The Shasta courier. [volume] (Shasta, Calif.) 1852-1872, 1854-11-18
THE SHASTA COURIER
From Trinity County.

BIG FLAT, Nov IL, 1904.
| EDS. COURIER Our gentlemanly and oblig-
| ing expressman, Mr. Penpebaker, who, like Sun
day, visits US once in every week, makes him.
self not less welcome by presenting to us copy
| of your valuable little newspaper as often as he
comes. Your paper we read with great relish,
and would willingly send you communication
every week or two, if we thought it would be
any advantage to it; but the fact u.s. we have
become sober, hard working man. and feel lit
| tie disposed to spend an hour in writing, after
the lahors Of the day; besides, in our seclusion
we CLEAN no news worth relating.
Our people are complaining bitterly, and are
anxious for water. All old signs that prognos-
| ticate rain are looked for, but many OF them
won't rain, but it only hits once in while. "
1t is in the moon, where most all signs are, and
| when used in connection with another sign we
have had for years, will never fail. One is, that
if the moon lays its back, so as to hold water,
it will not rain; the other, that if it turned
up SO as to spill all its water QUIT will not
rain. The present moon demonstrates one OF
these signs perhaps the next will demonstrate
the other You will see that these seem to prog
nosticate only dry weather; but when the
| "luck" gets to running the other way they will
serve just as well for wet weather.
The Trinity river is down, down; it is almost
as low as it was during the summer; bat it has
its precedent within itself, in the fall of So
when it was as low, and which the pres
ent one very much resembles. Then, if you re-
member, the miners looked for the rains of 40,
but were disappointed in their hopes, and had
to abandon good claims, after nursing them for
months for the reason that they would not yield
| their deposits without water. hope the miner
of the present day will not allow himself to be
so Jeluded to suspend all his labors for the
purpose OF working some fancy claim by and by,
which claim If ever workable at all, will doubt
less prove to be richer than another that can
be worked at the present time.
With US, although we have some "anxious
watchers" our people do not suspend their la
bors, They work as If it would rain no more
forever, but hoping it will rain tomorrow.
Our mines still continne to yield ample COM
pensation for well directed labor, and are lead
ing to the mountains, where rich veins are be-
ing followed with success that clearly proves
that Trinity's best days are to come, and that
her richest favors are yet to be found beneath
her gold Astounding bills.
You do not know much of Big Flat? / re-
member once being introduced to little dump
ling belled attorney, as Joshua, of Big Flat"
Dumping grinned and looked down. then look
ed up and grinned again, and said he, "Are
they all Big Flats that come from your place I? F."
and then he laughed. | thought there was
something more striking in his "broten up"
than his wit, and l laughed-but more at the
recollection of similar compliment that had
been paid me by new acquaintance short
y after my arrival in this State in so, than
at Solon's effort. We had just made each 9TH
er's acquaintance, when my new friend, fixing
his eyes upon me- put forth. "Are you lousey ="
Taken all aback we replied, MOI" Says he,
rubbing about him, "Well, you will be-" We
slept together that nj ght "and it came to pass"
but digress.
Big Flat is situated eight miles below the
mouth of the North Fork Of Trinity river, and
adjoining the lower end of the "Big Canon" 1t
is some sixty OF eighty acres in extent-having
surface that grows fine crops of vegetables,
and substrata that yields rich haryests of gold.
Our altitude is about that of Shasta, consequent
ly it is much warmer here than in the vicinity
of Weaverville, which you will readily believe
when tell you we had our first frost for this
season on the evening of the thirty-first of DC.
tober. Water abounds in about the same ratio
with the diggings here, that it does in the vcin-
lty OF w eaVerVllle, consequently we always
feel that we could use little more.
We are pleased to our old acquaintance,
Mr.. Mooney, of" MONEYS Bridge" here in the
capacity of Indian Agent He has had several
talks with the red men, but they seem slow to
accept OF the generous bounty our Government
offers through him. The red man cannot CON-
prehend this liberality, and looks upon the offer
he makes with suspicion. However. they have
sent one of their number, Lazy Bill" over to
the reservation to see and report, and no doubt
we shall soon be deprived OF this little band of
warriors and mohales, whose residence among
us is almost as perncious to our white as to our
red brethren.
The fair sex
" Who hath not owned, with rapture smitten
frame,
The power of grace the magic of q name7"
Oh-hem-You have girls over your way.
We knew dear, black-eyed, lovely creature
once our sorrow keeps remembrance of her
yet She's gone not dead-but vamosed, gone.
Our reflections on the dear departed recall some
pleasures we have known, and even in these
solitudes we often think we might know Joy
again. Send some OF your Goods best gilt
to man. and we will try. Truly Yours,
JOSHUA.
SCHOOL CoNvENTIoN.-Paul X. Hubbg, Super
intendent of Public Instruction, has called a