The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1875-03-12
THE POWER OF suPERsTTrION.
A California sketch.


i was fond of the science of physiog-
nomy. From my youth up was noted
for my proclivity for reading the charac-
ter of man from his face: and / finally
became such an adept in the art that /
could occasionally guess the very thoughts
OF the individual whose countenanoe /
was studying.
Soon after the gold fever broke out I
came to California; and here. I must
confess, among what else there was to
interest me, I had Q grand opportunity
for exercising my skill upon all sorts of
faces, seen under all sorts of circum-
stances, from the highest triumph of sue
cess TO the deepest despair of failure /
first tried my luck at digging gold my
self, but soon tired of that, and believing
could get money faster and with less
labor, i opened q kind of grocery and
provision store, and went regularly into
the business of trade, buying most of my
articles at Sacramento, getting them
haHled to my quarters and disposing of
them at fair advance to the miners and
others.
My store, as I dignifed my place of
trade, consisted of rude skeleton of
poles, with q sufhciency of cheap muslin
drawn over them and pinned down to the
earth, and was stocked only with the
most salable articles, of which -four, pork
and whisky found the most ready mar
ket, especially whisky. In the dry sea-
son it was very dusty, and everybody
seemed to be dry with thirst which
mere water would not quench. IF man
was successful he wanted whisky to bring
his body up to the altitude of his spirits:
unsuccessful, he wanted whisky to
bring his spirits up to the altitude of his
body; If 1t chanced to be q little cool. he
wanted whisky to warm him; if it was
very hot, he wanted whisky to cool him;
he needed whisky in the morning to-
make him bright and active; he needed
whisky at night to rest him, and make
him sleep well; he wanted it when he
bought, and when he sold; when he won,
and when he lost; when he stood up, and
when he sat down; In short, whisky was
ngs-the genuine eyicer V5tG-and CON
ssequently did an immense business in
whisky.
Now this, though somewhat irrelevant,
brings me to my story.
My store being the headquarters of
that locality for whisky and provisions,
Il was brought in contact with nearly
every specimen of the qesse&s homo that
ventured in that region and such an
other conglomeration of white, black and
red-such another mixture of gentlemen.
laborers, mountaineera, gamblers, thieves
ana assasslns-t would be hard to find
OUTSIDE tne n1n1ts OF OalIfornla. Of
course had q chance to study all sorts
OF faces TO my hearts content, but hav-
ing, as have said, become an adept in
the art, an ordinary countenance, or q
man governed by ordinary passions,
whether gentle or brutsh, did not inter
est me. wanted to get hold of what is
termed character, or one whose ex-
teEnal would give no indication of his
internal to any but cOssssofseestr;. or
one that would really puzzle you to tell
what TO think of him.
Among the many. such at length
found. At first / did not nstice him
did not think of him. At q casual glance
there Was nothing to distinguish him
from the herd. He came IN uuietIy. nm
sobtrusiyely, purchased . quantitT of
AOur. pork and tea. paid for the Same In
gold dust, and went ont about his bust
ness. He repeated his. visits at different
intervals, perhaps some half q dozen
times. before he attracted INV attention
10 anything peculiar in his appearance.
and then Il sl1o,lId have been at = loss q,
say what saw more in him at last than
at first.
He was apparently about twenty-five
years of ace. OF medium height and
slender figure. Of . SlarA completion.
regular features. with darlx. r.trai11at hair,
dark eyes, and o beard that coyered The
lower part of his faca-jan all of which
there was nothing remarkable nothing