92 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



before us with no small degree of interest. I recog- 

 nized amongst tliem two of the volunteers, with whom 

 I forthwith claimed acquaintance. The whole party 

 had come from the mines, as was easily to be seen 

 from their appearance, which was something the 

 worse for wear, their countenances being weather- 

 beaten and bronzed by exposure ; whilst their attire, 

 consisting of buckskin coats, leather leggings, and 

 broad-brimmed hats, denoted the sort of labor in 

 which they had been recently engaged. I learned 

 from them, in the course of a subsequent conversation, 

 that they had all of them been successful at the 'dig- 

 gings.' One of the number had made, or * picked,' 

 two thousand dollars, and the rest, from that to nine 

 thousand dollars each, within the space of a few 

 months. With this, however, they were far from 

 satisfied, most of them being determined to realize a 

 large fortune before they quitted the country ; for not 

 one of them seemed to have the remotest intention of 

 settling. 



" The party had come down from the mines to make 

 purchases, and to enjoy a little recreation. They were 

 admirable specimens of their class — hardy in appear- 

 ance and rough in demeanor ; but shrewd, withal, and 

 toil-enduring. For the moment, their conversation 

 turned upon the prospects of the newly-landed emigrants 

 — for I should have stated that there were one or two 

 arrivals in the harbor — and they were unsparing of 

 their remarks upon such of the new comers as by their 

 dress, or any physical peculiarity, offered a fair target 

 for their witticisms, which were not less pointed than 

 coarse. 



" The discovery of the gold mines, has done at 

 once for San Francisco what it was reasonable to 



