CALIFORNIA. 



I 



• tSc ice pfrrilts n:iv!gators to reach, tie blended liii 

 . uic3 with thole which the Riiifians had made fincc t le 

 v.-ur 1-4^ Cjok's voyage made known lo Kn^lnnd the 

 iiew and valuable articKs which thofe lands offered ti) her 

 commerce ; it fljewed the pnllihllltv of livalhi.g th. KuUians 

 in the fur trade, and of (hiring with them the great profits 

 that mav be obtained in barter with the empire ot China, by 



nia. The ij mifilanj of the dopartmcnt of Loretto are, 

 San Vinccnte, S. Domingo, E! Rofarlo, S. Fernainkz, 

 S. Francef'jo de Borgia, S. Gertrude. S. Ignacio, La Gua- 

 dalupe, Santa Rofalia, La Conception, S. Joftf, S.Fran, 

 cefoo Xavier, Loretto, S. Jofef dc Cabo Lncar, and To- 

 dos los Sanftos. About 409 Indian converts, coUeiSed 

 round thcle 15 parithes, are the only fruit of the long 



.he ikin; of animus, ...ieh .e the treajures of the ^. of ^P^I^^'^^^^tj^rjaS'd:;,:'^:^^':^^^- on^ 



r ;:: i^rr-allll^^^f a ':tirlr:o^^^^^^ oneSpani,bv,n.ge. Inded the climate is uLahliyandti,^ 



uit t II iwv. w '^ ,, ■ L ■r„u.rf<, thrniiohnut the province of Sonora, whicn lorms ihe boundary ot the VL-r- 



cDcratmns embrace the two hemilpntres tnrongnnui mc j^ , , ,, ic ■ .. ./ ,, , 



XTe circumference of the globe." In I7S6, La Pcroufe m.'ion fea to the weftward, and (_ ahforn.a to the northward, 



d.reaed hio conrfe towards the N.W. coail of America, and is much more attraft.ve to the Spaniards, who trnd mere a 



made the land on Beering's mount St. Elias, in the latitr.de fertile foil, and abundance of irines ; which are, 111 their 



of 60° ; he ranged along the lands of the coutinent for an eilimat.on_, more important objectsthan the pearl fifnery of 



extent ' 

 Monterre 



of 470 letenes from that parallel to the harbour of the pininfula, which requires a confid^rable number of laves 

 rrev, and particularly applied himfcif to the examina- who can dive, and whom u is difficult to procu.x-. \ "North 



_; ,l,;,f,. parts of the coalt from which captain Cook had CaUh.rma, notwithftanding its great d'^^^'ce frc^i Mexico, 



been repelled by contr.iry winds ; he dikoveicd a tine liar- 



bour in N. iat. 58' 57', which lie called " Port des Fran^ais," 



(which fee); and in the courfe of hi» furveys, which were 



tion of 



appei-is to combine much greater advantages. For an aC' 

 count of its prefidins, fee New Albion. The Francifcans 

 ellablulied their firll niiffion here in 17 70 : and they have 

 now ten, comorchending 5143 converted Indians. The 

 piety of the Spaniards has kept up the prefidios at a gr'eat 

 cxpence, apparently from no other motive than that of 

 Of Monterrev, and the adjacent country. La Pcroufe has converting and civihzing the Indians of thefe countries. But 

 - ■' , . ■ . .11. 1 r ^ ^ from later difcoveries, a new branch of commerce may pro- 



both minute and accurate, he verified and confirmed fome 

 of the difcoveries of 1775, which the Spaniards had fcarcely 

 indicated. 



given a particular account, of which we (liall avail ourfelve; 

 jundcr tint article. This is the place of refidence of the go 

 'vernor of the two California;, the northern and fouthern, or 

 the New and Old. Tliis government is fubordinate to the 

 vice-royalty of Mexico ; and La Pt-roufe informs us, that 

 it extends to more than Soo leagues in circumference, for 

 the maintenance of which 282 foldiers of cavalry are found 

 fufficient. Thefe garrifon five fmall forts, and furnilli de- 

 tachments of four or five men to each of the 25 miffions, or 

 parilhes, into which the provinces of Old and New Califor- 



s 



cure to Spain more folid advantages than the richcft mines 

 of Mexico ; and the falubrity of the air, the fertility of the 

 foil, and the abundance of furs, for which they have a cer- 

 tain market in China, give to th'S part of Amerioa the mod 

 important advantages over Old Cahrornia, whofe unwhole- 

 fomencfs and fterility cannot be compenlated by a few pearls 

 collected from the bottom of the fea. 



Before the Spaniards fettled in this country, the Indians 

 of California only cultivated a little maize, and almoft en- 



divided. Thtfe fmall guards fiiffice to keep in fub- tirely fubfifted on filhing and hunting. No country abounds 



jeftion about 50,000 wandering Indians, who often change 

 their refidence according to the fithing and hunting feafons, 

 and who are fpread over this vaft extent of the American 

 continent. Of thefe, about 10,000 have embraced Chrilli- 

 anity. Thefe Indians are generally little and feeble, and 

 evince no figns of that love of independence and liberty, 

 which chara6\erifes the northern nations, to whofe arts and 

 induftry they are flrangers. Their complexion very nearly 

 rtfembles that of thofe negroes, whofe hair is not woolly : 

 that of this nation is long, and very ftrong, and they cut it 

 four or five inches from the roots. Several of tliem have 



more with all forts of tirti and game. Haies, rabbits, and 

 (lags, are very common ; otters and fea-wolves abound to- 

 wards the north ; and in winter they kill a great number of 

 bears, foxes, wolves, and wild cats. The coppices and 

 plains are full of fmall, crclled partridg^-s, which flock to- 

 gether in covies of ^ or 400 : they are fat and well fla- 

 voured ; and the trees afford lodgment to a vaft variety of 

 birds and fowl. As to the fertility of the foil in the coun- 

 try adjoining to the prefidio of Monterrey, it exceeds con- 

 ception. The harvefts of maize, barley, wheat, and peas, 

 can only be compared to thofe of Chili ; and the average 



beards, while others, according to the miflionaries, never produce of corn is from 70 to 80 fold. Fruit trees are iii- 



had any ; thongh this is a point not decided in the country 

 itfclf. The governor, wlio had travelled innch in the in- 

 terior part of the country, and h^d lived with the favages 

 during 15 years, affured La Pcroufe that thofe who had no 

 beard, had extrafted it with bivalve ilitUs, ufed as pincers. 

 The prefidcnt of the miffions, however, who had refided 

 a? long in California, maintained the contrary-. Thefe In- 

 dians arc very expert in the ufe of the bow, but they rarely 

 pull the bow till they creep within 15 paces ot their prey. 

 In hunting, they crawl on the ground, with flags' heads 

 fixed on their own, and thus approach a herd of flags, till 

 being within reach of them, they kill them %vith their ar- 

 rows. Loretto is the only prefidio or military fort of Old 



therto fcarce ; but the climate is well adapted to them, be- 

 ing nearly that of the foutherhmoft provinces of France. 

 The cold is never more fevere, r.nd the heats of fummer are 

 much more moderate, in confeqiience of the perpetual mills, 

 which fecundate the earth with coiiftant moifture. Tlie fo- 

 rcfls contain the pme-apple fir, c'yprefs, ever-green oak, and 

 weflcrn plane-tree. La Pcroufe pays a tribute of fingular 

 refpcft to the monks of this prefidio ; and contrafls their 

 difpofition and condutf, very much to their advantage, 

 againft thofe of the moiks of Chili. 



The huts of the. Indian villages, in both Ca'ifornias, are 

 the moft miferable that can be conceived. Their form is 

 circular, and fix feet in diameter by four feet high. Some 



California, on the eaflern co.ill of that peninfula. Its gar- flakes about the fize of the arm being fixed in the ground, 



rifon confifls of 5^. cavalry men, tmd furnilhes detachments and brought together in an arch at top, compofe their 



to the If, foliowmg miffions, of which the funftions are frame, and eight or ten trulTes of ilraw, badly arranged 



performed by the Dominican monks, who have fucceeded upon thefe flakes, defend the inhabitants more or Icfs fiom 



the Jcfuits and Francifcan'. Thefe lafl, however, remain the rain and wind. The Indians adhere to this nwde ot cou- 



m undifturbcd pofi'cITion of the ten mifiions of New Califor- ftruding their habitations, nolwithftanding the exhortations 



of 



