Weekly Trinity journal., 1871-06-03


lco, her face shining as If it had been oiled, her
eyes bright with laughter. Behind her came a
thin girl of ten or twelve years, who bore traces
of n recent struggle with fever and ague, and
whose yellow hair hung down in two big braids
tied with blue ribbons. There was to be a
dance and these were the ladies. The fiddler
struck up d" The Arkansas Traveller" and the
ball began. OF course every gentleman had to
wait his turn for partner, except as they made
what were called ''stag couples" 1t must be
said that the ladies were compliant and endur-
ing. They danced with everybody, and nearly
all the time. They even invited the "stranger"
at their gate to % take a turn''-au invitation
that youthful modesty alone caused us to de-
cline. When we went to sleep under the big
oak tree fronting the cabin, the rasping tones of
the back woods 6ddler were still heard as also
the clatter of the loose plankS ON the cabin floor
keeping time.
At last we reached Readings Sprugs-a ia
nous mining camp in those days, which has
since grown into the town of Shasta. And here
we gave the charge of our outfit to the Mexican
owners of II pack-train, and started with them
across the mountains for Trinity River The
train consisted of about thirty mules; and we
helped to drive them over narrow trail which
had been marked out with no regard to easy
gradients. The heavily laden brutes grunted
and groaned as they tugged up the steep, coaical
hills between Shasta and Trinity Mountain
They would often run off into the woods, and
then the shouts and curses of the Mexicans, al
though in mellow Spanish, were startling to the
very trees and rocks. But the hardship of the
trip only gave keener zest to our enjoyment of
the mountain air and water--so delicious after
our experience in the valley-of the luXuriant
and varied vegetation, the aromatic odors of the
pines, the music of ripping brooks, the dizzy
glmpses of vaporous cdaoaS yawning below, the
noble vistas of far peaks as we climbed higher
avid hfrrltnn gat W lnn inn hppu Il
white lips at last on the summit of Trinity Noun
tain Descending this elevation, we reached the
river of our hopes, followed its course to the
North Fork, and pitched our tent under tall ,
yellow pine on the bar below the mouth of that
stream. Trinity River is cold nymph of the
hills All its course is through the tumultuous
peaks that mark the blending of the northern
Sierra aud Coast Range aud it has always u
touch of its native ice, Whirling through rocky
caaons with foam and roar darkened by over
hanging precpices, by interlaciug pine and fir
or hanging vines gliding into narrow valleys,
that margin it with meadows and tremulous-
leaved cotton-woods, and spreading out in broad
er bottoms to coax the sun-it is still the same
cold stream, until it reaches the literally golden
sands of its ocean outlet When we saw it in
1850, it was beautifully clear, and its wooded
banks were wildly picturesque. Hardly more
than fifty miners were trying to tear the golden
secret from its breast, and the emptyings from
their rockers did not sully its purity lndans
ished in it, and the deadly combats Of the male
salmon often sent free offerings to their hands.
The miners themselves would sometimes watch
these lnDy tragedies. and swim after the van
pushed lover for their dinner.
1t was n new sensation to strike our picks into
the virgin cobble beds, among tult grass and
thickets of rose-breri to oyerturn gray bowlders
never disturbed before; to shovel up from the
soft bedrock the god-seeded gravel that prom
sed a harvest of comfort and happiness. 1t was
pleasant to have our sweating toll eased 10y the
cool breezes that daily blew up from the sea
though when one Of these breeZes became u gale,
tossed the Goals from our camp fire into our poor
tent, and lighted q flame that consumed our
shelter and our supplies, making the rifle and
pistols fire an irregular salute, the sea-wind was
not blessed. The nearest trading-post was ten
miles below at Big Bar; and weary journey 1t
was, over lofty mountain to reach it, while all
that we bought had to be packed on our own
backs. Beel-cattle were lowered down the steep
descent by the aid of ropes, and their flesh was
precious The butcher of Big Flat was an &C.
centric Yankee. AS meat was fifty cents a
pound, the portions without bone were in great
demand for economical reasons. Liver was in
particular request. As it was impossible to find
an OK all liver, and the Strasbourg goose-htten-
ing process would not apply to cattle, our butch
er was obliged to adopt some plan to relieve
himself of a difficulty. 1t was his habit, when
customer asked tor liver, to inquire, {" Have YOU
a canyas-patch where you sit down ?" And
when the customer would naturally respond,
{" Why, what's that to do with tY he would
answer, philosophically, " if you haven't got
patch on your breeches, you can't have any
liver, that 5 what. There isn't liver enough for
everybody; there's got to be something to dis
criminate by, and it might as well be n canvas
patch as anything else" And to this impartial
10 In olI I,..
began to multiply, and other parts Of the animal
economy, like the heart, had to be pressed into
service.
On the Bar where Brandy and | opened a
claim and started our rockers, only three moro
men were working. They owned and operated
in common large quicksilver machine We
soon knew them as Peter the Dane English
George, and Missouri. The nomenclature OF the
early mining epoch was original aud descriptive.
individuals, like places were named in way to
indicate percuiar traits or circumstances. Thus
lny partner, Brandy, whose real name was VIII
Llama slender, air-skinned, blue-eyed fellow,
of temperate habits-had high color in his
cheeks that rough comrade called brandy
blush. The joke was too good not to live, and
so the name of Brandy clung to him for years,
being varied occasionally to Cognac, by way of
elegant euphemism Our Trinity River neigh
bors were all named from their nativity the
signs Of which they bore plainly in speech and
looks.
Peter had served in the navies of three nations,
ending with the United States lie was Il young
man of cultivation and genius kept journal
in Greek, to conceal its secrets from his COM
rades before the mast acquired English from
the library of the man n-of-war Ohio; bad good
knowledge of our literature spoke French and
German well was clever draughkman and
musician, and witty brilliant talker But he
was only Peter the Dane, except indeed when
called 3" Dutch Pete" by that class Of Americans
who think everybody is Dutch Tor GERMANY who
says "ja." We sympathized on the subject of
music and poetry Indeed, it was my whistling
Casta DUa while rocking the cradle that brought
us acquainted. lie used to recite poems from
the Danish Of Oehlenschlager, which | would
render into English verse, We went through
Hakoa Fart in that way--the recitation at night,