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Show 124 PERSONAL ADVENTURES stun1bled or sunk into knee-deep ; of r~cky etni.n ences whi"ch we clambered 'vith consider-able difficulty ; and of prickly bushes and plants, which, shooting up in every direction, sorely annoyed the horsemen, but severely l>unislled the unlucky ped~strians, inflicting the severest scratches on their hands and faces, and lacerating their feet even through their shoes. O'Reilly vowed that the road "'led direct to purgatory;" an opinion in which, 110t,vithstanding the diversity of our religious opinions, the majority of us were disposed to coincide. We had long left the to·wn behind us, and our rapid 1narch had brought us to one of those roads peculiar to California, and the advantages of which I have never been able to appreciate. They are just wide enol~gh to allow of one horseman to advance, but not to permit of his wheeling round, unless by an exercise of ingenuity which it is not so certain that his horse or his mule will always be disposed to second. Along this road, then, we continued our march in single or Indian file, onr native guides IN CALIFORNIA. 125 warning us of any obstruction that existed in the shape of .a huge limb of a tree, or awlnva.rd drift of sand. Towards morning, we halted at a convenient opening, and thre'v ourselves upon the ground, to snatch a few minutes' repose. "Holy St. Anthony, what's that?" exclaitned O'Reilly, jumping to his feet, and scratching the nether part of his person ; " as sure as you live, boys, we have got amongst old acquaintances." The words were scarcely out of his mouth before a general manifestation of similar discomfort burst from all who had, on the first impulse, cast themselves on the ground. We ~oon discovered . that such portions of our persons as had touched the soil were literally stuck full of a species of prickly-nut, the produce of a kind of cactus, with which it was ~ove.red. We experienced some difficulty In disengaging ourselves from these most unpleasant attachments, but, having done so, and cleared a convenient ~pace, we again threw ourselves down, and, in spite of the intolerable |