Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-02-22

n III MAa Of California
w IA warm,
w II ~ steady, contin-
w ~Ck uous drizzle.
The red earth
is soft and soppy. It mires to the ankles.
The dark green Of the chaparral on the
hill sides seems today almost black. The
hue Of the river by my cabin door is yel-
lower than ever. The water mark IL
three feet higher than last night, and IL
crecps upward every hour. Over the
mountain crags yonder white sheets Of
foam are tumbling where none has been
seen before for many months This Is an
enforced day Of rest. have finished my
breakfast and sit down for few min
utes in keen enjoyment of idleness.
There is q ceaseless patter of raindrops
on the cabin roof The river roars loud
er than ever over the rifle close by.
That roar is the first sound hear In the
morning and the last ut night. II has
roared thus for me these three years. In
one sense OF time s duration they seem AZ
three hundred years; in another, they
seem not much over three months. tits
three months when I think only of the
date Of my arrival on Frazier's fat. II
h three hundred years as attempt to
recall the daily round Of experience and
thought since came here. Outwardly
It has been what many would consider
monotonous experience. Weeks have
been SO much alike that they leave no
distinguishing marks in my memory.
Iwonder how many years more shall
spend here. wonder II must live and
die here. lam no nearer fortune than
three years ago, not 30 near by three
years. seem more and more chained
down here by force of habit. / seem fit
for little else but to dig. ] long to see
something Of the great world beyond
this lone foothill nook. Yet without
money ! feel less and less capable of go.
ing out and getting on" in that world
And as for saving honeywell, we call
this three dollar claim" which means
m average daily profit, when all ex.
penses are paid, of two dollars, more or
less. These thoughts are making il as
gloomy within as the weather is with
out. ] must get out of this. My gray
flannel working shirt needs mending.
The right sleeve is ripped from wrist to
elbow. II has been 30 ripped for about
ak weeks. / have rolled that wet sleeve
up to the elbow about hundred times a
day, and at every tenth stroke Of the
pick It has nnrolled again and tapped In
my face. sew up the sleeve with a
very large needle and very coarse
thread doubled. This is good time to
clean up little. ! will be domestic to.
day. will bake fresh batch of bread
and mako pie. 1t shall be mince pie
We are ten miles from the nearest bakers
mince pie. 1t shall be made of salt beef
previously soaked to freshness, dried ap-
pies, molasses, and vinegar in lieu OF
cider. The crust roll out with junk
bottle on a smooth, fiat board. bake it
on shallow tin plate. 1t will be, when
done. thin, wafery pie; but it will be a
pie-the shadow OF pie at least--such
as used TO eat at home; only shadow.
Rain, rain, rain. The wind is up and
about too, tearing around among the
trees and sinking the cloth roof OF my
cabin. Here and there little trickles of
water are coming through and running
down the logs. Mine is log cabin of
the toughest make. Four logs piled
atop OF each other form the sides. A
mud chimney at one end; door at the
other. The logs are very dry and very
rotten, and abound in those insects that
: delight in rotten wood. l have found
scorpions under the bark and occasion.
ally an earwig promenades over the
table. l open the door and look out on
the river. 1t is rising. Wrecks are COM
Ing down-boards, logs, lumber and an
occasional sluice and pieces of huming.
There is an eddy around the turn of the
hill above, where much of this drift runs
in repair thither and make few
hanls. secure half dozen good boards,
some pieces of joist, some driftwood for
fuel, and pile it up on the bank out of
the swelling waters reach. "Halloa"
That cry is from couple of men on the
other side Of the river, plodding down
the trail in oilskins. know them. Two
OF ~ "boys" from Poverty bar. They
are going to Prices store, two miles be-
iow-store, grogshop, boarding house,
polling booth at election, ferry, etc. Being
Q rainy day they are going there to get
drunk. That is not their ayowed pur-
pose on setting out, but it's as near GER
tainty as anything can be in this world.
] return TO my cabin. The pie has
baked. 1t is browner than had intend.
ed 1t should be, On one side it is almost
black. 1t is ornamented about the rim
with row of scollops made by pressure
Of the thumb. Now put in the bread,
previously mixed and kneaded. l am
not Q good breadnaker. II is always
bread too much baked or too little, or
100 sour or too yellow, or too heavy.
But don't care. l bake only for my.
eeIf. and ! am unfortunately too easily
pleased, and probably TOO lazy to take
that care and elaborate preparation nee
essary for good bread. Inever measure
accurately the proportions Of flour,
water and yeast powder necessary for
good bread. throw them together at
random. It's "hit or rmiss"-generally
miss- It's too much trouble to bother
about these small details. A particular
friend OF mine who stayed with me a
lew days reproved me for the poor quail
~ OF my bread and the general sloven-
Ails.
You have no PRIDE" said he.
Qrkst up What was the use Of
pfide about n tin kettle. This friend was
NY hacker. lie had set me up ON this
claim. and put me. after fashion, on
ny feet He had come to see how was
getting along. While on this visit. a man
~ some standing from camp up the
river came along looking for stray COW.
Nv friend asked him 10 ainner-one ~