government of Mexico conceded whatever was required, and the grant was
made in all due form of Mexican law.

In the discussion at the Government Boarding House in San Francisco it
was urged: That the Gulf of California was the Mediterranean of the
Pacific, and its waters full of pearls. That the Peninsula of Lower
California was copper-bound, interspersed with gold and minerals,
illustrated with old Spanish Missions, and fanned by the gentlest
breezes from the South Pacific. That the State of Sonora was one of the
richest of Mexico in silver, copper, gold, coal and other materials,
with highly productive agricultural valleys in the temperate zone. That
the country north of Sonora, called in the Spanish history "Arizunea"
(rocky country) was full of minerals, with fertile valleys washed by
numerous rivers, and covered by forests primeval. That the climate was
all that could be desired, from the level of the Gulf of California, to
an altitude of 15,000 feet in the mountains of the north. That the
Southern Pacific Railroad would soon be built through the new country,
and that a new State would be made as a connecting link between Texas
and California, with the usual quota of governors, senators, and public
officials.

It was urged that the Iturbide Grant could be located so as to secure
the best sites for towns and cities in the new State, and the rest
distributed to settlers as an inducement for rapid colonization. The
enthusiasm increased with the glamour of Spanish history and the
generous flow of Sazerac.

It must be admitted that an alluring prospect was opened for a young man
idling away his life over a custom house desk at three hundred dollars a
month; and in the enthusiasm of youth I undertook to make an exploration