o St. Gabriel flows near the town. This stream is skirted with
numerous vineyards and gardens, inclosed by willow-hedges. The gardens
produce a great variety of tropical fruits and plants. The yield of the
vineyards is very abundant; and a large quantity of wines of a good
quality and flavour, and _aguardiente_, are manufactured here. Some of
the vineyards, I understand, contain as many as twenty thousand vines.
The produce of the vine in California will, undoubtedly, in a short
time form an important item, in its exports and commerce. The soil and
climate, especially of the southern portion of the country, appear to
be peculiarly adapted to the culture of the grape.

We found in Los Angeles an abundance of maize, wheat, and _frijoles_,
showing that the surrounding country is highly productive of these
important articles of subsistence. There are no mills, however, in this
vicinity, the universal practice of Californian families being to grind
their corn by hand; and consequently flour and bread are very scarce,
and not to be obtained in any considerable quantities. The only garden
vegetables which I saw while here were onions, potatoes, and _chile
colorado_, or red pepper, which enters very largely into the _cuisine_
of the country. I do not doubt, however, that every description of
garden vegetables can be produced here, in perfection and abundance.

While I remained at Los Angeles, I boarded with two or three other
officers at the house of a Mexican Californian, the late alcalde of the
town, whose political functions had ceased. He was a thin, delicate,
amiable, and very polite gentleman, treating us with much courtesy, for
which we paid him, when his bill was presented, a very liberal
compensation. In the morning we were served, on a common deal table,
with a cup of coffee and a plate of _tortillas_. At eleven o'clock, a
more substantial meal was provided, consisting of stewed beef, seasoned
with _chile colorado_, a rib of roasted beef, and a plate of _frijoles_
with _tortillas_, and a bottle of native wine. Our supper was a second
edition of the eleven o'clock entertainment.

The town being abandoned by most of its population, and especially by
the better class of the female portion of it, those who remained, which
I saw, could not, without injustice, be considered as fair specimens of
_the angels_, which are reputed here to inhabit. I did not happen to
see one beautiful or even comely-looking woman in the place;