The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1846-11-12
UPPER CALIFORNIA.

| UPPER CALIFORNIA.
The following extract from The ST.. Lou
is Kcvcillr, Of letter from Upper Califor-
MIA, written in May, lS45, is Of some in,
tcrcst, when VIC consider the fact ,ha, our
Icoun,rymcn are now cmigraling to the
.Jarthcst West:
Our harvest happens In about three
wrek". nnd hope To secure at least l2,-
1000 bushels Of wheat with barley, peas,
beans, &c, in proportion. The next year,
however, hope to obtain Il double uuanli-
| sy, and 50 on each succeeding year. 4
ianrga two bushcls) Of wheat is usually
worth here about two dollars, but at pres
cnt, before the harvest, it is sold for dol
lars Through our excellent water com
munica,ions, the sale Of our products has
facilities unsurpassed in The world. Fo,
example, have now large contracts for
wheat and other staples with the Russians
"t The northwest coast. Were | able To
freight the amount Of four hundred tons
more, they would receive il The Rus
sian cnI'nic If the north are increasing
every year. When visited Silka, six
years ago, their consumption was al
ready great, and is now four fold. Silka
Is the Governors residence, and The See
of the Bishop, with seminary. good
schools. theatre. etc, aud lies in 81
north latitude am negotiating for the
opening Of second good outlet for
export with The French government,
which needs wheat and other products
for its MalIuesas and Otaheile. islands.
"A French ship Of 600 TONS lie aEibf,'
visits the bay ycnrly 10 purchase cattle for
those islands. We have mucii inicrc our so
too. with The Sandwich is}an,!!s, which has
been greatly increased within u Few wears
Our v'Sls grow more frequent every year
from the South Sea nnviga,urs and whale
fishermen, of the latter Of which from q;
TO '0 already t"uch nj the harb1I Of. ST.
francisco Yearly. Ships, OF wnr occnsi6f
ally make their appearan'ce,! TO q. nd tliei,
captains have often assured me chat this
larbor Is the finest in The whole Pacific
Ocean.
Next to agriculture, the raising Of cattle
us our most important pursuit, rendered
easier by the fact that we have hardly any
winter, and no snow. So soon ms il begins
10 ram III autumn, everything is green
again, anu stock is fat the whole winter
through. My collection of stock consists
"t about 1000 head OF oxen, 200 mares,
Soo tame horses, mules, &c, 1900 sheen,
aud many hogs. They all pasture them.
selves. without difficulty, in the rich prni
ric> and bottoms ofthc Sacramento valley,
AM requires no trouble but little watch.
ing, generally attended 10 by the native
indians. II is particularly n great nssi-
tanrc To us-onr, indeed, which we could
hardly dispense with that we can hire the
Indians as lab"rcrs very Chcaplv. They
make slavery wholly unnecessary here,
ana may bc employed for all field and
house work. In harvest, have frcoucn,l,
cmpoyct 400 Indians.
NO country in the world is better adnpt.
ca Tor the vine raising. An excellent wine
Is made IN some parts, and considerable
quantity Of brandy. Any one who plants
il good vineyard here and understands III,
management, can in n few years, varying
WIN me yields, gain great profits. W.
have several instances of French and Amc
r'rans, whose fine Young plantations,
"cIi visited The vineyards ar,
'I'' '"d orange trees, The last
o'"','e ~ '""r'" RS and ipc and greer
Irui!! proc! i'fc f,nrss for the cul
'"rr of the grape, Of ,i,a ,.li,,s of ,h
sacramento, The ST. J"au,i.n anI r,hc
streams, is the abundance Of The villa mo
upon their banks. These bear very ROD
] grapes. "t which we often make wine, VI.
n"gnr and brandy.
! The rivers are iull Of fish, especially III,
salmon, which surpass those Of Colnmbis
river. The heaviest weighing from 10 /,
80 lbs.
! Game is found in profu>ion- for cx.
ample, thousands Of the elk, which gathc,
III herds, and in summer arc very lat. T.
umally numerous are the vast herds of vii,
horses, deer. an,clopcs, &c. or bears
there arc aaicni number And in The rain,
season especially, one can Kill immcns.
docks; NIGH, say millions, of ducks, eccsc
cranes. rciirnnS, Beaver, too, an.
I land "licrs may sill hc found in som.
! abundance, chiefly IN ,hc mou..,ains