Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-09-17
Early California Miners.

Early California Miners.
Salt Lake City supplied II resting
place for the ArgOnants from the East,
and they La SO little confidence in the
success of their mission that ono OF
the m said that the sluice boxes which
they carried to wash the gold would,
in the event of ill-success, make first
class collins. They fell on strange fates,
and exile revealed to them unsupported
capacities. The lecturer was attended
at u restaurant by waiter who bore
strange resemblance to person he had
always admired as the model Of refined
good breeding. Not caring to wound
the feelings OF the waiter--who carried
:, revolver-Mr. Hurte had inquired OF
tie proprietor of the hotel whether the
waiter was not, in fact, a person who
in the East had filled much
higher position. The landlord con-
tirmed tho suspicion, and added that
his servants command Of language
often beguiled the visitor who was
waiting for plot delayed. The varied
capabilities OF these early emigrants de-
pended on their character; but what
their character was he had rather not
say. Some had left behind them wives
and families, some of them had left be-
hind them officers of the law, deplor-
ing their absence. But their past was
no clew to their future. 1.-The boys
seem to have taken a fresh deal all
round" observed noted gambler to
Mr.. Harte; and the gambler was him
| self an illustration. He came of q
.1x,x pIr> 1,n.
cause they held such things too trifing
and amusing, but might, perhaps, have
been converted by the remark their
descendant made on rising with 1000
after ten minutes play. "To think
there is folks as believes that kcards is
u waste OF time!" In San Francisco in
those early days everybody played; and
when a gambler died at the table, and
three doctors who happened to be there
examined him and pronounced that the
cause of death was disease of the heart,
the coroner, who was accidentally
present, empaneled jury from the
other players, who returned verdict
in accordance with the evidence, and
went on with the game.
Female society was 30 scarce that
even a gratuitously ugly face was fol-
lowed by admirers. A married captains
wife was escorted home from ball by
every officer in the garrison, and OBJ.
served that now at length she under
stood the meaning of the expression
1.-The pleasure of your company"
When a baby cried ia the theater every
body shouted Encore!'
The miner lived wilder life upon
the hills. For clothes his chief reli-
ance was en- the meal-sack after it had
nourished his innermaD; his track was
marked with empty oyster-cans; he
met the native upon the common foot
ing Of beans. He was generous to a
fault. The sanitary" subscription,
by which North and South benefited
alike, was started in California bar.
at is rough on those poor fellows; /
am sorry for them" Glow much are
you sorry 2" -Four hundred dollars"
The next man gave 81 900; in half an
hour donations of $4,000 were tele-
graphed to Washington, and the total
subscription of California was $4,000
| 900 in gold. The miners were, above
all, faithful to their partners, and loved
them with a love passing that of women.
1t was dangerous to interfere in part
ners' quarrels, and once stranger at q
bar, who had not, so far as he knew,
given oifense to any person present.
suddenly found himself upon the floor
and tall Kentuckian standing over
him with his revolver out. When the
tall gentleman was courteously asked
for an explanation, he said: II amt
nething against the stranger myself,
but he said something asst now against
Quakers, end want him 70 understand
that my partner is Quaker and a
peaceful man."
The Argonauts were not prone to
sentimentalisms, although they knew
what homesickness was; and when they
dealt in sarcasm their inuendo was
grim and striking. Lynch law determ.
ined that horse-stealing should be
punished by death; but once jury
took several minutes after retiring to
consider their verdict, perhaps from
humanity, perhaps because there had,
in consequence of the rigor Of the law,
been great mortality among the male
population. The leader of the crowd
put his head into the jury-room and
said he did not wish to hurry the gen.
tlemen, but they wanted that room to
lay out the corpse in.-Bytt Harte's
London Lecture.
A recent improved receipt for pre-
serving plants with their natural col
ors is to dissolve one part of salicylic
acid in six hundred parts of alcohol,
heat the solution up to boiling point n
IN cvaporating vessel, aud draw the
plants slowly through it. Shake them
to get rid of any superfuous moisture,
aud then dry between sheets of blot
ting paper, under pressure, in the ordi-
nary manner. Too prolonged INNER
sion discolors violet flowers, and in all
cases the blotting paper must be fire.
quently renewed. The novelty appears
to be the salicylic acid.
Near Brandywine junction, Chester
county. Pennsylvania, IS a farm with
venerable mansion and barns, that has
been in the same family for nearly two
hundred years. The present owner
has i'll his possession the original title
deed signed by William Penn. This
is no doubt the only instance in this