The Saga of Henry Plummer Book 1 by Sven Skaar (PH 3-1) (1959) (97 pages)

Noise is Sweet Song And the comforting stillness of! the valley was now ce The crash of falling trees rolled from -rise to rise, punctuating! the clatter of the limber’s axe: and the strident grating of well-! tallowed pit saws. But those: sounds of activity rang like a sweet song in Findley's ears. On a little hill (now Badger Hill) where once he had hunted supper meat, he found the cabins of Captain Broughton and _his party. In the ravine, along which he had once prospected without discovering a trace of gold, he found Rey. Cummings and his companions washing it out by the jar full; nearby their claims. stood Jules Rossiere’s store.Rev. Mr. Cummings — greeted Findley cordially. “Welcome to’ Boston Ravine!” he called as he wiped the wet clay and mud from his calloused hands. ‘You told: us the gospel truth when you! said we might find gold here. Come to our cabin and see our treasure laden bags!’ : “Glad to hear it Reverend --} glad that you've struck it.” . Had AN They Wanted “We've taken all we came for.) We're going home. soon.-home! to wives and children.” : “Im staying. Why don’t you too? We'll have churches here: someday.” Cummings smiled indulgently. “YT doubt that, ‘Tom. Soon the claims will be worked out -ours. are petering out now. Then what?” “I don’t know. But somehow} . Grass Valley was suggested. The I've faith in this land.” Findley; inclined his head toward the Ros-. .< siere store. “How's my friend, u the Frenchman doing?” “Excellent, excellent, though he’s sorely in need of stock at the moment." “Say, Reverend, I'm driving to Sacramento for a load first thing in the morning -why don’t you let me take your dust down to Ogden Mills -he’s got an iron box as big as a house. He'll give} you drafts on Boston in exchange} for your dust. I sure wouldn’t risk traveling across the Isthmus of Panama with those heavy trea-, sure bags. I'll carry them to! Mills’ Bank for five percent of! the weight.” : “That sounds like a good idea. . What do you say boys?” . His companions nodded agtec-' ment and Thomas Findley sud-: denly knew he had embarked on yet another enterprise. Shifted to Gold Transport Findley did not continue freighting groceries long. Gradually, he went into the transportation of gold, even buying it on specula-, -tion. Other lucrative opportunities’ presented themselves to him in; the nearby community which al-} ready promised to overshadow: Boston Ravine and to spread far} beyond it. He grubstaked meaty prespectors for a share in their findings. He also bought cabins and homesites from those who had made their stakes and wanted to go home and resold the cabins to eager newcomers at? handsome profits. And as the camp grew, a more} inclusive name than Boston Ray.jine seemed necessary for it. “Centreville’ was proposed and adopted. Later, that also sounded) thin and mundane for such a fine; place. A meeting was called and assembled men thought the name both dignified and poetic -a name one could say with eyes), closed and still see a place of beauty. ] It might have been Thomas I'indley who proposed it. He never failed to let his voice and opinions be heard, especially where politics were ~ concerned. He vigorously espoused the creed of the southern democrats, judging the whigs as. radicals and yeillating on the question of lavery. He believed stubbornly . in the superiority and ‘‘mani-; fest destiny of the Anglo-Saxon race”, and that the Indian was less than human and the Negro willed by God to be the white man’s_slaye. e a ae ee

Noise is Sweet Song And the comforting stillness of! the valley was now ce The crash of falling trees rolled from -rise to rise, punctuating! the clatter of the limber’s axe: and the strident grating of well-! tallowed pit saws. But those: sounds of activity rang like a sweet song in Findley's ears. On a little hill (now Badger Hill) where once he had hunted supper meat, he found the cabins of Captain Broughton and _his party. In the ravine, along which he had once prospected without discovering a trace of gold, he found Rey. Cummings and his companions washing it out by the jar full; nearby their claims. stood Jules Rossiere’s store.Rev. Mr. Cummings — greeted Findley cordially. “Welcome to’ Boston Ravine!” he called as he wiped the wet clay and mud from his calloused hands. ‘You told: us the gospel truth when you! said we might find gold here. Come to our cabin and see our treasure laden bags!’ : “Glad to hear it Reverend --} glad that you've struck it.” . Had AN They Wanted “We've taken all we came for.) We're going home. soon.-home! to wives and children.” : “Im staying. Why don’t you too? We'll have churches here: someday.” Cummings smiled indulgently. “YT doubt that, ‘Tom. Soon the claims will be worked out -ours. are petering out now. Then what?” “I don’t know. But somehow} . Grass Valley was suggested. The I've faith in this land.” Findley; inclined his head toward the Ros-. .< siere store. “How's my friend, u the Frenchman doing?” “Excellent, excellent, though he’s sorely in need of stock at the moment." “Say, Reverend, I'm driving to Sacramento for a load first thing in the morning -why don’t you let me take your dust down to Ogden Mills -he’s got an iron box as big as a house. He'll give} you drafts on Boston in exchange} for your dust. I sure wouldn’t

risk traveling across the Isthmus of Panama with those heavy trea-, sure bags. I'll carry them to! Mills’ Bank for five percent of! the weight.” : “That sounds like a good idea. . What do you say boys?” . His companions nodded agtec-' ment and Thomas Findley sud-: denly knew he had embarked on yet another enterprise. Shifted to Gold Transport Findley did not continue freighting groceries long. Gradually, he went into the transportation of gold, even buying it on specula-, -tion. Other lucrative opportunities’ presented themselves to him in; the nearby community which al-} ready promised to overshadow: Boston Ravine and to spread far} beyond it. He grubstaked meaty prespectors for a share in their findings. He also bought cabins and homesites from those who had made their stakes and wanted to go home and resold the cabins to eager newcomers at? handsome profits. And as the camp grew, a more} inclusive name than Boston Ray.jine seemed necessary for it. “Centreville’ was proposed and adopted. Later, that also sounded) thin and mundane for such a fine; place. A meeting was called and assembled men thought the name both dignified and poetic -a name one could say with eyes), closed and still see a place of beauty. ] It might have been Thomas I'indley who proposed it. He never failed to let his voice and opinions be heard, especially where politics were ~ concerned. He vigorously espoused the creed of the southern democrats, judging the whigs as. radicals and yeillating on the question of lavery. He believed stubbornly . in the superiority and ‘‘mani-; fest destiny of the Anglo-Saxon race”, and that the Indian was less than human and the Negro willed by God to be the white man’s_slaye. e a ae ee