Narrative of the Adventures of Zenas Leonard

manufacturing this is as follows: They go to a large log and build a fire upon it and burn it half or two-

thirds of the way through, which is done by keeping the log wet except about a foot in diameter, where

the fire is kept up until the hole is deep enough, and of the proper shape. After the hole is burnt deep

enough they extinguish the fire, scrape out the coals and ashes, and have a tolerably well shaped

hopper. When this is done they get a long stone which is rounded at one end, and put the acorns in and

commence mashing them fine, which is easily done as they are always previously dried by fire or the

sun. The meal thus made is then taken out & mixed with water in a basket made almost water-tight

which they broil by making stones red hot and throwing them into the basket. By this process they make

a kind of mush with which any hungry man would be glad to satiate his appetite.

These Indians also appear very delicate and feeble which they attribute to eating acorns. Today,

whilst some of our hunters were searching for beaver signs along the river beach, they found the

carcasses of four Indians, two of which were partly consumed by Grizzly bears. They appeared as if they

had died natural deaths, and been laid there by their friends according to their custom of disposing of

the dead, as two of them were well wrapped up in beaver skins.

A Month Later:

26th. To-day about 10 o’clock, we discovered a large drove of horses passing through the plain, followed

by a few people, whom we supposed to be Spaniards or Indians but they did not appear to know that

we were in the neighborhood, & we were not anxious to let them know it for fear they might travel our

way some time. In the evening, as some of our men who had been out hunting, were returning home,

they accidentally came across a large bear laying in a hole, sound asleep. Our men were anxious to see

some sport, and commenced making a noise, and even fired a gun or two without bringing her to her

senses, and getting her out of the hole. They then dismounted, stationed themselves around the hole

and shot her before she moved. On examination, they found her to be of the grizzly species and of the

largest size; and also having two young ones in the hole with her, not larger than a common sized cat.

The old one was extremely fat, and from the signs about the hole, it appeared that she must have had

this as a permanent place of residence. It is the first instance I ever knew of taking a bear of this size

whilst asleep.

28th. To-day a party of Spaniards arrived at our encampment on search of a party of Indians who had

eloped from the St. Juan Missionary station, and taken with them 300 head of horses

which we supposed to be the party seen by us on the 26th. These men stayed with

us all night and the next morning some of our men joined the Spaniards in the chase, who were to get one half of the horses as a

compensation for their trouble, if lucky enough to find them. These men followed the Indians to the foot

of a large mountain, where they discovered several smokes rising out of the forest along the base of the

mountain in a thicket of timber. From the smoke that arose, they thought the whole Indian force was

concentrated, and the Spanish and American force surrounded the spot in battle array, determined to

give the offenders a severe chastisement at once. When all the preparations were made, the word to

fire was given. But instead of the lamentations of wounded Indians, and the frantic prancing of

frightened horses, nothing but a dead silence answered the discharge of their artillery.

They then dismounted and went into the thicket, where they found a large portion

of their horses well butchered, and partly dried and a few old and feeble Indians, with some squaws and children. The Indians having

killed some of the horses, were engaged in drying the meat, but on seeing the white men approach,

fled to the mountain, leaving nothing behind but what is above stated.

The disappointment of the Spaniards now exceeded all bounds, and gave our men some evidence of the depravity of the Spanish

character. By way of revenge, after they found that there was no use in following the Indians into the

mountain, the Spaniards fell to massacring, indiscriminately, those helpless creatures who were found

in the wigwams with the meat, and cutting off their ears. Some of them were driven into a wigwam,

when the door was barricaded, and a large quantity of combustible matter thrown on and around the

hut, for the purpose of setting fire to it, and burning them all together. This barbarous treatment our

men would not permit and they went and released the prisoners, when the Spaniards fell to work and

despatched them as if they were dogs. When this tragedy was completed they all returned to our

encampment on the 31st. On their arrival at our camp, the Spaniards told me that their object

in taking off the ears, was to show the Priests and Alcaldes, that they had used every effort to regain the stolen property. These people also

informed me that the Indians of this country are in the habit of coming in large droves to the missionary

stations, & make the most sincere professions of religion, until they gain the confidence of the priests,

when they will suddenly decamp, and take off all the horses they can get, to the mountain, where they

remain as long as their meat lasts – when they will send another detachment, whose duty it is to do

likewise. They prefer eating domesticated horses because the act of stealing them gives their flesh a

superior flavour and it would be less trouble for them to catch wild horses, if they could thus gratify

their stealing propensities.