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Show 284 PERSONAL ADVENTtJRES he was placed. The person chosen for the governorship of California, at this period, should have been not merely a soldier, but a 1nan possessed of some statesmanlike qualities -one, in hort, \vho could. have thrown oil upon the troubled \Vaters, in the absence of effectual civil law; whilst, on the contrary, every step taken by this gentlernan invariably gave rise to dissatisfaction and discontent, and, in the end, to complete anarchy. A new country has as tnuch need as an old one of able and high principled rneu in the executive department; and, had those who firs~ exerted American influence on this peninsula combined the requisite qualifications, an imn1ense amount of injustice \vould have been prevented, and a course of policy avoided which has tended greatly to lower the character of the home Government. In fact, so sick were the inhabitants of the country at this period of rnilitary rule, that almost every spark of patriotism and attach1nent to the • flag of the United States had been extm· guished in the breasts of the settlers. IN CALIFORNIA. 285 During the night, the hills resounded with the shouts of drunken Indians, and we deemed it prudent to keep watch alternately over the horses. Proceeding on our journey ne*t morning, \Ve soon came in sight of an Indian village, the houses of which were of a conical form, and constructed of mud and dead foliage. The entrance consisted of a low hole near the foundation, through which the inmates are obliged to creep. These huts bore a close resemblance to beehives ; so cloRely packed were they vvith s\varms of half-naked Indians, who seemed to have scarcely room to turn in them. There being little here to iuvite the attention of the traveller, we passed on, and soon came to a larger village, built in somewhat a different style, and having a much more picturesque character. The houses were, for the n1ost part, constructed of wood in its unplaned state, and, in some instanGes, still covered with the bark. Few of these habitations reached a greater elevation than the height of an ordinary man, and the entrances \Vere, as usual, mere holes. |