ounts of California just before the American occupation
are of varying value. One of the most widely read books is R.H. Dana's
_Two Years before the Mast_ (1840). The author spent parts of 1835 and
1836 in California. _The Personal Narrative of James O. Pattie_ (1831)
is an account of six years' travel amid almost incredible hardships from
St. Louis to the Pacific and back through Mexico. W.H. Thomes's _On Land
and Sea, or California in the Years 1843, '44, and '45_ (1892) gives
vivid pictures of old Mexican days. Two other books may be mentioned
which furnish information of some value: Alfred Robinson, _Life in
California_ (1846) and Walter Colton, _Three Years in California_
(1850).

Personal journals and narratives of the Forty-niners are numerous, but
they must be used with caution. Their accuracy is frequently open to
question. Among the more valuable may be mentioned Delano's _Life on the
Plains and among the Diggings_ (1854); W.G. Johnston's _Experience of a
Forty-niner_ (1849); T.T. Johnson's _Sights in the Gold Region and
Scenes by the Way_ (1849); J.T. Brooks's _Four Months among the
Gold-Finders_ (1849); E.G. Buffum's _Six Months in the Gold Mines_
(1850)--the author was a member of the "Stevenson Regiment"; James
Delevan's _Notes on California and the Placers: How to get there and
what to do afterwards_ (1850); and W.R. Ryan's _Personal Adventures in
Upper and Lower California, in 1848-9_ (1850).

Others who were not gold-seekers have left their impression of
California in transition, such as Bayard Taylor in his _Eldorado_, 2
vols. (1850), and J.W. Harlan in his _California '46 to '88_ (1888). The
latter was a member of Fremont's battalion. The horrors of the overland
journey are told by Delano in the book already mentioned and by W.L.
Manly, _Death Valley in '49_ (1894).

The evolution of law and government in primitive mining communities is
described in C.H. Shinn's _Mining Camps. A Study in American Frontier
Government_ (1885). The duties of the border police are set forth with
thrilling details by Horace Bell, _Reminiscences of a Ranger or Early
Times in Southern California_ (1881). An authoritative work on the
Mormons is W.A. Linn's _Story of the Mormons_ (1902).

For further bibliographical references the reader is referred to the
articles on _California, San Francisco, The Mormons_, and _Fremont_, in
_The Encyclopaedia Britannica_, 11th Edition.

INDEX

Alvarado, Governor of Califo