Year: 1878

DEAR JOURNAL Quite a number


of Billy Christiansen's old friends and


acqualntances assembled at Jake's last


wednesday to see him off for his old


nome and friends far away" and had


quite a nice little good time. There


were four or five from Douglas City, as


many from Weaverville, some from
Deadwood and not few of the imme


diate neighbors, making altogether s.


respectable little gathering. We had a
splendid dinner and l might add punish


ed not a little lager beer, wine, brandy
and whisky; yet nobody was the least
intoxicated that l could see. | have
my own ideas about when a man may


be considered drunk and will give them
right here. A man may take on Just
what he can haul at one load up Hill
as we'll as down hill and yet not be
drunk, but when his back action gets
so round that he cannot sit on it then
he's drunk-that is in my estimation.
l saw nothing to mar the happiness of
the little assemblsge except that occa
stoned by an old gray headed gopher
who had passed through Bill Nurnally's
and John Arms Administrations and
who had been irrigated from year to
year until he knew where water should
run and where it should not run better
than any rancher on Trinity river. This
smarty of gopher tapped the ditch
and let the water out on Mr.. Atterbury's
potato patch just exactly where it needed
irrigating the worst this so upset the
equilibrium of that gentleman that he
lett the feld in disgust swearing that he
never would work another day. But
on reconsidering the matter h gave it
up tina. Mr.. Gopher was correct and
went to work again.


This is the second man that l saw
off this week, and as | am in the bust
ness of seeing men start for. home am
ready to see any man off who wants to
go and will give me call. Bet your
bottom dollar they will all be back in
The course of time. | learn that Andy
Ross and family are coming back this
Fall. There Is something so fascinating
about this county that mon cannot stay
away. What it is l cannot tell went
through it myself once and yet don't
know.


The ranchers in and about Lewiston
have fine crops, perhaps never better.
Jake has put up very fine and large
barn and is now bringing to completion
nm addition to his house which, when
will be as fine a job of
work as tho county can boast of. The
work on the barn and house is done by
Mr.. Hamilton, probably one OF the
neatest and finest worImen in Northern
California. AS 20 my own little ranch
ing think | am doing remarkably
we'll have grown pole beans out of
bunch beans, simply by irrigation
Now | charge nothing for this great
secret, but will not agree to furnish the |
water as it takes lots of it.


l get so Internal lonesome by myself
that | could bite crow-bar to pieces
at times. Am in the habit of going to
bed before the sun does and last night |
had the blues so bad | could not sleep;
got up and got supper in the night and
then resorted to the plpo to make me
sleep, bat il was no go. Then thought
l would sing some and try that, so | |
struck out:


ooh 1 should like to marry


If | could only ind"


when the thought came over me, who |
did l want to find who in the devil |
was looking for anyway ? 1t occurred /.
to me that


healthy, wealthy widow


Who was completely blind"
would be awful nice, She could stay
At homo and enjoy health while |
could get up and got away with the
finances, wink and blink at the girls
and she could not see me. But then |
iobered down to the thought that as l
was living in the woods perhaps
square shouldered pin back who could |
an deer skins would fill the bill better.


About how are you situated for "yaller
ackets ?" They are thicker this season
on Rush Greek than the hemosquitos were
on the Humboldt in '52. Strike in the
,ir with sharp knife and you could see
-he blood drop. Am coming to Weaver
soon as | can procure TWO bits TO pay |