Year: 1860

watching it etefy dag for some time, and had
only refraned froh. informing them of his pur-
pose froIii his fear 81 being laughed at, they
were at length coneinced and followed him in
high spirits to the spot, They found the deer
dead enough, FIR he was literally split open from
one end to the other, and his bowels lay strewing
his tracks from the blood reeking trap to where
h- lay. This trap was made by driving stout
sprngy pole of some six feet in length, into the
ground and lashing bowie-knife fast in a split
in the end, in such manner to stand point
upward when the pole was bent down near the
grotind. The end of the spring-pole when bent
down, to set the trap, hooked under cross bar
eithor end of which bar lay in the notch of
stake. Now. this machine being placed in the
path used by deer in coming TO the water. no
sooner do they strike their knees against the
bar-which is placed across the path just little
too high to be easily stepped ovcr-than out it
flies and up comes the spring. driving tho bowie
knife to the hilt in the animals breast-the dear
OF course bounds forward on feeling the steel
and the spring presses the knife home with
out mercy, is thus completely split through. To
this trap. of their own invention, they gave the
name of ''the bloody Internal: :" and. indeed
they soon had cause to feel that it was rightly
named, for in setting it one day, shortly after
killing the deer, ore of the men had stopped
down 70 fasten some large. green leaves on the
.nife TO hide its glitter. when of n sudden the
spring few ut and drove the knife through the
fesh Of his arm iuhicting ghasty wound.


On getting .he deer, they again thought of
trying TO make their escape from .Ae yal!eyf
thinking their -four and what jerked vcnison
they could take with them would furnish ample
food to carry them beyond the desert. But the
wounded man unf; to start Immediately and,
besides, they could neser agree on the course to
be taken. Two were for going east to salt Lake
where they had wintercd the previous winter,
and which they supposed to be ncarcf than Cal
ifornia, while the other insisted on going west to
stfike the Sieffa Ncfsda So day after day
passed away and their supply Of vcnison was
exhauetee, for they could never bring themselves
to cat frogs while thefe was iehison in the larder,
and they had Supposed thcif trap would furnish
them with an abundance of meat: bit in this
they We're sorely disappointed, as they never
could manage 10 catch another deer, set The trap
where they would.


Their time was spent in catching frogs and
fish, and in climbing about among the hills dt
ring the day. and Mt night in rehearsing to each
other the story of their lives md bewail;ng their
lot. Their clothes were daily becoming more
tl.readbarc and tattered and they feared whe,
winter set in they would perish from cold they
concluded TO uncover thoir dead companions and
strip their bodies, bot dreading the shocking
tssA DELAYED il from time to time. Their hut
too. they found very uncomfortable during rainy
weather. for there fell showers Of rain every few
days. Mists would gather sbout the SUBMITS
Of the peaks and descend in showers upon the
valley when not cloud was to be seen in any
other part af the heavens. They talked of build
ing hnt Of stone and roofing it with bark and
of making other improvements. yet delayed
thinking to leave the valley, and still neither
iett nor bullt-they were waiting they knew not
for what One day one of the men climbed high
up on one of the mountains and looking west
ward thought he could see snow on the submits
/ of far of range of mourtains. On reaching
home he told his comrades what he had seen and
the next day two Of them went as high up a.
they could climb on the mountain and after ga
zing long concluded what they saw could be
nothing else but snow. and that the mountains
were either the Sierras or spur from them and
Immediately determined to make the attempt to
reach them.


Oh returning to their friend. whom they had lef
ut home on account Of his wounded arm being
yet painful he came running out to meet them
with his hands full of What he supposed to be
gold. Neither of them had ever seen gold in its
virgin state. but all immediately agreed that the
shining Jumps couli be nothing else. He ex-
lAined, that en- his comrades leating him he had
sauntcrcd off among the hills and becoming
thirsty threw himself down at n ravire TO drink
and, 10 the holes aud crew ICES of The rock. which
the ,wftaess Of the stream had swep; bare, were





and hastily gathering handful Of the slisten-
ing metal hurried to the hut to await the return
/ of his friends TO inform them Of his discovery.
They now went to gathering gold, taking in
the gravel Of the dry gulchcs and picking il
from The cfevices of the rocks. and in few
days had forty pounds each, and could easily
have gathered much mnrs. hut had all thev
dare venture TO carry. They were now deterin-
| lnea to get out Of the valley, for they thought
lhey might a. well die on the desert as to stav
"here they and endure the torture of hav-
ing thousands Of money and no wav to spend it.
They Immediately set about preparing provis-
ions for the journey: two went to catching fish
and frogs to dry in the smoke to serve for meat
while one was to bake their bread. On getting
out their -four from the hollow log they found a
great deal DESTROYED nv mice. which loss they
greatly lameotcd as it had been their main de-
pendance. When they canic 70 prepare their
bread they were sorelv puzzled from the want of
n proper vessel in which to mix it, However
the difficulty was ovcrconie nv using an old wool
hat for Il dough trough: and the baking was done
hy sticking the cake to a fist stone and standing
It before the fire. Having baked their bread
and dried quantity Of frors. nothing now re-
manned to do but venture forth on the desert
( They determined starting in the evening as
by so doing they would he we'll on their way
across the sandy waste bef r, the heat of the





Trey had tried in vain to make a bag or bot
tie of the skin Of the deer to bold water, hut all
they made w-re useless. and thew llmented their
short-sightedness in not stripping off the skin
entire from its legs. as thus thry would have had
inst what they wanted to hold water for their
Journey. However their bottles were handy for
holding their gold; and one of the BAGS ans
weTed as n sort Of mOccAsir for one of the men
y plare of his boot. which being found water
tirht. they had taken for canteen. Before
starting they visited. for the last time. the spot
where thev had buried their friends and added
few more stones to the pile already heaped over
them and stuck few cuttings Of willow about
their tomb, which was all they could do for them.
An hour before sundown they left their hut and
started across the valley to the west aftcr haltinr
to look back on the meadows. and groves and
brooks. and at sunset stood on the rim of their
valley. Before them lay the silent and dreary
dasert. behind. enivan-d hv the evening notes
Of numerous singing birds. the grassy knolls.
shady groves, and rills and fountains of what
was once. but now no longer 10 be. their o,rn
valley. Two were for returning and ending
their lives in the valley. declaring they would
s'av where they could at least have water
Their companion urged them to he men. to pluck
mn courage and not he frightened Mt desert
plain which they could cross in day OF two
perhaps. But they only begged the for
him to remain. They threw their gold at his
feet. Offering it ell to him if he would only con-
sent to return. not thinking in their earnestness
that what they thus offered him WAS should he
accept it. of no more value than the rocks about
them At last. by representing the danger of