290 Beyond the Sierras. 



peat what has been said of the other civic banquets tendered to our Society 

 with respect to our feast at Marysville. It was as bountiful as the rest, and 

 as full of good will and generosity on the part of them who gave it. Our 

 stay in the city was brief. The schedule made it so; and as a consequence 

 our view of the town and its surroundings was less extensive than at many 

 other places. It is due to say, however, that our brief glance at the growing 

 town and the products of the country around it satisfied us as to its prosper- 

 ity and promise. 



Eiirly in the afternoon we whirled away on our ascent of the valley as 

 far as the town of Chico. At the outset of this sketch the author begged the 

 privilege of painting his landscapes with his own paint and brushes. He 

 assumes that that privilege was granted ; and so here is what he sketches of 

 the city of Chico: He thought, and thinks, that there was manifest in this 

 town, and by the people thereof, more enthusiasm and, if he must descend 

 to vulgar speech, more get-up-and-get than at any point which we visited in 

 Upper California. To begin with, the whole population were out to greet 

 us on our arrival. The streets about the station were black with people. 

 The balconies were full of them, and some were on the house-tops. They 

 had the best band which I heard in all California, excepting only that of 

 the Palace Hotel. As we rolled into the station there was a regular blast of 

 music. The platform blossomed with handkerchiefs; and a long row of 

 elegant carriages flashed in the sunshine. 



A great part of the excellence of our reception at Chico must be at- 

 tributed to the energy and influence of its most distinguished citizen, 

 General John Bidwell. He was at the head of the delegation to receive 

 us, and gave direction to our course through and about the city. I must 

 say, en passant, that General Bidwell is, in his personal appearance and 

 address, one of the most impressive and dignified characters whom we 

 met in California. He has not only a magnificent physique and urbane 

 manners, but also a notable history. In his youth he was the owner of an 

 estate in Missouri, but lost it by some fraudulent process directed against 

 his title. Disgusted and angered with this disaster, he left what was then 

 the extreme west of the United States and took his course toward the 

 sunset. He was with a small company of adventurers, like himself, search- 

 ing for fortune in some land where legal technicalities could hardly stand 

 against equity, particularly when the latter was backed by physical courage. 



This was in 1S41. It is thought to have been the very lirst comijany 

 of white men that ever crossed the Sierras into Upper California. General 

 Bidwell procured, at length, here at Chico, a vast claim to one of the most 

 fertile regions imaginable. His ranch to-day has an extent of 23,000 acres. 

 It is one of the best, if not the very best, estates of its kind in California- 

 It is a fruit-growing ranch, not a vineyard, and is in a better state ol devel- 

 opment than any other which I visited during our stay on the Pacific coast. 

 By this I mean that General Bidwell's orchards are older and more matured 

 than any other through which we passed on our tour. The General himself 



