The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1916-11-28


Of the body polite been consummated
than the rains began. That means
little to any but u Californian. To
him 1t means everything. We were
quite new to the climate and the con-
ditions. so that the whole thing was q
great surprise.
For four days 1t rained steadily.
The morning of the fifth day broke
dazzlingly clear. The sky looked bur
nished as a blue jewel; the sunlight
glittered like shimmering metal; dis
tant objects stood out plain cut, with
out atmosphere. For the first time we
felt encouraged to dare that awful
mud and so stopped over to town.
We found the place fairly drowned
out. No one In his first year thought
Of building for the weather. Barnes
hotel. the Empire and the Bella Union
had come through without shipping a
drop, for they had been erected by
men with experience in the California
climate, but almost everybody else had
been leaked upon a-plenty. And the
/ deep dust of the travel worn overland
! iOhu IuOEdbS DtJOuu
belief or description.
Our first intimation of a definite sea-
sonal change came from our old friend
Danny Randall, who hailed US at once
when he saw us picking our way GIN
gerly along the edge of the street. In
answer to his summons we entered
the Bella Union.
III hope you boys weren't quite
drowned out" he greeted us. "You
don't look particularly careworn."
We exchanged the appropriate COM
ments; then Danny came at once to
business.
snow I'm going to pay off you three
boys" he told the express messengers,
"and want to know what you want.
can give you the dust, or l can give
you an order on a San Francisco firm,
Just as you choose"
Express business busted?" asked
Johnny.
TITS quit for the season." Danny
Randall told him. "lille everything
else. In two weeks at most there
won't be score of men left In Italian
Bar" He observed our astOnished in
credulity, smiled and continued: "You
boys came from the east, where IL
rains and gets over 1t. But out here
1t doesn't get over It. Have you been
down to look at the river? No? Well,
you'd better take look. There'll be
no more bar mining done there for
awhile. And what's q mining camp
without mining? Go talk to the men
or '4S. They'll tell you. The season
is over, boys, until next spring, and
you may just as well make up your
minds to hike out now as later What
are you laughing at?" he asked Johnny.
Il was just thinking of our big Wig
ilante organization" lie chucllled.
IL suppose It's true that mighty few
of the same lot will ever get back to
Italian Bar" agreed Danny, but its
good thing for whatever community
they may hit next year"
Johnny and Old elected to take their
wages In dust. Cal decided on the or
der against the san Francisco firm
Then we wandered down to where we
could overlook the bar Itself.
The entire bed Of the river was filled
from rim to rim with IA rolling brown
1ood. The bars, sand spits, gravel
banks had all disappeared. Whole
trees bobbcd and sank and raised skel
eton arms or tangled roots as they
were swept along by the current or
caught back by the eddies, and under
meath the rour of the waters we heard
the duh runbling and crunchlng OF
powders rolled beneath the flood, a
crowd of men was watching In Idle
curiosity. We learned that all the era
dies and most Of the tools had been
lost and heard rumors OF cabins or
camps located too low having been
swept away.
That evening we held very serious
discussion of our prospects and plans.
Yank announced himself as fit to trav-
el and ready to do So provided he could
have horse. The express messengers
were out of job, l had lost all my
tools and was heartily tired of gold
washing, even had conditions permit
ted me to continue. Beside which we
ntiC oil iSNAhb i"Aeo iiNh H'A p''opN'
Gus. We had not made enormous for
tunes. as we had confidently antici.
pated when we left New York. but we
were all possessed of good sums Of
! money Yank had the least owing to
the fact that he had been robbed Of
his Porcupne river product and had
been compelled for nearly three months
to lie idle but even he could count on
a thousand dollars or SO sent out from
Hangmnn' GulCh had the most, for
my digging had paid me better than
had JOhnny's express riding. But much
OF my share belonged Of right to Tai.
bot Ward
Having once made up our minds ia
leave, we could not so too soon, A re-
vulslon seized as In two days the
high winds that Immediately spranp
up from the west had dried the sur
rlce moisture, We said goOdby to al
our friends Danny Randall, Dr Ran
kin, Barnes and the few miners will
whom we had become intimate. Dan
uy was even then himself preparinl
TO return TO Sonoma as soon as the