 Argonauts, as they were often called, walked over the California Trail or came by sea.About 80,000 Argonauts arrived in 1849 alone—about 40,000 over the California trail and 40,000 by sea.San Francisco was designated the official port of entry for all California ports where U.S. customs (also called tariffs and Ad valorem taxes) (averaging about 25%) were collected by the Collector of Customs from all ships bearing foreign goods.