about three o'clock
At the hotel , I met Lieutenant Sherman , who had brought dispatches to the officer in command here from Colonel Mason . I was much delighted in again meeting with this gentleman , and we had a long talk together over the merry times we had when we were both slaying at Washington . When he heard our destination he kindly offered to give me a letter of introduction to a very old friend of his , Captain Sutter , the proprietor of Sutter 's fort , and one of the earliest settlers on the Sacramento . I availed myself of his offer , and about three o'clock we started off across the plain , and made our way through the groves of fine oak trees which cover it in every direction . We next ascended the hills which lay between us and Napper Valley , and , after crossing them , made for the house of an American settler , a friend of Bradley 's , who provided us with the best accommodation his house would furnish for the night . We turned in early , but the legions of fleas which were our bedfellows exerted themselves to such a degree that for hours sleep was out of the question . The country is terribly plagued with these vermin .