d of our hostess, who
was very kind and cordial in his greetings.

While our man Jack was saddling and packing the mules, they gathered
around us to the number of a dozen or more, and were desirous of
trading their horses for articles of clothing; articles which many of
them appeared to stand greatly in need of, but which we had not to part
from. Their pertinacity exceeded the bounds of civility, as I thought;
but I was not in a good humour, for the fleas, bugs, and other vermin,
which infested our miserable lodgings, had caused me a sleepless night,
by goring my body until the blood oozed from the skin in countless
places. These ruinous missions are prolific generators, and the
nurseries of vermin of all kinds, as the hapless traveller who tarries
in them a few hours will learn to his sorrow. When these bloodthirsty
assailants once make a lodgment in the clothing or bedding of the
unfortunate victim of their attacks, such are their courage and
perseverance, that they never capitulate. "Blood or death" is their
motto;--the war against them, to be successful, must be a war of
extermination.

Poor as our hostess was, she nevertheless was reluctant to receive any
compensation for her hospitality. We, however, insisted upon her
receiving a dollar from each of us (_dos pesos_), which she finally
accepted; and after shaking us cordially by the hand she bade us an
affectionate _adios_, and we proceeded on our journey.

From the Mission of San Jose to the Pueblo of San Jose, the distance is
fifteen miles, for the most part over a level and highly fertile plain,
producing a variety of indigenous grasses, among which I noticed
several species of clover and mustard, large tracts of which we rode
through, the stalks varying from six to ten feet in height. The plain
is watered by several _arroyos_, skirted with timber, generally the
evergreen oak.

We met this morning a Californian _carreta_, or travelling-cart,
freighted with women and children, bound on a pleasure excursion. The
_carreta_ is the rudest specimen of the wheeled vehicle I have seen.
The wheels are transverse sections of a log, and are usually about
2-1/2 feet in diameter, and varying in thickness from the centre to the
rim. These wheels are coupled together by an axletree, into which a
tongue is inserted. On the axletree and tongue rests a frame,
constructed of square pieces of timber, six or eight feet in length,
and four or five in breadth, into which are inse