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CALIFORNIA UNVEILED.

Introductory Remarks--Erroneous opinions respecting California--Sterility of the Soil--The Seasons--Destitution of Mechanical and Manufacturing Resources--Dependence upon Importations for the Conveniences and Necessaries of Life--No Inducement to become Permanent Residents of the country 13

THE BALANCE SHEET.

California statistically considered--Cost of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo--Price of Passage and Services of Immigrants--Total Yield of the Mines--Amount of Property destroyed by Fires, Freshets and Inundations--List of Sailing Vessels and Steamers Wrecked upon the coast--Public Debt of the State--Debts of San Francisco, Sacramento and Marysville--Loss of Life by violent measures--Extract from the Louisville Journal 23

SOCIETY IN CALIFORNIA.

Extraordinary Depravity and Corruption--Reasons assigned for the laxity of Morals--Much of the Degeneracy and Dissipation attributable to the absence of female society--The Case of an English gentleman--His Story--General Remarks concerning the different classes of Women 36

SAN FRANCISCO.

Importance of San Francisco--The Golden Gate--The Harbor--Long Wharf--A Motley Crowd--The Shipping--Names of Vessels--Vagrant Boys--Commercial Street--Wooden Tenements--The Jews--Fire-proof brick and stone structures--Montgomery street--Menial Employments--Professional Men washing dishes, waiting upon the table, and peddling shrimps and tomcods--Lawyers and Land Titles--Grog Shops and Tippling Houses--Bill of Fare of a California Groggery 45

SAN FRANCISCO--CONTINUED.

Clay street--Gazing in Ladies' Faces--The Gambling Houses--Heterogeneous Assemblage of Blacklegs--The Plaza--The City Hall--A Case of Bribery and Corruption--French Restaurants--Flour and other Provisions--Frauds and Adulterations 69

SAN FRANCISCO--CONCLUDED.

A Pistol Gallery--Doctor Natchez--Population of the City--Filling in the Bay--Lack of Vegetation--Yearning for the society of Trees 81

THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA.

National habits and traits of Chinese Character--Their Dress--The number of Chinese in California--How they employ their time--Their arrogance and presumption--Manner of Eating--Singularity of their names--Is the Chinese Immigration desirable? 86

CURSORY VIEWS.

The Pacific Side of the Continent much Inferior to the Atlantic Side--Poverty and Suffering in California--Rash and mistaken ideas of the country--A few very Fertile Valleys--Value of the Precious Metals to the country in which they are found--The Climate 97

SUNDAY IN CALIFORNIA.

Manner of Spending the Sabbath--Mixture and Dissimilarity of the Population--Dance Houses--Mexican Women--Influence of Female Society upon the Community--Churches in San Francisco 109

BEAR AND BULL FIGHT.

Advertisement announcing the Sport--Mission Dolores--An old Catholic Church--Preparation for the Fight--The Audience--The Attack--Progress of the Conflict--The Finale 116

SACRAMENTO.

City and Valley of Sacramento--The Legislature--Shabby Hotels--Teamsters and Muleteers--Excess of Merchants--Continual Depression in Business--Perfidy and Dishonesty of Consignees--California Conflagrations--The Three Cent Philosopher 131

YUBA--THE MINER'S TENT.

Trip to the Mines--Modus Operandi of Single-handed Mining--Names of Bars--Mining Laws--More Gentility and Nobleness of Soul among the Miners than any other Class of People in California--The case of a Highwayman--Description of a Miner's Tent--His Diet and Cooking Utensils--Toilsomeness of Mining--Proceeds of three months' labor 147

STOCKTON AND SONORA.

Situation of Stockton--The San Joaquin Valley--Trip to Sonora--The best Hotel in the Place--A Lunatic--A Gambling Prodigy--Shooting Affair--A case of Lynch Law--Description of Sonora--Land Speculators--Ephemeral Cities--Excitability of the Californians--The Beard--A good old Man--His Story 161

VOYAGE TO CALIFORNIA VIA CAPE HORN.

Embarkation from New York--A Terrible Storm--Loss of Masts and narrow escape from Shipwreck--Wreck of a Swedish Brig--An unfortunate Little Bird--Patagonia and Cape Horn--Stoppage at Valparaiso--Earthquakes--Appearance of the City--A Delectable Garden--Two Catholic Priests--Beauty of Ocean Scenery in the Pacific--The St. Felix Islands--Arrival in San Francisco 187

VOYAGE FROM CALIFORNIA VIA NICARAGUA.

Departure from San Francisco--Matters and Things aboard the Steamer--The Passengers--A Hoax--Arrival at San Juan del Sur--Novel Mode of Debarkation--Ludicrous Scenes--Trip across the Country--The Weather--Virgin Bay--Lake Nicaragua--The San Juan River--Bad Management and shabby Treatment on the Isthmus--Negro Slavery and Central America--San Juan del Norte, alias Greytown 209

MY LAST MINING ADVENTURE.

Projected Voyage to Australia abandoned--Trip to the Mines in Tuolumne county--My quaint Friend and Companion, Mr. Shad Back--Operations in Columbia--The Result 225

THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE.

Disordered State of Society--Atrocious and barefaced Crimes--Organization of Vigilance Committees--Salutary effect of their Proceedings--Defence of their Motives and Actions--A case of Lynch Law in Sacramento 237

BODEGA.

Trip to Bodega on a Mischievous and Refractory Mule--A Chinese Encampment--Description of the country in the vicinity of Bodega--The Village of Petaluma--Cruel Treatment of an Indian Boy--Serious Consequences result from the villainous Pranks of his Muleship--Ben, an eccentric old Negro 254

THE DIGGER INDIANS AND NEGROES.

Indolence and Insignificance of the Digger Indians--What they eat--Means of obtaining the Necessaries of Life--Their Habits and Peculiarities--An Incident at a Slaughterhouse--The Negroes in California--The case of a New Orleans Sea-captain and his Slave Joe--A North Carolinian and his two Negroes 268

ARE YOU GOING TO CALIFORNIA?

Resume of the preceding chapters--Arguments in favor of the Atlantic and Pacific Railway--Advantages of the Southern Route--Abstract of the Report of the Secretary of War on the several Pacific Railroad Explorations--Extracts from Letters--Conclusion 280

THE LAND OF GOLD.

CALIFORNIA UNVEILED.

An intelligent and patriotic curiosity will find the history of few countries more interesting than that of California--which has at length realized those dreams of El Dorado that beguiled so many an early adventurer from the comforts and bliss of his fireside, to delude and destroy him. The marshes of the Orinoco, the Keys of Florida, and the hills of Mexico cover the bones of many of these original speculators in the minerals of the Western World. They sought wealth, and found graves. How many of the modern devotees of Mammon have done better in our newly opened land of gold?

To explain the causes of the frequent disappointment of these cherished hopes; to determine the true value of this modern El Dorado; to exhibit the prominent features of California and its principal cities, particularly San Francisco, and thus to enable those who still encourage golden dreams to form a proper estimate of their chances of success, without submitting to the painful teachings of experience--these have been the motives which have actuated the author of the present work.

The less to weary the reader, the book has been broken up into chapters, in which the author proposes to discourse familiarly upon what he has seen and felt, as he would in a friendly letter, rather than to write a formal essay or treatise upon California. In pursuing this plan, it is his intention to confine himself exclusively to facts, and to describe those facts as clearly as possible, so as to leave no ground for a conjectural filling up of those outlines which his negligence may have left vague and indistinct.

Of course Dalton did not think of her in quite that way. He knew something of Browning and little of Keats, but he had at least the wit to discern the rareness of her type.

As for the rest, she wore faded blue, which melted into the blue of the mists, stubbed and shabby russet shoes and an air of absorption in her returned soldier. This absorption Dalton found himself subconsciously resenting. Following an instinctive urge, he emerged, therefore, from his chrysalis of ill-temper, and smiled upon a transformed universe.

"My raincoat, Kemp," he said, and strode forth across the platform, a creature as shining and splendid as ever trod its boards.

Becky, beholding him, asked, "Is that Major Prime?"

"No, thank Heaven."

Jefferson, steering the Major expertly, came up at this moment. Then, splashing down the red road whirled the gorgeous limousine. There were two men on the box. Kemp, who had been fluttering around Dalton with an umbrella, darted into the waiting-room for the bags. The door of the limousine was opened by the footman, who also had an umbrella ready. Dalton hesitated, his eyes on that shabby group by the mud-stained surrey. He made up his mind suddenly and approached young Paine.

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