hickly covered over with oak trees
and intersected by numerous small rivulets. Large herds of elk were
frequently started, and during the whole day their shrill whistle
was continually being heard.
We encamped to-night without having heard anything more of Andreas
Armjo and his companions. Several parties of Indians we met a few
hours before sundown stated that they had not seen any white men
along the trail. I felt disposed, as far as I was myself concerned,
to give over the pursuit, as my horse was already worn out by the
journey; but my companions would not listen to it, and determined,
at any rate, to see what would result from following it up briskly
during the next day. We had all noticed that there were no new signs
of horses that had been shod passing along the trail, but Bradley
was of opinion that the party would be mounted on unshod beasts, as
very few of the native Californians had their horses shod, unless
they were going a journey across a rough broken country.
Next day we fell in with several more parties of Indians, from whom
we learnt that the men we were in pursuit of were full two days
journey before us. One party, who had seen them encamped the
preceding evening more than forty miles ahead, told us that they had
inquired of them where the trail turned off to Los Angelos. As this
town was at least five or six days' journey distant, and as the
Sierra had to be crossed to reach it, we concluded among ourselves
that it would be best for us to return to Monterey forthwith. This
decision was readily come to, as there was now no hope of overtaking
the party, and every step we proceeded we were getting into a more
hostile country. In all probability, if we had pursued them to Los
Angelos, we should have discovered that they had struck off on to
the great Spanish Trail, as was their original intention, or else
have found that they had been to Los Angelos and had taken their
departure for some other place.
We therefore turned our horses' heads, and retraced our steps
towards the coast in no merry mood. We rode along, in fact, in
sullen silence, only broken to mutter out our expressions of
disappointment at the escape of those who had robbed us of the
fruits of so many months of toil, exposure, and hardship. We
encountered nothing very remarkable during our three days' journey
to Monterey. There were the same prairies to cross, the same
thickets to penetrate, and the same streams to ford. Herds of elk
a
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