myself the senior officer present, I ordered Lieutenant Hamilton to search the men and then to march them back to Monterey, suspecting, as was the fact, that the rest of our party had taken a road that branched off a couple of miles back.  Daylight broke as we reached the Saunas River, twelve miles out, and there the trail was broad and fresh leading directly out on the Saunas Plain.  This plain is about five miles wide, and then the ground becomes somewhat broken.  The trail continued very plain, and I rode on at a gallop to where there was an old adobe-ranch on the left of the road, with the head of a lagoon, or pond, close by.  I saw one or two of the soldiers getting water at the pond, and others up near the house.  I had the best horse and was considerably ahead, but on looking back could see Hill and Davis coming up behind at a gallop.  I motioned to them to hurry forward, and turned my horse across the head of the pond, knowing the ground well, as it was a favorite place for shooting geese and ducks.  Approaching the house, I ordered the men who were outside to go in.  They did not know me personally, and exchanged glances, but I had my musket cocked, and, as the two had seen Davis and Hill coming up pretty fast, they obeyed.  Dismounting, I found the house full of deserters, and there was no escape for them.  They naturally supposed that I had a strong party with me, and when I ordered them to “fall in” they obeyed from habit.  By the time Hill and Davis came up I had them formed in two ranks, the front rank facing about, and I was taking away their bayonets, pistols, etc.  We disarmed them, destroying a musket and several pistols, and, on counting them, we found that we three had taken eighteen, which, added to the six first captured, made twenty-four.  We made them sling their knapsacks and begin their homeward march.  It was near night when we got back, so that these deserters had traveled nearly forty miles since “tattoo” of the night before.  The other party had captured three, so that only one man had escaped.  I doubt not this prevented the desertion of the bulk of the Second Infantry that spring, for at that time so demoralizing was the effect of the gold-mines that everybody not in the military service justified desertion, because a soldier, if free, could earn more money in a day than he received per month.  Not only did soldiers and sailors desert, but captains and masters of ships actually abandoned their vessels and cargoes to try their luck at the mines.  Preachers and professors forgot their creeds and took to trade, and even to keeping gambling-houses.  I remember that one of our regular soldiers, named Reese, in deserting stole a favorite double-barreled gun of mine, and when the orderly-sergeant of the company, Carson, was going on furlough, I asked him when he came across Reese to try and get my gun back.  When he returned he told me that he had found Reese and offered him a hundred dollars for my gun, but Reese sent me word