The first Europeans had a wonderful first vision of California. In the late 18th and early 19th century, the ship captains give us marvelous descriptions of enormous pods of spouting whales coming through the Golden Gate, seabirds wheeling in the air, and tremendous runs of king salmon and smelt. The common description was that it looked as though you could walk across the straits on the backs of the salmon coming through. The geese and ducks would fly in and darken the sky with their numbers. There were huge herds of Tule elk and pronghorn antelope down in the Santa Clara Valley south of here. Then there were the condors and eagles and grizzly bears. It was a tremendously marvelous and fertile area.
Malcolm Margolin
A Blessing on the Land: The Cultivated Landscape of Native America
1999 Fall | Malcolm Margolin
Malcolm Margolin is owner and publisher of Heyday Books, specializing in California history, natural history, culture, and Native American life. His quarterly magazine, News from Native California (PO Box 9145, Berkeley, CA 94709), is devoted to the history and cultures of California Indians. He co-founded Native California Network, a foundation for California Indian cultural affairs.
