What I Saw In California

Bryant, Edwin, 1805-1869

What I saw in California: being a journal of a tour, by the emigrant route and South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, across the continent of North America, the great desert basin, and through California, in the years 1846, 1847, by Edwin Bryant, late Alcalde of St. Francisco. New York: D. Appleton & Company; Philadelphia: S. Appleton, 1848

Edwin Bryant, for whom Bryant Street in San Francisco is named, was born in 1805 in Massachusetts. At age 11, he migrated with his family to Kentucky. As an adult, he entered the journalism trade, working for several Kentucky newspapers. In 1846, citing poor health as the reason, he set out from Louisville, Kentucky for California. The account of his trip west and his stay in California is recorded in his What I Saw in California. Because of his literary talent, Bryant's work provided valuable information for emigrants concerning the route, i.e. length of the trip, when to start, etc. He also listed supplies needed, such as provisions, arms and ammunition, wagons and teams.

Bryant's best seller was published in early 1848. In fact, Bryant left California seven months before the discovery of gold. In 1849, Bryant's publishers, D. Appleton and Co., rushed to reprint What I Saw in California with additional maps and information concerning the gold discovery and the mines. Critics such as Charles Camp and Edwin Gudde have termed Bryant's work as one the most important and reliable of all of the overland narratives and guides.