Letters from California

David L. Phillips (1823-1880) took his tubercular son to California in 1876 in hope that the change of climate would aid the boy. Letters from California (1877) were originally published in the Illinois State Journal. They describe the Phillipses' rail journey west; San Francisco; a voyage to San Diego; the Santa Clara, Gilroy, Pajora, and Salinas Valleys; Monterey; California railroads; the Missions and Mission Indians; a Southern California tour, with stops at Tehachipi and Los Angeles, San Pedro, San Bernardino, Riverside, Anaheim, and the San Fernando Valley; economic conditions, with special attention to labor; Chinese residents; agriculture; politics; the religious history of California; and the pair's return rail journey.