Travels on the Pacific Coast: A Report from California, Oregon, and Alaska in 1841 (Paperback)

In 1839 Eugene Duflot de Mofras was dispatched by the French government to investigate the commercial possibilities (and political and military realities) of the northwest provinces of Mexico and the British, American, and Russian settlements farther north. Along the way he visited most of the California missions. His report was tremendously influential at the time, and remains one of the best portraits of the Pacific coast before the American occupation.