200 CALIFORNIA. 



than any other thing to which I can liken it. I think we counted 

 twenty-nine bends before we reached the point at which we were to 

 disembark, which was nearly at the head of the creek. We were 

 compelled to haul the boat along by the grass and rushes on each 

 side, and it was near midnight before we achieved our object. As 

 we passed through this narrow inlet, the birds that were lodged for 

 the night, alarmed by the noise we made, flew in thousands from the 

 marshes. Their fluttering was so great as to resemble the rushing 

 of a vast wave; for as they rose, thousands seemed to follow thousands, 

 until the sound died away in the distance, and again seemed to ap- 

 proach in an opposite direction. Tn the pitchy darkness, not a bird 

 was to be seen, although they must have passed only a few feet above 

 our heads. 



At the Embarcadero we found no house or accommodations of any 

 kind ; but the guide soon led us to what he termed the road, which 

 was found marked by the huge ruts made by the ox-carts. The 

 walk was of service to us, as we had become chilled with the cold 

 and damp air. 



After proceeding a mile over a level plain, we reached the estancia. 

 The first notice we had of it was a broken coural, and the ground 

 covered with vast quantities of bones, hoofs, and horns. Over these 

 we stumbled continually, until, on turning the corner of the coural, 

 we were set upon by a pack of dogs, some fifty in number, which 

 barked in every tone, from the snappish note of the pug to the sonorous 

 voice of the bull-dog. All came forward, intent upon arresting our 

 progress towards the large adobe building, which was now in dim 

 outline before us. The bones served us as missiles to keep them at 

 bay, and thus to protect our approach to the premises ; and when wc 

 reached the porch, we gave the discourteous curs a full discharge. 

 We knocked lustily for some time, but no answer was returned, nor 

 could we see any light ; but on a frequent repetition, each time re- 

 doubling our efforts, we at last heard light footsteps, and the door was 

 suddenly opened by a little Indian girl, who ushered us into a large 

 room, which, from the tables, chairs, and closets with china, we found 

 to be the salle a manger. Here we had a full view of the interior ; and 

 the light which was burning in the adjacent rooms, showed us the 

 occupants fast asleep. We had scarcely time to look around us, 

 when a huge Californian, more than six feet in height, and propor- 

 tionately large, stalked towards us in his shirt. His whole figure and 

 countenance indicated a savage, and carried me back at once in idea 

 to the Feejee cannibals. In a gruff tone he demanded our wants, and 

 when he had satisfactorily ascertained who we were, and received a 



