Page:History of Oregon volume 1.djvu/195

144 nia customs, and the affairs of Americans whom he found about San Francisco Bay, visiting, in company with Birnie, Leese, and McNeil of the Llama, the mission of San Rafael, Sonoma, Martinez, Cooper's mills, and the farms of several of his countrymen. On the 8th of May he took passage in the ship Sarah and Caroline, Captain Steel, for Monterey, where on the 12th he met Young, who, after going from San Francisco to Monterey, from Monterey to Santa Barbara, and from Santa Barbara to Santa Cruz, and back again to Monterey, where the matter was laid before the deputation then in session, had at length obtained consent to drive from the country seven hundred head of cattle, on condition that they were purchased of the government, and not of the missions to which they belonged. The sale of cows was only brought about after much exertion on the part of Vallejo, who on second thought lent his influence to assist the Oregon company, and won to the purpose Alvarado and the president of the missions.

Permission being thus obtained, the next step, and one quite as difficult, was to get the cattle and horses into safe possession. There were forty horses purchased near Santa Cruz and driven to San Francisco. Young was then obliged to go to Sonoma to obtain the order of Vallejo, who had been appointed government agent in the sale of the cattle. The order was given for two hundred head from the mission of San Francisco, one hundred and seventy cows and thirty bulls; but the administrator at the mission used every means to evade the order, and insisted on inverting the ratio and only furnishing thirty cows. Thereupon Young was obliged to return to Yerba Buena to have the order translated, that he might be sure it was correct.

This being at length explained, and part of the men having joined them, Edwards and Young proceeded