finished, being covered with tile. For the instruction of these Indians there is four hours of each day devoted to education and prayer, and the balance of the day is occupied in teaching them the rudiments of agriculture and the mechanical arts. The females are carefully instructed in the art of sewing, and other accomplishments of housewifery. Every thing in this station is under the control amp; management of the Priests, who exercise the authority of Governor, Judge, amp;c., being privileged to try and condemn all criminal acts.
On the first evening we spent in our new encampment, we were shown the manner in which the Spaniards take wild cattle, which was quite a different practice from that used by the Indians of the Rocky mountains in taking buffaloe, amp;c. Never less than two goes at a time, who are always on the back of their fleetest horses, each provided with a strong cord with a noose fixed on one end. When the animal is started they give chase and the rider that overtakes the game first, throws the noose round its neck or horns, and begins to draw the noose tight. When the noose is found to be secure he gives the cord several winds round the pummel of the saddle, (which is made strong for this purpose) and stops his horse all of a sudden which throws the animal to the ground and frequently breaks its neck. If the animal is thrown without injury, the other hunter comes forward with his noose and fastens it round its hind foot, which enables them to manage the stoutest and most ferocious bulls. Having thus captured their object of pursuit, they sometimes have great trouble in getting them home alive. The one with the cord round the animals head goes before while he with the cord fastened to the hind foot stays in the rear. If their prisoner becomes refractory and refuses to advance, the man in the rear commences whipping, while he in front uses many devices to provoke the brute, until it in a fit of rage makes at him, when he puts off at full speed, and sometimes run two or three miles in this way without stopping. In this manner they brought a large handsome cow into our camp this evening which we purchased, and found to be good beef.
Although they exhibit a great degree of dexterity in taking these wild beasts, their mode of killing them is far different. – When they want to butcher their beef they make the horse with the noose round the neck pull a different way from the one with the noose round the foot, until the animal is thrown on the ground, when they dismount and cut its throat with large knives.
They appear to do most of their work on horse-back. If they want wood they repair to the forest, ride along until they find a log to suit them, when they drop their noose round the end of it; and thus drag it to their homes. They are very expert on horseback, nor could it be otherwise, for they are constantly riding amp; never appear so well satisfied as when they are seated on a prancing steed.
On the first of December, Capt. Walker returned from Monterey, where he had met with a hospitable reception by the Governor and principal people in and about the Capital, and where he also again met with Capt. Baggshaw, who served as an interpretor for Capt. Walker and the Governor, as he was fully capable of fulfilling such an office. With the Governor, Capt. Walker succeeded in every thing he desired, having obtained permission to remain in the country during the approaching winter, to hunt and kill as much game as would support our company, and to trade as much with the Spaniards as we pleased, but were forbid trapping in the Indian lands or trading with the natives. The Spaniards manifest a warm friendship for the Indians under their jurisdiction, as those who were friendly towards us were constantly reminding us of the danger of wronging the Indians.
Here we remained until about the 18th of December, without anything occurring except the daily visits we received from the Spaniards and Indians, who were curious to know how we lived, and all about us. They however, only found that we lived like they did themselves, any more than they lived in habitations built of wood, brick, mortar, amp;c. while we lived in huts made of skins of animals. About this time Capt. Walker proposed to me to take a tramp through the settlements for the purpose of taking a view of the country, and the manners and customs of the inhabitants. This was precisely what I had long been wanting. Accordingly, Capt. W., two others and myself left the camp and steered to the south-east, intending to return through Monterey. The country thro' which we passed contained rich soil, tolerably well timbered, but thinly inhabited with a few Spaniards and Indians, who appeared to live there because they were not permitted to live any other place. These people, generally, are very ignorant and much more indolent – have little or no ingenuity – and only seem to enjoy themselves when engaged in the chase. This is the only occupation of the wealthier portion of Spaniards. Their habitations are built of sun- dried brick, some of which appear well enough on the outside, but the inside shows no kind of mechanism – there being no floor, partition, or work of any kind except the bare walls. Their floors are made smooth by taking a large beetle and hammering the surface of the ground until it becomes perfectly level – thus they never fail of having a solid foundation! – They have a small fire-place in one corner of the house, with a chimney extending only a little above the mantle. Their beds and bedding generally consists of blankets spread upon a large hide layed on the ground, and after rising in the morning these beds are rolled up in one corner, where they answer the purpose of seats. Their diet is generally composed of beans and meat made into a kind of soup, with but little bread. Most of them are entirely destitute of cooking utensils, and, were it not that they are all provided with knives, their manner of cooking and eating would be equally as inconvenient as the wildest savages of the Rocky mountains. But the wealthy, who, it may be supposed, constitute the aristocracy of this country, appear to live at ease, surrounded with all the comforts of life, are entirely independent and unconnected with the common people. They carry on farming to a considerable extent in some districts, the principal labour of which is done by the Indians from the missionary station. The principal productions are wheat, corn, and beans. They also have many vine-yards, and manufacture a large quantity of wine – which is their principal drink. Their mode of preparing the soil for grain is of an awkward and rather novel nature. When they want to plough, they repair to the woods and get a sapling with a knot or branch jutting out on one side, which they make sharp, hitch two or more teams of oxen to it and then proceed to score out the ground – which is generally done in wet weather, when the ground is moist. Another method, no less novel, however, is to get a crooked log, much the shape of a sled-runner, fix a piece of iron in front which answers for a coulter, then sharpening the log they make a furrow similar to the track of a sled. As a substitute for a harrow, they use a brush, and by laying a weight on it, some times scratch the ground in tolerable style. This manner of tilling the soil could not be done with such success in any other country where the soil is less mellow and tender than here.
These people have no fences round their cleared or cultivated land, although they raise an immense amount of stock, such as horses, mules and horned cattle all of which range at large over these extensive prairies all seasons of the year, many being in a manner totally wild, so much so, that when they wish to milk a cow, they mount one of their coursers and noose her, fasten the cord to a tree, and then tie her feet, when she is forced to be quiet. During our whole stay in this country I have never seen any thing like a stable or a barn, as a shelter for the dumb brutes – nor did I ever see any one feeding an animal, unless it was a favourite cow or horse that was sick. This, however, is not at all singular as any number of animals could subsist, and be in good order all seasons of the year, on these plains, as in many spots the grass is green the whole year round. The months of August, September and October are the least enticing to animals, as it is the warmest and driest season of the year. As soon as August sets in the beasts inhabiting the dry prairies and hills, repair to the low wet ground, where they can get enough to subsist upon until the dry season passes away. The rainy season commences generally in the latter part of October, and continues until the first and sometimes middle of January, when the weather becomes fair and the farmers sow their grain, such as wheat and rye. During this wet weather the animals grow fat, and the inhabitants employ the principal part of this time in catching and domesticating them. This fair weather generally lasts about two months, or until the first of March, when the rain again descends and continues until about the middle of June – the grain, however, grows amp; ripens during the wet weather. It then keeps dry month or so until the farmers gather crops – which occupies about a month, the warm weather sets in; destroying all kinds of vegetation, giving but a poor subsistance to the dumb brutes, and the country the appearance of an unproductive climate. About the end of the dry season (say about the first of November) the face of nature in this country has more the appearance of spring in the United States than any other part of the year, and, as there is no winter nor freezing weather here it may be said that August, September and October, is their only winter, (to substitute warm for cold) as, at the end of this period the face of nature assumes a new dress and vegetation shoots forth precisely in the manner that it does in Pennsylvania when the frost leaves the ground in the Spring of the year. The dry season is occupied by the inhabitants in gathering the mules into large droves and driving them off to the market at Santa Fee, a distance of 12 or 1400 miles from this part of the coast, through a wild and desert country. Here they meet with ready sale at a profitable price from the traders of Missouri, who repair to Santa Fee annually for that purpose. These traders are generally well supplied with merchandize which they exchange at Santa Fee for gold and silver, and with these Calafornian traders for mules and Spanish hides. The price of a mule at Santa Fee is generally from 6 to $10. – Merchandize is sold at a great advance, particularly silks, jewelry and groceries.
The principal part of their hides are sold to U. S. vessels trading on the coast. When a trading vessel anchors on
