196 PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 



bottoms and prairies, accompanied by a herdsman, or two, or more, a la 

 Mexican, (according to the size of the band,) where they are left to in- 

 crease, and no further care is bestowed upon them. 



Sheep too are raised in vast numbers after the above manner. They in- 

 crease with astonishing rapidity, and usually produce their young twice a 

 year. Their wool, however, is much coarser than that grown in the 

 United States. This latter fact is accounted for by their inferiority of 

 breed, though their flesh is sweeter and better than the American mut- 

 ton. 



Wolves are said to be numerous and troublesome, and not unfrequently 

 prove a source of great annoyance to the inhabitants by destroying their 

 sheep, calves, colts, and even full-grown cattle and horses. 



Among them are included the black, gray, and prairie wolf. The black 

 wolf is the largest and most ferocious, equalling the size of our common 

 cur-dog. 



Foxes are also said to be numerous, but are of a diminutive size. The 

 above are the only beasts of prey worth naming. 



The foregoing summary leads us to notice the present state of the 

 country, its inhabitants, government, and military strength. 



Upper California at the present time is in the united possession of 

 the Indians, Mexicans, English, and French ; not as rulers, but as 

 land-holders and inhabitants. 



The Indians are supposed to number some thirty or forty thousand 

 souls, and are scattered over the entire Province. Excepting the Dig- 

 gers, the Utahs, the Snakes, and those residing in the vicinity of the 

 Sierra Nevada and the Tlameth Mountains, they are quite similar in 

 character and condition to those noticed as being residents of the Gila 

 and adjacent regions. 



They are mild and timorous, and incapable of opposing any very se- 

 rious impediment to the progress of settlements. Fifteen Americans, 

 armed with good rifles, are equal to one or two hundred of such ene- 

 mies in ordinary cases. 



The Catholics have twenty or more missions among them, the effect 

 of which has been not so much to advance their civilization, or convert 

 them to the truths of Christianity, as to render them the slaves of a cor- 

 rupt and vicious priesthood. 



Monterey is the present capital of Upper California. It is beautifully 

 situated upon a gently undulating plain, in full view of the Ocean and 

 harbor, and contains about one thousand inhabitants. Its houses are 

 constructed of adobies, after the Mexican fashion. 



South of this town are several other places of considerable impor- 

 tance along the coast, viz : San Diego, San Gabriel, snd San Barbara ; 

 all of which are well located for commercial purposes. 



A town called the Pueblo is situated upon a small river that debouches 

 between San Diego and San Gabriel. This town is a few miles removed 

 from the coast, and is said to be the largest one in California. It contains 

 a population of about fifteen hundred, and is the grand centripot of over- 

 land intercourse with New Mexico. 



Above Monterey are two other towns, bearing the names of Sonoma and 

 San Francisco. 



