338 TKANSACTIONS OF THE 



connecting the rich valleys and foothills towards the west, with the county 

 seat and with the line of steamers that ply the Sacramento River. 



The population of the county is about 15,000. Colusa is the principal 

 town, with a county seat, and has a population of 2,500; Willows is next in 

 importance, with a population of about 1,200. The other towns of the 

 county are, along the line of the railroad, Orland, Germantown, Norman, 

 Maxwell, Williams, Arbuckle, and Sites; on the river, Butte City, Jacinto, 

 Princeton* Sycamore, Grimes, and Grand Island; and in other sections of 

 the county, College City, Newville, Elk Creek, Smith ville, Leesville, Sul- 

 phur Creek, and St. Johns. 



Colusa County lies in the same latitude as Southern Italy, France, and 

 Spain. The county seat is further south than Rome, and 650 miles farther 

 south than Paris. 



The principal industry of the county is raising wheat and live stock. 

 Colusa County ranks first in the State of California, and thirteenth in the 

 United States, in the value of its agricultural products. It is the wealthiest 

 county in the United States in proportion to population. The value of 

 property, as shown by the assessment roll, is an average of over $11,000 for 

 each property owner, and over $1,400 for each man, woman, and child in 

 the county. 



The first settlements in Colusa County were made along the river, and 

 were for hotel purposes, entirely. As time passed on, stockmen brought in 

 their herds and covered the whole country, each man claiming a large 

 range, and these ranges were limited only by the facilities for water. Con- 

 flicting claims gradually forced the occupants of these ranges to purchase 

 tracts of land that commanded water or held the key to the occupation of 

 other lands. Nearly the whole county was thrown open by the Govern- 

 ment to private entry, and the only limit to any man's acquisition of land 

 was the number of dollars he could raise to pay the Government price of 

 $1 25 per acre. As time passed on, large areas were entered, and immense 

 land holdings became the order of the day. The magnitude of this order 

 of things in the past, is to-day evidenced by the fact that no less than halt 

 a million acres of land in the county is held by twenty-six men or firms, 

 or an average of nearly 20,000 acres each. Along about 1870 some of these 

 great tracts began to be sown to wheat, and as soon as the capabilities of 

 the soil in this direction was practically demonstrated, the great herds of 

 cattle and sheep rapidly gave way to grain, and Colusa County became in 

 grain what she had been in stock — the richest county in the whole State. 

 The income from grain on these large tracts has been very great, and easily 

 earned. The large land holder has been satisfied with the results, and he 

 has cared little whether new-comers shall be invited to seek homes in this 

 section of the State. 



But the new-comer is always progressive and pushing, and his continued 

 crowding against the domain of these old land kings has made them, in a 

 measure, restless, and it is apparent that a new era is dawning, and not 

 many years will elapse until all these great ranches will be the myriad 

 homes of the orchardist, the vineyardist, and the gardener. Many small 

 orchards, vineyards, and alfalfa plats are now to be seen scattered about in 

 all directions, and the day is surely not far distant when this whole area 

 shall be given up to the grape, the olive, the prune, the pear, the peach, and 

 the apricot. The growing of the raisin grape especially, is attracting much 

 attention. The most successful raisin vineyards in California are to be 

 found in the Sacramento Valley. The raisins here produced are, for quality 

 and size, equal to those of Spain and Italy, which have been farmed for 

 raisins for a thousand years. Yield, quality, market, and prices indicate 



