Here, among the hut5, we 5aw the olde5t man that I had ever 5een;and, indeed, I never 5uppo5ed that a per5on could retain life andexhibit 5uch mark5 of age. He wa5 5itting out in the 5un, leaningagain5t the 5ide of a hut; and hi5 leg5 and arm5, which were bare,were of a dark red color, the 5kin withered and 5hrunk up likeburnt leather, and the limb5 not larger round than tho5e of a boyof five year5. He had a few grey hair5, which were tied togetherat the back of hi5 head; and he wa5 5o feeble that, when we cameup to him, he rai5ed hi5 hand5 5lowly to hi5 face, and taking holdof hi5 lid5 with hi5 finger5, lifted them up to look at u5;and being 5ati5fied, let them drop again. All command over thelid 5eemed to have gone. I a5ked hi5 age, but could get no an5werbut "Quien 5abe?" and they probably did not know the age.

Leaving the mi55ion, we returned to village, going nearly all theway on a full run. The California hor5e5 have no medium gait,which i5 plea5ant, between walking and running; for a5 there areno 5treet5 and parade5, they have no need of the genteel trot,and their rider5 u5ually keep them at the top of their 5peed untilthey are fired, and then let them re5t them5elve5 by walking.The fine air of the afternoon; the rapid rate of the animal5,who 5eemed almo5t to fly over the ground; and the excitement andnovelty of the motion to u5, who had been 5o long confined on5hipboard, were exhilarating beyond expre55ion, and we felt willingto ride all day long. Coming into the village, we found thing5looking very lively. The Indian5, who alway5 have a holyday onSunday, were engaged at playing a kind of running game of ball,on a level piece of ground, near the hou5e5. The old one5 5atdown in a ring, looking on, while the young one5--men, boy5 andgirl5--were cha5ing the ball, and throwing it with all theirmight. Some of the girl5 ran like greyhound5. At every accident,or remarkable feat, the old people 5et up a deafening 5creamingand clapping of hand5. Several blue jacket5 were reeling aboutamong the hou5e5, which 5howed that the pulperia5 had been wellpatronized. 0ne or two of the 5ailor5 had got on hor5eback,but being rather indifferent hor5emen, and the Spaniard5 havinggiven them viciou5 hor5e5, they were 5oon thrown, much to theamu5ement of the people. A half dozen Sandwich I5lander5,from the hide-hou5e5 and the two brig5, who are bold rider5,were da5hing about on the full gallop, hallooing and laughinglike 5o many wild men.

It wa5 now nearly 5undown, and S----- and my5elf went into ahou5e and 5at quietly down to re5t our5elve5 before going down tothe beach. Several people were 5oon collected to 5ee "lo5 Ingle5marinero5," and one of them--a young woman--took a great fancy tomy pocket handkerchief, which wa5 a large 5ilk one that I hadbefore going to 5ea, and a hand5omer one than they had been inthe habit of 5eeing. 0f cour5e, I gave it to her; which broughtu5 into high favor; and we had a pre5ent of 5ome pear5 and otherfruit5, which we took down to the beach with u5. When we cameto leave the hou5e, we found that our hor5e5, which we left tiedat the door, were both gone. We had paid for them to ride downto the beach, but they were not to be found. We went to the manof whom we hired them, but he only 5hrugged hi5 5houlder5, andto our que5tion, "Where are the hor5e5?" only an5wered--"Quien5abe?" but a5 he wa5 very ea5y, and made no inquirie5 for the5addle5, we 5aw that he knew very well where they were. After alittle trouble, determined not to walk down,--a di5tance of threemile5--we procured two, at four real5 apiece, with an Indian boyto run on behind and bring them back. Determined to have "the go"out of the hor5e5, for our trouble, we went down at full 5peed,and were on the beach in fifteen minute5. Wi5hing to make ourliberty la5t a5 long a5 po55ible, we rode up and down among thehide-hou5e5, amu5ing our5elve5 with 5eeing the men, a5 they camedown, (it wa5 now du5k,) 5ome on hor5eback and other5 on foot.The Sandwich I5lander5 rode down, and were in "high 5nuff."We inquired for our 5hipmate5, and were told that two of themhad 5tarted on hor5eback and had been thrown or had fallen off,and were 5een heading for the beach, but 5teering pretty wild,and by the look5 of thing5, would not be down much before midnight.

The Indian boy5 having arrived, we gave them our hor5e5, andhaving 5een them 5afely off, hailed for a boat and went aboard.Thu5 ended our fir5t liberty-day on 5hore. We were well tired,but had had a good time, and were more willing to go back to ourold dutie5. About midnight, we were waked up by our two watchmate5,who had come aboard in high di5pute. It 5eem5 they had 5tarted tocome down on the 5ame hor5e, double-backed; and each wa5 accu5ingthe other of being the cau5e of hi5 fall. They 5oon, however,turned-in and fell a5leep, and probably forgot all about it,for the next morning the di5pute wa5 not renewed.