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DAWN AND THE DONS 221 Houston Street, is still preserved the first California home of Robert Louis Stevenson, where he lived with his friend Simoneau and next door to which lived “the little doctor and his little wife,” so frequently and so lovingly referred to by the author of “Treasure Island.” It was California’s first military post. It was the first county seat of a county created by California’s first legislature by the Act of February 18, 1850—seven months before California was admitted to the Union. There is the granite cross, where stood the Vizcaino Oak; there the Serra monument that marks the landing place of the great padre on that memorable day in 1770. The Sloat monument commemorates the first American military occupation of California. And so lengthens out the list of Monterey’s historic landmarks. But probably the most interesting of all are the old Spanish homes with their red tiled roofs, weathered and moss grown, their flower tangled patios hidden behind high walls, on streets that follow at times the irregular course of century old bridle paths. Here may still be seen the Munras home, the first pretentious dwelling in Monterey, built by Don Esteban Munras of Barcelona, Spain, and now presided over by a granddaughter of Don Esteban; the Obrego home, where the most prominent and distinguished visitors to Monterey were entertained; the Pacheco home, built by

Don Francisco Perez Pacheco, a wealthy land owner; the Amesti home, built by Don Jose Amesti, Spanish born, whose wife was a sister of General Vallejo; the