Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-06-28
THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW.
BY LYNN G. DOYLE.

so often by large, red, moss-grown rock
past which, though falling, it merely seen
to glide-handed down, as it were, frol
ledge to ledge, from rock to rock, froi
boulder to boulder, tongue of crysta
water falling, flowing on, almost without
murmur; where the valley of the stream
between mountain and mountain, lies oper
save for the willows and the wild roses tina
cluster thickly on either bank and JON
hands across the water; where the roa'
down the mountain side is rough ant
rocky, oyergrown with wild creepers anC
blocked here and there by fallen pine
and tangled briars, till it is well-nigh i'm
passable, even on foot; and where now al
is solitude and (save for the low murmu
of the water silence-there stood, only
few years ago, sawmlll.
Where now the bear and the elk com,
down to drink and the breaking twis
makes several echoes, there, only few
years ago, those rocks re-echoed to tn.
ring of the woodmans ak, the falling anc
rolling of heavy timber, the putting O
steam, and the hum of the circular saw.
And that is why, though countless pine.
hang dauntlessly out over the cliffs that
bound this great ravine, its floor is clear
of timber. A rough fence crosses the
neck below-it made pasture fol
the oxen. The tumble-down cabin and
the Enclosure within the stockade
around it were respectively the abode and
tha s.frf1nl- .,atpbt Of fhncn 10 xrb II
mill belonged.
Perhaps. some day, the solitude may again
be broken (and permanently by the ever
advancing flood of civilization. Perhaps,
even, some day, a busy and thriving town
may have sprung up in this now secluded
spot.
Some such thought as this, and others,
wagner and less-well defined, engendered
of the solitary grandeur of the scene and
tne glow Of a full, calm autumn day in
the rare mountain atmosphere passed
through my mind as / worked my way
slowly up the valley, making toward the
sawmill. l had come over from the camp
where | was living, about four miles dis
tant. | was bent on taking a holiday.
With rod and tackle | had followed up
the stream in search of mountain trout,
for | knew that here they abounded. Yet
although had cast my fly diligently into
every likely nook Of the stream and be-
hind every boulder in the current, / had
met with no better success than certain
fishermen of old had once obtained,
Though no doubt they were the better
craftsmen
Having come to clear place, where the
stream was not overgrown with briars, and
where it opened out into kind of basin of
considerable width, stood near the bank
and cast out over the water; meditated
and cast-cast and meditated. Never so
much as a rise"
Turning around with the sudden convic-
ton that in some myterious way the soli-
tude ofthe place had been invaded, came
face to face with an Indian He stood close
behind me, motionless, as no doubt he had
for some time been standing, watching me
fish, land fish in vain).
l had imbibed some of the local antipa-
thy for redskins, and it was in no way di-
unfinished by the crafty way in which this
particular one must have come upon me.
l asked myself what right he had to come
prying about me, with not so much as a
GLOW 2" And yet the mere fact that he
was a red man proclaimed that in reality he
had more right there than |. We looked
at each other for a moment, rather dubi-
ously on my part, quite impassively on his,
but as he was apparently not disposed to
break the silence, | turned to the stream
once more. We exchanged never word
and | went on with my fishing, casting
Justify over the water, now up stream, now
down; and he looked on as before Pres
emily, however, l was surprised by the re-
mark, dryly expressed, by my hitherto
silent friend:
"White man damn fool p'
In which sweeping category he, of
course included the whole white race and
me in particular.
Perhaps it was all the English he knew.
At any rate it was by actions alone, and
not by words, that he further explained
himself
Taking my rod Ga light split-cane) in his
hands, he shook it-and grinned. Now the
thoughts passing in an Indians mind must
be ocular indeed to bring such an express
sion to his stoical and impressive face.
And when he came to examine my arti-
felal fly, he went still further-he smiled.
A very huge joke indeed is required to
WIN red smile ] knew what was passing
within him; he was thinking that white
men must have very poor opinion of the
sagacity of trout. 1t may, or may not
(probably mott, have crossed his mind that
in our language the two words-fsh and
fool-are sometimes used anonymously.
Havirg Triple my fly from the hook Ia
proceeding which l submitted to, partly
out of admiration of his impertinence and
partly out of curiosity as 10 his next pro-
ceeding), he began to amuse me (perhaps
it was my turn) by jumping about in the
neighboring grass, like big, tanned over.
grown schoolboy, until he had captured .
grasshopper. Having impaled the unfor.
tuuste insect upon the hook, and taking
the line in his hand, he went few yards
lower down the stream; then, lying down
at fell length, he drew himself slowly and
cautiously to the brink, and lowered hi:
bait--close in, under the edge. In about
a minute he had secured fine fish. Sol
EMMY handing me the tackle land not tn,
trout, with the simple remark, "Injun Nc
damn fool, he as solemnly and roiselessly
withdrew altogether, and disappeared.
| had met with a man who, though red
ia N1iS SNi0hSS ASNoAN pays az AhiFVi tal
role.
Also | had gained my first practical ex
perience Of how to take mountain trout
And if you say it is not the way to tax,
trout, then must assure you that there i
as much difference between taking al
English and a mountain trout as there j
between catching European mole and
Yankee one.
As | wagged my head sagaciously owe
this very Identical distinction and differ
ence, passed on through a small patch c
willows tangled with creepers, round
bend of the ravine, and came out in yie1
Of the old sawmill and deserted hut. Blu
to nay surprise for l had been here ono
before, and quite lately, it was not de
serted. On the contrary, it had bee
transformed into decent dwelling. froI
the chimney of which smoke curled ~