The Project Gutenberg eBook, California, by J. Tyrwhitt Brooks

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Title: California

Author: J. Tyrwhitt Brooks

Release Date: July 23, 2004 [eBook #13001]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CALIFORNIA***

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CALIFORNIA

Four Months among the Gold-Finders, Being the Diary of an Expedition
from San Francisco to the Gold Districts

By

J. TYRWHITT BROOKS, M.D.

[Illustration: THE GOLD DISTRICTS OF ALTA CALIFORNIA.
Lith de Thierry Freres a Paris]

PREFACE.

The accompanying diary--some interesting circumstances connected
with which will be found in a letter given at the end of the present
volume--was sent home by the Author merely for the entertainment of
the members of his own family and a few private friends. It has been
submitted to the public in the hope that, as an authentic record of
a variety of interesting particulars connected with the original
discovery and present condition of the Gold Districts of California,
it will not fail to prove acceptable.

London, 1849.

CHAPTER I.

Clearing the Faranolles
Making the entrance to the Bay of San Francisco
The passage through the Strait
Appearance of the Bay
Town of San Francisco
The anchor is let go
The Author goes on shore
His bad luck
Sweeting's Hotel
The Author and Mr. Malcolm propose visiting the American settlements
They become acquainted with Captain Fulsom and Mr. Bradley
Object of the Author's visit to California
Mr. McPhail leaves for Sonoma
The Houses of San Francisco, and their inhabitants
Native California
Senoritas and cigarettos.

... I felt heartily glad to hear that we were then clearing the
Faranolles, and soon hurried up on deck, but we continued beating
about for several hours before we made the entrance to the Bay of San
Francisco. At length, however, we worked our way in between the two
high bluffs, and along a strait a couple of miles wide and nearly five
miles long, flanked on either side with bold broken hills--passing on
our right hand the ricketty-