When Water Was Everywhere

Once upon a time in Los Angeles, water was everywhere--in rivers that rendered the vast plain a marsh; in underground streams that provided an abundance of water for people, cattle and crops. This is the lush landscape that the young Henry Scott encounters when he arrives, half-dead, in the pueblo of Los Angeles in 1843, during the waning days of Mexican rule. In this fertile place along the Los Angeles River, Scott's fortunes begin to change. His story is intertwined with that of a wealthy...