BOOK II.
GOLD FOR ALL.--A NEW STAR IN THE FLAG.
CHAPTER V.
THE GOLDEN MAGNET.--FREE OR SLAVE?
Maxine Valois marvels not that the old navigators missed the Golden
Gate. It was easy to pass the land-locked bay, with its arterial
rivers, the Sacramento and San Joaquin. Fate hung a foggy curtain
on the outside bar. Greenest velvet sward now carpets the Alameda
hills. It is a balmy March day of 1847. The proceeds of his horse
and trappings give the youth less than a hundred dollars--his
whole fortune.
The Louisianian exile, with the world before him, is now a picture
of manly symmetry. Graceful, well-knit physique, dark hair and
eyes, and his soft, impassioned speech, betray the Franco-American
of the Gulf States. While gazing on the glories of Tamalpais and
the wooded mountains of Marin, he notes the little mission under
the Visitacion hills. It's a glorious scene. All the world's navies
can swing at ease in this superb bay. The only banner floating
here is the ensign at the peak of the frigate Portsmouth. Interior
wanderings give him a glimpse of the vast areas controlled by this
noble sheet of water. Young and ardent, with a superior education,
he may be a ruling spirit of the new State now about to crystallize.
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