One morning, at break of day, I left Monterey for a tramp among the
hills; the natives by this time had become pacifically disposed, and
there were no serious apprehensions of getting a hide necklace thrown
over one's head, in shape of the unerring lasso, if perchance a Yankee
strayed too far from his quarters. The war was virtually ended in
California: there was no further hope for gold chains or wooden legs;
the glory had been reaped by the first comers; and I made the time and
shot fly together, ranging about the suburbs. With a fowling-piece on my
arm, and a carbine slung to the back of an attendant, we pursued a
tortuous path, through a gap in the hills, to the southward, and after a
four or five miles' walk we found ourselves at the Mission of Carmelo.
It is within a mile of the sea, protected by a neck of land, close to a
rapid clear stream of the same name. A quaint old church, falling to
decay, with crumbling tower and belfry, broken roofs, and long lines of
mud-built dwellings, all in ruins, is what remains of a once flourishing
and wealthy settlement. It still presents a picturesque appearance,
standing on a little rise, above a broad fertile plain of many acres,
adjacent to the banks of the river, and at the base a large orchard of
fruits and flowers. Following up the stream for some leagues, through
the same rich level, crossing and re-crossing the pure running water,
with noble salmon flashing their silver sides at every fathom, we soon
bagged as much game as we could stagger under: wild ducks, quail,
partridges, hares of a very large size, and rabbits. Not contented with
this we left the valley, and struck through a narrow gorge of the
adjoining hills. Here I caught a glimpse of a trio of _coyotes_ and
instantly blazed away with the carbine, which brought one of them
tumbling down the steep, but much to my surprise his two friends
followed, and actually bolstered up their wounded comrade, and assisted
him out of sight before I could send another bullet. They were as large
as wolves, of a light yellowish brown, with long sharp snouts, bushy
hanging tails, and a gait like the trot of a dog. They are very
disagreeable customers to sheep and other small fry, and, as I
discovered subsequently, that when badly wounded, they have a very
unpleasant way with their teeth. Continuing onward, and hardly recovered
from my astonishment at the rencounter with the _coyotes_, when up
bounded, within thirty yards, three large deer, and with the coolest
impudence stared me full in the face. _Maldito!_ the carbine was again
in the hands of my companion, some distance behind, but I could not
resist the temptation of giving a strapping buck a hail-storm of fine
shot between the eyes. Even this only made the party a little frisky,
kick up their heels, toss their heads, and wag their short tails. I was
in hopes the carbine would reach me in time to send the lead more in a
lump, but in another moment they sprang off like the wind, and the next
seen of them was in company with a large herd, a mile away, with their
graceful bodies and limbs standing in clear relief against the blue sky,
I had not a doubt but that they were relating my chagrin as a capital
buckish joke. By this time we had penetrated so far from ravine to hill
as to have completely lost our bearings, and becoming quite bewildered,
I began to entertain serious ideas of seeking some place of shelter for
the night. My attendant, too, had fallen down two or three times from
exhaustion, the sun was rapidly declining, and I was not at all pleased
with the wild appearance of the hills and valleys that encircled us.
Throwing away the greater part of our game, we made a toilsome effort,
and reached the crest of an adjacent height, in hopes of getting a
glimpse of the plains of Carmelo. Again we were disappointed; and while
on the point of making the best of our bargain, by risking a hug from
grizzly bears or panthers during the night, I espied a horseman slowly
winding his way beneath us in the gorge. By discharging a barrel of my
piece, and continued shouts, we soon attracted attention, and thus being
encouraged by the sight of a fellow-being, we sprang briskly down the
steep. However, our ally evinced no violent affection for us, and in a
trice wheeled his horse up the opposite face of the acclivity; there he
paused, well out of gun-shot, and presently I heard a shrill voice
crying, "_Que es lo que quiere?_" "We are lost," I replied; "will you
assist us?" With many a wary glance and movement, he at last came
frankly towards us, and I then discovered an intelligent little fellow,
about ten years of age, astride a powerful animal, which he guided by a
single thong of hide. Slipping from the saddle, and letting his lasso
fall on the ground, he doffed his broad glazed _sombrero_, and stood
awaiting my wishes. On learning our situation he gladly volunteered to
guide us, and in return told me that he had been all day seeking stray
cattle among the mountains, that the bears were very numerous, and that
we had described a wide circuit around the hills, and were within a
short league of the Mission. This last was highly gratifying
information, and mounting my worn-out attendant on the horse, our
little guide took the bridle, and led the way towards the valley. It was
quite dark on reaching the stream, and I felt thoroughly knocked up, but
a few minutes bathe in the chill water gave me new life, and shortly
after we were housed in the great hall of the Mission. It chanced to be
Sunday evening, moreover, during carnival, and there were preparations
for a more brilliant fandango than the usual weekly affair generally
produced. A few horses were picketted about the great _patio_, and two
or three ox-carts with hide bodies were serving for boudoirs to damsels,
who had come from afar to mingle in the ball. But the company had not
yet assembled in the old hall, that had once served the good _frayles_
for a refectory; and on entering I was kindly welcomed by the Patrona
Margarita, and her handsome coquettish daughter, Domatilda, who were the
liege and lady hostesses of the Carmelo Mission. With her own hands the
jolly madre soon prepared me an _olla podrida_ of tomatoes, peppers, and
the remains in my game bag. Then her laughing nymph patted me some
_tortillas_; and after eating ravenously, and draining a cup of
aguadiente, the hospitable old lady tumbled me into her own spacious
couch, which stood in an angle of the hall, and giving me a hearty slap
on the back, shouted, "_Duerma usted bien hijo mio hasta media
noche_"--Sleep like a top until midnight. I needed no second bidding,
and in a moment was buried in deep sleep. Unconscious of fleeting hours,
I was at length restored to life, but in the most disordered frame of
mind; suffering under a most complicated attack of nightmare, of which
bear-hugs, murders, manacles and music present but a slight idea of my
agony; and indeed, when after pinching myself, and tearing my eyelids
fairly open, I had still great difficulty in recalling my erring
faculties. I found my own individual person deluged with a swarm of
babies, who were lying athwart ships, and amid ships, fore and aft,
heads and toes, every way; and one interesting infant, just teething,
was sucking vigorously away on the left lobe of my ear, while another
lovingly entwined its little fingers in my whiskers. Nor was this half
the bodily miseries I had so innocently endured. A gay youth, with a
dripping link, nicely balanced against my boots, was sitting on my legs,
with a level space on the bed before him, intently playing _monte_, to
the great detriment of the purses of his audience. On glancing around, I
beheld the lofty apartment lighted by long tallow candles melted against
the walls, whose smoke clung in dense clouds around the beams of the
lofty hall; the floor was nearly filled, at the lower end, with groups
of swarthy Indians and paisanos, sipping aguadiente, or indulging in the
same exciting amusement as the gentleman sitting on my feet. On either
side were double rows of men and women, moving in the most bewildering
mazes of the contra danza: turning and twisting, twining and whirling
with unceasing rapidity, keeping time to most inspiriting music, of
harps and guitars; whilst ever and anon, some delighted youth would
elevate his voice, in a shout of ecstasy, at the success of some
bright-eyed senorita in the dance: _Ay, mi alma! Toma la bolsa!
Caramba!_--Go it, my beauty! Take my purse! Beautiful!--It took me but
an instant to appreciate all this; and then, being fully roused to my
wrongs, I gave one vigorous spring, which sent the _monte_ man, candle,
cards, and coppers, flying against the wall, and bounding to my feet I
made a dash at the Patrona, drank all the _licores_ on the tray, and
seizing her around the waist, away we spun through the fandango. Long
before rosy morn I had become as merry and delighted as the rest of the
company. I bought a dirty pack of cards for a rial, and opened a monte
bank, for coppers and paper cigars, and although a select party of
Indios did their best to impose upon my youth and inexperience, yet on
receiving their treasure of _centavos_, winning a hatful of cigarritos,
and only paying half a one for _importas_, I comprehended by their
gutteral exclamations that their _compadre_ was not so verdant a person
as they at first imagined. Thus I left them to their reflections, and
busied myself swearing love, and sipping _dulces_ with the brunettas;
vowing friendship to the men; drinking strong waters; promising to
redress all grievances, to pay all claims out of my own pocket for the
government; and ended by repudiating the Yankees, and swearing myself a
full-blooded Californian. However, these ebullitions were partially
attributable to the heated rooms, and _licores_ of Madre Mariqueta; but
when the golden sun came streaming into the house, the links had formed
heavy stalactites against the walls; and notwithstanding the earnest
solicitations of my new made friends, I jumped up behind my little guide
of the evening previous, and galloped off towards Monterey.
Thus passed my first visit to Carmelo, and scarcely a week went by that
I did not enjoy a supper of one of the Patrona's capital ollas, with may
be a little wholesome exercise to digest it, at the evening fandango--it
was the only place where could be seen a dash of native life, but even
this lost its charm. During carnival, I made my homage to all who were
docile enough, and I must add clean enough to receive it; but whether
owing to a want of tact, fervor, or devotion, I failed to keep the
mercury up to boiling point, and after presenting one slim little dona
with a two shilling brooch of great magnitude and brilliancy--crushing
dozens of variegated eggs on the shining tresses of others, and nearly
driving a horse distracted through the agency of enormous spurs, in
hopes to show my skill and win a smile from one in particular--I at
last, through weariness and disgust, gave up the chase, and became a
devoted lover of chasing still wilder game in the beautiful regions
around. For days and weeks I did naught but ride and hunt, and became so
inured to long fatiguing tramps and night bivouacs, that with the
ever-varying excitement of the sport, I not only slept the sounder in
the open air, but enjoyed better health than I had before known. The
climate of the interior is far dryer, clearer and more salubrious than
by the sea. On the coast we were frequently for many successive days,
annoyed by raw, foggy weather, and on one occasion there was a light
fall of snow, but every league inland gives a more genial invigorating
temperature. There are very few unhealthy spots in either Central or
Lower California. On the low banks and tributaries of the Bay of San
Francisco, fever prevails to a great extent during the summer and fall,
but elsewhere all epidemic disorders are extremely rare. The summer
subsequent to our arrival in Monterey, a malignant fever attacked and
carried off a number of foreigners, but this, although not severe upon
the natives, was regarded as something extraordinary.
In these hunting excursions I was often attended by some friendly
hunter, whose time hung heavy on his hands, but usually by the same
little fellow who had been my pilot through the Carmelo mountains; his
name was Juaquin Luis, and by far the most intelligent, handsome boy in
the place. On Sundays, with his gala dress of blue velvet trowsers, red
sash, glazed hat and silver rope around it, he was quite a picture. His
knowledge of all the roads, most intricate paths and passes for many
leagues, was remarkable, and at times I was almost confounded at his
apparently instinctive sagacity--he knew the haunts and habits of game,
was a capital shot, rode a horse like part of the animal, never daunted,
never dismayed, never without an expedient, he was the most perfect
child of the woods conceivable, and quite won my heart by his
intelligence. He was always delighted to be my companion, for not being
one of those wise children who knew their sires, his home was none of
the pleasantest, for his dame was living with a cross-grained cobler, in
_relatione_, or as the youngster expressed it, she was wedded, _detras
la iglesia_--behind the church--or in other words, had cheated the
priest out of his marriage dues, and being, I fancied, rather given to
aguadiente, the domestic felicity of the mansion was somewhat marred;
consequently the boy was left to thrive upon his own resources.
Sometimes the old lady endeavored to detain him from accompanying me,
but I threatened to stop her grog, by reporting her conduct to the grave
and reverend alcalde of the place, and thenceforth she contented herself
by extorting a few rials from her child's store, at my expense.
On passing the hut on the outskirts of the town and giving a shrill
whistle, out sprang Juaquinito, with his little black head and sparkling
eyes shoved through the slit of his _serapa_, swinging the lasso in
steady circles, and noosing his horse in the corral, the next moment
would leap on his back, take the carbine or rifle, and off we sallied.
At night we made fire, ate broiled partridges without stint, and slept
under the same blanket. One of our excursions was to the river and
plains of Salinas, about fifteen miles in a northerly direction, along
the shores of the bay. These plains vary from ten to twenty miles in
width, and extend fifty or sixty into the interior, and like the great
plain of Santa Clara, have evidently at some former period been the
beds of large lakes or rivers. The Salinas is walled in by compact
ridges of mountains running transversely towards the ocean, from the
main Sierra Madre of California. The river is a muddy rapid stream,
subjected to heavy freshets during the melting of the upland snows, and
coursing close along the southern edge of the plains. On approaching the
heights above the plain, I suddenly checked the reins, perfectly
transfixed with surprise; for never in my life had I beheld such a
magnificent vista of its kind; one broad dead level extending far as the
eye could compass, like a solid brilliant sea of grass and flowers,
dotted here and there by vast flocks of sheep and cattle, with the
margins of the stream marked out for many a league, with fringes of
drooping willows. Descending the hill, we swam the river, and after a
short ride along the verge of the plain, came to the _molino_--mill--and
rancho of one Bill Anderson, who, with his head powdered by flour, like
a lord of the olden time, received me cordially, and being furnished
with fresh horses, away we started to slaughter wild geese. They were
congregated in myriads, both white and grey, feeding on the rich short
grasses, and when disturbed, the noise of their wings and throats was
truly deafening--they were excessively shy, and finding even buck-shot
not efficacious in doing its work from a fowling-piece, I was obliged to
throw single balls among the masses, from the carbine; by which method,
in a few hours, we had collected a respectable horse load; they were
quite fat, and resembled the tame goose with us in every particular,
except the bill being much sharper and smaller. During the wet seasons,
a great number of natural canals intersect these lovely plains, and are
filled with swans, wild ducks, snipe and curlew, besides multitudes of
quails and cranes, with now and then a large eagle to fatten on them. As
night set in, and the wolves were beginning to cry and howl melodiously
after the wounded or sleeping birds, we returned to the rancho.
Our host, the afore-mentioned Bill Anderson, was a Cockney: very
hospitable, very much given to the bottle, and withal a great talker and
liar. His history was a simple one. Leaving England as ship-boy, he
deserted and drifted about the islands of the Pacific, until at last he
found himself stranded on the shores of California. Here he shortly
became a man of importance, from having been summarily carried out of
the country, with the Graham party, who, like our Bear friends, had
rendered themselves highly obnoxious to the native population. In course
of time Bill was released, and returned; established a mill on the
plains, married a Californian wife, and then got drunk at his leisure
and pleasure. Bill received me again most civilly, as he also did a
bottle of brandy. Whether attributable to my arrival, or necessity, I
did not pause to inquire, but certain it is that a bullock was slain
immediately thereafter; and, I presume in compliment to the carcass, an
inundation of dependents of both sexes and of all hues and colors, had
dropt in to share the feast. Bill and I, with little Juaquin retired to
an inner apartment, which happened to be laid with a plank floor, and a
good fire in the place; there was a very respectable preparation for
supper, and being much too famished to mind the filth, I shut eyes,
opened mouth, and ate away voraciously. Dogs soon licked the plates
clean, in readiness for breakfast, probably; and in a couple of hours my
thirsty host, from a too frequent application of the brandy to his
parched lips, became very gloriously tipsy; and after indulging me with
a full confession of many sins, and all his grievances, moreover his
utterance becoming somewhat indistinct, I bade him adios, while about
relating what he would observe to the "English Secretary of State, if
he only had him there,"--pointing with the bottle to his dozing sposa.
My shake-down was in a small receptacle for rubbish, fleas, and other
lively furniture, which in getting at, I was obliged to pass a large
room, laid out with about five-and-twenty of the servitors--men, women,
and children--all in heaps. There were a number of limbs obstructing the
passage, and I was obliged to push them aside, rather unceremoniously, I
fear, for I was greeted by a volley of Indian gutteral curses, sounding
quite like a person who had swallowed a collection of shells, and was
anxious to get them up more expeditiously than was possible. Being too
tired and drowsy to heed their complaints, with Juaquinito I betook
myself to mat and blankets, and never moved until break of day; when I
arose, kicked up an Indian, and sent for fresh horses, and continued
shooting geese and curlew, until the morning was far advanced; then,
after swearing devoted friendship to Bill Anderson, his bullocks, and
his wife, we departed for the port.