Year: 1873

GU away unueI INC serene SKY.


There was the ink blot of the unfinished
letter.


We were not to be frowned back, how
ever, by the difficulties which stood in our
way, and, after Il days rest, we again
took the California road, with the inten-
ton of following it for one day longer.


lhls brought us to point where, in all
probability, the party Of prospectors,
headed by the Wilson's. had borne off from
the beaten track into the chartless regions
Of the southeast


Even adopting this general direction as
the axis of exploration the field to be sur
veyed was hopelessly wide The Wilson
party undoubtedly made a considerable
departure from their intended course, in
order to avoid the actual theater of the
Indian war; but, with this solitary con
cession to prudence. must have sought to
reach that portion of the country which
both lumor and the geological outlines OF
the earth's surface indicated as gold-bear-
lng Careful inquiry had put us in pos
session OF these latter facts, and we, too,
turned to the southeast, but at no great
angle from the stage route.


Our progress was SLOW, torluous, and
at times unntterably difficult Hewing a
trail through woven thckets, scrambling
over miles OF fallen timber, lost in the
twilight Of labyrinthian canons, straining
toward the summit of some rocky divide
= here the summer sunshine burned
like a hame-across the turbulent rivers
and by the still margins of unknown lakes,
where the great frs shadowed themselves
IN sombre solitude, what road to for
tune


We We're generously armed and had
no great tear OF personal danger, for the
fierce tribes that had formerly hung upon
the footsteps Of the hunter and gold-dig-
Ger here, and had disputed the encroach-
mentS OF civilization in the bright valleys
lar out to our right had "ceased from
troubling'' long since. and were agricul-
turally cat rest upon government re-
serves


We knew, however, that . few unman-
agGabie bands had refused to accept the
arbitrament of Christian rifles, and were
still abroad somewhere-in their native
haunts-irom klamath to the sea-com-
hitting theft, arson, and an occasional
murder.


But our hears were fired by ''the ac-
cursed lust for gold" and we were not to
be deferred by idle fears. We were pos
1esscd OF spirit shat toll could not exer-
ciSe, nor peril queh.


Weary weeks had elapsed when, one
Guy, we reached the base Of a precipitous
cham Of mountains trending westward.
and directly IN our course. A few miles
to our left we found an accessible pass ;
PIT. surveying the range with our glass
tor 4 great distance on either side. could
see no other depression in its clear-cut
hue. This, then, was the only gateway
to the southeastern country beyond. and
through il the Wilson party must have
passed, without a doubt At the entrance
Of the pass we found the dim vestiges of
4 campfire, and began to hope that we
were right. Farther on we found an axe
bud been used here and there, and knew
that we We're in the footsteps Of white
men. Was it the Wilson trail


James Wilson, in his letters to Harper,
had spoken Of u lofty rock, bearing a rude
resemblance to IN hour-glass, at the base
of which was a mineral spring 1t was
there that the separation had occurred,
ana the main party turned back The
western peaks were crowned with sunset
cold, AMI our days marcia was nearly done,
when, uneNpectedlv, we halted before a
lofty bow lder, shaped like IN hour glass
and at its base, staining the rock over
wt."h It hnwed we found spring-bitte1
with mineral constituents.


BY that token the battle was half Won
and dismounting, we unpacked our tired
aud dissprted horses, and went into
camp tAr two days in order to gather
strength for the final struggle Then we
were again in the saddle, with our faces
Stl! to the southeast and toiing on. We
were in the region OF volcanic agonies-
OF fierce upheavals and lava floods. In
terminable difficulties rose before us, but
they were met with heroic resolution, and
finally overcome. Harper became moody
and ahstracted and the stress of sustain
ed anxiety had 50 worn upon my spirit
that even in slumber the troubles of the
day were repeated. The boundary be-
tween my sleeping and waking thoughts
ceased to be clearly defined, think, and
this abnormal condition OF the mind may
account for what is otherwise inexplicable
IN what | am about to relate


We had encamped tor the night and it
was near sunset. Harper. overcome by
fatigue lay asleep, with his head upon a
ron Of blankets. For the hundredth time
| had drawn the unfinished letter from my
pocket, and set with my back against the
tree, perusing it dreamlly Il lead
pencil which had fallen out in getting the
letter, also in my hand | remember
wishing that some spirit-hand would seize
the pencil and complete the letter, when,
to my infinite surprise shadow, like that
of 4 sudden twilight, fell upon all things
around | was somehow conscious of 4
preternatural presence. and looking up.
beheld, immediately in front of me. a
man. or shadow of man, tall and mus
cular, with 4 brown face and bushy beard
He wore miners gray flannel shirt
without a coat--and had a revolver belted
to his side seemed to be utterly with
out the power OF speech or motion, and
looked into the sad and sympathetic eyes
he turned upon me with q sense of awful
fascination. l could see Harper dinlly
through the semi-dark kness, but the quiet
of slumber still lay upon his weary face.
Then night seemed to close down. and I
awoke with a start to find that the eve
mng had advanced, and that my COM
panion was kindling a fire. l turned to
look for the paper and found it at the foot
VI tiiC iISO SIitIl L Ilttt IcCIiucu ,
but what did | see2 On the blank space,
below the ink-blot to which had referred,
was a rude drawing in pencil 1t seemed
to represent two ranges of mountains, in
tersecting each other at right angles In
the centre of the rectangular space on the
lower side was a small diagram. resemb-
ling the large one in shape. took it to
the fire-light for a closer examination; it
was the representation Of miners pick


Who had done this, and what could it
mean? Was it the idle and unmeaning
tracery of my own unconscious hand, or
was it the effort of some superior power
to direct US in search for the lost cabin
At all events, could make nothing of the
mysterious symbolism before me-preg-
nant though it might be with previous
revelatons-and thought best not to men
ton the circumstance to Harper.


In the afternoon of the next day we
were ut the foot OF another mountain
wall, spiked with the gray shafts Of fire
scathed frs, and with here and there a
rocky peak towering high in the smoke
tinged atmosphere. Through a system of
canons hewn in these mighty rocks we
ta1 tI,, h,lf f,, 4 10