July 28, 1971 (12 pages)

ity of Six’ ed on, where n was Virgin or the roach f four ollow, a, and helter lower should mfort many meals ls for lance, Ss one iced xd for memof adion of irkies rvest, ion as d, and ng his ection is shy rude rasa d fair comstroke yet he icking devil cook, nticee they tus in d with uirrel times turbed ‘efully oven, ld not efineculate home, naster asked ecome spise, in the nother could liberal ing the ; South ; place matriminent . com= helorterest eager — row on super-nue, it \ did not suffice for the ‘extravagances of the possessors, The cotton bales were mortgaged before they reached the market, the increase in slaves found its way to other plantations, and as time rolled on the incumbrances on the old acres grew rather than diminished, To the youngest scion of prolific house, with sisters to be portioned and elder brothers to be provided for, it was not an alluring prospect; and this rather pessimistic view had been the chief incentive to a leap in the dark, There came the rumors of anew E1 Dorado, where the rivers rolled over Pactolian sands and riches were to be had for the gathering, The spirit of adventure woke in his plastic mind, and taking his two body servants, who protested their fidelity and devotion to Marse Rance, he made the weary journey and encountered a rude awakening at its finish; for the novelty of freedom sponged away the loyalty born of servitude, and Ranch was thrown on his own resources, This review of past and present conditions, however, did not depress him; his spirits were too buoyant, he was too healthy a young animal to allow care to sit heavily on his shoulders, and there were compensations, His share in the results of the mining operations was fairly good; the summer had brought him a couple of thousand dollars, his companions were congenial and considerate, his task as cook and purveyor was not humiliating. In the ‘thousands’ who toiled among the surrounding hills and gorges there were many his superiors in intellectual attainments and his peers in gentle breeding; and in the intervals between the meals, when the pot could be left unwatched, he tramped the mountains roundabout, : ostensibly hunting fresh meat, but insensibly a young pagan rejoicing in vigorous manhood and conscious health, The Red Gods called him among the pines and on the steep mountainsides, and he followed their invitation until the lengthening shadows warned him that a hungry crew would soon appear over the edge of the plateau, clamoring. forthe evening meal, Then he came back to earth again and gave his mind to the preparation of some savory dish, an unexpected dozen of mountain quail wrapped in bay leaves and a slice of bacon and roasted over the glowing coals; a succulent camp stew where gray squirrel, salt pork, and potatoes appeased glorious appetites; or venison steaks fresh cut from the carcass of a doe, hanging on the branch of an oak tree close by, making bull beef a despised article, Fortunately Rance was spared the indignity of dishwashing. It was a rule that each individual took care of his own particular tin cup and plate, and in order that no confusion should arise, on each dish was scratched the initial of its owner. At least once a week they were scoured with wood ashes to bring the distinguishing marks out of greasy obscurity, In that bracing mountain air and daily exercise of musclehardening toil, "digestion waited on appetite," and Rance's culinary skill received the heartiest approbation of his partners, During a week's holiday trip to Marysville, Mike Donovan had been installed as a substitute, but the resultant concoctions were so atrocious and unpalatable, that Rance's return was signalized by an enthusiastic ovation and the Irishman relegated to the canyon and the rocker, "Sure, they have all been living too high while ye were gone, and what they want is common grub, What I've been giving them was uncommon," was Mike's comment on the eagerness betrayed by his companions for his abdication, CHAPTER II RICH DEPOSITS OF GOLD THE shallow gravel deposits in the bed of the canyon had been worked out, and in following the rich streak into the mountain they were confronted with what was to them a new phase of mining. The bank rose up abruptly to ‘the top of the bench, a height of one hundred feet or more, while the bedrock continued on into the hill almost at a level, It was evident that there was but one method by which it could be mined, that of drifting or tunnelling along the course, This meant a change from the simple methods of rocking and panning which had heretofore served, Doubtless their ingenuity would have been equal to meeting the new conditions had they been called on to exercise it, but fortunately they were not the first to encounter these old channels, Across the ridge the pioneers had stumbled on these "upper leads,". as they termed them, and at Forest City, on the banks of Kanaka Creek, at Chipp's Flat, and at Minnesota, the summer of '52 had signalized the development of the ancient riverbed, and a busy multitude of toilers was exploiting the deep diggings for miles along the old channel from the North to and across the Middle Fork of the Rio Las Uvas — corrupted into the "Yuba River," Given an aggregation of men in any common pursuit, some one in particular, either by assertion, fitness, or ability, assumes the leadership; one who, after the pros and cons of any question are discussed, gives the final and deciding word, Our little company of half a dozen had not been exempt from this tendency, and had tacitly recognized one of their number as fit to direct. The choice was not unwise, and the results had justified the selection. He was the dean of his comrades by virtue of years, and their superior in a certain practical knowledge and hard sense, He had a tactful way of guiding and managing their affairs that avoided the irritation of command.and substituted the softer method of persuasion, : Wakefield, upon whom this duty fell, was a fine specimen of the typical American, a well nourished, farm-bred giant, over six feet in height, of big bone and hard muscle, trained by outdoor labor to the condition of an athlete, a blue-eyed, fair-haired Saxon, temperate in habit and cleanly in thought. On the mental side he was neither brilliant nor intellectual, and there was none of the poet or philosopher in his makeup; or rather, any latent gifts in that direction was in a state of non-development, The daily cleanup interested him to a greater degree than any other phase of his life; and the incense of the bean-pot appealed to him more pungently than the balsamic breath of the pines, Born at, and arriving at manhood on, the border of a “thriving village in the interior of NewYork state, he had married and settled down to the hard work of a small farm, until the breaking out of the gold fever and the marvelous tales of the riches of this almost unknown Golconda had stirred his sluggish pulse and incited him to adventure, Leaving his wife anda little girl of fourteen — his only child — established in comparative comfort (he had sold the farm and bought a small cottage within the village limits, where with a dependent aunt they were comfortably installed), he was one of the first to journey westward, arriving in '49 and at once seeking the mines, In the lapsing three years he had drifted from one locality to another, as the twenty-four-foot claims were worked out; panning, rocking, tomming, on bar and ravine, in gulch and canyon, always mining with substantial ifnot phenomenal success, and as a result seven thousand dollars was to his credit in the home bank, the surplus above the expenditures for his own and (Continued next week) V § 4 + Le vay POP ERE EH EEE OHO EDO © VR

ity of Six’ ed on, where n was Virgin or the roach f four ollow, a, and helter lower should mfort many meals ls for lance, Ss one iced xd for memof adion of irkies rvest, ion as d, and ng his ection is shy rude rasa d fair comstroke yet he icking devil cook, nticee they tus in d with uirrel times turbed ‘efully oven, ld not efineculate home, naster asked ecome spise, in the nother could liberal ing the ; South ; place matriminent . com= helorterest eager — row on super-nue, it \ did not suffice for the ‘extravagances of the possessors, The cotton bales were mortgaged before they reached the market, the increase in slaves found its way to other plantations, and as time rolled on the incumbrances on the old acres grew rather than diminished, To the youngest scion of prolific house, with sisters to be portioned and elder brothers to be provided for, it was not an alluring prospect; and this rather pessimistic view had been the chief incentive to a leap in the dark, There came the rumors of anew E1 Dorado, where the rivers rolled over Pactolian sands and riches were to be had for the gathering, The spirit of adventure woke in his plastic mind, and taking his two body servants, who protested their fidelity and devotion to Marse Rance, he made the weary journey and encountered a rude awakening at its finish; for the novelty of freedom sponged away the loyalty born of servitude, and Ranch was thrown on his own resources, This review of past and present conditions, however, did not depress him; his spirits were too buoyant, he was too healthy a young animal to allow care to sit heavily on his shoulders, and there were compensations, His share in the results of the mining operations was fairly good; the summer had brought him a couple of thousand dollars, his companions were congenial

and considerate, his task as cook and purveyor was not humiliating. In the ‘thousands’ who toiled among the surrounding hills and gorges there were many his superiors in intellectual attainments and his peers in gentle breeding; and in the intervals between the meals, when the pot could be left unwatched, he tramped the mountains roundabout, : ostensibly hunting fresh meat, but insensibly a young pagan rejoicing in vigorous manhood and conscious health, The Red Gods called him among the pines and on the steep mountainsides, and he followed their invitation until the lengthening shadows warned him that a hungry crew would soon appear over the edge of the plateau, clamoring. forthe evening meal, Then he came back to earth again and gave his mind to the preparation of some savory dish, an unexpected dozen of mountain quail wrapped in bay leaves and a slice of bacon and roasted over the glowing coals; a succulent camp stew where gray squirrel, salt pork, and potatoes appeased glorious appetites; or venison steaks fresh cut from the carcass of a doe, hanging on the branch of an oak tree close by, making bull beef a despised article, Fortunately Rance was spared the indignity of dishwashing. It was a rule that each individual took care of his own particular tin cup and plate, and in order that no confusion should arise, on each dish was scratched the initial of its owner. At least once a week they were scoured with wood ashes to bring the distinguishing marks out of greasy obscurity, In that bracing mountain air and daily exercise of musclehardening toil, "digestion waited on appetite," and Rance's culinary skill received the heartiest approbation of his partners, During a week's holiday trip to Marysville, Mike Donovan had been installed as a substitute, but the resultant concoctions were so atrocious and unpalatable, that Rance's return was signalized by an enthusiastic ovation and the Irishman relegated to the canyon and the rocker, "Sure, they have all been living too high while ye were gone, and what they want is common grub, What I've been giving them was uncommon," was Mike's comment on the eagerness betrayed by his companions for his abdication, CHAPTER II RICH DEPOSITS OF GOLD THE shallow gravel deposits in the bed of the canyon had been worked out, and in following the rich streak into the mountain they were confronted with what was to them a new phase of mining. The bank rose up abruptly to ‘the top of the bench, a height of one hundred feet or more, while the bedrock continued on into the hill almost at a level, It was evident that there was but one method by which it could be mined, that of drifting or tunnelling along the course, This meant a change from the simple methods of rocking and panning which had heretofore served, Doubtless their ingenuity would have been equal to meeting the new conditions had they been called on to exercise it, but fortunately they were not the first to encounter these old channels, Across the ridge the pioneers had stumbled on these "upper leads,". as they termed them, and at Forest City, on the banks of Kanaka Creek, at Chipp's Flat, and at Minnesota, the summer of '52 had signalized the development of the ancient riverbed, and a busy multitude of toilers was exploiting the deep diggings for miles along the old channel from the North to and across the Middle Fork of the Rio Las Uvas — corrupted into the "Yuba River," Given an aggregation of men in any common pursuit, some one in particular, either by assertion, fitness, or ability, assumes the leadership; one who, after the pros and cons of any question are discussed, gives the final and deciding word, Our little company of half a dozen had not been exempt from this tendency, and had tacitly recognized one of their number as fit to direct. The choice was not unwise, and the results had justified the selection. He was the dean of his comrades by virtue of years, and their superior in a certain practical knowledge and hard sense, He had a tactful way of guiding and managing their affairs that avoided the irritation of command.and substituted the softer method of persuasion, : Wakefield, upon whom this duty fell, was a fine specimen of the typical American, a well nourished, farm-bred giant, over six feet in height, of big bone and hard muscle, trained by outdoor labor to the condition of an athlete, a blue-eyed, fair-haired Saxon, temperate in habit and cleanly in thought. On the mental side he was neither brilliant nor intellectual, and there was none of the poet or philosopher in his makeup; or rather, any latent gifts in that direction was in a state of non-development, The daily cleanup interested him to a greater degree than any other phase of his life; and the incense of the bean-pot appealed to him more pungently than the balsamic breath of the pines, Born at, and arriving at manhood on, the border of a “thriving village in the interior of NewYork state, he had married and settled down to the hard work of a small farm, until the breaking out of the gold fever and the marvelous tales of the riches of this almost unknown Golconda had stirred his sluggish pulse and incited him to adventure, Leaving his wife anda little girl of fourteen — his only child — established in comparative comfort (he had sold the farm and bought a small cottage within the village limits, where with a dependent aunt they were comfortably installed), he was one of the first to journey westward, arriving in '49 and at once seeking the mines, In the lapsing three years he had drifted from one locality to another, as the twenty-four-foot claims were worked out; panning, rocking, tomming, on bar and ravine, in gulch and canyon, always mining with substantial ifnot phenomenal success, and as a result seven thousand dollars was to his credit in the home bank, the surplus above the expenditures for his own and (Continued next week) V § 4 + Le vay POP ERE EH EEE OHO EDO © VR