After paying him for the things liberally supplied our party, and which with a show of Spanish courtesy he intimated he had given us because he was “a good Christian”--though he frequently crossed himself while expressing his fear of “witches” or demons--I opened up the subject of the old silver mine. I designated it as some kind of a mine that had once been worked by an Englishman. We were told by “Don Vincente” that such a mine had been discovered many years before, by white men, who, after working it for awhile, had been driven off or killed; “but for the love of God” he could not tell which. We expressed a wish to visit the old mine, and asked permission of the chief. He told us it was not in the territory claimed by him, and he was thankful that it was not, as the location was haunted. When asked if he would furnish us a guide, who should be well paid for his service, he answered, “Go, and God go with you, but none of my people shall go, for it would bring upon us evil.” We were shown the mouth of the ravine, after some persuasion, but no argument or inducement could procure a guide to the mine. “Don Vincente,” like all the Mission Indians of California, I found to be strongly imbued with the superstitions of the _wild tribes_, and a firm believer in the power of human departed spirits to harm the living. Many, like those of the east, believed that the wizards or sorcerers could put a spell upon a victim, that if not disenchanted would soon carry him to his grave. Leaving our extra animals in the care of Vincente, we took our course towards the mouth of the ravine pointed out to us, southwest of the Tejon. After a tedious and difficult search, a discovery of some _float_ mineral was made, and following up these indications, we found some very rude furnaces, and a long distance above discovered the mine, which had evidently been abandoned for years. We procured some of the best _specimens_ of the ore, and being unable to determine its value, forwarded some to assayers in San Francisco. Doctor Bigelow pronounced the mineral to be that of antimony, but said that it might possibly contain some of the precious metals, but it was quite evident that he placed but little commercial value upon the mine. The reports finally received from the assayers were very unfavorable, and our visions of untold wealth vanished with the smoke of the assay.