The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1923-05-03
Journal OF
SA M u Il l. ID. A X n o L ID
or the lettings Of a
SKOWHEGAN GOLD HUNTER
on the Sacramento


Skowhcgan, Tuesday, April IL. 1907
and will be read with interest by many
Ekowhegan people, especially those
who remember Samuel d. Arnold and
his prominence locally. H. P. Pratt
was proprietor of The Press.
Feather River, Feb. %, 1852.
Friend Pratt:-When / left good
old Skowhegan. you requested me to
write you, and now / am In for 1t. XII
give you things in regular course:
arrived at San Francisco, on the eve
ming OF the eighth day Of JAM, 1852,
after a passage OF 81 days from New
York. found Mr.. s. and Mr.. X. In
the city and both in good health. On
the 18th day of Jan'y., l marched on
board a steamboat called-~--which
was I'D for the Red Bluffs, ESQ calledo
to sail the same evening. / was fortu-
nate enough to secure the Clerks
berth on said boat. Book and pencil
In hand, / might have been seen on
that day, stationed on Pacific Wharf,
for the purpose of receiving and enter
ing all such freight as might be Offer
ed. I was clerk of steamboat; decid-
edly so; and the way l tried to act
out Carpenter, or Wall, wasn't SLOW
/ felt that was in a fast country,
and must act out something. as real
" did, as you will learn, by and by,
II you read what | may write. The
time arrives, o'clock, p. NJ, the bell
tapped, all aboard, and now we are
Oh. Now we are crossing the bay OF
Gan francisco. in order to gain the
Sacramento river, which Is distant 40
miles. At 8 o'clk. the captain tells
me to order the cabin boy to ring up
the passengers, and settle the fares.
Ding dong, goes the bell, all passeng-
ers, &c, will please call at the clerks
ONCE and settle. l wish you to I'M
derstand, before going any further.
that I am the clerk Of the boat, and
that the clerks Office, is directly over
the boiler. Now a rush Is made for
that ONCE, by Jew, Gentle and all the
rest OF mankind Now l have 1t;
more tongues spoken than l ever
read Of; up steps Mexican; cant tell
what the fellow means, he looks at
me and talks very fast, and | look at
him: don't know what he Is talking
about. Pass him; now comes another,
and another; same fix; can't under
stand a word Now comes French
man, who tries to make me understand
somsthing by language, and gestures,
but he fails and goes OF mad. BY
this time had heard all the dead
languages spoken In and about the
clerks Office. become scared. and
decidedly swetty, and needed no more
evidence to satisfy me, that the boiler
was soon going to burst--hiss, hiss
break for the hurricane deck. and
then into the pilot house, where !
supposed the captain to be; l find and
tell him that its my opinion the boat
n going to blow up: he reckons there's
no. trouble. | tell him there Is trou-
ble:. that no man on earth, who Is
not perfcctly familiar with every
tongue under heaven, can settle with
His passengers. Confound your old
kissing boat, and passengers too.
Here Jim, take the wheel. I'll go
down and help the clerk; down we
10, I'm backed now. Now l pitch
into the Frenchman, and talk such
French Canadian language, as | learn
ed at Skowhcgan. know that no
live man can understand thing |
say. but the object is. draw game
aud l make 1t. The old Captain
understands a thing or two. and mat
tiers are soon fixed up. Now 1t Is
bed time. and | lock the door of the
clerks ONCE, and turn into the clerk
berth, should have devoted little
time (hiss, hiss) in thinking, (hiss
hiss,) Of the loved ones at home. be-
fore, (hiss,) going to (hiss. hissD
sleep, had 1t not befn for the hiss
ing OF the COMPOUNDED old boiler. The
windows to the Office being closed
tight, caused 1t to become very warm,
for one would lose his packn'fe
through the cracks on to the boiler,
in case he dropt II. Too hot, too
hot; I'll open the door. do SO; thatll
mover do; I'll be shot, stolen or starv-
I'd before morning. q have good
mind To resign, vacatc my office, and
no home and see my wife and child
FEN. / will. will. no I wont, yes,
yes-A-no, l wont. But some how or
other ! couldn't sleep sound,
thought matters all over relative to
inv situation. made up my mind
that one good qualification of a steam
ijoat clerk must be in early rising;
and tho't I'd begin with the beginning;
consequently turned out by o'clock,
AM, quite an unatural move in me;
hut I'm In California. On meeting
Cphurn In the morning, he inquired
Why l was up so early to which re-
plied, was reporter for the Peo-
,,lo's Press, and wished to survey the
hanks of the river. He didn't know
was smoked out by heat and Misses
Morning came. sabbath morning.
ana delightful one too, 1t was. l
station myself on the hurricane deck,
and am viewing the beautiful banks
with their vast and variegated seen
ery, MS we ascend the river. The
boat lands, freight goes on shore;
hear call for the clerk, and go
below NJ clerk. says the mate,
this gentleman wishes to settle his
freight bf,l. How much is the bill?
don't know sir, says I. I'll find the
cam: he'll tell you, The old cap'n
ii found, and ! ask him what there
IL to pay on the freight landed; he
looks at me with his two eyes, and