vi PREFACE. 
in full sight of the greatest rewards for success, and with 
the fewest chances of failure. 
The general public are aware that California is a peculiar 
state, and their attention has often been called to certain 
prominent points of wonder, like those to which I have 
just referred; but hitherto there has been no careful at- 
tempt to sum up all that is known of her resources and 
natural history. I have undertaken that task, and the re- 
sult of my undertaking is in this book placed before the 
reader. I have been a Californian since 1849, and expect 
to be as long as I may live. All the most interesting as- 
sociations of my life are connected with this state. I 
arrived in the country while it was still under a territorial 
government, and more than a year before it was organized 
as a state under act of Congress. I saw the land in its 
original wildness, and saw society, order, trade, industry 
and polity developed; and I now see about me the begin- 
nings and promises of science, art, literature, philosophy, 
and whatever can enrich or honor humanity. I have seen 
the state grow up, and its history is part of my life. The 
land-marks of its chorography, and the prominent events of 
its political, social, and industrial progress, mark epochs 
in my memory. Many of the happiest days of my life 
have been spent here, and here I hope to enjoy whatever 
blessings the future may have in store forme. If then I 
fail to.do justice in my book to California, the failure will 
not be for any lack of love of her. Neither will it be for 
any lack of attention or industry. During the last nine 
years, I have assiduously collected every thing within my 
reach relative to the industry, resources, natural history and 
population of the state. I have looked through all the 
newspapers published between Crescent City and San Diego, 
and have examined all the books written about the country, 
Spanish, french and German, as well as English. I have 
