regiment,  under  instructions  from  Governor  Mason,  took  a  cen-
sus of  San  Francisco  and  found  the  population,  exclusive  of
officers  and  soldiers  and  not  including  the  Mission  Dolorest
to  consist  of  four  hundred  and  fifty-nine  persons,  over  half  of
whom  were  Americans. Since  the  beginning  of  1846  one
hundred  and  fifty-seven  new  houses  had  been  erected,  previ-
ous to  which  there  had  been  only  about  thirty. Gilbert  went
on  to  say  that  it  was  without  doubt  destined  to  become
the  great  commercial  emporium  of  the  coasj\  This  had  been
frequently  said  before;  but  there  were  many  persons  who  were
of  opinion  that  Monterey  would  outstrip  it  One  of  the  best
indications,  however,  of  the  comparative  standing  and  prospects
of  the  two  rivals  was  the  fact  that  in  May,  1847,  the  Californian
newspaper  of  Monterey  closed  out  its  business  at  that  place  and
moved  to  San  Francisco,  which  then  had  two  newspapers — the
only  ones  in  the  territory. But  towards  the  latter  end  of  1847,
as  the  war  had  to  a  great  extent  put  an  end  to  business  enter-
prise and  for  the  same  reason  immigration  was  substantially
stopped,  the  prospects  of  the  town  looked  gloomy. Though
Monterey  and  other  places  were  still  duller,  there  was  little
solace  in  this  for  the  men  who  had  laid  out  their  money  and
depended  upon  the  advance  of  the  place  to  bring  returns  for
their  investments. The  leading  spirits  met  and  consulted;  and
it  was  determined,  in  the  hope  of  stimulating  renewed  immi-
gration, to  send  out  and  circulate  broadcast,  particularly  in
Missouri,  a  full  account  of  California  and  the  advantages  it
offered  in  its  climate  and  soil  to  the  husbandman,  stock-raiser
and  artisan. Dr. Victor  J. Fourgeaud  was  engaged  to  write  a
long  article  on  the  subject,  which  he  entitled,  "  The  Prospects  of
California/'  setting  forth  its  attractions  and  resources. This  was
printed  in  six  columns  of  an  extra  number  of  the  California
Star  in  the  latter  part  of  March;  and  on  April  i,  1848,  the  day
on  which  the  issue  bore  date,  a  courier  was  dispatched  with  two
thousand  copies  overland  on  a  contract  to  reach  Missouri  in
sixty  days  and  spread  the  documentA  It  was  arranged  that  a
second  extra,  to  be  prepared  with  still  greater  care  and  to  con-
tain much  fuller  information  upon  the  same  subject,  should  be
printed  on  the  following  June  i. 