The Great Weight Of The Wet Hides, Which We Were Obliged To Roll
About In Wheelbarrows; The Continual Stooping Upon
Those which
were pegged out to be cleaned; and the smell of the vats, into which
we were often obliged
To get, knee-deep, to press down the hides;
all made the work disagreeable and fatiguing; - but we soon got
hardened to it, and the comparative independence of our life
reconciled us to it; for there was nobody to haze us and find fault;
and when we got through, we had only to wash and change our clothes,
and our time was our own. There was, however, one exception to the
time's being our own; which was, that on two afternoons of every
week we were obliged to go off and get wood, for the cook to use
in the galley. Wood is very scarce in the vicinity of San Diego;
there being no trees of any size, for miles. In the town,
the inhabitants burn the small wood which grows in thickets,
and for which they send out Indians, in large numbers, every few days.
Fortunately, the climate is so fine that they had no need of a fire in
their houses, and only use it for cooking. With us the getting of
wood was a great trouble; for all that in the vicinity of the houses
had been cut down, and we were obliged to go off a mile or two,
and to carry it some distance on our backs, as we could not get the
hand-cart up the hills and over the uneven places. Two afternoons
in the week, generally Monday and Thursday, as soon as we had got
through dinner, we started off for the bush, each of us furnished
with a hatchet and a long piece of rope, and dragging the hand-cart
behind us, and followed by the whole colony of dogs, who were
always ready for the bush, and were half mad whenever they saw
our preparations. We went with the hand-cart as far as we could
conveniently drag it, and leaving it in an open, conspicuous place,
separated ourselves; each taking his own course, and looking about
for some good place to begin upon. Frequently, we had to go nearly
a mile from the hand-cart before we could find any fit place.
Having lighted upon a good thicket, the next thing was to clear
away the under-brush, and have fair play at the trees. These trees
are seldom more than five or six feet high, and the highest that I
ever saw in these expeditions could not have been more than twelve;
so that, with lopping off the branches and clearing away the underwood,
we had a good deal of cutting to do for a very little wood. Having cut
enough for a "back-load," the next thing was to make it well fast
with the rope, and heaving the bundle upon our backs, and taking
the hatchet in hand, to walk off, up hill and down dale, to the
hand-cart.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 121 of 324
Words from 62621 to 63134
of 170236
