prevail. Then fruit growing both as a
commercial enterprise and as a home delight will attain
value, volume, and perfection of which the present
achievements are but a promise and a prophecy.
cf^
oy<
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PETROLEUM
INDUSTRY IN CALIFORNIA
PETROLEUM has been known to exist in
California for a long period. Gas emanations,
seepages of oil and asphaltum deposits
occur in many places from San Diego to
Humboldt. The attention of the mission fathers
was attracted to these substances and they were used
to some extent as roofing materials, as natural lubri-
cants and as liniments. Various attempts were made
to distill the products and obtain an illuminating oil.
In 1855 Andres Pico, a brother of one of the early
governors of California, made some kerosene in a
small copper still for the Mission of San Fernando.
He obtained his raw material from what is now known
as Pico canon, in Los Angeles county, where natural
seepages occurred. In 1857 Charles Morrell, a druggist
of San Francisco, erected a somewhat elaborate refinery
in Santa Barbara county, near the present town of
Carpinteria. He used iron stills, condensers and oper-
ated on a somewhat extensive scale. There apparently
was no sale for the product, and the project failed.
Various other people from time to time attempted
to make use of the natural petroleum occurring in
various parts of the state but little record is left of
their work.
In 1859 and i860 the great oil excitement began
in the east. This excitement spread to California.
The gold production was diminishing and there was
little new territory unexplored. It was well known that
there were indications of oil in many parts of the state.
There were possibilities of vast deposits with resultant
great profits. Speculation seized upon the people as
it did in the east. Claims were located in all parts
346 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
of the state and companies organized to work them.
In 1865 there were sixty-five companies in existence
with a nominal capital of $45,000,000. Shares sold
for as high as $1,000 and $1,500 was paid for a single
share. Glowing prospectuses described in detail the
enormous profits that were sure to come. One com-
pany narrated that the seepage of oil on its property
was so voluminous that cattle were engulfed and
drowned in its flow. They probably had reference
to the prehistoric animals that were mired in the
asphaltum beds of La Brea.
Frenzied finance methods were not unknown then.
One company was exploited as follows: 10,000 acres
were bought for $22,000 greenbacks, equal to $10,000
gold. One-half was sold to eastern speculators for
$50,000. This half was sold for $450,000 and then
went into the assets of the California Petroleum
Company as $1,000,000 which advertised to have
twenty natural oil wells of the largest size. Another
company advertised that spring No. 1 contained
144,500,000 gallons of oil actually in sight. Ten of
these wells would yield in twelve months $5,460,000.
A man digging in a swamp dug up some mud that
smelled of petroleum. A company was immediately
capitalized for $600,000. Oil properties were exploited
in every county from Humboldt to San Diego, but
there was no apparent success.
The cause of the failure is easily seen in the light
of subsequent developments. In the first place most of
the companies were not bona fide. They existed on
paper only and were formed for stock selling purposes
alone. In the second place, the prospecting was not
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 347
thorough, the wells were not deep enough, and very
little oil was obtained. Third, the oil obtained was
very different in quality from the eastern oil and
yielded practically no good illuminating products,
which at that time was the only valuable constituent
of the petroleum. Fourth, many scientific men of
the day, notably Clarence King and J. D. Whitney
pronounced the oil of no value whatever, which was
true as far as their knowledge went at the time. In
the fifth place, the supply was so small and uncertain,
that no demand could be created. All these influences
combined, gave a setback to the industry, until in
1887 according to W. L. Watts, there were only four
companies in operation. All the projects were not
fakes; some companies worked with a serious purpose
but the development was on a small scale, as was the
case in the east during this period. As a matter of
fact, little oil was obtained. The methods of drilling
were crude and deep wells were unknown. The only
known use for petroleum was for the production of
illuminating oil. The petroleum from the northern
part of the state was more like eastern oils, containing
no asphaltum and yielding a large percentage of kero-
sene. This stimulated prospecting in the north, and a
paper by Professor Silliman, the noted scientist,
published at this time, giving the analysis of a sample
of crude oil from Humboldt county and maintaining
that California oil was suitable for all refining purposes,
encouraged the prospectors. But apparently little
petroleum was obtained.
In 1865 six twenty-gallon casks of crude oil, were
shipped from Mattole creek, Humboldt county. A
348 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
well five hundred feet deep at Moody Creek, in Santa
Clara county, yielded one barrel a day. Forty cases
were shipped from the south. Other small yields were
obtained but little was done with the product. This
indicates the condition of the industry at this time.
In 1866 operations on a somewhat larger scale were
conducted, mostly in the south. A still of 300 barrels
capacity was constructed in Kern county. Wood,
which was hauled thirty miles, was used as fuel. Some
4,000 gallons of refined oil was manufactured but the
freight to San Francisco, amounting to $75 to #90 per ton,
destroyed any possible profit. Some few other serious
attempts to distill the oil met with like disastrous results.
Such was the condition of the petroleum industry in
California in 1 865-1 866. About the only tangible re-
sults were the specimens of crude petroleum exhibited
in the Paris Exposition, of 1867.
The second period in the development of the Califor-
nia oil industry was from about 1868 to 1892. During
this period prospecting was continued in the various
territories, small refineries were erected and attempts
to create a profitable industry were made by various
individuals. At first little progress was made. The
oil business had a bad name. Many men had lost their
entire investments. Imaginative promoters and fake
companies had failed to justify their promises. Clarence
King, of the United States geological survey, and
J. D. Whitney, the state geologist, had pronounced
against the quality of the oil and gave little hope of
ever finding any large reservoirs. Oil investors became
discouraged and in 1884 there were only four companies
in existence that were actually producing oil.
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 349
This period was one of readjustment. The fact that
oil was present in many parts of the state was estab-
lished. It was shown that certain districts in the south
were promising. The problems of refining, due to the
difference in composition between eastern and Califor-
nia oil, were gradually solved. Methods of making
gasolines, kerosenes, and lubricants were worked out.
Uses for asphaltum, an important constituent of the
southern petroleum, and which did not exist in eastern
oil, were developed and methods for its manufacture
were devised. In general there was a slow development.
Most of the smaller companies perished in the process,
for as a rule, the industry was not profitable. Some of
the larger modern companies had their inception during
this period. The Pacific Coast Oil Company, afterward
bought by the Standard Oil Company, was organized
in 1879, with C. N. Felton as president and G. S.
Schofield (the present president of the company) as
auditor. In 1882 they had two refineries, one at
Alameda Point, costing $160,000, and one at Newhall
costing $25,000. Their principal sources of supply were
Pico canon and Moody Gulch in Santa Clara county,
and their entire production was about six hundred
barrels per day.
They supplied about one-third of the local demand
for refined products and had a small export trade to
British Columbia, Mexico, and the Pacific islands.
In 1884, Mr. Lyman Stewart, a member of an eastern
oil firm, invested $13,000 in oil properties, mainly in
Los Angeles county. This was the beginning of the
present Union Oil Company, a company that at present
is capitalized for $75,000,000.
350 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Such was the condition of the oil industry in
California up to the early nineties; a slow development
mainly through the efforts of a few large companies
(large for that period), and a knowledge that oil was
present in many parts of the state.
In 1892 a well was sunk in Los Angeles to a depth of
three hundred and sixty-five feet. It yielded oil.
Instantly there was excitement. A recrudescence of
the speculative fever of the sixties ensued. Within
three years over three hundred wells were bored in the
vicinity, of which about one hundred were fairly pro-
ductive, yielding a gross total of six hundred barrels
per day. In 1897, the total production from this Los
Angeles field amounted to 1,400,000 barrels and in
1902 over fourteen hundred wells had been bored
and had yielded about 9,000,000 barrels. The rapid
increase in production was welcome. Crude petroleum
was beginning to be used as a fuel. The increased
supply stimulated its use and the demand soon overtook
the supply. It was a profitable product. Its gaining
importance reawakened the interest in prospecting.
In 1899, J- F. Elwood, having noticed oil in some seep-
age water near Bakersfield, dug an ordinary well with a
pick and shovel to a depth of seventy feet and then with
an auger penetrated the oil sand. This discovery, re-
ceived locally with indifference, attracted the attention
of outsiders, and California witnessed the most striking
oil boom in its history. Bakersfield, at that time an
unimportant small town, grew up over night. The
surrounding land, desert and forbidding, was eagerly
bought and sold by speculators. As is so often the case,
most of the old inhabitants refused to believe in the
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 351
value of the strike and as a result the profits were reaped
by outsiders. The profits were immense. Land that
was practically valueless, that could not be disposed
of for $1.25 per acre, was sold for #1,000 to #5,000 per
acre and instances of #10,000 were known. Of course,
many of the claims were worthless. It took time to
develop them. Transportation was difficult, supplies
were for a time unobtainable, but at the end of three
years, in 1902, the limits of the field were fairly well
determined and it was known to be one of the great
oil districts of the world. At that time there were
eleven hundred productive wells yielding from a few
barrels to six hundred barrels a day, the average being
50-60 barrel wells.
This huge production, amounting to over 4,000,000
barrels per year, lowered the price of oil, which had
been selling for #1.00 to #1.50 per barrel, to twenty to
twenty-five cents, and even at this price could not be
sold. This condition was only temporary. Oil had
been used for fuel but until the discovery of the Los
Angeles field there was not enough of it to supply any
great demand. The Los Angeles production, later
supplemented by the Kern river field, began to solve
the fuel question. Coal was not plentiful in California,
and what there was, was of an inferior quality. Practi-
cally all was imported and sold at prices varying from
#8.00 to #12.00 per ton. Owing to the fact that the
calorific value of petroleum was higher than even
the best coal, it made an economical fuel. About three
and a half barrels of oil were equivalent to a ton of coal.
There were many other advantages of oil as a fuel.
The ease of transportation, the compactness of storage,
352 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the simplicity of firing, doing away with stoking and
removal of ashes, and the absence of smoke, all com-
bined to make petroleum an ideal fuel, and add to that
its cheapness — it is little wonder that coal burning is
now about a thing of the past.
There was a setback in 1889, when an explosion on
the Southern Pacific steamer Julia, in Carquinez straits
caused the railroad company to go back to coal in its
ferry boats for a number of years. With the present
method of topping to remove the volatile constituents,
oil can be made as safe as coal, and the result has been
that at present oil is in universal use for steam making
purposes and its consumption for this purpose is
increasing daily.
This third epoch in the history of the petroleum
industry brought in a new factor; viz: transportation.
During the first and second periods the production of
oil was so small that while transportation was incredibly
high, in most cases the question was not of much im-
portance. During the third period, beginning in 1892
with the discovery of oil in Los Angeles, the increased
quantity was consumed locally and by the railroads,
but the relatively enormous yield of the Kern county
fields created a new condition. This immense quantity
of oil could not be consumed locally. It had to be trans-
ported to new markets. This condition was promptly
met. The railroads built hundreds of tank cars. The
Standard Oil Company constructed a pipe line from
Bakersfield to Point Richmond with numerous laterals.
Other trunk lines were laid. The Associated Oil Com-
pany has pipes terminating at Martinez and Port Costa.
The Producer's Transportation Company, an offshoot
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 353
of the Union Oil Company, has laid a line from the
San Joaquin valley fields to Port Hartford. Thus out-
lets to tide water are amply provided for. Each of
these companies owns fleets of vessels to carry the oil
from these terminals to distant markets, which now
comprise the whole Pacific coast of North and South
America, China, Japan, India, and Australia, and will,
before long, Europe. A pipe line across the Isthmus
of Panama was built seven years ago, but its value,
except for local use, will be diminished when the canal
is opened.
The problems connected with pipe transportation of
oil offer peculiar difficulties. California petroleum
differs from eastern oil in containing asphaltum. Any
considerable quantity of this asphaltum renders the oil
so viscous that it is very difficult to pump. Various
methods have been devised to overcome this difficulty.
The usual method is to heat it; it is much more fluid
when hot. Another method is to add water. The use
of a spirally rifled pipe to increase this lubricating
action of water, is a California invention.
Transportation has kept up well with production and
the thousands of miles of pipe lines serve to move the
oil promptly to its destination.
Pipe line transportation existed on a small scale very
early in the history of oil production, but usually more
for local use. The first, that might be called a trunk
line, carried the oil from the Ventura fields to Ventura
on the Pacific ocean, from whence it was transported
in two tank steamers of 7,500 barrels each. But the
large scale development did not begin until much later.
354 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The speculative spirit excited by the Kern river
discovery induced prospecting in other parts of the
San Joaquin valley. Indications of oil were known to
exist in various parts of Kern and Fresno counties
from the early days and various attempts to exploit
them had been made. But owing to lack of capital
and to primitive methods of boring, little progress
had been made. In later years improved processes
for drilling were invented and wells thousands of feet
in depth could easily be bored. The rich deposits
at Bakersfield showed the possibility of enormous
rewards to the prospector who could find another such
field. Many of these wildcatting attempts met with
failure, but some were successful. One of the districts
that showed the presence of petroleum in large quan-
tities was Coalinga, west of Fresno. Here the first
gushers were struck. This territory has shown itself
to be a great producer. In 1897, Fresno county
produced 70,000 barrels; in 1901, 547,000; in 191 1,
17,830,433 barrels.
Another district that was shown about this time to
be promising was Sunset and McKittrick, in Kern
County, west of Bakersfield. The fact that petroleum
existed on the west side of the San Joaquin valley,
at McKittrick on the south, and at Coalinga in the
north, led the thinking oil men to believe that it also
lay in between. Prospecting showed this to be so.
Within recent years the territory in the neighborhood
of Taft, Maricopa, Midway, Buena Vista and Lost
Hills, has produced some of the greatest wells in the
world. Even the famous Blue Goose well of the Home
Oil Company, in the Coalinga fields, with its initial
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 355
output of 15,000 barrels per day, and the Silver Tip
well in the same district that produced 45,000 barrels
in seventy-two hours, were surpassed.
The most famous of these gushers, that are now so
common that they excite but little more than passing
comment, was the Lakeview, in the Maricopa district.
This well had been sunk to a depth of about 2,300 feet
without any success. A discouraged board of directors
had directed the superintendent to discontinue drilling.
In spite of these orders he continued for a few days,
when suddenly without warning, in the morning of
March 15, 1910, a bailer, weighing half a ton, was
shot up out of the well and was embedded in the top
of the derrick. With a roar that could be heard a
mile, oil, rocks, sand, bones and teeth of prehistoric
animals, and gas were thrown out under terrific
pressure. The column rose 300 feet in the air. No
provision had been made for collecting the oil and it
ran down gullies like a water flood. Various attempts
were made to control the gusher but they were futile.
The flowing oil was collected in a sump and from
there pumped to Port Hartford on the coast and then
stored in concrete tanks. One of these tanks collapsed
and nearly 500,000 barrels of oil were irretrievably lost.
This well flowed almost continually for two years
at a rate of about 42,000 barrels a day, although at
times its output was at the rate of 60,000 to 70,000
per day. Towards the end of its life the flow was but
a few hundred barrels a day, but the total yield was
immense, amounting to nine or ten million barrels
and netting the owners (the Union Oil Company being
356 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the majority stock holder), about $300,000. It ceased
producing in March, 191 2. Attempts since then have
been made to revive it but without success.
Many other gushers have been bought in California
with an initial flow of from 3,000 barrels to as much as
4,000 barrels daily, but none of them have had the
long life and the continuous large flow of the Lakeview.
The period from 1900 to the present has been one
of ever increasing production. The contrast between
the condition of the industry in the early days and now
is best shown by the following table:
PRODUCTION OF PETROLEUM IN CALIFORNIA
From Bulletin 64, Mining Bureau
Year
Bbls.
Year
Bbls.
Prior to 1876
175,000
1894
783,078
1876
12,000
1895
1,245,339
1877
1 3 ,000
1896
1,257,780
1878
15,227
1897
1,911,569
1879
19,858
1898
2,249,088
1880
40,552
1899
2,677,875
1881
99,562
1900
4,329,950
1882
128,638
1 901
7,710,315
1883
142,857
1902
14,356,910
1884
262,000
1903
24,340,839
1885
325,000
1904
29,736,003
1886
377,H5
1905
34,275,701
1887
678,572
1906
32,624,000
1888
990,333
1907
40,211,171
1889
303,220
1908
48,306,910
1890
307,360
1909
58,191,723
1 891
323,600
1910
77,697,568
1892
385,049
1911
84,648,157
1893
47o,i79
1912
90,074,439
The present year will probably witness a production
of about 100,000,000 barrels.
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 357
The transportation and disposal of this huge quantity
of oil is in itself a large problem. We have already
spoken of the pipe line systems that are being increased
every year. The larger companies maintain fleets
of vessels for coast wise and foreign distribution, the
Standard Oil Company having 28 tankers; the Union
Oil Company, 18; the Associated Oil Company, 10.
Many other vessels are engaged in this trade and it is
constantly increasing.
In addition to ships and pipe lines, petroleum is
transported in tank cars. Several thousands of these
cars are now in use.
Connected with transportation, is the question of
storage. The stocks of oil at the beginning and the
end of the transportation lines must be cared for. The
tanks are of steel or concrete. The usual capacity of
the steel tank is 33,000 barrels, although some are
larger. Ordinarily larger amounts are stored in con-
crete reservoirs. Some of these contain 500,000 barrels,
or even 1,000,000 barrels. The petroleum is frequently
stored in sumps, or earthen reservoirs, but this method
is not economical. The amount of oil thus accumulated
is naturally variable but at the present time it is in
the neighborhood of 100,000,000 barrels.
Another phase of the petroleum industry is the
refining. Oil is a mixture of substances of different
boiling points. When crude oil is distilled, the more
volatile gasolines come off first, then the kerosenes,
then the light and heavy lubricants and a residuum of
asphaltum is left. All of these products are of value
and are being made in larger and larger amounts.
Some of the refineries are of great capacity; the
358 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Standard Oil Company treating about 15,000,000
barrels per year and the Union Oil Company about
8,000,000 barrels.
There are numerous smaller refineries in various
parts of the state but they are not increasing in number.
The crude petroleum frequently contains a percentage
of volatile constituents that give off" vapor at ordinary
temperatures. Such oils are dangerous to store in
quantities and the laws of certain communities require
that their volatile constituents be removed before use.
This has given use to the process of topping and large
works have been constructed for this purpose. These
volatile bodies more than pay for the cost of topping,
as they are redistilled into gasoline and kerosene.
An increasing amount of oil is being used for road
making; either the crude oil or topped oil is employed
for the purpose. The railroads use a large amount for
dust-laying purposes. Comparatively small amounts
of the crude oils are used for other purposes, such as
sprays and crude lubricants.
Practically all the gas in California is being made
from crude oil. There were many problems to be
overcome but the processes are now a success. Natural
gas from the southern oil fields has been used locally
for a long time, but recently the gas has been carried
into Los Angeles.
The natural gas contains considerable quantities of
gasoline vapor. Much of this is now saved by various
compressing and cooling processes, adding considerably
to the gasoline production.
THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY 359
The refineries have given rise to other industries.
In addition to the large equipment of boilers, engines,
pumps, piping, storage tanks etc., can factories,
cooperages and printing establishments are necessary
for packages for retail distribution. Large amounts of
chemicals, such as sulphuric acid, caustic soda, Fuller's
earth, and many others, are used in the refining. Of
these sulphuric acid is the most important; about one
hundred tons a day are used, mostly for the purification
of the kerosene.
Petroleum technology is no exception to the general
rule, that the development of any industry gives rise
to allied industries.
There are few other uses for petroleum and its
products beyond what have been enumerated. But
this is only a beginning. Crude oil is a mixture of
many chemical bodies; some simple and some complex.
The future will show a development of petroleum
technology that will be of the greatest importance.
Coal tar made enormous wealth for England, although
latterly Germany has outstepped her. Petroleum will
play a similar part in California.
Dyes, drugs and other organic products will come
from the retorts of the chemist. The value of the oil
will be enhanced a hundredfold. It will be too costly
to use as fuel. Another source of wealth will be added
to this already rich state.
The Indian and the Spaniard did not see the gold
in the mountains. The pioneer did not appreciate
the agricultural possibilities. The citizen of today
360 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
does not imagine the potential wealth contained in
our mineral resources. In less than a hundred years
California will have passed through the three great
stages of natural growth; the pastoral, the mining, and
the agricultural. Now it is on the eve of the tech-
nical and manufacturing era, and in this development,
petroleum will play no mean part.
vL^£-w%
C"Vv*>
<2\A^-^Lc^o
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
UPON the proper use of natural resources
depends the progress and prosperity of the
public.
The natural resources of California were,
from the beginning, thrown open to private exploitation
without effective restrictions concerning waste or
destruction, and without requiring any direct remu-
neration to the public, the former owner of them, for
the great value of the properties given away. The very
natural result is that the personal interests of private
owners have been the only touchstone as to whether
the natural resources of California, as they have been
relinquished by the public, should be wasted and
destroyed, or economically used at such times and in
such quantities and under such conditions as the
public's necessities require.
If, for instance, the private owner of a California
forest, given away by the public, determines that it is
to his interest to destroy that forest, he is permitted to
destroy it, although irreparable damage may result
to the public because of that destruction, and although
its destruction is not necessary in order to provide the
public with forest products. Or, if the private owner
determines that it is to his benefit to preserve his forest
intact, the public permits him to preserve it, even if
such preservation does cause the more certain and
quicker destruction of other forests, or does cause such
a starving of the market for forest products as to raise
the value of the preserved and other forests and to put
a constantly increasing price, which the public must
364 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
pay, upon forest products, and causes an economic loss
to the public because of the deterioration and decay of
ripe trees, which ought to be used.
Most natural resources are destroyed when they are
used. Natural gas, coal, oil, and practically all the
metal and mineral resources are of this kind. They
occur in inexhaustible quantities; and upon their con-
stant use, in sufficient quantities and at reasonable
prices, the public comfort and prosperity very largely
depend. The public has given away such natural
resources, and permits the private owners to waste,
destroy, monopolize, and hold them out of use without
regard to the necessities, distresses, or financial troubles
of their former owners, the people.
Coal is a good example of the prodigality of the public
with and the wastefulness of private exploitation of
natural resources. For every ton of coal that has been
mined and used in this country, another ton has been
abandoned and lost in the mines — not because it would
not have paid to mine the abandoned ton, but because
it better paid the private owner of the coal to mine the
one ton and abandon the other. The result is that
the coal deposits of this country will be exhausted much
sooner than would have been the case had the mines
been properly worked.
The coal that the public gave away has been so mono-
polized that only a quantity sufficient to keep the coal
market starved is mined. Thus the coal necessities of the
public force higher prices for the coal than would obtain
were not this natural resource privately monopolized.
Similar conditions prevail with regard to iron and other
metals and minerals which the public has given away.
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 365
Agricultural lands, next to water the most necessary
of all the natural resources, have been fairly well
conserved. The majority of private land owners are
more interested in conserving than in destroying the
fertility of their lands. The opinion is fast gaining
ground that, from the standpoint of the public good, it
is better to conserve for all time the fertility of agricul-
tural lands than to destroy it through the use of gold-
dredgers in order to realize even very large immediate
returns.
The demand for conservation of natural resources is
of recent growth in this country. In California and
nearly everywhere else in this nation, those resources
were originally so enormous in extent and quantity
that they seemed to be inexhaustible. No sooner was
one frontier peopled and its natural resources given
away into private ownership than another step took the
adventurous into new, virgin regions, with a new,
natural resource wealth to be disposed of. Reckless
waste and destruction, for personal financial aggran-
dizement has been the rule; and he was laughed at who
ventured to sound a warning of future dearth.
Steadily, step by step, from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, have our natural resources fallen into private
ownership. The best of the public lands is all taken
up; coal, iron, oil, and other minerals have been monop-
olized; whole states have been deforested, and within
half a century from now all the existing privately owned
forests will have been destroyed, and the only timber
that will be left will be in the conserved national forests
and parks.
366 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
On the Pacific coast sufficient time has not elapsed to
permit results of the destruction of natural resources
to become apparent to everybody. But with a con-
stantly increasing population, and with not only the
United States but foreign countries drawing upon them,
the value of the Pacific coast forests is rapidly increasing
with the result of increasing monopoly and growing rate
of destruction, which are detrimental, in a financial and
economic sense, to the great mass of the present
and future inhabitants of the coast and the country.
It is not necessary to preserve forests unused in order
to conserve them. Preservation of forests, of any
natural resource, is, in fact, not a conservation of them
— they must be used to conserve them — properly used
to properly conserve them. Conservation of natural
resources, such as forests, which may be used and not
destroyed, is the antithesis of preservation and also of
destruction. Forests in other countries long have been,
are still being used and not destroyed — are being con-
served. Our national forests under governmental con-
trol are being conserved. But practically every natural
resource other than land, forests, and water must finally
be destroyed, if, as they should be, they are continuously
used. Water, however, is perennial. It will always be
found in the channels in which it is accustomed to run,
even if the quantity so running be limited and variable
from season to season. But the places in which it
may be conveniently and economically reservoired in
California are so readily counted; the localities at which
it may be easily harnessed for power purposes or cheaply
diverted from the streams for irrigation are so few; and
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 367
the area of irrigable land is so great that a monopoly
of the state's water resources holds out greater Midas-
like possibilities than any other monopoly can.
GOLD, THE FIRST GREAT LURE TO CALIFORNIA
When, by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the
United States, in 1848, came into possession of Cali-
fornia, the unreckonable extent and value of the state's
natural resources were not dreamed of. Its acquisition
was opposed by men of the highest standing and influ-
ence in the councils of the nation, on the grounds, among
others, that its soil was infertile; its climate arid; its
coast rock-bound, fog-bathed, inhospitable; its torrid
valleys uninhabitable and uncultivable; and its for-
bidding mountains unsurmountable by those who would
be brave and enduring enough to attempt to cross the
"Great American Desert."
Hardly was the ink dry on the signatures to the
treaty when Marshall made his discovery. Then began
one of the greatest and most momentous migrations
the world has ever known. Gold was freely offered to
all who would come and take it. The adventurous
young from every walk of life throughout the civilized
world hastened to California and filled her mountains
with restless, all-compelling men.
Deceived by the reports concerning the unfavorable
character of the country, the Argonauts came here with
the intention of remaining only long enough to make
their fortunes. To them the dry valleys, the great
trees, the lakes, the rivers did not appeal. Of the gold-
seeking period there is, therefore, little to say concern-
ing any conservation of California's natural resources.
368 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
To those men there was but one resource worth
considering, viz, gold. The forests were useful to
furnish lumber for sluice boxes, flumes, cabins; they
were nuisances when they interfered with mining
operations. Water? It was a blessing when it could
be used for rockers, long toms, sluices; when rivers were
to be turned from their channels in order to glean gold,
it was a curse. Agriculture, viticulture, horticulture?
The man had lost his reason who imagined that those
sun baked valleys and red soiled foothills could yield a
living to their cultivators.
It was an army of careless young men who were
drawn hither by the gold discovery; yet what they did,
they did with all their might. Did the state need a
constitution? They dropped their shovels and picks
for a moment and sent down to Monterey their
representatives. There these men, the pick of all
the world, constructed a constitution better than the
organic law then possessed by any state in the union.
Childless and not intending themselves to live in
"barren" California, they did their best in constitution
making, as they did in everything else, and provided
even for a free public school system crowned by a free
State University. Unconscious of the application of
the word " conservation," they prepared the way for the
conservation of California's brains and California's
intellect.
Having done these great things for the conservation
of civilization here, these young men continued their
work of destruction of natural resources. They tore
down mountains, and washed them into the rivers,
filling the streams with debris, which subsequently
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 369
caused them to burst their banks and flood and bury
farms and orchards under infertile "slickens." They
soon rendered unnavigable the lower reaches of some
of the streams upon which they were dependent for the
cheap transportation of the things they needed. When
they abandoned the sites of their great works they left
them scarred, gashed, stripped. On all sides are the
monumental evidences of their destructive prodigality
which has plagued their successors, and caused all to
wonder at, even while they murmur over, the gigantic
recklessness of their accomplishment. They were
restrained by no laws save those of their own making,
which permitted the doing of almost anything that
would forward their enterprises. Looking forward to
no future of the country for themselves, they recked
nothing of the morrow — today was theirs, the morrow
interested them not at all.
They were great men, those pioneers of forty-nine
and fifty; great in intellect, in daring, in determination,
in achievement. But they established customs of prod-
igality in the use of California's wonderful natural
resources that tinctures even the Californians of today,
and causes many of them to resent and oppose any
proposal to conserve for their own and their children's
benefit the natural resources upon which the prosperity
and progress of California's people depend.
CONSERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS
The act of congress under which California was
admitted to the union reserved to the federal govern-
ment the public lands within the state, with the excep-
tion of the 1 6th and 3 2d section in each township.
370 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
These lands, with 500,000 additional acres, were given
to the state as an endowment for her public schools.
Later, the nation also gave the state certain swamp and
overflow lands, totalling something like one million
acres. Later still, there were set aside to the state
other large areas of the public lands, amounting to over
200,000 acres.
The lands set apart for California's public schools
amounted, as near as may be reckoned, to something
like five and one-half million acres. These lands con-
tained valuable agricultural, oil, mining, and forest
lands, and valuable power and diversion sites and
water-rights. Yet the state, with true California prod-
igality, has frittered away nearly all the valuable lands
so given to her. From the beginning, the state sold,
at the rate of one dollar and a quarter per acre, lands
worth, at the time of sale, many times that amount —
sold it without any reservation of whatever mineral or
other rights there might be appertaining to it, and
without any investigation whatever as to its forest
covering, its agricultural value, its availability for
power sites, or its adjoining water-rights. Not until
191 1 did the legislature even raise the price of the
unsold school lands from one dollar and a quarter to
two dollars and a half per acre. It was the policy of
the state to dispose of its patrimony with Prodigal
Son-like rapidity. Minnesota has no state taxes — the
royalties from the state owned iron mines provide ample
funds for state expenses. Texas, retaining ownership
of her public lands, is enormously wealthy.
The legislature of 191 1, in regular session, created the
Conservation Commission of the State of California,
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 371
and instructed it to investigate the natural resources
of the state, among which were enumerated the state
owned lands. The commission found that there had
been kept no adequate or systematic records of the sale
of the state lands, the amount that has been sold, or
the amount remaining unsold. After a careful inves-
tigation of the records at Sacramento and in the
general land office at Washington, the commission found
that there appear to be something like one million acres
of school lands remaining unsold. The uncertainty as
to the exact amount results from the facts that certain
of the 1 6th and 3 2d sections are swamp and overflow
lands, or mineral, or desert lands, or are contained in
national forests and parks, or have been covered by
government or state scrip, or have been taken in lieu
of other land. But the results of the investigation are
sufficient to show that not only has the far greater part
of the patrimony of California's school children been
sold at a fraction of its real value at the time of sale,
but that large amounts of school lands have been lost
through frauds and felonies.
Up to December 31, 191 2, California had received
from the sale of her school lands only #5,934,062.27.
The average value of the lands, even when sold, was,
no doubt, ten dollars per acre; much of it was worth
several times that sum. Instead of our schools receiv-
ing only #5,934,062.27, the endowment ought to have
netted at least #40,000,000; and instead of an income
of less than #300,000 from land sale sources for the
support of our public schools, that income should now
be not less than #2,000,000.
The legislature, at the extraordinary session of 191 1,
372 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
withdrew from sale for two years the remaining school
lands, pending investigation of their real value. The
legislature of 191 3 extended the withdrawal period for
two more years. But neither legislature provided
any machinery or money to bring about that investi-
gation and valuation. Much of the remaining lands
are wild mountain lands, on which there are, in all prob-
ability, valuable power and reservoir sites, and adjacent
to which are, very probably, valuable water-rights;
and some of these lands, too, are probably covered with
valuable forests or contain minerals or oil.
Practically every acre of the enormously valuable
swamp and overflow lands given to the state by the
federal government has been frittered away by the state.
The 1,000,000 acres of that land, now worth from
#100 to $500, or more, per acre, were sold by the
state at one dollar per acre. One of the conditions
of the gift to the state and of the sale by the state was
that that those to whom the state should sell it should
reclaim the land, so that it might be made productive.
Much of that land has not yet been reclaimed. Even
if the million acres sold by the state at one dollar per
acre had been sold for only ten dollars per acre (and
many of those who bought from the state at one dollar
sold the unreclaimed land at ten or more dollars per
acre) the school fund of the state would have been
increased by #9,000,000.
It will thus be seen that had the lands given to the
state been properly conserved, the people would have
been relieved of a large percentage of the many millions
of dollars now annually required of them for the
support of the public schools.
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 373
The University of California, having been admin-
istered by a careful board of regents, has taken better
care of its land-patrimony than the legislature has
taken of the public-school lands. Its 200,000 acres
have been sold for $886,945.41 ; and its income from that
source is annually $49,668.93. Had the school lands
been sold for even equal prices, the school-fund would
now contain $21,000,000, instead of less than $6,000,000.
The federal government exacted no tribute, either
from foreigners or citizens, for the gold taken from its
lands in California. Other nations exact a fixed per-
centage from even their own citizen's who mine the
precious metals. But the American people have always
assumed that the precious metals, although the prop-
erty of all the people, are at the free disposal of all
who wish to take them. The result has been that
enormous quantities of our gold and other precious
and semi-precious metals and other natural resources
have gone to enrich the subjects of other nations,
without toll or tribute.
Mining was the overshadowing, practically the only,
industry of the new state of California, and the miner
was permitted to carry on his operations with only
scant regard for the rights of others. He destroyed
forests, denuded great areas of their soil, clogged
streams, rendered rivers unnavigable, and did great
damage to the public domain and private property.
But, as the fertile valleys became more settled, and
farming, horticulture, and other similar industries
began to be practiced, the farmer objected to the miner
floating debris down upon his farm and protested
against such destructive operations.
374 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
In 1850 steamboats drawing three and four feet of
water ascended the Sacramento river to the Feather,
up the Feather to the Yuba, and up the Yuba to
Marysville, landing their passengers at the foot of a
bluff-bank, up which they scrambled to the city's
streets. In those days Marysville required no high
levees to protect her from the Yuba's floods. Now she
is surrounded by high levees, the top of the Yuba's
bed is nearly at the level of the city's streets, and no
steamboat has landed at the city for many years. All
this is the result of the work of the hydraulic miners
on the headwaters of the Yuba.
CONSERVATION OF AGRICULTURAL LANDS
It was not until early in the seventies of the last
century that the farmers of the Sacramento valley
were really able to make themselves heard. They
organized "Anti-Debris Associations" and "Protective
Associations"; they employed lawyers to bring injunc-
tion suits; they appealed to the legislature and to
congress for relief. But the mining interests were so
strongly intrenched, so dominant in politics and in the
creation of public opinion that, try as they might,
the agriculturists made slow headway in compelling the
miners to respect their rights. Some ineffective
legislation was passed as early as 1855; and the legisla-
ture of 1875-6 asked congress for legislation to conserve
from further damage by mining operations other
industries and properties. Nothing came of this; and
it was not until 1893 that the legislature passed an
act so regulating hydraulic mining that it could be
carried on only in such a manner as to prevent material
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 375
injury to streams and the lands adjacent thereto.
This practically stopped hydraulic mining; and the
state, in conjunction with federal engineers, has, after
several failures and the expenditure of large sums of
money, succeeded in confining the riotous Yuba within
its banks and in preventing the constant flow from
that river into the Feather and the Sacramento of the
enormous amount of "slickens" that, coming down
from the hydraulic mines, filled the Yuba's bed in
places to a depth of two hundred feet.
The legislature of 1877-8 passed an act to provide a
system of irrigation, promote drainage, and improve the
navigation of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers.
Under this act a state engineer was appointed who
proceeded to make stream-gaugings and to do other
necessary work preliminary to carrying out the provi-
sions of the act. In 1885 the engineer published his
report on irrigation, a very valuable document, con-
taining exact information concerning streams and
stream-flow. But before the provisions of the act
could be complied with and the work called for by it
done, the legislature of 1887-8 repealed the act and
abolished the office of state engineer; and nothing
of any consequence was done along these lines for a
number of years. Since 1903, however, under authori-
zation by the legislature, the work has been continued
under a newly-created state engineer, acting in con-
junction with the United States department of agricul-
ture, the state conservation and water commissions and
the United States geological survey. Steps have also
been taken for cooperative work between the owners,
376 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the state, and the federal government to reclaim the
valuable swamp and overflow lands along the rivers.
FOREST CONSERVATION
The original forests of California were among the
most magnificent of all the world. Redwood and pine
and other conifera covered approximatey 30,000,000
of the state's 100,000,000 acres. Nearly all of these
forests lie in the northern three-quarters of the state;
and of these three-quarters practically forty per cent
are or were forest lands. The United States has
disposed of enormous areas of California's forests;
most of it in quarter section tracts at two dollars and
a half per acre. Of our enormous area of unique
redwoods, none remains in public ownership. When
the state, a few years ago, purchased something like
one thousand five hundred acres of redwood lands for
a public park, it paid $250,000 for what the nation
had parted with for a song.
Those who purchased forest lands from the govern-
ment made oath that they took them for themselves
and not for other people. There were and are other
restrictions in the law for the prevention of private
monopoly-areas of the public lands. But, nevertheless,
by evading the law, by fraudulent floutings of it, even by
felonious breakings of it, by lieu-land and other scrip,
and by numerous other legal, extra-legal, and illegal
methods, enormous tracts of California forest lands
have fallen into private ownership. Such lands, for
which the people received two dollars and fifty cents
per acre, are now held at prices up to five hundred
dollars and more per acre.
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 377
The report of the conservation commission of
California for 191 3 shows the following table of forest-
lands in private holdings in this state, in areas of
5,000 acres or more:
vr..~,i c
Acreage
1,536,238
156,696
399,809
671,155
304,757
236,052
279,654
Appro;
indivic
s. acreage of
lual holdings
Number oi
holders
Over
500,000
2
«
100,000
I
a
50,000
6
u
20,000
21
a
15,000
18
a
10,000
19
u
5,000
4i
Totals . . .
108
3,584,361
Average holding for each of the 108 33,225
One of the two largest holdings is a railroad grant-gift,
made by the federal government, nearly half a century
ago, to the California and Oregon Railroad Company.
Among the conditions of this grant, given to aid the
company in building its road, were that the land should
be sold, in parcels not greater than 160 acres, for not
more than #2.50 per acre, to "actual settlers." The
evident object of congress was the cheap and quick
settlement of the central northern part of California.
The company, however, has not observed these condi-
tions of the gift, but has sold large quantities of the
land in larger parcels than 160 acres, at more than $2.50
per acre, and to others than actual settlers. Its
contention is that, while it is prohibited from selling
in greater quantities than 160 acres and at greater
prices than $2.50 per acre to actual settlers, the terms
of the act do not apply to its relations with others than
378 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
actual settlers. And construing the latter term as
referring only to those who had actually settled in
the country contiguous to the line of its road previous
to the date of the grant, the corporation has for many
years refused to sell any of its granted forest lands to
anybody. It, no doubt, claims that there are none of
the original "actual settlers" living in that section
of the country who want to buy any of its lands, and
that it is not compelled to sell to anybody else.
The company, given these lands — something like
3,000,000 acres of them — for the double purpose of
aiding it in building its road and in settling up the
country, is keeping them in order that it may finally
realize enormous prices for them. It also demands
that we, having given it those lands, shall be required
to pay it passenger and freight rates large enough to
yield returns upon the constantly appreciating value
of these lands. Mr. Harriman, asked at a public
meeting why his company was holding these lands,
replied: "For the benefit of future generations of
American citizens."
Under that grant and others of similar nature, the
Southern Pacific Company, the successor in interest of
the original grantee, now holds something like 821,078
acres of California forest land. Another holder owns
at least 715,160 acres of them. If 60 other corporations
or individuals each owned an area of California's
territory equal to those two holdings, every inch of
California's enormous area — the second largest in
the union — would be privately owned.
Neither of these two owners is cutting any of the
timber on these great holdings; but, with quite a
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 379
number of other owners of large areas, both are holding
the timber for the constantly increasing prices which
decreasing supply and increasing demand are fast
bringing about.
The withholding from use, the preservation intact,
of forests is not conservation of forest natural resources.
The term "conservation" carries with it the postulate
of use. The non use of forests is simply the wasteful
preservation of that which may be used without
destruction. It is the holding for greater values and
profits, at the expense of the people, that which the
people gave away with the understanding that it
would be used for the benefit of the donors. Because
certain forests are held out of use, their value and
the value of those that are being used, as well as the
products thereof, are constantly increasing. Unused
forests are one cause of the rapid and wasteful destruc-
tion of other forests, as well as of loss through the non
use of ripe trees.
That forests may be conserved, that is, used without
being destroyed, is proven by the experience of other
countries. The forests of nearly all the countries of
Europe are publicly owned and conserved; and many
of these publicly owned forests have long since ceased
to be charges upon the public treasuries. Germany's
forests are a source of considerable profit to that govern-
ment; and the same is true of the forests of France,
Switzerland, and other European countries. Privately
owned forests always have been destroyed, always will
be destroyed, as more money can be quickly made by
destroying than by conserving them.
380 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The impending destruction of all of California's
remaining privately owned forests will result in great
disturbances of and variations in the flow of the
streams along which those forests are situated. Every
country that has permitted its forests to be destroyed
has suffered from winter and spring floods and summer
and autumn low stages of their rivers because of that
destruction. China, the Holy Land, parts of Spain
and other countries, certain localities even of California,
all show the conditions of flood and low stream-flow
that follow the destruction of stream-protecting forests.
Because of her rainless summers California is
dependent on her mountain streams for the irrigation
of her valleys, for hydro-electric power, and for water
for her great cities. Anything, therefore, that inter-
feres with the steady flow of her streams will greatly
retard the progress and prosperity of her people.
Fortunately, however, for California the federal
government has set apart as national forests vast areas
along the headwaters of her streams. From these
national forests will finally come the only forest-
products for the use of our citizens. And they will
forever, being themselves conserved, go far toward
conserving the streams on which they stand. This
generosity on the part of the whole people of the United
States to the people of California is all the more
marked because some of the states, having given away
their forest lands, are spending great sums of money
to buy back such of those forests as have not yet been
destroyed in private ownership. The consent of
these states to the setting apart for the benefit of the
people of California of the great area of national forests
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 381
in this state amounts to a contribution to the people
of California of the many millions of dollars for which
the federal government could sell these lands.
In 1905 a forestry bill was introduced in the California
legislature. It created an ex-officio forestry commis-
sion, with the governor at its head, and an appointive
state forester, with authority to compel owners of
forests to adopt measures for the prevention and
extinguishing of forest fires. But through the opposi-
tion of the Southern Pacific Company, which wished no
regulation of any of its properties, the bill was shorn
of its most effective provisions before being allowed to
pass. Subsequent forest legislation was passed by the
legislature, but failed of signature by the governor.
WATER CONSERVATION
Mining being the only real care of the constitution-
makers of 1849, no precautions were taken in our first
state constitution for the conservation or regulation
of use of our water resources. Agriculture was not
seriously considered by a population of miners. By
the year 1879, however, when the present constitution
was adopted, the evils and oppressions arising from
certain phases of the private ownership of the right to
appropriate and distribute water had become unbear-
able. The constitution of 1879, therefore, provided
that the use of all water "now appropriated, or that
may hereafter be appropriated for sale, rental or
distribution is hereby declared to be a public use
subject to the regulation and control of the state in the
manner to be prescribed by law," and it provided for
the forfeiture of the franchises and waterworks of any
382 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
water company collecting water-rates other than those
established by the proper legislative body. The
courts, however, have several times refused to impose
this penalty of foreiture upon water companies which
have wilfully, continuously, and openly violated this
constitutional provision.
The California legislature, at its first session in 1850,
passed a measure which had great influence for evil
on the conservation of land and water in this state.
That enactment was to the effect that, where no
statue law governed, the common law of England
should, where applicable, govern. Under the English
common law, water-rights are governed and regulated
by the riparian doctrine. This is, in effect, that any pro-
prietor of land riparian, that is bordering on, any
stream may require that the water of that stream shall
come down to his land undiminished in quantity and
unpolluted in quality, in order that he may enjoy
the rights of fishery, ferriage, domestic use, and such other
rights and privileges as the position of his land upon
the stream may guarantee to him. Under this doctrine,
each riparian proprietor can compel all riparian
proprietors whose lands are situated above his to
refrain from putting any of the water of the stream
to any use which will sensibly reduce its quantity or
pollute its quality; and he can prohibit anyone above
him, except a riparian proprietor, from using any of the
water for any purpose.
The far greater part of California's lands require
irrigation for the production of the best crops. It is to
the interest of the whole people of California, therefore,
that lands requiring irrigation shall be irrigated. But a
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 383
strict application of England's common law riparian
doctrine to this state would result in a practical turning
of the far greater part of the country back to the
pastoral conditions that prevailed before the conquest.
The state supreme court in its earliest decisions
recognized the necessity for permitting the use of
water from the streams by those who had use for it;
but it also recognized the riparian doctrine, without
actually declaring it to be, in all its rigorous provisions,
the law of the state. The same court, however, later
declared the riparian doctrine to be applicable to Cali-
fornia. By this declaration the state supreme court
laid the foundation for numerous ills for our people.
For, as a result of that decision and subsequent ones,
certain California riparian proprietors are requiring
that enormous quantities of water shall annually run
to waste into the ocean, which water, but for the
decisions of the California supreme court, would long
ago have been conserved and put to uses which would
have conserved the fertility of great areas of our lands
and caused them to produce valuable crops where
they now produce comparatively little.
The requirements of the miners for water without
reference to the riparian proprietor were early recog-
nized by the supreme court of the United States,
which decided that miners should be permitted to
appropriate and take water from the streams when and
where the lands riparian to the streams were public
lands, as the government "by its silent acquiescence
assented to the general occupation of the public lands
for mining." It is safe to say, however, that when the
supreme court made this decision, there were on every
384 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
California stream below the mines some private
riparian proprietors, whose riparian rights this decision
controverted. The decision was, of course, necessary
to the miners. But, recognizing the riparian doctrine,
the courts, both state and federal, violated it in these
decisions.
Section 1410 of the Civil Code of California reads:
"The right to the use of running water flowing in a
river or stream, or down a canon or ravine, may be
acquired by appropriation" — which is the direct
antithesis of the riparian doctrine. And the supreme
court of the state has several times declared that the
riparian doctrine is not applicable to the climatic
conditions in this state; and has also said that "in no
case should a riparian owner be permitted to demand as
of right the interference of a court of equity to restrain all
persons from diverting any water from the stream above
him simply because he wishes to see the stream flow
by or through his land undiminished." Nevertheless,
the supreme court, in 1884, by a 4 to 3 decision, in
the case of Lux v. Haggin, settled upon California's
unsuited, reluctant, and protesting shoulders the
doctrine of riparian rights, causing irreparable damage
to agriculture, and holding back the development of
great areas of the state. And up to date, the court has
not wiped out the bad doctrine of Lux v. Haggin.
Thus, California has the law of riparian rights, which
is judge-made, and also the law of appropriation,
which is legislature-made. Here we have two opposite
California rules concerning the right to use water
resources. Attempting gracefully to ride these two
legal horses headed in opposite directions, the court
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 385
has been compelled to check the full speed of both.
One rule, that of appropriation and beneficial use, is
well suited to the climatic conditions of the state.
The other rule is based upon the proposition that
"non riparian owners have no rights in streams at
common law." And thus, because of an ill-advised
decision of a court, which subsequent judges, following
"precedent" and "authority," have adhered to, the
conservation of California's water and lands has been
very greatly interfered with.
The legislature has made repeated attempts to
provide for the conservation of the arid and semi arid
lands and the waters of the state. These attempts,
however, have too frequently met with disaster at the
hands of the courts. The result has been great loss
to the agricultural interests and, therefore, to the whole
people.
Besides the riparian doctrine interference with the
progress and prosperity of the state, there has come
down to us a perversion of the law of appropriation,
under which anybody may go upon a stream and,
without any supervision by competent, public authority
representing the people, post his notice of appropriation
for a "useful or beneficial purpose," of any portion, or
of the whole, or of even more than the whole flow of that
stream, and, having recorded a copy of that notice,
obtain a shadow of a title to the right to use that water
of sufficient substantiality to support a law suit.
True, the law requires that, after posting and recording
his notice, the appropriator "must prosecute the work
diligently and uninterruptedly to completion." But
who shall say whether the law in this respect has been
386 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
complied with? There is but one method by which
this may be tested; and that is by a suit brought and
paid for by some private person whose water need is
great enough, whose purse is long enough, and whose
patience is enduring enough to warrant him in bringing
and maintaining an expensive, uncertain suit to prevent
the unlawful use of the property of the people.
The result of this condition is that much water in
California is held in "cold storage" by those who
neither use it themselves nor permit others to use it,
but who hold it out of use to prevent competition with
themselves, or for sale at high prices. These high
prices, of course, become a part of the capital invest-
ment of those who buy the unlawful right rather than
inaugurate a law suit, and who develop the water and
sell it or its products to the consumer. And upon that
capitalization they very naturally demand returns
from the public. The public, therefore, is compelled
to pay returns on an illegal appropriation-value of its
own property.
Running water in California belongs to the people
or the state and cannot be alienated. But in the very
beginning of things Californian, individuals were per-
mitted to acquire title to the right to use such water as
they appropriated, diverted, and, without protest
from an inferior riparian proprietor, put for at least
five years to some useful and beneficial purpose.
These gifts have been made, are still being made,
without any cost to the recipient; he has never been
required to pay the people for the right to make
private property of the right to use this valuable and
necessary natural resource; and he has always acquired
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 387
this right through his own unsupervised acts. The
theory on which these and similar gifts of natural
resources have been made by the public to individuals
is that the public will be benefited only if the natural
resources are conserved, that is, used. That theory is,
of course, correct. But the public has provided no
means for insuring that its gifts shall be diligently or
even at all put to use.
That this right to use is enormously valuable is
proven by the fact that, in the bond selling prospectuses
of California hydro-electric companies, their water-
rights are quoted as worth many millions of dollars;
and among the properties mortgaged, or to be mort-
gaged, under the bonds these water-rights are listed.
The property values of one California hydro-electric
company will illustrate them all. This company has
demanded that its property be valued at #20,000,000
for rate fixing purposes. Of these #20,000,000, six
millions represent the actual cash invested in the
company's plant, which was constructed for the benefit
of the public; the remaining #14,000,000 represent
the present value the company puts on the water-rights
which the public, giving them away for nothing,
contributed to the partnership which was organized
between the company and the public for the purpose
of serving the public. But the company, nevertheless,
demands that its patrons, the public, shall pay returns
not only upon the #6,000,000 of actual investment, but
also upon their gift of #14,000,000.
Worth #14,000,000 today, those water-rights will be
worth #28,000,000 tomorrow, and #56,000,000 the day
388 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
after. The public, therefore, will be called on to pay
always more money on the value of its contribution to
its own benefit.
It is estimated that there are 5,000,000 electrical
horsepower capable of development by California's
falling waters, and that about 450,000 such horsepower
have been given away to and developed by private
parties. Each of these horsepowers is worth at least
#200. The public, therefore, has already given away
property worth today #90,000,000. That property
will rapidly and greatly increase in value. At the
same value per horsepower, the power-value of
the state's water will soon be #1,000,000,000. A future
entirely probable value of #10,000,000,000 for the
state's water resources, for power purposes only, can
easily be shown.
The value for irrigation purposes of the California
water resources has not been closely estimated. The
right to use some of that water for irrigation has been
sold, by one private party to another, for #2,000 per
miner's inch — the public having parted with it for
nothing. It is safe to assume that, taking the state
through, irrigation water is now worth #200 per inch.
There are, say, under present conditions, 9,500,000
irrigable acres in the state. An inch of water will, on
the average, irrigate four acres. Irrigation water in
California is, therefore, worth in the aggregate #600,-
000,000. Ultimately, there will easily be 15,000,000
irrigable California acres. Ultimately, also, an inch
of water will easily irrigate, on the average, six acres.
Ultimately, too, that water will be worth #2,000 per
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 389
inch. The irrigation water resources of California
will, therefore, ultimately be worth #5,000,000,000 —
very probably several times that sum.
For power and irrigation purposes, therefore, the
water resources of California have a present or im-
mediate future value of at least $750,000,000. An
ultimate value of $15,000,000,000 is entirely within
the bounds of reason.
Californians are face to face with this question:
Shall public property of such great present and enor-
mous future value be permitted to fall into private
control, or shall the public retain control of it?
Other states, with much less valuable water resources
are spending many millions to buy back that which
they gave away. New York has reserved and will
herself develop, for the use of her people, all her
publicly-owned water power resources.
Many years ago, the question began to be discussed
in California whether it is wise to permit the continu-
ance of the unsupervised private-appropriation into
private ownership of the right to use the water re-
sources belonging to all the people of the state. A
result of this discussion was the organization of the
Water and Forest Association, the activities of which
resulted in the appointment, by the United States
department of agriculture, of a number of experts to
investigate California water and water-rights. The
report of these experts was published by the govern-
ment in Bulletin 100, U. S. Department of Agriculture,
1901. In the legislature of 1903 there was introduced
a bill for the creation of a State Water Commission
to control the appropriation of water, and to represent
390 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the public in the disposition of the water resources
of the state. The power and irrigation companies
succeeded in defeating this bill; but the legislature of
191 1 created a Board of Control — later changed to the
Water Commission of the State of California — to
which, as the representative of the public, was delegated
the power to see that water appropriations, for power
purposes only, are made with due regard for the
requirements of the law.
The same legislature created a Conservation Com-
mission, charged with the duty of investigating, among
other things, the water and water-right conditions of
the state, and to report to the governor and legislature
recommendations for the reform of the laws applying
thereto. The report of the commission was trans-
mitted to the governor and legislature January I, 191 3.
It exhaustively discusses the natural resources of Cali-
fornia and proposed a bill giving the water commission,
under the provisions of the bill, power necessary for
the conservation of the waters of the state and for the
protection of the people from water monopolies. This
bill, after a fierce fight against it by a lobby representing
certain water and power companies, was passed. The
opponents of the bill, however, succeeded in getting by
fair and foul means sufficient signatures to a referendum
petition, and the operation of the act was suspended
until November, 1914, when it will be submitted to the
people.
OTHER NATURAL RESOURCES
Among California's natural resources is natural oil.
This has been classified by the courts as a mineral. Its
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 391
appropriation by private parties is, therefore, controlled
by federal laws. All the state may do is to regulate,
under its police powers, the method by which oil may
be taken from the ground. In the exercise of that
power, the state has decreed that oil-wells must be so
constructed as to prevent the flooding of oil bearing
strata with water — which flooding may displace and
cause the loss of large quantities of oil. This is an oil
conservation measure.
There are also great quantities of natural gas in
California. Because it is mixed with oil and there is,
as yet, no sufficient market for it, great volumes of it
are wasted in the operation of oil wells. Unnecessary
gas wastage is also permitted from abandoned oil wells,
although the legislature of 191 1 passed a law making
it a misdemeanor to permit such wastage. Natural
gas, like natural oil and all other mineral resources, is
limited in quantity. It should, of course, be conserved
as much as possible. But it is generally regarded as a
useless expense to cap abandoned wells merely to pre-
vent the waste of gas. And so California's natural gas
is being unnecessarily wasted. The annual loss from
this source has been estimated at #2,000,000.
Of coal California has but little, and that of poor
quality. What there is of it fell long ago into private
ownership. For many years the coal was used by river
boats and locomotives. Both of these are now supplied
with fuel oil, and the coal mines are shut down.
In the waters of some of the outletless lakes of
California there are various minerals in solution, which,
extracted from the water, are used for commercial
purposes. These minerals were long used without pay-
392 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
ing any royalty to their owners, the people. The
legislature of 191 1 passed an act assessing a small sum
per ton on the mineral output of these lakes. The
amount of money thus obtained is small; but the
principle established is of great importance.
There are great deposits of iron ore in this state.
But, owing to the fact that there is no coking coal
cheaply enough available for its reduction, nothing has
yet been done with these deposits. Either when coking
coal becomes cheaply available or some other method
of iron-ore reduction is discovered, a new era of indus-
trial activity will develop in this state. The full public
benefit of these ores will not be realized, however, if
they are permitted to be monopolized — if they are not
conserved.
It is evident, then, that conservation of the natural
resources of California demands that none of them,
whether privately or publicly owned, shall be monopo-
lized or unnecessarily wasted or destroyed; but that all
of them shall be used at such times and in such quan-
tities as the needs of the people may require. All
having once been the property of the public, and enor-
mous quantities of them having been given away into
private ownership in order that they might be used for
the benefit of the public, the latter has a right to demand
that there shall be no monopoly combination among the
private owners of these public necessities whereby
the prices of their products shall be put so high as to
pay to the investors more than a reasonable return upon
their actual investments.
It is also evident that the great mass of the
nservation legislation that has been passed in Cali-
CONSERVATION IN CALIFORNIA 393
fornia has been the result of private endeavor for
private gain. While such conservation is not entirely
undesirable or unwelcome, it is generally only for the
direct benefit of the individual and, at best, only to
the indirect benefit of all the people. Such legislation
leads, of course, to the increase of the total wealth of the
whole people of the state; but it tends to increase
the wealth of the few and to reduce that of the many.
It is seriously doubted by many students of history
and economics whether a body politic is in a healthy
condition when a few of its members are enormously
wealthy and, controlling natural resources, are able
to extort monopoly prices for the use of those resources
from the necessities of the many, their former owners.
The great work the University of California has
done and is doing for the conservation of the soil and
mineral wealth of the state is worth far more to the
people than that institution has cost or ever will cost
the California public. Of equal worth has been the
work it has done for the conservation of the agricul-
tural and allied interests of the state in crop and soil
experiments at Berkeley, at the state farm at Davis,
and at the several agricultural experiment stations.
Great also has been its work in the defense of the
deciduous, the citrus, the viticultural, and other
similar industries against the many and various insect
pests and blights that have threatened their destruction.
Great also have been the results of such class
conservation measures as have been passed by the
legislature. But of far greater importance to the whole
people would be broad and effective measures for the
conservation of such natural resources as the forests
394 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
and waters of California, upon the cheap, certain, and
continuous use of which the real progress and prosperity
of the whole people of the state now depends and will,
with a constantly increasing necessity, always depend.
Such conservation legislation has not yet been fully
secured. But the fight for it will not cease until it
has been won. Posterity, to be sure, has, as yet,
done nothing for us. But, nevertheless, we owe
something to ourselves and our posterity that can be
gained only by the conservation of the undestroyed
remnants of our natural resources.
Conservation, let it be remembered, has been
denned as: "The use of natural resources at such
times, in such quantities, under such conditions as
the needs of the people, their original owners and
donors, may require, but without unnecessary waste
or destruction, without private monopoly of them."
A.0.Q
°^r-dj&
HISTORY OF
THE LAWS OF CALIFORNIA
THE territory which now forms the state of
California was formerly a part of the domains
of the kings of Spain and afterwards of the
republic of Mexico. The Spaniards who in-
vaded Mexico under Hernan Cortes brought the laws
and customs of Spain with them, just as our Anglo-
Saxon ancestors brought the laws and customs of
England to Jamestown and Plymouth. These laws
continue to exist in Mexico, with slight modifications
until the present day. In California they existed until
the invasion and capture of the country by the Ameri-
cans in 1846. In some respects they still remain in
force, notably the laws concerning husband and wife,
and the property of either or both of them, and in a
modified degree the law of mines and water.
In the period which elapsed between the formal occu-
pation of the country by the Spaniards and Mexicans
(1769) and the subsequent invasion by the Americans
(1846), the population of the country was not large.
In fact it may be said to have been exceedingly small.
Up to the year 1847, the population did not exceed
eight thousand souls. This of course is exclusive of
Indians. A few villages dotted the coast line, such as
San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco.
Some inland towns there were such as Los Angeles,
San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and San Jose. Along
the line of the Pacific from San Diego to San
Francisco was stretched a chain of missions at intervals
of a day's journey, which fulfilled the double purpose
of churches for the Indians and houses of rest and
entertainment for the traveler. The hospitality of the
398 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
priests of these missions was boundless, and only limited
by their abilities and the extent of their possessions.
The first concern of the Spanish and afterwards the
Mexican settlers of California was to procure a title
to the soil. This of course must be the first care of any
people pretending to any degree of civilization, even
the smallest. There was enacted under the authority
of the Mexican congress a law or plan providing for
the colonization of the territories of the republic. Of
course there had been grants of land by the Mexican
and territorial governments to the immigrants to
California for many years before 1824. But they
were made under special authority to the governors
of California, or under authority assumed for the
occasion. Suffice it to say that the grantees under
those grants, their heirs and vendees have remained
in unchallenged possession until the present day. After
the successful revolt of Mexico from Spain and the
throwing off of the Spanish yoke, all this was changed.
A law was passed (that of 1824) providing for the coloni-
zation of vacant lands in the territories of the republic.
This was followed after a brief interval by a subsequent
law of 1828 (in the nature of an amendment), which
remained the law until the occupation by the Americans.
The grants made under these laws did not exceed in
quantity the amount of eight million acres. One
peculiarity of these grants, although not expressed in
terms, was that they were not subject to be taken in
execution for the debts of the grantee. This no doubt
was a direct result and consequence of the feudal system,
under which the result and consequence of the holding
of lands was the liability to be called upon to take up
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 399
arms and resist invasion under the leadership of a
feudal superior. Nothing could be permitted to inter-
fere with this paramount duty. The claims of creditors
were as dust in the balance in comparison with the duty
of taking up arms in defence of their homes and country.
All the land grants in California descended to the sons
of the grantees and to their sons forever. There were
occasional grants made to women, married or single,
but these were few and far between.
One striking fact about the population of California
during the Mexican regime was that there were no
lawyers. Whether this was due to the fact that there
was no law to practice or that there were no courts,
is a question which will plague the inquirer. One
thing is certain — there is no occasion for litigation
about land, where land in any desired quantity may be
had for the asking. Of course there were some men
versed in the law among the Californians. Take the
case of Governor Figueroa, who was said to be a capable
lawyer and administrator of the system of land laws
which existed in California at the time. Another was
the secretary of the governors of California from 1832
to 1845 — Manuel Jimeno Casarin. The care, cir-
cumspection, ability, and integrity of this individual
were remarkable. He was the one official at the time
of the American conquest who was found faithful among
the faithless. He had compiled an index of Spanish
and Mexican grants in California which was the touch-
stone by which all grants were tried. If they were
found registered in Jimeno's Index they were correct
and valid and were confirmed. If they were not, they
were at once dismissed as fraudulent and void.
400 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The fact that land was to be had in any quantity
for the asking is a certain proof that it was of no value.
But there is proof of the truth of this statement beyond
its mere assertion. During all the period of the
Spanish and Mexican sway over the territory of
California there can be found only three proceedings
in the nature of lawsuits, concerning the possession of
real property. Two of these were concerning property
in Los Angeles county, and another in Monterey
county. Both the cases in Los Angeles county were
settled in a somewhat Solomonic manner. The party
out of possession was told to cease from troubling and
to receive a grant of a like number of acres wherever
he chose to select it. This ended all strife. Again
there is only one record to be found of a criminal
proceeding. This was in Monterey county. It was
a prosecution for an assault with a deadly weapon, or
an assault with intent to kill. Of course this was an
Utopian style of existence. Imagine a community
without lawyers for the reason that there was nothing
worth contending for. Of course in such a community
credit did not exist. There could consequently be no
litigation about personal obligations.
The population of California being thus limited, the
question of derivative titles from the first possessor
or grantee was likewise limited. In the seventy-seven
years which elapsed between the arrival of the first
Spanish settlers and their Mexican followers, and the
American invasion, men must have contracted mar-
riages, made fortunes, and died. Their property
must have descended to their sons. All these things
happened without creating a ripple upon the surface
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 401
of society. Sons stepped into the places of their
fathers, daughters contracted marriages, widows con-
tinued to exist in the families of their children. In
the third generation came the Americans. They soon
changed all that.
Of all the law which existed in California, prior to
its annexation by the United States, only one vestige
remains. All else has passed away. That which
remains is the law of the property of husband and wife.
The common law of England provided that the prop-
erty of a woman by the mere act of marriage became
the property of the husband and descended to his
heirs, not hers, upon his death. The civil law was
that the property of the wife, before marriage remained
her property after marriage, and descended to her
heirs after death. This principle of law has been
carried into the constitution and is now unchangeable
by legislation. It is thus expressed by Section 8 of
Article XX of the constitution:
Sec. 8. All property real and personal, owned by either
husband or wife before marriage, and that acquired by either of
them afterwards by gift, devise or descent, shall be their separate
property.
The converse of the rule, stated by the constitution
is also true: that all property acquired by the hus-
band and wife after marriage, and the issues, increase,
and profits thereof shall be community property.
Thus far it is apparent that the civil law which
existed in California prior to the American occupation
had only a precarious existence; in fact it may be
considered merely nominal. We have seen that its
only force was in regard to the titles to real property.
Of credit and personal obligations there was none.
402 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
When a native Californian was on a journey and his
horse gave out, he immediately caught another from a
neighboring band, leaving his own in its place, and
went his way. When the same person needed food,
he killed a steer in the nearest drove, cooked, fed,
and was satisfied. He neither paid nor thought of
paying anything. This was the universal custom of
the country until the advent of the Americans. One
of the hardest lessons to instill into the minds of the
Mexicans after that time was the law of meum et tuum
in regard to horses and cattle. They could not imagine
that the old customs of the country had passed away.
The frequency of convictions of Mexicans for horse
and cattle stealing during the period 1850-60 must be
attributed to the inability of the Mexicans to perceive
the new order of events. It was not strange that the
prosecutors in such cases were almost always Ameri-
cans. The wealthy native Californians rarely ever
brought a charge of horse or cattle stealing against
their fellow countrymen.
After the discovery of gold in California a sudden
increase of population took place. The population
of the state may be assumed to be at least fifty thousand
on the first day of January, 1850. Almost all of the
newcomers were of the Anglo-Saxon race, to whom
the civil law and its forms, methods and proceedings
were unknown. Before the admission of the state
into the Union a legislature was elected which met at
San Jose, and enacted many laws. This was the only
case on record of a country under a territorial form of
government becoming a state without the passage
of an Enabling Act by congress. The state was after-
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 403
wards admitted into the Union in September, 1850.
But the laws which were enacted by the legislature
before the admission of the state into the Union were
held to be valid and binding. Between the assembling
of the legislature at San Jose and the admission of the
state into the Union, courts were established, laws
regulating their procedure, laws providing for the
punishment of crime, laws of succession and inheritance,
laws providing for the registration of deeds and mort-
gages, for taxation and for all the necessities of civilized
society were enacted.
At the earliest moment of the organization of the
legislature the question arose, what law should furnish
the rule of decision in civil and criminal cases? Both
systems of law, the civil and the common, had their
supporters and advocates. At the head of the partisans
of the civil law as a system stood Alexander P.
Crittenden. He had come to California from Texas
where the civil law prevailed. On the other side stood
Nathaniel Bennett who was a native of Vermont,
where the common law was established. Each system
had its partisans. The leaders made reports to the
legislature. The report of Judge Bennett in favor of
the adoption of the common law as the rule of decision
was adopted the by legislature. It may be found in
the appendix to the first volume of the Reports of the
Supreme Court of California, at page 556. The first
edition of the reports is referred to. By either in-
attention or oversight, the report of Judge Bennett is
omitted in the subsequent editions of the volume.
We know not where else it may be found. Suffice it
to say the adoption of that report by the legislature
404 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
was immediately followed by an act adopting the
common law as the rule of decision in civil and criminal
cases, and so the law has continued to be and remain
until this day. The civil law was the rule of decision
under the Spanish and Mexican domination. That
law was the Roman jurisprudence, jus civile Roman-
orum. It is in force at the present time in every state
in Europe except England. In America it is the law
of Louisiana, Canada, Mexico and all the republics of
South America. It is the foundation of the Equity
Jurisprudence which now prevails in England and the
United States.
Between the advent of the Americans and the
seizure of the country by them in 1846, up to the
admission of the state of California into the Union
in 1850, a space of nearly four years, an anomalous
condition of affairs existed.
"The commanding officer of the American forces in California
was the civil governor. He appointed judges, alcaldes, prefects,
sheriffs and notaries; superseded or removed them; regulated
municipal government; authorized and vacated elections; pro-
mulgated regulations which had the force of law and fixed the
fees of public officers. This exercise of authority was acquiesced
in by the people as their only refuge from disorder and anarchy;
and the judgments of the courts thus established were respected
for the same reason. By the judgments of these courts criminals
were punished; property was attached and sold; large sums of
money were collected under execution; numerous vessels were
libeled; real estate, now of immense value, was sold at forced sale
to innocent purchasers in good faith, and the estates of deceased
persons were managed, administered upon and settled. The
functionaries who thus administered justice, after a crude fashion,
made little or no pretension to any knowledge of the Mexican
or civil law, and did not attempt to follow the forms of procedure
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 405
which that law prescribed. On the contrary, they generally
adopted the common law forms; and their records exhibit a
clumsy effort to administer what little they knew of the civil
law by means of common law proceedings. If tested by the rigid
and inflexible rules of the common law it is questionable whether
any judgment ever rendered by any of these courts could stand.
To say nothing of the tenure by which they held their offices,
their proceedings were of so summary a character, and often so
repugnant to the well-established principles which regulate the
administration of justice in other countries, as almost to excite
our special wonder at this day, after the lapse of twenty years.
We are therefore, in this class of cases, reduced to one of
two alternatives, to-wit; we must either treat the judgments
and proceedings of these courts, however informal, as valid and
operative, under the anomalous condition of affairs which then
existed, or we must subject them to the rigid tests by which the
validity of judicial proceedings is determined in other and older
communities. When examined in the light of the latter rule, it
is probable but few, if any judgments ever rendered by the court
of first instance would stand the test of judicial scrutiny. Nearly
every forced sale of real estate made under its process would
be liable to be set aside as rendered under a void judgment;
almost every man convicted and punished by it for crime would
be entitled to his action for damages; and many innocent persons
might be compelled to surrender their estates, acquired on the
faith of judicial proceedings which transpired twenty years ago,
and which at the time were universally recognized as valid
proceedings of the only courts which existed in the country.
"We deem it to be our duty to adopt the former alternative,
and to hold the judgments of these courts and the titles acquired
under them to be valid, notwithstanding they might be void if
tested by the strict rules of the common law. They do not
purport to be proceedings at common law, and their validity
cannot therefore be tested by the principles applicable to that
system; nor are they, in any strict sense, proceedings under the
civil law, but a sort of judicial anomaly, having some of the features
of each, without the distinctive character of either. Nevertheless
406 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the judgment of the court of first instance was the judgment of
a de facto court, exercising general and unlimited jurisdiction in
civil cases and in matters of administration on the estates of
deceased persons. It was the only court then in existence in
California exercising these functions, and its authority was uni-
versally acquiesced in and respected by the people. Being a
court of general jurisdiction, its judgments even if tested by the
common law rule, would be upheld unless it appeared affirmatively
from the record that it had not acquired jurisdiction of the parties
in interest. "*
Thus the attempt to subvert all judgments and all
titles flowing from judgments of the courts established
under military rule in California, failed. Then came
the system of law and justice under a written con-
stitution, laws duly adopted, and officers elected by
the people. The common law was adopted by the
legislature as the rule of decision. Courts and judges
were elected, and administrative officers installed in
office.
As this paper is only intended to deal with the
peculiarities of the law which continued to exist in
California, we shall devote ourselves to those which
remain.
Upon the discovery of gold in California a vast
increase of population occurred. Between 1850 and
i860, the population grew from fifty-five thousand to
five hundred and sixty thousand. Almost all the
newcomers went straight to the mines, San Francisco
became the second county in the state in population.
El Dorado was the first. At least three-fourths of
the population of the state were engaged in mining
or in pursuits tributary to mining. There was no law
"Ryder v. Cohn (37 Cal. 87-89).
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 407
to govern contests or disputes with regard to mines.
Strange to say no law was ever passed by the congress
of the United States governing the primary disposition
of mining property until the year 1866.
But in the meantime the legislature of California
had got to work upon the question. In 1851, an
act was adopted by the legislature, which by its terms
was applicable to justice's courts authorizing the
admission "of proof of the customs, uses or regulations
established or in force at the bar or diggings embracing
such claims; and such customs, usages, and regulations
when not in conflict with the constitution and laws
of this state shall govern the decision of the action."
(Civil Practice Act of 1851, Sec. 621.) This act was
never made applicable in express terms to the district
or superior courts, or to appellate courts, but they
acted on the presumed acquiescence of the legislature
in adopting this self established code. It would
seem from the foregoing that justice's courts alone
had jurisdiction of mining controversies. At the same
time the question of how or by what writing a mining
claim should or could be conveyed made its appearance
and demanded a decision. It was held that a mining
claim could be conveyed by word of mouth coupled
with an immediate delivery of possession, or by a bill
of sale. At that time there arose in the state of
California a school of lawyers and statesmen who
contended that a mining claim was not real property,
but that it was a mere right to the possession of real
property. This notion seems to have made some
impression on the law-making body, for it was not
until i860, that the legislature solved the question
408 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
definitely by enacting that a mining claim was real
property and that thereafter it could be conveyed only
by deed or bill of sale. It followed from that act that
actions for the recovery of mining claims or for tres-
passes thereon could only be maintained in the district
courts, and subsequently in the superior courts.
This was followed by a decision of the supreme court of
California (in Melton v. Lambard^i Cal. 258.) that a mine
was real estate, and could only be conveyed by deed.
After the American invasion and occupation of
California, a board of commissioners to examine and
confirm Spanish and Mexican land grants was ap-
pointed by the president of the United States under
the authority of an act of congress passed in 1851.
To this board were presented almost all then existing
grants. In addition to these there were presented
many grants which had been manufactured, or to use
plain terms forged, by unscrupulous adventurers who
saw chances of great fortunes in their successful con-
firmation. These purported grants were rejected.
The government was in possession of the Spanish
and Mexican archives and of Jimeno's Index. But
Jimeno's Index only contained the grants which had
been issued prior to 1844. From that time until
June, 1847, there was no index. But the government
came into the possession of the books and proceedings
of the departmental assembly or territorial legislature
to which all grants had to be presented for approval.
By the aid of these books the genuineness or fraudulent
character of many grants made or purporting to have
been made during the troublous times of California
from 1844 to 1847 was established.
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 409
We have called attention to the fact of the small
amount of litigation in regard to lands which existed
in California prior to 1847. But in all the time from
the settlement of California by the Mexicans in 1769
up to its invasion and occupation by the Americans
in 1846, there was but one mine discovered of which
there is any record. We refer to the New Almaden
quicksilver mine in Santa Clara county. This mine
was discovered and denounced by Andres Castillero
in 1843. The term "denounced" is a phrase of the
civil law, nearly equivalent to discovery and appro-
priation as the terms are used in the common law of
miners, under the American system. This was before
the discovery of gold in California by James W.
Marshall. The discovery and development of the
New Almaden mine by Castillero was stated by him
in contemporaneous correspondence, to be for the
purpose of supplying quicksilver for the working of
mines in Mexico. Suffice it to say, that the work
of prospecting and developing the New Almaden
mine went on apace. The title to the mine passed
into the hands of Mexican and American citizens.
Then came the discovery of gold and a market for
the ores and product of the New Almaden mine was
created almost at the mouth of the shaft. The mine
became almost as valuable as any gold mine in Cali-
fornia in a single night. Castillero then presented his
claim to the land commission for confirmation. Two
other claimants appeared at the same time — Jose de
los Reyes Berreyesa claiming the mine to be situated
on his rancho and Charles Fossat claiming it to be
situated on his rancho called Los Capitancillos. The
410 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
contest therefore was quadrangular — between the three
individual claimants, in which each was opposed to
the other, and the United States, which was opposed
to each and every one of the individual claimants.
It is not necessary for me to enter into the merits of
this litigation, or the justice of the final decision of the
supreme court of the United States in the matter.
Suffice it to say the supreme court finally decided that
the mine was upon the rancho of Charles Fossat, and
awarded it to him. But the most interesting question
was as to the title of Andres Castillero, the original
claimant. He presented two claims to the mine
originating in different sources. One claim was to
the mine itself, the other to a certain tract of land,
surrounding and embracing the mine, taken up under
the laws of Mexico. These proceedings in relation
to the denouncement of the mine had to be taken
before the judge of the court of first instance in Cali-
fornia, or in case of his absence before the alcalde of
the jurisdiction. But at this time, and during the
entire period of Mexican rule in California, there was
no judge of the court of first instance, and consequently
no court. Castillero then betook himself to the alcalde
or justice of the peace and filed his papers with him.
All this was in attempted compliance with the law for
the denouncement of mines or mining property. But
the supreme court held that the law prescribing the
steps necessary to be taken before the judge of
the court of first instance was mandatory, and that
its provisions must be complied with. They therefore
rejected Castillero's claim for the mine. There re-
mained his claim for the lands adjoining and sur-
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 411
rounding the mine, which was also rejected upon the
ground that the grant for the same had been manu-
factured by the connivance of Mexicans high in office
after the seizure of California by the United States.
The result of all this was, that there were no courts
and no judges in California, and that no title to a mine
however valuable could be secured by a Mexican
citizen. These observations are submitted for the
purpose of showing the disorganization or lack of
organization of the country at the time. Imagine a
territory of ten thousand inhabitants without a court
and where the governor is the supreme and final judge.
This alone shows the primitive style of government
under which the Mexicans were content to exist.
The pleadings and forms of procedure in these cases
were unique. The governor in addition to his executive
functions, exercised the powers and duties of a supreme
and final judge. There is no record of a judgment or
final decree pronounced by him.
An example of the invocation of the judicial powers
of the Mexican governor of California is found in
the case of Mott v. Reyes (45 Cal. 391). In this case
although the judicial powers of the governor were
invoked, they were not exercised. The governor
(Alvarado) referred the entire matter in dispute to
the departmental assembly (or local legislature) then
in session, so that the matter might be arranged to
the satisfaction of the litigants. The departmental
assembly did nothing. The course of justice seems
to have been no more rapid under the Mexican than
under the American system. These proceedings were
had in the year 1839. They then slumbered upon the
412 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
files of the departmental assembly until 1847 when
California passed under the power of the United States.
Nothing was ever done by the Mexican authorities
up to that time. But both grants were presented to
the board of land commissioners for confirmation under
the act of congress of 185 1. They were both confirmed.
Thereupon hostilities broke out anew. An action
was brought in the district court for Los Angeles
county, in which the lands are situated to solve and
settle the question of title. It was finally decided in
favor of the defendants in 1873. Thus we see that
the time occupied by these proceedings from their
inception under the provisional grant to Sepulveda,
under whom the plaintiffs claimed, to their termina-
tion by the final judgment of the supreme court of
California, was exactly fifty-five years.
Another example of the invocation of the judicial
powers of the governor may be seen in the case of Nieto
v. Carpenter (21 Cal. 485). In that case, the title of
the ancestor of the plaintiffs arose out of a license to
enter upon and graze cattle on a tract of land in the
county of Los Angeles containing thirty-three leagues.
Manuel Nieto lived upon the premises until his death
in 1804. He left four children, three sons and one
daughter. They entered into and remained in posses-
sion of the premises until 1833, when the governor
upon their petition granted to each of the children
a specific portion in severalty. Afterwards the specific
tract of land granted to Josefa Cota, widow of Antonio
Maria Nieto, son of Manuel, was sold to the defendant
Carpenter, under authority derived from the governor.
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 413
In an action subsequently brought by a person
claiming directly under the original license it was held,
that he had no title and could not recover; that the
governor had the power to declare his estate in
the premises forfeited or non-existent, and to grant the
same property, or specific portions thereof to his
children, and to authorize the sale of such tracts for
the reasons given to the defendant. This latter was
certainly the exercise of judicial functions. This
contest lasted from 1834 to 1857. There was also
a rancho situated in the Jolon valley in Monterey
county. There was some contest of some kind over
the rancho which lasted for years. For this reason the
rancho was called "El Pleyto," which means in Eng-
lish "The Lawsuit." All litigation about this rancho
began and ended under the Mexican government. No
litigation concerning it was ever had in any American
court.
Up to the year 1866 there was no legislation by the
United States upon the subject of gold mines in Cali-
fornia. No title, and no means whereby a title could
be obtained from the United States, existed prior to
that time. The legislature of California took cogni-
zance of this subject in its characteristic pioneer way.
We have seen the result of its work. Finally in
1866 the congress of the United States passed the first
law providing for the acquisition of the legal title
to mines of any description. And this provision for
the granting of title to mines was hidden away in a
statute professedly passed for the purpose of granting
the right of way to ditch-owners. In other sections
it provided for acquiring the title of the United States
414 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
to claims in veins or lodes of quartz bearing gold, silver,
cinnabar, or copper, the possessory right to which
had been acquired "under the customs and rules of
miners."
From this we learn one great fact that there never
was any statutory law from 1848 to 1866, under which
the primary legal title of the United States could be
acquired to a vein or lode containing gold, silver,
cinnabar, or copper. During that period all that the
miner had or could obtain was the possessory title,
depending upon discovery and appropriation, and
further, upon constant work of exploration and devel-
opment. This law of 1866 was availed of in a few
instances. Its defect was that a lode only could be
granted, which must be specifically described. The
practical result of this legislation was, to use a phrase
common among miners in California and Nevada, that
a man was as well off without a patent as with it. In
addition to all this, the rights of owners of placer
claims were not mentioned or even hinted at. In
six years the defects of the system initiated by the
Act of 1866 had become apparent. Congress to heal
its defects passed the Act of May 10, 1872, which was
carried into the Revised Statutes, and now forms
Sections 2318 — 2352 of the same, comprising chapter
six, on the mineral lands and mining resources of the
United States. This, with trifling amendments has
remained the law of the United States until the present
day.
The principal change made in the common law of
miners by the Act of May 10, 1872, was the substitution
of a new scheme of appropriation. Formerly the miner
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 415
took up and appropriated a lode. After the passage
of the Act of 1872, he took up a piece of land fifteen
hundred feet in length by six hundred feet in width,
supposed to contain or in fact containing a lode.
Proceedings were provided for in the act upon compli-
ance with which he became entitled to a patent.
Provision was made by the act for the assertion and
proof of adverse claims. Upon the trial of such
adverse claims in a local court of competent jurisdiction
a patent was to be granted according to and in pursu-
ance of the judgment in such case. The force and
eifect of a patent has been defined in numberless
instances by the supreme court of the United States
and the state courts. A patent according to those
decisions constitutes conclusive evidence of the title
of the patentee. It is conclusive of the location and
appropriation of the claim, and of the performance
of the annual labor thereon required by local laws,
customs, or regulations. The issuance of a patent
dispenses with actual possession of the claim, and the
performance of the annual work or labor required by
the miners' laws. Any possession taken of patented
ground must be notoriously open and hostile and must
continue for five years before the title of the patentee
enures to the benefit of the adverse claimant. In
other words a patented mining claim becomes real
property and the law concerning the sale, conveyance
or devolution of title to the claim is the same as that
which governs the sale, conveyance, or devolution
of title to a man's house and lot.
There is also a question of supreme importance which
has arisen in California at the same time with the law
416 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
concerning mines. We refer to the law concerning
the appropriation and possession of water. The
rights to the possession and use of water had their
origin at the same time with the discovery and use of
mines. To the ownership and working of mines, the
appropriation and use of water were indispensable.
Water was necessary for washing placers and to
supply power for crushing ores from veins. It is not
strange that the appropriation of both to private
ownership should have proceeded simultaneously.
Accordingly we find actions concerning mines, and
concerning water for the use of mines reported in
the California Reports in the same volumes since the
beginning.
In England and the eastern states, where almost all
lands had been reduced to private ownership, and
titles in fee had been obtained to them, the law of
riparian ownership prevailed. That is, that the owner
of one or both banks of a running stream had title
to the use of the waters of the stream. But in Cali-
fornia titles in fee did not exist, except as to the lands
covered by Spanish and Mexican grants. Those
grants were usually located in the valleys, far from
the mines which were usually found in the hilly or
mountainous sections, rarely ever contained any mines
or minerals. In all the California Reports from 1851
to the present day there can only be found four cases in
which mines found in Mexican grants were the subjects
of litigation. And of these four cases two arose upon
one grant. I refer to the cases of Boggs v. Merced
Mining Company (14 Cal. 255) and Fremont v. Flower
(17 Cal. 199) which both grew out of the same grant,
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 417
that of Las Mariposas, issued to Juan B. Alvarado,
and by him conveyed to John C. Fremont in 1847.
The other was the case of Moore v. Smaw (reported
in 17 Cal. 199). That case concerned the ownership
of a ranch in Butte County, granted to Dionisio Z.
Fernandez et. ah, and by the grantees conveyed to
Moore, the plaintiff. A fourth case was that of
Henshazv v. Clark (14 Cal. 460). These are the only
Mexican grants containing mines of gold and silver in
California, which have come to my knowledge.
Suffice it to say that there was no title in fee or
riparian ownership of lands containing or embracing
bodies of water at the time. A new plan of ownership
of the waters so indispensably necessary to successful
mining operations had to be conceived and worked
out. And it was so conceived and worked out under
and by virtue of the doctrine of prior appropriation.
A very lucid description of the system is given by the
late Justice Field of the supreme court of the United
States in his opinion in the case of Jennison v. Kirk
(8 Otto, 98 U. S. 453-462). From his opinion I quote
as follows:
"The discovery of gold in California was followed, as is well
known, by an immense immigration into the state, which increased
its population within three or four years from a few thousand to
several hundred thousand. The lands in which the precious
metals were found belonged to the United States, and were un-
surveyed, and not open by law, to occupation and settlement.
Little was known of them, further than that they were situated
in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Into these mountains the
emigrants in vast numbers penetrated, occupying the ravines,
gulches and canons, and probing the earth in all directions for
the precious metals. Wherever they went, they carried with
418 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
them the love of order and system and of fair dealing which are the
prominent characteristics of our people. In every district which
they occupied, they framed certain rules for their government
by which the extent of ground which they could severally hold
for mining was designated, their possessory right to such ground
secured and enforced, and contests between them either avoided
or determined. These rules bore a marked similarity, varying
according to the several districts only according to the extent
and character of the mines, distinct provisions being made for
different kinds of mining, quartz mining and mining in drifts or
tunnels. They all recognized discovery followed by appropria-
tion, as the foundation of the possessor's title, and development
by working as the condition of its retention. And they were so
framed as to secure to all comers, within practicable limits,
absolute equality of right and privilege in working the mines.
Nothing but such equality would have been tolerated by the
miners, who were emphatically the law-makers as respects mining
upon the public lands in the state. The first appropriator was
everywhere held to have within certain well defined limits, a
better right than others to the claims taken up; and in all con-
troversies except as against the government, he was regarded as
the original owner, from whom title was to be traced. But the
mines could not be worked without water. Without water the
gold would remain forever buried in the earth or rock. To carry
water to mining localities, where they were not upon the banks
of a stream or lake, became therefore an important and necessary
business in carrying on mining. Here also the first appropriator
of water to be conveyed to such localities for mining or other
beneficial purposes, was recognized as having, to the extent of
actual use, the better right. The doctrines of the common law
respecting the rights of riparian proprietors were not considered
as applicable, or only in a very limited degree, to the condition
of miners in the mountains. The waters of rivers and lakes
were consequently carried great distances in ditches and flumes,
constructed with vast labor and enormous expenditures of money,
along the sides of mountains and through canons and ravines
to supply communities engaged in mining, as well as for agricul-
HISTORY OF THE LAWS 419
turists and ordinary consumption. Numerous regulations were
adopted or were assumed to exist, from the obvious justness, for
the security of these ditches and flumes, and for the protection
of rights to water, not only between different appropriators, but
between them and the holders of mining claims. These regulations
and customs were appealed to in controversies in the state courts
and received their sanction; and properties to the extent of many
millions rested upon them. For eighteen years from 1848 to
1866 the regulations and customs of miners, as enforced and
moulded by the courts and sanctioned by the legislation of the
state, constituted the law, governing property in mines and water,
upon the public mineral lands. Until 1866 no legislation was had
looking to a sale of the mineral lands. The policy of the country
had previously been, as shown by the legislation of congress, to
exempt such lands from sale. In that year the act, the 9th
section of which we have quoted, was passed. In the 1st section
it was declared that the mineral lands of the United States were
free and open to exploration and occupation by citizens of the
United States and those who had declared their intention to
become citizens, subject to such regulations as might be prescribed
by law, and the local regulations and customs of miners in the
several mining districts, so far as the same were not in conflict
with the laws of the United States. From California the system
of appropriation of mines and water spread to the adjoining
states. In process of time the California system was adopted as
the common law of miners in all the territory west of the Missouri
River. In many cases the salient features of the system have
been adopted by express legislation. The whole system whether
adopted by legislative act or not furnishes a complete example
of the growth of the common law upon the subject. First, the
customs of the people in regard to the subject; second, the ex-
pansion of those customs in regard to lode claims; third, the
legislative adoption and the digesting of customs and usages into a
compact code of statutes; fourth and last, legislation by the United
States providing for a grant of titles in fee to the mines by the
government of the United States."
420 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
It is not often that the customs and usages of a
people in regard to a certain kind of property have
had their origin, development, successful operation
and final adoption by the legislature, both state
and federal, within the lifetime of a single individual.
But such has been the case with the writer of these
lines.
CkZ&Z4^4.£l£4A-- ^crr^c^u-
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA
UNDER the rule of Spain trade was absolutely
forbidden in California; but by the beginning
of the nineteenth century American ships
had begun to visit the Pacific coast of North
America for skins of sea otter and other fur bearing
animals. These vessels carried goods for trade and
landed their wares whenever opportunity offered, tak-
ing the chances of arrest and confiscation. After
Mexico achieved her independence trade regulations
were relaxed, a custom house was established at Mon-
terey, and mission and ranchero were alike permitted
to sell their furs, hides, and tallow, and to receive in
return such goods as they required. No bonds or
notes were taken for goods delivered and none were
expected. A trading ship sold its goods along the
coast and returning in twelve or eighteen months
would receive in hides and tallow payment for goods
sold the previous year. This custom was universal
and there is no record of the repudiation of a debt.
After the American occupation and the discovery of
gold, a long and bitter warfare was waged in the con-
stitutional convention over the provisions of the article
providing for the forming of corporations, and the
sentiment of the members was unanimous against
the establishment of a banking system. For two
days the convention in committee of the whole strug-
gled with the problem of how to prohibit the formation
of banks of issue without hampering the transaction
of business. It was held that if corporations were
formed for the purpose of receiving deposits of gold
and silver, the prohibition against the creation of
paper to circulate as money would fail because such
424 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
corporations would necessarily issue certificates of
deposit which could and probably would be circulated
as money. Several members insisted on forbidding the
formation of banks of deposit, holding that this was
the most objectionable of all forms of banking corpo-
rations. Such banks could issue certificates of deposit
payable to bearer, thus making them bank paper, and
circulate them as money, with none of the usual guards
of the banking system attached to them. Others held
that there was no need whatever for corporate banks;
that if there were to be banks in the country, "let us
have private bankers, who, if they abuse the confidence
of the people, can be punished by the law." Stephen
Girard was held up as an example of a safe banker in
the United States, and the Rothschilds, Barings,
Browns, and others, in Europe. The misery, ruin, and
destruction to the citizens, and prostration of the
public credit following the banking era of 1834, '35> '36
and '37, was described in support of the motion to
forbid banking corporations.
The section, as finally adopted, was as follows :
"The legislature shall have no power to pass any act granting
any charter for banking purposes; but associations may be formed
under general laws, for the deposit of gold and silver, but no such
association shall make, issue or put into circulation, any bill,
check, ticket, certificate, promissory note, or other paper, or the
paper of any bank, to circulate as money."
Thus early did California take a firm stand for sound
currency; a stand from which it has never receded.*
With a soil that was pouring into the avenues of trade
two hundred and fifty thousand dollars per day of
The issuance of #13,040,000 clearing house loan certificates in 1907 may be
considered an exception to this statement.
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 425
metal for coining the money of ultimate redemption,
the members of the convention did not see the necessity
for any other currency and were not disposed to leave
a loophole through which any form of the detested
paper money might creep in and sting them, as one
member expressed it. The debate was long drawn out
and was participated in by some of the ablest men in
the convention, notably, Gwin, Jones, Botts, Price,
Lippitt, Halleck, Hastings, Sherwood, and others.
Owing to the great volume of business transactions
caused by the sudden influx of a large number of people,
there was a scarcity of money, notwithstanding the
product of the mines and the specie brought into
the country by immigrants and imported from Mexico
and the Hawaiian Islands. Like other commodities
in California, the price of gold was subject to violent
fluctuations. It sold at the mines in 1848 and 1849 at
from four to nine dollars an ounce and the Indians who
mined much of it in those years, would sell it for any-
thing they happened to want at the time. The price
was ultimately fixed at sixteen dollars an ounce and all
stores, saloons, banks, and dealers were equipped with
gold scales. The military governor received gold for
custom dues and released the goods to merchants but
he only took it on deposit, redeemable in three and six
months, at a rate low enough to insure its redemption.
Permission was secured for private firms to issue
gold coins, and five, ten, twenty, and fifty dollar
pieces were coined. In addition to the gold dust and
the American coins, were Spanish doubloons, Mexican
silver dollars, pesetas, reals, rupees, and some German
coins; all of the foreign silver coins circulated much
426 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
above their worth until the bankers decided to accept
them at their bullion value. The establishment of a
branch of the United States mint in San Francisco in
April, 1854, brought relief to the business community
and put an end to the makeshift circulation.
The danger of building up a moneyed oligarchy to
which the people of the state would be exposed was
so real to the members of the convention and to those
whom they represented, that it was many years before
corporations having banking privileges were formed.
Almost any reputable merchant who had a safe in a
well protected building was made a depositary of gold
dust, and many of them combined banking with their
mercantile business. The express companies, too, did
a banking business, and as they penetrated the mining
camps, they had superior facilities for such business
and would take gold at the point of production and
issue their drafts in exchange for it.
On January 9, 1849, Henry M. Naglee, who came to
California in 1 847 as captain of company D, Stevenson's
regiment, and Richard H. Sinton, who came on the
line-of-battle ship Ohio as acting paymaster, established
the first bank in California, under the firm name of
Naglee and Sinton. They received deposits and sold
exchange in an office in the Parker House on Kearny
street, fronting the plaza, now the site of the Hall of
Justice. Sinton soon withdrew, and after the destruc-
tion of the Parker House by fire, the business was con-
tinued on the corner of Montgomery and Merchant
streets, under the name of H. M. Naglee and Company
until closed by a run, September 7, 1850. The next
bank in San Francisco was that of Burgoyne and
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 427
Company (John V. Plume was the partner), which
opened for business, June 5, 1849, on the southwest
corner of Montgomery and Washington streets. Then
followed B. Davidson, on Clay between Montgomery
and Kearny streets. Davidson remained in business
for many years. He was agent for the Rothschilds,
and Mount Davidson at Virginia City, Nevada, was
named for him. Thomas G. Wells, doing business
under the firm name of Wells and Company began in
October, 1849, and failed October 3, 185 1. James
King of William began business as a banker on the
corner of Montgomery and Commercial streets Decem-
ber 5, 1849. His bank failed in 1854 an< ^ ne became
cashier of Adams and Company. In February, 1850,
Drury J. Tallant opened his banking house on the
corner of Montgomery and Clay streets. Judge Wilde
afterward associated himself with him and the firm
became Tallant and Wilde. Later it was Tallant and
Company; was incorporated in 1881 as Tallant Bank-
ing Company and absorbed by the Crocker, Woolworth
Bank in 1898. Page, Bacon, and Company (express
company) and F. Argenti and Company, began bank-
ing business in June, 1850, on the south side of Clay
street between Kearny and Dupont, and were followed
by Adams and Company, Palmer, Cook, and Company,
Drexel, Sather, and Church, Robinson and Company,
Sanders and Brenham, Carothers, Anderson, and Com-
pany, and in 1853, Lucas, Turner, and Company, of
which General William T. Sherman was the resident
partner and manager. The firm of Drexel, Sather, and
Church became Sather and Company on the retire-
ment of Drexel and Church. It was incorporated in
428 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
1887 as the Sather Banking Company; was nationalized
December, I, 1897, as the San Francisco National
Bank, and in July, 1910, was absorbed by the Bank of
California. Robinson and Company had a savings
bank and Dr. A. S. Wright opened a savings bank on
the northwest corner of Washington and Kearny streets,
known as Wright's Miners' Exchange and Savings Bank,
where he paid eighteen per cent per annum for deposits.
In 1852 the express company of Wells, Fargo, and
Company entered the field and added a banking depart-
ment to its express business. Other early bankers
were Delessert, Cordier, and Company, Joseph W.
Gregory, Robert Rogers, Abel Guy, and a few others
in San Francisco, and D. O. Mills in Sacramento, who
turned his mercantile business of 1849 into a bank in
1850, under the firm name of D. O. Mills and Company,
Mills' partner being E. J. Townsend. In 1852 Town-
send retired and Edgar Mills and Henry Miller were
taken into the firm. In 1872 the bank took a national
charter as the National Gold Bank of D. O. Mills and
Company. B. F. Hastings also had a private bank
in Sacramento and all the express companies had agen-
cies there as well as in the mining towns, where they
opened deposit accounts with their patrons. The con-
fidence of the people in their bankers received a rude
shock when on February 17, 1855, the mail steamer
brought news of the failure of Page, Bacon, and Com-
pany of St. Louis, and though the statement was at
once made that there was no connection between the
St. Louis and San Francisco houses, a run was started
on the San Francisco concern which had, with its
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 429
branches, about two millions of deposits. On February
22d, a holiday not observed in San Francisco, the bank
closed its doors. This was followed by the failure of
Adams and Company, Palmer, Cook, and Company,
and a number of the smaller concerns, some of which re-
sumed later. It is said that Alonzo Delano, agent for
Adams and Company at Grass Valley, received orders
from the home office to pay out no money either on public
or private deposit, which orders he did not obey, but
calling his depositors together read to them his instruc-
tions and said, "Come and get your deposits; you shall
have what is yours so long as there is a dollar in the
safe." Delano immediately opened a bank of his own
and in a short time had a larger line of deposits than
he had ever held as agent for Adams and Company.
He had a successful and honorable career as a banker
until his death in 1874. Another establishment grow-
ing out of the failure of Adams and Company was that
of Macy, Low, and Company of Marysville. Frederick
F. Low, who had been in business there since 1850,
formed a partnership in 1855 with Charles B. Macy,
agent for Adams and Company, and opened a banking
office. Macy died and Low took his brother Charles
into the business under the firm name of Low Brothers,
and in 1861 the firm sold out to Rideout and Smith.
Low became governor of California, minister to China,
superintendent of the mint, and finally associate
manager of the Anglo-California Bank.
The bank failures of 1855 caused great hardship and
cast a gloom over the community, particularly in San
Francisco, coming as they did after a wasteful and cor-
rupt administration of city affairs, due to the indirTer-
430 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
ence of respectable citizens for their political duties,
intent as they were on amassing wealth for enjoyment
in an eastern home; the defalcations and frauds of
Honest Harry Meiggs; the loss of all the city property
through the Peter Smith execution sales; the threatend
confiscation of the greater part of the privately owned
real estate through the Limantour and Santillan claims,
both admitted as genuine by the land commission;
while a tax rate of 3.85 per cent and a rapidly growing
public debt added their influence to the general dissat-
isfaction. The murmuring of the people became audi-
ble and increased in volume until the noise thereof was
as the sound of many waters. Exasperated beyond
endurance they rose and took back into their own
hands the delegated powers of government. Under
the consolidation act of 1856, the People's Party, born
of the vigilance movement, threw the rascals out of
office, cut down expense, and reduced appropriations
to less than one-sixth of the amount expended during
the previous year.
But the people of California could no longer regard
their banking system with complacency and it was
felt that a new and better method was desirable. In
1857 the first corporate bank was organized under the
general laws: the Savings and Loan Society of San
Francisco, with E. W. Burr, the reform mayor as
president. After an honorable and profitable career of
fifty-three years this bank was merged with the San
Francisco Savings Union in 1910. The next banking
corporation was the Hibernia Savings and Loan
Society, a purely mutual bank, and the only one now
existing in California. The bank was incorporated
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 431
April 12, 1859, as a capital stock bank. In 1864 it
was re-incorporated under the law of 1862 as a mutual
bank. It is still in existence, and has deposits of
over #50,000,000. The Hibernia was followed by the
French Savings and Loan Society, also a muual bank,
February 1, i860; the California Building, Loan, and
Savings Society, May 31, 1861, and the San Francisco
Savings Union on June 18, 1862. The latter is doing
business as the Savings Union Bank and Trust Com-
pany, a large and flourishing concern. The French
bank failed in 1878. The fate of the California
Building Loan and Savings Society is unknown to me.
In 1863 Peter H. Burnett, Sam Brannan, and Joseph
W. Winans organized under the general laws of the
state the first chartered commercial bank in California.
Burnett was the first governor of the state of Califor-
nia; he was born in Tennessee in 1807, came to Oregon
in 1843, and thence to California in 1848. Sam
Brannan, the whilom Mormon elder and preacher, was
unquestionably the ablest business man in California,
as he was the richest. Far sighted, clear headed, and
energetic, he was quick to see the necessity for a change
in the banking system and to take advantage of the
opportunity. Joseph W. Winans was a lawyer of first
rank. Born of Revolutionary stock, in the city of New
York in 1820, he was graduated at Columbia College
in 1840; admitted to practice in supreme court of New
York in 1843; came to California in the bark Strafford,
which he and a few companions bought and fitted out,
arriving at San Francisco, August 30, 1849. They
sailed up the Sacramento river and he and his com-
panions used the vessel as a floating hotel. Until 1862
432 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
he practised law in Sacramento and then came to San
Francisco. He was a trustee and treasurer of the
San Francisco law library, one of the founders of
the University of California and a member of the board
of regents for many years; president of the Society
of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of the Society of
California Pioneers, and member of many other socie-
ties; a graceful writer of prose and verse, and a man of
lofty integrity, of scrupulous regard for the rights of
others, and of most gracious and charming personality.
Under the name of the Pacific Accumulation Loan So-
ciety the bank opened for business in 1863 with Peter
H. Burnett as president, and on April 18, 1866 the name
was changed by special act of legislature to Pacific
Bank. The bank established itself at once in the con-
fidence of the community and did a very large business
all over the Pacific coast. In 1880 Burnett retired and
Dr. Richard H. McDonald became president and re-
mained in that office until the bank, ruined by the
mismanagement of the two sons of its president, closed
its doors, June 23, 1893.
In 1854 William C. Ralston and Ralph S. Fretz
came as agents for a line of steamers operating between
Panama and San Francisco in opposition to the Pacific
Mail.* Both were steamboat men of the Mississippi
river and had been with Garrison and Morgan in
Panama. In December, 1855, the two, in company
with C. K. Garrison, who also represented the Nica-
ragua Steamship Company, and Charles Morgan of
New York, formed a banking house under the name
*They were the JVinfield Scott, Yankee Blade, and Uncle Sam.
JOSEPH WEBB WINANS
Born at New York, July 18, 1820; died at San Francisco,
March 31, 1887; came to California in the bark Strafford,
reaching San Francisco August 30, 1849. Lawyer, Regent
of University, member of Constitutional Convention of 1878.
EA
San Francisco lav
of re:
of Pre
ny other socie-
and a man of
• the rig:
tion Loa
ess in 1863 with
on April 18, i86t
•ire to Pacific
;ge in the con-
i&T/ge bii
•1 to the Pacific
the Miss.
ad Mort:
'
le two, in cor
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resented the
Steams!
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ise under
Sam.
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 433
of Garrison, Morgan, Fretz, and Ralston, and opened
for business January 2, 1856. Both Garrison and
Morgan had been steamboat captains on the Mississippi
and Garrison had been mayor of San Francisco.
Captain Morgan remained in New York and later
removed to New Orleans where he established the
Morgan line of steamers running between New Orleans
and New York. In July, 1857, Garrison and Morgan
withdrew from the firm and the business was conducted
under the name of Fretz and Ralston, on the southwest
corner of Washington and Battery streets. In 1861
Joseph A. Donohoe, and Eugene Kelly came into the
firm which now took the name of Donohoe, Ralston,
and Company, the partners being Joseph A. Donohoe,
William C. Ralston, Eugene Kelly, and Ralph S. Fretz.
For some time the affairs of the house progressed
smoothly and then, it is said, Donohoe became dis-
satisfied with the character of some of the loans
Ralston was making. However this may have been,
early in 1864 Ralston began preparations for estab-
lishing a new bank. As subscriptions to the stock
came in, Ralston invested the funds in choice paper,
discounts, bonds, etc., so that when the bank was
ready to open it might start with a good business on
its books. All of these proceedings were kept secret
from Donohoe and Kelly, who knew nothing of what
was going on until the middle of June, 1864, when, on
the fifteenth of that month, the Bank of California
was incorporated. On June 30th the firm of Donohoe,
Ralston, and Company was dissolved and the business
continued under the name of Fretz and Ralston until
the opening of the Bank of California on July 5, 1864.
434 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Donohoe and Kelly formed the banking house of Don-
ohoe, Kelly, and Company, and they, with Ralston,
contended for the business of Donohoe, Ralston, and
Company. It is reported that the Bank of California
paid Ralston $50,000 for such of the business of Dono-
hoe, Ralston, and Company as he could bring to it.
The bank of California opened in the rooms of Fretz
and Ralston on the southwest corner of Washington
and Battery streets, with a capital of $2,500,000, with
D. O. Mills president, and William C. Ralston cashier.
In 1866 the capital of the bank was increased to
$5,000,000, and on July 5, 1867, the bank moved into
its beautiful new building on the northwest corner of
California and Sansome streets, the site of the old
Tehama House. In this year, Thomas Brown, who
had been manager in St. Louis for Page, Bacon, and
Company became assistant cashier and remained an
officer of the bank until his death in August, 1902.
A generation has passed since the commercial world
of the Pacific coast was startled by the failure of the
Bank of California. To none but those of the older
generation of Californians is it given to know and
understand the commanding position held and influence
possessed by this great bank. As Minerva sprang
full armed from the head of Jove, so the Bank of
California came into existence full grown and equipped
and was a power from the moment of its birth. Not
only did it at once assume leadership in financial
affairs, but in matters social and political it was a
power to be reckoned with and its mandates were
announced in no uncertain terms. From the very
first the business controlled by the bank was enormous;
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 435
its influence was far reaching, and its power was
unhesitatingly used to build up or to crush. The
greater mercantile, manufacturing, and business houses
at once enrolled themselves among its patrons and
supporters and it was with pride that men spoke of
their connection with the Bank of California. Its
board of directors was composed of the heads of the
largest houses in San Francisco; the oldest and strong-
est banker on the coast was its president and its cashier
was considered a marvel of ability, and the ablest
financier in California. Throughout the entire estab-
lishment the same excellence of appointment was fol-
lowed. The best of tellers, accountants, exchange
experts, and clerks were employed at high salaries.
It was an honor to occupy a position in the Bank of
California. So wide was the influence of this auto-
cratic corporation that any undertaking that received
its approval promised success, while all men hesitated
to engage in any scheme that the bank frowned upon.
And yet, in less than nine years from the date of its
birth, this bank, with its great financial, political, and
social power was bankrupt, its enormous capital gone,
and it was only by the most strenuous exertions of its
directors, that failure was averted and the day of
reckoning postponed. This they not only accomplished
but they prevented the slightest suspicion of the true
condition of the bank from becoming public.
Having arranged for the continuance of the bank,
the president, D. O. Mills, resigned and sold his stock.
The cashier, William C. Ralston, was made presi-
dent and the assistant cashier, Thomas Brown, was
appointed cashier. For two and a half years longer
436 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the bank continued its apparently prosperous course,
when like a thunderbolt from the clear sky came the
report that the Bank of California had closed its doors,
and twenty-four hours later the dead body of its presi-
dent was found floating upon the waters of the bay.
The city was in a panic. Many of the savings banks
of the city and several of the commercial banks were
involved in the operations of Ralston, and ugly rumors
were current of over-issued stock on which enormous
sums had been borrowed for his use. To protect
themselves from runs by their depositors these banks
closed their doors and awaited developments with the
greatest anxiety. From all parts of the Pacific coast
came reports of bank failures and, for a time, the
excitement was intense.
From the moment of the incorporation of the Bank
of California, the soul of the organization — for it may
be fairly credited with the possession of one — was
William C. Ralston. From the modest position of
clerk on a Mississippi river steamboat, he had, by
sheer ability and force, become the leading financier of
California. A man of warm feelings, kindly instincts,
possessed of a thousand amiable traits, he was intensely
patriotic for his state and city and sought in all ways
to develop the resources of the one and advance the
improvement and betterment of the other. His striv-
ings, however selfish, were for the good of California
and San Francisco. Nearly every one of his many
projects was capable of development into particular
utility. But the element of time was against him; the
millions he handled were not his own; he was liable at
almost any moment to be called to a strict account
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 437
therefor, and he was reckless and extravagant to a
degree. His partner, William Sharon, said of him,
"Ralston was disposed to scatter. If he got into any-
thing there was no end to it. He never beat a retreat
until he struck the ocean. In building the Pine Street
house [Ralston's city residence], it was to cost #25,000.
The first thing I knew it was up to #225,000. In
building the Palace Hotel he wanted to get some oak
plank for it, and he bought a ranch for a very large
sum of money, and never used a plank from it. When
he wanted to make furniture for the hotel, he bought
the Kimball Manufacturing Company. I said to him,
'If you are going to buy a foundry for a nail, a ranch
for a plank, and a manufactory to build furniture,
where is this thing going to end?' He said, 'It does
look ridiculous to you.' 'Yes,' said I, 'worse than
that; it looks pretty bad.' They say I talked extrava-
gantly. Well, the imagination could hardly reach the
extravagances. So far as I could read this bank, the
directors were as much excited as I was, or any body
else, for they held the paper of the bank largely and
their salvation depended a good deal upon what was
done in the Bank of California."
For some time before the failure the bank, owing to
heavy losses and the extraordinary drain of Ralston's
operations, was short of cash, and Ralston resorted to
sixty-day bills drawn on the Oriental Banking Corpo-
ration of London which he discounted in San Francisco,
paying therefor by other bills, in other words, "kiting."
On Monday, August 23d, Ralston placed in the hands
of Thomas Bell, agent for the Oriental Bank, a large
amount of the bank's bills receivable and had Bell cable
438 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the London bank that he had the securities and ask
credit for the bank for them. Ralston told Bell that
Flood and O'Brien, who were preparing to open the
Nevada Bank, were locking up all the coin and making
money very scarce. The Oriental Bank did not answer
Bell's cable message. On Wednesday night, August
25th, the directors met at William Sharon's house and
were informed by Brown, the cashier, that instead of
there being #2,000,000 of cash in the vault, as called
for by the books, there was but #500,000 in money and
#1,500,000 of cash tags of Ralston's. He also stated
that the president had disposed of a large amount of
bullion in the refinery and appropriated the proceeds,
and affairs were in such condition it would be impos-
sible to keep the doors open very long. It was deter-
mined that the two directors should go to Messrs.
Flood and O'Brien and ask them to liquidate the bank,
the directors giving a guaranty of #2,000,000. This
Flood and O'Brien refused to do. The bank opened
as usual the next morning and after ineffectual attempts
by Ralston to get money from the other banks, closed
its doors at two o'clock in the afternoon, having paid
out all its cash but #30,000 or #40,000. The directors
met at the bank the day after the failure and appointed
a committee to look into the bank's affairs. Ralston
did not come into the board room but remained in his
office. His resignation was coldly presented for his
signature. He signed it and putting on his hat left
the bank by a side door and took his way to his usual
bathing place at North Beach. At three o'clock word
was brought to the bank that he was dead.
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 439
The committee reported that Ralston's liabilities
amounted to #9,565,907.50 of which #4,146,290.57 were
secured, leaving unsecured liabilities of #5,419,616.93
of which #4,655,973.36 was due the Bank of California.
The situation was appalling. The capital of the corpo-
ration was engulfed. The calls upon the stockholders
were likely to be ruinous and in the meanwhile there
would be a dead halt in all the operations of Pacific
coast finance, while at least one-half of the circulating
capital of the state would be rendered immobile and
paralyzed for an indefinite period. There were, besides,
ominous mutterings heard from the sufferers by the
disaster, and threats were openly made to hold the
directors to a strict account not only to the manage-
ment of their trust but to the extent of the bulk of
their fortunes, as partners of the dead president.
There appeared to be but one way out of the jungle
into which the bank and all connected with it were
plunged. That was to resurrect the bank. A syndi-
cate was formed of which William Sharon was made
president. He had been in partnership with Ralston
in many of his enterprises and was the one most
involved. In 1865 Ralston had appointed him agent
of the bank at Virginia City, Nevada, and had loaned
him five hundred dollars with which to establish him-
self. A small, nervous, wiry man, full of vitality,
always shrewd, with a wonderful grasp of situations
and details, Sharon is described as a financier with the
education of a lawyer, a lawyer with the education
of a man of business. Realizing his opportunities in
Virginia City, Sharon engaged in mining stock specu-
lations, and when two years later he formed a partner-
440 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
ship with Ralston under the firm name of William
Sharon and Company he was able to put about a half
a million into the joint account. He formed the Union
Mill and Mining Company and, at a time when pros-
pects were bad on the Comstock lode, he bought up
most of the mills on the Carson river and obtained
control of the Belcher, Yellow Jacket, Ophir, Kentuck,
Chollar-Potosi, and other mines. The Union Mill and
Mining Company, of which Sharon and Ralston each
owned two-fifths and D. O. Mills one-fifth, paid in
dividends over $14,000,000. Another large enterprise
of William Sharon and Company — also in conjunction
with D. O. Mills — was the building of the Virginia and
Truckee Railroad, a wonderfully profitable venture.
Such was the man chosen to lead in this most wonderful
venture of all — the rehabilitation of the Bank of
California.
Before entering into the details of this achievement,
one of the greatest in the financial history of America,
let us go back a moment to the statement made earlier
in this article that the bank was virtually bankrupt
two years and a half before. The claim was made that
until the cashier, Thomas Brown, laid before the direc-
tors assembled at William Sharon's house that night of
Wednesday, August 25, 1875, the statement of the
bank's condition, they were totally unaware of what
had been going on and were surprised and horrified at
what they were told. What were the facts in the case ?
On February 19, 1873, there was due to the bank from
George P. Kimball and Company $578,580.46, from
the New Montgomery Street Real Estate Company
$1,971,696.56, and from the Pacific Woolen Mills
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 441
Company #967,900.00, a total of #3,518,177.02. These
loans, it is claimed, were made to the firm of William
Sharon and Company, of which Sharon and Ralston
were partners, the owners of the properties. The
companies did not pay the interest on their loans, and
the bank could not collect. To keep the bank from
failing and to protect it during the prevailing money
stringency, an agreement was entered into on that 19th
of February, 1873, between John D. Fry and the Bank
of California, whereby Fry was to pay into the bank
the sum of #3,400,000 in gold coin in consideration of
which the bank was to assign to Fry the indebtedness
above described together with all collaterals and other
securities held by it to secure the payment thereof.
The payments by Fry were to consist of #750,000 gold
coin on signing the agreement, and he was to deposit
at the same time two notes of William C. Ralston of
#250,000 each, one payable in six months and one in
one year after the said date. From the first proceeds
of the sale of securities and properties delivered to Fry,
he was to pay the bank the sum of #950,000 cash, and
further, if realized from the sale of the properties, the
sum of #1,200,000 after paying #500,000 to W. C.
Ralston for the two notes signed by him, and to Fry
#750,000 for the cash advanced by him. This agree-
ment was signed on said date by J. D. Fry and D. O.
Mills, president, and ratified by the directors of the
bank. I think it effectually disposes of the statement
made that the directors were surprised to learn of
Ralston's operations.
Sharon's first move was to enter his own subscription
to the syndicate fund, #1,000,000. He then called on
442 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
D. O. Mills for a like subscription. Mills refused point
blank to make any subscription whatever, saying he
was out of the bank and had owned no stock in it for
for more than two years. Sharon informed Mills that
his stock had never been transferred on the books of the
bank; that many of the irregularities occurred prior to
Mills' retirement; that he was liable as a stockholder,
as a director, and as a partner. Referring to the over
issue of stock he said, "Mr. Mills, some of these cer-
tificates you signed, and they will not believe you have
done that innocently. They will charge you. You
will certainly be liable under these conditions." Mills
came in and subscribed $1,000,000. He had, it
appeared, been in the habit of signing stock certificates
in blank. Sharon had a hard time with his subscrip-
tions, and a man of less force, ability, and tenacity
would have failed; but his mind was like a battery,
constantly radiating energy. He had unbounded con-
fidence in himself and the faculty of quickly impressing
others with a sense of his masterful power. Certain
rose colored reports began to circulate to the effect
that the stock of the bank had good value. That was
intended to inspire the stockholders with hope and
ultimately they came into the syndicate to the amount
of $2,000,000. This was very valuable in holding the
men and business of the bank. But Sharon did not
have an easy time with his syndicate men. Some he
persuaded, some he cajoled, some he threatened, and
some he guaranteed. James R. Keene subscribed
$1,000,000. Then he became alarmed and told Sharon
he would erase his name. Sharon consulted with Mills
and let Keene down to $500,000. Then Keene would
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 443
not have it and demanded that he be released entirely.
Sharon reduced his subscription to $250,000 and gave
him a personal guaranty in writing against loss.
Another subscriber for a large amount came and took
the pen to strike his name off. Sharon grabbed the
pen from him. He gave a verbal guaranty to Peter
Donahue, who was a subscriber for a large amount.
He told Michael Reese, who had a large claim, that he
would not be paid unless he subscribed. He succeeded
in raising a guaranty fund of $7,000,000 of which only
twenty per cent was called in.
One of the first difficulties to be overcome was to
obtain possession of the over issued stock, some 13,180
shares of which were in the hands of various lenders as
collateral for loans. This required careful manage-
ment and skill. Sharon settled with some of these
holders at fifty cents on the dollar; with others, who
threatened suit, and whom Sharon considered as ugly,
aggressive, and insulting, he paid close to par. He was
deadly afraid of a suit which would bring out the full
details of the irregularities of the bank and of the
negligence of its directors. The matter was further
complicated by the operations of Charles Webb
Howard and Company, composed of Howard, Ralston,
and Ryder, in Spring Valley Water stock. The lia-
bilities of this firm were about $4,250,000 all secured
by water stock and Ralston had a three-fifths interest
in the firm. Sharon called in twenty per cent of the
syndicate funds and with Howard visited each one of
the closed banks which were carrying these loans,
together with loans on the bank stock, and ascertained
from them how much money each needed. To each
444 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
amount he added fifty per cent and arranged for all
to open on the same day. The liabilities of Ralston to
the Bank of California, and to outside banks, and
to firms and individuals on bank stock, Spring Valley
Water stock, and the thousand and one other ventures,
were so great, and so complex and interwoven were the
interests that it was impossible to move on one part
without moving on the whole if the bank was to be
resurrected. It was an extraordinary scheme, but the
large sized brain of the syndicate manager was equal
to it, and all of the banks, including the Bank of
California, resumed payment.
On the day of Ralston's death (August 27, 1875) he
had executed a deed to Sharon of all his real and per-
sonal property wheresoever situated and under this
conveyance Sharon proceeded to settle up Ralston's
indebtedness and recover the property pledged to
secure the same. The claim of the bank, $4,655,973 .36,
he settled for $1,500,000. To some creditors he gave
fifty cents on the dollar and to some more, settling
with each as best he could. There were certain irregu-
larities connected with some of the transactions and
Sharon was not slow to avail himself of the opportunity
these offered in effecting settlement.
At the request of the Chartered Bank of India, China,
and Japan, which offered to protect the credits of the
Bank of California abroad, D. O. Mills took the presi-
dency of the rehabilitated bank for two years. At the
end of that period he resigned and nominated William
Alvord for the position, and transferring all his stock
to his private secretary, in certificates of one hundred
shares each, he instructed him to sell the stock as the
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 445
market would take it, and to see that it was transferred
on the books of the bank. Mills was done with the bank
forever. From the date of its reopening the Bank of
California has gone steadily ahead. When all the old
affairs were settled up, the capital account was in
pretty bad shape. It was reduced from #5,000,000 to
#3,000,000, but in a few years the balance was made
good by earnings. The prestige of its name, the ro-
mance of its history and the hold it had on the imagina-
tion of the people, the character of the men in control,
the large amount of its syndicate guaranty as well as
the strength and standing of its guarantors, all told in
its favor, and proved the perfect success of the rehabili-
tation — a success more wonderful than was dreamed of
by the managers — for, from being the great bank of the
state, the Bank of California has become one of
the great banks of the nation. Several of the banks
involved in the transactions with Ralston were obliged
later to retire from business.
In Los Angeles the banking house of Hellman,
Temple, and Company was formed in 1868, and out of
it was organized, in 1871, the Farmers and Merchants
Bank which in 1903, obtained a national charter. On
the organization of the Farmers and Merchants Bank,
the banking house of Temple and Workman was
formed. Francis Pliney Fisk Temple was a Massa-
chusetts man who came on the American bark Tasso
from Boston on a trading voyage in 1841. He was
then twenty years old. Four years later he married a
daughter of William Workman, an Englishman, who
came from New Mexico, also in 1841, in command of
an immigrant party. The two continued the banking
446 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
business until 1875 when they made a bad failure. The
Los Angeles County Bank was established in 1874 and
continued until 1894 when it retired, paying its deposi-
tors in full. In 1876 the Commercial Bank was organ-
ized and in 1880 was granted a national charter as the
First National Bank of Los Angeles. In 1883 was
organized the Los Angeles National Bank, now ab-
sorbed by the First National. On September 12, 191 2,
Los Angeles had 9 national banks with assets of $80,037,000
and 10 state commercial banks with assets of 17,329,000
Total $97,366,000
Some of the state banks are savings banks that do a
commercial business. The commercial assets alone
are taken.
In Dutch Flat, W. and P. Nicholls established a
banking house in i860. The house is still in existence.
Decker, Jewett, and Company had a bank in Marysville
in 1858 which they incorporated in 1888 under the
same name, and the bank is still doing business. In
Napa, James H. Goodman opened a private bank in
1858, and in Placerville, A. Mierson had a bank in 1861.
Both of these have been incorporated and both are
still in business.
Among the private bankers in business in San
Francisco in the sixties were Belloc Freres, Donohoe,
Kelly, and Company, Daniel Meyer, Lazard Freres,
Parrott and Company, and J. Seligman and Company.
Belloc Freres failed in 1891. Donohoe, Kelly, and Com-
pany have been accounted for; Daniel Meyer is still
doing business though the venerable head of the house
died a year or so ago.* Lazard Freres turned their dry
*Since writing the above this bank has retired from business.
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 447
goods house into a bank and in 1884 it became the Lon-
don, Paris, and American Bank, an English corporation.
The dry goods house of J. Seligman and Company also
became a banking house and in 1873 was incorporated
as the Anglo California Bank, an English corporation.
These two banks united in 1909 under a national charter
as the Anglo and London-Paris National. Parrott and
Company became merged in the London and San Fran-
cisco Bank in 1871 and this bank was later absorbed by
the Bank of California. Thus have the private banks,
which constituted the original California system, all
but disappeared from San Francisco.
When congress adopted the national bank system
as a war measure and to float the government loans,
California did not respond. All the traditions of the
state were against the establishment of banks of issue
and the people refused to recede from their stand for
hard money, but when the act was amended to author-
ize the issue of $45,000,000 in gold notes, redeemable
in gold coin by the issuing bank upon demand, the
First National Gold Bank of San Francisco was organ-
ized in November, 1870, and opened for business in
January, 1871. In 1872 the National Gold Bank and
Trust Company of San Francisco was formed, a con-
version of the California Trust Company, organized
in 1867. Two gold banks were organized in Oakland,
one in Sacramento, one in Stockton, two in Santa
Barbara, and one each in Petaluma and San Jose, ten
banks, all issuing gold notes. After the resumption
of specie payments in 1879, and the establishment of
parity between all government paper and gold coin,
the gold banks retired their gold charters but the
448 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
number of national banks increased very slowly. The
people clung to their gold currency and refused to
accept the paper money. On March 10, 1885, there
were but fifteen national banks in California, with
total resources of #12,956,800. Of the fifteen, ten
were in the northern and five in the southern section
of the state. With the rapid growth of the south
during the next fifteen years came the demand from
the new element for the national system to which
they had been accustomed in the eastern states, and
by September, 1902, there were in California:
South of the Tehachipi, 29 nationals, with resources of $30,213,989
North of the Tehachipi, 20 nationals, with resources of 62,769,504
A total of 49 nationals, with resources of $92,983,493
After this the progress of the national banks in Cali-
fornia was more rapid. While gold coin remains the
circulating medium and all contracts are made therein
the people seemed to realize the fact that there was
greater protection for them in the federal supervision
of the banks than under the state system, and during
1909 and 1910, the last of the great state banks in
San Francisco were granted national charters. The
reports to the comptroller of the currency under date
date of September 4, 191 2, show:
San Francisco, 9 banks, resources $240,847,989
Los Angeles, 9 banks, resources 80,037,174
Other sections of the state, 213 banks, resources 179,581,562
Total 231 banks, resources $500,466,725
Add commercial deposits of state banks, 129,115,954
$629,582,679
Deduct for duplicated bank deposits 60,000,000
and we have banking resources of the state $569,582,679
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 449
The report of the comptroller of the currency for
191 3 shows that in the matter of savings deposits
California is the fourth state in the union, the banks
having #453,500,000 savings deposits to the credit of
her people.
The great fortunes made in the Comstock mines of
Virginia City were represented in the establishment
of the Nevada Bank of San Francisco which opened
for business October 2, 1875, under the presidency of
Louis McLane, who had come to California in 1846 as
passed midshipman on the frigate Savannah and was
present at the raising of the flag at Monterey. He
served as lieutenant of Fauntleroy's dragoons, and was
captain in the California battalion, having charge of
the artillery. Later he had the rank of major and
was one of Fremont's commissioners in the treaty of
Cahuenga. In 1850 he resigned from the navy and
returned to California. He was for many years
manager of Wells, Fargo, and Company's express, was
one of the first directors of the Bank of California, and
from 1875 to 1882, president of the Nevada Bank.
The owners of the Nevada Bank were the so-called
"bonanza firm" of Flood, O'Brien, Mackay, and Fair.
The bank opened with a paid up capital of #5,000,000
which was increased about a year later to #10,000,000
and afterwards reduced to #3,000,000. In 1887 Flood
and Mackay engaged in an attempt to corner the
world's wheat supply and the deal, carried on through
the Nevada Bank, was so disastrous in its results that,
but for the interposition of James G. Fair, who put a
large amount of cash into the bank, it would have been
obliged to close its doors. Fair, who had withdrawn
450 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
some time before from the bank and from the "bonanza
firm," took the presidency of the bank until it re-
organized with new capital and new people who
brought it into the front rank. In 1897 the bank
obtained a national charter and in 1905 it absorbed the
Bank of Wells, Fargo, and Company. It is now the
second largest commercial bank in California, under
the name of the Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank.
The failures of 1875 demonstrated the necessity of
publicity regarding the new system of corporate bank-
ing and the legislature of 1876 passed a law requiring
all corporations and all persons doing a banking business
in the state to publish on the first of January and July
of each year statements of condition. The passage of
the law was opposed by many of the banks and the
statements were made in such a manner as to disclose
as little of the condition of the banks as possible. The
private bankers refused to comply with the law and the
foreign agencies treated it with contempt. As there
was no penalty for non-compliance the law was a farce.
There was no supervision and the banks could publish
what they pleased. In 1878 the bank commission
act was passed under which a board of three bank
commissioners was appointed with power to call for
statements from the banks, make examinations of
their affairs, regulate the conduct of their business,
and to close insolvent concerns. The commissioners
were appointed in the spring of 1878 and at once began
their work. The first bank examined, the Masonic
Savings and Loan Bank of San Francisco, was found
to be insolvent and was closed and put into liquidation.
The second passed safely through the ordeal, but the
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 451
third, fourth, and fifth, viz: the Farmers and Merchants
Bank of Savings, the French Savings and Loan Society,
and the Odd Fellows Savings Bank, all of San Francisco,
were found deficient and put into liquidation. Among
the country banks the alarm caused by the action of
the commissioners was such that a number of them
closed their doors and went into voluntary liquidation.
Having by its initial action justified its existence the
bank commission rested on its laurels and the board
soon became a refuge for broken down politicians, ap-
pointed without regard to efficiency. Most of the
bankers resented what they considered an unwarranted
prying into their affairs and continued to conduct
their business according to their own fancies. The
"examinations" of the bank commissioners were no
more farcical than were the published statements of
the banks, so far as showing the true condition of the
banks was concerned. It is to the credit of the bankers
of California that there have been so few betrayals of
trust among them. A disastrous failure was that
of the California Safe Deposit and Trust Company
which closed its doors October 30, 1907, with liabilities
to depositors amounting to #9,072,741 on which has
been paid to date one dividend of ten per cent. This
bank, incorporated in 1882, had built up a great
business by personal and persistent effort and by
the payment of four per cent on savings accounts,
two per cent on accounts subject to check, and from two
and one-half to four per cent on certificates of deposit
according to the period of time for which they were
issued.
452 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
In March, 1903, in order to get rid of some objection-
able bank commissioners appointed by the former
governor, the legislature repealed the act creating the
board of bank commissioners. In the interim before
the passage of a new law seventy-one charters were
obtained for banking privileges, most of them for
speculative purposes. The provisions of the new act
created a board of four commissioners and fixed the
minimum amount of capital required at #25,000 for
small towns and up to #200,000 for towns of twenty-five
thousand or more inhabitants. The court having
ruled that provision unconstitutional the legislature
of 1907 adopted a law requiring a capital equal to ten
per cent of the deposits of a bank until a maximum
capital of #1,000,000 was reached, but permitting no
bank to be organized with a capital of less than #25,000.
This was where the ad interim charters became valuable
and many were sold from #1,000 to #2,500 each.
The indignation caused by the revelations concerning
the California Safe Deposit and Trust Company were
such that there was a general demand for more stringent
regulations for banks and a better system of super-
vision. The legislature appointed a joint committee
of the senate and assembly to investigate the cause of
bank failures and suggest a remedy and the Common-
wealth Club of California took up the matter and after
several reports and debates following careful investi-
gation by its banking section brought in a report
submitting a number of changes in the law. Several
meetings were held with the legislative committee
and a bill was prepared and submitted to the legislature.
The result of this movement was the bank act of 1909,
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 453
which provided for a superintendent of banks, in place
of four commissioners of equal power; provided for a
cash reserve; a limit to loans; authorized department
banking by banks of sufficiently large capital; limited
the amount of bonds a bank could hold; prohibited
loans to officers and employees and to directors without
consent of two-thirds of the other directors and of the
superintendent of banks; prohibited the purchase of
shares of other corporations, and limited loans on stock
of other banks; provided for examinations by directors;
for reports to superintendent, and for publication of
such statements as the superintendent should direct,
and many other necessary requirements.
In 1876 the San Francisco Clearing House Association
was organized with fifteen members. They were the
Bank of California, the Bank of British Columbia,
the Bank of British North America, the Bank of San
Francisco, B. Davidson and Company, Belloc Freres,
Donohoe, Kelly, and Company, the First National Gold
Bank, Hickox and Spear, London and San Francisco
Bank, Merchants Exchange Bank, Sather and Com-
pany, Swiss-American Bank, Anglo-California Bank,
and Wells, Fargo, and Company. In 1877 were ad-
mitted the Nevada Bank, Lazard Freres, Pacific Bank,
National Gold Bank and Trust Company, and Tallant
and Company — in all twenty banks. The Swiss-
American Bank mentioned above was not the present
bank of that name but an earlier bank incorporated
in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1873, with $2,000,000
capital. It retired from business in 1878. Other
banks were admitted from time to time but the asso-
ciation has at no time had more than twenty members,
454 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the number varying from fifteen to twenty. In 1910
the assistant treasurer of the United States became
a member. In 1887 the Los Angeles Clearing House
Association was organized, in 1906 the Oakland and
San Jose Clearing Houses and in 1907 the Sacramento,
Stockton, Fresno, and San Diego Associations were
formed, and in 1910 that of Pasadena.
The panic of 1893 caused the suspension of four
national banks in California and a number of state
banks and private bankers. Three of the four nationals
resumed business and are today strong banks. A
number of state and private banks were obliged to
close their doors, but as there was no notice taken of
their action by the bank commissions, they waited for
the clouds to roll by and then reopened, as if nothing
had happened, only to succumb later under the with-
drawal of public confidence. The panic of 1907 caused
the failure of twenty state banks including the Cali-
fornia Safe Deposit and Trust Company and its
Franches, and for the first time in its history the San
brancisco Clearing House Association resorted to the
issue of clearing house certificates in settlement of
balances to the amount of $13,040,000. The clearing
houses of San Francisco and Los Angeles have each a
special bank examiner to examine all banks belonging j
to the clearing house and all banks clearing through
members.
The fire which swept San Francisco in April, 1906,
put its hot seal on every bank vault in the city. Warned
by the bankers of Baltimore that it would be unsafe
to open the vaults under three weeks from the date
of the fire, a meeting of the San Francisco Clearing
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 455
House Association was called for April 23 d to devise
ways and means to relieve the distressed people who
had lost homes, business, and all, and had not money to
buy the commonest necessities of life. For a few
days following the fire all stores of provisions were
held by the military, but in a week the military grip
was loosened, and those who had money could buy
what little there was to sell. At this first meeting
of the clearing house a measure was adopted for the
relief of the depositors of the banks, which, when
worked out, provided for the establishment of a union
bank at the United States Mint, which had escaped
the fire, to which could be transferred from New York
through the subtreasury such sums as might be re-
quired. Each bank was to look after its own depositors,
and was permitted to advance to them such sums as
might be necessary up to a total of #500 in each case.
The banks transferred funds from New York and the
manager of the Clearing House Bank, as it was called,
opened a set of books and credited each of the seventeen
members with its deposit. The officers of each bank
signed across the face of the depositor's check a request
to the Clearing House Bank to pay and the checks so
endorsed were charged to the bank. The limitation
of amount was because the books of most of the banks
were in the hot vaults. The clearing house met daily,
and soon the measure of relief was expanded to meet
pressing business necessities. At last, May 23d was
set for reopening for business without limit and the
banks prepared to leave their temporary quarters in
various residences and reestablish themselves in their
old locations, erecting temporary structures within
456 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the walls and upon the sites of their former buildings.
Bank vaults were opened, and in most cases their
contents were found uninjured. After being closed
down for more than a month business was resumed
without the slightest disturbance of any kind, and
thirty-five days' clearings went through in one day.
There exists a radical difference in the manner in
which business is conducted in California and the
Pacific states from that which obtains in the east.
Eastern merchants close their accounts by notes which
they endorse and deposit for credit with their bankers.
In California most business is done on open account
and the borrower at the bank has little trade or com-
mercial paper to offer for discount but gives his note
for such accommodation as he requires. Both systems
have advantages and drawbacks. The theory of the
trade paper is a sound one, where each note the bank
discounts represents a transfer of value, and the
bank holds each party to the transaction; but in a great
many cases the paper represents no trade at all, being
merely accommodation, while the most of the great
houses issue immense quantities of so-called commercial
paper, which is accommodation paper, pure and simple,
and sell it all over the United States. These notes
are drawn in round sums, without interest, and the
rate of discount is regulated by the credit of the house
of issue, while the purchasing bank has no means of
knowing, even approximately, the amount of paper
afloat. The California merchant has only his book
accounts and he borrows direct on his own personal
credit. The banker in California knows his borrower
and all about him — his resources, the manner in which
BANKING IN CALIFORNIA 457
he conducts his business, and the amount of money he
owes. Except with very large concerns the borrowing
is usually all at one bank, a regular line of credit being
generally given. The bad feature of this being, where
the notes given are payable on demand, and the credit
is once established, the paper is liable to lie in the
bank, year in and year out. It has no maturity, no
time is fixed for payment, and no preparation for
payment is made. The bank's money becomes part
of the capital invested in the business, and when pay-
ment is called for it is usually at a time when money is
tight and the borrower frequently cannot pay without
great sacrifice — perhaps the closing out of his business.
For the credit of the Californian it may be said that
this contingency has seldom arisen, and from a some-
what extended observation of both systems I am
inclined to think the California system is as good as
the eastern. From the time of the establishment of
corporate banking in California down to 1893 the
practice of permitting bank customers to overdraw
their accounts prevailed, inaugurated, it is said, by
the branch banks of English corporations. This
objectionable method of lending money was pronounced
irregular by a clearing house resolution in 1893 and has
about disappeared.
In 1849 the prevailing rate for money was ten per
cent a month. By 1858 money was loaned on mortgage
at two per cent a month, and for the next ten years
the rate varied from one and a quarter to two per cent
per month. It was not until 1871 that mortgage loans
were made at an annual rate, and from that date until
1877 the rate was from ten to twelve per cent per
458 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
annum. In 1879 the rate was nine per cent and by
1883 it had fallen to seven. Thereafter the rate became
six per cent, the mortgagee paying the tax on the
mortgage since 1880. The ruling commercial rate for
money has been from five to six per cent during the last
thirty years. The foregoing rates are for San Francisco,
interior rates being considerably higher. The payment
of mortgage tax now being optional with lender or
borrower, the mortgage rate is five and one-half to six
per cent when the borrower pays the tax.
That time has justified the wisdom of the founders
of the commonwealth in their action regarding the
circulating medium is proved by the prosperity of
the state and the credit of its financial institutions.
jL&uffLf fcW,'
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
IN CALIFORNIA
IN attempting the wide retrospective survey of the
graphic and monumental arts in California and
being confronted by the incoherency and vague-
ness of the whole American field — the one thing
that palpably emerges is just the question: "What
then, after all, is one looking for, listening for?"
The historian can answer that question directly:
"For some logical and consecutive expression of the
American or Californian spirit, speaking through beauty
in the distinctive speech of America or of California."
To detect the timorous lisp of that spirit, any faltering
intimation of what it had or has to say to the future,
must be the central preoccupation of the historian; and
he perceives (in the face of all the poverty and confu-
sion), his task to be that of the sympathetic apologist,
who is, ever so sympathetically, to take as the symbol
this shining thread of the spirit and to follow it, disen-
tangle it, knot the ends together where it has been
broken — making it the clue in the maze and finally
being content to say, that if the spirit has not always
manifested itself in works of beauty, yet the humblest
work of art reveals the maker and something of the
social temper of his time.
It is then, in this American and Californian inquiry,
not so much an estimate of art values that we are seek-
ing, as the revelation of the human spirit, the temper
of a civilization that has produced so prodigiously in
so many ways and so meagrely in the way of art.
Art makes this confession of its time. Where there are
so few notable examples of art to brood upon as in the
462 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
American vista, the brief essayist must, perforce, brood
equallyupon the social revelation and the social contrasts.
The arts with which we deal here, require for their
orderly growth and flowering, a quiet unattainable in
a new and lusty civilization; the absence of art does
not of necessity indicate an absence of a wide-spread
(though unconscious) appreciation of beauty. These
pioneers of America and of California were encountering
natural beauty in its abundance and freshness. Surely
this prevailing beauty in the field of their excited enter-
prise, did win their response, even though they were
too busy to translate it into consciousness and so, into
the terms of art.
It would be interesting to trace the delight in natural
beauty in the contemporary literature of the young
America — for literature did, almost appallingly devote
itself to nature and the theologic deduction from nat-
ural aspects. But our task is to trace the less sponta-
neous arts that have, unlike literature, to make terms
with the current civilization in order to win a place
and a voice. Speech and writing travel with so easy
and light an equipment, they can foot it with the pio-
neers; the graphic and monumental arts must delay
until the hearths are established and the time has come
to build the temple. They move with the encumbrance
of a tradition, they require material things for their
expression — most of all, they require the serenities of
a civilization established and the response assured.
It is with tradition that the historian picks up his
thread, for tradition is an essential strand. That tra-
dition runs straight to America from the cultural
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 463
centers of Europe with the coming of the colonists;
it weaves into the texture of that early life and shines
suddenly as a new, bright thing in the domestic and
public buildings of the Atlantic sea-board which we
very properly name "Colonial." The tradition of
European art is preserved and yet is translated into a
new refinement and delicacy, indicative of a new choice
and new predilections.
This refinement, this attenuation of the material
employed, is the first speech in art of the recognizable
new spirit — the American spirit. It stands as a reality
in that architecture; but it appears, too, in every object
that the American of that time molded for his use or
his pleasure — in the early furniture, the "American"
ax-handle, the "American" wagon. We see the spirit
intuitively attenuating, refining, as though in an exqui-
site impatience that it must deal with material things at
all; yet with supreme intelligence fitting the material
to its perfect use.
How wide-spread this intuitive predilection was, has
not been measured. It found its consummation, not in
the architecture that so modestly blossomed on the
Atlantic sea-board, but on the sea itself.
The American sailing ships! Those slim, unsung
heralds that we set upon the seas of the world, to pro-
claim by every shining spar, by each adroit line of their
swift bodies, that a new race of builders and conquerors
had found their voice in America. Surely, our ships
must continue to rank as the triumph of that early
spirit's expressiveness.
464 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The ship persisted long after our architecture had
anything to say of the spirit's first fine rapture;
and the ship, even now, sinks below our unsteady and
changing horizons.
If then, it required fully a century of progressive
community life for the descendants of the English race
in America to evolve what was distinctive in architec-
ture on land and sea, we should not be impatient in
our contemplation of the art of the century that fol-
lowed. It would be an unthinking critic who would
ask that just that tradition of refinement verging upon
fragility, be maintained by America, 'bride of change'
as she is.
The inrush upon the young states of alien peoples;
the conquest of the great territory to the west; most
of all, the introduction of the machine in the processes of
the world's manufacture — who in reason can ask coher-
ency in the art of a nation, under revolutions of such
magnitude?
Architecture fell from her delicate preoccupation
with style; painting lapsed from the refinements and
reserves of Copley and Steuart and both together sank
into a universal disregard and a universal dowdiness.
Sculpture practically had not existed as an independent
art in the early time; and when she rose in the Nine-
teenth century, she was stamped with an even greater
dowdiness than that worn by her sister arts. One can
guess from her aspect, how completely art had become
a thing apart from the general life — speaking in the
strangest tongue to these American admirers, if it spoke
at all in the arid marble portraits and the "chaste"
nudes.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 465
They speak now to us indisputably the fact that the
contemporary American was not thinking or feeling
"Art" at all. And it was just into this poor estate,
that California entered when she became American.
Yet through this period of neglect, we can follow our
thread here and there as it gleams in individual works
by solitary artists; and the thread suddenly gleams and
shines again, in that little Renaissance of the arts that
was nourished in the eighties by La Farge, McKim,
White, and St. Gaudens, culminating in the exposition
at Chicago in 1903. It was a phenomenal recapture
of the early American spirit; as it was, beautifully and
pathetically, the last word of that first American speech.
We caught the echo of it in California; we too, had
our brief period of absorption in architecture as an art;
there was a moment when the popular sympathy was
involved, really responded to the work of art. The
artists here, as in New York and Chicago, were express-
ing some vital thing that the people wanted to have
said: the artists were speaking the speech of the
American spirit again: that was all the reason.
The brief moment of illumination and mutual
interchange and mutual understanding, passed; and
now we wait for the newer language to be evolved from
the bewildering prolixity of our present polyglotism.
Californian art has, of necessity, been more less an
echo of the national state of things; but interestingly
enough, she has caught the echoes of a wider field than
the national. It has been her exceptional good fortune
in more than the arts, to escape, in spite of her isolation,
the blight of provincialism.
466 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Her history begins with the resounding names of
Cabrillo, Vizcaino, and Drake. Continuously have
influences poured in upon her from east and west; and
if in the arts her speech has been hesitant or delayed, it
may be because of too many voices — too many echoes.
What the earliest of the explorers of these coasts
found in the matter of art, humble as it was, was yet
complete and perfect as an expression of the native life.
The crude woodwork of the aboriginal house and canoe;
the basketry for storage and utensils, the simple imple-
ments of the chase and for gaming, the leather and
shell-work — all these objects afford us now, a picture
of the people and the life they lived: so adequately
reconstructs the scene for us, that the question pre-
sents itself, as to whether just this power of communi-
cation, is not the test of "value" to be applied to any
work of art out of the past?
Truly these Indians of the lowest state of culture did
leave a perfectly readable record of themselves and
what desire for beauty was in them. Art is, of course,
the fine flower of a people's existence, their highest
expression; we know, that within its savage limitation,
the life of this primitive people was so far coherent
that they could give this entirely comprehensible
account of themselves to the future. What is present
in each of these sad relics, is the testimony that for
them, art was an integral part of life: not a thing
whimsically fostered or crowded aside.
Their art was far advanced when the first vessels of
the explorers touched upon the coast. It is still prac-
ticed in obscure places for the love and need of it; and
decadently for profit, where it is most to be seen. It
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 467
has no place in our tradition and cannot be worked in,
however curiously the effort persists to drag it into the
arts of decoration. Its worth to us is purely that of
record, and in its appeal to our understanding of these
vanished fellow creatures.
If they, poor things, welcomed the first of us as gods
(the first of us being the gentlemen adventurers of the
Golden Hinde, straight from the court and city of
the depraved Tudors), what did they, the natives,
make of that first work of European art planted upon
the land which is now California and which was then
proclaimed "New Albion"?
It is deeper than amusing to think that here were
sounded first the sonorous and solemn phrases of
English speech in the great language of the "Book
of Common Prayer," but the smile comes to our lips
when we learn that the first work of art left upon the
land which is now the United States of America, was
the penny portrait of the Virgin Queen of England!
The old diarist records: "At our departure hence,
our Generall set up a monument: namely a plate, nailed
upon a faire greate poste * * * with her Highnesses
picture and armes, in a peece of six-pence of current
English monie, under the plate." Thus the thread of
traditional art first gleamed upon the coast of California
and ties us to the England of Elizabeth and Leicester,
of Shakespeare and Francis Bacon.
The incident counts for us only as it enriches the long
backward reach of our survey; the Golden Hinde lost
in the distance: the gods vanished; and the bereft native
gazing in perplexity at the minute image of the most
notably artificialized female in history, in her monstrous
468 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
ruff and her monstrous arrogance ! It is a juxtaposition
to appeal to the Comic Muse — and what wouldn't we
give now for that same "peece of six-pence"?
It was nearly two hundred years before the native
was confronted by any other work of art of European
lineage. The coming of the padre and the setting up
of the cross cannot be classed with the incidental. Here
was a substantial historical event.
These missionaries and explorers and conquerors,
marching northward from Mexico, planting the mis-
sions and the presidios from San Diego to Sonoma
within the half century, did a work that has not been
adequately measured as a building accomplishment.
To have builded by native labor and of the most
primitive materials the twenty-one missions and settle-
ments, while the work of conversion and conquest was
going forward, is a noble record. It may be said that
to engage the populace in labor, was the perfect way to
subject and so to convert; but if the native had mar-
velled at the penny queen, how much more deeply must
he have marvelled at these structures, which rose with
the help of his own hands ? The missions vary in value
few of them make the slightest claim to art, but all
have the virtue of directness and of graciously belonging
to the landscape.
The friars had come to a land reminiscent in every
feature of the old Spain, with its wide sun-burned
valleys and its strong hills, set between the sierras and
the blue sea. They planted, upon perfectly selected
sites, these simple buildings, more truly "Spanish
Colonial" than are the buildings of the eastern states
"English Colonial." We do not know how the plans
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 469
and elevations were produced. They were apparently
largely the product of old and pleasant memories ap-
plied to the new conditions of building, with the strange
material and the poor skill at hand.
Here and there however, as at San Luis Rey and
preeminently at San Antonio of Padua, hints of a
schooled taste and knowledge come in. San Antonio
hidden in its distant valley and its ruin mitigated by
blossoming pomegranates and oleanders, has an art
that none of its brethren can show. Its great arch of
burnt brick (which still survived a few years ago)
proclaims an audacity that could hardly have been
ventured by any but a trained architect.
Yet these delightful and appropriate buildings and
the whole brave record they embodied, from the
moment of American occupation seem to have taught
no lesson, as they have called forth no protective care
on the part of the public: except where they have
been attractive to the curiosity of sight-seers and
tourists they have been permitted to fall into shameful
ruin.
The padres brought little to California in the way of
art to match their fervor and enterprise in building.
Of the paintings that came up the coast from Mexico,
there is never a hint of the sought masterpiece: and the
colored wooden sculpture which was to be imported
later, is of a like commonplaceness. Nothing which
they brought compares with what they themselves
made on the spot. They taught the natives to work
agreeably in wood and clay and leather; and (one idly
enough speculates) had the Sierras and the sea become
impregnable barriers just at that moment, what
470 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
extraordinary and delightful things might not have
issued in art, from this domination and instruction of
the native race? The results would not have been
of the emptiness of any human significance that our
"revivals" in the way of "mission furniture" and
"Swatsika" pottery, now present.
The friars and the native artisans were scattered
before the wind of change, and so far as art is concerned,
nothing was effected except what still remains to be
learned from the ruinous old examples of their high
emprise.
One cannot leave out, for the sake of the touch of
romantic color the mention confers, the brief occupation
by the Russians, with their forts and stockades enclos-
ing the chapel and barracks at Fort Ross. That little
group of log buildings, set at the foot of the Coast
Range and against the bleak sea, is memorable. There
were orchards and a garden with its quaintly domed
summer house in the Slavic manner. Nothing remains
there now, but the governor's residence and the log
causeway from the beach. There is no possibility of
tying this strange, loose end into the thread of influence.
The occupation was as little contributary as the transit
of the Golden Hinde along the same stretch of coast,
even though the Russian apple trees still yield their
fruit and the Russian roses, hard colored and sweet,
still bloom and shake in the wind.
The earliest Americans caught the high tide of
Spanish occupation and turned it back. The artist
had begun his work in the Spanish houses : for itinerant
and now nameless portrait painters there were, who
moved from settlement to settlement and painted the
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 471
dons and senoritas. How good this first painting was,
is an inquiry that is likely to be made in the future.
This historian recalls examples seen in youth in Santa
Barbara, Monterey, and Martinez, which looked down
from the walls of high, dim rooms, with the aspect of
having the best tradition in their keeping; they matched,
these portraits, in courtesy and dignity, the living
descendants of the pictured departed. For in these
same rooms were even then, at that late day, manners
and the art of intercourse and one saw even then, how
the portraits and their possessors and the manners,
were meeting adversities, were all to be lost and hustled
away as superfluous in the new age; as superfluous as
the missions themselves.
But these first hustlers brought with them something
of their own established serenities and something of
tradition in building and ornament and manners, which
asserted itself as soon as they began to settle. That
same English colonial architecture (grown heavier and
coarser from having encountered the wave of pseudo-
classicism that swept America in the forties), came to
California along with such names as Benicia and Anti-
och, and set its stamp upon the homely, pleasant
courthouses and dwellings that still delight us in the
central California towns.
The larger communities had little to do with it: the
style had become rural and suburban in its passage
across the continent and unfitted for city building. In
the cities a very agreeable manner was substituted that
yet held with tradition. These buildings of brick and
covered with stucco, still make wholly for the observer's
pleasure in Sacramento, in Marysville (as in the old San
472 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Francisco), as they repeat themselves with a discreet
variety in all the shady streets. There is no question
of their being "Art"; they offer merely the pleasantest
most modest little facades, winning their chief distinc-
tion from the contrast they present to what immediately
followed them and jostled them out of popular favor
in the seventies and eighties.
In San Francisco, however, in these same years
between 1850 and 1870, really notable buildings were
erected, which stood in the older quarters of the town
and impressed the observer with their grace and power,
quite up to the hour of conflagration.
This architectural accomplishment has never been
satisfactorily accounted for. The names of the archi-
tects were early lost, and lacking any reliable data and
in the presence of work so much beyond what the rest
of America had to show for that same period, an amus-
ing body of legend gathered about them and was current
in the talk of local enthusiasts, in which the names of
the most distinguished European architects grandly
figured. Where so much that was unexpected and
romantic had happened, it seemed quite within the
possibility that anyone might have laid his hand upon
the young town and left for us the testimony of his
talent. Certain it is, that these buildings were the
design of trained intelligences, and the conclusion must
be inferred that so much intelligence and taste was not
locally concentrated, but that communication with
Europe being regularly established, commissions for
the drawings were placed in the hands of men practicing
in Paris and London.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 473
The local French community was large and influential
and if the two French bankers immortalized themselves
by commissioning Meryon to execute the first etched
view of San Francisco, it seems altogether possible that
the designs of certain of the buildings came as straight
from the ateliers of Durban and Gamier.
Apart from surmise, there were gifted architects
practicing in San Francisco, men like Patten, the beauty
of whose Gothic manner was shown in the old Grace
church and the Synagogue. There was restraint within
and respect for the tradition of art everywhere evi-
denced, that meant nothing less than that the populace
too, was maintaining something of the old forms and the
good manners they had brought from the older civili-
zation and weaving it into the new. They built homes :
agreeable houses and gardens planted themselves upon
the hills with a promptitude that was indicative of
an inner stability and orderliness in the community;
and they built churches, even while the "Eldorado"
was dazzling the "transients" with its mirrors and
"high stakes" and the atmosphere of the mining camp
still hung over the town.
Literature has never sufficiently celebrated our
respectabilities; the testimony to this delightful period
of sedate life (not without its enlivening contrasts)
rests almost entirely now in memories, such as are
embodied in the strange "Chronicle of Manuel Alanus"
and in the old photographs and lithographs of the time.
We have hung upon architecture because it bulks as
the popular and revealing art. Painting was practiced
obscurely. Sculpture appeared only in the ornamen-
tation of the buildings : their stucco decorations being
474 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
of no mean order, and where it occasionally broke away
into the freer forms of life and the human figure, it did
so in a manner showing capacity for true sculpture of
merit.
We did, however, at this time, indulge almost
inordinately in delineation by lithography. Here the
artist had his fling — upon the letter papers showing
views: in the broadsides picturing current events; tran-
sitory things, but posted to the ends of the earth. They
were sober and respectable productions and historically
they furnish a record surprisingly rich.
One of these faded blue sheets pictures the group of
the first Chinese participants in a Fourth of July parade
in San Francisco. The incident is momentous, as we
look back upon our history. In the history of our art
it signalizes a new and wonderfully rich influence; how-
ever we may regard it as alien, this oriental thread has
the substantiality of a rope.
We cannot incorporate it as an entity in the texture
that we are now weaving, but filaments of its splendor
and dignity as Chinese, of its exquisiteness as Japanese,
will inevitably weave in more and more as the barriers
of nationality go down under the assaults of the spirit of
human brotherhood.
If the artists of Europe were, at the moment of this
first invasion of our coasts, opening their eyes to the
lessons taught in art by these same orientals, we on
our side of the world, in our out-post community, were
taking coolies by the wagon load directly from the
steamer landing, to the old "Bank Saloon," that they
might gaze with equal wonder, though with probably
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 475
less edification, upon a French canvas of ordinary merit,
whereon was pictured the "Sleeping Samson Shorn by
Delilah."
It was the "chaste" nude again. What they made
of it, these simple Chinese — what they made of this
first initiation to just what western art had to offer
them, we cannot guess. The incident may have a
lurking hint of allegory or prophecy in it, but its
humor justifies its recording here.
The Chinese instantly began to offer us of their stored
richnesses; they imported works of art and lavishly
decorated the fine old buildings they occupied. They
did not build, except here and there an outdoor altar
and notably, the one perfect little temple beside the
river at Marysville. But the stream of importation
has continued and this flood of examples of a great art
must ultimately yield an effect.
Its strength is diluted in the passage through the
Japanese, and the west has already accepted that
mitigated and very charming tradition; we shall touch
upon that influence in California a little later: some-
thing happens between.
This happening was the whirlwind of the "Big
Bonanza" years; all threads were apparently snapped
short.
It was a powerful era of powerful men: an era of
greed in getting and lavishness in spending and of a
vulgarity such as the world had never before suffered.
Here in California it happened that the flush times fell
upon us when in the arts of the western civilizations
476 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
there was no steadying tradition. Something had held
over in California, of what the rest of America had lost:
but this remnant was to be pushed aside ruthlessly
enough, from the path of gross wealth. The masters of
wealth dominated the scene so tyrannously that what art
there was or whatever tradition, instantly succumbed.
It would be interesting to know what became of the
scholarly architects with their reserves and hesitations,
and of the modest delineators in lithography. Great
houses and hotels were erected, importations of works
in sculpture and painting began to pour in for their
adornment. The foreign gaudy examples went where
they belonged: the town positively "bulged" with im-
ported "Art." One wonders, did the modest lithog-
raphers yield to the prevailing vulgarity, and taking
service under Mammon, produce the shameless cari-
catures of the gutter publications that were sold upon
the streets of San Francisco at that time? In so great
a social revolution, perhaps the conservative element
that made the earlier San Francisco, was not fully
aware of more than the stir and the prosperity, and
went in and out of its decent residences, with only a
gratified sense of sharing in an increased life — even
perhaps, surreptitiously buying and chuckling over
"The Jolly Giant" and its caricatures, not really con-
scious that they and their civilization were in the
clutch of a cyclone.
Money was so easy, that if the great getters and
spenders began to distribute it in the purchase of
works of art, they indiscriminately bought both bad
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 477
and good; and it is at this time that painters of a merit
seriously to be considered, came to and were supported
in California. The Art School was inaugurated under
the direction of Vergil Williams; and we pick up the
thread just here, of our "connection," in the gracious
courtesy of the French government's gift to the little
institution, of casts from the masterpieces of sculpture
in the Louvre. And it was not long before "the school"
began to send the first of her pupils to Paris, with the
"stumped" crayon examples of what they had learned
from the French gift, under their arms — tender pioneers
of Californian art.
The wives and daughters of the " patrons of art" went
to Paris, too — for fashions in clothes and husbands —
while the "patrons" stayed at home in the wooden
palaces — they who had "sown the wind," while the
community "reaped the whirlwind."
Virginia City, raised in a night and gutted in a decade,
remains as the most expressive ghost of that inebriated
period. It stands in its barren hills, a pitiable, falling,
ever so fitting monument to its creators: and its
"Internation Hotel" (where the banquets brought
straight from San Francisco by train, with the cham-
pagne on the ice, were served) is the epitome of what
vulgarity can do to architecture and the sister arts : the
chapter properly closes there, where it began.
There was to be no resumption of the old good and
sedate taste in building; things had come to too utter
a smash in matters of taste. Whatever art there was,
had something of the look of surreptitiousness worn by
our old house holder, going about his decencies with
"The Jolly Giant" in his coat-tail pocket.
478 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Change was inevitable, even had California escaped
the gross flatulency of the bonanza years. The railroad
had spanned the continent and she was no longer a
rich province apart from the world, but a sharer now
in its wide unrest. San Francisco had earlier attained
to public collections of art: at Woodward's Garden and
at the "Cob-web Palace" on Meigg's wharf (that
unholy bar-room, with its monkeys chattering over the
sawdust floor). If in those early days, one's childish
innocence was taken everywhere, the first impression
of ranged works of art in gold frames, is permeated
with the odor of animals, stuffed and alive: or as at
the "Mechanic's Fair," with the scent of peanuts and
popcorn. "Art" wore the aspect of being enormously
popular, even though it was so largely foreign and
imported.
"Duncan's Auction Rooms" had been succeeded by
the established art stores. A little community of
artists gathered and nested in the "Latin Quarter,"
and there must have been some latent discernment
among patrons to support so meritorious a group as
that formed by Hill, Keith, Tavenier, Yelland, and the
others who managed to fruitfully survive.
Looking now upon the paintings done at that time,
there was every justification for survival. It was good
painting and in particular instances of an expertness
quite amazing. The painters were for the most part,
men who had been well trained before their advent in
California; and if their response to the new wonder
of nature was expressed in the established language of
their schooling, it was a language that adequately
conveyed their bright surprise at the large prospect.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 479
The work of Thomas Hill has been neglected of late,
since it has become the fashion to diminish the creations
of the school to which he belonged; that "school" man-
aged its panoramic canvases with wonderful skill; and
Hill with his sure brush and rapid execution had an
eye open to the light and met and solved certain prob-
lems, at a time when the problems had scarcely become
apparent to the majority of the painters in America.
Of William Keith, self-trained as he was in California,
there is not space here to justly speak. As he remains
the best known and most widely honored painter that
California has produced, the critical estimate of his
work is inevitably to be made in the future. How great
that work was at its best: how it stands with the best
landscape art that followed Constable and the French-
men of 1830, requires no temerity in assertion. The
task will always be to protect our judgment, by holding
to the highest in his enormous and very unequal
production. The critic of the future is less likely to be
'swamped' in his estimate, than is a contemporary.
Keith's art at its very personal best is of a rich imag-
ining on the themes afforded by nature; but both Keith
and Hill and the painters of their time and later,
looked upon the actual nature about them with (shall
we say) something of the eyes of strangers in a strange
land. Their transcripts are undoubtedly of the Cali-
fornia scene, but we feel (as we feel in the great majority
of works of landscape art) that set down anywhere on
the earth, the painters would employ this identical
language of transcription. Here and there a great man
480 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
does speak in the particular terms of the country about
him, fits the language to his native theme; Vermeer,
Constable, Corot, Titian, Valasquez, and the Chinese
masters thus speak. It would seem to mean that
the artist and his theme had become mutually penetra-
tive, and it is this interchange and perfect transfusion
that we must wait for in California's art.
The students returning from Paris began at this time
to bring their gifts to the local altar; the late eighties
and early nineties brought us the echo of the little
Renaissance in New York through a group of young
architects, painters, and decorators. It was a charming
brief period filled with enthusiasm and a quite fresh
perception of the city and its romantic beauty and the
beauties of California. The social life had again at-
tained something of the old orderliness and serenity,
only now its activities in art were preeminently in the
hands of youth. Writers, painters, sculptors, archi-
tects, and musicians communicated their enthusiasms
one to the other, in a communion closer and more
stimulating than has ever happened locally, before or
since.
Things were accomplished in the community's sense
of the meaning of art, if little that was actual and sub-
stantial took visible form. The artists were playing
the part of discoverers and prophets in the California
environment and then, having prophetized — most of
them went to New York. The material opportunities
here were not frequent enough that was all: California
could not feed all her fledglings and they were crowded
out of the nest, to sing or paint or carve their way to
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 481
success or fame somewhere else. None of them failed
and many have brought honor to the name of California.
The sons and daughters of the state continue to seek
and to pervade the older centers and to manifest their
gifts in all the arts, in almost embarrassing numbers.
Architecturally, this decade witnessed the first
attempt at a revival of Spanish colonial that was too
excitedly undertaken to be successful in its adaptation
to modern and changed uses and it is only now and
occasionally, that the lessons of that old style are
beginning to be sympathetically applied and the
warnings afforded by the first adventures, regarded.
This decade of the nineties accomplished beyond its
public buildings, a type of middle class dwelling that is
distinguished by refinement and the use of the native
woods. These dwellings inaugurated what may be
regarded as almost a "Californian" style in homes.
The redwood interiors of the dwellings made agreeable
backgrounds for the domestication of the Japanese
works of art that were being collected and the refine-
ments of that art continue to exert a strong influence
upon California life and its struggle toward a conscious
sense of beauty.
This oriental thread appears as a leading influence
in the art instruction in the public schools. That sys-
tem is a notable one, the seed of which was planted and
first blossomed in the old "Broadway School" in San
Francisco, there proving the case for art as an educa-
tional means, as probably it was never so charmingly
proved before.
482 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The handicrafts and secondary arts began to nourish
at this time in a legitimate association with architecture.
Illustration, freed from its dependence upon the en-
graver, took the initial steps toward its present journal-
istic loquacity. Photography (which had put an end
to wood and steel engraving) made her claim to a place
among the arts. The gardens, that had heretofore
"happened" were now brought to design and a wide
field opened that promises to yield a local expression
in a noble art. Sculpture found its true place as public
monuments were erected under demand of a new civic
pride.
There had been decorators at work in San Francisco
during the middle period, who had capably frescoed the
theatres and palaces and bar-rooms: but it was in
the nineties that the first mural paintings in the modern
sense, were executed by artists eager for the larger
problems and the larger surfaces which the wall offers.
And in all of these various and faltering efforts there
was a quality of ingenuousness that our later perform-
ances appear to have missed, and that might well make
us pause.
Mere habit and increasing expertness seem somehow
to rob the work of art of the bloom, the charm, of
humbleness and self-forgetfulness. One suspects that
it is this expertness of hand, this easy habit in produc-
tion, that is the real menace to art in every age: and
that most seriously is it the menace in the formative
period of a people's expression, when old and essential
truths are waiting to be retold in a new language — a
language to be cautiously evolved by the processes of
time and deep thinking.
ART AND ARCHITECTURE 483
If in the nineties we were a little hesitant and humble,
yet out of that decade emerge two names that will make
a distinctive claim upon the consideration of the future:
Arthur Atkins the painter; Arthur Putnam the sculptor.
Both men saw natively and with their own eyes
and each inevitably spoke his own language. In their
language we have perhaps, an intimation of what
ultimately, the speech of California is to be.
Yet both men embody in their works the great
traditions of the art of the past: and so they place
securely in our hands again, the inspiring filament which
connects us with all that is sanest in humanity's struggle
to express beauty and the truth of beauty. With the
assurance this thread affords us in the present confused
state of the arts, we had perhaps, best reverently hold
it as a clue (indubitably our own) and merely stand and
wait the confirmation of the future.
What that future is to offer, we cannot guess. So
far as we have gone, our worth appears to lie, not
so much in what we have done, as in what we are and
promise to become. The exodus of California artists
continues. It is the strange sign of deeper things in
the young commonwealth. It is the announcement
of a rich fertility hidden and mysterious, in those
spiritual qualities and impulses which, in a race, bring
to birth the poet, the painter, the builder and the
musician.
In our ignorance of what these spiritual impulses are
and from whence they are derived, we must strive
to learn how to nourish, how to cherish them: and
how not, by any coarsening of our perceptions or
receptivities, to thwart and destroy them.
484 ART AND ARCHITECTURE
The sign has been given to us and to the world.
What it signifies cannot be claimed as our human
accomplishment. It is an inestimably precious gift
placed in our care. And the ultimate test of our
civilization, will be the use that we have managed to
make of it — our integrity as custodians.
^^*~« ^^>^ir-
CALIFORNIA BOOKS AND AUTHORS
A REVIEW of California books and authors
within the limits of this article must make
many omissions. Only the writers of real
genius, the books that have made a strong
appeal to the public can be included. Only the most
salient features of these books, the most striking traits
of their authors, can be dwelt upon. It has come to be
accepted that something in the atmosphere of Califor-
nia has given to its authors a quality that sets them
apart from those who have lived their lives under less
sunny skies, under more conventional social rules. No
one can fully understand California authors who has
not come into some intimate touch with pioneer con-
ditions in the Far West. The Sierra is an actual
physical barrier between California, with its climate
and sky of Italy, and the East, with its six months
of snow and ice. The California pioneers raised an
equally formidable barrier between this new life and
the old conventional life east of the plains.
The California pioneer Bret Harte has drawn truly,
but it is false to depict the women of pioneer days as
he drew them — the outcasts of the dance hall and the
gambling den. Some one will yet immortalize the
pioneer mother of California — a woman whom no dan-
ger daunted and no labor tired; a woman of larger
mold, physical and moral, than the average mother of
our day, who knew neither fear nor sickness, but looked
with clear vision beyond her rude and hard life and
gave her children a Spartan training for which they
bless her in these Laodicean days of a thin-necked and
narrow-chested generation.
488 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
What has set the broad arrow-mark of originality
and force on California books and authors ? My theory
is that the tremendous spiritual and moral rebound
that followed the great gold rush of '49 has made itself
felt ever since in the thought and feeling of California.
Beside this unparalleled gold rush the Klondike epi-
sode was like a modern hunting trip into East Africa
compared with one of Stanley's expeditions into the
then unknown "Dark Continent." Beside the long
six months' trip across the plains, beset by savage
Indian tribes, the Chilcoot Pass was the pink tea of
hardship and adventure.
These California pioneers lived a life free from all
restraint save that of honesty and square dealing
between men. If a man had a pet vice, that vice
came out and reared its ugly head. Many lives were
wrecked by the lust of the flesh and the lure of gam-
bling, but the men who resisted these temptations, who
had the courage to bring out their wives and children
to this new land, developed a line moral fibre that the
strait-laced and conventionally-protected never know.
They lived their own lives untrammeled by conventions.
Those who had the literary faculty, who grew up here
or came here in their plastic youth, felt the stimulus
of this new, strange life and put it into their books.
Some of these were not of heroic mold, for it is given
to many writers to stir the hearts of readers when they
are cold themselves. But the great majority felt the
passion and the poetry of this strange pioneer genera-
tion, and they have put something of its splendid heat
and its potent thrill into their books.
BOOKS AND AUTHORS 489
This revolt from old rules and conventions is also
responsible for the large number of caricaturists and
humorists found among California writers. From
John Phoenix to Mark Twain, from J. Ross Browne to
Wallace Irwin, there is the same delight in shocking
the unco' good. The same spirit that moved the
California pioneer is seen in another generation in
the cowboy of the plains, now almost as extinct as the
buffalo and the blanket Indian. The barb-wire fence
and the small farmer killed the cowboy, but the aroma
of romance lingers about him as the survival of that
spirit which animates the literature of California. The
man who spends six months shut in by frost and snow,
who gathers about the family stove every night for
comfort as well as for companionship, is entirely alien
to the Californian, who has no fireside and a large
part of whose life is spent in the open. To make these
two kinds of people see things with the same eyes is
as vain as to try to harmonize the nomad of the desert
and the inmate of a monastery.
The California climate, like that of ancient Greece,
has something in it which develops the artistic tem-
perament. All the surroundings suggest the land of
Phidias and Homer. When the Californian takes the
ride from Patras to Athens, when he passes around
the Gulf of Corinth, he is ready to exclaim that across
the blue water is the Marin shore as seen from San Fran-
cisco. The rugged mountains, the glacier-smoothed
hills, the sharp indentations of the coast line, the color
of the vine and olive-clad slopes, the turquoise blue of
the sea, with mottled shades due to floating seaweed —
490 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
all these are reminders of Carmel and Monterey Bay.
The modern Greek is a far cry from the Greek of
Marathon and Thermopylae, but he has the mental
nimbleness, the artistic temperament, the keen curi-
osity about every new thing that marked the Athenian
of the days of Plato and Socrates.
The same thing is true of the Californian. He
develops early, both mentally and physically. He is
lighter of fancy, more fond of pleasure and more
artistic than his eastern brother, who spends six
months in a long fight with cold and sleet and ice.
And what he has contributed to literature is marked
by these mental traits. It is bright, artistic, buoyant,
optimistic.
Eastern and European people who saw the San
Franciscans just after the earthquake and fire, mar-
veled at the courage of the women and children, noted
the absence of tears and lamentations, wondered at the
hopeful spirit which saw already the ruins cleared and
the old homes renewed. A large part of this spirit was
due to the climate, which had molded and changed the
character of these people — more than half of them born
in the East, but transformed into genuine Californians
by the influence of climate and environment. The
Californian is a natural optimist; he always looks on
the bright side. Hence he has none of those fierce
wrestlings of spirit that disturb the descendant of the
Puritan, whose digestion is faulty and whose liver does
not work properly. The blessed alchemy of the sun-
shine sweetens thought as well as purifies the blood and
clears the vision.
BOOKS AND AUTHORS 491
Humor and broad caricature marked the early
California writers, of whom the first was Captain
George H. Derby, better known as "John Phoenix" and
"Squibob." He was an engineer in the regular army,
and spent several years in San Diego and other parts
of California, before it was a state. He not only made
sport of the army, but he wrote many amusing sketches
of early California life, which are as good reading today
as when they were written. His best book is "Phoe-
nixiana," which includes some of his ridiculous recom-
mendations to the army department, as well as veracious
accounts of his management of a pioneer newspaper of
San Diego. Derby did not make use of the outlandish
spelling of Artemus Ward, but he was far more artis-
tic, and the proof is that his book endures better than
that of Artemus.
Mark Twain was the logical successor of John Phoenix
and though he came west in his young manhood, he
must be counted as a Californian, for it was the pioneer
life of Nevada and California that first stimulated his
genius. The printer's trade has given the world many
great authors, but it is doubtful whether Mark Twain
would ever have developed as a writer without the
stimulus of the remarkable life of Virginia City into
which he was plunged, and the association with many
bright writers who were attracted to that mining camp
by the large salaries paid to clever newspaper men.
And his development was the more rapid because of
his lack of early school training. Of all the California
writers he became in his maturity the ablest. His
genius as a humorist blinds most readers to the fact that
as a literary artist he is head and shoulders above most
492 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
of his contemporaries. All of his humorous work shows
literary skill in the highest degree, while descriptive
passages in "The Innocents Abroad" and chapters in
his "Life of Joan of Arc" reach the high water-mark
of genuine eloquence.
Mark Twain ripened with the years, and his work at
last came to have a greater influence upon Europeans
than that of any other American author. The man
himself had queer kinks in his brain. His greatest
failing was his want of reverence, which led him into
such an act of incredibly bad taste as his famous cari-
cature of Emerson, Longfellow and Holmes at a New
England society dinner in Boston. There is rich humor
in this after-dinner speech, but no normal man, with
any reverence for these authors, would have had the
hardihood to perpetrate such a joke as Mark attempted.
In broad humor, in tenderness for the weak and the
oppressed, in pity for the unfortunate and in righteous
wrath over hypocrisy and untruth, Mark Twain's work
has never been surpassed. "The Innocents Abroad,"
"Roughing It," "Life on the Mississippi," the chapters
in "Huckleberry Finn" on the southern blood feuds,
and the " Life of Joan of Arc," I regard as his best work.
Other chapters and stories should be gathered into a
volume for permanent preservation, because his fame
is really hurt by the mass of his work. Mark Twain
deserves rank among the first of the great American
authors, and it is equally certain that California has a
valid claim on him as one of her writers, with the
unmistakable tang of the soil.
For twenty years Bret Harte has been regarded as
the typical California novelist and poet. Though his
BOOKS AND AUTHORS 493
boyhood was spent in the rude mining camps of the
foothills of the Sierra Nevada and his young manhood
in San Francisco, still most of his literary work was
done abroad. For many years he made his home in
London, and there he died. It seemed as though
absence from his old home endowed him with a pecu-
liar clairvoyant power to reproduce so perfectly the
scenery, the color, the very odor of the California
woods and fields, that the reader is able to see them in
his mind's eye. It makes no difference whether he is
describing a great snow storm in the Sierra in "Gabriel
Conroy," or the heart of the primeval redwoods in "In
the Carquinez Woods," or the flat marshy country
below San Francisco, brooded over by the mysterious
fog, in "By Shore and Sedge," Bret Harte always
paints a picture that is full of life and color. It is the
same with his characters: they live and breathe, but
unfortunately, they are no more like real Californians
of pioneer times than Dickens' characters are like real
flesh and blood English people of his day. In fact,
Bret Harte bears the closest resemblance to Dickens
in his sentimental view of life and his fondness for
caricature of character. But there the resemblance
ends, for Harte is far the finer literary artist in the
sense of style and the ability to tell a story without
digressions.
One who has followed Bret Harte's development
closely can divide his productive life into two periods.
The first was that splendid creative morning when he
wrote the short stories that gave him fame. "The
Luck of Roaring Camp," "The Outcasts of Poker
Flat," and "Tennessee's Partner" always appealed
494 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
to me as the greatest of his work, because in these
he did not indulge in his propensity to caricature.
"The Luck" is pure comedy, but gives a graphic
picture of pioneer mining life. "The Outcasts" de-
picts a typical pioneer gambler and two women of the
dance halls. The last tells of the love surpassing
the love of woman that grew up between mining
partners in early California days. These three stories
show Bret Harte at his best, with less of the cynical
comment and the cheap melodramatic nourishes that
disfigure so much of his work. All three are flawless
in their reflection of the strange life of the early
California mining camps — wild, unconventional, yet
ruled by the simple law of honesty and fair dealing,
and presided over by Judge Lynch, whose decisions
were never subject to appeal. These early stories
Bret Harte never equalled in the years that followed,
just as Kipling has never written stories as good as
"Without Benefit of Clergy," "At the End of the
Passage," "The Gate of a Hundred Sorrows," and
"Beyond the Pale."
The second period of Bret Harte's artistic life began
when in London he indulged in dreams of his early
life in far-off California, and saw again in his mind's
eye the scenes that were stamped on his boyish imagi-
nation. His is a case of arrested development, for he
never advanced beyond a certain point and his latest
work reveals no comprehension of the enormous changes
that had transformed California and had made it a
land in which the novelist would have felt himself an
alien.
BOOKS AND AUTHORS 495
The poetry of Bret Harte shows no depth, but it
reveals flashes of genius and an uncanny divination of
character. His "Heathen Chinee" is perhaps best
known and is a thing apart — a literary spotlight thrown
on John Chinaman. His " San Francisco" still remains
the best picture in verse of the gray wind-swept city
that saw his first taste of fame, and his "Dickens in
Camp" was the finest tribute laid by the world's poets
on the bier of the greatest creative writer of the last
century. In his poetry, as in his prose, he showed the
most consummate artistry, never putting forth any
work that was not highly finished. As a man, Bret
Harte had some ugly traits, chief among which was a
certain callous selfishness, shown in the cruel neglect
of the work of other California poets, after promises of
aid with publishers. With all his defects, Bret Harte re-
mains among the most typical of our California writers.
Worthy of a place beside Mark Twain and Bret
Harte is Joaquin Miller, whose poems, when they shall
have been edited by a competent hand and reduced to
a single volume, will stand as one of the finest expres-
sions of the singing faculty. Miller had far fewer
natural advantages than Clemens or Harte. He crossed
the plains when a youth, and he was thrown into the
wild life of early California with practically no educa-
tion or training. He lived for months with the Indians
of northern California, and much of the simplicity and
poetry of the Indian's outlook on life remained with
him to the end. Burdened with the absurd name of
Cincinnatus Heine, he early showed his appreciation of
the value of romance by changing this name to that
of Joaquin, which had a mingled flavor of Spanish life
496 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
and dare-devil outlawry. Miller found his first appre-
ciation in London, where he helped his fame by wearing
his hair long like an Indian and dressing in flannel shirt,
with corduroy trousers tucked in his boots. The Eng-
lish public then as today, dearly loved a spectacular
literary hero who flouts all conventions, and Miller was
Byronic enough to suit the most romantic girl. His
early work like "Songs of the Sierras," "The Arizo-
nian," "With Walker in Nicaragua" he never sur-
passed. They have the fire of Byron's narrative poems
with splendid pictures of the western prairies and the
tropical jungles of Central America. His later work
revealed more maturity, but even to the last, Miller
strung pinchbeck ornaments with his pearls of song.
He had no more real literary taste than a Piute Indian.
He sang because he felt the impulse of song; he was
often coarse in his talk, but never in his verse. He
produced several fine short poems worthy to stand with
the best work of the greatest English poets — "Colum-
bus," "The Passing of Tennyson" and "Missouri."
But in my judgment, some of his noblest verses have
never been recognized. These are poetical paraphrases
of Biblical stories, set as introductions to chapters of
"The City Beautiful." They should be taken out of
this book and printed alone, as they have the genuine
spirit of the old Hebrew poets from whom Miller
derived his best inspiration.
When one has passed beyond these three worthies of
California literature, standing out like three great
mountain peaks, the field widens, but it may be likened
to an elevated tableland, with no more splendid moun-
tains. In the life of a generation, although California
BOOKS AND AUTHORS 497
has seen stirring deeds, it has recorded no great writer
worthy to be classed with this triumvirate. All that
can be done in this brief review is to touch upon the
chief authors whose work makes them noteworthy.
Omissions are inevitable, for even a bare list would fill
all my available space. Many California authors
would have had a far wider circle of readers had their
work been published by one of the great Eastern book
houses. Their books were issued here by firms that
had no adequate means of circulation; so they missed
that wide publicity which means so much to the author.
Of these minor writers a foremost place must be
given to Charles Warren Stoddard, whose "South Sea
Idyls" alone, should have given him immortality.
This book reflects more perfectly than any other the
curious lotus-eating life of the South Seas, before the
various islands were spoiled by the missionary and
civilization. Stoddard was a true poet, and his prose
sketches are shot through and through with the irides-
cent gleams of poetry. Ina Coolbrith in many verses
has given pictures of California scenes whose truth and
beauty are best appreciated by those who have lived
here for years. Closely akin to her work is that of
Edward Rowland Sill, whose early death was a distinct
loss to California poetry.
A man who would have deserved a place among the
leaders of California literature, had he taken a whole-
some, normal view of life, is Ambrose Bierce, note-
worthy for his brilliant verse as well as for his short
stories, which are as highly finished as those of Poe.
But most of Bierce's work is devoted to subjects that
are repellant to all healthy-minded readers; hence
498 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
despite his literary genius, he is little read. His place
in California literature is really that of the trainer of
scores of young writers. His personal influence has
been greater than that of any other Californian, for he
has always insisted upon the best work and the highest
ideals.
"The Man With the Hoe" gave Edwin Markham
national reputation in a single day, but bitter and most
powerful as is this arraignment of the rule of kings,
Markham has done better work in such sonnets as
"Semiramis." Much of Markham's recent work has
been devoted to Socialism, of which he is an ardent
advocate. His latest verse shows more maturity, but
less fire than his early poems.
Fiction very naturally has attracted many California
writers, who have tried to put into their mimic roman-
ces something of the same spirit of adventurous daring
which marked the early pioneers of the coast. Of these
novelists, the first place must be given to Frank Norris,
for a certain largeness of view and mastery of a great
theme. The trilogy of "Wheat," which he devised,
may have received its inspiration from Zola, but in
spirit and essence it was genuinely original, with all the
strength of the San Joaquin soil from which it sprang.
"The Octupus" and "The Pit" have many faults, but
they are the greatest California romances that have yet
been written. The scenes and the characters of the
first story are distinctively Californian, but though the
second is laid in Chicago, the strong wind of destiny
that blows through it comes from the desolate canons
of the Far West, and there is something of the Califor-
nian spirit in the characters who work out their salva-
BOOKS AND AUTHORS 499
tion in the storm and stress of the Chicago wheat pit.
Norris showed more real art in his earlier work; his
"Blix" and "McTeague," widely different as they are,
reveal the same sure grip on character and incident and
the same brilliant style. The early death of Norris was
a heavy blow to California literature.
Two other novelists are naturally bracketed with
Norris — Gertrude Atherton and Jack London. Mrs.
Atherton's romances of early California days are re-
markable for their dramatic force, their vivid portrai-
ture, and their power of making us realize the pastoral
life before the Gringo came, as well as the crowded life
of the gold hunter and his successors. She spares no
ugly features; she writes like a man who is endowed
with a woman's intuition. Her later work shows rare
maturity and power. Her "Tower of Ivory" is a
great novel, with two fine characters — a typical Eng-
lishman of good family and a prima donna who has
found herself in the realms of song, after being dragged
through the gutter of shame and misery.
As for Jack London, he is in a class by himself.
Self-educated, with a life that surpasses in romance
that of any of his heroes, London, above all the writers
of our day, has the power of visualizing his experiences,
so that the man or woman of small imagination and
narrow, circumscribed life, may see the wild, free places
and enjoy to the full the strenuous life of adventure.
This is a rare power which was exhibited at its best in
"The White Silence" and other Klondike stories, and
mingled with high poetic imagery, in "The Call of the
Wild." That unique romance is enough to establish
any author's fame, but London in the first half of "The
500 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Sea Wolf" did equally good work. Into everything
that he writes, he seems to crowd a certain dynamic
force that thrills the reader. This is true whether he
is describing his own terrible labors to get an education
in "Martin Eden," or giving pictures of his battles
with the present-day Apollyon, the actual, living Devil
of Drink. If London had a finer nature, if his imagi-
nation could free itself from the physical, he would
write novels for all time. As it is, he is far and away
the most powerful writer that California has produced.
Notable work has been done in historical writing by
several Californians. Of course, H. H. Bancroft stands
at the head, not so much for his thirty-nine volumes of
the "Native Races" and of the "History of the Pacific
Coast States," as for his notes and the library of 50,000
volumes and manuscripts which he gathered for this
monumental work. Much of his history was done by
trained associates, but Bancroft mapped out the plan,
wrote the introductions and gave life and spirit to the
greatest literary enterprise this country has ever seen.
The Bancroft library has now passed into the possession
of the University of California, and its value increases
with the years. Other historians whose work is note-
worthy are Theodore H. Hittell, who has written one
of the best histories of California in four volumes;
Zoeth S. Eldredge, who, in "The Beginnings of San
Francisco," has made a valuable contribution to the
early history of the city up to 1850, and, as far as
research goes, has left nothing for any successor to do;
and John P. Young, for thirty-five years managing
editor of the "San Francisco Chronicle," who in his
BOOKS AND AUTHORS 501
"History of San Francisco" has really written a com-
prehensive sketch of the development of the whole
state as well as a readable story of the city by the
Golden Gate.
A paragraph must be given to Geraldine Bonner, who
has shown exceptional skill in reproducing the scenes
and incidents of the overland trail as well as the
gambler's passion, that is a legacy so many of us have
inherited from our pioneer fathers. Her "Hard Pan"
is one of the very best studies of the inevitable ruin
that comes to one who is consumed by the thirst of
speculation in mining stocks.
A dozen or more short story writers who flourished
during the last thirty years must be grouped in a sin-
gle paragraph. Among these may be named, W. C.
Morrow, Arthur McEwen, Bailey Millard, Peter
Robertson, Madge Morris Wagner, Dr. J. W. Galley,
Charles Howard Shinn, John Hamilton Gilmour,
Charles F. Lummis and George Wharton James. All
these have written not only good short stories of Cali-
fornia life, but they have painted the beauties of the
scenery of the state in imperishable style.
More recent writers, whose work in prose and verse
is seen in the magazines are, Theodore Dreiser, Will
and Wallace Irwin, James Hopper, Eleanor Gates,
Hermann Scheffauer and George Sterling. Of these,
Dreiser seems to have the greatest originality and force.
If he continues to develop, his should be the great name
in the next five years. Wallace Irwin has an extraor-
dinary command of the most difficult metres, as wit-
ness his "Sonnets of a Street Car Conductor," but it
502 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
has always been my belief that were he to devote him-
self to it, he could produce poetry as fine as that of
Hovey or Lanier. It is a great pity that Irwin is
spending his force on humorous verse and pot-boilers.
Will Irwin is one of the most versatile of California
authors. He has to his credit one original character
in fiction — a professional female spiritual medium, who
is endowed with real humor and a warm heart.
Scores of California women have shown their skill in
prose and verse. Their record may be found in "The
Story of the Files," an invaluable work by Ella Sterling
Cummins, which preserves much that is best in Cali-
fornia literature, with interesting sketches and rare
portraits. This was a labor of love by a Nevada
woman, who has written many fine short stories of Far
Western life, and who has the distinction of being the
first to suggest the erection of a statue to the Pioneer
Mother. She deserves some substantial recognition by
the Native Sons and other California organizations for
her unselfish labor in reclaiming from oblivion the work
of so many California writers.
/ %40/a^^£^^ ^lAPcJLx^
SAN FRANCISCO:
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE OF 1906
THE foundation of San Francisco has been
treated in the earlier chapters of this work
and the matter need not be repeated here.
At the time of the American occupation the
future possibilities of the Bay of San Francisco were,
to an extent, realized, but the little village was so
small and unimportant that in the contract with the
Pacific Mail Company in 1848 San Francisco was not
even named, but the steamers were to call at San Diego
and Monterey and proceed with their mails to Astoria,
in Oregon. The great immigration following the gold
discovery changed all this, and from the Mexican
village of 1846, San Francisco had become, in 1906,
a city of the first class, and sixth in commercial
importance in the United States.
A few minutes after five o'clock on the morning of
the 1 8th of April, 1906, the people of the city were
aroused from their slumbers by a shock of earthquake
so violent that the most hardened and earthquake-
proof among them realized that this time, at least,
the "temblor" was something out of the ordinary.
The main shock lasted about a minute and was followed
by a number of minor shocks during the next two hours.
This earthquake had its origin in an ancient fault
extending from Point Arenas, some ninety miles north
of San Francisco, and running thence in a southeasterly
direction to San Juan Bautista about eighty-five miles
south of the city. This fault or earthquake crack had
been known for many years to the leading geologists
of California and had doubtless been, in the remote
past, the scene of many earthquake disturbances. A
surface expression of this fault may be seen in Tomales
506 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
bay, a shallow inlet about twenty miles long and from
half a mile to a mile and a half wide. From Bolinas
lagoon the fault trace enters the sea, passing about
three miles west of the Seal Rocks (San Francisco) and
again returns to the land at Mussel Rock, about four
miles below the city line, thence through the Canada
de Andres and the Spring Valley lakes, another surface
expression. The disturbance was caused by a rupture
and horizontal slip along this fault, the offset ranging
from two to sixteen feet, though in one place, affected
by abnormal conditions, it reached twenty feet — the
earth-block on the southwest side having apparently
moved towards the northwest and that on the north-
east side toward the southeast. This was accompanied
in some places by a slight vertical displacement, the
ground on one side being lifted one or two feet. In
San Francisco on made or filled land there was in places
a settlement of four or five feet, and an earth-flow of
several feet carrying streets and buildings with it,
causing great disaster. Buildings of poor construction
standing on soft ground were badly damaged while
those on firm ground with rock formation suffered but
little when properly constructed. The estimate of the
engineers who investigated the San Francisco earth-
quake and fire was that the damage done by earthquake
was from three to ten per cent of the whole loss. Had
the fire not followed the earthquake the latter had ere
this passed into the limbo of forgotten things. Imme-
diately after the first shock, fires started at hundreds
of places and quickly converged into a general con-
flagration. By half past six in the morning all that
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 507
part of the city east of Fremont and Front streets was
burning fiercely and the fire was rapidly spreading
through the manufacturing district. So great was the
extent of the conflagration that it was a physical
impossibility for the fire department, recognized as one
of the most efficient in the world, to cope with it. The
breaking of the distributing mains rendered unavailable
the 80,000,000 gallons of water stored within the city,
and the death of Chief Sullivan, who had been fatally
injured by the earthquake, deprived the force of his
guiding hand and to a certain extent demoralized it.
Crowds of the roughest looking men from the dens of
the city thronged the streets, but presently from the
presidio and the military posts around the bay came the
United States troops, in light marching equipment, to
the aid of the police; while the governor sent a brigade
of the national guard into the city. The military now
patrolled all districts, and the roughs, overawed by the
troops, made no attempt to plunder the banks and rich
stores of jewelry and other things.
An attempt was made to check the progress of the
fire by blowing up buildings in its path — first with
black powder and later with dynamite — but little, if
anything, was accomplished. There was no water at
hand to extinguish the flames caused by the explosions,
and as a rule, the buildings blown up were already on
fire. The day was calm, without wind, and the prog-
ress of the fire was slow. By noon the fire had passed
Kearny street in the neighborhood of Jackson; Cali-
fornia street was beginning to burn west of Sansome,
while the south side of Market street east of Fourth
street, with the exception of the space occupied by
508 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the Palace hotel, was ablaze. A fight was made by the
Palace hotel people, but at 4:30 p. m. the hostelry was
abandoned by its defenders. Everywhere the people
stood without the fire lines and looked upon the destruc-
tion of their property. There was no excitement, no
terror, no hysteria, notwithstanding the wild press dis-
patches sent out and the wonderful tales of travelers.
The- citizens were not permitted to pass through the
lines to fight the fire, or for any purpose whatever.
All, soldiers and citizens, looked on quietly while the
fire burned and no one tried to stop it. The soldiers
marched up and down with their muskets within the
ropes and every one must keep hands off. It was the
fire's day. All through the 18th, 19th, and 20th of
April I watched the fire and at one time only did I see
any person engaged in putting out the fire, though I
saw a number setting fire to buildings. Those were
soldiers and were back-firing on Van Ness avenue.
The commanding officer (Funston) says in his report
that the citizens seemed too dazed to act intelligently
in their efforts to save their own property. This was
not true. They were abundantly able to act intelli-
gently but soldiers with guns in their hands prevented
them from acting at all. In the few instances where
they were enabled to evade the soldiers, they not only
acted intelligently but they saved their property — as
will be seen presently.
By the morning of the 19th the fire had destroyed the
main portion of the wholesale and retail section of
the city, and was actively burning on an irregular line
from about the corner of Montgomery avenue (now
Columbus avenue) and Montgomery street to Van
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 509
Ness avenue at Golden Gate avenue. To the south of
this point it had crossed Van Ness avenue and had
worked its way up Market street to Valencia. Every-
thing south and east of these points was burning. A
little after noon on Thursday, April 19th, the soldiers
began back-firing on Van Ness avenue. South of
Geary or O'Farrell streets the fire had reached the east-
ern side of Van Ness avenue and from here north to
Vallejo street all the buildings on the eastern side of
the street were fired by the soldiers during the afternoon
and evening. The soldiers would enter a building, set
fire to it and leave in it a stick of dynamite to be
exploded by the fire, and pass on to the next. What
possible good this system of dynamiting buildings
could do to arrest the progress of a conflagration none
but a soldier could explain. On the southeast corner
of Van Ness avenue and Washington street was the
First Presbyterian church, a large wooden building
with a high steeple. When this building was fired an
extra amount of dynamite was left in it and when it
exploded blazing brands were thrown across the avenue
which set fire to a large dwelling on the west side. The
fire thus started burned five blocks (from Sutter to
Clay streets) when the citizens of the Western Addition,
whose homes were threatened, rallied and forcing their
way through the line of soldiers stopped the further
spread of the flames in that direction. This was done
by citizens and not by soldiers as was stated in the
report of the commanding general. I did not see this
action but know a number of the residents of the district
who took part in it. The one time I saw persons
engaged in fighting the fire, already referred to, was at
510 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
2:30 of the morning of April 20th, when some firemen
(not soldiers) having gotten water sufficient to supply
one engine stationed at Gough and Vallejo streets,
were engaged in wetting down the fronts of the houses
on the west side of Van Ness avenue between Broadway
and Vallejo which were beginning to smoke from the
fire across the street, and doing the same for houses
on the north side of Vallejo street between Van Ness
avenue and Polk street. Satisfied that the westward
progress of the fire was stayed I left the fire line at
three o'clock on the morning of Friday, April 20th, and
turned my steps towards my home on Divisadero street,
one mile west, carrying the glad news to the anxious
watchers on the line of way.
At one o'clock on Friday afternoon I was again on
Van Ness avenue; now on my way down town. Up to
this time I had remained between the fire line and my
home. Before crossing this line into the burnt district
I took a careful survey of the situation as it appeared
from the corner of Pacific and Van Ness avenues. The
entire easterly line of Van Ness avenue from Vallejo
street south was blackened ruins. There was no fire
to threaten further danger to the Western Addition.
Satisfied, I passed down to the junction of Kearny and
Market streets. Half an hour after I crossed Van Ness
avenue, the Viavi building, a large manufactory of
patent medicine on Van Ness avenue between Vallejo
and Green streets, filled with inflammable material, was
dynamited by the soldiers and burned. The explosion
scattered the burning matter over the adjacent build-
ings and in an inconceivably short period the flames,
fanned by a strong wind, which had come up from the
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 511
west, swept with amazing rapidity east and north carry-
ing all before them. The conflagration thus started
burned fifty city blocks. The commanding officer in
his report says: "That part of the city west of Van
Ness avenue was considered safe except from the danger
arising from a very threatening conflagration working
along the slopes of Russian Hill towards that part of
Van Ness avenue lying north of Broadway. All day
of the 20th an heroic fight was made by soldiers, sailors,
firemen, and citizens to stop this fire which * * * was
working its way slowly against the wind. A number
of buildings were here destroyed by high explosives,
and back-firing was resorted to." This statement is
untrue. We have the testimony of property owners
of this section who were fighting to save their homes.
They were not assisted by soldiers, sailors, or firemen;
but with their own hands destroyed fences and small
buildings that might afford a pathway to the fire which
was working north; they wet blankets, rugs, and carpets
with water that had been collected in pails and bath
tubs, and as sparks fell or shingles caught they beat
out the flames. The soldiers repeatedly interfered and
ordered the citizens to leave, but on one pretext or
another they persuaded the soldiers to allow them to
remain. They succeeded in stopping the fire at Green
street. A well known citizen says: "I was watching
the fire, with special reference to a friend's house on the
north side of Green street near Larkin and had con-
cluded it was safe. No fire was visible north of Green
street and on the south side of Green the flames appeared
to have been completely extinguished. A few moments
later I again looked from the window of a house in which
512 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
I was on Pacific avenue — a house commanding an excel-
lent view of the district in question — and was astounded
to perceive several isolated fires in the district which a
short time before had seemed to be free from danger.
These blazes were quickly fanned by the wind into a
roaring conflagration, and the house of my friend was
within a short time burned to the ground."* I relate
this because it corroborates my own testimony. The
soldiers interfered time and again with citizens who
were working to save their property. There is an
abundance of testimony on this point. They repeat-
edly drove the people living on Russian Hill out of
their houses, presenting their guns and threatening to
shoot. James B. Stetson, a prominent merchant, living
in a handsome house on the northwest corner of Van
Ness avenue and Clay street, says: "At 4:45 (Thursday
afternoon) I was ordered out of my house by the soldiers
— not in a quiet manner but with an order that there
was no mistaking as to its terms and meaning — about
like this: 'Get out of this house.' I replied: 'But this
is my house and I have a right to stay here if I choose.'
'Get out d — n quick, and make no talk about it, either!'
So a soldier with a bayonet on his gun marched me up
Clay street to Gough amid flames, smoke, and explo-
sions. I stayed at Gough street a while, looking down
upon my house, expecting every minute to see the
flames coming out of it." Stetson watched his chance
and got back into his house and with the use of an impro-
vised swab and buckets of water, saved it. Mr. W. E.
Keller had a large warehouse filled with flour and wheat.
* Van Ness avenue runs north and south. Green street crosses its northern
portion. Next south of Green street, Valley street crosses, then Broadway, and
next comes Pacific avenue.
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 513
It had brick walls, metal roof and window casings, with
doors of very heavy iron. It was protected on two
sides by Telegraph Hill, and had a salt water tank of un-
limited capacity which connected with the bay. Within,
he had twelve fire extinguishers, and believing his build-
ing, with its appliances and men practiced in fire drill,
to be fire proof, he carried no insurance. On Friday
he awaited the approach of the fire and with ten of his
men prepared for the defense. The soldiers came
and ordered him out. Arguments and explanations
were of no avail. They were ordered to get out or be
shot. I said to Mr. Keller, "Did you ascertain the
name of the officer in command?" "There was no
officer," he said, "only a lot of private soldiers and they
were half drunk. We are millers, not fighting men,"
he said in reply to another question, "and besides they
had guns. We went out and I remained on the hill and
saw my property burn when one man, had he been per-
mitted to remain, could have saved it." He lost
#220,000. These instances could be multiplied many
times were it necessary.
The military authorities claimed that everything
they did was by order of the mayor of the city to whom
they reported for duty. Technically I presume this
statement is correct, but to such a degree was military
rule imposed and with such a high hand was it carried,
that most of the people believed that the mayor's
authority was abrogated and that the city was under
martial law. The president of the harbor commission
issued passes in the form of requests to the military
authorities to pass state employees during the period
of martial law, and even the governor of the state
514 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
granted passes "by authority of Brig.-Gen. Funston,
U. S. A."; while passes from "J. F. Dinan, Chief of
Police," did not go at all.
I have understood that after the San Francisco fire
the war office issued general orders that hereafter the
army should not be used in dynamiting buildings during
a conflagration, and that soldiers of the U. S. Army
should not be employed to evict citizens from buildings
or property owned and occupied by them. An attempt
to verify this report and obtain a copy of these orders
resulted in failure ; but I am satisfied that San Francisco's
experience in these particulars will never be repeated.
In justice to the military I must say that after the
fire they rendered most valuable service to the city in
laying out the numerous refugee camps and in the
sanitation thereof, in patrolling the city, and in guard-
ing the bank vaults in the desert wastes of the burnt
district.
The marines, too, and sailors from the Mare Island
Navy Yard worked manfully in assisting the ship
owners and steamship men to preserve the waterfront.
In doing this they preserved the commerce of the port,
which did not suffer even a temporary check.
The fire burned over approximately 2,600 acres and
included four hundred and ninety blocks entirely
burned, and thirty-two blocks partially burned, cover-
ing over four square miles of closely built city property
with a loss of about $500,000,000, one-half of which was
covered by insurance. The city had a population esti-
mated at from 440,000 to 460,000. Of these 250,000
were rendered homeless by the fire and for the first
few days the bread line represented 350,000 individuals
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 515
dependent upon charity. Many of these were people
who had been living in the greatest luxury but who
suddenly found themselves dependent upon the relief
stations for food for themselves and families. The
situation was appalling. During the ten days subse-
quent to April 1 8th it was impossible to purchase any-
thing. Most of the warehouses containing food supplies
were burned and the warehouses saved were immedi-
ately seized by the authorities to feed the population.
There was no money and rich and poor alike were
compelled to stand in the bread line. From near by
cities food was at once rushed into the city and quickly
all roads leading to California were hurrying supplies
to San Francisco. From all over the union and from
foreign countries came contributions of money until
the total of cash received, the value of goods shipped
in, and the amount expended for the benefit of the
sufferers reached a grand total not far from #15,000,000.
On April 19th the mayor called to his assistance
the leading citizens from whom he appointed a com-
mittee of fifty and gave them full power to purchase,
seize, or confiscate food and clothing, establish camps,
clear streets, and take all necessary steps for the
rehabitation of the city. The railroads carried thou-
sands away; 75,000 sought refuge in Oakland and
neighboring cities, while 100,000 were encamped in the
parks and vacant places in San Francisco. The relief
was quick and effective, and so far as I have heard, no
one went hungry or suffered unusual hardship.
A number of lives were lost during the earthquake
and fire — though not as many as was first reported.
Major-General Greely, commanding the Pacific divi-
516 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
sion, places the number at four hundred and ninety-
eight. Some of these were shot by the military and
by self-constituted guards — for "looting," and for
refusing to obey someone's order. A proclamation
issued by the mayor April 18th authorizing the killing
of any and all persons found engaged in looting or in
the commission of any other crime, is partly responsible
for this. Several killings were made subject of judicial
inquiry but while none of the slain were found to have
been engaged in the commission of crime, no slayer was
subjected to punishment. The person who lost his life
was unfortunate.
When the immediate necessities of food and shelter
had been provided, the citizens pulled themselves
together and considered their predicament. Two
questions of paramount importance presented them-
selves : Would the banks stand the strain ? Would the
insurance companies pay ? The banks, commercial and
savings, held #439,000,000 of the people's money. The
manner in which the bankers met their responsibility
has been told in another article.* Insurance conditions
were serious. As the extent of the disaster became appar-
ent doubts were expressed of both the ability and the
willingness of the companies to meet their liabilities.
The fear and anxiety of the people were not allayed by
the attitude of some of the companies. There was
much talk of earthquake damage, a risk the companies
had not assumed; of the question of liability for a fire
caused by and the result of earthquake, and of the
liability for property destroyed by the authorities.
Many insurance managers became very exclusive; they
*Banking in California, in this volume.
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 517
were hard to get at; they removed their offices to
Oakland, and when a policy holder succeeded in inter-
viewing one he was told when he might come again.
Many of the companies sent adjusters from the home
offices and took the settlement of losses out of the hands
of their California agents, and the attitude of some of
these foreign adjusters was exasperating to the last
degree. The people of San Francisco were denounced
as liars and thieves and their proofs of loss were con-
temned as attempts to defraud. After careful adjust-
ment in which every possible reduction of values had
been made, every argument and threat was used to
induce the insured to accept less than the amount he
was entitled to. This bore heavily on the poor man,
the man with little insurance and nothing but that
insurance with which to begin life again. The com-
promise meant cash at once. The large merchants and
the wealthy insurers could fight for their rights. He
could not.
On the 2 ist of April a meeting of all the fire insurance
companies, native and foreign, having policies involved
in the fire, was held in Oakland, at which a general
adjusting bureau was formed to take charge of the
adjustment of losses for all the companies. At a sub-
sequent meeting resolutions were adopted providing
for a level or horizontal reduction of thirty-three and
one-third per cent (later reduced to twenty-five per
cent) on all policies covering property supposed to have
been subjected to earthquake damage, or where ensur-
ers had lost their books and accounts by fire and were
unable to make the proofs of value called for by their
policies. In consequence of these resolutions thirty-
518 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
five of the largest companies withdrew from the bureau
and decided that all losses should be adjusted in
accordance with the terms and conditions of their
respective policies.
As the losses of these thirty-five companies amounted
to nearly fifty per cent of the entire insurance loss in
San Francisco, this action had an excellent effect on
the people and created confidence in the companies.
Adjustments were facilitated and a committee of five,
appointed to adjust losses for the thirty-five companies,
reported to the companies that they found claimants
generally to be fair, patient, and honest, the exceptions
emphasizing the rule; and the testimony shows that of
the thirty-five, six companies paid at once on adjust-
ment, declining any deduction for cash, twenty-four
deducted two per cent for cash, one deducted one
or two per cent, and in a few instances five per cent
for cash, two five, one ten, and one from five to fifteen
per cent for cash. The early stand for fairness taken
by these companies, their firmness and the promptness
of their settlements, entitle them as a whole to the
greatest credit. Their action had the effect of causing
other companies to settle claims more expeditiously and
with greater fairness. Three American, three German,
and one Austrian company withdrew and made no
attempt whatever to settle their losses, and several
English companies denied liability under earthquake
clause but were forced to settle, which they did at from
fifty to seventy-five per cent of the face of their policies.
A few weak companies paid what they could and went
out of business. The total insurance loss of two hun-
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 519
dred and thirty-three companies doing business in San
Francisco was about $225,000,000, of which the people
of the city received perhaps $175,000,000.
The industrial situation in San Francisco after the fire
was anything but satisfactory. The president of the
building trades council issued a proclamation announ-
cing to his followers that "Patriotism and humanity
must govern every action. Brotherly love must prevail.
The conditions that confront us are those of a general
partnership of rich and poor alike. We must know no
class or condition but unite for the general welfare.
* * * There cannot and shall not be any advance in
wages." How were these beautiful sentiments fol-
lowed? The various unions immediately demanded
increased pay and shorter hours. The employer was
obliged to hire two men to do one man's work and to
pay increased wages to each. No man was permitted
to work Saturday afternoon at any wages. Notwith-
standing the fact that wages were being advanced from
day to day, the unfortunate owner could not get his
work done without the most vexatious and unreason-
able delay. The higher wages climbed and the shorter
the hours were, the more surly and inefficient were the
men and the poorer was the quality of their work. The
labor leaders announced to the world that no more
mechanics were needed in San Francisco; meanwhile
20,000 mechanics walked the streets unable to work
because the unions would not admit them to member-
ship. So great was the advance in wages and in cost of
material that in September it was estimated that the
cost of building had advanced from thirty-five to forty
per cent, and some $32,000,000 of building contracts
520 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
were held up to await the time when more reasonable
conditions should prevail.
With the city prostrate, with predatory labor at her
throat, there was now inaugurated a reign of disorder,
thievery, and thuggery such as no municipality of mod-
ern times has ever witnessed. A reckless disregard of
life and limb prevailed. Automobiles dashed through
the streets at railroad speed, running down and crushing
such luckless citizens as could not get out of the way;
insolent carmen ran their cars over people and mis-
treated them in every way, while brutal teamsters took
every opportunity of running down pedestrians who
were obliged to walk in the streets, the only thorough-
fares. The municipal government was corrupt. The
mayor, supervisors, and heads of departments held up
and plundered everyone who had anything to sell to the
city or who had to have a permit of any kind. Franchises
were sold for private pay; theatres were built and oper-
ated without complying with the law, and all sorts of dis-
reputable houses were conducted under police protection.
But the city survived her afflictions and purified her
government. The rascals were turned out of office
and the chief municipal plunderer was put in prison.
She rebuilt her houses — not as well, perhaps, as she
might have done — but better than they were before.*
She is building a beautiful home for her municipal
corporation, and in 191 5 she will entertain the world
in a royal manner.
Buildings do not make a city great. What makes a
city great is great men; men to whom adversity is but
*To finance the rebuilding of San Francisco, only $17,716,644 was borrowed
outside the city. Nearly $303,000,000 has been expended on buildings since the
fire.
THE EARTHQUAKE AND FIRE 521
a challenge to rise above circumstances and conditions.
The general commanding the Pacific division (Greeley)
says: "The conduct of the community during the days
of earthquake and fire was conspicuous by its tranquil-
lity and common sense. In all my experiences I have
never seen a woman in tears, nor heard a man whining
over his losses." The quality of courage is not given
to any one people or nation. I am far from claiming
for the citizens of San Francisco any extraordinary
proportion of that attribute, but I do claim that
throughout their trials they carried themselves like men.
THE PANAMA CANAL
HISTORICAL
THE problem of providing a practicable route
for commerce across the Isthmus of Panama
has engaged attention since Balboa marched
from near Caledonia Bay to San Miguel Bay,
in 1 5 13, and first made the Pacific Ocean known to the
civilized world The Spanish, who settled at Nombre
de Dios, about 15 19, on the Caribbean coast, were
earnestly desirous to establish convenient communica-
tion with the settlement made at Panama on the Pacific
coast, in 15 19, in order especially that the treasure
brought up from the west coast of South America
might be transported readily to the east coast for
shipment, after being held in safekeeping on the west
side until the accumulation of a sufficient quantity.
Paved roads were laid out by them connecting, first,
Nombre de Dios, and later, Porto Bello, with Panama,
by way of Cruces, a town on the Chagres River about
two miles above the point where it now joins the line
of the canal. The earlier transportation was entirely
by land. Later the journey from Cruces to the seaport
was often made by water.
Porto Bello soon became the more important of the
eastern ports. Its harbor, which is far better than
that at Nombre de Dios, was visited and named by
Columbus in 1502. It was sacked by Morgan's bucca-
neers in 1668. Later the same band landed at the
mouth of the Chagres River, and captured the fort
there. Ascending the river to Cruces and marching
across on the paved road, they assaulted and destroyed
the city of Panama in 1671.
526 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Two years later the present city of Panama was
founded, seven miles away from the old site. It now
has 35,000 inhabitants. It forms the southern terminus
of the Panama Railroad, and lies within a mile of the
port of Balboa, where the canal opens into the ocean.
Other routes for land passage of the isthmus were
used, but the establishment of these was subordinate
to the search, at first for a natural waterway, and later,
for the best route for a canal. This search was prose-
cuted vigorously by Spain in the early part of the
sixteenth century, but was later laid aside and not
resumed until a short time before the successful revolt
of the Central and South American colonies, ending in
1823. The loss of these possessions led Spain to cease
her efforts to establish a waterway between the oceans.
Other nations, however, took up the investigation when
she laid it down, and in all, no less than nineteen
different routes have received consideration. Between
1823 and 1849 negotiations looking toward the con-
struction of a canal were begun several times between
the Central American governments interested, and the
governments of other nations, or companies formed by
private citizens. In 1850 the Clayton-Bulwer treaty,
between the United States and Great Britain, was
ratified, providing support and encouragement to such
persons or company as might first begin a ship canal
through Nicaragua. An American company, which
had previously been negotiating for this privilege with
the government of Nicaragua, under the name of the
American Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company,
was incorporated by that republic, and preliminary
THE PANAMA CANAL 527
steps were taken to carry the project into execution,
involving a careful instrumental survey of the location.
This was made and considered, but construction was
not undertaken. The survey remained of value as a
basis for the later projects along the Nicaragua route.
PANAMA RAILROAD
The first result of commercial value was the building
of the Panama Railroad. In 1838 the government of
New Granada made a grant to a French company con-
ceding the exclusive right to build a road, railroad, or
canal across the isthmus within certain time limits.
The French government took an interest in the matter,
and, in 1843, sent an engineer named Napoleon Garella,
who made a careful report recommending the construc-
tion of a canal; nothing was done, however, and the
grant lapsed. Another concession was given in 1847
to another French company, but was soon withdrawn,
and, in December, 1848, the franchise was given to
Messrs. Aspinwall, Stephens, and Chauncey, repre-
senting an American company. The railroad was built
from Aspinwall, now Colon, to Panama, between 1850
and 1855. The franchise was so modified later as to
give the Panama Railroad Company exclusive rights
within certain geographical limits for a period of
ninety-nine years, dating from 1867.
EARLY CANAL PLANS
The railroad was of great benefit to the people of
the United States, in lessening the hardships of the
journey from the east to the west coasts, at a time when
the discovery of gold in California was turning thou-
528 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
sands of travelers in that direction. Nevertheless, the
need for a canal was still felt, and the United States
government took the matter up after the close of the
Civil War. Under authority of Congress, an inter-
oceanic canal commission was appointed by President
Grant in 1872, and surveys were made of several lines,
including those via Caledonia Bay, San Bias Bay, Lake
Nicaragua, and the Atrato River. An examination
was also made of a line following the general course of
the Panama Railroad. In 1876 the commission re-
ported in favor of the Nicaragua route. Before further
measures were taken by the United States government,
a French association, backed by a committee of the
Society of Commercial Geography, of which M. Ferdi-
nand de Lesseps was the head, obtained a concession
from the Columbian government in 1878, known as the
Wyse contract, giving it the exclusive right for ninety-
nine years to build and operate a canal between the
oceans, in the territory of the Republic, provided that
an amicable arrangement should be made with the
Panama Railroad, should the route lie in the territory
covered by its grant. M. de Lesseps then called
together an "International Congress of Studies for an
Interoceanic Canal," which congress met in Paris in
May, 1879. M. de Lesseps, who had already expressed
himself strongly in favor of a sea-level canal, dominated
the congress and secured the adoption of conclusions
favoring a sea-level canal from the Gulf of Limon to the
Bay of Panama. The committee which formulated
the conclusions, presenting them for consideration to
the congress in full session, predicted that it would take
twelve years to build the canal and that it would
THE PANAMA CANAL 529
cost #232,000,000, of which sum #25,000,000 repre-
sented interest during the period of construction. Only
sixteen members of the committee voted in favor of the
conclusions, forty members being absent, ten members
abstaining from voting, and three members voting
in the negative. In the full congress the conclusion in
favor of the sea-level canal was adopted by a vote
of ayes, seventy-eight, nays, eight, not voting, twelve,
absent, thirty-seven. The list of those favoring the
resolution does not include a majority of the engineers
and contractors who were members of the congress.
FRENCH CONTROL
Immediately after the congress the Universal
Interoceanic Canal Company was formed, with M. de
Lesseps at its head. The company purchased the
Wyse contract of 1878, additional surveys were made,
upon the basis of which the estimates of cost and time
were reduced to #163,000,000 and eight years, respec-
tively; and it was finally announced by M. de Lesseps
that it was necessary to provide for an expenditure of
only #127,000,000. The company purchased the con-
trolling interest in the Panama Railroad, thereby pro-
tecting itself against any claims from that source, and
proceeded with the work of construction. It was at first
intended to let the entire work as one contract, the unit
prices to be determined after two years spent in organ-
ization, surveys, and preliminary work. A contract
made on this basis was annulled at the close of 1882,
and the work continued until 1889 under contracts,
small and large, covering different parts of the work.
530 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
FIRST PLAN
The plan followed until 1887 contemplated a canal
at sea level, 46 statute miles in length, with bottom
width of 72.2 feet and depth of 29.5 feet. The course
lay from Limon Bay to the valley of the Chagres at
Gatun. From there it followed the river valley in a
general south-easterly direction to Gamboa, where it
left the valley and crossed the line of hills forming the
watershed, finally reaching the Pacific Ocean about two
miles south of the city of Panama. The floods were
to be regulated by a dam at Gamboa where the river
valley and the canal join; and the water of the Chagres
and its tributaries from both sides were to be kept out
of the canal and carried to the sea by diversion channels
on either side. The estimated quantity of excavation
was 157,000,000 cubic yards.
In the course of a few years it became apparent that
there was no hope of finishing the canal on the original
plan, within the estimated limits of cost and time.
Toward the end of 1887 a change was made to a plan
involving a canal with locks and a summit level with
surface, 160.75 ^ eet above mean sea level. The com-
pany, however, was at the end of its resources, and went
into the hands of a receiver in February, 1889. A new
company was formed under the name of the New
Panama Canal Company, and the Colombian govern-
ment was induced to extend the time for completing
the canal to October 31, 1910. This company continued
the work until the enterprise was taken over by the
United States government.
THE PANAMA CANAL 531
PLAN OF NEW FRENCH COMPANY
The plan adopted by the new company contemplated
a canal of the same general alignment as that of the
original project, with low-water depth of 29.5 feet
throughout. From Limon Bay to Bohio, a distance of
14.9 miles, the canal was to be at sea level, guarded on
each side by diversions to intercept the naturaldrainage.
At Bohio a dam was to be built impounding the waters
of the Chagres, and making a lake about 23 square
miles in area at high water. The rise in level caused
by the dam was to be overcome by a flight of two locks.
From Bohio to Bas Obispo, nearGamboa, 13.7 miles, the
navigation was through the lake formed by the Bohio
dam. Where excavation was necessary the bottom
of the channel in the lake was placed at an elevation of
23 feet above sea level. At Bas Obispo, a flight of two
locks was planned to raise vessels to a summit level
extending for 6.6 miles through the hills, and drawing
water through a feeder canal from a reservoir to be
made by a dam at Alajuela higher up the Chagres
Valley. The bottom of the channel in the summit
level was to be 68.1 feet, and the low water surface
97.6 feet above mean sea level. The summit level
was to occupy the stretch now known as the Culebra
Cut, and to end at Paraiso, where a lock was to be
built, lowering vessels to an intermediate level 1.4
miles long, with bottom elevation 43.5 feet above mean
tide. This level terminated at Pedro Miguel, where a
flight of two locks was planned to lower vessels to
a second level 1.8 miles long, with bottom 12.3 feet
below mean tide. The final drop to the sea was to be
through a lock at Miraflores, with sea-level channel
532 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
8.1 miles long. Including the channel dredged from
the shore to deep water in the Bay of Panama, the
length was to be 46.6 miles. All locks were to have
twin chambers, giving two routes to vessels. The
chambers were to be 738 feet long and 82 feet wide.
The bottom width of the channel was fixed at 164 feet
in Lake Bohio and the Bay of Panama, 11 8.1 feet in
the summit level, and 98.4 feet elsewhere.
It was the hope of the new company to omit the
summit level, described above, making the Lake Bohio
level continuous to Pedro Miguel, thus saving two
locks on each slope, but making the cut through the
ridge correspondingly deeper. This was to be done in
case experience in the early work on the first plan
should demonstrate the feasibility of the change.
The work of the New French Company was confined
principally to excavation in the summit level. Under
its control about ten million cubic yards of material
were removed, and data of great value were collected,
bearing upon the regimen of the Chagres River and
the topographic and hydrographic characteristics of the
region bordering the canal. The first French Canal
Company expended about £254,000,000, of which about
$152,000,000 were spent on the isthmus. The second
French Company expended in all about $11,000,000,
principally on the isthmus.
AMERICAN CONTROL
By act of March 3, 1899, the Congress of the United
States empowered the President to make full and com-
plete investigation of the Isthmus of Panama with a
view to the construction of a canal. To accomplish
THE PANAMA CANAL 533
this, he appointed a commission of nine members,
headed by Rear Admiral J. G. Walker, U. S. N., which
reported in November, 1901, in favor of the Nicaragua
route, having in view the fact that the New Panama
Canal Company demanded what was regarded as an
excessive price for its rights and property. The com-
pany, after further negotiation, reduced its demands
from #109,000,000 to #40,000,000. In consequence of
this reduction, which made the estimated cost via the
Panama route less than that via the Nicaragua route,
the commission in January, 1902, submitted a supple-
mentary report favoring the Panama route. Congress
then passed the "Spooner Act," of June 28, 1902,
empowering the President to proceed with the con-
struction of a canal by the Panama route, provided
that the New Panama Canal Company would sell its
rights and property for a sum not exceeding #40,000,000
and that suitable arrangements could be made with
the Colombian government for the control of the neces-
sary right of way. Failing fulfilment of these condi-
tions, the Nicaraguan route was to be adopted. The law
required the canal to be of sufficient capacity and depth
to " afford convenient passage for vessels of the largest
tonnage and greatest draft now in use, and such as may
be reasonably expected."
The condition as to the acquisition of the French
company's property was readily fulfilled. A treaty
known as the Hay-Herran treaty, empowering the
United States to build the canal, was formulated after
negotiations with Colombia. This treaty was thought
to be satisfactory to both governments, and was ratified
by the United States senate, but was finally rejected by
534 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the Colombian congress in 1903. The province
of Panama thereupon seceded from the Republic of
Colombia, on November 3, 1903, and achieved its
independence. The United States recognized the new
government at once, and negotiated a treaty by which
it agreed to pay Panama #10,000,000 outright and an
annual sum of #250,000 beginning nine years from the
date of the treaty, acquiring in return the right to build
the canal, and the exclusive sovereignty over a strip of
land across the isthmus, ten miles wide, five miles on
each side of the axis of the canal. The cities of Panama
and Colon, although geographically within the Canal
Zone, are reserved as Panamanian territory.
There is no doubt that the United States received
fair value for the sum of #40,000,000 which it paid the
New Panama Canal Company for its rights and
property. The Panama Railroad alone had cost the
French #18,000,000, although the par value of the stock
was only #7,000,000. The machinery and buildings
which the United States acquired were worth a large
sum, the land holdings were valuable, and the work
done by the French in places where it proved useful to
the Americans, was also an asset of great importance.
A careful appraisal made by a committee in 191 1 placed
the total value of the property and rights acquired from
the French Company at #42,799,826. It appears,
therefore, that the bargain was a fair one.
PROPOSED SEA-LEVEL PLAN
Under authority of the Spooner Act a commission
of seven members, with Admiral Walker as chairman,
was appointed in 1904 to prosecute the work. The
THE PANAMA CANAL 535
type of canal to be built was decided after discussion
of the subject by an international board of consulting
engineers appointed by the president of the United
States on June 24, 1905. This board consisted of eight
members from the United States and five appointed
upon nomination of Great Britain, France, Germany,
and the Netherlands, one of the foreign members being
also connected as consulting engineer with the Suez
Canal. Seven of the twelve, of whom two only were
Americans, reported in favor of a sea-level canal, with
bottom width of 150 feet in earth cutting and 200 feet
through rock, and with a low-water depth of 40 feet, ex-
cept in Panama Bay where it was to be 35 feet. The
canal was to follow a line consisting practically of a
series of curves, and was to have a tide lock near the
Pacific end, where the extreme tidal oscillation is about
20 feet. At the Atlantic end, where the tidal oscilla-
tion is only about 2 feet, no lock was deemed necessary.
The Chagres River was to be regulated at Gamboa by
a dam with devices by which the water of the impounded
reservoir could be admitted to the canal at a rate not
to exceed 15,000 cubic feet per second. This amount
is larger than the mean discharge of the river in the
wet season. Floods of greater volume were to be
absorbed temporarily by the reservoir, and admitted
gradually through the regulating gates. The main
tributaries were to be diverted from the canal, but
smaller ones were to be admitted, a possible current of
2.6 feet per second being contemplated. The cost was
estimated at #247,000,000 and the time of construction
at from 12 to 13 years.
536 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
ADOPTED PLAN (SEE PLATE i)
The minority of the consulting board, consisting of
five members, all American engineers, favored the con-
struction of a lock canal. The plan as formulated and
finally adopted placed the summit level at 85 feet above
mean sea level. This level is formed and maintained
by a dam across the Chagres River at Gatun. The
total length of the canal is 50 statute miles. From
deep water in Limon Bay to Gatun, a distance of y.y
miles, the canal lies at sea level with width of 500 feet
and depth of 40 feet at low water. The rise from sea
level to the surface of Gatun Lake is accomplished by
three locks in flight. From Gatun to Gamboa, a dis-
tance of 23.3 miles, the channel lies in Gatun Lake,
with a width varying from 1,000 to 500 feet. From
Gamboa to Pedro Miguel, 8.4 miles, the channel, with
surface still at the summit level of 85 feet above mean
tide, passes through the Culebra Cut, and was origi-
nally planned with a bottom width of 300 feet for 3.4
miles, and 200 feet for the rest of the way. This latter
width was increased during construction to 300 feet.
At Pedro Miguel a lock is placed to overcome the differ-
ence of 30J feet between the level in the Culebra Cut
and the intermediate level next below, which is 2.2
miles long and 54! feet above mean tide, and is formed
by a lake impounded by a dam at Miraflores. A flight
of two locks in this dam allows vessels to pass into the
sea-level stretch below, which is 8.4 miles long. In the
intermediate level below Pedro Miguel and in the sea-
level stretch extending to deep water in Panama Bay
THE PANAMA CANAL 537
the width is 500 feet. The least low-water depth is 41 %
feet in fresh water and 40 feet in salt water, except in
the Pacific sea-level stretch where it is 35 feet.
The dam below Pedro Miguel was originally planned
to close the valley of the Rio Grande near its mouth in
Panama Bay. Because of difficulties which developed
after construction began, and because of military
considerations, it was later moved inland to Miraflores.
The canal alignment consists of a series of tangents
widened at the points where the direction changes. It
has 22 angles with a total curvature of 6oo° 51', of
which 28 1 ° 10' are measured to the right, going south.
The minority members of the consulting board
estimated the cost of the plan at $139,705,200 and the
time of construction at nine years.
The report of the minority was indorsed favorably
by the Isthmian Canal Commission excepting one mem-
ber, by the chief engineer of the commission, by the
Secretary of War, and by the President. Construction
along the lines recommended therein was authorized
by Congress in the act of June 26, 1906.
The decision to build a lock canal instead of a sea-
level channel, although based principally upon the
initial estimate and the greater convenience to naviga-
tion of the lock canal proposed, justified itself on other
grounds during the period of construction. Difficulty
much greater than had been anticipated was experi-
enced in the course of the dry excavation, because of
earth and rock movements or slides. Even in the
shallower cuts of the lock-level plan, the increase in
excavation due to these movements had reached the
total of 22,870,000 cubic yards on the first of July, 191 3,
538 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
and there were at that time several formidable slides
still moving. The slides increased in volume and fre-
quency as the cutting grew deeper from season to
season, and the amount of material removed because of
them increased even more rapidly. In the period from
1904 to 1909 the material removed from slides was 7.87
per cent of the total removed in the Central Division.
This percentage shows a steady gain from year to year
until, in the year ending June 30, 191 3, out of a total of
12,773,338 cubic yards of material removed from the
Central Division, 5,889,200 cubic yards, or 46.67 per
cent, were due to slides, and the material thus added
was more than usually difficult to remove. One can
only conjecture what the result of such earth move-
ments would have been, had the cut through the
summit level been 85 feet deeper, as for a sea-level
canal of equal navigable depth ; but no one can doubt
that the addition in material to be removed would have
been far greater than was experienced in the plan
actually followed, and that the duration of the work
would have been more than correspondingly increased.
The difficulties in cutting a sea-level channel through
the marshes which now lie at the bottom of Gatun Lake
cannot be so directly estimated by experience, since the
plan adopted wisely avoided such excavation altogether;
but they would certainly have been serious. On the
whole, it is probable that any nation, however rich,
which should have undertaken the construction of a
sea-level canal, would have become so discouraged in
the progress as either to abandon the work, or to change
to a lock-level project, as did the French.
THE PANAMA CANAL 539
PREPARATORY WORK
The first three years after the appointment of the
commission under the Spooner Act were devoted largely
to the preparatory work of organization, sanitation, and
equipment. Comparatively little was done in the way
of actual excavation until the year 1907. During the
time of preparation the commission, as a body, did not
reside on the isthmus, but made periodic visits there
and administered the work from an office in Washington.
The personnel of the commission was changed from
time to time, the chairmen before April 1, 1907, being
successively Rear Admiral John G. Walker, U. S. N.,
retired, Theodore P. Shonts, and John F. Stevens.
The chief engineers were successively John F. Wallace
and John F. Stevens. By executive order of March 4,
1907, the president of the United States appointed
Lieutenant-Colonel George W. Goethals, Corps of
Engineers, U. S. A., a member of the commission, and
named him chairman April 1, 1907, upon which date
he was also appointed chief engineer. At the same time
the personnel of the commission was changed, and the
members were all required to live on the isthmus in
close touch with the work. This plan was followed
until the completion of the canal.
The main constructive features were the excavation,
the lock and dam construction, and the harbor and
terminal work.
EXCAVATION
The excavation was divided between dredging and
dry excavation. Of the entire amount removed by the
French about 29,908,000 cubic yards were useful in
540 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the plan adopted by the Americans. In addition, the
work required the removal of about 232,000,000 cubic
yards, of which about 129,000,000 cubic yards were
dry excavation and the remainder dredging. The
progress made by years is given in the following table:
May 4 to December 31, 1904 243>47 2
January 1 to December 31, 1905 1,799,227
January 1 to December 31, 1906 4,948,497
January 1 to December 31, 1907 15,765,290
January 1 to December 31, 1908 37,116,735
January I to December 31, 1909 35,096,166
January 1 to December 31, 1910 3 l A37^77
January 1 to December 31, 191 1 31,603,899
January 1 to December 31, 1912 30,269,349
January 1 to October 1, 1913 22,767,886
Total 211,048,198
The highest monthly record made at any time was in
March, 1909, when a total amount of 3,889,327 cubic
yards was removed from the canal prism, of which
1,527,434 cubic yards were dredged and the remainder
taken out in the dry.
The equipment for dry excavation consisted of 101
steam shovels, of which 45 had 5 cubic yard dippers,
43 had 2^2 cubic yard dippers and the remainder were
smaller. The record for a single shovel was 4,823
cubic yards loaded in one day of eight hours. In the
month of March, 191 1, the average daily performance
of 50.6 shovels was 1,434.6 cubic yards each in eight
hours under steam. To remove the earth handled by
the shovels, 1,760 flat cars, unloaded by plows, and
1,803 s ^e dump cars, with an adequate supply of
locomotives and auxiliary rolling stock, were provided.
THE PANAMA CANAL 541
For the wet excavation there were available in all —
7 small ladder dredges, old French
1 large ladder dredge, new
4 pipe line suction dredges, new
3 pipe line suction dredges, old
3 5-yard dipper dredges, new
2 sea-going suction dredges, new
i clamshell dredge
2 15-yard dipper dredges, received in 1914.
The floating equipment included the necessary tugs,
scows, drill barges, and one Lobnitz rock crusher.
The end of the dry excavation was practically reached
in September, 191 3. Up to that time, the Culebra Cut
had been excavated in the dry, the trench being drained
by gravity both to north and south, and being closed at
the north end by a dike at Gamboa, which protected it,
first, from the floods of the Chagres, and, later, from
the rising water of Gatun Lake. The drainage flowing
to the north was pumped through the Gamboa dike
into the river outside. On September 10, 1913, all the
excavation in the Cut which it was practicable to do by
dry methods had been finished, the material remaining
to be removed being principally that due to slides,
which could be handled most advantageously after the
admission of water to the prism should provide some
support to the banks and partially check the movement
of the lower strata. After removal of equipment from
the Cut, the pump valves at Gamboa were opened
on October 5th, and water gradually admitted, and on
October 10, 191 3, the Gamboa dike was blown up.
The water in the Cut rose at once to the level of the
lake outside, and the remaining excavation was
accomplished by dredging.
542 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
LOCK AND DAM CONSTRUCTION
The work of construction of the locks and dams was
localized at three places, Gatun, Pedro Miguel, and
Miraflores. At Gatun a dam closes the Chagres
Valley, making Lake Gatun, and having as one of its
abutments a flight of three locks to raise vessels from sea
to lake level, a distance normally of 85 feet. The dam
is of earth and rock, the crest being 105 feet above sea
level, or 20 feet above the normal level of the water
retained. The ground upon which it is built was in
part low and soft. It was necessary, therefore, to make
the base very wide and the slopes gentle, in order to
avoid overloading the foundation. The dam is about
7,800 feet long, measured on the crest, and about
2,500 feet wide at the base of the highest portion. It
contains about 23,000,000 cubic yards, of which about
12,000,000 cubic yards are dry material and the re-
mainder hydraulic fill. Two rows of hard rock were
first deposited along the site of the dam, 1,200 feet
apart, and parallel to the axis. The natural surface
between these rows of rock was cleared and a bonding
trench dug. A mixture of sand and clay, excavated by
hydraulic dredges from borrow-pits above and below
the dam was then pumped between the rows of hard
rock, and these were at the same time extended upward
on the selected slope by dumping dry material toward
the axis of the dam. The base was also widened out-
ward in the same way (see plate 2).
A spillway is built near the middle of the length of
the dam, in the rock of a natural hill. It is arched in
plan, and consists of a concrete dam with crest 16 feet
Plate 2
^â– r^
GATUN DAM
THE PANAMA CANAL 543
below normal lake level, surmounted by fourteen regu-
lating gates, the tops of which are three feet above
normal lake level, and which may be raised between
piers 45 feet apart, as a window sash is raised between
its jambs. When a regulating gate is raised the water
flows out under the lower edge and over the crest of
the concrete dam. With all the gates raised, the dis-
charge with the lake level at -\-8y, or two feet above
normal level, would be about 154,000 cubic feet per
second, or more than the greatest discharge of the
river at flood. Work on the dam began in July, 1907,
and was finished six years later. The spillway was
closed on June 27, 191 3, and the lake was allowed to
rise until it reached full height.
Gatun Lake extends over an area of 164 square miles
and has a watershed of 1,320 square miles. It covers
the line of the canal from Gatun to Pedro Miguel, a
distance of 32 miles. At Pedro Miguel the water is
retained by an earth dam with crest 105 feet above
mean tide, extending northward from the west wall
of the lock and parallel to it, forming an artificial
bank to the canal, which, with the lock, closes the
old valley of the Rio Grande. The dam is 1,800 feet
long and contains 696,000 cubic yards of material.
It was built of dry fill and consists of a core of puddled
clay retained by parallel toes or masses of rock and
earth. A twin lock with single lift enables vessels to
pass between the waters of the Culebra Cut at the
Gatun Lake level of — |— 85 and those of the Miraflores
Lake at level of +54§ • The normal lift of the lock is
therefore 30J feet.
544 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Miraflores Lake, which has an area of \% square
miles, constitutes a level of the canal intermediate
between Gatun Lake and the sea at Panama Bay. It
is retained by Miraflores dam and lock. The dam
with crest at elevation+70 extends southward from the
head of the upper lock in a direction nearly parallel to
the lock wall for about 2,400 feet to a hill opposite the
foot of the lock flight, closing the valley of the Cocoli
River, a tributary of the Rio Grande. The lock and
spillway close the remainder of the old Rio Grande
valley. The main dam is of earth and rock. It con-
tains 2,370,000 cubic yards of material of which 661,000
are hydraulic fill.
The spillway is similar to that at Gatun, except that
it has eight regulating gates instead of fourteen, and
is straight in plan instead of curved. It is much larger
than would be needed to regulate the small lake above
it, and was designed to provide against the flow which
would come from Gatun Lake if the gates in one of the
Pedro Miguel locks should be carried away. A flight
of two locks lowers vessels from Miraflores Lake to
the sea level below. The lift varies with the tide from
64! feet to 44| feet. The sea-level stretch extends
to deep water in the Pacific Ocean, eight miles below
Miraflores locks.
The locks are similar at all the dams, there being a
flight of three at Gatun, two at Miraflores, and one at
Pedro Miguel. Plate 3 shows the upper lock of the
Gatun flight. Each lock is double, having twin cham-
bers separated from each other by a middle wall. Each
chamber has useful dimensions of 1,000 feet in length
and 1 10 feet in breadth, capable of taking in the largest
PHrNS
THE PANAMA CANAL 545
ship now afloat, with some margin for growth. Inter-
mediate gates divide the chamber into two locks 600
and 400 feet long, either of which may be used in order
to save water. For reasons connected with the tidal
oscillation, the lower Miraflores lock has no inter-
mediate gates. The locks are filled and emptied
through culverts in the base of each wall. These cul-
verts, which have a cross sectional area of 254 square
feet, the equivalent of a circle 18 feet in diameter, run
the entire length of each lock wall, from the intake
in the fore-bay to the outlet in the tail-bay. They
communicate with the chamber by means of lateral
culverts, at right angles to the main culverts, which run
under the lock and open upwards through holes in the
floor (see plates 3 and 4). The entrance to the side
wall culverts is by three openings closed by gate valves.
The middle wall culvert is also entered through three
openings into the fore-bays on each side. At each lift
the main culverts are closed by gate valves in pairs,
each valve closing one-half of the culvert area. The
side culverts have similar valves at the intermediate
gates, permitting the lock chamber to be divided. At
the head and foot of each lock there are two sets of
main culvert valves, one of which can be used when the
other is out of service for any reason. The gate valves
are all of the "Stoney" type. The lateral culverts
from the middle wall to the chamber on each side are
controlled by individual cylindrical valves, in order
that the water in the middle culvert may be sent into
one or the other of the twin lock chambers at will.
The lock gates are of steel, cellular in construction,
7 feet deep, and ranging in height from 47 to 82 feet.
546 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
There are 92 gate leaves on the canal. They are hung
by collar and pintle only, no rollers being used. The
heaviest leaf weighs 730 tons and the lightest 390 tons
of 2,000 pounds. If piled on top of each other, end to
end, they would make a tower more than 1% miles high.
The most important of the gates are guarded by
fender chains stretched across the lock near the water
level, when in use, and lying in a groove of the lock
floor, when not in use. The chains pay out against a
hydraulic resistance when struck, and are capable of
arresting a vessel weighing 10,000 tons and moving at
3^ miles per hour, before the gate would be reached.
Above the upper guard gates of each lock is placed
an emergency dam, for use in case, through an accident,
the gates should be carried away and the water of the
upper level allowed to flow through the lock. The
dam, which can be turned like a pivot drawbridge,
would then be swung across the lock, girders dropped
from the lower chord to a bearing on a sill in the lock
floor, and wickets of rectangular form lowered along
the runway formed by the upstream flanges of the
girders. These wickets are placed in horizontal tiers,
thus progressively closing the waterway in the face of
the current and enabling the gates below to be closed
or repaired.
A floating caisson is provided for closing the chamber
when it is desired to unwater the entire lock.
Vessels are not permitted to use their own power
when in the lock, but are towed through by electric
locomotives which receive them on entering and release
them after passing the last gate. The number of loco-
motives to be used varies with the size of the vessel.
1 1
e- -i^..
H&$*>:,;,
^â– \ y
-t
, ^ -
■\j»- is*
< ~
JjJ
'M
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L. -v'V
THE PANAMA CANAL 547
Four are usual, two ahead, one on each lock wall, to
tow; and two astern, to hold back. Lines are also used
to pass over snubbing posts and hold the vessel steady
in the locks. The operation of filling or emptying
causes no noticeable surging in the locks, even with
small vessels.
All machinery is driven electrically by current
generated at the Gatun spillway. The hydro-electric
plant there is capable of supplying 6,000 kilowatts.
It is supplemented by the steam generating plants
which were used during construction and which are
now maintained as reserves, although not used except
in an emergency. The motors of all machines at each
locality are operated from a central control house. A
control board, with devices representing the moving
parts, shows the operator just what effect his manipu-
lations are producing. The different controllers on the
board are mechanically interlocked against false move-
ments. The Gatun control house operates 310 motors
located at distances up to 2,700 feet from the point of
control.
Concrete work on the locks was begun at Gatun on
August 24, 1909, at Pedro Miguel on September 1, 1909,
and at Miraflores on June 1, 1910. The main concrete
was finished at all the localities in the summer and early
autumn of 191 3, and one of the twin lock flights was
used to pass dredging plant through at that time. The
first lockage took place at Gatun on September 26th,
and on the Pacific side on October 14, 191 3. The final
completion of the locks was delayed until some months
later by the erection of the gates and the installation of
the machinery and electrical apparatus.
548 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The total amount of concrete laid in the locks,
spillways, and accessory works, is approximately
4,800,000 cubic yards.
The maximum amount of concrete laid at each place
in any one day is —
For Gatun locks and spillway 4*983 cu. yds.
For Pedro Miguel lock 3,844 cu. yds.
For Miraflores locks and spillway 4>728 cu. yds.
HARBOR AND TERMINAL WORK
The work on the terminals and breakwaters was not
fully complete when the canal was opened to navigation.
At Limon Bay it includes two breakwaters, with a
system of docks, a coal handling plant, a small dry
dock, and shops. At Balboa it includes a breakwater
from the mainland to Naos Island, to protect the chan-
nel in Panama Bay, and a system of docks with large
marine shops, a coal handling plant, and two dry docks.
About 290,000 tons of coal can be stored at the Cristobal
plant, and about 160,000 tons at Balboa. The larger
of the two dry docks at Balboa will accommodate any
vessel which can pass through the locks of the canal,
while the other is intended only for small boats. The
small dry dock at Cristobal was used during the con-
struction of the canal and will accommodate any unit
of the floating plant used in maintenance. The termi-
nals of the canal are protected by sea-coast defences
mounting heavy modern guns and mortars.
AIDS TO NAVIGATION
The general plan for lighting the channel includes
providing head ranges for all tangents, when practi-
THE PANAMA CANAL 549
cable, and side lights at intervals of about one mile,
in the open channel, with spar buoys alternating.
Noticeable changes of direction are marked by two
side lights on the point, or convex bank, and one in the
bend opposite. Certain of the shorter tangents can-
not be provided with lighted ranges without danger of
confusing the range lights with the turning lights; and
in these cases the range lights are omitted and the cen-
ter line marked by two day-beacons. Ordinarily the
ranges are indicated by two lights in line, the rear light
showing above the front one. The sailing line ranged
thus for vessels bound north is 200 or 250 feet from the
line indicated for vessels bound south. Vessels meet-
ing, therefore, if kept on their ranges, would pass each
other without turning out. Conditions in the Culebra
Cut do not permit the use of range lights or buoys,
consequently lighted beacons are placed on the berms
of the Cut at intervals of about 1,200 yards. When
it is convenient to make connection with the trans-
mission line, the towers and beacons are provided
with incandescent electric lights. For the remaining
stationary lights and for the buoys the illuminant is
acetylene dissolved in acetone. Suitable characteristics
are given all lights to prevent confusion.
LABOR AND SUPPLIES
The recruitment of labor; assignment and care
of quarters; procuring and distributing materials of
construction, and construction and repair of buildings
were under charge of the Quartermaster's Department.
Commissary and subsistence supplies were furnished
by the Subsistence Department of the commission and
550 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the Commissary Department of the Panama Railroad.
Supplies of all kinds were purchased on requisition
from the isthmus by a general purchasing officer in the
United States, whose office also was charged with
filling requisitions for gold employees.
The main work was done by a force employed directly
by the commission, only parts of the work, such as the
lock gates, emergency dams, etc., being built under
contract. The supervisory and clerical force, as well
as the artisans and mechanics, all of whom were classed
as "gold employees," were practically all American
citizens, no others being engaged in such capacities
when Americans were available, except in the earlier
stages. The unskilled laborers, classed as "silver
employees," were all foreigners, the majority being
West Indian negroes, with the Spaniards next in order.
On March 30, 1910, the force actually at work for
the canal and railroad combined was 38,676, of whom
30,837 were employees of the commission. Of the
commission's employees, 4,553 were on the gold roll,
and the remainder were silver employees. The com-
mission furnished its employees free quarters, heat,
light, medical attendance, and hospital privileges.
Whenever practicable married quarters were given to
those desiring them, and their families received medical
attendance at a low charge. Commissary stores were
provided, at which supplies of every description could
be purchased, practically at cost; and hotels, messes, and
kitchens were maintained, where gold and silver em-
ployees could procure meals at small cost. Gold
employees were allowed leave of absence with pay,
six weeks annually for monthly employees and four
THE PANAMA CANAL 551
weeks for hourly employees. Sick-leave with pay
was allowed, not to exceed thirty days in each year;
and compensation was given, under provisions of the
law, for permanent injury due to the work.
SANITATION
The health of the employees was properly regarded
as a matter of the first importance. It was cared for
by the Department of Sanitation, under charge of men
who were experienced in fighting tropical diseases.
Prior to the American occupation, the Isthmus of
Panama had always been a nursery of yellow fever and
of various forms of malarial fever. In the time of the
French work, the proper defence against these diseases
was unknown; and, in spite of medical care and hospital
facilities, the losses were great. The American Depart-
ment of Sanitation instituted at once measures for
the protection of the working force. Knowing that the
propagation of yellow and malarial fever was due to
certain varieties of mosquitoes, the problem became
chiefly one of exterminating these enemies or guarding
adequately against them. All commission quarters
were carefully screened with wire gauze, pools of water
where the mosquitoes might breed were covered with
oil or poisoned with larvacide, grass and shrubs were
kept closely trimmed around the settlements, and
suitable sanitary regulations were rigidly enforced.
The results were soon apparent. Yellow fever vanished,
malarial fever was reduced, although not exterminated,
and the general health of the force reached and main-
tained a high standard. It is estimated that the deaths
among employees during the nine years of French
552 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
activity numbered at least 16,000. During the eight
years of American occupation, ended June 30, 191 2,
5,141 employees died, among them 284 Americans.
The expenditures for sanitary purposes of all kinds,
including hospital and Canal Zone sewage and water
supply, reached about #20,000,000 for a period of, say,
ten and one-half years. The population affected by
the sanitary measures, according to the census taken
in 1912, was —
Canal Zone 62,810
City of Panama 3 5,368
City of Colon I7»74 8
115,926
GOVERNMENT AND LAW
The civil affairs of the Zone were cared for by a
Department of Civil Administration, with a member
of the commission at its head. During the period of
construction, the Canal Zone was governed by the
President, under authority conveyed by act of Congress
approved April 28, 1904. Special legislation, for the
government of the Canal Zone after the opening of
navigation, was later enacted.
A Department of Law was created to look after legal
matters in which the commission was interested. It has
been especially active in connection with proceedings
for the procurement of land needed for canal purposes.
NEW PANAMA RAILROAD
The line of the Panama Railroad, as first constructed,
followed the valley of the Chagres River to Gamboa,
crossing to the west bank of the canal at San Pablo and
THE PANAMA CANAL 553
recrossing to the east bank near Paraiso. It was there-
fore necessary to relocate a large part, either because it
would be under water, or because it would lie on the
wrong side of the canal. This involved building 39.3
miles of new railroad, a considerable portion on heavy
embankments, rising above the water of the lake, and
resting on soft, marshy soil. The work began in 1906
and finished on May 25, 191 2. The cost was #8,787,000.
COST
The estimate of the cost of the canal, made by the
minority of the board of consulting engineers in 1905,
was $139,705,200. It soon became evident that this
estimate had been vitiated by the changes which had
been made in the plans, some of which added greatly to
the amount of work to be done, and by the increased
cost of labor and material over the unit costs adopted
by the board. In February, 1909, a revised estimate
was laid before Congress and was adopted as the basis
of future appropriations. The revised estimate placed
the engineering cost of the work at #297,766,000.
Adding to this the purchase price and the estimated
cost of sanitation and civil government, the entire
estimate for the canal amounts to #375,201,000.
7/. 7. •/.
J^ercLe> u{;
THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
ON the last day of July, 1769, the expedition
of Portola camped near the site of the
present city of Los Angeles, and remained
in camp the following day for needed rest
and for exploration, and to enable the people of the
command to gain the great indulgence of Porciuncula.
The priests said mass and the sacrament was adminis-
tered. The next day, August 2d, they resumed the
march and traveling a league and a half entered a
spacious valley surrounded by low hills, abounding
with poplar and alder trees, through which flowed a
beautiful river. This they thought an excellent site
for a mission, and in commemoration of the festival,
named the river Nuestra Sefiora de los Angeles de
Porciuncula, and passed on into the San Fernando
valley. The site was not forgotten and several years'
observation showed the explorers that the flow of the
river was permanent, even when the winter rainfall
was scanty.
In 1776 Don Carlos III, King of Spain, dissatisfied
with the colonization of California, required Don
Teodoro de Croix, comandante-general of the Provin-
cias Internas de Occidente, to inform him what could
be done to improve conditions in that province.
Croix sent the letter to Felipe de Neve, governor of the
Californias, and requested him to make such suggestions
as seemed to him fitting and proper. In response to
this the governor sent in a full and well digested plan
for the regulation of California. This plan of Neve was
forwarded by Croix to the king and on his approval it
became the reglamento or ordinance for the government
of California and Neve was instructed to put it into
558 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
effect at the beginning of 1781. Among other pro-
visions of the reglamento was one for the establishment
of three missions on the Santa Barbara channel, a
pueblo on the Porciuncula, and all to be under the
protection of a strong presidio to be erected on the
channel, in the neighborhood of a place called Mes-
caltitan. Captain Rivera y Moncada was sent to
Sinaloa to recruit fifty-nine soldiers for the presidio
and twenty-four settlers for the pueblo. Both soldiers
and settlers must be married men, accompanied by
their families, healthy and robust, likely to lead regular
lives and to set a good example to the natives. Extra
inducements in the way of pay and other privileges
were promised but the best Rivera could do for the
pueblo was the collection of twelve men with their
families; viz: two Spaniards, two negroes, four Indians,
two mulattoes, one mestizo, and one "chino."* With
this motley crew the famous pueblo of Nuestra Sefiora
La Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula was founded,
September 4, 1781. Within a year three of these
promising settlers were pronounced worthless, their
property was taken from them and they were driven
forth. The settlers were put in possession of a house
lot and a tract for planting, and supplied with the
necessary live-stock, implements, and seed. Each
settler was to be paid #116.50 per year for two years
and #60 per year for the next three years. Their
lands were to be free of taxes for five years, and all
had the use of the government lands for pasturing
their cattle and for wood and water. In 1886, Alferez
*A Chino is the off-spring of a Salta Atras and an Indian woman.
A Salta Atras is the off-spring of white parents having a trace of negro blood.
THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES 559
Jose Dario Argiiello came from Santa Barbara and put
the remaining nine settlers in full possession of their
lands, giving them deeds therefor.
Notwithstanding the fostering care of a paternal
government the progress of the pueblo was very slow
and at the end of the century it had but seventy
families and three hundred and fifteen population.
The increase had come mainly from the growing up of
the children and from the families of retired soldiers.
It was in the vicinity of the pueblo that the first rancho
grants were made in California. The rich soil of the
locality and the plentiful water supply caused several
of the old soldiers to apply for land. The first grant
was that of the famous Rancho San Rafael (Los
Verdugos) of eight leagues, granted October 20, 1784,
by Pedro Fages, governor, to Jose Maria Verdugo, a
soldier of the Portola expedition. The next grant was
made by Fages, November, 1784, to Jose Manuel
Nieto, also a soldier of the Portola expedition. This
grant, known as Los Nietos, reached from a little below
Los Angeles to the Pacific Ocean, east of the river. It
contained thirty-three square leagues (146,472 acres)
and was regranted by Figueroa in 1834 to Nieto's
widow and sons, in five separate tracts. The third
grant was the famous San Pedro, or Dominguez rancho.
This consisted of ten leagues (44,385 acres) and was
given to Juan Jose Dominguez, likewise a soldier of
the Portola expedition. It is south of Los Angeles
and reaches the ocean at Wilmington. It was on this
rancho, near the ranch house, that the fight between
Captain Mervine and his marines and the caballeros
under Jose Antonio Carrillo occurred in 1846. Mariano
560 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
de la Luz Verdugo, another soldier of the first expedi-
tion received a grant of the Portezuelo rancho. Mariano
Verdugo brought with him on the first expedition
cuttings of a grape vine planted at the presidio of
Loreto, Lower California, by the Jesuit priests. These
cuttings he planted at the mission of San Diego and
from this vine cuttings were sent to all the other
missions. This was the origin of the famous Mission
grape.
While the pueblo increased slowly in population, its
equitable climate made it a favorite residence place
for retired soldiers and for traders. The valley to
the north and west, called San Fernando, was origi-
nally a chasm several hundred feet deep, which had
become filled by a deposit so porous that it absorbed
the run-off of the surrounding mountains over an area
of more than one hundred and fifty square miles, and
impounded it in a natural reservoir from which it
gradually drained. As the city grew the water of its
river was developed until under careful husbanding,
it has provided Los Angeles with forty million gallons
of water per day, and up to the present time has been
the main source of supply for the system which has
faithfully served the city, to which it brings a gross
revenue of about one million and a quarter dollars per
annum. In making an examination for a site for a
city, the early explorers found a sufficiently wide river
bottom, with a mesa of moderate height adjoining,
backed by hills covered with native grasses while to
the north, some fifteen miles away, arose the Sierra
Madre, ranging from a mile to nearly two miles in
height, and acting as a shelter from the desert winds,
THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES 561
cold in winter, hot in summer, and dry always. Seven-
teen miles west of the chosen site lay the deep and cool
waters of the Pacific and here the way was open to the
inrush of ocean winds, seeking to fill the vacuum
caused by the rising of the superheated air of the
deserts of the interior. These winds, bearing the even
temperature of the water and made more equable by
their passage over the land tend to give a climate
warm in winter and cool in summer. The site seemed
to fill all the requirements for agriculture, surrounded
as it was by fertile lands, and the padres at the San
Gabriel mission, nine miles away, demonstrated that
the orange, the olive, and the vine throve equally as
well as the fruits and grains of the strictly temperate
zone, and that the cattle increased and waxed fat on
the native grass as well when it was green in winter as
after the summer sun had turned it into nutritious hay.
The padres, and later the settlers, set little store by
the asphaltum which they found dried in places on
the plains, not knowing that it was evidence of the
store of liquid petroleum which lay beneath, in strata
varying from a few hundred feet in depth to those
hardly reached by the persistent modern drillers at
four thousand feet.
Nor did the founders of the pueblo forget their need
for a port near at hand. As the ocean, seventeen miles
to the west, had no facilities available, they chose San
Pedro, twenty-five miles to the south, where the estuary
permitted vessels of slight draft to come into the harbor.
This has now been deepened so that ships drawing
thirty feet of water may enter, and a breakwater some
eight thousand feet long built which provides excellent
562 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
holding ground inside in water having a depth of
thirty-five to fifty-five feet. This can be gained with-
out the aid of either pilot or tug and it is within a
mile of the inner harbor where rail, electric road, and
paved boulevard give quick and easy access to the
center of Los Angeles, of which this harbor is now an
integral part.
Under Spanish rule trade with California was for-
bidden. This condition was greatly modified after
Mexico achieved her independence and the Boston
traders who came for hides and furs found the pueblo
of Los Angeles the best place to barter their wares,
and as they became acquainted with the town they
were not silent concerning it on their return around the
Horn. Sailors tempted way from their ships, met in
Los Angeles men of hardy spirit who had crossed
mountains and deserts in quest of gain or adventure,
and when in 1847 the American forces marched from
San Diego and occupied Los Angeles the officers found
conditions of climate and location much to their liking.
In accounting for the rise of Los Angeles the fact
should not be forgotten that the city has been free from
the domination of any clique or faction; and although
there have been times when such domination has
seemed to be dangerously near, public opinion, a
certain part of the public press, and the large class of
broad minded men who have made the city their
home, have worked together and have kept the doors
open for all competent labor, and the immigrant has
has not been required to pay a tax or to submit to
dictation in order to make a living for himself and his
family. The development of the petroleum industry
THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES 563
in California, providing one of the most available and
cheapest fuels in the world, has contributed more than
any one factor to the great increase in manufactures in
Los Angeles. One of the productive fields, now largely
suppressed, occupied part of the hills within the original
grant to the city. Now pipe lines from far and near
bring crude oil for refining and foreign shipment, not
only to the city itself, but to the harbor, where steamers,
especially built for the service, provide transportation
to Peru, Hawaii, Japan, and the Panama Canal, and
it is largely the power generated by this petroleum that
has united the Atlantic and Pacific months before the
appointed time.
Some eight years ago the Los Angeles City Water
Board became convinced that while the water supply
draining from the San Fernando valley was ample for
a city of not more than one hundred thousand inhab-
itants, should the rainfall be scant over a series of
years, there would be a shortage which might retard
the growth of population and hamper the surround-
ing country in agricultural development, and therefore,
a new source of supply should be sought, even at
the expense of going far afield, because of the utili-
zation of other water sources nearer at hand. The
choice fell on the Owens river, some two hundred miles
to the north, which is fed by the melted snows of the
eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada. The estimated
cost of the necessary aqueduct was twenty-three
million dollars and though it seemed a heavy burden
for a city of one hundred and forty thousand inhabi-
tants to undertake, the vote was so largely in favor of
the project that the bonds were voted and sold and
564 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the work, under the management of Mr. William
Mulholland, the water engineer, has been completed
within the amount of the estimate, and the conduit
of some two hundred and forty miles, of which forty-
two are tunnel, is now in operation to the San Fernando
reservoir, from which the city water department is
using the water pending the completion of the last
link to connect it with the system at present in use.
Not only will the city's future needs be provided
for but there is a strong probability that territory
contiguous to the city will cast its lot with the corpora-
tion and thus participate in the benefits to accrue; for
not only will the city have water for irrigation as well
as for domestic use but the head of the aqueduct being
at an altitude of nearly four thousand feet, and the
average of the city being about five hundred, some
57,000 horse power is capable of being developed for
electrical power for the use of the city, with a trans-
mission line of less than sixty miles.
In addition to a genial climate southern California
has a most attractive industry; one that has not only
increased its material wealth, but its physical charm.
To the enchantment of a romantic history with its
nomenclature of musical Spanish place names, there
is added its delightful climate, the beauty and fasci-
nation of its orange groves, the magic of sparkling
seas reflecting an azure sky, and lofty mountains with
flowery valleys. This combination of attractions has
proved irresistible to the leisure classes of the north-
eastern and the middle western states, and they have
come by thousands, bringing with them wealth and
refinement, and in addition to this they have found
THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES
565
opportunity for the use of those abilities which brought
them success in the localities where they formerly
resided.
GEORGE DAVIDSON
AND THE
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY
GEORGE DAVIDSON
Born at Nottingham, England, May 9, 1825; died at San
Francisco, California, December 2, 191 1; came to California
in 1850, in the service of the Coast Survey.
ns2 Je faaib ;£s8l ,Q> veM t bn£l§n3 ,mfid§ni«oVI Js mofl
EimolileD oJ anuso ;iiqi ,£ ladmaDad ,£imoliIjO .ODeo/iEil
,!f \o soi-ms srfj ni ,oj8i ni
GEORGE DAVIDSON was born in Notting-
ham, England, on May 9, 1825, of Scottish
parents, and in 1832 came with them to the
United States. He graduated from the Cen-
tral High School of Philadelphia in 1845; and when his
master, Professor Alexander Dallas Bache, who had
reorganized the high school, resumed his position as
professor of natural philosophy and chemistry in the
University of Pennsylvania, Davidson for nine months
worked from five to six hours a day after school in
Bache's library. While pursuing these studies he was
chosen a magnetic observer at Girard college, and
continued these observations until he graduated in
1845, when he was appointed to the Coast Survey, of
which his friend and master, Bache, had been made
superintendent in 1843. After one year's service as
computer to Superintendent Bache he chose field duty
as his future labor, and thus began his life work.
In 1848 the march of improvement having gained the
shores of Oregon, application was made to the treasury
department for the extension of the operations of the
coast survey organization, which had for several years
been at work on the Atlantic coast, to include the
coast of the Pacific. By virtue of an act of congress,
passed March 3, 1847, the secretary of the navy had
advertised for bids to carry the United States mails
from New York to Chagres by one line of steamers
and from Panama to Astoria by another, and to avail
themselves of this engagement, Gardiner Howland,
Henry Chauncy, and William H. Aspinwall formed
the Pacific Mail Company and built three steamers to
carry the mails from Panama to Astoria. The treasury
570 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
department issued directions to the superintendent of
trie coast survey to begin the field and hydrographic
work in Oregon, and in accordance with this order the
superintendent sent a surveying party under Assistant
James S. Wilson for the field work, and for the hydrogra-
phy, Lieutenant Com'g William P. McArthur, U. S. N.
For the general use of the party the top-sail schooner
Ezving, one hundred and ninety-two tons, carrying four
or six guns, was dispatched from New York on the
ioth of January, 1849, under command of Lieutenant
Washington A. Bartlett, who had seen service in
California as first alcalde of San Francisco, and the
field party followed on the 1st of February in the
steamer Falcon by way of the Isthmus of Panama.
The surveying party reached San Francisco in April,
and while awaiting the arrival of the Ezving employed
their time in a general reconnaissance of the north
shores of the bay of San Francisco. After a long and
dangerous voyage the Ezving reached San Francisco
on the first of August only to lose the greater part of
her crew by desertion to the gold fields, leaving Mr.
Williams and his party unable to reach the mouth of
the Columbia. Lieutenant Com'g McArthur arrived
at the end of August and it was determined to defer
special operations until the next year, while the field
party employed their time in a general reconnaissance
of the coast from Monterey northward.
In May, 1850, the superintendent sent out a party
of four of the younger officers of his staff for field duty
in California under the leadership of George Davidson.
These young men volunteered their services for duty on
the Pacific coast and pledged themselves to perform for
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 571
one year any duty however hard or manual. This pledge
was kept, not for one year only, but all through the
subsequent years of the gold excitement. Unaffected
by the great disparity between their stipend and the
pay of day laborers about them, unswayed by oppor-
tunities for fortune that offered on all sides during the
most brilliant period of California's development,
Professor Davidson and his associates steadily advanced
the work of the survey, striking instances of those who
place duty above all thought of material advantage.
There were many opportunities for amassing wealth
and achieving independence, but through it all they
remained steadfast and faithful.
Before the conquest of California by the Americans,
and the discovery and development of its mineral
wealth, comparatively little was known of the hydrog-
raphy and geography of its coast, except by the few
traders who frequented its shores and the daring otter
hunters who were familiar with every cove, rock, and
headland. We cannot withhold our admiration for
the courage of the early Spanish navigators who in
small, ill-conditioned ships, with crews wasted with
scurvy, and with wretched and untrustworthy instru-
ments explored these coasts as far north as Alaska.
In speaking of them George Davidson says in his
"Coast Pilot": "There were giants in the earth in
those days."
After the discovery of gold in California the hitherto
lonely seas of the Pacific fairly teemed with life. In
every quarter of the globe individuals and companies
were fitting out for the voyage to California. Every
maritime town hummed with the noise of preparation
572 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
and everything in the nature of a ship was overhauled
and made ready for sea. Old condemned hulks were
withdrawn from retirement, fitted with berths, and
provisioned for the voyage. That greater disasters did
not overtake these Argonauts seems marvellous.
During the year 1849 over seven hundred vessels
entered the port of San Francisco; there was not a
light on the coast of California; the geographical posi-
tions of the principal capes, headlands, etc., were
unknown, and when stated on the few charts that could
be had, were generally wrong. George Davidson says
that he heard of more than one vessel reaching
California with only a school atlas for a chart. This
then was the field for the work undertaken by George
Davidson, and never was work more needed or more
skillfully and faithfully performed. From the southern
boundary of the United States in 30 30' to the north-
ern boundary in 49 , there was an ocean shore line of
over 3,120 miles, including the islands of the Santa
Barbara channel, the strait of San Juan de Fuca,
Admiralty inlet, Puget sound, the archipelago De Haro,
etc., all of which he surveyed.
Davidson's first work in California was in determining
the geographical position of Point Conception, a most
important service at that time, for he found that
prominent and tempestuous headland over six miles
distant from the latest determination in good nautical
authority. Having completed the latitude and longi-
tude of Point Conception and selected a site for a light
house, Davidson proceeded to establish an observatory
near Monterey, in connection with a survey for a light
house; thence to San Diego, and finally to Cape
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 573
Disappointment, whence he proposed to pass succes-
sively to the determination of Capes Orford and
Mendocino. As the advance of winter rendered it
necessary to leave the northern field he established
stations along the coast of California and determined
the longitudes of the principal stations by moon
culminations and of the minor stations by means of
transported chronometers. He also conducted trian-
gulation operations to connect the Santa Barbara
Channel islands with the mainland. In the summer of
1852 he turned over this work to Captain E. O. C. Ord,
U. S. A., and proceeded with the hydrographic party
of Lieutenant Com'g Alden to the Oregon and
Washington coasts. For the next five years his time
was occupied with the survey of the coasts of Oregon,
Washington, the Columbia river, straits of San Juan
de Fuca, Canal de Haro, Rosario straits, Puget sound,
Admiralty inlet, etc., determining geographical posi-
tions, conducting triangulation operations, measure-
ments, observation of tides, and all his various geodetic
and astronomical duties. On the approach of winter
he generally transferred his field of operations to
California, occupying his time on his charts, reports,
etc., determining longitudes by means of moon culmi-
nations, occultations, and solar eclipses, with latitudes
determined according to the most approved methods
and with the most delicate instruments. The obser-
vations of moon culminations generally extended
through three lunations. So great was the care exer-
cised by Professor Davidson and so exact his work
that the superintendent of the survey characterized
it as unique in the history of geodesy. Working as he
574 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
did in comparatively unknown waters he had constant
occasion to use the lead, and when seeking for an
anchorage, drifting with the currents, or on boat duty,
he almost invariably kept it going from his own hand.
The exposure to which he was subjected, the landing
through the surf of icy seas, and the inclemency of the
weather, brought on chronic rheumatism, but while
his personal energy kept him in the field for a time, in
August, 1857, he was obliged to leave his work, seek
medical treatment, and he found it advisable to return
to the Atlantic coast, which he did in November, and
reported to Washington at the end of that month.
In November, 1859, Davidson was back on the
Pacific coast in full charge of all primary and secondary
triangular work and in October 5, i860, received orders
to report at Washington. He left California November
5th of that year and was assigned to hydrographic
service in certain portions of the Delaware river. In
April, 1862, Davidson, in the surveying schooner,
Vixen, carrying two Parrot guns and other means of
making and resisting attack, proceeded to the Florida
reefs where he was engaged in making soundings. In
January and February, 1863, he made some surveys
for the navy department at League island, Delaware
river, and in June, July, and August, constructed, at
the request of the military authorities, elaborate
defensive works around Philadelphia, which had been
threatened by an incursion of Confederates under
General Lee. His employment on the Atlantic coast
continued until 1867 and included a survey of the
Isthmus of Panama for a ship canal to connect the
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 575
waters of the Gulf of Darien with those of the Gulf of
San Miguel. In June, 1867, he was ordered to make a
general reconnaissance of the coasts of Alaska, just
transferred to the United States. The United States
revenue cutter Lincoln was placed at the service of the
Davidson party and he arrived at Fort Simpson, a
Hudson's Bay Company's post on Chatham Sound,
August 3d, and at Sitka August 12th. The survey was
necessarily a brief one. He went to the headwaters
of the Lynn Canal, to the Kadiak group, and to
Unalaska; thence back to Sitka and through the archi-
pelago Alexander. On November 4th he was at Fort
Simpson and on the 14th arrived at San Francisco.
His report of November 30, 1867, is most interesting
and with that of a subsequent trip in 1869 contains
about all that was known of that distant land for many
years. In this report Professor Davidson gives a full
and particular report of the Kuroshiwo, the Black
Current of Japan, that exerts such a great influence on
the climate of the coast of North America above 3 2° 30'.
On his return to Washington in 1868, Davidson was
called into conference with Secretary of State Seward
and Secretary of the Treasury McCullough ; appeared be-
fore the foreign relations committee of the senate; the
ways and means committee of the house of representa-
tives; conferred with Senator Sumner and others, and
appeared before the National Academy of Sciences, by
invitation, to relate the chief points of scientific interest
gathered in his Alaska reconnaissance.
In November, 1868, Davidson returned to California
and in August following went to Alaska to observe the
solar eclipse of August 7th. He left Sitka in an open
576 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
boat and a war canoe loaded with provisions, declining
a military escort and relying upon his knowledge of the
Chilkahts. They were eleven days in reaching the vil-
lage of Klu-wan, on the Chilkaht river, and were fired
upon three times in going up the river, but, although
well armed they showed no resistance. Two days
before the eclipse, William H. Seward, ex-secretary of
state, arrived at the mouth of the Chilkaht on the
steamer Active and Davidson sent a swift canoe down
to bring him up. He was received with great gravity
and ceremony by Koh-klux, the great Chilkaht chief,
and about four hundred of his people. This Indian
chief, in August, 1852, went down the Lewis river to
the Yukon and destroyed the Hudson's Bay Company's
post, Fort Selkirk. He had also gone down the All-segh
river to the Pacific. In 1869 he made for George
Davidson a map of the rivers, lakes, trails, and
mountains, from the Chilkaht to the Yukon.
Returning from Alaska Davidson made a number of
observations at points on the Oregon, Washington,
and California coasts. He also set up a temporary
observatory in Washington square, San Francisco, to
determine the difference of longitude between San
Francisco and Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was
now required, in addition to his own work to lay out
the work for all land parties on the Pacific coast and
advise with them and inspect all the fields of work.
In 1870 he conducted triangulations at Magdalena bay,
made general reconnaissance between San Diego and
Panama, and from Magdalena bay to Alaska. The
year 1871 was passed partly on the Atlantic coast.
In 1873 he was sent to San Jose del Cabo to identify
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 577
the transit of Venus station occupied by the French
astronomer in 1769. In this he was successful after
overcoming great difficulties. He was also appointed
by the president one of three commissioners to investi-
gate and report plans for the irrigation of the lands of
the Sacramento, San Joaquin, and Tulare valleys, and
in the latter part of 1863 entered into this work with
his usual vigor.
In 1874 he was appointed chief astronomer of a party
organized to observe the transit of Venus in Japan.
He sailed from San Francisco August 29th and estab-
lished his observatory in Nagasaki. He was also able
to render friendly service to Japan in assisting the
officials of that government in establishing their first
observatory, selecting and trying their instruments and
instructing the men in their use. Professor Davidson
was also instructed by his chief to make a special
examination of the harbors of Japan, China, India,
Egypt, and Europe, particularly in regard to break-
waters, in view of the scarcity of protected harbors on
the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. He
was likewise instructed to make careful study of the
irrigation system of India and to note methods of field
work for the geodesy of India and elsewhere, and to
compare appliances with our own resources for trian-
gulation. This was all accomplished and at the end
of February, 1876, he presented an elaborate report on
the result of his observations. During the next few
years he was engaged in his regular work and in 1878
was sent to Paris to examine and report upon the
instruments of precision applicable to astronomy and
geodesy deposited for exhibition in the International
578 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Exposition of 1878. Here he was appointed on a jury
of twenty-two members on machines and was unani-
mously elected president of the jury. For this service
he received the large medal of the French government.
His report states that while the inspection revealed
much of deep interest there was nothing to discourage
observers and mechanicians in the United States from
claiming equality of rank with any in skill and precision.
After his duties at the exposition were ended he visited
the most noted workshops of Paris and the principal
manufactories of Geneva, Neuchatel, Munich, Vienna,
Dresden, Berlin, Hamburg, Cassel, London, and
York; and early in December, 1878, was again in San
Francisco and busy as usual with his regular work.
It is not necessary to give further details of Professor
Davidson's regular work. A sub-office of the Coast
and Geodetic Survey was created in San Francisco in
1876 with Professor Davidson in charge, and thereafter
all reports were forwarded through him. He erected
an observatory in Lafayette Park about 1884 and
maintained it for several years at his own expense.
Very early in his work on the Pacific coast of the
United States Professor Davidson became deeply
interested in the early Spanish navigators who had
followed the coast from Cape San Lucas to Alaska.
He studied their narratives and endeavored, with
considerable degree of success, to reconcile their dis-
crepancies. The same course was taken with the
English, American, and French navigators who followed.
Much difficulty was experienced in ascertaining the
proper names of localities and their orthography.
With a changing population names are readily lost,
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 579
changed, or corrupted. Land parties consult residents
of places on shore, and hydrographic parties, the pilots,
fishermen and sea-faring men. Two sets of names are
frequently presented, neither of which may be correct.
Different names were sometimes given by successive
discoverers or explorers to the same points, indentations,
bays, and sounds. These often replaced aboriginal
names, or names given by land expeditions, or by
missionaries, which had been retained in their pure,
uncorrupted form. Mistakes and the various titles
and orthographies were exceedingly perplexing, and in
some instances names were altered more than once,
modes of spelling were changed and restored, and the
whole subject seemed one of great uncertainty. It
was then of the first importance to trace the history
of discovery on the coast; to ascertain the original
names and the successive ones; to restore those which
were corrupted, and to fix those uncorrupted beyond
the power of change; to go back to the earlier names
when the later had not become so permanently
attached to the localities as to make it too difficult;
and in short to make the coast survey maps and charts
the standard for names and their spelling, as well as
for the geography of the country.
Notwithstanding the exacting conditions and the
exhaustive character of his work, Professor Davidson
found time to write a Directory for the Pacific coast.
In his letter of transmittal to the superintendent of
the survey, dated August 29, 1858, he states that in
moving continually along the seaboard in performance
of his work he early felt the want of reliable informa-
580 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
tion, in tangible form, instead of trusting to memory,
and he determined to embody for publication the
information required, but for several years failing
health prevented the execution of more than the regu-
lar duties. Now, as his health had forced him for a
time to leave the Pacific coast, he felt he must arrange
the matter while yet freshly photographed upon the
mind. A small portion had been published in San
Francisco (in 1855) and, although abounding in typo-
graphical errors, the avidity with which it was sought
was a strong incentive to complete his self-imposed
task. "The result," he says, "is now placed at your
disposal, and having examined all the courses, distances,
and positions, I trust that no essential errors have been
overlooked, but whatever have, fall upon my own
shoulders."
This Directory was gladly received by the superin-
tendent and published in full in his report of 1858.
In 1862, Davidson wrote a second edition embodying
all the information collected since 1849, and "this was
published in the superintendent's report of 1862. A
third edition of this work was published as the " Coast
Pilot for California, Oregon, and Washington," in 1868,
and in 1887 he transmitted to the office the manuscript
for the fourth edition of this invaluable work. He also
published in 1868, the Directory of the Coast of Alaska
("Coast Pilot of Alaska," Part I). The amount of
literary work accomplished by him was wonderful and
two hundred and sixty-one books and papers on scien-
tific and historical subjects attest the great industry of
a busy man.
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 581
In 1908 the American Geographical Society conferred
upon him the Charles P. Daly medal for " Fifty years
of distinguished work in Geodesy."
He was a member of the
National Academy of Sciences of the United States,
Correspondent of the Bureau of Longitudes of France,
Correspondent of the Academy of Sciences of the
French Institute,
Correspondent of the Swedish Anthropological and
Geographical Society,
Honorary Corresponding Member of the Royal
Geographical Society,
Honorary Member of the Geographical Association
of Berlin,
Honorary Professor of Geodesy and Astronomy and
Professor of Geography in the University of
California,
Knight Companion of the Royal Order of Saint Olaf
in Norway.
He was for sixteen years president of the California
Academy of Sciences, for thirty years president of the
Geographical Society of the Pacific and was a member
of other learned societies.
The degree of A.M. was conferred on him by the
High School in Philadelphia in 1850.
Ph.D. by Santa Clara College in 1876.
Sc.D. by University of Pensylvania in 1889.
LL.D. by University of California in 19 10.
582 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Professor Davidson's work in the coast and geodetic
survey, his study of the narratives, diaries, correspond-
ence, and other original documents of the early explorers
both by sea and on land, together with his knowledge
of the aborigines, made him the best authority on
matters of early history of the Pacific coast, and his
papers and publications on historical subjects are most
interesting and valuable. His testimony as an expert
was frequently required in the great land cases, and
it was his rule to refuse employment from either party
to a suit, requiring a subpoena of the court, and then
his testimony was given. In the Limantour case — a
claim involving most of the property of the city of San
Francisco — his testimony ended the case. Limantour
was arrested, deposited thirty thousand dollars bail,
fled the country, and never returned. Davidson's work
on the Alaska boundary, the boundary between the
United States and British Columbia, and that between
California and Nevada is of special value.
In his article on "Francis Drake on the Northwest
Coast of America," the author speaks of himself as one
who in a somewhat long life of activity on' this coast
had enjoyed opportunities that would not again fall to
the lot of one man. It was a just claim. He was the
pioneer and he saw his work practically completed.
I have given enough of the detail of Professor
Davidson's life to show the character of his work. As
a man he was kindly in disposition and was very genial
with friends. He ever held his vast fund of information
for the benefit of all and few men were so appealed to
for advice, while his powers as a conversationalist and
raconteur ever made him a most delightful companion.
COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 583
His long and useful life came to an end December 2,
191 1. His memory needs no monument of stone or
bronze. It is written in the hearts of those who go
down to the sea in ships.
otffyltituty
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CALIFORNIA
CALIFORNIA is unique not so much in posses-
sions which may not be approximated elsewhere
in the world — for perhaps of all her wonders
only the redwoods are confined to her boun-
daries — as in the remarkable combinations of conditions
and products which exist elsewhere only in widely
separated localities.
To Cabrillo who came with his Portuguese sailors
into San Diego bay, undoubtedly the new country
seemed one of sunshine, balmy breezes, and semi-arid
conditions. To Drake who spent a full month on the
bay that bears his name, it was a country of fresh west
winds blowing the sea fog across green hills and through
redwood canons. The fog shrouded the Golden Gate
so that he sailed past the greatest harbor on the Pacific
coast line without discovering it. To the Russian
traders who came down from the north on hunting
expeditions for furs, California meant a rugged country
covered with noble forests where wild animals hid from
their hunters. To the Donner party, belated in the
high sierra on their transcontinental journey, California
was a land of alpine heights, buried in heavy snows,
and bound by bitter cold. To others of the transcon-
tinental travelers, coming in answer to the call of
California gold, the reality of the new country proved
to be a burning desert and the name of Death valley
records the tragic fate they met. The Mission fathers
by perseverance and relentless braving of a new country
learned to know California more truly than those who
went before them and many who came after them.
Starting at San Diego and pushing northward until
they had established twenty-one missions all the way
588 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
from that town to Sonoma, forty-five miles north of
San Francisco bay, they learned that California was a
country of diverse conditions. Mountain and desert,
heat and cold, with the delightful mediums of altitude,
temperature, and moisture, which rested their souls in
those days of stress and have called to all the world
in later days — all these they found. Yet by carefully
selecting their mission sites, they were able in every in-
stance to grow fruits about their buildings, though the
most southerly and northerly of these were separated
by seven hundred miles.
The rapidity of modern transportation today saves
the traveler entering California for the first time, from
a one-sided conception of the state such as earlier
visitors quite naturally had. A few hours of travel bring
him from the wintry summits of the Sierra Nevada,
down through the forest-clad slopes, to the fertile level
of the great valley where crops grow the year round, or
into the land of citrus fruits where the golden and green
orchards stand against a background of snowy moun-
tains. If he comes in the summer time, he crosses the
warm interior of the state, and almost before he has
forgotten to drop the fan from his hand, feels the need
of his overcoat against the moist coolness of the coast.
Mountain to valley, desert to seashore, cold to warm †”
in the unusual combinations of these and the conditions
they produce is the real uniqueness of California.
Because of the diversity of the state's production,
the popular ideas regarding the foundations of her
wonderful wealth are as many and as varying as the
earlier conceptions of her topography and climate. The
remarkable record for gold production has given her
DEVELOPMENT OF CALIFORNIA 589
the reputation of being a huge mining camp, than which
nothing could be farther than the truth. The fame of
her magnificent scenery has created the impression
that the state is unbrokenly mountainous, whereas in
fact, there are great level valleys. The fame of her
fruits and flowers has made for the entire state a repu-
tation of fertile acres and abundant harvests, when, if
the truth were known, only one-fifth of California is
estimated to be arable land suited to agricultural uses.
Much exploitation of California climate and the fact
that the state is both a winter and a summer resort,
has given credibility to the report that here one may
find continual summer, whereas, with the exception of
certain places directly along the coast, there are decided
changes of temperature, though not so extreme as in
most parts of the United States.
There are cities and centers of civilization which are
not easily explained in the light of physical setting, and
seem to be more the result of man's reckoning and clev-
erness than of nature's intent. This is not the case
with the development that has taken place in California.
A master mind, given the foresight to see the changes
that science and invention have wrought in methods
of travel, manufacture, agriculture, and physical activ-
ities generally, and allowed the privilege of flying from
end to end of California in the bird's-eye seat of an
aeroplane, could have predicted on the day Cabrillo
set the first white foot upon her soil, the setting of cities,
the lines of travel, and the development of industries
and commerce, for the prophesies are written in the
world setting, the contours, and the substance of her
soil and subsoils.
590 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Such a survey would have revealed then as today a
territory lying along the shore of the Pacific ocean for
a distance of eight hundred and fifty miles, between
parallels 32^° and 42 north latitude, and extending
back from the coast to an average distance of two hun-
dred miles. Along the east side rise the Sierra Nevada
to heights varying from 8,500 to 14,000 feet above the
level of the sea. On their crests the snows are white
the year round. On the other side, following the line
of the ocean is the Coast range, a broad belt of broken
ranges from 3,000 to 6,000 feet high, and interspersed
with many pleasant valleys. At a point two-thirds of
the way to the southern boundary of the state the
Coast range and the Sierra Nevada are joined in the
Tehachapi range which cuts across the state. The
mountains continue south from there in the Sierra
Madre range. All the country east of the Sierra
Nevada and the Sierra Madre is semi-arid. North of
the Tehachapi range, lying between the Sierra Nevada
and Coast range is the great valley of the state. Two
rivers, the Sacramento from the north and the San
Joaquin from the south, flow towards each other down
the center of the great valley, which is usually spoken
of as the Sacramento valley and the San Joaquin valley,
to the north and south respectively, from the rivers
which drain it, although in fact, it is one continuous
depression down the center of the state. The two rivers
empty their waters into the Bay of San Francisco.
The great valley receives rain in varying quantities —
the upper end of the San Joaquin receiving the least.
The Coast range country receives an ample supply of
moisture from the ocean, but its rainfall tends to become
DEVELOPMENT OF CALIFORNIA 591
less toward the south. The year-long snows in the
Sierra Nevada insure a continued flow to the rivers
in the northern part of the state.
Three land-locked bays indent the coast of California.
The Bay of San Francisco, near the center of the coast
line, is one of the finest and largest deep-water harbors
in the world. It is entered through a narrow opening
less than a mile across and covers an area of four
hundred and fifty square miles. Into it flow the navi-
gable Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. Well to
the north is Humboldt bay with an area of twenty-
eight square miles, also deep water, but hampered by
a bar at its entrance which delays shipping in heavy
weather. At the extreme south is San Diego bay — -
twenty-two square miles of water shut away from the
ocean by the long peninsula, but with an open channel
at all times. Los Angeles has a harbor in San Pedro
bay, where the widened mouth of a river and the curve
of the sand bar give protection for landing. Besides
these there are ports along the coast in use at the pres-
ent time, and still others which appear capable of use,
at least by the secondary ocean-going vessels.
In general, the wooded areas follow the highlands.
Although California redwood may now be seen in
almost every country under the sun — for its unusual
beauty has been appreciated by all the world — its
natural habitat is California. Practically the world's
whole supply of redwood timber is found in a tract in
the Coast range extending from the northern line of the
state for a distance of two hundred and forty miles
with a width of ten to twenty miles. In addition to
this tract, some particularly fine groves are found to
592 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
the south in the Santa Cruz mountains (a part of the
Coast range), where the state of California has created
a reserve in Redwood Park. The monarchs of all the
timber kind — the famous great trees, are on the western
slope of the Sierra Nevada near the center north and
south of the state. The western slope of these moun-
tains — a territory four hundred miles long with an
average width of twenty miles — is covered elsewhere
with a mighty forest of white pine, sugar pine, "Bull"
pine, and cedar. The best timber is found at elevations
between 3,000 and 7,000 feet above sea level.
In the earth of California was stored rich mineral
wealth. Of the fifty-eight counties, not one is without
commercial quantities of some mineral, and nearly
every one has several of the two score minerals found
somewhere within the bosom of the state. From the
precious gems of San Diego, through the oil district of
southern and central California, and the borax mines
of the desert, past the salt works of San Francisco bay
and the quicksilver of the Coast range, and on into the
gold-bearing country to the north and west, a trip
throughout California on mineral inspection reveals a
continuous series of precious and non-precious treasure
troves. The floor of California was "rich inlaid" with
mineral wealth. Hidden deeply in places, often remote
on the well-nigh inaccessible fastnesses of the rugged
mountains, concealed in physical and chemical combina-
tions with disguising elements, the riches were imbedded
waiting to reward the human skill and knowledge that
searched for them with sufficient perseverance.
The soil of California is not homogeneous in character.
The surface of the state is a patchwork of many types,
DEVELOPMENT OF CALIFORNIA 593
irregularly intermingled. High in the mountains sur-
rounded by barren rocky hillsides are found fertile
valleys. Between the rich valley lands and the moun-
tains without vegetation, intervenes the hill country
with its shrub and thin soils suited only to grazing
purposes. Along the rivers the almost bottomless soils
invite deep cultivation and promise royal returns in
the harvest.
The climate of California consists of a wet and dry
season. The wet season corresponds to winter time
in the rest of the United States, and the dry season to
the summer. The heaviest annual rainfall is in the
northern part of the state, and the rivers that rise
there and draw upon the melting mountain snows for
their supply of water have naturally the greatest and
most evenly continued flow. Yet, aside from the
northern coast country which feels the effects of the
ocean fogs, the whole surface of California unless arti-
ficially supplied with water, becomes parched during
the summer time. Even the country lying within a
short distance of the great rivers which never cease
their flow during the year, becomes dry and brown
during the rainless period. Less fortunate areas, such
as the upper end of the San Joaquin and the country
east of the mountains, receive very slight allowance of
moisture at any time of the year.
Among the plant life of California is found some
variety of practically every product of the temperate
zone, and species allied to semi-tropical plant life as
well. In the waters of the rivers and along the coast
live one hundred and thirty-three varieties of food fish.
Such was, and is, the physique of California.
594 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
The few native inhabitants were Indian tribes of a
low type of physical development and civilization, who
despite the natural advantages of their situation and
the abundance of natural wealth at hand, had never
progressed beyond the most primitive of customs and
means of livelihood.
This great, diverse, rich, uninhabited country, on
the last shore of civilization's westward march, visited
by white adventurers some fifty years after the dis-
covery of America, first felt the compulsion of white
hands in 1769 when the padres established the mission
at San Diego. Theirs was the first step in the devel-
opment of this remarkable country. The cultivation
of fruits, which has held its own in the state's produc-
tion with increasing importance ever since, was begun
by them. Although incidental to their larger work of
Christianizing the natives, they performed a valuable
service in the planting of their gardens by which they
demonstrated the ability of California climate to grow
semi-tropical fruits over a wide latitude. Nor is their
agricultural contribution unappreciated today, for the
aged trees and vines, survivors of the brown-clad
fathers, tell a story of age limit and climatic effect
which would, but for their thrift, still require years of
of demonstration work upon the part of the orchardists.
By the year 1834 the production of the missions alone
included grain, beans, wine, brandy, olive oil, cotton,
hemp, tobacco, oranges, figs, and other fruits. The
annual output of wheat, maize, and beans was one
hundred and twenty thousand bushels. It is estimated
that the annual total production of grain, fruit, and
DEVELOPMENT OF CALIFORNIA 595
garden from the missions and rancheros was nearly two
million dollars.
However, the raising of live stock was the most
extensive and richest of the industries of California for
many years. The Spanish people were established
upon great grants where they ran their herds, culti-
vating relatively small areas. The exports from
California in the year 1846 were 80,000 hides, 1,500,000
pounds of tallow, #10,000 worth of soap, #20,000 worth
of furs, 1,000 pounds of brandy and wine, and 1,000,000
feet of lumber.
Following the American occupation agriculture was
more generally pursued than before, but the land
was held in large tracts. Vast grain farms became the
rule, and the state's production of wheat rose to near
60,000,000 bushels per year.
The development of California took an abrupt and
new turn on the day when gold was discovered on the
now famous millrace. No longer Spanish, Russian,
and American only, but every nation under the sun
found a landing place in California. Corners of the
back country which had never known other than Indian
feet before, were trod by the eager seekers after gold.
No mountain was too steep, no pass too difficult for
those who sought the hidden wealth. Men came with
ox-team, on foot, by boat — around the "Horn," and
across the isthmus. The boats that brought them were
discarded by captain and crew as all made a mad dash
for the gold fields. It is not strange that the less ven-
turesome occupation of farming, and the tempting
acres of California, were passed unnoted by these eager
men. Later some of them returned from the gold fields
596 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
to the surer, if slower, wealth of the soil, and others
who returned rich planted their gold in the soil of Cali-
fornia where it has multiplied many times for them and
their descendants.
The finding of gold caused new towns to spring up,
and old settlements to experience a sudden new growth
and energy. Indirectly it hastened the agricultural
development of the state for it brought many people to
the coast, and the hitherto little known country became
a household word throughout the world. In 1868 the
first railroad pushed over the tremendous heights that
separate California from the rest of the United States,
and opened up a new route for the trade of the coast
which had hitherto been entirely dependent upon ocean
transportation.
Not until the latter part of the Nineteenth century
did the farmers of California begin to realize that they
were (like farmers throughout our broad land), ill-
treating their grain fields by slack, one-crop cultivation,
and that their returns per acre were annually becoming
less. The result has been the breaking up of many of
the great holdings into farms of a size that one man can
properly handle, and the introduction of other crops
than grain. Today there are still many large holdings
in the state lying uncultivated or returning small crops
of long-suffering wheat, but the movement toward the
smaller farms gains headway yearly, and in most of
the valleys of the state the price of land has risen to
such an extent that large, idle farms are becoming an
extravagance few can afford. In the year 1850 the
average size of a California farm was 4,465 acres; in
i860, it was 466 acres and the number of farms had
DEVELOPMENT OF CALIFORNIA 597
increased twenty-three-fold (to 18,700). In 19 10 the
average farm acreage had decreased to 316, and
the number of farms increased to 88,000. Over sixty
per cent of the farms were in 19 10 less than a hundred
acres in size.
The small farm (40 acres or under) is very much in
evidence in the fruit and vegetable growing districts,
and in some dairying sections. Attempts have been
made to prove that a man can support himself on one
acre of ground, or that families can live with ease on
five to ten acres, but while in a few isolated cases —
generally in some unusual and highly specialized
industry— it has been proven possible, as a rule disap-
pointment and failure have followed such attempts.
But the ten-acre farm has proven an economic possi-
bility and success, and in many parts of California,
and with a variety of crops, small families can live in
modest comfort on this acreage, if properly cultivated.
It would be overlooking the most important factor
in the development of the small farm, and the increased
total area under cultivation in the state, if one failed
to take account of the part irrigation has played.
Men awoke to the potential worth of the water that
was running unused to the ocean, past stretches of
thirsty land, and turned it onto their fields with the
result that crops were doubled, the chance of crop
failure greatly reduced, and vast areas hitherto incap-
able of cultivation because of their arid nature were
placed under the plow. The snows of the mountains
tend to even the flows of the rivers that have their
sources there, and the rough country, with its rapid
falls and narrow passes lays the rivers liable to maneu-
598 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
vering by human hands for the still further conserva-
tion of their flow by storage and the utilization of their
energy by power plants. The census of 1910 states
that one-fifth of all the irrigated land in the United
States is in California. Over three million acres are
now irrigated, and the results of the recent official
irrigation investigations indicate that fully three times
that amount may ultimately be put under water. The
flow of the rivers is sufficient to water the whole twenty-
two million acres of agricultural land in the state, were
it possible to control and distribute it over wide
territories. At the present time, the possibility of the
water actually reaching all this land, much of which
appears wholly inaccessible to the rivers, seems slight.
The crops of the state include every product of the
temperate zone as well as many of the semi-tropic.
Each year sees new experiments — and usually success-
ful ones — in the introduction of new crops. Among
the most recent to prove their adaptability and value
to the state are rice and cotton. The former is being
grown on the rich, level Sacramento valley with its
superabundant water supply. Although cotton was
among the crops of the missions in 1834, ft was not
until recently that it became a commercial product of
California. In the Imperial valley where the waters
of the Colorado have turned the desert into productive
farms, a very fine grade of cotton is being raised.
Besides the plants brought from other countries, Cali-
fornia has increased her list of products through the
creation of new varieties by experimentation. Luther
Burbank, the wizard of plant creation, has his experi-
mental gardens in a valley of the Coast range, fifty
DEVELOPMENT OF CALIFORNIA 599
miles north of San Francisco bay. He has added many
new types to the horticulture of the state.
In the grand total of California's production for
the year 191 2 (#1,097,000,000), over one-third, or
#344,445,000 was contributed by agriculture. An
enumeration of the crops which helped to make this
large total for agriculture would be too long to give
here, but some suggestion of their diversity is indicated
by the classifications into which they fall — Orchard
products, including fresh and dried fruits, nuts and oil;
vineyard products, including grapes, raisins and wines;
dairy and poultry products; grain and hay; and other
field crops such as hops, broom corn, cotton, tobacco,
and sugar beets. Another classification which adds
value to the amount of #69,000,000 to the state's output
and which is indirectly a product of the soil, is farm
animals and products. Nursery and florist products
also add over #4,000,000.
With the exception of manufacturing, no other source
of the state's production can compare with agriculture
in importance. Fisheries yield #10,600,000; forest
products, #23,305,000; mineral products, #87,425,000
(of which petroleum contributes #41,000,000).
The manufactures of the state were valued at
#556,249,000 in 191 2. California ranks eleventh in the
list of states according to value of manufactured
products. During the decade recorded by the 1910
census, however, the value of manufactured products
increased by seventy-four per cent. The abundance
of fuel oil, and hydro-generated electricity, favor the
growth of manufacturing, while the geographic posi-
tion with reference to world trade offers opportunities
600 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
for almost unlimited market expansion. Among the
cities of the United States San Francisco ranks sixteenth,
and Los Angeles thirty-second, in value of manufac-
tured products.
The development of California may not intelligently
be interpreted in the light of any one of her many
natural features or types of enterprise, without a
consideration of the others. Her scenery becomes
significant to the world in general only because it is
accessible through the extension of transportation
facilities; her climate, in combination with good soils
and water supply, make possible the marvellously
diverse crop production; her mountain streams furnish
light and power for the growth of cities and the multi-
plying of transportation lines; her mines, forests,
fisheries, and fields combine to supply the raw materials
out of which are built manufacturing industries and
trade; the deep-water harbors on the Pacific invite the
ships of the world to enter into commerce with her.
Her development is many-sided and inter-dependent,
and in that lies a great promise for future strength and
growth. The remarkable size and diversity of Califor-
nia is best appreciated, when, after summing up her
present wealth and vast accomplishment, one turns
again to the physique with which nature equipped her,
and beholds that only a small part of her potential
energy has yet been called into action.
fljUu^T^c^^
VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA
CALIFORNIA, the home of sunshine, fruit
and flowers, was certainly blessed by the
Maker of this great universe. No state in
the union is better adapted for viticulture
than California. In its vast expanse of about seven
hundred and fifty miles along the Pacific ocean, with
an average width of two hundred miles, with its irregu-
lar divisions and innumerable valleys, the geographical
and topographical position of California embraces such
a diversity of climatic conditions that grape culture
may be successfully carried on over a vast area.
Nature provides the foundation for magnificent results.
Assisted by irrigation in the overheated valley districts
and supplemented by judicious fertilizing where the
soil has been overtaxed and exhausted, she readily
yields to laudable efforts to produce "wine that maketh
glad the heart of man," wine that promotes and devel-
ops the instinct of true temperance, because wine cul-
ture, refinement, sobriety, and good cheer always stand
together and are affiliated against alcoholism. Although
the industry is young, we have accomplished much and
our wines are superior to a great many of the foreign
wines which are sold on the open market.
The state is practically divided into two districts.
The long stretch of coast counties, including Sonoma,
Napa, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara,
San Mateo, and Santa Cruz, have shown their special
fitness for the production of dry table wines of the most
delicious and exquisite types. In these counties, the
climatic conditions and soil compare favorably with
some of the most renowned vineyard sections of Europe,
604 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
such as Germany, France, and Italy. In fact, some of
the red wines grown in these sections today are superior
to many wines made in Europe.
The other district comprises the vast and fertile
tracts in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys,
and south of the Tehachapi. Here is the center of the
great sweet wine and brandy industry. The soil in
most sections is very fertile. The cost of cultivation
is less expensive than the northern part of the state,
where the dry wines are made.
As to the early history of viticulture in California,
records show that the Franciscan fathers, who settled
in the southern part of the state near San Diego, first
introduced wine making in this state. The variety of
grapes grown by them became known as the mission
grape. Whether the Franciscan fathers brought cut-
tings with them from Spain or whether they propagated
the mission wines from seeds, is not known. The real
work of California viticulture, however, came later,
after the rush for gold — when a great many of the early
settlers, disappointed in their quest of gold, engaged
in farming and agricultural pursuits. Among those
who have helped to establish this great industry
and who will always remain a part of California's
history, are Colonel Arpad Haraszthy, Charles Kohler,
Jacob Gundlach, Charles Dresel, E. H. Sheppard,
Professor Husmann, Charles Krug, Captain Gustav
Niebaum, Jacob Grim, C. de Franc, Henry M. Neglee,
Captain Eisen, G. H. Eggers, and many others who
have spent fortunes in their vineyard estates.
The industry, however, has had many setbacks.
The most serious of these were the ravages of the
VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA 605
phylloxera, which appeared in the latter part of the
70's and early 8o's. The beautiful vineyards which
covered the hillsides in Napa, Sonoma, Alameda, and
Santa Clara valleys were attacked by phylloxera,
and totally destroyed. Science has never found any-
thing that would successfully destroy phylloxera. The
French government at one time offered a large amount
to anyone who would find a practical remedy to kill
this insect, but up to this day no one has ever claimed
the prize. It is claimed that the phylloxera is a native
of the United States and was carried into Europe
through cuttings that were shipped from the United
States. The native wild American vine is practically
resistant to the attacks of the phylloxera and most of
the vineyards today are grafted on this stock.
The leading varieties of grapes cultivated in the dry
wine districts have, as the principal foundation, the
Zinfandel, which consists of a prolific, full-bearing red
wine grape with a fully developed fruity flavor and
pronounced acidity. However, all of the progressive
vineyards are supplemented by Mataro, Grenach,
Carignan, Mondeuse, Malbec, Valdepenas, various
specialties of Burgundy and Pineau, Beclan, Cabernet,
etc. The leading white wine stock includes the Burger,
various kinds of Chasselas, Gutedel, several species
of Traminer, Semillon, Sauvignon, Folle Blanche, and
many others.
The investments in the state of California in vineyards,
cellars, plants, and cooperage today exceed £150,000,000.
While statistical reports in the dry wine districts are
606 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
rather difficult to obtain, the various vintages have
been estimated as follows — these figures include both
dry and sweet wine production:
1864 — 2,000,000 gallons; 1874 — 4,000,000 gallons;
1884 — 11,000,000 gallons; 1894 — 18,000,000 gallons;
1902 — 43,000,000 gallons; 1903 — 32,000,000 gallons;
and 1914 — 42,000,000 gallons (about 25,000,000 dry and
17,000,000 sweet wine).
The vintage of 1902 was an exceptionally large one,
as climatic conditions were most favorable, but the
quality was inferior to the year 1903, when the crop
was very much smaller.
The market for California wines extends practically
over the entire world. The biggest markets today are
in New York, New Orleans, and Honolulu. The wine
is consumed mostly by foreigners, the American is still
to be educated in the use of wine and a great deal of
good can be accomplished by intelligently bringing
before the American people the benefits derived by the
use of wholesome wines. From statistical reports, we
find that the home consumption of wine in other wine
producing countries per head and per annum is as
follows :
In France, 25 gallons, equal to about 126 bottles; in
Italy, 20^ gallons, equal to 102 bottles; while in the
United States, only 30-100 of a gallon, equal to 1^
bottles — per head per year.
San Francisco is the largest distributing point for
California wines. Most of the shipments today move
by water so as to secure a low rate of transportation
and are, therefore, shipped to San Francisco to be
reforwarded to the various parts of the world. Before
VITICULTURE IN CALIFORNIA
607
the earthquake and fire of 1906 visited San Francisco,
the large distributing plants were located here. Since
then they have been rebuilt in various sections of the
state, so that today, while the wines are not housed in
San Francisco, this city acts as a distributing point.
With the advancement that has been made in the
last ten years, the California wine industry will surely
remain one of the most important industries of the
state and California wines will be looked upon by the
connoisseur as a standard for quality and superiority.
INDEX
A BBOT, C. G., v, ass, 269.
J~\ Abrego, Jose, 11, 453; in, 282.
Acevis, Antonio, 11, 30.
Adams & Co., iv, 6, 36; v, 427, 429.
Adams, Edson, iv, 299, 300; portrait of,
facing, iv, 88.
Adams, Prof. E. D., in, 24.
Adams, Walter S., v, 265.
Agricultural Association, first, iv, 13.
Agricultural Experiments, early, iv, 10-
14.
Agronomics of California, v, 275-297.
Aguilar, Martin de, 1, 105
Aguirre, Don Juan B., 1, 348.
Aitken, R. G., v, 240, 253.
Alaman, Lucas, 11, 251.
Alameda, iv, 13, 335; v, 157.
Albrecht, Sebastian, v, 240.
Alcaldes, powers of, m, 161.
Alcatraz Island, 1, 236, 347; in, 207;
iv, 31.
Alemany, Joseph Sadoc, iv, 488.
"Alert," Clipper ship, iv, 5.
Algerine, in, 341.
Alisal Rancho, in, 12.
Allen, Daniel, v, 185.
Allen, James, v, 168.
Allen, Mrs. Robert, in, 210.
Alta California, The, in, 118, 260,
287, 408, 469; iv, 150.
Alvarado, Juan Bautista, 1, 51, 211; 11,
199, 262, 344, 373, 426, 453; in, 342;
Iv > 457; v, 417; portrait of, facing, n,
344-
Alviso, Jose Maria, in, 43.
Alviso, Nicholas, 11, 199.
Alvord, William, v, 233, 257, 444.
Amadis of Gaul, 1, 3.
Amador, in, 338.
Amador, Jose Maria, 11, 241.
Amador, Pedro, 1, 211.
American Bar, in, 328.
Amurrio, Gregorio, 1, 397.
Anaheim Union Company, v, 308.
Anderson, Joseph, in, 223.
Anderson, Robert M., in, 491.
"Andrew Jackson," Clipper ship, iv,
5, 387.
Angel Island, 1, 236, 347.
Angel's Camp, in, 339, 340.
Angell, James B., iv, 319.
Anglo and London — Paris National
Bank, v, 447.
Anglo-California Bank, v, 429, 447, 453.
Angstrom, A. K., v, 255.
Anian, Strait of, 1, 23.
Anson, Captain George, 1, 155.
Antisell, Thomas, v, 3.
Anza, Juan Bautista de, expedition of,
1, 296; character of, 1, 317; portrait
of, facing, 1, 316; hardships of his
journey, 1, 326; arrival San Gabriel
Mission, 1, 332; map of route, facing,
1, 332; object of expedition, 1, 350-
355, 357-387, 396, 398; in, 224;
iv, 416, 418, 419, 421.
Appendix, in, 505.
Applegate, Jesse, n, 461; in, 119.
Aram, Joseph, in, 119, 371.
Argenti & Co., F., v, 427.
Argiiello, Dona Concepcion, 1, 459; 11,
366, 396.
Argiiello, Jose Dario, 1, 459; n, 155; iv,
4575 v, 559.
Argiiello, Luis Antonio, 1, 459; n, 180;
iv, 457-
Argiiello, Santiago, 11, 355.
Armour, Philip D., in, 356.
Arnold, Philip, iv, 491.
Arnold, Ralph, v, 5.
Arrillaga, Jose Joaquin de, n, 14; explo-
rations by, 93; iv, 379, 457.
Arrington, N. O., iv, 81.
Arrington, William, iv, 75, 81.
Arrowhead Hot Springs, v, 190.
Art and Architecture in California, v,
461-484.
Ascension, Antonio de la, 1, 105.
612
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Ashe, Dr. Richard P., iv, 108.
Ashley, Delos R., iv, 155, 218.
Aspinwall, William H., m, 203.
Astor, John Jacob, iv, 258, 265.
Astronomy in California, v, 231-271.
Atchison, John, iv, 269.
Atherton, Gertrude, v, 499.
Atherton, F. D. in, 209.
Atkins, Arthur, v, 483.
Atkinson, A. G, v, 270.
Auburn, in, 329.
Audubon, John Woodhouse, in, 225, 227.
Austin, Alexander, in, 209.
Avila, Jose Maria, n, 213.
Ayala, Lt. Juan de, 1, 344, 348, 349.
Ayers, Capt. George Washington, n, 60;
iv, 380.
Aylette, Dr. Daniel, iv, 169.
BABCOCK, HAROLD D., v, 265.
Backus, O. J., in, 209.
Bacon, Dr. Horace, in, 209.
Bagley, John W., iv, 99.
Bailey, James, iv, 277, 278.
Baker, Edward D., hi, 216, 475; iv, 10,
67, 104, 155, 158, 172, 183, 187,
212, 213; portrait of, facing, iv, 172.
Baker, Robert S., iv, 474.
Bakersfield, iv, 405. v, 350;
Balboa, Vasco Nunez, 1, 3, 10, 16; por-
trait of, facing, 1, 16.
Baldwin, Alexander W., iv, 250.
Bancroft, Hubert Howe, 1, 92; iv, 316,
322, 328, 455; v, 500.
Bandini, Arcadia, iv, 474.
Bandini, Juan, 1, 229; n, 199, 355, 440;
portrait of, facing, n, 232.
Bank of British Columbia, v, 453.
Bank of British North America, v, 453.
Bank of California, iv, 243 ; v, 428, 433,
434, 44°, 444, 445, 453-
Bank of San Francisco, v, 453.
Banking in California, v, 423-458.
Barbour, Clitus, iv, 344.
Bard, Thomas R., iv, 460.
Barker, H. P., iv, 202.
Barlow, Samuel P., iv, 493.
Barnard, E. E., v, 240, 256, 269.
Barnes, W. H. L., iv, 344.
Barrell, Albert W., iv, 300.
Barri, Felipe, iv, 457.
Barry, Captain Richard, iv, 471.
Barry, P., m, 416.
Bartlett, John Russell, iv, 422, 474.
Bartlett, Washington A., in, 88, 90, 96,
J 35, 153, 164; iv, 456, 458; v, 569;
portrait of, facing, in, 88.
Barton, J. R., iv, 58.
Barton, Lewis, n, 325.
Bates, Henry, in, 496.
Bates, Mrs. D. B., in 210
Batters, E. T., in, 209.
Bautista, Antonio, in, 121.
Bautista, Juan, in, 121, 138.
Bay of Monterey, 1, 67, 101, 107, 110.
Bay of San Francisco, 1, 108, 173; n, 223.
Bay of San Lucas, 1, 102.
Beach, George H., in, 209.
Beale, Edward F., iv, 449.
Bear Flag, episode of the, in, 3-61, 299.
Beard, Joseph R., iv, 169.
Beatty, H. O., iv, 250.
"Beaver, " Steamship, in, 208.
Becker, George F-, v, 4.
Beckwith, E. G., iv, 268.
Bee, Henry, in, 183.
Beecher, Henry Ward, iv, 131.
Beerstecher, Charles J., iv, 453.
Belcher, Isaac S., iv, 344, 369.
Belden, Josiah, in, 362.
Belknap, Charles H., iv, 250.
Bell, Samuel B., iv, 12, 13, 155; por-
trait of, facing, iv, 12.
Bell, Thomas, v, 437.
Bellows, Dr., iv, 219.
Benham, Calhoun, m, 480; iv, 112, 169,
204.
INDEX
613
Benicia, in, 153, 178, 320, 360, 377,
472; seat of State Government, in,
4745 iv, 15, 17, 23.
Bennett, Charles, in, 178.
Bennett, Nathaniel, in, 372, 376, 378,
400, 459; v, 403.
Benson, John, in, 209.
Benton, Rev. J. A., iv, 490.
Benton, Thomas H., in, 3, 270, 276,
277; iv, 265, 301.
Berger, James, v, 182.
Bering, Vitus, 1, 15, 159; expedition of
11, 137.
Berkeley, v, 157.
Bernal, Dona Carmen Sebrian de, 1,407.
Bernal, Juan, n, 241.
Berreyesa, Jose de los Reyes, v, 409.
Bidwell, John, 11, 429, 439, 461; in, 39,
40, 42, 193, 333, 372; iv, 180, 203,
276, 448, portrait of, iv, frontispiece.
Bierce, Ambrose, v, 497.
Big Oak Flat, in, 341.
Biggs, Marion, iv, 344, 369.
Bigler, Henry W., in, 177; v, 182, 195;
portrait of, facing, v, 182.
Bigler, John, in, 372, 458, 459, 466; iv,
12,217,313,458.
Bill, Curly, iv, 233, 275.
Billings, Frederick, in, 209; iv, 181, 480.
Bixby, Llewellyn, v, 270.
Black, James, iv, 472 ; portrait of, facing,
iv, 474.
Black, Jeremiah S., v, 159.
Black, Maria Agustina, iv, 473.
Black Mountains, 1, 68.
Black, Robert, v, 257.
Blaisdell, S. F., in, 209.
Blake, Samuel, in, 209.
Blake, William, in, 223.
Blake, William P., v, 3, 113.
Blinn, I. G., v, 253.
Blodgett, Ezekiel, v, 194.
Bluxome, Jr., Isaac, in, 440; iv, 75, 76.
Boalt, Mrs. John H., iv, 483.
Bodega, in, 77.
Bodega Bay, 1, 90; discovery of, 1, 350.
Bodega y Cuadra, Juan Francisco de,
1. 344-
Bodie, iv, 401.
Boggs, Lilburn W., in, 119.
Bolahos, Francisco de, 1, 105.
Bolinas Bay, 1, 231, 236.
Bolton, Prof. Herbert E., 1, 281, 311.
Bones, John W., iv, 334.
Bonner, Geraldine, v, 501.
Booker, S. A., iv, 155.
Boone, Daniel, iv, 258.
Booth, Newton, iv, 316, 458, 460, 499.
Borax, v, 221, 227.
Borica,DonDiegode, n, 205^,377,457.
Borromeo, San Carlos, 1, 269.
Boss, Lewis, v, 261.
Bossange, L., iv, 81.
Botts, Charles T., in, 287, 372, 310;
v, 425-
Boutwell, Captain E. B., iv, 113, 114,
115, 116, 117.
Bowie, Dr. A. J., in, 209.
Bowie, George W., in, 480.
Bowles, Samuel, iv, 223, 233, 252.
Boyle, Henry G., v, 172.
Brace, Philander, iv, 122.
Bracken, Frank P., v, 270.
Bradley, L. R., iv, 180.
Brander, George L., iv, 395, 397.
Brandy City Camp, in, 332.
Brannan, Samuel, in, 117, 434, 439, 440;
v, 163, 175, 181, 183, 185, 431; por-
trait of, facing, in, 118.
Branner, John C, v, 4.
Brannigan, Michael, iv, 100.
Brashear, John A., v, 239.
Brawley, iv, 424.
Breen, Edward, in, 133.
Breen, Margaret, in, 149.
Breen, Patrick, in, 120, 142.
Breen, Simon, in, 133.
Brenham, Mayor, in, 439.
614
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Brent, J. L., iv, 204.
Brewer, W. H., v, 4.
Bridger, Col. James, in, 239; v, 175.
Briones, Juana, 11, 424.
Brittain, J. W., iv, 81.
Broderick, David C, in, 420, 459-504;
iv, 59, 129-174, 185, 186, 459; por-
trait of, facing, in, 460.
Brooke, Lloyd, in, 209.
Brooks, Preston S., iv, 131.
Brooks, Samuel H., iv, 170, 202, 204.
Brosnan, C. M., iv, 250.
Bross, William, iv, 233.
"Brother Jonathan," wreck of Steamer,
iv, 34.
Browett, David, v, 185.
Brown, James, v, 169, 181.
Brown, James S., v, 182, 195.
Brown, Thomas, v, 434, 440.
Browne, Elam, in, 371.
Browne, J. Ross, in, 291, 329; iv, 14,
16, 213, 232, 241; v, 489.
Bruce, Miss Catherine, v, 239, 257.
Bryan, Charles H., iv, 250.
Bryant, Edwin, in, 119; iv, 448.
Bryce, James, iv, 334, 337, 371.
Bucareli, Viceroy, 1, 289, 341; v, 143,
145-
Buchanan, James, in, 20, 29, 32; letter
from, to Thomas 0. Larkin, 1, 505-
508.
Bucke, R. W., iv, 225.
Buckeye Hill, in, 352.
Bucksport, in, 345.
Budd, James H., iv, 458.
Buelna, Antonio, 11, 199.
Buenavista Rancho, n, 30.
Bueno, Cabrera, the Philippine pilot, 1,
173, 231, 242, 244.
Buffum, E. Gould, m, 408.
Buhne, Hans, in, 347.
Bulger, Edward, iv, 99.
Bullard's Bar, in, 330.
Bulletin, Evening, iv, 61, 67, 68, 76.
Bundschu, Charles E., v, 605.
Burch, John C, iv, 156.
Burckhalter, Charles, v, 251, 253.
Burdell, Dr. Galen, iv, 473 ; portrait of,
facing, iv, 476.
Burger, Charles, in, 120, 133.
Burgoyne & Co., v, 427.
Burke, Dr. R. W., iv, 225.
Burke, John H., iv, 497.
Burke, M. J., iv, 81.
Burlingame, Anson, iv, 314.
Burnham, S. W., v, 237, 240.
Burnett, Peter H., 11, 333; in, 218, 271,
280, 368, 459; iv, 458; v, 431; por-
trait of, in, frontispiece.
Burney, James, 1, 90.
Burns, A. M., iv, 75, 76, 81.
Burr, E. W., v, 430.
Burton, Lt. Colonel, in, 151.
Burton, Lewis T., iv, 473.
Butte City, in, 338.
Butte County, in, 377.
Butterfield, B. F., in, 209.
Byrne, Harry M., iv, 67.
CABALLERO, DON JUAN, iv,
485.
Cabot, Sebastian, I, 76.
Cabral, Pedro Alvares de, 1, 15.
Cabrillo, Juan Rodriguez, 1, 51, 68.
Cahuenga Pass, 1, 377.
Calaveras County, in, 377.
Calaveras Creek, in, 337.
Calexico, iv, 424, 433.
Calhoun, Patrick, iv, 502.
Califa, Queen, 1, 4.
California, origin of name, 1, 3, 10, 35;
condition at end of Spanish rule, n,
36; in 1821, 11, 172; legislative body,
ii, 178; in 1835, 11, 297; population
in 1848, in, 153; an American
territory, in, 166; admission to
Union, in, 367-400; population in
INDEX
615
1852, in, 404; general progress, iv,
3-52; geology, v, 3-35; gold deposits,
v, 15; chemical deposits, v, 16; coal
deposits, v, 16; climate, v, 27, 79-
116; flora, v, 39-50; fauna, v, 53-76;
mining, v, 199-228; fruit industry,
v, 321-342.
"California Battalion," iv, 211.
California Books and Authors, v, 487-502.
California Building, Loan, and Savings
Society, v, 43 1 .
California, first schools in, 11, 131.
California's first legislative body, 11, 181.
California Hundred, iv, 205, 210.
California Ports, first foreign consul
appointed at, 11, 425.
California Regiments in the Civil War,
11, 206-214.
California Safe Deposit & Trust Co.,
y» 451, 454-
California School of Mechanical Arts,
iv, 484.
California Star, The, in, 118, 156, 181;
v, 164, 176.
"California," Steamship, m, 203, 206,
207, 208, 209.
Californian, The, in, 89, 118, 182.
California Trust Co., v, 447.
California under Mexican rule, 1, 171-
216.
Cambon, Pedro Benito, 1, 397.
Cameo," Schooner, in, 346.
Cameron, John, iv, 468.
Camino del Diablo, in, 217.
Campa, Father, 1, 350.
Campbell, Alexander, iv, 67, 344, 365.
Campbell, F. M., v, 251.
Campbell, Will, iv, 250.
Campbell, William Wallace, v, 240,
261, 271.
Campo Seco, in, 338.
Canby, Major, E. R. S., in, 209.
Canizares, Don Jose de, 1, 259, 344, 345,
347-
Cannon, George Q., v, 195.
Cape Disappointment, v, 572.
Cape Mendocino, 1, 71; v, 572.
Cape Orford, v, 573.
Cape San Lucas, 1, 191.
Cape San Martin, 1, 64, 66, 245.
Cape Verde Islands, 1, 13.
Cardwell, H. C, in, 372.
Carleton, James H., iv, 207.
Carlton College Observatory, v, 256.
Carmelita Bay, 1, 347.
Carmelo Bay, 1, 243, 253, 345.
Carmelo Valley, 1, 275.
Carmichael, Lawrence, n, 326.
"Carolina," Ship, iv, 385.
Carothers, Anderson & Co., v, 427.
Carpenter, Ford L., v, 112.
Carpenter, Samuel, n, 326.
Carpentier, Horace W., iv, 299, 300.
Carquinez Strait, 1, 383.
Carr, John, in, 231.
Carriage factory, first, iv, 15.
Carrillo, Carlos Antonio, n, 359; iv, 473.
Carrillo, Encarnacion, iv, 473.
Carrillo, Joaquin, iv, 470.
Carrillo, Jose Antonio, n, 211, 359, 361;
in, 92, 285, 372; v, 595; portrait of,
facing, 11, 340.
Carrillo, Jose Raimundo, 1, 211.
Carrillo, Josefa, iv, 473.
Carrillo, Manuela, iv, 473.
Carrillo, Maria Antonia, iv, 473.
Carrillo, Ramona, iv, 461.
Carson Hill, in, 339, 340.
Carson, James H., in, 192, 340.
Carson, Kit, in, 5, 70, 98; portrait of,
facing, in, 70.
Carson, Moses, n, 225.
Carver, Dr. Hartwell, iv, 259.
Carver, Jonathan, iv, 255.
Casarin, Manuel Jimeno, n, 418, 426; iv,
4745 v, 399-
Casas, Bartolome de las, 1, 181.
Case, C. L., iv, 81.
616
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Casey, James P., iv, 59, 69, 70, 71, 72.
Casserly, Eugene, iv, 181, 203, 344, 460.
Castanares, Manuel, 11, 411, 423; 111,
171.
Castefiada, Captain, n, 365.
Castillero, Captain Andres, 11, 356, 369,
450; v, 409, 410.
Castro, Francisco, 11, 241.
Castro, Joaquin, n, 30.
Castro, Jose, 11, 199, 262, 339, 369, 432;
in, 9, 166; iv, 457; portrait of, facing,
11, 262.
Castro, Jose Mariano, iv, 469.
Castro, Manuel, in, 8, 69, 94, 95.
Cavalier, Jose, 1, 397.
Cave City, in, 339.
Cavendish, Thomas, 1, 96.
"Central America," Steamship, in,
227; wreck of, iv, 33.
Central Pacific Railroad Co., iv, 278,
403-409.
Cermefio, Sabastian Rodriguez de, refer-
ence to Bay of San Francisco, 1, 100.
Ceron, Saavedra, 1, 77.
Cervantes, 1, 3.
Chabot, Anthony, v, 251.
Chabot Observatory, v, 251.
Chaffey, Andrew M., iv, 443.
Chaff ey, George, iv, 425, 426, 429.
Chamberlin, E. K., in, 372.
Chandler, Albert E., iv, 438; v, 318.
Chandlerville Camp, in, 332.
Chapman, John, n, 222.
Chard, William G., 11, 326.
Charrappin, Rev. Father, v, 256.
Chavez, Jose Maria, in, 95.
Cheesman, D. W., iv, 180.
Chellis, John F., iv, 202.
Chemical Deposits, v, 16.
Chico, in, 193.
Chico, Mariana, n, 341; iv, 457.
Chiles, Joseph B., n, 430, 472; in, 150.
Chinese Camp, in, 341.
Chinese Immigration, iv, 305-338.
Chinese in California, character of, iv,
307-32I-
Chinese Six Companies, iv, 309.
Chino Rancho, m, 225.
"Chips," in, 332.
Cholera Epidemic, in, 255-262.
Choquet, Captain, 1, 409.
Chrome, v, 221.
Chronicle, San Francisco, iv, 452.
Civil War Times, iv, 177-219.
Clapp, Dr., in, 336.
Clapp, Mrs., in, 336.
Clark, Arthur H., iv, 385, 392.
Clark, C. A., in, 489.
Clark, J. E., in, 216.
Clark, Nicholas, in, 136.
Clark, William, iv, 258.
Clark's Point, in, 207.
Clarke, C. K., iv, 438.
Claughley, James, iv, 99.
Clement, James B., in, 225.
Cleveland, Richard J., n, 48.
Climate of California, v, 79-116.
Clipper Ship Era, iv, 4, 383-392.
Clyman, James, in, 119.
Coal Deposits, v, 16.
Coast and Geodetic Survey, v, 568-582.
Cobweb Palace, v, 478.
Cody, Charles, in, 136.
Coffeemire, Edward, in, 131.
Cogswell, Dr. Henry D., iv, 484.
Cogswell Polytechnic College, iv, 484.
Coke, Henry J., in, 219.
Cole, Cornelius, iv, 217, 460.
Cole, Ira, iv, 99.
Cole, R. Beverly, iv, 81, 116.
Coleman, William T., in, 435, 440; iv,
75, 76, 81, 83, 86, 87, 90, 118, 322;
portrait of, facing, in, 434.
Colfax, Schuyler, iv, 233.
College of California, iv, 480.
College of the Pacific, iv, 484.
Collier, James, in, 379.
Collier, James A., iv, 459.
INDEX
617
Collins, John A., in, 210.
Coloma,in, 173, 193, 295.
Colonization, Spanish effort at, 11, 35.
Colorado Desert, The, iv, 413-443.
Colton, A. L., v, 240.
Colton, David D., iv, 169.
Colton Grants, in, 421.
Colton, Rev. Walter, n, 254, 464; in,
89, 159, 160, 284.
Columbia, in, 340.
Colusa County, m, 377.
"Comet," Clipper ship, iv, 389.
Commercial Bank, v, 446.
Common, Dr. A. A., v, 238.
Comstock, Henry Thomas Paige, iv,
226, 227, 234.
Comstock Lode, The, iv, 221-223, 252.
Cone, Joseph S., iv, 453.
Conner, Patrick E., iv, 208, 209, 210.
Conness, John, iv, 203, 218, 287, 459.
Conrad, T. A., v, 3.
Conservation in California, v, 363-394.
Consolidated Virginia Mining Co., iv,
247.
Constitutional Convention, first, in,
267-315.
Contra Costa County, in, 377.
Cooke, Col. Philip St. George, v, 169,
170; portrait of, facing, v, 168.
Coon, Henry P., iv, 168.
Cooper, John B. R., n, 185, 31951V, 472,
473-
Copper, v, 223.
Cora, Charles, iv, 66.
Cordova, Pedro de, 1, 181.
Cornwell, P. B., in, 233, 372, iv, 181.
Coronado, expedition of Francisco
Vasquez de, 1, 49.
Coronel, Antonio Francisco, in, 192.
Cortereal, Gaspar, 1, 23.
Cortes, Hernando, 1, 10; portrait of,
facing, 1, 32.
Cory, H. T., iv, 432, 438, 439, 443.
Costanso, Miguel, 1, 174, 192, 224, 226,
229, 233, 235, 239, 242, 245, 259; iv,
467; v, 142.
Cota, Josefa, v, 412.
Cota, Pablo de, 1, 211.
Cotter, John, iv, 150.
Coulterville, in, 341.
Covarrubias, Jose Maria, n, 238; in,
292, 299, 371.
Covilland, C, in, 359.
Cowell, J., in, 209.
Cowie, in, 59.
Cox, Henderson, v. 185.
Cox, J. J., iv, 258.
Coyote Creek, 1, 386.
Crabb, Henry A., in, 491, 492; iv, 45-46.
Crary, O. B., iv, 81.
Crawford, Prof. Russell Tracey, v, 252.
Creesy, Captain Josiah Perkins, iv, 388.
Crespi, Father Juan, 1, 227, 229, 233,
236, 239, 241, 254, 264, 269, 396;
11, 72.
Crew, Henry, v, 240.
Crismon, Charles, v, 192.
Crittenden, Alexander P., in, 372, 378,
501; iv, 112, 167, 250; v, 403.
Crocker, Charles, iv, 277, 278, 279, 290,
291, 454; portrait of, facing, iv, 278.
Crocker, Charles F., v, 239, 241, 247.
Crocker, E. B., iv, 278.
Crocker and Co., Charles, iv, 290.
Crocker, William H., v, 241, 247, 255.
Crocker, Woolworth Bank, v, 427.
Crockett, Joseph B., iv, 103, 104, 105.
Croix, Don Carlos Francisco, Marques
de, 1, 157, 289, 341.
Cronise, E. V. H., in, 210.
Crosby, E. O., in, 371, 378.
Crosby, William, v, 190.
Cross, C. W., iv, 344.
Crossley, Edward, v, 238.
Crowe, John, iv, 99.
Crown Point, iv, 245.
618
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Crum, W., m, 254.
Cruzado, Antonio, 1, 396.
Cuadra, Juan Francisco de Bodega y, 1,
344-
Cummings, J. D., v, 194.
Cummins, Ella Sterling, v, 502.
Currey, John, iv, 155, 158.
DALL, WILLIAM H., v, 4.
Dalton, Elder John L., v, 194.
Dalton, Henry, iv, 473.
Daly, Charles P., v, 580.
Dan, Curly, iv, 233, 275.
Dana, Richard Henry, 11, 241, 284; in,
282; portrait of, facing, n, 284.
Dana, William G., iv, 473; portrait of,
facing, 11, 318.
David, Jules, iv, 81.
Davidson, B., v, 427.
Davidson Observatory, v, 250.
Davidson, Professor George, 1, 34, 52,
53> 54. 65, 66, 92, 109, 112, 227, 245,
252, 347; iv, 382, 471; v, 231, 240,
250, 568-582; portrait of, facing, v,
230.
Davila, Gil Gonzales, 1, 40.
Davis, Arthur P., iv, 443.
Davis, Daniel C, v, 169.
Davis, Jefferson, iv, 214.
Davis, John, 1, 90.
Davis, William H., iv, 473; portrait of,
facing, n, 378.
Dawleytown, in, 333.
Day, John G., iv, 325, 326.
Day, Sherman, iv, 480.
Daylor, William, in, 193, 407.
Deal, W. E. F., iv, 250.
Death Valley, in, 240, 243; v, 116, 585.
Decker, Jewett & Co., v, 446.
De Croix, Viceroy, 1, 289, 341.
De Franc, C, v, 602.
De la Guerra, Ana Maria, iv, 473; por-
trait of, facing, 11, 424.
Curtis, H. D., v, 240, 253.
Cushing, F. H., 1, 46.
Cusick, James, iv, 99.
Cut Eye Bar, in, 330.
Cut Throat Bar, in, 330.
Cutts, R. D., v, 231.
Cuyler's Harbor, 1, 61.
De la Guerra, Antonio Maria, portrait
of, facing, iv, 206.
De la Guerra, Doha Augustias Jimeno,
in, 282; iv, 474; portrait of, facing,
in, 282.
De la Guerra, Jose, 11, 374; in, 282; iv,
468, 470.
De la Guerra, Maria Antonia, iv, 474;
portrait of, facing, n, 360.
De la Guerra, Pablo, in, 287, 296, 304,
371; portrait of, facing, in, 296.
De la Guerra, Teresa, iv, 473.
Delano, Alonzo, 1, 221, 248, 250, 333;
iv, 10, 429.
Delessert, Cordier & Co., v, 428.
Delessert, Eugene, iv, 81.
"Del Monte," Steamer, first built in
California, iv, 15.
De Long, Charles E., iv, 250.
Dempster, Clancy, J., iv, 81.
Den, Nicholas Augustus, iv, 472; por-
trait of, facing, iv, 472.
Denman, James, iv, 28, 181.
Denman School, iv, 29.
Dent, in, 298.
Denton, John, in, 120, 133, 134.
Denver, James W., in, 480, 502; iv,
150, 156, 183, 194.
Derby, George H., in, 210, 418; v, 491.
De Sola, Pablo Vicente, n, 4; iv, 457.
Development of California, v, 585-598.
Deverney, Michael, in, 331.
De Witt, Mrs. Alfred, in, 210.
De Young, Charles, iv, 452.
De Young, Michael H., iv, 452.
Diamond Swindle, The, iv, 491-495.
INDEX
619
Diaz, Bernal, i, 35.
Diaz, Captain Melchior, 1, 58.
Diaz, Fray Juan, 1, 318.
Diego, Francisco Garcia, iv, 486.
Diller, Joseph S., v, 4.
Dimmock, Kimball H., m, 287, 298, 372.
Dinan, J. F., v, 514.
Division of the State, iv, 48, 49, 50, 51.
Dixieland, iv, 425.
Doak, Thomas, iv, 469.
Doane, Charles, iv, 80, 81.
Doane, Marshall, iv, no.
Doc, Felipe Santiago, iv, 469.
Dodge, Henry L., portrait of, facing,
in, 412.
Doe, Charles Franklin, iv, 483.
Dofar, Mathevv, m, 136.
Dogtown, in, 355.
Dolan, Patrick, in, 120, 130.
Dolbeer, John, v, 257.
Dollar Steamship Line, iv, 410.
Dolores Mission, founding of, 1, 402.
Dominguez, Juan Jose, 11, 30; v, 559.
Dominguez rancho, v, 559.
Donahue, James, iv, 103.
Donahue, Peter, iv, 269; v, 256, 443.
Donner, Eliza, m, 139.
Donner, Frances, 111, 139.
Donner, George, in, 1 20,133, 138, 145, 146.
Donner, Georgia, in, 139.
Donner, Isaac, m, 141.
Donner, Jacob, in, 120, 129.
Donner Lake, in, 131.
Donner, Lewis, in, 139.
Donner, Mary, in, 142, 143, 144.
Donner, Mrs. George, in, 122.
Donner, Mrs. Jacob, in, 133, 138.
Donner Party, The, in, 120.
Donner, Tamsen, in, 149.
Donohoe, Joseph A., v, 433.
Donohoe, Kelly & Co., v, 434, 446, 453.
Donohoe, Ralston & Co., v, 433.
Douglas, David, n, 327.
Douglas Flat, in, 339, 340.
Douglas, James, n, 394.
Douglas, Rev. J. W., in, 209.
Douglas, Stephen A., in, 464.
Downey, John G., iv, 156, 181, 183,
184, 199,203, 217,458.
Downie, William, in, 330, 333.
Downieville, in, 331, 472.
Dows, James, iv, 75, 81.
Doyle, John T., iv, 488.
Drake, Sir Francis, 1, 87; portrait of,
facing, 1, 90; value of his discovery,
h 94, 173; v, 119, 466.
Drake's Bay, 1, 66.
Dreibelbiss, John A., iv, 180.
Dreiser, Theodore, v, 501.
Dresbach, William, iv, 395, 396, 397.
Dresel, Charles, v, 602.
Drexel, Sather & Church, v, 427.
Dry Creek, in, 337.
Duane, Charles P., iv, 59, 99.
Dudley, A. P., iv, 156.
Dudley, John S., iv, 180.
Dumetz, Francisco, 1, 397.
Duncan's Auction Rooms, v, 478.
Du Pont, Samuel F., portrait of, facing,
in, 74.
Duran, Fray Narcisco, 1, 282; in, 115.
Durant, Henry, iv, 480, 481.
Durkee, John L., iv, 108.
Dutch Flat, in, 329.
Dutton, David D., n, 404.
Dwindle, John W., 1, 92, 407; III, 463 ; iv,
154,481.
Dye, Job F., 1, 325.
EARL, JOHN O., v, 233.
Earthquake of 1812, damage by,
a, 90.
Eastwood, Alice, v, 50.
Ebbetts, Arthur, iv, 75.
Echeandia, Gov. Jose Maria, n, 192; iv,
457, 470.
Echeveste, Don Juan Jose, 1, 296.
620
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Eddy, Mrs., in, 133.
Eddy, William H., m, 120.
Edgerton, Henry, iv, 194, 203, 344.
Eel River, in, 345.
Eggers, G. H., v, 602.
Eisen, Captain, v, 602.
El Camino del Diablo, 1, 140.
El Centro, iv, 425.
El Dorado, in, 339.
El Dorado County, in, 377.
Eldredge, Zoeth S., 1, 211, 227, 282, 322,
332, 407; n, 424; in, 25; v, 160,
458, 500, 521, 582.
Eldridge, Captain Oliver, iv, 384; por-
trait of, facing, iv, 384.
Ellerman, Ferdinand, v, 265.
Elliott, J. M., v, 565.
Elliott, Milton, in, 120, 133.
Ellis, Adrian C, iv, 250.
Ellis, A. J., hi, 434.
Ellison, William H., iv, 51.
El Refugio rancho, n, 30.
Elwood, J. F., v, 350.
Emery, J. S., iv, 81.
Emory, William H., iv, 268, 421.
Encino rancho, 11, 30.
Englehardt, Fray Zephyrin, 11, 71.
Esaire, Tomas, 1, 354.
Escalante, Fray SilvestreVelezde, 1,385.
Estabrook, Ethan, n, 425.
Estee, Morris M., iv, 344, 351, 369.
Estill, James M., in, 489.
Estorace, Don Jorge, 1, 192.
Estrada, Mariano, n, 199.
Estudillo, Jose Joaquin, n, 199; iv, 473,
474-
Eureka, in, 345, 472.
"Eureka," Schooner, iv, 384.
Evening Picayune, The, in, 427.
Evolution of Society, iv, 467-504.
Ewing, Thomas, iv, 85.
Explorers, Character of Early, 1, 4.
FAGES DON PEDRO, 1, 188,
192, 272, 485; 11,4; iv, 457.
Fages, Doha Eulalia, n, 5, 13.
Fair, James G., iv, 246, 397; v, 449,
portrait of, facing, iv, 246.
Fairbanks, Harold W., v, 4.
"Falcon," Steamship, in, 203.
Fallon, Malachi, in, 209.
Fallon, Thomas, in, 78.
Fallon, William, in, 47.
Farley, James T., iv, 454, 460.
Farmers & Merchants Bank, v, 445.
Farmers & Merchants Bank of Savings,
v,45i-
Farnham, Thomas J., n, 378, 379, 459.
Farwell, James D., iv, 75, 76, 81.
Fauna of California, v, 53-76.
Fay, David, in, 209.
Feather River, in, 193.
Felton, Charles N., iv, 460; v, 349.
Felton, John B., iv, 300.
Ferguson,,WilliamI.,iii,49i;iv, 151,164.
Fernandez, Dionisio Z., v, 417.
Ferry Bar, in, 330.
Field, J. G., in, 291.
Field, Stephen J., in, 355, 475, 483, 501;
iv, 136; v, 152, 417; portrait of, fac-
ing, in, 354.
Figuer, Juan, 1, 397.
Figueroa, Jose, n, 219-294; iv, 457; v, 399.
Filibustering Expedition, iv, 39-46.
Finney, C. G., iv, 344.
First National Bank of Los Angeles, v,
446.
First National Gold Bank of San Fran-
cisco, v, 447, 453.
Fish, J. H., iv, 81.
Fiske, John, 1, 9.
Fitch, George Hamlin, v, 502.
Fitch, Henry D., n, 470; iv, 471.
Fitch, Thomas, iv, 184.
Fitzgerald, Major, in, 209.
Fitzpatrick, Thomas, in, 5.
Flint, E. O., iv, 81.
L INDEX
621
Flint, Frank P., iv, 437, 460.
Flood & O'Brien, v, 438.
Flood, James C, iv, 246, 248, 395, 396;
portrait of, facing, iv, 246.
Flood, O'Brien, Mackay & Fair, v, 449;
portrait of, facing, iv, 246.
Flora of California, v, 39-50.
Flores, Captain Gumesindo, 11, 451.
Flores, Captain Jose Maria, 111, 92.
Flournoy, T. C, iv. 204.
Floyd, Richard S., v, 236.
Flume Mining, 111, 351.
"Flying Cloud, " Clipper ship, iv, 5, 387,
388.
"Flying Fish," Clipper ship, iv, 5, 390,
39i-
Folsom, Captain Joseph L., in, 295, 347,
424. 434-
Font, Fray Pedro, 1, 354, 355, 358, 377,
381.
Foote, Henry S., m, 491; iv, 103, 106.
Forbes, James Alexander, n, 425.
Forbes, Cleveland, m, 209.
Ford, Lieutenant, in, 55, 56
Forest Hill, in, 329.
Forster, John, n, 326.
Forsyth, E. L., v, 253.
Fort Point, 1, 347; in, 72.
Fort Ross, 11, 153; attack on, n, 161.
Fort Ross Cove, 1, 65, 71.
Fosdick, Jay, in, 121, 129.
Fossat, Charles, v, 409.
Foster, William H., in, 120, 127.
Foster, S. C, in, 371 ; portrait of, facing,
in, 370.
Foster, Rev. Isaac, in, 228, 356.
Foster's Bar, in, 330.
Fourgeaud, Dr. Victor J., in, 181.
Fowler, hi, 82.
Francis, Saint, 1, 342.
Frank P. Brockett Observatory, The, v,
270.
Fraser, Thomas E., v, 236.
Freeman, Abraham C, iv, 344, 369.
Fremont, John C, expedition of, in,
3-61, 305, 374, 496; iv, 268, 458,
459; v » x 7°> W> portrait of, facing,
in, 4.
Fremont, Mrs. John C, in, 210.
French Hill, in, 338.
French, Parker H., iv, 44.
French Savings & Loan Society, v, 431,
45i-
Freres, Lazard, v, 446, 453.
Freres, Belloc, v, 446, 453.
Fresno Clearing House Asso., v, 454.
Fretz, Ralph S., v, 432, 433.
Fretz & Ralston, v, 433.
Friedlander, Isaac, iv, 393.
Frink, G. W., iv, 75.
Frobisher, Sir Martin, 1, 87.
Fruit Industry of California, v, 321-342.
Fry, John D., v, 441.
Ruca, Juan de, story of his voyage, 1,
102.
Fuen-Zaldana, General Jacinto de, 1,
144.
Fuller, John Casimiro, n, 424.
Funston, Brigadier-General, v, 514.
Fuster, Padre Vicente, 1, 372, 397.
GABB, WILLIAM M., v, 3.
Gage, Henry T., iv, 458.
Gale, William A., n, 185; iv,
381.
Gali, Francisco, discoveries made by,
1, 99, 100, 101.
Galley, Dr. J. W., v, 501.
Galvez, Jose de, sacred expedition by,
1, 156, 171, 342, 395; portrait of, 1,
frontispiece.
Gama, Vasco da, 1, 14.
Gantt, Captain John, n, 439.
Garber, John, iv, 250.
Garces, Fray Francisco, 1, 318, 354.
622
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Gardner, Captain E. C, iv, 389.
Garner, William R., 11, 376.
Garnett, Robert S., in, 299.
Garrison, Cornelius K., iv, 83, 432.
Garrison, Morgan, Fretz & Ralston, v,
433-
Gates, Eleanor, v, 501.
Gavilan Peak, in, 17, 18, 25, 67.
Geary, John W., in, 209, 368, 374, 417,
420, 423, 43s ; iv, 137,459-
Gendreau, Joseph, in, 136.
"General Morgan," Steamer, in, 347.
Geology of California, v, 3-35.
Georgetown, in, 328.
Gift, George W., iv, 204.
Gilbert, Edward, m, 287, 308, 311, 367,
369; iv, 150; portrait of, facing, in,
368.
Gillespie, Archibald H., in, 20, 507.
Gillespie, Charles, V., iv, 75, 81, 307.
Gillett, James N., iv, 458.
Gillis, Stephen, iv, 201.
Gilman, Daniel C, iv, 481, 482.
Gilmour, John Hamilton, v, 501.
Gilroy, in, 472.
Gilroy Hot Springs, 1, 386.
Gilroy, John, n, 224, 432; v, 468.
Girard, Stephen, iv, 265.
Glover, Aguila, m, 131.
Goat Island, 1, 241.
Goethals, George W., v, 539.
Gold Canon, iv, 225, 226.
Gold Deposits of California, v, 15.
Gold, Discovery of, in, 169-198.
Gold Hill, iv, 226.
Gold Lake rush, in, 334.
Golden Gate, 1, 67, 173, 231, 233, 234,
236, 342, 345, 349-
"Golden Gate," burning of Steamer,
iv, 34.
Golden Gate Park, in, 285, 399; v, 120.
Goldsborough, L. M., in, 209.
Gomez, Francisco, 1, 194, 396.
Gomez, Rafael, n, 208.
Gonzales, Lieutenant, 1, 459.
Goodall, Captain Charles, v, 253.
Goodall, Nelson & Perkins, iv, 450.
Goodman, James H., v, 446.
Goodwin, Cardinal, in, 311.
Goodyear Bar, in, 330.
Gordo, Cerro, 1, 184.
Gordon, Captain George iv, 384.
Gorham, E., m, 440.
Graham, Isaac, 11, 326, 347, 375, 439;
iv, 14.
Graham, John, n, 41.
Grass Valley, ni, 330; iv, 17.
Gravelly Ford, in, 124, 134.
Graves, Elizabeth, in, 142.
Graves, Franklin W., in, 121, 139.
Graves, Jonathan, hi, 142.
Graves, Nancy, in, 142.
Gray, Captain Robert, 1, 26; iv, 256.
Gray, Dr. Edward, v, 253.
Grayson, Andrew, in, 119.
"Great Republic," Clipper ship, iv, 5,
389.
Greeley, Major-General, v, 515.
Greeley, Horace, iv, 154, 190, 223, 231.
Green, Talbot H., m, 26, 434.
Greenwood, Britton, in, 136.
Gregg, Dr. Josiah, in, 344.
Gregg, W. R., v, 255.
Gregory, Newell, iv, 180.
Gregory, Joseph W., v, 428.
Grenshaw, John T., iv, 204.
Grewell, Senator, in, 477.
Griffith, Humphrey, iv, 184.
Grigsby, John, in, 46.
Grijalva, Juan Pablo, 1, 353, 354, 4°i-
Grim, Jacob, v, 602.
Grinnell, J., v, 76.
Grisar, Emile, iv, 81.
Groem, John, iv, 468.
Grosh Brothers, iv, 224, 225.
Grosh, Ethan Allen, iv, 223.
Grosh, Hosea Ballou, iv, 223.
INDEX
623
Grubb, Sir Howard, v, 238.
Guadalupe Hidalgo, v, 159, 179.
Guinn, M. J., in, 419.
Gulf of Farallones, 1, 231.
Gundlach, Jacob, v, 602.
Gunnison, J. W., iv, 268.
Gutierrez, Lt. Col. Nicolas, 11, 339, 343;
iv, 457-
Guy, Abel, v, 428.
Gwin, William M., in, 210, 289, 305-
307, 311, 367, 374, 375, 416, 462,
504; iv, 129, 134, 146, 147, 149, 150-
153, 158, 161, 163, 164, 172, 204,
205; v, 425; portrait of, facing, in,
484.
Gyzelaar, Henry, 11, 185.
HAGER, JOHN S., iv, 344, 351,
460.
Haight, Henry H., iv, 458,
481.
Hale and Norcross, iv, 244.
Hale, Edward Everett, 1, 3.
Hale, George E., v, 261, 262, 265.
Hale, H. M., iv, 81.
Hale, J. E., iv, 344, 351.
Half Moon Bay, 1, 228.
Hall, William M., iv, 264, 267.
Halleck, Henry W., in, 107, 151, 286,
288, 298, 304, 305, 306, 310, 344,
368,371; iv, 181; v, 148,425; por-
trait of, facing, in, 108.
Halloran, Luke, m, 120, 239.
Hamilton, Rev. Laurentine, v, 236.
Hammond, Charles Mifflin, v, 88.
Hammond, Major, R. P., in, 209; iv,
181.
Hammond, Major M. C. M., iv, 148.
Hanford, Edward, in, 236.
Hangtown, in, 360.
Hanks, Julian, in, 311, 372.
Hann, Henry P., iv, 459.
Hanson & Co., iv, 399.
Haraszthy, Col. Arpad, v, 602.
Hardcoop, Mr., in, 121.
Hardee, W. J., iv, 197.
Hardie, Major James A., ill, 151.
Hardy, James H., iv, 250.
Hardy, R. W. H., iv, 419.
Harlan, George, in, 119.
Harmon, A. K. P., in, 209.
Harpending, Asbury, iv, 491, 493.
Harriman, Edward H., iv, 409, 429, 432,
437-
Harriman, S. N., in, 246.
Harris Point, 1, 68.
Hart, B. N., in, 223.
Harte, Bret, n, 132; v, 487, 492, 493,
494. 495-
Hartley, Sir Henry, hi, 353.
Hartnell, William E. P., n, 184, 381-
385, 470; in, 290; iv, 473.
Harvard College Observatory, v, 256,
257-
Harvey, Walter H., iv, 57.
Haskell, Leonidas, iv, 171.
Hastings, B. F., v, 428.
Hastings College of Law, iv, 482.
Hastings, Lansford W., 11, 333, 429, 461,
462; in, 119, 233, 280, 290, 304, 306,
372; v, 425.
Hastings, S. Clinton, in, 376; iv, 482;
portrait of, facing, in, 376.
Hawaiian Islands, 1, 79.
Hawes, Horace, m, 416.
Hawkins, Sir John, 1, 87.
Hawley, Dr. N., 111, 209.
Hawley, Thomas P., iv, 250.
Hayes, John D., in, 464.
Hayes, Thomas, iv, 169.
Hay ward, Alvinza, iv, 181, 245.
Hearst, George, iv, 460.
Hearst, Mrs. Phoebe A., iv, 482; v, 241,
247.
Hearst, William Randolph, iv, 483; v,
239-
Heath, R. W., in, 209, 372.
624
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Heber, iv, 424.
Heceta, Bruno, 1, 343, 349; iv, 255.
Hellman, Isaias W., iv, 397.
Hellman, Temple & Co., v, 443.
Helper, Hinton R., iv, 55.
Heney, Francis J., iv, 464.
Henley, Thomas J., in, 368.
Hennessy, James, iv, 99.
Henry, Prof. A. J., v, 114.
Henry the Navigator, 1, 13.
Hensley, Samuel J., m, 66.
Herald, San Francisco, iv, 77, 193.
Herbert, PhilipT.,m,48o,48i;iv,s8,204.
Herrera, Jose Maria, 11, 193.
Herron, Walter, 111, 120.
Hetherington, Joseph, iv, 122.
Heydenfeldt, E., in, 372.
Heydenfeldt, Soloman, in, 459, 464;
iv, 19, 146, 458.
Hibernia Savings and Loan Society, v,
430.
Hickox & Spear, v, 453.
Higgins, Nelson, v, 169.
Higley, H. A., iv, 204.
Higley, William, iv, 217.
Hijar, Jose Maria, n, 229, 450.
Hilgard, Dr. E. W., v, 282.
Hill, Henry, in, 308.
Hill, Daniel A., n, 185; iv, 472.
Hill, Rosa Rafaela Antonia, iv, 472.
Hill, Thomas, v, 478, 479.
Hillburn, S. G., iv, 344.
Hillyer, C. J., iv, 250.
Hinckley, Captain William S., in, 8; iv,
473-
Hind, T. J., iv, 438.
Hittell, John H., in, 340.
Hittell, Theodore H., 1, 92; n, 477; in,
262; iv, 52, 228, 282, 314, 317, 329,
33°, 4535 v, 500.
Hodges, Harry Foot, v, 553.
Hoge, Joseph P., iv, 181, 343, 345, 369.
Holden, Edward Singleton, v, 237, 240,
257.
Holladay & Flint, iv, 409.
Holtville, iv, 425.
Hoodoo Bar, in, 330.
Hook, Solomon, in, 138, 141.
Hook, William, in, 137.
Hooker, John D., v, 263, 269.
Hooker, Joseph, in, 210.
Hooper, George Williams, iv, 483.
Hooper & Co., C. A., iv, 483.
Hopkins, Mark, iv, 277, 278, 290; por-
trait of, facing, iv, 278.
Hoppe, J. D., in, 287, 298, 371.
Hopper, James, v, 501.
Horcasitas, 1, 352, 353, 366.
Houghton, J. F., iv, 397.
Houghton, Mrs. Eliza P. Donner, hi,
H5-
Houston, John S., in, 376.
Howard, Charles Webb, v, 443.
Howard, Elias H., in, 347.
Howard, George O., v, 233.
Howard, John Galen, iv, 482.
Howard, Volney E., iv, 103, 104, 105,
108, 113, 114, 192.
Howard, W. D. M., n, 470; in, 434; iv,
490; portrait of, facing, 11, 470.
Howland's Flat, in, 332.
Hudson, Captain, iv, 34.
Hudspeth, James M., in, 119.
Hughes, John T., in, 372.
Humphrey, Isaac, in, 179, 180.
Hunt, Captain Jefferson, in, 241; v, 169.
Hunt, Rev. Timothy Dwight, iv, 489.
Hunter, J. D., in, 158.
Hunter, Jesse D., v, 169.
Huntington, C. P., iv, 269, 277, 278,
279, 280, 284, 285, 289, 409, 454;
portrait of, facing, iv, 278.
Husmann, Professor, v, 602.
Hussey, William J., v, 240, 261, 270.
Hutchins, N. P., iv, 81.
Hyde, Alcalde George, in, 274.
Hydraulic Mining, in, 349.
INDEX
625
IAEGER, LOUIS JOHN FRED-
ERICK, in, 223, 224.
Ide, William B., in, 40, 41, 156.
Illinois Town, in, 193.
Imperial, iv, 424.
Imperial County, iv, 427.
Imperial Valley, iv, 426-443 ; v, 1 1 3, 309.
Independence Flat, m, 338.
Indians, Revolt of, at Missions, 11, 186;
uprisings, 356, 357; diggings, in, 338;
iv, 447-4S°-
Inge, Samuel W., iv, 67.
Ingraham, R. Henry, iv, 116, 215.
Initiative, Referendum & Recall, iv,
461-463.
Interest rates in 1849, v, 457.
Interstate Commerce Commission, iv,
408.
lone City, in, 338.
Iowa Hill, in, 193.
Irish Hill, in, 338.
Iron Ore, v, 223.
Irrigation in California, iv, 455; v, 301-
318.
Irving, Washington, 1, 9; 11, 457.
Irwin, Wallace, v, 489, 502.
Irwin, Will, v, 501, 502.
Irwin, William, iv, 324, 458.
Isabell, Dr., in, 190.
Isla de los Muertos, in, 94.
Isthmus of Panama, map of, facing, 1,
18; v. 119, 138.
JACK, THREE FINGERED, iv, 57,
58.
Jackass Gulch, m, 339.
Jacks, David, v, 253.
Jackson, David E., n, 326.
Jackson Hill, in, 338.
Jackson, J. G., iv, 399.
Jacksonville, m, 341.
James, George F., iv, 67.
James, George Wharton, v, 501.
"James K. Whiting," Schooner, in, 347.
James, Noah, in, 120, 133.
Janin, Henry, iv, 493.
Jansen, C. J., in, 433-
Jayme, Padre Luis, 1, 372, 397; n, 73-
Jefferson, Thomas, iv, 256.
Jenkins, John, in, 442.
Jennie Lind Mine, in, 339.
Jessup, R. M., iv, 81.
Jesus, Jose, in, 193.
Jewett, J. H., in, 210.
"John Gilpin," Clipper ship, iv, 390,
391-
"John L. Stephen," Steamer, iv, 4.
Johns, Colonel, iv, 80.
Johnson, George A., in, 223; iv, 344,
369.
Johnson, Hiram W., iv, 458.
Johnson, J. Neely, in, 491; iv," 106, 115,
458-
Johnson, Joseph Asbury, iv, 345.
Johnson, Nels, v, 194.
Johnson's rancho, in, 131.
Johnston, Albert Sidney, iv, 197.
Johnston, George Pen, iv, 151. "â– >
Johnston, William J., v, 182, 195.
Jones, Edward, iv, 28, 103.
Jones, John Coffin, iv, 473.
Jones, J. M., in, 285, 298, 308, 310, 371.
Jones, John P., iv, 245.
Jones, Thomas Ap Catesby, n, 414; in,
14, 207, 360.
Jones, William Carey, 111, no; v, 149.
Judah, Theodore D., iv, 269, 277, 278,
279, 280, 287, 292, 293; portrait .of,
facing, iv, 278.
Juncosa, Domingo, 1, 397.
626
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
KALLOCH, ISAAC S., iv, 45 1 .
Kane, Col. Thomas L., v, 169.
Kearney, Denis, iv, 324-338,
450,45i-
Kearny, Stephen W., iv, 421, 457; v,
169, 170; portrait of, facing, m, 98.
Keeler, James Edward, v, 240, 254.
Keene, James R., v, 442.
Keith, William, v, 478, 479.
Keller, A. S., v, 194.
Keller, W. E., v, 512.
Kelley, Terrence, iv, 99.
Kellogg, Martin, v, 241.
Kellogg, Mrs. Louise W. B., v, 241.
Kelly, Eugene, v, 433.
Kelly, Hall J., 11, 457.
Kelseyville, iv, 447.
Kennebec, in, 330.
Kern, Edward M., in, 7.
Kern River, in, 7.
Keseburg, Louis, m, 145, 147, 148.
Keseburg, Jr., Louis, in, 120, 133.
Kewen, E. J. C, in, 376.
Keyes, Captain, E. D., in, 209.
Kimball, George P., v, 440.
Kimball, Heber C, in, 303.
King, Arthur S., v, 265.
King, Charles, v, 602.
King, Clarence, iv, 494, v, 4, 347.
King, Edward A., in, 262.
King, E. S., v, 257.
King, Joseph L., iv, 242, 244.
King of William, James, iv, 61, 62, 63,
64, 65, 68, 69, 71, 204; v, 427; por-
trait of, facing, iv, 62.
King of William & Co., James, iv, 62.
King, Thomas, iv, 73.
King, Thomas Butler, in, 302, 368, 374,
390; iv, 459.
King, Rev. Thomas Starr, iv, 183, 200,
218; portrait of facing, iv, 184.
Kings River, in, 8.
Kino, Francisco Eusebio, missionary
and explorer, account of his labors,
1, 135-145-
Knight, H. L., iv, 327.
Knight, William, hi, 44.
Knight's Landing, in, 42.
Knowland, Joseph R., iv, 464.
Knowlton, F. H., v, 4.
Kohler, Charles, v, 602.
Kohlschutter, Arnold, v, 265.
Kosmos Steamship Line, iv, 410.
Kroeber, Alfred L., v, 138.
Krusenstern, Captain, exploration in
the Pacific by, n, 140.
1ADRILLERO, JUAN, 1, 98.
. Laguna rancho, in, 10.
Lake Merced, 1, 237, 342, 382.
Land Titles in California, v, 141-160.
Lane, Joseph, iv, 187.
Langley, Prof. S. P., v, 254.
Larkin, Prof. E. L., v, 259.
Larkin, Thomas 0., n, 326, 416, 425,
470; in, 20, 21, 95, 282, 286, 372;
portrait of, facing, n, 416.
Las Flores, in, 103.
La Soledad, mission at, n, 76.
Las Tinajas Altas, facing page, 1, 140.
Lassen, Peter, n, 404; portrait of, facing,
11, 404.
Lassen's Pass, in, 247.
Lassen's Peak, in, 120.
Lasuen, Fermin Francisco, 1, 301, 397;
n, 72.
Lataillade, Cesareo, iv, 474.
Latham, Milton S., in, 464, 480, 489,
490, 501; iv, 50, 51, 52, 156, 163,
165, 192, 217, 279, 458, 459.
"Laura Virginia," Schooner, in, 347.
Laws, the Secularization of, 11, 477-488.
Laws for Government of California
formulated in 1778, 1, 452.
Laws of California, v, 397-420.
Lawson, James S., v, 231.
Lawson, Andrew C, v, 4.
INDEX
627
Leavenworth, Rev. Thaddeus M., m.
274, 275, 281, 414.
Le Conte, Prof. Joseph, v, 4.
Le Ccnte, John, iv, 482.
Lee, Charles, v, 93.
Lee, C. H., v, 115.
Lee, Robert E., iv, 197.
Leese, Jacob P., 1, 326, 432, 454; m, 26,
44, 193.
Legaspi, Miguel Lopez de, 1, 77.
Leidesdorff, William Alexander, 11, 424;
m, 8, 320: portrait of, facing, 11, 424.
Lent, William M., in, 209; iv, 181.
Lesquereux, Leo, v, 4.
Leuschner, Dr. Armin 0., v, 252.
Lewelling, J., iv, 13.
Lewis, Benjamin, in, 438.
Lewis, J. V., iv, 250.
Lewis, Meriwether, iv, 257.
Lick, James, iv, 483, 484; v, 233, 234,
236, 250; portrait of, facing, iv, 486.
Lick Observatory, v, 108, 233, 271.
Light Houses, establishment of, iv, 33.
Limantour, Jose Y, 11, 420.
Lime Point, 1, 347.
Lindgren, Waldemar, v, 4, 208.
Lindsay, Elder Mark, v, 193.
Lippincott, B. S., in, 293, 371.
Lippitt, Francis J., in, 163, 287, 372;
iv, 81; v, 425.
Lisianski, Captain, exploration in the
Pacific by, n, 140.
Little, Jesse C, v, 167.
Little, John T., in, 209.
Livermore Pass, in, 322.
Livermore, Robert, n, 326; iv, 470.
Livingston, Henry B., in, 210.
Loaysa, Garcia Jofre de, 1, 76.
Locust Point, 1, 348.
Loehr, Dr. Ferdinand, iv, 169.
Loeser, Lucian, in, 107.
Lok, Michael, 1, 102.
Lompoc, mission at, n, 76.
London and San Francisco Bank, v,
453-
London, Jack, v, 499, 500.
London, Paris, and American Bank, v,
447-
Long Bar, in, 330.
Long Beach, v, 196.
Long, Major, n, 460.
Lopez, Padre, n, 72.
Lorenzana, Most Reverend Francisco
de, 1, 270.
Los Angeles, celebration of Mass at, 1,
213, 252, 377; founding of, 1, 459;
11, 29; in 1820, 11, 172; early progress
of, 11, 222; uprising at, 11, 239; in
1835, n, 297; incorporation of, 11,
340; capital of California, n, 447;
in, 18, 26, 78, 91, 108, 278, 377;
iv, 16, 46, 47, 48; v, 5S7-S65-
Los Angeles Clearing House Asso., v,
454-
Los Angeles County, in, 377.
Los Angeles County Bank, v, 446.
Los Dolores, 1, 381.
Los Gatos, in, 12.
Love, S., iv, 57.
Lovejoy, A. Lawrence, in, 233.
Low, Charles, v, 429.
Low, Frederick F., in, 210; iv, 279, 458;
v, 429.
Lowe, T. S. C, v, 259.
Lowe Observatory, 1, 259.
Lucas, Turner & Co., iv, 36, 69, 83; v,
427.
Ludlow, James, iv, 81.
Lummis, Charles F., v, 501.
Lyman, Amasa, in, 303; v, 190.
Lyman, Elder Francis M., v, 194.
Lynch, Robert Newton, v, 598.
Lyon, Caleb, in, 291, 299.
Lyon, Captain Nathaniel, iv, 447.
Lyons, Henry A., in, 376.
Lytle, Andrew, v, 190.
628
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
"It /fC ADIE, ALEXANDER, G.,
McAllister, Hall, m, 210,
416, 435; portrait of , facing, in, 416.
McArthur, William P., v, 231, 569.
McCarver, M. M., in, 296, 308, 310.
McClatchy, James, in, 211.
McClellan, George B., iv, 267, 481, 494.
McConnell, John R., iv, 184, 202.
McCorkle, J. W., in, 459, 489, 490,
500; iv, 136, 150, 155, 184, 203, 217.
McCullough, Hugh, n, 184.
McCutchen, William, in, 120.
McDonald, Dr. Richard H., v, 432.
McDougal, John, m, 287, 459; iv, 48,
307, 458.
McDougall, James A., in, 464, 480, 485;
iv, 67, 181, 184, 194, 200, 279, 459.
McDufne, James Y., iv, 204.
McEwen, Arthur, v, 501.
McFarland, T. B., iv, 344.
McGee.W. J., 1,321.
McGibben, Joseph C, in, 500.
McGlashan, C. F., in, 145.
McGowan, "Ned," iv, 60, 97, 123.
McGuire, Jack, iv, 100.
McKay, Donald, iv, 388, 389.
McKay, Captain Lauchlan, iv, 388.
McKendry, Archibald, iv, 211.
McKibben, Joseph C, iv, 134, 147, 150,
IS2, I5S, 157, 169, 203.
"McKim," Steamship, in, 208, 321.
McKinley, James, n, 440.
McKinstry, E. W., hi, 210, 372.
McLane, Louis, v, 449.
McLaughlin, Charles, iv, 269.
McLaughlin, Patrick, iv, 226, 227, 234.
McNamara, Eugene, in, 83, 84.
McNear, George W., iv, 393 ; portrait
of, facing, iv, 394.
McPhetridge, James H., in, 255.
McTavish, Donald, n, 59.
Mackay, John W., iv, 246, 395, 396;
portrait of, facing, iv, 246.
Macondray, F. W., in, 439; iv, 103,
Macy, Charles B., v, 429.
Macy, Low & Co., v, 429.
Mad River, in, 345.
Maddrill, James D., v, 260.
Madeira, George, v, 233.
Maeser, Dr. Karl E., v, 194.
Magelhaes, Ferhao de, 1, 75.
Magellan, Ferdinand, 1, 23, 75.
Magnesite, v, 121.
Maguire, Thomas, in, 444.
Majors, Joseph L., n, 326.
Maldonado, Lorenzo Ferrer de, claims
of discovery made by, 1, 99.
Mallory, Henry C, m, 225.
Maloney, James R., iv, 108, 109, m,
114.
Mandeville, Sir John, 1, 6, 12.
Mange, Lieutenant Juan Mateo, 1, 141.
Manly, William Lewis, in, 243.
Manrique, Miguel, 1, 343, 344.
Manrow, John P., iv, 75, 81, 92.
Mansion House, iv, 364.
Manso, Juan, n, 448.
Manuel, King of Portugal, 1, 23.
Manufacturing, early, iv, 14-16.
Marcou, Jules, v, 3.
Marcy. Captain William G., in, 186,
290.
Mare Island Navy Yard Observatory,
iv, 324; v, 260.
Maricopa Wells, 1, 356.
Marin County, in, 377.
Marion Rifles, iv, 108.
Mariposa County, in, 377.
Markham, Edwin, v, 498.
Markham, Henry H., iv, 457, 458.
Marsh, Charles, iv, 278.
Marsh, G. F., v, 256.
Marsh, Dr. John, n, 326, 405, 429, 462.
Marshall, Edward C, in, 459,491,492.
Marshall, James W., n, 334, 461; 111,
172, 173, 174, 176, 177, 180, 191; rv,
224; v, 182.
INDEX
629
Martin, J. West, iv, 344.
Martin, Thomas S., iv, 449.
Martinez, Dona Maria Antonia, iv, 470.
Martinez, Ignacio, 11, 199; iv, 470, 473.
Martinez, Susana, iv, 473.
Martin's Creek, 1, 230.
Marysville, in, 37, 253, 331, 359; iv, 16,
20; v, 475.
Mason, Richard B., m, 107, 191, 195,
272, 274, 275; iv, 458; v, 171; portrait
of, facing, in, 158.
Masonic Savings and Loan Bank of
San Francisco, v, 450.
Masten, N. K., iv, 397.
Mastick, Edwin B., v, 236.
Mattison, E. E., in, 352; v, 204.
Maurier, Amidee, iv, 300.
May cock, George H., v, 194.
Meares, Captain John, iv, 255.
Mechanic's Fair, v, 478.
Meiggs, Henry, iv, 26, 29; v, 430.
Melius, Henry, 11, 470.
"Memnon," Clipper ship, iv, 384.
Mendenhall, W. C, iv, 443.
Mendocino Cape, earliest mention of,
1, 100.
Mendocino County, in, 377.
Mendoza, Don Antonio de, 1, 43; por-
trait of, facing, 1, 50.
Mercantile Library Association, iv, 26.
Merced, site for mission at, n, 94.
Merchants Exchange Bank, v, 453.
Merriam, C. H., v, 76.
Merriam, John C, v, 4, 76.
Merrill, John F., portrait of, facing, iv,
194.
Merritt, Ezekiel, in, 43, 92; iv, 449.
Mervine, Captain William, 111,76; v, 559.
Mesick, R. S., iv, 250.
Mexicali, iv, 424, 433.
Mexican Government in California,
revolt against, n, 435-442.
Meyer, Daniel, v, 446.
Meyer, William F., v, 260.
Micheltorena, Manuel, review of admin-
istration of, 11, 410, 423, 426; IV,
457; portrait of, facing, n, 440.
Michigan Bar, in, 338.
Mierson, A., v, 446.
Migration, The Great, in, 201-264.
Mildrow, William, 1, 400.
Millard, Bailey, v, 501.
Millbrae, 1, 240.
Miller, Henry, v, 428.
Miller, Hiram, in, 136, 141.
Miller, Joaquin, v, 495, 496.
Miller, John F., iv, 344, 353, 354, 356,
359. 362, 365, 366, 459, 460, 468.
Miller, Loye Holmes, v, 76.
Mills College, iv, 484; v, 253.
Mills, D. 0., iv, 269; v, 233, 235, 239,
241, 249, 428, 434, 435, 440, 441,
442, 443; portrait of, v, frontispiece.
Mills, Hiram, iv, 344, 369.
Mills, Ogden, v, 241.
Mines, Rev. Flavel S., iv, 490.
Mining, iv, 16.
Mining History of California, v, 199-
228.
Mining Stock Speculation, iv, 495-499.
Minor, Colvill J., in, 107.
"Mint," Steamer, in, 321.
Mint, United States, iv, 31.
Minton, Dr., in, 223.
Misroon, John S., in, 45.
Mission Architecture, n, 69.
Mission Bay, 1, 348.
Missions, condition of, n, 83; life at, 1,
99; conditions of in 1830; n, 253;
in 1839, n, 381-384; their work
ended, n, 421.
Mission Dolores, n, 70.
Mission El Rosario, in, 212.
Mission San Miguel, in, 190.
Mission Santa Ines, in, 69.
Missions, Life at, early, 1, 301-307.
Mitchell, H. K., iv, 250.
Mokelumne Hill, in, 338.
630
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Monk, Hank, iv, 233, 275.
Monroe, John A., iv, 167.
Monson, Sir William, 1, 90.
Montara Mountain, 1, 227.
Montara Point, 1, 230.
Monterey, 1, 188, 200, 201, 232, 233,
235, 242, 245, 254, 264, 266, 344, 349,
377. 387, 410, 422, 436; in, 19;
surender of, '76, first newspaper at,
in, 89, 278, 283, 299, 377, 472.
Monterey Bay, discovery of, 1, 107.
Monterey County, in, 377.
Monterey Presidio, fire of 1789 at, 11, 12.
Montezuma, in, 341.
Montgomery, Alexander, v, 257.
Montgomery, John B., in, 26, 54; por-
trait of, facing, in, 26.
Moon, A. J., iv, 299, 300.
Moore, B. F., m, 293, 371.
Moore, Geo. R., n, 400.
Moore, J. H., v, 240.
Moore, Phillip, iv, 204.
Moorehead, James C, in, 372.
Moorhouse, Joseph C, iv, 39.
Moraga, Joaquin, 11, 241.
Moraga, Don Jose Joaquin, 1, 354, 355,
363, 373, 376, 377, 399, 4°i, 4°5J ",
95-
Moreno, Francisco Garcia Diego y, in,
"5-
Morgan, Charles, v, 432.
Morgan, E. L., in, 209.
Mormon Colony, in, 117.
Mormon Island, in, 180, 295, 328, 337.
Mormons in California, v, 163-196.
Mormons, The, in, 239.
Morning Globe, The, in, 496, 497.
Morrell, A. J., in, 209.
Morrow, R. F., v, 237.
Morrow, W. C, v, 501.
Morse, Dr. Lucius DeWitt, iv, 344.
Morse, John F., iv, 278.
Morse, Peabody A., in, 464.
Moultry, Riley S., in, 131.
Mount Davidson, iv, 235, 242, 250.
Mount Diablo, in, 152, 179.
Mud Canon, in, 328.
Mugartegui, Padre, 1, 396.
Mulligan, "Billy," iv, 59, 67.
Munras, Estevan, n, 199.
Murguia, Jose Antonio, 1, 25 1, 397; 11,73.
Murietta, Joaquin, iv, 56.
Murphy's, in, 339, 340.
Murphy, John L., in, 133.
Murphy, Lemuel, hi, 129.
Murphy, Lavinia, in, 149.
Murphy, Mary, in, 359.
Murray, Chief Justice Hugh C, iv, 19,
317.
Mutual Water Companies of the Im-
perial Valley, v, 308.
Myers, A. H., iv, 13.
NAGLEE & COMPANY, iv, 431.
Naglee, Henry M., in, 163; v,
426, 602.
Napa College Observatory, v, 258.
Napa County, in, 377.
Nash, John H., in, 162.
National Gold Bank, v, 428. 453.
National Gold Bank and Trust Co., v,.
447-
National Lancers, iv, 108.
Natural Gas, v, 223.
Negrete, Castillo, n, 369.
Nethercott, Elder Charles J., v, 194.
Nevada Bank of San Francisco, v, 438,
449, 453-
Nevada City, in, 472; iv, 17.
Neve, Governor Felipe de, 1, 429; iv,
457; v, 147.
Newcomb, Prof. Simon, v, 237.
New Constitution, The, iv, 339-372.
Newhall, Henry M., v, 233.
New Helvetia, founding of, n, 398;
in, 67.
Nicholls, W. and P., v, 446.
INDEX
631
Nidever, George, n, 326.
Niebaum, Gustav, v, 602.
Nieto, Antonio Maria, v, 412.
Nieto, Jose Manuel, v, 559.
Nieto, Manuel, 11, 30; v, 412.
Nigger Slide Bar, in, 330.
Nisbet, James, iv, 35.
Niza, Father Marcos de, 1, 44.
Noriega, Jose de la Guerra y, n, 180.
Noriega, Jose, 11, 241; in, 66.
Norris, Frank, v, 498, 499.
Norton, Myron, in, 274, 286, 293, 308,
310, 370, 416; iv, 86, 181, 184.
Nova Albion, 1, 92.
Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles
de Porciuncula, v, 558.
Nugent, John, iv, 150, 156, 167.
Nutting, Isaac Calvin, iv, 81.
Nye, Ephraim H., v, 195.
Nye's Ranch, in, 331, 359.
O'BRIEN, WILLIAM S., iv, 246;
portrait of, facing, iv, 246.
O'Cain, Joseph, 11, 40; iv, 468.
O'Farrell, Jasper, 11, 439; in, 70, 158,
!6s, 193; iv, 202.
O'Halloran, Miss Rose, v, 253.
O'Meara, James, in, 499; iv, 167.
O'Neill, Edmund, v, 360.
O'Riley, Peter, iv, 226.
Oakes, Geo. J., m, 440.
Oakland, iv, 17, 166, 299, 300, 344, 371,
480, 484.
Oakland Clearing House Asso., v, 454.
Oakland Point, i, 236.
Oakley, Howard, in, 141.
Ocean Park, v, 196.
Occidental & Oriental Steamship Co.,
iv, 410.
Odd Fellows Savings Bank, v, 451.
Ogden, Peter Skeen, 11, 321.
Ogden, William B., iv, 266.
Ogier, J. S. K., in, 211, 372.
"Ohio," flagship, in, 207.
Old Town, founding of, 1, 260.
Olid, Christoval de, 1, 33.
Olivera, Jose Ignacio, 1, 211.
Ollinger, Douglas, in, 347.
Olompali, in, 56.
Ohate, Juan de, expedition by, 1, 146.
Ophir, in, 355.
Ophir Mine, iv, 226, 229, 248.
Ord, E. O. C, in, 107, 323; v, 572.
Ord, Dr. James L., in, 107; iv, 474.
Ord, Pacificus, in, 209.
Ord, Robert B., in, 209.
"Oregon," Steamship, in, 203, 208, 209.
Orena, Gaspar, iv, 474.
Oriental Bank, v, 437.
Ortega, Ignacio, iv, 469.
Ortega, Antonio Maria, 11, 199.
Ortega, Jose Francisco de, 1, 211, 216,
225, 230, 232, 233, 234; discovery of
Golden Gate by, 1, 235, 236, 237,
240, 241, 254; first commandante at
San Diego, 1, 312; advanced to grade
of Lieutenant, 1, 313, 315, 346, 370,
371, 373, 383, 40S, 464; ". 30; iv, 472.
Ortega, Jose Vicente, iv, 472.
Ortega, Rafaela Luisa Sabina, iv, 472.
Ortega, Trinidad, portrait of, facing,
11, 236.
Ortegas, The, iv, 378.
Osgood, J. K., iv, 81.
Osio, Antonio Maria, 11, 369, 423, 426.
Otis, James, v, 233.
Our Lady of Loreto, mission of, first
established in California, 1, 139.
Overland Emigrants, first, 11, 405.
Overton, A. P., iv, 344.
Owen, Rev. Isaac, iv, 490.
Owens Valley, v, 115.
Owsley, in, 330.
Oxenham, John, 1, 88.
Ox Pass, in, 245.
632
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
PACHECO, JUAN SALVIO, n, 241 .
Pacheco, Francisco, 11, 199.
Pacheco Pass, iv, 403 .
Pacheco, Romualdo, n, 199, 201, 203,
213; iv, 458, 460, 472.
Pacific Accumulation Loan Society, v,
432.
Pacific Bank, v, 432, 453.
Pacific Coast Steamship Co., iv, 451.
Pacific Foundry, iv, 15.
Pacific Mail Steamship Co., in, 203; iv,
4, 32, 407, 409, 410; v, 432, 505.
Pacific Ocean, discovery of, 1, 17.
Pacific Railroad, The, iv, 253-304.
Pacific Woolen Mills Co., v, 440.
Padres, Jose Maria, 11, 209.
Page, Bacon & Co., iv, 36; v, 427, 428.
Page, F. W., iv, 81.
Pajaro Valley, 1, 244.
Palace Hotel, v, 437.
Palmer, Cook & Company, in, 475, 496,
497; iv, 36, 62, 104; v, 427, 429.
Palmer, Joseph C, in, 475.
Palo Alto, battle of, in, 75.
Palou, Francisco, 1, 301, 341, 342, 349,
35°, 396; 11, 72.
Panama Canal, first suggestions of, 1, 21;
11, 332; iv, 411; v, 525-553.
Panama, City of, v, 526.
"Panama," Clipper ship, iv, 5.
Panama Railroad, iv, 3; v, 527.
Panama," Steamship, in, 203, 208, 210.
Panics, of 1854 and 1855, iv, 35-39; of
1893 and 1907, v, 454.
Paper Mill, first, iv, 15.
Pardee, George C, iv, 456, 458; v, 394.
Park, Trenor W., iv, 218.
Park's Bar, in, 329, 331.
Parke, John G., iv, 268.
Parkman, Francis, in, 122, 218, 235.
Parron, Father Fernando, 1, 192, 396.
Parrott & Co., v, 446.
Parrott, John, iv, 181.
Pasadena, in, 236.
Pasadena Clearing House Asso., v, 454.
Paschal, N., iv, 191.
Paterna, Antonio, 1, 396.
Patrick, G. W., iv, 180.
Pattie, Sylvester, n, 323.
Pattie, James O., n, 323-325.
Paty & McKinley, 11, 424.
Paulding, Joseph, n, 326.
Payran, Stephen, in, 440.
Peabody, Dr. W. F., in, 209.
Pearson, Captain, iv, 34.
Pease, Francis G., v, 265.
Peck, Elisha T., in, 475.
Pedrorena, Miguel de, in, 292, 372.
Pellier, Louis, iv, 14.
Pena, Cosme, n, 369.
Pena, Tomas de la, 1, 397.
Penrod, Emanuel, iv, 227.
Peralta, Domingo, iv, 299; v, 157.
Peralta, Luis, n, 241; iv, 299; v, 157.
Perkins, George C, iv, 450, 451, 458,
460.
Perez, Juan, 1, 191, 351.
Perley, D. W., iv, 160.
Perrine, C. D., v, 240.
Personal and Party Politics, in, 458-504.
Petaluma, in, 56, 57; v, 222.
Petroleum Industry, v, 345-360.
Peyri, Fray Antonio, n, 79, 213.
Peyton, Bailie, iv, 99, 103, 106.
Pfeffer Point, 1, 245.
Phelan, James D., iv, 451, 464.
Phelps, Admiral, 1, 103.
Phelps, Timothy Guy, iv, 155, 194, 202,
217, 279; portrait of, facing, iv, 156.
Phillips, John G., iv, 108, 109.
Phillips, Norman B., v, 194.
Phoenix, John, v, 489, 491.
Pickering, William H., v, 256.
Pickett, Elder, J. W., v, 193.
Pico, Andres, n, 448; in, 69, 92; iv, 50,
58; portrait of, facing, 11, 448.
Pico, Antonio, in, 372.
Pico, Jesus, in, 105.
INDEX
633
Pico, Pio, n, 214, 369, 428, 440, 447;
in, 166, 282; iv, 457, 471.
Pieras, Miguel, 1, 397.
Pierce, Captain Henry, 11, 462.
Piercy, Charles W., iv, 194.
Pierson, William M., v, 253.
Pigeon Point, 1, 227.
Pike, Naomi, in, 134.
Pike William H., in. 120, 127.
Pillar Point, 1, 229.
Pilot Hill, in, 328.
Pindray, Count de., iv, 40.
Pine Grove Camp, in, 332.
Pine, J. B., in, 209.
Pino, Miguel del, 1, 194, 396.
"Pioneer," Steamer, in, 321.
Pious Fund, Reasons for establishment
of, 1, 298; iv, 485, 486,487, 488, 489.
Pixley, Frank M., iv, 155, 184, 202.
Placer Mining, in, 170.
Placerville, in, 328, 360; iv, 20, 232.
Platinum, v, 222.
Plum, Charles M., v, 236.
Plumbe, John, iv, 260, 267.
Plume, John V., in, 210; v, 427.
Point Arena, 1, 70.
Point Avisadero, 1, 348.
Point Bonita, 1, 347.
Point Carmelo, 1, 245.
Point Conception, 1, 68, 232.
Point Delgada, 1, 70.
Point Lobos, 1, 343, 347.
Point Pinos, 1, 68, 70.
Point Reyes, 1, 68, 92, 231, 246.
Point Reyes Head, 1, 234.
Point Richardson, 1, 348.
Point San Pablo, hi, 56.
Point San Pedro, 1, 230, 348.
Poker Flat Camp, in, 332.
Political Convention, first state, in, 458.
Political History, iv, 450, 464.
Polo, Marco, 1, 8, 11, 12.
Pomona College, v, 270.
Pony Express Orders, iv, 7-9.
Pooley, Edward, 111, 210.
Poorman's Creek, in, 330, 332.
Pope, A. J., portrait of, facing, iv, 398.
Pope, Captain John, iv, 268.
Pope & Talbot, iv, 399.
Port of Monterey, described by Vis-
caino, 1, 218, 246.
Port of San Diego, map of, made in
1840, facing, 1, 104.
Port Sardinas, 1, 70.
Porter, Asa, in, 209.
Porter, Bruce, v, 484.
Porter, Nathan, iv, 184.
Portola, Gaspar de, 1, 147, 176, 211, 224,
226, 228; map of route of, facing, I,
230, 233; description of San Fran-
cisco Bay, 1, 236, 238, 242, 250, 255,
264; letter of, on discovery San
Francisco Bay, 1, 311, 342; iv, 457.
Portsmouth Square, in, 274.
Port Wine Camp, in, 332.
Post & Co., George B., iv, 74.
Potosi, San Luis, in, 19.
Poverty Hill, 111, 332, 341.
Prat, Don Pedro, 1, 192, 259, 351.
Prescott, William H., 1, 29.
Presidio of Monterey, establishment
of 1, 297.
Presidio of San Diego, establishment of,
1, 297.
Presidio, founding of first, 1, 259.
Presidios, Life at early, 11, 8.
Prestamero, Juan, 1, 397.
Preuss, Charles, in, 305.
Price, John, n, 326.
Price, R. M., in, 209, 297, 299.
Prudon, Colonel Victor, n, 411; in, 44,
163.
Purdy, Leutenant Governor, in, 477.
Putnam, Arthur, v, 483.
634
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Q
UARTZ Mining, in, 352.
Queen Califa, 1, 4.
Quevedo, Bishop, 1, 18.
Quicksilver, v, 222.
Quincy, in, 335.
Quiros, Fernando, 1, 343, 403.
RAE, WILLIAM GLEN, 11, 394,
439-
Railroad Flat, in, 338.
Raines, John, iv, 180.
Ralston, William C, iv, 243, 491, 494;
v, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436, 437, 438,
439, 440, 441, 442. 443. 4445 portrait
of, facing, iv, 244.
Ramirez, Angel, n, 354, 369.
Ramirez, Juan Mateo, 1, 144.
Ramirez, Padre, in, 288.
Ramirez, Pedro, iv, 488.
Rancho del Rey, n, 45.
Rancho Life, description of early, 11,
465-470.
Rancho San Rafael, v, 559.
Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana, 1, 211.
Rand, Charles E., iv, 108.
Randall, Dr., iv, 123.
Randolph, Edmund, m, 372; iv, 167,
194, 344-
Randolph, Epes, iv, 429, 432, 437.
Ranty Doddler Bar, in, 330.
Raousset-Boulbon, Count Gaston Raoul
de, iv, 40.
Reading, Pierson B., n, 473; in, 66, 193,
343, 458.
Reading's rancho, in, 180.
Real, Father, in, 163.
Red Bluff, in, 40.
Reddy, Patrick, iv, 344.
Redington, Alfred, iv, 155.
Reed, James F., in, 120. 123, 134.
Reed, J. Sewell, iv, 211.
Reed, Mrs., in, 133.
Reed, Martha, in, 141.
Reed, William, in, 190.
Reid, Hugo, in, 286, 304.
Renton, Holmes & Co., iv, 399.
Resanof, Count Nicolai Petrovich von,
expedition of, n, 141-147.
Reyes, Francisco, n, 30.
Reynolds, W. T., iv, 81.
Rhinehart, Joseph, in, 120.
Rhoads, Daniel, in, 131.
Rhoads, John, in, 131.
Rhodes, John M., iv, 344, 369.
Ricard, Jerome, v, 258.
Rice, Jerome, iv, 75.
Rich Bar, in, 335, 336, 344.
Rich, Charles C, v, 190.
Richard, Willard, in, 303.
Richardson, Albert D., iv, 233.
Richardson's Bay, 1, 347; in, 72.
Richardson, William A., n, 185, 241;
iv, 469.
Richardson, William H., iv, 66.
Rideout & Smith, v, 429.
Riley, Brigadier-General Bennet, in,
107, 272, 275, 2 7 8 > 28 °, 281, 282, 313,
3*4, 3735 IV , 458, 480; portrait of,
facing, in, 372.
Ringgold, Lieutenant Colonel George H.,
iv, 211.
Ritchey, G. W., v, 265.
Ritchie, Jacob, iv, 99.
Rivera y Moncada, Captain Fernando
Javier, 1, 177, 196, 21 1,217, 228, 264,
312-316, 373, 376, 398, 399, 408; v,
558.
Roach, Philip A., iv, 326.
Robbins, Thomas, n, 185.
Robbins, Thomas W., iv, 473.
Roberts, Brigham H., in, 390; v, 194.
Roberts, George D., iv, 491.
Roberts, Martin R., in, 209; iv, 103.
Roberts, Sam, in, 416.
Robertson, Peter, v, 501.
INDEX
635
Robinson, Alfred, n, 70, 470; in, 209;
IV > 473J portrait of, facing, 11, 222.
Robinson & Co., v, 427.
Robinson, C, in, 372.
Robinson, Tod, iv, 250.
Rockwell, John, v, 231.
Rockwood, C. R., iv, 423, 429, 432.
Rodriguez, Jacinto, in, 292, 304.
Rogers, Robert, v, 428.
Rogers, William H., iv, 81.
Rogers, Woods, rescue of Alexander
Selkirk by, 1, 155.
Rollins, J. H., v, 189, 191.
Roman, Richard, in, 376, 489.
Romero, Antonio, n, 30.
Romeu, Jose Antonio, n, 14; iv, 457.
Roosevelt, Theodore, iv, 437, 438.
Rope Walk, first, iv, 15.
Roubideaux, Don Louis, v, 192.
Rough and Ready, in, 329.
Rowland, John, 11, 440.
Royce, Professor Josiah, in, 30, 309.
Rucker, Major Daniel H., in, 250.
Russell, William H., in, 119.
Russian American Company, Nature of,
", 139-
Russians in California, n, 137.
Ryan, James T., iv, 181.
Ryckman, Gerritt W., in, 440.
SACRAMENTO, in, 47, 250, 278,
323, 359, 377; squatters riots
in, in, 448; election of, as
State Capital, in, 473; iv, 15, 16;
cholera at, iv, 18; fire of 1852, iv,
19, 20.
Sacramento Bee, The, in, 211.
Sacramento ClearingHouseAsso.,v, 454.
Sacramento County, in, 377.
Sacramento, Placer, and Nevada Rail-
road, iv, 282.
Sacramento Union, The, iv, 234.
Sacramento Valley, exploration in, 11, 224.
Saint Eulalia Lake, 1, 359.
St. Joe Bar, hi, 330.
St. John, Charles E., v, 265.
St. Louis Camp, in, 332.
Sais, Agustina, iv, 473.
Salina rancho, 11, 30.
Salinas, City of, v, 108.
Salinas Valley, in, 96; v, 107.
Salvatierra, Juan Maria, 1, 135-143.
"Samuel Russell," Clipper ship, iv, 386.
San Andreas, in, 339.
San Andres Valley, 1, 342, 382.
San Antonio de Padua Mission, 1, 277,
377J ", 83; V, 469.
San Antonio rancho, v, 157.
San Bernardino, in, 118.
San Bias, 1, 188, 349.
San Buenaventura Mission, 1, 188, 215,
271, 274, 280, 396, 461; ii, 83.
San Carlos Mission, 1, 188, 378, 398; n,
83, 88, 104.
Sanchez, Vicente, n, 210.
Sand Bar, in, 330.
Sand-lot Agitation, iv, 305-338.
Sanders & Brenham, v, 427.
San Diego, 1, 54, 56, 68, 106, 188, 198,
202, 208, 212, 232, 246, 251, 253,
264, 275, 277, 278, 285, 344, 368;
removal of mission at, 1, 370, 376,
397, 416, 437; adobe church at, 11,
75; first sowing of wheat at, n, 87;
early progress, n, 222; conditions in
1835; 11, 297; Indian uprising at,
357; in, 26, 92, 212, 223, 278, 377,
472; iv, 46; v, 112, 121.
San Diego Bay, 1, 59, 61, ill.
San Diego Clearing House Asso., v, 454.
San Diego County, in, 377.
San Diego Harbor, discovery of, 1, 56.
San Diego Mission, 11, 73, 83, 88.
San Fernando Mission, n, 88; m, 170.
San Fernando Rey de Espafia Mission,
n, 77-
636
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
San Fernando Valley, i, 214, 377.
Sanford, R. F., v, 240.
San Francisco, port of, 1, 100, 232, 254;
first settler of, 1, 341-392; founding
OI > J > 39S-426, 437; first fort at,
11, 18; early beginnings, 11, 241-244;
first custom house at, 11, 425; in,
71; adoption of name, in, 90, 153,
164, 165, 250, 253; conditions in
185 1, in, 262, 278, 295, 299, 319,
3S9> 3775 celebration over admission
of State, in, 398-400; struggles for
order, in, 405-453; fires of 1850 and
1861, in, 419-424; vigilance com-
mittee, in, 439-453, 472; graft
prosecution, iv, 499-503; descrip-
tion of, in 1853, IV , 22-34;
crime wars of early fifties, iv, 55-
126; climate of, v, 95-105, 121,
472; earthquake and fire of 1906,
v, 454, 505-521.
San Francisco and San Joaquin R. R.
iv, 405.
San Francisco Art School, v, 477.
San Francisco Bay, 1, 26, 90, 92; first
reference to, 1, 100; discovery of, 1,
223 ; description of, by Cabrera Bueno,
1,231; Ayala's map of, facing, 111,83.
San Francisco Blues, iv, 108.
San Francisco Clearing House Asso-
ciation, v, 453.
San Francisco County, in, 377.
San Francisco de Asis Mission, 1, 406;
11, 73, 88.
San Francisco Latin Quarter, v, 478.
San Francisco Mission, 11, 73.
San Francisco National Bank, v, 428.
San Francisco Savings Union, v, 431.
San Francisco Solano Mission, 11, 77.
San Francisquito Creek, 1, 380; in, 170.
San Gabriel, 1, 368, 370, 376, 399, 400;
11, 74.
San Gabriel Arcangel Mission, 1, 279; n,
83, 88.
San Joaquin, in, 278.
San Joaquin County, in, 377.
San Joaquin Valley, 1, 283; hi, 5; v, 105.
San Jose, 1, 347, 431, 438, 459; n, 29;
in 1820, 11, 172; early progress of,
11, 222; in, 8, 78, 116, 152, 250, 278;
State Capitol at, in, 299, 361, 371,
377, 472, 4735 iv, 17; v, 108.
San Jose Clearing Home Asso., v, 454.
San Jose de Guadalupe, town of, 1, 431.
San Jose Mission, 11, 76, 83, 88.
San Juan Bautista Mission, 11, 74, 76,
83, 88; in, 13, 83; v, 505.
San Juan CapistranoMission,n,74,83,88.
San Lucas Island, 1, 60.
San Lucas, Port of, 1, 75.
San Luis Obispo Mission, site of, 1, 216;
founding of, 1, 285, 385, 386, 413;
n, 80, 83; in, 77, 94, 278, 299; iv, 46.
San Luis Obispo County, in, 377.
San Luis Rey Mission, 11, 74, 77, 83, 88;
v, 469.
San Mateo, 1, 381, 383; iv, 14.
San Miguel, 1, 213.
San Miguel Archangel Mission, 11, 76.
San Miguel Islands, 1, 61.
San Nicholas, 1, 70.
San Pablo Bay, 1, 348, 383.
San Pascual, in, 60, 100.
San Pedro, 1, 56; in, 91.
San Pedro Bay, 1, 106.
San Pedro rancho, n, 30.
San Quentin, in, 56.
San Rafael Mission, n, 77; in, 56, 60,
70, 71, 184; v, 121.
Santa Ana, 1, 368.
Santa Barbara, 1, 60, 61, 70; arrival
sacred expedition, 1, 214, 225, 266;
founding of Presidio at, 1, 463, 465;
11, 75, 88, 188, 203, 222, 364; in, 18,
20, 28, 68, 83, 93, 278, 299, 377; iv,
48; v, 121.
Santa Barbara Channel, 1, 57, 59, 252,
264.
INDEX
637
Santa Barbara County, m, 377.
Santa Catalina, 1, 68, 106.
Santa Catalina Island, 1, 59.
Santa Clara College, n, 74; iv, 484.
Santa Clara County, in, 377.
Santa Clara College Observatory, v, 258.
Santa Clara Mission, 1, 414; 11, 73, 83;
in, 19, 42, 67, 83.
Santa Clara Valley, 1, 281; v, 108.
Santa Cruz, 1, 226; m, 78, 223.
Santa Cruz Bay, 1, 21, 35, 47, 52, 54, 57-
Santa Cruz County, m, 377.
Santa Cruz Island, 1, 61.
Santa Cruz Mission, 11, 76, 83, 88, 90.
Santa Fe R. R., iv, 405.
Santa Fe Trail, The, 11, 322.
Santa Ines Mission, n, 77, 88.
Santa Lucia Mountain, 1, 244.
Santa Maria, 1, 190.
Santa Monica Bay, 1, 68, 106.
Santa Rosa, 1, 61; n, 244; in, 346.
Sargent, Aaron A., iv, 180, 202, 217,
279> 454, 460-
Sarsfield Guards, iv, 108.
Sather & Co., v, 427, 453-
Sather Banking Co., v, 428.
Sather, Mrs. Jane K., iv, 483.
Sausalito, in, 184; iv, 15.
Savage, James D., iv, 57.
Savage Mine, iv, 248.
Savings and Loan Society of San Fran-
cisco, v, 430.
Savings Union Bank and Trust Co., v,
431-
Saw Mill Bar, in, 33°-
Schaeberle, J. M., v, 240.
Scheffauer, Herman, v, 501.
Schlesinger, Frank, v, 260.
Schmitz, Eugene, iv, 502.
Schoenwald, George v, 236.
Schofield, G. S., v, 349-
Schollenberger, Moses, in, 127.
Schools in California, first, 11, 131.
Scott, Charles, hi, 488.
Scott, Charles L., hi, 500; iv, 134, 156.
Scott, Rev. William A., iv, 200, 201.
Seal Rocks, 1, 342, 350; v, 506.
Sear's Diggings, m, 332.
Sears, Frederick H., v, 265.
See, Prof. T. J. J., v, 260.
Seeley, Jonas, iv, 250, 425.
Selby, Thomas H., v, 233.
Seligman & Co., J., v, 446.
Sells, Joseph, in, 131.
Selover, A. A., iv, 159.
Semple, Dr. Robert, in, 44, 89, 15 3, 290,
310, 322, 368.
"Senator," Steamship, in, 208, 321.
Serra, Junipero, 1, 147, 185,259,261,272,
273, 276, 282, 378, 395, 396, 401;
first visit to San Francisco mission, 1,
417511, 72; v, 121; portrait of, facing,
1, 184.
Settlers and Military rule, m, 1 15-198.
Seward, Hale & Chase, in, 498.
Seward, William H., v, 575.
Seymour, Admiral, in, 83.
Shaler, William, n, 48.
Shannon, Thomas B., iv, 217.
Shannon, W. E., m, 287, 293, 299, 306,
310, 372.
Sharon, William, iv, 243, 244; v, 437,
438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443. 444-
Shasta County, m, 377.
Shattuck, D. O., iv, 202.
Shattuck, Judge, in, 435.
Shaw, D. A., in, 219, 236.
Shaw, Justice, iv, 347.
Shaw, G. W., v, 297.
Sheppard, E. H., v, 602.
Sheppards, J. M., in, 255.
Sherman, William, v, 236.
Sherman, William T., in, 107, 193, 323;
iv, 33, 69, 83, 84, 85, 90, IOO, 101,
103, 104, 105, 106; v, 427.
Sherwood, Winfield S., in, 287, 3 10,
371, 368.
Shields, General, iv, 200.
638
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Shinn, Charles Howard, iv, 225, 228;
v, 501.
Ship Building, early, iv, 15.
Shoemaker, R., iv, 204.
Shoemaker, Samuel, in, 120.
Shonts, Theodore P., v, 539.
Shovel, Sir Cloudsley, 1, 41.
Showalter, Daniel, iv, 194, 204.
Shubrick, Commodore, in, 108.
Shurtleff, A. B., iv, 343.
Sibley, P. H., iv, 155.
Sicard's Bar, in, 330.
"Sierra Nevada," Steamer, iv, 3.
Sill, Daniel, n, 326.
Silliman, Prof., v, 347.
Simpson, A. M., iv, 399; portrait of, fac-
ing, iv, 14.
Simpson, Sir George, n, 394.
Simson, Robert, in, 225.
Sinclair, John, n, 439.
Sine, John, iv, 103.
Sinton, Richard H., v, 426.
Sitjar, Buenaventura, 1, 397.
Six Mile Canon, iv, 226.
Slack, John, iv, 491.
Slaughter Bar, in, 330.
Slavery Question, at first State Conven-
tion, 1, 302-304.
Slidell, John, in, 32.
Sloat, John D., 11, 449; in, 33, 73; iv,
457; portrait of, facing, in, 72.
Smith, Adam, 1, 120.
Smith, Austin E., iv, 180.
Smith, Azariah, v, 182, 195.
Smith, Caleb E., in, 484.
Smith, Dr. Peter, in, 423, 467; V, 430.
Smith, James, in, 120.
Smith, James Perrin, v, 35.
Smith, Jedediah S., 11, 318-321,433; m,
120; iv, 259.
Smith, Joseph F., V, 196.
Smith, Persifer F., hi, 209, 275, 276, 360.
Smith, Stephen, n, 431, 467; iv, 16.
Snyder, John R., in, 121, 158, 287, 311,
371, 463; portrait of, facing, in, 310.
Soberanes, Jose Maria, 1, 211; 11, 30; in,
282.
Sola, Don Pablo Vicente de, n, 4; iv,
457-
Solano County, in, 377.
Somera, Angel, 1, 397.
Sonoma, founding of, n, 244; Indian
troubles at, n, 354; in, 26, 42, 51, 54,
72, 79, 82, 278, 341, 359.
Sonoma County, in, 377.
Sonora, iv, 17.
Soto, Francisco Jose de los Dolores,
1, 4°3-
Soule, Frank, v, 251.
Soulsbyville, in, 341.
Southern Pacific R. R., iv, 402-409.
Southhampton Bay, 1, 348.
"Sovereign of the Seas," Clipper ship,
iv, 388.
Spofford, W. E., in, 416.
Spanish Colonization, 11, 21.
Spanish Governors, between 1782 and
1821, 11, 4.
Sparks, Isaac, n, 325.
Spear, Nathan, n, 424, 470.
Spence, David, n, 185, 395, 470.
Spence, J. R., in, 435.
Spence Observatory, v, 258.
Spitzer, Augustus, in, 120, 133.
Spreckels, Claus, iv, 405.
Squatter riots in Sacramento, in, 448.
Stage Lines, iv, 7.
Stansbury, Howard, iv, 268, 273.
Stanford, Leland, iv, 155, 180, 184, 202,
216, 218, 277, 278, 279, 280, 289,
290, 297, 300, 451, 4S4. 458, 460.
483; portrait of, facing, iv, 278.
Stanislaus Creek, 1, 337.
Stanton, Charles T., in, 120.
Staples, D. J., iv, 180.
Star, Los Angeles, v, 189, 191.
Stark, John, in, 141.
INDEX
639
State Journal, The, in, 496.
Steam and Water Saw Mills, early, iv, 1 5 .
I "Steamer Day," iv, 4.
Stearns, Abel, 11, 211, 342, 440, 470;
in, 26, 170, 286, 311, 372; iv, 474;
portrait of, facing, 11, 210.
Stephens, Alexander, v, 182.
Sterling, George, v, 501.
Stetson, James B., v, 512.
! Steuart, William M., in, 302, 368.
. Stevens, B. A., in, 224.
Stevens, Isaac I., iv, 267.
Stevens, John F., v, 539.
Stevenson, Jonathan D., in, 107, 151,
163, 481; portrait of, facing, in, 106.
Stewart, Lyman, v, 349.
• Stewart, William M., iv, 250.
Stidger, Judge, in, 436.
; Stockton, hi, 153, 225, 323, 324, 359,
448; iv, 15, 20.
Stockton, Robert F., in, 20, 79; iv 457;
portrait of, facing, in, 80.
' Stoddard, Arvin M., n, 192.
Stoddard, Charles Warren, v, 497.
i Stone, Charles, in, 136, 141.
Stoneman, George, iv, 453, 458.
Stowell, Levi, in, 209.
Strawberry Flat, iv, 232.
Stringtown, in, 335.
Strong, D. W., iv, 278.
Struggle for Order, in, 403-453.
Stuart, Charles V., iv, 362, 364.
Stuart, James, in, 433.
Sullivan, Eugene L., in, 209.
Sullivan, "Yankee," iv, 59.
Sumner, Gen. E. V., iv, 198, 204.
Sunderland, Thomas, iv, 250.
Sutro, Adolph, iv, 239, 240, 241.
Sutro Heights, 1, 235.
Sutter County, in, 377.
Sutter Creek, in, 338.
Sutter, John A., n, 463; in, 158, 172,
175, 176, 177, 191, 286, 313, 368; v,
182; portrait of, facing, 11, 408.
Sutter's Fort, 1, 7.
Sutterville, in, 323.
Swarth, H. S., v, 76.
Swift, Dr. Lewis, v, 259.
Swift, John F., iv, 319.
Swiss American Bank, v, 453.
TAFT, WILLIAM H., iv, 439.
Talbot, William C, portrait
of, facing, iv, 400.
Tallant & Co., v, 453.
Tallant Banking Co., v, 427.
Tallant, Drury, v, 427.
Tanner, Henry S., v, 195.
Tapia, Tiburcio, n, 199.
Taylor, Bayard, m, 232, 283, 285, 312,
321, 322, 324, 337, 342, 349. 36l,
369, 409; iv, 10, 421, 422.
Taylor, Dr. Edward R., iv, 502.
Taylor, J. M., iv, 75.
Taylor, Nelson, in, 372.
Taylor, R. N., iv, 250.
Taylor, Rev. William, iv, 490.
Taylor's Bar, in, 339.
Tefft, H. A., in, 287, 299, 311, 371.
Tehachipi Pass, in, 5.
Telegraph Hill, in, 207, 399.
Telegraph Lines, first, iv, 9.
Teller, Rafael, n, 426.
Temple & Workman, v, 445.
Temple, Francis Pliney, v, 445.
"Tennessee," wreck of Steamer, iv, 32.
Terry-Broderick Duel, correspondence
relating to, iv, 505-509.
Terry, David S., in, 491, iv, 103, 104,
105, 109, no, in, 112, 113, 115,
117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 159, 166,
167, 168, 169, 192, 204, 344.
Tevis, Lloyd, portrait of, facing, iv, 36.
Thatcher, John Boyd, 1, 9.
Thaw, William, v, 254.
Thissell, E. W., in, 228.
Thomas, Daniel M., v, 190.
640
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Thomas, George H., iv, 197.
Thomas, William H., iv, 474.
Thompson, Christopher Q., in, 107.
Thompson, D. W. C, in, 209.
Thompson, "Snow Shoe," iv, 231.
Thompson, S. T. iv, 81.
Thompson, William, in, 141.
Thompson, W. T., iv, 81.
Thornton, Crittenden, v, xv, 420.
Thornton, Harry I., iv, 250.
Thornton, James D., iv, 103, 112.
Thornton, Sir Edward, iv, 488.
Tiles, making of, n, 89.
Tilford, Frank, in, 498, 502; iv, 67, 153,
184.
Tillinghast, William H., iv, 81.
Tin Cup Bar, in, 332.
Tobin, Richard, portrait of, facing, iv,
294.
Toca, Jose Manuel, first teacher at
Santa Barbara Mission, 11, 131.
Tod, William, in, 50, 54.
Toland, Dr. H. H., iv, 482.
Tomales Bay, 1, 231.
Tone, John H, in, 225.
Torres, Francisco, n, 240.
Torres, Joaquin de la, in, 56, 68, 69, 70.
Torrez, Dr. Manuel, n, 467, 472.
Toscanelli, 1, 9, 11.
Toscanelli's Map, facing, 1, 8.
Townley, Sydney D., v, 260, 270.
ULLOA, FRANCISCO DE, 1, 20.
Unamunu, Pedro de, voyage
of discovery by, 1, 101.
"Unicorn," Steamship, in, 208.
Union Iron Works, iv, 15.
Union Mill and Mining Co., iv, 243 ; v,
440.
VACA, ALVAR Nunez Cabeza
de, 1, 42, 43.
Valencia, Candelaria, n, 241.
Vallecito, hi, 340.
Vallejo, Encarnacion, iv, 473.
Townsend, Dr. John, n, 439; m, 274.
Townsend, E. J., v, 428.
Toyo Risen Kaisha Steamship Line, iv,
410.
Tracey, F. P., iv, 180.
Tracy, J., iv, 228.
Trade and Transportation, iv, 373-411.
Transcript, Sacramento Daily, The, in,
254, 2S5-
Trask, John B., v, 3.
Trescott, William Henry, iv, 3 19.
Tribune, New York, iv, 190.
Trinity Bay, 1, 349.
Trinity County, in, 231, 377.
Trinity River, in, 193, 343.
Truckee Lake, in, 127, 335.
Truckee River, n, 431.
Truett, Miers F., iv, 81, 85, 90, 91, 92,
114, 121.
Tubac, 1, 352, 353.
Tubbs, A. L., iv, 81.
Tucker, R. H., v, 240.
Tucker, Reasin P., in, 131.
Tulare Lake, 1, 385.
Tuolumne County, in, 377.
Turner, Dr. George F., in, 209.
Turner, Henry K., iv, 352.
Turner, Henry W., v, 4.
Turner, John, in, 136.
Tuttletown, in, 339.
Twain, Mark, v, 489, 491, 492.
Union Oil Co., v, 349.
United States Hotel, in, 342.
United States Mint, v, 426, 455.
University of California, iv, 479, 481,
482, 483.
University of Southern California, ^,484.
Urdaneta Andres de, 1, 79.
Vallejo, Mariano G., 1, 407; n, 199, 239,
345, 354. 356, 373, 467; in, 18, 27,
38, 44, 54, 55, 57, 58, 81, 153, 158,
290, 37i, 472, 474; iv, 381; v, 153;
portrait of, n, frontispiece.
INDEX
641
Vallejo, Salvador, n, 474.
Vancouver, George, 1, 26; iv, 256; por-
of, facing, 11, 304.
Van Dorn, Earl, iv, 197.
Van Dyke, Walter, in, 240; iv, 344, 369.
Van Maanen, Adrian, v, 265.
Van Ness, Mayor James, iv, 73.
Van Nostrand, A. M., m, 209.
Van Voorhees, William, m, 209, 376;
iv, 12, 21, 344, 369.
Varela, Hilario, 11, 451.
Varela, Serbulo, in, 92.
Vargas, Sergeant Manuel, 11, 131.
Velarde, Manuel de la Ojuela y, 1, 144.
Vera Cruz, m, 20.
Verdugo, Jose Maria, n, 30.
Verdugo, Mariano de la'Luz, 11,30; v, 560.
Vermeule, J. L., in, 287,371.
Vernon, m, 359.
Vespucius, 1, 10.
Victoria, Manuel, 11, 207; iv, 457.
Vigilance Committee, in, 439"453-
Vigilance Committee of 1856, iv, 55-126.
Vignaud, Henri, 1, 9.
Vila, Don Vicente, 1, 192, 265, 351
Villalabos, Ruy Lopez de, 1, 77.
Virginia and Truckee Railroad, iv, 244.
Virginia City, iv, 251; v, 477.
Virginia Mining Co., iv, 247.
Viscaino, Juan, 1, 194, 242, 262, 396; v,
466.
Viscaino, Sebastian, 1, 105.
Viticulture in California, v, 601-605.
Volcano Camp, in, 337.
Vreeland, E. B., hi, 209.
Vulcan Foundry, iv, 15.
T"Y TAGNER, MADGE MORRIS,
* " Walc'ott, C D., iv, 428.
Waldo, William, in, 255, 466.
Walker, Cyrus, portait of, facing, iv,
402.
Walker, Joel P., in, 37* •
Walker, Mrs. Joel P., n, 405.
Walker, John E., v, 539.
Walker, Joseph, R., n, 406, 43°; ra i 7-
Walker, William, filibusting expedition
of, iv, 41-46.
Walker's Lake, in, 7.
Walker's Pass, in, 5.
Wallace, John F., v, 539.
Walsh, James, in, 489.
Walsh, Nicholas, in, 225.
Walters, W. P., in, 209.
Ward, Artemus : v, 491.
Ward, George, iv, 75.
Ward, George R., in, 441.
Ward, James C, Hi, 4*6.
Ward, Samuel, in, 210.
Warner, Jonathan Trumbull, 11, 326,
470; in, 26.
Warner's rancho, in, 99.
Warner, William H., in, 323-
Washburn, Charles A., iv, 150.
Washington, B. F., m, 436, 5°«i IV >
150, 184.
Waterman, Robert H., iv, 388.
Waterman, Robert W., iv, 456, 458.
Waters, Byron, iv, 344.
Watkins, Wm. B., iv, 75.
Watson, Henry B., in, 107.
Watson, James, n, 395.
Watts, W. L., v, 347.
Webb, Henry L., in, 225.
Weber, Charles M., n, 437. 47* 5 »"> 78,
96, 152, 193, 324; portrait of, facing,
11, 438.
Weller, John B., in, 463, 493, 499. 5°i>
502; iv, 136, 146, 149, 153, 156, 182,
184, 195, 217, 458, 459.
Wellock, William, iv, 333.
Wells, Alexander, in, 464.
Wells, Fargo & Co., iv, 6, 231
453-
Wells Fargo Nevada National Bank, v,
450.
v, 428,
642
HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA
Wells, Thomas G., v, 427.
Welty, Daniel W., n, 400.
Western Pacific Railroad, iv, 282, 283,
409.
West Point, m, 338.
Wheat Corner, iv, 394.
Wheeler, Rev. O. C, in, 209; iv, 489.
Whippel, A. W., iv, 268.
White, Elijah, 11, 461.
White, Stephen M., iv, 460.
Whiting, Charles J., in, 376.
Whitman, B. C, iv, 250.
Whitney, Asa, iv, 261.
Whitney, J. D., v, 347, 348.
Whitney, Orson F., iv, 209; v, 196.
Wickson, Edward James, v, 91, 342.
Wightman, Peter, iv, 97.
Wilde, Judge, v, 427.
Wilkes, George, m, 461; iv, 144, 158,
261.
Wilkinson, James, iv, 258.
Willett, G., v, 76.
Willey, Rev. Samuel H., in, 209, 288,
295; iv, 29, 479, 480, 490; portrait
of, in, 288.
Williams, Rev. Albert, in, 209; iv,
489.
Williams, Baylis, in, 120.
Williams, Charles H. S., in, 475.
Williams, Edwards, iv, 399.
Williams, Eliza, in, 120, 133.
Williams, H. B., v, 194.
Williams, H. F., m, 209.
Williams, Isaac, n, 326; in, 225.
Williams, John H., iv, 23.
Williams, John J., iv, 103.
Williams, Thomas H., iv, 250.
Williams, Vergil, v, 477.
Williamson, R. S., iv, 268.
Wilmerding, J. C, iv, 483.
Wilson, Benjamin Davis, in, 92.
Wilson, James S., v, 569.
Wilson, John, in, 303, 304, 382, 390,
391; iv, 461,472.
Wilson, R., in, 260.
Wilson, R. E., v, 240.
Wilson, Samuel M., iv, 344.
Wimmer, Peter L., in, 174.
Winans, Joseph W., iv, 344; v, 431;
portrait of, facing, v, 432.
Winship Brothers, The, n, 51.
Winship, Jonathan, n, 52.
Winsor, Justin, 1, 9.
Winters, John D., iv, 269.
Winthrop, Theodore, iv, 22.
Wolfskill, William, n, 325; iv, 14.
Wollaber, A. B., v, 115.
Wood, W. S., iv, 250.
Woodbridge, Rev. Sylvester, in, 209;
iv, 490.
Woodruff, Charles A., iv, 211.
Woodruff, Wilford, v, 193, 195.
Woods, Rev. James, in, 214, 341.
Woods, S. D., in, 245.
Woodward's Garden, v, 478.
Woodworth, F. A., in, 440.
Woodworth, Lt. Selim E., in, 135, 141,
372, 440; portrait of, facing, in, 134.
Wool, General John E., iv, 101.
Woolen Mill, first, iv, 15.
Workman, William, n, 440; v, 445.
Works, John D., iv, 460.
Wozencraft, O. M., in, 287, 310, 372.
Wright, Dr. A. S., v, 428.
Wright, George, iv, 35, 205, 209.
Wright, George W., in, 369.
Wright, John T., in, 209.
Wright, W. H., v, 240.
Wright's Miner's Exchange and Savings
Bank, v, 428.
Wyatt, Joe, in, 7.
Wythe, Rev. J. H., v, 253.
INDEX
643
YALE, CHARLES G., v, 228.
"Yankee Blade," wreck of
Steamer, iv, 33.
Yellow Jacket Mine, iv, 248.
Yerba Buena, 11, 185; m, 8, 59, 77, 84,
89, 118, 135, 153; iv, 470.
Yerba Buena Island, 1, 236, 241.
Yerkes, C. T., v, 258.
Yolo Water Company, v, 310.
Yorba, Jose Antonio, 1, 211.
Young, Brigham, m, 303, 390; v, 165,
167, 169, 176, 184, 185; portrait of,
facing, v, 164.
Young, John P., v, 500.
Yount, George C, 11, 325, 430, 470;
portrait of, facing, 11, 324.
Yountville, 11, 325.
Yuba City, in, 359, 472.
Yuba County, m, 377.
Yuma Indian Massacre, 1, 479.
'ACATULA, RIVER, 1, 20.
1 Zaltieri's Map, facing, 1, 122.
Zamorano, Agustin V., 11, 355, 412.
Zins, George, 111, 323.
Zufiiga, Lieutenant Jose ; 1, 459.
