The record-union., 1894-01-26
A PACKERS TALES OF '49.

did not tarry to ascertain the full extent
of discovery, the auriierous wealth ana
splendor of which subsequently dazzled
motley hundreds of pairs of Mexican, In
dian, Caucasian and even Ethiopian eyes.
A loathsome cutaneous affection.
brought on by the use of limited range OF
food and commonly called scurvy, had
broken out among the little isolated band
OF self-exiled adyenturers. Its appear
ance was the signal for q general cry OF
anguish and DESPAIR. With all the ceier-
ity which humanity or the love of lucre
could suggest, l therefore gathered up
my mules and struck out for san Jose. L
left the miners sunk in gloom and de-
spondency. l returned to clear away the
hanging pail of impending danger from
the prevailing distemper with sixteen
mules, each 10 AIDED with 800 pounds OF
potatoes.
was hailed not only with delight but
with a rattling hailstorm OF grinning
nuggets of every conceivable size and
shape from a ten-pound nest-egg down
TO a S50-slug.
i touched the potatoes of at dollar
pound. but they disappeared SO rapidly
at this price that, under the speciOus pre-
10 y. / bought the potatoes at Ia cents
pound near San Jose, with the privilege
OF digging them myself or of leaving
them III the ground. just as 1 chose. But
i lost four mules valued at $500 on that
trip, and my net profit amounted to only
about 81, Zoo. | valued my mules at 500
apiece, because l never sold mule Tor
less than that amount. frequently
bought mules from y-lOOklng ''eInl-
Sf5 ND
only available collateral was mule meat,
but in such cases the price of mule
tuctuated between SO and 800, according
to the quality OF the mule and the tout
ensemble of its rider. By continued
acquisition of this character L gradually
augmented the numerical strength OF
my train, until, when l sold out, in the
spring OF 80, / could give bill Of sale
Tor thirty-nine mules and a saddle-horse,
a single file of animals which, when
strung out over crooked, rocky trail,
covered distance OF nearly quarter Of
a mile and bore striking resemblance TO
a lengthy u eXican centipede.
There were no roads in those days, no
taverns, and such trails as [ came across
were as likely to lead into the dark lair OF
some fierce old grizzly as into any other
inhabited spot. Hence l had to do con-
siderable guessing at times regarding the
proper course for ME TO pursue. 1t should
also be noted that in order to get to pper
Shirlocks l had to cross four rivers. be-
sides innumerable arrOyos-the Stanis-
laus, the Tuolumne, the Merced. and the
Mariposa; TO perforate murky jungles
and stream tangles of willows, vines and
wild roses; to push my way through un-
trodden forests and dense copse-Woods OF
sequOia gigantea; TO sklrmlsh around
amongst thickets and brakes of chaparral,
chimousel, manZanita and other varieties
of deer brush; to achieve the steep ascents
OF a peculiarly rugged and forbidding sec
ton OF the mountains; to Craze the edges
Of wreck-strewn precipices, and to camp
at night wherever in the virgin wilderness
nature had provided water and forage for
my mules
The venerable poet of the Sierras,
Joaquin Miller. with a copiousness and
felicity OF diction unknown to the COM
mon herd, has dilated with luxurious
amplitication upon some alleged peculi-
aritieS of the grizzly bear, the robin
Hood of the California forests.'' He
dwells at length upon the grizzly's in
stInctive mortal fear of fire. | am not
familiar with the character of the Oregon
grizzly, nor yet with that of that degen
crate and pusillanimous poltroon, the
modern California grizzly. But | speak
officially, nom the chair OF st. Peter,
when / declare that the grizzly of '49,
"
was moi only not afraid of fire, but, on
the contrary, given to hunting for it with
gay intrepidity. on three different occa-
SiOnS in the summer OF '49 | witnessed a
grizzly approach within a few feet OF
camp fire and remain there for several
minutes, serenely Indifferent to the fire,
as well as to every other circumjacent OBJ
ject, animate or inanimate.
Two OF these cases have already been
cited. The third occurred in a peaceful,
irriguous mountain dell, where, on ac-
count of the forage and superior ground
afforded by a scattering grove of huge
pine trees, had, with much internal sat
isfaction, concluded to pitch my camp
My mules had been turned loose with
bell mare" out Of hearing of which
they seldom wandered, and were feeding
on the mesa at some distance from camp.
Having dispatched our evening repast,
Jesus, my Mexican muleteer, my Yaqui
Indian and myself had spread our blank
cts on one side OF our campfire and lain
down TO rest when mOnstrouS grizzly
stroled up to the other side and began to
pick up and crunch the bones which we
had left on the ground from our venison
supper there, My rifle lay at my side,
but did not care TO provoke the vicissi-
tudes of fortune by chance shot at the
bulky, trucculent monster in the dark.
Consequently it finished its picking in
peace. When it took it's departure my
mules discovered it, and loudly snorting,
all stampeded TO point within few rods
of my.tire, where they punched in COM
pact circle. with their heels outward and
their heads together, prepared for active,
formidable defensive operations Woe
worth the day TO the grizzly that ventured
within range of that terrible circumfer-
ence. So thought our friend Bruin at
least, for he gave it a wide berth as he
g1r-ol fosA A4,frr ~,
The poets lucubration must, therefore,
be dismissed as a vain and idle compost
ton.
Did 1 see any antelope, or elk, or wild
horses in '49? Well, few-million of
the two former species and feW-million
of the latter. On the second day of my
second expedition out from Stockton in
the month of June, 1S49. I observed a
regiment of antelope marching along in
double file, with all the precision of vet
eran soldiers, over two miles in length.
Coyotes? Well, speaking of coyotes re-
minds me that you didn't have to hunt
for coyotes in those days-they hunted for
you. They followed me in packs of fif-
teen or twenty sometimes. At night 1
couldn't sleep for the internal din of their
incessant yelping and ululation. Spanish
cattle were too numerous TO be noticed at
all; but / distinctly remember the big
yultures that used to feed on their decom-
posed carcasses. Elk and antelope, far
from betraying any alarm or discompos-
ure at my presence in their favorite
haunts, approached my camp with ot1ic-
ious iDquisitiveness.
An error of fact in a previous paper
has located my traffic with village of
500 native Indians on the Stanislaus. Jt
took place on the Merced River, about
twenty-five miles from Cold Water Dig
gings. This village appeared to be kind
OF permanent headquarters for the In
dians OF that section. bat, though | had to
pass within four miles of it every trip.
was never molested. While trading with