The Resources of California, etc

Front matter

RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. THE RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA, COMPRISING AGIttCITLTURE, MINING, GEOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, COMMERCE, etc. etc. AND THE PAST AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATE. BY JOHN S. H1TTEL. SAN FRANCISCO: A. ROMAN & COMPANY. NEW YORK: W. J. WIDDLETON. 1863. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year, 1863, by A. Roman & Co., Proprietors, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Northern District of California. M'ORKA A MILLER, STERKOTYl'EK9. O. A. ALVORD, PRINTER.

Preface

. I undertake to write the resources of a state, which, though young in years, small in population, and remote from the chief centres of civilization, is yet known to the furthest corners of the earth, and, during the last twelve years, has had an influence upon the course of human life, and the prosperity and trade of nations, more powerful than that exerted during the same period by kingdoms whose subjects are numbered by millions, whose history dates back through thousands of years, and whose present stock of wealth began to accumulate before our continent was discovered, or our language was formed. I write of a land of wonders. I write of California, which has astonished the world by the great migration that suddenly built up the first large Caucasian community on the shores of the North Pacific ; by her vast yield of gold, amounting within thirteen years to $700,000,000, which has sensibly affected the markets of labor and money in all the leading nations of Christendom ; by the rapid development and great extent of her commerce ; by the greatness of her chief port, which at one time had more large ships at her anchorage than were ever seen together in the harbor of either Liverpool, New York, or London ; by the swift settlement of her remote districts ; by the prompt organization of her government ; VI

PREFACE.

. by the liberality with which the mines were thrown open and made free to all comers ; by the rush of adventurers of every color and of every tongue ; by the prices of her labor, and the rates of her interest for money, double those of the other American states, and quadruple those of Europe ; by the vast extent of her gold-fields, and the facility with which they could be worked ; by the auriferous rivers in which fortunes could be made in a week ; by antediluvian streams richer than those of the present era ; by beds of lava, which, after filling up the beds of antediluvian rivers, were left, by the washing away of the banks and adjacent plains, to stand as mountains, marking the position of great treasures beneath ; by nuggets each worth a fortune ; by the peculiar nature of her mining industry ; by new and strange inventions ; by the washing down of mountains ; by filling the rivers of the Sacramento basin with thick mud throughout the year ; by lifting a hundred mountains from their beds ; by six thousand miles of mining ditches ; by aqueducts less durable, but scarcely less wonderful than those of ancient Rome ; by silver mines that promise to rival those of Peru; by quicksilver mines surpassing those of Spain ; by great deposits of sulphur and asphaltum ; "by lakes of borax ; by mud volcanoes, geysers, and natural bridges ; by a valley of romantic and sublime beauty, shut in by walls nearly perpendicular and more than three quarters of a mile high, with half a dozen great cascades, in one of which the water at two leaps falls more than the third of a mile ; by a climate the most conducive to health, and the most favorable to mental and physical exertion — so temperate on the middle coast that ice is never seen and thin summer clothing never worn, and that January differs in average temperature only eight degrees of Fahrenheit from July; by a singular botany, including the most splendid known group of coniferous trees, of which half a

PREFACE.

. VII dozen species grow to be more than two hundred and fifty feet high, and one species has reached a height of four hun dred and fifty feet, and a diameter of forty feet in the trunk ; by a peculiar zoology, composed almost of animals found only on this coast, and including the largest bird north of the equator, and the largest and most formidable quadruped of the continent ; by the importation in early years of all articles of food, and then by the speedy development of agriculture, until her wheat and wine have gone to the furthest cities in search of buyers, and until her markets are unrivalled in the variety and magnificence of home grown fruits ; by the largest crop of grain, and the largest specimens of fruits and vegetables on record ; by a society where for years there was not one woman to a score of men, and where all the men were in the bloom of manhood ; by the first large migration of eastern Asiatics from their own continent; by the first settlement of Chinamen among white men ; by the entire lack of mendicants, paupers, and alms-houses ; by the rapid fluctuations of trade ; by the ac cumulation of wealth in the hands of men, most of whom came to the country poor ; by the practice, universal in early years, of going armed ; by the multitude of deadly affrays, and by extra-constitutional courts, which sometimes punished villains with immediate execution, and sometimes proceeded with a gravity and slow moderation that might become the most august tribunals.

I write of California while she is still youthful, and full of marvels ; while her population is still unsettled ; while her business is still fluctuating, her wages high, her gold abundant, and her birth still fresh in the memory of men and women who have scarcely reached their majority ; and I write of her while she still offers a wide field for the adventurous, the enterprising, and the young, who have life before them, and wish to commence it where they may have the freest career,

PREFACE.

. VIII in full sight of the greatest rewards for success, and with the fewest chances of failure. The general public are aware that California is a peculiar state, and their attention has often been called to certain prominent points of wonder, like those to which I have just referred ; but hitherto there has been no careful at tempt to sum up all that is known of her resources and natural history. I have undertaken that task, and the rer suit of my undertaking is in this book placed before the ~eader. I have been a Californian since 1849, and expect to be as long as I may live. All the most interesting as sociations of my life are connected with this state. I arrived in the country while it was still under a territorial government, and more than a year before it was organized as a state under act of Congress.

I saw the land in its original wildness, and saw society, order, trade, industry and polity developed ; and I now see about me the begin nings and promises of science, art, literature, philosophy, and whatever can enrich or honor humanity. I have seen the state grow up, and its history is part of my life. The land-marks of its chorography, and the prominent events of its political, social, and industrial progress, mark epochs in my memory. Many of the happiest days of my life have been spent here, and here I hope to enjoy whatever blessings the future may have in store for me. If then I fail to do justice in my book to California, the failure will not be for any lack of love of her. Neither will it be for any lack of attention or industry. During the last nine years, I have assiduously collected every thing within my reach relative to the industry, resources, natural history and population of the state.

I have looked through all the newspapers published between Crescent City and San Diego, and have examined all the books written about the country, Spanish, French and German, as well as English. I have

PREFACE.

. IX been in the extreme north, and the extreme south ; I have gone to both extremities by land and sea ; I have travelled through the centre of her great basin ; I am intimately acquainted with her richest agricultural districts ; I know something of her mining and agriculture by experience and practice ; and, finally, I have endeavored to compress into this book all the important attainable facts. Amidst so much information, there are undoubtedly some little errors ; but the fair critic, before condemning and expatiating upon minor faults, will pass judgment upon thequestion whether the book is or is not more comprehensive and instructive than any other, or than all others relating to the same subject. Of course, when I quote from the writings of others, I use quotation marks, and give credit according to the rules of honorable authors ; but I have adopted, without quota tion marks, various passages from articles written by my self, and published in different newspapers and magazines.

Since the work is intended for popular use, and should be free from every thing not intelligible and interesting to the general reader, I have made no references to authorities ; and, indeed, I have drawn my information from so great a variety of sources (in many instances newspapers), that it would have been very inconvenient for me, and cumber some to the book, to cite the authority for every statement. In case, however, that the accuracy of any statement in the work should be called in question, I think that I can pro duce in every case credible evidence, and in most cases the conclusive proof. "While I have drawn my material from many different sources, I claim as much originality as is possible for so comprehensive a collection of facts, in so many and so distinct branches of knowledge.

J. S. H. San Francisco, March, 1862. INDEX OF CHAPTERS. Chapters. Page I. Chokographt 1 II. Climate '. 19 III. Geology 47 IV. SUENERT 12 V. Botany 91 VI. Zoology 108 VII. Agriculture 151 VIII. Mining 238 IX. Other Branches of Industry 304 X. Commerce 326 XI. Constitution and Laws 349 XII. Society 359 XIII. Topographical Names 422 XIV. The Past and Future Development of the State INDEX OF SECTIONS. Chorography — Chap. I. Geology — Chap. III. Sec. Page 1. General Remarks 1 2. Coast Mountains 2 3. Coast, Teaks, and Passes. . 3 4. Coast Rivers 5 5. Coast Lakes 6 6. Capes 7 7. Islands 7 8. Bays aud Harbors 7 9. Sacramento Basin 10 10. Rivers of the Sacramento Basin 12 11. Tule Laud 13 12. Sierra Nevada 13 13. Beaks and Passes of the Sierra 14 14. Lakes of the Sierra 15 15. Plateau of the Sierra Nevada 15 1G. Klainath Basin 16 17.

Utah Basin 1C 18. Colorado Desert 17 19. Area of the State 18 Climate — Oiiav. II. 20. General Remarks 19 21. Temperature of the Middle Coast 20 22. Clear Days 25 23. The Sirocco 25 24. Temperature of the Southern Coast 27 25. Sacramento Basin 27 26. Comparative Tables 28 27. Rain 30 28. Dryness of Climate 38 29. Length of Days 39 30. Thunderstorms 39 31. Hail 40 32. Karthquakes 40 33. Sand-Storms 45 Sec. Page 34 General Geological Character 47 35. Diluvium 48 36. Gold 50 50 37. Auriferous Lodes 51 38. Placers 52 39. Mineralogy of Gold 54 40. Silver 60 41. Platinum 61 42. Quicksilver 61 43. Copper 62 44. Coal 63 45. Asphaltum 63 46. Other Minerals 65 47. Artesian Wells 67 48. Paleontology 69 49. Relics of Early Humanity. 70 50. Mineral Springs 70 51. Cortes Shoal 71 Sceneuy — Chap. IV. 52.

Introductory 72 53. Coast Valleys 72 54. Yosemite Valley 73 55. Mammoth Tree Groves. .. . 78 56. Geysers 84 57. Mud Volcanoes ,85 58. Santa Cruz Ruins 86 59. Mirage 86 60. Caves 88 61. Waterfalls 88 62. Solfatarus 89 6:-!. Mount Shasta 89 Botany — Chap. V. 64. Peculiar Fauna and Flora. . 91 65. Distribution of Plants 92 66. Superiority of Conifers 92 67. Redwood INDEX OF SECTIONS. Sec Pag0 117. Green-Fish 144 Sec. Page 68. Pines 93 118. Sea-Bass 144 69. Firs 96 119. Sheepshead I4* 70. Cedars 96 120. Smelts I44 71. Yew and Nutmeg 97 121. Anchovies 1*15 72] Laurel 97 122. Sardine and Herring 145 73. Madrona 98 123. Viviparous Fishes 145 74. Manzanita 98 124. Fresh- Water Fishes 140 75. Ceanothus 99 76. Oaks 99 125. Shell-Fish and Crustaceans . 146 126. Reptiles 147 77. Buckeye 101 127. Honey-Dew Aphis 149 78.

Sycamore 101 79. Pitahaya 101 80. Yucca 102 Agriculture — Chap. VII. 81. Mezquit 102 82. Miscellaneous Trees and 128. General Remarks 151 Shrubs 102 129. Agricultural Districts 153 83. Poison Oak 103 130. Agricultural Produce 160 84. Amole 104 131. Rotation of Crops 161 85. Nutritious Herbage 104 132. Ploughing 162 133. Advantages, etc 16J 134. Fences 163 Zoology — Chap. VI. 135. Barley 167 136. Wheat 170 86. General List 108 137. Oats 177 87. Bears 108 138. Maize 178 88. Panther and Wild-Cat Ill 139. Potatoes 178 89. Wolves and Foxes 112 140. Hay 179 90. Badger, etc Ill 91 . The Squirrel Family 115 141. Tobacco, Cotton, Rice 181 142. Hop 181 92. The Rat Family 120 143. Kitchen Vegetables 1S2 93. The Deer Family 121 144. Fruit 184 94. The Hare Family 124 145. Apples 186 95. Aquatic Animals 125 146.

Peaches 188 96. Vultures 128 147. Pears 189 97. The Eagle Family 129 98. Owls 130 148. Apricots and Plums 189 149. Olives 190 99. Road-runner 130 150. Oranges 191 100. AVoodpeeker 131 101. Humming-Birds 132 151. The Grape 193 152. Wine-making 201 102. Flycatchers 133 153. Berries 207 103. Singers 133 104. Scratchers 134 154. Ornamental Shrubs 209 105. Waders 137 155. Pests of the Farmer 211 156. NeatCattle 212 106. Swimmers 137 107. Fishes 140 157. Spanish Cattle 212 108. Salmon 140 158. Rodeos 214 109. Halibut 141 159. Brands 217 160. Early Maturityof Californian Cows 218 110. Turbot 142 111. Sole 142 1 12. Mackerel 142 161. Corral and Reata 219 1 13. Rock-Fish 142 162. Occasional Starvation 219 163. Imported Cattle 220 1 14. Sturgeon 143 115. Jew-Fish 143 164. Dairies 222 116. Sun-Fish 144 165.

Spanish Horses INDEX OF SECTIONS. XV Bee. page 166. Horse-breaking 224 167. Blood-horses 228 168. Mules 229 Sec. Page 215. Quicksilver Mining 286 216. Platinum 287 217. Del Norte and Klamath . . . 288 218. Siskiyou 289 219. Trinity and Shasta 289 220. Plumas and Sierra 290 221. Yuba and Butte 294 222. Nevada and Placer 295 223. El Dorado and Amador. . . . 296 224. Calaveras and Tuolumne . . . 298 225. Mono and Mariposa 301 226. Fresno, etc 303 169. Camels 229 170. Sheep 229 171. Swine 233 172. Poultry 233 173. Bees 235 174. Silkworms 237 Mining — Chap. VIII. 175. Chief Industry 238 176. Metals obtained 238 Other Branches of Industry — Chap. IX. 177. Gold Mines 238 178. Placer Mines 241 179. The Sluice 243 227. High Wages 304 180. Amalgamation 246 181. Cleaning up 249 228. Lumbering 305 229.

Fishing 313 249 182. Riffle-bars 250 230. Hunting 317 183. Double-Sluices 252 231. House-building 320 184. Rock-Sluices 252 232. Furniture, etc 323 185. Hydraulic Mining 253 186. Blasting 256 Commerce — Chap. X. 187. Tail-Sluice 256 188. Tunnel-Sluice 257 233. General Advantages 326 189. Ground-Sluice '. . . . 257 234. Tributary Population 327 190. Long-Tom 257 235. Imports 330 191. Cradle 258 236. Exports 330 192. Pan 262 237. Shipping 332 193. Dry Washing 264 238. Unsteadiness of Business. . 333 194. Dry Diggiug 264 239. Insolvencies 334 195. Puddling Box 265 240. Interest of Money 335 196. Quicksilver Machine 265 241. Speculation in Land 337 197. Tunnel Mining 266 242. No Paper Money 337 198. Shafts 267 243. Opportunities for Invest- 199. River Mining 268 ment 338 200. Beach Mining 269 244.

Assurance 347 201. Mining-Ditches 270 202. Prospecting 271 Constitution and Laws — Chap. XI. 203. Quartz Mining 272 204. Distribution of Gold in Quartz 273 245. Outlines of Constitution. .. . 349 246. Inferiority of Colored Per- 205. Prospecting Quartz Rock. . . 275 sons 350 206. The Divining Rod 277 247. Law Favorable to Debtors. . 350 207. Quarrying Quartz 277 248. Tenure of Land 352 208. Arastra 278 249. Ownership of Minerals. . . . 354 250. Titles of Mining-Claims 354 251. Marriage 358 209. Chilean Mill 280 210. Stamps 280 211. Separation 281 212. Sulphurets 284 Society — Chap. XII. 213. Chief Quartz Mills 284 214 Silver Mining 285 252. Population INDEX OF SECTIONS. XVI Sec. , P. 285. VaUejo 44 J Sec. Pl«e 253. Nativities 361 254. Liberal Tone of Society 362 255. Publicity of Life 364 256.

Amusements 365 257. Luxurious Living 366 258. Health 366 259. Proportion of Sexes 368 260. Education 369 261. Vigilance Committees 370 262. Lynch Executions 373 263. Squatter League 374 264 Anti-Chinese Mobs 375 265. Deeds of Blood 375 266. Religion 378 267. Californianisms 380 268. Germans and French 385 269. Spanish Califomians 385 270. Chinamen 387 271. Indians 388 272. Cities and Towns 397 273. San Francisco 398 286. Visalia 41^ 287! Red Bluff 414 288. Martinez 414 289. Pacheco 444 290. Suisun 415 291. Benicia 416 292. Napa 446 293. Crescent City 416 294. Arcata 417 295. Anaheim 417 296. Monterey, etc 419 297. Mining Towns 420 298. General Remarks 420 Topographical Names — Chap. XHI. 299. Introductory 422 300. Sacred Spanish Names 422 301. Profane Spanish Names. . . 424 302. Indian Names 425 274.

Sacramento 401 303. American Names 426 275. Stockton 404 304. Etymology of California. . . 428 Marysville 405 270. 305. Pronunciation of Names .. . 429 277. Nevada 406 278. Los Angeles 406 The Past and Future Development Petaluma 408 279. San Jose 409 of the State — Chap. XIV. 280. 281. Santa Clara 409 306. Summary, General 431 Columbia 410 282. 307. Sale of Mineral Lands 437 Placerville 410 283. 308. Mexican Grants 453 284. Yreka

Chapter I. Chorography

§ 1. General Remarks. — California has a peculiar cho rography. ISTo other country comprises within so small a space, such various, so many, and such strongly-marked cho rographical divisions. Mountains the most steep, barren, and rugged ; valleys the most fertile and beautiful ; deserts the most sterile ; spacious bays, magnificent rivers, unparalleled waterfalls, picturesque lakes, extensive marshes, broad prairies, and dense forests — all these are hers. In general shape, California is a long parallelogram, extending from latitude 32° 45' to 42° north, seven hundred miles in length by one hundred and eighty in breadth, the course of the longitudinal axis being north-northwest by south-southeast. The first topographical division of the state may be into the Coast and Interior districts, separated from each other by the main ridge of the Coast Mountains, which runs the whole length of the state, nearly parallel with the ocean, and about fifty miles from it.

The Coast district may be subdivided into the Coast Mountains and the Coast Valleys. The Interior district may be subdivided into the Sierra Nevada, the Sacramento Basin, the Plateau of the Sierra Nevada, the Kla math Basin, the Great Basin of Utah, and the Colorado Desert. § 2. Coast Mountains.— -The Coast range, though not so high or so wide as the Sierra Nevada, may be considered the main orographical feature of California, because it alone extends through the whole length of the state. The height of the range is from two thousand to six thousand feet; its width from twenty to forty miles. South of 34° 20' the spurs are short and run at right angles to the course of the main divide, which is the easternmost ridge of the chain ; nearly all the spurs, valleys, and streams, run to the west ward.

South of 34° 20' a plain from twenty-five to forty miles wide lies between the mountains and the sea ; north of that the spurs make up the greater part of the Coast line, and, where they enter the ocean, form the headlands and capes. The Santa Susanna spur starts from the main ridge in 34° 20' and runs west by south, and is separated by the valley of the Santa Clara River from the Santa Inez ridge, which starts in 34° 30' and runs west ; then continuing our course northward, across the Santa Inez valley, we come to the Santa Barbara ridge, which starts from the main ridge in 34° 40' and runs west-northwest. The Cuyama valley separates the Santa Barbara from the Santa Lucia ridge, which branches off at 35° in a northwestern direction, and forms the southern boundary of the Salinas valley, whose northern boundary is the Gab ilan ridge, starting in 36° 10' and running north-northwest; which is separated from the Contra Costa ridge, rising in 37° io' by the Santa Clara valley, and the Contra Costa ridge is separated from the main divide by the Amador and San Ramon valleys.

The Gabilan ridge forms the back-bone of Santa Cruz, San Mateo, and San Francisco counties, each of which gives its name to that portion within its borders. The ridge is cut in two on the southern border of Santa Cruz county by the Pajaro River, and the Alameda Creek breaks through the Contra Costa ridge. North of the Golden Gnte, CnOROGRAPIIT. 3 the Gabilan ridge reappears, and is separated by Petaluma valley from the Sonoma ridge, that by Sonoma valley from the Carneros ridge, and that by Napa valley from the main Coast ridge. Farther north the spurs are so numerous, and con nected so closely together, that they are scarcely distinguished by names ; and a large portion of the coast, from the main ridge westward, is a mass of mountains. The Coast Moun tains are steep, rocky, rugged, and brown: north of 38° they are covered with timber and brush : south of that the ridofes nearest the ocean have some timber, those farther inland are nearly bare.

The main ridge near the head of the Sacramento valley is called the Trinity ridge ; near Mount Diablo it is called the Diablo ridge, or the Bolbones ridge ; south of 34° it is called the San Bernardino ridge, and in one place the Cuyamaca Mountain. § 3. Coast Peaks and Passes.— -The principal peaks of the main ridge are Mount Linn, in 40° 10' ; Mount St. John, in 39° 25' ; Mount Ripley, 7,500 feet high, in 39° 08' ; Mount St. Helena, 3,700 feet high, in 38° 40' ; Mount Diablo, 3,857 feet high, in 37° 50'; Pacheco's Peak, 2,700 feet high, in 36° 57'; Mount San Bernardino, 8,500 feet high, in 34° 20'; and Mount San Gorgonio, 7,000 feet high, in 33° 48'. In the Gabilan ridge are the following peaks: the Chupadero, in 36° 35'; the Gabilan, in 36° 50'; the Loma Prieta, 4,040 feet high, in 37° 08' ; and Table Mountain, or Tamulpais, in 37° 53'.

The principal passes in the main ridge are south of the outlet of the Sacramento basin, and are — Livermore's Pass, 686 feet high, in 37° 42'; Pacheco Pass, in 37° ; the Pass de los Robles, in 35° 20'; the Cajon de Tenoco, in 34° 40'; the Pass of San Francisquito, 3,437 feet high, in 34° 35' ; Williamson's Pass, 3,164 feet high, in 34° 30' ; the Cajon Pass, 4,676 feet high, in 34° 10' ; the San Gorgonio Pass, 2,808 feet high, in 33° 55'; and Warner's Pass, 3,780 feet high, in 33° 10'. The Santa Mar garita Pass, with an altitude of 1,350 feet, leads across the Santa Lucia ridge, iu 35° 20' ; and the San Fernando Pass, 1,956 feet high, crosses the Santa Susanna ridge, in 34° 20'. Having thus considered the mountains, let us look into the valleys of the coast. The flat land west of the San Bernardino Mountains, south of 34°, is rather composed of plains than of valleys, though watered by the San Gabriel, Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and other rivers.

There are two of these plains : the lower one about two hundred and fifty feet above the sea, and skirting the coast; the other one thousand or twelve hundred feet high, nearer the mountains. On the lower plain are Los Angeles, Anaheim, and San Pedro ; on the upper are San Fernando, San Bernardino, Cocomongo, Jurupa, Temescal, and Temecula. Northward of 34° we find long, flat, narrow, fertile valleys, shut in by steep, rugged hills. We have already mentioned the names of many of these valleys, as dividing certain ridges of the Coast Mountains from each other. South of the Salinas all these valleys open upon the ocean, save the Cuyama valley, the river of which runs in a canon through mountains as it approaches its mouth. The Pajaro River breaks through the Gabilan Mountains, and makes a small but rich valley.

The average width of these coast valleys is five miles at the mouth, with a length of from ten to forty miles, narrowing to a point near the head in the mountains. The Salinas valley, the largest of all the coast valleys, is ninety miles long, and from eight to fourteen w-ide. Three terraces are distinctly traceable on each side of the river. The first and lowest is about four miles wide, with a sort of a rich, sandy loam ; the second rises with an abrupt edge, is eleven feet higher, has about two miles of width on each side, and has a coarser, poorer soil ; the third terrace is less regular in height and width, and has a coarse, gravelly soil, scarcely fit for cultivation. This terraced formation, with its variations in richness of soil, is a strongly-marked feature of many valleys in the state.

Ordinarily, the coast valleys are separated from each other by steep, rugged mountain-ridges, but there are occasional exceptions. Thus, there is a low plain between Russian River and Santa Rosa valley, which opens into Sono ma and Petulama valleys; and again, the Santa Clara and chorography. 5 Pajaro valleys are separated from each other by hills not more than two hundred and fifty feet high; and the valleys of the Pajaro and the Salinas open into each other. So also the divide between San Ramon and Amador valleys is so low as to be scarcely noticed by the traveller ; and Amador valley is connected, by a level road through a canon, with Sufiol valley, and that by another canon with the plain at San Jose Mission. North of San Francisco Bay, the valleys of Suisan, Vaca, Pu tah, and Cache Creek, lie eastward from Napa valley.

The valley at the head of Putah Creek is sometimes called Berre yesa valley ; and that at the head of Cache Creek, Clear Lake valley. North of Russian River there is little level land, and that little is found in Eel River valley, about the shores of Humboldt Bay, and about Crescent City. § 4. Coast Rivers. — The rivers of the Coast Mountains have necessarily but a short course. Those south of the bay of San Francisco are the San Lorenzo, Pajaro, Salinas, Cuyama, Santa Inez, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Santa Ana, Santa Margarita, San Luis Rey, San Diegnito, and San Diego. Some of these are large streams in wet winters ; but, in the drought of autumn, all those south of the Salinas are swallowed up in the sands before reaching the ocean. Most of them are con stant streams to within ten or fifteen miles of their mouths.

The Santa Ana, the largest river on the southern coast, rises in Mount San Bernardino, and is in its meanderings nearly one hundred miles long, yet only in very wet seasons, once in six or eight years, succeeds in getting to the sea. The San Gabriel River sinks before reaching Monte, in Los Angeles county, and, after passing three miles under ground, rises again. The intervening space, where there is no river, is very moist, sandy ground, through which the water spreads and soaks. W. H. Emory, in his report as member of the Mexican Boundary Commission, writes thus : " The point at which water ceases to flow is quite variable ; its more usual upward limit being marked at or near the pas sage of the stream from the first rocky ranges into the tertiary formation. The point, however, as before stated, is by no means a fixed one : thus, during the night it extends farther downward than in daytime; in cloudy weather, for the same reason, its course is more prolonged than under a clear sky.

In the stream-beds themselves, however dry, water is generally found a short distance below the surface. "The descent of these streams in the rainy season may be either a gradual process in the progressive saturation of their sandy beds, or, the saturation being accomplished by previous showers, the irruption may be sudden. A fine example of this sudden appearance was observed in the San Diego River, in December, 1849 ; when, after a rainy night, by which its sandy bed was completely saturated, the upper stream suddenly appeared iu the form of a foaming body of water, moving onward at the rate of a fast walk, curling round the river-bends, ab sorbing the pools, and soon filling its bed with a brimming, swift current. An instance of the more gradual descent was seen in the following season (December, 1850), when, from the absence of local rain, its downward progress was slow and interrupted."