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Show 242 PERSONAL ADVENTURES This individual, having saluted us in Spanish, fixed his eyes upon Frederic's horses, and asked where he had procured them. The reply was to the effect that they had been purchased by him at l\1onterey. The Spaniard, however, claimed them at once, asserting that he had left thern behind on the road, 'vhilst he pushed forward to his ranclte; and, in proof of his assertion, proceeded to compare the brand on the animals with that of the horse he bestrode. As it happened, one of them was not branded ; but, as there ap· peared to be no question as to the identity of the mark on the other- a fine beast, though extremely sore-backed- we thought it prudent as 'veil as honest to give it up ; which we accordingly did, notwithstanding our re· gret at losing so valuable an auxiliary. We ascertained that our road lay across the moun· tains, and parted from the rranchero with rnany thanks for the information he had afforded us. The Spaniard had not been gone more than half-an-hour, 'vhen my horse became restive, IN CALIFORNIA. 243 in consequence of his being laden with two extra muskets, which galled his sides as he walked. Parker, a tall, raw-boned Yankee, was unable to hold hitn, and ere I could come to his assistance, the animal had broken away from him, and set off, galloping across the plain, soon dashing the two pack-saddles with which he was laden to the ground, together with the muskets, the origiual cause of the mischief. We set off in Pll:rsuit, but were soon compelled to relinquish the chase, and to attend to a more important matter, narnely, the picking up our stock of provisions, which lay scattered about all over the plain, in the horse's track, and the several articles which had been shaken out of the packs. Whilst we were thus occupied, 1-Ialliday continued the • • hunt after my horse; until, night setting Jn, we lighted a fire, and sat down around it, awaiting his return. We found that one of the packsaddles was sn1ashed to pieces ; that only about a third of our stock of biscuit had been recovered ; that our flour-bag had burst, and was half emptied of its precious M2 |