86 Audubon's Western Journal 



needed rest in the shade of the Spanish walnuts, 

 and enjoying the delightful water, which bursts 

 out in a fountain of six to eight feet wide, and 

 about a foot deep, clear but not cool, yet pleasant 

 to drink. Monterey is at the base of a range of 

 mountains, which surround it on all sides except 

 to the north. Its entrance over bridges, many 

 of them very picturesque, shows abundance of 

 water, which irrigates the beautiful valley for 

 miles beyond Molino. 



Where did I hope to be at this date? Yet here 

 we are scarcely started; one month lost in sickness 

 and sorrow, and one in the re-organization of our 

 company. We are full two months behind our 

 reckoning, and on a route of which I never 

 approved, but which, when I took command, we 

 were already compelled to pursue. We are hav- 

 ing the horses and mules shod, for their feet are 

 so tender we can not continue without. We travel, 

 usually twenty or twenty-five miles a day, as the 

 chance for water and forage for our horses occurs. 

 The uncertainty of provisions is such that we have 

 to carry corn for one or two feeds ahead, which 

 adds considerably to the weight of our packs, and 

 gives us a good deal of trouble. 



As I sit here, I hear the notes of many new 

 birds, as well as those well known, and the sky 

 overhead is bluer than any Italy ever presented to 

 me. Monterey, where I have been several times,, 



