forced to attach themselves to the extreme end of a line from a quarter to half a mile in length.

Great relief was experienced some years since by the establishment of the "Pony Express," which carried letters from the Missouri river to San Francisco in twelve to fifteen days, at twenty-five cents the half ounce. This express continued to carry letters between the roads building from the East to the West until the completion of the road in 1869; when the rider of the fleet pony dismounted, handed his mailbags to the rider of the tireless iron-horse, who rides over the posting winds and gallops over the storms of the Sierras.

Mails are now received at San Francisco each day, in seven days, from New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. There are four hundred and fifty post-offices now in California.

UNITED STATES BRANCH MINT.

In 1854, a United States Branch Mint was established at San Francisco. Previous to this period, much inconvenience was experienced throughout the State for want of a circulating medium. Gold-dust, at sixteen dollars per ounce, was generally received and paid in all matters of business. Individuals had resort to making coins of pure gold, which passed current in the country: of this class were the fifty dollar pieces called "slugs," octagon in form and made of pure gold, but now entirely out of use.

A magnificent granite and free stone building for a new mint, to cost two million dollars when completed, is nigh finished.

The mint at San Francisco has been kept constantly

employed since its establishment in 1854, and has issued an aggregate of $306,074,663.98 in gold and silver coin from its opening until the 1st of January, 1872. Of the total mint coinage, $298,245,706.81 was gold and $7,828,957.17 was silver. The coinage of gold and silver for the year 1870 was $20,355,000; and for 1871 it was $20,041,775, of which $18,905,000 was gold and $1,136,775 was silver.

coast.

Until within a few years past, twenty-five cents was the smallest coin in circulation in any part of the Pacific More recently, ten cent pieces have gone into use; and still more recently, five cent pieces, although the latter are scarce, and it may be said that, throughout California and the whole Pacific coast, ten cents is the smallest coin in general circulation.

Paper money has never been used to any extent in California, and the Constitution of the State prohibits the making, issuing, or putting in circulation any bill, check, ticket, certificate, promissory note, or the paper of any bank, or the issuing of paper in any form, as money; hence all the banking and business of the country is done in gold and silver coin, the latter being at a great discount and declined if offered in large quantities. The securities and paper money of the federal government, "greenbacks," bonds, &c., are used in many instances in business, and are bought and sold as other securities.

Beside the gold and silver of California, considerable amounts of bullion reach the mint at San Francisco annually from all the States and Territories west of the Rocky mountains-Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah, Oregon, Idaho, Washington Territory, and British Columbia.

The increasing demand for minting facilities on the Pacific coast has induced the federal government, within a few years, to establish a branch mint, in 1864, at Denver, Colorado; one at Carson City, Nevada, in 1869; and one now (1872) in course of erection at Dalles, on the Columbia river, Oregon.

NAVY YARD.

At Mare island, twenty-eight miles from San Francisco by steamer, and in the direction of Sacramento from San Francisco, the federal government has established the most extensive navy yard in the republic. Thirty acres of land, on Mare island, with an extensive water-front, is owned by the United States: upon this are erected large and substantial brick buildings, for all the purposes of the yard. There is an excellent drydock at these works, where all the repairing of the Pacific squadron is done. The works and grounds here have been projected upon a scale adequate to the growing interests of the Pacific side of the republic.

COMMERCE.

In preceding chapters will be found statements of the commercial transactions of California under Spanish, Mexican, and early American rule. The internal improvements constantly going on in the State, in building railroads, factories, and the varied local industries, together with the establishment of steam communication to all parts of the Pacific coast, the Pacific islands, Asia, and Australia, are fast giving California a prominent commercial position.

In the early history of the State, when gold was the only export, and every article of food and consumption

had to be imported, and all the gold was sent out of the country, exports presented very formidable figures.

California, in 1853, yielded sixty-five million dollars in gold, and exported fifty-seven million dollars; only two million dollars of which were merchandise. California now yields annually but about twenty-five million dollars in gold. There were over thirty-two million dollars in gold shipped from San Francisco in 1870; but a great portion of this found its way from the adjoining Pacific States and Territories to California, which latter State cannot be credited with more than sixteen million dollars export of gold of her own production, although her product was twenty-five million dollars.

The following table exhibits the annual exports of merchandise and treasure, from the port of San Francisco, from 1848 to and including the year 1871: