98 
CALIFORNIA ILLUSTRATED. 
and torn uniforms, we had broken shovel-handles, curses of 
miners, the rattling of tin pans, and torn red flannel shirts. It 
so happened that the “ faithful ” all rushed for the same spot, 
and when their lions were served the lambs found the balance 
of the best in the hands of or in the possession of the “ Gen¬ 
tiles.’’ This occasioned considerable sparring among themselves, 
and resulted in the “lambs” selling out for from ten to fifteen 
dollars, being their entire summer’s work. 
I did not trust my interest at this time, to the supervision of a 
hired man, but joined in the foot-race, leaving Prince (the cook) 
in charge of the store. I knew nothing about the best points 
in the bar, but followed the “Prophet” and his satellites, and 
when they selected their “leads” I took the one next above; 
in this lead I had an opportunity of seeing rich deposits, 
although I kept it from the knowledge of the “faithful.” I 
would go on the bar at 9 A. M. and work until 12; then from 
1 p. M. to 4. On one day I got eleven and a half ounces, and 
on several days as high as six ounces. The bed of my lead was 
rotten granite, which in some places was entirely covered, being 
yellow with gold; in some of the crevices of the rock I would 
take it out with a spoon, almost entirely free from dirt. The 
person having the lead next above me found a piece in a crevice 
worth twenty-five dollars, which was thought extremely large 
for river gold; it was found in a. cavity of its own size and form, 
and seemed to have dropped in in a molten state. The final 
result was a loss to almost all concerned in the operation; the 
same result attended all the canalling operations within my 
knowledge with one or two exceptions; such experiments, re¬ 
quire such immense expenditures that they must be extremely 
productive to remunerate. 
Some three weeks after Jim’s departure, as I was sitting 
in the store, in the after part of the day, I heard a peculiar 
whoop, and looking up the side of the mountain I saw a cloud 
of dust, and a something flying in the air that had the appear¬ 
ance of a sail that had broken loose from its lower yard during 
a gale; then there were four legs and two other legs, all of them 
seemed to be running races; whether on the ground or in the 
air it was difficult to tell. I soon came to the conclusion that it 
was a trial of speed between Old Gray and Jim; they both 
