History of the State of California

"I come now to consider the climate. The climate of California is so remarkable in its periodical changes, and for the long continuance of the wet and dry seasons, dividing, as they do, the year into about two equal parts, which have a most peculiar influence on the labor applied to agriculture and the products of the soil, and, in fact, connect themselves so inseparably with all the interests of the country, that I deem it proper briefly to mention the causes which produce these changes, and which, it will be seen, as this report proceeds, must exercise a controlling influence on the commercial prosperity and resources of the country.

"It is a well-established theory, that the currents of air under which the earth passes in its diurnal revolutions, follow the line of the sun's greatest attraction. These currents of air are drawn towards this line from great distances on each side of it; and, as the earth revolves from west to east, they blow from north-east and south-east, meeting, and, of course, causing a calm, on the line.

"Thus, when the sun is directly, in common parlance, over the equator, in the month of March, these currents of air blow from some distance north of the Tropic of Cancer, and south of the Tropic of Capricorn, in an oblique direction towards this line of the sun's greatest attraction, and forming what are known as the north-east and south-east trade winds.

"As the earth, in its path round the sun, gradually brings the line of attraction north, in summer, these currents of air are carried with it; so that about the middle of May the current from the north-east has extended as far as the 38th or 39th degree of north latitude, and by the twentieth of June, the period of the sun's greatest northern inclination, to the northern portions of California and the southern section of Oregon.

"These north-east winds, in their progress across the continent, towards the Pacific Ocean, pass over the snow-capped ridges of the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, and are, of course, deprived of all the moisture which can be extracted from them by the low temperature of those regions of eternal snow, and consequently no moisture can be precipitated from them, in the form of dew or rain, in a higher temperature than that to which they have been subjected. They, therefore, pass over the hills and plains of California, where the temperature is very high in summer, in a very dry state; and, so far from being charged with moisture, they absorb, like a sponge, all that the atmosphere and surface of the earth can yield, until both become, apparently, perfectly dry.

"This process commences, as I have said, when the line of the sun's greatest attraction comes north in summer, bringing with it these vast atmospheric movements, and, on their approach, produce the dry season in California; which, governed by these laws, continues until some time after the sun repasses the Equator in September, when, about the middle of November, the climate being relieved from these north-east currents of air, the south-west winds set in from the ocean charged with moisture – the rains commence and continue to fall, not constantly, as some persons have represented, but with sufficient frequency to designate the period of their continuance, from about the middle of November until the middle of May, in the latitude of San Francisco, as the wet season.

"It follows, as a matter of course, that the dry season commences first, and continues longest in the southern portions of the territory, and that the climate of the northern part is influenced in a much less degree, by the causes which I have mentioned, than any other section of the country. Consequently, we find that, as low down as latitude 39°, rains are sufficiently frequent in summer to render irrigation quite unnecessary to the perfect maturity of any crop which is suited to the soil and climate.

"There is an extensive ocean current of cold water, which comes from the northern regions of the Pacific, or, perhaps, from the Arctic, and flows along the coast of California. It comes charged with, and emits in its progress, cold air, which appears in the form of fog when it comes in contact with a higher temperature on the American coast, as the gulf-stream of the Atlantic exhales vapor when it meets, in any part of its progress, a lower temperature. This current has not been surveyed, and, therefore, its source, temperature, velocity, width, and course, have not been accurately ascertained.

"It is believed, by Lieutenant Maury, on what he considers sufficient evidence – and no higher authority can be cited – that this current comes from the coasts of China and Japan, flows northwardly to the peninsula of Kamtschatka, and, making a circuit to the eastward, strikes the American coast in about latitude 41° or 42°. It passes thence southwardly, and finally loses itself in the tropics.

"Below latitude thirty-nine, and west of the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, the forests of California are limited to some scattering groves of oak in the valleys and along the borders of the streams, and of red wood on the ridges and in the gorges of the hills – sometimes extending into the plains. Some of the hills are covered with dwarf shrubs, which may be used as fuel. With these exceptions, the whole territory presents a surface without trees or shrubbery. It is covered, however, with various species of grass, and, for many miles from the coast, with wild oats, which, in the valleys, grow most luxuriantly. These grasses and oats mature and ripen early in the dry season, and soon cease to protect the soil from the scorching rays of the sun. As the summer advances, the moisture in the atmosphere and the earth to a considerable depth, soon becomes exhausted; and the radiation of heat, from the extensive naked plains and hill-sides, is very great.

"The cold, dry currents of air from the north-east, after passing the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, descend to the Pacific, and absorb the moisture of the atmosphere, to a great distance from the land. The cold air from the mountains, and that which accompanies the great ocean current from the north-west, thus become united; and vast banks of fog are generated, which, when driven by the wind has a penetrating, or cutting, effect on the human skin, much more uncomfortable than would be felt in the humid atmosphere of the Atlantic, at a much lower temperature.

"As the sun rises from day to day, week after week, and month after month, in unclouded brightness during the dry season, and pours down its unbroken rays on the dry, unprotected surface of the country, the heat becomes so much greater inland than it is on the ocean, that an under-current of cold air, bringing the fog with it, rushes over the coast range of hills, and through their numerous passes, towards the interior.

"Every day, as the heat, inland, attains a sufficient temperature, the cold, dry wind from the ocean commences to blow. This is usually from eleven to one o'clock: and, as the day advances, the wind increases and continues to blow till late at night. When the vacuum is filled, or the equilibrium of the atmosphere restored, the wind ceases; a perfect calm prevails until about the same hour the following day, when the same process commences and progresses as before; and these phenomena are of daily occurrence, with few exceptions, throughout the dry season.

"These cold winds and fogs render the climate at San Francisco, and all along the coast of California, except the extreme southern portion of it, probably more uncomfortable, to those not accustomed to it, in summer than in winter.

"A few miles inland, where the heat of the sun modifies and softens the wind from the ocean, the climate is moderate and delightful. The heat, in the middle of the day, is not so great as to retard labor or render exercise in the open air uncomfortable. The nights are cool and pleasant. This description of climate prevails in all the valleys along the coast range, and extends throughout the country, north and south, as far eastward as the valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin. In this vast plain, the sea-breeze loses its influence, and the degree of heat in the middle of the day, during the summer months, is much greater than is known on the Atlantic coast in the same latitudes. It is dry, however, and probably not more oppressive. On the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, and especially in the deep ravines of the streams, the thermometer frequently ranges from 110° to 115° in the shade, during three or four hours of the day, say from eleven until three o'clock. In the evening, as the sun declines, the radiation of heat ceases. The cool, dry atmosphere from the mountains spreads over the whole country, and renders the nights cool and invigorating.

"I have been kindly furnished, by Surgeon-General Lawson, U.S. Army, with thermometrical observations, taken at the following places in California, viz: At San Francisco, by Assistant-Surgeon W. C. Parker, for six months, embracing the last quarter of 1847 and the first quarter of 1848. The monthly mean temperature was as follows: October, 57°; November, 49°; December, 50°; January, 49°; February, 50°; March, 51°.

"At Monterey, in latitude 36° 38' north and longitude 121° west, on the coast, about one degree and a half south of San Francisco, by Assistant-Surgeon W. S. King, for seven months, from May to November inclusive. The monthly mean temperature was: May, 56°; June, 59°; July, 62°; August, 59°; September, 58°; October, 60°; November, 56°.

"At Los Angeles, latitude 34° 7', longitude west 118° 7', by Assistant-Surgeon John S. Griffin, for ten months, from June, 1847, to March, 1848, inclusive. The monthly mean temperature was: June, 73°; July, 74°; August, 75°; September, 75°; October, 69°; November, 59°; December, 60°; January, 58°; February, 55°; March, 58°. This place is about forty miles from the coast.

"At San Diego, latitude 32° 45', longitude west 117° 11', by Assistant-Surgeon J. D. Summers, for the following three months of 1849, viz: July, monthly mean temperature, 73°; August 75°; September, 70°.

"At Suttersville, on the Sacramento River, latitude 38° 32' north, longitude west 121° 34', by Assistant-Surgeon R. Murray, for the following months of 1849: July, monthly mean temperature, 73°; August, 70°; September, 65°; October, 65°.

"These observations show a remarkably high temperature at San Francisco during the six months from October to March inclusive; a variation of only eight degrees in the monthly mean, and a mean temperature for the six months of 51 degrees.

"At Monterey, we find the mean monthly temperature of the seven months to have been 58°. If we take the three summer months, the mean heat was 60°. The mean of the three winter months was a little over 49°; showing a mean difference, on that part of the coast, of only 11° between summer and winter.

"The mean temperature of San Francisco, for the three winter months, was precisely the same as at Monterey – a little over 49°.

"As these cities are only one degree and a half distant from each other, and both situated near the ocean, the temperature at both, in summer, may very reasonably be supposed to be as nearly similar as the thermometer shows it to be in winter.

"The mean temperature of July, August, and September, at San Diego, only 3° 53' south of Monterey, was 72°. The mean temperature of the same months at Monterey was a little over 59°; showing a mean difference of 13°.

"This would seem to indicate that the cold ocean current is thrown off from the southern part of the coast by Point Conception, and the islands south of it; and consequently its influence on the climate of San Diego is much less than at Monterey and San Francisco.

"At Los Angeles, 40 miles distant from the coast, the mean temperature of the three months was 74°; of the three autumn months, 67°; of the three winter months, 57°.

"At Suttersville, about one hundred and thirty miles from the ocean, and four degrees north of Los Angeles, the mean temperature of August, September, and October, was 67°. The mean temperature of the same months at Monterey was 59°; showing a difference of 8° between the sea-coast and the interior, on nearly the same parallel of latitude. A much greater difference would undoubtedly appear, if we had observations for the spring and summer months of Suttersville and the gold mines.

"These variations in the climate of California account for the various and conflicting opinions and statements respecting it.

"A stranger arriving at San Francisco in summer is annoyed by the cold winds and fogs, and pronounces the climate intolerable. A few months will modify, if not banish his dislike, and he will not fail to appreciate the beneficial effects of a cool, bracing atmosphere. Those who approach California overland, through the passes of the mountains, find the heat of summer, in the middle of the day, greater than they have been accustomed to, and, therefore, may complain of it.

"Those who take up their residence in the valleys which are situated between the great plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin and the coast range of hills, find the climate, especially in the dry season, as healthful and pleasant as it is possible for any climate to be which possesses sufficient heat to mature the cereal grains and edible roots of the temperate zone.

"The division of the year into two distinct seasons – dry and wet – impresses those who have been accustomed to the variable climate of the Atlantic States unfavorably. The dry appearance of the country in summer, and the difficulty of moving about in winter, seem to impose serious difficulties in the way of agricultural prosperity, while the many and decided advantages resulting from the mildness of winter, and the bright, clear weather of summer, are not appreciated. These will appear when I come to speak of the productions of California. We ought not to be surprised at the dislike which the immigrants frequently express to the climate. It is so unlike that from which they come, that they cannot readily appreciate its advantages, or become reconciled to its extremes of dry and wet.

"If a native of California were to go to New England in winter, and see the ground frozen and covered with snow, the streams with ice, and find himself in a temperature many degrees colder than he had ever felt before, he would probably be as much surprised that people could or would live in so inhospitable a region, as any immigrant ever has been at what he has seen or felt in California.

"So much are our opinions influenced by early impressions, the vicissitudes of the seasons with which we are familiar, love of country, home, and kindred, that we ought never to hazard a hasty opinion when we come in contact with circumstances entirely different from those to which we have all our lives been accustomed."

These remarks explain the reason of the diversity of opinion expressed by persons who have visited California, in a very satisfactory manner. The Italian climate of Los Angeles has received the praises of nearly all who have visited that city or its neighborhood. The thermometrical observations detailed in the above account seem to prove that much of the unfavorable opinions expressed concerning the climate is the result of hasty judgment, and a dislike of that which is different from that to which we have been used.

The soil of California has also been the subject of various and conflicting statements. Many of those who have spent some months in the country, and returned to publish their hastily gathered observations, either set down the soil as totally unfit for agricultural purposes, or, having been located in some garden spot the great portion of their time of residence there, pronounce it unsurpassed for richness and fertility. As Mr. King visited California with the sole object of making accurate observations upon the territory and its resources, the statements of the character of the soil which are given in his report will carry greater weight than any other. He says —

"The valleys which are situated parallel to the coast range, and those which extend eastwardly in all directions among the hills, towards the great plain of the Sacramento, are of unsurpassed fertility.

"They have a deep black alluvial soil, which has the appearance of having been deposited when they were covered with water. This idea is strengthened by the fact that the rising grounds on the borders of these valleys, and many hills of moderate elevation, have a soil precisely like that of the adjoining plains.

"This soil is so porous that it remains perfectly unbroken by gullies, notwithstanding the great quantity of water which falls in it annually during the wet season. The land in the northern part of the territory, on the Trinity and other rivers, and on the borders of Clear Lake, as far as it has been examined, is said to be remarkably fertile.

"The great valley of the Sacramento and San Joaquin has evidently been, at some remote period, the bed of a lake; and those rivers, which drain it, present the appearance of having cut their channels through the alluvial deposit after it had been formed. In fact, it is not possible that they could have been instrumental in forming the plain through which they pass. Their head-waters come from the extreme ends of the valley, north and south; and, were it not for the supply of water received from the streams which flow into them from the Sierra Nevada, their beds would be almost, if not quite, dry in the summer months. The soil is very rich, and, with a proper system of drainage and embankment, would, undoubtedly, be capable of producing any crop, except sugar-cane, now cultivated in the Atlantic States of the Union.

"There are many beautiful valleys and rich hill-sides among the foot-hills of the Sierra Nevada, which, when the profits of labor in mining shall be reduced so as to cause its application to agriculture, will probably support a large population. There is said to be a rich belt of well-timbered and watered country extending the whole length of the gold region between it and the Sierra Nevada, some twenty miles in width. There is no information sufficiently accurate respecting the eastern slope of the great snowy range to enable us to form any opinion of its general character or soil. Some of its valleys have been visited by miners, who represent them as equal to any portion of the country to the westward of it.

"The great valley of the Colorado, situated between the Sierra Madre and the Sierra Nevada, is but little known. It is inhabited by numerous tribes of savages, who manifest the most decided hostility towards the whites, and have hitherto prevented any explorations of their country, and do not permit emigrants to pass through it. Therefore, parties from Santa Fé, on their way to California, are compelled to make a circuit of near a thousand miles northward to the Salt Lake, or about the same distance southward by the route of the Gila. Although this valley is little known, there are indications that it is fertile and valuable.

"The name of the river 'Colorado' is descriptive of its waters; they are as deeply colored as those of the Missouri or Red River, while those of the Gila, which we know flows through barren lands, are clear.

"It would seem impossible for a large river to collect sediment enough in a sandy, barren soil, to color its waters so deeply as to give it a name among those who first discovered and have since visited its shores. The probability, therefore, is, that this river flows through an alluvial valley of great fertility, which has never been explored. This conjecture is strengthened by the fact that the Indians who inhabit it are hostile, and oppose, as far as they can, all persons who attempt to enter or explore it. This has been their uniform course of conduct respecting all portions of the continent which have been fertile, abounding in game and the spontaneous productions of the earth.

"As this valley is situated in the direct route from Santa Fé to California, its thorough exploration becomes a matter of very great importance, especially as it is highly probable that the elevated regions to the north of it, covered with snow during most of the year, will force the line of the great national railway to the Pacific through some portion of it.

"The soil I have described, situated west of the Sierra Nevada, and embracing the plain of the Sacramento and San Joaquin, covers an area, as nearly as I can estimate, of between fifty and sixty thousand square miles, and would, under a proper system of cultivation, be capable of supporting a population equal to that of Ohio or New York at the present time."

If this account be accurate, the soil of California will yield a rich reward to the agriculturist, and become a strong attraction to permanent settlers, who are willing to trust to the more certain returns for labor spent in tilling it. It is agriculture, undoubtedly, which must give stability to the increase of the country, and, whatever may be the value of the gold mines, furnish California with her substantial wealth. Few cities or towns ever had a permanent prosperity which had not a neighboring country fit for agricultural purposes.

The quantity and quality of the present productions of California, other than her mineral wealth, is an important subject for inquiry. Previous to the discovery of the gold, the exportable products consisted almost exclusively of hides and tallow; the inhabitants paying more attention to the raising of horses and cattle than to the cultivation of the soil. The reason is found in the general characteristic of the Californians – indolence. Horses were raised to gratify their passion for riding; and cattle, because they afforded a subsistence at a very small cost of labor. As to what are, and what, by the character of the soil and climate, might be, the products of California, and how the wants of the people are to be supplied, we quote Mr. King's remarks:

"Beef cattle, delivered on the navigable waters of the Bay of San Francisco, are now worth from $20 to $30 per head; horses, formerly worth from $5 to $10, are now valued at $60 to $150. The destruction of cattle for their hides and tallow has now entirely ceased, in consequence of the demand for beef. This demand, will, of course, increase with the population; and it would seem that, in a very few years, there will be none to supply the market.

"If we estimate the number of cattle now in California at 500,000 head, which is believed to be about the number, and the population at 120,000 for the year 1850 – a low estimate – and suppose it to increase one hundred thousand per annum, there will be in the Territory or State, in 1854, five hundred and twenty thousand people.