The republic. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1849-1853, 1850-03-29
plain of the Sacramento, are of unsurpassed fertl

ity.
They have deep black, alluvial soil, which has
were covered with water. This idea is strength
ened by the fact that the rising grounds the bor
ders fthese valleys, and many hills Of moderate
elevation have soil precisely like that Of the ad-
joining plains.
This soil is SO porous, that it remains perfectly
unbroken by gullies, notwithstanding the great
quantity of water which falls in it annually dur
ing the wet season. The land in the northern part
the borders of Clear Lake, far it has been ex
amined, is said TO be remarkably fertile.
The great valley Of the Sacramento and San Jo-
aquin has evidently been, at some remote period,
the bed Of lake; and those rivers, which drain it,
present the appearance Of having their channels
through the alluva deposit after Il 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 proper system
of drainage and embankment, would, undoubted-
ly, 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 80 as to cause its application to agricul-
ture, will probably support large population.
There is said to be rich belt of well tmbered and
watercd country extending the whole length of the
twenty miles in width. There is no information
sufficiently accurate respecting the eastern slope of
the great snowy range to enable US 70 form any
opinion OF its general character or soil Some OF
its valleys have been visited by miners, who repre-
sent 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 lit
fla knau IN tnha hu nrpe frlha Of
savages, who manifest the most decided hostility
towards the whites, and have hitherto prevented
any explorations of their country, and do not per-
NIT emigrants to pass throughit. Therefore, par
ties from Santa Fe, on their way to California, are
compelled to make a circuit Of near a thousand
miles norhward to the Salt Lake, about the same
distance southward by the route Of the Gila. Al
though this valley is little known, there indca
tions that it is fertile and valuable.
The name of the river " Colorado is descriptive
of its waters; they deeply coored those of
the Missouri Red river, while those of the Gila,
which we know flows through barren lands, are
clear.
II would seem impossible for large river to col
lect 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 val
ley of great fertility, which has never been ex-
plored. This conjecture is strengthened by the
fact that the Indians who inhabit it hostile and
oppose 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 con-
lnent 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 Fe to California, its thorough exploration
becomes a matter of very great importance, espe-
ciay as t is highly probable that the elevated re-
gions to the north Of it, covered with snow during
most of the year will force the line of the great
tional railway to the Pacific through some portion
of IL.
m Al.
J Sierra Nevada, and embracing the plain Of the
/ Sacramento and San Joaquin, covers area, as
nearly can estimate, OF between fifty and sixty
7 thousand square miles, and would, under a proper
/ population equal to that Of Ohio or New York AT
the present time.
PRODUCTS OF CALIFORNIA.
Previous to the treaty of peace with Mexico, and
the discovery Of gold, the exportable products oi
the country consisted almost exclusively of hides
and tallow. The Californians were a pastoral peo-
pie, and paid much more attention 10 the raising Of
horses and cattle than the cultivation Of the soil
Wheat, barley, maize, beans, and edible roots,
were cultivated in sufficient quantity for home
consumption, but, as far as am informed, not for
expectation. At that time a ful-grown OK, steer,
or COW, was worth about two dollars. Beef cattle,
delivered the navigable waters Of the bay Of San
Francisco, are now worth from $50 TO $50 per
head; horses, formerly worth from 8 to $40, are
now valued at $50 70 $50. The destruction OF
cattle for their hides and talow has now entirely
ceased, in consequence Of the demand for beef.
This demand will of course increase with the popu-
lation; and il would that, in very few years,
there will be none TO supply the market.
five estimate the number OF cattle, now in Cali
fornia, at SOC, 900 head, which IL believed 10 be
about the number-and the population at 10000,
4 for the year 1864 low cstimate-and suppose IL
TO increase one hundred thousand per annum,
there will be in the Territory State, in 1854, hvc
hundred and twenty thousand people.
II we adopt the estimate Of those well acquainted
j - - L-NE 4
each inhsbtant, Il appears there win be con-
sumption, In 1850, Of $1,000 head; in 1881, oi
900; in 1852. ofl60 000 in 1858, OF 2lo 00O in
1854, of2eO 900. Making aggregate Of 100000,
which would absorb all the present stock, with IL
natural increase.
This is a very important matter, as connected
with the amount Of supply which that country will
ultimately require from the Atlantic States Of the
Union. There is no other country on earth which
has, will ever possess the means Of supplying 20
great a demand.
Il is now we'll esta blished fact among the emi-
grants 10 California, that oxen possess greater pow
Of endurance than mules or horses; that they
will perform the distance with loaded wagons in
less time and come in at the end Of the journey In
better condition.
( Cows are now driven in considerable number.
from Missouri, and the time cannot be far distant
when cattle from the western States will be driven
annually by tens Of thousands TO supply this new
market.
fCalifornia increases in population as fast as the
I
will not be FIVE years before she will require more
than one hundred thousand head Of beef cattle per
annum, from some quarter, 10 supply the wants Of
her people.
II must not be supposed that salt provisions may
supply this vast demand. Tbose who have at
tempted 10 live on such food, during the dry sea-
son, have been attacked with scurvy and other
cutaneous diseases, Of which many have died.
There is no climate in the world where fresh
meat and vegetables more essential 20 human
health In fact they are indispensable.
II must not be inferred that cattle driven across
the plains and mountains, from the western States,
win be fl for beef their arrival in California.
But one winter and spring on the lusuriant pas
tures Of that country viii put them in condition
which would render them acceptable in any At
lantic market.
These grazing grounds extensive enough 10
support hve tmes az many cattle as may be annu-
ally required; therefore, there will be scarcity OF
food for them.
am acquainted with drover who left California
In December last with the intention Of bringing in
ten thousand sheep from New Mexico. This shows
that the hocks and herds, east Of the Rocky noun.
tains, looked 10 already the source from
which the markets on the Pacific are TO be sup
piled.
The climate and soil Of California are well suited
TO the growth Of wheat, barley, rye and oats. The