"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 his 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 process re-commences and progresses as before, and these phenomena are of daily occurrence, with few exceptions, throughout the dry season.
"The 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 to 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, 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 fresh and invigorating. * * * * * * * * * * *
"These variations in the climate of California account for the different 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 many 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."[83]
We have thus obtained from reliable sources, a fair account of the soil, situation and climate of California, with the exception of that portion of the new State lying to the southward and eastward of the Sierra Nevada and the Coast Range, and between those mountains and the Colorado. This district is believed by experienced Californians to be mostly desert; at least, so much of it as lies upon the usual emigrant trail from the Colorado to San Diego, and that which is further north, in the neighborhood of Frémont's explorations, is known to be of such a character. Elsewhere, however, in the large valley between the two great ranges of the coast and the Sierra Nevada, and in the small lateral valleys that pierce their rugged sides in every direction, are the arable lands of California. In a previous part of this notice we have shown that the present boundaries of the State give to her 155,550 square miles of superficial area, or 99,552,000 square acres, exclusive of islands adjacent to the coast. If it be granted that one half of California is covered with mountains and that one fourth is a desert waste, we have still one fourth, or 24,888,000 square acres of arable land left for productive purposes. Messieurs Gwin, Frémont, Wright and Gilbert, in their Memorial already cited, do not hesitate to assert, that, after all due allowances, three-fifths of the whole territory, embraced in the State of California, will never be susceptible of cultivation or useful to man. This would leave, as the remaining two-fifths, 62,220 square miles, or 39,820,000 square acres, constituting the total valuable agricultural and grazing district, and distributed at intervals over the whole surface within the actual boundaries.[84]
Such are some of the substantial elements of self-reliance and independence possessed by the new State, exclusive of her precious metallic deposits. The genial soil is well adapted for the growth of those grains which are suitable for European or North American emigrants. Wheat, barley, rye and oats grow abundantly, as well as potatoes, turnips, onions, and all the roots known to our gardeners and farmers. Oats, of the species cultivated in the Atlantic States, are annually self-sown on all the plains and hills along the coast, and as far inland as the sea-breeze has a marked influence on the climate. This fact indicates that similar grains may be raised in the same region without resorting to irrigation. Apples, pears and peaches may be brought to great perfection under skilful culture. The grape, too, received much attention in former days at the missions and among the villagers, who produced an excellent fruit, the wine of which was abundant and delicious. The fine natural grasses and oats of California, aided greatly in satisfying and perpetuating the nomadic vaquero or herdsman, who was the type of the region before the cession to the United States; and it is calculated that the grazing grounds in the State are extensive enough to produce many thousand more cattle than will be required annually, for the vast increase of population.
Notwithstanding the union of California with her sister States, and her favorable position for commercial purposes, it is scarcely probable that she would so soon have assumed almost a national rank, had not a mechanic, named James W. Marshall, who was employed during the latter part of February, 1848, in building a saw mill for Captain John A. Sutter on the south branch of the American Fork or Rio de los Americanos, discovered certain pieces of gold glistening at the bottom of the sluice. In a few days fragments to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars were removed from the water; and as the news spread among the settlers all over the region, farms, workshops, professions and homes were deserted to explore the promised Dorado.