These two women had husbands, 

 who had entered into a mining scheme 

 together. The man from Frisco was a 

 good-looking, well-educated, jovial fel- 

 low, with the purses of several rich 

 friends to back him up, and with a 

 great desire to replenish his purse with 

 the yellow metal direct, rather than to 

 acquire it by the sweat of his brow. 

 He was many other things, but, to be 

 brief, he was a promoter. The man 

 from Kansas had the pride of the un- 

 educated, and a little money, and was 

 also not averse to getting rich fast. 



Nimrod, the third partner, likewise 

 encumbered with a wife on the spot, 

 desired to make his everlasting fortune, 

 retire from the painting of pictures and 

 the making of books, and grub in the 

 field of science and live happily ever 

 after. 



