They then struck directly westward, across the great chain of
California mountains intervening between these interior plains and the
shores of the Pacific.
For three and twenty days they were entangled among these mountains,
the peaks and ridges of which are in many places covered with perpetual
snow. Their passes and defiles present the wildest scenery, partaking
of the sublime rather than the beautiful, and abounding with frightful
precipices. The sufferings of the travellers among these savage
mountains were extreme: for a part of the time they were nearly starved;
at length, they made their way through them, and came down upon the
plains of New California, a fertile region extending along the coast,
with magnificent forests, verdant savannas, and prairies that looked
like stately parks. Here they found deer and other game in abundance,
and indemnified themselves for past famine. They now turned toward the
south, and passing numerous small bands of natives, posted upon various
streams, arrived at the Spanish village and post of Monterey.
This is a small place, containing about two hundred houses, situated in
latitude 37 north. It has a capacious bay, with indifferent anchorage.
The surrounding country is extremely fertile, especially in the valleys;
the soil is richer, the further you penetrate into the interior, and
the climate is described as a perpetual spring. Indeed, all California,
extending along the Pacific Ocean from latitude 19 30' to 42 north, is
represented as one of the most fertile and beautiful regions in North
America.
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