He soon bleeds to death, when, in an
incredibly short space of time for such a performance, the carcass is
flayed and quartered, and the meat is either roasting before the fire
or simmering in the stew-pan. The _lassoing_ and slaughter of a bullock
is one of the most exciting sports of the Californians; and the daring
horsemanship and dexterous use of the lariat usually displayed on these
occasions are worthy of admiration. I could not but notice the
Golgotha-like aspect of the grounds surrounding the house. The bones of
cattle were thickly strewn in all directions, showing a terrible
slaughter of the four-footed tribe and a prodigious consumption of
flesh.
A _carretada_ of fossil oyster--shells was shown to me by Mr.
Livermore, which had been hauled for the purpose of being manufactured
into lime. Some of these shells were eight inches in length, and of
corresponding breadth and thickness. They were dug from a hill two or
three miles distant, which is composed almost entirely of this fossil.
Several bones belonging to the skeleton of a whale, discovered by Mr.
L. on the summit of one of the highest elevations in the vicinity of
his residence, were shown to me.
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