STATISTICAL XV.Intendancy of NewCalifornia. ANALYSIS. worn out with fatigue, naked, and covered with wounds, on the coast of Culiacan, opposite the peninsula of California. He had landed with Panfilo Narvaez in Florida, and after two years excursions, wandering over all Louisiana and the northern part of Mexico, he arrived at the shore of the great ocean in Sonora. This space, which Nunez went over, is almost as great as that of the route followed by Captain Lewis from the banks of the Mississippi to Nootka and the mouth of the river Columbia*. When we consider the bold undertakings of the first Spanish conquerors in Mexico, Peru, and on the Amazons' river, we are astonished to find that for two centuries the same nation could not find a road by land in New Spain from Taos to the port of Monterey; in New Grenada, from Santa Fe to Carthagena, or from Quito to Panama; and in Guayana, from l'Esmeralda to S. Thomas del'Angostura! From the example of the English maps, several geographers give the name of New Albion to New California. This denomination is founded on the very inaccurate opinion that the navigator Drake *This wonderful journey of Captain Lewis was undertaken under the auspices of M. Jefferson, who by this important service rendered to science has added new claims on the gratitude of the savans of all nations. STATISTICAL XV.Intendancy of New California. first discovered, in 1578, the north-west coast of America between the 38° and the 48° of latitude. The celebrated voyage of Sebastian Viscaino is, no doubt, 24 years posterior to the discoveries of Francis Drake; but Knox* and other historians seem to forget that Cabrillo had already examined in 1542 the coast of New California to the parallel of 43o, the boundary of his navigation, as we may see from a comparison of the old observations of latitude with those taken in our own days. According to sure historical data, the denomination of New Albion ought to be limited to that part of the coast which extends from the 43° to the 48°, or from Cape White of Martin de Aguilar to the entrance of Juan de Fuca t. Besides, from the missions of the catholic priests to those of the Greek priests, that is to say, from the Spanish village of San Francisco in New California to the Russian establishments on Cook river at Prince William's bay, and to the islands of Kodiac and Unalaska, there are more than a thousand leagues of coast inhabited by free men, and stocked with otters and Phocæ! Consequently, the discussion * Knox's Collection of Voyages, Vol. III. p. 18. See the learned researches in the introduction of the Viage de las Goletas Sutil y Mexicana, 1802, p. xxxiv. xxxvi. Ivii. STATISTICAL} }XV.Intendancy of NewCalifornia. on the extent of the New Albion of Drake, and the pretended rights acquired by certain European nations from planting small crosses and leaving inscriptions fastened to trunks of trees, or the burying of bottles, may be considered as futile. Although the whole shore of New California was carefully examined by the great navigator Sebastian Viscaino (as is proved by plans drawn up by himself in 1602), this fine country was only, however, occupied by the Spaniards 167 years afterwards. The court of Madrid dreading lest the other maritime powers of Europe should form settlements on the north-west coast of America which might become dangerous to the Spanish colonies, gave orders to the Chevalier de Croix, the viceroy, and the Visitador Galvez, to found missions and presidios in the ports of San Diego and Monterey. For this purpose two packet-boats set out from the port of San Blas, and anchored at San Diego in the month of April, 1763. Another expedition arrived by land through Old California. Since Viscaino, no European had disembarked on these distant coasts. The Indians were quite astonished to see men with clothes, though they knew that farther east there were men whose complexion was not of a coppery colour. There was even found among them several pieces of silver, which had undoubtedly come from New STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. }XV. Intendancy of New California. Mexico. The first Spanish colonists suffered a great deal from scarcity of provisions and an epidemical disease, the consequence of the bad quality of their food, their fatigues, and the want of shelter. Almost all of them fell sick, and only eight individuals remained on their feet. Amongst these were two respectable men, Fray Junipero Serra, a monk known from his travels, and M. Costanzo, the head of the engineers, in whose praise we have already so often spoken in the course of this work. They were employed in digging graves to receive the bodies of their companions. The land expedition was very late in arriving with assistance to this unfortunate infant colony. The Indians, to announce the arrival of the Spaniards, placed themselves on casks with their arms out, to show that they had seen whites on horseback. The soil of New California is as well watered and fertile as that of Old California is arid and stony. It is one of the most picturesque countries which can be seen. The climate is much more mild there than in the same latitude on the eastern coast of the new continent. The sky is foggy, but the frequent fogs which render it difficult to land on the coast of Monterey and San Francisco give vigour to vegetation and fertilize the soil, which is covered with a black and spongy earth. STATISTICAL XV.Intendancyof NewCalifornia. ANALYSIS. In the eighteen missions which now exist in New California, wheat, maize, and haricots (frisoles), \\ are cultivated in abundance. Barley, beans, lentiles, and garbanzos, grow very well in the fields in the greatest part of the province. As the thirtysix monks of St. Francis who govern these missions are all Europeans, they have carefully introduced into the gardens of the Indians the most part of the roots and fruit trees cultivated in Spain. The first colonists found, on their arrival there, in 1769, shoots of wild vines in the interior of the country, which yielded very large grapes of a very sour quality. It was, perhaps, one of the numerous species of vitis peculiar to Canada, Louisiana, and New Biscay, which are still very imperfectly known to botanists. The missionaries introduced into California the vine (vitis vinifera), of which the Greeks and Romans diffused the cultivation throughout Europe, and which is certainly a stranger to the new continent. Good wine is made in the villages of San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, San Gabriel, San Buenaventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and San Jose, and all along the coast, south and north of Monterey, to beyond the 37° of latitude. The European olive is successfully cultivated near the canal of Santa Barbara, especially near San Diego, where an oil is made as good as that of |