I jerked up my gun, and hailed him to come back.  After a moment’s hesitation, he let go his sheet and began to paddle back.  This bolsa was nothing but a bundle of tule, or bullrush, bound together with grass-ropes in the shape of a cigar, about ten feet long and about two feet through the butt.  With these the California Indiana cross streams of considerable size.  When he came ashore, I gave him a good overhauling for attempting to desert, and put him to work getting breakfast.  In due time we returned him to his ship, the Ohio.  Subsequently, I made a bargain with Mr. Hartnell to survey his ranch at Cosnmnes River, Sacramento Valley.  Ord and a young citizen, named Seton, were associated with me in this.  I bought of Rodman M. Price a surveyor’s compass, chain, etc., and, in San Francisco, a small wagon and harness.  Availing ourselves of a schooner, chartered to carry Major Miller and two companies of the Second Infantry from San Francisco to Stockton, we got up to our destination at little cost.  I recall an occurrence that happened when the schooner was anchored in Carquinez Straits, opposite the soldiers’ camp on shore.  We were waiting for daylight and a fair wind; the schooner lay anchored at an ebb-tide, and about daylight Ord and I had gone ashore for something.  Just as we were pulling off from shore, we heard the loud shouts of the men, and saw them all running down toward the water.  Our attention thus drawn, we saw something swimming in the water, and pulled toward it, thinking it a coyote; but we soon recognized a large grizzly bear, swimming directly across the channel.  Not having any weapon, we hurriedly pulled for the schooner, calling out, as we neared it, “A bear! a bear!” It so happened that Major Miller was on deck, washing his face and hands.  He ran rapidly to the bow of the vessel, took the musket from the hands of the sentinel, and fired at the bear, as he passed but a short distance ahead of the schooner.  The bear rose, made a growl or howl, but continued his course.  As we scrambled up the port-aide to get our guns, the mate, with a crew, happened to have a boat on the starboard-aide, and, armed only with a hatchet, they pulled up alongside the bear, and the mate struck him in the head with the hatchet.  The bear turned, tried to get into the boat, but the mate struck his claws with repeated blows, and made him let go.  After several passes with him, the mate actually killed the bear, got a rope round him, and towed him alongside the schooner, where he was hoisted on deck.  The carcass weighed over six hundred pounds.  It was found that Major Miller’s shot had struck the bear in the lower jaw, and thus disabled him.  Had it not been for this, the bear would certainly have upset the boat and drowned all in it.  As it was, however, his meat served us a good turn in our trip up to Stockton.  At Stockton we disembarked our wagon, provisions, and instruments.  There I bought two fine mules at three hundred dollars each,