East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-08-09
IN EARLIER DAYS

(By Fred Lockley in Oregon Journal)
"A little over year ago four of us
sat down to a game of cards. Our
combined age was over 500 years"
said Jesse Failing at his home in Pen
dleton. Mrs. X. S. Munra. my wife
and myself were three of the party
and Mrs. A. NJ Raley. who died few
days ago, was the fourth member.
81 will be SO on the 25th of next
September"
And / will be So" said Mrs. Mum
ra. "And what shall be do not in
tend to tell" Mrs Failing remarked.
When a man gets over 60" said
Mr.. Failing, "he Judges on his age. He
begins to believe he is getting old. but
when he gets to be IS he begins to
be proud of his age and won't trim
a day off 1 was born in Wayne
county, New York, in 1920.
"Col Vanderbilt, shortly after the
discovery of gold in California, estab-
lished lien of steamers by way of
Nicaragua. I came down to look over
his system. We towed a small vessel
down from New York city. We went
aboard the small vessel, sailed up the
river and across Nicaragua lake.
Crossed the ridge on backbone of the
isthmus, a distance of about IL miles
and took a boat on the other side.
Vanderbilt did not go with us to San
Francisco. He was at that time tall,
well built and athletic looking. He
was very affable and was very pop
ular with the passengers and the men
aboard the boat I never have grudg-
ed him his success or his money. He
deserved success.
when I got to San Francisco in
November, 1851, I was broke l at
once began work at my trade as a
carpenter and made from SO to SIS
day AS soon as 1 had a few hun
dred dollars / bought an outfit and
went up into Placer county. 1 stop
per at Auburn. All of the work was
being done in that district by rockers
or long toms. 1 put in the first sluice
box in that section.
Some days l would take out a
hundred dollars and some times it
would take me pretty near hundred
days to take out one dollar"
How much did you average to
make a day?"
well, take it all through I didn't
average anything a day. When the
dirt would be rich we would be short
of water and when we had spent
months putting in a flume our pay
dirt would play out.
fIx-haraHrnr 7 o+ ,ioi, r,
would fall back on carpenter work
to get a new stake. 1t was a constant
chase of a streak of fat and a streak
of lean for the eight years | put in
mining in California In 1858 l was
! in Weaverville, California. A few of
US got an outfit together and started
on horseback for Fraser River, Brit
ish Columbia. Each of US had a
saddle horse and two pack horses 1t
| took us II days of steady travel to
get to the British Columbia mines.
For a while / took out over a
hundred a day and then for a change
it cost me two dollars for each dollar
took out. took out about $4,000
in little over two months. We min
ed from Bulge river almost to Canal
| river.
-Four Of us were in camp near
Canal river. An old Indian came n
to camp and told US one days trip
across the divide we would strike a
stream where lots Of white rock was
in sight. We decided II was quartz.
so two Of our party started at noon
| for the place. 1t was late in the fall
They camped at the summit Of the
| ridge. which was about l2 miles from
| our camp. That night snow fell about
six inches deep. They held coun-
ell next morning to decide whether to
go on IL miles. to Williams creek,
where the Indians had told them the
quartz was. or TO go back ~ miles to
our camp. They decided to go back