rted a number of stakes
about, four feet in length. This frame-work being covered and floored
with raw hides, the carriage is complete. The _carreta_ which we met
was drawn by two yokes of oxen, driven by an Indian vaquero, mounted on
a horse. In the rear were two _caballeros_, riding fine spirited
horses, with gaudy trappings. They were dressed in steeple-crowned
glazed _sombreros, serapes_ of fiery colours, velvet (cotton)
_calzoneros_, white cambric _calzoncillos_, and leggins and shoes of
undressed leather. Their spurs were of immense size.

The party halted as soon as we met them, the men touching their heavy
_sombreros_, and uttering the usual salutation of the morning, "_Buenos
dios, senores_," and shaking hands with us very cordially. The same
salutation was repeated by all the senoras and senoritas in the
_carreta_. In dress and personal appearance the women of this party
were much inferior to the men. Their skins were dark, sallow, and
shrivelled; and their costume, a loose gown and _reboso_, were made of
very common materials. The children, however, were all handsome, with
sparkling eyes and ruddy complexions. Women and children were seated,
_a la Turque_, on the bottom of the _carreta_, there being no raised
seats in the vehicle.

We arrived at the Pueblo do San Jose about twelve o'clock. There being
no hotels in California, we were much at a loss where to apply for
refreshments and lodgings for the night. Soon, however, we were met by
Captain Fisher, a native of Massachusetts, but a resident of this
country for twenty years or more, who invited us to his house. We were
most civilly received by Senora F., who, although she did not speak
English, seemed to understand it very well. She is a native of the
southern Pacific coast of Mexico, and a lady of fine manners and
personal appearance. Her oldest daughter, about thirteen years of age,
is very beautiful. An excellent dinner was soon set out, with a variety
of the native wines of California and other liquors. We could not have
felt ourselves more happy and more at home, even at our own firesides
and in the midst of our own families.

The Pueblo de San Jose is a village containing some six or eight
hundred inhabitants. It is situated in what is called the "Pueblo
Valley," about fifteen miles south of the southern shore of the Bay of
San Francisco. Through a navigable creek, vessels of considerable
burden can approach the town within a distance of five or si