48 LIFE SKETCHES OF A JAYHAWKER 



the truth had been told us. All the supplies that went into camp had to be 

 packed in by men on their backs. We started over the trail with about 

 eighty pounds each — if anyone thinks that is a picnic over as high and 

 steep a mountain as that one let them try it. Consequence was that provi- 

 sions were very high, the only thing that wasn't over a dollar a pound was 

 beef; that was fifty cents per pound. Flour was seventy-five dollars for 

 fifty pound sacks; beans were a dollar and a quarter per pound and every- 

 thing in proportion. We paid ten cents each for nails to nail up our sluice 

 boxes. The worst of it was, we were hungry all the time. A man could 

 eat more than twice as much there as in California, and then not be satis- 

 fied. 



The mines on the whole were pretty good and some very rich, the 

 country being spotted, either rich or nothing at all. Our company of four 

 went on about four miles further and took up claims and went to work 

 sawing lumber to make sluices. All the claims below us on the gulch were 

 taking out gold in large paying quantities, but wc could not work our claimp 

 to much advantage until the claims below had been worked out and that 

 would take the balance of the season. We could not wait for that, so we 

 thought it possible we might work it through a shaft and we went to work 

 sinking a shaft and had sunk to a depth of twenty-four feet and cribbed 

 it, as we went, but when we went to go to work one morning, we found the 

 shaft had caved in clear to the top. The timbers had given away, so we 

 had to decide on something pretty quickly as by this time we were about 

 out of money and our decision was to get out of the woods as soon as pos- 

 sible. Before noon we were on the move for California, left everything and 

 struck out. It was no use trying to sell anything as there were hundreds 

 leaving and nobody would buy anything except something to eat. We left 

 our tent standing and everything in it, except a single blanket for each. 

 Two of the boys said they would stay a day or two and see if they could not 

 sell something, but Ned Ludlum and I struck out and the second night we 

 camped near a packer and I traded my rubber coat for a pound of flour 

 valued at three dollars. Without going into details, we made that three 

 hundred miles in eight days, which was thirty-seven and a half miles per 

 day which I call pretty good travelling over a rough trail, but we had no 

 choice in the matter, as it was a case of no money and short rations. We 

 prepared to get to Port Douglas just in time to hit the steamer, and went 

 aboard after first providing ourselves with a few crackers and cheese. We 

 spread our blankets and were soon fast asleep. After some hours they came 

 around to collect and roused us out of a sound sleep and sung out "fare", 

 but I told them we had no fare to give and the answer was, "Go ashore". 

 Not much, I told him, when the boat went, we were going with it but we 

 didn't want to go for nothing. I reached under my head and drew out a 

 Colt's Navy and he jumped back several feet. I said, "Don't be scared, I 

 don't want to shoot, but we are going and you take this in lieu of our fare 

 and if I come across any one I know, I will redeemed it." The pistol was 

 worth at least $25.00 and the fare to Westminster was four dollars each. 

 We thought the purser was well paid. That was as far as that boat went 

 and we stopped there at a boarding house and took chances on somebody 

 coming along that we knew. A man 1 knew came down on the next boat 

 and he said he would pay our way to Victoria, but he only had money 



