IN THE MINING DISTRICT 233 



visit; and so she freely went on recounting many other 

 family matters. 



An hour had passed by in pleasant conversation with- 

 out our being aware of it, when I saw our team approach 

 and I had to bid "good-bye" to my newly made friends. 

 Our parting was cordial, considering our short acquaint- 

 ance. Evening had set in, and while I was walking along- 

 side our team through the dark forest, I could not but 

 constantly think about the "Pine Grove House" and its 

 inhabitants. My companions, noticing this, kept banter- 

 ing me about my having fallen in love with the handsome 

 young wife. In reality it was not that at all, but I did 

 think how happy the man must be who can live thus 

 secluded from the world alone with his wife and family, 

 loving and beloved. 



It was late when we reached our third camping ground, 

 distant from "Pine Grove" about 3 or 4 miles— and it 

 was not a "Night in Granada," but a night in "Straw- 

 berry Valley"— a small town of 5 or 6 houses, where we 

 pitched our camp. Out of consideration for our purses 

 we slept again in the open, hard by the public road, our 

 blankets for a cover under a dark blue, starry sky. The 

 cold air reminded us that we had now attained a high 

 altitude, and during the night every now and then we 

 were compelled to draw the blankets closer around us 

 after the fire, which we had started in the evening, had 

 fallen into embers, and as the raw morning air began to 

 rustle through the pines. 



During the forenoon of the 6th we did not encounter as 

 many obstacles as on the day previous. Our road led us 

 over a sort of plateau; and even if we had to cross a val- 

 ley or a ravine occasionally, they were few and far be- 

 tween, and the banks were not steep. "We had passed the 

 region of the cedars, and where we rested at noon, we 

 found the pines rpiite numerous among the firs. This was 

 near the "Missouri House," which we reached at about 

 II o'clock. Here a steep mountain rose up before us, and 

 we had to climb steadily upward for about three hours. 

 After reaching the summit, our road — now only a trail — 



