The Nevada journal., 1860-04-13
NEVADA cotNfY OFFICIAL PRESS.
F h Nevada Journal.
FHE THREE PEAKS.


against the base of the mountain, We see the ST.
lent waters and dreary shores of Mono Bake
while about us, above, below, every hand are
burnt, srlintered peaks and crags; deep, dark
and ragged ranons, overhangag precipices and
huge fallen niassr9 of granite. One is foreiby
reminded of Edgar Poes Grear and gloomy
" "Dreamiand;" where arc
Bottomless valss and bojinlless Gods.
And chasIris; aud Gates, and Titan woods,
With forms that no man can discover
For the dews that drip all over
Mountains topping evcrmore
Into seas without II shore
Seas that restlesSiy aspire;
Surging into skies of fire.
Lakes, that endlessly outspreaG
Their lone waters-lone, and dead
Far of to ths east is spread out desert Of
sandy, rocky hill, and promincn; among these
low, dingy bills, at the distance of sixty miles
from Mono Lake, stands mountain of white
rock. Were VIC standing on this mountain we
might look away across the desert of sandy hills
and plains, away, away to the east a.d presently
be able to make out the dim outlines of three
blue mist; these are the " Three Peaks :" the
Three G olden Peaks" toward which the 70
wing. prospecting miner turns his longing eyes,
and while he sighs to think he may not visit the
enchanted spot, is yet thankful that there is left
to him, inyiolate, one spot of which 10 dream
goldon Dreams and no man be able to pfoee his
golden castles to be aught bat the purcst gold.
He may gaze far DER the burnt and ragged
hills, tho scorched and silent plains, and seq
lloating in the eastern horizon amid the purple
haze, the Golden Three and imagine fount-
aims bubbling up through golden sands and
brooks ripping over golden pebbles. lie may
picture huge belts of auriferous quartz from
which vast knobs and rugged masses of virgin
gold protrude and glisten III the sun, and who
shall say they are not there7 But l viii tell the
story of that Wondrous spot as I heard it told
while sitting about campfire high up in the
Sierras, above the great Yo Scmites misty valley
The narrator weather beaten, Mountain
man. whose longs stragsl;ng locks the SHOWS OF
fifty winters had tinged with gray but not viii
tened and his aidience-frce and easy miners.
fHE Story cF THE THREE PEAKs-Some
four years ago eighteen men left the beaten emi-
grant road and struck off across the plains tow
ard the south part of California, intending to
the Sieara Nevada by some pass in Mari
posa County. Soon, however they lost their
way and wandered about among the rocky hills
of barren, desert country, suffering terribly
from want of water Their animals soon per-
ishod from the effects of alkal water. and soon
fro, fba tla IN Of
till but seven wefe left alive. The survivors
toiled on, they knew not whittier: blinded by
the citation Of heat from t.'s sandj II allied by
deceitful mirages. and at times without Water of
any kind for such II length of time rs to become
almost frantic ffoih thirst. At length, when on
the point of throwing themselves upon ths sand
To die, they behel1. feschng the summit of a
hill, timber and what had the appearance of
grass but short distance ahead. Hurrving
forward fiist their worn. jaded condition
would admit. they found themselves on the rim
of an extensive basin OF valley. which lay partly
enclosed by three high mountains. On the
slopes of these mountains wer. groves o. pine
and other trees and shrubs. while the low hills
lying in the valley were slso covered with trees
and grass. But what most of all elated them
was the sight of stream of water. with willo. V
borders, mesndering through r broal meadow
and losing itself in lake which sparlled far
found the water sweet and good. and throwing g
themselves down, rashly gave themselves up to
their unquenchabc thirst, and in consequence
four of them died in less than ten h6urs af er
reaching the Wallet. The survivors buried their
dead friends by laying them between two large
focks and covering them up with stones. They
now began to look about them and consider
their situation. BY climbing up the sides of the
mountSihs thes had view of the country about
l,o,r 4
themselves surrounded on all sides by a parched
sterile waste of sand. Two were for remaining
and ending their days in the valley rather than
fisk the pangs of hunger, thirst and death on
the descrt-the other wa, for making an attempt
to cross the desert to the west and reach Cali
fornia by keeping along the Sierra Nevadas un-
ill practicable pass should be found. through
which to cross; but was at length induced by bis
companions to abandon, or at leas; defer, the
attempt-they on their part agreeing that their
-four. of which they had some twenty pounds
should be carefully laid up and saved for the
journey-should they at some future time con-
clude to make the attempt to reach Cali ornia
They set to work with their kni.es and built n
sort of hut of willows as a protection from th.
cold night winds and dew while sleeping, for
being without blankets they were so chilled st
night to be Unable to get much Sleep but
having finished their house. by building their
fire in front Of the door. they were able to sleep
m tolerable comfort, aud having gathered scve-
raj bundles of dry flag from the shores of the
fake, did not SO much feel the want of blankets
There was plenty of game in their valley, and
drovcs of deer and antelope often came TO drink
At the stream quite near their door and showed
but little fear on being approached, only running
a short distance before wheeling about; but
having thrown away their guns and rcvolvers
before reaching the valley they could only feast
In Imagination on the fat yenison steaks so
temptlingly displayed every day at their door.
instead of venson, however, they had plenty
OF frogs and such small deer, on which they
Jared ,imptuously every day Their -four
,nes mad slowed away in hollow log, and
piocked 1t IN with stones fearing that if left in
eho nut some animal might destroy it. and with
tneiF means OF escape from the valley There
was 81 abundance OF hare on the hills and flats.
out, shough quite tame, they were only able once
IN while, and quite by accident 10 xecnr. one
by knocking it over with stone. Rpt f1.re s,as
no scarcity of frogs and they rrcy to 10 o,,;,e
expert at knocking them on tba hsa5 ,ritb .
long stick or rod; and they even caurb, a f. w
small fish, something similar to rocL -ha.. or
sun-fish, by rigging hook from the Wire of a
suspendsr buckle, with liue from the rayel;ngs
of shirt They searched the hills. valleys and
glens in every direction for berries. but vers
never able to- find any, though they found br;ars
and vines which had the appearance of having
borne fruit earlier in the reason. One day ono
Of the men came rushing into the hut with th.