Page:Sherman - Memoirs of Gen. William T. Sherman, 1891, Volume 1.djvu/59

 of the Rocky Mountains, and still wilder Indians of the Plains. At last his arrival was reported at the tavern at Monterey, and I hurried to hunt him up. I cannot express my surprise at beholding a small, stoop-shouldered man, with reddish hair, freckled face, soft blue eyes, and nothing to indicate extraordinary courage or daring. He spoke but little, and answered questions in monosyllables. I asked for his mail, and he picked up his light saddle-bags containing the great overland mail, and we walked together to headquarters, where he delivered his parcel into Colonel Mason’s own hands. He spent some days in Monterey, during which time we extracted with di&#xfb03;culty some items of his personal history. He was then by commission a lieutenant in the regiment of Mounted Ri&#xfb02;es serving in Mexico under Colonel Sumner, and, as he could not reach his regiment from California, Colonel Mason ordered that for a time he should be assigned to duty with A. J. Smith’s company that for a time he should be assigned to duty with A. J. Smith’s company, First Dragoons, at Los Angeles. He remained at Los Angeles some months, and was then sent back to the United States with dispatches, traveling two thousand miles almost alone, in preference to being encumbered by a large party.

Toward the close of June, 1848, the gold-fever being at its height, by Colonel Mason’s orders I made preparations for his trip to the newly-discovered gold-mines at Sutter’s Fort. I selected four good soldiers, with Aaron, Colonel Mason’s black servant, and a good out&#xfb01;t of horses and pack-mules, we started by the usually traveled route for Yerba Buena. There Captain Folsom and two citizens joined our party. The &#xfb01;rst di&#xfb03;culty was to cross the bay to Saucelito. Folsom, as quartermaster, had a sort of scow with a large sail, with which to discharge the cargoes of ships, that could not come within a mile of the shore. It took nearly the whole day to get the old scow up to the only wharf there, and then the water was so shallow that the scow, with its load of horses, would not &#xfb02;oat at the &#xfb01;rst high tide, but by in&#xfb01;nite labor on the next tide she was got o&#xfb00; and safely crossed over to Saucelito. We followed in a more comfortable schooner. Having safely landed our horses and mules, we packed up and rode to San Rafael Mission, stopping with Don