AGRICULTURE. 277 



of Europe ; but mouse, dun, and brindle colors almost in- 

 fallible signs of " scrub " blood are more frequent ; and the 

 deep red, fine cream color, and delicate mottling of deep red 

 and white, found only in animals of high blood, are entirely 

 wanting. Their legs are long and thin, their noses sharp, 

 their forms graceful, their heads high, their horns long, slen- 

 der, and widespread ; and they have a duskiness about the 

 eyes and nostrils similar to that of the deer, between which 

 animal and a young Spanish cow there are many points of re- 

 semblance. The general carriage of a Spanish cow is like that 

 of a wild animal : she is quick, uneasy, restless, frequently on 

 the lookout for danger, snuffing the air, moving with a high 

 and elastic trot, and excited at the sight of a man, particular- 

 ly if afoot, when she will often attack him. In some districts 

 it is, for this reason, unsafe to go about on foot. The herdsmen 

 are always mounted, and to these the cattle are accustomed ; 

 but a man afoot is considered to be a dangerous animal, de- 

 serving of the same treatment as wolves and coyotes. The 

 Spanish cow is small, does not fatten readily, produces little 

 milk, and her meat is not so tender and juicy as that of Amer- 

 ican cattle. 



The breeding of neat cattle was almost the only business of 

 the country previous to the American conquest, and they were 

 killed for their hides and tallow, which were the chief exports. 



The meat went to enrich the land ; there was too much of 

 it to be eaten. The breeding of cattle being the chief occupa- 

 tion of t&e Californians, determined their mode of life, the 

 structure of their society, and the size of their ranches. No- 

 body wanted to own less than a square league, (four thousand 

 four hundred and thirty-eight acres) of land ; and the Govern- 

 ment granted it away without charge, in tracts varying from 

 one to eleven leagues, to anybody who would undertake to 

 erect a house and put a hundred head of cattle on the place. 

 It was common for one man to own five thousand head of 

 cattle. The cows were kept for breeding, and the steers were 



