, 1873-07-07
A Tn1e OF tho California N1incn.

Portuguese woro tloso-n quiet, unobtrusiyo eot
Of men, with dogs and allot-guns and tho quaint
cat little cabins in tho world, Brown mon,
sailors mostly, with onr-rings in tho!r cars, and
tloir shirt-boaoma open clannish people, ailent
and respectful. Then thoro woro other compa~
nioa below, not unlike Our OWN hundred mon
OF moro on this little mountain atroarn. Treos
abovo US in otornal grocn, chapparal along tho
force and atoop old mountain.Bido, that pitched
almost perpendicularly on either side tho
atream upon us, from which whiatlcd the part
ridge through tug day; and called tho gray
but tho rafting Of tho etones In tho cradle or
tho tom, and tho pick and shovel Oh the rocka.
No doctors, no law, no lawyors, no tlieyes; forty
miles. tho noareas trading camp. All. thinga
wore brought from thoro across q wall Of ever
lasting Bnow, upon our backa--bread and bacon
and behnB, and beans and bacon and bread, tho
whole yoar through. At las. tho dreaded scurvy
came. Mon suddenly foil i'll, lost tho Use Of
Eo!p; nothing would do them good but change
OF place and chaugo of dict. We could not carry
them ont acrosa tho Hnow. This was droadtul
You could not hayo soon these strong, bravo
mon stricken there, tolploss, dying day by day,
without hope, and beon silent. bad! fearful.
Tboro were aix Of tho1n, and the worst case in
tho six was tint Of tho inan with tho leather
noso, all brought together, all lying looking
Ing Of othor faces, other sconos in othor lantls.
At last MI old sailor suggested, M last resort,
n remedy Ho hnd soon s ships crow saved in
como lands in the tropics. We would try that.
1t was to place tho mon, stripped nude aB nature,
up to tho chin III tho Garth, and ioayo theul
there through tho night, till The loose and warm
rich soil should draw tho poison from thoir
bodies.
Thore was roason in this Doaidos, no Ind
somo evidence TINT it would uavo our mon for
once when party of Indians attacked us, wo
won tho fight. and. following thom little way,
found d wounded 1ntlian buried up to tho oyes
iu tho earth.. They had done thiH in tho hopo Of
saving him, to try and heal bis wound, and they
aro good Physicians.
We dug six pits In the shadow Of pine, in the
loose and warm nl1uyial soil; and there, na tho
and flllod tile earth i'll about them.
It was lovely moonlight night, balmy and
poacohll aB q paradise. Not Hoird save tho
doleful howl Of wolf in tho cragb above Even
in this condition tho grim Russian was tho con-
His head inclined to one side, mid rested on tho
loose warm Hol beside him. lliH hand was llulf
hidden in tho earth.
Oregon Jako was thoro, assisting rs well as no
might, in his awkward and loose way, in the sill
gular experiment md effort to sayo tho liYoa Of
tho strtcken men.
But he was not gifted with any special gravity
Of bosrlng1 and the grotesq!1e picture before
him, with oil its sadness, had it's comical feature.
Ho went up to Ginger and began to talk, az ho
looked now and then at tho Russian over his
shoulder. lie half laughed as ho did 80.
Tho buried man hoard him, lifted hia head with
AA oAAo4t A4A sAAuA oAtl AZ 6Aoat41S EAASolAAA
voice
"Knook him down, oingorl Knock him
down!'
Ginger, truo to his holploss friond, knocked
him down Oh tho spot. ...
Again tho feeble head Of tho holpcss nlan set
slod over OH tho soft soil. 1io closed his oyos
with tho most perfect satisfaction, and then
smiled till he whto teoth looked like the entire
roof to q miniature cometory.
Aftor while tho tired minors began to retire,
and, With 4 8ilont prayer for the sncceHH Of tho
experiment, loft it to ti,uc. The invallds wore
cheerful, and, now with 0 littlo llopo, chattod
gayly onongh together, but looked strange bo-
yond deacription-tho six shaggy heads just
bursting through tho oartl, liko Bauquos, throo
In row, In tho fltful moonlight. It looked like
men rising from tho earth and coming up to
Judgment. THOR v0cos sounded woitd and
ghostiy, too. as Of another world. After awhile
one by one they foil asleep, and all was still aayo
the howling OF tho wolf on tho lluif above. 1
grow frightened like. I think tho others did too.
And ono by ono wo Htolo nway and left then,
there, aa tho night went On, aud sought our
buukB inside the cnbina, and throw us down in
our clothes, ind alopt. It was IN experiment
for life or doath.
What strange atnpor ovorcomes mon Bornc-
times at night who hayo boon hard at work all
day. Singular that We should hnyo loft those
six men tllero at midnight in the black HhRdowa,
with only hero and thoro rny Of moonlight to
rolievo tho Boeno. Strange that wo could not
keep awake.
Tho experiment was fail,lro. Tho wolyoa
cano down III the night aud atc OF every Aoad
lovel with tho ground.