ELK HUNT AT PUNTA REYES.

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game almost as acutely as dogs-became greatly excited, and could hardly be checked from dashing forward in pursuit. The rancheros seemed to despise the stealthy advance on foot of the Americans with fire-arms, and as the game could not escape us, being surrounded on all sides by the sea, except on that occupied by our well-mounted party of six men, they planned a mode of attack, which they communicated to us. Two of them gave their horses the rein with an "adelante! and the noble beasts sprang forward in full pursuit of the now flying herd. At this season (August) elk are fatter than at any other, and cannot compete with the horse in speed; whereas, a couple of months later, the fleetest horse could hardly overtake them. Their speed was now inconsiderable, the rancheros soon coming up with them and scattering them in various directions. Our friend with the "luna" had hamstrung several of the poor creatures, and his companion had entangled with his riata a noble buck, which was plunging and tearing violently, the riata being at its greatest tension, and the little horse, to whose saddle it was made fast, standing stiff and stark, with eye-balls staring, and every nerve braced to meet the pulls and tugs of the elk; while the Californian sat coolly in his saddle, and addressing the elk by the fami liar title of "cuñádo,” (brother-in-law), pleasantly assured him that he "only wanted a little of his lard wherewithal to cook tortillas!"-a joke which the struggling victim was in no humor to relish.

From the contemplation of a scene so new to me, I was aroused by Don Egedio, (Giles) who loudly called to me to shoot; and, turning my horse, I spurred him nearer the precipice, between which and myself the remainder of the band seemed disposed to rush, on their way back to the main-land. My horse was an admirably trained animal for the purposes of hunting after the fashion of California, but he would not stand still enough for a shot from the saddle; and to have dismounted would have been to lose him, as he

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MORE OF THE ELK HUNT.

would have pursued the elk, But a shot I was determined to have, on some terms, and so, when it seemed to my rather obfuscated vision that I was opposite the thickest of the band, I wheeled, seized my double-barrelled gun, and and pulled both triggers at a venture. My horse, unused to fire, jumped some twenty feet, more or less, and I dropped my gun but kept the saddle. My shot accidentally took effect, for when I was able to rein up, I returned to the spot and saw a poor doe lying in a reclining posture, the blood welling rapidly from the frightful wound inflicted by two heavy buckshot cartridges which had taken effect in the animal's shoulder. The unfortunate fixed upon me her large full eye, expressive at once of fright, sorrow, and reproach, and the mournfulness of the scene was heightened by the presence of a half-grown fawn, baaing and bleating around its dying mother. Sentiment, however, soon subsides on the hunting ground; and after my friend with the "luna" had coolly drawn his knife across the throat of the doe, I felt little compunction in bringing down the sorrowing fawn. In the meantime, our friends on the point had not been idle, having taken toll of two more of the flock as they passed, one of which was caught with the riata by a Spaniard and an Indian vaquero, and the other shot by one of my men. It usually requires two men with riatas to kill the animal, the object being to trip him up and then give him the coup-de-grace; but one man sometimes does it alone with a riata and luna, and there are rare instances where a single expert hand trips up the animal with his riata and

then finishes him.

The herd had now retired to the mountains, and were dispersed among crags and precipices, almost inaccessible to horses. Our party collected and rode down the point, where we found three hamstrung animals which had wriggled and screwed themselves into the most retired places. Our friend of the luna, however, insisted with many round, full-mouthed oaths, that he had disabled nine and wounded

A COMFORTABLE REPAST.

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some others in a desperate manner, with the points or horns of his iron. But these people are not to be implicitly believed, and after traversing the point in every direction, we could find but one more elk, which had fallen over the precipice and lay half his length in the sea- -the vultures and sea-birds already hovering over him in great numbers, impatiently awaiting the moment when death should make him their own.

We proceeded to what was called the rancho, but on arriving found nothing but a broken down corral-passing on the way a herd of cattle so little civilized that the very antelopes were grazing amongst them. There was, however, a good cool spring of delicious water near at hand, where we made our bivouac; and the Indians now coming in numbers-like vultures, by instinct-brought in all our game, amounting to six fat elk. Our sport had “burned daylight" so fast that the sun was near the limits of the western horizon, and with our Indian assistants-but too happy to be of use where eating was in question-we soon prepared a most delicious supper of elk meat. The savory saddle, the juicy and tender haunch, the delicious rib, were all discussed in turn, and such as liked it feasted on the luscious liver-a most delicate morsel-and also on the kidney and brains. Our Indian friends were officiously assiduous in cooking the meat, and eating two pounds where we ate an ounce; and as I had fasted all day, I imitated my companions, and fairly gorged myself to such a degree that I felt much in the condition of an anaconda which has swallowed an elephant; or, like the little boy who, after his Christmas dinner, informed his anxious mother that he felt "as if his jacket was buttoned up." After joining my companions, therefore, in a comfortable drink of brandy and water "cold, without," we all wrapped ourselves in sarapes and blankets; and stretched out upon the ground with our feet to the fire-while the silvery moon stole over the inland mountains and bathed us in serenest light-we

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TRYING OUT TALLOW.

fell asleep. So did not our Indian visitors. They had called up their whole settlement, and were stuffing, wrangling, and gambling with jackstraws all night long. Awakened by their infernal clamor, I drove them off with a few judicious cuffs; but after they had quietly removed, they recommenced their hideous orgies ere I could fall asleep again.

The next morning I was awakened at sunrise by Don Egidio's cheerful voice, singing away as merrily as a lark, as he prepared to try out the tallow of the slaughtered elk-an object which the worthy Giles had had in view quite as much as the sport. An oval-shaped hole, about two feet deep, but shallower at one end than the other, was made in the ground, and the shallowest part of it filled with the fat and fatty parts of the elk; a fire of light sticks was made over this greasy heap, and, when well going, fed with the fatty scraps, the pure melted tallow running down into the deeper parts of the trench. A hide, doubled in the middle, and laced at the sides with thongs, was then brought, and the melted tallow dipped up and poured into it until it was filled, when the mouth of the skin was laced up, and the result was a hard bag of solid tallow. The tallow from the six elks filled two large hides, each weighing at least four hundred pounds. From the superior hardness, whiteness and delicacy of the elk's tallow, it is in much request among the rancheros for cooking purposes, and the hides are also worth something.

The Punta Reyes is a favorite hunting-ground, the elk being attracted by the superior quality of the pasturethe land lying so near the sea, that the dews are heavy and constant, adding great luxuriance to the wild oats and other grains and grasses. The elk are very abundant at this season, and more easily killed than cattle. We passed many places, on our way back, where mouldering horns and bones attested the wholesale slaughter which had been made in previous years by the rancheros of the neighbor

hood. I took a pair of the freshest and finest horns I could find, and put them on a led horse. They touched the ground on each side of the horse; but I was told they would not compare with some, under the arch of whichthe points resting on the earth-the most profligate man in the world could walk uprightly with his hat on!

Our ranchero friends having determined to remain, and pursue their sport and profit, we took leave of them and returned to head-quarters.