QUAIL SHOOTING IN CALIFORNIA. 41 



were then selling in tlie San Francisco market at a dollar 

 and a quarter or five shillings a dozen, Jim had a 

 pretty " good thing.'' He told me he considered a fair 

 day's work about five dollars, and he had made nine. 

 After I got to know him a little more, he told me he 

 had been a gamekeeper in England, but had left his 

 country, whether at his own or its expense he did not 

 say. However, he was a capital shot, and had a fund 

 of stories about his adventures all over America, which 

 he was no way shy of telling over a pipe after our day's 

 work. Our Yankee host likewise always had some ex- 

 traordinary tales, among which one in particular about 

 a bear did duty almost every night ; in fact you had only 

 to mention bears, when he would commence about his 

 '^ bar." This animal's size and teeth increased at every 

 repetition of the story. Whenever he commenced, I 

 used to quietly roll myself up in my blanket, and when 

 he got to where the ''bar " was going to tear his face or 

 his head off", I invariably dropped off to sleep. Deer 

 were by no means plentiful in this neighbourhood; I 

 only got three during the fortnight I was in the valley, 

 and those only by riding ten miles to the red-woods. I 

 found them exceedingly shy and wary. However, at 

 Santa Cruz, our next camping ground, Jim assured me 

 we shall get plenty. 



After a fortnight's enjoyable sport in this beautiful 

 valley, we took leave of our Yankee with reluctance — 

 for he had made us very comfortable, and seemed glad 

 of our company — packed up our traps, and went on 

 to Santa Cruz. The town is very pretty, and some little 

 trade in hides, lime, and powder goes on, the country 

 round here is very fertile, and the scenery enchanting. 

 There is an abundance of game of almost every descrip- 



