Southern Pacific) leaves at Lathrop.

As we again looked over the vast San Joaquin plain,
so level, and so different in character from the country in
which, for two weeks, we had lived, we could not but ex-
claim —

Level leagues forsaken lie —

A grassy waste extending to the sky.

A few weeks ago, the land was covered with ripened
wheat, from which now the heads had been cut, leaving
the straw standing on either side as far as the eye could
reach.

Wheat Farming in the San Joaquin Valley. — The
soil of the San Joaquin Valley looks like sand, and
is, in fact, a pulverized and decomposed granite,
ground into dust by the ice-floe which made the Yo-
Semite. The custom is to begin to plough as soon as
the autumn rains begin. Gang-ploughs having seven
blades are used, and immediately behind them follow the
seeders, also drawn by horses, which drop the seed,
cover, and roll, at the same time. Nothing more is done
to the field till the grain is ready for the harvest. They
plough and plant almost to the ripening of the first
sowing ; and this plan, year after year, is followed.
When the grain is ripe, they run a header through the
field. This is a great cutting-machine, which simply
clips off the heads of the grain. The horses push it along,



i7o THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC

instead of dragging it ; the grain is carried upon an apron
into the wagon, which follows alongside of the header ;
the heads are carried to convenient piles, where a steam-
engine is driving a threshing machine, which leaves the
grain perfectly clean and ready to be put at once into
bags and sent to market. Here no rains interfere with
the harvest. The straw is all burned off ; and, by the
time the ground is cleared, the rains begin (early in
October), and the ploughs are started.

Mr. John Mitchell, the largest farmer in California,
owns between 50,000 and 60,000 acres in this valley,
and, this year, had above 30,000 acres in wheat alone.
His ranch is divided into sections of different sizes ;
and upon each he has houses and barns, and a raticher,
to whom he furnishes seed, and takes one-half the crop.
Of these sections, or small ranchos, he has about 100.
and spends his time in riding in his buggy, drawn by
a team of fine bays, from house to house, and directing
the work on his vast domain. His income from his lands
this year will be not less than $250,000 or 50,000/.

The average yield of wheat in this valley will be but
little mere than ten bushels per acre ; although those
ranchos which were well ploughed and seeded will yield
twenty bushels per acre, and in a few instances more.
The price of wheat, at the time of which I speak, was two
cents per pound at the ranch.

Our excursion to the Yo-Semite region terminates in
our approach by way of Merced to Stockton. The



THE CITY OF STOCKTON 171

pleasant party of tourists who have casually come to-
gether prepare to separate for their various destinations,
and manifold regrets are expressed. Long shall I re-
member the trip, and my desire is now far greater than
before to go and spend a summer among the wonders of
the Yo-Semite.

ft would be a pleasing task to describe the beautiful
flowers which are seen in this journey. In going to such
an elevation, all the seasons are found. In the San
Joaquin Valley, it was autumn ; the plants had blossomed,
produced their seed, and were at rest. Up the moun-
tains a short distance, it was midsummer, and the earth
was covered with bright flowers. At an elevation of,
say, 5,000 feet, it was early spring ; the plants were just
pushing out of the ground ; and, at 7,000 feet, it was
winter, the snow still covering the earth. All these
gradations in plant-life are seen in a ride of, say, two
days. The flowers of the mountains of California are
very brilliant in colour, the yellow prevailing to a great
extent, seemingly, as Grace Greenwood prettily said, ' to
let us know that yellow gold is under them.'

Stockton. — We re-enter the San Joaquin Valley, and
shortly find ourselves at this ' city of windmills.' It is a
port of entry ; has a line of steamers to San Francisco,
which come up the San Joaquin River and into the
slough (always pronounced here s-l-u), upon which the
city is situated. Among steamboat men this place is
always called 'Slu-city.' Imagine a kind of channel



172 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC

making up from the main river, with a dozen sloughs
emptying their (usually stagnant) waters into it, with long
wooden bridges (often only for foot-passengers) over
them in all directions, with buildings erected upon' the
ridges of dry land between these sloughs, with a short
line of wharf along the main channel, a place which
seems to be all under water, with stagnant pools breeding
miasma, a few good buildings, but mostly poor old struc-
tures, and upon each a fantastic windmill, and you have
the city of Stockton. It contains about 10,000 people ;
is the outlet of the great San Joaquin Valley, but has
been greatly injured by the railroad, which goes by, instead
of through, the city, as it ought to have done. Once its
trade was large ; but now it has dwindled away, and the
city seems ' under a cloud,' as well as under water. It
is so badly situated, so injured by the railroads, and so
unhealthy in summer, that I cannot see any good reasons
to anticipate a large future growth. It is too near Sacra-
mento, the State capital, and has not in itself any elements
which will command prosperity. As a winter residence,
Stockton is peculiarly favourable to invalids who are in-
juriously affected by sea air, even although always mild.
The climate is singularly like that of Naples, with few
extremes, and is especially dry. Its accessibility, its
good hotels, and good society, commend it as a winter
home to those seeking a mild climate.

At the western extremity of the city begin the /«/ which stretch away to the West to the very horizon.
These are formed by the overflow of the great rivers



THE CITY OF STOCKTON 173

called San Joaquin and Sacramento, and consist of soft,
porous soil, thoroughly saturated with water. There are
bayous which make far into these lands, many of them
quite deep, but all of which have the title ' slu.' Covering
the country for miles, and growing in the porous soil, is
the rush called tide (tu-la), which attains a height of from
5 to 8 feet. In August, when the river has become low,
and has drained these vast areas, and the plants have
become somewhat dry, the steamboat-hands have a
custom of firing them along the banks of the river ; pro-
ducing fires rivalling those of the Western prairies.
Experiments are being tried for reclaiming these lands,
under the patronage of the State. An immense dike is
made around a number of acres, keeping out the water ;
and one season dries the soil sufficiently to allow of its
being ploughed, and in the next season it is fit for planting.
I was told that satisfactory crops of wheat had been
raised ; but the farms seem better adapted for raising
vegetables for the San Francisco market. The work is
done by Chinamen ; and I know of no other class of
labourers who could be found to go into such a country,
and survive the dangers of disease to which they are ex-
posed ; but they seem to be destined to be the power
which shall reclaim these vast acres, and fit them for
cultivation.

We lingered on the tule-lands one day until the sun
went down, and beheld the most gorgeous sunset we
ever looked upon. Talk of the Italian sunsets ! of
those in New England in the Indian summer-time ! —



174 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC

they cannot be compared with those which are seen upon
the banks of these rivers. The moisture which rises from
the lands offers its innumerable particles as so many re-
flectors, all increasing the brilliancy of the scene. As the
sun sank in this sea of mist, his parting beams were shot
far up towards the zenith, seemingly striving to catch
the rising beams which the morning brings from the
east.

During our stay we visited the Insane Asylum, where
were collected a larger number of patients than in any
similar institution in the world. On the day of our visit
there were more than 1,300 at the institution. By the
politeness of Dr. Titus, physician in charge, we were
enabled to make an extended examination of the asylum ;
and, in company with Dr. Langdon, we visited all the
various wards, and beheld insanity in all its forms of
development.

The great excitement under which the people live —
especially those who gamble in stocks — produces terrible
wrecks of the nervous system. That there is a climatic
tendency to over-excitement, and consequent waste of
nerve-power, is very evident. The physicians give the
causes which lead to insanity in the State, as — 1st, Dis-
sipation ; 2nd, Business losses ; 3rd, Homesickness ; and
all aggravated by the climate, and, of course, developing
more readily in persons with an hereditary tendency
towards the disease than in others. The institution is
greatly overcrowded, and it is a very serious question
how the insane poor are to be cared for in the State.



INSANE ASYLUM AT STOCKTON 175

When it is considered how great is the floating popula-
tion, it can be understood how great is the responsibility
resting upon California to take adequate care of this class
of unfortunates. Having visited all the wards in both the
male and female asylums, and all the departments of
administration, I must bear witness to the general order,
neatness, and attention to the comfort of the patients,
shown throughout ; and this, too, when the buildings are
so overcrowded, that cots are nightly placed in the halls,
transforming them into dormitories. As we went from
ward to ward entirely unannounced, and when not ex-
pected, if, on the part of the various attendants, there
had been any serious neglect in their duties, I should
have discovered it without doubt ; but I must say that I
saw little of which to complain, save what was too evi-
dent — that there were more patients than could be pro-
perly and conveniently cared for.

A steamer leaves Stockton daily for San Francisco ;
and I resolved to enjoy a sail down the San Joaquin on
our return to the ' Golden Gate.' For six miles we go
down the slough, which is narrow, and, at low water,
unnavigable ; and then, by a turn so sharp that the stern
of the steamer goes ' high and dry ' upon the mud bank,
we shoot out into a wider stream, the main river ; and by
the most crooked of all crooked streams — often so narrow
that you could step from the steamer upon the banks,
then so shallow that the keel would drag in the mud —
we make our way through the great 'grass ' fields ; for



176 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC

seemingly the vessels which we see all around us, the
river being crooked, and the sloughs so numerous, were
sailing through the grass. The steamers are propelled by
double horizontal engines, driving side-wheels ; for often
it would be an impossibility to turn, unless they could
work one wheel, while the other acted as pivot.

We made several stops at places where the work of
reclaiming these lands was being carried on. At sundown
we came out into Suisun Bay, into which flow the two
great rivers Sacramento and San Joaquin, which, for
several miles back, are separated only by a narrow strip of
land so low that you see plainly from one river the sloops
and steamers in the other. We make a landing here, and
take in coals from the lately discovered deposits of Monte
Diablo. From Suisun Bay our course lies down through
San Pablo Bay to San Francisco, and soon I am again
comfortably quartered at the Lick House.

Advice. — I commend to visitors to the Yo-Semite these
rules, based upon my experience, in travelling among the
mountains : — Dress warmly, but in clothes which you are
not afraid to have soiled. A woollen shirt is desirable ;
and wear English walking-shoes, rather than boots. Over
your shoulders, and tied quite tightly about your neck,
wear a white silk handkerchief; for, although the air
is cool, the rays of the sun at high altitudes often
produce very injurious effects. Avoid drinking much
snow-water, and allay thirst with a bit of biscuit until
a spring is found. Do not descend from a high alti-



THE OVERLAND TOUR 177

tude to a low one suddenly, as congestion of the lungs
is the effect. Always choose a mule instead of a horse,
as they are surer footed. Above all, never complain
because you do not have city comforts, but be contented
wherever you may be, assured that nothing is had with-
out some work and hardships. And by all means let me
urge you to map out well your journey before starting ;
understand where you are going, and what ought to be
seen ; arrange for your whole trip, with reference to cost
of conveyances, guides, horses, mules, tolls, and all
charges as far as can be, and thus you will be saved many
inconveniences and annoyances. Many were the disap-
pointments which I saw occasioned by not considering
the journey before it was undertaken.

The Overland Tour Reviewed. — Its Cost. — Either
through ignorance, or to influence people to undertake
the journey, estimates have been made which were so
far from the facts, that I cannot well understand how
they were computed. I did not follow those which I
had seen, and that, too, in respectable journals ; for I
found, when I inquired about the mere cost of car-fare
and living on the way, that the estimates were wrong.
I may as well state here the results of my experience.
The figures which I shall give will be liberal, for I did
not refuse myself any comfort, but will not include extras
or sundries. It must be borne in mind that after you
enter California your payments are made in gold ; and,
while I was in the State, the value of greenbacks fluctu-

N



178 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC

ated from 88| to 92^ ; but, as a rale in trade, they are
taken at ninety cents on a dollar. Actual experience is
the best teacher ; and my figures will be a safe guide to
one whose wants are simple, but who believes that a
first-class hotel is the cheapest place to stop at, and
wants the best of the market, although he never ' calls
a hack ' to ride a block, and never has an item upon
his hotel bill denominated 'extras' or 'sundries.' The
amounts are reduced to currency.

Expenses.

For car-tickets from Boston to San Francisco, and return, #286 00
For sleeping-berths (Pullman-cars) . . . . 32 00

For meals ......... 40 00

For Salt Lake City, and return to Ogden . . . 6 00

For three days' board, at #4 . . . . . . 12 00

For two weeks in San Francisco, #3 per day (in gold), and
for porters, hacks, and horse-car rides, $1 more (parlours
and fires extra) . . . . . . . . 65 00

For the Geysers, and return (4 days) .. . . . 35 00

For San Jose and Santa Clara»(3 days) . . . . 20 00

For the Yo-Semite. and return (2 weeks), including all

charges . . . . . . . . . 150 00

For travel upon the railroads of California per mile . 05

For hack-rides the charges are five times our own for
same service, and payable in gold. For the short excur-
sions to Oakland, Alameda, Mare Island, Vallejo, San
Raphael, &c. ........ 25 00

For trips in Southern California (Los Angeles) . . 150 00

For Lakes Donner and Tahoe . . . . . 50 00

For Virginia city (Nevada) . . . . . . 30 00

For Colorado, Denver, Golden, Idaho Springs, and the min-
ing-country at Black Hawk and Central, allowing two
weeks ......... 200 00

By allowing 4r. for one dollar and then adding ten per cent, for
xchange, the cost can readily be computed in English coin.



SUMMER WEATHER IN CALIFORNIA 179

From which data it is seen that a round trip, including
the chief points of interest in California, will cost about
$800 ; and $1,200 can be profitably spent by including
Nevada, Colorado, and Utah ; and these places ought
not to be omitted.

Weather. — We had been enjoying the usual cool
weather of summer at San Francisco, when on Wednesday
morning, June 19, the thermometer suddenly rose to 92
Fahrenheit, which, for this city, was extreme ; and,
dressed in winter-clothing, one suffered much : but all
advised no change of dress, for they said a sudden
change would soon come. By noon telegrams came
pouring in from all parts of the State of great heat, as at
Napa City 107 , and San Jose 104 . That day over, the
next was warmer, and 96 was reached — a higher figure
than a record of eleven years showed, and many said
higher than ever before. So you see, the great wave of
heat which swept over the East, overpowering so many
in our great cities, also swept over the West in unpre-
cedented fierceness. On Friday, about noon, the
change did come, and indeed suddenly ; for, seemingly
in an hour, an overcoat was needed, and by sundown
we required a fire in the hotel parlour.

This is their summer weather ; in the winter, it is
more equable, with no fogs.

The Season to visit California.— -The rains begin about
October 1, and, with an intermission of a few weeks in

n 2



I So THE ATLANTIC TO 7 HE PACIFIC

January and February, continue till March ; from which
time, to October again, they have no rain at all : hence
this is a state of either mud or dust, with short seasons
of extremely delightful weather. The plants and trees,
instead of resting in winter by means of frosts, rest
here in late summer by means of drought. Before I left
the State (late in June), many plants, and some of
the trees, had already completed their growth, and
having ripened their seed and wood, were at rest. On
most of the deciduous trees, the old leaves remain until
pushed off, as it were, by the new ones. So many
months of drought, as can be imagined, from the lack
of rain in England for even two weeks, make every-
thing extremely dry, and to see a green thing is
delightful ; so that, in the small gardens, constant irriga-
tion is resorted to, to keep a little grass green, and the
trees and the shrubs in leaf.

The roads, during the rainy season, are almost impas-
sable by reason of the mud, and, in the summer, by the
dust, which, I apprehend, is far more disagreeable than
mud, if my experience with it gives any data for a
judgment. It is of the utmost importance, then, that
the journey to California be made at the proper season.
And this is my advice : — Leave the Atlantic coast
about the first of April, as then the snow-storms of the
Rocky Mountains are over, and go direct to San
Francisco, which make, as a Frenchman would say, your
point d'appui. Spend at least two weeks in looking
about the city and immediate vicinity ; and, if you



THE SEASON TO VISIT CALIFORNIA 1S1

propose a trip to Los Angeles and Southern California,
go there first, and then return to the city. Make your
excursion through the Santa Clara Valley, and to the
Geysers. By this time the trails will be open to the
Yo -Semite ; and to this famed place it is best to go
early, that those wonderful waterfalls may be seen in
their majesty. From a month to six weeks (as you go to
Southern California, or not) will thus be fully employed.

Returning over the Central Pacific, from Truckee, visit
Lakes Donner and Tahoe ; and from Reno go to
Virginia City and the great silver mines of Nevada.
Either of these excursions will occupy three days fully.
From Ogden, go down to Salt Lake City, which will be
in her lovely Spring dress, and the Wahsatch range still
snow-clad, where two or three days ought to be spent,
and more if the mines are visited.

At Cheyenne, on the Union Pacific, leave the main
line for the journey through Colorado ; make a stay of a
few days at Denver, and then go to Golden ; from which
point start by private carriage for the great mines and
smelting-works and stamp-mills at Central, Georgetown,
Blackhawk, and Nevada City. A narrow-guage railroad
is now completed up Clear-creek Canon, to Central, so
that the whole distance can be made in the cars. The
canon abounds in beautiful scenery throughout its entire
length. But either in going to or returning from Central
City, the journey ought to be made over the carriage-road,
it being one of such unusual interest. If time permits, the
' Parks ' in the mountains can be visited, and many other



182 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC

interesting points. Two weeks, at least, should be spent
in Colorado.

At Omaha a stop should be made to look over the
city, and also to examine the great iron bridge over the
Missouri River at this point. There are several places
in Iowa and other Western States, where a little time can
be spent very profitably on your way back to the east ;
or, say, to Niagara Falls, where you arrive just as the
season begins, and where I have many times found the
' International ' one of the choice houses, where to take
a good rest.

To citizens of the United States a trip to California
is far more pleasing than one to Europe : they are
all the while in their own country, and with people
speaking their own language ; and the places visited
are of far more beauty and interest. The round trip
cannot be made any more cheaply than a trip to London
and Paris in the summer ; but if, of the many thousands
who every year go to Europe, more would go to Cali-
fornia, or even to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains,
they would be far better pleased and much more in-
structed. To enjoy Europe properly, a certain know-
ledge of languages is required ; but almost every one can
find enjoyment in our Great West. To some, her vast
resources will be most pleasing ; to others, her grand
scenery will be a full enjoyment. Travelling is made as
comfortable as can be, saving only a few inconveniences
on the longer roads ; and many of these will be remedied
during the year.



CALIFORNIAN HOSPITALITY 183

These words were written especially tor American
readers, but they contain good advice to my English
friends. In visiting the United States they are all the
time among English speaking people, and under the pro-
tection of a Government allied to their own by every tie
of sympathy and International policy. The passage of
the Atlantic is now made quite a pleasure-trip, and when
they journey in the States, from what I have said they
must be assured of comfort and as interesting scenery as
can be found on the European Continent, and on a
scale incomparably grander and more magnificent.

Californian Hospitality. — Sunday morning, June 23,
came in with a warm and genial atmosphere, entirely free
of fog. Such a day is rather uncommon in San Francisco
during the summer months ; and, to find a warm climate,
the people are accustomed to go to the valleys, as up
through Napa to Calistoga and White Sulphur Springs,
or down through the Santa Clara, to the various charming
villages and towns, or the palatial homes which are
scattered all through San Mateo County. At one of these
homes we are to spend the day, and enjoy the hospitality
of its genial host. Eight o'clock found us all on board
the train, which traverses the Santa Clara Valley, and
over a road which they are pushing on as fast as possible
to be one link in a Southern line which is to cross the
continent. The Central Pacific Company have named
this one of their many lines the Southern Pacific. We
are to go to a station named Menlo Park, where Mr.



1 84 THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC

Ralston is to meet us. On our trip down I had an
opportunity to chat with Mr. James Lick, one of the
richest and largest real-estate owners in California, who
built the famous Lick House. Mr. Lick early went to
Mexico, and during the years 1848-49 wended his way
north, and reached San Francisco. He at once began
to purchase lands, and year by year found himself grow-
ing rich beyond the dreams of the greatest enthusiast
of the newly-founded city. He is a widower, of exces-
sively plain habits and dress ; lives in his log-cabin on a
rancho near the city of San Jose ; carries a dilapidated
carpet-bag, and wears a dilapidated hat ; walks instead of
rides ; and, when he visits the city, finds his wants
supplied in the poorest room, and with the simplest fare,
in his great hotel. By trade he is a cabinet-maker ; has
a fine mill, where he works a little, but finds his chief
enjoyment in cultivating his garden, where he collects
trees from all parts of the world, plants them, and cares
for them tenderly. In speech he is not fluent, but talks
with intelligence ; in carriage he is awkward, and there
is nothing to indicate a man of talent. His wealth is
counted by millions ; yet he leaves the management of
his property mostly to others, and does not seem to be