Richard Henry Dana, Jr. describing California Girls in 1836,
“The fondness for dress among the women is excessive, and is
often the ruin of many of them. A
present of a fine mantle, or of a necklace or pair of ear-rings, gains the
favor of the greater part of them.
Nothing is more common than to see a woman living in a house of only two
rooms, and the ground for a floor, dressed in spangled satin shoes, silk gown,
high comb, and gilt, if not gold, ear-rings and necklace. If their husbands do not dress them well
enough, they will soon receive presents from others. They used to spend whole days on board our
vessels, examining he fine clothes and ornaments, and frequently making
purchases at a rate which would have made a seamstress or waiting-maid in
Boston open her eyes.” [ed. Scher, p.81]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F57P9C4SAW4
Just for the historical record, it's worth noting that the
first thing Richard Henry Dana, Jr did when he reached San Diego was go surfing
(and get heckled by locals).
“I shall never forget the impression which our first landing
on the beach of California made upon me.
The sun had just gone down; it was getting dusky; the damp night wind
was beginning to blow, and the heavy swell of the Pacific was setting in, and
breaking in loud and high “combers” upon the beach. We lay on our oars in the swell, just outside
of the surf, waiting for a good chance to run in, when a boat, which had put
off from the Ayacucho just after us, came alongside of us, with a crew of dusky
Sandwich Islanders, talking and halooing in their outlandish tongue. They knew that we were novices in this kind
of boating, and waited to see us go in.
The second mate, however, who steered our boat, determined to have the
advantage of their experience, and would not go in first. Finding, at length, how matters stood, they gave
out a shout, and taking advantage of a great comber which came swelling in,
rearing its head, and lifting up the stern of our boat nearly perpendicular,
and again dropping it in the trough, they gave three or four long and strong
pulls, and went in on top of the great wave, throwing their oars overboard, and
as far from the boat as they could throw them, and jumping out the instant the
boat touched the beach, and then seizing hold of her and running her up high
and dry upon the sand. We saw, at once,
how it was to be done, and also the necessity of keeping the boat ‘stern on’ to
the sea; for the instant the sea should strike upon her broad-side or quarter,
she would be driven up broadside-on, and capsized. WE pulled strongly in, and as soon as we felt
that the sea had got hold of us and was carrying us in with the speed of a race
horse, we threw the oars as far from the boat as we could and took hold of the gunwale,
ready to spring out and seize her when she struck, the officer using his utmost
strength to keep her stern on. We were
shot up upon the beach like an arrow from a bow, and seizing the boat, ran her
up high and dry, and soon picked up our oars, and stood by her, ready for the
captain to come down.”
The whole book is worth it for the descriptions of San Diego
and San Francisco alone (aka Yerba Buena, “good herb,” SF before SF was SF.).
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