Santa Rosa and San Rafael. 297 



CHAPTER VI. 



SANTA ROSA AND SAN RAFAEL. 



Vcdley of Sonoma. — Cattle. — Horses — Landscapes. — Guerneville. — The Redwood 

 Bottoms. — Reception at Santa Rosa. — Banquet and Speeches. — Local Excur- 

 sion. — Return to San Francisco. — Invitation to San Rafael. — Hon. Wm. T. 

 Coleman. — The Reception. — Excursion Through the Coleman Estate. — The 

 Mouydain View. — BidVs Head Breakfast. — Menu and Speeches. — Back to the 

 City. — Compliments to Messieurs Coleman a)id Lauck. 



Once more we have a night in the metropolis. If we should fail in the 

 early morn to be off for Sata Rosa, the people of that fine city would never 

 forgive us. After a night's rest in the Palace, we are again on our way 

 through the agreeable landscape north of San Rafael. This is the county of 

 "Sonoma, one of the oldest and most fruitful divisions of California. This is 

 said especially of the production of grapes. There is a rivalry between So- 

 noma and the Napa valley as it respects the excellence of their respective 

 •vineyards. The traveler through either might call it the best until he had 

 seen the other. The country between Saucelito and Santa Rosa pleased me 

 •very much, because of its green, Hoosier-like pastures and slight irregulari- 

 ties of surface in the vallej' lands. I have already referred to the general 

 dead level of the California valleys. This fact is a great good fortune to all 

 those districts dependent in whole or in part upon artificial irrigation. I 

 •believe that the people of Sonoma county have no need to go beyond nature 

 lor their supply of water in due season. 



I saw some fine cattle in this region, on the sloping pastures. As a 

 general thing, my impression was, and is, that the California herds are not 

 well bred up ; that is, the cattle are of lower grades than ought to have been 

 reached years ago. This is not true of the sheep. The flocks seen in the 

 San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys were largely of Merino extraction , 

 well formed and fine as to their woolly coats. I may add that the California 

 horses present two phases of equine development. In the outlying districts 

 the bronco is prevalent — an unlovely quadruped as to his temper, and of no 

 taste in architectural construction. The bronco, reader, is a cross between 

 an actual horse and the wild pony of these western plains. In size he shows 

 some evidences of civilized descent ; but his manners and moral character 

 are deduced from the pony side, and have in them many suggestions of 

 sage-brush and chaparral. The other aspect of horse-life in California is 

 very diflferent. These are the fine, well-bred animals, Normans, and Clydes- 

 dales, and Cleveland Bays, which j'ou see about the liveries and parks of 

 the larger cities. Here we find some of the finest horses in the United 

 States. I think it was at St. Helena that I rode behind two splendid dark 

 bay Norman colts, about two and a half years old, each weighing nearly 

 sixteen hundred pounds. They were splendid fellows, gentle as Newfound- 

 land pups, still a little awkward as to their harness, but perfectly tractable 



