coulter, thomas. notes on upper california. journal of the royal geographical society of london.pdf

7/28/2019 Coulter, Thomas. Notes on Upper California. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London.pdf

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madeat night, but the Shelooks(de?ming t dishonourab}eo killany one asleep) knockat the door, and call {ut " Hamet hamet,Shelook!" in a motnellt all the Arabs escape, and leave thewonlen children, nd cattle to the invaders. Hamet seems to bea lsame or strangersXrobably ronlthe prophetwhose followersare their constantenemies. Wollderfulstories are told of theprowessof the S4helooks,ndtheircourat,eandskill ill attackingthe hippopotamusndcrocodilewhileswimming,when heyseldomfail to overconlethem. The men have no names, he womenareall called Marianz marriage s unkllowll. The evening wasbeautiful,and we listened o a plaintiveBornouair whicha slavegirl sung wvhilemakingbread.March31.-At three,P.1W., ahomet eturnedwith bad news.The Kaimakam f Mogratwasabsentgathering ontribution, nddromedaries ould not be procuredunder ten or fourteendays.We therefore bandonedWordofall,onsolingourselveswith thepl'OSp6Ct of gaining ndia by the sacrifice. On ahe banks of theriveJ the musk of the crocodile was so strong it pesfumed hewholeair. We embarked t sunset in GourschiedBey's cangiaand lowed dovvll o lbrahimCapitaun's stablishmentor boat-building, an hour lowes down the river. He receivedU9 withmuch kindllessarsdhospitality, lld n the mornillgshowedus hisworks. He has four Arabs, a Copt, and a Turkish soldierwithhim,andaboutforty laves,which.,onsideringhe nearapproachesof the Shelooks, and the uncertain idelityof so mally blacks,whose nterest t wouldbe to join the attackers,makeshis situatioby lso n}eansagreeable uring he summer easoll. ItIthe Khareefialso, all share alike in the dangerof the climate- yet IbrahimCapitaun,with abilities o buildsolid boats, has remained n thissicklycountry evenyears. He caaxe with Ismael Pacha, for apay of three hllndredpiastresa month-twenty dollars- and tllisis not regulallypaicl. He wishes o return,and has asked me toforward is request o the consul. The boatsare built of acacia,a wood extrenlely urable,butso hard that whell seasoIIed nailwill scarcelypenetrate t. The iroll comes romOdessa,by wayof Cairo. In Kordofan ron is found on the stlrface,but hassle^7ereen examinecl y scientificpersons. Everyyearten largeboats are built, with the timbersand framesof ten more stowedwithin hem. Ibrahim ays thathe saves the Pacha hreehundredpursesa yeal by these boats-all slleredibleum.April1.-We bade olir host adieu,and havehad an agreeableday'srow down the Bahr-el-Abiad. The banksare like the mostbeautifulwood alld lawnl iewsof the Thanles but withouthouses.Towardsevening the shoresweremorebare. Saw severalhip-popotami.

Peninsulaof Sennr.8


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Penznsula of KS'enxlczr}

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NIollkeys lld bil(ls of gay colourssveresportillgon the trees.'rornthewooda lawn slope(lgently to the rivertwentyyards.Oll theballk.swere bir(Ssllnurnerable: mongtlaemwo speciesof ibis, oneblack,the othersshite,but blacktowardshe tail, theheadsof bothblack-pelicans, mclny orts of geese, dtlcks,andother mallerwater-lJircls.n theriver polteda hippopotamusndtwo crocodiles. 'Rheoppositebank of tlle Bahr-el-Abiad,herebroaderhan he Nile at'lahel)es,massoode(l. Wewalkedalongtlle shoreto tlle 1lorth57ard,ookin;,anxiouslyor a conseyanceACIOSS. Thereere manydeep tracesof hippopotami, nd therecelltmalbsof a lion, who probablyhad been to drinkin theliver a few houls befole. Tmo have takenpossessiollof thismood,alldfclttenedon the Arabs' locksfortllreeyears. A boatcrossedoverfor us it had leen sellt frolll Khartoolnby Cour-schied Bey for our use. \Ve crossedover alld foundIbrahimCapitaun,a Cephalolliall,boat-buildelto the Pacha at \VadiSihalliee 1 dischartedour caravan,ho were left on the eastbalsk,aaldlrgedthemto depart nlmedintelyorfearof theliolls.The Arabswere simplemell; 11ad leverbeen in ttle islalldofSennal before theycalnewith U8, and mele alarnled t theideaof 2:oing so far from home. AVe ook up our abodeat XVadiShalliee,att}lehollseof Abdallah,a l)ollz,olee,wolkerniloll atldsilver. rlthe tO\\'Il COllSiStS of fiftyor sixty lolises alida similarnumberare at tuo otherplacesa nlile off: tRhehollsesareofdollra stalksalid mattint, and are sitilated n thebanksof thedrybed of the rivel,a nlile frolil lle stater. At high rater thesituatiollniust be beautiful;a tilickJood backs t, arsd n theirbralichesare ulonkeys lillumeralzle,ndlnanybirds The towncannotbe accttiatelymarkedtsthemap,as its positions changedeveryyear. The inhabitalits le Htissalleya, brancilof theBu-karall,and x7ealti15ll camels and lqocks. While clippingour{illgersn the gleasydishullicha pretty laveof Abdallahplacedoll themat befble us, Bischara,the great sheickof the Arabs,paid us a visit. He 51astoo fat and illdolelltto exert llimself,even if it iladnot beell Ramadan. He saidno dronledaries ereto be procuredherefora jotllney o Kordofal),nd t was late at1liglltbeforehe proctlred lle, ane-l guideto go withWTahomerottle villageof Alo^,rat,ix lloursdistant. WaddiSllallieeis only


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( 59 )1V. --Notes nUpper alifor-rlta.Comalunicated yDr. Thomas

Coulter. Read 9th March,1835.UPPER CALTFORN A jSusuallyconsideld as extetldillgfrolllthecoastof thePacificto theRio Colorado, ndflollltheboundarywithLowerCalifornia, fewleaguessouthof San Diego, to theparallel f 421?N., which s supposed o run hrough hemiddleofthelakeTillspanogos though,with respect o thislatter circunl-stance,I am by no meallssatisfied,being nluchinclinedto thil-sktllatTilupanogos,which1 believe o be thesalne as thatcalled bythe huntersBlack Lake, is wllollyvithin the lNIexicallerritor).But thecollrse of the Rio Colorado s entirelywithils lle RockyWIountains,hich are separatedrom the illhabited, lld indeedhabitable,portiollof Califorla by a greatsalldplain,destituteofwater. This plain s about 100 miles n breadthat its solltherllextremity,and about 200 at the northerll;about700 nliles illleng,th, radually scending oward ilenorth,alldsimilarn everyrespect o thaton tlseeastern ide of the RockyMountaills;alldwe shallhavea muchbetter dea of tllecountryby considerint,ttlleleforeas bounded o tlle eastnvald y thisplain.Otlr viev is thuscolltilled,hell,to a narronvractof COUntl-yfveryremarkableeatules, he general UIlof its mountain-lidges,COI1til][lOUSith hechainof LowerCalifornia,eillgnearly arallelwiththecoast,andallnostall the millorstreamsrtlllnin,,north-westerly. Of the great riversfalling ntothe Bayof San Fran-cisco,through he Boca cleCarquinas,he Sacramento lllyhas asoutherncourse. The Jesus Rlariaand tile SaxlJoaquin runwesterly r north-Xsesterly,s do all the otherscollected in theTule Lakesbeforeenterin,:,he bay.This viewof the countrys somewhat ifferentrom hat1lsuallyelltertailled,IldI amsorry hatI amllOt ble o speak o the wholeof itOll llyOvllauthority,aothavinobeentothenorthof SanFrall-cisco, noreast of the 'ruleLakes. It is necessary ere,hovzever,onoticethegreatpopularerlorrespectingheselakes. The greatobjectof theearlierSpallishexpeditions,ullderColtlmbus nd hisinilnediate fbilo^slers, vas not thediscovery f a newcontinent,blltof a westerllpassage o the slandsof thePacificantl o China;andevel]aftera ,reat extentof thecoastsof America adbeenexplored,thediscovery f this pa.ssag;eontilluedo be a favouriteobject,everythint,hatellcouragedhehopeof itsattaislnlenteinggreedilylaid hold of. Hence the elldless accounts of deep illlets andillland eas; andtheextentto whichtheimaginationwasengagediII thesemaybe judged of bythe leceptiongiven to thefabulotisStoJy f a passage aidto ilavebeenactuallymadefrotn he north-westcoastintofludson'sBay. This anxiety, hen,to find a pas-sagefromsea to sea, alldthefacilitysolneot theearlier ravellers


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60 Plotesn[Npperalifornia.hadn reat;ivng ns1hatheywished o find,where llerewas no im-mediateiskof detection} aisedtllesecomparativelynsignificantpondso therankof a vast nland ea. The Tllle Lakesale no^vknoutnlot to exceed 100 miles in totallength,being fordable ntheryseason n severalplaces; andnotwithstandingheir manytributariesrom heeastward,heydischargeduring collsiderableportiollf theyear,very ittle,if n)7 Mater ntoSanFrancisco.Itis nlyimmediatelyfter he rainy easoll,whichis usually ncledbyFebruary, nddtlring he thawof the snowt n thehigl]rangeofhills betweell he lakesand treat sand plaill,thatthere s anyconsiderableischarge f water rom hem n tllisdirection. Suchateastis theaccountgivenby theAmericanhunters. A severeaccidentreventedmy Cl'OSSilig this ,roulld myselfill compally7itha partyof beaver-trappers;ut I aftelwardsmetwiththeirchief, velyintelligentmat}, romuthoseaccount,comparedwitlthatofone of the missionarypriestsAtho advisitedtheGelltilelndiansgentile on the borders f thelakes, Thaste entured olay hellldoutn; alldthout,ll llerenlust of cotlrsebe still someuncertaintyespecting hem, I hopefurthelobservation, hilst tmustcorrect,will confirm he generalviewI have taken of theCOUtlt1-y.imited,as I have supposed,to tlle eastwartlby thesandplaill,thegeneral ormof thecountrys somewzhatriallgular,theridgeof moalntains from Lolster Califorl-lia diNtidillt Into severalothers,,which slightlydivergeas theyadvancenorthr^ZaI^d.llegreatsnowypeakof Sall Bernardino,ast of San Gabliel,beingtlle pOillt frolllzslhichhe two prillcipal angesstart; theone, thegreatsnoy chain,separateshe salldplainfrom ile Tule Lakes;andthe other separates l}e Ttlle Lakes fromthe seabold, notrllnllillt,arthernortlltllallSall Francisco. Severalminorridgesextelldbets7eenhis latterandthe coast,of whichtheprincipalsthat running romMonterey owardsSautaBarbara,separatillgtheRioSanBllenaventura,r tlleMontereyRiver,fiomthecoas$,andunitingsitll theTulechainabout SantaYnes. The islandsof tlleChannelof Santa DBarbaraIsoseem ike the sumlllitsofa sulvmarinehaill, lla in,:,its gelleraldirectiollparallelto tlleothers.It srillnot lJenecessuryo enter,at plesent, ntomuchdetailofnly jollrnetsirlthecoulltry of zllich tlleprincipal vas ilatfronMontele) to tlle junctionof tlleRios Coloradoand G-ila l)utIthink t requisiteo statethemeansusedfordetermillingheposi-tionsl?id down in longitude. I hada trausit n Monterey;lvutthoughset up tllere, tlle weatherwas too unfavourableo allosuletodepend nuchupon lleresults; lich, howeYer is of the esscollsequence,s thatpOil-stasbeencarefllllyaiddozn byCaptaillBeechev. 111ave,herefore, ssunledhelollgitllde f Monterey she gives it} alld takell departllres froIn it eastward ychrollonletel.


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Ifofes071 UpperCaZifornia. lThe onlypOillt t whichI thoughtt necessaryo take lunar dis-tances sas the fordon tlle Hio Colorado,six miles below itsullctionwith the Gil7l, and tllat only as a checkon mychrollo-meter; fox llavint,beell thellledtlced o olle serviceable ne,I feltit proper o take someplecalltion est allyaccident houlcl 1appellto it oll my returl), ndso (lepriveme vf tlleadvalltage f the re-tllluint, et of observatiollsol tirzle. I 11oweverot it safelybackto Nlollterey, lldas 1fbtlnd he clitiexesces f naelidianmadegOillgandletvlrllist,,as sho\!ll I)ythe chlollcxmetel lxly,to correspolldsely closely? ttusteclo it solely.

1 alll tlle nlore cli3posed to illsist particulally upoll this pointX

I)ecavtseoults llave )eenexplessed of t[se possibility t zIsint,chronometern sllore, fom tlseditSiculty f tlallspoltillg t safely,p;llticularly ll 11orsebac1i. ans satistied, xonl mepealedrials,that t!-lis lifficaltys llot so gleatas has beenill}agined. All thatappears o be 1lecessary,s to carsytlle chronometer)elted ti^,hta^aillst lle alJdomell,rld !eart so day and llight. rltheasarcllof t}at carriedon this voyat,eaffords lle proof out of severcilCOllld state of whatcan ill tilis^5raye accomplislsed venundelveryunfavourableircumstallces. ;rlle stlbioined ablesshowtherate t Icept, wlldhe luode sIdoptedf checleinbt at (litierent ointsof the oulney. l-tsztille seell by tllese tllattilne+vas akell,bothgOiXlr, and returllin^,t severalpoints,::alldl,slt, ladallyderante-nlentoccurred, t musthave )eelldetected.

ObserrrzZionsn the orde1 of t/leiwdcttes.m, s.Chron.by 1U.T. + 22 45'fian.2 i. MonterexFeb. 2:2. ,,Alar. 20. ,,Ail 6. Santa Bar,, 2.3. San Gabri,, 30. La PalaMay s. Fortl,, 17. ..,, 27. La PalaJurle 15. San Gal)riJtlly .5. SanFaBar

,, # , .,, 19. MorltereyAug. 2. ,,

,, + 18 54*3" + 16 06*9,, + 5 09'1,, - 2 54 o,, - 7 35 1,,, - 17 4S S,, - 18 59'7,, - 10 40 .- 8 50 *_ 4 39 ' s,, - 4 54 9,, + 2 33 4,, + 1 07's1

rbara1

lelrbara

Same ob.?erlatio7lsarzn^,ed n setsfor rate.m. s.J an. 22. Chr. by M.T. + 2S 45 e; m. s.Fel). 22. ., -t l8 5,3 4 Rate-7 5 daily.March20. ,, + lc 06 9 ,, - 6 l ,,July 19. ,, + 2 33?a1 ,, -6 7 ,,Au;,.2. ,, + 1 07X1 ,, -6 lS ,,

Montel ey.


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Noteson UpperCalifornia.ln. 8.SantaBarbara.Apr. 6. Chr.byM.T. + 5 09 *1 8.

,> July 5. ,, - 4 S!3S8 Rate- 6*56daily,. ,, 7. ,, - 4 54 9 ,, -6 7 ,,San Gabriel. Apr. 23. ,, - 2 54*5,, June 15. ,, - 8 50 3 tt - 6e7 ,,La Pala. Apr. 30. ,, - 7 35a4,, May 27. , -10 40 S ,, -6*8 ,,Ford, on RiolMay 8. ,, -17 48*8Colorado. f ,, 17. ,, -18 59*7 ,, -7X88 ,,Restclts,

Ford } ,, returning - 2S 38 5}mean 28 .31 45Monterey, o tdiS. made going = 8 59 otmean 8 54415Santa Barbara ,, returning = 8 48 91tSantaBarbara,ld;ff.made going - 6 19 l|mean 6 15@9to San Gabriel ,, returning = 6 12j7San Gabriel, totdiS. madegoing = 13 15 51mean 13 2029Ford j ,, returnlng = 13 2G3JThe sum of the three latter means (28m 31s*95) correspondingnearlywith the resultof the firsttakensingly.Respectingthese tables, hereare tso circumstances hichre-qlliresolnelittle explanation. One is the changeof rate to theamount f aboutone seconddailyduringmy stayat ElioColorado,attributable erhaps o the excessisel-leato WlliCiI urewerethelesubjected, he tllermonleter,xposed o the radiation f the plainonly,standing requelitlyt 140?Fahr. (Furtheron therewill befolindsome remarksOll thecausesof thisveryhigh temperature,so unusual n anextia-tropicalatitude,with some other observa-tions on the climate of Mexico whichmay be interestiligo thel eader.) Perhapsthis degreeof heat ought riot to effect tilechrononleter; ut I folind t so intolerab}e,hatI was obligedtoleave offthe belt in whichI carriedt, and to allow t to lie hori-zontallyduringmy stay,szshich ay alsohanecontribiltedo pro-duce the disturbalice. The elTectof this chan,e is got entirelyoser by nlaking accotilitonlyof the time by chrollometel t n)yarrival nd againon my departing,eavingout of account the tenda-s during,whichI reinailledtatioliarv.rrhe othercircumstaliceeservingnoteis thedifference bseiv-able in the easting and westing in some of the divisismsf thejourney, whilst thele is none on the whob. This is not verygreat, and may be partlyaccountedfor by the wallt of a barometel,which, fionl havin,g requentlybrokentubes before,I did not carryOtl this journey, ^shichI wasobliged to make veryrapidly. I wasconsequentlyobligefl to correct the refraction by glless. What-ever errortheremay have been in my guess would -nzanifestlyact


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NotesonUpperCcllifornia. 63inoppositeways,goingandreturning,alld ts effectbe got rid ofby taking he mean of the results, he onlyevilbeing the discreditit appears o throwon the chronometer.*I have aid down the junctionof the Rios ColoradoandGilanearly ortymiles farthernorththan LieutenantHardyhasdone,andthisalso it is necessary o explain. This point, which wasthesiteof the twomissions f Sall PedroandSan Pablo,has longattracted good deal of attentiol1. Ever since the unsuccessfa11attempts f theJesuits,particularlyadreKino, o establish com-munication ver-landbetweenSonoraand California,his point,nearwhich s thebest,aald lldeedusuallyhe onl) practicableordon the riverbelow he unction,hasbeenespeciallyooked o. AfterUpperCaliforniawas partially ettled, the t?o missionsabove-mentionedwereestablished, [ldat {irstthrovewell; but in con-sequenceof the removal f the commandern chargeof them, inwhom he Tlldialls ad great colltidence, he lleophytes ose, de^stroyedand aban(lonedhemission. The remainsof thaton thenorthside arestill visible; it wasbuilton a point of rockproject-ing a little into the river,alld col1stitutinglle extremesouthernpoint of the RockyAloul1tail1s,owardsmhich he river hasgra-duallycut its way, leavint behinda broadplainnow prettyweltcoveredwith poplarand brushwood. Tile junctiol1of the tworiverss not a mile abovethis point, the ColoradocomingsoutlandtheGila nearlywest.WhenLieutenantHardy oundhimselfon thepointof theislandof Algodones,fortyn1ilessouth of this, nothingwas moreeasy,unacquainteds he was with thecountry n eitherside, thanthathe shouldsupposehin)selfat thejunctiol1of thetworivers. Thetwochannels f the (Solora(lot this point*un,vvith espect o eachother,exactlyas the two riversdo; andif he had knownanythillgof the IlliSSiONS and tlle pOillt of hill on whichoneof them wasbuilt,he had in view,ol1his 1orth, a knoll, the only one i11 heplain,btlt veryremarkable, nd close to the river,whichwollldmuchassist t1Ieadint, imastras.It wollldoccupytoomuchtin e to t,oat present nto anygreatdetailof n1y ravellinonland. I am tempted,howevel, to sayafewwordsof the jow}llleyf whichtlleplincipalobservationsre

* I subioinalso a short table of the chronometricalmeasurementsbetweerlMexicoand Zimapan,madein preciselysimilarcircumstances. The chronometer51vas adeby Crossthwaite1361). h. m. s.Zimapan, . ..April 8th, A.M. 8 h. Chr. by M. T. I 8 40 7,, ,, 15th, P.M. 4 , l 6 31-3

,, ,, 29th, A.M. 71 , 1 5 lOR. D. Monte, May 1st, P.M. 37 ,, 1 6 32*2,, ,, 14th, A.M 8* ax 1 3 4*3


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64 Noteson UpperCalifornia.gisen above,as it was the most interestint,,he lollgest,and by farthe most aborious f those 1 made n California.The rainy eason of 1832 ellded late in Fel)ruary,which israther tter he usualtime,and I started o SOOI1 as the countrywaspassable,wllich t is not at all during he rains, nor for some timeafterzzards.The rizers, which ll the dry seasonare merebeds ofsand, are quite impassablewhen s^ollell; and even fol someweeks aftel theyhavefallen ow, the dallt,er llddifficulty f cross-ilogsome of them, on Ilorseback, re veryconsiderable. If thesestreanls arrieddownonly sand, they mit,ht be passedas soon asthe ra'pidityf the culrentas so far abated that a llorse couldstalld; but the salldcolnes dowll nlixed svith a vastquaaltity fmud, wbich settles ogetherWitllt; so thateven whenthe streambecomes o low thata snlallanilnalcan walk across a holse or aman cannot. It is not ulltil the mud is gradually tasbed ut oftbe surfaceof the deposit that tllis beconlespossible. We havethen a bed of hardsand resting lpoll one of semi-fluid nud andsand; and it is verydifficult o say uJhenand where t i3 safe toattempt he passave. On tilis occasionI hadto pass he Guada-lupe, in tlliS tate, betseen San Lttis Obispoand La Purissima;7(ndt wasonly after ong search hatI founda place ^here bearhad passedS nd trusting o his sagacity followedhis steps. Tllestrearnwas broad,very shallo^t,alld the bedofclear salld on thesurfaceof the depositmusthave beell very thitl, for it swa^,gedullder oot like the surEace f a quaomire. A body of troopswhichpassedthis way some daals efore, houghon a most urgentaSair,was oblit,ed o wait for ten dats to allow the sandto settle.IvromMollterey outl-lwardlle road rtlns hrouglla series of

arrow raYiness as faras Sal1Ltlis Obispo; but alzout antaYnez,sollth of S all Luis, alld aga ill ill tlle lleighbourhood f S; ntaBarbara,t lllllS on, or close by tlse beacll; sellence, outilward,tkeeps cllietly alon,, tlse west foot of Ihe nloulltains,separatedfrom he sea by low sand-hills, n some places of considerablebreadth,as at Sall Gabriel, whele theyare altnost welve eat,uesbroad. 'Ihe best way to tbe Colorado, n the dry season, is tofollowthe coast roadas far as SaalLui.sRey, alld ti-elace scendtlle Pala streal1l,whicl1 uns in a sely narrowrasine behilld themalitime idt,e, crossing the summit level L)etweents head andthatof tlle smallstreat11f San Felipe, whichrunssoutll-eastwardtill it reaches the borderof the saud plain at Carizal, where tsinks; though ts cotlrse across tl-leplaill, when swollen, wlichit raely is, is malkedby a drychanel, in manypointsof hicla little water,usuallyverybaA, s to be had l)y deep di^,gin;,.

Tllere iS llOt IBUCll diffiCIlity ill any part of the journeyup totbis pOillt-tlle Carizal; but fionl hence acrosstle plaill,shichis 11elealJoutolle iltlndredmiles broa(l,alld totallydestituteof


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65otes on lEppe?Ccllifor?ilz.pasture, attle suffer xtremely. It is alwaas possible to carryvater enough for a party of men; but horses and mules must passthe first two days absolutely without water or food, and even thenget only brine at the point ealled tlle Aqua Solal fiom it.s beingthe only pond on the plain. VVhell passed, the water I found atthis plaee was sc}strong that it purged both nlen and eattle. Thereis here some rush and reed which nlules ^rill eat, thout,h horsesusually refuse them.

. *4ronl ellee there is still allother clay's ourney to the Rio Co-lorado. After passinw the river the sallle diffieulties eontinue f{rsevels days farther, on the Sonora roa(t, as far as Alta; bllt thispalt of the journey, fiom its bleater length, it is extremely im-prudent to attempt vvithouta proper guide. The only uater tobe had is found in the ravines, frequentlv at some distanee fromthe road, in exeavations ealled 'l'inajas, made by the Illdians, whowere formerly mueh more rlLTmeloUs ill this neighbourhood thanthey are at present.'rlle only settled poltioll of Upper Califorllia lies along theeoust; the missions being nearly all vithill olle day's jollrney fiomit. Tbe only point lvhere a nliSSiOIl has any settlenlent Jarlherinland is at Sall GabrieJ, whele the Ralcho of Sall Bernardillo isat the llead of the valley, some thirtv leagues fionl the polt of SanPedro. This is indeed the ollly pollat of eilher CaliforniasXouthof San Frallcisco, capable ofsllstainillg a large population. l'hevalley is above thirty leagues lon, and of collsideable breadth tothe mestzard, where it approaclles tl-leeoast, and jOillS Oll eithel'side tlle plain ot Sall Fernandoaufl Sall Luis Rey. It is il] mallyplaees very fertile, alld wheat, where it cn be irligated, yieldsbetter here tllall ill any other part of the Mexicall territoriesthat Ihave seen. The wine aIso tllrives better, alld is l)eginllillg to beextellsively cultizated. The missiol] alolle has above a hllndledalld twenty thousand vines illsmediatelyabout it; and the il!habt-tants of the Pueblo have many fine villeyards. Here thele is roonlfor a great illcrease of population. The want of a safe port isincleeda great illconveniellce; but I hase 1lo doubt that it srill begot osel} and that xve shall see the Plleblo rise rapidly to the rankof a considerable tOWIl. I'he auchorate of Sall Pedro, t}loughery unsafe in bad steather, need l)e used but for the tnomentressels are taking cargo orl board or discharging; and tlle timethey are saIting hides, or are otherwise detained, may be passed illperfect safety at the island of Catalina, in frol)t; which, besidestwo rather exposed allchorages to the east and soutll, with goodwater at this latter, has a very beautifLIlittle bay on tlle west side,perfectly land-locked, where might be tlle salting-houses. '1t}2epresent goverllment does not allow this, from feal of smugglillg,

VOL, Y. F


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66 Notesln Upper Catifornta.andotwithoutsoncereason. San Diego moreover,wherethechiefartof thesaltings nowpertormed,s notdistant.thavegolle thusfarinto thissubjectbecausethe generalgo-vernments nosvmakingconsiderableifortsto coloniseUpperCaliforniafomMexico,under he apprehensionhat if notdone,theorthAmericanswill get in in too great numbers This ap-prehelesionppearso be hardly ational,as the tierras reatenyasorandstillat thedisposalof thestate,arein Californiaf s theyalwaysavebeenill the Spanish olonies,givengratis,at thedis-cretionf government,nd1lotsoldto the best bidder,as in theIJnitedtates. Any effortsmadefor the pllrposeof colonisingUpperalifornia houldbe directed owards he

portionof thecollntryorthalld east of San Franciscoand east of the Tulelakes,hich s fertiVe, ellwoodedandwaterecl, ndof sufficietltextento ulakeits colonisationworthmhileas a speculation;therestf tbe country outh of San Franciscoandwest of tlleTulelakes,ossessillt,withtlleexceptiollof thevalleyof SanGabriel,tooittlecltivable ground,andof thisa verysmallportionrrit,a-lule-theoil,however,here it isalable,beill^, sually ich.Wheat,theille,andall fruit reesthathas7e eentried, thriveremarkablywellhough Elemildewnear he

coast aboutMonterey,requentlyhultshe wheat; and the chapul, or 1QCUSt by whichname lgreatarietyof grasshopperss knowll,often destroys he vine,alldndeedevery-thinglse. A mildwinter s sureto be followedbyhi3pest,particlllarlyouthof SantaBarbara. Theyappear obreedlongthecoastin thesand-hills;and as thenorth-westerlyindsprevail, heyarecarried nland,allddestroy veratthingheymeet.Thegreatarticleof producell UpperCalifornias black-cattle,andheir ncreasehasbeenreallyprodigious. It isnotyetseventyaearsincetheirfirst ntroduction,o the number f twtenty-threehead. In 1827 the missionspossessed210,000 brandedcattle,an(lt wassl1pposedotlessthan00,()00 unbranded. lt is follndnecessaryo slaughternot less thall60,000 annually, o keepthestockdownto its presentstandard,which t is supposed t cotlldnotmuchexceedwithadvanta;e,untilmoreof theccountryo theeastwardhallhavebeensettled. The youllgcows usuallybearacalf beforetheyale to yearsold, which,with the rule usuallyobservednot to kill a cow capableof bearillg,will accountfortheirrapid ncrease. Sheephave ncreased

nearlyas rapidly,blltareas yet of littleinterest o thetradeof the courltry I hasenotheardof anyexportof wool fromGalifornia. Fiheepare rarelyslaughteredor collsumption,s theirpricehasbeen keptup bythepriests,eitherwithoutanydefinitemotive,or whatis, I fear,morenearthetratl-lfiomsomemistaken alculation. It is suffi-ciently trangethatwherethe fattestbullockis worthollly eight


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Noteson UpperCalifornia. 67dollars,andcan rarelybe soldat all,andwhereyoungcowsin calfcanbe bought n drovesat abouttwodollars,and frequently6s8,a sheepcannotbe boughtforless thaxl hreedollars. This stateof thillgsof coursecannot ast long. The destructionf the mission8 now in progresswill throw ntotlle marketa stock of about200,0C)0 ead,whichof coursemustsoonfall to its propervalueThe numberof the white inhabitallts as also increased eryrapidly,andI believe is now not undersix thollsalld, houghXcannot tatetheirnumbers eryexactlyuntilI shallhaveexaminedthestatistical laterialswhich1 havecollected.Thereverse, owever,s thecasewiththe aboriginalnhabitants.They havediminishedconsiderablyll nunlber,though, itl thiscase, olle would suppose theyought at least not to have 108tground,lot havingbeendrivell rom heirhomes, as in the UnitedStates, lor havinghad ardent piritsatall wittlintheirreachuntillately. But theyhave beencompelledto live undera restrainttheycould not bear,andto labotlra little neitherof whichtheymould ubnlit o if theycouldpossibly void t. Thoughthe factis as far as possibledisselnbled, believe hata greatdealbothofforceandfraudwere 1lsedll congregatinghem together ll mis-sions; andthemomellttllat forceshall be altogetherwithdrawn,I llaveno doubtthat themajority f tllemwill retllrno the woodsXNow that theseabords prettymuchoccupiedby whites,the InZdians will probablyretire o theirrelations till living free in theinteriorXlt is a veryextraordinaryact tllat their decrease s greatlyhastenedby the failureof femaleoffspring, or the muchgreaternumbel of deaths amon3gsthe females in early youth thanamollg henlales, I havellotbeenableclearlyo determinewhich,though he atterappears hemole probable;thefact,however, ftherebeing a muchsmallelnumber f wolen living hanof men,is certaill. Infallticide,roperlyo called, s not common, houghvery requentrecourse s had to the meansof producingahor-tion,chieflymechanically;but tllistill llOt account or the stateof thillgs desclibed,as males and femalesmust be sllpposedin thisway to sufferequally. All the missionsof LowerCali-forniahslveperished r ale perishillg rom this cause, or at leastwiththis acconlpanyint,ircunlstance; llditl UpperCaliforllia,ill


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688 Noteson UpperCalifornia.oteson UpperCalifornia.reformsnosv in active-operationn California, nd of which thefirst and most mportantmeasures the destruction f the missions,will enable he white nhabitantso acquirepossession f the gleatbulk of the mission ands; and tliough agreeablyo the spiritofthe Spanish aws, whichcertainlywereIneant o atiord he Indiansa degree of protection nknownn our old colonies, theymay fora long time retaina portion of theirancientpossessions, t is buttoo probablethat tlle combination f their own vices to whichthey cling, with those of their intrudingneighbours,which theyveryeasilyacquire,will ensure the ultimateannihilationf a racevhich exhibits o few tracesof moralenergy.

:t shallnot at present o into any examination f the vet,etationof California, houbh his, as well as its Fauna, s mell worthy fthe most attentive onsideration. But I am tempted to makeafew observationsn some circumstancesn the general aspectofthe country, which appear ufficientlytriking. The accompany-ing map, houghveryrude,and sn manyrespects ertainly ot verycorrect,will serveat least to shonvhatwe must consider hewholeof the two Californiasas one great chain of nsountains, itliseveral ong but usuallynarrow alleysdividint,t illtO ridt,esnearlyparallelwith the coast, and as a whole, separated y the gulf ofCortez and the great sand-plain, rom Sollora and the RockyMountains;withwhich atter, however, he Califorlian hainap-pearsultimatelvo unite north f the parallel f 42?,about he greatsummit-leveldividingthe waters of the Columbia from thosefalling nto the bay of San Frallcisco. The neighbourhooclf thisbay is the only partof the country ikelyever to becomeof muchinterest o Ellropeans. Tt s highly ertile,vvellwooded, watered,and perfEctly ealthy. tRhe Sacramento s navigable o a consi-derabledistancealld runsthrou^,h country apableof sustainingan immensepopulation. Even the Tule lakes, though lavigablefol steanl-boats nly wllenflooded, will thell affordthe means oftransportor timber,hides,alldotherproduce, ronl considelableandsaluable ractof country.Lower Californias pretty rich in nlinerals. I have seen veryricll argentiferouseadores from he southern xtremity f it, andgold is also found ill severalplaces. But in Upper California,knowof no place whereeither has beell found,except to the east-wardof SantaYnez, wherea small silvermine was successfullywrought or some time, till the owllerswere killed by the I1ldians;and n one of the streams allin into the southern 'ule lake somegold has also been foundby the beaverhunters,but as yet in verysmallquantity.I sllall conclude this paper with a few remarksupon theclimateof Mexico. In an earlypartof my letterI statedthat thethermometer ad frequentlytood at 140?Fahr. This, it is ne-

reformsnosv in active-operationn California, nd of which thefirst and most mportantmeasures the destruction f the missions,will enable he white nhabitantso acquirepossession f the gleatbulk of the mission ands; and tliough agreeablyo the spiritofthe Spanish aws, whichcertainlywereIneant o atiord he Indiansa degree of protection nknownn our old colonies, theymay fora long time retaina portion of theirancientpossessions, t is buttoo probablethat tlle combination f their own vices to whichthey cling, with those of their intrudingneighbours,which theyveryeasilyacquire,will ensure the ultimateannihilationf a racevhich exhibits o few tracesof moralenergy.:t shallnot at present o into any examination f the vet,etationof California, houbh his, as well as its Fauna, s mell worthy fthe most attentive onsideration. But I am tempted to makeafew observationsn some circumstancesn the general aspectofthe country, which appear ufficientlytriking. The accompany-ing map, houghveryrude,and sn manyrespects ertainly ot verycorrect,will serveat least to shonvhatwe must consider hewholeof the two Californiasas one great chain of nsountains, itliseveral ong but usuallynarrow alleysdividint,t illtO ridt,esnearly

parallelwith the coast, and as a whole, separated y the gulf ofCortez and the great sand-plain, rom Sollora and the RockyMountains;withwhich atter, however, he Califorlian hainap-pearsultimatelvo unite north f the parallel f 42?,about he greatsummit-leveldividingthe waters of the Columbia from thosefalling nto the bay of San Frallcisco. The neighbourhooclf thisbay is the only partof the country ikelyever to becomeof muchinterest o Ellropeans. Tt s highly ertile,vvellwooded, watered,and perfEctly ealthy. tRhe Sacramento s navigable o a consi-derabledistancealld runsthrou^,h country apableof sustainingan immensepopulation. Even the Tule lakes, though lavigablefol steanl-boats nly wllenflooded, will thell affordthe means oftransportor timber,hides,alldotherproduce, ronl considelableandsaluable ractof country.Lower Californias pretty rich in nlinerals. I have seen veryricll argentiferouseadores from he southern xtremity f it, andgold is also found ill severalplaces. But in Upper California,knowof no place whereeither has beell found,except to the east-wardof SantaYnez, wherea small silvermine was successfullywrought or some time, till the owllerswere killed by the I1ldians;and n one of the streams allin into the southern 'ule lake somegold has also been foundby the beaverhunters,but as yet in verysmallquantity.I sllall conclude this paper with a few remarksupon theclimateof Mexico. In an earlypartof my letterI statedthat thethermometer ad frequentlytood at 140?Fahr. This, it is ne-

coulter, thomas. notes on upper california. journal of the royal geographical society of london.pdf

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