Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1874-01-29
CORRESPONDENCE.
For the GallipoIis journal.
California Letter.
SANTA BARBARA, CaL,

0ANIA DdhoAhA, JAZZ
January Cd. 1874.
EDIToR JoURNAL-Dear Sir:-Ihave
been ont hunting several times lately,
some ten or twelve miles from town;
enjoyed the sport very much indeed,
and succeeded in killing considerable
game. consisting Of ducks, geese, wood
cock, quails. &c, DC. We saw some
deer grazing up on the side of the
mountain, but did moi get within shoot
ing distance of them. they were very
wild aud ran away as soon as they
saw us. One of u party succeeded
in obtaining a shot at a California lion
with a shot gun, but the animal ran
into the sage brush and disappeared
think without being seriously injured;
we all would have been highly graft
fed if we had killed him, so We could
have brought him to town in triumph,
but we did not have that pleasure. A
California lion is a small animal, and
extremely difficult to kill or capture, on
account of being so very wild; they
are quite numerous here but are very
seldom killed. The natives bring a
! great many deer to townto sell strapped
on horses and mules; they generally
obtain from five to eight cents per
pound for them. There are a great
many grizzly bears in the mountains.
but the hunters do not kill many OF
them. on account of it being very dan
gerous. When wounded they will at
tack you and fight as long as they con-
tinue to breathe. They are often shot
five or six times before they are killed
| have been informed that q bullet will
not penetrate their skull. One of the
citizens told me that bear meat. sells
here for ten cents per pound when there
is any in the market. When | was out
hunting | saw thousands of squirrels.
they live in the ground and are a great
nuisance to the Ranchmen, often de
stroying a portion. of their crops and
vegetables. They put poison around
their fences when they are going to
commence planting. to kill them-the
only way they can protect the seed that
is planted or W
attended a Ball on Christmas Eve,
in order to see how such affairs are
conducted here in this country. There
were about one hundred and twenty
five ladies and gentlemen present. the
majority being very dark Some very
stvlish dresses were worn by the dark
eyed Spanish beauties, made in the
latest fashion. They wore immense
quantities of very beautiful jewelry,
manufactured from California gold In
fact, their toilets were gotten up re
CARELESS of expense, and a great many
looked very stylish and pretty--far
more beautiful than some of their light
er ~complexioned sisters that ornament
the ball rooms in the Eastern States
| am quite SURE that some of our East
ern bellies would have been gratifed to
have had an opportunity to witness the
gay and lively throng. l was intro
duced to several Spanish ladies during
the evening. They all appeared to be
much pleased to cultivate my acquain-
lance, but / did not converse very
much with them, for they could not
speak one word of English, and Of
course | was too modest to speak Span
ish, although l enjoyed myself very
much until a late hour, when | took
my departure for my hotel to enjoy
natures sweet restorer-balmy sleep,
and dream of the many pleasant and
happy scenes through which | had just
passed
On the LIST inst, I read an advertise
ment in one of the small newspapers
that is published here, announcing that
a bear and bull wrestle would take place
one and a half miles from the city at 9
O'Clock in the afternoon. | immediate
ly came to the conclusion to go and
witness this very singular contest. Ii
did not prove to be a wrestle, but a
fierce and bloody combat that almost
made my blood run cold. The ring, or
ampitheatre, was made of strong lum
Der about Ten or twelve feet high, with
seats projecting back from the top for
the audience. When | arrived, there
was two Spanish men (called natives)
and a bull in the enclosure The men
were dressed in red and the bull had
his horns sawed off about two inches
from the tips They had a rope tied
very tight around the bulls body and
one of the men was riding on his back
holding on to the rope for dear life.
The ferocious beast ran, plunged. reared
and seemed to do everything in his des-
peration aud madness to try and throw
the mar off. but he did not accomplish
it, for the man continued to ride for at
least fifteen minutes, when they finally
lassoed the bull and the man very dex
terousIy jumped to the ground from
his perilous situation, amid the deafen
ing applause of the spectators.
The audience were then clamorous
to have the bear brought in, but this
proved to be a very difficult matter, in
deed. They first brought in a fresh
bull (as the first n was pretty near
exhausted. } and after throwing him and
saving the tips of his horns off they
secured him so he could not possibly
rise Then the bear after a terrible
struggle was tied and drawn into the
ring. After a brief consultation they
concluded to tie one end of a strong
rope TO the bull and the other to the
bear-the distance between them being
about twelve feet; her the other ropes
we're taken off Of the terror-stricken
animals, and in less time than it takes
to say Jack Robinson the bull made a
dash at the bear and sent him to grass
in a manner that was frightful to be
hold. The bear proved to be a cour-
ageous beast; he Rugged the bull
around the neck and bit him in a
frightful manner, but the bull continued
the contest for at least thirty minutes,
when he looked like he had lust escaned