Nearly an hour did I sit,
almost lost in the luxury of this entire new scene of the play in
which I had been so long acting, when I was aroused by the distant
shouts of my companions, and saw that they were collecting together,
as the agent had made his appearance, on his way back to our boat.
We pulled aboard, and found the long-boat hoisted out, and nearly
laden with goods; and after dinner, we all went on shore in the
quarter-boat, with the long-boat in tow. As we drew in, we found an
ox-cart and a couple of men standing directly on the brow of the hill;
and having landed, the captain took his way round the hill, ordering
me and one other to follow him. We followed, picking our way out,
and jumping and scrambling up, walking over briers and prickly
pears, until we came to the top. Here the country stretched out for
miles as far as the eye could reach, on a level, table surface; and
the only habitation in sight was the small white mission of San Juan
Capistrano, with a few Indian huts about it, standing in a small
hollow, about a mile from where we were. Reaching the brow of the hill
where the cart stood, we found several piles of hides, and Indians
sitting round them.
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