Year: 1871

L
fess to an overwhelming curiosity concern
ing that marriage Why, in the States he
was considered an inVeterate bachelor.
Somehow he never cared to 90 round wi tn
the girls as the rest of us did but always
took his mother everywhere and waited
upon her as though she had been queen of
England. All the girls liked him, and if
he ever ventured where they were, they
would fiutter round him, but it was plain
that he never gave them second thought


1 His mother used to say. If my son
ever marries, twill be very superior wo-
man, quite different from the girls one Or
dinarily meets.


When we heard at home that he was
married, the girls said, little spitefully,
| reckon, There must be one wonderful
woman in California, and they hoped she
would be superior enough to teach the
old bachelor u lesson OF two. How Is it ?
Is She likely to


Well, there's more to her than you'd
think at first sight. She must be real good
herself or she never would have appre-
cateG our friend. lie is solid and sub
stautial but not very SNOWY. I've known
him intimately for years, and never knew





serves his good luck, and [ will own it
though to be honest I wanted that woman
for nv wife, and have not reached point
yet where [ can take much pleasure in
thinking of the wedding. Come over here
under the trees, and I'll tell you how it
came about but you'd better not let on
you know it, for It's a sort Of understood
thing that we are to keep it on the square,
and its rather tender subject with US
boys.


1t was the summer Of 90, we lived
over tho canon | was telling you about
there were thirty Of as in the gang and
we had four cabins, with stOrehouse, which
we're public property We worked hard
through the week, and on Sundays did our
washing ana brought our house work up a
little I suppose we should be called
hard set, but we were not any rOugher than
men generally who get a living by them
selves for year or two.


Eight of Ill., campcd together and each
0f us had as distinct an individuality as
though we represented different nations.
Somehow or other we had acquired sob
riguet which was acknowledged to be
characteristic, and we were called BY it in
camp to the complete ignoring Of our real
names.


There was Hal Winterton. Southern
cr. and fierce secessionist, wc called him
-outh Carolina Dave Austin, a Con-
necticut man and regular sell, we called
him Nutmeg Dandie stuck to Char
lie Chaplin. for he was a regular fog. Then
there was Ned Simpson, a regular Aunt
Bef~y-y0u'd know his name at the first
glimpse without my saying a word Otis
Allen would faint If be jammed his finger
" had a sight Of blood. lie was Our
Baby Jack Cummings was wag, and
be certainly deserved his cognomen- Jack
the Wicked. Jim Woodruff was known
all over the country by the apPeilation Of
Judge and your humble servant, from his
black eyes, swarthy complexion, and jctty
locks. perhaps something too, in nay man
ncr was, styled 'SenOr-


Well. we were good-natured set OF
fellows, always making allowances Tor each
others peculiarities, and never having any |
friction in the camp Sometimes | used /
to think.we ioked Aunt Betty and Our /
BABY rather numerically, but a word
from our Judge would straighten at
once


Ii one wa4 sick. wc all took turn /
about in nursing and watching, but the /
judge was one that knew Just what to do, /
aud was always near to do it. Tender and |
patient as "a woman, we all hOnored him, /
and held him little higher in our estima-
tion than we did any one else in the camp. 1


l forgot 20 tell you that month be /
fore. and when Dandy and Aunt Betty /
were not Of our number, we had IN their /
place Will browning, who was equal TO two
men. any day. Good to work and good to
play. as smart as need be, and true to the /
core. think most any Of Us would have /
been glad to have gone with VIII over the
mountains, but he said No, stay where |
you are, boys you are doing well, and If
/ find anything better, / will let you know |
at once. Then come al, hands of you, and |
it will be jolly time when we get togeth-
cr again


You know it wasn't the pIeasantest |
travelling in the world to get around two !
two years ago.


We hadn't heard Il word from VIII, F..
though he had been gone a long time.
Several letters had come for him, but Of
course We couldn't forward them, having |
no idea of his whereabouts, and we had |
come to the conclusion that he would walk
in ,.ou us some time dead broke and cured
Of his rowing disposition We had finished |
work one day, and supped off three BIS,
as we called our beans and bacon and
bread the table stood Just where we had
left ID. for YOU know that miners are not
very tastidious in their notions. We were
sitting on a long bench which reached
across the end of our rude cabin, talking
over our days work, and speculating on
what the boys were doing over to the
left side Of Us, when all at once young
woman stood right in our cabin door.


Now woman in those days was "a
curiosity among bucks here among the
hills. and there were men in our camp who
hadn't set eyes on one for better than two
years. She stood still, Just looking at us.
1 Gou't know what the rest thought but
Aunt Betty said afterward, that II seemed
like warnin' to some OF US, and he was
wondering whose time had come. The
Judge sat on the edge OF the bench, and he
arose and took eff his hat. One after
another followed his example slowly, each
one getting up in turn and taking off his
hat


We must have looked comical, for we
all had on wooden shirts, our sleeves were
rolled up, and our collars turned back.
Our pants were tied about our waists, and
tucked III no very careful manner into our
rubber bOOt-legs Add to our costume eight
faces unshaven and unshOrn for weeks and
you catch some idea Of our general appear
ance.


The pale light Of our sputtering candle