CALIFORNIA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
SAN FRANCISCO LOS ANGELOS
1964
Because every proper noun is footnoted and looked at with a fine toothed historical comb, we get the life and times of many of his comtemporaries: the captains, and landed rovers of the frontier we love in California. It is, perhaps, the task of the editor to make a diary come to life, and in this regard, we find Mr. Nunis working well within the Historian's range for well-grounded detail.
For a lad who has a millionaire's town named for himself, Faxon did schlepp around up and down the coast of California, hawking hides, tallow, and black berries, for a few pennies a day. And was particularly proud, and probably very effective, at fighting off the competition with an eye to cordial, yet business-like relationships:
Monday, July 24. Went to the Mision and Presidio. Obtained plenty of promises from those
that were owing and got a few blackberries on the road. The Sarah and
Caroline, the Cataline, and Crusader, Capt___, were lying here all trying
to outwit the other in the collection of hides and tallow.
Working the Lower Bay, Chapter VII
The diary has a little bit for everyone: treatment of indians as savages and whores, treatment of bears and bulls as playthings for blood-thirsty killers, debutante balls, scenic trips up and down SF Bay, and congenial visits on shipboard by the monumentally cultured.
The capture of this cultured presence between what was aboard ship, on the rancheros, and in the missions, was broadly swept by Mr. Atherton. Removing our judgmental eyes of the present day, is always a difficult and hazardous duty, yet once accomplished, we may enjoy his portrayed reflection of life among the close-knit band of adventurers, businessmen and women, mothers, daughters, soldiers and sailors in the late 1830's.
The beauty of The Bay is well recorded.
Table of Contents:
March 26, 1836 to January 29, 1837 I California arrival II First Trip to southern California III Politics and RevolutionThere are 143 pages of Diary, 62 pages of notes, and 18 pages of Bibliography. We liked the notes a lot because we were looking for that ship that carried James Cooper from Latherton, Caithness, Scotland to Sonoma, CA. We didn't find it, but the hunt was well worth the quality time spent.
January 31, 1837 to December 12, 1837 IV Santa Barbara to San Francisco V Working the Lower Bay VI A visit to Los Angeles VII At Anchor in Monterey
December 16, 1837 to January 13, 1839 VIII To Baja California IX Return to San Francisco XI California Farewell XII Oahu
January 14, 1839 to December 28, 1839 XIII Tahiti XIV Passage to Boston XV Voyage to Valparaiso
Better than shlepping tallow.