HISTORY OP CALIFORNIA. 81 



Every man, however, seized his rifle, and Dowling, 

 hastening towards us, told us of what had just occurred. 

 All was still for the next few moments, and I mounted 

 a little hill to reconnoitre. Suddenly I saw a troop of 

 Indians, the foremost of them on horseback, approach- 

 ing at full speed. I hastily returned to my companions, 

 and we sought shelter in a little dell, determined to 

 await there, and resist the attack, for it was evident 

 that the savages' intentions were any thing but pacific. 

 " It was a moment of breathless excitement. We 

 heard the tramp, tramp of the horses coming on 

 towards us, but as yet, they and their riders were 

 concealed from our view. I confess I trembled vio- 

 lently, not exactly with fear, although I expected that 

 a few moments would see us all scalped by our savage 

 assailants. It was the suddenness of the danger which 

 startled me, and made my heart throb violently ; but 

 at that moment, just as I was reproaching myself with 

 the want of courage, a terrific yell rung through the 

 air at a short distance from us, and forty or fifty war- 

 like Indians appeared in sight. My whole frame was 

 nerved in an instant, and when a shower of arrows 

 flew amongst us, I was the first man to answer it with 

 a rifle-shot, which brought one of the foremost Indians 

 off his horse to the ground. I instantly reloaded, but 

 in the mean while the rifles of my companions had been 

 doing good service. We had taken up our position 

 behind a row of willow trees which skirted the banks 

 of a narrow stream, and here we were protected in a 

 great measure from the arrows of our assailants, which 

 were in most cases turned aside by the branches. A 

 second volley of rifle-shots soon followed the first ; 

 and while we were reloading, and the smoke had 

 slightly cleared away, I could see that we had spread 



