The chase furnished us with ample and profitable amusement. An abundance of deer, large and small, are to be met with all over the country, and geese, ducks, and cranes, on the banks of the rivers. There was such a superfluity of game, that even those among us who had never been sportsmen before, when once they took the gun in their hands, became as eager as the rest. The sailors chased the deer very successfully.
When it grew dark, we kindled a large fire, that our hunters, some of whom had lost their way, might recover the camp. In the night we were much disturbed by bears, which pursued the deer quite close to our tents; and by the clear moonlight we plainly saw a stag spring into the river to escape the bear; the latter, however, jumped after him, and both swam down the stream till they were out of sight.
At sunrise, as the wind had fallen a little, we continued our voyage. On the shore we met with a small rattlesnake, which might have been a dangerous neighbour. It was, however, his destiny to become our prize, and enrich the collection of Dr. Eschscholtz. The river now took a north-westerly direction. Its breadth was from two hundred and fifty to three hundred fathoms, independently of numerous branches on the east side, flowing between various small islands. The country on the west bank was of a moderate height; that on the east was low. The power of the current impeded our progress, though our rowers exerted all their strength. As the sun advanced towards the meridian, the north wind also rose again; so that with our utmost efforts we could advance but little, and at noon we were obliged to lay-to again, having proceeded only ten miles the whole day. The latitude on the western shore, where we now landed, was 38° 27', and the longitude 122° 10'.
Here we had reached what proved the termination of our little voyage. The unfavourable state of the weather would not allow of our making any farther progress; and our pilot assured us that at this season the quantity of rain that falls, so much swells the river and strengthens the currents, as to make it impossible to contend with the continually increasing force of the stream. We were therefore compelled to abandon the farther prosecution of these inquiries to some future traveller, whose fate shall lead him hither in summer time, when these obstacles do not exist.
The neighbourhood of our landing-place seemed to have been recently the abode of some Indians. We found a stake driven into the earth, to which a bunch of feathers was attached for a weather-cock; in several places fire had been kindled, as some burning embers still attested. There were also two Indian canoes made of reeds. The pilot gave me the names of two tribes who had formerly dwelt in this region, and probably still wandered in its vicinity—the Tschupukanes, and Hulpunes. We could now see the smoke of their fires rising from the marshy islands, the higher parts of which they inhabit.
The majestic chain of mountains of the Sierra Nevada looked most beautiful from this spot. The whole eastern horizon was bounded by these masses of ice, and before them the low land lay spread out like a verdant sea. From the Bay of St. Francisco, the Sierra Nevada are nowhere visible; but they first come in sight after having passed the point where the Pescadores and the Sacramento unite.
The day was again passed in sport, and we shot many stags, the meat of which proved extremely good. During the night we were again disturbed by the little wolves so common here: they stole some pieces of our venison. Early the next morning we prepared for our return, and soon quitted these lovely and fertile plains, where many thousand families might live in plenty and comfort, but which now, from their utter loneliness, leave a mournful impression on the mind, increased by the reflection that the native Indians have been nearly exterminated. During our return voyage, we were very diligent in taking soundings, and found the water in the middle of the river always as much as from fifteen to seventeen and twenty fathoms; but at its mouth not more than four or five fathoms deep.
On the 23rd of November we again reached our vessel, laden with venison for the whole crew. Captain Lasaref had arrived during our absence with his frigate; having struggled with storms almost the whole way from New Archangel to St. Francisco. With the intention of sending letters home by him, I had waited for his arrival to leave California. Our vessel was therefore now immediately prepared for sailing, our camp on shore broken up, and all the instruments brought on board. During the last night our people passed on land, they killed a polecat which had slunk into the tent. This animal, of the size and form of an ordinary cat, has so abominable a smell, that its vicinity is insupportable. Dogs, when they sometimes attack and bite these creatures, cannot relieve themselves from the stench, but continue to rub their noses so violently against the ground as they run, that they leave a stream of blood on their track. Polecats may be considered in the brute creation what the Kalushes are among men.
On the morning of the 25th of November, as soon as the tide ebbed, we towed out of the Bay of St. Francisco with a north-west wind, which here regularly brings fine weather. The sea was still so much agitated by the recent south-west storms, that it rolled large billows into the channel which unites it with the bay. Our vessel being dashed against these breakers by the force of the current from the channel, would no longer obey the helm, and we narrowly escaped being cast against a rock. I would therefore recommend others of my profession only to sail out of this bay when the water in the channel is tranquil, which usually happens after the wind has blown for several days from the north-west.