Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-05-26

whole matter | was desperately In |
loye-that was a sole n fact expressed |
in as few words as possible-and | be- |
iieved that she loved me, but the top of
Mount Shasta was not more unattaina-
bic To me than Jennie. Her father, an
old Philadelphia druggist, had money,
and had none. He was proud as Luz
cifer, and as ambitious for his daughter
as he was proud. | felt that | could
move mountain if / could find a
mountain to move, so Jennie and | said
goodbye one afternoon under an old
oak in Paramount park, an in the very
depths Of my heart believed she would
be true to me. TWAS not seven days
ride in palace car from New York to
San Francisco those days, and the tall,
slender, hungry, pennies lad who
tramped along here twenty-nine years
ago, seeking his fortune like another
Dick Wilmington, was a weary and
home-sick one as well. !"
"Bv here, which you have twice
used, do YOU mean this veritatle valley
of the Sacramento ?" said Ruth.
'The very same Ny objective poini
vas place now famous in the annals
of that period, called 'Bidwell's Bar on
account of "A rich bar in the Feather
river, full Of golden sand. which was
| discovered by General Bidwell, The
place was many miles from me; the
country was sparsely settled | did not
know soul for even tramps We're
scarce in those early days and so my
courage and my legs gave out together.
| Pulling off my boots about five o'clock
one sutry day | barred my blistered
| feet to the cool evening breeze, and
creeping into clump of young MANI
anitzas, fell asleep, hoping that would
never again wake this side of the stars.
| / did however, conscious that my toes
were being licked in gentle fashion,
and discovered that it was being done by
n young brown setter dog, about as
hungry-loOking and generally dilapidat-
ed as ! was myself.
"Where he came from | never knew,
but looking into his half human eyes,
we speedily entered into a sort of dumb
compact to trudge on together found
that the poor fellow i never could call
him brute) had sore knee, intiamed
and bleeding. ! tore strip oil from
my last handkerchief to bind it up, and
in place of the Good Samartian's oil
and wine, gave him my last scrap of
cold bacon. 1t is strange, but forlorne
as was in those days, | recalled them
with tender pleasure almost unac-
countabe. If had been raised Brah
min, | would have believed that some
immortal spirit Of unfaling cheerful
ness and unending resources
was imprisoned in that dogs
body Did you ever read the fairy le-
gend of The White Cat who, after she
had persuaded the young prince, her
lover, to cut off her head and tail and
throw them in the fire, suddenly stood
before him woman, as fair as Aurora.
Fritz, for that was the name by which
| called the dog, looked at me with
Jennle's brown eyes, half roguish, half
thoughtful, and together we resumed
our Journey. Nor would | have follow
ed in the wake of the young prince,
even had | known the result would be
similar, for Fritz, the dog, was invalu-
able lust as he was. All consequences
was gone now that he rarely left my
side, and although our shadows had
grown less by the time we reached the
Bar our immaterial entities were in
prime order for anything in the shape
Of adventure. Have never seen any
gold dug Then I'll not at this late
day spoil your first impressions of a
miners camp by describing mine, as |
approached Bidwell's Bar. | may say
though that one might have supposed
, an earthquake or tornado had just been
ut work there, tearing up the hundreds
: l,F Of g,1l,I had
been moved and removed by mortal
hands in their frantic and persistent
search for gold.
{ The Bar was world in miniature.
p Almost every nationality was there
represented, and almost every feature
Of human kind but humanity. Armed
, with a pick, pan and shovel, |, Ike
hundreds of others, began to dig and
t burrow and wash dirt But my labor
; and its results would not balance, fol
t somehow my little leather bag of gold
' dust grew no heavier, toll as | would
| Wages being good stopped digging
Y and hired myself rs camp sculhon
5 | did every kind of jobhing within the
| range of miners wants Washing
y dirty flannel shifts and cotton overalls
. patching leather trousers and cooking
/ tlapiacks is not the most dignitied ano
Y tiower-strewn path to fortune, you
must know; and to a boy, whose idea
y of chivahy, independence and deeds o
9 knightlv valor were purely and intense
n " Byronic such a fate, you must &C
G knowledge, was a sort of poetic Ju'uce
4 Nv aim, though, was TO earn enough
r money with which to buy certain
| I I.,..,. th,t | "a Il