WESTERN CALIFORNIA. 189 



the emigrant can direct his course to any part of the country, as interest or 

 inclination may suggest. 



Another pass is afforded by way of the Santa Fe trail near lat. 37° 

 north ; this, however, is a very difficult one for waggons, and should only 

 be travelled on horseback. 



There are said to be one or two other passes further south, in reference 

 to which I cannot speak with certainty, but am inclined to accredit their 

 reported existence. 



CHAPTER XXIIl. 



Minerals. — Western California. — Tlie Sacramento and contiguous regions. — Principal 

 rivers. — Fish. — Commercial advantages — Bay of San Francisco. — Other Bays and 

 Harbors. — Description of the country ; territory northwest of the Sacramento ; 

 Tlamath mountains ; CaUfornia range and its vicinity ; Southern parts ; timber ;^ 

 river-bottoms ; Valleys of Sacramento, del Plumas, and Tulare ; their extent, fertiUty, 

 timber and fruit ; wild grain and clover, spontaneous ; wonderful fecundity of soil, 

 and its products ; the productions, climate, rains and dews ; geological and mineralogi- 

 cal character ; face of the country ; its water ; its healthiness ; game ; superabun- 

 dance of cattle, horses, and sheep, their prices, &c. ; beasts of prey ; the inhabi- 

 tants, who ; Indians, their character and condition ; Capital of the Province, with 

 other towns ; advantages of San Francisco ; inland settlements ; foreigners and 

 Mexicans ; Government ; its full military strength. — Remarks. 



In the preceding chapter the reader must have acquired some tangible 

 idea of the true condition of Eastern California, with all its varied beauties 

 and deformities ; its Edens and wastes of desolation ; its enchantments, and 

 scenes of awe and terrific grandeur. 



To have treated the subject more in extenso, would have trespassed upon 

 prescribed brevity ; yet, doubtless, many will regret my having said so little 

 relative to the mineralogical character and resources of that country. The 

 truth is, comparatively little is known upon this important matter. Were 

 I to give ear to common report, I would say there are both gold and silver, 

 with copper, lead, and iron. But such stories are not always to be credited 

 unless they come in a credible shape. 



However, it is very probable these metals do exist in various parts ; and 

 certain it is that immense beds of coal and rock-salt are afforded, with 

 large quantities of gypsum, the truth of which is placed beyond doubt by an 

 accumulation of testimony. With these few remarks I turn from the subject, 

 and bring before the reader another and more interesting topic. 



Following the only practicable waggon route from the U, S. to Western 

 California, via South Pass, — thence, after bearing northwest some forty 

 miles, by a long sweep southward around the Sierra Nevada to the Rio 

 Sacrimento, — the emigrant is taken through a succession of mountains, 

 hills, plains, and valleys, furrowed by frequent affluents from the north ;— 

 now, sterile wastes of intervening sand j now, pleasant spreads of arable 



