Baja Bernie - 1-6-2005 at 10:47 PM
Just got a new , old book, recommended by a member of this board. Just wish more of us would recommend books so us newbie?s can increase our
knowledge.
The Mother of California by Arthur W North
Introduction
I was glad to improve an opportunity to read the manuscript of this work because it deals with a vast region at our very doors?a land whose coasts are
touched many times a year by steamers and whose northern mountains have been invaded by our miners; and yet, but yesterday, it was almost utterly
neglected as little known and as poorly mapped as many of the out-of-the-way corners of the world.
It was a pleasure to read Mr. North?s work which now comes before the public. It untangles and pieces together the fragmentary threads of the early
Spanish records and weaves them into a clear and consecutive narrative that makes the story of the great Peninsula vivid; it is permeated with the
knowledge and results which the author gained through his own careful investigations in the Peninsula.
Many readers will now learn for the first time that Lower California is not an utterly barren waste; that it is a tropical country with a salubrious
climate and many regions of luxuriant vegetation; that its northern and southern parts are utterly unlike one another and that rich resources about
that are certain to be developed.
This is a pioneer book in a new field?a record of our present knowledge and the history of an expansive region that has never been well known and has
long been misunderstood. It is a book that will be welcome not only by those interested in geographical research and in the history of California,
but by all who delight in the spirit of romance so interwoven in the history of Spanish America.
CYRUS C. ADAMS
New York City, October, 1907
Almost a hundred years have passed and I believe that most of us who love Baja still think of it in the same terms.?PARTICULARY IN THE SPIRIT OF
ROMANCE.
For those of you who wish to include this in your collections I purchased it at www.abbebooks.com for a total of $32.45
David K - 1-7-2005 at 08:46 PM
Thank you Bernie!
The copy I have came to me from Choral Pepper... it is in fragile condition and I have not yet read it. The follow up book by North (Camp and Camino
in Lower California), I have read years ago and recently re-read parts of it concerning the Camino Real from Santa Maria south.
Of interest, North mentioned at Calamajue mission was Dick Daggett running a mining camp and ore mill in 1905 (can still be seen across the arroyo
from the mission).
Dick Daggett started his Baja life at Bahia de los Angeles and Las Flores (south of Camp Gecko) after jumping ship and hiding in a cave until his ship
left... Like Jimmy Smith, he went to San Ignacio to find a wife!
Dick's son (Dick Jr.) stayed on at L.A. Bay, worked for Papa Diaz and was the village mechanic. I remember him from my trip in 1967... He died two
years later and is burried at La Flores...
Dick Jr.'s son (Reuben) stayed on at Bahia and operates Daggett's camp.
Lot's of interesting stories in Baja!
Both are interesting
academicanarchist - 1-7-2005 at 09:29 PM
Both of North's books are interesting, and have important photos. He also wrote about the part of New York state where I used to live.
David K - 1-7-2005 at 11:04 PM
Mother of California c1908
David K - 1-7-2005 at 11:10 PM
Camp and Camino in Lower California c1910 (shown is 1977 reprint).
David K - 1-7-2005 at 11:17 PM
A couple of North's photos from 100 years ago...
David K - 1-7-2005 at 11:30 PM
Can you picture this as Ensenada on a wide sandy beach, and it was the capital of Baja then?
Neal Johns - 1-7-2005 at 11:46 PM
Both books are winners, and are in the top left of my Baja bookcase with the others I like best.
Mike Humfreville - 1-8-2005 at 12:44 AM
Neal, How are you doing in Lytle Creek with all the rains? keep hearing about your area and wondering, but we know you two as risk takers.
Keep us posted.
Neal Johns - 1-8-2005 at 02:21 AM
No heavy rains here the last month, but the creek may yet rise! The TV makes it look real bad.