The record-union., 1894-01-06
4 PACKERS TALES OF '4s.

l. Z. Buggs.J 4 i''Pp0i' " ff''eSSoi
| arrived at Stockton with a train ot
:. ni'eeh mules on the oath of May, 1919
naVlng left the interior of Mexico on the
ON OF March preceding, and accom-
pi!sned hazardous voyage of about 1,50C
miles on mulebaclz in just eighty days.
Alter conquering the mighty Sierra
Madre, the treacherous Gulf and welter.
ing, Wateriess desert of Lower California,
AIound following the Pacific Coast north
"ard.to the mines a relaxing pastime.
Near the old Spanish settlement OF San
Juan L beheld wheat growing in Califor-
MA Tor the first time. In the Pajaro Val
ley wild oats grew in riotous exuberance,
overlapping mules and riders. At Pa
checo Pass, through which I crossed the
Coast Range into the San Joaquin Valley,
1 met Fremont and party coming out
from the mines.
From the summit of Pacheco Pass, at
the Identical spot where john Muir went
into transports of delight over the ravish-
Ing beauty of the landscape, first beheId
the valley of the san joaquin. But the
rich prospect OF Muir was TO me exalted
by twenty years. priority of view.
Through a rolling wilderness OF ira
glowing, yellow-howered plain, (which
like a cloth Of gold tlowered far away to
the north and SOUTH" while the choiring
OF birds, the droning OF wild bees. the
flashing of brilliant-hued butterflies and
devil o. darning- needles" the clear,
blue, sunny sky and the soft, velvety
feel of the air-alI conspired to foster the
illusion that L was fast coming to eIysan
fields where the choicest spirits only are
permitted to abide.
At length 1 waded out into the radiant
yellow sea of flowers on prosaic mule.
! was followed by fourteen others OF his
grotesque species. bearing pack-saddies
and packs, a faithful Mexican muleteer
named Jesus, fugitive criminal Ameri-
can gambler whom l had assisted to
leave Mexico. haggard-looking Yaqui
Indian whom had picked up near the
Volcano de las Virgines, in Lower Cali
fornia.
Out some distance l lost my bearings.
The sluggishness of the water in the
sloughs that | came across aggravated the
perplexity OF my ruminations as to which
way lay toward the river, and L came
near not finding the river at all. Having
found it, however, L crossed it just above
its ju /;tion with the Merced swimming
my mules) on a ferry that was kept by
two men there, who, distinctly recollect,
had nothing TO eat except some mOldy old
hardtack, a small quantity OF which, for
It's weight in gold, L prevailed upon them
reluctantly to part with. AS | was
sampling section of this, wreaths of sea-
green bacteria rose buoyant from my
mouth at every bite. 1t was case of
dust for dust.
That night grizzly bear shuffied
through my camp, near the confluence of
the two rivers, just as was sitting down
to supper, and l wondered what kind OF
country il was had travelled so far to get
into.
At Stockton, then merely 'city of
cloth" loaded my train with miners
supplleS-tOolS, clothing, groceries, to-
bacco and whisky-fetched compass on
the mines, and struck out on my first
packing expedition.
In the hills along the Stanislaus River
came suddenly upon village of about
500 native Indians. | thought at first
there must be at least 5000 of them. But
il was too late for me to yaw around them,
for l was instantly discovered. There
fore | held a parley with their,chief, who
spoke some Spanish, made him a present
of a red flannel shirt, red handkerchief
and some other gewgaws, thereby
titillating his pride most voluptuously,
gained his friendship, and began to trade
with his people. AS soon as they all
found out that l would take gold-dust for
provisions, clothing and tobacco, every
buck, squaw and papoose in the village
hustled down to the river for the purpose
OF washing gold with their close-woven
baskets, on the sandbars there.
l did land Office business with these
Indians until the afternoon of the next
day, when | was warned that they were
treacherous, by two men who had been
sent out to procure supplies for the fam
ishing miners of Aqua triO, or Cold
Water Diggings, over on the upper Mari
posa. These men lone OF whom chanced
to be the gambler who had come with me
from Mexico and taken a cutoff for the
mines on FOOT, also informed me that the
miners Of Aqua Frio had plenty of gold,
which they would be only too glad to ex-
change for my supplies.
This was all l wanted to know. About
midnight Of that day [ quietly folded MY
tents and silently stole away.
Having arrived at Cold Water Dig
gings in Mariposa Mountains, not far
from the Mariposa River, | sold out my
entire stock at fabulous prices in one day.
The cheapest of my groceries went off
like hot cakes at dollar pound, while a
bottle OF whisky was seized with a rapt-
urous cry at Sl6. a pair OF shoes brought
an ounce OF dust, pair OF leather boots
two ounces, and pair of rubber boots
six ounces. Clothing and miners tools
Were grabbed up any price put on them.
The result was that l made over s., coo
profit on the trip, and started back post
haste TO get another stock at Stockton.
After that l made regular trips into the
Mariposa mines all through the summer
of '49. the winter of '49 and the spring OF
80. When Cold Water Diggings began
to play out / trailed old Shirlock over to
his hiding-place on the Mariposa, and, on
returning. announced the discovery OF
his digglngs. This announcement was
sufficient to move almost the entire popu-
lation of Cold Water Diggings over to
Shirlock's-
The astute Shirlock, cold blooded and
taciturn as he was, could not avoid COM
ing to my store at Cold Water Diggings
fer supplies but he had always main
tanned an impenetrable reserve in regard
to the location of his diggings, which
were suspected TO be Immensely rich,
and until took his trail, with my Yaqui
Indian for guide, he had succeeded in
battling every previous attempt to follow
him. 1t may be that, after all, his GUS
tomary vigilance had been allowed to re-
lax, since the miners who fiocked over
into his diggings were sorely chagrined
to find that the old reynard bad taken
the cream of the flat where he had been
working, and that, after accommodating a
prodigious bagful OF dust, he was cheer
fully willing TO relinquish it TO the new
corners.
In quest of better diggings, therefore,
/ pushed the dark frontier of placer min
ing on the Mariposa up to a fiat above
the falls of the river there. This flat,
which turned out to be amazingly rich,
was unfairly called Upper Shirlocks.
a