The Press., 1891-08-13

cH4 s$4#1S puOnca1lOn unI1l I was E& N1yIs twenty-nine years old. l
 A AFY ! wrote because l couldn't
 AI /. } help writing. found a
 iVED pleas ure in putting my thoughts on paper. It seemed an assist ance to thinking more clearly. We may think more things in sixty seconds than we can write out in sixty minutes. The time occupied in putting our thoughts down on paper seems as sort of gov ernor to regulate the outflow of our mental steam or idea. If you could do this without the aid of pen and ink to keep from thinking too fast you might live for hours in an extempore poem. fancy or fiction of your own.
 The first article ever had published appeared in the columns of The Union Democrat, of Sonora. Tuolumne county, Cal. It was an account of the yearly fall spree held by the river miners when the Tuolumme rose in it's wrath two months earlier than was expected five years out of six and swept away all our summers work, dams, fumes, wheels, sluices and other river mining machinery. It was not so much an account of the spree as of the results of it, and the feel ings, mental and physical, remorse and repentance, contrition and headache. re- alized the day after.
 The article struck a sympathetic chord throughout the entire county. Four fifths of the population had been there themselves.
 wrote this sketch one Sunday after noon under a big pine tree near my cabin. It was in a little gulch, and through the gulch flowed little brook A hundred yards distant the muddy cur rent of the Tuolumne roared and rushed and howled through the Willow Bar and over prosperous claim. .."x
 There came floating in its current a log or part of a Hume or sluice box or wreck of a water wheel, which the mad river tossed about as if in derision of mans puny work, and perhaps flung it on half submerged rock and crashed it to splinters. know not why, but the picture of the birthplace of my first article has remained firmly imprinted in my brain.
 For about three years between whiles of mining, prospecting, teaching school, running for office, featuring and organ izing gigantic mining enterprises, all of which perished prenaturely, wrote al most gratuitously for The Democrat over the signature of ''Dogberry." By that name 1 became pretty we'll known in Tuolumne and the adjoining counties.
 had no ambition to become known as writer. My highest aspiration was the possession of gold claim which would pay four or five dollars 8 day. AS such aspiration increased the daily income of such "diggings" as I took hold of diminished. At last such income de- scended to the scale of seventy-fve cents per diem. All my worldly goods were an old gun, saddle, pair of blankets, an enfeebled suit of clothes and trunk with abundant room for many things not in it. t...Es .'5
 At this crisis in the early fall of 1866 received an unexpected letter from Mr. Joseph Lawrence, publisher of The Col den Era, then the leading literary week ly paper of San Francisco, asking me to take place on it. To San Francisco went straightway, and a more forlorn, seedy specimen of literary impecuniosity never set foot in that city. MT. Law renee placed me at one of the leading hotels, were he lived, and by the agency of some fresh apparel made me in a measure presentable. felt very much out of place among the stylish people with whom found myself.
 However, filled my position on The Era, believe, aeceptably. It was only at certain times, with a pen in my hand, that felt raised above my average shabby, inassertive mental level. was called modest and retiring. That was not it at all. l was cowardly, and thought almost every one met who had pretentious air was ill some way to me unknown my superior.
 Bret Harte had then local California reputation. So had Mark Twain. Imet both of these gentlemen frequently in The Era office. Charles Warren Stod- dard, Ralph Keeler, who died so myste- riously in Cuba; Newell (Orpheus c. Kerr), Artemus Ward, Adah Menken and several other bright people were regular or occasional contributors to The Era. ..-
 remained on The Era about year. MT. Lawrence went to the eastern states. 1 left the paper soon after his departure, and sustained myself on a meager in- come by peddling my contributions to various papers I wrote good deal for The Dramatic Chronicle, theater pro- gramme sheet about as large as ban dana handkerchief, and the seedling on which it's publisher {Charles De Young) founded, in 1869 or 1870, the San Fran cisco Chronicle. De Young was always predicting that he would start great morning paper. Almost every one laughed at the idea. But one morning he did start it. Then they stopped laughing.
 One morning while correcting my proof in The Dramatic Chronicle com posing room the building commenced shaking. It shook and shook, and then shook harder. It generated general tendency on the part of the printers and editors to steer rapidly for the stairway. went with the rest, bringing up the rear. That was the great earthquake ot 1868. was the first to go back to the office. It looked as if it had been em- phatically, industriously and elaborately struck by lightning. In about three minutes afterward pale, scared com. positor put his head in the door. See. ing me, he exclaimed: "Great Goshl Did you stay here through it allE' In. advertently I said no. With more pres ence of mind I might have said, "yes," " and gained fine and feeting reputation for courage.
 In 1868 had call to edit The Stock ton Gazette, a Democratic campaign pa- per. I obeyed the call, ran the paper for five months. was well paid, but got tired of the job and retired to San Francisco,