anything but cattle then, and all summer long the cows cropped the
rich clover and wild oats till they were fat and ready to kill. In
the fall the Indians and vaqueros, or cowboys as you children call
them, drove great herds of cattle to the Missions near the ocean where
the Gringos came with their ship-loads of fine things and waited for
trading-days.

[Illustration: MISSION SAN LUIS REY. Founded 1798.]

[Illustration: MISSION DOLORES. Established 1776.]

"For weeks every one worked hard, killing the cattle, stripping off
their skins and hanging the green or fresh hides over poles to dry in
the sun. When dried hard and stiff as a board the skins were folded
hair-side in, and were then worth about two dollars apiece. The
beef-suet, or fat, from these cattle was put into large iron kettles
and melted. While still hot it was dipped out with wooden dippers
into rawhide bags, each made from an animal's skin. When cold and hard
these bags of tallow were sewed up with leather strings, and thus they
were taken to Boston.

"So much beef was on hand at such times that not even the hungry
Indians could eat it all while it was fresh. The nicest pieces were
cut into long strips, dipped into a boiling salt brine full of hot
red peppers and hung up to dry where the sunshine soon turned the meat
into carne seca, or dried beef. We put it away in sacks, and very good
it was all the year for stews, and to eat with the frijoles, or red
beans, and tortillas, which were corn-cakes.

"All we bought from the Gringos was paid for with hides and tallow,