"TOLING" EOE DUCKS IN 

 CALIEORXIA. 



I WAS sitting one day in tlie billiard room of the Occi- 

 dental Hotel in San Francisco (about the best one, by- 

 the-bye, that I know in my varied experience) watching 

 a game of pin-pool, and wondering what on earth I was 

 going to do with myself during the bright October 

 weather, when an acquaintance of mine who had ^^ shown 

 me the elephant ^' on my arrival, came and sat by my 

 side ; after throwing poker dice for the drinks, which of 

 course I lost, he suddenly observed, " Would you like to 

 see old Francois tole ducks ? it^s the darndest fun out/' 

 " Tole ducks ; what the deuce is that ? " " Well, come 

 and see ; he's an old Chesapeake ducker, and you can bet 

 he's on it." " Oh, Fm rather tired of the blanket busi- 

 ness, with coffee and dry bread, and — " " Not much, 

 sir ; do the thing in style ; feather bed, bully hotel ; have 

 a free fight if you hke ; not thirty miles off." " Oh, if 

 that's the case, why I'm your man." 



Two days after the above conversation I found myself 

 in the cars on the way to San Jose. A great rifle match 

 was coming off next day at San Mateo, so we stopped 

 there over-night on purpose to see it. There were some 

 queer people at San Mateo. At dinner I sat opposite to 

 two ladies^ and in course of conversation I remarked that 

 the chicken soup that we were eating did not appear to 

 have much chicken in it. '^ Chicken ! " said one of them, 

 *' I guess there's nary feowl has flowed within a mile of 



