Indeed in spring time these
are one mass of gold; and hence it would not require much imagination
to coin the magic name by which the gateway to one of the grandest
Bays in the world is known. An old Californian song well describes the
beauty and luxuriance of this suggestive Flower.
"O'er the foothills, through the meadows,
Midst the canons' lights and shadows,
Spreading with their amber glow,
Lo, the golden poppies grow!
Golden poppies, deep and hollow,
Golden poppies, rich and mellow,
Radiant in their robes of yellow,
Lo, the golden poppies grow!"
The honour of having named the Gate, however, is generally conceded
to General John C. Fremont. In his "Memoirs" he says: "To this Gate I
gave the name of Chrysopylae or Golden Gate, for the same reasons that
the harbour of Byzantium (Constantinople) was named the Golden Horn
(Chrysoceras)." It has been hinted nevertheless that Sir Francis Drake
gave it its appellation; and if this be so the euphonious name would
be suggested by his ship in which he sailed along this coast, the
_Golden Hind.
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