308 Beyond (he Sierras. 



standing their extreme activity, they are lont;-lived. I noticed that the age 

 of the older citizens— .say the Forty niners ;us a clasa — wa.s generally under- 

 guessed ; but whether this was due to the climate and manner ui life, or to 

 a vigor which the adventurers had inherited from an unusual parentjjge 

 beyond the mountains, I do not know. 



Now, as to the matter of rain, there is only a slight precipitation in 

 nearly all the cultivable parts of California. I believe it will prove of inter- 

 est to the reader to sketch briefly the amount of rain-fall of the various 

 districts through which we pas.sed on our way to the Golden State and at 

 different points therein. At Kansas City there is already a diminution of 

 the copious rains peculiar to the Ohio valley and even the southern parts of 

 -Missouri. The range in dilfbrent years at that place is from thirty two to 

 forty-four inches. In the extreme eastern part of the Indian Territory the 

 rainfall is about the same, but the western parts grow drier, and next to 

 New Mexico it is only twenty inches. In the valley of Red river the vnri- 

 ation,sayat Denison, is from forty to fifty-two inches per annum. The 

 valley of the Brazos has the same range as the Kansas City region. Central 

 Te.xas averages about thirty-two inches; and the Llano Estacado from 

 twelve to sixteen inches. Where we crossed the Pecos the average is 

 twenty inches; and at El Paso abo'it sixteen. A part of Eastern Arizona, 

 covered by the upper waters of the Gila, has a rain-fall of from twenty to 

 twenty-four inches, but the western part sinks to less than half that amount. 

 In the Colorado desert, which we traversed from Fort Yuma toward San 

 Bernardino, the precipitation is only from four to eight incho<. .\t Los 

 .\ngeles the range is from twelve to sixteen inches; and the San Joaquin 

 valley has an average of sixteen. At Napa the rain-chart shows twenty 

 inches; and at San Francisco the average is from twenty to thirty-two. The 

 rain-fall in the Sacramento valley is from twenty-four to twenty-eight 

 inches; and nearer the coast as much as thirty-six inches. When we 

 remember that the average of the Mississippi valley is from forty-four to 

 fifty-six inches, and that the more humid parts of the United States have a 

 precipitation of fifty-six inches and over, we shall be able to estimate the 

 vast difference in the hygrometric conditions of the eastern and western 

 parts of our country. 



This sketch is by no means a plea for the climate of California : but the 

 advantages of the drier air must be considered, as well as its drawbacks. 

 Two of these have already been referred to— the exhilarating effect upon 

 animals, including man, and the facility with which all vegetable and animal 

 tissues are put in a state of preservation. One other circumstance of vast 

 importance remains to be considered, as it respects the climatic condition 

 of California. It is this: In the older States of the Union the influence of 

 man in his civilizing work has had a general tendency to deteriorate the 

 climate. In the Ohio valley, for instjince, the early climate was better 

 than the climate of to-day. Many conditions have here been superinduced 

 that have been vastly injurious to our environment. The tendency has been 



