114 EISTOEY OF CALIFORNIA. 



the shrewd ones, who early took advantage of this 

 " tide in the affairs of men," have already reached the 

 goal of their hopes, an independent fortune. Those 

 who saw how things would turn out, and purchased 

 land in the neighborhood of the region which promised 

 to receive the principal current of the emigration to 

 California, found themselves wealthy in the short 

 space of a few months. 



The great influx of emigrants to Upper California 

 has brought the subject of the settlement of the penin- 

 sula into consideration. There is but little doubt that 

 Lower California will, sooner or later, become the 

 property of the United States, and then its settlement 

 and progress will be rapid. The coast upon the gulf 

 affords many excellent harbors, and the mountainous 

 region of the interior gives abundant evidence of 

 mineral wealth, as far as it has been explored. Several 

 silver mines have been opened in different places, the 

 principal of which are at San Antonio, between La 

 Paz and Cape San Lucas. Near Loretto, the first 

 settlement in California, extensive copper mines have 

 been opened, and lead and iron abound in all direc- 

 tions. The pearl fishery of the gulf has already 

 yielded an enormous wealth, having been prosecuted 

 from the time of the discovery of the peninsula. The 

 fishing season lasts from May till November, and 

 more than a hundred vessels are yearly engaged in 

 the business. These resources, despite the general 

 unfitness of the country for agricultural purposes, will 

 soon attract their full share of consideration, and 

 cause an influx of emigrants and adventurers from the 

 United States and other countries. Some portions 

 of the country are susceptible of irrigation, and 

 might thus be rendered fit for cultivation. 



