132 HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 



CHAPTER X. 



POPULATION, CLIMATE, PRODUCTIONS, &C. 



With regard to the population, climate, soil, pro- 

 ductions, &c, we extract from Mr. King's Report, as 

 giving the most reliable and complete information. 



"Humboldt, in his ' Essay on New Spain,' states 

 the population of Upper California, in 1802, to have 

 consisted of 



Converted Indians, . . . 15,562 

 Other classes, . . . . 1,300 



16,862 



" Alexander Forbes, in his ' History of Upper and 

 Lower California,' published in London, in 1839, states 

 the number of converted Indians in the former to 

 have been, in 1831, . . . 18,683 



Of all other classes, at . . 4,342 



23,025 



" He expresses the opinion that this number had 

 not varied much up to 1885, and the probability is, 

 there was very little increase in the white population 

 until the emigrants from the United States began to 

 enter the country in 1838. 



"They increased from year to year, so that, in 

 1846, Colonel Fremont had little difficulty in calling 

 to his standard some five hundred fighting men. 



" At the close of the war with Mexico, it was sup- 

 posed that there were, including discharged volunteers, 



