why the San Francisco markets are so uneven and fluctuating. Brown is a clever fellow, and says to himself, Coals will be very scarce next fall, I'll write for coals; every one else, being as clever as Brown, writes for coals from the same motives, and the spring sees coals tumbling in on all sides or Brown says, everybody will be writing for coals for the spring, I shall advise my correspondents not to ship; every one else thinks as Brown thinks, no one writes for coals, and next spring coals can't be had at any price. We pitched our tents outside the fortress, and the only event that occurred worthy of notice was in the fact of an enormous bull making a clean bolt at it, about the middle of the night. The moon was up, and I presume its reflection on the white canvass annoyed him; he annoyed us excessively, for he not only tore down the tent, but we narrowly escaped being trodden upon. As he stood in the bright moonlight pawing the ground at a short distance, meditating another charge at us, I shot him in the head, and he fell, never again to rouse honest gentlemen from their sleep in the dead of night, or wantonly to destroy private property for the gratification of a senseless animosity. CHAPTER IV. SPANISH GRANTS-SQUATTERS-SQUATTER FIGHTS—A SPANISH RANCHE-GOOD RATTLE-SNAKES HORSES-SADDLES-HORSE-BREAKING—A TAME HORSE. August, 1850. LEAVING Sonoma at daylight, we passed through the Sonoma Valley, which in many places, but a few hundred yards in width and studded with groups of oaks and flowering evergreens, has all the appearance of a private park bounded by mountains-the herds of deer, of which now and then we catch a glimpse, strengthening this resemblance. After following the trail for fifteen miles, we ascended a rise from which we had a view of Santa Rosa Valley. It was a continuation of that we had traversed, and was divided from it only by a small stream, which marked the boundary of either. From our elevation, the twenty miles of well timbered land, of which Don Raymond was owner, lay stretched before us: large herds of cattle were grazing on the plain, and near the moun tains which bounded the ranche, "mañadas" of wild horses could be perceived, with here and there a drove of elk or antelopes. Previous to the occupation of this country by the Americans, its fertile plains had been granted away by the Mexican government, to such as chose to settle here and stock the land. The terms on which these grants were to be held, easy as they were, were for the most part evaded, and after a new settler had portioned out for himself so many square leagues of a fat valley, and had sent the record of his property to head quarters, he built himself a house, bought a few head of cattle and horses, which were turned off to breed, and he became from that time a "ranchero.' Cattle increased and multiplied, and at last were killed for their hides, which were sent down occasionally to San Francisco, and there placed on board ship. By the treaty formed between the United States and Mexico previous to the occupation of California, the original Spanish grants of land were guaranteed to the native settlers in all cases where the claim could be properly established. A commission to enquire into these land claims was appointed by the United States government, and its labours still continue. The Americans therefore on their arrival in the country had the mortification to discover that SPANISH GRANTS-SQUATTERS. 59 69 nearly every foot of arable land was private property, and that there remained nothing but barren hills and swamps to settle on and improve, under the preemption laws of the United States. They therefore squatted where they pleased on the Spanish ranches, under the plea that the land commissioners might decide the grant on which they were to be illegal ; but in reality because each man wanted a piece of land and was determined to have it, the Spanish owners being powerless to dispossess them of the part they chose to select. The consequence is, that even now in "eighteen hundred and fifty-four," when most of the land-claims have been confirmed by the commissioners, the Spanish owner of a ranche may cast his eye over the property that was but the other day a waving tract of wild grass, and behold, it is parcelled out and enclosed, and cultivated from end to end, and from squatters' huts curls the smoke on every side. Armed with the law, the Spanish owner says "Vamos usted," (be off); armed with his rifle the squatter says something much ruder, but to the purpose, and remains. Already have there been serious squatter fights; the papers daily record Squatter difficulties," in which men fight, and shed each other's blood savagely, over a patch of soil, which in many instances belongs to neither of them. So that one of the wisest and most beneficent laws of the United States, is here productive of evil to society. The squatters in the vicinity of Sacramento city organised themselves into a banditti, and fought "en masse" in defence of their stolen property; but they had made the great mistake of squatting on land that belonged to Americans; these latter sallied from the city with the mayor at their head, and the squatters were defeated and retired with loss, leaving some dead on the field-not however without riddling the mayor, who behaved with great courage, and who must have been much damaged, as the cost of repairing him, when sent in to government by his medical attendant, amounted to about two thousand pounds sterling. But as there are reasonable men among all classes, so among the squatters are to be found many who are willing to purchase their claims, conditionally on the owner's grant being eventually found to be valid; still taken altogether the subject will be one of endless strife, if not bloodshed. Hundreds have settled down quietly on land from which the present owners are unwilling or unable to dislodge them. These men will raise around them permanent improvements, and will look to the few acres of land they have enclosed for a livelihood for themselves and families; a year or two hence, perhaps, |