HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 115 



The principal port of Lower California is La Paz, 

 situated near the mouth of the gulf. The bay on the 

 shore of which the town is located, is of great extent 

 and beauty, and possesses a large number of rich 

 pearl oyster-beds — the pearl fishery having at one 

 time supplied the chief article of traffic on this part 

 of the coast. The country around the bay is elevated 

 and picturesque, though rugged; the soil being com- 

 posed principally of rock and sand, wildly and irre- 

 gularly covered with the most prickly species of 

 stunted bushes and shrubs of sunburnt hue. The 

 town of La Paz is neatly built and presents a pretty 

 appearance. The streets are lined with willow trees, 

 and these meeting overhead, form a delicious shade 

 during the heat of the day. The houses are all con- 

 structed of adobes, plastered white, and thatched with 

 the leaves of the palm tree. The beach is lined with 

 palms, cocoa-nut, fig and tamarind trees. La Paz 

 was taken by the American volunteers during the 

 war with Mexico, and considerable destruction of the 

 orchards, gardens and houses of the town was the 

 consequence. The harbor offers great advantages for 

 a naval station, and such, doubtless, it will become. 



San Josd, the most southern town of Lower Cali- 

 fornia, is situated about half-way between Cape San 

 Lucas and Cape Palmo, on a sort of desert plain, 

 extending from the beautiful valley of San Jose to the 

 i. It is located about three miles from the beach, 

 and is one of the strangest creations in the shape of a 

 town imaginable. 



TLe heavy rains and freshets which occur in the 

 wet season, in this region, render every elevation in- 

 valuable as a preservative against the dangers of sud- 

 den inundations; hence all the houses are built upon 



