The San Francisco call., 1897-08-22

hard miles Ior flour and beans. How much
gold they got and what they did with it
nobody ever knew. In winter they kept
housed up or got about with snowshoes on
the heavy SHOWS OF that high altitude.
Those twenty-five years saw their hair
turn gray and their joints stiffen.
A month or so ago Magnenati fell sick
and his old partner nursed and doctored
him as best he could. Then death en-.
tered the old ca bin and George went up to
the Nash mine and told the boys. The
funeral occurred week ago Sunday. No
preacher ever got away back on Union
Creek near the summit of the Salmon
range and when an old miner dies in the
mountains Of Trinity there is seldom a
striving of his soul. Pierre seemed cold
about it, and the men at the Nash hy-
draulic mine, thinking that the death of
his lifelong partner ought to make him
sorry, made hard remarks about his stony
old heart. But rough boards for, box
were sawed and packed down to the cabin
on mule, and that Sunday forenoon Sup
erintendent Maitland, Storekeeper Mac
Ilwaine, Foreman McManus and lot of
the men went down. They had dug a
grave on the claim of the deceased across
the creek where there was a fairly level
place, safe from spring floods and with six
feet of gravel above bedrock. A little
pine tree was cut and trimmed and 10 this
the box and the dead were slung. Four of
the pallbearers carried the burden and
others steadied it from the side as all
waded carefully across the bowlder- filled
creek. The three big men present and the
rest of the attendants on the obsequies
walked across on little log that spanned
the small but noisy stream.
When they were tying the box to the
Young pine tree old Pierre's stony heart
gave way, and he sat down on rock as
the tears came forth. He was soon calm
again, and he went along behind the rest
to the log. Then the stony hearted old
man turned and without word lie put
back into the cabin. They went on with
the burden over the rough short way to
the shaft that was not dug for gold, and
there the box rested deep amid the gold
that the old man was sluicing for when
the stream of life ceased flowing.
The funeral ceremony followed. Mr..
Macllwalne made few well-chosen and
appropriate remarks. He is an intelligent
and warm hearted young man who lived
in San Francisco, but who has been among
the miners for several years. 1t has been
Mr.. MacIlwaines lot to conduct the fu-
neral services of several departed miners
in the mountains, his culture and his
grace and readiness OF speech having
made him by all odds the one for the min
istration in each case.
Mr. MacIlwaine delivered his address
there amid the pines, and the boys lis
tened respectfully. He said something
nice about death, and of the deceased it
was rightly said that he was type of
those hardy and industrious pioneers to
whom the Golden State owes it's prosper
ity. Mr.. MacIlwane had prepared few
appropriate words in view of the presence
OF the mourner. and though the latter was
down in the cabin they were delivered
anyway. and the boys heard that~the de-
ceased was more than a brother 10 the
partner he had left behind. 1t was stones
and not clods that fell loudly on the box
without disturbing anybody, and then it
was all over, except IN the cabin, where
rough bunk held but one.
When Pierre came around during the
next few days, calm as before, he was i'm
pertinentIy asked what Magnenati did
with his gold. Pierre said that he had
buried it and didn't tell where it was be-
fore he died. Perhaps and perhaps.
Maybe George rightly thought that it was
none OF their business. j. 0. DENNY.