will be abortive, unless the territory through which
the canal passes shall be ceded in sovereignty to some
powerful European state, or put under the guaranty
of a convention of European states, because the
new republics into which the late Spanish colonies
have been divided have not the stability, nor
have they adopted that liberal policy, which is
necessary to insure a free transit, indispensable for
the good success of such an undertaking. The



318 UPPER CALIFORNIA

security of those who had to expend such large
sums of money, and the protection of the extensive
commerce which would have to pass through such
territory, are alike indispensable. Another consid-
eration, in my opinion, is also indispensable to the
success and utility of this undertaking, viz., that
the canal should be made of a capacity sufficient
to admit merchant vessels to pass through without
discharging their cargoes. To make a canal for
boats, or on any other scale than to permit vessels
to pass on to the ulterior destination of the goods,
would be entirely nugatory. The expense and delay
of transporting the cargoes by boats, in such a country
as that through which the canal passes, would be
very great, and the loss, by periodical rains, robbery
by an ill - regulated population, and a thousand
causes, would counterbalance all other advantages ;
but the principal difficulty and expense would be
to procure vessels in the Pacific to prosecute the
remaining part of the voyage. On this ocean,
at present, the freights paid for vessels are most
exorbitant, and from the nature of the coasts in
the neighborhood of the canal, which are all
unhealthy, and unfit for the creation or maintenance
of a marine, no improvement of consequence is to
be expected. It would result, in the case supposed
of a mere boat-canal, that, after a cargo had been
forwarded to the eastern entrance of the canal, and



COLONIZATION 319

transmitted to the Pacific by boats, the time that
might elapse before a vessel could be procured to
proceed with this cargo to China or other destination
would be more, and the expense greater, than if
the original vessel had proceeded directly round the
Cape of Good Hope. It has been lately much
recommended to make a railroad from Porto Bello
to Panama, or somewhere in that vicinity; but the
foregoing objections exist to this, in all their force,
as to a canal for boats, and I should consider such
an undertaking utterly useless, in a commercial point
of view. If, on the contrary, the canal was made
capable of admitting vessels to pass through with
their cargoes, the delay would be very small and the
expense trifling. Asia would be thereby brought
by one half nearer to Europe, and the passage
to all the west coast of America and the Pacific
islands shortened in a still greater degree. This
revolution in the commerce with Asia and the Pacific
Ocean, if it were to happen, would aggrandize the
country of which we have been treating, in an
extraordinary manner ; and however distant this
era may be, it is not to be supposed that, in
the present state of the world, when such rapid
progress is making in everything that is useful, this
gigantic improvement will be indefinitely delayed,
and particularly when it would appear that the
means are but trifling in comparison to the end



320 UPPER CALIFORNIA

proposed. When we look at what has already been
done in North America, England, Holland, France,
and other countries, the undertaking alluded to
does not appear to be formidable. Perhaps the
Caledonian Canal, which passes through Scotland,
and unites the North Sea with the Atlantic, is not a
much inferior undertaking to the one proposed, and
the plan on which it has been constructed ought to
be adopted. This canal is capable of admitting the
largest loaded merchant vessels to pass through it
without discharging ; and one of the same capacity
between the Atlantic and Pacific would effect all
the vast advantages which I have mentioned, and,
indeed, many more.

In the present unsettled and uncertain state of
Upper California, in its internal and external political
relations, and more particularly in the state of anarchy
which has resulted from the changes that have
taken place since the preceding chapters of the
present work were written, it would be absurd to
recommend it as a field for emigration at this
moment. As, however, this state of things cannot
be expected to be permanent, and as it is to be
hoped that, whether the country reunites itself with
Mexico or achieves permanent independence, more
liberal and enlightened principles of government
and state polity will prevail, there appears much
probability that the views that have heretofore been



COLONIZATION 321

entertained respecting the colonization of the coun-
try by foreigners will be greatly modified, and that
encouragement will be given to the only proceeding
calculated to effect the permanent prosperity of the
country. Should such be the case, I know of no
place, as I have already stated, better calculated for
receiving and cherishing the superflous population of
Great Britain. Hitherto, nothing could have been
less encouraging to the settlement of strangers than
the proceedings of the successive governments of
republican Mexico. For although the different
parties who have ruled the country have, in many
public acts, held forth their great desire to encour-
age emigration to all parts of the country, all their
laws devised with this object have been dictated too
much in the old Spanish spirit to be really practically
useful. By the multiplication of regulations and
restrictions, they contrived to envelop their meaning
and provisions in such uncertainty that they could
scarcely be understood, while most of them embraced
some antiquated prohibitive principle which rendered
the whole nugatory. In all of the acts relating to
emigration, for instance, there have been such
absurd clauses as that the emigrant must profess the
Catholic religion ; that he shall have a certain capital,
a trade or profession ; that he shall appear before the
authority, shall have a regular passport, &c.

As yet, few strangers have established themselves

21 V



322 UPPER CALIFORNIA

in Upper California. Such as have done so, have
proceeded thither, as it were, casually, in vessels
trading to the coast, and are, consequently, chiefly
seafaring men ; but several mechanics and others
have also established themselves, and all have been
received with the utmost kindness by the natives, and
the greater part of them have intermarried with them.
The native inhabitants are indeed remarkable for their
peaceable, inoffensive character; and on their part
no opposition is to be apprehended. It might be
presumed that the chief opposition to the admission
of strangers was to be expected from the missionaries.
It would be supposed that, from their education,
and from the fear of losing the influence they
possess, none could view the entrance of strangers
with so much jealousy as they; but it is a curious
fact, that, from the first establishment of these
missions to the present day, as well in the time of
the Spanish government as under the republican
system, the reception of strangers has always been
much more cordial by the missionaries than by the
government officers ! The different navigators who
have touched on the coast of California since its first
settlement have unanimously borne testimony to
this fact ; and since the country has been opened
to strangers indiscriminately, the hospitality and
kindness of the missionaries have been the praise of
every one who has been there. Foreign mechanics



COLONIZATION 323

have been employed at almost all the missions, and
the most cordial reception experienced by all of
them. As, however, the greatest part of the lands
to the southward of Monterey, and along the coast,
are in the hands of the missions, it is not to be
expected that they could view with satisfaction
any large number of emigrants landing in their
territories, and which might require the cession of
land, or interfere to disturb their peculiar system.

But, indeed, whenever circumstances permit
foreign emigrants to establish themselves in Upper
California, they ought to settle to the northward and
eastward of the Bay of San Francisco, and on the
lands around that bay, and on the banks of the river
Sacramento, and other streams which fall into it.
These are the best lands, and in the best climate
for settlers from the north of Europe. They are
peculiarly favorable for the raising of wheat and
other grain, and for the rearing of cattle. The
immense tracts of fertile land not encumbered by
forests, the facility of water intercourse by the
country being intersected by the creeks on the Bay
of San Francisco, and the various branches of the
rivers which fall into it, render this situation highly
advantageous ; and its northerly situation, and the
general distribution of the rains throughout the year,
make it fitter for agricultural pursuits than the
more southerly districts. It has also the advantage

Y 2



324 UPPER CALIFORNIA

of being but little inhabited, and is unconnected
with the possessions of the missionaries.

It ought also to be a fundamental principle, in any
plan of emigration to this country, that a sufficient
number should go together, in order that they
might form, at first, a society by themselves. Their
lands should be selected as distinct from those of
the missions and the present free towns as possible,
so that no dispute as to territory, or on any other
account, could ensue. For this reason, the lands on
the Bay of San Francisco, as before recommended,
are the most proper. In the course of time, the
emigrants and the native settlers would become
acquainted, and approximate. Their union would
be the consequence, and this would tend to promote
their mutual happiness and prosperity. But all this
presupposes great reform to be made in the character
of the Mexican government and its agents; for it
must be admitted that, at present, British emi-
grants would not find themselves much at ease
under the control of the local authorities in any
district of the republic. Nothing can be more
different from the non-interference with private
enterprise and private conduct which characterizes
the British policy, than the meddling and vexatious
interference of the military and civil authorities,
which mixes in all the business of life in the present
Spanish-American countries, and which is thought



COLONIZATION 325

necessary to enforce the infinity of laws and regu-
lations enacted for the guidance of the citizens in
their most minute affairs. This is a never-failing
source of annoyance and disgust, and gives perpetual
opportunities for injustice and oppression. The
prisons in all parts of the republic are more full
than they ever were in the time of the Spaniards,
and the most slight pretext is quite sufficient to
justify an alcalde or a military officer in sending
any one to prison, and keeping him there during
his will and pleasure.



APPENDIX



I



Remarks on the Harbors of California, with
Directions for Navigating Them. By Captain
John Hall. (Extract of a Letter to the Editor.)

***** The following particulars are extracted from
my journal of a voyage made to the coasts of California
in the year 1822. I give them literally as set down in my
log-book at the time.

La Bodega. — On the 8th of June we entered the port
of this the most southern settlement of the Russians on the
west coast of California. It lies in lat. 38° 19' north, and
is only about 58 miles N. W. of San Francisco, the most
northern of the Spanish missions on that coast. On the
following day we were visited by the Russian governor, who
came from the town, which is situated about 30 miles north,
on the coast. He brought with him two fine fat sheep, a
large tub of butter, and some milk, which were very
acceptable after a long voyage, and gave us proof at once
of his hospitality, and of the abundance and cheapness of
provisions. The price of a bullock, at this time, was only
twelve dollars, and of a fine sheep, two dollars. Vegetables
were also plentiful in their proper season.

To sail into this port when the winds are from the N. W.

(and these are the prevailing winds throughout nearly the

327



328 HARBORS OF CALIFORNIA

whole year, with the exception of the winter months), a
vessel coming from the northward should pass between
the point and the rock, as a dangerous shoal lies immediately
off the south end of the rock. We anchored with the rock
bearing W. by S. , distant three quarters of a mile. The
bottom is good holding- ground all throughout, being a mixture
of clay and sand. In port, a vessel is sheltered from all
winds but the south and S. W. The watering-place is situated
in the small bay where the Russian storehouse stands, and
the water is good, and easy of access.

On the 14th of June, we sailed from La Bodega, proceed-
ing southward for the adjoining Mexican port of San Francisco,
which we entered on the 17th, having been detained on . account
of the thick, foggy weather and light winds, which caused
us to anchor frequently.

San Francisco. — In entering this port, which is one
of the best and most interesting, from its security and
magnitude, in the world, great attention must be paid to
the tides, which, during the full and change of the moon,
run very rapid, and, I should think, in mid - channel, at the
rate of six miles per hour. A vessel going in would do well
to keep in the middle of the stream, as on both sides there
are very strong eddies, in which you are apt to lose the
command of the helm, and consequently are obliged to
anchor. After getting within the heads, keep Fort Blanco
about a point on the starboard bow. Passing the fort, the
anchorage is situated in a small bay immediately abreast
of the Presidio, where a vessel will find good holding- ground
in five fathoms, about a cable' s - length from the beach.
Provisions are cheap. A bullock costs only six dollars, and
eggs are two dollars per hundred. The harbor also abounds



HARBORS OF CALIFORNIA 329

with fish, which can be procured with a net, in great
quantities.

Monterey. — On the 20th, we weighed for Monterey,
where we came to on the 24th, saluting the fort with five
guns, which were returned by the same number. As a
harbor, Monterey is extremely inferior to San Francisco.
However, it is quite protected from the south and S. W.
winds ; and by anchoring well under the point, a vessel
may also be protected from the N. W. , although the N. W.
winds send in a very heavy swell. Fish here, also, is
plentiful, as are, likewise, provisions generally, including good
bread.

On the 27th of the same month, we took our departure for
Santa Barbara, where we came to an anchor on the 29th.

Santa Barbara. — This bay is only sheltered from the
N. W. winds, being exposed to the south and S. W. The
anchorage is not very good, being hard sand, and over-
grown with seaweed. We had such a quantity of this on
our anchor when we hove it up, that it entirely impeded
the ship's progress until we got it clear. We found no
tide nor currents, but there appeared to be a rise and fall,
inshore, of about two feet. All kinds of provisions are cheap
here, as also fruits, viz., grapes, pears, apples, and plums,
in their season.

San Pedro. — We sailed from Santa Barbara on the
6th of July, and anchored, in the Bay of San Pedro on
the 8th, in the evening. We found the anchorage good, and
a safe landing-place about three quarters of a mile south
of the small rock or island marked in the chart. The
mission of San Gabriel is about ten leagues distant from the
landing-place, which latter is called San Pedro. This name



330 HARBORS OF CALIFORNIA

can be only applicable to the anchorage, as the shore, at the
time we visited it, had no houses erected upon it, nor were
there any cultivated grounds adjoining.

San Juan. — On the 13th we sailed for San Juan, where
we anchored on the following day ( it being distant only
about 30 miles), in five fathoms water. In coming into this
bay from the north, care must be taken to give the bluff
point a wide berth, as some dangerous rocks lie off it,
distant about a mile or more. Here, provisions, fruits,
vegetables, and fish are plentiful. Good wine can also be
procured from the friars, both white wine and red, the
latter being of a peculiarly fine flavor.

San Diego. — On the 18th we got under weigh again,
for the neighboring port of San Diego, where we arrived
on the following day, anchoring in ten fathoms, about a
mile wide of the point. We found the tide setting out at
the rate of one and a half miles per hour. A vessel should
always keep the north shore aboard, as we found the
deepest water there. Grapes here are in great abundance,
and good wine is produced from them.

The ports of La Bodega, San Francisco, Monterey, Santa
Barbara, San Pedro, and San Diego, are so accurately delineated
in the chart by Mr. Arrowsmith, now before me,* that any
further remarks would be superfluous ; and it is needless
to dilate upon the minor ports both of Upper and Lower
California, which, although the seats of missions, are yet
of little mercantile importance, always, however, excepting
the port of San Quintin, lat. 30° 23' N.

When we arrived on the coast, the country had, only a few

* The map attached to this volume. — Ed.



HARBORS OF CALIFORNIA 331

weeks before, declared itself independent of Spain. We
were consequently received, on our entrance to every new
port, in a hostile manner, or with great suspicion, until they
satisfied themselves that we were not a Spanish cruiser.

We were surprised to find a Russian establishment so far
south as La Bodega, but the inhabitants all along the coast
considered it as an intrusive settlement within the boundaries
of Mexico, and threatened to drive them (the Russians) out
whenever they should have sufficient force. By the latest
accounts, the Russians are still there, and increasing.

In conclusion, I would remark that California, viewed as
a maritime station, is unrivaled by any other section of the
western coast of America. The ports of San Francisco,
San Diego, and San Quintfn afford the most secure anchorage
for numerous fleets, with facilities for establishing wharves,
docks, and arsenals of all descriptions. The climate is one
of the best and most healthy I have ever visited, and the
country is one of the most fertile. Exclusive of Lower
California, this country contains upwards of 430,000 square
miles, and, allowing only fifty inhabitants to each, is capable
of supporting a population of twenty- one millions of people.
From its geographical position, it possesses very great advantages,
on account of the expeditious and easy intercourse which it
can maintain with Japan, China, the Philippine Islands,
India, Australia, and all the islands in the Pacific. In the
above computation of space and population, that small part of
territory occupied by the Russians is included, as, I believe,
neither by treaty nor by conquest can they allege any right
to its possession.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

John Hall.
Home Cottage, Blackheath, Dec. 15, 1838.



332 ON STEAM-NAVIGATION



II



Extract of a Letter to the Editor, on the Subject
of Steam-Navigation in the Pacific, from a Gentle-
man formerly Resident in One of the Mexican
Ports on the Pacific

London, Dec. 20, 1838.
I have taken some pains to make myself acquainted with
the grounds on which the " Pacific Steam Navigation Company "
is founded, with its proceedings as far as they have gone,
and its prospects as far as I can comprehend them. Of
this you may rest assured, that it has already received the
patronage of the leading merchants trading to the Pacific,
several of them having subscribed with the expressed
object of forwarding an undertaking fraught with so many
public benefits, while others have entered more largely
into it with the view of participating in the great
profit which it promises as an investment. The general
result given in the 34th page of Mr. Wheelwright's
pamphlet, showing 466,950 dollars as the amount of
annual receipts on four steamers, costing from 400,000
to 450,000 dollars, and, against the same, only 236,630
dollars of annual expenditure, whereby the company will



IN THE PACIFIC 333

realize an annual profit of 230,320 dollars, or (at 48^.
exchange) £46, 064, is so extraordinarily large that my
first impression was to look upon the project as one
hatched by parties connected with our Stock Exchange ;
but on turning to schedules A and C, I not only found
that the above results were verified by a committee of
British merchants residing in Lima, and presided over by
Her Majesty's consul-general for Peru, but that a note
was added, giving reason to hope for still larger profits,
under economical arrangements in the management of the
items of expenditure.

It appears that this plan, speculative though it seems,
dates its rise from the circular officially issued by Her
Majesty's consul - general for Peru, dated Lima, 18th
June, 1826, directed to British merchants and residents
generally, requesting their attention to dispatches from
Her Majesty's government, promising facilities to carry
it into effect, and requesting their active co-operation.
No undertaking, therefore, could originate under more
respectable auspices, and, from inquiries I have made, I
have no hesitation in stating that the gentlemen who have
taken it up in London are of the utmost respectability, and
influenced by the most honorable motives.

The author of California" has not expressed himself
in favor of the extension of this proposed line from Panama
to the northern Pacific, further than as the reader may
construe his remarks in pages 315 to 320. But I feel
confident, after viewing the success of steam in the Arabian
Gulf and Red Sea, in the Mediterranean, and backwards
and forwards to England, at all seasons of the year, and,
above all, in so many safe and expeditious voyages across



334 ON STEAM-NAVIGATION

the Atlantic, that the day is not far distant when either the
directors of the present Pacific Steam Navigation Company,
or some new company, will take up the northern line.
The numerous population along the western coasts of
Central America and Mexico, and the rich products of the
adjoining provinces in gold, silver, pearls, cochineal, and
indigo, ought to afford profitable employment for steamers
as far up as the Gulf of California, at least ; and were
emigration ever turning its tide to California in the way
suggested by the author, from page 320 to the end, whether
under the direction of Her Majesty's government, or of
a public company, the aid of steam could not fail to be
required.

Under the strongest presentiment that these ideas will
not lie many years inoperative, I have made calculations of
the distances from Panama to the principal northern ports,
which I here subjoin as not without . importance in the
present inquiry. These calculations do not pretend to be
exact to a mile or to an hour, but they are sufficiently so
for our purpose. Nine miles are allowed per hour.

The distances from Panama to San Diego, Monterey,
San Francisco, Bodega, and Columbia River, are given in two
ways. First, by the line of coast, via Mazatlan ; and second,
from Panama direct.



Table of Distances and Hours' Steaming from PANAMA to
the Following Ports ; viz.

From Panama to — miles hours

The Gulf of Nicoya 435 48

The Gulf of Papagayo 590 65.30

Realejo 680 75.30



IN THE PACIFIC 335

From Panama to — miles hours

Sonsonate 847 94

Yztapa 937 104

Socunusco 1,095 121.30

Tehuantepec 1,210 134.30

Acapulco 1,495 166

Navidad 1,810 201

San Bias 1,962 218

Mazatlan 2,091 232

Guaymas 2,448 272

Rio Gila, where it joins the Colorado 2,793 310

San Diego —

Via Mazatlan 3,016 335

Direct from Panama 2,760 306.30

Monterey —

Via Mazatlan 3,376 375

Direct 3,120 346.30

San Francisco —

Via Mazatlan 3,456 384

Direct 3,200 355.30

Russian settlement at Port Bodega —

Via Mazatlan 3,514 390.30

Direct 3,258 362

The British settlement at Columbia River —

Via Mazatlan 4,034 448

Direct 3,570 385.30

Bering's Straits, via Columbia River 5,970 663

Woahoo, [Oahu,] Sandwich Islands 4,620 513

St. Peter and Paul, [Petropavlovsk,] Kamchatka, via Woahoo 7,380 820
Jedo, [or Jeddo, or Yeddo, ( = Tokio),] in Japan, via

Woahoo [Oahu] 7,950 883

Canton, via Woahoo [Oahu] . 9,540 1,060