In the Appendix he has introduced the constitution of California, and some official documents, whose importance demanded their preservation in a permanent form. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Page GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE OF CALIFORNIA 7 CHAPTER II. DISCOVERY OF CALIFORNIA 11 CHAPTER III. FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE REVOLUTION IN MEXICO 20 CHAPTER IV. FROM THE REVOLUTION TILL THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO 24 CHAPTER V. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE WAR TILL ITS CLOSE 27 CHAPTER VI. DISCOVERY OF THE GOLD PLACERS 36 CHAPTER VII. ADVENTURES OF SOME OF THE MINERS, AND INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH MINING 56 CHAPTER VIII. DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE CITIES AND TOWNS OF CALIFORNIA, BEFORE AND AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF THE GOLD MINES 87 CHAPTER IX. THE FORMATION OF A STATE GOVERNMENT 118 CHAPTER X. PRESENT STATE OF CALIFORNIA 132 CHAPTER XI. THE DIFFERENT ROUTES TO CALIFORNIA, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE CHARACTERS 181 CHAPTER XII. RECENT EVENTS CONNECTED WITH, AND HAPPENING IN, CALIFORNIA 218 CHAPTER XIII. THE MINERALOGICAL AND OTHER CHARACTERISTICS OF GOLD, AND THE MODE OF DISTINGUISHING IT WHEN FOUND; TOGETHER WITH THE ASSAY, REDUCTION, AND REFINEMENT OF GOLD 233 CHAPTER XIV. ADDITIONAL RECENT EVENTS 243 CHAPTER XV. A GENERAL VIEW OF CALIFORNIA AT THE PRESENT TIME 255 CHAPTER XVI. NATURAL HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA 275 APPENDIX 287 THE HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA CHAPTER I. GEOGRAPHICAL OUTLINE OF CALIFORNIA. The territory called California is that part of North America situated on the Pacific Ocean, and extending from the 42° of north latitude southwardly to 22° 48', and from 107° longitude, west from Greenwich, to 124°. It is bounded on the north by Oregon territory, east by territories belonging to the United States and the Gulf of California, and on the south and west by Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. California is naturally divided into two portions; the peninsula, called Lower California, and the territory extending northward from the peninsula, on the Pacific Ocean, called Upper California. The line of division between Upper and Lower California runs nearly along the 32d parallel of latitude, westward from the head of the Gulf of California.