History of California

Helen Elliott Bandini

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• Publié par: choom
• Publié le: 01 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 47
• Langue: English

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Project Gutenberg's History of California, by Helen
Elliott Bandini
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**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla
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Title: History of California
Author: Helen Elliott Bandini
Release Date: March, 2005 [EBook #7778] [Yes,
we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
[This file was first posted on May 16, 2003]
Edition: 10
Language: English
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG
EBOOK HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA ***
Produced by David A. SchwanHistory of California
By
Helen Elliot Bandini
Illustrated By
Roy J. Warren
B. Cal.
W. P. 16
Preface
This book is an attempt to present the history of
California in so simple and interesting a way that
children may read it with pleasure. It does not
confine itself to the history of one section or period,
but tells the story of all the principal events from
the Indian occupancy through the Spanish and
Mission days, the excitement of the gold discovery,
the birth of the state, down to the latest events of
yesterday and to-day. Several chapters, also, are
devoted to the development of California's great
industries. The work is designed not only for
children, but also for older people interested in the
story of California, including the tourists who visit
the state by the thousand every year.
For her information the writer has depended almost
entirely upon source material, seldom making use
of a secondary work. Her connection with the old
Spanish families has opened to her unusual
advantages for the study of old manuscripts and
for the gathering of recollections of historical
events which she has taken from the lips of aged
Spanish residents, always verifying a statement
before using it. She has, also, from long familiarity
with the Spanish-speaking people, been able to
interpret truly the life of the Spanish and Mission
period.
The illustrator of the history, Mr. Roy J. Warren,
has made a careful study of the manuscript,
chapter by chapter. He has also been a faithful
student of California and her conditions; his
illustrations are, therefore, in perfect touch with the
text and are as true to facts as the history itself.The thanks of the author are due not only to a host
of writers from whom she has gained valuable
assistance, and some of whose names are among
those in the references at the end of the book, but
to others to whom further acknowledgment is due.
First of these is Professor H. Morse Stephens,
whose suggestions from the inception of the work
until its completion have been of incalculable
advantage, and whose generous offer to read the
proof sheets crowns long months of friendly
interest. Secondly, the author is indebted to the
faithful and constant supervision of her sister, Miss
Agnes Elliott of the Los Angeles State Normal
School, without whose wide experience as a
teacher of history and economics the work could
never have reached its present plane. The author
also offers her thanks to Mr. Charles F. Lummis, to
whom not only she but all students of California
history must ever be indebted; to Mrs. Mary M.
Coman, Miss Isabel Frazee, to the officers of the
various state departments, especially Mr. Lewis E.
Aubrey, State Mineralogist, and Mr. Thomas J. Kirk
and his assistant Mr. Job Wood of the educational
department; to Miss Nellie Rust, Librarian of the
Pasadena City Library, and her corps of
accommodating and intelligent assistants, and to
the librarians of the Los Angeles City Library and
State Normal School.
The passages from the Century Magazine quoted
in Chapters V-IX are inserted by express
permission of the publishers, the Century
Company. Acknowledgment is due, also, to the
publishers of the Overland Monthly for courtesy in
permitting the use of copyright material; and to D.
Appleton & Co. for permission to insert selections
from Sherman's Memoirs.
Contents
Chapter
I. The Land and the Name
II. The Story 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 sideby the ocean so well named Pacific, which gives
freshness and moisture to the ever-blowing
westerly winds.
On the other side is a mountain ra