ground, "as the Missouri volunteers (Error, New York volunteers--Author)
had threatened to come down upon us. A few days later we were called up
at night in order to load and fix bayonets, as Colonel Cooke had sent
word that an attack might be expected from Colonel Fremont's men before
day. They had been using all possible means to prejudice the Spaniards
and Indians against us."

Los Angeles made poor impression upon the soldiers in the Battalion. The
inhabitants were called "degraded" and it was declared that there were
almost as many grog shops and gambling dens as private houses. Reference
is made to the roofs of reeds, covered with pitch from tar springs
nearby. Incidentally, these tar "springs" in a later century led to
development of the oil industry, that now is paramount in much of
California, and have been found to contain fossil remains of wonderful
sort.

The Indians were said "to do all the labor, the Mexicans generally on
horseback from morning till night. They are perhaps the greatest horsemen
in the known world and very expert with lariat and lasso, but great
gamblers."

Food assuredly was not dear, for cattle sold for $5 a head. Many cattle
were killed merely for hides and tallow and for the making of soap.

About the most entertaining section of Standage's journal is that which
chronicles his stay in Southern California, possibly because it gave him
an opportunity to do something else beside tramping. There is much detail
concerning re-enlistment, but there was general inclination to follow the
advice of Father Pettegrew, who showed "the necessity of returning to the
prophets of the Lord before going any further."