In California the rich gold deposits which lay comparatively free were growing smaller. The gold seekers were no longer able to wash gold from the sands and gravel of the river beds, or to find nuggets in rocky hollows of the hillsides. They had to make a living in some other way. Vast mineral resources were still there, but they could only be reached by mining. Expensive machinery was necessary, and companies were formed to work the deposits. [Sidenote: =California a great agricultural state=] Then began the real development of California and the great Pacific Northwest. Up to 1875 California had been peopled with prospectors for gold. Now the output of minerals kept increasing, but the farm crops grew still faster in value until in 1920 they were worth many times the mineral output, because of the wonderful climate and the richness of the land. [Sidenote: =The leading fruit-growing state=] The first product to which the settler turned was wheat. California became one of the leading wheat states of the Union. Then the state discovered its great fruit-growing possibilities, and to-day it raises the largest fruit crop in the nation. People at first became almost as excited about their golden orange crops as they had been over yellow metal. [Sidenote: =Great cities develop=] Meanwhile great cities were springing up rapidly, and the riches of forest, mine, and stream brought unlimited prosperity and growth. Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland have taken their places among the great cities of the Union. [Sidenote: =Agriculture on the great plains=] From the Mississippi valley to the mountains agriculture and commerce developed with great strides. Enormous elevators were built to handle the vast quantities of grain. Great packing plants were established, where immense numbers of cattle and sheep could be slaughtered and the meat shipped to all parts of the world. GEORGE WASHINGTON GOETHALS, CHIEF ENGINEER OF THE PANAMA CANAL =196. The Panama Canal.= In the great rush of gold seekers to the Pacific coast, many of the thousands who started out never reached California, for the crossing of the Panama isthmus and the long journey around Cape Horn were both full of danger. [Illustration: GEORGE W. GOETHALS] It was this which first made Americans realize the value to their country of a canal across the Isthmus. As time passed, the great development of the Pacific coast region brought demands for fast and easy communication with the East. Railroads were built across the mountains, but transportation was still very expensive. The remedy lay in a short route by water between the east and the west coasts. Then came the Spanish-American War and the wonderful trip of the _Oregon_. People now saw that a canal across the Isthmus of Panama must be built at whatever cost. [Sidenote: =The French attempt to build a canal=] [Sidenote: =Work begun by the United States=]