I’m in front of the In and Out hamburguesa joint on Livermore Bl – headed for the hills. I’ll bet Murrieta had a few in his day, not from In and Out of course, but where we’re headed, Estacion #3, Arroyo Mocho, where the Veterans building is now, on more than a few occasions, during one of his runs herding horses to Sonora, he must have had a burger or two. When they arrived, he’d make make sure they had water, then join the herd with the horses Mocho had gathered At each station along La Vereda, the herd would grow at #3 the herd would be maybe a hundred fifty. Some he’d hobble, others he might run through a chute. That must have been an unpleasant task, some of the best horses had to be cut and hung, then butchered, if not, it would have to be done on the trail. The stronger the horse, the more aggressive, and one stallion could disrupt an entire run. Both thinning and fattening happened at each station, from here to Cantua Creek, and we have a long way to go to get to Cantua. Now, I’m getting ready for Mocho – the Cutoff One – coming up. But before I do, I’m taking a pitstop to consult my notes and the oracles in the parking lot. I have a bindy of yogurt and blueberries from the cooler, the guy in his truck beside me is gnawing on some kind of Double Double wad and looks over, kinda, without really looking over. We live in a strange world.

While Murrieta was on a drove, Jesus Feliz carried letters and supplies from his sister at the Niles Canyon ranch to the stations along La Vereda . When Murrieta was gone, Jesus tended to his sister, Latta: “He looked after the welfare and safety of his sister who had been assaulted by the mob near New Diggins.” A part of this tale we have yet to broach, but consider, Niles Canyon is only a few miles SW, and it is easy to imagine the youngest of the Feliz brothers, who was too young to participate in the droves, but played his role in the family business. He plays a role later on as well, following the murder of Colonel Bean, following Captain Harry Love and the California Rangers, but I’m getting ahead of myself, first we must get to Estacion #3. and a river named after Mocho, the cuttoff one