Nellie Van de Grift Sanchez

“ Here we have, told in the somewhat pedantic language of its author, the true story of the first appearance of the famous name Golden Gate upon the map of the world, and instead of its having been “named by Colonel Fremont because of the [200] brilliant effect of the setting sun on the cliffs and hills,” as one writer has fondly imagined, or from any idea connected with the shining metal, which still lay buried deep from the sight of man beneath the mountains of the land, it was born in a sordid dream of commerce. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The passage containing the name that has since become famous in all the high-ways and by-ways of the world runs as follows: “Know that on the right hand of the Indies there is an island called California, very near to the terrestrial paradise, which was peopled by black women, without any men among them, for they were accustomed to live after the manner of Amazons. They were of strong and hardened bodies, of ardent courage and of great force. The island was the strongest in the world, from its steep rocks and great cliffs. ”

“ 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 adequate authority. ”

“ Although the idea of such a river, like a piece of changeable silk, may be picturesque, the simple truth is that the word berrendo, although not so-defined in the dictionaries, is used in Spanish America to signify a deer of the antelope variety and frequently occurs in that sense in the diaries. Miguel Costansó, an engineer accompanying the Portolá expedition of 1769, says: “Hay en la tierra venados, verrendos (also spelled berrendos) , muchos liebres, conejos, gatos monteses y ratas (there are in the land deer, antelope, many hares, rabbits, wild-cats and rats) .” ”

“ He gave it the name of an Indian tribe living there and to whom this name had been given by other tribes, they calling themselves Ah-wah-nee. Their chief, Ten-ei-ya, said that when he was a young man the name Yosemite, or Yohamite, had been chosen because the tribe lived in the mountains and valleys which were the favorite resorts of the bears, and because his people were expert in killing them. He also said, perhaps in a spirit of boasting, that the name was bestowed upon his tribe to express the idea that they were held in as much fear as the bears. ”

“ 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 to have a king, who caused his body to be covered every morning with gold dust, by means of an odorous resin. ”

“ 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 Indians at the mission. ”

“ Several generations grew up and passed away without a reminder of the strange people who had once been seen upon their shores, except perhaps an occasional white sail of some Philippine galleon seen flitting like a ghost on its southward trip along the coast.
Then the Spaniards, alarmed by reports of the encroachments of the Russians on the north, waked up from their long sleep, and determined to establish a chain of missions along the California coast. Father Junípero Serra was appointed president of these missions, and the first one of the chain was founded by him at San Diego in 1769. ”

“ 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 exchange their clime of eternal spring for the deep snows of the Sierras. ”

“ 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 and then. ”

“ 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 [309] 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 ignominious fate of being called Lake Bigler, for a former governor of the state. ”

“ The Indians continued to carry on their wretched hand-to-mouth existence, trapping wild beasts for their food and scanty clothing, fishing in the teeming streams, and keeping up their constant inter-tribal quarrels unmolested by the white man. ”

“ La Presa is a few miles east of San Diego, on the Sweetwater River, no doubt called Agua Dulce by the Spaniards.
Los Rosales (the rose-bushes) , a spot located in the narratives of the Spaniards at about seventeen leagues from San Diego, and two leagues from Santa Margarita. Nothing in the new land brought to the explorers sweeter memories of their distant home than “the roses of Castile” which grew so luxuriantly along their pathway as to bring forth frequent expressions of delight from the padres. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 [251] ethnologists are of the opinion that it means “south people,” probably used by tribes living north of the Modocs. Bancroft, quoting from Steele, in Indian Affairs Report of 1864, page 121, says: “The word Modoc is a Shasta Indian word, and means all distant, stranger, or hostile Indians, and became applied to this tribe by white men in early days from hearing the Shastas refer to them by this term.” ”

“ Although old Mother Nature has not yet provided us with “bread ready-baked” or “birds ready-roasted” in California, her gifts to her children have been so bountiful that they may almost be compared to the fabulous tales of El Dorado, the gilded man. ”

“ An absurd theory advanced by certain persons that the name was derived from that of Sir Francis Drake is wholly unworthy of consideration. The resemblance between the two names must be regarded as purely a co-incidence, and any connection between “El Pirata” (the pirate) Drake, as the Spaniards usually called him, and the name of the gentle St. Francis must be taken in the light of a jest.
Portolá, then, although he was indubitably the discoverer of the bay as we know it,—the inner harbor,—found the name already applied to the outer ensenada by his predecessor, Cermeñón. ”

“ 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, and can scarcely be doubted, since it occurred in the immediate family of Dr. ”

“ 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.” ”

“ 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 from Toledo, Córdova and Seville. He is said also to have been a patron of the arts, and to have been the founder of the cathedral at Burgos, celebrated for the beauty of its architecture. But more than for such attainments, he is remembered for his tenderness toward the poor and lowly of his people. When urged to put a tax upon them in order to recruit his army, he replied: “God, in whose cause I fight, will supply my need. ”

“ 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 [101] 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 it with the name of San Roque.” ”

“ 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,” [152] which became the center of a large and prosperous Indian community. The buildings of the mission have now fallen into almost complete decay. ”

“ When the Spaniards passed through this valley, they were not slow to recognize in it one of those favored spots on the earth’s surface where climate and soil unite to produce the highest results. So here they founded two missions, one at Santa Clara, and one at San José.
Santa Clara (St. Clara) , stands in one of the most fertile valleys in California, which is equivalent to saying in the whole world, and is about forty-six miles south-southeast of San Francisco. The mission was founded by Padres Peña and Murguia, January 12, 1777. ”

“ An argument that seems to clinch the matter of the origin of the name is the extreme improbability that two different persons, on opposite sides of the world, should have invented exactly the same word, at about the same period, especially such an unusual one as California. ”

“ A great number of skulls, relics of this bloody conflict, were found by Moraga scattered along the creek bed, and caused him to give it the name of Las Calaveras. We find in Fremont a corroborating reference to the salmon as a cause of dissension among the Indians of that region: [312] “This fish had a large share in supporting the Indians, who raised nothing, but lived on what nature gave. A ‘salmon water,’ as they named it, was a valuable possession to a tribe or village, and jealously preserved as an inheritance.” ”

“ In the living state the abalone clings to the rocks on the shore, and its grip is so tenacious that more than one unfortunate person, caught by the foot or hand between the shell and the rock, has been held there while death crept slowly upon him in the shape of the rising tide. There is another Abalone Point on the northern coast.
Agua Caliente (literally “hot water”) , generally used in reference to hot springs. Of these there are many in the state, one on the Indian Reservation southeast of Riverside. Agua Caliente was originally a land grant. ”

“ Pasadena, said to be derived from the Chippewa Indian language. The full name is said to be Weoquan Pasadena, and the meaning to be “Crown of the Valley.” Let no man believe in the absurd story that it means “Pass of Eden.”
Prado (meadow) . “The Prado” is also the name of a famous promenade in the city of Madrid.
Puente (bridge) , in Los Ángeles County, was taken from the name of the land grant, Rancho de la Puente.
Pulgas Creek (fleas creek) . ”

“ Death, when it came to the children of the natives, was often regarded as cause for rejoicing by the missionaries, not, of course, through any lack of humanity on their part, but because the Indian parents more readily consented to baptism at such a time, and the padres regarded these as so many souls “snatched from the burning.”
Carriso (reed grass) , is the name of a village and creek in San Diego County.
Chula Vista (pretty view) , is the name of a town near the coast, a few miles southeast of San Diego. Chula is a word of Mexican origin, meaning pretty, graceful, attractive. ”

“ 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. ”

“ On crossing the river they were attacked by the Suisún tribe, headed by their chief Malaca, and the Spaniards suffered considerable loss; the Indians fought bravely, but were forced to retire to their ranchería, where, being hotly pursued, and believing their fate sealed, these unfortunate people, incited by their chief, set fire to their own rush-built huts, and perished in the flames with their families. ”

“ There are minor glaciers on the northern slope. Fremont says of it: “The Shastl peak stands at the head of the lower valley, rising from a base of about one thousand feet, out of a forest of heavy timber. It ascends like an immense column upwards of [256] 14000 feet (nearly the height of Mont Blanc) , the summit glistening with snow, and visible, from favorable points of view, at a distance of 140 miles down the valley.”
On a United States map of date of 1848, drawn by Charles Preuss from surveys made by Fremont and other persons, the name appears spelled as Tshastl. ”

“ James, the patron saint of Spain, whereas the town takes its name from the mission, which perpetuates the memory of a canonized Spanish monk, San Diego de Alcalá. The story of St. James, the patron of Spain, runs as follows: “As one of Christ’s disciples, a nobleman’s son who chose to abandon his wealth and follow Jesus, he was persecuted by the Jews, and finally beheaded. When dragged before Herod Agrippa, his gentleness touched the soul of one of his tormentors, who begged to die with him. ”