The residence of several years in the country together with his
familiarity with its whole extent, not excluding the Gold Region in
which he passed more than four months rambling over its mountains,
and even crossing the Sierra Nevada to the verge of the great Western
Desert, give the writer of these pages a degree of confidence in the
belief that by presenting this work to the public, notwithstanding the
numerous books that have already appeared upon the subject, he supplies
the desideratum so much needed at this moment, and renders justice to
California that of late suffered a little in her reputation by the
indiscretion of some of her friends.