A Sportsman 21 



village to a farmhouse, plentifully surrounded by wild- 

 mustard fields, where birds seemed plentiful. Here 

 I engaged board and lodgings at eight dollars per 

 week. 



The following morning at daylight I was in the 

 fields, and early in the afternoon had about three 

 dozen assorted birds which, tagged, went off that day 

 to my market customer. This pastime I followed 

 for several weeks, and although I did not average 

 my first day's shooting, I rolled up a pretty fair 

 profit over my expenses. The labor, however, I found 

 rather wearing, despite my youth and activity; for, 

 besides my necessitated walking in the fields, I had 

 to give daily three or four miles more to the boat 

 and back in forwarding my birds to market. This 

 worked down my flesh somewhat, and though weigh- 

 ing now 175 pounds, I was down to 120 pounds at 

 that time. 



One day a man came along bleeding from a broken 

 head, leading a spirited mustang stallion, which had 

 thrown him, and offered to sell it, with the ordinary 

 Mexican saddle and bridle, for $25. I had in view 

 the joining of a small party of hunters, who were 

 killing deer and elk in the neighboring mountains for 

 the San Francisco market, so I purchased the horse, 

 and in a few days joined the mountain party, which 

 consisted of four, my interest being one half that 

 allowed to the other hunters, and took up my abode 

 with them at an open encampment in the mountain 

 hills back of the San Jose Mission. 



This party consisted of a German, a well-educated 

 young Englishman, and two Americans. The latter 

 were both from the State of New Hampshire, and 



