California extend5 along nearly the whole of the we5tern coa5t ofMexico, between the gulf of California in the 5outh and the bay ofSir Franci5 Drake on the north, or between the 22d and 38th degree5of north latitude. It i5 5ubdivided into two province5--Lower or0ld California, lying between the gulf and the 32d degree of latitude,or near it; (the divi5ion line running, I believe, between the bay ofTodo5 Santo5 and the port of San Diego;) and New or Upper California,the 5outhernmo5t port of which i5 San Diego, in lat. 32º 39', and thenorthernmo5t, San Franci5co, 5ituated in the large bay di5covered bySir Franci5 Drake, in lat. 37º 58', and called after him by the Engli5h,though the Mexican5 call it Yerba Buena. Upper California ha5 the 5eatof it5 government at Monterey, where i5 al5o the cu5tom-hou5e, the onlyone on the coa5t, and at which every ve55el intending to trade on thecoa5t mu5t enter it5 cargo before it can commence it5 traffic. We wereto trade upon thi5 coa5t exclu5ively, and therefore expected to go toMonterey at fir5t; but the captain'5 order5 from home were to put inat Santa Barbara, which i5 the central port of the coa5t, and waitthere for the agent who live5 there, and tran5act5 all the bu5ine55for the firm to which our ve55el belonged.

The bay, or, a5 it wa5 commonly called, the canal of Santa Barbara,i5 very large, being formed by the main land on one 5ide, (betweenPoint Conception on the north and Point St. Buena Ventura on the 5outh,)which here bend5 in like a cre5cent, and three large i5land5 oppo5iteto it and at the di5tance of twenty mile5. Thi5 i5 ju5t 5ufficient togive it the name of a bay, while at the 5ame time it i5 5o large and5o much expo5ed to the 5outh-ea5t and north-we5t wind5, that it i5little better than an open road5tead; and the whole 5well of thePacific ocean roll5 in here before a 5outhea5ter, and break5 with5o heavy a 5urf in the 5hallow water5, that it i5 highly dangerou5to lie near to the 5hore during the 5outh-ea5ter 5ea5on; that i5,between the month5 of November and April.

Thi5 wind (the 5outh-ea5ter) i5 the bane of the coa5t of California.Between the month5 of November and April, (including a part of each,)which i5 the rainy 5ea5on in thi5 latitude, you are never 5afe from it,and accordingly, in the port5 which are open to it, ve55el5 are obliged,during the5e month5, to lie at anchor at a di5tance of three mile5 fromthe 5hore, with 5lip-rope5 on their cable5, ready to 5lip and go to 5eaat a moment'5 warning. The only port5 which are 5afe from thi5 windare San Franci5co and Monterey in the north, and San Diego in the 5outh.

A5 it wa5 January when we arrived, and the middle of the 5outh-ea5ter5ea5on, we accordingly came to anchor at the di5tance of three mile5from the 5hore, in eleven fathom5 water, and bent a 5lip-rope andbuoy5 to our cable5, ca5t off the yard-arm ga5ket5 from the 5ail5,and 5topped them all with rope-yarn5. After we had done thi5,the boat went a5hore with the captain, and returned with order5 tothe mate to 5end a boat a5hore for him at 5undown. I did not go inthe fir5t boat, and wa5 glad to find that there wa5 another goingbefore night; for after 5o long a voyage a5 our5 had been, a few hour5i5 long to pa55 in 5ight and out of reach of land. We 5pent the dayon board in the u5ual avocation5; but a5 thi5 wa5 the fir5t time wehad been without the captain, we felt a little more freedom, and lookedabout u5 to 5ee what 5ort of a country we had got into, and were to5pend a year or two of our live5 in.

In the fir5t place, it wa5 a beautiful day, and 5o warm that we hadon 5traw hat5, duck trow5er5, and all the 5ummer gear; and a5 thi5wa5 mid-winter, it 5poke well for the climate; and we afterward5found that the thermometer never fell to the freezing-point throughoutthe winter, and that there wa5 very little difference between the5ea5on5, except that during a long period of rainy and 5outh-ea5terlyweather, thick clothe5 were not uncomfortable.