However, the desert and its nomad pilferers were at length passed; the sandy plains became grass-covered prairies; the monstrous cottonwood on the creeks was replaced by oak and ash; the surface of the country grew more undulating, and less broken up into canons and ravines; elk and deer leaped in the bottoms, and bands of antelope dotted the plains, with occasional troops of wild horses, too wary to allow the approach of man. On the banks of a picturesque stream called the San Joaquim the party halted a few days to recruit themselves and animals, feasting the while on the fattest of venison and other game. They then struck to the south-east for two days, until they reached a branch of the Las Animas, a clear stream running through a pretty valley, well timbered and abounding in game. Here, as they wound along the river-banks, a horseman suddenly appeared upon the bluff above them, galloping at a furious rate along the edge. His dress approached in some degree to civilized attire. A broad-brimmed sombrero surmounted his swarthy face; a colored blanket, through a slit in which his head was thrust, floated in the air from his shoulders; leathern leggings incased his lower limbs; and huge spurs jingled on his heels. He rode in a high-peaked Mexican saddle, his feet thrust in ponderous stirrups, and in his hand swung a coil of ready lasso, his only offensive arm. One of the trappers knew a little Spanish, and instantly hailed him. "_Compadre,_" he shouted, "_por onde va?_" The Californian reined in suddenly, throwing the horse he rode on its very haunches, and, darting down the bluff, galloped unhesitatingly into the midst of the hunters. "_Americanos!_" he exclaimed, glancing at them; and continued, smiling --"_Y caballos quieren, por eso vienen tan lejitos. Jesus, que mala gente!_"--"It's horses you want, and for this you come all this way. Ah, what rogues you are!"