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Collection: Books and Periodicals
Three Years in California by John D. Borthwick (1857)(LoC) (423 pages)
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Page: of 423
THE HALF-WAY HOUSE. 23
one in toiling along. We could generally see rocks
sticking up out of the water, on which to put our feet,
but we were occasionally, for a considerable distance,
up to the knees in water and mud.
The steep banks on each side of us were so close
together, that in many places two packed mules could
not pass each other; sometimes, indeed, even a single
mule got jammed by the trunk projecting on either
side of him. It was a most fatiguing walk. When
it did not rain, the heat was suffocating; and when it
rained, it poured.
There was a place called the “ Half-way~House,” to
which we looked forward anxiously as the end of our
day’s journey; and as it was kept by an American,
we expected to find it a comparatively comfortable
place. But our disappointment was great, when,
about dark, we arrived at this half-way house, and
found it to be a miserable little tent, not much more
than twelve feet square.
On entering we found some eight or ten travellers
in the same plight as ourselves, tired, hungry, wet
through, and with aching limbs. The only furniture
in the tent consisted of a rough table three feet long,
and three cots. The ground was all wet and sloppy,
and the rain kept dropping through the canvass over
head. There were only two plates, and two knives
and forks in the establishment, so we had to pitch
into the salt pork and beans two at a time, while the
rest of the crowd stood round and looked at us ; for
the cots were the only seats in the place, and they