107 . Tay 
, ap ¢ 
like those we captured at the mouth of the Gila, were mostly un- 
broken, and not of much service. : 2m 
y observations give for the latitude of our camp of this date, ~ 
which was on the meadow to the south of the rancheria, 33° 16’ 57”. 
We remained in camp on the 3d to rest. 
December 4.—The morning was murky, and we did not start till 
9 o’clock, about which time it commenced to rain heavily, and t 
rain lasted all day. Our route was chiefly through narrow valleys 
overtopped by high hills of some fertility, covered with oaks. We 
were now in the region of rains, and the vegetation, tl h not 
luxuriant, was very much changed, but it was too late in the fall to 
get the flowers or fruits to determine the plants. < 
Our camp was pitched, after marching 134 miles, in the valley of 
the Rio Isabel, near the rancheria of Mr. Stokes, formerly the mis- 
sion of Saint Isabel. jee : 
Mr. S. had gone, but he left his keys with a man whom the Span-— — 
iards called Signor Beel, with directions to entertain us. The Sig- — 
nor was a deserter from an English merchant-man, and had lived 
in the neighboring mountains some ten years; during this time he 
had acquired a little property, and some knowledge of Spanish, but 
the sailor was visible in all his acts. Before night Mr. Beel hae 
eae good use of his keys, and shone in his true colors as sailor 
ul. 
We were drenched to the skin, and looked forward with some 
pleasure to.the idea of once more entering a house, with a blazing ~ 
fire and plenty to eat and drink. In the last two items we were 
entirely satisfied, but sadly disappointed in finding no fire, the only 
chimney about the rancheria being in the kitchen. : 
The dragoons took the dinner intended for the officers, and we 
were obliged to stand, cracking our heels in the cold damp es 
now converted into a hall, for two hours, before the Signor, nag HE 
rather Sailor Bill, could cook another dinner. Mis ~ 
The appearance of desolation which the rancheria presents 1s 
little calculated to impress us with favorable notions of the agri- 
cultural resources of this part of California. The land in the nar- 
row valleys is good, but surrounded every where by high barren 
mountains, and where the land is good, the seasons are too dry for 4 
men to attempt cultivation without facilities for irrigation. tier ch 
December 5.—A cold rainy day, and the naked Indians of the 
rancheria gathered around our fires. We marched from the 2 
-cheria of San Isabel to that. of Santa Maria. On the way we. 2 
Capt. Gillespie, Lieut. Beale, and Midshipman Duncan of the pratt. 
with a party of thirty-five men, sent from San Diego with roe 3 
spatch to Gen. Kearny. We arrived at the rancheria after ee 
where we heard that the enemy was preety nine te ae i 
i bout the rancheria, we pus yn a 4 
not finding any grass a nig ss sed Sie eal 
we halted, and though there may have been plenty of 8 
: 
‘* 
