NAPA VALLEY. 17 
or to find himself among some secluded villages. But 
in the entire length of’ the valley there are no houses 
to be found within a less distance than five miles of 
each other, and these too of the most humble and 
unpretending character. What is singular, and to me 
unaccountable in these groves of large trees is, that 
there are no young ones, none but the venerable and 
full-grown oaks, which, doubtless, for centuries have 
held exclusive sway over this wide-spread and beauti- 
ful domain. Nor is there any undergrowth of other 
trees and shrubs. I can only account for this defi- 
ciency by attributing it to fires since the occupation of 
the country by the Spaniards; or, by supposing that 
the immense herds of cattle, which for a century past 
have occupied the valley, have browsed upon the 
shrubs and young trees, until they destroyed them, 
and afterwards kept down the shoots as they sprang 
up. 
The valley is hemmed in on both sides by ranges 
of low mountains, running north and south, which are 
generally covered to their very summits with forest 
trees. Here and there bold rocks jut out, presenting 
the most fantastic outlines; while between the valley 
and the mountains runs a lower range of rounded 
hills, dotted with small bushy oaks and pines, which 
present a fine contrast with the more sombre hues of 
the mountain foliage. Occasionally the gigantic palo 
colorado (red wood) raises its tall head far above every 
other object, making even the huge oaks — 
diminutive. ~ 
In the midst of the valley iti a sibel stream, 
called Napa Creek, its course marked by the graceful 
VOL. 11.—2 
