TO PUEBLO DE LOS ANGELES. 189 



large herd of these aniraals galloped across the trail just 

 behind me, and I believe that I would have been trampled 

 to death had I been a little later. I now hurried faster, 

 and soon my suspense was ended by the sight of a fire. This 

 was at the stopping place I spoke of, and here I found a few 

 of our men. Just beyond was a stream of water, where I 

 slaked my thirst for the first time in twenty miles. I found 

 I was by the side of some ranch buildings, which were shown 

 by the reflection of a fire in front, around which some Mexi- 

 cans, who looked like brigands, were toasting their feet, their 

 " serapes " drawn around their shoulders, chattering away 

 with the inevitable " cigarillos " in their mouths. I was 

 hungry and was making my way to the ranch for something 

 to eat, as quietly as I could, so as to avoid these men, when the 

 barking of a dog warned me away, and I went back to the shore 

 of the brook, where two or three of our men were lying down. 

 It was cold, and I w^ished for my cast-away overcoat, but I made 

 the best use of my blanket by wrapping it around me. I sat 

 here awhile, w4th few pleasant thoughts for my company, 

 watching the Mexicans around their fire, and exchanging an 

 occasional word with my fellows. We were all tired and not 

 in a humor to talk much, and spreading my blankets beneath 

 the boughs of a cottonwood, wrapped them around me and 

 after a while got to sleep. Awakened from my uneasy slum- 

 bers by the barking of neighboring dogs, I was glad when 

 morning came. Before the sunlight had reached the foot of 

 the mountain slope I was well on my way from my inhos- 

 pitable camping place, little rested and much ahungered. 



In spite of this feeling, as I trudged along my halting feet 

 involuntarily kept step to a sing-song music, called up by the 

 names of some of the prominent objects which were being 

 brought before me. Most people who were school children in 

 1850 will remember the "singing geography schools" that 

 spread like an epidemic over the land. They were at first 



