History of the State of California Part 9

"It can be of no practical use to speculate on the causes which have denuded so large an extent of country, further than to ascertain whether the soil is or is not favorable to the growth of forest trees.

"When the dry season sets in, the entire surface is covered with a luxuriant growth of gra.s.s and oats, which, as the summer advances, become perfectly dry. The remains of all dead trees and shrubs also become dry. These materials, therefore, are very combustible, and usually take fire in the latter part of summer and beginning of autumn, which commonly pa.s.ses over the whole country, destroying, in its course, the young shrubs and trees. In fact, it seems to be the same process which has destroyed or prevented the growth of forest trees on the prairies of the Western States, and not any quality in the soil unfriendly to their growth.

"The absence of timber and the continuance of the dry season are apt to be regarded by farmers, on first going into the country, as irremediable defects, and as presenting obstacles, almost insurmountable, to the successful progress of agriculture. A little experience will modify these opinions.

"It is soon ascertained that the soil will produce abundantly without manure; that flocks and herds sustain themselves through the winter without being fed at the farm-yard, and, consequently, no labor is necessary to provide forage for them; that ditches are easily dug, which present very good barriers for the protection of crops, until live fences can be planted, and have time to grow. Forest trees may be planted with little labor, and in very few years attain a sufficient size for building and fencing purposes. Time may be usefully employed in sowing various grain and root crops during the wet or winter season. There is no weather cold enough to destroy root crops, and, therefore, it is not necessary to gather them. They can be used or sold from the field where they grow. The labor, therefore, required in most of the old States to fell the forests, clear the land of rubbish, and prepare it for seed, may here be applied to other objects.

"All these things, together with the _perfect security of all crops in harvest time, from injury by wet weather_, are probably sufficient to meet any expense which may be incurred in irrigation, or caused, for a time, by a scanty supply of timber.

"In the northern part of the territory, above lat.i.tude 39, and on the hills which rise from the great plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin to the foot of the Sierra Nevada, the forests of timber are beautiful and extensive, and would, if brought into use, be sufficiently productive to supply the wants of the southern and western portions of the State."

It is not to be expected that the labor and attention necessary for the improvement of the soil will be given to that object, so long as the continued discovery of gold and other metals promise an easy road to wealth. Many who were prosperously engaged in agricultural employments, in the most fertile regions, have abandoned it, lured by the golden bait, and shouldered the pick and shovel to try their luck or perseverance at gold digging. The gardens and the vineyards of Los Angeles have been deserted for the barren hills and ravines where the precious dust abounds. In this state of things, California must become an extensive market for the products of the Atlantic States of the Union.

The extent and value of the public domain, and the validity of the t.i.tles to various tracts of land in California, will, doubtless, be the cause of much litigation and disturbance, as the country becomes more thickly settled. The relation in which the claimants of land granted to them under the Mexican government, stand towards the government of the United States, is clearly and fully set forth by Mr.

King, in his California report. He says--

"It is not known whether the Jesuits who founded the mission, or their successors the Franciscans, ever did, or do now, hold any t.i.tle from the Spanish crown to the lands which they occupied. Nor has any investigation been made to ascertain how far those t.i.tles, if they ever existed, have been invalidated by the acts of the priests, or the decrees of the Mexican government.

"A superficial view of the matter would be very apt to lead to the supposition that the Jesuits, so celebrated for wisdom and cunning, would not fail to secure that which, at that time, would probably have been obtained by merely asking for it--a royal decree, granting to them all the lands they might require in that remote country for ecclesiastical purposes. There have been some intimations to that effect, but nothing is distinctly known. These missions embrace within their limits some of the most valuable lands in the Territory, and it is very important that it should be ascertained whether they belong to the Government, or may be justly claimed by individuals.

"Most of the land fit for cultivation, south of lat.i.tude 39, and west of the valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, is claimed under what purport to be grants from the Mexican government.

"On most of these grants, the minerals and metals are reserved to the government: conditions were coupled with many of them which have not been complied with. In others, the boundaries described embrace two or three times as much land as the grant conveys.

"The Mexican law required all grants made by the provincial government, with few exceptions, to be confirmed by the supreme government. The great distance which separated them, and the unfrequent or difficult means of communication, made a compliance with the law so expensive and tardy that it came to be almost disregarded.

"There were other causes which led to this neglect.

"Previous to the treaty with Mexico and the immigration of American citizens to that country, land was not regarded as of much value, except for grazing purposes. There was room enough for all.

Therefore, the claimants or proprietors did not molest one another, or inquire into the validity of t.i.tles.

"These extensive grants are described by natural boundaries, such as mountains, bays, and promontories, which, in many instances, might allow of a variation of several miles in the establishment of a corner with chain and compa.s.s.

"By the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States purchased all the rights and interests of Mexico to and in California. This purchase not only embraced all the lands which had not been granted by Mexico, but all the reserved minerals and metals, and also reversionary rights which might accrue to Mexico from a want of compliance on the part of the grantees with the conditions of their grants, _or a want of perfection in the grants_.

"It will be perceived that this is a subject of very great importance, not only to the people of California, but to the United States, and calls for prompt and efficient action on the part of the Government.

It is believed that the appointment of competent commissioners, fully empowered to investigate these t.i.tles, in a spirit of kindness towards the claimants, with power to confirm such t.i.tles as justice may seem to demand, or with instructions to report their proceedings and awards to Congress, for confirmation or rejection, will be the best and perhaps the only satisfactory mode of adjusting this complex and difficult question."

He also makes the following observations and recommendations concerning the extent and value of the land, to which the t.i.tle of the government is unquestionable, and the best mode of improving it.

"The lands in the northern part of the Territory, above the 39, have not been explored or granted. They are supposed to embrace an area of about twenty millions of acres, a large portion of which is doubtless valuable for its timber and soil.

"Comparatively few grants have been obtained in the great valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin.

"This vast tract, therefore, containing, as is estimated, from twelve to fifteen millions of acres, belongs mostly to the Government. South of this valley, and west of the Colorado, within the limits of California, as indicated in her Const.i.tution, there are said to be extensive tracts of valuable, unappropriated land; and, on investigation, it will probably appear that there are many of them in detached bodies, which have not been granted.

"I do not speak of the gold region, embracing the entire foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, some five hundred miles long and sixty miles broad, in connection with the public domain, which may be embraced in the general land system for sale and settlement, for reasons which will be hereafter a.s.signed.

"The survey of the public lands on a system suited to the interests of the country is a matter of very great importance. In the inhabited portions of the Territory, the boundaries of Mexican grants, running as they do in all directions, will render the system of surveys by parallels of lat.i.tude and longitude quite impracticable.

"In all parts of the country, irrigation is desirable, and its benefits should be secured, as far as possible, by suitable surveys and legal regulations. Most of the valleys are watered by streams sufficiently large to be rendered very useful. It would, therefore, seem wise to lay off the land in conformity to the course of the hills and streams which bound and drain the valleys.

"A system of drainage, which would also secure irrigation, is absolutely necessary to give value to the great plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. This valley is so extensive and level that, if the rivers pa.s.sing through it were never to overflow their banks, the rain which falls in winter would render the greater portion of it unfit for cultivation. The foundation of such a system can only be established in the survey and sale of the land.

"_This can be done by laying out ca.n.a.ls and drains, at suitable distances, and in proper directions, and by leaving wide margins to the rivers, that they may have plenty of room to increase their channels when their waters shall be confined within them by embankments._

"It would be well also to regulate the price of these lands, so as to meet, in some degree, the expense of draining them.

"This system would, when agriculture shall become a pursuit in California, make this valley one of the most beautiful and productive portions of the Union."

With regard to the present state of the commerce and of the commercial resources of California, it is observed, that her resources are confined almost entirely to the metallic wealth of the country, and that such a state of things would seem unfavorable to an extensive commercial intercourse. Undoubtedly, this metallic wealth of itself, could not long maintain an extensive commerce with the various nations of the earth. But when the _mineral_ wealth begins to be developed, as it soon will, there will be no lack of return freights for vessels arriving with supplies. The quicksilver mines already yield an enormous profit, and will soon be extensively worked. Respecting the present state of the commerce of the country, extent of her resources, and facilities of communication with the Atlantic States of the Union, and other countries, Mr. King's Report furnishes the following account--

"Gold is the product of the country, and is immediately available, in an uncoined state, for all the purposes of exchange. It is not there, as in other countries, where the productions of the earth and of art are sent to markets--foreign or domestic--to be exchanged for the precious metals, or other articles of value. There, gold not only supplies the medium of domestic trade, but of foreign commerce.

"At first view, this state of things would seem to be unfavorable to an extensive intercourse with other parts of the world, because of the want of return freights of _home production_ for the vast number of vessels which will arrive with supplies.

"These vessels, however, making no calculations on return cargoes, will estimate the entire profits of the voyage on their outward freights, and become, on their arrival, willing carriers for a comparatively small consideration.

"This tendency in the course of trade, it would seem, must make San Francisco a warehouse for the supply, to a certain extent, of all the ports of the Pacific, American, Asiatic, and the Islands.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LIFE AT THE "DIGGINGS,"--SUPPER TIME.]

"Almost every article now exported by them finds a ready market in California, and the establishment of a mint will bring there also the silver bullion, amounting to more than ten millions per annum, from the west coast of Mexico, and, perhaps, ultimately from Chili and Peru, to be a.s.sayed and coined.

"Vessels bound round Cape Horn, with cargoes for markets on the American coast of the Pacific, can, by taking advantage of the south-east trade winds, and 'standing broad-off the Cape,' make the voyage to San Francisco in as short a time as they can to Valparaiso, or any port south of California. Vessels have sailed from our Atlantic ports to San Francisco in less than one hundred days, and they have been, in more than one instance, over one hundred and twenty days in going from Panama to San Francisco.

"This astonishing difference in time and distance was caused by the course of the winds, and the gulf-stream of the Pacific, mentioned in my remarks on the climate of California.

"The vessels from our Atlantic ports took advantage of the winds by steering _from the Cape_ as far into the Pacific as to be enabled to take a course west of the gulf-stream in sailing northward, thus availing themselves first of the south-east, then of the north-east 'trades,' and avoiding opposing currents.

"The vessels from Panama were kept back by calms, adverse winds, and currents. It will be perceived, therefore, that there can be no inducement for vessels bound round Cape Horn, with mixed or a.s.sorted cargoes, to stop at Valparaiso, Callao, Guayaquil, or any port on the west coast, because the exports of all those places will seek a market at San Francisco; and their supply of merchandise, as _return freight_, will be delivered at less expense than it can be by vessels direct from Atlantic ports, American or European. This tendency of trade to concentrate at San Francisco will be aided by the course of exchange.

"Gold dust is worth but $17 per ounce in Chili. It is worth $18 at the United States mint. If, therefore, a merchant of Valparaiso has ten thousand ounces in San Francisco, received in payment for lumber, barley, flour, or other produce, and desires an invoice of goods from the United States or Europe, he will gain $10,000 at the outset by sending his gold to New York, besides saving something on the freight and insurance, and at least one month's interest.

"The countries on the west coast of America have no exports which find a market in China, or other parts of Asia. San Francisco will, therefore, become not only the mart of these exports, but also of the products and manufactures of India, required in exchange for them, which must be paid for, princ.i.p.ally, in gold coin or gold dust.

Neither gold coin nor gold dust will answer as a remittance to China.

Gold, in China, is not currency in any shape, nor is it received in payment of import duties, or taxes on land, or on the industry of the people.

"The value of pure gold in China is not far from $14 the ounce. Hence, the importer of manufactures and products of India into San Francisco will remit the gold coin or dust direct to New York, for investment in sterling bills on London. These bills will be sent to London, and placed to the credit of the firm in China from whom the merchandise has been received, and who, on learning of the remittance having gone forward to their agents, will draw a _six months' sight bill_ for the amount, which will sell in China at the rate of four shillings and _two_ pence or _three_ pence per dollar.

"I have a statement before me from one of the most eminent merchants and bankers of New York, who was for many years engaged extensively in the India trade, which shows that the profit or gain on ten thousand ounces of gold, thus remitted, would be

$33,434 44 And that the loss on the same quant.i.ty, sent direct to China, would be 15,600 00 ---------- Total difference in profit and loss in favor of the remittance to New York, $50,034 44

"It will thus be perceived that nature has so arranged the winds and currents of the Pacific, and disposed of her vast treasures in the hills and mountains of California, as to give to the harbor of San Francisco the control of the commerce of that ocean, as far as it may be connected with the west coast of America.

"Important as the commerce of the Pacific undoubtedly is, and will be, to California, it cannot now, nor will it ever compare in magnitude and value to the domestic trade between her and the older States of the Union.