Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-04-17
A wild Ride I'm Southern California
Lively Account by n Lady.

N iiNciJ DuJ pcrllOuo Iluc Ill DDulHcrI
California, from Santa Barbara to San
lJose;l gffE O bIIae
+ On our trip from Santa Barbara, after
going few miles, one Of the wheels heS
foff the " mud wagon" and / gave myself
up as lost. Our driver was a large and
powerful man, but he was unable to stop
the horses until we had gone a quarter
of mile, all the way down hill Then
we all hurried out of the vehicle. !,
shaking and trembling, expressed fear at
going any further, whereupon the manly
| ~ driver said with an oath that he did
not want to hear word out of me" /
at once became quiet as a kitten, and
meek as lamb. Then Mr.. F., in a
gentle tone, asked him if he knew when
the wheel went off, and why he did not
stop the horses Immediately? You
bought TO have heard the brute reply. He
swore in the most artistic manner, re-
questing him to mind his own busi-
ness, to shut his mouth, and to take
himself and baggage back to Santa Bar
bara in double quick time" Mr.. F.
was obliged to submit to his insolence,
lbeing completely in his power. Mean
while the driver was so mad and drunk
that he abused all the other passengers,
giving one poor Irish laboring man, who
was with him on the box, frightful
wound in the head, because he ventured
to talk about the accident.
| Now it must seem very strange that
we could, after all this 90 on,our journey
with such a dreadful man, but it was
only FIVE o'clock in, the morning, and
some miles from any habitation, so we
were forced to proceed. Soon we began
the ascent of the Santa Inez mountains,
five miles in hight Then, with what
appeared to me perfect recklessness, we
descended seven miles, where, at any
moment, we Eight have been dashed
down thousands of feet. But, evidently,
this wicked driver understood his bust
ness, for we reached the valleys in safety.
/ was not sorry when another man took
his place, and from that time to our
Journeys end we had safe and careful
men TO pilot US. Once we came very
near having an accident which would
have proved serious, had we not been
miraculously preserved. We met team
on the very verge of precipice, and, in
passing, saw the earth crumbling be-
meath the wheel. Then, again | thought
my time had surely come. However, the
driver saw the emergency, and whipped
up the horses, so we escaped destruction
once more. sE,f nae tEHnn atHea
On our way we saw many things to IN
terest us. One wild cat crossed our path;
one badger came very near us; but what
4 i, L.p IS
horses, called a "roderio = where a
vaquero" was breaking one of them
with long rope or lasso. The man
threw it with great dexterity around the
beast forefeet, then the horse Jumped
up in the air ten feet or more, coming
down with great violence to the ground
on his side. Then the vaquero" fas-
tened together the animals hind feet,
thus having him completely in his own
power. The horse is then saddled, the
the ropes are unloosened, the man jumps
upon his back, as none but Mexican
can, and away they go. They say here
that it just takes an hour to break a wild
mustang horse, and that ever after the
Mexicans can ride them. Most likely
they are the only persons who would
venture on their backs ii .lf
/ We passed a band Of cattle that had
been, Since June, coming from Texas,
and such poor, miserable lot of cows l
never saw. They were destined for San
francisco market and numbered nine
hundred when they started, but had be-
come reduced to four hundred, some
having been stolen; some strayed away,
others dying of disease. ] could not
begin to tell you how many thousand
of sheep and lambs we saw feeding on
the plains and mountain sides among
the low, shrubbery called chaparal.
At night the herders gather them to-
gether in immense corrals," which are
Enclosures made of poles standing up
right, braced together with other poles.
Fences of any kind are seldom seen in
this country. Those most common are
made of redwood sticks
In one way our journey by stage re-
paid us. The scenery was so grand and
beautiful-but am unable to describe
it. The views that we had of the Pacific
Ocean and the islands of Santa Inez,
Santa Catalina, Santa Rosa, Ann Capa |
and Santa Mignel Everything here has
a Santa attached), also the valleys and |
canyons, and the flowers, all delighted |
and pleased me. But am glad enough |
to be so near San Francisco, for felt so
much nearer home than when down in
Southern California