About the Book
Excerpt from Beauties of California: Views and Descriptions of Yosemite Valley, Big Trees, Geysers, Lake Tahoe, Donner Lake, San Francisco, '49 and '83, Los Angeles, and Towns, Orange Groves and Vineyards of Southern California Our View of San Francisco thirty odd years ago presents the appearance of a promising western mining town, irregularly laid out among the sand hills, with many temporary houses, shanties, tents, 8m, all Sizes and shapes. The discovery of rich gold and silver mines drew together thousands of adventurers from every land, and this spot, with its magnificent harbor and natural commercial advantages, had attracted the miner, speculator, gambler, and herds of hangers on as a central point to strike out from to the fields of gold. Adjacent to rich hills and valleys and having a delightful climate, no wonder this far-off city of the west made rapid strides towards prosperity, 'and in these few years has grown to its present population and great wealth. The birds-eye view of San Francisco in 1883 gives but a faint idea of its growth and present proportions, or of its vast ocean commerce as represented by the forest of masts of vessels lying at the wharves receiving and discharging cargoes from every nation of the globe. Thoroughly cosmopolitan, the visitor, be he American, German, French, Russian, Italian, Mexican, Chinaman, or almost any nationality, will find a house and restaurant in San Francisco where he can feel at home in language and customs, and in music and social enjoyment, a thoroughly appreciative people. In great enterprises and adoption of advanced ideas and discoveries of the age, no citv leads sari Francisco. We might mention, while on the subject, that California claims the greatest degree of generosity, the largest pumpkins, beets, pears, grapes, the choicest of wine, the rarest flowers, and the most extensive grain fields in the world, and last, but not least, the most charming climate under the sun. Many magnificent public and private buildings receive the attention of our visitors, and the Golden Gate Park, made more attractive each year, is fully appreciated and always taken in with a trip to the celebrated Cliff House and Seal Rocks, more minutely. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
