QUAIL SHOOTING IN CALIFORNIA. 43 



mucli better bear- shooting than any I could get so near 

 at hand, and promised to give me letters to two young 

 friends of his some way down on the road to Los 

 Angeles, in Lower California. After three weeks^ 

 capital sport about Santa Cruz, I bade adieu to friend 

 Jim with great regret, as he was really a most jolly com- 

 panion, though he was a trifle rough. I suspect he was 

 rather sorry to part with me too, as I contributed in no 

 small degree to his " calculations." 



Thus ended my trip in this charming valley, and never 

 did I enjoy anything more in my life. It is the delightful 

 feeling of grand unrestraint that is so pleasant; the know- 

 ledge that you can go anywhere for hundreds of miles with- 

 out let or hindrance of any sort, the quantity of game, and 

 deliciousness of the climate of this enchanting country, 

 that make a man who has roved through California such 

 a lover of it. To the geologist it presents the most 

 interesting as well as profitable field for research; the 

 ornithologist would revel here ; to the lover of nature the 

 geysers, the numerous lakes and valleys, the variety of 

 mountain scenery — above all, that most exquisitely grand 

 combination of waterfall and vale, the Yosemite valley, 

 with its noble trees, which have stood since the world^s 

 primeval days — present a picture such as he will find 

 in no other part of the globe of equal extent. Its 

 virgin and unequalled soil render it the most inviting 

 place of emigration by far of any I have seen at present ; 

 its wheat at Liverpool fetches a higher price than the 

 best English, and thousands of acres of land are waiting 

 for occupants. The skilled artisan will get better wages 

 here than in any other part of the world that I am 

 acquainted with ; and with its perfect climate — were it 

 in easy and cheap communication with our shores — it 



