Part 1

Transcriber's note: Table of Contents created by Transcriber and placed into the Public Domain.

CONTENTS

Preface 3 The Country and Its Resources 5 The Gold Region 24 Advice to the Miner 33 Towns of California, and What Relates to Them 49 The Harbor of San Francisco 55 Directions for Entering the Harbor of San Francisco 55 Regulations for the Harbor and Port of San Francisco 56 The Towns of California (_continued_) 57 Errata 61

CALIFORNIA

AS IT IS, AND AS IT MAY BE,

OR,

A GUIDE TO THE GOLD REGION.

BY F. P. WIERZBICKI, M. D. SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

FIRST EDITION.

**

SAN FRANCISCO: PRINTED BY WASHINGTON BARTLETT, NO. 8, CLAY STREET. 1849.

COPY RIGHT SECURED.

PREFACE.

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.

THE AUTHOR.

SAN FRANCISCO, SEPT. 30, 1849.

CALIFORNIA.

THE COUNTRY AND ITS RESOURCES.

The country lying between the _Sierra Nevada_ and the Pacific Ocean, and bounded at the north, though somewhat indefinitely, by the Oregon Territory, and at the South by the Lower California, confined by the late treaty of the two neighboring Republics to the line three miles south of San Diego, is known as Upper California, a country now engrossing the attention of the civilized world with its future importance. There is no other instance known in history where a country just emerging so to say, from obscurity, immediately acquired such complicated and multifarious relations, not only to the nation of whose territory it is only a small portion, but to the whole civilized world, as California has. In view of these various relations, we propose here to consider the subject of Upper California.

Before California can answer all those expectations, the realization of which the world with good reason looks for, an increase of population must be secured for her. To effect which it will not be very difficult, if to its natural advantages, the government of the Union will add its efforts to promote by every legislative and administrative measure the influx of new settlers. But in all its proceedings, liberality should be its motto, and none of that miserly policy that is afraid of losing an acre from its lands or a dollar from its treasury.

California holds in its bosom resources that no other country can boast of comprised in so small a territory--its mineral wealth, its agricultural capacity, its geographical position, conspire to make it in time one of the most favored lands. And it will lie in the power of the government either to accelerate or retard the unfolding of its future importance. When considered in point of mineral productions, if allowed to be developed by capitalists, California is capable of becoming an important centre of the commerce of the Pacific. Here we find in the neighborhood of the Clear Lake, about a hundred and twenty-five miles north of Sonoma, Lead, Copper, Sulpher and Saltpetre; on the South side of San Francisco Bay, Silver-mines have been found in the vicinity of Pueblo de San Jose; Quicksilver mines which are pronounced to be richer than those of Spain, are already being worked to a great profit in the same region; Coal strata have been also found in the coast range of mountains near Santa Cruz, in the neighborhood of the Mission of San Luis Obispo, and near San Diego. California Coal seems to be in the intermediate state between the anthracite and the bituminous; it is not as hard as the former nor so soft as the latter; it burns more easily than the first, and does not give out so smoky and unpleasant a flame as the second; it ignites easily and burns with a very pleasant flame without much smoke. Iron is scattered through the mountains of the country, and we have no doubt that a workable mine of it will before long be discovered. We mention not the gold washings that are being worked so successfully at present, for as respects their duration and the developement of the industry of the country, they scarcely deserve the attention of the economist be they ever so rich; as all other mines are more beneficent in their influence to the progress of a country than gold mines. These will become the means of advancing the prosperity of the country only when a regular system of mining by sinking shafts into the rocks shall commence, which it is to be hoped will be done ere long.

The labor expended in working these various mines would give a firm support to the agriculture of the country, which at this day is totally neglected. There is no country, probably, where the soil is so grateful to the hand that cultivates it. There is almost no plant, grain, or fruit that cannot be raised here. Rye grows wild on the skirts of the gold region towards the _Sierra Nevada_; oats cover completely the coast range of the mountains; wheat and corn grow luxuriantly on all the plains, notwithstanding it rains only in the winter season; potatoes, onions and every other kind of garden vegetables with very little care grow to a very large size and of excellent flavor. Some of these vegetables can be kept growing all the year round, such as onions, peas, and some others. Every description of fruit trees seem to be natural to the soil, for they attain here a great perfection. The apple, the peach, the pear, the apricot, the fig, the cherry, the plum, the grape, the pomegranate, the citron, the orange, the olive, the currant, the gooseberry and various other berries are found here either cultivated or in a wild state. The inhabitants of the country have not done much towards the culture of any fruit trees or shrubs; and that is the reason the quantity of any fruit is very limited, when compared with the wants of the population and the capacities of the soil. Knowledge and industry with very little exertion would increase the quantity not only to supply the wants of the country but even to a super-abundance. The pear and the olive seem to have been the favorite fruit with the Priests of the Missions, as they have raised them in large quantities and of excellent quality. The California olive is among the largest known, and in flavor surpasses that of France; the varieties of the pear are numerous and delicious in quality. The grape vine grows throughout the country, from the extreme north down to San Diego. Excellent grape is produced at Sonoma, at the Mission of San Jose, and some other points. The best however, or where it was made the best use of, is that of the Pueblo de los Angeles. The wine produced there by several vine growers is of excellent quality; in the opinion of many judges in the matter, it is superior to any wine that Spain or Portugal can produce. Its color, its flavor and its strength are _sui generis_; it wants only to be known to be sought after by _amateurs_; and there is no doubt but its culture and the exportation of it will extend rapidly with the increase of commerce on this coast. The most celebrated wine at present is that made by M. Vignes, a French gentleman who settled in the country some fifteen years ago and was the first to plant a vineyard in this region. There are two qualities of it, red and white; the latter is more inviting than the former by the very beauty of its color. The growing of the grape vine and of the olive may be made a very profitable branch of foreign commerce, if there were men to attend to the business; settlers from the South of Europe could develope this branch of industry to great advantage, and could not fail to make themselves opulent. There are in the country appropriate spots for the culture of rice and the sugar cane: the former could be easily raised on the overflowed lands of the San Joaquin and on the creeks of San Francisco Bay. Cotton even might be raised here, but we think one could employ his time more profitably in some other business, as cotton is so cheap elsewhere. Hemp grows wild in different parts of the country.

There is yet another branch of industry at which we have not heretofore so much as hinted, but which would prove for California one of the richest mines of which she could boast; we mean the raising of sheep. The climate of the country and much of its surface are admirably adapted for the purpose; in fact, as it proved a source of wealth to New South Wales, it would be equally so to California; a great similarity of climate of the two countries guarantees the result. In this way every portion of the country would be turned to advantage; the mountains now lying barren would be a grazing ground for the sheep; and the valleys now trodden exclusively by cattle and horses would be given up to the plough, and there would be no more livestock raised than the actual wants of the country require. Merino rams could be easily procured from Oregon, Peru, or even New South Wales, to improve the native breed of the sheep. He who enters upon this business the first will lay the foundation for a colossal fortune which he can realize in a few years.

The face of the country being broken up into mountains and having large valleys separating the two coast ranges of mountains into the sea coast range on the west, and the spurs of the Sierra Nevada on the East, offers an ample ground for the shepherd and agriculturalist. The valleys south of San Francisco Bay lie almost parallel with the sea coast, gradually receding with it in a South-east direction. This gives an opportunity for the North-west winds, which prevail on the coast, to sweep over them, and thus temper the heat of the sun, renovate the air, and carry away over the snowy mountains any _miasmata_ that might be suspended in the atmosphere, and which if left undisturbed might prove a prolific source of disease. This accounts for the extreme healthiness of the sea coast of California. The portion of the country that is less salubrious than the rest of it is confined between the Sacramento and the San Joaquin; fevers seem to be dominant there, yet even there people can get acclimated and enjoy good health for years. In point of climate San Francisco and San Diego present a striking contrast. The former being so much exposed to the North-west winds has a very disagreeable temperature; but it is nothing more than disagreeable, as fogs and winds have their periods there; it is however, far from being unhealthy; with ordinary care and prudence, one in a few months gets acclimated, and cannot but enjoy perfect health. Its winter, notwithstanding the rains, is more agreeable than its summer, when fog and chilling winds prevail. This climate extends only the length of the bay; it improves as we recede farther south. On the contrary, in San Diego the climate is most delicious and equable; neither enervating by excessive heat, nor disagreeable on account of Northern blasts. Rains are scanty, yet vegetation is luxuriant wherever the soil is good.

We may observe here in regard to the climate of California in general, that for the sake of health, summer dress should be entirely dispensed with; the nights throughout the coast are cold, and every new comer is more liable to suffer through neglect of this precaution than even the natives. Woolen dress is never oppressive here, but always beneficial. Strangers, if they suffer, owe their illness to the oversight of this fact, together with the excesses that some of them commit.

The agriculture of a country should be made the basis of every branch of industry and trade; these latter should, so to say, feed the springs of the former. In California every facility is offered to the farmer. The working of the various mines will guarantee him a profitable sale of all his productions. The exterior commerce naturally following the working of mines, will equally contribute its share in favor of the agriculturalist. The American whalers scattered throughout the Pacific Ocean to the number of nearly 700, will come to California for fresh provisions if they have the security that they will run no risk of losing their crews on their arrival there. It will be the duty of the Federal Government, as well as of the local authorities, to devise measures that will give this security to all shipping. The government squadron that will be constantly stationed in the Pacific, will also draw its provisions from California as soon as she shall be able to furnish them, since it will be less expensive to the Government, and more beneficial for the service; for much of the stores that are now shipped round Cape Horn at considerable expense, become unfit for use by the time they are wanted by the Navy.

Such are the unfailing sources from which the labor of the farmer will be liberally paid; but they are not the only ones. Every year will see them expand and always working for the advantage of the agriculturalist. It is not necessary to be gifted with an extraordinary foresight to predict that as soon as the industry and enterprise of the Americans take a fair footing on this soil, the commerce of the country will grow daily; the trade with China, with the Islands of the Pacific, and with the whole western coast of America will be ere many years, in the hands of American citizens resident in California, which will be made a _depot_ of the industry of the whole Union. To swell this commercial tide beating against the shores of California comes the railroad that must inevitably be built across the territory of the Union, and whose terminus must be on the Bay of San Francisco. It may take many years before this work will be accomplished, but we have no doubt of its being sooner or later entered upon. We have a particular right to express our faith in the accomplishment of the work, as we were the first, at least to our knowledge, who, five years ago, prophesied on a public occasion, the union of New York with San Francisco by means of the iron bars laid across the continent. At that time it was more difficult to foresee than it is now, and probably those who then smiled at our enthusiastic visions of the future, will now agree with us that the time is not far removed when the Pacific shore railroad will pass into the facts of history. The accomplishment of this work will appear less difficult when we consider that one half of the proposed railroad is already built--we mean the distance from New York to Natchez. Now, combining all the results of the different branches of industry above spoken of, and which can and will be exercised in this territory whenever there shall be a sufficient number of inhabitants for the work, is it difficult to foresee the part California is to perform in the civilized world? And all this will ultimately turn to the especial benefit of the tiller of the soil. The country can sustain several millions of inhabitants with the greatest ease possible. The apparent drawback upon the agriculture of the country in the eyes of a farmer from the States is the comparative scarcity of timber and water; and he is more disagreeably impressed, if, arriving by land, he beholds, first of all, the extensive plains of the Sacramento.--Should he come from Oregon he feels home-sick, and is willing almost immediately to turn upon his heels for his well wooded home. But the Sacramento plains are not the best representatives of the country; they are good only for a scanty population; the want of an abundant supply of wood and water is only apparent at first sight, and particularly to those whose first idea of farming is to clear away the woods from the land they are to settle upon. The same time which the farmer in Oregon devotes to the clearing of land can be, if necessary, devoted to looking for and securing a lasting spring of water that may answer for all farming purposes--a thing very easily done, if one possesses a little knowledge and industry. We can say safely, that there is hardly a spot in California on which water cannot be found if looked for; although frequently on the surface there may be no signs of it, yet the ground, notwithstanding this, is so percolated with it that it needs, comparatively speaking, but little labor to strike upon a lasting spring. We doubt not that those who have means would find it profitable to sink an artesian well, if the land require it, which work would not be very expensive here, because there is never an occasion to go very deep in search of water in California. By what we have said we do not mean to imply that the necessity for these wells will be felt throughout the country; far from it--there are not only numerous streams in the hills that never dry up, offering fine mill sites, but others that wash the plains can be turned to agricultural purposes with all ease. At one time, when California was under the direction of the Spanish priests, it was like a garden; but the Mexican misrule blasted it like the Northern wind when it breathes upon a budding flower. Those who have not seen such things before, would be surprised at finding wheat and corn, the principal grains that are raised here, growing luxuriantly in plains where there are but scanty rains. We have seen excellent potatoes grow on a slope of a hill in the Bay of Monterey. This is undoubtedly owing to the moisture brought from the sea by winds, nightly dews, and to the fact that the sub-soil is always more or less moist. There is a remarkable advantage in the climate of California for the farmer; the seasons and their peculiarities are so well known that he can count almost with certainty upon the results of his rural labors.

Although timber cannot be found on every spot that is arable, yet we may safely assert that there is a sufficient quantity of it through the country to satisfy all the wants of the inhabitants that are yet to settle here. The coast range of mountains from Oregon down, is quite plentifully wooded; particularly near Botega on the North and Santa Cruz on the South side of the Bay of San Francisco. There are already from six to eight saw-mills in the country, and there is yet room for more. In fact, in our opinion, if the American farmer get rid of his _stereotyped_ notions of farming, and using his intelligence, adapts himself to the climate and the state of the country, he will reap a golden harvest much more abundant than anywhere else; and even we would go farther and assert that he will do so with much less labor than in any of the States.

In connexion with the farming interest we cannot overlook the excellent state of natural roads throughout the country. A good road enables the farmer to dispose of his produce and greatly diminishes his rural labors. There are but a few, if any, countries that can boast of so good natural roads as California. From San Francisco down to San Diego, a carriage may pass along the valleys almost upon a beaten track, although everything in relation to roads is at present completely neglected. In Spanish times they were in a better state, for the Priests then used to make their journeys to San Diego in carriages all along the coast. A very little labor would make them even now all that roads need be.

Not less important to the farming interest, as to every interest in the country, is a railroad uniting the States on the East side of the Rocky Mountains with the Pacific shores. The advantages of such a National work are numerous, and if the people and the government of the Union understand fully its importance, they will lose no time in undertaking it. The practicability of the work is not to be questioned; the country through which it _should_ pass, and the energy and enterprise of the American citizens are sufficient guarantees for its feasibility. The immense advantages in a commercial point of view to be derived from such an enterprise are indisputable. The trade of China, of the Islands of the Pacific and the whole Western coast of America, will be brought so much nearer the Union that it will not fail to pour immense wealth into her lap. She will become really a formidable commercial rival of Great Britain, and a common carrier to the whole of Europe. It will bind the whole Union with more indissoluble ties; the sectional interests of each State will be mingled and merged in the common interest made fast to the Pacific shore. To California individually, such a railroad will be of great consequence, as it will make it a centre of an extensive commerce, and will bring to her a sufficient population to develope all her internal resources.

Once before we have indicated the route for such a railroad, and we will take this opportunity to enforce it upon the public still more, as farther reflection and information upon the subject enables us to do even with more reason than before.

The projected railroad across the continent should start from the Mississippi near the mouth of the Ohio, or at such a point that the navigation will never be liable to be interrupted by ice; thence to the vicinity of the Arkansas; thence along the prairie ridge which separates the waters that flow into the Arkansas from those which flow into the Mississippi and Missouri, to the point where the road passes from Missouri to New Mexico, and by _San Miguel_ to _Santa Fe_; thence up the valley of the _Rio del Norte_ to the mouth of the _Abaca_ creek; thence up the creek to the town of the same name, and thence through a pine forest of low sandy hills ninety miles in length to the _Rio de la Plata_, which is a tributary of the _San Juan_. The latter is a tributary of the _Colorado_. It should cross the _Colorado_ to the Northwest side and proceed along the trail from _Santa Fe_ to California to a point between the _Mahahve_ river and the _San Bernardino_ mountain; thence through about ten miles of low hills to the great valley of the _San Joaquin_; thence down that magnificent and fertile valley, about five hundred miles on a level, to the tide water of the Bay of San Francisco. By this route the road will pass over a dead level of about eight hundred miles at the eastern end, and about five hundred miles at the western; it will have _no mountains to cross_, will be nearly free from snow in all parts, will afford, for New Mexico, an outlet to both Oceans, and terminate at the best part of the western coast of America.