We came to anchor within two
cable lengths of the shore, and the town lay directly before us,
making a very pretty appearance; its houses being plastered, which
gives a much better effect than those of Santa Barbara, which are
of a mud-color.
The red tiles, too, on the roofs, contrasted well
with the white plastered sides and with the extreme greenness of
the lawn upon which the houses - about an hundred in number - were
dotted about, here and there, irregularly. There are in this place,
and in every other town which I saw in California, no streets, or
fences, (except here and there a small patch was fenced in for a
garden,) so that the houses are placed at random upon the green,
which, as they are of one story and of the cottage form, gives them
a pretty effect when seen from a little distance.
It was a fine Saturday afternoon when we came to anchor, the sun
about an hour high, and everything looking pleasantly. The Mexican
flag was flying from the little square Presidio, and the drums and
trumpets of the soldiers, who were out on parade, sounded over the
water, and gave great life to the scene. Every one was delighted
with the appearance of things. We felt as though we had got into a
Christian (which in the sailor's vocabulary means civilized) country.
The first impression which California had made upon us was very
disagreeable:
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