278 Beyond the Sierras. 



ocean people have their abodes. The finest of all is the abalone, which here 

 grows to great size and perfection. He is a univalve, not a bivalve, as his 

 one-sided house would suggest. He lives on the side of a rock, to which he 

 fastens himself, his position being determined by the level of the surf. On 

 his rocky hinge he turns back his house like the top of a cab ; and when the 

 marine creatures which constitute his food drift into his establishment he 

 closes doors and regales himself with something to eat. The shell of the 

 abalone is one of great brilliancy as to its inner surface. It has all the 

 beauty and variegation that laminated pearl can exhibit, and the naturally 

 rough exterior is susceptible of a polish which fairly dazzles by its radiance 

 and beautiful spots. Many of our company availed themselves of the op- 

 portunity to gather specimens of this shell; and they are now safe in distant 

 regions, on the center-tables and among the bric-a-brac of our homes east of 

 the mountains. 



So much, then, for our stay at Monterey. On the afternoon of the 28th, 

 after the customary conference at the Del Monte, we decided to return to 

 San Francisco by way of Santa Cruz. Thither we now betook ourselves, 

 arriving near nightfall. This city is also, primarily, another of those old 

 settlements which the Spaniards planted on the Pacific coast. It is another 

 Santa; and, to tell the truth, there is more evidence of the original Santa 

 about it than many of the other cities of equal size. We were here on 

 Sunday, the 29th, and did as much as good people could do to inform our- 

 selves of the characteristics of the place and the surrounding region. Santa 

 Cruz has a very picturesque and wonderful coast. It is not high and bold, 

 like Cypress Point. The valley here runs out to the deep on a sort of 

 level, and when you come to the ocean the land is broken ofi" square down 

 to the surf. The bodj' of the projection on which Santa Cruz is built is a 

 kind of a half-stone, variable in its hardness and resistance to the waves. As 

 a consequence, the ocean has eaten into the shore in a curious, even mar- 

 velous, manner. In some places the surf has wrought its way under ground to 

 a great distance, and then has made itself manifest by the dropping in of the 

 earth from above. Great and dangerous caverns have thus been produced. 

 Really, one must be careful about his footing as he adventures along these 

 precipitous and treacherous banks. The billows here, as at the Point of 

 Cypresses, break high, with their everlasting monotone, against the rocky 

 barrier that constitutes the thus far of their aggressive warfare. 



At Santa Cruz we enjoyed the rare luxury of paying our bills. We had 

 a drive on the same terms, and the mud was a serious drawback to our ex- 

 pedition ; but the country thnnigh which we passed was beautiful antl^fruit- 

 ful, after the manner of nearly all the California lowlands. One of the in- 

 ducements of our coming to this region was that we might return through 

 the redwood forest that interposes in the mountain belt between Santa Cruz 

 and San Josd We had been told that by taking this route (a narrow-gauge) 

 we should have ample time and opportunity to see the big trees of the high- 

 lands. Our expectation on Monday morning was accordingly high ; but we 



