John Woodhouse Audubon was the son of the famous naturalist, John James Audubon, and was a respected naturalist and painter in his own right. In 1849, he journeyed out to the American West and Mexico. He describes early California and the Gold Rush of '49. Audubon took notes of scenes and occurrences by the way. In his descriptions he exhibits the keen observation of the naturalist and the trained eye of the artist. The result is a remarkable picture of social conditions in Mexico, of birds and trees, of sky and mountains and the changing face of nature, of the barrenness of the desert and the difficulties of the journey, of the ruined missions of California, of methods of mining, and of the chaos of races and babel of tongues in the gold fields.