County Histories

A Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California - Chicago, Lewis Publ. Co., 1891

GEOLOGY.

        The geological character of Northern California is too vast for even any outline in our brief history. Some mention of the most remarkable features is made under the heads of the respective counties where they are found. Geological reports scientifically compiled are published, in fragments, but no thorough and systematic survey has yet been made by the State. It however has published mineralogical reports, the substance of which we have already given under head of mining.

        Most geological literature, by the way, is of interest only to the professional geologist. The public generally are not interested in such statements as, "Along the -- ravine were found specimens of diorite interspersed among vitrefied masses of metamorphic schist." We may be pardoned, however, for making the three following general observations:

        The valleys, once under the sea, have been filled up to their present level by detritus from the mountains, in some places to the depth of a thousand feet or more. Hence the mountains were once much higher and larger than they now are.

        From the appearance of old river beds it seems probable that the rivers of Northern California once took their rise much farther to the east than now, draining Nevada and Utah to some extent. A variety of porphyry is found scattered along these old channels, evidently from a bed east of the present summit of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. During the cretaceous period, a great volcanic eruption occurred burying the country from Central California to British Columbia 200 to 3,000 feet under accumulations of lava. The glacial period followed this.

        The collection of diamonds and pearls is becoming quite an industry of late years along the Sierra Nevada.

        The gold-mining interest is noticed at great length elsewhere, and the principal mines, gold, coal, etc., are mentioned in the county sketches on subsequent pages.

BOTANY.

        Northern California produces as many interesting plants as any other section of its size in the world. Sand and clay, rock and peat, hill and swamp, light and shade, mountain and valley, cold and heat,—all are so varied as to favor the highest development of a larger number of species than almost any other part of the world of the same area. A descriptive catalogue is not called for here. In 1882 Dr. Kellogg's interesting and unique report was published by the State, and in 1888 the State Board of Forestry, also through the State department, published a magnificent report, prepared by those eminent botanists of Oakland, Mr. and Mrs. J. G. Lennon. Asa Gray and Sereno Watson, two of the most eminent botanists of America, have published elaborate and expensive floras of California.

ANIMALS.

        Following are brief notices of nearly all the quadrupeds of California:

        The grizzly bear (Ursus horribilis) is the largest and most formidable of the quadrupeds. He grows to be four feet high and seven feet long, with a weight, when very large and fat, of a thousand pounds, being the largest of the carnivorous animals, and much heavier than the lion or tiger ever get to be. The grizzly bear, however, as ordinarily seen, does not exceed 800 or 900 pounds in weight. In color the body is a light grayish brown, dark brown about the ears and along the ridge of the back, and nearly black on the legs. The hair is long, coarse and wiry, and stiff on the top of the neck and between the shoulders. The "grizzly," as he is usually called, was at one time exceedingly numerous for so large an animal; but he offered so much meat for the hunters, and did so much damage to the farmers, that he has been industriously hunted, and his numbers have been greatly reduced. The grizzly is very tenacious of life, and he is seldom immediately killed by a single bullet. His thick, wiry hair, tough skin, heavy coats of fat when in good condition, and large bones, go far to protect his vital organs; but he often seems to preserve all his strength and activity for an hour or more after having been shot through the lungs and liver with large rifle balls. He is one of the most dangerous animals to attack.  There is much probability that when shot he will not be killed outright. When merely wounded he is ferocious; his weight and strength are so great that he "bears" down all opposition before him; and he is very quick, his speed in running being nearly equal to that of the horse. In attacking a man, he usually rises on his hind-legs, strikes his enemy with one of his powerful fore-paws, and then commences to bite him.

        The black bear (Ursus Americanus) is found in the timbered sections. Dr. Newberry, speaking of the food of the black bear, says: "The subsistence of the black bears in the northern portion of California is evidently, for the most part, vegetable. The manzanita, wild plum, and wild cherry, which fruit profusely, and are very low, assist in making up his bill of fare. The brown, or cinnamon bear, is also common, and is not a different species from the black bear.

        The panther, supposed by Dr. Newberry to be the Felis concolor—the same with the panther found on the Atlantic slope of the continent—has a body larger than that of the common sheep, and a tail more than half the length of the body. Its color is dirty white on the belly, and elsewhere a brownish-yellow, mottled with dark tips on all the hairs. The panther is a cowardly animal, and, except when driven by some extraordinary motive, never attacks man. The panther is nocturnal in his habits, and always prefers the night as a time for attacking colts, which are a favorite prey with him.

        The California, mountain or silver lion is still occasionally met with in the wildest mountain fastnesses.

        The American wild-cat (Lynx rufus) is common here.

        The gray wolf (Canis occidentalis) is found here, but is not abundant.

        The coyote used to be very common, and occupied the same place here with that occupied in the Mississippi Valley by the prairie-wolf. Dr. Newberry thinks the two belong to the same species (Canis latrans). The color of the coyote has a reddish tinge. His food consists chiefly of rabbits, grouse, small birds, mice, lizards and frogs; and in time of scarcity he will eat carrion, grasshoppers, and bugs. He is very fond of poultry, pigs, and lambs, and will destroy almost as many of them as would a fox. He is one of the worst enemies and most troublesome pests of the farmer.

        The gray fox (Vulpes Virginianus) is the only animal of that species we know to exist in Northern California, although many years ago, we heard that there were some black foxes. "Silver" and "cross" foxes have been found.

        The American badger (Taxidea Americana) used to be common here, but they are now nearly extinct.

        The black-footed raccoon (Procyon hernandezii) is very common in the forests and along the water courses.

        Of the yellow-haired porcupine (Erethizon epixanthus), a few have been found in some sections, but they are very rare.

        The mountain-cat, or striped bassaris (Bassaris astuta) is occasionally found here, but are not numerous. The body is about the size of that of the domestic cat, but the nose is very long and sharp, and the tail very long and large. The color of the animal is dark gray, with rings of black on the tail. The miners call it the "mountain cat," and frequently tame it. It is a favorite pet with them, becomes very playful and familiar, and is far more affectionate than the common cat, which it might replace, for it is very good at catching mice.

        The fisher (Mustela Pennanti) is found in some localities; also the chipmunk, woodchuck, otter, raccoon, porcupine, etc.

        The yellow-cheeked weasel (Putorius xanthogenys) is found here, but are not numerous.

        The common mink (Putorius vison) has a skin as valuable as that of the beaver; the fur is of a dark, brownish chestnut color, with a white spot on the end of the chin. They exist here, but are very rare.

        California has two skunks (Mephitis occidentalis and Mephitis bicolor), very common animals. The Mephitis bicolor, or little striped skunk, chiefly found south of latitude 39°; the other in the northern and central parts of the State. The colors of both are black and white.

        The Squirrel Family.—The California gray squirrel (Sciurus fossor), the most beautiful and one of the largest of the squirrel genus, inhabits all the pine forests of the State. Its color on the back is a finely-grizzled bluish gray, and white, beneath. At the base of the ear is a little woolly tuft, of a chestnut color. The sides of the feet are covered with hair in the winter, but are bare in the summer; the body is more slender and delicate in shape than that of the Atlantic gray squirrel. It sometimes grows to be twelve inches long in the head and body, and fifteen inches in the tail, making the entire length twenty-seven inches. Dr. Newberry says: "The California gray squirrel is eminently a tree-squirrel, scarcely descending to the ground but for food and water, and it subsists almost exclusively on the seeds of the largest and loftiest pine known (Pinus lambertiana), the 'sugar-pine' of the Western coast. These squirrels inhabit the forests."

        The Missouri striped ground-squirrel has five dark-brown stripes on the back, separated by four gray stripes; the sides are reddish-brown, the belly grayish-white, and the tail rusty-black above and rusty-brown beneath. The animal is four or five inches long. It is found in the northern part of the State. It eats acorns and the seeds of the pine, manzanita, and ceanothus, in the thickets of which last-named bush it prefers to hide its stores. This species of squirrel is exceedingly rare.

        The Spermophile has two species in California, which resemble each other so closely that they are usually supposed to be the same; they are popularly known as the California ground-squirrels, the little pests which are so destructive to the grain crops. Their bodies are ten or eleven inches long in the largest specimens; the tail is eight inches long and bushy, the ears large, the cheeks pouched, and herein consists the chief difference between them and squirrels; the color above black, yellowish-brown, and brown, in indistinct mottlings, hoary-yellowish on the sides of the head and neck, and pale yellowish-brown on the under side of the body and legs. They dwell in burrows, and usually live in communities in the open, fertile valleys, preferring to make their burrows under the shade of an oak tree. Sometimes, however, single spermophiles will be found living in a solitary manner, remote from their fellows. Their burrows, like those of the prairie-dog, are often used by the rattlesnake and the little owl. Dr. Newberry says: They are very timid, starting at every noise, and on every intrusion into their privacy dropping from their trees, or hurrying in from their wanderings, and scudding to their holes with all possible celerity; arriving at the entrance, however, they stop to reconnoitre, standing erect, as squirrels rarely and spermophiles habitually do, and looking about to satisfy themselves of the nature and designs of the intruder. Should this second view justify their flight, or a motion or step forward still further alarm them, with a peculiar movement, like that of a diving duck, they plunge into their burrows, not to venture out till all cause of fear is past. The squirrels of this species were exceedingly rare until within the past decade. They seem to have effected an entrance from the valleys to the east, and are now multiplying. The farmers, as yet, seem not to realize the magnitude of the damage these squirrels will ultimately accomplish.

        The California gopher (Thomomysbulbivorus) is the most abundant and most troublesome rodent of this section. When full grown, it has a body six or eight inches long, with a tail of two inches. The back and sides are of a chestnut-brown color, paler on the under parts of the body and legs; the tail and feet are of grayish-white; the ears are very short. In the cheeks are large pouches, covered with fur inside, white to their margin, which is dark-brown.

        Of rats and mice there are many species. There is very common in the forests a wood-rat that builds conical-shaped burrows by means of piling up sticks and bramble. We have seen these rat houses as much as ten feet in diameter at the base and five or six feet high. Of mice there are many species of both field and house pests. We have seen here two or three specimens of the Jerboa family, called by some kangaroo mice, on account of their great length of hind legs, from which they spring, as does the kangaroo.

        The American elk (Ceruus canadensis) used to be plentiful, but is now extinct. This animal was nearly as large as a horse. It frequently reached the weight of from 600 to 1,000 pounds. The color was a chestnut-brown, dark on the head, neck, and legs, lighter and yellowish on the back and sides. The horns were very large, sometimes more than four feet long, three feet across from tip to tip, measuring three inches in diameter above the burr, and weighing, with the skull, exclusive of the lower jaw, forty pounds. The horns of the old bucks had from seven to nine, perhaps more, prongs, all growing forward, the main stem running upward and backward.

        The white-tailed deer have ever been scarce.  The black-tailed deer (Ceruus columbianus), which is a little larger and has brighter colors, but does not furnish as good venison, the meat lacking the juiciness and savory taste of the venison in the Mississippi Valley, has been more common. The average weight of the buck is about 120 pounds, and of the doe 100 pounds, but bucks have been found to weigh 275 pounds. The summer coat of the black-tailed deer is composed of rather long and coarse hair: of a tawny brown, approaching chestnut on the back. In September this hair begins to come off, exposing what the hunters call the "blue coat," which is at first fine and silky, and of a bluish-gray color, afterward becoming chestnut-brown, inclining to gray on the sides, and to black along the back.         Occasionally deer purely white are found. The horn, when long, is about two feet long, and forks near mid-length, and each prong forks again, making four points, to which a little spur, issuing from near the base of the horn, may be added, making five in all. This is the general form of the horn; sometimes, however, old bucks are found with but two points.

        The prong-horned antelope (Antilocapra americana) used to range the valleys like bands of sheep. They are now extinct. In size the antelope was not quite so large as the California deer, which it resembled closely in form and general appearance. They were distinguished at a distance by their motion; the antelope canters, while the deer runs; the antelope went in herds, and moved in a line following the lead of an old buck, like sheep, to which they are related, while deer more frequently are alone, and if in a herd they are more independent, and move each in the way that suits him best. In color, the back, upper part of the sides and outside of the thighs and forelegs were yellowish-brown; the under parts, lower part of the sides, and the buttocks as seen from behind, were white. The hair was very coarse, thick, spongy, tubular, slightly crimped or waved, and like short lengths of coarse thread cut off bluntly. The horns were very irregular in size and form, but usually they were about eight inches long, rose almost perpendicularly, had a short, blunt prong in front, several inches from the base, and made a short backward crook at the top. The female had horns as well as the male. The hoof was heart-shaped, and its print upon the ground could be readily distinguished from the long, narrow track of the deer. The antelope was about two feet and a half high, and four feet long from the nose to the end of the tail.

        Audubon's hare (Lepus audubonii) is the most common species in Northern California. Its tail is about three inches long, and its color is mixed with yellowish-brown and black above, white beneath, thighs and rump grayish. This is usually called "jack rabbit," the epithet abbreviated from jackass. There are two varieties known to science, Lepus texanus and Lepus callotis.

        The sage rabbit (Lepus artemisia) is also found here.

        Birds.—Condor or king vulture, bald eagle, golden eagle, turkey buzzard, raven, crow, several kinds of hawk, road-runner, several species of woodpecker, grouse, mountain and valley quail, pigeon, meadow lark, magpie, blackbird, flicker, robin, snipe, plover, curlew, red-winged blackbird, bluebird, oriole, gray and small sparrow, cherry-bird, crossbill, linnet, chewink, California canary, martin, swallow, blue crane or heron, sand-hill crane, wild goose, Canada goose or brant, wood, mallard, teal and dipper duck, mud-hen, pelican, two species of humming-bird, and a few other species not named.

        Fish.—Salmon, salmon trout, brook trout, lake trout, perch, white-fish, sucker, chub, two species of eels, etc. Several of these and a few other favorite varieties from the East have been introduced.

        Reptiles.—Two species of rattlesnake, long striped, brown, pilot, green, purple, milk and water snakes, four kinds of lizard, horned toad, common toad and frog.

        Insect life is also greatly favored by the "climate and resources of California."

ASSESSED VALUE OF THE COUNTIES.

CALIFORNIA NOMENCLATURE.

        This section is from Themis, an enterprising weekly published by Hon. Win. J. Davis and A. J. Johnston, of Sacramento.

        The American river was named from the fact that a company of Western American trappers lived on its banks for several years between 1822 and 1830.

        Angel's Camp and Angel's Creek were named after a Mr. Angel, who was at Sutter's Fort in February, 1848, and afterward, in July, was one of Captain Weber's prospectors.

        When the town of Arcata was located on April 21, 1850, it was called Union. In 1860 the name was changed to Arcata—an Indian word.

        The name Arizona was first applied to a mountain near the southern boundary of the territory. The territory was first called Pime­ria. Authorities differ as to the origin of the present name. Some say it is a corruption of Arizuma," first given to the country by the early Spanish explorers. Some claim that it is a Mohave Indian word signifying, "Blessed Sun," from  "Ara," meaning " blessed," and "Zuna," "sun ;" others, that it is of Pima origin and means "Little Creek ;" while there is authority that its derivation is from two Pima words, "Ari," a maiden and "Zon," a valley. Other authorities hold that it is a compound of the two Latin words "Aridus" and "Zona." Aridus, dry, from "areo," to be dry: zona simply means a girdle or belt. This derivation would produce a word meaning "a dry or parched belt of country."

        Auburn was originally called "Wood's Dry Diggings." Late in 1849 a public meeting was held for the purpose of selecting a more suitable name for the town. The name Auburn was adopted at the suggestion of H. M. House, who had come from the New York Auburn.

        Bakersfield was named in honor of Senator Thomas Baker, who died in that town on November 24, 1872; Bantas from Henry Bantas, an early settler. Belmont signifies ''beautiful mountain," and was named from the grand eminences near the town; Bernal Heights, from Augustin Bernal; and Black's Station from J. J. Black, who located the town in 1865. Bodie was named in honor of Wm. S. Bodey, a pioneer who lost his life in November, 1859, near his cabin four miles from the site of the town, having become exhausted in a heavy snow storm. Brooklyn, Alameda County, was christened by Thomas Eagar, after the ship Brooklyn, in which he came in 1846 as a passenger to California.

        Calistoga is a word that was formed by the late Samuel Brannan from the words "California" and "Saratoga." Camptonville was named after J. Campton. Capay is from the Indian word "capi," meaning "creek." Carquinez is an Indian word meaning "serpent." According to a legend of the aborigines, from a hill that now exists in the city of Vallejo (Capitol Hill), there would come forth a huge serpent, with eyes of fire; it would straighten itself upon its tail almost perpendicularly, and look toward the Straits, then cautiously upon Mare Island (Taxpeyar was its Indian name), and lastly in the direction of Yulupa, or the Sunset hills towards Sonoma, looking for the Blazing Turkey, which was wont to arise from the air of the mountains, and if the gaze of these two monsters ever met it was a sign or omen of some terrible disaster or calamity—such as war or pestilence. Cherokee, Nevada County, was so called from the fact that the first prospecting there was done by some Cherokee Indians in 1850. Clayton was named after its founder, Joel Clayton; and Colfax in honor of Vice-President Schuyler Colfax. Coloma is an Indian word, meaning "Beautiful Valley." Crockett was named in honor of Judge J. B. Crockett, who died January 15, 1884; Davisville was called after Jerome C. Davis, who settled there in 1846, and who died in Sacramento, October 5, 1881, while holding the office of Second Trustee of the city; Decoto was named after Ezra Decoto, the owner of the land upon which it is located; Dixon after Thomas Dixon, who died in that town in June, 1885; and Donahue after Colonel James M. Donahue. Donner Lake gets its name from the leader of the Donner party of 1846, the members of which suffered privation and death on its shores. Downieville was named after William Downie, who located there in the early mining days; Dunnigan gets its name from A. W. Dunnigan, who settled there in 1853; Dutch Flat was so named from the fact that its pioneer settler was a German named Joseph Dohrenbeck.

        Elk Grove was so called from the circumstance that elk horns were found in a grove of timber near which in 1850 James Hall established a hotel, on the sign of which was painted an elk.

        The name Florin was given to that locality about 1864 by the late Judge E. B. Crocker, owing to the great number of wild flowers which grew there, and when the town was started in1875 it received that name. Folsom was called after J. L. Folsom, who died July 19, 1855. There is some romance about the naming of Forest City, Sierra County. The first store at the Forks of Oregon Creek was built by Samuel Hammond and was called the Yomana store, from the bluff above the town being called by that name—meaning "Sacred Hill." In 1853 a meeting of the citizens was held to select a name for the town and there was a tie vote for "Forks of Oregon," and "Yomana." The matter was compromised by agreeing to call the place after the first woman who should reside there. The first lady inhabitant was Mary Davis, the wife of a baker, and after her advent the town was indiscriminately called "Forks of Oregon" and "Marietta." Davis soon sold out to Captain Mooney, whose wife's name was Forest. She was a lady of education and wrote several articles which were sent to the Marysville papers. They were dated at Forest City, and as the editor did not know where that might be, they were so published. Mrs. Mooney afterwards called together some of the leading citizens and succeeded in having the place formally named after her.

        During the summer of 1848 travelers stopped at a spring at the site of Jackson, Amador County, and the number of bottles left about gave it the name of Bottilleas, It was changed to Jackson in honor of Colonel Jackson who afterwards settled there.

        Fort Ross is the site of a Russian settlement which was made in 1811, and a fort was erected there. What the Russians called it is not known, but it was called by the Spaniards, “Fuerte de los Rusos" (Fort of the Russians). The Americans shortened it to Fuerte Rusos, and that was afterward curtailed to its present name. French Corral was named from the circumstance that in 1849 a Frenchman built a corral for the enclosure of his mules on the site of the present village. At one time the inhabitants adopted the name of Carrolton, but for no great length of time. Fulton was laid out in 1871 by Thomas and James Fulton: hence its name. The name

Galt was suggested for that town when it was laid out, by John McFarland, to the late Judge E. B. Crocker. McFarland, when quite a young wan, located in the town of Galt, in Upper Canada, and there served his apprenticeship as a joiner. The Canadian Galt was named after a man of that name. Gilroy was named in honor of John Gilroy, one of the earliest American settlers, who died in that town on July 29, 1869. Goat Island was called by the Spaniards Yerba Buena and was originally occupied as a fishing station by a very numerous tribe of Indians called Tuchayunes. On the founding of the city of San Francisco in 1835, the name of the Island (Yerba Buena) was given to the municipality. In 1835 Nathaniel Spear brought some goats from the Sandwich Islands, and presented a pair of them to John Fuller, who was located in the town. They became so destructive to his flowers and garden truck that he removed them to the Island, where they were turned loose and rapidly increased in numbers. Hence the name of Goat Island. It is stated that in 1849 there were nearly a thousand goats on the island, but they were soon destroyed by the immigrants. The name Golden Gate first appears in the "Geographical Memoir of California," and relative map, published by Colonel John C. Fremont in the spring of 1848. The name was probably suggested by the Golden Horn of Constantinople. Grayson was located in 1849 by J. Grayson & Co.; and Guerneville was named after A. L. Guerne.

        Martinez was named after Ignacio Martinez, who settled in the country in 1823.

        Half Moon Bay is so named on account of its configuration. Halo Chemuc was formerly quite an Indian town on the west bank of the Sacramento River, a few miles above its mouth. The name in Indian meant "nothing to eat." Havilah was named from the place mentioned in the Old Testament where the first allusion is made to a land of gold,—Genesis 11:11,12: "The name of the first is Pison; that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, wherethere is gold; and the gold in that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone." Haywards was named after William Hayward, who settled there in 1851; Healdsburg, after Harmon G. Heald; Hicksville, after William Hicks; Hollister, after an early Scotch settler of that name.

        The valley of Ione was named before the town was started, by Thomas Brown, a great reader, after "Ione," one of the heroines of Bulwer's " Last Days of Pompeii." The town was first called Bedbug, then Freeze-out, and finally the people christened it Ione.

        Knight's Landing was called after William Knight, who settled there in 1843; and Knight's Ferry after the same gentleman from the fact that he established a trading post there in 1848.

        Langville was named after J. A. Lang. The locality of Little York was settled in early days largely by miners from New York and other Middle States. Afterward numbers came from Missouri and the West. An election was held to determine the name of the district and the Eastern men outvoted those from the West, and adopted the name of Little York over St. Louis, the choice of the minority. Livermore was named after Robert Livermore, who settled in the valley before the American conquest and who died on February 14, 1858. Lockeford was named after its founder, Dr. D. J. Locke.

        In 1841 Theodore Cordua settled in the forks of the Yuba and Feather rivers, where the city of Marysville now stands, under a lease from Captain Sutter. Cordua afterward sold out his interest under the lease, and it became the property of Charles Covillaud, John Sampson, J. M. Ramirez and Theodore Sicard. In January, 1850, the town was laid out by these four parties under the name of C. Covillaud & Co. There were a variety of opinions as to what should be the name of the place. Some wanted it called Yubaville, and some deeds were made out in that name. Others desired to call it Yuba City, some Norwich, and some Sicardora —that being the favorite of Colonel Perry. While the discussion of the name was pending, a public meeting was called to take into consideration the general interests of the new city. At that meeting Captain Edward Power, from St. Louis, proposed to name it after Mrs. Covillaud, who was then the only white woman living on the town plat; her name being Mary, it was then and there determined that the city should be named Marysville. Mrs. Covillaud died in that city on September 17, 1867. While Cordua was in possession the place was called New Mecklenburg.

        The McLeod or McCloud River received its name from an old Scotch trapper, who in 1827 or 1828, led the first party of Hudson Bay Company trappers that penetrated California. His name was Alexander Roderick McLeod. Years later a well-known citizen named Ross McCloud, a surveyor, lived on the stream and the similarity of the pronunciation of the names led to the common error of supposing that his name was the one that the river bore. Meridian was so called because the postoffice is only a quarter of a mile west of the Mount Diablo meridian, United States survey. Michigan Bar was so called from the fact that the first settlers were two men from Michigan, who discovered gold there in 1849. The Mokelumne River derives its name from a powerful tribe of Indians, the Mo-kel-kos, who inhabited its lower banks and the adjacent country. The Spaniards spelled the word differently.

        Moore's Flat was named from H. M. Moore, who settled there and built a store in 1851. Mormon Island was so named from the fact that gold washing was commenced there soon after the discovery by Marshall, by a party of Mormons. Natoma is of Indian derivation, and signifies "clear water." Needles is so called on account of the spire or needle-like shape of certain rocks which were called "the Needles " in that vicinity. Newark was named by its founders after the New Jersey city, of which they were natives. New York of the Pacific was a wonderful city—on paper—in 1849. At one time it aspired to become the capital of the State. It was located by Colonel J. D. Stevenson, and was named in honor of his regiment, which was called the New York regiment. Nicolaus was named after Nicolaus Allgeier, who arrived in this country in 1840, and who settled there in 1843.

        North San Juan acquired its name from this circumstance: In 1853, a miner, named Kentz, who had accompanied General Scott when his expedition landed at Vera Cruz, was engaged in mining near the present site of the town. One evening he was impressed with the fancied resemblance of a bluff hill near by to the castle of San Juan de Ulloa, which guards the entrance to the port of Vera Cruz. He expressed his opinion, and the bluff was dubbed San Juan. Afterward that name was applied to the town. In 1857, when an application was made for a postoffice to be established there, the authorities at Washington required a new name for the place, as an office had already been established at another town of that title in Monterey County. The citizens thereupon added the prefix "North" to the name. Nortonville was named after Noah Norton, the locator of the Black Diamond Coal Mine. Oakland was so called from the fact that immense live oaks formerly grew on its site.

        The region of Owen's Lake was visited in 1845 by a detachment of Fremont's expedition under the noted mountaineer, Captain Joe Walker. This party was accompanied by Prof. Richard Owens, who was the first white man to see the lake, and after him the lake, river and valley were named. Pacheco was named after Don Salvio Pacheco, who settled there in 1834, and who died in 1876. Petaluma is an Indian word, said by some to mean "Duck Ponds," and by others, "Little Hills." Piedmont is the French for "foothills." Pigeon Point was so named from the fact that on May 6, 1853, the clipper ship "Carrier Pigeon" from Boston was totally wrecked there, and a large number of passengers drowned. Pit River received its name from a custom of the Indians along its banks of digging pits in which to capture bear, deer, and even intruding warriors of strange tribes. The pits were covered with brush and dirt to conceal them.

        Placerville was originally called Hangtown, and was so named from this circumstance: In January, 1849, three men were in a saloon tent engaged in a game of poker. When the game broke up the proprietor was asleep, and the men robbed him at the point of the pistol. The next day they were arrested, tried, and sentenced to be flogged. After the punishment had been inflicted they were ordered to leave the camp. In a few days two of the men, when drunk around the camp, intimated that the parties who had been engaged in the trial were spotted, and would not live to flog another man. A meeting was called and the two men were arrested, tried, and hung to a tree. Pleasanton was at first called Alisal (cottonwood), but was afterward named by John W. Kotlinger in honor of General Pleasanton, a cavalry officer in the Union army.

        Red Bluff was established by M. L. Covert, and was at first called Covertsburg. Redding was originally called Reading, after Major P. B. Reading, the pioneer of Shasta County. The change to the present spelling was done in compliment to the late B. B. Redding. Red Dog Hill was so named because of its supposed resemblance to a hill of that name in the lead district of Illinois. Redwood City was so called from its proximity to the vast forests of redwood timber that formerly covered the slopes of the mountains. Rough and Ready was established in the fall of 1849, by the "Rough and Ready" company of immigrants, who had just arrived from Wisconsin under the command of Captain Townsend. Routier was named after Hon. Joseph Routier. Scott River and Mountain were named from John W. Scott, who mined on Scott Bar in July, 1850. Sebastopol, Sonoma County, was at first called Pine Grove. During the Crimean war, and at the time when Sebastopol was besieged, two men engaged in a fight in the town, and one retreated into the store and the proprietor refused to admit the victorious party. From this circumstance the store was called Sebastopol, and the town was subsequently so named.

        Shingle Springs was named from the fact that at the upper end of the town are several springs of water. At an early day, near the springs, a machine was erected and operated for the manufacture of shingles, Hence the name.

        Somerville was named from Francis Somers, an early resident. The mountain of St. Helena was named in honor of the Empress of Russia, by the Russian naturalist, Wosnessemsky, who ascended it in 1841.

        When the settlement of Stockton was started it was called and known everywhere as Weber's Settlement, or as French Camp---the latter name being the better known. Captain C. M. Weber and his partner were undecided as to the name of the new town. New Albany was the choice of the partner, because of his birth in Albany, New York. Weber preferred either Tuleburg or Castoria. Tuleburg was regarded as appropriate because the tules grew thick and high in the vicinity. Castoria is a Spanish name, meaning beaver settlement. At that time beaver abounded in large numbers. Afterward Weber was taken prisoner by the Mexicans, and after his liberation met Commodore Robert F. Stockton, who promised to send out a government steamer for the use of the pioneers. At Weber's suggestion the name of the town was changed to Stockton, and it was first legally known by that name in a petition to the Court of Sessions, dated July 23, 1850. Suisun is an Indian word meaning " big expanse." Suñol was named after Antonio M. Suñol, an early resident who died March 18, 1865. Suscol was the name of an Indian chief. Sweetland was named after H. P. Sweetland, who settled there in 1850. Sutter Creek was named from the fact that in 1848 Captain Sutter came through that country with a retinue of Indians on an excursion to the mountains and camped on the spot where Sutter Creek now stands, which event gave the town its name.

        The derivation of the word "Tahoe" has, perhaps, been more elaborately discussed than that of any other word of geographical designation in the State. The beautiful lake, lying on the boundary line between this State and Nevada, has borne that name since aboriginal days. On February 10, 1870, an act of the Legislature was approved declaring the name of the lake to be " Bigler," in honor of the ex-Governor. In the debates in the Legislature the matter of the name of the lake became almost a partizan issue.  The Democrats favored the name Bigler, and the Republicans Tahoe. The Democrats claimed that the name Tahoe had been borne by a disreputable and vicious Indian chief who had murdered an American family named Rothrock on the Truckee River in early days. The Republicans contended that it was an Indian word, meaning "big water." A correspondent in the Sacramento Union of February 3, 1880, claimed that the word was a corruption of "Tejon," or badger, and that the lake had been so called by the half converted Indians who had fled to the mountains to escape servitude to the Spaniards, the region about the lake being prolific with badgers. The correspondent was no doubt in error. Tehachapi is an Indian word of unknown

signification. Temescal is an Indian word, meaning "sweat-house." Tomales Bay was named after a tribe of Indians of that name who lived in that vicinity.

         William Baldridge, a very early pioneer, writes the following account of the derivation of the word " Truckee:  "In 1845, James M. Harbin and a few others were on their way to California, via overland route, and on arriving at the sink of the Humboldt, they met with an Indian and employed him to pilot them across the desert. While en route Harbin noticed a resemblance in him to a Frenchman he bad formerly known, and therefore bestowed the name of the Frenchman (Truckee) on the Indian, and on arriving at the river (Truckee) they were greatly elated at their good fortune, and named it Truckee's River. "Truckee" and two of his brothers came to California with the emigrants in 1846, and served in Fremont's battalion until the end of the war.

        The Reno Gazette, in 1880, published the following account of the same incident:  "In 1844 a party of men left Council Bluffs, Iowa, to go to Oregon. They came across the plains, and when they reached the hunting grounds of the Shoshonnes they procured an Indian guide named Truckee. This Indian accompanied them as far as Sutter's fort. In traversing this region the Indian told them of a rapid river that flowed from one great lake to another. The party did not reach this river as soon as they expected, and they began to look upon Truckee's river as a river of the mind, a flowing fiction. Truckee's river was, for a time, a frequent jest upon their lips, and when at last they reached the stream he described they had already named it.

        Ukiah derives its name from the Eukio or Yukio tribe of Indians, who dwelt in the valley when it was first visited by the whites. Vallejo was founded by General M. G. Vallejo, from whom it received its name. It was for a short time the capital of the State. Visalia was named after Nat Vise, a bear hunter, who lived there in early days. Walloupa was named after an Indian chief. It is a corruption of Guadalupe, the name which he had received from the missionaries. Washoe is the Indian name for the valley lying along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevadas. The word signifies "beautiful." Watsonville was named after J.  H. Watson, who founded it in 1853; Weaverville was named after a miner named Weaver, who at an early period obtained a large quantity of gold from Weaver Creek. Winters was laid out in 1875, and was named in honor of Theodore Winters, who owned an interest in the town site; and Woodbridge was named after its founder, J. H. Woods. Yeomet is an Indian name, signifying rocky falls, and was given to the forks of the Cosumnes River, in Amador County. Yosemite is a corruption of "Oo-soom-ite," an Indian word meaning, in the language of the tribe that inhabited the valley, "large grizzly bear." Yountville was named after George C. Yount, who died October 5, 1865. The town of Yreka was originally called Shasta Butte City, but as this was too much like Shasta City, the Indian name for Mount Shasta, I-e-ka, (meaning white) was substituted, and the orthography was changed to Wyreka. In the course of time the "W" was dropped, and the present spelling adopted.

        Appended are a few of those names bestowed on localities by the miners in early days. It is not necessary to trace their derivation, as they are sufficiently suggestive:

        American Hollow, Barefoot Diggings, Bloomer Hill, Blue Belly Ravine, Bob Ridley Flat, Bogus Thunder, Brandy Gulch, Coyote Hill, Centipede Hollow, Chicken Thief Flat, Christian Flat, Chucklehead Diggings, Coon Hollow, Dead Man's Bar, Dead Mule Cañon, Deadwood, Devil's Basin, Devil's Elbow, Gas Hill, Git up and Git, Gopher Flat, Gospel Gulch, Gouge Eye, Graveyard Cañon, Greaser's Camp, Greenhorn Cañon, Gridiron Bar, Wild Goose Flat, Whisky Bar, Grizzly Flat, Ground Hog Glory, Happy Valley, Hell's Delight, Hempback Slide, Hen Roost Camp, Hog's Diggings, Horsetown, Humbug Cañon, Hungry Camp, Jackass Gulch, Jim Crow Cañon, Last Chance, Lazy Man's Cañon, Liberty Hill, Loafer Hill, Loafers' Retreat, Long Town, Lousy Ravine, Love Letter Camp, Mad Cañon, Miller's Defeat, Mount Zion, Murderer's Bar, Nary Red, Nigger Hill, Nutcake Camp, One Eye, Paint-Pot Hill, Pancake Ravine, Paradise, Pepperbox Flat, Piety Hill, Pike Hill, Plughead Gulch, Poker Flat, Poodletown, Poor Man's Creek, Port Wine, Poverty Hill, Puppytown, Push Coach Hill, Quack Hill, Ragtown, Rat-Trap Slide, Rattlesnake Bar, Seven-by-Nine Valley, Seven-up Ravine, Seventy-six, Shanghai Hill, Shinbone Peak, Shirt-tail Cañon, Skinflint, Skunk Gulch, Slap-Jack Bar, Sluice Fork, Snow Point, Sugar-Loaf Hill, Swell-Head Diggings, Wild-Cat Bar, Yankee Doodle.

Transcribed by Kathy Sedler.