CALIFORNIA. 
195 
more agreeable. Of them, Captain Beechey has given a delightful 
account. Martinez has now retired to an estancia, where he is living 
in what is, in this country, affluence. His wife and himself have 
grown older, but still retain the character drawn of them by Captain 
Beechey. Near Pinole, Senor Martinez has a large house, but mea- 
gerly furnished, where he is surrounded by his large family of children 
and grandchildren. His wife is the same managing body, and keeps a 
strict eye upon her younger daughters, who are all good-looking. 
The Californians are always inclined for amusement, and dancing 
is their favourite pastime, so that where a family is large, they seldom 
fail to pass off the evening pleasantly for their guests. Quadrilles 
and Spanish dances are the fashion; and the desire to please is as 
strongly exhibited in this family as it was during the visit of Captain 
Beechey. After dancing until a late hour, supper was provided, when 
the guests were either accommodated for the night, or set out to 
return to their homes, which, if they be unable to reach, they pass the 
night in the open air, using their ponchos and saddle-cloths for cover¬ 
ing. During the nights there is but little wind, and the atmosphere is 
generally so dry and clear, that a person may, with impunity, sleep in 
the open air. 
Three of the daughters and two of the sons of Senor Martinez are 
married; one of the former to Don Vitro Castro, and another to the 
captain of the port, an Englishman by the name of Richardson, who 
lives at Sausalito, and who supplies vessels with provisions. He was 
very attentive and obliging in furnishing the ship with supplies, and 
affording us the means of baking bread for the daily supply of the ship. 
Captain Richardson has an estancia, bordering on Sausalito Bay, 
prettily situated under the hill, with sufficient fertile land for his gar¬ 
dens, or rather fields, where his vegetables are raised. His house is 
small, consisting of only two rooms, and within a few rods of it all the 
cattle are slaughtered, which affords a sight and smell that are not the 
most agreeable. A collection of leg-bones, hoofs, horns, and hides, 
lay about in confusion, for which numerous dogs were fighting. It 
was with great difficulty that these animals could be made to cease 
their strife; and what with this and the barking kept up by others, 
both without and within doors, there was such a clamour raised as 
required all the household, consisting of husband, wife, daughter, and 
slave, to quiet. Captain Richardson’s establishment is a fair represen¬ 
tation of the manner of living in California, and articles which are 
condemned elsewhere are acceptable here. However small the apart¬ 
ment may be, it is but sparingly furnished, and with no view of 
comfort, in our sense of the word ; cleanliness, the great promoter of 
