. The saddle, the bridle, and all its appointments are marvels of
beauty. The reins, martingale, and whip are composed of solid silver in
woven strands. The headstall is covered with fluted silver, with large
engraved silver rosettes at the sides, with decorations of flowers and
heads of wheat, with an elaborate nose-piece with silver engraving. The
side-pieces are of silver, massive and ornate, with a silver chain under
the horse's jaw. The bridle, reins, and accessories weigh about twelve
pounds, and are worth not less than two hundred and fifty dollars in
value of silver coin used in its manufacture."

Everybody up and down the coast knows Dixie Thompson. His talk is full
of delightful anecdotes of the early settlers, and he has a droll, dry
humor of his own that is refreshing. Mr. Nordhoff, who is an old
friend, once wrote to the Harper "Drawer" about his shrewd way of
restraining the over-keen traders and laboring men who tried to impose
upon him. He heads the pleasant bit of gossip, "Captain Thompson's
Club," and says:

"Captain Dixie is, to all appearance, the man of most leisure in all
leisurely Santa Barbara. He and his horses and carriages are always at
the service of a friend. But while he seems to be the idlest of men, he
is, in fact, an extremely capable business man who has many irons in the
fire--tills much good land, has horses and cattle and pigs of the best
breeds on many hills and in several rich valleys, and keeps all his
affairs running in good order. Still, he is an easy-going, not a
bustling, man of business. And it is just here that his social
contrivance comes in: he has judged it expedient to form a club.

"'You see,' said he, the other day, to an old friend, 'the boys don't
always see me around, and sometimes they try to take a little advantage.
I find a fellow who don't haul half a load for me while I am paying for
a full load; another one who gives me short measure; or another who does
not do what I have told him. I hate to scold; and as they all deny when
I accuse them, and I can't be telling men that they are lying to me, I
thought I'd just establish a Liars' Club and bring them all in. It is
now in good, healthy operation. We don't call it the Liars' Club, of
course; we speak of the Club. But when I catch a man trying to 'do' me,
I just tell him that I'll have to make him a member of the Club.--Oh,
how do you do, Mr. President?' said Captain Dixie to a well-known
character just then pas