gness to
be caught, in flying with all speed to their hiding-places when pursued,
and in setting fire to any property of the missions when they can find
an opportunity of doing so unobserved. We saw here several of these
heroes working patiently enough with irons on their feet, and in no way
distinguishable in manners or appearance from their brethren of St.
Francisco or Santa Clara.

With the first rays of the sun we mounted our horses, and having passed
the valley of St. Gabriel, and the hill which bounds it, our guide led
us in a north-westerly direction further into the interior. The fine,
light, and fertile soil we rode upon was thickly covered with rich
herbage, and the luxuriant trees stood in groups as picturesque as if
they had been disposed by the hand of taste. We met with numerous herds
of small stags, so fearless, that they suffered us to ride fairly into
the midst of them, but then indeed darted away with the swiftness of an
arrow. We sometimes also, but less frequently, saw another species of
stag, as large as a horse, with branching antlers; these generally graze
on hills, from whence they can see round them on all sides, and appear
much more cautious than the small ones. The Indians, however, have their
contrivances to take them. They fasten a pair of the stag's antlers on
their heads, and cover their bodies with his skin; then crawling on
all-fours among the high grass, they imitate the movements of the
creature while grazing; the herd, mistaking them for their fellows,
suffer them to approach without suspicion, and are not aware of the
treachery till the arrows of the disguised foes have thinned their
number.

Towards noon the heat became so oppressive, that we were obliged to halt
on the summit of a hill: we reposed under the shade of some thick and
spreading oaks, while our horses grazed and our meal was preparing.
During our rest, we caught a glimpse of a troop of Indians skulking
behind some bushes at a distance; our dragoons immediately seized their
arms, but the savages disappeared without attempting to approach us. In
a few hours we proceeded on our journey, through a country, which
presenting no remarkable object to direct our course, excited my
astonishment at the local memory of our guide, who had traversed it but
once before. Two great shaggy white wolves, hunting a herd of small
deer, fled in terror on our appearance, and we had the gratification of
saving the pretty animals for this tim