26± EAST PRUSSIA TO THE GOLDEN GATE 



they would not only carry passengers from here to Sac- 

 ramento free of charge, but that they would give them 

 their supper besides. And so they did for three or four 

 days,— when they came to an understanding with the old 

 established companies, and since then they charge uni- 

 form prices. 



I do not know if your papers informed you about the 

 terrible fire which on November 2nd and 3rd laid in ashes 

 the whole city of Sacramento— about 2,500 buildings, and 

 rendered about twelve or thirteen thousand people home- 

 less. You may perhaps remember that I was at that time 

 here in San Francisco; but on November 4th I took the 

 steamer to return to Long Bar. As it happened, this 

 steamer— the "Confidence"— was the first boat to leave 

 here after the fire, and you can form no idea, how she 

 was loaded down with freight. Anything and everything 

 that one might want or not want, was on board. Every 

 .little bit of space, even between and below the boilers, 

 and even part of the cabin, was used to store away all 

 sorts of provisions in all sorts of packages, household 

 goods, furniture, building material and everything else 

 conceivable; and between and up and down these moun- 

 tains of boxes and barrels and bags, pushed and climbed, 

 like the mules in the Sierra Nevada, the most heteroge- 

 nous crowd— about 900 of them— which has ever been on 

 board of a steamer, even a California steamer. I saw a 

 pile of mattresses stowed away between the smoke-stacks, 

 reaching about half way up to the ceiling and selected 

 them as a "throne" for .myself; but straightway I came 

 in conflict with the owner, who would not allow me to re- 

 main there. Eepeated efforts which he made to pull me 

 down miscarried, until I was careless enough to bring 

 one of my feet within his reach, when he immediately 

 took the opportunity, i. e. the foot, and began to pull 

 with all his might, but as I resisted as hard as I could 

 he almost pulled off my boot. At last, perhaps, moved 

 by my obstinacy, he desisted in his attempt "to drag the 

 lofty into the dust," and we became afterwards such 

 good friends, that he even divided his cigar supply with 

 me. 



