Spanish And Indian Place Names Of California - free ebook by Nellie Van de Grift Sanchez

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Spanish And Indian Place Names Of California

Nellie Van de Grift Sanchez

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116 chapters

AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT

AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The author wishes to express grateful appreciation of generous aid given in the preparation of this book by Herbert E. Bolton, Ph.D., Professor of American History in the University of California. Acknowledgment is also due to Dr. A. L. Kroeber, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Dr. Harvey M. Hall, Assistant Professor of Economic Botany, Dr. John C. Merriam, Professor of Palaeontology, Dr. Andrew C. Lawson, Professor of Geology and Mineralogy, all of the University of California; Mr. John Mui

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I. INTRODUCTION.

I. INTRODUCTION.

This volume has been prepared in the hope that it may serve, not only as a source of entertainment to our own people, but also as a useful handbook for the schools, and as a sort of tourist’s guide for those who visit the state in such numbers, and who almost invariably exhibit a lively interest in our Spanish and Indian place names. We of California are doubly rich in the matter of names, since, in addition to the Indian nomenclature common to all the states, we possess the splendid heritage le

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II CALIFORNIA

II CALIFORNIA

First comes the name of California herself, the sin par (peerless one), as Don Quixote says of his Dulcinea. This name, strange to say, was a matter of confusion and conjecture for many years, until, in 1862, Edward Everett Hale accidentally hit upon the explanation since accepted by historians. Several theories, all more or less fanciful and far-fetched, were based upon the supposed construction of the word from the Latin calida fornax (hot oven), in reference either to the hot, dry climate of

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CORONADO BEACH

CORONADO BEACH

Coronado Beach , the long spit of land forming the outer shore of the harbor of San Diego, “derived its name from the Coronado Islands near it. These islands were originally named by the Spaniards in honor of Coronado. When the improvement of the sand spit opposite San Diego City and facing the Coronado Islands was made in 1885, the name of Coronado Beach was bestowed upon it.”—(Charles B. Turrill, San Francisco.) In all the history of Spain in western America there is nothing more romantic than

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SAN LUÍS REY

SAN LUÍS REY

San Luís Rey de Francia (St. Louis King of France), is the name of the mission situated in a charming little valley about forty miles north of San Diego and three miles from the sea. It was founded June 13, 1798, by Padres Lasuén, Santiago and Peyri, and its ruins may still be seen upon the spot. A partial restoration has been made of these buildings and they are now used by the Franciscans. The exact circumstances of its naming have not come to light, but we know of its patron saint that his ho

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PALA

PALA

Pala , often misspelled palo , through an accidental resemblance to the Spanish word palo (stick or tree), is situated some fifteen miles or more to the northeast of San Luís Rey, and is the site of the sub-mission of San Antonio de Pala, founded in 1816 by Padre Peyri as a branch of San Luís Rey. This mission was unique in having a bell-tower built apart from the church, and many romantic stories have been told about the “bells of Pala.” It was located in the center of a populous Indian communi

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SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO

San Juan Capistrano (St. John Capistrano), was at one time sadly mutilated by having its first part clipped off, appearing on the map as Capistrano , but upon representations made by Zoeth S. Eldredge it was restored to its full form by the Post Office Department. A mission was founded at this place, which is near the coast about half-way between San Diego and Los Ángeles, by Padres Serra and Amurrio, November 1, 1776, the year of our own glorious memory. While on the other side of the continent

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

There remain some names in the San Diego group of less importance, yet possessing many points of interest, which will be included in the following list, with an explanation of their meanings, and their history wherever it has been possible to ascertain it. ARCHWAY AT CAPISTRANO. “At one time regarded as the finest of all the mission structures.” Agua Tibia (warm water, warm springs), is in San Diego County. For some reason difficult to divine, this perfectly simple name has been the cause of gre

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EL RANCHO LA BREA

EL RANCHO LA BREA

La Brea (the asphalt), has been retained as the appropriate designation of the ranch containing the famous asphaltum beds near Los Ángeles. Ever since the days of the Tertiary Age, the quaking, sticky surface of these beds has acted as a “death trap” for unwary animals, and the remains of the unfortunate creatures have been securely preserved down to our times, furnishing indisputable evidence of the strange life that once existed on our shores. Fossils of a large number of pre-historic and late

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LOS OJITOS

LOS OJITOS

The story of Los Ojitos (literally “little eyes”), but here used in the sense of “little springs,” situated about two leagues from Santa Ana, indicates that the pleasures of social intercourse were not altogether lacking among the California Indians. In the diary of Miguel Costansó, of the date of their arrival at this place, he writes: “We found no water for the animals, but there was sufficient for the people in some little springs or small pools, in a narrow canyon close to a native village.

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SANTA ANA

SANTA ANA

On the day, Friday, July 28, 1769, of the arrival of the Portolá expedition at the stream now called the Santa Ana , which takes its rise in the San Bernardino Mountains, and empties into the ocean at a point southeast of Los Ángeles, four severe earthquakes occurred. Speaking of this circumstance in his diary, Father Crespi says: “To this spot was given El Dulce Nombre de Jesús de los Temblores (The Sweet Name of Jesus of the Earthquakes), because of having experienced here a frightful earthqua

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SANTA MÓNICA

SANTA MÓNICA

Santa Mónica , situated at the innermost point of the great curve in the coast line just west of Los Ángeles, was named in honor of a saintly lady whose story is here quoted from Clara Erskine Clement’s Stories of the Saints : “She was the mother of St. Augustine, and was a Christian, while his father was a heathen. Mónica was sorely troubled at the dissipated life of her young son; she wept and prayed for him, and at last sought the advice and aid of the Bishop of Carthage, who dismissed her wi

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SANTA CATALINA

SANTA CATALINA

Santa Catalina , the beautiful island off the coast of Southern California, was named by Vizcaíno in honor of St. Catherine, because its discovery occurred on the eve of her feast day, November 24, 1602. In the diary of the voyage we get an interesting description of the island and its aboriginal inhabitants: “We continued our journey along the coast until November 24, when, on the eve of the glorious Santa Catalina, we discovered three large islands; we took the one in the middle, which is more

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LAS ÁNIMAS BENDITAS

LAS ÁNIMAS BENDITAS

Of Las Ánimas (the souls), which lay between San Gabriel and the country of the Amajaba (Mojave) Indians, we find the story in Fray Joaquín Pasqual Nuez’s diary of the expedition made in 1819 by Lieutenant Gabriel Moraga, to punish the marauding Amajabas, who had murdered a number of Christian natives. This name was also used as the title of a land grant just south of Gilroy. The Moraga party arrived at a point “about a league and a half from Our Lady of Guadalupe of Guapiabit. We found the plac

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SAN GABRIEL

SAN GABRIEL

San Gabriel , the quaint little town lying nine miles east of Los Ángeles, is the site of the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel (St. Gabriel Archangel), founded September 8, 1771, by Padres Cambón and Somera. This mission was placed in a fertile, well-wooded spot, in the midst of a large Indian population, who, under the instruction of the padres, became experts in many arts, such as sewing, weaving, soap-making, cobbling, etc. Their flocks and herds increased to such an extent that they covered the

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SAN FERNANDO

SAN FERNANDO

It was in the valley of San Fernando (St. Ferdinand), a short distance northwest of Los Ángeles, that the mission pertaining to the latter place was established, September 8, 1797, by Padres Lasuén and Dumetz. The Camulos Rancho, the home of Ramona, the heroine of Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson’s romance, was once included in the lands of this mission. St. Ferdinand, King of Spain, in whose honor this place was named, was a notable warrior, as well as a saint, and he succeeded in expelling the Moors fr

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TEMESCAL

TEMESCAL

Temescal (sweathouse), in Riverside County, although a place of no great importance in itself, is interesting in that its name recalls one of the curious customs widely prevalent among the natives of the Southwest. The word itself is of Aztec origin, and was brought to California by the Franciscans. The temescal is thus described by Dr. A. L. Kroeber, in the University of California Publications in Archaeology and Ethnology: “At the Banning Reservation a sweathouse is still in use. From the outs

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SAN BERNARDINO

SAN BERNARDINO

San Bernardino is the name of a county in the southeastern part of California, whose broad expanse is mainly made up of volcanic mountains, desert plains, and valleys without timber or water. The name was first given to the snow-capped peak, 11,600 feet high, lying about twenty miles east of the city of San Bernardino, which is situated sixty miles east of Los Ángeles, in the fruit and alfalfa region. The name of this town is one of the most regrettable examples of corruption that have occurred

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Abalone Point , some miles to the southeast of San Pedro bay, was no doubt so-named from the abundance of the great sea snails called abalone , whose iridescent shells, the abandoned dwellings of the dead animals, almost comparable in beauty to the mother-of-pearl, once covered the beaches of the California coast with a glittering carpet. The word “once” is used advisedly, for, with our usual easy-going American negligence we have permitted these creatures of the sea, valuable for their edible m

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SAN BUENAVENTURA

SAN BUENAVENTURA

San Buenaventura Mission , at the town now called Ventura, stands near the southeastern end of the Santa Bárbara channel. It was the last work of the great Serra, and was founded March 31, 1782, by the venerable president himself and Father Cambón. Palou gives us a detailed account of this event in his Life of Serra : “March 26, the whole party, the largest ever engaged in the founding of a mission, soldiers, settlers, and their families, muleteers, etc., but only two priests, Padres Serra and C

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ASUNCIÓN

ASUNCIÓN

In the diaries of the Spanish pioneers, a distinct impression is conveyed that the California Indians, so far from being morose and taciturn, as their brothers in other parts of the United States are often portrayed, were rather a merry lot, and received the white men everywhere in their long journey up the coast, with music, feasting and the dance. In fact, we run across a complaint now and then that their hospitality was sometimes so insistent that their guests suffered from loss of sleep, the

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EL BAILARÍN

EL BAILARÍN

El Bailarín (the dancer). This spot, one league from Carpintería, was named in honor of a nimble-footed Indian, who cheered the weary travelers on their way, as thus told by Father Crespi, in his diary of the Portolá expedition: “This place was named through the notable fact of an Indian having feasted us extraordinarily two leagues beyond (always coasting the sea-shore), where there is a large town on a point of land on the same shore; which Indian was a robust man of good form, and a great dan

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CARPINTERÍA

CARPINTERÍA

Carpintería is the name of a little cluster of houses near the shore about ten miles east of Santa Bárbara. It lies in a region once densely populated with natives of very “gentle and mild disposition.” The story of its naming is told by Father Crespi, of the Portolá party: “Not very far from the town we saw some springs of asphaltum. These Indians have many canoes, and at that time were constructing one, for which reason the soldiers named this town Carpintería (carpenter shop), but I baptized

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MONTECITO

MONTECITO

Montecito (little hill or little wood), is the name of a small village about six miles from Santa Bárbara. The country in this vicinity, through its extraordinary charm of climate and scenery, has attracted a large number of very rich people, whose splendid country houses, in bizarre contrast, now occupy the self-same spots where the Indians once raised their flimsy huts of straw....

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SANTA CRUZ ISLAND

SANTA CRUZ ISLAND

While traversing the shore of Santa Bárbara channel, the Portolá expedition of 1769 took time to make trips to the islands and bestow names upon them. The island of Santa Cruz received its name from a rather trivial circumstance. By some chance the padres lost there a staff which bore a cross on the end. They gave it up as irretrievably lost, so were the more pleased when the Indians appeared the following day to restore it. From this they gave the island the name of Santa Cruz (Holy Cross)....

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RANCHERÍA DE LA ESPADA

RANCHERÍA DE LA ESPADA

Of the Ranchería de la Espada (village of the sword), Captain Fages, of the Portolá expedition says: “Two and a half leagues northwest of Point Conception, another glen is found with a population of twenty hearths, with 250 Indians, more or less. The natives of the settlement here are extremely poor and starved, so that they can scarcely live, being without canoes, in rugged land, and short of firewood. While here a soldier lost his sword, leaving it carelessly fastened, so that they took it fro

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MATILIJA

MATILIJA

Matilija Creek and Matilija Springs , in Ventura County, derive their name from an Indian village, one of those mentioned in the mission archives. The name is best known as applied to the Matilija poppy, that flower of the gods which has its native habitat along the banks of the creek. This giant poppy, by reason of its extraordinary size and delicate beauty, has a just claim to be called “queen of all California’s wild flowers,” as the Sequoia is king of her trees. It is a perennial plant, of s

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POINT PEDERNALES

POINT PEDERNALES

Captain Fages, of the Portolá party, says of this place: “Going two leagues through high land, and with a good outlook over the sea-coast, a flowing stream appears, with very good water, and near it a poor settlement of only ten houses, probably numbering about sixty inhabitants, crowded together. We stopped at the place near where a strip or point of land extends to the sea. There we gathered a multitude of flints, good for fire-arms, and so this place is called Los Pedernales (the flints).” Po

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CAMULOS

CAMULOS

Camulos , also spelled Kamulas , was the name of an Indian village near San Buenaventura. This village is among those mentioned in the mission archives, and is noted as the home of Ramona, the heroine of Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson’s romance. The meaning of the word Camulos , according to Professor A. L. Kroeber, is “my fruit.”...

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Los Álamos (the cottonwoods), is in Santa Bárbara County, northwest of Santa Bárbara. The álamo is a species of poplar tree indigenous to California and widely spread throughout the state. Argüello Point is on the coast of Santa Bárbara County, just south of Point Pedernales. Argüello is a surname, that of a pioneer family, of which José Darío Argüello was the founder. “For many years Don José was the most prominent, influential and respected man in California.”—(Bancroft.) Argüello Point was na

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SAN MIGUEL

SAN MIGUEL

San Miguel (St. Michael), situated about forty-seven miles northeast of San Luís Obispo, is the site of Mission San Miguel, founded July 25, 1797, by Padres Lasuén and Sitjar. It is said that “the lands of this mission extended from the Tulares on the east to the sea on the west, and from the north boundary of the San Luís Obispo district to the south line of San Antonio. It had its work-shops and little factories where the good padres taught the Indians the useful arts. Its property was confisc

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PASO DE ROBLES

PASO DE ROBLES

Paso de Robles (pass of the oaks), known far and wide for its hot sulphur springs, where the sick of many lands find surcease from their pain, is situated twenty-nine miles north of San Luís Obispo. It was named for the reason indicated by Father Crespi, who says: “....in a valley in the hollow of the Santa Lucía Mountains, called Los Robles , for the great abundance of these trees with which it is populated.” It should be explained that the roble is not the evergreen, or live-oak, which is call

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Arroyo Grande (big creek), a village in San Luís Obispo County, fifteen miles southeast of San Luís Obispo. Atascadero (boggy ground, quagmire). Avenal (a field sown with oats). Buchón (big craw), is the name of the point on the coast directly opposite the town of San Luís Obispo, and has a significance not altogether agreeable. The Spanish soldiers called the place Buchón from an Indian in the neighborhood who was the unfortunate possessor of an enormous goitre, which was so large that it hung

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SAN ANTONIO

SAN ANTONIO

At San Antonio (St. Anthony), in Monterey County, between Kings City and Jolón, Father Serra established the mission of San Antonio de Padua, July 14, 1771. In connection with its establishment, Palou tells a story that brings out one of the most marked characteristics of the venerable founder, his ardent enthusiasm: “They [the founding party] departed for the Santa Lucía Mountains, taking priests for the new mission, the required escort of soldiers, and all necessaries. Twenty-five leagues sout

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POINT CYPRESS

POINT CYPRESS

La Punta de los Cipreses (Point Cypress), is the home of those wonderful trees, twisted and gnarled into a thousand fantastic shapes by their age-long struggle against the ocean winds, which furnish yet another proof of the part played by California in the preservation of the rare and the unique, for this species of coniferous tree is said to be confined to that region, not occurring in any other part of the world. The following interesting paragraph on these trees is quoted from The Trees of Ca

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POINT PINOS

POINT PINOS

La Punta de Pinos (the point of pines), is situated a few miles from Monterey, just beyond Pacific Grove. It is one of the most picturesque points on the coast, and is the location of one of the government light-houses. ON THE SHORE NEAR LA PUNTA DE LOS CIPRESES. “The home of those wonderful trees, twisted into a thousand fantastic shapes by their age long struggle with the ocean winds.”...

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SALINAS

SALINAS

When the Portolá expedition of 1769 arrived at the Salinas River, they made the first of the series of errors which caused them to pass by the bay of Monterey without recognizing it, for they mistook this stream for the Carmel. The Salinas (salt marshes), so-called for the chain of salt-water ponds lying along its course, was known by various names before a permanent one became attached to it, appearing at different times as El Río Elzeario , Santa Delfina , and El Río de Monterey . The town of

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SOLEDAD

SOLEDAD

Soledad (solitude), in Monterey County, 143 miles southeast of San Francisco, is described as “a very dry plain, with few trees, swept by fierce winds and dust storms in summer.” No wonder they called it Soledad ,—Lonesometown! Yet those same dry plains proved to be of sufficient fertility to warrant the establishment, in 1791, of the mission of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad , freely translated as “Our Lady of Sorrows,” which became the center of a large and prosperous Indian community. The build

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PÁJARO

PÁJARO

Pájaro (bird), a town in Monterey County, on the Pájaro River, which rises on the slope of the Coast Range, and flows westerly, falling into Monterey Bay, derives its name from a circumstance told in the diary of the faithful Father Crespi: “We saw in this place a bird, which the Gentiles (unbaptized Indians), had killed and stuffed with straw, and which appeared to some [of the party] to be a royal eagle; it was measured from tip to tip of the wings, and was found to measure eleven palms (nine

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SANTA CRUZ

SANTA CRUZ

Santa Cruz (holy cross), the well-known seaside resort lying at the northern hook of the great curve that forms Monterey Bay, was named by the Portolá expedition, as thus described by Father Crespi: “We camped on the north side of the river [San Lorenzo], and we had a great deal of work to cut down trees to open a little passage for our beasts.... Not far from the river we saw a fertile spot where the grass was not burnt, and it was a pleasure to see the pasture and the variety of herbs and rose

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SAN JUAN BAUTISTA

SAN JUAN BAUTISTA

San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist), has suffered mutilation by the dropping of its last part, and usually appears as San Juan . San Juan is a small town in San Benito County, in a fertile valley on the San Benito River, forty-four miles southeast of San José. At this place the mission of San Juan Bautista was founded, June 24, 1797. Although this mission passed through some strenuous experiences, and was twice attacked by the Indians, and somewhat damaged by repeated earthquakes in 1800, i

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Agua Amargosa (bitter water), a place in San Benito County now known by its English translation, “Bitter Water,” and so-called from mineral springs. Año Neuvo (new year), is the name of a prominent cape running out from the shore of Santa Cruz County, where one of the coast light-houses is situated. It received its name from the day of its discovery. Arroyo Seco (dry creek). The Arroyo Seco, rising in the Santa Lucía Range and flowing northeasterly into the Salinas River, is probably the most re

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SAN JOSÉ

SAN JOSÉ

San José (St. Joseph), enjoys the distinction of having been the first white colony planted in the state by the Spaniards, although when we read the complaints of the padres concerning the highly undesirable character of its first settlers, recruited mainly from the criminal classes of Sonora, the distinction would seem to be of rather a doubtful sort. MISSION OF SANTA CLARA, FOUNDED IN 1777. “The special symbol of the sweet St. Clara is the lily, peculiarly appropriate for the ever-blooming San

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PALO ALTO

PALO ALTO

Palo Alto (high stick, or tree), in Santa Clara County, sixteen miles northwest of San José, once a stock farm where blooded horses were raised, now best known as the site of the Leland Stanford Junior University, is said to have received its name from a tall redwood tree on the San Francisquito (little St. Francis) creek. This tree stands just a few feet from the railroad bridge near Palo Alto station, and is said by old residents to have originally been in the form of a twin tree, one of the t

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LA SALUD

LA SALUD

La Salud (health). In the name of this place, not far from the San Lorenzo River, reached by the Portolá party on October 22, there is a reference to one of the heaviest of the afflictions from which the Spaniards suffered during their journey up the state,—serious sickness and many deaths from scurvy. To their great surprise, after a wetting received during a heavy storm at this place, all the sick began to recover. Costansó, in his diary, date of October 22, says: “The day dawned overcast and

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LOS GATOS

LOS GATOS

Los Gatos (the cats), is the rather unpoetic name of a very pretty town in Santa Clara County, ten miles southwest of San José. From its location at the mouth of a canyon in the Santa Cruz Mountains, the inference may be drawn that it was named in reference to the wild-cats which even at this day infest that region. John Charles Fremont, in his Memoirs , says: “The valley is openly wooded with groves of oak, free from under-brush, and after the spring rains covered with grass. On the west it is

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Almadén (mine, mineral), a word of Moorish origin. New Álmadén, in Santa Clara County, where there is a quicksilver mine, is named after the famous Almadén quicksilver mines of Spain. Alviso (a surname). Alviso is in Santa Clara County, eight miles northwest of San José, and received its name from Ignacio Alviso, a native of Sonora, born in 1772, who was a member of Anza’s party of colonists in 1775-6. He was the original Alviso of California, and was the grantee of Rincón de los Esteros Rancho

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THE GOLDEN GATE

THE GOLDEN GATE

Although this name, not being of Spanish or Indian origin, is not properly included in these pages, its close relationship to San Francisco, and its position as the gate-way to the entire state, will not permit it to be passed by. In view of the comparatively recent origin of the name, 1844, and the accessibility of the story, it seems strange indeed that any writer should have advanced the theory that the Golden Gate received its name from Sir Francis Drake, yet this wholly unfounded explanatio

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ALCATRAZ

ALCATRAZ

Alcatraz (pelican), the fortress-like island in the bay, just inside the channel, performs the triple duty of a fortified military post, prison, and light-house. Although but 1650 feet in length, it rises to a height of 130 feet above the water, and in the shadowy light just after sunset, its high, rocky walls, topped by the buildings of the fortifications and prison, make a silhouette against the sky strikingly like a great dreadnaught, standing guard at the harbor’s entrance. The story of its

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ANGEL ISLAND

ANGEL ISLAND

Angel Island , the Americanization of La Isla de los Ángeles (the isle of the angels), belies its name, since it has been devoted to the quite un-angelic business of quarantine station of San Francisco. Palou, in speaking of the expedition of 1776, says: “They moved to the island which is in front of the mouth, which they called Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles [Our Lady of the Angels], on which they found good anchorage, and going on land, they found plenty of wood and water.” A story has found it

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YERBA BUENA ISLAND

YERBA BUENA ISLAND

Yerba Buena (the good herb), is the name of a dainty little vine native to the California woods, which has an agreeable aromatic odor, and was much in use among the Spanish as a medicinal herb, and to add a pleasant aroma to their tea. Fremont, who, whatever else may be said of him, had enough poetry in his soul to feel an expansive joy over the plant life of this flowery land, describes it as follows: “A vine with a small white flower, called here la yerba buena , which, from its abundance, giv

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MARE ISLAND

MARE ISLAND

Mare Island , in San Pablo Bay, separated from Vallejo by a strait one-half mile wide, a charming spot with an unpoetic name,—is another example of writers attempting to make difficulties where none exist, and so they would have us believe that the name of this isle arose, like Venus, from mare , the sea. Apart from the fact that this labored method of naming places, by seeking in the Latin, was quite foreign to the custom of the Spaniards, it happens that the true story in this case is at hand,

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ALAMEDA

ALAMEDA

It has been thought that this name may have been derived from the resemblance between Alameda creek, at one time thickly shaded along its banks by willows and silver-barked sycamores, and an alameda (an avenue shaded by trees), but since the primary meaning of the word is “a place where poplar trees grow,” from álamo (poplar or cottonwood), it requires less stretching of the imagination to believe that some such grove of cottonwoods near the creek gave it the name. Fray Dantí, in his diary of th

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LOS FARALLONES

LOS FARALLONES

Los Farallones , the three small islands standing like watch-dogs at our outer gate, about thirty-two miles due west of the entrance to the bay, derive their name from farallon , a word meaning “a small pointed island in the sea.” Although this word is commonly employed by the Spanish to designate such islands, and its use in this case is perfectly obvious, the statement has been made that our isles were named for a certain Ferolla, one of the early navigators, a theory entirely without value. T

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MOUNT TAMALPAIS

MOUNT TAMALPAIS

Tamalpais (bay mountain), is in Marin County, five miles southwest of San Rafael; it rises to a height of 2606 feet above sea level, and dominates San Francisco Bay and the surrounding country, offering one of the most magnificent panoramas of sea and land to be seen anywhere on the earth’s surface. Its name is a compound of two Indian words, tamal (bay), and pais (mountain). The resemblance of the latter word to the Spanish pais (country), is thought by ethnologists to be purely accidental. Dr.

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MOUNT DIABLO

MOUNT DIABLO

Mount Diablo (devil mountain), is an isolated, conical peak of the Coast Range, in Contra Costa County, about thirty-eight miles northeast of San Francisco. It rises 3849 feet above the level of the sea, and is the most conspicuous land-mark in the central part of the state. General M. G. Vallejo tells the following story to account for the name: “In 1806, a military expedition from San Francisco marched against a tribe called the Bolgones, who were encamped at the foot of the mountain. There wa

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SAUSALITO

SAUSALITO

Sausalito (little willow grove), the diminutive of sausal (willow grove), or, as formerly and officially written, Saucelito (little willow, from sauce ), is on the west shore of the bay, in Marin County, six miles northwest of San Francisco. This is one of the delightful suburban towns around the bay, where business men of San Francisco have their homes....

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MARIN COUNTY

MARIN COUNTY

Of Marin County, separated from San Francisco by the Golden Gate, and noted for the beauty of its scenery, we get the story from General M. G. Vallejo. It appears that in 1815 or ’16, an exploring party from San Francisco had a fight with the Licatiut tribe, so-called from a certain root used by them as food, especially in the Petaluma Valley. During this fight the chief was captured and carried to San Francisco, but afterwards escaped, and kept up constant hostilities in Petaluma Valley. He was

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TIBURÓN

TIBURÓN

Tiburón (shark), is on the Marin County shore, opposite San Francisco. It has been facetiously suggested that this name may have been derived from “sharks” of the land variety, but it probably came from some story connected with those of the sea....

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SAN RAFAEL

SAN RAFAEL

Even in this land, so prodigal with its flowers from its northern to its southern borders, San Rafael, the county-seat of Marin County, fifteen miles north of San Francisco, is notable for the exceeding beauty of its gardens, where the lily and the rose bloom from year’s end to year’s end. THE MISSION OF SAN RAFAEL, FOUNDED IN 1817. “ ... where the lily and the rose bloom from year’s end to year’s end.” Its patron, St. Raphael, “is considered the guardian angel of humanity. He was the herald who

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BENICIA

BENICIA

Benicia (a surname), is the name of a town in Solano County, on the north side of Carquínez Strait, twenty-eight miles northeast of San Francisco. Its story may best be told in the words of General Sherman, in the following quotation from his Memoirs : “We found a solitary adobe house, occupied by Mr. Hastings and his family, embracing Dr. Semple, the proprietor of the ferry. The ferry was a ship’s boat, with a lateen sail, which could carry six or eight horses. It took us several days to cross

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LAS PULGAS RANCHO

LAS PULGAS RANCHO

Las Pulgas Rancho (the fleas ranch), is near Redwood City. The story of this place, with its unpleasantly suggestive name, although of little importance in itself, is told here for the light it throws upon the manners and customs of the original dwellers in the land. Father Engelhardt, in his History of the California Missions , describes their way of living thus: “Their habitations were primitive, in summer often but a shady spot, or mere shelter of brush. Their winter quarters consisted of a f

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POINT LOBOS

POINT LOBOS

Point Lobos (seal point, from lobo marino , sea-wolf), is just outside of the Golden Gate, on the south side, near the spot where the seals crawling about on the rocks have long been one of the chief attractions of the famous Cliff House....

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Álamo (cottonwood tree), is the name of a place in Contra Costa County, twenty-four miles northeast of San Francisco. Alvarado (a surname), that of one of the first governors of the state. Alvarado is a village in Alameda County, on Alameda Creek, twenty-four miles southeast of San Francisco. Juan Bautista Alvarado was a central figure in California history. He was born at Monterey, February 14, 1809, and from ’27 on occupied various official positions, including that of governor of the state. B

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SONOMA

SONOMA

Sonoma , the name of the northern county, and of the town in the beautiful Sonoma Valley, forty-five miles north of San Francisco, is of doubtful origin. It is probable that it comes from Indian, rather than Spanish sources. In the native dialect of that region there is the constantly recurring ending tso-noma , from tso (the earth), and noma (village), hence, tsonoma (earth village or earth place). The name was given by missionaries to a chief of the Indians there, and later applied to all the

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NAPA

NAPA

Napa is the name of a county, river and city, the county adjacent to San Pablo Bay, into which the river falls. The town is the county-seat of Napa County, and is on the river of the same name, about thirty-nine miles northeast of San Francisco. The Napa Soda Springs are an interesting natural feature of this place. Napa , accented in some of the old documents as Napá , was the name of an Indian tribe who occupied that valley, said to have been one of the bravest of the California tribes, and wh

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CARNE HUMANA

CARNE HUMANA

Among the names of the old Spanish land grants are many that hold a suggestion of interesting and sometimes tragic tales, now lost in the dim shadows of the past. Of such is Carne Humana (human flesh), the name of a grant in Napa County, near St. Helena. This spot may have been the scene of one of those horrible acts of cannibalism to which the Indians of the entire Southwest were quite generally addicted. Captain Fages, in his diary of one of the expeditions to San Francisco Bay, mentions that

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SANTA ROSA

SANTA ROSA

Santa Rosa (St. Rose), the county-seat of Sonoma County, is fifty-seven miles northwest of San Francisco. An interesting story is told of Santa Rosa de Lima, said to be the only canonized female saint of the New World. She was born at Lima, in Peru, and was distinguished for her hatred of vanity, and her great austerity, carrying these characteristics to such an extreme that she destroyed her beautiful complexion with a compound of pepper and quicklime. When her mother commanded her to wear a wr

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MENDOCINO COUNTY

MENDOCINO COUNTY

Mendocino County , in the northwestern part of the state, is distinguished for its extensive forests of redwoods. The main belt of these trees extends through this county, and they may here be seen in their highest development. They vary in height from 100 to 340 feet, and reach a diameter of from two to sixteen feet, having a red, fibrous bark sometimes a foot in thickness. Notwithstanding their great size, the delicacy of their foliage, which takes the form of flat sprays, gives them a gracefu

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KLAMATH

KLAMATH

Klamath is the name of a village in Humboldt County, but is particularly known as applied to the Klamath River, which flows in a deep and narrow canyon through the counties of Siskiyou and Humboldt. The word, in its different forms of Klamath , Tlametl , and Clamet , is the name by which these Indians were known to the Chinooks, and through them to the whites, their proper designation in their own language being Lutuami .—(Bancroft’s Native Races , Vol. 1, page 444.) The meaning of the word has

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MODOC COUNTY

MODOC COUNTY

Modoc , the county in the northeastern corner of the state, is notable as having been the home of the only California tribe that ever caused serious trouble to the United States Government. The Modoc wars are a matter of history. The Modocs were a fierce tribe of Indians who lived at the head-waters of Pit River, and the name is thought by some persons to mean “head of the river,” or “people, community,” but ethnologists are of the opinion that it means “south people,” probably used by tribes li

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SHASTA

SHASTA

To account for the name Shasta , a number of theories have been advanced, no one of which seems to be positively established. According to the Bureau of Ethnology, “Shasta may be a corruption of Sus-tí-ka , apparently the name of a well-known Indian living about 1840 near the site of Yreka. The name was applied to a group of small tribes in Northern California, extending into Oregon, who were soon extinguished by the development of mining operations.” MOUNT SHASTA. “ ... its summit glistening wi

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SISKIYOU COUNTY

SISKIYOU COUNTY

Except that it is of Indian origin, nothing authentic has been obtained concerning Siskiyou , the name of the county in the extreme north of the state. Several popular theories have been advanced, one to the effect that Siskiyou means “lame horse.” If that be true the word must have been introduced into the Indian language after the coming of the Spaniards, since horses were unknown to the Indians before that period. Another story, perhaps more pleasing than true, runs as follows: “On the summit

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TRINITY COUNTY

TRINITY COUNTY

Trinity County received its name from Trinidad Bay, which was discovered and named by Captain Bruno Ezeta, on Trinity Sunday, in the year 1775. Trinidad is the Spanish word meaning Trinity. Trinity River was so-named through the mistaken belief that it emptied into Trinidad Bay. Trinidad is also the name of a village in Humboldt County, on the ocean shore, twenty miles north of Eureka....

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YREKA

YREKA

Yreka , the name of the county-seat of Siskiyou County, is an Indian word, of which the spelling has probably been corrupted, perhaps in a spirit of facetiousness, from the original Wai-ri-ka to its present eccentric form. Various theories have been offered in explanation of the word, but the only one apparently based on scientific data seems to be that it means “north place.” One writer advances the whimsical explanation that the word was formed by the transposition of the letters in “bakery,”

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Agua Caliente (hot water, hot springs), a village in Sonoma County, forty-five miles north of San Francisco. Altúras (heights), the county-seat of Modoc County, 110 miles north of Reno. Point Arena (sandy point), is the name of the cape on the Mendocino coast, and of the village in that county, 110 miles northwest of San Francisco. Bodega (a surname), that of its discoverer, Don Juan de la Bodega y Quadra, Captain of the schooner Sonora, who sailed into Bodega Bay October 3, 1775. This bay, and

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TEHAMA COUNTY

TEHAMA COUNTY

Tehama County lies at the extreme northern end of the great Central Valley of the state. There is a village of the same name in the county, on the Sacramento River, twelve miles southeast of Red Bluff. The name Tehama was derived from an Indian tribe, but the meaning of it has not been ascertained. Two definitions have been offered,—“high water,” in reference to the overflowing of the Sacramento River, and “low land,” but these may be among those attempts to account for our names by making the n

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COLUSA

COLUSA

Colusa is a county in the northern part of the Central Valley, and has a county-seat of the same name, situated on the west bank of the Sacramento River, sixty-five miles northwest of Sacramento. This name appears as Colus on the land grant located at that place, and is said by Powers, in his Tribes of California , to be a corruption of Ko-ru-si , a tribal name, a more reasonable explanation than any other that has been offered. General Will Green, said to have known the tribe well, was of the o

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YUBA

YUBA

Yuba is the name of a county in the Central Valley, of Yuba City, the county-seat of Sutter County, and of the Yuba River, which is formed by the union of three branches rising in the Sierra Nevada. The name Yuba was first applied to the river, the chief tributary of the Feather. The theory has been advanced that it received the name of Uba , or Uva , the Spanish word for grapes, from an exploring party in 1824, in reference to the immense quantities of vines loaded with wild grapes growing alon

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YOLO

YOLO

Yolo is the name of a county in the northern part of the Central Valley, and of a village near Woodland. Yolo , or Yoloy , was the name of a Patwin tribe, and the word is said by the Bureau of Ethnology to mean “a place abounding with rushes.” In 1884 there were still forty-five of the tribe living in Yolo County....

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SOLANO

SOLANO

This county, situated in the Central Valley, immediately northeast of San Francisco, was named, at the request of General Mariano Vallejo, in honor of an Indian chief of the Suisunes who had aided him in war against the other natives. The name of this chief in his own tongue is said to have been Sem Yeto , “the Fierce one of the Brave Hand,” or Sum-yet-ho , “the Mighty Arm,” and, judging by the description given of him by Dr. Vallejo, he must have been a living refutation of the common belief th

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SUISÚN

SUISÚN

Suisún Bay is a body of navigable water connected with San Pablo Bay by the Carquínez Strait, and is the outlet of the San Joaquín and Sacramento Rivers. Suisún City is in Solano County, on a slough, about fifty miles northeast of San Francisco. Suisún was the name of an Indian village on that bay, and the word is said by some persons to mean a “big expanse.” The name was probably first given to the land grant. This region was the home of an important tribe of Indians who had an interesting and

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SACRAMENTO

SACRAMENTO

Sacramento County and the city of the same name, the state capital, situated near the center of the Great Valley, received their names from the river, which, following the usual custom of the Spaniards, was christened first, being named in honor of the Holy Sacrament. Captain Moraga first gave the name of Jesús María to the main river, calling the branch Sacramento , but later the main stream became known as Sacramento , and the branch as El Río de las Plumas (the river of the feathers)....

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COSUMNE

COSUMNE

Cosumne is the name of a village in Sacramento County, about twenty-two miles southeast of Sacramento. The Cosumne river rises in El Dorado County, near the Sierra Nevada, and enters the Mokelumne about twenty-five miles south of the city of Sacramento. Cosumne is an Indian word, said to mean “salmon,” and was taken from the tribe who lived upon the river. The frequent occurrence of the ending amni , or umne , in the names of rivers in the Sierras has led to the mistaken conclusion that the suff

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SAN JOAQUÍN

SAN JOAQUÍN

San Joaquín County , famous for its vast fields of wheat, is a part of the great Central Valley, and the river of the same name rises in the Sierras, flows north-northwest through the valley and unites with the Sacramento River near its mouth. The river was named in honor of St. Joachim, the father of the Virgin. Lieutenant Moraga first gave the name to a rivulet which springs from the Sierra Nevada, and empties into Lake Buena Vista. The river derived its name from this rivulet. The rich valley

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STANISLAUS

STANISLAUS

Stanislaus is the name of the county just south of San Joaquín, and of one of the tributaries of the San Joaquín River. The word Stanislaus is said to be derived from an Indian chief of that region, who became Christianized and was baptized under the Spanish name of Estanislao . He was educated at Mission San José, but became a renegade, and incited his tribe against the Spaniards. In 1826 he was defeated in a fierce battle on the banks of the river now bearing his name. Fremont thus describes t

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MERCED

MERCED

Merced (mercy), is the name of the county south of Stanislaus, of its own principal stream, and of its county-seat. The river was named by the Spaniards, in honor of the Virgin, El Río de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (the river of our Lady of Mercy). This name was given to the stream by the Moraga party as an expression of their joy and gratitude at the sight of its sparkling waters, after an exhausting journey of forty miles through a water-less country. According to Fremont, this stream was cal

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MADERA COUNTY

MADERA COUNTY

Madera (wood, timber), is the name of the county to the southwest of Stanislaus. It occupies a stretch of fertile land, and was called Madera by the Spaniards on account of its heavy growth of timber....

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FRESNO COUNTY

FRESNO COUNTY

Fresno (ash-tree), so-called in reference to the abundance of those trees in that region, is the name of a county in the San Joaquín Valley, in the heart of the grain and fruit country. Raisins and wine are its especial products. Its capital city and principal stream also bear the name of Fresno....

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KINGS COUNTY

KINGS COUNTY

This county, now appearing under its English form, originally received its name from the river, which was discovered by a Spanish exploring party in 1805, and called by them El Río de los Santos Reyes (the river of the Holy Kings), in honor of the “three wise men.” A considerable part of the area of this county was at one time covered by Tulare Lake, but the shrinkage of that body of water through the withdrawal of its sources of supply have added nearly the whole of the territory occupied by it

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TULARE COUNTY

TULARE COUNTY

Tulare (place of tules, or rushes), is the name of a county in the south-central part of the state, of Tulare Lake in Kings County, and of a town in the San Joaquín Valley. The county is remarkable for the high mountain peaks of the Sierra Nevada, on its northeast border. Among these is Mount Whitney, about 14500 feet in height. Tulare Lake , in Kings County, at one time filled a shallow depression about thirty miles in length, and received through a number of small streams the drainage from the

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Acampo (common pasture), is the name of a village in San Joaquín County. See Final Index. Arroyo Buenos Aires (creek of the good airs), is in San Joaquín County. Caliente (hot), is the name of a town in Kern County. Chico (little), is the name of a town in Butte County, ninety-six miles north of Sacramento. This place derives its name from the Rancho Chico (the little ranch), of which General John Bidwell was the original grantee. The Arroyo Chico and the town both took their names from the ranc

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THE SIERRA NEVADA

THE SIERRA NEVADA

The Sierra Nevada Mountains , California’s wonder-land, derive their name from sierra (saw), and nevada (snowy),—descriptive of the saw-toothed outlines of the summits of the range, and the mantle of perpetual snow that covers the highest tops. The term Sierra Madre , absurdly translated by some persons as “Mother of Christ,” means, of course, “Mother Sierra,” that is, the largest mountain range personified as the mother of the smaller ranges. “The Sierra Nevada is generally considered to extend

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PIT RIVER

PIT RIVER

Among the many tributary streams that carry the waters of the Sierra Nevada down the western slope into the Sacramento, the Pit , often incorrectly spelled Pitt , is one of the most important, and, although not properly belonging in these pages, is included for the sake of the information to be gained concerning Indian customs. IN THE HIGH SIERRAS. “Above the snow line, south from Mount Brewer.” The natives along this river were in the habit of digging pits near the banks to catch bear and deer,

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PLUMAS

PLUMAS

Plumas (feathers), is the name of a county in the northeastern part of the state. It is drained by the Feather River, which flows through one of the deepest and most picturesque canyons in California. The county is characterized by its wild and rugged scenery, its deep canyons and extensive forests of evergreen trees. In the northwest corner Lassen Peak, now an active volcano, rises to a height of 10437 feet. The county derives its name from its principal stream, which now appears under its Engl

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THE AMERICAN RIVER

THE AMERICAN RIVER

The American River , another of the names which have been translated from the original Spanish, is formed by three forks rising in the Sierra Nevada, and empties into the Sacramento at the site of the city of that name. The three branches forming it run in deep canyons, sometimes two thousand feet in depth, and the scenery along its course is of a rugged and striking character. The river was originally called El Río de los Americanos (the river of the Americans), probably from the presence on it

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EL DORADO COUNTY

EL DORADO COUNTY

El Dorado (the gilded man). Although it is known to most people, in a vague, general way, that the name El Dorado was given to this county on account of the discovery of gold there, the romantic tales connected with the name are probably not so well known. The Indians of Peru, Venezuela, and New Granada, perhaps in the hope of inducing their oppressors to move on, were constantly pointing out to the Spaniards, first in one direction, then in another, a land of fabulous riches. This land was said

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PLACER COUNTY

PLACER COUNTY

Placer , the county in the Sierras famous for its surface gold-mining, has a puzzling name for which no satisfactory explanation has yet been found. Although it has been used in Spanish countries for centuries in the sense of surface mining, dictionaries remain silent upon the subject. The theory often advanced that the word is a contraction of plaza de oro (place of gold), bears none of the marks of probability, and another that it means “a river where gold is found” is not supported by adequat

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THE TRUCKEE RIVER

THE TRUCKEE RIVER

The Truckee River rises on the borders of El Dorado and Placer Counties, and is the outlet of Lake Tahoe, discharging its waters into Pyramid Lake in Nevada. This mountain stream is justly celebrated for the wild charm of its scenery. There is a village bearing the same name, in Nevada County, well-known to travelers through being on the regular route to Tahoe. At this place winter sports, tobogganing, skiing, skating, etc., are provided for San Franciscans, who need to travel but a few hours to

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LAKE TAHOE

LAKE TAHOE

Tahoe is another of the Indian names whose meaning can not be ascertained with any degree of certainty. The definition “Big Water,” the one usually given, is considered doubtful by ethnologists. The statement has been made by intelligent Indians now living on the banks of the lake that the word, pronounced Dá-o by them, means “deep” and “blue.” Yet it is much to know that this pearl among all lakes has at least been fortunate enough to receive an indigenous name, escaping by a narrow margin the

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AMADOR COUNTY

AMADOR COUNTY

Amador (literally “lover”), but in this case a surname. Amador is the long, narrow county lying between Calaveras and El Dorado, and was probably named in honor of the Amador family, either Don Pedro Amador, or his son, José María. Pedro Amador is said to have been a “soldier of fortune” in the Spanish army, who came to California in 1771. His son, José María, was also a soldier and a renowned Indian fighter, and was known to be living as late as 1883....

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CALAVERAS

CALAVERAS

Calaveras (skulls), is the name of a county in the central part of the Sierra Nevada, on the eastern border. This county is famous for its gold and copper mines, and its Giant Sequoias. The river, to which the name of Calaveras was first given, rises in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and flows southwest, emptying into the San Joaquín about fifteen miles below Stockton. The river received its rather lugubrious name at the hands of Captain Moraga, who led the first expedition up the Sacramento

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TUOLUMNE

TUOLUMNE

Tuolumne is the name of the county in the Sierras just east of Calaveras, and of the river which rises at the base of the Sierra Nevadas, and flows into the San Joaquín, twenty-five miles south of Stockton, a part of its course running through a deep canyon. Here we have another of the river names ending in umne , already discussed under the heading of Cosumne . As stated before, umne probably means “people of,” and it is held by some authorities that the meaning of Tuolumne is “people of the st

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MARIPOSA

MARIPOSA

Mariposa (butterfly), is famous as the county that holds within its borders two of the wonders of the earth, the Yosemite Valley and the Giant Sequoias. Some of these trees are three hundred feet high, thirty feet in diameter, and 2400 years old, having unfolded their feathery fronds before Christ came upon the earth. According to Professor Jepsen, “they are the direct descendants of the species dominant in the Tertiary Period,” and thus are a living reminder of the plant life of that dim and di

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YOSEMITE

YOSEMITE

Yosemite (grizzly bear, not large grizzly bear, according to the scientists), said to have been called Yohamite by the natives, is one of the few Indian names whose meaning has been ascertained with a reasonable degree of certainty. It must be remembered that Yosemite, like most Indian words, has been greatly corrupted from its original form, which was u-zú-mai-ti , o-só-mai-ti or uh-zú-mai-ti , according to the tribe using it, and the valley was never known by this name to the Indians, but alwa

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MONO

MONO

Mono is the name of a county on the eastern border of the state, and of the lake near the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada. This lake is fourteen miles long and nine miles wide, and is peculiar in having no outlet, its waters being strongly saline and alkaline. It lies 6730 feet above sea-level and is almost completely destitute of animal life. VERNAL FALLS IN THE YOSEMITE VALLEY. “The valley was called by the Indians A-wa-ni , from the name of their principal village.” This name, corrupted fro

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INYO

INYO

Inyo , a word of unknown meaning, was the name of a tribe of Indians in the Sierra. Inyo County is on the eastern border of the state, adjacent to Nevada. Its largest stream is the Owens River, which flows into Owens Lake, another body of saline water having no outlet. This county has the unenviable distinction of containing within its borders the terrible “Death Valley,” where the bones of so many unfortunates have been left to whiten under the desert sun, and which still claims a victim now an

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AMARGOSA RIVER

AMARGOSA RIVER

Amargosa (bitter), is the very appropriate name of a river of Nevada and southeastern California which flows into Death Valley, sometimes known also as the Amargosa Desert. The mountains lying northeast of the river’s upper course are sometimes called the Amargosa Mountains. Fremont gives a characteristic picture of this dreary country in the following paragraph: “We traveled through a barren district, where a heavy gale was blowing about the loose sand, and, after a ride of eight miles, reached

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SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

SUPPLEMENTARY LIST

Alta (high), is a village in Placer County, sixty-eight miles northeast of Sacramento, two miles from the great American Canyon. The altitude of this place is 3607 feet above sea level. The name is modern and was only given to the place after the building of the Central Pacific Railroad. Cerro Gordo (large, thick hill), is the name of a famous mining camp in Inyo County. Cisco is a town in Placer County, situated at an altitude of 5934 feet above sea level. Cisco is a word of disputed origin. It

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CAMINO REAL

CAMINO REAL

Camino Real (royal road, or the King’s highway). The Camino Real was the road connecting the missions, and was the chief means of intercourse between the different settlements during the early years of the state’s history. After American occupation the road fell into disuse, but at present is being reconstructed along the old route, with many extensions and branches, and will, when finished, be one of the finest roads in the United States. While it scarcely falls within the province of this book

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VOWELS.

VOWELS.

A sounds like a in ah , midway between the English a in father and that in fat . Example, Pala , pronounced Pah´lah . E sounds like a in hay , its sound being slightly varied according to situation. Example, Rode´o , pronounced Ro-day´o . I sounds like ee in bee . Example, Vista , pronounced Vees´tah . O sounds like o in hope . Example, Contra Costa , pronounced Cone´trah Coast´ah . This name is frequently mispronounced by using the short sound of o , as in not . U sounds like u in rule . Exampl

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CONSONANTS.

CONSONANTS.

Only those consonant sounds differing from English usage need be mentioned here. C has two sounds. Before e and i it is pronounced like s in seat , that is, in Spanish-American usage; examples, Cerro , pronounced Ser´ro , and Cima , pronounced See´mah . In all other cases c has the sound of k ; examples, Carlos , pronounced Kar´loce , Colorado , pronounced Ko-lo-rah´do (each o long, as in hope ), Cuesta , pronounced Kwes´tah , and Cruz , pronounced Kroos . Ch has the sound of ch in church . Exam

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ACCENT.

ACCENT.

All words ending in n or s or a vowel are regularly accented on the next to the last syllable; examples, Sausalíto , Altúras , cómen . All others are accented on the last syllable; examples, San Rafael´ , Avenal´ . In words following the above rules no mark is used, but in the exceptions, which are many, the stress must be indicated by the written accent. Examples, Portolá , Jolón , Álamo , Los Ángeles ....

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ARTICLES.

ARTICLES.

In the Spanish language articles agree with their nouns in gender and number. The forms of the definite article are el (singular) and los (plural) for the masculine, la (singular) and las (plural) for the feminine. Examples, El Portal (the portal, or gate), Los Gatos (the cats), La Paz (the peace), Las Vírgenes (the virgins)....

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LIST OF NAMES MOST LIKELY TO BE MISPRONOUNCED, WITH THEIR PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION.

LIST OF NAMES MOST LIKELY TO BE MISPRONOUNCED, WITH THEIR PHONETIC PRONUNCIATION.

MAP OF THE MISSIONS. Used by the courtesy of Father Engelhardt. Abalone (the great sea-snail of the Pacific Coast). See page 75 . Acampo (common pasture). See page 282 . This name is used here in the sense of “camp,” and was given by the Southern Pacific Railroad years ago, in reference to a camp of wood choppers and Chinese which was located there. Acolito (acolyte), is in Imperial County. Adelante (onward, forward), now changed to Napa Junction, is in Napa County. This place was called Adelant

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ADDENDA

ADDENDA

Las Calabazas means “the squashes” or “the gourds,” particularly with reference to the wild gourds that grow in that locality.—(Mr. Charles F. Lummis.) El Chorro (the gushing stream), is the name of a creek near San Luís Obispo, and was so named from a waterfall on its course. Garvanza is a corrupt word, possibly corrupted from garbanzo (chick-pea). The town name is a modern one, not given by Spaniards but by tenderfeet, and there is no known reason for its application.—(Mr. Charles F. Lummis.)

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