History of California | Page 2

of the Indians III. "The Secret of
the Strait" IV. The Cross of Santa Fe V. Pastoral Days VI. The
Footsteps of the Stranger VII. At the Touch of King Midas VIII. The
Great Stampede IX. The Birth of the Golden Baby X. The Signal Gun
and the Steel Trail XI. That Which Followed After XII. "The Groves
Were God's First Temples" XIII. To All that Sow the Time of Harvest
Should be Given XIV. The Golden Apples of the Hesperides XV.
California's Other Contributions to the World's Bill of Fare XVI. The
Hidden Treasures of Mother Earth XVII. From La Escuela of Spanish
California to the Schools of the Twentieth Century XVIII. Statistics
Bibliography Index

History of California
Chapter I.
The Land and the Name

Once upon a time, about four hundred years ago, there was published in
old Spain a novel which soon became unusually popular. The
successful story of those days was one which caught the fancy of the
men, was read by them, discussed at their gatherings, and often carried
with them when they went to the wars or in search of adventures. This
particular story would not interest readers of to-day save for this
passage: "Know that on the right hand of the Indies there is an island
called California, very near the Terrestrial Paradise, and it is peopled by
black women who live after the fashion of Amazons. This island is the
strongest in the world, with its steep rocks and great cliffs, and there is
no metal in the island but gold."
There is no doubt that some bold explorer, crossing over from Spain to
Mexico and enlisting under the leadership of the gallant Cortez, sailed
the unknown South Sea (the Pacific) and gave to the new land
discovered by one of Cortez's pilots the name of the golden island in
this favorite story.
This land, thought to be an island, is now known to us as the peninsula
of Lower California. The name first appeared in 1542 on the map of
Domingo Castillo, and was soon applied to all the land claimed by
Spain from Cape San Lucas up the coast as far north as 44¼, which
was probably a little higher than any Spanish explorer had ever sailed.
"Sir Francis Drake," says the old chronicle, "was the first Englishman
to sail on the back side of America," and from that time until now
California has been considered the back door of the country. This was
natural because the first settlements in the United States were along the
Atlantic seacoast. The people who came from England kept their faces
turned eastward, looking to the Mother Country for help, and watching
Europe, and later England herself, as a quarter from which danger
might come, as indeed it did in the war of the Revolution and that of
1812.
During the last few years, however, various events have happened to
change this attitude. Through its success in the late Spanish war the

United States gained confidence in its own powers, while the people of
the old world began to realize that the young republic of the western
hemisphere, since it did not hesitate to make war in the interests of
humanity, would not be apt to allow its own rights to be imposed upon.
The coming of the Philippine and Hawaiian Islands under the
protection of the United States, the Russo-Japanese war, which opened
the eyes of the world to the strength of Japan and the wisdom of
securing its trade, and the action of the United States in undertaking the
building of the Panama Canal, are indications that the Pacific will in
the future support a commerce the greatness of which we of to-day
cannot estimate. With danger from European interference no longer
pressing closely upon the nation, President Roosevelt in 1907 took a
decided step in recognizing the importance of the Pacific when he sent
to that coast so large a number of the most modern vessels of the navy.
In fact, the nation may now be said to have faced about, California
becoming the front door of our country.
It is well, then, to ask ourselves what we know about the state which is
to form part of the reception room of one of the leading nations of the
world.
It is a long strip of territory, bounded on one side by the ocean so well
named Pacific, which gives freshness and moisture to the ever-blowing
westerly winds.
On the other side is a mountain range, one thousand miles long, with
many of its peaks covered with perpetual snow, holding in its lofty
arms hundreds of ice-cold lakes, its sides timbered with the most
wonderful forests of the world.
Few regions of the same size have so great a range of altitude