64 
SCENES IN THE PACIFIC. 
repair its woodwork so as to bring it to bear on the Presido 
or government house. Others stood by a bucket of water, 
swabbing out their rifle barrels, and cleaning and drying 
the locks. Others of them were cooking beef; others 
whittling, swearing, and chewing tobacco. 
About nine o’clock flags of truce began their onerous 
duties. Alvarado came from the woods and took part in the 
councils. The insurgents demanded the surrender of the Gov¬ 
ernment ; whereat the cavaliers of the Presido considered 
themselves immeasurably insulted. T wo days were passed in 
this parleying without advancing the interests of eitherparty. 
They were days big with the fate of the future; and who 
could weary under their dreadful burthens ? Not such men 
as Alvarado. He bore himself like the man he was, through 
all the trying period. He uniformly preferred delay to fight¬ 
ing ! He was sustained in this preference by his right hand 
villain, Captain Jose Castro. Indeed, it was the unanimous 
choice of the whole Californian division of the insurgent 
forces, to wdt, the twenty-five before mentioned, to massacre 
time instead of men. Fornotasingle one of them manifested 
the slightest impatience orinsubordination under the delay— 
a fact which perhaps demonstrates the perfection of military 
discipline in California ! The foreigners differed from their 
illustrious allies. Graham thought u tw r o days and two nights 
a waitin’ on them baars* w r as enough.” Accordingly, taking 
the responsibility on himself, after the manner of his distin¬ 
guished fellow-statesman, he sent a flag to the Presido with 
notice that two hours only would be given the Governor 
and his officers to surrender themselves prisoners of war. 
The demand of the old Tennessean, however, was disre¬ 
garded. The appointed time passed without the surrender. 
Forbearance was at an end. The lieutenant of Graham’s 
rifle corps was ordered to level a four pound brass piece at 
the Presido. A ball was sent through its tiled roof, imme¬ 
diately over the heads of the Mexican magnates 1 
* Bears. 
