LIFE SKETCHES OF A JAYHAWKER 53 



soon as 1 saw them I jumped out of the ditch and grabbed my revolver that 

 "was lying by my side while working. At this they all started to run away, 

 but I made them understand to put down their bows and arrows and then 

 come up where I was. One of them, quite a boyish looking fellow, trembled 

 like a leaf, his knees would shake like an aspen leaf, but he was the finest 

 looking; what I mean, he was the finest built man I ever saw. Many an 

 artist would have given anything for such a subject as a model. Pretty 

 Boon they got a little over their scare, and we commenced to try to talk 

 by signs. They could not talk a word of either English or Spanish and I 

 couldn't talk Piute, but by signs they can make one understand pretty well. 

 I didn't feel at all afraid of them for I knew if they meant me any harm, 

 they would have shot me full of arrows before I knew they were there. 

 Prety soon they went and brought me some pinones, perhaps a quart. I 

 "knew then they wanted to be friendly. After a while they went away and 

 "were not gone but a little while until they came back with a whole lot of 

 fish that they had caught near by. A few days after I thought I would go 

 and call on my neighbors, eight miles away. There was quite a number of 

 men there building a small saw-mill, as that was the only timber anywhere 

 near the valley. The lumber was for mining purposes, a long distance off. 

 There were some Indians present, about eight of them. Soon there came a 

 man in, and he was in a furious rage about the Indians being tfcere, and 

 •aaid he would soon clean them out. He went into the house and got a gun 

 and when he came out the Indian took the hint and started to run away. 

 After they had gotten away, perhaps a hundred yards, he fired two or three 

 shots at them, but lucky it did not hit any of them. They went in the same 

 direction that I had to go to get home. After a little while, I started home 

 again and about half-way, I saw the Indians waiting for me on the side of 

 the road, so I put on a bold front and went up to where they were. They 

 tried to tell me what a bad man that was at the house. So when I rode on 

 they followed along after me, until I reached what I called my home. Then 

 they wanted to come and camp there. With my consent the next day they 

 came and camped about a hundred yards from my cabin, about fifty of them 

 I knew there was no danger from them then, as they wanted to be friend- 

 ly, the most danger being when you never see any Indians. 



I remained there a month or six weeks longer, when I saw a large band 

 of sheep camped not far from my place, and in the evening I went down to 

 the camp, as I was glad to get the sight of anybody that happened to come 

 along. I was very much surprised to find that one of the owners was an 

 old friend and comrade that was in our party of "Jay Hawkers of '49", and 

 traveled on the desert with us and was one of the sufferers. I was more 

 than glad to see him, as well as he to see me. They had bought the sheep 

 near Los Angeles and were on their way to Idaho, and nothing would do, 

 but I must go with them. They said the mines there were almost as good 

 as California in its day, which was a slight mistake. 



Anyway the next morning I saddled my horse and took my little belong- 

 ings, which did not amount to much and left everything, the garden grow- 

 ing, and the Indians in peaceful possession. 



I might mention that in after years, I think it was 1868, that there was 

 a severe earthquake on that side of the mountains and that on this partic- 

 ular piece of land that I had taken up, that forty acres, sunk ten feet below 



