The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1870-11-05


the stripes on the paper, then said, half
to himself: "The fact of Balaam's ass
making a speech has had more demon
told in the Holy Bible, for ever since
that time, every Eneal descendant seems
to follow his example" His
face was never relieved by smile, and
his chin stuck out fearfully; SO that one
day, when SNAP ping Andy, who was H.
censed by the miners to be the champion
growler of the camp, called him "Old
Baboen," it was so complete as baptis-
NAL, that he was known by no other
name.
''rhe sorrowful know the sorrowful." 1
was then helpless, sensitive, whites
headed boy, and so found refuge and re-
lief.in the irony of Old Baboon, and, like
the Captain. "made a note of it,
Some women visited him one evening;
fallen angels-women with the trail of
the serpent all over them-women that
at that day lived their fierce, swift lives
through in a single lustrum, and at the
same time did deeds of mercy that put
their puIer sisters to the blush. They
gave him gifts and money. and, above all,
words of encouragement and kindness.
He received it all in silence; but | saw
when they had gone that the coldness of
his face had tempered down, Ike win
try hillside under q day of sun. He
moodily filed his meerschaum they had
brought him, and after driving volume
of smoke through his nose, looked quiet
" at me, and said: 'Society is wrong.
These women are not bad women. For my
part, begin to find so much that is evil
in that which the world calls good, and
SO much that is good in what the world
calls evil, that I refuse to draw line of
distinction where God has not" Then
he fired double barrelled volley at So
ciety through his nose, and throwing out
volume after volume of smoke as sort of
redoubt between himself and the world
he hated, drifted silently into tropical,
golden land of dreams.
This was the man who now stood be-
fore me with gold enough to buy the
town.
There are nine of u.s." he went on,
call sworn not to tell. OF course, being
sworn, they have all taken the first op-
portunity to tell their friends and send
word to their relatives. Therefore,
I will tell YOU
This is briefly his account of the dis
covery. When it reached California that
gold had deem found in the great water
shed of the Columbia river, the miners
waited for none of the details as to the
wealth of the mines, their extent, or the
dangers and hardships to be endured.
They poured over the northern noun
tain walls of Nevada California, dreaming
The dreams of 40. He fretted to go, and
being able to travel, the fallen angels
again fiuttered around the friendless man,
and his outfit was as complete as the
camp could afford. Arrived north, the
mines were found failure, and party
of prospectors attempted to reach the
Shoshone Falls through the densely tim
bercd mountains from Elk City. He
was one of the number. They made but
little headway; and the party, Of forty in
a few weeks, was reduced to nine. Then
scme became worn out and discouraged,
and being reduced to half-rations, at
tempted to return by wha. they thought
shorter route. After nine days strug
gle through deesc underground and fall
en- timber, they came out on a little
prairie. Here they found signs of game,
and being entirely out of provisions, they
determined to turn out their horses on the
grass, and replenish with their rifles.
Baboon was left to keep camp. Their
blankets were spread by little spring
stream that huggcd dense growth of
tamarack at the edge of the prairie The
prairie lay near the centre of an immense,
snow>crested, horse shoe opening to the
south, of about thirty miles in diameter.
4 farm on the Ohio could have produced
as many indications" to the California
gold hunter as the site of this camp; but
as the day wore on, and the hunters de-
layed return, and Baboon to kill time,
took up pan, stepped to where fallen
tamarack had thrown up the earth, filed
it, and carelessly washed it out. Marsh
al, in the mill race, could not have been
more astonished. Half handful of gold
rough, rugged little specimens, about
the size of wheat grains, and of very poor
quality, as it afterward proved, being
worth but $11 an uunce-Ay in the pan !;
and the great gold belt, which embraced
Salmon, Warren's, Boise, Owyhee, and
Blackfoot, was found!
said, ..Thank you, Mr.. Bablain:' He
looked at me with blended pride and pain,
and deliberately firing double>barrelled
volley Of smoke at my breast, told me to
make the best use of the discovery, gave
me a written direction of the course and
locality, and went out. In less than a
week l was in the new mines, with a
cargo that sold for dollar pound before
it was unpacked. This was I-da-hoe !:
the Indian name for this vast basin, or
horse shoe, with its snowy crest, which,
interpreted, means, Seem Of the Noun
| taius."
| Baboon Gulch-a little indention of
not more than hundred yards in length,
dipping down the prairie to a larger
guleh-was perhaps tie richest spot of
earth ever found. The gold lay beneath
thin turf, or peat, on soft granite bed
rock in a stratum of but one or two inches
thick, aud but a few inches wide. This
stratum was often half gold The oath
of Baboon could be had to>day, showing
that the lightest days yield was fourteen
pounds of gold dust.
Having been the butt of the party,
and having but little love or respect for