favorably received in England, where it paved the way for many pleasant
and valuable acquaintanceships. The following year, Dana produced
a small volume on seamanship, entitled The Seaman's Friend. This,
and a short account of a trip to Cuba in 1859, constitute the sole
additions to his early venture. He was a copious letter-writer and
kept full journals of his various travels; but he never elaborated
them for publication. Yet, long before his death, he had seen the
narrative of his sailor days recognized as an American classic.
Time has not diminished its reputation. We read it to-day not
merely for its simple, unpretentious style; but for its clear
picture of sea life previous to the era of steam navigation, and
for its graphic description of conditions in California before
visions of gold sent the long lines of "prairie schooners" drifting
across the plains to unfold the hidden destiny of the West.


California and her Missions

It is not easy to realize that, during the stirring days when the
eastern coast-line of North America was experiencing the ferment
of revolution, the Pacific seaboard was almost totally unexplored,
its population largely a savage one. But Spain, long established
in Mexico, was slowly pushing northward along the California coast.
Her emissaries were the Franciscan friars; her method the founding
of Indian missions round which, in due course, should arise towns
intended to afford harbor for Spanish ships and to serve as outposts
against the steady encroachments of Russia, who, from Alaska, was
reaching out toward San Francisco Bay.

Thus began the white settlement of California. San Diego Mission