38tf 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



trip through the valley. Grizzly Bill and myself led the 

 •way in my spring wagon, containing the camp equipage, 

 audi drawn by old Pinto and nn equally good mustang. Is- 

 rael by name, whom I had trained until I could shoot be- 

 tween biseats, if necessary. Behind us came Col. Forrester 

 and his family, NitS occasionally changing places with 

 Bill, to my delight aud the old hunter's amusement. Rose, 

 the setter, protested so strongly against being left behind, 

 that at the last moment I concluded to take her. 



As our expedition was one in which haste was not an 

 object, I had promised myself good sport among the quail 

 on 'the little traversed plains beyond the San Gabriel, and 

 with this object had my "scatter gun," as Bill somewhat 

 contemptuously called a' first class Weslly Richards central 

 fire close at hand, la addition to this, I had a Henry rifle 

 in the wagon, and Bill scarcely ever slept or ate without 

 bis old "Spencer" try his side. The Colonel and Pablo had 

 their six shooters, of course, but old Bill and myself were 

 supposed to do the hunting for the party. 



Our destination was a canon in the Sierra Madre, some 

 forty miles from San Gabriel, in the direction of San Ber- 

 nardino, one of the largest openings in the range, and 

 from winch we had hopes of procuring a supply of timber 

 at much less cost than by tile coast route from the upper 

 counties. After leaving" the ranclie, the road carried us 

 ih rough the village of El Monte, a section of wet lands 

 where a portion of the immense drainage of the mountains 

 seeks to reach the surface, making the country immedi- 

 diately around it '•duin'd moist and disagreeable." as Mr. 

 Mautaiini would say, but producing fabulous crops of corn, 

 the average yield being a hundred bushels, shelled, to the 

 acre. Passing this, a long stretch of land marked the bed 

 of the San Gabriel, through which the horses toiled pain- 

 fully, stopping in the stream for a drink before making the 

 ascent of the opposite bank; but once on the table land 

 beyond, wilh the rich alfilleria coming almost mi to the 

 hubs of the wheels, we all revived, and Rose, obeying a 

 wave of I lie hand, scampered off ill search of game. 



As usual, but a short time elapsed before we sighted one 

 of the immense flocks of quail which inhabit this region. 

 They were running across one of the sandy bottoms, the 

 result of some long ago freshet from the mountains, where 

 ihe hn.ie patches of f unfix, or prickly pear, were inter- 

 spersed with scrub oaks and thorn bushes. Pulling up the 

 horses, I gave the reins to Bill, with instructions to follow 

 a parallel course with my own, and aid me as much as was 

 in ilia power in driving them from the sand into the grass, 

 where I could get. them so scattered as to lie to the dog. 

 Jumping from the wagon and calling Rose "to heel," I 

 took my gun and followed the birds. 



None tint those who have shot the California quail can 

 understand their extreme, wariness while in sight— bow 

 they will provokingly run in trout of the shooter just out 

 of shot, never rising until closely pushed, and then flying 

 but s short distance. Rose was too staunch aud well Sea- 

 soned to show any nervousness; but f can imagine the ex- 

 citement of a strange dog in walking over the hot scent, 

 with lour or live hundred birds directly in front and in 

 full view, the cocks with their shiniug coals and their 

 beautiful crests proudly erected. 



With the aid of the wagons, and a tittle cautious assist- 

 ance from Rose, I succeeded ia getting the bulk cf the 

 bevy out of the sand aud into the grass, and wailing a few 

 moments until the calling assured me they were well scat- 

 tered, I went to work. Rose was kept in until I had can 

 tiously walked a hundred yards, and knew that 1 had birds 

 on each side of me, then, at a wave of the baud, she 

 moved forward. Not, with a rush, but with slow and snake- 

 like motion, for the sceut was hot and thick. In the first 

 twenty feet she found a bird, and it was a beautiful picture 

 to look at— the statue-like dog, her silky tail stiffened, aud 

 one paw lifted and bent, only her eyes quivering as she 

 tried to look both ways at once, at me for the signal and 

 at the bird which she knew was just under her nose. Now 

 I am aware it is scarcely the correct thiug to do to allow 

 one's dog to find the bird and flush it too; but our shoot- 

 ing, like OUT farming, is peculiar, aud indeed, except for 

 retrieving, 1 hold a dog to be next to useless m most parts 

 of the State. At an almost imperceptible motion, the dog 

 moved forward aud the bird rose, only to be cut down 

 tt'j-ain at good easy range. Now, under ordinary circum- 

 stances I should have allowed Rose tc retrieve the bird at 

 ouce, for a California quail late in the season will carry off 

 an immense amount of shot, and the ground is so honey- 

 combed with gopher, squirrel, and rabbit- holes, into which 

 they run that iu nine cases out of ten a wounded bird is a 

 lost bird, unless immediately retrieved. In the present 

 case, without moving myself, I set the dog to work again, 

 and almost in an instant she had found another bird. Iu 

 this way, without leaving my tracks, I killed eight birds, 

 and in less than au hour bad a bag of twenty or more. It 

 afforded much amusement to those in the wagons, as they 

 kepi within a few rods of me, and we drove on our way 

 well pleased with the sport. Little cotton tails and great 

 jack rabbits were continually getting up before us. The 

 latter would generally run a bundled yards and then sit on 

 their haunches looking at us, while Bill would show his 

 dexterity with the rifle by knocking them over. We held 

 them unfit for food, however, as the flesh is not only dark- 

 er and coarser than that of the cotton tails, but frequently, 

 from contact with the spines of the prickly pear, their bod- 

 ies are covered with sores or carbuncles. Once a sneaking 

 coyote showed himself, and Bill seut him oil' yelping with 

 a broken shoulder. 



Before nhdii we reached the San Antonio Raueue, where 

 resided some old time friends of the Colonel and his wife; 

 and were most hospitably received and regaled with the 

 best the earn afforded in the way of fried chickens, frijotes, 

 ■„„t tortilka. At. an early hour in the morning we resumed 

 our route, and long before noon were at. the mouth of the 

 Lyttle Creek Canon, Two great bull. esses, rising a thou- 

 sand feet in height, seemed to form the entrance to some 

 cave of ebbs. A torrent rushed between them, dashing 

 against the huge boulders in its bed, and divided into halt 

 a dozen little streams whose sinuous ways we could 

 trace like silver threads far into the valley. We were 

 now so close to .Mount Sau Bernardino, the highest peak 

 ot the region, as to seem almost, under its shadow Its 

 many Assured sides, on which great trees were dwarled to 

 bean poles, and its venerable snow crowned head, were 

 most attractive and solemn objects to look upon. Stopping 

 tor awhile to examine ihe works of two companies who 

 were mining by the hydraulic process, we passed between 

 the portals and entered the shaded canon, The dashing 

 Oi tue Water sounded much louder as we passed into the 

 more eon lined space, and to look up at die straight walls 



laiiUthe eyu ejiughl the tops of ihe overhanging cliffs 



above was almost enough to cause dizziness. But after a 

 short, distance the canon gradually widened; the sun found 

 more Opportunities to reach the occasional open spaces and 

 even light up the dancing waves of the stream. In places 

 the water formed large pools, wdiich promised I rout, and 

 Bill declared there must be deer ou Ihe benches. 



It was slow traveling, only the merest apology for a road, 

 sometimes filled with great, rocks, and twisting first on one 

 side and then on the other of the canon. The day had far 

 advanced, when Bill said we must be near the forks and 

 the location of Glenn's clearing; but no indications of such 

 a place were visible. The half obliterated wagon tracks 

 showed where some one had been beyond, but the walls of 

 the canon were straightening and closing again. 



"Look up thar!" said Bill, "what's thai?" as he stooped 

 down and brought bis rifle from the bottom of the wagon 

 to his knee. 



I looked in the direction indicated, expecting to see a 

 grizzly, at least; but a very different creature met my eye. 

 flalf way up the side of ihe canon, and hastening down 

 it, jumping with the agility of a chamois from ledge to 

 ledge, now grasping a root or the trunk of a sapling to fa- 

 cilitate her descent,' was the figure of a young girl. A few 

 more jumps and she landed on a projecting rock a few feel, 

 above the road, and stood coolly surveying US, I had 

 pulled up the horses, and, almost too much l surprised to 

 speak, gazed with astonishment at the apparil.ioh. The 

 first, salutation came from the stranger. 



"Who be you?" 



1 was about to reply, and ask the usual questions about 

 the road, when Bill, chuckling heartily to himself, nudged 

 me in be quiet. 



'T know who yon be," said he. 



"Course you do," replied the girl; "anybody must know 

 I'm Glenn's* gal, because there ain't nobody else in the can- 

 on; but there's lots of you-uns outside. Who be you; are 

 you going to dad's?" 



Bill replied affirmatively. 



"So you are little Sally, are you? Why, child, I know'd 

 you when you wcin'l knee high, and many's the day I car- 

 ried yon in my arms, wdien Taches bad stolen our wagons, 

 and we had to foot it all the way to Santa Fe. Didn't yOur 

 dad ever tell vou about bis old pard, Bill, what crossed the 

 plains with Mm ?" 



"And be you Bill?" exclaimed the girl, gazing at his 

 scarred and weather beaten face. "Dad will be main glad 

 to see you; you haven't more nor half a mile to go." 



"Jump down," said Bill, "and go with us." 



Nothing loth, Sally scrambled down from her perch and 

 seated herself iu the wagon, while we resumed our jour- 

 ney. A most striking face was Sally's— large blue eyes, 

 shaded by lashes and brows black, a complexion clear, but 

 burned almost, nut brown, hair cut as close as a boy's, but 

 curling in every direction around a well shaped head. 

 Sally's dress was not strictly evinme il funt, and her shoes 

 were of the coarse kind known as "kips," but her teeth 

 were white and even, and her lips as rosy as a pair of twin 

 cherries, and her great dark blue eyes iiad a way of look- 

 ing through anil through you in a way which scorned dis- 

 simulation. Sally was eighteen, aud had never been inside 

 of a school house. Her book learning was limited to what 

 she had learned at her mother's knee-, and perhaps she bad 

 never known or felt the want of more. 



Our lovely guide's prediction was correct, and in a few 

 moments the wall on one side of the canon suddenly ter- 

 minated, opening before our astonished eyes a most'won- 

 derful aud beautiful scene. The canon here forked, one 

 branch turning abruptly to the right, while the other con- 

 tinued on in the old di red ion. Where the forks merged they 

 formed an ampithealre a mile or two in width, through 

 which the. streams approached each other diagonally until 

 they met and rushed down the single canon. In thccei.trc of 

 lids lovely spot stood Glenn's com fmrtable log house, sur- 

 rounded by a clearing in wdiich a little orchard of peach 

 and apple trees had been planted. There was none of ihe 

 gloom 1 had aulicipated; everything was bright and cheer- 

 ful, and the sun was visiting the further hill sides with 

 some of his latest beams, gilding with brighter tints the 

 leaves aud ferns, and throwing blacker shadows behind the 

 deep tinted cedars and pines. The noise of Ihe creek dead- 

 ened the sound of our wheels, but the braying of two or 

 three long eared hounds who caught sight of Rose brought 

 the proprietor to the door. He looked somewhat surprised 

 to see his daughter seated comfortably between two stran- 

 gers, but a few minutes later the warm hearted Keniuekiau 

 discovered our identity, aud greeted us with a warmth that 

 was almost overpowering, 



"Kuruel," said be, "I've beeu kinder looking for you for 

 some lime. Bill, you old cuss, what brings you here. 

 'Light, ladies, 'light. Here, liitinii, come beie", quick." 

 And good, motherly Mrs. Glenn appeared at. the door, her 

 bauds raised in astonishment, at the unwonted spectacle. 

 It was apparent at once that our lines had fallen iu plea- 

 sant, places. The ladies and their belongings were at once 

 jjun'ied into the house, while "we-uus"took out the horses, 

 and, after giving them a good rubbing down, turned them 

 into Glenn's corral. There was still an hour or two of 

 light, aud the Colonel and I, taking oui rods, went to the 

 nearest point of the brook, and, with a piece of rabbit 

 meat, for bait, caught fifteen or twenty fine trout. The 

 snow line being but a few miles off, the water wits almost 

 ice cold, and the fish lively aud of delicious flavor. 



Sweet Sally Glenn. I can see her bright face as she sat 

 with half opened lips and eager eyes iu a corner of the fire- 

 place, listening to her lather and' old Kill as they talked 

 over their Apache tights and many perils of the plains. 

 In fact, a gathering fiown on Nila's face warned me thai, 

 my gaze was almost too ardent, and when Sally begged to 

 be allowed to accompany us ou our deer bunt the following 

 day my little comadre's lips lightened themselves in a man- 

 ner indicating that a storm was at hand. The proposition 

 being vetoed by Bill, however, tint storm passed over, and 

 Mia, as if to make amends, commenced petting Sally to 

 an extent that almost made me jealous. 



Long before the sluggish light had succeeded in making 

 an impression upon the gloom of the canon, Bill and my- 

 self had started for a point on the North Pork, where 

 Glenn bad assured us we were almost certain to find deer. 

 A few miles of hard walking, partly on an almost, .indis- 

 tinguishable trail and partly through the bed of the stream, 

 brought us to an opening similar to Gleun's, but much 

 larger. In the hollows on the sides of the canon patches 

 of "snow gleaming in the mountain liglu looked like table 

 cloths hung out to dry. An occasional whistle from a 

 quail, or the rapid flight of a thick of these birds, told of 

 ihe coming day. The little ground owls were returning to 



their burrows after a night's revel, and the coyotes and 

 other nocturnal ramblers were seeking their lairs to recruit 

 for fresh forays. While I sealed myself at the foot of an 

 immense, collonwood tree, in a position commanding a 

 good view of the valley and stream, Bill, with one of 

 Glenn's hounds at his heels, crossed the water for the pur- 

 pose of hunting that side. 



Gradually the light, stole down the valley, and the tops 

 of the highest peaks began to grow crimson as the fresh 

 rays of the sun kissed their lofty summits. The squirrels 

 began to wake up and pay their morning calls, and one 

 audacious fellow must have run up the tree directly by my 

 side, as the dried button balls came rattling down on my 



hat. A little gr 

 rock by my side 



and afte 



off Rga.il 



rd, sociably 



ictly, 



No 



Each 

 and th 



cut I I 



ba; 



;d, ran on to i 

 bead for a few mo- 

 tile forms or the trees 

 d the grand gray outline? of the 

 p in all their stern magnificence, 

 si to hear the report of Bill's rifle, 

 „ if the hound. My compaoion had 

 decided to still hunt, and only use the dog in the event of 

 wounding a deer, and be thought it almost a certainty that 

 should he start a deer without getting a shot al it, il would 

 cross ihe stream at, or near my". stand. The time wore on 

 until it was almost, broad daylight. Anxiously and cau- ' 

 tiously I looked around in search of the game which Glenn 

 said he had never failed to find at this point. The minutes 

 seemed like hours, and, half disgusted, I bad allowed my 

 mind to wander back to Vernon, w hen a slight 



the other side of the. stream attracted my 



looking up I saw before me, at less than a nil 



distance, one of ihe finest bucks my eyes bad 



on. Entirely unconscious of danger, tie was 



rectly towards me, now and then raising his h 



wide spreading antlers, ami sniffling the fresh morning air. 



Fortunately 1 was lo leeward of him, aud crouching inti 



as small a space as possible, I waited for a broadside shot 



He had approached within eighty yards, when the d 



report of Bil 

 the sound, affol 

 behind the fore 



nd 

 ired yards 



ver feasted 

 'ceding di- 

 .d, with its 



ifle caused him to jump in the direction of 

 le a fair shot. Aiming quickly just 

 der, I pulled the trigger. With the 

 ■d convulsively in Ihe air, and as he 

 I gave him another shot almost in 

 rolled him over dead. Shortly afier- 

 ned by Bill, who had also killed a buck, 



the same I 

 wards I w 



and after bleeding my deer we returned to Glenn's. 

 * * * * * * # 



For a few days previous lo the, day, and subsequent to 

 our return from Lyttle Creek, the Colonel and his family 



had been visiting at the hou 

 in Los Angeles, under whose i 

 was to he performed which 

 Benedict. The scruples of 1, 

 Protestant to a, Roman Catho 

 the auspicious day fairly dawn 



now accompanied me to the Pu 

 bluing terming the casa of D- 

 and garnished for til - " 



if one of the native unties 

 ospitable roof Hie ceremony 

 ivas to turn Bachelor into 

 ic padres against uniting a 

 ic had been overcome, and 

 led. Bill, who had said he 



remained at Vernon, and 

 icblo. The long, low, adobe 



n Manuel had been swept 

 lenoras and c 



every degree, ot reiauotisuip had assembled to do honor to 

 ihe occasion, aud the prospective nmridur, although >\r/ripr/,i, 

 was received with a warmth which kooii dispelled the feel- 

 ing of limidity and strangeness which had at first op- 

 pressed me. Shortly the sweet bride, in her white silk 

 dress and wreath of natural orange flowers, appeared, the 

 few solemn words were spoken, and my little comadre hud 

 become my tposa. We drove back to* Vernon alone, and 

 as we stood on the verandah, with the beautiful valley be- 

 lore U3, and the fragrance, of the. orange blossoms wafted 

 to us, 1 looked for my old ship, and lol it was gone. Some 

 Mexican, too lazy to go to the mountains for firewood, bad 

 cul it. down. With |t disappeared my last doubt, and as I 

 pressed my little Nita closer to my side, and looked in'.o 

 her dear face and loving eyes, I felt that not only my 

 ranclie life, but life itself, had just commenced. 



W. M. TlLESTON. 



Ae,r "Sorts, January, 1875. 



ACROSS NEWFOUNDLAND. 



1NTKK10H KXFiailiATlirNS— J'l.OUA, FAUNA, A^D GEOLOGI- 

 CAL FOUMATfOti. 



[Continued from Jannari/ 14ft.] 



CHAPTER V. 



OUR toils were for the time forgotten. The Mountain- 

 eer had occupied this camp for about two weeks, 

 deer being very plenty all 



nd the lake. His larder, 

 ted on the rocky shore for 

 f air, was in reality ft well 

 iug parts of some half dozen 



'nd of shed, 

 the sake of a free cireulalk 

 stocked butcher's .stall, con 



fat deer; also the carcasses ol beavers, ot otters, ot rats, 

 and of martins, all methodically laid mil. His properly 

 consisted of two guns and ammunition, an axe, some good 

 culinary utensils of iron and tin, blankets, assortment of 

 dried deer skins to sleep on and with which to cover his 

 wiu-wam— the latter with Ihe hair off; a collection of skins 

 to sell at the sea coast, consisting of those of beaver, otter, 

 martin musk rat, and deer, the last dried and the hair off; 

 also a stock of dried venison it. bundles. Animal tlesh of 

 every kind— in steaks, without salt, smoke-dried on the lire 

 for forty-eight hours, becomes nearly as light and portable 

 as cork," auel will keep sound for years. It thus forms a 

 n-ood substitute for bread, and by IJBing boiled iwo hours 

 recovers most, of its original qualities. 



The Red Indian country, or the waters Which they fre- 

 quented, We were told hv ihe AIoui.tair.eer lay six or seven 

 miles to the north of us, 'but at I his season of the year these 

 people were likely lo be farther I o the northward at, ihe 

 ( ireai, Lake of the Red Indians; also, that about two weeks 

 before there was a part v of iMIckmaeks hunting at the 

 OOSl large lake to the westward, nboul two (lays walk from 

 us- and "that the deer weie very plentiful lo the westward, 

 lie also described the nature of the country and made 

 drawings upon sheets of birch rind, of the hikes, rivers, 

 mountains, and woods, that lay iu the best route to St. 

 George's Harbor, He kept a register, ascertaining when 

 Christmas Day would arrive; having ascertained at St. 

 George's Bay the number of days inl ervening he cut a notch 

 on a stick every morning ; to the number of lhat holiday. 

 He had missed a day and now rectified the mistake. This 

 lake, called Meelpegli, or Crooked Lake, by the Indians, I 

 also 'named iu honor of Professor Jauiesou. It is nine or 



