“I selected a place thirty-six miles west of the old California trail, under the shadow of the Coast Range of mountains, in one of the most charming of valleys. The only evidence that it had ever been visited by a human being was a small Indian trail near by, which led from the base of Siskiyou Mountain to the ocean, near the mouth of Coquillas River. I turned my cattle upon the fine range of native grass which covered both hill and valley in all directions, and, with the aid of the herdsmen, built a log cabin, stockading a half-acre, enclosing it with poles fifteen feet high. My armory consisted of one rifle, fifteen United States yagers, one double-barrelled shotgun, a pair of Colt’s revolvers, and a large supply of ammunition. Feeling that I was now prepared to defend myself against the Indians, I dismissed the men, who returned to the settlements, and began the life of solitude. “In the early days of this experience, I confess I sometimes cast longing thoughts back to the relations and friends I had forsaken, and wished I had been less precipitate in my choice of a mode of life. Then the past would come up, with its commencement of promise and happiness, and its close of disappointment and gloom. I called philosophy to my aid, and strove to forget, in my studies, which I engaged in with energy, all my former joys and griefs. “Familiarity with my condition wore away all regrets, and I soon learned to love my exile, and to regard it as the most instructive and least harmful portion of my life. To avoid too great monotony, I occasionally spent a day in hunting or fishing, or looking after my herd; but the proficiency I made in study was my greatest source of encouragement and happiness. “Month after month imperceptibly glided away, except as each was marked by some increase in knowledge, and some additions to my cattle. I felt resigned to an isolation which cast me off from all communion with the world and all knowledge of its transactions. Indians would occasionally appear, but they knew my means of defence, and never disturbed me. Their attacks upon armed men, like those made upon the grizzly or mountain lion, are only ventured when safe, and always with strategy. Sometimes, when I saw them passing, I longed for a tussle with them as a change of occupation, but they never gave me the opportunity. “One day, wearied with a problem in Euclid, I shouldered my rifle, and strolled into the adjacent forest in quest of a deer. A rustle in the undergrowth attracted my attention. Supposing it to be caused by some animal, I peered cautiously in the direction from within the shadow of a pine, and saw, to my surprise, a man half concealed in a thicket, watching me. It was the work of an instant to bring my rifle to an aim. “‘Who are you?’ I demanded, knowing if he were a white man he would answer.