POPULATION, CLIMATE, PRODUCTIONS, &C.
With regard to the population, climate, soil, productions, &c., we
extract from Mr. King's Report, as giving the most reliable and
complete information.
"Humboldt, in his 'Essay on New Spain,' states the population of Upper
California, in 1802, to have consisted of
Converted Indians, 15,562
Other classes, 1,300
------
16,862
"Alexander Forbes, in his 'History of Upper and Lower California,'
published in London, in 1839, states the number of converted Indians
in the former to have been, in 1831,
18,683
Of all other classes, at 4,342
------
23,025
"He expresses the opinion that this number had not varied much up to
1835, and the probability is, there was very little increase in the
white population until the emigrants from the United States began to
enter the country in 1838.
"They increased from year to year, so that, in 1846, Colonel Fremont
had little difficulty in calling to his standard some five hundred
fighting men.
"At the close of the war with Mexico, it was supposed that there were,
including discharged volunteers, from ten to fifteen thousand
Americans and Californians, exclusive of converted Indians, in the
territory. The immigration of American citizens in 1849, up to the 1st
of January last, was estimated at eighty thousand--of foreigners,
twenty thousand.
"The population of California may, therefore, be safely set down at
115,000 at the commencement of the present year.
"It is quite impossible to form any thing like an accurate estimate of
the number of Indians in the territory. Since the commencement of the
war, and especially since the discovery of gold in the mountains,
their numbers at the missions, and in the valleys near the coast, have
very much diminished. In fact, the whole race seems to be rapidly
disappearing.
"The remains of a vast number of villages in all the valleys of the
Sierra Nevada, and among the foot-hills of that range of mountains,
show that at no distant day there must have been a numerous
population, where there is not now an Indian to be seen. There are a
few still retained in the service of the old Californians, but these
do not amount to more than a few thousand in the whole territory. It
is said there are large numbers of them in the mountains and valleys
about the head-waters of the San Joaquin, along the western base of
the Sierra, and in the northern part of the territory, and that they
are hostile. A number of Americans were killed by them during the last
summer, in attempting to penetrate high up the rivers in search of
gold; they also drove one or two parties from Trinity River. They
have, in several instances, attacked parties coming from or returning
to Oregon, in the section of country which the lamented Captain Warner
was examining when he was killed.
"It is quite impossible to form any estimate of the number of these
mountain Indians. Some suppose there are as many as three hundred
thousand in the territory, but I should not be inclined to believe
that there can be one-third of that number. It is quite evident that
they are hostile, and that they ought to be chastised for the murders
already committed.
"The small bands with whom I met, scattered through the lower portions
of the foot-hills of the Sierra, and in the valleys between them and
the coast, seemed to be almost the lowest grade of human beings. They
live chiefly on acorns, roots, insects, and the kernel of the pine
burr; occasionally, they catch fish and game. They use the bow and
arrow, but are said to be too lazy and effeminate to make successful
hunters. They do not appear to have the slightest inclination to
cultivate the soil, nor do they even attempt it--as far as I could
obtain information--except when they are induced to enter the service
of the white inhabitants. They have never pretended to hold any
interest in the soil, nor have they been treated by the Spanish or
American immigrants as possessing any.
"The Mexican government never treated with them for the purchase of
land, or the relinquishment of any claim to it whatever. They are
lazy, idle to the last degree, and, although they are said to be
willing to give their services to any one who will provide them with
blankets, beef, and bread, it is with much difficulty they can be made
to perform labor enough to reward their employers for these very
limited means of comfort.
"Formerly, at the missions, those who were brought up and instructed
by the priests made very good servants. Many of these now attached to
families seem to be faithful and intelligent. But those who are at
all in a wild and uncultivated state are most degraded objects of
filth and idleness.
"It is possible that government might, by collecting them together,
teach them, in some degree, the arts and habits of civilization; but,
if we may judge of the future from the past, they will disappear from
the face of the earth as the settlements of the whites extend over the
country. A very considerable military force will be necessary,
however, to protect the emigrants in the northern and southern
portions of the territory."
So much for the population of California at the commencement of the
present year, (1850.) By its close, it is highly probable, the number
will reach two hundred thousand, exclusive of the Indians. Such a
population, composed, for the most part, of those who are impregnated
with the active, progressive spirit of the American people, will
undoubtedly conduct California to a brilliant position among the stars
of the republic. With regard to the climate of the country, various
conflicting statements have been promulgated, which arises from the
visits of those who make the statements having been made to different
portions of the country, and stating the climate of a portion as the
climate of the whole. Mr. King's Report furnishes the most accurate
account of the changes of the temperature, and the state of the
atmosphere throughout the year, together with an explanation of their
causes. He says--
"I come now to consider the climate. The climate of California is so
remarkable in its periodical changes, and for the long continuance of
the wet and dry seasons, dividing, as they do, the year into about two
equal parts, which have a most peculiar influence on the labor
applied to agriculture and the products of the soil, and, in fact,
connect themselves so inseparably with all the interests of the
country, that I deem it proper briefly to mention the causes which
produce these changes, and which, it will be seen, as this report
proceeds, must exercise a controlling influence on the commercial
prosperity and resources of the country.
"It is a well-established theory, that the currents of air under which
the earth passes in its diurnal revolutions, follow the line of the
sun's greatest attraction. These currents of air are drawn towards
this line from great distances on each side of it; and, as the earth
revolves from west to east, they blow from north-east and south-east,
meeting, and, of course, causing a calm, on the line.
"Thus, when the sun is directly, in common parlance, over the equator,
in the month of March, these currents of air blow from some distance
north of the Tropic of Cancer, and south of the Tropic of Capricorn,
in an oblique direction towards this line of the sun's greatest
attraction, and forming what are known as the north-east and
south-east trade winds.
"As the earth, in its path round the sun, gradually brings the _line_
of attraction north, in summer, these currents of air are carried
_with_ it; so that about the middle of May the current from the
north-east has extended as far as the 38th or 39th degree of north
latitude, and by the twentieth of June, the period of the sun's
greatest northern inclination, to the northern portions of California
and the southern section of Oregon.
"These north-east winds, in their progress across the continent,
towards the Pacific Ocean, pass over the snow-capped ridges of the
Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, and are, of course, deprived
of all the moisture which can be extracted from them by the low
temperature of those regions of eternal snow, and consequently no
moisture can be precipitated from them, in the form of dew or rain, in
a higher temperature than that to which they have been subjected.
They, therefore, pass over the hills and plains of California, where
the temperature is very high in summer, in a very dry state; and, so
far from being charged with moisture, they absorb, like a sponge, all
that the atmosphere and surface of the earth can yield, until both
become, apparently, perfectly dry.
"This process commences, as I have said, when the line of the sun's
greatest attraction comes north in summer, bringing with it these vast
atmospheric movements, and, on their approach, produce the dry season
in California; which, governed by these laws, continues until some
time after the sun repasses the Equator in September, when, about the
middle of November, the climate being relieved from these north-east
currents of air, the south-west winds set in from the ocean charged
with moisture--the rains commence and continue to fall, not
constantly, as some persons have represented, but with sufficient
frequency to designate the period of their continuance, from about the
middle of November until the middle of May, in the latitude of San
Francisco, as the _wet season_.
"It follows, as a matter of course, that the _dry season_ commences
first, and continues longest in the southern portions of the
territory, and that the climate of the northern part is influenced in
a much less degree, by the causes which I have mentioned, than any
other section of the country. Consequently, we find that, as low down
as latitude 39°, rains are sufficiently frequent in summer to render
irrigation quite unnecessary to the perfect maturity of any crop which
is suited to the soil and climate.
"There is an extensive ocean current of cold water, which comes from
the northern regions of the Pacific, or, perhaps, from the Arctic, and
flows along the coast of California. It comes charged with, and emits
in its progress, cold air, which appears in the form of fog when it
comes in contact with a higher temperature on the American coast, as
the gulf-stream of the Atlantic exhales vapor when it meets, in any
part of its progress, a lower temperature. This current has not been
surveyed, and, therefore, its source, temperature, velocity, width,
and course, have not been accurately ascertained.
"It is believed, by Lieutenant Maury, on what he considers sufficient
evidence--and no higher authority can be cited--that this current
comes from the coasts of China and Japan, flows northwardly to the
peninsula of Kamtschatka, and, making a circuit to the eastward,
strikes the American coast in about latitude 41° or 42°. It passes
thence southwardly, and finally loses itself in the tropics.
"Below latitude thirty-nine, and west of the foot-hills of the Sierra
Nevada, the forests of California are limited to some scattering
groves of oak in the valleys and along the borders of the streams, and
of red wood on the ridges and in the gorges of the hills--sometimes
extending into the plains. Some of the hills are covered with dwarf
shrubs, which may be used as fuel. With these exceptions, the whole
territory presents a surface without trees or shrubbery. It is
covered, however, with various species of grass, and, for many miles
from the coast, with wild oats, which, in the valleys, grow most
luxuriantly. These grasses and oats mature and ripen early in the dry
season, and soon cease to protect the soil from the scorching rays of
the sun. As the summer advances, the moisture in the atmosphere and
the earth to a considerable depth, soon becomes exhausted; and the
radiation of heat, from the extensive naked plains and hill-sides, is
very great.
"The cold, dry currents of air from the north-east, after passing the
Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, descend to the Pacific, and
absorb the moisture of the atmosphere, to a great distance from the
land. The cold air from the mountains, and that which accompanies the
great ocean current from the north-west, thus become united; and vast
banks of fog are generated, which, when driven by the wind has a
penetrating, or _cutting_, effect on the human skin, much more
uncomfortable than would be felt in the humid atmosphere of the
Atlantic, at a much lower temperature.
"As the sun rises from day to day, week after week, and month after
month, in unclouded brightness during the dry season, and pours down
its unbroken rays on the dry, unprotected surface of the country, the
heat becomes so much greater inland than it is on the ocean, that an
under-current of cold air, bringing the fog with it, rushes over the
coast range of hills, and through their numerous passes, towards the
interior.
"Every day, as the heat, inland, attains a sufficient temperature, the
cold, dry wind from the ocean commences to blow. This is usually from
eleven to one o'clock: and, as the day advances, the wind increases
and continues to blow till late at night. When the vacuum is filled,
or the equilibrium of the atmosphere restored, the wind ceases; a
perfect calm prevails until about the same hour the following day,
when the same process commences and progresses as before; and these
phenomena are of daily occurrence, with few exceptions, throughout the
dry season.
"These cold winds and fogs render the climate at San Francisco, and
all along the coast of California, except the extreme southern portion
of it, probably more uncomfortable, to those not accustomed to it, in
summer than in winter.
"A few miles inland, where the heat of the sun modifies and softens
the wind from the ocean, the climate is moderate and delightful. The
heat, in the middle of the day, is not so great as to retard labor or
render exercise in the open air uncomfortable. The nights are cool and
pleasant. This description of climate prevails in all the valleys
along the coast range, and extends throughout the country, north and
south, as far eastward as the valley of the Sacramento and San
Joaquin. In this vast plain, the sea-breeze loses its influence, and
the degree of heat in the middle of the day, during the summer months,
is much greater than is known on the Atlantic coast in the same
latitudes. It is dry, however, and probably not more oppressive. On
the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, and especially in the deep
ravines of the streams, the thermometer frequently ranges from 110° to
115° in the shade, during three or four hours of the day, say from
eleven until three o'clock. In the evening, as the sun declines, the
radiation of heat ceases. The cool, dry atmosphere from the mountains
spreads over the whole country, and renders the nights cool and
invigorating.
"I have been kindly furnished, by Surgeon-General Lawson, U.S. Army,
with thermometrical observations, taken at the following places in
California, viz: At San Francisco, by Assistant-Surgeon W. C. Parker,
for six months, embracing the last quarter of 1847 and the first
quarter of 1848. The monthly mean temperature was as follows: October,
57°; November, 49°; December, 50°; January, 49°; February, 50°; March,
51°.
"At Monterey, in latitude 36° 38' north and longitude 121° west, on
the coast, about one degree and a half south of San Francisco, by
Assistant-Surgeon W. S. King, for seven months, from May to November
inclusive. The monthly mean temperature was: May, 56°; June, 59°;
July, 62°; August, 59°; September, 58°; October, 60°; November, 56°.
"At Los Angeles, latitude 34° 7', longitude west 118° 7', by
Assistant-Surgeon John S. Griffin, for ten months, from June, 1847, to
March, 1848, inclusive. The monthly mean temperature was: June, 73°;
July, 74°; August, 75°; September, 75°; October, 69°; November, 59°;
December, 60°; January, 58°; February, 55°; March, 58°. This place is
about forty miles from the coast.
"At San Diego, latitude 32° 45', longitude west 117° 11', by
Assistant-Surgeon J. D. Summers, for the following three months of
1849, viz: July, monthly mean temperature, 73°; August 75°; September,
70°.
"At Suttersville, on the Sacramento River, latitude 38° 32' north,
longitude west 121° 34', by Assistant-Surgeon R. Murray, for the
following months of 1849: July, monthly mean temperature, 73°; August,
70°; September, 65°; October, 65°.
"These observations show a remarkably high temperature at San
Francisco during the six months from October to March inclusive; a
variation of only eight degrees in the monthly mean, and a mean
temperature for the six months of 51 degrees.
"At Monterey, we find the mean monthly temperature of the seven months
to have been 58°. If we take the three summer months, the mean heat
was 60°. The mean of the three winter months was a little over 49°;
showing a mean difference, on that part of the coast, of only 11°
between summer and winter.
"The mean temperature of San Francisco, for the three winter months,
was precisely the same as at Monterey--a little over 49°.
"As these cities are only one degree and a half distant from each
other, and both situated near the ocean, the temperature at both, in
summer, may very reasonably be supposed to be as nearly similar as the
thermometer shows it to be in winter.
"The mean temperature of July, August, and September, at San Diego,
only 3° 53' south of Monterey, was 72°. The mean temperature of the
same months at Monterey was a little over 59°; showing a mean
difference of 13°.
"This would seem to indicate that the cold ocean current is thrown off
from the southern part of the coast by Point Conception, and the
islands south of it; and consequently its influence on the climate of
San Diego is much less than at Monterey and San Francisco.
"At Los Angeles, 40 miles distant from the coast, the mean temperature
of the three months was 74°; of the three autumn months, 67°; of the
three winter months, 57°.
"At Suttersville, about one hundred and thirty miles from the ocean,
and four degrees north of Los Angeles, the mean temperature of August,
September, and October, was 67°. The mean temperature of the same
months at Monterey was 59°; showing a difference of 8° between the
sea-coast and the interior, on nearly the same parallel of latitude. A
much greater difference would undoubtedly appear, if we had
observations for the spring and summer months of Suttersville and the
gold mines.
"These variations in the climate of California account for the various
and conflicting opinions and statements respecting it.
"A stranger arriving at San Francisco in summer is annoyed by the cold
winds and fogs, and pronounces the climate intolerable. A few months
will modify, if not banish his dislike, and he will not fail to
appreciate the beneficial effects of a cool, bracing atmosphere. Those
who approach California overland, through the passes of the mountains,
find the heat of summer, in the middle of the day, greater than they
have been accustomed to, and, therefore, may complain of it.
"Those who take up their residence in the valleys which are situated
between the great plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin and the
coast range of hills, find the climate, especially in the dry season,
as healthful and pleasant as it is possible for any climate to be
which possesses sufficient heat to mature the cereal grains and edible
roots of the temperate zone.
"The division of the year into two distinct seasons--dry and
wet--impresses those who have been accustomed to the variable climate
of the Atlantic States unfavorably. The dry appearance of the country
in summer, and the difficulty of moving about in winter, _seem_ to
impose serious difficulties in the way of agricultural prosperity,
while the many and decided advantages resulting from the mildness of
winter, and the bright, clear weather of summer, are not appreciated.
These will appear when I come to speak of the productions of
California. We ought not to be surprised at the dislike which the
immigrants frequently express to the climate. It is so unlike that
from which they come, that they cannot readily appreciate its
advantages, or become reconciled to its extremes of dry and wet.
"If a native of California were to go to New England in winter, and
see the ground frozen and covered with snow, the streams with ice, and
find himself in a temperature many degrees colder than he had ever
felt before, he would probably be as much surprised that people could
or would live in so inhospitable a region, as any immigrant ever has
been at what he has seen or felt in California.
"So much are our opinions influenced by early impressions, the
vicissitudes of the seasons with which we are familiar, love of
country, home, and kindred, that we ought never to hazard a hasty
opinion when we come in contact with circumstances entirely different
from those to which we have all our lives been accustomed."
These remarks explain the reason of the diversity of opinion expressed
by persons who have visited California, in a very satisfactory manner.
The Italian climate of Los Angeles has received the praises of nearly
all who have visited that city or its neighborhood. The thermometrical
observations detailed in the above account seem to prove that much of
the unfavorable opinions expressed concerning the climate is the
result of hasty judgment, and a dislike of that which is different
from that to which we have been used.
The soil of California has also been the subject of various and
conflicting statements. Many of those who have spent some months in
the country, and returned to publish their hastily gathered
observations, either set down the soil as totally unfit for
agricultural purposes, or, having been located in some garden spot the
great portion of their time of residence there, pronounce it
unsurpassed for richness and fertility. As Mr. King visited California
with the sole object of making accurate observations upon the
territory and its resources, the statements of the character of the
soil which are given in his report will carry greater weight than any
other. He says--
"The valleys which are situated parallel to the coast range, and those
which extend eastwardly in all directions among the hills, towards the
great plain of the Sacramento, are of unsurpassed fertility.
"They have a deep black alluvial soil, which has the appearance of
having been deposited when they were covered with water. This idea is
strengthened by the fact that the rising grounds on the borders of
these valleys, and many hills of moderate elevation, have a soil
precisely like that of the adjoining plains.
"This soil is so porous that it remains perfectly unbroken by gullies,
notwithstanding the great quantity of water which falls in it annually
during the wet season. The land in the northern part of the territory,
on the Trinity and other rivers, and on the borders of Clear Lake, as
far as it has been examined, is said to be remarkably fertile.
"The great valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin has evidently
been, at some remote period, the bed of a lake; and those rivers,
which drain it, present the appearance of having cut their channels
through the alluvial deposit after it had been formed. In fact, it is
not possible that they could have been instrumental in forming the
plain through which they pass. Their head-waters come from the extreme
ends of the valley, north and south; and, were it not for the supply
of water received from the streams which flow into them from the
Sierra Nevada, their beds would be almost, if not quite, dry in the
summer months. The soil is very rich, and, with a proper system of
drainage and embankment, would, undoubtedly, be capable of producing
any crop, except sugar-cane, now cultivated in the Atlantic States of
the Union.
"There are many beautiful valleys and rich hill-sides among the
foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, which, when the profits of labor in
mining shall be reduced so as to cause its application to agriculture,
will probably support a large population. There is said to be a rich
belt of well-timbered and watered country extending the whole length
of the gold region between it and the Sierra Nevada, some twenty miles
in width. There is no information sufficiently accurate respecting the
eastern slope of the great snowy range to enable us to form any
opinion of its general character or soil. Some of its valleys have
been visited by miners, who represent them as equal to any portion of
the country to the westward of it.
"The great valley of the Colorado, situated between the Sierra Madre
and the Sierra Nevada, is but little known. It is inhabited by
numerous tribes of savages, who manifest the most decided hostility
towards the whites, and have hitherto prevented any explorations of
their country, and do not permit emigrants to pass through it.
Therefore, parties from Santa Fé, on their way to California, are
compelled to make a circuit of near a thousand miles northward to the
Salt Lake, or about the same distance southward by the route of the
Gila. Although this valley is little known, there are indications that
it is fertile and valuable.
"The name of the river 'Colorado' is descriptive of its waters; they
are as deeply colored as those of the Missouri or Red River, while
those of the Gila, which we know flows through barren lands, are
clear.
"It would seem impossible for a large river to collect sediment enough
in a sandy, barren soil, to color its waters so deeply as to give it a
name among those who first discovered and have since visited its
shores. The probability, therefore, is, that this river flows through
an alluvial valley of great fertility, which has never been explored.
This conjecture is strengthened by the fact that the Indians who
inhabit it are hostile, and oppose, as far as they can, all persons
who attempt to enter or explore it. This has been their uniform course
of conduct respecting all portions of the continent which have been
fertile, abounding in game and the spontaneous productions of the
earth.
"As this valley is situated in the direct route from Santa Fé to
California, its thorough exploration becomes a matter of very great
importance, especially as it is highly probable that the elevated
regions to the north of it, covered with snow during most of the year,
will force the line of the great national railway to the Pacific
through some portion of it.
"The soil I have described, situated west of the Sierra Nevada, and
embracing the plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, covers an
area, as nearly as I can estimate, of between fifty and sixty thousand
square miles, and would, under a proper system of cultivation, be
capable of supporting a population equal to that of Ohio or New York
at the present time."
If this account be accurate, the soil of California will yield a rich
reward to the agriculturist, and become a strong attraction to
permanent settlers, who are willing to trust to the more certain
returns for labor spent in tilling it. It is agriculture, undoubtedly,
which must give stability to the increase of the country, and,
whatever may be the value of the gold mines, furnish California with
her substantial wealth. Few cities or towns ever had a permanent
prosperity which had not a neighboring country fit for agricultural
purposes.
The quantity and quality of the present productions of California,
other than her mineral wealth, is an important subject for inquiry.
Previous to the discovery of the gold, the exportable products
consisted almost exclusively of hides and tallow; the inhabitants
paying more attention to the raising of horses and cattle than to the
cultivation of the soil. The reason is found in the general
characteristic of the Californians--indolence. Horses were raised to
gratify their passion for riding; and cattle, because they afforded a
subsistence at a very small cost of labor. As to what are, and what,
by the character of the soil and climate, might be, the products of
California, and how the wants of the people are to be supplied, we
quote Mr. King's remarks:
"Beef cattle, delivered on the navigable waters of the Bay of San
Francisco, are now worth from $20 to $30 per head; horses, formerly
worth from $5 to $10, are now valued at $60 to $150. The destruction
of cattle for their hides and tallow has now entirely ceased, in
consequence of the demand for beef. This demand, will, of course,
increase with the population; and it would seem that, in a very few
years, there will be none to supply the market.
"If we estimate the number of cattle now in California at 500,000
head, which is believed to be about the number, and the population at
120,000 for the year 1850--a low estimate--and suppose it to increase
one hundred thousand per annum, there will be in the Territory or
State, in 1854, five hundred and twenty thousand people.
"If we adopt the estimate of those well acquainted with the demand, of
half a beef, on an average, to each inhabitant, it appears there will
be a consumption, in 1850, of 60,000 head; in 1851, of 110,000; in
1852, of 160,000; in 1853, of 210,000; in 1854, of 260,000--making an
aggregate of 800,000, which would absorb all the present stock, with
its natural increase.
"This is a very important matter, as connected with the amount of
supply which that country will ultimately require from the Atlantic
States of the Union. There is no other country on earth which has, or
will ever possess, the means of supplying so great a demand.
"It is now a well-established fact among the immigrants to California,
that oxen possess greater powers of endurance than mules or horses;
that they will perform the distance with loaded wagons in less time,
and come in at the end of the journey in better condition.
"Cows are now driven in considerable numbers from Missouri, and the
time cannot be far distant when cattle from the Western States will be
driven annually by tens of thousands to supply this new market.
"If California increases in population as fast as the most moderate
estimate would lead us to believe, it will not be five years before
she will require more than one hundred thousand head of beef cattle
per annum, from some quarter, to supply the wants of her people.
"It must not be supposed that salt provisions may supply this vast
demand. Those who have attempted to live on such food, during the dry
season, have been attacked with scurvy and other cutaneous diseases,
of which many have died.
"There is no climate in the world where fresh meat and vegetables are
more essential to human health. In fact, they are indispensable.
"It must not be inferred that cattle driven across the plains and
mountains, from the Western States, will be fit for beef on their
arrival in California. But one winter and spring, on the luxuriant
pastures of that country, will put them in a condition which would
render them acceptable in any Atlantic market.
"These grazing grounds are extensive enough to support five times as
many cattle as may be _annually_ required; therefore, there will be no
scarcity of food for them.
"I am acquainted with a drover who left California in December last,
with the intention of bringing in ten thousand sheep from New Mexico.
This shows that the flocks and herds east of the Rocky Mountains are
looked to already as the source from which the markets on the Pacific
are to be supplied.
"The climate and soil of California are well suited to the growth of
wheat, barley, rye, and oats. The temperature along the coast is too
cool for the successful culture of maize as a field crop. The fact
that oats, the species which is cultivated in the Atlantic States, are
annually self-sowed and produced on all the plains and hills along the
coast, and as far inland as the sea-breeze has a marked influence on
the climate, is sufficient proof that all the cereal grains may be
successfully cultivated without the aid of _irrigation_.
"It is quite true that _this auxiliary_ was extensively employed at
the missions, and undoubtedly increased the product of all crops to
which it was applied, as it will in any country on earth if skilfully
used. This does not prove, however, that it was _essentially
necessary_ to the production of an ample reward to the husbandman. The
experience of all the old inhabitants is sufficient evidence of this.
If their imperfect mode of culture secured satisfactory returns, it is
reasonable to presume that a more perfect system would produce much
greater results. There is abundant evidence to prove that, in the rich
alluvial valleys, wheat and barley have produced from forty to sixty
bushels from one bushel of seed, _without irrigation_.
"Irish potatoes, turnips, onions, in fact all the edible roots known
and cultivated in the Atlantic States, are produced in great
perfection. In all the valleys east of the coast range of hills, the
climate is sufficiently warm to mature crops of Indian corn, rice, and
probably tobacco.
"The cultivation of the grape has attracted much attention at the
missions, among the residents of towns, and the rural population, and
been attended with much success, wherever it has been attempted. The
dry season secures the fruit from those diseases which are so fatal in
the Atlantic States, and it attains very great perfection.
"The wine made from it is of excellent quality, very palatable, and
can be produced in any quantity. The grapes are delicious, and
produced with very little labor. When taken from the vines in bunches,
and suspended in a dry room by the stems, they become partially dry,
retain their flavor, and remain several weeks, perhaps months, without
decay.
"Apples, pears, and peaches are cultivated with facility, and there is
no reason to doubt that all the fruits of the Atlantic States can be
produced in great plenty and perfection.
"The grasses are very luxuriant and nutritious, affording excellent
pasture. The oats, which spring up the whole length of the sea-coast,
and from forty to sixty miles inland, render the cultivation of that
crop entirely unnecessary, and yield a very great quantity of
nutritious food for horses, cattle, and sheep. The dry season matures,
and I may say cures, these grasses and oats, so that they remain in an
excellent state of preservation during the summer and autumn, and
afford an ample supply of forage. While the whole surface of the
country appears parched, and vegetation destroyed, the numerous flocks
and herds which roam over it continue in excellent condition.
"Although the mildness of the winter months, and the fertility of the
soil, secure to California very decided agricultural advantages, it is
admitted that _irrigation_ would be of very great importance, and
necessarily increase the products of the soil, in quantity and
variety, during the greater part of the dry season. It should,
therefore, be encouraged by government, in the survey and disposition
of the public lands, as far as practicable.
"The farmer derives some very important benefits from the dry season.
His crops in harvest time are never injured by rain; he can with
perfect confidence permit them to remain in his fields as long after
they have been gathered as his convenience may require; he has no
fears that they will be injured by wet or unfavorable weather. Hence
it is that many who have long been accustomed to that climate prefer
it to the changeable weather east of the Rocky Mountains.
"As already stated, the forests of California, south of latitude 39°,
and west of the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, are limited to
detached, scattering groves of oak in the valleys, and of red wood on
the ridges and on the gorges of the hills.
"It can be of no practical use to speculate on the causes which have
denuded so large an extent of country, further than to ascertain
whether the soil is or is not favorable to the growth of forest trees.
"When the dry season sets in, the entire surface is covered with a
luxuriant growth of grass and oats, which, as the summer advances,
become perfectly dry. The remains of all dead trees and shrubs also
become dry. These materials, therefore, are very combustible, and
usually take fire in the latter part of summer and beginning of
autumn, which commonly passes over the whole country, destroying, in
its course, the young shrubs and trees. In fact, it seems to be the
same process which has destroyed or prevented the growth of forest
trees on the prairies of the Western States, and not any quality in
the soil unfriendly to their growth.
"The absence of timber and the continuance of the dry season are apt
to be regarded by farmers, on first going into the country, as
irremediable defects, and as presenting obstacles, almost
insurmountable, to the successful progress of agriculture. A little
experience will modify these opinions.
"It is soon ascertained that the soil will produce abundantly without
manure; that flocks and herds sustain themselves through the winter
without being fed at the farm-yard, and, consequently, no labor is
necessary to provide forage for them; that ditches are easily dug,
which present very good barriers for the protection of crops, until
live fences can be planted, and have time to grow. Forest trees may be
planted with little labor, and in very few years attain a sufficient
size for building and fencing purposes. Time may be usefully employed
in sowing various grain and root crops during the wet or winter
season. There is no weather cold enough to destroy root crops, and,
therefore, it is not necessary to gather them. They can be used or
sold from the field where they grow. The labor, therefore, required in
most of the old States to fell the forests, clear the land of rubbish,
and prepare it for seed, may here be applied to other objects.
"All these things, together with the _perfect security of all crops in
harvest time, from injury by wet weather_, are probably sufficient to
meet any expense which may be incurred in irrigation, or caused, for a
time, by a scanty supply of timber.
"In the northern part of the territory, above latitude 39°, and on the
hills which rise from the great plain of the Sacramento and San
Joaquin to the foot of the Sierra Nevada, the forests of timber are
beautiful and extensive, and would, if brought into use, be
sufficiently productive to supply the wants of the southern and
western portions of the State."
It is not to be expected that the labor and attention necessary for
the improvement of the soil will be given to that object, so long as
the continued discovery of gold and other metals promise an easy road
to wealth. Many who were prosperously engaged in agricultural
employments, in the most fertile regions, have abandoned it, lured by
the golden bait, and shouldered the pick and shovel to try their luck
or perseverance at gold digging. The gardens and the vineyards of Los
Angeles have been deserted for the barren hills and ravines where the
precious dust abounds. In this state of things, California must become
an extensive market for the products of the Atlantic States of the
Union.
The extent and value of the public domain, and the validity of the
titles to various tracts of land in California, will, doubtless, be
the cause of much litigation and disturbance, as the country becomes
more thickly settled. The relation in which the claimants of land
granted to them under the Mexican government, stand towards the
government of the United States, is clearly and fully set forth by Mr.
King, in his California report. He says--
"It is not known whether the Jesuits who founded the mission, or their
successors the Franciscans, ever did, or do now, hold any title from
the Spanish crown to the lands which they occupied. Nor has any
investigation been made to ascertain how far those titles, if they
ever existed, have been invalidated by the acts of the priests, or the
decrees of the Mexican government.
"A superficial view of the matter would be very apt to lead to the
supposition that the Jesuits, so celebrated for wisdom and cunning,
would not fail to secure that which, at that time, would probably have
been obtained by merely asking for it--a royal decree, granting to
them all the lands they might require in that remote country for
ecclesiastical purposes. There have been some intimations to that
effect, but nothing is distinctly known. These missions embrace within
their limits some of the most valuable lands in the Territory, and it
is very important that it should be ascertained whether they belong to
the Government, or may be justly claimed by individuals.
"Most of the land fit for cultivation, south of latitude 39°, and west
of the valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, is claimed under what
purport to be grants from the Mexican government.
"On most of these grants, the minerals and metals are reserved to the
government: conditions were coupled with many of them which have not
been complied with. In others, the boundaries described embrace two or
three times as much land as the grant conveys.
"The Mexican law required all grants made by the provincial
government, with few exceptions, to be confirmed by the supreme
government. The great distance which separated them, and the
unfrequent or difficult means of communication, made a compliance with
the law so expensive and tardy that it came to be almost disregarded.
"There were other causes which led to this neglect.
"Previous to the treaty with Mexico and the immigration of American
citizens to that country, land was not regarded as of much value,
except for grazing purposes. There was room enough for all.
Therefore, the claimants or proprietors did not molest one another, or
inquire into the validity of titles.
"These extensive grants are described by natural boundaries, such as
mountains, bays, and promontories, which, in many instances, might
allow of a variation of several miles in the establishment of a corner
with chain and compass.
"By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States purchased all
the rights and interests of Mexico to and in California. This purchase
not only embraced all the lands which had not been granted by Mexico,
but all the reserved minerals and metals, and also reversionary rights
which might accrue to Mexico from a want of compliance on the part of
the grantees with the conditions of their grants, _or a want of
perfection in the grants_.
"It will be perceived that this is a subject of very great importance,
not only to the people of California, but to the United States, and
calls for prompt and efficient action on the part of the Government.
It is believed that the appointment of competent commissioners, fully
empowered to investigate these titles, in a spirit of kindness towards
the claimants, with power to confirm such titles as justice may seem
to demand, or with instructions to report their proceedings and awards
to Congress, for confirmation or rejection, will be the best and
perhaps the only satisfactory mode of adjusting this complex and
difficult question."
He also makes the following observations and recommendations
concerning the extent and value of the land, to which the title of the
government is unquestionable, and the best mode of improving it.
"The lands in the northern part of the Territory, above the 39°, have
not been explored or granted. They are supposed to embrace an area of
about twenty millions of acres, a large portion of which is doubtless
valuable for its timber and soil.
"Comparatively few grants have been obtained in the great valley of
the Sacramento and San Joaquin.
"This vast tract, therefore, containing, as is estimated, from twelve
to fifteen millions of acres, belongs mostly to the Government. South
of this valley, and west of the Colorado, within the limits of
California, as indicated in her Constitution, there are said to be
extensive tracts of valuable, unappropriated land; and, on
investigation, it will probably appear that there are many of them in
detached bodies, which have not been granted.
"I do not speak of the gold region, embracing the entire foot-hills of
the Sierra Nevada, some five hundred miles long and sixty miles broad,
in connection with the public domain, which may be embraced in the
general land system for sale and settlement, for reasons which will be
hereafter assigned.
"The survey of the public lands on a system suited to the interests of
the country is a matter of very great importance. In the inhabited
portions of the Territory, the boundaries of Mexican grants, running
as they do in all directions, will render the system of surveys by
parallels of latitude and longitude quite impracticable.
"In all parts of the country, irrigation is desirable, and its
benefits should be secured, as far as possible, by suitable surveys
and legal regulations. Most of the valleys are watered by streams
sufficiently large to be rendered very useful. It would, therefore,
seem wise to lay off the land in conformity to the course of the
hills and streams which bound and drain the valleys.
"A system of drainage, which would also secure irrigation, is
absolutely necessary to give value to the great plain of the
Sacramento and San Joaquin. This valley is so extensive and level
that, if the rivers passing through it were never to overflow their
banks, the rain which falls in winter would render the greater portion
of it unfit for cultivation. The foundation of such a system can only
be established in the survey and sale of the land.
"_This can be done by laying out canals and drains, at suitable
distances, and in proper directions, and by leaving wide margins to
the rivers, that they may have plenty of room to increase their
channels when their waters shall be confined within them by
embankments._
"It would be well also to regulate the price of these lands, so as to
meet, in some degree, the expense of draining them.
"This system would, when agriculture shall become a pursuit in
California, make this valley one of the most beautiful and productive
portions of the Union."
With regard to the present state of the commerce and of the commercial
resources of California, it is observed, that her resources are
confined almost entirely to the metallic wealth of the country, and
that such a state of things would seem unfavorable to an extensive
commercial intercourse. Undoubtedly, this metallic wealth of itself,
could not long maintain an extensive commerce with the various nations
of the earth. But when the _mineral_ wealth begins to be developed, as
it soon will, there will be no lack of return freights for vessels
arriving with supplies. The quicksilver mines already yield an
enormous profit, and will soon be extensively worked. Respecting the
present state of the commerce of the country, extent of her resources,
and facilities of communication with the Atlantic States of the Union,
and other countries, Mr. King's Report furnishes the following
account--
"Gold is the product of the country, and is immediately available, in
an uncoined state, for all the purposes of exchange. It is not there,
as in other countries, where the productions of the earth and of art
are sent to markets--foreign or domestic--to be exchanged for the
precious metals, or other articles of value. There, gold not only
supplies the medium of domestic trade, but of foreign commerce.
"At first view, this state of things would seem to be unfavorable to
an extensive intercourse with other parts of the world, because of the
want of return freights of _home production_ for the vast number of
vessels which will arrive with supplies.
"These vessels, however, making no calculations on return cargoes,
will estimate the entire profits of the voyage on their outward
freights, and become, on their arrival, willing carriers for a
comparatively small consideration.
"This tendency in the course of trade, it would seem, must make San
Francisco a warehouse for the supply, to a certain extent, of all the
ports of the Pacific, American, Asiatic, and the Islands.
[Illustration: LIFE AT THE "DIGGINGS,"--SUPPER TIME.]
"Almost every article now exported by them finds a ready market in
California, and the establishment of a mint will bring there also the
silver bullion, amounting to more than ten millions per annum, from
the west coast of Mexico, and, perhaps, ultimately from Chili and
Peru, to be assayed and coined.
"Vessels bound round Cape Horn, with cargoes for markets on the
American coast of the Pacific, can, by taking advantage of the
south-east trade winds, and 'standing broad-off the Cape,' make the
voyage to San Francisco in as short a time as they can to Valparaiso,
or any port south of California. Vessels have sailed from our Atlantic
ports to San Francisco in less than one hundred days, and they have
been, in more than one instance, over one hundred and twenty days in
going from Panama to San Francisco.
"This astonishing difference in time and distance was caused by the
course of the winds, and the gulf-stream of the Pacific, mentioned in
my remarks on the climate of California.
"The vessels from our Atlantic ports took advantage of the winds by
steering _from the Cape_ as far into the Pacific as to be enabled to
take a course west of the gulf-stream in sailing northward, thus
availing themselves first of the south-east, then of the north-east
'trades,' and avoiding opposing currents.
"The vessels from Panama were kept back by calms, adverse winds, and
currents. It will be perceived, therefore, that there can be no
inducement for vessels bound round Cape Horn, with mixed or assorted
cargoes, to stop at Valparaiso, Callao, Guayaquil, or any port on the
west coast, because the exports of all those places will seek a market
at San Francisco; and their supply of merchandise, as _return
freight_, will be delivered at less expense than it can be by vessels
direct from Atlantic ports, American or European. This tendency of
trade to concentrate at San Francisco will be aided by the course of
exchange.
"Gold dust is worth but $17 per ounce in Chili. It is worth $18 at the
United States mint. If, therefore, a merchant of Valparaiso has ten
thousand ounces in San Francisco, received in payment for lumber,
barley, flour, or other produce, and desires an invoice of goods from
the United States or Europe, he will gain $10,000 at the outset by
sending his gold to New York, besides saving something on the freight
and insurance, and at least one month's interest.
"The countries on the west coast of America have no exports which find
a market in China, or other parts of Asia. San Francisco will,
therefore, become not only the mart of these exports, but also of the
products and manufactures of India, required in exchange for them,
which must be paid for, principally, in gold coin or gold dust.
Neither gold coin nor gold dust will answer as a remittance to China.
Gold, in China, is not currency in any shape, nor is it received in
payment of import duties, or taxes on land, or on the industry of the
people.
"The value of pure gold in China is not far from $14 the ounce. Hence,
the importer of manufactures and products of India into San Francisco
will remit the gold coin or dust direct to New York, for investment in
sterling bills on London. These bills will be sent to London, and
placed to the credit of the firm in China from whom the merchandise
has been received, and who, on learning of the remittance having gone
forward to their agents, will draw a _six months' sight bill_ for the
amount, which will sell in China at the rate of four shillings and
_two_ pence or _three_ pence per dollar.
"I have a statement before me from one of the most eminent merchants
and bankers of New York, who was for many years engaged extensively in
the India trade, which shows that the profit or gain on ten thousand
ounces of gold, thus remitted, would be
$33,434 44
And that the loss on the same quantity,
sent direct to China, would be 15,600 00
----------
Total difference in profit and loss in favor
of the remittance to New York, $50,034 44
"It will thus be perceived that nature has so arranged the winds and
currents of the Pacific, and disposed of her vast treasures in the
hills and mountains of California, as to give to the harbor of San
Francisco the control of the commerce of that ocean, as far as it may
be connected with the west coast of America.
"Important as the commerce of the Pacific undoubtedly is, and will be,
to California, it cannot now, nor will it ever compare in magnitude
and value to the domestic trade between her and the older States of
the Union.
"Two years ago, California did not probably contain more than fifteen
thousand people. That portion of it which has since been so
wonderfully peopled by American citizens was, comparatively, without
inhabitants, without resources, and not supplied with the common
comforts of shelter afforded by a forest country.
"Notwithstanding the great distances immigrants have been compelled to
travel to reach the territory, more than one hundred thousand have
overcome all difficulties and spread themselves over its hills and
plains. They have been supplied from distances as great as they
themselves have passed with not only the necessaries, but the comforts
and many of the luxuries of life. Houses have been imported from
China, Chili, and the Atlantic States of the Union. All the materials
required in building cities and towns have been added to the wants of
a people so numerous, destitute, and remote from the sources of
supply.
"These wants will exist as long as immigration continues to flow into
the country, and labor employed in collecting gold shall be more
profitable than its application to agriculture, the mechanic arts, and
the great variety of pursuits which are fostered and sustained in
other civilized communities.
"This may be shown by mentioning the prices of a few articles. Last
summer and autumn, lumber was sold in San Francisco at $300 to $400
per thousand feet. At Stockton and Sacramento City, at $500 to $600.
At these prices, it could be made in the territory, and many persons
were engaged in the business. I perceive, by recent accounts, that the
price had fallen at San Francisco to $75. At this price, it _cannot_
be made where labor is from $10 to $15 per day; and the difficulties
attending its manufacture are much greater than in the Atlantic
States. Lumber can be delivered in our large lumber markets for an
_average_ of the various qualities of $16, and freighted to San
Francisco for $24, making $40 per thousand feet. This price would
cause the manufacture of it in California to be abandoned. We may add
$20 per thousand, to meet any increase of price in the article itself,
or in the freight, and the result would be the same.
"It is probable that the demand, for several years to come, will not
be less than twenty millions of feet per annum, which, at $40 per
thousand, will be $800,000.
"When California comes to have a population of 200,000, which she will
have before the close of the present year, she will require nearly
half a million barrels of flour from some quarter, and no country can
supply it so good and cheap as the old States of the Union. Including
freight and insurance, this may be set down as an item of about
$5,000,000. The article of clothing, allowing $20 to each person,
would be $4,000,000.
"There is no pretension to accuracy in these items, and they may be
estimated too high; but it is quite as probable they are too low.
"We have no data on which to found a calculation of what the value of
the trade between the States east of the Rocky Mountains and
California will be during the current year. I will venture the
opinion, however, that it will not fall short of twenty-five millions
of dollars. It may go far beyond that sum. At present, I can conceive
no cause which will retard or diminish immigration.
"If the movement shall continue five years, our commerce with that
territory may reach one hundred millions per annum. This is doubtless
a startling sum; but it must be borne in mind that we have to build
cities and towns, supply machinery for mining, coal for domestic
purposes, and steam navigation, and all the multifarious articles used
in providing the comforts and luxuries of life, for half a million of
people, who will have transferred themselves to a country which is to
produce, comparatively, nothing except minerals and the precious
metals, and whose pursuits will enable them to purchase, at any cost,
whatever may be necessary for their purposes.
"It is difficult to imagine or calculate the effect which will be
produced on all the industrial pursuits of the people of the Old
States of the Union, by this withdrawal from them of half a million of
producers, who, in their new homes and new pursuits, will _give
existence_ to a commerce almost equal in value to our foreign trade.
Let no one, therefore, suppose he is not interested in the welfare of
California. As well may he believe his interests would not be
influenced by closing our ports and cutting off intercourse with all
the world.
"The distance round Cape Horn is so great that bread-stuffs and many
other articles of food deteriorate, and many others are so perishable
in their nature that they would decay on the passage. This would be
the case particularly with all kinds of vegetables and undried fruits.
Until some more speedy mode of communication shall be established by
which produce can be transferred, the farmers and planters of the old
States will not realize the full value of this new market on the
Pacific.
"Many other important interests will be kept back, especially the
consumption of coal. The American steamers, now on that ocean, those
on their way there, and others shortly to be sent out, will consume
not far from one hundred thousand tons of coal per annum. The scarcity
of wood in California will bring coal into general use as fuel, as
soon as it can be obtained at reasonable prices. Suppose there may be,
three years hence, forty thousand houses, which shall consume five
tons each per annum. This, with the steamers, would be a consumption
of three hundred thousand tons. If delivered at $20 per ton, it would
compete successfully with the coal from Vancouver's Island and New
Holland, and amount to $6,000,000.
"The construction of a railroad across the Isthmus of Panama would
secure the market for those articles against all competition.
"Some idea may be formed of the demand for them from the prices paid
in San Francisco last autumn. Coal was sold at $60 to $100 per ton;
potatoes $16 per bushel; turnips and onions for 25 to 62½ cents each;
eggs from $10 to $12 per dozen.
"The distance from Chagres to New York has recently been run in seven
days. The same speed would carry a steamboat from Panama to San
Francisco in ten days. Allow three days to convey freight across the
Isthmus, on a railway, and both passengers and freight will be
conveyed from New York to San Francisco in twenty days.
"This celerity of movement would secure for American produce the
entire market of California. Sailing vessels may be successfully
employed between our Atlantic and gulf ports and the terminus of the
railway on this side of the Isthmus; and _propellers_ from Panama to
San Francisco. These latter vessels will be found peculiarly suited to
that trade; they can use their steam through the calms of the Bay of
Panama, and against head-winds and currents going north, and their
sails with favorable winds and currents coming south.
"These modes of conveyance, in connection with the railroad across the
Isthmus, would be sufficiently expeditious and economical to turn the
tide of commerce, between the Atlantic and Pacific States of the
Union, into that channel. The tendency of our commerce on the Pacific
to promote the employment of ocean steamers is of much importance as
connected with the defence of our extensive line of coast from
latitude 32° to 49°, the protection of the whale fishery, and other
branches of trade on that ocean. The establishment of a line of heavy
steamers to China would promote all these objects; increase our
intercourse with that country, and probably be the means of opening
communications with Japan. Money wisely employed in promoting these
objects, it is believed, would add more to the power and prosperity of
the country than its expenditure on any _general system_ of
fortification at the present prices of labor and materials. There is
one point, however, of such vast importance that no time should be
lost in taking the necessary steps to render it perfectly
impregnable--that is, the entrance to the harbor of San Francisco. On
the strength of the works which may be erected to defend that passage
will depend the safety of California in time of war with a maritime
power. Permit a hostile fleet to cast anchor in the harbor of San
Francisco, and the country would be virtually conquered.
"The coast has not been surveyed, nor has its outline been correctly
ascertained. There are many rocks above and below the water-line, and
small islands not mentioned or indicated on any chart, which render
navigation near the land, especially at night, extremely dangerous.
"An accurate survey of the coast, to commence at the most important
points, the construction of lighthouses, and the placing of buoys in
proper positions, are objects of much importance, and, it is not
doubted, will attract the early attention of Government."
We come now to that which has built up so rapidly this empire of the
Pacific--the metallic and mineral wealth of California. As to the
extent of the region, and indications of the existence of the gold,
together with the attendant geological formations, the statements of
Mr. King's report will not be, nor have not been, gainsayed; but as to
the origin of the gold, whether in combination with quartz, or mixed
with the sands of the ravines and streams, various opinions have been
expressed by those who have spent considerable time in working and
observing the different formations. That due weight may be given to
both of the principal theories, we extract the observation and opinion
of a person who favors the idea of the gold having been scattered over
the country, by a tremendous volcanic eruption.
"The gold found in every placer in California bears the most
indubitable marks of having, at some time, been in a molten state. In
many parts it is closely intermixed with quartz, into which it has
evidently been injected while in a state of fusion; and I have myself
seen many pieces of gold completely coated with a black cement that
resembled the lava of a volcano. The variety of form, which the placer
gold of California has assumed, is in itself sufficient evidence of
the fact, that it has been thrown over the surface while in a melted
state. The earliest comparisons of the California gold were to pieces
of molten lead dropped into water. The whole territory of the gold
region bears the plainest and most distinct marks of being volcanic.
The soil is of a red, brick color, in many places entirely barren, and
covered with a flinty rock, or pebble, entirely parched in the summer,
and during the rainy season becoming a perfect mire. The formation of
the hills, the succession of gorges, the entire absence of fertility
in many portions, distinctly exhibit the result of a great up-heaving
during past times. But there is one phenomenon in the mining region
which defies all geological research founded upon any other premises
than volcanic formation. Throughout the whole territory, so generally
that it has become an indication of the presence of gold, a white
slate rock is found, and is the principal kind of rock in the mining
region. This rock, instead of lying as slate rock does in other
portions of the earth, in horizontal strata, is perpendicular, or
nearly so; seeming to have been torn up from its very bed and left in
this position. On the banks of the Middle Fork are several
excavations, which can only be accounted for upon the supposition,
that they were at some time volcanic craters. There is one of these on
the mountain side, about five miles below the "Big Bar;" from which,
running down to the base of the mountains, is a wide gorge entirely
destitute of verdure, while the earth around it is covered with
shrubbery. This, I am fully convinced, was the bed of the lava stream
that was thrown up from the crater; and in searching for gold at the
very foot of it, I found several pieces entirely covered with the
black cement or lava, of which I have previously spoken. From all
these evidences, I am fully satisfied that at some early date in the
world's history, by some tremendous volcanic eruption, or by a
succession of them, gold, which was existing in the form of ore, mixed
with quartz rock, was fused and separated from its surrounding
substances, and scattered through every plain, hill, and valley, over
an immense territory. By its own gravity, and the continual washing of
the rains, it sank into the earth until it reached a rock, or hard,
impenetrable clay. It still continued washing and sliding down the
hill-side, until it reached the rivers or ravines, and in the former
was washed along with its current until it settled in some secure
place in their beds, or was deposited upon their banks; and in the
latter rested among the crevices of rocks."[13]
The following from Mr. King's report, presents the opposite theory,
with its evidence in full. The two accounts are at variance both in
regard to fact and theory. But that of Mr. King, who enjoyed every
facility of obtaining information from observation, and from the
statements of intelligent miners, is considered most reliable, in
respect to matters of fact, and, therefore, of more dependence in
forming a theory. He says--
"The principal formation, or substratum, in these hills, is talcose
slate; the superstratum, sometimes penetrating to a great depth, is
quartz. This, however, does not cover the entire face of the country,
but extends in large bodies in various directions--is found in masses
and small fragments on the surface, and seen along the ravines and in
the mountains, overhanging the rivers, and in the hill-sides in its
original beds. It crops out in the valleys and on the tops of the
hills, and forms a striking feature of the entire country over which
it extends. From innumerable evidences and indications, it has come to
be the universally admitted opinion, among the miners and intelligent
men who have examined this region, that the _gold, whether in detached
particles and pieces, or in veins, was created in combination with the
quartz_. Gold is not found on the surface of the country presenting
the appearance of having been thrown up and scattered in all
directions by volcanic action. It is only found in particular
localities, and attended by peculiar circumstances and indications. It
is found in the bars and shoals of the rivers; in ravines, and in what
are called the 'dry diggings.'
"The rivers, in forming their channels, or breaking their way through
the hills, have come in contact with the quartz containing the gold
veins, and by constant attrition cut the gold into fine flakes and
dust, and it is found among the sand and gravel of their beds at those
places where the swiftness of the current reduces it, in the dry
season, to the narrowest possible limits, and where a wide margin is,
consequently, left on each side, over which the water rushes, during
the wet season, with great force.
"As the velocity of some streams is greater than that of others, so is
the gold found in fine or coarse particles, apparently corresponding
to the degree of attrition to which it has been exposed. The water
from the hills and upper valleys, in finding its way to the river, has
cut deep ravines, and, wherever it has come in contact with the
quartz, has dissolved or crumbled it in pieces.
"In the dry season, these channels are mostly without water, and gold
is found in the beds and margins of many of them in large quantities,
but in a much coarser state than in the rivers; owing, undoubtedly, to
the moderate flow and temporary continuance of the current, which has
reduced it to smooth shapes, not unlike pebbles, but has not had
sufficient force to cut it into flakes or dust.
"The dry diggings are places where quartz containing gold has cropped
out, and been disintegrated, crumbled to fragments, pebbles, and dust,
by the action of water and the atmosphere. The gold has been left as
it was made, in all imaginable shapes; in pieces of all sizes, from
one grain to several pounds in weight. The evidences that it was
created in combination with quartz are too numerous and striking to
admit of doubt or cavil. _They are found in combination in large
quantities._
"A very large proportion of the pieces of gold found in these
situations have more or less quartz adhering to them. In many
specimens, they are so combined they cannot be separated without
reducing the whole mass to powder, and subjecting it to the action of
quicksilver.
"This gold, not having been exposed to the attrition of a strong
current of water, retains, in a great degree, its original
conformation.
"These diggings, in some places, spread over valleys of considerable
extent, which have the appearance of an alluvion, formed by washings
from the adjoining hills, of decomposed quartz and slate earth, and
vegetable matter.
"In addition to these facts, it is, beyond doubt, true that several
vein-mines have been discovered in the quartz, from which numerous
specimens have been taken, showing the minute connection between the
gold and the rock, and indicating a value hitherto unknown in
gold-mining.
"These veins do not present the appearance of places where gold may
have been lodged by some violent eruption. It is combined with the
quartz, in all imaginable forms and degrees of richness.
"The rivers present very striking, and, it would seem, conclusive
evidence respecting the quantity of gold remaining undiscovered in the
quartz veins. It is not probable that the gold in the dry diggings,
and that in the rivers--the former in lumps, the latter in dust--was
created by different processes. That which is found in the rivers has
undoubtedly been cut or worn from the veins in the rock, with which
their currents have come in contact. All of them appear to be equally
rich. This is shown by the fact that a laboring man may collect nearly
as much in one river as he can in another. They intersect and cut
through the gold region, running from east to west at irregular
distances of fifteen to twenty, and perhaps some of them thirty, miles
apart.
"Hence it appears that the gold veins are equally rich in all parts of
that most remarkable section of country. Were it wanting, there are
further proofs of this in the ravines and dry diggings, which
uniformly confirm what nature so plainly shows in the rivers."
It is an interesting inquiry--what was the amount of the golden
treasure collected during the years 1848 and '49? The satisfaction of
this inquiry will enable us to form some faint conception of the value
of the gold region, and the dependence which may be placed upon its
yield for a commercial return. Premising that the gold was first
discovered in May, 1848, and that intelligence of it was not received
in the United States till late in the following autumn, Mr. King, in
his report, proceeds in making an estimate of the quantity accumulated
till the close of 1849:
"No immigration into the mines could, therefore, have taken place from
the old States in that year. The number of miners was, consequently,
limited to the population of the territory, some five hundred men
from Oregon--Mexicans, and other foreigners, who happened to be in the
country, or came into it during the summer and autumn--and the
Indians, who were employed by or sold their gold to the whites.
"It is supposed there were not far from five thousand men employed in
collecting gold during that season. If we suppose they obtained an
average of one thousand dollars each--which is regarded by well
informed persons as a low estimate--the aggregate amount will be
$5,000,000.
"Information of this discovery spread in all directions during the
following winter; and, on the commencement of the dry season in 1849,
people came into the territory from all quarters--from Chili, Peru,
and other States on the Pacific coast of South America; from the west
coast of Mexico, the Sandwich Islands, China, and New Holland.
"The immigration from the United States came in last, if we except
those who crossed the Isthmus of Panama, and went up the coast in
steamers, and a few who sailed early on the voyage round Cape Horn.
"The American immigration did not come in by sea, in much force, until
July and August, and that overland did not begin to arrive until the
last of August and first of September. The Chilenos and Mexicans were
early in the country. In the month of July, it was supposed there were
fifteen thousand foreigners in the mines. At a place called Sonoranian
Camp, it was believed there were at least ten thousand Mexicans. They
had quite a city of tents, booths, and log-cabins; hotels,
restaurants, stores, and shops of all descriptions, furnished whatever
money could procure. Ice was brought from the Sierra, and ice creams
added to numerous other luxuries. An inclosure made of the trunks and
branches of trees, and lined with cotton cloth, served as a sort of
amphitheatre for bull-fights. Other amusements, characteristic of the
Mexicans, were to be seen in all directions.
"The foreigners resorted principally to the southern mines, which gave
them a great superiority in numerical force over the Americans, and
enabled them to take possession of some of the richest in that part of
the country. In the early part of the season, the Americans were
mostly employed on the forks of the American, and on Bear, Uba, and
Feather Rivers. As their numbers increased, they spread themselves
over the southern mines, and collisions were threatened between them
and the foreigners. The latter, however, for some cause, either fear,
or having satisfied their cupidity, or both, began to leave the mines
late in August, and by the end of September many of them were out of
the country.
"It is not probable that, during the first part of the season, there
were more than five or six thousand Americans in the mines. This would
swell the whole number, including foreigners, to about twenty thousand
the beginning of September. This period embraced about half the
season, during which gold may be successfully collected in the rivers.
"Very particular and extensive inquiries respecting the daily earnings
and acquisitions of the miners lead to the opinion that they averaged
an ounce per day. This is believed by many to be a low estimate; but,
from the best information I was able to procure, I am of opinion it
approaches very near actual results. The half of the season, up to the
1st of September, would give sixty-five working days, and to each
laborer, at $16 per ounce, $1,040. If, therefore we assume $1,000 as
the average collected by each laborer, we shall probably not go beyond
the mark.
"This would give an aggregate of $20,000,000 for the first half of the
season--$15,000,000 of which was probably collected by foreigners.
During the last half of the season, the number of foreigners was very
much diminished, and, perhaps, did not exceed five thousand. At this
time, the American immigration had come in by land and sea, and the
number of our fellow-citizens in the mines had, as was estimated,
increased to between forty and fifty thousand. They were most of them
inexperienced in mining, and it is probable the results of their
labors were not so great as has been estimated for the first part of
the season, and experienced miners. Assuming that the average of half
an ounce per day ought to be considered as reasonable, it would give
an aggregate of about $20,000,000. If from this we deduct one-fourth
on account of the early commencement of the wet season, we have an
estimate of $15,000,000; at least five of which was collected by
foreigners, who possessed many advantages from their experience in
mining and knowledge of the country.
"These estimates give, as the result of the operations in the mines
for 1848 and 1849, the round sum of $40,000,000; one-half of which was
probably collected and carried out of the country by foreigners.
"From the best information I could obtain, I am led to believe that at
least $20,000,000 of the $40,000,000 were taken from the rivers, and
that their richness has not been sensibly diminished, except in a few
locations, which had early attracted large bodies of miners. This
amount has principally been taken from the northern rivers, or those
which empty into the Sacramento; the southern rivers, or those which
flow into the San Joaquin, having been, comparatively, but little
resorted to until near the close of the last season. These rivers are,
however, believed by those who have visited them, to be richer in the
precious metal than those in the northern part of the gold region."
Adopting the hypothesis that the gold found in these streams had been
cut or worn away from the veins in the quartz through which they have
forced their way, and considering the fact that they are all equally
productive, we may conjecture what a vast amount of treasure remains
undisturbed in the veins which run through the masses of rock over a
space of forty or fifty miles wide, and near five hundred miles long.
Such an estimate would almost defy our belief; yet, if the hypothesis
is true, there is no reason to doubt that the value of the gold which
that region will yield, is almost beyond calculation.
The quicksilver mines of California are believed to be numerous,
extensive, and very valuable. The largest and most profitable one yet
opened is situated near San José, and belongs to, or is claimed by,
Mr. Forbes, of Tepic, in Mexico. The cinnabar ore, which produces the
quicksilver, is easily procured, and machinery has been put in
operation, which enables the proprietor to make an extensive profit.
The value of the quicksilver mines, by being so near the gold region,
is considerably increased; quicksilver being almost indispensable in
gold mining.
Extensive beds of silver, iron, and copper ores are believed to exist
in the territory, but their existence and value is not accurately
ascertained, the allurements held out by the continued success of the
gold-miners and the continued discovery of new and profitable
_placers_ being too strong to permit any search for the baser, but
more useful metals. Respecting the propriety of the establishment of a
mint in California, Mr. King makes the following observations--
"I have already alluded to the propriety of establishing a mint in
California. This is important in many respects. At this time, there is
not coin in the country to supply a currency. Much difficulty is
experienced in procuring enough to pay the duties on imported goods.
The common circulating medium is, therefore, gold dust, which is sold
at $15 50 to $16 per ounce. In the mines, it is frequently sold much
lower. The miners, the laboring men, are the sufferers from this state
of things.
"Those who purchase and ship gold to the Atlantic States make large
profits: _but those who dig lose what others make_.
"I have estimated that there will be $50,000,000 collected during the
current year. At $16 per ounce, that sum will weigh 3,125,000 ounces.
"Gold, at the United States mint, is worth $18 per ounce, making a
difference in value on that quantity, between San Francisco and New
York, of $6,250,000, which would be saved to the miners by the
establishment of a mint.
"I have also suggested its importance as a means of promoting and
increasing our trade with the west coast of Mexico and South America.
"It is not doubted that the construction of a railway across the
Isthmus of Panama, and, perhaps, the establishment of other lines of
communication between the two oceans, will give to the products and
manufactures of the older States of the Union command of the market of
California to the exclusion, in a great degree, of those of the west
coast.
"A mint will, therefore, become of the utmost importance, to give such
marketable value to silver bullion as to enable the merchants of those
countries to keep up and increase the intercourse with our principal
ports on the Pacific.
"The silver bullion shipped to Europe from the west coast of Mexico
amounts to more than ten millions of dollars per annum. From the
countries on the west coast of South America, probably an equal
quantity. That from Mexico goes to pay for European importations into
her ports on the Atlantic side.
"A market at San Francisco for this bullion will be the means of
substituting American and Chinese fabrics for those of European
manufacture in all those countries. This will greatly increase the
trade between China and California."
A bill for the establishment of a mint at San Francisco was introduced
into Congress, during the present session, (1849-50) and passed both
houses; thus securing to California the advantages mentioned in the
above extract, by Mr. King.
We have thus given a complete description of California, in respect to
population, climate, soil, productions, commercial resources, and
metallic and mineral wealth, as accurate and comprehensive as the most
authentic sources could furnish, or as could be ascertained at the
present time. Although the territory already contains a large
population and has produced a great amount of treasure in the short
duration of its existence; although it is already a large State,
which has _sprung_ into existence, as it may be termed, there is every
evidence that this is but the "beginning of the end." "The greatest is
behind." To what such commercial facilities, mineral and metallic
resources, and an active and progressive population will conduct
California, it is easy to imagine. They will build up a State, which,
although the member of a confederacy, will be powerful enough to
maintain itself, independent of the aid to be derived from the Union.
Its ports will be the resort of the vessels of all nations, and its
valleys and hill-sides will become the homes of an agricultural
population, reaping the rich reward of their toil. Canals and
railroads, the children of enterprise, will soon intersect the
territory, transport the riches of one section to another, and
increase the social communication of the inhabitants. Such a State
will add greatly to the power of the confederated republic, and form
an additional stimulus to the rapid filling up of the vast territory
situated between California and her sister States.
FOOTNOTE:
[13] Six Months in the Gold Mines, by E. Gould Buffum.