The majority of the male inhabitants of this town had gone to the mines, and this accounted for the unusual proportion of women.

We learned that they would return in November, and then the gambling houses would start up in full blast, for these native Californians seemed to have a great natural desire to indulge in games of chance, and while playing their favorite game of monte would lay down their last reale (12-1/2 cents) in the hope of winning the money in sight before them on the table.
As the boarding house business got dull I was taken over to a vineyard and set to work, in place of hauling water.

The entire patch was as green as a meadow with weeds, and I was expected to clean them out.

I inquired of Brier how he came to get hold of this nice property, and he said that during the war the soldiers had taken possession of this piece of ground, and had their camp here, so he considered it was government land, and therefore had squatted on it and was going to hold it, and pay for it as regular government land, and that he already considered it his own, for said he, "I am an American, and this is a part of the public domain." "All right," said I, "I will kill weeds for you, if you wish, when I have time to spare, and you don't want the oxen worked at any other work ".
I could see every day that I was improving in health and weight and would soon become myself again, able to take the road to the mines.

When about two weeks of my time had expired two oldish men came to the house to stop for a few days and reported themselves as from Sacramento, buying up some horses for that market.