I Got A Seat On The Top Of The Coach, To Which Were
Tackled Six Little Less Than Wild California Horses.
Each horse had
a man at his head, and when the driver had got his reins in hand he
Gave the word, all the horses were let go at once, and away they
went on a spring, tearing over the ground, the driver only keeping
them from going the wrong way, for they had a wide, level pampa
to run over the whole thirty miles to the Pueblo. This plain is
almost treeless, with no grass, at least none now in the drought
of mid-summer, and is filled with squirrel-holes, and alive with
squirrels. As we changed horses twice, we did not slacken our
speed until we turned into the streets of the Pueblo.
The Pueblo de los Angeles I found a large and flourishing town of
about twenty thousand inhabitants, with brick sidewalks, and blocks
of stone or brick houses. The three principal traders when we
were here for hides in the Pilgrim and Alert are still among the
chief traders of the place, - Stearns, Temple, and Warner, the two
former being reputed very rich. I dined with Mr. Stearns, now a
very old man, and met there Don Juan Bandini, to whom I had given
a good deal of notice in my book. From him, as indeed from every
one in this town, I met with the kindest attentions. The wife of
Don Juan, who was a beautiful young girl when we were on the coast,
Doña Refugio, daughter of Don Santiago Argüello, the commandante
of San Diego, was with him, and still handsome.
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