Amador ledger., 1910-05-27

its way in a labrynthne course over
ridges, across flats, and past farmhouses
scattered like birds through this noun
famous country,
An hour brought us to the world famous
town of Coloma, where Marshall discov-
cred gold in the old mill tailrace in l848.
The town of pioneer days has tumbled to
ruins. A few old houses, torn and dilap-
dated stand as the decaying relics OF
bygone days, when cosmopolitan popu-
lation coming from all points of the COM
pass trod its streets.
Off to the left of the town few hun
dred Yards distant upon a low round
knoll stands Marshall monument. The
statue stands in solitude facing the old
town, where the scorching sunshine OF
summer strikes upon it, aud the winter
winds whistle mournfullv around the
image of the man who in spirit has
passed to that bourne from whence no
traveller returns. He stands in slightly
stopping posture holding in his left hand
an image of nuggets and pointing with
his long attenuted finger to the gold he
seems to be excited over. AS look
upon him a reflection comes over me.
Here is only the image of the man that
stands as sentinel overlooking the Amer
ican river and the historic town that has
gone to decay. Suffer, the handspring
Of all this discovery, has long Since
crossed ]he divide. The pioneers have
wlted into significance. A few years
more all Of them will be thing of the
past Then only can the native sons and
daughters look to the monument as
relic of all this primitive greatness that
has swept into all everlasting past.
In this town McFiee was hung, who
had killed, according to his dying state
ment upon the scaffold, II men. Here,
too, Jeremiah f. Grain was hung for
killing Susan Newingham, a young school
girl, one of his pupils, whom he was
madlv in love with, although he had
wife and two baby girls in his faraway
home in the east. He was a school tea
cher, and a man of more than ordinary
ability. If | remember rightly, Just
prior to the killing he was a candidate
on the Whig ticket for the legislature.
The stage stop here was of short dura-
tion, and soon we were whirling on our
way down the American river on toward
Lotus. This place is merely hamlet. 1t
might be named Store more appropriately
for there are two stores and not more
than half a dozen houses in sight Here
we got breakfast. The country from here
on is rough and mountainous generally
speaking. Like all other mountain coun-
try, It's interspersed with small plateaus
upon which are neat farm houses.
We are now nearing Pilot Hill, town
that is old and dying with the pioneers.
All around is their work of the PICK and
shovel. The graveyard on the little knoll
to the left doubtless claims some OF
those sturdy miners of more than half a
century ago. Here, too, girl. weak and
fragile, yet in her early teens, while
picking flowers witnessed a deadly COM
Killed the other. This was in the early
SOS.
The next place we came to was named
Cool. | suppose It was name in winter,
for the shale creeps from the soil in
MANY places. and in summer take it to
be a place a few degrees cooler than the
place we are told of in the Bible. Here
too, is the junction of the wagon road,
one leading to Auburn the other to
GEORGETOWN We changed stages here,
taking the one coming from Georgetown,
while the other returns to Placerville.
From Cool we descended the steep
mountain side that lies on the south
side of the middle fork of the American
river. AS we start down the grade the
glistening waters shine upon the surface
as a FURNISHED sheet of silver as il
winds its way, snakelike, through the
CANYONS below.
After a tedious ride we reach the ole
suspension bridge-the Oldest perhaps
in the state, for it has stood there ir
tact for more than half a century, UT
the grade now we 60 where the suburbs
of Auburn sit like ancient citadels upor
the mountain top.
now reproduce the Black Hand letters
written to my old-time friend while he
sat upon the jury verbatim ct literatim
The superscriptiOn upon the envelope