drew up a paper,
which was signed by myself, Messrs Reed, Jacob, Lippincott, and
Grayson, offering our services as volunteers, and our exertions to
raise a force of emigrants and Indians which would be a sufficient
reinforcement to Colonel Fremont. This paper was addressed to Mr. Kern,
the commandant of Fort Sacramento, and required his sanction. The next
morning (29th) he accepted of our proposal, and the labour of raising
the volunteers and of procuring the necessary clothing and supplies for
them and the Indians was apportioned.

It commenced raining on the night of the twenty-eighth, and the rain
fell heavily and steadily until twelve o'clock, P.M., on the
twenty-ninth. This is the first fall of rain since March last. About
one o'clock, P.M., the clouds cleared away and the weather and
temperature were delightful.

About twelve o'clock, on the 30th, accompanied by Mr. Grayson, I left
New Helvetia. We crossed the Sacramento at the _embarcadero_, swimming
our horses, and passing ourselves over in a small canoe. The method of
swimming horses over so broad a stream as the Sacramento is as follows.
A light canoe or "dug-out" is manned by three persons, one at the bow
one at the stern and one in the centre; those at the bow and stern have
paddles, and propel and steer the craft. The man in the centre holds
the horses one on each side, keeping their heads out of water. When the
horses are first forced into the deep water, they struggle
prodigiously, and sometimes upset the canoe; but, when the canoe gets
fairly under way, they cease their resistance, but snort loudly at
every breath to clear their mouths and nostrils of the water.

Proceeding ten miles over a level plain, we overtook a company of
emigrants bound for Nappa valley, and encamped with them for the night
on Puta creek, a tributary of the Sacramento. Five of the seven or
eight men belonging to the company enrolled their names as volunteers.
The grass on the western side of the Sacramento is very rank and of an
excellent quality.

It commenced raining about two o'clock on the morning of the 31st, and
continued to rain and mist all day. We crossed from Puta to Cache
creek, reaching the residence of Mr. Gordon (25 miles) about three
o'clock P.M. Here we enrolled several additional emigrants in our list
of volunteers, and then travelled fifteen miles up the creek to a small
log-house, occupied temporarily by some of the younger members of the
family of Mr. Gor