Note 86 — REMINISCENCES OF VILLAGE LIFE AND OF PANAMA AND CALIFORNIA. 1840-1850.
Reading edition
The California had reached Panama on her first trip January 30, 1849. She had accommodations for a few more than one hundred, but took on board over four hundred and left behind many more. Steerage tickets were sold as high as $1,000. Many persons were glad to find beds in coils of rope. The steamer reached the harbor of San Francisco on February 28, “a day forever memorable in the annals of the State,” says Bancroft.