88 LUXURIANCE OF THE COUNTRY. 



meadows, and forming more graceful and pic- 

 turesque groups than I have ever seen as the 

 produce of art. With very little trouble, the 

 most luxuriant harvests might be reaped from 

 this soil ; but a happy and industrious popula- 

 tion has not yet been established here, to profit 

 from the prodigality of Nature. The death- 

 like stillness of these beautiful fields is broken 

 only by the wild animals which inhabit them ; 

 and as far as the eye can reach, it perceives no 

 trace of human existence ; not even a canoe is 

 to be seen upon the surrounding waters, which 

 are navigable for large vessels, and boast many 

 excellent harbours ; — the large white pelican 

 with the bag under his bill, is the only gainer 

 by the abundance of fish they produce. During 

 the centuries of Spanish supremacy in Califor- 

 nia, even the exertion of procuring a net has 

 been deemed too great. How abundantly and 

 happily might thousands of families subsist 

 here ! and how advantageously might the emi- 

 grants to Brazil have preferred this spot for 

 colonization ! There, they have to struggle with 

 many difficulties, are often oppressed by the 

 government, and always suffer under a scorch- 



