224 A CALIFORNIA TRAMP. 



racks. At the wharf we saw a train of Uncle Sam's wagons 

 on the way to San Bernardino. The long line of white sheets 

 looked familiar, and, much as I disliked returning my steps, I 

 would gladly have hired as a teamster. The sight of the train 

 had about the same effect on us as a ship would on a sailor 

 who had turned landsman to better his condition, vowing to 

 never trust the treacherous deep again. We had rough times 

 on the plains, but were having worse now, and were ready to 

 go back to life on a train. So we concluded to make applica- 

 tion. To do so I walked a mile to the quartermaster's office, 

 but we were not wanted, so we concluded to tramp on up the 

 valley, still following the telegraph. I had previously invested 

 ten cents in a loaf of bread, which answered for breakfast and 

 dinner. I had now ten cents left ; my brother tramp, as it 

 turned out, more. 



Striking across a range of green hills we at length came to 

 the road leading to Sacramento. This highway follows the 

 flat land bordering the Bay of.Suisun, except where the 

 marshes which fringe it force it to the high ground. Here it 

 was sideling, and my hard boots blistered my feet worse than 

 ever while traversing these slopes. " Scottie," w4th his com- 

 fortable shoes, could easily outwalk me. Conversation on 

 general topics having long since been exhausted, we talked 

 little as we walked along, and as at this season rain was 

 chronic, we had not many pleasant things to say, our wet 

 clothing putting a damper on conversation. The road w^as a 

 lonely one, and as the ranches were far apart we had few 

 chances for work. The land was marshy and covered with 

 shallow pools. The bay adjacent w^as broad and shallow, and 

 was the recipient of the waters of the Sacramento and San 

 Joaquin. A sail now and then, or a rare steamer, was all 

 that enlivened its waters, and these were often hidden by 

 mists. We came at sundown to a group of isolated hills, 

 when, turning a point, we came to a lone tavern called the 



