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Full text of "The natural wealth of California; comprising early history; geography, topography, and scenery; climate; agriculture and commercial products; geology, zoology, and botany; mineralogy, mines, and mining processes; manufactures; steamship lines, railroads, and commerce; immigration, population and society; educational institutions and literature; together with a detailed description of each county .."

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Cro vw'^z 



THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIEOEMA. 



THE 



NATURAL WEALTH 



OF 



CALIFORNIA 



COMPRISIxa 

EARLY history; QEOORAPnY, TOPOGRAPHY, AND SCEMERY ; CLIMATK ; AGRICCTLTURE AND COMMERCIAL 
PRODUCTS ; GEOLOGY, ZOOLOGY, AND BOTANY ; MINERALOGY, MINES, AND MINING PRO- 
CESSES; MANUFACTURES; STEAMSHIP LINES, RAILROADS, AND COMMERCE; 
IMMIGRATION, POPULATION AND SOCIETY; EDUCATIONAL IN- 
STITUTIONS AND LITERATURE; TOGETHER WITH 

A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EACH COUNTY; 

ITS TOPOGRAPHY, SCENERY, CITIES AND TOWNS, AGRICULTURAL 

ADVANTAGES, MINERAL RESOURCES, AND 

VARIED PRODUCTIONS. 



BY 

TITUS FEY CRONISE. 



SAN FRANCISCO: 
H. H. BANCROFT & COMPANY. 

NEW YORK: 113 WILLIAM STREET. 
1868. 



} J 1 1 i 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18C8, 

By TITUS TEY CROKISE, 

la the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the 

District of California. 




STKREOTYrED AT TIIK Cai.ifornia Ttpe FonxpnT, 

From Typu iiiaimfacturcd by AVm. Fatlkneb i Sox, 
411 Clay Strcut, iSaii I'raucisco. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The Publishers present this work as the most recent, comprehensive, and 
elaborate treatise upon the history, geography, geology, natural history, cli- 
mate, population, wealth, industry, products, and resources of California. 
Unusual pains have been taken to insure its acceptance as a work not alone 
of passing interest, but as a standard authority on all the subjects it em- 
braces. 

There is a strong demand for such an authority, both for the purposes of 
local information and reference, and for citation and general use abroad, 
where, for many reasons, much attention has recently been attracted to our 
State. The successfvil establishment of mail steam communication with 
Japan and China ; the acquisition of Alaska ; the near completion of the 
Pacific railroad ; the remarkable increase of our agricultural products and 
exports, enabling California to compete profitably with the foremost wheat 
countries in the markets of Europe, are circumstances that have, within the 
past twelve months, caused more particular inquiry to be made concerning 
the State than ever before. It is no longer looked upon as the isolated 
abode of a nomadic and somewhat lawless community, absorbed mainly in 
gold seeking, and generally indifferent to the healthy pursuits and noble 
concerns of life — ^but as a well-ordered commonwealth, prolific in natural 
resources and capacities beyond all its sisters ; favored by a delightful cli- 
mate ; advancing in substantial prosperity ; attesting the fertility of its soil 
by a wheat crop approximating in value its yield of gold ; and rivaling two 
zones in the variety of its other products. It is seen to be the nucleus of a 
great empire on the Pacific, already adjoined by States and Territories of 
remarkable characteristics, and laying a train of causes that will some day 
shift the currents of commercial and monetary exchange. 



VI INTEODUCTORT. 

Hence it is desirable to collate in one Tolume a reliable statement of tlio 
salient facts concerning a region of so much interest ; to make such a com- 
pilation as will serve as a magazine for the use of all who have occasion to 
write or speak about California, and which, when drawn upon by joirrnalists 
abroad for popular articles, will disseminate correct infonnation and ideas 
where these are most needed and will have the most beneficial effect 
While this work has been prepared in a spirit of natural pride, everything 
like exaggeration has been guarded against. The matei-ial facts are set 
forth \vith plain speech, and often with statistical brevity — the reader being 
left, in most cases, to di'aw his own conclusions. The grand aim has been 
to give full and correct information — not to argue or commend. 

Those who are most anxious for the rapid peopling and development of 
the State should desire no more than the accomi:)lishment of this aim, which 
must supply the most effective of all arguments — those derived from the 
irrefutable logic of facts. 

In pursuance of the ideas above set forth, the author has drawn upon 
every reliable source of information ; has employed the best ability in origi- 
nal researches, and has collated a large amount of valuable matter not before 
printed. The whole material in the book, which embraces over 700 imperial 
octavo pages, has been gj^thered and written within a year — much of it 
within a few weeks of publication ; so that the very latest ojfficial and other 
data have been availed of to make each department as fresh and complete as 
l^ossible. The author has been assisted by a corps of specially qualified 
gentlemen, who have established reputations as statisticians, scientists, and 
writers on subjects of practical and economical interest, and most of whom 
have brought to this work the best results of years of experience and obser- 
vation. 

The division of the work comprises a variety of subjects, some of which 
may be mentioned here to afford an idea of the scope of the book : History, 
70 pages ; Geography, 20 pages ; Description and Statistics of the Counties, 
separately, 237 ; Climate, 21 ; Agriculture, 43; Geologj-, 37; Zoology, G7 ; 
Flora, 27; Mining and Metallm-gical Processes, 34; Mines and Mining, 34 ; 
Manufactures, 47 ; San Francisco, 23. Among tlie miscellaneous topics 
treated are the following : Immigration ; Population ; Literatiu-c ; Educa- 
tional Matters ; Eailroads ; Petroleum ; Shipbuilding ; Tclegi-aphs ; City 
aud County Finances ; U. S. Branch Mint, etc. 

A verj' brief review of the more strildng facts referring to California 



INTEODUCTORY. yil 

will be enough to" satisfy those who may wonder at such an expenditure 
of literary labor upon our State, that it is entirely justified. 

California's seven hundred miles of length, by about two hundred of 
width, embraces the same nine degrees of latitude which, on the Atlantic 
side of the continent, include the extensive and populous country stretching 
from Charleston, S. C. , to Plymouth, Mass. , a region occupied by portions 
of ten or twelve States. Within these limits, is an area of nearly 160,000 
square miles — greater than the combined area of New England, New York, 
and Pennsylvania, or that of Great Britain and Ireland, with several minor 
German States thrown in. The outline of this great State on the map resem- 
bles that of an oblong trough, the Coast Range on the westward, or ocean 
side, and the Sierra Nevada on the east, with their interlocking extremities 
forming the rim, and enclosing a series of level valleys remarkable for their 
fertility, once basins of water, salt or fresh, now filled with the washings of 
uncounted years, but still subject to occasional partial floods. The mountain 
walls themselves are broken into innumerable smaller valleys, level like the 
others, those in the Coast Range being the largest and loveliest, and only 
slightly elevated above the ocean, those of the Sierra Nevada, and especially 
at the sources of its streams, and between its crest of double summits, 
attaining an elevation of from 3,000 to 7,000 feet, and enclosing charming 
lakes. 

Although this State reaches to the latitude of Plymouth bay on tlie 
north, the climate, for its whole length, is as mild as that of the regions 
near the tropics ; half the months are rainless ; snow and ice are almost 
strangers, except in the high altitudes ; there are fully 200 cloudless days, 
every year ; roses bloom in the open air of the valleys through all seasons ; 
the grape grows at an altitude of 3,000 feet with MediteiTanean luxuriance ; 
the orange, the fig, and the olive flom-ish as in their native climes; jet, 
there is enough variety of climate and soil to include all the products of 
the northern temperate zone, with those of a semi-tropical character. The 
great valleys of the interior yield an average of 20 to 35 bushels of wheat 
per acre ; crops of 60 bushels are not uncommon, while as high as 80 bushels 
have been known on virgin soil under the most favorable circumstances. 
The farmer loses less time here than in any other portion of the United 
States, or in any country of Europe. 

It is remarkable that with these genial characteristics blends some of 
the grandest mountain scenery ir the world. The Sierra Nevada contains 



VIU INTEODUCTOKT. 

the highest peats known in North America. In its northern portion stands 
Mount Shasta, 14,440 feet high, and towering seven thousand feet above all 
surrounding peaks. In its southern portion, however, where the main chain 
attains its greatest general height, Mount "Whitney rises about 15,000 feet, 
and is surrounded by a close congregation of 100 peaks, which are all above 
13,000 feet, while the embracing region, for 300 square miles, has an eleva- 
tion of 8,000 feet. Beside these figiires the Alps become inferior. The 
Tosemite gorge has a world-wide celebrity for its granite walls, which rise 
perpendicularly as high as 4,400 feet, and over which tumble river cvurents 
that break in foam on the blue air, or sway in the breeze like veils of lace. 
In this splendid range occur those gold deposits, the most extensive ever 
known, which have yielded in twenty years $850,000,000, and are still yield- 
ing over 37 per cent, of the whole annual gold product of the world, or 10 
per cent more than Australia. In this range, or its offshoots, are also found 
mines of silver, copper, iron and coal, with smaller quantities of numerous 
other metals and minerals. Here are also the finest coniferous forests of 
America, including several groves of the largest and oldest trees in the 
world. More than all this, a large portion of the Sierra Nevada, rugged as 
it might seem to be from this description, is well adapted to cvdtivation and 
settlement ; its lower ridges, its depressions and foot-hills, having a produc- 
tive soil, and being accessible by good wagon roads, in some places by rail- 
roads already built or projected, while the mining communities furnish 
good markets. Agriculture in the mountain districts is becoming a striking 
feature of the industry of the State, and it is believed that for gi-ape and 
fruit raising the high lands will hereafter be generally preferred. Many of 
these remarks are also true of the Coast Range, where mountains 3,000 feet 
high are often clothed to their summits with a thick gi'owth of wild oats, 
which furnish excellent pasture and hay ; where the valleys are rich and 
picturesque, and where quicksilver, salt, sulphur, borax, and splendid red- 
wood timber are found in abundance. 

"When such facts as the foregoing are recalled, it would seem strange that 
California hardly increased its population for many years, if we did not 
reflect how remote and isolated it has been from the gi-eat hives of tho 
East, how little has been known abroad about its best qualities, and how 
fatal were the early vagabond mining methods and habits to permanent 
prosperity. Yet, for a community never exceeding from 400,000 to 500,000, 
all told, scattered over an area large enough to support 30,000,000, and 



INTKODUCTORT. . IX 

beginningf tvrenly years ago "^vith but a handful of Caucasians, California lias 
accomplished a great deal. If its gold product has fallen from $05,000,000 
per annum to $25,000,000, its agricultural products have increased to an 
amount equal to half the largest gold yield ever knovni. The wheat crop 
alone, for 1867, was\rorth nearly as much as the gold, and the surplus of this 
staple freighted 223 ships, and reached a value of $13,000,000; while the total 
exports of home products, including about fifty different articles for which 
the State was formerly dependent on other lands, was about $17,000,000. 
The vintage of 1867 exceeded 8,500,000 gallons of wine and 400,000 gal- 
lons of brandy, the ntunber of vines now growing in the State being about 
25,000,000. The wool clip was 9,500,000 pounds, showing a gain of more 
than thirty per cent, over 1866. Silk, tobacco, hops, flax and cotton may now 
be ranted among the minor products that promise to be hereafter sources of 
profit. A silk factory and a sugar-beet factory are two of the new indus- 
tries being established. The manufactures of the State are already esti- 
mated at $30,000,000 per annum. The best mining machinery in the Union 
is made here. The assessed value of real and personal property increased 
in 1867 about $21,000,000, running up the total taxable values of the State 
to some $221,000,000, and showing a gain of twenty per cent, in two years, 
the most prosperous years ever experienced in the State. It may be said 
that the genuine prosperity of California is only just begun. So long as a 
greater part of its population was engaged in surface mining there was little 
substantial gain, either materially or morally. The transition period to more 
regular and diversified industry was one of trial and discouragement; but it 
is nearly over, and on every hand may be seen the signs of improvement, 
in commerce, manufactures, agriculture and society. Mining itself is becom- 
ing a fixed pursuit, regulated by science, skill, and capital. One third of 
our gold product is now obtained from quartz veins worked by machinery, 
and this proportion is steadily increasing. Railroads are rapidly multiply- 
ing in the State. "Within twelve months San Francisco will be connected by 
rail with all the principal towns of the interior, at distances from 50 to 200 
miles, north, south or east, and with the Great Basin of Nevada and Utah, 
by the Pacific railroad. Telegraph lines ramify from the metropolis to all 
parts of the interior, connecting with British Columbia and every State in 
the Union. 

The running of two lines of steamships to Panama, and others to Mexico, 
British Columbia, Alaska, the Sandwich Islands, Japan and China, has 



/ 



INTRODUCTOET. 



greatly increased our commerce and quickened immigration, A sound me- 
tallic banking system is in secure operation. 

The State funds for educational jiurposes now aggregate nearly 
$1,000,000, and the interest upon this, Avith the aid of school taxes, supports 
an admirable system of free instruction. The means and the measures are 
ready for establishing a State University on a broad and permanent basis. 
The penal and benevolent institutions maintained by the State have been 
improved considerably, the latter, especially, being quite creditable, and 
including provision for the insane, the deaf and dumb and blind, the 
orphaned, and the youthful wrecks of society. Besides these, thei'e are 
numerous and varied local establishments in San Francisco, which minister 
to the miseries and wants of the entire State with impartial charity. 

The future of California is very bright, and those who have been faithful 
to her through nineteen or twenty years of remarkable vicissitudes and hard- 
ships, may well rejoice in the prospect. Tet, there are some evils and dis- 
advantages which need to be frankly considered. Habits of lavish expen- 
diture, lack of repose in social manners, recklessness in business, undue 
haste to be rich, want of restraint over the young, too great indijQference to 
the solid essentials of character in public and private, a hard materialism ; 
these are traits which Calif ornians, with all their spasmodic, though hearty 
generosity, exhibit too frequently. This criticism is less applicable to all 
the larger centers of population, however, than it would have been a few 
years ago. The gTowth of the family influence and of the sentiment of 
attachment to the State, has been quite raj)id. Society is ciystallizing into 
perfect forms ; homes have multij)lied ; domestic pleasiu-es and moral 
restraints are generally more powerful than frontier \Tlces, and the most 
intelligent travelers concede that for pleasantness of home siuroundings, 
and regard for all the ordinary sanctities of law and religion, society in the 
populous centers of California compares favorably with that at the East, 
while it has undoubtedly escaped the worst eflfccts of protracted war and 
financial disturbance. Such asperities as remain here and there will bo 
toned down by the lapse of time, the concentration of a more stable popu- 
lation in the mining districts, the homogeneousness tliat will come with a 
larger native infusion ; but it is worth while to try and subdue them eai'lier, 
and to cultivate even more assiduously than we do the quiet domestic traits 
that make the beauty and the sweetness of Home. 

A difficulty of another kind is found in the uncertain tenure of real estate, 



INTEODUCTORT. XI 

and the tendency to retain land in large tracts. This, however, is less appa- 
rent than it was a few years ago. Nearly all the Spanish titles have been 
finally adjudicated, and fair progress is making in settling the many vexa- 
tious disputes as to the large tracts of land granted by the United Statea 
Government, which the State authorities too hastily and carelessly put 
into market. Large bodies of land are coming into possession of railroad 
companies ; but under the regulations adopted by Congress, these cannot be 
withheld from occupation, even if it were not to the interest of the grantees 
to sell them. Many holders of Spanish grants, which embrace some of tho 
most extensive and fertile districts, could greatly benefit the State, and 
themselves, by dividing these estates into small farms and selling them to 
actual settlers at a fair price. It will be a grand day for California when 
the word " ranch," like the idea and system it represents, has only a histor- 
ical meaning, and when small farms, well tilled, dot the lovely plains now 
abandoned to herds of cattle. The floods and droughts of 18G2, '63 and 
'64, compelled many ranch owners to adopt the sensible pohcy above recom- 
mended ; and if all would do so to the extent of offering half or two thirds 
of their property in alternate lots, they would grow wealthy on the remain- 
der, and help to enrich the State. 

In conclusion, the publishers of the Natural Wealth of California sub- 
mit it to the public with the earnest wish that its chief aim, which is to 
help California in the direction of a substantial and healthy progress, may 
be fully realized. 

The author desires to make especial acknowledgment to J. G. Cooper, 
M. D., of the State Geological Survey; to Hemy Gibbons, M. D. ; and to 
Mr. J. S. Silver, for valuable assistance rendered by them in the several 
departments of Zoology, Climate, and Agriculture. 

Prof. B. Silliman, Dr. Louis Lanszweert, Messrs. Henry DeGroot, Mon- 
roe Thomson, T. A. Blake, W. A. Goodyear, F. Bret Harte, and Wm. Henry 
Knight, have also aided in the preparation of material for this volume, and 
the author's thanks are due to these gentlemen for the efficient manner in 
tvhich their duties have been performed. 

San Feancisco, March 31, 1SG8. 



CONTENTS. 



OHAPTEE I. 

EAELT HISTOKT. 

Introduction — Origin of the Name — By Whom Discovered — The Changes in its Boundaries 
— The Missions — Their Beginning and End — The Aborigines of California — The Early 
Settlers — Commerce of California while imder Spanish and Mexican Eule — The Acqui- 
sition of California by the United States Page 1 

OHAPTEE II. 

aEOGKAPHT AND TOPOGBAPHX. 

Outline of Geography — The Harbors of California — San Francisco Bay — Tidal Influences — 
San Diego Harbor — San Pedro Bay — The Santa Barbara Channel — San Luis Obispo 
Bay — Monterey Bay — Santa Cruz Harbor — Half Moon Bay — Drake's Bay — Tomales 
Bay — ^Bodega Bay — Humboldt Bay — Trinidad Bay — Crescent City Harbor — Improve- 
ments to be Made — Islands on the Coast. 71 

CHAPTER III. 

THE COrrNTIES OF CAIEFOBNIA. 

Southern, Coast, Noiihem, Mountain and Valley Counties. Southern Counties : San Diego 
— San Bernardino — Los Angeles — Santa Barbara — San Luis Obispo — Kern. Coast Coun- 
ties: Monterey — Santa Cruz — Santa Clara — San Mateo — San Francisco — Alameda — 
Contra Costa — Marin — Sonoma — ^Napa — Lake — Mendocino. Northern Counties : Hum- 
boldt — Trinity — Klamath — Del Norte — Siskiyou — Shasta — Lassen. Mountain Counties : 
Plumas — Sierra — Nevada — Placer — ^El Dorado — Amador — ^Alpine — Calaveras — ^Tuol- 
umne — Mariposa — ^Mono^ — Inyo. Yalley Counties: Tehama — Butte — Colusa — Sutter — 
Yuba — Yolo — ^Solano — Sacramento — San Joaquin — Stanislaus — Merced — Fresno— Tu- 
lare. 92 

CHAPTER IV. 

CLTMATE. 

General Kemarks— Temperature — Extremes of Heat and Cold — ^Winds — The Sea Breeze — 
Northers — Southeasters — Plains — Storms — Cloud and Mist — Snow and HaU — Thunder 
and Lightning — Relations of Climate to Agriculture and other Pursuits — Health, Do- 
mestic Economy, etc 330 



XIV CONTEXTS. 

CHAPTER V. 

AGKICXTLTTJEE. 

Agkicultuee. Preliminary Observations. The Cereals : "Wlieat, Barley, Oats, Eice, etc. 
Grasses: Alfalfa, Clover, etc. Cotton— Flax— The Sugar Beet —Melon Sugar— Hops- 
Tobacco— Mustard Seed— The Amole, or Soap Plant— The Tea Plant. Fruits and Nuts: 
Apples — Pears — Peaches — Plums — Cherries— Oranges — Lemons— Limes— Bananas — 
Olives— Almonds— Chestnuts, etc. Berries : Strawberries— Easpberries — Blackberries. 
Dried Fruits : Eaisins— Currants — Prunes — Figs, etc. Pickles, Preserved Fruits and 
Vegetables: Orange Marmalade — Quince Jelly — Onions, etc. Potatoes— Large Growths. 
Daily Products : Butter— Cheese. Cattle and Horses— Sheep and Wool — Hogs— Bees 
and Honey — Insects. "Wood Planting : Transplanting Trees — The Sirocco. Agricul- 
tural Implements : Steam Ploughs — The California Land Dresser. Irrigation — Under 
Draining — Famine Years — Late Bains — The Farmer's Troubles in California — Hints 
to Emigrants — Contrasts — Advantages — The Chinese in California — Farm Labor — Har- 
mony among Producers. ViNicuLTcmE. Grapes — Wine — Brandy — "Wine Merchants, etc. 
StLS. Cdxtuee. Mulberry Trees — Cocoons — Diseases of Silk Worms, etc. Page 352 



CHAPTER YI. 

GEOIiOGT. 

General Outlines of Topography — Geology of Coast Kanges— Monte Diablo Range— Coal 
Beds— Peninsula of San Francisco — Xorth of San Francisco Bay — South of Monterey 
Bay— Southern End of Tulare Valley — Geology of the Sierra Nevada— The Great Auri- 
ferous Belt — Southern portion of the Gold Field —Mariposa County — The Fremont Grant 
— Mining— Tuolumne County— Table Mountains— Fossil Eemains — Calaveras County— 
"Dr^ion Copper Mine— Gold Mining— Amador County — El Dorado County — Placer County 
Nevada County — Sierra County — Plumas County 396 



CHAPTER VII. 

ZOOLOGY. 

General Plan, Ma mt vtat.ia : Bears — Eaccoon- Skunks — Glutton— Fisher — ^larten —Weasel 
Otter — Cougar — Jaguar — Ocelot — Wild Cats — Wolf — Coyote — Foxes— Sea Lions and 
Seals — Sea Elephant— Shrews— Bats — Beaver — Marmots— SquiiTels — Eats — Gophers — 
Porcupine — Hares— Elk— Deer — Antelope — Bighorn — "WTiales and Porpoises. Bieds: 
Paysano — Cuckoo — Woodpeckers — Eagles — Hawks — Owls — Vulttires — Crows— Magpies 
Jays — Kingfishers— Flycatchers— Nighthawks — Humming Birds— Swallows— Waxwings 
Thrushes— Mocking Birds- Grosbeaks— Linnets— Goldfinches— Sparrows — Pigeons — 
Doves— Cranes— Herons —Ibis —Plover — Snipe— Curlews— Quail — Swans- Geese— Brant 
Ducks — Pelicans — Cormorants — Albatross — Fulmars— Petrels— Gulls— Loons — Grebes 
— Sea Parrot — Sea Pigeon — Murre. Eepteles : Tortoise— Turtles— Lizards— Iguana — 
Horned Toads— Glass Snake — Eattlesnakes — Hannless Snakes— Frogs, etc., — Salaman- 
ders— Four-legged Fish. Fishes : Perch— Kingfish — Bass — Moonfish — Goldfish — Vi\'i- 
parous Fish — Eedfish — Kelpfish — Mackerel — Bonito — Albicoro — Barracouta— Flying 
Fish— PanthorFish— Sticklebacks— Eock-Cod—Sculpin— Wolf-Eel— Gobies— Toad Fish 
—Lump Fish-Flat Fish— Halibut— Turbot— Sole— Cod— ■V\Taiting— Codling— Tom-Cod 
— Snake Fish — Salmon Trout — "WTiite Fish — Smelts— Killies-Hening — Anchovies — 
Chubs — Suckers — Conger-Eel — Balloon Fish — Sea Horse — Pipe Fish — Sturgeons — Eays 
— Sharks — Torpedo — Angel Fish — Stingrays — Lampreys — Worm Fish. Mollusca : 
Oysters — Clams — Date Fish — Mussels. Cecstacea : Crabs — Lobster — Shrimps — Craw- 
fish, 13i 



CONTENTS. XV 

CnAPTEK VIII. 

FliOKA. 

General Remarks — Sequoia — The Mammoth or Big Trees— Eedwood — California Pines — 
Oaks — Cedars — Firs — California Nutmeg — California Yew Tree — Laurel — Manzanita — 
Madrona — Horse Chestnut, or Buckeye — Shrubs and Plants — Poison Oak — Aider — Bar- 
berrj' — Canchalagua — Pitcher Plant — Yerba Buena — Flaxworts — Flea-bane — Soap Plant 
Grasses — Catalogue of Native Trees of California Page 502 

CHAPTER IX. 

MINING AND SIETALLIJEGICAIi PROCESSES. 

Gold — Placer Mining — The Shallow Placers — Eiver Mining — The Deep Placers — Tunnel 
Mining— Hydraulic Mining — Blue Gravel — The Great Blue Lead — "White Cement — 
Quartz, or Vein Mining — Mining Operations — Milling Machinery and Processes— The 
Grass Valley System of Amalgamation — Amalgamation in Battery — The Mariposa 
Process — Concentration — Plattner's Chlorination Process. .... 529 



CnAPTER X. 

MINES AND MINING. 

Eapid Exploration of the Placers — Overestimate of Earnings — Chances Still Good — Im- 
proved Conditions — Northwestern Counties — Character of Mines — Gold Beaches, etc.-- 
The Central Districts — Various Branches of Placer Mining — Quartz Mining — Number 
of Locations — Early Efforts — Present Ptesults — Mining at Grass Valley — A Eepresenta- 
tive Mine — Butte, Sierra, and Plumas Counties — Gold Bearing Slates and Gossans — 
Auriferous Cement and Gravel Beds — Openings for Enteq^rise, Labor, and Capital — 
Silver — IJron — Quicksilver — The New Almaden Mine — Llineralogy. . . . 562 

CHAPTER XI. 

MANUFACTURES. 

Inti'oductory Remarks. "Woolen liliUs : The Pioneer MUls — ^Mission "Mills — Pacific Mills — 
Marysville Mills. Cotton Manufactures — Flouring MUls — Sugar Befineries. L-on Works : 
The Pacific BoUing Mills — Union Iron Works — Miners' Foundry, etc. — BoUer Works. 
Brass Foundries — Saw Mills and Lumber — Wire and Eope Works — The Pacific Cordage 
Factory — Tanneries — Powder Works — Fuse Factory — Paper Mills— Glass Works — Man- 
ufacture of Salt — Soap Factories — Candle Factories — Glue Factory — Chemical and Acid 
Factories — Matches — Oil Works — Eice Mills — Lime and Cement — Lead Works — ]\Iai-ble 
Works and Quarries — Potteries — Boots and Shoes — Saddlery and Harness — Wagons, 
Carriages, Cars, Agricultural Implements, etc. — Furniture — Matting — Pianos, Organs, 
Billiard Tables — Breweries and Distilleries — Brooms, and Broom Corn — Wood and Wil- 
low Ware — California Type Foundry — Cigar Manufactories — Manufacture of Clothing, 
Shirts, etc. — Furs — Meat Packing and Curing — Dried and Preserved Fruits and Vege- 
tables, etc. — ^Miscellaneous Manufactures — ^Works Projected or in Progress. , 596 



CHAPTER XII. 

CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN EEANCISCO. 



Situation, Topography, etc. — Early Settlement and Subsequent Progress — Street Grades, 
Public Grounds, etc. — Improvement of Water Front— Style and Peculiarities of Build- 
ings — Fear of Earthquakes, and its Eflfects — Churches, and Places of Public Worship — 



XTl CONTENTS. 

Theatres, and other Places of Amusement — Scientific, Social, Literary, and Elccmosy. 
narj' Institutions — Number of Inhabitants — Diversity of Eaces, Ideas and Customs — 
Juvenile Population — 5Ianiifacturing Status, etc. — Educational System — Public Schools, 
Colleges, Seminaries and Private Institutions of Learning — Value of City Property — 
Municipal Income, Debt and Expenditures — Buildings, Improvements, etc. — Police and 
Fire Departments — Cemeteries, Public Gardens, Homestead Associations — City Kail- 
roads — Gas Works and Water Works — Markets — Banking Institutions and Insurance 
Companies— United States Branch Mint — Advantages of Position — Foreign Commerce 
and Domestic Trade — Bullion Products — Passenger ^Vi-rivals, etc. . . Page G44 

CHAPTEE XIII. 

MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS. 

Ilailroads — Central Pacific Eailroad — Western Pacific Eailroad — San Josd Eailroad — Sacra- 
mento Valley Eailroad — Placerville and Sacramento Valley Eailroad — California Cen- 
tral Eailroad — Yuba Eailroad — Northern California Eailroad — Various Short Eailroads 
— Eailroads Eecently Commenced — Eailroads Projected — Steamship Lines — Ship Build- 
ing — Telegraphs — State and County Finances — Gold Prodi;ct — Fisherie?^ — Immigration 
— Population — Voters — Eaces, etc. — Chinese in California — Libraries — Literature, 
Journalism, etc. — List of California Publications G68 



THE 



NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORMA. 



CHAPTER I. 

EAELX mSTOKT. 

Introduction — Origin of the Name — By "WTiom Discovered — The Changes in its Boundaries 
— The Missions— their Beginning and End — The Aborigines of California — The Early 
Settlers — Commerce of Cahfornia while under Spanish and Mexican Kule — The Acqui- 
sition of California by the United States. 

This book, being more particularly intended as an exMbit of tlie 
natural wealtli of tlie State of California, makes no pretensions to 
being a liistorj of tlie Pacific Coast ; but the two subjects are so inti- 
mately blended, that it is not i)Ossible to write about one without 
referring to the other. The limits of the portion of the work pro- 
posed to be devoted to the historical branch of the subject, compel us 
to confine ourselves, as much as jDOssible, to facts and events connected 
with that portion of the coast embraced within the boundaries of this 
State — a somewhat difficult task, as, until a comparatively recent 
period, the whole country, from the boundaries of South America, to 
the late Russian possessions on the north, and from the Ocean to the 
Bocky Mountains, was included in California. 

OKIGIN OF THE NAME. 

There are few countries, the origin of the name of which is involved 
in as much mystery as that of California. A compound of Greek and 
Latin, it is not positively known by whom or when compounded ; nor 
the reason why, although many profound scholars in Europe and in thai 



2 THE NATUR-y;. WE.VLTH OF CALITOKXL^. 

"United States have endeavored, during the past centiirj', to trace its 
origin. It is first met with in a once popular, but now almost for- 
gotten romance, entitled "The Sergas of Esplandian, the son of 
Amadis, of Gaul, " published at Seville, (Spain), in 1510, in which it 
occurs three times. In one passage, thus : 

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

Another passage reads: 

' ' In the island called California are many griffins, on account of the 
great savagcness of the country and the immense quantity of wild game 
to be found there." 

This romance was very popular in Europe, passed through several 
editions during the twenty-five years immediately preceding the dis- 
covery of this country, and it is quite possible that Hernando Grixalva 
— one of Cortez' officers to whom the honor of making that discovery 
belongs — or some of his companions, may have read it, and, finding 
what they supposed to be an island while sailing ' ' towards the TeiTcs- 
trial Paradise," along the coast of Mexico, which is "on the right 
hand of the Indies, " they called it California — not because it answered 
to the description in the romance, but to secure an additional interest 
in the discovery, by giving it a name that possessed the attraction 
created by that popular work. They must have drawai on their imagi- 
nation immensely, however, when adapting such a description to that 
portion of the coast first discovered, which is near the site of the 
present port of La Paz, in Lower California. 

There is a tradition among the native Californians, that, in an expe- 
dition of the Spaniards against the Indians, in 1820, they found in 
the country between Tomalcs Bay and Cape Mendocino, a tribe in which 
the squaws had as much to say, and to do with the affairs of peace 
and war, as the men. These women are stated to have been stout 
and well made, and are remembered, in the old traditions, as "Los 
Amazones. " 

^liorc the author of the romance obtained the name, has noh been, 
•ascertained. It is probable that ho took the idea of tho location of 
the " Terrestrial Paradise" from a letter, written by Columbus to Per- 



EAELY IIISTOKY. -'3 

dinand and Isabella, many years previously, wlien the great navigator 
was about to make a voyage in the same direction as that followed by 
Grixalva, in which he informed his sovereigns that ' ' he shall be sailing 
towards the Terrestrial Paradise. " 

It may be stated, in explanation, that long after the discovery made 
by Grixalva, California was considered an island. The peninsula was 
subsequently called the Island of Santa Cruz, and, more than a cen- 
tury afterwards, it was renamed the "Islas Carolinas," in honor of 
Charles II of Spain. 

Some authorities insist that the name is derived from calldas fornus, 
two Latin words signifying "hot oven," giving as a reason for such an 
hypothesis, that it is a custom of immemorial antiquity, among the 
aborigines of this section of the coast, to use "hot ovens" called 
iemescal, as a remedy for most of the diseases to which they are sub- 
ject. Every tribe had one or more of these "hot ovens" near their 
villages. These "sweat houses" were quite familiar to the mission- 
aries and early settlers, and may be found in many parts of the State 
at the present time. It is very probable that the earliest explorers 
may have seen some of them; and, because the natives used "hot 
ovens" to heal their bodies, may have called the country "a land of 
hot ovens, or calidus fornus. 

Clavigero, who wrote a history of California many years ago, quotes 
the opinion of D, Guiseppo Compoi, a learned Jesuit, on this subject, 
who states that the name is derived from the Spanish word cola, which 
means "a little cove of the sea," and the Latin \;ovdi fornix, "the 
vault, or concave roof of a building" — giving, as a reason for this extra- 
ordinary interpretation, that within Cape St. Lucas (near where Grixalva 
is supposed to have landed) there is "a little cove of the sea," near 
which there was a rock so worn by the waves, that its upper part was 
hollow, like "a vaulted roof," and from these circumstances its dis- 
coverers called the ^\a.cQ cala fornix, which has since been softened 
down to California, and applied to the whole coiintry. 

A learned Greek scholar suggests that the name may have been 
compounded from the Greek words kala-phora-nea, signifying a beau- 
tiful young woman, or new country. Another Greek scholar suggests 
that it may be derived from kala-phorneia, signifying beautiful adultery. 
The application of such an interpretation is not very clear, though 
Powers' statue of California represents a beautiful, nude female, 
holding a bundle of thorns behind her, which is claimed to be an 
embodiment of this interpretation ; but it may bo quite as appropriate 
to explain such a figure by the seductive beauty of the country, and 



4- THE NATLT..yj -WEALTH OF C-\XIFORXL\. 

the disappointments so many of its earlier visitors encountered. It is 
quite clear that the Spanish explorers, \sho are credited with giving 
the name, had no acquaintance with the seductions that lui'ed so many 
liore in after years, because that portion of the country they applied 
this name to, is the most barren and uninviting on the coast. 

Yenegas, the most learned of all the early historians of the coast, 
in his "Natm-al and Civil History of California, " published in 17o8, 
states that the name was first used by Bernal Diaz, an ofiicer who had 
served under Cortez, during the conquest of Mexico, and applied by 
liim to a bay which he discovered during one of the earliest voyages. 
This learned historian objects to the proposition that the name is 
derived from callda fornax, alleged to have been given to it by the 
early navigators, on the very probable ground that these persons did 
not possess sufficient knowledge of the Latin to make such a com- 
bination. 

There is still another alleged origin for the name, mentioned by 
Captain Beechey, in his account of his voyage to this coast in 1826, 
wherein he relates a conversation on this subject, between himself and 
Father Felipe Arroyo, Avho was at that time in charge of the Mission 
of San Juan Bautista. The worthy father is stated to have expressed 
liis belief that the name originated from colofonia, the Spanish word 
for rosin ; giving his reason for such belief — that the great number of 
resinous trees the discoverers of the country saw, when they landed, 
imj)elled them to exclaim : colofonia! — or rosin. 

This story is so absurd, as to be almost unworthy of notice ; but 
having been quoted by a gentleman who has obtained some reputation 
as an authority on California archaeology, it deserves consideration. 
TJie fact that the portion of the peninsula where these discoverers 
lauded, and to which it is admitted they gave the name, is one of the 
most barren, treeless sections of the coast, demolishes the whole story. 

The records of the Jesuit Missions, on the peninsula, say the 
"extreme barrenness of the soil prevented the growth of trees of any 
magnitude." Father Ugarte, who built the first vessel constructed in 
California — The Triumph of the Cross — in 1772, had to haul the timber 
used in its construction "fidl thirty leagues from the river Mulege, 
where she was built, " because there was none growing any nearer. 

According to these records, the first discoverers had but little cause 
to exclaim ''colofonia !" 

It may l)e mentioned as a curious fact, although one not having 
any particular reference to this subject, that in Bavaria, and other 
l)ortiou3 of the south of Germany, rosin is called " Kaliforuea, " the 



EAELY HISTOKT. 5 

word being pronounced precisely as we pronounce California. Tlie 
origin of the German word it is out of our province to discuss. It is 
merely mentioned as a curious fact. 

AVebster thinks that the root of the name is probably the Spanish 
Calif a, from the Arabic Khali/ah, successor or to succeed, the Caliphs 
being the acknowledged successors of Mahommed. 

The explanation of the origin of the natives of the country, under 
the head of aborigines, may throw some light on this subject.. 

Numerous other attempts have been made by ^n'iters in Mexico, 
the United States, and Europe, to explain the origin of this name; but 
the above are the best and most reasonable of such efforts. 

BY WHOM DISCOVEEED, AND WHEN. 

The territory which at present comprises the gi-eat State of Cali- 
fornia, was first discovered, and partially described, in the year 1542, 
by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, a Portuguese by birth, but at the time 
serving as pilot, or navigator, in the Spanish service. He also dis- 
covered and named the Farallones islands. Equipped for a voyage 
of discovery along the then unknown shores of the Pacific, under the 
auspices of Mendoza, the Viceroy of Mexico, Cabrillo sailed from the 
port of Navidad, Mexico, on the 27th of June, 154:2. Keeping within 
sight of the shore, the greater portion of the distance, he reached as 
far as latitude 40*^ 30', and longitude 124° 35', when he encountered 
the great western headland, which he called Cape Mendoza, in honor 
of his friend and patron, the viceroy — but now called Cape Mendocino. 
This fact is almost all that remains on record to prove that Cabrillo 
was the discoverer of the countr)^ He appears to have returned from 
the voyage on the 14th of the following April, without making any 
further discoveries. 

It was supposed, for many years, that Sir Francis Drake, the 
famous English navigator, was the discoverer of California, as well as 
of the Bay of San Francisco. But, before the light of history, he is 
stripped of both honors, on the clearest possible testimony. Sir 
Francis, it is known, reached the Pacific Ocean through the straits of 
Magellan, on board the Golden Hind, in 1578, thirty-six years after 
Cabrillo had named Cape Mendocino. He was not aware of this fact ; 
but, thinking he had discovered a new country, took possession of it 
for "Good Queen Bess," as was the custom in those days. It is 
clearly settled, that the place where he landed is near Point de loa 
Eeyes, latitude 37° 59' 5". Sir Francis marked it on his chart as in 
latitude 38°. The locality will probably be ever known hereafter as 



6 THE NATUTi^VL WEALTH OF CALIFOKXLV. 

Drake's Bay. Tlie most conclusive argument that could be advanced, 
to prove that he did not discover the Bay of San Francisco, is found in 
the name he gave the country — New Albion. There is nothing about 
the entrance of this bay, to call up images of the ' ' white cliffs of old 
England,"' so dear to the hearts of the mariners of that country. Its 
beetling rocks, must have been additionally dark and dreary at the 
season of the year when the great navigator saw them — neither 
green with the verdure of spring, nor russet by the summer's heat ; 
Avhile, near Point de los Keyes, there is sufficient whiteness about the 
cliiiii wliich skirt the shore to attract attention, and "as it is out of 
the fullness of the heart the mouth speaketh," the "bold Briton," 
longing for home, may have pictured to his ' ' mind's eye " some resem- 
blance to ' 'Old Albion. " Besides, Drake lay thirty-six days at anchor, 
which it would have been impossible for so experienced a sailor to 
have done, had it been in our glorious bay, without being impressed 
with its great importance as a harbor, on a coast so destitute of such 
advantages as this ; but he makes no allusion to any feature traceable 
in our bay. He never had the honor of seeing it. 

In 1G02, General Sebastian Viscayno, imder orders from Philip III. 
of Spain, made an exploration of the coast of Upper California, in the 
course of which he discovered the harbors of San Diego, on the 10th 
of November. After remaining a few days, he proceeded to the north, 
and, on December ICth, discovered the bay of Monterey, which he 
named in honor of Gaspar de Zunniga, Count de Monte Bey, the then 
Viceroy of Mexico. It was at first called Port of Pines. ViscajTio 
remained eighteen days at Monterey, and was much impressed with 
the beauty of its surroundings. He also discovered the islands ^vhich 
form the Santa Barbara Channel. 

Forbes, in his "History of California," states that ViscajTio, on this 
voyage, discovered the bay of San Francisco — a statement which is 
not supported by any other authority. It is possible that Forbes may 
have misinterpreted a passage from the diary of the voyage, which 
states that ' ' in twelve days after leaving Monterey, a favorable wind 
carried the ship past the port of San Francisco, but she afterwards put 
back into the port of Francisco." As the diary further states that 
"she anchored, January 7th, 1603, behind a pomt of land called 
Pnnta de los Rcj'es, (which was named by Viscayno), where there was a 
wreck," there is no room to doubt that it was not inside the bay of 
San Francisco, which there is no proof that Visca;yaio ever saw. In 
1505, Sebastian Cermenon, while on a voyage from Manilla to Aca- 



EAELY HISTORY. , 7 

pulco, was "wrecked near Punta de los Eeyes. This was the wreck 
alluded to. 

There is a work extant, written by Cabrera Bueno and published in 
Spain, in 1734, which contains instructions to navigators for reaching 
the ' ' Punta los Pieyes, and entering the port of San Francisco, " which 
some authors consider the present bay ; but the wreck of Cermenon's 
vessel near that point, and Yiscayno's putting into that port, is toler- 
able evidence that it was not the harbor of San Francisco which is 
here alluded to. There was also a map published in Europe, in 1545, 
three years after Cabrillo's voyage, in which a San Francisco bay is 
named, as well as the Farallones, which some authors consider a proof 
that it was "the Bay." As it was Cabrillo who named those islands, 
after Farallo his j)ilot, and it is known that he did not enter "the 
Bay, " it is clear that there must have been another San Francisco 
harbor, which is not that known by that name at present. 

It may be stated, as a proof that there was another port of San 
Francisco, besides the present bay, that, in 1812, Baranof, chief agent 
of the Ptussian-American Company, asked permission from the Gov- 
ernor of California, to erect a few houses and leave a few men at 
Bodega Bay, a ' ' little north of the port of San Francisco. " San Fran- 
cisco Bay had been visited before that time, by the Russians, and was 
known to be nearly sixty miles south-east from Bodega, which place is 
only ' ' a little north" of Punta de los Reyes, where the Spanish port of 
San Francisco is located, and where Viscayno anchored. 

As further proof that there was such a harbor, we refer to the fact 
that Governor Portala, when his party first discovered the great bay, 
called it San Francisco, under the impression that it was the harbor of 
that name, north of Punta de los Pteyes, which had long been kno^\Ti 
to the Spanish navigators on the coast, as is proven by the above 
extracts. 

From 1610 to 1660, upwards of twenty attempts were made to 
explore and take possession of the country, under a vague, irresistible 
impression that it contained not alone large deposits of gold, silver, 
and pearls, but diamonds and other precious stones. 

But little, however, is known of the country from the date of Yiscay- 
no's discoveries, till 1767, or one hvmdred and sixty-four years after- 
wards ; when the Jesuit missionaries, being expelled from Lower Cal- 
ifornia by order of Charles III of Spain, their missions and property 
were granted to the Fathers of the Order of St. Francis. These enthu- 
siastic propagandists, acting under instructions from the Marquis do 
Croix, then Viceroy of Mexico, made arrangements for extending their 



8 J THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENIA. 

labors into the upper territory. To carry this object into effect, Father 
Junipero Serra, a very energetic and zealous member of the order, was, 
in 1768, appointed President of all the Missions to be established in 
Upper California. This holy man, who was the real founder of civiliza- 
tion in the territory now owned by the State, in company with sixteen 
monks from the convent of San Fernando, in the City of Mexico, pro- 
ceeded to carry out the objects of the Viceroy, which were to establish 
missions at Monterey, San Diego, and San Buenaventura. Expeditions 
were at once arranged to take possession of the country, both by sea and 
land ; the ships to be used to carry all the heavy materials and supplies, 
and the land party to drive the flocks and herds. The first vessel, the 
San Carlos, in command of Don Vicente Vilal, left Cape St. Lucas 
(Lower California) on the 9th of January, 1769, bound for San Diego, 
and was followed by the San Antonio, commanded by Don Juan Perez, 
on the 15th of January. A third vessel, the San Jose, was dispatched 
from Loretto, on the 16th of June. 

The sufferings of the "pioneers" on board these vessels afford a 
striking contrast to the security, comfort and rapidity enjoyed by the 
voyagers to and from California in the present day. The San Carlos 
arrived at San Diego on the 1st of May, with the loss of all her crew — 
except the officers, cook, and one sailor — through scurfy, thirst, and 
starvation. The San Antonio arrived on April 11th, with the loss of 
eight of her crew by scurvy. The San Jose was never heard of after 
leaving Loretto. 

The land expedition was formed into two divisions. Don Gaspar 
de Portala, who had been appointed Military Governor of the new 
territory by Don Jose do Galvaez, the special agent of the King of 
Spain, appointed Captain Eivera y Moncado to take charge of the 
first ; the Governor himself taking charge of the second. Piivera and 
his party, consisting of Father Crespo, twenty-five soldiers, six mulet- 
eers, and a party of Indians from Lower California, started from Villa- 
cata on the 24tli of March, 1768, and arrived at San Diego on the l-lth 
of May. This was the first white settlement in L^pper California. 

Father Begart, a German Jesuit, who lived for many years in 
Lower California, on the expulsion of his Order fi*om that territory, 
returned to Manheim, his native place, where, in 1773, he published 
an "Historical Sketch of the American Peninsula of California, " in 
which ho states that no white man had ever lived in Upper California 
until the year 1769. 

The second division, accompanied by Father Junipero, started 
from Villacata on the 15th of May, and arrived at San Diego July IsL 



EARLY HISTORY. 9 

The worthy father organized the mission on the IGth of July ; and the 
first native Californian was baj^tized on the 26th of December. 

On the 14th of July, Governor Portala, accompanied by Fathers 
Juan Crespi and Francisco Gomez, and fifty-six white persons, 
including Captain Piivera, a sergeant, and tliirty-three soldiers, Don 
Miguel Constanzo, engineer, a party of emigrants from Sonora, and a 
number of Indians from Lower California, started out to find Monterey, 
for the purpose of founding the mission there. By some means or 
other, they did not find the bay of Monterey ; but, continuing their 
wanderings to the north, they, on the 25th of October, 1769, dis- 
covered the gem of the Pacific — the bay of San Francisco, one of the 
finest harbors in the world, so securely land-locked and sheltered that 
none of the keen explorers who had been within a few miles of it, had 
succeeded in discovering its entrance. Having given the bay the 
name of San Francisco — the titular saint of the missionaries — the party 
returned to San Diego, which they reached on the 24th of Janu- 
ary, 1770, after an absence of six months and ten days. 

Some writers credit Father Junipero Serra with the discovery of 
this beautiful bay; but there are no good reasons for believing that 
he ever saw it for nearly six years after its discovery. His name is 
not included in the list of those who accompanied Governor Portala, 
whose party made the discovery. On the contrary, it is distinctly 
stated by Father Palou, the chronicler of the missions, that "Father 
Junipero, with two other missionaries and eight soldiers, remained 
behind at San Diego." 

It was discovered soon after their return, that the provisions on 
hand were only sufficient for a few weeks, with little prospect of relief, 
unless a vessel, then several months overdue, should make her appear- 
ance. It was decided that, if she did not arrive before the 20th of 
March, the party would return to the missions in the lower territory, 
and abandon the upper one. The arrangements were completed for 
this purpose when, on the 20th, the San Antonio made her ajDpear- 
ance, or California would have been abandoned, and the most im- 
portant events in her history would never have been written. 

Scarcely any importance appears to have been attached to the 
discovery of the grand bay in which the ships of all nations have since 
found wealth and safety. It was upwards of six years before any 
attempt was made to found a mission on its shores. 



10 THE NATUL.U. WE.VLTII OF C.VLIFOKXLV. 

THE CHANGES IN ITS BOUNTDAEIES. 

As explained in a preceding portion of this chapter, the name Cali- 
fornia, was originally ajiplied either by Grixalva to the peninsula of 
Lower California, under the supposition that it was an island, or by Ber- 
nal Diaz, to a bay in the same vicinity. Through causes which do not 
come within the province of our purjaose to explain, in the course of 
the century succeeding its adoption, this mysterious name of California, 
which has since attracted the attention of the whole civilized world, had 
spread to such an extent that it embraced the entire continent to the 
north, as far as the arctic circle, as well as a considerable portion of the 
territory on the south of both the points to which it is claimed to have 
been originally applied. 

In 153G, we find it applied by the Spaniards to the southern portion 
of the great peninsula which extends on the western side of North Amer- 
ica, and to the whole Pacific Coast, from the 32d degree of north latitude 
to the limit of the frigid zone. Subsequently, they caused it to include 
that portion of the continent northwest of Mexico, and extending east 
to Canada ; claiming the whole country by right of a Pope's bull. 

Nor were the Spaniards the only nation that aided in extending the 
dominion of the name of California. Jean Bleau, a famous Dutch 
geographer, published an extensive work on the geography of the Pa- 
cific coast, in 1662, at Amsterdam, in which he includes, under the 
name of California, the whole coast from the northern boundary of 
South America to Behring's straits, (then called the straits of Auian, ) 
This application of the name was followed by many French, Spanish, 
English, German, and Russian writers on geography, during the seven- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries. Until as recently as 1750, Kodiack, a 
portion of the late Bussian territory of Alaska, was included in Califor- 
nia, in many works pviblished relating to the Pacific and northwest coast. 

Yet, notwithstanding that it denominated so extensive a section of 
the North American continent, it was not until towards the close of the 
eighteenth century, that the name of California began to be generally 
knowni in Europe or the United States — being considered of so little 
importance as to be rarely mentioned, except by writers on geography. 

In a map of the world, published in the year 1554, at Venice, a copy 
of which is in the Odd Fellows' Library at San Francisco, the continent 
of North America unites with Asia, the river Colorado is sliowii as 
having its source in the mountains of Thibet, and empties into the 
Gulf of California, after meandering through the continent for more 
than fifteen thousand milea 



EAELY HISTOET. 11 

On English maps, published as recently as 1750, California is repre- 
sented as an island, extending from Cape St. Lucas to the forty-fifth 
degree of latitude. It was not until Father Begart's book on California 
was published at Manheim, in 1771, that California was known to be a 
portion of the American continent by geographers, and many years 
after it was still referred to as a peninsula. 

Towards the close of the seventeenth century, the Spaniards had lost 
a considerable portion of their loosely held territory, by the encroach- 
ments of the British, Russians, and Americans, on its northern and 
aortheastern borders, as well as by absolute abandonment, so that for 
nearly a hundred years, the boundaries of California proper, included 
only the peninsula known as Lower California, and the strip of coun- 
try embraced within a line arbitrarily drawn from the head of the Gulf 
of Mexico to the shore of the Pacific Ocean, considerably to the south 
of the present harbor of San Diego. 

After the settlement of the territory north of the peninsula, by the 
missionaries, in 1769, it being considered a portion of the same coun- 
try, inhabited by the same race of people, it was again called Califor- 
nia, but distinguished from the older territory by being called New, or 
Upper California. It had been recognized for several j^ears previously 
as New Albion, a name given to it by Sir Francis Drake, who, while on 
an exploring expedition on the coast, in 1759, took possession of the 
country in the name of Queen Elizabeth of England. Many of the 
English writers described it as "Drake's Land, back of Canada." It 
is a portion of this Upper California, or New Albion, this land "behind 
Canada, " which now forms the flourishing State of California. 

The boundaries of the new territory thus re-acquired by Spain, 
through the services of the missionaries, was never very accurately 
defined until its purchase by the United States from Mexico, which 
had acquired" it by the " right of revolution." The missionaries, from 
1796 till about 1820, were literally ' ' monarchs of all they surveyed " — 
no one questioning their pretensions. "When La Perouse visited the 
country, in 1786, the authority of the military governor of the two Cali- 
fornias extended over about eight himdred leagues. Although under 
the control of a military officer, the territories were purely religious 
colonies. There were no settlements outside of the twenty-one mis- 
sions which then existed at different points along the coast, none of 
which were located more than a few miles from the sea. 

In 1835, according to Forbes, the British Consul on the coast at 
that time, the boundaries of Upper California, under the control of the 
missionaries and early settlers, were about five hundred miles in length 



12 THE NATUT:.^L VTE^VLTII of C.VLirOENIA. 

by an average brcadtli of about forty miles, forming an area of about 
twenty thousand square miles, or thirteen millions of English statute 
acres. No settlements had been attempted in the foot-hills at that 
date. 

When the United States commenced negotiations for the acquisi- 
tion of the territory, California was considered as including the penin- 
sula and the territory extending from it on the Pacific coast, northwa^l, 
as far as the southern limit of Oregon ; Cape Mendocino, in latitude 
40° 27' being assumed by the United States as the extreme northern 
limit of the jMexican territory — though the government of that country 
claimed to a higher parallel of latitude, in accordance with a treaty 
made between the two governments in May, 1828. But the northern 
limit of the actual Mexican settlements in California, at that time, were 
San Francisco, in 37° 47' north latitude, and longitude 122^ 22' west, 
and Cape St. Lucas, on the south, in 22^48' north latitude, and 109^47' 
longitude. 

By the treaty between the United States and Mexico, of May, 1848, 
the territory obtained by the United States, extending eastAvard from 
the Pacific Coast was so extensive, and so little known, that the mem- 
bers of the Convention which assembled at Monterey in 1840 to frame 
a Constitution for the then embryo State of California, found it exceed- 
ingly difficult to decide how far they should extend the border of the 
new State into this terra incognita. The committee appointed for that 
purpose proposed to make the boundaries, the ocean on the west, Oregon 
on the north, Mexico on the south, and the 116th jiarallel of longitude 
on the east, which w^ould have included about one half of the present 
State of Nevada, the territory of which, at that time, was supposed to 
be a barren, worthless wilderness. It was proposed by one member 
of the Convention to amend the report by adopting the line of separa- 
tion between California and New Mexico, as marked on Fremont's map, 
which would have included a great portion of Utah, as well as the whole 
o{ Nevada. Another member proposed to amend the report by extend- 
ing the eastern boundary to the 105th parallel of longitude, which 
would have included Nevada, Utah, and portions of Nebraska, as 
well as nearly the whole of Colorado. The matter, after consider- 
able debate, was finally decided by adopting the following boundaries, 
which are those at present existing: "Commencing at the point of 
intersection of the 42nd degree of north latitude with the 120th degi-ee 
of longitude west of Greenwich, and running south on the lino of said 
120th degree of west longitude until it intersects the 39th degi'ee of 
north latitude ; thence running in a straight lino in a southeasterly 



EARLY IIISTOEY. 13 

direction, to the Eiver Colorado, at a point where it intersects the 35th 
degree of north latitude ; thence down the middle of the channel of said 
river to the boundary line between the United States and Mexico, as 
established by the treaty of May 30th, 1848 ; thence running west, and 
along said boundary line to the Pacific Ocean, and extending therein 
three English miles ; thence running in a northwesterly direction, and 
following the direction of the Pacific Coast to the 42nd degree of north 
latitude ; thence on the line of said 42nc1 degree of north latitude to the 
place of beginning ; also, all the islands, harbors, and bays along and 
adjacent to the Pacific Coast." 

These boundaries embrace a territory of about seven hundred miles 
in length by about two hundred miles in average breadth — covering 
nearly one hundred and fifty-nine thousand square miles ; the longest 
line, seven hundred and ninety-seven miles, being from Crescent City, 
Del Norte County, to Fort Yuma, in San Diego County; forming a State 
larger than any other in the North American Kepublic, except Texas — • 
three times as large as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ire- 
land, and nearly as large as the whole French Empire. 

THE MISSIONS— THEIR EEGINTs^ING AND END. 

We have already shown that the first successful efibrts towards civ- 
ilization in Upper California were made by monks of the Order of St. 
Francis. "Without going into details of the history of these real 
pioneers of the State, or of the missions they founded, these mis- 
sions form such an important link in the chain of events that mark the 
progress of California, that the merest sketch of its history would be 
incomplete, were they omitted. Besides, these genevous old Padres 
deserve a passing notice, as a mark of recognition of their well-intended 
but ill-directed labors in the service of God and man. "What pro- 
foundly interesting material for the moralist, the virtues and weaknesses 
of these kind old men furnish. How true to them has been the prov- 
erb that ' ' the love of money is the root of all evil. " While f evv' Christ- 
ians, or philanthropists, can approve of that religion, or system of gov- 
ernment, which aims at no higher purpose than to cultivate the fears of 
the untutored child of nature in order to make him labor for the advan- 
tage of his teacher — none can ponder over the sweej)ing destruction 
of the wretched natives which followed the abolishment of the missions 
without feeling pity for the miserable remnant of the race remaining, 
who are neither savage nor civilized, having the vices of both conditions, 
but the virtues of neither. 

For several years after the establishment of the first three missions, 



14 THE NATTE^IL TVIIALTH OF CALEFOEXL^. 

hriefly referred to heretofore, tlie missionaries were liberally sustained 
with means for their support and for the extension of operations, both 
by grants from the Spanish government, which was most anxious for 
the settlement of the country, and its annexation to that empire, and 
by contributions and endoAvments from zealous Catholics of Sjjain and 
Mexico, who were anxious that all the natives should be converted to 
Christianity. These grants and collections had been previously formed 
into what was called the ' ' Pious Fund of California, " during the days of 
the Jesuits, but on the expulsion of that order were placed under the 
control of the Convent of San Fernando, of the Order of St. Francis, 
in the City of Mexico, from whence all the missionaries were sent. 
By the aid of this fund, the increase of their lierds and flocks, and the 
labors of the natives, in the course of a few years the missionaries 
became wealthy, and, but for the radical error of the whole system, 
which required separation from the world to insure success, they might 
have been in existence to-day — one of the wealthiest religious commu- 
nities on earth — with their proselytes as happy and contented as they 
are now wretched and miserable. 

For sixty years after their settlement the missionaries had an almost 
undisturbed field in which to test the efficiency of their schemes for 
civilizing the natives. They extended their dominions from San Diego 
to San Francisco, established missions at intervals of twenty or thirty 
miles between these places ; took possession of the whole country, by 
causing the lands of one mission to join with another, so that free 
settlers, who even in those early days desired to dwell in the land, wero 
as effectually excluded as if the whole coast had been surrounded by a 
wall — for the Holy Fathers were the temporal as well as the spiritual 
lords of the land, and there was no appeal from their decisions. They 
cultivated the vine, the olive, and the fig, and enjoyed all the comforts 
and luxuries a genial climate, a generous soil, and abundance of cost- 
less labor could produce; for the whole race of natives were their ser- 
vants, working for food and raiment of their oanti production. In 1831 
there were 18,683 Indians domesticated at the missions, while their 
horses, cattle and sheep multiplied amazingly on the virgin pastures that 
covered the valleys of the Coast Ilange. But, as the Fathers waxed 
rich, they seemed to have relaxed their efforts for the conversion of the 
heathen, and paid more attention to the cultivation of their broad acres 
than to civilizing their neophytes. 

After founding twenty-one missions along the coast, (the last of 
which, in 1823) they appear to have abandoned all the natives of the 
interior to their fate, as there is no proof that any effort was ever made 



EARLY HISTORY. 15 

by the missionaries to explore tlie interior of the territory, to ascertain 
whether the country or its inhabitants were worth cultivating. From 
1800 to 1822 the Fathers appear to have experienced the most halycon 
days of the system, living in patriarchal state, with almost regal reven- 
ues and powers. Beyond the mere routine of religious formality, their 
priestly office had degenerated into managers of farms, flocks and herds, 
and traders in produce. 

About the year 1800, vessels from Boston, New York, and England, 
while sailing in search of adventures, along the shores of the ' ' South 
Seas, " or on the ' ' North West Coast, " as this then unknown portion of 
the world was called, occasionally found their way through the Golden 
Gate, to trade with the missionaries for hides, tallow, and wine, and 
other produce of the missions, the white and red wines of which soon 
obtained high repute. The Mission of San Gabriel annually made 
from four hundred to six hundred barrels of wine, and several of the 
other missions nearly as much. 

The overthrow of the Spanish dominion in Mexico, in 1822, was the 
death blow of the mission system, although it had begun to decay sev- 
eral years previously. No new missions were founded after 1823. 
The precautions the Fathers had taken to prevent free emigrants 
settling in the territory redounded to their injury, because it deprived 
them of all means of self defence, under the new order of things the 
change of government introduced, as, at the time of framing the Con- 
stitution for the Mexican Eepublic, population was, very properly, 
considered as the basis of representation, when, having only a few 
white inhabitants — the Indians not being taken into consideration — 
Upper California was denied representation as a State, and was declared 
a Territory, entitled to a representative in the Congress, who had no 
vote. The first delegate was a sergeant of one of the military com- 
panies, who held that office for two years, because no other eligible 
resident was to be found. 

Very soon after the independence of Mexico, the great riches pos- 
sessed by the California missions had become a subject of much solici- 
tude to the Mexican Congress, and in 1826 a law was passed to deprive 
the Fathers of their lands, and of the labor of the Indians — stopping 
their salaries, and approiDriating the "Pious Fund" to the service of 
the Hepublic. 

The accumulation of wealth by the Fathers had grown to be enor- 
mous. According to Eev. Walter Colton, Chaplain of the U. S. ship 
Congress, the first Protestant clergyman that resided in California, in 
1825, the Mission of San Francisco o^vned 76,000 head of cattle, 950 



16 THE NATURAL TVE.VLTH OF CALITORNLi. 

tame liorses, 2,000 breeding mares, 84 stud of choice breed, 820 mules, 
79, 000 sheep, 2, 000 hogs, and 456 yoke of \\orking oxen. 

The Santa Clara Mission had 74,280 cattle, 407 yoke of working 
oxen, 82,540 sheep, 1,890 horses broken to saddle, 4,235 breeding 
mares, 725 mules, and 1,000 hogs. This mission, in the year 1823, 
branded 22, 400 calves, as the increase of that year. 

The Mission of San Jose had 62,000 cattle, 840 broken horses, 1,500 
mares, 420 mides, 310 yoke of working oxen, and 62,000 sheep. 

The Mission of San Juan Bautista, as early as 1820, o"s\-ned 43, 870 
cattle, 1,360 tame horses, 4,870 mares and colts, and 69,500 sheep. 

The San Carlos Mission, in 1825, had 87,600 cattle, 1,800 horses 
and mares, 365 yoke of working oxen, and 7, 500 sheep. 

The Soledad Mission in 1826 o^Tied 36, 000 head of cattle ; a larger 
number of horses and mares than any other mission ; 70,000 sheep, 
and 300 yoke of oxen. 

The Mission of San Antonio, in 1822, had 52,800 head of cattle, 
1,800 tame horses, 3,000 mares, 500 yoke of oxen, 600 mules, 48,000 
sheep, and 1,000 hogs. 

The San Miguel Mission, in 1821, had 91,000 cattle, 1,100 tame 
horses, 3,000 mares, 2,000 mules, 170 yoke of oxen, and 47,000 sheep. 

The Mission of San Luis Obispo had 87,000 cattle, 2,000 tame 
horses, 3,500 mares, 3,700 mules, and 72,000 sheep. One of the 
Fathers of this mission took 8100, 000 with him when he left for Spain, 
in 1828. 

All the other missions were equally rich in live stock ; while the 
specie in the coffers of the Fathers, and value of the gold and silver 
ornaments of the churches, exceeded half a million of dollars. 

Here again the errors of the mission system became apparent. The 
■wretched natives, educated to obey the Fathers in all things, without 
being taught to depend upon themselves in any way, when deprived of 
their directors, became more dangerous to the few settlers then in the 
territory than the wild Indians of the interior. On the representations 
of these settlers, who became every year more numerous and influen- 
tial, the Congress was induced, a year or two afterwards, to repeal tliat 
portion of the law relating to the natives, and they Avere permitted to 
return to the missions. But they were never again as contented, or as 
much under control as before. The jirotlucts of the labor of such of 
them as returned to Avork on the mission ranches, together with the 
hides and tallow obtained from their flocks and herds, enabled the 
Fathers to maintain themselves in tolerable afllucuce till the vcar 1833, 
when the Congress enacted a law to abolish the missions entirely, to 



EAELY HISTOKY. 17 

remove the missionaries, and to divide tlieir lands and cattle among 
tiie natives and settlers. Santa Anna coming into power through the 
aid of the church party, before the law could be carried into effect, it 
was repealed. 

It was a very narrow escape for the Fathers, however. Commis- 
sioners had been appointed by the government to engage emigrants in 
Mexico, who were to be paid haK a dollar per day till their arrival in 
California, wdth a free passage, and provisions on the way. 

Nearly three hundred men, women, and children arrived at San 
Francisco in 1834, to form a colony on the strength of this confiscation 
law; but Santa Anna had sent messengers overland with instructions to 
Figueroa, the Governor of the Territory, who, when the emigrants 
arrived, informed them of the changed condition of affairs, and the 
missions escaped spoliation for that time. But their end was near, for 
amid all the turmoils and political convulsions that distracted Mexico 
dui-ing the ensuing ten years, every party that managed to get hold of 
the reins of government continued to fleece the Fathers out of some- 
thing, till, little by little, they were deprived of all their privileges. 

The missions became neglected, the Indians could no longer be 
induced to plant crops, and there was nobody else who would, so the 
fields were overgrown with weeds, and the Fathers became careless, 
killing thousands of their cattle to obtain the price of their hides and 
tallow. Matters grew from bad to w^orse until 1840, when the Congress 
took charge of the missions, and most of them were permitted to go to 
ruin. In 1845, several of those remaining were sold at auction to who- 
ever would buy them, and the miserable Indians, whose labors had built 
them up, were abandoned to their fate. Thus ended the mission sys- 
tem of California, a system which had clearly "outlived its usefulness," 
but had prepared the way for a better civilization, in which the unfor- 
tunate natives of the soil were not destined to participate. 

The last of the old missionaries, Father Altemira, the Padre of San 
Eafael and Sonoma at the time of the abolishment of the missions, 
was living at Teneriffe, one of the Canary Islands, in 1860. 

The following is a list of the missions, the date of their formation, 
and where located : 

Names. When Founded. Where Located. 

1st . .San Diego July 16, 1769 Latitude 32C48' 

2nd. . San Carlos de Monterey June 3, 1770 Latitude Se^M' 

3rd. . San Antonio de Padua July 1^ 1771 Latitude 36^30' 

4th. .San Gabriel Sept. 8, 1771 Latitude 34=10' 

5tli. .San Luis Obispo Sept. 1, 1772 Latitude 35036' 

Ctb . . San Francisco de los Dolores Oct. 9, 1776 Latitude 37^57' 

2 



18 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

Names. 'When Founded. . 'WTicre Located. 

7th. . San Juan Capistrano Nov. 1, 1776 Latitude 33-26' 

8th. .Santa Clara Jan. 18, 1777 Latitude 37=20' 

9th. . San Buenaventura March 21, 1782 Latitude 33=36' 

10th. . Santa Barbara Dec. 4, 1786 Latitude 34^40' 

11th. .La Purisima Concepcion Dec. 8, 1787 Latitude 33=' — 

12th. .Santa Cruz Aug, 28, 1791 Latitude 37^ — 

13th. .Nuestra Senora La Solidad Oct. 9, 1791 Latitude 36=38' 

14lh. . San Jose June 11, 1797 Latitude 37=30' 

loth. .San Juan Bautista June 24, 1797 Latitude 30=58' 

16th. .San Miguel July 25, 1797 Latitude 35=48' 

17th. . San Fernando Eey Sept 8, 1797 Latitude 34=16' 

18th. .San Luis Eey June 13, 1798 Latitude 33=3' 

19th. . Santa Inez Virgin y MartjT Sept. 17, 1804 Latitude 34=52' 

20th. .San Eafael Dec. 14, 1817 Latitude 38= — 

21st. .San Francisco de Solano de Sonoma April 25, 1820 Latitude 38=30' 

These missions were all built on one general plan, but some were 
constructed of better materials, and more artistically finished than 
others, according to the locality and skill of the missionaries in charge, 
who generally acted as architects, masons, and superintendents. They 
usually formed three sides of a square in outline. In the middle was 
the church, on which the greatest amount of labor was always expended, 
in order to make it as large and as handsome as possible. Its interior 
was as highly decorated as the means of the presiding Father would 
admit. Its walls were always adorned with gorgeously colored pic- 
tures of subjects calculated to attract the attention of the simple minded 
natives, while about the altar were placed massive gilt candlesticks, 
images, gold and silver vessels, and everything that had a tendency to 
attract special attention to them. . The old Mission Church, at Santa 
Clara, which still exists, in excellent repair, is an interesting specimen 
of the skill of the missionaries, and of the labor of the natives. At this 
mission the houses of the natives formed five rows of streets, and 
were more comfortable than at any other. 

The old Mission of San Juan, which stands fronting the town of San 
Juan South, is another good illustration of these relics of the past. 
Its adobe walks, with their long corridors of massive arches, is strongly 
in contrast with the modern brick convent adjoining, in which one hun- 
dred young ladies are taught the same religion the founders of the mis- 
sions sought to propagate among the natives. 

The Santa Barbara Mission, which also continues in tolerably good 
repair, is one of the most pretentious of these ancient structures. At 
each corner of the front of this building there is a tower thirty-five feet 
high, surmounted by double belfries, above each of which is the sym- 
bolical cross. In front of this maSsive fa7ado there still remains tlio 



EAKLY HISTORY. 19 

ruins of a large fountain, and the signs of the walks and parterres the 
Fathers delighted to cultivate. 

The houses occupied by the priests were always close to the churcti, 
and behind them were arranged the workshops and storehouses. Most 
of the main buildings were constructed of adobe, or unburnt clay, 
moulded into masses as large as a man could conveniently lift, and 
were roofed with tiles partially burned, to better stand the weather. 
The quarters occupied by the natives were generally at some distance 
from the church, and consisted sometimes of rough adobe walls, cov- 
ered with leaves, and at others of mere huts, such as the Indians usually 
constructed for themselves in the wilderness. 

Near the Indian quarters, which were called the rancheria, was the 
Castillo, in which resided the garrison, generally three or four Mexican 
cavalry soldiers — an accompaniment of every mission. This citadel 
was made as strong as possible, to withstand attacks from the Indians, 
in case of outbreaks among them, which were of frequent occurrence 
during the early days of the settlement. The soldiers who resided at 
the missions were a worthless set of ruffians, most of them having been 
transported to California as a punishment for crimes committed in 
Mexico. 

In addition to the military stationed at the missions there were dis- 
tinct military establishments called Presidios, maintained by the Span- 
ish government to aid in preserving peace among the natives, as well as 
to repel any attempt at invasion by foreign powers. There were four 
of these Presidios — located at San Diego, Monterey, San Francisco, 
and Santa Barbara, the chief harbors in the territory. Each was for- 
tified with high walls made of adobe, on which were mounted a few 
guns of small calibre. The garrisons were rarely inside tliese for- 
tifications. Being under but little restraint, they roamed over the 
country, or settled upon some pleasant spot, took one of the converted 
Indian Avomen for a wife, and obtained a grant of land as a dower. 
The first grant of land in the territory, by the Spanish government, 
was made on the 27th of November, 1775, to Manuel Butron, a Span- 
ish soldier, who married Marguerita, one of the converts of the Mis- 
sion of San Carlos. 

Many of the old Spanish soldiers and their descendants are living 
in California, at this time, on ranchos granted to them for services at 
these Presidios. One of these relics of the past was living at Santa 
Barbara in 1865, and was quite a curiosity in his way. He wore knee 
breeches and buckles, and silver buttons on his jacket, as in the days 
of old, and was fond of telling about the events that occurred while 



20 THE NATLTAL WEALTH 07 CU^ITORNIA. 

California was tinder the dominion of Spain. He was in Monterey in 
the year 1800, and had such a vivid impression of the great earthquake 
of 1812 as to give quite an interesting account of the forty days shaking 
which then occurred. He was with Captain Morago on the first expe- 
dition sent to explore the country, when that Captain discovered the 
San Joaquin River, and reached the Sierra Nevada, giving the present 
name to Calaveras county, in consequence of finding the bones of so 
many dead Indians scattered about. What changes have taken place 
in the country during the life of this old resident ! 

It appears to have been the design of the Spanish government to 
settle the country by such men, as it authorized the laying out of 
"pueblos," or towns, near each of the presidios and missions, in which 
every settler was to have had a two hundred vara lot of ground, as a 
homestead, with the privilege of certain common and timber lands, 
laid out for the use of the villages. This relic of Spanish rule in Cali- 
fornia has been the source of much litigation since the country has 
come into the possession of the Americans, as the titles to lands made 
by the Spanish or Mexican authorities are recognized in the courts of 
the United States. 

The site on which the City of San Francisco has been built was a 
portion of the pueblo of the mission located there. A number of par- 
ties claimed this land, on the pretext that there was no pueblo at this 
place, but the Supreme Court of the United States having decided that 
there was, a new cause of litigation arose, to decide who were the laAv- 
ful custodians of the four leagues of these pueblo lands — by whom, and 
to whom, they should be distributed. These points continue to attract 
much attention, and are of vital importance to the present and future 
prosperity of the State. 

There were also three independent to^nis, or pueblos, altogether 
separate from the missions and presidios, formed by the old Spanish 
or Creole soldiers discharged from the service, who married among 
the natives and settled at these places, which were : Los Angeles, San 
Jose, and Branciforte — now Santa Cruz. 

THE ABOEIGIXES OF CALIFORNIA. 

There is scarcely any subject connected Avith the early history of 
the State, more instructive or suggestive, as exliibitiug its natural 
wealth, than the condition of its original inhabitants, when they were 
first discovered. 

Owing to the studied efforts of the missionaries, to misrepresent 
the mental and physical condition of the native Californians, in order 



EARLY HISTORY. 21 

fo palliate tlieir own conduct in holding tliem in bondage for so many 
years, it is not safe to trust the writings of the Fathers on this subject. 
According to their reports, the unfortunate race stood at the very foot 
in the scale of humanity — were inferior in intelligence to the Bosjes- 
men of Africa, and worse in their habits than the disgusting 
aborigines of Australia. Such a character not only does injustice to 
the aborigines of California, but to the country that gave them birth; 
although it is generally accepted by those who form an estimate of the 
condition and disposition of the race, by the wretched remnant of it 
now remaining. It is necessary to go back to the period ere he 
became sophisticated by civilization, to form a just estimate of the 
aboriginal Californian, or of the country he inhabited. Fortunately, 
there are numerous disinterested sources thi;ough which the most 
reliable information on the subject may be obtained, from the date of 
their first discovery. 

It is unjust to charge him, as do some, with being indolent, 
because his native land furnished him with abundance of food, without 
much exertion on his part ; or to say he was cowardly, because he was 
not continually at war with his neighbors, in an incessant struggle for 
existence — the normal condition of most savage races ; or to consider 
him more savage than other savages, because he built only frail houses 
and made but few clothes, which the mildness of the climate, and the 
fashions of his race, enabled him to dispense with. Some writers even 
go so far as to insist that the Californian Indians were lower, as tj'pes 
of humanity, than the Fejee or Sandwich Islanders, because the 
latter made clothes, cultivated the soil, and were skilled in the use of 
weapons of warfare. Such -wTiters should remember that the islanders 
were compelled to make garments, to protect themselves against the 
heat and cold of their country; were obliged to cultivate the soil, or 
starve, as it produced but little spontaneously, and had to become 
dexterous in the use of weapons of warfare, in order to avoid being 
eaten by their conquerors. No such exigency or necessity attended 
the life of the aboriginal Californian. Is it fair, then, to charge him 
wdth indolence, because his beneficent Creator had abundantly pro- 
vided for all his wants, and left him but little to do except to enjoy 
life ? No country in the world was as well supplied by Nature, with 
food for man, as California, when first discovered by the Spaniards. 
Every one of its early visitors have left records to this efiect — they all 
found its hills, valleys and plains filled with elk, deer, hares, rabbits, 
quail, and other animals fit for food ; its rivers and lakes swarming 
with salmon, trout, and other fish, their beds and banks covered wdth 



2Q THE NATURAL WE-iXTH OF CALIFOEXIA. 

mussels, clams, and other edible mollusca ; the rocks on its sea shores 
crowded with seal and otter ; and its forests full of trees and plants, 
bearing acorns, nuts, seeds and berries, while its climate was so mild 
and genial, that clothing was not a necessity. It would have been 
strange indeed, if an uncivilized race, w^hose lot was cast in such a 
pleasant place, had not been found enjoying life, as they understood 
it. It may have been their misfortune to have been born in so desir- 
able a country — one so well adapted for the dwelling-place of their 
superiors ; but it is not just to charge such a circumstance against 
them as a fault, or to accuse them of indolence when there was no 
necessity for them to labor. Equally unjust is it, to charge them with 
being stupid, and incapable of instruction, in the face of the fact that 
it was their labors that enriched the missions, and proved to the world 
the latent value of the soil of California. Nor is it true that, as a race, 
they Avere cowardly. The record shows how bravely many of the 
chiefs and tribes contested the encroachments of the first settlers on 
their lands. Marin county owes its name to the chief of the Lecatuit 
Indians who inhabited that section of the State until 1824, and for 
many years defied all the forces sent to dispossess him. Sonoma, the 
name of another county, containing one of the most beautiful valleys 
on the coast, derives its name from a famous chief of the Chocuyens. 
Solano, the name of another county, was once that of a warlike chief of 
the Suisuns. Napa county derives its name from the tribe that once 
OAA-ned the land between San Pablo bay and Mount St. Helens, Avhich 
now forms its beautiful farms, orchards, and gardens, which they 
fought long and fiercely to retain as their hunting grounds. So Avith 
Colusa, Shasta, Yolo, and several other counties — their names are the 
mausoleums of extinct tribes of aborigines, who bravely struggled 
against an inexorable destiny, which has in so few years swept them 
away. 

The annals of the State, during the past eighteen years, either 
prove how fiercely the natives fought for the laud of their birth, or that 
many thousands of dollars were expended in exterminating a race of 
men who did not deserve thus to die. 

They are accused of having been destitute of any conception of 
religion, affection, trade, art, or any of the higher attributes of 
liumanity. This is unjust to them, as well as to California. If it be 
true, as it is asserted by philosophers, that Nature dominates over 
man, and constrains his actions through the agenc}' of the scenery and 
physical conditions that surround him — a theory strangely confirmed 
by the distinguishing traits of all civilized nations — then California, 



E.\ELY HISTOEY. 23 

•with its cloudless skies, salubrious air, gorgeous scenery, and abund- 
ance of all the elements that minister to human happiness, could not 
have produced a race destitute of faculties to enjoy the blessings pro- 
vided for them by their Creator. Nor did it produce such a race ; 
there is abundance of proof to the contrary. 

Cabrillo, the discoverer of the country, who spent six months 
among the natives who dwelt in what is now Santa Barbara county, 
has left on record the names of forty towns, or villages (pueblos) which 
existed in that section of the State, at the time of his visit. 

YiscajTio, who visited the same section of the coast in 1602, or 
sixty years after Cabrillo, confii'ms all that his predecessor had stated 
about the condition of the aborigines, and says : they lived by 
hunting, fishing, and gathering seeds, nuts, and wild fruit. This 
authority states, fiu'ther, that on the Island of Santa Catalina, off the 
coast of Santa Barbara, the natives had large wooden canoes, capable 
of holding twenty persons each, with which they caught large quan- 
tities of fish, which they sold to the natives on the main land. 

It has been known to the Jesuit Fathers, and Spanish Government in 
Mexico, since 1540, that the natives of Upper California traded with 
the tribes dwelling far in the interior of the continent, for abalone, 
cowry and other shells, and various other articles. Father Palou says : 
"the natives of the main land made rafts, or canoes of the tule, for 
fishing, in which they went a great way out to sea. " These extracts 
are sufficient to show that the natives were not destitute of skill, enter- 
prise, or intelligence. 

"With reference to their notions of morality, Father Junipero Serra, 
the founder of the missions in Upper California, writing to his 
brethren on the peninsula, under date of July 3d, 1769, two days after 
his arrival in what is now the State of California, says : 

"The number of savages is immense. All those of this cdast, from 
the shore of Todos Santos, live very contentedly upon various seeds 
and fish, which they catch from their canoes made of tule, with which 
they go out a considerable distance to sea. They are very afiable. All 
the males, both large and small, go naked ; but the females are mod- 
estly clad, even to the little girls at the breast. " 

Father Palou records the same peculiarity of clothing the females, 
as do all the early visitors to the coast. Captain Woodes Kogers, who 
was here in 1711, says none of the young females were permitted to be 
seen by him or his crew. 

They were remarkable for the affection that existed between parents 



24 THE NATUR.VL WEALTH OF C.VLIFOENIA. 

and cliildren, and for tlie firmness of the friendships that were formed 
among them. 

They were not quarrelsome, rarely fighting, and amused them- 
selves with games of skill or chance, and dancing, which, if considered 
stupid by those accustomed to scenes in other lands, was quite exciting 
to them. In their marital relations they did not differ materially from 
the Mormons of the present day — the daughters and their mother often 
being the wives of the same man. Father Palou says : ' ' The first bap- 
tisms made at the mission of San Francisco, were of three children, all 
born within two months, sons of an Indian and three sisters, to whom 
he was married, as well as to their mother. 

They must have had some idea of a future state, or they would not 
have burned or buried their ornaments and weapons with the dead, as 
was the universal custom. They expressed their ideas of a change 
from life to immortality, by saying that **as the moon died, and came 
to life again, so man came to life after death;" and believed that the 
"hearts of good chiefs went up to heaven and were converted into 
stars, to watch over their tribe on earth." 

There were priests, or sorcerers, both male and female, among 
them, who pretended to exercise supernatural control over their 
bodies, claiming to cure disease by incantations and curious rites and 
ceremonies. These priests wore long robes made of human hair, and 
were formidable rivals to the missionaries. Scores of these human- 
hair robes were burned by the Fathers, before their rivals were driven 
out of the field. 

Visca}Tio says, the natives of Catalina Island had a temple, con- 
taining an idol "which they worshipped with sacrifices." These 
excerpts are sufficient to prove that they were not destitute of all ' 'con- 
ceptions of religion." 

Captain Rogers says, of their honesty, that they never took any- 
thing belonging to him, though his carpenters and cooj^ers generally 
left their tools on shore. Other voyagers speak in similar praise of 
their honesty. 

Forbes says, "their children, taught by the missionaries, spoke 
Spanish, and became polished by conversation. " 

With reference to their taste and skill in making ornaments, 
weapons, and utensils. La Pe'rouse, who was here in 1786, says: "they 
wore ear-rings made of carved wood, bandeaux of feathers round their 
heads, and shells strung as beads around their necks and bodies. Ho 
describes some of these feather bandeaux as exceedingly beautiful, and 



E.UILY HISTORY. 25 

as tte product of great labor and skill. Langsdorff also notices tlie 
same articles, and says he counted in one of these bandeaux four hun- 
dred and fifty feathers from the tails of golden woodpeckers. As each 
of these birds has but two such feathers — and it is probable that every 
bird killed did not have both in perfect condition — it must have 
required much application to obain materials for such an ornament. 

Forbes credits them with extraordinary skill in the construction of 
their baskets, bows and arrows; some of the former, made of the fila- 
mentous bark of a tree, were plaited so closely as to be perfectly water- 
tight, and although made of very combustible materials, were used for 
roasting their grain before it was ground. Many of their baskets were 
ornamented with the scarlet feathers of the Oriolus plioeniceus, or with 
the black crest feathers of the mountain quail, and were really very 
handsome. 

Father Palou says the men had wooden swords, that cut almost like 
steel, and formidable clubs, as well as bows and arrows, as weapons of 
warfare. 

"With reference to their physique, there appears to be considerable 
discrepancy between the statements of different authorities. Venegas 
thought them ' 'equal to any race"; Captain Rogers says, "they were tall, 
robust, and straight as pine trees;" Captain Beechey says, "they were 
generally above the standard of Englishmen, in liight." In after 
years, some of the hal^-breeds were quite remarkable for their hight — 
reaching nearly seven feet. 

Langsdorff, surgeon of the Eussian admiral Kotzebu^'s ship, which 
arrived at San Francisco in September, 1824, states that "many of 
them had full, flowing beards." La Perouse also says, "about 
half the males he saw had such splendid beards that they would have 
made a figure in Turkey, or in the vicinity of Moscow." It is a very 
remarkable fact that none of the present race of Indians have any 
beards. 

The foregoing brief outline of the condition and habits of the abori- 
gines of California, before and since their contact with the white race, 
would appear to justify the belief that they were capable of reaching a 
higher plane of civilization, than that on which they were placed by 
the missionaries. 

Eminent men of science, from England, France, Russia, and the 
United States, who visited the coast, and saw the unfortunate natives 
imder the mission regime, in its palmiest days, all bear witness to the 
wretched state of bodily and mental bondage in which they were held. 
Captain Beechey considered the method adopted by the Fathers, to 



2G THE NATUE.VL \\TL\LTH OF CALIFOKXLV. 

obtain "converts," as but "little better than kidnapping." Botli men 
and women were flogged, or put into tlie stocks, if they refused to be- 
lieve or to labor : other witnesses corroborate this statement. 

All the Indian men, except those employed as vacqueros, or herds- 
men, wore no other clothing than a coarse woolen shirt and a breech 
cloth. The vacqueros had j)ants and shoes, more for the sake of 
enabling them better to ride the unbroken mustangs than for decency. 
The women had a woolen chemise and petticoat, but neither shoes nor 
stockings. Both men and women were required to work in the fields 
every day, except those who were carpenters, blacksmiths, or weavers. 
None of them were taught to read or write, except a few who were 
selected to form a choir, to sing and play music, for each mission. 
The only instruments were the violin and guitar. They never received 
any payment for their labor, except food, clothing, and instructions in 
the catechism. The single men and women were locked up in sejoarate 
buildings, every night. Both sexes were severely punished with the 
whip, if they did not obey the missionaries or other white men in 
authority. The Fathers themselves wore but one garment, which 
reached from their neck to their heels; this was never washed, but was 
worn continually until worn out. 

There is no room to doubt that the degradation of the existing 
race, is in some degree, the result of the mission system, which has 
deprived them of the instincts that Nature had implanted, and left 
them no dependence but upon the will of the Fathers, which was im- 
potent to save them from extermination by the irresistible force of a 
higher civilization, in which they are unfitted to participate. 

The Sjianish Government appears to have acted with much liber- 
ality towards the aborigines, and intended that they should have had 
every opportunity to become civilized. It granted them tracts of land 
for cultivation, and lots in the pueblos for homesteads. Much of the 
land on which the city of San Francisco now stands, was gi-anted to 
partially civilized Indians, j^i'ior to the year 1820; but a higher power 
than earthly Governments had destined that site to be occuj)ied 
by a different race. 

The most implacable Indian-hater must contemplate with astonish- 
ment, not unmixed with awe, the destruction that has overtaken the 
native Californians within the past forty years. When their country 
was first discovered, it was thickly populated with tribes, speaking a 
variety of dialects, the very names of which have been forgotten. 

Mr. Gilroy, the first foreign settler in the State, who landed at Mon- 



EAELY HISTORY. 27 

terey in 1814, gives us tlie following vivid j^icture of this so-called 
mission civilization. 

Kit Carson says, wlien he came to California, in 1829, the valleys 
were full of Indian tribes. They were thick everyv\-here. He saw a 
great deal of some large and flourishing tribes that then existed. When 
he went there again, in 1859, they had all disappeared, and in answer 
to inquiries about them, the people residing in the localities where he 
had seen them, told him they had never heard of them. Yount, who 
settled in Napa Yalley in 1830, says it then contained thousands of 
Indians ; it has but few now. 

No estimate appears to have been made of their number until 1823, 
when they numbered 100, 826, although it was known they had already 
decreased extensively. In 1863 they were counted by the Indian De- 
partment and found to number only 29,300 men, women and children. 
It is doubtful if there are 20, 000 remaining, at the close of 1807. At 
this rate of decrease, in how few years we shall see the last of the Cali- 
fornia aborigines ! Their rapid disappearance is not to be attributed 
wholly to their contact with the white race. That mysterious law of 
Nature, which has caused the destruction of so many races of created 
beings at various epochs in the world's history, as we find recorded in 
the stony leaves of the but partially opened book of the rocks, has willed 
the end of the Indian tribes of America, as well as of the aborigines of 
other countries, and no human power can avert it. The census of the 
Cherokees, the most intelligent and best educated of all the American 
aborigines, taken in May last, exhibits a decrease of 20, 000 during the 
preceding five years. In Tasmania, New South Wales, there were but 
four of the aborigines of the country remaining in 1866. Among the 
Sandwich Islanders, where education, religion and amalgamation are 
more general than among the aborigines of any other country, the 
same law is in progress of execution. The race is rapidly passing 
away. The census of 1866 exhibits a decrease of 9, 000 during the pre- 
ceding five years, out of a population of but little more than 60, 000. 

Our Federal and State Governments have made liberal provision 
for the support of the remnant of the aboriginal Californians. The 
first Stats Laglslature passed a law for their protection, and they are 
probably much better off under the existing state of affairs than when 
under the rule of the missions. In most of the southern counties 
they reside on rancherias, or independent villages, where they raise a 
few cattle, sheep, and hogs, and sufficient grain, vegetables, and fruit to 
supply their own wants. In San Diego County there are twenty-eight 
rancherias, containing altogether about 2,000 natives. None of tho 



28 THE NATrRAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENLi. 

other soutlieru counties contain as many, but there are a number of 
rancherias in each. There are also several reservations provided by the 
United States government for the protection of those who reside in coun- 
ties in which the settlers object to their locating. The Superintendents 
of these reservations report the natives residing on them as being 
cheerful, contented and obedient, performing all the labor required of 
them in a satisfactory manner. Seven hundred and fifty of them, resid- 
ing on the Tule Eiver Keservation, in 1866, cultivated and gathered a 
crop of 10,000 bushels of wheat, 50,000 pounds of barley, and a large 
quantity of vegetables ; dug a ditch five miles long, of sufficient capa- 
city to convey water to irrigate the entire reservation ; made a wagon 
road twenty-five miles in length, besides performing other less import- 
ant labors in the neighborhood. 

On the Eound Valley Keservation, seven hundred of them raised 
6,318 bushels of wheat, 1,127 bushels of barley, 8,000 bushels of corn, 
2, 150 bushels of oats, 1, 500 bushels of potatoes, besides large quanti- 
ties of vegetables, hay, etc. They also made 30,000 fence rails, with 
which they inclosed 2, 700 acres of land ; erected a barn, 70x00, with 
sheds on either side, 12x70 ; and two frame granaries, 40x60 — cutting 
all the lumber for the same by hand. 

On the Hoopa Valley Reservation, about six hundred of them raised 
a valuable crop of wheat and barley. 

On the Smith River Reservation, about fivo hundred of them raised 
sufficient to maintain themselves. 

There are other reservations in Los Angeles, Tehama, Klamath, 
Mendocino, and Fresno counties — each containing about 25,000 acres. 

The above results would seem to prove, that under judicious man- 
agement, these reservations may be made self-sustaining, while the 
Indians on them would be far more comfortable than when permitted to 
roam through portions of the State, where they can obtain subsistence 
by no other means than the charity of the inhabitants. 

Having traced the condition and characteristics of the aborigines 
of California, from their discovery by the Spaniards, till they fell under 
the protecting care of the United States, it will be pertinent to the sub- 
ject to make a few remarks concerning their origin, which is really the 
most remarkable chapter of their history, as well as that of the State. 

The investigations of ethnologists and philologists who have studied 
the Hindoo, Chinese, and Japanese annals during the present century, 
have brought to light sach a chain of evidence as to place beyond 
doubt that the inhabitants of Mexico and California, discovered by the 
S^Daniards, were of Mongolian origin. 



E^iELY HISTORY. 29 

There is no real cause for surprise at sucli a discovery, wlien we 
remember that the Greeks and Romans — the compilers of our records 
of the world's early history — knew nothing of the countries west of the 
shores of Africa, or on the east, beyond the 120th degree of longitude 
west of Greenwich. It was not until the thirteenth century that Marco 
Polo discovered Japan, and more than a century after that event, before 
Columbus discovered America — literally a new world to the chroniclers 
of that histor}^ 

It was not until Magellan, on the 21st of October, 1520, made a pas- 
sage through the straits that now bear his name, that the spherical form 
of the earth was demonstrated to the savans and philosophers of Europe. 
If they knew so little about the earth itself, it is not surprising that they 
knew so little about its inhabitants, as to compel us to seek for infor- 
mation concerning the early history of the aborigines of California, in 
countries which were ancient and civilized when Europe was inhabited 
by savages. 

Tlie Hindoo, Chinese, and Japanese annals all correspond in record- 
ing the fact, that about the year 1280, Genghis Kahn, a great Mongul 
Chief, whose name was a terror in Europe, at the same time, invaded 
China with hordes of barbarians from Tartary, and subjugated its 
people, whom his descendants hold in subjection at the present time. 
Having accomplished this object, he fitted out an expedition consisting 
of 240,000 men, in 4^000 ships, under command of Kublai Kahn, one 
of his sons, for the j)urpose of conquering Japan. While this expedi- 
tion was on the passage between the two countries, a violent storm 
arose, which destroyed a great part of this fleet, and drove many of 
the vessels on to the coast of America. (The writings of Marco Polo 
contain much information concerning this event.) 

Grotius says, "the Peruvians were a Chinese colony, and that the 
Spaniards found at the entry of the Pacific Ocean, on coming through 
the straits of Magellan, the wrecks of Chinese vessels. " 

There are proofs clear and certain, that Mango Capac, the founder of 
the Peruvian nation, was the son of Kublai Kahn, the commander of 
this expedition, and that the ancestors of Montezuma, of Mexico, who 
were from Assam, arrived about the same time. 

But for the fanaticism of the Spanish priests, who destroyed all the 
Mexican records, w^hen Cortes captured the city, there would be less 
obscurity on this interesting subject than exists at present. 

Every custom of the Mexicans, described by their Spanish conquer- 
ors, x^roves their Asiatic origin. They had no written language, but kept 
tlieir records by means of quipos — bundles of strings, with knots of 



30 THE NATITEAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENTA. 

various colors — ^precisely similar to those used by tlie Chinese at that 
period. Their ceremonies — civil, military and religions — their music, 
weapons, names of their deities, food, ornaments, toys, their system of 
notation, and method for calculating time, their agricultural implements 
— even to the making of adobes — all were identical with those of China. 

The strange hieroglj^ohics found in so many places in Mexico, and 
from California to Canada, are all of Mongolian origin. Similar figures 
exist in Siberia, at Nepaul, in India, and in Thibet, which are known 
to have been made by the Mongolians. They were the usual signs 
made by that race to mark their subjugation of a country. Humboldt, 
many years ago, conjectured that these hieroglj-phics were of Tartar 
origin. It is now positively known that they are. 

But, by far the most interesting feature of these recent revelations 
about the ancient history of California and Mexico, is the strange fact 
that many of the Tartar invaders of these countries were Christians. 

We have already shown the connection between the ancient Peru- 
vians and Mexicans, and we must again refer to this connection to trace 
this fact. It is recorded by Vega, the best historian of Peru, that 
among the booty obtained by the Spaniards from the palace of the 
Incas, was a beautiful jasper, or marble cross, highly polished, three 
fourths of an ell in length, and three fingers in breadth, which was 
kept in the sacred chamber of the palace, and held in great veneration. 
(Vega — voL ii: chap. 3.) 

To account for this extraordinary discovery : Marco Polo says, there 
were many Nestorians in the service of Genghis Kahn, and it is prob- 
able that in the expedition sent to conquer Japan, a part of the troops 
were commanded by Nestorian officers. The mother of Kublia Kahi^'s 
brother, (the Kahns had many wives), who was uncle to Mango Capac — 
the first Inca of Peru — was a Christian. It is known that she had in 
her employ an English goldsmith of great skill, named William Bou- 
chier, who made many of the gold and silver articles which fell into 
the hands of the Spaniards. 

Humboldt refers to the Mexicans having some confused idea of 
Christianity — the origin of such ideas is here explained. 

The New York Herald^ in November, 1866, contains a communica- 
tion from Mexico, concerning a discovery made by a person named 
Lyon, about three hundred miles to the north-east of Jalapa, of ruins 
of Christian places of worship, which had been abandoned before the 
conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards. Among those ruins were found 
a statuette of a man, with the emblems of Christianity — the cross, 
lamb, etc. — carefully carved. 



EAKLY HISTORY. 31 

Grixalva, wlio was in Yucatan in 1518, states tliat there were many 
great stone crosses in the country at that time, and that the people 
worshipped them. The Spaniards, under Cortez, found many such 
crosses in Mexico. 

In the Odd Fellows' library at San Francisco, there is an old book, 
published at Loraine, in 1579, which contains many strange stories 
about this country — then called Qui vera. This curious book, written 
in Latin, contains the following remarkable passage, when referring to 
tlie efforts made at that time to find the straits of Anian : ' ' The sol- 
diers of Vasquirus Coronatus, having found no gold in Vivola, in order 
not to return to Mexico without gold, resolved to come to Quivera 
(California) ; for they had heard much of its gold mines, and that Tatar- 
raxus, the powerful king of Quivera, was amply provided with riches, 
worshipped the Savior's cross, and the memory of the Holy Virgin." 

In the museum at St. Petersburg, there is a great collection of 
gold, silver, copper, and stone articles, obtained from the tumuli of 
the ancient Moguls, in Siberia, which are identical in design, work- 
manship, and materials, to similar articles found under like circum- 
stances in Peru, Mexico, and California. 

The observations of the expedition to Alaska, in 1867, revealed the 
fact that the inhabitants of the Alutian islands are of unquestionable 
Mongolian or Japanese origin — thus substituting verity for conjecture 
as to the probable origin of the aborigines of the Pacific coast. 

The curious casas grandes, or large stone houses which are known 
to exist near Culiacan, Mexico, and along the Gila river, the cause of 
so much astonishment to all Americans who had seen them, are the 
very counterparts of buildings erected by Mongolians in Thibet, 
where they remain at the present time. 

The armor belonging to Montezuma, which was obtained by Cortez, 
and is now in the museum at Madrid, is known to be of Asiatic manu- 
facture, and to have belonged to one of Kublai Kahn's generals. 

We could furnish an almost endless number of facts to support the 
belief, that the Indians whom the Spaniards found in California, were of 
Asiatic origin; but, as our work is not published as a history, we are 
compelled to restrict our remarks on this j)oint. We hope, however, 
that we have furnished sufficient detail to excite the interest of the 
reader in the subject. 

The Chinese, who have become so numerous in California since the 
discovery of gold, bear a striking resemblance to the Indians, and are 
known to be able to converse with them, in their respective languages, 
to an extent that cannot be the result of mere coincidence of expres- 



32 



THE XATUEAL TTEALTH OF C.VLirOK>nL\.. 



sion. This also furnishes a strong confirmation of what vre have stated 
above. 

In 1857, a gentleman named Henlev — a good Chinese scholar, who 
acted as interpreter in the courts of this State for some time — ^pub- 
lished a list of words in the Chinese and Indian languages to show- 
that they were of the same origin. From this list we make an extract 
as supporting our remarks : 



Indian. 


Chinese. 


English. 


Indian. 


Chinese. 


English. 


Nang-a. 


Nang» 


Man. 


A-pa. 


A-pa. 


Father. 


Yi-soo. 


Soa. 


Hand. 


A- ma. 


A-ma, 


Mother. 


Keoka. 


Keok. 


Foot. 


Ko-le. 


A-ko. 


Brother. 


Aek-a-soo. 


Soo. 


Beard. 


Ko-chae. 


To-chae. 


Thanks. 


Yuet-a. 


Yuet. 


Moon. 


Xgam. 


Yam. 


Drunk. 


Yeeta. 


Yat. 


Sun. 


Koolae. 


Ku-kay. 


Her. 


Utyta. 


Hoto. 


Much. 


Koo-chue. 


Chue-koo, 


Hog. 


Lee . lum. 


Ee-lung. 


Deafness. 


Choo Xoo. 


Kow-clii. 


Dog. 


Ho-ya-pa. 


Ho-ah. 


Good. 









Ti-jam, in the Indian language, is night. Ti-yam, in the Chinese, 
means the God of the moon, or night. Hee-ma, in Indian, is the Sun. 
Hee-ma, in Chinese, means the God of the Sun, or day. Wallae is a 
word commonly used among the Indians to designate a friend ; it also 
means man. Walla, in the Hindostanee, means a man. Numbers of 
other words could be given, but the above are sufficient for our 
purpose. "Alta," the prefix which distinguishes Upper from Lower 
California, is a Avord of Mongolian origin, signifyimg gold. 

In 181.3 the British brig Forester, bound from London, England, to 
the Columbia Piiver, fell in with a dismasted Japanese junk of about 
seven hundred tons burden, some one hundred and fifty miles oft' this 
coast, near Queen Charlotte's Island. There were three persons on 
board of her alive, who stated they had been eighteen months drifting 
about, during which time they had been in sight of the American con- 
tinent, but were driven off by the winds and currents. In 1833, another 
Japanese jmik drifted into the harbor of one of the Hawaiian Islands, 
having four of her crew alive, after being at sea for eleven months. 

The early settlers in Oregon found the remains of a Chinese junk 
imbedded in the mud of the Columbia Eiver, several miles from the 
coast. The Indians had a tradition about this junk — that it came 
* ' filled with strange men, " many years previously, but nobody kncAV 
whence they came, or where they went. 

These instances of Chinese and Japanese vessels reaching this coast 
so recently, is certainly a proof that they may have done so in earlier 



EARLY HISTORY. 33 

times ; as both China and Japan had larger fleets of vessels in those 
days than at present. 

THE EARLY SETTLEES. 

The advent of settlers, independent of the missions- -the connect- 
ing links between the past and present civilization — furnishes material 
for an exceedingly romantic and interesting chapter of the early his- 
tory of California. 

Who would not like to know the nationality and name of the first 
adventurer whose eyes beheld the blue waters of San Francisco's noble 
bay, breaking over its sandy, crescent-shaped beach, now covered 
with long lines of stately structures — the seat of a commerce world- 
wide in extent ; and of him who first, on some autumn eve, after the 
early rains had fallen, climbed the russet hills, and beheld the 
unequalled landscape that surrounds it, then so silent, now the center 
of so much activity ? "Was he some bold mariner cast away on the 
dreary coast, seeking food and shelter, or some wandering trapper from 
the western wilds, who had traversed the broad continent in search of 
peltries to barter for powder and lead ? Unfortunately, there were no 
records kept of such ' 'pathfinders, " through whose enterprise and energy 
the world first heard of the natural wealth of California. It was they 
who spread abroad the stories about the beauty of scenery, fertility of 
soil, salubrity of climate, and abundance of game in this, then unknown 
country, which excited the curiosity of the bold frontiersmen of the 
west, and of the venturesome merchant of the north, w^hich led to the 
settlement, of the country by the Anglo-Saxon race. 

At first, like the few plashing drops which precede the refreshing 
rain that falls in spring time, imparting vigor and beauty to the pro- 
ducts of the earth, these wanderers appear on the scene. Eecei^ed by 
the secluded missionaries as premonitions of a civilization opposed to 
that growing so rankly on the virgin «oil, every means were used to 
keep their influence out of the mi-ssion folds; but, little by little, their 
numbers increased, until the few spattering drops became a shower, 
and the shower a deluge, which ultimately overwhelmed both missions 
and missionaries, and planted a new race, with more progressive insti- 
tutions in their places. 

How new the country seems, when we consider that there are men 
still living among us, hale and vigorous, who have stood face to face 
with those who first planted the standard of Christian civilization on its 
soil. Yet, how mature it is, when measured by its commerce, arts and 
manufactures, the order of its government, and refinement of its society. 
3 



34 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIEORNLA.. 

To explain the causes wliich led tlie first citizens of the United 
States into the territory now forming the State of California, it is neces- 
sary to refer to the following events in the early history of the Pacific 
coast : 

Vitus Bering, a Dane, was employed in the year 1728, by the Em- 
press Catharine, of Russia, to explore the northwest coast of America 
and Asia, for the purpose of finding a connection between the Pacific 
and Atlantic oceans, which was supposed to exist, but had not, at that 
time, been found. It was on this voyage that he discovered the straits 
which bear his name, and settled all doubts on that question. The 
skins of otters, sables, beavers, and other rare animals, which Bering 
collected on this coast during the voyage, and lay at the feet of the 
Empress on his return, were so valuable, and the abundance of the ani- 
mals that produced them was represented to be so great, that the dis- 
covery excited the curiosity of the capitalists, navigators, and adven- 
turers of Europe, and several nations established settlements on the 
Pacific Coast, for the purpose of collecting these valuable furs. The 
Russians selected the territory recently ceded by them to the United 
States. The Russian American Fur Company was organized in 1799, 
with power to hunt all over that territory. Sitka was founded in 1805, 
by this company. The Austrians and Danes were their neighbors for 
many years. The English soon followed. In 1784, a company was 
organized in London, called the King George's Sound Company, for 
the purpose of making a settlement on this coast, and trading for furs. 
Several ships belonging to that company arrived between 1780 and 1790. 
The English East India Company also sent several of their ships here 
between 1784 and 1790. About the year 1790, vessels from the United 
States began to make their ai:)pearance on the coast of the Pacific, in 
search of furs. As early as 1784, Thomas Jefferson, then acting as 
United States Minister to the Court of France, had become deeply 
interested in the subject, from reports of the country made by John 
Ledyard, a native of Connecticut, who had been on the coast with 
Captain Cook, the celebrated English navigator. Jefierson engaged 
this John Ledyard to make a journey through the Islands along 
Nootka Sound, for the pui-pose of obtaining accurate information of 
the countiy. The Russians, being made aware of Jefferson's object, 
had Ledyard arrested on the 24th of February, 1788, while making 
explorations on the borders of what is now Washington Territory. 

On June 5th, 1791, the ship Columhia, from Boston, (Mass.), com- 
manded by Captain Robert Gray, arrived on this coast, at a place 
called Clyoquot, near the entrance to the straits of Fuca, and traded 



EAKLY HISTOKY. 35 

up and clo-wn the coast during the following spring and summer. It 
was while on one of these trading excursions, to buy furs from the 
Indians, that Captain Gray, on the 7th of May, 1792, discovered the 
Columbia river, which he named after his ship, the first that ever 
sailed up its stream. The report of this discovery, and the valuable 
collection of furs Captain Gray brought from this country to Boston, 
created considerable excitement ; and a number of expeditions were 
planned for making a settlement on this coast. 

In 1810, the ship Albatross, from Boston, commanded by Captain 
Smith, arrived with a number of hunters and trappers, who landed 
and formed a settlement at a place called Oak Point, on the south 
bank of the Columbia river, about forty miles from its mouth, where 
they established a trading post, which was the first settlement of 
Americans on the Pacific Coast. 

In 1810, the Pacific Fur Company was organized at New York 
under the leadership of John Jacob Astor ; and in 1811, Astoria, 
Oregon, was founded by this Company, at the place where it stands at 
the present time. It was soon after captured by the' British, who 
drove all the Americans out of the country. Many of these managed 
to find their way into California. One of the most successful of these 
pioneer California fur-traders, was Captain William Sturgis, who, in 
some half-dozen voyages, between Boston and the California coast, 
between 1800 and 1812, realized so large a fortune as to become one of 
the richest merchants in the city of Boston, He died at Boston, in 
1864, aged seventy-five, and left jDroperty valued at three millions of 
dollars. 

From 1813 until 1822, there were no Americans on the Pacific coast, 
except those connected with these trading posts, or deserters from ves- 
sels that visited them. 

The following sketch of the "California trade" in those early days, 
will be interesting. From 1825 until 1834, the whole of this trade was 
in the hands of a few Boston merchants. A voyage to this coast and 
back, during that time, was an enterprise of very uncertain dura- 
tion, generally occupying two or three years. The outward cargo, 
which usually consisted of groceries and coarse cotton goods, had to 
be retailed to the missionaries and settlers, as there were no ''job- 
bers" in those times, and neither newspapers, telegraphs, nor stages, 
throvigh which to inform customers of the ship's arrival. The crew 
had to travel all over the countiy to convey the news, which occu- 
pied considerable time. It was this portion of their duties that 
caused so many of them to desert their ships. They saw so much of the 



36 THE NATUR.IL TATZ.VLTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

country, became so cliarmed ^itli tlie freedom, ease, auJ plenty, that 
prevailed everywhere, that they prefen-ed to remain on shore. Each 
of these vessels generally brought several young men as adventurers, 
who worked their passage out for the privilege of remaining. Many of 
the early settlers, whose children are now among the wealthiest citi- 
zens in the State, came to California in this manner. It was in one of 
these California hide-ships, the Aleii, that JX. H. Dana served his 
' ' two years before the mast, " in 1835 and '3G, in the book concerning 
•\diieh, he gives some interesting scraj)s of information of early Cali- 
fornia society. 

The outward cargo being disposed of, the homeward one had to be 
procured. Sometimes, when the season had been too dry, or too wet 
for the lazy vacqueros to drive the cattle into the missions to kill, 
there were no hides or tallow to be had. On such occasions the vessel 
was obliged to remain till the next season, when a sufficient number of 
cattle would be slaughtered to pay for the goods purchased, as there 
was no "currency" used in the countiy, except hides and tallow. 

It was rough travelling in California, in those days, there being no 
places for the traveller to obtain food or shelter, except at the missions. 
In 1822, there was neither bread, butter, fruit, nor vegetables, to bo 
had at Monterey, the capital of the territory. In fact, there was not a 
hotel or public table in the whole country, when it came into the pos- 
session of the United States in 1846. San Diego, being the general 
depot for this trade, where the hides and tallow collected from all the 
other missions along the coast were stored until a vessel was ready to 
leave, it was necessary to make several trips up and dovra the coast 
before the cargo could be collected. As there was no lumber or bar- 
rels to be had, the tallow was enclosed in green hides, sewn up in 
packages of one hundred and fifty to seven hundred pounds in weight, 
according to the size of the hide. 

A number of stragglers from the Hudson Bay, and other compa- 
nies — men of all nationalities — had found their way into California 
before 1812, and caused considerable trouble to the missionaries, by 
taking the best looking squaws for housekeepers. 

It is known that several of the crew of Vancouver's ship deserted, 
while that celebrated navigator lay at anchor in the harbor of Mon- 
terey, in 1793. These men lived among the Indians for a number of 
3'ears. 

In 1803, the American ship Alexander, Captain John Crown, and 
the Aser, Captain Thomas Ilubcn, entered the harbor of Sau Fran- 



EAPiLY HISTOnY. 37 

cIsco, and increased tlie number of settlers by deserters from tlieii 
crews. Captain Brown, of the Alexander, it appears, had lived among 
tlie natives for several years before liis arrival on that occasion, and 
had caused so much trouble to the missionaries and military author- 
ities at San Diego, in 1803, by contraband trading, that he was denied 
permission to remain in the harbor, longer than was necessary to ob- 
tain a supply of wood and water. These were the first American 
vessels that entered the Golden Gate, but not the first that had visited 
California. Captain Cleveland, on board the brig Delia Bz/rd, of 
Salem, (Mass.,) arrived at San Diego on the 17th of March, 1803. 

In 1807, the ship Juno, of Ehode Island, which had been purchased 
by the Russians at Sitka, arrived at San Francisco, having on board 
Count Von Eesenoff, ambassador from that country to Japan. This 
individual remained several weeks in California, and became so 
charmed with the country and its inhabitants, that he made arrange- 
ments for founding a colony of Hussians in what is now Sonoma 
county, and engaged to marry the Donna Concepcion Arguello, the 
beautiful daughter of the Spanish commandante at San Francisco; but, 
being accidentally killed in Siberia, while on his way to Russia to ob- 
tain the Emperor's permission to settle in California, the marriage 
never took place. The beautiful donna, on learning the fate of her 
lover, renounced the world, became a Sister of Mercy, and devoted 
her life to alleviating the sufferings of the sick, and educating the 
children of the poor, until she died at Benicia, in 1860. The death of 
Count Von Eesenoff also deferred the establishment of the colony till 
the year 1812, when one hundred Russians, and one hundred Kodiac 
Indians, arrived from Sitka and settled on a spit of land, about thirty 
miles from the shore of Bodega Bay, in latitude 38"^ 18' — fifty-eight 
miles north-west from San Francisco. They came for the j^urpose of 
catching seal, otter, beaver, and other animals, the fur of which was 
very valuable; and the animals that produced them abounded on all 
the rivers and creeks on the coast at that time. They were unwelcome 
guests to the missionaries and Mexican Government, but appear to 
have ingratiated themselves into favor with the Indians, a great many 
of whom they employed trapping and hunting, and cultivating the land 
around their fort. 

In 1820, they formed another settlement on the river Sebastian, 
forty miles north of Bodega, which they named Slawianska; Fort Ross, 
as it was called by the Settlers ; or Mount Ross, as it is known at 
present. They also had a settlement on the Farralones. In 1841, 
these settlements contained eight hundred Russians, and nearly two 



38 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALrFORXTA. 

tliousancl Indians. Tliej exported a large number of skins, and con- 
siderable quantities of grain and meat to tlie Russian settlenjents at 
Sitka. 

In 1835, the British Government, wliicli had already begun to make 
arrangements for the acquisition of California, made objections to 
these Russian settlements on Mexican soil ; and, as the Mexican au- 
thorities appeared to be unable or unwilling to molest them, called 
upon the United States Government to require their removal, in com- 
pliance with the stipulations of a treaty made between Russia and the 
United States in Aj)ril, 1824, by which Russia was bound to prevent 
its subjects forming settlements at any point south of latitude 50^ 40'. 
It was in compliance with a request from the United States Govern- 
ment, that the Russians left California in 1841. They sold all their 
real and personal property to General Sutter, taking pajTnent in wheat 
and meat, as required by the settlement at Sitka. Among the per- 
sonal property thus acquired by Sutter, Avcre 2000 cattle, 1000 horses, 
50 mules, 2500 sheep, and a number of brass guns, one of Avhich, now 
preserved in the museum of the Pioneer Association of San Francisco, 
rendered important service during the war for the conquest of Cali- 
fornia. 

The first permanent settler in California, of whom we have any 
record, was John Gilroy, a Scotchman, who was landed from an 
English ship belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, which put into 
Monterey for supplies, in 1814. Gilroy, at that time a youth of 
eighteen, was so sick with the scurvy that he was left ashore, to save 
his life. It was six years after the ship that brought him had left, 
before another entered the harbor of Monterey, except a pirate from 
Buenos Ayi'es, which arrived in 1819, captured the fort, destroyed the 
guns, plundered the inhabitants, and burnt the to^m. Gilroy, who is 
still living at the thriving town which has sprung up within a few miles 
of his homestead, in the beautiful Santa Clara valley, about thirty 
miles from San Jose, says there were not half a dozen foreign settlers 
in the Avliole country at that time, except the Russians, at Bodega, and 
only eight ranchos belonging to Mexican settlers, between San Fran- 
cisco and Los Angeles. Monterey contained but six houses, besides 
the presidio;. San Jose contained about twenty. There was no foreign 
trade, except once a year a Spanish vessel took a cargo of tallow to 
Callao. Hides had not begun to bo of any value, as the American 
traders did not commence to buy them until about 1820. There was 
not a flour mill in the country; the wheat intended for flour was gi-ound 
in rude stone mortai-s, or mctaics. There was not a vehicle, from San 



EARLY HISTORY. 39 

Francisco to San Diego, tliat liad wheels witli spokes. All the lumber 
required for any purpose was hewn with axes by the Indian carpen- 
ters — but, as nobody except the Governor or missionaries had wooden 
floors or doors to their houses, nor chairs, nor tables, it did not 
require much lumber to supply the demand. The missionaries owned 
the whole country, and controlled all its inhabitants. The Indians 
did all the work required, as blacksmiths, carpenters and weavers. 
Potatoes were unknown ; a few cabbages and other vegetables were 
cultivated, on some of the missions, as luxuries. The natives at the 
missions lived entirely on boiled wheat, maize, and beef, seasoned with 
Chili peppers and salt. Poor Gilroy, like so many other pioneer sett- 
lers who owned miles of fertile land when California became a State in 
the American Union, is now penniless, living in the same old adobe 
house he built before an American citizen had set his foot in the terri- 
tory. Improvidence, and want of experience in the ways of the money 
lender,' have ruined nearly all of the old settlers. 

In 1818, Antonio M. Suiiol, whose name is for ever connected with iP* 

a charming valley in the coast range, arrived at Monterey, and resided 
in California until March 18th, 1865, when he died, near San Jose, at 
the age of sixty-eight. This worthy old jjioneer, and his friend 
General Sutter, are fine specimens of the generous, refined and chival- 
rous adventurers of a nearly extinct type, whose histories show what 
an active part such men play in the drama of life. Though born at 
Barcelona, in Spain, he was in the naval service of France, and was 
present when Napoleon the Great surrendered as a prisoner, before 
the hero's exile to St. Helena. 

In 1821, F. "VV. Macondray, the founder of one of the most exten- 
sive and substantial mercantile firms on the Pacific Coast, arrived at 
Monterey, from Chili, on board the ship Panther, and was so impressed 
by the beauty and fertility of the country that, in 1850, he brought 
out his family, and settled at San Francisco, where his sons are at 
present, among its wealthiest merchants. 

In May, 1822, W. E. P. Hartnell, an Englishman — the first inspector 
and translator of the Mexican archives, for the United States Govern- 
ment — arrived at Monterey ; in August of the same year, W. A. 
Pichardson, an Englishman, who became the first Harbor Master, 
landed at San Francisco. 

In May, 1823, J. B. R. Cooper, a half-brother of Thos. O. Larkin, 
arrived at Monterey, from Boston, (Mass.,) and soon after married a 
sister of M. G. Vallejo, a prominent native Californian of pure Cas- 
tilian descent. 



40 THE NATURAL ^VEALTH OF CALIFOKNIA. 

General Mariano Guadalupe Yallejo, who took an active j)art in 
placing California in possession of the United States, was born at 
Monterey, July 7th, 1S08, and is the oldest living Spanish settler in the 
State. Having held several important oflSces under the Mexican Gov- 
ernment, he was dissatisfied with its rulers, and became one of the 
most active leaders of the native Californian party which favored the 
annexation of the country to the United States. Being one of the 
■«^ best educated of his class, and speaking English fluently, he was able 

■**••. to render much service to the Government in the conquest and settle- 

ment of the territory. 

The following is an illustration of General A^allejo's services, in 
favor of annexation to the United States. In 184G, when the subject 
of annexation to England was discussed before the Dejiartmental 
Assembly at Santa Barbara, and Pio Pico, the Governor, after reviling 
the United States and praising the monarchies of Europe, proposed to 
unite with England, General Yallejo, in the course of his rej)ly to the 
Governor, said :. 

* ' We are republicans ; badly governed and badly situated as vre arc, still Tve are all, in 
sentiment, republicans. So far as wo are governed at all, we at least profess to be self-gov- 
erned. Who, then that professes true patriotism will consent to subject himself and chil- 
dren to the caprices of a foreign king and his official minions ? My opinion is, I vill men- 
tion it plainly and distinctlj', annexation to the United States is our only security. Why 
should we shrink from incorporating ourselves with the happiest and freest nation in the 
world, destined soon to be the most wealthy and powerful ? When we join our fortunes with 
hers, we shall not become subjects, but fellow-citizens, possessing all the rights of the people 
of the United States. Look not, therefore, with jealousy upon the hardy pioneers who scale 
our mountains, and cultivate our unoccupied plains ; but rather •welcome them as brothers 
who come to share with us a common destiny. " 

In a few months after this meeting, California, was in possession of 
the United States. 

About the time of the arrival of Mr. Cooper, quite a respectable 
trade had sprung up for hides, tallow, grain, wine, and other products 
of the missions. In 1822, an English firm at Lima, (Peru,) established 
a branch of their house at Monterey, which was the first mercantile 
house opened on the coast. The annual exports, for several years, 
had averaged 30,000 hides, 7000 quintals of tallow, 200 bales of furs, 
and about 1, 000 bushels of wheat, besides a few cargoes shipped to 
Sitka, from the Russian settlements at Bodega. 

In 1820, numerous hunters and trappers from the west, while wan- 
dering in search of the posts on the Columbia river, found thcii* way 
across the Sierra Nevada, into California. 

The valleys of the Tulare, San Joaquin, and Sacramento, in those 



EARLY HISTOFiY. 41 

days abounclecl witli beaver, otter, and other animals, whose pelts were 
highly prized by these trappers, who had become so numerous in 1821 
and 1822, as to produce quite a revenue to the Mexican Government, 
which charged them a license for the j)rivilege of hunting. It was 
from some of these California trappers whom General Sutter met in 
New INIexico, in 1834, that he first heard of the beauty of the valley of 
the Sacramento, on which he settled in August, 1839. 

Many of the oldest settlers in the State at present, or who have 
died within the past year or two, came to California as trappers. The 
American Eiver takes its name from a company of western trappers 
who lived on its banks for several years, between 1822 to 1830. 
French Camp, or Castoria, as it used to be called, near Stockton, San 
Joaquin County, was located by a company of trappers employed by 
the Hvidson Bay Company, who encamped there from 1829 till 1838. 

In 1827, John Temple, a native of Reading, (Mass.,) arrived at San 
Francisco, from the Sandwich Islands. The career of this gentleman 
so forcibly illustrates the material of which the early pioneers of Cali- 
fornia were composed, that we give an outline of his history. A mer- 
chant at Los Angeles until 1848, he then commenced the business of 
stock-raising, to meet the increasing demand for cattle, the extraordi- 
nary accession to the population created. In a few years he became 
the owner of many thousands of cattle and horses — such men never do 
things by halves. He next tried his hand as a builder, and the City 
Hall, Court House, and Temple Block, at Los Angeles, are monu- 
ments of his labors in this line. He next leased a Government mint in 
Mexico, and went into the coining business, in which he literally 
"made money." Like all the early settlers, Mr. Temple (in 1830) 
married a California lady. He died at San Francisco, in June, 
1866. 

In February, 1829, Alfred Eobinson arrived at Monterey, on board 
the ship Brooldlne, from Boston, as agent for the house of Bryant &, 
Sturgis. In 1836, this gentleman married the daughter of Jose de la 
Guerra, at Santa Barbara, and returned to Boston in 1837. In 1849, 
Mr. Bobinson came back to California, and settled at San Francisco, as 
the first agent of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. 

Abel Stearnes came to Monterey, from Mexico, in July, 1829, for 
the purpose of locating a grant of land he had received from the Mex- 
ican Government. Failing in this colonization project, he went to Los 
Angeles, where he has since resided and amassed a fortune. 

J. J. Sparks, Avho died at Santa Barbara in June, 1867, came to 
California as a trapper in 1830. 



42 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENTA. 

George C. Yount, the first settler in Napa Yalley, after wandering 
as a trapper and hunter tlirougli the valleys of the Platte, Arkansas, 
Green, Colorado, Mojave and Sacramento, in 1830 reached the beauti- 
ful place where he settled and ended his days, surrounded by as much 
refinement and social cultivation as if all his days had been spent in 
what the world calls society. His neighbor, Nathan Coombs, the 
famous ranchero of that valley, did not arrive in California till 1843. 

J. J. Warner, Esq., the well known viniculturist, and Federal Asses- 
sor of Los Angeles, was a trapper on the Sacramento Eiver in 1831. 
Trapping for beaver and otter was carried on, on the Sacramento and 
San Joaquin Rivers, until 1845. Captain Merritt had a large party of 
trappers on the Sacramento in that year. 

The name of one of these early trappers, Jedediah S. Smith, has 
been mixed up with a number of stories of a very contradictory char- 
acter, but each vouched for as correct by gentlemen deserving belief. 
The late Edmund Ptandolj)h, in a famous oration delivered before the 
Pioneer Association of California, credits Smith with being the first 
white man who crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains. 

"We have been at considerable trouble to unravel these various 
stories, and have gathered the following particulars from those who 
knew Smith personally, and shared his perils, and from documents in 
the State archives. 

The first of the trappers in the country west of the Eocky Moun- 
tains was W. H. Ashley, of St. Louis, who left the Missouri Pviver in 
1823, and is supposed to have reached the Sierra Nevada mountains in 
that year. In 1824 he discovered Salt Lake, and built a fort and sta- 
tion there, between which and the Missouri River, loaded wagons 
passed as early as 1828. In 182G, Ashley sold his interest to this 
Jedediah S. Smith, Jackson, and Sublette, who formed the i\jnerican 
Fur Company. 

In 1824, this Company was organized at St. Louis, (Mo.) It im- 
mediately sent out several parties, to trap or hunt in the country west 
of the Rocky Mountains. In the spring of 1825, Smith, mIio was at 
the head of this Company, with a party of forty trappers and Indians, 
left their rcndez\-ous on the Green River, near the South Pass, and 
pushed their way westward, crossing the Sierra Nevada into the Tulare 
Valley, which they reached in July, 1825. The party trapped for 
beaver, and otiier animals, from the Tulare to the American fork of 
the Sacramento, where there was already a camp of American trappers. 
Smith established his camp near the site of the present tovm of 
Folsom, about twenty-two miles north-east from the other party. 



EARLY HISTORY. 43 

From this camp Smitli sent out parties, in several directions, which 
were so successful that, iu October, leaving all the others in California, 
ill company with two of the party he returned to his rendezvous on 
Green Kiver, with several bales of skins. His partners were so pleased 
at the success of the first expedition that in May, 1826, Smith was sent 
back with a considerable re-inforcement. On this trip, he led his 
party further south than on the former one, which brought them into 
the Mohave settlements on the Colorado, where all the party, except 
Smitli and two companions named Galbraith and Turner, were killed 
by the Indians. These three made their way to the mission of San 
Gabriel, on the 26th of December, 1826, where they were arrested on 
suspicion of being spies or filibusteros, and sent to the Presidio at San 
Diego, where they were examined by General Echandia, the com- 
maudante of the territory. It was not until several Americans, who 
were then at San Francisco, certified that Smith and his companions 
were hunters and trappers, that they were permitted to purchase horses 
and provisions, to proceed to the camp at Folsom. 

The following is a verbatim copy of this curious certificate : 

"We, the undersigned, having been requested by Capt. Jedediah S. Smith to state onr 
opinions regarding hie entering the Province of California, do not hesitate to say that we 
have no doubt but that he was compelled to, for want of provisions and water, having entered 
so far into the baiTen country that lies between the latitudes of forty-two and forty-three 
west that he found it impossible to return by the route he came, as his horses had most of 
them perished for want of food and water; he was therefore under the necessity of pushing 
forward to California — it being the nearest place where he could procui'e sui^pUes to enable 
him to return. 

"We further state as our opinions, that the account given by him is circumstantially cor- 
rect, and that his sole object was the hunting and trapping of beaver, and other furs. 

"We have also examined the passjwrts produced by him from the Superintendent of 
Indian affairs for the Government of the United States of America, and do not hesitate to say 
we believe them perfectly correct. 

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

' ' In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands and seals, this 20th day of De- 
cember, 1826. 

'• WILLIAM G. DANA, Captain of schooner Waverly. 
" WILLIAil H. CUNNINGHAM, Captain of ship Courier. 
" WILLIAM HENDEESON, Captain of brig Olive Branch 
"JAMES SCOTT, 

" THOMAS M. EOBBINS, Mate of schooner Waverly. 
" THOMAS SHAW, Supercargo of ship Courier." 

In the summer of 1827, Smith and all his party, (except Galbraith 
and Turner, who settled in California,) left the Sacramento valley, 
with the intention of reaching the settlements on the Columbia river. 
They reached the mouth of the Umpqua river, near Cape Arago, 



44 THE NATUR.iL WEALTH OF C-yLIFORXL\. 

•ulien the party were surprised by Indians, and all killed, except Smith 
and two Irishmen named Eichard Laughlin and Daniel Prior. These, 
after terrible sufferings, reached Fort Vancouver, where they were 
kindly received. Smith, soon after, returned to St. Louis, and his 
companions went to Los Angeles, California., where they resided for 
several years. 

Another version of the story is, that Smith returned from Fort 
Vancouver to the place where the party were killed, accompanied by a 
strong force of men in the service of the Hudson Bay Company, who, 
meeting no Indians on the way, went with him as far as the Sacra- 
mento valley, where they established a camp near the junction of the 
American and Feather Hivers, whicli was, during the first season, 
under command of a Scotchman named McLeod. This was the first 
party of Hudson Bay trappers known to have been in California. 

Thomas Sprague, an old resident of California, in a» letter to the 
Hon. Edmund Piandolph, dated "Genoa, (Washoe,) Sept. 18th, 1860," 
states that Smith was the chief trader in the emplo}- of the American 
Fur Company, at its rende2r\^ous on the Green River, in 1825 ; and in 
that year Avas sent, with a party of trappers, to hunt in the country 
west of Salt Lake. It Avas diiring that trip that he discovered the 
Humboldt Fiiver, which he called the Mary, in compliment to his 
Indian wife. This river is still known as the Mary, by the oltl hunters 
in Utah. It was abvays called by that name till Fremont changed 
it in 1846. Traveling west from the Humboldt, he crossed the 
Sierra Nevada, at a jioint near the head of the Truckee river, and went 
down the Sacramento Valley, and as far south as San Jose and San 
Diego, and obtained horses and supplies to return. Coming back, ho 
crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains, by what is now known as 
Walker's Pass, and discovered Mono Lake, between which and Salt 
Lake he found placer gold, of which they took a considerable quantity 
to the rendezA'Ous of the company on Green Eiver, or Sidskadee, one 
of the head waters of the Colorado. This gold, and the largo quantity 
of furs brought by the party, so pleased the agent of the company, that 
Smith was directed to return to the place where the gold was found, 
and thoroughly prospect the country. Sprague states that it was on 
this second trip that Smith wrote the letter to Father Duran, of the 
San Gabriel Mission, which Mr. Randolph read at the celebration of 
the Pioneers at San Francisco, in 1860, and which is still preserved. 
The following is a copy of this letter : 

"RKVKKKNn Fathku : — I undorstand, throur;h the modirnn of ono of your Christiim 
Imliuns, that yon urc uuxious to know who we arc — as some of the Indians have bten at 



EARLY HISTORY, 45 

the mission and informed you that there were certain white people in the countiy. We are 
Americans, on our journey to the Eiver Columbia. We were in at the Mission San Gabriel, 
in January last. I went to San Diego and saw the General, and got a passport from him to 
pass on to that place. I have made several efforts to pass the mountains, but the snows 
being so deep, I could not succeed in getting over. I returned to this place — it being the 
only point to kill meat — to wait a few weeks until the snow melts, so that I can go on. 
The Indians here also being friendly, I consider it the most safe point for me to remain until 
such time as I can cross the mountains with my horses — having lost a great many in 
attempting to cross ten or fifteen days since. I am a long ways from home, and am anxious 
to get there as soon as the nature of the case -will admit. Our situation is quite uni^leasant 
— being destitute of clothing and most of the necessaries of life, wild meat being our prin- 
cipal subsistence. I am, Eeverend Father, your strange but real friend, and Christian. 
"May 19th, 1827. J. S. SiUTa" 

Mr. Sprague says, tlie party reached the place -where the gold was 
found, when, in a battle with the Indians, Smith, and nearly all his 
party were killed. Greenhow, in his "History of Oregon and Califor- 
nia, " says Smith was killed by the Indians northwest of Utah Lake, in 
1829. Both Spragne and Greenhow were evidently misinformed on the 
subject, as it is known by Mr. Smith's acquaintances, some of whom 
still live in California, that he returned to St. Louis in 1830, where he 
sold out his interest in the fur company, and, in 1831, left Missouri, 
with eleven wagons and mule teams, laden for Santa Fe, and was killed 
by Indians, while on this journey, on the Cimeron river, near Toas. 

In 1825, another company of trapjDers, under the command of James 
O. Pattie, started from the Mississippi valley to reach the Pacific 
coast, overland. But, keeping too far to the south, they passed 
through New Mexico into the valley of the Gila, where they were plun- 
dered by the Yuma Indians, and escaped by means of rafts, which 
carried them down that river to its junction with the Colorado. A 
report of this expedition, published at Cincinnati, in 1832, under the 
title of the ' ' Hunters of Kentucky, " was greatly instrumental in attract- 
ing the attention of emigrants to this coast. The particulars of 
Pattie's journey were published with President Jackson's message to 
Congress, in 1836. The subject of emigration to the Pacific coast at 
that time occupied much of the attention of Congress. 

Walker, whose name is wedded to so many localities in the State — 
and who still resides in it ; Pauline Weaver, the pioneer of Arizona; 
Kit Carson, Maxwell, and Bill Williams, whose name is famous in the 
regions of the Colorado Eiver, were all men of this class, several of 
whom probably hunted in California before Smith. 

Having devoted as much space to this subject as the object of our 
work will permit, we must proceed with our outline of the history of 
the early settlers of California, 



46 THE XATLTLVL TVEALTH OF CALITOEXU. 

The large quantities of tallow wliicli were received at Callao, known 
to be the product of cattle killed expressly to procure it, attracted the 
attention of John Begg & Co., an enterprising English firm at Lima, 
Peru, who, in 1824, entered into a contract with the Peruvian Govern- 
ment^ to supply it with California salted beef, for the use of its army 
and navy. To carry out this object, Messrs. McCulloch & Hartnell 
established a packing house at Monterey, in the fall of 1824 and im- 
ported about twenty salters and coopers from Ireland and Scotland to 
conduct the business. It was for this work that Mr. David Spence, a 
well knoAvn citizen of Monterey, came to California from Lima, on the 
29th of October, 1824, and has remained there ever since. 

This pioneer packing establishment shipped several cargoes of meat 
to Peru, which were pronounced of excellent quality, but the gov- 
ernment of that country, at that time, had no funds to j)ay for its sup- 
plies, the contract was broken, and the business ended in 1825, At 
first, the company used salt imported from Peru, but it was soon dis- 
covered that California produced a much better article. 

In September, 1828, Timothy Murphy arrived at Monterey, from 
Lima, and was employed as a clerk by Messrs. McCulloch & Hartnell. 

In 1829, Jean Louis Yignes, a native of Bordeaux, France, the 
founder of the well known house of Sansevain & Co., the pioneer -wine 
makers, arrived at Monterey, from the Sandwich Islands, but removed 
to Los Angeles in 1831, wdiere he died in 1863, aged eighty-two years. 
The missionaries in the southern counties had made both wine and 
spirits for several years prior to the arrival of M. Vignes, but he was the 
first to make these articles as a business, in California. In 1846, he 
had the largest vineyard in the whole of Upper California. His nephew, 
Don Luis Sansevain, who had been many years connected with M. 
Vignes in the management of the business, has become famous for tlie 
quality of the wine made from the pioneer vineyard. 

The subject of emigration from the States east of the Pocky Moiin- 
tains to the territory on the Pacific Coast, had occupied the attention 
of Congress for many years before California came into possession of 
the United States. As far back as 1820, Mr. Floyd, who was then a 
Representative from the State of Virginia, off'cred a bill "favoring 
emigration to the country west of the Pocky Mountains, not only from 
the United States, but from China." 

The reports circulated concerning the country had, as early as 1825, 
induced quite a number of persons to find their way overland to the 
Pacific coast, so that, before 1830, there were nearly five Inmdred 
foreigners on the west side of the Sierra Nevada mountains. In 1831, 



EARLY HISTOEY. 47 

Los Angeles, then tlie largest town in the Territory, contained abont 
twelve Imndred inhabitants, a large proportion of whom were foreigners. 
San Jose contained five hundred, and one half of these were foreigners. 
There were also a few at Branciforte, a pueblo founded near the Mis- 
sion of Santa Cruz. These were all the towns in the Territory at that 
time. The first house in San Francisco was not erected until 1835. 
The foreign poj)ulation did not increase much during the succeeding 
ten years — as we find by M. De Mofras' reports to the French govern- 
ment, written in 184:1, that he estimated them at only one thousand, 
divided among the following nationalities : Americans from the United 
States, 360 ; English, Scotch and Irish, 300 ; Spaniards from Europe, 
80 ; Germans, Italians, Portuguese and Sandwich Islanders, 90 ; Mexi- 
cans, 170 ; and about 4,000 haK-breeds. All the early settlers inter- 
married with the natives. The number of children in some of these 
mixed families was extraordinarily large. The wife of one prominent 
American, at Monterey, had twenty-two ; the wife of another had twenty- 
eight; the wife of Mr. Hartnell, the United States translator, had twenty, 
all alive when California came into possession of the United States. 
Many of these half-breeds were of extraordinary size, some of them 
being seven feet high, and stout in proportion, while the ladies, hun- 
dreds of whom are still living, are fine specimens of humanity. 

At this time (1841) the district and presidio of San Diego, em- 
bracing the Pueblo of Los Angeles, contained 1,300 inhabitants ; that 
of Monterey 1,000 ; Santa Barbara, 800 ; San Francisco, 800 ; and 
about one thousand one hundred inhabitants were scattered throughout 
the interior. De Mofras says, in his report, that there was a large 
number of emigrants then on their way from the United States to Cali- 
fornia. The papers published in many of the Atlantic States, between 
1835 and 1840, show that companies were formed in most of them for 
the purpose of aiding emigrants to reach the Pacific Coast. The settle- 
ment of this Territory was the most prominent subject before the peo- 
ple of the United States at that time. So numerous were the emigrants 
between 1832 and 1840, that the Mexican Government became alarmed, 
and placed every impediment in the way of their settlement. It is a 
notable fact, in this connection, that but few grants of land were made 
to Americans outside the pueblos during the twenty-four years the 
country was under Mexican control. It was during this period that 
many of the men whose names figure most conspicuously in the State, 
made their appearance in California. 

On the 10th of March, 1832, Thomas O. Larkin, who did more than 
any other person towards annexing the country to the United States, 



48 THE NATLT.AL "VTE^VLTH OF C-\XirOEXL.\. 

arrived at San Francisco, and in company witli liis lialf-brotlier, J. B. 
R. Cooper, who had arrived at Monterey in 1823, erected the first flour 
mill in the Territory. In 1833, Mr. Larkin was married to Mrs. Eachel 
Holmes, of Boston, (Mass.,) who was jDrobably the first American lady 
who came to California. 

In 1836, J. P. Leese, who had been in business at Monterey for 
three years, came to Yerba Buena cove, as the site of San Francisco 
was then called, for the pui-pose of establishing a branch of his firm 
there. After removing the suspicions of the Mexican authorities, 
he selected a spot for his house at the corner of Clay and Dupont 
streets — the same lot on which the old St. Francis Hotel was after- 
wards built. This was the first house erected in San Francisco. 
W. A. Piichardson, who had been appointed Harbor Master in 1835, 
had previously erected a shanty, by nailing a ship's foresail over a few 
redwood posts, a little to the north of Leese's house, between Clay and 
Washington streets. It was at the completion of Leese's house, that 
the stars and stripes were first hoisted on the soil of California, to 
celebrate the event. In April, 1837, Leese married a sister of General 
Vallejo. Their daughter Bosalie, was the first child born in San Fran- 
cisco. The first child born in the State, both of whose parents were 
Americans, was Guadalupe Y. Botts, born at Petaluma January 4th, 
1846. 

In 1833, Isaac Graham came from Tennessee, overland, and settled 
at Santa Cruz, where, in 1841, he erected the first saw-mill in Cali- 
fornia. In 1836, this Graham, and Juan Bautista Alvarado, a native 
Californian, who held a subordinate appointment under the Mexican 
authorities at San Francisco, overthrew the Mexican Government and 
declared California an independent State. Graham, with fifty Amer- 
ican riflemen, and Alvarado with one hundred Californians, captured 
the Presidio of Monterey, with the Governor of the territory, and 
nearly six hundred Mexican soldiers. This conduct of Graham 
brought down the enmity of the Mexican Government upon all the 
Americans ; and in May, 1840, about one hundred of them were 
arrested, and either sent to jail, at Santa Barbara, or transported out 
of the country. Graham, who was sent to San Bias, was brought back 
by the Mexican Government, and lived in Santa Cruz till November 
8th, 1863, when he died, surrounded by an interesting family. 

On the 2d of Jiily, 1839, John A. Sutter, the most famous of all the 
pioneers of California, landed at Yerba Buena, witli ten Americans and 
Europeans, and eight Sandwich Islanders, with whose aid, in 1839, 
he had built Sutter's Fort, near the site of the present city of Sacra- 



EARLY HISTORY. 49 

mento, wliicli, witliin ten years after, became the Mecca towards wliich 
pilgrims from all countries, of all creeds and colors, bent their steps. 

The life of General Sutter has been so replete with incidents, of 
such an extraordinary character, that his history seems more like a 
series of ingeniously contrived fictions, than a narrative of sober facts. 
Born in Germany, of Swiss parents, he became a captain in the grand 
army of France, and mingled with the elite of French society during the 
reign of Charles X.; but, prompted by an impulse which appears 
scarcely natural, in the very dawn of his manhood, when society has 
most attractions, he longed for some secluded spot in the wilderness, 
where he might build up an ideal world around him. It being impos- 
sible to find such a spot in Europe, with its false civilization, in which 
hj'pocrisy and pretence are the ruling elements of success, he wends 
his way to America, to find an untrodden field in its far western ter- 
ritory. Arriving at New York in 1834, within a month he is on his 
way to the much praised ' ' Wide West, " whose dense pine forests and 
boundless prairies were distasteful to him. He next goes to the semi- 
tropical region of New Mexico, whose parched, sand-covered plains, 
treeless hills, and savage Indians, drove him almost to despair. It was 
here, while pondering where next to go, that he met a party of wander- 
ing trappers who had seen California. They described its charms so 
vividly that he determined to find his way there. Proceeding to the 
Eocky Mountains, he joins a company of trappers bound for the shores 
of the Pacific Ocean, and, with them crosses the continent. But his 
guides led him to the cold, humid, and cheerless region of Fort Van- 
couver, from whence it was impossible then to reach California by land. 
Hearing that there was a trade between the Sandwich Islands and the 
land he sought, he makes a voyage to Honolulu, in order to reach the 
harbor of San Francisco. After many weary months of waiting, a 
vessel is at last ready to sail for the American coast, but not for Cali- 
fornia. It is bound for Sitka. Sutter takes passage, trusting to Provi- 
dence, and by a remarkable accident, the ship is driven into San Fran- 
cisco in distress, and ho finds himself in California. 

^Here a new difiiculty arose. Not a resident of the territory had 
seen its interior, or could tell him how to reach the spot his trapper 
friends had so vividly described. After weeks of search, on the 16th 
of August, 1839, he finds the old beaver hunter's camp, near the junc- 
tion of the American and Sacramento rivers, which presented all the 
elements of the scene he had been wandering for five years to discover. 
Here he landed, and in a few months had constructed Sutter's Fort, 
made his home, and called it New Helvetia, in memory of the land of- 
4 



50 THE NATUE.yL T7EALTH OF CyLIFOKNIA. 

his fathers. Bj kindness and liberality to the natives who STvarmed 
around him, he made them cultivate his lands, herd his cattle, and 
guard his property against the more fierce savages from the mountains. 
In this patriarchal style he lived for nearly ten years, surrounded by 
evei-ything that could minister to his wants — numbering his cattle by 
thousands, and owning the land for miles, until — to him fatal day — 
one of his workmen found a few grains of gold in the soil, when, as if 
by magic, the whole scene was changed, and from a veritable Utopia, 
the beautiful Valley of the Sacramento became a Pandemonium. The 
mighty power of gold was never before exhibited as it was then. With 
a rapidity very remarkable, the news of the discovery reached the most 
distant countries, and in a few months there was scarcely a nation that 
did not have its representatives digging and washing for gold on Sutter's 
farm, which embraced an area of many miles square. Mankind have cer- 
tainly been benefitted by the discovery of gold in California — but not 
so Sutter. That discovery involved him in ruin. It led to the destruc- 
tion of his land, cattle, and laborers. From being the monarch of aU 
he surveyed in the broad Valley of the Sacramento, it made him again 
a wanderer, with no means of support in his old age except a donation 
made by the State, which he had been so greatly instrumental in 
founding. The life of what living man has been more strangely 
eventful ? 

Between 1840 ajid 1845, the fame of California as an agricultural 
country had become generally known to the people of the United States, 
while its importance from a commercial and political j)oint of view was 
fully appreciated by the Federal Government. Mr. Larkin, who was 
appointed United States Consul in 1844, had for several years pre- 
viously kept the government fully informed of the acts of the agents of 
France and England, who were making arrangements for one or the 
other of these nations to take possession of the country. Emigi-ation 
was encouraged by both France and England, as well as bj^ the United 
States. The number of settlers, in consequence, greatly increased. 

It was during this period, in November, 1841, that John Bidwell 
arrived from Missouri, overland, and entered the seiwice of General 
Sutter, but soon after located on the land he now o^\nis, near Chico, 
Butte county, about forty miles from Marysville. Mr. Bidwell is a 
native of New York State, but emigrated to Missouri, where he was 
engaged for several years as a school teacher, prior to his starting for 
California. In company with Mr. Bidwell, overland, were Joseph 
Chillis, Grove Cook, Charles Hoppe, and several others, who at present 
reside in the State. 



E.\P.LT HISTORY. 51 

As an illustration of the American element in the territory at this 
time, we refer to an event which occurred on the 19th of October, 
1842. Commodore Jones, of the United States naw, having under 
his command the sloop of war Cyane, and frigate United States, entered 
the harbor of Monterey, captured the fort, hoisted the stars and stripes, 
and declared California a territory of the United States, to the hearty 
satisfaction of nearly all the inhabitants, a majority of whom were citi- 
zens of tlie United States. The next day, for reasons we shall refer 
to hereafter, Commodore Jones hauled doTVTi his colors and apolo- 
gized to the Mexican authorities for his conduct. But the impression 
his action left On the minds of the Mexican and British officers caused 
them to increase their efforts to prevent the country falling into the 
hands of the United States, and created an intense feeling of hatred 
on the part of some of the Mexicans, against the citizens of that 
country. 

As early as May, 1846, Pio Pico, the then Governor of the Terri- 
tory, who was bitterly opposed to the Americans, in a speech before 
the Departmental Assembly in favor of annexing California to Eng- 
land, remarked: "We find ourselves threatened by hordes of Yankee 
emigrants, who have already begun to flock into our country, and whose 
progress we cannot arrest. Already have the wagons of that perfidi- 
ous people scaled the almost inaccessible summits of the Sierra Ne- 
vada, crossed the entire continent, and penetrated the fruitful valley 
of the Sacramento. What that astonishing people will next undertake, 
I cannot say; but in whatever enterprise they embark, they will be 
sure to be successful. Already, these adventurous voyagers, spreading 
themselves far and wide over a country which seems to suit their tastes, 
are cultivating farms, establishing vineyards, erecting mills, sawing 
up lumber, and doing a thousand other things which seem natural to 
them." 

The settlement of California and Oregon during this period, caused 
a steady stream of emigrants to wend their way across the plains, 
many of whom died from the tomahawk of the merciless savage, or 
from gaunt starvation. It is estimated by those who lived on the great 
line of this overland travel, that upwards of five thousand persons 
crossed the plains between the years 1840 and 1845, for the j)urpose 
of settling on the Pacific Coast. Several parties of these adventurous 
emigrants are kno^^Ti to have perished, while the hardships endured 
by all were of the severest nature. 

The passage across the Sierra Nevada mountains in those days was 
attended with frightful dangers. The sufi"erings endured by a party 



52 THE NATUEAL WE.VXTH OF CALEFOENIA. 

under the command of Captain Donner, wlio were snow-bound near the 
lake on the Truckee pass, which now bears his name, is one of the 
most horrible tales of human endurance on record. The party con- 
sisted of eighty persons, thirty of whom were females, and several 
children. Arriving at the foot of the Truckee pass at the end of Octo- 
ber, 1846, they Avere overtaken by a severe snow storm, which ren- 
dered it impossible for the cattle to travel. A portion of the party 
decided not to attempt to cross the mountains until spring. They built 
themselves cabins, killed the cattle for food, and thought they could 
hold out till the snow would melt. The balance of the party, under 
the direction of Mr. Donner, undertook to make the passage, but they 
had advanced only a few miles when they encountered a series of snow 
storms, such as are only witnessed in that elevated district. Their 
cattle and wagons were buried and lost, and the whole party left with but 
little food, and scarcely any shelter to pass a winter in that wild region. 
After struggling along for six weeks in the hope of crossing the sum- 
mit, it was found impossible for all to proceed. A party of eight men, 
five women, and two Indians, equipped with extemporized snow shoes, 
and supplied with all the provisions that could be spared, were dis- 
patched to reach some settlement in California where assistance could 
be obtained. In less than a week after leaving the camp, the provis- 
ions of this party were exhausted, while the terrible condition of the 
countrj' prevented their travelling more than a mile or tAvo each day. 
On the seventh day, three of the party died from cold and hunger, and 
a storm of snow buried the survivors so deeply that it took them thirty- 
six hours, in their wretched condition, to extricate themselves, three 
more of them perishing in the effort. The nine survivors having been 
four days without food, the horrible suggestion presented itself of eat- 
ing the dead bodies of their late companions. After eating the greater 
l)ortion of one body, the flesh of another was cut off and packed as a 
su])ply for the future, and they started on their way once more. In a 
few days this supply of flesh was consumed, and they were again con- 
fronted by starvation, when they fortunately killed a deer, which sus- 
tained them for a few da3-s. AVhen this was gone, they became so 
exhausted from wandering through the loose, drifting snow that, almost 
daily, death put an end to the sufferings of one, whose body furnished 
food for the others. In less than a month from leaving camp, only five 
remained alive ; of these, four were unable to proceed. One, with 
almost superhuman resolution, managed to drag himself across the 
summit, and reached a hunter s camp on the Bear Eiver, where he was 
kindly treated, and his four companions promptly secured from their 



EAELY HISTORY. 53 

perilous position. Information of the condition of the party in the 
mountains was sent to General Sutter, at his fort on the Sacramento, 
who, at once dispatched a party of men accustomed to mountain life, 
with a number of mules laden with food and clothing, for their relief. 
As it was over one hundred miles from the fort to the Truckee, and 
the travel over the mountains difl&cult and slow, it was the 19th of Feb- 
ruary ere the party reached the nearest company of the sufferers. 
When found, ten of them were beyond all human aid. Not being able 
to bring along the whole of them, the relief party left a good supply 
of provisions with the men, and brought away all of the women, and 
most of the children. A second relief party reached the lake on the 
1st of March, and started with the seventeen survivors left by the first 
party, but a hea\'y fall of snow rendered it impossible for the mules to 
carry them. All the adults were, therefore, left in a sheltered place, 
and only the children were taken to the fort. A few days later another 
party was sent after those who had been left on the road ; when found, 
three were dead — the survivors had kept themselves alive by eating the 
bodies. The Donner party was not discovered until April, by a com- 
pany sent to their relief by citizens of San Francisco. Mrs. Donner, 
who is represented to have been a lady of refinement and great per- 
sonal beauty, had been dead but a few hours when the party reached 
their camp. Donner was one of the first who died. Twenty-two of 
the females, and most of the children were saved ; twenty-six men, eight 
women, and three children perished. The people of San Francisco 
made liberal provision for the son and daughter of Donner, who were 
rescued. A contribution was raised and the one hundred vara lot No. 
Thirty-nine, at the southeast corner of Folsom and Second streets was 
purchased in their name. This lot, at the present time is probably 
worth $50, 000. These children are said to be still living in San Fran- 
cisco. 

One of the female survivors of this fearful tragedy was the first 
white woman who settled at Marysville — that city being named, as a 
compliment to her. She subsequently married Mr. Charles Covillaud, 
one of the founders of Marysville, and resided there until September, 
1867, when she died at the early age of thirty-six, leaving a number of 
children, and greatly beloved by all who had the pleasure of her 
acquaintance. Hiram O. Miller, another of the survivors, settled in 
Santa Clara County, where he died in October, 1867. 

A few months later, another party of emigrants perished in the moun 
tains, further south, in what, in consequence of their fate, has since been 
known as Death's valley. 



54 THE NATURAL TVEALTH OF CALEFOKXLV. 

In 1845, the Mormons, liaving been expelled from their settle- 
ments in Illinois, and being informed of the adaptability of California 
for settlement, and joerhaps ijnder the idea that inaccessibility would 
save them from having many neighbors, made arrangements for a gen- 
eral emigration to the Pacific Coast. In the spring of 1845, a party of 
nearly two thousand of these people left the Missouri river, for Cali- 
fornia. Another party, consisting of one hundred and thirty-six men, 
sixty women, and forty children, under the direction of Mr. Samuel 
Brannan, left New York on the 4th of February, 1846, on board the 
BrooMyn, for San Francisco, where they arrived July 31st, 1846, just 
three weeks after Commodore Montgomery had taken jDossession of 
the place, in the name of the United States. A company of them 
went to San Bernardino, to form a settlement there; but Mormonism 
never took root in California, and, after lingering for a year or two, 
the settlement was abandoned. Mr. Brannan, on discovering the 
countiy in the possession of the United States, sent messengers to 
the Mormons coming to California overland, to inform them of the 
condition of affairs here. These messengers met Brigham Young 
near Great Salt Lake, in Utah, where it was decided to remain, and 
abandon California. By this fortunate circumstance, the State was 
spared the evil of polygamy, which has grown so rankly on the soil of 
Utah. Many of the party who came to San Francisco, concluded to 
abandon Mormonism, and remain there. Mr. Brannan, after having 
the honor of being the first person tried in the territory by a jury — on 
a frivolous charge, of which he was acquitted — became one of the most 
enterprising and useful citizens in the State. ^ 

Another valuable accession to the early settlers was made by the 
arrival of Colonel Stevenson's regiment of California Volunteers, con- 
sisting of nearly one thousand rank and file. In anticipation of move- 
ments which were subsequently developed, in 1846, President Polk 
authorized Colonel J. D. Stevenson to raise a company of Infantry 
Volunteers, in New York, for the pui^iose of protecting the interests of 
the United States on the Pacific Coast. The men comprising this 
regiment were selected particularly with the object of their becoming 
settlers in the covmtry; many of them have become iDcrmanent and 
honored citizens of the State. In its ranks, as privates, were sons of 
senators and representatives in Congress, lawyers, doctors, editors, 
printers, and representatives of nearly every trade, who were all per- 
mitted to bring tools and materials for carrying on their respective 
occupations — being in striking contrast to the soldiers sent here by the 
Mexican Government, who were generally the worst convicts from the 



EAKLY HISTORY. 55 

jails, and sucli refractory, turbulent cliaracters, as it -vras most desir- 
able to get rid of. 

The California regiment left New York on the 26th of October, 
1846, on board the Thomas H. Perldns, Loo CJioo, and Susan Dreic. 
The first division, under command of Colonel Stevenson, on board the 
Thomas H. PerUns, arrived at San Francisco March 6th, 1847. The 
regiment was mustered out of service in the summer of 1848. Nearly 
three hundred of its members were alive, in California, in July, 1867. 
Among its commissioned officers were Captain Folsom, Lieutenant 
Harrison, and Captain Taylor, whose names are connected with streets 
formed on land they acquired. Captains H. W. Naglee and J. B. 
Frisbie, hold prominent positions in the history of the State. W. E. 
Shannon, the delegate from Sacramento to the State constitutional 
convention, who was the leader of the "free soil" party in that con- 
vention, was captain of Company I, of this regiment. The volunteer 
service of the United States has been honored by the exemplary con- 
duct of the members of Colonel Stevenson's regiment. 

The following incident affords an illustration of the kind of mettle 
these early California volunteers were made of. In the fall of 1846, 
Major Gillespie's forces, stationed at Los Angeles, were surrounded by 
a large body of Californians, under command of Andres Pico, and 
there was no hope of relief, unless assistance could be obtained from 
Commodore Stockton, who was then on board the Savannah, at San 
Francisco. John Brown, or Juan Flacco, (lean John) one of the little 
band of beseiged Americans, undertook to carry a despatch to the Com- 
modore. The Mexicans suspected his errand, and in their efforts to 
capture him shot his horse, but this did not stop him ; he ran twenty- 
seven miles, to the nearest rancho, where he obtained another horse, 
and arrived at Santa Barbara the second night after leaving Los An- 
geles, having been pursued a great portion of the distance by bands of 
Mexican lancers. By obtaining fresh horses from American settlers, 
at whose ranchos he called on the way. Brown rode three hundred and 
fifteen miles, within three days, to Monterey, and reached San Francisco, 
from Monterey, one hundred and thirty miles, between sunrise and 
eight o'clock p. m., of the same day. This noted rider died, in Stock- 
ton, in 1863. 

Mr. Larkin estimated there were two thousand citizens of the United 
States in California before the close of 1846 ; about three thousand 
foreigners who were friendly towards Americans ; and about three thou- 
sand who were neutral, or opposed to them. The number of British 
and French had become so important that in May, 1845, Jas. A. Forbes 



56 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENLV. 

was appointed Consul for England, and Don Luis Gasquet, for 
France. 

In March, 1846, Col. John C. Fremont, on a special mission from 
the general government, arrived at Monterey, in charge of a party of 
sixty-two frontiersmen and guides. The results of the attempt on the 
part of the Mexican authorities to drive this party out of the territoi-y 
are more directly connected with the early history of tlie State than 
with that of the early settlers in the territory. "We must, therefore, 
refer the reader to "Tuthill's History of California," for particulars. 

On the 2d of December, 1846, General Kearny, and a force of 
United States troops, arrived at San Diego, from St. Louis, overland. 

Captain Cook, with a battalion of United States cavalry, volunteers, 
arrived at San Diego in May, 1847, via New Mexico and Sonora. 
This battalion was soon after disbanded, and the men settled in various 
localities. Frederick G. E. Tittell, Esq., late Supervisor of the City 
of San Francisco, and Colonel of the German Piegiment, arrived as 
fifer of this detachment. 

January 23d, 1847, a portion of the Third Regiment U. S. Artillery, 
one hundred and forty-four rank and file, arrived at Monterey, on 
board the United States storeship Lexington. Lieutenant-General 
W. T. Sherman, the hero of the march through Georgia, came with 
these troops, as a lieutenant, and Major-General H. "W. Halleck as 
captain of engineers, attached, who was soon afterwards appointed 
secretary of the territory by General Mason, then military governor. 
Speaking the Spanish and French languages fluently. General Hal- 
leck's knowledge and experience were of great imj)ortance in every 
department of the new government. Traveling all over the country, 
he soon acquired a knowledge of its resources and capabilities, unsur- 
passed by any one in it. His services iu defense of the Union, during 
the late rebellion, are recorded in the history of the Ilej^ublic. Since 
his return to the State of his adoption, his labors have been incessant 
in informing himself and the government of the resources and require- 
ments of the Pacific coast. There are few of the early settlers whose 
services have been as important to the State, as those of Major-General 
H. W. Halleck. 

It not being necessary to the purpose for which this book is in- 
tended, to give further details concerning settlers, individually, who 
arrived since 1846, we conclude this portion of the early history of 
the ten'itory by stating, that so extensive had become the overland 
emigration, before the discovery of gold, that a majority of its white 
population were American citizens, and their families. It is esti- 



EARLY HISTORY. 57 

mated tliere were twelve thousand white persons in California, in Jan- 
uary, 1848, when that discovery was made. 

General Mason, who visited the diggings at Coloma, in June, 1848, 
in his report to the "War Department on the subject, estimates there 
were two thousand Americans and Europeans, and two thousand 
Indians, at work there; and it is knowni that there were a great many 
others washing and prospecting for gold at other localities, at that 
time. 

There are many facts connected with the acquisition of California 
by the "United States, which will probably never be brought to light, 
till some future Bancroft or Prescott shall be poring over the musty 
archives of the nation, in search of circumstances to explain the events 
of its past history. Few of such events will be more difficult of ex- 
planation than the fact, that the discovery of gold at Coloma — the 
event of the age — occurred on the 19th of January, and the treaty by 
which the country was ceded to the United States, was signed on the 
2d of March, 1848, neither of the contracting parties being aware of 
the great discovery ! 

Equally difficult will it be to explain how it ha.ppened that the Pa- 
cific Mail Steamship Company's vessels, the contract for running which, 
made as early as 1846, required the first to be ready for service in 
October, 1848, about the time when the news of the gold discovery 
reached New York, and emigrants were most anxious to get to Cali- 
fornia as quickly as possible ; for it is a remarkable coincidence that 
the first vessel of that line, the California, arrived at San Francisco 
with the first party of gold-seekers from the Atlantic States, on the 
last of February, 1849, followed by the Oregon^ March 31st, and by the 
Panama in the month of June. 

Many of the men who have figured most conspicuously in the sub- 
sequent history of the State, arrived on board these three steamers, on 
their first voyage. 

By the end of June, 1849, the discovery had become generally 
known in Europe, China, Australia, the Sandwich Islands, and Central 
America; and vessels full of eager passengers were constantly arriving 
from those countries. During that month, nearly two hundred square- 
rigged vessels lay in the harbor of San Francisco, deserted by officers, 
crews, and passengers, who had all gone to the mines. 

The following is a correct list of the Governors of California, from 
the date of its settlement by the Spaniards, until it became a State in 
the American Union : 



58 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALrFOENIA. 



rXDER SPANISH EUIiE. 

Gasper de Portala From 1767 to 1771 

Felipe deBarri " 1771 to 1774 

Felipe de Neve " 177-1 to 1782 

Pedro Fajes " 1782 to 1790 

Jose Antonio Komeu " 1790 to 1792 

Jose J. de Arrillaga " 1792 to 1794: 

Diego de Borica " 1794 to 1800 

Jose J. de AmUaga " 1800 to 181-4 

Jose Arguello " 1814 to 1815 

Pablo Vicente de Sola '. " 1815 to 1822 

•UNDEP. MEXICAN BUIiE, 

Pablo Vicente de Sola From 1822 to 1823 

LuisArgueUo " 1823 to June, 1825 

Jose Maria de Echcandia " June, 1825, to Jan'y 1831 

Manuel Victoxia " Jan'y 1831, to Jan'y 1832 

Pio Pico " Jan'y 1832, to Jan'y 1833 

Jose Figueroa " Jan'y 1833, to Aug. 1835 

Jose Castro " Aug. 1835, to Jan'y 1836 

Nicolas Gutierrez " Jan'y 1836, to April, 1836 

Mariano Chico " April, 1836, to Aug. 1836 

Nicolas Gutierrez " Aug. 1836, to Nov. 1836 

Juan B. Alvarado " Nov. 1836, to Dec. 1842 

aianuel MicJieltorena " Dec. 1842, to Feb. 1845 

Pio Pico " Feb. 1845, to July, 1846 

AMERICAN TEEEITOKIAIi GOVEENMENT. 

The government of California, after it came into possession of the 
United States, was vested in the commander of the national forces in 
the country, for the time being. Commodore John D. Sloat, on taking 
possession of Monterey, July 7th, 1846, issued a proclamation, as Gov- 
ernor of the territory. The Federal and State courts recognize the date 
of the issuance of this proclamation, as being the date on which the 
United States obtained possession of the country. Commodore Sloat 
acted as Governor until August 17th, 1846, when Commodore Ilobert F. 
Stockton was proclaimed his successor, who appointed Colonel John 
C. Fremont, in January, 1847. Fremont was afterwards tried by court- 
martial, for accepting the office, which belonged to General Stephen 
W. Kearny, by virtue of his being commander of the forces. General 
Kearney proclaimed himself governor March 1st, 1847, and afterwards 
appointed Colonel Eichard B. Mason on the 31st of May, 1847, who 
held office until April 13th, 1840, Avheu General Bonnet Eilcy was 
appointed military governor. 

General Itilcy, aware that public sentiment was opposed to military 
rule, on the 3d of Juno, 1849, issued a proclamation calling a conven- 
tion, to meet at Monterey on the 1st of September, to frame a State 



EAELY HISTOEY. 59 

constitution. This convention, consisted of forty-eight luembers, 
assembled, pursuant to this proclamation, and organized on the 4th of 
September, 1849, by electing Dr. Kobert Semple president ; "W. G. 
Marcy, secretary; Caleb Lyon (afterwards Governor of Idaho) and 
J. G. Field, assistant secretaries ; W. E. P. Hartnell, interi)reter, (to 
translate the proceedings to the native Californian delegates, who did 
not understand the English language) ; and J. Eoss Browne, the well- 
known author, as official rej)orter. 

A constitution was adopted and signed by the delegates, on the 
13th of October, and submitted to the people for ratification on Nov- 
ember, loth, 1849, when 12,064 votes were polled in favor of its adop- 
tion, 811 against it, and 1,200 were set aside for informality. Peter H. 
Burnett was elected governor, under this constitution, in December, 
1849. Being ready to assume the position of a State in the Union, 
application for admission was made, in due form. After a long and 
acrimonious struggle in Congress, between the advocates of slavery 
and free soil, which lasted from December 22d, 1849, until September 
7th, 1850, California was admitted as a State on the 9th of September, 
1850. 

The following are the dates on which the several divisions of the 
territory were taken possession of by the United States : Monterey, 
Jidy 7th, 1846 ; San Erancisco, July 9th ; Sonoma, July 10th ; and 
Sutter's Fort, July l^th. 

THE COSBIEECE OF CALIFOKXIA WHILE UNDER THE SPANISH 

AND MEXICAN EULE. . 

The commerce of California, while under Spanish and Mexican 
authority, when compared with what it has become since it has been 
subject to the dominion of the United States, affords a striking illus- 
tration of the predominating traits in the Anglo-Saxon and Spanish 
characters. 

The Spaniards and their descendants, had for three centuries been 
in possession of the entire Pacific coast, from Yaldavia, in latitude 
40° south, to the boundary of California, in latitude 42'^ north, em- 
bracing a line of more than five thousand miles of coast, indented with 
a number of the finest harbors in the world, and bordering a country 
'capable of producing in abundance an almost endless list of articles, 
for which both Europe and Asia afforded a market, including the most 
extensive mines of gold and silver then knowTi, with no scarcity of 
materials or labor for ship-building, or any other purpose ; yet they 



60 THE NATUE.\L WE^iLTH OF CALIFOENIA. 

never established a A'igorous commerce. Controlling tlio imporiant 
trade of tlie "Western Islands, from 1568 to 1815, which obliged them 
to send their richly laden galleons to the coast of California — a neces- 
sity that, as early as 1565, led one of their navigators, Andres de Ur- 
denata, to discover the northwest trade winds, which wafts a vessel 
from Asia almost to the Golden Gate of California — though following 
the track of these favoring winds for more than a century, they did not 
increase their commerce. In the year 1835, there were not more than 
thirty vessels belonging to all the states and nations of Sjianish origin, 
from Valdavia to Oregon. 

Compare this with the career of the United States. Within a cen- 
tury of their existence, they have created a commerce extending over 
every land and sea, and perfected arrangements for its further exten- 
sion, unexcelled by those of any other nation. Railroads, steamships, 
and telegraphs, as appliances of commerce, are more extensively em- 
ployed by the Anglo-Saxon race in America, than by any other nation ; 
and in no portion of their dominion have these appliances been more 
effectively employed than in California. 

These remarks are not introduced in a spirit of self-laudation, or to 
express any feeling of disrespect to our Sjjauish and Mexican fellow- 
citizens or neighbors, but to account for the extraordinaiy expansion 
of the commerce of California, and to explain the basis on which our 
calculations of its future extension is founded. . Within twenty years 
after obtaining possession of the country by the Anglo-Saxons, this 
commerce has been expanded from an annual cargo or two of hides and 
tallow, exported to barter for a few thousand dollars' worth of coarse 
manufactured goods, until the value of the exports of products and 
manufactures — exclusive of the precious metals — exceeds 820,000,000, 
annually, and the imports of merchandise amount to $60,000,000. From 
a few scows, to transport the hides and tallow from the missions to San 
Francisco or San Diego, the local marine has increased until there are 
nearly 1,000 vessels, including 125 steamers, chiefly owTied by the mer- 
chants of San Francisco; and hundreds of the finest ships of the mer- 
cantile marine of the United States are employed in tlio California 
trade, which has also created lines of swift and capacious steamers, 
connecting the State with China, Japan, Europe, the Atlantic States 
and Australia, via the Isthmus of Panama ; the Sandwich Islands, 
British Columbia, Oregon, and Mexico. 

These facts and figures prove that less than 500,000 of the Anglo- 
Saxon race, possessing less than 700 miles of the Pacific coast-line, 
within less than twenty years, have created a greater commerce than 



EMiLY HI3T0LY. 61 

did all the nations of Spanish origin, possessing 5000 miles of that 
coast, in three hundred years. If such a commerce has been created 
in so short a time, by so small a population, is it unreasonable to 
Anticipate an immense increase, when the enterprising artizans and 
manufacturers of the Atlantic States and Europe, being informed of 
the advantages California offers, as a field for their labor and skill, 
shall make their homes here, and increase its products and manu- 
factures ? 

Prior to the arrival of a few citizens of the United States, commerce 
was unknowTi in California. The missionaries produced all they 
required to supply the wants of themselves and their Indian neophytes, 
and were too much opposed to the introduction of strangers to encour- 
age any communication with the rest of the world. 

Mr. Gilroy, who has resided in California since 1814, states that 
for several years after his arrival, the whole trade and commerce of 
the country consisted of the shipment of a cargo of tallow, once a year, 
to Callao, in a Spanish vessel, vrhich in return brought a few cotton 
goods and miscellaneous articles for the missionaries. 

In 1822, after Mexico had declared its independence of Spain, 
there was a slight increase in the commerce of California. In that 
year, an English firm at Lima (Peru) established a branch of its busi- 
ness at Monterey, for the purchase of hides and tallow; and vessels 
from Chili, Peru, and Mexico, made occasional trips for a cargo of these 
articles. American vessels, trading with the settlers on the Columbia 
river, finding that the missionaries of California had something to sell, 
visited San Francisco, Monterey, and San Diego, about this time. 
Whale ships were quite numerous on the coast, as early as 1820, and 
occasionally visited the California ports for fresh provisions and water, 
and bartered for them. It was through the visits of these American 
vessels that the value of California products became known to the 
v/orld. 

Between 1822 and 1832, tbe exports from California had increased 
from a single cargo until they were estimated at 30, 000 hides, 7, 000 
quintals of tallow, 500 bales of furs, and 2,000 bushels of wheat annu- 
ally. In 1834, this branch of trade was greatly increased by the mis- 
sionaries killing immense numbers of their cattle, in anticijoation of 
the movement for secularizing the missions, which was already inau- 
gurated by the Mexican Government. In this year, the Fathers 
slaughtered upwards of 100,000 cattle, to obtain their hides and 
tallow. At this time a new branch of trade was introduced by Thomas 
O. Larkin, and other Americans residing at Monterey. Vessels were 



62 THE NATUE^yL ^'E.U.TH OF CALIFOrAIA. 

dispatched witli cargoes of liorses, cattle, grain, etc., to Honolulu. 
The first animals of this class ever seen on the Islands, were taken 
from Califorui?, on board the brig Delia Bfjrd, and landed there in 
June, 1803 : thej consisted of one horse and two mares. In the course 
of a year or two, these exports were increased by shipments of lumber, 
shingles, flour, potatoes, soap, etc. The Hudson Bay Company, also, 
began to send to California for supplies of grain and provisions, for 
its establishment on the Columbia, and the missionaries began to 
produce wine, raisins, olives, etc., which found a ready market in 
Mexico. 

From 1825 to 1836, an important element in the trade of California 
consisted of the skins of the sea otter, which were exceedingly abund- 
ant on the coast from Mazatlan to San Francisco. But their reckless 
slaughter by the hunters exterminated them before 1840. La Pe'rouse 
states that when he visited Monterey, in 1786, the agents of the Span- 
ish Government, who then controlled this trade, were collecting the 
skins. Twenty thousand otters were in the list. The great French 
navigator thought they might have collected fifty thousand, the animals 
were so very numerous. 

As the export trade increased, the value and variety of the imports 
began to increase also, and about the year 1830, they included clothing, 
furniture, agricultural implements, salt, candles, lumber, etc. 

There was no trade with the interior of the country until about 1840. 
The few inhabitants who resided beyond the boundaries of the mis- 
sions had to produce all they required, or barter with the missionaries 
for cloth, wine, etc. There was no circulating medium of any kind in 
the country until 1824, when the "hide ships," introduced a few hun- 
dred dollars worth of silver, which generally found its way into the 
coffers of the missionaries. In 1832 there was but little money in cir- 
culation, most of the trade being transacted by barter. As late as 
1848, up to the discovery of gold, the currency of the country was 
almost exclusively silver. When La Pe'rouse visited the country, in 
1798, beads were the circulating medium. 

The trade of California steadily increased under the judicious cul- 
tivation of the American residents. English, Chilian, and Mexican 
merchants sent their ships here to compete for a share of this trade. 
The folloM-ing table of imports and exports, compiled by Do Mofras, in 
1841, show that the Bostonians, who at that time managed this trade, 
obtained the largest share of it: 



EARLY HISTOET. 63 

Imports and Exports of California, in 1841. 

Nation. Exports. Imports. 

United States $70,000 $150,000 

Mexican 50,000 65,000 

EngUsh 20,000 45,000 

Other countries 10,000 20,000 

Totals $150,000 $280,000 

Included in these exports were liides valued at $210, 000 ; tallow, 
$55,000; peltries, lumber, etc., $15,000. About thirty vessels visited 
California, annually, in the conduct of this business. 

From 1837 to 1841, the trade of San Froncisco was almost exclu- 
sively in the hands of the Hudson Bay Company. In 1841, this com- 
pany sold out its establishment and left the country. San Diego was 
then the seat of the export and import trade, but San Francisco began 
to take the lead in 1842. From 1841 to 1846, the commerce of Cali- 
fornia greatly increased. The preparations made by the United States 
Government to take possession of the territory caused an extensive 
circulation of money. The arrival of large detachments of its naval 
and military forces, and the great increase in the number of inhabi- 
tants by immigration, both by sea and overland, created a consider- 
able inland trade. The imports and exports were also materially 
increased. 

The following table of exports and imports, at San Francisco, dur- 
ing October, November, and December, 1847, will convey an idea of 
the course of the trade at that time : 

Imports and Exports aiSan Francisco during the last Quarter of 1847. 

Countries. Exports. Imports. 

Atlantic States , $2,060 00 $6,790 54 

Oregon 7,701 59 

Mexico 5,39150 160 00 

Sandwich Islands 1,422 18 31,740 00 

ChiU and Peru 21,448 35 3,676 44 

SitL-a .2,471 32 

Bremen 550 54 

Other countries ; 19,275 50 499 10 

Totals $49,597 53 $53,589 53 

The discovery of gold on the 19th of January, 1848, so thoroughly 
revolutionized the commerce, and everything else in the country, that a 
new era was inaugurated. As all the particulars of that event, and the 
history of San Francisco, which became the metropolis of the Pacific 
Coast in consequence of that discovery, are each given in a separate 



64 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF C.U.rFOEXL\, 

cliapter, the commerce of tlie country subsequent to tliat event "will be 
found in those chapters. 

THE ACQUISITION^ OF CALIFOKNLi BY THE UNITED STATES. 

As there are many persons in California, as -well as in the Atlantic 
States and Europe, who labor under the impression that the acquisition 
of this State -was influenced by, or was in some manner connected with 
the discovery of gold, the following synopsis of the policy pursued by 
the United States Government in acquiring territory on the Pacific 
Coast may be useful in removing such an erroneous impression, and in 
proving that that grand discovery was the result of American entei-prise 
subsequent to the possession of the country by the Federal Govern- 
ment. 

We have already stated, when explaining the causes which led to the 
establishment of the first settlement of Americans on the Pacific Coast, 
that the importance of the fur trade of the northwest territory, as early 
as 1784, induced Mr. Jefferson, while Minister to France, to employ 
John Ledyard, to make an exploration of a portion of that territory, 
with a view to its ultimate possession and settlement by the United 
States — a purpose so well understood by the Eussian Government that 
Ledyard was arrested and expelled from the country. This did not 
prevent Mr. Jefferson and his friends from persisting in their efforts to 
obtain their end. Through their influence, Mr. Astor, the gi*eat Amer- 
ican fur merchant, was induced to fit out several vessels, ostensibly to 
trade, but really to found a settlement on this coast. One of these 
vessels discovered the Columbia River, and* another founded a trading 
post on its banks, claiming the land by virtue of its discovery. This 
claim w^as denied by both Ptussia and England, which were most anx- 
ious to prevent an American settlement on this coast. This settlement 
•was the entrance of the wedge of American possession on this coast, 
which has yet to be driven home. On the 30th of April, 1803, the 
United States purchased the territory of Louisiana from France, which 
gave it another foothold on the Pacific. It Avas stated in the title con- 
veyed by this purchase that the western boundary of that territory was 
the Pacific Ocean. Spain, England, and Russia, objected to such 
boundary. Pending a settlement of the dispute which arose on this 
point, Mr. Jefferson, who was then President, to carry out the object 
for which ho had employed Ledyard, nearly twenty years previously, 
appointed Clark and Lewis, two famous explorers, whose names are 
familiar to every reader of American history, and several other parties, 



EARLY HISTORY. (V' 

to make a tliorough exploration of tlie country, "from the Missouri to 
the Colorado, Oregon, and Columbia, to find the most direct and prac- 
ticable communication across the continent, for the purposes of com- 
merce. " 

The expedition of Clark and Lewis left the Missouri on the 7th of 
April, 1805, and reached the mouth of the Columbia, on the Pacific. 
on the 15tli of the following November. The report of this expedition, 
the remarks of Mr. Jefferson, and the action of Congress in relation 
thereto, were accepted by England, Russia, France, and Spain, as a 
notification that the United States intended to establish settlements iu 
the newly acquired territory on the Pacific, and caused considerable 
opposition to be manifested by each of these nations. They all denio-^l 
the title of the United States to "any portion of the Pacific Coast, reject- 
ing the claim based on the Louisiana purchase, on the ground that 
France did not possess any territory on that coast, consequently could 
not convey any to any other power. 

In order to anticipate the proposed settlement by the United States. 
England fitted out an expedition to take possession of the country, and 
in 1808, founded a settlement near Frazer's Lake, a tributary of tbs 
Columbia. This was the first settlement of the British west of the 
Kocky Mountains. 
* The Russians, equally anxious to prevent an American settlement 
on the Columbia, sought to attain their ends by strategy. In 1808, 
Count Romanzoff, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed to 
John Quincy Adams, who was then Minister to that country, to give 
American ships the privilege of supplying the Russian settlements on 
the Pacific Coast with provisions and manufactured goods, and of trans- 
porting the Russian American Fur Company's furs to China, (a most 
valuable trade, ) provided the United States government would recog- 
nize Russia's asserted right to the Pacific Coast, soutli of the Columbia 
river. 

The United States rejected the proposition, and insisted on its title 
to the territory south of that river, by both discovery and purchase. 
In 1811, the settlement of Astoria was founded, under the most favor- 
able auspices, and was progressing equal to the expectations of its pro- 
jectors, until the commencement of the war between the United States 
and England, in 1812, when the destruction of that settlement appears 
to have been sought with extraordinary zeal. It was captured by the 
English on the 13th of October, 1813. After the conclusion of the war, 
strenuous efforts were made by England to retain Astoria. The dis- 
pute for its possession was not settled for nearly twenty-five years— 



^Q ' THE NATUE.U:. WEALTH OF Cy^ITOEXIA. 

the Federal Government, never relaxing its hold of the territory thus 
iairly acquired, and necessary for the extension of American interests 
on the Pacific Coast. So important had this place and Oregon, which 
sprang from it, become, in 1845, that it was for the purpose of making 
communication between them and Panama that the Pacific jMail Steam- 
ship Company was projected. 

In 1818, Don Luis de Onis, the Spanish Minister, prompted by the 
i'rench Government, set up a claim to the territory c«i the Pacific Coast 
purchased by the United States from France, After many delays and 
much diplomacy, this claim was settled by the Florida treaty of Febru- 
ary 22, 1819, by which Spain ceded to the United States all the terri- 
tory west of the Kiver Sabine, and south of the upper parts of the Pied 
and Arkansas rivers, from a line dra^vTi from the source of the Arkan- 
sas, on the forty-second parallel of latitude, to the Pacific Coast. 

In 1823, President Monroe, in a message to Congress, explained to 
the world what the policy of the United States on the Pacific Coast 
n'ould be thereafter, in reference to colonization, in his memorable 
assertion of the Monroe doctrine, "that the American continents, 
Dy the free and independent condition they have assumed and main- 
tained, are henceforth not to be considered subjects for colonization by 
any European power. " This declaration caused the crowned heads of 
Europe to protest against a doctrine — the recent disaster to France by 
the overthrow of Maximilian, the purchase and conquest of California 
from Mexico, and the peaceful acquisition of the Russian possessions 
on this coast prove — that the people of the United States intend to 
maintain, peaceably if they can, forcibly if they must. 

As an illustration of how strongly impressed were the intelligent 
minds of the nation in favor of this doctrine, and witli the belief that 
the Pacific Coast w^ould, at no distant day, form the western boundary 
of the Union, many years before the acquisition of California, we refer 
to an oration delivered November 8d, 1835, when the first spadeful of 
earth was dug towards constructing the New York and Erie railroad. 
The event was one of great ceremony and much national importance. 
The orator, on that occasion, in the course of his remarks, stated "that 
some of his hearers would live to see a continuous line of railroads 
from the bay of New York to the shores of the Pacific." Who then 
thought so bold an assertion would so soon be realized ? This saga- 
cious speaker merely gave expression to the policy of the United States, 
which has been but partially carried out. 

The enunciation of the Monroe doctrine caused France and England, 
who were deeply interested in the Pacific coast to use every means to 



EARLY HISTORY. 67 

prevent any extension of the United States territory there. In 1841, 
Marshal Soult, Minister of War under Louis Phillipe, appointed M. 
Duflot de Mofras, an eminent French savant and diplomat, to make a 
thorough exploration of California, and to prepare the way for France 
to acquire possession of the country. It is kno"WTi that secret agents of 
that government resided in California from the time of M. De Mofras' 
visit, until it fell into the hands of the United States. The Federal 
government, aware of the purposes of France, dispatched Commodore 
Wilkes, with a squadron, consisting of five vessels of war, which 
remained at San Francisco for several months, on a precisely similar 
expedition, during which time that ofl&cer thoroughly surveyed the bay 
of San Francisco, and the Sacramento Eiver, as far as Sutter's Fort. 
England, suspecting the designs of both, also dispatched a naval squad- 
ron for the same purpose. It must have been an interesting sight to 
the few residents of San Francisco at that time, to have seen the ships 
of three such powerful nations riding at anchor in their bay. Had 
they known that they were all there for a similar object, the interest of 
their visit would probably have been much enhanced. 

M. de Mofras, in page 68, vol. ii, of his report states that he was 
satisfied, from information ho gathered on board the English and United 
States vessels, that both parties expected to obtain possession of the 
country; while his own book was ^\T^'itten to instruct the French officers 
how best to accomplish the same object. 

The foregoing facts are deemed sufficient to prove that the United 
States, for nearly half a century prior to the acquisition of California, 
or the discovery of gold, had been unremitting in their efforts to extend 
their dominion on the Pacific Coast. The territory they now own 
proves that these efforts have been crowned with signal success, despite 
the opposition of France, England, Spain, and Piussia. From the 
small settlement on the Columbia, in 1810, when the wedge of posses- 
sion was entered, the national boundaries on the Pacific Coast have 
been expanded, until they embrace California, containing 158,987 square 
miles; Oregon, 95,248 square miles; Washington, 69,994 square miles; 
Nevada, 108,000 square miles; Arizona, 118,000 square miles; New 
Mexico, 121,201 square miles; Utah, 88,000 square miles; Colorado^ 
104,500 square miles; Idaho, 105,000 square miles; Montana, 145,000' 
square miles; and Alaska, 570,000 square miles; a total of 1,683,930 
square miles — a territory nearly twice as large as all the kingdoms of 
Europe (except Kussia) combined. The States and teiTitories along 
the coast alone (including Alaska) comx^rise an area of 894,229 square 
miles, which is larger than all the New England, Middle, and Western 



68 THE XATUEAL WEALTH OF CALfFOENIA. 

States, and nearly equal to France, Great Britain, Germany, Pnissia, 
and Austria, combined. These nations contain nearly one hundred 
and sixty millions of inhabitants, and the whole Pacific States and 
Territories have less than one million, while there is no country richer 
in natural wealth than a large portion of the Pacific Coast. 

The condition of California, for many years before its conquest and 
purchase by the United States, was such as to ofi'er inducements for its 
seizure by any power having real or fancied grievances against the 
Mexican government. Its great agricultural capabilities, and the im- 
portance of its geographical position for political and commercial pur- 
poses, were as well understood by France and England as they were 
by the United States, and each of these powers were plotting for its 
possession. 

The tenure by which Mexico held dominion over the territory thus 
coveted by the three greatest nations, was the most frail. The ma- 
jority of the more intelligent native Calif ornians, were not in s}Tnpathy 
with their rulers. There was no trade, and but infrequent and irre- 
gular communication between the two countries, which also differed in 
soil, climate, and productions. The policy followed by Mexico, for 
many years, of sending its convicts and outlaws to California, to save 
the cost of keeping them in the jails, was not calculated to engender 
either respect or confidence. The influx of Americans, the energy, 
enterprise and prosperity they introduced, and the interest the United 
States Government exhibited in behalf of its citizens on all occasions, 
under such circumstances, were well adapted to impress the Califor- 
nians in favor of the United States, and to induce them to desire to 
attach their country to such a power. The secret agents of France 
and England had not failed to observe this feeling among the inhabit- 
ants, and had informed their Governments of its probable effects. 

The Federal Government, aware of all the plans of both France and 
England for the acquisition of the territory, and knowing that the only 
effective means to prevent one or the other accomplishing that object 
was to obtain possession itself — endeavored to purchase the territory 
from Mexico. As early as 1835, President Jackson proposed to purchase 
that portion of it "lying east and north of lines drawn from the Gulf 
of Mexico, along the eastern branch of the Eio Bravo del Norte, up to 
the 37tli parallel of north latitude, and along that parallel to the Pacific 
Ocean." This purchase would have been effected, but for the interfer- 
ence of the British Government. 

In 1845, John Slidcll was appointed minister to Mexico, with special 
iinstructions relating to the purchase of California, which would have 



EAELT HISTOKY. 69 

been accomplished but for British interference. After these repeated 
failures to obtain possession b}^ purchase, and having full knowledge of 
the plans of England to obtain the prize, the struggle for mastery 
between the Federal Government and England became close and inter- 
esting. The Californians, prompted by the American residents in the 
territory, in 1846, declared themselves independent of Mexico. The 
majority of these were strongly in favor of annexation to the United 
States; but the influence of Mr. Forbes, the British consul, had raised 
a dangerous opposition, at the head of which stood Governor Pico, 
General Castro, and several other prominent natives. Fortunately, 
the well matured plans of the Federal Government settled the question. 
Fremont, on his arrival here, on an exploring expedition, was met by 
Lieutenant Gillespie with oral instructions to take possession of the 
country, and keep it until reinforcements on the way could reach him. 
These reinforcements came in the very nick of time, and the conquest 
was accomplished. 

To show how close was the contest between the United States and 
England, it may be stated that within twenty-four hours after Commo- 
dore Sloat had taken possession of Monterey, the English admiral. Sir 
George Seymour, arrived there on board the ColUngwood. The blunt 
old sailor good-naturedly informed Sloat that he had come to take pos- 
session of the country, in the name of his government. 

Mr. Colton, chaplain in the U. S. naYj, who was acting as alcalde 
at Monterey at this time, states that there was an excited meeting at 
that place, on the 9th of July, two days after the capture of the to-vvn 
by Commodore Sloat, for the purpose of calling on the British admiral, 
who Avas then in the port, for protection, and placing the territory 
under that flag. 

In April, 1846, Mr. Forbes, the British consul, had completed 
arrangements with Governor Pico and General Castro, for placing 
California in possession of England, on the condition that England 
would assume the debt of $50, 000, 000, due by Mexico to British sub- 
jects. To retain possession, England was to send out a colony of 
Irishmen, under the direction of a catholic priest named Macnamara, 
who was an agent of that government. The deeds for three thousand 
square leagues of land in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, 
made in favor of this Macnamara, very fortunately fell into the hands 
of the Federal Government, before they were signed by Governor 
Pico, or there might have been a tremendous claim for compensation, 
by this individual. To show how thoroughly informed the Federal 
Government were of this design, we quote the following instructions 



70 THE NATUKAL WEALTH OF CALEFOENLV. 

from Secretary Bancroft to Commodore Sloat, under date of July 12th, 
1846, only two months after Forbes' contract had been signed : 

" The object of the United States has reference to ultimate peace -with Mexico; and if 
at that peace the basis of the uti jjossiditis shall be established, the government expects, 
through your forces, to be found in actual possession of Upper California. * * ♦ 
After you shall have secured Upper California, if your force is sufficient, you -will take pos- 
session and keep the harbors in the Gulf of California, as far down, at least, as Guaj-mas. 
But this is not to interfere with the permanent occupation of Upi)er California." 

This document clearly establishes the fact, that the acquisition of 
California was determined upon by the Federal Government, nearly 
two years before the discovery of gold, and was rendered imperative by 
the intrigues of the English Government, to prevent the United States 
extending their influence on the Pacific coast. 

Those who desire further information concerning the early history 
of California and the Pacific Coast, will find much interesting data in 
the voyages of Drake, La Perouse, Vancouver, Beechey, and Perry ; 
in the writings of Fathers Venegas and Palou, and in the works of 
Forbes, DeMofras, Greenhow, and Tuthill. 



CHAPTER II. 

GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 

Outline of Geography — The Harbors of California — San Francisco Bay — Tidal Influences — 
San Diego Harbor — San Pedro Bay — The Santa Barbara Channel — San Luis ObisjK) 
Bay — Monterey Bay — Santa Cruz Harbor — Half Moon Bay — Drake's Bay — Tomales 
Bay — Bodega Bay — Humboldt Bay — Trinidad Bay — Crescent City Harbor — Improvo- 
ments to be Made — Islands on the Coast 

California is an extremely rugged country, a large portion of its 
surface being covered witli liills and mountains. As much of its terri- 
tory remains unsurveyed, and lias been but partially explored, the 
details of its geography and topography are unavoidably incomplete. 
But sufficient is known of both to enable us to describe its general 
outline, as well as many of its most conspicuous and interesting fea- 
tures. 

In outline California forms an irregular parallelogram, its length 
averaging about seven hundred miles, extending southeast by north- 
west, from latitude 32^45' to latitude 42°, with an average breadth of 
nearly two hundred miles. It contains 158, 687 square miles, or more 
than 100, 000, 000 statute acres, of which 35, 000, 000 acres are adapted 
for agricultural purposes; 23,000,000 acres for grazing; 5,000,000 acres 
are swamp and overflowed lands, which may be reclaimed. Tlie lakes, 
rivers, bays, and other surface covered with permanent water, amount 
to nearly 4,000,000 acres; about 10,000,000 acres consist of arid plains 
and deserts, the balance, 23, 000, 000 acres being covered with rugged, 
and for the most part heavily timbered mountains. 

Its mountains, which comprise the predominating geographical and 
topographical features, for the convenience of description, may be 
classed under two grand divisions : the Sierra Nevada ranges, which 
traverse the State along its eastern border, and the Coast Ptange, which, 
as its name implies, extends along its western border near the sea 
coast. These divisions, imiting on the south, near Port Tejon, latitude 
35^, and on the north, near Shasta City, latitude 40^35', enclose the 



72 THE NATURAL WE.y:.TH OF CALIFOKXLA. 

valleys of tlio Sacramento and San Joaquin, wliicli are nearly tliree hun- 
tlred and fifty miles in length, and from forty to eiglity miles wide at 
the points of their greatest divergence. 

Each of these divisions embraces many separate groups of mountain 
chains of vast extent, differing in geological relations and mineral 
composition, presenting in many places scenes of rare beauty, or 
rugged wildness not surpassed by any mountains in the world ; for 
here, the mighty forces of the volcano and earthquake, of the crushing, 
slow-moving, ponderous glacier, and of the swift-destro}dng flood, have 
each left evidence of their power. 

When we state that the Coast Range and Sierra Nevada moun- 
tains, after separating as above mentioned, diverge from both points 
of contact with a tolerably even curve, until the divergence reaches its 
greatest limit, the reader may form some idea of the shape of the mag- 
nificent valleys they enclose, which contain nearly five eighths of all 
the level land in the State. It is this peculiarity of their form which 
renders a great portion of them subject to overflow during rainy seasons. 
The whole of the water which flows from nearly five hundred miles of 
the Sierra Nevada ranges, and from the eastern slope of the coast 
mountains, must find its way to the ocean through these valleys — the 
Sacramento flowing from the north, the San Joaquin from the south — 
giving names to the portions through which they pass, bring the accu- 
mulated waters to the head of Suisun Bay, where they unite. The 
only outlet for this bay, the Straits of Carquinez — a narrow channel, 
several miles in length and less than a mile in width — being too small 
for the passage of the waters as rapidly as they accumulate from such 
an extent of mountainous country, during extraordinarily wet seasons, 
they rise, and as the greater portion of the land of the valleys is but a 
few feet above the ordinary water level, they are speedily submerged, 
except where protected by levees. 

It is much more diflicult to convey an idea of the form and extent 
of the mountains within the State, by a mere description, than it is of 
its great valleys. Their stupendous proportions and complex struc- 
ture are so entirely unparalleled that there are few points of comparison 
between them and other mountains to which we can refer the reader 
to assist in illustrating our description. The Sierra Nevada, or snowy 
mountains, Avhich bound the Sacramento valley on the east, include a 
series of ranges, which, collectively, are seventy miles wide. The gen- 
eral name for the group is derived from the snow which is rarely absent 
from the liigher peaks in the range. 

The Coast Eange, Avhich bounds it on the west, also consists of 



GEOGR.yPHY AMD TOPOGR.^PHT. 73 

a series of cliains aggregating forty miles miles in wicltli, bordering the 
State from its northern to its southern boundary. There is a most 
remarkable difference in the structure and conformation of the two 
series. The Sierra Nevada ranges may be traced in consecutive order 
for an immense distance. The whole country, for nearly five hundred 
miles in length, and nearly one hundred miles in width — their extent 
within the limits of the State — being subordinate in configuration to 
two lines of culminating crests, which impart a peculiar character to its 
topography, while in the Coast Eange all is confusion and disorder. 
Each mountain in the whole series appears to be the product of causes 
singularly local in their effects — the mineral composition of many 
high mountains, in close proximity to each other, being very different. 
There are peaks in this range which reach from fifteen hundred to eight 
thousand feet above the sea level, but there is no connection in the 
direction of such culminating peaks. 

If we compare this peculiarly local structure of the Coast Eange 
with the remarkable continuity in the direction of the Sierra Nevada 
ranges, we may comprehend some of the peculiarities which form the 
most interesting features in the two series of California mountains — its 
Alps and Appalachians. The highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada, from 
Mount Shasta on the north, including Lassen's Butte, Spanish Peak, 
Pilot Peak, the Downieville Buttes, Pyramid Peak, Castle Peak, Mounts 
Dana, Lyell, Brewer, T;yTidall, Whitney, and several others not yet 
named, which reach from 10, 000 to 15, 000 feet above the level of the 
sea, are nearly all in a line running N. 31° W. On the eastern side of 
this culminating line of peaks is situated a series of lakes, the principal 
of which are the Klamath, Pp-amid, Mono, and Owens', lying wholly 
to the east of the Sierra, and Tahoe, occujDying an elevated valley at a 
point where the range separates into two summits. The confluence of 
the Gila and Colorado rivers forms the southern limit of the depres- 
sion in which these lakes are located. A somewhat similar depression 
exists on the western slope of this ridge of high peaks, which is also 
about fifty miles wide, and terminated by another series of peaks, 
remarkably continuous in their direction, and also containing a series 
of lakes. This remarkable continuity in the main features of the topo- 
graphy of so large a portion of the State, has induced geographers to 
divide it into four sections, which differ from each other in soil, climate, 
and productions. That section which lies to the east of the range of 
culminating peaks, is generally termed the "Eastern Slope." The 
depression on the west of this range, and the subordinate range of 
peaks which bound this depression on the west, is considered as the 



74 THE NATUEAi WEALTH OF C.VXEFOENIA. 

Sierra proper. The depression between tlie foot liills of this subordi- 
nate range and the Coast Eange, is called the California valley — the 
Coast Eange forming a separate section. The State is further divided, 
geographically, by a line drawn from west to east, in the locality of Fort 
Tejon ; all south of such line is considered southern California; all the 
territory north of another line, intersecting Trinity, Humboldt, Teha- 
ma, and Plumas counties, being considered as northern California ; the 
country between these two lines being central California. This central 
division contains seven eighths of the population and wealth of the 
State. 

From Point Concepcion, in latitude 34°20', to Cape Mendocino, in 
latitude 40°20', the mountains of the Coast Eange present a rocky bar- 
rier, with numerous projecting headlands, against which the waves of 
the Pacific Ocean break with great fury during the prevalence of east- 
erly or westerly gales. Between these two points, and sheltered by 
these projecting headlands, the mariner finds the best harbors along 
the coast. Coming from the north, and sailing south, he meets with 
Bodega bay, in Sonoma county; Tomales, and Drake's bay, in Marin 
county; San Francisco bay; Half Moon bay, in San Mateo county; 
Santa Cruz bay, Santa Cruz county; Monterey, and Carmel bays, in 
Monterey county; Estero, and San Luis bays, in San Luis Obispo 
county. North of Cape Mendocino is Humboldt bay, in Humboldt 
county; Trinidad bay, in Klamath county; Light and Pelican bays, 
in Del Norte county. South of Point Concepcion there are sandy 
plains, twenty to forty miles wide, between the mountains and the sea. 
Along these flat shores are the harbors of Santa Barbara, in Santa Bar- 
bara county ; AVilmington and Anaheim Landing, in Los Angeles 
county; San Luis Eey, and San Diego, in San Diego county. 

It will be perceived by this list of harbors along the coast of Cali- 
fornia, that it possesses gi-eat facilities for carrying on an extensive 
coasting trade. In addition to the harbors above named there are sev- 
eral estuaries and rivers indenting the coast, -which afibrd convenient 
anchorage for vessels to load lumber, grain, firewood, and other pro- 
ducts of the coast range. 

Those portions of this range which skirt the coast in Marin, Sono- 
ma, and Mendocino counties, between latitude 38^ and 40°, are toler- 
ably well timbered; but south of Bodega bay, and north of Mendocino 
county, except about Monterey bay and Santa Cruz, the coast line 
presents a bleak and sterile appearance. All the valleys in the range, 
which are open to the coast, are narrow and trend nearly ea.st and 
west. The Salinas, the most extensive of these coast valleys, is nearly 



GEOGRAPHY AOT) TOPOGRAPHY. 75 

ninety miles in length by eight to fourteen miles in width, a large 
portion of which is adapted to agricultural purposes — being exceed- 
ingly fer'dle, producing abundance of wild oats and clover, where not 
under cultivation. The Hussian river valley, which also opens to the 
sea, is also very fertile. Further inland, sheltered from the cool 
sea breezes by the outer range of mountains, are many tolerably broad 
and very beautiful valleys, which produce the finest grain, fruit, and 
vegetables raised on this part of the coast. 

Among these inland valleys of the Coast Eange are Sonoma, Napa, 
and Petaluma, having navigable rivers connecting them with the 
bay of San Francisco; Berreyesa, Suisun, Vaca, Clear Lake (the Switz- 
erland of California), Amador, San Eamon, Santa Clara, Pajaro, and 
many others, which will be referred to more particularly when describ- 
ing the topography of the counties in which they are located. 

The outer coast valleys are generally separated by steep, barren 
ridges, while those inland are divided by gently sloping hills, some- 
what similar to the rolling prairie lands of Illinois, and are susceptible 
of cultivation over their entire surface. All the coast valleys are toler- 
rably well watered. 

The most familiar and thoroughly explored division of the coast 
mountains, is the Monte Diablo range, which covers a territory about 
one Inmdred and fifty miles long and from twenty to thirty miles wide. 
This division possesses much importance, from its containing the only 
coal-mines in the State now profitably worked. It is bounded on the 
south by Los Gatos creek, on the east by the valley of the San Joa- 
quin, on the west by the bay of San Francisco and the Santa Clara 
valley, and on the north by the straits of Carquinez and San Pablo 
bay. The portion of this range which forms so picturesque a back- 
ground to the landscape, as seen from San Francisco, across the bay, 
are the Contra Costa hills. These hills being in front of Monte 
Diablo, from that point of view, only its crest is seen above them; but 
it forms a conspicuous object in the scene from all other points, and is 
one of the best knoAvn landmarks in the State, although it is not so 
high as many other mountains in the Coast Kange. Mount San Ber- 
nardino, in San Bernardino county, is 8500 feet high ; Mount Hamil- 
ton, 4440 feet ; Mount Kipley, in Lake county, 7500 feet ; San Carlos 
peak, in Fresno county, 4977 feet; Mount Downey, in Los Angeles 
county, 5675 feet ; Monte Diablo being 3881 feet. There are nearly 
twenty unnamed x^eaks along the coast, reaching from 4000 to 5000 
feet in height. 

Owing to the peculiarly isolated position of Monte Diablo — stand- 



76 THE NATLT.-VL ATEALTH OF CAIIFOEXIA. 

ing aloof, as it does, from the throng of peaks that rise from the Coast 
Eange, like a patrician separated from plebeians, the beautv of its out- 
line commands the attention of the traveler by land or sea — makes it a 
landmark not possible to mistake, and causes its summit to be a center 
from whence may be viewed a wider range of country than can be seen 
from almost any other point in the State. On the north, east and south- 
east, may be seen a large portion of the great valleys of the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin, with many thriving towns and villages, environed with 
gardens and farms, while sweeps and slopes of verdure mark the distant 
plains with hues inimitable by art. In the extreme distance, as a bor- 
der to this grand panorama, rising range above range, is seen the 
Sierra Nevada mountains, stretching along the horizon upwards of 
three hundred miles. In an opposite direction the beautiful valleys of 
the Coast Eange come into view, with all the charming features of 
prosperous and skilled rural industry, and the broad bay of San Fran- 
cisco, where are riding at anchor a fleet of shi2)s, from the masts of 
which the ensigns of nearly all nations may be seen fluttering ; while 
beyond, extending from the water-line to the very summit of the high- 
est hills, is San Francisco city, the home of nearly one fourth of the 
population of the State. To the right is seen the forts and earth- 
works that guard the Golden Gate, while beyond, as far as the eye 
can reach, is the Pacific ocean, bearing on its bosom numberless ves- 
sels, passing to or fro on the peaceful mission of commerce. 

The aborigines called this gi-eat landmark of California, Kali Woo 
Koom — the mighty mountain. The Spaniards called it Sierra de Jos 
Gorgones, either of which is j)referable to its present name, which 
really does not belong to it, but to a small hill seven miles to the north, 
to which the name was applied from the following incident : About 
the year 1814, a party of Spanish soldiers were sent from the presidio 
of San Francisco to chastise the tribe of Indians who roamed through 
this portion of the Coast Range. In a fight that took place, three of 
the Spaniards were killed, the others ' ' retired in good order " to the 
little hill, as a place where they could defend themselves against the 
swarm of Indians. At night, the sentry, half asleep at his post, fan- 
cied he saw a spectral figure, of colossal proportions, flying through 
the air towards the hill where his comrades lay sleeping. Terrified 
by the apparition, he cried out, "El Diablo! El Diablo!" The 
Spaniards, being more afraid of the devil than they were of the In- 
dians, fled from the spot, which was thereafter known as Monte 
Diablo. As there was a good spring of water in the vicinity, it was 
often resorted to by hunters, who, in describing it to their friends, 



GEOGRxVPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 77 

called it tlie Monte Diablo spring. In after years, settlers began to 
make their homes near Monte Diablo, and when the great influx came 
in 1848 and 18-i9, the name was transferred from the little hill to the 
large mountain, and has since been applied to the whole range. 

There is but one river in the whole coast range of California con- 
necting with the ocean that is navigable — the Salinas, in Monterey 
county. There is quite a number which connect with San Francisco, 
San Pablo and Suisun bays, from the interior, and are consequently 
of nearly equal importance for purposes of trade and commerce, as 
if they connected Avith the ocean. The Suisun, Napa, Sonoma, and 
Petaluma, all enter on the north of San Pablo bay, and are navigable 
by steamers. North of the Golden Gate, are Pinssian river, in So- 
noma county; Mad and Eel rivers, in Humboldt county; and the 
Smith and Klamath, in Del Norte county — all of which are permanent 
streams of considerable magnitude, but have too many impediments, 
and too great a fall, to be navigable. The Eel has been cleared within 
the past few months, as it is proposed to run a steamer up it for a few 
miles. On the south are the Pajaro, in Santa Cruz and Monterey coun- 
ties ; the Santa Inez and Santa Clara, in Santa Barbara county; the 
Santa Maria, in San Luis Obispo county ; the Santa Ana and San 
Gabriel, in Los Angeles county; and a number of others; but as the 
latter are little better than channels for carrying off the superfluous 
rain during the wet season, being dry at nearly all other seasons, they 
are not of sufficient importance to deserve further mention in this 
place. 



THE HAEBOES OF CALIFOENIA. 

SAN TKANCISCO HAEBOE. 

This, the safest, best, and most capacious harbor on the western 
coast of North America, is a securely land-locked bay, nearly fifty 
miles in length, by an average of about nine miles in width, with 
deep water, good anchorage, and well sheltered by the surround- 
ing hills from the violence of the winds, from every point of the 
compass. The entrance to this bay, which none of the early naviga- 
tors were able to discover, is in latitude 37° 48' north, and longitude 
122° 30' w^est from Greenwich, is through a strait about five miles in 
length and a mile wide, which was most appropriately named Chryso- 
palse — the Golden Gate — by Fremont, in his "Geographical Memoir 
of California, " written in 1847, before the source of the golden streams 
which have since flowed through it, was discovered. 



78 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CNXITOEXLV. 

As all tlie waters from the interior flow tlirougli this oponiug to 
the sea, there is a considerable outward current, at el»b tide, which 
runs at the rate of six miles an hour, at ordinary seasons, and with 
much greater torce during seasons of flood; but such are the admirable 
arrangements made by Nature, in completing her work at this point, 
that this current offers no impediment to vessels coming in, there 
never being less than thirty feet of water on any part of the entrance. 
The shores of this strait are bold and rocky, rising on the north side, 
in some places to nearly two thousand feet in height, bare and bleak. 
On the south, many of the hills, which are from three hundred to four 
hundred feet high, are covered with nearly white sands, which are 
shifted by every breeze. While on the outside of this entrance, all is 
drear and gloomy — nothing to be seen but barren rocks and sandy 
dunes, rendered additionally dismal by the fogs which prevail a 
greater portion of the year, during the early joart of each day, once 
through the narrow opening, the scene changes aS by magic. Passing 
through the strait, which trends at right angles to the bay, as its end 
is reached, a striking contrast is presented : the fog is left behind, the 
gently sloping hills, on the north of the lower bay, are either emerald 
green, in the spring, or russet brown with the remains of the summer's 
verdure, in the fall. In front, in the middle of the channel, and only 
about four miles from the entrance, is Fort Alcatraz, bristling with 
liea-vy ordinance, and crowned with a tall light-house. To the right, and 
still nearer to the "Gate," on a projecting spur of rocks, which apj)ears 
to have been placed there for that express purpose, stands the red 
brick buildings of Fort Point, surrounded by a lab;)Tinth of solid 
granite fortifications. Beyond, on the south, appears a forest of masts 
of vessels anchored in the stream, or moored to the wharves, which 
extend along the entire city front. On the right, spread over miles 
of deeply cut hills, and artificially made levels, which extend far into 
the waters of the bay, lies the city of San Francisco. On the opposite 
shore is Oakland and Alameda, peeping through groves of live oak, 
while, around in all directions, is seen the gently undulating country 
which forms the garden of the State, its hills rising tier above tier, 
each of different tint, as "distance lends enchantment to the view." 

The beauties of the bay of San Francisco are not, however, of that 
soft, voluptuous, enervating i}ye, which poets and travelers ascribe to 
tlie famous bay of Naples; they are of a sturdier, hardier, more active 
and animated character — as much in conformity with the spirit of the 
people who dwell along its borders, as the warm, rippleless waters of 
the Neajiolitau bay are in consonance with its lazzaroui. 



GEOGrtAPIIY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 79 

There are a number of islands and liarbors within San Francisco 
and connecting bays, of considerable importance. 

Alcatraz island, near the entrance of the Golden Gate, is about 
1,600 feet in length by 450 feet in width, containing about thirty-five 
acres. Its highest point is 135 feet above the waters of the bay. It is 
the key to the fortifications of the harbor. 

Angel island is the largest in San Francisco bay. It contains up- 
wards of eight hundred acres of good land, with an abundant supply 
of fresh water. It was formerly well timbered with oak, when it 
formed an interesting object in the landscape, as seen from the city of 
San Francisco, four miles distant. It contains few trees now, but 
produces good crops of wheat and barley. There are upon it quar- 
ries of excellent building stone. Most of the rock used in construct- 
ing the fortifications on Alcatraz, and at Fort Point, was obtained 
at these quarries ; the stone used in the erection of the Bank of Cali- 
fornia, one of the handsomest structures on the coast, was also ob- 
tained here. 

Yerba Buena, or Goat island, lies directly opposite San Francisco. 
It is much smaller than Angel island. 

Molate island, or Ked Ptock, about four miles north of Angel island, 
is a barren rock, of some little importance, as it contains a vein of 
manganese ore, of which several shipments have been made to 
England. 

Bird Eock, and the Two Sisters, are unimportant but picturesque 
rocks, near the northern end of San Francisco bay. 

There are several other rocks and islands around the shores of this 
bay, which are not of sufficient importance to be noticed in this pla* e. 
At the head of San Pablo bay stands Napa or Mare island, on which 
the United States navy-yard is located, forming one side of the straits 
and bay of Napa, which connects with Napa creek, a stream from the 
Suscol mountains. 

Yallejo — a rapidly improving town, once the capital of the State- 
is located on the east side of Napa Bay, and opposite the navy-yard on 
Mare island. There is good anchorage and shelter, and plenty of 
water for the largest vessels in this bay. The Vallejo and Sacramento 
railroad, connecting with the Central Pacific, the Folsom and Placer- 
ville, and the Northern or Marysville railroads, has its terminus here, 
bringing the Pacific railroad within thirty miles of San Francisco. 
At the eastern entrance of the Straits of Carquinez, which have a length 
of seven miles, are situated the towns of Benicia and Martinez. They 
occupy sites opposite each other— the straits here being about four 



80 THE NATTRAL WEALTH OF CALIFOKNLl. 

miles wide. A steam ferry boat runs between tliem. The various 
towns and liarbors furtlier inland are referred to elsewhere. 

With such facilities for foreign and domestic trade, as the harbor of 
San Francisco affords to that city, there is nothing remarkable in the 
fact that three-fourths of the capital, and nearly one-fourth of the popu- 
lation of the State, are concentrated there. 

Tidal Itiflueiices. — The tidal influences on the rivers emptying into 
the bay of San Francisco, extend to the head of navigation in the 
interior. The maximum rise of full tide at San Francisco, is 8 feet 
two inches; at Benicia, 7 feet 6 inches; at Sacramento, 2 feet 6 inches ; 
at Stockton, 2 feet 1 inch. At Crescent city, on the north, the maximum 
rise of tide is 9 feet; at San Diego, on the south, 7 feet. 

SAN DIEGO HAKBOE. 

San Diego harbor is on the extreme southern portion of the coast 
line within the boundary of California, in San Diego county, latitude 
32^41', four hundred and fifty-six miles south of San Francisco. It is 
next in importance to San Francisco bay, both in security and geogra- 
phical position. It was the principal harbor of Upper California until 
1830. It is well sheltered from all winds by surrounding hills, but 
has iew of the advantages for inland traffic possessed in such an emi- 
nent degree by San Francisco. The harbor is in the form of a broad 
curve, about twelve miles in length, and from one to two miles wide. 
For about five miles from its entrance there is a channel half a mile 
wide, in which there is never less than thirty feet of water, with excel- 
lent anchorage, on a sandy clay bottom. 

Being several hundred miles more directly in the track of the 
C5ina and Sandwich islands steamers than San Francisco, it might 
become a formidable rival to that port in the important trade with 
those countries were it connected with a railroad across the continent; 
but the resources of the country are being so slowly developed that 
it is not probable such a railroad will be built in the immediate future. 
The California, Mexico, and Oregon Steam Navigation Company con- 
template erecting a wharf here, which would be a great benefit to the 
trade of the place, and aid in developing the wealth of the country. 
The trade is at present confined to shipping wine, wool, and other 
products. 

SAN PEDP.O BAT, 

This bay is in Los Angeles county, three hundred and seventy-three 
miles south of San Francisco. This harbor is formed by a spur from 
Point St. Vincent, -which trends to the south about eight miles, and 



GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY. 81 

Deadman's Island, which lies across its end, while the mainland on 
this portion of the coast, trending to the southeast, forms a capacious 
bay, sheltered from all except the southerly winds — the most dangerous 
along that coast during the fall and winter. The water for several 
mi^les from the mainland, is very shallow, vessels being compelled to 
anchor about two miles off shore, but there is plenty of water and good 
anchorage near the island. All the freight and passengers, by steamers 
and sailing vessels, are placed on board and landed by means of lighters. 
The port of San Pedro lost much of its importance in 1858, when the 
town of Wilmington was established, at the head of what is now called 
Wilmington bay, about four miles further inland, and nearer to the 
city of Los Angeles, but there is considerable trade there now. It is 
the port for the fishermen of Santa Catalina and Santa Barbara islands, 
and a large portion of the produce of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara 
counties is shipped and supplies landed here. It has been proposed 
to erect a breakwater at San Pedro, from Deadman's island to Kattle- 
snake island, about one and a quarter miles in length, running north 
and south, and from Fisherman's point, near the old San Pedro wharf, 
about half a mile in length, running east and west. Were these 
walls built, San Pedro would be the safest and most commodious har- 
bor on the southern coast. As this is the most convenient j)oint for 
shipping the valuable produce of Los Angeles and San Bernardino 
counties, a safe and capacious harbor becomes a matter of importance 
connected with the development of the resources of that section of the 
State. The necessity for using lighters in shipping or landing freight 
does not conform to modern American ideas of commerce. As there is 
no remedy for the present condition of matters in this vicinity, except 
the construction of a breakwater, it is almost certain that one will soon 
be built. 

Anaheim landing, the center of the wine trade of Los Angeles, is 
located on the northern bank of the Santa Ana river, about ten miles 
south from Wilmington. Here, also, the water is so shallow that 
vessels are compelled to anchor three miles from the shore, all goods 
and passengers being landed in lighters or boats. The Anaheim 
Lighter Company does an extensive business in loading produce and 
landing supplies for the wine and fruit growers, farmers and stock 
raisers in the district. 

THE SANTA BARBARA CHANNEIj. ' 

This roadstead is formed by the islands of San Miguel, Santa Eosa, 
and Santa Cruz, which are about twentv miles from and parallel with 

• c 



82 THE NATUKAL WEALTH OP CALIFOENIA. 

the maiuland, south of Point Concepcion, where the coast line trends 
almost due east for about sixty miles. This channel affords shelter 
on the north and south, but is exposed from the east and west. 
There is plenty of water and good holding ground in the middle of the 
channel, but the whole coast, nearly as far down as San Diego, is shal- 
low for several miles from the shore. 

There is a good wharf at the town of Santa Barbara, which runs 
out nearly one thousand feet, and enables vessels drawing twelve feet 
of water to load and unload alongside. This section of the State, 
being chiefly devoted to cattle and sheep raising, the shipping business 
is not very extensive. Wool and hides form leading items in the exports. 

The extensive deposits of asphaltum which exist on this section of 
the coast give employment to several vessels in supplying the demand 
for the San Francisco market, where it is largely used for paving and 
other purposes. The vessels engaged in this business load from the 
beach, where they collect the material. The following plan for loading 
asphaltum will explain the nature of the coast in this vicinity, and be 
interesting as an illustration of Yankee inventiveness. The proprie- 
tor of a large deposit of this mineral found it impossible to get it on 
board vessels to send to a market. The breakers, which curl with great 
fury for miles along the coast, stove all the boats he used, and the shore 
was so hard and rocky that piles could not be driven to make a wharf, 
and the vessels were compelled to lay too far out to make a connection 
with the shore. As a last resource, he hit upon an expedient. Having 
a number of yoke of well trained oxen, they are made to haul a large 
cart containing three or four tons of asphaltum through the surf 
beyond the breakers, where boats from the vessel are in waiting to 
receive itj the oxen standing up to their ears in the salt water while 
the boats are being loaded. About twenty tons a day are loaded in this 
manner. 

At San Buenaventura, about twenty-five miles southeast from Santa 
Barbara, there is a landing at which it is contemplated to build a wharf 
to connect with a road from this place to Owens' valley, via Havilah, 
Kern county. Should this project be carried out, it would greatly 
increase the importance of Santa Barbara as a shipping port. 

SAN LmS OBISPO BAT. 

San Luis Obispo bay is a small, open indentation on^the coast-line, 
with good anchorage and plenty of water, south of Point San Luis, a 
•spur of Mount Buchon, ^vhich projects five or six miles to the west- 
ward, affording shelter fj-om northerly gales. It is in San Luis Obispo 



GEOGRAPHY AKD TOPOGRAPHY. 83 

coimtj, about two liundred miles soutli of San Francisco, but is of 
little importance as a harbor. 

About ten miles further north is Estero bay, formed by a bold head- 
land terminating the Santa Lucia mountains, which projects to the 
north-west, and thus aifords a much better shelter than San Luis bay. 
A deep lagoon runs inland three or four miles behind Estero point, in 
which there is excellent anchorage and good conveniences for a road 
and landing. This lagoon is sheltered from all points, except the 
south. The California, Oregon and Mexico Steamship Company have 
had this place surveyed, with a view of making it a refuge for their 
vessels during the prevalence of northerly and westerly gales ; such a 
place of safety being very much required on this portion of the coast. 

There are a number of other places between Estero point and San 
Pedro, which are well adapted for coasting harbors, but they afford 
little shelter from the most dangerous winds that blow along that part 
of the coast. 

MONTEREY BAT. 

Monterey bay is ninety-two miles south of San Francisco. It is a 
broad, open bay, about thirty miles wide, circular in form, Point 
Pinos forming its sonthern, and Point New Year its northern head- 
lands. Santa Cruz harbor is near the latter, and Carmelo bay near 
the former. These afford shelter to vessels, from certain quarters, 
but the bay of Monterey is exposed to all except easterly winds. 
There are a number of points around this bay, w^here coasting vessels 
carry on an extensive business. There are wharves erected for their 
accommodation, at Watsonville, Soquel, Miller's landing, Pajaro, (at 
the mouth of the Pajaro river, the port of the rich valley of that name, ) 
and Millard's point. The wharf at Aptos creek is eleven hundred feet 
in length, from low-tide water. Considerable improvements have 
been made at Monterey wharf, which is now carried out to deep water. 
Before this improvement, passengers and freight were landed, from 
little boats, on the rocks along the shore. 

The wharves at the mouth of the Salinas river have also been 
greatly improved. The dimensions of this river increase so greatly 
during the winter season, as to make it a rislcy business to build ex- 
pensive wharves along its shores. Its usual width, at the entrance of 
the bay, is about four hundred and fifty feet. In 1862, during the wet 
season, it exceeded a mile. 

The bay is safest and most sheltered in front of the town of Mon- 
terey, under the lee of Point Pinos, but the trade is not in that direc- 
tion. Carmelo bay, on the other side of this point, is also tolerably 



84 THE NATUEAL "V\'EALTH OF C^yLIFOKXLl. 

well sheltered, but it is not convenient for sliippiug. Tliis little bay 
is one of the most delightful places along the coast. The mission of 
Sau Carlos was located here, its massive ruins still remaining to show 
the taste and skill of its early builders. It was from this bay that 
the granite used for building purposes at San Francisco, was obtained, 
before the discovery of the quarries at Folsom. 

One of the most pleasant trips for a summer day is across Mon- 
terey bay, from Santa Cruz to the old town of Monterey. The two 
places are twenty-one miles distant by water, but forty-five miles by 
land. The water is so peculiarly transparent that the rocks, pebbles, 
and mosses at the bottom, are distinctly seen, to the depth of nearly 
tvv-enty feet, while the shore of the bay in the vicinity of the old town 
is bold, rocky, and exceedingly picturesque. The town itself is located 
in a sort of nook on the side of a gently sloping hill, every house in it 
being visible from the water. It is surrounded by lofty hills, crested 
Avith pine and redwood, which lend a peculiar charm to the scene, 
embracing the clear waters of the bay in the foreground, with the dark, 
moss-covered rocks along the shore, and the hill side dotted with the 
white dwellings in the city, surmounted by the dark green belt of tim- 
ber which forms a fringe against the pale blue sky. Beyond the beauty 
of the scenery and the interest felt in the place, there is little to attract 
strangers to Monterey. 

Several parties of whalers have had their headquarters in this bay 
for some years past. They ship from five hundred to fifteen hundred 
barrels of oil annually to San Francisco. If the contemplated break- 
Avater, near Santa Cruz, is ever completed, Monterey bay will become 
of great importance to the commerce of the coast. 

SAKTA CEUZ HAEBOE. 

Santa Cruz harbor is eighty miles south of San Francisco. It is 
situated at the northern extremity of Monterey bay, in Santa Cruz 
county, latitude 36^ 57', on the westerly slope of the Santa Cruz ridge 
of the coast range. It is one of the most important ports on the 
southern coast, being the outlet for the products of an extensive section 
of the richest agricultural and timber lands in the State, and the seat 
of a rapidly expanding manufacturing interest. Over one third of all 
the lime used at San Francisco, is shipped from this port, and there 
are extensive manufactories of powder, paper, leather, and a immbcr 
of lumber-mills, which ship their products and receive their supplies 
from this place, giving employment to a large amount of tonnage — 
both sailing vessels and steamers. 



GEOGRAPHT A:ST> TOPOGEAPKY. . 85 

Tlie San Lorenzo, a beautiful stream of fresli water, wliich in its 
course affords motive power to numerous factories erected along its 
banks, passes through the tov.n of Santa Cruz, into the bay of 
Monterey. 

This harbor is small, but has twenty-four feet of water at low tide, 
with good anchorage, and is well sheltered except from the southwest, 
which makes it dangerous to enter or leave during the j)revalence of 
winds from that quarter. 

It is in contemplation to erect a breakwater, to protect this exposed 
portion. The of3&cers of the United States coast survey have made 
several examinations of the locality for this purpose. It has been 
suggested that a wall, extending from Seal Eock point for two thousand 
feet, eastward, across the bay of Monterey, and a few feet above high 
water-mark, would make this a safe resort for vessels during the south- 
erly gales, so dangerous along the coast, and from which there is no 
place of shelter at present. The erection of a light on Seal Eock 
point, or some other suitable place in the vicinity, has become a neces- 
sity, in consequence of the increasing importance of the trade of Santa 
Cruz — second only to that of San Francisco. 

HALF MOON BAY. 

This bay is in San Mateo county, forty-six miles south of San Fran- 
cisco. It is of little importance as a harbor, but is a most convenient 
point for shipping grain, produce, and lumber, from that portion of 
the coast to San Francisco. Spanish town, quite a thriving place, is 
located at the landing on this bay. 

DBAKF.'S BAT. 

Drake's bay is in Marin county, south of Point Eeyes, and thirty 
miles north of the Golden Gate. It is of no importance, except as 
being the place where the great English navigator, whose name it bears, 
landed. It is sometimes called Jack's harbor, a name given to it by 
the fishermen, who resort there to follow their vocation. 

TOMAXiES BAT. 

This bay is forty-five miles north of San Francisco, in Marin 
county, latitude 38^ 15'. It is formed by an inlet of the Pacific ocean, 
which here penetrates the Coast Eange about sixteen miles, nearly to 
the center of Marin coimty, averaging about a mile and a quarter wide 
for about twelve miles from the entrance, which is less than half a mile 
wide. There is a bar at the roiouth of this entrance, having eleven feet 
of water at low tide. 



86 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALrFOK^^A. 

It is perfectly land-locked, and sheltered from all winds. It has 
two small islands about three miles from the entrance, about two acres 
in extent, which are covered with verdure. Its safety, and the beauty 
of the surrounding, scenery, makes it a sort of miniature copy of the 
bay of San Francisco. 

The surrounding countiy is famous for its agricultural products, 
particularly butter, of which article Marin produces more than any 
other county in the State. 

The lands around this beautiful little bay are high, but gently un- 
dulating in outline. The hills, being covered with gi'ass and wild 
oats, aiford pasturage for extensive flocks and herds. 

Preston's point, on the east side of the bay, and about three miles 
from its entrance, named in honor of 11. J. Preston, the pioneer settler 
in the district, is destined to become the site of an important agricul- 
tural trade. There is a good wharf here, eleven feet of water along- 
side, where there is generally quite a fleet of schooners, loading pro- 
duce for the San Francisco market, this being the most convenient 
shipping port for Bloomfield, distant only nine miles, and for a number 
of villages scattered throughout this section of the county. Olema, 
one of the most thriving towns in the county, is located immediately at 
the head of this bay. Four miles from its south-east shore, on the 
banks of a beautiful stream of water — the Tokeluma, which flows from 
Mount Tamalpais — is located the Pioneer paper-mill of California. 

BODEGA BAY. 

This harbor is formed by a narrow spit of land, about two miles 
in length, which projects from the south of Bodega Head and extends 
to within three miles of the spit which forms the western side of To- 
males bay. The two bays are reached through the same entrance, 
between these spits. It is very much smaller, and scarcely as well 
sheltered as Tomales bay, being open to the southerly gales, which 
sometimes blow with considerable violence during the fall. It has but 
nine feet of water at low tide. The Russians selected the point of land 
forming the western side of this harbor for their settlement, which 
they maintained from 1812 to 1811. 

A considerable trade is carried on in the shipment of produce, there 
being good anchorage and whai'f accomodation for vessels engaged 
in the business. The town of Bodega is located at the head of this 
bay about fifty miles distant from San Francisco. 



GEOGEAPHY AXD TOPOGRAPHY. 87 

HTTMBOIiDT BAY. 

Humboldt bay is two hundred and twenty-three miles north of San 
Francisco, in Humboldt county, latitude 40^44'. It is a securely land- 
locked harbor — the best on the northern coast — ^formed by two densely 
timbered peninsulas, which enclose a very handsome bay, about twelve 
miles in length, and from two to five miles in width, its shores thickly 
timbered with magnificent pine and redwood, to the water's edge. 
The entrance to this bay is about a quarter of a mile wide, with eigh- 
teen feet of water at low tide. It is somewhat difficult for sailing ves- 
sels to make this entrance at certain seasons, but there are powerful 
tow boats belonging to the port which are always on hand when 
required. The upper portion of this bay is quite shallow, but there is 
plenty of water and good anchorage along the lower portions. There 
is an extensive trade in lumber, salmon, and produce carried on here, 
as well as considerable ship building. 

The Elk and Jacoby rivers passing through a good agricultural 
country, empty into this bay, and there are several good roads con- 
necting it with the interior. Eureka, the county seat, and Areata, are 
located on the shores of the bay. The Eel river settlement is about 
forty miles distant, inland. This important harbor was not discovered 
until 1850, when a party of prospectors, among whom was a lumberman 
from New Brunswick, while searching for gold, saw it, and perceiving 
the advantages it presented for obtaining and shipping lumber, they 
abandoned gold hunting, and set to work cutting timber. The first log 
was cut in July, 1850; since that time, 400,000,000 feet have been sent 
to market, vessels loading in the bay for the Sandwich Islands, China, 
Australia, and Central America, as weU as for San Francisco. 

TRINIDAD BAT. 

Trinidad bay is an open roadstead, sheltered to some extent from 
the north by a point of land extending at an acute angle about a mile 
to the south. The town of Trinidad is located at the base of this point. 
It is in Klamath county, two hundred and thirty-nine miles north of 
San Francisco, in latitude 41^03'. It has better anchorage and deeper 
water than Crescent City, from which it is distant about forty miles. 
The principal trade of the place is in lumber of which the county pro- 
duces large quantities, most of it being shipped from this point. 

CEESCENT CITY HABBOE. 

This is an open roadstead, in Del Norte county, two hundred and 
eighty miles north of San Francisco, in latitude 41°30', near the 



88 THE NATURAL WE-\LTH OF CALIFORNTA. 

extreme northern boundary of the State. The harbor is formed by 
Point St. George, a bokl headland projecting nearly a mile to the 
west, on the south of which a plain about twenty miles in length, and 
from six to seven miles in width, forms the coast line. Crescent City, 
the county seat, is located on the south of this plain. A considerable 
trade is carried on with the mining districts in the mountains adjoin- 
ing, in both Oregon and California, this being the nearest place for 
obtaining supplies. 

The mountain regions, comprising about nine tenths of the county, 
also produce large quantities of redwood, pine, and fir, that make 
excellent timber, which is shipj^ed from this port in considerable 
quantities. There are good wharf accomodations for vessels to load, 
but the harbor being exj)osed to the fury of the southwesterly gales, 
it is not safe when the wind blows from that quarter. In 1862, a vio- 
lent gale destroyed nearly four hundred feet of the wharf, which was, 
at that time, thirteen hundred feet in length. It has been greatly 
extended and improved since. 

The anchorage is indifferent, and the water along the coast, south 
of the point, so shallow that vessels drawing twelve feet of water are 
not safe within half a mile of the shore, except at the wharves in front 
of Crescent City. 

rviPROVKMENTS TO BE MADE. 

The subject of improving the harbors along the coast bounding this 
State, and establishing places of refuge in which the large fleet of 
steamers and sailing vessels engaged in the coasting trade can find 
shelter in emergencies, appears to be attracting the attention of the 
Federal government. Several examinations have recently been made 
by ofl&cers especially detailed for this purpose. In view of the rapidly 
expanding foreign and domestic commerce of California, which is 
exceeded by that of few States in the Union at present, it would 
appear to be the duty of the government, independent of all political 
considerations, to have everything done that is necessary to afford secu- 
rity or facilities to the shipping engaged in this commerce. It is urged 
by those most interested in this matter, that lights are required at 
Point Reyes, at Santa Cruz, and at San Pedro, and that breakwaters be 
built on the north of Monterey bay, and at the mouth of the harbor of 
San Pedro. From the outline of the coast harbors given in the fore- 
going, the necessity for these improvements appears obvious. 



GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPIIY. 89 



ISLANDS ON THE COAST OF CALIFOENIA. 

The Farallones consist of two clusters, comprising seven islands, 
tlie nearest of wliicli is about twenty miles west from the Golden Gate. 
They are all utterly destitute of soil and vegetation, consisting of 
bare, rugged rocks, which are the resort of immense numbers of sea- 
lions, and of mp'iads of birds, the eggs of which at one time were 
a source of great profit to those who collected them. As many as 
25,000 dvOzen were collected in some seasons lasting from the middle 
of May until the middle of June, w^hich sold at from thirty to fifty cents 
per dozen. The southernmost of the group is the largest, containing 
about two acres, and is also the nearest to the coast. On this there is 
a first-class lighthouse, to warn the mariner of the dangers of the 
locality. 

No water fit for drinking, except such as was collected from rains 
and fogs, was obtainable on any of these islands until 1867, when some 
of the egg-gatherers discovered a spring on the main island, wdthin a 
half-mile of the lighthouse. The water from this spring, which is of a 
pale amber color, and pleasant to the taste, possesses important medi- 
cinal qualities : by analysis, it is found to contain chlorides of sodium, 
lime, and magnesia, with traces of sulphate of ammonium and free 
hydrochloric acid. 

There are no other islands on the coast of California north of Point 
Concej)cion. South of that headland, there are two groups, the most 
northerly consisting of the islands of San Miguel, on the west ; Santa 
Eosa, in the center; and Santa Cruz, on the east. They are nearly in 
a line, parallel with, and about twenty miles distant from the main- 
land, in Santa Barbara county, and form the southern boundary of the 
Santa Barbara channel. 

Santa Cruz, the largest of this group, is twenty-one miles in length, 
and four miles wide, and has a rugged surface. The Messrs. Barron, 
of San Francisco, who own this island, graze about thirty thousand 
sheep upon it. 

Santa Eosa is fifteen miles in length, and nearly ten miles wide. 
Its surface is tolerably level, and produces a thick crop of coarse grass 
and low bushes ; but its steep, rugged sides, which rise nearly two 
hundred feet almost perpendicularly, afford no good landing place. 
This island was once inhabited by a large tribe of Indians, who, until 
1840, furnished the currency for all the tribes along that section of the 
coast, and from the Tulare valley. This currency was called ponga, 



90 THE NATTJEAL WEALTH OF CALIFOEXIA. 

and -was made of the liard shell of a species of edible moUusca, Avhich 
abounds along the southern coast. These shells were rounded, had a 
hole made in the middle, and were strung on fibres of wild hemp. 
This was the only currency in the country until 1820. Santa Eosa is 
now inhabited by several Mexican families, who raise a considerable 
number of cattle, besides herding ten thousand sheep. 

San Miguel is nearly eight miles long, and from two to three miles 
wide. It is almost a barren rock ; but several thousand sheep man- 
age to subsist upon the limited pasturage growing on the island. About 
forty miles southeast from the above cluster of islandy, and off the 
coast opposite Los Angeles county, are the islands of San Nicolas and 
Santa Barbara, and still further in the same direction are Santa Cata- 
lina and San Clemente. These are not so close together, or as near 
the shore, as the others. 

San Nicolas, the most western, is nearly sixty miles from the main 
land. It is eight miles in length, by about four miles in width. It's 
surface is a flat ridge, nearly six hundred feet high, tapering down in 
rocky ledges to the sea. It is occupied as a sheep ranch; about eight 
thousand of these animals appear to thrive on the scant herbage it pro- 
duces. 

Santa Barbara lies about half-way, and nearly in line, between the 
main land and San Nicolas. It is nearly circular in outline, and about 
two miles in diameter at the base; its surface, on the top, containing 
about thirty acres. It is about five hundred feet high — steep and 
rocky on all sides, and is tenanted by swarms of sea-lions, gulls, and 
other aquatic birds. 

Santa Catalina, the largest island of this grouj), is about four hun- 
dred miles south from San Francisco, and twenty-five miles from San 
Pedro, its nearest point to the main land. It is nearly twenty-eight 
miles in length, about seven miles wide on its southern, and two 
miles on its northern end. Its surface is rough and uneven, some 
points being three thousand feet above the sea-level, but contains sev- 
eral small valleys which are under cultivation, fruit-trees and vege- 
tables thriving in these sheltered places, while quite large flocks of 
sheep find pasturage among the surrounding hills. There is a small 
stream of pure water running nearly through its entire length ; it also 
has a number of sj^rings of fresh water. The mountains contain several 
large veins of white quartz, in which there are numerous deposits of 
argentiferous galena and copper ores. Wild goats, hogs, and quail 
abound in the upper portion of the hills. It has two good harbors near 
its center — Catalina bay on the south, and Union bay on the north — 



GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGEAPHY. 91 

wliicli are separated by an istlimus about half a mile wide. It was 
taken possession of by the United States, for military purposes, in 
January, 1864, and a company of soldiers have been stationed there 
since. This island, when first discovered, was inhabited by a tribe of 
Indians, who carried on quite a trade with the natives of the mainland, 
by means of large canoes. Not a relic of the race remains. 

San Clemente, the most southern, lies about fifty miles from the 
main land, off San Diego county. It is twenty-two miles in lengtli, by 
about two miles in width, being but little more than a series of rocky 
peaks, some of which rise upwards of one thousand feet above the 
level of the sea. It contains neither soil, vegetation, nor water. It is 
occasionally visited by seal-hunters, who make considerable quantities 
of oil from some of the animals found there. 



CIIAPTErt III. 

THE COUNTIES OF CALIEOEXIA. 

Houthern, Uoast, Noiihem, Mountain and Valley Counties. Southern Counties : San Diego 
— San Bernardino — Los Angeles — Santa Barbara — San Luis Obispo — Kern. Coast Coun- 
ties: llonterey — Santa Cruz — Santa Clara — San Mateo — San Francisco — Alameda — 
Contra Costa — Marin — Sonoma — Napa — Lake — Mendocino. Northern Counties : Hum- 
boldt — Trinity — Klamath — Del Norte — Siskiyou — Shasta — Lassen. Slountain Counties : 
Plumas — Sien-a — Nevada — Placer — El Dorado —Amador — Alpine— Calaveras — Tuol- 
umne — Mariposa — ^Mono— Inyo. Valley Counties: Tehama — Butte — Colusa — Sutter — 
Yuba — Yolo — Solano — Sacramento — San Joaquin — Stanislaus — Merced — Fresno — Tu- 
lare. 

The great extent and peculiar topographical features of California 
cause some districts within its limits to differ so widely from others in 
soil, climate, and natural productions, that it is necessary to make a 
classification of the counties into which it is divided, in order to con- 
vey a clear idea of its resources and capabilities. 

The semi-tropical heat, scant vegetation, and broad arid plains of 
San Diego and San Bernardino counties, on the south, are as much in 
contrast Avith the cold, pine-covered mountain regions of Del Norto 
county, on the north, as the State of Maine is in contrast with Florida. 
The counties embracing the crests of the Sierra Nevada, which have a 
climate of almost polar severity, inhabited solely on account of their 
mineral wealth, cannot, with propriety, be classed with those among 
the foot hills, which are as important for their agricultural as for their 
mineral resources ; nor can these be classed with those in the Coast 
Ptange, or with those in the great central valley. 

This extraordinary diversity of climate and soil, the dividing lines 
of which are so difficult to define, enables California to produce in per- 
fection the grains, fruits, and vegetables peculiar to all countries — the 
olive, orange, pomegranate, cotton, and tobacco, flourishing in close 
proximity to the potato, wheat, flax, and rye — and insures the growth 
of the finest wools in districts where the vegetation is of a troj)ical 
character. 



COUNTIES OF CALIPOE^TA. 93 

The unavoidable difference in tlie form and dimensions of the 
fifty counties into which the State is divided, renders it impossible to 
make more than an approximate partition of its territory according to 
climate, or products, but as they are -well defined and generally recog- 
nized, they are adopted in preference to making arbitrary lines. 

SOTTTHEKN COUNTIES. 

San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Santa -Barbara, San Luis 
Obispo, and Kern counties, comj)rise what is generally considered 
Southern California. Although only six in number, these coimties, em- 
brace nearly one-third of the territory of the State. They contain 
above 50,000 square miles, or more than 30,000,000 acres of land, three 
fourths of which is adapted to agricultural or grazing purposes — much 
of it being the very garden of the State, producing the greatest variety 
of fruits, grain and vegetables. 

The proportions of this important division of California not being 
clearly apparent through the above figures, we make the following 
comparison between them and some of the Atlantic States, because, 
although figures never lie, they do not always tell the whole truth : 
Massachusetts contains 7,800 square miles; Connecticut, 4,674; Ehode 
Island, 1,306; Vermont, 10,212; New Hampshire, 9,280; New Jersey, 
8,320; Delaware, 2,120, and Maryland, 11,124; a total of 54, 836 square 
miles for eight Atlantic States. These six southern .counties of Cali- 
fornia contain nearly as much territory as all of those States, and a 
great deal more than either of the great States of New York, Pennsyl- 
vania, or Ohio. The present population of these counties does not 
exceed twenty-five thousand. 

COAST COUNTrES. 

Monterey, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Francisco, 
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Lake, and Mendocino 
counties, located along the Coast Piange, are classed under this head. 
They embrace only a small portion of the territory of the State, but 
contain the greater portion of its wealth and population, and are the 
chief centers of its trade, commerce, and manufactures. 

* NOETHEKN COUNTIES. 

Humboldt, Trinity, Elamath, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Shasta, and Las- 
sen counties, comprise Northern California. They embrace a territory 
extending fro*m the fortieth to the forty-second parallel of north lati- 
tude, and from the one hundred and twentieth to the one hundred and 
twenty-fifth degree of longitude, west. 



94 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNLi. 

MOUNTAIN COtTNTIES. 

Plumas, Sierra, Nevada, Placer, El Dorado, Araador, Alpine, Cala- 
veras, Tuolumne, Mariposa, Mono, and Inyo, embracing the main chain 
of the Sierra Nevada mountains, are considered the mountain coun- 
ties. They are comparatively small in size, and although containing 
nearly all the important gold and silver mines in the State, the whole 
territory of the ten principal mining counties is not as large as that of 
the pastoral county of San Bernardino. 

VAIiliEY COtJ>-TIES. 

Tehama, Butte, Colusa, Sutter, Tuba, Yolo, Solano, Sacramento, 
San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Fresno, and Tulare counties, located 
in the great central valleys, between the SieiTa Nevada and the coast 
ranges, are classed as valley counties. 



SOUTHERN COUNTIES. 
SAN DIEGO COL*NTY. 

San Diego county comprises the most southern portion of the State. 
It extends along the border separating it from the peninsula of Lower 
California, from the Pacific Ocean on the west, to the Colorado river, 
on the east — a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. From north to 
south the county is one hundred miles in length. It is bounded on 
the north by San Bernardino county, on the east by Arizona, on 
the west by the Pacific Ocean, and contains 8,500,000 acres, of which 
the Colorado desert covers about 2,500,000 acres, about 4,000,000 
of acres are mountains and caiions, and some 2,000,000 consist of level 
plains and valleys along the Coast Eange, or among the mountains, 
suitable for farming or grazing. 

Two unnamed branches of the Coast Eange, passing through the 
county from north to south, separate it into three divisions, which difier 
as much from each other in climate, soil, and topogi-aphical features, 
as if they were in different portions of the globe. The division border- 
ing the coast line forms a broad belt, nearly twenty-five miles wide, a very 
considerable portion of which consists of level plains or gently sloping 
valleys, which are watered by the San Bernardo, San Diego, San Luis 
Ptey, Margarita, Sweetwater, and other rivers, some of which are per- 
manent streams, others dry up during the summer. The greater por- 
tion of the land in this division is adapted for agricultural and grazing 
purposes. Most of it is unoccupied. 



COUNTIES OF CALITOENIA. 95 

The central, or mountain division, is very irregular in outline, and 
averages nearly forty miles in widtli. It contains extensive tracts of 
good farming land. The Santa Isabel district, about seventy miles 
easterly from the town of San Diego, embraces a number of broad 
v^alleys, or rather table lands, which lie between the two main ridges of 
the mountains, at an elevation of three thousand to four thousand feet 
above the level of the sea. The culminating peak of these ranges. 
Mount San Jacinto, is five thousand five hundred feet high. This dis- 
trict enjoys a delightful climate. The vine, orange, wheat, and barley, 
are among its products. It is the best agricultural district in the 
county. 

The mountains are covered vv-ith -forests of oak, cedar, pine and fir. 
Gold, silver, copper, and other minerals have been found in many 
places, in both ranges. 

To the east of this mountain division, lies the great Colorado desert, 
extending to the borders of the State on the south and east. This 
desert, though treeless and arid for many miles along its northern 
and western borders, consists of a rich, fertile soil on the south and 
east. It is evidently a delta formed by the confluence of the Gila and 
Colorado rivers, which once flowed over it, but have cut a new channel 
for themselves in another direction, although this desert is still 
below the level of the waters of the gulf into which they both flow. 
This curious fact induced Dr. O. M. Wozencraft to entertain the idea 
that he could reclaim the greater portion of this land by cutting a canal 
from the Colorado, to irrigate it. This subject was before Congress, 
in 1858 and 1859, and received favorable action, but the i)roject was 
never carried out, although it is entirely practicable, and will doubtless 
be accomplished some day. 

This desert, shut ofi" from the benefits of the sea breezes by the 
high peaks of the Coast Eange, which condense all the moisture from 
the air before it passes their limits, is the hottest place in the State. 
The thermometer at Fort Yuma, located at its south-east corner, some- 
times reaches 122^ Fahrenheit, in the shade, during the summer ; but 
this great heat does not affect the health of the inhabitants, or prevent 
them attending to their affairs. 

Great changes have taken place in the topography of this desert 
district, within the past thirty years, and others are still in progress. 
In 1840, it was partially submerged by the waters of the Colorado. 
The New river, through which a portion of these waters now finds its 
way to the sea, had no existence until that year. A number of large 
lagoons remained for several 3'ears after that inundation. The north- 



96 THE NATURAL WE-\XTH OF C.VLIFOENTA. 

ern portion of tliis desert is one of tlie most interesting districts in* the 
State, for observing many of the curious operations of Nature. About 
sixty miles from Warner's ranch, and a few miles southwest from Dos 
Palmas, a station on the La Paz road, there is a broad valley, bounded 
by ranges of hills of hard-baked, red clay, called the Chocolate and 
Coyote mountains ; and in this valley is the dry bed of a lake forty 
miles in circumference, which is nearly sixty feet below the level of tha 
sea. This great basin is separated from the dry beds of a number of 
creeks, which appear to have once been connected with it by a level 
plain, about five miles wide. Nearly in the center of this plain there 
is a lake of boiling mud, about half a mile in length by about five hun- 
dred yards in width. In this curious cauldron the thick, greyish mud 
is constantly in motion, hissing and bubbling, with jets of boiling 
water and clouds of sulphurous vapor and steam bursting through the 
tenacious mud, and rising high in the air with reports often heard a 
considerable distance. The whole district around this lake appears 
to be underlaid Avith this mud, as it trembles under foot, and subter- 
ranean noises are heard in all directions. Hot springs and sulphur 
deposits are numerous for many miles around this lake. In 1867, a 
largo spring of cool, pure water, commenced flowing from a fissure in 
a high bluff of rocks, a few hundred yards from the station at Dos 
Palmas, where there had been no water before. There had been no 
earthquake or unusual subterranean disturbance, to account for such a 
phenomenon, which is all the more strange from the fact that none of 
the wells sunk in any part of the desert, contain sweet water : it being 
always so impregnated with alkali as to be very unpleasant to the taste. 
The whole section around these springs and mud volcanoes, appears to 
be gradually rising. 

From Warner's ranch, a town located on the eastern side of the 
Coast Eange, near Warner's i^ass, on the Fort Yuma road, at the west- 
ern edge of this desert, for about thirty miles south to Vallacito, the 
country has a less desolate appearance. The coast mountains, covered 
with timber and chaparral, skirt the desert on its western side, and 
take from it the monotonous and dreary character which marks the 
broad, sandy plains beyond this point, where the country is indeed 
a desert, without a sign of animal or vegetable life, or a drop of water, 
for nearly sixty miles. This long stretch of hot, shifting, alkaline 
sand, was a terror to. -travelers until the Government, in 1850, caused 
several wells to be sunk at a place since kuoAvn as Sackett's wells, 
about forty miles from Yallecito, Avhich furnished a fair supply of 
water, such as it was, till June, 1SG7, when a terrible sand-storm 



COUXTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 97 

covered tlie wliole country in that vicinity with a bed of sand several 
iuclies deej), obliterating the wells and all the landmarks around them. 

The shifting sands on this portion of the desert, when disturbed by 
the tempests which frequently pass over them, are as dangerous to 
travelers as the fearful siroccos which sweep over the deserts of 
Arabia, and change the whole appearance of the country in a few 
hours, obliterating roads and landmarks intended for the guidance of 
the wayfarer. 

Near the boundary-line towards Arizona, after crossing the New 
river, the appearance of the country changes completely. Although 
stOl in the desert district, it is no longer a desert; but the vegetable 
and animal life are strange in form and habits. Instead of the shifting 
sand, there is a soil of greyish tint, nearly as hard and compact as 
brick, covered with a scant croj) of short, wiry grass, among which 
grow an infinite variety of cacti, of all shapes and sizes — from the 
slender "rat-tail" to great squat lumps as large as nail kegs, and 
about as handsome in form, all covered with spines and prickles, as if 
Nature had tried to make them as hateful as possible. The mesquite 
also grows luxuriantly in this section, giving it a forest-like appear- 
ance as compared with the sandy plains. The Indians from Arizona and 
Lower California, pay this portion of the desert a visit each fall, to 
collect a winter's supply of the nutritious beans of this tree. Here, too, 
may be seen swarms of paroquets, orioles, and other birds, of the most 
brilliant plumage, which aid in giving the whole scene a decidedly 
tropical character. 

The town of San Diego, located near the harbor of the same name, 
is the oldest settled place in the State. It was established in May, 
1769, by the missionaries, when they founded the first California 
mission — located about sis miles inland from the town. San Diego, 
the Spanish for St. James, the titular saint for this mission, gives 
his name to the county, town, and bay. It was called Cosoy by 
the aborigines, of whom many thousands lived on the coast plains 
when the missionaries arrived there. There are scarcely any there 
now. The town contains between 300 and 400 inhabitants, a large 
proportion of whom are Mexicans and native Californians, It is five 
hundred miles from San Francisco, and one hundred and twenty-five 
miles from Los Angeles. 

About a mile from the old town, and near the bay, is New San 
Diego, which has been built within a year or two, where the govern- 
ment storehouses and several substantial residences, and a new wharf, 
have been erected for the accommodation of trade. The California^ 
7 



98 THE NATUR.VL ^\'EALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

Oregon and Mexico Steamsliip Company are about to erect a wharf and 
vvarehouse, to conduct the increasing business of the port. 

There has been quite an increase in the number of settlers in the 
county, during the past year. Several of the old Mexican ranchos, 
which embraced miles of good land, have been purchased and subdi- 
vided among American farmers, ■who will soon make it produce some- 
thing more valuable than hides and tallow. 

The mission near the old town had the largest and most beautiful 
church, and buildings, on the coast. They covered several acres, and 
were surrounded by extensive gardens and orchards, which produced a 
great variety of fruits and flowers. The old church, now crumbling to 
rains, affords evidence of the architectural skill of its reverend build- 
ers. Its bells, which for nearly three quarters of a century summoned 
the Indian to labor and prayer, were taken from the belfry as recently 
as 18GG. The church property at present belongs to the Catholic 
bishop of the diocese. The old gardens are nearly all destroyed, only 
a few olive trees remaining to show where they had been. 

San Luis el Rey — or, more properly, San Luis Eey de Francia, in 
honor of Louis IX, of France, a warrior in the time of the crusades — is 
near the harbor of that name on the coast, about forty-six miles north 
from San Diego. It is located in a beautiful valley, about a mile wide, 
and twenty-four miles in length, through which passes a permanent 
stream of water, the San Luis river. The mission of San Luis Piey 
was located in this valley, at the head of which now stands the town 
of Pala. 

The orange, lemon, lime, citron, walnut, fig, olive, and other trop- 
ical fruits, grow to perfection in this valley, as well as wheat, barlej-, 
potatoes and corn, but it is only partially under cultivation. 

Temecula, about twenty miles north from Pala, is another town of 
some little importance. It contains about sixty Americans, two hun- 
dred Mexicans, and nearly six hundred Indians. It was proposed to 
establish a reservation at this place for the protection of the Indians, 
who are more numerous and better behaved hero than in any other por- 
tion of the State. They live on rancherias, cultivate considerable land, 
and own many cattle, sheep and horses. This town is located on the bank 
of the San Margarita river, on the southern edge of a series of plains 
extending nearly forty miles to the eastward, which comprise some of 
the finest grazing lands in the southern portion of the State, being 
. covered with wild oats, clover, and other nutritious grasses, furnish- 
ing pasturage for thousands of cattle, horses, and sheep. These 
plains aro watered by numerous lagoois, formed along the beds of 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOEXIA. 99 

tlie rivers wliicli Jo not flow to tlie sea, except during tlie winter. 
Mucli of this fine land is owned by Mexicans, in large tracts. Some 
of tliese people live in the same style they did before the country be- 
came a State. One of these native rancheros, living near Temecvila, 
who owns several leagues of these plains, and has nearly five thousand 
head of cattle grazing on them, never saves a drop of milk, or makes a 
pound of butter — these being luxuries in little use here. 

"Warner's ranch is another small town, about forty-five miles east- 
erly from Temecula. 

Fort Yuma, a military post in the extreme southeast corner of the 
State, has caused a number of settlers to locate in that vicinity, where 
there are placer gold mines of some importance, in what is known as 
the Picachto district. 

The principal products of the county are cattle, sheep, hides, wool 
and tallow. The great distance from the central market at San Fran- 
cisco, and the limited home demand, render it unprofitable to raise the 
cereals for exportation. Oranges, olives, almonds, raisins and figs, 
can be cultivated with success in this county. It has a fine climate, 
rich soil, and a good harbor, and contains gold, silver and copper 
mines; but its resources are quite undeveloped, for want of population. 

SAN BEKNAEDIXO COUNTY. 

This is the largest county in the State, containing more than 
10,000,000 acres, about three-fourths of which consist of dry, desert 
valleys, volcanic ranges, and inaccessible mountains, though not wholly 
without mineral wealth. About 3,000,000 acres are covered by the 
Coast Kange and other mountains, portions of which are valuable for 
mining, grazing, and lumbering. Much of the finest land in the county 
is covered by extensive Mexican grants, some of which embrace tracts 
of eleven square leagues. These large ranches have been great impedi- 
ments in the way of settling the southern counties; but within the past 
year, there has been every opportunity offered to actual settlers, to 
purchase in subdivisions. 

The county, which was not organized until 1854, (prior to this, it 
formed part of Los Angeles county,) takes its name from a mission 
founded by an early Spanish settler named Lugos, who once owned the 
whole of the San Bernardino valley, cultivating it chiefly by Indian 
labor. This mission stands about ten miles southeast of the old town 
of San Bernardino. 

The county is bounded on the north by Inyo county, and the State 
of Nevada ; on the east by the Colorado river ; on the south, by San 



100 THE XATIT.AL WEALTH OF CALITOEXLl. 

Diego county and on the west, by Kern and Los Angeles coun- 
ties. Tlie Sierra Nevada makes a short, easterly curvature on the 
northwest of this county, leaving a tract of wild desert and broken 
volcanic ranges on the north and east, nearly one hundred miles in 
length by one hundred miles in width, of which scarcely any portion is 
fit for human habitation ; but, being rich in gold and silver, numerous 
mining districts have, from time to time, been laid out and partially 
developed. These mining districts are in the north of this great wil- 
derness. The Slate Eange, Washington, Argus, Telescoj^e, Armagosa, 
Potosi, and several others, attracted some attention a few years since, 
but the country is such a miserable desert, without wood or water, 
that even gold, unless in large quantities, will not secure its permanent 
settlement. Nearly all of these districts have been abandoned, 
although some of them are known to be rich in the precious metals. 

The whole of this great range of country presents the appearance of 
having been broken and torn by subterranean fires, which melted the 
hard rocks into rough, jagged masses, after which they were submerged 
beneath the ocean for ages, until their extreme roughness was worn off 
by currents of water charged with sand and gravel, when they were 
again elevated above the waters, covered with salt lagoons, drift sands, 
and great beds of gravel and mud. 

The numerous beds of dry lakes and creeks found in all directions, 
mark where these upraised waters j^assed away. Here and there, the 
cones of extinct volcanoes, heaps of pumice, obsidian, and fragments 
of lava, boiling mud-holes, hot springs, and deposits of sulphur, show 
that the subterranean fires, which probably uplifted and depressed the 
country, have not entirely ceased their operations. 

There is, probably, no portion of the State less inviting to the 
traveler, than this northern section of San Bernardino countv. The 
vegetation is scant, and altogether different from that gi'owing in the 
south-west corner of the county. The yucca (yucca haccaia), the 
small-nut pine (jnnus edulis), and western juniper (juniper occidentalls), 
are all that approach in size to a tree, and these only gi-ow sparsely 
among the granite ranges along the Mohave, and at a few other places 
among the mountains. The }-ucca is the most abundant. This curious 
plant is a variety of palm; it grows from five to fifteen feet high, witli a 
stem from six inches to a foot in diameter, having from two to five 
branches ; its leaves, which resemble the blade of a bayonet, hang 
down the side of the stem, giving it a rugged, uncouth appearance. 
This tree forms a staple article of fuel over hundreds of miles of this 
country. 



COryTIES OF CALirOENIA. 101 

The sink of tlie Mobavc, or Soda lake, lies in tliis section of San 
Bernardino county. The Mohave river flows from Bear vallej^, running 
through canons, over and under the surface, for more than one hundred 
miles before it reaches the lake. This lake is about five miles wide, by 
about twenty miles in length. Although called a lake, it never con- 
tains any water, the whole stream of the river, during the rainy season, 
sinking beneath the alkaline soil as fast as it flov\^s in. In 1867, the 
waters of this river were lower than they had been knov\?n for many 
years, notwithstanding the rains were heavier than usual. A number 
of new openings in the earth have been discovered along its course, 
through which the waters passed, leaving many springs dry that 
were never known to fail before. This fact corroborates our remarks 
concerning the gradual rising of the Colorado desert, referred to in the 
topography of San Diego county. The entire surface of this Soda lake 
is covered with carbonate of soda, to such a depth as to give it the 
appearance of a snow drift. 

The great Death valley, in the north of this county, extends into 
Inyo in its northeastern corner. This frightful place, according to the 
surveys of Major AVilliamson, is from one hundred to two hundred and 
fifty feet below the level of the ocean, while, but seventy miles west of 
it are clustered a number of the highest peaks of the Sierra Nevada, 
many of which are from 12,000 to 15,000 feet in height. These facts 
will afford some idea of the wild confusion of mountains, canons, and 
depressions that mark the topography of this portion of the State. 

This valley, which owes its name to the melancholy fate of a large 
party of immigrants, who perished from thirst within its limits, in 1849, 
is one hundred miles long by twenty miles wide. For forty-five miles 
in length, and fifteen miles in width, along its center, it is a salt marsh, 
with a thin layer of soil covering an unknown depth of soft gray mud. 
The Amargoza river sinks into this marsh. The sides of the valley are 
steep and barren, a few mesquite, growing among the sands at its head, 
being all the vegetation to be seen. Its western bank is formed of 
gravel and hardened mud; on the east it is bounded by high moun- 
tains of slate and granite. There is no water fit to drink for many 
miles, and although there are numerous springs, they are all intensel}'' 
alkaline. The whole surface of the valley, except the marsh in the 
center, is covered with sand and gravel, and is scarred in all directions 
with deep grooves, Avhich appear to have been made by freshets, caused 
by hea-vy storms, or bursting of vrater spouts, that occasionally have 
done considerable mischief in the surrounding region Avithin the past 
year or two. The heat of this valley is fearful during the summer. 



102 THE NATUE^^X WE-\XTH OF C.\XIFORXU.. 

An exploring party, who visited it in January, 1865, the coolest sea- 
son of the year, found the temperature 90^ Fahrenheit. When there is 
no breeze through the long caiion the air becomes so dense that respi- 
ration is painful and difficult. During the spring terrible gales of 
wind blow through this caiion in opposite directions, filling tlie air with 
salt, gravel, and sand, in clouds as black as coal smoke. Altogether 
it is as dismal and dreary a place as can be imagined. The Telescope 
mining district is located on the Avest side of this valley. There is 
gold in the gravel thereabouts, but there is no water to work it, or to 
drink. 

The southwest corner of the county presents a much more inviting 
aspect. The finest portion of its agricultural lands is contained within 
this district. San Bernardino valley is located here. This beautiful 
valley is fifty miles in length by twenty miles in breadth, bounded 
on the east, north, and south by an amj)hitheatre of lofty mountains, 
covered with timber. From these mountains floAv innumerable 
streams of water, which cause the whole valley to appear like a vast 
garden by the willow, sycamore, and other trees, that grow along 
their banks. The Santa Ana, quite a large stream, passes through 
the entire length of this valley. As may be readily conceived, a region 
thus sheltered and watered must have a delightful climate. Two crops 
of grain are gathered regularly in this district. The alfalfa grass, 
which is a perennial here, is cut six or eight times each jeav. Most 
kinds of fruit and grain flourish here. There are many extensive vine- 
yards and orchards, the products of which would be of great value 
if they could be sent to market. The surrounding mountains contain 
abundance of pine, cedar, hemlock, maple, and other kinds of timber. 
There are only two grist mills and five saw mills in the entire county, 
and these are located in this district. The present town of San Ber- 
nardino, in this valley, on the banks of the Santa Ana, was laid out 
by the Mormons in 1847, on the same plan as Great Salt Lake City. 
The streets are at right angles, and each lot contains from one to five 
acres, so that every house is surrounded with a garden, orchard, and 
cornfield. The town consequently extends over a large space. Nearly 
all the Mormons abandoned the place in 185G, and went to Salt Lake, 
but a few still reside here, who carried on quite an extensive trade with 
Utah for several years. South of this valley, to the line of San Diego 
county, there are extensive plains and rolling hills, on which are many 
farms and ranchos in a high state of cultivation. A canal, or zanja, 
some ten miles in lengtli, constructed by the Lugos, years before the 
State was formed, supplies a portion of this district with water for irri- 



COUNTIES OF CALITOEXIA. 103 

gation. All kinds of grain, and many varieties of fruit, are raised in 
perfection. 

On tlie north side of tlie San Bernardino mountains, and about 
thirtj-fiye miles from tlie town, in a wide plateau, or broad valley, are 
Holcombe and Bear valleys, wliicli, from 1860 until 1862, attracted con- 
siderable attention. The gold mines, both placer and quartz, found 
here, yielded well for a time, after which ojDerations were suspended, 
though within the past few months arrangements have been made to 
re-open these mines. Important discoveries of placer gold, or auri- 
ferous gravel, have been made on Lytle creek, about ten miles west 
from San Bernardino, towards the Los Angeles county line, near the 
Cajon pass, which is thought to be a rich gold mining district. Near 
the Morango pass, about thirty miles southeast from Holcombe valley, 
there are large deposits of copper ore. On the Santa Ana river, near 
the county seat, there are large beds of marble and alabaster. The 
county jail is built of this marble, and all the lime used in the county 
is made from it. The Temescal tin mines, discovered in 1854, (the 
only body of the ores of this metal found in situ in the State), are 
located in the Temescal mountains, about forty miles southerly from 
San Bernardino. 

There is but one town, and few good roads in the county. The 
whole population does not exceed five thousand eight hundred. Quite 
an addition to the former number was made during the past year by 
settlers who have purchased lands, which are very cheap in this county. 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY. 

This, the most important of the southern counties, is bounded 
on the north by Kern; by Santa Barbara, and the Pacific Ocean, on 
the west; the Pacific Ocean, on the south ; and by San Bernardino on 
the east. In outline its boundaries are exceedingly irregular. It com- 
prises about 2, 000, 000 acres, nearly two-thirds of which are fit for cul- 
tivation or for grazing purposes. It contains about 11, 000 inhabitants. 
Los Angeles is more progressive than either of the other southern 
coimties. A number of ditches for irrigating purposes have been cut 
in various districts within the past year or two, which have caused large 
tracts of rich land to be brought under cultivation that otherwise were 
ODly fit for pasturage. 

The Sierra Madre mountains pass through the county in a north- 
west and southeast direction, from thirty to fifty miles from the sea, not 
only forming the divide of the waters, but separating the fertile 
plains and valleys sloping towards the ocean, from the sterile, hot and 



104 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFOEXIA. 

sandy desert, which stretches eastward towards the Colorado river. 
The Santa Susana mountains, a branch of the Coast Eange, also cross 
the count}', in a nearly east and west direction. Near Fort Tejon, in 
the northwestern portion of the county, at a point where the boundaries 
of Tulare, Kern, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara counties con- 
verge, the Santa Inez and San Eafael mountains, of the Coast Eange, 
after traversing Santa Barbara county, unite with the Sierra Nevada, 
and form a great cluster of peaks and deep canons. The line of con- 
tact between the Coast Eange and Sierra Nevada is traced for many 
miles, running east or southeast, being marked by immense beds of 
dark colored, compact lava, from two hundred to five hundred feet 
deep. 

The shore line of the county extends from Point Duma to Point San 
Mateo, about ninety miles, presenting a series of low bliifis and long 
sandy beaches. The bay of San Pedro forms the only good harbor 
there is in the county. On the shores of this bay are located the old 
and new towns of San Pedro and Wilmington, both of which are ship- 
ping ports of some importance. 

The principal rivers in the county are the Los Angeles, San Gabriel, 
and Santa Ana, which flow nearly all the year and connect with the 
ocean. There are a number of others which distribute water through 
the interior during the wet season, but rarely reach to the sea, and 
are generally dry during the summer. 

The section of the county on the southwest of the Coast Pange 
forms a series of plains and valleys which extend from Los Angeles 
plain to San Diego coimty, a distance of nearly fifty miles in length, 
by an average of nearly twenty miles in width, and comprise the most 
beautiful portion of the southern coast. The lower plain, containing 
the valleys of Los Angeles, San Pedro, and Anaheim, skirts the ocean, 
along Avhich its border is from five to forty feet above the level of high 
tide, fringed, in some places, by a narrow, sandy beach. From the sea 
lino it slopes gradually upward to the base of the foot hills, twenty-five 
to forty miles inland. The upper plain, or plateau, contains the San 
Fernando, San Bernardino, Cocomongo, Jurapa, and a number of other 
extensive valleys. 

The soil and climate of the lower plains are remarkably uniform. 
The soil is a light brown, sandy loam, rich in vegetable matter, sliglitly 
more clayey near the bottom of hollows, and more gravelly on the divid- 
ing ridges between such hollows, but exceedingly fertile everj-wdiere. 
The sea breeze, which springs up from the northwest between eight and 
ten o'clock a. m., during the summer, moderates the temperature and 



COUNTIES OF C-\LirOKNL\.. 105 

supplies sufficient moisture to prevent tlie lieat being very oppressive. 
In the rainy season, wliicii commences sometimes as early as Novem- 
ber, never later than January, these plains are covered with wild 
grasses, oats and clover, even to the roads, if they are not well traveled. 
At this season, a ride over them presents some of the most beautiful 
views of southern California scenery. On the one hand are the vine- 
yards, orange groves, and apple orchards, clothed in the variegated 
tints of autumn, and backed by browni mountain ranges, tipped on 
their crests with silvery snow, or fringed with dark pines, forming a 
serrated edge against the bright blue sky, while over the sloping plain 
all is green and brilliant as a bed of emeralds. On the other hand, the 
placid ocean, pale azure in tint, just rippled on its surface by a gentle 
breeze, dotted here and there with the wdiite sail of some coasting 
craft, and margined by the vividly green plain, forms a series of pic- 
tures that a Bierstadt might well delight to copy. 

The equable temperature and rich soil of this section of Los An- 
geles county, render it one of the most attractive portions of South- 
ern California. Here the grape, of all varieties, from all countries, 
thrives luxuriantly. The orange, lemon, fig, and other semi-tropical 
fruits, also grow to perfection, while the facilities for irrigation enable 
the farmer to raise heavy crops of wheat, barley, corn, and all the 
vegetables. 

The City of Los Angeles (formerly Pueblo de Los Angeles — City of 
the Angels) is situated in a narrow valley, about three fourths of a mile 
vfide, formed on the west by low hills which extend from the Santa 
Monica mountains, about forty miles distant, and by the rising land of 
the San Gabriel j)lain on the east, through which the Los Angeles river 
winds on its way to the sea, supplying plenty of water to innumerable 
ditches above the town, which are used for irrigating i)urposes. The 
city, one of the oldest in the State, is about twenty-two miles from the 
sea shore. The old Mexican portion of it extends up the valley for 
nearly a mile, forming the two princij^al streets. The old adobe houses, 
with flat roofs, covered with asphaltum, or hrea, and surrounded by 
broad verandahs, or high walls, are gradually being supplanted by 
stores and residences more suited to American ideas of domestic and 
commercial convenience. Many neat brick dwellings and commodious 
stores are to be seen in all directions. These, mingling among the old 
Mexican casas, together with the groves of orange, lemon, olive, lime, 
fig, pomegranate, peach, apple, and pear, with here and there a tower- 
ing, feathery palm, and solid cactus fence around a field of wheat or 
barley, form a strange, but pleasing picture, such as can be seen no- 



106 THE NATURAL "WEALTH OF C.VLIFOriXL\. 

wliere outside of California. Los Angeles city contains about six thou- 
sand inliabitants, more than one half of whom are Americans, who own 
about three-fourths of all the land in the county, and are rapidly devel- 
oping its resources. It is proposed to build a railroad from the city to 
Wilmington, and arrangements have been made to light Los Angeles 
with gas. 

In this county, the semi-tropical fruits are more extensively culti- 
vated than in any other. The following particulars relating to two of 
the largest orange gToves near Los Angeles, will convey an idea of the 
proportions and nature of this branch of fruit culture. Mr. "Wm. Wolf- 
skill, one of the oldest American settlers in the county, has a grove 
containing 2,000 trees, which have attained an average height of twenty 
feet. These are about sixteen years old, planted from seedlings, there 
being no grafted or inoculated trees in the orchard. Their annual pro- 
duct averages 1,500 oranges to each tree. They generally ripen in 
January, and remain on the tree in a perfect condition for nearly a 
year, if not sooner picked. Mr. D. B. Wilson has a grove of 1,650 
trees, eight years old, some of which bear as many as 4,000, but the 
entire number will average 1,500 oranges each. 

The tuna, or gigantic fruit-bearing cactus, grows here to a very 
large size, frequently attaining an altitude of fifteen feet, and twenty 
feet in diameter. This fruit, about the size of a Bartlett pear, grows 
on the margin of the leaf, from thirtj' to forty each, and is esteemed a 
great luxury. 

There were 0,000,000 grape vines growing in the vicinity of Los 
Angeles city, in 18G7. The vintage of that year, throughout the 
county, amounted to 1,500,000 gallons of wine and 100,000 gallons 
brandy, in addition to which a considerable quantity of the choicest 
grapes were shipped to San Francisco. 

Wilmington, the principal shipping-port of the county, is located 
on the southern side of the Los Angeles plain, on the northern extrem- 
ity of San Pedro bay, twenty-two miles from the city of Los Angeles. 
It was founded in 1858, under the name of New San Pedro, the present 
name having been adopted in 18C3. It now contains a large number of 
stores and dwellings, and about twelve hundred inhabitants. The 
water along the shore, being too shallow to admit ordinary sailing 
vessels to enter the estuary, steamers and lighters have been con- 
structed, which carry from forty to two liundi-ed tons to a very light 
draft. These are used for loading and unloading vessels at the an- 
chorage. They come up to the Avharf, and through a canal which 
passes into the central part of the town, where the military warehouses 



COUNTIES OF C.VLIFOENIA. 107 

are located — tliis being the lieadquarters for tlie " Soutliern District 
of tlie Pacific. " About a mile north of the landing, are Drum bar- 
racks, containing accommodations for ten companies of infantry, or 
cavalry. Wilmington, in addition to being the princijDal port for Los 
Angeles county, is also the shipping port for San Bernardino county, 
for the Clear Creek mining district, and a considerable jpart of the ter- 
ritory of Arizona. 

A large portion of the Los Angeles plain north of "Wilmington 
promises hereafter to be greatly benefited, for horticultural and vinicul- 
tural purposes, by means of a ditch and flume, upwards of twelve miles 
in length, bringing the water of the San Gabriel river to where it is 
required. 

Anaheim is the name of a village settled by a company of German 
v/ine-growers, on a dead-level plain, about twenty-four miles east of 
Wilmington. The location is twelve miles from the Santiago moun- 
tains, eight miles from the sea, and three miles from the Santa Ana 
river. 

The growth of this village, now one of the most important wine- 
districts in the county, is so illustrative of what may be accomplished 
by the well directed labors of poor men, that we give the particulars 
somewhat in detail, for general information. 

In 1857, the site where the village stands was a barren, dry, sandy 
plain, similar to that extending around it, for miles, at the present 
time. In the summer of that year, a company of Germans, acquainted 
with the culture of the grape in the ' ' f aderland, " purchased 1, 265 acres 
of the plain, at $2 per acre, to test its adaptation to the raising of the 
vine. This land was divided into fifty rectangular lots, of twenty 
acres each, wdth streets between them. A town site was laid out in 
the center, with sixty building lots — one for each shareholder, and ten 
for public purposes. The lots were all fenced with willows, sycamores 
and poplars, and about ten acres of each planted with vines. A ditch, 
seven miles in length was cut to bring water from the Santa Ana 
river. The land was cultivated for two years, at the expense of the 
company, by hired labor. At the end of that time the lots were dis- 
tributed to the shareholders. Those who were so fortunate as to obtain 
the best, were required to pay a certain sum to those whose lots were 
inferior in location, or any other quality. After all the expenses were 
paid, each share of twenty acres fenced, partly planted in vines two 
years old, with a town lot, 100 by 200 feet, cost $1, 400. Each of these 
shares is worth a small fortune to the owner, at the present time, and 
will be vv'orth a great deal more a few years hence. There are nearly 



lOS THE NATUE.YL TiVE.yLTH OF CVLIFOENIA. 

1,000,000 vines growing in this village, about 750,000 of which bear 
fruit. There are also 10,000 fruit-trees of various kinds, the whole 
place resembling a forest and flower-garden, divided into squares with 
fences of willow, poplar, and sycamore, which shelter the fruit fi-om 
every wind. Nearly every lot contains a comfortable homestead, and 
the inhabitants of the village number about four hundred. There is a 
good public school, several stores, and a post-office in the town, but 
neither a la-^yer, doctor, nor minister. There are hundreds of places 
in the southern counties where such villages might be founded, with 
equal or even greater advantages. 

The to^vn of San Juan Capistrano, from the old mission of that 
name located here, is in striking contrast to the flourishing village of 
Anaheim, from which it is distant about thirty miles on the main road, 
between Los Angeles and San Diego. The valley in which this to^wTi 
is situated, is about nine miles in length by something less than a mile 
wide. The San Juan, a never-failing stream, passing through its 
entire length, furnishes an abundant supply of water. The rich 
grasses, fine timber, and dense imderbrush, that cover the whole face 
of the valley, afford evidence of the richness of the soil, but it is almost 
wholly uncultivated. The population of the town numbers about six 
hundred, of whom four hundred are Mexicans and native Californians, 
and about two hundred Indians. There are not more than half a dozen 
Americans or Europeans in the place ; these are generally thrifty and 
prosperous. This is the most thoroughly Mexican town in the State, 
the houses being .built of adobe, Avith low fiat roofs, while the streets 
are laid out without much regard to regularity. The only apjiareut 
employment of the men is horse-racing, or practising with the reata. 
The women are rarely seen, except at the fandango or church. The 
children literally swarm in the streets, and are of all hues, except tliat 
of the lily; they wear little or no clothing. 

The San Gabriel township, which embraces upwards of 75,000 
acres of the table-lands between Los Angeles and San Bernardino, is 
extremely well adapted to the growth of the vine and scmi-twpical 
fruits. There are upwards of 800,000 vines under cultivation in tliis 
township, besides thousands of orange, lemon, olive, walnut, almond, 
and other fruit-trees, It is estimated that there were, at the close of 
1807, twenty-five thousand acres of iinoccupied land in this township, 
suitable for cultivation, and conveniently located for irrigation. 

There is another belt of country east of the above, about ton miles 
wide by about forty miles in length, extending into San Bernardino 
county, which is remarkably well adapted for the cultivation of the 



COU:^TIES OF CALUOKNIA. 1C9 

vine and semi-tropical fruits. It is warm, and sheltered from the cool 
sea-breeze * the soil is rich and deep, and could be conveniently irri- 
gated. In this district, about twenty-four miles east from tha city of 
Los Angeles, connected by good roads, is the valley of San Jose — a 
very fine agricultural district in the foot-hills, which extends to the 
plains in El Chino, and into the adjoining county about twenty miles. 
The Puente district forms a portion of this valley, the soil of which is 
a red loam on the hill sides, but a nearly black, sandy clay on the bot- 
tom. It is watered by the San Gabriel and San Jose rivers, and by 
numerous tributaries that have their source among the snow-covered 
peaks of the Sierra Nevada. This valley produces very fine wheat and 
barley, as well as grapes, apples, and peaches. 

A great many mulberry trees have been planted in this county during 
the past year, for the purpose of raising silk worms, which thrive in a 
climate in which the orange, lemon, and fig grow to perfection. Dr. 
De AYitt Franklin raised both the Japanese and Chinese silk worm 
during 1867, and there is little room to doubt the success of the silk 
culture here. 

Northerly from the city of Los Angeles about seventy miles, on the 
eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada, bordering on Kern county, there 
are a number of valleys and many broad, fertile caiions, equal in 
beauty to any portion of the State. The valley in which Fort Tejon 
is located is one of such. SJieltered from the hot winds of the desert 
by mountains four thousand to five thousand feet high, nothing can 
exceed it in picturesque and rural beauty. Huge old oaks cast their 
shadows upon the greensward, and miles of the rich foliage of the 
wild vine drape the banks of the stream of clear water that courses 
through the Canada de las Uvas. 

The first gold known to have been found in the State, was obtained, 
in 1833, in the valley of Santa Clara, on the western border of this 
county. Other gold mines of some importance have been discovered 
at various points in the Sierra Madre mountains, particularly on the 
eastern border of the county. Silver mines are in course of develop- 
ment in the Santa Susana mountains, about twenty miles north from 
San Fernando, and in the Soledad pass. Copper mines have been par- 
tially explored in the Soledad mountains and pass, about fifty miles 
north of Los Angeles. Near Anaheim, marble and coal are known to 
exist. 

About seven miles west of Los Angeles there are immense deposits 
of petroleum and asphaltum. Over a space of twenty acres, in this 
locality, petroleum, of the consistency and color of coal tar, issues 



110 THE NATTEAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

tlirougli a number of holes from tliree to eight inches in diameter, and 
forms pools of tar in w-liich the gas generated at the same time creates 
great bladders, that burst with a loud noise. It soon hardens, on 
exposure, when it forms asphaltum, or hrea, as it is called here, or 
maltha, as it is termed by men of science. There are a gi-eat many- 
other places in this county where these materials are found in abun- 
dance. In the Caiiada de la Brea, about twenty miles east from Los 
Angeles, the petroleum oozes from the hill side, and has formed im- 
mense deposits of asphaltum in the caiion. At several places around 
the estero of San Pedro, the same material flows through the banks 
near the sea beach. Considerable oil has been made from petroleum 
obtained in the San Fernando district. Asphaltum is shij)ped in large 
quantities to San Francisco from deposits near the coast, and experi- 
ments are being made to test its adaptability for fuel. 

There are good roads in nearly all parts of Los Angeles, which con- 
nect it with the adjoining counties. With railroad facilities, and a 
larger poi)ulation, its resources will be immensely increased. 

SANTA BAEBAEA COUNTY. 

Santa Barbara county embraces the angle of the coast at Point Con- 
cepcion, whence it trends nearly north forty miles, and easterly one 
hundred and twenty miles. It is the only county in the State having 
so large a coast line facing towards the south. This peculiarity in its 
topography exerts a great influence over the climate and productions 
of this county, and those south and east of it. North of Point Con- 
cepcion the coast, during the summer is swept by cold fog bearing 
winds from the northwest, and by violent rain storms from the south 
during the winter. South of that point there is scarcely any fog, and 
it is both drier and warmer than to the north. Snow rarely falls on 
the highest mountains — frost is almost unknown — and it seldom rains 
from May to November. 

The whole county, which is about one hundred and twenty miles in 
length, and about forty miles in average breadth, lies on the west of the 
main divide of the coast range. It contains about 1, 500, 000 acres, 
nearly one half of which are mountainous, and imlit for cultivation, 
but well adapted for cattle and sheep raising. 

The Santa Inez branch of the coast mountains is entirely in this 
county, traversing it from east to west, terminating at Point Concep- 
cion. The Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains divide it from 
Los Angeles county on the southeast. Between these ranges, and at 
their base along the coast> there are a number of exceedingly beauti- 



COUNTIES OF C.YLIFOENLl. Ill 

ful and fertile valleys, most of them being under cultivation -u'liere 
water can be obtained for irrigation, biit no ditclies or reservoirs liavo 
been made to obtain an additional supply of tliis element, altliougli suf- 
ficient to irrigate the entire county runs to waste. 

The Santa Inez river traverses the county from east to west upwards 
of one hundred miles, emptying into the Pacific Ocean at Jesus Maria, 
in this county. It has more the character of a creek than a river, for 
about ten miles from the sea. The San Buenaventura rises near the 
junction of the San Eafael and Santa Inez mountains, in the central 
part of the county, and flows nearly due south into the Santa Barbara 
channel, at the old Mission of San Buenaventura. The Santa Clara 
has its source in Los Angeles, but flows nearly west, across Santa Bar- 
bara county, entering the sea three miles southeast of San Buenaven- 
tura. The Cuyama, or Santa Maria, is quite a stream, having its source 
near the Caiiada de las Uvas in the Sierra Nevada. It forms the north- 
ern boundary line of the county for more than one hundred miles, 
extending a few miles north of Point Sal to near Fort Tejon. There are 
a great many tributaries to each of these streams, which contain water 
during the year. The main river sinks into the sand in several places 
near its mouth. Extending east from Point Concepcion a hundred 
miles along the sea shore, on the south side of the Santa Inez moun- 
tains, there is a belt of land about three miles wide, the climate of 
which is almost tropical and unsurpassed by that of any other portion 
of the State. 

There is but little timber in any part of the county, except oak, 
willow, and sycamore, which grow on the plains or in the valleys. 
The highest mountains being covered with grass or wild oats during 
the winter and spring, furnish nutritious pasturage for sheep and 
cattle during the entire year. In the western portion of the county, 
the mountains are much lower than they are on the east, where the 
Sierra Nevada and Coast Range unite. The culminating peak at the 
junction, Mount Pinos, is nearly seven thousand five hundred feet high. 
In this vicinity there are forests of pine and redwood. 

The Santa Inez valley, in which the old mission of that name is 
located, is very beautiful and fertile. The old mission buildings remain 
in good preservation, the bells still hanging in the belfry, calling the 
worshippers to service. This valley, like all the others on this part of 
the coast, has a series of terraces formed by successive elevations of 
the land within the present geological era. The lowest of these three 
terraces, in the Santa Inez valley, is about twenty-five feet above the 
level of the river; the second is forty-five feet, and the third is ninety-five 



112 THE NATUK-VL "W'E.yLTH OF CALIFOEXLV. 

feet above tlie present level of tlie river, wliicli evidently cut them all. 
To the west of tlie town of Santa Barbara, on the south side of tlie 
Santa Inez mountains, the coast line forms a terrace extending from 
Santa Barbara to the base of the Gaviota pass, eighty feet above the 
ocean. 

The town of Santa Barbara is situated on the shore of the bay, on 
a headland to the west of which there is a good lighthouse. It is 
nearly in the center of the county, on the southern coast line. The 
houses, which are nearly all built of adobe, and roofed with red tiles, 
in the old Mexican style, extend continuously from the shore, for 
about a mile inland. It contains about 1, 600 inhabitants, nearly 1, 200 
of whom are Mexicans and native Californians, the others being chiefly 
Americans and Europeans. There is one hotel and numerous stores. 
A good wharf has been built, but it is not far enough out from the 
shore for vessels to load or unload without boats. About a mile and 
a half from the shore, further up the valley, on an eminence which 
commands a fine view of the surrounding country and of a wide ex- 
panse of ocean, stands the old mission, from which the town and 
county derive their name. It is in a good state of preservation, ser- 
vice being still performed in it by the Catholic pastor. There is con- 
siderable land under cultivation in this fine valley, but little in other 
parts of the county. The orange, lemon, grape, olive, fig, and the 
cereals, are produced here. 

At the hacienda of Semar del Cannello, near Montecita, about 
three miles east of Santa Barbara, on the sea-coast, is the largest 
grape-vine in the State — probably the largest on the American conti- 
nent. This vine is of the old mission, or Los Angeles variety. It was 
planted about forty-three years ago, by Maria Marciliua Felix, a Mexi- 
can woman, who died there in 1865, at the age of 107. The vine meas- 
ures nearly twelve inches in diameter at four feet from the ground; at 
tsvo feet higher, the stem is divided, and its branches are supported 
by a rude trcllis-work, forming a splendid bower, which covers an area 
of 10, 000 square feet. It annually produces about 12, 000 pounds of 
grapes. The bunches are generally from fifteen to eighteen inches 
long, and weigh from six to seven pounds each. There is a smaller 
vine near by, being about ten years old, that produces annually 
from 000 to 1,200 bunches. No fertilizer is used about these vines, 
excepting that the cuttings are burned, and their ashes placed in tho 
soil over the roots. Irrigation is emploj-ed very sparingly, and only at 
the time when the ashes are used. No better proof of the adaptability 



COUNTIES OF a\LIFOKNL\. 113 

of tlie soil and climate of tliis part of tlie coast for tlie culture of the 
grape can be required. 

East of Santa Barbara, tliere is a level plain, averaging two miles 
■wide, and about fifteen miles in length, which is nearly all in a good 
state of cultivation. Some of the finest barley raised in the State is 
produced on this plain, and most kinds of fruit are also cultivated. 
Monticito and Carpenteria are both located on this plain. Siticoy and 
Santa Clara valleys have a frontage on the coast of sixteen miles, and 
extend inland about forty miles, gradually narrowing, and are culti- 
vated to some extent. These valleys and plains produce immense 
quantities of wild mustard, which grows to the size of small trees in 
some localities. Wild bees are also very numerous, yielding a great 
deal of honey and wax. These articles are among the staple exports of 
the county. A large number of mulberry trees have been planted 
within the past few years, for propagating the silk-worm, which is 
found to thrive well in this county. Its present agricultural products 
are of comparatively little importance, not more than 15, 000 acres of 
land being under cultivation. The entire county contains but one 
grist-mill, and that with only one set of stones, about two hundred 
tons of flour being annually imported from San Francisco. The chief 
products are cattle and sheep. It is one of the most important grazing 
counties in the State. As recently as 1864, thousands of cattle were 
slaughtered for their hides and tallow, but they have increased in 
value two hundred per cent, since then, owing to the increasing culti- 
vation of land in other counties. Large numbers of horses raised here 
are sent to Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, 
and Texas. Messrs. A. and T. B. Dibblee, and Col. "W. TV. Hollister, 
of San Francisco, graze 31, 500 sheep upon 120, 000 acres of land, near 
Point Concepcion. These sheep are chiefly Spanish merinos and their 
grades, bred with imported bucks. The wool clip from this flock, for 
1867, amounted to 106,000 pounds. Hollister & Cooper, on ranchos 
adjoining the above have 20,000 sheep of the same character of breed. 
There are numerous smaller flocks in other portions of the county, and 
on the islands off the coast, amounting in the aggregate to 185,000. 
The want of population is the only impediment to the development of 
its resources; but it is probable that this defect will be remedied to 
some extent during 1868, as roads have been laid out to connect with 
Kern and Inyo counties. 

The peculiarly mountainous character of the county renders it 
somewhat difficult and expensive to make good roads of any length. 
That which crosses the Santa Inez mountains, to Santa Barbara, is very 
8 



114 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF C.\XIFOr.NIA. 

romantic and sinuous. It %vinds up steep mountains by zig-zags, and 
crosses sandy creeks and marshy valleys, until it reaches the Gaviota 
pass — a natural chasm, about sixty feet wide, through a lofty chain 
of mountains, reaching within a mile of the sea. The sides of this 
pass are nearly perpendicular walls of solid rock, upwards of three 
hundred feet high. From this pass, the road winds at the base of 
these mountains, for nearly twenty miles along the sea beach. This is 
a delightful trip during the summer — the white-crested billows of the 
Pacific curling and seething about the horse's feet; and the cool sea- 
breeze, how refreshing — after leaving the hot and dusty roads over the 
mountains. But it is not quite so agreeable at night, during the 
winter, when the wind has lashed the waves into fury; it is then not a 
little dangerous to fail to make the trip between the tides. 

Three miles southeast of Cai"penteria, near Mount Hoar, the sea- 
shore is covered with a thick deposit of asjjhaltum, which oozes from 
the slaty bank in the form of thick tar, covering the beach and con- 
creting the sand and pebbles as hard as rock, running under the sea, in 
places where the surface has become hardened and smooth. There are 
similar deposits of this mineral along the sea-shore in this and Los 
Angeles county, from which about two thousand tons of asphaltum are 
annually collected and shij^ped to San Francisco. 

Oj^posite La Golita and Positas ranchos, in the roadstead of Santa 
Barbara, and extending coastwise as far as the "Eincon," the sea is 
covered with an iridescent film of oil, which finds its wav to the 
surface at numerous points, over an extent of at least twenty miles, 
escaping, probably, from the outcropping edges of the strata. 

There are numerous oil-springs, and petroleum deposits, in all of 
the southern counties. 

Sulphur and salt are also obtained along the coast in Santa Bar- 
bara county; and some gold and copper have been found in the valley 
of the Santa Inez. 

There are only three towns in the county: Santa Barbara, the 
county seat ; San Buenaventura, thirty miles east ; and Santa Inez, 
forty miles north-west. The population of the county is about G, 000, 
of whom 1, 700 are children under fifteen years of ago. Considerably 
more than one half of the adult population are Mexicans and native 
Californiaus. 

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUXTT. 

San Luis Obispo county is bounded on the north by Monterey, on 
the cast by Kern, on the south by Santa Barbara county, and on the 
west by the Pacific ocean. It contains about 1,500,000 acres, nearly 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOEXIA. 115 

1,000,000 acres of whicli are mountainous, less tlian 200,000 being fit 
for agricultural purposes, but nearly the entire county is adapted for 
grazing, to which most of it is applied. Only 12,000 acres of land were 
under cultivation in 1867. The population of the county does not 
exceed 3, 500, of whom nearly 1, 200 are children under fifteen years of 
age. Three-fourths of the entire number are Mexicans and native 
Californians. The greater portion of the land being held by virtue of 
Mexican grants, in large ranchos, which are mainly devoted to cattle 
and sheep raising, prevents the development of the resources of the 
county. There are only three small towms in it, with but indifferent 
roads to connect them. One good stage road, from Monterey, passes 
through the county to Santa Barbara. San Luis Obispo, the county 
seat, has a population of about one thousand ; San Miguel, distant 
forty-one miles, has one hundred and fifty inhabitants ; San Simeon, 
thirty-seven miles northwest, has two hundred inhabitants; all the rest 
of the population are scattered throughout the mountains and valleys. 

The valley of San Luis Obispo, on which the mission that gives 
name to the town and county is situated, extends in a nearly northwest 
and southeast direction from Estero bay to the Arroyo Grande, in the 
Santa Lucia mountains, a distance of nearly twenty miles, and is from 
three to five miles wide. The Caiiadas de los Osas and de las Piedras 
branch from this valley — the greater portion of which is good agricul- 
tural land. 

A range of mountains, which are nearly two thousand three hun- 
dred feet high on the north, but decrease to about one thousand feet 
where they unite with the Santa Lucia range, a little south of the 
Arroyo Grande, extends from the coast line and forms a wide, fvmnel- 
shaped reservoir for the sea breeze, which, passing through to the 
low hills further inland, materially influences the climate and vegeta- 
tion of this county. The San Luis Obispo creek, which flows through 
a greater portion of the valley, empties into the bay below the port of 
San Luis Obispo. The towTi is situated nine miles inland in a small 
valley, surrounded by low hills, between the Coast Eange and the sea. 

The Santa Margarita valley is a broad plateau on the northeastern 
side of the Santa Lucia mountains, about twenty miles northeast of 
San Luis Obispo. This extensive plateau is nearly twelve hundred feet 
above the sea, and much more thickly timbered than the lower valleys. 
Oak, pine, manzanita, and other trees peculiar to the California 
Alpine regions, grow here to perfection, showing that there is more 
moisture in the air than in the lower districts. A branch of the Salinas 
river passes through this valley. 



116 THE XATTE-iL "WEALTH OF CVLITOEXLY. 

The Salinas valley is another extensive agricultural district. Tlie 
main branch of the Salinas river, ■which has its source among the 
southeastern peaks of the Santa Lucia, flows through this valley for a 
distance of twenty -five to thirty miles, when it enters Monterey county. 
There is some good land along this great valley and in others which 
branch from it to the east and west. 

On the south side of the Santa Lucia range of mountains, the tem- 
perature is more than ten degrees warmer than it is on the north. 
The efi'ect of this difference is seen in the vegetation ; the grasses are 
green and fresh on the south side for more than a month after those on 
the north side are dried and withered. This is due to the form of the 
Ban Luis Obispo valley, already mentioned. 

The Paso Eobles, is the name of a very large rancho on the eastern 
slope of the Santa Lucia mountains, about twenty miles north of San 
Luis Obispo. This rancho embraces a fine level plain containing 
nearly ten square miles, thicldy studded with magnificent live oaks. 
Being quite free from underbrush, during the spring, when the grass 
is green, it has the appearance of a splendid park. Near the ranch 
house, or hotel, are the Paso Eobles springs. Those nearest the house 
are almost scalding hot ; about a mile to the north is one of icy 
coldness, but, like the hot ones, highly charged with sulphur. A short 
distance from these is a mud spring which has an aperture nearly two 
feet in diameter through which flows a stream of hot, thick, liquid, 
black, slimy mud, which is said to be efi'ective in the cure of rheuma- 
tism. Hot mineral sj^rings exist at several other localities in this 
county. There are a number of other valleys connected with the great 
A-alley of the Cuyama, extending along the southern border of the 
county. 

"With a larger population, and greater facilities for sending the pro- 
ducts of the land to a market, the importance of this county might be 
materially increased. Its present exports consist of hides and wool. 
Cattle, horses, hogs and sheep are its staple products, but grain, 
fruits, and vegetables, are raised in sufficient quantities for home con- 
sumption — transjDortation being too expensive to send any of them to 
market. 

In 1863, considerable excitement was created by the discovery of a 
deposit of cinnabar in the dividing ridge of the Santa Lucia mountains, 
about fifteen miles from San Simeon bay. Deposits of copper ore 
have been found in the Coast Eangc in several localities, and gold and 
silver have also been discovered in the moiuitains in the eastern portion 



COUXTIES OF C.U.IFORNIA. 117 

of the coimty. None of the mineral resources of the county have 
been developed. 

KEEN COUNTY. 

This county was organized in 1866. It comprises portions of the 
Sierra Nevada, the Coast Eange, the central valley between them, and 
of the desert- valley lying east of the Sierras, and contains nearly two 
thirds of the territory previously included in Tulare county. But for 
its somewhat inaccessible position — walled in by lofty mountains at all 
points, except the north — Kern would soon become one of the most im- 
portant of the interior counties. It contains valuable gold mines, both 
quartz and placer, large deposits of salt, sulphur, petroleum and other 
minerals; fine timber, good agricultural lauds, which are well watered 
by numerous streams that flow from the mountains, and a large extent 
of grazing country. It is bounded on the north by Tulare; east, by 
San Bernardino ; south, by Los Angeles ; and west, by San Luis 
Obispo. It comprises about 1, 500, 000 acres, nearly one half of which 
is adapted for agricultural and grazing purposes, although only fifteen 
thousand acres were under cultivation in the summer of 1867. "Want of 
roads, distance from market, a sparse population — 'there being less 
than 3, 500 in the entire county — causes farming to be less attended to 
than mining and sheep raising. 

From Fort Tejon, on the southern extremity of the county, to the 
Kern river, a distance of about forty miles along the western border, 
the county, for about ten miles from the Coast Eange, is covered with 
salt marshes, brine, and petroleum springy, which, in a locality more 
favored with roads, would be valuable. 

About ten miles from the mouth of the Caiiada de las Uvas, which 
heads near the fort, there are numerous salt springs, where considerable 
quantities of that mineral are manufactured. The j^etroleum and 
asphaltum deposits extend from the San Emidio canon, on the eastern 
corner of Santa Barbara county, nearly forty miles to the north, to 
Buena Vista lake, (so named by the Spaniards in 1806,) a sheet of 
alkaline water about seven miles long and two miles wide. The most 
extensive of these deposits, is about eighteen miles south-east of the 
lake. At this point, there is one spring of maltha, or tarry petroleum, 
nearly an acre in extent, in the center of which the viscid material is 
constantly agitated by the escape of gas from below. Around the 
edge of this pool, the maltha has hardened into stony asj^haltum, in 
which are the remains of various kinds of beasts, birds, and reptiles, 
whose feet had touched the sticky mass, from which they could not ex- 



118 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOEXL\. 

tiicate themselves. Works -were erected at this place, in 1SG4, to dis- 
til oil for the San Francisco market. The company made several 
thousand gallons of good oil, but it cost more to send it to market than 
oil could be jDrocured for from the Eastern States. This long belt of oU- 
springs lies parallel to those on the coast line in Santa Barbara county, 
from which they are separated by the coast ranges. 

Around the gi'eat plain which forms the center of this county, on all 
sides except the north, are ranges of exceedingly lofty mountains, from 
eight thousand to ten thousand feet high — the buttresses of the Sierra 
Nevada, and spurs of the Coast Range, projecting in some places nearly 
across the plain. There is only one pass over these mountains to the 
west — the Paso Robles, four thousand eight hundred feet high. On the 
south is the Tejon pass, five thousand two hundred and eighty -five feet 
above the sea level. The higher peaks of these mountains are covered 
with snow during the winter and spring. The subordinate ranges are 
well timbered with oak, pine and fir. 

The San Emidio caiion, about twenty miles west of the Canada de 
las Uvas, which heads between Mount Pinos and Mount El Dorado, two 
of the highest peaks in the southern division of the Coast Range, 
nearly 8,000 feet high, enters this plain on the south-west. Its waters 
pass through a gorge nearly 2,000 feet deep, cut in beds of sand and 
gravel, which form terraces several miles broad on the top, showing 
how much the land of this portion of the coast has been elevated 
within the present geological era. 

Nearly all of the western portion of the county is valueless, for agri- 
cultural purposes. On the south and east, the low hills, and many 
of the mountains, are covered with a luxuriant crop of grasses and 
shrubbery. 

Bounding the salt plain on the east, is a spur of the Sierra Nevada 
called the Te-hatch-ay-pah mountains, which is nearly 8,000 feet high. 
The pass over these mountains is upwards of 4,000 feet above the sea 
level. To the east of this spur, is a fine, fertile, well-timbered valley, 
of the same name, about eight miles in length by three miles in widtli, 
completely surrounded by mountains from 7,000 to 8,000 feet high. 
It contains a small lake of extremely salt water from which quantities 
of fine salt are manufactured by solar evaporation — one hundred tons 
having been thus obtained in 1807. The stage roail Ijctween Los An- 
geles and Owens' valley, Inyo county, passes through this beautiful 
place. To the north of this mountain spur, is Joe AValker's valley, 
named in honor of the first settler in the county, who arrived in 1835. 

This valley, like that just described, is surrounded by lofty moun- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 119 

tains. It contains about ten square miles of excellent land, wliicli 
yields from forty to sixty bushels of wheat, or from fifty to sixty bushels 
of corn, or sixty bushels of barley to the acre. All kinds of vegetables 
and hardy fruits grow luxuriantly. The hills are well timbered, and 
there is an abundant supply of pure water. There are quite a number 
of such valleys in various parts of the count}^ 

The valley of the south fork of the Kern river, about eight miles 
north of Havilah, the county seat, is one of the finest in the county, 
containing about forty square miles of exceedingly rich soil, well 
watered and timbered. Linn's valle}', a few miles to the south, is 
another beautiful place for a thrifty community. About forty families 
have settled in this valley within the past three years, who cultivate 
about two thousand acres. The climate of this valley is very agree- 
able — scarcely ever exceeding 90^ during the summer or 50° during the 
winter. A grist and saw mill were erected here during 1867. 

The hills and rivers along the entire eastern and northern portion 
of the county are rich in auriferous quartz and placer gold, which give 
emplojTnent to nearly all the population. 

Kern river, from which the county derives its name is a consid- 
erable stream that passes nearly across it from east to west, entering 
it near Walker's pass on the east, and emptying into Goose lake at 
the base of the Coast Kange on the west, receiving numerous tribu- 
taries, and watering an extensive agricultural district in its progress. 
This fine river was called the Kio Bravo by the Mexicans. Much of 
the land in this section of the county is well adapted for the cultivation 
of cotton, and numerous experiments have demonstrated this. Several 
fields containing from twenty to thirty acres each were planted here in 
1865, producing good crops, which were sold for full prices, for use at 
the Oakland Cotton Mills, but the cost of labor and transportation 
rendered it less profitable than other crops. 

Havilah, named from a place mentioned in Genesis, where the first 
allusion is made to a land of gold, is the chief town in the county, and 
contains about eight hundred inhabitants, nearly all of whom are Amer- 
icans — there being very few Mexicans and Europeans. 

There are numerous mining districts in the mountains and along 
the creeks, near which villages have been established, and there 
are good roads from place to place. Considerable quantities of both 
placer and quartz gold are obtained, this being the most important 
mining county in the southern portion of the State. It contains seven- 
teen quartz mills, and about twelve hundred of the inhabitants are 
engaged in mining. 



120 THE xatthal -wealth of califoexl\. 

Kernville is one of the most tliriving towns in tlie county. There 
are upwards of a dozen important quartz ledges within a mile or two 
of the place, on several of which extensive mills have been in opera- 
tion for two or three years — the quartz paying steadily and well. 

The valleys and flats are cultivated to an extent sufficient to supply 
the local demand, but there is only one grist mill in the county. A 
large number of cattle and sheep are raised, and considerable lum- 
ber is cut. There are five saw mills in the county, capable of cutting 
30, 000 feet per day. 

The resources of this county will not be developed until a railroad 
shall connect the southern counties with San Francisco, the great cen- 
tral market for the coast. 



COAST COUXTIES. 

MONTEREY COUNTY. 

Monterey county is the southernmost of the coast counties, accord- 
ing to the division of the State adopted in describing its topography. 
It is bounded on the south by the Pacific ocean, and San Luis Obispo 
county, on the east by Fresno and Merced counties, on the north by 
Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, on the west by the Pacific ocean. 
It averages nearly eighty miles in length, by about fifty miles in width, 
and contains about 2,500,000 acres. Seven hundred thousand acres 
are good agricultural land — less than fifty thousand of which were under 
cultivation in the summer of 1867. The greater portion of the county 
is devoted to cattle and sheep raising, much of the best land being still 
occupied by the original Mexican grantees or their assigns. 

The population, at the close of 18G7, is estimated at eight thousand 
five hundred, of whom nearly two thousand five hundred are children 
under fifteen years of age. There are a large number of Mexicans and 
native Californians in the county, but many large ranchos have been 
purchased by Americans dxrring the past few years and subdivided into 
farms. This has caused many of the natives and Mexicans to lose their 
occupation as herders and shepherds. 

The i)rominent features in the topography of this county, are the 
three branches of the coast mountains, which extend through it in a 
northwesterly direction, nearly parallel with each other and with the 
coast, dividing it into three belts of valleys and two of mountains. 
The Santa Lucia range extends along the coast line in an almost un- 
broken chain of lofty hills, from Mount San Francisquito, on the south 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 121 

of the bay of Monterey, to Estero bay, in San Luis Obispo county, a 
distance of nearly one liundred and fifty miles. On the east of this 
range lies the great Salinas valley, and its branches. The Gavilan 
mountains separate this valley from the valley of San Benito and its 
branches, which are bounded by the main range of the coast moun- 
tains, of which Pacheco peak, in the northern corner of the county, is 
two thousand eight hundred and forty-five feet high — the general 
average of the altitude of the three ranges being from one thousand 
five hundred to two thousand feet. As will readily be conceived, such 
a configuration of the land in a section of the coast where the heavy 
dews and fogs from the ocean prevail during the summer, has a very 
beneficial influence upon vegetation. Nearly the whole of the eastern 
slopes is well timbered. The only pinery on the southern coast is in 
this county. The greater portion of the best agricultural land lies in 
the long valleys and table lands between these mountains. Most of the 
soil in the uplands is sandy or gravelly, but produces large crops of 
the cereals or fruits, when irrigated. The mountains, in a wide dis- 
trict on the northwestern side of the county, are of granite formation, 
which is very unusual in the coast range. This has a material influence 
on the soil of that section. 

The Salinas river, after flowing through San Luis Obispo county, 
enters Monterey a few miles south of the old mission of San Miguel, 
nearly in the center of the southern border of the county, meanders 
through the Salinas valley for about ninety miles, and empties into the 
bay of Monterey, forming a navigable river for a short distance. 

The San Benito river rises among the mountains near the Panoche 
Grande, one of the culminating peaks of the Coast Eange, nearly in 
the center of the eastern border of the county, and flows for about 
sixty miles to the northwest, where it unites with the Pajaro, at the 
southern extremity of Santa Clara county. 

The Pajaro river separates this county from Santa Cruz, and Santa 
Clara counties, and flows about forty miles in, a westerly direction, 
until it enters Monterey bay. 

The Carmel is an inconsiderable stream, which drains the hilly 
country north and east of the northern termination of the Santa Lucia 
mountains, and empties into Carmel bay. These are all the rivers of 
any importance in the county. 

Among the most important of its valleys, are the Pajaro, which ex- 
tends from the shore of the bay of Monterey to the foot of the Gavilan 
mountains, about ten miles, ranging from six to eight miles in width, 
and divided nearly in the center by the Pajaro river. This valley con- 



122 THE NATUEAL 'U'EALTH OF CALIFOEXIA. 

tains about ninetj-six square miles, only one half of -u-liicli is in thbi 
county. This land is exceedingly fertile, and almost level. On either 
side of it, for several miles, there is a range of low, smoothly rounded 
hills, well watered by numerous creeks, and but little less fertile than 
the bottom-land, which produces fine crops of wild oats, bunch grass, 
and a variety of clover and native gi'asses, where not under cultivation. 
The grape, peach, apple, wheat, corn, barley, and all the hardy fruits, 
grain and vegetables, thrive remarkably w^ell in this soil. The black 
soil of the Pajaro has become famous for the wheat and potatoes it pro- 
duces. The fogs and dews from the ocean are almost equal to rain, on 
the crops in this valley. Nearly the whole of this section has been 
settled by American and Eurojiean farmers, and is in a high state of 
cultivation. Well tilled farms occupy the site of many an old cattle- 
ranclio, and, in place of the solitary old adobe casa, the valley is 
now dotted with cheerful rural villages, school-houses and churches. 
Surrounded by the three great branches of the Coast Eange; the foot- 
hills, covered with fleecy flocks and herds of cattle ; the lower ranges, 
thickly timbered with live oak, redwood, pine, and the beautiful ma- 
droiia; the culminating peaks, brown, bleak and bare — the whole forms 
a delightful scene of agricultural thrift and prosperity. This beautiful 
valley was wholly uncultivated prior to 1850. 

The Salinas plains extend south-east from the boundaries of the 
Pajaro valley. They cover an area of nearly 1, 500 square miles, and 
contain many thousand acres of excellent gi'azing land. At present, 
most of it is covered by Spanish or Mexican grants, in large bodies, 
and is used for sheep and cattle ranges. 

This county, in 18G0, contained more sheep than any other county 
in the United States — and 100,000 cattle. They arc not as numer- 
ous at present, but the breeds have been greatly improved, and the 
value more than doubled. The wool-clip for 18G7, exceeded 350,000 
pounds. There are few counties as well adapted for sheep-raising 
as Monterey county. The yearly increase of the flocks is from ninety 
to one hundred and ten per cent. No disease is known. The hills in 
the Coast Eange afl'ord pasturage, in seasons when the plains and val- 
leys suffer from drought. At the close of 1867 there were 300,000 
sheep in Monterey county, the most of which were of imported, or of 
improved breeds. 

The valley of San Juan lies to the east of the San Benito, a spur of 
the Gavilan mountains, twelve miles east of Watsonville. It contains 
about twenty-five square miles of good bottom land, with a largo tract 
of grass}' hills adjoining. On the southeast side, on au elevation of 



COU]N^TIES OF CALTFQENIA. 123 

about fifty feet, overlooking the whole valley, stands the old mission of 
San Juan Bautista. 

Carmel valley, on the extreme northwest, about three miles from 
the town of Monterey, and the San Antonio valley on the south, both 
sites of old missions, are famous for fruits. Figs, gTapes, peaches, 
olives, etc., are cultivated, as well as the cereals. 

The town of Monterey, the county seat, derives its name from 
Gaspar de Zunniga, Count de Monte Key, given by Yiscayno, the dis- 
coverer of the bay, in 1603. It is situated in a little nook of the moun- 
tains, on the southern shore of the bay, near its western extremity. 
Like all other Mexican towns, the streets are irregular, and most of 
the houses are built of adobes, OA^er which, in this place, the most 
charming flowers grow from the ground to the roof — almost every 
house being surrounded by a garden. The beautiful Monterey cypress, 
(cupressKS macrocarpus,) a favorite ornamental tree, is peculiar to this 
locality. It has not been found in any other part of the State, except 
where transplanted. On the eastern slope of the hills, the California 
laurel (orcodaphne Calif ornica) and the madrone, (arbutus menziesii,) are 
large and numerous. 

Pajaro, twenty miles north; Natividad, twenty-five miles northeast; 
San Juan, thirty-one miles northeasterly; Salinas, sixteen miles east; 
and San Antonio, seventy-five miles southeast ; are each considerable 
towns, containing from one hundred to nine hundred inhabitants. 
There are good roads connecting these towns with Monterey. "When 
the projected railroad between Watsonville, an important town in Santa 
Cruz county, situated on the Pajaro river, and San Jose, in Santa Clara 
county, shall be completed, and Monterey county is connected with San 
Francisco by iron bonds, much of the land now used for gi-azing will 
become too valuable for that purpose, and will be converted into grain 
fields, for which most of it is well adapted. Watsonville is about fifty 
miles from San Jose,, and one hundred miles from San Francisco. 

At present, Monterey county exports a large quantity of butter and 
cheese, grain, fruits and vegetables. Quite an important source of 
wealth to the county are the whale and other fisheries in the bay, and 
along the coast. Large quantities of pure white sand is shipped from 
the bay for the glass works at San Francisco, and for sprinkling the 
imitation stone buildings in that city. Monterey, also contains veins 
of gold and silver bearing quartz, of copper, lead and quicksilver 
ores, of asphaltum, marble, and of numerous minerals of commercial 
value, which will probably pay for development when transportation 
shall be more convenient, and labor less expensive than at present. 



124 THE NATUIl.iL WEALTH OF CALEFOEXIA. 

SANTA CEUZ COUNTY. 

Santa Cruz county is situated on tlie northern side of the bay of 
Monterey. It is one of the smallest counties in the State, but second in 
the importance of its manufactures, only to San Francisco. In outline, 
it is long and narrow, being about fifty miles in length, by from eight to 
thirteen miles wide. Its coast-line measures about fifty miles. The 
whole of the county lies between the summits of the Santa Cruz or 
Gavilan mountains and the sea. It is one of the most mountainous of 
the coast counties. Within an area of about 500 square miles, or 
320, 000 acres, it contains 40, 000 acres of the richest bottom lands along 
the valleys of the various streams that pass through it, and 50, 000 acres 
of fine agricultural land, which form the terraced j)lateaus, caused by 
the repeated uprisings of the land. These plateaus extend along the 
coast, the entire length of the county, and reach inland to the limits of 
the timber. This raised land varies in fertility, but is generally pro- 
ductive. The greater portion of the county — 230, 000 acres — consists of 
mountain ranges, much of which is adapted to grazing, and a large 
proportion is densely timbered with magnificent forests of redwood, 
oak, and pine. 

This county is bounded on the north by San Mateo county ; on the 
south, by the bay and county of Monterey; on the east, by Santa Clara 
county; and on the west, by the Pacific ocean. Its population, nearly 
all of whom are Americans, chiefly from the New England States, 
numbers about 11,000. In 1860, there were less than 5,000. Most of 
the best land in the county was originally covered by Spanish and 
Mexican grants, but these have been purchased by men of means, and 
subdivided into farms, which is the main cause of the raj)id develop- 
ment of its resources. 

The county is watered by several never-failing sti-eams, which inm 
from the mountains to the ocean. They are all short, with consider- 
able fall, creating power sufficient for an almost unlimited number of 
water-wheels, to drive machinery. The chief of these rivers are the 
San Lorenzo, which passes through the county nearly in its center and 
empties into the bay of Monterey, near the town of Santa Cruz ; the 
Soquel, which enters the bay three miles further south ; the Aptos ; 
the Sulsipuedes; and, still further south, the Pajaro, (bird,) passing 
between this and Monterey counties; and the Pescadero. The climate 
of this county is remarkably varied — places but a few miles apart dif- 
fer-as much in temperature and productions, as does the north from 
the south of France. A\'hero sheltered from the sea-breeze, the rose 



COUNTIES OF C-lLIFOnXLV. 125 

and many otlier flowers are perpetually in bloom. All the grain and 
fruits wliicli grow in other parts of the State, except the orange, olive, 
fig, etc., flourish here. The vine, however, does not thrive at points 
below an elevation of seven hundred feet above the sea. 

The towoi of Santa Cruz, the county seat, is situated on the north 
side of Monterey bay, in a pleasant little nook or bend, formed by a 
spur of the coast range which projects about two miles into the bay. 
It is surrounded with high mountains on all sides except the south- 
east ; on this side it is open to the bay, along which there is a stretch 
of beautiful, pearly white sea-beach. The view from the upper por- 
tion of the town, looking south, is magnificent : the waters of the capa- 
cious bay, nearly thirty miles wide, are pale blue where deepest, and 
shade into snowy whiteness as they approach the smooth sand. The 
town of Monterey, nestled in a similar nook on the opposite shore, 
looks like a huge flower-garden, the green foliage contrasting finely 
with the grey granite of the hills that enclose it, while the brown 
mountains, crested with a dark forest-ridge, form a bold, beautiful 
border. To the right is the wide expanse of the Pacific ocean stretch- 
ing to the limits of the horizon, its surface smooth and bright as a 
mirror, or ruffled into billows by the winds — still grand, under either 
asf)ect. 

The town is built on lands formerly owned by the old mission of 
Santa Cruz, (Holy Cross, ) founded in 1791, which gives name to the 
county. Near the ruins of this old building, a handsome Catholic 
church has been erected. It is Mexican in origin, but has been re- 
constructed by its American possessors. Only a few of the old adobe 
buildings remain, and, until quite recently, a double row of beautiful 
willows, which once formed the fence of the old mission garden, was 
growing in the center of the main street, but the march of improve- 
ment, and the exi)ansion of the town, have caused the destruction of 
nearly all of them. There are good wharf accommodations, but the 
harbor is exposed to all winds except the north, which renders it dan- 
gerous for vessels during the winter; it is, however, the best harbor in 
the county. 

The site of the town furnishes a notable illustration of the several 
elevations to which this portion of the coast has been subjected, during 
a comparatively recent period. It consists of three benches, which 
are from a mile to two miles wide, and extend through the valley. 
The first is thirty feet above the level of high water, the second is 
thirty-four feet higher, and the third is one hundred and ninety-nine 
feet still higher, showing a total rise of two hundred and sixty-three 



126 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

feet. The business portion of tlie town, and most of the gardens and 
orchards, are on the lowest of these terraces. The old mission, and the 
tanneries, which form an important interest here, are located on the 
middle bench. The lime-kilns and several dwellings are on the upper 
one, from which a railroad to connect with the wharf from this point, is 
projected. The entire bones of a whale were found, about two years 
since, on the upper level, near the banks of the Soquel. 

Opposite Santa Cruz, on the southern side of the San Lorenzo 
river, are the ruins of the old Mexican pueblo of Branciforte, which 
was originated as a substitute for the pueblo of San Francisco. Dur- 
ing the past year, nearly one hundred new buildings, chiefly private 
residences, have been erected in the town, and gas-works have also 
been constructed. 

The San Lorenzo valley, in which this town is located, is about 
twenty miles in length, running north-west and south-east, in several 
places narrowing to a mere cliannel for the river, between high hills ; 
at others, opening into wide plateaus, which are very valuable for 
agricultural purposes. In this county, the chain of mountains which 
divides it from Santa Clara is called the Santa Cruz mountains, while 
that extending to the westward, and forming the blunt peninsula that 
projects on the south into the bay of Monterey, and on the north into 
Half-Moon bay, is called the Coast mountains. The head of this val- 
ley is only seven miles from the beautiful Santa Clara valley, but the 
whole of this distance is very mountainous and densely timbered with 
redwood. Shielded from the unpleasant winds which occasionally 
blow from the ocean, with a soil almost to the top of the mountains of 
exceeding richness, and a stream of pure water running through its 
entire length, capable of turning a large number of mill-wheels, it is 
not wonderful that it has become the seat of a busy agricultural and 
manufacturing population. 

Pescadero is a flourishing town, about thirty-five miles north-west 
from Santa Cruz, and only fifty miles from San Francisco. It is located 
on both sides of Pescadero creek, near its confluence with the Butano, 
about a mile from the sea-beach. The New San Francisco Water 
Company will take their supply from the head of the former creek. 
The valley in which this charming place is situated, contains about 
4,500 acres of extremely fertile land, surrounded by high hills on all 
sides except the west, to which it opens to tlie broad expanse of the 
Pacific ocean. An idea of the quality of the soil in this valley may bo 
formed when it is stated that a large crop of potatoes has been raised 
on some portions of it, for twelve consecutive years, without manuring. 



COUXTIES OF C-U.IT'OENIA. 127 

The famous pebble beacli is near this town, where agates, opals, 
jaspers, carnelians, and other silicious stones, of almost eveiy conceiv- 
able variety of color, are found in great abundance, polished with a fine 
lustre bv the smooth sea sand, and the ceaseless motion of the surf. 
These pebbles are of all sizes, the most beautiful ranging from the size 
of a pea to a marble, and are of every imaginable shape. Some are as 
transparent as glass, others only partially so, but marked with variegated 
bands of red, white, green, and blue. The most abundant are of the 
various tints of red peculiar to carnelians ; occasionally opals are 
found, as round and nearly as lustrous as pearls — some few are black as 
jet, others clear amber colored, or pink, like amethysts. Some stones 
of commercial value are found here ; probably as many as twenty tons 
are collected annually for ornamenting walks, and many are cut, and 
set in jewelry. The source from whence they are derived is a stratum 
of coarse, friable sandstone, which skirts the coast for about two miles 
along the beach. It is only in this vicinity that they are found. 
Innumerable pebbles are imbedded in this sandstone, in as highly pol- 
ished a condition as those found on the beach, having doubtless been 
washed on a similar beach for ages before the present one was formed 
by the uplifting of the land. 

Pescadero contains one of the most enterprising communities in 
this progressive county. Its residents have built handsome churches, 
school houses, public buildings, hotels, bridges, wharves and private 
residences, equal to any town in the State of the same size. The 
lower hills around the valley afford excellent grazing for large herds 
of cows, from the milk of which this little town annually makes and 
exports to San Francisco one hundred and seventy-five thousand 
pounds of cheese, and fiity thousand pounds of butter, both of good 
quality. The immense ' ' Sanitary cheese, " weighing four thousand 
pounds, five feet six inches in diameter, and twenty-two inches thick, 
made for the benefit of the "Sanitary Fund," in 1863, which real- 
ized several thousand dollars by its exhibition and sale, was made in 
this little valley. The exports of oak bark, collected from the forests 
in the higher ranges, furnish another important source of revenue to 
the place. The lumber business, fairly commenced only a year or two 
since, has expanded into large proportions, the mountains and canons 
being covered with forests of redwood and pine. Pescadero is a favor- 
ite resort of pleasure seekers from San Francisco, from which it is only 
six hours drive over good roads. The scenery and climate in the vicin- 
ity are among the finest on the coast. Barley and potatoes are the 
principal crops raised — from sixty to eighty bushels of the former, and 



128 THE XATL'K-\X "SVE^VLTH OF CALEFOEXLA.. 

two liunclrecl and fifty 100-ib sacks of the latter to the acre bemg not an 
unusual yield. 

For several miles south of Pescadero the coast line presents a bold 
outline of cliffs, formed of sand, gravel and clay, nearly two hundred 
feet high, the remains of the old terraces so often referred to, worn by 
the beating of the waves into little coves and gulches, fringed in many 
places with a luxuriant groAvth of shrubs and flowers. There are also 
several valleys in this vicinity, in which villages have been located, saw 
mills erected, and the soil cultivated to a considerable extent. 

Five miles south from Pescadero is Pigeon Point, so named from 
having been the scene of the disastrous wreck of the ship Carrier 
Pirjeon, several years since. This is both a whaling station and a 
flourishing agricultural district, but labors under great disadvantages for 
lack of a landing place — this part of the coast being very dangerous, 
and almost inaccessible. Yankee ingenuity, however, surmounts these 
difiiculties, and the place thrives. During 1867 it exported 6, 200 sacks 
of oats; 3,000 sacks of potatoes; 120,000 pounds of butter; 10,500 of 
cheese; 12,500,000 shingles and nine hundred barrels of whale oil; 
besides large quantities of other produce — the whole of which was 
shipped in the following manner : The surf breaking nearly six hundred 
feet from the line of cliffs which skirts the shore, no boats can land, 
or wharf be built ; a hawser is therefore made fast to the rocks 
beyond the breakers, and to stout posts in the cliff above, at an angle 
of about thirty degrees. On this hawser are large blocks and tackles, 
to which the articles for shipment are attached and lowered into boats 
ready to receive them. These boats convey them to the vessels, which 
are compelled to anchor nearly a mile off the shore. Of course, this 
work cannot be carried on except in fair weather. 

Franklin Point, three miles south of Pigeon Point, is another dan- 
gerous projection from the coast line. This place is named from the 
wreck of the Sir John Franklin. The Cora, from Australia, was also 
wrecked here in 1866. The graves of the crews, and some of the pas- 
sengers of both vessels, are near the beach. 

Four miles south from Point Franklin, is New Tears Point, where 
there is a break in the coast line, and a small indentation afibrds a har- 
bor for quite a fleet of vessels engaged in the lumber trade. Hero, a 
wharf, seven hundred feet in length, has been constructed on piles, suf- 
ficiently high to be above the surf, which occasionally breaks Avith 
great fury. UpAvards of two million feet of lumber are annually 
shipped from this Avharf. WaddelFs mills, an extensive lumbering 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNU. J. 29 

e^staWisliment, five miles distant, among the redwoods, are connected 
with tliis wharf bv a raih-oad. 

WatsonyiUe, one of the most thrifty towns in this county, is sit- 
uated on the north bank of the Pajaro river, where the road to Monte- 
rey crosses it. It is five miles from the bay of Monterey, and about 
twenty miles southeast from Santa Cruz. It was founded in 1853, by 
J. H. Watson. At present it contains a number of hotels, largo stores 
and factories, several churches and school houses, numerous brick and 
frame private dwellings, and is the center of considerable trade, hav- 
ing a good shipping port about three miles distant, on the Salinas river, 
at Elkhorn slough, the Estero de Vallejo of the old Californians. This 
slough, which is about two hundred and fifty feet wide, has such a cir- 
cuitous course to the bay that it is nearly ten miles in length, while 
the distance in a straight line is only four miles. 

The climate of this place difi'ers materially from that of Santa Cruz, 
being located at the mouth of Pajaro gap, in the Gavilan mountains, 
which causes it to be frequently shrouded in a dense fog, when Santa 
Cruz is enjoying the clearest sunshine. 

Corallitas, about six miles north from "Watsonville, is the center of 
another important section of the county. The town of the district, 
which contains nearly one thousand five hundred inhabitants, is situated 
in a small valley, through which the Corallitas creek flows on its way to 
the Pajaro. This stream rises to the north between the Loma Prieto, 
(black mountain, ) three thousand feet high, and Mount Bache, three 
thousand seven hundred and eighty feet high, (the two highest peaks in 
this section of the Coast Piange,) and after meandering in a very scq^en- 
tine course for about twelve miles through a country densely timbered 
with redwood and oak, unites with the Pajaro about a mile north of the 
town of Watsonville. There are a great number of saw mills and sev- 
eral flouring mills on this creek, which afibrds the only water power in 
the southern portion of the county. Nearly one hundred thousand 
acres of land in this district were sold during 1867, in parcels of forty 
to two hundred and fifty acres, for farming purposes, at jirices ranging 
from three to thirty dollars per acre. 

Soquel is another growing locality. The town of this district is sit- 
uated on the west side of the Soquel creek, about a mile from the bay 
of Monterey, and three miles easterly from Santa Cruz. This place' 
was settled in 1845, by John Hames and John Daubinbiss,, who reside 
here still. This creek also rises among the Black mountains, but at 
some distance from the Corallitas, and after winding among the thick 
9 



130 THE NATUE.YL WE.VLTH OF C.VLITORNLS.. 

timber for eigliteon miles, enters tlie bay about three miles east of 
Santa Cruz, where a good wharf has been erected. 

Castroville is another town which has been formed within a year or 
two, on the rancho of Kafael Castro, at the mouth of Aptos creek, about 
two miles east of Soqtiel landing, where a wharf five hundred feet in 
length has been built, from which a large quantity of grain, potatoes, 
and lumber is shipped to San Francisco. In October, 18G7, there 
were four thousand cords of wood at this wharf awaiting shipment. 

There are few scenes more strikingly Californian or more naturally 
beautiful than may be met with during a ramble through the redwoods 
of Santa Cruz. The peculiar and delicate cinnamon tint of the bark of 
these superb trees, which not unfrequently measure fifteen feet in diam- 
eter, towering from two hundred to three hundred feet in height, and 
sometimes straight and free from bra,nches more than half of that dis- 
tance, the dark green foliage, resting above as a huge canopy, imper- 
vious to the sun's rays, keeps the soil cool and moist, and forms a sort 
of hot-house for numerous varieties of delicate flowers, while in the 
less sheltered caiions, the magnificent madrona, the laurel, manzinita, 
sycamore, buckeye and birch, and the numberless varieties of under- 
brush, all varying in tint and form, comprise a picture of rare beauty. 
For its luxuriant vegetation and sturdy growth of timber, as well as its 
genial climate, Santa Cruz is indebted to its position, which fully 
exposes it to the moist and tempering breezes of the ocean. 

About ten miles northeast from the town of Santa Cruz there are 
forty-five cylinders of sandstone, which were at one time supposed to 
be the ruins of an old building. These curious pillars are from forty 
to fifty feet in length, and from one to three feet in diameter, and hol- 
low through their entire length. They rest, at their base, on a stratum 
of sandstone, but pass through a bed of loose sand. They have been 
formed by mineral springs containing lime and iron in solution, which, 
in their passage to the surface, deposited these minerals in the sand, 
concreting it into these cylinders. When the land was uplifted, and 
the source of the springs dried up, the sand, being exposed to the wind, 
was removed, leaving the pillars standing, until some of them fell 
from want of support. They form an interesting object in the topo- 
graphy of the county. 

Among the valuable natural products of this county may be men- 
tioned the chestnut oak, (querciis dcnsljlora,) which grows abundantly in 
the mountain ranges. The bark of this tree contains more tannic acid 
than any other that grows on the American continent. It is this pecu- 
liarity that causes the California leather to be so much tougher than 



COUNTIES OF C.yLIFOKJvTA^ 131 

most other kinds. There are at present seven tanneries in Santa Cruz, 
which consume monthly about three hundred tons of this bark, in making 
55,000 sides of sole, upper and harness leather annually, valued at 
$225, 000, about sixty per cent, of which is sole leather. The best por- 
tion of the trees, after the bark has been removed, is converted into 
staves for flour and lime barrels, of which a large number are made 
annually; the balance of the tree is cut into fire-wood, of which sev- 
eral thousand cords are annually sent to San Francisco. The pecu- 
liarly rich soil of the lower hills produces a great quantity of hazel 
bushes, from which nearly all the hoops used by the powder-works 
and lime-burners are made. The powder company use 1, 700, 000, and 
the lime-works over 300,000, of these hoops annually, and large 
quantities are also exported to other 23laces, without any apparent 
decrease in the supply of the material. These hoop poles sell at 
from $5 to $10 per thousand when split, and give employment to a 
large number of laborers. This adaptation of materials to appropriate 
purposes is illustrative of the spirit of the people who inhabit this 
county. There are many other sections of the State quite as rich in 
natural resources, and as conveniently located with reference to mar- 
kets as Santa Cruz, but they are not inhabited by so enterprising a 
population. 

The number of fish swarming in Monterey bay, is almost incred- 
ible. There is scarcely any description known on the coast, from the 
whale to the sardine, but is caught here. In 1863, an immense shoal 
of herrings, from some unknowoi cause, was stranded along the beach, 
on the Santa Cruz side of the bay. They extended for nearly three 
miles, and were spread to the depth of from six inches to nearly two 
feet over the entire beach. A whaling station does a profitable busi- 
ness here ; occasionally a leviathan enters the bay, when the peculiarly 
transparent water allows him to be seen for miles floundering and bat- 
tling with the swarms of parasites that feast on his blubber, imtil he is 
captured by the whalers. The sardines in this bay are more numerous 
and of better quality than are caught in many portions of the Mediter- 
ranean, of which thousands of dollars' worth are annually imported 
into the United States. 

Copper ore exists in the Chelone and San Benito districts, near the 
center of the county. 

Oil from petroleum has been made, to some extent, on the Seyente 
rancho, a few miles above the town of Santa Cruz, on the San Lorenzo 
river. There are several other localities in the county where petroleum 
is abundant. 



132 THE NATUR.iL TTEALTH OF CALIFOnXLV. 

Coal has been discovered about seven miles from Watsonville, on 
the Santa Cruz road, near the Seven Mile house, and at Lewis' valley, 
in the eastern portion of the county. There has been but little effort 
made to develope these discoveries. 

Lime is one of the staple products of this county. More than one 
third of all the lime used at San Francisco — about 220,000 barrels, 
annually — is brought from Santa Cruz, where it is made from a large 
body of highly crystalline limestone found about two miles north-east 
of the town. 

Gold, in both quartz veins and alluvium, has been discovered in 
several places in this county. In 1854, a boulder of auriferous quartz 
was found on Graham's ranch, which contained nearly 827, 000 in gold. 
Quite an extensive mining district was located in the vicinity of this 
discovery, and small quantities of gold and silver were obtained from 
both quartz ledges and placers; but mining not paying as well as other 
pursuits, it was abandoned. 

In 1863, some excitement was created by the discovery of gold in 
the sand on the beach of Monterey bay, between Aptos landing and 
the Pajaro river. This gold was in exceedingly fine scales, somewhat 
similar to that found nearly four hundred miles further north at Gold 
Bluff, in Klamath county. Being difficult to save, and not yielding 
much to the pan, it did not pay to work. Gold has also been found in 
jiearly all the gulches in the vicinity of the town of Santa Cruz. 

The sand along the coast in this county, formed by the erosion of 
the peculiar, white granite, so abundant in the vicinity of the bay, is 
remarkably well adapted for the manufacture of glass. Large quanti- 
ties are collected and shipped to San Francisco, for this purj^ose. 
About eight miles north from the town of Santa Cruz, at the base of 
tlio Gavilan mountains, is an immense deposit of this white sand, 
Avhich may be of considerable value when the manufacture of glass 
shall be more extensive in the State than at present. This sand 
contains a large proportion of glassy feldspar, in the composition of 
which there is upwards of twelve per cent, of soda — an important 
ingredient in the manufacture of glass. 

The soil of the valleys of this county is veiy well adapted for the 
cultivation of leguminous plants, and a large proportion of the beans 
raised in the State is the product of these valleys. Flax also grows 
with great luxuriance. The table lands, whore not cultivated, produce 
enormous crops of wild mustard, the seed o( which is so much supe- 
rior to that raised further south or north, that it sells for more than 
any other kind. 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOKNIA. 133 



The crops in tliis comity have never failed through drought. Its 
peculiar topography attracts so much fog and dew as to sustain vegeta- 
tion in the absence of rain. 

There are eight grist mills in this county, which made, in 1867? 
28,000 barrels of flour; twenty-two lumber mills — twelve steam, and ten 
driven by water — capable of sawing 11,000,000 feet per annum; also, 
nine shingle mills, which make over 12,000,000 shingles, annually. 
Among other important manufactures are gunpowder and paper. The 
California Powder Works — the pioneer powder mill in the State — was 
incorporated in December, 1861, and commenced the manufacture of 
powder in May, 1864, with a capacity of two hundred and fifty kegs per 
day. In May, 1867, its caj^acity was increased to over six hundred 
and forty kegs per day, chiefly blasting powder, and during the nine 
months ending December 31st, of that year, 158, 500 kegs, containing 
twenty-five pounds each, were manufactured. 

The San Lorenzo Paper mill made, in 1866, thirty-one thousand reams 
of straw paper, from straw gi'0"\\Ti in the vicinity, and about six thou- 
sand five hundred reams of newspaper. Owing to the flood of 1866-67, 
operations were suspended from January to June of the latter year. 
During the seven months ending December 31st, 1867, over thirty thou- 
sand reams of wrapping paper were made. 

The manufactures of this county derived an important advantage 
from the gi-eat earthquake of 1865. That shaking increased the waters 
of all the creeks and rivers to nearly double their previous volume, 
during the dry season. 

SANTA CLARA COUNTY. 

This county is bounded on the north by Alameda and San Mateo 
counties, on the south by Monterey, on the east by Stanislaus, and on 
the west by Santa Cruz county. It is about thirty-five miles in length 
by thirty miles in average width, and contains over 1,050 square miles, 
or nearly 700, 000 acres, of which about 300, 000 acres are valley — the 
balance is low grassy hills, or heavily timbered mountains. The greater 
portion of this land is enclosed — large tracts in the mountains being 
fenced for their timber; about 300,000 acres are under actual cultiva- 
tion, this being one of the most important agricultural counties in the 
State. 

The increase in the assessed value of real estate in the county during 
the year 1866 exceeded §850^000, and from the large number of new sett- 
lers and the additional land under cultivation during the past year, the 
increased valuation for the year 1867 will probably reach $1, 000, 000 



131 THE NATUEiyL WEALTH OF CALIFOEXILV. 

above that of 186G, making the aggregate assessed value of the real 
property amount to SO, 000, 000. This is far below the actual value. 
It contains a population of twenty-three thousand, of whom seven 
thousand are under fifteen years of age. The county derives its name 
from the old Mission of Santa Clara, founded in 1777. The present 
mission buildings were not erected until 1822, and these are not on the 
site of the original mission. Two previous structures were destroyed, 
one by a flood in 1779, the other by an earthquake in 1781. 

Santa Clara county is not well watered naturally. So large a portion 
of it being in the great valley, it has but few streams. The Guadalupe 
and Coyote creeks are the only water courses of any importance within 
its limits. These have their sources in the southern part of the county, 
and, after flowing some twenty miles among the mountains on the east, 
approach San Jose, and then empty into San Francisco bay, near 
Alviso. An abundant supply of water is obtained by means of artesian 
wells, of which there are nearly one thousand in the valley — its geo- 
logical formation being exceedingly favorable for boring. All the 
orchards and gardens about San Jose and Santa Clara are watered by 
this means. In 1856, one of these wells, in the vicinity of San Jose, 
was bored to the depth of three hundred and twenty-five feet, when the 
Avater rose in a solid stream, through a seven inch pipe, to the height of 
thirty-two feet above the surface. The gi*eat increase in the number of 
v^ells since that time has materially lessened the flow, and but few of 
them now force the water above the surface. Prior to 1860, the mam- 
moth fountains these wells formed in nearly every garden and farm were 
among the attractions of San Jose. The flow of water was so great 
that ditches had to be cut to carry oflf the surplus. Few of the wells 
are more than one hundred feet deep. 

The broad valley of Santa Clara, at the southern extremity of San 
Francisco bay, twenty miles wide, and extending upwards of thirty 
miles southward, is charmingly undulated with gently rounded hills, 
and beautifully diversified with clumps of oak and numberless farms, 
gardens, cottages, towns, and villages. 

The peculiar geograpJiical position of this county, in a broad valley 
nearly surrounded b}' mountains, causes it to enjoy an equable climate; 
but it is from ten to fifteen degrees warmer than that of San Fran- 
cisco, being comparatively free from the cold winds and fogs which pre- 
vail nearer the coast. The greater portion of the soil on the lower 
plains is a rich black, sandless loam, called " adobe, " which yields from 
twenty-five to thirty bushels of wheat to the acre. Many fields havo 
been planted with grain for ten consecutive years without manuiing — • 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 135 

tlie last crop being tlie lieaviest. Tliis is particularly tlie case on what 
is known as Stockton's ranch, a large tract of land on the east side of 
the valle}-, purchased by Commodore Stockton in 184:7. There are 
other sections where the land thus continually "cropped" with wheat, 
on which the yield is much lighter than formerly. Some of the new 
land yields as high as seventy-five bushels of wheat to the acre. The 
wheat raised in the eastern portion of the valley, where the soil is some- 
what gravelly, sells for the highest price in the San Francisco market, 
and makes the finest flour. 

Along Los Gatos creek, about a mile from San Jose, there is a 
tract of rich bottom land which, a few years since, was covered with 
willows, but now contains about thirty acres of hops, which it produces 
luxuriantly. The crop at this place, for 1867, was estimated at thirty- 
five thousand pounds. About the town of Santa Clara — the highest 
land in the valley — the soil is lighter and more sandy ; similar land 
extends beyond Gilroy, thirty miles south of San Jose, but it is not 
generally cultivated, as it does not prove remunerative to haul produce 
to market by teams from that point. When the railroad to Watsonville 
is constructed, many thousands of acres in this district will be culti- 
vated, which are now used for grazing. One reason why much of the 
hill and mountain land on the west side of Santa Clara valley, about 
Gilroy, and south of that place, is retained for grazing purposes, is, 
that being within the range of the fogs from the ocean, the grass is 
green, and affords good pasturage during the summer. Every year, 
large numbers of stock are driven from some of the southern and inte- 
rior counties to be fed on the fresh pasturage of these hills. So val- 
uable are some of these lands for this purpose, that their owners hold 
them at higher prices than the grain lands of the valleys. 

The high lands bounding the valley on the east and west are admir- 
ably adapted for the cultivation of the grape, to which large tracts have 
been applied. The soil of these hills is a dark browTi, sandy loam, 
quite unlike that of the valley. The common California grape, which 
does not ripen until September in other localities, on the hills south- 
east of San Jose, ripens in July and August. The highest ridges of 
the mountains are in many places densely timbered, affording a supply 
of good lumber and fuel. The slopes around the edge of the valley are 
covered with wild oats and native grasses, and afford excellent pastu- 
rage for large herds of cows. The butter and cheese made about 
Gilroy are famous for their richness. There are very few cattle raised 
in the county, it being so generally under cultivation with grain and 
fruit. 



136 THE XATUB.iL "WEALTH OF CVLIFOEXLV. 

From San Jose to Gilroy, a distance of nearly thirty miles, the val- 
ley in the summer forms an almost unbroken wheat field. In May, 
June, and July, when the grain is ripening, the yiew of this portion of 
the valley is a marvel of beauty. The farmer's houses, surrounded by 
gardens and orchards, appear like beautiful green islands in a golden 
sea. A month later, the whole scene is changed ; the waving giain has 
all been cut, and huge stacks of yellow straw and ding}' grain bags are 
piled up in all directions, the latter waiting to be hauled to market. 
In the spring it presents still another aspect, when the young grain is 
just peeping above the black soil, and the purple and white blossoms of 
the apricot and peach form a striking contrast in color with the hazy 
neutral tint of the distant mountains. 

The great extent of level land in this valley admits of the use of all 
descriptions of agi'icultural machinery; the consequence is that nearly 
all the work on the large farms is performed with almost incredible 
rapidity. A thousand acres are sometimes, plowed, seeded, and cut in 
less time than is required on farms of one hundred acres in many parts of 
Europe. This advantage, together with the much larger peld per acre, 
compensates for the higher price of land, labor and material. Large 
tracts of this valley produce volunteer crops, which are cut for hay, 
yielding generally about two tons per acre. 

There are about forty steam threshing machines, and a large num- 
ber run by horse-power, in this county; also, ten first-class grist-mills 
capable of turning out 1,600 barrels of flour daily; and ten saw-mills, 
with power adequate to cut 70,000 feet of lumber per day. There are 
seven tanneries — three at San Jose, three at Santa Clara, and one near 
McCartysville — which, in the aggregate, make from 12,000 to lo,000 
sides of leather annually. 

San Jose, the county seat, is situated near the Guadalupe riyer, 
about nine miles from the head of San Francisco bay, fiftv miles from 
the city of San Francisco. It is an old Spanish pueblo, founded in 
1777, the first founded by that government in this State, but presents 
none of the features of such an origin except a few adobe houses on 
the plaza, and the row of willows Avhich form the alameda between it 
and Santa Clara, two miles distant. This unique gi'ove, one of the 
finest drives in the State, was planted by the missionaries, in 1799, as 
a walk to connect the pueblo of San Jose' with the mission church, near 
where it now stands, at Santa Clara. San Jose' is the center of an im- 
portant agricultural district, the development of the resources of which 
has been greatly augmented by the construction of the San Francisco 
and San Jose' railroad, completed in 1863. Nearly one haK of its prin- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 137 

cipal buildings lias been erected since that time, and its poptdation, 
importance, and the value of real estate, have more than doubled. In 
1860, it had but 3,000 inhabitants; at j)resent, it has upwards of 1,000, 
including the suburbs. Land in the vicinity of the alameda, which a 
year or two since could have been purchased for $50 per acre, now 
sells at from $200 to $300 per acre. Six important stage-lines radiate 
from this place, in connection with the railroad ; and the long line of 
farmers' wagons and heaAy teams, the whirr of the stages, the whistling 
and bell-ringing of the locomotives, the rattle of machinery, the throng 
of people, and general activity, all tell of thrift and progress. 

It contains many fine public buildings, stores and private resid- 
ences, including six churches, and several colleges and public schools, 
a fine park planted with trees and rare plants, and has more of a metro- 
politan appearance than any other town in the State, except San Fran- 
cisco and Sacramento. The court-house, in the northern part of the 
citv, is the finest structure of the kind in the State. It is constructed 
of stone, brick, and iron, in the Corinthian style ; is 100 feet in width, 
140 feet in length, and 56 feet high to the top of the cornice, above 
which a dome, 50 feet in diameter, rises 59 feet higher. The front is 
an hexastyle portico, 76 feet high and 15 feet deep, reached by a flight 
of 13 solid granite steps. The six Corinthian columns, 4 feet in diam- 
eter and 38 feet high, support an elegant entablature 10 feet high. 
The exterior walls are ornamented with pillastres, to correspond with 
the front ; the interior is fitted up with equal taste and elegance. The 
main court-room is 48 by 68 feet, and 38 feet high, lighted from the 
ceiling by 12 highly enriched panels of ground glass. The total cost 
of the building exceeded $150,000. At certain seasons of the year, the 
view from the dome of this building is one of the most charming and 
suggestive to be found in the State. The valley at this point, nearly 
fifteen miles wide, is a perfect net-work of fences; the whole of it, as 
far as the eye can range, being under thorough cultivation, each parcel 
of land differing in tint, according to the crop and the stage of its 
growth. For miles around the building, as a foreground, are solid 
masses of orchards and nurser}^ gardens, thickly planted with fruit- 
trees and flowering plants, for San Jose has always been the nursery 
garden of the State, where exotics are acclimatized. Here may be 
seen the strange but beautiful shrubs and flowers from Japan and 
China, the gum and acacia trees from Australia, the geranium and 
fuschia from the south of Europe, the rose, box and holly from Eng- 
land, the blackthorn from Ireland, the lily from France, the pink and 
carnation from Germany, the tulip from Holland, the currant and fig 



138 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENIA. 

from Greece, the olive and grape from Italy and Portugal, the glorious 
magnolia and camelia japonica from the "sunny south," and the sturdy 
pine from the cold north — all blooming and growing in the genial open 
air, beside the cactus and palm, the cypress, cedar and sequoia, and 
other beautiful indigenous trees and plants of the Pacific coast, forming 
a variety of foliage not to be seen outside of California, and a sort of 
floral representation of the cosmopolitan character of the population of 
the State. In some of the vineyards of this place, as many as 120 vari- 
eties of grapes, from all parts of the world, are cultivated successfully. 
The pear grows here in extraordinary luxuriance and beauty — many of 
the older trees producing from 3,500 to 4,000 pounds each season. 
Few of these trees were planted prior to 1852. There are 5, 000 cherry 
trees in the gardens of San Jose, cultivated to supply the San Fran- 
cisco market, besides a large number in private orchards. The aver- 
age product of seven-eighths of these trees is one hundred and fifty 
pounds of cherries each. 

The Hon. J. E. Brown, who owns a vineyard near San Jose', has 
introduced the cultivation of the raisin-grape, [fagei- zagos,) which thrives 
remarkably well. One stem, in the summer of 1867, yielded between 
thirty and forty pounds of this fruit, in fine bunches, as a first crop for 
that year, and was loaded in November with nearly as many more. 
The climate of this valley is well adapted for drying all kinds of fruit. 
The success of Mr. BrowTi's experiment, has induced several other 
parties to cultivate the raisin-grape here ; Santa Clara will conse- 
quently produce in a few years large quantities of raisins. 

The first silk-worms raised in the State were hatched at this place. 
They were obtained from Adrianople, (Turkey,) by Messrs. Prevost 
& Hentsch. Several attempts were previously made to introduce the 
worm from Europe, but without success. More expeditious means of 
transportation have, however, since enabled the European worms to be 
introduced. There are also worms from China and other parts of the 
world, all of which appear to thrive. Large mulberry orchards, culti- 
vated to feed the silk-worm, are raised here, and a factory is to bo 
established for the manufacture of silk. The business of silk-making 
may yet become an important interest at this point. 

A portion of the Western Pacific railroad, extending north from 
San Jose into Alameda county, has been completed a distance of 
twenty miles, but has not been brought into use. The proposed South- 
ern Pacific railroad is to start at San Jose', and run through the entire 
county, southeasterly. 

Santa Clara is situated on a alight eminence, about two miles 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOKNIA. 139 

norili-west from San Jose, to whicli it is united by the alameda, rapidly 
becoming a continuous street between the two j)laces. The University 
of the Pacific is located near this alameda. Santa Clara contains five 
churches and several excellent schools. The old mission which gives 
name to the county, forms a portion of the present Jesuit college. 
The olive trees and vineyards of the old establishment are in an 
excellent state of preservation. From this place, looking north, may be 
seen the dim outline of the mountains beyond San Francisco, with the 
city, bay, and shipping, at their feet ; to the east, the Monte Diablo 
ranges, with their shady nooks and gently sloping sides, form a border 
to the valley; west and south, are the mountains of the coast, and a 
little west of south, the extensive works of the New Almaden quick- 
silver mine are distinctly seen. 

Gilroy, named after an early settler in the State, about thirty miles 
south-east from San Jose, is a flourishing town situated between the 
Coast Kange and the Contra Costa mountains, in the southern part of 
the Santa Clara valley. It contains four churches, a school-house, and 
many well built stores and residences. Old Gilroy resides at San Yse- 
dro, about three miles from the town, in the same old adobe house 
built forty years ago. North-east of the town, along the sloping edges 
of the plateau which forms the center of the great Santa Clara valley, 
is the grazing district of this county. Here, thousands of sleek cows 
find abundant pasturage, which imparts to their milk such richness as 
to cause the butter and cheese from this locality to be among the best 
that reaches the San Francisco market. The mountains six miles west 
afibrd an abundant supply of lumber and fuel. The proposed railroad 
from San Jose to Watsonville, will pass through this place. 

About six miles easterly from Gilroy, is the Caiion de los Osas, 
(Bear's caiion,) which, a few years ago, was a favorite resort of the 
"grizzly." It is a wild but exquisitely beautiful gorge, through a 
range of high mountains, covered with live oak, sycamore, and a dense 
underbrush, which is still full of small game; but "bruin" has been 
exterminated. The red clover and bunch grass growing luxuriantly 
here, are the favorite food of many kinds of game. The creeks and 
pools are also full of fine trout. 

About fourteen miles from the town, in a small rocky ravine, on the 
Coyote canon, near the headwaters of that creek, w^iere the mountains, 
timbered to their summits, rise several hundred feet on both sides of 
that creek, a Mexican shepherd, while hunting for some of his stray 
flock, in 18G5, discovered what are now the well known Gilroy springs. 
The hot s^Driag, represented as possessing remarkable medicinal qual- 



140 THE NATrE.\X -WE-yLTH OF CALrFOPiNLi. 

ities, discharges continuously about three inches of water of a nearly 
uniform temperature of 110^' Fahrenheit, at all seasons. This water 
contain'3 in solution, iron, soda, magnesia, sulphur and baryta, and a 
large quantity of it is bottled and sold in San Francisco. It is by no 
means unpleasant, but pungent to the taste. Within fifteen feet of this 
hot spring there are a dozen or more large springs of pure, cold water. 
The beauty of the surrounding scenery, and the curative qualities of 
the waters, have caused the erection of a fine hotel on the edge of the 
caiion, to reach which a good road has been made from Gilroy. 

Lexington, twelve miles southwest from San Jose, is situated in a 
gap in the Sierra Azul, as the Santa Cruz mountains are here called, in 
a beautiful amphitheater of densely timbered mountains nearly two 
thousand feet high, that surround it on all sides. There are extensive 
tracts of good farming and grazing lands in these mountains. In the 
plateaus formed by the rising of the land, the grape, apple, peach and 
otlier fruits, as well as all the cereals, grow remarkably avcII. There 
are a number of good orchards, and upwards of one thousand acres of 
cultivated land in this district, which invariably produce fine crops. 
Six of the largest lumber mills in the county are located here. Los 
Gatos creek, passing through it, furnishes abundant water power. 
This is also one of the most noted sections of the State for split lum- 
ber, such as posts, rails, and pickets. The timber here splits with a 
peculiar smoothness and straigiitness. Upwards of one million feet 
of this description of lumber are annually shipped from Lexington. 

McCartysville, ten miles southwest from San Jose, is situated at the 
foot of the Coast Range, in a pleasant valley nearly surrounded by moun- 
tains, some of which are more than three thousand feet high, from Avliich 
flows Campbell's creek, a considerable stream of water, giving ade- 
quate water powerfor a number of lumber and grist mills located on it 
— lumber and grain being staple products of the district. Farming, 
stock raising, and the cultivation of finiit, are also carried on success- 
fully. The remarkable increase in the supply of water in the San Lo- 
renzo river, after the earthquake of 18G5, referred to in the toj^ography 
of Santa Cruz county, extended to this place, which is nearly twenty 
miles north from that rivei\ The water in Campbell's creek was 
doubled in volume, greatly to the advantage of the millers and lumber- 
men. 

One mile above, and northwest of McCartysville, on CamjibeH's 
creek, are situated the Pacific Congress springs, so called because of 
the resemblance of the waters to those of Congress spring, one of the 
fountains at Saratoga, New York. There are at this place three of 



COUNTIES OF Cx^XIFOROTA. 141 

these springs, the two lower but four feet apart, the third being sepa- 
rated from them by a space of about fifty feet. They are but a foot or 
two deep, being excavated from the sandstone, the lower one, which 
receives the drainage of the others, sending off a stream about two 
inches in size. The water from these several springs is so nearly alike 
that the difference can scarcely be perceived by the taste. By analysis 
it is shown to contain 335.85 grains of solid matter to the gallon, com- 
posed as follows : 

Chloride of sodium 119.159 

Sulphate of soda 12. 140 

Carbonate of soda 123. 351 

Carbonate of iron 14.030 

Carbonate of lime 17. 295 

Silica alumina, with a trace of magnesia 49.882 

It is considered a healthful and refreshing beverage, and though 
but recently introduced, is fast gaining favor with the public, about 
eighty dozen bottles being sent away daily, besides considerable 
quantities consumed by guests visiting the springs. The gas is col- 
lected in a receiver placed over the principal fountain of the group, 
whence it is conducted through a pipe and forced into the bottles. 

Alviso, the shipping port of Santa Clara county, is located at the 
junction of the Alviso slough and the Guadalupe river, about three 
miles from the bay of San Francisco, and eight miles north of San Jose'. 
There are good wharves at this place for the accommodation of shipping, 
and a number of flour mills, granaries, and stores. The Alviso brand 
of flour is one of the best in the State. 

New Almaden is situated about thirteen miles southerly from San 
Jose, on the Alamitos creek, in a narrow glen, nearly five hundred feet 
above tide level, between high ranges of mountains, Mount Chisnan- 
tuck, the culminating peak on one side being nearly one thousand eight 
hundred feet high, and Mount Umunhum, on the other, nearly one 
thousand five hundred feet in height. This place was located in 1845, by 
Don Andres Castillero, the original discoverer of the New Almaden 
quicksilver mines, which are situated in the mountains on the southwest 
of the town, and nearly nine hundred feet above it; but the deposits of 
cinnabar extend for several miles along the range. The town of New 
Almaden contains about one thousand eight hundred inhabitants, nearly 
all of whom are either employed about the mines and works, or in min- 
istering to the wants of those who are. 

The Enriquita mine is two miles northwest from the Almaden, and 
the Guadalupe two miles still further north. The details pertaining to 



142 THE NATUR^U:. WEALTH OT CALIFORNL\. 

tliese mines are given in anotlier chapter, devoted to the subject of 
"Quicksilver." 

Another town connected with a quicksilver mine has sprung up 
within the past year, about three and a half miles south from San Jose, 
on Chapman's ranch. The developments in the Bautista mine, located 
here, are such as to warrant the belief that the discover}' is of some 
importance. Furnaces, several stores, and private residences have 
been built at this place within a few months. 

There are excellent roads throughout the county, mainly connected 
with San Jose, but more are needed for the proper development of its 
resources. 

In addition to the important deposits of cinnabar in this county, it 
also contains several veins of copper ore, which have been worked to 
some extent. Petroleum and asphaltum are abundant in the range of 
mountains between Gilroy and Watsonville, particularly on Sargent's 
ranch, and in Moody's gulch, near Lexington, at a point one thousand 
one hundred feet above the sea. A number of wells were sunk here in 
1865, and small quantities of oil were obtained. 

BAN MATEO COUNTY. 

This county embraces nearly the whole of the peninsula of San 
Francisco, which separates the bay from the Pacific ocean. It is over 
thirty miles in length, six miles wide on the north where it joins the 
county of San Francisco ; nearly sixteen miles wide in its center, and 
ten miles wide on the south, adjoining Santa Cruz county. It was or- 
ganized in 185G, when it was separated from San Francisco, to which 
county it formerly belonged. It contains 154,980 acres, 140,000 of 
which are enclosed, G2, 000 being under cultivation. A branch of the 
Gavilan, or Santa Cruz mountains, here called the Sierra Moreno, 
traverses it from north to south, reaching an altitude in some places, 
of 3, 000 feet, averaging about 1, 500 feet, forming two slopes, the east- 
ern one shedding its waters into the bay of San Francisco, and the 
western into the Pacific ocean. These mountains, in the southern 
part of the county, are steep and rugged, but covered with redwood 
and oak. 

A bench, from two to five miles wide, which skirts the bay of San 
Francisco, and another about a mile wide and ten miles long, near 
Half Moon bay, caused by the uplifting of the land, are among the 
most valuable portions of the county, for agricultural purposes. This 
land is exceedingly fertile, and produces fine crops of the cereals, but 
small tracts in the mountains, and many charming little valleys among 



COUNTIES OF C.^irORNIA. 14 



o 



tliem, are also under cultiyation, in wliicli grow luxuriantly, fruits, A'ege- 
tables and grain. Much of tlie mountain land is also used for grazing 
purposes ; many large lierds of cows are kept here, "which supply some 
of the best milk consumed in San Francisco. 

The excellence of the climate, which is milder and less humid than 
that of San Francisco, and the accessibility of that city, have caused 
this county to be thickly settled for homestead purposes. Here a 
large number of the wealthy citizens of the metropolis have erected 
private residences, around which, all that money, taste, and skill, can 
accomplish in the way of adding to the natural beauty of the scenery, 
has been done. Few counties in the State contain a greater number of 
elegant private mansions and gardens, than San Mateo. The San 
Francisco and San Jose railroad, passing through it for nearly twenty 
miles, has greatly tended to increase the number of this class of resi- 
dents, and materially aided in developing the resources of the county. 

Its population, at the close of 1867, numbered 6,000; in 1863, it 
contained only 3, 250. The value of its real estate and productions, 
has increased in a still greater proportion since the completion of the 
railroad. 

San Mateo is one of the dairy counties of California, much atten- 
tion being paid to this business. The facilities for feeding the stock; 
the heavy fogs from the ocean condensing on the slopes of the hills, 
keeping the pasturage green for months after the grass is withered in 
the valleys, and the convenience to San Francisco, afford many advan- 
tages to dairymen. There are fifteen dairies in this county, which, 
collectively, have five thousand cows. 

The county contains two water, and three steam saw-mills, of suffi- 
cient j)ower to saw 35,000 feet of lumber daily; three shingle-mills, 
with capacity for cutting 75,000 per day; and two grist-mills, capable 
of making 200 barrels of flour daily. Its chief resources are grain and 
lumber. 

Eedwood city, the county seat, about twenty-eight miles south from 
San Francisco, is situated on the edge of a broad plain, extending 
from an estuary of the bay of San Francisco, through which passes 
Eedwood creek, navigable a short distance for schooners, drawing seven 
feet of water. This plain is but little above the level of high tide, 
large patches of it being a salt marsh. It gradually rises as it ap- 
proaches the mountains, most of it being under cultivation. The city, 
which was founded in 1851, contains many good stores and private, as 
well as public, buildings ; several churches and schools, and about 
eight hundred inhabitants. It is the chief shipping place for the 



144: THE NATURAL WEALTH OP CALIFOSNM. 

count}^; considerablo quantities of redwood, lumber, firewood, gi'ain, 
flour, fruit and vegetables, milk, butter, clieese, and other produce, 
are sent from here to the San Francisco market. 

Half Moon bay, about twenty miles north-west from Eedwood city, 
on the opposite side of the peninsula, is the shipping port for that por- 
tion of the county. 

There are several other towns and villages in this county, the chief 
emplojTnent of the inhabitants of which is farming and lumbering. 

The Caiiada del Pieymundo, situated nearly in the center of the 
county, enclosed between lofty mountains, is one of the most beautiful 
places in the coast-range — about six miles in length, by about two 
miles wide, the surrounding mountains covered nearly to their sum- 
mits with live oak, madrona, bay, laurel, maple and young redwood ; 
the lower hills with buckeye, elder, willow, and alder; every level spot 
a grain field, garden, orchard, or grassy meadow, with cottages peeping 
out of nooks and corners ; while the running water from numerous 
springs, and the music of swarms of birds that nestle in the thick un- 
derbrush, all combine to form a scene so secluded and peculiarly rural, 
that it is not possible to conceive anything more in contrast with the 
dust and turmoil of San Francisco, only two hoiu's' ride distant. The 
whole of this charming glen was included in a grant made by the 
Mexican Government, to John Coppinger, one of the early settlers; but 
it has since been subdivided among a number of persons, and now 
forms one of the most important farming and stock-raising districts in 
the county. 

San Andreas valley, near the headwaters of the San Mateo creek, 
which gives name to the county, is a similar, but somewhat smaller 
valley. 

Crystal Springs, where a number of springs of clear, cold water 
break through the rocks in a beautiful caiion, is one of the resorts of 
the people of San Francisco. The roads are good, and the scenery 
fine in the vicinity. 

The greater portion of the water used for domestic purposes in San 
Francisco, is obtained from Pillarcitos creek, in this county, whence 
it is conveyed by means of iron pipes a distance of twenty miles. 
The Spring Valley Water companj^ have constructed extensive works in 
the Pillarcitos caiion for the purpose of collecting and distributing this 
water. Their dam has formed a beautiful lake, two miles in length by 
about one thousand feet in average width, which is surrounded by pre- 
cipitous hills, combining to make it one of the most attractive spots 
within so convenient a distance from San Francisco. This dam crosses 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOKNIA. 145 

the canon at a point where it makes a short curve, is five hundred 
and forty feet long on the top, and three hundred feet at bottom ; four 
hundred and fifty feet thick at base, and twenty feet thick at a height of 
ninety-six feet ; the water within it being of an average depth of fifty 
feet, but nearly one hundred feet in some places. The quantity thus 
collected amounts to about 1,300,000,000 gallons — sufiicient to supj^ly 
the city for two years at the present rate of consumption, if no rain 
were to fall during that time. This large body of water is six hun- 
dred and thirty feet above the level of Montgomery street, so that hj 
mere pressure the supply can be extended over any portion of the city. 
The geological formation of the mountains in the vicinity of this lake 
being chiefly granite, limestone, and indurated slate, the water is gen- 
erally clear, but to insure the utmost purity, it is passed through beds 
of gravel, sand and charcoal, before distribution. 

The Corte Madera Water company's works are located in the foot 
hills, about seven miles west of Kedwood City, where they collect the 
waters of Bear gulch, a branch of the San Francisquito. Their reser- 
voir holds 30, 000, 000 gallons of water, and supplies Redwood City and 
Menlo Park. 

In minerals, San Mateo is one of the poorest counties in the State. 
In July, 1863, a vein of auriferous quartz was discovered in the San 
Andreas valley, and gold and silver have been found in small quantities 
at other places. Sulphur, and sulphur springs, are known to exist in 
several localities, and coal has also been found near the Mountain Home 
mill, and at other points on both slopes of the mountains. 

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY. 

As a separate chapter will be devoted to the history and resources 
of this county, its topography is omitted from the division of coast 
counties. 

ALAMEDA COUNTY. 

Alameda county forms the eastern shore of San Francisco bay, for 
about thirty-six miles, running in a north-westerly and south-easterly 
direction, and extends from the bay, on the west, to the summit of the 
Monte Diablo range, a distance of nearly thirty-five miles. It con- 
tains about 800 square miles, or 512,000 acres, nearly equally divided 
between mountains, valleys, and plains. Nearly 175,000 acres are en- 
closed, and 125,000 under cultivation. About 20,000 acres along the 
margin of the bay, are overflowed by the tide. 

The Contra Costa and Monte Diablo ranges of the coast moun- 
tains, cross this county from north to south, running nearly parallel, 

10 



146 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

and separated by a few miles, the former being the more westerly. 
Numerous spurs from each project, at various angles, forming a series 
of beautiful and fertile valleys, all connected with each other, but 
having different names where thus partially separated by these spurs. 
Among the most important of these valleys, are Livermore, Sunol, 
Castro, Amador, and Morago. The plains embrace the nearly level 
land stretching along the shore of the bay, from Alviso to San Pablo, a 
distance of forty miles. This strip lies between the bay of San Fran- 
cisco and the foothills to the east, and has an average width of about 
five miles. These valleys and plains are mostly covered with a rich, 
loamy soil, much of which is under a high state of cultivation, and 
produces abundantly. 

The principal stream in this county, and from which it derives its 
name, is the Alameda creek. It rises in the Monte Diablo range, near 
Livermore pass, and running through a caiion in the Contra Costa 
mountains, near the old mission of San Jose, empties into San Fran- 
cisco bay, near Unionville, supplying water-power for several grist and 
other mills on the way. The San Lorenzo, San Leandro, San Antonio, 
and Tcmescal creeks, rise in the Contra Costa mountains and flow into 
the bay, through the Alameda plains. There are several navigable 
sloughs running through the overflowed lands and connecting with 
these streams. Near the north end of the county is San Antonio creek, 
on the north shore of which is situated the city of Oakland. At the 
mouth of San Leandro creek, is the bay of San Leandro, on which the 
town of Alameda is located. Extensive wharves and piers have been 
erected at these places, and the bars obstructing the channels leading 
to them have been deepened and improved, so that vessels of consider- 
able burden can arrive and depart at any stage of the tide. 

There are several low passes through both the mountain ranges — 
Livermore, on the north, through the Monte Diablo range, thirty 
miles from the bay, being only six hundred and eighty-eight feet high ; 
the Western Pacific railroad will be built through this pass. Corral 
Hollow pass, in the same range, lies ten miles south of Livermore's. 
These low passes, the long stretches of level land, with the proximity 
of Alameda county to San Francisco, secure to it gi-eat advantages. 

The San Francisco and Alameda railroad, opened August, 18G5, com- 
mences at "Woodstock, on the slough at the mouth of San Leandro 
creek where a wharf projects some distance into the bay, and extends 
to Hazard's, sixteen and a half miles south-east, among the foothills 
of the Contra Costa mountains. It runs through a fine level country, 
cultivated almost every foot of the way, and has numerous stations ecu- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 



147 



nected witli cross-roads, by means of which the products of a wide 
extent of country are rapidly transported to San Francisco. This road 
will connect with the Western Pacific, at Washington Corners, thirteen 
miles south of Haj-^ard's. 

The Oakland and San Francisco railroad, opened in April, 1863, 
begins on a pier, extending 3,500 feet into the bay of San Francisco, 
opposite the city of Oakland, and runs to San Antonio, five miles, and 
is soon to be extended, to form a junction with the Alameda road. 
The distance from San Francisco to the western terminus of this line, 
is four and a third miles, but arrangements are in progress to extend 
the wharf toward Goat (Yerba Buena) island, about three-fourths of a 
mile beyond the present terminus, TMien this work shall be com- 
pleted, the distance to be traversed by boats will not exceed three miles 

« 

and three quarters. At present, it requires forty-five minutes to cross 
from San Francisco to Oakland. The boats running on these routes 
are capacious and swift, and arrive and depart nearly every hour in 
the day. 

With the exception of a belt of evergreen-oak, quercus agrifolia, 
which margins the bay, and gives name to the several encinals (encinal 
being the Spanish word for an oak grove), a few gi-oves of deciduous 
oak, quercus sonomensis, and a small number of redwood trees in 
the mountains south of Suiiol valley and east of Fruitvale, the 
county is at present poorly timbered. It was in a much better condi- 
tion, in this respect, a few years ago. The redwood at one time grew 
to an enormous size in the mountains about five miles east from San 
Antonio. The remains of a forest of these trees exist at this place, 
which is about half a mile wide, and extends down the eastern slope of 
the mountains about two miles. Here grew hundreds of the largest 
trees that have been found in the Coast Piange. One stump still remain- 
ing in tolerable preservation, measures thirty-two feet in diameter. 
Nearly every tree in this once noble forest, has been cut down and con- 
verted into lumber, but the ground is thickly covered with vigorous 
saplings, which, in a few years, may form another fine forest, as this 
tree grows with great rapidity. 

The soil of the plains in this county is generally a rich, black, 
sandy loam, from six to fifteen feet deep, resting on a substratum of 
sand and gravel, and is sufficiently moist to grow any description of 
fruit, grain, or vegetables, without irrigation. The soil on the foot- 
hills and mountains is somewhat lighter in color, not so deep, but 
gravelly and dry, and everywhere fertile. 

With so fine a soil and climate, and with so many facilities and 



14o THE NATUE-UL AVUyLTII OF C.\XIFOEXIA. 

inducements for its cultivation, tlie greater portion of tliis county, ad- 
jacent to the bay of San Francisco, has been converted into continuous 
gardens, orchards, and grain-fields ; but much of the best land in the 
south-eastern part of the county, east of the Contra Costa mountains, 
including portions of the Amador and Suiiol valleys, is but partially 
cultivated, for want of the cheap and expeditious transportation sup- 
plied by railroads. 

Thirteen miles south-east from Oakland, on the northern bank of 
the San Lorenzo creek, is the garden from which Oregon obtained its 
best apple, and other fruit-trees. In 1846, Mr. John Lewelling, the 
pioneer nui'seryman of the Pacific coast, took a wagon-load of fiaiit- 
trees raised here, into that State, which were among the first ever 
planted there. In this vicinity are several other extensive nursery and 
seed gardens, the soil and climate being pecidiarly well fitted for horti- 
cultural purposes. Here, Mr. Daniel L. Perkins raised the hundred 
and thirty varieties of vegetable seeds exhibited at the Paris Exposi- 
tion, in 1867, for which he obtained a premium, and, what proved 
more profitable, numerous orders for supplies from the Atlantic States, 
France, England, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, and several other 
countries. The products of this gentleman's little patch, of about 
twelve acres, thus spreading over the three gi*eat continents, is singu- 
larly suggestive of the silent but efi'ective influence the j)roductions of 
California are exerting abroad. 

To illustrate the richness of the soil in this locality, and the propor- 
tions of the vegetables raised here, we mention the following facts : 
A beet raised in Mr. Lewelling's garden, weighed 200 lbs. ; in 1867, 
Mr. E. S. Farelly raised a carrot which measured 36 inches in length 
and 31 inches in circumference, weighing 31 poimds after the leaves 
■were cut off. These mammoth proportions are not confined to the 
vegetables raised here, but extend to fniits, flowers, and berries. 
Cherries of the Graflan variety, gi-own in Lewelling's orchard, in 1867, 
were selling in the streets of San Francisco, Avhich measured three 
inches in circumference ; pears raised here frequently weigh three and 
a half pounds ; strawberries, which are extensively cultivated, also 
grow to an extraordinary size. Mr. Pancoast, who in 1867 cultivated 
a patch of eighty acres, raised many berries Avcighing from one and a 
quarter to one and a half ounces each, Mr. A. Lusk has a field of 
raspberries in this vicinity, containing upwards of eighty-five acres, 
which produces enormous quantities of this delicious fruit, and there 
are several other quite extensive strawberry, raspberry, and blackberry 
patches — all of which are moro particularly referred to under the 



COryiTES OF CALIFOE^■IA. 149 

head of "Fruits." The above are merely mentioned in this place ^vith 
a view to illustrate the extreme richness of the soil in this locality. 

Amador yalley, formerly the valley of San Jose, where the padres of 
that old mission pastured their cattle, is now the great grain district 
of this county. It is of a triangular form, about eight miles in dia- 
meter, and nearly surrounded by low, grassy hills, being spurs of the 
Monte Diablo and Contra Costa ranges. Its soil is a moist, sandy 
loam, producing good crops of wheat, barley, and corn, when less 
favored districts suffer from drought. TThere not under cultivation, its 
surface is covered with thick crops of wild oats and bur clover, the 
most nutritious of all the native grasses. Less than ten years since, 
this valley was a cattle-ranch — 20,000 cattle, 15,000 sheep, and 3,000 
horses finding abundant pasturage in the vicinity. But it is all fenced 
in now, and no cattle except milch cows, working oxen, and horses, 
graze on the surrounding hills. 

The increase in the value of land in this valley, since it has been 
brought under cultivation, and its productiveness ascertained, has been 
very considerable. In October, 1867, 3,000 acres of the Eancho el 
Yalle de San Jose (at the lower end of it) were purchased for $70,000 ; 
two years previously the purchaser had declined the same property 
when offered for $13,500. 

In Livermore valley are located some of the largest gi'ain fields in 
the State. In 1867 Pdchard Threlfall cropped here 4,000 acres, all em- 
braced in one field that averaged 24 bushels to the acre ; some portions 
as much as 40 bushels averaging 62 lbs. per bushel. On the eastern 
side of this field, where the rays of the sun reached the grain in the 
early morning, while the dew remained upon it, it appeared almost 
solid enough to walk upon. The tall straw, nearly four feet high, 
was perfectly straight, and the compact growth of the ears rendered it 
impossible for the heavier to droop. "\Mien threshed, almost every 
grain in the immense field was of the same size, and color, pale and 
plump, as good California wheat always is. This grain farm gives 
employment to 60 men, 140 horses and mules ; uses three herders, five 
reaping machines, and two steam threshers. In the ploughing sea- 
son, eighty acres are ploughed, sowed, and harrowed, daily. 

In reference to the products of this valley, the yield above stated, 
although quite large, as compared with that usually obtained in 
other countries, is not quite up to the average in this locality, such 
large fields not being as v^ell managed as smaller ones. On the Santa 
Eita ranch adjoining, 100 acres yielded 75 bushels per acre ; a field of 
CO acres, in the same valley, producing 80 bushels to the acre. 



150 THE NATUEAX, TTEALTH OF CALIFORXL\. 

Connected witli tlie ^Viuador valley, are two smaller valleys — tlie 
Alamo and Tasajera, botli equally fertile. Tlie whole of these valleys, 
and a considerable tract lying adjacent, were included in the rancho 
once owned by Jose Amador, whose name it now bears. This individ- 
ual also gives name to Amador county, as will be explained when de- 
scribing that county. Amador, in 1850, sold this i^roperty to Ameri- 
cans for a trifle. In 186G, one of his sons obtained a precarious living 
as a squatter among the hills that surround the A'alley in which he was 
born, and which, during the past three years, under American enter- 
prise and energy, has produced upwards of a million dollars' worth of 
grain. 

Oakland, the most thrifty and important towTi in Alameda county, 
contains about G,000 inhabitants. It is located in what was once a fine 
grove of 1,500 acres of evergreen oaks — the Encinal de Temescal of the 
native Californians — directly opposite San Francisco, from which it is 
distant seven miles. In appearance, the California evergreen oak 
resembles a large apple-tree, so that the city, looking as if built in a 
huge orchard, bears a charming contrast to the treeless streets of San 
Francisco. Scarcely any town in the State has made greater progi-ess, 
during the past three years, than Oakland ; the value of its real estate 
and the number of its inhabitants having nearly doubled within that 
time. Although not laid out as a town till 1851, it contains many 
elegant and substantial public and private buildings, has well paved 
streets; is lighted with gas, and is in a fair way of being amply sup- 
l^lied in a short time with good water. The excellence of the climate, 
the beauty of the surrounding scenery, and its j)roximity to San Fran- 
cisco, have induced many doing business in that city to build their 
homes in the groves of Oakland, or among the hills around it. The 
College of California and other public, as well as several private edu- 
cational institutions, are located here. The sons and daughters of the 
well-to-do citizens from all parts of the State and from Nevada, as w-ell 
as many youth of both sexes from Mexico, the Sandwich islands, and 
several pupils from Japan, are educated here. 

The State asylum for the deaf and dumb, and blind, is situated 
near Oakland. This useful institution has been erected on a gently 
sloping eminence in the lower foothills of the Contra Costa mountains, 
commanding a splendid view of San Francisco bay and its suiTound- 
ings. The proportions of the building arc 192 feet front by 148 feet in 
depth. It is three stories and a half high, being G2 feet to the gables 
and 1-15 to the top of the tower. Its exterior walls are built of a fine, 
bluish granite, found in the vicinity; the interior work being of brick. 



COrXTIES OF C.NXIPOENIiV. 151 

The style is what may be termed domestic gothic, with high, steep 
roof, large mullioned and transomed windows, tower and buttress- 
angles of cut stone ; a handsome porch, of the same material, adorns 
the center of the main front, all the interior fittings being of the most 
improved style for such establishments. Everything that Christian 
charity, and a generous liberality could accomplish towards alleviating 
the afflictions of its unfortunate inmates, has been attended to. The 
building and its furniture, when complete, will cost the State upwards 
of $175,000. 

Among other improvements in progress at Oakland, are the exten- 
sion of the wharf, from the main land towards Yerba Buena island, 
a distance of three fourths of a mile; and the erection of the new State 
Mining and Agricultural College. 

Brooklyn, a thriving town, comprising the localities known as Clin- 
ton and San Antonio, separated from Oakland by San Antonio creek, is 
rapidly increasing in importance as a manufacturing center. In addi- 
tion to the cotton factory located there, this is also the site of one of 
the largest shoe factories on the coast, as well as of a tannery, j)ot- 
tery, and last factory, which, collectively, give employment to a large 
number of men and women. 

Factories, like some kinds of animals and plants, appear to be gre- 
garious, thriving best when considerable numbers are congregated in 
the same locality. There is scarcely an instance, on this coast, where 
a factory of any kind has been successfully established, but that it has 
been soon after followed by one or more others at the same place. 
This curious fact should operate to encourage every community to aid 
in establishing these industrial institutions in their midst. 

The mill of the Oakland Cotton Manufacturing Company, is a two- 
story brick structure, 90 by 45 feet, with two wings 20 by 30 feet each. 
It contains 35 looms, and the necessary machinery for a first-class 
establishment. It is driven by a 45 horse-power steam-engine, and 
gives employment to about 100 persons, men and women, engaged in 
weaving or in making up into clothing and other articles, the tweeds, 
cassimers, and cotton-cloth produced. The first piece of cotton-cloth 
woven in the State, was made here in September, 1865. Since then, 
the works have been kept steadily in operation, turning out about fifty 
thousand yards per month, chiefly 4^ cotton for flour-bags, and sheet- 
ing for the Mexican market. In November, 1867, considerable im- 
provements, with an enlargement of the works, were commenced, for 
the purpose of manufacturing bagging material, of which upwards of 
$1,200,000 worth is annually imported and made into grain and flour 



152 THE NATUE.iL WEALTH OF CALEFOEXIA. 

sacks, at various points in tlie State. A little of the cotton used at this 
mill, is of California growth. Details, touching its cultivation in this 
State, will be found elsewhere in these pages. 

Fruitvale, situated about one and a half miles south-east of Brook- 
lyn, in a charming little valley nestled among the foothills of the 
Contra Costa mountains, is, as its name implies, a noted place for 
fruit, nearly all kinds of which grow there with little labor, and of rare 
excellence. A number of the business men of San Francisco have 
their homes in or about Fruitvale. 

Alameda, a to'svn two miles south of Oakland, is situated upon a 
peninsula nearly two miles wide, called the Encinal de San Antonio, 
lying between the San Lorenzo and San Antonia creeks. It was laid 
off as a town in 1852, and is now a thrifty place, containing many good 
buildings and about 1,200 inhabitants. 

San Leandro, the county seat of Alameda county, a pleasant rural 
town, with several substantial public, and many handsome private 
buildings, is situated near the San Leandro creek, about seven miles 
south of Oakland, on the edge of a fertile and well cultivated plain, the 
surrounding country being a succession of gardens and orchards, and 
grain-fields. It contains about five hundred inhabitants. 

HayAvard's, six miles south-easterly from San Leandro, is a new 
and rapidly improving town. It owes much of its importance to the 
fact of its being connected with the bay of San Francisco, by the Ala- 
meda railroad, rendering it the shipping point for an extensive agricul- 
tural district. Hero is stored, ready for transportation, the grain 
produced over an area of forty or fifty square miles. To accommodate 
this business, a number of large warehouses have been erected at this 
place. In 1865, a brick granary, 223 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 20 
feet high, was biiilt here ; but, it being found inadequate for the 
increasing crops, another was added to it during the year 18G7, 30G feet 
long, GO feet in width, and 25 feet high. The two have been found 
insufficient to hold the products of the district at certain seasons when 
the railroad is unable to carry away all that offers for transportation. 

At this place is also located the chief cattle-market of the State — 
the property of an incorporate company styled the "Butchers', Drov- 
ers', and Stockraiscrs' Association, " organized in January, 18GG. In 
that year, 11,928 animals were sold here, valued at S182,G00. In 18G7, 
the number of animals sold exceeded 20,000, valued at S500,000. 

Alvarado, a thriving village of several hundred inhabitants, is 
located about ten miles south from San Leandro, on the banks of Ala- 
meda creek. It stands about five miles from the bay of San Francisco, 



^ COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 153 

being in the district of swamped and overflowed land already men- 
tioned. The chief occupation of the inhabitants of this place is the 
collection of salt, which forms in large quantities on the land over- 
flowed by the waters of the bay. There are eighteen companies en- 
gaged in this business, w^hose works extend nearly twelve miles along 
the eastern shore of the bay, and afford emplojTuent to some one hun- 
dred and fifty men. The quantity of salt annually collected exceeds 
10,000 tons, of the average value of |8 per ton. The whole of it is col- 
lected and purified by solar evaporation. The salt-water is retained in 
reservoirs, during high tides, and evaporated in shallow ponds ranging 
in size from twenty to five hundred acres. Some of these salt-ponds — 
formed mostly of earth — are located in swamps, which, though a few 
years since deemed absolutely worthless, are now valued at from four 
to ten dollars per acre ; and, since the demand for salt is likely to 
extend as the fisheries on this coast increase, the value of these lands 
will no doubt continue to appreciate. 

The old mission of San Jose is situated in the southern part of this 
county. It occupies a handsome valley among the lower foothills of 
the Contra Costa range, facing the bay. A hamlet has sprang up 
around the old mission buildings, which being in good repair, are still 
used as a Catholic church. The old gardens and orchards are among 
the best in the district, a pear-orchard, planted by the missionaries, 
producing a large crop of fruit annually. About two miles from the 
old mission of San Jose, near the banks of the Agua Caliente (hot 
water) creek, in the midst of a beautiful grove of oak and other trees, 
are the Alameda warm springs. The fine climate and pleasant sur- 
roundings of the place, with its ready accessibility, render it one of the 
most popular resorts in the neighborhood of San Francisco. To the 
east. Mission peak, the culminating point of the Contra Costa moun- 
tains, attains a height of 2,275 feet, presenting with its angular 
outlines, its grassy sides, and patches of shrubbery, a grand back- 
ground to the intervening landscape. From the peak, a fine view is 
obtained of San Jose, Oakland, and of the city and bay of San Fran- 
cisco. The hotel arrangements, and the attention guests receive here, 
are highly spoken of by visitors, who are numerous during the summer 
season. The waters are medicinal, containing sulphur, lime, magnesia, 
and iron, in various proportions. 

Alameda county contains large quarries of granite, limestone and 
sandstone, suitable for building purposes. The quarry from which the 
stone used in erecting the Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum was 
obtained, is situated on Pryal's ranch, about four miles from Oakland. 



154 THE NATUEAL TVEALTH OF C.VLIFOENLV. 

Tlie supply of this stone is exliaustless. A quarry of close-grained, 
greyisli sandstone, has recently been opened about four miles from 
Hayward's. Nearly all tlie broAvn sandstone used in San FranciscOj is 
obtained from quarries in tliis vicinity. 

In 18G4, Mr. A. D. Pryal, o\vner of a large rancli about four miles 
east from Oakland, discovered a vein of auriferous quartz in the Contra 
Costa hills, which cross his lands. Some of the specimens from this 
vein were rich in free gold, and the mine opened under the name of 
Temescal, paid well for a short time, but the dislocation of the strata, 
a little below the surface, rendered its further working unprofitable. 

In 1862 and 1863, several small deposits of argentiferous galena, 
and other silver ores, were discovered in the Mocho and Valle Arroyos, 
among the spurs of the Monte Diablo and Contra Costa mountains. 

In 1856, extensive outcroppings of coal were found at Corral hol- 
low, in this county, about thirty miles east from Oakland, and several 
attempts since then have been made to develop a number of veins in 
this vicinity. Prior to 1860, about five hundred tons of coal were sent 
to market ; and in 1862, some shipments were also made, chiefly from 
the O'Brien mine. In 1867, a new company was organized, and the 
requisite machinery erected here, for the thorough development of 
what is supposed to be an extensive deposit of this mineral. 

Petroleum has been found at several points on the western slope of 
the Monte Diablo range. 

Alameda county contains seven grist-mills, capable of making 1,200 
barrels of flour daily; but, having no timber fit for lumber, it is with- 
out saw-mills — its chief sources of w'ealth being its grain, fruit, and 
dairy products. 

CONTEA COSTA COUNTY. 

This county derives its name from the central range of the coast- 
mountains, which cover a considerable portion of its surface. It is 
about forty miles in length, from east to west, and twenty miles wide, 
from north to south ; but its outlines are very irregular, being bounded 
on the north by San Pablo and Suisun bays, and the San Joaquin 
river ; on the east, by the western channel of that river ; on the south, 
by Alameda county, and on the west, by the bay of San Francisco. 
It contains upwards of 500,000 acres, about 150,000 of which are good 
arable land, nearly 100,000 acres being under cultivation. This land 
lies chiefly in the numerous small valleys scattered through the Contra 
Costa and Monto Diablo ranges of mountains, Avhich cross the county in 
a northerly and southerly direction. There are 100,000 acres of swamp 



COUNTIES OF CiVLII^OENIA. 155 

and overflowed lands in tliis county, situated aboiit tlie margins of 
Suisun bay and along tlie banks of tlie San Joaquin river, mucli of it 
being reclaimable. Portions of it, brouglit under cultivation, have 
been found to produce good crops of grain, fruit, and vegetables, with- 
out irrigation. There is a sweep of this tide land in the north-east 
corner of the county, of iipwards of 75,000 acres subject to overflow 
during wet seasons, which, if protected by a levee, would become one 
of the most valuable agricultural sections of the county. Mountains 
and hills cover abortt 250,000 acres, including Monte Diablo, which 
contains the most important coal-mines in the State. 

San Kamon, the finest valley in the county, is a continuation of 
Amador valley, described in the topography of Alameda county. It is 
equally fertile throughout, and extends quite across the county under 
different names ; the upper portion extending a distance of ten miles, 
where it unites with the Amador valley, is called San Eamr>n valley, 
and the lower x>ortion, through which Pacheco creek runs, is called 
Pacheco valley. On the east side of this lower valley, and opening into 
it, is the Diablo valley, extending to the base of Monte Diablo. On the 
west is Taylor valley, through which passes the road from Oakland to 
Martinez. There are numerous smaller valleys on both sides of these 
larger ones, all connected by wagon roads, and many of them fertile 
and well cultivated. The average crops, for several years past, in most 
of these valleys, have been thirty bushels of wheat, or fifty bushels of 
barley to the acre. 

The Hambre, or Hungry valley, at the mouth of which the town of 
Martinez, the county seat, is located, is separated from the main valley 
system by a range of low hills — a portion of the Monte Diablo range — 
which afford excellent pasturage for cattle and sheep. The county, in 
1867, contained 27,000 sheej), 11,000 cattle, and 8,000 horses. 

The subordinate group of elevations, which lies to the west of Mar- 
tinez, is known as the Contra Costa hills, which extend through this 
and the adjoining counties of Alameda and Santa Cruz, being separated 
from the main Monte Diablo range by a chain of beautiful valleys 
nearly sixty miles in length. 

The principal streams in this county are the San Pablo and San 
Kamon creeks, the former rising in the Contra Costa hills and emptying 
into San Pablo bay, the latter rising in the Monte Diablo range, near 
Livermore's pass, and emptying into Suisun bay, about five miles south- 
east from Martinez. When this creek reaches the tules it -becomes a 
tide water stream, navigable at high tide for schooners drawing six 
feet of water. The town of Pacheco was founded, near the head of 



156 THE NATURAL WILVLTH OF CALTFOENTA. 

navigation, in 1858, and has since become the most important shipping 
port and business centre in the county. The place contains hirge 
stores, granaries, churches and schools, and about six hundred inhabit- 
tants, Avlio do a thriving business with the numerous mral communi- 
ties scattered throughout the adjoining valleys ; 700,000 bushels of 
wheat, besides other products, were shipped from this place in 1867. 

The population of this county and the value of property in it, 
have greatly increased since 1860, in consequence of the settlement 
of land titles — ^nearly the entire county haviiag been previously 
claimed by Mexican grant holders — a number of different parties some- 
times advancing claims to the same tract of land. This conflict of 
ownership prevented settlers, for many years, making improvements ; 
but since the adjustment of these land questions, the population and 
wealth of the county have increased rapidly. In 1860 it contained 
5, 328 inhabitants, and the value of all the property in it was assessed 
at $600,000. At the close of 1867, it contained about 10,000 inhabit- 
ants, nearly three thousand of whom were children under fifteen years 
of age — less than two hundred Mexicans and Spaniards; and the value 
of its real and personal property exceeded 84,000,000. 

On the northwestern corner of this county, at the mouth of San 
Pablo creek, is the original San Pablo bay, the name of which has 
since been applied to the great central division of the bay of San Fran- 
cisco, which was formerly called the bay of Sonoma. The level lands 
in this section of the county produce heavy crops of grain and fruit. 

Contra Costa county at present contains but little timber, except 
oak. At one time there was a fine forest of redwood in the mountains, 
a few miles east of the bay of San Francisco, but its proximity to the 
city caused its early conversion into lumber, much also being split into 
rails for fencing purposes. At present, only a few trees in spots diffi- 
cult of access, are left standing. The redwood being tenacious of life, 
it is not an easy matter to kill or eradicate its roots, wherefore, there is 
a possibility of this forest renewing itself in process of time, if pro- 
tected from the wood cutter's depredations. On the hills that skirt the 
base of Monte Diablo grow a few scattered pines of an inferior species, 
worth but little for lumber. At present there is not a saw mill in the 
county — a fact that suflicicntly indicates how completely it has been 
stripped of what valuable timber it once may have contained. 

The climate of this county, influenced by the position and height 
of its mountains, is subject to great variations. Monte Diablo, a prom- 
inent landmark in this part of the State, 3,381 feet high, is the princi- 
pal agent in producing these atmospheric changes. This mountain is 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 157 

supposed to have been at one time a volcano, a presumption strength- 
ened by the double cone forming its summit when viewed from the east, 
caused by the breaking away of the rim of its crater on that side. 
It is situated in the northern part of the county, and has a length of 
eight or ten by a breadth of five or six miles. It is somewhat crescent- 
shaped, the concavity opening to the northeast, and forms a barrier to 
the winds coming from both the interior and the sea, which sometimes 
blow with great violence about its base, while the atmosphere higher 
up its sides is but little disturbed and even quite calm at its summit. 
It is a grand and singular sight to see from its top, where all is clear 
and tranquil, the clouds rolling in stormy commotion far below. These 
atmospheric phenomena are most strikingly manifested after mid-day, 
in the fall of the year. For several hours in the afternoon, the dry and 
heated air from the interior sweeps up the mountain with a strong cur- 
rent. About three o'clock the moist air from the ocean begins to reach 
it, and the two currents meeting, form fleecy clouds which hang around 
its base and fill its lower valleys, condensing, as the night comes on, 
into heavy and refreshing dews. 

The climate in the northwestern portion of this county is sometimes 
quite cool, and frosts are frequent, but, where sheltered, fruits of all 
descriptions grow luxuriantly. Dr. John Strentzel, a Pole, one of the 
pioneer settlers in the county, has a fine orchard of about forty acres in 
the Canada de Hambre, two miles from the town of Martinez, in which 
oranges are grown in the open air. 

Juan B. Alvarado, who was governor of California from 1836 to 
1842, when it was Mexican territory, cultivated an orchard in this 
vicinity, the apples and pears from which, for several years after Cali- 
fornia became a State, produced him a larger revenue than did the 
ojB&ce of governor. 

Dr. John Marsh, was one of the earliest American settlers in this 
county, and, in 1840, purchased a tract of land now known as the New 
York ranch, located about thirty miles from Martinez. The history of 
this eccentric man is replete with interest. Educated a physician, 
and possessed of ample means, on the death of his wife he left his early 
home and only child in the State of "Wisconsin, and coming to CaKfornia, 
took up his residence in a canada at the base of Monte Diablo, now 
known as Marsh's caiion. Here, living in rude independence, after the 
manner of the country, he became the owner of immense herds of 
cattle, which, with his landed possessions, made him rich under the 
new order of things inaugurated by the discovery of gold in Califor- 
nia. In the ;neantime, his son, who had grown up to manhood, having 



158 THE NATUEAL "WE.\LTH OF CALITOENIA. 

heard from returned Californians tliat there was a Dr. Marsh living in 
that country, and suspecting that it might be his father, left his home 
at Petersburg, Illinois, and came out to this State, arriving at San 
Francisco in March, 1856. Having ascertained the residence of the 
person whom he was in search of, he at once proceeded to the place and 
found that he was indeed his long absent parent, with whom he took up 
his abode, remaining with him until tlie time of his death, which 
occurred in the autumn of the same year. Dr. Marsh, while on his way 
to San Francisco, was waylaid and murdered, it being supposed that he 
had a large sum of money on his person. The murderer, after escaping 
for more than ten years, was finally apprehended and con^dcted of the 
crime. 

This county was not generally settled until 1850, there not being a 
town in it the origin of which dates prior to the discovery of gold, in 
1848. One of the first American families settling within its borders 
was that of Elam Brown, who built a house in Taylor valley, in 1817, 
near the spot where he now resides. 

Martinez, the county seat, is situated in a valley on the south shore 
of the straits of Carquinez, opposite the town of Benicia. The straits 
at this point are about three miles wide and eight long, lying between 
gently-swelling hills, cultivated to their summits. The town contains 
several fine public and private buildings, with a number of churches, 
many of the dwellings being surrounded by orchards and gardens. 
It is the center of a considerable trade, has good wharves for the ship- 
ment of produce, and is connected with Benicia by a steamboat ferry. 

The coal mines in this county, to the development of which it owes 
much of its present prosperity, are located about six miles south from 
the San Joaquin river. A nearly level plain extends from the river 
(where there is an average depth of thirty feet of water,) to the foot- 
hills of the mountains, and within a mile of the Black Diamond com- 
pany's tunnels, at Nortonville. These tunnels enter on the northeast 
side of the mountain, and follow a number of seams to the west. Only 
two of these seams are worked at present — the Black Diamond and 
Clark — the former averaging four feet, and the latter about three feet 
in thickness. Both lie at an angle of thirty degrees, and dip nearly 
north. These mines, although, as above explained, within five miles of 
navigable water, are located among the peaks and deep caiions of such 
a rugged country tliat the difficidtios and expense attending the trans- 
portation of so bulky an article as coal impeded their development 
until February, 18G6, when the Pittsburg railroad was completed. In 
the construction of this road, only five and a half miles in length, from 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENLA.. 159 

tlie mines to tlie wharf at Pittsburg Landing, many obstacles were 
encountered. To tlie plain, from the mines, a distance of a mile and a 
half, the road has the unusual gradient of two hundred and seventy- 
four feet to a mile, that of the balance being from forty to one hundred 
and sixty feet to the mile. The rugged character of the country may 
be inferred from the fact that to complete the first mile and a half of 
this road eight large trestle bridges had to be built, the largest being 
three hundred and four feet long by sixty feet high. A tunnel, three 
hundred feet in length, was required to be cut through a steep rocky 
ridge — a number of deep cuts were excavated, and hea-vy culverts con- 
structed. When the road was completed, it was found necessary to 
have locomotives of a peculiar pattern, to overcome the difficulties of 
ascending and descending such steep grades. Accordingly, a style of 
engine was invented and made at San Francisco, weighing seventeen 
tons, and supplied with three pairs of thirty-six inch driving wheels, 
and complex, powerful brakes. The friction of these locomotives, when 
descending the incline in front of a train of loaded cars is, of course, 
great, but, thus far, no serious accident has occurred. This road, 
which cost $145,000, has a capacity to transport over it three thousand 
tons of coal daily. The Pittsburg, Union and Eureka companies all 
send their coal over it. 

The Black Diamond company have built a railroad which terminates 
at New York, a town six miles west of Pittsburg landing. The arrange- 
ments made by this company to convey their coal from the mine to the 
vessels at the wharf afford another good illustration of engineering 
skill — the mouth of the main adit of the mine being nearly five hun- 
dred feet above the level of the plain. To avoid the steep gTade that 
would be necessary were a railroad employed, a massive incline has 
been constructed, nearly nine hundred feet in length, at an angle of 
fifteen degrees, which connects with the railroad at the lower end. By 
means of a thick wire rope passing over an iron cylinder, nine feet in 
diameter, the loaded cars descending pull up the empty ones. This 
road, since first built, has undergone material alterations, involving a 
heavy outlay of money. The arrangements at the wharves of both 
roads are similar, and vessels of five hundred tons burthen are loaded 
in a few hours by means of shutes passing from the cars. These 
mines give emplojonent to upwards of one thousand men. 

Prior to the construction of the railroads mentioned, Antioch, a 
small town on the San Joaquin river, was the shipping point of all the 
coal mines. Owing to its many natural advantages, it continues to 
grow, notwithstanding the loss of that trade. At this place are located 



160 THE NATURAL 'WE.iLTn OF CALIFOT.^Wi. 

the California copper-smelting works, not at present in operation ; also 
an extensive pottery, at which superior earthenware, fire-brick, and 
cnicibles, are made from clay obtained from a thick seam found accom- 
panying the coal in the Black Diamond mine. The wharves here are 
very substanstially constructed. The coal from the Teutonia and Cen- 
tral mines is hauled to this place by teams for shipment. Clay used 
by the Golden State Pottery is obtained from Marsh's ranch, fourteen 
miles distant. This establishment has three kilns, which are kept in 
constant use. Arrangements are in progress for making white stone- 
ware. Large quantities of common brick are also made here for the 
San Francisco market, the soil being well suited to their manufacture. 
The broad plain lying between the river and the mountains, on which 
grow fair crops of the cereals, is rapidly settling up, nearly one han- 
dred families having located upon it in 1867. Much of it, formerly 
used only for pasturage, is now under cultivation. The Stockton 
steamers make regular landings at Antioch, whence there are numerous 
good roads communicating with the back country. 

Clayton, the largest town created by the coal-mining interest, stands 
at the head of Diablo valley, about eight miles from Pacheco. It occu- 
pies a romantic site, being on a plateau in the midst of wide-spreading 
oaks, commanding a good view of the adjacent valley and the bay, with 
rugged mountains in the distance. Its origin dates only from 1862, 
and, although so recently founded, there are many fine orchards, vine- 
yards and gardens in the vicinity. It contains about nine hundred 
inhabitants, and, considering its age, is well built up. The larger 
portion of the population find employment in and about the coal-mines 
near by. There are several other small towTis and villages in this 
county, the most of them of too little importance to require special 
notice. 

The soil in the valleys about Monte Diablo, consists of a fine loam, 
formed by the disintegration of the calcareous and volcanic rocks, and is 
well suited to the raising of vines — a business extensively carried on 
in many of them. Mr. Clayton, after whom the town is named, has a 
vineyard here of 30 acres, containing 30,000 vines, which, though 
vigorous and prolific, have never been irrigated. He sends his gi'apes 
to San Francisco for a market, realizing a greater profit than in making 
them into wine. There are other large vineyards, with several fine 
orchards bearing various kinds of fruit, elsewhere in the • vallev, 
the aggregate number of vines it contains being estimated at 
100,000, and the fruit-trees at 30,000. AVlide much of the laud in this 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNLl. 161 

valley is held at higli prices, a good deal of fair quality can be bought 
at prices ranging from $15 to $25 per acre. 

Silver-bearing ores have been found at various places about Monte 
Diablo. Sixty pounds of ore, taken from a claim known as the Open 
Sesame, in 1863, yielded, by working process, at the rate of $48 33 
per ton in gold, and $213 per ton in silver ; while the San Pedro ledge 
yielded ore that assayed at the rate of $40 per ton. The broken strati- 
fication in this district, however, has thus far rendered all attempts at 
working these claims abortive. 

During 1862, and the following two years, some fifty cupriferous 
deposits were partially explored in the vicinity of Monte Diablo ; and, 
although a considerable quantity of ore was obtained from them, it was 
of too low a grade, and the seams were too much broken up, to warrant 
a continuance of operations. 

In 1862, large deposits of ochreous earths were discovered near 
Martinez, consisting of six well defined strata, varying from three to 
twenty feet in thickness. The colors of this material are red, green, 
yellow and blue, with every conceivable tint formed by their blending, 
the entire number of colors produced consisting of eighty varieties, 
running from pale blue to a bright scarlet. The terre sienna, French 
yellow, and Venetian red, were pronounced very good by the painters 
who used them. Expensive works were put up for grinding and pre- 
paring this substance for market, but the enterprise failing through 
the limited demand and cheap price of the imported article to prove 
remunerative, was abandoned soon after. 

Argillous magnesian limestone, similar to that used in making the 
dry hydraulic cement at Benicia, exists near Martinez. Good potters' 
clay is abundant near Lafayette, and is extensively used by the pottery 
works at San Antonio, Alameda county. 

Small deposits of petroleum have been observed, at various points, 
in this county. Several years since, an oil-boring operation was com- 
menced and carried on for some time, at a point about three miles 
south-east from the town of San Pablo. This was the first effort of the 
kind made in California ; and, though conducted with a due degree of" 
skill and energy, it failed of success. Several attempts to procure 
mineral oil in quantities have been made elsewhere in the county, 
either by sinking shafts or boring, but as yet with scarcely any better 
results than attended this pioneer effort. At the present time, a party 
is boring for oil in Marsh's caiion, and, as it is said, with prospects not. 
altogether discouraging. 

11 



162 THE KATUKAL WEALTH OF CULIFOnXIA. 



ilAEIN COUNTY. 

Marin county comprises tlie peninsula lying between San Pablo bay 
and the ocean, its extreme southern portion, Point Bonita, forming the 
outer headland to the entrance of the Golden Gate. Much of the 
county is covered Avith hills and mountains, through which are scat- 
tered numerous narrow, but fertile valleys. Tamalpais, the culminating 
peak in a rugged chain of mountains traversing the county from north- 
west to southeast, near the sea, has an altitude of 2,600 feet ; there be- 
ing several other peaks in this range of almost equal height. Much of 
the land, both in the valleys and upon the hills throughout the north- 
em and central portions of the county, produces an abundant pastur- 
age, upon which immense herds of milch cows are fed ; more butter 
being made here than in any other county in the State — the annual 
product approximating 1,500,000 pounds. Redwood and pine grow on 
the mountains, and oak in many of the valleys and on the lower hills. 
From the former, two steam saw-mills located in the northern part of the 
county, manufacture considerable quantities of lumber. The Pacific 
Powder Mill, and the Pioneer Paper Mill, are situated on Tokeluma 
or Daniel's creek, which, heading in the Tamalpais range, runs north- 
west, emptying into the head of Tomales bay. The water of this 
creek, owing to its infiltration through a hard granitic rock rendering 
it exceedingly pure, is especially adapted to the manufacture of paper. 
Tomales bay, extending inland sixteen miles in a southeasterly dii'cc- 
tion, varies in width from two to three miles. It occupies the largest 
valley in a series lying between a number of parallel ridges that 
occupy this section of the county. Between Tomales and Bolinas bay 
lies a rich valley eight miles in extent. The town of Tomales, situated 
near the entrance of the bay, is an active and growing place, much of 
the produce of the adjacent country being shipped here for San Fran- 
cisco. It contains a population of six or seven hundred, a7id occupies 
a handsome site on a level bench extending back from the bay. Ole- 
ma, at the head of Tomales bay, fifteen miles northwest of San Eafacl, 
is another thrifty town, enjoying the trade of a large dairy and agricul- 
tural district, which never fails to produce heavy crops of potatoes and 
gi'ain, owing to the current of moist air from the ocean, which, passing 
through the depression that here exists between the mountains, greatly 
aids the growth of vegetation. Hero the grass, when completely dried 
up elsewhere, is found to bo gi-een and succulent. 

Puuta de los Reyes (King's point) forms the extremity of a high 



• COUNTIES OF a^LIFORXLY. 1G3 

rocky promontory, extending into the sea several miles in a southwest 
direction, separating it from Drake's bay. 

This county countains about GOO square miles — nearly 400,000 
acres, 175,000 of which are enclosed ; only about 25,000 acres are 
under cultivation ; the greater portion of the arable land being used 
for pasturage. Some five or six thousand acres of the mountain lands 
are covered with timber capable of being made into lumber, the swamp 
and overflowed land in the county consisting of twelve thousand acres 
on the margin of San Pablo bay. 

Messrs. Howard & Shafter have 75,000 acres of land enclosed in this 
county, upon which are grazed 3,500 covy-s. These are divided into 
seventeen dairies, the aggregate product of which is 700,000 pounds of 
butter annually. Allen & Son, of Green valley, have a herd of 350 
milch cows, all of choice breeds. Stock here is never housed, or fed 
with anything more than is afforded by the native pasturage. The 
product of butter averages about one pound daily to the animal, or 
two hundred pounds for the season. This butter, if sold for no more 
than twenty-five cents per pound — considerably less than is actually 
realized — pays, in the course of two years, for cost of cows, attendance, 
and interest on capital, leaving the natural increase of stock, skim- 
milk and cheese, for clear profit. Butter-making, where circumstances 
favor, has always been found a lucrative pursuit in California, this 
article never failing to find a ready market and to command a good 
price ; while the localities favorable for carrying on the business on a 
large scale, are by no means numerous ; an abundance of nutritious 
feed, a cool climate, and at least a fair supply of water, not often being 
found in conjunction. In Marin county, these advantages being en- 
joyed to an unusual extent, dairymen have confined their operations 
almost exclusively to this branch of the business, though the lack of 
facilities for sending their milk to the San Francisco market may have 
contributed towards the conversion of so large a proportion of it into 
butter and cheese, there being over half a million pounds of the latter 
made annually. It is estimated that there are upwards of one hundred 
dairies in this county, many of them of large size. They give employ- 
ment to a good many men, the usual allotment being about twenty 
cows to one hand. Marin, in 1S60, contained 3,334 inhabitants, the 
present number being estimated at something over 5,000. 

This county derives its name from Marin, a famous chief of the 
Lacatuit Indians, who originally occupied this part of the country, and 
who, aided by his people, after having vanquished the Spaniards in 
several skirmishes that took place between the years 1815 and 1824, 



tGi THE NATUKAL WE.\XTH OF CALIFORXLl. 

■R-as finally captured by liis enemies. Making liis escape, Marin took 
shelter on a little island in the bay of San Francisco, and which, being 
aften\'ards called after him, communicated its name to the mainland 
adjacent. This chief having fallen into the hands of his foes a second 
time, barely escaped being put to death, through the interference of 
the priests at the mission San Eafael, who subsequently enjoyed the 
satisfaction of seeing him converted to the true faith. He died at the 
mission which had been the sceno uf his rescue and conversion, in the 
year 1834. 

San Eafael, the county seat, occupies a handsome site, about two 
miles west of San Pablo bay, and fifteen in a northerly direction from 
San Francisco. Its sheltered position, being screened from the fogs 
and ocean-winds by the Tamalpais range, renders it one of the most 
attractive spots in the vicinity of San Francisco, many of whose busi- 
ness men and wealthy citizens have erected their dv>-ellings in the 
neighborhood of the town, which abounds with beautiful and eligible 
sites for the purpose. Within the past few years, a large number of 
residences have been built there by this class, and other improvements 
made, tending to enhance the value of property and add to the attrac- 
tions of the place. 

Although nearly the whole of this county was originally covered 
with Mexican grants, and there was scarcely an American settler within 
its limits prior to 1850, nearly the whole of it is now owned by the 
latter race, the most of its former proprietors having, with their pos- 
'sessions, passed away. 

The Pioneer Paper Mill, erected in 185G, is situated about four 
miles from Olema, on the road leading to San Piafael. The buildings 
'are spacious and substantial. The motive power used consists of both 
steam and water, and the works, which employ about forty hands, are 
run night and day. During the year 1867 there were made at this 
establishment 384 reams of colored, 3,500 reams of news and book, 
and 9,250 reams of Manila and wrapping paper, the whole valued at 
$04,800. The following embrace items of the principal material con- 
sumed in the manafacture of this paper : 300 tons of rags and old rope, 
gathered chiefly in San Francisco; 250 barrels of lime, made in the 
vicinity; 2,000 pounds sulphuric and muriatic acid, made at the San 
Fiancisco Chemical Works. 

The Pacific Powder Mill, located about tlirce miles east of the 
Paper Mill, was completed in ISGfi, at a cost of 803,000. During the 
year 1807 there were manufactured here about 30,000 kegs of blasting 
^lowder, and over 2,000 packages of sporting powder. The buiklings 



COUTvTIES OF CALIFORNIA. • 165 

are distributed over an area of several limidred acres, for greater secu- 
rity against explosions. Both steam and water power are used in pre- 
paring the material and running the machinery. An explosion occurred 
here in November, 1867, causing the death of three workmen, and 
doing considerable injury to the works. The latter, however, w^ere soon 
after repaired, and are again in operation. 

The State Prison is located in this county, on Point San Quentin, 
twelve miles north of the city of San Francisco. The buildings, con- 
structed of brick, and having a capacity for the retention of seven hun- 
dred convicts, the number now imprisoned there, are situated on a tract 
of land owned by the State, eight acres of which are walled in, tho 
balance being mostly devoted to the purposes of brick making, which 
business has been carried on extensively by convict labor. The greater 
portion of the prisoners, however, are employed as coopers, tailors, 
cabinet makers, shoemakers, saddlers, etc., being hired out by the 
State to contractors, who pay fifty cents per day for their labor. 

As yet, no valuable deposits of minerals have been found in thir> 
county, though it abounds in granite, limestone and other useful 
building stone, and a number of quarries have been opened within its 
limits. 

SONOMA COUNTY. 

Sonoma county is bounded on the north by Mendocino and Lake 
counties, on the east by Lake and Napa, and on the south, southwest, 
and west by Marin county and the ocean. It is about fifty miles in 
length with an average width of twenty-five miles, comprising an area of 
about 850,000 acres, of which nearly 300,000 are inclosed, and 200,000 
under cultivation. 

The chief topographical features of this county are its four magnifi- 
cent valleys, Petaluma, Sonoma, Santa Posa and Pussian river, through 
which flow considerable streams bearing their respective names. The 
two former are in the southern part of the county, separated by low 
mountain ridges. Crossing the northwestern and central portions of 
tlie county is the more lengthy but narrow valley of the Pussian river. 
Petaluma and Sonoma creeks flow southeasterly, and empty into San 
Pablo bay. They are navigable for small craft as high up as the tide 
reaches — a distance of about fifteen miles. Pussian river, although a 
large stream, is not navigable, owing to bars and rapids. 

The northern part of the county is mountainous, being traversed by 
spurs from the Coast Pange, which in some places rise to a height of 
two or three thousand feet. Pine mountain, in the northwestern part 



ICG THE NATXJEiUL WE.VLTH OF C.VLrFOK:;L\. 

of tlae county, reaches au elevation of 3,500 feet — Sulpliur Peak, near 
the Geysers, in the north-eastern part, being 3, 471 feet high. Many of 
the mountains, and even some of the lower hills, are covered with red- 
wood — pitch, or yellow pine, (2:»ini(s^90«derosa,) sugar pine (pinus Lam- 
hertiana,) spruce, or red fir, (ablcs Dourjlasi'i,) and California nutmeg, 
{Torreija Cal'ifornica,) being found upon the higher ranges. Portions of 
the valleys and hills are covered with a scattered growth of oak, ma- 
droiia, and other scrubby trees — sycamore and small willow being 
found along the water courses. There are thirteen saw mills in differ- 
ent parts of the county, making lumber chiefly for local consumption, 
though considerable quantities are exported from Bodega, Port Pioss, 
Timber Cove and other points in the northern section of the county. 
The amount of lumber manufactured in Sonoma annually is estimated 
at 12,000,000 feet. The most of the produce exported from the south- 
ern end of the county is sent from Petaluma, between which place and 
San Francisco three lines of steamers and a large number of small sail- 
ing vessels ply constantly. 

Petaluma is situated on a creek of the same name, and about a mile 
above the head of navigation, a railroad having been constructed con- 
necting the town with the lauding. It lies about forty-five miles north- 
west of San Francisco, and is a growing place, the population having 
increased from 2,500 to over 4,000, within the last four years. It now 
contains seven churches, a college and a number of schoolhouses, a 
planing-mill, a sash and door factory, a soap and a match factory, with 
a ship-yard whereat vessels of as high as ninety tons' burden are built. 
The name of the town signifies, in the Indian tongue from which it is 
derived, "Duck hill," the locality having been famous as a resort for 
wild ducks prior to its settlement by the whites. A railroad, extending 
from some point on San Pablo bay to Healdsburg, on Piussian river, 
having become an urgent necessity, the inhabitants of the county are 
making strenuous efforts to secure its construction, Avhich there is good 
reason to believe will be effected at an early day, either by building a 
line direct from Petaluma to Healdsburg, or continuing the Napa and 
CaUstoga road, noAv nearly finished, to that place. Once built to 
Healdsburg, there is little doubt but a railroad would bo prolonged up 
the Ptussian river valley, until by gradual stages it might roach the 
interior of Mendocino county, if not ultimately the head waters of Eel 
river, following down the same to some point on Humboldt bay, and 
thus become the means of opening an extensive and valuable, but at 
present almost inaccessible region to trade and settlement. 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 167 

Sonoma county enjoys an even and agreeable climate, rarely suf- 
fering from tlie strong winds that xarevail during the summer at San 
Francisco, while its proximity to the ocean moderates the fierce heat of 
the interior, insuring a mild and agreeable temperature throughout the 
year. The moisture imparted by the sea-air to the soil, in the valleys 
a rich alluvion, and on the uplands a yellow loam, tends to keep vege- 
tation green, thereby insuring abundant pasturage and almost uni- 
formly good crops in all parts of the county. In the valley of Eussian 
river, good crops of Indian corn can be grown without irrigation, this 
being one of the few localities in the State where this cereal can bo 
raised with facility. The number of acres of this grain planted in the 
county, in the year 1867, is estimated at 5,000, yielding 150,000 bush- 
els. The country in the vicinity of Bodega is particularly well adapted 
to the culture of the potato, of which there were 4,000 acres planted in 
1867, producing 150,000 bushels. 

The name of this county is of Indian origin, signifying, in that lan- 
guage, the "valley of the moon," a term peculiarly appropriate, since 
a more beautiful spot than the great Sonoma valley, seen on a moon- 
light night, can scarcely be conceived of. This was also the name of a 
notable chief of the Chocuyen tribe, who inhabited this valley in the 
days of the missionaries. 

Santa Eosa, the county seat, situated in a valley of the same name, 
about sixteen miles north from Petaluma, occupies a handsome site on 
the Santa Eosa creek, a small stream which, running west, falls into 
Eussian river. The toAvn is surrounded with oak and other forest- 
trees, and has a well fenced plaza filled with trees, shrubs and flowers. 
Around this central square, the most of the stores, hotels, and other 
business places, are located. The first settlement upon this spot was 
made in 1852. The court-house is a fine building, besides which the 
to\yn contains several churches and school-houses, and a number of 
elegant private residences. In 1860, Santa Eosa had a population of 
700, which seven years later had increased to 1, 800. The valley in 
which it is situated is about ten miles long, and six wide. It is under 
a high state of cultivation, and is surrounded by scenery of surpassing 
beauty, the Cascade mountains, a low but picturesque range, bounding 
it on the west, and a much more lofty and rugged chain on the east ; 
the bold peak of Mount St. Helena, sixteen miles distant to the north- 
east, lifting itself to a height of 4,343 feet. 

Healdsburg, another prosperous toTvn, is located in the Eussian river 
valley, at a point where it deflects to the southwest, and near the con- 
fluence of that stream, with Knight's creek, having its source in Mount 



168 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENLV. 

St. Helena, about tuv^nty miles distant to the east. The town derives 
its name from Harmon Heald, who, in 184G, established a trading-post 
in the wlcinitj, for supplying the hunters and trappers in the neigh- 
boring mountains. It stands on a broad, fertile j)lain, having an alti- 
tude of one hundred and seventj-five feet above the waters of San 
Francisco baj, from which it is distant nearly fifty miles, being about 
forty miles north of Pctaluma. It is the natural trade-center of a largo 
agricultural region, embracing the several valleys of Russian river, 
reaching fifty or sixty miles to the north — Knight's creek, Dry creek, 
Santa Rosa, and several smaller valleys, through all of which run good 
roads converging to this place. The site of the town is no less beau- 
tiful than eligible, being surrounded by scattered groves of old oaks, 
and other trees of native growth, with a panorama of picturesque moun- 
tains in the distance. In 1867, it contained 1,500 inhabitants, of whom 
410 were children under fifteen years of ago. Three years before, the 
population numbered but 600, of whom 500 were adults. The excel- 
lence and cheapness of the land, together with security of title, and 
the prospect of early railroad communication with the bay of San 
Pablo, havo contributed to greatly encourage settlement in this part 
of tho county. The majority of the inhabitants came originally from 
the southern and southwestern states — a circumstance indicated not 
more by the peculiarities of their manners than tho style of their 
houses, most of which have huge chimneys built outside, after the 
custom in their early homes. 

In 1841, eight square leagues of the valley, adjacent to Healdsburg, 
were granted by tho Mexican government to an American family by 
tho name of Fitch, some of whom continue to reside in the vicinity, 
though nearly all of this extensive grant has now passed from their 
possession. About two miles east of the town, stands an isolated peak 
some five hundred feet high, known as Fitch's mountain, being nearly 
the only reminder left of this pioneer family. The view from the top 
of this mountain is extremely fine, from whence may be seen Mount 
St. Helena to the east, tho numerous ranges of Mendocino lying north, 
and the Pacific ocean on tho west — tho whole comprising a landscape 
abounding with striking features and diversified scenery. 

The city of Sonoma is tho oldest settlement in this county, the mis- 
sion of San Francisco de Solano having been founded here in 1820. 
The old buildings first erected still remain, though latterly converted 
into a church supplied with pews, cushions, carpets, gaslight, and all 



COUNTIES or CALirORXIA. 169 

tlie modern improvements in ecclesiastical decoration. In its capa- 
cious auditorium, wliicli once resounded witli tlie uncouth jargon of 
lialf-clad savages, is now heard the melodious voices of a well trained 
choir, mingling with the strains of instrumental music. The town is 
situated a short distance east of the creek that runs through the center 
of the valley. It is distant about twenly miles southeast of Santa 
Rosa, and forty miles northerly of San Francisco. Some of the original 
houses built here are large and, though made of adobe, are two stories 
high. They surround the usual courtyard, and are adorned with port- 
icos and corridors after the Yenetian style, imparting to them a com- 
manding appearance — this having been the residence of the elite of the 
native Californians. Many of them were neatly painted, and sur- 
rounded with gardens, orchards, and walnut-trees. The residence of 
Gen. M. G. Vallejo — a spacious building, in which so many, both foreign 
and native, once enjoyed his hospitality — ^was demolished in 1866, and 
an elegant hotel erected on the spot ; the former proprietor having 
parted with this, as well as with nearly all the residue of his property 
in the county. The town of Sonoma, which in 1864 contained only 
five hundred inhabitants, now numbers over one thousand. The valley 
of Sonoma, about six miles wide and twenty long, is one of the most 
beautiful, as well as fruitful and highly cultivated, in the State, it 
being covered throughout nearly its whole extent, and, in many places, 
even to the summits of the adjacent hills, with grassy j)astures, grain- 
fields, orchards, vineyards, and gardens. The soil and general appear- 
ance of the valley, bear a striking resemblance to the vine-districts of 
Johannesberg, Hockheimer, Stienberger, and other famous wine- 
producing localities in the vicinity of Bingen on the Rhine ; and there 
is no doubt but the white wines of this county will, in a few years, 
when their good qualities come to be more fully known, attain to as 
great a popularity in Europe as those of the Rhenish provinces. The 
yield of grapes to the vine, and also of juice, is much greater here 
than in France, Italy, or Germany, many of the vineyards in Sonoma 
yielding about 1,00Q gallons to the acre, while in France the yield 
is not over 200 ; in Germany, 250 ; and in Italy, 400 gallons to the 
acre. 

Appended is a list of most of the principal vineyards in this county, 
with the number of vines and acres planted in grapes at the close of the 
year 1867 : 



170 



THE NATUPv^VL WEALTH OF C.U:;IFOK!CL\. 



YXNEYAKDS IN SONOMA. VALLEY. 

Ill the vicinity of the Toion. 

Proprietors. Acres. Vines. 

Bneiia Yista Vinicultural Society 375 3S0, 350 

Estate of General C. II. S. "Williams 120 81,000 

Dresel & Gendlacli 120 85,000 

J. Lutgens 30 21,0D0 

Haraszthy Brothers 58 70,000 

Major Snyder 30 21,000 

General M. G. Vallejo 50 35,000 

Mrs. Col. Haraszthy. 140 200,000 

Mr. Maxwell 35 25,000 

Colonel Walton. 25 18,000 

On the west side of tJie Valley. 

Nicolas Carriger ISO 150,000 

0. W. Craig 75 (50,000 

Thos. J. roulteror 20 15,000 

\{. McP. Hill 35 30,000 

Georgo Watriss 25 20,000 

Jackson Temple 50 60,000 

Lamott & Co 30 25,000 

Adler & Co 30 25,000 

About twenty-five small vineyards, aggregating 300 235,000 

Middle of Valley. 

Stewart & Warfield 140 110,000 

Krohn & Williams CO 50,000 

Mr. V/hemquartncr 35 30,500 

Several small vineyards, in all 50 37, 500 

East side of Valley. 

James Shaw 20 1G,500 

Thomas Naus 40 33,000 

Lamott & Co 25 20,000 

Several others in this vicinity 102 100,000 

Near Santa lioKO. 

James Shaw 35 30,000 

Yv^illiam Hood 65 50,000 

In Bennett'!! valley 170 125,000 

Above Santa Rosa, in tho vicinity of Pctaluma, and the bal- 
ance of the county 400 300,000 

Total 28,870 2,564,850 



Of tliis number of vinos, at least 1,000,000 arc not bcaiing. It is 
estimated there were about 400,000 vines set out in this county during 
tho winter of 18G7-8 ; the number planted tho preceding year having 
been 500,000. Tho vineyards here are chiefly planted Avith tho nativo 
California vino, which thrives better without irrigation than most of 
tho foreign varieties, is less liable to mildew, yielding, withal, a Avino 
of good body and easily kept. Tho Sonoma Aviuo differs from that pro- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 171 

cluced in otlier parts of the State, being lighter and more tart, and well 
adapted for cliampagne purposes. Isador Landsberger, wine dealer, 
of San Francisco, and the Buena Vista Vinicultural Society, are en- 
gaged in making champagne from these wines. The former manufac- 
tured from the vintage of 1866 six hundred dozen bottles of this article, 
and the latter four hundred dozen. Mr. Landsberger also purchased 
the entire product of 1867 from the vineyard of the Haraszthj Brothers, 
amounting to 15, 000 gallons, for the same j)urpose. 

The grape from Lutgen & Dresel's vineyards is said to yield a wine 
resembling the Moselle of France, more than any other in the State; 
Jackson Temple's vineyard, called the Tokay, produces a wine similar 
to the famous Hungarian tokay. 

Extending north from Marin county, nearly to Russian river, is a 
belt of rich country which produces fine crops of grain and gTass, even 
to the summit of the hills. This is the famous Bodega potato region, 
and includes Twin Bock and Big valley, the northern part of which is 
thickly timbered with redwood. Near the mouth of Russian river is a 
large saw mill, with a railroad connecting it with the forests on the 
mountains, two miles above. Valley Ford and Bodega Corners are 
active villages containing a number of churches, school houses, and 
stores, and having a population, including that of the adjacent district, 
of about two thousand. The products of this section of the county 
are shipped to San Francisco, via Bodega bay. In the vicinity of Bo- 
dega Corners, and about sixteen miles northwest of Petaluma, an exten- 
sive business is carried on in the preparation of charcoal for the San 
Francisco market, many thousand bushels being made here annually. 
Hundreds of acres have been cleared by the charcoal burners of Sebas- 
topol, as the nearest town is called, the pine in this region making a 
peculiarly solid coal. 

The "Geysers," a collection of hot springs, one of the greatest 
curiosities in the State, being alike extraordinary for their varied 
appearance, and the chemical composition of their waters, are situated 
in this county. The locality of this singular exhibition of subterranean 
chemistry is in a deep gorge, in the northeastern part of the county, 
about fifty miles from Petaluma, known as Pluton caiion, and through 
which flows Pluton creek, emptying into Russian river. The spot is 
wildly picturesque, being in the vicinity of some of the highest peaks 
in the Coast Range of mountains. The springs, which extend for 
nearly a quarter of a mile, in the middle of the caiion, cover about two 
hundred acres. They are elevated about 1,700 feet above the level of 
the sea, and are suiTOunded by mountains from three thousand to four 



172 THE NATURAL -^E-ALTH OF CALITOEXLV. 

tliousand feet liigli. Tliis cauon lias evidentlj once been tlie theatre of 
intense volcanic action, tlie rocks being burnt into a great variety of 
colors. 

There are over three hundred springs and jets of steam in this 
caiion, from an inch to several feet in diameter, the depositions from 
■which vary from snowy white to inky black in color. The w^ater con- 
tains iron, sulphur, and the various salts of lime, magnesia, ammonia, 
soda, and potash, emitting the characteristic odor generated by hydro- 
sulphuric acid. The registry at the hotel kept here is written with the 
dark-colored contents of one of these springs. The rocks, over which 
the \7aters from these springs flow, are coated with the compounds of 
sulphur, lime, and magnesia. Ej)som salts, alum, sulphur, and sul- 
phates of iron can be collected here by the wagon load. 

The two greatest attractions in the caiion are the Witches' Cauldron 
and the Steamboat Spring. The former consists of a cavity about seven 
feet in diameter, and of unknown depth, filled wdth a black, viscid fluid, 
which, boiling with intense energy at a temperature of 200-* Fahren- 
heit, bubbles and splashes, rising occasionally two or three feet above 
the sides of the cauldron, though never running over it. The rocks for 
several feet above this infernal fountain, over which its contents have 
splashed, are covered with innumerable crystals and stalactites of pale 
sulphur. The dark color of this mass is caused by the water of a spring 
holding iron in solution, having, through contact with other water con- 
taining sulphureted hydrogen, formed a new compound, whereby the 
latter has been set free — and hence the foetid odor. When it is recol- 
lected that to the presence of this gas, putrid eggs, bilge and sewer 
water owe their peculiarly offensive smell, some idea can be formed of 
the abominable odors escaping from this place. 

In the year 18G1 this caulJron, from some unknown cause, was 
emptied of its contents and filled with steam. The proprietor of the 
hotel at the place, fearing that it would thus be deprived of one of its 
greatest attractions, caused a small stream of water to be led into the 
cauldron, curious himself to see what would be the result. The instant 
the cool water came in contact with the lower portion of the cavity a 
fearful commotion ensued. The ground, for several rods about, shook 
with violence, and in a few minutes after, the inflowing water was ejected 
with stunning reports, and thro^vn to the height of nearly one hundred 
feet. In about three hours after the water was shut off the viscid fluid 
reappeared, and has continued to boil and bubble ever since. 

The Steamboat Spring, situated only a few yards from the Cauldron, 
consists of an opening in the rocks at the bottom of the caiion, about 



COUNTIES. OF CALIFOENIA. 173 

Wo feet in diameter, through which is constantly ejected, with the 
noise of a number of steamers, a body of steam sufficient, could it be 
controlled, to propel a large amount of machinery. This steam is so 
hot as to be invisible for five or six feet above the aperture through 
which it issues. On a clear day it rises in a column to a height of more 
than three hundred feet. 

The earth, in the vicinity of the largest of these springs, is hot, and 
full of sulphurous vapors, which constantly escape from the surface. 
The ground, for some distance around, shakes and trembles, and the 
visitor, by stamping his foot, causes a terrible noise to resound through 
the cavernous spaces below. If he steps out of the beaten track, or 
thrusts his cane through the thin crust that has hardened on the sur- 
face, hot, sulphurous steam escapes from the aperture. The noise of 
so many steam vents, each blowing off in a different key, and at irreg- 
ular intervals, produces a most discordant din. Some of these sounds 
are subdued and gentle, scarcely louder than the breathings of a horse 
after a severe run; some resemble a low growl emitted at intervals of 
about a minute, while others can scarcely be distinguished from the 
puffings of a high pressure engine. With all these noises above the 
surface of the earth and below, the loathsome smell of sulphur and 
hydrogen, and the tremulous motion of the ground beneath one's feet, 
a feeling of insecurity inevitably impresses itself upon the minds of 
those who visit this place for the first time. Among the many singular 
things to be seen in this strange canon, are hot and cold water issuing 
from springs but a few feet apart, and in other places water issuing 
from the same orifice, and apparently from the same source, but differ- 
ing essentially in color, taste, smell, and chemical composition. The 
water of Pluton creek, which, when it enters the caiion, is at a low tem- 
perature, becomes heated to about 140° in its passage through it. 
Stimulated by the unusual warmth of the place, vegetation is at all 
times vigorous, even about the margin of the steaming pools. In the 
waters of some of these springs, boiling at. 200'°, and in others where 
the water is sufficiently acid to bum leather readily into tinder, algca 
and coi\fervce find a congenial element, and grow abundantly. Less than 
forty paces from the focus of this heated region, trees, shrubs, grass 
and flowers grow with luxuriance, both winter and summer. 

About four miles further to the northeast, up Pluton canon, are the 
Little Geysers, a series of large springs of intensely hot water, but 
they do not contain any mineral substance, except a mere trace of iron. 
They are situated on the side of a gently-sloping hill, at an altitude of 
tvro thousand two hundred feet. 



174: THE NATTJEAL "WEALTH OF C.iLIFORXLV. 

Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence in this region. Persons 
wlio have resided there since April, 1847, the date of the discovery of 
these springs, state that the ground about them has, within that 
period, sunk about forty feet. The heated waters and acids appear to 
dissolve the solid rocks, which tlms gradually sink, as decomposition 
progresses. 

In 18G3, a number of good specimens of auriferous quartz were 
obtained from a ledge discovered on Mark West creek, about seven 
miles from Santa Rosa, in Bodega township, at which time a mining 
district was organiz;ed. Though gold has been found here, it does not 
exist in sufficient quantity to warrant the expenditure necessary for the 
construction of the machinery required for its extraction. Gold has 
also been found associated with cinnabar, a few miles east of the 
Geysers. Silver ores have also been met with, and worked to some 
extent in the range of hills west of Dry creek, nearly opposite Healds- 
burg. The ores of copper are quite abundant in this county. In 1863 
a number of districts were organized for working these mines. They 
covered a tract of country twenty-four miles in length by five miles in 
width, throughout which the work of prospecting was carried on exten- 
sively for nearly two years, during which time the towns of Suala, 
Monte Cristo and Copperton, were laid out and partially built up. 
A considerable quantity of copper ore extracted from these mines was 
shipped thence to San Francisco, but the cost of transportation and 
the decline in the value of copper, put a check to operations here in 
18G5. 

Quicksilver exists in considerable quantities, in the mountains in the 
north-eastern part of the county, which are identical in geological 
formation with those in Santa Clara county, wherein the New Almadcn 
mines are situated. The deposits of cinnabar in Sonoma county 
appear to have been affected by the subterranean heat of the Greysers, 
from which the more important are distant only a few hundred yards. 
At this locality, the mercury is found in a metallic state. The cinna- 
bar, about a mile to the east, has here been sublimated, and the metal 
cooled in tlie cavities of the rock, from a single one of which as much 
as six pounds of fluid mercury has sometimes been obtained. The 
Pioneer mine in this vicinity, which was extensively j^rospected 
between 18G1 and 18G4, produced during this period a large quantity 
of metal, but is not being worked at present. Quite recently, a valu- 
able quicksilver mine has been developed in Pope valley, Napa county, 
being situated in a continuation of the same formation with tlio 
Pioneer mine, of which a full description will bo found in the topo- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOriNIA. 175 

grapliy of Napa county. Several other claims were located in this 
county. In tlie mountains extending to tlie eastward nearly ten miles, 
small deposits of cinnabar have been found in a broad belt of rock, 
nearlv the whole distance. 

Coal has been discovered at several places along the course of Kus- 
sian river. The Sulphur Creek and Petaluma Coal Companies, organ- 
ized to work these mines, obtained considerable quantities of good 
coal from them, one lump oi which exhibited at Petaluma, in 1867, 
weighed two hundred pounds. The Cumberland Company's mine, 
near Cloverdale, contained a vein in places nearly seven feet thick, and 
from which about one hundred tons of coal were sold. Cloverdale is a 
small place situated on Russian river, in the northern part of the 
county, about forty-eight miles from Petaluma. 

Near the little town of Sebastopol occur extensive deposits of vari- 
ously tinted ochres and other mineral colors of fine quality. The 
owner of these "paint mines," Mr. O. A. Olmstead, is about to erect 
machinery for manufacturing paint from this material. Good free- 
stone and granite are extensively quarried near Santa Bosa ; there are 
also exhaustless quarries of good building-stone near Petaluma. A 
large deposit of excellent potters' clay exists near Albany, on the divid- 
ing ridge between Napa creek and Ptussian river. Bricks of superior 
quality are largely manufactured from a bed of good clay found in 
Knight's valley. Limestone and gypsum are quite plentiful in the 
mountains along the northern coast. 

There are twelve grist-mills in the county, eight driven by steam 
and four by water, the whole having a capacity to manufacture 1, 000 
barrels of flour per day. The population of Sonoma, which in the year 
1860 numbered only 11,867, amounted to 26,960 in 1867, of whom 
7,959 were children under fifteen years of age. The value of real and 
personal property, assessed at SI, 220, 005 in 1863, had increased to 
$7,000,000 in 1867. 

NAPA COUNTY. 

Napa county is bounded on the north by Lake, on the south by 
Solano, on the east by Yolo and Solano, and on the west by Sonoma. 
It is about fifteen miles in average width, by forty-five miles in length ; 
contains about 450, 000 acres, of which nearly one half is valley and 
upland suitable for cultivation. Upwards of 200,000 acres were under 
cultivation in 1867. The balance consists of mountains and deep 
canons, which are well timbered towards the north. A branch of the 



176 THE NATTJEAL WEALTH OF CVLITOnNIA. 

Mayacamas mountains forms the boundaiy between tliis and Sonoma 
county on tlie west. Mount St. Helena, 4,343 feet liigb, the culmi- 
nating peak of this range — the highest point between San Francisco 
and Clear Lake — is in the north-west corner of this county. This 
mountain, forming a conspicuous object in the landscape for many 
miles around, was named in honor of the Empress of Eussia by tho 
Kussian naturalist, Wosnessensky, who ascended it in 1841. A copper 
plate recording the ascent, and placed oh the mountain at the time, is 
now in the possession of the officers of the Geological Survey. From 
this point, the range gradually decreases in altitude till, approaching 
the end of Kapa valley on the south, it sinks into low, grassy, broken 
hills. This valley, from which the county derives its name, is its chief 
topographical feature. It lies nearly north and south, extending about 
thirty-five miles from San Pablo bay, with an average width of about 
four miles. The upper portion, for a distance of twelve miles from the 
town of St. Helena, to the base of Mount St. Helena at its head, is 
only about one mile wide. At Yount's ranch, or Sebastopol, a town of 
that name nearly in the middle of it, there are a few low hills two 
miles apart. With this exception, the whole valley is a gentle slope 
from its head to the tules along the bay. Kapa creek, an insignificant 
but the largest stream in the county, rises at the base of Mount St. 
Helena, and flows through this valley near its eastern side, until it 
unites with tide-Avater in an estuary near Napa city, from whence it is 
navigable at high tide for vessels drawing six feet of water. 

Kjiight's valley, situated north of the mountains at the head of 
Napa valley, is seven miles in length by nearly two miles in width, 
trending nearly cast and west, forming a connecting link between Napa 
and Russian river valleys. This is a beautiful valley, very fertile and 
picturesque, and surrounded by mountains thousands of feet high, tim- 
bered to their summits. This is the timber region of the county, and 
hero are located the two saw-mills it contained in 18G7. Pine moun- 
tain, nearly 8,000 feet high, so named from tlie abundance of that 
timber on its sides, is at the head of Knight's valley. Pope valley ex- 
tends north-easterly from this point, into Lake county. It contains 
numerous deposits of quicksilver, some of which are being developed 
successfully. 

Berreyesa valley, in the north-eastern portion of tho county, is an 
extensive agricultural region. Monticcllo, the principal town in it, is 
twenty-four miles distant from Napa city. This fine valley trends to 
the south-cast ; is fourteen miles in length, Ijy an average of two miles 
wide, covered with a very rich, deep soil. It is surrounded by moun- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENIA. 177 

tains, and the Putah creek, flowing tlirougli it from one end to tlie 
other, enters and leaves through narrow rocky gorges. Until 18G6, 
this valley was used almost exclusively for stock-raising purposes, in 
consequence of there being no road connecting it with Napa. In that 
year a road was cut, the value of which is illustrated by the fact that, 
since then, nearly 15,000 acres of virgin soil have been broken, and 
planted with wheat and barley. The crops of grain cut here in 1867, 
were among the heaviest in the State — one tract, containing eight 
thousand acres, subdivided into small farms, produced an aggregate of 
one hundred and fifty thousand bushels of wheat, besides a large quan- 
tity of barley. So productive and cheap was the land in this vicinity, 
that, prior to the opening of the road mentioned, many of the farmers 
who bought their places the previous year, were enabled to pay for 
their land and improvements from the first crop. The wagon-road, 
which so greatly facilitated the develoj)ment of the Berreyesa valley, 
also aided in opening up several others communicating with it, of 
much smaller size, but equal in fertility. Valleys of this description 
are numerous in this and the adjoining counties, and are being rapidly 
settled by farmers, in anticipation of the completion of the Napa valley 
railroad, which is nearly finished to Calistoga, twenty-six miles north 
of Napa city, and will probably be continued thence into the Russian 
river country. 

On the road through Napa valley, towards Calistoga springs, an 
attractive picture is presented of a California farming district — sub- 
stantial private dwellings, well fenced fields, broad patches of vine- 
yards and fruit orchards, alternate with grain-fields, extending as far 
as the eye can reach. On either side of this fine valley are mountains 
covered with pine and fir, with here and there a clump of cedar ; the 
lower ranges full of thickets of nut-hazel, buckeye, California bay, 
oreodaphne Californica, the most odoriferous plant that grows on this 
coast ; the California lilac, a species of ceanothus ; several varieties of 
oak, the ash, and a dense undergrowth of grasses, clover, wild oats and 
flowers, which afford food and covert for an immense number of quail, 
hare, and rabbits. About 500, 000 bushels of wheat were harvested in 
this valley, in 1867. The average yield of all the land sown to this 
grain, being thirty bushels to the acre, without the use of any fertilizer 
or artificial irrigation. Fruits of all kinds, and the vine in all its varie- 
ties are also very productive. The lower hills are covered for miles 
with vineyards, and the area of this cultivation is rapidly extending. 
To illustrate the perfection the foreign varieties of grape attain on 
these hill-sides, Mr. H. M. Amsbury, in 1867, raised bunches of the 
12 



178 



THE NATURAL "WEALTH OF CALIFOKNIA. 



White Nice measuring thirty-two inches in circumference, and weighing 
upwards of eight pounds each. In another vineyard, bunches of tho 
Flame Tokay were gathered, weighing five pounds each. The vines on 
these hill-sides are never irrigated — they produce a wine essentially 
different from that made from gi'apes grown on the low lands, or where 
watered. 

Tho extent of the grape-culture in this countymay be inferred from 
the following list of the leading vineyards. The mission grape is 
almost exclusively cultivated for wine-making, but foreign varieties 
are grown for table use. 

VTNKSrAEDS IN NAPA COtJNTT. 



Proprietors. No. of Vines. 

Samuel Brannan 100,000 

R Kilbum 12,000 

P. Kellogg 15,000 

E. Kellogg 15,000 

Charles Krug 41,000 

D. Hudson 24,000 

D. Fulton 10,000 

J. York 35.000 

Wm. Hudson 12,000 

Mrs. MiUs. 10,000 

Dr. Crane G2,000- 

General Keys. 30,000 

Dr. Eule 20,000 

P. Pettet. 15,000 

F. Kellogg 20,000 



Proprietors. No. of Vines. 

Levelling 30,000 

M. Yann 10,000 

Mr. McCord 20,000 

C. Cown 20,000 

Geo. C. Yount 10,000 

Oak Knoll 15,000 

Henry Boggs 20,000 

Siegiist Brothers. 00,000 

C. Y^estfaU 12, COO 

Hurdman 20,000 

J. T. Dewoody 20,000 

Capt. Phil. Christensen 35,000 

J. Yan 20,000 

Suscol 30,000 



Making a total of 750,000 vines for the above twenty-nine vineyards. 
There are also a great number of smaller ones, containing from 1, 000 
to 10,000 vines each, which, collectively, amount to 250,000, making 
an aggregate of 1,000,000 for the entire county. Estimating that 1,000 
vines are planted to the acre, there are 1, 000 acres in vineyards. 

There appears to bo considerable difference in the quality of the 
wine made from grapes grown in different localities. Those grown in 
tho vineyard of Dr. J. N. Wood, near the soda sjirings, where he has 
about 5,000 vines of the grey Eeisburg variety, are said to make a fine 
hock wine. The peculiar flavor of this wine, which excels that made of 
the same character in other portions of tho State, is attributed more to 
the soil than to tho fruit. Tho great fertility of Napa valley, and the 
facilities it enjoys for reaching a market by the railroad passing through 
it connecting with steamers running daily to San Francisco, have 
caused tho land in the vicinity to more than double in value during the 
past three years. It is difficult to obtain farms here for less than $25 
per acre, and some aro hold as high as $100 or more. There are few 



COL^'TEES OF CALIFOKXIA. 179 

cattle or sheep raised in this vallej-, it being nearly all under cultiva- 
tion. Its name is of Indian origin, being all that remains of a numer- 
ous tribe of aborigines who once inhabited it. They were nearly 
exterminated by the small-pox in 1838. 

!N^apa city, the county seat, was founded in 1848 by ]S"athan 
Coombs, a pioneer settler in tlie valley. It is situated at the head of 
navigation on Napa creek, steamers inlying daily between the city and 
San Francisco. A railroad connects at Suscol landing, six miles south 
of the town, for convenience of shipj)iug at all stages of the tide. It is 
a flourishing town, containing many flower-gardens, vineyards and 
orchards, a number of substantial public buildings, including hotels, 
churches, schools, etc. It is lighted with gas, and supplied with 
abundance of good water, brought in pipes from the mountains. In 
addition to the railroad to Calistoga, a number of good macadamized 
roads, connecting with the interior of the county, have been made, or 
are in progress. This enterprising spirit of its residents has materially 
increased the business of the city dviring the past two years, and nearly 
doubled the value of its property. At the close of 1867, it contained 
about 1,900 inhabitants, of whom 500 were children ; in 1864, its popu- 
lation was less than 1,000. The construction of a railroad through the 
upper portion of Napa valley, has created an active trade in firewood. 
The Napa Wood Company have purchased from the Federal Government 
nearly 15,000 acres of mountain land, covered with black oak and other 
trees, near Oakville, on the line of the road. In November, 1867, 
there were 3, 000 cords of wood piled up here for shipment to San 
Francisco. 

Calistoga springs, one of the most pleasant, convenient, and fashion- 
able watering-places in California, are in this county, about twenty-six 
miles north of Napa city, with which place they are connected by the 
Napa valley railroad. They are situated in a romantic valley about 
three miles long and one mile wide, surrounded on all sides by tow- 
ering mountains, the rugged outlines and steep declivities of which 
impart to the scene a wild grandeur. On the north, less than three 
miles distant, Mount St. Helena looms in gigantic proportions, black 
and grim, while all around are peaks but little inferior to it in altitude, 
and so steep that their sides appear almost perpendicidar. Some of 
these mountains are covered with timber to their very summits, others 
remaining bare and bleak as when first created. The telescopic out- 
line of these distant hills, on a warm summer's day, is among the mar- 
vels of the atmospherical phenomena of California. No English park 
is more beautiful than the j)lain that stretches between the town and 



180 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

Mount St. Helena, covered with oak and sycamore forest-trees, 
arranged by Nature with such exquisite symmetry as art could never 
accomplish. A ri\'ulet, formed by the water from innumerable springs 
on the hill-sides, flows through the valley. This water, owing to itsg 
chemical composition, is of pale blue tint, giving a singular charm to 
the region through which it flows. The soil around these hot springs, 
extending over nearly a mile of the valley, is as springy under foot as 
the quaking bogs in some of the Atlantic States, and is covered with a 
tough, wiry grass, which cattle and horses are exceedingly fond of. 
The springs nearest the hotel have been enclosed in capacious wooden 
tanks, set in the ground, the water bubbling up within them, clear and 
sparkling. Over several of these tanks, houses have been erected sup- 
plied with conveniences for bathing, with the water at any desired tem- 
perature. 

The springs at Calistoga are supposed to be connected with the 
Geysers in Sonoma county, from which they are twenty-five miles dis- 
tant. They differ in temperature from 75° to 200-* Fah. , and contain 
iron, siilphur and the various salts of lime, magnesia and soda. Several 
deep holes have been bored among these springs, with a view to obtain- 
ing pure water. At a depth of sixty-two feet, the water in one of these 
holes was so intensely hot as to break the bulb of the thermometer 
used to test it. The materials met with by the borer, prove this valley 
to be much older than the Geysers. The auger passed through six- 
teen feet of rich loam, resting on six feet of gravel, under which is a 
stratum of tufacious matter ten feet thick, and a bed of clay and gravel 
29 feet thick ; below this, was a stratum of rock too hard for the auger. 
The temperature of the water, six feet beneath the surface, w^as found 
to be 135°; at 22 feet, 195°; at 32 feet, 210°; below which point it was 
too hot to be tested with the instrument. In other holes, bored to a 
depth of 70 feet, the temperature increased about 3° for every ten feet 
sunk, the water being sufiiciently hot at the lowest depth attained to 
boil eggs in a few minutes. 

The greater portion of the valley in which these springs are located 
is the property of Samuel Brannan, Esq., one of the most enterprising 
residents of San Francisco, who has expended upwards of $100,000 
ill aiding Nature to further adorn this beautiful place. Ornamental 
trees, flowers and shrubs from almost every clime, have been gathered, 
loOjOOO grape vines planted, mazy walks, cosy bowers, and lab^Tintli- 
ine groves laid out, v.ithout the appearance of having been planted 
artificially. In a spot so sheltered, with a soil so rich — always moist 
and warm — all the plants of the Avarmer latitudes grow v^ith extraordi- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 181 

nary luxuriance. The whole valley formG a sort of open-air conserv- 
atory, while, on the hills and knolls aronnd it, the air is delightfully 
cool and balmy. The hotel and bathing accommodations are extensive 
and elegantly fitted up, including capacious tepid swimming-baths, for 
both sexes. The valley is not, however, wholly devoted to the use of 
the votaries of j)leasure. A large tract of land has been planted with 
mrdberry trees, to feed silk-worms ; another tract has been planted 
with willow, for the manufacture of baskets. In the mountains, among 
the timber, is a steam saw-mill, where thousands of feet of excellent 
lumber is cut; and, on the lower hills, are vineyards and fruit orchards 
in a high state of cultivation. The career of the proprietor of one of 
the Calistoga vineyards, affords such an excellent illustration of what a 
"poor man," with no other capital than intelligence and industry, may 
accomplish in California, that we give some particulars about Schram, 
and his vineyard, as an example worthy of imitation. Schram is a 
German by birth, and a barber by profession. When he arrived in the 
State, less than seven years ago, he had neither money nor friends, and 
could scarcely speak our language ; but he had tact and courage. Be- 
lieving that the hill-sides around this valley would produce a superior 
quality of grapes, he procured a tract of the land for a trifle — being 
covered with timber and underbrush, it was not considered to be worth 
anything. By dint of hard labor, he cleared a few acres and planted 
them with vines, acting as barber at the springs on Saturdays and Sun- 
days, in order to obtain money to pay his current expenses. He now 
has, at the end of five years, 15, 000 vines growing, about one half of 
which bear fruit, from which he has made sufficient wine to pay for 
considerable improvements. 

The "Wliite Sulphur springs are another fashionable resort. These 
are about six miles south of Calistoga, in the same range of mountains. 
They are in a deep gorge, so narrow that a strong man might throw a 
stone from one of the mountains that enclose it, to the other. A little 
babbling stream of clear, cold water ripples through the gorge over a 
pebbly bed, shaded by the foliage of broad oaks and drooping willows, 
forming quite a different scene to that about Calistoga. The waters 
are also different, issuing in a clear stream from the mountain side, at 
a temperature of about 80'-'. There are excellent hotel and bathing 
arrangements at these springs, but they are less frequented than 
Calistoga. 

The Napa Soda Springs are situated about five miles north from 
Napa City, on the east side of the valley, in a branch of the same range 
of mountains as the other mineral nprings in this and the adjoining 



182 THE NATUR.iL WE^ULTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

counties, but nearly twenty miles soutli of any of those described. 
Tliey are elevated nearly one thousand feet above the level of the valley, 
on the slope of the mountain. The number of springs must be very 
great, as they issue from the surface over an area of about thirty-five 
acres. Some of them discharge but little water — others are sufficiently 
large to keep an inch pipe constantly filled. Some merely ooze from 
the slate formation composing the mountain — others have formed basins 
around them by the sedimentary matter they deposit. 

The liquid from the larger spring is a fine quality of natural soda 
■water, highly charged with carbonic acid gas, and has become a popu- 
lar beverage throughout California. Napa soda, obtained from these 
springs, is bottled and sold at the rate of five thousand dozen per month 
during the summer season. Small gasometers are placed over each of 
the larger springs, which collect the gas as it escapes with the water, 
after which it is conducted by means of pipes into the main gasometer, 
and then forced into the bottles under a pressure of forty-five to sixty 
pounds. 

These valuable springs were discovered in 1853, but the water was 
not considered of commercial value until 1856. Since that time the 
demand for it has steadily increased. It is intended to erect a spacious 
hotel in the vicinity, so that those who desii'e to do so may imbibe the 
soda from the fountain head. 

The waters of these springs have been frequently analyzed. From 
experiments made by Dr. Lan8zweert, a practical chemist, a quart of it 
being evapoiated, was found to contain 17.19 grains of solid matter, 
compounded of the following substances : 

Grains. 

Bicarbonate of soda 3.28 

Carbonate of magnesia 6. o3 

Carbonate of lime 2. 72 

Chloride of sodiimi 1. 30 

Sub-carbonate of iron 1.96 

Sulijhate of soda 0. 46 

Silicious acid 0. 17 

Alnmina 0. 15 

Loss 0.C2 

Total 17.0'J 

Oak Knoll, originally the property of J. A\'. Osborn, one of tho 
most enlightened and enterprising among the pioneer farmers of Cal- 
ifornia, and who spent large sums of money in cultivating and improv- 
ing it, is noAv owned by R. B. Woodward. This farm, containing about 
eighteen hundred acres of fertile land, occupies the gi-eater portion of 
a genliy-roundcd knoll, situated nearly in the center of Napa valley. 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENIA. 183 

about five miles from the city. Ancient white oaks of large size still 
flourish about it in all their pristine beauty, imparting to the spot a 
peculiarly venerable aspect. Broad fields of grain, luxuriant vineyards, 
and "well-trained orchards tell that the useful has not been sacrificed to 
the ornamental or beautiful — all being blended with admirable taste 
and judgment. 

On the boundary between this and Lake county, connecting with 
Mount St. Helena, is an irregular pile of steep and rugged mountains, 
extending as far as the head of Napa valley, in which large deposits of 
quicksilver have been found, some of which have been in process of 
exploration since their discovery in 1859. The indications of this metal 
have been traced for nearly fifteen miles from Sonoma, through Lake, 
into this county. About two miles south of Mount St. Helena, in a 
deep caiion, running nearly east and west, is a steej) bank, on the south 
nearly eighteen hundred feet high, and about a mile in length, the most 
of which contains cinnabar, its slopes being covered with fragments 
that have fallen from the croppings above. Portions of this ore can 
be panned out from almost any of the surface dirt in this caiion, and 
small grains can be gathered from the serpentine and sandstone of which 
the bank is composed. There are two well defined ledges in this bank, 
about two hundred yards apart, the lower about eight hundred feet 
above the bottom of the caiion, trending northwest and southeast, which 
are richer in the ore than other portions. Another caiion, trending to 
the south, crosses that in which this bank is situated, and extends into 
James' canon, trending northeast about two miles. Here the cinnabar 
crops out along the sides and over the summit of the mountain which 
divides this canon from Pope valley. From its top, descending east- 
ward into the latter for about two miles, the ores are. richer and more 
abundant than in any other portion. The owners of the lead in this 
vicinity have expended large sums in prospecting their claim. In 1863 
furnaces were erected and about twenty thousand pounds of mercury 
obtained, but the disconnected nature of the deposits, defective appar- 
atus, and high price of labor and materials compelled the parties to 
cease operations. 

During 1867 new and important discoveries of cinnabar were made 
in this vicinity, and several hundred tons of ore extracted, which 
yielded at the rate of from eight to thirty per cent, of metal. At the 
close of that year a considerable force of men were employed oj^ening 
a number of claims here. A furnace capable of reducing eight tons of 
ore per day was put up, numerous buildings were erected, a dam and 
flume were built, and every jareparation made for extensive operations. 



184 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENIA. 

Pope valley lies about forty miles nortli of Napa city. About ten miles 
north from this jjlace, between Berreyesa valley and Clear Lake is an- 
other locality abounding in cinnabar, though the ore differs from that 
in Pope valley, it being of a leaden-gray color, while the other is a red 
ore. Traces of gold are found in the ores at both places. The native 
Californians were aware of the existence of these deposits before their 
discovery by Americans — these people designating them as "la veta 
madre," or, the mother vein. 

The population of Napa county in the fall of 1867 numbered about 
8,000, chiefly Americans and Europeans, or about one inhabitant to 
each fifty-nine acres. In 1860 it contained 5,500. 

LAKE COUNTY. 

Lake county is bounded on the north by Colusa and Mendocino, 
on the south by Napa and Sonoma, on the east by Colusa and Yolo, 
and on the west by Mendocino and Sonoma. It is about sixty miles 
in length by fifteen miles in average width. The whole of it is em- 
braced within two branches of the main coast mountains, runnins: 
nearly north and south, which divide on the south of Mount St. Helena, 
the western branch being known locally as the Mayacamas, (the name 
of a once numerous tribe of Indians that inhabited them, ) and the east- 
ern as Bear mountains, from the number of grizzlies living there. 
Mount Bipley, the highest peak of this division, near the upper end of 
Clear Lake, is uj)wards of three thousand feet high. These divisions re- 
unite near the northern limit of the county, where Mount St. John, the 
connecting ridge, attains a height of nearly four thousand feet. Between 
these ranges lies a valley about forty miles in length by nearly fiiteen 
miles wide, the sides of which are formed by narrow ridges of broken 
mountains, separated by deep gorges and narrow canons, covered with 
timber underbrush, wild oats and gi-apes, in which all kinds of game 
abound. A grizzly bear was killed in these mountains in 1865, weigh- 
ing nearly two thousand pounds. In this valley is Clear Lake, cover- 
ing more than one third of its surface. This beautiful lake is nearly 
one thousand five hundred feet above the level of the sea, is sixty-five 
miles from Suisun bay and thirty-six miles from the Pacific ocean. 
It has a length of about twentj'-five miles, and for the first ten miles 
from its northern end averages ten miles in width, after which it is con- 
tracted to a width of about two miles — the base of a mountain called 
Uncle Sam projecting into it at this pofnt, and dividing it into the upper 
and lower lake. This mountain rises almost perpendicularly from tho 
water to an altitude of two thousand five hundred feet, and to the south- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENIA. 185 

east, a distance of eiglit miles, the lake contracts into Cache creek, its 
only outlet, a deep, wide stream, which flows eastward through Yolo 
county for sixty miles and unites with the Sacramento, near Knight's 
landing. The Cache creek valley, a very fertile district, extends through 
this county into Yolo. Hawkins' arm of the lower lake, as the narrow 
portion is termed, is about two miles wide, and extends east among the 
mountains a distance of six miles. North of Uncle Sam mountain, the 
main lake is, in places, more than nine miles wide, but owing to the 
peculiarly clear atmosphere which usually prevails, the distance appears 
much less. Its waters are clear as crystal, cool and deep, and the upper 
lake, from one end to the other, full of fish, and unbroken by a single 
island. The narrow portion contains several beautiful little islands, 
inhabited by Indians, who call the lake Lup Yomi. These Indians 
are a poor, harmless, and apparently happy set of beings, who live on 
roots, fish, and game — which latter they exibit great dexterity in catch- 
ing — the fish with net, and the wild fowl with slings, in which they use 
small pellets of hard baked clay. They pan hit a duck with these pel- 
lets as unerringly as white men can with a shot gun. The canoes used 
by these people, made of tules dried and bound together, are precisely 
similar to those described by Cabrillo and Father Palou, and alluded to 
in the historical portion of this work. Pike, trout, and blackfish are 
abundant in the lake, and ducks, geese, and other wild fowls may be 
found in the tules which fringe its shores. 

North-west of Uncle Sam mountain, is a belt of fine bottom-land, 
known as Big valley, which, rising gradually from the border of the 
lake, extends to the head of the main valley, and is nearly two miles 
wide, thickly sprinkled with oak and willow, and traversed by numer- 
ous small streams, which empty into the lake. On this plain is located 
Lakeport, the county seat, about one hundred miles north from San 
Francisco — a quiet, prosperous little town. There is twenty feet of 
water close to the shore at this place ; and a small sailing vessel plies 
between it and the lower lake. It is contemplated to construct a small 
steamer, to facilitate freight and travel between these two points. 
There are two gi-ist-mills and three saw-mills in this valley, which are 
kept busy supplying the district with flour and lumber. The moun- 
tains furnish abundance of redwood, pine and fir. 

The eastern shore of the lake is quite mountainous ; but, toward j 
the north, the range is much broken, and several creeks flow through 
canons into the lake. Along the banks of these creeks, and at other 
places near the shore, are considerable patches of rich grazing land, 
affording nutritious pasturage for a large number of cows. Some of 



186 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFOKNU.. 

the clieese made here is reputed to be equal to the best English Stil- 
ton, or Cheshire. There are six large dairies in this Tallev, having 
sixty to one hundred and fifty cows each. The annual product of the 
county, for the i^ast four years, has been about 200,000 pounds of 
cheese, each cow giving enough milk to make about 300 pounds dm-ing 
the year. 

There are good roads from Lakeport connecting with Suisun, Men- 
docino, and Napa counties. It is j^roposed to extend a branch of the 
Napa valley railroad, to the head of Lake valley. A road has also been 
surveyed to connect with the Geysers, only ten miles distant. 

There are numerous small branch-valleys among the surrounding 
mountains, some of which have been brought under cultivation within 
the past year or two. Sigler valley, a few miles west of the head of 
Lake valley, is one of the finest of these little places. It is about five 
miles in circumference, surrounded by mountains of the most pictur- 
esque form. One of these mountains, from which the valley receives 
its name, contains a large number of springs, varying in temperature 
from icy coldness to a boiling heat, of different colors and flavor, 
including one of cold soda-water. A hotel has been erected in this 
valley, for the accommodation of visitors. 

This county was organized in 1861 ; until then it formed the north- 
ern portion of Napa county. Its first white settlers were Lease, Kel- 
sey, and Stone, who had a cattle-ranch in Lake valley, in 1844. The 
two latter were killed by Indians in 1851. The present population of 
the county is about 4, 000, including 1, 200 children. There are several 
small villages located along the shores of the lake and among the val- 
leys. The land under cultivation in 1867, exceeded 7,000 acres, fi'om 
which good crops of wheat, barley and vegetables were raised, but 
little attention being paid to fruit. Experiments made recently 
demonstrate that a good quality of cotton can be grown in the shel- 
tered valleys. Good land in this county is held at twenty to fifty dol- 
lars per acre. 

One of the more considerable sources of wealth in this county con- 
sists of its borax and sulphur deposits, both of which abound in great 
profusion and purity in the vicinity of Clear Lake. Borax lake, or 
Lake Kaysa as it is called by the Indians, a i:)ond covering from two to 
four hundred acres, according to the season of the year, is situated a 
short distance east of Clear lake, about half-Avav between Cache creek 
and Hawkhis' arm, in a valley formed by two steep ridges at the head 
of Cache creek. Borax lake is situated on a sort of peninsula extend- 
ing into Clear lake, being separated from the latter by a cretaceous 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOKNIA. 187 

ridge varying from lialf a mile to one mile in widtli. In the fall of 
tlie year, when filled np by the rains, this pond is about six thousand 
feet long and two thousand wide. It is of an irregular, oval shape, its 
longitudinal axis lying east and west, and in ordinary seasons varies in 
depth from five feet in the month of April, to two feet at the end of 
October. The appearance of the land to the eastward, indicates that 
t]iis lake at one time extended a mile in that direction beyond its 
present limit, wells sunk in this land filling with water similar to that 
in the lake, which has no visible inlet or outlet. The waters of this 
pond contain a considerable per cent, of borax, carbonate of soda 
and chloride of sodium in solution ; yet it is not from this water 
that the supply of borax is obtained. Beneath, lies a bed of black 
jelly-like mud, three feet in depth, which feels like soap between the 
fingers. Tliis mud contains enormous quantities of the crystals of 
biborate of soda. Underlying it is a bed of tough bluish clay, from 
five to twelve feet in thickness, and which also contains numerous layers 
of these crystals, mostly of a larger size. The latter are semi-trans- 
parent and of a grayish or brownish tint, being contaminated more or 
less with earthy matters. These crystals are collected and dissolved in 
boiling water, when the impurities fall to the bottom of the vessels, and 
they re-form in a state of nearly absolute purity and of almost snowy 
whiteness. 

From experiments made by the California Borax Company, who 
own this lake, it has been ascertained that the water, mud and clay, to 
a depth of sixty feet — as far down as they have tested them — are 
heavily charged with this valuable salt, as well as a large percentage of 
carbonate of soda, and chloride of sodium. Professor Oxland, who for 
some time had charge of the company's works, found the black mud to 
contain, by analysis, 17.73 per cent, of borax. Another sample ana- 
lyzed by Mr. Moore, a chemist of San Francisco, yielded 18. 86 per cent, 
of this salt. The clay, at the depth of eight feet has been found to 
contain 15, and that taken from a depth of sixty feet, 3.51 per cent, of 
borax. The jDrepared borax produced by this company is made from 
the crystals alone, these being ample to supply all the crude material 
required for present operations, the quantity purified amounting to 
between twenty-five hundred and three thousand pounds daily. 

Until 18GG the only apparatus employed to obtain the borax con- 
sisted of four iron coffer dams, six feet square and nine feet deep, which, 
having been floated to the spot where required, on a raft, were sunk 
through the mud by their own weight into the mud beneath, after which 
they were pumped out and the mud was removed and j^laced in cisterns 



188 THE XATUR-VL TVE.\LTH OF CALIFORNL\. 

to be treated as already described. Latterly a dredging macbine bas 
been employed, -vvbicb not only expedites operations, but curtails 
expenses. 

Tbis lake Tvas discovered by Dr. Jobn A. Veatcb, in September, 
1859. About two miles to tbe nortb of it, on tbe edge of Clear Lake, 
is a group of boiling springs, scattered over an area of about eight acres, 
tbe water of wbicb is biglily charged with boracic acid, soda and chlor- 
ine. From a gallon of this water Dr. Veatch obtained, by analysis, four 
hundred and forty-eight grains of solid matter, consisting of borax, 
carbonate of soda, chloride of sodium, and silicious matter. One of 
these springs discharges nearly one hundred gallons of water per min- 
ute, the quantity issuing from the entire number being about three 
hundred gallons per minute, but w^hich is here suffered to run to waste, 
because of the abundance of more available material at hand. The 
w^ater of these springs contain the following elements : 

Bicarbonate of soda 76. 96 

Bicarbonate of ammonia 107. 76 

Biborate of soda 103.29 

Free carbonic acid, 36. 37 

Chloride of sodium 84. 62 

Iodide of magnesium .09 

Alumina 1. 26 

Silicic acid 8. 23 

Matters volatile at red beat 65.77 

And traces of sulphate of lime, chloride of potassium, and bromide of magnesium. 

These substances being calculated as anhydrous salts and borax, 
containing forty-seven per cent, of water when crystalized, causes 
103.29 grains in the above analysis to be equal to 195.35 of commercial 
borax. There are probably no springs in the world which contain so 
large a per cent, of ammoniacal salts as these. 

There is another borax-lake situated in a little valley a few miles 
northeast of Clear lake, surrounded with thick forests of oak and pine. 
The bottom of this lake, w^liich covers an area of about twenty acres 
with a clay similar to that found in the larger lake ; and, although its 
Avaters are more highly charged with boracic acid, the crystals of the 
borate of soda have not as yet been found in its bottom. Besides the 
springs already mentioned, there are several others of less magnitude in 
this county, impregnated with the salt of borax. 

On the shore of Clear lake, near the hot borate springs before 
noticed, is an immense deposit of sulphur, from beneath which these 
springs appear to flow. This bank, which covers an area of about 
40,000 square yards, is composed of sulphur that appears to have been 



COUNTIES OF CiLIFOKNIA. 189 

concreted into a solid mass — splintered and fissured in innumerable 
places, from the vapors constantly arising from these sj)rings. Any 
object i^laced in the latter is speedily covered witli crystals of this 
substance. Considerable quantities of sulphur from this place have 
been refined and used by chemical works, and in gunpowder, match 
and other factories. 

In purifying this article, it was found to be impregnated with mer- 
cury to a degree that imparted to it quite a dark color ; a defect, how- 
ever, that was readily obviated. On being worked, it is found to yield 
seventy to eighty per cent, of pure brilliant sulphur. The company 
refine from six to ten tons of sulphur per day. The demand for this 
article, for home consumption, amounts to about twelve hundred tons 
annually in this State, of which five hundred tons are required by 
the chemical works, six hundred by the powder-mills, and one hundred 
for making matches, etc. ; the most of that obtained in California being 
from deposits in Colusa county. Its market value is S50 per ton in 
San Francisco ; but so abundant is this article in the mountains ex- 
tending north from this bank in Lake county, to Tuscan springs in 
Tehama county, that the supply must always be out of all proportion 
to the demand, there being a sufficiency here to meet the requirements 
of the world for centuries to come. There are a number of small beds 
of salt in this county, but their contents, although quite pure, are only 
used to supply local wants. Gold and silver-bearing lodes have been 
found in Luckanome valley, and also near Eed river in this county, 
from some of which very satisfactory assays have been discovered. 
Silver ore, assaying as high as $50 to the ton, has been discovered in 
Sigler valley, and also at a point near Lakeport, while copper and cin- 
nabar occur at various localities, the most promising deposits of these 
metals having been found near Ejioxville, at the head of Berreyesa 
valley. 

Petroleum is collected, in small quantities, from the surface of many 
of the small lakes and pools among the mountains, though little or 
nothing has been done towards tracing this substance to its source. 

Marble, pumice stone, and suli)hate of lime, occur abundantly at 
many localities in the county. 

MENDOCINO COIJNTT. 

This county derives its name from Cape Mendocino, the most west- 
ern headland in the State, formerly included in this county, but now a 
portion of the adjoining county of Humboldt. 

Mendocino is bounded on the north by Humboldt, on the east by 



190 THE NATURAL WK\LTH OP CALIFOENLV. 

Colusa and Lake, on the south by Sonoma, and on the west by the 
Pacific ocean. Its length, extending north and south, is about eighty 
miles, its average width about forty miles. It covers an area of up- 
wards of 2,000,000 acres, of which 900,000 are fit for cultivation, and 
200, 000 are good grazing lands, the balance being composed of rugged 
hills and lofty mountains. At the close of 1867, there were 100,000 
acres enclosed, of which CO, 000 were under cultivation. 

The main topographical features of this county consist of two paral- 
lel ranges of the coast mountains, extending in a direction nearly north 
and south through its entire length. Between these ranges are a 
nearly continuous chain of valleys, through which flow the Eel and 
Eussian rivers, the two largest streams in this section of the county, 
both having their sources in the Mayacamas mountains, in the vicinity 
of Potter's valley, on the eastern border, and nearly in the center of 
this county. Eel river, flowing northward through this and Humboldt 
county, empties into the Pacific ocean near Centerville, a short dis- 
tance from Humboldt bay. In December, 18G7, a bill was introduced 
in the State Legislature, requesting the Federal Government to direct 
the oflicers of the Coast survey to make a thorough examination of the 
mouth of this river, with a view to ascertaining what measures, if any, 
should be adoj)ted to improve its navigation. A small schooner made 
several trips a short distance up this river in 1866, showing that it is 
navigable, to some extent at least. Eiissian river, flowing southward 
through this and Sonoma counties, empties into the Pacific ocean near 
Fort Iloss. There are a great number of tributaries to both of these 
rivers, which, having their sources in the surrounding mountains, and 
flowing through the main and lateral valleys, cause Mendocino to be 
one of the best-watered counties in the State, and furnish it with 
almost unlimited power for the propulsion of machinery. 

In the range bordering the coast, there are upwards of twenty 
streams, many of them of considerable volume, though but few miles 
in length, which flow westward into the Pacific ocean. Many of these 
are employed by lumbermen for running saw-mills, floating logs from 
the mountains, and for shipping tlio lumber and otlier produce from 
the adjoining valleys. The mouths of nearly all of these streams form 
estuaries, afl'ording safe harbors for coasting vessels. 

From Shelter Cove on the north to Havens' anchorage on the south, 
a distance of more than one hundred miles, the outer Coast Eange is 
covered with an almost unbroken and nearly impenetrable forest of red- 
wood and pine, extending inland from fifteen to thirty -five miles. In 
this region are located seven large saw mills, which cut and shipped 



COUNTIES OF CALIPOENIA. 191 

during the year 1867, forty-six million feet of lumber, and nine 
small mills, wliicli turned out over two million feet, chiefly for local 
consumption. A large quantity of posts, rails, railroad ties, pickets, 
shingles and other split lumber, are also shipped from the different 
landings. The lumber trade of this region is the chief resource of the 
county, giving employment to nearly one half of its population and to 
about forty schooners of from one hundred to two hundred tons bur- 
den. The following particulars concerning the largest of these mills 
will convey an idea of the proportions and manner of conducting the 
lumber business in this county: The Albion mill, at the mouth of 
xAlbion river, the property of Messrs. McPherson and Wetherbee, is 
run by steam and cost S30, 000. During 1867 its owners cut and shipped 
to San Francisco six million feet of sawed lumber. This firm also owns 
the Noyo steam mill, at the mouth of Noyo river, about tAventy miles 
further north than the Albion, which cost $35,000, and from which 
they shipped in 1867 seven million feet. It was at this mill that 
the extraordinarily large redwood plank, now on exhibition at the 
Department of Agriculture, Washington, was cut — one of the largest 
planks ever cut by a mill in any part of the world, measuring seven 
feet five inches in width, by twelve feet in length, and four inches 
in thickness. These are good specimens of much of the lumber made 
in this district, being free from knots or blemishes of any kind, and 
cut as smooth and even as slabs of marble. There are thousands of 
redwood trees in the forests here measuring from fourteen to eighteen 
feet in diameter at six feet above ground, and without a knot or limb 
for one hundred feet from their roots up. 

The Walhalla steam mill, on Walhalla river, owned by Messrs. Hay- 
wood & Harmon, costing $30, 000, cut and sent to market 4, 000, 000 feet 
of lumber in 1867; Stickney & Coomb's steam mill, on Little river, cost- 
ing $20,000, cut and shii3ped over 5,000,000 feet; Tichenor & Bixbey's 
steam mill, at the mouth of Novarro river, costing §30,000, cut and 
shipped 6,000,000 feet; and J. G. Jackson's steam mill, on Caspar creek, 
costing 830, 000, cut and shipped 6, 000, 000 feet in 1867. The Mendocino 
Mill Company, at Mendocino City, has a steam mill which cost $60,000, 
and cut 12,000,000 feet of lumber in 1867. The other mills in this 
county are of small capacity, and mainly run by water power. Each of 
the principal mills is located near the mouth of a creek or river, near 
tide water, convenient for loading vessels — such creeks or estuaries 
occurring at irregular intervals of ten or fifteen miles along the whole 
coast of the county, and affording unusual facilities for conducting an 
extensive lumber trade. 



102 THE NATURAL WE.VLTH OF CALIFOEXLA.. 

It is an astonisliing sight to tliose not acquainted with the business 
to see the immense saws pass through these mammoth logs. Many of 
the hitter are from ten to fifteen feet in diameter, from twelve to sixteen 
feet in length, and are handled by the machinery used with great celer- 
ity and facility. In a few minutes they are ripped into hundreds of 
boards and scantling — ready for shipment. It requires the services of 
several men to remove the lumber as fast as a gang of two saws run- 
ning on these enormous logs wdll cut it. The large mills here make 
about eleven working months in the year, one month in every twelve 
being required for repairing and keeping the mill in order. When 
driven with work they sometimes run night and day, but never on Sun- 
days. The logs are cut in the summer, and after lying till they dry and 
beconie light and more easy to handle, are hauled to the banks of the 
streams — many of them at this season dwindled to rivulets — and rolled 
into their channels, where they remain until the streams become swollen 
by the winter rains, when they are floated down to the mills, a little 
above which booms are rigged for catching them. 

This timber land is all a part of the public domain, and so exten- 
sive are these forests that the millmen rarely ever go to the trouble of 
reducing any portion of it to possession, each man cutting in the vicinity 
of his mill wdthout molestation or question. So abundant is the supply 
that it is not likely to suffer serious diminution during the present gen- 
eration. This lumber, delivered in San Francisco, sells at about twenty 
dollars per thousand feet for rough, and thirty dollars for dressed. At 
the lowest figure named, the value of the lumber made in Mendocino 
county, and shipped thence during the year 1867, amounted to the 
sum of $9,600,000. 

Lying east of the timbered mountains is a tract of open country 
known as the Bald Hills, they being nearly destitute of trees, though 
covered with wdld oats, clover and other grasses afibrding an abund- 
ant pasturage. In the main Coast Eange of mountains, which traverses 
the entire western part of the county, there are a number of bold peaks, 
some of them nearly six thousand feet high, but few of them having as 
yet received a name. Near their summits these peaks are bare and 
rugged, or covered only with chaparral, though oaks and various other 
trees grow about their base. The country cvcr}"\vhero abounds with 
grizzly bears, deer, elk, and other game, very little of it yet being 
settled, or in fact fully explored. The entire region, reaching from the 
Hay Fork of Trinity river to the head of Russian river, a distance of 
nearly one hundred and thirty miles, remains an almost uniuliabited 
wilderness, though its agricultural and grazing resources are known to 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 193 

be immense. The reason so little settlement lias been made in this 
extensive and inviting tract is, there are no roads by -which it can be 
approached from other parts of the State — the hostile character of the 
Indians, who, until a few years since, possessed it, having also tended 
to keep out immigration. -Lying between the main ranges of moun- 
tains are several extensive and fertile valleys, within the limits of thig 
county. In these valleys most of the farming population resides, and 
here three-fourths of all the grain, fruits and vegetables produced in 
the county are raised. 

Commencing with Ukiah, a part of the main Piussian river valley, 
and which extends south fifteen miles into Sonoma county, we have 
adjoining it, on the north. Coyote valley, three miles long by one and 
a haK wide, connecting with Potter's valley, six miles long and two 
wide. Twenty miles north of Ukiah is Little Lake valley, beyond 
which to the north is Sherwood's valley, and nine miles further on. 
Long valley — all containing a considerable quantity of good land, and 
offering tempting inducements to settlement. Piound valley, sixty 
miles from Ukiah, lies in the northern part of Mendocino, extending 
into Humboldt county. Around these larger are numbers of lateral 
and subordinate valleys, the most noteworthy of which are Anderson's, 
Eedwood, Sarral, and Eden Spring, each containing a fau" share of 
good land. As Little Lake valley fairly represents the entire group, 
v/e select it for a somewhat more detailed description. This pleasant 
spot, deriving its name from a small, deep lake of pure water, reposing 
among the rocks at its southern, end, is six miles long and three wide. 
It is sheltered on every hand by a grand amphitheatre of heavily 
wooded mountains, from which a number of streams of clear water 
descend into the valley. The base of these mountains is covered with 
grass, and there are several thousand acres of good land in the valley, 
which, though not discovered until 1853, contained, four years after, 
about fifty families, who managed to maintain themselves in comfort- 
able independence, cultivating about 3,000 acres of its fertile soil. 
When first discovered, this valley was inhabited by three tribes of In- 
dians, who subsisted upon the fish, game, wild fruits, and seeds found 
in and around it. 

The climate of these valleys is more humid, and owing to their 
greater elevation, somewhat colder than that of the valleys further 
south and east. The ocean-fogs, passing over the lofty timbered 
ranges^ to the west, cause frequent showers during the summer, which 
tend to keep vegetation green and prevent the larger streams from dry- 
ing up, as they are apt to do further south, while the snow-capped 
13 



194 THE NATUE.VL WEALTH OF C-VLIFOKXLV. 

peaks in the Coast Eange to the east, absorbing the heated air from the 
plains, render the summer climate of this region much cooler than in 
the great interior and southern valleys. 

Com, hemp, and tobacco, grow vigorously, and never fail to ma- 
ture in these valleys, while all the more hardy plants and fruits flourish 
with little other culture than the mere act of planting. The peach, 
however, does not thrive so well here as in warmer localities, and the 
grape requires to be planted on the sunny side of the hills in order to 
reach perfection. Most of the soil in these valleys, formed chiefly from 
the disintegration of the volcanic rocks of which the country around is 
largely composed, consists of a black, sandy loam, very favorable to 
the growth of the cereals, as well as most kinds of fruits. The greatest 
fruit-growing localities are Anderson and Ukiah valleys, in the south- 
ern portion of the county. Mendocino having been so recently settled, 
few of the orchards have yet attained to any great size. There were 
raised in this county, during the year 1867, 20,009 bushels of -u'lieat, 
G5, 000 of barley, and 260, 000 of oats. It contains seven gi'ist-mills, at 
which there were manufactured 14,000 barrels of flour — a sufficiency 
for home consumption, considerable quantities of potatoes, butter, 
cheese, eggs, lard, ham and bacon, are also produced in this county, 
the soil and climate being peculiarly well adapted for the culture of the 
potato, while the abundant pasturage causes the cows to yield much 
milk, and the mast afforded by the wide range of oak-forests supply a 
cheap and nourishing feed for the hogs, imparting to their flesh an 
excellent flavor. The produce from the southern part of the county, is 
Bent to San Francisco and Sacramento, by way of Sonoma ; that from 
the more northern districts being shipped by sea. A good road was 
completed in the fall of 1867, between Ukiah and Lakeport, a distance 
of twenty-four miles, which, by establishing wagon communication be- 
tween this valley and the routes leading to San Francisco, has greatly 
promoted the interests and convenience of the inhabitants, the develop- 
ment of the agricultural resources of this section of the county having 
been retarded through a want of wagon-roads. 

Though its boundaries were prescribed as early as 1850, Mendo- 
cino, owing to the sparseness of its population, Avas not organized as a 
county until 1859, it having in the interim l)ecn attached to Sonoma 
for legal and judicial purposes. Besides its isolated position, pro- 
tracted and harassing wars with the Indians, -who, after committing 
depredations on the whites fled to the mountains and wilderness be- 
yond the reach of their piivsuers, have operated to delay the settlement 
of this county. The Federal Government has at length succeeded in 



cotrxTiEs or califoknia. 195 

collecting tlie remaining Indians on two large reservations — tlie one at 
Round valley, in the north-eastern part of the county, and the other on 
Noyo river, on the coast near the middle of the county. These reserv- 
ations contain upward of 100,000 acres of good land, on which the 
Indians, under white supervision, raise enough grain and vegetables 
for their own support. These hostile tribes are now so thoroughly 
subjugated, not only in this but throughout the other northern coast 
counties, as to be no longer a cause of alarm to the whites, whose 
number has considerably increased since the savages were gathered 
upon these reservations. In 1860, there were only 1,498 white inhabi- 
tants in this county; at the close of 1867, there were 8,176, including 
2, 500 children under fifteen years of age. 

Ukiah City, the county seat, is situated on the main Russian river, 
on a beautiful undulating plain, well timbered with oaks and willows, 
and sheltered on the east and west by lofty mountains. Three hand- 
some rivulets, flowing from Potter's, Little Lake and "Walker's valleys, 
empty into Russian river just below the town, the scenery in the neigh- 
borhood being wonderfully bold and picturesque. The place derives 
its name from the Eukio, or Yukio tribe of Indians, who dwelt in the 
valley when it was first discovered. It is the trade center of an exten- 
sive agricultural district, the importance of which will be much en- 
hanced when it comes to be connected with Napa valley by means of a 
railroad, which it is thought may be effected in the course of a few 
years. The town, having a population of about four hundred, contains 
several good brick and stone stores, a neat court house, with a school- 
house, church and other public buildings. Land is cheap in the cen- 
tral and northern portions of this county — the price of good improved 
farms varying from five dollars to twenty dollars per acre. 

Mendocino City, the most important coast town in the county, 
stands on the north shore of Mendocino bay, at the mouth of Big river, 
or Rio Grande, one hundred and twenty-eight miles northwest from San 
Prancisco, in the midst of the most extensive redwood forests on the 
Pacific coast. Besides being a shipping point for large quantities of 
lumber, it is the outlet for a large area of open country lying east of 
the heavy timber belt known as the Bald mountain, a portion of which 
extends for several miles along Big river, and also for nearly twenty 
valleys lying in that quarter, most of which are connected with this 
point by wagon roads. Mendocino, which has a good depth of water 
and convenient wharves, contains four hundred and seventy inhabi- 
tants, being the most populous town in the county. 

There are knowTi to be valuable deposits of minerals and metals in 



196 THE NATXniAL WEALTH OF CilLEFOEXL\. 

this county, though little has yet been clone towards their development. 
In 1864, a ledge of partially decomposed auriferous quartz was discov- 
ered in the mountains near Ukiah City, and from which the discoverer 
extracted several thousand dollars. In November, 1867, further dis- 
coveries of gold bearing quartz were made in the mountains, thii'ty 
miles northeast of Ukiah. In October of the same year, S9,mples of ore 
taken from an argentiferous lode found on Eel river, yielded, by work- 
ing test made in San Francisco,' at the rate of $49 50 per ton — several 
auriferous lodes and some placer diggings, having been found in the 
same vicinity. In 1863-4 coi^siderable placer mining was carried on 
in the neighborhood of Calpella, eight miles north of Ukiah, other 
mines of this class having also been worked on the north fork of Big 
river, twenty miles from Mendocino City, as well as still further north, 
about the base of the Yalloballey mountain, in Trinity county ; and when 
it is considered that the same range in which the rich placer mines of 
Trinity are situated extends south into Mendocino, there is good rea- 
son to believe that still further and more important discoveries will yet 
be made in this county also. 

Copper ores have been met with at several points in this county, the 
more promising deposits being in the hills near Coyote valley, eight 
miles north and fifteen miles north-east of Ukiah — in Potter's valley, 
Walker's valley, etc. Petroleum springs are found at several places in 
the county, many of the settlers collecting it from the surface of the 
pools, and burning it without an}' purification. At Puuta Arenas, 
where this substance exudes from a sandy shale on the sea shore, a con- 
siderable amount of money was expended, in the spring of 1865, in seek- 
ing after more permanent deposits, but without any marked success. 
Sulphur and salt are common minerals in the county, and hot springs 
are numerous. "Within half a mile of the county seat, there is a spring 
of natural soda water, which, if situated in a more populous district, 
or near a large city might be made to yield a handsome income. 



NORTHERN COUNTIES. 
HUMBOLDT COUXTY". 



Humboldt county was organized in 1853, from portions of Trinity 
and Mendocino counties, and is named after the famous German 
savant and traveler, Baron von Humboldt. Cape Mendocino, the most 
western portion of the State, lies near the center of the county on 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOKNIA. 197 

its -western border. Humboldt county is bounded on the north by 
Klamath, on the east by Trinity, on the south by Mendocino, and on 
the west by the Pacific ocean. It is fifty-six miles long, north and 
south, and fifty miles wide, containing 1, 800, 000 acres of land, of which 
about 500, 000 are suited to agricultural, and 300, 000 to grazing pur- 
poses, there being about 5,000 acres of swamp or overflowed land near 
tide-water. Miich of the county is covered with the outlying spurs 
and more westerly ranges of the coast mountains, which, near the 
coast, are clothed with heavy forests of redwood, spruce, and pine. 
The timber-belt, varying in width from eight to ten miles, recedes 
from the coast, in some places in this county, a distance of several 
miles, leaving at these points an elevated terrace, or a sandy beach, 
destitute of timber. Humboldt bay, in the north-western part of the 
county, is a spacious, landlocked harbor, in which large-sized vessels 
may enter and lie with safety. This beautiful harbor, which has a 
good depth of water in most parts of it, is thirteen miles long and from 
one and a half to five miles wide, being narrow near the middle and 
expanding into a circular harbor at each end. It is popularly supposed 
that this bay was first discovered from sea in April, 1850, and by land 
in 1849 ; but it appears from a Kussian work, published in 1848, con- 
taining a chart on which it is laid down, and which purports to derive 
its information from colonial documents of the Kussian-American com- 
pany, that it was discovered by citizens of the United States in 1806, 
an American vessel engaged in the fur-trade having entered it that 
year. The principal streams, discharging into the sea and bay within 
the limits of this county, are the Mattole, Bear, Eel, Elk, and Mad 
rivers. By the removal of obstructions near the mouth of Eel, it could 
probably be rendered navigable for some distance — a sloop of one 
hundred tons' burden having already passed up it for five miles ; small 
vessels also succeed in running up the Elk for several miles. None of 
the other streams mentioned are navigable or susceptible of being ren- 
dered so, nor do any of them expand into estuaries at their outlets, 
forming coves into which small vessels can enter and load, as in Men- 
docino county. 

The most westerly branch of the Coast Eange is rugged and broken 
within the limits of this county — Mount Pierce, one of its highest 
peaks, being 6,000 feet high. Cape Mendocino and "False cape," six 
miles to the north, are formed by the projections of spurs, striking 
from the main Coast Bange at right angles. That forming "False cape" 
continuing inland, constitutes the divide between Eel and Bear valleys ; 
the other uniting with and forming part of the buttress of Mount 



198 THE NATURAL WE-\XTH OF Cy^IFORXIA. 

Pierce. The more easterly ridge of the Coast Iiange, forming the 
boundary between this and Trinity county, also rises in some places 
to a considerable height ; Mount Bailey, one of its peaks, being 
6, 357 feet high, while several lesser elevations attain an almost equal 
altitude. 

Interspersed among these several ridges and spurs of the coast 
mountains, are many fertile valleys, hilly districts and rolling prairies 
covered with the native grasses wild oats, and other vegetation, ren- 
dering them the favorite resort of bears, elk, deer, and other game ; 
presenting to the herdsman one of the finest pastoral regions in 
the State. The scenery here differs much from that met with further 
south, as well as in the Sierra Nevada. The mountains, though 
numerous and steej), are not so high or barren as there, while the 
forests, consisting of spruce and maple, have in most places a heavy 
undergrowth of wild shnibs, brambles, berry-bushes, and gigantic 
ferns. 

Diagonally across this wild and broken, but rich and beautiful 
region, run the Mad and Eel rivers, pursuing their course towards the 
north-west, about twenty miles apart, and entering the ocean — the for- 
mer about six miles north, and the latter seven miles south of Hum- 
boldt bay. Each of these streams has numerous small branches which 
serve to water a large expanse of country, and supply an extensive 
power for the propulsion of machiner}', which will no doubt be largely 
availed of when the country is more fully settled. 

The valley of Mad river, and its tributary branches, contain much 
good land, a portion of which has been brought under cultivation 
during the past three years. Eel river valley, the largest in the county 
and which also contains a fair proportion of good land, has been 
settled to some extent. Its soil is jiroductive, and especially well 
adapted to the growth of the cereals, potatoes, etc. Seventy bushels 
of wheat, weighing sixty-one pounds to the biishcl, and over one hun- 
dred bushels of oats weighing forty-four pounds to the bushel, are 
often produced to the acre, while fifteen tons of potatoes to the acre is 
not an unusual yield. Flax also grows to a large size, yielding two 
crops a year, with great weight of seed. The humid atmosphere favors 
the growth of this and other textiles, rendering the stalk vigorous and 
the fibre llea^'y and strong. The salmon-fishery at the mouth of this 
river, is the most prolific in the State ; and the fish are said to have a 
finer flavor than those caught either to the north or south of this point. 
The annual catch here, which ranges from eleven hundred to three 
thousand barrels, might be greatly enlarged were there more of a local 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 199 

consumption, or better facilities for shipping tlie fisli to a market. At 
present, all sent away have to be hauled to Humboldt bay, at consider- 
able loss of time, risk, and expense. 

The settlers in Bear river valley, keep many cows, and engage quite 
extensively in butter and cheese-making, a branch of business largely 
carried on in some other parts of the county. The Bald hills, portions 
of which lie adjacent to Bear valley, afford, throughout the entire year, 
an abundance of the most nutritious kinds of pasturage. 

The lofty headland of Cape Mendocino, projecting into the ocean, 
renders the climate along this part of the coast more cool and humid 
than it is further south ; the rainfall on Eel river, besides being more 
evenly distributed throughout the year, is nearly twice as great as at 
San Francisco, promoting vegetation and keeping the grass green most 
of the summer. A first-class lighthouse, recently erected on this cape, 
was nearly finished in the fall of 1867, during which year this structure 
no doubt would have been completed but for the wreck of the U. S. 
steamer Shiibrick, which occurred near the spot, in October of that 
year, while engaged in transporting material for its use. 

The scenery in the vicinity of the cape is very fine, both marine and 
inland. Mount Pierce, with its rocky spurs piled up in wild confusion, 
extends to the famous headland. Among the rocks and reefs along the 
shore, covered with moss and algae, the waters seethe and foam, while 
the dark forests cast their shadows over the adjacent mountains. 

Humboldt bay is the center of an immense lifmber trade, while on 
its shores quite a large amount of ship building is carried on. In 1867 
there were nine saw-mills in this county, and another of large capacity 
in course of construction. The following figures indicate the amount 
of lumber cut at the larger of these establishments during the year 
1867 : the Bay mill, Dolbeer & Carson proprietors, and Vance's mill, 
cut 5, 000, 000 feet of lumber each; two mills belonging to Jones and. 
Kentfield, cut, the one five and the other 6,000,000 feet ; the several 
smaller mills, located in different parts of the county, cut, collectively, 
about 4, 000, 000 feet, making a total of 25, 000, 000 feet, besides which 
there were a large quantity of posts, shingles and other split lumber, 
sent from the county. These mills afford employment to nearly a thou- 
sand men, and steady freight for ten or twelve schooners of two 
hundred tons burden each, in transporting their lumber to San Fran- 
cisco. The most of these schooners were built on the bay. Vessels 
frequently load here for foreign ports, some of this lumber being 
shipped direct to China, Australia, the Sandwich islands, and Central 
and South America. 



200 THE NATrR-U:. WEALTH OF C.VLIFOEXLl. 

General U. S. Grant was stationed at Fort Humboldt, at the liead 
of tills bay, in 1853-4, during whicli time lie was promoted to a cap- 
taincy. At that period there were numerous tribes of exceedingly war- 
like Indians in that region, who were finally subdued only after much 
hard fighting, and not until nearly three-fourths of them had been 
killed by the whites. The survivors have since been collected upon 
reservations, and for the past few years the settlers have been free from 
their molestations. Many of the Indian children haAang been trained 
up to habits of industry, make excellent herders and farmers. 

There is much good farming and grazing land, not only in the 
smaller valleys adjacent to Humboldt bay, but also in a region lying 
east of the timber belt kno"wn as the Bald hills, which, being covered 
with wild oats, clover and other grasses, afi'ord immense quantities of 
pasturage. On this, a small number of sheep and cattle are noAV gi-azed, 
though vast herds might here feed and fatten almost without the care 
of man. Over fifty thousand pounds of wool were shipped from this 
county in 18G7. Considerable quantities of butter and cheese were 
also produced, the most of which was required for home consumption. 

Mattole, a fertile valley lying to the south of Cape Mendocino i^ so 
sheltered from the prevailing westerly winds that its climate is several 
degrees warmer than that of the country to the north. Good crops of 
all kinds of grain, fruits and berries are easily raised in this valley, to 
which agricultural operations are mostly confined, the hills being de- 
voted to grazing. The Mattole river, abounding with salmon and other 
fish, after flowing through the valley with a rapid current, creating an 
extensive water power, enters the ocean ten miles south of the cape. 
There are about five hundred settlers in the valley, who have built up 
comfortable homes, with school-houses, churches, mills, and other 
evidences of progress and thrift. # 

The Avant of good roads connecting this county with the great Sac- 
ramento valley, and with the country lying south, has greatly tended to 
retard its settlement — immigrants having no way of reaching it except 
by sea, which does not admit of their taking their families, flocks and 
farming implements with them without great trouble and expense. 
Recently the inhabitants have been considering the policy of extending 
county aid towards building roads leading in such directions as seemed 
most likely to facilitate immigration. The excellence of the climate, 
the abundance and cheapness of good land, and freedom from Mexican 
grants render this one of the most desirable regions open to settle- 
ment in the State. 

Eureka, the county seat of Humboldt, is situated on the east side of 



COUNTIES OF CxyLIFOL^TA. 201 

ilie bay, six miles from its entrance. It is surrounded by a dense 
forest of redwood, and is tlie principal seat of the lumber trade and 
ship building on the bay. It was founded in 1851, is a thrifty and 
growing town of about sixteen hundred inhabitants, contains a flourish- 
ing academy, several good school-houses and churches, and numerous 
well-built private dwellings. In boring an Artesian well near this 
place, from which a copious supply of fresh water was obtained, though 
situated but a few hundred feet from the bay, the augur, at a depth of 
one hundred and forty-two feet, passed through the rotten trunk of a 
redwood tree. 

Areata, at the head of the bay, with which it is connected by means 
of a wharf two miles long, stands on a handsome plateau, sixty feet 
above tide water. It contains seven hundred inhabitants, and is the 
center of a considerable trade with the back country, and with the 
mining districts on the Klamath, Trinity, and Lower Salmon rivers, 
there being a good wagon road connecting it with Weaverville, the county 
seat of Trinity county. Many of the merchants own their own pack 
animals, with which they convey goods over routes not practicable for 
wagons, some of these leading over long routes through high and 
rugged mountains, in many places covered with gloomy forests. The 
land about Areata is extremely well adapted to the culture of potatoes, 
many of which, of an excellent quality, are raised and shipped to San 
Francisco. Two hundred thousand sacks (400, 000 bushels) of potatoes 
were sent from this county in 1867, one half of which were raised in 
Areata tov/nship. The average yield of these vegetables is at the rate 
of about two hundred and twenty bushels to the acre. 

Near the Mattole river ("Clear water," of the aborigines,) are nu- 
merous inflammable gas springs, which, on being ignited, form jets of 
flame several feet high that burn with brilliancy till extinguished by the 
wind or other accidental cause. One of these jets, discharging in the 
channel of the river, presents the singular appearance, when ignited, of a 
mass of flame issuing from a stream of water. Similar jets of less power 
occur on Bear and Mad rivers, and also in other localities in the neigh- 
borhood. Near these jets are found numerous springs of petroleum, 
some of them of considerable dimensions. The petroleum found here, 
(its most northern limit in the State) differs essentially in character and 
mode of occurrence from that found further south. Here the oil forms 
no asphaltum or other solid residuum. It either floats off in the water 
with which it is combined or evaporates entirely. The geological for- 
mation in which these jets and springs abound, or where the oil is found 
exuding from the ground, covers an area of nearly forty square miles. 



202 THE NATUBAL WEALTH OF aULIFORNLV. 

In 1864 a number of companies -were organized for tlie purpose of 
obtaining oil from these springs or boring for new deposits. A quan- 
tity of surface oil of excellent quality was collected, but no flowing 
wells or other deep deposits were obtained, though many wells were 
bored — the deepest to a depth of more than twelve hundred feet. Alter 
being diligently prosecuted for several years, operations were finally 
suspended in 1866, though there is little doubt but valuable deposits 
of this material exist in Humboldt county. 

Beds of coal of good quality have been found on the headwaters of 
Mad river, and in the upper part of Mattole valley, but the lack of 
roads for transporting it to a shipping point, and the absence of a homo 
market, have prevented any work being done to ascertain the extent of 
these deposits. 

TBINITY COUNTY. 

This county, which derives its name from the principal stream flow- 
ing through it, is bounded by Klamath and Siskiyou on the north, by 
Shasta and Tehama on the east, by Mendocino on the south, and by 
Humboldt on the west. The principal industrial pursuit is gold 
mining, confined almost exclusively to the various branches of placer 
digging. The whole surface of the county is covered with chains of 
lofty mountains composed of granite and auriferous slates, the sides of 
which have been eroded into deep gulches and caiions. Though the 
county covers an area of 2,400 square miles — being eighty miles long 
and thirty miles wide — it contains scarcely more than ten or fifteen 
thousand acres of farming land, of which but three thousand five hun- 
dred acres were under cultivation in 1807. The arable land is mostly 
confined to the valley of the Trinity river and its branches. In this 
and several smaller valleys are many fertile and well tilled patches of 
land which produce most of the grain, fruits and vegetables, and dairy 
products required for home consumption. The Trinity and Salmon 
mountains, separating this coimty from Shasta, reach so great an eleva- 
tion that some portions of them are covered with snow all summer. 
Parties attempting to cross them in the winter have often perished from 
the intense cold and the depth of the snow — the remains of some of 
these unfortunate travelers being found nearly every summer. 

The first white man who entered the territory now constituting this 
county was T. B. Reading, then a hunter and trapper, who in the spring 
of 1845 left Sutter's Fort with thirty men to trap for otter and beaver 
in these mountains. Arriving upon a largo stream it was named the 



COUNTIES or CALIFOENLi. 203 

Trinity, iinder the supposition tliat it emx)tied into Trinidad bay, as 
laid down on the old Spanish charts. 

On the discovery of gold, Beading, who had meantime remained in 
the country, again visited this mountainous region, taking with him a 
party of sixty Indians, through whose aid he obtained a large amount 
of gold on Trinity river — Readings bar, on that stream, being named 
after him. Since that period this gentleman has resided on an exten- 
sive farm owned by him in the upper Sacramento valley. 

Trinity river, the only large stream in the county, rises in Scott's 
mountain, and receiving many small tributaries on its course, after 
running first soutlnvest and then northwest, empties into the Klamath, 
of which it forms the largest branch. 

The mountains throughout this county, which are covered for the 
most part with pine, spruce, maple, fir and oak timber, abound with 
game — some portions of them containing considerable quantities of 
grass and other herbage. There are fourteen small saw mills scattered 
over the county. They are all run by water, and cut an aggregate of 
about one and a quarter million feet of lumber annually — the whole 
for local use. 

The population of Trinity county, numbering 5,125 in 1860, had 
been reduced to less than 4,000 at the close of 1867. A good wagon 
road has been constructed connecting Weaverville, the county seat, 
with the Sacramento valley on the east, and also, one running to Hum- 
boldt bay on the west. This town is situated in a pleasant valley near 
the confluence of Weaver creek and Garden gulch, on a flat hnown to 
be rich in gold. It is nearly three thousand feet above the sea level, 
and is surrounded with mountains, portions of which are covered with 
eternal snow. It derives its name, as does also the creek mentioned, 
from a miner named Weaver, w^ho at an early period obtained a largo 
quantity of gold from the latter. The town is handsomely laid out and 
well built up. Many of the dwellings have gardens, vineyards and 
fruit trees planted about them, indicating a high degree of comfort 
among the inhabitants. The population, which at one time numbered 
1,800, is now much less. This place, since founded, has suffered 
severely from fires and floods, having been nearly destroyed four times 
by the former, and twice greatly damaged by the latter, and like many 
other mountain towns, is now gradually decaying as the diggings in the 
vicinity become exhausted. 

Trinity was at one time a very prolific mining county, the annual 
yield of its placers having for several years in succession reached over 
?1, 000, 000. This class of mines is still yielding fairly, the averago 



204 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF C.iLITOKNLi. 

earnings of tlie mining population being, perhaps, equal to those of 
any other county in the State. There are also many auriferous quartz 
lodes in Trinity of. great suj)posed value — few of them having been 
thoroughly prospected — while no attempt at working them on an exten- 
sive scale has as yet been made. The rugged nature of the country 
in which these lodes are situated, and the want of local roads have 
done much towards preventing heavy machinery being taken into this 
county, and consequently towards delaying the development of this 
class of mines. There are forty-five main ditches in the county, aggre- 
gating one hundred and fifty miles in length, constructed for the pur- 
pose of conducting water to points where used for washing. The cost 
of these works amounts in the aggregate to about §225,000, many of 
them having paid, as some still do, good interest on the investment. 

KLAMATH COUNTY. 

Klamath county is bounded by Del Norte on the north, by Del 
Norte and Siskiyou on the east, by Trinity and Humboldt on the south, 
and by the Pacific ocean on the west. It is about forty-five miles long, 
east and west, and forty miles wide. Its topography is similar to that 
of Trinity county, already described — almost the entire area consisting 
of steep, lofty mountains, separated from each other by deep ravines, 
their sides eroded by innumerable gulches and canons. Through these 
depressions flow streams of greater or less magnitude, accordingly as 
swollen by the melting of the snow in the spring and summer. There 
is but little agricultural or meadow land in this county, the rivers and 
creeks running through steep narrow gorges, preventing the formation 
of alluvial bottoms along them. There is scarcely any arable land 
along the Klamath river, though it runs, with its windings, a distance 
of more than sixty miles within the limits of the county. The total 
amount of land under cultivation does not exceed two or three thousaud 
acres. Hoopa valley, about thirty miles long and two wide, situated 
at the junction of the Trinity and Klamath rivers, contains the largest 
body of good land in the county, but it is not much cultivated, being 
the site of an Indian reservation. Many portions of the mountains and 
the country towards the sea are well timbered with sj^ruce, fir, pine, 
cedar and redwood, the latter being confined to a belt eight or ten 
miles wide near the coast, where some of these trees attain gigantic 
proportions. There are seven saw mills in the county, whicli made 
during the year 18G7 over 2,000,000 feet of lumber, more than half 
of which was cut by the Trinidad mill, on Trinidad bay, whence the 
most of it was shipped abroad. The only grist mill in Klamath is on 



COIWTIES OF CALIFOENIA. 205 

the Indian reservation, being tlie property of tlie United States gov- 
ernment. A strip of country about five miles wide and twenty long, 
lying near the coast between Trinidad and Humboldt, comprises nearly 
all the level land in the county — the most of it, however, being heavily 
timbered, but little has been brought under tillage. To the east of the 
redwood timber belt lies a portion of the Bald hills, already described. 

Placer mining constitutes the leading pursuit of the population of 
Klamath, though there are many lodes of gold bearing quartz in differ- 
ent parts of the county, some of which have been sufficiently pros- 
pected to demonstrate that they would pay well for working. In 1861 
there were twelve quartz mills along the banks of Salmon river, there 
being numerous valuable quartz veins in this vicinity. The most of 
these mills having been destroyed by the flood of 1862, they have not 
since been rebuilt, leaving but three at present in the county. Klam- 
ath contains a number of small ditches, aggregating about one hundred 
miles in length, and costing $130,000. Gold Bluif, the discovery of 
which led to much speculation and excitement in the spring of 1851, 
and where the branch of mining known as beach washing has for many 
years been carried on, is situated in this county, 

Klamath county is situated wholly to the west of the main Coast 
Range, which here makes a broad deflection to the east. The Salmon 
river mountains, dividing the Salmon from the Klamath river, are a 
broad broken range, running northwest and southeast, reaching an 
altitude, in some places, of perpetual snow. The principal rivers are 
the Klamath, Trinity, Salmon and Kedwood. The county derives its 
name from the first mentioned stream, signifying in the Indian tongue 
' ' swiftness. " This river heads in a series of large lakes situated on the 
confines of Oregon and California, and after pursuing a devious course 
through Siskij^ou, Del Norte and Klamath counties, enters the ocean a 
little to the north of Gold Bluff. Once ove'r the bar at its mouth, which, 
from its frequent shifting is difficult and dangerous of entrance, small 
steamers can run up forty miles, to its confluence with the Trinity, 
below which point it carries a volume of water equal to the Sacramento. 
Confined to a narrow, deep canon, this stream frequently rises to a 
great height, it having, during the flood of 1862, reached a stage one 
hundred and twenty feet above its ordinary level, at which time it car- 
ried off a wire suspension bridge ninety-seven feet above low water 
mark, and also swept away most of the soil and improvements on its 
banks. The mountains bordering this river reach a considerable alti- 
tude — Prospect and Flagstaff peaks being upwards of six thousand feet 
high, while some unnamed ridges are still more lofty. 



206 TSE NATURAL WE-VLTH OF C.^XI^OKNIA. 

The Trinity, Salmon and Ptcclwood all take their rise in the coast 
mountains, run northwest, and empty, the former two into the Klamath, 
and the latter into the Pacific ocean. Near the sources of the Salmon 
are the remains of an extinct volcano, an area of nearly two square 
miles being covered with lava, obsidian, and similar matter — their 
occurrence the more noticeable from being the only evidences of vol- 
canic action in this portion of the Coast Eange. The rocks here are 
almost exclusively slate and granite, and this, like Trinity county, is 
without hot or mineral springs and deposits of sulphur or petroleum. 

Owing to its extremely rugged surface, but few wagon roads have 
been constructed in Klamath, most of the transjoortation being done 
with pack animals. During the winter, when the snow is deep, com- 
munication with the coast is kept up by snow-shoe express. 

The placer mines here not having been worked so extensively as in 
the counties further east and south, pay better average wages, perhaps, 
than in any other part of the State. Many of the diggings, under the 
action of the floods, have also the further peculiarity of partially renew- 
ing themselves every year. Bars, worked out, are swept away, and new 
deposits formed, often affording virgin diggings. "Water, in most local- 
ities, is also abundant, costing the miner but little. On the other hand, 
however, the country is difficult of access, the cost of living great, and 
operations much interrupted during the winter by reason of the cold 
and snow. 

The first mining done in this county was in the spring of 1850, at 
Orleans bar, now the county seat. The present population of Klamath 
does not exceed fifteen hundred, a much smaller number than it con- 
tained ten years ago. The climate here is subject to heavy fogs and 
dews during the summer and to excessive rains — snow, on the moun- 
tains — during the winter. The precipitation along this part of the 
coast, as well as to the north, is much greater than at points further 
south, the quantity of rain and snow almost equalling that falling in 
the Sierra Nevada. The storms of thunder and lightning that some- 
times occur among the higher peaks of the Coast Eauge are gi'and and 
appalling, being often kept up continuously for many hours. 

The native tribes inhabiting this region, in common with those 
throughout the entire northern portion of the State, are large and Avell 
proportioned, but sullen, fierce and warlike, and being well armed, have 
given the settlers and miners much trouble ever since the first arrival 
of the latter in the country, These Indians are usually divided into 
three classes by the whites : the Coast, Klamath and Hoopa tribes — 
readily distinguished by their appearance and habits. The first occupy 



COUNTIES OF CALEFOENIA. 207 

tlie southwestern portion of the county, along the sea coast, from MaJ, 
to Bedwood river ; this tribe is nearly exterminated, the remnant left 
having greatly degenerated through intercourse with the whites. The 
Klamaths live in the mountains that border the main river from its 
junction with the Trinity north into Oregon. In 1866 the various fam- 
ilies composing this tribe numbered two thousand warriors ; they are 
divided into the Mekares, or Upper, and the AYeitchepecs, or Lower 
Klamaths. It was the former who, surprising Fremont's camp, in 1846, 
killed several of his party. 

The Hoopas had their rancherias in the valley that bears their 
name, and on the mountains adjacent. A few hundred, mostly women 
and children, are all that is left of this tribe — which remnant has been 
collected and placed on the reservation in Hoopa valley. 

These northern races, besides being larger and more athletic, are 
of a lighter complexion than those in the interior and southern portions 
of the State, the men being well developed, and many of the women 
by no means ill-looking, though the latter greatly disjSgure themselves, 
at least in the estimation of the whites, by tatooing their chins in a 
hideous manner. The males are well skilled in the use of fire arms, 
and dexterous in all the arts and devices of the chase. 

Gold Bluff, the discovery of which, in the spring of 1851, lead to one 
of those excitements culminating in sudden migratory movements, so 
common among the mining populations of California, is situated on 
the ocean beach, about fifteen miles south of the mouth of Klamath 
river, and twenty north of Trinidad bay. The bluff consists of a high 
sandy ridge or headland, against which the waves impinging, wear it 
slowly away. Mixed with the sand of which this bluff is composed are 
particles of fine gold, which, as the former is washed down by the action 
of the waves, are released, and mingling with the shore sand, forms the 
gold beach found at the foot of the bluff. 

Orleans Bar, a small town of about one hundred and twenty-five 
inhabitants, is situated on the Klamath river, sixty-five miles south- 
east of Trinidad, and is worthy of notice only as being the county seat. 

Trinidad, the only port in the county, contains about two hundred 
and fifty inhabitants. The town stands on a ridge, which, projecting 
south, shelters the harbor on the north5\^est. The port is an open road- 
stead, having deep water and good anchorage, but is exposed on the 
south and west. There are extensive wharves here, affording good 
accommodations for the increasing trade of the place. 

Auriferous lodes of large size and supposed value have been found 
at several places in this county; and although the ores, so far as tested, 



208 THE NATUR.VL "\\T:-\LTH OF CALITOnXLi. 

have proved extremelj ricli, the lack of cheap transportation to a ship- 
ping point will probably prevent any extensive developments being 
made here for a long time. 

DEL NORTE COUNTY. 

This connty, organized in 1857, occupies the extreme northwestern 
corner of the State, having Oregon on the north, Siskiyou county on 
the east, Klamath county on the south, and the Pacific ocean on the 
west. It is about fifty miles long, east and west, and thirty miles wide. 
In its geographic and climatic features, Del Norte strongly resembles 
Trinity and Klamath counties, already described. The Klamath river, 
running across its southwestern border, and Smith's river, flowing cen- 
trally through it, are the only considerable streams within its limits. 
The entire southeastern part of the county is corrugated by a heavy 
chain of mountains, with numerous subordinate and parallel ranges, 
running northeast and southwest. There is also a similar tier of moun- 
tain ranges extending north and south, near the coast, the most west- 
erly about six hundred feet high, and the main ridge, further back, 
three thousand feet high. The most of the county is well timbered 
with redwood, spruce and pine. It contains a number of small fertile 
valleys and a considerable extent of rich prairies, together with three 
thousand five hundred acres of swamp and overflowed lands. The 
number of acres enclosed in 18G7 amounted to about 8,000, of which 
3, 500 were under cultivation, the most of it being planted to wheat, of 
which grain there were about 10,000 bushels raised, with 2,000 of bar- 
ley and 9, 000 of oats. The yield of the cereals here is generally large 
— wheat frequently turning out from thirty to forty bushels to the acre, 
and barley and oats much more. All the vegetables, dairy products 
and fruits required for the use of the inhabitants were also raised, the 
soil and climate being well suited to the growth of all these staples. 
Vines and berries also thrive with little care, and stock keep in good 
condition throughout the winter on what they can pick running at large. 
Several small flocks of sheep are grazed in the county — a few thousand 
pounds of wool being clipped every year. The horses and mules kept 
for draft number about 2, 000, with about an equal number of neat cattle. 
There are no quartz mills in this county, though it contains many auri- 
ferous veins of miich promise, and placer mining is carried on with 
success along the Klamath river and several of its tributaries, and also 
on the headwaters of Althouso creek. For introducing water into 
these diggings fourteen small ditches have been constructed at an aggre- 
gate expense of about 1^00,000. With additional water supplies the 



COUNTIES OF C-\lIFOr.XL\. 209 

product of the placers might be much increased, there being jet a 
large scope of these mines but partially exhausted. The county con- 
tains one grist mill, situated in Smith river valley, capable of grinding 
fifty barrels of flour daily, and four saw mills of small capacity, sit- 
uated in different localities, engaged in making lumber for local uses, 
there being none exported from the county. A good wagon road has 
been constructed, leading from Crescent City, the county seat, to Illinois 
valley, Oregon, a distance of forty-iive miles. It cost §50,000, and 
serves for the conveyance of supplies to the Althouse and other dig- 
gings in southwestern Oregon. 

A number of cupriferous lodes, some of them of good size and rich 
in metal, were discovered at a point about fifteen miles northeast of 
Crescent City, some ten or twelve years ago. Two or three of these 
were partially developed at the time, and several hundred tons of high 
grade ores taken out. Owing to their remoteness from market, however, 
and other unfavorable circumstances, but little has been done with 
these mines for the past ten years, though there is little doubt but they 
will ultimately prove valuable. It has recently been discovered that 
the croppings of "some of these cupriferous lodes, consisting of mundic, 
are rich in free gold, forming deposits similar to those now being 
v>-orked extensively and profitably in Placer, Amador and Calaveras 
counties. 

The only iovm. of any size in this county is Crescent City, contain- 
ing a population of about five hundred, and, which being favorably 
situated on a small but safe harbor, the only one along this part of the 
coast, must ultimately become the shipping point for a large back 
country, insuring its future growth and importance. The entire popu- 
lation of the coimty amounts to about two thousand five hundred. 

SISKIYOU COUNTY. 

This county occupies the northeastern corner of the State, being 
bounded on the north by Oregon, on the east by the State of Nevada, 
on the south by Lassen, Shasta and Trinity, and on the west by Klamath 
and Del Norte counties — its length, east and west, being one hundred 
and sixty, and its width, fifty-eight miles. It contains 5, 300, 000 acres, 
of which 250,000 are adapted to agriculture. In the year 1867 there 
were 50,0(50 acres of land enclosed, and 20.000 under cultivation. 
About 1,000,000 acres are covered with valuable forests, and nearly half 
as much more by several large lakes, of which Goose, Ehett and Wright 
are the principal. A large proportion of the county consists of rugged 
mountains, deep caiions and elevated, barren table lands. Mount 
U 



210 THE NATURAL WEALTH OP CALIFORXIA. 

Shasta, situated in the southwestern part of the county, at the junction 
of the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges of mountains, reaches an alti- 
tude of fourteen thousand four hundred and forty feet. 

The Klamath, Pitt and Scott's rivers are the only large streams 
flowing through the county. The former has its source in the Lower 
Klamath lake, situated partly in California and partly in Oregon, issu- 
ing from the southwestern side of which, near its middle, it flows in a 
westerly course until it enters Del Norte county. Scott river rises in 
the Scott range of mountains, runs northerly and joins the Klamath, 
near the western border of the county. Pitt river issues, a large stream, 
from the south end of Goose lake, runs southwesterly through Shasta 
county, until it unites with the Sacramento, forming the principal branch 
of that river. A large scope of country lying near the central and 
northern part of this county is without any surface drainage to the 
ocean, the water being collected in lakes, ponds and lagoons, whence it 
escapes by evaporation or subterranean channels. 

The principal agricultural lands in the county are located in Scott, 
Shasta and Surprise valleys, the former two lying in its western, and the 
latter in its extreme northeastern part. There are many other valleys 
of small size containing a little good land, besides a limited quantity on 
some of the table lands found in the northern and eastern sections of 
the county — these latter also aflbrding a considerable amount of pas- 
turage. Scott's valley, forty miles long and seven miles wide, lying 
between the Trinity and Salmon mountains, which reach a height of six 
thousand feet, contains a large body of excellent land, nearly all of 
which is under cultivation. Grain, fruits and vegetables of nearly 
every description, are grown here without trouble, and generally yield 
well. The average yield of the wheat harvest of 18G7 was twenty-five 
bushels per acre, some fields turning out as high as forty-five bushels 
to the acre. There are eight grist mills in the valley and its connect- 
ing branches, which, during the year 1867, manufactured seventy thou- 
sand barrels of flour. The product of these mills was greatly esteemed 
for its excellence, owing to the suiter ior quality of the grain. Owing 
to the elevation of this county, nearly three thousand feet above the 
level of the sea, the harvests are late, the grain not being reaped until 
August or September. Frosts are frequent during the spring, and even 
in the summer months. The weather in the summer is warm, with cool 
niglits; in the winter, often severe, especially on the mountains, where 
tlic snow falls to a great depth. Snow also lies to the depth of a foot 
or two, often for several weeks, in most of the valleys, rendering the 
•use of snow shoes and sleighs a general necessity. The mountain, 



COCJXTIES OF C.VLIFORNIA. 211 

river and valley derive tlieir name from a liunter and prospector named 
Scott, who first entered the latter in the spring of 1849. 

Surprise valley, lying in the extreme northeastern corner of the 
county, and partly in the State of Nevada, is about sixty miles long a,nd 
fifteen wide. It is one of the most beautiful and fertile of all the val- 
leys lying in the high Sierra, being skirted on two sides with lofty, tim- 
bered mountains, and containing large tracts of fertile land, watered by 
numerous springs and streams, and covered with a luxuriant growth of 
wild clover and other grasses. On the east side of this valley are three 
beautiful lakes, extending in a chain nearly its whole length and cover- 
ing more than one haK of its surface. The upper or most northern of 
these lakes is sixteen miles long and five wide ; the central one is 
twenty miles long by about three miles wide, and the southern and lovv'- 
est fiiteen miles long and three miles wide. Neither of these lakes have 
any outlet, though each receives the waters of a number of streams 
flowing from the mountains on the west. They contain no fish, though 
trout are found in the mountain streams running into them. At certain 
seasons of the year the whole valley swarms with ducks, geese, cranes, 
pelicans, and other wild fowl. All the land suitable for farming lies 
on the west side of these lakes, consisting of a strip of rich black loam, 
from two to six miles wide, gently sloping to their borders. Where 
not under cultivation, this land is matted with wild pea vines, grass 
and clover, so rank that it is often difficult to ride through it. This 
valley is said to have been known to Calif ornians since 1852, but derives 
its name from the surprise its discovery caused a party from the State 
of Nevada, who came upon it wdiile in pursuit of a band of maurading 
Indians, in the spring of 18G1. It was supposed to be within the 
limits of that State until the establishment of the boundary a few 
years since showed it to lie mostly in California. This valley was first 
settled in 1866, when a small company entered it and located a number 
of land claims. Since then other settlers have gone there — the pojju- 
lation now amounting to three or four hundred. At Fort Bidwell, 
situated on a handsome eminence at the north end of the valley, over- 
looking a large portion of it, a small garrison of soldiers is stationed, 
to protect the inhabitants against the Indians in the vicinity, who have 
always been troublesome. A grist mill and saw-mill have been erectefl 
in the valley, for the accommodation of the settlers. Several thousand 
acres of land have been enclosed, and part of it placed under culti- 
vation — the cereals here yielding remarkably well. A market for the 
products of the farmer is found in the Owyhee and Humboldt mines — 
the former distant about two hundred miles, in an easterly, and the 



212 TirE XATUEAL IVEALTH OF CALIFOriNLI. 

latter one hundred and tliirtj' miles, in a southeasterly direction. The 
garrison at the fort, •u'hile it shall remain, ■s\-ill also take a poi'tion of 
these products, and the Black Rock mines, lying fifty miles south, ^ill 
create a further opening for them, should the lodes there prove valu- 
able. There is also a good prospect that both quartz and placer mines 
■will yet be found at no great distance to the north of this point, in 
Oregon. 

Fort Bidwell, erected in 1865, occupies a commanding site at the 
north end of the valley. Willow creek, a large stream of pure "water, 
flows by it, and situated a few rods above the post, is a largo boiling 
spring, the waters of which, besides being useful for bathing purposes, 
could be advantageously employed for irrigation. The mountain 
ravines and slopes, lying two or three miles west of the main road lead- 
ing through the valley, are timbered with pme, fir and cedar, affording 
fuel and all needed material for fencing and lumber. The climate 
here is similar to that of the other elevated valleys of California — the 
days warm, with cool nights, in the summer — the winters cold, with 
deep snow on the mountains, and but little in the valleys ; the weather 
throughout the rest of the year being generally diy, and the tempera- 
ture delightful. 

Goose lake, thirty miles long and ten wide, is situated eight miles 
west of Surprise valley — a low range of mountains l3'ing between them. 
The valley of this lake contains a large body of fine timber and between 
thirty and forty thousand acres of excellent farming and grazing lands, 
but it is without settlers ; its remoteness, the hostile character of the 
surrounding Indians, and the absence of rich mineral deposits, having 
thus far deterred the whites from locating in it. 

Pitt river, carrying a hea-s-y body of water, debouches from the 
south end of Goose lake, and, pursuing a southerly course, flows for 
fifteen miles through a desolate plateau covered with large boulders 
and masses of blackened lava, known as the "Devil's Garden," at the 
end of which it rushes, roaring and foaming, through a deep defile, 
named, from its wild and nigged aspect, " the Devil's caiion," Emerg- 
ing from this gorge, it meanders quietly through Spring valley, so called 
because of a deep pool of hot water situated on its banks, Avhich, agi- 
tated by the chemical action going on in its subterranean chambers, 
throws up a vcjlume of water as large as a hogshead to a height of ten 
feet, which falls back into a large circular basin with the noise of a 
mountain cascade. The country adjacent to Pitt river, and, with few 
exceptions, the immediate valley of the stream itself, is for the most 
part an arid, ban-en and timberless region. There is, however, some 



COUNTIES OF C^IlLITOENLV. 21 



o 



good land along the river, in the southern part of the coimty, where 
also the juniper and cedar attain a size making them serviceable for 
fuel. 

Fall river, a large stream having its source in a group of immense 
springs at the eastern base of Mount Shasta, flows through a fissure- 
like channel, pursuing a singularly devious course for a distance of 
sixty miles, when it empties into Pitt river. 

Mount Shasta, in its isolation the grandest peak, and for a long time 
supposed the loftiest mountain in the State, is situated in the south- 
westerly part of this county. It reaches an altitude of fourteen thou- 
sand four hundred and forty feet, its apparent height being somewhat 
diminished by the general elevation of the country and the many lofty 
peaks and ranges that surround it. For four or five thousand feet 
below its summit it is covered with snow at all seasons of the year — 
this being the only mountain in the State that remains snow-clad for 
any considerable distance below its summit throughout the entire year, 
Lassen's Peak, the Downieville Buttes, and all the other more lofty 
points in the State losing their snow late in the summer, except 
where it has drifted into deep ravines or lies under the shadow of clifi's 
on their northern slopes. The base of this mountain is covered, except 
on the north, to the height of between seven and eight thousand feet, 
with heavy forests of sugar and pitch pine. On its northern slope, 
owing to the poverty of the soil, the only trees found consist of a growth 
of stunted cedar and oak. Scattered through the higher j)arts of this 
heavy timber belt occur patches of chaparral, which, being indicative 
of a barren soil, are locally known as the ' ' Devil's acres. " Up to an 
altitude of seven thousand feet, the trees are of the usual dimensions; 
at eight thousand feet, forest trees disappear entirely, a few stunted and 
hardy shrubs struggling for existence up to the height of about nine 
thousand feet, between which and the line of perpetual snow, scarcely 
a moss or lichen is to be seen. Above the latter point, and reaching 
to an altitude of twelve thousand feet, the only sign of life met with is 
a low form of vegetable of a vermillion color, which, generated in and 
staining the snow, causes this belt to be known as the "red snow." 
Above the fields of this most primitive vegetation, the cone of tlie 
mountain lifts itself — a glittering pavilion of untarnished snow. The 
best season for ascending the mountain is in the month of July or 
August. Earlier than July the snow is not sufficiently gone — while, 
towards the end of the svimmer, the fires, common in the forests, fill 
the air with smoke, interfering with and often completely destroying 
the view. The ascent is made from the west side, and until a height 



214 THE NATUKAL "WE.VLTH OF CALn>OPiXL\. 

of twelve tliousand feet is reached is attended witli no other difficulty 
than that always incident to the attenuated condition of the atmosphere 
at similar elevations. Above twelve thousand feet the ascent becomes 
more steep and laborious, the slope of the mountain inclining at an 
angle varying from thirty to forty-five degrees. Three days aro 
required to make the journey with comfort and satisfaction. The first 
night is spent near the line of perpetual snow ; the next day is con- 
siimed in going to the top of the mountain and returning to the spot 
left in the morning, where the second night is passed — the balance of 
the descent being made the following day. A good supply of blankets 
is required, as the temperature at this night-camp generally falls to the 
freezing point before morning. At an elevation of thirteen thousand 
two hundred and forty feet, a rudely circular, and nearly level space 
occurs, evidently the bottom of an ancient crater, one side of which 
having been broken away, a portion of its rim still remains, forming 
the summit of the mountain, which lifts itself one thousand two hun- 
dred and four feet above. On this level area are a number of orifices 
from which steam and sulphurous gases constantly escape — the feeble 
action of this solfatara being the only surviving manifestation of those 
stupendous forces that piled up the masses that form this extinct vol- 
cano. The thermometer, at midday, in summer, generally stands below 
the freezing point on the summit of the mountain. The air about its 
top is cold, even in the warmest weather, and is almost always in brisk 
circulation, the summit being frequently swept by strong gales that keep 
exposed portions of its sides denuded of snow. The outline of this 
mountain, from whatever side viewed, presents a nearly regular cone, 
the sjTnmetry of which is somewhat marred, when observed from the 
southwest, by the interposition of the side cone, not tAvo thousand feet 
lower than the main mountain, from which it stands wholly separated. 
No one has ever been on its top, it being steeper and more difiicult of 
ascent than Shasta itself. The sky outline of the latter has a general 
inclination of about twenty-eight degrees on one side and of thirty-one 
degrees on the other, while the westerly slope of this side-cone inclines 
at about thirty-six degrees. While, as stated, certain exposed and 
rocky portions of the main mountain arc denuded of snow, these bare 
spots disappear Avhen viewed from a distance, the whole surface above 
tlie snow line seeming an unbroken sheet of white, distinctly separated 
from the dark belt of forest below. The entire mass of the mountain 
is of volcanic origin, the base consisting of trachitic lava and the more 
elevated portions of basaltic rock, there being but little scoria, ashes 
or other loose material to be seen, except near the summit, where there 



215 

is a heavy bed of volcanic breccia. That this, however, as well as the 
adjacent cone, and many other peaks scattered over the country to the 
north, is wholly of volcanic origin, having been erupted from a crater- 
like orifice, admits of no doubt. The exact height of Mount Shasta, 
for a long time a somewhat mooted question, was a few years since 
definitely settled by the members of the State Geological Survey, in 
accordance with the figures above given. 

Near Elk valley, which affords some of the finest views of Mount 
Shasta, anywhere to be had, there are said to be numerous caves which, 
though never fully explored, are supposed to extend for a great distance 
under the lava formation that here marks the geology of the country. 
Near Kurd's ranch there occurs also a very extensive cavern known as 
" Pluto's cave. " It consists of along gallery in some parts sixty feet 
high, and varying in width from twenty to fifty feet. The soil of Elk 
valley, composed mostly of volcanic sand, is barren and incapable of 
sustaining any vegetation, except a few worthless shrubs. 

Shasta valley, like the Pitt valley, is a barren lava plain, contain- 
ing, however, a few fertile spots. Eising from this plain, which has 
an altitude of over three thousand feet, are numerous conical hills of 
volcanic origin, that impart to the region a wild and rugged aspect. 

There are many other mountains, valleys, caverns, and other natural 
objects and points of interest, in this extensive county, rendering it an 
attractive field to the scientific and curious. 

Notwithstanding so large a portion of Siskiyou is covered with 
sterile valleys and arid plateaus, there is still much good farming and 
grazing land within its limits, as well as a wide scope of valuable 
placers. Numerous promising quartz lodes have also been found in 
the western part of the county, some of which have been extensively 
and profitably worked. Without going into more details, the magni- 
tude of these several interests is sufiiciently indicated by the following 
statements : The value of the real and personal property in the county 
was last year estimated at 82,000,000; 50,000 acres of land were en- 
closed, and 20, 000 under cultivation. The number of acres planted to 
wheat were 3,500, producing 70,000 bushels ; barley, 1,200 acres, pro- 
ducing 25,000 bushels; and of oats, 3,000 acres, producing 80,000 
bushels. 

There are at this time six quartz mills in the county, carrying forty 
stamps, erected at an aggregate cost of $60,000 ; eight grist mills, 
capable of grinding four hundred barrels of flour daily, and costing a 
total of $150,000; fifteen saw mills, with capacity to cut from two to 
four thousand feet of lumber, each, daily, built at an average expense of 



21G THE NATUE-IL ^VEALTH OF CALIFOENL\. 

$6,000. There are twenty-one ditclies constructed for introducing -water 
into the mines; these vary in length from three to eighty-five miles, and 
cost from one to three hundred thousand dollars each — the latter being 
the amount expended in the construction of the Shasta River Oanal, 
built to carry the waters of that stream into the diggings about Yreka, 
and points further north, a distance of eighty-five miles. The present 
population of Siskiyou is estimated at six thousand, being somewhat 
less than it was eight or ten years ago. 

SHASTA COUNTY. 

This county derives its name from Mount Shasta, formerly situated 
within its limits, but thrown into Siskiyou on the creation of the latter 
from a portion of Shasta, in 1852. Shasta is bounded on the north by 
Siskiyou, on the east by Lassen, on the south by Plumas and Tehama, 
and on the west by Trinity county. The county is watered by the Sac- 
ramento river and its numerous confluents, which, from a point near its 
southern border, radiate to its outer limits in every direction, render- 
ing it one of the best watered counties in the State. Eroded by the 
action of so many large streams, the surface of the country is greatly 
diversified by mountains, hills and valleys — some of the ridges between 
these water courses, forming outlying spurs from the Sierra Nevada on 
the east and the Coast Range on the west, being rugged and lofty. The 
main Sierra, trending northwest to form its junction with the coast 
moiintains, crosses the eastern portion of the county, imparting to it a 
truly Alpine character. Standing in this range, and stretching two- 
thirds of the distance across the county, are four high peaks, severally 
named, Lassen's, Crater, Magee's, and Burney's peak, separated from 
each other by spaces of ten or twelve miles. They are all of volcanic 
origin, as are many other peaks and buttes in the vicinity, and else- 
where in the county. 

Lassen's Peak has four distinct summits, the highest of which has 
an altitude of ten thousand five hundred and seventy-seven feet, as 
determined by Messrs. Brewer and King, of the State Geological Sur- 
vey, who ascended it in 1863, and ascertained its height by careful 
measurement. These summits, rising from two hundred and fifty to 
three hundred and fiity feet above the common level of the mountain, 
are only the remaining portions of what was once the rim of the great 
crater, formed when this was an active volcano. Near the top of this 
mountain occur, as in the case of Mount Shasta, evidences of long con- 
tinued solfatara action, which licre has ceased many years since. 
Viewed from the north or south, this peak presents the shape of a flat- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOnNIA. 217 

enecl dome, while, seen from the east or west, it has the appearance of 
a very steep cone. It is timbered for about two thirds of the distance 
to its summit, which is covered with snow on its northern slopes a good 
portion of the year. Some of the cones to the north, both those along 
the line of the Sierra and others scattered over the volcanic table lands 
in this part of the county, present, in their outlines, steep, pointed 
ridges, while, in other cases, they have circular craters on the top, all 
indicating for them a common origin. They vary in height from six 
thousand to nine thousand feet, there being at a point five miles north 
of Lassen's Peak a cluster of irregular truncated cones of less altitude, 
and evidently of more recent formation, and which, between 1854 and 
1857, were constantly emitting large quantities of steam and gases. 
Numerous traces of well marked glacial action are found on Lassen's 
Peak, at an elevation of between six thousand and nine thousand feet. 
One of the best preserved craters in this region, so abounding with 
the remains of former volcanoes, is found near Butte creek, ten miles 
east of Fort Reading, where a cone, rising from the lava slope to a 
height of two thousand six hundred and thirty-three feet — eight hun- 
dred and fifty-six feet above its base — ^presents a well defined crater on 
its top, the rim about nine hundred yards in circumference and two 
hundred and twenty-five feet deep, nearly circular, remaining almost 
entirely perfect. 

With so manv rivers and mountain torrents, the surface of this 
county is cut by numerous valleys, some of them devoid of alluvial 
deposits, while others contain a considerable scope of bottom lands 
along the margin of the streams, or spread out into broad flats or moun- 
tain meadows. The climate in these valleys, though warm in the sum- 
mer, is, throughout the balance of the year, mild and equable, snow 
and extreme cold weather being of rare occurrence even in the winter. 
That the temperature does not fall to a very low point, is shown by the 
fact that not only the hardier fruits of the north, but also the fig, pom- 
egranate, cotton, almond, and other semi-tropical plants and fruits thrive 
here in the open air — Shasta being also one of the few counties in the 
State in which tobacco has been grown in notable quantities and of 
tolerable flavor. 

The entire northern and western portions of the county are covered 
with forests of conifers of nearly every variety, except the redwood, 
which is never found so far from the coast ; on the lower hills, scattered 
groves of live oak are common, with a species of ash along some of 
the streams. The eastern part of the county abounds in hot and boil- 
ing springs, several of which occur in the vicinity of Lassen's Peak, 



213 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALITORXIA. 

and are worthy of at least a passing notice. From one of the number, 
knowTi as the ' ' Steamboat Spring, " issues quite a stream of boiling 
water, while from numerous vents, scattered over several acres in the 
vicinity, clouds of steam are constantly escaping. In one place a steam 
jet issuing in a pool of hot water, throws it up to a height of seven or 
eight feet with a loud noise. Formerly this action was much more vio- 
lent than at present, the column of water being thrown to a height of 
over twenty feet. Two miles northwest of this spring, and nearly eight 
east of the summit of Lassen's Peak, is a pool of hot water six liun- 
dred feet long and three hundred wide, known as the "Boiling lake.'' 
From this pool, the water, always kept at boiling point, issues in a 
stream about two feet wide and several inches deep. It is of a milky 
color, and in places thickened almost to the consistency of cream. 
From this viscid material, especially about the banks of the pond, 
where it has accumulated, jets of steam puff up, forming a sort of mud 
pustule, or minature volcano, from a few inches to three or four feet 
in height. Clouds of steam and sulphurous gases escape from crevices 
in the surrounding lava, which is slowly wasting away under their 
action. About four miles northwest of the Boiling lake are still more 
copious hot springs, their chemical action on the adjacent rocks being 
also much more extensive. They occur for half a mile along a caiion, 
and discharge a large volume of water. The neighborhood abounds in 
sulphur; this mineral, sublimated in the numerous cavities, crystalizing 
on the surrounding rocks in the most delicate and beautiful manner. 
Salt and sulphur springs occur in various parts of the county, some ol 
the latter being considered valuable for their medicinal proj)erties. 

An outcrop of coal of very fair quality has been found on Cow creek, 
whence it has been traced for eight or ten miles in a northwest direc- 
tion. This bed is composed of several strata, one of which has been 
opened to a considerable depth, and found to consist of about one foot 
of coal associated with several feet of shale. This coal has been tried 
by the blacksmiths in the neighborhood, and pronounced well suited 
for the uses of the forge. A coal vein has also been extensively opened 
near Piound mountain, and cxhilnts at the present time a very favor- 
able appearance. 

The population of this county is estimated at about six thousand, 
of whom one thousand two hundred are residents of the town of Sliasta, 
the county scat. This is a lively place and has a considerable trade in 
the summer, being a supply point for a large scope of mining country 
to the north, cast and west. It was at one time an active mining camp, 
but the exhaustion of the i^lacers in the immediate vicinity has left it 



COUNTIES or CyVLirOK?aA. 219 

dull in this respect — it still, however, presents a comfortable and invit- 
ing aspect, being full of gardens, orchards and vineyards, and contain- 
ing a number of well built private dwellings and public edifices. 
The settlement of some of tho more remote agricultural valleys has 
been somewhat retarded by the hostility of the Indians, who have, in 
numerous instances, butchered whole families going into these locali- 
ties to settle at an early day. Efforts are now being made for the estab- 
lishment of an Indian reservation in this county, a measure that would 
probably benefit all parties, both the whites and the Indians. Scat- 
tered over about one thousand square miles of territory, comprised 
within the limits of Tehama, Shasta, Sisldyou and Lassen counties, are 
the following tribes of Indians : the Pitt river, Shasta, Hat creek, 
Pushus, Pah-Utahs, Antelopes, Nosers, Sacramento's, Tonatons and 
McClouds, embracing over two thousand souls in all, for whom no pro- 
vision has hitherto been made by the Indian Department of the Gov- 
ernment. The valleys and fisheries from which they formerly procured 
the most of their subsistence having been occupied entirely by tho 
whites, renders it difficult for these people to longer sustain themselves 
upon the natural products of the earth, hence they are forced, in some 
cases, to depredate upon the whites, or suffer from the pangs of hun- 
ger. If they steal the property, or kill the stock of the settlers, the 
latter retaliate by shooting the Indians, who, in return, murder the 
whites whenever opportunity offers for them to do so with safety, and 
thus, a constant warfare is kept up to the great injury of both races. 
The plan of gathering these savages upon reservations, where, with 
good management, it is found they can be rendered self-sustaining, 
contributes not only to their comfort and safety, but also secures the 
whites against their further assaults and depredations. 

"With so many fertile valleys, and a climate so genial, the agricultu- 
ral resources of Shasta, as wiU readily be sui^posed, are by no means 
inconsiderable. The number of acres of land enclosed, in this county, 
was estimated, in 1867, to be about 65, 000, of which 35, 000 were under 
cultivation; 10,000 acres, planted to wheat, yielded 150,000 bushels; 
7,000 acres, planted to barley, yielded 190,000 bushels ; and 2,000 
acres, planted to oats, yielded 50, 000 bushels. Besides these cereals, 
Indian corn, rye and buclcwheat are grown to some extent, as well as 
broom-corn and tobacco, with nearly every variety of fruits, vegetables 
and berries — much stock is also kept in the county, and considerable 
quantities of butter and cheese made every year. In 1866 Shasta con- 
tained one thousand nine hundred and forty-two mules, ranking next 



220 THE XATUR.yL WE.U.TH OF C.ULIFORXIA. 

to Yolo — tlie first county in this respect in tlie State. The number of 
sheexi and hogs has multii^lied rapidly during the past few years, ren- 
dering wool, pork and bacon important items in the products of the 
county. Besides several otlier small manufactories, Shasta counts a 
tannery and a pottery among her industrial establishments. There aro 
two grist mills in the county, both driven by water; they have a daily 
capacity to make one hundred barrels of flour each — the cost of their 
joint construction being $22,000. Shasta contains twelve sawmills, 
capable of cutting from one thousand to six thousand feet of lumber, 
daily; all but two of these mills are propelled by water, the cost of each 
langing from ip2,000 to $12,000. 

This county contained at one time a great extent of rich placer 
mines, and althotigh the most of these are now pretty well worked out, 
there are still fair diggings in a number of localities, with a great many 
promising lodes of auriferous quartz. In the Pittsburg district, on 
McCloud's river, in the northern part of the county, a great number of 
veins were located in 1863, on the supposition that they contained val- 
uable deposits of copper ore, much of this metal being found in the 
croppings. Subsequent explorations having shown the presence also 
of gold and silver, the latter predominating in value, a large popula- 
tion was drawn into the district, and much work done, some of these 
lodes having since turned out to be valuable. Veins of similar char- 
acter have also been found on Cow creek and elsewhere in the county, 
indicating that vein mining, both for gold and silver, will yet become 
an active and j^i'o^table pursuit therein. Already there are twelve 
quartz mills running in the county, on rock yielding an average of over 
twenty dollars per ton by working process. There are also a good 
many arastras driven by horse power, and numbers of Mexicans make 
fair wages, crushing quartz Avith hand mortars, their earnings ranging 
from six to twenty dollars per day. Hydraulic Avashings are in success- 
ful operation at two or three points in the county, and, as Avater is 
abundant, this mode of working is likely soon io be greatly extended. 
One half of the quartz mills are driven by steam and the other half by 
Avatcr ; they carry from four to eight stamps each, and cost, in the 
aggregate, about $100,000. Sixteen water ditches, besides distributing 
branches, have been built in the county. These Avorks vary from tAvo 
to fifty-three miles in length, and in cost from $5,000 to $140,000 — 
the total sum expended in their construction being about $100,000. 



COUNTIES OF c.iLiroE:rL\. 221 

LASSEN COUNTY. 

This countj, erected in 1864 from the eastern parts of Plumas and 
Shasta counties, is named after Peter Lassen, an early explorer of the 
surrounding regions, and a pioneer settler in this part of California. 
It is bounded on the north by Siskiyou county, on the east by the State 
of Nevada, on the south by Sierra and Plumas, and on the west by Plu- 
mas and Shasta counties. For a long time, nearly the whole of this 
territory, together with the eastern part of Siskiyou county, was sue- 
cessiyely claimed, first by Utah, then by Nevada Territory, and finally 
by the State of Nevada, each of which, in turn, exercised jurisdiction 
over it until the year 1862, when the eastern boundaiy of California 
having been located to the east of it by a joint survey on the part of 
tlie two States, prevented a collision, already precipitated, from pro- 
ceeding to extremities between the authorities of Plumas and Pioop 
counties. 

Lassen county embraces within its limits a large area, about equally 
divided between rugged mountains, alkali flats and arid sage plains, 
the only considerable body of good land in it being that lying along 
and adjacent to Susan river, generally denominated Honey lake valley, 
Avitli a narrow strip in Long valley, further south. The mountains con- 
sist of the Sierra Nevada, which, trending northwest, strike across its 
southwestern border, forming a high barrier between this and Plumas 
county, and numerous straggling groups lying further north and east, 
the former well timbered with pine, spruce and fir, the latter contain- 
ing no trees except a few scattered groves of scrubby pitch j)ine, called 
in the Spanish, "piiion", and a species of dwarf juniper. This piuon, 
a low, bushy tree, about one foot in diameter at the butt, and twenty- 
five feet high, being of a firm fibre, and full of resinous matter, makes 
a valuable fuel, though not worth much for other purposes. The juni- 
per, or, as it is more commonly called, the cedar, being still smaller 
than the pine, and at the same time light and porous, is of little value, 
whether for fuel or lumber. 

This county, as well as the eastern part of Siskiyou, all of Alpine, 
Mono and Inyo counties, lying upon or being wholly to the east of the 
Sierra Nevada mountains, and within the rim of the Great Utah Basin, 
partakes largely of the features that characterize that elevated and gen- 
erally barren plateau, being marked by great aridity, vast stretches of 
alkali flats and sandy plains, clusters of desolate and broken hills, 
ranges of mountains alternating with narrow valleys, and a remark- 
able scarcity of animal and vegetable life. The only streams of any 



222 THE NA-TTE.^ WILVLTn OF CyLUOEXL^. 

size consist of a branch of Pitt river, in tlie northern part of the county; 
of Pine creet, running into Eagle lalie ; and of Susan river, heading in 
the Sierra, and running easterly into Honey lake, together with a stream 
flowing through Long valley from the south, and emptying into the same 
receptacle. Besides these, there are a number of small creeks runnJTjg 
down from the mountains into Honey lake valley, affording ample 
means for irrigating the rich lands lying along its western border, close 
under the Sierra, as well as furnishing an extensive water power, their 
descent being very rapid. The most of these creeks sink after flowing 
a short distance out upon the plain, though one or two make their way 
across it, emptying into Susan river. 

There are two lakes in this county — Eagle lake, lying near its cen- 
ter, and Honey lake, in its southern part. The former, about twelve 
miles long and eight wide, is of very irregular outline, and no great 
depth ; the latter is of almost equally irregular shape, and still more 
shallow, having, in fact, within the past few years, nearly dried up. 
It receives its name from the quantities of honey-dew found on the 
grass and shrubbery in the vicinity. This substance is deposited by 
the honey-dew aphis, a species of bee sometimes found in dry and bar- 
ren countries. It is a sweetish, viscid liquid, resembling honey, and 
though never used by the whites, is gathered by the Indians, who, 
boiling the grass and twigs on which it is found, make a sort of mo- 
lasses, of which they are fond. . 

Long valley, extending for more than forty miles through the south- 
ern part of the county, is a fine stock region, and, though but sparsely 
settled, there are usually several thousand head of cattle grazing in it — 
stock, as a general thing, doing well here, as is the case also in Honey 
lake valley throughout the winter, feeding upon the wild grasses, sago, 
grease-wood and other herbage found growing in the valley and upon 
the adjacent hills. At long intervals, however, snow falls in these val- 
leys to the depth of twenty or thirty inches, causing much distress 
among the stock running at large — sometimes even destroying a portion 
of it. Usually the snow does not fall in the valleys to a depth of more 
than six or eight inches, and is of temporary duration; on the Sierra 
it always falls to a depth of many feet, and sometimes lies for several 
months on the interior ranges. 

Honey lake valley, first settled in 1857, contains about t^vcuty thou- 
sand acres of fine farming and meadow lands, nearly the whole of which 
is enclosed, and at least one fifth of it under cultivation. About one 
thousand acres of wheat, one thousand five hundred of barley, and two 
hundred of oats were sown in 1SG7, Avhich yielded respectively at the 



COUNTIES OF Cy^IPOENLi. 223 

rate of t^^-entj-fire, thirty and tliirty-two bushels to the acre. Vege- 
tables of various kinds and superior quality are raised here, and the 
hardier fruits are also found to grow and mature without difficulty, 
aj^ples of large size and fine flavor having been grown for several years 
past. Irrigation, for which there are the best of facilities, is, however, 
found necessary for perfecting the crops, both of vegetables and grain. 
The considerable elevation of this entire region, everywhere over four 
thousand feet above sea-level, rendering the seasons short, a resort to 
this aid becomes necessary to hasten the growth of vegetation. Honey 
lake valley has an altitude of four thousand two hundred feet, and Sum- 
mit lake, five thousand eight hundred feet, while many of the moun- 
tains within the limits of the county reach a height of more than seven 
tliousand feet. They are generally dry and sterile, containing nothing 
but a scanty growth of bunch grass, and a few stunted pines and juni- 
per trees. Like the rest of the country, they are nearly destitute of 
game, the only thing found to reward the labors of the hunter being 
hare, sage-hen, and an occasional deer. 

Hot springs occur at several points in the county, the most note- 
worthy of which consists of a group situated on the margin of Honey 
lake. One of these springs boils furiously, the hot water leaping sev- 
eral feet high. It is about twelve feet square, and so deep that its 
bottom has never been reached by sounding. The other springs in this 
group are not so hot, some of them only tepid. They are all more or 
less impregnated with mineral substances — the waters of one being 
chalybeate, of another, saline, alkaline or sulphurous. 

The population of Lassen amounts to about two thousand, six hun- 
dred of whom are residents of Susanville, the county seat. The value 
of the real and personal proj^erty in the county is estimated at $800,000. 
It contains seven saw mills, all but one driven by water, erected at an 
aggregate cost of $60, 000, and having a daily capacity to cut from two 
tliousand to fourteen thousand feet of lumber each ; two grist mills, 
both run by water, cost $12, 000, and together capable of making one 
hundred barrels of flour daily. The only water ditches in this county 
are such as have been built for purposes of irrigation ; the largest of 
the number, the Willow creek ditch, is eight miles long, and cost 
$12,000. 

The mineral wealth of the region embraced within and lying adja- 
cent to Lassen county was, from an early day, supposed to be great, 
much prospecting for silver having been carried on there before the dis- 
covery of the Washoe mines. The extent to which this idea had ob- 
tained may be inferred from the fact that it was while on an expedition in 



22-i: THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF C.yLIFORXIA. " 

searcli of silver mines supposed to exist to the northeast of Black Rock 
that the brave old pioneer, Peter Lassen, was killed by the Indians, in 
the spring of 1859. None of the explorations prosecuted in that quarter 
appear, however, to have resulted in any discoveries of value until the 
Black Eock mines, lying some fifty miles northeast of Honey lake, were 
found, about two years ago. Two quartz mills have since been erected 
at that place both of which have been running on the silver ores 
obtained from the mines with varying success. That the ores are rich, 
and very abundant, seems x^retty well established, though they are doubt- 
less of a very obstinate and intractable character. The district is but 
poorly supplied with w^ood and water, adding further to the difficulties 
in the way of a successful and economical treatment of the ores, which, 
should they really prove what is claimed for them, w^ill have to be trans- 
ported to points where there are better facilities for their reduction 
than exist at these mines, before they can be worked on an extensive 
scale. The Central Pacific Eailroad, when built uj) the Humboldt, 
will run within less than a hundred miles of Black Eock, whereby much 
cheaper transportation of the ores being insured than is now practi- 
cable, there is a prospect that these mines will be largely and profit- 
ably worked in the course of a year or two more. 

A good many claims were located, and considerable work done, on 
silver bearing lodes situated in the Sierra, west of Honey lake valley, as 
early as 1859, but as no extensive crushings have ever been made of the 
ores, nor enough work performed to prove the mines, their value remains 
undetermined — nothing having been done upon them since that early 
period. It is not known that any vein mines, or placers of importance, 
exist elsewhere in the county, though a good deal of prospecting for 
deposits of the precious metals has at different times been done. 



MOUNT^VIN COUNTIES. 
PLUMAS COUNTY. 

Plumas county, so designated from the Eio de las Plumas, the Span- 
ish name of Feather river, which stream, and its aftiucnts, ramify it 
in every direction, is bounded on the north by Shasta and Lassen coun- 
ties, on the east by Lassen, on the south by Sierra and Yuba counties, 
and on the west by Butte and Tehama counties. Its greatest longitu- 
dinal axis extends southeast and northwest a distance of eighty-five 
miles, its transverse axis being about forty-five miles in length, giving 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENIA. 225 

to the county an area of about two tliousand square miles. Being 
deeply furrowed by the Feather river and its numerous tributaries, 
nearly the whole of the central and southwestern part of the county is 
divided into narrow caiions separated by high ridges, the northeastern 
portions rising into the lofty Sierra which borders it in that direction. 
These caiions vary in depth from five hundred to three thousand feet — 
the gorge cut by the middle fork of Feather river, which, rising east of 
the main Sierra, has worn a passage through that range, being one of 
the deepest and wildest in the State. The Middle Yu.ba has also 
eroded for itself an exceedingly deep channel — that stream, at Nelson's 
Point, being nearly four thousand feet below the top of Pilot peak, an 
isolated mountain in the neighborhood. This peak, situated in the 
southern part of the county, and which reaches an altitude of over six 
thousand feet, is of volcanic origin, its northern slope being walled 
with columnar basalt, and its summit capped with a bed of lava six 
hundred and fifty feet thick. The view from its top is extensive and 
grand. Spanish peak, an isolated knob of similar origin, lies about 
twenty miles to the northwest, there being several other mountain 
peaks of lesser elevation in different parts of the county. 

The surface of Plumas is covered everiy^where with a heavy growth 
of coniferous forests, consisting of sugar and yellow pine, red spruce, 
the white or balsam fir, cedar, etc., there being scarcely a better tim- 
bered region along the slope of the Sierra. These forests are more 
open and scattered in the western part of the county, growing more 
dense as the mountain is ascended, even to its very summit. The 
county contains no lakes, or even considerable ponds of water, though 
hot and mineral springs are met with in several localities. The low 
altitude of Beckworth's pass, lying in the southeastern part of the 
county, has encouraged the citizens of Plumas to take preliminary 
steps towards forming a company for the construction of a railroad 
through it. This road is to be carried up the middle fork of Ve ather 
river, and thence over the Sierra, through this pass, a route on which 
but little snow will be encountered in the winter, though somewhat cir- 
cuitous and leading through a broken and mountainous country. 

Notwithstanding its great elevation and the extremely rugged sur- 
face of the country, PlumaB county contains many fertile, well sheltered 
valleys and mountain meadows, admirably suited for agricultural and 
grazing purposes. The principal of these localities are American, 
Indian and Humbug valleys. Mountain Meadow and Big Meadow, Gen- 
esee, Long, Mohawk, Beckworth, Sierra, Pied Clover and Round val- 
leys, nearly all lying in the northern and eastern part of the county and 
15 



226 THE NATUB.VL WKVLTH OF C-\XIFOnNIA. 

on the upper tributaries of tlie Feather river. These valleys and mea- 
dows embrace in the aggregate nearly two hundred and fifty thousand 
acres of good land, and although the more tender fruits and vegetables 
are sometimes cut off by unseasonable frosts, good crops of the hardiei 
kinds are generally secured, while the cereals yield with certainty and 
abundance. Most of the valleys are covered with a luxuriant growth 
of natural grasses, the adjacent mountains in some places also afford- 
ing much pashu-age. For hay, timothy grass is cultivated, few depend- 
ing on the wild varieties for this article. In some instances irrigation 
is resorted to for securing a crop, though not generally. As a usual 
thing but little snow falls in these valleys, though it reaches a great 
depth every winter on the mountains. Cattle are the better for being 
housed and fed for a few weeks in the winter, though some seasons they 
scarcely require it. It is estimated that there are now over one him- 
dred thousand acres of land under fence in this county, more than one 
half of which is planted to grain and vegetables. The principal cereals 
raised are wheat and oats, more than twenty thousand bushels of the 
former and one himdred thousand of the latter having been produced 
in 1867, a still larger yield being counted upon for the following year. 
The grain grown here is remarkably plump and heavy, the oats weigh- 
ing forty and the wheat over sixty pounds to the bushel. Small quan- 
tities of rye, buckwheat, Indian corn and barley are also successfully 
cultivated — only enough of the latter, however, being sown for brewing 
pm-poses. A considerable amount of stock is kept in. the county, over 
two thousand cows — enough butter and cheese being made for local con- 
sumption. Daiiymen and stockgrowers in the lower counties are in the 
habit of driving their herds into the meadows that exist in the upper 
Sierra, and pasturing them there during the summer, returning them 
to the lower vallevs when winter comes on. There are but few swine 
and no sheep, except such as are kept for the shambles, raised in the 
county. 

Owing to the abrupt character of the countiy, Plumas has hereto- 
fore been but illy supplied with wagon roads. A project recently set 
on foot is now being vigorously prosecuted for constructing a first-class 
toll road from Oroville to Quincy, the coitnty seat, with branches to 
Indian and to American valley. The entire length of this road will be 
one hundred and thirty miles, and it is to be built with the low gradient, 
for a mountain district, of four inches to the rod. Being confined 
mostly to the valley of Feather river, it lies below the deep snow line, 
securing it against serious impediment from the winter snows. The 
cost of this work is estimated at nearly three hundred thousand dollars, 



COTINTraZS OF CALIFOEXIA. 227 

tovrards -u-liicli tlie county contributes eighty thousand dollars. Tv'hen 
completed, it is expected that this improvement will, by cheapening 
transportation and travel, rapidly increase the population of the county 
and greatly promote the development of its mineral wealth, which, as 
regards both the precious and useful metals, is undoubtedly great. 

From an early day, placer mining, which is still extensively and 
■profitably carried on, has been a lucrative pursuit in this county. For 
many years immense quantities of gold were taken out on the bars of 
Feather river and its tributaries, some of which continue to yield well, 
though the most of the dust now gathered comes from the hydraulic 
and tunnel claims, of which there are a large number being worked with 
good average, and, occasionally, with very large results. In its quartz 
veins Plumas has also a wide and prolific field of wealth, the average 
yield of these lodes, so far as tested, having been higher than in almost 
any other part of the State. The leading quartz districts, so far as 
active developments and the erection of mills are concerned, consist of 
Indian, Mohawk, and Genesee valleys — Greenville, Dixie, and Jamison 
creek. The Whitney lode, in Indian valley, is twenty feet wide, the 
vein matter, from wall to wall, composed of pay ore — not a pound being 
rejected — that yields by ordinary process fourteen dollars to the ton, 
besides a considerable percentage of rich sulphurets, saved for future 
treatment. The Crescent mine, in the same locality, worked since 1862, 
embraces a system of four ledges, which, by extensive explorations are 
shown to carry large quantities of ore — the results of five years' work- 
ings having ranged from fifteen to forty dollars -pev ton. The average 
yield for the year ending with June, 1867, was sixteen dollars per ton, 
the net earnings of the mine having been fifty thousand dollars during 
that year. The dividends to stockholders since the opening of the mine 
have been over one hundred thousand dollars, besides earnings api)lied 
to defray current expenses and the erection of two first-class mills, car- 
r}-ing an aggi-egate of fifty-six stamps. The lode of the Indian Yalley 
Mining Company, like that last mentioned, has been worked steadily 
and profitably for a series of years ; and although other and even more 
notable examples of success might be cited, the foregoing wiU serve to 
illustrate the general character of the veins and grades of ore found in 
this county, which offers inducements second to no other in the State 
for the investment of capital in this branch of mining. There are now 
twenty-six quartz mills in this county, carrying a total of three hundred 
stamps, and erected at an aggregate expense of 8400,000, the individual 
cost ranging from $3,000 to $100,000, according to location and capa- 
city, the earliest built being more expensive, owing to higher prices of 



228 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNLi. 

labor and material, than those of recent date. There are one hundred 
and forty miles of water ditches in the county, constructed at a cost of 
not less than S350,000, the Spanish Creek ditch, alone, having cost 
$150, 000. There are twenty saw mills and two grist mills, the most of 
them of moderate caj)acity. 

Besides its placers and veins of gold bearing quartz, Plumas con- 
tains many lodes rich in cupriferous ores, several of which had been 
extensively opened and were being worked with fair prospects of suc- 
cess, when the extreme depreciation of copper ores checked further pro- 
ceedings, though there is no doubt but with an imjiroved market for 
this metal these lodes will be again worked more largely than ever 
before, and with remunerative results, as the ores are abundant, easily 
obtained, and many of them of an unusually high grade. Marble of 
fine quality, being beautifully variegated, and susceptible of high 
polish, abounds on the middle fork of Feather river, and a vein of 
coal has been found in Indian valley, the croj)pings of which have 
proved to be of a quality sufiiciently good at least for domestic uses 
and the blacksmith's forge. The popvilation of this county, estimated 
in 18GG at three thousand six hundred and seventv, on the basis that the 
school children under fifteen years of age constitute thirty j)er cent, of 
the inhabitants, is now believed to be at least four thousand. 

SIERRA COLT^TY. 

This county, which derives its name from the Sierra Nevada moun- 
tains that cross its eastern border, is bounded as follows : Plumas 
county on the north, the State of Nevada on the east, the comity of 
Nevadp. on the south, and the counties of Yuba and Plumas on the west. 
The description already given of Plumas county will, in nearly all tliat 
relates to soil, climate, topography, timber, and other natural produc- 
tions, ax'jply equally well to Sierra. There are, however, in the latter, 
a niimber of small lakes, with a scattering of scrubby oaks on the 
lower foothills, while the mountains here are scarcely so high, or tho 
caiions so deep, as in Plumas. 

The principal streams flowing through Sierra consist of the north 
and middle forks of the Yuba, the former running centrally through, 
and the latter forming the southern boundary of tho county. In length, 
Sierra extends about ilfty miles, east and west, by twenty miles, north 
and south — its area being not quite half that of Plumas — it also con- 
taining much less agricultural land than the latter. Situated on top of 
the Sierra Nevada mountains, where this range spreads out into broad 
flats and basin-like depressions, are a number of ponds and small lakes. 



COUNTIES OF CALiror.NIA. 229 

in one of wliich, called Gold lake, about four miles long and two miles 
wide, the middle fork of Feather river has its main source, another 
branch of this stream heading in a smaller lake located in Sierra val- 
ley, eighteen miles further east. The most of these lakes are of circu- 
lar form, and from half a mile to a mile long, many being much smaller 
— not more than eight or ten rods over. Some of them are very deep, 
a hundred foot line having failed to reach the bottom of Gold lake. 
This locality is worthy of notice as being the spots visited by the first 
of those expeditions fitted out in California to search for suj^posed rich, 
but, as experience has shown, imaginary deposits of gold. This adven- 
ture dates back as early as the summer of 1849, though generally repre- 
sented as occurring one year later. A similar movement did, indeed, 
transpire in 1850, based, no doubt, upon the rumors that gave rise to 
the original expedition, which, in reality, took place at the time above 
stated. 

There are several isolated peaks and buttes in this county, the most 
conspicuous of which are Table mountain, over six thousand five hun- 
dred feet high, and Saddle mountain, lying a few miles south of it, 
and not quite so high, and the Sierra Buttes, thirteen miles east of 
Downieville, the latter eight thousand three hundred feet high. Like 
Plumas, the whole of this county has a considerable altitiide, scarcely 
any of it being less than three thousand feet above the level of the sea. 
The bed of the North Yuba, where crossed by the west line of the 
county, and about the lowest point in it, is two thousand one hundred 
and sixty-six feet high, while many of the mining camps in the county 
have an altitude of more than five thousand feet. Nearly the whole 
county is underlaid by aviriferous slates, generally covered by volcanic 
accumulations, the former being denuded by the numerous deep 
ravines that furroAV the country in every direction. Along the crest of 
the Sierra this slate is capped by high volcanic ' ' buttes, " imparting 
to the range a sharply serrated contour. The most of the lava found 
in this region is basaltic, though there are in places large quantities of 
breccia and conglomerate. The slates, with occasional serpentine, are 
to be seen only in the valleys and canons where the superimposed vol- 
canic mass has been worn away by the action of the water. 

While considerable quantities of fruit and vegetables are raised, 
there is but little stock kept, and only a limited amount of grain grown 
in this county, the arable and grazing laud being mostly confined to a 
few small valleys and mountain flats, the latter too elevated to admit of 
the successfiil culture of the more tender plants and fruits, though 
most kinds of grain and vegetables are raised without trouble. The 



239 THE NATTni.\X WEALTH OF C.VLIFORXLS.. 

land enclosed amounts to twentj-five thousand acres — one tliiid, per- 
haps, under cultivation — barley, of which about twenty -five thousand 
bushels are raised annually, being the principal cereal planted. Large 
quantities of potatoes, and other esculent roots of superior quality are 
grown, while the peach, vine and apricot flourish in many of the deep 
and warmer vallevs. 

The climate here is rigorous in the winter, the cold being severe 
and the snow falling to a gi'eat depth and lying for several months on 
the higher ridges and mountains, though generally there is but little in 
the lower valleys. As is the case in all the inhabited mountain districts 
in this part of the State, the principal mode of traveling at this season 
is on snow-shoes — what is kno\^Ti as the "Norwegian skate," being em- 
ployed for the purpose. This skate, or shoe, consists of a strip of pine 
board four inches wide and from eight to twelve feet long, slightly 
turned up forward, which being attached to the feet, the traveler, fur- 
nished with a pole to steady and guide him, makes his way over the 
snow, when soft, with a speed and facility to the novice quite sur^irising. 
The velocity with which a person experienced in the use of these shoes 
will descend a mountain side deeply covered with snow is, to one never 
having witnessed the performance, incredible. Nearly all classes 
residing in the more Alpine regions of the State practice with these 
skates, without which travel would be nearly impracticable, since it 
becomes almost impossible to break roads where the aggregate snow- 
fall amounts to forty or fifty feet in a single winter — it lying often at 
one time to depths varying from ten to fifteen feet. Snow-shoe racing 
constitutes a popular and exhilerating sport among the inhabitants of 
these elevated districts, even the women frequently becoming competi- 
tors in these trials of speed and skill. 

Downievillo, the county seat of Sierra, contains one thousand five . 
hundred inhabitants — the population of the entire county being seven 
thousand. Howland Flat, a populous mining neighborhood in the 
Qorthwestern part of the county, numbers one thousand inhabitants, 
and Sierra valley, a broad flat situated high up in the mountains, about 
as many more, a large proportion of whom are women and children — 
the inhabitants of this locality being engaged chiefly in stock raising 
and farming. With the exception of a group of thermals strongly im- 
pregnated with sulphur, located one and a half miles east of Sierraville, 
there are no hot or mineral springs in this county. 

In the matter of mineral resources, Sierra may, for its size, justly 
claim to be the leading county in California, both as regards placer and 
vein mining. The diggings here, from the first extensive and prolific, 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOLNIA. 231 

still continue among tlie most profitable and largely productive in tlie 
State ; several of the quartz claims, such as the Sierra Buttes, Inde- 
pendence, Keystone, Primrose, Gold Bluff, and Gold Valley mines, 
having been steadily worked for many years, with highly remunerative 
results. Hanking among the best of these properties is the lode of the 
Brush Creek Quartz Mining Company, located three miles west of 
Forest City, and which, though partially explored as early as 1857, was 
not thoroughly opened and rendered largely productive until a recent 
date. Across this county, pursuing a generally north and south direc- 
tion, run several strongly marked branches of the far-famed ancient river 
channels, which, though scarcely more than scratched, have already 
yielded millions of dollars, and which, in their rich and wide-spread 
deposits insure profitable mining for centuries to come. On the most 
eastern of these channels, which has as yet been but little opened, are 
situated the very prosperous mining camps of Nebraska and American 
City ; on that lying next west, somewhat more extensively worked, are 
Forest City, Alleghany, Wet Eavine, Cliix^s' Flap, Centerville, and 
Minnesota; while on the three remaining channels, taking them in their 
order as we proceed west, we have first, Deadwood, Sebastopol, Excel- 
sior, Monte Cristo, Piock Creek, and City of Six, the deposits up to 
this point being reached and operated by means of shafts and tunnels, 
while those further west are mostly worked by hydraulic washing. On 
the next channel are located Table Mountain, Poker Flat, Washoe, 
Morristown and Eureka ; on the next, beginning as before, on the 
north, are Whisky Diggings, Howland Flat, St. Louis and Port Wine ; 
the points on the most westerly channel, where hea\y work has been 
done, being Hepsydam, Gibsonville, Lai^orte and Poverty Hill, the old 
river beds below the points mentioned being less explored, though 
probably equally rich with those already opened and for so many years 
worked with success. Hydraulic, as well as tunnel mining, is prose- 
cuted in this county on a very extensive scale, many of these claims 
being among the largest and best paying in the State. The celebrated 
"Blue Lead," in so far as it may be a different gold bearing channel 
from that of these ancient rivers, finds its most marked development in 
this county, having been a source of immense wealth ever since it was 
first laid open. 

Many silver and copper bearing lodes have been found in the cen- 
tral and eastern parts of the county, but none of them having yet been 
proved by deep exploration, it would be premature to pronounce upon 
their value, though both class of ores have yielded satisfactory and 
often very large returns, both by assay and working tests. 



232 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENLi. 

Sierra contains about forty quartz mills and tliirtj saw mills, many 
of the former being large and costly establishments, the earnings of 
which have been s^^eady and liberal. The extent of water ditching in 
this county is very considerable, the length of this work being one 
hundred and forty miles, constructed at an aggregate cost of about 
$400,000. 

NEVADA COUNTY. 

This county, which derives its name from the Sierra Nevada moun- 
tains that run across its eastern extremity, was erected from a part of 
Yuba county in 1851. It is bounded on the north by Yuba and Sierra 
counties, on the east by the State of Nevada, on the south by Placer, 
and on the west by Yuba county. In form it is long and narrow, 
extending sixty-five miles east and west, and fifteen north and south, 
giving it a superficial area of about one thousand one hundred square 
miles. With the exception of the eastern portion, covered by the great 
snowy range, the surface of the country is much less rugged and broken 
than that of Sierra and Plumas lying to the north ; the western section, 
occupied by the lower foot-hills, and finally sinking into the l)road 
plains of the Sacramento, being comparatively level. The middle fork 
of the Yuba river forms about two thirds of its northern boundary, 
separating it from Sierra county, the south fork of that stream running 
centrally through it. Without partaking of the striking features that 
mark the country, further north the scenery in the upper part of the 
country is varied and often wild and majestic; while the central and 
lower portions are pleasantly diversified by deep ravines, knolls and 
dales — rolling j^rairies, wooded mountains and long sweeps of gently 
sloping hills. Here the country is covered with a mixed growth of oak 
and pine; the trees, which generally attain but a moderate size, being 
gathered in clumps or scattered sparsely over it. Interspersed through 
the timber, or grooving in the forest glades, are many varieties of beau- 
tiful flowering shrubs, the most picturesque and fragrant of these 
being the buckeye, the chamiza, the wild lilac and the manzanita, that 
everywhere adorn the landscape and fill the air -with perfume during 
the spring and early summer. The open spaces among the foot-hills, 
and more especially the prairies that skirt tlitnn, bloom in spring time 
Avith fields of wild flowers of every form and hue — all exceedingly 
brilliant and graceful, though generally deficient in odor. Sometimes 
a single variety will occupy several acres, to be followed by another 
patch equally extensive, covered by a different kind. It would be vain 
to seek in the most carefully cultivated gardens, where the choicest 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 233 

floral treasures of tlie "world liave been gathered, for anything more 
exquisitely shaped or tinted than can be found growing wild and 
uncared for in these immense parterres. The soil on the uplands is a 
ferruginous loam, deep, warm and generous; that of the bottoms and 
basin-like flats, a dark vegetable alluvium, having great strength and 
body, and being exceedingly well adaj)ted for the culture of fruits, 
grains, and vegetables ; while the vine thrives better on the red, hill 
soil, growing luxuriantly and yielding with an abundance, to the very 
tops of the mountains. Certain of the fruits, such as the peach, quince 
and apricot also prefer the lighter and drier soil of the uplands, which, 
from the decomposition of slates and volcanic material intermixed with 
iron and vegetable mould, is by no means lacking in the elements of 
fruitfulness and strength. Wild grasses of several varieties grow sparse- 
ly nearly everywhere throughout this lower country, affording a good 
deal of nutritious pasturage. The summer climate here is hot during 
the day, though the nights are generally cool. The spring and autumn 
seasons, exempt from extremes, are always delightful, which is also the 
case in the greater portion of the winter, but little snow ever falling 
and the cold never being excessive ; stock, except work cattle, are rarely 
ever housed, nor do they require much fodder unless the winter is 
uncommonly severe. Indeed, a more pleasant rural region, or a more 
desirable abode for man than is furnished by these foot-hills, is now'here 
to be found. And, since what has been said concerning the portion of 
them lying in Nevada, will apply equally well to the entire range 
stretching south more than two hundred miles through the remaining 
mining counties, no further description thereof will be required when 
we come to speak of the latter. 

That the climate of this county, though mild in the lower regions, 
is, in different parts widely unlike, especially in the winter, may be 
inferred from the fact that some sections of it are more than eight 
thousand feet high, while others are elevated but a few feet above the 
level of the sea. In the latter, snow, as has been stated, never falls to 
any great depth and soon disappears ; while on the mountains it accu- 
mulates to depths varying from ten to thirty feet, according to altitude 
and exposure, some of the higher peaks retaining it on their northern 
slopes nearly all the year around. 

There are several small lakes in the upper part of the county, of 
which Donner, situated east of the main crest of the Sierra, is the 
largest and most attractive ; its great beauty, and the wild scenery 
around it, promising to render it one of the most popular resorts in 
the Sierra. 



234 THE NATUKAL WEALTH OF CALIFOKXIA. 

Wliile mining is tlie cliief industry and source of wealtli in tLis 
county, many of the inhabitants depend, at least in part, upon the pro- 
ducts of the soil for a subsistance ; considerable quantities of grain 
being raised, and much attention paid to horticulture, viniculture and 
fruit growing. Fruits and vegetables of excellent quality are raised in 
nearly all parts of the county, while the number of vines in 1867 
exceeded three hundred thousand. About seventy' thousand acres of 
land were enclosed that year, of which nearly one half were under culti- 
vation, producing wheat, barley and oats in nearly equal proportions. 
The number of draft animals kept is large, many being required for 
hauling ore from the mines to the mills and supplying the latter with 
fuel. There is also a heavy business done here in lumbering, calling 
for the services of many teams in hauling logs and transporting tho 
product of the mills to market. About two thousand cows are kept in 
the county, there being many small dairies for suppljdng the local 
demand for butter, milk and cheese. Only a sufficiency of sheep and 
swine are raised for the shambles, the annual product of wool amount- 
ing to but a few thousand pounds. Besides twenty saw mills, many of 
them costly and of large capacity, there is an extensive grist mill, three 
tanneries, two foundries, and several other small manufacturing estab- 
lishments in the county. 

The principal towns in this county are Nevada City, the county seat, 
and Grass Valley lying four miles further southwest. The former has 
a population of about three thousand five hundred, and the latter of 
six thousand. They are both mining centers of note, Grass Yalley 
being famed for tho large number of rich quartz veins in the vicinity, 
and the success with which many of them have long been worked. 
Though often desolated by fires, and suffering severely from those sud- 
den migrations which have so frequently diminished the populations of 
our interior towns and mining camps, they have continued to steadily 
advance and maintain their position as prosperous and growing places; 
the superior character of the mines in the neighborhood generally caus- 
ing, sooner or later, a return of nearly all, who, under the impulse of 
temporary excitements had hastened away to other and often distant 
localities. And such is now the well ascertained extent and value of 
the mines adjacent to those towns that their future growth and perma- 
nence seem well assured. They each contain numerous well constructed 
halls, churches, school houses, and other public edifices; are supplied 
witli gas and water works, have an efficient fire department, and a well 
organiised local government, with various social, literary and charitable 



COUNTIES OF CALITOEXIA. 235 

institutions reflecting credit on the benevolence, enterprise and enliglit- 
enment of tlie inhabitants. 

Besides these two leading places, there are many other thrifty and 
growing towns in the county, the more prominent of which are the fol- 
lowing : San Juan, situated ten miles north of Nevada, is the principal 
village in a series of mining camps and hamlets scattered at intervals of 
two or three miles along the ridge that slopes north to the middle Yuba. 
The name was first given to a hill at this point in which rich diggings 
were developed as early as 1853. The surface placers in the vicinity 
have been very prolific, and some of the most remunerative tunnel and 
hydraulic claims in the county are still being worked in the neighbor- 
hood. The town now contains about one thousand inhabitants, and is 
not only a prosperous and active, but also a cheerful and handsome 
place, much care having been bestowed by the inhabitants upon the 
culture of vines, fruit trees and flowers, every residence, almost, being 
adorned with many varieties of the latter, and the environs of the town 
being planted wdth vineyards, gardens and orchards. The facilities 
afforded for irrigation by the numerous water ditches have done much 
to promote improvements of this kind — the inhabitants having early 
availed themselves of this aid for planting and adorning their grounds. 
North San Juan, as this village is generally termed, to distinguish it 
from places bearing the same name elsewhere in the State, has a good 
local government and thoroughly organized fire department, who oper- 
ate with hose attached to the hydrants of the water works belonging to 
the town. There are a number of schools and churches, and several 
benevolent orders in San Juan, wdiich is also the headquarters of some 
half dozen stage lines, radiating to surrounding localities, and the cen- 
ter of a large local trade. Mining, throughout this district, is prose- 
cuted on a scale of great magnitude. The annual yield of gold of 
Bridgeport township, in which San Juan is situated, for the past ten 
years has exceeded §1,300,000. Sebastopol, a hamlet one mile east of 
San Juan, is composed of the residences of those owning the American 
and Gold Bluff mines, on Junction Bluff and Manzanita Hills ; Sweet- 
land, a short distance south, being another village, containing, with its 
environs, a population of tAvo or three hundred. Birchville, four miles 
east of San Juan, is another pleasant little town embowered amidst 
trees and beautiful with vines and flowers. The inhabitants are prin- 
cipally engaged in mining — large quantities of gold having, for many 
years, been gathered in the district, through a system of bed-rock tun- 
nelling. Five companies, operating here, took out, in the year 1866, 
an aggregate of $581, 000, of which §327, 500 were net proceeds. Not 



236 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

one half tlie ricli ground here has yet been exhausted. French Corral, 
with a population of about four hundred, is another flourishing mining 
town lying a few miles below San Juan, on the Middle Yuba. Tunnel 
and hydraulic mining has been carried on extensively and profitably 
here for more than twelve years, there being, besides the hill diggings 
worked by hydraulics, a broad stratum of blue cement underlying the 
gravel, and found to be very rich in gold. Cherokee, though a much 
larger place than French Corral, is surrounded by a similar character 
of mines. The auriferous flat near the to"s\Ti, worked out in the early 
day, proved extremely rich. 

Eough and Ready, Little York, You Bet, Eed Dog, and Eureka, 
rank among the active and progressive mining towns of this county, 
the former having been among the very earliest settled places in it. In 
the spring of 1851 Rough and Ready was a village more than twice the 
size of Grass Valley, the surface claims near by, covering a broad scope, 
having paid largely. There is still a good deal of mining being j^rose- 
cuted in the vicinity; and the town, though not keeping pace with some 
of its neighbors, contains in its orchards, vineyards, and cultivated 
gardens, many evidences of thrift and comfort. Little York, lying on 
the ridge between Steep Hollow and Bear river, being almost hidden 
from sight by fruit and shade trees, presents a very attractive appear- 
ance. The early diggings here were good, and the large bodies of 
cement on which several mills are now running, vv'ith the high banks of 
auriferous earth, give assurance that mining will be largely and profit- 
ably carried on here for many years to como. For a California moun- 
tain town, Little York has been singularly fortunate in an entire 
exemption from fire — no sweeping conflagration ever having occurred 
to lay it in ruins. Red Dog, lying a little to the north, has, on the 
contrary, been a severe sufferer in this respect, having been several 
times completely devastated by fire. The place and vicinity contains 
about three hundred inhabitants. There are four mills within a short 
distance of the town, crushing the blue cement that is here found in a 
heavy body — there being several others, at no great distance ofi*, also 
running on this material. The toAvn of You Bet, lying midway be- 
tween Little York and Red Dog, contains a population, during the 
active mining season, of about one thousand, and is sustained princi- 
pally by hydraulic and cement mining — being situated on the "Blue 
Lead " channel. Five cement mills are worked steadily and successfully 
in the vicinity of the town. Eureka, which is situated on the divide 
between the South and Middle Yuba, being surrounded by shallow 
placers, was a favorite mining ground in the earlier day, the diggings 



COUNTIES OF C-VLEFOEXLV. ' 237 

being easily ^orL-ed, but soou exhausted. Lately the district lias 
attracted much attention by its many promising veins of quartz, for 
working which five or six mills have been put up within the past year. 
The most of these miUs are running steadily, and are understood to be 
meeting with a fair degree of success. Much work is being expended 
in the development of the mines, and the prospect is that Eureka will 
in a short time become one of the most active camps in the eastern part 
of the county. In the Meadow Lake district, lying upon the summit of 
the Sierra, in the eastern part of the county, a great number of gold 
bearing lodes were discovered in 1864, and much excitement ensuing, 
a population of more than one thousand was dra^vTi into the district 
soon after. Five quartz mills have since been erected, but much diffi- 
culty having been experienced in treating the ores, owing to a want of 
suitable processes for saving the gold, the most of these mills have 
remained idle since their erection. When this want shall be supplied, 
this will, no doubt, become a very prosperous district, as the ledges, 
which are large and numerous, are known to carry a large percentage of 
gold, while the facilities for reduction, owing to an abundance of wood 
and water, are of the very first order. 

The present population of Nevada county numbers about eighteen 
thousand, the assessed value of the real and personal property therein 
being nearly $6, 000, 000, exclusive of mines. As stated, the business of 
mining for gold constitutes the leading pursuit in Nevada, the mines 
here consisting of both placer and quartz, the former conducted mostly 
by deep tunneling and hydraulic washing. Yein mining was entered 
upon in this county at a very early day; about the first persistent trials 
made in the State having been at Grass Valley, where this branch of 
the business was initiated as early as the spring of 1851; and where it 
has since been prosecuted with better average results extending through 
a series of years than at any other point perhaps in the world. At 
first mistakes were made, and difficulties encountered here as well as 
elsewhere; but, through persevering efforts and good management, 
these have been so far overcome that latterly a high degree of success 
has rewarded the labors of many companies operating in that neigh- 
borhood. Glancing at a few prominent facts connected with the history 
of these, a more detailed notice of the whole will be found in our chapter 
on "Mines and Mining." VieAved as a whole, the lodes in this district 
are not distinguished so much for their hea\y body of vein matter as tlio 
high grade and tractable character of the ores they carry; hence the 
facility with which the latter have been managed and the very liberal and 
often extremely large returns that have attended their working. 



233 THE NATUllAL WEALTfl OF CALIFORNTA. 

The yield of bullion from the Eureka mine, for the year ending Sep- 
tember 30, 18G6, amounted to S521, 431. 41; mining and milling expenses, 
and cost of construction for same period being $192,648.44, leaving a 
profit divided among the owners of $328, 782. 97 — nearly all extracted by 
a twenty-stamp mill belonging to the company. The whole amount of ore 
crushed was 11, 375f tons, the average yield being 845. 83 per ton. The 
total product of bullion from this mine for the year ending September 
30, 18G7, was $585,310.10, net profits $348,102.37, the average yield of 
the ore, including sulphurets, having been within a fraction of $48 per ton. 
The North Star mine for the six months, ending January 1st, 1868, 
turned out $110,545.84, of which $20,000 were divided as net profits, 
and $30, 000 expended on improvements, the balance having been ab- 
sorbed by current expenses of working the mill and mine. These results 
were not so favorable as had previously been obtained, the company 
claiming to have cleared from this mine during the five years ending 
with June, 1867, the sum of $375,000. From the Empire mine there 
were raised during the fourteen years, ending June 30th, 1867, a total 
of 37,840 tons of ore, which yielded an average of $35.20 j^er ton. 
During the following six months 3, 500 tons of ore were extracted from 
this mine, turning out a total of $100,000 — $27,000 of which were dis- 
bursed to the owners as net gains. Among many other productive and 
promising mines in the vicinity of Nevada, the Banner, situated about 
two and a half miles southeast of the town, stands consj)icuous, hav- 
ing for several years past been worked with energy and success. The 
company own a twenty-stamp mill, which is kept in steady operation 
on the ores raised from the mine — 2, 768 tons of which, reduced during 
the four months ending with Januar}' 1st, 1868, yielded $65,512.72, the 
average }aeld having been at the rate of $23. 74 per ton. There were 
raised from the mine, between January 1st, 1865 and January 1st, 1868, 
10,222 tons of ore, which gave a bullion product of $207,949.66, making 
an average yield of $20.34 to the ton, of all the ore taken from the 
mine since it was first opened. A shaft has been sunk on the ledge to 
a depth of four hundred and twenty feet, at which point it varies from 
one to four feet in thickness, the average thickness being about three 
feet. Within the past fourteen years the total production of the placer 
and quartz mines in Grass Yalley district has amounted to about 
$21,000,000 — the most prolific vein in the noigliborhood, that running 
through Massachusetts and Gold hills, having yielded over $5,000,000. 
While the most extensive worked and best paying quartz mines in the 
county are those in the vicinity of Grass Yalloy, there are a great nimi- 
bcr in other localities from which excellent returns are being obtained. 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. ^ 239 

There are at the present time sixty-five quartz and twenty-one 
cement mills in this county — the entire number carrying six hundred 
and eighty-five stamps, and costing in the aggregate $1,350,000. Some 
of these mills are large and perfect in all their appointments, no 
expense requisite to their efiiciency having been spared. 

Besides the precious metals, many copper bearing veins have been 
foimd in different parts of this county, the largest number being located 
in Rough and Ready township, where a great deal of labor was applied 
towards opening these lodes in the spring of 1863. The ores, how- 
ever, generally proving of too low a grade to warrant thorough devel- 
opment, all work was within the following two years suspended, to be 
resumed, most likely, when labor shall be cheaper, and the prices of 
copper ore advanced beyond present figures. These ores ranged from 
five to twelve per cent, of metal, and one lot sent to Swansea netted a 
profit of thirty-five dollars per ton to the shippers. 

There are over fifty water ditches in this county, many of which 
having been consolidated since their construction with other works of 
the kind, have lost their original names. These improvements have an 
aggregate linear extent of eight hundred and fifty miles, and cost about 
$1,250,000. The first of these enterprises was projected as early as 
1850, the more recent having been consummated only within the past 
few years. Some of these works, not less on account of their cost and 
the grand scale on which they have been designed, than of the vast 
utilitarian ends accomplished through their completion, deserve to be 
ranked among the great public improvements of the day. 

At the present time, the two leading works of this kind in the county 
are the Eureka Lake and Yuba Canal Consolidated, and the ditch of 
the South Yiiba Canal company, both among the most costly, exten- 
sive and profitable works of the kind in the State. The last named of 
these ditches, taking water from the South Yuba, and from several 
lakes, as feeders, carries it to the mining camps about Dutch Flat and 
Gold Run, in Placer county, and down the ridge between the South 
Yuba and Bear river, as far as Grass Valley, supplying on its route, 
the intermediate country. The ditches of this company are remarkable 
for the permanent manner in which they have been constructed, and for 
the fact that the property still belongs to its original planners and 
builders — the most of these works having, through the inability of the 
first projectors to carry them on, passed, at an early stage in their 
progress, into the hands of other parties. The main trunk of this com- 
pany's system of ditches, though but sixteen miles long, cost, with its 
tunnels and flumes, not far from $600,000. One of these tunnels, sixty 



2-iO ^ THE NATUE.iL AYEALTH OF CALIFOEXLi. 

feet in lengtli, cost SG, 000 ; auotlier, three tliousand eiglit liuncTrecl feet 
long, having cost 8112,000, The flume, seven miles long, runs for one 
and a half miles through a gallery worked into the side of a precipice 
of solid rock one hundred feet high-^the cliff being so impending that 
the -workmen had to be let down from the top to commence drilling 
and blasting, an expedient not at all uncommon in the construction of 
these works in other parts of the State. This main trunk is six feet 
wide and five feet deep, having capacity to carry eiglit thousand five 
hundred inches of water, miner's measurement. From this head ditch 
branches ramify, carrying water over an immense tract of country, sup- 
plying a vast number of mills, hydraulic and sluice claims. This 
company have thrown dams across the outlets of four lakes situated 
near the summit of the Sierra, using them as reserves for supplying 
their canals in the dry season. One of these dams, constructed of solid 
masonry, forty-two feet high and one thousand one hundred and fifty 
feet long, at the outlet of Meadow Lake, has increased its volume of 
water more than ten fold — this lake, formerly a mere pond, now being, 
when full, more than a mile and a quarter long by half a mile wide. 
This dam cost over 850,000 — an equal sum having been expended in 
securing, in like manner, the waste flow from four other smaller lakes 
in the vicinity. The books of this company show that they have con- 
structed and purchased about two hundred and sevent3'-five miles of 
these aqueducts at a prime cost of more than 81,000,000. During the 
twelve years ending in 18(37 their expense account reached 81, 130, 000 ; 
receipts for the same time being 81, 400, 000. 

The works of the Eureka Lake and Yuba Canal Company consist of 
one grand trunk, commencing in four small lakes near the summit of 
the Sierra, and reaching to North San Juan, sixty-five miles, together 
with several side ditches purchased of other parties, the whole after- 
wards consolidated into one system. The principal source of water 
supj)ly is Eureka lake, increased by damming from an area of one to 
two square miles, and a depth of sixty-five feet. Tlie dam across its 
outlet, constructed of granite, is seventy feet high and two hundred and 
fifty feet long. The supply of water in this reservoir is estimated at 
nine hundred and thirty-three millions cubic feet, to which may be 
added a further store secured by damming the outlet of Lake Faucherie, 
and other smaller reservoirs, amounting to three hundred millions 
cubic feet. The main trunk, carrying the water from these reservoirs, 
is eight feet wide by three and a half deep, and has a fall of sixteen 
and a half feet to the mile, giving it a capacity of over three thousand 
inches. 



COUNTIES OF CiLIFOENIA. -- 241 

The National and Magenta aqueducts, near Eureka, and T\-liicli from 
their proximity, may be almost considered one work, exceed in magni- 
tude and cost any other structure of the kind in the State. The former, 
resting on a scaffolding of immense timbers hewn from trees cut near 
by, is one thousand eight hundred feet long and sixty -five feet high — 
the latter, supported in like manner, has a length of one thousand four 
hundred feet, its greatest height being one hundred and twenty-six feet. 
This lofty and massive frame work, constructed of so many thousand 
enormous braces and beams, has been built in curves to give it strength 
to resist the winds that sometimes sweep with great force through the 
gorge that it crosses. The main canal, flumes and dams of this com- 
pany, have cost very nearly one million dollars. The various canals and 
ditches, which, in December, 1865, became consolidated under the title 
now borne by this company, are the Eureka Lake canal, sixty -five miles 
long ; Miners' ditch, twenty-five miles ; Grizzly ditch, fourteen miles ; 
the two Spring Creek ditches, each twelve miles long; and the Middle 
Tuba canal, forty miles long. In addition to these main canals there 
are many lateral and distributing branches, having a united length of 
over sixty miles, the whole making a total of two hundred and twenty- 
eight miles, the actual cost of which exceeded $1, 500, 000. 

The Middle Yuba canal, taking water from the middle fork of the 
Yuba, at a point a little above Bloody Run, carries it in a ditch seven 
feet wide by four and a half deep to Badger Hill, San Juan, Sebastopol, 
Sweetland, Birchville, and Erench Corral, a distance of forty miles. 
It has a capacity of one thousand five hundred inches, and cost origin- 
ally S-400,000. The sum of half a million dollars is estimated to have 
been spent on projects commenced in 1853 for conducting water from 
Poorman's creek to Orleans, Moore's and Woolsey's Elats, and for car- 
rying the waters of the Middle Yuba into the adjacent diggings, a por- 
tion of v;hich were failures. Of the many subordinate ditches in this 
county which we have not the space to more fully notice, a number are 
extensive and costly structures, the aggregate expenditure on the whole 
having been not less than $1,000,000. 

PLACER COUNTY. 

This county, so named from the Spanish term •placer, signifying a. 
place where gold is found mixed with the alluvial detritus, is bounded: 
by Yuba and Nevada counties on the north, by the State of Nevada om 
the east, by El Dorado and Sacramento on the south, and by Sutter and 
Nevada counties on the west. In proportion to its length, it is the nar- 
rowest county in the State, being eighty miles long, east and west,, and. 
16 



242 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF C.VLIFORNLV. 

having an average vpidtli of but fourteen miles — a conformation due, as 
in the case of many other counties lying against the western slope of 
the Sierra, to the peculiar topography of the country. The rivers flowing 
in nearly parallel channels down this water shed having divided it into 
long elevated ridges, it has been found convenient, in many instances, 
to form the counties out of one or two of these ridges, making their 
northerly and southerly boundaries the streams running between them. 
Thus, in the case of Placer, we find Bear river forming, for a long dis- 
tance, the dividing line between it, Yuba and Nevada on the north, v.hile 
the middle fork of the American separates it from El Dorado coiinty on 
the south. With so gi'eat an easterly and westerly elongation, the upper 
portion of the county rests upon the rugged summits of the Sierra, 
while the lower falls almost to a level with tide water. 

As elsewhere throughout this entire tier of mining counties, the 
winter climate of Placer varies with altitude; the weather being warm 
and spring-like in the western, and even, mild and pleasant in the cen- 
tral sections thereof, while the eastern are deeply buried beneath the 
accumulated snows — the tops of the mountains being enveloped in 
almost constant mists and clouds, and their sides swept by frequent 
storms. 

The north fork of the American river, running centrally through 
Placer, and the middle fork, cutting it on its southern border, have fur- 
Towed this county with terrific caiions, the gorges formed by these streams 
being from one thousand eight hundred to two thousand five hmidred 
feet deep. In many places their sides have an average slope from top 
to bottom of more than thirty degrees. The narro\vness of these 
chasms, only sufficiently wide, as a general thing, to give passage to 
the rivers flowing through them, accounts for the sudden and excessive 
rise that sometimes takes place in these streams, a stage of fifty or sixty 
feet above low water mark being reached in the couree of a few hours. 
What further contributes towards these sudden rises, is the general 
steepness of the water shed about the sources of these rivers, which 
lies high against the precipitous declivities of the Sierra. "V\ itli such 
a body of water rushing down a steeply inclined bed, some proper con- 
ception can be formed of the forces that have been operating to exca- 
vate these canons; and when it is considered that a much greater quan- 
tity of rain fell on these mountains when the immense glaciers that 
once nearly covered them were melting away, wo have forces supplied 
more tliaii adequate to the production of these tremendous results. 
Even some of the tributary caiions to the main streams are very deep 
and narrow. Several of these, situated high up on the di\ide, meas- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENLi. 243 

iirecl hj the members of tlie State Geologic3,l Sun'ey, -were found to 
vary in depth from one thousand six hundred to two thousand feet. 
The precipitous character of these ravines is made apparent by the fact 
that the summits of their opposing banks are often less than three 
fourths of a mile asunder, giving to their walls an average slope of 
nearly forty-five degrees. Observations made by the Geological Sur- 
vey in certain of these canons, situated in the vicinity of Last Chance 
and Deadwood, showed that the auriferous slates, here exposing a ver- 
tical section one thousand five hundred feet deep, have, in their upper 
portions, extending doAvnwards ten or twelve hundred feet, the usual 
easterly dip of the formation, while, below this point they gradually 
assimie a perpendicular position, and finally curve to the west, estab- 
lishing their true dip at great depth to be in that direction, and supply- 
ing a striking example of the manner in which the upper portions of 
these slates have been forced over by the gradual pressure of the Sierra 
from above. 

As elsewhere in the more Alpine regions of the Sierra, snow and 
land slides are of frequent occurrence in the upper portions of this 
county — hardly a season passing without one — and sometimes several 
deaths happening from these causes. The track of the Central Pacific 
railroad, as well also as some of the wagon roads leading over the moun- 
tains, have frequently suffered temporary obstruction from land slides — 
large patches, sometimes several acres of the steep mountain side, that 
have become saturated with water, slipping suddenly down and cover- 
ing them to a depth of many feet, destroying the lives of men and ani- 
mals overtaken by them. In some instances large sized trees, standing 
in their natural positions, are brought down on these detached masses, 
and continue growing as before. The snow slide, a similar phenome- 
non, is of more common occurrence than the land slide, being also more 
frequently destructive of life. In the month of March, 1867, a working 
party consisting of sixty men, employed on the Central Pacific railroad, 
at a point a little above Donner lake, on the confines of this county, 
were overwhelmed by a catastroj)lie of this kind, whereby seventeen 
of their number lost their lives, many of the survivors having been 
badly injured. In the same month, nine houses were destroyed, and a 
woman in one of them crushed to death, by an avalanche of snow, in the 
Kearsarge district, Inyo county. Near the scene of the first mentioned 
disaster, six stage horses were killed by a snow slide in January, 1868, 
while attached to a vehicle filled with passengers, all of whom escaped 
unhurt. In fact, scarcely a Avinter passes in which accidents of this 
kind, attended with fatal results, do not happen in some part of the 



244 THE NATURxiL WE.iLTII OF C.\XIFOnXL\. 

State — their more frequeftt occurrence in this particular neighborhood 
being simply due to the fact that two great thoroughfares, the Central 
Pacific railroad and the Donner Lake wagon road, lead through it, 
causing larger numbers to be exposed to their destructive force. These 
snow slides are caused by a sudden slipping down of great bodies of 
snow, and not by an agglomeration of the latter rolling and accumu- 
lating as it descends, after the manner of the avalanches that occur in 
the Alps. Where the body of snow moved is heavy a clear path is 
swept, immense trees being snapped off like reeds, and huge boulders 
carried along before the descending mass. 

The whole of this county is well timbered, except the w^estern por- 
tion, which, sinking into the nearly treeless plains of the Sacramento, 
is without other timber than a few oaks, growing mostly along the water 
courses. The business of lumbering is carried on extensively in the 
central and eastern parts of the county, which contain thirty saw mills, 
each capable of cutting from two to thirty thousand feet of lumber 
daily, and costing from two to ten thousand dollars. About two thirds 
of these mills are driven by steam and the rest by water. As is the 
case generally throughout the mining counties, rough lumber, at the 
mills, sells at prices varying from fifteen to twenty dollars per thou- 
sand. 

Placer contains a considerable amount of good agricultural land, its 
western part being wholly devoted to farming, sheep, hog and cattle 
raising. About seventy-five thousand acres of land were enclosed in 
18G7, of Avhich nearly two thirds were under cultivation. Of these, 
about six thousand were planted to wheat, five thousand to barley, and 
three thousand to oats ; a variety of other grains, with large quantities 
of butter, cheese, fi'uits and vegetables, being produced. In fact, 
Placer holds a conspicuous place among the mining counties for its 
orchards, vineyards and gardens, the number of vines and fruit trees 
planted being very large. There are three grist mills in the county — 
one, the Auburn City mill capable of grinding seventy-five barrels of 
flour daily — the others being of less capacity. 

The present population of the county is estimated at twelve thou- 
sand, of whom one thousand two hundred are residents of Auburn, the 
county seat, once the center of a broad scope of rich placers, and in the 
vicinity of which a considerable amount of quartz mining is still being 
carried on. The votes cast in this county at the general election held 
in the fall of 18G7 numbered two thousand six hundred and seventy. 

Dutch Flat, an active mining town on the line of the Central Pacific 
railroad, thirty-two miles northeast of Auburn, contains a population 



COUNTIES OF CALITOKNIA. 245 

of two tliousand. Tlie following places are also tlirifty mining towns, 
some of them the centers of extensive qtiartz, hydraulic or tunnel opera- 
tions : Gold Kun, three miles southeast of Dutch Flat, in the vicinity 
of which there was produced from hydraulic washings during the year 
1866, $350,000, and during the following year $500,000; Todd's Yalley, 
eighteen miles northeast of Auburn, formerly the site of rich alluAdal 
washings, and now a brisk hamlet surrounded with gardens and other 
evidences of taste and progress. Three miles north of this place is 
Yankee Jim's, one of the earliest camps in this section of country, and 
although the rich surface placers that once made it famous w^ere long 
since exhausted, still rendered a busy locality by the hydraulic opera- 
tions that have succeeded the more shallow diggings. Lying three 
miles east of this place is the stirring town and neighborhood of For- 
est Hill, containing about seven hundred inhabitants, and possessing 
one of the best cement ranges in the State, for the working of which 
material a large number of mills have been erected. Michigan Bluff, 
six miles southeast of Forest Hill, has a population of about one thou- 
sand. Wisconsin Hill, Iowa Hill, lUinoistown, Virginia, and Gold 
Hill, are all the headquarters and trade centers of considerable mining 
districts lying about them, the population of each being from three to 
six hundred. The most of these towns have constructed large reser- 
voirs for supplying them with water obtained from the canals that gen- 
erally pass near them. Several of the number are incorporated, and 
all contain a large proportion of pleasant homesteads, indicating the 
enjoyment of a high degree of independence and comfort among the 
inhabitants. Colfax and Cisco, both situated on the line of the Cen- 
tral Pacific railroad, are places of some importance — the former being 
the intersecting point for the business and travel of Grass Valley, 
Nevada, and other places further north. 

At the general election held in 1863, the people of the county voted 
to subscribe two hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the capital stock 
of the Central Pacific railroad, which, entering the county near its 
northwestern corner, runs diagonally across it in a northeast direction, 
for a distance of more than fifty miles. 

A heavy mass of auriferous detritus crosses this county from north 
to south, its thickness in some places being over five hundred feet. 
Occupying this gold bearing mass are the extensive hydraulic and 
cement mines found around Iowa Hill, Wisconsin Hill, Michigan Bluif 
and Forest Hill, the latter one of the most important cement mining 
districts in the State — this material here being so indurated that it 
requires to be crushed with stamps in order to release the gold. The 



246 THE NATUR.VL WEALTH OF CALIFORXL^.. 

mills ninuiug on this cement Lave generally obtained sucli favorable 
results that their number is being constantly increased, the opportuni- 
ties for extending these operations being almost unlimited. 

Placer contains -within its limits forty quartz and cement mills — 
there being twenty-seven of the former and thirteen of the latter. 
The number of stamps in these establishments vary from five to forty — 
the whole amounting to nearly four hundred. Their individual cost 
has ranged from $2,000 to $50,000 — the aggregate being about $300,000. 

Hanking next to Nevada and Tuolumne, stands Placer in regard to 
the magnitude and cost of its water ditches, the Auburn and Bear 
Eiver canal, in this county, being, with one exception, the longest single 
work of the kind in the State, as it is also one of the most costly and 
capacious. This magnificent improvement has a length of tv/o hundred 
and ninety miles, inclusive of feeders and branches, and required in 
its construction an expenditure of $670, 000. There are six other ditches 
in the county that cost over $100,000 each, and twenty of subordinate 
capacity, the cost of which has ranged from $5,000 to $50,000 each. 

EL DOIIADO COUNTY. 

That the term El Dorado should have readily obtained a place in the 
geogi'aphical nomenclature of the interior of the State, will not sur- 
prise those familiar with the circumstances under which it was settled ; 
nor was the name perhaps, inaptly applied to this particidar county, 
since it was within its limits that the first gold was found, and here, for 
sometime, the pioneer miner met with his most steady and abuntlant 
rewards. This county has Placer on the north ; a portion of the State 
of Nevada, and Alpine county on the east ; Alpine and Amador coun- 
ties on the south, and Sacramento and Placer on the west. Its length, 
east and west, is sixty miles, and its width thirty miles — its superficial 
area being nearly two thousand square miles. The middle fork of the 
American river separates it from Placer, and the Cosumnes, Avith its 
south fork, separates it from Amador county. The channel of the for- 
mer is sunk far below the general level of the country, its average depth 
beinir more than two thousand feet. Three fourths of the county, em- 
bracing all the eastern and mountainous portions thereof, is heavily tim- 
bered. The lower section contains only a scattered growth of oak and 
pine, of inferior equality, the most westerly part being nearly destitute 
of trees. 

Lumbering has always been prosecuted on a large scale in this 
county — having been early engaged in and steadily kept \\\\ It now 
contains twenty-six saw mills, carrying forty-two gangs of saws, tho 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 247 

most of them rtmning witli little interruption. The unnecessary waste 
of valuable timber, however, has here been deplorably great — trees 
from which ten or fifteen fine saw logs might be made having often been 
felled, and two or three, or perhaps half a dozen of the choicest cuts 
being selected, the balance has been left to rot on the ground. Fre- 
quently monster trees have been cut dowTi with a view to their being 
split into shakes or shingles, when, should the first few cuts tried not 
happen to rive well, the whole has, in like manner been abandoned, the 
locality being, perhaps, too far distant from a mill to render the tree 
available for saw logs. This reckless destruction of these fine forests 
would not be so lamentable had it been restricted to this county alone. 

There are numerous small valleys and alluvial flats in this county 
under cultivation — nearly all the cereals, fruits and vegetables grown in 
California being here raised with little trouble. In fact, this county 
may be said to contain a large percentage of farming land, since nearly 
one half its surface would be adapted to tillage, if cleared of timber. 
Owing to the circumstance that many of the fertile valleys and flats here, 
as well as elsewhere throughout the mining counties, contained rich de- 
posits of gold, they have been completely destroyed by having all their 
alluvial soil washed away by the miner. Thousands of acres of valu- 
able land have thus been irretrievably ruined. El Dorado having suffered 
largely in this respect. Fruits of all kinds, more especially apples, 
pears and peaches, are here raised in such abundance as to be of little 
or no value in localities remote from market. Even in the vicinity of 
many of the more populous toT\Tis, fruit is often produced in such excess 
of local wants — none of it, while green, being ever shipped away — that 
it can be had for the gathering. Lately, however, the business of dry- 
ing certain kinds is being more largely engaged in, rendering it prob- 
able that its production will be more remunerative hereafter. A large 
number of vines have been planted, and are everywhere found to thrive 
well — El Dorado ranking third or fourth among the wine producing 
cotmties of the State. Some of the wines made here are highly 
esteemed, meeting not only with local favor, but having already obtained 
an extensive sale abroad. There are two grist mills in the county, hav- 
ing a joint capacity to make about one hundred barrels of flour daily. 

The present population of this county is estimated at fifteen thou- 
sand, a large proportion of the inhabitants being women and children. 
Few of the mountain counties contain so large a number of small, well 
cultivated farms and comfortable homesteads as this ; nor has the 
industry of any other been marked by a greater diversity of pursuits. 
The early construction of a railroad from tidewater to the western con- 



248 THE NATUEAL WEiVLTH OF CiiLIFORNL\. 

fines of this coimtv, and its subsequent extension almost to the county 
seat, lias done much, by facilitating the carriage of its products to mar- 
ket, towards establishing new branches of industry and stimulating the 
productive energies of the people. Through El Dorado, stretching 
along its whole length, lies the principal route by which the overland 
immigration has always entered California — the freight and travel 
hence to the silver regions of Nevada, and comitries beyond, having, 
until recently, pursued also the same thoroughfare ; keeping a constant 
tide of business flowing both ways through the county, to the enrich- 
ment of many who participated more directly in its benefits, and the 
great advantage of the inhabitants at large. In no county in the State 
has there been so much money expended in the construction of wagon 
roads as in this — the most of these enterprises consisting of toll roads 
built to secure the heavy trade across the Sierra, that sjn-ung up on the 
discovery of the "Washoe mines. Upon this class of improvements 
alone, more than a quarter of million of dollars has been expended, 
besides large sums spent on roads of minor importance. Towards the 
building of some of these works the coimty, in its corporate capacity, 
has contributed ; the greater portion, however, has been executed by 
private, and, for the most part, local capital. The citizens of Placer- 
ville, the county seat, at a municipal election held in April, 1863, voted 
an appropiation of 8100,000 towards aiding in the building of the 
Placerville and Sacramento Valley railroad ; the people, at the general 
election of the same year, having voted, ,on behalf of the county at 
large, the further sum of $200, 000 for the same purpose. 

Placerville, the largest town in the county, has a population of about 
four thousand. It is distinguished for the number of its handsome 
churches, its excellent schools, and the entei^jrise, intelligence and 
orderly habits of its citizens. The town is supplied with gas and water 
works, and is so completely embowered in vines, trees, flowers and 
shrubbery, as to seem, when viewed from the surrounding hills, an 
almost continuous field of orchards, vineyards and gardens. . 

Coloma, located on the south fork of the American river, ten miles 
northwest of Placerville, has been rendered equally attractive by a 
profuse j^lanting of vines and trees in and around it. Some of the 
most thrifty vineyards in the county are situated in the environs of this 
place — one of these being the property of James W. Marshall, the dis- 
coverer of gold in California — which event, having happened within the 
precincts of the town, must secure for Coloma (Sutter's mill, as the 
place was then called,) a conspicuous place in history. This vineyard 
comprises all the property that Marshall now owns, and to its culture 



COUNTIES OP CALrFOEXIA. 249 

Le has for many years devoted his labor and attention. The extensive 
bar lying a little below the to^vn on Tvhich the first washings v/ere per- 
formed, has, through many re-workings, been almost wholly washed 
away — the old mill and the race below it, in which the first piece of 
gold was picked up, having long since disappeared. The adjacent river 
banks, once extensively worked — the old bar, and others a little further 
down, together with the ravines and flats in the surrounding district, 
having been well nigh exliausted. There has been for several years 
past but comparatively little mining going on in the vicinitj^ of this 
once productive and ever memorable locality. Coloma contains, at the 
present time, about nine hundred inhabitants, scarcely half the number 
that dwelt in and around it in its more prosperous days. But, as most 
of the adjacent country has the advantage of a rich tractable soil, 
enjoys a fine climate, and is well supplied with timber, it cannot fail 
to become, in a short time, a prosperous farming district, there being 
already scattered over it many pleasant homes and broad grain fields. 

Georgetown, an early, and once prosperous mining town, is situ- 
ated on the ridge between the south and middle forks of the x4.merican 
river, fourteen miles north of Placerville. It has now a population of 
about five hundred, the former number of inhabitants having been 
greatly reduced through the exhaustion of the placers around it. A 
number of quartz veins are, however, being successfully v/ orked in the 
neighborhood — the prospect promising well for an early extension of 
this business. 

Taking the county seat for a starting point, we have the following 
mining towns lying around it in various directions, with the popula- 
tion of each indicated by the figures annexed, viz. : Diamond Springs, 
three miles southwest, 600 ; El Dorado, five miles southwest, 700 ; 
Grizzly Flat, twenty miles southeast, 400 ; Pilot Hill, twenty miles 
northwest, 400; Garden Valley, eleven miles northerly, 300; and Shingle 
Springs, nine miles southwest, 400 ; besides many mining camps and 
hamlets scattered over the county, and containing from fifty to two 
hundred and fifty inhabitants each. 

Notwithstanding the gulch and bar diggings are pretty nearly worked 
out, there are in many parts of this county hea-\y masses of auriferous 
cement and detritus, that are being extensively and profitably operated 
upon either through hydraulic washing, tunneling or crushing with 
stamps. Many gold bearing quartz veins are also being developed, 
milling operations, for a time nearly suspended, having been very active 
during the past two years; and to suppose that a very prosperous 
future awaits this interest in El Dorado, would, in view of the abund- 



250 THE NATUrv.\JL WEALTH OF CVLITOEXTA. 

ance of fair grade quartz it contains, and the facilities tliat exist for 
its economical reduction, be by no means a violent assumption. 

Tliere are thirty quartz and eight cement mills in the county — the 
whole carrying four hundred and thirty-five stamps. Several of these 
mills have cost as high as $60, 000 each, the aggregate cost having been 
about $400,000. There are also fifty water ditches, one of them, that 
of the Eureka Canal company, being the longest in the State, extend- 
ing a distance of four hundred and fifty miles. The total length of 
these canals is one thousand two hundred and fifty miles, giving them 
an average length of twenty -five miles. The Eureka canal cost 8500, 000; 
the Pilot Creek, one hundred and fifty miles long, cost $300,000; the 
South Fork canal, but thirty-three and a quarter miles long, having, in 
consequence of its large si^e and the difiicult character of the country 
through which it runs, cost an eqiial amount. The entire sum spent in 
the construction of these various works is very large, and although the 
revenues of many have been liberal, few have proved sources of profit 
to the proprietors, owing, in many cases, not more to the great cost of 
their construction than to the expensive and protracted litigation in 
which they have been involved. 

Besides a number of manufacturing interests that are beginning to 
gain a foothold in the count}", in a small way, it contains several tan- 
neries, iron fouuderies, and similar establishments, all of moderate 
capacity. Some years since quite an extensive and profitable summer 
trade was inaugurated by the citizens of El Dorado, in bringing down 
ice, or rather the frozen and compacted snow found on the Sierra, and 
supplying it to the mining towns below — a business which has under- 
gone considerable expansion since the construction of wagon roads into 
the mountains, whereby the transportation of this article, formerly cai'- 
ried on pack animals, has been cheapened and facilitated. 

A great number of copper veins were located in the western part of 
this county about five years ago, upon which an immense amount of 
labor was, in the aggregate, expended. But, as little of this work was 
concentrated at any one point, none of these lodes were fully proven ; 
and, although many small lots of rich ore were extracted, the perma- 
nency and value of the deposits remain undecided. That a large pro- 
portion of these veins will be shown, on more thorough exjiloration, to 
lack in persistence, seems probable, a few having already been proven 
mere segregated lenticular masses; others, however, exliibit more satis- 
factory evidences of permanency, and the prospect that El Dorado will 
find in this . metal a source of much future Avealth is thought to be 
encouraging. The first copper vein opened in the State, known as the 



COUNTIES OF CALEFOENIA. 251 

Eodgers mine, is located in Hope valley, formerly within the limits of 
this county, now a portion of Alpine. The vein here is small, but the 
ores are of high grade, and with better means of caniage, would pay 
well for shipment to market. For several years the reduction works 
about Virginia City obtained their supplies of copper from this mine. 
El Dorado abounds with marble of excellent quality, there being at 
least twenty beds that, having been partially opened, give promise of 
making valuable quarries. The material is of all the varieties loiown 
to the trade — one deposit, near Grizzly Flat, being of an unclouded 
white, and more than three hundred feet thick ; within this bed there 
exists an extensive grotto, consisting, so far as explored, of a succes- 
sion of rooms connected by narrow j)assages. Some of these chambers 
are spacious and lofty, their entire length being seven hundred feet. 
Pendant from their roofs are numerous stalactites, imparting to them, 
when illuminated, a very brilliant appearance. 

AMADOK COUNTY. 

This county, named, like several other localities in the State, after 
one of the early California families of Spanish origin, has El Dorado 
county on the north, Alpine on the east, Calaveras on the south, and 
San Joaquin and Sacramento on the west. It has a conformation not 
unlike that of Placer, being long and narrow. Its entire length, meas- 
ured east and west, is fifty-two miles, and its average breadth ten miles. 
The Mokelumne river, separating it from Calaveras, forms its southern 
boundary throiighout almost its entire length — the Cosumnes, on the 
north, dividing it from El Dorado, and forming two thirds of its bound- 
ary on that side. In its geology, topography, soil, climate, timber and 
other natural productions, it resembles the several counties last de- 
scribed, except that the river caiions here are not so deep, while the 
proportion of good farming land is greater. Formerly this county 
extended into and beyond the high Sierra, a distinction of which it was 
deprived in 1864, by the erection of Alpine county from the eastern 
portion of its territory; at present it barely reaches in that direction to 
the base of the great snowy range. The eastern section is, nevertheless, 
very rugged and broken, reaching a general altitude of between four 
and five thousand feet. The only isolated mountain, however, of any 
great height within its limits, is the Bidfe, so called, three and a half 
miles east of Jackson, which has an estimated elevation of one thou- 
sand two hundred feet above the town, and eight hundred feet above the 
country at its base. It is wholly of volcanic origin, has an irregular 



252 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOEXIA. 

conical shape, and is often ascended for the sake of the fine viewf. 
enjoyed from its top. 

Running into this county from Calaveras is a heavy belt of lime- 
stone, penetrating to the town of Volcano, located near its center. A 
few miles to the northeast of this place the granite formation sets in, 
the upheaval of which composes the crest and peaks of the main Sierra. 
The overlying volcanic masses exhibit themselves in greatest strength 
towards the southerly line of the county, the auriferous slates appear- 
ing in the westerly and northwestern parts. All except the lower por- 
tions of the county are heavily timbered, and about twelve million feet 
of lumber are made every year, the most of which is required for home 
consumption. Many shakes and shingles are also made, there being 
several shingle machines in the county. The saw mills are twelve in 
number — two or three of large, and the balance of moderate capacity. 
With the exception of four flouring mills, two of large size, a tannery 
and a foundry, there is but little manufacturing carried on in the 
county. A large amount of money, however, has been expended in 
the construction of wagon roads and water ditches — not less than one 
million five hundred thousand dollars having been laid out upon the 
latter, and one hundred and fifty thousand dollars on the former. There 
are twenty-eight of these water ditches, and, although none of them are 
over seventy miles in length, the building of some has been very expen- 
sive. The Amador canal, taking water from the north fork of the 
Mokelumne river, and conducting it to Pine Grove, a distance of about 
sixty-six miles, cost over 8400,000 — the individual cost of several others 
having reached over $150,000. The largest and most expensive road 
in the county is that commencing at Jackson and extending across the 
Sierra to the head of Carson vallej', opening wagon communication 
between the county seat and the State of Nevada. The aggi'egate length 
of water ditches is four hundred and twenty miles ; the linear extent of 
improved wagon roads is about half that distance. The building of 
some poi-tions of these roads lying through mountainous districts has 
been attended with heavy cost. 

Situated among the lower foothills of Amador are some of the rich- 
est agricultural valleys in the State. Though of comparatively limited 
area, ranging from thi'ee to six miles in length, and from two to three 
in breadth, their yield of grains and fruits is not only certain but always 
prolific. In these valleys Indian corn grows well, three or four thou- 
sand bushels having been raised some seasons. The more fertile of 
these spots consist of lone. Dry creek, Jackson, and Buckeye valleys, 
and the several deltas formed by these and other creeks. With com- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOEXIA. 253 



fortable farm liouses, surrounded by orchards, gardens and grain fields, 
with their well fenced enclosures and a rich friable soil, covered with a 
scattered growth of ancient oaks, these valleys present the very ideal 
of rural felicity and enjoyment. Much of the hill land in this county 
has also been found well suited to the production of the cereals, and 
more especially of the grape, wdiich here attains, both in size and flavor, 
its greatest perfection. Still higher up in the Sierra, and in some 
places lying upon its very summit, are many little dales and savannas 
covered with a variety of wild grasses, which, keeping green through- 
out the summer, afford excellent pasturage for large numbers of cattle; 
the herders from the valleys driving their stock thither during the dry 
season and returning them again to the plains on the approach of win- 
ter. In the winter these grassy spots are deeply covered with snow, 
which often remains upon them until late in the spring. In the center 
of some of them are small lakes, which, if shallow, are frozen over, 
the deeper remaining open all winter. 

The population of Amador county is estimated at about 11,000. 
Jackson, the county seat, pleasantly situated on a creek of the same 
name, and in the vicinity of a group of valuable mines, contains one 
thousand inhabitants. The town having been nearly all burnt up in 
August, 1862, was soon after rebuilt, mainly with brick and other 
indestructable material, rendering the most of the houses fire-proof, 
and securing the place against the recurrence of a similar catastrophe. 
Sutter Creek, Amador and Drytown, lying northwest of Jackson, being 
on or near the main mineral belt running across the county, are all 
prosperous towns with valuable and productive mines in the vicinity. 
Sutter Creek contains, in and about it, a population of eight hundred; 
Amador six hundred, and Drj-town seven hundred. lone City, twelve 
miles west of the county seat, contains six hundred inliabitants. It is 
a beautiful spot, surrounded with fruitful, well cultivated gardens and 
farms, there being but little mining carried on in the neighborhood. 
Fiddletown, Forest Home, Lancha Plana, and Volcano, are all thrifty 
mining towns; the latter with a population of nine hundred, Fiddletown 
and Lancha Plana having each about half that number. 

In a metaliferous point of view Amador is for its size an important 
county; a belt of auriferous earth and rocks about twelve miles wide, 
running entirely across its lower and most populous part. Along the 
westerly edge of this belt rests the Veta Madre, in which lies some of 
the most profitable and largely productive quartz claims in the State. 
First among these stands the Eureka, better known of late as the Hay- 
v>Mrd mine, the history of vv-hich, apart from the general interest it 



251 TIIE NATUR.VL VTEAUZB. OF CALrFOrv^^A. 

awakens, is full of instructive and encouraging lessons to all v/lio noT7 
do or may contemplate becoming engaged in the quartz mining business. 
Tliis claim, first opened in the spring of 1852, was for about one year 
worked with remunerative results, after which it not only ceased to be 
profitable, but failed to pay ordinary wages. In November, 1853, 
Alvinza Haj^^ard purchased an interest in the mine, and becoming 
soon after half owner, continued working it for four years, but with 
such ill results that it had by the end of this time so completely im- 
poverished him that the credit he enjoyed with the local traders was 
due more to his merits as a man than to any confidence felt in the pros- 
pective success of his mine. About this time, however, the character 
of the ores — the four hiindred foot level having been reached — began to 
improve, and from thence on to the present the mine has continued to 
pay with constantly increasing profit; its total product during the past 
ten years having been $3,725,000, of which sum more than one half 
were nett earnings. The working of this claim has tended to establish 
a few very imjDortant facts considered in their bearing on this class 
of mines — the lode here, at a vertical depth of more than nine hun- 
dred feet, carrying not only a much heavier body, but a higher grade 
of ore than near the surface, its continuity having been preserved all 
the way down. The ore from this mine yields only about seventeen 
dollars per ton, the broad margin for profit arising out of its gi'eat 
abundance, the pay matter varying from sixteen to twenty feet in thick- 
ness, and from the facility with which it can be extracted and reduced, 
the gold being found mostly in a free state. The profitable ore in sight 
in this mine is estimated at seven hundred thousand dollars. 

On this belt, lying both to the north and south of the Hayward 
mine, are a number of claims that, through extensive exploration and 
practical working for a series of years, have been proven to possess a 
high value. Of these, the Keystone, near Amador city, owned by J. 
W. Gashwiler, of San Francisco, and others, and which was opened 
even earlier than the Hayw^ard mine, is now yielding, imdor an exten- 
sive system of working, very ample returns. In 1852 a five-stamp mill, 
afterwards increased to twelve, was put up for crushing the rock from 
this mine. In 1857 this mill was superseded by another of twent}' 
stamps, which, becoming much worn through long use, was in 186G 
supplanted by another establishment of similar capacity, but of im- 
proved model and ])uil(l, Avhicli has since been running steadily and 
with highly satisfactory results. The deepest working levels on this 
lode are now three hundred and seventy-five feet beneath the surface, at 
Avhich point it is avoU walled and carries a body of pay matter, varying 



COUNTIES OF C.\LIFOR^^A. 255 

from three to twenty-five feet in width, the thickness here being some- 
what irregular. For sometime prior to 1863 work was suspended on 
this mine owing to the accumulation of water in its lower levels. Hav- 
ing been lelieved of this by the present management, the gross pro- 
duct has since been $600,000. The dividends for several years past 
have varied from $6, 000 to $12, 000 per month ; the total nett earnings 
disbursed to owners between October, 1865, and the middle of Janu- 
ary, 1868, amounting to $212,000. 

The other mines situated on this mineral range, noted for the marked 
success that has attended their working throughout a number of years, 
or for the prospective value that justly attaches to them, are the Enter- 
prise, operating successfully with a ten-stamp water mill — ore averaging 
seven dollars per ton ; the Plymouth, working profitably a twenty- 
stamp steam and water mill, the company having divided $20, 000, on a 
moderate investment, during the past five years ; the Potosi, with a 
sixteen-stamp water mill, running steadily and making fair earnings ; 
the Seaton, after a varied fortune, extending through several years, 
during which dividends and assessments alternated in about equal pro- 
portions, now a prosperous, well conducted mine, exhibiting a good 
body of pay ores at a depth of four hundred and eighty feet, operating 
on which the company have erected a forty- stamp mill, furnished with aU 
recent appliances and improvements — and in brief, the Italian, Loyal, 
Bunker Hill, Amador, Stanford, Hubbard, Mahoney, Spring Hill, 
Oneida, AVilder and Covey, with perhaps several others, all at present 
in a productive condition, or likely soon to become so. 

Lying within this belt, near its easterly edge, there are also many 
promising quartz veins, some of which have been thoroughly explored, 
and have for many years past been paying well, and in a few cases very 
largely. The movst of these mines are situated near the town of Vol- 
cano, in the vicinity of which there are fourteen quartz mills, nearly all 
now operating with success. 

In this and the adjacent districts there are also some hydraulic 
claims being worked, though placer mining is not now, in any of its 
branches, carried on extensively in this county, the grdch and river 
diggings having been exhausted long ago. 

The quartz mills now completed in Amador number forty-two, car- 
rying six hundred and thirty-two stamps, the whole erected at an ori- 
ginal cost approximating $750, 000. Several of these mills are now run- 
ning on the cement, or on the talcose slate and ochreous gossan found 
at various points in the county, and as these deposits are extensive, it 
seems probable that many others v^-ill be put up for the same purpose 



256 THE NATI7R.U:. WEALTH OF CNXIFOEXLV. 

in tlie early future. The era of quartz mining and mill conjstruction 
was inaugurated at a very early period in this county — the first mill put 
up on the old Amador mine in 1851 having been the second establish- 
ment of the kind erected in the State. After encountering the vicis- 
situdes incident to the business in its early stages elsewhere, vein 
mining for gold is now firmly established as a profitable and permanent 
pursuit in this county; which probably holds out as good inducements 
for investing in this industry as any other county in the State. 

Lying on the eastern confines of Amador, a number of silver bearing 
lodes were discovered some five or six years ago, but as none of them 
■were ever developed to a productive point, nothing definite is known as 
to their value ; though, owing to the great facilities that exist for reduc- 
tion, a very low grade of ores could be worked there with profit, did 
thev exist in abundance. 

Copper, about the same time, was found in various parts of the 
county ; and although some of the veins proved exceedingly rich, at least 
in their upper portions, this class was not generally of large size. The 
problem of their permanency never having in any case been solved by 
deep exploration, it would be premature to assign this metal, even pros- 
pectively, a prominent place in the mineral staples of the county. 

Marble of different varieties and good qualit}^ exists in many jiarts 
of Amador; and also sandstone, the latter underlying a terrace-like hill, 
being one of a series near the towTi of lone, composed chiefly of altern- 
ate strata of clay and gravel, capped with trachyte. The upper part of 
this bed of sandstone is in places so highly ferruginous as to form a 
tolerable iron ore. It is now quarried for fencing and building pur- 
poses, and may in the future be utilized in a more important way. The 
clay strata above mentioned being composed of various colors, is also 
dug out and turned to practical account by being ground and used for 
jjaint. 

At Fiddletown, Volcano, and at other places in the county, small 
diamonds have frequently been picked iip, some of them worth fifty or 
sixty dollars in the California market. They usually occur in the allu- 
vial drift, and their finding thus far has been accidental, the miners 
meeting with them when v.ashing dowTi their shiiees preparatory to 
cleaning up. If this class would take the trouble to familiarize them- 
selves AA'ith the appearance of the uncut diamond, it is believed many 
more of these gems might bo gathered, Avith no further trouble than 
an increased attention while pursuing their ordinary vocation. 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENIA. 257 



ALPINE COUNTY. 

This county, in view of its great altitude and the rugged and pre- 
cipitous character of the mountains that cover nearly the whole of its 
surface, has been altogether significantly and aptly named. Lying on 
either side of the Sierra Nevada, it covers that range at one of its most 
broken and lofty points; a rugged, and scarcely less elevated spur, 
striking northerly from the main chain crossing its eastern border, 
thereby rendering nearly the entire county one continuous mass of moun- 
tains. Several peaks of the Sierra, within the limits of Alpine reach 
a height of nearly eleven thousand feet; Silver mountain, the loftiest 
portion of this northerly trending spur, being over ten thousand feet 
high. Alpine is bounded on the northeast by the State of Nevada; on 
the south by Mono and Tuolumne; on the west by Tuolumne, Calaveras 
and Amador, and on the north by El Dorado county; its average length, 
measured north and south, being forty and its breadth thirty-eight miles. 
This county is well watered, the portion Ijing east of the Sierra being 
cut in every direction by the two main forks of Carson river and their 
numerous tributaries, the Stanislaus and the Mokelumne both having 
their head waters within its limits. Forming the sources of those sev- 
eral streams are numerous small lakes, the most of them situated on 
the summit of the mountain, where it spreads out into a sort of table 
land. Many of them are very wild and beautiful, being skirted by belts 
of grass or bordered by plats of lawn-iike meadow lands. In some 
instances they are destitute of these grassy surroundings, being closely 
hemmed in by dark forests or shadowed by impending cliffs of granite. 
Two of their number, situated near each other, and from this circum- 
stance and the cerulean hue imparted to their waters by their great 
depth, named the Twin Blue Lakes, constitute the head fountains of 
several large streams that make their way westward into the Pacific; 
vrliile, in close proximity, are the sources of the Carson, flowing east- 
ward to be swallowed up in the great deserts of Nevada. Some of 
these lakes are shallow, while others, as we have seen, have a great 
depth; and being fed by the melting snows, never tarnished at these 
great altitudes, are always wondrously clear and pure, rendering them 
the acceptable abode of the coy and delicious mountain trout. They 
all contain fish, and being as well the resort of wild fowl during the 
summer, they form at this season a favorite haunt for the hunter and 
angler. 

There are also in this county many grassy, well watered valleys, 
rendered the more attractive by their rugged and desolate curround- 
17 



258 THE XATUR.VL WE.iLTH OF CULIFOENLV. 

ings. Into these tlie herdsman from either side drive their cattle for 
pasturage during the summer, removing them as -winter approaches, 
the snows in the higher of these valleys always falling to an immense 
depth. Owing to the great altitude of the county, and the limited 
amount of good land it contains, but few attempts are made at culti- 
vating the land, except in the way of raising vegetables , of which, as 
well as of milk, butter and hay, enough are produced for home con- 
sumption. The quantity of land enclosed does not exceed ten or twelve 
thousand acres, the amount sown to grain not being over a thousand or 
fifteen hundred. Barley, with irrigation, often yields well, though not 
being ready for the sickle till the month of September. Most kinds of 
berries and a few hardier fruits have been found to thrive here, wild 
currents and several species of berries being indigenous to the country. 
Flax and tobacco are also natives of the soil, and many varieties of 
wild flowers flourish during the short period of summer. 

There being little occasion for grist mills none have ever been erected 
in the county. Neither have any water ditches been constructed, other 
than a few of small capacity designed for irrigating purj^oses. There are, 
liowever, thirteen saw mills, some of them of large capacity ; lumber- 
ing in its various branches being, next to mining, the most important 
interest in the county. Apart from the lumber made for supplying 
local wants, many thousand saw logs and several thousand cords of fire 
wood are annually cut along the banks of the east fork of Carson river, 
and floated down that stream for supplying the large steam saw mill at 
Empire City, and the immense demand for fuel created by the ore mills 
working the Comstock ores. Alpine abounds in spriice and pine forests, 
the timber on the higher Sierra being of large size, while that on the 
eastern slope and beyond is of inferior quality. 

The great active interest in this county is, however, and always will 
continue to be, vein mining, upon the success of which it must mainly 
depend for whatever advancements it may make in wealth and pros- 
perity. 

The citizens of Alpine have evinced a commendable zeal in the con- 
struction of wagon roads, several of which have been built at gi'oat 
expense, connecting the more populous districts Avith Carson and "Walk- 
■ er river valleys ; and also others, at still heavier cost, across the Sierra 
leading into California. 

Beside Silver Mountain, the county scat, with a population of thi*ee 
hundred, Alpine contains several other small toA\-ns and mining ham- 
lets, of which, Markleevillo, having about four hundred inhabitants, is 
. the principal. Mogul, and Monitor, are the centers of two important 



COUNTIES OF CiLrFOEXLV. 259 

mining districts situated near the east fork of Carson, the latter having 
a population of t^vo or three hundred. The entire population of the 
county numbers about twelve hundred. 

The mines of Alpine consist almost wholly of argentiferous lodes, 
though a few gold bearing veins and masses of quartz have been found, 
some of them of great richness, in the Mogul district. The ledges here 
are usually of large size and crop boldly, being often traceable for miles 
by their surface projections. While a vast amount of work has been 
expended upon them in a small way, but little exploratory labor of a 
thorough and systematic kind has been performed, consequently, scarcely 
a single prominent mine in the county has been fully proven. Several 
have been developed to a point of limited production, but not until 
greater depths shall have been reached can the question of their ore 
yielding capacity and intrinsic value be fully settled. Owing to the 
tremendous upheavals of this region the lodes here, though often strong 
and compact in their surface developements, are probably deep fissured, 
while in many cases they are found to have suffered much disjolacement 
and disturbance in their upper portions. 

Should they prove persistent in depth, and continue to carry ores of 
no higher grade than are found near the surface, the veins here could 
generally be worked with profit, owing to their immense size and the 
unsurpassed facilities that everjnvhere exist for the economical extrac- 
tion and reduction of their ores. Running in most cases across the 
tops, or along the slopes of precipitous mountains, they can be opened 
to great depths by comparatively short adit levels driven in from the 
base. For example, the Mountain ledge, running parallel with and near 
the crest of the high ridge overlooking the county seat, has been opened 
to a vertical depth of nearly twelve hundred feet below its croppings by 
means of a tunnel scarcely more than fourteen hundred feet in length, 
there being many other lodes in the district equally well situated for 
deep exploration. 

In regard to supplies of wood, whether required for fuel or lumber, 
and also of water, whether to be used for propelling machinery or other 
pui-poses, Alpine is almost without a rival on either the California or 
Nevada side of the Sierra. Three fourths of the county is heavily tim- 
bered with spruce and pine, and more than ten thousand stamps might 
be driven by the water power here found convenient to the principal 
mines. "With such advantages the working of the ores of this region 
could be made highly remunerative, even should they prove of low 
grade, were they only abundant and tolerably tractable. Tested by 
assay they have not generally indicated great richness, though several 



260 THE NATUliAL WEALTH OF CALIFOKXIA, 

extensive working trials have given fair and, in a few instances, large 
results. From the IXL lode, situated on Scandanavian caiion, two 
miles northwest of Silver mountain, one hundred tons of ore were, a 
year since, extracted and sold to the neighboring millmen at the rate of 
$100 per ton, delivered at the mouth of the tunnel. From divers small 
lots of this ore, sent to San Francisco for reduction, a sum total of 
S40,000 has been extracted. From the Tarshish lode, located near the 
town of Monitor, a large quantity of high grade ore has been raised, 
and from the number of rich pockets that have been found in this mine 
at no great depths, it is inferred that larger and equally rich deposits 
will occur at lower levels. 

The ores from this mine having been found intractable to the amal- 
gamating process, furnaces have been erected for treating them by 
smelting — a mode that will probably have to be employed upon a large 
proportion of the contents of other mines in the county, much trouble 
having heretofore been experienced in their management. Should this 
prove to be the case, fuel is fortunately in such ample supply as to ren- 
der reduction by this method everywhere practicable. 

There are three quartz mills in the county — one at Markleeville, and 
two near Silver mountain, — the whole carrying twenty-six stamps, and 
costing about $100,000. Smelting works, on a limited scale, have also 
been put up at Monitor for reducing the ores of the Tarshish mine, 
and which, shoidd it prove successful, will probabl}' be followed by the 
erection of similar establishments elsewhere in the county. 

CALAVERAS COUNTY. 

This county, which derives its name from the Calaveras river run- 
ning centrally through it, is bordered by Amador on the northwest, by 
Alpine on the northeast, by Tuolumne on the southeast, and by Stanis- 
laus and San Joaquin counties on the southwest. The Mokelumne river 
separates it from Amador, and the Stanislaus river from Tuolumne 
county. It has an average length of forty miles, with a width of about 
twenty; and in everj'thing that relates to topography, soil, climate, 
mines, agricultural and other natural productions, is almost the coim- 
tei-part of Amador county. Bear mountain, a rocky, wooded range, a 
little more than two thousand feet high, strikes northerly across the 
middle of tlie county, from the Stanislaus to the Calaveras river, divi- 
ding this central portion into two sections; the lower, composed of 
abrupt foot-hills that gradually subside into low, rolling prairies, as 
they stretch west towards the great San Joaquin valley, wliile the tapper 
grows more rttgged and broken as it extends eastward into the main 



COUNTIES OF CALIPORNLi. 2G1 

Sierra. The former includes tlie copper mining district, as well, also, 
as many valuable quartz lodes, together with the gossan deposits of 
Quail Hill and Iron mountain. Placer mining is profitably conducted 
at a number of localities within this belt, which, from an early period, 
has been noted for its rich surface diggings. The easterly section is, 
however, the present theatre of more active operations in quartz, there 
being within its limits a large population engaged in this business. 
The upper and steeper slopes of the foot-hills are covered with scat- 
tered groves of oak, interspersed with an inferior species of pine, buck- 
eye, manzanita, and other shrubby trees. Large patches are covered 
wholly with the chamiza, an evergreen shrub with a delicate leaf, 
wliich, seen from afar, gives to the mountains a beautifully dark 
umbrageous appearance. These foot-hills are without running streams 
in the summer, and, although covered in many places with an extremely 
rich soil, and afibrding a considerable amount of grass, are but indiffer- 
ent stock ranges, owing to their aridity. With the exception of the 
Calaveras, wholly diverted from its bed during the drj^ season for irri- 
gation and mining purposes, there is in the summer no water but such 
as may be found in springs and standing pools, or as is furnished by 
artificial means, between the Stanislaus and Mokelumne rivers, a dis- 
tance of twenty-five miles. Nearly the whole of the county, however, 
except the southern extremity, is well supplied with water through an 
elaborate system of canals; which, obtaining their principal supplies 
from the Stanislaus and Mokelumne rivers and their branches, conduct 
this element to all the leading mining camps, where it is employed, not 
only for hydraulic and sluice washing, but to a considerable extent 
also for the propulsion of machinery. There are sixteen of these 
canals, varjdng in length from seven to fifty miles, and in cost of con- 
struction from $10,000 to $350,000; the largest and most expensive in 
the county, that of the Union Water Company, having cost the latter 
sum. • 

A good deal of money has been expended by the citizens of Cala- 
veras in the construction of wagon roads, with which all parts of the 
county are well supplied. Towards the building of the Big Tree and 
Carson Valley road, leading over the Sierra, the people of the county, 
at their general election in 1863, voted an appropriation of $25,000; 
on which occasion a further sum of $50,000 was voted for subscrip- 
tion to the capital stock of the Stockton and Copperopolis railroad. 

Lumbering is carried on here to a moderate extent, there being ten 
saw-mills in the coianty. All but three are driven by steam, and sev- 
eral have a capacity to make between twenty-five and thirty thousand 



262 THE NATURAL WE.\XTH OF CALIFORI^LV. 

feet of lumber daily. There arc a number of small iron foundries, 
tanneries, and similar establishments in the county, but manufactur- 
ing generally is not largely engaged in. 

Agriculture, viniculture, and stockraising receive a good deal of 
attention in Calaveras, many portions of the foot-hills being well suited 
to the growth of the cereals ; while in the valleys along the streams 
and in the mountains, a wide variety of fruits, berries, and vegetables 
find a congenial home. In the year 1867 there were about 70,000 acres 
of land enclosed, of which nearly one half was under cultivation, the 
principal grains raised being wheat and barley. The assessment roll 
for the same year footed up nearly $2,000,000, exclusive of mines. 

The population of Calaveras is estimated at 14,000, of whom a large 
proportion, fully one sixth, are Chinamen. Nearly all of these people, 
as well as two thirds of the whites, are engaged in mining, this being 
the leading pursuit of the inhabitants. 

Mokelumne Hill, a thriving town, situated near its territorial centre, 
contains about twelve hundred inhabitants. The rich placers once 
found in its vicinity are now pretty well exhausted, still there are 
many claims being worked in the deep banks and flats near by, some 
of which continue to yield liberally and will last for many years to come. 

San Andreas, with a population of twelve hundred, one third of them 
Chinamen, is located ten miles southwest of Mokelumne Hill, from M'hich 
it does not materially differ in its surroundings. Some rich gold bear- 
ing quartz and cement mines have been discovered within a few miles of 
the town, for the crushing of which several mills have been erected ; 
and, judging from the favorable results thus far obtained, there is little 
doubt but others will shortly folloAv. 

In tlio vicinity of West Point, a prosperous and gi-owing mining 
town seventeen miles east of Mokelumne Hill, there is a broad scope 
of exceedingly rich quartz veins, and also deposits of auriferous gravel 
which promise to furnish profitable hydraulic mining for years. Exten- 
sive crushings made of the quartz obtained from lodes at liailroad 
Flat, and other localities in the neighborhood of West Point, establish 
for this a high character as a quartz mining section, the yield ranging 
from twenty to one hundred dollars per ton, very much of it exceeding 
fifty dollars to the ton. 

Vallecito, Jenny Lind, and Campo Seco, each with a population 
of between three and five hundred ; Clay's Par and Chile Gulch, vr'ith 
a population of three hundred each, and llich Gulch, with scarcely so 
many, are all in the midst of placer diggings, once extremely rich, and 
some of which still continue to pay fair wages. There is also consid- 



COUNTIES or CALIFOKNIA. 263 

erable attention being paid in some of these districts to the business 
of quartz mining, additions being constantly made to the mills now in 
operation. Kailroad Flat, Altaville, Fourth Crossing, Poverty Bar, 
Kobinson's Ferry, and Musquito, are all mining hamlets, with from fifty " 
to two hundred inhabitants residing in and immediately about them, 
and surrounded with mines similar in character, though generally of 
less extent to those in the vicinity of the larger towns just described. 

Angel's Camp, twenty miles south of the county seat, containing 
about six hundred inhabitants, is one of the earliest settled towns in 
the county. Growing suddenly up under the support afforded by the 
rich placers about it, and flourishing for many years, it gradually 
declined as the diggings around it became impoverished, until the 
inhabitants, ten years ago, amounted to scarcely one half their present 
number. After languishing in this reduced condition for several years, 
the surface placers nearly exhausted and property depreciated to mere 
nominal prices, the attention of the mining public began to be attracted 
to the business of opening and working the quartz veins that abound 
in the neighborhood. The early efforts directed to this end were not, 
however, more successful here than elsewhere in the State, much fruit- 
less experimenting having been made and much money spent before 
these first endeavors were rewarded with even a moderate degree of 
success. At length, however, this interest has been placed upon a 
permanent and prosperous footing ; and although the average yield of 
the ore here is not large, only from six to ten dollars to the ton, the 
mills, of which there are five near the town, are all being run with 
profit ; the earnings of one or two, working a higher grade of ore than 
the average, being quite large. 

As an example of what the better class of mines, when well man- 
aged, are able to accomplish at this camp, we instance that of the 
Bovee claim, which, aided by a ten stamp mill, turned out $44,528 for 
the ten months ending with January 1st, 1868, the total expenditures 
on account of this production, including some of an extraordinary 
character, having been $25,512. This lode is now opened to a vertical 
depth of one hundred and fifty feet ; having increased steadily in vol- 
ume from the surface down, the ores undergoing, at the same time, a 
corresponding improvement, having advanced from an average yield of 
fifteen dollars on top to over twenty dollars at present working depths. 
And as the same general experience has attended the development and 
working of other veins in the vicinity, it is inferred that they will all 
yield a much higher grade, and a larger amount of ore, when more 
considerable depths are attained. 



2G4 THE NATURAL W'EALTH OF CALIFOKNU. 

Under the stimulus of this new interest, Angels Camp has during 
the past few years not only advanced in population, but has exhibited 
other marked evidences of improvement, many cottages having been 
erected by the miners, who find employment in the service of the 
quartz companies, and much planting of trees and vines having been 
practiced, to the beautifying and enrichment of the place. These 
remarks, while they apply with peculiar force to Angels, might be 
employed with more or less truth in speaking of Murphy's Camp, and 
several other towns in the county, including most of those already 
alluded to. 

Carson Hill, justly styled by Professor T\niitnGy, because of its 
early fame, the classic mining ground of California, lies five miles 
southwest of Angels Camp, looking down from its lofty eminence upon 
the dark waters of the Stanislaus, flowing more than a thousand feet 
below. From no space of equal dimensions, perhaps, in the State has 
more gold been taken out than from the Morgan ground, the discovery 
claim on this hill ; the sum extracted, v/ith simple appliances and at 
small expense, between the time of its discovery, in 1850, and the year 
1858, having approximated $2,000,000; the amount taken from the 
Madam Martinez claim, near by, and under nearly similar circum- 
stances, having been over $1,000,000 during a period of less than three 
years. The total amount of bullion obtained from this hill is estimated 
at over $4,000,000, though the working of most of the claims, of which 
there are a number besides the above, have been greatly interfered 
with by injudicious management and vexatious litigation. 

At Frankfort, formerly Cat Camp, in the vicinity of Camanche, an 
old mining town of about four hundred inhabitants, situated twenty- 
two miles southwest of the coimty seat, there were discovered in the 
summer of 18G7 a great extent of surface placers, which it was believed 
from careful prospecting would pay fair wages. A branch ditch having 
been completed in December of that year, carrying Avater into this dis- 
trict, a population of several hundred previously attracted to it were 
washing with good average results during the following winter and 
spring, with a prospect of having remunerative work before them for a 
number of years. 

Copperopolis, the business center of the rich and extensive copper 
mines in this county, is situated twenty-eight miles southwest of Mokel- 
umne Hill. Its present population is about eight hundred, somewhat 
less than it was a few years since, when operations were much more 
active than they have been of late. The town, having suffered severely 
from fire nearly two years ago, has not since been fully rebuilt, though 



COUNTIES OF CALI^0R^^A. 265 

there is little doubt but it will noi only regain its former full propor- 
tions, but much enlarge the same, as well as experience a restoration 
of its former business activity, when the prices of copper ores shall 
have recovered from their present extreme depression. 

Telegraph Cilj, situated on the Stockton road, six miles west of Cop- 
peropolis, and on the more westerly and least important of the two 
cupriferous belts extending north and south across the county, contains 
about two hundred inhabitants; its population and business having 
experienced a material falling off during the past two years, from the 
same causes that have operated to the detriment of its more advanced 
neighbor. 

Of the cupriferous deposits on these twin ranges, separated by Salt 
Spring valley, it may suffice in this place to say, the average of ores 
obtained have been of very fair grade, ranging at first, as sent to market, 
from fifteen to twenty -five per cent., and latterly from twelve to fifteen 
per cent, of metal. While none of these veins can be said to have been 
sufficiently proven to establish their 2:)ermanency beyond contingency, 
it is well settled that many of them, though rich in metal, are mere lenti- 
cular masses of no great magnitude, and consequently of but little 
value. That others, however, will be found more persistent, hardly 
admits of a question, shafts having been sunk on a number of them to 
the depth of several hundred feet, without serious displacements or con- 
tractions in the vein matter being encountered. At one time, during 
the heat of the excitement that sprang up soon after the discovery oi 
these mines, they were sold freely at rates varying from $500 to $2,000 
per linear foot. At present, owing to their unprodiictive condition, 
the best of them are without any certain value in tlie mining share mar- 
ket, a state of things that it is believed, cannot be of long continu- 
ance. 

A few years since a bed of opals was disco\^red in Stockton Hill, 
an eminence near the county seat, from which a French company, claim- 
ing and working the same, have since extracted a large number of these 
stones, some of them said to be of considerable value. It does not 
appear that the precious opal has yet been found here, though experts 
and geologists are of the opinion that these gems will be met with when 
the stratum is more fully explored. 

One of the greatest curiosities in California, and, indeed, of its kind 
in the world, consists of the Big Tree grove, situated on the divide 
between the middle fork of the Stanislaus and the Calaveras river, 
about twenty miles east of Mokelumne Hill, and at an elevation of four 
thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine feet above the level of the sea. 



266 THE NATUTv.VL WE.VLTH OF C.ULIFOENLi. 

The number of these trees, a species of redwood bearing the botanical 
name of the Sequoia Gigcmtea, is ninety-two, ten of which are at least 
thirty feet in diameter ; eighty-two having a diameter varying from 
fifteen to thirty feet. Their height, as they now stand, ranges from one 
hundred and fifty to three hundred and twenty-seven feet, the tops of 
many of the more aged having been broken off by the tempests or snow. 
The original height of some is believed to have been over four liun- 
hundred and fifty feet, and their diameter at least forty feet. Through 
the prostrate trunk of one of these trees, which has been hollowed out 
by fire, a man can ride on horseback for a distance of seventy-five feet. 
Some years ago one of the largest of the number then standing was cut 
do"svn, with a view to secure transverse sections of the trunk for exhi- 
bition. It was ninety-two feet in circumference and three hundred feet 
high, and it required the constant labor of five men for twenty-two days 
to fell it — the work being accomplished by means of boring with long 
augers. At the same time, another tree of nearly equal dimensions, 
was stripped of its bark for a distance of one hundred and sixteen feet 
from the ground, a lofty staging having been erected about it for the 
purpose. The bark was taken off in longitudinal sections, which being 
afterwards replaced in their proper order, reproduced the exterior of 
this giant of the forest — having much the appearance that it presented 
while growing. Such was the wonderful vitality of this tree that many 
of the branches still continued green for seven or eight years after 
this extensive mutilation. 

By carefully counting the concentric rings, denoting the annual 
growth of these trees, their age is found to vary from one thousand two 
hundred to tAvo thousand five hundred years. In some places these 
trees are separated by spaces of several rods, while in others they stand 
quite close together, some being united at the roots, and having grown 
almost into one, which, when they first sprouted, were twenty or thirty 
foet asunder. 

The Sequoia Gigantea has two sets of leaves — the one small and 
shaped something like those of the spruce or hemlock, and the other 
shorter and of triangular form, the cones being scarcely larger than a 
hen's egg. The bark is very much like that of the cedar family, and 
is generally from six to eighteen inches thick, according to the ago of 
the tree. The wood in nearly every particular, except odor, resembles 
red cedar. 

The Calaveras grove, though really one of the most remarkable, 
and, from its accessibility, by far the most frequented, is not the only 
one in this State, there being three groups of Big Trees in Mariposa, 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENIA. 267 

one iu Tuolvimne, and anotlier in Tulare county, with, perhaps, others 
not yet discovered iu the adjacent but less explored portions of the 
Sierra Nevada. 

TUOLUMNE COUNTY. 

As we proceed south along the great mineral belt, the counties fur- 
ther north, mostly of limited area, begin, after passing Calaveras, to 
increase in size — Tuolumne having an average length of sixty with a 
width of thirty-five miles. It lies between Calaveras and Alpine on 
the north, and Mariposa on the south, and between Mono on the east 
and Stanislaus and Calaveras on the west. In its topography and pro- 
ductions it is so nearly assimilated to the mining counties further north, 
already gone over, as to require little more to be said on these points. 

The Stanislaus river separates this county from Calaveras on the 
northwest, the south and middle forks of that stream and the Tuol- 
umne with its branches running across the county in a southwesterly 
course, cutting it with numerous deep caiions. Both these rivers, as 
well as many of their confluents, carry heavy bodies of water at all 
seasons of the year; and, heading high up in the Sierra Nevada, become, 
when swollen by sudden rains or the melting of the summer snows, 
large and ra^^id streams, rising often in the mountain gorges to an 
immense height above ordinary stages, and overflowing their banks 
after they have descended into the plains. 

This county has been pronounced by the State Geological Survey 
one of the richest fields for scientific study to be found in the State ; 
more of the remains of the mastodon, elephant, and other large ani- 
mals being found in the district northwest of Columbia than in any 
other locality in California, with the exception of Kincaid Flat. At 
Texas Flat there is a vast accumulation of calcareous tufa formed over 
the auriferous gravel, in an ancient gulch emptying into the Stanislaus, 
when that river was at a much higher level than at present. This same 
formation occurs on the bank of the Stanislaus, where it rises in pictur- 
esque cavernous cliffs resembling coral reefs. In this tufa are found 
the bones and teeth not only of the above gigantic animals, but also of 
the horse and other mammalia, together with land and fresh water 
shells. 

One of the most striking features in the topography and geology of 
this county is the "Table Mountain," masses of basaltic lava with 
perpendicular sides and flat on the top, which extend for a distance of 
nearly thirty miles with their windings. The top of this mountain is 
elevated about two thousand feet above the Stanislaus river, near which 



268 THE IsATTEAL "WEALTH OF C.\LIFOriXL\. 

it runs a good part of the distance, tliis stream frequently breaking 
through it. It varies in width from twelve hundred to eighteen hun- 
dred feet ; the basaltic mass forming the Table Mountain proper being 
about one hundred and fifty feet thick. This portion, which has per- 
pendicular sides, stands on a deep bed of detrital matter that slopes 
from its base down to the river or the country adjacent. 

The space occupied by this wall-like mountain was once the channel 
of an ancient river having precipitous banks. At a point on the latter 
where this formation begins, a stream of lava ejected from a neighbor- 
ing volcano entered it, and flowing steadily down filled it full. The 
country along the banks of this stream, consisting doubtless at that 
period of high mountain ranges, has since been eroded by the action 
of the elements and all washed away, leaving this mountain, composed 
of more solid matter, standing in the condition we now find it. What 
strengthens the presumption that these singular formations occupy 
the beds of former rivers, is the fact that the bed rock beneath them 
is water worn, after the manner of fluvial action, and contains rich 
dejDosits of washed gold ; many of the best paying mines in the county, 
consisting of these old channels, are now regularly worked by an elab- 
orate system of shafts and tunnels. 

Although the leading pursuit of this county is mining, it contains 
many small, well tilled farms, together with fruitful gardens, orchards 
and vineyards — Tuolumne being distinguished for the excellence and 
abundance of its fruits and grapes. 

The amount of land enclosed was estimated in 18G7 at thirtv-five 
thousand acres, of which about twelve thousand were under cultiva- 
tion — all the cereals usually raised in California being i:)lanted. Much 
stock is also kept in this county, the dairy products being ample for 
every home demand. 

Lumbering is also extensively carried on, large quantities of sawed 
timber and shingles, after the local consumption is met, being anniially 
sent to Stockton for a market. There are sixteen saw mills in the 
county, seven of which are driven by water and nine by steam. Their 
cost has varied from two thousand to twentv thousand dollars each, 
several having capacity to cut eight thousand feet of lumber daily. 

A number of costly roads have been built in Tuolumne, towards 
the construction of which the county has in some instances lent its 
corporate assistance. One of these roads extends across the Sierra 
to Mono coimty, and being the shortest wagon route between tide 
water and the Esmeralda mining region, is likely to command consider- 
able travel hereafter. Already it has served as a convenient channel 



COUNTIES OF C^VLIFOENIA. " 269 

for transporting the fruits and surplus farming products of Tuolumne 
to the mining towns and camps east of the mountains, where they 
always command a ready sale at remuneratiye prices. 

Tuolumne contains a population of about fifteen thousand, of whom 
a considerable portion are Chinamen. Sonora, the county seat, num- 
bers about two thousand five hundred inhabitants. The place was 
first settled in the summer of 1848 by a company of miners from 
Sonora, Mexico — hence the name. So rapidly did it grow in conse- 
quence of the extremely rich placers found around it, that in a little 
more than one year it contained nearly five thousand inhabitants. 
Sonora has suffered its full share from conflagrations, the greater por- 
tion of it having been several times destroyed by fire. For many 
years past the mines in the vicinity have been considerably depleted, 
yet it still continues to be the base of supply for a large circle of 
mining country about it. 

The town of Columbia, four miles north of Sonora, and containing 
a little more than half the population of the latter, is surrounded by 
a similar character of mines, and has a history not very unlike that of 
its neighbor, though not settled for nearly a year and a half later. 

Shaw's Flat and Springfield are small towns between Sonora and 
Columbia, having an aggregate population of three or four hundred. 
Jamestown, a hamlet of several hundred inhabitants, five miles south 
of the county seat, was early settled, and for several years was the 
center of an exceedingly prolific placer district. In the neighborhood 
extensive tunnels have been driven under Table Mountain, overlooking 
it from the north. 

Montezuma, Chinese Camp, Jacksonville, Tuttletown, Gold Spring, 
Poverty Plill, Big Oak Flat, and Garote, have all been in their day 
mining towns of note, containing from five hundred to one thousand 
inhabitants, and some of them for a short time many more. They 
have nearly all, however, declined, as the diggings about them grew 
poorer, until some have not now half their former population. With 
the discovery of quartz they are generally beginning to revive, and it 
is not improbable that many will, in the course of a few years, contain 
even a greater number of inhabitants and become more prosperous 
than before. 

Connected with the early history of these towns, as well also as 
with that of various smaller places in the county, are many strange 
and tragic events, the original population of this region having been 
largely made up of rough and desperate characters collected from all 
parts of the world. Hither flocked the jDCople of Spanish origin, 



270 THE NATLT..VL TVr.VLTII OF C.\XirOr.NIA. 

adventurers ■\vlio had sj)ent their lires on the soiithorn and western 
frontiers, and hither swarmed the gamblers and men of desperate for- 
tunes from every land under the sun ; the very character of the dig- 
gings, rich beyond example, but less certain than elsewhere, natu- 
rally serving to attract these classes to this quarter. A record of the 
rich strikes, the popular tumults, the deadly affrays, the executions 
without law, and the murders without punishment, that occurred dur- 
ing these early times, would fill a large volume. All those excitements 
— those exhibitions of private vengeance and popular passion — those 
scenes of ferocity, violence and crime, that have given California such 
unenviable notoriety, found here their most frequent and forcible 
illustration. Yet, notwithstanding these scenes of turbulence and crime, 
and the many unhappy events connected with the primitive histoiy of 
this country, the present inhabitants of Tuolumne are not, perhaps, 
in the matter of social and moral standing, behind any other commu- 
nity in the State. 

Placer mining, except as performed by hydraulic washing, or through 
shafts and tunnels reaching into the ancient river channels and gravel 
beds, is not now extensively practiced in this county. By the above 
means, however, as well as by a considerable amount of surface wash- 
ing performed in certain localities during the winter, large quantities 
of gold are annually taken out ; and as the bank diggings are in many 
places very deep, and the auriferous gravel of great probable extent, 
this branch of mining seems likely to be pursued here for an indefinite 
period, and with at least moderately good results. 

Among the quartz lodes that have from time to time been signalized 
by unwonted success, is the Soulsby claim, near Sonora, which, several 
years ago was conspicuous in this respect. A multitude of ledges are 
now being worked along the auriferous belt that crosses the county, 
generally with fair, and often with miinificent returns. There are now 
forty-eight quartz mills in operation, carrying five hundred and forty 
stamps — the whole erected at an aggregate cost of about 8550,000. 

Situated on the mother lode, striking across the westerly end of this 
county, are a number of quartz claims, that, tested by a successful expe- 
rience of several years, may justly claim to rank among the leading 
mines of the county if not also of the State. In this catagory stands 
the llawhido Eanch claim, lying on the west side of Table Mountain, 
a few miles west of Sonora. The lode, having an average width of 
twelve feet, has been explored to a depth of about three hundred feet 
by a main shaft, from the bottom of which drifts have been run nearly 
one hundred feet, disclosing in this level a heavy compact mass of 



COUNTIES OP CALIFORNIA. 271 

Toin matter. A well appointed twenty-stamp mill lias been running 
on the ores, which, during the past three years, have varied in their 
yield from seven to forty-four dollars per ton. Connected with the 
mine is a tract of five hundred acres of partially timbered land. 

One mile south of Jamestown, also situated on the great crowning 
vein of the county, and covering what seems to be one of its more 
enriched portions, is the Diitch mine, so called from the nationality of 
the former owners, and by whom it was sold to M. B. Silver, the pres- 
ent proprietor. On the surface it is composed of four parallel veins, 
all of which, from their proximity and angle of pitch, it is thought 
will finally unite in one masterly lode. The mine, though not exten- 
sively developed, has been sufficiently prospected to establish its per- 
manency and great probable value ; the uniform yield of the ore, of 
which the quantity is very large, having been fifteen dollars to the ton, 
the gold being free and easily saved by the most simple and inexpen- 
sive methods. The ores have been worked for five years past with a 
ten-stamp mill ; a much larger establishment being required to render 
even a tithe of the productive capacities of this mine available. 

The App mine, adjoining that last described on the south, and 
differing but little from it in its main features, has been Avorked for 
the past nine years with uniformly good results. During this time nine 
thousand tons of ore were crushed, yielding $140,000, or an average of 
$15 50 per ton — the cost of mining and milling having been about 
$67,000. 

From the Golden Eule mine, lying a few miles south of the App 
claim, there were raised during the year 1866, three thousand tons of ore, 
which yielded S32, 654, having been at the rate of $10 75 per ton. The 
quantity of ore taken out and reduced the following year, at the com- 
pany's mill, was three thousand two hundred and forty-four tons, which 
yielded $38,868 — nearly $12 per ton — the cost of mining and milling 
having been less than $7 per ton. Five dividends were made during 
1867, of $1, 450 each, the company having, in January, 1868, a sur|)lus in 
bank of $11, 000, to be applied to construction account. 

Tuolumne has within its limits six main trunk water ditches, vary- 
' ing in length from seven to one hundred miles. Several of these are 
works of magnitude, and required the expenditure of large sums of 
money in their construction. The Big Oak Flat canal, forty miles long, 
cost over $600, 000 ; the ditch of the Tuolumne County Water company, 
but thirtj'-five miles long, having cost $550,000. The distributing 
branches of these canals have an aggregate length far exceeding that 



272 THE NATUBiUL WEALTH OF CVLIFORXLl. 

of the mains themselves, aud also called for heavy expenditures in their 
construction. 

Two miles north of Columbia are extensive beds of marble. It is 
of many varieties — some pure white, others blue, veined, clouded or 
pencilled : and all, where taken from a few feet beneath the surface, of 
a fine, close texture. Large quantities have been quarried and sent to 
market, having previously been sawed into slabs at a mill near by, 
erected for the purpose. Such is the compactness of the material, and 
the depth of the beds, that blocks of any desired size can be taken out 
— one weighing thirteen thousand pounds having been quarried and 
dressed. 

Near Sonora there is a deposit of plumbago, from which it is thought 
a merchantable article of graphite may be obtained, at least in limited 
quantities, by carefully washing it to relieve it of its earthy impuri- 
ties. Some of it is said to have already met with sale in markets 
abroad, being bought, most likely, for manufacturing crucibles, stove 
blacking, or similar purposes. 

Becently a stratum of soap stone has been found near Sonora, said 
to be Avell adapted for the lining of smelting works. The deposit is 
abundant, and promises to be extensively worked — the trials of this 
material which have been made having proved satisfactory. 

MAPilPOSA COUNTY. 

This county received its name from an extensive Mexican gi'ant, 
called "Las Mariposas," lying within its limits at the time of its crea- 
tion, then claimed by, and since confirmed by tlie United States gov- 
ernment to John C. Fremont. Mariposa is a Spanish word, signifying 
a butterfly in that language. This county is bounded by Tuolumne on 
the north, by Mono on the east, by Fresno on the south, and by Mer- 
ced on the west. It measures sixty -five miles, east and west, and about 
twenty-eight north and south — the eastern j^art rising into the lofty 
Sierra, while the western sinks almost to a level with the San Joaquin 
plains. Covering some of the wildest and highest portions of the great 
snowy range, the scenery in the eastern section of the county is among 
the grandest in the State. Here stands Mount Dana, 13,227 feet high; 
Mount Hofl"man, 10,872 feet high, and Cathedral Peak, 11,000 feet high. 
In this region the Merced, the San Joaquin, and the main fork of the 
Tuolumne river take their rise, the former running centrally through 
nearly the whole length of the county. The Chowchilla river, a small 
stream in summer, being at this season nearly dry, soxDarates Mariposa 
from Fresno. 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. , 073 

Througliout the mining districts, ^^-l^ere most of the population is 
found, there are many good wagon roads, but none have been built lead- 
ing oyer the Sierra— the only communication with Mono county being 
afforded by a trail leading through the Mono Pass, the lowest point on 
which is 10,765 feet high. This trail is much used by horsemen and 
pack trains in the summer, being impassable at other seasons on 
account of the snow. 

The towns of Mariposa are neither large in size or number, many 
of them having during the past ten years shrunken much from their 
former proportions, and mining camps, once busy and populous, are 
now nearly deserted. The number of inhabitants in the county, once 
nine or ten thousand, does not at present much exceed half that num- 
ber. The population of the principal towns may be set do^ra at about 
the following figures : Mariposa, the county seat, 800 ; Hornitos, 
twenty miles to the northwest, 700 ; Coulterrille, twenty-one miles 
north of the county seat, 500; and Bear Valley, twelve miles northwest,, 
400. Princeton, Mount Bullion, Indian Gulch, Mount Ophir, Agua 
Frio, Colorado, and Mormon Bar, are mining hamlets containing from 
fifty to three hundred inhabitants each, some of these j^laces havin" 
fallen into almost hopeless decay through the utter exhaustion of the 
once rich placers and the absence of quartz lodes in their vicinity; 
while others, through the rejuvenating influence of quartz minin"' 
operations prosecuted in their neighborhood, are slowly increasing in 
business and population ; and there is much to warrant the belief that 
many of these villages will experience a rapid growth, and others be 
founded along the heavy quartz zone that crosses the county, at a 
period not distant in the future. 

All the eastern end of this county is heavily timbered with the sev- 
eral varieties of pine, spruce, and cedar found further north ; the lower 
half being more sparsely wooded, the extreme western section almost 
without trees of any kind whatever. The county contains eight saw 
mills, all of limited capacity, the quantity of lumber required for homo 
use being small, and none being made for transportation abroad. 

Mariposa contains but comparatively little good farming land, 
though there is a considerable scope of alluvial soil along the streams 
in the edge of the foothills, and many small fertile valleys further in 
the interior, which afford, under a careful system of cultivation, all 
the fruits, vegetables, and dairy products required by the inhabitants, 
there being also a good deal of barley, wheat, and oats raised every 
year. Of the twenty-five thousand acres of land enclosed in the year 
18G7, about eight thousand were subjected to tillage, the yield of the 
18 



274 ' THE NATUR-VL W'E.ILTH OF CiLEFORXLV. 

cereals being fully up to the average tlirougliout the State. As ret 
there has been no flour mill erected in this county, the mills in Mer- 
ced, adjoining, being suificiently near to accommodate the farmers of 
Mariposa. There is but little stock kept here, and, although fniits of 
all kinds thrive wherever planted, only enough is raised to serve local 
wants. 

The substantial wealth of Mariposa rests in its mines of auriferous 
quartz, which are hardly second in point of number and productive 
capacity to those of any other county in the State. Its placers even, 
at first of but moderate extent, and belonging to the class denomi- 
nated "spotted," speaking in miner's parlance, were, perhaps, in 
places, among the most prolific ever found. Being rich, shallow, aud 
hence easily wrought, they naturally attracted that class, who, prone 
to take desperate chances, are apt to exhibit more or less of the des- 
perado in their every day conduct ; wherefore the character of the 
early inhabitants of this region conformed strongly to that remarked 
upon when speaking of the pioneer settlers of Tuolumne county 
Theft, murder, and general lawlessness and crime, during the early day, 
here reigned supreme. But the social atmosphere has become purged 
of these elements of violence — death, penal law, and emigration to 
more genial localities having long since wrought their effectual work, 
Mariposa is now scarcely behind her neighbors in the matter of moral 
purity and good order. 

Owing to the speedy depletion of the shallow placers and the lack 
of extensive bank diggings and gravel beds, but little hydraulic wash- 
ing or tunneling has been practiced in this county ; and, as a conse- 
quence, but few canals or water ditches, the necessary auxiliaries to 
this branch of mining, have been constructed. The entire length of 
these works does not cover a linear extent of over forty miles — the total 
amount of money expended upon them in the county having been less 
than $30,000. It is the opinion of very competent judges that there 
are heavy banks of auriferous detritus, as well as gravel deposits, in 
Mariposa, and that largo and profitable workings might be afibrded by 
these were water for Avashing once introduced. Acting on this belief, 
primary steps have been taken for the purpose of conducting this ele- 
ment, of which there is an abundance, easily obtainable, into some of 
tho more promising placer districts. 

Striking across tho western extremit}' of this county, maintaining 
it;-5 usual north-northwesterly and south-southeasterlj' bearings, tho 
Vda Madre of tho great auriferous range of the State disjilays itself 
with great poAver. On tho Fremont grant, consisting of forty-eight 



COUNTIES OF C.VLrFOKNLA.. 275 

tliousancl acres, this lode is separated into two strong veins, known as 
the Pine Tree and Josephine, which at points along the range unite 
and form the crowning lode of the country. 

The following exhibit of the yield obtained by a number of com- 
panies engaged in raising and milling ores from this vein, being gen- 
eral in its character, and spread over a considerable period, may, per- 
haps, be accepted as safe data in calculating the results that would be 
likely to attend the working of claims situated elsewhere on this lode : 
The Mariposa Company own four mills of the following capacity, viz : 
the Benton, sixty-four stamps ; the Mariposa, fifty stamps ; tlie Prince- 
ton, twenty-eight stamps, and the Bear Valley, ten stamps. They are 
all well appointed establishments, the first driven by water and the 
others by steam. They are situated near the mines of the company, 
which consist of the Josephine, Pine Tree, Mount Ojohir, Mariposa, 
and Princeton, all on the mother lode, and capable of supplying, under 
present developments, two hundred tons of ore daily ; though the 
quantity might easily be increased to three or four thousand, such is 
the body of pay matter carried by these veins. 

Under former management, running through several years, during 
which the ores from the Josephine and Pine Tree lodes were exten- 
sively worked, the gross average yield obtained was but about eight 
and a half dollars per ton, a sum — as labor and material were then 
rather more costly than at present, that left but small margin for profit. 
Since this property passed into other hands, a new mode of amalgama- 
tion, known as the "Eureka process," having been adopted at the 
Bear Yalley mill, the following results were obtained ; eight hundred 
tons of ore from the Josephine mine, which before had proved of a 
somewhat lower grade than that from the Pine Tree, worked by the 
new method prior to September, 1867, gave an average yield of $-10 53 ; 
the average yield of one thousand tons for the following three months 
having been $30 per ton — a rate, which it is thought, can hereafter be 
steadily kept up. The company have since made arrangements for intro- 
ducing this process into their other mills. 

The Crown Lead company, owning no less than fourteen thousand 
four hundred and fifty linear feet, all upon the main gold bearing belt, 
and extremely well situated for easy development, have erected, at an 
expense of 850,000, a twenty-stamp mill and dam, their works being on 
the Merced river, near which also their mine is located. Prior to their 
coming into possession of this property, appurtenant to which is a tract 
of six hundred acres of timber land, large sums were expended for the 
purpose of prospecting the mine, the erection of a mill, etc. The most 



/ 



276 THE NATUTiAL WEALTH OF C.\XIFOENL^. 

of this Troik, liowever, liaving been injudiciously aj)plied and the mill 
having been swept away by a flood, the former owners accomplished 
but little either in the way of developing their mine or working its ores. 
Enough, however, has since been effected to establish for this property 
a very high value, though active operations have for some time been 
suspended upon it. 

The Oakes and Reese mine, OAvned by Messrs. L. L. Eobinson and 
Hall McAllister, of San Francisco, and lying on the same belt with the 
claims of the Mariposa Company, is another of those mines, which, after 
years of failure or but partial success, have, under a better administra- 
tion or in the hands of men of more ample means, been speedily con- 
verted into highly productive properties. The lode now being worked, 
one of eight owned by the proprietors, is from two to six feet thick, has 
been thoroughly developed and powerful hoisting works have been 
erected, and a ten-stamp mill, with driving power for a much larger 
number, has been put up ; the total expenditure, exclusive of purchase 
money for the mine, having been $110,000. The ore, of which there is 
a hea\^ body, has thus far ranged from $20 to $-40 per ton, the bullion 
product for the month of January, 1868, having been $32, 500. 

Situated near the southeasterly line of the county, on the Merced 
river, is the valley of the Yosemite, with its stupendous surroundings. 
Here, within a space less than twenty miles long and ten miles wide, 
are presented more picturesque, grand and beautiful scenery— more 
striking and original views than are perhaps to be found within any 
similar area in the world. If travelers may be credited, within no 
other compass so narrow on the face of the globe, have so many high 
and steep precipices, such lofty cascades and awful chasms, such deep 
and beautiful valleys overlooked by so many towering domes, high bas- 
tions and splintered spires, all of bold and glistening granite, been 
grouped together as in and around this valley of the Yosemite. The 
name is of Indian origin, and shoiild be pronounced with four syllables, 
accenting the second. 

Geographically, this spot is said to be very near the middle of the 
State, measured north and south, and exactly in the center of the Sierra 
Nevada, it being thirty -five miles to either base. It is one hundred and 
forty miles, in a direct line, a little south of east from San Francisco; 
the distance by the usually traveled route, via Stockton and Coulterville, 
or Mariposa, being about two hundred and fifty miles. The valley 
proper, -wliich has an elevation of four thousand and sixty feet above 
the level of the sea, is eight miles long and from half a iiiilc to one 
mile wide; the greatest breadth being near its middle, where it is three 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 277 

miles across, and whence it tapers gradually towards each end. It is 
so nearly level that the Merced river, running through it, moves with a 
gentle current, expanding at several points into little lakes, the water 
so perfectly pure that it reflects the surrounding peaks and cliffs with 
wonderful distinctness. This river, at all seasons a considerable stream, 
is greatly swollen in the latter part of the spring and the early summer, 
when the snow on the mountains above is melting, which is, therefore, 
the most favorable season for visiting the valley, as the several falls, 
one of its chief attractions, are then displayed to best advantage. 

Entering the valley at its lower or westerly end by a descent of two 
thousand feet down a steep mountain trail, its course for the first six 
miles is northeast, when it makes a sharp angle, and runs nearly south- 
east. At its lower extremity, the flat land ceasing, all semblance of a 
valley is lost in a canon, so deep and precipitously walled that it may 
be pronounced inaccessible. Proceeding up the valley, hemmed in by 
walls of yellowish granite, from two thousand to four thousand feet 
high, the first conspicuous object met with is the ' ' Pohono" — by some 
called the Bridal Veil Fall, on the right hand side, with the Cathedral 
Rock, about three thousand feet high, standing behind it. On the 
other side of the valley is the Tutucanula, or "El Capitan" clifij an 
almost perpendicular, bastion-like mass, lifting itself three thousand 
three hundred feet above the level of the valley. Proceeding onward, 
a little above the "Pohono" Fall, the Cathedral Eock, backed by the 
Cathedral Spires — two slender columns of granite — is passed, and we 
arrive, tAvo miles above, at a group of peaks standing on the other side 
of the valley, to which the name ' ' Three Brothers " has been given. 
From the loftiest of these — four thousand feet high — more than eight 
thousand feet above the level of the sea, is to be obtained one of the 
best views of the valley and its immediate surroundings, including also 
the towering summits of the Sierra, in the background. 

Standing over against this group, and near the angle where the val- 
ley, turning, trends to the southeast, is a cluster of prominent cliffs, 
the top of the highest three thousand feet above its base, and which, 
I from its having the form of a regular obelisk for more than a thousand 
feet dowii, has been named ' ' Sentinel Piock. " Three quarters of a mile 
southeast of the Sentinel, stands the Dome, four thousand one hundred 
and fifty feet high — its horizontal section nearly circular, and its slope 
regular all round. 

Directly across the valley from Sentinel Bock is the Yosemite Fall, 
where a stream of the same name, twenty feet wide and two deep at 
high water, precipitates itself over the cliff, falling at one bound a ver- 



278 THE NATURAL THiALTH OF C-\LIFORXLV. 

tical distance of one tliousand five hundred feet, after wliich it makes, 
hj a series of cascades, a further descent of six hundred and twentj- 
six feet in the course of the third of a mile, rdien with a final bound 
of four hundred feet, it leaps to the bottom of the valley — making in 
this short distance a total descent of two thousand five hundred and 
twentj-six feet — some calculations making it even a little more. Having, 
however, in this instance, as in all other cases pertaining to heights and 
distances in and around this valley, adopted the figures of the State 
Geological Survey, the measurements given may safely be accejDted as 
being, if not absolutely correct, at least more nearly so than any others 
extant. 

Two miles above this fall the main valley of the Yosemite ends, 
running into three deep gorges ; the central, through which flows the 
Merced river, running nearly east and west, and the Tenaya fork bear- 
ing to the north, while the valley of the Illilouette, through which also 
flows a considerable stream, ascends in a southerly direction. 

Following up the Tenaya caijon to a point a little above its mouth, 
we have on the right, in full view, what has been for a long time par- 
tially in sight, the most grand and impressive object in or around the 
valley. This consists of a fearful cliff, four thousand seven hundred 
and thirty-seven feet high, named the Half Dome — from the fact that 
one face is rounded in form while the other is perfectly vertical, giving 
the impression that one half of what was once a regular dome-shaped 
mountain has been broken off and engulphed; which is no doubt really 
the case, though there are no fragments on the surface at the base, 
nor other ruins left to show what has become of this lost portion. 
Without any compeer in mountain topography elsewhere, it stands iso- 
lated and vast, a striking monument to some strange d^Tiamic move- 
ment, all other traces of which have been forever covered Tip. 

On the opposite side of Tenaya valley stands the North Dome, 
another rounded structure of granite, its summit elevated three thou- 
sand five hundred and sixty-eight feet above its base. Flankiug one 
side of it is a vast buttress, called the Washington Column; and in the 
sides of the clift" adjacent is a series of vaulted chambers, formed by the 
sliding down of immense fragments of rock from above, named the 
Royal Arches. Further up the caiion, reposing under the awful shadow 
of the Half Dome, is a little lake called Tissayac, Avhicli, like all the 
waters here, is ever cold and as pellucid as crj'stal. 

Along the middle, or Merced caiion, are several remarkable catar- 
acts, as well as many lofty cliffs and peaks, some of the latter hardly 
inferior in the majesty of their pro^^ortions to the Half Dome itseK — 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOEXIA. 279 

thougli less unique and impending. The two most noteworthy fulls on 
this stream, rendered exceedingly grand when the river is at high 
stages, are the Vernal, or Puiyac, the lowest dowai, and tho Nevada— 
the former having a perpendicidar height of four hundred and seventy- 
five feet, and the latter of six hundred and thirty-nine feet, tho river 
making a total descent of more than two thousand feet in a distance of 
two miles. 

There are also many grand cataracts and cascades on the Illilouette, 
or South Fork, along which the scenery partakes largely of the same 
bold character with that already described, though this branch has 
been less explored than the main valley, or either of the others. 

Scattered over the principal valley, as well as the lower slopes of 
the mountains are groves of pine, mixed with which, in the valley, are 
several species of oak, with some willow and poplar— the latter of tho 
kind usually called cottonwood — being what in the East is known as 
the "Balm of Gilead." These forests, abounding with grassy glades 
and lakes, and being filled in summer with a variety of wild flowers, 
the whole valley approximates nearer a scene of enchantment than 
anything else to be found in nature. 

The climate here in the winter is rigorous, the valley at this season 
being almost completqjy shut out from the sun, and the snow falling so 
deep on the trails leading into it as to render it difiicult of access before 
the middle of May. In the summer the atmosphere is kept cool by the 
lakes and running water, and the spray from the falls — the sun, even at 
this season, never shining on many parts of the valley. 

Near Crane's Flat, thirty miles southeast of the town of Mariposa, 
occurs another grove of Mammoth Trees, similar to tliat in Cala- 
veras county. This group contains four hundred and twenty-seven 
trees, varying in size from twenty to thirty-four feet in diameter, and 
from two hundred and seventy-five to three hundred and twenty-five 
feet in height. This grove, w'hich has an altitude of nearly six thousand 
feet above the level of the sea, is scattered over an area of about five 
hundred acres. The remains of a prostrate tree, now nearly consumed 
by fire, indicate that it must have attained a diameter of about forty, 
and a height of four hundred feet. Near this large grove are two 
others, the one containing eighty-six and the other thirty-five trees, 
the average size of which are about the same as of those in the prin- 
cipal grove. 



280 THE NATTI[1.VL WE/VLTH OF CALIFORNIA. 



MONO COUNTY. 

This county derives its name from a large lake situated in its north- 
ern part — the word being of Indian origin. It lies wholly beyond the 
main ridge of the Sierra Nevada, the crest of that range forming its 
southwestern ])order. It is long and narrow, extending northwest and 
southeast one hundred and fifty miles, and having an average breadth 
of about forty miles. Its easterly portion is traversed longitudinally 
by the "White, the Inyo, and several other chains of mountains ; its 
western section rising to the summit of the Sierra, and covering, in 
part, Mount Dana and Castle Peak — the former thirteen thousand two 
hundred and twenty-seven, and the latter thirteen thousand feet high. 
The east and the west fork of Walker river, having their sources in the 
great snowy range in the northwestern end of the county, after gather- 
ing many tributaries, flow north into the State of Nevada. Owen's 
river, heading a little south of Mono lake, and receiving the drainage 
of the Sierra on the west, and of the White mountains on the east, 
runs south and empties into Owen's lake, in Inyo county. There are 
no other streams of any magnitude in the cormty, though numerous 
creeks descend from the Sierra and after running a short distance out 
upon the sage plain at its base disappear in the barren and arid soil. 
At the point where these creeks debouch upon the plains fertile deltas 
have been formed — their waters spreading out over a considerable 
space of ground ; this system of natural irrigation having been pro- 
moted by the Indians, who, finding here their favorite places of abode, 
have employed it extensively in watering the wild clover ; which, thus 
aided, grows abundantly, and upon which they love to feed when it is 
young and tender. About the headwaters, and along the two forks of 
Walker river, as well as in the valley of Owen's river, there are large 
patches of alluvial soil upon which, through the assistance of irriga. 
tion, good crops of grain and the more hardy vegetables can be raised ; 
though the country is too elevated for the successful culture of most 
kinds of fruits — its general altitude being about six thousand feet. As 
a consequence, while much stock is kept here in the siimmer — enough 
butter and cheese being made for the consumption of the inhabitants — 
very little is done in the line of general farming ; the amount of land 
inclosed in 18G7 having been only about six thousand acres, of which 
less than one third Avas under cultivation. Barley is the princijDal grain 
planted, though a few thousand bushels of wheat and oats are raised 
every year. 

But trifling expenditures have been made on account of wagon road 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOENIA. 281 

construction witliin the limits of tlie county— the nature of the surface 
consisting largely of open valleys in the more populous sections, ren- 
dering costly improvements of this kind by no means imperative. 
Wagon communication with California is had mostly by way of Carson 
valley; though lightly loaded vehicles cross the mountains during the 
summer by the Sonora road, which terminates at Bridgeport. At^ this 
season horsemen and pack trains also cross on the Mono trail, coming 
in further south. 

There are no towTis of any magnitude in this county— Bridgeport, 
the county seat, and the largest, having but about two hundred inhabi- 
tants. Beyond this, there is nothing but mining camps, containing, at 
most, not over thirty or forty persons each. Monoville, once havin^ 
more than a thousand inhabitants, is now not only deserted, but has 
almost entirely disappeared— such buildings as have not been removed 
elsewhere, being nearly all crushed into shapeless ruins by the weight 
of the snow, which here falls to a great depth in the winter. 

On the Sierra there is much spruce and pine timber, from which 
enough lumber of a fair quality is made to meet local requirements. 
There are eight steam saw mills in the county, with a joint capacity to 
cut forty thousand feet of lumber daily — the whole erected at an aggi-c- 
gate cost of $70,000. The pinon gi*ows, after its usual scattered and 
straggling manner, on many of the hills and mountain ranges in the 
northern and eastern parts of the county ; the only trees found on the 
plains, or in the extensive valley of Owen's river, consisting of a few 
willows, growing along the banks of that stream. 

The Mono canal, twenty miles long, built to carry water from Vir- 
ginia creek to Monoville, is the only work of the kind in the county — 
though there are many small ditches in the farming districts dug for 
irrigating purposes. This canal, constructed nearly ten years ago, at a 
cost of $75, 000, was designed to supply water for working the diggings 
at Monoville, which for a few years paid a population of six or eiglit 
hundred very fair wages. These placers, originally of but limited 
extent, becoming exhausted, the locality has since been nearly aban- 
doned — very little work having been done there for the past seven 

years. 

At no other point in the county have any surface diggings wortli 
mentioning been found, though very considerable operations in vein 
mining have been carried on at various places Avithin its limits. In the 
Bodie district, a few miles north of Mono lake, many heavy quartz 
veins, carrying both gold and silver, were located in 1800, upon sev- 
eral of which much work has since been perfonned. Two largo quartz 



282 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENIA. 

mills have, -svitliin tlie past two jears, been erected in the district; but 
owing to difficulties experienced in treating the ores, or other causes, 
thej have been idle much of the time since. 

Several districts have been laid out elsewhere in the county, the 
more important of which, either because of the work done in them, or 
the superior character of their mines, consist of the Montgomery, Hot 
Spring, Blind Spring, and Castle Peak. In the three first named, sev- 
eral small mills and smelting works have been put up — the ores, 
though generally very rich being obdurate, and requiring treatment by 
fusion. Lack of capital, and the many other drawbacks against which 
these mines have had to contend — difficult of access, and often suffering 
from inadequate supplies of wood and water — have prevented any 
extensive developments from being made upon them. T\'ith these 
wants supplied, and these obstacles even partially removed, they could, 
no doubt, be worked with profit — a few claims, operated with very 
incomplete appliances, having been made to yield handsomely, on a 
small scale. That a portion, at least, of the ores here obtained are of 
high grade, is established by the fact that many tons sent to San Pran- 
cisco for a market have sold at rates that left a good profit margin, after 
paying the 'cost of extraction and the great expense of freight. Until 
greater facilities for transportation are afforded, however, the bulk of 
these ores must be reduced on the ground — a disposition that can be 
economically made of them -nherever wood and water are plentiful, and 
when suitable works shall be erected for treating them. 

In the Castle Peak district, situated on an outlying bench of the 
Sierra, a few miles south of Bridgeport, an immense silver-bearing 
lode, called the Dunderberg, was discovered in 1866. Many claims 
were afterwards located on this mother lode, which crops out boldly for 
a distance of several miles. Upon the original location a large amount 
of exploratory labor has been performed, and there is a strong proba- 
bility that it will ultimately develope into a valuable mine. 

Mono contains five quartz mills and reduction works, -the whole 
carrying thirt}-eiglit stamps, and erected at a cost of about S'230,000. 
There are within its limits several groups of hot springs, none of them, 
however, possessed of such striking features as to entitle them to espe- 
cial notice. 

Save, perhaps, some of the higher mountain peaks in its western part, 
already alluded to, this county possesses no topographical or other natu- 
ral feature sufficiently notable to call for extended comment, except 
Mono lake — a body of water fourteen miles long, from east to west, and 
nine miles wide, occupy i'^'j: a basin on the divide that separates the waters 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOEXLri. 283 

of Walker river from those flowing into Owen's lake. Tlie size of this 
lake was formerly much greater than at present, as is indicated by the 
numerous lofty terraces, distinctly seen nearly all round it — they being 
most strongly marked on the west shore, where the highest has an ele- 
Yation of six hundred and eighty feet above its present surface. 

This lake contains a number of islands, one of which is two and a 
haK miles long, and another half a mile- in length. They are all com- 
posed of volcanic matter, the basin of the lake itself being supposed, 
from its great depth and j^eouliar formation, to occupy the crater of 
an ancient volcano. There are now scattered about in the vicinity 
numerous cones and partial craters pointing to a jDeriod when there 
were many volcanoes in action here. In fact, upon the larger of these 
islands, there are now hundreds of fumorolas from which gas, steam, 
and smoke are constantly escaping, showing that these volcanic agen- 
cies have not yet become wholly extinguished. 

The water of the lake, intensely bitter and saline, is of high specific 
gravity, being supersaturated with various mineral substances, of 
which salt, lime, borax and the carbonate of soda form the principal. 
So large a percentage of the latter does it hold in solution that it 
washes better than the strongest soap-suds; in fact, such is its corro- 
sive j)ower, that it is impossible to remain in it for more than a few 
moments, when bathing, without the skin becoming painfully affected. 
No living thing, except the larva of a small fly, inhabits this lake; even 
the wild fowl that frequent it in summer keeping near the inlets where 
the acrid water, diluted by the mountain streams discharging into it at 
these places, is robbed of its more pungent properties. 

So abundant, however, is the product of this insect, which taking 
the shape of a small, white worm, drifts in millions upon the shore, 
that the Indians, who collect and dry it, flnd in it one of their most 
acceptable staples of subsistance. So sluggish are the waters, which 
have an oily appearance, that none but the strongest winds sufiice to 
more than rais(? a ripple on their surface. Void of life, and surrounded 
with desolation, Mono has aptly been termed the ' ' Dead sea " of the 
Great Basin; being, though of less extent, much deeper, and more of a 
waste in its dreary surroundings than the Great Salt Lake of Utah; if 
not, also more bitter and baneful than the sullen waters that roll over 
the lost cities of the Plains. 



28-4 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

INTO COrNTY. 

This countj, organized in 18G6 from portions of Tulare and San 
Bernardino counties, is named after a mining district and a mountain 
range lying within its borders, the term being of Indian origin. Inyo 
is bounded on the north by Mono, on the northeast by the State of 
Nevada, on the southeast by San Bernardino, and on the west by Tulare 
county, its form approximating that of a triangle. Like Mono, it lies 
wholly east of the main ridge of the Sierra, the crest of that range, 
which here reaches its greatest altitude, forming its western border. 
The Inyo mountains, running north and south, traverse the county cen- 
trally; the Panamint, a parallel and still higher range, lying to the east 
of it ; while a portion of the Armagosa group occupies the extreme 
eastern angle of the county. These mountains contain, standing in 
patches or scattered over them, a sparse growth of piiion and juniper 
trees, though they are but poorly supplied with either grass or water, 
and have little or no land fit for tillage except narrow strips of alluvium 
bottoms along a few of the streams at the point where they debouch 
upon the plains. Neither are there any tracts of farming or meadow 
lands in the valleys lying between these ranges, with the exception of 
that of Owen's river, along Avhich there is a strip of rich soil varying in 
Avidth from a few rods to a mile or more ; and which, with irrigation, 
produces grains and vegetables of all kinds in the greatest profusion. 
In several of the valleys there are extensive alkali flats, and sometimes 
beds of salt — saline and hot springs being also occaoionally met with. 
The running water is generally fresh and pure, that of the lakes and 
ponds, as well as many of the springs, being so impregnated Avith salt 
and chloride of soda as to be not only unpalatable, but wholly unlit for 
drinking or culinary purposes. The waters of Owen's lake, twenty-two 
miles long and eight wide, as well as those of the Little lake, a pond 
lying twenty miles further south, are all of this description. 

The amount of land enclosed in 18G7 being mostly in Owen's river 
valley, was estimated at two thousand acres, about one half of which 
was under cultivation, the rest being mown for hay. The principal 
grain raised was barley, though wheat and oats thrive equally well, 
and Indian corn is also successfully cultivated. A grist mill having 
recently been erected in Owen's valley, more wheat will, no doubt, bo 
planted hereafter, as facilities will be at hand for converting it into 
flour. 

Thero are three saw mills in the county, all of limited cost and 
capacity, the demand for lumber heretofore having not been large. No 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOEXL^.. 285 

wagon roads have yet been built except a few of brief length leading 
from Owen's valley into the mines. Throughout the entire length of 
this valley, reaching for more than one hundred and fifty miles, good 
natural roads exist. 

Inyo contains but few towns, or even populous mining camps ; 
Independence, the county seat and largest village in it, counting but 
about one hundred inhabitants, exclusive of a small garrison of soldiers 
stationed at this place. The entire population does not at present 
exceed one thousand, though there is a strong probability that the 
nimiber of inhabitants will soon be materially augmented through the 
very attractive character of the mines within its borders. 

Piunning in from the south, between the Armagosa and Panamint 
mountains, before mentioned, is the desolate region of "Death valley," 
which having a length of forty miles, with a width of eight or ten, runs 
north twenty degrees west from the point where the Armagosa river 
sinks at its southern extremity. According to observations made by a 
party of the United States Boundary Expedition, who entered it in 1861, 
the whole of this plain is sunk four hundred feet below sea level, giv- 
ing it a greater depression than the Caspian sea, and nearly as great as 
that of the Dead sea, the sink of the Jordan, in Palestine. It is prob- 
ably the bed of a former lake, the waters of which were heavily 
charged with salt and soda, a large portion of this basin being covered 
with an incrustation of these minerals several inches thick. The 
remainder of this surface is composed of an ash-like earth, mixed with 
a tenacious clay, sand and alkali, and is so soft that a man cannot 
travel over it in the winter without difficulty, it being impossible for 
animals at any season to cross it. In spots, where there is less moist- 
ure, the surface is so porous that a horse sinks into it half way to the 
knees, rendering travel slow and laborious. Water can be obtained 
almost anywhere by digging down a few feet, but it is so saline and 
bitter that it can be used by neither man nor beast. With the excep- 
tion of a few clumps of worthless shrubs near its borders, this plain is 
destitute of even the slightest traces of vegetation; nor are any signs of 
animal life to be seen upon it except a small black gnat, which, swarm- 
ing in myriads during the summer, greatly annoy the traveler, entering 
his eyes, ears and nose, their attacks being persistent and their sting 
peculiarly irritating. 

The valley is encircled by a barren sage plain, from three to six 
miles wide, which, beginning at the base of the mountains that sur- 
round it on every side but the south, slopes gently down to its margin. 
Coursing across this sterile belt, on which nothing grows but the wild 



28G THE XATUr.-Ui WE.VLTH OF C.yLIFORXL\. 

sage, intermixed with a few tiifts of buncli-grass, are numerous ravines, 
the most of tliem dry, except, perhaps, at long intervals; the streams 
that flow through their upper portions, at the season of the melting 
snows, sinking into the dry and porous earth soon after they reach the 
foot of the mountains. Along these water-courses grow a few willow 
and mesquite trees — the latter, though low and bushy, having a firm 
fiber, makes excellent fuel. 

At a j)oint about thirty miles north of Death valley, the Armagosa 
river, a stream of small volume but great length, takes its rise, and 
flowing southeast for more than a hundred miles, makes a detour 
when far out on the Mohave desert, and bending round to the north- 
west, runs in that direction about forty miles, when, having reached 
the southern end of this arid plain, it finally disappears. A consider- 
able stream flows also into the north end of the valley, but, like the 
Armagosa, as well as all the springs and such streams as do not descend 
immediately from the mountains, the water is so impregnated with salt 
as to be unfit for drinking. 

The heat of this basin, uncomfortable often in winter, is constant 
and terrible throughout the entire summer, the thermometer ranging 
from a hundred and ten to a hundred and forty degrees during the day. 
From the absence of animal life, and the sluggish state of the atmos- 
phere, an ominous stillness reigns perpetually over it, giving, in con- 
junction with the terrific heat and aridity, fearful significance to the 
name popularly applied to it. ' In the summer of 1849 a party of immi- 
grants, making their way overland to California, strayed into this val- 
ley, and having wandered through its entire length, sought to escape 
by scaling the mountain range that shuts it in on the north. Being 
unable, however, to find any fresh water, several of the party, together 
with most of their animals, perished from heat and thirst, they having 
become nearly exhausted before reaching the point where they at 
length gave out. The evidences of their sufierings and final disaster 
are still to be seen at several points along their route. Scattered 
about one of their camping grounds are numerous remains of wagons, 
kettles, and other cooking utensils, indicating a purpose of relieving 
themselves from all useless equipage. Some miles further on, Avhere 
they had become entangled among the sand hills and soft bottoms 
along Salt creek, is what seems to have been the culminating scene 
of tlieir sufi'erings. Here the bones of animals and the fragments of 
wagons, camp furniture, etc., are thickly strewn around ; and here, no 
doubt, covered by the drifting sands, are the solitary and unmarked 
graves of tliose Avho died. 



COUNTIES OF a\LIFORXIA. 287 

Not far "from tliis spot, and somewhere on the eastern slope of the 
Panamint mountains, is the locality of the rich silver deposit supposed 
to have been found by the survivors of this unfortunate party, while 
seeking for a practicable pass through that range, and which has since 
come to be known as the ' ' Gun Sight " mine, from the fact that one of 
the discoverers, according to tradition, fitted a new sight for his rifle 
from the metalic silver obtained from the lode. Unfortunately for the 
credit of this story, as well as for numerous adventurers who have 
since gone in searcli of this famous deposit, it appears to have had 
nothing more substantial to justify it than the existence at that point 
of a micaceous talc, which, persons unacquainted with the appearance 
of silver ores, might, on hasty inspection, mistake for that metal. 

Near the main deflection of the Armagosa, on the Mohave desert, 
a rich vein of auriferous quartz does exist ; but there being no wood or 
fresh water, and scarcely any vegetation within a distance of fifty miles, 
and the whole country adjacent being covered with sand, glistening 
masses of basalt, and black volcanic buttes, it has been found impos- 
sible to work this mine with profit, though several attempts have been 
made to do so. 

There is, however, in the western part of this county, situated in 
both the Sierra Nevada and the Inyo mountains, a gi-eat extent of val- 
uable mines ; certain sections of the Panamint chain also giving satis- 
factory evidence of mineral wealth. In the Kearsarge district, located 
high up against the eastern slope of .the Sierra, a very powerful silver 
bearing lode was discovered in 1866, for which subsequent develop- 
ments indicate both permanence and richness ; considerable quantities 
of ore taken from the Kearsarge company's claim having yielded, by 
mill process, from three hundred to six hundred dollars per ton. The 
remoteness of the locality, however, and the stubborn nature of the 
ores, have thus far restricted milling operations to narrow limits. But 
the mine itself having in the meantime been fully proven, ultimate suc- 
cess only awaits more ample and efiicient means of reduction. Three 
mills, one of twenty, and two of five stamps each, have been erected 
in this district ; the larger driven by steam, and the two smaller by 
water, of which there is sufficient in the vicinity of the mines for pro- 
pelling a large amount of machinery. There is also plenty of timber 
in the district to insure cheap supplies of fuel and lumber for an indef- 
inite period. These mines being favorably situated for deep drainage 
and ore extraction, can be worked at comparatively small cost for many 
years to come. 

In the Cerro Gordo, often called the Lone Pine district, lying 



288 THE NATURAL WE.ULTH OF C.\XIFOnNLV. 

along the ■u'estern base of tlie Injo mountains, there are a vast num- 
ber of gold and silver bearing lodes, not generally of large size, and 
sometimes much broken up on the surface, but nearly all of great rich- 
ness. The metals are chiefly a combination of silver, lead, copper, 
and antimony, a union rendering reduction by smelting necessary. 
The district has a length of about fifty miles with an average width of 
six miles, there being within its limits about five hundred miners, the 
most of them Mexicans. On the foot-hills and mountains adjacent to 
the mines are scattered groves of piuon and juniper, but many parts 
of the district are badly ofi" for water, supplies being scanty in the dry 
season and obtainable only by digging. A large number of rude and 
cheaply constructed furnaces have been built for smelting the ores, 
which by this treatment yield, with a little selection, from one hun- 
dred to three hundred dollars to the ton. There are also a number of 
arastras in the district, some of the ores containing free gold and yield- 
ing liberally iinder this mode of working. With the aid of even a 
moderate amount of capital, very little of which has ever yet been 
invested in these mines, their product of bullion, it is believed by 
those most conversant with their character, could be multij^lied many 
fold, rendering their more extended working largely and almost cer- 
tainly remunerative. 

Between the years 1861 and 1865, a number of mining districts 
were organized in different parts of this county, in some of which a 
good deal of prospecting work was done and several mills were put 
up. Owing, however, to the rebellious disposition of the ores, the 
occurence of Indian hostilities and other obstacles, incident to the 
then condition of this region or inherent in the mines themselves, no 
satisfactory results waited upon any of these enterprises. Under the 
more favorable circumstances now existing, some of these eftbrts are 
about to be resumed — a marked degree of success being confidently 
anticipated. 

There are now fourteen quartz mills in this county, several of them 
costly and of considerable capacity, and all driven by steam except 
four. They carry a total number of one hundred and thirty stamps, 
and cost in the aggregate about $350, 000. There is but a single water 
ditch in the county of any magnitude, the San Carlos canal taking 
water from Owen's river, and conducting it along its banks for milling 
and irrigating purposes. It extends a distance of fifteen miles, and 
cost about thirty thousand dollars. 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 289 

VALLEY COUNTIES. 
TEHAJVIA COUNTY. 

Teliama county, erected in 1856, has the following boundaries, viz. : 
Shasta on the north, Plumas and Butte on the east, Butte and Colusa 
on the south, and Mendocino and Trinity on the west. Its length, 
east and west, is about seventy-eight miles, and its average breadth 
thirty-eight miles, giving it a superficial area of nearly three thousand 
square miles. The county is bordered on the west by the Coast Range 
of mountains — its eastern portion being covered by numerous outlying 
spurs of the Sierra Nevada. The latter are well timbered with forests 
of spruce and pine, suitable for making lumber. The Coast Eange 
contains only an inferior species of oak and pine, while there is but 
little timber of any kind elsewhere in the county — the cottonwood and 
sycamore formerly growing along the Sacramento and other streams, 
being now nearly all cut away. 

Tehama is almost exclusively a farming and stock raising county — 
there being a large body of rich alluvial soil in the valley of the Sacra- 
mento river, running centrally across it, and along the several large creeks 
that flow from the mountains on either hand. Here is a broad scope 
of the best grain growing land in the State, while the hills are every- 
where covered with wild oats and bunch grass, affording rich and 
ample pasturage for the herds of sheep, horses and cattle that con- 
stantly feed upon them. The numerous streams afford abundant 
means for irrigation — an aid not often needed for maturing the cereal 
crops, though employed to some extent in the gardens, orchards and 
vineyards. 

In 1865, there were, according to the Assessor's report, 70,715 acres 
of land enclosed in this county, of which about 16, 000 were under cul- 
tivation ; 7,832 acres, sovm to wheat, yielded 147,478 bushels; 8,068 
acres, sown to barley, yielded 153,965 bushels; and 25 acres, planted 
to oats, produced 1,080 bushels. In the year 1866, 13,424 acres of 
wheat gave a product of 270,035 bushels — a less quantity of this grain 
having been raised the following season, though a greater area of land 
was sown ; the crops having suffered, as was the case in many other 
localities in the State, from an excess of rain at one period, and an 
insufficiency at another. Several thousand bushels of Indian corn are 
raised here every season ; a considerable amount of broom corn being 
also grown. The climate of this region is well suited to viniculture — 
there being now more than a half million grape vines in the county, 
19 



290 THE NATURAL AVEALTH OE CM^IFOnXIA. 

and several thousand gallons of wine lia\dng been made annually for a 
number of years past. 

Latterly, mucli attention has been given to sheep raising in Teha- 
ma, and as the soil and climate are well suited to this business, wool 
will, most likely, in the course of a few years, form one of its most 
important staples. 

Tehama contains four grist mills, capable of grinding four hundred 
barrels of flour daily. They carry twelve run of stone, and cost, in the 
aggregate, about $90,000. 

As there is little or no placer mining carried on in this county, no 
water ditches, other than those required for irrigation, have been con- 
structed, while an almost exclusive devotion to agricultural pursuits has 
prevented the inhabitants engaging in the business of manufacturing — 
about the only thing done in this line being the making of flour and 
lumber. There are two saw mills in the county, both driven by water, 
and of but moderate capacity. The assessable value of the property 
in Tehama county Avas placed at $950,589 in 1865, and at $1,557,925 in 
18G7 — showing a gratifying advance during this period. 

Owing to the generally favorable character of the country, but few 
costly wagon roads have been required in this county, and, conse- 
quently, but little money has been expended on these improvements ; 
the citizens, however, have contributed liberallv towards buildinf]^ roads 
leading over the Sierra — the county having issued its bonds in the sum 
of 140, 000 to aid the construction of the Eed Bluff and Honey Lake 
turnpike, opening the shortest wagon route from the navigable waters 
of the Sacramento to northwestern Nevada and southern Idaho. 

The population of Tehama numbers about seven thousand, of whom 
a large proportion are women and children. Eed Blufi", the county 
seat, occupies a handsome site on the right bank of the Sacramento 
river, and contains two thousand five hundred inhabitants. It is a 
prosperous and growing town, and, being at the head of steamboat 
navigation on that river, enjoys a thrifty trade, not only Avith the differ- 
ent parts of the county, but also Avitli points east of the Sierra — the 
amount of freight shipped from this place for the Humboldt and Owy- 
hee mines being large, and increasing every year. 

Tehama, twelve' miles south of the county seat, on the same side of 
the river, has a population of about five hundred. Being near the point 
of confluence of several largo creeks with the Sacramento, along each of 
which there is much fine land, it is the center of and supply point for 
an extensive farming district, extending in every direction around it. 

Cottonwood, Moon's ranch, and Grove City are rural hamlets, con- 



COUXTIES OF C-YLIFORNIA. 291 

taining from fifty to one himdred inhabitants eacli— tberu having been 
at one time several small mining camps in the county, the most of which 
are now abandoned. 

In 1864, at which time there was much attention being jiaid to tlio 
discovery of copper, a great many lodes carrying the ores of this metal, 
often mixed with gold and silver, were located and partially prospected 
in the eastern part of the county. A town named Copper City sprang 
up at these mines, and a population of several hundred were for a time 
gathered there. A four-stamp mill was subsequently put up, the only 
one ever erected in the county, and ran for a period Avith fair success ; 
the quartz, though somewhat difficult of reduction, having been found 
to yield from twenty to thirty dollars to the ton. Of late, but little has 
been done in the district — the population having mostly left— though it 
is believed the lodes are really valuable, and that they will yet be 
worked with profit — the facilities for extracting and reducing their con- 
tents being good. 

In the northeastern part of the county are numerous volcanic cones, 
some of them regularly shaped and very steep; and rising several hun- 
dred feet above the country adjacent, they of ten become striking objects 
in the surrounding landscape. 

All the streams heading in the Sierra run in deep canons whicli 
open upon the Sacramento valley in gate-like chasms, the lava forma- 
tion through which they flow terminating here with an abrupt edge. 
Below this is a barren, treeless belt, covered with volcanic fragments, 
which, gradually sloping to the west, merges in the fertile bottom lands 
along the river. The latter, in places, more especially along the water 
courses, still contain much timber, a great deal of that formerly found 
on these plains having been cut for fuel and fencing. 

The Tuscan, formerly known as the Lick springs, lying to the north- 
east of Eed Bluff, having quite a reputation for their medicinal virtues 
in certain cases, are much resorted to by invalids from the surrounding 
country — a bathing establishment and boarding house liaving been 
erected for their accommodation. The water has a temperature of about 
seventy-six degrees, and contains salt, soda, lime and borax, in various 
proportions. 

BUTTE COUNTY. 

Butte county, so named from the Sutter Buttcs, a group of prom- 
inent peaks lying a few miles south of its border, or perhaps from 
a low serrated mountain range within its limits, is bounded on the 
northwest by Tehama, on the northeast by Plumas, on the southeast 



292 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOKNTA. 

by Yuba, on tlie soutli by Sutter, and on the west by Colusa county; 
its extreme length north and south being a little over sixty, and its 
average breadth about thirty-five miles. It is the only county in the 
State possessing an almost equal importance in an agricultural and 
mineral point of view. Skirted by the Sacramento river on the west, 
it embraces a large portion of the rich bottom lands along that stream ; 
while, running through it from north to south, is the extensive and 
fertile valley of Feather river, with those of its several branches, giv- 
ing it a large area of the finest farming lands in the State. Along the 
main Feather river, as well as on its South, its West and Middle Forks, 
and throughout the country lying between them, there is a broad 
scope of mineral land, forming the theatre of very active and remunera- 
tive mining operations. 

The county is well watered — the western part by Piock, Chico, 
Butte, Mesilla and other smaller creeks, and the eastern by Feather 
river, its three main forks and their numerous tributaries; along all of 
which there is more or less rich interval land. The greater part of the 
county is level; only the eastern and northern sections rising into the 
foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, while the northwestern is crossed by a 
number of low ridges, separating the several creeks that run through 
that region. The county along its northern and eastern border is 
well timbered ; the interior and western part thereof being without 
forest suitable for lumber — much of it without a sufiiciency of wood 
even for fuel. There are ten saw mills in Butte, each of which cuts 
barely enough lumber to meet the requirements of its own neighbor- 
hood, none being exported. 

The citizens of this county, besides building many wagon roads for 
local conveniences, have aided in constructing others running into the 
more important mining districts, and one leading from Chico, on the 
Sacramento river, across the Sierra — a route by which much freight, 
destined for northern Nevada and the O^^Thee mines, has gone forward 
during the past few years. Through the aid of a railroad extending 
from Oroville, near the center of the principal agricultural districts, to 
Marysville, the head of navigation on Feather river, and by means of 
the Sacramento river, also navigable, the farmers of Butte enjoy good 
facilities for shipping their produce to San Francisco, the controlling 
market. 

The population of this county is estimated at about twelve thousand. 
The real and personal property therein, exclusive of mines, was assessed 
in 18GG at !?."), 128,358, giving an average of $427 to each inhabitant; 
and which, if the value of the mines were included, would make this, 



COUXTIES OF CALCOENIA. 2'J3 

next to San Francisco and Nevada, the richest community in the State. 
In regard to the value of its real and personal property Butte rants 
seventh in the list of California counties. 

The quantity of land enclosed in 1865 amounted, according to 
assessor's estimates, to 293,222 acres, of which 74,775 were under culti- 
vation. Of this, 19,975 acres produced 511,170 bushels of wheat, and 
53,817 acres produced 698,227 bushels of barley. In the year 1866, 
21,919 acres planted to wheat gave a yield of 231,041 bushels. The 
total product of this cereal in 1867, when a much greater breadth of 
land was planted than ever before, was estimated on good authority to 
have reached 800,000 bushels, very little other grain having been raised 

that year. 

In 1867, General John Bidwell, the largest farmer in the county, 
had 2.000 acres sown to wheat, which gave a yield of 33,751 bushels — 
a much lower rate of increase than is usual in this county, the season 
having in some respects been unpropitious. The ordinary yield here 
averages about thirty bushels of wheat and forty-five of barley to the 
acre. General Bidwell has about 3,000 bearing fruit trees on his farm, 
from which he sent during the year last mentioned one hundred tons of 
green and fifteen tons of dried fruit to market. The value of the farm- 
ing products shipped from Butte for a number of years past has 
amounted to $2, 000, 000 annually, it having some years exceeded these 
figures. 

There are four grist mills in this county, the whole carrying ten run 
of stone, and capable of making about six hundred barrels of flour 
daily. They are kept almost constantly employed in grinding the home 
crop, large quantities of flour being sent into the neighboring mining 
districts and to points east of the Sierra. The Chico mill alone made 
during the year 1867 over five thousand barrels of flour, one or two of 
the others having ground nearly as much. 

"While grain raising has chiefly engi-ossed the attention of the agri- 
culturalists of Butte, fruit growing and viniculture have not been 
wholly neglected; much wine being made and large quantities of fruit 
dried every season. For several years past enough raisins, of excellent 
quality, have also been made to supply the domestic trade. 

The number of horses and mules kept for farm work and draft, and 
also of ■'gttle, swine and sheep in this county, is large; wool being one 
of its staple exports. Difficulties in regard to land titles growing out 
of Mexican grants did much to retard the progress of farming here for 
many years, these troubles being now hajDpily settled. 

Among the products of this county, being novel in California, are 



294 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNLi. 

peanuts, of which thres thousand two hundred bushels were grown in 
the year 1867. They are cultivated by the Chinese, and are remark- 
able for their great size and excellent flavor. 

In the year 1867 twenty thousand gallons of turpentine and two 
thousand five hundred cases of rosin were manufactured in Butte, 
from the sap or raw turpentine gathered by tapping the extensive pine 
forests that cover the eastern part of the county. The production of 
these articles could easily be increased many fold were they in larger 
consumption on this coast. 

The principal towns in Butte are Oroville, the county seat,- containing 
about fifteen hundred inhabitants ; Chico, on the Chico Creek, with a 
population of fourteen hundred, and the center of a flourishing farming 
community, and which besides enjoying a large local trade, has a con- 
siderable commerce with the mining districts of Humboldt and Idaho; 
and Cherokee, an active mining town, ten miles north of the county 
seat, with about six hundred inhabitants in and around it. Bidwell's 
Bar, Brush Creek, Butte Valley, Forbestown, Inskip, Thomj)son's Flat, 
Hamilton, Wyandotte and Dayton are all mining camps, or agricultural 
hamlets, containing from one to four hundred inhabitants each. 

As stated, a large proportion of this county consists of what may be 
termed mineral lands; every description of gold mines and mining 
being found and carried on within its limits, a broad expanse of placers 
having been wrought here at an early day. Here are innumerable lodes 
of gold bearing quartz; long stretches of mesas, or table mountains, cov- 
ering the channels of ancient rivers ; deep banks of auriferous detritus 
overlying the slates, and a great many shallow diggings, some of Avhich, 
though very prolific, have been but little worked, the great drawback 
to placer mining in many parts of this county having been a lack of 
water; but few ditches of any magnitude having yet been built for 
introducing this element into the mines. These works are fifteen in 
number, varying in length from two to fourteen miles. Their entire 
length is sixty-eight miles; total cost, 875,000. With more copious sup- 
plies of water very extensive and profitable placer mining might hero 
be prosecuted for many years. In many rich localities, however, an 
obstacle to successful operations exists in the extreme level character 
of the surface, there being too little fall to give the water suflficient 
motion for effectual washing, or to carry away the tailings. Owing to 
this difficulty a wide area of shallow placers near Brownsville can only 
be worked in a small way in the wet season, Avhen good wages can bo 
made operating with the rocker. The gold obtained in this vicinity is 
remarkable for its purity, ranging from 98-4 to 987 in fineness, and 



COUXTEES OF CALEFOENIA. 295 

being, consequently, wortli from S20.34 to $20,40 per ounce. This is 
said to be in point of purity the finest gold found in the State, and, 
with the exception of the dust coming from Africa, and from one or two 
small localities in Australia, the finest procured in the world. 

Considerable river bed mining is carried on every summer in the 
channels of the main Feather river, and its several forks, where these 
oi)erations have been attended with better average results than at any 
other point in the State. About Oroville, where, for a long time, river- 
bar and bank mining was conducted on a large scale ; at Cherokee 
Flat, Little Butte creek, Forbestown, and several minor localities, every 
branch of placer operations is engaged in, and generally with fair suc- 
cess, though not on a scale of such magnitude as in most of the min- 
ing counties lying further south and east. 

Quartz mining during its earlier stages was attended with but in- 
different results in this county. For several years past, however, this 
interest has been not only expanding, but making steady gains, until 
it has at length reached a stage rendering ultimate success no longer 
problematic. Cherokee, Wyandotte, Dogtown, Brown's Valley, Oregon 
City, Virginia, Yankee Hill, and Forbestown, are the points where 
quartz is being most extensively worked, and where the most of the 
mills are located. There are nine of these establishments in the 
county, carrying a total of one hundred and twenty-five stamps ; a 
forty stamp mill having recently been erected and set in operation at 
Forbestown. 

Several years ago a stratum of coal, of the cannel variety, was dis- 
covered near Feather river. The tests made of it at the time were 
said to have been satisfactory, but the deposit has not since been suf- 
ficiently developed to determine either its probable extent or value as 
a fuel. A bed of marble has also been found on the same stream. 
The material, of which there is an abundance, being of close texture 
and variegated colors, will no doubt prove of future value. 

COLUSA COUNTY. 

The name of this county is of Indian origin. It is one of the few 
regularly shaped counties in California, being nearly square, and has 
the following boundaries, viz : Tehama on the north, Butte and Sutter 
on the east, Yolo on the south, and Lake and Mendocino on the west. 
It has a length of fifty-seven miles north and south by a breadth of forty- 
five miles — the western part constituting about one third of the county, 
being covered by the Coast Range, is hilly or mountainous. The bal- 
ance, consisting of rich alluvial, or less fertile prairie land, is nearly all 



296 THE NATUEAL WE.YLTH OF C.ALEFORXLi. 

level and well adapted to the growing of fruits and grain, this being 
almost exclusively an agricultural and stock raising county. The hills 
and mountains are covered with wild oats and a variety of grasses, 
affording rich and abundant pasturage. While the quantity of grain 
raised is considerable, a great deal of stock is also kept, much of it 
being bred for market, there now being over twenty-five thousand head 
of cattle in this county. Owing to the dryness and heat of the climate, 
dairying is not extensively carried on. Sheep and swine raising, how- 
ever, form large and profitable branches of business. The wool clip of 
Colusa, for 1867, exceeded three hundred and fifty thousand pounds, 
the number of sheep being estimated at one hundred and trventy-five 
thousand. 

Stretching for many miles along the Sycamore slough, and other 
streams running into the Sacramento river, are strips of tule land, 
amounting in the aggregate to about thirty thousand acres, the most of 
which could easily be reclaimed and converted into superior pasture, 
grain and meadow lands. The area of land enclosed in 1866 was esti- 
mated at about one hundred and thirty thousand acres, of which more 
than one third was under cultivation. The amount of wheat raised that 
year reached about tM^o hundred and fiity thousand bushels, the crop of 
the succeeding year having been much larger. Considerable quantities 
of barley, oats and corn are also planted every season. A great quantity 
of additional land was taken up and sown to grain, mostly wheat, in 
1867-8, which, should the season prove favorable, must largely increase 
the crop of the latter year. The number of acres of land under culti- 
vation, in 1867, reached fifty-one thousand five hundred; of which, 
twenty-four thousand two hundred were sown to wheat, producing 
about four hundred and fifty thousand bushels, and twenty thousand 
one hundred and forty acres were sown to barley, producing four hun- 
dred thousand bushels. 

The real and personal property of Colusa was assessed in 1866 at 
$2,080,830, a large proportion of it being on account of stock, all kinds 
of which thrive here with little care, the climate being mild and feed 
abundant. On the night of the 11th of January, 1868, snow fell at the 
town of Colusa to the depth of six inclies, the heaviest fall that had 
occurred, with one exception, within the memory of the oldest settlers 
in the county. Only at long intervals does any snow ever fall in the 
valleys, its duration here being limited to a few hours. On the higher 
peaks of the Coast Kange, which borders the county on the west, a little 
snow falls every winter; but it never reaches any gi'eat depth, nor does 
it lie for more than a few weeks at a time. Swine, of which there are 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORISnA. 297 

large numbers raised in the county, grow and fatten on the tule roots, 
which, furnishing a cheap and nutritious food, enables the farmer to 
raise these animals with little expense and trouble. Often a thousand 
head of hogs, or more, are shipped from this county in a single week. 

There are but few towns, and none of any magnitude, in this county 
— Colusa, the county seat, containing four or five hundred inhabitants, 
being the largest place in it. Princeton, eighteen miles, and Jacinto, 
forty miles north of Colusa, are small agricultural towns, and being, 
like the county seat, located on the Sacramento river, are points whence 
large quantities of produce are shipped every year. This county con- 
tains about four thousand five hundred inhabitants, there having been 
a marked increase in the population as well as in the value of property 
during the past two years. 

There being no gold or silver mines in Colusa, it contains neither 
quartz mills nor extensive canals — the only water ditches being a few 
of small dimensions designed for irrigation. There are two steam flour- 
ing mills, carrying five run of stone, and two saw mills, the latter of 
small capacity, there being but little lumber made in the county. In 
fact, it contains no timber, with the exception of a limited amount in 
the Coast Eange, suitable for this purpose. Many of the water courses 
were originally skirted by narrow belts of trees, consisting chiefly of 
sycamore and cottonwood; but these having been mostly cut away the 
settled parts of the county are but scantily supplied with fuel and fenc- 
ing timber. 

Deposits of sulphur, copper and cinnabar exist in the foot-hills of the 
Coast Eange; but as the latter two have been but little worked, nothing 
positive can be affirmed in regard to their extent or value. The sul- 
phur bed, in the same vicinity, about thirty miles westerly from Colusa, 
consists of large masses of native mineral, some of it quite pure, other 
portions being largely mixed with earthy matter. For the purpose of 
relieving it of these impurities, refining works have been erected on 
the spot, and considerable quantities of a good merchantable article 
produced. The limited demand, however, existing on this coast has 
caused a suspension of operations at this refinery ; thovigh such is the 
abundance of the raw material here, and the facility with which it can 
be gathered and refined, that with a home market even at moderate 
prices, these works could be profitably operated. 

During the years 1864^65 a number of wells were bored in this 
section of the county in search of petroleum ; none of them, however, 
met with any success, though several were sunk to a depth of two or 
three hundred feet. The incentive to these borings consisted in a 



298 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALEFORXIA. 

number of petroleum springs located in the vicinity, the natural flow 
from some of which is copious and constant. 

SUTTER COUNTY. 

This county is named in honor of General John A. Sutter, one of 
the earliest American settlers in California, and once one of the largest 
landholders of the State. This gentleman still continues to reside on 
Hock Farm, a small, but beautiful and highly cultivated tract of land 
on the west bank of Feather river, all that now remains to him of his 
once vast possessions. 

This county is bounded by Butte on the north, by Yuba and Placer 
on the east, by Sacramento and Yolo on the south, and by Yolo and 
Colusa counties on the west. Though of small dimensions, being 
scarcely forty miles long, north and south, and but fifteen wide, it is 
among the most fertile, thoroughly cultivated, and, for its size, largely 
productive counties in the State. While grain planting forms the princi- 
pal pursuit of the inhabitants, fruit growing, dairying, stock, sheep 
and swine raising, each comes in for a large share of attention, and is 
made to contribute materially towards swelling the wealth and adding 
to the annual exports of the county. 

Sutter, forming a delta between the Sacramento and Feather rivers, 
is composed chiefly of the rich bottom lands lying adjacent to those 
streams; almost the only inequality of the surface, except a few low 
rolling prairies, that occurs within its limits, consisting of the Sutter 
Buttes, an isolated group of peaks, three in number, and joined at 
the base, standing in the northwestern part of the county. They form 
a conspicuous object in the landscaj^e, the level character of the sur- 
rounding country rendering them visible for a long distance in every 
direction. Save the Sacramento and Feather rivers, there are no streams 
of any size in the county. 

As Sutter grows no timber suitable for making good lumber, there 
is not a saw mill in it. A narrow strip of sycamore and cottonwood, 
along the two rivers mentioned, with a few scattered oaks elsewhere, 
constitutes about the only native growth of trees found within its limits. 
Neither have any mines or mineral deposits ever been foimd here; 
consequently Sutter is without quartz mills, canals or other hydraulic 
works. 

The present population of the county is estimated at about six 
thousand, being, as in all purely agricultural communities, largely 
]nade up of families. There are but few to-\vna, and none of large size; 
Y'uba City, the county scat, containing not more than four or five hun- 



COUNTIES OP CALIFOr.XIA. 299 

dred inliabitants, wliile Nicolaus, seventeen miles to the soutlieast, and 
tlae next in size, lias not over three or four hundred. Vernon, Meridian, 
Home, and West Butte, are hamlets, having from fifty to two hundred 
inhabitants each. 

The real and personal property of this county in 1867 -was assessed 
at $1,732,266. The amount of land under cultivation that year was 
estimated at sixty-five thousand acres; the quantity of wheat raised 
in 1866 approximating two hundred and seventy thousand bushels, 
being somewhat less than was raised the following year. A great deal 
of barley is also raised, with a small quantity of oats, Indian corn 
and other grain. Fruits and vineyards have been extensively cultivated, 
many trees and vines having been planted, and several thousand gallons 
of wine made every year. Oranges, olives, figs, pomegranates and 
almonds grow here with vigor and ripen in the open air. Over one 
hundred thousand pounds of butter is made annually; the swamp and 
tule lands, of which there is a broad belt running north and south 
through the county, affording green and succulent pasturage for the 
cows during the summer and greatly increasing their yield of milk. 

The culture of the castor bean has received a good deal of attention 
in Sutter for several years past; over sixty acres having been planted 
in 1866, and a much larger number the ensuing year, the yield of which 
was exceedingly prolific. 

YUBA COUNTY. 

Yuba is another of those interior covinties, the industry of which, 
from their position along the line of contact of the alluvial valleys and 
the great mineral range of the State, has been largely diversified by a 
mixture of agricultural, pastoral, and mining pursuits. Lying partly in 
the rich and extensive valleys of Dry creek, Yuba, Bear, and Feather 
rivers, and partly on the foot-hills and lower slopes of the Sierra, cut 
by these streams and their affluents, it is composed almost entirely of 
choice farming, grazing and mining lands; more than one fourth of its 
area consisting of the latter. Besides its grain growing capacities, the 
abundance of the wild oats and native grasses, found both upon the 
hills and in the valleys, renders this a large sheep and stock growing 
county. Yuba is geographically surrounded as follows, viz : on the 
northwest by Butte; on the east by Sierra and Nevada; on the south 
by Nevada, Placer and Sutter, and on the west by Sutter county. Its 
extreme length, measured northeast and southwest, is fifty-seven, and 
its average width about eighteen miles. There are no lofty peaks within 
its limits; nor is any portion of the county, except the northeastern 



300 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALITORNIA. 

corner, extremely rugged or broken, though tlie river canons gradually 
deepen, and the foot-hills swell to greater heights as they extend north 
and east into the Sierra. 

The county is watered by the Feather river, separating it from Sut- 
ter on the west; by the Main Yuba and its Middle Fork; by Bear river, 
dividing it from Placer and Sutter counties on the south; by Honecut 
creek, its northwestern boundary, and by Dry creek, running centrally 
through it from northeast to southwest. Originally the banks of these 
streams were timbered along their lower portions, after the manner 
common in this region — a few oaks being scattered over the valley 
lands and lower foot-hills. But the most of this growth has now been 
removed, though there is still an abundance of fine timber along the 
eastern border and in the northern part of the county, where large 
quantities of lumber are made every year — Yuba containing seventeen 
saw mills, nearly all of which are kept steadily employed cutting lumber 
for domestic consumption. These mills have each capacity to make 
from four to twenty thousand feet of sawed stuflf daily, and cost in the 
aggregate one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. 

Located at Marysville, the principal town in the county, are a num- 
ber of industrial establishments, the most important of which is a 
woolen mill, erected in 1867, and started in the month of September of 
that year. It is driven by steam, and has seven looms, with all the 
appurtenances requisite to the manufacture of blankets and flannels, 
the only goods thus far made. The fabrics turned out here, though 
not yet largely introduced in the general market, are a2)provingly 
spoken of by the trade. Marysville also contains a foundry and machine 
shop, a sash and door factory, soap works, and several other manu- 
facturing establishments of less moment. The town is also provided 
with gas and water works of much greater capacity than its i:>resent 
population requires. A few years since there were many thousand pine 
trees tapped in this county, it having for a time shared Avith Butte 
the business of gathering and manufacturing the sap of this tree into 
rosin and turpentine. Latterly, but little has been done here, though 
the business would no doubt be resumed should these commodities 
undergo any appreciable advance in price. 

The population of Yuba numbers twelve thousand, of whom about 
five thousand are residents of Marysville, the county seat and principal 
town in it. This place occiipies a pleasant site on the -west bank of 
Feather river, at the head of steamboat navigation on that stream. It 
is regularly laid out and well built up — the more central parts being 
composed of spacious fire-proof stores, hotels and other business 



COUNTIES OF C.\LrFOENIA. 301 

structures, and the suburbs abounding in tasty mansions and neat cot- 
tages — the most of them occupying ample grounds planted with vines, 
fruit trees and vegetables, and embellished with ornamental shrubbery 
and flowers. Its position at the head of navigation secures to it a 
large trade with the country around, as well as with the mining towns 
and camps in the interior, and renders it the shipping point for almost 
the entire products of the county. 

Camptonville, forty-one miles northeast of the county seat, is, next 
to the latter, the largest town in Yuba, it having a population of about 
six hundred. After this, taking them in the order of population, comes 
Smartsville, Brown's Yalley and Timbuctoo, each having a population 
of two or three hundred in and immediately about it — there being many 
other villages in the mining districts, each of which forms the nucleus 
of a small and generally prosperous community, and the center of an 
active local trade. As in most of the mining counties, there are here 
many towns and camps which now number less than a tithe of the 
population they contained ten or fifteen years ago, when the placers 
about them were still rich and virgin. 

The assessed value of the real and personal property in Yuba was 

fixed at four million one hundred and forty-one thousand dollars for 

he year 1866. The enclosed land amounts to about one hundred and 

ihirty-five thousand acres, of which more than one fourth is under 

mltivation. Both here and in the adjacent counties, large tracts of land 

n the foot-hills are surrounded by fences of a cheap and temporary 

dnd, merely for restraining stock. The principal grain raised is wheat, 

"jf which about seventy-five thousand bushels were grown in 1867. 

Large quantities of barley, oats, buckwheat and Indian corn are also 

sown every year — the yield of these cereals often being large. Fifteen 

acres planted to the castor bean in 1866 yielded two thousand three 

hundred bushels, the plant of 1867 having been much larger. Many 

"cattle, horses, sheep and hogs are raised here, wool forming one of the 

leading exports of the county, and large quantities of ham and bacon 

being cured for market. 

The culture of fruits and vines receives great attention in this 
county — the orchard of G. G. Briggs, near Marysville, being one of 
the most valuable in the State, both as regards extent, yield and excel- 
lence of fruits. Even in the foot-hills there are many large and prolific 
orchards and vineyards, some of them containing from three to five 
thousand apple trees, and over thirty thousand vines. Lemons, 
oranges, olives, almonds, etc., grow well in all the lower parts of the 



302 THE NATURAL WE^Ui^TH OF CALIFOrvNIA. 

county, where, also, cotton and tobacco, of fair quality, can be raised 
witli irrigation and a little extra care. 

The real and personal property in Tuba was assessed for the year 
1867 at $3,039,025, independent of the value of mines. The great 
advantages enjoyed for receiving imported goods in this county by 
means of the Sacramento river, and the railroad extending north from 
Marysville, and of shipping away its surplus products through the 
same channels, have added largely to the population and wealth of 
Yuba. The prospect of an early completion of the partially built and 
long delayed railroad between Marysville and Lincoln, whence there is 
already a road in operation to Folsom, promises a material increase of 
these advantages, inasmuch as this would secure to Tuba uninter- 
rupted railroad communication with Sacramento and ultimately with 
San Francisco. 

For a number of years the placer mines along the Tuba and else- 
where in this county proved extremely rich, some of this class of claims 
still worked here being among the most largely productive and remu- 
nerative in the State. Scarcely anything in the history of California 
mining has surpassed the success attending the working of the Blue 
Gravel claim, at Smartsville, in this county, during the forty-three 
months prior to December, 1867 — the total amount taken out in this time 
having been $873,409, of which $564,500 were net profits. At Tim- 
buctoo, an early mining camp two miles from this place, many millions 
of dollars have been washed out, the auriferous gravel, though worked 
as low as practicable with the present tunnels, not yet being exhausted. 

The washing here, as well as in many other localities in the county, 
is performed by hydraulic pressure, sluicing, and the several other 
modes in use being also practiced. The most important quartz mining 
district in Tuba is that of Brown's Valley, where there are a large 
number of veins, some of which have been opened to considerable 
depths and found to be of good size, well walled, rich, and compact; 
the ore paying, by ordinary mill process, from twenty to thirty dollars 
per ton, the gold being mostly free and easily saved. A number of 
mills have been put up in this district, the net earnings of which have 
in all cases been fair, and in some quite large. There are twelve quartz 
mills in the county, the whole carrying ninety-six stamps, and costing 
in the aggregate $240,000. Some of these mills are large and very 
perfect in their appointments, having cost over $50,000. 

Twenty-six canals and water ditches have been built, lying wholly 
or mostly in Tuba ; only one of these, however, the Excelsior Canal, 
taking water from Deer Creek and conducting it to the diggings about 



COUNTIES OF CALIPOKNIA. 303 

Smartsville, Timbuctoo, Ptose's Bar, and other points further west, is 
of any great magnitude. This work has an entire length of one hun- 
dred and fifty miles, and cost over half a million dollars. The aggre- 
gate cost of the other ditches has been about $150, 000. 

YOLO COUNTY. 

This is exclusively an agricultural county, farming, dairying, stock- 
raising, and fruit growing, in their several departments, constituting 
the sole occupation of the inhabitants. Yolo has a long, irregular 
shape, its longitudinal axis reaching a distance of sixty miles north- 
west and southeast, and its width averaging about twelve miles. It is 
surrounded by the following counties, viz : Colusa, north ; Sutter 
and Sacramento, east ; Solano and Napa, south — Solano, Napa, and 
Lake lying to the west. The eastern half of the county is almost a 
dead level. Succeeding this flat portion on the west is a belt of slightly 
undulating prairie, which gradually rises into the lower slopes of the 
Coast Kange of mountains, that cover the western parts of the county. 
The level district consists mostly of a rich alluvial soil ; a strij) border- 
ing the Sacramento river and Sycamore Slough, varying in width from 
two to five miles, being tule land. The bottoms along Putah and Cache 
Creeks, the latter running centrally through the country, and the former 
skirting its southern border, are among the most fertile in the State. 
Cottonwood, sj'camore and willow grow along the water courses, and 
oak sparsely, with a little pine on the foothills of the Coast Pange. As 
the amount of timber fit for making lumber is limited, there are but 
two saw-mills in Yolo; one of which, situated at Washington, on the 
Sacramento river, obtains its timber supply from points outside the 
county. 

Yolo being, so far as discoveries extend, destitute of metaliferous 
or mineral deposits, and having, therefore, no occasion for canals, 
quartz mills, or reduction works, none have been built within its limits. 
Neither has much money been laid out in the construction of roads, 
or in the erection of machinery for manufacturing purposes ; the level 
and open character of the country requiring but few improvements of 
the former kind, while the liberal rewards that have generally attended 
agricultural pursuits have tended to discourage the introduction of 
new industries. 

The population of Yolo numbers about ten thousand, the most of 
whom reside upon farms, and are very generally distributed over the 
county. Woodland, the county seat, located on the south side of Cache 
creek, eight miles west of the Sacramento river, contains about one 



304 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOE^^A. 

thousand two hundred inhabitants. Knight's Landing, ten miles north 
of Woodland, has a population of about five hundred. Being on the 
Sacramento river, and in the vicinage of a rich farming district, large 
quantities of grain and other agricultural products are shipped hence 
every season. Washington, containing about two hundred inhabitants, 
situated on the west bank of the river, opposite Sacramento city, is 
also the supply and shipping point for a considerable extent of back 
country. Yolo, Charleston (formerly Fremont), Prairie, Cache Creek, 
and Buckeye, are towns of less size, scattered over the eastern and 
southern sections of the county. 

The assessable property in Yolo was valued in 1866 at $2,390,232. 
The quantity of fenced land amounts to about 170,000 acres, of which 
90,000 are under cultivation, the most of it being planted to wheat and 
barley. Of the former, 48,000 acres were sown in 1866, producing 
nearly 1,500,000 bushels of grain; the breadth planted the following 
year having been somewhat broader, though the total product was 
scarcely so large. The quantity of barley raised here at one time 
gi-eatly exceeded the wheat — less having been sown the past few 
years. 

The wheat crop for 1866, was 867,590 bushels, raised on 26,408 acres 
— only 18,075 acres being sown the following year. During the year 
1866, 10,000 bushels of oats; 1,250 of rye; 16,120 of Indian corn; 
150 of buckwheat ; 200 of peas ; 4,000 of castor beans, and 4,042 of 
peanuts, together with 1, 500 pounds of tobacco, and six of silk cocoons 
were raised. Eight hundred and eighty-four acres of broom corn were 
planted; 97,020 pounds of butter, 7,040 of cheese, 162,680 of wool, 
and 26, 244 of honey were produced the same year, besides large quan_ 
titles of hay, potatoes, beets, onions and other vegetables. In 1866, 
Yolo contained the following number of fruit trees : 29,430 apple ; 
31,351 peach; 12,148 pear, with a considerable number of other fruit 
trees, including a few of the lemon, orange, and olive. There were 
then 157,434 grape vines growing in the county, 18,637 gallons of wine 
and 5, 687 of brandy having been made from the vintage of that year. 
According to the Assessor's report for 1866, Yolo contained 59,166 
sheep ; 14,644 hogs ; 4,480 horses ; 1,976 mules ; 2,492 cows, and 4,604 
beef cattle, besides a small number of oxen, asses, calves, goats, etc. 

There are three grist mills in the county carrying seven run of stone, 
there being about 35,000 barrels of flour made annually. In seasons 
of extreme drouth this county suffers in common with most of those 
lying within the rim of the great interior basin, formed by the valleys 
of the San Joaquin and Sacramento, the average yield of the crops 



COUNTIES or CALIFOENIA. 305 

liere having fallen some years as low as eiglit bushels of wheat to the 
acre — the ordinary average being over twenty. It has occurred here 
that not enough of this cereal has been raised during one of these 
unfavorable years to suffice for seed for the next. The vegetable crop, 
however, more particularly the potatoe, being planted mostly on the 
tule lands, never fails; over two hundred sacks of the latter being pro- 
duced to the acre nearly every year. 

SOLANO COUNTY. 

This county, which has an average length of about thirty miles east 
and west, with a width of twenty-eight miles, is bounded on the north 
by Yolo; on the east by Yolo and Sacramento; on the south by Contra 
Costa county, the Bay of Suisun and the Straits of Carquinez ; and on 
the west by Napa county. This ranks among the most wealthy, popu- 
lous and largely productive agricultural counties in California; it pro- 
ducing the most hay of any one, and containing, next to Santa Clara, 
the greatest amount of land fenced and under cultivation; and raising, 
next to that county, the largest quantity of wheat of any in the State. 
Nearlv all the inhabitants, with the exception of such as reside in the 
towns and villages, are employed in some of the various departments 
of farming, fruit growing, or stock raising. 

The surface of the county consists mostly of fertile valleys, tule 
lands, undulating prairies and high rounded hills — there being no 
mountain ranges or isolated peaks within its limits. Some portions of 
the tule bottoms, which embrace an area of ninety thousand acres, 
having been reclaimed, are found to make valuable garden, grain and 
meadow lands — the crops planted upon them never failing, however dry 
the season. The whole country, even to the summits of the highest 
hills, was originally covered with wild oats, bunch and other native 
grasses; large areas of which undisturbed by the plough still remain, 
furnishing abundant pasturage for the extensive herds of stock that 
feed upon it winter and summer. The soil nearly everywhere is a rich, 
clay loam; that in the valleys and along the streams being deep and 
extremely productive. Including the tule marshes, fully two thirds of 
the land in the county may be considered arable, the balance affording 
at least enough grass to render it valuable for sheep and cattle ranges. 

Solano, though tolerably well watered by a number of small streams 
and sloughs running across it, is one of the most sparsely timbered 
counties in the State ; the prairies and hills being barren of trees of 
any kind whatever, while the growth along the water courses, origin- 
ally limited in extent, is now nearly all cut away. It contains no quartz. 
20 



306 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF C.\LEFORNL\. 

mills or mining ditches — no metaliferous deposits of importance having 
ever been found within its borders. There is, however, on the hills 
near Suisun valley, an extensive and valuable bed of marble, which 
has been worked for the past ten or twelve years, and from which con- 
siderable quantities of stone have been taken both for ornamental and 
building purposes. Some of the blocks broken out here have been of 
large size, frequently measuring from seven to nine hundred cubic feet. 
This marble, which is fine grained and compact, readily receiving a high 
polish, bears in its rough state a strong resemblance, in color, to rosin. 
The chijjs, and such pieces of the stone as are unfit for dressing, are 
burned into lime, of which they make an excellent article. 

In the hills adjacent to Benicia, a species of lime stone, lying in 
small veins, is found, from which is made a very superior hydraulic 
cement. After being quarried, this rock is burned in kilns and then 
ground into an impalpable powder, extensive works having been erected 
near the quarries for the purpose of burning and grinding it. Near 
this town, as well as at several other points in the county, are located 
mineral springs, some of which are much resorted to on account of the 
sanitary properties of their waters. 

The assessable property of Solano, in 1866, was setdowTi at $4042,- 
000, and the poj)ulation at 15,000 — both of which have since been some- 
what augmented. It contains two considerable towns — Benicia, on the 
Straits of Carquinez, with a population of 1,600, and Vallejo, three miles 
to the northwest, with a population of about 2,000. The former was 
laid out in 1847, and being at the head of ship navigation on the waters 
of the bay, and thirty miles nearer the interior than San Francisco, it 
became at one time a sharp competitor with the latter for the position 
of commercial metropolis of the Pacific. Failing in this, it became 
twice the capital of the State, the inhabitants having put forth strenu- 
ous efforts to make it the permanent seat of the State government. 

The extensive foundries and machine shops of the Pacific Mail 
Steamship Company having for many years been located here, have 
added much to the population and business of the place. One mile 
east of the town are located the arsenal and barracks belonging to the 
General Government, an important auxiliary to the trade of Benicia 
and the country adjacent. The local industry of the place is further 
aided l^y the extensive cement works situated near it — by two tanneries, 
employing quite a large force of hands, producing considerable quanti- 
ities of excellent leather, and by a first class fiouring mill, recently 
erected, carrying five run of stone, and capable of grinding four hun- 
dred barrels of flour daily. 



COUNTIES OF CALLFOENL^L. 307 

This town has for many years been distinguished for the number 
and high literary character of its institutions of learning, some of them 
being among the earliest established in California, and all ranking 
with the most popular and flourishing establishments of the kind now 
existing in the State. Chief among these literary institutions is the 
Benicia Female Seminary ; the Benicia College and Boarding School, 
and the St. Catharine's Academy, conducted by the Sisters of St. 
Dominic, together with a liberally patronized and efficient Law School. 

Vallejo, founded in 1850, became afterwards, like Benicia, an aspi- 
rant for the State capital, which, having been located there in January, 
1852, was soon after removed, the terms stipulated for on the part of 
the State having failed to be complied with. The United States have 
established here a Na^y Yard, which, though but partially completed, 
has been projected on a scale so grand and perfect that it promises to 
be, when finished, one of the most complete and extensive works of 
the kind in the world, the entire cost involving an expenditure of some 
eighteen or twenty million dollars. 

An area of thirty acres of land, exclusive of water surface, having 
been secured by the General Government on Mare Island, opposite 
the town, and the whole having been graded to the proper level, there 
have since been erected upon it immense storehouses, smitheries, foun- 
dries, carpenter and machine shops, timber sheds, and quarters for 
officers and workmen, the whole constructed of brick, on the most 
improved plans and in the most substantial manner. Stone quays, 
sectional dry docks, basins and railways — a magazine, shell-house and 
cisterns, and other necessary appurtenances have here been built, all 
with a view to the greatest attainable efficiency and permanency, and 
on a scale, not only equal to the present wants of the na^y and the com- 
mercial marine of the Pacific coast, but adequate to the vastly increased 
demands upon the capacities of a work of this kind that are likely to 
grow out of the future. In cases where private dry docks are insuf- 
ficient to accommodate merchant vessels, they can be put upon the 
Government works by simple payment of expenses of repairs, and of 
operating the same, 

Vallejo is a j)leasant and prosperous town, enjoying, by virtue of its 
position, certain natural advantages which, if properly improved, can 
scarcely fail to make it a place of considerable industrial activity and 
commercial importance. Possessing an equable and salubrious climate ; 
capable of being approached by vessels of the largest burden; backed 
by a rich agricultural district, and likely to be the terminus of one, and 



308 THE NATLT.AL '^VTEALTH OF CVLIFOEXLV. 

perhaps several railroads, connecting it with points further in the 
interior, it seems destined to be a town of much future importance. 

Fairfield, the County seat, a village containing four or five hundred 
inhabitants, is situated on the east side of Suisun Slough, near the 
center of the county. 

Suisun City, located one mile south of Fairfield, and having a popu- 
lation of about one thousand,, is a town of considerable local impor- 
tance, being at the head of steamboat navigation on the slough, which, 
up to this point, is much wider and deeper than any of the other navi- 
gable sloughs of the State. Steamers run direct from this place to 
San Francisco daily, whence it is distant fifty-four miles. Numerous 
small sailing vessels also ply constantly between these two points, this 
being the embarcadero for more than half the products of the county. 
The town, which is ten miles in a straight line from Suisun Bay, and 
sixteen by the slough, is surrounded by tule lands to the extent of one 
mile on every side, the site being scarcely more than a foot above the 
water at ordinary stages, and being overflowed by the spring tides, 
except such lots as may have been raised by filling them in with earth, 
or protected by embankments. Fairfield, occuping a site on the edge 
of the tule marsh, is located on the line of the projected railroad route 
from Benicia to Marysville. 

At Vacaville, a town of 400 inhabitants, situated in a rich agricul- 
tural district, twenty miles northeast of Fairfield, there is a flourishing 
literary institution, known as the Pacific Methodist College. CoUins- 
ville, a landing on Suisun Bay, near the mouth of the Sacramento 
river, is worthy of note as being a point at which the steamers plying 
between San Francisco and Sacramento touch during the salmon sea- 
son, and take on large numbers of these fish, more being shipped here 
than at any other place in the State. 

From Rio Yista, a town of two hundred inhabitants, twenty miles 
above, many of these fish are also sent every day to San Francisco. 
Silveyv'ille, Maine Prairie, Denverville and Piockton are small rural vil- 
lages situate in dififerent parts of the county, containing each from fifty 
to three hundred inhabitants. 

According to the Assessor's reports for 18GC, there were 480, 000 
acres of land enclosed in Solano that year, of Avhicli 175,800 were 
under cultivation. One hundred and forty-one thousand acres sown 
to wheat and 21,000 to barley, produced, the former 2,117,250, and 
the latter 525,000 bushels. The estimated area planted to these 
grains, in 1867, was 100,000 acres of wheat and 18,000 of barley. In 
1866, four hundred acres of oats yielded 8,200 bushels; 10 acres of 



COUNTIES OF CiVLITOENIA. 309 

rye yielded 190 busliels ; 510 acres of Indian corn yielded 10, 800 bush- 
els, and thirty acres of buckwheat yielded 675 bushels. Twenty -three 
thousand five hundred tons of hay were cut, and 3,300 pounds of to- 
bacco were raised, the latter on seven acres of land. The product of 
butter for the year was 60,000 pounds ; of cheese, 15,000 pounds ; of 
honey, 2,500 pounds, and of wool, 280,000 pounds. The grape vines in 
the county numbered 950,600, from the vintage of which 84,350 gal- 
lons of wine and 5,470 of brandy were made. Solano, while it raises 
a good many apples, peaches, and pears, is not remarkable as a fruit 
growing county. In 1866 it contained 8,440 horses; 1,470 mules; 
35,600 sheep ; 12,300 hogs, and 14,215 head of neat cattle. There 
are three steam flouring mills in the county, the whole carrying nine 
run of stone, and having cost in the aggregate about $100,000. 

SACRAMENTO COUNTY. 

Tliis county, deriving its name from the Sacramento river flowing 
along its western border, is bounded northerly by Sutter and Placer, 
easterly by El Dorado and Amador, southerly by San Joaquin, and 
westerly by Solano and Yolo counties. Its average length, measured 
north and south, is thirty-six, and its width about thirty miles; giving 
it a superficial area of six hundred and ninety-one thousand two hun- 
dred acres. The surface, with the exception of a strip six or eight 
miles in width on its eastern side, w^hich rises into low ridges and roll- 
ing prairies, is almost entirely level. Stretching along the Sacramento 
river is a belt of tule land, which continuing quite narrow until it has 
reached the middle of the county, gradually expands to a width of 
fifteen or sixteen miles. Skirting this tule marsh is a strip of rich 
alluvial soil, varying in width from two to five miles, where, the surface 
gently rising, the soil becomes more light and gravelly, and is less cer- 
tain of producing good crops except in extreme wet seasons. The low 
hills to the east of this belt, possessing a warm red soil, bring good 
crops of grain when carefully tilled and the season is not unusually 
dry. Upon these hills grow scattered oak trees; the timber elsewhere, 
consisting mostly of oak, sycamore and cottonwood, being confined 
chiefly to the alluvial flats and the banks of the streams. The timber 
belt along the Sacramento was at one time so broad and dense as to 
render the navigation of that stream difficult by sail vessels, this 
craft often being several days making the passage even with a favor- 
able wind from the mouth of the river to the Embarcadero, as the land- 
ing where Sacramento city now stands was called prior to and for some 
time after thp American occupation of the country. 



310 THE NATURAL WExVLTH OF CALIFOKNIA. 

Flowing across tlie uortlieru end of the count}-, from northeast to 
southwest, is the American river; the Cosumnes running centrally across 
it in the same direction. Dry Creek, having a nearly parallel course, 
separates this from San Joaquin county. The two last named streams 
reach the Sacramento through the broad expanse of tule marsh by 
many devious channels ; the whole constituting such a labyrinth of 
creeks, lakes and sloughs, that only those Avell acquainted with them 
can attempt their passage with safety. The main Sacramento river, 
also separated as it flows south into diverse branches called sloughs, 
some of which are very intricate, runs across the broad tule bottoms 
in crooked channels, cutting them up into numerous small and several 
large islands. The same is the case with the San Joaquin river in the 
next county south, where there is a still greater area of these marshes, 
and where this system of islands and sloughs is still more wdde spread 
and complicated. 

The county of Sacramento, apart from its agricultural and mineral 
wealth, the latter considerable and the former very large, enjoys many 
advantages, some being the result of the enterprise and sagacity of its 
inhabitants, and others incident to its geograj)hical position. Owing to 
these auspicious circumstances and its favorable location, the industries 
of the city and county have been considerably varied — commercial, 
farming, and mining pursuits engrossing the attention of the inhabit- 
ants in an almost equal degree, while manufacturing tind mechanical 
pursuits have not been neglected. 

Situated at the head of navigation for large vessels on the Sacra- 
mento, backed by a rich farming and mineral region immediately adja- 
cent, and connected with the more remote interior by means of well 
constructed wagon roads and railways, and wdth the country above by 
rivers navigable for smaller craft, its trade, already large, is likely to 
attain still greater proportions in the future. The manufacturing 
interests of the city and county, though not yet much diversified, are 
quite extensive, consisting of nearly all the occupations and callings 
found in California. 

In the city is the large foundry and machine shop of Goss & Lam- 
bard, manufacturing every manner of engine and machinery made from 
iron, brass, or copper, and having a capacity to employ a himdred 
workmen. The products of these works, which are large, have a good 
reputation throughout all the central and northern mining districts of 
California and the State of Nevada. The Union Iron "Works, lately 
much improved and enlarged, are also doing a prosperous business. 
The immense workshops of the Central Pacific Eailroad Co. employ a 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 311 

large force of Lands, and contribute materially to the -wealtli and pros- 
perity of the city. Three steam flour mills, the Lambard, with four, 
the Phoenix, with three, and the Pioneer, with six run of stone, having 
a joint capacity to turn out eleven hundred and fifty barrels of flour 
daily, are kept constantly busy during the grinding season ; there 
being two other flouring mills in the county — one of a single run of 
stone, at Michigan Bar, and one of four run at Folsom. The Granite 
Mill, at Ashland, carrying five run of stone, not long since destroyed 
by fire, is about to be rebuilt. 

Besides these mills and works, there are in the city two steam saw 
mills, of large capacity, one having a planing machine and a sash and 
blind factory attached. There are also two door, sash and blind facto- 
ries, run by horse power ; an iron door and shutter factory, two pot- 
teries, a broom, a soap, a glue, and a candle factory, with many minor 
establishments, making various articles of utility, and giving profitable 
employment to local capital and a large aggregate number of workmen. 

The city abounds with spacious halls erected for the use of various 
benevolent and literary associations and orders, contains a number of 
good hotels, several fine edifices erected for the purposes of religious 
worship, amusement, the making of laws, and for the administration of 
justice — the county court-house, used also for the sessions of the State 
Legislature, being one of the best constructed buildings in the country. 
Here is now being erected the State Capitol, an edifice which, when 
completed, will not only surpass in the grandeur of its proportions, 
the splendor of its architecture, and the durability of its materials, 
all other structures on the Pacific coast, but which will compare favor- 
ably with any of the capitol buildings of the older States. 

Sacramento city contains a number of high schools of acknowledged 
excellence, has an efficient fire department, extensive gas and water 
works, several large well selected libraries apart from that belonging 
to the State, and can justly boast of a newspaper press hardly second 
to any other, whether here or elsewhere, in point of ability and enter- 
prise. 

Located in the edge of the town are the extensive grounds, with 
booths and other necessary appendages, of the State Agricultural Soci- 
ety; the elegant and spacious pavilion, erected by the citizens for the 
use of that institution, being within the limits of the city. Eunning out 
of Sacramento are two railroads, one extending to Shingle Springs, 
El Dorado county, a distance of forty-six and a half miles, and the 
other, the Central Pacific, running across the Sierra Nevada, and now 
completed to a point distant one hundred and fifty miles east of the 



312 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIP0RNL4.. 

city, with the prospect of being extended at least three hundred miles 
further by the end of 1868. 

Spanning the Sacramento river, opposite the city, is the Tolo 
Bridge, eight hundred feet long and twenty-eight wide, one of the 
finest structures of the kind in the State, and built so substantially 
that it has been able to resist all the floods occurring since its erection. 
There are several other costly bridges in the county, built for viaducts 
or aqueducts across the American and Cosumnes rivers. 

Not a city in California has suffered more frequently and severely 
from conflagrations and floods than Sacramento, it having been exten- 
sively damaged by the latter on several occasions, and been two or 
three times SAvept nearly out of existence by fire. It has also been 
the scene of violent and bloody contentions growing out of conflicting 
land titles, from all of which, aided by its natural advantages, and 
sustained by the persevering spirit of its people, it has managed to 
recover, advancing steadily in wealth, population and business. In 
its numerous fireproof buildings and extended water works, the city 
now finds ample protection against further sweeping conflagrations, 
while in its system of broad levees, encomj)assing it on every side, it 
enjoys an almost certain immunity from disastrous floods. 

The city, which besides being the State Capital, is also the county 
seat, is shown by a recent census to contain 15,987 inhabitants, 8,374 
of whom are white males, and G,243 white females, the balance con- 
sisting of the colored and mixed races, five hundred of the number 
being Chinese. 

Folsom, the next important town in the county after Sacramento 
city, whence it is distant twenty-two miles in an easterly direction, 
contains about eighteen hiindred inhabitants. Being on the railroad, 
and surrounded by a considerable scope of mining country, as well as 
a good farming district, it enjoys an active local trade ; the extensive 
granite quarries in the neighborhood also giving emploj-ment to many 
hands. Near the town, on the banks of the American river, most of 
the cobble stones used for paving the streets of San Francisco are 
collected. 

Mormon Island, three miles east of Folsom, is a mining town with 
a population of three or four hundred. Gold Avashing was commenced 
here within a few days after its introduction at Sutter's »mill, having 
first been engaged in by the Mormons — whence the name. The bar 
at this place, though long since exhausted, was originally very rich, 
the discoverers having taken out large sums in a short time. There 
are still moderately good diggings in the river banks and flats about 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 313 

the town ; the country for ten or twelve miles in nearly every direction 
around Folsom being auriferous, and some spots paying more than 
average wages. There are a number of other small tov/ns in this 
county, the most of them situated in the agricultural districts, contain- 
ing each from fifty to three hundred inhabitants, the population of the 
entire county numbering about twenty-four thousand. 

Besides a number of rich bars originally found on the American 
and Cosumnes rivers, within the limits of this county, there is along its 
eastern border an auriferous belt, six or eight miles wide, which, for a 
few feet on the surface, and in some places to a much greater depth, 
has been found to pay remunerative wages. For the purpose of sup- 
plying water to these diggings and others lying in the adjoining county 
of El Dorado, a number of canals have been dug the length of these 
works, within the limits of this county, being about thirty miles. 
Although there are many promising quartz veins in Sacramento, they 
have not yet been much prospected, only a single five-stamp mill hav- 
ing been erected in the county. 

The following data, derived from official sources, will convey a good 
idea of the agricultural capacities, and of the products of this county, 
for the year 1866: Number of acres of land enclosed, 213,261; under 
cultivation, 92,520; wheat planted, 9,870 acres; barley, 38,147 acres — 
yielding 192,170 bushels of the former, and 863,214 bushels of the lat- 
ter. Of these grains, there were 5,400 acres of wheat, and 30,000 of 
barley sown in 1867. In 1866, there were raised 19, 230 bushels of oats, 
34,237 of Indian corn, 553 of peanuts, 22,327 tons of hay, and 38,300 
pounds of hops, together with large quantities of fruits, vegetables 
and other miscellaneous products. During the same year 379,350 
pounds of butter, 12,000 of cheese, 269,365 of wool, and 15,519 of 
honey were produced. The county then contained 93,303 apple, 89,067 
peach, 36,830 pear, with a large number of other fruit trees. There 
were 951,315 growing vines, from the vintage of which 63,879 gallons 
of wine and 5, 714 of brandy were made. The stock in the county con- 
sisted of 8,873 horses, 1,828 mules, 12,144 head of neat cattle, 11,339 
hogs, and 49,996 sheep. Touching certain products, mentioned above, 
Sacramento is said to grow them of better quality, if not, also with 
greater facility than most other counties in California. Thus, the hop 
grows here with great luxuriance, the quantity raised in 1867 having 
been 160,000 pounds — more than four times as many as were picked 
the year before — making this the largest hop producing county in the 
State. So also with peanuts, of which there were 4, 000 bushels gath- 
ered in the same year; those raised in Sacramento possess, it is claimed, 



314 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALEFOnXIA. 

a superior flavor. The real and personal property in the county, omit- 
ting mines, was assessed for the year 1866 at $9,M3,601. 

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY. 

This county, named from the principal river flowing through it, has 
an average width of about forty by a breadth of thirty-five miles, and 
is bounded as follows, viz: By Sacramento county on the north; by 
Amador, Calaveras and Stanislaus on the east; by Stanislaus on the 
south, and by Alameda and Contra Costa counties on the west. San 
Joaquin is almost exclusively an agricultural county. At one time a 
good deal of placer mining was carried on in its northeastern part, but 
at present very little is being done in this or any other department of 
mining. Neither have any important deposit of minerals or metals, 
other than gold, been found here. The county occupying the lowest 
point of depression in the great San Joaquin valley, the metaliferous 
formations, except along its eastern border, have been deeply buried 
beneath the heavy mass of alluvium and detritus washed from the sur- 
rounding mountains — and thus placed beyond the easy reach of mining 
exploration. That this deposit has a great depth, is shown by the fact 
tliat an artesian well, sunk to the depth of one thousand and two feet, 
failed to reach the bed rock, which probably lies much lower. "Wliile 
so little attention has been given to mining, but a limited manufactur- 
ing interest has been developed in San Joaquin, almost the sole pursuit 
of the inhabitants having been agricultural or commercial — the trading 
community of Stockton and the grain growers of the county at large 
composing fully ninety per cent, of the population. 

Of the 896, 000 acres comprised within the limits of the county, 
three-fourths, or perhaps a larger proportion, are capable, in favorable 
seasons, of producing good crops of grain. Along the San Joaquin 
river, which spreads out into numerous sloughs, there is, in the north- 
western part of the county, an immense expanse of tule marsh — not 
less in the aggregate than 200,000 acres, much of which is covered at 
all times by a few inches of water, nearly the whole being submerged 
at high stages of the tide. Late in the season, however, before the 
streams have been raised by the winter rains, largo sections of these 
lands becoming dry on the surface — the dense body of rushes, the 
growth of former years, having meantime wilted and dried iip, the 
latter often take fire, and burning with terrific fierceness for days in 
succession, many thousand acres are burned over and stripped of both 
the dead and living tules. In all the counties containing large tracts 



COUNTIES OF aiLirOENL\. 315 

of tule lands, these fires are common, generally occurring in the fall 
and winter. Nor are these conflagrations confined wholly to the rush 
lands. They often break out in the grass and herbage, which late in 
the summer become dry as tinder, and sweeping over the plains and 
mountains, leave millions of acres scorched and blackened, though the 
heat is not generally sufiicient to injure the forest trees or larger 
shrubbery. 

This county contains no timber fit for making lumber, and very 
little that answers even for fencing purposes. Most of the water courses 
are lined with a narrow fringe of oak trees, a few of which are also 
found scattered over the plains in the \dcinity of Stockton ; but fully 
three-fourths of the county is treeless, the banks of the San Joaquin, 
unlike those of the Sacramento, being almost wholly without timber. 
Lumber, however, is obtained at moderate rates from the heavily 
wooded mountains to the east ; the teams engaged in hauling supplies 
to the mining districts in that quarter, in the absence of other freight, 
bringing back return loads of lumber, thereby rendering this article 
cheap and abundant in Stockton, whence most of the county derives 
its supply. 

Though crossed by several large streams, this county is not gener- 
ally well watered, many portions suffering from the long dry seasons 
severely. This is especially the case wdth the districts lying west of 
the San Joaquin river, as well also as with those stretching along the 
base of the foot-hills in the eastern part of the county. The soil, how- 
ever, being nearly everywhere deep and strong, the cereal crops are 
almost uniformly good, their yield being generally above the average 
throughout the State. A large proportion of the soil in this county is 
composed of a stiff black clay, known in California as "adobe" land, 
and which, though extremely fertile and capable of producing heav;)' 
crops when in proper condition for receiving the seed, owing to its 
retaining the water near the surface, is difficult to cultivate. In dry 
winters it is easily managed, and more certain to bring a crop than 
the sandy, gravelly soil, of which there is fortunately a great deal ; 
patches of it often lying adjacent to the heavy adobe lands, giving the 
farmers a chance to select such kind as seems best suited to the season. 
Large portions of the rich bottom land along the Mokelumne river, 
and other streams in this county were seriously injured, some of it 
wholly ruined by the sand and gravel brought dowTi and deposited 
upon them by the floods of 1867-8. These dejDOsits varied in depth 
from a few inches to ten or fifteen feet ; this mischief, unhappily, not 
having been confined to this county alone, many of the alluvial bot- 



316 THE NATinii\X WEALTH OF CALITORXLl. 

toms along the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers and their numerous 
tributaries having suffered in like manner. 

From the assessor's report are derived the following statistics touch- 
ing the agricultural ]iroducts of this county for the year 1866 : Acres 
of land fenced, 254, 540 ; under cultivation, 123, 855 ; sown to wheat, 
69,132 — product, 1,139,911 bushels; so\vn to barley, 48,294 acres — pro- 
duct, 922,000 bushels; 9,275 bushels of oats; 12,994 of rye, and 26,065 
of Indian corn were raised; 13,657 tons of hay were made from 14,629 
acres of land; 325,615 pounds of butter; 9,465 of cheese; 130,618 of 
wool, and 26,775 pounds of honey were produced; apple trees in the 
county, 47,673; peach, 46,591; pear, 8,917, with considerable numbers 
of plum, cherry, nectarine, prune, quince, apricot, almond, mulberry, 
and fig trees; vines, 493,387; wine made, 23,347 gallons; brandy, 500 
gallons; number of horses, 8,836; mules, 830; neat cattle, 13,195; 
sheep, 26,278; goats, 650; swine, 13,000. There are in the county six 
steam flouring mills, eighteen run of stone ; but no saw mills or quartz 
mills, neither vein mining nor lumber making being carried on here. 
A few small ditches have been dug for irrigating purposes, but none 
for conducting water into the mines, though one or two, lying mainly 
in other counties, extend a short distance into this. The value of the 
real and personal property in the county, fixed by the assessor at 
$5,684,105 for 1866, has been largely increased since — the wheat crop 
of 1867, estimated at 1,686,566 bushels, being alone valued at $1,870,- 
239. Large areas of land have been fenced and brought under the 
plough since the assessor's estimates were made for 1866 — the amount 
of land now enclosed being over 300,000 acres, of which two thirds 
are under cultivation. The breadth of land planted to wheat in 1867 
was 91,790 acres. 

The open and level character of the country rendering the building 
of Avagon roads not an absolute necessity, but few of these improve- 
ments have been made within the county. Two graveled roadways, 
however, have recently been completed, leading from Stockton across 
the adobe flats, by which the town is surrounded to the higher and 
firmer lands beyond — one of these having cost the sum of $15,000, and 
the other $35,000. 

The county, in its corporate capacity, has extended liberal aid 
towards the construction of two important wagon roads across the 
Sierra — the Sonora and Esmeralda, and the Big Tree and Carson val- 
ley roads — issuing its bonds in the sum of $50,000 to each. It has also 
subscribed $250,000 to the stock of the Western Pacific Railroad, 
designed to connect Stockton with San Francisco, and $100,000 to that 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOEXIA. 317 

of the Stockton and Copperopolis Eailroad, both likely soon to be 
built. 

The population of San Joaquin county numbers about 18,000; a 
larger proportion of whom are women and children than is common in 
most California communities. Stockton, the county seat and principal 
city in this part of the State, contains about 6,000 inhabitants. It is 
situated in the center of the county, at the head of a navigable slough, 
running east six miles from the San Joaquin river. It is surrounded 
by a rich agricultural district, and is connected by means of good 
wagon roads with all the important mining counties lying to the east 
and south. Stockton occupies a favorable commercial position, being 
the entrepot and shipping point for an immense agricultural region, all 
of which, together with the vast area of mining country lying beyond, 
must draw from it the greater portion of their supplies. Even now it 
may be said to command in a great measure the trade of nearly five 
thousand square miles — a business that will be still further extended 
when the several projected railroads to center here shall have been 
completed. At present, there is a large number of sailing vessels, with 
a daily line of steamers, plying between this place and San Francisco. 
During the year 1867, the arrivals at the levee in this town were 619 
steamers and 447 sail vessels; the former having a carrying capacity of 
76,000 tons, and the latter of 70,000 tons; the whole representing an 
annual freight and passenger traffic equivalent to 146,000 tons. Besides 
the daily line of steamers running to San Francisco, there are three 
small steamers plying on the San Joaquin river, which is navigable for 
this craft, at favorable stages of water, for a distance of 150 miles 
above Stockton. During the year 1867, there were shipped from this 
place to San Francisco 864,233 bushels of wheat, valued at $1,141,878, 
and 50, 791 bushels of barley, valued at $34, 142. The wool, hides and 
tallow sent away amounted in value to $216,258; poultry, eggs and 
vegetables, to $142,462; wheat, barley and Indian corn, ground, to 
$697,378. The total valuation of the flour and meal ground in the 
county amounted to $828,528, of which all but $131,256 in value was 
the product of the mills in Stockton. Thus, it will be seen that there 
was sent from this place, during the year mentioned, agricultural pro- 
ducts alone amounting in value to $2,234,119. Besides these staples, 
a greater or less quantity of minor commodities are every year 
shipped here for San Francisco, or markets abroad — the shipments of 
copper ore having, for several successive years prior to 1867, consti- 
tuted an important item in the exports of this town. 

"While the business of Stockton consists chiefly in its trade and com- 



318 THE NATinixVL WEALTH OF CALIFOKNLV.. 

merce, certain mechanical and manufacturing industries liave been 
gradually growing up in tlie place, until some of tliese have attained to 
very respectable proportions. The Globe Foundiy and Machine Shop, 
located here, has a good reputation for work done in its line — some of 
the steam engines made thereat being in use in nearly all the adjacent 
mining counties, and even in districts east of the Sierra Nevada. 
There are also several tanneries in and around Stockton — some of them 
quite extensive, and all enjoying a good reputation for the leather they 
make. Most of the mechanical branches usual in towns of this kind 
are carried on here, blacksmithing and wagon making being very exten- 
sively engaged in. 

Stockton having been laid waste several times by fire, enjoys in its 
present efl&cient fire department, artesian water works, and numerous 
brick buildings, a good degree of security against this destructive ele- 
ment. The artesian well sunk near the center of the city pours out 
about three hundred and sixty thousand gallons of water per day, which 
rises eleven feet above the orifice whence it issues, and nine above the 
established grade of the city. It is soft and pure, and has a tempera- 
ture of seventy-seven degrees as it comes from the ground. Though it 
has now been flowing for more than ten years, the volume discharged 
has suficred no abatement. 

During the year 1867, over $200, 000 were expended in the erection 
and improvement of buildings in Stockton ; the city having in the 
meantime laid out $85,000 in raising and gravehng the levee and prin- 
cipal streets, and the further sum of §50, 000 on the two graveled roads 
before mentioned — making a total expended on these several improve- 
ments of $335, 000. Notwithstanding these heavy outlays, to -which are 
to be added the ordinary expenses of administering the city govern- 
ment, the local taxes for the j-ear were reduced ten cents on the dollar; 
the finances of both the city and county being in a highly flourishing 
condition. 

A savings' bank founded in Stockton in 18G7 had over 8500,000 on 
deposit, and was paying good dividends within six months from the 
time it was opened — the stock commanding a handsome premium. 
Within the x^resent year a bank, with a capital stock of $250, 000, has 
been established in the place, the leading monied and business men of 
the town and county being the subscribers for the stock. 

While the material interests and industries of Stockton have been 
thus wisely cherished and cared for, the religious, social and educa- 
tional well being of the people has not been neglected. Tlie town con- 
tains fourteen churches and ten school houses — some of both classes 



COUNTIES OF CALITOEXIA. 319 

"being large and handsome edifices. Several of tlie school houses are 
used as academies and seminaries for instruction in the sciences and 
higher branches of learning. Here a spacious and substantial court 
house, standing in the center of a plaza ornamented with trees and 
fountains, has been built by the county; while the State Lunatic Asy- 
lum, consisting cf an immense brick structure, with extensive wings 
and out-buildings, all constructed after the most approved models for 
establishments of this kind, occupies a beautiful grove of ancient oaks 
on the edge of the town. Around it are extensive gardens and pleasure 
grounds, a part cultivated to vegetables and a part planted with flowers 
— the whole being penetrated by broad avenues and walks, and fur- 
nished with seats and arbors, rendering it a fitting resort for the unfor- 
tunate beings confined here for treatment. 

According to the very able report of the Superintendent, dated 
October 1st, 1867, this institution then contained 769 patients, of whom 
552 were males, and 217 females. During the year, 313 new patients 
were admitted ; 125 were discharged, recovered ; 14 were discharged, 
improved ; 89 died, and 9 made their escape. The ratio of recoveries 
to the admissions has been 40 j)er cent. ; the number of deaths, 8. 80 
per cent, of the whole number treated, which does not vary much from 
the average since the founding of the institution in 1851. 

STANISLAUS COUNTY. 

This county, named after one* of the principal rivers flowing through 
it, is bounded on the northwest by San Joaquin county ; on the north- 
east by Calaveras and Tuolumne ; on the southeast by Merced, and on 
the southwest by Santa Clara county. It extends forty-eight miles 
measured northeast and southwest, and about twenty-six miles in a 
transverse direction, containing 798,720 acres, of which a large pro- 
portion is choice farming land. In the eastern part of the county, 
along the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers, there were formerly good 
placer mines ; but these having through many years of steady working 
become greatly depleted, mining in this county now forms but a sec- 
ondary branch of business, three-fourths of the inhabitants being 
engaged in grain growing, dairying, and sheep and cattle raising. 

The greater portion of the county is level, only the eastern portion 
^ being somewhat undulating, and in a few places broken into slight 
ridges and ravines, while a strip a few miles wide on its western bor- 
der rises into the Coast Eange, having here a general altitude of about 
two thousand feet. With the exception of a few scattered oaks along 
the larger streams, and a sparse growth of the same trees interspersed 



320 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENLV. 

with an inferior species of pine found on tlie eastern foot-hills, the 
county is destituto of timber. Owing to this circumstance it is also 
without saw-mills, deriving its lumber supply, like San Joaquin and 
most of the other agricultural counties, from the forests along the 
lower slopes of the Sierra. The principal streams traversing it are 
the San Joaquin, the Stanislaus, and the Tuolumne rivers, all flowing 
in a generally northwest direction. Besides these, it contains only a 
few small creeks and sloughs, mostly dry except in the rainy season. 
Stretching along the San Joaquin is a belt of tule land, a mile or two 
wide; the whole of which could easily be reclaimed, the most of it 
being quite dry in the summer and autumn. Along these water courses, 
especially the larger rivers, extend broad bottoms of exceedingly rich 
soil, upon which the crops hardly ever fail, either from excess of rain 
or drouth. jMucli of the land on the higher plains between the rivers 
is also very productive ; and, like the river bottoms, the soil, being an 
intermixture of sand and loam, is easily tilled, and when properly pre- 
pared, almost certain to make a good crop. 

While mining here is, as stated, but a subordinate interest, it still 
gives employment to quite a large population, who pursue it chiefly in 
the vicinity of Knight's Ferry, once a largely productive placer district, 
and also to some extent on the Tuolumne river, a few miles further 
south. Water to these diggings is furnished by five difi'erent ditches, 
lying wholly or partially within the county, the sources of supply being 
the Stanislaus and Tuolumne river» and Littlejohn's creek. These 
several works have a united length of forty-three miles, a capacity to 
discharge five hundred inches of water daily, and cost in the aggregate 
about $180,000. Stanislaus contains no quartz mills, no auriferous 
lodes having yet been developed here, if, indeed, any of laiown value 
have been discovered. 

The population of this county numbers about 3, 500, of whom GOO 
reside in and around Knight's Ferry, the county seat, and 250 at La 
Grange, sixteen miles to the southeast. Ilorr's Eanch, eighteen miles 
south of the county seat, a small agricultural haniK't, Paradise city, near 
the junction of the Stanislaus and San Joaquin rivers, and Tuolumne city, 
at the head of steamboat navigation on the Tuolumne river, are the 
only other villages in the county. The last two places being in a good 
agricultural neighborhood, and approachable by small steamers, already 
.ship considerable quantities of produce every year, enjoying a lively 
trade with the adjacent districts, and -will, doubtless, increase as the 
latter fill up with settlers. 

In so far as the assessor's report for 18GG may be accej^tcd as cor- 



COUNTIES OF CALIFOKNU. 321 

rect, there were tlien in this county 60,100 acres of land enclosed 
30,150 being under cultivation; 11,190 acres were sown to wheat- 
product, 150, 662 bushels ; 14, 308 were sown to barley — product, 181, - 
349 bushels; 560 acres planted to Indian corn yielded 15,560 bushels; 
3,450 tons of hay were made from 3,530 acres of land mown; 50 acres 
of broom corn were planted — and 8,560 pounds of butter, 6,000 of 
cheese, 264,600 of wool, and 6,000 of honey, were produced. The 
numbers of horses, sheep, swine, cattle, etc., were as follows: Of 
horses, 2,751; of mules, 255; of sheep, 75,600; of goats, 200; of swine, 
6,127, and of neat cattle, 5,273. Though fruits and vines thrive well 
in this county, only a moderate share of attention has been given to 
their culture, the total number of apple trees in 1866 having been but 
5,017, and of peach of 3,069, the number of fruit trees planted of other 
varieties having been quite insignificant. Of vines, there were 112,310 
growing; the wine made that year amounting to 12,520; the brandy to 
200 gallons. 

There are two grist mills in the county, both driven by water, and 
carrying jointly five run of stone. They cost about $40,000, and are 
capable of grinding 180 barrels of flour daily. But few wagon roads 
have been built in Stanislaus, the nature of the country not calling 
for any large expenditure in this direction. The assessable value of 
the real and personal property in the county was set down in 1866 at 
$1,204,230. 

MEECED COUNTY. 

This county, which receives its name from the Merced river, flowing 
westerly through its northeastern part, is bounded on the northwest by 
Stanislaus, on the northeast by Mari2:)osa, on the southeast by Fresno, 
and on the southwest by Monterey county. It has a longitude, meas- 
ured easterly and westerly, of about sixty miles, with an average breadth 
of twenty-eight miles, giving it an area of 1,075,200 acres. Besides 
the Merced, crossing it as described, the San Joaquin river runs cen- 
trally through it, towards the north. In the southeastern corner of the 
county are the following creeks heading in the foot-hills to the east 
and flowing in a southeasterly direction, viz. : Black, Burn's, Bean, 
Deadman's, and Cottonwood, together w4th the Mariposa and Chow- 
chilia rivers, the latter forming in part the boundary between this and 
Fresno county. These streams, though they all dry up in the summer, 
generally run full and sometimes overflow their banks during the rainy 
season. In everything relating to soil, agriculture, topograph}', tule 
lands and timber, the remarks made on Stanislaus county relative to 
21 



322 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CYLIFOEXLY. 

« 

these several topics will apply equally well to the county now under 
consideration. 

This county being, so far as discovery extends, without mines or 
mineral deposits, except a small scope of unimportant placers in its 
northeastern corner, contains neither quartz mills nor canals, save a few 
irrigating ditches of limited dimensions. Merced is also without saw 
mills — there being no timber here suitable for making lumber. Neither 
have any manufacturing interests as yet obtained a foothold in the 
county, though a woolen mill was in course of erection at the Merced 
Falls in the early part of 1868, with every prosjiect of being carried to 
an early completion. There are three flouring mills in the county, all 
propelled by water, carrying six run of stone, and having a joint capa- 
city to grind two hundred and forty barrels of flour daily — the amount 
made in 1866 having been seven thousand five hundred barrels. These 
mills cost in the aggregate about $35,000. 

The population of Merced county numbers about two thousand five 
hundred. It contains no large towns ; Snelling, the county seat and 
largest village, having but about two hundred and fifty inhabitants. 

The following facts and figures relative to the agricultural products, 
amount and valuations of property in this county, are taken from the 
assessor's report for 1866 : Amount of land enclosed, 84,550 acres ; 
under cultivation, 13,968 acres ; planted to wheat, 4,195 acres — prod- 
uct, 57,930 bushels; planted to barley, 9,661 acres — product, 114,750 
bushels; wheat and barley planted in 1867, estimated at 4,764 acres of 
the former, and 8,670 of the latter; Indian corn raised in 1866, 17,345 
bushels, on 534 acres ; 9,715 pounds of butter, 1,340 pounds of cheese, 
373,000 pounds of wool, and 2,935 of honey, were produced that year; 
from 100,740 vines, 10,910 gallons of wine, and 320 of brandy, were 
made. Though fruits of all kinds do well here, their culture has not 
been extensively engaged in. The folloAving indicates the number of 
domestic animals in the countj^in 1866, viz. : horses, 3,117; mules, 235; 
asses, 40; sheep, 79,487; goats, 258; hogs, 12,483, and neat cattle, 
30, 146. The real and personal property in the county was assessed at 



$1,233,912. 



FRESNO COUNTY. 



This county derives its name from the Fresno river, a small stream 
heading in the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, and flowing westerly 
through its northeastern part. The term, signifying in the Spanish, 
white ash, was applied to this river because of the number of these 
trees originally found growing on its banks. This county extends 
northeasterly and southwesterly a distance of one hvindred and twenty 



COUNTIES OF C-\LrFOENIA. 323 

miles; its average breadth being about sixty-five miles. It is bounded 
as follows, viz : northerly by Merced and Mariposa, easterly by Mono, 
southerly by Tulare, and westerly by Monterey counties. 

With the exception that the whole of its eastern part rises into the 
high Sierra, the topography of Fresno bears a strong resemblance to 
that of Merced county. Nearly a third of its territory comprising the 
western part is extremely dry; the most of it so arid as to produce but 
little grass, and being, at best, fit only for sheep pasturage. Here 
there are no streams during the summer; the winter rains even, some- 
times, fail to start the water running in the dry beds of the creeks. 
Springs are also very scarce, exposing stock to severe sufi'ering in some 
localities during the summer. The whole of this region consists of a 
treeless plain, sloping gently from the foot of the Coast Range to the 
slough, through which the waters of Tulare lake, at high stages, flow 
northerly into the San Joaquin river. The soil on this plain is in some 
places rich and deep, while in others it is gravelly and poor, being 
incapable, even if it were susceptible of irrigation, of producing good 
crops. In the coast mountains, which separate this from the county of 
Monterey, there is not only more water and grass, but also a sparse 
growth of oak and scrubby pine timber. The several plateaus, lying 
between the rivers that traverse this county, are quite as badly off for 
water, and as barren of timber, as the section described, though gen- 
erally constituting a better cattle range, owing to their greater prox- 
imity to water and better supplies of grass. 

That portion of the county which is covered by the Sierra Nevada, 
is nearly all extremely rugged — the western face of these mountains, 
as well as the higher foot-hills, being cut by tremendous chasms, 
through which flow King's river and the San Joaquin, and their tribu- 
taries. The most of the good farming land in the county, of which 
there is a large area, is situated along the rivers and sloughs — the 
former consisting of a rich, loamy soil, and the latter mostly of tule 
marshes. The reclamation of these marshes, which cover an area of 
about twenty thousand acres, was undertaken some ten years since by 
a party to whom the State made liberal grants thereof, conditioned on 
the completion of a canal designed to effect their thorough drainage; 
and which, after being partially constructed, was abandoned, leaving 
the State still owner of these lands, and the latter remaining in their 
original condition. The plan proposed for their drainage was not only 
feasible, but of easy accomplishment; and there is little doubt but it 
will be carried out, at no distant day, either by the State or those with 
whom it may contract for the performance of the work. With a ditch, 



o24 THE NATUrv.\X "UT^xyLTH OF C.VLIFORXL\. 

such as was projected, once finished, these grounds would never again 
be subject to overflow, rendering them among the most valuable 
lands in the world — since the green and succulent pasturage they 
at nearly all seasons afford, would fit them admirably for dairying pur- 
poses, while the cereals, and all the semi-tropical products, could, 
without resort to irrigation, be raised here in the greatest perfection 
and abundance. For the culture of cotton and tobacco, these tule 
lands, if drained, would, beyond any question, be especially well 
adapted. 

The only streams of any magnitude in this county, consist of the San 
Joaquin river, which, rising by several large affluents in the Sierra 
Nevada, flows westerly till it reaches the middle of the great valley bear- 
ing its name, when, having received the waters discharging through the 
Tulare slough, it bends to the northwest and pursues its course in that 
direction ; and King's river, a still, large stream, which, heading further 
south in the same range of mountains, runs southwesterly till it enters 
the belt of tule before mentioned, when, trending more to the south, it 
empties itself into Tulare lake. Having its sources in the far recesses 
of the Sierra, among peaks covered with perpetual snow, it carries at 
all times an immense volume of water; and, alter reaching the plains, 
flows through many interlacing and tortuous channels, forming innu- 
merable islands, sloughs and lagoons, all of the richest soil and 
heavily timbered, and constituting, with the broad alluvial bottoms 
along its banks, one of the richest and most desirable farming districts 
in the State. The timber growth here consists of sycamore, cotton- 
wood, willow and oak, the latter predominating, and, being of large 
size, affording an abundant mast on which great numbers of swine feed 
and fatten, making the rearing of these animals, which is largely 
engaged in, a lucrative business. 

"While Fresno contains a great deal of excellent land, its agricultu- 
ral resources, owing to its remoteness from markets, have been but 
very little developed. In the absence of recent aiithoritative data on 
the subject, the following rough estimates are submitted as approxi- 
mately indicating the amount of its products and wealth in this depart- 
ment in the year 18GG, to which an increase of fifteen or twenty per 
cent., perhaps, should be added for gains since made. Number of 
acres of land enclosed in ISGfi, 15,000; under cultivation, 4,500; to 
wheat, 800 acres, and to barley 1,000 acres — the former producing 9,000 
and the latter 17,000 bushels. Besides this, several thousand bushels 
of Indian corn were raised, and a small quantity of other cereals. 
/Uthough the soil and climate are well adapted to the growing of fruits 



COUXTIES OF CALIPOKXIA. 325 

and vegetables, only enougli of these are raised for home consumption, 
the markets being too far distant to warrant their cultivation for sale. 

There is a good deal of stock of nearly all kinds kept in this county, 
many beef cattle being raised here for market, and wool forming one 
of its staples of export. The value of the taxable property in 1867, 
exclusive of mines, was estimated at one million dollars. There are 
five saw-mills and one grist-mill in the county, all of moderate cost 
and capacity, and with the exception of one driven by water. 

The population of this county numbers about three thousand. 
There are no towns of any magnitude in it ; Millerton, the county seat 
and largest village, containing less than two hundred inhabitants. 
During the flood of January, 1868, this place was nearly all swept 
away — the San Joaquin river, on the bank of which it is situated, 
having risen at this point twenty feet higher than was ever before 
known, the v/ater being at one time forty-six feet deep on the site of 
the town. Great damage was at the same time done nearly all over 
the county, in the destruction of fences, buildings, stock, etc., the 
land in many places also being seriously injured in having the soil 
covered up with sand and gravel, or in being entirely washed away. 

Fort Miller, half a mile above the county seat, was, some years ago, 
when the Indians in this section of country were troublesome, garri- 
soned by several companies of soldiers. At present no troops are 
permanently stationed at this place, cutting off the market that before 
existed for many articles produced by the farmer. 

Fresno City, located on the Tulare Lake slough, twenty-five miles 
above its junction with the San Joaquin, is a town with about half the 
population of Millerton, whence it is distant forty miles to the south- 
west. Small steamers come up to this place throughout the greater 
portion of the year, and there is little doubt but, keeping pace with 
the growth of the country, it will in time come to be a village of con- 
siderable size and importance. 

The Chowchilla, Fresno, and San Joaquin rivers are all more or less 
auriferous, though their banks and the bars along them have never 
heen extremely rich, nor the gold obtained of fine quality. They were, 
nevertheless, formerly much worked, as portions of them, more espe- 
cially along the San Joaquin, are still the theatres of active operations. 
There are, however, no quartz mills in the county, vein mining for gold 
never having been attempted. Neither are there any canals for con- 
ducting Avater into the diggings, the miners depending on the high 
stages of the river for water to work their claims. 

Several years since a great number of copper bearing lodes were 



32G THE NATURAL "WE^y^TII OF C.VLIFOEXLA.. 

discoTerecl in various localities in this county. In many cases tlie sur- 
face ore, and in a number of instances also, tliat obtained at consider- 
able depths upon these veins was extremely rich. A large amount of 
work in the aggregate was done, but not much applied at any one 
point; wherefore, the real value of these lodes remains undetermined, 
though the locators are generally satisfied of their permanence and 
richness — a few opened to the depth of a hundred feet or more, display- 
ing in their estimation sufficient volume and wealth to warrant this 
conclusion. 

In the extreme western part of the county, situated in the Coast 
Eange of mountains, is the New Idria Quicksilver Mine. Having been 
opened some ten years ago under favorable auspices, and worked for 
several years thereafter with satisfactory results, this mine was closed 
by legal proceedings, and remained so until 18G5, when work was 
resumed, and has since been steadily kept up upon it, the force of 
hands employed being between two and three hundred. The j)roduct 
for the year 1866 was 6,045 flasks, and for the year 1867, 11,500 flasks — 
the yield of the ore for the latter year having been seven per cent, of 
metal. 

TULARE COUNTY. 

This county, deriving its name from the large lake occupying its 
northwestern corner, is the third in point of size in the State — only the 
counties of San Bernardino and San Diego being larger. It extends 
one hundred and thirty miles in a northwesterly and southeasterly 
direction, and has an average width of one hundred miles, giving it an 
area of eight million three hundred and twenty thousand acres. It is 
bounded on the north by Fresno, on the east by Inyo and San Bernard- 
ino, on the south by Los Angeles, and on the west by Santa Barbara 
and San Luis Obispo counties. A large portion of its surface is cov- 
ered by the several chains of mountains that hem it in on three sides — 
the Coast Bange on the west, the Sierra Nevada on the east, and the 
transverse group crossing its southern part and forming the connecting 
link between these two ranges. It thus takes the shape of a great basin, 
rimmed in on every side but the north, and while it does not differ 
widely in its topogi'aphical features from the valley counties further 
north, it has a hydrography essentially unlike these — all tlie streams 
flowing into Tulare lake, the common receptacle for the drainage of the 
county. Several of these streams are of large size — King's, the Kah- 
weali, Tule, and Kern rivers, discharging, particularly in the summer, 
when the snow melts on the Sierra, immense volumes of water. That 
these streams, pouring into this lake such a constant tide, should not 



COUNTIES OF CALIFORNIA. 327 

speedily so raise it as to inundate the adjacent country, lias led to tlic 
suggestion that there may be a subterranean passage connecting it with 
the ocean through which a portion of these waters make their escape. 
The great expanse, however, of this lake — thirty-three miles long and 
twenty-two wide, and the broad area of the tule lands bordering it, 
which, with a slight rise above its ordinary level, are converted into 
immense lagoons, would seem to afford sufficient space for these waters 
to spread out until their volume can be reduced by evaporation — a pro- 
cess that goes on very rapidly in the hot and desiccated atmosphere 
that always prevails throughout this region in the summer. 

All the streams mentioned, heading in the Sierra, flow through deep 
and precipitous canons until they reach the plains, when they meander 
through their broad and fertile bottoms — some of them separating into 
several channels, forming wooded islands, after the manner described 
in the case of King's river. The Kahweah is thus divided up into eight 
or ten branches — though, when first discovered, under the supposition 
that there were only four of these channels, the name "Four creeks" 
was given to them collectively — a term which they have in that sense 
ever since retained, though each has now an individual name of its own. 
By the same appellation the country adjacent to these creeks has also 
come to be known. 

The most of these bottoms, as well as portions of the plains lying 
between them, are covered with scattered oak trees of large size, and 
which, though they are not worth much for making lumber, are ser- 
vicable for fencing, and supply an abundance of good fuel. All that 
part of the county lying west and southwest of the lake is destitute of 
timber, though the entire slope of the Sierra Nevada is covered with 
majestic forests of coniferous trees, even to its very summit. 

About forty-six miles northeast of Visalia, and at an elevation of 
between six thousand and seven thousand feet, occur great numbers of 
"Big Trees," not standing in groups and isolated groves, as in Cala- 
veras and Mariposa counties, but scattered throvighout the forests all 
the way from King s river to the Kahweah, a distance of over forty miles, 
and perhaps much further, the area over which they extend not having 
been fully ascertained. From measurements made by the members of 
the State Geological Survey, who visited this forest, the largest tree 
standing, so far as they had opportunity to observe, was one hundred 
and six feet in circumference at the base, and two hundred and seventy- 
six feet high. It had, however, been partially burnt away, and was 
judged to have originally had a girth of between one hundred and fifteen 
and one hundred and twenty feet. The body of a prostrate tree has 



32S THE NATURAL WE.yLTII OF CyLEFOKXIA. 

been burnt out to such an extent that it admits of a man riding into 
the hollow trunk for a distance of seventy-six feet, where he has room 
to turn his animal Avithout difficulty. At a distance of one hundred 
and twenty feet from the butt, this tree is thirteen feet in diameter 
inside the bark. There is a large number of these trees in this neigh- 
borhood, many being, to all appearance, nearly as large as the one just 
described, while those varying from ten to fifteen feet in diameter are 
quite common. 

Within the limits of this county, or standing on the line between it 
and Inyo, are some of the highest and wildest peaks in the Sierra Ne- 
vada. Here are the Dome mountains, 9,825 feet high, remarkable for 
the regularity of their outline; Mt. Williamson, still more striking and 
lofty; Mt. Kahweah, 14,000 feet high ; Mt. Tyndall, 14,38G feet high ; 
and, finally, Mt. Whitney, 15,000 feet above the level of the sea — the 
highest peak in this range, and, probably, the most elevated land on 
the continent of North America. 

The population of Tulare is estimated at about six thousand, thf, 
greater portion of whom are engaged in agricultural pursuits. Visalia, 
the county seat, contains about one thousand inhabitants. It occupies 
a handsome site on one of the branches of the Kahweah river, the land 
being level, fertile, and covered over, for many miles around, Avith large 
oak trees. It is surrounded with gardens, orchards, vineyards, and 
well cultivated fields, the soil here being well adapted to the j^roduction 
of almost every fruit or plant grown in California, and remarkably pro- 
lific. The means for irrigation, generally necessary where the soil is 
light and sandy, are never failing and ample. On the heavier adobe 
soil crops of grain can be made, if proj^erly put in, without this aid. 
Yisalia contains besides its public schools, a well conducted and fiour- 
isliing seminary, a handsome court-house, several halls, churches, and 
other public edifices, many fireproof stores, and a large number of 
tasty cottages and mansions, nearly all occupying large lots planted 
with trees, vines, and flowers. Being centrally situated, and the only 
town in the county of any size, it enjoys an active trade, which is every 
year expanding as the country around it fills up with settlers. 

From the assessor's rejiorts for ISGG, it appears that the taxable 
property of the county was that year valued at $l,299,o79 ; the amount 
of land enclosed was 24,939 acres ; under cultivation, 7,139 acres ; in 
wheat, 3,092 acres, yielding 51,581 bushels ; and 2,400 in barley, which 
yielded 49,042 bushels. Of these grains there Averc sown the following 
year, 3,448 acres of wheat, and 3,035 of barley. In the year 1866, 
5,945 bushels of Indian corn were raised, 240 of buckAvheat, and large 



COUNTIES OF CALLFORXIA. 329 

quantities of fruits and vegetables ; 7,425 pounds of butter, 4,070 of 
cheese, 150,650 of wool, and 7,500 of lioney were produced. The 
county contained 7,694 horses, 287 mules, 70,152 sheep, 166 goats, 
8,802 hogs, and 31,597 head of neat cattle. 

This is an excellent section of country for sheep, swine and cattle 
raising. Owing to the heat of the climate in the summer, remoteness 
from market, etc. , dairying is not extensively carried on — the most of 
the cattle raised being intended for the shambles. Wool growing, 
however, is increasing rapidly ; while it is doubtful if swine can bo 
raised and fattened in any other part of the State with the same facility 
as here. These animals being marked with the owner's brand, after the 
manner of sheep and cattle, are suifered to run at large in the tulo 
swamps, where they not only grow, but soon become extremely fat, 
feeding on the roots of these plants and on fresh water mussels found in 
great quantities about the margin of the lake. Swine thus left, being 
thereafter little cared for, and rarely seeing human beings, soon become 
quite wild, making it necessary for the owner to shoot them Avhen ho 
wishes to secure the carcass. Cattle thrive in this region the year 
round without housing or fodder, being rarely ever pinched by hunger 
or suffering from cold. 

Tulare contains two grist mills, carrying each two run of stone, and 
having a capacity to grind 130 barrels of flour daily; the one is driven 
by water^ and the other by steam — their aggregate cost having been 
about $25,000. The flour ground in 1866 amounted to 10,250 barrels.- 
There are three saw mills in the county, carrying five saws, and capable 
of cutting 20, 000 feet of lumber per day. 

The only mining carried on in Tulare consists of operations in 
quartz, the business being mostly confined to the vicinity of "White 
river. There are four mills at this place, carrying in all twenty-five 
stamps, and costing in the aggregate 140,000. They have all been 
running with a good average de^jree of success; the lodes at this place, 
though nol? large or numerous, being compact, and carrying a good 
body of fair grade ore. 

No water ditches have been constructed in the county except such 
as are designed for bringing water upon the land. Of this class, there 
are about fifty, all of limited capacity — the area of land irrigated 
amounting to 4,000 acres. 



CHAPTER IV. 

CLIMATE. 

General Eemarks — Temperatui'e — Extremes of Heat and Cold — "Winds — The Sea Breeze — 
Northers — Southeasters — Eains — Storms — Cloud and Iklist — Snow and Hail — Thunder 
and Lightning — Relations of Climate to Agricultm-e and other Pursuits— Health, Do- 
mestic Economy, etc. 

In tliis outline of the climate of California minute details and the 
scientific investigation of causes are avoided, and a practical view of the 
subject is presented to the reader, with especial relation to the capaci- 
ties of the country, and the comforts and industries of the people. 

The climate of California is too much varied to be considered as a 
whole. It might be regarded almost as a heterogeneous mixture of the 
tropical and the arctic. From the Capital city, under the noonday sun 
of the summer solstice, with a temperature of from 90 to 100°, exceeding 
the extreme summer heat of the Atlantic States, you will see the snows 
glistening on the Sierras at no great distance. And by taking the cars 
on the trans-continental railroad, a few hours of travel will transport 
you to an arctic landscape. On the other hand, embarking on the 
steamer for San Francisco, at two o'clock in the afternoon, and travel- 
ling in the opposite direction, before night you are shivering in the cold 
sea breeze which sweeps up the bay. 

It is not necessary to journey so far in order to experience the same 
transition. You have only to cross any of the mountain walls which 
separate the ocean and bay from the interior, and which dam out the 
cold ocean atmosphere. 

There are essentially two climates in California, the land climate and 
the sea climate. The latter derives its low temperature from the ocean, 
the water of which, along the coast, stands at from 52° to 54P, all the year 
round. The evenness of the ocean temperature is owing to a steady cur- 
rent from the north, which is accompanied also by winds in the same 
direction during the entire summer season, or rather from April to Octo- 



CLIMATE. 331 

ber inclusive. Almost daily, during tliis period, a deluge of cold, damp 
air, of the same temperature as the ocean over which it has passed, is 
poured upon the land. It is mostly laden with mist, in dense clouds, 
which it deposits at the foot-hills and on the slopes of the highlands, 
or carries a short distance into the interior wherever there is a break 
in the land-wall. 

The land climate is as nearly as possible the opposite in every 
respect. In summer and autumn it is hot and dry. It undergoes vari- 
ous modifications from the configuration of the surface of the earth. 
Even the mountains, which retain the snow till a late period, present a 
high temperature in the middle of the day ; and the presence of snow 
on their summits in June is owing to the great mass which has accu- 
mulated on them, rather than to cold weather. 

A large district of territory lies between the jurisdiction of the two 
climates, and subject to their joint influence. It is composed chiefly 
of valleys surrounding the bay of San Francisco, and penetrating into 
the interior in every direction. There is no climate in the world more 
delightful than these valleys enjoy, and no territory more productive. 
Whilst the ocean prevents the contiguous land from being scorched in 
summer, it also prevents it from being frozen in winter. Hence, ice 
and snow are not common in the ocean climate. The difference in tem- 
perature is comparatively slight between summer and winter. 

The cold of winter in the interior is not intense, even on mountain 
elevations, with the exception of the tier of counties in the extreme 
north. Its degree depends much, however, on the altitude of the 
locality. The severity of winter is due, not to extreme cold, in any 
part of California, but to violent and prolonged snow storms in one 
section, and cold and prolonged rains in others. 

It is interesting to cast the eye over the map of the State, and trace 
out climatic modifications as governed by topography. First, look at the 
long range of coast, the slope of which, as far back as the first moun- 
tain wall, is under the control of the ocean, and has the most uniform 
of climates. It is a narrow strip of territory, the only part of the State 
preserved from desiccation in summer by daily showers of mist, and, 
therefore, admirably adapted to dairy purposes. Then survey the 
counties bordering on the great bay — Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Con- 
tra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo, borrowing one half 
their climate from the ocean and the other half from the interior; inex- 
haustible in agricultural resources, and forming the granary of the 
Pacific. The Pajaro and some other valleys farther south, to which 
the sea winds gain access, belong to the same system ; and those also 



332 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFOKXLV. 

of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, altliougli in a lesser degree, being 
farther removed from the ocean. Then regard the mountain region, 
with its countless little valleys, buried up with snow in winter, bursting 
forth into a paradise with the spring, and converted into furnaces by 
the summer's sun, and yet luxuriant with all kinds of delicious fruits. 
In this section are concentrated the mining interests. Finally, view 
the southern section, embracing one fourth of the State, removed alike 
from both extremes which operate in the north, controlled neither by 
mountain nor ocean, and enjoying the most genial temperature — a sec- 
tion of country wanting only in the certainty of winter rains to make it 
an Eden. 

After these general remarks, let us proceed to a more definite view of 
the subject, taking the climate of San Francisco as a stand-point and 
basis of comparison. This is proper, not only because the metropolis 
is the center of population, containing one fourth the inhabitants of the 
State, but because its climate is a type of that of the coast and bay 
regions. We will first consider the temperature. 

TEMPERATURE— EXTEEMES OF HEAT AXD COLD. 

The record of the climate of San Francisco, as kept by Dr. Henry 
Gibbons, extending from the autumn of 1850 to January, 18G8, a period 
of seventeen years, shows the coldest weather during that time to have 
occurred in January, 1854, when the mercury fell as low as 25'-'. The 
coldest noonday for the same period was 37^. Persons who do not rise 
early may see no ice in that city for several years in succession. AMien 
it is cold enough to preserve ice in the shade all day the circumstance 
is noted as a phenomenon. It is not uncommon for the entire winter 
to pass away without bringing the thermometer down so low as the point 
of freezing. In the year 1853 it fell at no time lower than 40'-', or eight 
degrees above the freezing point. 

The extreme of heat in the same period occurred on September 10th 
and 11th, 1852, when the thermometer reached 97"^ and 98^ on the two 
days respectively. This, however, was entirely exceptional, and might 
not again occur in half a century. The air was dry as a sirocco, and had 
a curious eifect on the wood-work of liouses, causing a constant crackling 
noise, from the shrinking of the timber, and the plaster breaking on 
the wooden partitions. In a locality somewhat exposed to reflected 
heat from the sun, and where the temperature Avas 100'-', a thermometer 
with a wet bulb fell to 68^ — the evaporation reducing it thirty-two 
degrees. 



CLIMATE. 



33a 



Witli the excej)tion just noted, tlie liottest day in tlie seventeen years 
was on the 6th of July, 1867, when the thermometer stood at 93*^, In 
October, 1864, and in September, 1865, it reached 91°; and in July, 
1855, it rose once to 90°. Thus, it appears there were but six days in 
seventeen years when the temperature was as high as 90°, and only two 
of these six days were in the summer months. 

The absence of warm weather in the summer months is character- 
istic of the coast climate and strikes a stranger forcibly. The most 
ordinary programme of this climate for the year is as follows, beginning 
■udth the rainy season : The first decided rains are in November or 
December, when the country, after having been parched with drought, 
puts on the garb of spring. In January the rains abate and vegetation 
advances slowly, with occasional slight frosts. February is spring-like, 
"w-ith but little rain. March and April are pleasant and showery, with 
an occasional hot day. In May the sea breeze begins, but does not 
give much annoyance. In June, just as warm weather is about to set 
in, the sea breeze comes daily, and keeps down the temperature. It 
continues through July and August, occasionally holding up for a day 
or two, and permitting the sun to heat the air to the svv^eating point. 
In September the sea wind moderates and there is a slight taste of sum- 
mer, which is prolonged into the next month. The pleasant weather 
often lingers in the lap of winter, and is interrupted only by the rains 
of November or December. 

By running the eye over the following table, a general idea can be 
gained of the coast climate as regards temperature. The first column 
represents the average temperature of each month at sunrise, for seven- 
teen years; the second, at noon ; and the third, is the mean of the 
otlier two. 



Months. 



Mean at Sunrise . 


Mean at Noon. 


Monthly Mean 


d 


5§. 


58. 


47. 


60. 


53.5 


48. 


63. 


55.5 


49. 


65. 


57. 


50. 


64. 


57. 


51. 


68. 


59.5 


52. 


67. 


59.5 


53. 


67. 


60. 


53.5 


69.5 


61. 


53. 


68. 


60.5 


49. 


62. 


55.5 


45. 


55. 


50. 


49.5 


63.7 1 


56.6 



Jaimary 

Febi'uary 

March 

April 

May 

June 

July 

August 

September 

October 

November. 

December 

Yearly mean. . 



334: THE NATUE.VL WE.iLTH OF CALrFOEXIA. 

Observe, in the table, the regular increase from January to Septem- 
ber, and the rapid decrease from October to December ; nine months of 
increase and two of decrease. Notice, also, the uniform increase of the 
night temperature as represented in the first column, and the irregu- 
larity in the noondaj^ increase, the sea breeze arresting it in May, and 
the sun giving it an upward impulse in June, before the sea wind has 
gained undisputed control. 

Whilst the summer months are warmest in the interior, as in most 
countries, a very different arrangement exists in the coast climate. 
This is because the sun has entire control inland, within its mountain 
intrenchments, and the ocean almost entire control of the coast slope 
outside of those intrenchments. The two forces act inversely ; that is 
to say, the more powerful the sun's heat in the interior, the more pow- 
erful is the pressure and force of the cold ocean atmosphere without. 
The heating power of the sun in the interior begins to decline after 
midsummer, and the temperature then begins to fall. But this lessens 
the draught from outside and gives the sun greater calorific power over 
the exterior atmosphere. Accordingly, M-ith the diminution of the 
force of the sea breeze in September, comes a slight touch of summer 
along the coast. The sun, not having receded far from the tropic of 
Cancer, avails itself of every opportunity to warm up the coast, and 
gains a temporary triumph over the ocean in September, or sometimes 
not till October. Hence, as the table shows, September is the warmest 
month in the year, and October next ; then comes August ; July, the 
hottest month almost everywhere else, is the fourth here, or ranks as 
such in connection with June ; next come April and May ; then March 
and November; then February, and finally January and December, the 
only winter months. 

The mean annual temperature at San Francisco is 5G.6, which may 
be set down as the mean of the coast and bay climate. As we recede 
from the ocean, the days are warmer and the nights colder, the sun 
being the great disturber of temperature, and the ocean the gTeat 
equalizer. But the increase of the day corresponds so nearly with the 
diminution of the night temperature, that the mean varies but little 
within the range of the sea breeze. 

"Washington and Bichmond, nearly in the same latitude as San Fran- 
cisco, have a mean of 54 or 5-4J, two degrees colder than the latter. This 
appears, at first sight, to be a small dificrence ; but its value is made 
evident by reflecting that it is a difterence for every day in the year — 
each day of the year in San Francisco, from January to December, hav- 
ing an average of two degrees higher than the corresponding day on 



CLIMATE. 



335 



the Atlantic border. Cold as our summers are in proportion to those 
in the East, it appears that the winters are warmer, in still greater 
proportion. 

In the Atlantic States the mean annual temperature diminishes in 
going northward about one degree for every degree of latitude. This 
is the general rule in all climates. But the climate of California pre- 
sents an extraordinary anomaly in this respect. Along the coast, from 
the mouth of the Columbia river to Monterey, a range of nine degrees 
of latitude, the mean temperature varies but little — not more than three 
or four degrees at most ; and even this difference does not correspond 
exactly with the difference of latitude. On the other hand, the inte- 
rior climate varies indefinitely, every valley having a climate of its 
own. The summers, however, are generally hotter in the north. One 
might start from Los Angeles, near the south line of the State, in 
summer, and travel northward, inland, five or six hundred miles, and 
find it growing hotter every day ; and he might go in a southeasterly 
course less than half that distance, and arriving at Fort Yuma, on the 
Colorado, he would find one of the hottest places in the world. 

The sudden fluctuations of temperature, incident to the climate of 
the Atlantic States, are unknown in California. We have none of those 
angry outbreaks from the northwest, which change summer to winter in 
a few hours. The sea breeze is chilling enough, especially when it 
comes in suddenly to reassert its sway, after one of the occasional 
vv^arm days of summer ; but the sea breeze can never bring the ther- 
mometer below 52°. 

In the summer months there is scarcely any fall of temperature 
through the night in the coast climate. The early morning is some- 
times clear, sometimes cloudy, but always calm. A windy morning in 
summer is uncommon at San Francisco. A few hours after sunrise the 
clouds break away and vanish, and the sun shines forth cheerfully and 
delightfully; not a breath of air is stirring. Towards noon, or a little 
after, the sea breeze sets in, and the weather is completely changed. 
From 65° the mercury drops to 53° or 54° long before sunset, and at 
that point it remains almost motionless till the next morning. This 
is the order of things in three days out of four in June, July and 
August. 

In the climate of the coast the nights are never uncomfortably 
warm. The extreme heat at 10 P. M. at San Francisco, for seventeen 
years, was 76°, The thermometer reached this point on three different 
nights ; on two nights it reach 75°, on four nights 73°, on two nights 
72°, and on five nights 70° — making only sixteen evenings in seventeen 



OOO 



TIIE NATURAL WEALTH OF C-VLITORXLV. 



3'ears when it was warm enough at bed-time to sit out of doors with 
thin clothing. The warmest morning in seventeen years was G9^, These 
facts have special interest in relation to sleep. 

Though the nights in the interior are not so uniformly cool, yet 
there are few localities, even in the valleys, where they are too warm 
for sleeping, even though the day temperature may have reached 100°. 
This is a remarkable feature of the climate of the Pacific States, and it 
has an important bearing on the health, vigor, and character of the 
population. 

In the southeastern corner of the State is a section having a climate 
of its owTi. It is kno^vn as the Colorado desert, and is comparatively 
barren of vegetation, owing to the small quantity of rain which falls 
there. The mean temperature at Fort Yuma, though not exactly in the 
desert, is, in the month of July, upwards of 100° at noon, and 90° at 
9 p. M. In contrast with this, is the winter climate of Yreka, near the 
extreme northwest corner of the State, and representing a small alpine 
section bordering on Oregon. During the stormy weather of January, 
1868, when the thermometer at Marysville and other localities in the 
north was telegraphed as ranging from 25° to 35°, at 8 a. m., the dis- 
patches from Yreka placed it below zero day after day, and sometimes 
10° or 12° below. 

We will conclude the subject of temperature with a table, represent- 
ing the mean of the several seasons at a number of prominent points in 
California, and also farther northward. The first column gives the 
temperature of the spring months, March, April and May; and so on, 
the other seasons are arranged. The last column is the mean annual 
temperature. 



Localities. 



Spring. Summer. 



Autumn. 



Winter. 



Year. 



San Francisco 

Sacramento 

Bonicia 

Monterey* 

San Diego 

Fort Yuma 

Humboldt Bay* 

Port Orford 

Dalles, Oregon 

Astoria, Oregon 

Fort Steilacooni, Washington Ter 



o 


o 


o 


o 


5(3.5 


co.o 


50.0 


51.0 


5(5.0 


GO. 5 


61.0 


4G.5 


5(!. 5 


G7.0 


CO. 5 


49.0 


51.0 


5'.).0 


57.0 


51.0 


(iO.O 


71.0 


CI. 5 


52.5 


72.0 


90.0 


75.5 


57.0 


52.0 


57.5 


5.10 


43.5 


52.0 


CO.O 


55.0 


47.5 


5:5.0 


70.5 


52.0 


35.5 


51.0 


01. 5 


51.0 


42.5 


4'J.O 


G3.0 


51.5 


39.5 



o 

56.6 
58.0 
5S.0 



G2.0 
73.5 
51.5 
.53.5 
53.0 
52.0 
5L0 



There is this difierence between the summer in the interior of Cali- 
fornia and the Atlantic States — that in tlic former, it is unbroken l)y 



* The figures for these localities are probably too low. 



CLIMATE. 337 

the showers and storms which in other regions temper the heat and 
give variety to the climate. From the beginning of June until Novem- 
ber the sky is mostly unclouded, and the sun shines out brightly the 
whole day. 

WINDS: THE SEA BEEEZE-NOETHEES-SOUTHEASTERS. 

Throughout the entire year, with the exception of the two months, 
December and January, the prevailing winds of the coast climate are 
from the west. Even in those two months, the west wind is often pre- 
dominant. In the winter and spring it is frequently accompanied with 
showers, but never in the summer and autumn. The true " sea breeze,'' 
the great refrigerator of this coast, is free from rain. It is commonly 
free from mist till June or July. It begins in February, and for 
about one half of that month comes in gently towards sunset. In 
March and April it is more frequent and sometimes strong. Its fre- 
quency and force increase in May, and in June it is turbulent and sel- 
dom absent. In July it reaches its acme of force. In August it is con- 
stant, but not quite so violent. In September it is also constant, but 
much diminished in force. In October it is lighter, and interrupted. 
In November it is irregular, and it disappears as December ap- 
proaches. 

It might be said that there are no east winds in California. The 
lofty mountain ranges to the eastward prevent any general current from 
that quarter. While the duration of the west wind, coming from one 
eighth of the compass, is upwards of two hundred days in the year at 
San Francisco, that from the east octant is not over two days. The 
remaining portion of the year is divided between dry northerly and 
damp, cloud-bearing southerly winds. Thus, the winds of California 
appear to belong to three systems : 

1. The sea breeze, dependant on inland heat and ocean cold. 
Though loaded with vapor, it mixes with the warm, dry air of the land, 
and can produce no rain — the land air drinking up its moisture. 

2. The land winds, from the north, which sweep through the en- 
tire State in the winter, and are confined to the interior in summer. 
They are cold in winter and hot in summer, but always dry. Occasion- 
ally they come like a sirocco and burn up vegetation. Fruit is some- 
times roasted on the trees by the combined influence of the sun and 
wind. Along the coast the north wind is modified materially by ming- 
ling with the ocean air. 

22 



338 THE NATURiU. WE.AXTH OF CALIFOKXIA. 

3. The south winds, which are warm, and come from the ocean 
loaded with moisture. They belong to the climate of winter and 
spring. Coming along the coast line, their direction is modified by the 
mountain ranges, and they become southeast winds; or by the pressure 
of the ocean air, making them southwest winds. Mixing with the colder 
atmosphere as they travel northward, cloud and rain are the result. 
They are the storm winds of winter, often doing much damage to ship- 
ping in the harbor, and prostrating trees in great numbers in the 
mountains. 

The sea breeze, besides controlling the climate of the coast and bay 
region during nearly the whole year, modifies very much the summer 
climate of the interior. Wherever there is a depression in the high- 
lands of the coast, it pours in and spreads itself over the heated earth. 
At the Golden Gate it has a fair sweep, and enters with great force, 
striking the opposite shore of Alameda county, where its further pro- 
gress is interrupted by the hills. It is then deflected northward and 
southward, and following the course of the bay, at San Jose becomes 
a northwest, and at Benicia a southwest wind. It continues its course, 
spreading like a fan into all the valleys that open towards the' bay. At 
points most remote from the inlet, it arrives late in the day. Chilling 
and unwelcome as it is to the inhabitants of the metropolis its after- 
noon visit is hailed as a blessing by those sufi'ering from the swel- 
tering heat of the interior. Within the range of the sea breeze the 
trees indicate its course, by leaning in the direction towards which it 
blows. Around the bay, where the winds are strong, the trees some- 
times lean so as to rest their branches on the ground; or the branches 
.grow out only on the lee side, giving the tree the appearance of having 
been cut down through the center — the windward half being removed. 
Far inland, on the Sacramento river for instance, where the current of 
.air is always gentle, the trunks of the trees incline slightly to the north. 
In such localities the tree is bent, not by the violence of the wind, but 
by its constancy, the young branches being always pressed in the one 
•direction during the growing season. 

The sea breeze, though often very strong, is never violent enough 
to do any serious damage ; its force is limited. The norther, which is 
most apt to occur as a prelude to Avinter, is not sufiiciently strong to do 
much mischief on land, though from its direction, SAvceping the harbor, 
its eflfect upon the shipping is sometimes disastrous. If the sea 
breeze had the same direction, the harbor could scarcely be used in the 
.summer mouths. The storm-wind of winter, varying from southeast to 
southwest, is often more violent than cither ; it is the only wind that 



CLBLITE. 339 

ever unroofs buildings in the city, a result that may happen once in ten 
or fifteen years. 

Each of these winds has its time of day, so ,to speak. The sea 
breeze is invariably at its height at 2 or 3 P. M. ; it subsides by sunset 
or sooner. The southerly storm-wind is apt to rise in the evening and 
reacli its height about 2 or 3 a. m. ; it is not, however, very regular in 
its habits. The norther springs up in the night, is generally at its 
height early in the morning, and subsides about noon. 

Apart from the sea breeze, there is much less wind in California 
than in the Atlantic States. At San Francisco, and in the ocean climate 
generally, the wind is not high on more than three or four days in the 
live months from October to February, the calmest months in the year 
being November, December and January. 

EAIN, STOEM, CLOUD AND MIST. 

Mining and agriculture, the leading interests of California, are inti- 
mately connected with the distribution of rain. Drought on the one 
hand and flood on the other, are the terrors of a large portion of the 
people. For these and other reasons, it is proper to dwell at some 
length on the subject of rain. 

In the entire absence of rain during one portion of the year, and its 
restriction to another portion, California has but one climate. There 
is this difference, however, between one part and another, that the rain 
commences sooner and continues later in the north, and that both tha 
quantity of rain and the duration of the rainy season diminish on 
approaching the southern part of the State, or rather on receding from 
the mountainous section. 

The rain-year of California does not conform to the calendar year, 
but extends from summer to summer, embracing the latter part of one 
year and the former part of the year ensuing. The natural division is 
in July or August — say the first of August. The calendar year fails to 
represent properly either a dry winter or a rainy one. Thus, the smallest 
quantity of rain in any one of the seventeen calendar years was 10. 50 
inches, in 1865, while the climatic year 1850-51 had but 7.12 inches, 
and 1863-64, 8.49 inches. On the other hand, the calendar year 1865 
had but 10.50 inches, or half the average supply, from which it would 
be inferred that one at least of the two seasons in which it enters was 
dry. Whereas, by reference to the table, it appears that both of those 
seasons had the full supply, being a fraction over twenty-one inches. 
It so transpired that the rain of one season was mainly in the latter -pait 



340 



THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 



of 1864, and that of tlie latter season in the early part of 18G6, leaving 
the intervening calendar year deficient. 

In seasons of sqanty rains, the deficiency is not confined to certain 
districts, as in the Atlantic States, but it is general. The annual suj)- 
ply, however, varies greatly in different sections. Taking the guage at 
San Francisco as a basis, very nearly the same quantity falls in the 
valleys surrounding the bay, and also in the Sacramento valley as far 
north as the Capital. Speaking more precisely, the quantity in Sonoma 
and Napa counties is rather greater, and in Santa Clara, south of the 
bay, rather less than at San Francisco. Proceeding southward it 
diminishes rapidly, the rain fall at Los Angeles and San Diego being 
only one half that of the bay. In the north and northeast, among the 
Sierras, it is three or four times as much in some localities. 

The following table exhibits the rains of each month at San 
Francisco, for seventeen year.s, beginning with the winter of 1850-51, 
and the mean for each month of the year : 



Tear. 


Jan. 


Fob. 


Mar. 


.\p'l. 


May. 


June 


July 


Aug. 


Sept 


Oct. 


Nov. 


Dec. 


1850 






















1.25 
2.11 
5.31 
1.43 
.40 

i.ir 

2.90 
3.01 

.48 
5.43 

.22 
3.7,< 

.11 
2.50 
7.62 
3.06 
2.64 
3.10 

2.74 


1.15 


1851 


.65 
.58 
4.11 
4.27 
4.52 
8.41 
2.07 
4.36 
1.00 
1.13 

L2; 

13. 1] 
3.29 
L31 
3.97 

11.05 
6.6-1 

4.51 


.35 

.12 
1.16 
8.41 
4.61 

.43 
8. GO 
1.32 
.5.2:; 
1.36 
2.83 
6.11 
3.26 

.00 

.78 
1.47 
6.22 

3.08 


1.88 
G.49 
4.81 
3.17 
4.31 
1.64 
1.5G 
3.94 
2.51 
3.06 
3.40 
1.66 
2.4'- 
1.39 
.60 
2.55 
l.GS 

2.76 


1.14 

.19 

5.05 

3.31 

5.59 

3.14 

.00 

1.14 

.33 

1.7-2 

.26 

1.11 

2.92 

.93 

.73 

.r; 

1.85 
1.74 


.69 
30 






.02 


1.00 


.18 

.80 

.10 

2.12 


7.07 


1852. 


11 90 


1853 


3" 










9 05 


1854 


.02 
2.14 

.8? 

.0: 
.11 

2 OC 


.04 








.38 


1855 








5.45 


1856 


'.li 

.10 




.04 


.OS 


.50 

. .93 

3.3,^ 


4 CO 


1857 


4.14 


1858 


4.77 


1859 


1.51 


I860 


2.56 
.66 
.91 
.43 
.5: 
.42 

1.85 
.01 

.82 


".16 
.23 


.33 




.0- 


" .90 


4 79 


1861 


G.IO 


1862 




.02 
.17 


.15 
.02 
.25 


' ' .0- 
.14 


2.73 


1863 


1.73 


1864 


G.97 


1865 


55 


1866 


.15 
.05 






13.15 


18G7 


.02 


.01 


.00 
.09 


.56 
.57 


12.85 


Mean 


5.37 



The greatest quantity of rain for any one month, as the table shows, 
was 18.14 inches, in January, 18G2 — a winter memorable on account of 
destructive floods on the Pacific slope. The greatest quantity in any 
one month in Eastern Pennsylvania, during a period of thirty years, 
was thirteen inches; and this was in one of the summer months. So 
much as this never falls in a winter month in the Atlantic States. For 
one season of excessive drought there have been two of excessive rain. 
No two seasons in succession have given as m\icb rain as 18GG-C7, and 
1867-C8. 



CLniATE. 



341 



The rains of eacli season are exhibited in the following table, in 
juxtaposition with the rains of each year : 



Season. 


Bain. 


Tear. 


Rain. 


1850-51 


7.12 
18.00 
33.46 
22.80 
24.10 
21.13 
19.95 
19.05 
19.76 
17.10 
14.54 
38.04 
15.19 

8.49 
21.30 
21.19 
32.22 

20.79 


1851 


15.12 


1851-52 


1852 


25 60 


1852 53 


1853 


19.03 


1853-54 


1854 


22 12 


1851 55 


1855 


27 80 


1855 56 


1856 


22.01 


1856 57 


1857 . . 


20 55 


1857-58 


1858 


19 64 


18.58-59 


1859 


18 03 


1859 60 


I860 


IG 15 


1860 61 


1861 


18.43 


1861 62 


1862 


31 05 


1862 63 


1863 


16.68 


1863 64 


1864 


18 95 


1864-65 


1865 


10 50 


1865 66 


1866 


32.98 


1866-67 


1867 


33 00 




Mean 




Mean 


21.62 









It appears that December is the month of greatest rain. The rainy 
tendency reaches its climax about Christmas, and then diminishes 
gradually until the termination of the season of rain, towards the lat- 
ter end of May. June, July, August and September are dry, with 
exceptions so slight as scarcely to deserve notice, only 2.50 inches hav- 
ing fallen in these four months collectively in seventeen years. 

In almost every winter there are two rainy periods, with a drier 
period interposed, showing an analogy to the earlier and later rains of 
Palestine and other oriental countries. The month of February is the 
most frequent representative of the dry period. But the spring rains, 
which sometimes commence in this month, and other heavy rains which 
occasionally fall, swell the aggregate so as to prevent the exhibition of 
a deficiency in the table. 

In speaking of the "rainy season," strangers will not infer that 
rain is perpetual, or nearly so, during that time. The term is employed 
only in contrast with the dry season, and it implies the possibility 
rather than the actual occurrence of rain. In more than half the win- 
ters there is not a drop beyond the necessities of agriculture, and even 
in the seasons of most rain much very pleasant weather is interspersed. 
If the winter be not extraordinary, it is generally regarded as the most 
pleasant season of the year. In the intervals of rain it is bright, sunnv 
and calm. It is spring rather than winter. The grass starts as soon as 
the soil is wet. At Christmas, nature wears her green uniform almost 



342 THE NATUEAL WE.VLTH OF C.VLIFORNIA. 

tlirongliotit the entire State, and in February and Marcli it is set with 
floral jewels. The blossoms increase in variety and profusion until 
April, when they are so abundant in many places as to show distinctly 
the yellow carpeting on hills five miles distant. 

There is great irregularity in the time of the commencement of the 
rainy season. It never sets in before November, and sometimes not till 
the latter part of December. In the northern section the rains com- 
mence earlier than at San Francisco, and in the southern section later. 
The spring rains, which are of immense importance to agriculture, 
rarely fail. March is one of the surest months in this respect. April 
often gives a copious supply. There is a remarkable tendency to rain 
about the 20th of May, and a complete cessation soon afterwards. It 
is a striking feature of the climate, that when the weather jDuts on its 
rainy habit, the rain is apt to continue every day for one or tAvo weeks, 
and then an interval may ensue without a drop for several weeks. 

The rains of California are tropical in one respect, being showery, 
and not often regularly continuous for many hours. The monotony of 
an easterly storm, such as the Atlantic climate furnishes, is almost 
imknown here. The sun breaks forth frequently in the midst of a 
shower, and directly the sky is almost clear. Presently, when it is least 
expected, the rain is heard on the roof with the suddenness of a shower- 
bath. 

The night is more favorable to rain than the day. No matter how 
dense the clouds, how fair the wind, how resolute the barometer in its 
promise of falling weather, the sun rarely fails to break up the arrange- 
ment before noon, and to tumble the clouds into confused masses, or 
dissipate them altogether. But before night, or during the night, the 
clouds resume their function. 

The prevailing direction of the cloud-current is from south to west, 
and the cloud supplying the rain is mostly of the cumulo-stratus or 
nimbus form, and quite low in the sky. What is singular, the rain 
begins most frequently to the northward, although the cloud comes 
from the south. The horizon in the south may be entirely clear under 
these circumstances, the cloud forming in view, and growing denser 
and denser in its northward travel, until it precipitates the rain. 

The following table oxliibits the mean quantity of rain falling at 
different stations, and the number of years on Avhich the mean is com- 
puted. The stations are arranged in the order of their latitude, begin- 
ning with Fort Yuma and San Diego, Avhich are about on the same 
parallel : 



CLIMATE. 



343 



Localities. 



Term. 



Mean. 



Fort Yuma 

San Diego 

Monterey 

Stockton 

San Francisco 

Benicia 

Sacramento 

Placerville 

Placerville 

South Yuba 

South Yuba 

Keel Do?, Nevada County 

Fort Jones 

Hoopa Valley, Ivlamath Co 

Port Orford 

Astoria, Oregon 

Dalles, Oregon 

Fort Steilacoom, "Washington Ter. 



Four years 

Three years 

Four years 

Four year's 

Seventeen years .... 

Eight years 

Twelve years 

1861-62 

1862-G3 

1861-62 

1866 67 

Three years 

Three years 

1861-62 

Four years 

One and a half years 

Tv/o years 

Five years 



3.24 
10.43 
12.20 
15.10 
20.79 
22.86 
18.23 
86.00 
26.00 

109.00 
81.56 
64.00 
16.77 

129.15 
71.63 
86.35 
14.32 
61.75 



A comparison witli the Atlantic slope presents a striking contrast. 
The smallest amount of rain that falls in one year, in any locality on the 
eastern side, say twenty inches, is at least equal to the average annual 
supply in the great grain-growing valleys of California; whilst, on the 
other hand, no locality on the eastern side, until you reach the tropical 
latitude of Florida, approaches the maximum of the Pacific slope. 
Thus, California, with a range of ten degrees of latitude, has a mini- 
mum of three and one-quarter inches at Fort Yuma, with a maximum 
exceeding one hundred inches on the Sierras; whilst the Atlantic slope, 
with upwards of twenty degrees of latitude, and an expanse of territory 
vastly greater, with mountainous elevations of considerable height, pre- 
sents a minimum of twenty inches with the same maximum as Cali- 
fornia. 

To make the contrast more striking, it may be added that the annual 
supply of rain has a greater range in California, in a distance of fifty 
miles from Sacramento City, than on the Atlantic slope, from Maine to 
Florida. Two or three times as much rain may fall in a single night in 
the mountains of California, as in the entire year in the southeastern 
corner of the State. 

The enormous quantity of one hundred and twenty-nine inches, at 
Hoopa valley, is stated on the authority of Dr. Kirkpatrick, of the 
United States Army. In general, such extreme results are to be accept- 
ed with caution. The gauge may not have been fairly exposed — or it 
may have been wrongly graduated. But Dr. Kirkpatrick gives, in 
detail, the supply for each of three month.s, which seems to confirm his 
report : November, 44. 10 inches ; December, 23. 79 inches ; January, 



344 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALEFORXIA. 

30.95 mclies. An observer on the South Yuba, Nevada county, reports 
41.95 inches as falling there in the month of December, 1867. Instead 
of being surprised at the floods in the Sacramento valley, we may won- 
der what becomes of so much water. 

It is worthy of note, that Hoopa valley is but about forty miles west 
of Fort Jones, w^here the annual svipply is set down as 1G.77 inches. 
Both places are on the northern border of the State, among the coast 
mountains, and remote from the ocean. 

SNOW AND HAIL— LIGHTNING AND THUNDEE— AUEORA BOREALIS. 

There are no snow storms worthy of the name in the bay region, or 
in the great valleys of the State. Hail falls frequently in some seasons, 
mingled with rain showers — that is to say, it falls three or four times 
during the winter, in which case the winter is pronounced a hard one. 
Three or four times in eighteen years there has been enough to cover 
the ground, so that in favorable spots it would remain an hour or two. 
Once or twice in the same period the southern and middle sections of 
the State have been covered with snow. On the 29th of December, 
1856, it snowed very fast for several hours, and two or three inches col- 
lected on the ground at San Francisco. It melted, however, before 
night. On the hills surrounding the bay it remained nearly a week. 
Early on the morning of the 12th of January, 1868, it snowed very fast 
for an hour or two, so that two inches collected. But it disappeared 
befoje sunrise, and was therefore invisible to the citizens generally. 

The wdntcr seldom passes without exhibiting the summits of Monte 
Diablo and the Coast Bange, as seen from the metropolis, covered 
with snow. In the most severe winters it may remain there two or 
three weeks at a time, but this seldom happens. When it rains at San 
Francisco with the temperature below 50^, it snows generally on those 
mountains. 

But, in this region of contrasts, while snow is a phenomenon in the 
central valleys, it accximulatos in enormous quantities in the mountain- 
ous counties of the north and east. The stories that arc told of its 
depth in some localities are almost incredible — not on the Alpine 
heights, in the region of perpetual snow, for there is perpetual snow 
only in a few places in California — but in mining regions and mountain 
valleys, inhabited by a dense population, and producing a luxuriant 
growth of vegetation in the summer. "Wo have been assured that forty 
feet accumulated in one locality, in the winter of 1866-7, as measured 
on the trunks of trees. When we reHcct that one inch of rain is equiva- 



CLIMATE. 345 

lent to nine inclies of light snow, or six of paclied snow, and that forty- 
inches of rain are recorded as having fallen in a month, we can perceive 
where so much snow might come from. It is stated that sixty inches of 
water fell during the winter of 1867-8, on the South Yuba, prior to the 
1st of January. In the form of snow, counting six inches for one, this 
would have measured thirty-six feet. 

While the absence of frost and snow in the agricultural regions 
favors the culture of the soil, and enables it to be carried on without 
interruption, except from deficiency or excess of rain, the accumulation 
of snow on the mountains is equally favorable to mining purposes, 
furnishing a copious supply of water far into the dry season. In May 
and June, when the great valleys are beginning to feel the parching 
effects of an unclouded sun, the rivers which traverse them bring 
down an annual freshet of ice water as the proceeds of the wintry 
deposit. 

The comparative absence of thunder and lightning may be deemed 
a remarkable phenomenon of the climate of California. Three or four 
times in the course of the rainy season an occasional flash of lightning 
or peal of thunder may accompany the rains. But persons within doors 
may pass the whole year, or even several years, without noticing either. 
A regular thunder gust, such as marks the Atlantic climate and breaks 
the monotony of solar rule, is almost unheard of in California, unless 
it be in the extreme north, bordering on Oregon. Two thunder gusts 
are on record in San Francisco, both occurring in December, in con- 
nection with cold winter rains. Such electrical displays are confined 
mainly to the winter; though, on rare occasions, they take place during 
the summer months, more particularly in the interior. 

There being so little necessity for lightning rods they are imknown 
in California, but the lightning does sometimes strike, nevertheless. 
In August, 1862, a thunder storm passed over the southern portion of 
Alameda county, attacking the telegraph in its route and shivering two 
or three of the poles. In December, 1864, the court house at Monterey 
was struck by lightning and somewhat damaged. In the mountains 
thunder storms occur occasionally, but seldom even there. 

It is a common remark that the atmosphere of the Pacific coast is 
deficient in electricity, which means simply that the electric equilib- 
rium is not easily disturbed. Those little exhibitions of what might 
be called domestic electricity, which are common in the Atlantic States, 
such as the crackling of clothing and furs, are seldom witnessed here. 
They are rare even in winter, though the air be thoroughly dried by a 
north wind. It is well known that sudden changes of temperature, and 



346 THE NATURAL "\MiALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

rapid formation of cloud, are favo'raljle to electric disturbances. In 
the Bay climate, the few hot days that sometimes steal in with a land 
wind during the summer months, are followed by an immense deluge 
of cold, ocean air, which depresses the thermometer from 85^ to 55^ 
in a few hours, and determines the sudden production of immense vol- 
umes of cloud. But all this is performed without visible electrical 
disturbance. In the rainy season, clouds are formed above the hori- 
zon, in full view, with great rapidity, giving rise to sudden showers. 
The quickness with which this occurs is surprising. The aurora 
borealis is also rare, having been observed only about six or eight 
times in eighteen years. The extraordinary display of August 28th, 
and September 1st, 1859, appears to have been as brilliant on the 
Pacific as on the Atlantic coast. 

EELATIOX OF CLEMATE TO AGElCULTUEE AND OTHER PURSUITS 

A stranger observing the long dry season of California for the first 
time, would naturally infer that this country is no place for agriculture. 
So firmly were the early American settlers impressed with this belief, 
that they made little effort at tilling the land, even to the extent of 
raising garden vegetables. The pliancy and ingenuity of our people, 
however, soon adapted them to the novel circumstances to which they 
were subjected. That the hills everywhere produced spontaneously 
from year to year a luxuriant crop of oats, and that the valleys, burnt 
up as they were in summer and autumn, were sure to be transformed 
into flower gardens in the spring, convinced them that farming coidd 
be made profitable as well as mining. While the masses were delving 
in the mountains in pursuit of gold, a few turned their attention to the 
growing of potatoes and vegetables, whereby many of them realized 
fortunes in a few years. 

In the dryest seasons there is rain enough to produce abundant 
crops, if it be properly distributed. No one who has not reflected on 
the subject would think it possible that six inches of rain during the 
season could suffice. One half this quantity is enough to wet the ground 
for i^lowing, and the other half to perfect the crop. The dryest season 
since 1848 was that of 1850-51, when a small fraction over seven inches 
fell from summer to summer. And, yet, the potatoes of 1851 were not 
only the best ever raised in the country, but they were of extraordinary 
size. The principal portion of the rain was in March and April; and 
this furnished the opportunity to plant under favorable circumstances. 

The art of farming in California, as governed by the climate, con- 



CLIMATE. 347 

sists in liaving the soil in good corfdition and planting the seed while 
there is moisture enough to start it. After this, rain is not so essential 
in some localities. The old Californians, in their rude system, avoided 
planting till the rains were over. This was to escape the necessity of 
cultivating the crop. They have been known to plow up their potatoes 
when rain came after the planting, and to replant; because this was 
cheaper than to keep down the weeds which the rain would start into 
growth. This is not precisely the American method, and yet it is truly 
surprising how perfectly crops of all kinds will mature without a drop 
of rain and without irrigation. 

In Alameda county a small patch of tough, adobe soil, which had 
never been cultivated, was ploughed up for the first time late in May 
and planted with beet seed. The soil was not touched afterwards with 
an implement of any description. The beets grew rapidly without a drop 
of rain, whilst the surface dried too quickly for the weeds to start. 
The average size of the beets at maturity was not much short of ten 
pounds, and many of them were twice that size. Being compressed by 
the solidified soil before they had attained their full growth, the roots 
stretched upwards, and most of them were a foot out of the earth. 

There is no compensation for the absence of rain by dews. As a 
general rule, the atmosphere is too dry to form much dew. Immedi- 
ately on the coast, north of the bay of San Francisco more particularly, 
the mists which are poured in daily from the ocean are equivalent to 
rain, and preserve the annual vegetation in a fresh condition when the 
surface of the earth is parched everywhere else. The finest dairy region 
in the world is here. The valleys surrounding the bay are also cele- 
brated for their dairies. But the ocean slopes of Marin county take the 
lead, and neither the sun of summer nor the frosts of winter smite their 
green pastures with death. 

In the Atlantic States the storms of approaching winter put a stop 
to the labor of the farm, and force both man and beast into winter 
quarters. In California it is Just the reverse. The husbandman watches 
the skies with impatient hope, and as soon as the rain of November or 
December has softened the soil, every plough is put in requisition. 
Nothing short of excess or deficiency of rain interferes with winter 
farming. The planting season continues late, extending from Novem- 
ber to April, giving an average of nearly six months for ploughing and 
sowing, during which the weather is not likely to interfere with out- 
door work more than in the six spring and summer months of the 
Eastern States. 

Owing to the absence of rain, harvesting is conducted on a plan 



348 THE NATUEAL ^"EALTH OF CALIFORXU. 

wliicli would confuse tlic ideas of an Atlantic farmer. There are no 
showers or thunder gusts to throw down the grain, or wet the hay, or 
impede the reaper. The haj dries in the swath without turning. The 
grain remains standing in the field awaiting the reaping machine, it 
may be, for a month after it is ready to cut. And so it remains when 
cut, aAvaiting the thresher. "When threshed and sacked, the sacks are 
sometimes piled up in the field a long while before removal. In Sep- 
tember and October the great grain-growing valleys may often be seen 
dotted over with cords of grain in sacks, as secure from damage by 
weather as if closely housed. 

Owing to the absence of severe frosts, the gardens around San 
Francisco suj^ply fresh vegetables all through the winter. New potatoes 
often make their appearance in March. In May the potatoes are full 
grown, and the largest weigh a pound or more. Though shipped and 
transported hundreds of miles in sacks in the winter season, no one 
thinks of their freezing. Frozen potatoes are unheard of, but a dis- 
tinction is made in wet weather by traders, between wet and dry pota- 
toes, accordingly as they have been exposed or not. 

A peculiar effect of the climate on fruit trees, is their early and pro- 
lific bearing. Apple trees begin to bear when only two or three years 
old, and they also continue to grow. It is still more remarkable, that 
the opposite climates of the coast and the interior produce the same 
results in this respect. One might infer, that the dryness and heat of 
summer would hasten the ripening of fruits, and cause the flowering 
and fruiting season to be short. But the fact is precisely opposite. 
The blossoms, instead of coming foi-th all at once, continue expanding 
for weeks, and the fruit ripens slowly and by instalments. It follows 
that the market season for any kind of fruit, instead of lasting a few 
weeks, as in the Atlantic States, may continue for months. Cherries, 
for instance, begin to appear about the middle of May, and are on 
hand till the middle or last of July. Hence, an extraordinary variety 
of fruit is in market at the same time. It is probable that no market 
in the world is equal to that of San Francisco in this respect. Thus, 
sh-awberries, which become abundant in April, are brought to market 
in largo quantities for three months, and then disappear, not because 
the production has ceased, but because people have grown tired of 
them, and other fruits have made their appearance. AMicn the winter 
is mild, ripe strawberries may be gathered every month of the year. 
In favorable localities, cherries, peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, 
pears, apples and figs, together with strawberries, raspberries, goose- 



CLBIATE. 349 

berries and currants, may often be gathered at the same time, all ripe 
and in perfect condition. 

For the drying of fruit the climate is admirably adapted, and the 
probability is that immense quantities of dried fruit will be produced 
in California for export. There can be no failure in the process. All 
that is requisite, is to expose the fruit in a suitable place, after proper 
preparation, and leave it there. It needs no covering or care at night, 
as there is not sufficient dew to harm it. 

The perfection and value of fruit are greatly enhanced by the entire 
absence of those species of the curculio, which sting the fruit in the Atlan- 
tic region, and deposit the eggs from which worms are hatched. So 
far not a single worm of this description has been seen in any variety of 
fruit in California — an exemption which is no doubt due to the climate. 

Other contrasts than those described in the foregoing pages result 
from the peculiarities of climate. In traveling through the valleys late 
in summer, or in the autumn, one is painfully impressed with the bar- 
renness of the landscape. Everything is withered and desolate; the 
streams are all dry, and not a patch of verdure is anywhere to be seen. 
A few months later, should the December rains prove copious, the 
streams are full and the whole country is not only verdant, but many 
parts of it are, perhaps, under water ; a most luxuriant vegetation, 
mixed with millions of wild flowers, everywhere greeting the eye as 
the spring advances. 

The aridity of the dry season is a blessing in disguise. "What 
appears to the traveler a barren waste, is a pasture field. The dried 
grass is well preserved, after going to seed, and both stalk and seed 
afford nutritious food to sheep and cattle. Here, then, is a storehouse 
for stock, which will endure until the first heavy rain. For this reason 
our agriculturists desire no rain until late in the season, and not then 
unless sufficient should fall to wet the soil for ploughing, or to start a 
fresh growth. Anything short of this only spoils the dry pasture, 
without giving compensation. 

Another point is to be considered : that dry and dreary landscape 
is nature's seed store, where seeds of a hundred species are preserved 
for next year's use. There they repose for months as safe as if packed 
in the drawers of a seedsman. In the spring they will germinate by 
myriads. How well these seeds are preserved, is shown by the multi- 
tudes which germinate in a given space. 

And now, what wonder that the hills of California are clothed every 
year with a luxuriant growth of wild oats ? And that "volunteer" crops 
of barley and wheat, yielding twenty bushels to the acre, spring up in 



350 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFORXU. 

the A^alloys from seed scattered iu harvesting ? It is not unusual to 
have two good volunteer crops in succession, in as many years. Gar- 
den vegetables seed themselves in the same way. 

By a curious arrangement, the seeds which are scattered on the 
ground are often secured most effectually. A large portion of the valley 
surface is composed of adobe soil; and as soon as the dry weather 
comes this soil begins to crack in all directions, and when the seed 
ripens and falls, it is preserved, in these natural receptacles, from the 
depredations of birds, squirrels and other animals. 

The preservation of the pasture by drying, and the shortness of 
winter and consequent early production of new pasture, have tempted 
farmers to make little or no provision for their stock, such as is neces- 
sary in the same latitude elsewhere. There is a want in the country of 
barns, and of the means of housing and foddering. When there comes 
a severe winter, wdth cold rains and a long suspension of the growth of 
pasture, the effects are disastrous. Every such season proves fatal to 
vast numbers of cattle, the mere loss of which should be esteemed of 
less importance than the torture inflicted on them by cold and starva- 
tion. The humane farmer should not trust to the chances of a mild 
winter. 

he.4j:.th, domestic ecoxo:\iy, etc. 

An inhabitant of New England, or Canada, coming to California, 
wears nearly as warm clothing in the month of July in San Francisco 
as he w'ore in January in his old home. Even then he shivers with the 
sea breeze, and sometimes dons an overcoat before sunset. No one 
thinks of casting off his flannel, or wearing a lighter coat on account 
of the approach of summer. With the ladies, however, the case is dif- 
ferent. The occasional w-arm mornings of summer allow the exhibi- 
tion of summer fashions, without prohibiting cloaks and furs. At 
night it is otherwise, the temperature requiring the use of blankets. 
Even in the interior, with the thermometer at 100"^ at noonday, blan- 
kets are almost cvery^'here required before morning. There is no cli- 
mate in the world in which one sleeps so comfortably all the year round; 
and it is questionable if there is any other country in the temperate 
latitudes where people devote so much time to sleep. 

The atmosphere is mostly dry, even during the summer mists ; 
vapor never condensing on the walls, nor indicating its presence within 
doors in any other perceptible manner. 

In its relations to the physical development of animals, including 
man, the climate of California appears to be propitious. Laborers 



CLIMATE. 351 

will toil in the extreme lieat, in tlie interior, and preser^'e tlieir health 
and vigor in a remarkable degree. This is partly due to the dryness of 
the air, which promotes the rapid eA'aporation of sweat, and partly to 
the coolness of the nights, which favors rest and recuperation. The 
climate is remarkably adverse to epidemic diseases. The malignant 
cholera made a visitation in 1850, but was scarcely felt elsewhere than 
at Sacramento, where a combination of the most unfavorable circum- 
stances gave it destructive power. Passengers have frequently arrived 
since that time, after traversing regions where the disease was raging, 
without introducing it. With the exception just noted, it might be 
said that no epidemic has prevailed in California since its settlement 
bj Americans. Every summer an influenza prevails vrith gTeater or 
less force, in the bay climate, and in several instances it has extended 
along the coast into the neighboring region. Many of the interior val- 
leys are subject to malarious fevers, but not generally of a severe type. 
The various forms of disease which prevail elsewhere are found here, 
but they present no peculiarities worthy of comment. Insanity, and 
diseases of the heart and blood vessels, are frequent, but this is due 
rather to moral and physical causes than to climatic influence. 

The relation of the climate to pulmonary affections presents its most 
important aspect. Many persons threatened with lung disease, or but 
slightly affected by it, have regained their health completely by immi- 
gration. But the benefit is to be ascribed to the sea voyage, and to 
circumstances incident to change of residence, more than to the cura- 
tive effect of the climate of the Pacific coast. To individuals in other 
countries suffering with tubercular disease in its established stages, 
this country offers no valid prospect of benefit. Consumption is 
developed in California as it is in most other portions of the temperate 
zone. The chilly winds of the ocean climate in summer, whilst they 
will, in many cases, brace the system against debility, and enable it to 
resist the invasion of disease, depress the vital forces in other cases 
beneath the power of resistance. On the other hand, the extreme heat 
of the interior leads to the same injurious results by its exliausting 
operation. But there is a wide lange of climate between the two 
extremes, more favorable than any other on the Pacific slope to pul- 
monary patients, and much more favorable, it may be added, than the 
climate of the Atlantic States, either in summer or winter. The same 
may be said of the southern section of the State in general. The win- 
ter of California everywhere exhibits great uniformity in its relation to 
pulmonary invalids, and is decidedly superior to the corresj^onding 
season on the Atlantic slope. 



CHAPTER V. 

AGEICULTUKE. 

AGEictTLTURE. Preliminary Observations. The Cereals : TVlaeat, Barley, Oats, Eice, etc. 
Grasses: Alfalfa, Clover, etc. Cotton— Flax — The Sugar Beet— Melon Sugar— Hops- 
Tobacco— Mustard Seed— The Amole, or Soap Plant— The Tea Plant. Fruits and Nuts : 
Api^les — Pears — Peaches — Plums — Cherries— Oranges — Lemons— Limes— Bananas — 
Olives — Almonds — Chestnuts, etc. Bemes : Strawbemes — Baspbenies — Blackberries. 
Dried Fraits : Baisins — Currants — Prunes — Figs, etc. Pickles, Preserved Fruits and 
Vegetables: Orange Marmalade — Quince Jelly— Onions, etc. Potatoes— Large Growths. 
Dairy Products : Butter— Cheese. Cattle and Horses— Sheep and Wool— Hogs— Bees 
and Honey — Insects. Wood Planting : Transplanting Trees— The Sirocco. Agricul- 
tural Implements : Steam Ploughs— The California Land Dresser. Irrigation — Under 
Draining — Famine Years— Late Eains— The Farmer's Troubles in California — Hints 
to Emigrants— Contrasts— Advantages— The Chinese in California — Farm Labor — Har- 
mony among Producers. ViNicuLTUEE. Grapes— Wine— Brandy— Wine Merchants, etc. 
Silk Cultuke. Mulberry Trees— Cocoons — Diseases of Silk Worms, etc. 

Elsewhere in this work will be found general statements pertaining 
to the agricultural productions of each county in the State. One of 
the purposes of this chapter, is to present to .inquirers abroad a clear 
comprehension of what a farmer in the Atlantic States, or in Europe, 
would desire to know should he contemplate emigrating to California. 
In endeavoring to do this, we have aimed to. answer every question this 
class of inquirers would be likely to ask, not omitting to mention the 
disadvantages that exist, so that having the whole subject fairly pre- 
sented to him he can act intelligently in the premises. 

Except in treating of the dairy business, which requires peculiar 
conditions of climate and situation, we have not directed much atten- 
tion to localities — for the area is very large from which to choose ; and, 
besides, that is done elsewhere in this volume, Avhere also will be found 
descriptions of the various soils, and quotations of prices. There is, 
however, no standard quotation anywhere except around towns, and 
there it may so change in a year as to mislead. In general terms, land 
is very rich and very cheap. Improved farms can always be bought of 
persons ready for a change at moderate prices. It mav, also, be said 



AGRICULTURE. 353 

that tlie trials and discomforts of tlie first year of emigrant life are less 
by sixty per cent, than in the western Atlantic States, owing to pecu- 
liarities hereafter explained. 

The climate of California is so mild in winter, which is in fact the 
season of verdure, that very little feed or shelter is provided. Barns 
are almost unknown. Some degree of shelter would, however, prove 
beneficial to animals in long protracted rains. By February spring 
comes ; ploughing begins in November, if, as is usual, the rain fall 
suffices to soften the ground ; sowing following immediately after, 
except on lands subject to be flooded — but grain can be sown at any 
time during the winter months. The best crops are grown when 
the rains of March and April are sufficient to carry the growth to 
maturity in June or July, which is the harvest time. "W^hen these are 
deficient, early seeding fares the best. This system gives more pleasant 
and profitable winter occupation than in the Atlantic States. It is, 
however, in the time of harvest that the farmer finds his chief advan- 
tage ; his crops are gathered without a rain fall to injure them, or to 
cause a day to be lost. 

THE CEEEAIiS. 

Wheat — The varieties of wheat chiefly raised are Chilean and Aus- 
tralian. Grain-cutters are in universal use. Threshing is all done by 
machinery on the field, and grain is sacked on the spot, where it may lie 
safe from injury, needing no shelter, till October. It is allowed to get 
fully ripe, and is so entirely cured that it never sweats in the ship's 
hold, however long the voyage; nor does this entire ripeness cause 
much loss of grain by falling to the ground in handling. It is a pecu- 
liarity of all seeds here, that the containing capsules hold them fast 
till the first rain relaxes their fibres and allows them to drop. On this 
account harvesting need not be hurried. A field of wheat may stand a 
month, or even two, after being fully ripe, and lose but little by its late 
cutting. This gives the farmer a longer time to dispose of his crop 
without immediately incurring the expenses attending carriage and 
storage. 

A farmer who owns his land can always arrange for money advances, 
either to cover his first outlays for a crop, or to hold his grain for a 
market, if he be not too remote from shipping points. The great crop 
is wheat ; nearly half the land under culture in the State being devoted 
to it. It is the money-making crop ; therefore, we give leading parti- 
culars in regard to it. 

Begarding the certainty of a market for wheat at fair paying rates, 
we give the aspect of the future, as it appears at this time. California 
23 



35-4 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALEFORNIA. 

produced in 18G7 about fifteen millions busliels of this cereal, of wliicli 
nearly eight millions were exported. The average market price during 
that year was $2 per one hundred pounds, the ruling rates in the early 
part of 1868 having been $2. 60 per one hundred pounds. Our exports 
of flour during the year 1867 amounted to 520,000 barrels. 

In no country can wheat be raised to greater profit even at the high 
price of farm labor, say forty dollars a month and board. Eighty cents 
a bushel, in favorable seasons and localities, pays the farmer, since one 
seeding can be made to produce two crops ; the second being termed 
a volunteer crop, and coming from the seed that falls in harvesting the 
first. The yield is somewhat less, but the profit is of course much 
larger, as there is no expense for ploughing and seeding. The Cali- 
fornia farmer is at no expense for manure ; he burns the straw! 
This looks like wasteful and destructive exhaustion of the soil. In 
some places it is being seriously felt, and in time it must work uni- 
versal impoverishment of the land. But there is a large extent of 
land which has been in grain for fifteen years, and yet produces 
twenty to twenty-five bushels to the acre, as at first. There are well 
authenticated cases of fields situated in the San Joaquin valley, that 
have been cultivated to grain for sixteen consecutive years without 
diminution of the production, except one year, when the crops were a 
total failure, from the absence of the usual rains. Regarding the 
quality of California wheat, it may be mentioned that it commands 
extra prices in England and France, especially on account of its faculty 
of appropriating much more water in the baking process than other 
flour, and thus giving greater weight of bread. Our principal market 
for wheat is England ; next. New York, and other domestic ports. 
Freights to New York and Europe, during the year 1867, ruled at 
about $15 per ton. Flour is sent to New York, by steamer via Panama, 
for $2 per barrel, considerable being shipped by that route. Ship- 
ments to Mexico and Central America are increasing, as well as to 
various other parts of the world. 

Oafs — This grain, of which comparatively little was at first cultivated 
in the State, barley being preferred because of its greater cheapness 
for horse feed, has for the past few years been growing in favor, and is 
every year being more extensively planted. The total product of the 
State for 1867 reached about 2,000,000 bushels, the average yield having 
been aboiit thirty bushels to the acre. The quantity received in San 
Francisco for the year from the interior was 282,000 sacks of one hun- 
dred pounds each. Very little was exported, nearly the whole being 



AGRICLXTXIEE. 355 

required for home consumption. * Mucli of this grain is cut while 
green and made into hay. 

Wild Oats — When California became first known to Americans the face 
of the country was nearly everywhere covered with wild oats. Though 
parched in the long summer, the grain held firmly in its capsule and 
supplied the most fattening pasture. It still prevails outside of culti- 
vation, furnishing a large proportion of the hay in use in many locali- 
ties. It differs from tame oats in being smaller, and in this peculiarity, 
that it has bearded projections, with bended joints, like the legs of tho 
grasshopper. "When the first rain comes it limbers out the joints, which 
being dried by the sun, after the rain, shrink, causing the berry to 
hop about, giving it a wide distribution over the land. The wild oat, 
though differing materially, is probably a climatic deterioration of the 
tame oats brought here by the Spanish missionaries some seventy 
years ago. 

Barley — This grain being an almost certain crop, has heretofore been 
largely grown in California, the crop for 1867 being estimated at ten 
million bushels. It is here made to subserve nearly the same uses as 
oats and Indian corn in the Atlantic States, being the principal grain 
fed to cattle, horses and swine. Like wheat and oats, much is grown 
from volunteer crops, the yield being not only surer, but generally larger 
than that of those grains — averaging about thirty-two bushels to the 
acre. But comparatively little has heretofore been exported, though 
it is believed, from the superiority and cheapness of the barley gi-own 
here, in connection with the advantages that exist for manufacturing malt 
liquors, that this branch of business will, in a short time, be greatly 
expanded. Experiments recently made demonstrate that ale and porter 
can be made in San Francisco of a quality every way equal to the Eng- 
lish article, while the coolness of the climate admits of brewing being 
carried on throughout the entire year. 

Rice — There is a large consumption of rice here, by the fifty thou- 
sand Chinamen scattered throughout the State, the average annual 
consumption having exceeded twenty-three million pounds for several 
years past. Our large area of swamp and overflowed lands is well 
suited to rice, and the climate is equally so, but these lands cannot 
be used till guards are erected to regulate the water flow. No rice has 
yet been cultivated in California. There are many varieties of rice, and 
it is not always a water-plant. Many kinds are called hill rice, which 
produce a fine grain. With irrigation, it might be more profitable than 
wheat. But with irrigating canals all varieties could be cultivated, and 
tliis should be an inducement of some weight to urge their construction. 



356 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF C.U.IFOKNIA. 

Rye, BuckwJieat and Indian Corn are little cultivated. The latter can 
be grown to profit only in favored localities, on account of cool nights, 
late maturing, and an almost entire absence of summer rains. 

GRASSES. 

There is little or no sod in California. In the Atlantic States and 
in Europe grass is killed by winter frosts, but the roots survive and 
make sod, which spring rains revive ; but the long summer drought of 
this climate, with scarcely any rain from April to November, takes the 
life from the roots, and for hay or pasture it is necessary to renew sow- 
ing every year. The hay of California is mostly made from oats and 
barley, cut before ripening, and as it is cured without rain, it has a 
bright, light-green color — when not too excessively sun dried. It is 
very nutritious — oat hay being preferred to barley. In isolated local- 
ities there are moist valley spots amid the rolling hills where there is 
some summer verdure. 

Bunch-grass is a peculiar herbage on many dry hill sides, and 
affords a perpetual pasture. It occurs always in detached bunches, 
sufiicient in size to make a small mouthful, and seems to be proof 
against drought — but is not cultivated. Wherever the sage-brush is 
found, (popular emblem of complete barrenness,) cattle keep fat on 
this curious grass — ^which flourishes under the shelter of the brush. 
It is the first verdure that makes its appearance and gives pasture in 
the early spring. 

AJ/aJ/a is a species of clover which gives perennial pasture and makes 
excellent hay, when cultivated. Its roots go down to moisture at depths 
incredible, and they seem to travel till they reach it ; but once fairly 
rooted, it is difficult to eradicate this grass; and as it attracts gophers, 
to the great annoyance of the farmer, it is not generally in great favor 
— but its cultivation is extending. 

Jjurr clover differs from other varieties in having a peculiar seed, 
full of rich oil, enclosed in a prickly capsule. Cattle do not fancy it 
much until it is dead ripe and scattered over the ground, but during 
the entire summer, and when to our eyes invisible, it supplies a noiir- 
isliing food to the lapping tongue of cattle. 

Alfder'dla has the appearance of the wild geranium but has not been 
cultivated. Wherever it grows it is the favorite pasture with cattle. It 
stands second to none of the grasses in its endurance of drought, and 
flourishes on hill sides, Avhere alfalfa grass fails for want of moisture. 
To the eye, alfilerilla is a flattened tuft, hugging the ground. It ajipears 
to give scarcely a fair hold to the bite of cattle, but, if lifted up, it shows 



AGRICULTUEE. 357 

a great mouthful. In cultivated ground, wherever it has an opportu- 
nity to gain an undisturbed growth, it gives proof that it would yield a 
hea-^y crop, of good height and of unsurpassed richness, for hay as well 
as pasture. Probably it would prove more valuable to cut and feed 
in the green state. It is deserving of more attention than it receives. 

The Lupin, which is cultivated as a grass in France, grows wild 
among the sand hills of the Coast Eange of California, and could be 
made profitable where little else will grow, by planting select varieties. 
There is a coarse joint-grass which runs like a vine over the sands bor- 
dering the sea, and which spreads with wonderful swiftness — every joint 
sending down roots. For sheep and goats it would furnish a never- 
dying supply of pasturage. 

Timothy, Orchard, Herd and Red- Top, as well as other favorite grasses 
of the Atlantic States, are limited to a few places in this country, 
because they would furnish but one crop, and then die in the drought 
of summer. But, in time, these grasses will be cultivated in moist 
mountain dells and on improved swamp lands ; in certain localities they 
are now doing well. 

Natural meadows of great extent are found interspersed among the 
watery tule lands. They are very wet in winter, and their grass, though 
a sure crop and heavy, is wiry, coarse, and of inferior nourishment ; 
yet, at times, it is of priceless value. The year 1864 was one of famine 
to cattle in this State ; the rains were scant, and the usual feeding 
grounds were barren. Some enterprising men cut fifty thousand tons 
of this coarse grass in that year, and it proved the salvation of a large 
number of cattle, and a source of great profit to the adventurers. 
Among the recuperative resources of the State, this may be counted 
on hereafter as of great value. 

COTTON. 

Cotton encounters the same difl&culty as corn, without irrigation; 
wherefore, it seems hardly deserving a place in the list of our agricul- 
tural staples. The time will come when irrigation, as a grand system, 
will be called for and adopted, rendering the more extensive culture of 
these articles probable. 

FLAX. 

The establishment of a mill in San Francisco, and also one in Sut- 
ter county, for the manufacture of linseed and other vegetable oils, 
has had the effect to encourage within the past year a more extensive 
culture of flax and the castor oil bean than before. Thus far the San 
Francisco mill, the other having been more recently built, has been 



358 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF C.VLIFOEXLV. 

obliged to rely chiefly upon foreign importations for its supplies of 
linseed ; but a desire having been expressed to take seed of home 
growth to the amount of five hundred tons annually, our farmers are 
likely to engage in the culture of the plant more largely hereafter. 
Flax being native to California, growing wild in some portions of the 
State, can undoubtedly be successfully and profitably raised on a large 
scale. Indeed, the trials already made show that there is no trouble 
in making good crops — over fifteen hundred pounds of seed having 
been produced to the acre, the stalk of the plant being large and vigor- 
ous, and coated with a strong and abundant fibre. The total product 
of the State for 1867 was one hundred and fifty tons ; though it is 
believed a home market could be had for four times that amount at 
remunerative prices, the ruling rates heretofore having been four and 
a half cents per pound. Hitherto no fabric has been made here from 
this textile ; but with such an extensive yearly demand for sacking, it 
seems highly probable that this plant will soon be made to contribute 
largely towards supplying this important and growing want of the State, 
this material having heretofore been wholly imported. 

. SUGAR BEET. 

Although the sugar cane cannot be grown in California, more 
sugar may be made from the beet than in any other country. This 
vegetable grows to an enormous size here and is of easy cultivation. 
Experiments prove that it is much richer in sugar than the beet of 
France, ten per cent, against six per cent. It is well knoAvn that 
when the sugar beet is taken from the ground and stored for winter 
use, it undergoes a chemical change, to the loss of a notable per cent- 
age of its sugar. In California, beets remain in the soil imharmed by 
frost, and keep on growing through the winter, so that they need not 
be taken up till wanted for milling. This would prove a great saving 
of the saccharine matter, avoiding also the cost of storage and hand- 
ling. A company has been formed in France and Germany, through 
Mr. George Gordon, of San Francisco, for the manufacture of beet 
sugar in this State. This company proposes to buy the beets and not 
to raise them. They ofier to erect works in any locality, and to any 
number and extent required, wherever fifteen hundred acres may bo 
devoted to beet culture. It is likely that many will avail themselves 
of this ofi'er, and by engaging largely in the growing of this root, sup- 
jily, at least in part, the consumption of sugar in California by an arti- 
cle of home production. 



AGRICULTURE. 359 

MELON SXTGAE. 

There is at the eastern base of the Alps much land subject to being 
destroyed by deep washings of sand, on which nothing will grow except 
melons, only two being allowed to mature on a single vine. As the 
melons are gathered, they are slashed open with a big knife, and a 
wooden scoop empties the pulp into a vessel where the juice is ex- 
pressed. This is boiled rudely, and crystalized like maple sugar in 
the Atlantic States. The sugar sells at remunerative prices, is light 
colored and sweet. Red pulp melons give a darker sugar, white pulp 
is therefore preferred. "We have in this State a great area of land 
similarly destroyed every year. This sugar-melon example is com- 
mended to poor men, who can get the free use of the space, and pro- 
ceed on small capital. 

HOPS. 

This climate is peculiarly suited to hops. The vine grows and bears 
well wherever it has been planted. It does best on low poles or stakes 
and running on cords between, by which its roots get shelter from our 
long summer sun. The yield, while the vines are yet so young, is 
over eleven hundred pounds per acre ; fifteen hundred pounds may be 
the yield per acre in 1868. The consumption is not yet sufficient for 
extended cultivation, but for reasons stated in speaking of barley, 
this will likely soon become one of our agricultural staj)les. In three 
years the hop vine gains maturity and weight of product equal to five or 
six years elsewhere. It yields an extraordinary proportion of the resin- 
ous lupuline that gives it value to the brewer, and its flavor cannot be 
excelled. The hop vine, once rooted, is profitable in other countries 
for seven years before it begins to fail, so that it needs small labor 
beyond annual trailing, cutting down, and gathering. In no other 
country are hops so easily harvested and cured as in California. In 
England they are almost always injured by mildew in the growth, and 
by rain fall in picking time. There the fruit never fully ripens for 
want of sunshine. It is greatly injured and discolored by the severe 
kiln-drying necessary to its preservation in packages. Here, untar- 
nished by rain, or fog, or heavy dews, hops come to as full rij^eness as 
it is convenient to permit with reference to the tenacity of the pollen 
or lupuline; so that the further curing requires very little artificial 
heat, and a very short exposure to it. They come from what can 
scarcely be called a kiln, holding that fresh green color that proves so 
desirable and makes them the admiration of the brewer. The crop of 
this State for 1867 amounted to about 425,000 pounds. At the French 
Exposition of 1867, a single bale of hops represented California in 



3G0 THE NATURAL WEALTH OF CALITORXIA. 

this article. It attracted the notice of the brewers and hop growers of 
England and Germany to such a degree that each in taking a sample 
soon reduced the bale to a mere remnant. Hops lose one half of their 
value if carried over the year of their growth, from the volatility of 
their aroma. They suffer therefore from long sea voyages, even if 
encased in air-tight packages. This is a tariff of protection to our 
growers. The home article commands about fifty cents per pound at 
our breweries. 

TOBACCO. 

Encouraged by war prices, in 18G1 and 1862, the culture of tobacco 
was tried in Napa and Russian river valleys, and at other places. Rich 
low land was selected which made the leaf rank — a quality corrected in 
some instances where planted on higher land. It was planted early, 
and cropped in September — no irrigation being found necessary. No 
one was skilled in curing it, but a fair Virginia-plug, cheAving tobacco, 
was made of the leaf. The prejudice encountered by a new California 
brand rendered much of it unsalable. When a Virginia brand was 
substituted, however, the same tobacco gained favor to such an extent 
as to warrant the belief that it might be made a success. It did not 
answer for cigars, but some raised on higher land, from Connecticut 
seed, was found to serve well for ^Tappers. The price of tobacco sub- 
sequently fell, under over importations, and farmers could not continue 
its culture at current cost of labor. A good article can, no doubt, 
be grown, if the seed and the soil are properly selected, and skill and 
care are observed in curing the leaf. It would pay if it were to com- 
mand ten to twelve cents a pound, and the consumption is large enough 
to make it an important production. 

CHICCORY. 

Chiccory grows so luxuriantly, and with so little cost, that a second 
factory for the conversion of the root into coffee is now established in 
San Francisco, intended for a large export, as well as for supplying the 
entire home consumption. This mixing ingredient can scarcely be 
called an adulteration — for the taste of Europe and America demands 
it as an improvement. It modifies the bitter taste of coffee, and serves 
as a correcting aperient against the stringency that belongs to coffee. 
Fifty tons of chiccory were produced last year on fifteen acres in Yolo 
county. 

MUSTABD SEED. 

The great pest of our wheat fields in the rich valleys, from Alameda 
to the Santa Crvm and Pajaro basins, is v.ild mustard. It stubbornly 
resists extinction, and so grows and overtops the grain with its yellow 



AGFJCULTUEE. 361 

flowers that a stranger might mistake it for the crop intended to be 
raised. A small quantity has always been gathered here for table 
use, it being of excellent quality ; but latterly it is found to make an 
oil adapted to all the uses to which olive oil is applied. It is gathered 
by Chinamen, who thresh and bring the seed to the oil mill in San 
Francisco, where they dispose of it at two to three cents per pound. 
Many who have made trial of it prefer this oil to that made from lard 
or the olive for cooking purposes; it also holding out against rancidity 
longer than the latter. 

THE AMOLE, OK SOAP PLANT. 

The amole or soap plant, a white, bulbous root, having the size and 
shape of an oblong onion, grows sparsely on the prairies and foot-hills of 
California. Yv^hen bruised and rubbed in water it makes a rich lather, 
and being possessed of highly detergent properties, was much employed 
by the early inhabitants of California as a substitute for soap, being 
in fact almost exclusively used by them in washing clothes. The stalk 
of the amole, which grows to a height of four or five feet, has numer- 
ous slender branches, thiciily budded, the whole bearing a strong resem- 
blance to the asparagus plant. The bulb has a fibrous envelope, end- 
ing in a hair-like tuft above ground, the outer coating, as it decays, 
becoming dark-colored and husky. These roots, being gathered by 
Chinamen, are taken to the factories, where the pulj^y matter having 
been separated from the fibres, the latter are dried and twisted by 
machinery, receiving a crimp which they afterwards retain. When 
prepared, this material is the best substitute for curled hair mat- 
rasses and upholstering purposes. Within the past few years quite 
an extensive business has grown up here in collecting and manufac- 
turing this fiber ; and, as the raAV material is abundant, and costs noth- 
ing but the gathering — the farmers being glad to be rid of this jDlant, 
sometimes troublesome in plowing — there is a certainty of its meeting 
with a steady expansion hereafter. 

THE TEA PLANT. 

A few years since some plants were imported from China, but the 
cultivation of tea for beverage has never been imdertaken in this country. 
Its true home would be among the higher foot-hills — as it becomes rank 
when grown in low lands. A wet soil is not desirable, a finer quality 
of leaf often being produced from thin soils, and where sixty days of 
snow give it winter rest. This is one of the hardiest of plants, and fire 
only kills the top, to give a new and richer growth from the roots. In 



362 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALEFOENIA. 

Jaj)an and China the shrub grows three feet high, and bears two crops 
of leaves during the year. 

FKtnrS A-KD NUTS. 

It is not necessary to enumerate all the fruit trees — every variety 
has been grown in California. The Pomological Society gives a list 
of 1, 186 as having been examined, of which 561 varieties are approved 
as doing well here, viz : apples, 178 ; pears, 122 ; peaches, 55 ; cher- 
ries, 43 ; plums, 33 ; aprif^ots, 11 ; grapes, 18 native and 22 foreign ; 
strawberries, 25 ; currants, 18 ; gooseberries, 13 ; raspberries, 12. 
There are 625 varieties to which the Society does not give approbation, 
and we confine our list to the leading varieties of fruit sold in the mar- 
kets of San Francisco. 

Apples — Early : Eed June, red Astracan and early harvest. Autumn : 
Fall pippin, Cooper's market. Porter, Khode Island greening, and Jon- 
athan. Winter : Esopus, white and blue pearmain, bellilower, black 
Detroit, Baldwin, Spitzenberg, red-cheek pippin, Schwaar, green and 
yellow Newtown pippin, Virginia greening, black heart, winesap, and 
Pioxbury russet. 

Pears — Early : Doyenne d'ete, Madelaine, Dearborn seedling, Blood- 
good, and Bartlett. Autumn : Buerre Diel, Fondante d'automne or 
Belle lucratif, Seckel, Beurre clairgeau. Winter : Glout morceau, 
Easter Beurre, and Winter Nellis. Our best winter pears, such as 
Easter Beurre, find sale in Japan at good prices, and further regular 
consignments are ordered. 

Peaches — Early Tiletson, Early York, Strawberry, Early Crawford, 
Morris' white, and late Crawford. The peach tree is a fine bearer 
here, but the curled leaf is sjDrcading, and it may be found necessary 
to apply some remedy to check the disease, if the crop is to continue 
to be profitable. Our fruit trees were brought originally from the 
nurseries of the Atlantic States, with the seed of diseases peculiar to 
those localities. The same system of exhaustion has been pursued in 
efi'orts to continue certain limited varieties by grafting on stocks not 
of their kind. Nature demands continual change for healthy jiroduc- 
tion, and in this climate of exhaustive growth it Avill be found neces- 
sary to resort to raising native varieties from the seed, in order to get 
plants that will allow fair play to Nature, in adapting them to the 
peculiarities of our soils and climate. It is a general rule that imjiorted 
trees yiehl fruits here with flavor less pronounced than in their native 
homes. Following Eastern experience and forgetting the great difier- 
ence of climate, our horticulturists have bared the stems of fruit trees 
to an unaccustomed sun, by trimming away the lower branches. As a 



AGEICULTUEE. 363 

consequence, tlie bark becomes cracked on the sunny side and insects 
enter. It is above all things desirable that orchardists and nursery- 
men turn their attention to this error, in growing and transplanting 
for new orchards ; for existing orchards seem destined to suffer 
materially from this evil. 

Plums — Drap d'Ete, green and purple Gage, Columbia, Bradshaw, 
red and yellow Magnum Bonum, Washington, Jefferson, and Pruno 
d'Agen. As the "Washington plum, dried whole, proves acceptable to 
the Japanese taste, a market may hereafter be found for this fruit 
among that jpeople. 

Cherries — Early : Kentish, and Knight's early red. Late : Banman's 
May, Black Eagle, black Tartarian, Holland, and Napoleon Bigereau. 

Quinces — Apple, or orange quince, preferred. Without exception, 
all fruit in California is larger than elsewhere, and all fruit trees attain 
in two years the size and maturity of five years in other countries. 
The borer has appeared in some hot valleys, but it is generally unknown. 
No other disease is known except the curl leaf in peach trees. This is 
generally prevalent in all our valleys, and some nurseries have worms 
that knot the roots of the young trees. 

An impression prevails that all apples in California tend to meali- 
ness, that they are deficient in flavor, and do not keep well. And it is 
said that the absence of native apple trees indicates that this fruit is 
not suited to the climate. These are errors. In our valleys, it is true, 
apples are not so good. But throughout all the foot-hills they are, 
in flavor, in keeping, and in every other respect fully up to the choicest 
standard abroad. Wild apple trees are native here. Pears and 
plums are our best fruits for flavor and weight of crop. Cherries do 
well, but birds trouble them. Apricots bear well, but they incline to 
be mealy, and insects prey upon them. The nectarine grows well, and 
is deliciously flavored. 

Oranges and Lemons are proving a very profitable crop in Los 
Angeles county and further south, and their culture is being greatly 
extended. The trees require age to become profitable bearers, and in 
seven years attain only ten feet in height and five inches in thickness. 
They then only begin to bear, and not before the ninth year are they 
a source of profit. When in full bearing, one tree produces from one 
thousand to two thousand oranges yearly. The orange requires nearly 
ten months to ripen from the blossom, and the tree has insect parasites 
that are very destructive. Oranges come to us from Tahiti, Mexico, Cape 
St. Lucas, the Sandwich Islands, and latterly from China. But they 
are plucked green, of course^ and have a poor flavor. Our own oranges. 



364 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFOKNTA- 

requiring but three days to be sent to market, may be plucked fully 
ripe ; and if the quality of the fruit is good, they will take preference 
and make money very fast for the grower. 

Bananas — Plants from the Sandwich Islands having proved that 
they will do well in our southern counties, some imported from Pan- 
ama are being planted, and this greatest of all bearers may be counted 
upon as likely to soon take a place among our more rare and luscious 
fruit. 

Limes, Citrons, Pomegranates, and Quinces grow well here, and no 
finer fruit than the latter is anywhere to be found — being entirely free 
from imperfection. 

Olives. — The number of olive trees planted at the old Spanish mis- 
sions, and their vigorous growth and bearing for over sixty years, 
prove their adaptation to our climate. Like the orange, the olive tree 
takes a long time to get into a profitable bearing condition, and not 
before the ninth year does it produce well. On this account its 
propagation has not been popular till quite lately. Now, numerous 
farmers are planting the tree in many portions of the State. It lives 
for liundreds of years in full bearing. It is a species of willow, and 
easy to propagate from cuttings. In the experience of over sixty years, 
there has never been a failure of the olive crop here ; whereas, in 
Europe it often fails, and the fruit sufi'ers injury from elemental causes. 
From the uniform excellence of our olives, we may depend upon their 
preference abroad ; and for the same reason it is probable that the oil 
will be alike superior. The oil of olives is almost universally used in 
cookery in many parts of Europe, and it would certainly be adopted 
here also, if it could be had fresh from the manufactory. It is more 
wholesome than lard, cheaper than butter, and would probably bear 
export to India, where lard is not used, on account of peculiar views. 

Almonds are produced in considerable quantities and of excellent 
quality, and large numbers of trees are being planted. The varieties 
.are, paper shell, ^oft shell, Languedoc, and Marseilles. The almond 
is, in fact, a species of peach tree, in which the pulp of the fruit is not 
eatable, only the kernel being valued. If the tree continues to escape 
the curled leaf that attacks the other peach trees, it will prove most 
valuable. 

3Iadeira nuts (white walnuts) have been growing here many years, 
and they are now produced profitably in several counties. 

Hiclcorij nuts are unknown in California. This tree, like the hem- 
lock tree in Europe, refuses to grow except in a stunted and unhealthy 
way. 



AGEICULTUEE. 365 

Chestnuts are under trial in a few places, and the Butternut is also 
being cultivated. 

We have sent to Japan a large assortment of every kind of fruit 
tree, vine, and berry. An agricultural society there promises us in 
exchange the best varieties in Japan. We may expect to find many 
that will prove acceptable additions to our horticulture, especially in 
their adaptation to our climate. 

We have spoken of the great freedom from disease which our fruit 
trees enjoy. But it should be stated that they are liable to be injured 
and destroyed by gophers, who love roots, and when the tap root is 
cut by them the tree languishes and soon dies. The Osage orange 
would make a cheap and enduring fence, but for the peculiar fancy the 
gopher takes to it. The presence of this rodent is well indicated by 
the fresh mounds he makes, but by vigilance, traps, and poison, he 
can be overcome. In very wet winters he goes to the hills for safety, 
and neglected hill-side orchards are often almost entirely destroyed. 
The apple tree louse covers the bark in a large orchard in Santa Clara. 
It is very injurious, and may spread to other localities. 

BEEEIES. 

Berries are an unusually productive crop in California, on accovmt 
of the long period of their bearing. There is not a month in the year 
in which strawberries are not to be had in San Francisco. They are 
plentiful during five months, beginning with April, and the British 
Queen and Longworth's Prolific are most in market. They are chiefly 
supplied from Alameda county, and the picking is done by Chinamen, 
at half the cost of American labor — one thousand pounds to the acre 
being the usual expectation. More than four hundred acres are de- 
voted to strawberries in that county. The Jucunda is a new variety, 
larger and of finer flavor than the Longworth. 

Baspherries last four months — beginning in June ; the Falstaff is 
preferred. They are also chiefly cultivated in Alameda county, and 
China labor is used. About one thousand five hundred pounds to the 
acre are usually grown. 

Blackberries last as long as raspberries — the Lawton being preferred. 

Currants are in market three months, beginning May loth — the 
cherry variety being preferred. 

Of native berries, growing wild and plentiful, we have currants, 
gooseberries and thimble berries, (a kind of raspberry, ) that are made 
useful. 



3G6 THE NATUEAL WEALTH OF CALIFORNIA. 

DRIED FKUITS, 

One lialf the fruits of California cannot be marketed, so enormous 
is the crop, and so expensive the picking and cost of carriage. The 
most extensive orchard in the State is that of Briggs & Co., at Marjs- 
ville, comprising one hundred and sixty acres, in a deep, moist, rich, 
and friable soil. The proprietors, finding the prices of fruit no longer 
profitable, have gone extensively into drying almost every variety. 
They cured over fifty tons in 1867, which in appearance and other 
respects, cannot be excelled. Owing to the power of sunshine and 
its unbroken continuity in the season, kiln drying is dispensed with, 
and the color of the cured fruit is therefore lighter and more attractive. 
This industry will be greatly extended. 

Baisins — Led on by Mr. B. N. Bugbey, of the foot-hills, near Fol- 
som, the raisin seems to promise us a new production. This gentleman 
uses the Malaga Muscatella grape, and has succeeded in making sev- 
eral thousand boxes of good cured raisins. Mr. Blowers, of Yolo, has 
made good raisins, and Mr. Brown, of Santa Clara, also. A good 
article has also been made in other portions of the State. 

Currants, from the black or Zante variety, have been made in San 
Jose, and the experiments of two seasons prove that an article can be 
produced equal to the imported. 

Figs are cured here, but have not been thus far of good quality. 
Owing to the inferior character of the stock, they are small and dark 
colored, but finer varieties are now being grown extensively, from 
which cured figs of the best quality will probably soon be made. 

PICKIjES, PEESERVED FKUITS, VEGETABLES, ETC. 

For these articles this State has, until within a few years past, been 
entirely dependent on importations from the Eastern States and Eng- 
land, and has annually consumed about a million dollars worth. Cali- 
fornia is now, however, on a self supplying basis in this respect, and 
our local manufacturers are amply able to meet, not alone the demands 
of this State, but also those of Nevada, British Columbia, and Mexico, 
together with an increasing market in China and Japan. California 
offers a peculiarl}^ favorable field for this business on account of pro- 
ducing so large a variety of fruits, and the soundness and maturity 
attained by all vegetables. The prodiicer and consumer have both 
been benefited, in preserving from waste the surplus of one, and giving 
to the others fine sxipply and variety of fruit, more fresh and Avhole- 
some than imported articles. In this line Messrs. Cutting & Co., of 
San Francisco, are the largest manufacturers in the State — their 



AGEICULTUKE. 36T' 

liouse giving employment, during the packing season, to one liundred 
and sixty hands, in preparing for market every variety of preserved 
fruits and vegetables, meats, sauces, catsup, etc. The total annual 
production of these articles amounts to $650,000, 

Orange Ilarmalade. — This confection has a consumption so very 
extensive in Great Britain as to form a commerce worth contending for. 
It is made in Scotland, and is known in the market as Scotch marma- 
lade. The oranges are plucked in Sicily and elsewhere on Mediterra- 
nean shores, so very green, to stand the long voyage, that the marma- 
lade is really a poor representative of the orange flavor. California 
could produce a superior confection from oranges ripe and carrying 
all the flavor of this sunny climate. 

Quince Jelhj is little known in England, but would be of easy intro- 
duction and in large demand there. It is the leading table confection 
in France and all over Europe, and it finds a ready market. This is one 
of those peculiar flavors which would probably suit the taste of Japan 
and China. The quince grows well everywhere in California, and as 
it is fit only for confection, but superior for that purpose, it may 
interest producers to suggest export markets for it. 

The dried fruits of this climate would find a preference in every 
market. of the world, because the drying process can be finished with- 
out interruption of rain, in the open air, and therefore without dis- 
coloration. They are being now largely prepared, and their appear- 
ance is very fine. The canning of fruits is also assuming large pro- 
portions, and will soon became an important industry. 

Burned Onions. — The French make a great improvement m the 
onion by torrefying it and flattening it so as to resemble in shape, and 
to pack like the fig. Burned onions are now in general use all over 
Europe, and no gravy or soup is complete without the peculiar flavor 
and coloring they impart. The peculiar pungency which the natural 
onion has, leaving a long sustained unpleasantness on the taste, is 
entirely removed, and certain new combinations are eflected by the 
chemistry of the oven, which commend it in this shape to every taste, 
while the natural flavor is well preserved, in a subdued condition. 
They are put up in packages of the same form as fig boxes, and are a 
source of considerable traffic. It is for home use, for ship stores, and 
for the markets of the Pacific, that we recommend this mode of pre- 
paring the onion, which grows so luxuriantly here. The French mode 
of preparation can only be judged by its appearance. It is black and 
quite flat, and seems to have been placed in well-heated ovens, proba- 
bly under pressure, and that the time required for this j)ur230se is short. 



368 THE NATUKAL WEALTH OF CALIFOENTA. 

POTATOES. 

Potatoes are easily grown in most parts of the State, and generally 
of large si^e and good flavor. As yet they know no disease. They 
are often left in the ground all winter, being dug only as required for 
use or market. The crop of 1867 is estimated at two million bushels, 
the prevailing price in San Francisco being about eighty cents per 
bushel. 

IjAEGE GP.OWTHS. 

Big vegetables and extra great yieldings we do not consider of suf- 
ficient importance to chronicle. But we may say that as a general 
rule all growths are larger in California than elsewhere ; from big 
trees, thirty feet in diameter, to pumpkins and squashes of over two 
hundred pounds in weight. Beets frequently weigh over one hundred 
pounds, and potatoes and cabbages are also enormous. Our grains 
are all of greater weight than elsewhere as an average. Size is not, 
however, a good indication of quality, although at agricultural fairs it 
is generally so treated ; but it is more important to know that vege- 
tables in California are remarkably tender and succulent, and that 
great numbers of them grow in the open air all the year — such as cab- 
bages, celery, and cauliflowers, always with fine heads — and also beets, 
turnips, carrots, parsnips, and onions. Many others, like potatoes, 
grow for ten months. Fruits also grow larger than in the Eastern 
States ; so do fruit trees. As a general rule the tree in and from the 
nursery grows twice as fast and bears in half the time. This applies 
to every species. The weight of crop is larger and quite free from 
defects. But, if we except pears and plums, the flavor is less pro- 
nounced ; so with strawberries and raspberries. Experience is insuf- 
ficient in this young country to determine whether or not this rapidity 
of growth and excessive production leads to early decay. If the forest 
trees of the mountains may be a guide, the probability is that our 
fruit trees will endure as long as elsewhere. 

DAIRY PRODUCTS. 

From Mendocino county to San Diego, a considerable portion of 
the Coast Eange is well adapted for the dairy business. It has not its 
equal in some respects, the laud being cheap, and the expense of keep- 
ing stock trifling. The Coast Eange is a mountain chain running par- 
allel with the ocean, and being bathed by its frequent fogs in summer, 
supplies moisture when all elsewhere is dry. The lowland strip, 
towards the ocean, is narrow ; but on the eastern, or land side, there 
are valleys of great extent and fertility. This range of mountains is 



AGKICULTIIRE. 369 

full of springs and evergreen nooks, often of considerable area, on its 
seaward side. The natural grasses that cover this whole range are 
very nutritious, consisting of alfilerilla, burr clover, bunch grass, and 
wild oats. 

There are twelve hundred dairies in California, having fifty to one 
hundred and fifty cows each. The cows are a cross of imported with 
Mexican stock.